Ijustdon'tcare132: I think the lack of stories where an MC or someone else is Zoro's sibling is honestly a huge reason I made this story. Same with Second Guessed; I saw potential in giving these two characters siblings (or a biological one, in Ace's case) since most stories like this have the MC as Luffy's adopted sibling, and with them having no relation to Sabo or Ace biologically. I really like the transmigration concept, but I wanna give it a little spin by having my MCs be related to different characters than the usual. As for your question; maybe? If I were to make another story like this, it might be with a biological sibling for Sabo. That's the first idea that comes to mind, but I might actually want to explore giving Sanji a platonic childhood friend who just happens to be a girl. Maybe have him adopt a sister? That would be cute. Honestly, a good 90% of my OP ideas start with: "how do I try to fix the rampant sexism in this otherwise amazing story?" And I just wing things from there lol.

Pokechan123: Thank you for reading and leaving such a nice comment! I wanted to write a proper thank you in French, but I don't know any French and I don't want to butcher it. I greatly appreciate your support though!

Thank you guys so much for reading, comments are always appreciated as long as you're respectful! I love hearing about what you guys think about the story, what certain scenes make you feel, or whatever you feel like telling me. Comments are one of the best parts of writing fanfic in my opinion, so thank you so much for taking the time to make a comment. In fact, thank you for even taking the time to read this story at all! It's seriously appreciated a ton!

—*—*—*—*—*

"I'm fine," Zara whined, putting extra effort into staying still as a doctor fussed over them. "Promise. If my brother was heavy enough to kill me, then I would have died whenever he tackles me to the ground."

Kuina whipped around to level a glare at Zoro. "You tackle your baby sister?!"

Zoro paled for a second before growling and barking back: "Don't make me sound like a brute! Zara is strong, and I only tackle her when we're playing. Besides, I always make sure we have a soft landing and I listen whenever Zara tells me I'm being too rough!"

"I've always known my brother is a meathead, Kuina-san," Zara interjected before the older girl could argue again. She waved a hand dismissively. "He's never actually hurt me. And besides, two years isn't that big of an age difference. I'm definitely not a baby."

"Still," the doctor finally objected, finishing his checkup and leaning back on his heels to look at Zoro. "Girls are more fragile than boys, young man. You need to be more careful with your sister, and limit your roughhousing. Especially as you get older, you could seriously hurt her."

Zara felt their face scrunch up into a grimace. That… that just rubbed her the wrong way. Fragile? She wasn't a piece of porcelain. Their eyes darted up to Kuina, whose expression was far too carefully blank to be natural. All at once, it was as if Zara's stomach was suddenly filled with ice water instead of acid. Memories from her old life told her a little about Kuina and the older girl's dream, so Zara knew that the doctor's words were damaging. Damaging, but probably very common.

Just as Zara was about to say something, she was interrupted by the slightly scratchy voice of none other than her brother, who looked confused and… a little insulted?

"Zara isn't fragile," he said it so flatly that it sounded like he thought the doctor was an idiot. "You don't know anything about us, so shut up. I bet Zara could kick your ass if she wanted, old man."

Ignoring the fact that the only fights she had ever been in were play-fights with Zoro himself, Zara couldn't help but giggle. The doctor looked scandalized and just started stammering, trying to find a good comeback but coming up empty.

"She's probably stronger than you, at least," Kuina decided to interject with her own quip, a razor sharp smirk on her lips. Spinning crisply on her heel, she turned to leave. Zoro wasn't having it though, running after her and leaving Zara alone with the doctor.

"You should tell your brother to be more gentle with you," he started to tell her softly, in that special condescending tone meant for little kids. "He's a young boy, he hasn't learned how to hold back yet or—"

"Do you think this dojo will accept me as a student?" Zara interrupted, making the doctor blink in shock at being interrupted so casually. The child stood up, dusting herself off and deliberately ignoring the doctor's attempts at talking about Zoro. "Since Kuina beat him, he's not gonna leave until he's better than her. And Kuina looks super strong, so I bet we'll be here for a while— which gives me plenty of time to join the dojo and train too!"

"Is swordplay really something you want to learn?" That came from the soft voice of none other than Koushiro, the master of the dojo… and Kuina's father. He had a small smile on his face, but Zara could feel that there was something else there in his posture. Was it… melancholy?

Zara turned around, having forgotten that the older man was even in the room. She looked him straight in the eye.

"Yes," she answered, firmly.

"I'm sure you know that girls—"

"Bullshit," Zara interrupted firmly, making Koushiro blink.

"Excuse me?"

