Archive of Our Own

Zoro remembered very little of his mother and the only memories of his father are from the stories his mother would tell him.

He could no longer reliably picture his mother’s face but he could still imagine her hair; so blonde it was practically white glinting in the sun, and hear her voice, unnaturally rough compared to most humans. Always harsh around vowels that were supposed to be soft. But in her native tongue, in their native tongue, it was lilting noises and grating dissonances. It all depended on who or what she was talking about.

One of the first things she told him was a truth Zoro would never be able to escape.

He was young, too young to remember the surroundings but he could guess that they had been on some underpopulated island in the depths of the east blue. They had spent so much time running back then, but she had told him of where they came from.

There was an island in the new world, a home inhabited purely by demons, this was where they had come from but could no longer stay.

Zoro could remember his confusion over the exile but his demon parentage made sense when he considered his own three heads and six arms as well as the fact that he was never allowed to wander into towns. Especially during the day. They stuck to shadows and the night but Zoro longed to stand in the sun.

His mother took him aside, kissed each of his heads separately and grabbed one of his hands in her own. She told him of the fact that the society there is strict; the demons value being purebred above all else. It is through this that Zoro learned (though he is too young to understand the implication) that his mother was only a half demon who hid her pedigree through creative lies and false names. However, all best laid plans go to waste for she fell in love with the king and became pregnant with his child.

She had managed to keep her status a secret, but someone figured it out and spilled the truth to the king. His mother could still recall the fury in the King's eyes when he confronted her about the truth. Though she did not tell her son this.

She told him the partial truth; of how the King's love for her gave her time to flee the island before the more extreme demons found her and exacted punishment. The King's furious look at her and her stomach, which spoke volumes of how they are never meant to return to this island, are also not told to him. But he did know that they were exiled from the island for good. The half-blood queen and her unborn child who would become a prince of mixed blood, it was a fate she expected. The King's love for the queen saved them from certain death but his love for his society and way of life cost them their home.

Through their travels his mother would tell him stories of her escape from the new world, stealing aboard navy ships and pirate ships before landing in the relatively safe east blue. She ended up on an island where she had collapsed from the exhaustion and pain of oncoming labor. She told him of watching the morning sun rise over the hills as a group of humans wandered past her and took her to a doctor in the nearby town.

It is here on this island where Zoro was born, an unnaturally calm baby who didn’t cry upon being born. It was also the first island where they are found to be demons.

Heritage doesn’t work for anyone of demon descent as it does for full humans. In demons, the child inherits all the outward looks and phenotype from one parent. Zoros mother had hoped he would take after her but he came into the world with a shock of green hair. Three days after he is born the demon characteristics kick in and two extra heads and sets of arms appear from seemingly nowhere. One of the nurses saw it and passed out before she could warn anyone, but it is with that that Zoros mother took off back into the night, stealing a small boat and fleeing the island.

She had never learned the name of this island deep in the east blue, but in an ironic twist of fate, Zoro himself would one day return to it and make a home there for many years before he ultimately left again.

It was similar to another story she had told him. Of how demons had an innate homing sense built into them. She could always feel the pull of their island in the new world calling to her, Zoro however at that point had only felt the vague pull of the place he was born, no place really feeling like home yet and none would for quite some time.

Zoro couldn’t quite recall everything that happened after that but from his earliest memories with his mother he could remember their lives going similarly to how his started. Jumping from island to island his mother always looking over their shoulders, but also with her spanning their travels with a vast selection of stories and lessons.

She had taught him bits and pieces of their native tongue. Though in the present day only a handful of phrases remained to him. She told him of the things that made him different and similar to the humans. Since he is only partially demon his life span is the same and he more resembles a human, but he lacks the intrinsic magic most demons possess. He doesn’t lack their strength however, a fact quite obvious when objects other children would find heavy he would find light as a feather.

She taught him how to hide his extra limbs and it took him a long time to grow used to the sensation. The arms and heads aren’t similar to his main limbs which were the same as regular humans; these extra limbs were more incorporeal he could still feel with them and see, but if he did not manifest them no one else could feel or see them.

(He also learned of what the number of extra limbs meant. As the extra parts are similar to a manifestation of his demon spirit the number of extra limbs relate to the power and potential a demon had. His mother did not tell him that most have one extra body part and that two extra sets of two different body parts was a very rare occurrence, only seen before in the king himself.)

Zoro could still remember the urgency in which his mother had taught him to hide his limbs. He could also remember a time when he was startled in a town (for he was only allowed into town to buy food and other things once he learned to hide his extra limbs) and he had lost his control, the arms and heads appeared in an instant and the town came to a complete standstill. Zoro however had taken off running. The stones they had thrown never quite reached him but they had landed close enough to instill real fear.

After that event, he and his mother had packed up and left again for a new island. His formative years were nomadic ones and this caused him to have a wanderer’s soul, for the longest time never finding a place he wanted to stay, always coming and going like the tide.

(He found it ironic when the master of the dojo would remark about his nomadic soul. Zoro had thought to himself “if only you knew” but instead just quirked a small smirk at the man who took care of him before turning down the path.)

Her stories were the one constant in his life for a long time. No matter where they were or what was happening the stories continued. Zoro never learned to tell tales the way she did, spanning entire worlds in mere sentences and his attention was held while she told her tales. She would talk of fake worlds and sometimes of their own world.

She also told him the stories of her and Zoro's father, though she never once mentioned his name in any story she ever told, she spoke of his strength, will, and unmatched fortitude in battle. Zoro had wished to one day be as strong or even stronger than his mother’s stories had made his father out to be. But she also told of how they met, how his father had first fallen in love with her ability to tell stories. She noted with wry amusement that he and Zoro behaved quite similarly when it came to her stories.

(Zoro never inherited her ability to tell stories. But he also never lost his appreciation for other peoples stories. More than once eavesdropping on strangers talking about their lives. It is a habit he is not want to break; one he doesn’t need to far down the line when he finds his people and becomes part of that crew. A crew that has more stories to tell than there is time to listen.)

Good things never lasted long though. When Zoro was just shy of 7 years old, the thing his mother kept looking over her shoulder for catches up to them. His mother sensed it before he did and she had shoved him into the bottom of the boat and cast it off in a slow drift. She whispered to him to stay low and not to get out or make a sound no matter what. In his anxiety, all Zoros heads and arms had appeared and before he drifted from her reach she kissed all three foreheads one last time before ruffling his hair.

(For a long time, a touch that wasn't one of hated or disgust wasn’t felt by his other limbs. That would change but not for many years.)

He did not comply fully with her. He had lifted one head just enough to see a strange man, no, a strange demon, exchange some words with his mother before he enacted a final killing blow. He saw his mother begin to fold in on herself and fall. He did not watch to see her hit the dirt he laid himself flat on the bottom on the boat and willed his other limbs away. He floated for what seemed like forever, passing through many unfriendly islands that he was chased out of when he accidentally transformed, until he reached the next island in his path. Which was coincidentally the island where he was born, it is here he resolved to become a swordsman and achieve unreachable goals, to become the strongest so he would never have to lose anything again.

(On quiet days Zoro can still hear that last thing his mother had spoken to him, a whispered and broken ‘I love you’ in their native language would drift through his ears and he could feel her hand ruffle his hair.)

---

12 years later, Zoro was 19 and he hadn’t manifested his other limbs in what felt like a lifetime. His control had vastly improved but something akin to worry had kept him from ever transforming. It was possibly the fear of losing the closest thing he had to a home but no one in that town had known of his parentage, not the dojo master, not even Kuina.

But now Zoro is 19 and he had left the island to become the best swordsman in the world; but he now found himself tied to a post in the sweltering heat of the sun, days away from either avoiding execution or succumbing to it.

He could feel his limbs want to manifest through his exhaustion. It was always harder to hide them when he was this tired and worn out but he refused to give up and through sheer will he had been forcing them away. He knew manifesting them would have resulted in a death much quicker than any feat he could have performed under the guise of being a normal human.

During one of the endless days, somewhere along the line he had lost track of time, Zoro had recalled himself as a child wishing to be able to bask in the sun, now it was something ironic and Zoro laughed sardonically to himself because he got his wish. He was stuck under the blistering heat of the sun with nowhere to go and nothing to do.

He wondered idly if he was cursed to die. If this was all he was meant to amount to because he had spent the better part of two decades dodging certain death at every turn. He was feeling nostalgic for the dojo as well, but unlike what his mother had felt about her home Zoro felt no pull towards it.

One day, Zoro is waiting out his bet with the stupid son of the marine captain, still hellbent on winning and proving himself insurmountable, but he could feel the change of something big on the air. He felt the beginning of anticipation stir in his gut and he waited for something, anything, to happen all day. Then a worn strawhat popped up over the wall and Zoro eyed the kid adorning the hat and something inside of Zoro thrummed to life.

Zoro knew this boy must be a traveler because everyone on the island had been to see him at least once. They would whisper of the deeds he must have done, those who didn’t witness the truth, and they call him by his epithet in hushed voices, as though it were a curse.

However, it only made him laugh. The fact they call him a demon fits all too well. He had wondered what they would do if they knew how correct they were. But this boy didn’t whisper or hide from him. He just casually approached him, Zoro was intrigued to see the kid assess him with a considering stare on the walk up. This boy was far more calculating than he initially let on at first sight. He must see something worthwhile in Zoro because the wide grin that is leveled at him is almost blinding. It made Zoro want to grin for the first time in days.

Their first conversation feels like a whirlwind; it is exhausting but somehow galvanizing and Zoro found himself being blackmailed into becoming a pirate. The boy introduced himself as Monkey D. Luffy and Zoro was delighted to hear that this person who wants to be his captain has a dream far crazier than his own, but Zoro agreed; he was already exiled from his mother’s people and these humans labelled him a monster and would put him to death for sure. What was left for him besides joining this impossible man on a journey for the world and becoming a pirate, a rogue from all societies? Back then Zoro remembered thinking of how fitting that was.

Before he could think of it Zoro had agreed to Luffy’s proposal and the phrase “you’re the son of the devil” spilled from his mouth before he could think about it but the boy’s crazed grin didn’t change. But as Luffy was gone retrieving Zoro’s stolen swords, Zoro remembered a story his mother had once told him: of a lost clan said to be descended from Devils themselves, lost to the ages except for a mysterious initial appearing as a middle name in few individuals.

At this Zoro does let his head fall back and hit the wooden pole as he laughed. The son of a devil and the exiled prince of demons, they would truly make a terrific team. His blood sang in excitement and anticipation as he waited for him to return.

Later he was finally released from the post and he felt all his limbs (visible and not) stretch in relief. The relief is short-lived as he turns and steps into battle in congruence with Luffy. Zoro has a moment to revel in the fact that this boy is now his captain, but their teamwork had fit together so smoothly and so seamlessly that Zoro would have thought they’d been fighting together forever.

They departed from the marine island in a small boat and the irony of the whole situation was killing Zoro; he once again found himself floating about the east blue at least he was once again with company. Luffy, similarly to his mother, often filled the silences with stories regardless of if they made sense or not. This time, Zoro found himself sharing some of his own stories as well. It is the most at peace Zoro has felt in a long while.

The days turn to weeks and as they spend more time together in the small boat Zoro could feel the itch to release his other limbs creep up in the back of his mind until it became ever-present. The itch was sort of unprecedented. Zoro had gotten quite good at cloaking his other limbs in the past years and they had never had a problem being put away. Since they weren’t exactly normal limbs, Zoro had long since gotten used to only having one head and two arms present instead of his original form. He didn’t always mind it, there was some solace to be found in his human form sometimes.

Of course, when he was too exhausted or tired it was often just easier to save himself the mental strain of remembering to cloak them, but by now that was second nature and very rarely would he ever catch his control slipping.

He wanted to tell Luffy his deepest and darkest truth. The two of them had become fast and impossibly close friends in the short time they had had together. Zoros secret weighed a heavy burden upon him. Each passing day, the weight of his secret gained and he could feel it slowly pulling at him until he was sure he may be taken apart by it. There was something about Luffy, something that made Zoro want to tell the him his deepest and most personal secret.

He spent a few days tossing the decision about in his head. He and Luffy were still drifting from island to island and he felt no rush at the decision. For once he had nothing but time. Deep down he was worried that Luffy would react just like the way people had when he was a child. Every time he imagined Luffy reacting like that a sick feeling clawed its’ way up Zoro’s throat, holding his words and his breath hostage. Zoro couldn’t imagine just picking up and leaving, having to travel alone again, he could no longer imagine being somewhere that wasn’t this boys side.

There is an odd event one day. A gust of wind sends Luffys hat propelling off his head high into the air, they both lunged for it but with Luffys abilities he grabbed the hat first and very nearly toppled himself over the side of the boat (again). This time Zoro was faster and quickly grabbed hold of Luffy, one hand secure on his arm, the other arresting his movement by holding a fistful of his vest. In the moment, just after Zoro grabbed hold of him, he felt the second-hand sensation of his extra arms attempting to hold Luffy back as well. The hands can’t hold onto anything though, as Zoro still has them hidden from touch and view. Despite their cloaking, he still had minor levels of sensation in them, it just felt as if his hand had gone numb and he attempted to touch something with it. But Luffy had frozen at that moment and Zoro had assumed it was just because he was staring the ocean in the face and he didn’t want to make any move to accidentally fall in.

Once he and Luffy sit back on their respective sides, Luffy gave him an odd look, his eyes roamed over Zoro and paused at the junction of each shoulder and Zoro felt his heart stutter to a stop. It was impossible for Luffy to have felt the limbs when he didn’t have them showing, so why was Luffy searching him for something? A pit formed in his stomach as Zoro remembered how Luffy had frozen exactly when one of his other arms had brushed the boys side. Zoro carefully kept silent until Luffy shrugged to himself and flopped back down to nap, hat placed over his eyes. Zoro watched Luffy well into the rest of the afternoon and couldn’t help but wonder at just what this whole event had meant.

He didn’t come to a conclusion for Luffys behavior, but he knew his captain knew more than he let on and Zoro goes to sleep that day steeling his resolve to tell Luffy soon.

They drift for a couple more days while Zoro still weighed his options in his head. Finally, he had made his decision and shook Luffy awake. The two sat cross-legged opposite of each other in the boat, Luffy idly rubbing at his eyes and fiddling with his hat, which he had laid on the boat next to him and Zoro sat unnaturally stiff, his swords placed securely off to his side.

