Chapter Text
“Zoro, where are you?” Nami asked as soon as he picked up the phone.
“Hello would be nice.”
“I’m serious!”
“Alright, alright,” he said, and explained that he was on his way back to the dorms from the gym. Not the university gym. That place closed at like, 5pm, so he went to the 24-hour gym a couple of blocks away.
“Only you would go to the gym at ten pm,” she huffed. “Just be careful. People have been going missing from that area recently.
He rolled his eyes. “You worry too much. I can handle myself, you know.”
“You’re too overconfident. The last person that went missing was a big guy who could probably throw his weight around a lot more than you.”
“Fighting is about more than just weight,” he grumbled, passing through an area where a street light had gone out. It was so quiet. “I’ll be fine.”
Just as he said that, something flew out of the shadows beside him. He managed to dodge to the side just barely fast enough to avoid getting hit in the head with a metal pipe. Except when he dodged to one side, another person came out of the shadows and hit his hand, making him drop his phone.
“Zoro, what just happened?” Nami’s voice crackled out of his now very damaged phone.
He jumped back from the people attacking him, trying to pay enough attention to everything else in his surroundings to avoid being caught by surprise again if someone else came. There was enough adrenaline coursing through him already that he could ignore the pain in his hand.
Now that he got a good look at them, he could see they were two men, probably close to himself in age, both with shaggy brown hair and a manic look in their eyes that said they wanted blood. The shorter of the two wore a red vest and shorts, while the taller one seemed to be cosplaying a cowboy. They stopped their attack briefly to size him up, and any sane person would’ve taken the opportunity to run away as fast as they could, but Zoro had never claimed to be normal, and who’s to say they wouldn’t outrun him anyway? He got into a defensive stance.
They both came at him at once, flanking him on each side. He managed to dodge their first swings and even managed to punch the bigger one right in the nose, making blood gush down all over his face. That was where his fight ended, though, because one strike to the back of his head sent him crumbling to the ground.
“Zoro? Zoro?!” Nami’s voice came over the phone again. “Are you okay? Come on, answer me!”
Zoro just groaned. His vision was blurring, and everything hurt. He was starting to think going to the gym tonight had been a mistake.
Nami’s panicked voice stopped coming out of his phone when a cowboy boot ground down on it, nearly breaking it in half.
“Geez. So annoying,” said the cowboy.
“Wow, that guy put up a good fight,” the other guy said. His voice was light and airy, like what they were doing was some kind of game. “No wonder he was so overconfident.”
“I hate people like that.”
The smaller guy giggled. “Shishi, you’re just saying that because you’re mad he broke your nose.”
“Can you blame me?” the Cowboy said, pulling Zoro’s limp arms behind his back and tying them together. “Anyway, just call Sabo before that woman he was talking to sends the cops here.
A minute later, a car pulled up, and Zoro was dragged inside. He wanted to keep fighting back, but his body felt like lead and his head was pounding. Soon, it was far too difficult to even keep his eyes open, and as the car started moving, he was pulled into darkness.
* * *
When Zoro woke up, he wished he hadn’t. His hand throbbed, his head was pounding, and his whole body ached with various scrapes and bruises. The ground beneath him was cold and hard, but the chill almost felt soothing against the side of his head. He loathed to get up.
The memory of why he was in so much pain sent a jolt of panic through him, and his eyes flew open.
The floor beneath him was concrete, although it was stained a rusted brown colour. Zoro hated to think of what that must mean. He moved to push himself into a sitting position, finding his hands free despite remembering them being bound before he’d lost consciousness. The moment he put weight on his injured hand, pain shot through it, and he bit his lip to stop himself from making any sound. He pushed himself up with his other hand and soon saw why they felt no need to leave him tied up.
The room he was in appeared to be a basement, and had a set of stairs leading upward, but Zoro wouldn’t get the chance to see what was up there, because he was trapped in the corner of the room by a set of iron bars.
“Who the hell has this kind of thing in their basement?” Zoro whispered to himself, pulling at the metal uselessly. There was a door in the bars, but it was locked tight.
The kind of people who make idiots like me disappear in the middle of the night, Zoro’s mind answered for him.
The sound of a door opening came from upstairs, and a few seconds later, the guy with the shorts who had knocked him out came down the stairs. His eyes lit up when he saw Zoro, and he turned to yell up the stairs, “He’s awake! See, I told you he wasn’t brain dead!”
