Chapter Text
Taverns, as Zoro had grown to find out, were all generally the same. They held people within their walls, clustered away into their own groups, each drinking and eating to their heart's content while making fools of themselves. Some stayed quiet, lurking in the shadows near the edges of the room, where the light faded out and blurred into nothingness, content to drink alone.
For a year and a half, Zoro had to become accustomed to becoming the latter,
Once upon a time, he had once been used to sitting at the bar alone, maybe standing against a wall with his arms crossed. If he ever entered a tavern before meeting Luffy, he was fine with just drinking whatever they had on tap and calling it a day when they cut him off. But, once again alone, something irked him as he kept glancing at the crowded tables. Maybe it was because they were all laughing together while his crew were scattered across whoever knew where.
Nami would never let him live it down if she knew how much he missed them.
He slumped over the counter, one arm resting under his head, the other gripping his cup tightly. The last thing he needed was some idiot swiping his drink. He tried to glue his eyes onto the booze, he didn’t want to think about his friends right now. Besides, he didn’t know these people—they were just another bunch of loudmouths, drinking and living their lives.
Unlike him
”Did you hear about the wedding Big Mom is trying to pull?” a drunk voice slurred nearby. “She managed to snag one of the Germa princes!”
The rest of the group looked at them as if they were insane. Or maybe the rest of the group were confused. But Zoro straightened up. Big Mom ? The name was faint but he’d heard it before, when he used to gather information on other pirates—he took his First Mate duties seriously. And, even with his crew so far away, his attention sharpened and he didn’t move, simply listening as the conversation carried on.
”I think we might want to cut you off.” one of the others, the least dunk, said kindly. “Germa’s a myth. Remember? Your mom used to say it to us as a scary story.”
”No! It’s true! They announced it in the papers! Just ask the bartender for it.” The loud one insisted. “It’s like a fairy tale, I tell you. The prince was found dead years ago but they found him! Big Mom’s alliance found him with pirates. They faked his death to kidnap him. Her daughter’s been nursing him back to health. It’s so romantic, don’t you think?”
Romantic, sure, if you were an idiot.
Swirly used to talk about novels like that with Robin, the two of them in an alcove while Zoro napped in some forgotten corner. And just like back then, this was just gossip. Still, something about it gnawed at him so he didn’t let it drift past him, even if they were a bunch of drunk morons.
One of the group members sighed and headed off towards the bar. The stools were empty, save for Zoro, and they stood a distance apart from him, flagging the bartender’s attention. Zoro averted his eyes, focusing on his drink. Maybe this place watered down their alcohol, it would explain why he’s been so dissatisfied and why no one else was as drunk as he thought they would be.
”Can I have a newspaper, please? About the Big Mom wedding?”
The bartender nodded and rummaged around below the counter. It took a minute, maybe less, before they resurfaced and passed a used paper to the customer. As the guy turned to leave, Zoro caught a glimpse of the front page.
His eyes narrowed.
There, standing awkwardly by some girl, was Sanji.
Alive.
His heart thundered in his chest as the image was carried away and over to their table. It wasn’t long enough to remember anything distinctive, any changes that might have occurred in the last year, but it was Sanji. After all this time of being unsure—guiltily unsure—-there were finally answers.
”He’s right?” The one with the newspaper said, showcasing the front. “Vinsmoke Sanji was rescued a year and a half ago. They haven’t set a date yet but that’s neither here nor there.”
Rescued? Rescued?
Fucking hell, that was one way to explain the decimation they had to go through.
And when the hell did that guy start going by Vinsmoke ? Twirls was one of the few members of the crew that didn’t go spilling their entire backstory to people, and certainly not in a detailed way to those he did divulge them to, so when the bounty posters started calling him that and he had clammed up, no one had asked him what was up.
But he didn’t think a year and a half was enough for him to go through with an identity change.
”Wasn’t he a Straw Hat? They didn’t exist when he died, right? So who kidnapped him?” The loud one asked.
”Red-Leg Zeff, I think?” The one with the newspaper said. “It’s pretty vague about the details. But it does say that he lived with him for ages. But, he was a pirate, so it couldn’t have been willingly. Then, I guess, Straw Hat kidnapped him again.”
This was so stupid ?
Zoro had spent so much time listening superficially to the outside world the last year that he forgot how actually stupid they all were. They would honestly believe anything the news told them, anything the marines told them, they felt like puppets on a string or wind up toys who could only say the same thing on repeat.
”Wasn’t that crew basically full of nobodies when he was kidnapped? I wonder how a Prince of Germa could have been overpowered that easily?”
It was laughable, truly, for anyone to think like this. Like they expected a child to fight back against a grown man in a kidnapping, even if that’s not what happened with Zeff. Or a civillian, because that’s what he would have been if he was a kidnapped prince, to fight against. a pirate crew.
But also, it ticked Zoro off that they thought someone he begrudgingly called his equal weak.
“They had Roronoa Zoro.” The loud one said. “That’s answer enough.”
”Not anymore.” The one with the newspapers said. “It says right here. During the rescue operation, the Pirate Hunter was separated from his three swords. He’s been declawed.”
And now they were just rubbing salt on the wound, fucking losers.
It wasn’t as if he was planning on losing them. The attack on their ship was a surprise and they were severely underpowered under Big Mom’s forces. As much as he hated admitting that he lost, something that he promised his Captain he would never do again, he had that day.
He lost more than just the battle: he lost his crew.
”Has he been?” The sober one asked. “It’s been over a year. They say the Straw Hats are scattered but I’ve heard Roronoa’s been on the warpath.”
