Silmeria - Thanks for being patient everyone. Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer - I claim no rights to One Piece or Sentinel.

Chapter Six - Syrup Village - Protection of Innocence

"All passengers please depart. We have arrived at Syrup Village, all passengers please depart."

"You want to get a ship in this little village?" Zoro slung his bag over his shoulder, his free hand carrying Luffy's as they left the small docks, giving a small wave to the Captain who nodded before moving to assist the remaining passengers. "It certainly doesn't look like much of anything."

"You and I both know that looks can be deceiving." Luffy tossed his new companion a smirk as their pockets weighed down with a considerable amount of beri. During a small pit stop, both men had caught wind of a bounty and was quick to take care of it. Unfortunately, the bounty was that of a beautiful woman who was a hunter turned pirate. She was rather vulumptous and Zoro, being the man and Sentinel that he is, refused to harm her significantly, leaving Luffy to the task of finishing her off and turning her into the Marines for a nice, hefty sum that would more than pay for Zoro's ticket to Alabasta and then some, but much to Luffy's surprise, the man turned down the ticket in exchange for following Luffy for a little while longer.

"You're a strange Guide, and I can see why Ace likes you. So, I decided, I'm going to travel with you for a little bit longer. See what the Guide of Portgas D. Ace is about, eh?"

And so, that's how Luffy found himself with a directionless, chivalrous, bounty hunter by the name Roronoa Zoro. And while the man could be a bit irritating to Luffy's senses, he did enjoy the man's company and his rather ribald jokes. Luffy, who thought he was going to be doing this journey alone, was internally happy to have found a companion so soon.

"The woman was rather polite and I didn't want to hit her." Zoro protested, hiking up his bag as they traveled down the long, dirt road that led to Syrup Village. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Attack her," Luffy responded bluntly. "She was attacking you and you just stood there taking it like a little shy child." Luffy made a swift motion through the air. "I'm sure we're going to run into female enemies and I want you to be prepared, alright? Your chivalry could be the death of you in the New World."

Zoro huffed, a thoughtful expression crossing his rough features. "You're taking it all the way to the New World, huh? Ace might not be there anymore, you know?"

"And he still might be there, you know?" Luffy responded back, his heart skipping a beat at seeing Ace again. He wondered what the man was like now? Still impatient and cocky? Or, perhaps, someone instilled some manners into that lovable idiot?

"Oh, yeah," Zoro chuckled, watching the dreamy expression that Luffy wore whenever Ace was mentioned. "That's a long and loving bond in the making if I ever saw one."

"W-What do you mean?" Luffy blushed, his cheeks a hot red at being caught. "What look? I'm doing any look!"

"Oh." Zoro stopped, giving Luffy a sympathetic look at the younger man's startled expression. "You don't even know you're doing it, but that doesn't make it okay, Luffy. It doesn't."

"What look?" Luffy snapped, reaching up and grabbing Zoro's shirt and giving it a rough shake. "I'm not some love-sick fool running around the Blue looking his dumbass Sentinel who decided that he wants to run off and earn himself a bounty of Gods know how much and leave me like a wife staring at the sea. No, that expression doesn't suit me at all!"

"Um," Zoro slowly raised his hands, well aware of the now homicidal Guide standing in front of him. "Okay?"

At once, Luffy deflated, a painful expression crossing over his face before he turned, lowered his hat over his eyes, before continuing down the path with lowered shoulders and a slow gait. That wouldn't do. Not in Zoro's book.

"There's nothing wrong with what you're doing, you know?" Zoro nudged Luffy gently with his elbow. "You don't find a lot of Guides who are willing to traveling all over Blue to find their Sentinel. Let alone, putting together a crew to find him. I'm sure that Ace is very proud of what you're doing, yeah?"

"I doubt it." Luffy protested softly, a weak smile pulling at his lips. "He's always been a stubborn person and if he finds me out here instead of Foosha Village, I'm in a world of trouble." Luffy frowned, his lips thinning. "Still, he shouldn't have left me alone, the asshole."

Zoro lowered his head, hiding his grin at Luffy's incessant muttering at the stupidity of Sentinels, surprised that it didn't offend him at all. This one was certainly interesting and rather light-hearted to be around. He raised his head again, almost sighing in relief when they saw the huddled houses of Syrup Village, but what caught his attention was the manor that overshadowed the village giving it the appearance of a lord residing over his people and it was most likely true. Zoro huffed out a mighty sigh at the thought of looking for a shipwright in this tiny, obscure village. Honestly, what was Luffy thinking coming here?

"Oh, I didn't think the house would be that big." Luffy tilted his head to the side, staring at the worn map in his hands. "Grandpa said that she lived on the edge of town..."

Wait.

"Wait." Zoro let out sharply. "We're headed to that house? That-that mansion?"

