Authors Note: …No comment. Just review please. PLEASE.
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"Well then, I think you may find it interesting to learn that Zoro would choose something different. He chose his dream." Doflamingo spoke with a sweetened expression, his lips curling up joyfully. There was a sickening gleam in his eyes as he darted between the Straw hats, eager for their reactions.
The field immediately tensed. Every breath was held in, sucked in by fear and confusion, staled and became stagnant by the crews bewilderment. They all chose their nakama, their friends, and their bonds- for them that was strength, the strength in each other. They would easily choose Zoro over being Pirate King, or a drawing a map of the world, or being a warrior of the see. But he would not choose them back.
They would give him all that they had, for the sake of their friendship, but he would rather choose himself.
"No." Nami spoke simply. But then she repeated it with a scream, her voice shrieking to the top of her lungs. "NO. Zoro wouldn't. He would choose his Nakama, he's not like that. He's one of us."
"Oh, but you see, you are incredibly wrong." Doflamingo teased, his fingers drumming lightly against his chin. "He's farther away from you than you think. He's more determined, more focused, and he knows that in the end, his dream will get him farther than your little measly band of misfits ever could."
"Bullshit!" Sanjii shouted, his hand clutching his rib cage and gently holding over his stomach where blood began to leak out. "He may be one hell of a shit-head, but he's not so selfish."
"Selfish. Now that's an interesting idea. You say that choosing your friendships makes you unselfish- So pure and pristine. Hmm?" Doflamingo asked. "Really? Putting your own need for bonds and petty thinks like friendship and entertainment over another person's dream- Tell me how that is not selfish? You would rather have your pathetic friendship than allow each other to achieve your full potential!"
"You're wrong." Luffy finally spoke. His hat tilted down, his voice serious and dark, and his eyes cast towards the ground. "We are stronger together. We push each other to be the best we can be. I push them towards their dreams just as they push me to mine! Our dreams are our Nakamaship!"
Doflamingo shook his head and rolled his eyes with slight drama. "But what if you aren't pushing each other? What if you're simply holding each other back? What then?" He intensely questioned, leaning forward with eyes glaring for the answer.
"Not us." Luffy responded. "That's not us."
The yellow boaed man sighed helplessly, deciding to give up on this useless debate. "You won't believe me. But why don't you just ask Zoro?"
Immediately, all eyes shot across the field, searching for a bright head of green that blended into flawlessly to the mossy grass around them.
Zoro sat, drifted between states of consciousness. At the mention of his name at the beginning of his conversation, he perked up and listened with what intensity he could to the conversation. Dreams or Nakama. His eyes rolled back into his head. He had chosen his dreams. He had actually admitted it to Doflamingo, moments before passing out. And that cackling, audacious, feathered freak had the gall to mention it to his crew.
The swordsman shifted uncomfortably against the rough bark. His head swirled with confusion and nausea. Tenderly he felt his chest wound as his mind fled away from the debate between his crew and Doflamingo. Blood seeped over his fingers and sickness filled the scent of his nostrils. Part of the smell made Zoro gag slightly. Suddenly his heard his name called again and all faces on the field faced him. Only Doflamingo was smiling. His entire crew was glaring with curiosity, and fear.
"Ask me what?" The swordsman managed to grunt out quietly. Blood dribbled down his chin, but Chopper did not react. Over the silence of the field, everybody was able to hear his question.
"Dream. Or. Nakama." Doflamingo asked bluntly, over pronouncing every word and using every syllable as its own form of a weapon.
Zoro's head fell back and stared at the clouds, wishing the question away. His eyes stayed there for a minute of silence as the scene awaited his answer. If I just said Nakama, this would all be over.
Nakama. Just say it. But I said my dream to Doflamingo. Am I lying if I just say Nakama? Damit, this is just a pointless, stupid, useless question. Nakama. Just say it Zoro.
