Wow, I'm so happy that everyone likes this fic so well.
First and foremost, this is NOT a yaoi fic (as I personally do not support homosexual relationships in any way) nor is this a romance fic.
This is purely FAMILY FLUFF with a wonderful dash of angst.
For now enjoy this latest installment.
"Zoro, stop trying to force it!" Chopper snapped his features threatening imprisonment to his patient if said man didn't stop his current activity "You're going to have another seizure and slow your recovery if you keep doing that!"
"I want to look like myself," he growled.
"This is your neutral form, just get used to it already," Chopper screamed back "you have to train yourself to learn handling transformations and you're too weak right now to strain your body by doing that!"
Zoro sent an angry sneer at the reindeer, returning grumpily to his current mission.
Sitting on the deck staring at a mirror (borrowed from Nami), his lips a firm pout of concentration Zoro struggled to gain his old body back. One green eye glared at the glass in his hand and every few minutes or so the mouth would grimace in pain even as the tiger ears and tail would wither away. However it wouldn't last long as Zoro would hold his original form for a few scant seconds, a minute at the very best, before releasing the breath he had been holding in a rush of air resulting in the offending appendages return. The moss headed man sighed, dropping the hand holding mirror back into his lap with a groan while massaging his forehead with the other as he pondered what he would look like if he went full beast Like Lucci instead of this in-between he was currently stuck in. An animalistic snarl twisted unhappy lips punctuated by a tiger's growl. He didn't want to look like this, bad enough he was already acting like a cat he didn't want to look like one too.
His tail lashed the air behind him angrily while his ears plastered themselves to the back of his head as the man pouted sullenly before bringing the mirror back up to his face.
An emerald eye roved across his features which were at once familiar and yet utterly foreign. His face still looked the same with the scar arcing across his left eye and chiseled jaw line the leant an intimidating air to his already severe glare. Though he would never admit it, Zoro was rather proud of the fact that he could stare men into submission, often sending them running the other way screaming in fear. Sometimes his mind would flash back to the past and the man would give a harsh wince when he remembered how much of a crybaby he was as a child, but all his hard work had paid off and he was a force to be reckoned with now as an adult. At least he used to be.
Zoro sighed. What was once a face that would strike terror into the hearts of some of the most feared pirates on the Grand Line, was now laughable as it was completely ruined by the fluffy, horrendously adorable tiger ears perching atop his head. The swordsman opened his mouth wide, inspecting the now sharp fangs protruding downward replacing his former canines. The teeth weren't so bad, they certainly fit the idea behind his nickname 'Demon of the East Blue'. However, focusing back on the ears. They pricked forward, almost as if they had a life of their own, and that right there was the sum of why Zoro despised them.
The swordsman had always prided himself on keeping a firm grasp of his emotions as an adult, but these wretched things betrayed his every thought!
The crew had already caught on that if they wanted to know an answer to a question all they had to do was watch his overly expressive ears. Zoro groaned, the sound coming out as a feline chuff (which certainly did not help his mood any). Gone were the days when he could keep his thoughts to himself, now he had all these weird new abilities to deal with and the lurking fear that if he attempted to train he would fall into a seizure or worse, another coma. Zoro wanted to train, his finger positively itched for his swords, but there was this niggling voice in the back of his mind that whispered failure to him. It's silken tones sneering at the idea that he could ever truly claim to be the World's Strongest Swordsman, because how would he know if he won by his own skill or his dependency on the Devil Fruit.
A pout formed on his mouth and with a despondent sigh the man slid sideways to land with a thump on the grass. He knew he was in full view of his crew, and normally he never let them see when he was feeling depressed, choosing rather to hide up in the crow's nest until the feeling passed. However right now he didn't have the energy and much to his horror, the strength, to climb all the way up there and he really didn't feel like keeping up his usual façade in the effort to deceive his crew. Honestly he was doing a bad enough job of that as it was.
Zoro grimaced as the night before came to the forefront of his mind…
"HAHAHA!"
The swordsman ducked his head in shame, already knowing what Luffy was laughing about and clearing his throat in an attempt to chase away the rumbling in his chest "Shuttup," he grumbled.
