One Piece –THEY'RE NOT JUST SWORDS–
It started as a normal day in the New World. The strawhat crew dropped anchor at what seemed to be a calm harbor. Everyone set out to do their shopping except for Zoro who decided to keep watch over Sunny to decrease some of the constant growing debt he owned Nami.
The others had been gone for maybe an hour when Zoro noticed a presence coming onboard the Sunny. He opened his eye and stood up with his hand on Wado Ichimonji, while eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.
In front of him was a tall woman with long, dark, straight hair and bangs that ended right above her dark eyes. She wore tight fitting clothes that showed off her figure and on her feet she wore sturdy boots.
"Oh no need to be so tense Roronoa, you won't be able to stop me anyway."
"Hmf! What business do you have here?"
"You, no actually your swords."
Zoro glared at her angrily, from the moment she had stepped upon the ship he knew she was dangerous and a strong opponent
"What do you mean?"
"Did you know that there is a special place on this island where you can reforge weapons and mend their souls into one stronger one. I aim to do just that with your three magnificent swords. One by one they truly are amazing but if you combine them something truly terrific will be born."
"Teme! I will never let you do that!" Zoro hardened his grip and when he got ready to charge at her, he realized that he couldn't take a step. No matter how he tried he couldn't make his body move.
"Well let's not be hasty. I ate the Fudo, Fudo no Mi, and with my Fudo, fudo powers I can make everything in a certain radius immobile." She walked up to him and stroke a finger over his scarred eye. "You wear your scars proudly." She mentioned and nodded approvingly. She leaned in closer and whispered in his left ear. "Roronoa, it's time I take your swords…" The woman took a step back as she smiled evilly knowing she had infuriated him.
Her long manicured nails scraped Zoro's hand as she loosened his grip on his sword. Without hesitation she undid the haramaki around Zoro's waist and laid it on the side with the swords still attached to it.
Carefully she inspected them. "Perfect, you take good care of them." With a swift motion she drew Shusui and stabbed him in his abdomen, she released her grip of the hilt and let the sword sit in him. Then she picked up Sandai Kitetsu and did the same thing. Lastly she lifted Wado Ichimonji and painstakingly slowly eased the blade through his body and twisted the blade. All three blades now were so deeply through him only the hilt stuck out.
The woman watched him amusedly as slow tears were spilling from his eye.
"You are an interesting one. What will you do now?" She whispered to herself, she released her devil fruit power and watched him fall to his knees.
Zoro fell to his knees and brought his hands steadily to the hilts. He caressed them and said lovingly.
"It's ok, don't worry about it, i'm alright. Don't be sad or guilty i'm not angry, I won't let her reforge you, I promise. It's ok, I said it's ok, I promise."
"That's enough!" Once again she rendered him immobile. She kicked his chest so that he fell backwards, wincing as the swords slid out. She carelessly drew them out of him and wiped them clean on his clothes before resheating them. "The souls of these swords are quite attached to you. They did their share amount of resistance when I stabbed you, especially Wado Ichimonji, but soon 'they' will be 'one', and they will love me, their new sword's master more than you."
Next she dragged him over to the mast between the two staircases and propped him up against it. Then she proceeded to take out several very thin, barbed wire which she wrapped around his wrists, elbows, shoulders, throat and chest. With that done she then fasten the wires to the mast.
Now satisfied with having locked him up securely she stepped back and looked over her work.
"I could just kill you, but by doing that the swords wouldn't forgive me. As of now you will bleed to death in about half an hour and it's the fault of the nakamas' of yours that they didn't come back earlier." She turned around and stopped. A huge smile on her face as she watched the deck. "Yare, yare… that's quite some blood we spilled. Your friends will have quite the surprise." Without saying anything else she picked up the swords and left while laughing quietly.
As she disappeared Zoro felt how he could move again. He began to fight against his restrains but the wires were well secured and all he accomplished was to injure himself even more as the wires got stuck in his skin. He knew that if he continued he would rupture the vessels in his throat and then he would most certainly be dead. Instead of forcing his way out he simply stopped moving and thought of the woman. He imagined over and over again how he would kill her, but to do that he had to stay alive, therefore all his strength went to preserve his life as his blood seeped out of his wounds.
—
"Oi! Nami! Robin!" Luffy waved widely as he ran up to them. "You two done shopping? Where's Chopper?"
"Yes we just finished."
"Chopper is inside that store over there. He's just getting a book and we'll head back." Robin answered with a smile.
"Sanji, did you manage to get all you need?"
