Chapter Text
“Well? Got anything else to say?”
Zoro shoots one last glare at the crowd before they eventually migrate towards the front of the church, surrounding the priest to discuss whatever they originally came here.
When the buzz of hushed whispers fills the previously awkward silence, Zoro sighs and turns back towards the nameless kid, who’s currently kicking his legs from where he’s sat backwards on the backrest of one of the pews. He shuffles around to sit in the pew behind his, spreading his legs enough to avoid the risk of getting kicked in the shin.
The two ended up alone at the back of the church, away from all the commotion and any potential eavesdroppers. Whatever his circumstances are, it’d be best to avoid sparking any more unsavory rumors.
Zoro can’t say for sure why he’s still hanging around. Maybe it’s curiosity, or just plain boredom.
“Hey, Zoro!” The stranger chirps, beaming that same grin at the swordsman. He tilts his head, eyes crinkled shut from the impossible width of his smile. “Think you could spare another piece?”
Zoro hesitates for a brief moment, once again taking in his surprisingly healthy complexion. Seriously, who recovers that fast?
The kid suddenly leans in from where he's sitting, prompting a strangled noise of surprise from Zoro. Their faces are only inches apart, wide pools of brown staring into his own eyes expectantly, twinkling in a way that compels him to give in.
He would, if not for one glaring issue.
“I’m all out. Only brought enough for a quick bite.” Zoro shrugs.
His expression falls instantly. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say he’s devastated by the information. The kid leans back and slumps like a sad sack of potatoes, poking his bottom lip out into a child-like pout, and furrowing his brows like he’s been personally victimized by Zoro’s lack of jerky.
Zoro’s entire body tenses in response, face twitching as he tries to make sense of the sudden change in demeanor.
“C’mon, don’t look at me like that.” He bristles, pulling his lips into a soft frown. It’s unsettling to see the kid make a face like that after he’s been nothing but smiles for the past ten minutes.
“Not my fault I didn’t know I’d be feeding some homeless kid.”
Zoro watches as something in his expression shifts; another new emotion he’s yet to see. This time indignation simmers beneath his gaze, and his pout deepens into a solid frown.
“I have a home!” He barks at Zoro with puffy cheeks, crossing his arms tight across his chest. It’s the first thing today he’s really seemed sure of. The swordsman raises his arms in resignation.
“My bad.” Zoro apologizes, relaxing his expression some. “So, where’d you come from then?”
Silence.
The stranger’s gaze softens, then lowers until he’s staring into his lap, arms dropped so he can fiddle with his fingers. Zoro raises a curious eyebrow, but he lets the kid take his time.
“I.. I don’t know where exactly,” He begins, trailing off for a moment. He then shoots up to look at Zoro with a certainty that leaves no room for doubt. “But I know I have one!”
Well, it’s a start if nothing else.
The kid’s eyes seem to unfocus while he’s staring at Zoro, giving the impression that he’s looking through him, at something far off in the distance. He can’t tell whether he should be offended or just plain concerned. Who drifts off in the middle of a conversation like that?
“Oi, kid… you alright?” Zoro prods. When there’s no response, he waves a hand in front of his face.
It seems to work, because he snaps back a few seconds later. Zoro releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The kid raises a hand to his chest, right above his heart. Tanned fingers grip the fabric of his dirty robes tight. He grimaces like something’s paining him.
It isn’t sadness, not exactly. His expression’s twisted into something different, far more painful, because it’s lacking the substance of anything to be sad about.
“I’m trapped, Zoro.” He pleads, quieter now. Something swirls beneath his eyes, so close to breaking through to the surface, but it never does.
“All I want is to be free, and the only way I’ll be free is by getting home.”
Zoro frowns, turning his words over in his head like a puzzle. Is there some hidden meaning in there he’s just not getting?
“And, uh… how are you getting there?” The swordsman asks slowly. The kid just blinks at him. His lips break into a soft smile, and Zoro thinks offhandedly that he likes this expression a lot more than the others he’s seen today.