”I heard he fought a war!”
“I heard he fought a cyclops!”
“I heard he fought Scylla!”
“That’s a lot of fighting.” The sober one murmured skeptically. “I heard he was kidnapped by Mihawk. Hadn’t been seen since.”
The fuck ?
That was enough , he could abide by them calling Twirly a Prince or whatever but saying he got kidnapped ? By Mihawk?
Walk all over Sanji’s pride, fine, but not his .
“That’s not as cool, though.”
“And not fucking true.” Zoro said, marching up to their table.
Their conversion died instantly and every head turned in his direction. Faces paled as recognition sank in.
“W-what’s wrong w-with what we s-said?” the loud one, who used to be the loud drunk one but now was surprisingly sober, stammered out.
“I was not fucking kidnapped .” Zoro grit out. “I washed up on his shore. ”
“B-but why?” The loud one asked.
“Because Zeus killed a bunch of people I was staying with.” Zoro shrugged.
“B-but why?” The loud one repeated.
“Because someone killed a cow, I think.”
“B-but why?”
“They were starving after they betrayed me and tied me up, I couldn’t hunt for food for them anymore.”
“B-but why?”
“C-could you just s-start from the b-beginning, please?” The sober one, sounding a lot like the drunk one, asked.
It was pretty tiring to just keep explaining it like how he was. And it was getting annoying to hear the guy repeating himself like a parrot.
But, he hesitated, eyeing that paper. There was apparently a wedding, a wedding that would get in the way of their crew reuniting. Big Mom was notorious for having her family be apart of her crew, there would be no way for Sanji to return to their crew after marriage save for, well, kidnapping.
But, he was just thinking it earlier, Twirly would be able to hold his own. Of course, he’d come to help at some point, but there was no date set yet and he did come to this tavern to rest for his journey back to Luffy. So, there was no harm in just talking to correct these weirdos.
“Well, it started when I was napping…”
***
The dream wasn’t anything new, just something that’s been occurring a lot more frequently. Sometimes, he was unable to tell when he was dreaming from how average it all was.
It differed, from time to time: Luffy sitting on the rails or Luffy sitting on the Lion’s head, Nami and Robin sunbathing into their lounge chairs or them gossiping in the gardens, Franky and Ussop breaking something on the ship or fixing something on the ship, Twirly and Chopper swirling around on the deck or sequestered within their respective work spaces.
He never used to dream before Luffy struck him a deal to join his crew. His nights were mostly filled with the world fading out to black and losing however many hours it took him to go to sleep. It was remarkable, if sentimental, that his dreams were of his current day-to-day life.
As of right now, his dream consisted of himself leaning against the door to the kitchens, watching the crew mill about on the deck. The heat was unbearable, ironic as they had just left a chilly island, and the cabin behind him provided the perfect shade to laze about. There was one of his swords in his hands, Wado, and he was tending to it with a kit that Franky had gifted to him back when they had all first met. The slide of the cloth against the blade was in time with the muffled singing from within the kitchens behind him.
Though his face was angled towards his sword, he looked about at his friends. None of their conversations were clear, an indicator that none of this was real, but they all had happy smiles on their faces. None of that strain they’ve had since Thriller Bark could be seen on them, not a trace, though Brook was a member of their crew and was gossiping with Robin.
The door behind him kicked open and Zoro only had but a moment to stop impaling himself on his sword. He rolled to the side and onto his back, an unimpressed glare already set on the blond moron that had managed to catch him off his guard once again.
“You should have just rolled off into the ocean.” Sanji scoffed, leaning down to a crouching position.
There was a tray of drinks in his hand. On his least charitable days, he only gave the ladies and Chopper drinks and snacks. Most days, he would painstakingly tailor each snack to a person’s desire and swirl around the deck like a love struck moron. Chopper once said it looked like dancing and he changed partners every time he moved to serve the next person.
There were two simple glasses of orange juice, probably freshly squeezed by hand. Two thin and tall glasses filled with some kind of bubbling liquid and fruit decorating the rim. There rest were short wide glasses filled with different coloured liquids. Nothing was his usual, though.
His frown must have been obvious, when wasn’t it, as the cook rolled his eyes.
“I’m gonna try to get you off of straight up alcohol so I made you a cocktail.” Sanji then tutted him when he attempted to speak up. “Everyone under the sun knows you don’t like sweets so I obviously didn’t try to do that. And don’t drink it all in one go, it’s a sipping drink.”
Zoro twisted around to sit back against the door, the swords at his side rather than his focus, and accepted the glass from him. It wasn’t from one of those thin glasses, he suspected that was for the girls. No, this was a sturdier one, filled with a green drink that smelled faintly of matcha. Leave it to Sanji to experiment—always trying to impress.
“And watered down by ice.” Zoro raised the glass up and watched it clink under the glare of the sun.
“ Cooled down by ice.” Sanji corrected him. “I’m looking out for you, idiot. You’re gonna dehydrate with all that booze, so I’ve got cold water inside—when you’re ready to beg for it.”
Zoro’s eyes narrowed as he took a sip, deliberately slow, his gaze never leaving Sanji’s. “Still tastes like you’re trying too hard.”
Sanji’s lip curled in a smirk, his eyes dark with a challenge. “You can’t appreciate anything more complex than sake, it doesn’t mean I’m trying too hard, Marimo. I didn’t realize doing something decent for you would be such a waste of my time.”
Zoro grunted, leaning in a little closer, his voice low and dangerous. “If you’re this desperate for my attention, cook, you could’ve just picked a fight like usual. Or maybe you’re scared I’d actually win this time.”
