This is short. I'm not use to writing, and my writing isn't very good. I hope you like it anyways. As stated in the summary there is character death. I love Zoro and I love Luffy and I love ZoLu. There's not enough ZoLu in the world. If you can please let me know what you think, I'd much appreciate it. Oh and all characters belong to Oda-sensei.

o-o-o-o-o

"'Long ago the gods cursed humans.' This was the belief of our ancestors," the teacher recited at the front of the class. Zoro huffed as he laid his head on his cross arms to sleep. 'What gods?' he thought before drifting off.

A hard hit on the head woke Zoro up suddenly. "Good morning," he said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Shishishi…" Luffy laughed as Nami started to yell at the green haired teen she just hit. "Zoro always sleeps through class," grinned the black haired boy. Nami turned her first on him next.

Nami sighed and put a hand to her head. "You guys always cause trouble. Can't you just once behave?"

"That's impossible for those two idiots, my sweet Nami-swan," Sanji danced over to the young lady with hearts in his eyes. He held out a beautifully prepared box lunch to her. "There's no helping the big green moron. Only grass grows between his ears."

"What was that pervy cook?" Zoro let out with a growl. This was the last thing he needed today. He was ready for a fight with the lean chef.

Sanji may be young be, but he was already quite skilled in the kitchen. Elite colleges and restaurants request he attend. Zoro, on the other hand, barely had a passing grade at all. The teachers were constantly on his case. Nami offered to tutor him, and the one time he accepted so he could stay in the kendo club, she charged him an impossible fee. He was still trying to pay her back, but every time he did anything to piss her off, she added on interest. Zoro wasn't even sure what he owed at this point.

"Please don't fight," Vivi's kind, but firm, voice interrupted. Vivian was the student council president. Her job was to keep order, and grades, up. "Zoro-san, do you need to see the nurse? You seem unwell today." Her concerned eyes met his.

He scowled. "'m fine," Zoro mumbled and shoved to stand up.

He stalked away from the shouting Sanji and shrieking Nami. His head hurt too much for this. A nice nap on the roof sounded like a good idea. Maybe he'd just skip the rest of the day.

Before he even got to the door, Luffy slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground. The wild boy laughing all the way. "Where's Zoro going?"

"Damn it, Luffy. Stop doing that!" Zoro pinched Luffy's cheek and pulled.

"OW! Zoro! That hurt!" Luffy rubbed at the reddening skin. He soon forgot about the pain when Zoro walked off. He quickly bounced after the taller male. Something was wrong with his best friend. He just knew. They both had a strange bond. He noticed it only recently, but it had been there since they first met on the first day of high school. He got the feeling Zoro had known since the beginning.

At first, Zoro refused to be friends with the crazed Luffy, but Luffy is strong willed and persistent. Stubborn too. Day after day, Luffy pestered the green haired man until, without even realizing it, they had become friends. Along the way, Luffy gathered more friends, some reluctant, others willing to participate in his wild adventures. None of the others had the connection that Luffy and Zoro had. They all could see it.

"Oh! That's right. Zoro's birthday was the other day. We had so much good food! Did Sanji not make Zoro's favorite?"

Zoro gave the black haired teen a sideways glance before looking away. He just kept climbing the stairs they finally reached. Zoro didn't like to talk about feelings. He wasn't an open book like the others, and Luffy was not the person he wanted to talk about this with. The boy was going to find out eventually, but he wanted to keep it to himself as long as possible.

Zoro shoved the roof's door open and settled into his favorite spot. This spot allowed him to rest in the warm sun, but the shade of where the door was kept it just out of his eyes.

Luffy plopped down next to his head, kicking his feet out in front of him to tap his shoes together. He didn't the school uniform. It felt constricting, and he couldn't knot the tie properly.

"So did it appear?" Luffy was uncharacteristically serious when he asked this. As the unofficial leader if their strange group and Zoro's unannounced best friend, he had to make sure everyone was safe, okay, and happy. Their strange connection made him guess correctly what was bothering the kendo champion.

Zoro opened one eye to glance at Luffy. He wanted to lie. To tell the boy all the nonsense about the gods' curse being fake. But he couldn't. So he remained silent, closing his eye again. He'd just sleep through Luffy's strange serious attitude. He knew it was futile, but he would try anyways.

Making an irritated noise and started to poke the tanned man next to him, Luffy was going to get it out of Zoro. One way or another. "Where's it at? I wanna see." He started to untuck Zoro's uniform and pulled the shirt up exposing well toned, tan skin.

"The hell?!" Zoro jerked, sitting up and nearly knocking heads together. "Don't go stripping people without their consent!" He grabbed the boy's wrists to stop anymore of his garments coming undone.

"But Zoro likes it when I take off his clothes." The Cheshire cat grin made the scar on his face stretch.

