Ch.2- Zoro: Lost in the Woods
Disclaimer- One Piece isn't mine…yeah…
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SWING! BLOCK! SWING! PAIN! Ten-year-old Zoro fell to the ground after Kuina beat him again.
"The winner…Kuina! That makes 845 for Kuina…0 for Zoro." Kuina's father, Sensei as everyone else called him, announced.
"Dammit!" Zoro growled, standing up on wobbly feet, "How could you beat me again?"
Kuina snorted, "You're not strong. That's why."
"He is strong!" One of Zoro's friends shouted.
"Yeah! He's even stronger than all the adults here!" Another friend agreed.
"Really?" Kuina asked, "Well, he's not stronger than me."
Zoro's friends growled in frustration. Kuina ignored them and walked out of the dojo. Zoro stared in her direction even after she was completely out of his sight. Zoro then walked off to the well outside to wash his face with cold water.
"Don't worry, Zoro. You'll have better luck on the next match." A voice said from behind Zoro.
Zoro quickly turned his head and saw his sensei standing behind him with a smile on his face. "I don't get it, Sensei. No matter how hard I train, I can't ever beat her! She was sick last month with a cold and she still beat me." Zoro complained.
"Zoro, she is a few years older than you." Sensei told him.
"That's not the point!" Zoro shouted, "I train really hard and she's still better than me!"
Sensei let out a calming sigh, "Give it some time, Zoro. Someday, your training will pay off and you just may be able to defeat Kuina."
Zoro wasn't buying it. "I just don't think it's fair, Sensei. It really hurts to be defeated repeatedly by a girl." Zoro argued.
"Just give it some time, Zoro." Sensei told him.
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Zoro's next match against Kuina was scheduled to be on November 7th, four days before his eleventh birthday. He had trained even harder until he was stronger and completely ready to fight Kuina. His confidence was much higher, but in the end…
"The winner: Kuina. That makes 846 for Kuina, 0 for Zoro." Sensei announced. Zoro had lost to her again.
After the match, Zoro walked off to the nearby stream, but instead of washing his face in the cool water, he took a walk down it to clear his head of the anger he had of the earlier match with Kuina. He walked for hours, or about three miles, until he made it to a river and decided to take a little rest on a raft by a tree. Zoro laid his body on the raft and quickly fell asleep. As he slept, a heavy wave splashed onto the bank, carried the raft into the river, and began carrying it downstream while Zoro slept.
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Zoro woke up hours later when the raft had gotten caught on a rock and couldn't float downstream anymore. Zoro looked around with a confused look on his face, "Where am I?" Quickly, he hopped onto the left side of the bank and kept looking around, "Where's the dojo? I don't even recognize this place at all." He kept looking around, "Isn't anybody going to help me?" He asked to no one in particular.
A bright light shone suddenly and a girl about his age with long curly golden hair, bright green eyes, a long white robe, and angel wings stood before him. "Hello, Zoro." The girl said sweetly.
"Oh no. It's Angel 1…uh…uh…" Zoro started.
The girl sighed, "It's 1189…and just call me Ari."
"Okay, Ari. What are you doing here?" Zoro asked.
"I'm here to help you find your way back to the dojo." Ari answered.
"What happened to your other outfit? You looked so cool in it." Zoro asked.
Ari shrugged, "It's a rule to look cute for the ones we're guarding…unless they want us to look like something else."
"Are you my Guardian Angel?" Zoro asked her. Ari nodded. "Then I want you to look like your original self." Zoro told her.
Ari smiled, "Done." She snapped her fingers and her hair, eyes, and clothes were changed and the wings were gone.
Ari ran a hand though her short lavender hair and patted her baby blue shirt and jeans. She tapped her black shoes together and stared at Zoro with her blue-brown lightening bolt eyes.
"That's better." Zoro told her.
Ari giggled, "Good. Now it's time for you to be getting back to the dojo. But be warned, you can choose to head back without my guidance, but the trip will be much harder for you. You could get lost, you could starve, you could be found months or even years from now dead."
"What about if I chose to take your guidance? Then what will happen?" Zoro asked.
"The trip will be much easier. You will be back at the dojo in a few days and you can take all the credit for coming back to the dojo." Ari told him.
"What about you?" Zoro asked.
"Oh, God will know what I did and give me credit for my work." Ari answered.
"I'll do it. Guide me, Ari!" Zoro exclaimed.
Ari's smile became wider, "Follow me, Zoro." She began leading him up a steep, rocky hill. When the two were halfway up, Zoro began to sweat heavily, "I…I don't think I can do this…"
"What the Hell are you talking about? We've only been walking for an hour! Come on, let's go!" Ari shouted.
"I…can't…" Zoro panted.
Ari sighed, "Oh, for God's sake."
Ari flew up to the top of the hill and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, instead of Ari being up there, it was Kuina.
