Uff, guys,
I'm almost a little bit late (at least in my time-zone ;-P ), but work was really draining today and afterwards I had the chance to watch one of my favorite musicals finally online, so I'm writing this here actually while listening to the last beautiful notes.
Before we'll start let me thank you guys real quick for all those nice comments and PMs. I know sequels don't have it easy, but it makes me really happy that some of you stayed patient and some of you gave it a try.
Thank you guys and see you next week^^
Have fun
Chapter 4 - Witness
-Zoro-
A whole hour.
For an hour, he and Mihawk had followed the official of the World Government through long corridors and grand halls. An hour in which the reporter had tagged along, she had spoken little, asked hardly any questions and yet Zoro was glad to finally be rid of her. She had taken photos all the time, her colorful outfit even more dazzling under the light of the snobbish chandeliers.
The woman had almost chased Zoro and it was only when he had finally arrived in his room that the government official had slammed the door shut in front of her.
Well, room was probably the wrong term. The apartment was big enough to host a small party. A door to the left of the front door lead to an equally large bedroom and an equally overgenerous equipped bathroom.
Even the Dracule mansion looked bleak and simple compared to this pomp.
Zoro was uncomfortable. He couldn't walk one step without bumping into anything valuable, sit nowhere without being chased by the eyes of any paintings, and heavy perfume polluted the air.
"And here in this cabinet is the broadcast snail," the official continued his explanations about the room. "His Lordship's chambers are, by the way, right next to yours. Through this wall door over there you can get directly into his rooms."
Zoro just nodded and made every effort to maintain his polite expression.
This guy was exhausting, he had even wanted to explain to Zoro, how to turn on the water in the shower, like Zoro weren't able to figure out at least that on his own.
"Do you have any other question, Lady Loreen?"
He turned to the officer and tried to smile.
"No, thank you very much. I'm just exhausted from the journey."
The man of the government nodded immediately sympathetically.
"Of course, of course. If you need something, our transponder snail next to the door is for in-house connections, which you can also order food with." The official pointed from A to B and Zoro pretended to follow his gestures. "There is also the remote control for the broadcast snail."
He bowed deeply. "I will take my leave now."
Zoro exhaled deeply as the other finally left the room.
This was not what he had imagined to be the heartland of the World Government, he felt more like staying at some overpriced hotel – not that he had been in one ever before – and not like in an administrative building. It also confused him how calm everyone was, even though a war was about to happen. A war he had still no idea about, not even who the Marines' opponent would be.
Exhausted, he dropped on one of the many sofas. Maybe it would be the best to just take a nap. It wasn't as if he could actually do something, so he leaned back and covered his tired eyes with his forearm.
For the next few days, he would spend most of his time in this room; at least in here he didn't have to play Lady Loreen. However, as Hawk Eyes himself had to prepare for this war and training was unthinkable one way or another, it promised to be boring hours. Days in which he could do nothing but wait, stuck in this room, stuck in this body.
He sighed softly. It was early afternoon, Mihawk had suspected that his friends would arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago around now. The archipelago, which could be reached from here within a short time.
It dawned to him slowly, he was on the Red Line that parted the world, so close and yet so far away from his friends.
A dull knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Hmm?" He grumbled, not even bothering to sit up.
Another silent knock bothered the silence.
"Come in," he murmured, simply guessing it was the Shichibukai.
Again, the other one knocked and then Zoro could hear Hawk Eyes' muffled voice: "Yes, I would, if you would unlock the door."
Quietly grumbling, he rolled off the sofa, got up, and scuffled over to the half-hidden wall door. A silent click later, the door also opened and a slightly unnerved Shichibukai came in.
But what surprised Zoro more, was the naked chest he almost ran into. He hated his current height, quickly taking two steps backwards.
Hawk Eyes wore exactly the same outfit as when Zoro had first met him. It was exactly the same long coat he had worn at that time, exactly the same trousers, only the hat was missing, and just as then he didn't wear a shirt, but just the cross around his neck.
But during the last few weeks Zoro had seen him almost only with a shirt and somehow it surprised him. He quickly turned away but couldn't prevent himself from blushing.
Damn female hormones.
