So this here is the first upload.

For anybody feeling oddly familiar with it, I'd recomened chapter 31 and 32 of Protecting Dreams ;-P


Homecoming

A few weeks later

"Are you ready?"

He simply nodded.

"Just remember, you must act before they go ashore, otherwise..."

"I know the plan," he interrupted the other one irritated and pulled the hood deeper in his face.

The man behind him sighed heavily as he bent over Zoro a little more to watch the ship, which slowly but surely came closer to the port.

Zoro could feel the other one's calm, wooden scent diffuse around him while the other man almost hugged him from behind to keep a better eye on the arriving ship.

"What the hell are you doing?" He growled, pushing his elbow behind him to keep the other man at a distance.

"Would you please stop making such a fuss. It's not like I'm..."

"Just shut up."

Zoro leaned further forward, his eyes firmly fixed on the approaching ship. The man behind him groaned unnerved and leaned as far away as possible. Yet their bodies still touched, which was probably because the hiding place they had chosen offered hardly enough space for one person, let alone for two.

Since the harbor of the island was well-visited, it had proved difficult to find a rather inconspicuous place, especially since the morning sun was already bright in the sky and offered little shade for an ambush.

Not that Zoro was planning an ambush. Well, yes, he was planning an ambush, but actually only to prevent another ambush. It was just a bit more complicated.

So, while he stood behind several boxes in the shadow of a house and peered over them, he tried to identify the people, whose ambush he wanted to stop. Needless to say, they were Marines.

"You won't find them here," the man behind him murmured softly, as if he had heard his thoughts. "They won't be foolish enough to welcome their guests directly at the port. They will wait until your friends have left the ship and then cut off their only escape route."

"I know that myself, thank you very much."

"Please listen to me this once. I'm doing this for you, so..."

"I didn't ask for your help."

"Here we go again. For the last time..." The older one behind Zoro's back interrupted himself as the ship got closer and closer, not that Zoro minded.

"It's almost time," he muttered so softly that Zoro could barely understand him, while the other leaned forward again. "Wait for the right moment."

Zoro rolled his eyes but did not respond this time. Of course, he knew when he had to take action, he didn't need the other one to tell him, yet he was unable to ignore his bad conscience. After all, the other one wasn't responsible for his bad mood.

"Not yet," the older one whispered near Zoro's ear.

But he couldn't hinder being nervous as the Thousand Sunny slowly approached, couldn't hinder seeing the next few minutes in front of his inner eye, when he would finally meet his friends again, when he would finally meet his friends again after more than a month.

He felt sick, although he should be happy.

"Not yet," the man behind him quietly repeated, as if Zoro were actually waiting for his order.

Had it really been just a month?

He shook his head slightly. It felt much longer, almost like a whole life.

A month ago, he had been separated from his crew, had lost them almost for good – no, wrong - a month ago his crew had almost lost him for good.

A month ago, he should have died, he had actually died, but he was still there, was still alive and today, today he would see his crew again.

"Get ready, Roronoa."

He nodded silently. He really should be happy.

However, there were two small problems.

One was the ambush that the Marines had prepared for the Straw Hats. The soldiers believed that the pirates were still weakened because they lacked the power of the former Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.

After all, he had not survived the escape from the G-6 Marine base.

However, Zoro didn't worry about that part too much. They would have an easy game with the Marines, especially if he thought of his companion. This man behind him could probably defeat all soldiers present without even breaking out in a sweat.

No, what worried Zoro was this second, tiny problem...

"What for heaven's sake is he doing?" The voice next to his ear was a little louder than before and ripped him out of his thoughts.

Startled he looked up, for a second he had been distracted and had looked at his hands, those weak hands, but when he looked up again, he could just see a figure jumping off the Thousand Sunny before it was even close enough to the pier and landing elegantly on the sidewalk of the harbor promenade.

The next moment, the newly arrived blond threw his hair back, put his hands in his pockets, and walked his way, a cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

"Damn it! Cook, what the hell are you doing?!" Zoro growled.

The man in his back also sighed unnerved.

"Well, we can't change it. We switch to Plan B, Roronoa."

One second Zoro looked up to the tall man behind him, saw the cool, rational gaze, knew that the other one had already analyzed the situation and had by now identified the best strategy.

"Okay, Plan B." With these words Zoro jumped up the boxes on top of the roof of the house and followed the cook, an evil curse on his lips.

Their first plan had been the simplest. They had wanted to wait until the Straw Hats would be landing and before meeting them and informing them of the planned ambush of the Marines. They had wanted to prevent the crew from leaving the ship while the Log Pose had to reorient itself.

But of course, this fucking chef hadn't even waited until the Thousand Sunny had been close enough to the harbor before leaving.

Stupid dart-brows, there was always only trouble with him.

However, Zoro and his companion had taken into account that this could happen. In this case, they had agreed that Zoro would follow his crew members while the other would take care of their transport, a small boat, nothing more.

That is why Zoro hustled over the roofs of the bustling city of Sarue. Of course, he could have walked through the full streets, but the danger that he would be recognized, now that the sun was up, was simply too great.

