Chapter 19: Final Promise

((Author's Note: It's finished... This is the last chapter guys! Can you believe it!? ;-; I honestly never thought this moment would come, it's hard to believe this is actually happening... Now I don't know what to do with my life! I guess I'll just have to start another story soon. XD Anyways, it's not really over yet for you guys until you read this! So, without further delay, I hope you like the last chapter of Awakening!)) ((Warning: There is violence and gore))

As soon as the fighting had died down Zoro started to breath very harshly. Nami remembered that throughout the fight Zoro had sacrificed so much to gain the power to defeat Yusuke... He gave up his energy, his life force and even his human half. She has no idea what the long term or even short term consequences of doing that would be... She just knew that it would be severe.

Looking up from Zoro her eyes met with Usopp, one of the only nakama other than Robin who was still conscious. "Usopp, we have to wake Chopper up and treat him well enough so he can help the others..." She said, looking around and so unsure of what to do... Everybody was so badly injured... They could die if they weren't treated soon but her medical skills weren't good enough to save them.

"That man... He was quite impressive." A sudden deep voice hit Nami's ears as she looked up and saw Hawkeye standing over her, peering at Zoro who had now turned a sickly pale colour. With all the chaos that had happened she had almost forgotten that he was there.

"Please... Do you know how to help them!?" She pleaded with the man, who scanned the condition of all the crew members with a sigh. Both her and Usopp waited for an answer, both looking very anxious as to what it would be.

"I am no doctor, woman." He said at first and then took a small pause. As if on purpose, he let the Straw Hat's expression drop in disappointment before continuing and having them brighten up again when he did. "However, I have traveled the sea for many years alone. I've had a bit of experience in this field and can act as a first aid." Hawkeye stated. He did not want such an amusing group to die in such a way after all.

"I know some knowledge too, but just from some medical books that I've read." Robin chimed in, moving slowly to her feet as she stumbled a bit. She winced at the movement of her wrist but knew it was no time to be thinking about her own injuries.

"The cook, the raccoon dog, Roronoa and the rubber boy are the ones in the worst condition. You have seemed to stop the bleeding long enough for the rubber boy and the cook would be too much of a complicated situation for me. So, we shall start with the doctor." He explained, walking over to the small reindeer and bending down to examine his injury.

"Get clean gauze and apply pressure to the open head wound." Robin suddenly stated as Usopp and Nami sprang into action. They did as he said and kept it pressed there until the bleeding had stopped. Once it did Hawkeye carefully stitched the wound closed under Robin's careful instruction and let Nami and Usopp wrap his head in a bandage. Once the treatment was complete, Usopp leaned in close to Chopper's ear.

"Oi! Chopper! Wake up, we need you!" He shouted as he lightly shook the small, fuzzy crew member's shoulder. When he did Chopper's eyes slowly fluttered open as he groaned softly in pain, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the scene. He was a bit out of it for a moment until he remembered everything that had happened.

"What happened!? Is everybody ok!?" Chopper suddenly snapped but before he could stand up and panic Usopp held him in place. He gave the reindeer a moment to calm down before quickly speaking up to answer his question.

"They're alive but they need treatment. Can you move well enough to help them?" Usopp asked gently as he watched Chopper trail his eyes up and down the sniper to see if his friend had any injures. Though he noticed some scratches and maybe some broken bones there was nothing too serious so he pulled his attention away to examine the rest of the crew.

When he did his eyes widened at the sight of Sanji, Zoro and Luffy. With the help of Usopp he was guided to his feet as Nami gently handed him his medical bag that she had taken to treat the others. Chopper took it from her and slowly moved towards the three of them who were all in close proximity to each other.

"I... I promise that I'll save them all! I won't let anybody die!" The doctor suddenly announced as he got to work. He seemed to have worked on the three of them in record pace knowing that he had to work fast if he was going to save all of them.

Nami, Usopp and Robin were amazed at how efficiently he could work even in his condition. They knew that the small doctor's head must have been pounding, he must feel light-headed and dizzy yet he could still work at such a pace. He was so determined and focused, they couldn't understand how it was even possible.

After examining them all he asked that his crew members bring them into the infirmary. Nami and Usopp followed his orders carrying each carefully to the infirmary and finding a place for them. Once they were all there Chopper worked with Usopp and Nami for hours to help each of them. Robin waited patiently outside with Mihawk in silence, she was unable to help due to the injuries of her hand and they didn't expect that Hawkeye would. He had already done enough for them.

Chopper needed to do major surgery on Sanji. He needed to do reconstructive surgery on the cook's stomach and many other organs around that area. Afterwards he wrapped his torso tightly in bandages for the cook's broken bones and shattered ribs.

Next he worked on Zoro... He wrapped the countless deep slashes all over his body first before examining him further. His organs didn't have enough energy to function on their own after everything that had happened. The swordsman was pretty much living through machines when Chopper was done with him. He was on life support that regulated his heart beat, and aided his lungs to contract and expands. Zoro was wired to so many machines he looked like a science experiment that went horribly wrong.

Luffy's reopened injury was no walk in the park either. After Kurayami stuck his filthy and bloody hands into the captain's open wound it became infected. Along with performing a blood transfusion Chopper also hooked him up to antibiotics and carefully cleaned the wound before stitching it and wrapping Luffy in bandages.

After that... The hard part was over. Exhausted, the three of them walked out of the infirmary to treat the others. They wrapped Robin's wrist in bandages, fixed Franky's ankle and wrapped his back as well as wrapping up Brook. It didn't take long for Franky and Brook to wake up and when they did Chopper gave everybody pain killers.

He then treated Nami and Usopp's very minor injuries before attending to his own. Thankfully he didn't have any brain damage so his situation wasn't as complicated as it could have been. They had already done a pretty good job on his head so there was nothing much for Chopper to do other than giving himself some painkillers.

At the end of it all, the small doctor collapsed to the ground with a tiny smile. "That should be everybody." He finally said, he seemed calm and happy from his tone that he had finally finished treating everybody. Everybody in the monster trio was still in critical condition which worried him deeply, but nobody could shake the happiness that they felt. This was all that was left, after everybody healed up... It would be over. They would be free.

After a small pause, that now familiar calm and deep voice filled the quiet air. "It seems there is nothing left for me to do here. I will be going." Hawkeye mentioned bluntly as he made his way to the edge of the ship, near one of the broken railings to make it easier to jump over. His small ship was still docked next to the much bigger Sunny.

"Just so you are aware, it will take a long while for Roronoa to recover. His aura took up so much of his energy and life force. Along with devouring his human half. I am sure there will be some long term side effects. For now, he won't be able to use the power. At least not until he recovers fully." Hawkeye stated indifferently as he was about to jump off but stopped when he remembered something.

"Shima doko akuma-ō doeru... You are lucky that you never had to visit that place. Never seek out anything on that island. If you come across it, do not enter. You have been warned..." He took a small pause before continuing with a sigh. "Now since there is nothing for you to seek there, I'm sure our paths will not across again for quite some time." Hawkeye stated before getting ready to jump off of the ship again. However, before he could Nami quickly spoke.

