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Homecoming Hill	By : TreeStar Category: +M to R > One Piece Views: 2656 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Homecoming Hill

11

Starlight

Sanji had come home and made them all a nice cuppa when Zoro had announced that he wanted to go to his room and read. Kuina had sighed in disappointment, and Sanji had looked briefly suspicious for some reason that only God knew, but Zoro had finished his tea and headed upstairs, stopping only briefly to pick something up in the parlor. Zoro hoped that he wasn�t hurting his cousin�s feelings in any way. Usually he and Sanji would hang around together and talk about all kinds of things when it got quiet, but now that Zoro�s attention was focused very much elsewhere and Kuina had her dog, he hoped Sanji didn�t feel lonely.

But right now Zoro wanted to try talking to his roommate, and from what he could tell, Luffy was a fidgetter. He wasn�t the type that would ever be able to sit still and tell his life story; he needed a distraction to give him to opportunity to disconnect intermittently, otherwise it would feel like a confrontation and his defenses would go up.

Zoro walked into his room, honing in the boy already therein. The fireplace was lit genuinely for heat this time, though it still wasn�t burning anything, and Luffy was reading on the bed.

�Nice! It�s warm in here,� Zoro said, laying the chessboard on the bed and sitting down to set it up.

�Mm-hm,� Luffy answered distractedly, turning his page.

Zoro finished setting up the pieces and turned to look at Luffy. �I know you�re reading, but do you want to play?�

Luffy glanced up from his page, eyed Zoro, eyed the board, and smirked. �You want to go against me.� Another stated question.

�Why not? It�s just a game.�

Luffy considered this and nodded. �Okay.� He put his book aside and flipped onto his front to get into position. �Your move.�

White pawn to e4.

Black pawn to e5.

�I saw some Dwellers today.�

Luffy looked up at him. �You did?�

�Mm-hm. When I was playing Frisbee with Kuina and the dog. There were a whole bunch that came up and were watching us and laughing and talking. They seemed really nice. We had to go in before I could talk to any of them, but I want to go back out another day and see if I can meet some.�

Luffy quirked an eyebrow. �Then go to the same place you were playing and don�t explore. It could be like it is in here, and despite how nosy you are, I don�t want wandering around and getting killed.�

�Aye-aye captain.�

Luffy actually stifled a laugh and nodded decisively. �Good.�

�So, why are you and Ace so much stronger than anyone else on the Hill? You said it had nothing to do with being brothers,� Zoro asked as he moved his knight to f3.

Luffy jumped his own knight to c6. �We�re the only Everlastings with this much power,� he corrected. �I can�t know about the Dwellers.�

He looked thoughtful, and expanded on that after a moment. �That is, I can�t be sure about the Dwellers, but if the only two Everlastings like this happen to be Ace and myself, then I THINK there has to be at least one outside who�s the same. Maybe only one.�

Zoro�s brows drew together. �What makes you think so?�

Luffy looked pointedly at the board and brought out his rook. It was a few moments before he spoke. �Because there was one other that was taken at the same time as us.�

Zoro�s eyes softened. �And he�s outside?�

Luffy nodded. He didn�t look up, and didn�t seem to realize he was doing it, but his fingers strayed brush over the brim of the straw hat lying beside him.

Ahhh� Now he was getting somewhere. �Is this person a relative of yours?� Zoro asked as he moved out his queen.

Luffy quirked an eyebrow at it, but said nothing and moved his bishop to the side of the board.

Sensitive territory�

Zoro was getting ready to try a different approach when Luffy answered, �Aye. He�s my��

He trailed off, bit his lip and sighed.

�Why isn�t he inside with you?�

�Because he was outside when it happened,� he whispered, distantly, his memory drifting. �He had just gone outside��

The firelight brought out Luffy�s features, and Zoro could see that they boy looked honestly and openly sad. He watched Luffy�s hand lovingly and longingly touch the hat beside him. He�s lost a lot. No wonder he guards his heart so closely.

Zoro hadn�t wanted to make the boy upset� He looked over at the fireplace. �Is that you and Ace in the photograph?� he asked, pointing to a family portrait hanging on the wall above the fireplace across the room.

