One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Broken, Only to Heal Again ❯ Nothing ventured, nothing gained ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6

 

 

 

Sanji and Chopper sat with their jaws dropped and eyes open wide. Before them, on the beautiful coffee table, lay a photo album. One page was adorned with a picture of a beautiful woman with silver-white hair and bright blue eyes. But, that was not what had the pair so stupefied. No the cause of this was on the mirroring page. A young boy with the same blue eyes stared at the camera. He wore a black uniform from a local dojo and carried a wooden katana. More specifically, he had soft green hair and a smirk that just screamed arrogance.

 

Sanji blinked. And then blinked again. The image remained. He even rubbed his eyes, yet the image stayed the same. He wasn't seeing things. All at once the pieces from the past day seemed to fall into place.

 

*flashback*

 

Sanji stopped and gave Zoro a questioning glare. “Did you find the guy that was stalking you earlier?”

 

Zoro's head snapped up at that. “Did you see `em? Did you?!? M'be I `as dreamin.” Zoro looked panicked. He started wandering down the alley, holding his head between his hands. “I had t' `ve been dreamin. Couldn't `ve been real. No way. Gone. Left me. Said so. Couldn't be real. HE isn't real. She'd `ve told me.”

 

*end flashback*

 

“He saw him. Yesterday in the market. Zoro felt someone watching him. He went back to check on it.” Sanji sat somewhat in a daze. What did this mean? Was there a woman in Zoro's life? Why did none of the crew know about it? What happened to her? So many questions.

 

“I feared as much. Muteki mentioned last night that he had seen the man he felt was his father. When I heard, I immediately started asking questions. That's how I found you two in the market this morning. From the descriptions I had received at the docks I knew you had to be his nakama.”

 

“This is your fault!” Sanji jumped up shaking his fist at the man. After finding the room empty, the trio had returned to the main room. It was then that the old man showed them the pictures. “Because you didn't keep an eye on your grandson, my nakama are going to be butchered by some unknown assailant. Here you are sitting in your fancy home drinking tea while they are being tortured and locked away. What the hell are you doing? Why bring this picture up? I don't give a damn about some kid, I want my nakama back safe. I need him.” Sanji was screaming by this time. His entire body shaking in fury.

 

“Sanji, calm down. It's not his fault.” Chopper tugged on Sanji's jacket sleeve trying to get the cook to sit back down. The `him' part of Sanji's statement concerned him. There were two people missing. Which one of them was he so concerned about?

 

Sanji shook him off. “This bastard here is every bit to blame. If for nothing else, he's to blame for this kid. If Zoro hadn't seen him, he wouldn't have freaked like that and then he wouldn't have been at that bar and he would have been able to fend off those lousy Marines and keep Luffy safe.” Tears began to fall from Sanji's visible eye. Angrily he wiped them away. Again that strange pain returned in his chest. His mind kept flashing from images of Zoro, to the girl, then to the child. What if she was Zoro's lover? What if he loved her? Why did that even matter? He didn't care. Did he? Sanji shook his head to get rid of the idea that somehow he might be remotely interested in the ship's overbearing, uncouth, barbaric, self centered, lazy, good for nothing, well built, dark skinned, strong jawed, sexy….. Shit. Fucking Marimo.

 

“I think we need to know what is going on here. Obviously there's a reason that only Zoro and Luffy were targeted and you are going to tell us why right now.” Chopper saw that Sanji was not in his right frame of thinking, so he stepped up. “Please Takuya-san. You said we don't have much time, so any information you could give us would help.”

 

“Just who the fuck are you, old man? I don't mean who do you work for. You seem to know Zoro from before. How do you know him? What had Zoro so spooked? I want to know about the kid. Why does he look like Zoro? Who the fuck is the girl? What are they to Zoro? What does this have to do with Luffy?” Sanji had lowered his voice, but the strain could be heard as he tried to keep from lashing out at the frightened old man.