"Thank you." She said simply and warmly. The navigator only got a small, seemingly indifferent grunt from the man before he jumped onto his boat and sailed away quickly. The way he reacted to her thanks, reminded the crew a bit of Zoro.

The crew started off by cleaning up the blood and the bodies from the deck. Despite their hatred it still seemed a little cruel as they attached something heavy to the bodies and let them sink to the bottom of the ocean. They maybe would have buried them... but they had no idea when they would reach the next island and if they could even be buried there.

Afterwards, they grabbed sponges and scrubbed the grassy area along with the wood in the basement to try and get the blood out, shivering a couple of times at how much there was to clean up throughout the deck. That alone took them a couple of days to complete.

At the same time the others were cleaning up, Franky realized the damage that was done to the ship after the battle and he really wasn't happy. It took him and Usopp an entire day of none stop work to patch the whole thing up but over time the Sunny was back to normal once again. During this clean up period, Nami was cooking the meals since Sanji was still unconscious and though she was tempted to charge the crew for her services, she held back.

As Chopper predicted, Luffy was the first to wake up and by that time the rest of the crew's injuries were already healed for the most part. The captain had a bit of a fever but after being in the care of the crew's amazing doctor that fever cleared up with very little complications. After another couple of days he was allowed to leave the infirmary as long as he took it easy to let his wound completely close.

However... Sanji and Zoro had much more serious cases. Sanji's organs had been smashed so his insides were still in bad condition. That along with many broken bones and shattered ribs, Chopper knew he wouldn't be moving for a while.

Zoro... Though his slash wounds were now doing much better... Was still on life support as well. He hasn't gained enough energy yet for his body to function on its own... Draining his energy and life force dry was way too reckless... Chopper has also been checking for side effects of his human half being devoured as well but nothing had appeared yet.

It took an entire week for Sanji to finally open his eyes. When he did he seemed a bit flustered, just like Luffy had when he first opened his eyes but quickly the events that took place hit him like a brick to the face. 'It's my turn to protect you now...' The cook remembered a very faint voice say that to him, a voice that sounded like it belonged to Zoro... But he had just assumed it was a dream. At least he did... Until he turned around and saw Zoro hooked up to all the machines. His features stiffened as the person that was watching over them at the time finally spoke up.

"It looks like he's in quite a predicament, doesn't it?" The smooth, calm voice of a mature lady danced to Sanji's ears. The tone had a ring of amusement and happiness to it as the black haired woman saw her nakama finally awaken, also enjoying how the cook's first thought while waking up was to see if Zoro was alright.

"What happened after I passed out...?" He asked the girl calmly, giving her a small smile. His voice sounded a bit horsed since he hadn't spoken in so long and from the dry blood that he could still feel in his mouth. His stomach was killing him as well and he felt sick but was still glad to be awake... and alive thanks to a certain shitty swordsman. Though what he was truly glad for was to wake up in the presence on such a beautiful lady, he couldn't have asked for more.

"You've been unconscious for about a week now, Sanji." She stated, watching the cook's expression twist in confusion. "Zoro fought with Yusuke and won. The reason why he's in that state is because in exchange for using his demon's abilities he had to use his energy and life force. Though it sounds a bit confusing he also gave his human half which has side effects that we haven't discovered yet." Robin explained softly.

The archeologist was glad that she was the one on watch when the cook woke up since Nami had already explained this twice; once to the crew members that had been unconscious and once to Luffy when he woke up. So, she assumed that the navigator had enough of explaining the situation.

"I see." Sanji stated calmly as he gently placed his hand on his stomach as he felt the pain start to spike. With a small wince which he tried to cover up the cook sighed. "At least it's all over now..."

Even though he tried to cover it up, nothing seemed to be able to slip by the intelligent archeologist as she immediately got up. "Chopper told me to give you this if you were in pain." Robin explained, handing Sanji a white, thick liquid which didn't smell all that great. "Sorry, but you can't swallow solids yet."

"Thank you Robin-chwan~!" He cooed warmly as he took the small glass from her with both hands and drank the contents inside quickly. It wasn't the worst thing he's ever tasted, though it wasn't very good either. Even if the taste was fine it took all of Sanji's energy to keep it down, it felt like his stomach was throwing a fit at him for consuming something.

"I'll go tell Chopper that you're awake. I'm sure he wants to check up on you." She said before gracefully walking out of the room, her heels clicking quietly along the ground as she walked away. As soon as the clicking faded the cook turned back to Zoro to observe his situation. The swordsman looked like he was still in a coma... Sanji could tell from all of the equipment that he was on life support.

The cook also remembered how quickly Zoro woke up after getting his organs smashed... It definitely was less than a week. However, the swordsman was a half demon which meant he was sturdier than most... He could lose more blood and take more damage while still being able to move. Of course though, Sanji already knew that after traveling with him for so long.

It didn't take much time for Chopper to barge into the room and start checking on him. He could also hear the gleeful whispers of the rest of his crew outside of the infirmary door. "You seem to be looking a lot better." The doctor responded happily. "However, you shouldn't be moving around much yet. Stay in bed for a couple more days."

"Yes doctor Chopper." Sanji responded obediently which made Chopper blush and dance around the room, claiming that saying he was a doctor didn't make him happy in the slightest. It was nice to see the little reindeer do that again. The crew was finally getting back its sense of normality. The only problem was... There was still this tension about Zoro's condition.

"So Chopper... When do you think that idiot will be waking up?" He asked, casually pointing his thumb to the unconscious swordsman behind him which caused Chopper to stop dancing immediately. His smile dropped as well before he started to explain for the third time what he has found.

"Both you and Luffy had serious injuries. Many of your organs had been damaged and for Luffy his artery was reopened. I was able to restore your organs to some degree and patch up Luffy... but Zoro's case is... different." Chopper started by saying, making sure that Sanji didn't decide to take his injury lightly just because he and Luffy woke up first.

"Almost all of the energy and life force in Zoro's body was drained completely dry. The body needs energy for even the most basic life functions like making the heart beat and allowing the lungs to circulate air... Now that the body can't accomplish that on its own, these machines need to do it for him until he regains the energy back." Chopper took a small pause in his explanation as Sanji pondered what was just said.

"At this point... Zoro being in a coma is a good thing. He should remain asleep until his organs are running again. After that he should not move, wasting even a bit of energy at that point could be fatal. The IV right now is trying to restore that missing energy, but it will take time. I have no idea when he'll be waking up." Taking another small pause Chopper looked at the ground.

After everything they've been through he really didn't want to say it, he really didn't want to place a bad mood on the ship again but as the doctor... He had no other choice. "That is... If... He wakes up." He finally explained with a solemn voice as Sanji glanced over at the mechanical mess that Zoro was... He looked like hell. Sure he did, but...

