Slicing Through Serenity
Three years after Enies Lobby, two months after Raftel, and one week after Zoro pries the title of 'The Greatest in The World' from Mihawk's cold, bloody hands, they meet again.
Ironically enough, it's at a zoo.
They're near the monkey cages when it happens – Luffy's making funny faces at the animals while he sits in the shade, content. The others have wandered off elsewhere; only Sanji remains, feeding bread to the ducks at the pond nearby. Now that the adventure is over, there's time to sit down, relax and enjoy the view. Besides, Zoro likes being on top, and the prospect of being challenged after being a challenger himself for so damn long is unpleasant.
There's a crash and a scream.
The three strongest members of the Mugiwara Pirates arrive at the scene in an instant and receive a briefing of the situation. Standing on the top railing, Nami explains, Chopper had slipped and tumbled down into the giraffe exhibit. He wasn't moving.
Zoro peers down and finds a mass of brown, unconscious fur being nibbled on by a pair of bewildered giraffes. He does not know whether to find this hilarious or just really weird.
Luffy is the first to volunteer for Operation: Save Chopper. The rest of the crew responds with vehement 'NO!'s, and proceed to justify their actions – Luffy, remember that time with the dog at Thriller Bark?, or Remember the last time you 'played' with that octopus?, and Just stay away from the fucking animals, for fuck's sake!
Sanji suggests he should stay with the girls to comfort them.
Nami refuses straight out, saying nakama or not, she is not wading in twenty feet of giraffe crap for anyone or anything. Even money.
Franky and Brooke are no where to be found, and are thus excused.
Usopp (bravely) attempts a rescue, but ends up (bravely) falling in as well.
Leaving only two people for the job.
Robin smiles that creepy, mysterious, don't-mess-with-me smile, and gestures towards the exhibit.
"Go ahead, Swordsman-san."
God damn it.
Zoro jumps over the railing easily, landing on his feet with a loud 'thump'. The pit is about twelve feet deep, built so that the giraffes can just poke their heads above the railing. It's not too great a fall, he supposes, but then again, he isn't a wimp.
Not implying that Usopp and Chopper are. Sort of.
He shoos away a couple of curious giraffes and picks the mass (i.e. Chopper), slinging it over his shoulder. Then, as a second thought, he picks up mass number two (i.e. Usopp) and slings it over his shoulder as well.
"I don't need you help, Zoro!" Usopp says out loud, arms flailing courageously.
"Thanks for your help, Zoro." Usopp whispers, wincing when one of Chopper's hooves connect with his ankle. Zoro surmises that it is broken and grunts as a response.
He's beginning to scale the walls when someone clears their throat behind him.
"Ahem."
Zoro turns around.
And faces a man he had left for the dead three years ago.
Twelve feet above them, wrapped around the railing, Luffy shouts: "Hey, Usopp! You're okay!" at the black-clad, smiling and very much alive figure of Kaku.
Kaku invites them for dinner with the rest of CP9, though he assures them that they have long since retired from their roles as undercover agents/assassins, and that there are no hard feelings for the pirates that caused said early retirement.
"I took your advice, you know," he says as they walk side by side, flashing another blinding smile at the stunned swordsman. "Working at the zoo is the best thing I've ever done with this miserable life of mine. And the others have moved on as well."
Zoro still can't get his head around the fact that they're not trying to kill each other.
Everyone else, however, is more forgiving. They are willing to listen as Kaku tells them everything about CP9's lives on this small, uncharted island – Kalifa was now the owner of a salon, where she put her Akuma No Mi powers to good use; Jyabura and Fukurou worked as editor and co-editor (respectively) of a trashy tabloid magazine; Blueno had opened up a restaurant, which happened to be the very one they were going to now.
"The food is very good," Kaku guarantees them. "But no beef, though."
Luffy groans and Zoro's hand flies to the hilt of his katana.
It's all too strange, all too sudden. It's too much to take in, the fact that someone could be your enemy one day, and your friend another. Besides, he's always been the paranoid one.
Without caution, a blade would dull.
