"I have already defeated you once. What makes you think you can keep up better now?"
Zoro assumed a fighting stance.
"I don't need to keep up." He said grimly, tying his bandana to his head. "I just need to cut you down."
Ildur sneered and vanished. Only, this time, Zoro did not wait to be attacked. Running, he brought his two swords into position and sent one sword attack after the next in Ildur's direction. Screaming, the bandits scattered behind his target, fleeing from the attacks. Out of the corner of his eye, Zoro saw Luffy attack the colossus of a human, who silently parried the attacks, rubbing his hands in a strange motion.
Ildur himself was nowhere to be seen. His maniacal laughter echoed from various corners around Zoro as the bandit teleported to dodge the sword attacks. There was no pattern in the blurred movements of the bandit that he could make out, not like last time. Zoro frowned, his ears thoroughly disoriented. What a pain in the ass!
"You will never defeat me! No matter how many more swords you conjure up!" Ildur shouted from different directions.
"We'll see about that!" Zoro gritted his teeth, his swords locked in a focused stance as Ildur darted around him, teleporting just out of reach every time he swung. The more this Ildur-guy annoyed him, the more Zoro wanted to strike him down. Who ever could stand this constant babbling?
There it was - a blur of movement - the swordsman turned and launched a sword attack in its direction. Ildur, however, being equally quick-witted, was able to bypass the attack. Again. Launching an attack of his own, he lunged at the green-haired swordsman, only to be narrowly sidestepped by Zoro.
"Gotcha." the swordsman murmured, eyes narrowing at his opponent, who stumbled to a halt right before his blade, caught off guard, offering an opening. With a swift slash, Zoro swung his sword at the red-haired bandit. Ready to put an end to it. This bullshit had been going on for long enough.
The redhead's eyes widened as he stared at the sword. He shifted to teleport to escape the swordsman's sharp blade, but this time his agility was no match for the swiftness with which Zoro slashed his sword.
There was a satisfying sound as Zoro struck his target. His sword cut through the brown coat and the skin, leaving a gash from the chest to the left cheek. Oddly matching the other scar on his face. Ildur cried out, teleporting a few steps, and slowed down until he sank to his knees not far away from the swordsman.
"You...cut me..." Ildur gasped a look of surprise on his face. He clutched the wound on his chest, from which blood was slowly seeping. Zoro grinned. He had hit him. At last. With satisfaction, he examined the wound on the kneeling bandit. Then he frowned.
"Pfft" Zoro took a few steps towards the redhead, eyes narrowing again and raising his swords. He had landed a hit but had only grazed this annoying bandit. Meaning he wasn't done here yet.
"Zoro, watch..." the rest was drowned out by a rumble as something hard slammed into him, almost knocking him down. Before it could crush him, he braced his arms and caught it in his hands, the metal of his swords screeching against something solid. His knees buckled under the weight that was suddenly placed upon them, but he managed to straighten back up. What the hell...
"A boulder?" Zoro blinked in disbelief, glaring up at what was lying there in his hands above his head. Another one? Where the heck did that come from?
His eyes snapped to the side where the colossus of a human was still rubbing her hands. Occasionally, she spat into them and then rubbed them together again. Something seemed to be forming in her hands that looked suspiciously similar to what was currently weighing on Zoro. A damn boulder. If he'd had his hands free to rub his eyes right now, he would have. How could that be? Another devil fruit?
"Shit," Zoro cursed. The sheer weight of the boulder pulled painfully at his injured ribs. He felt like they were tightening by the second, a heavy throbbing running through his entire body. The ground cracked beneath his feet. He cursed again as his mind raced. He couldn't afford to cut the rock too close to the houses. If he did, the debris could put the villagers or Nami in danger who were standing right behind him. And that was assuming he could get his swords into position fast enough before the boulder could fall on his head. What a shitty situation!
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the colossus of a human throw at him what she had cultivated in her hands. It wasn't the size of a boulder, but it was big enough to hurt him. Zoro tried to put the boulder in his hands down to defend himself. However, his ribs protested against any sort of movement and so he simply remained where he was. Zoro grunted as his knees buckled again, being unable to protect himself against the incoming projectile. Shit, shit, shit!