"He's gotten this far." Sanji said out loud, refusing to keep his thoughts to himself on this matter. "There's no way that he'd just die after surviving this hell for so long. It's finally over, it's celebration time! There should be no place for more despair and sorrow on this ship. He'll be fine." The cook announced, his stomach hurting as he talked but he refused to stop. His voice sounded a little weak and strained but the inspiration behind the words still reached the ears of his crew members. And just like Sanji said... A couple of days later, Zoro finally woke up.

...

His eyelids felt heavy as he tried to force them open. For some reason he just felt so tired... Even though his body was screaming at him to go back to sleep, Zoro managed to fight against it and force his eyes open.

At first despite his eyes being open he saw nothing but black, hearing the fading voice of somebody familiar. "Z... F... M... V..." Zoro blinked a couple of times as the light in the room finally shone on his eyes. "Zor... Fol... M... Voi..."

Though still confused, his eyes finally adjusted to the light and saw a blonde swirly-eyed cook looking over him. "Hey, looks like you pulled it off ya' shit head!" Sanji finally said when he saw the swordsman wake up.

The cook saw that he was struggling to open his eyes but was about to wake up. Knowing how bad Zoro's sense of direction was he wanted to make sure he went the right way to waking up. It would be just like the swordsman to take a wrong turn or something and go into the light. That would definitely be a shitty way to die.

"C...oo...k..." Zoro muttered very quietly, his tense and exhausted expression twisted a bit in confusion. As soon as he spoke his head started spinning. Just saying that one word seemed to have drained him completely.

His entire body felt like it was in excruciating pain from all of his injuries even though he knew that they had already been treated. So, not thinking anything of it, he opened his mouth to force out another word. He could feel all of the machines and hearing them around him, he wanted to know what was going on but before he could ask Sanji stopped him.

"No more talking." The cook somewhat demanded. "You won against Yusuke... But you drained all of your energy and life power while doing it. So right now your organs are having a little trouble working." He explained, satisfying Zoro's curiosity enough to have him comply and relax.

"That was pretty reckless of you" The cook stated with a small grin, as he did Zoro trailed his eyes along the cook's body. He noticed that he too was still recovering in the infirmary. He had thick bandages around his head and body but his stomach was wrapped up the most by far.

Zoro rolled his eyes in response, giving a sort of look that said 'you're one to talk' through the pained expression on his face. Just with his intuition, Sanji pretty much got it right away but ignored it. With a scoff the cook shook his head and wiggled his finger in front of the swordsman, knowing that he'd want to move.

"Don't move until Chopper gives you the ok, got it?" The cook said, earning a discontent look from the motionless swordsman as he rolled his eyes on response yet again at the continuous demands from the cook.

"You know... I think I like it when you can't talk!" Sanji said with a wide grin, the bitter revenge finally being payed. Zoro remembered saying the same thing to the cook when he came to save him... And now it was Sanji's turn to have the final laugh.

The comment earned the blonde an angry glare from his nakama. Zoro narrowing his eyes in an attempt to look dangerous even though he is hooked up to all of the machines as his lifeline. He let the swordsman calm down a bit from the teasing before speaking. When he did, Sanji suddenly got a grim and heavy air around him. He remembered what Zoro said to him right before he passed out... 'It's my turn to protect you now...' He was about to say something but stopped himself.

'I never... Protected you...' That's what he wanted to say... He had tried to kill him after all... He was the first to state that they should end Zoro's life. He couldn't help but feel guilt consume him. They hadn't talked since then and Zoro's words were weighing heavily on Sanji's mind. However, he had said it himself, this was time to celebrate. No more despair... Sanji didn't want to add unnecessary weight on to a situation that was supposed to be uplifting and happy... And he didn't have the courage to say anything yet anyways.

"I should tell everybody you're awake." Sanji said as a replacement as he slowly stood up onto his feet. He wobbled just a bit but not much as he made his way to the door. He had been recovering for a while, he could almost walk perfectly now though of course Chopper was still making sure that he took his recovery slow.

Zoro watched him leave the room as he shifted his eyes to gather more information about his situation. He tried to twitch his fingers but they just wouldn't move, even trying to move them sent waves of exhaustion run through his body. What a pain. He wanted to drink sake to celebrate but in this condition he'd have to wait a bit longer.

Once Sanji exited the infirmary the first person he saw in front of him was Chopper who was about to enter the room for one of his hourly checks on Zoro's condition. Once he saw Sanji out of bed he gave him an innocently interested look. "What's wrong Sanji?" He asked sweetly, the cook could tell that the doctor was examining him as he asked the question.

"Zoro's awake." He stated simply with a warm smile. Just as expected the little doctor jumped into action and ran passed him into the infirmary. As soon as he entered the room Zoro's gaze shifted over to the tiny doctor as the swordsman gave him a small smile.

"Zoro's awake!?" Luffy shouted louder after hearing what Sanji had said from playing on the swing nearby. That triggered the rest of the crew to run over, Luffy still taking it easy from his own injuries he got up a little slower and made his way over at his own pace.

Sanji couldn't help but laugh as he watched the scene unfold. Everybody was getting scolded by Chopper as he told them not to excite Zoro, the swordsman looked annoyed yet also amused and at peace with the situation.

It was the perfect happy ending scene that the cook had mapped out for them in their darkest hour. The one that he longed to experience throughout the whole ordeal... The one that everybody longed to experience. Now that it was happening, it seemed unreal. Almost too good to be true. Though after everything that happened to them, they deserve to finally get some good fortune.

...

Zoro was able to finally speak after a couple more days of resting even if he still felt like he was in a lot of pain. It was strange though... his slash wounds were very close to being healed at this point. So, he shouldn't have been in so much pain. However that didn't matter, Zoro was able to take his mind off of it pretty easily thanks to the other Straw Hats.

The crew was taking turns watching after both him and Sanji, all of them talking about light subjects with the two as the room usually was full of smiles. At one point, it was Luffy's turn to watch after them and both Zoro and Sanji could tell that he was serious about something before he even spoke.

"Zoro..." He muttered, Zoro shifted his eyes over to his captain to show that he was paying attention to what Luffy was saying. "I heard what happened to your sensei from the others." That statement caused a very uncomfortable and heavy pause to fill the room as Sanji looked over at Zoro in confusion. He didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't his place to get involved anyways.

"What... about it...?" The swordsman asked slowly, as he shifted his eyes away from Luffy and now to the wall beside him. Why did he bring that up of all things? Whatever happened, happened... There was no need to cause such a heavy atmosphere now.

"We talked it over. If you want, we can go back to the east blue and check on your home." He offered, with the look in his eyes anybody could tell that he was completely serious. Widening his eyes Zoro whipped his gaze back to the rubber boy.

"Impossible...! If we go back... We'd have to redo the whole Grand Line...! We're, so close to the red line now... There's no way we can just turn back...!" Zoro protested to his request as Luffy stared his swordsman dead in the eyes.

