Prologue
Burning dreams, oaths, and the unpredictable misfortune which marked the end of her life. Kuina would've never guessed that her death was not marked by broken swords and cuts marring her body from a lost match, but rather from a slip – fall from a staircase.
Denial. At first, she refused to believe that her life has passed before it had even begun before she even set foot on the journey towards being the strongest swordsman – a dream she knew was naïve, yet still longed to march on.
Even when she stared, dully, as the body of a youthful girl – her body – descended into a place of fruitless eternal rest, a place bounded by strict edges and wooden boards, she could not fully grasp what the notion of death really was.
She knew she was gone, yet she wasn't. Floating, or perhaps simply existing, knowing, as others went about their own lives, as time ticked on, yet she simply stayed, or wondered without a form nor a purpose.
This lasted for weeks, perhaps months, until a certain green-haired boy, weak in her eyes, a boy of pride and a bright future, kneeled in front of her father – the one who ended her dreams, cut off her hopes, and begged for the sword which would have been passed onto her if not for the unforeseeable misfortune.
For the first time since she accepted her death, Kuina felt something stir from within. Life was a fragile thing. She should have never even thought about denying herself, depriving herself of a meaningful life – centred around her hopes and ambitions.
A shimmer of regret, refusal to resign to this end. That was the last emotion she felt as she let the image of Wado Ichimonji being passed onto Zoro burn into her mind forever.
Author's Note:
I'll be skipping the pleasantries and just give you all a rough idea of how this fic will go~
I know Kuina's death in canon was crucial to Zoro's development when he was a kid but at the same time, her ending just didn't sit well with me… So I thought that maybe Kuina could be reincarnated after she died (like a soul switch thing).
For some people, it might make more sense for Kuina to be reincarnated as Tashigi (the strikingly similar appearance and all). But for me, Tashigi wasn't exactly what I envisioned Kuina would turn out to be – like Tashigi was too feminine. And since Kuina believed that she couldn't be the greatest swordsman due to her gender when she was a kid – I thought that maybe she'd reject her female identity if she did decide to set out for her goal.
Anyways, here's my take on how her story will play out under a new light~