2. Lost and Found
Setting: Some indeterminate time and place between Punk Hazard and Dressrosa. Let's pretend it took longer than two days to get there, kay?
Warnings: Brief cursing.
Disclaimer: If you recognize any names, terms, or concepts, it's because they aren't mine.
"How come you decided to be swordsman, Zoro?"
It was a lazy day on the Thousand Sunny and the crew was sprawled complacently across the deck, enjoying the balmy weather from a nearby spring island. Well, most were enjoying it, anyway; Chopper had blurted out the question on a whim, hoping to break the tension pressing down upon him. The one-eyed swordsman was less than pleased at being forced to allow treatment for his left pinky, on which Kin'emon had left a second-degree burn during a spar.
Zoro shrugged, allowing the question to distract him from his sulky glare and relaxing back against the railing. "My old man had a sword mounted above the fireplace. I always used to play with it when I was little, and when I ran away I took it with me. Had to learn to use it, then."
"Uwah, you ran away from home, Zoro?" Luffy exclaimed from his perch among the rigging, looking excited at the prospect of a new adventure story.
"Yeah, when I was six. Dad grounded me for drinking his beer at dinner. Obviously, this was unforgivably unfair," the swordsman snorted sarcastically. "So I ran away that night, took that old sword with me, and haven't been back since."
"Tch, shitty marimo, I didn't think you were so prideful that you'd abandon your family over a petty argument," Sanji sneered before twirling away to present Nami and Robin with fruity umbrella drinks.
"Fuck off, dartboard, I couldn't find my way back. I was just a little kid, you know? I could barely read the signs."
"What, you mean you can read now?"
"You–!"
"Settle down, boys," Nami scolded. Robin laughed lightly beside her, swirling her drink in front of her mouth. Momonosuke eyed the colorful drink enviously, then appeared to curse his weakness upon catching himself. "Keep talking, Zoro. I'm in the mood for a story."
The swordsman grunted. "Not much to tell. I decided that since I couldn't find them, I'd have to make a name for myself so they could find me. I ended up on this archipelago where all the islands had their own fighting style and dojo, so I went around to all of them taking their signs and beating them up, so people would talk about me. Found one I couldn't beat, and ended up staying there for years," he finished quietly, thumb brushing against the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. "Moved on eventually, became a bounty hunter, met Luffy, and the rest is history. I'm not that exciting."
"No way, Zoro's awesome," Luffy rebuffed bluntly. "We should try to find your parents some time, though. I bet they've seen your wanted poster by now, shishishi!"
"That would be super," Franky offered distractedly, the words garbled around a handful of bolts clenched between his teeth as he prodded at one massive arm.
"The thought of reunions makes my heart ache. Ah! Although I have no heart. Tell me, Zoro-san, what are your parents like?"
"I dunno, pretty normal I guess. Mom's a librarian, Dad's a green grocer. Haven't seen 'em in fifteen years, though."
"Geez. You men, seriously. Would it have killed you to ask for directions?" Nami sighed.
"You think I didn't try, witch?" Zoro snarled, pink-cheeked. "No one had ever heard of my island though, let alone my village. So I did what I could, okay?"
"What island are you from, Zoro? We probably could've stopped there before we got to the Grand Line, you know," Usopp called over his shoulder from the railing, where he was seated before a fishing pole. Luffy bounced over to peek around him.
"I'm from Ackley, on Wilmer Island."
"Nope, don't know it."
"Me neither! Shishi, sorry Zoro. Ohh, Usopp, you got a bite!"
"I should know it, I mapped the whole East Blue! Why don't I know it?" Nami worried at a hangnail with her teeth, brow furrowed in confusion.
Law, finally interjecting into the conversation from where he was leaning against the mast, echoed the navigator's perplexed expression with a touch more flabbergast.
"…Zoro-ya, Wilmer Island is in North Blue."
Lost and Found…AKA the one where Zoro somehow managed to get himself lost across the both Grand Line and the Red Line and wound up in entirely the wrong ocean.