"That doesn't matter. We did it once, we can do it again. I wouldn't blame you for wanting to go back. We all have family, everybody would understand." He explained as he saw his nakama waver for a moment in contemplation, though quicker than expected... His mind was made up.

"No..." Zoro stated plainly with a stern and certain voice. "There's no way... I'd make such a selfish decision. Yusuke said he was alive... And anyways, my sensei is strong. There's no need to... check up on him." The swordsman explained, smiling slightly in nostalgia as he remembered his sensei. "He's fine. I know he is."

Luffy would question him again if the swordsman's voice hadn't sounded so confident and absolute. So, with a smile and a chuckle he clapped his feet together and leaned back on his chair. "Ok! Then it's decided! We sail onwards!"

...

Of course, since it was Zoro it took a lot less time for him to be up and about then it would for any normal person... Though any normal person would have died a long time ago. It was a week later when Chopper finally let him take a walk outside of the infirmary.

His recovery had been very slow and boring for the swordsman... It seemed like it pained him to be lying still for so long. However, though slow to him, the rate at which he recovered shocked everyone... Well except for Luffy. He expected it. The captain even went as far as to make a bet with Usopp who argued it would take him at least 3 weeks to be up and on his feet again.

Though he was walking very slowly and seemed a bit out of breath, he was still walking. That was all that mattered. Chopper had somebody making sure to always stay with Zoro in case he had collapsed from exhaustion... And also to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid while his body is still recovering.

At this point Sanji and Luffy were pretty much completely back to normal and recovered. Luffy was running around and playing with Usopp again while Sanji was back to his usual flirting and cooking. Everything returned to normal... Well, at least for the most part.

Though it had already been over a week Sanji still had the feeling of guilt that he couldn't shake from what happened. He really didn't want to say anything since things on the deck were now finally returning to normal but every time the cook remembered what Zoro told him that time he gets consumed by what he had done.

Now Sanji really understood the weight of the guilt that Zoro had been carrying his entire life. He didn't even go through with it and he still felt paralyzing guilt for what he had done... He couldn't imagine what it would be like to actually have the blood of somebody you cared about on your hands. It would definitely be worse than any nightmare anybody could imagine...

He had to get it off of his chest eventually and despite Sanji's feelings, time still went on. After a little while longer the crew discovered the side effects of Zoro letting his demon half devour his human half... The consequence was something much worse than he had ever hoped for. It was the day after he started walking, when the Straw Hats threw him a banquet.

...

"Damn..." Zoro grumbled taking slow and heavy steps towards the kitchen. "Why'd that idiot captain of mine want me to come all the way to the damn kitchen anyways?" He complained to himself, trying to take steady breaths as he had to stop multiple times on his way from the back of the deck to there and lean on the wall.

It had already been a while since he started walking but now since nobody was around he could express the pain he was in fully. He didn't understand why his injuries were so painful when they should have been at least decently healed up by now...

Usually he wouldn't find such small injuries to be this devastatingly agonizing. He didn't understand what was wrong with him so, instead of making a big deal out of nothing he just decided to let the pain pass once the injuries healed without telling anybody. Really not thinking it was something to tell anybody about. He just figured his pain tolerance was so low because he was tired.

After a long while he had finally reached the door of the kitchen. He straightened up, fixing his expression to hide the pain and opened the door carefully, the great smell of food hit him as soon as the scenery was visible. "ZORO! BANQUET!" Luffy shouted, raising his cup with a wide, goofy and excited grin.

"Sorry to make you walk all the way here bro, we wanted it to be a surprise!" Franky explained, raising his bottle of cola in the air with his own goofy and excited grin on his face. With a closer look, it seemed everybody had that same expression... Even the cook.

"After everything there's no way we wouldn't toast to our victory!" Nami cheered as well. "We were even able to convince Chopper to let you have a drink!" She bursted, hoping to see a smile from they're swordsman after hearing the good news.

"Only one!" Chopper interrupted loudly, giving him a look that said to Zoro 'I'll be watching you'. He also had to make sure that Zoro would be alright to party so soon. The doctor wanted to let him recover for a couple more days but the rest of the crew insisted that a little fun would be good for him.

As everybody hoped, their efforts warranted them a warm smile from the swordsman as he sat down at the table. "Thanks guys..." He stated calmly waiting in anticipation for him to be handed his sake. It had been way too long since he had gotten to drink anything.

As if he could tell what he wanted by the glimmer in his eyes, the cook handed Zoro a cup of sake with a small scowl as if he wasn't smiling a moment ago. "Here." Sanji said plainly as Zoro quietly took the sake out of his hands, both of them shooting each other an aggressive look before turning back to the party with a scoff.

There was no doubt that they were closer after everything that happened... The bond between whole crew seemed to have developed that sort of closeness, everybody feeling more intimate with each other than they were before. It was especially noticeable with Zoro. Even though he had slowly been breaking down the walls he put around himself little by little after traveling with the crew it just seemed like he was much less distant, closer now than ever before.

The swordsman was always a lone wolf even within the crew. He wanted to do everything himself, kept his feelings and even a major part of his past from the crew. It was like he never was able to drop his guard, even around them.

It was because he had always been afraid that his demon would take over at any time and kill everybody he cares about. He didn't want to get close to anybody again after what happened to Kuina which is why he always acted so detached.

Now, though it was subtle. The crew could tell that small change in his personality and noticed it as a big difference. At least it was for Zoro after all who of course was a hard headed guy that doesn't change easily. That is something the crew grew to accept and to love about their swordsman.

"Now that everyone's got a drink, let's toast!" Luffy shouted, snapping everybody's attention in the room to their captain. "TO ZORO'S VICTORY!" He shouted as he raised his glass high in the air. Everybody followed his lead, letting all of the mugs clink against each other in the middle of their circle.

"KENPAI!" They all shouted as a group, taking their cups and pressing it to their lips in unison right after. Zoro made sure to take a nice and slow sip to enjoy the flavor of the drink for as long as he could, knowing that he was only allowed to drink one cup of it tonight. That's why he intended to save it for as long as he could.

After the toast the party raged on happily just like any other. Chopper and Luffy were doing a strange dance with chopsticks up their nose as Robin gleefully watched, Nami was drinking the kitchen dry of all its booze, Usopp was telling Brook and Franky one of his tall tales as Sanji worked hard to keep the food in high supply.

Zoro took it easy and just sipped his drink happily and quietly, completely content with watching everybody party. When he was sitting he wasn't in as much pain so staying still was probably the best thing for him to do. He was peacefully drinking his sake until Usopp suddenly came over to him during the festivities.

"Hey you! Whatcha doin' just sittin' there!?" Usopp slurred. By the way he was talking and walking, along with the light shade of red on his cheeks it was obvious that the sniper was completely wasted. "This party's totally for you man!" Usopp announced with a small drunken hiccup afterwards.

With a sort of 'I'm done with your shit' look, Zoro sighed, the corners of his lips only rising a bit at the sight of his drunken friend. "I'm too tired to run around like a crazy person Usopp." He explained, watching the sniper's expression twist up in confusion.

