Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I wish I did...but I would probably ruin it if I tried.

Anyway...Storytime!

Loyalty of a Swordsman

Thriller bark.

To say things had been hectic on that ship was an understatement.

Zombies, shadows, a shichibukai, two shichibukai-and now this.

All of them had been exhausted already, Luffy was unconscious, and then the second shichibukai had shown up and things went downhill from there. Everyone had been defeated, there was nobody left standing but one.

Zoro stared almost expressionless at the large bubble in front of him. Its edges were tinged with red, and it pulsed steadily, almost daring him to step forward into its embrace. Dust and rubble surrounded him, casting a fog into the slowly rising sun. Bartholomew Kuma had left him, knowing that Zoro wouldn't go back on his word. He was alone, with the wind whistling eerily through the rocks. Every muscle in his body ached with pain, and his breath came in short gasps. He was already badly damaged. Taking much more of the pain would definitely kill him.

I'm sorry, Luffy, Zoro thought. You'll have to find another swordsman. I wasn't strong enough. I'm sorry.

His thoughts drifted to the promise that he had made, years and years ago. I'm sorry, Kuina. I couldn't keep my promise.

Rays of light forced the shadows farther and farther away as the sun climbed higher. People would start to wake up soon. Zoro took a deep breath, hardening his gaze. Clenching his teeth, and bracing him self, he pushed himself through the bubble, arms outstretched.

Instantly the bubble surrounded him, like a hungry beast latching onto its prey. Wherever it touched his skin, the flesh felt like fire. He bit his lip to keep from releasing a grunt of pain, but once the bubble had completely surrounded him was when the real pain began.

Shockwaves started inside his body, like before. But this time they were faster, more violent. Every part of his body was screaming in pain, and a cry tore through Zoro's lips as the very skin of his shoulder was ripped, slicing through his shirt and splattering blood on the stones below. His flesh began to tear, and blood spurted through the air. His legs locked into place to keep him from falling to his knees. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, all he could feel was pain, as though someone were raking knifes through his insides, tearing him apart. Zoro's leg exploded, and he stumbled, almost falling one the ground, which was already wet and sticky with his own blood. Without his legs firmly placed to keep him from moving, he reeled backwards, a barrage of shockwaves sending him stumbling a few paces backwards. He bit his lip to keep from screaming, and blood began to pool from around his mouth, dripping down his chin. Writhing in pain, he felt muffled cries forcing themselves repeatedly through his lips, until he couldn't keep his lips closed anymore and he screamed, his jaws wrenched apart with the force. Zoro barely had time to breathe before he was screaming again, his voice betraying any sense of indifference that he had tried to keep. His vision was shifting in and out of focus, but he could still see the red ball pulsing around him, slowly drawing itself into him. Too slowly. Much too slowly.

Miraculously, the stitches on Zoro's chest had not been pulled apart. However, the stitches around his ankles from when he had almost cut off his own feet were not quite as strong. The threads snapped, and blood tore through his old wounds, filling his shoes with his own blood. One large shockwave sent a burst of crimson up his left leg, tearing his clothes to shreds. His shirt was already damaged beyond repair, hanging onto one shoulder by a few strips.

Beads of sweat ran down his face as he tried to keep himself awake, but the last shockwave had sent him stumbling backwards, where he slipped on the wet ground. Zoro choked on his own blood, spraying it into the air as he fell, with no energy left, not even enough to scream. Bloodshot eyes stared dully at the sky as he felt his vision fading into darkness. The ground rushed forward towards him-

"No!"

Something grabbed his wrist, keeping him from falling. He blinked, trying to focus on whoever was keeping him steady, but could barely see. He could hear a voice, faint, but still there, shouting at him.

"Keep it together! You can't lose now!"

It's too late. I've already lost.

"Not yet! You're stronger than that! This isn't your place to die!"

The stranger forced him into a standing position, and kept him steady until his trembling legs had snapped into a rigid formation. The circle of blood around him was now larger than the sphere of pain, and he almost wished he would die already so the pain would end. He closed his eyes tightly as blood spurted from his forehead and over his eyelids. The stranger tightened its grip around Zoro's shoulders. "Don't you dare die now!" It screamed, but the sound was barely registered. Zoro tried to ask 'Who are you?' but found that he couldn't even move his lips. It was as though his body was frozen in place, the only thing keeping him from falling was the stranger.

