Anxiety | ZoLu 𔘓𓂃 ִֶָ

4

Unable to sleep with Luffy's words lingering in his head that night, Zoro flung the sheets off of his body before sleep got the best of him.

Having the will to stand up from his bed and the confidence to explore the Sunny, having one destination to find, the Swordsman grabbed his swords and left his bedroom.

Once he stepped outside and walked down the Sunny's narrow corridors, he saw almost every door closed, down the long hallway.

Chopper, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp's doors were closed, and as was the door to Franky and Robin's shared bedroom.

Brook tends to be the only one to leave his door open, oppose to everyone else.

Seeing this didn't phase the Swordsman at all, everything was seemingly normal to him.

Inhaling deeply into a wide yawn, Zoro squinted halfway when he saw a light flicker behind an open door, a few steps from where he stood.

Following the mysterious flash, the man was almost lead into a room where he noticed the brightness beaming through.

Despite there being no ropes tied to his legs, what really kept him from entering the room was the mere fact that it just so happened to be the room his Captain sleeps in.

Knowing this made Zoro skeptical about continuing the exploration or not.

He didn't want to intrude and potentially awaken the young man.

But then again... This was his chance to ask him the meaning behind the words he spoke to him before on the deck.

Zoro didn't want this opportunity to slip away from his hands so easily, not when he was this close to finding out about the truth.

Whether Luffy's response was positive or negative, his Swordsman was prepared to take the risk, but not before obtaining a proper answer from the Captain.

His answer was the key to solving many of Zoro's unanswered questions and thoughts he's been having lately as a result of Luffy's recent alterations.

So much had changed about Luffy, and Zoro was one of the first to notice it in the way his Captain was constantly sleeping, ever since last week.

Or so, he made everyone believe.

Even Zoro himself couldn't sleep as much as Luffy, in spite of him sleeping more than anyone in the entire crew, including the Captain himself.

Craning his neck forward to peek his head into the boy's bedroom, he found out where the light was coming from all along.

Resting with his body curled inwards, Zoro saw Luffy facing one side of the bed, appearing to be distracted by staring at something hidden in between his hands.

The item he was holding onto continued to fade from Zoro's sight, the closer and tighter Luffy held it, as if it would disappear or run away from the boy if he wasn't careful enough.

Keeping it covered underneath his sheets, Zoro estimated that the item was of a rather considerable length in size, but thin to the touch, seeing the way Luffy had his hands wrapped around it.

Gathering a small portion of what his Captain could be hiding, Zoro stood outside of his doorway for a while, uncertain about what to do.

His thoughts were suspended in a comprise of what to do next: If to continue observing his Captain, or to take his leave and make it back to his bedroom before getting caught.

A minute went by, then a few more until the clock reached an hour.

A long and time-consuming hour during which Zoro did nothing but watch carefully for sounds that could act as a clue or even a cue for him to fully enter the young man's room.

To his dismay, the sound of his own breathing was the only thing he was able to pick up on.

The complete absence of sound was so surreal to him, he could hear a pin drop from a mile away, if possible.

His ears began to ache from the white noise the silence cultivated, it grew bothersome for the older man to endure for a long period of time.

Due to this undesired disturbance, the Swordsman opted out of his quest to seek answers for Luffy's unexplained behavior and turned his back.

His feet were positioned to walk away during any given moment, but his mind was still set on staying, in case he missed out something by leaving so soon.

Again, the man was troubled by two choices: Returning to his bedroom, or running a deeper investigation.

His back was closer towards the inside of Luffy's room, but his front side was ready to take the next step forward.

The Swordsman set a new intention to go back to sleep and discard any further temptation to lurk around the hallways like a creepy stalker, or a sleepwalking ghost.

If someone happened to cross paths with him within the pitch black darkness he settled in, they would surely awaken the others on the ship by being startled to death.

The weight beneath his bare feet pushed the Swordsman away from Luffy's room, making him take slow steps to not make noise against the rustic wooden planks beneath him.

Although his interest in the mysterious item never diminished from his mind, Zoro wouldn't have known what to say if his Captain woke up to him sliding the paper out of his grip.

"Huh?"

Right when he had everything under control and was on the correct path to his bedroom without getting lost for a third time, Zoro's feet began to walk for him without a second opinion from the man himself.

His moves were fast but surprisingly silent.

His breathing hitched when he made it all the way back to where he was standing before, hearing the sound of a muffled scream from deep within the bed he had stood by before.

A scream so foreign, he wondered if an enemy had jumped the ship to steal their merchandise.

The thought of there being a mysterious suspect aboard the Sunny ignited a spark in Zoro's body.

He sprinted into action, threatening to wield his swords out at whoever might be in the Captain's headquarters.

Entering the bedroom on a ballistic rampage, Zoro held onto his sharp weapons, searching all around his surroundings for a possible invasion, only to find the entire room empty.

Confused by this, he sighed. The quieting slumber his Captain was partaking in was enviable to his Swordsman.

He wanted to do the same thing: Shut his eye and free fall onto his bed before the sun could arise and interrupt his peaceful rest.

But not long before choosing to finally leave with little to no chance in going back to the Captain's room, Zoro jolted.

The man was shocked to find Luffy struggling to breathe properly while his figure was concealed by the sheets covering him from head to toe.

"Luffy?"

"Is he really underneath- Something just grabbed me! What on earth is going on?!"

~~~