The sun was beginning to set as Zoro awoke; oranges and pale yellows painting the room in a warm glow. Stretching with a yawn and a hiss he climbed out of bed and exited the room.
Walking onto the upper deck he leant against the railing as he watched the sun slowly lowering beneath the horizon, the water still and twinkling as the rays reflected.
"So he finally awakens."
Zoro jumped, turning quickly to see the older man from earlier, knife out in a second and ready to strike.
He smirked, reaching out and pushing the knife down.
"It would take a lot more than that piece of crap to kill me, boy."
Zoro sheathed the knife back in the waistband of his pants.
"So, you feeling any better?"
He nodded.
"Mind if I take a look? I saw you back in that lifeboat and you had more than just some cut up wrists."
Zoro hesitated but ultimately nodded once again.
"Come on then."
He was led back into the room as the old man grabbed the first aid kit.
"Not much of a talker, huh?"
He didn't reply.
"I suppose Sanji wasn't much of one either and now you can't shut the kid up, always yapping on about something or other." The old man offered a smile. "Just relax kid, it may not seem like it but you are safe here, we ain't gonna' make you talk or turn you in, the Marines are no friends of others, neither are the World Government; whatever happened to you is your own business until a time when you might decide to share."
The old man popped the buds of the stethoscope in his ears before placing the cold metal against his chest.
"Breathe in for me."
Zoro followed the instruction.
"You don't have pneumonia by the sounds of it but you'll still need to be careful." The captain grabbed a blanket from under the bed and wrapped it around him. "You need to stay warm and eat plenty, shouldn't be too hard to follow those rules, right?"
He received a pat on the shoulder.
"Come on; let's get food into 'ya."
"Thank you." He spoke up, voice quiet but sincere.
The old man smiled before he found his hair being ruffled.
"Don't thank me for showing you basic human decency you damn brat."
Zoro smirked.
One Month Later
Life aboard the Baratie was strange as Zoro had come to discover.
But he had to admit… he liked it.
The crew were friendly if not a bit loud, and the food was incredible! The meals he received were mouth-watering every time and he found himself eagerly awaiting them throughout the day.
In the last month since arriving on the ship, the crew members had been training with him, Zoro having come to find weights in the basement of the ship which had become a favourite pastime of his and he was already seeing the results as he found himself gaining muscle.
This meant that Zeff had put him in charge of the deliveries so once or twice a week he would lug the entire contents of the shipment from the top deck down into the storeroom. Aside from that he spent the rest of his time sleeping in the crow's nest.
"Hey kid!"
Zoro cracked an eye open.
"You wanna' go check out the island, we need to go and do the weekly ingredients shop?"
He nodded.
"Come on then."
Sanji had been roped in too, something which he didn't seem overly pleased about. No sooner had he taken a cigarette out of the pack, Zeff snatched it from him and threw it into the ocean.
"Hey! You're buying me a new pack you damn bastard!"
"Like hell I am!"
Zoro smirked.
"What are you smirking at?!" Sanji challenged which received a swift peg leg to the head from the Captain.
"Don't be rude!"
Sanji scowled as he rubbed his head.
Zeff continued to row.
Zoro's eyes widened.
The island was huge with beautiful sandy beaches, palm trees, and a large town in the distance with a clock tower, and an array of flags and bunting hanging between the rooftops.
Zeff smiled as he noticed.
They were soon approaching the shore.
The old man picked up the rope and threw it onto the beach.
Sanji hopped out and grabbed hold of it.
"Give me a hand."
Zoro nodded as he joined the blonde on the shore and helped pull the boat up the bank.
Sanji tied it into place.
"Nice work you two." Zeff smiled.
It was market day in the town, which was obviously why this day was chosen every week, and Zoro was amazed by the hustle and bustle. The stalls were selling all kinds of things from food, to paintings, to little wooden children's toys.
As he passed one stall in particular, Zoro's eyes widened as he stilled, feet bringing up dust from the ground. Turning back to look at the items on the table he couldn't help but stare.
"No fair, I wanna' learn three-sword-style too!"
His Father chuckled.
"You're still far too young to learn yet."
"But I know two-sword-style!"
His Mother walked over and ruffled his hair.
"That's because you're our little swordsman."
He looked between the swords sheathed by their sides.
"So when will I get a cool sword like you and Dad?"
His Father removed the scabbard from his belt and held it out for him to admire.
"This, is Wado, your Mother's is Sandai Kitetsu; these swords have been handed down through our family line for generations with every pirate hunter having used these very blades in the fight to end the tyranny threatening to drown our world. When you're old enough you will have a sword of your own that was also passed down, its name is Shusui."
"Can I see it?"
His Mother nodded as she walked to the back of the Dojo and retrieved a sword from the wall.
"You must prove you are a swordsman worthy of carrying a blade such as this before you can ever wield it."
