A.N.: Hi! I know it has been so long... I also miss to write but the tests stop me from updating this story... Gratefully the tests finish this week(Actually last week xD but I need sometime to refresh my brain... :D) So sorry... I hope you will still read this story...
Btw, what do you think of the plot so far? Too quick? Too slow? Not clear? Have any suggestion? I will gladly recieve any of your complain or comment or critic... Anything... :D
Okay, I wont go rambling any further, let me do the disclaimer first, plese...
Disc: I do not own OnePiece and the super amazing mugiwaras. I only own some twist in the plots...
Hope you enjoy the story!
-Meli
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ZoroXLuffy
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Chapter 5: Falling in Love
"Sigh…"
"What's wrong, Luffy?" the head gardener asked the prince that unusually swinging spiritlessly on the big swing. On normal situation the prince would already swung like crazy that the people seeing him would even pity the swing.
But again the prince would only shake his head and let out another long sigh.
"Argh! Another sigh from you and I'll drag you to Chopper! Just spill it, Luffy!" Ussop exploded couldn't handle more sigh from his friend's mouth.
"I think you are right, Ussop… Maybe I should go to Chopper…" The ravenette teen jumped weakly from the swing as he dragged his feet. The head gardener's eyes widen almost instantly. Since when did his friend would go to the infirmary willingly? Even when he had 40 degrees fever last winter, he would still refuse to see Chopper. Ah…, that time they even needed both Brook and Franky to forcefully dragged Luffy out of his bed and the help of both the older prince to pull
him to the infirmary. Though, they only success until the hallway, the third prince stubbornly clinging to one of the castle pillar and made a big fuss. In the end Chopper had to go to the prince's room to do the examination…
Ussop ran toward his friend tossing away the full-of-dirt-and-his-experimental-seed bucket. This problem was even more serious than the experiment he was currently doing. What the heck has happened that made his hyper active best friend to act this down —and a bit melancholy in his personal observation—. "Are you okay, Luffy?" Ussop asked after stopping Luffy from walking away. He frowned a bit seeing the unusually expressionless third prince. "Did you eat something funny this morning?"
Luffy shook his head weakly.
"Sanji refuse to let you add another bowl?"
Another shook.
"Nami took away your snack or meat?"
"Do I only have trouble considering food?" The ravenette prince grumbled. Well. It wasn't like he didn't realize how big of an eater he was. But it didn't mean that his world would only revolve around it…
"Then, what?" Ussop frown got even deeper. The coward gardener didn't want to start a fight with his friend, but the prince reply toward his care was just making him slightly irritated.
"It's just…" The prince trailed off his cheek slightly blushing with a reason unknown to the head gardener.
"Oi, Kid where are you?" a hoarse and loud sudden voice made both the teen gardener and prince jumped up. Ussop reacted a couple seconds later than the prince and that was what needed for the teenager prince to pull the head gardener under some bushes. As Ussop wanted to shout some protest at the prince, Luffy immediately covered his mouth entirely with both his hands making the young head gardener whimpered his protest hopelessly. The prince was shifting uncomfortably while his dark onyx eyes eyed the situation of their surrounding sneakily from the thick bushes.
"I'll let you go if you promise that you won't make any sound…" Luffy whispered quietly though his eyes still not looking at the gardener. Ussop kind of wonder what had made the prince acted this suspiciously so he agreed to the agreement easily. When he felt that there were no more hands strangling him, Ussop immediately joined the prince. At first he couldn't see anything nor anyone suspicious enough to make his best friend acted with alert. But not long after that a man came into view.
Ussop could see the stranger and immediately recognize the man. The neighbor country King that was currently visiting their country, The high and almighty King Roronoa Zoro. He had a strange green color hair—almost like a bucket of green pain were dumped there on top of his head in Ussop's opinion—, a very big and bulky build and a sharp eyes with a shiny golden iris. If his glare weren't as intense maybe Ussop would consider to check him out, but who would dare to even go near this almost beast-like neighbor king. Even the rumor Ussop heard about him were never pleasant.
"Hey the Demon King appear in the battlefield again…"
"How many do we lose this time? Should be much considering that the Demon king partake in the battle…"
"Yes. Even Prince Ace was injured…"
"Well… It isn't surprising. My soldier friend once told me how scary the Demon King was. It was like looking at the real demon himself or even worse than that, like the Death God with three swords instead a scythe…"
Was the latest conversation considering the 'Demon King' he heard from the maids and officers. There were a lot more ill rumor about him, saying it was countless weren't an exaggeration at all. Because of that, he was kind of confused, why did King Shank let the most dangerous person that could take his head off into the country so easily even telling the third prince to be his attendant. What would happen if the prince were murdered when no one is around?
