A/N: Quite possibly my shortest story ever posted. I just thought of this dialogue one day and decided to write this little piece to accompany it. Warning, this was writing in less than an hour with little editing. Keeping that in mind, enjoy!
He didn't know he was awake at first, as the low muffled voice sounded –to Zoro- like a thrumming chant that echoed the heartbeat of whatever this strange entity swirling about inside him was. He listened to this sound, gaining a feeling of unease as the noise continued to grow more and more unbearable, until a sudden spasm shook his tired body into full consciousness.
Even with his eyes closed, Zoro could instantly tell where he was. Inside that ghostly castle on that cloudy island he'd first arrived nearly a year ago. And judging by the size of the hand on his shoulder and the prickling sensation caused by its contact, the owner was none other than Dracule Mihawk.
"There, it's finished." He heard in Mihawk's low tenor. "How do you feel?"
Zoro found it easier to sit up than he'd originally thought it'd be. The genuine difficulty came with opening his eyes. After a few seconds he remembered what exactly had occurred and focused instead on only opening his right eye. A bit simpler of a task, but an odd sensation that would take some time getting used to. "Mhm, fine…" he forced his mouth to mumble, so that Mihawk would know nothing had gone wrong. Zoro tried to peer around the dim, candle-lit room but found something to be off. He wasn't quite sure how to explain it, but the world around him seemed…wrong
"Horahorahora," he heard the multi-syllable laugh echo throughout the chamber and turned towards the source. He saw Perona, grinning like a cat having caught the canary. Zoro furrowed his brow to display what he thought of her laughter, but that only made the ghost woman smile wider.
"How cute!" She exclaimed cheerily. "It's like you're winking!"
"Huh?" Zoro replied with as much eloquence as his drained mind could offer.
With a flourish, Perona produced a mirror from somewhere in the folds of her elaborate dress and displayed the reflective surface to Zoro. He stared at the face looking back at him –paler skin thanks to the constant overcast skies, slightly longer hair, broader jaw- and was forced to turn his head to see the entirety of his face, all thanks to this new scar that sat vertically over his left eye. His left eye…instantly Zoro's skin blanched and his one remaining eye opened wide enough to compensate for his other.
Perona noticed the change in expressed and pursed her lips in amusement. "Oh come on, it's not that ba-"
"Do the other." Zoro instantly interrupted, after averting his eye from the mirror.
Mihawk, rather confused by the sudden shift in demeanor, couldn't help but be puzzled over the ridiculous request. "What?" He asked, severely hoping he'd merely misheard the young swordsman.
"Close the other one!" Zoro roared, fixing Mihawk with as terrifying a glare a man could accomplish with one eye.
"Roronoa," Mihawk began, expecting his calm voice to soothe the seemingly frantic man. "I think you're overreacting. It will be hard enough to-"
"No! I can't have this eye closed! I look like the shitty cook!"
Well that hadn't worked. "…pardon?" Mihawk inquired.
"Cut out my other eye! Do it! I can't look like this!"
"Roronoa, calm down or-"
Zoro, without waiting for Mihawk to finish, grabbed a small surgical knife off the nearby table and positioned the blade over his remaining eye. Before he could make the first cut, though, he collapsed in a curled up position, mumbling about how he wasn't even fit to crawl in the dirt beneath their feet.
Perona, having subdued the frantic swordsman with a well-placed hollow, picked up the dropped knife and daintily placed it back on the table. "Just what do you think that was about?"
A/N: I remember thinking "it's a good thing Sanji switched his hair over" when I first saw the post timeskip designs for the Straw Hats. Otherwise he and Zoro would be "twinsies" and I think we all know how that would blow over. Additionally, I thought it was rather (cute) convenient that Sanji switched his hair over. Now they can properly glare each other in the eye! (Honestly I think that's the reason Oda-sensei decided to move Sanji's hair. Can't have a rivalry if the rivals can't stare each other down now can we?).
