Chapter Text
They arrive in Logue Town and Luffy is overly excited - which is saying something when being exuberant is his default setting. Zoro listens to him prattle on about the pirate king, both inside his head and outside of it. To him, none of it holds much significance, but he can feel the anticipation in the rest of the crew as well, each and every one of them looking forward to the Grand Line. This is the beginning of something new and a departure from all things familiar is looming ahead of them, inevitable like the change of seasons.
Usually, Zoro wouldn't classify himself as superstitious, but when Luffy announces his plan to explore the execution platform where Gold Roger met his his end, with so much eagerness in his voice, Zoro can't help but find it ominous. No pirate should be so enthusiastic to catch a glimpse of a place like that - it seems like courting bad luck. Navy is not kind to pirates, he should know, he's spent years hunting the very thing he has now, unexpectedly, become. It's not something he wishes to dwell on, but he can't ignore the part of his brain that says it's possible, even likely, that one day it'll be one of them up there, looking down at the world one last time. If it comes to that, he hopes it's him. Because he will do anything in his power to make sure it’s not Luffy.
He lets Luffy dash along, this is clearly the kind of personal quest that Zoro's best not interfering in. He wants to tell Luffy to be careful but knows it'd be ignored. He sets out on a mission of his own, he’s hardly going to be able to protect Luffy with just one sword, especially not in a town teeming with outlaws and marines. Although Luffy would probably deny any need for protection, there’s no question in Zoro’s mind that he will find trouble long before they’re off the island. And when that happens he’s determined to be there, wielding three swords, whether he’s welcome or not.
He doesn’t get very far before a commotion yanks him out of his musings. There's a dark-haired woman standing in the street, being harassed by two larger men. Zoro immediately tenses, his body primed for a fight, knowing that even lacking two of his swords he'd be able to wipe the floor - or in this case, ground - with common thugs like these. However, before he has time to make a move, the woman has unsheathed her blade and cut both of them down in swift, precise motions. He's a little impressed, perhaps because she doesn’t look like much, but he can see potential in her. That is, at least, before she stumbles and drops her glasses, trying to blindly fumble for them on her knees in the dust. He picks up the glasses and hands them over to her. She lifts her head but her “Thank you!” is drowned out by the roaring in his ears when he takes in her face.
It's Kuina! That’s the first thing his mind supplies him with and he almost blurts it out loud, only just holding back and saving himself from looking like a crazy man. And he’d have to be crazy to have entertained, even for a moment, the possibility of Kuina still being alive. Hadn’t he seen the corpse? He banishes the image from his mind violently, clinging desperately to the one delusional bit of hope that, undeserving as he is, he's been granted a miracle.
His heart thumps against his ribcage painfully and Luffy rushes to him through the bond. What's wrong, Zoro? He doesn't know why right then, but he feels it low and weak, a tendril of something stretching towards her - and her tentative response.
Who is this? Luffy asks, eternally curious.
Zoro is taken aback. You can sense her too? He doesn't think it's supposed to be possible. He himself can hardly sense her yet, the bond but a seconds old fledgling between them.
But Luffy's mirth is palpable. You found another one!
He feels Luffy stretching towards the newly formed connection and just knows if he touches it, it'll seal it in place permanently. It's too much, too fast, and too personal as well. This stranger with a sword and Kuina's fierce expression makes him feel long-buried feelings even Luffy hasn't managed to dig out of him. He panics, and without thinking slams close all the doors to his mind and for the first time since that day in Shells town, blocks Luffy from his mind.
It’s rash, he knows, and he regrets it almost immediately but keeps his mind closed. The woman in front of him is staring, she doesn't seem to have any idea of anything out of the ordinary having happened between them, as blind to the bond as to the world around her. Well, it's unlikely she has any prior experience with such things anyway, he surmises, most people don’t.
“Are you alright?” She asks, arranging her glasses back on. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Her observation is so eerily accurate he’s tempted to laugh, except he’s afraid it’d come out as a sob and he’d rather hang on to some remnants of his dignity.
“What’s your name?” is all he manages to choke out as a response. He has to hear it even if he already knows the answer won’t be what he wants it to be.
“I’m Tashigi, from the marine base,” she offers, and after a pause adds, “And you?”
Marines? That's a thing he needs in his life like the plague.
“No one important,” he says, already turning his back on her.
