DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece, or any of the quotes used in this fic.
I referenced the 3D2Y special in this. If you haven't seen it, there are two important things you need to know about it:
1) Luffy's sweatshirt which he wears in it is adorable and I love it a lot and my friend made one for me and yeah that wasn't really relevant to the point I'm trying to make but lemme brag about my awesome friend jinx and the sweatshirt she made me
2) Pretty much all you need to know about the special in relation to this fic is that it takes place during the timeskip and Perona and Mihawk are in it a little and Perona runs into Luffy for a bit.
When Zoro met Luffy, he wasn't expecting him to be so insane. Zoro never would have guessed that he was so idiotic, or so reckless (though breaking into a marine base to talk to someone called "Demon" might've been a good clue), or so naïve. He also would have never guessed the kid was made of rubber (but who makes that sort of assumption, anyway?), or that he was such a strong fighter. Zoro would have never been able to tell how brave he was, or how far he would go to defend his crew mates.
Zoro would have never guessed that he'd call him captain, nor how proud he would be to do so.
If you had gone back to that day and asked Zoro if he would ever give up his ambition for the sake of another person, he would have said no. He would have probably thought you were crazy. If you had asked Zoro if he'd ever put his pride aside for the sake of another person, he would have said no, and then probably have tried to make you go away because you were annoying and asking him a lot of dumb questions.
Of course Zoro wouldn't give up his ambition, what could be more important than that?
Zoro would have never expected the answer to come in the form of a brightly smiling boy with a straw hat and a dream bigger than his own.
Zoro would have never guessed the answer to be his own personal sun.
"I'm going to become the World's Greatest Swordsman!" Zoro said. He was holding back several marines, and talking was slightly hard due to the sword in his mouth, but he had to be sure his captain knew. "If you do something that ends up in the way of my goal, I will have you cut your stomach open to say sorry!"*
"World's Greatest Swordsman? That's nice!" Luffy replied He was smiling. "As the Pirate King's crew mate, I wouldn't expect any less from you."
This was the promise they made when they met.
X
"I swear! I'll never lose again!" Zoro yelled. He was bleeding out in a small wooden boat, and talking was hard due to the pain, but he had to be sure his captain knew. "Any problems with that, Pirate King?"
"Nope!" Luffy laughed. He was smiling.
That was the promise they made at the Baratie.
It's around there Luffy really became Zoro's captain. Their first deal was null and void, for now Luffy was part of Zoro's ambition. He would not lose, for he had sworn not to, the same way he had sworn to be the greatest to a girl stronger than him who left the world too soon.
As their journey went on, not only Luffy became part of his dream, but the crew Luffy collected joined it as well. Nami, Usopp, Sanji (though Zoro wouldn't say it to his face), Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, and any members they may gain in the future. They all became his motivation to become stronger. They became his motivation to become the strongest.
Luffy became all of their motivation. He was the push all of them had needed to begin to follow their dreams. They followed him, as though he were the sun in their skies. And, to Zoro, he was.
In Zoro's eyes, he was just as big, bright, breath-taking, and blinding. He was a force to be reckoned with. And while he was small compared to other forces in the universe, he was the most important thing in Zoro's sky.
Then there came a day when Zoro nearly lost the sun. On Thriller Bark, his shadow, -along with Brook's, Curlybrow's, Robin's, and Luffy's- was taken. If they stepped into the sun without it, they'd be incinerated.
Luffy fought and got it back, of course. As if there was any doubt in Zoro's mind he wouldn't.
But that wasn't the only sun Zoro nearly lost that day. Luffy fell unconscious shortly after finishing off Moria, but that was to be expected. Zoro felt like he could join his captain on the ground right about then. But the threats had not passed.
"Hand over the head of Straw Hat Luffy." Kuma said. The Straw Hats would have none of it, of course. As they had already proved once that day, they weren't giving up the sun without a fight.
But they weren't in any condition to fight. Already wiped out from Moria, no one had any strength to resist the next attack.
The only one conscious and able to stand was Zoro. Zoro, and the shichibukai who attacked them in the first place.
Zoro knew he couldn't fight. He was surprised he could walk. But Zoro wasn't giving up this sun, not when they had fought so hard to get the other one back. So he made a deal.
"I'll let you take a head. However, take my head instead! Take my life in exchange for his! I beg of you!" Zoro said "I know my head is not worth much at the moment, but eventually I will become the World's Greatest Swordsman. I'd say exchanging my life for his is an equally good deal!"
Zoro didn't believe that, though.
"If you have such great ambition, then by dying for him, how will you ever be satisfied?" Kuma asked.
"There is no other way to save the crew! If I can't protect my captain, then my own ambition is nothing but talk!" Zoro yelled. "Luffy must be the man who becomes the Pirate King!"
Sanji tried to take his place, tried to take his deal. But the Straw Hats needed a chef. With an appetite like Luffy's, the crew would fail without one. That would defeat the purpose of Zoro's sacrifice. He was protecting his sun, and all the planets that revolved around it. That meant the shit-cook, too, and everyone who had to eat his horrible cooking. So Zoro knocked him out.