“What’s going on Zoro?” Luffy asked cocking his head at his swordsman.

Zoro steeled himself, every part of him wanted to tell Luffy the truth but he couldn’t the small insidious voice in his mind that kept bringing up the memories of the town he had transformed in before and the stones that were thrown. Zoro knew that if thing did turn that bad he’d be okay physically. They were surrounded by the ocean: Luffys main weakness. Zoro felt shame settle on him like a second skin, he hated that he had even thought of this contingency plan. He severely hoped Luffy would not react as others had; Zoro still had no idea where he would be if he wasn’t allowed to stay by Luffy. Traveling the world no longer seemed right if he wasn’t doing it at his captain’s side.

“I have something I need to tell you.”

Luffy straightened up and crossed his legs, watching Zoro carefully. Unexpectedly Luffy didn’t say anything just waited for Zoro to continue.

Zoro blew out a loud breath through his mouth, he had no idea how even go about this explanation. He asked Luffy to not say anything until he finished and at Luffys curt nod Zoro began trying to explain his origin and the fact he wasn’t fully human. Zoro had never been good with words and he felt himself stumble through the explanation borrowing from things his mother had told him before and he tried to convey it back to Luffy. As he explained Zoro felt the worry unclench its iron grip from his heart, he read no disgust in his face but a lot of barely contained excitement.

“Zoros a demon?! That’s so cool!” Luffy says rocking in his spot.

Zoro chuckled feeling relieved but there was still one last lingering worry that clung to him. It was one thing to accept him in theory but seeing it was something else entirely.

"Yeah, yeah, I still have to show you something though." Zoro said rolling his shoulders, amusement making him feel lighter than ever as he watched Luffys face watching him excitedly.

Carefully Zoro let go of the illusion he had maintained for so long, he was thrown a little off balance as his other heads came back. He had gotten accustomed to only using his two main eyes at this point but he associated himself with it quickly and easily. Luffy watched him with his mouth wide open clearly overjoyed at the sight unfolding before him. He slapped his palms on the bottom of the boat and braced his all his weight on them as he leaned closer to get a better look.

"So cool!" He breathed leaning closer to Zoro, who sat motionless, still a little too tense to really relax and move.

Luffy scooted himself across the short distance that still separated them until their knees bumped into each other. Luffy peered up into his face before swinging his head back and forth between each of Zoros heads. From this distance, Zoro could see Luffy glance at his arms and the extra arms that were now there and something like understanding flickered over his face, Zoro was now almost certain that Luffy had suspected something, but how he had known something Zoro still couldn’t figure out.

Luffy held up a hand and paused a short distance from one of his heads, “Is it okay with Zoro if I touch them?”

Zoro nodded minutely and Luffy gave him a large grin before grabbing one of his extra heads in his rough hands and turning it to face him before doing that to the head on the opposite side. Luffy released them and laughed, bright and loud, “There are three Zoros! Just like your swords.”

"Hadn’t really thought about it that way." Zoro said, laughing lightly, as he heard his voice echoed in the two other heads he saw more blatant delight cross over Luffys face and Zoro was finally free of worry.

This continued for some time, the two of them sat, knee to knee while Luffy examined the extra limbs that came with Zoros demon heritage and Zoro bemusedly answered any questions or observations Luffy had. Luffy then paused, his arms still braced on Zoros shoulders from where he had been feeling the junction where all the sets of arms met. He dipped his head a bit to catch Zoros eye and held steady eye contact with him.

"Zoro is still my nakama. No matter what you are, Zoros always gonna be nakama, okay?"

Zoro paused he felt his neck warm up in a flush at the directness of Luffy’s statement but also from the sheer relief that had washed over him at that moment. He didn’t know how Luffy knew he had been worried over that but his mind was eased to hear that from Luffy. His lightly gripped Luffys wrists with him main pair of hands and grinned down at him.

"Yeah, I know that Captain."

He was met with another of Luffys bright and blinding grins that were always accompanied with his boisterous laugh. Zoro closed his eyes, lifting his head up towards the sun beating down on them. He felt free of all his burdens that had weighed so heavily on him before. It was like he was suddenly able to take his first breath after being submerged in water for so long.

It was freeing.

The peaceful moment doesn’t last. It was broken when a sudden wave crashed into the side of the boat stealing Zoro from his reverie as Luffy is tossed forward with the crash, straight into Zoros chest successfully knocking the both of them over the edge and into the water. Zoro swore loudly as the two of them go down; being already well acquainted with Luffys inability to float or swim thanks to his devil fruit one of his hands immediately wrapped itself in the material of Luffy’s vest, securing him against his chest as the two of them break the surface of the water.

Luffy was dazed already, his head lolling against Zoro’s shoulder. Zoro shook his head fondly hauling the two of them back into the boat, a feat which is much easier now that he is free to use his additional limbs. He deposited Luffy in the bottom of the boat next to his hat and Zoros own swords. Zoro sat next to him and took off his own shirt and haramaki, throwing them onto the raised ledge of the boat to dry.

Zoro had only a moment of silence to reflect on how thankful he was that Luffy took to his secret so easily before Luffy came to giggling. Zoro shoved one of his hands onto his captains face, covering his eyes. Luffys giggles devolved into full blown laughter as his hands came up to rest on Zoros pulling at it lightly. Zoros chuckled along with him and he moved his hand upwards pushing back Luffys wet bangs, pausing for just a moment before shoving Luffys face into the floor of the boat.

The quick glimpse of the shocked expression that overtook Luffys face sent Zoro into a fit of laughter unexpectedly, the next thing he knew the two of them were laying on the bottom of the boat clutching at their sides, their delighted laughter still echoing out over the waves.

Night found Zoro and Luffy still laying in the bottom of the boat, their feet now propped up on the raised boat sides. Luffys hat and Zoros swords were lain protectively between them, a system they had grown used to using since their first night on the boat. The sun had long ago dipped below the horizon line and Zoro had since put away his demon limbs as it was more comfortable to lie on the ground without them.

Luffy was making up constellations and naming them after whatever he saw fit. By Zoro’s count there were currently four for meat alone. Zoro was swept up in his momentum and came up with his own constellations (he ended up naming most of his after swords) and Luffy laughed and rolling his head to look at Zoro, to which Zoro responded by mirroring his movements and facing him as well.

Luffy paused for a moment before his signature wide grin was splitting his face and he all but whispered to Zoro, “I’m glad Zoro came along with me.”

Despite the night and the lack of sun or heat, Zoro felt himself warm all over. Distantly in the back of his mind, he once again recalled the memory of wishing to be able to bask in the sun as a child and the more recent memory of scorning himself for the fate he had ended up in; Zoro now realized this is what he had wanted as a child all along, this feeling right here and not just the simplicity of the summer sun.

In a move that surprised even himself, Zoro turned his head back up towards the stars and began to tell Luffy a story from his childhood. Luffy was quickly enraptured by the unexpected story and listened quietly, eyes also trailing lightly about the stars above them.

They both end up dropping off into sleep sometime between one story and the next but the ritual continues, they go about their days drifting normally but at night the two of them lay in the bottom of the boat and Zoro tells Luffy stories from his childhood, some nights they switch and Luffy is the one telling stories, regardless they spend the nights hearing the tales the other has lived.

Then one day, Luffy is carried off by a bird they planned to eat and things begin to change rapidly. One moment Zoro is chasing his captain and the next thing he knew, the entire ordeal was over and they had somehow gained an orange haired navigator to their crew, though she persists it was temporary. Zoro had a feeling that would change.

---

Nami had been with them a few days and Zoro hadn’t really had time to ponder over when or even if he was going to tell her of his secret, especially if she kept good on her promise and eventually left them. Zoro was determined to keep the number of people who knew he secret to a minimum so he hadn’t really decided on Nami being let in when it all comes to a head.

Zoro had been peacefully asleep, when a soft tap of someone stepping onto his and Luffys boat threw him unceremoniously into wakefulness, he was immediately on guard and his demon form snapped out in the sheer sense of protectiveness that washed over him. He hadn’t sensed Luffy wake and his captain was therefore asleep and vulnerable. Zoro wouldn’t let anyone take advantage of that, his entire being had been ringing with the need to protect, two of his hands were cast over Luffy to shield him while another went to the hilt of one of his swords that were lain at his side.

His entire body exuded danger and he was tensed, ready to move at a moment’s notice. He glared through the darkness at the figure crouched at the end of their boat. His brain finally caught up with what his eyes were seeing and he realized that it was Nami, who was half crouched over some trinket she left in their boat earlier that day. She was now frozen in place, her face carefully devoid of any emotion, though he could read the wary and fear in the lines of her body.

As the scene pieced itself together in his mind in fractured pieces, he froze in his in place as he realized that he had been so startled awake and defensive that he went to his demon form automatically, not realizing the intruder had been their tentative ally. He and Nami were unblinkingly locked onto each other, both frozen at either end of the boat with neither wanting to move first.

The tense aura was broken when Zoro felt a warm hand on his arm. One of his heads took in Luffy, who was now apparently awake. Luffy sat still watching the two of them, there was a serious set to his eyes as he observed his two crew members. Zoros main head stays locked onto Nami who had yet to move, the tense standoff continued for a beat until Luffy gently pushed down Zoro’s arms that had been cast over him in protection.

"Luffy…" Nami cautiously called out, "What is happening?"

"Zoro is part demon." Luffy said all casual and nonchalant, Nami slumped ever so slightly, "You must have freaked him out and he let his other arms and stuff out."

Nami let herself relax ever so slightly, eased by Luffys casual nature about this whole event, Zoro felt himself also drop his guarded posture.

With his two crew members no longer ready to attack or run Luffy flopped back onto the bottom of the ship with a thud, “It’s all okay now, we’re all nakama. Zoro wouldn’t hurt you and you wouldn’t hurt Zoro.”

He yawned and folded his arms beneath his head, fully intent on returning to sleep. Zoro willed his extra limbs away and relaxed his posture, still eyeing Nami rather warily. He had expected a worse reaction but there was still the off chance something could happen.

"So you’re a demon?"

Zoro shrugged. “Only a bit really.”

Nami watched him for a moment before mumbling to herself and shaking her head, before bidding them goodnight as she returned to her own boat. Zoro hadn’t really expected anything more from this encounter, so he too laid back down to sleep again.

He had fully expected Nami to be guarded and wary the next day, but he was rather surprised when she acted rather normally.

"So Zoro," Nami began leaning over the side of her boat.

Zoro hummed in response looking up from cleaning his swords, Luffy as well tipped his hat to watch them from where he’d been sitting on the front of the boat.

"Where do those other limbs come from?"

Zoro shrugged. “Born with them I guess. I can manifest them at will or they come out when I’m startled or too exhausted to keep them away. I prefer just the normal amount usually, it’s less of a hassle.”

The unspoken sentiment that less people ask questions and that there was less of a chance for disdain sat awkwardly in the air between them.

Nami just nodded and returned to her map, Zoro casted a look at Luffy who just offered him a sunny grin. Zoro didn’t really know what to make of Namis behavior but Luffy hadn’t seemed bothered and Zoro didn’t mind so it wasn’t something he was going to keep fixating on.

That night however, Luffy and Zoro were both surprised when Nami joined them for their usual bout of sharing stories. She easily fit into their routine. Luffy and Zoro were still the only ones trading stories, but Nami hummed along and commented on their adventures. Occasionally, Luffy and Zoro could sense she wanted to tell a story of her own and share something, but there was something far bigger keeping her mouth shut tight.

Sometimes also, on cold nights or after a tiring battle on an island, Nami would quietly come and hunker down in their boat nestled between the two of them, where the swords and hat used to go. The swords and hat are now kept safely in the floor space above their heads and the gap is always open for Nami. When it was after a tiring battle, the three of them would appraise each other for wounds and do what they could to treat it; despite her insistence she wasn’t part of the crew Zoro could see the intense scrutiny she put them under after battles, her concern for them plainly written on her face.

They rotated spaces often but usually in the morning, Luffy was found sprawled over the both of them; and Nami would feign annoyance and Zoro would feign exasperation but the shared look between the two showed they didn’t mind at all.

---

They journeyed on and Usopp was also adopted into the crew, he and Luffy took to each other as brothers and him and Nami fit in together well with their shared penchant for wanting to avoid fights. Zoro found himself enjoying the ridiculous stories the boy told and he could sense the latent ability of the boy, he bet Luffy could too.

Zoro, Nami and Luffy are all so used to already knowing about Zoro being a demon that they didn’t even remember to think of telling Usopp about it and turned out they wouldn’t tell him for quite some time. They’d already be well into the Grand Line before the topic came up again.

The next crew member came from a restaurant called the Baratie and this was also where Zoro ran into the man who stands in the way of his dreams. Things happen rapidly in this place; Nami made good on her promise and left them, the rest of the crew felt off kilter and out of place. Zoro was fully intent on following Luffys order and going after her (as Luffy has a debt to pay and a cook to harass into joining them) but Mihawk then made himself known.

When Mihawk appeared, he and Luffy shared a long bout of eye contact and Zoro tried to project the fact that he needed to fight him here and now. Luffy, who is always on the same wave as him, seemed to understand. There was the slightest nod from his captain and then Zoro was off to challenge his fated opponent.

His was still torn on the matter, one half of him was urging him into the fight with Mihawk, his focus on his dream nearly wiping out any other thought he had, but the other half of him was twisting his gut in regret and a general feeling of malaise as he ignored his captains original order. He stuffed that feeling as deep as he could in his mind, Luffy had understood and given his permission. Zoro needed to do this.

Zoro then found himself standing before Mihawk and he could see the veiled interest in his eyes as he watched him. Zoro had a moment to briefly wonder if Mihawk, like Luffy, could somehow know his true nature, but then they were fighting and his demon blood was singing with the exhilaration of fighting such a strong opponent.

But the next thing Zoro knew the fight was practically over, two of his swords broken and the third sheathed as he bared himself, arms splayed out wide, refusing to back down in front of the gatekeeper of his goal. He could hear Luffy yelling in the background and he felt annoyed and shamed that he failed in front of his captain. Now that he had fought Mihawk he knew it was far too early to face him but he couldn’t have just let this moment pass. Zoro was barely keeping his demon limbs in check (there were far too many people around to see them and Zoro knew they wouldn’t have changed the outcome of this match) and Mihawk advanced with his final slice coming at him and then Zoro is bound for the sea and everything goes dark.