His dream or his Nakama- His passion or his friendships- His ambitions, his life long goals, his promises, his power… or a group of miscellaneous, rambunctious, and carefree people. It stung Zoro to think this, but it was his dream that seemed overwhelmingly the choice. It was his dream that led him to his friends. It was his dream that pushed him forward, that lead him to strength. And it would be his dreams that would make him the best swordsman, fulfill his promise, and finally satisfy himself. His friends would simply be accessories and distractions on the way.
Zoro locked his jaw, gritted his teeth and searched the field for Luffy. His captain deserved this answer. He deserved the truth. No, Luffy wasn't the only one who deserved the truth. The entire crew deserved the truth. I deserve the truth… Zoro thought dimly.
He looked down at the blood that dribbled off of his finger tips. Black dots blotted his vision and red pulsed in the corner of his eyes, matching the pounding beat that assaulted his mind. His chest constricted tight, burning from the weight of the question and the gash that cried blood from under his shirt.
Suddenly, Zoro's breath became rampant, short and quick, never quite circulating through his lungs.
He gasped, searching for air. Maybe it was from the wound. Maybe it was from the intensity of the situation. Maybe it was from his answer. But Zoro found consciousness fickle and fleeting from him. As the swordsman coughed up splats of blood he found his strength and looked again at his captain with his face drawn in stone- eyes solid, his mouth barely parted, and his expression vacant, his lips not curving in any direction.
"Dream." He coughed out.
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The crew just stared as the swordsman passed out, his head limply banging the tree behind him. There was nothing else to do. Nobody rushed towards him with tears and fear and a hand to help. Instead, they just stood. Rooted to the spot, their legs frozen by what their mind had just heard. His dream.
His dream.
Over them.
Over their friendship.
Over every god damn thing they've overcome together, over every tear and beer they've shared, over every fight and spat, over everything. He would choose his own dream. A few sharpened swords by his hip suddenly meant more to him than his gang of friends. And with that, Luffy looked at the swords by Zoro's hip. They instantly filled him with hatred and the captain fought the urge to rush at the swords and them rip off of their cases, throw them in the fire, drown them in the ocean, and let them be trampled by a heard of giants. He wanted to grab his swordsman by the scuff of his neck and shake him until things made sense. But most of all, he wanted to know why. Why wasn't he good enough for Zoro? Why wasn't his crew good enough? … Would they ever be enough?
A cackle emitted from the edge of the field. Doflamingo jumped down from his tree, his face spread Cheshire wide in an enormous grin.
"I told you all." Doflamingo mocked. "Petty little people can not triumph real dreams, real passion."
"What did you do to him?" Nami exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "He would never say that!"
Doflamingo flinched back, his smile dropping down into a straight line of seriousness. "Nothing. You think anything I could say or do would change his opinions of you? Those are his real thoughts."
"Liar! Something must have happened. He couldn't. He wouldn't…"
"You ignorant whelp. He just said it himself." Doflamingo calmly shouted back.
Nami was about to continue speaking but Doflamingo waved his hand, shoving away her words. He turned to Dalburn and nodded. "You may proceed. They're not needed."
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The orange haired woman cringed back as Dalburn sprinted towards her. She measly turned around, preparing to run away, but one look back told her no matter how fast her petite feet ran they could never outlast Dalburn. Just as his hand was about to reach her neck and shoulder, a kick dropped down from the sky, knocking his hand away and throwing off his momentum.
Dalburn spun quickly and recovered, turning to face the direction of the blow. But just as his spin completed, a kick was propelled in front of his face. Dalburn masterfully bent backwards and watch the kick retract over his head. However, a fist flew into the bent over man's shoulder, thrusting him forward into the foot. Another leg blew into the side of Dalburn's head, shaking his brains and rattling him down to one knee.
Suddenly a flurry of fists unleashed on his back end, digging into his spinal cord and slamming his shoulder blades. Dalburn let out a grunt before he swiveled his legs and through his body off of them, launching himself several feet away. He stood for a moment and caught his breath. Luffy and Sanjii stood across from him, their eyes dead and serious.
