It was a day like any other on the battle-driven grandline. The clouds looked soft, and the sea pristine, but the air hid dangers as beautiful and damning as could be. Nothing was as it seemed, and perhaps after today, nothing would feel the same either.

Zoro just didn't know it.

Perhaps he would've realized it, had he been awake enough to detect that distant presence.. And maybe, yes, maybe, he could've stopped that man from drawing so close. But the days on the Strawhat Ship had been peaceful up until that one, and there was nothing that made him feel the need to keep a lookout with a wary eye.

Oh, how he regrets not doing so.

Instead, he snored softly in his mid-afternoon doze, not quite alert, but not completely shut out from the world either. They had been moving steadily away from the last island, two or three days out at most, and the Strawhat Crew still rang with cheer from their last victory. The major hotheads would cheer about this and that, playing games, and riling up the last vestiges of Zoro's failing energy. It was exhausting, but Zoro couldn't really blame them, even if all he wanted to do was nap. They were excitable as ever, and that was a good sign, one that he couldn't bear to smother. He liked seeing that adorable smile on his silly boyfriend's face.

It was then that a terse call sounded over the Thousand Sunny's loudspeakers, and the danger truly drew near. The static of the Den Den Mushi crackled, and Zoro suddenly remembered that Usopp was in charge of lookout as the sniper's shaky voice rang true over the grassy deck, signaling the others. His tone was silly, even if afraid, but his words were enough to draw everyone's attention.

TEKUSHUU! TEKUSHUU! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!

As stupid as it sounded, those words quickly pried Zoro's eyes open. He stifled a yawn and dragged his swords across the deck to see if he could spot the danger, not entirely convinced it was even there. But sure enough, he saw a ship roughly two or three leagues out. A navy ship. Usopp had every right to call them to battle.

Zoro readied his swords. He still felt groggy, but he could manage a battle if it was only one marine ship. He probably wouldn't even have to do that much work, with the way Luffy was smashing his fist against his palm from his seat on Sunny's head.

But his captain swung his fist in the air, issuing an order before the ship could get too close. "USOPP! Prepare to fire the bow cannon!"

Ah, Zoro thought, relaxing his sword arm. He wouldn't even need to fight.

The ship rocked with the force of the beam, waves sloshing around them violently as the cannon seemed to hit its mark. Brilliant light slammed into the figure into the distance, and then the ship.. Completely disappeared.

"Huh?"

Or.. maybe he would. Zoro readied his swords a second time as an envelope of mist surrounded them, the chill in the air creeping him out. His crewmates were watching the horizon warily, mixed mutterings of questions fading into the mist.

There was something wrong.

"Where did the ship go?" Usopp asked, pulling himself from the cockpit under the stairs. "I'm certain I hit it.."

Zoro looked around them warily, his observation haki pinging in too many different places at once. "I don't think that was really the ship, Usopp," he warned, and Sanji and Luffy agreed with him silently, their wariness growing.

"I hate to agree with the shitty swordsman.. but something's not right about this." Sanji commented, lighting his cigarette coolly.

Luffy scanned the horizon with Zoro, his stance widening as they felt the danger approach. "Something's coming," he said, and the Strawhats tensed.

It was then that their ship lurched, and Zoro braced himself against the railing. He felt a malicious intent approach from his right, and he took their attack head on, his sword drawn to counter the blow.

"My, how very observant you are, swordsman," A voice cut through the mist, red eyes pressing into him as the mysterious man's leg countered the swords. "But it won't do you any good against me."

Luffy's punch rocketed through the air, creating distance between Zoro and the new villain, but the mist quickly swallowed him again, and Zoro realized he couldn't pinpoint his presence, even with his pronounced haki.

"Be careful, guys, this one's slippery," Sanji said, forming a protective barrier between the girls and the mist.

The air seemed to crackle as it swirled, somehow filled with life, and malice. Zoro's good eye darted this way and that, but he couldn't see any of the attacks coming. Random slashes marred the ship, one nearly hitting Jinbe, then Usopp. Finally one came his way, and he deflected it, but the maker of the attack had no intention of showing himself.

Or so it seemed.

And then the mist thickened, and Zoro swore he could choke on the thick, cool cloud.

Nami's voice rang out in the distance, sparks flying from her direction. "Gust tempo!" But it did no good. Whatever this was, it wasn't a natural phenomenon, and her weather tricks didn't seem to help the suffocating white tide.

A slash made its way near Zoro, and he parried, only to get hit in the leg with another. He cried out in pain sunk to a knee on the deck, blood marring the grassy green deck beneath him. Usopp called for him in worry, but he couldn't see him, he couldn't see anything. All he knew was that his friends were fighting for his lives, and he could do nothing to stop it.