Kuina was smiling and holding out her right hand. In her left hand was her wooden sword.
Zoro suddenly had a large boost of energy and began walking up to the top. He was about to grab Kuina's hand when it was suddenly changed to Ari's.
"Hey! What the hell?" Zoro shouted.
Ari giggled, "I knew that would get you motivated. Now let's go!"
Zoro grumbled but obeyed Ari and followed her down a rugged path. After five hours, his feet began to ache. "Hey, Ari! I thought you were my Guardian Angel!" Zoro shouted.
"I am." Ari answered.
"Well, why are you making me walk so long? My feet hurt." Zoro asked.
"Oh come on, Zoro. Quit whining and, as my father used to say to my brother, be a man." Ari told him. She looked up at the sky, "Well, we might as well stop now. It's already passed sunset."
Zoro instantly sat down on a nearby log and let out a breath of relief while Ari, with the snap of her fingers, made a campfire. Zoro smiled at the warmth of the campfire, but then looked around confused, "Where's the food?"
"Hey, you can't expect angels to do everything for you. As my father used to tell my brother 'You don't work, you don't eat.'" Ari told him.
"What did your father use to say to you?" Zoro asked.
"Baby Girl, you're more of a man than your brother is." Ari answered with a giggle at the remembrance of her father's words.
Zoro grumbled and gathered up some nearby edible plants for dinner. After dinner, he fell asleep in front of the roaring fire.
DAY TWO
The next day wasn't quite as difficult as the first day. There weren't any hills this day, but the distance was almost a bit too much for Zoro because he didn't have the discipline that Ari's brother had since he had been disciplined to be a man since he was seven-years-old according to Ari, while Zoro's discipline had started at ten.
Ari had again changed into Kuina to get Zoro motivated, but instead of her holding her wooden sword, this fake Kuina was holding out her hand and smiling.
Zoro called out her name, but she refused to say anything until Kuina was changed back into Ari. Zoro was a little bit frustrated at Ari for the rest of the night. If she was going to be Kuina, then she could at least speak to make him feel better.
Ari noticed his frustration. Hmmm…now it's time to try something new.
DAY THREE
The third day was rainy, so the trail was wet and muddy and much more difficult. It was especially difficult with the mud up to his knees and his feet getting stuck quite often. Just as Zoro thought, another Kuina appeared when he was getting tired, but there was something different about this one. She looked like Kuina, but instead of having normal black hair, this one had a few green strands mixed with the black.
The girl held out her hand and smiled at him. At first Zoro didn't know what to do, but then got the message and found the strength inside his body and mind to follow the girl. He wasn't at all surprised when the girl turned out to be Ari, but he still had the same amount of annoyance as he had before.
By nightfall, Zoro's body was extremely numb, so Ari made the campfire much bigger than she had for the past few days.
"As my father used to say 'the bigger the man, the bigger the fire must be'." Ari told him.
Zoro wasn't exactly sure what Ari meant, but he was too cold and tired to ask her.
DAY FOUR
The trail was still a bit muddy on the fourth day, the day before his eleventh birthday. There was a steep hill he had to climb up and he did it without Ari's help. There was one obstacle he had to cross that required Ari's help. Zoro saw a rope bridge that led to the opposite bank, the side with the dojo, but Ari commanded him to ignore the bridge and walk passed it.
The weather was windy and the bridge rocked, but Zoro wasn't afraid.
"Zoro! Stop!" Ari shouted.
"Forget it!" Zoro shouted back.
"That bridge is a death trap!" Ari screamed.
Zoro looked straight ahead. The bridge was hanging by rotting ropes that looked as if they would break at any moment and send whatever was on the bridge crashing to their death, so he decided to listen to Ari and follow that one path. There was a steep hill that went downwards when you turned right at the end of the path, but he managed to get down by himself without Ari.
There was a steep hill on the way up. This one was the steepest hill he had ever seen before, but he attempted to climb it. Zoro was only halfway up when he began to feel exhausted and started to slide back to the bottom. The black and green haired girl stood at the top of the hill, beckoning him to come up.
Her beckoning didn't motivate Zoro, but the next thing she did, definitely motivated him. "Come on, Otou-sama!" the girl called.
Zoro stared at the girl in shock. Otou-sama?
"Otou-sama! Come on! If I can make it up here, then so can you!" The girl called.
Suddenly, Zoro found the strength to make it up to the top. "Ari, what the Hell was that? Why did that girl call me 'Otou-sama'?" Zoro shouted as soon as the girl disappeared.
Ari shrugged, "You'll find out later in your life. Besides, it motivated you, didn't it?" She placed a campfire in front of both her and Zoro. The two of them sat under the night sky for a few moments.
"Hey, how did you know that the bridge was a death trap?" Zoro asked.
Ari didn't take her eyes off the fire, "Let's just say that when you die someplace, you never forget it."