“You’re the one who’s brain dead!” A voice from upstairs yelled. “If you hadn’t gotten so excited and let him see you, my nose wouldn’t be broken!” It sounded like the other guy who’d attacked him.
Momentarily, Zoro let himself feel smug that he’d at least broken the asshole’s nose before being taken out.
“It’s idiotic that you’re blaming Luffy for that,” a third voice said. So the guy with the shorts must be Luffy.
“Yeah, Ace!” Luffy yelled up the stairs in a singsong voice, “It’s not my fault you can’t dodge!”
The sound of clattering came from upstairs, along with the muffled sound of Ace yelling. “Get off me Sabo. ‘m gonna fuckin kill’ im”
“Calm down, big guy,” Sabo replied.
Luffy giggled as he listened to their scuffle, but once the noise quieted down, he turned to Zoro. His eyes were the sort of dark, bottomless pits that would normally make it impossible to know what he was thinking, but Zoro spent enough time in shady bars to recognize the gaze of a predator.
He glared back as Luffy approached, trying to look defiant as Luffy crouched outside the bars with a wide grin on his face. The room swaying from side to side and the fact that he was shaking with the effort to stay upright probably didn’t help him achieve that effect.
“Hey. You were pretty strong.”
“Fuck you,” Zoro spat with as much vitriol as he could muster, even though he felt like he might pass out at any moment.
“That’s rude,” Luffy said with a frown. “Hey, you don’t look so good.”
“Don’ feel so good either,” Zoro slurred before passing out on the floor.
* * *
The next time he woke up, there was a piece of toast, a glass of water, and a Tylenol next to him. He debated not taking any of it, but in the end, he was uncomfortable enough from thirst, hunger, and his pounding headache that he was willing to risk getting drugged on top of everything else.
The Tylenol did take the edge off the pain in his head, and once he was done with his small meal, he found himself leaning back against the wall to try to get over the dizziness and avoid puking up what he had just eaten.
He should be trying to figure out what to do, or trying to find out what these guys wanted with him, but it hurt to even think too hard, and even when doing nothing, his breathing came out laboured and heavy. He’d been hurt before—he’d been hurt badly before—but not like this. This was different. His body wasn’t listening to him. If one of those three were to come in, he couldn’t fight them. Even without the bars, he was trapped. The realization sent cold dread creeping up Zoro’s spine. How the hell was he going to get out of here?
He must have nodded off again, because he woke up to the sound of footsteps. His head felt slightly clearer than before, or at least he didn’t feel so dizzy that he might throw up.
The footsteps belonged to Luffy and a man Zoro didn’t recognize, probably Sabo. His clothes looked expensive and perfectly tailored. Zoro forced himself to sit up straighter, not wanting to look vulnerable in front of his captors, although it was definitely too late for that.
Sabo looked at him appraisingly, not acknowledging Zoro’s glare, before commenting, “he doesn’t have nearly enough fat. We’ll have to do something about that.”
“He’s pretty cool though, right?” Luffy said with all the energy of a kid showing off a big bug they found. “He even has a cool name. Zoro. It was on the ID in his wallet.”
They had his ID? Zoro patted his pocket, finding his wallet was indeed gone. His lost wallet was the least of his worries right now, but the fact that they knew his name—that they could possibly find out more information about him or even find his friends—didn’t sit well with him.
Sabo smacked Luffy on the back of the head. “I told you to throw that out. Knowing his name is pointless. We’re gonna eat him anyway.”
Zoro’s stomach did a flip. “What,” he breathed out, barely audible.
“You’re so mean,” Luffy said, rubbing the back of his head.
Ignoring the comment, Sabo replied. “You should bathe him later. He stinks like sweat and blood.”
“Why do I have to?”
“Because I’m busy and Ace is still mad about his nose.”
Without further comment, Sabo turned to leave, and Luffy followed after.
Just as they were about to leave, Zoro surged forward, grabbing the bars of his cell with wide eyes. “Hold on a second. You were joking, right? You’re not gonna…”
Only Luffy turned around, looking confused. “Why would we be joking? We wouldn’t say we were gonna eat you if you weren’t gonna eat you.”
