AN: Okay, so I've finally come around to revising this chapter. I've removed some things from the chapter that didn't fit the story right now, and added some other stuff to make it follow more with the theme I'm going for, and to make it match with the previous chapters. Also, I've tried to make it flow a little better, not sure if I'm fully satisfied with it though. [12.03.17]

I know it's taken me long enough, but with work and my illness, it's been hard to find the time and energy to continue writing. But it's finally here now, and I've started working on chapter 7 again, and hopefully I'll be able to finish it this time so that I can finally move on to the next arcs.

Thanks again for all your support, you guys are the best!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece, I only like to borrow characters and plotlines from Oda, and I am not making money from writing this.

Try and Try Again

Chapter 6 – Why didn't you tell me!

Nami had been lurking around the marine base for some time, checking everywhere for some information they didn't already know, so far she was coming up empty. As she was on her way to Morgan's office, she was nearly caught by pair of marines. Suddenly she was reminded of the marines they fought against during the battle against Sakazuki, and she had to remind herself that these marines were not as strong as them, and that she didn't have to be afraid of these marines. She quickly knocked them out with her wooden staff and tied them up. She looked at her wooden staff in disdain; I'm so going to get Usopp to make my clima tact the moment we leave Syrup Village; I don't care how much that changes the future. I'm not going through the rest of East Blue and the beginning of Paradise without it. She shook her head, but what if I'm the only one back? Luffy didn't seem to recognise me in that restaurant, but then again, he did knock that Helmeppo guy through the wall, not just into like last time. I guess I'll just have to go to Orange Town and see what happens then.

"Now just be good boys and stay here," she cooed at the marines currently sitting on the floor with a rope firmly wrapped around them. Nami was glad to see that her knot work hadn't gotten rusty after so long, though it hadn't been that long at all if one would be go by the time she was in right now, but it had felt like a long time.

She finally made her way into Morgan's office and didn't even bother to look in the safe, knowing that there wouldn't be anything else but a note saying that Buggy had stolen the chart, Seriously, how much of an idiot do you have to be to leave a note saying you stole it? She then went on to check every shelf, cabinet and drawer for anything noteworthy; there was a letter from HQ about Vice-Admiral Garp visiting East Blue during the coming month, So that's how Coby managed to go to Grand Line with Luffy's grandfather. There were also some wanted posters, and a lot of books of how to best practice absolute justice, Nami had personally wanted to burn those books, but didn't have the time for it now.

After a final sweep of the room, she quickly got out from the office and sneaked out of the base again, she was a bit disappointed that she hadn't found anything of real importance, not that she had really expected there to be anything in the first place though. Morgan is probably one of those who doesn't care about anything else but himself, she scrunched her nose up in disgust at that thought.

"Man I'm stuffed!" Zoro exclaimed as he leaned back in his chair, having devoured three days' worth of food. He looked over at Luffy who was sitting on the other side of the table, still devouring everything in sight. He frowned at him, he didn't know what to think after he'd seen him collapse earlier, Luffy had said that it wasn't a big deal and that it happened sometimes, but how could it not be a big deal, Luffy had never done that before, and he was sure that it was because he'd sent them back to the past. The old man had said that Luffy had to deal with the repercussions of dying, but he'd thought it meant mentally dealing with it, not physically. He felt shame wash over himself again, he was the reason Luffy was now acting like nothing was wrong. And what did he mean about it happening sometimes? Would he collapse like that after every fight, or was it more than that? He needed to talk to him about it, but he knew that he couldn't do it now, Luffy needed to know the truth first.

"How come you can eat so much?" he asked instead, as Coby was sitting at the bar within earshot, and he'd reminded himself that he wasn't supposed to really know Luffy at this time, so he went with the only natural question he could think of in this situation.

"Oh, you're done already?" Luffy said between mouthfuls. He hadn't really had a full meal since he'd left his village, only snacks along the way, which hadn't been nearly filling enough. "Besides, this food is good, right Coby?"

Coby scratched his neck and looked away in shame. "I'm sorry, I ate some too," he apologised to Ririka, Rika's mother, who was smiling fondly at the odd couple of guys. "Don't worry about it, you helped save us, so eat as much as you like."

Zoro shook his head at that. Oh, they're so going to end up bankrupt.

Rika was bouncing a little where she stood. "You guys are so cool!" she looked at Luffy in adoration, who was still eating, slowly expanding his stomach to unnatural proportions. "Of course we are," he laughed. "We have to be if we're going to conquer the Grand Line," Rika was on the verge of having stars in her eyes at that, and Luffy looked over at Zoro and smiled, still sporting hamster cheeks full of food, "- and now that I've got a crewmember, we're all set."

