Hey there everyone. How are you? And yes...I am not dead. Sorry for this extremely late update. Things happened and I was kinda busy...in fact, really really busy. And if that wasn't enough I had no choice but to change my beta-reader. It's been more than a month already and Santoryuu3 won't even reply to any of my PMs. I don't know what's going on but...hopefully everything is fine. Maybe Santoryuu3 is really busy as well.

But mark my words, there's no way I'll abandon it. I have been away from writing for more than half a year but from now on I'll try my best to update weekly. So, now I have a new beta. A million thanks to UltimateC3 for beta-reading this chapter for me. And more thanks to all the readers.

Let's move on with the story now.

Chapter 16: Yasakani-no-Magatama and Swordsman-sitting?

Clouds were already back to their original positions as they surrounded the island of "Cloud-ring". People that had gathered under the Tree had already left for their houses. Those whose houses were turned to rubble in the skirmish between monsters, by the orders of the mayor, were sheltered in different inns and hotels. Under the Tree, cracks appeared in the air. After a split second, a person jumped out of the cracks and landed on the ground, shattering the air like a piece of glass. The very person was named Odin, a big cause of all the damage done to the town.

Odin stood up straight as he stretched a bit. Moving his left hand to his chest, he lifted his coat to have a look at his right shoulder. A deep cut was slowly regenerating with every passing moment, as smoke rose from the injured part of his skin.

"Even my regeneration is this damn slow," he said, a scowl forming on his face, showing his discomfort with the weakness of his body. Letting go of his coat, he combed his hair back with his same hand. "Damned pests! Just you wait..."

Moving his hand to the back of his neck, he exhaled deeply. Suddenly, a grin appeared on his face as he mumbled, "It was a good thing actually. But, I almost killed those two in my blind rage. I can't have any of them dead now." After laughing madly for a few seconds, he closed his eyes before placing his hands in his pants' side pockets. "Now then, maybe I should relieve that brat from his duties..." A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and directed his vision to the mayor's destroyed office building. "There…!" With a sinister grin on his face, he bent down slightly. A small crater formed in place where he stood as he rocketed himself towards his point of interest.

Mayor Kim Jea Han was standing alone beside his office building, or at least, what was left of it. Unfortunately, it was nothing but rubble, and before it lay a dried up, canal-like ravine leading all the way to the ocean, caused by a 'certain' shockwave. After ensuring the citizens that the chaos had ended, the mayor sent everyone to their resting places. Now, he was trying to recollect all the occurrences of the past day, but was interrupted as something heavily crashed a few meters away from him.

"What the…!?" Mayor Kim cried out as he fell back due to the impact.

After a few moments, the smoke cleared and the black haired person walked out of the crater that his rough landing created. "Hey Kim-san. Nice to meet you."

"Who…who're you?" The mayor stammered as he tried to get back on his feet.

"That doesn't really matter. You have something that belongs to me. I'm here for that," he threatened, slowly walking closer to the old man.

"I don't know what you're-"

Before the mayor could complete his sentence, his neck was caught in the tight grip of Odin's left hand. "That thing around your neck, Yasakani-no-Magatama* is mine."

Mayor Kim's eyes widened as he finally seemed to realize the true identity of the assaulter, but didn't have time to react as Odin's other hand impaled through his chest. The demon's hand pierced through the old man's back with ease, holding a pumping organ in its palm. "And I'm taking it back," Odin harshly said as he pulled his hand back, holding the red gemstone pendant and the old mayor's still pumping heart in his palm. Odin tossed the man's heartless body aside, watching it squirm in pain, before looking at the contents in his right palm. "Hmph! It seems I picked up some garbage as well."

"What was that? Mayor Kim was right there, wasn't he?"

Odin heard a few voices as three men appeared and saw the horrifying scene before their eyes. Before they had a chance to analyze what happened, several black spears sprouted out of the ground and impaled all three of them. Punctured by the huge spikes, their bodies were raised several feet in the air. All three lost their lives in a few seconds.

"Nuisances, now the only thing that remains is Yata-no-Kagami*. No matter how much they hide it we'll find it eventually. I have to wait until the Kusunagi-no-Tsurugi* is ready to be formed anyway." Odin threw the dying organ away and tightly clutched the pendant in his bloody hand. The very next moment, he had already disappeared from the crime scene.

