Phew. Thank you all for your patience. My laptop crashed last week and I lost all of my work for this chapter. I had forgotten to back it up on my flash drive. My poor laptop is at least 10 years old though so I can't completely blame it. Anyway, I had to rewrite this entire chapter from memory and I still haven't completely finished it. I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer though so here is the first part of what was supposed to be chapter 18. Don't worry though, I didn't rush my way through! I wanted it to still be awesome so I took my time and I hope you guys like it!

Thank you all for your fantastic reviews last chapter! I love that chapter so much and I'm glad you all liked it as much as I did. It was nerve-wracking writing a completely original chapter and your feedback from it was amazing!

Big shout-out to Ganymed for your awesome review. I was in shock for a few minutes afterwards because of how great it was.

A big thanks to jadecraze, Kitsunegirl90, michirugin99, ZoLuFanGirl98, ReVeaLxMeMoRieS, VampireFreak4Eterity, Rina, KarouUchiha, and my anonymous guest. Most of you are regular reviewers and I love you guys!

Shirani-chan: I hope everything's good with you. None of my followers need to post a review every chapter but you are a big supporter and I just want to make sure everything was going good since I didn't hear from you which is not of the norm.

Anyway, I delayed you guys too long already so I hope you enjoy!

One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda!

The Bounty Hunting Duo of East Blue

It had been calm, something that was rare for the newly created Straw-hat pirates, a peaceful mid-afternoon on the clear waters of the East Blue. The only noise that could be heard was the occasional sound of cannon fire as Usopp attempted to get used to the new weapons on their ship and the soft scratching of a pen against parchment as Nami took notes for her sea chart. For once, Luffy was quiet, relaxing on the steps to the main deck as she took her time examining the white sword in her hands. Zoro's story was racing through her mind and her heart swelled with happiness at the knowledge that Zoro trusted her enough to talk about his past. Not only that but he was letting her hold his sword, the Wado Ichimonji. Luffy knew it was his most prized possession, as important as her hat was, and the fact that he hadn't immediately grabbed it from her when she touched it was making the raven-haired girl feel a little giddy.

Zoro sat next to her on the stairs, content with just watching his captain as she began to hum, enjoying the comfortable warmth that spread through him just from being in her presence. Just like always, however, the peace didn't last for very long. A loud crash broke the stillness of the afternoon, a lone man jumping over the railing and onto the main deck opposite of Luffy and Zoro. As soon as his feet touched wood he was moving, kicking over a few barrels as he passed them, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Come on out you pirates! I'm gonna slaughter all of you!"

Luffy jumped slightly in surprise, the loud shout pulling her from her thoughts, and she rose to her feet quickly, excitement flashing in her eyes. She carefully handed Zoro back his sword, patting the sheathe one last time as a sort of reassurance to herself before moving to stand in front of the intruder, her arms crossed over her chest. The man's shouts stopped when Luffy neared him and she took that opportunity to size him up. He was taller than her, but then again, most people were and he had short black hair. His eyes were hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses and there was a large black kanji tattoo on his left cheek that meant "sea".He wore a short sleeved purple shirt with a blue zip up hoodie over top and Luffy watched calmly as he readied his weapon, a sword with a red handle and a circular guard. The blade of the sword got broader the further away it was from the hilt and the she-pirate determined that it was obviously too large for a sheathe.

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy asked, tilting her head curiously, not appearing to be the least bit intimidated.

"Who am I...? I should be asking you that!" The man was beyond furious, not even seeing the person in front of him, only an opponent to be destroyed. He charged Luffy with a yell, forcing the girl to jump backwards to avoid his swing and she pouted as the intruder's swing slammed into Merry's main mast.

"I've killed countless numbers of infamous pirates and yet... How dare you, some no name little pirate brat, try to kill my partner?!"

"Hey!" Luffy could see that the man was mad at her, for what she didn't know, but that didn't excuse his callous treatment of her ship. "Don't you damage Merry!" She dodged another swing from the mystery man and her frown deepened as he sliced through part of the upper level railing.

"That's enough!" Luffy stretched her arm out, her fingers latching onto the front of the man's hoodie and, in a move reminiscent of what she had used on Captain Kuro, she yanked him towards her and flipped the angry man over her shoulder. He slammed head first into the wooden deck, body crumpling instantly as he was knocked unconscious. Luffy just let out a little sigh, dusting her hands together and smirking slightly.

