Hey everybody,

so after the trilogy ended, several people asked me, what would happen to the soldier, who survived the G-6 and if she would ever meet Law.
Well, this chapter here is exactly about that.

Have fun ;-)

Law and Yaone

After the last chapter of part 3

-Zoro-

"Here you are. Chopper is looking for you, your bandages need to be changed."

Yawning, he looked up as Torao came up the stairs, also looking like a mummy.

"That's why I'm here," Zoro grinned, crossing his arms behind his head. "Chopper is a bit annoying at the moment."

The other returned his grin dryly. "That may be because you're seriously injured. To be honest, my fingers are itching, too."

"And here I thought you were on my side."

"Well, first and foremost, I'm a surgeon and your body is my masterpiece, so take care of it." But Torao still showed his dry grin and leaned against the railing opposite Zoro. "What are you doing out here? I thought you always sleep for days with such wounds."

"Who says I didn't sleep?" replied Zoro, before shrugging his shoulders. "Mihawk called."

Instantly, the other's face darkened.

"I can't stand this guy," he grumbled casually. "You've made an odd choice with him."

Zoro replied nothing. What could he answer, Torao was not wrong. At the same time, Zoro was far too tired to have any discussion now, let alone get up and expose himself to Chopper's grueling judgment.

"Well, you seem to want to have your peace of mind. Then I won't bother you any further. But get these bandages changed until sunset, otherwise I will force you to do so, understood?"

"Alright, alright," Zoro grumbled, "but wait, I have to discuss tell you something."

Torao, who had just turned back to the stairs, stopped, and looked at him questioningly. Then he grinned. "No, I'm not lying to Chopper just so that you..."

"That's not the point," Zoro interrupted, and that seemed to surprise the other.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" he asked with a serious undertone, leaning against the railing again.

Zoro sighed and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.

"Tomorrow the Navy will arrive," he murmured, "that's why Mihawk called."

"Oh, then we should leave soon," remarked Torao, "but that's not why you're telling me, right?"

Zoro sighed again and ruffled his hair. "Gosh, that's really not my area of expertise, but what the heck. No, there is another reason. But before I explain this to you, I don't want you to get your hopes up, okay?"

Torao raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Zoro just waved it off.

"Yes, don't look at me like that, I have my reasons why I say that. Believe me, I know you're not like Mihawk or the Cook when it comes to drama."

Now Torao tilted his head slightly. "And yet you warn me not to get emotional if I understand you correctly? I'm starting to get curious."

"So," Zoro grumbled, looking at the other seriously, "there's a soldier – her name is Yaone – and she's like me, except she can't remember anything."

"I don't understand a word."

"Oh sure, she died like me and came back in a foreign body. Her current form, just like Lady Loreen, is not her true one. But unlike me, she can't remember her past life, and of course she can't transform." He waited until Law nodded before continuing, "That reborns can't transform is not uncommon, but we come back with our memories. She must have lost them afterwards, through an accident or what do I know. It's definitely strange."

"Okay," Torao murmured, crossing his arms, "and why are you telling me all this? I mean, you're right that I'm very interested in your condition, and I want to know as much about it as possible, but I don't understand what this soldier has to do with it. If you want to use my devil power, I am sorry to tell you that I doubt I can bring back her memories. But of course I could try."

Zoro waved it off. "Oh, I haven't even thought about that, that's not the point."

"What is it then?"

Sighing, he hesitated. This really wasn't his thing, and he didn't know how to let in Torao gently. So he decided to stick to the facts, hoping that Torao as a doctor would somehow be able to deal with those.

"Whatever, so the thing is, reborns can recognize each other. Everyone has a shadow that shows the other body."

Torao nodded. "I remember, after Punk Hazard you said Eizen could see your shadow, do you mean that? Is he like you?"

Zoro shook his head.

"No, he isn't, no idea why he can see it. However, Brook can also do it, maybe it has something to do with near-death experiences or whatever. In any case, because of this shadow of the soldier, we tried to find out who she actually is." Zoro strenuously tried to pull the folded paper out of his belly wrap, but his bandaged fingers followed his orders only coarsely. "We found a fitting picture and Mihawk recognized him from his time in the Navy."