"Hai! Nami-swan! Good thing Brook and Usopp came with, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to carry it all."
"That's certainly a nice load you four are carrying." Robin laughed.
"Can't you two help a bit?" Usopp whined.
"Like hell no, idiot! How can you ask our beautiful ladies to carry this shit?!" Sanji yelled.
Nami made a face behind Sanji's back at Usopp to which Robin merely laughed.
"Then as a reward might I see your panties?" Nami hit him hard on his head which made him shut up.
"Then Luffy, you're going back as well?"
"Hai! I got a lot of sake for Zoro, shihihihi! If I give him that he will definitely play with me." The group shook their heads at their Captain's idiocy. Never had that plan worked before and it seemed like Luffy would never learn.
Moments later Franky appeared holding a lot of wood and utensils. They all chat for awhile and when Chopper came out they happily made their way to their ship.
Deciding it would be too much of a hassle to bring everything up to deck. They took all their newly achieved shopping and took it through The Sunny's docking system to the storage room below deck where they kept most of their things.
Their happy mood quickly changed when they came up on deck and saw the huge pool of blood in the middle.
Nami was the first to raise her voice. "What the hell happened here? Isn't that Zoro's haramaki?" The strawhats turned pale at the thought.
"Zoro!" Luffy yelled as he traced the bloodied floor to the mast. His crewmates gasped as they saw the full scene. Zoro's face was bent forward, his brows creating shadows on his face and his right eye gleamed red. His clothes were drenched in sweat and his breath was uneven.
When they ran up to him he said with venom in his voice. "Get me out of this."
Luffy's face was dark. "Zoro what happened?"
"That bitch, I will kill her! She stole them and let them hurt. She will ruin them, I need to kill her!"
He said the phrase like it was some kind of mantra and the crew realized it probably was.
"Zoro with all that blood loss you should have been dead for hours. You need to rest when we get you loose!" Chopper said panicky.
Zoro turned his head to the little reindeer and his look scared the little doctor to his core.
"They are my nakama as much as all of you are. I have to go after them before it's too late!"
"Everyone, you heard him! His swords are his nakama and therefore they belong to our crew, we will go with Zoro and save them! Franky you stay with Sunny!"
Usopp now finished removing the last wire. "You're free now Zoro."
With shaking arms Zoro undid the bandana around his arm and fasten it on his head instead, he stood up and looked over his nakama. Doing that they all got a clear view of the three large wounds in his abdomen where his swords had previously been. Blood was still oozing out and none could deny that now Zoro truly looked like the mentioned Demon from East Blue.
"She has a 5h lead we depart now!"
"Zoro wait, please, with wounds like this you should have died 4h ago, please let me treat you first." Chopper begged with tears flowing.
Zoro was about to tell him off when Luffy interrupted.
"Zoro get stitched up, meanwhile Nami, Robin, Sanji, you three go scout and gather her location. No Zoro! You wait here, there is no point in searching blindly." Luffy said angrily. He understood the seriousness in Zoro's wounds.
"No we don't have time! I know where they are! They are calling for me!"
"And how can you know where they are?" Nami asked frustrated.
"It's like a pull! Come or not I'm leaving now." Zoro took a step forward but doing so he lost his balance and fell to his knees. His world turned black for a second before he shook his head and took in deep breaths. With both hands on the deck he steadied himself and took force to stand up, when almost falling again he felt a strong grip on his arm dragging him up. He looked up to see the face of his captain.
"If you're sure Zoro… I trust you, you can't die!"
"I know Captain."
During that short exchange of words Chopper had run to Zoro's side and bandaged his belly. When Zoro looked at him Chopper's crying reply was that it was only to keep help the blood in. Zoro nodded to this and the crew was off.
What had started as a slow walk around the streets was now a fast run with Zoro in the front leading the way. Had the situation not been so dire they would have laughed at the absurdity of it.
The group lost count in how many times Zoro had staggered against the walls of the street houses or how many times he had fallen to the ground only to pick himself up. They finally reached what seemed to be the place. Zoro stopped outside the door to an old stone house where black smoke were coming from the chimney. With determination he opened the door with a boom and rushed inside. What he saw made his blood freeze. Near the fire stood the woman with Kitetsu in her hand, about to put him in the fire.
She looked at him shocked and with wide eyes. "You were supposed to be dead!" she yelled.
Once again she used her Fudo, Fudo no Mi powers, but before that Robin used her Hana, Hana no Mi and took a chokehold on her. They were in a deadlock, sure they were all immobile but she was choking to death. With Robin being immobile she couldn't release the hands holding the woman's throat.