"What the heck was that?" She muttered, placing a hand on her hat and just staring down at the man in front of her.

Zoro carefully set Wado next to his other two swords and stood up before making his way towards Luffy and their mysterious intruder, a little curious himself. His eyes did a quick sweep of his captain, relaxing when he saw her giddy expression before he turned to the newcomer, his eyes widening in shock.

"Is that Johnny?" He asked, surprised. Even upside down he recognized the tattoo immediately. It had been a while since he last saw either of the bounty hunting duo, and speaking of... Zoro glanced around the ship, a little surprised to not see Johnny's partner in crime as he moved to stand next to Luffy.

"Hey Usopp, get some water," Luffy ordered, turning away from the unconscious man to look over at the corner of the galley where Usopp had been carefully watching the scene unfolding on the main deck, making sure his body was mostly out of sight. When the sniper gave her a look of disbelief and just continued to stare, she smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Zoro knows him. It's ok."

The long nosed teen scrambled away as Luffy turned to look over at Zoro, grinning at her swordsman. She was excited to meet someone from Zoro's past, and from the way her first-mate had said his name, this Johnny guy was a friend.

'Maybe he's a bounty hunter like Zoro was? He didn't seem to like pirates too much.' The she-pirate knelt down next to Johnny and began to poke lightly at his cheek, entertaining herself with her attempts to wake him up.

The sunglasses guy finally began to stir, returning to consciousness at the sound of voices and the soft pressure of something pressing against his cheek. He blinked a couple of times in confusion before focusing in on the person leaning over him. She was one of the prettiest girls that he had ever seen and his eyes widened slightly when she smiled and turned to look at someone that he couldn't see. Her skin was lightly tanned, as if she had spent a lifetime in the sun and her short black hair whipped around her face as the wind swept past them.

"Hey Luffy. I think he's awake."

Johnny could tell that the speaker was obviously male and the voice sounded familiar to him but he just watched quietly as the girl, Luffy, turned back to smile down at him, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling.

"Yeah?" she asked, grinning happily. "Hey Johnny. You awake?" Johnny started slightly when she returned to poking his cheek, in shock that the teenage girl had known his name. A shadow fell across him as another person leaned over to get a good look at him, this one standing so he was blocking out the sun and Johnny immediately recognized the familiar green hair and annoyed scowl.

"B-Big bro Zoro!" Johnny quickly sat up and flipped over so that he could look at the swordsman properly, his mouth dropping in shock. "Is that you?" His eyes swept the other man, taking in the familiar white shirt, green haramaki, and black pants. The black bandana wrapped around the man's left bicep was just the final piece that proved that the person standing in front of him really was Roronoa Zoro.

"You're on a pirate ship, big bro? Why?!" From the corner of his eye he noticed the girl, Luffy, stand up and watched as she danced over to Zoro's side, giggling. Johnny's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Zoro's stance relax slightly when the girl neared, his eyes softening when she smiled up at him.

"So you do know him."

"I said that earlier, didn't I?"

Johnny just shook his head and jumped to his feet, arms spread wide as he gestured to the ship around him. "What's going on here?" He was hyperventilating a little, confused and overwhelmed by everything that had happened recently.

"Hey, calm down. Where's Yosaku? Isn't he with you?" Zoro asked, his expression slightly concerned. As soon as the name passed Zoro's lips, Johnny's entire demeanor changed, his expression morphing into one of sadness.

"It's…Yosaku is here but he's… just come take a look, big bro." Johnny gestured for Zoro to follow him and the green haired teen nodded before he and Luffy walked over to the side of the ship that Johnny had come from and followed the man's gaze down to a small dingy bobbing next to the Going Merry. Yosaku lay on the main deck, spread out on top of a blue blanket. He wore a black shirt and yellow plaid shorts with a green coat over top and a pair of black boots. His head was shaved and he had on a red piece of sparring headgear. A white bandage was wrapped tightly around his stomach, the white cloth slowly turning red as blood leaked from a wound they couldn't see. He was far too pale and that worried Zoro slightly.

"Yosaku is..." Tears began to pour down Johnny's cheeks and Zoro patted his shoulder in a comforting manner as Luffy lifted herself onto the railing, intending to pull the sick man up so they could get a better look at him.