"Then I'm going to train really hard!"
His Father chuckled.
"That's my boy."
Zoro's eyes rose to meet those of the stall holder's.
"Where did you get these?!" His voice was strong.
"I'm a swords dealer; I get stuff like this in all the time. I don't sell swords to children though so get lost, kid!"
Zoro growled and before he could even stop to think about the potential consequences he grabbed the three swords from the stall and sprinted off.
"HEY! STOP HIM!"
He had no idea where he was going or where he was going to run to but Zoro was at least thankful that market day had made the streets of the town busy meaning he was able to rush through them relatively unnoticed.
That guy was still on his tail though and so were various other locals.
A flash of blonde appeared ahead before Sanji turned to see what all the commotion was about, their eyes meeting before an exasperated expression appeared on the young cook's face as he joined his sprint.
"What the hell are you doing, mosshead?!"
"Mosshead?!" He scowled.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION?!"
"Right, uhhh, I kinda' grabbed these and ran."
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Sanji shouted.
"They're my parent's swords, they-." He couldn't finish his sentence as the words forced their way back down his throat. "I just need them, okay?"
Suddenly strong hands came to grab them both by the collar, suspending them from the ground.
It was Zeff and he looked furious.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" He bellowed.
Zoro shrank at the tone, a small whimper escaping that he knew Sanji would have been able to hear.
"'M sorry."
"There he is!"
The stall holder caught up.
Zeff released the two of them.
The stall holder stormed over and slammed a fist across his face, but Zoro only held onto the swords tighter as he cradled them against his chest.
Sanji looked furious as he went to land a strike on the guy but Zeff's hand at his collar held him back, the old man placing himself between the two of them and the stall holder.
"What appears to be the problem here?"
"That damn thieving brat stole those swords from my stall!"
Zoro winced, he was going to be left to rot for this, there was no way Zeff would want anything to do with him now.
The old man turned to glance between him and the swords.
"And how much were they?"
Zoro couldn't help the confusion in his expression from those words.
"100,000 beri each."
His eyes widened.
Zeff scoffed.
"Yeah right, those things will be blunt as hell, 150,000 for the three."
The stall holder chuckled.
"200, the extra fifty will make up the trouble he caused."
"180."
"Fine, now get your shit and go; you're lucky you're a regular, Zeff; who is that little shit anyway?"
Zeff pulled out the money and exchanged it with the stall holder.
"He's a new member of my crew."
"Well could you teach him some damn manners?"
"I'll try."
Zeff turned to the two of them.
"Come on, the boys from the town are loading the boat."
A hand was gently placed on his shoulder as he led them back down to the shore.
Zoro looked down at the swords in his arms but remained quiet.
Zeff exhaled.
"I think we need to talk when we get back to the Baratie."
Sat cross-legged on the bed in Sanji's room he looked at the three swords lain out on the mattress.
Wado, Sandai Kitetsu, and Shusui.
There was a knock at the door before Zeff entered.
"Hey, kiddo."
He walked closer and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"How's the cheek?"
Zoro shrugged.
"Look kid, you need to tell me what the hell all that was about back there; you do know they could've called the Marines on you for that."
"They're my parent's swords."
Zeff silenced before reaching out for one of the swords to take a closer look.
"And them being for sale on some random island-."
Zoro didn't need to answer, the old man getting everything he needed to know from his expression alone.
"Who was it?"
"Pirates."
Zeff sighed.
"Look kid-."
"They were pirate hunters." He forced out, body shaking. "And I know that you're pirates too so the last person you want on your ship is the son of a pirate hunter, and I'm sorry for lying to you, or not telling you, but I didn't know what else to do."
The old man's hand came to rest on his shoulder.
"I think you might feel better if you stopped holding all of this crap back."
Zoro nervously nodded.
Five Years Earlier
Grabbed from their beds by pirates and dragged to the shore, Zoro could barely breathe from the fear overwhelming him as he was held harshly by one of the crew members.
"The hunter becomes the hunted." Taunted the Captain.
Mom leant forward, pressing her head to the floor.
"You can do whatever you want to us, but please... please let our son go, he's just a kid, he had no part in what we did. I beg of you, show mercy."
"Mercy eh? The two of you are pirate hunters with over fifty kills to your names, I don't think either of you have a leg to stand on when it comes to asking for mercy."
"Mama!" Zoro bucked against the hold of the pirate restraining him as he tried to fight his way over to his parents.
The Captain chuckled with a grin as he brought a cigar to his lips.
"String them up; and bring the boy, we're taking him with us."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mom screamed.
"ZORO!" Dad's joined hers.
The firm grip on his neck only got tighter as he was dragged onto the ship. He watched as the other crew members brought rope and tied it round their necks.
His father turned to him, his expression strong.
"Don't look Zoro."