"Whatever you were about to say, I call bullshit," Zara crossed their arms. "People treat me like I'm dumb just because I've never gone to a proper school, or because I'm a kid, or some idiots even say it's because girls can't be smart— which is also bullshit. But I read a lot, and do you know that women tend to naturally have stronger core muscles than men? Sure, most women find it harder to build upper body strength, but core muscles are just as important if not more so. I've also read that women tend to handle pain better than men, but those accounts seem to be mostly anecdotal since you can't measure pain or pain tolerance very well scientifically," while Koushiro looked to be speechless, Zara just bulldozed ahead in her lecture; "So if you were gonna say some shit about women never being able to rise among the strongest swordsmen, that's bullshit. But there's something else you've gotten wrong, too."

Koushiro pushed his glasses up on his nose, frowning now. He didn't like being talked back to, especially by a child. But something in that challenging gaze of hers made him ask; "And what is that?"

Zara smirked. "Despite my body, I'm not a woman. Not all the time. Sometimes I'm a boy in a girl's body, sometimes I'm a girl and boy at the same time. Sometimes, I'm neither. In here," she tapped her head. "And here," she tapped the spot over her heart. "It changes while my body stays the same. Right now I'm a girl, so I haven't complained about how you guys address me. But usually? I'm just Zara. And my body sure as hell isn't gonna stop me from becoming as strong as I want, and learning whatever I want. Do you have a problem with that?"

The doctor was sputtering, something about children's imaginations being wild, or about how Zara was being ridiculous. The doctor was stopped when Koushiro held up a single hand, palm open. His gaze never left Zara.

"Hmm," he hummed in thought. "Alright then, Zara. I will give you the same rules I first gave my daughter. For the first month of training, you will not complain. You will train as the boys train, and you will spar against the boys one class ahead of you. If you do not win five spars against boys in that class before the month is up, I will no longer allow you to train at this dojo. If you complain about things being too hard before that month is up, I will no longer allow you to train at this dojo. Is that understood?"

Zara once again stared him down, jaw clenched tight. "Do you ask this of all your new male students?"

"No," Koushiro answered bluntly. "Prove to me that your words carry weight."

With a sigh that came out of her nose, like the snort of an angry bull, Zara glared at him. "Fine. I agree to your conditions— but only if you promise me not to subject anyone else to this same sort of treatment if I pass your little test. You are trying to force me to give up, by giving me tasks you think should be impossible for me. But Kuina did it, didn't she? So I will, too. And then you will stop doing this. Period."

Koushiro nodded, no longer frowning but still devoid of any smile or humor. "You have my word."

Zara nodded. "Good. I'll hold you to it. When is my first class?"

—*—*—*—*—*

Zoro watched his sister as they trained together in the dojo's yard. Zoro was only doing weight training that day, lifting a giant boulder with each arm and another boulder attached to a rope that he was lifting with his teeth. Speaking around the rope as best he could, he called out;

"Fix your feet!"

Zara grunted in acknowledgment, smoothly adjusting their stance before swinging their practice sword harshly through the air again. This was how the siblings had decided to train, in recent days. Both of them had rage burning under their skin, attacking their respective training regimens with equal levels of furious fervor. Zoro did it to beat Kuina, while Zara did it so that they could shove Koushiro's misogyny back in his stupid smirking face.

Even after the sun dipped under the horizon, they would continue their hard work. Both of the siblings were mostly silent, the air only filled with their sounds of exertion and Zoro's occasional correction of Zara's form.

It wasn't until the fireflies grew thick enough to get in the way that the two Roronoas finally put down their tools and began their cooldown routine. As the two of them began their walk home, Zoro decided to once again break the silence between the two of them.

"It's been a week since we joined this dojo together."

Zara nodded.

"Are you ready for your first spar tomorrow? I heard you're up against one of the boys in my class."

Zara nodded again, and Zoro sighed.

"Zara," he breathed, sounding both exasperated and worried. "You've barely said a word to me in days. Did I do something? Are you upset that I knocked you over? Because that was totally that witch Kuina's fault—"

"I don't like Koushiro Sensei," Zara interrupted him, stunning their brother into silence for a moment.

"Why not? He seems like a pretty cool guy to me," Zoro asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Sure, Zara wasn't the kind of kid who took an instant liking to everyone they met. But usually, Zoro could figure out pretty quickly why Zara didn't like someone. This time he was drawing a blank.

"Tch," Zara tsked with a grimace. "Don't worry about it. I'll prove him wrong."

Zoro would usually let it go at this point. He knew that Zara was a smart kid and, nine times out of ten, when she told him not to worry, there really was no reason to worry. This time, though, he had a gut feeling that things were different. So he prodded.

"… back on that first day," he said slowly, watching how Zara's shoulders slightly tensed up. He had to be on the right track, then. "You stayed back with the doctor and Koushiro Sensei. Did he say something to you when I wasn't there?"