He looked around with a sigh, but he couldn't find the cook, within seconds he had lost him.

Damn it!

However, Zoro was pretty sure where to find the cook, after all the other was the chef of the Straw Hat crew. Grinning, he continued to walk towards the market, always making sure that none of the passersby on the ground would notice him. But then he stopped.

In front of him was a wide dead end in which almost fifty people had gathered. But not just any people, he could recognize the emblem on their shirts even from where he stood. With quiet movements, he jumped behind a chimney and stared out of the shadows down to the Marines.

He quietly watched the soldiers before he noticed that they were not in a dead end but in a courtyard. Several soldiers leaned against the walls of houses, smoking and chatting, some also squatted on the floor, all in all they seemed to be quite relaxed as they were waiting for something to happen.

In the middle of the small courtyard stood a single chair on which the obvious leader sat in a suit and Marine cape. Zoro could see how he went through the wanted posters of the Straw Hats.

"Lieutenant!"

From the house where Zoro was hiding, another soldier emerged and walked straight towards the officer. Some soldiers looked up; some immediately began to make themselves ready to go.

"The pirates have just docked, Blackleg Sanji has already left the ship and some of the others are probably going ashore as well."

The lieutenant nodded. "Very well, everyone should stick to the plan. The groups S1 and S3 should keep an eye on the market, S6 takes the port. Everyone else should focus on the Straw Hat."

Zoro continued to lean forward, a single green strand of hair blocking his view, but he brushed it away unnoticed.

"And what's with us, lieutenant?" One of the soldiers, still squatting on the ground, asked impatiently, while the newcomer rushed back to the house.

"We are the special unit," the leader said, as if it was obvious, and continued to look at Luffy's wanted poster. "Of course, we will take care of this Straw Hat. After he's weakened by the others, we'll have our go on him and this time..." Slowly, the man tore the paper apart. "We'll take him down."

Laughter and occasional applause came from the soldiers who grinned at each other, bloodthirst and the will to fight in their faces.

For a moment, Zoro watched them.

He was supposed to run to the market and get the cook, that had been the plan.

However, he doubted that everyone else was still on board. Moreover, he would hardly be able to persuade the chef to go back to the ship. Because why would the chef trust him? After all, he wouldn't even recognize Zoro.

He bit his lower lip. No, his own crew members wouldn't recognize him; he made a decision.

This Marine idiot down there would lead Zoro directly to his captain in case of doubt and as it sounded, this ambush was also mainly aimed for Luffy. So, he might would need somebody to guard his back.

Zoro trusted the cook enough to defend himself alone against a few soldiers, after all, Zoro himself would be able to defeat the ones down there on his own. Even in his present body.

Once again, Zoro stared at his hands, at his small, fragile hands.

He had almost become accustomed to this body, almost accepted this body, almost forgetting that it once had been different. But now that he had seen the chef in front of him, realized that he would see his crew again today, would finally see all of them again, this body was stranger to him than ever before.

A month ago, he had nearly died, a month ago he should have died.

But he had not after he and the others had been captured at the G-6 Marine base. For days they had been left to rot in cells and yet he had not found death. He had not died after freeing his crew and blowing up this damn base. He had not died in the end after he had not been able to escape and had fallen into the depths along with the burning tower. He had not found death, although the fire had eaten him, even though he had certainly found death.

He wasn't dead.

Miraculously, Zoro had survived, and as if by a curse he had taken on another shape, trapped in a body so much weaker than his own, so much more vulnerable than his own, so much more fragile than his own.

Nevertheless, Zoro knew that even in this body he could keep up with the Marines down there, a month of hard training had to be enough for that.

He would deviate from the plan to protect his captain, that was his job.

Besides, he didn't have to worry about the other crew members. After all, they were not helpless, and Zoro's companion would probably help them, gritting his teeth and annoyed to death, but yes, he would help them.

He had found Zoro, a month ago, in this other body, weak and vulnerable.

While Zoro watched the soldiers beneath him, he remembered how the other one had stared at him, in disbelief, when he had told him that he was Roronoa Zoro. His laughter had been almost grotesquely distorted because he had believed that Roronoa Zoro had died.

Since then only a month had passed, not even a whole month, barely thirty days and yet Zoro could not prevent himself from starting to like that idiot.

A month ago, Zoro had expected the other one to kill him on the spot, expected the other one to at least throw him out of his home, despise his weakness, and now, now, he trusted that this idiot would protect his friends simply because he would do Zoro a favor.

Zoro sighed in resignation. He was already sorry for his harsh words from a few minutes ago, after all, the other one had helped him a lot over the last few weeks, had protected him, had trained him.

And now he even helped Zoro return to his crew.

"Lieutenant." Another soldier came into the courtyard. "Three other members of the Straw Hats have just left the ship."

"Who is it?" The leader seemed too serene for Zoro's taste, as if his plan were infallible.

"Nico Robin has left the ship at first with the crew's pet Tony Chopper, they seem to be visiting the municipal pharmacy. Just a few seconds ago, Cat Burglar Nami has left as well, apparently, she is on her way to the market, where Blackleg Sanji is also at the moment."

