I do not own One Piece.
Pain is not encased by the physical being.
Tremors from it's impact spread quickly like a fatal disease, infecting anything and everything in it's path. Soon, there's no distinction between where one started and another ended. This type of hurt cannot be fully understood nor can it be contained by any method.
"You may trust me, I will keep my promise." Kuma raises Luffy off the rubble, "But in exchange... I will show you what Hell is like."
A large, red-tinted bubble is pushed from his captain's body and forms into huge paw at least two times his height.
"What I just deflected from his body, was his pain and his fatigue... If you wish to take his place, then naturally, you would have to take in all of this."
"However, it would be impossible for you to survive. You'll die."
He steels himself at this statement, fistng his hands tight as he lays on the ground before the Shichibukai.
"Just let me... Go to another spot..."
This pain stings and burns and cuts away at a soul until nothing is left behind.
And wihout hesitation, he thrusts his arms through the bubble.
It is the hopelessness -the guilt- that he feels when he is not enough to protect them.
"So, you survived, Roronoa Zoro."
Usopp is laying behind him on the ground -hewon'tletthembetouchedbythisman!- and he stares Kuma down, eyes primal in retrospect to the desperation he is feeling.
"If you were to go on a vacation, where would you like to go?" He sees the hand as if it were an illusion, and as he's smacked away, the screams from his friends haunt him.
"ZOOROOO!"
The feelings he gets through flesh wounds are dull compared to the sharp words that dig at his soul, staring him down relentlessly in the form of crumpled paper.
Perona looks away from him and he should feel thankful, but all his focus is on the headline of the newspaper-
FIRE FIST ACE KILLED AT WAR OF THE BEST
A cold, heavy sensation bears down on his stomach, followed by a feeling of dread racing quickly through his body. Tears leak down his face and he can't think straight
-whereisluffyishouldhavebeentherenononononopleaseitcantbe!-
He's dully aware of Perona talking to him, her hands dropping the paper to shake at his shoulders, but the damage is done. He's stuck in this space, this never ending loop, words swimming in his vision that he can no longer read
-zoroitsgoingtobeokayzoroimgoingtofetchmihawkstayrightherealrightzoro-
That is why Zoro will throw away his pride-
"Are you asking your enemy to train you?" Mihawk drones, "Shame on you."
-for pain, is the new weight on his captain's shoulders and the heaviness in his eyes.
An unforgivable sin Zoro quietly keeps to himself.