"Lu, be careful," Zoro insisted, watching his captain worriedly, knowing what she planned to do. If she lost her footing she would end up in the ocean and he would have to get her. Not that he minded saving his captain, it was just... His mind flashed back to the last time Luffy has fallen off the boat and the soft kiss she had given him for saving her. Zoro quickly shook his head, dispelling those thoughts, as he worked to fight off the blush he could feel rising to his cheeks.

'Not the time!' He chastised himself, watching as Luffy stretched her arms down and carefully grabbed onto the edges of the blanket. Her position gave him a great view of her ass and the swordsman tensed slightly as he realized that he wasn't the only one watching her. His eyes slid to the side and narrowed as Johnny swept his eyes up and down Luffy's frame. He knew that the bounty hunter was insanely worried about his partner and he sympathized but that didn't mean that Johnny had free reign to look at his captain. Zoro stepped closer to Luffy, obscuring Johnny's view as the raven-haired girl began to pull back and reel in the sick man. From the position he was in, Zoro was able to steady Luffy as she began to wobble from the extra weight and when Yosaku was close enough, he grabbed the blanket and helped Luffy to bring him over the railing and onto the main deck of the Going Merry. As soon as Luffy released her hold on the blanket, Johnny was pushing past her, quickly dropping to his knees next to his partner.

"What happened to him?" Zoro asked, even more concerned now that Yosaku was close up and he was able to truly see just how sick he was.

"He was perfectly fine until a few days ago... Then he started getting pale and he keeps fainting or getting really dizzy. I have no clue why!" Johnny ran a hand through his hair agitatedly, his eyes filled with pain, not even noticing as the rest of the Straw-hat crew began to gather around. Usopp grimaced in sympathy, his expression of worry mirrored on Zoro's face. Luffy knelt on the other side, a contemplative look on her face. She couldn't help but think that she had seen this before, years ago when she was still back in Fuusha. Some fishermen had come back to the village after being stuck drifting for weeks out at sea and they looked a lot like Yosaku did. One of them had died but she remembered Makino saying that the other one would be ok. When she had asked Benn about it the next time he and Shanks returned the first mate had told her that it could happen to people who didn't get enough food to eat or something like that. She frowned slightly and crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn't remember what it was though. That stuff was always boring so she never much payed attention to it. Shanks' stories were much better.

"Lately, his teeth started falling out... and his old wounds have started to bleed again... He's just gotten worse and worse and I just don't know what to do anymore!" Nami made her way quietly down the stairs at the bow of the ship, her hands on her hips and a skeptical look on her face as she listened to Johnny talk. It was pretty obvious already what was going on with Yosaku but it seemed that none of the boys had clued in. Her eyes flicked over to Luffy, noting the confused and almost thoughtful look on the raven-haired girl's face.

'Looks like Luffy might actually have an idea of what's wrong with this guy. I guess she's not a complete space cadet after all.' Nami smirked softly as Johnny continued to speak.

"I found a rocky island and thought I could let him rest quietly for a bit, but... there was a loud noise and then... Then your ship attacked us!" Johnny's voice broke at the end and he dropped his head into one of his hands, tears cascading down his cheeks. Usopp's jaw dropped and he stared down at Johnny in shock from his place standing behind Luffy. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he remembered that he had been the one to launch the cannonball at the rocky outcropping. He had just been trying to practice his shooting and impress the other members of the crew and now an innocent man would die because of him.

"I-I'm sorry!" He stuttered, bowing apologetically to Johnny. Luffy just continued to pout slightly, her head tilted to the side and confusion in her eyes.

"Usopp... I don't think-..."

"Sorry isn't good enough," Johnny snapped, cutting Luffy off as he removed his hand from his face and slammed his closed fist into the deck next to him. "If all problems could be solved with an apology, we wouldn't need the police." Usopp cringed slightly, guilt written all over his face and Luffy's thoughtful expression turned into a glare.

"Don't you yell at him," She snapped back, but Johnny just ignored her, his eyes and mind focused completely on his long-time partner and best friend. Yosaku was panting hard, seeming even worse than ever and Johnny sniffled pitifully, tears still streaming freely down his face.