~~Three days later~~

Once again, Zoro found himself stranded in the endless pit of darkness as light returned to his eye, granting him some vision. Finding himself in such a place wasn't even a surprise anymore, and it was getting rather annoying. He had a fair idea of what would come next. Taking a deep breath, he struggled with his body to move around in the dark vacuum. As he rotated slightly in the void, his feet suddenly planted on something hard. When he looked down, he realized that he was standing on a walkway. The walkway, along with his feet and ankles, was enveloped by a thick, dark mist that streamed into the depths of darkness from its sides like a waterfall. The dark road stretched both ways, infinitely into the darkness. Unlike the empty feeling from the right side, Zoro felt a cold and malice aura from left side.

There was no doubt about it. He needed to go in that direction. This was the first time Zoro wanted to talk to that thing. He was lost, lost and confused by all the unrealistic phenomena happening around him, and he wanted answers. And if he wanted answers, then that could be the only place where he could find them. Turning to his left, he started walking with a slow, yet steady pace towards his assumed destination. He didn't even bother to think what could be on the opposite side of his current route. His intentions were crystal clear. Recent happenings proved that it was much more than just some illusion or imagination. He wanted to get a hold of his current condition for both his own and his nakama's sake.

Zoro kept walking steadily on the pathway, surrounded by nothing but intense darkness and silence maddening enough to drive any normal human crazy. After walking for about fifteen minutes, he finally caught sight of his target. Several meters away, the being was sitting down on the pathway. With its head lowered down and its dark body slumped, it seemed to be brooding over something. Zoro noticed it to be the very source of all the dense mist that covered the pathway, as the mist continuously streamed out of its body. The mist dispersed away as Zoro stomped his foot on the walkway, stopping a few meters away from the slumping shadow.

Zoro silently stared at the shadow for a few seconds, but didn't get any response. He decided not to act stubbornly and broke the dreaded silence, "It's quite unexpected to see you like this." A few more seconds passed in silence before the shadow slowly lifted up its dark face, directing its pure white glowing orbs towards the swordsman.

It's quite unexpected for you to be here voluntarily, it spoke. White beastly teeth appeared, indicating the appearance of a smirk on the shadow's face. As another brief moment of silence passed, Zoro calmly sat down on the pathway right in front of the shadow, mirroring its current form.

"At first I thought you were nothing but an imagination, a manifestation of my own darkness." Zoro closed his eye and calmly continued, "I thought if I concentrated and trained enough, I could get rid of you." He paused again for a brief moment and then slowly opened his eye glaring back at his target, "But from recent events, I've come to realize that you're something much more than what I thought and something with its own thoughts and will."

It was your own fault for not taking me seriously. More silence ensued. After a brief staring showdown between the two, the shadow asked, So, how can I help you, Roronoa Zoro? His mocking tone was irritating, but Zoro decided to stay calm and just ignore it for the sake of the answers that he wanted to hear.

The swordsman sighed deeply before continuing, "Since you've been free loading inside my body for quite some time now, I thought it would be only natural for you to give me some information."

Free loading?

His questioning tone surprised Zoro slightly. Nonetheless, he didn't let it show on his face.

Didn't I help you just recently…? To save that woman?

"Yeah right. You were about to kill her… I was about to kill her, with my own hands." There was slight disappointment in his voice. Zoro lowered his eye and lifted his palms, looking at them in regret.

Kill her? He once again surprised Zoro with his questioning tone and continued, There's no way I would kill her.

"What the hell are you playing dumb for? I remember it clearly. No matter how much I resisted, I couldn't hold myself from pointing that sword at her. I was ready to cut her down. I wasn't in control of my body, you were. If Mihawk wouldn't have arrived-"

Blah! Blah! Blah! Zoro was interrupted halfway. Stop that whining of yours. One way or another, she survived in the end, didn't she? Besides, I wouldn't have killed her. There is a lot you still don't know, Roronoa Zoro. I pity how naive you are...