“I can feel it right here.” He pats his chest, once again right over his heart. “I guess it’s like a pull, always dragging me in the same direction no matter where I go.”
Another vague answer; or, maybe he means it exactly as he said, and he’s got some kind of weird internal compass. Whatever the case, it’s not his place to tell him what he feels.
The kid turns his head to look out one of the large windows flooding the room with natural lighting, staring out into the horizon. Zoro turns with him. The sun is sat high in the sky amongst the looming clouds, a sliver of it filtering through the edge of the window’s arch.
Is his home in that direction? How any of this works is completely lost on Zoro. He gives up on thinking too hard about it, instead opting to watch the kid’s face again, finding himself stuck on the way his eyes appear almost gold in the sun’s warmth. It’s the calmest he’s been all day.
Zoro heaves a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair to get it off of his skin.
“So you really can’t remember anything? Not even your name?” He asks.
The kid beams at him, all traces of his previous internal turmoil wiped from his features.
“Nope!” He answers, popping the last consonant. It isn’t long before he brightens up, eye wide as he presses a fist into his palm. Zoro can practically see the idea forming in his head.
“I’ve got it!” He cheers. “Zoro can give me a name!”
“What? No way!” Zoro shouts in blatant disbelief, sparking a few concerned glances in his direction. “Don’t let a stranger pick something so important!”
“But Zoro’s not a stranger?” He rebuttals. He tilts his head at the swordsman like he’s the crazy one. “You gave me something to eat, so we’re friends now! I trust Zoro to pick a good name.”
He sputters, opening and closing his mouth as he tries to find a good reason to turn him down. In the end, he can't come up with anything.
Zoro exhales exhaustedly, shutting his eyes tight and crossing his arms against his chest. How is he supposed to name someone? That’s a right usually reserved for parents or pet owners, not teenagers in the back of a church.
He rolls what little he knows about the kid around in his head, trying to mash letters together until something fits, but nothing feels right. Zoro opens his eyes again to get a good look at his face, if only for some inspiration.
He doesn’t know how to explain what happens next.
When their eyes meet, he becomes all too aware of the arrhythmic drumming of his heartbeat, an indescribable sort of heat flooding the veins beneath his skin. There’s a voice ringing in his ears, though it’s completely lacking any sort of pitch or rhythm. Maybe it was never a voice to begin with.
It offers him a single, unspoken word.
Luffy.
“Luffy.” He echoes without thinking.
The sound of a sharp inhale snaps Zoro back to attention. It hardly registers to the swordsman that he’d spoken at all.
“Luffy…” The kid repeats back, sounding out every letter with careful consideration. Not a moment later, he grins at Zoro like he’d hung the moon and stars.
“It’s perfect!” Luffy cheers. He catapults off the pew and lands directly on top of Zoro, nearly knocking the wind from his lungs. He gets a face full of messy black hair, coarse against his skin, warm from time spent under the sun.
Does this guy have any concept of personal space?
Luffy proceeds to press their cheeks together, giggling into the touch. That answers his question.
Something moves in the corner of his eye, and he glances over to find a straw hat with a red ribbon tied loosely around Luffy’s neck. Has that always been there? It’s the only article on the boy that isn’t covered in dust or mud.
“You’re the best!”
Well, no use thinking so hard. He sighs and returns Luffy’s smile.
“Yeah, yeah.” He hums, reciprocating the touch with a few short pats on the guy’s back. When Luffy doesn’t move, he clears his throat to catch his attention.
“You should get off before anyone gets the wrong idea.”
Luffy leans back from their embrace to frown at him, confusion evident on his features, but he hops off of Zoro eventually and plops into the spot beside him. He looks like he wants to say something else, the beginnings of a question buzzing beneath his eyes.
“Hey—”
“It can’t be!”
Seemingly out of nowhere, the crowd at the front of the building breaks into a cacophony of mass confusion, the acoustics of the open space filling the air with various cries of disbelief.
