Chapter 24

Zoro

Zoro trudged up the hill from the harbor towards the dojo. After the incident with Usopp, the rest of the trip had been a blur. He vaguely remembered Marines coming and then later on helping the fisherman with his catch afterwards, but despite the man's attempts to strike up a conversation, Zoro hadn't spoken a word since Syrup Village. Now there was only one thing Zoro wanted.

And he'd been a fool to reject it before.

As the dojo finally came into sight, Zoro heard two young voices calling out to him, followed by the creak of the practice yard's gate swinging open.

"Daddy!" Yaki.

"Dada!" Tori.

The boys raced down the road towards him, grabbing onto the bottom of his robes once they reached him, their smiling faces, a perfect mix of his and Kuina's, looking up at him excitedly as they giggled and yammered away. Zoro crouched down on one knee and grabbed them both in the tightest hug he could. He never wanted to let go. Finally, the boys began to squirm with impatience. Zoro hugged even tighter.

"Come on, Daddy. Let's go home," Yaki complained.

"Yea! Home!" the toddler parroted.

Zoro grinned. "Yeah, home sounds good right about now." He released the boys and let them lead him the rest of the way to the dojo and finally to the door of their house.

"Mom, we brought Dad home!" Yaki called, quickly kicking off his shoes as he headed towards the kitchen.

"I saw, Yaki. Thank you." Her voice came from the kitchen's open doorway…

And there she was. Kuina. Strong, calm, brave Kuina. Man, what a complete and utter moron he had been.

"So, how was your…?" she began to ask. In a few long steps he had crossed the room and had her in his arms, locked in a tight embrace.

"Z-Zoro…?"

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"What for?" she asked, just as softly.

"For being a damn idiot," he explained, feeling hot tears gather in his eyes. He gripped the folds in the fabric of Kuina's shirt. He heard her call over his shoulder to the boys, telling them lunch was waiting in the kitchen. With a whoop, both boys were off and they were left alone in the room.

"Zoro, your friend…what happened?" Kuina asked, gently pushing him away so she could look him in the face. Her hand came up to brush against his cheek. He caught it in his own, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand.

"I found him."

"And?"

"He had lost everything." Zoro explained. And here he was, given a second chance, an opportunity to have everything he hadn't even known he wanted, and he'd been ready to just throw it all away. "And after that, all I could think of was how much I wanted to be with you and the boys."

"Zoro?" Kuina looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I know I'm not exactly like him. Probably never could be. I know I have no right to ask this of you. Especially because I don't know if I'll ever measure up. But I've given it a lot of thought and it's like you said. I'm still Zoro. And even if it's under different circumstances, you're still Kuina. And I know what I want now."

"Go on," Kuina encouraged.

"I-I want to be your husband," he said quickly, moving his hands to her shoulders. "I want to be your husband. I want to be Yaki and Tori's father. I want to teach at this dojo. I want to stay here!"

"Zoro," Kuina repeated with a soft smile. Then she looked down for a moment before looking into his eyes with a small frown. "But what about your friends?"

The swordsman took a deep breath before answering, glancing over where Wado Ichimonji hung on display on the wall. Looked at the white sword with both eyes. "They can go back without me."

It was a few days later before the cook finally arrived back at the dojo, though Zoro was already expecting the blond when he saw the giant freakin' castle pull into the harbor and the commotion it caused amongst the villagers. Seriously, how had he not noticed when the Ero-Cook and Luffy had arrived last time? Though, now that Zoro thought back on it, he'd been trying to adjust to living this new life and having a family and responsibilities had taken all his focus. Getting distracted like that. It's dangerous, a voice in the back of his mind warned. Zoro told it to shut up.

Zoro was just about done instructing a beginner class consisting of five to six year olds, when the cook arrived at the gate, a cigarette clenched tightly between his teeth. The swordsman could tell from where he stood that the cook was in a foul mood. Grinning, he decided to make it worse.

"Class!" he called to the students. He pointed his practice sword at the blond, before yelling good-humoredly, "Say 'hello' to Number Two!"

"Huh?" The cook raised an eyebrow, confused at his unusually cheerful crewmate.

"Hello, Number Two!" the kids yelled at the confused blond. Then it dawned on him and Zoro could practically see the steam coming out of Dartboard's ears.

