"A desert?" Nami repeated, raising an eyebrow. The navigator tosses her head to put her hair behind her shoulders, eyebrows furrowing. "But how? These waters are freezing."

Law shrugged, seemingly unconcerned as he crossed one leg over the other and adjusted the way his sword leaned against his right shoulder. "Don't ask me. But I've been there before, so I do know it's there."

"So we're going to a desert?" Luffy asked excitedly, bouncing down onto the grassy deck with his usual bright grin. The weather was still cold and generally fickle with its choice of rain, snow, or hail, even several days after leaving Punk Hazard, but this didn't seem to bother Luffy any. Few things did, anyway. The rubber man sat down next to Law, smiling with bright black eyes as he leaned in close. "Like Alabasta?"

Law remained unperturbed, a bit irritated by Luffy's lack of regard for personal space but deciding it wasn't worth the trouble to remove him. Upon boarding the Strawhats' ship, he had quickly discovered that Luffy did what Luffy wanted, and there was pretty much no stopping him. Except for when Nami got involved, but that was a different story altogether. "I'm not sure of the climate specifications of the place you're referring to, but I'm guessing it was hot and full of sand," he said rather dryly in response to Luffy's question.

"Yeah, that was about it," Nami said, sighing at the memory of that adventure. She had liked Vivi and sympathized with her troubles, but the desert kingdom had brought a whole host of problems for them. That made her even less enthusiastic about a desert island, but at least it wouldn't be snowing. She looked up at Law, suddenly remembering that she was in the middle of a conversation. "So when will we get there?"

"Yeah, Traffy, when are we gonna get there?!" Luffy asked excitedly, his rubber neck wrapped several times around Law's torso as he grinned like an idiot. Nami had to smile at this; Luffy was this way with everyone, and it was amusing to see Law's reaction to him. He was going to have to get used to it if he was going to stick around.

"…in a few days," was Law's somewhat uncomfortable response, not knowing quite how to react to Luffy's sudden invasion of his personal bubble. He didn't quite know what he'd expected Strawhat to be like, but this certainly wasn't what he'd imagined…

The rest of the crew seemed to be amused by this, standing off to the sides and smiling at their captain's antics. They were all dressed for the weather, and Luffy's open shirt and shorts seemed almost out of place among all their coats and mittens. Almost. This was Luffy, after all.

In the days since leaving Punk Hazard, the Strawhats, with the addition of Law, had set sail for Dressrosa with Law's plan for confronting the somewhat mysterious Doflamingo. It had been an interesting few days with Law on board, even though he was quiet and mostly kept to himself, with the exceptions of mealtimes and strategic discussions. Well, if you could call talking to Luffy a strategic discussion. Sometimes he would just wander around the ship, looking around at the Sunny's infrastructure and occasionally asking questions about how this worked and where did this power source come from. Franky was more than happy to show off the Thousand Sunny's formidable capabilities, describing them with great enthusiasm to Law, who listened quietly and gave little discerning reaction to the information.

But as the days went on, Zoro only grew increasingly suspicious. As the others slowly became accustomed to Law's presence on the ship, Zoro resented it. He didn't know what it was about Law that rubbed him the wrong way, but it made him want to snarl at the man if he even came near him or his nakama. Zoro was not a very trusting person by nature, but this was different. There was something about Law that he didn't like.

He knew Law was strong, that he was dangerous, and that he could be ruthless when he wanted to be. But those were all traits that were true of himself as well. That didn't bother him. But what did bother him was something about Law's eyes. They were a stormy grey color, like how the sky was colored just before it rained. But that wasn't the problem. Usually Zoro could look into someone's eyes and be able to tell fairly easily what they were thinking or feeling, a talent that came in handy when you got into as many fights as he did, but with Law it was different. Law's eyes were a mystery to him. He couldn't read into them any more than he could read Poneglyphs.