"Him?" asked Torao, and Zoro just nodded.

"I actually wanted to let you know much earlier, but after I found out, my allies in the Navy wanted to protect themselves and as you know, we kind of kept getting into things."

Finally, he had pulled out the scrap of paper and handed it to Torao, who took suspiciously and began to unfold it.

"She can't remember, but I'm pretty sure Yaone is actually Donquixote Rocinante."

Torao replied nothing, with trembling fingers he held the paper, breathing harshly, and then finally looked at Zoro. "How sure are you?"

Zoro shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't really show you any proof, but I'll give you my word that the man in the picture looks oddly similar to the shadow I saw. In addition, Vice Admiral Comil – Yaone is currently in his care – has found out that the first records of Yaone are from an orphanage in 1511. Even then she had no memory and Mihawk confirmed to me that Donflamingo shot his brother that year."

"Yes, that's true." Torao lowered his gaze back to the photo and Zoro could see his eyes shimmering. "So that's why you told me not to get my hopes up, not to get emotional."

"I have no proof," Zoro repeated, "and even if it's true, that doesn't mean she'll ever remember."

"But if what you're saying is true," Torao murmured, his usually calm voice sounding anything but solid, "then it could be that Cora is alive? That he has been alive all this time?"

They looked at each other.

"Yes, I am sure that Donquixote Rocinante is alive."

- The Next Morning –

"Do I have to like that? You two meeting a Vice Admiral of the Navy in enemy territory, alone, so soon after the battle, and we are supposed to assume that nothing happens to you?"

Zoro shrugged his shoulders. "That's just the way it is, and nothing will happen to us. Even if it's an ambush – which it isn't – then Torao and I are absolutely capable of helping ourselves."

"Now come on, Zoro-ya," grumbled Torao behind him in a bad mood. Somehow, he was more impatient than Luffy before lunch, not that Zoro could blame him.

"At least tell me why you're doing this?"

"Can't," Zoro grumbled, crossing his arms, "not yet."

He could easily see in Nami's face that she understood.

"Alright, but take one of the baby snails with you and Zoro," she raised a finger admonishingly, "afterwards you come out with the truth, understood."

"Don't get on my nerves." With a roll of his eye, he turned and followed Torao, who nodded vigorously towards sunrise. Then he sighed. "Don't worry, we'll be fine and back in time."

In silence he walked next to Torao, there was nothing they could talk about anyway. Actually, Zoro would prefer not to have to be there at all. He helped Comil and company when it suited him, and after learning that Torao had a past with Donflamingo's little brother, it had been right to initiate him. But all this did not mean that Zoro was keen to spend the next few hours with some people at some place talking about some stuff. Not when he could spend his time on much more meaningful things, such as sleeping.

Yawning, he followed Torao into the pub Mihawk had told him. He was tired, and his body still hadn't recovered from the fight. But things were as they were.

"Meeting in a secret backroom of a run-down pub? Doesn't speak much for the Navy," Torao remarked as they entered the designated room.

"Clearly has Mihawk's signature," Zoro said, "even though he would never normally have chosen such a pub. He really can't stand you."

Torao just shrugged his shoulders and settled down on an old sofa, which groaned under his weight.

Zoro did the same and squatted down on an armchair that stood a little apart at a table by the window.

"They're late," grumbled Torao and crossed his legs.

"No, we're just way too early," Zoro replied, yawning and crossing his arms behind the back of his head. He had just decided to take a nap when there was a knock on the door.

The two pirates exchanged a glance briefly, when the door opened, and an old lady came in. Her long, gray hair was wrapped around her neck like a scarf, and despite deep wrinkles on her face, she moved upright and elegantly as if her age were nothing more than a façade.

"Good morning," she greeted in a deep voice, tilting her head slightly. She was tall, much taller than Torao and her smile had something knowing.

"Who the...? Didn't you say Vice Admiral Comil would meet us here?" Torao had jumped up and although their counterpart was an old woman, he went into a fighting posture without even looking at Zoro.

Zoro also observed the old lady.

"Oh, I didn't expect that. You sound somehow different than anticipated, Jade, almost friendly."