Normally, Zoro’s quick to write off their antics, but the sheer level of panic in their voices spikes his heart rate. He shoots up and thumbs the hilt of one of his swords from its sheath. Luffy follows suit, if only out of curiosity.
They swiftly make their way towards the front, and the second Zoro reaches someone, he grabs their shoulder and turns them around. His eyes fall on a woman somewhere in her late twenties, clutching her shawl to her chest as the swordsman stares her down.
“What’s going on?” He questions, short and sweet, trying to keep his voice steady so as not to panic her more.
The lady goes through the five stages of grief all at once. Not a very reassuring reaction. He catches Luffy hovering somewhere beside them from the corner of his eye, watching the interaction with mild interest.
She grabs his shoulders, digging her nails into his clothes with trembling fingers. The crease in her brow is deep, concerned.
“The Sun God!” She practically shouts in his face. One of Zoro’s eyebrows twitch involuntarily, but he stays silent.
“His name! What is it?”
He pauses, letting his sword fall back into its sheath to rest at his side. Is that really what all the fuss is about?
“You’re asking the wrong person, lady. Go to the priest or something.” Zoro answers curtly. That seems to be the worst thing he could’ve said, because she breaks into a sob the moment the words leave his mouth.
It’s not surprising she’s so upset. The sun god is beloved among the people here, so forgetting his name is probably the biggest offense you could make for the guy.
Though, is it really worth all this? If he’s so benevolent, why’s it such a big deal?
“That’s just it!” She speaks up, releasing her hold on him to clutch at her shawl again. She looks over in the direction of the priest and purses her lips together tight.
“We—”
“People of the church!”
Here we go.
The woman bows, then runs off to stand towards the front of the crowd.
“Who’s that guy?” Luffy asks, leaning into his side.
Zoro finds that he doesn’t mind the physical contact as much as he should. Now that Luffy’s wormed his way into his life, something tells him it’d be nearly impossible to get him out.
Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, he hasn’t decided yet.
“The priest.” He mumbles.
“Oh.” Luffy responds.
“We are facing a crisis like never before.” The priest announces to the crowd. Based on appearances alone, he’s incredibly fitting for the job; long, heavy robe adorned in the markings of various gods, fancy hat, an unbending certainty to everything he says and does. He points a wrinkled hand towards one of the windows the sun is streaming in from.
“The sun is leaving us, slowly but surely. We have lost nearly an hour already.” He laments dramatically. Zoro tries to fight the urge to roll his eyes. “And now…”
The priest pauses. The silence that follows is uncomfortable. The man releases a deep sigh, one that doesn't promise anything good.
“Now we have lost all written records and nearly all recollection of He who governs the day. We are left only with the notion that a Sun God exists.”
Another pause.
“We have no name to pray to for the return of the sun. We can only hope that our souls will be delivered.”
The priest steps down, and the room devolves into chaos once again.
“What’s the deal with this sun god guy?”
Zoro turns to find Luffy staring up at him, tilting his head. He’s got that look in his eyes again, like he’s right on the cusp of something that never comes into fruition.
“He’s just one of the gods our village worships.” Zoro shrugs. When Luffy doesn’t seem satisfied with that answer, he sighs. “He’s a big symbol of joy and freedom, I guess. People like him because they think he’ll come save them from whatever hardship they’re facing.”
Luffy hums without breaking eye contact.
“Not you?”
The question takes Zoro slightly aback. People have always gotten pissy with him for refusing to partake in the generally accepted religions of the village, but Luffy only seems curious, interested in Zoro’s perspective.
That’s what really sets it in for Zoro that Luffy exists in the realm of everything outside of this god forsaken mountain. He’s living proof that there’s more to this world than where he was born.
Something about that excites him in a way he can’t put into words. He shakes off the thought for the time being.
“Nah, religion’s not my thing. I’ve never understood the concept of basing your whole life’s worth off of what some giant people in the sky tell you.” He answers with a slight frown, staring off at the altar before him.