And it wasn't only this that made Zoro distrust him. He knew Law's reputation, and he didn't like it. He was cruel, sadistic, and more than likely psychopathic. Zoro wasn't stupid. He knew that they were pirates, and there was a cruel sadistic psychopath for at least every average person, but having one on their ship and in close proximity was another matter entirely.

Zoro did not take his nakama's safety lightly, and he would cut to pieces any bastard who tried to lay a finger on them. Which was why he had been meaning to go and talk to Law, so he could make a few things clear to this sarcastic asshole who thought he could just walk in and manipulate Luffy.

He snorted softly, realizing he was scowling down at the deck, and looked up, trying to catch up from his moment of spacing out. Luffy had his stretchy neck wrapped around Law, the idiot, and the rubber man looked far too nonchalant around someone who had a reputation for cutting out people's hearts and giving them to the government. Zoro rolled his eyes. That was just great. He hoped he didn't have to save Luffy's ass from falling in the ocean again. He knew how much of an idiot Luffy could be, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he managed to almost drown himself again.

I could let it slide if Trafalgar fell in, Zoro thought with a mental snort. Although he was probably too smart for that. Damn.

Zoro wasn't really interested in Trafalgar's harebrained schemes to take down a Yonkou or defeat Doflamingo or whatever. It would only drag their crew into more trouble with him. Zoro rolled his eyes. Didn't Trafalgar have his own crew he could drag into these messes? He'd have to ask the bastard about that when he got a chance.

Several hours later found the Strawhat crew getting ready for bed at an hour when the moon would have been rising, if the thick snow clouds hadn't completely blocked out the sky. The night had brought a drop in temperature as well, and soon it was even colder than during the day, with the absence of the weak sunlight that managed to filter through the heavy snow clouds. Now the sky was a foggy blue-black, the stars obscured by grey clouds.

It was Zoro's watch tonight, so he had kept his coat and gloves on, and he was heading out to the crow's nest once dinner was done, his breath billowing in silvery clouds in front of his face. He shut the door behind him with a solid click of the latch, looking around the darkened ship for any sign of an unfriendly presence.

Seeing nothing, Zoro made his way across the deck towards the mast, the deck creaking slightly under his footsteps. The cold made everything stiff, Zoro reasoned, and Sunny was no exception. The cold night air was mostly still around him, but for the occasional chilly sea breeze that stirred the sails and the rigging, and he let out a soft sigh, savoring the quiet of the night. It wasn't often that anything was quiet on this ship, and Zoro had learned to cherish the few moments that he was able to spend in quiet solitude. He had never been much of a people person, anyway.

The sound of the deck creaking a few feet away made Zoro look up suddenly, on alert for intruders. His gaze immediately locked onto the source of the noise, which was less of a threat than he expected. Law's tall, slender figure was visible near the railing on the starboard side, simply standing and looking out at the sea. He was quiet, his arms folded across his stomach with his nodachi held in one hand like it usually was while he stared out at the black, rippling waters of the sea. He was so still Zoro might not have noticed him if not for the creaking of the floorboards, his long black coat blending with the inky shadows on the deck almost perfectly.

Zoro thought it was odd that Law was out so late, when everyone else had already gone to bed, and he felt a flare of distrustful suspicion in his gut. His eye narrowed, and he decided to question the man. He had a right to know, anyway. This was his and his nakama's ship.

The swordsman strode over to Law, fully intent on interrogating him, and was rather chagrined to find that Law was taller by a good two or three inches. He had to be at least six foot two, maybe three. This bothered Zoro probably more than it should have, and he found himself a little pissed off, both at Law and at himself. Why couldn't he be taller? That wasn't fair.

The height difference between them had Zoro so distracted that he even forgot Law was there until the surgeon looked at him expectantly and said, "Lost, are we?" in that politely sarcastic tone of his.

This snapped Zoro out of his thoughts, and he glared at Law. Glared up, that was. "No," he snapped, suddenly irritated. He tried to calm himself, though, remembering that he couldn't let this sarcastic asshole get the best of him. He continued in a more calm voice, although just as cold, "I was just wondering what the hell you were doing out here in the middle of the night."