Heat flared up Zoro's face and colored the tips of his ears. 'He's so troublesome.' "Not at school, dumbass." He settled back again, arms pillowing his head. This time he kept his eyes on the troublemaker who started to pout.

"Fine~" Luffy huffed, leaning back to prop himself up on his arms and resumed tapping his shoes. So Zoro didn't want him to see the words that were stained on his skin. He would see them eventually, but if that's what's bothering Zoro… "I wonder what mine will say when I turn eighteen."

"Probably something stupid."

"What?! No way. It'll be something cool!"

Zoro snorted a laugh, "Something cool, huh? I doubt it. Why don't you go see if that shitty cook has anything good to eat?"

Predictably, the enthusiastic teen jumped up and dashed to find Sanji. Zoro spent the rest of the school day napping on the roof.

o-o-o-o-o

"Zoro~! I'm bored!" The hyper Luffy had thrown himself sideways on the floor of Zoro's bedroom. It was the weekend, which meant no school, but it also meant someone had to entertain the young teen. Usually that duty fell to Zoro, much like today.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Zoro was busy doing his weight training. No school didn't mean skipping his routine.

"Let's go to that new amusement park!" Luffy's eyes glittered with excitement. "I hear it's pirate themed. They pick one person a day to be King of the Pirates. That's gonna be me!" The excitement turned into passionate determination faster than Zoro could blink.

The green haired teen continued to lift his weights for a few more silent minutes as Luffy giggled and imagined being said king to himself.

Zoro reluctantly put down the heavy weights with a dull thud and wiped the sweat off his face with a towel. "Fine, I guess, but let me shower and change first." A bad feeling settled into his stomach.

"Need any help? Shishishi…" Luffy placed a hand on the straw hat that sat on his head, eyes shadowed.

Zoro knew that look and immediately glowed red. "No way. If you help, we'll never make it."

Luffy whined out a 'fine' and pouted at the tall man.

o-o-o-o-o

Standing outside the loud and colorful place of entertainment, both boys stared. Zoro filled with dread at the sight of the crowded and happy place in front of them. Luffy practically vibrated with joy.

Luffy grabbed Zoro's hand and dashed to the ticket counter demanding two tickets, one for the Pirate King. The girl at the count nervously tried to explain that each ticket bought was entered into a raffle. The drawing would take place in about an hour. This information went in one ear and out of the other for Luffy. He started singing off tune about being the king as they made their way through the gates.

They ate at every stall they passed. Luffy did anyway. Zoro only tried a few before declaring he was full. Zoro only got lost three times; though he claimed the park switched things around when he wasn't looking. Luffy managed to win the drawing, making him the Pirate King for the day, which gave a few perks. Free food passes for the gluttonous boy and immediate cuts to the front of any ride. Zoro thought it was a good day, despite the dead he felt before entering. The sun had dipped below the horizon now though and night had made it's rapid appearance.

"Oi Luffy, we should go. It's getting late."

"One more ride!"

The green haired teen glance at his friend. That dread from earlier pitted in his stomach once again, but this time it was different. His gut said it's time to leave, but he gave into the puppy eyes that Luffy gave him. "Fine one more then we go." One more would be fine then they could leave. This place was making his danger senses go off.

Luffy chose a daring roller coaster with giant hills and tight loops. The ride was fast and over quickly. The dread returned, doubled, once it was over. Zoro was starting to think it might be from one too many rides and too much greasy food. A good night's rest would make it go away and in the morning everything would be fine.

o-o-o-o-o

Everything was not fine though. As soon as they stepped out of the park, Zoro knew.

"That was so fun, Zoro! We have to come back again! You'll bring me again, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Sweat started to collect on Zoro's skin. He knew what was coming next as he fiddled with the collar of his shirt.

"You promise?" Luffy asked, grinning wide as he stepped into the street.

Suddenly there was a loud horn and screeching tires. A sickening thump of a body being hit. Luffy sat frozen on the spot where he landed. Blood splashed across his front. Eyes wide and unblinking at the sight in front of him. Zoro's body was a few feet away. He tried to call to his friend, but the words were stuck on the lump in his throat. His heartbeat pounding in his ears was the only thing he could hear. He finally snapped out of it when a stranger tried to approach Zoro's unmoving body. Luffy lunged forward knocking the unknown man aside. He finally heard the sirens approaching and people shouting around him. His mind still reeling, trying to figure out what happened. He clutched at Zoro's body. He begged him to just open his eyes, to call him an idiot. He told him he can't die. He had to become the world's best at kendo. He growled and snapped at the paramedics who try to pull him away. An officer wrestled with him. In a last ditch effort to remain at his friend's side, he grabbed a handful of Zoro's shirt. The garment pulled taunt. Luffy caught a glimpse of black scrawled letters on his friend's collar, right on his scarred shoulder. 'You promise?' written clearly and neatly.