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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.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Homecoming Hill

9

The Beat

It was late when Luffy opened his door and walked inside of his room where Zoro was doing something over at the desk using candlelight. The Outsiders had already eaten by now, and Zoro was in a baggy t-shirt and that loose underwear that Kaya referred to as �boxer shorts�.

Luffy took his straw hat off, placing it on the bed before flopping down next to it on his back before remembering to light up the room. He didn�t care if he saw anything or not. He knew this room like the back of his mostly-there hand, but it was a courtesy. �Save the candles,� he mumbled tiredly from the bed, before hearing the puff of two candles being blown out.

He felt Zoro�s eyes on him and after a moment he turned to look at his observer. �What is it?�

�You look tired,� Zoro said, and Luffy knew why he was confused.

�I am tired,� he answered.

�Can you sleep?�

�Sure. Several of us have had to several times,� Luffy answered, relaxing again and closing his eyes.

That was an odd answer. �Is it not normal for you to sleep?�

Luffy didn�t move from his comfy spot as he answered, �I�m strong enough that I don�t really have to. You�ve seen one of Ace�s shows. With our power levels, if we ever run so low on energy that we need to sleep, this Wing will be �very screwed�, to coin a phrase your cousin used today. There are a lot of strong Everlastings in the West Wing. Sometimes even when I helped it was hard to keep them out. But it�s been quiet lately.�

�But you look like you could use a nap now��

Luffy opened one eye to fix it on Zoro for a moment before closing it again. �I�m fine. I haven�t bothered to boost my energy for over a week. Didn�t expect I�d be using power to try and detect others for so many hours today while your family went on your tour. Are you back at it tomorrow?�

�Yeah. Sanji wanted to start in the West Wing tomorrow for a change-�

Luffy sat up with a wide-eyed look Zoro had never seen him wear. The boy looked terrified and started shaking his head violently, but before the string of �no no no�s could come out, Zoro raised his voice to cut them off.

�-but I convinced him that we needed to finish one Wing at a time, and that we have enough information to straighten out as it is. I�ve gotten him to look at this place as two parts rather than as a whole for starters. He�s satisfied on working the budget that way, first on one Wing and then on the other. They�re both still curious to get a glance of what�s over there, but at least this has bought some time.�

Luffy nodded and relaxed into the bed again. �Oh good,� he sighed.

Zoro tried not to laugh at him. He was just so cute, all ready to conk out right there. �Sorry we wore you out. I didn�t realize how tiring it was for you.�

�It�s no big deal, except I was low on energy as it was. Now I�m exhausted, and it�ll take me a few nights to get past it.�

�Couldn�t you trade off with the others?�

�Nami�s not very good at� well, working when someone else is there to do it, and Usopp doesn�t have power to waste. They both stick to safety in numbers.�

Zoro looked concerned, and Luffy could tell this without looking at him. �Don�t worry. If anything comes in here, I�ll have an easy time with them. They won�t come, anyway. They don�t want to be near me.�

--�They hate him. More than what�s normal. They really HATE him.�--

Zoro decided to change the subject, because he didn�t want to pursue where Luffy�s comment might lead. Not yet.

�Why did you open the door?� Zoro asked.

�So I could come into the room,� Luffy answered lazily.

�I mean, why didn�t you just come through the door?�

�I did,� Luffy said without moving.

Zoro shook his head. �I meant without opening it first.�

�Because I would have walked into the door if I hadn�t opened it first,� Luffy smirked at him.

�You can�t walk through walls? Because I thought I�ve felt you leave without opening the door first. I must have been wrong.�

�You�re not,� Luffy said, rolling over onto his tummy and putting his chin in his hands. �I was dispersed. I can move through things when I�m dispersed. I can move faster and easier, but it takes a lot of energy and it doesn�t feel very good. We can�t do it for very long without suffering a power drain. A few of us can barely do it at all. I like to stay gathered anyway, because it�s closer to my natural form. It�s comfortable.�

�So, when you�re gathered, you�re solid,� Zoro said.