Law had gone back to staring aimlessly out at the sea, which again pissed Zoro off somewhat. "Is that really any of your business?" he asked coolly, seeming completely unperturbed.

Zoro's eyebrow twitched. "It kind of is, since this is my ship," he retorted with more bite than he'd intended. "Why the hell can't you go inside and sleep like a normal goddamn person?"

Law regarded him with a cold stare. "My sleeping quarters have yet to be determined, Roronoa-ya," he said with an edge of ice to his tone. "And unlike you, I don't find fulfillment in spending the majority of my time lying around and snoring like a cow."

Zoro couldn't restrain a snarl at this, and one hand gripped the hilt of his swords. "You should watch what you say, Trafalgar," he growled, glaring. "I'll kick your ass."

Law gave a derisive snort at this, rolling his eyes. "In your dreams, you moss-brained fool," he retorted. Then he sent a chilly stare in Zoro's direction. "I'm not like the cook or anyone else you pretend to fight with. I would watch who I picked fights with if I were you."

For a moment Zoro was shocked into silence. The intensity of that stare caught him off-guard, and it made something uncomfortable twist in his belly. Then he remembered himself and glared right back at Law, staring into those cold, wintery eyes without hesitation. "Wanna go?" he growled in a low voice, deadly serious. "Two can play at that game. Let's see just how well you can use that sword."

In a flash of steel that gleamed for a split second in the moonlight, Law's sword was drawn in an instant, the blade held to Zoro's throat with menacing pressure, his body backed up against the rail. He couldn't look away, the blade against his soft neck cold and deadly sharp, and all he could do was stare with wide eyes into Law's hooded gaze, his eyes glimmering with something akin to malice. It made Zoro want to shiver, as if a winter wind had blown straight down his shirt. "Are you sure you want to challenge me?" Law's voice was low, almost a whisper, but laced with an icy threat that Zoro couldn't mistake.

For a moment Zoro was speechless, stunned that he had been taken by surprise so easily, and too intimidated at that moment to be angry with himself. He opened his mouth to answer but closed it again just as quickly, finding his throat dry and swallowing hard. It was if his mind had gone utterly blank, and all he could do was be lost in the depths of Law's cold, calculating stare, which seemed eerily silver rather than grey beneath the light of the moon.

His trance was broken when Law pressed the blade harder into his soft flesh, pinning the swordsman's lower body against the rail with his hips. "I said, are you sure you want to challenge me?" he repeated, cool yet distinctly dangerous.

A flicker of anger sparked in Zoro at the surety and control in Law's voice, like he was facing some third-class weakling instead of the soon-to-be strongest swordsman in the world. "No," he growled, forcing himself not to spit in Law's face. He shoved forward with his lower body, using his larger body mass to push Law back a little. "Now get off me."

Law did step back and remove his sword from Zoro's throat, but Zoro had a sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with what he wanted. He smirked as he replaced the long nodachi in its sheath, and Zoro felt a flicker of irritation.

"It would be wise to refrain from ordering me around in the future, Roronoa-ya," he said coolly, that infuriating little smile quirking one corner of his mouth. "Or you might find yourself, or rather parts of you, mysteriously misplaced."

Zoro growled, narrowing his eyes at the surgeon. "Don't push your luck, Trafalgar." Okay, so maybe this guy was a little bit stronger than he'd anticipated, and a little bit more shrewd than he'd like. But that didn't matter. If push came to shove, he wouldn't hesitate to go at it with all he had.

Law chuckled after a moment and pulled his cap down low over his eyes, casting a shadow over his stormy grey gaze. "You're funny," was all he said in a tone of amusement as he took a seat on the grassy deck, crossing his legs and leaning back against the mast.