"If you fall, you die. You can't let yourself fall," The stranger said. Zoro slowly cracked an eye open, trying to focus. Slowly, ever so slowly, his vision began to clear, and he could make out the shape of a person. Small, pale hands were holding him upright with surprising strength. Feminine hands. Short, dark blue hair framed a small face, and round eyes stared at him with determination that few could rival. Zoro's stared blankly at her, trying to understand what was going on. Smoker's subordinate?

"You're an idiot."

Not Smoker's subordinate?

Then he noticed the light blue glow around her, and the fact that he could see through her to the bloodstained rocks behind. A ghost? She nodded, and Zoro blinked slowly. Kuina?

"You're too thick for your own good, you know that?" Even through she said nothing, Zoro could still hear her voice, like she was talking in his head. The pain around him was almost forgotten, and he barely even registered the shockwaves anymore.

"Kuina! Why...how...what?"

"You're almost dead. Too close to being dead. Close enough to death that you practically are dead. That's why you can see me and feel me. Because you're body is just functioning well enough that you can live, but you're in so much pain that you're dead. I'm doing all I can just to keep your soul in your body."

"I almost broke our promise."

"I don't blame you for it. That straw hat wearing boy must be something special if you're willing to die for him."

Zoro smiled,but his smile quickly froze on his face as he lurched forward, coughing blood. Kuina grabbed him, her expression turning desperate. "Don't give up! Stay awake!"

"I can't...I can't do this..."

"You can do this! You're going to be the greatest swordsman in the world! And you can't do that if you're dead!"

Zoro felt tears coming to his eyes, mixing with the blood. "I'm still too weak..."

"You're not weak anymore!" Kuina grabbed Zoro's face, forcing him to look into her eyes. "You're not weak by a long shot! You may not be the best swordsman yet, but you aren't weak!"

The tears spilled over his eyes, despite his trying to stop them. He couldn't remember how many times Kuina had called him weak, but now she was saying the opposite. "You really..."

"Yes, you idiot! How many times to I have to tell you before you understand? You aren't weak anymore, so don't die like one!"

Zoro mustered enough energy to nod and wiped away his tears, smearing his knuckles with red. Crossing his arms, he nodded again. "I'm...I'm going to do it, okay? I will become the world's greatest swordsman! For the both of us!"

"Good!" She cried, stepping away from him. "Don't you dare die before that happens!"

The pain came back, full force, but he braced himself against it, grunting.

"Do you hear me, Roranoa Zoro? Don't give up!"

He could barely hear her, but he kept staring ahead at her shimmering form, focusing on her voice. Gradually, Kuma's sphere of pain became smaller, but he kept staring ahead, keeping his eyes on his friend as her voice faded out of his head. The sphere disappeared, and the shockwaves stopped, but Zoro didn't acknowledge anything as he kept staring ahead at Kuina. She smiled, and gave a sigh of relief, and slowly faded out of his sight. But he kept looking straight ahead at where she had been.

The sun blazed above his head, and the blood began to trickle more slowly, hardening on his skin. He wasn't dead. He could feel the wind, hear it whistling past him. He was still alive.

Sometime later, Sanji appeared. Zoro didn't respond when Sanji found him, or when he began to freak out at the large circle of blood he was standing in.

"Are you alive? What happened?"

A lot. I thought I would die. I thought I would be breaking my promise, giving up my ambition for Luffy. I never thought I would see any of you ever again. I never thought I would see Kuina again either. I spoke with the dead, that's how close I was to dying. I felt Luffy's pain, everything that he went through to protect us. And I would do it again. I would never regret giving my life if it was for my captain. Do you understand that? Do you know what I've felt, what I've seen? So much. So, so much.

"Nothing..." Zoro's voice was hoarse and gravelly from screaming, but he didn't care. Everyone was safe, that was all that mattered. "Nothing happened!"