If it hadn't been for the fact that this was Luffy, Zoro would have laughed his ass off over how stupid he looked right now. Still, the thought of him collapsing was on his mind, making it a little hard to find the humour in the situation, but he knew he needed to put that aside for now as he needed this to go a certain way, if they were going to keep to the schedule and not mess things up that is. He'd noticed that Luffy hadn't said anything about him being the first one to join the crew however; okay, this might be a little fun. "If we're all set, you probably have a crew already right? So how big is it?" Zoro couldn't help smirking a little, but he hid it by taking a gulp of the sake he was drinking.

Luffy looked at him quizzically, hadn't Zoro realised he was the first to join? "Nope, you're the first!" he said smiling as he thought of the rest of the crew, longing to meet them all again.

Zoro played along and feigned shock. "What? So…" he flipped his finger between himself and Luffy indicating the both of them, he remembered well what he had thought last time; I'm so screwed. Now though, he knew what he was getting himself into, and he was looking forward to some of the shit they were going to do along the way. Even if East Blue was going to be a breeze, he at least had Mihawk to look forward to.

"Yep, just me and you!" Luffy laughed, "- at least for now."

Zoro, still trying to maintain his 'blissfully unaware' state, tried looking at Luffy like he had just grown two heads. "Is it even possible to be called a crew if we're just two people?"

"I don't care, besides we're strong aren't we?" Luffy knew neither of them were as strong as he would like them to be, but they were still stronger than everyone in East Blue, and as of now they were definitely a crew. What he had to do now though, was find the rest of their nakama.

Zoro snorted, I can never understand his logic at times. He shook his head. "Sure, if you say so," he wondered if Luffy had gotten there in that same dinghy as last time, if so it would take ages for them to reach the next island, if they managed to find it at all. "So do you have a ship at least?"

Luffy nodded his head, still eating. "Yeah, it's down there," he pointed out the window to a little dinghy that was tied to the dock, it was sorry excuse for a ship, even he could admit that, but they would get Merry soon he reasoned.

Zoro walked over to the window and looked down at the dock. "That little thing?" he said unimpressed, before he threw his head back and laughed for real, for the first time in what seemed like ages, just like before. You never change do you, Luffy?

Luffy smiled, it was good to hear Zoro laugh again. He couldn't remember the last time he had actually heard Zoro laugh like that, with real feelings and life back in his eyes. "We'll get a real ship soon, trust me," he said fondly, they would take better care of Merry this time around, he promised himself, "- and an awesome Jolly Roger!" he said as an afterthought and nodded.

Zoro facepalmed, even if he knew they would get their Going Merry after going to Usopp's island, Luffy's navigation skills were shit, and so are mine, he added even though he would never admit to it.

Coby looked at Zoro sympathetically. "I have a theory that Luffy-san isn't one for planning ahead."

Don't I know it, Zoro sighed. "And I chose to follow this guy…" Even though Luffy was the only captain he could ever follow, he did sometimes wonder why he had joined his band of misfits in the first place; sometimes he acted more like a little kid than as a captain.

"So where are you going next?" Rika asked Luffy, looking up at him like he was a big brother to her.

Luffy beamed at her, "First we're going to gather up some more nakama, and then we're going to the Grand Line of course!" they needed to get Nami, Usopp and Sanji before heading off. "I think 3 more nakama should be enough."

Coby spit out his drink at that. "WHAT? You're going there with only five people? Are you insane? That's suicide!"

Rika looked questioningly at Coby. "Is it really that dangerous to go to the Grand Line?"

Coby was clutching his glass, looking terrified and shaking ever so slightly. "Of course it is! We all know how this world looks right, how it's divided by a continent stretching all the way around the world, which is known as the Red Line, and how there is an ocean going around the world opposite the Red Line known as the Grand Line, which again divides the rest of the world into the four Blues. Because of the way Grand Line is stretching around the world like it is, it's said to cause terrible storms and unimaginable terrors across the sea, it's supposed to be so hard to navigate that countless of people die or disappear from there every year. No one comes back after going there, it's the reason it's known as the pirate's graveyard."

Both Zoro and Luffy shook their head at what Coby was saying. What had made it so ridiculous was that Coby was mostly talking about Paradise, like it was a death sentence just arriving there. Paradise was a breeze compared to New World that was for sure. "I don't need any more nakama than that, besides we're probably going to get more nakama while we're sailing there anyway." Luffy laughed, "- and One Piece is there, so that's where we're going."