He ends up running away without saying goodbye. Looking at her is painful and he has more pressing obligations to both himself and his crew. He's heard it said that you can't run from your soulmates, that you're bonded for a reason and you can only stretch the bond so far before it pulls you back together. That you're destined to always run into each other when you share a mind. But he's going to damn well try.
It doesn’t take him long to find a shop that sells swords, but even the short walk is enough to allow his feelings to switch from disappointment to irritation over this "Tashigi" character daring to look and act so much like someone she’s not. He's not going to allow her to steal something that was supposed to remain between him and Kuina.
He shakes his head, deciding to put the whole incident out his mind - and steps into the shop.
“I want to buy some swords,” he announces to the shop owner whose initial cheer dies down in record speed when he hears the details of Zoro’s meager budget. He’s not been too worried since, after all, he can do more with a regular sword than many can achieve with a tailor-made one. Yet when the shop owner lays his grabby hands on his one remaining sword and starts offering increasingly large sums for it, Zoro can feel his earlier irritation creeping back. What is it with this cursed town that insists on reminding him about his past life every corner he turns? It's been ages since anyone's even looked at his inherited sword twice.
Just then another figure stumbles next to him, reaching for his sword. “This is Wado Ichimonji, isn’t it?” She asks, oblivious to the rest of the world.
She's so absorbed by the sword and her little sword catalogue that she doesn't even notice Zoro, yet he can’t help but notice her. It's almost uncanny how of all places in a city of this size she has managed to find him as if she's been following an invisible trail only she can sense. Whatever animosity he’s felt towards her suddenly feels trivial, and the moment her hands touch the sword a wave of relief crashes over him. There’s no definite reason for it, just a vague sense that the sword is in the hands of someone worthy. Zoro rarely lets others touch it and even now he wants to snatch it away, make it crystal clear to everyone in the shop that the sword is and will forever remain in his possession. He only restrains himself because she starts spouting more details about the blade. Was Kuina's sword that special? To him, of course, but worth so much? He's a little stunned by the realization.
When the shop owner finally accepts that Zoro’s not about to sell his sword he begrudgingly directs him to the corner that holds the bargain swords. Tashigi joins him, having finally managed to tear her eyes away from his sword long enough to look at his face. He sighs and proceeds to rummage through the barrels filled with damaged second-hand swords until his hand fits around the handle of one that's calling to him. It feels different from the others, with a heavy presence. He pulls it out and the girl looks like she's about to piss her pants. "That's the great Sandai Kitetsu! You should get that!"
“I can’t sell that sword to you!” The shop owner retorts.
“Why not?” asks Tashigi, but Zoro already knows.
“It’s a cursed sword, right?” he says, and it’s not a question. He stares at the blade with an uncanny feeling of something staring back, assessing him. It doesn’t take him long to come up with a solution. "Let's see which wins, the curse or my luck"
It's not a conscious decision per se, just something that feels right. He swings the sword in the air and stretches out his arm, placing it in the sword's path. He feels entirely, utterly calm. Eyes closed he waits for the verdict and when the sword touches his arm on its way down he's not sure if he's been cut or not. If he had, he thinks this is how it would feel at first, just the cool kiss of steel on his arm and nothing else. When the weapon is sharp enough the body is slow to register any damage.
Fortunately, he’s still got both of his arms when he opens his eyes. Saves him the trouble of learning to fight one-handed and explaining any missing limbs to the crew. The blade itself is embedded deep in the floorboards of the building as if to ensure him it could’ve cut off his arm ten times over had it chosen to. There is no way he’s leaving without it, no, he’d steal it if need be.
As it turns out, there's no need for stealing. He walks out with not one, but two free swords, courtesy of the owner that's suddenly warmed up to him after his stunt. Perhaps my luck is turning, he concludes, didn't even have to spend any of the money I borrowed from Nami.
He's sitting on the steps at a square when he opens his mind back to Luffy. It doesn't take long for him to show up, looking a bit sheepish but not angry, Zoro notices, relieved. He’s always ready for a fight, but never with Luffy.
"What are you doing here?" He asks though it’s obvious Luffy’s there for him.
Luffy shrugs. "I got lost."
Zoro doesn't believe that for a second but lets it go. Neither of them may have the greatest sense of direction but they're always able to find their way to each other.
I’m sorry for… you know, he thinks at Luffy, some things easier left unsaid. They haven't exactly created a code for what to keep secret from each other or how to even accomplish privacy in their situation.
Luffy cocks his head to the side in an expression of confusion. Why sorry?