Now she smiled at Zoro and the grin of her shadow made him shudder as always.

"You, on the other hand, sound exactly as I expected, Roronoa Zoro. Even if your glare hasn't changed a bit." Then she stepped aside. "Come in, Yaone. Standing in the drafty hallway is not proper."

It was strange not to see her in uniform, but even more surprising was how insecure she looked, her eyes lowered, her fingers knotted in the hem of her shirt. The few times they had met, she had always seemed rebellious or cheerful and talkative towards Zoro, but it wasn't like he actually knew her, so he didn't really care.

"Why are we even here, Vice Admiral? How many more times do I have to tell you that I can't remember and don't see why I should even change that?"

Her shadow on the other side had his eyes closed as usual, without any facial emotion.

"But my dear child," Jade replied, closing the door, "I told you to call me Jade. No one would believe you that an old matron like me would be an actual soldier in serving."

Yaone just rolled her eyes and Zoro could understand that expression. He also didn't know why he had to be present as he yawned again.

Torao next to him seemed to tense up a little more, he still stood there, as if ready to fight, as if these two could actually be dangerous to them.

"So that's her?" he asked in a rough voice. Then he turned to Zoro with a doubtful look. "And you're sure?"

Zoro shrugged his shoulders. What was he supposed to answer that he hadn't already said?

"She," hissed the soldier and took a step towards Torao, "also has a name! It is Yaone, understood?"

Then she turned back to Jade, who stood at the door with her mysterious smile and watched them all as if she were just a spectator of an exciting experiment. Zoro had always had difficulty reading her as Comil, but he just realized that the real Jade was much more disturbing than the dumpy Marine, and only now did Zoro realize that he had no idea what Jade had done in her previous life. Judging by her gaze, he had no doubt that she could have been a serial killer.

"Vice Admiral, can we please leave?" Yaone still sounded as bad-tempered as Zoro felt. "I saw him, and it didn't change anything, so please stop telling me..."

"Yaone," Jade interrupted her in a surprisingly decisive tone, "I promised you that this would be my last attempt to awaken the memories of your former life. But for that, I want you to at least give it a serious try. Don't you think your past deserves it, that he deserves it, that you at least try."

She nodded over to Torao, who looked up in surprise.

For a moment, Yaone stared back and forth between Torao and Jade, stunned.

"He's a pirate," she hissed, as if that explained it all.

"So what? Don't pirates have feelings, too?" replied Jade, unimpressed. "We think you could be someone he lost a long time ago. Doesn't this memory of a deceased person deserve that you at least try?"

Now she was silent. Zoro, on the other hand, looked at his ally. Torao's face was an expressionless mask and yet he could almost hear it working behind that forehead. Zoro had no idea what was going on inside him, couldn't imagine what it must be like to be on that side. He wondered a little if the others of his crew would have looked at him that way if he had been able to bring himself to tell them the truth back then as Loreen.

"Okay, fine," the soldier grumbled and nodded decisively, "what should I do?"

"I'd say you guys just talk, and maybe something will click." With these words, Jade walked up to Zoro and sat down opposite him in the second chair.

For a moment, soldier and pirate were staring at each other, still undecided, then she snorted loudly, walked past Torao with her head held high and let herself fall onto the sofa, exactly where he had been sitting before.

Accordingly, the surgeon seemed to take this as an attack, because he pursed his lips – the vein on his temple pulsed as conspicuously as only Luffy could otherwise make it do – and trudged over to a chair, which he then pulled to the sofa and demonstratively settled there, although there would have been plenty of room next to Yaone.

Somehow these two reminded Zoro of Mihawk when he didn't get what he wanted, meaning really annoying while Zoro just wanted to sleep.

"So?" growled Torao and stared her down. "Now what?"

"Don't ask me," she replied sounding about as mad as he did. "You three claim I'm someone I'm not."

"I'm not saying anything."

"I don't care. Just tell me something about him and hopefully after that we can just stop this crap."

"By the way," Jade drew Zoro's attention to herself, while the other two were still hissing at each other, like two domestic cats fighting over territory, "I think I should inform you that Hawk Eyes forced me to share relevant information about us reborns."

