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Zou is a giant living elephant.
It’s night, the sun has just come down and Zou is a giant living elephant.
Usopp asks Franky if he could fly them there somehow, he explains there isn’t enough cola for that. Zoro wants to climb it with his swords, Kin’emon mumbles about that Kanjuro guy and how useful his power would’ve been with a somber expression.
He worries about Momonosuke.
They worry about the rest of the crew.
Luffy stares at the horizon, the last glow of the sun still fading in soft purple shades.
In the end Robin makes a rope of her arms and slowly they climb Zou’s leg. Zoro carries Torao, unable to climb with one arm alone, he still look pale from last time, he’s thrown over his shoulder like Luffy had done in Dressrosa. A few times he room them forward, more time he makes notices of Robin’s strained expression as they all pull on her many arms.
She smiles and reassures them, make some joke about hanging her friends with her own hands, Usopp yelps that it isn’t funny at all. It feels off somehow, mechanical, Luffy listen to her heart instead, it’s the only thing he can get himself to focus on, everyone’s beat growing more rapid, tired and erratic as the hours goes. It’s a strange music, he can’t tell whether he likes it or not, his mind too hazy.
There’s another sound too, proper music he realizes after a while, he listen excited, they’re closer to reaching the top than he thought! He can smell food! -He’d almost forgot what it smelled like!- He looks down, there’s some kind of carnival, people in masks and elaborate costumes celebrating, long tables covered in all sort of meals and drinks, fruits he’s never seen before. He attach another string to a cloud and keeps on flying over the city’s streets, he feels the wind, the warmth of a late summer island’s night.
With a flick of his wrist he cuts the string and lets himself fall to join the party.
He hears people yell his name and a great deal of hands grabs his clothes. He’s crouched on a rooftop he just managed to catch himself on and dragged back up by Robin at the same time.
“What are you doing?!” His crew and Mingo asks.
“I want to go eat!” He explains throwing a long arm towards the street. “There’s a party, I want to go!” He turns around to face his friends, they glare back down at him, their faces melting with the clouds, stars and lanterns lights.
“There’s nothing down there but the sea?!”
“I’ve got other things to do, I don’t have time for some party!”
“But it smells so good?”
“Have you lost your mind?!”
“I don’t care.”
Luffy scoffs in two places and bodies.
“Captain.” A faceless Robin -it is Nico Robin, right?- calls. “We need to regroup.”
“I know.” He mumbles through gritted teeth looking past the buildings and rooftops. Hiding just behind the city walls his Family waits for him, what’s left of it after Mugiwara left him no other choice but to destroy his own kingdom.
He could have stopped it.
He should have stopped it.
“Luffy.”
He blinks his right eye.
Then both.
Zou’s leg goes up and up into the cloud and it’s neither warm nor cold this far up in the sky, even with how the wind has his friends shivers.
He brush his claw against the leg imagining what its rough skin might feel like before resuming his climbing and ignores the lingering smells, islands away. The sun will come soon, they don’t have time for this. He doesn’t.
__
One of the things to look for when hunting vampires are hastily dug graves. Zoro would look around near the forests, under tree shades or between tight buildings if the earth had been turned over deep enough to fit a body. Coffins are a luxury, most vampires don’t get to be buried or mourned.
He’d seen it many times, vampires suddenly running from a fight, throwing themselves on the ground to dig their own graves. He used to think of it as some sort of supernatural instinct forcing them to abandon everything to hide from the sun at all cost. Like animals sensing disaster far earlier than people, running away for their lives to desperately survive just another few hours.
Like birds ominously flying away before a storm.
Like rats pointlessly scuttling away as a ship starts to sinks.
Like Luffy hidden under Zou’s forest canopy digging into its skin like his life depends of it, the faint glow of the rising sun already stretching the trees shadows.
He’s sweating, his movements unusually slow and janky, those glowing eyes of his unfocused and though he tries to hide it he keeps gasping on air he can’t breath in. He’s been trying to dig for minutes and still hasn’t realized this isn’t dirt. It does something to Zoro, seeing his captain acting exactly like any other newly turned vampires as if were simply any other person, some idiot who got themselves turned, some weakling who couldn’t even defend themselves, like he isn’t the man who will become pirate king.
How did this even happen?
What if he never…?
“What is he doing?” Usopp whispers walking closer to Zoro repressing a yawn and massaging his sore arms.
Behind them theor crewmates have just finished planning what to do next, Robin will go with Law as he regroup with his own crew using that Vivre Card he’s got while she makes sure he doesn’t get killed or pass out. The rest will go explore around until they find the others, hoping they did make it here and are still alive.
And Zoro stares at his captain frantically failing to dig his own grave.
“Zoro?”
“I’m staying with him.”
Usopp glances back between the two of them, understanding but no less conflicted. “You’re sure? I’ve got a cape maybe if he wears it he’ll be fine?”