He came to surrounded by Johnny, Yosaku and Usopp, the world was still dark but he could hear the loud and angry scream of Luffy echoing over the sea. The shout hooked him somewhere deep in his chest and yanked him back from the dark until he was blinking up at the blinding sun. He could hear Mihawk talking barely but then Luffy called to him and every fiber of his being pushed to respond to his captain’s call. Zoro pledged himself to his captain on his prized sword, once again with the sun beating down on him and Zoro idly found it funny how intrinsically tied Luffy and the sun were to him.

He called him by the title he knows Luffy will one day achieve and it sits right with him the way it sounded. Luffy responded and he is no longer angry and snarling but Zoro can hear the joy tinging his voice.

(His mother’s voice in his head echoes an old saying of how saying things aloud made them true and as the epithet of Pirate King rings about Zoro could not agree more.)

Zoro was then forcibly taken away from his captain (which still didn’t sit right with him) to go after Nami with the rest of the crew, leaving Luffy with that blonde cook, Zoro wished to go back but he knew he wouldn’t be much help and he resolved to get stronger again.

They reunite in Arlong Park and Nami is brought back into the crew when Luffy does what was impossible for anyone normal and brings Arlongs whole operation to a screeching halt. Zoro watched as Luffy stood amidst the rubble and he knew deep in his bones that his captain was a storm in the skin of a boy. It was only right, for who else would accept a demon as their first mate and vow to upheave the world for the sake of a dream.

(Mihawk had called them a great team and it was true, who together would be better than a demon and the son of the devil?)

---

The five of them set off for Loguetown and then the Grand Line, and Zoros demon instincts could sense something coming on the horizon.

In Loguetown, Zoro had found himself a new sword. His demon heritage had granted him the ability to somewhat sense the soul of people but when he grabbed the sword he could feel the bloodlust and danger rolling off it in waves and he was intrigued. The sword was cursed and he could only think about what sword would be better for a demon than this cursed one? Zoros luck won out against it and he gripped the sword, feeling the excitement course through him. The sword was well made and dangerous. He couldn’t wait to use it.

Something else was nagging in the back of his head, drawing his body taught with tension; it was a forewarning against danger and Zoro was unsure of where it was coming from. He felt as though the world was spinning too rapidly around him as he searched for the answer until he stood in the plaza of Loguetown with his captain on the execution block and then the world slowed to a crawl. His blood was screaming and railing at the wrongness of the situation and he could feel his demon form clawing at the edge of his awareness as he fought through the masses when sheer luck and probably fate saved Luffy with a bolt of lightning. Zoro remembered his mother’s words of the D Clan once again. By now he expected nothing less than extraordinary when it came to his captain.

They escape Loguetown by what feels like a hairs breadth but then they are entering the grand line and Zoro knows without a doubt nothing will be the same again. His goal lies somewhere along this road and even further lies his father and the people who cast him out before he was even born. Zoro knew that the next time he reached this spot, everything will have changed.

Whiskey peak brought about the first big event of their trip into the grand line. Zoro knew there was something off about the town, his demon instincts were immediately on guard when they came to land. Sure enough Zoro found himself hunting the one hundred bounty hunters through the night and the demon part of him took extreme pleasure in the event, though the enemies are hardly even worth two swords let alone three.

Then Luffy joined the fray.

Zoro should’ve known Luffy wouldn’t understand the true nature of this town. Luffy took people at face value and judged them by their actions, there was no way he would’ve thought the people who fed them and gave them shelter would turn on them.

So now he and Luffy were facing each other down in an alleyway.

Anger lit Luffys eyes but when they met sword to fist he could see excitement there as well. They both lived for the thrill of fighting and this was bound to be a good fight. Zoros demon blood hummed in anticipation. Luffy was strong, Zoro knew this and could sense it; Luffy was very strong and Zoro wasn’t sure which of the two of them was stronger. Unlike his other fights, he didn’t know who would come out of this fight the victor. His demon limbs itched to be brought out and he knew he’d need them to stand a chance against his captain.

The fight never ends and neither is declared the victor; Nami came and laid it all out to them. Luffy laughed through an apology and they were on the same wavelength again.

They sail away from an island full of incapacitated bandits with a princess and a duck as part of the crew while her attendant was left burning on a boat behind them.

They picked up a new crew member on an island stuck in winter, the reindeer Chopper who turned out to be a doctor which was fortunate considering their penchant for fighting; and there was a sight, besides the beauty of the cherry blossoms in winter, Zoro would never forget from their time on that island. His captain, the man who would be king, and a desert princess bowed before a bunch of townspeople begging for the life of their crew member. It is here Zoro is sure of what a great king Luffy will be.

Vivi too, through this action, showed how she stood far above most people in her position, Zoro himself included. He may be a prince in name only; since he had never been to the island he’d have claim to, never met his father and was, for all intents and purposes exiled, but he was still a prince nonetheless. He could learn something from Vivi, considering their alike status, but Zoro knew of his own pride as well, something he shared with his father, and Zoro didn’t know if when the time came for it, he’d be able to prostrate himself before someone and beg.

(There was only one person he could see himself bowing to, prostrating, begging. But staring at that person as he pleaded for the life of a comrade, Zoro knew it would never be asked of him)

Zoro may have not yet met his father, but he had heard plenty of the King of Demons from his late mother. One thing that was plain to infer was the pride his father had; Zoro knew his father would never lower himself to his knees for anyone. The difference between his father and Luffy was so apparent to him now. He could clearly see how Luffy was destined to become a great king, and his father however, was someone to be surpassed along their journey.

---

Alabasta had been a long and hard event for everyone in the crew. Meeting Luffy’s brother (why had they expected anything less from Luffy, of course his brother would be literal fire and the second commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Nothing could surprise him anymore.) was surprising and the solid resounding no to Ace’s offer of them becoming Whitebeard Pirates made Zoro want to laugh all over again.

He knew he had followed the right person into piracy and to the legendary sea.

But the battle for Alabasta began the minute they set out for Vivi’s town. Luffy however kept his head clear and his mind set on the goal of kicking Crocodiles ass; Zoro knew Luffy was smarter than he let on and he could see most of the crew came to realize this as he fought Vivi briefly over their course of action. Of course, Zoro had always been one hundred percent behind Luffys ideas, Vivi’s idealism was nice but hardly ever the reality. Zoros own past spoke volumes about this, and Zoro could read the undercurrent of Luffys words and knew he had shared the same experience of losing someone.

Zoro could still remember the stark fear that shot through him as Luffy threw Vivi back to them and replaced her body with his own and let them go on as he, alone, would face a Shichibukai. The worry alone made him want to let his demon limbs free, but he kept them hidden and passed the time arguing with that stupid cook. The normalcy was appreciated by everyone, worry had lined all their bodies and left them tense.

Battle ensued and Zoro hardly had time for anything else.

His battle with Mr.1 proved useful and Zoro walked away from it acquiring a new skill, he resolutely ignored any of the baroque works digs about Luffy losing. He had been resolutely not thinking about the fact that they hadn’t seen Luffy since the desert, yet Crocodile had been spotted, he had faith in his captain.

Zoro was badgered into carrying Nami, though he is more injured he has a better handle on pain, his training and heritage helping him there, and they head to meet the rest of the crew. Zoro was inwardly proud of Nami for taking out her opponent, the girl had been the partner of his opponent so she was not weak by any means. Even Nami who tried to avoid most fights had come out the victor. She deserved the pride, but he would rather cut off his own tongue than tell her, he knew if he did she would never let him forget it.

There was a bomb stored in a tall tower and its explosion was just narrowly avoided; Zoro could feel his anger rise at the townspeople and guards who still fought despite Vivi’s cry echoing about the plaza. They were too angry and blind to hear. Crocodile is then sent flying high above them all and Zoro felt at peace because only Luffy was capable of that feat and the fighting stops and as if predetermined by fate. Once the shichibukai hits the ground the rain follows not too long after.

The crew then scans the streets looking for their captain, the only member of the crew who had yet to regroup with them. Zoro then saw a stranger carrying his captain down the street, slowly moving through the steady rain. If Zoro had any strength left he’d do what his body wanted him to and carry his captain, an anger born of protectiveness lanced through his chest as he regarded the stranger handling his captain who was not in any state to defend himself. But Vivi identified him as her father and Zoro conceded with himself that the King could be trusted with his captain and the relief sent his body falling into a deep sleep much like the rest of the crew.

He woke not soon after, and refused to leave the room when Chopper and the Doctors of Alabasta proceed to treat Luffy, the rest of the crew had been kicked to waiting outside of the doors. They had let him stay partially due to being unable to remove him and that fact that they could let this slide for the first mate, at choppers insistence. But then Zoro saw the extent of Luffys damage and the still healing skin where that bastard of a shichibukai had impaled his captain. Zoro let off a demonic growl unbidden and the doctors and Chopped give him a wide berth. The crew give him space as well as he just barely stalks out of the room and into an empty one before his full demon form burst forth at his sheer anger. He snarled to himself and paced the room Zoro trying to calm himself down, but he could hear Chopper tell the crew of Luffys wounds and he could hear their shock and outrage and the anger was once again burning through his chest.

He finally calmed down through using the katas he had memorized through hours of practice but his demon limbs are still present as Nami opened the door and stepped inside to talk to him.

"I knew I’d find you like this." She said smugly leaning against the closed door.

Zoro was still far too angry to answer so he grunted at her, but he stopped his kata and rolled his head, his demon limbs retreating back to being incorporeal.

"Chopper and the doctors are done, we just have to wait for Luffy to wake now, he should be fine they said."

Zoro slumped visibly in relief and Nami giggled but he could hear the relief in her own voice. She threw an arm over his shoulder, “Come on you idiot, let’s get you back.”

Zoro let himself be steered back into the crew’s room and resumed his place where he rightfully belonged: at Luffy’s side.

Luffy does wake days later, and he is his normal self and Zoro felt lighter than the past few days. Zoro kept his spot on the chair by Luffys bedside and Luffy sat cross legged on the bed as Zoro filled him in on the past few days, his hands gesturing more than usual as he talks, they kept idly bumping and brushing along Luffys arms or legs, subconsciously reminding him that Luffy is okay.

Luffy could clearly read something in the way Zoro was talking or holding himself because his captain just sat quietly watching him knowingly, as if he could sense what Zoro was debating with himself over. Zoro eventually said fuck it to himself and reached out for his captain pulling the boy forward over the edge of the bed and into his chest, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. Luffy let out a little “oof” as he fell against Zoros chest, giggling into Zoros ear and wiggling his rubbery arms around Zoros back, wrapping him in an equally tight embrace.

Zoro rested there for a long moment, anchoring himself in the feeling of Luffys breathing, the strong pulse of his heart and the warmth from his Captains body against his own. Luffy hummed a little absentmindedly as he propped his chin on Zoros shoulder, he spoke up a moment later his voice coming out quieter than usual, “Zoro was really worried, huh?”

“Yeah. Don’t do that again. Asshole.”

Luffy laughed again undoubtedly hearing the fond tone to Zoros voice which completely counterbalanced his insult. Zoro pressed his grin into the curve of Luffys neck.

Luffy then let him go and looked up at him, the glint in his eyes teasing and Zoro was wary of what is to come next, “I wonder if Zoro’s dad’s house is like this.”

Luffy flopped back onto his bed, facing upwards at the ceiling, he redirected his eye line to Zoro who is watching at him confusedly. Luffy patted the empty space next to him and stretched one hand to tug at the edge of Zoros sleeve. Zoro goes compliantly, falling backwards onto the bed next to Luffy the two of them laid on their backs staring blankly at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?"

Luffys signature laugh met his ears and the other boys laughing shook the bed slightly, “Well Zoro said his dad was a King which makes him a prince, and Vivis a princess and she lives here with her dad who is a King so maybe Zoros dads house looks like this.”

Zoro chuckled. “Your guess is as good as mine, I’ve never been there.” Zoro stretched his arms upwards and then folded them beneath his head.

"I think Zoro makes a better pirate than just a prince anyway."

Luffy rolled his head to face Zoro and Zoro responded in kind turning his head to stare at his captain.

"I agree with you there Captain."

"But I make a better pirate than Zoro."

They grinned at each other for another long moment and then Luffy was hopping off the bed in search of food and Zoro was drifting off into sleep.

Sailing away from Vivi was hard on all of them, she was considered part of the crew and she always would be, but Zoro knew her love for her people outweighed almost everything else. Her country needed her more and she had known that. It didn’t make it an easier though, but they are sidetracked from their sadness by the addition of the former Baroque Works member, Robin, unofficially adding herself to the crew.

Zoro didn’t really trust her, but he trusted Luffy and would go along with his decision regardless, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t keep an eye on her.

---

In retrospect, it was more surprising Zoros secret didn’t come out sooner, he had never really thought about hiding it from the crew, but it also slipped his, Luffys and Namis minds to tell the newer crew members. It happened on a peaceful day, in the middle of the Grand Line somewhere, Alabasta weeks of traveling behind them, everyone (even Zoro) warmed up to Robin and the crew was all piled on the deck of the Merry, trading stories after dinner. The tradition he and Luffy had started had continued despite the addition of so many new crew members, most nights would find the group of 7 all on the deck, one of them telling a story of their past or something they had made up on the spot.

(Usopp by far had the best made up stories, but Luffys stories were some of the most interesting due to how unbelievable they always seemed.)

There had been a break between stories, what usually happened while everyone was trying to decide who was to go next, and then Chopper tentatively sniffed the air and promptly began to freak out.

"Does anyone else smell sulfur?" Chopper asked sitting up quickly. "I had thought I’d been smelling it before but now I’m sure I can smell it!"

Everyone else sniffed the air but came up with nothing.

"Are you sure Chopper?" Nami asked.

"Maybe it’s just the eggs? or my inventions?" Usopp suggested ignoring Sanji smacking him for suggesting he would feed them rotten eggs.

Luffy sniffed himself, “Well it’s not me!”

"It wouldn’t be one of you, and I know it’s not the food or Usopps tools…" Chopper trailed off as he paced the circle, pausing by Zoros head. "Zoro why do you smell like sulfur?"

Luffy giggled and Sanji called him disgusting, Zoro shot the cook a glare, but sniffed his shirt regardless. “I don’t smell sulfur.”

Chopper gave him a weird look and Luffy stretched his head across the circle to sniff at him too.

"I don’t smell it either Chopper?"

Chopper rubbed at his nose and sniffed at Zoro tentatively, he turned round eyes on him, “It’s not you, but it’s your scent?!” Chopper screeched. “Humans aren’t supposed to smell like that.”