Zoro lowers his head but can’t help grinning down at the pavement. Things are so simple with you, even when they’re not.
Isn’t that a good thing?
He raises his gaze, smiles at Luffy - it really is hard to not smile at Luffy - and says out loud. “The best.”
"That's a cool looking sword," Luffy observes but inside his head it's all about, tell me, tell me, tell me about her!
Zoro sighs and shows him. Shows him the dark hair and Kuina's face, a slim yet tough frame of roughly 5'7" made of attitude and kindness. He shows him her dedication and passion for soldier's path that may rival Kuina's, but also how she's clumsy in a way Kuina'd never have been. How she knows so much about swords but not necessarily anything about the real world. He shows how she reminds him painfully of what he's lost - like the world is mocking him, giving him this second rate consolation price he didn't ask for, would never ask for.
"Let's ask her to join the crew!" Luffy announces, at least half-serious.
Zoro makes a face. "Like hell, we will! She's just a copycat and worse, a marine!"
"Zoro!" Luffy admonishes but then adds more kindly, "It’s not her fault. Maybe you should give her a chance."
Zoro knows Luffy’s right, but his feelings aren’t coming from a rational place. This is something he has to process more slowly, with enough time and reflection. That’s one fundamental difference between him and Luffy, he’s not capable of adjusting to new situations in a blink of an eye, not when those situations don’t relate to swordsmanship. It's disturbing enough, realizing how many details about the girl he's gleaned just from two brief encounters.
Enough of this topic, he thinks while rising to his feet. “Go see your thing yet?”
“Nope! There’s no hurry.”
Those are big words coming from Luffy and Zoro can’t help but feel a warmth spread all over him thinking that Luffy who’d been absolutely insistent in the morning has judged Zoro a priority over his latest whimsy.
“Good. I better come with you anyway,” he grumbles, careful not to let any of his mushy feelings leak through to Luffy.
He may not be entirely successful, but Luffy doesn’t mention it. Simply laughs, claps him on the shoulder and announces, "let's get lunch!"
Of course, they end up getting separated - not because either of them takes the wrong turn or anything, no, it’s simply because it’s virtually impossible to keep up with Luffy when he sets his mind to something.
He's too slow catching up, having to be guided by Sanji of all people. It's something Zoro blames himself for because he really should've known earlier, had, in fact, had reservations just about this, but he hadn’t realized the true danger before he is standing there, looking straight at Luffy, trapped on the platform. Luffy, who doesn't look scared, actually isn't scared, as Zoro confirms through their link. He's just... lying there, laughing in the face of death and Zoro knows he won't make it in time, but by gods does he try. He refuses to believe it could all end here, they were supposed to be so much more. He cuts through the crowd gathered into a tight herd to spectate the execution, the whole thing making him sick. You think you’re so much better than pirates? Gathering here in expectation of murder? He can hear Luffy shouting his name across the square, but even he doesn’t believe it’ll do any good, that much is clear in the flow of regret and affection he sends towards Zoro.
I'm glad I got to meet you. Even if it ends too soon.
It's a freak lightning strike that saves them, though Zoro has his doubts. Things like this don't just happen out of nowhere, it has something stupid like fate or destiny written all over it, he reckons but doesn't have a chance to examine that further. He's just so relieved that Luffy is okay. He doesn't get scared easily himself, stood unafraid against Mihawk. No, like Luffy, he's prepared to meet death head-on, with a grin on his face.
What he isn't ready for is seeing Luffy in harm’s way. The heavy weight of fear is unfamiliar and almost unbearable. He had not signed up for this when he'd made the decision to follow Luffy. Or he probably had, but is only reading the fine print in that contract now. Damnit. They run and run, to escape the marines, to escape that blasted platform, but his legs are weak and his chest feels tight. For a moment there he had known real terror, perhaps for the first time in his life. He's almost afraid he might do something stupid like cry if they weren't being chased by the navy itself. Luffy throws a worried glance towards him, no doubt sensing his uneasy emotional state.
I'm fine, he tries to reassure Luffy but of course, he isn't. They can't lie to each other.
We'll talk about it later, Luffy sends back.
Maybe I don't want to talk about it, he argues, stubborn. Luffy doesn't get a chance to answer because there, in the middle of the road stands the thorn in his side, Tashigi. She's brandishing her sword, Shigeru, the name of which strangely comes back to him despite only hearing it once in an off-hand comment from the shop keeper before.