 

Takuya cringed. The bond between this man and the captives was strong. If he wanted to gain their trust he needed to be as honest as possible. He only hoped that the answers he had would satisfy their need for knowledge. “None of this has to do with Luffy-san. He was taken for reasons I do not know. As for the girl in the photos…. She is my daughter. Her name is Saya, wife of Admiral Fanton of the Marines. She is Muteki's mother. She and Zoro knew each other many years ago. Their friendship was frowned upon. The daughter of the Mayor and a vagabond swordsman would never set well in society. I am afraid that I cannot confirm much else. Saya refused to answer many questions. It is unknown if Zoro is actually Muteki's father. She never said who it was.” Sadness shown in his face. Years of pain and suffering surfaced as he continued. “It is for my daughter's sake that I need you to rescue your friends. I need you to find her. You're the best there is out there. If anyone can rescue her, I know it is your crew. To think that your swordsman might be the father of my grandson is an added blessing. We always knew that the Admiral was not his father. Anyone could tell that just from looking at them. I think that is what angered him the most.” Takuya met Sanji's still hardened glare with effort. It took everything he had to not falter. “Fanton is an evil man. He lives off the misery of others. I had no idea what he was when I promised my little girl to him. He needs to be stopped. I will give anything for her to be safe again.”

 

There was silence. Even the heartbeats seemed shy to be heard. Tension filled the air as Takuya waited for a response. “I want my nakama. After that, we'll talk.” Sanji spoke with finality. He left no room for arguments. The old man sighed but nodded in defeat. “You mentioned informants on the inside. What else can you help with?”

 

 

Nami and Robin made their way to the Marine base roughly an hour after parting ways with Sanji and Chopper. Usopp's long nose made him easily identifiable, so they decided he should pick up what supplies he could and head back to Merry in case they needed to make a quick get-away. Currently Nami and Robin were dressed in Marine uniforms and trying to decide the next plan of action.

 

“We need to find out who's in charge here without drawing attention to ourselves. There doesn't seem to be any new regiments lately, so we need to be careful. I suggest that we split up here and meet back in an hour.” Robin looked around the courtyard. A few squads were doing training off to the right. Groups to the left were working with weapons. They appeared to be learning how to clean and disassemble them.

 

“Nami, please remember that we are here for information only. If you find out where they are being held, you need to come back here immediately. Do you understand?” Robin's voice was soft, but stern. Concern filled her eyes as she scrutinized Nami's appearance. “You're uniform is of a low rank, so maybe you should start in the kitchens. Many times you can get more information out of people while they are eating. I'll head to the infirmary and then the Marine docks. Meet me here in the courtyard in an hour. OK?” Robin looked to Nami for confirmation. Upon seeing her nod her head they parted ways.

 

Robin made her way to the medical wing of the base. Sanji mentioned a struggle with some men in old uniforms. Maybe they were being treated here. It would be a start at the very least. Head held high, she slowed her gait to match that of a marine exiting one of the rooms. He seemed to be absorbed in the file he held, not watching where he was going. Robin drew upon the power of her devil's fruit and tripped the man, making his paperwork scatter all around. Quickly she gathered several of the documents and whisked them away to a dark corner for later observation.

 

“Oh, my. Are you alright there?” She reached down to help the dazed man gather the papers back into the file. “You should really watch where you are going. Do you have it all?” Robin carefully guided the man away from the corner she had hidden some of the papers in.

 

“Shit! How stupid of me! Damn it, now I have to sort all these out again. And what the hell do you mean `watch where you're going?' You obviously ran into….. Oh, excuse me Lieutenant. I'm so sorry. I really should pay attention to what's going on around me. I'll just get going now. No need to speak of this. No harm done. I'll go back and fix this right away. Captain will be wanting the report to be perfect so I need to hurry. You go and have a nice day now. I'll just hurry a long.” The man stammered and backed away. He fell once again in his hurry, trying to run and turn around at the same time.

 

Robin chuckled to herself as the marine practically killed himself running and stumbling down the corridor. When he was out of sight, she went to the corner and gathered the `appropriated' paperwork. Glancing through it, she found nothing of use. It merely stated the outcome of a group's recent mission to an outlaying town on the island. The group received various injuries, but nothing tied it to the disappearance of her nakama. Tossing the papers back into the corner, she continued on to the infirmary.