"I got this, Zoro!" he shifted his head and saw Luffy rushing up from the side, his fist raised high.
With a powerful swing, the rubber boy slammed down on the boulder in the air and threw it back into the colossus. Then he grabbed the boulder in Zoro's hands with his rubbery grip and flung it into the air, sending it flying off to who knows where before swapping places with the stone.
"All done," Luffy grinned and patted the green-haired swordsman on the shoulder, who was holding his aching ribs. "I saved Zoro."
"Mmh." Zoro said, a rebuttal already on his lips as to why he hadn't needed rescuing or that it had actually been his fight. However, seeing that Luffy was already in pursuit of the Colossus and paying him no mind, he too refocused on the battlefield. Zoro turned his attention back to Ildur, but the moment of distraction had been enough.
Ildur's foot struck Zoro's stomach with lightning speed. Zoro's breath left him in a rush as he was flung backward. The world spun for a moment. His vision blurred as he collided with someone - hard.
"Oompf"
Apparently, he had landed on that said someone, because before Zoro could even begin to recover from the kick, he was roughly shoved off his soft landing onto the ground. Something black, blond and nauseatingly swirly danced through his vision.
"IDIOT Mosshead." Zoro winced at the loud voice of the annoying cook. "Watch where the hell you're falling! You almost hurt Nami-san."
Sanji offered a hand to the navigator, who was sitting a few steps away on the ground.
"I'm fine, Sanji-kun," she said simply, taking his hand and standing up.
Zoro scoffed at the ridiculousness of the situation but immediately regretted it when a sharp pain shot through his ribs. Fuck!
"Seriously, do you have any idea how much you weigh, you damn oaf? You could have crushed Nami-san! And then what would we do without such a beautiful compani-uh, I mean, navigator?"
"It's okay, Sanji-kun. You pushed me away. He didn't even land on me," Nami reassured him, albeit sounding impatient.
She knelt beside Zoro with a serious expression on her face.
"And I'm sorry for that, Nami-san. I never want to have to touch you so roughly again," Sanji said.
Zoro could swear the cook had tears in his eyes. He groaned quietly.
"How are you feeling?" Nami looked at him with an intensity that made it seem like she was seeing right into his soul.
He shuddered. A terrifying thought!
"Good," he said then through clenched teeth, forcing himself to stand up, to walk.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nami shaking her head and Sanji shooting him a death glare, but he decided to ignore his crewmates. He could argue with them later - after he had taken down that red-haired bandit.
His gaze swept across the battlefield. The marketplace looked more like a ruin than the bustling heart of the village.
Then his eyes landed on Luffy, standing in the middle of the square, head lowered, fists clenched.
Zoro frowned. Why wasn't he moving? Was he okay? He did not fall asleep in the middle of battle, did he?
"Oi..." he started, but the rest of his words got caught in his throat.
Luffy had turned to face him, his eyes so cold that a chill ran down Zoro's spine.
A look so icy, as if he wanted to kill him. As if someone had flipped a switch on him.
Zoro instinctively took a step back, gripping the hilts of his swords tighter.
How could this be?
That look… it was the same as back then…
Back then when his captain had attacked him on the ship... when he had thrown him into the railing... had broken his ribs...
Zoro gulped.
Luffy wouldn't really... Whatever it had been, he had snapped out of it. Had he not? He wouldn't try such a thing again.
He was normal again. Was he not?
"Luffy..." Zoro searched for something...anything familiar in his captain's gaze. For something that could tell him that Luffy was joking. That he was wrong. That Luffy would not attack him again... Instead, he found himself staring into the eyes of a stranger.
A boulder came at Luffy from behind, thrown by this colossus of a human, and Zoro's attention drifted over there for a second. Luffy's eyes never left his as he stretched out a rubbery arm and punched the boulder back at its creator, knocking the colossus to the ground.
"There..." A cruel grin played around Luffy's mouth as his arm snapped back and he raised his fist towards Zoro. "Now let's have some fun..."
Zoro shifted his stance, keeping both hands on the swords, ready to fight if need be.
"Cut it out, Luffy. This is no time for games."
