To clear some confusion, this story takes place when Tsunade is hokage and Sasuke is still at the village.
A/N: Thanks to the few who reviewed! :) Sorry for the long time of not updating…I was busy updating my Yaoi fic because it had more reviews….haha….. If you don't like Yaoi, don't worry! This story has 0% yaoi content….unless you beg for yaoi. But if I add that now, it'll mess up the plot line.
I'll reward those who waited with a pretty long chapter! :) Enjoy! I'm planning on FINISHING this story and not just sort of….abandon it.
Sailing Between Worlds
"Are you . . . Roronoa Zoro?"
Zoro was surprised. Kakashi could have eavesdropped and heard his first name, but Zoro never said his ENTIRE name out loud.
"Do you know me?" Zoro asked Kakashi. He never remembered seeing Kakashi before.
Zoro's eyes widened slightly as he saw the silver-haired man do a few hand motions so fast they were barely visible and shout, "Chidori!"
Then Zoro heard Kakashi speak under his breath.
"Roronoa Zoro . . . I will take you back to the village, no matter what."
Chapter 2: Memories
"Back off," Kakashi muttered to the three ninjas staring in confusion.
"But Kakashi sensei! We must help you if he's an enemy; we're a team!" shouted Naruto.
"Not intruding is teamwork too," Kakashi retorted. "He completely surpasses your level, Naruto. It is dangerous for you to fight him."
Naruto fumed at Kakashi's words and was about to whine but shut his mouth when Sakura punched him in the back of the head. Sasuke stood examining Zoro calculatingly.
"I don't like unnecessary fights…" said Zoro. "I never tried to kill you, insult you, or do anything impolite. There's no reason to fight, Kakashi san."
"Kakashi SAN (1) eh? When did you refer to me so courteously? I guess that proves you're not lying….an act or not, you never could stand being polite to me for any extended period of time." Kakashi squinted his eyes and muttered to himself, "….but that's weird…your memories of me shouldn't have disappeared…was there a slip in the memory jutsu?"
'What the fuck….I think this silver haired dude is crazy. Why is he insisting that I know him?' Zoro thought to himself in annoyance before stating out loud, "I don't believe it's a matter of memory loss, Kakashi san. I simply have never met you before."
There was a tense moment of silence in which Kakashi and Zoro simply stared at each other, Zoro in annoyance and Kakashi with a mix of amusement and wonder. After a few moments, Kakashi dispelled his Chidori and backed a few steps away.
"You see, I'm not a fan of violence either," Kakashi said. "Perhaps we can sort this out through talk. I'm sorry about my aggressive reaction earlier. I wasn't thinking critically...a habit of mine."
'He's lying,' Sasuke thought as he stared incredulously at his white-headed teacher. 'Kakashi sensei is very rational and always thinks before acting. I never saw him act so impulsively as today before. What is it about this boy named Zoro that's making Kakashi sensei act so out of character? Or is Kakashi sensei just acting?' Sasuke shifted his glance to Zoro. 'And how does Kakashi sensei know that boy in the first place? Green hair is uncommon….no, more like nonexistent here. I guess he's from somewhere far away. And why does Zoro not recognize Kakashi sensei back? It seems like Zoro lost his memory through a jutsu of some sort. Or perhaps one of them is acting. But I see no fidgeting or any signs of dishonesty in either of them. Even if one of them IS lying, what would Kakashi sensei gain from pretending to know Zoro? And what would Zoro gain from pretending to have forgotten Kakashi sensei? It just doesn't make any sense.'
Next to a pondering Sasuke, Naruto was pouting and muttering something about being belittled by Kakashi and how teachers were supposed to encourage their students to take risks. Next to the miserable blonde, Sakura had two hearts in her eyes devoted to Zoro.
'Hot….hot….hot!' thought Sakura, blood sprouting from her nose.
"SAKURA CHAN! ARE YOU OKAY?" Naruto shouted when Sakura fell over and fainted from the loss of blood.
'….idiots,' Sasuke thought to himself, trying to ignore the panicking blonde shaking Sakura by the shoulder. He turned his full attention on the conversation between Kakashi and Zoro.
"First things first. How do you know my name?" Zoro asked, crossing his arms.
"Because I know you," Kakashi answered in a rather teasing voice.
"How?" Zoro asked, feeling more irritated by the second.
"We used to be friends! Rivals! Haters! Remember? You used to punch me in the face when I read porn!" Kakashi exclaimed, making his three students and Zoro stare at him as if he were running around a public park naked at 12 PM.
"Yeah, I do," Zoro answered in a blatantly sarcastic voice. However, Kakashi did not seem discouraged by this.
"And then you would rip my face off when I tried to hit on your sister!" Kakashi added cheerfully.
"I don't have a sister," Zoro interrupted, raising an eyebrow.