"Ussop…"
"Huh?" The gardener replied more from his reflexes. He tried hard to stop thinking about how intimidating the person currently walking so aimlessly in front of them.
"I'm troubled because of him…" The prince blunt confession left the head gardener in awe. Only one think was in the long nose teenager, 'What does his friend mean by that?!'
"Wh-What do you mean, Luffy? If you have problem with him, you should just tell your brother or your dad immediately…" Ussop stopped eyeing the green haired king instead shifting his attention to the dark haired prince. "Especially if he's threatening your life… Has he shove you with his sword?!" The long haired teen grabbed the prince shoulder while shaking it slightly.
"What do you mean, Ussop?" The third prince let out a crisp soft laugh, "If you think he is trying to kill me, the answer is 'no'. He isn't trying to take my life, but…"
"But…" The slightly taller boy urged the prince to continue his sentence. Although, when the prince were in the way to open his mouth a low deep voice startled both the teenager in hiding.
"What are you doing here?" The green haired king asked, one of his eye brow raised showing an obvious confuse expression.
"N-not much…" Luffy answered a bit too loud, "ThenseeyouOldman!" The third prince said expressly before dashing off.
Both the head gardener and the King were left taken aback. And once more, Ussop was beaten in getting back his composure. When he could start thinking normally again, the Demon King, Roronoa Zoro, had ran after the third prince.
No. Ussop wasn't a slow thinker instead he was quiet a good strategist. But that really has shocked him to his core. Before the third prince could run away, the curly haired teen caught quick glance of the third prince's face and seeing Luffy super red face was exactly his first…
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No. He couldn't see him like this.
What the hell was happening to him?! Why did he always react like that every time he see that old man?! Why did his heartbeat soar? Why did his cheek feel hot? Why did he feel like thousand butterflies were flying in his stomach every time he heard the man old and deep—and kind of sexy; Argh! What the hell he was even thinking?!—voice?!
It wasn't like this when they first met…
Luffy hate the green haired man to his gut. How could he not when the King acted so arrogantly and irritatingly?!
But, Luffy couldn't hide the fact that Zoro's appearance certainly attract him, especially his warm golden sun eye. And getting to spend some time with the King, he found out that Zoro wasn't actually that bad of a guy. Though he could be absolutely annoying sometime, but overall he was a kind man. And he was strong too! Even stronger than Brook…
Luffy pictured the time when they trained that time. A training that ended up became a long sparring between them. And when the fight finished, they were lying lazily on the ground relaxing their muscle from the tiring but absolutely the most exciting and fun fight he had ever had. They laughed together… And then…
"I love Zoro's eye color the most…"
Argh! The ravenette messed his already messy black hair frustratedly. He felt like banging his head against a brick wall right now.
"Sigh…"
Maybe what Ussop said was right, maybe he was really sick…
"I need to see Chopper, I think…" Luffy whimpered not liking his own idea. From the start the idea of going into infirmary wasn't to his liking, but he didn't want to disturb the little doctor for his trivial matter—or was it urgent?—. In the end, he decided to forget about his dislike of infirmary and dragged his leg to the brown haired little doctor's working place.
Even though he had made his mind, seeing the big white door with the word 'infirmary' on a plank of metal on the door was enough to make him shiver. Well. It wasn't like anything in that room scared him… Not all… Only one little tiny tool that made him have a big trauma of this room. The syringe. Okay, he knew it wasn't cool at all to be scared of syringe when he was already this old but, but…
"Oi, Luffy, what are you doing? Do you want to go in or not?!" A sudden tap on his shoulder woke the young prince from his silly thought. He looked back to meet with a pair of sea blue eyes. The cook, in his usual formal suit, was standing casually with a smoke hanging loosely on his mouth.
"You scared me, Sanji… By the way, what are you doing here yourself?" Luffy asked the cook back trying to calm his still shocked heart, "By any chance, you didn't hurt your own hand, right?!" The shorter boy immediately snatched the older man hands and observed it intensely.
The blonde cook let out a short 'huff' before shanking off the prince hands from his own. "Nothing wrong and stop looking at me like you won't be able to eat my cooking anymore…"
"Then why?"
Sanji shrugged his shoulder, "Nothing serious, only need Chopper to make the usual medicine for the kitchen emergency medicine supply, we almost run out…"
The ravenette sighed in relief before showing his perfectly white teeth in form of a cute sincere smile. "Thank God… I can't imagine my life without your cooking, Sanji…"
"Don't jinx me…" The blond cook ruffled the young prince messy hair, "And stop changing the topic… What are you doing here, Luffy?" Sanji asked the prince once more. To the blonde surprise the little prince was blushing from ear to ear.