Sanji’s jaw clenched, his fists tightening as he leaned right into Zoro’s space, their faces inches apart. “Win? Against me? You’re out of your damn mind.”
There was already a response at the top of his tongue, something about blowing his mind or maybe just swinging Wado at him hard and fast, but he never got to make it.
Just as Sanji’s lips curled into that winning smile of his, rarely seen away from anything to do with food, a deafening bang tore through the air.
The Sunny lurched, a violent rocking motion, and everyone stumbled awkwardly as they tried to gather their bearings. Zoro hugged all three swords to his chest and grabbed onto Sanji’s forearm who was presumably holding onto something as neither of them were sliding around.
Okay, this probably wasn’t a dream.
It probably started off as one but it definitely wasn’t one anymore.
He must have woken up when Sanji banged open the kitchen door, that would have been a good shock.
He was mostly sure that he was awake due to the ringing in his ear because of the canon that had missed their ship.
For a heartbeat, everything was suspended—their fight, their words, their moment—before the storm hit.
Ussop had already lifted a telescope to his eyes and Luffy was already giggling excitedly at the prospect of a fight. Brook was helping Nami and Robin up from where they had fallen off their seats and Sanji was rushing back into the kitchen to put away with tray. Everyone, more or less, was preparing for the upcoming battle as Ussop geared up to tell them who dared to fire on them.
Only, he tucked the telescope back on to some covert place on his outfit and started blabbering in fear, his face strangely green and his eyes glazed over.
Nami stomped over to Ussop and swatted his head, “Get a hold of yourself! Who was it?”
Ussop stammered and attempted to form words but all that came out was gibberish, “I-It’s, uhhhhh, it’s B-big, ummmm—”
Nami, already fed up with his panic, grabbed the telescope from where he hid it and raised it to her right eye. Swirls came back from the kitchen, cigarette dangling from his mouth as if the chaos was nothing more than a minor inconvenience but his stance belied his tension: his hands were in his pockets, his signature fighting posed. Zoro glanced at him with a smug grin, already two steps ahead of him with his swords drawn long ago.
“Oh my God, it’s Big Mom !” Nami cried out.
The words barely had time to settle, let alone register, before the next cannon blast slammed into the water beside the Sunny, causing waves to crash up over the desk, salty water washing up on the deck. None of that mattered in the face of Luffy who let out an excited whoop, his hands clapping together as he bounced around.
“A fight! A real fight!”
Zoro’s jaw tightened. Big Mom. An Emperor. Whose crew was last seen on the other side of the world. Nami had already explained that the Red Line bisected their planet and that they would have to find a way to traverse through it to continue their journey and this more or less proved that there was a way.
He scanned the horizon, spotting one of her ships looming in the distance like a real nightmare from hell made real. Would she be on one of those ships or was she the kind to send in her lackeys?
“What do you think she’s after?” Swirly asked in a low voice, more of a mutter.
“No clue.” Zoro grunted.
He squinted at the mast and its jolly roger. He didn’t recognise it as Big Mom’s. Mainly for the fact that it had BEGE written in block letters on it. Probably a pirate crew that was adopted into Big Mom’s, if he were to guess.
The enemy ship drew closer and figures started to appear on the deck, each one ready to destroy the Sunny.
“We’re going all out, come on!” Luffy cheered, his grin wider than ever.
“Time to cut these bastard down,” he growled, stepping towards the edge of the deck.
“Oi, don’t get reckless!” Nami snapped, but her voice was barely heard over the thunderous clash of canon fire.
As the ship made contact with the Sunny, several pirates leapt aboard like a swarm of locusts, firearms ready and snarling. The deck became a battlefield, their once serene ship, lazy under the sun, was trembling under the weight of the onslaught.
As always, Luffy was the first to charge in, “Gum Gum Gatling!”
His fist blurred into a flurry of powerful punches, too fast to be human but Luffy never really counted as one anyways. Each hit landed with brutal precision, sending pirates flying in all directions. Luffy, as in all things, was relentless, the sheer force of his will power and strength knocking enemies unconscious before they could draw their guns and fight back.
And, when someone saw Luffy, it was natural to always see Zoro close behind, his three swords glinting in the sunlight as he wove through the chaos like a bloody tapestry. He slashed through pirate after pirate, his movements controlled and unyielding, each strike deadlier than the last. With every step, he appeared like a whirlwind, like Aeolus herself were here and was decimating the enemy on their behalf.
Zoro’s attention was immediately drawn to a new threat: the nearest pirate wielding a pistol. The man’s face was set into grim determination as he fired a shot directly at Zoro; the bullet sped past his ear as he sidestepped as quick as he could, only just making it in time to lift his sword up to deflect the next bullet.
The gun-wielding pirate was relentless, firing once and then twice and then once more. Zoro had learned a long time ago how to deal with bullets, deflection or simply splitting them in two. In this case, he decided to go with the former so as to change the trajectory of the bullets in an attempt to hit some of the enemy lines.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Zoro growled, his voice muffled by the sword in his mouth.
He closed the distance with a sudden burst of speed. His opponent’s eyes widened in fear and Zoro took one swing of the sword in his left hand to shatter the pistol into pieces. The pirate stagged back in shock and attempted to regroup himself, reaching to draw a second gun from his belt but Zoro was faster.
He sharply twisted his neck so that Wado, the sword encased in his mouth, to glide through the air in one quick movement, and cut the belt off the man’s hips, allowing it to get lost into the thrall of battle. He took one last step forward and twisted his neck in the opposite direction, the butt of his sword hitting against the guy’s forehead and Zoro sent the pirate crashing somewhere, defeated and unconscious.