Zoro nodded and sat back in his chair again. "Sounds like fun to me," he smirked. It had probably been madness going to Grand Line with only five people last time, with what little knowledge they had back then. But when you're travelling with Luffy practically every day would end up in a shitstorm of madness and insanity anyway.

Coby, who was apparently still terrified of the mere thought of going to Grand Line, jumped down from his chair, and started flailing his hands around. "What? How can you say that so calmly, Zoro-san?"

Zoro, still smirking, looked at him. "You're not the one going there, so what do you care?" Well, he'll be going there soon enough though, but he doesn't need to know that.

Coby was apparently taken aback by that and looked at the floor. "Well… No… But I worry about you guys okay! Am I not allowed to be worried?" he gingerly raised his head again, and looked between Zoro and Luffy. "I've haven't know Luffy-san for long, but we're still friends, right?"

Luffy nodded and grinned. "Of course we are! Even if we're on opposite ends of the law, we're always going to be friends." Coby was the first person he met on his journey, and so that friendship was one he would always cherish, no matter what happened.

Coby smiled timidly and looked at the floor again, clearly relieved that Luffy said they would still be friends, even after he would became a marine. "I never had any friends growing up… no one ever stood up for me, so I never did it either… But, when I met you guys I learned that it's possible to follow ones dreams," he looked up at them again; with more determination and with the fire back in his eyes, "- so I'm going to follow mine now, I'll definitely become a good marine!"

Both Luffy and Zoro smiled fondly at him, relieved that he was finally beginning to build up his courage more and more, but he still had a way to go yet before he would be completely ready. Zoro knew the security in East Blue was terrible, but the fact still remained that he had been on a pirate ship for some years, and if Coby really wanted to become a marine he had to be ready to defend himself against accusations of his piracy. "You should worry more about yourself than us, if the marines find out about your time as a pirate, even if you were a slave, you might not be able to join." he didn't mean for it to scare Coby, but he had to be realistic here.

Coby seemed ready to piss his pants at that. "Then what do I do…" but before he could finish, the door opened and a couple of marines entered the building, gaining their attention. The marine in front, wore an aura of confidence, and both Zoro and Luffy knew at once that this was the marine in charge now. "Is it true you are pirates?" the marine looked between the three of them.

"Yep, we are," Luffy nodded. I was wondering when they would show up, now how do I get Coby to join them without having to fight?

The marine looked at them sadly, like he didn't want to do what he was about to do. "You helped save our town, and for that we are eternally grateful. But the fact still remains that you identify yourselves as pirates, and this town is protected by the laws of the world government," he straightened his cap, but Luffy and Zoro knew he was hiding his shame. "We must ask you to leave this town at once, but because we are indebted to you for ending Morgan's tyranny we will not contact HQ about your affiliations with this town."

There was an uproar from the townspeople at this, but Luffy and Zoro knew the marines had no choice, they didn't have a problem with the world government finding out about them now, but they did prefer not to get on their radar until after beating Arlong. So they both stood up and made to leave, giving their thanks to Ririka for the food on their way. Luffy who was still sporting an unnatural large belly from eating so much, took this as a chance to regain some strength and quickly broke down all the food and redirected all the nutrients to his body, making him just as slim as he was before, shocking everyone around them. "Shishishi, that's better," he grinned, and then sighed in relief as it hadn't caused his chest to erupt in pain again, he'd been afraid that it might, since he was using his rubber abilities, almost in the same way he would do gear second. He wasn't sure it meant he could start using some of his powers again though, but he really didn't dare try using them again now, he'd wait until Grand Line at least, hopefully Chopper could help him then.

Zoro just shook his head, he would never get used to that, but he had no time to dwell on it and started to make his way to the door. "Let's go," he said gruffly.

As he and Luffy walked towards the door, Coby stood still where he was, looking unsure of what to do. The marine in charge looked at him. "Aren't you their nakama, too?"

Coby paled even more at that. Luffy wanted to shake his head; he didn't want to fight with Coby again. When the marine didn't get an answer from Coby he turned to Luffy and asked him the same, the gears in Luffy's head was turning, what do I do?

Zoro caught on that Luffy was struggling, having an idea that Luffy didn't want to fight with Coby again. "That guy?" he jerked his thumb in Coby's direction. "No, from what I know he was a slave and my captain here freed him." he hoped it would be enough to give Coby that extra push.

The marine didn't look convinced. "A slave? Here in East Blue?" Luffy silently thanked Zoro for the distraction. "Yeah, Coby here wants to be a marine, but because he was taken as a slave by a pirate that looked like a stranded whale, he's too afraid to enlist." Luffy gave Coby his trademark shit-eating grin; Come on Coby, half the job is done; now it's all up to you.