Understanding her dilemma she released her powers, thinking that Robin would do the same, but there she was wrong. Robin kept her firm grip around the other's throat and the moment Zoro was free he dashed forward and got his own grip around the woman's throat. Kitetsu fell to the ground with a cling. Robin released her grip and Zoro pressed harder around her throat, he looked at her with a feverish look, all he wanted was to kill this woman.
He pressed her body against the wall and lifted her so that her feet no longer touched the floor. She looked at him with desperation in her eyes. No longer could she use her power without also killing herself.
The woman began to kick and punch him in panic but with no success. In her dying moments Zoro leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
"You did a mistake. No one touches my nakama…" With a last look at her foe all she could think of was that in front of her stood a demon, a demon that would take her to hell. Those were her last thoughts in fear before death took her.
Zoro watched as the life ran out of the woman's eyes, he held on a little longer and then broke her neck before releasing her and taking a step back. Her body fell to the floor with a thud and Zoro sighed. He turned around to see that his crew mates had taken care of the followers of the woman that he hadn't even noticed upon stepping into the room.
His eye drew to the corner of the room where someone had placed his katanas during his fight. They all three laid there waiting for him. The crew watched him with wary eyes as he stumbled forward. Never had they seen him kill someone so brutally, never had he killed in cold blood, never had he killed with his bare hands.
They saw how Zoro tried to walk forward only to fall down on his knees halfway through the room. He leaned forward and coughed up blood, just as his crew was about to run up to him his katanas began to shine brightly. They stopped in their tracks and watched how the shine got brighter until they couldn't see anything at all except for the shine. As the light died down the katanas were gone and in their place three very different children stood with tears in their eyes.
There were two boys and one girl. One of they boys had spiky, bright red hair and scars all over his bare upper body. If he hadn't been crying his face would have been the face of a mischievous one. The second boy had longer hair that partly covered his eyes. His hair was black as night and a loose kimono with flower pattern was draped over his body. He looked more mature and gave off a sense of calmness. The third child had pure white hair, her bangs only covered her forehead midway and in front of her ears, two long, thin braids hanged with golden bells attached to the tip, the rest of her hair was cut evenly short around her head. Her white piece of clothing left her back bare and everyone could clearly see the word 'promise' on her back. It didn't seem like the word was tattooed or burnt into her skin, it was more like it was a part of her. Also on her arms letters could be seen. When they looked closely they could see that on one arm the name 'Luffy D. Monkey' was written and on the other arm was the name 'Kuina'. Even though the children were all very different they shared the same steel eyes and an air of edge around them.
Before anyone could say anything or move they rushed forward and bowed their heads to the ground in front of Zoro. The black haired boy started to speak.
"What we've done is shameful beyond belief! Master I'm so sorry, please take me back, there's no one other than you that is worthy enough to wield me! My previous master entrusted me to you!"
Next was the red-haired boy. "I like to have fun and see some bloodshed but I never wanted this to happen! Master, you should know my dedication to you and my belief in you! I chose you to carry me so please don't discard me like so many others have done! Please Master!"
Lastly, the white haired girl spoke up. They way she talked seemed as if her and Zoro were familiar on a deeper plane. "Zoro, I've disappointed you. It was you and I from the very beginning of that very promise and it was I who failed you! Give me another chance to do right, to bear the weight of your promises! Please Zoro, forgive me!"
The three children cried into the floor. Zoro looked at them warmly before saying loudly and proudly. "Shusui, Sandai Kitetsu, Wado Ichimonji, I don't blame you, it wasn't your fault, she forced you but you did the best you could in that situation. You've met the rest of the crew." The three children looked at him with amazed and grateful eyes. "Luffy, everyone, I want you to meet my other nakama."
"Tsugeee!" Luffy ran up to them with the crew following curiously behind.
"Exactly what are you?" Robin asked curiously.
"We are his katanas." Wado said proudly while wiping away a tear. Within each named katana resides a soul."
"Normally only the one we deem our master can see us like this on another meditational level, but this time it's different." Shusui added.
Kitetsu was the one to finish. "Our Master is not in the shape to enter that plane right now and we had to apologize. Zoro said he would take us back! We can now grow stronger and shed blood together!"
"You're a feisty one!" Nami laughed.
Brook took a step forward and pointed his sword at them. Shusui looked up at him with a smile.