"You're tired already!? The party just started! How can you already be tired! You're a party pooper, that's what you are!" Usopp ranted with a little sway, completely forgetting the state Zoro was in. The swordsman figured that was the case and prepared to explain again but before he had the chance the sniper changed subjects out of nowhere, as if he had never said what he asked before.

"Yo, Zoro-ol'-buddy-ol'-pal! I was totally there when you were fighting that creepy guy!" He suddenly announced as if Zoro didn't know that. Then he suddenly leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "I think that guy had a thing for you!" Usopp said quietly, pulling away with a laugh that seemed way too hard for the joke.

"That's ridiculous Usopp!" Zoro snapped at him angrily at his stupidity though calming down a bit when he remembered the sniper was piss drunk. The swordsman rolled his eyes and took a sip of his sake before speaking again. "Why don't you go bug Luffy or something?"

"No way! I just wanted to tell you that while you were fighting him you looked WAY cool man!" The sniper suddenly shouted out of the blue, slapping Zoro's arm playfully when a sudden yell ripped through the party along with the crash of a cup falling to the ground.

The whole party stopped in its tracks to see Zoro holding his arm and gritting his teeth, the sake that was once in his hands now on the floor. His expression seemed almost as shocked as Usopp's who was staring at Zoro blankly, wondering if he had accidentally hit one of his injuries.

"Usopp! What did you do!?" Chopper yelled, pulling the chopsticks out of his nose and running over to Zoro and the very confused sniper who had now sobered up quite a bit from the shock of what just took place.

"He didn't do anything Chopper... He just tapped my arm." Zoro explained quietly before Usopp had a chance to speak, looking completely confused and bewildered the swordsman shifted his gaze to his arm to see what could have possibly happened. Just like his injuries, he was feeling so much pain over nothing again.

"Just a tap?" Chopper echoed curiously, examining where Zoro had grabbed for any injuries and seeing absolutely nothing in that place. "Then why did you yell like that Zoro? It sounded like you were in serious pain..." The doctor asked innocently, not knowing how he could treat an injury that wasn't there.

"I... I felt a sharp pain shoot through my arm when he did that." Zoro explain, sounding just as confused and shaken up as he looked. "I don't get it. Why did I feel so much pain from just a small tap on my arm and from pretty much healed injuries too?" He asked as a rhetorical question, more to himself than anybody else.

"You have been feeling pain from your mostly healed injuries...?" Franky repeated to make sure that he had heard the swordsman right. Zoro had fought with much worse injuries and hadn't felt that much pain before. Now with basically healed injuries he is in so much agony?

"Even after I gave you the drinkable pain killers? Why didn't you say something?" Chopper asked, confused with the situation he was faced with since the herbal drink he had made for everybody else seemed to have worked for them.

"They are healed injuries... I didn't think it was anything." Zoro responded honestly, examining his body in complete confusion as to what could possibly be wrong with him. He didn't think that anybody would be able to answer that question. Though, to his surprise, Nami did.

"Hawkeye said something before he left..." She started off her explanation to get everybody's attention before she continued. "He said that there could be a long term side effect to letting your demon devour your human half for more power." Nami said, everybody's expressions lighting up in realization.

"So then what's the side effect? Nobody can touch him?" Usopp asked confused at what that really meant for the swordsman though Chopper shook his head at the sniper's question.

"No that's impossible. That doesn't explain why his injuries hurt more than usual... Also, I have made contact with Zoro many times to check his vitals." He explained, both him and the swordsman remembering the countless checkups that had been done in the last week and a bit. Zoro was never shown to have experienced any sort of pain while Chopper was touching him.

"Could Zoro-san, maybe be more sensitive to pain now?" Brook asked, setting down the violin that he had been playing moments before this was discovered. If Usopp really did tap him, maybe if he's touched gently it's fine but anything that would cause anybody else to feel slight discomfort would maybe be increased for Zoro after what the swordsman did.

"That's a very likely guess Brook..." Robin spoke up, placing her lightly bandaged hand gently on her chin as she pondered the meaning of this latest development. "When Zoro was taken over by the demon, I remember that he felt no pain during that period of time. Though the pain always came back when he regained control and turned human once again. Maybe the effects of devouring the human side of himself has now affected his nerves, making them much more sensitive now to any sort of pain Zoro experiences." Robin concluded, seeing no other reasoning behind this effect.

"So now no matter what kind of pain Zoro feels it will always be doubled...?" Sanji asked grimly, watching Zoro's expression to see that it wasn't wavering in the slightest. There was no regret in his eyes from what he had done to himself, he did what he had to do to win the fight... It was that simple.

"From what we have just seen, it's more like it increased tenfold." Robin explained causing shocked expressions to be passed around the crew. That would be a very huge handicap in a fight... In fact that would be completely paralyzing at the slightest scratch.

"Good." Zoro suddenly chimed in with a cocky smirk playing across his lips, now suddenly his expression had grown so calm like he had understood the consequences and was excited to make the best of them. "Looks like I'll have a bit of a challenge for a while then." He stated, the swordsman could tell that his attitude towards the whole thing put everybody at ease.

"Will this ever go away?" Franky asked, still with a bit of a concerned ring to his tone as he looked over at Robin. She always seemed to have all of the answers to hard questions like these.

"I would believe so. Though I do not know how long it could last, like any injury his nerves should return to normal in time. At least that is what we have reason to believe." Robin answered in her analytical voice, the same sort of ring she had when he reads poneglyphs to the crew.

"Well as long as it'll go away we've got no immediate issues here. My injuries aren't any worse so it's no big deal." Zoro stated with the most laid back and indifferent voice he could muster. "I'll just be a bit careful until I'm back to normal, there's no reason to stop the banquet over this." He explained with a small shrug to show that it was no big deal and that he could handle the pain he was feeling.

Looking at the ground with a saddened expression he picked up the cup that once held his sake. "I can't believe I spilled it... I can take more, right?" He asked with a stern look to his doctor. After a small pause the crew went back to celebrating, though worried about Zoro there was nothing they could really do for him and he seemed to be ok for the time being. Though, for good measure they always kept a close eye on him even if they still were light hearted and having a fun time. Zoro even got a new cup of sake.

...

The party raged on for a long time but eventually when it became really late everybody finally fell asleep. Zoro, who was having a little bit more difficulty getting to bed was leaning comfortably over the railing and staring off into the ocean.

He could smell the salt of the sea water and the breeze in his hair as the moon reflected on the water's surface to make for a really beautiful night. All the clouds were gone in the sky to reveal every individual star.

"'You'll have a bit of a challenge now'? What a joke." A sudden familiar mocking sneer reached Zoro's ears as he turned his head slowly from the beautiful scenery to see an annoying blond cook in the moonlight, his amused and seemingly carefree smile as bright as the stars in the sky.

