Chapter 34
Luffy
Luffy halted in the training yard for just a moment, taking in the sight of his two crewmates before him. From Sanji's bruised face and dirty clothes and Zoro's bloody fists, it was obvious the two had gotten into a fight and a far more violent one than usual at that. There was a harsh tension between the two of them as well, far stronger than normal. The Straw Hat captain could practically feel it in the air. But Luffy didn't have time to worry about that right now; the two of them could settle it once they were back in the real world and safe on the Sunny.
"I just talked with Brook! You were right, Sanji! This whole place is a dream world! And Brook was able to use his spirit powers to talk to me and-!" The rubber man began talking excitedly before a dress shoe pressed gently (well, gently for Sanji anyway) into his face, effectively silencing him.
"We know, Luffy," Sanji explained, balanced on one foot, his other one literally in Luffy's face, his hands in his pockets. He looked significantly over at Zoro. "We know everything."
"Hmm?" Luffy glanced around Sanji at the swordsman, sitting dejectedly on the front porch where they had all eaten those delicious rice balls just a few days ago. There was a sadness surrounding Zoro that Luffy could never remember seeing before. So Zoro really did understand everything. Even…
"Sanji," Luffy said suddenly, lowering his eyes so the straw hat covered them in shadow, "Did you finish saying your goodbyes?" When the cook answered in a quiet affirmative, Luffy nodded absent-mindedly, like he had already expected that answer, and walked over to his swordsman.
"Zoro," Luffy said as he stood over his crewmate.
"Luffy," Zoro replied, his face still cradled in his hands, "Luffy, I-I can't…"
"Zoro, I won't force you to go. It's your choice. It'll always be your choice," Luffy stated, crouching in front of the swordsman, his voice uncharacteristically calm and gentle. "But you know that this world is a dream, right? We're not free here. And we'll never be free here. It'll always be the world they want us to have, not the world we wanna make for ourselves. "
"I-I know that."
"But Sanji and I won't leave you here alone," Luffy continued. Zoro's head shot up at that. Luffy heard a sound of protest from the cook behind him, quickly stifled.
"You can't do that!" Zoro protested, "The crew's waiting! The Navy's coming! They'll be killed! You'll be killed!" Luffy nodded thoughtfully at that.
"Yeah, maybe," the Straw Hat captain agreed. "But I can't become the King of the Pirates without every single one of you. And there's no one else I'll accept as my swordsman. Anyway, what kind of King of the Pirates would I be if I didn't have the world's best swordsman at my side? So what would be the point of going back?" When Zoro opened his mouth to protest again, Luffy continued, "Besides, when you first joined my crew, I promised not to get in the way of your ambition. And if I left, I'd be doing just that."
"You idiot," Zoro replied softly and then challenged without thinking, "I could still become the strongest swordsman in this world."
Behind him, Luffy could hear Sanji about to protest again, most likely about to point out that once Luffy and Sanji left there would be no world remaining for Zoro to become the greatest swordsman in, but the rubber man held up one hand for silence.
"About that, Zoro," Luffy said, ignoring his cook and focusing entirely on the swordsman in front of him, "Can you sense your swords?"
He watched as a look of confusion passed over Zoro's face. Then Zoro closed his eyes in a look of solemn concentration. After a few seconds the swordsman's eyes shot open, wide with a look of shock.
"My swords! I can't sense any of them! Not Enma or Kitetsu or even…!" Zoro exclaimed. Luffy nodded, as though he had expected this outcome.
"Zoro?" Luffy asked, "Are any of them here right now? I know you've gotten lots of different swords during our adventures together, but when I first met you, you already had that white sword…"
"Wado Ichimonji!" Zoro said in a harsh gasp, scrambling up and rushing into the house. He came out a moment later, the familiar white sword clutched in his hands. Luffy could tell from the swordsman's expression that something was very wrong.
"It's not the sword, is it, Zoro? Not really anyway?" Luffy pressed. Zoro shook his head.
"I-I can't sense it at all!" the swordsman cried out. Luffy nodded, rising from his crouch and walking over to where Zoro stood. He placed a hand on the sword.
"It's because this isn't your sword. It's missing something, isn't it?"
Zoro's eyes widened in surprise and wonderment, as if in disbelief that his captain could know so much. "The promise."
"The promise," Luffy repeated with a nod. Truth be told, Luffy didn't know the details of what made the white sword so special to Zoro and such details never really mattered to the Straw Hat captain. But he had always figured it was some sort of personal connection to the swordsman. And now, he knew for certain.