"Hummingbird Brook, it is a nice companion you have. You two have stayed together for long. We greet you." Brook gave a nod to his words and put his sword back.
"So are you going to stay like that?" Sanji asked.
"Whether you stay like this or not you belong to the crew!" Luffy said with his trademark huge grin.
"Oi, Shusui, Wado! It's the shitty cook!"
"You shouldn't call the curly brow, shitty cook! Master likes his cooking!"
"You boys! The love cook and everyone can hear you!"
Usopp and Luffy were laughing their hearts out while Nami and Robin had to cover their mouths not to let the giggles escape, Chopper was rolling around on the floor laughing and Brook was Yohohoho'ing where he stood, meanwhile Sanji's face was a bright red and he glared daggers at the swordsman.
Suddenly the three kids turned rigid and faced Zoro.
"""MASTER!""" They yelled!
"I'm fine…"
"Master we left some of us in you earlier, we have to get it back." Shusui said gravely and the three of them started to cry again.
"I know, that's how I was able to find you. Go ahead it won't kill me. I promise." Zoro opened up his arms wide and the three kids ran to him and embraced him. For a while the four of them just hugged and cried and then that bright shine began again. Like last time the shine was the only thing visible until it died down, this time the kids were gone and what was left was three katanas.
What made the blood drain from his friends' faces were that those three katanas now were deeply embedded into his abdomen to the point only the hilt stood out. Zoro caressed Shusui before pulling him out and wiping him clean, before putting him in his scabbard he whispered softly. "You hold no blame." He repeated the procedure with Sandai Kitetsu and when it came to Wado Ichimonji he added something to his message. "We bear our promises together, and will fulfill them together. The five of us will grow strong together Wado, Kuina…"
With all three swords in their scabbards Zoro looked down on his bleeding form, he then looked up to face Chopper.
"Chopper, I have promises to keep, help me… I can't…hazy…dark…nakama…"
Chopper ran with mighty speed as Zoro fell on his side, blood now gushing out his fresh wounds. In heavy point Chopper lift him up and screamed to his friends. "He needs medical treatment immediately we have to hurry back to the Sunny!"
The night was long for the strawhats as they waited for Chopper to come out of surgery. It was in the early morning when a tired Chopper came out of the infirmary. The crew looked at him expectantly.
"He's tired but he's alive, Zoro is alive!" Chopper began crying furiously.
"Of course he's alive, it's because you're a wonderful doctor." Robin said with a relieved smile.
"Konoyaro! Teme! You think a complement like that would make me happy?" Chopper cried now happily while making his wiggly dance. They all went to bed now lighter at heart knowing their swordsman would pull through.
The next day the sun stood high when Zoro woke up. He opened his eye tiredly and slowly the last day's occurrences came back to him. He made a grunt as he carefully sat up, he felt slightly nauseous and lightheaded as he took his swords and began to leave the infirmary.
The first thing he heard when he came out to the deck was Chopper's panicked shriek.
"Zoro! What do you think you're doing!? You have to rest! Do you have any idea of the extent of your operation? Go back to bed!"
"It's okey Chopper, I just want to sit outside."
"No training!"
"No training."
"Then… then… then it's ok!" Chopper said defeated.
"And Chopper… I'm sorry for making my wounds worse."
"It's ok, as long as you're fine Zoro."
Zoro gave him a weak smile and proceeded to slowly sit down on the deck with his back against the railings. He put his swords in his lap and held them protectively.
"Zoro, you look a bit pale, you alright?" Usopp asked.
"Just a bit tired, don't worry about it."
"Zoro I'll give you some sake if you play with me!"
""LUFFY!""
"Not now Luffy, maybe later."
"Oi, marimo you haven't eaten in a while, you want something?"
"I'm good."
"Sanji I forgot to tell you that Zoro won't be able to eat for a couple of days. His stomach was damaged so I will have to give him nutritions through infusions."
"Ah I see."
"Isn't Zoro acting a bit weird?" Nami asked.
"Zoro-bro certainly look awfully tired." Franky agreed.
"I think he just want to spend some time with his swords." Brook said knowingly.
"Maybe you're right." Robin chuckled. "They did seem like his children earlier."
And so the crew gave their swordsman a last look before they went to continue doing whatever they had been doing before.
Zoro was sitting with his back against the railings, head tilted backwards with eyes closed. The katanas were laying on his lap and he held them protectively and tenderly as sleep was overtaking him.
The last thing he thought before falling asleep was.
I would do anything and everything for my nakama…
–THE END–
AN: Thank you for reading and please review!