DISCLAIMER: One Piece is the property of Eiichiro Oda and TvTokyo, I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. This is a purely fan made Fiction.
"Ashura: Ichibugin!" Roronoa Zoro soared straight through the skies as he had leaped towards his adversary, only seconds earlier cutting through a very powerful Rankyaku Amane Dachi with ease. Kaku was terrified, his eyes wide with fear and confusion as he could only stand and watch as the Bushido flew closer towards him, before a massive wave of pain flushed all over his body, feeling his elongated neck and broad chest being sliced up, his eyes going white and pale from the agonizing pain, blood splattering over the grass that covered the in-doors garden of the Tower of Justice. He fell down on his knees, and felt his body shaping back; his neck shrinking into his body, face turning back to normal and his hooves turning to hands and feet, before he gagged once and fell down on the grass. Zoro landed and sheathed his swords, looking back at the defeated Cipher Pol 9 member.
"I had a message for you…" he explained, seeing Kaku's eyes open slightly to look into the open skies. Kaku sort of knew what the message was, but he listened anyways. "You're fired." As expected. He knew that Paulie and the other shipwrights would not take kindly on the fact that he was an assassin working for the Marines. He hated to always lie to the blonde, but it was not like he had a choice to tell the truth.
"Paulie, huh? Too bad…" he said simply, closing his eyes, memories flashing past of him and the others, and their times as shipwrights. He remembered how Paulie always referred them as his Nakama, and realized how much it must have hurt for him to hear the truth. Honestly, Kaku himself didn't want him to find out the way he did, but now it had happened. Sighing, he kept his eyes closed. "They say that assassins can't have a second job…" he explained to Zoro, to which the swordsman shrugged a bit.
"How 'bout a zoo?" he asked simply, to which the red-haired man chuckled slightly. What a funny thing to say, but in the same time very true. Three out of seven in the Cipher Pol 9 were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, so why not? Saving jokes for later, Kaku took his hand inside his jacket pocket, digging for something.
"That… sounds good…" he answered Zoro, before holding out a key with the number "2" on it, but before he could properly hold it up, he felt himself pass out due to the pain of his wounds, and dropped the key onto the ground. He could feel himself fade off into a rather distant place… somewhere where time and space didn't exist… was it death? He'd rather honestly prefer it by now. He had regretted ever leaving the Galley-la Company, and leaving his joyful life in Water 7. Right now… all he wanted to do was to die peacefully, and rest in peace. But it seemed that fate had other plans for him, somehow. He could feel the silence and void being stripped from him suddenly, as a plethora of voices were heard around him…
"Hey, guys? Ya think he's alive?" a rather cheeky voice said near him.
"I don't know, Luffy." A girl's voice said seriously. "Chopper did his best to patch up the wounds Zoro made… but I still don't get it. Why did Zoro drag him onboard? It's not like him to show pity to an enemy…"
"He did say something about 'paying respect for a fellow swordsman, and as thanks for a good battle'. Whatever that meant…" another voice replied.
"Seriously? Did he… respect him?"
"I dunno. It's one of his 'honor' things, I don't know about them!"
Kaku have had enough of just listening to the voices around him. He tried moving, but could only twitch about a bit as the pain was still there. Then he slowly, safely opened his eyelids, seeing himself being in a doctor's room, lying on a bed in the corner of the room. As his eyes opened, the others looked down at him… and he was surprised to see who they were; it was the Straw Hat Pirates! The ones who had invaded the Tower of Justice in order to prevent Nico Robin being taken into custody! Then he hadn't misheard when he heard the name 'Zoro' just a few seconds ago.
"W-What? What am I doing here with you, criminals?" he blurted out, demanding an explanation the moment he woke up. He tried sitting up, but as he did, he hunched over and grabbed his stomach, a searing pain shooting through his body. Like thousands of scorching hot daggers through his abdomen, it burned, and as he convulsed, he could have sworn he felt the taste of blood in his mouth.