Luffy looked at it. It was a brown and white picture that had been taken outside on a Warf, and then blown up to hang on the wall. A freckle-faced boy of about twelve was standing beside a pretty young woman with long dark hair and soft eyes. Standing adjacent to Ace was a laughing young man in his mid-twenties with hair that was probably red and sparkling eyes, wearing brown suspenders and a little boy of around seven or eight on his shoulders. The boy was holding the same straw hat that Luffy now had his fingers on behind his back and out of reach of the man supporting him, but that was not what gave him away.

The scar under his left eye matched Luffy�s exactly, and Zoro wondered how a smile that happy would look on him now. It was untraditional of most boring family portraits in which no one smiled and all were in their Sunday best. It represented a truly happy family, and it made Zoro smile to see it.

It did not do the same for Luffy. There was no distant look of nostalgia or even longing in those eyes when he looked at it. There was only the passive gaze held by one who had looked upon it a million times in longing before refusing to acknowledge what it was really of anymore. Shutting things out was the only defense he had left.

�Aye,� he finally answered simply while capturing a pawn.

�Where was it taken?�

Luffy shrugged.

�How old were you?� Zoro tried again.

Luffy looked up at him. �Why do you care?�

Zoro was slightly taken aback as the fire changed colors across the room. �I just want to know you,� Zoro answered.

�Well I don�t want to know you,� Luffy retorted.

�That�s fine,� Zoro acknowledged. �I�m pretty boring. There wouldn�t be much to tell.�

Luffy snorted and looked back at the board. No you�re not� You�re anything but.

�But I want to know about your life and about what made you who you are now.�

�You don�t know anything about who I am now,� Luffy answered. And it would hurt a whole lot less in the future if you never found out.

Zoro frowned and tilted his head. �Why don�t you like to talk about yourself?�

Luffy met his eyes before answering, �Because those things don�t matter anymore.� He looked at the picture again. �Who I was� it�s gone now. None of it matters anymore.�

�You matter.�

Luffy was now looking at him with a bored expression �which dissolved slowly as he looked into Zoro�s eyes. The fire slowly turned dark red as it heated much more than it should have. Zoro�s compassion was visible in his expression, and there was no lie in his voice. To Luffy it was enough to be amazed about all over again. Amazed and scared, for receiving Zoro�s acceptance was one thing, and the thank you gift of books had felt good, but compassion was a different ship altogether.

He gently shook his head. �It�s white�s move,� he said finally, and looked back at the board. The fire had turned back to normal.

Zoro didn�t move for a few moments, just looking at the boy in front of him. Why was he pushing Zoro away so hard? What had happened to him to make him so afraid? He wasn�t as invincible as he thought he was, and Zoro had to show him that. He leaned forward and took Luffy�s knight with his queen. Ahaha, Zoro�s ego inflated.

Luffy�s bishop came from the side where he had tucked it so long ago and took Zoro�s queen. �Check.�

Zoro�s ego got a hole popped in it like a balloon, and it whizzed around the room before landing in the corner over there.

Despite the sudden turn of events in Luffy�s favor, Zoro knew the boy was still sad, so he decided to turn the mood around. �Who was the blonde girl I saw in the hall the other day? She seemed nice.�

Luffy perked a little. �That was Kaya. She�s the newest Everlasting, and she�s really sweet. You�d like her.� He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, �She�s Usopp�s only.�

�His only?�

Luffy nodded and lifted up his pinky finger.

Ohhh, his only. �I�d like to meet her, along with some of you other friends,� Zoro smiled, moving his remaining bishop two spaces. �It seems polite to introduce myself, and it might be fun.�

�You think so?� Luffy asked unsurely, sliding his rook to the middle of the board.

�Sure, why not?�

Luffy pushed himself to sit up a little more and put on his hat. He considered the request for a moment before nodding. �I guess we could do that, if you really want to.�

As soon as the spotlight�s off of him he does okay, Zoro made an internal note of it. As a matter of fact, Luffy seemed relieved to be able to drop his cool act, and the fire got warmer as a result. Must be exhausting to keep up appearances so much.