"I made it with Kuina, all those years ago…"
"Remember, you made that promise to the Kuina of our world, not this one," Luffy corrected, gently. "And you're like me. You're not the kind of man to break a promise so easily, are you, Zoro?"
The world rumbled around them, a sure sign that the Navy attack Brook had told him about was close at hand. Luffy ignored it, like he had with everything else that had disturbed his conversation with his swordsman. Zoro was what mattered right now. Luffy could tell- he was so close to reaching him. This was one friend he wouldn't fail, at least. Besides, they should still have a little time left... at least for what Luffy knew still needed to be done.
Zoro choked back a sob. Behind him, Luffy heard Sanji mutter an excuse about going for a walk followed by the cook's departing footsteps. Before him, Zoro was gripping the white sword's sheath so tightly he was shaking. Once the cook was well away, out of sight and out of hearing, tears began to stream down the swordsman's tanned face.
"I love them, Luffy." Zoro's voice broke.
"I know."
"If…if I leave, I'll never see them again. If we go back to our world, this…this place will be gone. Completely gone. And Kuina will be d-dead. Yaki and Tori…the boys…our children… will never have existed." One hand still gripped the sheath in an iron-tight grip, while the swordsman's other hand covered his face, the tears still streaming past his hand.
Luffy remained still and quiet. His crewmate needed to get this out and the Straw Hat captain intended to let him.
"But this sword…it's empty. It's…it's not the sword I swore on. I know the cook…and Franky…they said it was the damn scientists manipulating my brain or my emotions or whatever. But Kuina…the real one…she'd be so disappointed in me…breaking our promise like this."
Luffy continued to stay silent, neither confirming nor denying the truth to Zoro's words. He was mildly curious how Zoro had talked to Franky, but decided his curiosity could wait until they were well away from this place. With one last barely suppressed sob, Zoro wiped his face and looked his captain in the eye, a flash of his usual self sparking briefly in his steel-gray eyes.
"And how can I face her again in the world beyond if I give up my dream so easily? I swore that I'd become so great that my name reached her in the heavens and that's what I intend to do," Zoro stated. His voice held firm and steady, as it usually did. And yet, Luffy could tell, he was still hurting, so badly.
"It's okay to miss them, Zoro," Luffy assured him, placing a hand on the swordsman's shoulder. "Whether they're part of a dream world or not, they were real enough to you, weren't they?"
With a grunt, Zoro turned away. Luffy thought he could see the shimmering of tears in his eyes before he turned. The rubber man decided not to comment on them.
"Hey, Zoro?" Luffy asked. Zoro remained turned away. "How about once we get out of here, we beat the crap out of the guys who put us here in the first place?"
A moment of silence. Then, "Can we destroy that stinkin' lab in the process?"
"Of course."
The swordsman turned back towards the captain, his usual wolfish smile on his face at the prospect of the fight. "There's nothing I'd like better than to tear this island apart and sink it straight into the damn ocean." The fact that the dream world, along with everyone in it, would already be long gone and beyond saving went unsaid.
The two stood in silence for a few minutes more before another rumble caught their attention.
"Looks like we'll need to go soon," Luffy commented.
"I'll go with you," Zoro stated, "But first…" The swordsman glanced over at the house, where his family resided. A barely suppressed look of sadness passed over his features. As it was, Luffy had barely caught it.
"You want to say goodbye to them first, right? Go ahead. Sanji and I…we've already said ours…" Luffy could hear the slight crack in his own voice. While he knew he wasn't hurting as badly as Zoro over this, leaving Ace and Sabo behind was still painful. With a clench of his fist, he swore to himself that the three of them—Zoro, Sanji, and himself—would make the ones who did this to them pay. Vegapunk, that old man, the Navy—whoever was involved would pay dearly for putting not just him, but his two crewmates through this.
Another rumble sounded. Zoro shot him an uncertain look.
"You're certain we'll have enough time for this?"
Luffy nodded. "Don't worry. We should have enough time for you to say goodbye to them. I'll go find Sanji. We'll be right out here when you're ready."
Still clutching the sword in his white knuckled grip, Zoro gave a firm nod and then turned back and headed into the house. Luffy watched him go for a minute, then turned on his heel and went to find his cook. Another rumble sounded in the distance, a promise of the fight that was surely to come. Luffy cracked his rubber knuckles, a smirk on his face. He was looking forward to it.
Author's Notes: I always love Luffy's amazing ability to somehow know what people need emotionally without knowing the exact details of their situation. It's why he's such a good captain.
-Luffy's plan with Zoro's swords is revealed! Zoro always seems to just…know when his swords or around. (Or at least Sandai Kitetsu.) Decided to use it as a plot point here.