Chapter 25: I do not own One Piece.

:D

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Tashigi's Heart: The Tears of Alabasta

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It didn't just rain here in Alabasta, it poured. It was as if the land itself was weeping from all the the blood that had been shed, the children it had lost. Because of one man's greed, and that one man had been wrecking the land for years, killing peoples' hopes and dreams for the future, making them doubt and distrust one another. That one man could never be brought to account for all the pain and anguish he had caused.

The once dry parched land now had rivers running through it. It had become so hard that the soil-like sand could hardly contain any of the pure, rich water that had at last blessed it with its presence.

I took off my useless, broken glasses, and for a moment just allowed the rain to run down my face. Then I used my already drenched sleeve to try and wipe the water out of my eyes. I had been crying, but you couldn't really tell. It was quite releasing in its weird way knowing that you could cry silently in the rain and no one could tell the difference.

"You and I are doing the same thing." I said to the skies. Crying out of loss and frustration. "If both you and the truth had arrived sooner then this blood bath could have been prevented."

Many of the people that had been fighting on the streets had been so overjoyed and shocked at the sight of rain that a lot of their fallen comrades were left in the side streets forgotten. But soon the silence and calm that the rain had brought was broken. The Princess in the clock tower had called to them and they had heard her. Their cries of joy and peace soon turned to cries of shock and pain and those that were standing and living wept for having been so utterly deceived. A small part of me still couldn't believe this had happened. It was all to horrid to be true, wasn't it?

I needed some time alone to reflect on everything that had happened, but that was not my luxury to have. I was a Sergeant Major for the Marines and now that the trouble had passed we were needed. The citizens of Arabana had very little knowledge about battle wounds, being very careful and cautious people by nature.

So I set myself the terrible task of instructing the officers to help the wounded back to their feet, to make sure the Baroque agents were arrested, to teach the citizens a few first aid tips, and sadly informing family, friends, or comrades that the person they held dear to them was dead. Nothing prepared me for the hate I would receive from their unbelieving eyes and the despair that plagued them afterwards. But I carried on. I had been choked and thrown and bashed up pretty badly today, but that didn't give me reason to slack off. It was my duty.

It was tiring in the pouring rain, but strangely it helped to ease away the pain. The smell of blood in the once hot stale air was also being washed away.

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two hours later.

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I was walking down one of the side streets with a MED pack searching for more wounded. When an unusual sight hit my eye. Six people surrounding each other, slumping in a weird way as if they had just fainted or fallen asleep. I am assuming the former. They looked rather familiar, but I could hardly see in all this rain.

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Zoro?

Was it really him?

He was sitting up against a wall with all three of his swords in his lap a pool of blood around him grew as he was continually drenched to the bone by the falling rain.

Oh my god! Was that all his, his own blood? Was he even still alive?

"Sergeant Major! The Strawhats!" one of my crew mates behind me yelled.

"I'm aware of that."

"We easily take them in now with not much trouble." he informed me with excitement in his voice.

"Negative, and that's an order."

"Sergeant Major! With all due respect why not? With your permission we could capture all the pirates in one large swoop."

"Denied! I will not allow you to lay a hand on any of them is that understood?!"

"But we are never going to get another chance like this again. They're sitting ducks right now."

"Look Major?" He stopped when I sent them a glare and they turned there backs on me and continued on with what I had instructed them to do.

Once they were all gone I crept forward for a closer look. I had seen plenty of people in terrible condition in the past hour, but the strawhats topped the list.

"Zoro?" I called out to him. "Roronoa?"

Why am I feeling so nervous?

I walked up to him and nudged him with my boot. It was only a small nudge, but he just toppled over and fell face first in his own pool of bloody water.

Damn it! I can't just let him die like this. Not after he and the rest of the Straw hat pirates had just helped to save an entire country.

"Zoro?" I spoke in a quite voice, please don't hear me and wake up.

"This is the only time I help you okay." He looked so miserable, and pathetic. It didn't seem right for him to just die. Not after becoming an unlikely hero for a country at the start of a civil war. Did anyone else even know?

No, now was not the time to die. "Next time you and I meet, you will be conscious and we will duel for real and the victor will either be you or me." probably you if I don't get an act together and get far stronger. Strong enough to beat Nico Robin, and other devil fruit users.