“The sun god… I guess I like what he stands for, but I can’t blindly tie myself down to a being no one can prove exists.”
He places a hand on his swords, eyes softening slightly.
“I’ve already dedicated my swords to someone. Nothing will stand in the way of my goal, not even the gods.”
Luffy gasps softly, leading Zoro to glance again at the boy. His eyes are wide, lips parted as he stares at Zoro with stars in his eyes. The swordsman freezes up, trying not to acknowledge the way his face heats up. Luffy’s expression… It’s not one he’s used to receiving.
“Zoro has a dream?”
A dream.
He smiles something fond.
“To be the world's greatest swordsman.”
The second the words leave his mouth, Luffy snatches up his hands to hold within his own. Zoro’s eyes widen as he opens his mouth to say something, but when Luffy tightens his grip and breaks into that familiar, infectious grin, everything he wants to say falls away.
“Come with me!”
Zoro blinks.
“What?”
“Come with me, Zoro! Home!” Luffy practically begs. The corners of his eyes curve upwards to match his blinding smile.
“I don’t—” He begins, furrowing his brow.
“Zoro needs to get off this mountain and go fight a bunch of people to be the world's greatest swordsman, right? I need to leave to find my home! So why not leave with me? We can travel together and fulfill our dreams!” Luffy beams. “It’s a win-win!”
‘Zoro needs to get off this mountain’
Luffy words ring in his ear, spinning in his head until the thought makes him dizzy with adrenaline. For the first time in nearly a decade, Zoro can hear a door opening. Like the first light of dawn, a new beginning, hope. It’s dangerous. It’s exhilarating.
He tries to keep his expression steady, but he can feel a grin to rival Luffy’s bubbling up from his chest, allowing himself just one moment to dream. Because that’s what it’s always been, hasn’t it?
He’s been limiting himself all this time, training mindlessly towards no end, making no effort to cut the rope tying him to this town no matter how tightly it strangled him.
It’s now or never. He won’t get a chance like this again.
Luffy’s grip on his hands tightens again, and now the boy’s practically vibrating where he stands, awaiting Zoro’s answer with baited breath. Zoro huffs an unvoiced laugh under his breath and allows his lips to spread impossibly wide. Luffy laughs before he even gets the words out.
“What are we waiting for?”
And just like that, everything is set into motion. Luffy cheers, loud and jubilant, leaping so high into the air it looks like he might just stay there. The space around him seems to respond accordingly, sunlight brightening the church until his skin nearly glows under its embrace.
The boy throws himself into Zoro’s arms, wrapping his limbs around the swordsman’s torso like some kind of koala. He can feel the soft rumble of Luffy’s laughter against his chest, and in that moment, it’s something he hopes he’ll feel again.
“Can we leave now? Do you need to do anything before we go?” Luffy asks with barely contained excitement.
Truthfully, Zoro can’t think of any loose ends he needs to tie up aside from sharing the news with Jonny and Yosaku.
The brothers coming to town all those years ago was the best thing to ever happen to this place. He’s gonna miss those idiots, but they’ve always been his biggest supporters. Zoro can already hear them telling him to get going already.
He should visit Kuina’s grave, too. It’s about time he finally takes some real initiative towards their shared dream.
“Just a few things. I can meet you back here when I’m ready.” He answers, setting Luffy back down onto the ground. “What’s the plan anyways?”
The boy scratches at his chin, then shrugs at Zoro with a smile.
“I figure we just go down the mountain and figure out where to go from there!”
Well, beggars can’t be choosers.
“Sounds good to me. You’re the one dragging us around.”
Luffy throws him a big thumbs up, and Zoro takes that as his cue to get ready. As he walks towards the exit, the finality of it all sets in. He grips Wado Ichimonji gently at his side, glancing at the bright, slightly scarred sheath. Though he can’t know for sure where traveling with Luffy will lead him, one thing is certain.
Either he accomplishes his goal, or he dies trying.