"You tricked me!" She shouts. And he knows she's furious, can feel it pouring off of her. "You never told me who you were!"
He doesn't know if it's her feelings that make his control start to slip too, or his earlier shock over almost losing Luffy, probably both. Regardless of the reason, he's had enough of her.
"Go along," he tells the others and grabs his new swords. May as well give them a test ride.
They square off against each other in the middle of the street, Tashigi baring her teeth at him in rage. “I’m going to take Wadoichi from you!”
And to her credit, she does give it a valiant try. Yet in the end, she’s hardly opponent enough to give his new blades a warm-up before he has her backed against the wall, weaponless and wearing a shocked look.
“Whatever happens, I won’t give this sword to anyone,” he assures her and turns to leave. “I have to go now, bye.”
He expects her to take offense at him considering her such a small threat that he doesn’t hesitate to turn his back towards her. However, she manages to once again surprise him.
“Why don’t you kill me? Is it because I’m a woman?”
“I never liked you from the beginning!” he shouts back at her, aware that it’s not the most logical of answers but desperate to say anything to drown out the echo of Kuina's words from years ago. “Isn’t it enough that you have to act and look like my long lost friend? Now you gotta talk like her too?”
“What are you saying? I’m just being myself!” she snaps at him, moving closer, face only inches from his.
“Well… stop it!” he snarls, suddenly aware of the regular marines gathered around them, regarding their fight like disapproving parents. The ridiculousness of the whole thing hits him and he sullenly mutters, “and leave me alone”, before breaking into a run down the road towards the harbor.
Behind him, he can hear a few hurried steps before the unmistakable sounds of someone stumbling and hitting the wet ground hard. “As long as you have that sword,” Tashigi yells at him, undoubtedly covered in mud, “I’m never going to let you go!”
Once they're back on the ship, Zoro is finally able to put Kuina's doppelganger out of his mind. The Grand Line is looming ahead and they're all drunk on possibility and excitement. It's pouring rain and they've barely escaped with their lives. It's a moment for them as a crew, a unified whole and Zoro thinks, while they don't really know each other thoroughly yet, they aren't strangers anymore either. They all announce their goals to the howling wind and at that moment he's sure none of them doubt that they'll reach them. Nothing feels out of reach.
He feels Luffy's cold, rain-slicked hand entwine with his own and tug him towards the cabin. He goes without a word. They haphazardly dry themselves with towels that are shed on the floor with their wet clothes in messy piles that Nami would frown upon if she ever deigned to step inside this room. They tumble into bed together, hardly ever sleeping apart now, or even in the beginning when it was just the two of them on a small boat with the night sky as their ceiling. Luffy wraps himself around him, clingy as usual, and lets out a contented sigh. His skin is still cool from the outside and makes Zoro shiver.
"Today… Zoro was worried," Luffy muses.
Zoro throws an arm over his eyes, frustrated. He should've known better than to expect Luffy to fall asleep without first making Zoro suffer through this. Usually, Luffy lets his deeds speak for him, often doesn't seem to think at all, but his mind is not some echoing chamber filled with the cogwheels of a half-broken clock. He's much more observant than people give him credit for.
"Because you could've died!" He says, vehemently.
Luffy shifts, lifts his head enough to look Zoro in the eye even if it's almost too dark to see.
"Zoro," he says seriously, and sometimes he wonders if Luffy just enjoys saying his name out loud with the frequency he's using it.
That's when the cabin door slams open and both Usopp and Sanji rush in, dripping water all over the floor. They don't bother to turn on the light, just shuffle around in the darkness for what feels like an eternity before settling down into their bunks. Sharing sleeping quarters with the others is not ideal but at least he and Luffy are able to communicate silently. He'd rather die than have Sanji overhear some of the things they say to each other. Most of it is completely innocent of course, but Luffy can get seriously mushy and Zoro has an image to maintain.
Luffy snuffles into his neck, cold nose pressing against his pulse point. I won't die, he promises.
You can't know that. He grits his teeth, his sensei's words from so long ago, the morning of Kuina's death, echoing in his head: humans are such fragile beings.
You promised you'd never lose again, Luffy reminds him.
Yeah, and…?
I promise I won't die, not before I reach my goal, the same as Zoro.
As if it were that simple. But he can't easily argue the logic, not when he'd made such a pompous claim himself. Believing in Luffy is the easiest thing in the world, but he regrets that even Luffy isn't naive or hopeful enough to promise he'd never die. That, of course, is ridiculous, everybody dies at some point, but it doesn't stop him from wishing Luffy might find a way to escape death, somehow.