"His scent?" Usopp questioned looking critically at Zoro.

"All humans and animals have a scent," Chopper explained. "Like Luffy smells like meat, rubber, and the sea, but I can smell something like sulfur in Zoros"

"How surprising." Robin mused propping her head up on a hand and watching Zoro.

At Choppers statement, Nami, Luffy and Zoro all shared a look between the three of them and Luffy laughed.

"What was that look? What do you know?" Usopp asked them eyeing the three of them critically.

Zoro shrugged and Luffy nodded at him, Nami just sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I’m not entirely human." Zoro said casting a glance at Chopper, he could feel the other crew members all stilling and looking at him. "I’m part demon."

"You’re shitting me." Sanji said just barely heard over Usopps sputtering and Robin interested hum.

"I’ve heard of an island of demons in the new world somewhere, how interesting Mr. Swordsman." Robin drawled, Zoro could only merely nod at her statement, it wasn’t like he knew anything about the island.

"Zoro should show them!" Luffy said happily rocking forward in his spot.

Wasting no time at all Zoro revealed his excess arms and heads to the rest of the crew. Usopp gave him the only reaction he was suspecting: the boy flinched originally, hiding behind Luffy before eyeing him intrigued. Sanji had just sighed declaring there were no surprises left in the world. Chopper looked between him and Luffy and then turned his gaze fully on him with something like admiration in his gaze. Zoro recalled Chopper’s past of being called a monster and could see where that came from.

"If it doesn’t bother you, may I ask you some questions about it later?" Robin asked him politely.

"Sure, why the hell not." Zoro responded rolling his shoulders and sending the limbs away.

"That not even the worst part." Nami sighed. "These two idiots just are so cavalier about everything."

"What’s the worst part?" Chopper asked her, everyone save for Zoro and Luffy looked at her expectantly.

"These two idiots don’t think anything of it, but Zoro here is not just part demon, he’s their fucking prince."

There was a thud as Usopp hit the floor. Sanji looked skyward muttering to himself about wondering what he did to deserve this. Luffy laughed and rocketed himself to the crows nest to take his watch and the group split off to go sleep after this sudden revelation. Sanji dragged usopp to the boys room, Robin stuck around to ask Zoro questions of his heritage and soon it was just the three of them on deck, Robin and Zoro talking and Luffy keeping watch, silent except for the waves.

Zoro didn't mind the archaeologists polite questioning, he was too elated from the fact that the whole crew knew about him and none of them had protested or had a freak out reminiscent of his childhood. Overall, everything was working out. Zoro found himself even sharing stories occasionally, on more than one occasion he ended up lapsing into phrases from his native tongue, though these instances turn into him having to teach half the crew just what he said. Luffy, true to form, never paid much attention to the explanation.

(Luffy once told him it was because he didn’t have to, he could read the tone in Zoros voice and that told him all he needed to know.)

Jaya turned out to be an unexpectedly eventful stop for them. Zoro hadn’t really expected Nami to understand, even if she was the one who made them swear against fighting, he hadn’t expected her to figure out why he and Luffy let those second-rate pirates beat them up.

Zoro didn’t question his captains silent order, as usual the two of them seemed to always be in harmony. He understood, how them not fighting resulted in this being a win for them despite what the onlookers thought. They were not there in the moment, standing by Luffy and feeling that unwavering resolve. They had truly won that one, they may have been bruised and battered but they were victorious.

He had been annoyed of course, mad even, at these idiots who raised their hand to them. But he didn’t budge against them, he would not move until his captain gave the word, the anger hadn’t been at his own attackers though, he was mad that these idiots dared raise a hand against his captain. He knew Luffy could take care of himself, and later the punch that Luffy delivered Bellamy was worth it all. Zoro had wanted to taunt them, the so called 'fight' they were having wasn’t even worth thinking about bringing out his extra limbs, these nobodies were truly weak.

The man that Luffy had met in the bar, who they meet again in the street, had something off about him. It sent Zoros demon instincts rallying in his head and he knew Luffy figured something was off about him too, his captain had been wary of him since they had entered the bar. Often, Luffys instincts about people were more accurate than his own.

(The two of them later find out just how right their suspicions were. Though one finds out through stories and the other finds out face to face with the man himself)

Traveling with Luffy and the rest of the strawhats made Zoro feel as if anything was within their reach, it is with them that they travel to the supposedly fake Skypiea, and it is there that Luffy beats a 'god' and rings a bell that had been lost to the ages. Zoro could have told that to anyone, that if someone were to achieve those impossible feats it'd be his captain.

(Zoro had scoffed at the idea of that god anyway, who was he to believe in a god? Zoro was not one to leave his fate up to something he had no proof was there and besides, what was a god to a demon?)

There is the inevitable shitstorm of Enies Lobby and Water 7 that Zoro had felt building on the horizon since they landed after Skypiea. It was worse than he expected. It started with the loss of money and the attack on the Franky family house in retribution for Usopp, but it comes to a head when Luffy is driven to fighting Usopp and Robin disappears.

The fight was not easy on any of them, it was hard to watch for most of the crew, but Usopp had asked for this duel himself. Zoro knew his captain held back on the sniper, probably due to Usopp’s injuries and the fact Luffy had considered him nakama, a brother no less. Zoro took it upon himself to be the pillar Luffy needed when the fight was over.

It was his job as first mate and his job as Luffys friend, but it was not easy. The rest of the crew was not in a place well enough to talk about Usopp with Luffy and their walk to the hotel was a long and hard one. In their room, while Chopper and Sanji were out, Luffy broke down and Zoro shouldered his burden without hesitation. It was his job.

There are few words between them, there never had really been the need.

Zoro allowed Luffy to cling to the front of him and vent his frustrations, tears of anger and sadness and whatever else his captain had built up spilling over. Zoro reminded Luffy of his duty and carded one hand through the boys hair the other resting lightly on his back.

Luffy quieted after sometime, pulling back with a wet sniff and a "Thanks Zoro".

Zoro ruffled his captains hair again, "It’s not problem."

He picked up the discarded straw hat, turning it a few times in his hands, taking in the worn straw before gently plopping it down onto Luffys head.

Later, as the rest of the crew began to return, Luffy moved to the roof, needing time to think of what was next and probably not wanting to face their equally sad moods about the loss of two crew members. Zoro followed a half step behind him, waiting against the pillar his captain had taken for a seat. He would wait for as long as his captain needed.

Zoro hadn’t known what to make of Robins disappearance, but he had felt something was off about it, the maelstrom of Enies Lobby is what brought it all to light.

There was no time to rest, because things happened quickly in Water 7, and the next thing Zoro knew he and Luffy were on the front of a train, their attacks flawlessly forming together to cut through an unbeatable wave. The normalcy of it is uplifting and the fight to them is fun, he could sense the excitement in Luffys stance as they face the wave, it is mirrored in his own stance as well.

The battle begins as soon as they step off onto Enies Lobby. Luffy had taken off long before them, Zoro could hear the havoc he was causing and it was glorious. They both lived for battle but this battle is different, their crew was at stake and that made them all, Luffy especially, more dangerous.

Zoro didn’t have much trouble until his fight with Kaku. This battle marked the first time Zoro needed to unleash his demon limbs to fight someone and that was exciting for Zoro. He rolled his neck unleashing the limbs he so often kept hidden.

"What are you?" Kaku had asked faltering ever so slightly in his composure.

"The one who will beat you."

The only people whose opinions mattered on what he was had already accepted him. His captain had been unflinching and resolute in his acceptance and nothing could stop Zoro now.

(He also knew that no matter if new people joined, once Luffy accepted you then you were nakama and that was final. He had accepted Zoro long ago and Zoro had no plans to go anywhere. There was practically no force in the world, not even death, that could pry him from his captains side)

(He would later find out that he was wrong. There was one force that could move him.)

Zoro had been surprised to see that his demon limbs had manifested with swords in mouth and hand, it had been a first for him. But if he faltered he would be lost. He chose to take it as a sign that his strength and power had grown.

It had been a hard-fought battle but Zoro was the one to emerge victorious. Kaku had fallen to the floor, cursing him, calling him a demon, and Zoros immediate response had probably not helped. The wicked grin that had unfurled on his face as he sheathed his swords felt right though. The lingering fear in Kakus eyes also made it worth it.

The crew stood atop the roof in front of the judgement building as Robins history was shouted and taunted in front of them. This blathering idiot made his blood boil and the rest of the crew was stone faced as the marine holding Robin spouted more shit about the world.

Zoro had never given much of a fuck about the world and the world had never given much of a fuck about him. When Luffy spoke up, his voice was more serious and calm than Zoro had heard it in quite some time. There was something there, something about this enemy that Luffy was more closely attached to, but Zoro shook it off, the crew didn’t have to share everything. Each person had something in their past they didn’t wish to bring up. Zoro could not fault anyone that, especially not Luffy.

(He knew they had both been through hell before. Most of the crew had. They could all sense it on each other, the shared experience unspoken yet bonding them. Despite this, everyone had their secrets. Even Zoro. He had still never spoken about his mother, the last time he saw her, how he had to look away too afraid to look up and watch. Everyone had their secrets.)

The order to burn the flag fell from Luffys mouth, and it was not some reckless order. This was a sign from Luffy to Robin that all the crew had to learn at some point. Luffy did not care who you were or where you came from or who had it out for you. If he liked you, you were part of him and he'd fight to hell and back to keep that.

The flag burned up as well as the last of Robins reservations and she was shouting for them all to return to the sea and Zoro grinned.

It’s about time they all got on the same page.

He felt they’d been on this island too long, it was time for it to be their crew, out on the sea. No more of this shitty marine island. It was time to go home.

Home seemed like a far-off point in the distance as the enemies kept piling on, and the marines came back with quintuple the force. Yubashiri was rusting and crumbling before his eyes and Luffy was down on the battle field and Zoro felt desperation begin to choke him. He refused to let this end here.

But he was down a sword against an enemy who could destroy the things most precious to him. Zoro quickly ditched that enemy, but was faced with the sight of Luffy face down on the battlefield and his heart stopped. A sickening chill spreads outwards from his center to his fingers and feet and it arrests any movement he may have made.

A broken "no" fell from his lips before Usopp was yelling to Luffy and Luffy, thank anything that is out there, was alive and responding and standing to finish his fight. A warm feeling spread through his veins, bringing the sensation back to his extremities, it felt comfortable, familiar, and invigorating. He threw himself back into the back, his countenance etched into a casual grin.

There was something trying to get his attention in the middle of the battle, Zoro looked to see who keeps calling for them when Usopp suddenly shouted for them to all get to the sea.

It confused Zoro with half their crew being devil fruit users that was a death sentence, but then so was the five warships trained on Luffy, but the impossible happened, Merry was there and she was ready to sail them to safety. Undeterred by the agonizing battle they all just had, the crew (only after Luffy had been successfully rolled away) was lighthearted and jumped back down to the sea, to their home.

(It was a bitter taste in his mouth as the Merry burned. He had loved that ship, the first place that really began to feel like home. The ship carried more than just memories, but the rest of the crew was crying enough for him, and Zoro watched stone faced as Merry burned.)

---

"Luffy, your grandfather is insane." Nami said as most of the crew laid splayed on the deck, exhausted after barely escaping the onslaught of cannonballs that had been hurled at them.

Luffy laughed, free and unbothered, as though the past ordeal had been stricken from his memory, he propped himself on his elbows. "Grandpa has always been like that, training was so hard with him."

None of the crew really wanted to ask what exactly Garps training had been, if it could produce someone like Luffy the rest of them didn’t want to know what that training entailed.

Nami sighed and pulled herself up to go check over the ship, wandering off in the direction Robin had gone before. Sanji, as usual, was quick to follow them. Chopper and Usopp had already taken off to explore the new ship and Franky was steering, leaving just Zoro and Luffy laid out in the grass.

Zoro liked the lawn on the ship, he could already see all the naps he'd take here.

A heavy object was dropped on his stomach and Zoro cracked one eye open to see Luffy using his stomach as a pillow.

"Oi."

"It was fun seeing Coby again." Luffy said a soft smile pulling at the edges of his face.

"Yeah, the kids changed a whole bunch since we last saw him." Zoro hummed content.

"Coby said Zoro and me have changed a lot too." Luffy informed him, "I bet it’s because we're a whole lot stronger now."

Zoro made a noise in assent, closing his eyes against the glare of the sun.

"But a whole bunch of stuff has changed too!" Luffy giggled joyfully, "We have more nakama and a new ship!"

"That's true," Zoro began slowly, feeling his mind being pulled into sleep by the warmth of his captain and the sun and the gentle ocean breeze making everything seem at peace. "but not everything has changed."

The reappearance of Coby had dredged up the memories of Shells town and the pitiful state Zoro had been in that'd he'd rather forget, but comparing Zoro as he is now to the Zoro he was then, there is one constant, it is his captain. The two them were still operating together seamlessly, fitting together flawlessly and though nakama have come and gone and come back again the two of them were fixed pillars.

(Zoro would be fine if the rest of his life was spent walking half a step behind Luffy, facing the next big adventure. It would be a life well lived.)

He opened his eyes and stared down at his captain, he could tell that Luffy was on the same train of thought he was by the pleased grin that unrolled onto Luffys face. His captain dropped his hat to cover his face, a sure sign Luffy planed on sleeping soon. Zoro really had no compunctions as he had been planning a nap as well and was far more than used to being used a pillow, especially for his captain.

"I don’t want everything to change." Luffys muffled voice chuckled, reverberating through Zoros stomach. "I like a lot of stuff as it is, especially stuff like this!"

Zoro could hear the grin in his captains voice, despite the sleep addled tone his voice had taken on. He could also clearly picture the grin Luffy is wearing, it is one he never tires of seeing.

Zoro drifted off to sleep once he heard his captains snores echoing over the deck. Warmth flooded his system at the joy and pride he felt from hearing the satisfaction in his captains voice that Luffy was also glad that what had been unchanged through all their travels was the bond the two of them had forged ages ago.

---

The Sunny lurched violently under Zoros feet, he had about had it with these goddamn marines. The ambush had come from nowhere, it had been weeks since the run in with Garp and the departure from Water 7, but these marines had materialized from thin air and now two ships flanked them.

"We don’t have enough cola for a Coup de Burst!" Franky loud voice echoed from somewhere behind Zoro, "We gotta push them all off!"