This pissed Zoro off. He didn't like being laughed at, and this guy was already getting on his nerves. He growled and felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance, but there wasn't much he could do. He settled on an irritated snort and rolling his eyes as he turned on his heel to go inside, feeling Law's eyes on his back.

Zoro made sure to close the door with a little more force than necessary as he went in, just to make sure Law knew he was pissed. Fucking smug bastard, he mentally grumbled, silently fuming as he made his way to the men's quarters where everyone else was snoring away. I can't believe I let him fucking get away with that. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have hesitated to put them in their place, he assured himself, and it was only because Law was currently an ally that he restrained himself.

Yeah, that's why, Zoro thought with a mental nod of affirmation as he kicked off his boots and let his green robe drop to the floor after carefully laying down his katana. Not because he's that strong, because I can't kick his ass yet. This dumb alliance thing.

But no matter how many attempts he made to rationalize his actions earlier, Zoro knew. Trafalgar Law, he thought as he lay down in his hammock to sleep, was definitely trouble.

Mornings were never a good time for Zoro. First of all, he was most definitely not a morning person, and being woken up by Luffy at five in the morning because the idiot couldn't wait for breakfast grated on one's nerves after a while. Fucking idiot, Zoro growled mentally as Luffy's raucous shouts for Sanji to hurry up with breakfast drifted back to the bunk room. He sighed irritably and slung an arm over his eyes, hoping to maybe shut out the light and go back to sleep.

Then he heard Usopp groan from one of the other bunks, his voice even more annoying than usual. "Ugh… morning already?" he complained, his whiny tone making Zoro itch to throw something at him.

Chopper might have made a good projectile, Zoro thought as he heard the little reindeer walk past, yawning, but that required reaching out and grabbing him, which would probably make him scream in terror and potentially bite Zoro's arm, and he wasn't in the mood for another loud, high-pitched noise at the moment. Or having a chunk bitten out of his arm before he even got out of bed.

"I wonder what Sanji's making for breakfast," Chopper wondered out loud as he waited for Usopp, who noisily clambered out of his hammock and proceeded to stretch, also noisily.

"Probably something with meat in it," Usopp commented, and Zoro mentally rolled his eyes. Of course there was going to be meat in it. You couldn't skip meat at a meal with Luffy around.

Eventually the two of them left for the kitchen, and eventually Zoro felt hungry enough to get up and join them, knowing that if he waited too long, he wouldn't get anything. With Luffy around, you always had to be on your toes.

"Late as usual, dumbass marimo," Sanji said with an irritable roll of his eyes as Zoro walked in and took his usual place at the table. "What, did you get lost on your way here?"

"Shut up, shit-cook," Zoro retorted as he started to eat, more out of habit than anything. "I was trying to work up an appetite so I could keep down your shitty food."

Sanji's curly eyebrow twitched angrily, and he kicked Zoro in the back of the head while he was taking a drink of water, causing him to choke and spill water everywhere. "Ungrateful marimo asshole!" he snapped, and Zoro shot him a death glare as he wiped his face with his sleeve.

Everyone else got a laugh out of this, giggling and pointing out Zoro's murderous expression while he contemplated cutting the cook's balls off with Kitetsu just to see how high his voice would get when he screamed. Even Law was wearing his customary smirk, with just a hint of amusement glimmering in his eyes.

Bastard, Zoro thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Trafalgar was definitely too smug for his own damn good. I should cut his balls off, too. See if his scream matches the cook's.

"Now, now, Cook-ya, I don't think his asshole would be green, too," Law spoke up with an amused smile, and everyone snickered. "He'd be a baboon if it was. But it wouldn't surprise me if the carpet matched the drapes." Luffy choked on sausage and howling laughter, while milk squirted from Usopp's nose, his eyes bugging out as he tried to laugh and swallow at the same time. Everyone else laughed, too

Even Sanji cracked up at this, although all the guys have seen it before in the public baths, and Zoro is indeed green down there, too. "Haha! I think I like you, Trafalgar!" the cook said with a grin, and at that moment Zoro was thinking the exact opposite. "Sometimes I think he is a baboon."