"Of course!" Luffy raised an eyebrow. "Where else would we go in this village? There's hardly anything here, you know?"

"I realize that, but you neglected to tell me where we would be going to get this ship." Zoro folded his arms, regarding Luffy with a harsh look that only forced a smile onto the Guide's lips. "And how do you know this-who is this woman?"

"Her name is Kaya." Luffy responded, sobering at the question. "She is a Guide and the only one living in that mansion because her parents passed on. Although, she's supposed to be leader of her village, she hasn't taken the title from her parents."

"She would have the title of Alpha Guide despite not accepting it, right?" Zoro asked. "If she doesn't come into her role, then not only will this village die, but the government will give it to another, stripping her of her title and her beri."

"She will come into it-her role." Luffy stated firmly. "If she cares enough about her people, then she will come into to her role and preserve this village and the reputation of the island-"

"Wait." Zoro grabbed his arm, halting his advance towards the mansion. They had reached the middle of the village at this point and it was only now that Zoro noticed the stares, and the halt of movement. Surely, they couldn't have been talking that loudly or drew that much attention to themselves?

"What's wrong-OW." Luffy stepped back when a rock struck his temple, bouncing off his head and hitting the ground near his sandaled feet. "What in the world...?" Luffy bent down, picking up the rock and frowning down at it. "A rock-OW." Luffy jumped back, rubbing his arm as another rock collided with the skin of his arm. "Who in the world is throwing rocks!"

Luffy searched the area, seeing nothing but the amused faces of the villagers before another rock collided with his back. This time, he was able to see a skinny arm disappear behind one of the houses.

"After them!" Luffy took off towards off the house, a smile spreading about his lips. "C'mon Zoro! After them!"

"Are we chasing after some kids?" Zoro questioned, bewildered at Luffy's sudden actions. He knew this Guide was nuts, but this was taking to another level. "They're just kids, you know? They're going to throw rocks."

"True," Luffy acknowledged, peeking his head behind the house, cursing softly when he found nothing there but empty space and patched grass. "But, I have a hunch that these kids have a little gang."

"So?" Zoro stated again, exasperated at the stupidity of this chase. "What's-OW." Zoro glanced over his shoulder to see a pair of feet disappear behind a house. "That's it. Those brats are going to get it."

"Don't hurt them." Luffy ordered, laughter obviously in his tone. "They're doing this for a reason, you know? Kids aren't this elaborate in their planning."

"You haven't been around a lot of kids, have you?" Zoro shot back, his own voice dripping with amusement. "The buggers are smart when they want to be, you know?"

"Of course." Luffy murmured, his eyes taking in the houses again. None of the villagers had been particularly helpfully, meaning, that they were either in on the prank or just didn't care for him or Zoro and Luffy was betting for the latter.

"We're going to have to catch those kids, Zoro." Luffy muttered. "If we don't, we're not getting to that manor."

"You think those little monsters are Guardians?" Zoro wanted to laugh at the thought, but seeing how small the village was compared to the others he had visited, it wasn't too far-fetched to believe that the former Guardians had either died or moved on, leaving the village defenseless.

"Relatives, at the most." Luffy responded, his eye catching the child scamper to a house, and it caused Luffy to smile at their carelessness. It meant that they were getting tired and nervous and such a mix would lead to disaster sooner or later. Which brought an idea to Luffy's mind.

"Let's keep going. Never mind about them, Zoro." Luffy promptly turned on his heel and started advancing towards the manor again, mindful of the eyes that were on his back.

"Really?" Zoro matched his pace, giving him another bewildered look. "We're not going to catch them?"

"No," Luffy responded, smiling tightly as he continued on, practically dragging the Sentinel down the dirt road. "Let them follow."

"But, what good does that do us?" Zoro questioned, grabbing Luffy's arms and halting his advance. In the brief moments, he had forgotten how hyperactive Luffy could be on a good day. "Well?"

"Those kids have a leader." Luffy murmured, tossing him a mild grin. "Who else would rally them up and order them to toss rocks at new-comers. If the leader is that childish enough to allow children to do his dirty work then the man can't be that brave himself."

"Your point?"

"My point is that we let them. We impress them by getting by their defenses and we get our visit, our ship and we're on our way to find Ace."

Zoro stared for a long moment before slapping himself on the forehead. Of all the idiot ideas he's come across, this one had the be the most stupid and yet, it was so brilliant that he couldn't complain.

By getting by their so called defenses, it would be enough to impress those little brats and allow them access to the mansion. Then, they would plead their case for a ship and would be out of there before the end of the week. Honestly, Zoro didn't know what to say except for shrug and go along. He went this far and it couldn't hurt to go a little further, right?

Later, much, much later, Zoro would back and wonder why in the hell he went along with this bad idea.