Coby looked speechless, but balled his fists in determination. Luffy looked at the marine in charge, he wasn't convinced yet, then he remembered something and fished out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Hey marine guy, when grandpa gets here can you give this to him?" the marine looked at him completely baffled, "Your grandpa?"

Luffy nodded, still grinning, "Yeah he's a marine and his name is Garp, I think he's coming here soon."

Zoro had to suppress the urge to facepalm, as the entire restaurant and all the people outside screamed in shock, "WHAT?"

Luffy looked around, realizing that it might not have been the best place to drop a bomb like that, especially not in front of the entire town, "Oh yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that, so don't tell anyone else ok? Anyway, we're going now, take care!"

The people were still so baffled that they let them pass without a word, creating a path for them through the throng of people that had gathered outside. Inside, Coby was slowly getting over his shock, and bowed in front of the marine and shouted on top of his lungs to please let him enlist. Both Luffy and Zoro smiled when they heard him, pleased that he finally was on his way to fulfil his dream.

Zoro was shaking his head, "You think it was enough to make Coby able to enlist?"

Last time Luffy had made sure that the marines understood that Coby wasn't one of them, this time they hadn't done that, but Luffy just shrugged, "I don't know, we did what we could; the rest is up to Coby." he had a feeling that no matter what they had done, that note would certainly make Coby able to join.

Zoro nodded. "Well whatever happens, it's out of our hands now. Anyway, this is not such a bad way to leave, being chased out of town," he chuckled. It's wouldn't be the last time that would happen.

Luffy just laughed, "I guess that's true."

They jumped into the dinghy, and as they were in the process of untying it from the dock; they heard Coby running down the street, "Luffy-san!" They both turned to see Coby, Ririka and Rika standing there wanting to see them off. Coby saluted them, in proper marine fashion, "Thank you for all that you've done for me, this marine will never forget it!"

Zoro shook his head, "Since when does a marine thank a pirate? Don't make a habit of it Coby; it will get you into trouble one day." Coby would have to be careful about talking about his affiliation with them; being friends with pirates was seen as serious crime in the eyes of the higher-ups in the marines, and being friends with Luffy in the future, geez, he might actually end up dead.

"I won't!" Coby screamed back at them as they unfurled the sail and took off. Luffy had been laughing the entire time, "Good luck Coby, we'll see you again one day!" he screamed back, as the entire marine division came down to the dock and saluted them as well.

The sun was setting and Zoro realised they would have to sail through the night; thankfully neither of them would have to keep watch, as there wouldn't be any dangers in these waters yet. He was glad to finally be on the ocean again, as weird as it seemed, he had missed it. Then he remembered something, "Hey Luffy? What was that note you gave the marines?"

Luffy looked at him, "Nothing important really, just a note for gramp's when he gets here."

Zoro wasn't sure if he was so pleased about that, but decided not to care, whatever Luffy did that could change the future, they would take it head on when the repercussions happened.

While Zoro had been musing over Luffy's antics, Luffy had walked over to the front of the dinghy and held onto his hat so it wouldn't fly off. He laughed as he thought of going on his adventure all over again. "All right! First part of our voyage is complete, now onward to greater things!" Now our next stop is finding Nami, and beating the crap out of red-nose, that'll be fun.

"It's going to be one hell of an adventure!" Zoro chuckled, though he was thinking of everything they had to do now, they were on a tight schedule, and he didn't want to think about what could happen if they screwed it up. Flashes from the battle suddenly flashed through his mind, he closed his eyes for a brief second and suppressed them once again.

Luffy looked up to the sky, he would make it this time, "I'm going to become the Pirate King!" he yelled to the heavens, with more determination than ever. It had become like a mantra to him, to keep himself from losing his goal, and to keep fighting no matter what.

Zoro smiled at that, it's good to see that he's more determined than ever, even after everything that's happened and despite the pain he must be in. He wondered if he should tell him now, but he was unsure how to go about it, besides it was getting late, and even though he was getting tired, he didn't dare go to sleep, sleeping meant letting his guard down, and he didn't want to imagine what could happen then. I'll tell him in the morning, gotta find a way to break the news to him.

Nami had been travelling the whole night on the little dinghy she had stolen back at the cruise ship, it wasn't unusual for her to travel like that, but this time it had been different, as much as she had wanted to get some sleep she couldn't. She had been lying on the floor in the dinghy and looked at the stars overhead, trying to count them to keep her mind occupied from the memories that threatened to overwhelm her once again. She also had a deadline to uphold, but she couldn't arrive too early either. She needed to get to Orange Town before Luffy and Zoro arrived so she could steal the chart to Grand Line, get caught and run, and then hopefully Luffy would fall from the sky again, rescuing her, if her timing was off she could be in a lot of trouble.