"W-w-well…"The prince trailer off, his blushed got even darker in color as he spoke.
Sanji observed the prince in awe, shocked to the core with the strange behavior of his gluttonous friend. It was the first time to see such a nervous Luffy that he even stuttered. "Are you okay, Luffy?" The blonde cook asked the prince purely out of concern of the prince. His cold hands reached out to the prince's warm forehead not earning any sign of fever nor any kind of possible sickness.
"I-I'm okay… probably…" Luffy said pushing away Sanji's hand from his forehead. Somehow it just made him remember the big hand that touched him yesterday and the day before and…
"Your cheeks are really red… You really don't get any fever?" The blonde narrowed his blue eyes staring intensely at the ravenette. Luffy only shook his head in reply. In the end the Sanji gave up on checking the prince's temperature and opened the almost forgotten white door instead. "You really need to see Chopper…"
Luffy jumped slightly hearing the little doctor's name being mentioned. It wasn't like he hate him or anything like that, it was just like the feeling when Robin's name was mentioned too… He just slightly disliking the part where they were working. Yup. Must be that…
"Wait… Wait Sanji, I need to prepare my heart…" The prince protest were being ignored by the blond cook as he dragged the little prince inside despite all of his whining.
"Welco—, Luffy and Sanji? Did something happen? Are you hurt?" The dark brown little doctor immediately jumped out of his too big chair toward his best friends.
"Something is wrong with Luffy. Check him up, Chopper…" Sanji said as he sat in one of the chair in the room. The little doctor immediately pulled Luffy toward the patient's chair. He rummaged his bag before taking out several tools.
"Wha—?!" Before the raven haired prince could let out any protest, Chopper had tilted the prince head while putting a thermometer inside his mouth. At the same time the dark brown haired boy also examined the prince's pupil with the small black flashlight he was handling skillfully.
"How's it, Chopper?" From the corner of Luffy's eyes, he could see the cook was currently exhaling casually a trail of gray smoke from the cigarette he held gracefully between his fingers.
The little doctor jumped down from the tall chair he used to examine the prince and walked toward his desk. "Nothing is strange... At least from my short examination. Should I do further examination?" Chopper eyed both the taller boys with anticipation.
"B-but… Can we do something else? Maybe we can eat?" The prince suggested obviously nervous hearing the word 'further examination' from the little doctor.
Sanji let out a small laughed, "I will make something for you after this… But you have to follow what Chopper tells you to do first…"
"But…" Luffy whined while pouting at the same time.
"How about…" Chopper small sound immediately caught the other boys as they closed their mouth and put all their attention to the brown haired boy, "How about we heard your problems first Luffy… Do you feel any strange thing? Anything uncomfortable?" Chopper asked changing into his serious self once more.
"Well…" Luffy started gripping the front of his chest with his hand. "Sometimes this place thumping hard like I was running a marathon when I'm actually just sitting around doing nothing. And my stomach felt funny like there are thousand flies squirming around. And my cheek will start burning up. And some places get really hot when I'm being touched by…" The prince cheeks were already burning as he kept rambling on and on about the thing he actually wasn't so sure of.
"By who?" Sanji's sudden question made the prince jumped up from his chair. His black eyes got wider as his cheeks burned hotter and turned into deep blood red.
"W-wh-who? N-no-noone in particular?" Luffy replied though his eyes were skimming through the white room but not the pair of blue nor grey eyes.
"Are you sure?" Sanji pushed Luffy absolutely not slipping this topic off. He could kind of guess who the bastard behind his country most precious prince strange behavior.
Luffy nodded his head immediately. He bit the lower part of his lips stubbornly not wanting to tell the blonde nor the brunette.
Sanji made a sudden movement and stood in front of the ravenette and brunette, towering both of them with his tall and slender figure. He gave his specialty lady-killer smile before opening his mouth. "I have some guess as to what your sickness is…" He started. Luffy and Chopper's eyes got widen. Both were speechless.
"Wow! You should be my assistant, Sanji…" Chopper said enthusiastically—though Sanji flat out turned this offer down. He turned his attention back to the onyx black haired prince as his gaze grew more intense every minute. The blonde made a imaginary image of their third prince walking hand in hand with the green haired bastard from yesterday. His brow furrowed deeply. He would let any other king or queen to get their prince. But absolutely not that annoying green demon.
"Damn you, stupid green marimo haired barbaric king. I won't let you have our prince…" Sanji thought determinedly. His eyes were still fixated at the prince's black night eyes. "I will just make this turn into a game…" He thought as a scary smirked found its way toward his pale white face.
"Sanji, you are scaring me…" Luffy commented. Literally, he and Chopper had shrunk down several inches from the cook intense glare.