His heart pounded in his chest. It had occurred to him that they might be planning on killing him, and he knew they were screwed up people just from everything that had already happened since they first ambushed him in the street. But this was worse than anything he could have imagined. Had all those other people who went missing been eaten, too? The bloodstains on the floor told him yes.
Sabo sighed as he headed upstairs. “I don’t understand why you always insist on talking to the food. It only makes it more awkward when we eat them.”
“I don’t think it’s awkward,” Luffy said, jogging up after him. The door slammed shut, and Zoro didn’t hear the rest of their conversation.
He sank to the floor and curled in on himself, his breath coming in short gasps as he tried not to lose himself in total panic. No matter how he tried to soothe himself, it didn’t work. He’d always prided himself on being the strong guy who protected his weaker friends like Nami and Usopp, but if they saw him now, they wouldn’t see his usual confidence. They would see a bloody, hyperventilating mess. He fell asleep to the feeling of hot shame burning in his gut.
* * *
Zoro woke once again to the sounds of footsteps, but they were lighter and more timid-sounding than Luffy’s or Sabo’s. The man who came down the stairs wore a dark suit and had blond hair covering one eye. After checking behind him a couple of times, he approached Zoro, who sat up to get a better look at him.
His gaze flitted around, like he was constantly checking to see if eyes would sprout on the walls. His quick breaths and slightly shaking frame were enough to tell Zoro he wasn’t a threat like the other three. Not to mention, for some reason, he seemed familiar, but Zoro couldn’t place where he knew him from. That might’ve been because of the head trauma.
“Hey,” he whispered, leaning in close enough to the bars for Zoro to get a good, long look at his curly eyebrow. It set off alarm bells in his memory, but the damn headache made it hard to concentrate on one thought for long. “Do you want to live?”
“What kind of stupid question is that?” Zoro hissed. “You think I want to be eaten?”
“You’re as abrasive as I remember, not that I blame you,” swirly brow commented, confirming for Zoro that he indeed knew him from somewhere. “Look,” he continued, “the older two brothers, Ace and Sabo, are huge suckers for when Luffy wants something, and of the three of them, Luffy is the most emotional. If you can get him to care about you, they might let you live.”
“Do you tell this to everyone they kidnap?” He asked, eyeing the bloodstains on the floor next to him warily, because if so, that clearly didn’t work for whoever was in here last.
“No.”
“Then why me?”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair in a way that made Zoro feel like he was just on the edge of remembering the guy. “In this place, I can’t afford to stick my neck out for a stranger, and I know we weren’t friends, but I think I’d rather die than be forced to cut up and cook someone I know. I mean—fuck—I can already almost picture staring at your dead face and it’s making me ready to puke.”
Cook. He was a cook.
“Sanji,” Zoro muttered, the puzzle pieces finally clicking into place. They’d been in the same college nutrition class in Zoro’s last semester, but near the end of the semester, Sanji had gone missing without a trace. His face had been all over the news, but after a while, the case had gone cold, and news coverage stopped. Now here he was, right in front of Zoro.
“Am I that forgettable, or did they hit your head just that hard?”
“You’ve been here all this time,” Zoro breathed out shakily.
He nodded, eyes shining.
“And they—they make you cook the people they kill?”
He nodded again, not looking Zoro in the eyes. “I have to go before they catch me down here,” he said before quickly running back up the stairs.
As soon as he was gone, Zoro leaned over and puked all over the floor.
* * *
“Zoroooooo!” Luffy yelled, running down the stairs. “It’s bath time.” When he saw the puke, he yelled. “Aww, gross. I am not cleaning that up.”
Zoro pressed himself back into the corner of his cell. There was no way in hell he was letting this creep bathe him, and if Sabo’s words from earlier were to be believed, that was exactly what he planned on doing. He knew Sanji had said he should get on Luffy’s good side, but right now, his desire to keep some of his dignity was winning out over his sense of self-preservation.
“Come on, Zoro,” Luffy said like he was trying to convince an unruly child, “you’re covered in blood and dirt. You’ll feel better if you get a bath.”
“You don’t give a shit about making me feel better,” Zoro hissed. “You probably just wanna see if I look good to eat.”
Luffy unlocked the cage and came in, gingerly stepping around the puke puddle. Zoro stood up, holding his fists up like he was ready to fight back, but even doing something as simple as standing had black spots dancing in his vision. “I was trying to be nice, but I’ll force you to get in the bath if I have to.”