The crew had settled down for dinner, all enjoying Zoro's new look and taking full opportunity to tease him for it. Nami and Robin in particular had developed a keen fondness for his ears, taking every chance they could to pet and tickle them before they burst into gales of laughter when the appendages twitched and flickered. Right now they were folded against his skull, showing for all the world to see that he was upset or unhappy, and his grilled salmon that had been cooked to perfection now looked significantly less appetizing.
"But Zoro, it's so cute!" Nami gushed "the fact that you purr now is adorable!
"Plus," Usopp threw in feeling particularly brave that day considering the scariest member of the crew was officially almost as cute as Chopper "normally you're so quiet at dinner and you insult Sanji's cooking, but now we know that you like it and you've just been pretending otherwise."
Zoro's lips turned down into a decidedly unhappy frown "It's not like I wanted this," he mumbled pushing his plate away and standing so to take it to the sink.
"Aw come on, it can't be that bad," Franky stated in a valiant attempt to console the younger man "just think, with these SUPERRR abilities you'll be able to become the world's Greatest Swordsman way easier now!"
Zoro froze, his tail becoming deathly still as an angry snarl twisted his face into the picture of grief "You saying that I wasn't capable of doing so before?"
The room became deathly still, and the cyborg's jaw dropped when he realized what he just said "No," Franky backpedaled "of course you were, I mean you trained like a madman every day, no way would I ever say that you weren't capable of being the World's Greatest without the Devil Fruit!"
"Then what were you saying?!" Zoro turned around, the dim lighting in the kitchen making his green eye reflect much like a cat's in moonlight which only added to his dark aura "Because it sounded awfully like that was it."
"Zoro," Usopp placated noticing how the swordsman's arms were shaking with barely restrained rage "he was just saying that it's an added bonus, that you'll be able to accomplish your dream faster than before."
"And how is that better?!" the moss headed man spat "You make it sound like it would take decades for me to accomplish my dream, like it was just so far away for me! Oh but now…"
Zoro paused as a cynical chuckle shook his frame accented by the sorrow laced into its undertones "Now that I have the Devil Fruit powers I'm suddenly much more capable of attaining it?"
"Zoro, that's not what they're saying," Sanji addressed the trembling swordsman his face wreathed in concern for once not insulting his rival in the hopes of calming him down "we're just trying to help you get through this, we understand that what you're going through isn't the easiest thing to deal with."
"Shut your trap Curly brow," the man seethed clenching muscular hands at his sides "because none of you understand what I'm going through. You can tease my appearance, you can even insult my current lack of control but don't you dare disgrace my dream. I never wanted this; that sick Marine made this happen and because I'm always the one who has to throw himself on the sacrificial altar I made the choice. You think I don't know that?! You think I don't wish I could have prevented this from happening?! You don't think that I'm essentially a failure because now I can never prove that it was my strength and my strength alone that defeated Mihawk?! You don't think…"
Zoro choked, ducking his head as he was overwhelmed by the turmoil of emotions crashing through him like ocean waves in a storm, and Sanji reached forward to place a consoling hand on his shoulder only to jump back with a yelp when Zoro turned on him.
The swordsman roared at the cook with all the pent up rage and confusion that had been boiling beneath his skin since he woke up, baring sharp fangs and taking pleasure in the terrified look that flashed across Sanji's features. Finally, spent of oxygen and left panting his shoulders heaving up and down, Zoro turned and stalked out of the galley, slamming the door behind him.
Sleep hadn't come easy that night, the men's quarters was an obvious no-no, and as he tried to climb the crow's nest only to fall on his butt Zoro resigned himself to sleeping on the grass of the tangerine grove. It wasn't his favorite hiding place, but it would do well enough until he got his strength back for climbing.
Now the man sat on the lawn, keenly aware of the way the crew tiptoed around him. Rolling over so to face the sea, Zoro pondered his options. To be honest he hadn't slept at all, whether it was because tigers are nocturnal or because he was feeling guilty, Zoro didn't know but he had had a lot of time to really think about his current situation. He couldn't give up on his dream, he knew this was not an option in any reality. However, Zoro thought with a sigh, he also knew he was doomed to never get full credit for defeating Mihawk when his time came. Somehow in some way someone would say that he relied on his Devil Fruit to win, and that rumor would taint any victory he attained. It was almost enough to make Zoro want to cry.
