Law and Disorder - Chapter 7
Zoro
Law didn't know what had compelled him to accept the challenge when Roronoa Zoro, first mate and swordsman of the Strawhat crew, had approached him in the middle of the day and asked if he wanted to spar. The swordsman's challenge had been overheard by numerous crew members, the most noteworthy reactions belonging to the shipwright, who had started sobbing at the damage that happened to the ship whenever swords were unsheathed, the doctor, who started yelling at the two of them to watch themselves and not get stupidly injured like the swordsman apparently had a tendency to do, and the cook, who had laughed loudly and shouted that the swordsman had zero chance of defeating Law in the first place.
Law was personally a little confused by the challenge. He knew enough about swordsmanship to defeat most swordsmen in a fair battle, but the addition of his Ope Ope powers gave him a significant advantage over even highly skilled masters of swordplay. Also, the ship's swordsman already had a sparring partner who was an equal match for him. When Law raised the question of Sanji's presence, Zoro had merely shrugged before exaggeratedly yelling that he had surpassed the cook to the point that the blond was nowhere near a challenge to him, earning him an affronted string of swear words that didn't end until the ship's navigator intervened. The knowing grin that Zoro gave Law after that comment revealed that he didn't actually mean what he had said.
"Besides, it's not every day that another swordsman using the same kind of swords I use is on the ship. Brook is good, but his fencing style is relatively unique, so I don't get much practice against other katana users. So, what do you say?"
And that was how Law found himself in a strenuous battle on board the Thousand Sunny with a world famous, one-eyed pirate hunter. The swordsman's fighting style was easily one of the most eclectic of any fighter without a devil fruit that he had seen in his lifetime, and he attacked with an alarming level of speed, strength and skill that had Law on his toes for the entirety of the fight. He also discovered, though he had expected it, that Zoro had an armament haki that was strong enough to counter the long range dissection techniques that his Ope Ope fruit allowed. Law could feel definite strain as he weaved in, out and around the lawned deck with his switching powers and tried to get a good surprise attack in with his own ōdachi, Zoro countering each one of his attacks with his own trio of katana and forcing him to switch himself with the terrain yet again to avoid getting hit.
The two were clearly well-matched against each other. After fifteen minutes of sparring, Law could feel sweat pouring down his back, and his legs were throbbing with definite strain. The only thing that consoled him about the fact that he was having a hard time keeping up was the observation that Zoro, though menacingly aggressive and strong, was also panting heavily and looking annoyed at being unable to equally match Law's switching speed. After a temporary truce, Zoro unsheathed his katana yet again and flashed a Law a grin that indicated that he was having fun, a grin that Law couldn't help but return. After all, he hadn't had a fight this enjoyable in a very long time.
"That switching power of yours is so troublesome!"
"I guess you'll just have to keep up then, Zoro-ya."
Zoro rolled his eyes before placing his white sword back into his mouth and assuming his battle stance. Law unsheathed his own sword, and the two went at it yet again, ignoring Franky's frantic pleas to stop tearing up the grass on the Sunny's deck and Chopper's furious yelling (intertwined with unconcealed sparkly eyes at witnessing a fantastic fight) to watch themselves and be careful.
After a full hour of fighting, the pair had been forced to call for a truce and sheath their weapons after an infuriated Chopper had gone into his Heavy point and threatened to tranquilise the two of them if they didn't stop. The two fighters sat on the edge of the deck, Zoro having offered Law a bottle of his precious sake, a gesture that Law appreciated despite the fact that he never had much of a tongue for strong alcohol. As they sat quietly and sipped (chugged, in Zoro's case) at their bottles, the green-haired swordsman flashed a glance at the white-crossed black sheath of Law's ōdachi.
"That sword of yours...it's cursed, isn't it?"
Law raised an eyebrow, failing to hide his surprise at the swordsman's astute observation. The name of his sword, Kikoku, literally meant "Cry of the Demon", and was not one of the meito, making the fact that Zoro knew about its key attribute all the more surprising, as it was unlikely that there was any available literature about the properties of his sword.
"It is...how did you know that?"
Zoro looked back out to sea as he raised his sake bottle to his lips yet again.
"I sensed it when we were fighting. Despite the fact that I try to fight with all three of my swords and grant them equal time, this troublesome child of mine was abnormally aggressive today. I've gotten used to handling it after a few years, but today it just seemed to want to move my arm with it. It probably sensed the presence of your cursed sword and was perhaps excited to be the vicinity of one similar to itself."
Zoro then unsheathed his sword with the reddish-brown hilt and allowed the light of the sunset to reflect off its blade. Being in a non-combative situation allowed Law to more closely observe the katana, and his eyes narrowed a little as he realised the identity of the blade that his Kikoku had been trading blows with the entire afternoon. The frighteningly sharp cutting edge of the sword was another shred of evidence that pointed to its identity. While Law wasn't as knowledgeable about swords, and wasn't surprised that a swordsman of Zoro's calibre had a legendary meito, it still took the breath out of him a little to see it up close.
"That's...one of the Kitetsus, isn't it?"
"Sandai Kitetsu. All three Kitetsus are cursed. I found this one before we even entered the Grand Line and managed to tame it. Looks like you managed to do the same for your own."
"Those other two swords of yours...what are they?"
