The Nightmares of a Swordsman | Zosan

☆ Chapter 6 ☆

Time: 10:15am
Location: Zoro's Cabin

"Here, I got you some pills for you headaches." Sanji gave Zoro the pills.

"Thanks" Zoro took one of the pills and drank some water.

Ssnji made sure to cuddle with Zoro in bed. He felt bad for causing Zoro to experience another nightmare, laying calmly beside him, holding him tightly.

"Cook..." Zoro whispered.

"Hm?" Sanji questioned

"Have you ever experienced a bunch of nightmares before?" Zoro asked.

"Haha, yeah I have. I didn't really have the best childhood, no one on this ship did, and because of that we've all had to experience a load of nightmares every now and then. Luckily, you're not alone, we're all here to help you get through this." Sanji smiled.

"Sleeping with you helps to calm them down." Zoro shyly admitted.

"You know, you act all tough but you're surprisingly clingy and soft," Sanji chuckled.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Zoro closed his eyes.

BANG

Their chat was interrupted by a loud noise coming from outside.

"Zoro, Sanji! We need your help! The marines spotted us!" Nami yelled.

"Shit, talk about bad timing." Zoro got up quickly, "Urgh!" holding his head.

"Zoro, you need to stay back here and get some rest." Sanji got up and looked at Zoro.

"I would love to, but then that would make them suspicious of me. I'm not ready to open up about my issues as yet." Zoro implied.

"But-" Sanji was cut off.

"Don't you think helping them out would give me some sort of closure. After all, my nightmares are about me not being able to help you guys out. Plus, sleeping while you go out to fight would just repeat the nightmares. I don't want to go to bed alone." Zoro blushes and walked out of his room.

Sanji followed after him, deciding that it's best to let him do what he wants in this situation. They got to the front of the deck, to see a marine ship with a cannon attached to it.

"This is bad." Franky said.

"If they hit the ship, we would have to make a stop to some kind of island. We ran out of supplies to help repair the ship." Usopp clarified.

"Gomu Gomu no" Luffy got ready to start a fight "BAZOOKA!" he yelled.

Hitting the ship, Zoro grabbed his swords, advancing to three sword style and ran on Luffy's arm. He then jumped off and landed on the marines ship.

"Alright bastards, let's see what you've got." Zoro smired and began attacking their crew.

"Stupied Marimo!" Sanji yelled and followed Zoro.

"Is it me, or am I getting an off vibe from the two of them?" Nami asked.

"Doesn't matter, shishishi. I'm going over there as well!" Luffy laughed.

"We need to start sailing the opposite direction, just in case they shoot the cannons. Dodging it is easier this way!" Nami yelled.

Everyone started putting their work into trying to attack and escape the marines with no serious damage.

Luffy, Sanji and Zoro were on the enemies team, trying to buy as much time as they could. They were all doing well until Zoro was caught off guard and hit in the head with a heavy steel bat. Normally he would be able to withstand such a hit, but because of his lack of sleep and his already pain throbbing headache, he held his head and dropped on one knee, losing all focus to the battle.

"Zoro?!" Luffy yelled, grabbing everyone's attention.

Luffy punched the guy he was already fighting out of his way and ran towards Zoro. Sanji kicked a few of the marines off of him and began to reach where Zoro was at.

They both companied Zoro and could tell that something was off. Not only was Zoro gripping onto his head, covering his ears, but he was also breathing incredibly fast.

"A panic attack?" Sanji questioned "Not another one, not right now." he slipped up.

"What do you mean another one? This happened before?" Luffy questioned.

Sanji realized that he had said something he didn't mean to say. Though, everyone's reaction was late and off guard when the cannon suddenly shot at the Sunny.

"Shit!" Sanji yelled "Luffy, we have to go!"

Luffy nodded and grabbed both Sanji and Zoro, he proceeded to slingshot himself back onto Sunny. He wanted to stop the cannon on time but he was late, causing it to hit the ship. Luckily, it wasn't big or strong enough to sink the Sunny.

"Sorry I'm late guys, but the cola blast is ready!" Franky yelled.

"Hold it," Usopp said, as he was using one of the Sunnys' cannons to target the enemy's ship. "Fire!"

Usopp launched a cannonball at the marines ship, perfectly hitting the bottom of it, making it begin to sink slowly.

"Now Franky!" Usopped yelled.

Franky used the cola blast to boost the ship and get far away from the enemy's crew. Everyone laid on the ship exhausted. By the time Luffy and Sanji came back to realization, Zoro's quick breathing had stopped and he was back to normal.

"What was that about?" Nami questioned. "You guys usually easily take out the marines, but today was different."

"Is there something wrong?" Robin asked Zoro, Luffy and Sanji.

They all stayed silent. Of course, Sanji knew that something was wrong with Zoro, but he didn't want to be the one to confess about it. That'd be up to Zoro on whether or not he wanted to open up. He stated earlier that he wasn't ready, so Sanji didn't want to out him at all.

Luffy only knew that he was having a few nightmares, but that was about it. Zoro was always loyal to Luffy, so why should they state something that's not anyone's business but theirs.

"Somethings definitely off." Chopper said, "Luffy asked me for some sleeping pills yesterday and Zoro looked drained out earlier."

That's when Zoro got up and stormed off into his cabin.

"Marimo, wait!" Sanji yelled and ran after him.

"Nami, find us an island so that we can get some repairs for the ship." Luffy got up and put on his hat, "I need to have a word with those two."

Zoro, Sanji and Luffy all headed towards Zoro's cabin. Leaving the rest of the crew to be confused, but decided to ask about it later.

For now, let's follow the captain's orders and find a new island to stay at for a while.