�I�ve liked everyone I�ve met here so far. Well, except for that one lady,� Zoro added with a grumble.

�That one lady?� Luffy asked, the curiosity audible this time.

�Yeah. I meant to tell you the other night, but it was too late so I waited and then I forgot. There was a woman in the dining room a couple days ago when my family and I were eating. I�ve never seen her before, and she didn�t look friendly at all. I haven�t seen her since.�

Luffy sat up all the way. �What did she look like?�

�She was tall, slender, blonde� older than I am. She had eyeglasses and her hair was very long. She made the sound disappear for me when she looked at me. I couldn�t even hear our dog barking- What�s wrong?�

Luffy had slowly flopped back on the pillows and was now staring at the ceiling. �Califa,� he sighed. �That was probably Califa. She�s from the West Wing. She didn�t hurt anyone, did she?� he asked, lifting his head off the bed to look at Zoro.

�No, she left quickly, but she did look at me like she was checking for something first. It was unnerving.�

�I�ll bet,� Luffy scoffed.

Zoro captured one of Luffy�s pawns with one of his own. "Why was she there? The kitchen's in the front of the house. I thought you guys stayed in your wings to avoid confrontation."

"Avoid confrontation? West Wingers? Consider whom you're talking about," Luffy laughed mirthlessly. "No, no. Anyone can go into the front of the house, they just have no reason to, so they don't. But every now and then anyone would get bored of that and need a change, I suppose. The problem is that they're after our wing, so in addition to the rare excursion, they spy on us now and then to see if -by some random chance- there's an opportunity for them to take it. They're not the only ones guilty of this, though. We spy on them when we catch them spying on us so that we don't get ambushed. Of course, there's a risk of ambush for those spying behind enemy lines anyway..." Luffy droned in oral thought to hear the sound of his own voice. "On the other hand it was very likely that she was just taking a walk. Maybe she saw you or heard you guys by chance and got curious. ...They're not criminals. Nor do they deserve to be treated as such. They just..."

"I'm surprised you defend them," Zoro said honestly. "I was under the impression that you didn't like them at all."

"...I'm not fond of them, and there are some that I truly wish I would never have to deal with again... but I don't hate anyone."

Zoro smiled. You're a really good kid, Luffy. I wish you could see it.

Luffy rolled over and crawled off of the bed. �I should tell the others about this. I�ll see you later.�

�Wait, I wanted to meet them, remember?�

Luffy stopped and bit his finger. �Aye. But not tonight. There�s little time before dark, and you still need to eat with your family. You�ll want more time with them than what you have now. They�re all really fun. Plus they�ll all get excited and never let you leave Ace�s room,� he rolled his eyes here, �so you�ll need more time anyway. I need to tell Ace about Califa now.�

He started for the door.

�Our game?� Zoro called after him, then shook his head, �Ah, we can finish it later.�

Luffy looked at the board for two seconds, crossed the room, and moved his queen one space diagonal to his rook, in line with Zoro�s king. �Mate.�

He turned and left.

-------------------

While Luffy was gone, Zoro had plenty of time to think about what he was going to do about him.

Zoro knew that Luffy was watching every move both of them made like a hawk, and it looked like Luffy was aware that the best defense was offence, because he knew how to push people away and keep them there. It was his survival mechanism.

If Zoro wanted to get close to Luffy, he would have to come in through the back door. Luffy had been right; why should Zoro try so hard to learn about his past when he could work in the now and get Luffy to come to him? If he backed off, then maybe Luffy would give a little, as well, and things would be allowed to develop on their own so long as they kept interacting with each other.

Besides, Zoro had another puzzle to put time into. Luffy was alive, Nami was alive, but he was sure that they were among the minority. Whatever had happened to them, whatever was keeping them here had to be undone. Ace had said that he�d been twenty two for over seventy years. That made this place an absolute prison that offered no escape of any kind. Zoro couldn�t let them stay this way. He wouldn�t if he could help it. There had to be a way.

-------------------

Though served late, dinner for Zoro came and went, and before long he was entering his bedroom to a fire in the fireplace for the second time that day. It wasn�t a warming fire, but the flames rippled with different colours, and Luffy was standing in front of the hearth, watching them dance in a trance of thought.

