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Zoro hates making a big deal out of his birthday. If he could go his entire life without having to celebrate, he would be happy.
Unfortunately, the crew would never allow that. His only consolation is, they know what he likes.
He’s nursing a bottle of sake, watching the other eat and dance and laugh, when Nami comes over with the mail.
“You’ve got a couple letters, and a package.”
Zoro scrunches his eyebrows, then, he realizes who they must be from. Let it be known, the crew is not the only family he has.
Opening up the first letter, he’s met with familiar sloppy, childish writing.
“It’s from Johnny and Yosaku.”
Only Nami, Usopp, and Luffy recognize the names.
Maybe Zoro is bad at telling people about himself, but they never ask! It’s not a ‘mysterious backstory’ if he’s not trying to keep it a secret!
“Who are those guys?” Franky asks.
Zoro chuckles. Instead of answering, he hands him the picture the bounty hunters have sent.
It’s of the two men, both laughing as they run for their lives from a hoard of pirates.
“Woah! They look totally SUPER!”
“They’re idiots,” Nami says.
“They’re good guys. I traveled with them during my bounty hunting days. Those two are good company,” Zoro defends.
“I liked them! They were super nice!” Luffy yells.
“Figures you would hang out with people like them,” Sanji says.
Zoro glares at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Idiots attract other idiots.”
“You wanna go, you curly-browed asshole!?”
“Zooorrooo!” Luffy whines. “You gotta open the other one!”
Oh, yeah. Fighting with curls can wait.
The package has a letter attached, so he opens that first. This time, the handwriting is neat—in fact, it’s similar to Zoro’s own. He already knows it was written by the man who taught him how to write.
There’s much more text in this letter, too. Sensei is always going on tangents, getting carried away in his metaphors and proverbs.
“What is it?” Usopp asks.
Zoro’s face changes into something soft as a smile appears on his lips. The more he reads, the softer the look gets.
Everyone watches in awe. They’ve never seen him look like that for anything besides Chopper.
Finally, he sets down the letter and goes to actually tear open the package. Inside is a leather book that, when opened up, is revealed to be a photo album.
The entire crew leans over his shoulders to see it.
On the inside cover, there’s a small note in the same handwriting as the letter.
‘To my most ambition and most adored student’
“Most adored?” Sanji repeats sarcastically.
“From my sensei, back in my village,” Zoro explains, not rising to the bait.
Something about Sensei just makes him calmer. It keeps him centered, knowing there’s an adult out there that cares about him.
The very first picture in the album makes Zoro laugh out loud. Head thrown back, gripping his stomach type laughing. It startles the rest of the Strawhats.
With great care, Zoro pulls the picture from the album and hands it off to Usopp.
Immediately, everyone crowds around to see it.
There are two boys in the picture. One with white hair that reaches his mid-neck, and the other with cropped, mint green hair.
Zoro is fourteen years old in the picture. His best friend, Saga, has his arm slung around his neck. And, he looks like a fucking loser.
It’s clear he’s going through that awkward phase of puberty. He’s short and chubby, his muscle not filling out yet. His body is too big and too small for him at the same time.
He’s grinning wide, showing off shiny silver braces. Not to mention, his face is covered in a terrible layer of acne.
Everything about it screams ‘awkward preteen’.
It’s not long before the rest of the crew is laughing along with him.
“Holy shit, Zoro, you look so-so different!” Usopp says, trying not to insult him.
“I look fucking stupid,” Zoro says.
Sanji is on the floor, unable to even agree. Nami is in a similarly amused state, gripping onto the railing with how hard she’s laughing.
Robin giggles softly. “Apologies, swordsman-san. You just..I can’t picture you with braces.”
“Bro! You’ve made so much progress! It’s SUPER!”
“Yeah! Zoro used to be so little!” Luffy agrees.
“Everyone used to be little, Luffy,” Chopper says. “I still can’t believe you looked like that. You’re so cool now!”
“Thanks, Chopper. Nothing a little training couldn’t fix.”
“You really went from..that, to who you are now?” Usopp asks.
“Like I said, nothing some training can’t fix,” Zoro says. “I could train you if you want.”
Usopp sputters at his offer, making a show of being humble. Zoro knows he’ll accept his offer, though.
Zoro carefully puts the photo back. While the rest of the crew regains their composure, he flips through the other pictures.
There’s more of him at that awkward stage. Some with Saga, some with the other dojo boys, and even some of him just lazing around the dojo.
He watches himself grow. Slowly, he goes from that little boy, into a man.
“Woah! Your hair was long?” Nami asks, still wiping away tears.
Zoro nods, looking down at his sixteen-year-old self. His hair is long enough to reach his back, but is mostly thrown up into a messy bun.
Every picture is candid. There are ones where he’s pouting, training, and even grinning and laughing. It’s the truest version of himself there is.
Of course, his sensei is the one to capture it.
When he flips to the last page, he stops.
"You sentimental old man.." He mumbles. He tries valiantly to ignore the tears now stinging his eyes.
In the middle of the page is a picture of him and Kuina. Both of them are dirty and tired from a day of sparring, but they're still smiling.
Wado is on Kuina's hip, right where she belongs. Zoro can't help it when his own hand goes towards the white blade.
Written right underneath the photo are the words, "The two greatest swordsmen in the world." Zoro wants to cry.
"Oh..that's Kuina," Luffy says, matter-of-factly.
"Yes..that's her."
"Who's Kuina? She your bro?" Franky asks.
"Don't call a lady bro, you imbecile!" Sanji demands.
"No," Zoro cuts in. "She would've liked it. She never liked being a lady much anyway.."
Robin hums, sitting next to him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. She's too perceptive for her own good.
"Why does she have your sword?" Chopper asks as he climbs into Zoro's lap.
Zoro wraps one arm around the boy. "Because it's hers. Her dad just let me use it."
"What? You stole some girl's sword?" Nami asks.
"She's dead," Luffy says. It's blunt, but if he didn't say it, Zoro isn't sure he could have.
"Oh.."
Sanji leans over, both to look at Kuina and to read the writing. "She's who it's for, then?" He asks, and Zoro knows exactly what he means.
"The whole world will know her name, if it's the last thing I do.."
She'll hear about it, all the way in Heaven. She'll know he fought for her.
"Zoro! That's so noble!" Chopper wails.
"That's a SUPER dream, bro!" Franky yells, scrubbing at his eyes.
"Y-Yeah, that's pretty cool," Usopp says, trying to pretend like his eyes aren't teary.
Zoro makes a face. "Why the hell are you guys crying?"
"WE'RE NOT!"
"Whatever.." He mumbles. "Cook! More sake!"
"You're such a brute!" The cook goes to grab him another bottle anyway. "You're lucky it's your damn birthday!"
The rest of the night is filled with laughter and drinking. There's nothing more Zoro could ask for on his birthday.
Looking down at the picture of Kuina, then back at his crew, he knows he's on the right track.
Soon, Kuina. We'll be the greatest soon.