The fight was relatively normal. Nami, Chopper and Usopp were trying to stay out of the thick of the fighting and he and Luffy (and to an extent Sanji) were doing everything they could to go to the thickest part of the fights. Everyone else falling somewhere between these two extremes. Luffy himself had just rocketed back from what had been the third marine ship, where that marine crew now laid unconscious.

"Something is off about those cannon attacks." Sanji said suspiciously when the two of them were briefly back to back, encircled by marines.

A few short attacks later and that circle was much smaller and he and Sanji reverted to the middle again, back to back, "I know. I just don’t know what they’re doing."

It was with practiced ease that Zoro knew to duck without the shout to, Sanji ducked a half beat later just in time for Luffys outstretched leg to sweep over them.

"Of course, you don’t, why did I bother asking an idiot Marimo?" Sanji sighed. Zoro tuned out his usual babble about asking Nami or Robin and the two separated to fight some of the heavier packs of marines.

The marines kept swinging over gaps between the ships and there was seemingly no end to them. As well as that, the amount of cannon balls thrown at them had increased yet none had hit the ship yet, the ship continued to lurch and roll violently with the surging ocean. The crew had begun to grow suspicious, each cannon had the majority of them looking to the other ships, Zoro had even seen Luffy narrow his eyes suspiciously at the cannons.

At first it had just seemed like the cannons were being manned by the less experienced marines but the marines they were actively fighting showed no annoyance at the waste of cannonballs and that set the straw-hat crew on edge.

Unfortunately, the answer came a little too late.

Nami swore violently, the crew turned their attention towards her, using her clima-tact she gestured to the cannons being fired. "They're making waves!" She yelled, "They're trying to wash us overboard!"

That set the crew into motion quickly, surprisingly not too bogged down with fighting the marines, giving them all a chance to react to Nami's warning. Zoro could hear Usopp and Nami dive for cover and Franky had disappeared below a moment ago, searching desperately for more cola somewhere, Sanji shouted as he grabbed hold of Robin, and Zoro had Chopper clinging to one of his legs as Zoros leaned against the mast as a brace, one hand held protectively over his swords.

Warning bells went off in his head as the ship tipped dangerously far after a rapid onslaught of cannonballs. Zoro still had not seen Luffy wrap an arm around part of the ship as usual; Zoro searched for Luffy, a frenetic atmosphere emanating from him, until he saw Luffy swarmed with almost every marine. Annoyance lined his captains face, in his peripherals Zoro could see the large wave rise over the edge of the ship. Luffy looked up and the two of them locked eyes, Zoro used his free hand and thrust it towards Luffy. Luffy reared back to stretch his arm to his first mate, but his eyes widened in shock and a shout began and died on Zoros lips in the same breath as the full force of the wave hit them.

They all held tight and waited the wave out. Zoro could hear everyone sputtering and coughing up salt water; Zoro saw Robin and Chopper both worse for wear and breathing heavily but alive nonetheless. More pressing than that, Zoro looked wildly around for his captain yet saw no sign him.

His eyes went to the spot his captain had been and anger zapped into his bloodstream as quickly and violently as lighting. He saw red and his ears rang, because all that was left were Luffy had been was a worn and wet straw hat, surrounded by a group of chuckling marines. On the adjacent ship Zoro could see the marines bringing out something that looked to be a large net and Zoro felt his already frayed and worn control snap.

A snarl tore through him violently. It garnered the attention of the crew and the marines alike. He could see the fear in the marines eyes, the snarl had sounded more demonic than anything Zoro had ever heard himself make but he did not care. A delayed half second later the crew reacted to the sight of the straw hat left alone on the deck; there was the noise of Sanji swearing loudly and vaulting over the edge of the ship but Zoro didn’t register any of this.

His demon limbs reacted to his violent anger and blood thirst, snapping to existence so quickly Zoro could hear the pop in the air and the smell of sulfur burned his senses. The sight sent multiple marines reeling back, whispers labeling him a demon floated amongst them. Zoro felt himself relish in their blatant fear, his mouth twisted into a sinister facsimile of a smile. He advanced, attacking them all ruthlessly, still unaware of anything going on around him. He couldn’t hear the marines scream or protest, even the quiet worry of the crew, only appeased once Sanji deposited Luffy over the edge of the ship, was lost to Zoro.

Zoro was blinded by rage and the marines had been mostly defeated or jumped ship from fear; there was one group left who were stuck frozen sitting on the deck. His smile turned feral as he crouched to their level, cocking his head to regard them. He lofted his swords at them in preparation to attack, he sensed one moving and saw the marine in the back looking to pick up Luffys hat. The smile dropped from Zoros face as more white hot rage poured into his veins, boiling his blood. This time a growl was pulled deep from his gut and it punctuates out of his mouth, it was deep, dark, and rough. No one could deny that this sound was something insidious and inhuman. The marine that had moved fell onto his ass, eyes wide in fear and his entire body trembling.

Zoro was unaware that Luffy had awoken from his sea induced sleep or that his captain was advancing towards him, unshaken by the display of blatant rage by his swordsman. The rest of the crew kept their distance; they knew Zoro would not hurt them, but they also knew there was nothing they could do for him now.

A strong hand laid upon his shoulder and even through the haze of his rage and the roar blood in his ears, Zoros body and Zoro himself instinctively recognized his captain. The tense lines of his shoulders relaxed and the growling broke off and quieted but Zoro did not lower his swords. He could sense Luffy tense and from the corner of one of his eyes he could see Luffy jerk his heads toward the marines and the set of his eyes was enough to send that group of marines catapulting over the deck.

One rubbery arm shot out and retrieved the lost had and Luffy walked around in front of Zoro, dropping into a crouch as well. There was a tense moment of silence, far off the marines shouted to each other and fished their crew members from the water. An exuberant shout from Franky signaled his approach but it cut off when he breached the deck and noticed the captain and first mate crouched together on the deck.

Zoro breathed heavily through his nose, still too angry to calm down, evident by the demon limbs that refused to be put away. A small part of his mind knew Luffy was here, which meant he was alive and well, so Zoro should be able to calm down, but the larger part of his mind was still acting on his instincts. His grip on his swords was still just as tight.

Luffy stared at him for a long moment, Zoro didn’t even vaguely register the sounds of the crew preparing for the emergency coup de burst. His captain was still calm in the face of Zoros demonic spirit lashing out despite the relative safety of the moment. The previous battle had him balancing on a knifes edge, skirting perilously between barely holding himself back and losing all control. A dangerous air exuded all around him. It kept the rest of the crew at the edge of his perception, careful not to be too hasty around him, except for Luffy who regarded him no differently than he would a normal day.

"It’s okay Zoro." Luffy said slowly still crouched in front of him. "Everyone’s all okay. Franky even found some cola so we can get outta here."

A small practiced grin slipped onto Luffys face. Zoro tried to clear his head of the anger and the blood thirst, but found it difficult to rein in his unbridled anger. Slowly he anchored himself to the familiarity of his captain and dampened his anger piece by piece.

Zoros blood was still rushing in his ears as he took in a deep gasping breath, the sudden influx of air burning his lungs, he couldn’t hear what Luffy was saying, but knew it was random babbles and reassurances. Which to almost anyone else would seem like they couldn’t do much, but to Zoro it helped. He could feel his awareness returning. He finally was under control enough to put his demon limbs away, their disappearance brought a full body shudder rocketing through Zoro, sending him to his knees in exhaustion. His captains hands find home one on his chest and the other braced on his shoulder. His swords clattered lightly to the deck now that his arms have dropped.

Zoro was sure Luffy could hear the rapid pulse of his heart under his hand, but he really couldn’t find it in him to care and he rested his sweaty forehead on Luffys smaller shoulder. Luffy patted him lightly on the chest and bounced slightly on his heels as they both sat in silence for a moment.

Then there was the sound of someone walking across the deck towards them, Zoro pulled back and sheathed his swords as Luffy stood to greet Nami.

"Franky says he's ready to move." Nami said her hand propped on her hip.

Luffy crossed his arms and nodded looking to the rest of the crew, Nami turned to look at Zoro who was still crouched on the ground. He could see her rake her eyes over his form, he knew he mirrored the action with his own eyes, they both nodded at each other at the end of it. Both relieved the other was okay for all intents and purposes, the old habit a holdover from the days of it being the three of them.

"Oi Franky!" Luffy shouted across the deck. "We're good to go!" He laughed excitedly as his call stirred both his own crew and the marines who were apparently still dead set on capturing their heads.

Luffy spun on his heel, once Nami had turned and left to go assist in the escape, he offered a hand to Zoro, with a tired sigh Zoro accepted the hand and allowed Luffy to pull him to his feet. He allowed the other boy to steer him to the boys room as soon as the Sunny was airborne and the crew had reverted to their usual behaviors.

He didn’t know why he was so tired. Maybe it had been the stress of the sheer emotional turmoil of the battle in addition to his demon form coming forth unwillingly, those events always left him more tired than when he chose to reveal them. The two of them collapsed on two neighboring bunks. Zoro shifted placing his swords up against the bed and folded his arms beneath his pillow.

"Is Zoro all okay now?" Luffy asked, raising himself onto his elbows.

Zoro shut his eyes, now feeling slight shame and regret for losing control of himself so quickly. "yeah captain, I'm good."

"I was surprised." Luffy commented lightly. "The last thing I saw was Zoro and chopper on the mast and then that giant wave hit."

Even without turning his head Zoro could see the arc of Luffys arm that was meant to represent the wave.

"And then I'm back on the deck with Sanji and Zoros got all his heads and arms out."

Zoro could hear the question underlain in his captains statement: the wonder as to why Zoro had reverted to that form and just what had happened while he was out. The two of them really understood each other too well. Zoro knew the question was to make sure he was okay but to also make sure nothing else had happened to his crew while Luffy was unable to help. Zoro knew that was a fear his captain held close to his chest; that something would happen to his crew when he couldn’t be there for them. To Luffy, his nakama were everything.

Zoro breathed through his nose sharply, "It was just after the wave. The way the marines were acting. They were so smug." He broke off with a huff.

His sentences were only half-formed but as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Luffy, he felt that Luffy still understood the sentiment of his answer from the pensive look on his captains face.

"And then there was one making for your hat." Zoro mumbled under his breath

At that Luffy ran a finger along the brim of the still damp hat, smiling softly to himself.

"What’s it like?" Zoro began abruptly, shifting the conversation, "When you go under?"

Luffy shifted, flopping back onto the bed, humming in thought. "It’s strange. You get real tired like when you work out a lot and you just wanna lay down and sleep."

Zoro nodded knowing that feeling a little too well.

"But then there always this part of you that feels a little like your being pulled under by something big and powerful." Luffy said offhandedly.

Zoro was a little surprised about the more in depth answer, he and Luffy both had things about themselves that they played close to their chest, secrets and stories of their past.

Which was why the next thing from Zoros mouth surprised himself, maybe it was the stress he had gone through, or the comfortable atmosphere that surrounded the two of them in their solitude. Regardless, he told Luffy of the last time he saw his mother, how he had seen her die and how he had been unable to keep his eyes on her as she fell.

He was half expecting Luffy to have already been asleep or make some noncommittal noise. Zoro felt laid bare, with such a deep held secret floating between them, he both feared and desired for Luffy to give an answer of any sort.

His response was both what he expected yet also completely surprising him. "I had another brother." Luffy said softly. "His name was Sabo, me and Ace thought he was happy with his family, but then he tried to set sail and a noble killed him."

Zoro tampered down his surprise, he and ace had made no notions towards this lost third brother. Zoro was just glad he already knew that he and Ace weren’t blood brothers and it was likely Sabo wasn’t either. The mention of his death gave Zoro a pause, Luffys eerie calm and his determination against the world government at Enies Lobby seemed to align more closely now.

"Seemed like he was a good guy."

Luffy grinned "He was. He was a much nicer brother than Ace."

Zoro laughed and the two of them quieted down for a moment before Luffy spoke up again. "I think I would have liked Zoro's mom."

Zoro paused taken aback by the mention of his mom again, but he thought on it for a second, warmth filtering through his body at the fact that his captain held a high opinion of his mother, "Yeah, she would have liked you too."

He knew that she would have taken to Luffy just as he had. The two of them stayed in their peaceful bubble of solitude until the call for dinner sent Luffy cheering and scrambling from the room.

---

He was kneeling before an insurmountable enemy, eyes locked on the dirt and rubble surrounding him. His captain was unconscious behind him and the cook laid nearby having been forcibly knocked out by Zoro himself. He was so exhausted, he didn’t even have to think about hiding his demon limbs, he was so tired he couldn’t bring them out even if he tried. Zoro was the last pillar of defense and he once again wondered if he was cursed to die.

There was no exit from this, the mountain of a man Kuma made it clear that someone would not leave this island alive and Zoro would be damned if that person was Luffy. His captain was destined to be King and Zoro told Kuma such, before proclaiming the seat he was aiming for, hoping that he would be enough payment to buy Luffy his life and his dream.

Death had always been tailing him throughout his life, so maybe this was his fate. It was almost laughable; he had once made Luffy promise to die rather than to stall Zoro’s dreams, but now Luffy’s spot in his life was practically above anything else.

Kuma was not without mercy and allowed the substitution and even let him be moved from the group. Zoros heart ached in grief at the thought of leaving the crew behind and the loss of not being able to see Luffy achieve his destiny. He stared down at his captain, his swords already lain in a pile not too far off, there was something in his chest that ached beside the pain of leaving them. It was hard to name or place when this began but it was there. He let his eyes linger on Luffy, taking in the sight of his captains peaceful face for what would be the last time. He crouched next to him tilting his head, observing his captain so still and unaware of what was happening. His heart gave another violent throb in his chest.

Zoros hand reached out and tangled itself into the sweaty bangs resting on Luffys forehead, he pushed them upwards off his forehead and a small smile etched onto his face. How long ago was it that he had done this and shoved his captains face into the floor of that first boat?

It felt lifetimes ago.

He retracted his hand slowly, drifting it across the contours of Luffys face, there were a million things he wanted to say. He wanted to apologize for letting his captain down, for having to part with them here. He wanted to tell Luffy it was not his fault that this was happening. That he chose this. But he didn’t voice those sentiments. He cupped his hand on the side of Luffys face.

"Sorry Captain, I wanted to go all the way to the end with you. We could have done it too, but my journey ends here." He paused and inhaled shakily. "You will be the man who becomes that pirate king, it is your fate."