He's just starting to feel Luffy's mind drift to sleep when he's yanked back to alertness by a relentless mantra of I lost, I lost, I lost.
What is she doing? In the middle of the night? Zoro wonders, and then, why can I hear her?
Because, comes Luffy's drowsy response, she's thinking about you.
Zoro feels a headache building at the back of his skull. Just having Luffy inside his head is often overwhelming, but now he has to share it with another?
Can she hear us? He thinks worried. Being bonded to a marine could be real trouble if she’s able to track them through the bond, or worse, find out their plans in advance.
Luffy just hums noncommittally. Ask her.
How? This bond with her does not come naturally, not like the one with Luffy.
Reach out, Luffy instructs him, like it’s the simplest thing in the world.
I only know how to reach out to you. Idiot.
Luffy's everywhere in his mind, bright and encompassing. Trying to track down the tiny stream leading to Tashigi is like trying to locate an insect in your field of vision while looking straight at the sun. Impossible. He's too blinded by Luffy's presence to get there. But he doesn't have to rely on just his own lacking capabilities anymore, Luffy hones in on the girl like a hawk, so adeptly it's almost frightening.
Here, they think in tandem even though it’s really Luffy leading Zoro. He closes his eyes and hangs on to the feeling of his whole being entwined with Luffy's and senses an unfamiliar presence invading the place he'd only ever wanted to share with his captain. It's like he's suddenly slipped inside her head, too effortlessly, and he knows it's only possible because of something Luffy did. He feels what she feels, the cold night air and the combination of rain and wind whipping her face, obscuring her view in the darkness lighted only by a few lonely lanterns. She's at the sea, the deck below her feet swaying in the waves but her feet are firmly planted, with no hint of her previous clumsiness. Well, she's a marine, after all, they're meant for the sea like pirates are, he supposes. She's holding on to a practice sword with both hands, the wooden handle slippery with rainwater and sweat, forcing her to grip it almost painfully tight and affecting the smoothness of her strikes. She's working through a series of suburi in a punishing speed.
I lost to him, he tricked me, I'll show him, she chants in her head and Zoro is almost sorry he's inspired this level of fervour in her.
Hello? Luffy sends her way and she falters, stops and turns to look over her shoulder.
I don't think she's realized about the bond yet, Zoro guesses. She can't tell the difference between listening with her ears and listening with her mind. He's about to suggest they pull back when he hears a door creak.
"What in the seven hells are you doing outside in the middle of the night, Tashigi?" Booms a man's voice across the deck.
"Captain Smoker! N-nothing, I couldn't sleep because of the storm…"
Smoker looks at her intently. "Bullshit. You're all worked up because of Roronoa." Somehow he manages to lit a cigarette despite the weather and puffs out a cloud of smoke. "I don't care. Get into bed and save your energy for tomorrow, sergeant."
"Yes, sir!" She salutes him and hurries inside, still clutching onto her wooden sword.
They lose the link, perhaps thanks to Luffy, or it's just not strong enough yet to maintain for longer. Zoro stares into the darkness, listening to Usopp's snores and the gentle tap tap tap of rain hitting their ship. It's less heavy now, less heavy than wherever Tashigi is. So even if they're following they're not too close behind, thankfully.
I like her, Luffy cheerfully tells him.
Well, I don't. She's meddling in stuff that's none of her business.
Heh. I wonder what mine's like?
Your what? Sometimes Luffy's mind bounces around like it, too, is made of rubber.
The other person I'm connected to, like you and Tashigi.
You know, finding even one is rare as hell, but two? I bet the chances are astronomical.
I'll find them! I won't lose to Zoro!
It's not a damn competition, he wants to say but knows it'll fall on deaf ears. Luffy is vibrating with excitement now, his earlier drowsiness swiped away completely. Zoro is ready to fall asleep, hasn’t had even a moment for his customary nap all day and there's too much he doesn't want to think about tonight. Go to sleep, Luffy.
But I'm not tired!
Experimentally, he wraps his mind around Luffy's thinking sleepy thoughts. Takes a page from Tashigi's book and chants calm, calm, calm in what's more of an impression, a concept, than actual words. It's not something he's tried before but it works. In less than a minute he's got an armful of dozing Luffy drooling on his chest and he can't help but smirk and let himself sink into a peaceful shared dream.