Zoro shrugged his shoulders and yawned insistently.

"So what?" he grumbled, crossing his arms. "I'm not surprised. This bastard hates not knowing things and he loves to use knowledge against others. You should have expected something like this with him."

"Still, you let him in on Yaone and referred me to him," Jade remarked, whose expression revealed absolutely nothing about her thoughts, not that Zoro cared in any way.

"Are you going to blame me now?" he admonished and leaned forward. "Just to be clear, you came to me for help, and it was only thanks to Mihawk that we were able to identify this crappy photo, and as you may remember, I had better things to do on Marijoa than deal with a soldier who doesn't even want to remember her old life."

"You don't follow our rules," Jade replied coolly. "Anonymity and secrecy are the most important things to protect ourselves and our environment. But not only that you personally initiate Hawk Eyes and enable him to collect even more information, no, also the Straw Hats and now Trafalgar Law? Do you intend to no longer hide your second form? But hasn't Banri told you back then..."

"I don't care about your rules, understood?" He could see that it made her angry, but that didn't really impress him. He yawned again and leaned back again. "Honestly, it was your decision to help me and I'm grateful for that, and if it suits me, I have no problem showing my appreciation. But I don't really give a rat's ass about the rest."

"But..."

"I don't plan to blow the whistle on you and your buddies, don't worry, but I won't pretend just because you're afraid of your past. It has nothing to do with me."

Now she leaned forward and rested a hand on the table between the two of them.

"Are you not aware of who and what we are? We have a job to do, and we have to protect our kind, and I know you know. You are not clueless like Banri; you remember what happened after your death and I thought you knew..."

Zoro sighed and almost regretted asking Mihawk about the soldier. Then he looked at her.

"I know who I am and what my job is." Her eyes widened a bit, and she leaned back a little, although Zoro did not move. "My name is Roronoa Zoro, and I follow my captain."

"But..."

"No buts. All these things to which you have subordinated your existence do not matter to me. So don't even try to manipulate me. It won't work."

She wanted to reply, but suddenly Yaone slammed her feet on the ground and jumped up.

"This is pointless," she growled, looking down at Torao with contempt. "I know the facts about Donquixote Rocinante's life. Do you really think the Vice Admiral wouldn't have forced this file on me a thousand times? So either you tell me something that doesn't show up in any file, or we just let it be."

"You're pretty insolent," Torao hissed back. "You're just some girl – a soldier on top of that – and you demand to know about the time when Donquixote Rocinante was undercover, and even about private moments?"

"I'm not demanding anything of you!" she said angrily. "I'm only here because your great friend and felon over there tried to kill me – and mass murdered a whole base in the process – and since then everyone insists that I should be someone else than I am. So, if you don't feel like doing this shit here, then we can just let it be and I can finally go back to my normal everyday life and imprison bastards like you and Roronoa Zoro over there!"

Zoro looked over at Jade.

"Doesn't seem to be going well," he murmured, and she nodded with a roll of her eyes, not looking like she was even mad about Zoro anymore, not that he cared.

"Then just get out!" Now Torao also stood up and met her contempt with equal rejection. "You couldn't be him either way. He was kind, gentle, honest, and a better person than anyone in this room, and it's an insult to his memory that you think you..."

"I never claimed to be your oh-so-great Rocinante and if you..."

"Don't you dare say his name!"

Slowly, Zoro should consider whether he should intervene. Apparently Torao could make quite a drama as well. Zoro had always known that the Shichibukai were chosen according to very specific conditions.

"Or what? Huh!" She walked towards him, absolutely not intimidated. "Are you going to kill me, pirate? Just try! Been there, done that! Just like your amigo over there tried to do! Just like Rocinante's brother seems to have done with..."

"Be quiet." Torao spoke very quietly, his eyes lowered, his hands clenched into fists.

Obviously surprised, Yaone took half a step back, probably noticing that she had crossed a line. But then Law laughed almost quietly.