"Get a move on, brat!" A harsh kick sent him flying through the air and crashing into the side of the ship. His head smacked against the wood and everything went dark.
"Ughhhh..."
Flickering an eye open he winced against the sun beating down, his eyes protesting it's strength.
The Captain was stood over him with a grin.
"Hey kid, how much would you like to see your Mommy and Daddy again? Well considering I'm a real nice guy I'll allow it one last time."
Zoro rushed to his feet as he looked out, eyes darting around desperate to them.
And then...
His breath caught in his throat.
His eyes widened.
And the contents of his stomach left him.
There, hanging by their necks from the rocks out at sea, bodies swinging bonelessly in the light breeze, were his parents.
Hyperventilating he dropped to his knees on the wooden deck of the ship as he sobbed, screaming in grief and fear.
Five Years Later
Being chained to the wall in the basement had come to be almost routine for him, as did the blood dripping down his face, arms, and chest. Zoro had quickly become their punching bag after he found himself kidnapped as a prize for their extermination of his parents, the crew even extinguishing their cigars and cigarettes on him, or throwing him overboard with bound wrists for fun.
It was late one night when he heard the crew begin to shout, the air thinning as dark smoke drifted below quarters.
"FIRE!"
Zoro's eyes widened.
He watched as the pirates sprinted around with buckets of water attempting to put out the blaze but it was no use.
"Abandon ship, she's going down."
"HELP!" He screamed, the water slowly beginning to rise beneath him.
Zoro fought against the chains but he knew it was no use.
"No..." He couldn't help the weak tone that escaped him.
The contents of the ship began to rain down the staircase from the upper decks, Zoro being careful to dodge the larger pieces of furnishings.
If he got knocked out he was dead.
Suddenly he spotted it.
A knife.
Kicking it closer with his foot he managed to secure the blade before slowly but heavy-handedly attempting to open the lock.
Unsurprisingly it didn't work.
"Dammit!"
It was then that he changed tactic and instead began to just try and break the chain itself. He knew his wrists were going to be in tatters by time he was finished but the water level was becoming dangerously high.
He was awarded for his efforts a minute or so later.
With his last remaining cuff he tried to find enough momentum to rip the chain from the wall of the ship. He felt as if he shoulder was about to tear from his socket as he willed himself to heave.
The cuff's chain snapped minutes later.
Getting to his feet he found himself still able to stand without full submersion; Zoro could only take this as a plus as he waded through the water and up the stairs.
Next was the tricky part.
The sheer amount of water flooding the bottom decks was wreaking havoc with the ship's balance meaning that she was already beginning to tip to the side.
He needed to jump into the water without being pulled down by the ship or spotted by the pirates.
Zoro didn't like his odds.
At least no would be looking for him, those fuckers would all have expected him to drown.
And maybe he still would.
Taking a deep breath, he jumped.
Zoro shook violently before a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders.
"Zoro…" Zeff's voice spoke up softly.
"Sorry, 'm sorry."
"You did nothing wrong."
"I'm the son of pirate hunters."
"Your parentage doesn't define you."
Zoro picked at the fabric of the blanket, eyes downcast.
"You bought the swords."
Zeff nodded.
"I did."
His gaze rose to meet that of the old man's.
"Why?"
He smiled.
"It must have been fate; the first time I decide to take you to the island and you find your parent's swords on one of the stalls, it's as if these things wanted to be reunited with you, I could hardly stand in the way of that."
"But all that money."
"It's only money, these mean more to you."
Zoro was finding it hard not to cry.
"Thank you, I'll… I'll find some way to repay you."
The old man shook his head.
"There's no need."
There was a knock at the door before Sanji peered his head round.
"Hey Mosshead, you okay?"
Despite the new nickname his tone was genuinely that of concern.
Zoro nodded.
Zeff looked between the two of them.
"Well, the dinner service will be going out soon; we're low on numbers so the pair of you can be waiters for the night." He turned to him. "You up to it, kiddo?"
"Of course!"
"Then come on then."
He headed for the door.
Sanji hung back.
"You sure you're okay?"
Zoro smiled.
"Yeah, thanks."
"Good, but next time, don't be an idiot and do that crap on your own, I could have helped you."
He smirked.
"You kinda' did help anyway, running with me like that meant they thought you were in on it too, way to incriminate yourself, Curly Brows."
Sanji's eyes widened at the nickname before a scowl came to his face.
"Curly Brows, who the hell are you calling Curly Brows, Meathead?!"
"You Shitty Cook!"
"Shitty Cook?! How dare you, this is the guy who can't even make soup! Maybe we need to leave you out longer to photo synthesize so your brain will grow!"
"You wanna' fight?!"
"Ohhh bring it on, Sword Boy!"
Zeff, who had been stood against the railings, smirked.
"Boys!"
Silence followed before…
"We're coming…"