Chapter 8: It was all in the past
"I don't know, to me there both the same." Usopp claimed.
"How could you say that? there most certainly not the same!" Sanji protested.
"I agree with Sanji, the two obviously have different tastes." Said Nami.
Sanji took the time to walk Usopp and Nami to their homes. It was getting a little late because they had an after school ceramics club that Usopp wanted to try. Nami came too because she thought the idea would be fun. Sanji didn't really care much for pottery, but he came along too to look after these two. Somehow they were caught up in an interesting conversation of the differences between Coca Cola and Pepsi.
"I'm telling you guys! Any different flavor of other brand named pop tastes the same to me, like Crush and orange Fanta. Or 7up and Sierra Mist." Usopp said.
"No, there really different. It's kind of hard to explain…" Nami explained.
Sanji was idly listening until he caught a familiar scent. Shit! He thought. Those shitty kiseichu are near by. He stopped walking for a second.
"Hey, Sanji! Why'd you stop? What's wrong?" Usopp asked. Sanji was at least a meter away from them. At first Sanji didn't hear them, He tried to focus on his surroundings. But there was another scent he caught as well that really confused him. He also smelled a Pure Blood like himself, but he couldn't identify who it was. That's impossible! I thought we were the only ones left! Sanji was brought back to reality when he felt a touch on his arm. He jumped, but it was just Nami.
"Are you ok, Sanji-kun?"
Sanji took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. He lit it casually trying not to make them worry. "No. Everything is perfect when you're here, Nami-swan!" He noodle danced.
"You know, you need to stop smoking those things. They aren't good for you." Usopp mentioned with a huff. He was used to Sanji's flirting habits, but it still made him a bit frustrated.
As they walked on, Sanji was wondering why those parasites haven't shown themselves yet. Usually they'd be attacking by now if there this close. He could have chased after them, but he was with his human friends right now.
He felt one was getting too close. He gave a warning growl to try and chase it off. "Are you ok, Sanji?" Usopp asked.
"Oh, I just have something in my throat." He excused.
Sanji was content that he got both of them home safely. He was baffled at why the kiseichu didn't attack. He was going to have to tell the old man about it(Mihawk).
"Hm, that is strange." Mihawk said. Sanji told him once he got home.
"Do you think it's him?" he guessed. Mihawk considered it for a second,
"It's possible, though we'd probably need more proof. I'll tell everyone to stay more vigilant." He said.
"What's going on?" Zoro walked into the room over hearing the conversation. Mihawk mentioned to him Sanji's suspicions. Zoro growled inwardly. "I don't even want to think about that bastard!"
"He must have gotten word of us living here."
"He's not going to stop until every last one of us is dead!" Zoro groaned.
"What about the fact that I smelled another Pure Blood. I'm pretty sure it wasn't him. It was a scent I've never smelled before."
"There is a possibility that there are other Pure Bloods, but I would never have guessed that they'd side with him." Mihawk said.
"Well they must be the most stupidest demons ever."
"Seriously though, look out for any suspicious activity and stay on your toes. We could be expecting a fight at any moment."
Zoro drew his swords. He place one in his mouth and drew the third. He closed his eyes focusing on the straw dummies around him. This was the first time in decades that he's worked with these swords. They brought back a lot of memories, but he tried not to think about that right now. He concentrated.
He bolted across the training room slicing cleanly through every straw dummy. He jumped up and cut through one that was hanging high above the ceiling. Zoro's movements were clean and agile. It was practically as easy as breathing. These swords were a lot better then using the bamboo ones at the dojo.
"Hey Zoro whats-Ahh!" Zoro accidentally pointed his sword towards someone. Luffy? Zoro lifted the blade so that he could hit the teen over the head with the hilt.
"Ow! Hey what was that for!" he whined rubbing the big lumped that formed on his head.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Zoro asked irritably. "I could have chopped your head off."
"Yeah but you didn't. Shishishi!" Luffy giggled. Zoro rolled his eye at his care-freeness. "I decided to stop by to say hi! You're using your swords! Can I watch?" he asked hopefully.
"Hm, I don't know. I don't want to nearly cut you again." He said. It looked like Luffy was half listening. He was distracted by something else. Luffy placed his hand on Zoro's chest. He sighed as he knew what Luffy was looking at. "How did you…" Luffy tried to ask, but he knew that it was a sensitive subject for the swordsman. Luffy was referring to the long scar across Zoro's chest. Luffy didn't realize hoe long the scar actually was. He only saw some of it the last time.
"Later, ok." Zoro said not being able to meet his eyes. Most of the time Zoro tries to forget that he has the scar, but every time he looks at it it is a constant reminder of what happened so many years ago.
Luffy watched in amazement as Zoro moved with great agility around the room. He was like swift wind! Luffy found it hard to believe that he could use a sword with his mouth. There are a lot of other things I want to do with that mouth of his…
Luffy had a blush sweeping across his face as he watched him. His mind tried not to wonder in dangerous territory. It would be really bad/awkward if he got a hard on out of no where.
When Zoro decided to take a break, he looked over to Luffy who was lying on his stomach using his hands to hold his head up and kicking his legs in the air. He also was blushing with a content smile on his face. "You enjoying yourself?" Zoro asked walking up to him.
"Your really good at that! Where'd you learn how to use a sword in your mouth?" Luffy asked tilting his head in wonder. Zoro thought he looked really cute at the moment, but he brushed the thought of feeling his face warm. He cleared his throat and said. "I actually learned kendo from Mihawk. Using three swords is my own style."
"That's amazing! Do you practice it often?"
"Yeah, I got to the dojo every now and again to train and all, but I haven't really used these swords in a while."
"How come?"
"Well, because they bring back some good and bad memories."
"Why bad memories?"
Zoro sighed knowing where this conversation was going. He sat down next to Luffy. He might as well explain everything.
"You see this sword?"
"Mm-hm."
"Well, it used to belong to a special friend of mine. Her name was Kuina." Zoro smiled at the memory of his old friend. "She and I were the biggest rivals. I challenged her to a fight so many times, but every time she ended up beating me." He chuckled.
"What? No way, Zoro's the best!"
"Yeah well, she beat me 2001 times. I was so frustrated, but I promised myself I wouldn't try to cheat. I wanted to win fair and square. Right after our last dual we both promised each other that we'd be the best swordsman ever."
"What happened?" Luffy asked. There was a moment of silence before Zoro spoke again.
"That same night," images of what happened flashed into Zoro's mind. "I were attacked. Unfortunately Kuina knew nothing of me being a demon." Zoro explained. "I tried to…I didn't know she was…" Zoro's voice was starting to crack. He tried hard to fight of tears from the memory. Luffy put a comforting hand on Zoro's knee. "There was a kiseichu in the attack of the dojo." He continued. "At the time I wasn't very skilled at defeating them, in fact it was the first one I had ever saw in real life. The thing nearly killed me; in fact it actually gave me this." He gestured at his scar. "I was covered in so much blood. Kuina walked in witnessing me kill it. I tried to explain but she ran away out of pure fear and trip down the stairs and broke her neck."
Kuina! Kuina! Wake up! Please!
"Humans are so fragile…it's hard to believe that someone as strong as her gets taken out by something so simple."
The whole time Luffy listened in silence. He never would have thought so much could happen to the swordsman. Sometimes he forgets that Zoro's more than two hundred years old. Who knows how long ago this was.
Zoro sighed and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Luffy asked.
"I'm done training." He said.
"Hold on Zoro," Luffy got up and followed him. "Are you ok? I mean, I'm sorry I made you talk about it. I know it was hard for you."
"No, it's fine. It was all in the past anyway."