The younger boy tilted his head, his ice-cold gaze traveling over Zoro's entire body as if to locate the wounded swordsman's weak spots. A shill ran down the greenhead's spine.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Stop being so creepy!" Zoro shouted, narrowing his eyes at his captain. He didn't want to believe it, but the uneasy feeling in his chest was getting stronger and stronger.
Eyes locked on the younger boy, Zoro moved slowly, step by step, mentally cursing the way Luffy mirrored his steps like a lurking predator. Then he stopped and dug his feet into the ground, cringing as Luffy did the same. His sweaty palms kneaded the hefty swords in his grip. The undeniable notion heavy in his stomach. He did not imagine it. Luffy was being strange again.
Annoyance at his shitshow of a week revealed a throbbing vein in his forehead as he studied the rubber boy who stood just there, observing and not attacking him. Not yet anyway. Zoro sighed. He could not catch a break, could he?
"What the shitting fuck are you morons doing? We're in the middle of a battle!"
Sanji's shout from the other side of the battlefield interrupted the silent duel between the two pirates. Zoro shot a short glance in the cook's direction. The blond was busy kicking the heads of some fearless bandits who had dared to pick up arms and refused to stay down. Occasionally, small projectiles exploded at the bandits, which Zoro recognized as Usopps. At least they were out of range.
"Shut up and mind your own damn business!" Zoro yelled back. Then his gaze wandered back to Luffy, or rather, to where Luffy had been standing just a moment ago. Shit. Did he move? Did he run? Or did he...
From his left, he noticed something approaching him fast. He turned and caught Luffy, charging at him, flinging his fist in his direction. Silent as if he had meant to execute a sneak attack.
"Fuck me..." Zoro muttered as he moved, narrowly dodging the rubber fist that shattered the ground he had just been standing on.
"Stop that, Luffy! Damn it, I'm not your punching bag!"
Zoro jumped, biting away the pain as the movement pulled at his injured ribs, putting some distance between him and his insane captain. The swords in his hand suddenly felt very heavy. Heavier than before. If Luffy attacked him seriously, he would have to use them against him. Once again. This was all so stupid. He could hurt him. His nakama, his friend. He was still his friend, wasn't he?
"It doesn't matter." the black-haired boy said, rising from his knees and massaging his right arm.
"What?" Zoro frowned.
"That Zoro is fast. It doesn't matter." said Luffy. Then he grinned. But it wasn't a happy grin. "Because I'm way faster."
With that threat, Luffy leaped forward and threw punches at his first mate with a speed that would have taken down an inexperienced fighter instantly. Zoro sidestepped Luffy's blows, hesitating to use his swords against him to cut him while evading the hail of rubber fists.
Then Luffy lashed out with his leg. Zoro saw a large rubber foot coming towards him from the side. He barely managed to block it with the blunt side of his swords, but the impact knocked him back, sending him flying across the square until he finally got his feet back under him. Drawing in a short breath, he rammed one of his swords into one of the loose stones on the ground and squinted his eyes in an attempt to calm the throbbing pain in his ribs.
Somewhere in the square, he heard a familiar gasp. He didn't even need to turn his head to know that it was Nami. Then the sound of someone running towards him. Probably the shitty cook to involve himself again in things that were none of his business.
"Zoro! Luffy? What the fucking hell are you two idiots doing?"
To Zoro's added annoyance, the damn cook actually sounded genuinely confused.
"Are you seriously fighting each other right now? Do I need to remind you again that we're in the middle of a battle? You do realize there are actual villains running around that need their faces rearranged, right? Or did you two swap brains with a pack of brain-damaged baboons? Because, honestly, that would explain a lot. Get it together, dumbasses—this is serious!"
"Piss off, cook!" Zoro growled, barely sparing Sanji a glance. "I don't have time to deal with your crap right now."
"Oh, my bad. Didn't realize you were so busy with whatever the fuck this is."
"Whatever it is, it's none of your business."
Out of the corner of his eyes, Zoro saw Sanji crossing his arms in front of his chest and raising his stupid eyebrows at the words. Shit. This pain in the ass of a cook had to leave, to get out of their captain's reach. He didn't need anyone else being dragged into this mess.
"Oh, sure. Not my business. Just a couple of dumbasses hacking at each other while the actual enemy runs loose on an entire village. Why would that concern me?" Sanji rolled his eyes, but his smirk faded as he shot a glance between Zoro and Luffy who were still sizing each other up.