The fight was far from over but Zoro’s confidence was unshaken. Battle was his domain and he intended to see it through to the end.
As he locked arms with a new opponent, a pirate with a cutlass, he saw Swirls being surrounded by a group of pirates. It was as if these pirates had done no research. In one precise move, Eyebrows spun around with an elevated foot and wiped them out in one fell swoop. It was his trademark elegance in action, something that Zoro himself sorely lacked and didn’t mind lacking but was an interesting difference between the two of them.
Zoro started to move towards him, ready to offer a challenge to make this sad excuse of a battle more fun, when something unexpected happened.
A small man dressed in peculiar clothing appeared on the scene; a small man with an extravagant coat and an elaborate hat that was very out of place on the battlefield. But, unlike the feral energy that Zoro’ own crew exuded, this man held only peace.
Sanji’s attention was immediately drawn to this new figure. Without warning, the man made his move which was to, technically speaking, speak. It looked like just a few words, all lost to the cacophony of noises that a fight always entailed.
Sanji’s reaction was immediate and visceral. His cigarette that had once perched between his lips fell to the ground as his attention was stolen by the man’s words. The sight of it was jarring, the cigarette falling mirroring Sanji’s composure being shaken. It was as if the man’s words were a spell, wrapping around Sanji’s senses and drawing him into a trance-like state, if that state were pure and unadulterated fear.
Sanji’s eyes searched the masses and only when they connected with Zoro’s did he realize what he was looking for: glances of his crewmates. After a delicate few moments of looking around while Zoro attempted to carve a path towards him, to catch any part of their conversation, Sanji finally gave a small shaky nod.
The small man snapped his fingers and almost all his own crewmates converged on the two of them and Zoro lost track of where anyone was. He pushed and shoved, trying to find something that would give him any answers, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming and he didn’t know where any of his allies were at this very moment. Despite his skill and determination, he was being pushed back, the press of bodies and steel making it nearly impossible to maintain a clear path.
It was intense and his efforts to try and find Sanji were becoming futile but he was resolute to not give up. But, through the crowd of heads, he could see that strange man being sifted through the crowd slowly, heading towards the edges and back to his ship.
The man was getting further and further away.
Zoro wouldn’t make it to him in time.
His frustration mounted with each passing second but the mass of pirates had become a living wall, obscuring any view of that mysterious man. But that was no longer his priority, he needed to find Sanji because he—
The realization struck him like a physical blow.
Sanji was nowhere to be seen.
The small man, a figure of calm amid the chaos, had orchestrated the whole thing. With a cold, deliberate pace, he walked away, leaving the battlefield behind. Zoro's mind raced, trying to piece together what had just happened. The small man’s words, the way Sanji had reacted, the sudden disappearance—it all pointed to a calculated move designed to separate Sanji from the crew.
And while he couldn’t find out where exactly Sanji was, that man knew .
The fight raged on around him, but Zoro's thoughts were consumed with one thing: finding Sanji and bringing him back. With a roar of frustration, he continued to fight through the pirates, pushing forward with renewed determination. He had to find his crew mate, no matter the cost. The battle was far from over, and Zoro wouldn’t rest until he had answers and until Sanji was safe.
***
“And then?” the one who used to be drunk, Samoel, asked.
“Then what?”
“Then?”
“Then what?”
“I think he means what happened next?” The voice of reason, Anakin, asked.
“Oh. That. Well, we were separated.” Zoro shrugged.
“But how?” The final one, Obi asked.
Kuma, that was how. They had met previously on Thriller back, not too long ago now, and Zoro was only just healed from its tragic events. He didn’t know how, or why, but the man had ended up on their ship that fateful day and had used Bege’s distraction of a fight and kidnapping Sanji to forcibly separate the lot of them.
A year and a half later, Zoro still didn’t understand.
Didn’t understand why he was there, didn’t know how he was there, didn’t even know when the fuck he got there, it was all just some confusing mess and he wasn’t about to confuse these guys with it.
“That’s not important, what is important is—“ Zoro started.
“Then who was the guy with the hat?” Samoel asked.
It had taken Zoro a better part of a year to figure that out. Which was mostly because he had been attempting to survive while this was all happening. It was only recently had he been allowed to slow down and look at bounty posters to find out it was Bege who did all this.
“Bege. Worst generation.”
A year and a half ago, all members of the worst generation reached an island called Sabaody and headed for the New World. Luffy never made it. He was officially gonna be the last to make the crossing.
“He took the cook and I guess he was taken to Big Mom.” Zoro jutted his chin towards the paper that laid forgotten on the table.
“You mean, saved the prince .” Samoel said dreamily.
Zoro snorted. Sanji? A prince? The guy had started fights for no less than a tap on the back and would go insane without his cigarettes. Yeah, the guy had basic manners and intelligence but so did Robin and no one was really accusing her of being a princess. Queen, maybe, but not a princess.
“Please, if you saw him chase after girls, you wouldn’t think of him as a prince.” Zoro struggled to keep a straight face. “So whatever Big Mom think’s is happening isn’t happening.”
Even with his confident words, Zoro could tell by the looks on their faces that his audience wasn’t fully convinced.They probably had more information than him, something more substantial that made them believe Sanji was a prince but Zoro had lived with him for months, that man was no prince, he was a Straw Hat through and through.
Zoro sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, Big Mom can think whatever she wants. But trust me, Sanji’s no prince. If anything, he’s the one who needs saving, not the other way around."