"Is this that stupid joke you were pulling in Saboady?!" the cook screamed. "Just because I got back second…!"

"You got it, Number Two!"

"I had to travel across half the Grand Line! You just had one damn island in the East Blue!"

"You're the one who decided to only give me one island in the East Blue!"

"Well, I still-! Wait a sec! Where's Luffy?" the cook suddenly asked, realizing that their captain was missing.

"I don't know. Hence why you're Number Two and not Three," Zoro answered with a grin. The blond turned on him.

"Look, you directionless mosshead-!"

"Beat you back here."

The cook grabbed his hair in frustration before letting his breath out in an angry huff of smoke. "Whatever. You're not important right now. And I'll kill that stupid rubber captain when he gets back. Where's Usopp?"

And just like that all of Zoro's good humor died away.

"Class!" Zoro called, just realizing that the antsy kids were staring. "Dismissed!"

"Let me guess," the cook quietly said as he walked over a moment later, putting his hands in his pockets as the kids scampered off, "He was in a bad way?"

"That's putting it mildly," Zoro confirmed. "Guess you weren't there when we recruited him originally. Usual story: his village was almost attacked by pirates, but Luffy came and saved the day."

"But this time, Luffy wasn't there."

"Exactly. His village was gone. Usopp's alive but…"

"But he was in a bad state," the cook finished. "Did he know you?" Zoro shook his head.

"How about you, Curly?"

"Cocoyashi Village had an extra two years of Arlong. And Nami didn't recognize me. Brook's dead, for real this time. Jinbei's alive, but he's not from our world. And Fishman Island's in a sorry state," the blond explained, taking a deep drag on his cigarette once he was done. "The sooner we can get out of this world and get back to ours, the better."

Zoro felt his stomach freeze. Shit, guess it's now or never.

"Cook, about that…"

He didn't get a chance to say anything further as they both heard a familiar yell from off in the distance.

"Hey, Zoro! Sanji! I'm back!"

Zoro felt himself smirk, before cupping his hands around his mouth, "Welcome back, Number Three!"

"So, Robin, Vivi, and Chopper…" The cook was already on cigarette number four, by Zoro's count. He had a feeling the man was going to finish the pack before this meeting was done.

"Yeah," Luffy responded sadly, rubbing the large bump coming out of his head. The already stressed cook had not been happy with their captain's tardiness, especially when Luffy had told him the reason. "I wasn't able to find out about Franky though. Ace and Sabo stopped me. But what I did find out wasn't good. Ice-ossan's dead."

Both men's eyes widened at that.

"Shit!" the blond cursed, giving the ground a sharp kick. Zoro couldn't blame him. If Iceburg, the mayor of Water 7 and fellow shipwright apprentice with Franky, had been successfully assassinated in this world, then that meant Franky was most likely…

Zoro shook the thoughts away. No, he had already decided this. The people in this world were not his crewmates, that much had been established. So they must be in the other world. And Luffy and the cook would be rejoining them soon.

"Okay, so it's just the three of us," the cook stated. "I can try to find out what happened to Law in this world, but I doubt I'll find anything. And I doubt that he's our Law anyway. In any case, we need to figure out how to get out of here."

"Should we try to find Veggie Dunk in this world?" Luffy suggested.

"Vegapunk? Why?"

"Maybe he has a machine like the one that sent us here, only it sends us back to our world!"

"That's…actually not a half-bad idea, Luffy." The rubber man beamed at the praise.

"I'm not going," Zoro stated bluntly. The captain and cook both stared at him.

"What was that, Mosshead?"

"I'm not going back. I've decided to stay here," the swordsman answered, looking at the other two for their reactions. The cook's temper was already flaring, as expected, but Luffy…Luffy was just staring at him with that blank expression he sometimes got.

"I'm serious, Luffy," Zoro said, just in case the rubber man didn't believe him.

"Do-do you hear yourself right now?!" the cook shouted. Zoro ignored him, keeping his eyes on Luffy.

"Sanji…"

"No, Luffy! He's throwing everything away! His dream! Our crew! The journey!" Curly Brow continued yelling. "And all for a world that isn't even real!"