�Aye.�

Zoro got up and sat on the bed beside where Luffy was lying, and the smaller boy rolled onto his side to see him better and reserve energy.

�What is your natural form?� he asked.

Luffy looked at him like he was stupid, but sighed and held up his hand. �It�s a lot like this except it doesn�t glow in the dark.�

Zoro reached out to touch Luffy�s outstretched hand, and Luffy pulled it back sharply. �What are you doing?!�

Zoro pulled back as well. �I�m just-- I�m sorry.�

Luffy relaxed again. �No, it�s� What were you trying to do?�

Zoro looked at the smaller boy and sighed. �I just wanted to check something.�

�Check on what?�

Zoro shook his head. �Nothing, it�s stupid.�

Luffy bit his lip. He wasn�t sure why he felt the need to do it, and he knew how stupid it was, but he also knew that touching an Outsider was well within his limits, and after a moment he slid his hand slowly across the mattress. If you want something to happen, you have to meet it halfway, right Ace?

Zoro reached down slowly, and then looked at Luffy in askance. Luffy nodded, still curled up on his side, and then watched as Zoro touched him.

An Outsider, another person, reached down to willingly touch him, and then smiled at him. Luffy felt the heat from his new roommate creep into him, and smiled back. He would never let it happen again. He couldn�t. �But just this one time, he held another person�s hand, and smiled. �You�re hands are warm,� he sighed.

�So are yours,� Zoro smiled back, rubbing his thumb over the back of Luffy�s hand. �You should smile more. You have a nice smile.�

Luffy rolled his eyes and the smile grew. Zoro noticed that Luffy�s form became a little stronger for just a moment, the color returned slightly from the usual state of bluish-white transparency. But it passed, and he was again bathed in starlight. �I don�t really have much to smile about,� he answered, and his eyes turned to look at the glass sliding door that gave a great view of the vineyard below it.

Zoro followed his gaze, but saw nothing. �It�s a shame,� he said.

Luffy snorted, but after several moments he sighed and looked up at Zoro again. �Zoro? Why are you still here? After yesterday?�

�What, that?� Zoro smiled. �That was an accident, right? Why leave over an accident?�

�You know very well that accidents aren�t the only things that happen here. �And sometimes bad things happen around me�� Luffy whispered.

Zoro�s smile was gentle and unfading. �Me too. My dad died a few months ago. There was a fire in the hotel he was staying at. My little sister lost her mom, too.�

�You two have different parents.� Again, a stated question.

Zoro nodded, �Yeah. My dad and her mom got married a few years ago. My real mom died when I was six.�

Luffy looked at the comforter, eyes distant. �So did mine.�

�We have something in common, then,� Zoro said in the same gentle tone.

Luffy smiled again, then tensed suddenly and tried to pull his hand away.

Zoro held on. He wasn�t sure yet� �Do you eat?�

Luffy looked confused for a moment, distracted from pulling away his hand. �What?�

�Do you eat? Food,� he added. He began to massage the hand in his own two, and was relieved when it relaxed in his grip.

�Oh,� Luffy sighed, �nay. I can�t. I don�t need to, either. Our energy is supplied by�� he trailed off here and nodded toward the glass door behind him.

Zoro nodded, and Luffy was drawn to feeling Zoro�s fingers move over his own. It was so simple, yet so incredible. Someone who was trying to make him feel good. Someone who was not hesitant to touch him despite the fact that he was a transparent freak, even among Everlastings. Someone who wasn�t afraid of Everlastings! It was just completely unreal. Someone so nonjudgmental and receiving of him� Zoro was completely unreal.

No matter what he told himself, Luffy knew he liked Zoro. And Zoro seemed to like him.