“It’s morning,” He shrugs, his shoulders horribly tense. “he can’t walk around, cape or not.”
“But Mihawk and Dofl-” His words dies in his throat as Zoro glares at him, daring him to say that bastard’s name. Usopp fidget with his bag with a frown. “You better still be here when we come back.” He mumbles finally, glancing one last time at Luffy before leaving. “Both of you.”
A few ‘See you soon’ and ‘Don’t get lost’ later Zoro lets out a long sigh and walks to Luffy who squints at him, the soft morning light too bright for his sensitive eyes.
“Zoro,” He chokes with that raspy voice -did he notice it changed yet?- “the dirt is wrong.”
“It’s skin.” He explains untying his bandanna from his arm.
He looks back down, touches Zou’s uncovered soil then brings his face ridiculously close to inspect it. “…Is it?”
He crouches down next to him, this close he sees the wetness around his eyes and cheeks, a few tears shed unnoticed. “It is.” He holds up his bandanna and carefully ties it around his captain’s eyes. “Better?”
He takes a moment, visibly struggling to figure out the answer before slowly nodding. He’s only somewhat reassured knowing his captain can’t lie for shit.
“Come here.” He says softly stepping back up, taking his hand he guides him towards an area with denser vegetation. Luffy walks hunched forward with uncoordinated steps, his other arm hugging his side.
He’s reminded of the dozens of vampires he’s seen walking exactly like this and the dozens of heads he’s brought back in exchange of some mere thousands berries he’d all spend and lose in drinks and bets.
He tightens his grip on that unfamiliar clawed hand before letting it go to unsheathe his swords, he hears Luffy makes a breathy noise again but doesn’t turn to check on him instead goes to cut leaves and branches to build him some makeshift tent.
It takes longer than he’d like to put it together, it’s a bit unsteady and he double checks that no light can pass through, keeps adding more and more leaves just to make sure.
“There.” He says, turning to guide Luffy in, he frowns when he sees him curled on his knees covering his ears with clenched teeth. “What’s wrong?” How long as he been like this?
“The elephant’s really loud.”
There’s only the sounds of birds and wind blowing through the canopy, it’s as quiet a jungle gets. He’s losing it again. Zoro pats his back inciting him to walk forward into the ‘tent’. “You need sleep.”
Luffy curls inside, visibly relaxing hidden in the shadows at last, Zoro covers the hole with more leaves and sticks.
“G’night.”
Zoro hums. “Good night.” He sits next to him and resume his job as a guarding dog.
_
It only took a few seconds.
A few damn short seconds for torrent of water to blast away the poor excuse of a tent and the two them.
“Luffy?!”
He calls and calls and there’s no answers, he runs around his hand gripping his sword, where the hell did that water come from? How could he lower his guard like that? Where is Luffy? What if he fell off to sea?
“Luffy!!”
He screams again more panicked.
Then he sees it, a glimpse of that strange new red hair partially hidden under green leaves. He runs to him, leaps. He find Luffy’s body limp, drenched and tangled into vines and roots, no doubt the only reason he wasn’t pushed off Zou. Zoro shakes him, call for him again but no response.
He’s not breathing.
He’s not moving.
He’s cold.
It only hits him now, his captain died.
His captain died and he wasn’t there to help.
His captain was killed and he wasn’t there.
“Luffy wake up.” He orders with some poorly hidden desperation, shaking him again.
Luffy groans and slap his hand off, rolling on the other side, like he’s in bed being woken up and not a vampire in the sun.
“Luffy?…”
“It’s noon.” He yawns, the breathlessness in his voice gone.
Zoro stares at him, his body so tense it hurts. Whoever turns around to face him, Zoro feels an explainable chill and clenches his hands around his knees as Doflamingo in Luffy’s body stares back at him through the thick fabrics of his bandanna. He looks around taking his surroundings in. He hums displeased yet grin. “So you’re the only one who stayed with him.”
He frowns and sit straighter as Doflamingo stands up, moving with more ease in this body than Luffy himself.
He grabs a leaf, playfully inspecting it before throwing it away. “There’s worst place for an execution.”
“We’re not killing him.”
“Where are the others then?”
“Close by.”
Doflamigo huff a laugh.
“Get out of here.” He growls. “Give him back.”
“No.” He ignores the way Zoro sends death glares at him like he’s some unimpressive brat. “Is this Zou or did you have to make an early stop?”
“As if I’d tell you.” He spits his words, his eyes following the vampire walking around, he gets the feelings the man isn’t used to a viewpoint this close to the ground, the ease of his movement turning awkward and somehow too large for such a small body.
“You people are a terrible crew,” He cackles almost bitterly. “leaving your captain out in the sun like this.”
“Ah,” Zoro feels himself snarl. “does it hurt, mingo? Feeling the sun like a newborn?”
They laugh together like animals about to tear apart each other’s throat.