"M-Mr. Kaku!" the girl – Nami – blurted out as she gently grabbed Kaku by his shoulders and eased him down on the bed. "You need to calm down, ok? Y-You have pretty serious wounds, and if you move too much, you're just gonna get more injured." To be true, Nami didn't care a bit about Kaku. But she knew it would be too cold to just throw him off the ship by now. They had since long gotten out on the sea, and if they threw him off, he'd drown because of the fact that he was a Devil Fruit user. She sighed and went out of the room. "I'm gonna get fresh air." She said and went out, leaving Kaku with Luffy and Usopp.
"You really took a beating, y'know?" Luffy said, scratching the back of his raven-haired head, looking at Kaku with a slight serious look on his face. He wasn't the one to be serious at times, but right now, he was. He knew Zoro had taken an enemy on board for a serious reason, and thus, he took this case seriously as well. Kaku decided to at least be a bit social and smiled a bit, chuckling lowly.
"Don't remind me, kid." He said slowly, smiling a bit more. "It was one heck of a fight… your swordsman is really… powerful, hehe." He had to think of a fitting word for a second, and he could not find anything more fitting. He was a bit surprised by himself to make such admittance that someone was stronger than himself, being the second-most-powerful in the CP9 group. He looked over at Usopp, and chuckled a bit. "Oh, you. Weren't you that long-nosed idiot that went along with Zoro?" Usopp's eye twitched a bit at this.
"Long-nosed idiot? You're one to talk!" he sneered out venomously, but Kaku only chuckled more at this. The sniper seemed just as easy-insulted as himself it seemed. In that moment, he saw the door open, and a rather small reindeer trotted inside.
"Oh, he's woken up!" the reindeer said quickly, and rushed over with a pill in his hooves. "Here, take this. It's a pain-killer. You'll probably need it."
"Hey, Chopper. Is he gonna be ok?" a rather familiar voice said, and as Kaku saw the source of said voice by looking towards the open door, he was about to choke on the pill, but was saved by Chopper quickly handing him a glass of water. Standing at the entrance was Zoro, the green-haired man staring straight at Kaku with a stern look. Kaku could feel the convulsions act up again, but this time, it was near his chest. He clutched his jacket slightly over the area he felt was aching, and Zoro took note of this, but decided to shrug it off. "Is he gonna be ok?" he repeated, and Chopper nodded.
"Y-Yeah. He just needs a bit more of rest, and he'll be back on his feet in no time." He said, as he trotted up to his desk and sat up near it, beginning to make some medicine for the former assassin. Kaku blinked twice, looking between Chopper, and then Zoro. He could not believe that they would actually help him. Then, a question that had bored into his skull suddenly began slipping out of his mouth.
"W-W-Why did y-" but before he had the chance to finish, Zoro went off, probably to take a nap as usual. Kaku sighed as he laid down on the bed again, resting and taking it easy for a while. After all, he was injured, and moving around would not get him any better. As he lay down to relax, many questions were zooming through his mind as he stared into the roof, almost seeing them clearly before him.
'Why… did he save me? Was it because he felt pity? Or are they possibly… taking me hostage? No, no. Stop thinking that way, Kaku! They're probably just taking you somewhere safer than Water 7. After all, from what I heard outside during my fight with that green-haired man… I could swear I began hearing cannonballs. Still, I… I need to know why he did it.'
After a few hours of rest, and some nasty mouthfuls of medicine, Kaku's wounds had closed up enough for him to walk around, and check out the surroundings of the boat. Still having a few shipwright know-hows in his head, he saw the ship was in a perfect condition and of perfect design as well. He managed to avoid Franky, since he knew they'd not be in good hands with each other after his "betrayal" against the Galley-la, but he befriended the rest of the Straw Hats quite easily, sharing a few laughs as he heard of Sanji's victory over Jyabura, whom he despised more than anyone for his taunting behavior.