Kakashi continued as if Zoro hadn't spoken, "But you would always forgive me when I would buy you a drink of sake (3). Boy, you loved that stuff despite being underage. And we didn't get caught even ONCE! Quite a feat, eh?"
"Kakashi san….I really think you have recognized me as someone else….," Zoro muttered, face palming himself in frustration. "I have NONE of those memories you have stated."
"Then…," Zoro looked up from his hand to Kakashi quickly, startled by the sudden serious turn in the grey head's voice. Maintaining eye contact with Zoro, Kakashi stated calmly, "…I shall have to make you remember."
Zoro's pupils widened slightly when he saw three black comas spinning rapidly around the center of one of Kakashi's eyes and felt the world around him black out.
POI Change to Zoro
….where am I?
I'm in a village, I guess…but it's not the village I lived in at the East Blue. I don't know this place at all…but for some reason….I feel comfortable here. TOO comfortable that it's creeping me out.
Woah, woah. Wait a second. WHY am I here? Wasn't I in a forest with three kids and a crazy grey headed adult? What was his name…oh yeah. Kakashi.
Okay, so…I looked at Kakashi san's red eye with three black coma things…and I just blacked out.
Great. Lots of help.
I still don't get it…why is he insisting that I remember him?
And what kind of shitty island am I on? Is this place like an April Fools Island or something? Ugh. It's not even April. I'm tired of thinking, and I seriously need some sake…..
…..HOLY SHIT. One of the villagers just walked through me! Doesn't seem like they heard me swear either. Hm. Guess I'm not visible or audible to them…which technically means I'm not physically HERE at all. What am I? Did I die and become some kind of spirit or ghost? I don't believe in superstition crap, but there's honestly no other explanation for this situation.
Well, there's no use of just gawking like an idiot in the middle of a town. I'll explore this place a little.
Hm. Where IS everybody? After we all fell in that random black hole that appeared in the middle of the sea, I guess we all separated into different places… Hopefully I won't have to see that stupid Ero cook (4) anytime soon.
Grocery store…alcohol house…darn it, I have no money to buy sake….onset…takoyaki (5) stand…another onsen…porn book shop…ramen stand….huh? Wait a second. What's that green haired dude in front of the dango (6) stand?
Is that….that….
…ME?
It IS me. I swear it's me. I know what I looked like when I was seven years old. The green hair, short height, katana slung on the side…. That is DEFINITELY me when I was young.
UGH. Now what? Am I in the past or something? Time travel? No, that doesn't make sense…I was never in a village like this during my childhood.
Sigh. Does this involve black holes and worm holes or any of that kind of scientific gibberish? Don't want to be into any of that shit. Well, I guess it's too late.
The young me is staring right through me like the others. Huh. So he can't see me either. Good. Don't want things to get more complicated than they are already. He looks like he's waiting for someone….wait. Is he sleeping while standing up? Ha. That is DEFINITELY me.
"Zoro!"
….huh? Who's calling me? Did someone SEE me? No way. It's probably someone referring to the young me. Who is it?
Ah. It's a grey haired boy around seven years old…and he's approaching the young me. He looks like a younger version of Kakashi san! Even that mask covering three quarters of his face is identical. Hm. Coincidence?
The young me and the grey haired boy look really friendly…
"So you're buying the dango, eh?"
"Of course not, Porn Ninja."
"Screw you Seaweed Head."
…hm. Nevermind. Looks like me and Sanji.
They're entering the dango stand side by side, bickering obscenities at each other. I guess I'll follow them inside…I have nothing else to do, anyway.
Huh? Everything's starting to fade out. Really slowly. The dango stand, children running around, mothers holding groceries, stores, dirt road….
Now everything's faded out except for me, the young me, and the grey haired boy.
"Oi (7), Zoro. Want to spar today?"
"Like you could beat me."
"Oh yeah? I can beat you in a blink of an eye if I tried!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Shut up Seaweed Head! I'm going to kick your butt today when sparring!"
"Ah? I'M going to kick your butt off of this planet, Porn Ninja!"
….I guess they don't really like each other.
Now even those two have faded out into nothing, and there's only me and complete emptiness. What am I supposed to do now?
Oh great. Even I'M fading out now. Oh well. Let's see what happens.
POI- Back to third person
Zoro blinked.
'What the heck was that?' he thought. 'It seemed like a memory…but I never lived or even visited a village like that before! That memory with the grey haired kid isn't mine…it can't be!'
Kakashi examined Zoro's confused expression and said, "I used my Sharingan to dig out one of your memories."
After composing himself, Zoro looked at Kakashi and replied, "It's not my memory."
Kakashi sighed and said in an impressed voice, "You were quite skillful in 'erasing' your previous memories with the jutsu…. but you were young back then, and all you could do was HIDE the memories from your consciousness, not literally erase them. I can easily unleash these memories you hid from yourself using my Sharingan. And if I do it against your will, it'll be painful."