This situation couldn�t be more dangerous, Ace. I hope you know what you�re doing, and there�d better not be some ulterior motive behind this set up, because I know what a rubber band effect is. But with Zoro being a person that was so� like this, it was going to be hard. I might have to get a little bit close to do this right. Just a little bit...

Zoro, for his part, watched Luffy play out his internal battle on the bed. The younger boy went from shuddering and squeezing his hand for comfort, to relaxing and looking at the bed with tired eyes. Luffy responded well to touch, and Zoro wondered when the last time had been that someone just held him. If he had an outlet like that, then wouldn�t all the suffering Zoro had felt in the channel the day before not be there anymore? Didn�t anyone make an attempt to give their time to this poor kid? What could possibly keep all of them so busy that they didn�t have time for a sit-down with him? For God�s sake, it wasn�t like they were going anywhere!

�How long have you been here, Luffy?�

Luffy closed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to stop the stinging behind them. Why did Zoro have to care so much? He was going to make his assignment of staying beside him really hard to do. �You�re really nice,� he whispered. �You don�t deserve to be here.�

Zoro looked sadly at the boy lying before him. �Neither do you.�

Luffy opened his eyes again, and the two looked at each other, each trying to understand the other. Zoro got further than Luffy did.

When the smaller boy pulled his hand back this time, Zoro let him retreat, recognizing it for what it was, and knowing that it wasn�t he that Luffy was retreating from. He didn�t know what this �Shifting� was, or anything else about what was keeping these people here, but it was obvious who this boy�s enemy was.

Luffy sat up and looked outside. �You need to go to sleep now. The Hill is waking up.�

�What does that mean? You said that last night, too.�

Luffy looked at him dispassionately with the same distant mask he�d wear when his mind was wandering elsewhere, before getting up and walking to stand in the window light. �Our powers are peaking. We absorb starlight, that�s how we replenish our energy instead of sleeping or eating. Our awareness is at its strongest at night because of this, and your presence is weakest when you�re sleeping. We don�t think the West Wing is aware of you yet, and we want it to stay that way. When they figure out that you�re here, they�ll come. We�re trying to postpone that, so you must sleep at night. All three of you. It�s important.�

�Can you see in the dark, then?�

Luffy�s gaze remained on the sky. �Nay. We rely on our ability to sense things coming. Sight is unreliable here.�

The conversation that Zoro�d had with his sister that had been bugging him all afternoon came back to him now. He knew how it might sound, but he had to ask. �Luffy?�

The boy turned to look at him with that masked expression.

�My sister said something earlier that made me think, and I was wondering� what makes a person get picked to disappear here?�

Luffy looked at him stoically for several moments, so unlike the boy who he had been touching only a minute ago. Traces were still there, but he was so far away now�

�For starters,� Luffy started pointedly, �you can ask something you aren�t supposed to ask, or be told something you aren�t supposed to know. Words have power on Homecoming Hill, and the land itself can hear you, so be careful how you word things if you have to ask something and try not to be obvious about what you�re doing. Never write things down. I can�t tell you not to be curious, because I know how impossible that is with us wandering around and the town throwing rumors left and right about the Hill. But if you get some idea about Homecoming Hill or what we are, don�t say it out loud, and especially do not write it down. Spoken words can get lost, and whispers can be missed, but writing is permanent. Keep notes in your mind if you decide to keep them at all. That�s as much advice as I can give you.

�Beyond that, all I can say is that there are two kinds of victims here; the dead and the vanished. The Hill only targets the vanished. Otherwise, some people just have the unfortunate luck of dying naturally or getting killed here, and then they can�t escape. I don�t know if you�ve missed this, Zoro, but we�re not here on purpose.�

Zoro nodded.

Luffy looked out the window. �You need to go to sleep. The stars are bright now.� The light in the room went out, punctuating Luffy�s order.

Zoro suddenly remembered the woman in the dining room that afternoon, but he supposed it would have to wait until the morning. Luffy was tired and didn�t want to keep talking.