"Well, that means I deserve some answers. So…?" The shadow didn't reply and simply contracted his eyes. "I guess I should start then. First off, who the hell are you?" Zoro got nothing except its continuous cold glare and decided to edit his question a bit, "Okay... Let me correct that. What in the world are you? A ghost? Spirit? Curse from some ancient treasure or result of a devil fruit's ability? What are you exactly?" Zoro narrowed his eye as well to intensify his own glare.

Something you, and everyone else, is still unaware of. And those who know are simply ignorant. Though, it works quite well for me, the shadow started laughing at his vague answer, much to Zoro's annoyance.

The green haired man already had a good idea that getting answers wouldn't be easy. So, trying his best to stay calm, he sighed and continued with his next question, "For how long have you been hiding inside me?" Sound of the disturbing laughter subdued within a couple of seconds; the two glowing orbs glared at Zoro as he continued his question.

"I remember that woman saying something about what happened three years ago. You were the cause of that as well, weren't you?" As Zoro finished the question he saw a wide grin form on the figure before him. After a few seconds of silence, the answer came.

It's been quite a while now. You've finally been able to hear my voice recently. No wonder you were such a weakling back there. The shadow couldn't help but laugh again.

"What do you want? What's your purpose for being here?" Even after his meaningless answer, Zoro nonchalantly continued with his next question.

The laughter stopped and the shadow's response caught Zoro off-guard, That…I can answer.

By now, Zoro was convinced that none of his questions would be answered, so he was genuinely surprised by the answer he received. He quirked an eyebrow as a bright smirk formed under the gleaming orbs glaring at him. "Then tell me, what is it you want?" Zoro asked, narrowing his eye. He immediately saw a wicked grin form on its face.

A Name.

"A name…?" The answer wasn't a very big surprise. In his sub consciousness, Zoro could hear what he was saying while his body was being controlled. However, he wasn't able to comprehend the meaning behind the motive.

"If it's just a name you want, then how about I give you one?" Zoro said with a smirk as he held his chin in thought, "How about... Pain-in-the-ass…?" Zoro said after thinking for a second.

You're quite the kidder, aren't you? The shadow calmly said while contracting its gleaming pair of eyes, But unfortunately, you can't name me. There exists only two beings who hold this authority.

"What?"

Yes. I'm uncertain about the whereabouts of the other one. I don't even know what he's like. I just know that he's out there somewhere. From the very moment I came to realize my existence, I've been able to feel his presence. The figure paused for a moment to take a look at Zoro's confused and questioning expression before continuing with narrowed eyes, But the other one isn't so far away.

"The other one…!?"

Yes, the other one who can name me. A wicked smirk formed on his lips, It isn't too hard to figure out. You should've realized already.

"…What does Robin have to do with all of this!?"

Everything

"What the hell do you mean 'everything'?"

But the only thing I want from her is a name. You know how important one's identity is, right? Tell me Roronoa Zoro, do you have an identity? Do you know who you are?

"What kind of stupid question is that? I already have all the identity I need."

Stop kidding around with me. Roronoa Zoro, a member of a measly pirate crew, a Santoryuu user, one of the super rookies from the worst generation. Is that your identity? Is that who you are? The shadow burst towards Zoro and in an instant, Zoro's body was wrapped inside the black mist, leaving him completely immobile.

"Damn it... Not again..." Zoro struggled with all his strength to free himself. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

Roronoa Zoro, do you really know who you are? The shadow said in a gruff voice as it brought its dark face closer to Zoro.

"What are you…talking about?" Zoro stammered the question as he struggled with the wriggling smoke.

Do you have any idea what value and position that woman, Nico Robin, holds in this world? The shadow softly asked while bringing its face closer to Zoro's as his eye widened. Zoro knew that Robin was the only one who could revive some ancient weapons; after all, that was the reason for all the misery she had went through. But Zoro couldn't understand anything what the figure before him was spouting. All signs of movements disappeared as Zoro stared blankly at the shadow's face.

It's a very important matter for all of you but not for me. What I want is just a name. All of a sudden everything around Zoro started swirling as if they were into a giant whirlpool. Zoro's eye remained wide open as everything, along with the shadow itself, got sucked into a hole that appeared behind him and vanished. The very next moment, he was staring at the wooden ceiling of Sunny's infirmary.