"Wait...you are actually serious about this, aren't you?"
Zoro didn't answer.
If the situation weren't so dangerous, he might've laughed at how utterly baffled the cook looked.
"Wait but why would you..." Sanji frowned but there was worry written over his features now. "Luffy? What the hell is going on?"
Luffy finally turned his head, cold eyes flicking toward Sanji. The fury in them made the hair on Zoro's arms prickle.
"Sanji's in the way," Luffy said as if he was making an observation about the weather. "Gotta incapacitate Zoro. If Sanji is in the way, I'll have to incapacitate him too."
Sanji stilled.
"Luffy..." His voice was quieter now, edged with something uncertain. He took a step forward.
"Don't." Zoro's voice cut through the tension like a blade, his gaze narrowing on the cook. "Stay out of this. I mean it."
Their eyes met, and for a fleeting second, something shifted in Sanji's expression, a realization flashing across his face.
His gaze flickered to Zoro's injured side.
"Is that what... why you..." His breath hitched. His eyes widened. "Shit."
Obviously, the cook had lost his tongue. For once. Finally something good about this whole shitty situation.
Is that what happened on the ship? Maybe that was what Sanji had wanted to say. After all, he had also noticed that Luffy had been acting weird lately. Zoro tensed up. He didn't care what conclusion the blond had finally drawn. It wasn't important now. He had to deal with Luffy first, answer questions later.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zoro noticed something fast rushing directly towards the unsuspecting Sanji. Something huge, colossal.
Shit.
Zoro moved, his swords poised to intercept when he sensed movement from his left, something rubbery hurtling towards him.
Luffy.
Zoro barely had time to bring his swords up before a fist came flying at him. With a sharp twist of his blades, he deflected the punch, redirecting its force past him, careful not to cut the rubber boy. His jaw tightened as he narrowed his gaze at Luffy, resisting the instinct to exploit the opening in his defense.
Luffy was not his enemy.
He'd obviously lost his damn mind. Again. But he wasn't an enemy… right?
Without even pulling his arm back, Luffy latched onto a boulder behind Zoro and used it as leverage, hurling himself forward like a human cannonball.
Zoro braced himself, but the sheer impact rattled through his swords, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his ribs. He groaned, feet skidding against the dirt.
His eyes flicked up and widened.
Blood dripped from Luffy's forehead, trailing from two fresh, X-shaped cuts against his swords.
Damn it! So much for not cutting him.
"This is stupid," Zoro growled under his breath.
He swallowed, forcing himself to meet Luffy's gaze.
"Luffy..." His voice was low, strained. "Just stop. We're friends, aren't we? I don't want to hurt you...so just..."
But the expression in Luffy's eyes - so cold, seething, wrong - made the rest of the words die in Zoro's throat.
What was he even trying to do here? Did he actually think he could break through whatever had Luffy in its grasp? Or was he arrogant enough to believe he could talk him out of this?
The same realization that had struck him on the ship settled in again. Luffy wasn't giving him much of a choice.
Zoro exhaled sharply, jaw tightening. Damn it. He was going to have to kick his ass.
A quick glance over his shoulder told Zoro that Sanji was engaged in a fight with the colossal human. So he had been able to fend off the attack. Good.
Refocusing, Zoro tensed his arms and flung Luffy off him. The rubber boy skidded across the dirt, finally coming to a halt a few meters away, one knee and palm pressed against the ground.
Zoro wasted no time. He shifted his stance, positioning his swords over his shoulder, determined to knock Luffy off his feet with his next attack.
Then, something blurry flashed through his vision.
Zoro instinctively pivoted, twisting his swords in front of his chest just as a blade came streaking toward him.
A metallic clang sounded across the marketplace as the weapons collided. The attacker's blade was attached to a bracer on a wrist, sticking out from beneath a tattered brown cloak.
Zoro gritted his teeth as he stared into the face of an unfortunately all too familiar red-haired bastard.
The Ildur guy.
Still alive.
Still ugly as hell.
"Miss me already?" Ildur sneered, his face twisted in a crazed grin. Blood still trickled down his cheek from the wound Zoro had dealt him a few moments ago.