�Hey,� Zoro greeted. �What are you doing?�

Without looked away, Luffy answered quietly, �Waiting.�

�Waiting for what?�

�A lot of things.�

Back to this distant behaviour again, Zoro thought sadly. What would it take to bring Luffy past this?

�What did your brother say?�

�We can�t do anything about Califa but wait and see what happens. Communication is poor over there, so you never know if word will spread or not.�

�Okay� Then what did he say about meeting some more Everlastings?�

So eager to get away from me? Luffy thought sadly. It was a good thing that Zoro would be distracted from him, and he�d known it could only have been temporary anyway. If it hurt that he would be losing Zoro�s company, than it only meant that it was past time for Zoro�s attentions on him to be severed.

�They liked the idea. Some of them would like to meet you tomorrow. Ace will come get you when they�re ready.�

�They have to get ready for me? It�s not an event.�

�Hm. Anyway, they�re nice. It should be fun for you.�

�Just for me? Aren�t you coming?�

Luffy shrugged.

�I�d like it if you did,� Zoro persuaded.

Luffy fidgeted slightly, but didn�t respond.

Zoro watched the boy watch the fire for a while before he stepped up to stand beside him. Luffy didn�t move away from him, and Zoro put his hand on a smaller shoulder. Luffy jumped at the contact at first, and then relaxed into it.

�Luffy?� he asked quietly, breaking the silence. �Are you okay?�

It was quiet for a few moments, and then, �What do you mean?�

�You still look tired, and you said you�d need a few nights to recover, but there�s no starlight tonight. Are you going to be alright?�

�Aye. I�ll be okay. I didn�t get as much last night as I wanted to, but it�s enough for a while with the way I use it. I don�t really use a lot of power. Not like how Ace needs to. I just use it when I need it for little things.�

�What does it feel like?�

�What does what feel like?�

�Starlight. Is it warm, or�?�

Luffy closed his eyes and hugged himself. Zoro rubbed his back. �It�s not really warm, exactly� but it feels alive. It dances, sort of.�

�Starlight dances over you�� If only it were really as beautiful as it sounded.

Luffy nodded. �It feels� like it�s trying to encourage us. And we get stronger from it.� He was acting especially acquiescent tonight�

�It feels like things aren�t completely hopeless sometimes?�

Luffy nodded. The fire got warmer and Luffy glowed a little stronger. It was really amazing to witness. Luffy was a teeter-totter of emotion. He would push Zoro away and keep himself alone. Then someone could sneeze and suddenly Luffy would accept touch, but not encourage it. He wanted the loneliness to stop, but he wouldn�t bring himself to seek for the loneliness to stop.

So what was stopping him? What was he afraid of?

�S-sometimes I talk to them�� Luffy confessed hesitantly, actually sounding ashamed. �How pathetic is that?�

�I think it�s a nice thing to do. They must get lonely.�

Luffy hugged his chest. �You don�t have to be mean about it.�

�I�m not at all,� Zoro assured, keeping his eyes on the flames dancing in the air of the otherwise empty fireplace. �You see, my dad used to tell me lots of stories about Native American folklore and legends, and when I was younger there was one legend that told of how when people die, they become stars and watch over us, granting help and giving light when the sun and the moon go out.�

Luffy didn�t react but to incline his head a little, so Zoro assumed he was waiting for more. �You see, some Native American religions hold that when a member of the tribe dies, their spirits become very powerful once released from their bodies; too great to stay on earth, so they have no choice but to leave and go up into the sky. But they haven�t forgotten about their descendents, and they can be called upon to deliver justice to their people. Even from up there they keep their legends alive to us by making pictures in the night sky to tell their stories.�

Zoro squatted in front of the fire to warm his hands. �So it�s not strange to talk to the stars, you see? Sometimes we�re not as alone as we think we are.�

Though he knew better than to look because Luffy would immediately hide it, Zoro could hear the little smile in his voice.