Obliging his question, Zoro sheathed the Sandai Kitetsu, and Law couldn't help but feel that his own sword appeared to be humming a little as its fellow cursed blade was sheathed. It was an unnerving but fascinating thing, to see and feel his Kikoku physically react to another blade, even if the blade in question was so aggressive that Law could almost feel the killing intent radiating off it whenever it was exposed. Zoro reached for his black blade, which Law's eyes had gravitated towards often during the fight due to its distinct colour, and unsheathed it. He definitely recognised this one.
"Shusui."
"Yeah. Kitetsu was my sharpest blade, while this one is my strongest. It's extremely hard and very heavy. I use it for mass destruction, and while it was tough to wield when I first started using it, it's become very effective."
Law sweat-dropped a little upon hearing what Zoro was saying. While he himself was infamous for using his devil fruit to cause mass destruction by cutting and rearranging everything within his sphere of influence, the pirate hunter had gained a reputation even amongst pirates for doing the same kind of destruction without having any kind of devil fruit whatsoever, cutting up buildings and "rearranging" things without much effort. Law somehow felt that he wouldn't be surprised if Zoro had used this black blade as his primary tool for chopping up massive things, and while the blade didn't have the same kind of killing intent that Law could feel from Kitetsu, Zoro more than made up for it by filling it with his own killing intent whenever he wielded it.
Zoro silently sheathed Shusui and reached for its antithetical counterpart. Drawing the sword, Law couldn't help but notice Zoro's usually hard eyes soften at the sight of the sword with the white sheath.
"And this...is Wado Ichimonji. It represents a promise that I made a long time ago...to become the world's most powerful swordsman. It reminds me of that promise and drives me to train harder and harder."
"It's a beautiful blade."
"It is, isn't it? The person who used to own the blade is dead, though. She was my friend and my rival. We swore that one of us would become the greatest swordsman in the world. Whenever I fight, I fight for both of us."
A silence grew between the two as Zoro's words drifted off into the wind. He emptied another bottle of alcohol. Law couldn't help but notice that Zoro, who rarely showed any other emotion aside from quiet nonchalance and bloodlust, looked a little melancholic at bringing up the subject of his childhood friend. As his ran his fingers thoughtfully over Kikoku's sheath, Law couldn't help but feel a sense of solidarity with the swordsman amidst pain. He himself had had a horrible childhood, and although defeating Doflamingo had been a massive step in the process of healing his old wounds, he knew that scars, like the one the pirate hunter bared, would always exist.
It was a strange thing, to be able to relate to somebody through bad and life-changing experiences. Law had always lacked that kind of bond with anybody, seeing most of the people that he had met in his journey primarily as tools in his quest towards vengeance and greatness. The Strawhat crew, with their strength of nine, were also simply supposed to be one of those tools. Law had, after all, saved Luffy himself at Marineford for the express purpose of gaining a potential new tool who also bared the name of D., in the hopes that he would be useful in the future. Luffy and the Strawhats had been useful, to the point where Law had actually stopped seeing the crew as tools and as actual allies. It was a big breakthrough for the usually cold and distant ex-shichibukai, and as he looked at the crew's swordsman sitting on the edge of the deck and drowning his sorrows in sake, he finally felt proper empathy for the first time in his life.
Law just didn't know at that point that he was one step closer towards making real friends.
Zoro cast a cautious glance towards the now empty deck. Standing up, he placed his trio of deadly blades back into his haramaki before turning to Law.
"Want to finish what we started?"
Law raised an eyebrow at the swordsman's nerve. Their doctor, when serious, was inhumanly intimidating to even the most seasoned battle veteran.
"What about Tony-ya?"
"This is the time of the day where he's usually mixing new medicines in his infirmary. As long as we're a little quieter, he won't know a thing."
Law smirked a little before finishing up his single bottle of sake. Picking Kikoku up from his side and feeling it already starting to hum at the prospect of fighting with a cursed blade again, Law strode to the opposite side of the deck as he steeled himself for the impending clash of blades, ignoring the voice in his head that was telling him that there was literally no way to be "a little quieter" when fighting with Pirate Hunter Zoro.
Author's Note - This is a very important chapter, cause while the previous six had been used to develop Law's character and ease him into the everyday antics of the Strawhats, this conversation I wrote here with Zoro is the first time where Law actually realises that he himself is changing because of the Strawhats. I had a clear picture of what I wanted Zoro's chapter to be, with the fact that both characters are swordsmen and had cursed blades, but the fact that I was able to incorporate something a little deeper aside from just a fight was icing on the metaphorical cake that is this series of one-shots. Of course, the fact that I incorporated the cursed blades is symbolic by itself, if you didn't realise it.
Tell me if you agree with the direction I decided to go with for this chapter. I just can't help but feel that the monster trio of the crew, despite their insanity, bloodlust and unmatchable strength, actually give me a spectrum of colour to write about deep and heartfelt moments. It's just more impactful when these three showcase thoughtfulness and consideration (Sanji's chapter) and insight and acceptance of the past (Zoro's chapter). I actually feel a little worried now about how I'm going to pull off Luffy's and have it match up to every other chapter done so far.
And there's Robin's, which will be tough on a level that I won't be able to explain until I've finished it.
Reviews deeply appreciated.
~SUITELIFEFAN