That got Zoro's attention. "What the hell are you spouting, Shit-Cook?! We can see and hear and touch…"

"Used your Observation Haki lately, Mosshead?" The blond practically growled the question. Zoro frowned, remembering Syrup Village. As much as he hated to admit it, the cook was right on that point. He could only sense two people, and even then they'd been 'fuzzy' and hadn't even been anyone on the island. Observation had completely failed in his battle against Kuro as well. Hell, even when trying to sense his own son, his Haki had come up short. The only time it had worked successfully in this world… Zoro's eyes widened with realization…

…was the last time Luffy and the cook had come to the dojo.

"Figuring it out, damn moss?" The blond angrily stubbed out his cigarette. "I used it on Fishman Island. Couldn't sense a single shitty fishman. But you know who I could sense? You. Luffy. That shitty Vegapunk. And Nami-san."

"Thought you said our Nami wasn't in this world."

"She's not. But the real Nami-san must have gotten into that weird Haki-blocking room at some point."

"So, we're still in that lab?" Luffy asked. The cook lit another cigarette before puffing on it angrily.

"As far as I can tell, yeah," he replied, looking up at the sky. "Though I gotta admit, this is one impressive illusion."

"Doesn't make any freakin' sense, Cook," Zoro protested. "I felt Sandai Kitetsu. I felt my sword's lust for blood when I was fighting that pirate captain who destroyed Usopp's village. That was no illusion."

"Hey, Zoro?" Luffy piped up.

"Hm?"

"Where are your swords?" the raven-haired boy asked. Zoro opened his mouth to answer and closed it again. He looked to his hip. Just a practice sword. Where had he put his swords after he'd returned? He was sure he'd had Sandai Kitetsu in Syrup Village. He distinctly remembered feeling the cursed sword wanting to cut and kill and destroy and for once, Zoro had given in somewhat to the sword's whim. That hadn't been his imagination.

And then that train of thought continued. Where would he have gotten Sandai Kitetsu in this world in the first place? According to Kuina, except for his recent journey to Syrup Village, he'd never left this town before. Therefore, he'd never been to Loguetown, never went to that sword shop, never tested his luck and will against the cursed sword. But he'd been certain he'd felt Sandai Kitetsu in his hand. He knew the sword was with him, somehow. Hell, he'd been certain he felt and used Enma in the same fight and there was definitely no way he'd been to Wano in this world. And he'd made the conscious decision not to use his third sword, Wado Ichimonji, against Kuro figuring it would be overkill. Like he simply assumed the white sword was there. And yet, he remembered it had already been hanging on the wall in the dojo when he'd returned. He'd seen in hanging on the wall behind Kuina.

Zoro growled. This wasn't making any fuckin' sense!

"Of course, Mosshead, you can't sense anyone in the room with your Observation, but you can tell that your swords are there. Typical," the cook mocked.

"Shut up, Number Two!" Zoro roared at him. Luffy started to laugh, until Sanji dropped his heel on the rubber man's head, giving him another bump similar to the first.

"I don't wanna hear that laughter from you, Number Three! I definitely should not have beaten you here!" the blond admonished. His attention returned to Zoro. "And we're not leaving you here, Shitty Swordsman."

"Shut up, blondie. I make my own choices," Zoro countered. "And I'm staying here."

"Didn't you listen to a damn word I just said?! This isn't real!"

"Yeah?! Well, what is real, Cook?!"

"That other world is! The one with Nami-san and Robin-chan and the rest of our crew! The one where they're all alive and whole and know us!"

"And they'll still be alive and whole back in that other world!" Zoro shot back. "But this world has Ace still in it! Your own damn family's actually whole, Cook. And…she's here. And this world is the only place where those boys exist. The only place they will ever exist." Zoro could feel his eyes begin to grow moist with tears. He shut them tight and willed them away. Not in front of the cook. "That's plenty real to me."

The cook was glaring at him, his teeth clenched so tight around his cigarette, it looked like it would snap in half. Finally he let out his breath in a sharp exhale of smoke.

"Of everyone in the crew," the cook almost whispered, his voice dangerously low, as he took his cigarette out of his mouth and tapped off the excess ash, "I never thought you'd be the one to leave over a woman."