Sanji nudges him the back. The cook has been silent for most of the walk, excluding random interjections of "Kalifa/Nami/Robin-swan!".
"Hey, you biting his bait?"
Zoro doesn't know whether it's the discovery of All Blue that makes Sanji love all this fish-related metaphors, or the simple fact that he knows Zoro hates it.
"No. Not for one second. It's been years since Water Seven," He says, sparing a glance at his crewmates. "But from what I know, people don't ever change much. Period."
Sanji shrugs and gives an affirming nod.
"Hey, whatever fries your fish."
Sometimes, he really, really wants to kill that aho-cook.
True to Kaku's word, the food at the 'Buru-Buru' restaurant turns out to be pretty good. So good, in fact, that Sanji insists on helping out in the kitchen after seeing the appetizers. The food gets even better after that.
Kalifa and Fukurou arrive fashionably late, with Jyabura skidding in through the doors mere minutes later. They don't look much different, except for the fact that they're dressed in normal clothes, and the looks of bloodlust and murder have been all but wiped from their faces. Both groups exchange greetings like a bunch of old pals, as opposed to people who were trying to kill each other not too long ago. Zoro has to admit though. Time and location have most definitely mellowed CP9 out.
"Wow. You actually look decent today, Kalifa-san." Nami teases.
"I could say the very same about you, Nami-chan." Kalifa replies, curt as ever.
With that the conversation relaxes into a gentle flow, as the girls chat at one end of the table and the boys at another. Luffy is too busy eating to talk, but the others converse about everything from the weather to the World Government to the Grand Line Sumo Wrestling Championships.
"So then, the guy in black spandex took the guy in the green spandex and BOOM, BAM, WACHOW! K.O.!" Usopp exclaims, earning excited murmurs from Chopper, Fukurou and Franky, while Brooke and Jyabura discuss the aesthetics of modern Chinese Opera.
Only Kaku and Zoro remain in silence.
Kaku sips his tea serenely.
Zoro's grip on his swords tighten.
By the time dessert is over, almost everyone is filled to the brim with food and alcohol. Jyabura and Usopp are sprawled across the floor, giggling wildly at Brooke's skull jokes. Fukurou and Franky are having a cola drinking competition, though it's hard to tell whose winning. Chopper is fast asleep in Sanji's arms, as the aforementioned chef compares filleting techniques with an enraptured Blueno. The girls are still gossiping in one corner of the room, and Luffy is (somehow) still eating.
Neither Kaku nor Zoro has said a single word yet.
The atmosphere between them is edging on awkwardness, but there also a sort of peace in the quiet. Zoro loves the party as much as his friends do, but sometimes, sitting out is the best option.
Kaku clears his throat again. Zoro's starting to find that little habit of his very annoying.
"You know, when your knuckles turn white, it's generally a good time to let go."
Subconsciously, Zoro's grip around Sandai Kitetsu's handle loosens.
"I see you have a new sword." Kaku says, his voice calm.
"I do."
"Can I look at – "
"No."
Kaku's eyes narrow, and there's something scrutinizing about his look that makes Zoro feel embarrassed, almost.
"Um… There's a good reason. Why." He replies lamely, and Kaku's gaze softens.
"Why?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Yes, Zoro-san. Why?"
Zoro doesn't know how to answer that question, simply because of the magnitude of the answer. How could he possibly explain the story of Kuina to this complete stranger? The story of the Wadou? How, during the final clash, his most beloved sword had shattered with Mihawk's Black Blade; how he had painstakingly crafted a new katana from the pieces; how he had toiled, how he had wept, when he finally held the completed Kuro Ichimonji in his hands and realized that his dreams had finally been achieved?
"It's complicated." He chooses to say. "And did you just call me Zoro-san?"
Kaku smiles and stares blankly at the ceiling.
"Yeah, I did."
Zoro is just about to reply when Kaku continues to speak.
"When you defeated me, all those years ago, I felt so goddamn mad, you know? I couldn't believe that a couple of rookies could have beaten something as illustrious, something as powerful, as the Cipher Pol 9. Before you came along, I thought I was unstoppable." Kaku takes a deep breath through his long nose, and grins wistfully.