"Have you forgotten your stuff at home or why are you running around half-naked?" He asked roughly, proud of how well the sarcasm covered his surprise.
The other looked at him for a moment with his eyebrows raised.
"Excuse me? Does it bother you?"
"Yeah right, like I care." Zoro waved it off, but his words and hand movements were a little too hasty. "But for the last month you've almost always ran around like a butler, so..."
Through the doorframe behind the Shichibukai, Zoro could see a room that resembled his lounge. At the end of it stood most of their luggage, including the box in which Hawk Eyes had stored Zoros swords and other belongings.
Still, Hawk Eyes looked at him with big eyes, obviously slightly confused.
"Well, that may be right," he agreed, "but I always wear this if there is the possibility of a fight." He sounded calm and somewhat bored, before shrugging his shoulders and walking past Zoro.
"A shirt in a place where it is in danger of being smeared with blood? No, I am not that tasteless," the elder continued a little smug, walking through Zoro's room, stopping by paintings and flowers, tipping them aside or lifting them up, much like he had done on the warship.
He had placed his sword next to the front door, and there it rested like a silent guard.
"You even wore shirts while training with me," Zoro growled, turning to the Shichibukai.
"Yes, so? Does that contradict my statement in any way?"
The other still walked through the room, touching passing tables and cupboards.
"What are you doing?" Zoro changed the subject instead of starting a new discussion.
"Making sure that your room is not bugged."
„What?"
Now the other looked at him briefly.
"Of course. This here might be the wing available especially for us Shichibukai and is therefore not subject to any surveillance, but on the other hand..." The elder pulled a carpet to the side. "I do not trust Eizen at all."
Zoro watched the other without saying anything, on the ship the other had not been half as thorough. But after a few seconds, Zoro decided to let Hawk Eyes do what he wanted to and just watch the other one moving furniture and examining flower vases. But even after several silent minutes, he found nothing.
Suddenly, a quiet beep made Zoro look up and he noted a screen near the window lighting up in blue.
"What's that?" He asked, looking at the flickering light. At first, he thought of a surveillance monitor like some Marine prisons had.
"The broadcast snail," Hawk Eyes replied calmly, settling down on the sofa on which Zoro had wanted to sleep a few minutes ago.
"What's it for?" He joined the other but sat down on a roomy armchair.
The elder shrugged.
"There is a special channel through which the Marines distribute the most important and up-to-date news internally. At six o'clock in the morning and in the evening there is a broadcast, otherwise only if something important happens. For example, there was a live broadcast from the Buster Call at Enies Lobby."
"Really? Do you have one at home too?"
Hawk Eyes clicked his tongue annoyed.
"Roronoa, did you even listen? This broadcast is Marines' exclusive. Of course, you can't receive it outside of Mary Joa or the Marine bases." Then the Shichibukai turned the device off again. "You should definitely watch the news tonight. It is not wrong to inform yourself about the enemy, and sometimes you get very interesting details that are hidden from the outside world."
Zoro observed the other, noting the way he phrased his adviced.
"Does that mean you won't be watching it today?"
Hawk Eyes nodded. "Exactly, I promised Tsuru to be present at the War Council of the Admirals as Adviser."
"Although you're a Shichibukai?"
The other laughed softly, but it sounded almost nasty.
"Be that as it may." Suddenly the other was serious again. "First of all, this means that I will not have much time for you today, so I would like to discuss something important. You seem to have calmed down a bit by now."
He straightened up and looked at the other wary.
"What about?" Zoro decided to ignore the small side blow, because it would lead to nothing but another useless discussion, and he rather wanted to know what the other wanted to discuss with him.
Hawk Eyes leaned a little forward and looked at him seriously.
"We have to agree on your goal. So far, it was clear that you would return to your crew after a month. But now you have decided to stay and as I told you during the journey I assume you need about nine months of intensive training to be able to hold your ground on the other side of the Red Line, but since you want to get back to your crew as soon as possible, we have to agree on a time frame. I have to schedule your practice, for that I cannot just have you go up and leave unexpectedly. You said you will stay as long as necessary but as briefly as possible and I ask you what that means."