“Fuck… you,” Zoro said, stumbling. He would have fallen over if Luffy hadn’t caught him with an arm around his waist. Zoro didn’t have the strength to fight back as Luffy half-led, half-carried him upstairs.
It didn’t take much effort for Luffy to get him out of his clothes and force him into the bath. It was a fancy bathroom, with a large, deep bathtub. Zoro’s one comfort from his humiliation was the warm water chasing away the cold that had settled into his bones in that basement.
He didn’t like the way Luffy looked at him like he was a piece of meat, like he was actual food. Sanji’s advice was probably useless anyway, even if Zoro hadn’t just made things as difficult for Luffy as possible, getting someone like that to care about another person’s life seemed impossible. Sanji had been here so long that it was probably just wishful thinking on his part. Giving Zoro advice was probably just a way to give himself hope in a hopeless situation.
Zoro shook his head. If he thought like that, then there really wouldn’t be any hope. There were people who missed him, and there was Sanji, too. He had to get out of here for them, and now that he knew his old classmate was alive, he had to find a way to save him.
“Shishi, you shake your head like a dog,” Luffy giggled, startling Zoro out of his thoughts. He looked at Luffy’s face in surprise. That predatory hunger was gone from his eyes for the very first time.
“Do—do you like dogs?”
“Yeah. They’re cute and fun, and they sometimes do cool tricks.” He frowned. “But Ace and Sabo won’t let me get one.”
Zoro glared at the rapidly soiling water below him. Was this the way to get Luffy to care? It couldn’t be. It was too humiliating, but the way Luffy smiled at him, like he was worth more than just being his next meal, showed that there might be real merit to Sanji’s advice. It was a terrible idea, but if he was subtle about it, it could actually work. It wasn’t like he’d actually have to act like a dog. That would be too obvious, but if he could remind Luffy just a little bit of a dog, maybe that would be enough.
He sighed to himself. Was he willing to debase himself like that, if it meant he could live? It wouldn’t be forever. Just until he regained his strength and came up with an escape plan. He wasn’t giving up all of himself. He was just buying time.
When Luffy started shampooing his hair, despite his urge to cringe away, he leaned into the touch. Luffy giggled, which Zoro thought was probably a good sign, and his pounding heart quieted somewhat. The gentle touch was oddly soothing, or maybe that was the head injury talking. He didn’t want to take any comfort from one of his captors, but he couldn’t help it, and soon the gentle massaging of his scalp, the warm water, and the quiet atmosphere of the bathroom had his eyes drifting shut.
They flew open again when the cold air hit his skin as the water drained from the tub. Luffy helped him out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his shivering frame. Just standing to dry off made him dizzy again, and he hated how much he had to lean on Luffy for support.
Suddenly, tears were welling up in his eyes, and he couldn’t stop them. His body shook, and he let out a choked sob.
Luffy looked at him in surprise. “Oh! Zoro, you’re crying. I thought that might never happen.” He let Zoro sit on the floor and pull the towel tighter around himself. He crouched in front of him, watching him. “You cry so pretty.”
Sobs wracked his body as everything that had happened hit him at once. He tried to get his breathing under control, to stop looking so damn weak, but he couldn’t. Maybe he really was that weak.
Luffy rubbed his back slowly, and he hated how the gesture soothed him.
* * *
Luffy gave him a pair of sweatpants and left the towel he used in the cage with him, a small comfort. When he saw Zoro curl up on it, he giggled in that fascinated way he had when Zoro shook his head in the bath. It was at least nice not to have to lie down on the bare concrete floor, although he wished he’d been given back his shirt. He was so tired. He closed his eyes.
When he came back to awareness, there were voices in the room. They pierced through Zoro’s skull like needles. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter.
“What do you think? Can we get him to gain a bit of fat before he loses all his muscle from lack of use?” It was Sabo’s voice.
Sanji spoke up next. His voice was cool and guarded, like he was used to having conversations like this, but even Zoro could tell he sounded strained. “I think so. For the meal you want, he’ll probably need to eat a lot of high-fat food for the next few weeks, maybe a month. He has plenty of muscle. I doubt he’ll lose much of it in that time.”
Zoro’s heart rate spiked as he realized what they were talking about, but he forced his breathing to remain even. Something told him it was better if they thought he was asleep.