This was Zoros fate.

He guessed it was true that he was meant to die, Luffy had saved him before so it was only right that he dies for his captain to live.

He removed his hand and closed his eyes briefly, there was one more thing he wanted to say, it had been drifting around his head for a while, an age old echo that for the first time he had found a reason to repeat it. It was the last thing his mother had said to him and now it was going to be the last thing he said to his captain.

He braced his hands on the rubble and leaned his face down to the side of Luffys. He whispered the words into his captains ear, his native tongue sounding rough due to its lack of use but Luffy had always understood him regardless. He repeated the phrase and sentiment he never thought he would address to another person. He pulled his face back from Luffy’s ear, his lips just barely ghosting along the skin of Luffy’s temple. He rested his forehead against Luffys for a long moment, each breath and passing heartbeat threatened to break him down, he let himself stay like that for another long bittersweet moment and then he stood.

Kuma was still watching him emotionless, Zoro lead him to the most secluded place he could see and accepted his fate.

The first bubble of pain was unimaginable, but Zoro grit his teeth and thrust himself into the remainder of it. His mother’s voice was whispering on the wind with the voices his nakama in his mind, a soothing balm to his raw and aching soul. Through all the pain these voices grant him a sense of peace. His life played like a skipping tape in his mind, he saw his mother outlined against the bright moon, each of his nakama flit through his mind, he then paused on the first time he had met Luffy, the first view of his captain illuminated by the bright glare of the sun.

It took Zoro every ounce of willpower he possessed to claw his way through the ordeal.

He was unsure if he even survived until Luffys cheers drifted over to him on the heels of the cooks arrival and the sheer relief that floods his veins relinquished Zoros last hold on his conscious and the ground rushed up to meet him.

The next few days Zoro was unconscious and he didn’t know what went on with the crew but his mind was at peace.

---

The crew took shifts watching over him. Even through the party Luffy and the others made sure he was included, throwing the party and pretty much making base where he was sleeping. The sounds of the crew having fun and the music Brook created, the sounds of life, seem to ease the lines in Zoros face even as he slept on.

Trouble came when Zoro had been resting long enough to not be in any immediate danger, Brook had been watching over him with the rest of the crew milling about, none of them wanting to move far from Zoro. No one had told Brook of Zoros true nature, but it had been during Brooks watch when Zoros body felt well enough and rested enough for it to be safe for his demon limbs to be come out. Since Zoro himself was unconscious he couldn’t hide them as usual.

Luckily the room they had all been in was empty save for the Strawhats and Brook, the most recent addition to the crew, Brook however was the one to suddenly notice the extra heads and arms and was sent falling from his chair sputtering for Chopper and Luffy or anyone really.

Nami, Sanji, Luffy and Chopper are the first to reach Brook. A look passed between them and Nami nodded at Luffy and pulled Brook aside, telling him quietly about Zoro and his heritage. Chopper squeaked about having to move Zoro before the others arrived while Luffy and Sanji tried to figure out how to move him without jostling him too much.

"Luffy, Sanji there’s is a relatively enclosed room over here we can use." Robin calls to them.

"So smart Robin!" Sanji cheers while Luffy laughed and got ready to lift his first mate.

Multiple rows of hands sprout from the ground and Luffy and Sanji roll Zoro onto them to help the procession to the closed off room. Luffy threw a giggling "Thanks Robin!" as they passed her.

There was a marked change after that. The strawhats kept closer watch on Zoro and the room he was staying in, Chopper and usually one other strawhat inside the room keeping watch while the rest acted as a sort of guard against any of the other inhabitants of Thriller Bark trying to get inside.

Luffy was oddly pensive for the next few days while Zoro slept on. It was strange for the rest of the strawhats to see him sitting on the floor beside Zoros makeshift bed watching over the swordsman, eyes locked on the rise and fall of his chest, and when Chopper kicked him out to go rest he would lean up against the closed door and nap, or idly watch the rest of the room.

It was during one of these times when Luffy was against the door and seemed to be resting when some of the thriller bark people wanted to visit Zoro. They got as far as reaching for the door handle when Luffys hand shot out and gripped their wrist tightly. His eyes were dead-set and serious as he spoke.

"Zoro needs his rest."

The thriller bark people nodded quickly and darted off and Luffy settled back against the door. His posture seemed relaxed to everyone else, but his crew could read the dangerous set to his shoulders, the tense way he held himself, ready to act again. To everyone else it was confusing, but the crew knew Luffy would put his all into protecting Zoros secret.

No one else tried to sneak in the room after that. Luffy was extremely protective of the room and his nakama inside and no one wanted to risk angering him so they kept their berth, inquiring about the swordsman but not daring to go in.

Luffy spent his nights beside Zoro, head pillowed on the table Zoro used as a bed or just splayed out on the floor by him.

One night however, he had his chin propped on the table as he observed Zoro, he blew out a long sigh and spoke into the quiet of the room.

"I know something happened when I was out. But I also know Zoro won’t tell me what it is when he wakes up." Luffy pouted. "And Zoro knows how much I hate not knowing about what happened to my nakama."

He watched Zoro closely for a few moments before sighing again. "Sanji and Robin know something too, I can see it but no one will tell me even though I’m the captain."

Luffy closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms, "If Zoro wakes up and is okay then it’s all good. I know my nakama did something to protect everyone, even if they have to lie to me even though I don’t like that. All my nakama are important to me and Zoro was my first nakama so he’s gotta be here with me."

He pulled one hand from beneath his head, his hand hesitated in the air above Zoro’s head for a moment, before two of his fingers traced along his temple, skimming across the warm skin there before idly brushing through his hair. He refolded his hand underneath his head and closed his eyes.  

He was drifting off to sleep when he spoke up again, "I know Zoro did something to save everyone, that’s just what Zoro does. I just want Zoro to wake up soon, we have so many adventures left."

(There are things Luffy didn’t tell Zoro. Not even in the stillness of the night when Zoro was still unconscious. He didn’t speak of how before he had woken after the battle he could have sworn he heard Zoro talking to him and when he woke he could feel a lingering touch on his face. He didn’t speak of the strange words Zoro had whispered to him that breached the unconscious fog of his own mind, that he could feel what Zoro was saying without knowing the words.)

---

Zoro woke the next day and the first thing he saw was his captains grinning face thrust closely to his own and despite the pain he was still in Zoro cracked his own grin.

As he watched Luffy throughout the day Zoro could realize that Luffy knew something about what had gone down, he obviously didn’t know everything but from the way he treads lightly around his first mate and the way he looked at him, Zoro for sure knew Luffy had some inkling in his mind.

He found a certain kinship with Brook, the two of them were both swordsmen even if they differed in their styles. The two of them sat side by side honoring lost nakama: Zoro his sword, even if he had gained a new sword to take its place Yubashiri would always be his, and Brook his whole crew that had been lost to the dangers of the grand line.

There was a respectful silence between them until Brook spoke up, his voice sounding fond, "Our captain is a very great man isn’t he?"

Zoro didn’t need to be asked that, he had known that since Luffy was an unknown pirate, but he still grunted his affirmative.

"He is much like the sun, our captain, so bright I must look away even though I don’t have eyes."

That made Zoro pause, he and Brook had very similar histories, stuck in the dark or hiding one’s self until their whirlwind captain reformed them and drew them out, he often made that correlation in his own head but hearing someone repeat it was comforting.

Zoro smiled fondly, gaze turned up to the sun, he relished the fact that he was still able to bask in the sun’s rays and be with his captain despite how the ordeal of this island had made that possibility seem bleak.

"Yeah, he really is."

The night was peaceful as they drifted further and further away from Thriller Bark. Earlier there had been an uncomfortable pit in Zoros stomach as he watched Luffy mull over the knowledge of the vivre card and Ace. Even though Luffy seemed fine with his decision there was something gnawing at Zoro. But for now, the crew all lay upon the deck together, trading stories like nothing had changed, Brook threw his own stories, that he could still recall, into the mix.

Zoro had slowly made his way over to the group, his injuries had left him sore and slow moving, that was more of a torture than anything. Not being able to move as he once had. The crew had all shuffled for him and he collapsed into the pile of limbs and warmth and laughter, smiling and relaxing when Luffy sidled up to him and Nami laid down on his other side.

The peace of the moment made Zoro relaxed and sleepy, Franky was the one telling this story, often stopping his tale to punctuate it with an exclamation of "super!", Brook was lightly playing the violin somewhere behind his head, and Robins light from her reading cast them all in a warm glow.

Two hands encircled one of his wrists and raised his arm up, Zoro blearily cracked open one eye and observed Luffy idly playing with his hand. It wasn’t unusual, whoever Luffy laid next to was usually given this kind of treatment, while Luffy listened to the stories he liked to idly inspect one of his nakama, sometimes it was Usopp or Nami or whoever was closest to him at the time.

Zoro was more than used to this kind of scrutiny, he hardly minded at all. He closed his eyes again, concentrating less on Frankys story and more on his captains hand trailing over each of his fingers before Luffy slid their palms and fingers together comparing the sizes of their hands. He could hear the quiet giggle his captain huffed under his breath, the giggle paused and there was a lull in movement before Luffy intertwined their fingers, locking them together.

Luffy didn’t release his hand quickly however, which was what Zoro had been expecting, and though he was loathe to admit it the gentle ministrations of his captain had caused Zoros face to flush slightly and he was glad for the darkness of the night to hide it from the rest of the crew. Zoro could feel the skin of the side of his face prickle, warning him to someone was staring at him, he turned his head towards the side and locked eyes with Luffy who was observing at him unabashedly.

The fire from Robins candle glinted off his eyes and Zoro felt his throat go dry, he turned his attention toward their joined hands and tugged them closer to him, resting them on top of his chest, with Luffys hand resting directly above his heart. He turned his gaze back to Luffy who was giving him a small secretive sort of smile, which Zoro returned with a smaller one of his own.

He was glad that he and Luffy could read each other so easily because, if Zoro were being honest, he would not know what to say in this moment.

Luffys attention was caught by the expansive sky above them and he rolled his head upwards to face the stars and an astonished laugh falling from his lips. Zoro and the rest of the crew peered up into the sky to try and see what it was their captain had spotted.

"Luffy? What're you laughing at?" Usopp asked smushing his face closer to Luffys to try and see what he saw. Luffy just giggled and raised an arm pointing to a cluster of stars above them.

Zoro stared up at the sky and caught what he was pointing at and huffed his own laugh.

"They’re just being idiots." Sanji sighed flopping back down.

"Oi Luffy isn’t that the meat constellation?" Zoro asked pointing to one farther off to their right.

"That’s not a real constellation." Nami said looking at them strangely, but her interjection was ignored by both Zoro and Luffy as they barreled on.

"Mhm and there’s one of the sword constellations!"

The crew collectively sighed and went back to telling stories as Zoro and Luffy stayed off in their own bubble reminiscing on the constellations they had made ages ago in the bottom of a tiny boat.

---

Sometimes Zoro felt as if he were standing on the brink of something vast. He'd felt it before, when Luffy first walked up to him, the moments before Crocodile burst through the ground, on the roof top of Enies Lobby before the flag was burned. They always come quietly, these moments, the world itself seemed to stop and hold its breath in anticipation of his captains next move. The world drowned itself of sound and all eyes went to Luffy. This was one of those moments.

Luffy was staring down a world noble, unbridled rage in his eyes and Hachi bleeding behind him. Luffy was always one to judge people on their actions and not their status. How else would he have gathered a crew made up of a demon, a money greedy witch, a liar, a perverted cook, a reindeer, a woman wanted by the whole world, a cyborg and a skeleton. Who else besides Luffy would they all choose to follow? The answer they all knew was that they would follow no one else.

They had followed Luffy out to sea and they’d follow him to hell and back.

But now they watched, stowing their own anger and rage as Luffy stalked up to the World noble and broke a cardinal rule of society. Zoro watched him in slight awe, his mind whispering to him, "This is the man who will be king." and Zoro felt that statement reverberate in his very bones.

It was with that punch that something was tipped over the edge and there’s an unidentifiable change and the world resumed breathing again. All the air rushed back in and they rode the whirlwind of that event through meeting Rayleigh, who turned out to be the first mate of the Roger himself. Zoro can’t help but compare the two of them and feel akin to this man. They rode that up until Zoros worst nightmare was facing him. Kuma was back in multiples, but once the real one appears Zoro felt dread drop his heart drop into his stomach.

Zoro was still injured from Thriller Bark, he could feel it, but he refused to let Kuma get to his nakama first. He was the first mate, he would rather die than let them go first. He also couldn’t bear to have Luffy lose Usopp again so soon after Water 7, so Zoro faced down Kuma despite the screaming and warning of his crew behind him.

Kuma asked him about going on vacation somewhere and Zoro was confused, but the one thought that pierced his mind was the desire that he wanted to go somewhere to get stronger so he could be stronger for his captain and never let him down again.

The paw descended on him and it felt like a guillotine, but Zoro stood his ground and faced the warlord; to turn his back would be a mark of shame on his soul forever. The paw hit him and he was just aware enough to hear the soul-wrenching anguished scream from his captains calling for him and Zoro felt guilt and regret sink into him and then he was lost.

---

He came to days later, alone, on a dark and gloomy island. He figured out that he was not actually alone; the pink girl from Thriller Bark, Perona, was there.

Zoro tuned her out for the most part, as he tried to escape from her constant presence and find a way to return to Luffy and the crew. He was stopped at nearly every turn, be it Peronas interference or the new addition of those giant apes that blocked nearly his every turn.

He sank to his knees by a large pillar and eyed the apes scathingly, he refused to let it end here but he could hardly move. It had been days.

Mihawk came as a surprise, because of course this would be Zoros fate, to be sent to the island with the man who was his ultimate goal. Who had almost killed him in a duel once. Any boastful remarks or challenges die on Zoros lips as Mihawk eyed him and something of understanding crossed his face.

Zoro spat Kumas name when Mihawk inquired as to why he was present on what turned out to be Mihawks island and the next phrase froze Zoros blood in his veins, ice shards taking control of his heart.

"Ah, so this is why Straw hat showed up at Marineford alone."

Zoro didn’t know much of Marineford, except that it was a Marine stronghold, and the news got worse as Mihawk told him of Aces death. Zoro couldn’t imagine it, Ace couldn’t have really died, the whitebeard commander had been unbelievably strong and for him to die in front of Luffy...