"What do you want?" Zoro asked very plainly and bluntly to the cook, he didn't give him any amusement by expressing his malcontent with the mocking. He didn't even address the comment which in truth made the cook a little disappointed that he had failed to get him angry.

"Nothing, I just finished cleaning up the mess you guys left behind in the kitchen." Sanji explained, leaning his back against the railing next to Zoro as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After a long drag he blew out the smoke, his smile now dropping to a more relaxed expression. "Caused me a lot of work."

"So if you're tired go to sleep." The swordsman retorted as more of a demand then a friendly suggestion. He used that kind of tone that really made it sound like he wanted Sanji to go to sleep so he doesn't have to talk to him. And that's exactly the kind of tone that was intended for this situation.

"You're one to talk. Chopper would be angry if he found out that you are up this late." Sanji teased, a bit of his smile coming back to his face when he saw Zoro's expression twist up in annoyance for a split second. "Anyway, how's the pain? Still bad?"

"I'm fine now. Chopper doesn't have to worry about making me sleep or anything." The swordsman claimed rolling his shoulders with a bit of an exaggerated movement to prove his point to the cook standing next to him. Though to anybody with eyes it would be obvious that the statement was not true.

"Oh really? Should I give you a harmless flick then?" The blonde continued to tease as he placed his fingers in a flicking position and slowly inched them towards the green haired man beside him. He obviously wasn't actually going to do it, but the idea at least got his point across.

"Shut it! Nobody asked for your opinion!" Zoro spat back with really nothing better to say as a response. The cook was right after all no matter how painful it was to admit. If he had flicked him it would have been a damn unpleasant feeling. Though obviously that wasn't Sanji's only motive since he looked so pleased when Zoro finally raised his voice.

"Poor marimo can't even handle a flick now! Careful not to get too worked up either or you could faint~." He continued, just eating up the anger he was making his nakama feel with his little jokes. Zoro always got so infuriated when Sanji made fun of his manly pride.

"Shut your trap or I swear I'll cut you to pieces!" The swordsman threatened, moving his hand towards the katana on his hip to prepare to fight with the cook. He didn't care what state his body was in, he was gonna prove to that good for nothing pervert that he shouldn't tease him like that, or he'd regret it.

"That's so threatening marmio-chan! I'm gonna cry!" Sanji suddenly shouted with a very sarcastic and over dramatic sounding tone in his voice, even adding a wince for good measure just to drive his point home.

"Why you little...!" Zoro muttered, his face turning a bright shade of red with anger and embarrassment as he pulled out his white katana and aimed it at the cook. "I warned you...-" Before the threats could continue Sanji laughed and threw up his arms, interrupting the swordsman from going any further.

"Ok ok, Chopper would kill me if I fight you so we can save this little dispute for later." He said, thinking rationally about what he was doing. If it was any other time he would have loved to get into a little pissing match with Zoro and throw a couple of kicks. It had been a while since they had sparred with each other like that but... It would have to wait until he recovered.

"Hmph... Whatever..." Zoro muttered in an even lower volume now, sliding his katana back in its sheath. Honestly he was also disappointed that they couldn't continue with their little skirmish. He enjoyed their little play fights with each other too but he knew that in this state the cook could accidentally hurt him, so they'd both just have to be a bit more patient.

After that there was a small pause between the two of them all of a sudden. It wasn't a heavy or an awkward pause, it was just two nakama enjoying each other's company in silence, both pretending they didn't want the other to be there.

It seemed like that's how all of their conversations started... With an argument. And well... There was really no other way to start a conversation with each other unless it's to pick a fight. So, Sanji really had no other way of starting the conversation other than teasing Zoro.

Though now that the ice was broken, he was planning on switching the conversation. He took much longer drags of his cigarette than usual during the period of silence as the cook thought to himself.

Throughout that whole quiet period, Sanji had a strange sad smile on his face. It was moments like these where the cook felt the most regret. Within that small pause, the atmosphere shifted from light to heavy as the cook's mood changed. Sanji just couldn't help feeling so glad that Zoro was alive...

Without Zoro, the cook would have nobody to tease... Nobody to fight or to get angry at on the deck. Though he didn't want to admit it, Sanji would feel very empty without Zoro by his side... And knowing that just made the cook's guilt feel that much worse...

He really couldn't go on with the crushing guilt any longer... Though Sanji didn't want to be the cause of more heaviness in the crew he just couldn't take it anymore. So, he made the selfish decision to have this conversation... The cook needed to tell the swordsman what he had done so that he could get what he deserves... Sanji needed to apologize even if he knew that after telling him what happened, Zoro would never forgive him.

The cook knew that after this conversation... The swordsman would never trust him again... But that's what he deserved after all, it was to be expected after the cook betrayed Zoro's trust like he did... So with one final breath, he started speaking again.

"Listen..." He started by speaking with a calm and smooth voice as smoke trickled out of his lips with each syllable. Sanji built up the courage to continue speaking, finally getting to what he wanted to talk about in the first place. "That time... When... You were in the final stages of being taken over by your demon..." Sanji suddenly paused there and shifted his gaze over to Zoro who was giving him a strange look of curiosity in exchange.

That look had a bunch of questions written all over it. The cook could tell that Zoro was wondering why he was bringing up such a heavy topic now. Even after it was supposed to be just a time for celebration, why did he go back to that moment? The swordsman knew he wouldn't just bring up a subject like that for nothing, so he payed close attention and gave the cook a small nod as a response to go on.

"I..." The cook paused in his tracks and stared heavily at the ground, his cigarette now rolling between in lips with anxiety mixed in his twitching. "I... Was going to kill you." As soon as he spat that out guilt purged his chest and stomach, tightening the two to an uncomfortable level.

"I know." The swordsman replied softly, with no really traces of anger or resentment in his tone at all towards the cook. Of course he wouldn't, that's exactly what he wanted at the time.

"I don't think you understand, moss for brains." Sanji's voice suddenly got much more aggressive with that line as he bit down on his cigarette and thought back to that moment. "There's no way you could possibly understand what I did when you said that damn thing to me... 'It's my turn to protect you now...!?' When the hell did I ever protect you? I hovered a sword over your throat and even after I did you said something like that to me!? You couldn't have possibly known!" Sanji ranted.

Zoro's eyes widened a bit that he actually heard that but faded back to calm... He must have been clinging to consciousness and heard him... "I had the sword in my hands... If Hawkeye walked in one second later... I would have chopped your damn head off." Sanji emphasized, only getting the same answer from Zoro.

"I know..." He repeated again though this time it was a much slower and softer tone. "I may have seemed out of it... And I was... So my memory is hazy. Though, I remember I woke up before you were about to. I know you were doing it to protect my humanity and to protect the crew. So... You did protect me. I asked you to do it, cook. You did nothing wrong." Zoro explained, still very relaxed even if his crew mate was tensing up beside him even more.