In fact, Zoro was not at all surprised by this topic, as he had already thought a lot about it. He nodded slowly and folded his hands.
"I agree with you, but to be honest, I can't estimate it until I have my body back."
The elder shook his head dissatisfied.
"No, no, you will not just get away like this, Roronoa." Mihawk leaned even further forward and now their knees almost touched. "With such an inaccurate statement, you will not fob me off. For weeks you have been telling me you are on the right track, I thought yesterday would have been a good time for some magical fog to appear, but as it seems Lady Loreen is still sitting in front of me."
Zoro shrugged his shoulders and leaned back a little.
"Well, but until after the war everything will stay as it is, right? I mean, the way I get it, I can't just disappear from here one way or another."
"So, you want to tell me that even if you were to turn back immediately, you would not want to join your crew right away, who are currently on the Sabaody Archipelago less than half an hour away?"
Zoro looked away.
"I don't believe you," the elder continued.
"But that's the way it is."
"Is it?"
Now Zoro looked up again.
"I never want to be in the position of not being able to protect my captain again and I have to get stronger for that. Therefore..." He hesitated for a moment. "As soon as I manage to transform myself give me another month."
The Shichibukai looked at him calmly. "All right," he agreed without hesitation.
"You don't even want to criticize my decision?" Zoro asked, astonished that the other came around so quickly.
"No, all I wanted was a time frame to work with and you gave me one. We both know that a month is far too short, but I understand your motives and I think a month should be enough to teach you the basics of Kenbunshoku Haki."
"What? I told you I can't learn Haki!"
"And I told you that this is nonsense. In addition, you already mastered the basics."
"What?!" Zoro jumped up.
"Of course, and now calm down. What I taught you is called seeing and it is in fact nothing more than a very weak form of Kenbunshoku Haki. But since you are so opposed to this ability, I decided to keep this little information to myself."
"Are you fucking serious?!" He felt his heart racing. "You can't just decide to do that by yourself! You have no right and even no idea..."
"You are probably right." The other interrupted him with calm words. "I have no idea why you keep fighting the necessity because you are not willing to tell me the truth. But it has already happened, you have already used this ability and to struggle with the past will not help you now."
He found it hard to breathe. Why the fucking hell did Hawk Eyes feel entitled to just do something like that? And how could he stay so calm now?
"Actually, I had planned to use these days here that we cannot spend with reasonable training to train you further in this field."
Zoro just stared at him.
"And now I would like you to calm down and sit down again. You make me feel uncomfortable."
"I make you feel uncomfortable?" He asked disbelieving, but actually dropped back on his armchair.
But then he noticed how seriously the other still looked at him, he didn't make fun of him at all, he was quite honest.
"You can trust me, Roronoa. Trust me to know what I am doing."
Zoro bit his lower lip.
"But I don't know if you can trust me," he muttered finally.
Laughing, the Shichibukai stood up.
"Oh, Roronoa. You really are cute sometimes."
„What?!"
Zoro got up again and followed the Shichibukai to the door, where the other took his sword. So why did he even have to sit down again?
"I think I might be back quite late tonight. Make sure to eat something healthy and rest a little bit, your ongoing stress hard to bear. I will check on you tomorrow morning."
With that he went and left Zoro behind mumbling: "Not like I need you checking on me."
Once again, he was annoyed with himself and the other. He didn't like Hawk Eyes treating him like a child, treating Zoro like he was his subject, or making fun of him.
At the same time, Zoro could not deny that he felt comfortable with the other, despite all the nagging, the mocking, and the general bickering. Yes, he trusted the other one and he hated that he couldn't even deny it, damn it!
Deep sighing, he lay down on one of the many couches and fell asleep within seconds.
A persistent beeping woke him up.
For a moment he looked around in confusion, realizing where he was. Outside it was still daytime, so he could be sure it wasn't evening yet; he couldn't have slept for a long time.
The annoying beeping didn't stop.
Annoyed, sleepy, and puzzled, he got up and tried to identify the source of the sound. After a few seconds, he noted the cabinet where the broadcast snail was hidden.
When he opened it, the beeping snail confirmed his presumption. It was screamingly read and seemed to be ringing the alarm for a long time already.