"I will make you experience hell." Kuma said. He picked Luffy up and expelled a large, paw-shaped bubble from his body. It was four times Zoro's height** and rimmed red.
"What I am repelling from his body is all his pain and fatigue. All the damage inflicted upon him during his battle with Moria has accumulated here. If you wish to take his place, you must take his suffering." Kuma said. "Since you are already hurt, taking his suffering will result in you death. Try some." Kuma sent at him a small portion of the bubble. It entered Zoro's chest, and try as he might, Zoro couldn't hold back the scream that ripped from his mouth. He fell to the ground, out of breath. It was easily one of the most painful things the swordsman had ever experienced. And that was only a small part! Zoro knew the entire bubble would surely kill him.
But what scared him the most was that this was Luffy's pain. This was only a small part of what Luffy had been suffering from. And the bubble was four times Zoro's height.
How much pain did Luffy put himself through for their sake?
Zoro knew now he had definitely been lying when he said his head was a fair trade for his captain's. Luffy was much stronger than him. Despite being in pain, Zoro was also in awe. Even if it were only for a short time, a time which was about to end, he was honored to follow such a great captain.
He was honored to die for the future King of Pirates.
"Just... let me choose the place" Zoro said. He didn't want his friends to hear him screaming.
Zoro knew he was going to die. But because of his sacrifice, his crew would be able to follow their dreams. Even without him, the sun would keep shining.
Zoro was surprised he ever woke up again.
Kuma didn't go back on his word. Everyone was still safe. The sun shone brightly as they left the dark of Thriller Bark behind. The weather was nice, too. Everything was going to be okay.
Something every pirate should know, though, is how quickly the Grand Line's weather could change. One minute the sun is shining, but the sky can become dark and gray quite quickly. And it was usually without warning, unless you knew how to find the signs. However, Zoro didn't know where to look.
But it was too late to prepare as the storm clouds rolled in as Kizaru, Sentomaru, and the Pacifista showed up.
Luffy ordered the crew to run.
"We can't beat these guys!"
But they couldn't outrun them, not this time. And, as if it couldn't get any worse, Kuma arrived.
"If you were to take a trip, where would you like to go?"
And before Zoro knew how to respond, Kuma touched him and everything went dark.
The only trace of Zoro was the slight breeze coming from where he once stood, and his captain calling his name.
For Zoro, it was all dark skies from there.
The sun wasn't shining. The island of Kuraigana was blanketed in fog and gloom, but Zoro barely noticed. That wasn't the sun he was worried about. The one he was worried about wore a straw hat and a bright smile. But, in this picture, his sun wasn't shining. His captain wasn't smiling. Head bent over, covered in bandages, hat in hand and over his chest, the picture was captured as Luffy payed tribute to his now-dead brother.
He was alone.
When Luffy had needed them most, they weren't there.
Now Zoro searched for the message he was sure was in the picture. Though Zoro had said Luffy was alone, he also knew Luffy wouldn't have done something like this. It was obviously a plan devised by someone else, and it also definitely had some sort of ulterior motive. Which is exactly what Zoro was searching for.
When he finally found it, he knew exactly what he had to do.
"Teach me the way of the sword!" Zoro said. He was on his hands and knees, head bent to the floor in front of his greatest rival. His shoulder was bleeding, but he ignored it. This was nothing compared to what Luffy must be feeling. Zoro had felt Luffy's pain before, and what Luffy must be feeling now must not compare to even that. Zoro would take Luffy's pain again if he could be by his captain's side right now.
"I am disappointed in you, Roronoa Zoro. You mean to ask teaching from you enemy? Know your shame." Mihawk replied coldly. Zoro did not move. "Leave this place. I have no further interest in you. It would seem the expectations I held for you were too high." Zoro still did not move from his place. "Must you continue? It pains me to watch."
"I want to become strong!" Zoro yelled. It was captain's orders, after all. Mihawk's frown deepened.
"Defeated by the baboons, unable even to escape to sea, and after that you have the nerve to come crawling back here... I have nothing to tech to the likes of you." Mihawk said. Zoro was not upset. He still did not move from his position on the floor.
"The baboons, I've defeated." Zoro said. Mihawk was shocked. "Yours is the only head I have left to take. But I am not foolish enough to believe that I have any hope of beating you here and now."
"I do not understand. If you still consider me an enemy, then why would you prostrate yourself before me and ask me to teach you? What purpose does this serve?"
"So that I may surpass you!" Zoro yelled. Mihawk paused for a second, before laughing.
"You ask me to raise the swordsman who will take my life by my own hands? You are a strange one for sure." He continued laughing. "A ridiculous notion. Your actions are nonetheless quite unsightly. It would seem you have found a cause greater than your own ambition."
A cause greater than Zoro's ambition? Zoro thought it over. Luffy was part of his ambition now. But if he had to choose (as he had done once before), his captain came first.
