zoro had been many things over his life time, a demon, pirate hunter, firstmate. but recently, he had found that he was dead. he seemed to be rotting.
with the death of the new pirate king, he didn't see a purpose in living, at least not like he did when luffy was around.
he stopped breathing, eating, he even gave up booze. he still lived if only in technicality, he moved, he fought, he searched.
he still had a promise to keep, the last promise his captain asked of him, protect the crew. watch them. never leave them.
it was a hard task, they all went their separate ways, some in pairs, but it was the one thing luffy had asked of him so off he went. always following, never leaving.
he had long since surpassed mihawk, the former title holder still sulked around his old castle, though no one had seen him in years. zoro pondered visiting his teacher. what he'd find, he didn't know.
maybe he'd find a corpse, perhaps even bones. there was even a slight chance that he had joined shanks in the yonko's endeavor, his teacher had always claimed that the yonko was the only one that could keep him entertained.
that was a better thought, zoro decided.
wadou ichimonji. the sword that he had pledged their shared dream own. it had seen better days, the blade was the only thing that stayed pristine. wadou was rotting with him.
he cared for it, like his teacher and master had taught him. but it still decayed.
it still sliced like it did in his early days, it was still steady, it continued to thrum in his hand.
he and wadou ichimonji were the same.
zoro doesnt know where luffy's treasure is. he has an idea, it might've landed in the hands of coby or even the fanatic bartolomeo.
he was there, he saw luffys head fall from the great height. but he did not see the beloved strawhat anywhere, so he can only speculate.
maybe the hat had been laid to rest where his brother was buried, that seemed more likely. three brothers but only two hats, where had the prodigy of dragon run off to.
there were talks of raging fire liberating countries and fighting what was left of the marines, rumors spread that the revolutionary had become his namesake.
the marines. what was to be said about them. the old guard had died out or disappeared. the new guard was getting smaller and smaller. no admirals were left.
even white hunter had left the ranks, he took his clan with him, talk was that he had found the revolutionary army. it seemed that the death of another pirate king had inspired the man.
he would follow the last of their crew.
nami's completed map had been taken in a raid. she had escaped, if only barely with the help of their cook. that was the last he had heard.
but the thundering echoes that haunted the new world told him that they were still alive. out there in the vast sea.
usopp. he had gone up in flames. a desperate attempt to out run the last dogs of the marines. there was nothing left of the sniper. nothing except his kabuto, something the man had never been without.
he went to that place. in the dead of night and months after the navy had cleared out. zoro had to see it with his own eye. the scorched crater that was his crewmate's last stand.
robin and franky had left together. taking the sunny-go. the mini-merry and shark submarine had been left to them.
the merry had disappeared shortly after usopp.
the sunny-go was pristine. the sails stitched to perfection. the grassy deck free of singe marks.
with no crew to sail her. she simply drifted through the seas. over reverse mountain and under to the new world.
her sturdy hull carrying passengers that had not been rejected by her keepers.
zoro wandered. and wandered. and wandered. til he found himself at the top of reverse. the chirping of a whale and soft rattling bones his only company.
he sat with brook. for a year. listened to him tell stories to laboon. heard him compose songs. looked after the jagged scars that adorned the whale's head.
he left one day. when the call of the sunny-go reached his rotting heart. he saw her come down the raging stream.
body-less appendages guiding her towards the swordsman. a never fading smile greeting him.
wadou hummed when he set foot on the soft deck. they were finally home.
something i wrote months back and didn't think i'd actually finish.