"That means the Straw Hat is still on board, correct?"

"Yes, exactly. But shouldn't we better attack now? Who knows if the Straw Hat will leave the ship at all."

The man in a cape shook his head. "No, we're waiting. According to my records, the Straw Hat has so far left the ship every time those pirates visited a new island, there is no reason for him to break his habit now." He placed a hand on his bearded chin. "It is also too risky to attack him at the port. From the reports of the G-6 we know that in case of doubt he would even leave his own people behind and we're not here for his crew members but for him."

This time it took all of Zoro's willpower not to jump down there and bring that asshole some well-deserved beating.

It was true that a few weeks ago the newspapers had stated that Zoro had betrayed his crew and had been left behind by them afterwards to go down with the base G-6. But that had been a lie, a simple lie, even the Marine's documents knew of this lie, after all they had discovered almost the complete truth behind Zoro's escape plan.

How did Zoro know that they knew?

Well, that too was due to his accomplice, who had the influence and the connections to access such documents. After all, he was one of the seven Shichibukai, a powerful politician and, last but not least, the greatest swordsman in the world.

Yes, Zoro had not been found by anyone other than Dracule Hawk Eyes Mihawk, and exactly this guy was now helping Zoro to outwit the Marines' ambush.

A lot could happen within a month.

The only thing the Marines hadn't figured out by now was that Zoro was alive despite everything, even if now in a different shape.

However, there was this great risk that someone would recognize Zoro if he were to run through the streets now. Even his dark clothes and black cape probably wouldn't be able to protect him from prying eyes, after all, he had achieved dubious fame in this form.

In his new body Zoro had somehow managed to be noticed by the press and now he was by chance one of the most famous people in the world. Not him of course, not Roronoa Zoro, who was already considered deceased. No, the character he was currently impersonating had become famous. Nothing more than a fictional character that he and Hawk Eyes had unintentionally created.

Zoro was not only a former pirate hunter, but now he also had an alter ego named Lady Loreen. And this petite, tender, and fragile Lady Loreen had managed to rise to A-prominence within a few weeks, and he didn't know which part of that sentence sucked the most.

Once again, he sighed. It would be difficult for him to explain to his crew that he and Lady Loreen were one and the same person. But he had to do it, after all he wanted to go home, back to his friends, and only if he told them the truth, only if he revealed all his weakness in front of them, only then would he have the opportunity to regain his true form.

At least that was what he had been told and since he didn't have a better idea, he could just as well try it out.

"Lieutenant." Another soldier came out. "Monkey D. Luffy has just left the ship. He's on his way inland."

"Perfect." The officer got up and straightened his suit. "You heard it, that was our sign. Get ready."

The soldiers present rose unanimously and reached for their weapons, some put on their white caps while others spit cigarettes and chewing tobacco to the ground.

"Let's go hunting, and this time we're going to kill our prey!"

Dark laughter answered the lieutenant while Zoro on top of the roof put his hand around his handle.

It would be easy to kill this asshole right here and now, he would be dead before Zoro would touch the ground. He knew he could do it.

But he should not interfere if possible. If it turned out that Lady Loreen was entangled with the Straw Hats in any way, there would be some people he would put in danger, people who had become important to him during the last month. He was not allowed to act thoughtless now. He had to wait, and not just because of that.

So he waited on the roof while the soldiers below him got ready, and when they finally left the courtyard, he was behind them, watching them, ready to interfere at any time.

From somewhere to his left, he could hear yelling voices and the sound of gunshots.

For a moment he thought about turning around, but almost at the same moment he already knew that it was not necessary. Hawk Eyes was there, he would protect his friends.

So, he followed the soldiers who brought him ever closer to another, much louder tumult.

Suddenly Zoro stopped, forgot completely to hide in the shadows of the roofs, forgot completely what was happening around him. In front of him, less than twenty meters in front of him, the grinning captain of the Straw Hat pirates jumped through the alleys, dodged bullets and swords with ease and laughed as if he had the greatest time of his life.

Zoro felt unwanted tears piercing his eyes, one hand almost reaching out for him. For a fraction of a second, he believed that the other had looked up to him. But it was impossible for Luffy to see him in the dazzling light of the midday sun.

He wanted to call out for him, to hurry at his place right next to him.

It was like always, wherever the Straw Hats appeared, they caused nothing but chaos and destruction.

A quiet, trembling laugh escaped Zoro. Luffy was strong, he knew that.

It was just like it used to be. That one month, which seemed to him like a second life, was over. He was finally able to go home. He had feared that his crew would not be strong enough to protect him in this body, had feared that his present weakness would not allow him to return to them.

But he had made a mistake, had underestimated his crew, his captain, and had not believed in them. But he had been wrong, he could go home.

Today he would return home.

Relieved, Zoro laughed, ignoring this slight melancholy that rose within him.

He could go home.

Over the roofs in the distance he could see the Thousand Sunny, he quickly followed his captain, who fought his way through the alleys of the small town and came closer and closer to the harbor.

After a month, after a long month, he was back.

Zoro was at home.

"I'm back," he whispered, "I'm home."