"Actually, you're not so dissimilar to him," he whispered. "I sometimes forget that he could be like that because he was always so freaking nice to me. But if something didn't suit him, he got so annoyingly stubborn and if people made him angry, then... he could get really pissed just as you are right now, messing with anyone whose behavior contradicted his own sense of justice – while being totally hypocritical, this idiot set entire hospitals on fire and yelled death threats at the staff when he got angry..."

Then Torao looked up, a pinched smile on his lips.

"I'm sorry, Yaone. I was warned not to get my hopes up, but... even if you used to be him, you now have a life of your own, probably a much better life, hopefully a much better life. Maybe, no, probably it's better if you don't remember." She looked at him with wide eyes as he swallowed. "I shouldn't have expected you to behave like he did when I was a child. I was just expecting something else. "

The situation was strange, even Zoro could tell. A few seconds ago, those two had been about to go at each other's throats, and now they were talking to each other like... reasonable adults.

"What were you expecting? What would the Rocinante from your childhood have done?" asked Yaone, and suddenly Zoro had to think back to the G-6. It was the first time since then that she sounded like she had when she had led him through the corridors of the G-6, laughing out loud, glad to have found a like-minded person in Zoro, unaware that Zoro would bring hell on earth upon her only a short time later.

Torao hesitated for a moment, then sighed and spoke a little cooler, although he blushed: "He would have said that he loved me, and he would have smiled like a drunken idiot."

For a moment it was very quiet, and Zoro watched Jade out of the corner of his eye, who watched the whole show far too fascinated. He, on the other hand, felt like he was absolutely in the wrong place; this was none of his business.

"All right. In memory of your deceased friend and my comrade, I will try."

"What?"

Surprised Torao took a step back, but she followed him and then raised both hands; the right still bandaged, probably from back then. Wide-eyed, Torao froze as she embraced his face, stroking his cheek with her right thumb as if these two had known each other forever.

It was like an accident, although it was absolutely none of Zoro's business, he couldn't help but stare as this soldier faced Torao and he looked like he was going to have a stroke at any moment.

The next moment she smiled, which also reminded Zoro of the G-6; it was an honest smile and she had certainly once been a very cheerful person, at least before Zoro had entered her life.

"I love you, my sweet, little Law."

Whatever was going on within Law, none of it showed, so Yaone eventually dropped her hands and got her distance, looking at Jade almost like seeking help.

"And?" she asked, but Yaone just shook her head.

"No, nothing."

With a heavy sigh, Jade rose. "Well then, you've seriously tried, and I stand by my word. We can leave and I won't force you to remember anymore."

Almost surprised, Yaone stared at her superior.

"But..."

But Jade turned to Zoro: "I'm glad we were able to clarify your standpoint. I must confess that your position of neutrality is more than I expected."

So it had been a game, he had almost expected it, just as Mihawk liked to play such games. Grunting softly, he also stood up, dropping his gaze on Torao, who by now had his arms crossed and looked as if nothing remarkable had happened at all if it weren't for his pressed lips.

"Well, gentlemen, we should not continue to steal each other's time. Yaone, say goodbye, we have to get a ship."

"But... but..." For a moment she looked at Jade almost in shock, but then she nodded curtly, as the soldier she was, walked towards Torao and offered her hand, a faint smile on her lips. "I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill your hope, but we tried, didn't we?"

Torao swallowed once.

"Thank you for trying," he explained, his voice absolutely neutral, as if they were talking about the weather, "for a soldier you're not too bad."

"Likewise, pirate," she grinned and then followed Jade to the door, ignoring Zoro, which he didn't hold against her – he was just happy that it would finally be over. He had wished for a better ending for Torao, but well, this was real life and not a fairy tale.

Yaone stopped at the door and looked back at Torao.

"Farewell," she said.

"Farewell," he replied, and when she turned around, he quietly followed, "Cora."

"What?"

She stared at him.

"Um... n... nothing," murmured Torao.

But she continued to stare at him, her eyes wide open.

"Corazon was his alias," she whispered, stepping back into the room. "It was the name his brother gave him, and you called him that?"

Slowly Torao nodded, a somewhat defensive posture: "Yes, at first, he was just some commander of the crew. I didn't really like him at first, but eventually..."