A little after dawn she spotted one of buggy's boats with three of his goons in it; she could practically smell the loot on their boat. She didn't really need it to buy her village this time, but she'd be mad to give up free money. As her boat had caught a good tailwind she quickly caught up to the other boat, and she hung herself over the rim, faking being exhausted, which to her surprise she wasn't at all, even without sleep for close to two days now. Of course the three idiots fell for it, and she smirked to herself, works like a charm every time.

She offered them a treasure chest for their trouble, and while they were busy working on opening it she quickly jumped over to the other boat, careful to bring her own loot with her without being noticed. She could probably have knocked them out with her staff, but this was much more fun. When the idiots finally managed to get the chest open and a jack-in-the-box panda jumped out at them, she was already well on her way in their boat.

"Sorry, but I'll be taking your ship now. Take care and watch out for the storm heading your way." She laughed and shouted back at them, she knew there would be a freak storm heading that way, and they were smack down in the middle of it. It was almost like she had used her clima-tact on them; she couldn't help but love how the weather was mostly in her favour while she was in East Blue.

Just a few moments after, the storm arrived. The little boat with the three lackeys capsized, and she laughed, the whole scenario was like something that would happen in Grand Line. She reckoned it was probably a stray storm that had formed in the Calmbelt and had made its way into East Blue.

Zoro hadn't been able to sleep at all during the night, going between flashbacks and cold sweats, and several times he'd had to splash some seawater in his face to calm himself down. Luffy had also been mumbling in his sleep about Sakazuki and Ace, and sometimes also gritted his teeth and sucked in a hard breath, which Zoro was sure, was from pain. It hadn't really made the night any easier to say the least. The times he had moments of clarity in his head though, he had tried to figure out how to break the news to Luffy about him being back too, but so far he hadn't found a good way to explain how and why they had been sent back in time.

Luffy had woken up a little after dawn and immediately shouted for food, which they didn't have any more left of. "I'm so hungry…" he whined as he hung over the rim of the boat and looked into the ocean below them.

Zoro looked up from where he sat, he had to do it now or he wouldn't have a chance before that bird showed up. "Listen Luffy, there's something I have to tell you…" That got Luffy's attention and he looked up from where he was hunched over the rim. "I probably should have told you this earlier, but I couldn't because... well because I couldn't risk us being overheard, alright," he scratched his neck, still wondering how to go about what he was about to tell his captain, if it hurt thinking about it, talking about it would probably be ten times worse.

Luffy looked at him questioningly, Zoro never sounded unsure of himself, "O-Okay, not sure I understand why though, but shoot."

Zoro took a deep breath, he didn't have a choice now, he just had to do it and barrel through the pain, "I don't know if you noticed, but I also got sent back in time."

That, Luffy hadn't expected. "What? You, too?" Then it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he sighed, "Thank god, now I don't have to pretend anymore." He did wonder why Zoro hadn't said anything though; it would have made the whole ordeal at Shells Town so much easier.

Zoro felt a twinge of guilt for having waited so long to tell him about all of this, but he'd had his reasons. "Yeah I know, but you see the truth is…" he hesitated slightly, unsure of what he was about to tell Luffy next, but it needed to be said, "- I'm the one who sent us back in time, and the reason I couldn't tell you before, was because the old man told me to keep my mouth shut about it around everyone else but the crew." The old man had warned him about talking about it around others, but it had been his idea not to tell Luffy about him and the others having been sent back, too.

Luffy nodded slowly, indicating he was paying attention to what Zoro was saying, "I'm not sure I understand but ok, but why though? What did you do?" he had been wondering how and why he had been sent back in time, the old man had just said 'at the wish of a friend', but he hadn't connected any of it until now.