For a moment, the group was silent, each of them processing Zoro's words. Samoel, however, remained unconvinced, a dreamy look still plastered on his face as he muttered, “Prince Sanji...”
Zoro snorted again, barely holding back a grin. "You keep dreaming, buddy."
“Kuma?” Obi interrupted. “One of the seven War Lords? What happened?”
Zoro grimaced, “He didn’t just send us flying, he sent us halfway across the damn world. I woke up on some random island. Didn’t know where I was or how far I was thrown. And I didn’t have my swords, had to start from scratch.”
The group leaned in, captivated. Samoel, who was still clinging to his romanized story, even asked, “So, you were alone and stranded?”
He could feel the grit of sand beneath his skin again, the salty breeze, and the crash of waves in the distance. He’d been disoriented, aching from the impact of landing on hard ground. But what made it worse was the silence. No voices, no laughter—just the vast emptiness of being alone.
“That was the start of it,” Zoro said, his voice low. “I had no choice but to figure out where I was and what the hell I was supposed to do next.”
Obi and Anakin exchanged glances, now fully drawn into the story. Even Samoel’s dreamy expression had faded, replaced by curiosity. Zoro leaned forward, his arms resting on the table, as he continued. This feeling, it must be whatever Ussop felt when he told his tall tales with his full chest, even when his lies were at their most obvious.
“I had to survive. Find food, water—figure out where I’d landed. But the thing is…” Zoro smirked slightly, “…even on an island like that, I knew it wouldn’t stay quiet for long. Not with my luck.”
***
For the first time in a long time, Zoro knew the difference between his dreams and reality.
Because reality was cold. It was waking up alone for the first time in months. It was the cold sand sticking to his fingers, the waves pushing back and forth on his feet. It was waking up on an unfamiliar shore with the feeling of being unsure of whether he was alive or not.
The weight of solitude hit him like a punch to the gut. He had once traveled the world alone but that was before Luffy had found him. He was no just aware of how empty the space around him was without the chattering of his crew mates. Being separated from the crew was one thing, but waking up with no idea where they were, or how long it would take to reunite with them, was something else entirely.
It was obvious what his next step was going to be: find the Straw Hats.
That would involve orientating himself.
He scowled. Zoro could already hear the cackles in the back of his head at the prospect of him of all people trying to navigate anything. Maybe he had taken Nami for granted but he survived before her and he would again until she was within reach again.
Zoro stood up slowly, shaking off some of the sand that clung to his clothes. Most stayed, as wet sand tended to do, but whatever. The climate was moderate, different from the beating sun of the Sunny prior: little to no wind and just enough sun not to feel cold in his light clothing and haramaki. Trees lined the beach into the distance and jagged cliffs rose up to the left. No signs of life yet and no ships on the horizon.
But, there was smoke.
It was faint, barely noticeable against the bright blue sky, but it was there. He let out a long breath; smoke meant people which was better than wandering around aimlessly. He would be able to get answers and supplies, either by asking or by force depending on how it all went. He started walking towards the trees and into the unknown landscape before him.
Zoro knew better than to assume he was anywhere familiar. The world was huge, he knew that first hand, and the number of islands he could have landed in were endless. He could be inside the Grand Line or one of the four Blues. Hell, he might have found the All Blue before Sanji. Or maybe without him. Forever.
His thoughts briefly drifted back to that man, the one that had started this mess. Zoro could only imagine what happened to the rest of the crew but he had no starting point for Sanji. He could only have faith that Sanji managed to turn the tables on the man and escaped because thinking anything else was—
Pushing past the foliage, Zoro’s eyed were sharp as he scanned for anything and everything. The trees were thick and some of their bark was covered in moss. His top view was covered by plantlife, a blanket to cocoon him in this little world. The ground was uneven beneath him with no path, natural or no, in sight. Each step was a challenge, he used his shoulders to part the heavy low hanging branches that seemed intent on slowing him down.
It was a living labyrinth, the forest; the trees pressed in on all sides and the air was thick and sticky with the faint smell of the ocean he had left behind. His will power never faltered, Nami would say it was because he was single-minded. Never in a kind way but he wouldn’t have expected anything less. Besides, the smoke was his only lead and he only had to continue in this one direction.
So what if he had to make a few side steps to not hit his head on trees. Or if he had to make a turn or two, he made sure to turn in the opposite direction after so as to counteract that. It would be fine since it was, after all, just a straight line.
The trees began to thin out and he could start seeing the gaps in the canopy overhead. As Zoro emerged from the forest, he looked up at the sky now, eager to reorient himself, that he was able to see it once more.
The smoke was gone.
He took in a sharp breath and relaxed once he spun around. It was still there, just in a completely different direction. He orientated himself in that direction and resolved himself not to take a single turn.
With renewed determination, Zoro set off in this new direction. He would find the source of the fire, hopefully before it was put out, no matter what obstacles or trees or both.
As he pushed his way once more through the forest, he tried to ignore the sounds of nature around: the buzzing of bugs, the sway of the leaves, the motion of the ocean. It was all sounds that were moved to the background when he was around his friends.
Luffy would be forging ahead, content to make his own way to the fire and meet whatever was there and take their food while talking—he would have yanked one large arm around Usopp so they could go together, much to the latter’s displeasure. Nami would have chased after him and Sanji would have chased after her. Brook would have laughed and elbowed Zoro conspiratorially, get a load of this . Chopper would have fretted about splitting up because something always happened when they all split up and Robin would have patted his head while saying something creepy, at least you wouldn’t be there to see their final moments if we all split up , and Franky would have cracked up at that.