"Well, I'm certainly not the first to do that, am I, Shit Cook?" Zoro snapped. "How was that wedding by the way?"

This time the cigarette did snap in two. "Our situations are not the same and you damn well know it, you shitty bastard!"

"ENOUGH!" It wasn't much, but the slight push of Conqueror's Haki that emanated from their captain when he shouted that single word was plenty to silence the two arguing men. "That's enough," Luffy repeated, calmer this time. He turned his gaze to Zoro, his face completely serious. "Zoro, are you sure about this?"

"Luffy, you can't be serious-!"

"Sanji, quiet," Luffy commanded. His piercing eyes never left Zoro's. "I'll never force anyone on my crew who doesn't want to be there. If they really don't want to be there," he seemed to add as an afterthought. "So, Zoro, I'll ask again: are you sure?"

The swordsman closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He'd made up his mind; he knew what he wanted was to remain with Kuina and the boys and live his life here. He'd had his doubts when he first arrived in this world, desperate to find his crew and return to his single life as a swordsman, but then the more time he spent with them as a family the more he wanted to stay. As soon as he had returned to the dojo he'd decided what he would say to his captain when he saw him again.

But when he let out the breath he'd taken and looked Luffy in the eye, ready to tell him his decision, that he was staying here and that was final, he found the words frozen in his throat. Come on, coward, tell him! He looked into the face of the man who'd saved his life from those Marines over two years ago. The only other person he'd been willing to throw away his dream for. The reason he'd begged Mihawk, on his hands and knees, to please train him and make him stronger. And the damn words just wouldn't come out.

"L-Luffy…" he practically choked just saying the man's name.

"Hm?" The Straw Hat captain patiently waited for his answer.

"I…" He had to say it. He had to tell him! He'd already made up his mind, so why was it so hard to…?

"Tch! Screw this!" the cook shouted suddenly, kicking at the ground. "If Mosshead wants to stay here and play house, that's his choice. But I'm finding answers! And going back!"

With that, the cook turned on his heel and began walking out the gate toward the harbor.

"H-hey! Wait, Sanji!" Luffy called out. Zoro let out a sigh. For some reason, he felt incredibly relieved. And for that, a voice deep inside him whispered, coward.

"Zoro," Luffy stated firmly. Zoro felt his chest tighten. "I know how you feel. I do. It's great to have Ace back. And whoever she is, I'm sure it's great to have her back too. But I'll ask you again; are you sure about staying here?"

"I-I…" Zoro stammered, staring into Luffy's serious face again. He'd decided, damn it! Why couldn't he just say it?

Luffy seemed to sense his swordsman's discomfort and his expression softened. He placed a gentle but solid hand on Zoro's shoulder.

"Just think about it, okay, Zoro? I'll talk to Sanji; in the meantime, you stay here," the straw hat-clad boy said, before turning and racing after the angry chef.

Zoro wasn't sure how long he stood there, staring after his two crewmates, when suddenly Kuina was at his side, gently embracing him.

"Did you tell them?"

"Yes."

"Did you have a fight?" Kuina continued. Zoro nodded. "Are you okay?"

Truth be told, the swordsman wasn't sure. He'd expected to feel like a weight had come off his chest when he finally told Luffy and the cook his decision. Instead he felt…empty somehow. Like he wasn't entirely whole anymore. It was an oddly lonely feeling, which was strange, seeing as how it had been feelings of loneliness and loss that had led him down this path to begin with.

In response to his silence, Kuina hugged him tighter.

Author's Notes: A lot of fans seem to just enjoy Zoro as this stoic badass swordsman, but I've always enjoyed his character development. He went from a man who joined Luffy under the condition that nothing get in the way of his dream, to nearly sacrificing himself and his dream to protect his captain from Kuma, to getting down on his hands and knees and begging Mihawk to train him and make him stronger for Luffy's sake. Zoro may have started the series as a lone swordsman, but I think as the series progresses and he stays with Luffy and the Straw Hats, he's finding that life to be lonely.

-This chapter was one of the more difficult to write. Despite the above, I hope I wrote Zoro convincingly. And I ended up tweaking Zoro and Kuina's conversation a bit as well. The talk between the guys got pretty heavy, but it was surprisingly easy to write.