Zoro looked at the sky, not wanting to look at his captain while telling him what had happened, "Well I didn't really do anything. It was after you… died." he paused as the image of a broken and burned Luffy laid on the ground before him again, and the smell of burnt rubber which hadn't really faded, came back so strongly he had to fight the bile rising in his throat. He took a deep breath to steady himself, "- me and the shit cook realised we had no chance in hell to beat the magma freak, so we managed to find the rest of the crew and get the hell out of there before any more of us died." He cringed and shut his eyes as the memories assaulted him at a rapid pace, how they had managed to find everyone, most of them on the verge of death, too. How they had carried most of them, while running away from the horde of marines. How Nami, who was too weak to stand up, had shouted out orders to the rest of them, and had barely gotten them out of harm's way, before they were able to flee from the marines using the last of their cola to do a coup de burst. With his eyes still closed and his head tilted towards the sky, he continued, "We got away by the skin of our teeth and managed to find a remote island to rest and heal up," he took a deep breath again and let it out slowly as he remembered how pissed off he had been at himself after all that, "I… I was so mad at myself for… for letting you down… so I went to blow off some steam, and then this old man appeared out of nowhere, and he told me that we weren't really supposed to be defeated so soon. I wasn't sure I could trust him, but my instincts told me he wanted to help or some shit. So I followed him and he told me that he had the power to send us back in time so we would have a second chance. I don't know if it was a devil fruit or not, and he told me it was dangerous so I didn't bother asking him about it." he cracked his eyes open for a second and chanced a look towards Luffy before closing them again, still having his head tilted to the sky. "I don't know if you spoke with him or not, but I'm hoping you did, cause I have no clue how to explain all this shit really. All I wanted was for us all to be able to continue on our journey to fulfil our dreams, all of our dreams, and he could help that to happen." He finally looked down to where Luffy was lying against the side of the boat. He had been sitting motionless through his explanation, revealing no emotion. Zoro was about to ask him to say something, anything, when Luffy had just lowered his head and shielded his eyes.

"I see…" Luffy said slowly, he had recognised the look in Zoro's eyes, it was the same look he'd had when he got flashbacks from the war and Ace dying in his arms. He hadn't even thought about how his nakama had reacted to what he had done. He had been so caught up in his own rage, he hadn't even thought about them. He felt like utter shit now, he had always said he didn't care if he died, but the thought of leaving his crew like that, it had just never crossed his mind. "… yeah I did talk to that old man, I don't know where I was, but it was in this place where it was all dark, and he came out of nowhere and told me it wasn't my time to go just yet, then he told me about what he was going to do, and he tried explaining stuff to me, but I didn't understand much of it. I was just so happy to get out of that place," he looked up at Zoro, trying to give him a silent apology for how he had acted back then, and then something struck him, "Hey? Why didn't he tell me any of you guys got sent back, too? I thought I was the only one!"

Zoro chuckled and rubbed his neck, glad for the distraction, "Ah, well that was my fault. Sorry about that, but I didn't want you to mess up our first time meeting each other," he looked sheepishly at Luffy, "Just something the old man said about anything that was changed now would change the future for good, and I seriously have no idea how much that applies to really. So… I didn't want to take any chances." He was glad Luffy wasn't mad at him for doing what he had done, it had been a totally selfish act on his part, and he had been afraid Luffy would have been angry with him for doing it.

Luffy looked disapprovingly at Zoro for not telling him, but he could sort of understand why he had done it, he would probably have done it too, "Oh okay. He told me that, too. So I've been trying to do what I did the last time, but I don't really remember everything that happened so I don't know if we have screwed up already or not. But I know one thing; we're getting all our nakama back!" He would do anything to get them all back, even if that meant they had to do everything exactly as they did the last time.

Zoro nodded in agreement, "I'm with you on that, if we're going to change anything important I would want it to be after we've gotten Brook back with us. Which means we have to be careful with what we're gonna do, at least up to that point." It would be hard doing everything exactly like they did the last time, but he'd do anything in his power to make it happen, that was for sure.

Luffy tilted his head back and looked at the sky, "That's going to be really hard; I don't remember everything we did, especially when we were in East Blue."

"Yeah me neither, we just have to take it as it comes, at least until we get Nami back. Maybe she remembers more than us." Zoro hoped her memory was better than his and Luffy's, if not, they could end up messing up the timing, he thought about Usopp's village where that pirate-butler was planning on killing Usopp's girlfriend. If they were late, both Usopp and the entire village would be slaughtered before they got there. "Man I'm hungry…"

"What Nami's back too?" Luffy cried out in shock.

"Um yeah, everyone's back," Zoro scratched his neck again, "- well… everyone's going to come back the day before they meet us, if their older self, the one from this time I mean, agrees to let them that is…" he seriously hoped everyone would agree to it. He knew Robin might be the hardest to convince, but he trusted that the Robin he knew now would find a way to do it.

Luffy beamed at Zoro, "Oh that's awesome! That's going to make everything a lot easier!" he felt relief wash over him again, everyone was going to be back, which meant that they didn't need to sneak around and keep it a secret. "Yeah, we've definitely got to go get Nami now then." Luffy tried remembering where she was going to be now; if he was right she would be in that town where Red Nose was. "So that means we're headed for where that buffoon is, right?" He knew he had met Nami when she had been chased by those idiots, but he couldn't really remember how he'd gotten there.