But still, he could not avoid seeking out the swordsman who had so-called "saved" him. He was told Zoro was up in the crow's nest, which surprisingly was big enough to have a gym inside it, where Zoro exercised most of the days. Sighing, Kaku climbed up to the crow's nest via the ladder up the mast, and as he got up, he saw Zoro sitting with his legs crossed and meditating. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to not care of Kaku's presence. Kaku coughed slightly, trying to get the green-haired man's attention. No answer. "Aherm." He cleared his throat, hoping it would work. Still no answer. Then he thought it would work saying his name, but he sort of feared doing so. After all, this was the man who nearly killed him back in Enies Lobby, and who knew what he'd do this time? But then, he gathered up his courage, and spoke his name;
"Z-Z-Zoro?"
This time, the swordsman actually shifted a bit, one of his eyes opening slightly to look up, seeing Kaku in front of him. Knowing he had no way to avoid a conversation now, he just sighed and opened both his eyes.
"What is it?" he asked politely, still sitting in his meditating position. The red-hair sighed and sat down near Zoro, whom didn't seem to mind, or care.
"W-Well, I…" Kaku began stuttering for a while, his forehead becoming rather sweaty. He just could not find the courage to continue, but sighed out his stress and kept going. "I-I just wanted to ask… why… w-why did you do it?"
"Eh?"
"Why did you… s-save me? Y-Y-You could just have left me for dead and go look for that Robin girl… and yet… you saved me? The man who tried to kill you? I don't understand…"
"You don't need to." Zoro said briefly. Kaku was a bit surprised at this, and looked straight at Zoro. Did he just say he didn't need to know why he did it? "It's just how I work; I have to admit, your Four-Sword Style is pretty unique, like my Three-Sword Style. We were an even match, you and I. If I had done something wrong back then, I could have been killed." Kaku knew he wasn't confessing anything; he was just stating the obvious. "I guess it's part of my sense of honor and respect. I respect a good swordsman who accepts defeat to a more powerful foe, and you seemed to have no regret over your loss. I respected you, and I decided to take you onboard, at least so your wounds could be healed, then you can get the hell away from here for all I care." Kaku frowned a bit as he thought the man's last choice of words were a bit cruel for his taste, but Zoro was right; he had no place on board this pirate ship, so he'd rather find a way back to Water 7 and hope to start his life anew, or to find somewhere else to live.
"I… see." The red-hair nodded, sighing a bit as he looked down on his hands. They were trembling. Why the hell were they trembling? He didn't feel the slightest hint of fear or sadness… yet he felt something else weighting him down. Was it regret? Regret that he had left his life as a shipwright on Galley-la behind him to become an assassin? Regret that he had betrayed his best friend Paulie like that and left him alone? Either way, it was making his hands tremble and his heart throb painfully. Kaku clutched his chest tightly, biting his lower lip as he quelled a gasp of pain, but Zoro could already see something was up.
"Oi, why you actin' up now…" the green-haired man sighed, turning slightly towards Kaku. Kaku tried to speak, but the throbbing pain was overwhelming for him. Finally, he managed to give out a few words, still clutching his chest and doing his best to stop himself from crying.
"N-No… n-need to… h-h-help me. I-I'm fine…" he said in short, ragged breaths. He sighed as the pain stopped, then turned to Zoro. "Hey, Zoro, was it?" he asked, and Zoro nodded slightly. "D-Do you think… that changing from a shipwright to a Marine-serving assassin is a bad thing?" the other swordsman just shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing a way to put himself in Kaku's position.
"I dunno, it depends how you feel about it… I'm technically a pirate, though, so I'd say it's bad serving those Marine dogs." He spat slightly as he mentioned them. Kaku nodded and frowned slightly again, not knowing what to do now. He had asked his question, and gotten his answer… so why didn't he just stand up and leave? For some reason, he was stuck here with Zoro, not knowing what to do. Until he realized what that throbbing ache had been; it had been affection. He didn't know why, but the slightest mentioning of someone respecting him had sent his heart into convulsing pain and ache, longing to feel someone having emotions towards him. Real, warm emotions that filled him with joy and hope, not like the cold, unwanted feelings he got from Jyabura and Lucci day in and out while being with the CP9. But he didn't know how Zoro would think about him if he expressed those feelings all openly for him, so he decided to be mild about it.