Zoro's been visiting this place a lot lately, so it was quite a normal view from his perspective. Aside from the soft scraping sound from a grinding pot and a faint growl in the back of his head, everything was quiet and peaceful in the room. He remembered receiving a gruesome wound in his chest by Mihawk's sword. But compared to his chest, the injuries on his arms felt more painful, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that he couldn't move them. His eye widened in disbelief upon realizing his arms were plastered firmly together.

"OI! CHOPPER, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?" While abruptly sitting up, Zoro spat out angrily at the little doctor who was quietly grinding some herbs on top of his table. Chopper was startled by the sudden rebellious call from his patient, and unable to keep his balance, the reindeer's foot slipped as he landed on his face. Luckily none of the medicine or equipment had fallen. Chopper took a couple of seconds to settle himself as he got back on his hooves.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA!? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" Chopper yelled back at Zoro.

"Like hell you'd die from something like that," Zoro answered awkwardly after a short pause before lifting his arms up slightly. "Anyway, what is this?"

Chopper blankly stared at him for a few seconds before answering, "Arm casts."

"Yeah, thanks for telling me but I'm saying that these things are annoying, so take them off."

"No."

Zoro wasn't surprised by this blatant answer. He knew that it would be almost impossible to convince the doctor, but he didn't give up, "I can't move my arms like this."

"And that's why I put them on." Zoro's excuse was instantly countered by Chopper. They stared blankly at each other for a couple more seconds as Chopper started explaining, "Your arms are badly injured. I'm the doctor and you'll do as I say until you recover completely!"

"I am recovered! I'm telling you my arms feel perfect. Just take these damn things off!"

"Enough already, you're gonna stay like this for at least a week."

"A week? You gotta be kidding me! How the hell am I suppose to train and…eat...and…you know…"

"Another purpose of these plasters is to restrain you from training. About eating, it's already been taken care of."

"What…? Are you gonna baby sit me or something?"

"Yeah, something like that. But not me, someone else will do it." Chopper calmly answered.

Zoro couldn't believe what he just heard. Like he wasn't already annoyed enough by a certain something, now he has to be looked after by some of the most annoying people he could think of. This could go beyond any limit of his tolerance. "Oi! That's gotta be the lamest joke ever. Even you're better than that, Chopper..."

"It isn't a joke."

"It is. Just get these damned things off my arms already!" Zoro almost yelled out in anger and frustration.

"Zoro…" There was a sudden drop in Chopper's tone which caught the swordsman by surprise.

"…What…?"

"How are your arms?" Chopper's question triggered Zoro's memory about all the incidents that occurred just recently. He remembered the severe injuries he received on his arms. "Don't try to lie to me. This is important." Chopper added as he watched Zoro think about something.

"Well…they do…hurt…a little…" Zoro replied hesitantly, still trying to ignore the severe pain that he felt in his plastered arms on brief intervals.

"A little for you means they hurt a lot. What about your chest?" Chopper ignored Zoro's scowling face and continued with his question.

"Chest…?"

"Yes…do you remember receiving severe wounds in your right shoulder and chest?"

"Yes…I do," Zoro's expression softened as he remembered being impaled by Mihawk's sword right through his chest.

"So…?" Noticing Zoro's silence, Chopper asked with narrow eyes, indicating his demand to continue with the answer.

"My shoulder is aching, but…" Zoro fell silent for a short moment as the surprise struck him, "…my chest doesn't hurt at all..."

Another brief moment of silence ensued before Chopper decided to break it.

"Robin has told us a lot of unbelievable things. Ever since you've recovered from your recent injuries, I've been analyzing your blood and DNA samples," Chopper explained as he walked to the nearby desk and jumped on the chair beside it.

"So…did you find anything?" Zoro didn't look surprised as he asked. He already had a vague idea of Chopper's recent workload.

"The only thing I can say right now is that you're not normal. Not like the rest of us at least. Whether it's a good thing or not, whether it's a disease or something else, I can't say at the moment, but I've got to keep researching to find the answers," Chopper told him while gathering his instruments from the table.

"I see." Zoro had nothing to say to that. He was already lost more than ever.