"…" Zara glared at the ground, weighing the pros and cons. They trusted Zoro more than anyone else in the world, that much was undeniable. But this…

Zara realized suddenly that maybe… maybe they were scared to tell him. Scared that he would agree with Koushiro. After all, this was way before the fight he was destined to have with Kuina, where they bared their dreams to each other. And Zara had never had the whole gender talk with their brother before, what if that went sideways?

A heavy hand rustling their hair drew them out of their thoughts. "Zara," Zoro's voice was unusually soft, his eyes more concerned than Zara could remember ever seeing them. Even more than the first time he had knocked her over, when sparring with Kuina. "You don't have to tell me if it means that much to you, but you know that I'll always protect you. Right? If something is really wrong…" he trailed off for a moment, frowning. "I want to be able to help."

That was enough to break the dam. Zara grit their teeth, tears of frustration finally gathering at their eyelids— with only Zoro as witness. They explained everything. What Koushiro had said that day, the deal they made. How Zara felt about their gender, how mad they were at Koushiro's blatant sexism. Everything that they had been bottling up for a whole week, all the emotions that were far too big for one six year old to handle on their own. Mental age be damned.

And at the end of it? Zoro pulled them into a hug so tight that Zara swore they heard their bones creak in protest.

"Fuck," Zoro breathed. He tried to find something better to say, something more eloquent or inspiring. Instead all that came out was another; "Fuck."

Zara let out a wet chuckle. "With the… the gender stuff, I don't expect you to understand. I know it's confusing, but…"

"No, no buts. I admit, it might take me a while to wrap my head around it," he put both his hands on Zara's shoulders. "But— look me in the eye, Zara. I'm your big brother, okay? It's my job to protect you, to look out for you. Nothing changes that, got it? Just tell me when you're having more of a boy-day, and I'll help you with weight training. Deal?"

Zara couldn't help it, they giggled at that. "Deal!"

"Ah, and speaking of deals," Zoro growled lowly. "I didn't realize Koushiro-sensei could pull something like that. You're right, that's bullshit. If girls were weaker than guys, then what does that say about me? Kuina keeps beating my ass day after day!" He shook his head. "No. And you're strong too, Zara. You can easily win this bet, and prove Koushiro-sensei wrong. You've already picked up swordplay really quickly just this past week! Sure, you still mess up your stance sometimes. But that's what practice is for, and you're making really quick progress!"

Zara wiped at their tear tracks, their eyes gaining their usual spark again. "Really?"

"Yeah! You're a natural, just like me!" He grinned at them widely.

They stared at him with wide eyes, their mouth slowly opening up into a large smile. "Woah! You really think so? Maybe it's a family thing," they pulled a fist into the air. "The Roronoa badasses!"

Zoro laughed at that, ruffling Zara's hair. There wasn't much left to mess up anyway, the long day of training had left Zara's bright green braid half-undone, and their bangs sticking up in spikes like their brother's hair always was.

"You can still call me your sister though," Zara's voice was barely louder than a whisper. "And I'd like it if you called me 'they' and 'them' sometimes instead of just 'her' or 'she'. But… we can figure that out later. A little at a time."

"You got it, little sis," Zoro agreed easily, giving her a lopsided but large grin. "Don't be afraid to hit me over the head if I mess up, okay?"

—*—*—*—*—*

"Oi, get up idiot," Zoro yanked the blanket off of his younger sister, who groaned and toppled out of bed. "Today's your first spar, we can't be late to the dojo!"

Zara mumbled something that Zoro couldn't understand, so he asked her to repeat it. She peeled her face off of the wooden floor, glaring at him as she growled; "You're the idiot, idiot!" She grumbled some more as she pushed herself up and started to get ready. "What happened to that super heartwarming talk we had last night?"

Zoro snorted as he turned his back and started changing. "We went to sleep, and I had time to let everything soak in. I still stand by everything I said, but you're still the same Zara you always were so there's no reason for me to go all soft and change how I talk to you."

Zara rolled her eyes, inwardly appreciative for the way he easily accepted everything. But still, he could stand to be a little less rough around the edges from time to time. She was pretty sure it wouldn't kill him.

Clothes changed, Zara's hair up in the tightest French braid she could manage, and a quick breakfast had, the siblings were off to the Dojo. Both Roronoas sat down with their respective classes when they arrived, waiting for warm ups to be finished so that the day's sparring could begin.

And then, almost too soon, it was time. Since the sparring started with the newer students and worked its way up to the stronger ones, Koushiro called Zara up almost immediately. He turned to the boys from Zoro's class.

"Who wants to go up against Miss Zara?"