"Big Bro… is he… do you think he's going to die?" Johnny hesitated, stumbling over the words, afraid that with just one sentence he could lose Yosaku forever. Zoro didn't have the heart to say anything, it'd be too much for Johnny if he admitted that he thought Yosaku was going to die. Nami just rolled her eyes and let out a soft snort, which only Luffy seemed to hear. The female pirate captain turned her head to stare at the navigator, taking in the exasperated expression on the other girl's face.

"They won't listen to anything, Nami." The girl said, sighing. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"And they say women are overly emotional." Nami just muttered, shaking her head as she knelt down at Yosaku's head so she could get a closer look at the sick man. She carefully lifted one eyelid before opening Yosaku's mouth and pulling out his tongue, humming slightly when her suspicions were confirmed.

"What are you... What the hell are you doing to my partner?!" Johnny shouted, yanking Nami's hand and pulling her forward so he could yell more in her face, forcing her to lean slightly over Yosaku.

"Nami! Have you completely lost it?" Zoro added, glaring at the orangette. Nami just rolled her eyes and used her free hand to shove Johnny back away from her.

"You guys are real idiots."

"What'd you say?" Zoro growled. He took a step towards Nami but froze when a hand planted itself firmly on his chest. He recognized the feel of the small hand and his suspicions were confirmed when he glanced down to see that Luffy had stretched her arm forward and was holding him back. She was watching Johnny with a slightly annoyed expression on her face and her gaze flickered over to Zoro for a second, her eyes silently asking him to trust her.

'Of course, Captain. You don't even need to ask.' He didn't say anything out loud but tried to convey that message with a small nod of his head and watched as Luffy relaxed, a happy smile coming to her face.

"Now, will you all shut up and let Nami work!" She ordered, turning away from Zoro to look back at the dark-haired bounty hunter.

"And you, don't yell at Usopp!" Stretching out her other hand, she pinched Johnny hard on the cheek.

Nami chuckled slightly, having caught Zoro and Luffy's silent communication. They never ceased to surprise her with their uncanny ability to understand each other and she shook her head slightly. A smirk came to her lips as she took in Luffy's exasperated look, which was focused solely on Johnny, also noting the almost amused expression on Zoro's face from the corner of her eye. Finally remembering where she was, Nami turned her head and looked back down at Yosaku.

"Usopp, we have some limes in storage, bring them here now!" she ordered after another quick check of the sick man. Usopp quickly scrambled back and made his way to the storage room, wanting to be of some use because he still felt as if all of this was his fault.

Once Usopp retrieved the barrel full of limes, Nami told him to start squeezing the juice into Yosaku's mouth. Luffy moved to sit across from Usopp and grabbed a few limes herself, helping the long-nosed teen with his work as Nami turned to the other two men and began to explain what was going on.

"He got Scurvy," she sighed, leaning back against the railing and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Scurvy?" Johnny just looked at the orange haired girl blankly, as if he didn't understand.

"We got to him in time, he should recover in a few days." The orange-haired girl gave a slight nod, as if she was agreeing with her own words, and Johnny's confused expression melted into one of happiness.

"A-are you sure, Big Sis? Oh, thank you! I'm really grateful for Big Sis'-" Grinning brightly, Johnny opened his arms and tried to pull Nami into a hug but the navigator just scowled slightly and forcefully pushed his face away from her.

"Just... Don't call me that, idiot. And stop spaying your words all over me."

Luffy set down the limes that she had just finished squeezing into Yosaku's mouth and stood up, dusting her hands together, in an unconscious gesture that said 'I'm done'. She moved to Usopp and patted his head reassuringly, smiling down at the still-worried teen before walking past him and towards where the others were standing.

She stepped forward and pinched Zoro's cheek before turning and pinching Johnny's as well, causing the bounty hunter to stare at her in shock. "That's for yelling at Usopp," she explained, staring pointedly at Johnny.

"Why did you pinch me too?!" Zoro yelled, rubbing his cheek with two fingers in an attempt to soothe the sting, eyes narrowed slightly at the raven-haired girl.

Luffy turned to Zoro and blinked a few times before grinning sheepishly. "I, uh, I dunno. I just kinda felt like it." She giggled at Zoro's exasperated expression, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Does she do that often?" Johnny asked, glancing over at the green-haired swordsman.