Why are you talking to yourself Tashigi? He can't hear you!

I must have hit my head somewhere on the battle field. I raked my hands through my hair.

I'm going to regret this.

I look around … thank god, no one was looking. I turned him over onto his back and saw the gash marks across his chest. Wow, they ran deep. I placed my hand on his chest. I could still feel the rise and fall of his breathing.

Well, you are an exceptional man.

Even after Nico Robin had twisted my leg around, I had got up after a while and I felt proud of myself for doing so. To ignore the pain and to stand made me feel I had accomplished something, but Zoro has kept fighting his opponents, and winning probably, but was now close to deaths door and with five deep slashes across his front I was surprised he wasn't already.

I pulled out the aid kit I had been carrying and started to work on binding him up. While wrapping the bandage around his chest I noticed his heart rate was becoming fast and shallow. Not a good sign, and blood was seeping through the new layer of bandages as well. It was then that I noticed the cut down his arm to his hand, and so I tried to move the sword out of his grasp so I could bandage it up. But his grip was as unmoveable as if he were a statue.

Come on... I promise I won't take your sword... Just open your fingers... I then tried to prize his fingers open.

"Mmmh?" I looked up sharply.

Had Zoro made that noise? I glanced at him, his eyes were glazed and his face as white as a ghost's, but there was no mistake he was awake and he had seen me.

"Yo...u … ?" It was him speaking.

AHHHHH! He was looking straight at me! And I was in the middle of bandaging him up as well! No … no it wasn't like that...

"Z … Zoro," this isn't what you think, "… this is the only time I help you okay." I stuttered my words out again, repeating exactly what I had said to myself earlier.

This gives him the right to laugh at you whenever you meet, for the rest of your life, you know?! Idiot! Idiot!

"Next time you and I meet we will duel for real and the victor will either be you or me."

He didn't seemed to hear me or even really see me. Come on say something...

"I can't die yet." he rasped. His fingers tightened around his sword. I looked down at his bloody right hand. Even so close to death he would not let go. Suddenly his other hand reached round and took a firm grip on my arm.

His dark eyes looked so haunted, drifting in and out of focus, then they focused on mine. "I haven't kept my promise to you." ... "I can't die yet."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kuina?... I "

" … I .., don't worry. I promised." He let go of my arm and raised his hand slowly. Gently brushing my cheek before letting it fall back into the blood tainted pool.

I think he just passed out again.

'don't worry' … 'Kuina'... He wasn't talking to me. He had to be confusing me with someone else?

My worry dropped by a large amount. I've been called that name before. Pathetic individual! Even close to death, not being able to recognise your enemy could be highly embarrassing and it was insulting!

"I swear! Every single time you open your mouth you infuriate me!" In frustration I yank the bandages harder and pull them up around the front.

Why am I yelling at an almost dead man who is hallucinating? It's degrading.

"Don't mistake me for that old friend of yours!" I pulled hard on the make shift bandages and tied them together as tightly as possible. There done. I scowled down at him and folded my arms.

"I'll make sure you don't see me as your girlfriend look- alike in the future!" I stood up and turned my back on him.

I'll beat him up one of these days. That'll show him! I bet his old girlfriend didn't do that! No one I had ever fought, had thought to make up such a pathetic heart-wrenching excuse to not fight a woman. Most men who were like this just said it out loud. 'I don't fight girls' but NO you couldn't say that. You had to say, 'you look like my old girlfriend'. I looked back at him at glared.

"Damn you Zoro!You really get under my skin." And I was already having such a bad day.

Zoro wasn't the only one in the band of Strawhat Pirates that was badly injured. Next I turned toward the Captain, Strawhat Luffy.

"Thank you Strawhat. This is all that I'm willing to do for you and your crew." Fixing Pirates together, how far have I fallen.

"It should be enough." I said aloud to myself. It wasn't like anyone else would know about this.

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I loved writing this chapter, and to tell the truth I finished this one before I did Chapter 24 so it took me even longer to complete chapter 24 than it should have done.

However I hope you like it.

Tell me what you think of the story so far. :D

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