Zoro pulled down the blankets and got into bed, relaxing and letting himself drift off, reflecting.

He�d seen a glimpse of that boy he�d felt in the channel the day before, and he liked him. He wondered what it would take to bring Luffy out of his turtle shell and connect like he so obviously wanted to.

On another more important note, Zoro�s touches had revealed what he�d suspected he might find. Luffy got sleepy. Luffy was warm to the touch; not cold like Usopp and probably a great number of the others were. Luffy could feel the temperature difference in Zoro�s hand. Luffy craved contact, no matter how he might pretend not to, and all of this had led Zoro to his suspicion that he�d confirmed a few moments ago:

Luffy had a pulse.

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

At some point in the night, Zoro blinked in and out of consciousness. He could have sworn he heard someone crying. Softly. Heartbrokenly. But it didn�t last for long if it was even real, and Zoro was asleep again before he was ever awake enough to realize what it might mean.

Zoro was unsurprised to find himself alone when he woke up the next morning.

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

Sanji announced while they were still only eating their omelets that they were going back to inspecting the East Wing again as soon as they were all done, much to Kuina�s chagrin.

�Can�t we take a day off?� she whined.

�No.�

So that was how all of them, along with Nami, Usopp and Luffy, found themselves on the second floor of the East Wing in the room next to Usopp�s studio. Usopp had been quite complimented when Sanji had tried to meander into his workshop �on accident� again, but the attempt had been foiled by the door just mysteriously not opening. Zoro tried not to laugh when Nami decided to take her stand by refusing him entrance, and had reminded Sanji that there were other studios on the floor that needed to be inspected.

Nami and Usopp were pleasant enough, and every time Zoro went into a room it always lit up and was empty of Everlastings. According to Nami, the word had been spread and everyone knew when it was time to go leave a floor vacant for a few hours. Zoro couldn�t understand why they were all so lenient and eager to accommodate the invasion of their home. It was rather unnerving.

As the day wore on, five of the six wandered into many a studio, most of which interested Sanji a great deal and took a while to get through because he couldn�t just look at the room itself knowing that most of the projects had been discontinued due to a sudden relocation of family. Painted walls, cabinets, and squeaky floors couldn�t keep his focus off of the random creations in different kinds of rooms, so he had to inspect a ton of things that Usopp said were works in progress to someone who was out at the moment, and so he�d better not hurt anything.

It became tedious to deal with Sanji�s elfishness in every room. Plus he kept hovering right over things, but then telling Kuina not to get close to them in a tone that seriously suggested he didn�t know he was being hypocritical. It was getting on the little girl�s nerves and anyone could see it.

It was during one of these long inspections that Zoro noticed that Luffy had not been entering the rooms with the rest of them, opting to walk around in the hallways instead. Making an excuse of needing to use the bathroom, Zoro headed out the door and down the hall, finally reaching and turning the corner, where he found Luffy leaning against the wall and taking deep breaths.

�Hey, Luffy,� Zoro approached him, and Luffy looked up. �What are you doing over here by yourself?�

Luffy shrugged. �What about you? Where are the others?�

�Back in the room, I guess. I came to find you. Are you okay?�

Luffy looked at him in almost comic disbelief. �You came to find out if I�m alright?� How ironic.

Zoro couldn�t figure out what was so funny. �So� are you?�

Luffy sighed and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. �Aye.� He still looked awfully tired, though he might have just been bored. �You just left them there?�

�I made an excuse to leave. You know how Sanji is. He�ll stay in there until Nami shuts off the lights and forces him to move on.�

Luffy drew his knees up to his chest. �Hm. I should have brought a book to read.�

�Well, we have a few minutes. Want to go grab one out of your room or the library?�

Luffy frowned. �Nay. I�ve read a lot of the books that are the kinds I like already, so I�d have to hunt around. It would take me a while to find one I�d be interested in. Do you like reading?�

�I�ve read a lot of novels. I like sci-fi and fantasy.�

Luffy tsked. �I don�t really understand sci-fi stories. All the ones in here came with later Outsiders, and they describe worlds that I can�t see. They talk about this technology that they never bother describing, like everyone should just know it, and there are creatures sometimes that are� Let�s just say I�ve been through enough supernatural for ten lifetimes.�

�I can understand that. What kinds of books do you like?� Zoro leaned against the wall beside where the boy was sitting.

