The Merry was finally quiet, Zoro observed from his spot up on the crow's nest.
Glancing down below him, he could see Luffy and the other 4 all sprawled out on the deck of the ship fast asleep, Luffys snore punctuating the air and echoing all the way up to the crow's nest itself. Zoro let a small smile grace his face as he looked away from the group, the fight with Arlong had been long and a particularly emotional one for most of the group and the ensuing parties hadn't given them much time to rest though it did give them more than enough food and drink to satisfy them for quite some time.
Zoro was pleased and relieved that Nami had come back to the crew. He, unlike Luffy, had heard of her past with Arlong and could see her reasoning of hating pirates easily enough, but he had hoped she would return. Not just for himself, he could see very clearly the entire crew was at peace with Nami's return to them. Nami was already an integral part of the crew when Sanji and Usopp joined and he knew it was more than just that idiot Sanji's love for women that made the stupid cook happy with her return as well as Usopp just generally being happy the fight was over, and having Nami return also meant Usopp wouldn't be alone when he was trying to avoid a fight. Those two idiots loved her in their own ways, much as he and Luffy loved Nami as their nakama.
Zoro knew Luffy was as pleased, if not more so than he was, that Nami had come back. She was their navigator and she had been since the moment she stepped up to fight with them back in Orange Town against that idiot Buggy. The three of them had been together for quite some time before Usopp had even joined and the weeks they spent together the three of them idly traveling had made for a strong bond and Zoro knew that the crew would have felt as if it were missing something important to both him and Luffy had Nami decided to stay away.
His thoughts now firmly on his captain Zoro felt the wound on his chest ache. It was not just Arlong that had been a long and emotional event, what had happened at Baratie still weighed heavily on Zoro's mind as well as his captains.
It had been a foolish act on his part to try and face Mihawk as he was now, he had known he wasn't strong enough in the back of his mind, but every fiber of his being had told him he had to try and he had ignored Luffy's command to do so. Shame rose in his throat as he thought of how he ignored the order to go after Nami for the chance to fight Mihawk. Zoro and Luffy had agreed upon that when Zoro joined with Luffy, that his own dream came first for him, but looking back on the events of Baratie, Zoro had felt guilt and regret as he ignored Luffy to fight Mihawk.
It wasn't all for naught, Zoro thought to himself as he leaned his head back against the mast behind him, he had gained the recognition of Mihawk through his choices and actions even if the fight was largely one-sided on his part and probably nothing more than childs play for the renowned swordsman who had so easily defeated Zoro.
Closing his eyes, the events of Baratie began to play themselves, and as Zoro looked back on them he felt well and truly stupid. Hot shame coiled in his stomach and rose through his throat choking him and a breath was punched out of him. He could still hear Luffy's voice distantly in his mind yelling out for him desperately as Zoro turned to face Mihawk accepting the final blow. In fact the last thing Zoro could remember before falling into the cold water was his captain's voice ringing out for him desperately as the only obstacle that stood in the way of his dream sliced his chest open. How could he have been so short-sighted? If not for Mihawk's mercy he would not be here right now. He clenched his fists tight and was momentarily started by the feeling of his sword in his hand, having forgotten he was holding onto it idly during his watch. He placed Wado over his knees and stared down at the white sheath.
Zoro could hardly believe that he had almost lost his place on the ship because of his rash actions. Defeating Mihawk was his dream and he was prepared to die for that, but now as he thought of it, dying here and now would have left a bitter taste in his mouth. What kind of man would he be if he died before he saw his captains' dream come to fruition? What kind of first mate?
Zoro tore his eyes away from Wado and glanced back towards his captain, who lay asleep surrounded by his nakama, hand clutching his strawhat to his chest. Luffy had been driven and unrelenting over the return of Nami, and it made Zoro pause as he considered what would have happened had Mihawk not seen something worthy in Zoro himself that caused him to spare him his life, if Zoro himself had been the one the die and leave the crew behind?