"Buffoon? Oh, you mean Buggy?" Zoro chuckled, of course Luffy wouldn't remember his name, not that it's worth remembering anyway.

"Yeah, that guy." Luffy knew his name; he just didn't bother using it, buffoon sounded a lot better in his opinion.

Zoro thought back to when he had first met Nami, trying to focus on the woman he knew from this time, and not the broken and injured one from his flashbacks. Wasn't it on that roof with Buggy and Luffy was in a cage? He cringed as he remembered how he had let his guard down and let Buggy stab him from behind; he would never let something like that happen ever again. "Yeah that's definitely where we first met her." Then another thought struck him, she had stolen Merry the last time, "Hey… are you going to let her take Merry again?"

Luffy thought for a second, Nami had taken the ship to go back to her village right? So if she doesn't do that… "I think we have to… I don't know what will happen if she doesn't, but it might be bad right?"

"I don't know, we have to ask her what happened about that." Zoro didn't know the whole reason why Nami had run off with their ship, but if they were going to follow everything that happened the last time, they would have to talk with her and figure out what to do about that situation.

They drifted on the sea for a while, neither of them really knowing where they were heading, but both hoping they would manage to get to the next island soon. Luffy had been thinking of what Zoro had told him about what happened after he died, and he realised now that he couldn't throw his life away like that, at least not for his own personal vendetta. If he ever were to do it, it would be to protect the crew, and only then. Then he thought about what they were going to do in East Blue, how they had to do everything like last time so that they could gather the crew again without ruining anything, but that would also mean… "Hey Zoro…"

Zoro looked up from where he had been trying to meditate, again not succeeding in blocking out the thoughts; he had wanted to train on his observation haki to make it stronger again, "Hmm?"

Luffy was lying on his back, looking at the sky, "You're going to fight Mihawk again aren't you?" He wasn't mad at Zoro for wanting to do it; it was just that it would be hard watching him lose again.

Zoro cracked his eyes open, he had known this was bound to come up, "I have to. I know that last time I defied a direct order from you by doing what I did, and for that I'm truly sorry. I know you lost some trust in me after that. But do I have your permission to fight him this time, even though we both know I'm going to lose?"

Luffy sighed, he didn't like the fact that Zoro knew he was going to lose, it was like he had already given up, but then again, he was also glad that Zoro had realised just how big the gap between him and Mihawk were, "I gave my promise to never get in the way of your ambition, and I meant it. I could never stop you doing that even if I wanted to."

Zoro bowed his head, "Thank you captain." He was glad he didn't have to ruin the trust between him and Luffy again, now he could truly feel like Luffy's first mate without it being a position given to him simply because he was first to join, but because he actually had earned that spot among the crew.

Luffy's stomach suddenly gave loud rumble, "Maaan I'm hungry!" He looked up at the sky and spotted a pink bird flying overhead, isn't that? "Oh food!" he jumped up and prepared to rocket himself up to it. Zoro looked up as well, "Damn it Luffy! Now I've got to chase after you again!" Too late though, as Luffy had already launched himself up to it, only this time he had grabbed onto his neck and preceded to twist himself around and land on the birds back like he would sit on a horse.

Zoro should have known it would happen, but he didn't have to like it any less because of that. He quickly got out their oars and started to paddle with lighting speed after Luffy and the bird, well at least now we'll get to that damn island. He didn't paddle long though before he spotted three of Buggy's lackeys in the ocean ahead of him, fucking hell, now I have to deal with them as well? They started yelling at him to stop, but he couldn't be bothered, he needed to keep Luffy in sight if he was ever to get there, also he didn't want to let Luffy out of his sight, afraid he'd lose him again, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. "I don't have fucking time to stop, if you want a ride then grab on!"

When they actually managed to grab on and heave themselves into the boat at the speed he was going, Zoro couldn't help being slightly impressed at their tenacity, "Didn't expect you to make it, to be honest!" he chuckled. Which they promptly started shouting at him for, and then drew their sabres. Zoro shook his head, why are all the pirates we meet in the East Blue such idiots? He didn't even bother unsheathing any of his katana and promptly beat them up with the saya of one of his unnamed blades; these guys didn't deserve any better.