 

Some nurses exited the triage room giggling. “Did you hear about Sergeant Tajimaru and his men?” The young blond asked her collogues. The others shook their heads, faces full of curiosity.

 

“I heard that he had just come back from the other side of the island on a mission gone wrong, when he smarted off to the wrong person in a bar. Apparently the single man beat the lot of them to a pulp.” Laughter rang in the halls. “Not only that, but the man was falling down drunk to boot! I mean, he could barely stand up. He even had one of his friends help him walk out of the bar. Oh I wish I could have seen that.” The others echoed this as they disappeared around a corner.

 

The name Tajimaru was filed away in Robin's mind. It seemed that the men from Zoro's fight the previous night were in fact marines. Now, to find out if they were released or not from the infirmary. A few doors down she found the sign for the room she wanted and entered.

 

“Excuse me, I'm looking for Sergeant Tajimaru. Has he been released yet?” Robin oozed power from her being. She could be a very domineering person and used that to her advantage. If you only believed you had power, you could make those around you assume that you do. “I need to speak with him regarding last night's events. If you could point me in his direction, I would appreciate it.”

 

One of the nurses stepped forward. “I'm sorry do you have authorization to be here? And what events are you speaking of? The Sergeant only returned from his duty late last night.” This appeared to be the head nurse. Her uniform, while basically the same as the others, had three blue arrow bars on the shoulder. Her dress was a deeper shade of magenta rather than the pale pink of the normal uniform. Long brown hair was pulled back into an impossibly tight bun at the nape of her neck. Stern dark eyes were narrowed in contempt at the archeologist. “I don't believe you should be in here. If you really are looking for him, you would have already known that he was treated and discharged. Just who are you?”

 

Robin smiled slightly. This woman was good. She thought carefully before answering the angry authority figure. “It appears that some people claim to have seen the elusive Sergeant on Burning Street late yesterday afternoon. Supposedly, he and his group were attacked. I am merely trying to find him and ask a few questions. I already have a description of the attacker from the witnesses, I just need to have a few details filled in by he and his men. Now, do you know where I could find him? I would like to wrap up this investigation as soon as possible. I do not want the attacker to have time to purchase passage on a ship before I can apprehend him.” There, that should suffice.

 

“I guessed that lout was lying out his ass when he said that he got the injuries on his way back from that town. Baka! He probably started it as well.” The disgust clear in the woman's voice. She shook her head and turned to one of the desktops. After rummaging around for a moment she pulled out a file. “Here it is. You be sure to ask old Tommy over there at the pottery shop what he saw. He's known to sit outside his shop after closing time and watch the people on their way home. He's a good man, not bought by bribes like some of the merchants. He'll tell you straight what he saw. I don't believe for a moment that that no good Tajimaru was just minding his own business in any way. OK, here's the barracks and room number.” The woman handed Robin a slip of paper with an address. “You go and do what you have to, and clear your friend's name.” She added with an all knowing smirk. “Now get, before they find you.”

 

Robin's eyes widened for a brief moment before she too began to smile. The woman was more than good. Robin contemplated asking more questions of the nurse, but figured it would be putting the woman in a bad position to do so. With a nod of her head she took the paper and left the room

 

The head nurse sat down at her desk. `I hope the poor thing finds him in time. That bastard can be so cruel.' A frown appeared as she thought of the victims she had treated since Tajimaru had been appointed to his position of authority.

 

Meanwhile, Nami had made her way to the galley. Unfortunately for her, she was immediately shoved into carrying the platters of food to the dining area. Trying to take advantage of being able to move freely for the moment, she slowed her pace and plotted a haphazard route through the room. She listened in to as many conversations as she could, trying to pick up on any mention of the green haired swordsman or the fun loving captain. After 30 minutes of “You should have seen the woman last night' and “If I have to do one more push-up I'm gonna” Nami was about to pull her hair out. Then she caught the end of a remark that made her blood turn cold. “… talk to Captain Kuro, so I gotta hurry.”

 

Kuro. The name sent chills down her spine, but it took a few minutes to place why.