Sabo chuckled fondly. “My brothers have expensive taste.” After a pause, he added, “I want you to prepare his meals for him. Just let me know what ingredients you need.”
“I’ll take inventory of the kitchen and let you know,” Sanji replied, not quite hiding the way his voice shook.
“I hope you’re not thinking about trying to delay this. You know the consequences.”
Sanji took a shuddering breath. “I know.”
As the two left, Zoro curled in on himself. He tried not to think about the implications of their conversation. If he just thought about the useful information he learned, he could avoid another breakdown like earlier. He needed to be strong. If he didn’t have that… well… it was better not to think about that.
He had at least a few weeks. In a weird way, it was lucky he was on a cut when they grabbed him. He might not have so much time otherwise. He’d need to regain his strength in that time. If he could get Luffy on his side too, that would help his situation… probably. Right now, though, there was really nothing he could do but try to conserve his energy.
Eventually, he drifted off again.
* * *
That evening, Sanji visited him again, but not in secret, and not alone. He came down the stairs carrying a large plate of food and a glass of water, with Luffy and Ace following close behind. It was the first time Zoro had seen Ace since the night he’d been kidnapped, and he took some satisfaction in seeing his swollen nose.
Zoro sat with his back against the wall, glaring through the bars and trying not to let on how dizzy he still was. He wasn’t about to let these assholes fatten him up like a damn pig, even if he remembered how Sanji felt about wasting food.
Ace glared back at him, then, seeing what he was sitting on, turned to Luffy with a look of surprise. “You left him a towel.”
“Oh. Yeah. Why?” Luffy replied, digging his finger in his ear.
“You never do that.”
“So?”
“So—you know what. Never mind.” He waved his hand dismissively, unlocking the door to let Sanji in the cage with the plate of food.
He set the food and water down in front of Zoro. “Eat,” he said. His brows were furrowed, like the very act of delivering this meal was painful to him. Maybe because his passion for cooking was never meant to be twisted like this, into a tool that would lead to another’s death.
“I’m not hungry.”
Sanji pushed the plate closer to him, his voice taking on a nervous edge. “You—you must be hungry. You haven’t eaten much in the last couple of days.”
Zoro made no move to grab the plate. The Sanji he used to know would have been pissed about food potentially getting wasted, but it seemed he’d been worn down. Or maybe he was being understanding because of the circumstances. Zoro didn’t want to get Sanji in trouble, but knowing why they wanted him to eat this much, there was nothing he wanted less than to touch that food. “I’m not hungry,” he repeated.
“Please eat.”
Ace grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him out of the cell. Sanji yelped as he was tossed unceremoniously to the ground, and seeing the mood Ace was in, apparently decided against standing back up again right away. Instead, he scooted a few feet further away and opted to sit with his arms hugging his knees.
Ace scoffed at him. “God, you’re such a fucking wimp. It’s no wonder no one ever came looking for you.”
Sanji bit his lip but didn’t say anything, and after a few seconds, Ace seemed to lose interest in antagonizing him and turned back to Zoro. “You, on the other hand, are pissing me off.”
“I think he’s pretty cool and brave,” Luffy chimed in.
“It doesn’t matter how cool or brave he is. He’s going to listen to us.” He stepped into the cell with Zoro, and Zoro resisted the urge to shrink back. There wasn’t much he could do to fight in his current state. He could barely even stand on his own, but who would he become if he didn’t fight them every step of the way? He didn’t know, and that was scarier than anything Ace could threaten him with.
Suddenly, Ace grabbed him by the hair and forced his head back, shoving a chunk of meat that Zoro hoped to god wasn’t human in his mouth when he cried out in pain. Zoro wasn’t going to stop fighting that easily, though. Just as Ace was about to pull his hand away, he surged forward with all the strength he could manage and bit into the soft flesh of his forearm. Ace cried out in pain, trying to pull his arm away, but Zoro kept his jaw clamped down tight, even as he tasted liquid iron. In the background, he could hear Luffy laughing hysterically at the scene.
A strong kick to his gut finally loosened his jaw enough for Ace to get free, and he backed out of the cell with a string of curses. Zoro turned and spat blood out of his mouth.
“You know what, Luffy, since you bragged so much about how easy it was to bathe him earlier, how about you make him eat?” he said as he stomped up the stairs, clutching his bleeding arm. Zoro hoped the bite would scar.