Zoro leaned on the railing, trying to regain his balance. He could walk on his bad leg, even if it hurt like a bitch, so he could still fight. But he had to find the culprit behind the thick fog.

Pulling his second sword out and putting the third in his mouth, Zoro closed his eyes with a steady breath. Perhaps it wouldn't work if this was the result of a Devil Fruit power, but he could at least try to sense the presence of the people around him. He knew Luffy was closeby, on the bow of the ship, and Usopp and Nami were fending for themselves around the mast. Jinbe was close too, fighting off attacks near the opposite railing, while the others did their best to defend themselves near the rear of the ship.

The only presence he couldn't truly pinpoint was that damn Mist Man's… Whenever he felt it, it was for just a brief moment, popping up at random places around the ship.

But there, just then, it stabilized at one point, just as Luffy yelled in anger. He must've caught him! Luffy must've had him pinned.

Zoro sprang forward through the mist, just as the Devil Fruit user said something. It was a word in English Zoro didn't quite know, but Nami and Robin gasped in unison when he said it.

"Illusion"

"Zoro, be careful!" But Zoro didn't have to be told to know that this guy was dangerous. He wasn't going to waste this chance. He could finally see him, pinned and useless up against the sunny's head. The bastard was being held up by none other than their captain, and was struggling vainly in his grasp. All Zoro had to do was go in for the kill, and they'd finally be free from this mist. Zoro hardened the haki around his blades, and swept forward like a snake. The swords in his hands jolted forward, mimicking that of a bull rushing an opponent. He sliced through the air like a lethal weapon until his sword finally hit flesh and wood, and in an instant, it was all over. A penny dropping couldn't have broken the silence left in the wake of his attack.

His katanas had pierced neatly through the man's torso, striking in two places. Blood quickly oozed from the wounds. Crimson red dripped unceremoniously from his mouth and onto the deck, covering both Zoro and his swords. He didn't care. He had caught him. He hit the mist user, and now the hell would finally end.

But it didn't. Their hell was just beginning now.

Zoro's eyes widened in terror as the mist thickened, and a rumble resounded, unfamiliar laughter pouring from the spot he thought his captain was standing. The sound couldn't have possibly come from Luffy.. It was twisted and smug, and Zoro felt a chilling panic seep in, freezing him in place.

The swordsman turned slowly, eyes wild and searching. The Mist User was where he thought Luffy had been. His arm stretched well over Zoro's shoulder and… there was..

No.

The blood that dripped solemnly down his arms, cascading over his chest and swords and shoes, flowed steadily away from the man that Zoro had sworn his life to. From the captain he vowed to win for.

"Luffy.." came his broken plea.

For a while nothing was shared between them, just a stunned silence and a blank look.

And then his captain was smiling. As though this were all just some silly mistake. As though it could all be righted with a laugh, and everything would go back to normal. He grinned and chuckled weakly against his swords, wiping every trace of pain from his gaze and looking at Zoro with utmost fondness. His smile held amusement, as though his death would somehow be funny under this circumstance.

"Sorry Zoro.. it looks like my shirt caught your swords."

Why was everything so funny to him..? How could he possibly laugh right now..? Zoro trembled under the weight of his smile, the swords embedded in Luffy shaking slightly with his aching hands. Was this how Luffy felt when he had to fight Usopp? When he had to put the crew's interests above the love for his best friend?

Zoro had callously told him to bear it then, but now he felt so weak.

It was so damn heavy.. This feeling.

"Waheruheruheru.." The damned laugh was so comical, that Zoro wanted to scream. Wanted to rip his throat out and stomp into the ground so he could never laugh again. His eyes tore away from his captain to the smug-ass Mist Man as he started to disappear once again. Zoro's heart raged.

A blackened fist launched him from the deck off the side of the boat, cutting the mist in half, and their helmsman appeared before them.

"Jinbe.." Zoro said.

He didn't even have time to process whether the fishman had gotten rid of the Mist Man or not. Zoro had fought a hundred battles, but his first instinct in that moment was to run to Chopper, to save his captain before anything else.

Chopper was there before he could even call him.

"Zoro! I'm going to need you to pull out the swords from the wood, but not from Luffy, okay?" The doctor's voice was shaky, but resolute, having completely assessed the situation in just a few seconds time.

Zoro felt something heavy lodge in his throat. Pull out the swords from the wood.. But not from Luffy… Pull the swords out.. His grip tightened on his katana, sweat dripping. He knew the fact that they couldn't pull the swords out from his captain directly was a bad sign, but he couldn't dwell on that.