Zoro noticed her sadness and decided to get off the subject, "You mentioned your brother a lot. Was he older or younger than you?"
"Older." Ari answered.
"By how much?" Zoro asked her.
"One minute." Ari told him.
"Twins?"
"Triplets. Mum died giving birth to my dead little brother."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Worry about tomorrow. You'll be eleven tomorrow and you'll love it."
"Because I'll be a year older?"
"Not just that. You get more challenges that'll really help you be a man."
"Since tomorrow's my birthday, are you going to get me a presant?"
"Yup!"
"It's not a kiss, is it?"
Ari punched him.
"Ouch! Dammit, Ari! That hurt!"
"Good! And you just wait! You'll get your presant later."
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A few hours later, Ari turned to Zoro, "Okay, it's midnight. Time for your birthday presant: a story that may help you in your life if you listen very carefully and get the point. Do you want to hear it?" Zoro nodded. Ari took a deep breath and began:
There was once a traveling merchant who lived with his young son and daughter. The merchant's wife passed away giving birth to a still-born baby boy and all the merchant had left was his two children. The merchant was a strict man, but also very funny and worked really hard to teach both of them right from wrong. He always wanted his children to be merchants like him, but knew that it required not only smarts, which both already had, but courage.
He wanted his son to be a real man so called the son his Little Man, but his daughter, or his Baby Girl, was becoming a man instead of the little lady the merchant wanted her to be. Little Man was only a minute older than Baby Girl and was determined to be a merchant, which made his father proud, while his sister wanted to be an adventurer.
Little Man was always losing to thing at Baby Girl…except for when it involved determination. He had more of that than even his own father. One day, Little Man and his family took a break in a forest with some of the merchant's workers. Little Man and Baby Girl were enjoying a game of tag when Little Man noticed that they were too far away from the others and commanded that both of them go back. Baby Girl refused and called him a wimp.
Little Man and Baby Girl began fighting for the first time ever. Little Man stomped off to camp, screaming that he didn't care what happened to Baby Girl. Baby Girl stomped off in the opposite direction and noticed an old bridge. She stepped onto the bridge and was only one fourth of the way across when a heavy gust of wind spun the bridge around and sent Baby Girl screaming and hurling to the ground.
All the merchants heard her scream and ran to the bridge, but couldn't find her. They searched around the bridge for four hours until the merchant believed that she'd come back on her own, but Little Man was determined on finding his sister, dead or alive, and convinced his father to keep looking. When they found her, a board from the bridge was laying next to her. Baby Girl was killed when she fell from the bridge.
The merchant was upset for the loss of his only daughter while his son was upset for the loss of not only his little sister, but also his best friend. Years passed and with his determination, Little Man joined his father as a merchant and grew up as a true man. He was always upset up about what happened to his beloved sister, but with his determination, he was able to get what he wanted in life.
"Do you get the point of the story?" Ari asked Zoro. Zoro shook his head. "Zoro, if you are determined on getting something, no matter how bad things may get, you can find ways to get what you want. Just never give up. That's what my brother did." Ari explained.
Zoro nodded his head. He finally understood Ari's story.
DAY FIVE
The final day of traveling was the easiest. There were only normal roads and the dojo wasn't very far away. Zoro stepped behind a tree and noticed the dojo right in front of him.
Ari placed a hand on his shoulder, "Zoro. Happy Birthday. Remember to enjoy being eleven and don't die young. Being eleven is great, but it sucks if you die at eleven because you have to spend eternity at that age."
Zoro nodded, "Okay, I won't."
Ari smiled, gave him a quick hug, then flew up to into the sky. Zoro walked back to the dojo.
"Hey, it's Zoro! Zoro's back!" A student outside screamed. In an instant, practically everyone in the dojo ran outside asking Zoro if he was okay and giving out a "Happy Birthday" when they found him alright. In fact, to prove that he was fine, Zoro challenged Kuina to a fight. She accepted and the fight began.
"The winner…Kuina. That's 847 for Kuina, 0 for Zoro." Sensei announced as soon as the fight was over.
Everybody around Zoro was disappointed, but he wasn't. She didn't let him win and both tried their hardest…plus after that she gave him a birthday presant…a real sword of his own. For the rest of the night, he thought about how badly he wanted to beat Kuina and remembered what Ari told him. "I am determined to beat her and one day, I will." Zoro told himself. And deep down in his body, he really believed it.
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A/N: Okay, that was chapter 2. Just to make a few things clear, I don't know how old Zoro was when Kuina died and I don't buy that crap the dubbers tried to pull when they said that she hurt herself so badly that she couldn't fight anymore, I mean come on. What the hell is up with that!
Ari is from my story Christmas Memories. And the girl I mentioned in this story, the black and green haired girl…I made her up and after this story, I WILL make a story that explains who she is. R/R if you want, but if you wanna flame: keep 'em to yourself.
Next Chapter: Nami