 

Usopp. Kaya. The Black Cat Pirates. Klahador. `Shit.' Was he here on the island? Had they captured him? Was he working for them? She needed out of here quick. Someone needed to warn Usopp. She was suddenly glad that the cowardly marksman begged to stay on the Merry-Go. If that man was in the area they were going to have to hurry. Nothing good would come of this. She needed to find Robin and quick.

 

Nami practically threw the last of the plates she carried at an unsuspecting cadet and ran from the room as fast as she possibly could. Tears were streaming down her face as she ran. The few Marines she passed took note of her distress and figured it to be better left alone. She probably got bad news from her lover was the popular thought. Nami paused at the outside door to catch her breath and tried to compose herself. Suddenly a hand appeared beside her and tugged at her pant leg. The hand pointed to the gate leaving the base and she understood. Quickly and quietly she made her way away from the main cause of her distress. Unknown to her, a pair of bright blue eyes followed her movement with concern.

 

Robin guided Nami to a remote shop by use of occasional hands pointing the way. Nami noticed a bundle at Robin's feet.

 

“Laundry day?” Nami asked, her eyebrow raised in question. “Or did you find something interesting?”

 

“Let's just say I wanted him to have a very attentive audience before the real questioning began, so I brought him with me.” Robin replied with a flip of her hand. “He didn't seem to want to say anything to me, so I decided to see if maybe Doctor-san had any more of that rare poison he found at the last island.” At this statement the package began to jerk violently. “Now of course if we find out what we want, maybe we can forego the pain of that route.” The gleam in Robin's eye was matched equally by Nami. It clearly stated `malicious intent' to anyone who may have noticed. The two decided to keep the uniforms on for the moment and borrowed a cart from one of the merchants to haul their `purchase' back to the ship.

 

 

Zoro woke to the sound of….. well he wasn't sure but it reminded him of a dieing cow. The sound continued and seemed to echo off the walls of the cell and surrounding room. Not only that, but the sound was coming from somewhere close. He sat up and abruptly looked around to find the source and kill it. Suddenly the noise stopped. Zoro would have thanked God if he believed in him.

 

“Zoro you're awake! Hey do you want to hear the new song I made up? I think that Usopp would like it. You can sing it too.” Luffy was almost bouncing with his happiness.

 

`So that's what that noise was.' Zoro cautiously stretched to ease the muscles in his shoulders and neck. The pain in his head seemed to dissipate now that Luffy had stopped singing. His back was still tended, but the salve made the scabs a bit more flexible so they didn't pull every time he moved. “Luffy, what time is it?”

 

“No idea. They brought some food in right after you fell asleep. I didn't want it to go bad so I ate it. I did save you some water though.” He handed Zoro a cup filled with liquid. “Do you think they know where we are yet?” Luffy looked at him with concern.

 

“They'll come, Luffy. They always come thru in the end. You know that.” Zoro's words seemed to pacify the hyperactive captain. “And as soon as that kuso-cook gets here I'm gonna kick his scrawny ass to hell and back. Fucker didn't have my back this time. What the hell was he thinking?” Zoro sighed. “So, what happened back at the inn? Do you remember any of it? When we got there you were being hauled outside.”

 

Luffy seemed to think for a moment. At least it appeared he was thinking. His sat still and his face went blank. “I remember being down in the dining hall with everyone. Sanji left to go get you. It just didn't feel right without you there. Then we started drinking. I remember Robin saying something and everyone started going upstairs. Nami was acting really weird. It was almost like Sanji does sometimes. She was about to tell me something when the door got smashed in. I wonder what it was. Oh, well. Then there was yelling, one of the guys hit Nami and then they threw that stupid sea-stone net on me. After that I woke up here.” Luffy stood up and began pacing. He turned to Zoro with a very serious expression. “Zoro what does it mean when a girl starts rubbing her chest on you?”

 

Zoro had just taken the last of the water in the cup into his mouth. At Luffy's innocent question, it was sprayed across the room. “What!?! Why are you asking me this?” Zoro's face was beat red. Of all the things Luffy would ask, he never expected to be facing this. Just how in the world do you explain `the birds and the bees' to someone who has the brain capacity of a three year old? “I think that you better ask someone else to explain that to you. Maybe Sanji would be a better person. That love-cook always has women around him. Yah, ask him. Not me. This really isn't my concern.” Zoro stammered and continued to blush as he walked away from his clueless captain.