Before Zoro could reply, a loud shout from Usopp had them all looking down at where Yosaku was slowly starting to regain consciousness. Luffy bounded over to Usopp's side and leaned over the sniper's shoulder, watching Yosaku curiously.

The bounty hunter groaned as he let his eyes crack open, hearing the voices of people around him. The first thing he saw was a long-nosed teenage boy with black curly hair staring down at him with a relieved expression on his face. He blinked a few times, silently wondering if he had met the teenager before when his gaze was drawn to something over the long-nosed teen's shoulder. A pretty girl was standing behind the curly-haired boy, her chocolate brown eyes watching him curiously. When she noticed that he was looking at her she smiled brightly and started to giggle. Her short black hair emphasized her heart shaped face and even though she was small, Yosaku could definitely see that the girl had curves.

'I've got to be in heaven or something. I wonder if she's single?'

"Yosaku!"

Yosaku turned his head at the sound of his voice being called, seeing the relieved face of his longtime partner, Johnny, staring down at him. With a cheerful laugh of excitement Yosaku sprang to his feet and, grabbing Johnny's arm, began to dance around the deck. Both men were singing happily as they spun about while the others just watched in disbelief.

"You don't recover that quickly!" Nami shrieked, her hands balled into fists at her sides. Zoro just watched the two with an unsurprised expression on his face, his gaze drifting over to Luffy, who was holding her stomach and laughing. The corners of his mouth twitched, a small grin coming to his own face as he watched her laugh, the sound infectious and rendering him unable to fight the warmth seeping through him. He turned away when Luffy's eyes slid to his and forced himself to stop smiling, not wanting to be caught with anything other than his normal scowl on his face.

'Don't need them thinking I'm soft or anything. I'd never hear the end of it from that witch.'

Luffy had seen it though and it made her smile widen even more, her cheeks starting to hurt from the intensity of it.

After another few seconds of dancing, the two bounty hunters stopped and faced the straw hat crew, semi serious expressions on their faces.

"Pardon us for not introducing ourselves..." they chorused.

"My name's Johnny." The black haired bounty hunter stood tall with his feet shoulder with apart and his right arm wrapped around his middle. The other arm was resting against it with his left fist braced against his tattooed cheek.

"And I'm Yosaku." The formerly sick man concluded, striking a pose similar to his partner. His arms were switched, however, and he had his right hand resting against his chin, a cigarette held loosely between his fingers.

"And together we're the most bad-ass Pirate Bounty Hunting duo in the world!" They finished their introduction with a flourish, both grinning happily.

"Big Bro Zoro used to be one of us too. It's a pleasure to meet you all!" Concluded Johnny.

Zoro just crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, shaking his head slightly.

"What a small world, I never expected to see you guys here!" He stated, shifting his weight to his other leg as he watched the bounty hunters calmly.

"We're even more surprised!" Yosaku laughed. "We never would have thought that Pirate Hunter Zoro would become a pirate himself!"

"What happened after you left us, big bro? What made you change jobs?" Johnny asked, watching Zoro curiously.

A giggle drew the bounty hunter's attention and both turned to look at the small raven haired girl standing to Zoro's right, the she-pirate giving them a bright smile when she saw them look at her. She stretched out her arm and latched herself onto Zoro's back, ignoring the shocked looks she received from the two bounty hunters. They had not expected that the small girl would be a devil fruit user and they watched silently as she began poking Zoro lightly on the cheek.

"Zoro should smile more," She muttered quietly, only loud enough for the swordsman to hear and he just grumbled something unintelligible at her, flapping his hand at the one poking his cheek in an effort to get her to stop.

"I saved Zoro from being executed so he joined my crew." Luffy finally said, turning to the others and smiling happily before starting to hum softly. She had stopped poking Zoro and her arms were instead wrapped around her swordsman's neck, legs hanging free. She started kicking them out behind her leisurely as Johnny and Yosaku stared at her, surprised and more than a little confused by her words.

Zoro's eyebrow twitched in slight annoyance. "Oi oi. Saved? You blackmailed me you little brat." Though his expression was angry, there was no heat in his words and as Zoro turned his head to get a glimpse of Luffy his expression softened. He reached a hand back and ruffled her hair, getting a giggle from the raven-haired girl which caused a grin to appear on the swordsman's own face. He always enjoyed their banter and teasing and let his awareness shrink until he was focused completely on the raven-haired girl latched to his back. Luffy tugged lightly at the earrings in Zoro's left ear, trying to rile her swordsman up again.