I swear to God that I'll kick your bloody ass. I'll rip you up and beat you to pieces for what you said. I wont let you just spit on our friendship like that. Sanjii thought angrily. You're an ass Zoro, a new breed of bastard.
Dalburn let out a small chuckle as he stretched his back which responded with a musical cracking of muscles. He casually wiped the blood from the side of his head when Sanjii's kick and struck him. The man reached into his shorts and pulled out two, small pieces of metal that reflected in the head of the sun and fire. Golden and silver, he slid them over his knuckles where they fit perfectly. Little daggers stuck up from them and with that his hands looked far more menacing. A grin grew on his face.
Work through it, Sanjii told himself. You can ask that shit-head what the hell he was thinking when this is all done.
Taking that as signal, Luffy and Sanjii leapt at the man in unison. Luffy swung his arm first, stretching it directly towards Dalburn's fist, who expertly caught it and twisted it, forcing a massive wrinkled up Luffy's arm. Sanjii followed with a kick, not expected Luffy's attack to be dispelled so easily. Dalburn flexed his knees and forced his body weight down, holding his center of gravity.
Just as Sanjii leapt into the air, too late to stop his body motions, Dalburn grabbed it with his free hand. Swiftly he looped Luffy's arm around Sanjii's leg and ducked out of the way.
I mean really, his dreams over us? Luffy. The beautiful ladies. Me. I'm sure I meant something to that brute headed lunk of a person. Sanjii thought, but shook his head, trying to force his head into the battle.
Sanjii managed to make his kick skid to a halt and the force dragged Luffy back to his side. The chef loosely shook his leg, unraveling the poorly done tie. He decided to try a different approach as Dalburn began to run towards them.
Luffy. I thought that telling him about our little spat last night would be devastating. But this... Sanjii spared a quick look over to his captain. Luffys face was vacant, thoughtless, and clear.
As soon as Dalburn got within range, Sanjii fell to his hands and spun on them, his legs twirling rapidly like a tornado preparing. Dalburn hesitated slightly, unsure of how to react to his attack. However, Sanjii approached him, his legs propelled at Dalburn's face. The man rolled back, dodging the attack. Over the sound of Sanjii's attack Luffy shouted his next attack, beginning with his consistent "gum- gum…"
Dalburn heard it coming and leapt over Sanjii, bouncing off of the young chef's feet and plowed his weapon hand into the crevices of Luffys face.
The needles on his brass knuckles dug into Luffy's eye and the Captain let out a shriek as blood began to pour from his eye. The captain backed away, his hand immediately shooting to his face to apply pressure to the wound. But Dalburn did not let up and forced both of his hands together and shoved them into the captain's stomach, poking the rubber captain with a few bloody holes. Luffy doubled over.
Am I not a good enough Captain? Am I not a good enough friend? Luffy screamed to himself. The physical pain was nothing. All it did was bring him back to reality, back to the words that Zoro said. I know he said his dreams meant everything to him. His promise to that girl from when he was a child.
But did I- our crew- mean less than that?
Sanjii stood back up, preparing a kick to the back of Dalburn's head who simply shifted his neck to avoid the attack. Sanjii spiraled past the man and Dalburn quickly gripped Sanjii's hair before the blonde had a chance to recover. Dalburn punch and sliced the man several times over his chest, hearing the familiar crunch of ribs and bones. Sanjii gasped and chocked out splats of blood. Dalburn shoved his brass knuckle into the notch between Sanjii's ribs, one of the needles digging past the bones. As the chef let out an exasperated moan, Dalburn dragged his hand down, ripping a hole in Sanjii's chest, leaving it gaping open to his stomach.
Sanjii landed with a dull thud as he was tossed uselessly against the ground.
"It must suck." The man said, finally breaking his silence. His was surprisingly light, in contrast to his dark nature. "To know that you're friend would choose his dream over you."