"Your sickness is…" Sanji started again ignoring the now shaking straw hat boy and dark brown brat. "Love sickness…"
"Huh?" Both the prince and the doctor said almost at the same time. Both had never once heard about the sickness their cook said.
"What kind of sickness is that, Sanji?" Chopper asked purely out of curiosity, he even had taken out his notepad and pencil. His purity almost made Sanji felt guilty to trick both of his friends. But, screw it. He would do anything to stop their prince from getting corrupted by the green demon king. Anything, including this stupid lie he was about to tell them.
"Then, I'll start by the symptoms…" Sanji smiled, he put his slender hand on top of the prince chest, "Your heart will thump like crazy and sometimes it gets so intense you thought it will burst out of your chest…"
"Every time you are with that certain person, you will feel like thousand butterflies, —or maybe flies in your case Luffy?—, were squirming around your stomach, your cheek will burn and it will get really hot especially if he gets closer. And all of his touch will make you feel like you are having a burn." Sanji glanced at the prince as he kept talking about the 'love sickness' symptoms. He had felt like a stupid person to talk about falling in love as some kind of sickness—or was it actually a sickness?—. But the prince shocked expression and blushing red cheeks were enough sign that he had to stop the prince from falling harder for the neighbor king.
"If the sickness got worsen, you will start to not be able to stop thinking about that certain person. His face will haunt you when you are awake or when you are asleep…"
"Haunt me?!" The prince stood up from his chair. His face was deep red as he approached the taller blonde boy. His firm hands gripped the front shirt of the cook making their face were in the same level now. A flustered and panic expression substituted the shocked expression from before. "What should I do now, Sanji?! Like you said, I couldn't stop thinking about that old man and, and… Am I gonna die like this?!" The prince whined literally hanging on the taller man.
"Any treatment for this sickness, Sanji?" The doctor looked from the notes he had been taking and looking hopefully at the blonde cook. It was certainly getting harder to lie here. But he only needed to say some more few words of 'white lie' so he could stop their precious prince from getting hurt.
"There is…" With those words from the cook, the desperate ravenette were practically gleaming with hope. His big eyes widen impatiently waiting for Sanji to tell him how to stop this 'sickness' of his.
"It's easy… Every time you feel like your heart rate rise when he got closer, you just need to shut your eyes tightly, say in your mind 'I won't fall for you!' 5 times and make this face…" Sanji gestured for the prince to copy his movement. He put his index finger just on the tip of his nose and pressed it upward. "Just do it like this every time he got near and gradually your symptoms will disappear…
"Hopefully…" Sanji added in his mind. He looked at the prince who was happily repeating the 'pig face' Sanji just taught him. Anything… He would do anything to stop his life savior from falling in love with that green demon.
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The king's throne was in dead silence as two grown up men were silently watching each other. The green haired king cleared his throat as he threw a glimmering crystal ball with the size that wasn't bigger than an apple.
"You… You seriously make it?!" The red haired king eyed the small ball on his hand disbelievingly.
Zoro only nodded his head. "As I promise, I have made you the Tamashii no kesshou* from my soul. My life is practically at your hand now King Shank."
Shank's dark eyes widen in surprise than narrowed immediately observing the young king in front of him. He would never ever thought that that King Roronoa, the nightmare of his soldiers every time they engaged a war, would easily gave up his life for him like this.
"What's your reason?" Shanks asked seriously.
Zoro stared at the red haired king with eye full of determination, "I have told you before, King Shanks…"
Shanks sighed, "Then tell me your reason why do you want to marry Luffy?"
Zoro steeled golden eye immediately soften hearing the third prince name being mentioned. The few days he had spent with the young prince were absolutely the most fun time of his life. The kid had never failed to amuse him. Although he couldn't say that that was all the reason as to why he suddenly proposed that he wanted to marry the third prince. He knew there was a deeper reason, something more sensible and logical that made him drawn to the young prince. But just like what her annoying sister Perona had always said, "Falling in love is like getting pricked when you walk in the garden barefoot. You won't know when it will happen and when it does you will realize that it's already too late…" It sounded cheesy and corny to him back then, but he guessed her sister wasn't all wrong. It certainly happened like that stupid imagery she used.
And…
There was this strange feeling every time he saw Luffy's smile. It made his heart fluttered and it felt warm and strangely familiar.
Where had he seen that smile? No matter how hard he tried to remember he couldn't seem to recall having met the prince before they met in his room three days ago.
"King Roronoa?" Shanks deep bass voice woke the green haired man from his day dream as he focused his mind again and trying to remember what the pirate kingdom king had asked him before. Right… The reason why he wanted to marry his third son… Well. There were too many reasons but at the same time there weren't any real reason at all. He just…
"I love him…" Zoro muttered softly.