Love Is Blind | ZoLu

13

Of those five minutes Zoro told himself he would rest, both he and his Captain fell asleep for a full hour, one waking up before the other.

Him being the first to awaken, the Swordsman's first reaction was to yawn, stretching his arms up. As he lifted them upwards, he felt something caress his waist.

"He's still sleeping... What time is it?"

Attempting to read the time on his wristwatch, Zoro felt Luffy wrap his arm around him, tighter.

Rubbing his eye until his vision adjusted to the numbers on the clock, Zoro realized it wad getting late.

"Luffy?" He softly rubbed the young man's back, feeling him curl up beside him.

Not wanting to disturb his sleep, the Swordsman carefully held onto Luffy's waist, picking him up in his arms.

He sighed, looking at the dozens of empty plastic cups they were about to leave for someone else to clean or trip over.

Guilt overpowered the man which made him pick up the most cups he could, tossing them into the trash can while smiling down at one that had teeth marks imprinted into it.

"Luffy bit this one when he got drunk."

The Swordsman thought to himself, letting out a slight chuckle.

He reassured himself that his grip on Luffy's body was secure enough to carry him back to his bedroom, all the while digging through the few memories he remembered sharing with him within the cellar before his mind went blank with the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

No one appeared to be around the inside of the ship, so Zoro found it easier to keep Luffy asleep while trying to make it to his bedroom.

Though he was still under the influence of alcohol, but it didn't stop him from being careful when handling Luffy's limp body.

Upon entering his bedroom, Zoro thought of staying a little while longer with the boy after pulling the sheets over him and tucking an extra pillow underneath his head, in case he felt sick after having a few too many drinks.

He sat beside him, staring down at his hands.

They appeared so soft and gentle, despite all of the battles Luffy's had to face, using his fists many times, his hands remained fragile.

The young man flinched all of a sudden, appearing to be startled by something in his sleep. The look of uncertainty plastered on his face said it all.

"Luffy, are you-"

Unable to finish his sentence because one of his friends called out to him, Zoro was forced to exit the Captain's room with the dissatisfaction of not having his message delivered to him.

Closing the door behind him, the older man left Luffy alone in his room, never knowing the real meaning behind his critical facial expressions.

"He's just sleepy, I'd be cranky if someone woke me up as well. Luffy, I'll be back soon..."

~~~

A loud shuffling woke Luffy up to the darkness of his bedroom as his ears rang. His body was shivering from how cold he felt.

Looking around him, he starting calling out for the last person he remembered being with: Roronoa Zoro.

But in spite of the happy moment he went through with him awhile ago, his happiness was cut short...

He sat up from his bed, sensing an oddly familiar scent of smoke.

"Barbecue? Is someone cooking out on the deck?"

Holding onto the unsteady, red canopy of his, he used the long, metal pipes that were cold to the touch, as a guide to help him out of the room he was in, to enter another.

"W-what's this?!"

He stuttered, running out into the balcony, following the large trail of black smoke that was leading the boy to an unexpected destiny.

He heard many voices calling out to him, starting from Nami who was backing away from a large, humanoid man with paws on the palm of his hands.

"Luffy, help...me..."

Running towards Nami, the weak boy tripped over and landed beside a man in a black, bloodied suit with a cigarette in his mouth.

"Sanji! What's happening? Why aren't you doing anything!?"

The desperate boy grasped onto either end of Sanji's shoulders, shaking his body, getting covered in his blood along the way.

"S...Sanji?"

His friend had blood over spilling from his mouth, struggling to form a full sentence without choking up.

"I tried... L...Luffy... Tell N-Nami-San... I'm sorry."

His arms went limp before Luffy's eyes, losing all sense of mobility in his body.

And right after... The man passed away on the green grass that was soon tinted red with his blood.

Luffy started hyperventilating, rushing over to his Navigator who was still in trouble.

"NAMI!!! GRAB MY HAND!"

The girl was shedding tears while the dark haired hybrid man blocked her escape by touching her with his hand.

In an instant, she had disappeared.

From afar, Luffy noticed his other friends and ran towards them.

The place they were in seemed like a war zone, with only one enemy that no one could defeat... Not even Luffy himself.

"I HAVE O-ONE T-T-THOUSAND MEN UNDER ME. TAKE THIS!!"

He heard Usopp's voice nearby while he charged at the man with a slingshot in his hand. Immediately, he was violently shot to the ground with a dark, gaping head wound.

"Please, stop! Please!!" Luffy spun in circles, in the midst of his own desperation.

Near his surroundings, he noticed Chopper protecting Robin in his monstrous form, attempting to intimidate the same man that took Nami away from them.

"Chopper!"

Robin fell to the floor, watching as the helpless reindeer was strangled to death by the heartless enemy.

"What's going on!? Weapons LEFT!" Asked Franky, seconds before aiming at the odd being in front of him.

"FRANKY, DON'T-"

By the time Luffy tried saving his Cyborg American friend, Franky was taken apart by the enemy, in a disastrous manner.

"No... No, no.. This isn't happening!"

One by one, all of the Captain's crewmates were being eradicated like a deadly and heavily contagious virus.

A violent grunt interrupted Luffy's thoughts as he focused his attention on where it was coming from.

His heart raced, running towards the troubled voice, finding Zoro fighting against yet another large man, holding a large purple bible in his hand.

"W-who the hell is this man!?"

He subconsciously asked himself, only to have Luffy answer him.

"That's... Kuma. Bartholomew Kuma..."

~~~