Zoro steeled himself and threw away that idea. He would still do whatever it took to make his dream become reality but he was no longer carrying just his dream with him. As Luffy carried the dreams of his crew upon his back, Zoro, and from what he suspected the rest of the crew as well, shouldered the ideal of Luffy's dream upon their backs. It was an unspoken thing but the 4 of them probably all had similar desires to help Luffy achieve his goal by whatever means possible.
Things had changed so much already since Luffy had liberated him from what was to be his execution stand. Zoro could no longer fathom the idea of abandoning Luffy or going separate ways once their respective dreams were accomplished. He was tied here; heart and soul, and Zoro now realized that nothing could tear him from his spot in the crew, from his spot beside his captain.
Zoro returned his gaze to Wado. The sword sat silently in his lap; for once he was not feeling the usual spirit of his sword, it was decidedly quiet as the moonlight fell upon making the white of the sheath seem more ethereal. Wado was now the only sword he had in his possession the other two lay somewhere broken on the bottom of the ocean. Zoro was not deeply troubled by the loss of those swords, he could easily enough replace them at the next town, but Zoro was relieved when Johnny and Yosaku had pulled him from the ocean that they had retrieved Wado as well.
Wado was never just a sword from the moment he got it, first it had been a memory of Kuina, and then it became an extension of himself, the sword no longer felt wrong in his hands but sit loosely in his palm as if it were meant to be there the entire time. Zoro unsheathed the sword and gazed upon the moonlight glinting off of the steel.
A part of Wado, had and, would always belong to Kuina, but she no longer solely existed within the memory of the sword, Kuina was also present in his dream, their shared desire to be the best in the world linked them.
As Zoro watched the play of the moonlight on the sword he thought of when he came to after Mihawks attack. Lying in the bottom of a boat, with the worried faces of Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku surrounding him and talking in loud relieved voices, but none of that had registered with him then, not even the pain from the wound had been at the forefront of his mind. What he had immediately latched onto was what had been the last thought in his mind before he fell: his captain.
Zoro could still feel the heat of the sun bearing down upon him and the burn in his arm as he raised his remaining sword to the sky and watched as the sun glinted off the metal, reflecting around him, as he declared himself to Luffy and vowed upon that very sword to never lose again. Zoro could still feel the weight of the words in his mouth as he addressed Luffy with the title he knew that the younger boy was practically destined to achieve, it hadn't seemed farfetched as he called out to him, declaring him the Pirate King, regardless of the fact that their journey hadn't even made it out of the East Blue yet. The words had hung heavy and definite in the air, declaring it for all to see and no one had objected and no one had laughed at what was in all sense of the word a fool's gambit. Luffy himself had hardly blinked at the title and when his captain returned his assent at Zoro's declaration it seemed to set their destiny in stone and Zoro knew this would end with the two of them at the top of the world as Pirate King and the best Swordsman with the crew by their sides.
A piece of the sword would always belong to Kuina, regardless of the amount of time that passed, and Zoro knew he would not have it any other way. But on that day, as Zoro promised himself to his captain upon this very sword, the sword was now bound and in a sense belonged to Luffy, and as the sword was now an extension of Zoro's own spirit and desires, he too belonged to his captain, he had devoted his life and all he was to Luffy.
It made sense to Zoro though.
Without Luffy, he wouldn't be here anyway. He was sentenced to die at that execution post even if he hadn't known it yet. His dreams were almost stopped what feels like a lifetime ago on a small island with his precious sword hidden from him. But Luffy had appeared on what almost felt like the path of destiny, as if his entire life had been leading for him to find this boy in a strawhat with dreams bigger than his surroundings. He owed all he was now and all he was to become to that boy that had found him that day, even though Zoro dismissed him at first, once Luffy passed his swords over and Zoro consented to be a part of his crew, something in the air had changed and Zoro had to suppress a shudder in that moment as he felt as if a big change was breaching the horizon.
Zoro sheathed the sword and stood it upon the ground of the crow's nest resting his forehead upon the hilt, closing his eyes and breathing deeply through his nose.
He and the sword were now both devoted the younger captain that lay sleeping on the deck below him.
Zoro would not have it any other way.
((edit: thanks to the person who pointed out my mistake in where buggy was first introduced))