Zoro felt his heart twist painfully in his chest as it kicked back to life, he needed to get to Luffy, Luffy needed them. His older brother was dead and he was alone and the crew was scattered, how much could his captain go through? How much would he have to go through? A darker thought snuck into his head, was Luffy even alive would he even be okay after this.

Did he even make it out of Marineford?

He needed Luffy.

Zoro clutched at his chest as his heart began to ache, this wasn’t his injuries doing this it was something else, the desire to be by Luffys side. He felt a pull in his gut for him to move, like a hook had caught him there. A memory of his mother drew to the forefront of his mind and he had a single crystallizing thought of "Oh. This is what she meant"

This pull and this pain were what his mother had told him about, the homing sense all demons had, the desire to be home and the ability to know where home always was. It was excruciating and he felt a pang of pity and sorrow for his mother who dealt with this for years for their own safety.

He finally had a place he considered home. It was the deck of the Sunny, the warmth of the wood baking in the sun and the smell of the salty sea, but more than that home was by the side of his captain.

Home was his captain.

Mihawk had been watching him stoically while Zoro knelt on the ground and then he seemed to decide something in his head as he directed Perona to care for his wounds. Zoro was unceremoniously dragged to the castle by the ghost girl and he clutched his swords like a lifeline the whole way there. He tried to pull more information about the war out of Mihawk, but the Shichibukai was tight lipped about the event, only letting him know the bare minimum.

"Figures you’d live in a castle." Zoro heaved out to Mihawk, who just offered him an amused smirk as he directed Perona to a part of the castle they could use before disappearing down the corridor.

The healing and Peronas tending to his wounds were equally tortuous and Zoro tried to actively will his body into healing faster, as Peronas pouted and slapped more bandages on him.

Mihawk had offered him a boat to leave to go to Luffy. Zoro kept that goal firmly in the forefront of his mind and tried every day to make it past the apes, only to return to the castle dragged by Perona and being forced back into her hellish brand of healthcare.

Mihawk watched disinterestedly every time he saw Zoro being literally dragged across his floors.

The boat was now in pieces and the humandrills, as Mihawk called them, were still putting up a fight. Zoro guessed it had been hours since he last left the castle set on getting to Luffy.

The ever-present pull in his chest served as his guide. He could only assume it had been hours since there was never any sun on this island. The clouds and gloom reminded him of his childhood hidden in the shadows. It was fitting to say the least.

"You left hours ago, the boat is in ruin." The dry voice of Mihawk intoned from behind him.

Zoro slanted a glance towards him. Sure, there was mutual respect between the two swordsmen but Zoro could hear the faint condescension in his tone.

"I’ve decided to use the wood to swim." Zoro said, he knew he was being petulant and stubborn but he always refused to give up and there was no way he could now that he knew the state Luffy was in.

"Why are you so impatient when you are so injured?"

Zoro could have laughed and could have sworn he heard something akin to concern in Mihawks voice.

"My captain needs me." Zoro bit out.

He could hear Mihawk sigh in exasperation and somewhere between insulting him and telling him the history of the island, he extended the offer for Zoro to stay with him. Zoro paused in his fighting, Mihawk had never really offered Zoro the place to stay, Perona who had been allowed to stay there always dragged him back but this was the first time Mihawk extended the proverbial hand.

Zoro thought on it for a moment. He could use the place to stay, but his captain outranked that. His pride outranked that. He turned down the offer and heard the scuff of Mihawks boots as he turned back to the castle.

Zoro was once again laying in the dirt and Peronas increasingly familiar face was pouting above him. "Oh, that Mihawk was right." She sighed and set to bandaging him and by now Zoro just let it happen, the ghost girl was nothing if not persistent. Something he had learned the hard way. "He sent something along with me."

Zoro cocked an eyebrow at her, Mihawk hardly ever had anything for him except for back handed insults and subtle digs, but Perona brought out a newspaper and held it for him to read. Zoro was immensely relieved to see his captain was alive and seemingly okay. It took him longer than he'd care to admit to figure out Luffys message, but he was so used to reading his cues from his captains stance and posture that getting it from a paper was a poor substitute. But he got it regardless, it was with a heavy pit in his stomach that he pushed himself off the ground and knew what he had to do.

"Perona, you can go back to the castle."

"But you're hardly healed! You idiot! Get back here!" Perona huffed as she floated next to him.

Zoro eyed her. "Just go."

He placed Wado between his teeth and started for the remainder of the humandrills as Perona grumbled and floated away.

Hearing Mihawk talk down to him stung. He had earned the swordsmans respect long ago when he was a fool but still proved himself through his will. But Mihawks pity was misplaced and Zoro prostrated himself to the man who stood in the way of his dream. This was not just for him, this was for his captain, he must get stronger and the only way to do that was to have this man teach him. As much as that stung his pride he knew it was the only way.

All the humandrills were defeated and now the only undefeated one on this island was Mihawk, but Zoro had learned, through so many painful trials that he was not yet strong enough to beat the older man. He had much to do still. The laughter had caught him off guard, but Mihawk accepted him as a student and Zoro felt himself ease slightly.

Mihawk had given him, and Perona too, a room each in the castle for them to stay in for the next two years. The training would not be easy but Zoro felt anticipation bubble beneath his skin, Mihawk was strong, very very strong and learning from him would be exhilarating.

(The training was not easy and it would never be easy, and somewhere down the line Zoro would lose an eye to this man but every scar was a story and every story had been a lesson.)

Zoro stabbed a sword into the ground and pulled himself up, shaking his limbs out before preparing to rush at Mihawk again, the other swordsman eyed him. His blade still resolutely tucked away behind him. Mihawk cocked his head, and Zoro felt as if Mihawk were scrutinizing his soul, and he may have well been if his next statement were any proof.

"You are not just human are you Roronoa?"

Zoro paused and looked up at Mihawk, who gave away no hint of any emotion other than curiosity on his face, he figured the truth wouldn’t hurt especially if this man were to train him for two years. "No," Zoro began, removing Wado from his mouth briefly "I'm part demon."

Mihawk hummed a long note and a smirk quirked onto his face, "That does explain many things. Now come, you have yet to move me from this spot."

A strange ritual began to form between the three of them. The morning would begin with some sort of breakfast, as much as Zoro hated to admit it, he missed the cooks food slightly, the damn swirly brow knew how to cook if anything, then they would train and Perona would alternate between observing them and exploring the island. But in the end, they’d all walk, float, or drag themselves to the main hall and eat together.

It wasn’t the loud joyful meals of the sunny but it wasn’t as awkward as Zoro would have expected. Despite promising to defeat Mihawk one day the man bore him no ill will.

If anything, a stranger relationship formed between all of them.

Perona and Zoro picked and nagged each other almost every waking moment they were together, the bickering felt weirdly comfortable between them and Zoro could not guess as to why. Despite all the squabbling at the end of the day when Zoro was lying face down in the dirt Perona often showed up to drag him to the castle and to patch him up, and when Perona drifted about the castle and Zoro was not off practicing he would let her babble about useless things and random stories to him as he idly did light training.

Though Mihawk never said anything directly about their arguing besides imploring them to shut up for once, they had caught him often enough smirking or generally being amused with their antics.

Mihawk and Zoro too formed a strange sort of bond, the two were by no means friends, but there was deep respect for each other there. Zoro grew to appreciate the mans strange sense of dark humor and slightly awkward personality, and Mihawk watched out for him in his own way. Despite being the one training him, Mihawk would let him off sometimes if Zoro lagged too much or if he seemed to off.

There were also the few occasions that Mihawk literally had trained him into the ground, the master swordsmans himself would sling one of Zoros arms over his shoulder and bring him back to the castle, depositing him onto the bed he had been given before calling for Perona to deal with the injuries.

Some days without even meaning too, all three of them would congregate to the same room or nearby rooms and slip into small naps, it was always a strange sort of event. Zoro had woken up occasionally from being passed out on a couch only to see Perona draped over an arm chair, Mihawk too would be asleep in a chair or just quietly sitting and drinking his wine. It was a weird sort of peace and Zoro didn’t hate it.

Kuraigana was by no means home, that still belonged to Luffy and the Sunny and the crew, and he sorely missed the sun and the sea, but he would put up with a lifetime of the gloom if it meant he could return to Luffys side and never have to leave.

---

On the year anniversary of the separation, Zoro was surprised to see the same sort of grief in Peronas eyes, but he recalled the loss of her friends on Thriller Bark and the two of them somehow ended up on the far beach with a large stash of Mihawks wine between the two of them.

Zoro was glad there was no need for words between the two of them, both dealing with their own personal losses, the solidarity was nice. There was just the cadence of the waves and the sounds of their drinking.

By the time Mihawk found them Perona was passed out into the sand and Zoro sat watching the waves an empty bottle held loosely in his hand.

"Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous." Mihawks voice was dry and unamused. Zoro tilted his head back to look at him but somehow in his drunken state ended up flopping backwards into the sand and staring up at Mihawks face.

Mihawk lightly picked up Perona first and then cast a look to Zoro who watched him hazily. "You stay there and don’t move."

Zoro mock saluted him as he heard Mihawk set off grumbling under his breath the whole way. He felt no need to move though and gazed up at the stars. It had already been a year, Zoro could still feel the ache for his captain and their home underneath his chest, but he had learned to live with it by reminding himself it was not forever. They would return to each other soon.

Once he had finished that thought process Mihawk was somehow back already and staring down at him.

"Can you move Roronoa?"

Zoro nodded. "Yeah sure. I can do that."

A long moment passed between them and Zoro could have sworn amusement was flickering through Mihawks face.

"I didn't move did I?" Zoro sighed.

"No you did not."

"Ah. shit then."

Mihawk mumbled something under his breath and unceremoniously hoisted Zoro up until an arm was over his shoulders and he leaned heavily on the other man. Zoro was half walked, half dragged up to the castle with Mihawk, his gaze bounced from the ground to the trees to the sky and his head kept bumping up against Mihawks shoulder.

He was brought up to his room and pushed inside of it, stumbling and heading in the direction he could have sworn his bed was in. He landed on something soft and face planted into it.

"Get some rest Roronoa. Training tomorrow will be hell."

Mihawk only stuck around long enough for the unintelligible grumble that arose from Zoros pillow. As Zoro fell asleep he could have sword he heard Mihawks laughter echoing down the hallway.

(Mihawk had not lied, the next day of training was excruciating and Zoro could hardly lift his himself from the dirt after it had all been said and done. Mihawks smug mood did not help anything.)

"What do you mean no alcohol?!" Zoro stared at Mihawk as the other man smirked into his wine glass

"Until you can master Haki, you are prohibited. This is your incentive."

Zoro grumbled unhappily under his breath while Mihawk watched him smugly as Zoro practiced.

"Just you wait, once I master this I’m going to hide all of your damn alcohol." Zoro swore vehemently.

"I will be waiting then. please do hurry." Mihawk said drolly.

Zoro felt his anger bubble, it wasn’t true anger but more like extreme annoyance at Mihawks subtle jokes. He had learned by now that the smug smirk the other man wore around him was not so much just smug but the swordsmans own brand of weird humor and fond amusement.

---

The end of the two years came up rather quickly. Zoro stood on the beach, Perona off behind them, the boat Mihawk had given to them floated in wait. Perona, in a display that had shocked Mihawk slightly, judging from the almost imperceptible widening of his eyes, had hugged their host of the past two years before dusting off her dress and floating to wait by the boat.

Mihawk regarded him coolly before speaking up, "Roronoa, I have done what I can with teaching you for the past two years. Now you must go and rejoin your crew and the rest is up to you."

Zoro lofted a smirk at him, not one of the cocky overconfident ones of his past self, this was more self-assured. "We will meet again; your head is still the one I aim for."

Mihawk chuckled dryly and returned with a smirk of his own "Of course I have not forgotten. Do not be defeated so easily in the New World, Roronoa, I will be awaiting you at the top."

Zoro had been with Mihawk on the island for long enough to read the thinly concealed concern behind the dig, though they were still enemies the respect and bond forged between them was still very much real. Mihawk and Perona may not have been his family the way the crew was his family, but there was a shared bond forged between living together these past two years and Zoro felt some deep respect for the man and concern for the wellbeing of both him and Perona. They had progressed beyond just enemies or acquaintances it was not a sense of family in the same vein as his nakama, but it had become its own weird version of a family all the same.

Being back on the sea felt somewhat like home and the sun felt pleasant warming Zoros skin, it was almost enough to block out the constant poking his side was receiving from a sharp umbrella.

"I can’t believe you almost got lost already. Honestly Zoro, you're hopeless." Perona sighed eyeing him from her end of the boat.

"Oi shut it. I’m following this." He held up the vivre card between two fingers before tucking it away again. To be honest, the part in which he got lost was when he followed the pull in his chest to get towards his captain rather than the vivre card, but Perona would not quite understand his homing sense for his captain.

"Sure you were." She drawled disbelieving. "Is it weird?"

He cocked one eyebrow at her and waited for her to continue her thought.

"Well you technically spent more time on the island than with your crew, do you think that’s going to be strange?"

Zoro hummed briefly in thought before crossing his arms and closing his eye, raising his face to the warmth of the sun. "No, we all knew of the two year break, it’s what our captain decided, despite where everyone is now, with Luffy is where we belong."

Perona blew out a puff of air, ruffling her bangs. "So, I guess this is like finally returning home?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Maybe I'll try and find Thriller Bark..." Perona said trailing off glancing out to the sea.

"It’s there somewhere, it was still floating around when we left it."

Through the crack in his one good eye, Zoro could see the small smile work onto Peronas face at the thought of returning to that island, despite his own dislike of it, he could see why she’d want to return to it. Through the past two years Zoro would be lying if he said he hadn’t developed a weird sense of begrudging fondness towards the girl, sort of like an annoying older sibling he had not asked for but received anyway.

Shrugging that off Zoro closed his eye and felt himself begin to drift off into sleep, but he could also feel the bubble of anticipation and excitement build underneath his skin. The two year pause was coming to a close and Zoro could not wait a moment longer.

"Oi, we're going fishing later."

An exasperated sigh drifted over to him. "Ugh fine, but if I smell like fish you are going overboard."

---

Zoro was the first to return to the island, it made sense really, he was the first to join and the first to be repelled by Kuma so he would have to be the first to return. The days waiting for Luffy are tense and long, Zoro had a feeling their captain would be the last to show because that’s just how these things work. But he was going to lord it over the cooks head forever that he was first and the cook was seventh.