Luffy stuck his legs out straight and wiggled his feet. �I like adventure stories with journeys and picaro characters. But I like Happily Ever Afters, too. I know life is never that kind, but it�s nice to think it could be.�

Zoro kept going before Luffy could get sad. �When�s the last time new books were added to the library?�

�I don�t know,� Luffy shrugged. �A long time ago. People have brought in newer books as personal belongings, but I haven�t read many.�

�Why not?�

Luffy rested his chin on his knees. �Because the others all want to read them, too. They claim dibs on who gets a book when, so a book makes rounds for a long time.�

�Where�s your place in line?�

Luffy hugged his knees tighter. �I don�t have one.�

Zoro leaned over a little to see him better. �Why not? Don�t you want to see if they�re any good?�

Luffy bit his lip for a moment before answering, �I�m not� I can wait. I usually take it when they�re all done with it. �I don�t like to bother them.�

Zoro had thought it might be that way. Luffy didn�t seem like he was used to asserting himself around the others without a good reason. Zoro sincerely hoped that Luffy didn�t let them walk all over him, but he had the feeling that the only one who thought of Luffy as a bother was Luffy himself.

He squatted beside Luffy to better face him. �Maybe it�s time you got some stories first, huh?�

Luffy looked away from him and shrugged. �It�s no big deal.�

�Zoro!�

His sister�s voice from down the hall warned Zoro of her approach, and he straightened to meet her before she turned the corner.

�What are you doing?�

He started walking toward her, hating to be rude to Luffy, but having little other choice in the matter. �Heading back to the room. What are you doing?�

Kuina sagged slightly. �Sanji sent me to find you. I hoped you�d be further away��

Zoro laughed and put his hand on her head to steer her back toward the room. Behind them, Luffy rose and followed in silence.

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

When they finally, finally reached the third floor, everyone but Sanji was greatly relieved and Kuina was asleep in Zoro�s arms.

Most of the bedchambers on this floor were well-kept, as they had expected considering the state of their own rooms on this level. They started in the corridor adjacent to their own and everything went well until they reached a door that would not open immediately.

Before Sanji could throw himself against it, Luffy (who had been trailing behind all the others in quiet seclusion) stepped forward for the first time from behind Nami and Usopp and said, �Move on.�

Suddenly Sanji decided that he didn�t want to go into that room, anyway, and went to the next down the hall.

Zoro had tried to ask Luffy with his eyes what was behind the door, and Luffy started to answer, but then glanced at Nami and Usopp and stepped back into the back again.

Usopp and Nami hadn�t been exaggerating. When Zoro was alone with him, Luffy spoke carefully, but when he was around anyone else, the boy was a clam.

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

Zoro dragged his feet tiredly into his room to change for bed that night. Luffy was standing in front of the fire in the fireplace that didn�t look like it was burning anything, but it was heating and lighting the room nicely.

�Hey, Luffy.�

�Hi,� Luffy returned distractedly as he made the flames shape shift to form crosses, arrows, orbs, hoops, and even slinkies. Zoro let himself be captivated by this for a few minutes, because the shape wouldn�t look like an object that was on fire - it looked like an arrow or a cross made out of fire. Not a flame rippled out of place or leapt from the perfect design, almost like a contained molten liquid, but not quite. As oxymoronic as Everlastings themselves, and still beautiful.

�You have really good control.�

�Hm.� Luffy frowned and stopped his game before walking over to sit on the bed.