Right now, he had to be focused. He had to stay calm.

He drew a long, deliberate breath, and then heaved back on the swords in a quick burst. They gave an inch, and then two..

And then Luffy was falling from his favorite seat.

Zoro almost tried to catch him, even though he was still holding his swords, but Chopper barked a command, and suddenly he was letting go. His precious katana loosened themselves from his grip, and Luffy was falling with them, the swords protruding from his backside like angry tusks.

Chopper avoided jostling them when he finally caught him in his deer form. Blood was everywhere. Smeared on sunny's head, pooled on the deck, on their hands, on Zoro. Now it even matted Chopper's pristine fur, but the doctor paid it no mind. He bolted for the doors of his office, leaving a startled and winded crew behind him, alone with a crimson mess.

A heavy silence weaves its way between them as Zoro realized what that might mean for Jinbe, but not a word would be said about that. It was a silent understanding that left them paralyzed, breaths short and shallow.

Only the startled sounds of the crew broke them from their trance.

"What.." Nami started. "What happened..?" Her eyes were lost and searching, grazing over every inch of the blood-stained deck.

Usopp's paled, ghastly face was next, his eyes stuck to the red that was still on Zoro's remaining sword.

Franky and Robin were watching from the other side, faces hallowed, and Brook was too stunned to speak. Sanji… Sanji looked like he wanted to fight again, his jaw clenched and his angry eyes burning. But Zoro wasn't sure who he was so intent on fighting.. Was it him? The Mist user?

Or maybe..

Well it didn't matter now. This Mist user didn't seem intent on coming back.. The sky was sunny again, warm and taunting.

And the crew only watched in a stupor as the blood of their captain dried.

—

It was three long hours before any news on Luffy's condition came. The tense shuffling and silent stares of his crewmates didn't help the process, but Zoro took them willfully. They all had noticed the blood on his sword, and although he appreciated the silence, he also kind of wished one of them would just say something. Fighting over it would've been better than this.

The silence was overwhelming his senses, swallowing everything, and making it way too easy for the memories to surface. A brilliant, crimson smile, full of gums and teeth and blood. Gentle eyes sweeping over him, dimming in the swirling mist..

"Sorry.. It looks like my shirt caught your swords."

That idiot.

Finally, finally, Chopper slowly returned from the depths.

"Luffy is.." he started. Fresh tears watered at the surface of his eyes, and Zoro's stomach lurched. "Luffy is.. stable."

A collective sigh swept through the crew, everyone either sitting down, or relaxing their shoulders. The tension had been released. The hard part was over.

But the news wasn't done.

"The.. The puncture wounds," Chopper clipped, avoiding looking at Zoro, "went through the center and left most of his chest. Luckily, they didn't hit any vital organs."

Like his heart. Which Zoro thought he had hit, when it was still an illusion.

"But one did nick an artery, so there was a lot of internal bleeding." A hitch of breath.

"I've managed to minimize it for now, but it'll be a while before it heals. He won't be able to move or fight for at least a week or two."

A week or two.. That was a long time in the new world. No doubt, Luffy would get very bored with that position very quickly. The thought of that put all their minds at ease, though. The crowd of anxious strawhats disassembled, each going off to do whatever they could to take their minds off the news. Sanji made his way to the kitchen, mumbling about making something special for Luffy, while Usopp and Franky went off together to get supplies for fixing the ship. Robin and Nami settled onto the stairs to discuss their route, and Jinbe and Brook settled together while Brook began to string a light song.

Only Zoro and Sanji were really on their own, not having formed a pair for comfort, as the others had.

But Zoro wasn't sure what he should do. He couldn't nap, not without seeing those dreadful, glowing red eyes, and he couldn't bring himself to train either, his muscles feeling too taught and shaky.

He stared up at the pink and red sky, feeling the anxiety in his gut swirl uselessly. His remaining sword lay over his shoulder, feeling heavier than ever, and although he had managed to clean most of the blood off it, he somehow wanted nothing to do with it, anymore.

Somehow, it still seemed to gleam red.

Zoro stood up straight suddenly, abandoning his sword on the ground. The others looked up at him in bewilderment, and then pity, as the green-haired swordsman hastily made his way to Chopper's room.

"Oi Chopper," he announced hastily, hand knocking on the wooden door. "Let me in.. If you're done with surgery, then can I have my swords-"

The door thrust open suddenly, making Zoro jolt back in alarm. Chopper's eyes were red and swollen up close, and Zoro lowered his fist, knuckles white and taught.