'What the fuck is he talking about? Me? Hiding my memories from myself? Why would I even do that? Sharingan? Is that the red eye thing?' Zoro thought confusedly.
"As I said before, I'm not a fan of violence…," Kakashi continued, acting oblivious to the turmoil going on in Zoro's mind. "…so it would be nice if you could willingly follow me to the village as a visitor…rather than a captive."
"What will you do to me if I enter the village?" Zoro asked suspiciously.
"Suspicious about everything, eh? Quite typical of you," Kakashi said with a chuckle, making a vein in Zoro's forehead throb in annoyance. "Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to interrogate you or anything. All you need to do is see the hokage."
"…..hokage? What is that?" Zoro muttered.
The three young ninjas stared at him in disbelief while Kakashi simply let out another chuckle.
"I didn't know you erased your memories on EVERYTHING. Guess I'll have to explain it to you all over again, Zoro," Kakashi stated.
"I don't need to. I'll leave the village once I find my nakama," Zoro answered.
"Oh? To where?" Kakashi retorted.
'Crap….I forgot where I was before ending up here… We were sailing in the middle of the ocean…and the sea we were in was called….UGH! Why can't I remember this?' Zoro thought to himself, scrunching his eyebrows together in concentration.
"You can't remember, right?" Kakashi asked smugly.
Zoro remained silent, trying to force his brain to remember. When Kakashi stared, waiting for some kind of reaction, he simply shook his head and looked away to the side. Kakashi opened his mouth to interrogate the green head further, but glanced at the sky and realized the sun was setting. He stated, "We should return to Konoha village now. It's getting dark." The three young ninjas nodded while Zoro simply gave him an intimidating glare which Kakashi took as a yes.
The four young teenagers and adult walked side by side. All that could be heard was the crunch of dirt against five pairs of shoes. Even Naruto remained quiet, finding the silence quite awkward to start a bickering with Sasuke…although he proceeded to 'accidentally' step on the raven's feet every two minutes.
Soon the party had arrived to the front gate of Konoha village. The two ninjas guarding the front greeted the four ninjas before eyeing Zoro with mild interest. Zoro ignored the two curious pairs of eyes and stepped into the village briskly, not waiting for the rest of the group. Kakashi sighed and told his three students that they were dismissed. He then quickened his pace to catch up with Zoro, leaving three very confused ninjas.
"….what's up with Kakashi sensei today?" Naruto murmured, scratching his blonde hair.
"Dunno…he seems to be a little off today. But….oh god….that boy called Zoro was so HAWT," Sakura crooned, staring at the sky lustfully with her two hands clasped together as if she were praying.
'If even the dobe senses something is off, that means there's something incredibly wrong…,' Sasuke thought before walking away and muttering, "Hn. I'm going home."
"Good bye Sasuke-kun~!" Sakura exclaimed with hearts in her eyes.
"See ya, teme!" Naruto shouted.
When his two companions were out of eyesight, Sasuke quickly changed his direction to where Kakashi and Zoro had went, using his Sharingan to guide him. He soon found himself in front of a dango stand. Sasuke immediately hid himself behind a tree when he spotted Kakashi and Zoro settle down on the bare, wooden patio next to the dango stand some distance away but still within earshot. Kakashi set a small plate in between him and Zoro with two colorful dangos on it, then picked one up gracefully and began to nibble on it. He offered one to Zoro, who shook his head as a refusal.
"Zoro, where were you living before coming here?" Kakashi asked, a smug look in his single revealed eye.
"I was living in the East Blue…and met Luffy. He took me in as second man in his pirate crew…then we sailed around and accumulated our crew… Now there's Luffy, me, Nami, Usop, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook," Zoro muttered.
"Now Zoro, I have to tell you something…and you NEED to believe it," Kakashi said after a long period of thoughtful silence. "No matter how ridiculous it sounds, you MUST understand that it is the truth."
"…tell me and I'll consider," Zoro replied, looking Kakashi in the eye skeptically.
"Promise me that you'll believe in it first," Kakashi said firmly.
"….sure," Zoro said half-heartedly.
After taking a deep breath, Kakashi said slowly.
"Zoro. Your whole previous life in the East Blue, memories with your pirate crew, the sea, the islands…it was all your imagination. It was all fake…an ILLUSION."
To be continued.
(1) "San" is a POLITE Japanese honorific.
(2) Demo- but
(3) Sake is a japanese alcohol. I think it's made of rice.
(4) When Zoro says ero cook, he's referring to Sanji! Those who read One Piece should know. :3
(5) Takoyaki- A Japanese food. And it tastes DELICIOUS.
(6) Dango- Another mouth-watering Japanese food. I think it's like sweet rice cakes skewered onto small wooden sticks. Tastes awesome.
(7) Oi- Hey.