"But I'm glad you beat Dracule Mihawk, Zoro-san. I'm glad that you managed to claw your way up to the top."
"Why?" Zoro can't help but ask.
"Because you're the best. Because I was beaten by the best, and only the best." Kaku chuckles softly under his breath. "Doesn't make much sense, does is?"
But it does, at least, to Zoro. He's never lost to anyone but the greatest either.
In a way, every person, every enemy, he's ever fought has been a stepping stone to the top. If that's the case, Zoro thinks that Kaku would always be one hell of a big fucking rock.
"Well, you helped."
"Hmm?"
Zoro toys with the idea of explaining, but decides against it in the end.
"Nothing. Forget it."
Some things are just better left unsaid.
The next day, Kaku requests for a rematch. After getting the go-ahead from Nami (who tells him that as long as he comes back to the ship before sundown and alive, he can fight all the hell he wants), Zoro ties on his black bandanna and grins a demon's grin. Kaku is already waiting for him at the battlefield – half-man, half-giraffe, all warrior.
"Zoro-san."
"Kaku."
"Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Soru!"
And Kaku charges forward, immediately on the attack. Zoro manages to grind out a sentence around clenched teeth, a sword and the clanging of metal on metal.
"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this. Nana-Juu-Ni Pound Hou!"
A few rounds of good, solid fighting later, they lie exhausted on the ground; panting, sweating and smiling. Nothing in the world beats this type of workout – swordsman against swordsman, skill against skill – and Zoro relishes in the feeling. The long-nosed bastard's gotten stronger too, which only makes things much more interesting.
"I win."
"Mah, Zoro-san. Best two out of three."
"I beat you sixteen times."
"I beat you fifteen."
"Well, I'm still better."
"By a slight margin. I expected more from the best in the world."
"Shut up."
They lie there for a little longer, before Zoro realizes something.
"Hey, giraffe-man."
"Hmm?"
"Where are the other two?"
"Oh. Well, Kumadori left the island about a week ago, with his troupe. He's a Kabuki actor now, so he travels a lot. Still, we see him rather frequently."
"And the pigeon-man?"
There's a hitch in the Kaku's breath. Zoro waits patiently for an answer.
"Lucchi… left. A long time ago." Kaku's voice is soft and shaky, and it makes Zoro feel uncomfortable. Conservation concerning 'feelings' tend to do that.
"One day, he woke up and left the island. He took everything with him, and stole a dinghy from the docks nearby. He hasn't contacted us since, and the seas were so choppy that morning, so we worry…" Kaku trails off, his eyes hooded by the baseball cap. "Didn't leave a trace that he had ever lived with me… um, us. Didn't leave a note either."
"A note for them or for you?"
The look on Kaku's face answers the question for him.
At sunset, Zoro returns to the ship, and finds that he was three minutes and forty-nine seconds away from being left behind. He says it's good that he arrived in time then, so gimme a beer, 'm thirsty, and receives a kick in the face for his efforts.
"Go get it yourself, you shitty marimo." Zoro doesn't mind that smarting comment too much, and chooses to be glad that Sanji isn't calling him a – a deep sea bass fish man, or something along those stupid lines.
Sanji takes a drag of his cigarette as they weigh anchor and pull out of the harbor.
"Funny the way our world works, hmm? Meeting those guys again."
"Yeah."
"Don't you just miss it sometimes, though?" Sanji exhales, smoke curling above his head in grey tendrils. Zoro doesn't need him to explain. There's a part of him that misses the crazy adventures, the amazing places, the fights and the blood. But there's a part of him that's perfectly fine where he is right now.
"Sometimes."
And with that he puts CP9, Kaku and the rest of the world behind him.
A/N: I adore CP9, which prompted this fanfiction. Also, don't you think that Zoro and Kaku would have been great friends is they weren't trying to kill each other?
Why does Lucchi leave? Well, I don't see him as the type to be tied down to one place. Who knows? Maybe one day CP9 *cough* Kaku *cough* will find him. And bring him back.