While Luffy was still doubled over in a fit of giggles, Zoro looked at Sanji. “Hey, cook. What kind of meat is that?”
“It’s pork belly. Not human, if that’s what you’re wondering. They wouldn’t feed that to you. They’d rather keep it for themselves.”
Well, that was a relief. He’d accidentally swallowed the chunk of meat in his mouth while he was clinging to Ace’s arm. He rubbed his sore jaw, thinking he might have puked if that had once been a person.
Luffy’s giggles stopped, and he approached Zoro. Sanji gave him a pointed look, as if reminding Zoro of his advice from before. “It’s okay, Sanji, you can go,” Luffy said, flashing Sanji a smile. Sanji nodded and got up to leave, casting one more nervous glance over his shoulder before heading up the stairs.
Luffy crouched in front of Zoro, staring at him with an unreadable expression. He was nicer than his brothers, so he didn’t really want to bite him to make him leave. Besides, his mouth was still full of the taste of Ace’s blood, and it was starting to gross him out.
Luffy smiled at him. “It was pretty funny when you bit Ace like that. Like an angry dog.”
Zoro blinked. He hadn’t intended for that to be something that reminded Luffy of a dog. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Maybe he should just be relieved Luffy wasn’t mad.
Luffy held the glass of water out to him. “Here. Drink first.”
Zoro eyed the glass suspiciously, but he figured if there were drugs or something, Ace wouldn’t have bothered trying to force-feed him until after he drank it. It was a relief to wash the taste of blood out of his mouth. “Thanks,” he said without thinking, and then bit his lip because he had not wanted to be caught dead thanking his captor.
He clamped his lips shut when he saw Luffy pick up a piece of meat.
Luffy giggled. “I’m not gonna shove it in your mouth. I don’t wanna get bit.” He popped it into his own mouth. “It’s good though. You should try it.”
“I thought you only ate people,” Zoro blurted out.
“I like all meat. Come on, try it,” he replied, holding a piece of meat out to Zoro.
Zoro cringed back. “I’m not worried about it tasting bad.” He already knew it was delicious from that one piece Ace forced him to swallow.
“Oh,” Luffy said, blinking owlishly. “Is it because we’re gonna eat you?”
“Obviously it’s because of that!”
“But don’t you wanna eat good food before you die?”
Zoro thought about it. Would starving himself really buy any time? Luffy shoved the piece of meat closer to his face, and as it pushed against his firmly closed lips, he considered biting after all. Just as Zoro was about to scoot away from the hand invading his personal space, a second hand grabbed onto his nose, plugging it. When he finally opened his mouth to breathe, Luffy shoved the piece of meat in his mouth. He was faster than Ace, avoiding Zoro’s teeth and instead grabbing Zoro’s jaw and forcing him to look up, unfazed when Zoro tried to push him away.
Eventually, Zoro relented and awkwardly chewed and swallowed the piece of meat.
When Luffy went to push another piece of meat into his mouth, he snatched it out of his hand. “I can do it myself.”
“Shishi so grumpy,” Luffy giggled as Zoro ate. He looked pleased with himself. Zoro hated how easily he made him give in.
* * *
Zoro shivered, wrapping the towel that had quickly become his most precious possession tighter around himself. Leaning up against the wall in the back corner of his cell, he curled up in a ball, trying to preserve what little body heat he had left.
In the few weeks since his initial capture, Zoro’s head got better, and he regained some of his strength, but that just meant his captors took more precautions when they needed to open his cage. The cold left his joints stiff and made it difficult to fight, especially when he had two or three opponents who were skilled in cornering their prey. He’d gained some weight, just like they wanted. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough that Sabo was starting to comment about making preparations. He was running out of time.
When the door upstairs opened with a loud creak, he forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain and stiffness in his joints. He left the towel on the floor, even though he mourned the loss of even that little warmth. It was better if they didn’t think he needed it.
All three brothers came down wearing what Zoro could only call expressions of anticipation. They weren’t carrying any food, so they weren’t planning on force-feeding him again. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he thought Luffy might have looked more conflicted than the other two. Was this it? Was he out of time?
He couldn’t wait to recover any further, and he couldn’t rely on winning Luffy’s sympathy to buy time. He’d have to fight his way out now.