He had worked so hard, he thought with a whine, to get to where he is and it was all ruined by a maniac who was too curious for his own good. Granted, Zoro knew that he made the decision to save Chopper, and if he had to go back and was given the same circumstances he would probably make the same decision in the effort of rescuing the diminutive reindeer. It was a choice he made that he must now live with, but even with that being said, there was this ring of unfairness to it that made Zoro seethe. Why was it always him? Why was it he always had to make the hard decisions in the interest of protecting his crew?
Zoro knew he was just having a pity party, and in all reality wallowing in these negative emotions would not help him get back to achieving his dream, but to be honest…he really felt the need to wallow, if only for a few minutes.
Zoro clenched his eye shut, begging any God who would listen that he could just wake up and find this had been a horrible nightmare, or that the Devils inside of him had somehow canceled each other out and no longer existed, but no such luck. He was stuck, well and truly, with no hope of escape or rescue. And on top of that he had the unfortunate and humiliating chore of apologizing to the crew ahead of him. Oh, joy.
"Zoro?"
The swordsman jerked with a yip when suddenly the shock made his body go intangible with his legs up to his waist turning into wind. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zoro bellowed, sinking his claws into the dirt and scratching at the lawn in an attempt to anchor himself before he blew away.
Chopper screamed, scrambling to grab Zoro's arm and pull him back down, and the two continued freaking out like that for a solid five minutes until the swordsman's body returned to normal and he touched down once again. The moss headed man panted, adrenaline shooting through his system, vaguely noting that his hair was standing on end much like a cats and his tail was puffed out and straight as a stick. Eventually he calmed and Chopper collapsed in his lap as the two recovered from the unfortunate surprise.
"You ok?" the reindeer gasped "Feel dizzy or like your about to pass out?"
Zoro flapped an exhausted hand, waving away Chopper's concern "I'm hungry but that's because I haven't had the motivation to eat yet. I'm fine."
Chopper opened his mouth to begin yelling at Zoro for not eating and thereby endangering his health, but the memory of last night rung in his mind like a sorrowful bell over an abandoned town. The reindeer shut his mouth with a snap and sighed.
Of course Zoro hasn't eaten today, honestly no one has even talked to him, much less he talk to them, especially considering the fiasco after dinner. No doubt the swordsman didn't want to apologize for the entirely understandable emotions he was feeling, and even Chopper had to admit that the crew had more than their fair share of insensitive moments. They hadn't meant to insult Zoro's dream, they were only trying to cheer him up, but Zoro was nothing if not proud. They should have understood that. Snuggling into Zoro's side, Chopper cast pleading eyes on the man he viewed as a big brother.
"We're really sorry, Zoro,"
The moss headed man released a small exhale his eyes hesitant as he answered the reindeer's apology "No…I'm sorry, for blowing up like that. It wasn't fair or mature."
"You're stressed, plus you just had a near death experience that put you in a coma for two weeks, anyone's nerves would be a little strained after something like that,"
Zoro chuckled at the reindeer's logic, ruffling his head "Thanks, but I still need to say sorry to the rest of the crew."
"You could," a new voice cut in "but you don't have to."
The swordsman looked up to see Franky standing over him, an elaborate creation of wood slung over one shoulder "What is that thing?"
The cyborg shrugged "It's my apology. You have the crow's nest to use as a getaway, but it's not always available. So I thought I would make a special place just for you."
With that being said, the mecha man placed his burden down on the grass so Zoro could get a better look, and the swordsman couldn't help but smirk in pleasure.
It was an elaborate balcony designed to attach to the side of the mast with a stylized roof to offer shade and cushion for comfort. The wood it was created from was designed with intricate swirls and a tiger's head adorned the front of one of the beams on the front of the balcony's ceiling. It was beautifully made, and designed to endure the outdoors. True it look like one of those cat perches people had in their homes for their pets, but Zoro appreciated the thought of giving a place to escape when he wanted some time alone.
Shaking his head fondly, Zoro cast a smile up at the shipwright "Thanks," he murmured as he stood to pat off his legs "now if you'll excuse me, I need to go bug a certain cook for some lunch."
I know…he was OOC, but he's stressed and worried about losing his dream. Wait… I don't have to explain myself to you! It's my story MWAHAHAHAHA!
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