Zoro pressed the big black button on the snail's shell and suddenly the screen behind him flickered up in blue light.
But this time the screen also showed a white box. Within white letters flickered across the screen: Riot on the Sabaody Archipelago! Rookies rebel against World Aristocrats!
Under the box was a text with the latest news and a guide explained that he could either stop the transmission via the remote control or activate a live broadcast to the current location of the event. Zoro casually read that some Admiral had arrived wherever.
Suddenly, his captain's name flickered across the screen. Zoro grabbed the remote control and pressed the red button.
For a few seconds nothing happened, but then a picture flickered up. He didn't know what to expect, but certainly he hadn't expected to see that.
The snail, used to film what was happening, was obviously carried by someone, because the view was blurred and kept shaking before the picture suddenly became stable, but Zoro didn't care about that. Slowly, he walked towards the screen.
The first thing he could see in the gradually sharpening image was the distinctive silhouette of the Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma and although the image was only black and white, Zoro immediately knew who the two tiny figures in front of the Shichibukai were.
Closest to the video snail Usopp knelt on the floor, unmistakable with his long nose and curly head. On the edge of the screen to the right of him, Zoro thought he could make something out that looked like the remains of a second Bartholomew Kuma, but he didn't waste any more thoughts about it, but stared at the dark shadow who had jumped in front of Usopp. It was the cook.
And suddenly, without Zoro being able to see anything specific, the Shichibukai let his hand slide down and the cook was gone.
"What the...?" Confusion spread through him as he examined the edges of the screen for some sign that showed him where the Shichibukai must have hurled the cook.
Behind the Shichibukai he could see another big figure running, which he didn't recognize, but Kuma continued to move towards Usopp.
Zoro couldn't see how far the Shichibukai was still away, but suddenly a long-limbed figure – who was probably Brook given the hair - jumped out of one side and attacked the Shichibukai and then... Brook was just gone.
"Where the...?"
He touched the screen while Kuma bent over Usopp, who as well vanished into thin air.
"No."
He stood there astonished, pressing his fingers against the screen as if he just wanted to dive through. The image flickered for a moment, as the snail was apparently thrown to the ground, laying on the side and showing Zoro a tilted picture.
Some men Zoro did not know showed up and fought against but also with his friends, suddenly the Shichibukai was back in the picture and with him Franky, but only for a short glimpse before he too was gone.
"No?"
Barely a second later, he had to watch the petite figure of Nami also disappear.
"No!"
In the background, a huge shadow appeared, and although no sound was transmitted, Zoro could hear the mourning cry from the creature's torn open mouth down to his marrow.
"Chopper," he whispered, and the Shichibukai disappeared from the picture.
At the same moment he saw Luffy running across his field of view, followed by someone else whom he could just barely shake off, and then the huge creature was suddenly gone.
"No! No, Chopper!"
He could still see Luffy running, but not what – or rather who – his aim was; who was he running towards?
"Robin?" But again, the Shichibukai emerged out of nothing.
Luffy stopped, his powerless outstretched arm falling down limply.
Zoro's whole body trembled when he saw his captain's legs give in. That could not be! That was impossible! What was happening?!
Slowly, the Shichibukai approached Luffy, who was still kneeling on the ground.
"No!" Zoro screamed, banging against the screen. That couldn't be happening! "Run away, Luffy! Run!"
Again and again he slapped against the blue screen, his little fists right next to the tiny figure that represented his friend.
"No! No!" His voice broke, but he couldn't do anything when Kuma came to a halt in front of Luffy.
"No, Luffy!"
And then Luffy was gone.
The glass broke under Zoro's fingers and the screen flipped over.
He was just standing there, his body shaking, his jaw trembling.
That could not be, it could simply not be!
He felt tears slipping down his cheeks.
What had happened, where were his friends? Were they still alive? Were they... were they...?
He screamed.
His head seemed to explode, and he buried his hands in his hair, ripping out entire strands.
He screamed.
He cried.
His legs gave in and he fell to the ground.
His friends! His friends!
Brook! Franky! Robin! Chopper! Sanji! Usopp! Nami! Luffy!
Luffy!
It felt like he was burning from the inside.
And then he collapsed.