Zoro stared at the newspaper in his hand. Mihawk had decided to train him after his wounds were healed, but right now, they were not. So he took this time to focus on his captain. The true meaning of the message sunk in then.
"Two years..." Zoro muttered to himself. He stared at the picture. His captain wasn't smiling. After what he had been through, Zoro wondered if Luffy would smile again. It hurt to think of a world where his captain wasn't smiling. Zoro looked out the window, at the never-ending gloom of Kuraigana, and then back to the picture of his captain.
Two years was a long time to go without the sun.
Zoro could only imagine how Brook had managed to do 50.
(Referencing the 3D2Y special here, for those of you who haven't seen it and might be confused)
When Mihawk had left on some order of the World Government, Zoro's only concern was the training he'd be missing. Even when Perona went with him, he stayed focused on getting stronger. However, when the duo came back with the news they'd seen his captain, Zoro was suddenly very interested.
"How was he doing?" Zoro asked.
"He was running around with one of the shichibukai. He didn't remember who I am!" Perona said.
"Who? And was he alright?"
"It was Boa Hancock. I heard she hated all men, but they seemed to be friends." Perona said. It didn't surprise Zoro in the slightest. Luffy was good at making friends with people, wether they initially wanted to be friends with him or not.
"But was he alright?" Zoro asked again.
"I don't know. He was wearing bandages and stuff. But he was running around and smiling, so I guess he wasn't hurt."
Zoro nearly sighed in relief. He had been worried Luffy's smile wouldn't come back. Luffy always seemed to recover from any injury, but without the crew there to help him bounce back from his worst injury, Zoro was concerned his captain could break. And having only a solemn newspaper clipping picture of his captain who was not smiling did not help to ease his nerves.
Though the rational part of Zoro knew Luffy sending them the message in the first place showed he was not broken, and the fact he declared war on the world again showed he was ready to fight back, Zoro still wondered. All Zoro had seen of Luffy since the separation was a grim cover of a newspaper.
But Zoro should have known better. Even though it got dark, and storm clouds rolled over the sky, it did not mean the sun had stopped shining.
Even if Zoro couldn't see it because of the grim cover, the sun was still shining.
Time was up for the crew's training, and Zoro blinked and squinted in the light as he sailed off of Kuraigana. He had gotten used to the darkness of the island, and his one good eye was still adjusting to the return of the light. He was brimming with excitement, though he didn't show it. It took shorter than Perona had expected for them to reach Saboady, though as far as Zoro was concerned he might as well have spent two years on that boat.
Zoro had already stopped by with Raleigh and, after finding he was the first to arrive (take that Shit-Cook!), started trying to find the Sunny. He ended up finding Sanji (who arrived seventh. Take. That. Shit. Cook.), and then finding Luffy, and then trouble. But after a little bit of fighting the group was heading back to the Sunny, together at last. It didn't surprise Zoro one bit that Luffy had gotten in trouble the minute he arrived, as some things never changed. Any lingering worries he may have had over his captain were gone for the moment, washed away by Luffy's contagious smile.
Zoro decided that, after two years on Kuraigana, it felt good to see the sun shining once more.
And he wasn't going to anything take the sun from him ever again.
Asterisk (*) Notes!:
* I've seen a few different variations of this line, but this was the one I read when I read One Piece, so this is the one I used. This goes for pretty much every quote I use, tbh. They're pretty much all from mangapanda's translation.
**I wonder how many Zoros could fit in that bubble. Because yes, Zoro is now a unit of measurement. For example, Kuma is ~2 Zoros tall and Luffy is less than 1 Zoro tall
HA. DONE. I HAD LIKE 5 DIFFERENT IDEAS THAT I JUST PUT TOGETHER TO FORM THIS ONESHOT AND NOW I CAN CROSS THEM ALL OFF THE LIST I AM SO HAPPY AND PROUD OF THIS YES. I ALSO FINISHED READING HOMESTUCK SO :]
IMPORTANT: IF ANYONE READING THIS ALSO READS MY STORY Friends and Family, I HAVE PLANS FOR A ONESHOT ABOUT NIGHTMARES. BUT I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN ONE IN THAT SERIES. THIS ONE ISNT VERY SIMILAR TO THAT ONE, BUT I WANT TO KNOW WETHER I SHOULD INCLUDE IT IN F&F OR SEPARATE. LEMME KNOW, OK?
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVEN THOUGH ITS PAST MIDNIGHT WHERE I AM WHEN WRITING THIS AND SO NOT VALENTINES DAY. ITS LIKE 1 AM. WHATEVER. HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS! REMEMBER, REVIEWS ARE RADICAL, AND FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES ARE FABULOUS!
EDIT: IT IS NOW 1:30 PM WHEN I AM UPLOADING, SO VERY MUCH NOT VALENTINE'S DAY. WHY AM I TYPING IN ALL CAPS? AGAIN?
- Lew-chan :D