Dalburn leaned forward into the collapsed Captains ear and whispered, "Pathetic little captain. You will never be enough for him, or any of your crew."
Luffy snapped, his general smile turning into a harsh grimace as he shot up, his hand reaching at Dalburn's neck. The enraged captain squeezed, with the all the might in his slender body. He squeezed, his fingers pressing. Tiny veins popped in his hands and Luffys eye grew large and narrow at the same time, rage and hatred brimming so compacted. But no matter how hard he pushed, how tightly he gripped his fingers, Dalburn stood strong, his neck no worse for the wear. In fact, the grin stayed on Dalburn's face, ignorant to the choking being attempted. Dalburn slammed his fist into Luffy who, overtly focused on the strangling, didn't see it coming and was knocked off of his feet, flying several feet backwards and slamming onto the ground.
Dalburn walked up next to him and slammed his golden knuckled hand into Luffy's arm, striking through the rubbery skin and crunching into the arm bone- not going far enough to break it but close enough to scrape it- a pain Luffy had not felt in years since he had eaten the devils fruit. The captain rolled over, his hand cradling his blood gushing arm.
Maybe… Maybe Doflamingo was right. Is it selfish of me to put myself ahead of his dreams? Why does it matter so much? Why does it kill me to know that he would choose his dreams over us? I should have always known that. Maybe I have always known that. I just didn't care, didn't think it would matter. I never imagined it would cause this rift.
But just him saying it out loud, him admitting to Doflamingo what he could never admit freely to me… I don't understand him. I don't understand his dream. Have I focused too much on this bond of pirates? The crew I always dreamt of?
No, I won't second guess. This was my dream, a crew at my back that were my friends, not simply my crew mates. This is how I wanted it to be… But does Zoro not want this?
Luffy thought over and over again as he lay on the ground, his breathe free from his lungs and his blood shifting over his body. He questioned everything at that moment- His friendships, his bonds, and his own dreams. What did they really mean to him?
Behind him, Sanjii lay on the ground as Chopper rushed towards him staring at the intense wound that had developed on his chest. It had already begun to feaster and bleed out over his pale skin. Frantically, the little animal began to stitch and sew as fast as he could until he saw Dalburn approaching him.
The beast of a man leaned over the scene and chuckled. "Aren't you a sweet little friend, helping with his wounds?" Chopper nearly blushed, but his confusion overrode that feeling.
"It's a wonder why your swordsman would choose his precious dream over you weaklings." Dalburn mocked coyly. His face was dark and his eyes malicious.
Chopper felt his breath escape him. He turned around and shouted at the man, "You bastard!" The little animal threw a rumble ball in his mouth, waiting for the transformation to occur.
He didn't mean it. Chopper tried to convince himself. Zoro loves us. He may not show it or say it, but I know it! I know we annoy and frustrate him. But that's just how it is. He's the big brother, my big brother. I know he'd choose me… there's no way he wouldn't choose me, us.
But it came too late as Dalburn thrusted up his knee, slamming Choppers jaws together and shattering most of his teeth which fell weakly to the ground. The little reindeer was launched several feet in the air from the knee kick, where Dalburn shot out his hand, which connected directly with Choppers uprising head and pushed the now unconscious reindeer back across the field where he skidded and skipped across the field like a skipping stone over a placid lake.
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"Is that it? Really?" Dalburn asked with a mix of hatred and disappointment. He looked over the scene of the beaten captain, the torn apart chef, the terrified women, and the useless animal.
Then he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. His head turned sharply over as he saw a bloody mass of a man arise near the forest clearing.
Zoro, blood leaking from ever inch of his body, rose up, and his hands gripped tightly around crimson katanas that whispered of war as the wind whistled past.
His blackened and ripped chest breathed in and out slowly as the swordsman looked up at Dalburn, where his lucid and normally clear green eyes had turned into a deepened crimson.
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Authors Note: REVIEW. PLEASE.