As soon as Ace opened the door, he rushed him, pushing him aside and making a run for the stairs. He made it all the way up, but discovered the door was locked. “Shit,” he muttered, slamming his body against the door, but with the angle the stairs were at, he couldn’t get enough leverage to use his full strength.
A snort came from downstairs, and he turned to look. They hadn’t even bothered chasing him. “Moron,” Ace chuckled.
“Aw, come on, Ace, he didn’t know it was locked,” Luffy replied.
“You’re being awfully charitable,” Sabo commented, before yelling up the stairs, “Come on down. You’re not going anywhere, so don’t make this harder on yourself.”
“Screw you!” Zoro yelled back. At least from up here, he had some high ground. If they came up after him, maybe he could knock them down the stairs.
Luffy stepped into his line of sight, but he didn’t come up the stairs just yet. “If you come down now, I’ll give you another bath later.”
Zoro thought about it for a moment. If there was the possibility of a bath later, then that meant they weren’t planning to kill him right now. Of course, Luffy could be lying, but if he was telling the truth, there might be a better opportunity for escape later. He shivered against the cold of the basement and thought about the warm water. He wanted Luffy to be telling the truth.
Slowly, he made his way back down the steps. Luffy smiled at him and wrapped his arm around Zoro’s shoulders like a vice when he got to the bottom. That’s when Zoro saw that Sabo was holding a needle. He struggled to pull away, but he wasn’t fast enough, and the needle plunged into his neck.
Soon, his body began to feel heavy, and the only thing holding him upright was Luffy’s arms around him.
“What happened in the bath that made him like it so much?” Ace asked after Zoro’s struggles ceased.
Luffy scooped Zoro up into his arms before he could fall on the ground. “I dunno. He just seemed to like it.”
Ace looked like he wanted to say something else, but Sabo gave him a pointed look, and he stopped himself. “We can discuss this later. For now, let’s just get his measurements done.”
They brought Zoro upstairs to the kitchen, where Sanji was nervously drumming his fingers against the countertop. Sabo nodded at him, and he followed them through a door in the back of the kitchen to a room that made Zoro’s blood run cold.
The walls of the room were lined with various knives and things Zoro would expect a butcher to use, and the middle of the room held a rectangular metal table. He wanted to struggle as he was placed on top of it, but his limbs wouldn’t listen.
Ace appeared over him, looking down at Zoro with a cruel grin. “Take a good look at this room. It’s where you’re going to die.”
Zoro wanted to scream. He wanted to claw and fight and break his stupid nose again, but instead, all he could do was let out a strangled, broken cry. Tears slipped out of the corners of his eyes unbidden, and Luffy pushed Ace to the side.
“You don’t gotta be so mean. We’re not gonna kill him yet. Besides, I promised him a bath first.”
In that moment, Zoro couldn’t help but feel grateful to Luffy, even though it was Luffy who dealt the blow that landed him in this position in the first place. Luffy was nice to him, unlike the other two. Luffy was the only one who bothered to treat him like a person—well, maybe not quite like a person, but he treated him like he was alive at least.
Ace turned to Sanji. “Take his measurements. Let us know when you’re done.” Then he grabbed Sabo and dragged him out of the room.
Sanji avoided making eye contact as he pulled Zoro’s pants off, got out a measuring tape, and began measuring various parts of his body. Why they needed those measurements, Zoro had no idea, but he doubted he’d get any real answers if he asked. It didn’t really matter. He knew he should feel humiliated by the fact that he was almost naked and being treated like a piece of meat, but he just felt tired. More and more, escape was starting to seem like just a pipe dream.
He might really die here.
* * *
By the time Sanji was done with everything, the effects of whatever Sabo had injected him with were just barely starting to wear off, although Zoro still couldn’t move much on his own. Luffy was getting impatient, and as soon as Sanji announced he was done, he scooped Zoro into his arms with a jovial cry of “bath time!”
Zoro wasn’t feeling quite the same level of enthusiasm.
It didn’t take long for Luffy to carry him to the bathroom and get him in the bath. His cheeks reddened when his underwear was taken off him, but the feeling of warm water chasing away the cold that had settled in his bones made his embarrassment worth it. As the tub was filled, Zoro was happy to find he could now manage slow, sluggish movements. His tongue didn’t feel like lead in his mouth anymore either.
“Thank you,” Zoro slurred.
“Huh? What for?”
