16th chapter! I know I am building their relationship slowly but I don't want them to "jump between the sheets" just out of the blue. :D But please review and enjoy! I am not sure if my writing will end when I reach the 20th chapter :_D ( actually I am pretty sure there will be around 40 chapters :_D ) My beta suggested of giving spoilers to you in the reviews since she has read all the chapters from 1 to 26 and knows pretty much the whole plot but I forbade her from doing so :D And the good news are that my beta is back to work so I will release chapters more often! :)

...

Zoro couldn't understand how his concentration was disturbed this badly. Usually, the calm swordman he was, he could control his thoughts especially while training. Now he couldn't even count to ten without his thoughts wandering off to somewhere where they didn't belong - that stupid woman and especially that stupid blond who smiled like an idiot every time a woman was nearby.

He couldn't train without loosing his counting so he tried to take a nap. But when he fell asleep, all he could see was the smirking face of Curly-brows.

Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

...

The next day Sanji's hearing was even more sensitive than before. Sara said it could mean that some of his yet missing senses might be returning when one sense got suddenly stronger. Sanji didn't care as long as someone would bring him some properly working earplugs.

Sara didn't want to bother the chef and cause him more headache than he already had so she let him be alone. Even though she wanted to spend as much time as possible with the chef, she knew it was her fault and she was responsible of the blond's struggle.

"Robin-san!" Sara greeted the older woman cheerfully. "Is there anything I could do?"

Robin thought about it for a second. "Please, you do not need to worry about 'doing something' on this ship."

"But...I can't just be a burden to everyone..." Sara sighed.

Robin just chuckled. "Did you see our captain on your way here?" Robin asked and Sara nodded slightly. "Can you say he is of any use when he rolls around on Sunny's grass or plays tag with doctor-san and longnose-kun? As I said, you should not worry too much!"

"I will try!" Sara said and smiled gently. "By the way, do you have any books?"

"We have lots of books. Do you have something specific on your mind?"

"Well...I thought about studying more about the devil fruits and about the New World. I know almost nothing about the world outside that island!" Sara admitted her genuine interest and Robin smiled a little, mysteriously...

"I can show you where our books are, please feel free to read to your heart content,"Robin advised and Sara smiled.

...

"What's on the menu today?!" Usopp inquired.

"Yeah, what's on the menu?!" Chopper said, trying to imitate the sniper as well as possible.

"Don't speak so loud!" Nami whispered." Otherwise Luffy will hear us!" Both males blocked their mouths with their hands - they had just managed to get Luffy forget about the food for a while and even the slightlest hint referring to food might be the end of their peace and quiet.

"Luffy-san!" Brook shouted at the deck."Would you like a pirate song?" He knew Nami and Robin were doing their best to prepare the food but they needed some more time and Brook had just the means to keep their captain away from the kitchen.

"Yahhoo! Play us a pirate song!" Luffy cheered and soon Chopper and Usopp joined his cheers.

"Pirate song!"

"YOU HAVE TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Sanji shouted angrily. All the noises had woken him up and he was standing above the deck, glaring at the idiots who made so much noise.

"ARG! SANJI IS ANGRY!" Luffy shouted in horror and everyone rushed to some random directions to save themselves from the fearsome kick. Even the small doctor had no time to realise his patient was out of bed without doctor's permission.

...

Zoro got lost on their ship as usual. Nobody knew what he had been looking for and Zoro didn't bother to answer. Somehow he managed to get to the library where Sara was reading books.

"Ah, Zoro-san!" Sara greeted the swordman with a wide smile on her face."What are you doing here?"

"I got lost,"Zoro admitted. The fact he didn't like the woman meant that he wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible and it was no use to hide the fact he had a poor sense of direction.

"On your own ship?" Sara asked and chuckled slightly." This is one weird pirate crew..."

"This pirate ship is weird indeed. You don't fit here. You are too normal," Zoro stated coldly and Sara's jaw dropped.

"Excuse me? What have I done to make you hate me?" Sara inquired. She had noticed the cold looks the swordman had given to her but she never realised how much he actually hated her.

"Just stay out of our crew. Your destination is on the next island," Zoro said strictly and was about to leave when Sara stopped him.

"It's about him, isn't it?" Sara asked and sounded really depressed.

"Who are you talking about?" Zoro inquired even though he had an idea of whom the woman was talking about.

"About Sanji-san. You are jealous aren't you?" Sara asked. It took a while for the slow swordman to realise what she had asked.

"Me? Jealous? Why would I? He is one annoying bastard who does nothing but trigger my anger!" Zoro said and looked at anything else but the red-haired woman.

"Don't play stupid with me, okay?" Sara asked nicely."I might know nothing about the New World or devil fruits but you can't fool me when it comes to feelings."

"Tsk. Whatever. Feel free to charm that all-the-ladies-man and take him with you. We don't need him here," Zoro hissed and opened the door to leave but Sara interrupted him yet again with a strange question.

"You are jealous that he loves me instead of you, aren't you?" Sara said with a smirk on her face telling that she was sure of her victory.

Zoro took a threatening step towards the woman and stopped. "He loves all the ladies in the same way. He treats you the same way he treats all the ladies he has met so far. You are no exception. You are just a flirt."

Sara stared at the green-haired man, stunned by his words." How do you know about how he - - " she apparently tried to defend herself but Zoro interrupted her this time around.

"I don't care what kind of a love story he has been telling you but you will see. I have seen him flirting with women way longer than you have. You have no victory over him."

Sara seemed somehow hurt by his words and she pressed her head down. "Then...you feel absolutely nothing when he flirts with all the beautiful women on this planet?" She sounded almost desperate.

"No. I don't even care," Zoro said and finally stepped out of the library and left the stunned woman behind.

...

"This is all your fault!" Chopper preached at Sanji."If you hadn't rushed off the infirmary like that you wouldn't need to suffer like this now!"

Sanji clenched his teeth and let the doctor finish re-bandaging his wounds. The big puncture wound in his back had opened after his fit of anger and his headache had only gotten worse. He had really doubted if getting his hearing back was a good thing or not when your nakama were so loud all the time.

"Shit..." Sanji cursed out aloud."Could you give me some more painkillers?"

"Sure," Chopper said and realised how bad the pain was if the chef was voluntarily asking for painkillers.

There was a silent knock on the door and Usopp stepped in. "You should go and eat as long as Nami can protect your share..." he advised and the small doctor nodded.

"Then would you watch after him for a while? I am going to give him more painkillers and sedatives and you should keep an eye for any side-effects he might have before he falls asleep,"Chopper advised the sniper because he knew he wouldn't refuse.

Chopper rushed towards the kitchen, hoping that his food was still there. Usopp stayed there and watched how their chef slowly drifted towards the soft slumber of sleep. He stared at the bloodied bandages on the floor and sighed deeply - he couldn't even tell how much he hated to see his nakama like this.

...

BETA: "Spoilers for sale! Ten bucks and the next chapter is yours... ;)"

Oneechan94: But all the chapters are in my computer and covered with password ;) So please, don't buy it :D She can't have them :P