"H-Hey, Zoro?" he asked, and the green-hair cocked an eyebrow at him. "Have you ever felt… kinda warm on the inside… when someone says something that makes you think 'I am not so lonely after all. There's someone who acknowledges me and respects me'?" he asked as neutrally as he could, hoping Zoro would not catch any hidden feelings behind his message. Luckily, Zoro didn't even bother to look for such signs, and shrugged once again.
"Beats me." He shrugged, looking out from the crow's nest's windows slightly. The sun was setting, coloring the skies and oceans in bright crimson and orange colors, making everything look as if it were on flames. Zoro had always admired such views, but now he had to answer the red-hair's question, as he turned to Kaku again. "I don't care if anyone respects me. If they do, then fine, let 'em. That's all I got to say." The red-hair sighed a bit, nodding again.
"I see… well, thanks for the chat, Zoro…" he sighed, and was about to walk back, before he felt something clasp around his wrist. Firmly. Gasping, he twisted around to see the Bushido's hand grabbing tightly onto his wrist, squeezing it firmly.
"Hey, kiddo. Something botherin' ya?" he demanded, looking up at him. "You acted really weird just a few seconds ago, and now you think I haven't noticed? C'mon, at least tell me why you acted up and asked me those weird questions." Kaku sighed a bit as he knew there was no way out of this rather than actually telling Zoro about what he felt for strange feeling. He turned back to Zoro and looked down at him.
"W-Well… the thing is…" he said with a slightly unnerved tone. He took a deep breath to calm himself, before sitting down once again. "I don't know why, but the moment I heard you say you had respect for me… I felt great. I felt as if warmth was flushing over all of my body, covering me with a great feeling of joy and… affection." He blushed slightly, but it wasn't visible in the shade of his cap. "I don't know why I feel affection towards you, but… it's as if you're the only one who respects me. I was never shown any respect from my teammates. Well, no real respect, that is. It was as if I was the "black sheep" of the group, catch my meaning?" he paused a bit to see Zoro nod as he understood. Surprisingly for Kaku, he was still very calm about it. "Never shown any real trust and respect, and I was always harassed and chastised by Jyabura, and Lucci was even colder against me, behavior-wise. A-And now… you suddenly say that you respect me, and out of that reason, you saved my life. I-I just don't know why I feel like this, but… it feels great!" finishing his little 'speech', the red-hair turned to Zoro with a brief smile, only to frown again at the swordsman's never-ending neutral expression. "I… take it you're not interested in such a thing?" he asked slowly.
"Not really." Zoro said briefly, looking at Kaku with a rather cold glare. The same look Kaku was usually given by Lucci. Sighing as he admitted defeat, Kaku was about to stand up and walk off again, when Zoro's voice cut him short; "But if you want to thank me or somethin' for saving you, then go ahead and do something already." Kaku's eyes went wide as he looked towards Zoro, an expression of disbelief painted on his face. The green-hair would actually let him do whatever he wanted to thank him? It was sort of unbelievable, but in the same time, Kaku felt that his restraints were growing smaller and smaller. Finally, he let off a bit smile.
"You mean… I can do anything to show my gratitude?"
"Whatever ya want. Like I said, I don't really care if people wanna admire me or not, though if they wanna thank me, I guess I could let it go." The green-hair shrugged. Kaku smiled again, and instantly went up to Zoro. Much to the swordsman's surprise, the long-nose put his knees on either side of Zoro's sides, straddling his hips with his own and smiling slightly as their bodies touched each other. "O-Oi, what ya doing?" Zoro demanded, but Kaku was already ahead of him, and silenced the man by leaning forward and planting his lips onto Zoro's, muffling him with a demanding kiss. Zoro was first trying to struggle by trying and pulling Kaku away from him, but the man just chuckled and broke the brief kiss.