�That would be nice,� the boy whispered. Then a child-like curiosity came forward. �But why would the Indians give us strength if we�re not Indians like them?�

Zoro shrugged and straightened. �I don�t know. Maybe they just like you.�

Luffy lowered his eyes. �Then they�re too far away to get a good enough look at what�s happening here.�

Zoro offered him a small shrug. �Or maybe when they look at you they see what I see.�

Luffy closed his eyes. �Well, maybe you don�t see anything, either.�

�I see more than you think,� Zoro answered.

Luffy frowned. �Well, do yourself a favor and stop looking. You won�t find anything good in this place.�

�I found you.�

Luffy didn�t answer, but the fire turned bright red and the temperature skyrocketed.

Zoro inwardly smirked and looked back at the flames for a moment before turning and heading to the wardrobe to get changed for bed.

Was this embarrassment he was detecting? Was this a blush? Because if it was then it was adorable, plain and simple. It would only get cuter when Zoro got him back to normal. And he would get him back to normal. That was his mission.

Trying to save a hundred or something people was an awful heavy load, so Zoro would focus on saving Luffy. Luffy wasn�t a lost cause yet, but he needed to be saved from himself as well as from the Hill, so Zoro would concentrate on saving Luffy, and the rest would be saved at the same time by default.

It was a good plan. �Or a mission statement. It wasn�t really a plan yet because plans led to the solution, and Zoro didn�t even have a starting point.

When he turned back around to ask Luffy a question, he found himself alone in the room with a now-warming fire.

----------

Luffy stopped in the hallway the linked the two corridors and wiped at his wet eyes. �Damn it,� he whispered. He was trying so hard to keep Zoro away, but he was so tired of being lonely� Didn�t the Outsider know a bad thing when he felt it? Didn�t he realize what could happen to him if he stayed here? Why was he still here, and why was be being all� like this?

He�s making it so hard for me. �He�s so nice. WHY does he have to be so nice?! How can he possibly be so nice to me? He doesn�t know me at all.

He leaned against the wall and pressed his forehead to it. �That�s right, he doesn�t know what he�s doing. He doesn�t know what he�s talking about. He doesn�t know he�s in danger. He doesn�t know anything at all� that�s why he can act like this. He doesn�t know� I have to protect him.� He slid down to his knees and let out a sob. �God, I�m so lonely�� But when he was with Zoro, he never felt alone. Even if only for short periods of time, whether he recognized the dangers of the Hill or not, Zoro could make Luffy feel better about himself. Like he was being forgiven. He didn�t deserve to after what he�d done, but it was so wonderful�

He took a shuddering breath and looked up toward the ceiling. �Shanks� what do I do?�

----------

Zoro had been sleeping for hours when a sound trickled into his dream and woke him. It was so soft that it took him a moment to realize that it was crying, but once he did he decided he should ignore it and go back to sleep, because Luffy had said that the babies cried at night in the Manor.

But it occurred to him as he listened that this wasn�t a baby, and he registered the feelings that were misting around the room. Zoro knew this feeling; he had felt it in his dream the night before. The love and despair that flowed slowly and evenly through the air was something that Zoro finally was able to place in his sleep-fogged mind as a channel. It wasn�t a strong one, so Zoro hadn�t been sure at first, but he recognized the heart it came from. The channel was meandering instead of aimed, and it probably felt softer to him because Luffy was way over by the window and not in physical contact with him. But then what did it say about its strength if he could feel it from the bed across the room? Like before, everything that was in Luffy�s soul overflowed and poured into the room around him; directionless despair and blame, desperate hope and passionate love with no place to go.

If he got up, he was sure that Luffy would put him straight back to sleep, but if Luffy was crying then shouldn�t he try to comfort him?

But comfort him from what? He had no idea what was wrong, and if he moved to look, Luffy would know that he could hear him and would be embarrassed or upset, and that wouldn�t help Zoro�s situation with him at all.

The crying -already so soft- stopped then with a shuddering sigh of resignation, and it became quiet. Zoro was left to consider this new puzzle piece. He was sure now that the sound he had heard on other nights before this one -the one that he hadn�t really registered before- had likely been Luffy, as well. Did Luffy cry by the window every night around the same time?! What could trigger something like that?
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Homecoming Hill