"Zoro's been sleeping a lot since we left Syrup village..."She began, letting the words trail off.

"Psh, how would you know?" Zoro snorted. "You've had Usopp to entertain you." Not that he had been jealous or anything. It had given him more time to relax and he had actually gotten a few chances to get relax since she was otherwise occupied and not bugging him every fifteen minutes. He just wasn't able to fall asleep cause the sun was in his eyes, and he had to keep an eye on Luffy in case she fell off the ship.

"Yeah, but he's not Zoro." The swordsman could hear the pout in Luffy's voice without needing to turn and look at her and a silent laugh rumbled through his chest. Luffy just narrowed her eyes and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance before continuing. "Plus! Zoro was being stupid earlier so you have to play a game with me. Captain's orders!" She nodded decisively, satisfied with her impromptu decision.

"Captain's-...!" Zoro choked slightly. "Lu, I will toss you overboard."

Luffy just rolled her eyes and gave a sigh that sounded like she was annoyed with having to explain something that should be obvious. "But then Zoro will get wet too, stupid."

Johnny and Yosaku just watched the interaction between the two with wide eyes, having never seen their big brother look at anyone like that. And the way he was talking with her and letting her hang off of him was just as shocking. Back when they traveled together, he would have thrown and then beaten anyone who was dumb enough to even get near him. But Big Bro Zoro appeared completely calm with the she-pirate latched to his back and the look in his eyes was one they had only seen directed at his prized sword before. The bounty hunting duo glanced at each other, trying to figure out if they were really seeing this or if they were both just hallucinating or something.

"Your crew?" Johnny finally asked, remembering the raven-haired girl's earlier words.

Luffy turned her attention back to the bounty hunting duo and nodded happily, letting herself slide off of Zoro's back before moving to stand in front of the swordsman. "Yup! My name is Monkey D. Luffyko and I'm going to be the first ever Queen of the Pirates!" Her smile was the brightest that either Johnny or Yosaku had seen and they watched, shocked, as Zoro placed one hand reassuringly on Luffy's shoulder, the other settling almost unconsciously against her opposite hip. "Zoro's my first mate! He's gonna be the World's Greatest Swordsman!"

The bounty hunters knew of Zoro's dream already but the way that the swordsman's smirk had widened at her words made glance at each other again. Both seemed to come to the same conclusion and they nodded at each other before turning back and pointing between the two.

"So you're his..."

"So she's your..."

Johnny and Yosaku began to talk at the same time but froze when Zoro frowned, pushing Luffy behind him and storming up to the brothers. "Don't finish that thought," He growled angrily, a dark glare on his face but his eyes flashed with something that looked almost like worry.

Johnny blinked a few times before he began to wave his hands back and forth in a placating manner. While he didn't quite understand what the heck was going on he knew better than to provoke Zoro and the green-haired swordsman already looked like he was kind of on edge. He and Yosaku really needed to get Big Bro alone and get some answers out of him later. For now, all they could do was apologize and let the matter drop.

"Sorry big bro, we didn't know." Yosaku began, having been thinking the same thing as Johnny.

"We didn't say anything about your captain being cute or anything like that!"

Zoro's glare deepened and Johnny winced slightly. He hadn't meant for that to slip out, but seriously! The girl, Luffyko, was really hot and he would have to be blind not to notice. He noticed Zoro's teeth grind together and made another mental note to himself. 'Ok, don't mention Luffy around Big Bro. I wonder if the other girl is free?'

"It's ok big bro. She's yours. We get it!" Yosaku added, trying to placate the swordsman, coming to the obvious conclusion that Zoro had some sort of claim on the raven-haired girl. If anything though, his words only seemed to darken Zoro's mood even further. He grabbed the two bounty hunters' shirts and yanked them close before hissing quietly, his eyes darting back and forth between them.

"Quiet, you two! Luffyko is my captain, nothing else, you got that?! I don't want to hear another word about it."

"But big bro..."

"The way you act with her..."

"There is nothing between us." Zoro felt his chest throb slightly in pain as he said that. Luffy was his captain and that was all she would ever be. Even though he knew he loved her, she was too naïve and innocent to develop feelings like what he had for her. Zoro was fine with that. He was fine with watching her from his place as her first-mate, protecting her, and being there when she needed him. He sighed slightly and let Johnny and Yosaku go, shaking his head sadly.