Even when they all split up on islands, Zoro knew that they would meet again in due time. He knew that now. He had to know that now. Because, if they didn’t meet again, what was the—-
He emerged once more into a clearing and was met with a bunch of people.
Nice.
That was step one over with.
Well, people was a strong word to be using but he had seen weirder on his travels.
Their small bodies were covered in some kind of soft looking fur that was lightly coloured, the fuzz blending into the grass they were all lazily lounging in. They barely came up taller than the blades of the stuff. They all had wide and sleepy eyes with round faces that all made them look—cute? Adorable? Chopper-like?—but there were some differences, like some having longer ears or stubbier tails.
It wasn’t their appearance that was strange, just how they acted.
They moved slowly, tired. Even with Zoro’s sudden appearance, none of them were in a hurry to even look at him, let alone ask him why he came out of nowhere. No alarm or curiosity. They were lost in their own world, detached and happy, and Zoro knew enough to trust his gut to know that something was wrong.
Finally, one of the creatures decided to speak, “Welcome!”
It was a high and scratchy voice and it alerted the others to say the same. Some of them repeated the original greeting while others strayed for “what’s up” or “hiya there”. At least there was some kind of individuality in whatever was going on here.
However, the moment they started speaking, the creatures began to stir and get up from their sitting positions. One by one, they gathered themselves to their feet and shuffled towards him. Zoro tensed, already taking a step back as they started to crowd him.
“Stay back!” He snapped.
“Stay back…” They all murmured among themselves, taking tiny steps away from him.
“Alright, listen. I don’t have time for whatever this is,” he said suspiciously, “I’m looking for food. You got any?”
He probably should have asked for directions to the nearest village or place with any modicum of intelligence but he figured they wouldn’t know. It was rude but they didn’t look that bright. Besides, he was starving. Only—hours?—ago, he was supposed to have eaten some snacks and that drink that Sanji had made.
The creatures all blinked their eyes, their faces tilting up at him. One of them, then, slowly raised a hand and pointed towards the trees around them, laden with some sort of strange glowing fruit.
“Food…” they all dreamily sighed.
“Food.” Zoro muttered.
Was it edible?
He assumed so since they were all miming eating the food and making “num num num” noises.
“Listen, start speaking straight or I’ll—”
He cut himself off as he watched one of the creatures detach from the group and scale up a tree. It grabbed one of the glowing fruits and beckoned him closer. Every single one of them looked at him expectantly. He scoffed and stomped over, reaching a hand up.
“Here you go!” The fruit landed in the palm of his hand.
Okay, this wasn’t so bad. Zoro looked down at the fruit. It was vibrant and smooth, glowing under the sun, and smelled sweet and inviting. The scent reminded him of that spiky fruit they got a few islands back. Sanji had to cut into it to get rid of the skin and the flesh inside was both sour and sweet. They had eaten those for snacks and he had used the juice to make some sort of sweet and sour meat at some point.
There’s a whole world of edible fruit out there. Sanji had said as he was cutting the skin off. Devil Fruits aren’t exactly palatable but they don’t kill you. Apples are pretty straightforward but they have an urban myth about eating their skin in some places. Glowing lotus is delicious but it’s got this mind control twist. You have to peel the skin off of lychee. A lot of things don’t look like food until you just take your time to figure it out, it’s worth it in the end. Trust me.
Zoro had been pretending to nap at the couch in the kitchen. It was always warmer in there, due to whatever Sanji had cooking over a fire, but he braved the temperature even in those hotter climates for some peace and quiet. Yeah, Sanji talked a lot, but it was in a more relaxed way than his usual yelling and flirting, and a welcome change from the chaos that usually awaited Zoro out on deck.
He usually skulked into the kitchen and closed his eyes. There would be some cursory words yelled at him about disturbing Sanji’s atmosphere but nothing was really done to get rid of him ever so he always stayed. Besides, Sanji was never fooled by his ruse and always had a jug of water waiting for him on a small stool he’d place by the couch when Zoro wasn’t paying attention.
Luffy really had found a secret gem with Sanji, someone who was able to feed a crew and Luffy three times a day all week long and was happy to do it. Someone who was able to make all kinds of food for everyone and still was able to find new recipes. How would Sanji prepare this fruit? It could have been a simple snack but even the cook had different ways of presenting those: Chopper had his apples in slices while Nami had hers in hearts while Luffy just had whole apples to eat the core.
The fruit was leafy in his hands, not really fleshy like a mango, maybe Sanji would have used it as a garnish for a drink? It would have been pretty for the girls, Zoro supposed, with how it was glowing—
Glowing lotus is delicious but it’s got this mind control twist.
But it’s got this mind control twist.
This mind control twist.
Mind control.
FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKK
He took a deep breath in. Okay. Maybe they didn’t know they were trying to indoctrinate him into their little high group. He wasn’t happy because it was purely stupid, but sure. Yeah, no, he was pissed, he could have accidentally stranded himself here if he wasn’t reminiscing. But, still, they were his only leads.
“Is there any other kind of food?” Zoro grit out, throwing the lotus to the grass.
Some of them, eager fuckers, scrambled over to collect the remains.
“The cave!” They all spoke over each other.
“Where?”
“East!” They all pointed in a direction. “Welcome!”
Their voices blended into a cacophony of cheerful insistence as they continued to gesture and murmur their warm, repetitive greeting. Zoro scanned the horizon, trying to make sense of the directions. It seemed he had no choice but to follow their lead and see what this cave had to offer.