"Zoro, it is a very important matter, for you and for us. At least this one time try to do as I say," Chopper gave a last try in order to convince him as he jumped on the floor holding all of his equipment.

With a frustrated sigh, Zoro decided to agree with the little doctor for once, "Fine. But I have one condition."

"Condition?" Chopper gave a quizzical look to him at this one.

"Ask Robin to do it."

"…!" As soon as it came out of Zoro's mouth, Chopper was speechless and blankly staring at Zoro's face.

"What…?"

"No, nothing. Actually…Robin herself has already volunteered for the task."

"Eh…?" This took Zoro by surprise. He never expected that out of all the idiots, the only sane one volunteered herself for this weirdly childish task.

Suddenly the door opened and from behind it appeared the said archeologist. An awkward silence fell in the room as Robin seemed to freeze at the first sight of Zoro's conscious state. Zoro silently looked back at her as she intently stared at him with an expression that showed a vague sign of relief. As their eyes met, the recent incident flashed before Robin's eyes in a mere moment. The only thing Zoro had in his mind at the moment, aside from the annoying casts binding his arms, was what he discussed with the "Shadow" in his dream. Chopper blankly stared at each of them, switching his eyes from one to the other.

It took a few more seconds for Robin to notice the awkward silence that her arrival had caused, so she decided to break it herself, "How are you feeling?" She asked while walking in and closing the door behind her.

"Not very good…" Turning his eyes away, Zoro answered with a grumpy scowl.

"Of course. I think I understand the reason as well," Robin suppressed her urge to chuckle at his straightforward answer.

"Anyway, you can't take them off. Since Robin is here I'm going to the library to get some books and then I'll head to my room to study your blood sample some more," Chopper said as he walked to the door. He turned back to Robin before leaving to warn her once more. "Robin, I'm handing this task over to you. Don't let him take off those plasters at any cost. Not for at least a week."

"You don't have to be so uptight. Didn't I agree to your terms already?" Zoro softly grumbled to himself.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything, Doctor Chopper." Robin said with a smile to assure the little doctor which triggered his little dishonest side right away.

"SHUT UP! Don't think I'll be happy, IDIOT!" Chopper pulled the door shut with one foot as he jumped out and moon-walked away on his little hooves. This little gag never failed to bring a smile to Robin's lips.

"It looks like you've told them everything," Zoro said, earning her attention in a split moment.

The smile disappeared from her face, "Yes. They needed to know about it," she calmly answered before turning around from the door to look at him.

"Yeah, you're right." He closed his eye and leaned back to rest his head on its back. After another moment of silence, he opened his eyes, "So, I heard that you volunteered for this…task…?"

"Yes." Taking a few steps, she stopped beside the chair near the table.

"It would be much better if you just help me take these annoying things off. Don't you think?" Zoro frowned slightly as his eye trailed the archaeologist's steady, yet graceful movements.

"No." Putting her right hand on top of the chair, she moved it near Zoro's bed. "Besides, there are matters I want to discuss with you."

"I think I have an idea where you're going with this."

"That makes it easier."

Robin sat down on the chair and crossed her arms. Zoro could still feel a low, beastly growl in the back of his head.

…

To be continued… XP

AN: And that's that…PHEW! Yup, I think I deserve a lot of "PHEW"s on this one. Anyway, hopefully this isn't as bad as I think it is. I think I've gotten even worse after being away from writing for so long. Please cope with it somehow.

Time for trivia:

Yasakani-no-Magatama, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and Yata-no-Kagami are three jewels that were used by Susanoo to seal away the eight headed serpent Yamata-no-Orichi. It's a small of part Japanese mythology. Japanese and Christian mythologies are my two favorites…? So yeah, I'll be using a bit of both in this story but not too much that would cause problems for readers.

Now, moving on...please forgive me for this late update and be easy on me. Now that I'm back to writing I'll try to update as fast as I can. Thanks for reading everyone. See you in next chapter of 'Tough Trials'. Maybe I should leave next chapter's title here like other authors...? Oh well, here we go.

Chapter 17: Developing feelings and assault?

Yea, the title for next chapter is kinda lame. (Not that the previous ones are any better. hehehe...) And don't forget to leave a review behind...PLEASE :)