“You know… for um… for defending me from your brother.” He hated that he needed Luffy to defend him. It made him feel weak and helpless, but the fact remained that Luffy had done him a kindness. Zoro at least owed him a thank you.
Luffy hummed quietly as he took a glass and poured warm water on Zoro’s head to wet his hair. “Ace is so mean sometimes, but he’s really a big softy.”
Maybe to you, Zoro thought, but he kept that to himself. Luffy was gently massaging soap into his hair, and Zoro didn’t want him to stop. He found himself leaning into the touch, briefly thinking that Luffy had been scrubbing for longer than necessary, but not complaining when gentle fingers moved to scratch behind his ears. Even before being taken away from everyone he knew and shoved in that cold basement, he hadn’t known gentleness like this. No one thought he needed it, no one thought he wanted it, and he didn’t know how to ask for it, but Luffy offered it freely. Was it so wrong to take some comfort in it?
He closed his eyes with a sigh. Who could blame him if he leaned into Luffy’s touch? It wasn’t his fault his fingers were so soothing.
Luffy giggled. “You like it when I scratch you behind your ears, just like a dog.”
Zoro’s eyes flew open, face suddenly burning red. “I- um- well-“
“You’re so cute. I wish I could keep you.”
Zoro twisted around to look at Luffy, mouth hanging open in shock. Did he hear him right? “You, you what?”
Luffy frowned, and much to Zoro’s shock, reached over and grabbed the meat of his chest. “I wanna keep you, but I also wanna eat you. You look so tasty.”
Zoro’s breath caught in his throat. That awful hunger was back in Luffy’s eyes. It was a look that made Zoro feel like a rabbit at the mercy of a wolf. He wondered which desire would win out. Sanji had said that Ace and Sabo would give in if Luffy wanted him to live, but if Luffy would rather just eat him, Zoro wasn’t sure he’d be able to escape before his time ran out. He hadn’t even made it out of the basement when he tried. Maybe he was just too weak. His heart was hammering, and he knew Luffy could feel it. It was a strange feeling, knowing it was entirely up to another person, up to Luffy, whether he lived or died.
Luffy’s hand brushed up his chest, coming to rest on the side of his neck, right above his fluttering pulse. His other hand gripped Zoro’s bicep. “There’s so much meat.”
Zoro’s lip wobbled, and Luffy’s hand traced up his jaw, thumb hooking into his mouth. He resisted the urge to bite down. A soft whine escaped Zoro’s constricted throat when Luffy’s thumb pressed down on his tongue. “I could train you up so nice. I think I’d like you even better than a real dog.”
Zoro closed his eyes. Did he want to live so badly that he’d become someone’s trained dog? He didn’t know. If he acted how Luffy wanted, would he eventually get the chance to go home? The possibility seemed so far away now.
“Maybe I could do both,” Luffy mumbled, almost to himself.
A soft creak drew Luffy’s attention away, and he pulled his thumb from Zoro’s mouth. Zoro slipped down into the tub, not wanting whoever it was to see him so exposed.
“Oh, hi Ace. Hi Sabo,” Luffy said. Absentmindedly, he reached over and ruffled Zoro’s hair.
“Luffy, what are you doing?” Ace asked, sounding exasperated.
“I want to keep Zoro.”
Zoro peeked his head over the top of the tub to see Sabo running a hand down his face. “I was afraid of something like this. You weren’t supposed to get attached to him.”
“You can’t keep him,” Ace said, glaring at Zoro. “Dealing with him for a few weeks was enough trouble. We don’t need him around any longer.”
Luffy leaned over the tub, wrapping his arms around Zoro’s head and seemingly not caring that his shirt was getting wet. Zoro leaned into it. It made his skin hot with humiliation, but he thought of Nami and Usopp, who didn’t know what happened to him, and Sanji, who survived far longer in this hell than he had, and he thought of Kuina, who died too young. He wanted to live.
“But he’s sooooo cute,” Luffy whined. “I’ll take real good care of him. It’ll be just like having a dog, except you guys aren’t allergic.”
Sabo snorted. “A dog, huh. You know what, if you promise to train him, you can keep him.”
Ace stared at Luffy’s pouting face a minute longer before heaving a big sigh. “Yeah, alright, fine. Keep him.”
Luffy’s face broke into a big grin. “Thanks, guys!”