"... you called him Cora." She smiled, but something was different, but what? And then Zoro saw it: Her freaking shadow smiled! And then he opened his eyes. "You woke him up for breakfast and..."

Tears ran down her face and she stretched out her hands after Torao, who took a step back.

"You looked down at me, had been sleeping, could barely see your face with the blinding sun, and then you... then you called me Cora."

Torao stopped and something in his face changed, but Zoro decided it was time for him to leave, stop being the uninvited spectator.

Ruffling his hair, he averted his gaze and followed Jade outside. This was clearly none of his business — not that any of it had been — and so he closed the door behind him, hearing Torao whisper something in disbelief.

"Finally," he grumbled, "we've finally got it done."

"What are you talking about?" Jade showed him that dangerous smile again. "This was just the beginning. If Donquixote Rocinante really remembers, there is a lot of knowledge for the Navy to document and a lot of things to work through."

"Maybe," he grumbled, shrugging his shoulders, "but that has nothing to do with me anymore."

"You're really somewhat simpleminded, aren't you?"

They spent the next hour in the taproom of the dark pub and although Zoro could wish for a better conversation partner, it was not bad, after all, Jade was paying and talked most of the time, so Zoro could concentrate on drinking.

In between, the baby snail rang, and he had to reassure Nami that everything was fine and that they would come back soon. But it wasn't that soon.

At some point Jade got up to end the meeting, because it had probably been too long and they were expected by somebody, and Zoro was quite grateful for that, because he was tired, and his cracked bones hurt.

In silence, he walked next to Torao along the small village back to the ship. Unlike the Navy, of course, they had not docked at the port, but it was still not far. Torao had lowered his reddened eyes to focus on the ground and Zoro had crossed his arms behind the back of his head.

It was a bit strange and if Zoro wasn't Zoro, but maybe Robin or the Cook, he might had tried to talk to Torao now, but what could he say? What was said to someone who had assumed the death of an important person for ages, only to see him again in a foreign body and as an enemy – but hadn't Donquixote Rocinante also been Torao's enemy? He had been a soldier, right? Urgh, slowly Zoro got a headache from all this crap.

"When could you transform back into your real body?" the other asked him at some point.

"Does it really matter?" Zoro replied after a moment, eyeing Torao from the side.

"No... Not really," he whispered. Then he stopped as if hit by lightning, staring first at Zoro and then in the direction from which they had just come. Zoro could almost see what he was thinking.

Torao stared at him again and took a deep breath.

"You just have to take the road here along the side of the forest to the bay, just straight ahead. You'll be able to do that, right?"

"Tze!" Zoro rolled his eye and then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "And what are you up to?"

"Doing what really matters!" And then he ran.

"Hey Toro! Catch!" Zoro threw the transponder snail after the other, who caught it running, nodded to him briefly and then he turned around, running even faster.

With a soft smile Zoro went on, absolutely satisfied with himself and the world. After a while, the small, white transponder snail in his pocket rang and since he was in a surprisingly good mood, he even answered.

"Can you speak freely," came after the expected silence, while Zoro placed the transponder snail on his shoulder.

"I can." With a satisfied smile, he examined the tall treetops around him.

"You seem in a good mood, Roronoa."

"I think I did a good deed today."

"Oh? So Donquixote Rocinante remembers."

"Is that why you're calling? Because you want to know how it went?"

The other laughed softly. "That too. But above all, I just received a call from your navigator that they couldn't reach you and Trafalgar apparently left you only a few hundred steps away from your ship."

"So what? I'm just going for a walk. What's the problem?"

"Roronoa, where are you?"

"I just made a little detour through the forest, but I didn't get..."

The other sighed in exasperation. "Please be so good and let your sniper locate you by Kensubsoku Haki. I would prefer my partner not getting lost on some island in the New World just because your crew forgot to..."

"Mihawk," he interrupted, ignoring the usual rant.

"Roronoa?"

He stopped and looked at the horizon in front of him. He had reached the end of the forest, stood on a cliff and in front of him stretched the wide sea. At the front of the small bay, the Thousand Sunny bobbed in the clear water and broke the rays of the setting sun.

"I think we have been really lucky," he murmured.

For a second it was completely silent.

"Yes, we have."