Zoro's grip tightened on his swords as he narrowed his eyes. He definitely should have cut deeper.
"I have to admit," Ildur went on, his voice dripping with disdain and amusement, "I wasn't expecting your little friend to turn on you. That was a surprise. An interesting one, at that. I should probably let you two tear each other apart...but honestly?"
His grin widened, splitting into something even more unhinged.
"It just looked like too much fun to watch."
His maniacal laughter was smothered by the hateful look he gave Zoro. "And besides..." Ildur flexed his finger to his cheek, tracing the wound down to his chest. "I still owe you for this."
Zoro scoffed, pressing harder against his swords even though this intensified the pain in his injured ribs.
"Tch, if I had known, you'd still be yapping, I would have aimed for the head."
To his brief satisfaction, this wiped the sneer right off Ildur's annoying face. The bandit let out a growl, pushing against Zoro's swords before swinging his blade at him. Zoro retaliated with a daring strike aimed at Ildur's abdomen, but cut through empty air. The bastard had already teleported away to attack from another direction.
There was a flicker of movement at his right. Zoro caught it just in time. It was Luffy, who was coming at him low, leg outstretched in a sweeping kick meant to knock him off his feet.
Zoro pivoted sharply, dodging both attacks in one fluid motion, moving like a blade through the wind. He danced between their assaults, deflecting and countering where he could, landing cuts as his opponents pressed in from both sides.
He fended off another attack from the bandit and whirled around when he felt Luffy charging at him from behind.
Then, suddenly, Ildur reappeared behind Luffy and shoved him forward.
Zoro's eyes widened as Luffy stumbled and fell - straight into his sword.
"Shit, Luffy."
At the very last moment, Zoro twisted his swords, flipping the blades so Luffy only struck their blunt edges. Then, with a sharp thrust of his hilt, he knocked the rubber boy back, sending him crashing to the ground.
His eyes were fixed on his captain, so much so that he failed to notice the blurry shadow behind him.
"Mmh, too slow, too slow..."
With a speed, Zoro couldn't best, a hand shot out to the third sword still sheathed at Zoro's side and yanked it out.
The sudden absence at his side sent a jolt of alarm through him.
Zoro whirled around. "Keep your hands off..."
A searing pain tore through his left side, ripping the words from his throat. It spread like wildfire, setting every nerve in his body ablaze. A sick feeling churned in his gut and he had to gulp twice before looking down.
There it was. His own sword. Buried nearly up to the shaft in his side.
Fuck this whole damn island...
Ildur laughed spitefully, his hand tightly closed around Zoro's sword. With a rough jerk, he pulled it free.
Zoro let out a sharp groan, sweat beading on his forehead as he staggered back. His hand instinctively clutched the wound. Blood seeped through his fingers. The pain surged. His knees threatened to buckle beneath him.
From somewhere in the distance, a fearful scream cut through the haze.
"Damn... mmgpf." His breath was ragged, his body betraying him at last. One knee hit the ground. His limbs, his head, everything suddenly felt so much heavier, as if gravity had doubled against him.
"Pfft, I told you you couldn't win against me," Ildur said with a laugh and Zoro had trouble focusing on the bandit as his vision swam.
"You really should've paid more attention. But now that I've had my fun and since you won't be needing this anymore..." Ildur tapped the bloodstained blade with an evil smirk. "I think I'll take it. Such a beautiful sword... was completely wasted on you."
No...
Zoro gritted his teeth, forcing himself to move. He had to stand. His fight was not yet over. He couldn't just sit there, defenseless.
Not now. Not ever.
Zoro had barely forced himself back to his feet through sheer willpower when Luffy lunged. His eyes widened. Their cheeks brushed for the briefest moment as Luffy's fist drove into his gut.
The impact sent Zoro hurtling across the square, crashing through wall of a house, tearing through a family's dinner table, and finally slamming into their cold, unlit fireplace.
A breath, more sigh than groan, escaped him as his head rolled back from the wall and slumped forward. His body was so unbearably heavy, his mind unable to grasp a single thought. Something warm and wet seeped through his clothes. His hand, once pressed against his wound, slipped limply to his side.
Then, his eyes fluttered shut and darkness swallowed him whole.