“T̴̟̒h̷̩̋ȅ̷̻y̷̫̿ ̸̮̂j̴̺͊û̶̝ś̴̺t̴̳͂ ̷͔̈t̶̜̕r̴̼̅i̶͉̎é̶̘d̸̜̂ ̵͓͘t̷͕̔ȏ̴̬ ̸̻̈́p̵̜͐o̵̬͂i̷͐͜s̴̥̏o̸̥̓ṇ̵̕ ̵͔̀y̶͈͒o̵̠̽ṵ̷̓,̵̺́ ̵̛̫a̷͎͝r̶̤͝e̸̖͐ ̶̻̑y̸̡͑o̴̻̅ũ̴̺ ̶̟̈g̴̏͜o̸͓̕n̷͇̎ṋ̶̾a̷̩͂ ̴̨͗l̷̹͒ë̶̦t̷͚͋ ̵̪̚t̴̠̿h̵̰̊e̶͖͐m̸̻̃ ̷̹̆g̴̨͐ȏ̶͎ ̷̘͘j̶̼̏u̸͓̒s̶̘̀t̴̬̆ ̸̦̏ḻ̷͑i̸̲͒k̸̳̓e̶͐ͅ ̵̜̿t̵̝̀h̸̹̽a̷̞̾t̵̞̒?̷͔̂"̷̙̉”
It was a voice he long recognised, despite the sound of his voice: Ares, god of war.
He wasn’t there, not really, only a disembodied voice that would keep Zoro company as he trudged towards the direction of the cave, leaving those creatures behind. Lotus-eaters? This was rare, Ares usually liked to show his form. It showed attention, something that every battle must have, so he supposed this was his way of showing Zoro the cold shoulder while still attempting to give him some advice.
“And why shouldn’t I? They didn’t actually kill me, they’re just dumb.” Zoro shrugged.
Ares’ voice took on an almost imperceptible sardonic edge, “T̶͇́h̵̹̽e̴̾͜n̵̤͗ ̵̩̏o̴̫̾p̴̖̔e̵̛̹n̸͖͐ ̴͎̿t̴̯̄ḧ̶͙́e̶͇͊ḭ̴͛r̵͖̕ ̵̯̾ḙ̶̚ý̷̱e̷͇͌s̴̖̾!̷͙͒”
Zoro’s patience was fraying at the edges. Gods had different priorities. They might have some kind of deal, they might be similar, but Zoro would never understand to be a god and the same went the other way round. Ares would never understand that, yes, a fight provides honor and justice, but there was a time and place.
“I have something more important to do?” Zoro said. “In case you didn’t notice, my crews nowhere to be seen. How am I gonna uphold my promise to Luffy if he's nowhere close by?”
That promise to never lose again.
He knew Ares wouldn’t exactly be upset at his recent loss. Despite being a god of war, he wasn’t all that obsessed with the notion of winning. It was just the intent that he desired, the action. If Zoro promised to become the world’s greatest swordsman, if he promised to never lose, if he raised his sword to protect another, at least he was doing something instead of holding himself back.
He knew this because it was exactly what Ares had said the day they had met all those years ago at Kuina’s funeral.
He had been just a boy then, consumed by sorrow and a fierce determination to keep her memory alive. The townspeople barely knew her and could only uphold a false image of her, all believing she died doing “girly things” when she was truly sneaking down to play with a cool sword. He couldn’t stand the idea that he and her father would be the only people that knew her and that her father wasn’t going to do anything to convince the townspeople otherwise.
It had all driven him to propel his fantasy goal, of being the world’s greatest swordsman from a faraway future inability to something he had to get done right away. The god had been watching Zoro training for years but only then had decided to show his face, deeming Zoro tempered right under the circumstances.
In his youthful arrogance, Zoro had tried to challenge Ares, believing that in defeating a god, he would prove his worth and that would make him the best swordsman. And, it was also a god of war . It was an idea filled by childish logic that embarrassed him to this day.
He may or may not have immediately lost.
Y̵͕͋o̴̳͂u̴͇͐r̵͖̕ ̷̰̇p̸̙͋a̷̢͝s̴̖͒s̸̉ͅȉ̶̠o̶̘͋n̴̙̈́ ̶̨̀i̷̚ͅs̵͎̊ ̸̨͂i̵͙͐m̶͚͋p̸̥͝r̶̠͝e̴̯̐s̷̫͛s̵͝ͅi̶͇͌v̶̖́e̷̻̓,̵̙͗ ̴͙́b̵̬̽o̵̢͛y̵̗͝,̶̤͆, Ares had declared, T̶̳͌h̴̝̑ê̶̗ȓ̶͙ĕ̶͙’̸͓́s̶̱̋ ̴̞͆a̶̗͛ ̸̪̇ḟ̴̞i̶̫̾r̴̭͝e̵͖͌ ̶̢̚ǐ̸̩n̷͈͑ ̴̖̓y̵͖̚o̴̠̽ú̵̫ ̵̥̈t̵̙͊h̵̞́ä̵́͜t̷͔̓ ̵̣́m̴͎͘i̸̭̕r̵̼͝r̵̩̈́o̷̚͜r̷̨͐ș̴͘ ̵͔̍m̷̧͘y̴͕̽ ̴̪̍o̸̤̕w̷̻̏ņ̷͌.̴̹͋
Zoro hadn’t been able to understand the true implications of this moment or the deal they both struck, but the consequences grew clearer as he aged. Ares’ presence was a reminder that his fate was not his alone, that there was always someone by him. And, now, he had his crew as an addition to that.
