Can I Steal Your Heart? - A LawLu fanfic

(Luffy) Chapter 6 - Explanations

Luffy looked at the swords in his hands mournfully.

"Plant them on Raftel when you make it, Captain. Since I can't go with you myself," Zoro had said, as he tied carefully-made wooden fakes to their usual place on his hip just before they docked. It had been all Luffy could do at the time to nod, to force a smile as Zoro'd separated from the rest of the crew, presumably to do his own shopping. Presumably, that is, for everyone except Luffy and Chopper.

And today it would fall to Luffy and Chopper to finally explain his absence. Why they'd left without Zoro back on the Sunny. The others had protested that action at the time, of course. Sanji and Usopp had even groaned and both prepared to go find the swordsman, grumbling about his lack of directional sense.

"He's not coming," Luffy had been forced to say. Words that still hurt, even with time to prepare and three days since he'd said them. Then he'd shown them all the note Zoro had given him. And when they'd asked why, asked what was going on, he'd had to tell them to wait. To wait until today.

When, according to Chopper, Zoro was likely to be dead.

He set them down and went to the galley, where Chopper had called the meeting. He listened silently as Chopper explained the flower and what it did to the rest of the crew. And when the young doctor started sobbing, Luffy finished the explanation, "...He said he wouldn't risk us getting infected."

He listened to the outbursts of hurt and betrayal, wondering if his crew would ever fully trust him again after keeping a secret that big from them. He'd had to choose, Zoro's pride or their trust. There was simply no way to keep both completely intact. But trust could be rebuilt, given time. Hopefully.

He held up his hand, and they quieted. "Chopper tried. He's been trying. The artificial chemicals didn't work. Neither did surgery to remove the plant. Nothing worked. Chopper tried to find an alternative remedy on every island we've been on since then, but came up with nothing. Don't blame him."

Luffy cleared his throat, fighting back his own tears. "Zoro... refused to say who he loved or where they were, even when I ordered. Otherwise we'd have dragged him back to wherever it was and locked them in a closet or something until they fell in love with him. But all he'd say about them was that he was absolutely certain that person would not return his affection. He asked us not to follow... and not to tell until now."

Suddenly Sanji was in his face, grabbing him by his vest and angrier than he'd been during any fight. Angrier than Luffy had ever seen him. "And that's it?! You just listened to that? Just let him give up and go off to die?! Is that all your best friend, your FIRST MATE, means to you?! Why aren't we all fighting for him?! Why aren't we all putting our lives on the line to save him, like we always do for each other?! We never give up on anyone or anything, right?"

Luffy didn't have the words to explain that he hadn't given up on Zoro. That he'd ordered Zoro to fight to the end, had even asked Torao for help. That he would have done anything, even given up his own life, to keep Zoro there with them. It was Zoro who'd given up and decided to leave. Zoro who'd put the crew's safety ahead of his own wishes, just as he always did.

Sanji let go of Luffy's vest. "That's not the Captain I thought I was following." Those words struck Luffy harder than if Sanji had kicked him, but before he could say or do anything, Sanji had stalked out of the galley, followed after a moment by a crying Franky.

"Luffy, he didn't mean that," Nami comforted. "Sanji-kun's just upset. We all are."

Luffy forced a smile, though he couldn't keep the tears from his eyes. "It's okay, Nami. I know."

"Is he... really gone?" Usopp asked quietly through his own tears.

Chopper had regained his composure enough to answer. "Probably.... I don't think he could've survived much longer in the shape he was in. Only Zoro could have survived that flower for even this long. Any of the rest of us would've been dead two weeks ago, if not longer."