Zoro watched in mild confusion. His humility regarding his powers is a joke, is it?

�So I take it your not a showman like your brother?�

Luffy shook his head. �Not anymore. Ace likes to dance, and he�s used to being surrounded by people while using his powers, but he tries not to be wasteful with them so as to set an example and not appear conceited. Also, I�m sure I don�t need to tell you how it could be if he ever messed up badly. I don�t think it will ever happen, but you see where I�m coming from.�

�Is that how you feel about your powers, too?�

Luffy frowned a little. �Aye� sort of. Like I said, I don�t use my powers like he does.� He propped his back against one of the four posts on the bed. �Having great power isn�t something I ever really wanted. It�s not always a blessing to be able to do things others can�t, because then you�re different from everyone else, and they treat you that way.�

Zoro pulled on his night shirt. �They don�t seem to treat you badly��

�No, they don�t,� Luffy agreed. �It�s just that�� He sighed. �It�s easy for someone to decide on the solution for a big problem when they aren�t the solution. But when you can do things unique to you, then everyone else wants you to use that power to better their situation. They exploit you, sometimes without meaning to, but I can�t help but think that the situation in this whole manor would be so much better if everyone just stopped and actually thought about how simply using power to do everything isn�t the way that everything should be done. What�s more, it�s evolved from personal every day issues into �we have stronger people on our side, so we�ll just trust them to protect us from everything�. That isn�t a magic bullet, and it puts a heavy burden on those who do the protecting, but those outside of Ace�s group in the East Wing have gotten caught up in the power trap along with the rest and think that this way of thinking is good. Even a few of those in his group have become pretty dependant. Ace and I feel that using our power to do more than what�s necessary is uncalled for.�

Zoro sat down on his side of the bed and said, �You mean: the side with the biggest guns can win, but just because you possess the bomb doesn�t mean you have to drop it. With power comes the responsibility of choosing when and how to use it.�

�Exactly,� Luffy said, sounding relieved that he was being understood by someone. �Most Everlastings in the East Wing are weak. They have very little power, and the reason they�re here is because the West Wing is full of people with lots of power. There are a lot of strong Everlastings over there -- enough that even with our levels, Ace and I could be overpowered if they would ever actually work together.�

Luffy noticed Zoro watching him patiently, as he usually did. Luffy stopped talking and went inside of himself to make sure he wasn�t saying too much. Maybe he was paranoid, and he knew it shouldn�t matter to him, but he didn�t want Zoro to know. His own terrible power, the thing that even Ace didn�t have the power to do� He still remembered with vivid clarity� it was so painful every time, and he didn�t want Zoro to know.

Realizing his hands were shaking, Luffy took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. It didn�t work. You�ve gotten scared over nothing. He didn�t ask anything about that. This is� It�s is only a story. That�s what Ace would say. Ace would tell it in a second. It won�t hurt anything. It�s not like it�s personal� just leave off the ending. It�s okay.

�Luffy, are you okay?� Zoro was getting scared for the boy. His eyes just now� they had looked terrified. And he was shaking badly, curling into himself.

�A-aye. I just� my thoughts wandered. Sorry.�

�No, it�s alright. Do you want to lie down? Not to rest but just� because?�

Luffy bit his lip and the shaking got worse. The fire in the fireplace started trading off between flaring up dangerously and dousing out completely.

�I promise not to crowd you or try to touch you if you don�t want me to,� Zoro added. �Or if you want to, you know, be close to someone, you can come over here and lay down by me.� Luffy looked peaked, and Zoro just wanted him to be able to relax completely when they were together, but at this point he would settle for getting the poor kid to stop shaking so badly. Oh, Luffy� what have you been through?

After a few moments, Luffy nodded and laid down on the blanket across from where Zoro was sitting and a reasonable distance away. �Okay� I�m okay. Sorry, that just� happens sometimes.�

He looked so embarrassed.

