Author Notes: I have become Zoro obsessed. I don't think I have been so obsessed with a single character before. Ah well. First time for everything. One-shot away!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Belongs to Oda, god of manga-ka.
Spoilers: Uh. Only if you don't know Zoro's past. Or who the fifth crew member is… which if you don't you haven't read enough to be looking up fanfics anyway. :P Setting
Pairings: Zoro/Kuina I guess; maybe Zoro/Luffy if you dare to interpret it that way
~!~
He was lost again. Not that he would ever admit it. But this tree definitely did not look familiar. Nothing about this area did. Since it was getting late, he decided he might as well stop wandering and sit down to eat. First he'd have to find some animal to hunt, though.
Which meant more wandering around.
Damn jungles.
Damn Luffy insisting on stopping on the island.
Damn crew for getting lost.
Where was that damn cook when you needed him? At least he always managed to have food ready when someone said they were hungry.
He stopped moving, frowning at first at the sound, then smiling when he saw the tiger prowling the brush. With a smirk, he unsheathed his katana, putting Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, thinking of her instinctively at the touch. He always did.
~!~
"Promise me. One of us will be the greatest swordsman in the world. Promise!"
He could see her hesitate, but more from surprise than insecurity. After a brief moment, she smiled and grasped his outstretched hand in hers. And together they vowed.
~!~
He grimaced around the sword hilt at the memory, wishing it could just leave him alone already. In the brush, the tiger growled. It was about to attack.
He smirked around the sword, pulling up the other two, preparing for an Oni-Giri. His stomach growled in anticipation. He dove in for the attack, ignoring the memory that came to mind as he sliced through the unsuspecting animal.
Well. He tried to ignore it anyway.
~!~
"You're as weak as ever, Zoro."
He felt the sting on his face where her bokken had once again smashed through his defenses. Maybe he should work on the defenses a little… How many times had she beaten him? How many more times would she beat him before he could get that first win? Day after day, hour after hour, he practiced, pushing his stamina to its limit, strengthening his body. And yet she stayed ever ahead of him.
Why?
As he glared at her, she smirked and turned away as if he meant nothing, as if he were just another weakling.
He clenched his fists and glared after her. He would defeat her one day. One day he would be the victor. Two-thousand losses was just too much.
~!~
He sighed, pulling Wado out of his mouth as the tiger fell prey to his attack. Staring at the sword, he could feel the constricting memories wanting to return, but this time he successfully pushed them back.
He focused on dragging the jungle animal to a campsite and setting everything up to be ready to cook. He wasn't Sanji. He couldn't cook gourmet meals, but he at least knew how to keep himself alive.
He did know that much.
~!~
"Sensei, can I have her sword?"
Kneeling on the smooth wooden floor, he worked on forcing back the tears. Why did Kuina have to die? She had promised! How could she die? How could she make a promise and run away from it like that? How was he supposed to defeat her now?
… Why did she have to leave him alone?
"Her sword?"
He nodded. "I will use her katana and when I become the world's greatest swordsman, my name will be so well known that it will reach the heavens. And she will be with me. If I have her sword."
He glanced away, mumbling out the last part. He wanted to fulfill the promise for both of them. If she wasn't going to do it herself, then he would do it for her. He would get her there somehow.
"All right. Kuina's soul and dreams. I leave them to you."
~!~
As the meat cooked, he shook his head, trying to push the memories away yet again. It was happening more than usual tonight. Why?
Glancing over at the white sword, at Wado, Kuina's katana, he blinked. If only he could go to sleep and not have to face the same thing. Then again, it was the anniversary of their promise so many years ago. No wonder the memories insisted. It happened every year.
"Zoro. Zoro!"
He blinked, thinking he had gone crazy, hearing voices. Staring at Wado, he imagined her, with her big dark eyes and short dark hair, holding the white sword. He grimaced. The apparition smiled at him.
And then another voice broke the insanity.
"MEEEEEEEEEEEEAT!"
At the sound of his Captain's voice, he felt his eyes widen as he attempted to move away from his current position. But it was too late. Luffy had already spotted him - or the cooking tiger-shiskabob - or both. The rubber man came flying through the forest, slamming into Zoro, who slammed into the tree he had been leaning against. The three swords fell to the ground with one of Luffy's hands touching the white one.
As the stars cleared from his vision, he looked down at Luffy, who was sitting on his legs, chin on his chest, looking up at him. "Oi, Zoro, I didn't know you could cook!"
He rolled his eyes and looked away. "It's not exactly hard to throw an animal over a fire," he grumbled.
"But it smells so good!" Luffy exclaimed with a laugh, snapping to his feet, moving the signature straw hat to his head and grinning wide. "I think Sanji would be jealous!" Then, without missing a beat. "When can I eat it?"
Zoro blinked, feeling the annoying blush on his face at being complimented by his captain, even if it wasn't something to feel proud over. He clamped a hand over the now free Wado, his fingers caressing it as he laid it across his lap.
"Zoro, I like your new friend." He froze, startled, at the sound of Kuina's voice. Damn hallucinations, even making him hear her laugh. "You look cute when you blush; too bad I didn't get to see that side of you." Even if it was a voice in his head, she still managed to make his face heat up and hear that laugh again. How he wished he could hear her laugh for real. "Oh well. At least now you have a chance of getting to the top. You're working with the future Pirate King, after all. I know he'll take good care of you for me, so you take good care of my katana, ne, Zoro?"
"Hey Zooorooo, can I eat it now?"
He shook his head, coming back to focus on reality, discovering that he was gripping the white sword so hard his knuckles had turned white. He bit his lip and then forced a shrug for his captain. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Go ahead. Not like I can stop you anyway."
Luffy cheered and then proceeded to rip apart Zoro's planned meal. In silence, Zoro contemplated his sanity, then shrugged and admitted he probably had never been sane to begin with. Still…
He stared at the white sword in his hand.
It had been nice to hear her voice again.