"Who the fuck are you?" one of the goons shouted at him from where he was laying on the bottom of the boat, sporting a huge lump on his head. That was when one of the others noticed his three katanas, "Tha-that's… The Pirate Hunter… Roronoa Zoro!" They look like they're about to piss themselves, Zoro snorted. "You guys are idiots; now row this boat to your headquarters! I'm in a hurry!"

Nami was running down the streets of Orange Town, triumphant that she'd managed to get the chart, purposefully gotten caught, and had now three idiots running after her. Suddenly she heard a cannon go off behind her, and then heard the squawk of a bird as it was hit. She stopped to look at the sky and saw someone falling to the ground. She resisted the urge to facepalm, nobody but Luffy would be able to make an entrance like that.

Luffy fell hard into the ground, leaving a crater in his wake, and dust was flying everywhere. Nami stood still waiting for him to get up; she had to play this right if she was going to join up with him again.

"The hell? Where did that cannonball come from?" Luffy shook his head trying to get the ringing in his ears to stop. "Oh well, that was interesting at least." He stood up and looked around to see where he was, before he spotted Nami standing right in front of him.

Nami had to act fast she realised, she needed to be shocked in this situation as he would probably find it odd that a person in East Blue didn't find a guy, suddenly falling from the sky, weird in any sense, but it was hard, this was Luffy, he always ended up doing something like that. But she was also so happy to see him, she had thought she never would do that again, even when she'd seen him in Shells Town she wasn't sure it had been real, that maybe this was just some fantasy she had created in her mind to avoid dealing with what had happened. But he was here, right in front of her, and he looked and felt real. She was quick to put on her mask of feigned shock and tried not to look like she knew him at all, but she was barely holding it together. The only thing that kept her going was that she wasn't sure he was back, too, and it would ruin everything if he didn't remember her.

Luffy looked at Nami, she didn't seem to remember him, but Zoro had said she had gotten sent back, too, so he had assumed she would recognise him when they met, Shit what do I do now?

Nami saw the brief confusion flash in Luffy's eyes, and took that as her cue, "Oh boss thank god you're here!" She looked at him with puppy eyes before she went running off to climb up on that roof; she wanted to see what Luffy would do, though she had been reluctant to leave him now that he was finally there with her. But she had to make sure if he was back, too, or not.

Luffy looked after her as she ran away, once she had rounded the corner he turned to the three lackeys who were getting ready to pounce on him, "Hey, do you guys know where I can get some food?" In his brief confusion about what to do with Nami and this whole situation, he had forgotten how hungry he was, now that he was back to the present his stomach grumbled loudly.

"Don't screw with us!" one of the lackeys yelled at him and was about to smash his knuckles into Luffys face.

Luffy had seen the punch way ahead of time though, and seen that the guy had been in the process of knocking his strawhat off him. He dodged it effortlessly and glared at the lackey before he smashed his fist into his face, sending him flying into a nearby building. When the other two idiots saw that their friend had been beaten so effortlessly; they had snapped and charged at him, sabres raised and all.

Nami had easily climbed up onto the roof and was watching the fray; she needed to watch how Luffy fought, as that was the only way she could be sure he was back, too.

Luffy sidestepped the lackeys easily, they were too slow for him anyway, it's like they're moving in slow-motion. He chuckled slightly; I don't even need to use my powers for this. He quickly backhanded the idiots as they stumbled past him and sent them tumbling in to the ground, both out cold.

Nami sighed, so he's back, too. Thank god! "Hey Luffy!" she slid down the roof and onto the balcony below, "- good to see I'm not the only one back!" she laughed, she was just so happy. Luffy was alive, and they had a chance to do everything right this time around.

Luffy had looked up at her as she called his name, he grinned "Hey Nami, I thought you weren't back, why didn't you say anything?"

Nami glared at him, "Of course I couldn't!" she yelled down at him. "I didn't know you were back, too! What if I had been the only one, how weird would it have been if I'd said anything and you had no idea who I was?"

"Shishishi, I guess that's true." he laughed. So it really was true, everyone was going to be back! He was about to run over to her when a sharp stab pierced his chest and he collapsed on the ground again, it wasn't really that bad, but he was so hungry he hadn't managed to stay on his feet. "Man I'm hungry," he wheezed out as his chest throbbed slightly, food, I just need food, and I'll be alright.

Nami jumped down to the street and walked over to him frowning, she was sure that she'd seen him grit his teeth before falling to the ground, that can't only be because he's hungry, can it? She knelt down beside him, frowning slightly as she looked at him fully, he didn't seem injured or anything, maybe I just imagined it. "Let's get you some food, there's some things we need to discuss."

AN: Thanks for reading, please fav/follow, and as always, if you want to you can leave a review of what you think, or if you have questions.