�It�s okay,� Zoro said, �there�s nothing to be sorry for. Sometimes memories can be pretty harsh.�

Luffy gently laid his head down on the bed, watching Zoro through big round blue eyes. His shaking eased, and he nodded. �Aye�� he whispered.

Adorable�

Luffy took another deep breath, let it out, and started telling a story. �You see, the West Wing has always had more people in it because it has more rooms, and therefore more people moved into them and were then claimed by the Hill. We used to all share the whole house freely and we got along like two halves of a dorm. The reason that we became divided with them over there and us over here is because almost all of the strong people started using their powers to try to best each other. At first they were only finding a cure for boredom, but as time passed, they became more violent. Then most of the original East Wingers moved over there and abandoned their rooms here as their frustrations and their desires to compete grew. At the same time, several weaker people came over to this Wing seeking sanctuary, because the stronger West Wingers were picking on them. They became so obsessed with the idea that they could use their powers to do everything that they didn�t stop to think if they should, and became power-obsessed. To them, a weak Everlasting is a worthless one.�

Luffy curled up on his side and traced a pattern over the comforter with his pointer finger. His voice became softer, and Zoro could see that -super powers or not- the boy�s fit had taken a lot out of him. He was worn down.

�When the fights trickled over here, Ace decided to take a stand. I stood with him, and we made it clear one night that the East Wing would be fight-free from then on. They hated that, but since they still can�t work together due to their �mightier than thou� complexes, we�ve been able to fend them off for all this time. Ace and I are the only exceptions to the trap of anger the others got trapped in, and it�s a lucky thing that we happen to be stronger than them. You see, the others here help, but when trouble comes there isn�t much they can do. That�s why if the West Wingers ever figure out teamwork, we would be in trouble. They would take the Wing back, and then what would happen to the people over here?�

Zoro, who had been listening avidly, put in two cents. �It sounds like power is the real enemy of the West Wingers.�

Luffy fiddled with a pillowcase in silent consideration for a long time before answering. �I suppose, but our powers are what heal us and give us the energy to disperse and protect ourselves. Without them we would be helpless.�

Zoro wasn�t clear on how exactly they hurt each other in the forms they had. He assumed blows were landed when they were solid, but then with powers like theirs, an injury could be something not so physical at all. He wanted to know, but as he glanced at the window and saw how dark it was, he knew that it would have to wait. Zoro could tell when Luffy was winding down for the night. �But what if everyone had equal power?�

�What if everyone were free to leave? There are many �what if�s, but as they aren�t possible, why dwell on them?�

Zoro laid back on the bed. �I understand.�

Luffy pushed himself up off the bed with a rare yawn and pulled a big plushie chair over next to the window before flopping into it in the glow of the starlight. �That�s better,� he sighed.

Zoro chuckled and brought pulled up the blankets on the bed before snuggling into bed. �We just keep wearing you out, don�t we? And tomorrow we�re right back at it. Pffuhh� I�m tired.�

�Aye� It�s no big deal. It�s my fault for falling behind on doing this in the first place. It�s embarrassing.�

Zoro was pleased. Luffy was getting better about talking with him. The boy was afraid to do it, for sure, but bit by bit, he was starting to get used to Zoro�s presence.

Just look at him, Zoro thought to himself with a smile as he watched the boy rock back and forth in the window light with his feet on the glass. He went from having an emotional break down to playing in a cushy chair... Before this place hurt him, I�ll bet he was a real monkey to try and keep track of. �I want to bring him out of his dark places, away from this Hill, and help him defeat all those painful memories that haunt him.

Luffy snuggled deeper into his chair and curled up into a ball as the fire got warmer and rolled steadily, completely under control.

I want that more than anything�

�Good night, Luffy.�

Zoro tucked into bed and had gotten comfortable before he heard the return whisper. �Good night, Zoro.�
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Homecoming Hill