“I̵̕͜ ̸̭͆w̷̟̆a̵̩͐s̴̻̽ ̴̮͗w̵̻̍o̶̘͝n̷̡͋d̸̢̚ë̴͔́ŗ̸̆i̶͎͒ń̴̦g̵̛͇ ̴̺͝w̶̱̏h̵̼̀e̴͙͝r̸̕ͅe̴̗͘ ̸̄͜t̵̳͊ȟ̴͇ȇ̴̤ ̶͔̀ś̴̮û̵̬ṅ̴͚n̴̯͐ỵ̸̅ ̶̭̐o̴̪͊n̶̦͗e̶̙̎ ̷̛͕w̴͚͋e̵̠͆n̴̗͂t̶̳̊” Ares hummed. “Y̷̨͂o̸̬̚u̶̢̍ ̸̱̔h̵̘̓a̵̯̔v̴̙̽ē̶̬ ̷̭̆t̸̤͑o̷͉̽ ̴͖̆r̶̲̎e̷͚͛u̷͙̅n̸̩̑ḯ̸̱t̶̯̏e̶͖͒ ̸̞͂w̴͍̃i̸͖͋t̵̬̑h̴̤̃ ̵͇̃t̷̩͂h̸̙͘ả̶̱t̶̞̿ ̷̯̽c̶͕͝r̵̥͘e̶̠̐w̶̟̋.̶̞̋ ̷͓̈Y̵̫̐ó̸̭ú̷̝ ̵͖̔g̸̲̾ả̴̞v̷͈͐è̴͎ ̶̤̇ẗ̵̢h̶͉̀ë̸͎́m̷͉̔ ̵̖͌y̸̪͝o̵̘̍u̸̺̿r̴̯̚ ̴͚̏ẃ̷̝o̶͕̕r̴̘̽d̴̘͌ ̷͕͝a̴͍͛s̴̳̐ ̵̟͌F̴̛͔i̸̛̙r̸̻̚s̴̤̿t̷̨̊ ̴̬̃M̷̭̋a̴̙̓t̵̩̕ē̸̪.̸̻͠ ̶̰̂Î̴̻ ̵̘̊ẃ̴ͅi̸͈͌l̷̻̋l̷̜̇ ̸͙̒ṇ̸̕o̶͙͒t̷̡̄ ̷̱͌h̵̗͐a̶̳͠v̴̛̟ȇ̷̻ ̵͖̅y̸͍͛ö̵͚́u̵͓͌ ̸͇͆f̴̹̔a̶̲͗i̶̿ͅl̶̤͝ ̴͇͒i̶͙͠n̸̥̔ ̶̏͜t̶̟͝h̶̼̐i̶̙̽ś̶̰ ̸͚́d̶͈̃ů̶̫t̵̪̓ẏ̸͇.̵̔͜”
“Sure, sure, whatever, don’t you have anything better to do?” Zoro grunted.
“I̴͚̓'̷̟̔m̸͉͒ ̶̡͝g̸̩̈́o̶̱̐i̴̻͆n̸̠͠g̸̗̉ ̶̱͝t̶̙̑ȯ̴̯ ̷̮͘s̷̮͆ü̴͎p̸͓̒ę̶̍r̵̒͜v̵͇̅i̷̬͝s̸̙̃e̸͍̎ ̸͖͗ŷ̶̰o̸͇̍u̴͚͆ ̷̟̋f̶̱͝o̷̠͝r̷͕͂ ̵͇̆t̸̉ͅḧ̶̥́ã̵̰t̵̪̉.̴͚̓ ̸͙̓Ḇ̴̆i̵̫̓t̷̗͘c̶̩̀h̴̤̋ĭ̶͕n̵̗̎g̸̘̚ ̴͓͘ť̴̖o̵͈̔ ̷̙̒a̶̼͠ ̸̘͘g̵̬͝o̴͇̊d̸̒ͅ.̸̦̈.̶̗̏.̵͕̅”
Zoro grunted in response. His path to the cave was clear, and the creatures' attempts to sway him had done little more than test his patience. As he approached the entrance, the temperature seemed to drop, and an eerie silence replaced the previous clamor of the lotus-eaters. The cave loomed ahead, it's dark entrance promising both mystery and challenge.
He took a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever lay within. He wasn’t that much of an idiot, there was a reason those creatures decided not to eat whatever lay in these caves, why they preferred the mind-control fruit to what he was about to see. Maybe it was just gross.
“You still there, Ares?” Zoro called out, his voice echoing off the cavern walls.
“A̵͉͋l̷̤͝w̵̝̐a̴̡͑y̶̡̐s̵͉̈,” came the detached response. “B̵͙́ù̶̥t̷͚̆ ̵͎̌w̵͚̌h̵̠͒ȇ̴̙t̴͇̑ȟ̶̩ȩ̵̈́r̵͕͝ ̸̗̉Ì̸̧ ̸̘̚g̸̜̏ű̴͔ȉ̴̳d̸̞̄é̵͙ ̴̯̌y̶͚̾ò̴͚u̵̫͑ ̷̛͔ȏ̴͈r̸͕͒ ̸̝̋j̵̬̕ũ̴͍ș̸̓t̸̥͆ ̸͔̊o̷͎͗b̸̰̂s̵̫͠e̷̱͘r̷̡͌v̵̺͒ę̵̊ ̴̺̿ĩ̷̞s̷̥̽ ̶̡̂ŭ̴̹p̷̣̾ ̶̰̀t̴̰͠ọ̵̆ ̶͖̒ȳ̶̭o̶̖̕u̷̹̎.̴̲͑”