"Ta-Ta, Zoro…" he chuckled lowly. "Trying to resist my thank you~?" Zoro's eyes went wide. This was how Kaku planned on thanking him? He had prepared for anything, except this. But now he guessed he had nothing to say against him, and just rolled his eyes.
"F-Fine then…" he grunted. "But make it quick." He'd die of shame if Luffy or anyone else went up to find them right now, which maybe would be better than living through the embarrassing moment that'd occur. Smirking deviously, Kaku leaned forward and planted another soft kiss on Zoro's skin, but this time he placed it on the younger man's neck, biting and suckling it for a while. The other swordsman grunted again, but out of delight, as Kaku's lips felt so damn good on him, though he dared not to admit it. The red-hair kept kissing his neck, his hands rubbing up and down Zoro's body while his hips began moving a bit.
'Oh yes, Zoro~ You're loving this, aren't you~?' Kaku thought as he grinded his hips with Zoro's, hearing him groan again. Even though Kaku was grateful for Zoro saving him, the cold side of his personality was still showing clearly as he was now teasing Zoro slowly, almost torturing him, not giving him full pleasure. He could hear the green-hair's moans of delight by now, and licked his neck upwards, reaching his cheek and lips, drawing his tongue over the other man's lips, tasting him. "Mmmmm… you taste real nice, boy~"
"B-Boy? Why you-!" Zoro was interrupted from stating that only 4 years of age made them apart, when he felt a hand slide down his pants, grabbing his ass. Gasping, Zoro's lips were once again locked with Kaku's, who pressed them firmly against the green-hair's, kissing him and snatching his tongue into his mouth, suckling on it like crazy. Zoro could only make muffled groans of delight as his rear end was groped and squeezed tightly by Kaku's hand, wondering where the other was. In an instant, he felt it slide into his shirt and over his chest, groaning more as his muscles were caressed gently. Kaku smirked and pulled away again.
"I see I have another reason to be impressed by you~" he grins, and keeps rubbing his muscularity, which earns more moans from Zoro. With this, he stops, pulling back his hands and smiling innocently at Zoro. "And that's my thank you." He said with an innocent chuckle. Zoro, however, looked like he was far from done, even with his ragged pants as he tried regaining breath. As he finished, he looked up towards him and grinned deviously.
"Ya not gonna finish~?" he smirks, and with a chuckle from Kaku, he pins down the red-hair with ease and removes his cap, stroking tufts of his short red hair as he locks them in another kiss, earning a muffled moan from Kaku. Zoro proceeds by laying himself on top of Kaku's body, their two bodies rubbing against each other as their kiss continues. Kaku's hands once again gropes at Zoro's well-formed rear end, with Zoro groaning in lust, as his hands unzips Kaku's jacket and opens it, strong hands roaming over the chest below them, touching each curved design of muscularity. Kaku's heart was once again in convulsions, but this time along with his body, as it was shaking and trembling from the pleasure he received from Zoro. Moaning loudly, the two of them finally stopped, saliva dripping from their mouths and sweat running down their skin and clothes.
"Hah… hah… hah… damn Zoro… you're quite talented." Kaku admitted with a chuckle, putting his cap back on and winking at Zoro.
"And you're not… too shabby either…" Zoro gasped for air, before smirking and nudging Kaku childishly, but in the same time roughly. Kaku rubbed his side a bit and chuckled again.
"Heh… thanks." He smiled. Just then, Sanji shouted out that dinner was served, and Zoro smiled a bit back. He knew Kaku was welcome for dinner, and if he wasn't, he could just complain on Ero-cook until he agreed on letting Kaku eat with the others.
"Ya wanna go grab something to eat?" he asked as he stood up, followed suit by Kaku.
"Sure!" he smiled brightly, before the two of them went down from the crow's nest, towards the kitchen and dining cabin. Kaku had never felt so happy in his entire life, but hopefully, this was not the first and last day he'd feel this kind of happiness. He hoped, deep inside, that there'd be a lot more moments like those before he had to leave this ship and get out on his own.