Zara grit her teeth— she hated being called 'miss', especially since she had already had this talk with Koushiro. Zoro's clenched jaw showed that he felt similarly, but wasn't going to cause a scene. Yet.

This was Zara's problem, she'd solve it. If she asked for help, then Zoro would help. But not before that.

After all, Zara told him that this was her fight. She'd win it on her own.

Zoro still found it hard to keep quiet when the whispers started, though.

"She's so small! It'll be an easy win."

"Too easy, I don't want a disgraceful win like that!"

"I bet she'll cry as soon as she gets hit, and we'll be the ones in trouble!"

With each murmur, Zoro's fists clenched tighter and tighter. Until finally;

"Oh, I see," Zara's voice was chilling, cold as ice and sharper than a live blade. Despite being half the height of the boys who were supposed to fight her, she still managed to look down on them. Her brown eyes cut into each of them as if they were no better than mud stuck to her shoes. "You're all too scared to fight me, right? Too scared about what people will think if a tiny little girl beats you, right?"

Zoro couldn't hold back his animalistic smirk. That's his sister! Roronoas don't take shit from anyone. Sure enough, Zara's bait worked like a charm. In no time, almost all of Zoro's class was on their feet practically frothing at the mouth for a chance to put her in her place. One of them even had the gall to turn to Zoro and say;

"Hey, you won't get angry if we beat your sister in a spar, right? She totally stepped over the line!"

He only smiled at the boy. "Go ahead and try. She's not just anybody, you know. Zara's my sister."

Koushiro was able to calm down the crowd of incensed students, sighing as he adjusted his glasses. "Alright, alright," he said gently, turning to Zara. "Looks like you have eight opponents. Do you think you can handle it?"

Her eyes narrowed challengingly. "I'll mow them down one by one, sensei."

She spread her legs, settling into the stance she had learned during this first week at the dojo. She brought her wooden practice sword up at the ready, unconcerned about the angry boys fighting over who would be first to go up against her. Finally, her first opponent was decided.

They bowed to each other, and got back in stance.

Koushiro raised his arm.

"Begin!"

Propelled by sheer determination, Zara moved. Faster than she had moved when she and Zoro used to play tag, faster than when she was late for dinner. The boy she was up against seemed as if he was moving in slow motion in comparison, Zara's eyes able to see every move he was making almost before he knew he was making it.

Roughhousing with Zoro was never this easy. Is this how Zoro always felt, when he was beating dojo after dojo?

It was almost too easy.

She swung her shinai up, first hitting the boy's wrist to disarm him before pivoting on her feet and whipping the practice weapon through the air until the tip rested right in front of the boy's throat.

The whole thing took less than five seconds, the only sound in the room being the clatter of the boy's shinai as it hit the floor on the other side of the room. Useless.

It was Zara's total victory. She was too caught up in the adrenaline of the fight and the ecstasy of a job well done to notice the proud, beaming smile on Zoro's face.

She lowered her shinai, and bowed. When she straightened up, her eyes were even more defiant than before. "Who's next?"

—*—*—*—*—*

"Zoro!" She protested, trying to wack his hands away from her. "Stop ruffling my hair!"

"Never!" He was laughing, unable to wipe away his smile. "I told you that you were a natural! Eight wins in a row, not bad for a newbie!"

"I'm still no match for the older kids, let alone the adults. And I doubt I'll be a match for you or Kuina for years, if ever," she finally stepped away from his assault on her hair, desperately trying to pat it down to fix it. "Don't you think you're a little too excited?"

"Hell no!" He replied, unrepentant. "I've got a two year head start on you, so obviously it's gonna take a while for you to catch up. But you really showed those brats not to mess with a Roronoa! At this rate, you'll be a master swordsman in no time."

Zara sighed. "Maybe. But…" she grimaced. "Using only one sword feels weird. I feel like I should have been able to win a couple of those spars faster, but—"

"Do you wanna try three sword style?" Zoro was… a little too excited when he asked that, which was easily solved when Zara quickly shook her head.

"You're the only person who can hold a sword in his mouth and somehow turn it into a good combat style. Plus, your jaw training…" she shivered, grimacing. "No thanks."

He shrugged, not taking it to heart. "Fair enough. Maybe two sword style suits you better, we can try it out tomorrow. What do you think?"

She nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. I've already finished the most important part of Koushiro Sensei's deal. As long as I don't complain, I'll be fine. And I really like training, so I don't think that will be a problem."

"Right. So I'll be practicing my swings today while you do weight training, right?"

"Yup. Too bad I can't critique you," she sighed, shoulders drooping in mock disappointment as she walked over to the weights. Boulders were too heavy for her still, but it probably wouldn't stay that way for long. "You never mess up your stance."

Zoro only laughed.