Sanji did remember that Zoro had opened his eyes a bit in that moment and had asked him to go through with it... Though he looked so out of it that the cook just assumed he wouldn't remember. Plus the way that the swordsman was acting so normal around him... He didn't think there was any way that he truly processed what was happening then... He assumed Zoro just told the cook to kill him because of the despair he was feeling.

Sanji betrayed him... That's all that really mattered here in this situation, whether Zoro knew what he was saying at that time or not. So, shaking his head he expressed his discontent. His voice now starting to shake slightly in agony with each word as he forcibly tried to stop it. "That's no excuse... I lied to you... Don't you get that...?" He took a pause and thought back to another time the swordsman asked for death. "A while ago... you came to me and tried to make that promise... and I denied you... Remember...?"

"Ya. Course I do." Zoro responded quietly, thinking back to that day. They had gotten into such a big argument about that... The swordsman approached Sanji and asked for the cook to kill him if he would ever lose control again... He wouldn't forget the huge fight those words caused...

Sanji dropped his gaze to the ground again as a troubled look came about his face before continuing to talk. "When you asked me to do it before I said to you that we would never do such a thing... I gave you my word that no matter what, we'd snap you out of it... That we would never kill you... And then... When our backs were against the wall... I... I through... all those words away..."

Halfway through his explanation the cook's voice started to shake more as he continued to talk. Sanji then quickly cut himself off when he realized his voice was cracking. He took another shaky breath of his cigarette to calm himself, giving himself a minute to get his voice back on track. Clenching his fists tightly, the cook made sure to keep an angered tone to hide his sadness. "I grabbed your katana and tried to kill you... I lied... And betrayed you..."

Zoro lowered his head when Sanji said that, realizing what asking that of the cook entailed. He hadn't realized the thought of killing him would spiral the cook in such turmoil... It was strange... He knew that they were close... But sometimes he had forgotten how much they truly care about each other.

It was a stupid thing to ask... He regretted doing it now, especially after seeing the cook this way over something he had almost done. Zoro caused Sanji so much grief and guilt... It was stupid to say it... To make him feel what he had felt when he killed Kuina would have been way too cruel...

"I'm sorry I put you through that..." Zoro suddenly said, cutting the cook off and still with such a calm and level headed tone. As soon as he heard those words Sanji widened his eyes, whipping his gaze back to the swordsman as his eyes went crazy with anger and resentment towards both himself and the idiot swordsman standing next to him.

"Don't you dare blame yourself!" Sanji suddenly shouted, cutting off Zoro in return before he could say anything else, noticing the sudden change in atmosphere around the swordsman. "Don't you get that I'm trying to apologize here!? How dare you say sorry to me!?" He snapped at the green haired man who simply looked back at him with the same calm expression that he'd had through the whole conversation. If Zoro was apologizing just because Sanji had let his voice waver for a moment he'd definitely give the swordsman a hard kick to the side of the head.

"It was my failure in the first place that got you this way! I couldn't seal your damn demon fast enough, I was too weak! Yet I made it so you'd be the one to pay for those consequences..." Sanji explained further remembering that important and decisive fight that he took place in... And because of him...

"That was both of our failures... I lost consciousness which made it end in the first place..." Zoro countered calmly. "You knew I was ready to die then, cook... There's no way this is your fault... So, who else can I blame but myself...? I've put you through a lot... I shouldn't have put so much weight on your shoulders... It's my fault that you're feeling this way." Zoro explained solemnly, shifting his gaze to the ground and away from the cook's now piercing eyes. He knew that Sanji wasn't to blame... He couldn't let the cook feel this guilt any longer.

"SHUT UP!" The cook suddenly erupted in sheer fury at what the swordsman was saying. "How could you possibly blame yourself for me trying to kill you!? How can you not be furious with me now that you know what I've done!?" Sanji yelled pointing an accusing finger at the swordsman who's gaze slowly shifted back to him.

"It was a tough decision. Me or the entire crew. You made a choice, and it was the right one for that situation." Zoro explained to the cook who only bit down in his cigarette harder, not even noticing the strong tobacco taste that was in his mouth.

"I obviously didn't! There was a different method, I would have killed you when there was a chance for you to be saved. I should have thought of more options before I tried to kill you!" Sanji continued loudly, shaking his head at the thought of Hawkeye walking in too late to see that Zoro was dead. His nakama and his precious katana covered in the green haired man's blood for Hawkeye to say that there was a way he could have survived.

"How were you supposed to know there was another option? You were driven into a corner and made a decision. That's it, that's final." Zoro stated, narrowing his eyes to show the cook that he was completely serious about what he was saying. A challenge to try and go against what he said again.

"So... You're gonna forgive me for trying to kill you, just like that? Even after I said that I wouldn't...? You're gonna forgive me for giving up on you? For trying to cut your dream short...?" Sanji asked with a much quieter tone, now both were looking each other directly in the eyes as a challenge. It was as if they were baiting each other to continue the argument, neither backing down on their opinions.

The way that the cook was acting in this moment really reminded Zoro of himself when he was feeling the same sort of guilt... He understood everything Sanji was saying... He knew all of the emotions that he was feeling too well. However, now their roles were reversed and Zoro needed to help the cook through this. That's what Sanji did for him after all...

"No. Cause you didn't do any of that shit..." Zoro said, quickly adding another point before Sanji could retort against him again. "And anyways... Even if you had done all that I'd still forgive you. That's what everybody did for me after all... I tried to kill you and the rest of the crew... But you guys forgave me for that without a moment's hesitation." The swordsman muttered thinking back to everything they have gone through.

"Either way, I'm alive and it's all over. That's all that matters now. Don't dwell on what you could have done or what could have happened. What happened, happened. Now we just have to move on." Zoro stated with a very wise tone. He just wanted Sanji to accept things as they are and continue with his life...

"That's different... That wasn't you...! I was in complete control. I made the decision to kill you! How can you just move on so easily!? How can you just trust me after what I did...?" Sanji raised his voice slightly once again, quickly lowering his voice when he felt those damn tears come to his eyes. There was no way he was gonna cry in front of the swordsman, especially for an attempted apology that was for him... That would just be way too embarrassing. Though now, his voice was trembling harshly.

"You know... The rest of the crew was so against it too... Me and Luffy got into a huge fight..." Sanji explained in such a broken tone that it caused Zoro's heart to drop. The cook sounded so horrible... Though after having such crushingly heavy feelings being buried inside of him for so long it was no wonder that they would all eventually explode once he finally talked about it.

"I gave up on you... But the rest of the crew never did." He continued, his eyes and expression slowly becoming more and more drowned in sorrow. "I claimed I would do anything to save you back then to Luffy... In truth I just wanted to protect my own damn stubborn opinion...! I was just... scared of you..." Sanji's voice started to waver against his will as he spoke, his mind was so filled with thoughts and emotions that he had almost forgotten he was talking to anybody at all.