 

“But Zoro,” he whined, “you are here and Sanji isn't. Besides, Sanji would just use big words I don't understand and then try to get Nami to help him show me. Then Nami would hit him and I still wouldn't have any answers. Come on, please? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! I command you as my first mate to tell me immediately.” Luffy stomped his foot and crossed his arms. He didn't like being confused, and Nami was definitely confusing him.

 

Zoro groaned and hid his face in his hands. `Why me?' That kuso-cook would surely get his ass kicked after this. Damn him for not being here. If he had been captured too then he could be explaining all this. Zoro contemplated banging his head on the wall and knocking himself out for a moment.

 

“I'm waiting.” Luffy sang out.

 

No, he's not going to kick his ass, he's gonna kill him. Pure and simple. And then maybe Luffy too.

 

“What exactly do you want to know?” If he had to do this, he would only answer exactly what he needed and no more. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.

 

“How do you kiss someone? Is it hard? Do you have to practice with someone to get it right?” Luffy had sat down on the stone floor in front of Zoro. His eyes were wide and innocent.

 

OK he can handle this. “Kissing isn't hard. It's different for each person. Most girls like to be kissed softly. The more you do it, the better you get, so yah I guess you need to practice.”

 

“Oh. Will you kiss me? That way I know if I'm doing it right.”

 

“What! No, I mean, you should find someone that you like that way and practice with them.” This is bad. Nothing good will come of this. He should have just ignored him and let it go.

 

“Please!! I do like you. You're my nakama. I trust you. If you show me how then I know I won't mess up when she tries to kiss me again. I want to do it right. You have to help me.” Tears started to fill his eyes. He pouted and gave his best `kicked puppy' look to the swordsman.

 

“Damn it. Why me? Why can't you just go and kiss Nami, or even Robin. Hell, Usopp could probably be conned into doing it too. Why does it have to be me?”

 

“Because I know you will be honest with me.”

 

Now how can you argue with logic like that? Zoro felt a twinge of pride fill his chest. Luffy could be an idiot, but he was truthful if nothing else. “Fine, but if you tell anyone about this I'll leave the ship. Understand?”

 

Luffy nodded his head so fast Zoro was sure it would fall off.

 

“Come here.” Luffy scrambled to Zoro as quick as he could and sat down beside him on the bench. “Just relax. You don't want to be stiff, but you don't want to be limp either. Keep your mouth closed for now. You can figure out the rest. Try to do what I do.” Kami I hope that no one walks in right now.

 

Zoro cupped Luffy's cheek in the palm of his hand and leaned forward. Immediately Luffy's hand went to Zoro's face as well. `At least he was listening.' Thought Zoro. Their lips touched lightly at first. Luffy pulled back and gasped.

 

“Is it supposed to tingle like that?” Luffy asked.

 

Zoro chuckled and nodded. He leaned back in to put their lips together more firmly this time. His eyes slowly closed and he began to slowly move his lips against the smaller ones of his captain. Luffy responded eagerly. The hand on Zoro's cheek moved to his neck. He in turn threaded his fingers in Luffy's hair. A gentle nip at Luffy's lower lip made the young man gasp. Zoro took advantage of the opening and slid his tongue in to lightly brush against its opposing mate. Luffy quickly brought his own lax muscle to life and met with Zoro's before the man could retract. They took their time exploring each other's mouths with long slow licks. The sound of Luffy's lustful moan brought Zoro to his senses. He pulled away quickly from Luffy and blushed heavily. “You'll do just fine. No need to practice.”

 

Luffy beamed, clearly proud of himself.

 

“Ok. So. Anything else?” Zoro prayed that was all he wanted to know. He felt that if he had to deal with any more embarrassment he would explode. Unfortunately for him, the gods were bored.

 

“Why does Mr. Pee-pee grow when you rub on it?”

 

All color drained from his face and Zoro's mind went blank.