Zoro growled in irritation, feeling an urge to reach for his swords and skewer the both of them. "I'm done," he snapped after a moment, sending a death glare in the direction of Trafalgar the shitty cook. "I'm kicking your ass, dartboard-brow."

Sanji glared right back at him, his swirly eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "Just try it, shitty marimo," he goaded, tapping the toe of his black shoe against the floor. "We'll see who gets their ass kicked."

Eventually Nami ordered them to take it outside, after her cup got broken when one of Zoro's blades glanced off Sanji's shoe and made a wide arc across the table instead. Even with the witch's interference, the fight was just what Zoro needed to let off some steam, his anger giving him the edge he needed to one-up the chef, eventually knocking him on his ass with a sword pointed at his throat.

He grinned. "Looks like I win again, shitty cook," he said, breathing heavily and still feeling the effects of the adrenaline rush.

"What do you mean, 'again'?" Sanji snorted, glaring up at the swordsman seemingly without heed to the blade at his throat, though he is panting as well. "I kicked your ass the last time. Or did I kick you so hard you don't remember now?"

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Damn delusional ero-cook," he said with a huff, sheathing his swords and allowing Sanji to get up. "You're so pathetic you're just imagining things now."

Sanji stood up and swore at him, but Zoro wasn't paying him any mind. He was looking out over the rail at the island they were quickly approaching, which appeared to be nothing more than a big pile of sand with a rickety port town set up at the coast. He rolled his eyes. Just fucking great. If this was anything like Alabasta, then it would be constantly dry, hot, and sandy as all hell. Fuck. That meant they'd have to put on those ridiculous desert clothes again, although Zoro's green kaftan would probably serve him well in this climate.

"Oi, shithead, I'm talking to you!" Sanji's voice abruptly broke into his thoughts, and he turned to look at the chef with his usual mixture of disdain and irritation. Sanji rolled his eyes at the marimo's expression. "Nami-san wants everyone to meet down at the docks, so get your ass moving."

"Whatever, shitty cook," Zoro said, snorting. "I'll be there. You can stop nagging me about it."

Sanji's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "I'm supposed to make sure you don't get lost, dumbass," he said, coming over to drag Zoro by the arm in the right direction.

"Hey, I don't need your help, asshole!" But of course, he did, in order to make it the twenty yards or so off the ship and towards the market square, where the others had already gathered and were waiting for the latecomers. Nami snapped at them for being late, typical of her, but it was Law's self-satisfied little smirk that pissed Zoro off the most.

Asshole, he thought irritably, sending a glare in Law's direction as Nami was explaining their plan. He didn't really know why he was pissed at Law; it just seemed convenient to blame him since he was busy being a smug bastard over there.

"…and we'll split into two groups to avoid attracting attention," he heard Nami say, and that was when he started to pay more attention. "One group will have Luffy, Chopper, Franky, Sanji, and I, while the other will have Law, Robin, Zoro, Usopp, and Brook. We're looking for a temple that's supposed to be in the middle of this desert."

She paused to glance around at the circle of her crewmates, her gaze lingering on Luffy, who was uninterestedly picking his nose with his little finger. She just rolled her eyes and moved on. "And that means we can't be horsing around the whole time, got it?"

Everyone gave some sort of affirmation after that and started to split up into their assigned groups, and Zoro was still in shock at his shitty luck. Are you fucking serious? He mentally snarled, pissed now that he would have to spend his time answering to that stuck-up prick.

The group slowly gathered around Zoro, and Law smirked at him, adjusting his sword over his shoulder. "Time to go, Roronoa-ya. Do you need someone to hold your hand so you don't get lost?"

"Fuck you," was Zoro's snarled reply as they headed into town, and he was left to brood over his goddamn shitty luck. One thing was for sure. This week was going to be hell.