"Come in," the deer said in a hushed voice, trotting back to his desk as the room enveloped them, eerily quiet. Dust was settling into every crevice of the office, the books on the shelves jostled and moved and many reddened bandages littering the floor. The lights weren't even on, the only source of light coming from the setting sun in the window on the left side of the room.

There was a hushed energy coming from Chopper, one that Zoro only noticed when he was incredibly focused, or incomparably stressed out.

Zoro guessed it was a mix of both of them.

The swordsman found his katana resting on the edge of the patient's bed. They were still unsheathed and bloody, but a fresh towel beneath them kept the blood from seeping into the wood. Zoro stared at them hesitantly, his advance halting halfway into the room.

Luffy's gasping breaths could be heard echoing through every nook of the place.

"Chopper.." Zoro began warily, his eyes glued to his captain's pale face. "He's… he's not stable, is he?"

Zoro didn't want to insinuate that the doctor had lied to them. Hell, he wasn't sure he could even make any argument for saying that, given that he had no medical knowledge or background in the subject at all. But.. but something about the grave way Luffy looked, with rings around his eyes, and gasping, choked breaths, just felt off.

A heavy sigh from the other end of the room. "No. He's not." The reindeer confirmed, eying Zoro warily. "The bleeding will still come and go for another day or so, so his condition could go either way."

"Then why did you-"

"Because this ship won't make it anywhere with a crew so worried for their captain!" He all but roared, his eyes fierce and determined in the glow of the dying light. Tears left dark streaks in the fur under his chin, but he paid them no mind. His Monster Form jumped from the seat he had been reading from. "If we think Luffy might not make it, how are we supposed to keep going? How are we going to make it to the next island, when this.."

Zoro had never seen Chopper so fierce in his time on the ship. It wasn't that he had gained confidence.. No. He simply didn't want to believe the outcome himself. He couldn't accept it. So how could any of them?

Zoro sighed, the breath escaping his lips as he sat hard in the seat next to Luffy's bed. He didn't want to admit it, but the reindeer was right. If everyone knew about this possibility, it would leave the crew vulnerable and shaken, especially with the mist user still out there.

Weariness overtook the swordsman, the uncertainty in Chopper's voice conflating the stabbing pains in his chest. "I know, Chopper," he said simply.. And that was all there was to say.

Chopper sat down in his little swirly seat, tears still flowing over bristled fur, and Zoro sat there, watching. His work wore on in the darkness, as Luffy's gasps rang through both their ears.

Perhaps this was his punishment, then. Zoro's hellish karma for being reckless, and not listening to Nami. For stabbing his swords right through the X-shaped scar on his lover's chest. For barely missing his beating heart.

Perhaps this was just how it should be. Zoro knew he was Luffy's weakness. His sharp cutting tools were the only type of weapon that worked against the rambunctious rubberman. They were his downfall, and he knew it well.

And yet, he was the only person that made it through that sea of fog. He had wanted to be the one to cut down the enemy, at Luffy's side.

And now look at what happened as a result.

He began the process of cleaning his precious (dangerous) swords as he watched his captain breathe. As the rise and fall of the rubber man's chest became more labored, more pronounced. He watched and he observed as the blood drained into his bandages, more and more, and Chopper rushed over to change them. Once, twice, and then a third time.

He watched and he cleaned.

But then it all took a sharp turn again, like the water tearing a ship asunder.

He was ushered out of the room suddenly, when Luffy's condition hit its second critical point. His coughs and wheezes spiked to dangerous volume, and the doctor's voice grew panicked.

Jinbe was ushered in, instead, while Zoro dropped his precious Katana on the grass outside. Discarded. Disengaged.

He stared at them, raw cold clawing its way through his chest.

This couldn't be real. This wasn't real.

Everything around him had turned a soft, blinding white, but not with mist. He simply couldn't see or hear anymore. The violent shouting of his crew around him. He was pretty sure he was kicked at some point, his blood spattering the railing he leaned against. He didn't take any of it in.

Someone was restraining Sanji. Another voice was calling his own name, and screams called out into the night. But none of it reached him. None of it broke the solid boundary between Life and Death Zoro suddenly found himself swimming in.

He simply sat up and stared across the sunny's deck. At the swords lying in the grass. At the blood on his clothes, on his boots. His hands.

There was the breath of All things. Soft, cascading pressures. They let him know about the howls of despair, the sadness. The overwhelming presence of something beyond comprehension.

It wasn't the Mist user, or Luffy, or even God himself. It was the feeling of death, and it seeped into every facet of his bones.

Mugiwara no Luffy had breathed his last.