"Just, don't say anything." His tone was practically pleading and both Johnny and Yosaku caught the desperation in his words. Grinning, in an effort to lighten the mood, Johnny clapped Zoro on the shoulder.

"Course, big bro. Whatever you say." In his mind though, he was still curious as to what Big Bro Zoro's relationship with the she-pirate was. He would just have to keep an eye on them.

Yosaku moved to do the same thing but his hand slid right over Zoro's shoulder as he lost his balance and fell forward onto the deck, unconscious. He still was nowhere near close to being alright, and the bit of excitement he had experienced with Zoro's growling and grabbing had not helped. Nami informed them that he would still need more time to recover.

After they carried Yosaku down into the Men's quarters and left him to rest on one of the spare hammocks, the crew gathered in the galley. They were sitting quietly, Luffy, Usopp, and Johnny all drinking cups of tea while Zoro downed his trademark sake. After a few moments of peace Nami finally spoke.

"Let this be lesson to all of you," She began, sighing softly.

"Yeah, this is the kind of trouble you run into while sailing on the sea," Zoro agreed, setting down his empty cup.

Usopp frowned thoughtfully before adding his own input. "Which means while we're at sea, we need to consider how we're going to get the right amount of nutrients with just the small amount of food we'll be able to carry."

"When we think about it carefully, knowing how to manage our rations is a necessary ability." Everyone fell silent at Nami's words, contemplating what their next move would be.

"A necessary ability, huh?" Luffy repeated, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head to the side as she thought. After a few seconds a grin came to her face and she chuckled.

"Of course! We just need to add a cook to our crew! Simple!"

"What!" They all turned to look at Luffy, slightly shocked by her simple, yet extremely intelligent idea.

The she-pirate just giggled happily and clapped her hands together. "Let's go find us a cook then!"

"For once Luffy, you're spot on," Nami praised, smiling slightly. Sometimes Nami forgot that the happy-go-lucky girl was actually a lot wiser than she acted and it showed in her occasional comments and observations. Usopp was beaming and even Zoro had a small smirk on his face, a slightly proud look in his eyes.

"If you guys are looking for a cook then I know just the place!" Johnny said, bringing their attention back to him. "It's not too far from here and the food is amazing!" Even Johnny was excited, he was happy that he had found a way to slightly repay the Straw-hat crew for helping him and Yosaku.

"Really?! Thanks Johnny!" Luffy cheered, diving to the side to give the bounty hunter sitting next to her a quick hug. Johnny pulled back first, feeling a dark stare digging into his back and turned to catch Zoro in his gaze. He watched as his friend's glare slid off of him after a second before it moved on to Luffy, the glare quickly softening.

'Ah. I see how it is.' Johnny fought back the urge to grin. He never would have thought he would see the day when serious, angry, big bro Zoro fell in love with someone. He couldn't wait to tell Yosaku about this. Disguising his chuckle as a cough, Johnny quickly continued with his explanation.

"We need to be careful though. This place is close to the Grand Line and is frequented by lots of strong people." The dark-haired bounty hunter stood up and made his way over to where Zoro was leaning against the wall and smirked. "I've heard a lot of rumors about the place lately. There was one that caught my interest, one that said that a certain hawk-eyed individual that you've been looking for... is there."

Zoro started slightly, his whole body tensing as a manic smirk spread across his face. His hand went to the white katana strapped to his waist and he gripped it tightly, his thumb slowly stroking the sheathe.

Johnny smirked as well and turned to Nami, pointing his finger out at some unseen location in the distance. "Set our course for North-Northeast! Our destination is…"

I'm leaving it there cause it was a good spot to cut off and I wanted to get this posted before I started getting threats or angry villagers appeared at my window. I hope you like it and I'm getting my laptop back tomorrow (sans memory ) so I will not have to sneak around and fight to steal the other computer in my house. I think having Johnny and Yosaku around is going to be fun. They know Zoro pretty well so I feel like they will have no qualms about giving him crap over the fact that he loves Luffy.

I hope you guys enjoyed and I will have the next chapter (this one full length) up as soon as possible! Reviews will motivate me!

Til next chapter!~