"I claimed it was to stop your suffering... But that was all just some lame ass excuse...! I should have never suggested anything like that!" He continued to poor out every thought and emotion that had been building up inside of him. Zoro knew that the cook had forgotten he was there and stayed completely silent, listening closely to everything his nakama was saying... He needed somebody to vent to... Even if it was to the person this was all caused by.

"Even if that would make me a liar I thought doing this was for the greater good... I thought I was prepared to face those consequences of killing you. But in truth I'm weak... And now here you are, healthy and well after everything that I said to Luffy... After all of that despair I made him feel..." Sanji's voice become even more strained than before as he sounded like he was holding back tears. He took a small pause from talking before continuing in the most broken tone that Zoro has heard the cook use.

"Everything Luffy accused me of was correct... Everything... They were right to fight me like they did... I listened to you when you were obviously drowning in despair... I shouldn't have listened... I... I should have kept my word... I should have never raised a sword to you during your darkest time... I'm sorry... I don't expect you to trust me again... But... I'm... I'm sorry... That's all I wanted to say." Sanji rambled. As he said all of that, flashes of what had happened that day went through his mind. He remembered the look on everybody's face when he suggested it, hovering the sword over Zoro's throat...

Thinking of what happened, just imagining what the crew would be like with Zoro dead... Living with the fact that Sanji had killed him... Reliving the scene of the cook holding that katana... Before he could stop them, small tears were rolling down his cheeks as he spoke. He quickly whipped them away when he remembered that somebody was standing in front of him, though he knew that Zoro had seen them for sure.

Sanji just couldn't help it, saying all of this out loud made him feel so much pain... "Damn it!..." He shouted weakly through choked tears when the swordsman was staying so silent. "Zoro... Please... Don't pretend to be indifferent... Just..." The cook buried his face into his hand to cover his expression from the swordsman. "I'm sorry... I don't deserve your forgiveness... But... I'm... So-"

"Quit apologizing already! I don't need one from you and I don't want one!" Zoro finally interrupted aggressively, unable to see the cook this way anymore. He was practically begging at this point, Zoro just couldn't stand it anymore. Of all people, the swordsman did not deserve so much of an apology. He had done so many horrible things himself... He had to stop the cook now before he lost his cool.

"Idiot! You've saved me more times than I can count, cook!" Taking a deep breath, he examined Sanji's expression. Zoro completely ignored the tears he had seen earlier to sustain his nakama's pride. The cook was like him in that way and hated showing weakness in front of other people...

Even after whipping them, the cook's eyes were still watering and he looked like he was drowning in guilt. Again, a feeling he was way too familiar with... "'I should have this, I should have that' who cares!? I'm alive and it all worked out for the best!" Zoro suddenly raised his voice for the first time during this argument before lowering it once again. "You didn't kill me... Ok? You shouldn't feel any guilt..."

That's right... The cook hadn't made the same mistake that he had... Sanji didn't kill somebody close to him... Everything was alright... Though even after what Zoro said the cook still had the same guilt-written, sorrowful look on his face... Sanji had to forgive himself now. There had to be a way to pull him out of the guilt he was feeling... And... In the heat of the moment with so many memories and emotions running wild inside of Zoro... He did the first thing that came to mind after a seemingly long pause of silence.

"Look... Without a doubt... I... still trust you..." He stated, his gaze becoming much softer. "If you don't believe I'm telling you the truth... let me prove it by making one final promise with you." Zoro continued, a certain warmth in his voice suddenly coming to the surface. As it did, he took a small pause to debate how to phrase it.

"You'll always have my back and I'll always have yours. Deal?" Zoro suddenly stated, extending his hand out to the cook and waiting for him to take it as he shifted his eyes a bit to the side. The swordsman was waiting to see how the cook would react to this sudden confession of trust that the swordsman was showing towards him.

Sanji removed his hand from his face to reveal a bit of mix between a shocked and an unsure expression at first as he stared blankly at Zoro's hand. To anybody else this would seem like a completely meaningless gesture. They already knew that they had each other backs through thick and thin. They already knew that they were nakama who would do anything to protect each other, so how would this change anything?

However, this declaration of trust showed more than forgiveness... For the swordsman to be opening up meant that this whole ordeal actually made the two of them closer in a sort of strange way. They had always trusted each other, that was obvious. But for this sudden admittance from the two of them of their deep bond would start a whole new relationship between the two. The distance they set between each other would be completely closed.

After everything... Zoro was finally going to let himself open up to somebody again like he did with Kuina. There was no more fear that he would kill them, no more hesitation or guilt that ate away at him and forced him to keep a distance from everybody.

On the surface, of course the two of them would always seem like they were the same. They would continue to argue, continue to fight and mock each other. However, underneath just knowing that this oath has been established will make them assured of their brotherly relationship, assured that the feeling is mutual.

Sanji was taken back by the swordsman's words and the hand sticking out in front of him. Trusting him to have his back... Even after he tried to kill him...? Yeah... They always trusted each other anyways.

All that was left was for Sanji to forgive himself and take his nakama's hand. He just had to forgive himself for trying to kill one of his closest friends. This oath they were making to always have each other's backs would help heal the guilt that Sanji was feeling since he now knew Zoro would be relying on him.

That feeling of being relied on gave the cook a chance to make up for what he had done to the swordsman and it was this hope that lifted the weight off of Sanji's shoulders, getting rid of the guilt that had bound his heart until now.

Zoro was right with what he had said before... It was over. This trust that the swordsman was expressing to him, for him to open up and let Sanji protect him... just like a brother would... It was something new... Definitely something that would never be addressed again but always remembered and cherished.

However, that didn't matter to the cook. Their relationship had always been one of few kind words to one another. A deep bond masked over rivalry. To unmask it just this once, to swear trust in each other and their eternal nakamaship would always be enough for the two of them.

After Sanji forgave himself the long ordeal would finally be over. There would be nothing left to keep any of the Straw Hats down, they would finally be able to continue their adventure and leave all of this despair and sorrow behind. The crew could finally return to complete normality.

So, after a somewhat long pause Sanji finally grasped the swordsman's hand with no more hesitation. His unsure expression now turning into a smile as Zoro mirrored the expression, both now smiling at each other and looking into the fiery eyes of one another with brotherly warmth. The cook gave the swordsman a small nod, squeezing his hand a little harder. "You've got yourself a deal."

With that, the two grinned a bit wider at each other. "Good..." The swordsman responded with a happy ring to his voice which he never used when talking to the cook. "Then no more sorrow or guilt."

Sanji gave his nakama a small, genuinely happy nod as he too now was using a warm and friendly voice. "Right." With a small build up, the two said the special, binding words of truth to each other in unison.

"It's a promise!"

((Author's Note: And that's it! Of course I'd end it with some ZoSan Bromance! ;) thank you so much for your support throughout the years as I wrote this! I really hope you enjoyed the story, I couldn't have done it without you guys. Please leave some reviews on what you thought of the ending or on the story as a whole! Also, let me know what your favourite chapter/moment was! :) Though it really hurts to say goodbye to this story, that's the last chapter... Thank you for reading!))