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Daz Bones had not many attempts to knock Zoro out, but Zoro was on guard. He could not hear Nami's voice in the back of his head, or more importantly physically behind him, but he could not take his eyes from the quick moving giant before him. Daz's body was like metal, and each blow made an empty echo when Zoro hit him. On the other end, whenever Daz made contact with Zoro it was like a cracked whip. Daz chuckled, "Are you keeping up, boy?"

Zoro shook his body and went back into his stance, his arms up and eyes trained on the man before him. "You said you knew me? When?"

Daz threw a punch and Zoro blocked it, but it allowed them to get closer and Daz responded, "Whiskey Peak. Remember when you took out over a hundred men in one night?"

Zoro grinned and pushed Daz back, "I've knocked out a lot of weaklings. I'm sorry for your loss."

A vein popped in Daz's neck and he sent a punch straight into Zoro's jaw which Zoro took in. It twisted his entire body as it knocked him off his feet. "Don't play games, kid. You killed my associate that night. Mr. 7."

Zoro coughed on the floor of the ring as the crowd was eager to see the blood stain the faded white ground. Zoro smirked, "Oh, right. That asshole kept saying he wanted to recruit me. Too bad he wasn't all that convincing. I was dreaming of bigger things. Not a yes sir, not a follower."

Daz's foot caught Zoro right under the jaw and launched him into the air where Daz sent a multitude of punches into his open chest. "He was told to take you by force because you couldn't be bought. His own loss and he died because he was weak, but tonight, I'm going to correct that wrong." He took Zoro and brought him down to the ground and clutched his hands together and dropped his fists into Zoro's back. "You're just a young gun with a quick fuse. Who do you think you are? Dreaming about being a big star? I'm going to crash you to the damn ground where you belong."

Zoro struggled back to his feet and the crowd ate up it. They screamed and cheered, as two titans went off on each other. Daz's body was bigger and heavier, thicker with muscle mass and experimental injections that made it feel hard as steel. Every punch Zoro gave him, Daz took with a grin, though he bit back his tongue at the small flare of pain that it created. Regardless, Daz withstood. As the fight continued, Daz's attacks grew more and more violent, drawing from Zoro more streams of blood and creating more bruises. Yet, Zoro did not fall. Every hit came into his body, and he absorbed it with a groan. It would throw him down, and Daz would parade around as if he won but Zoro would get back up.

Daz was quite done with the charade so he pulled Zoro into a hold and whispered, "Where do you think that girl of yours is, huh? Paula is probably having her way with her now…and Paula likes the chase. She plays with her food often."

The referee came in and tried to peel them off each other, but Daz only pushed him out of the way. Zoro and he still locked arms in a close contact wrestle. Zoro grinned, blood smeared down his face, "You underestimate, Nami. It's gonna take more than you and your stupid girlfriend to knock out Nami."

Daz gripped Zoro's arms and swung him around, and Zoro's body hit the ground with a crashing thud. The whooping from the onlookers continued. Both men huffed as the referee counted down and Zoro took a moment to focus himself. He had worried about Nami, but he knew she could take care of herself. However, now it seemed like ages since he last saw her and Zoro could not think about winning quite just yet. Suddenly, a scream resounded behind him, "Zoro, you shithead! I leave you for a few minutes and you're a bloody mess!"

Zoro grinned and closed his eyes as he rose to his feet before the referee could make his count. He spat out blood and chuckled, "I was being uptight…but now I'm gonna let loose."

Nami caught his gaze and saw the worry as he took in her busted lip and dried blood around the edge of her hairline but Nami threw him a thumb up with a goofy smile, "Fuck him up then."

Zoro gave her a quick nod and rose. He looked at Daz who could not believe that Zoro could withstand so much. The brutality was real, but for a moment, Daz understood how he became infamous for his inhuman strength. Sure, Zoro had disappeared off the fighting circles but apparently, he had not fallen so far into obscurity that he lost his bloodlust or his power. Daz then recognized the figure in the stands behind him and grew angry. "How could that girl take down, Paula?"

Zoro tightened his bandages and lifted his hands though they felt like 1000-pound mallets. Daz put his hands up, eager to finish this long test of wills. He would need to finish Zoro once and for all, or else he would not be able to go on for much longer. Daz did not care for the money, but Mr. 0 would not be pleased if both he and Ms. Doublefinger failed.

"To…to answer your question," Zoro said with a huff, "That girl…she's the lightning." Zoro ran towards Daz who suddenly found it hard to match Zoro's speed. As Zoro's fist pressed into Daz's hardened face, Zoro smirked, "I'm the goddamn thunder."

The room erupted as Daz's body hit the ground and his eyes went blank. The referee counted in what seemed like slow motion and Nami charged past the barriers to swing her arms around Zoro who let out a shout. She giggled as Zoro huffed and the referee called the fight, "You know…you didn't need to be so dramatic."

Zoro looked at her, confused and Nami began mimicking Zoro's bellowing shout, "I'm the goddamn thunder!"

Zoro did not have the strength to defend himself, as he found his statement quite true. As the bloody pair held each other in an embrace, Zoro knew that she was just that: lightning. Nami was sudden and came out of nowhere, but she touched both the heaven and the earth for a moment. It shocked and left scarring, but it was beautiful and powerful all at the same time. To get too close to her would be dangerous, but in the heart of the storm, within the thunder…she was everything to be seen. He was simply the thunder, the sound of her presence. Zoro came after her, and he always would it seemed.

Music Inspiration/Theme: "Thunder" (Imagine Dragons)

This song has been on replay in my head. I love it and Imagine Dragons. And honestly, it seemed like such a good fight song. But then I thought of it, and with Nami's lightning power via the Clima-Tact and then her being able to read weather so well, ugh, yes- Zoro is her thunder and she's his lightning.

#somanyparallels

I love it so much. I mean, I hope ya'll did, too!

But what will Arlong say about all this?

P.S. I think we forget that Zoro has actually killed people…like the (previous) Mr. 7 who was trying to recruit him to Baroque Works. I have no doubt that Zoro did what he had to do, as BW would not be kind to his refusal. However, yeah, Zoro is a killer. Legitimately. And besides maybe Robin, I don't think any other Straw Hat member has a kill list under their name. Maybe I'm wrong, but yeah, in this world Nami's is pretty ruthless, too. But that's a whole other story.

Stay tuned!

XoXo shipfiend