During the days leading up to Luffys arrival Zoro could feel the world hold its breath. This was the return of the Straw hat crew and though it had been two years since any of them made any waves in the world, (marineford was a big enough wave) the world waited on them with bated breath for that first move.

He was with the cook when he felt it, a deep ache right beneath his chest and an intense pull in his gut and he knew with every ounce of his being that Luffy was there.

But of course, they find Luffy in the loudest part of the island where the most trouble is going on. They missed Luffys fight but Zoro could see the destroyed Pacifista beyond their own and the unfazed look on his captains face and pride ran through him. The ache in his chest went away with each moment he was by his captain and hearing his voice again eased Zoros mind and the last tension he had carried with him melted away, as they all do what they do best, run from the trouble they’ve caused laughing until they reached the ship.

Their reunion was loud and happy and full of spirit. It really felt like those two years with everyone separated were nothing. Zoro lost track of who hugged him and who he hugged and who hands him a beer but they are together and there was peace among their souls at last.

They were home.

---

They return to their old rituals soon enough. The crew was gathered on the deck of the Sunny, no one needed to voice it but they all knew they’d sleep better together because each of them held a small piece of fear that tomorrow they’d wake up and find that this had all been a dream.

Everyone wisely didn’t mention the few obvious things that had changed, no one asked where each person had been and what they had done. These stories were up to the people to tell on their own time, no one mentioned his eye, he knew they noticed it, he could feel their stares on it, and everyone had taken notice of the large mangled x-shaped scar across their captains chest. A scar which he wore proudly and no one needed to guess as to where that came from.

The next day he and Luffy stared wistfully at the schools of fish floating by them, Nami had already forbidden them from breaching the safety of the bubble. The faintest light was still present this deep in the sea but Zoro could see it disappearing quickly. Zoro turned his good eye to Luffy and again felt the peace wash over him, despite the disappearing light he still felt warm.

"Luffy you'll never guess where that bear guy sent me." Zoro said without preamble, having been struck by the sudden desire to tell Luffy about some of the two year gap he'd spent on the island.

“Hmm an island without alcohol!” Luffy snickered.

Zoro snorted. “No, that would have been hell. He sent me to Mihawks island.”

Luffy gaped a little, before leveling Zoro with an impish grin “Did Zoro try and challenge him every day?”

Zoro grinned a little at that thought, “No I didn’t, He actually ended up training me.”

“Ooh and Zoros going to have to battle him one day to become greatest swordsman. That should be a fun battle.” Luffy said excitement coloring his voice. Much like Zoro, he appreciated a good fight regardless of who fought it.

“Yeah, it should be a tough fight, but it’s going to be worth it. You said you were sent to the island of women?”

“Hmm yeah, but I did all of my training on an island near there. There were all these cool animals I wanted to eat but then I became friends with them. So I couldn’t.”

“Sanji would have died if he went to the Island of Women.” Zoro said smirking at the thought.

Luffy laughed loud and deep at that. “Yeah he would have! They tried to kill me for being a man at the beginning to but then we all became friends.”

Zoro shook his head lightly. “You can become friends with almost anyone can’t you.”

Luffy just grinned and resumed watching the fish go by. He paused a moment before speaking, “I ran into Mihawk at Marineford.”

This gave Zoro some hesitation in replying, he had heard from Mihawk but Luffy had yet to speak much about the war, “Yeah, Mihawk told me some of that. Damn bastard was so tightlipped I’d only known you guys fought a little bit. That’s all he told me.”

Luffy spun away from watching the fish and plopped into a seated position on the deck, Zoro followed suit, placing his swords off to the side. He took stock of the rest of the crew once he was seated and found that everyone had generally wandered off since he and Luffy had begun talking.

The two of them sat in silence and tilted their heads upwards as they watched the surface slip further and further away.

That night when the crew had all gathered together on the deck after dinner, the first stories involving the gap years had begun, it had started off with Usopp who told some story about an island of plants that no one knew if it was real of not and from there everyone began throwing in side stories from the years they had been apart.

Zoro laughed when Nami told them of trying to rob from all the old men on the sky island she had been at before she got Luffys message. Which then led to Luffy sheepishly rubbing the back of his head but not really feeling remorseful about it, Nami had hit him over the head in a show of her past annoyance.

Luffy popped right back up and began a story of his own and the crew listened with rapt attention. While they enjoyed everyone’s own personal tales the things Luffy had been through affected them all and of course held such a sense of grandeur from the papers that no one knew what rumors to believe.

“Guess who I found in Impel Down?” Luffy had laughed by means of beginning, before giving anyone a chance to answer he continued. “It was Bon Clay! He really helped me out, but there was also Buggy, and Mr.3 and Crocodile.”

Ignoring the wistful sighs from Chopper and Usopp about Bon Clay, Nami spoke over them “So you actually went to Impel Down, I was surprised there was no news about it.”

“There wouldn’t be especially since I believe prisoners escaped the marines would cover it up.” Robin spoke placing her head on her palm in thought.

“From what Ivankov told me, though that bastard said practically nothing, a group of you escaped right?” Sanji asked lighting another cigarette.

“You were with Iva?” Luffy asked delightedly. “They’re a fun group, but yeah a whole bunch of us escaped on whale sharks and then a marine ship.”

No one even bothered to question that statement, it may have seemed ridiculous but this was Luffy and such statements were entirely possible.

“Mihawk told me that quite a lot of the Impel down prisoners were at Marineford.” Zoro threw in.

“You were with the Mihawk guy!?” Usopp shrieked. “He almost killed you last time!”

The night wore on and more stories were thrown around, Zoro told everyone about being stuck with Perona and Mihawk for two years. Luffy offered up more stories some even touching upon some things about the war but mostly about training and the island of women.

Way later that night, it was just Luffy and Zoro awake and out on the deck, Luffy had been up for watch and Zoro was supposed to relieve him but in reality, he had just ended up joining him for watch. The two sat facing each other, Luffy idly picking at blades of grass.

“Did Mihawk know about Zoro being a demon?”

“Somehow. I don’t know how but he figured it out.” Zoro shrugged.

“Maybe Mihawk went to Zoros island? It’s out here on the new world somewhere.”

“It’s possible.” Zoro nodded.

“We’re gonna go to Zoros island and Zoro is gonna beat some sense into his dad.” Luffy declared, nudging Zoro with one of his feet.

Zoro chuckled and shoved the foot off his leg. “Yeah I’m going to teach that no good old man of mine a lesson. Not just him though, there’s someone else too.”

Luffy paused in his ministrations, “Oh the other demon guy?”

Zoro nodded seriously, Luffy had already heard the story of his mother’s death so he had known exactly who he was referencing.

The silence between them was heavy with the weight of Zoros past; at least that’s what it felt like to Zoro. When he glanced up Luffy had stopped his destruction of the grass and one hand idly scratched at the gnarled mass of scar tissue that covered his chest. Without pausing to think about it a question fell out of Zoros mouth.

“Does that still hurt?” When Luffy glanced up Zoro directed a nod to the chest scar his captain sported.

That made Luffy pause and go still, Zoro would have been worried about overstepping a boundary but Luffy hadn’t really seemed to mind the soft question.

“No, not so much.” Luffy said quietly. “Sometimes it itches though.”

One of Zoros hands inched out and splayed itself on his captains chest, spreading his fingers to cover a good portion of the scar, he idly traced along the ridges of it. To Zoro it felt like a shame on him, a mark when he wasn’t there to protect his captain. Luffy placed a hand on top of Zoros stilling the movement and pausing Zoros self-loathing thoughts.

“It’s good that my nakama weren’t there,” Luffy said quietly, locking eyes with Zoro, the air between them felt thick and all too stuffy now, something unnamed floating between the two of them cloying the atmosphere. “You could all have been hurt and I could have lost you too.”

Zoros tongue felt heavy in his mouth. “I just,” He broke off with an angry grunt “I wish I could have done something.”

Luffy shook his head, “Zoro and the crew all helped me. Even if they weren’t there they helped.”

Zoro let a regretful sigh fall from his lips and shook his head accepting his captains sentence. It was lucky they had not all been there, Luffy had hardly escaped with his life, the rest of them would not have fared as well.

Luffys hand moved from on top of Zoros hand and mirrored the position on Zoros chest, tracing the old diagonal scar. “We match now Zoro.”

“Yeah, I guess we do.” Zoro chuckled when he realized another similarity they had. “We really match.” With his free hand; the other was still placed over the scar on his captains chest, resting where he could feel the strong heartbeat beneath the skin, Zoro lightly traced the scar beneath Luffys eye, before falling back into his own lap.

Luffy tilted his head as he thought about that and once he realized what Zoro had meant by that, Luffys other hand gently cupped the side of his face, his thumb lightly brushing over the scarred eyelid.

“Did Mihawk do this one too? Did it hurt?” Luffy asked, there was a slight undercurrent of anger there, but hardly anything for Zoro to pause and worry on.

He hummed in response though, “Yeah, another gift from him. It hurt when it happened, but I’ve gotten used to it at this point, it’s not too bad. “

Luffys thumb stopped tracing the scar, but his hand kept its spot on Zoros face. The air around them shifted, it was no longer just stuffy and stagnant, there was an electric tinge to the space around them that gave Zoro chills as the seconds ticked by.

But as with most things involving the two of them it came about naturally, there was no large confession or sudden realization. It had just always been there and he would bet money that Luffy had probably felt it all along like he had.

Zoro moved on instinct and turned his face into the warm palm that rested on his face; he gently placed a kiss onto the palm and watched his captains reaction. His eyes didn’t widen in surprise or shock, he just watched Zoro a small self-satisfied grin on his face and Zoro could feel Luffys heartbeat jump and beat faster from where his palm still sat. He knew Luffy felt the same rhythm in Zoros heart from where his captains hand had paused its tracing.

There was tightening in his gut and warm satisfaction spreading from his chest like trails of fire, collecting wherever he and Luffy came in contact with each other. When the hand Luffy had been resting on his chest slid to his shoulder to pull Zoro closer to him, Zoro went with a grin that mirrored his captains and without any resistance, followed his captain to the floor of the deck.

Other than that, not much changed between them, the crew seemed to notice it quick enough, but no one had anything to say on it.

Nami had apparently won money off everyone though.

But the way they were together stayed the same; they had already been close, in all senses of the word. There was no new addition of PDA, and if anything, Sanji was still worse with his adoration of Nami and Robin, and they had always had some sort of small casual touches between the two of them so nothing there had really changed.

It was just the knowledge that the two of them had progressed and changed into something new, something that bound them closer as two individuals.

The bond between them was always strong but with this unification of their two selves, of their souls, the bond became forged in fire and the trial of time and was unshaken and there was nothing in the world that could break it.

There had always been a love between the two of them, regardless of if they felt the need to voice it or show it, it had always been there. After the separation and the war, they were no longer in the habit of denying themselves things like this. They had both already been too close to losing everything.

Zoro thought he probably had loved his captain since that first meeting and even though he couldn’t put a name to it until Thriller Bark it had always been there.

(Luffy too had loved Zoro since that first day when it had just been them. There was no need to name it; he had known what it was that resided in him early on. Thriller Bark and Marineford had just instilled in him the fear of losing Zoro, and the resolve to not put this off for any longer.)

---

The new world was dangerous and exhilarating. It was everything they had hoped the grand line would bring and more. But Fishman island and Dressrosa laid long behind them, the crew reunited once again.

Zoro would never forget the battle of Fishman Island, it had been the first real battle the crew took part in together as a team again, and it was satisfying the way all their attacks slid together so easily, like no time had passed among them.

(He could sense the rise in power in all the crew, Zoro had been proud of the whole crew when he saw them all fight. They had all grown and trained, but Luffy had risen exponentially. Zoro could not wait to see his results and to showcase his own)

More than that, Zoro would always remember his captain, walking confidently into a battle field that held one hundred thousand enemies. He knew Luffy had gotten much, much stronger, could read it in the lines of his body and how he held himself, Zoro could sense the phenomenal change in power in his captain.

Luffy had walked so casually into the middle of the battlefield, Zoro could feel the enemy mistake this for weakness but he and the crew knew something large was coming so they waited and watched. The result was more than he had expected. Like a localized explosion, something expanded out from Luffy and half the enemies on the field dropped like flies around his captain, Luffy standing in the epicenter as though nothing had happened.

He had heard of this form of Haki from Mihawk, Conquerors Haki, he had called it and Zoro thought it was befitting for the future pirate king. He had expected nothing less from Luffy.

It was also an image he’d remember for the rest of his time, Luffy standing in the middle of a battlefield, unscathed and unworried, fifty thousand enemies littered the ground by his feet.

He had felt pride for his captain, bright and unbidden flow through him as well as a soft wave of affection. He had then of course pushed that to the back of his mind as the battle raged towards him. With a feral grin, he had charged at the fishmen. After the battle Zoro was pleased with the whole crew, as was Luffy he could read the pride his captain had for his crew easily in his eyes. Zoro was also pleased with himself; he hadn’t needed to use his demon form at all against these enemies.

Zoro didn’t hate his demon form or resent his demon heritage, but there was something about being able to defeat so many enemies as a regular human that felt satisfying to him. He had resolved to only use his demon form in the hardest of battles and the only other exception would be when he fought his father.

That one he had to fight demon to demon to prove himself and conquer the dark pieces of his past associated with them. His father would never accept to fight him if he challenged him as a human. Zoro knew that much.

Now the Sunny docked at an island in the New World that people on the island they had just been to warned them against. They had told them that this island was home to demons and many cowered when Luffy announced their intention of heading straight to the island.

Zoro stood on the deck of the Sunny and looked out at the island. Nothing of the land seemed off but Zoro could sense it, his instincts were going haywire. He could feel the presence of countless demons on the horizon. He was equal parts anticipatory and excited, he’d been aiming to do this for some time but now that he was here, on the island his mother came from and his father resided, it was different.

“Is this the correct island Zoro?” Robin asked her voice calm as it always was, but she too had a hint of intrigue in her tone.

“I think it is!” Luffy said sidling up to Zoro and crossing his arms on the rails of the deck peering at the land.

“We asked Zoro idiot, not you.” Nami said lightly popping him on the back of the head.

“Well is it Zoro?” Chopper asked from where he stood by Zoros legs.

“Yeah,” Zoro said after a brief pause. “This is the place, I can feel it.”

The crew began to file off the ship, some more eager than others, but Zoro caught Luffy by the hand and halted their dismount from the ship. Luffy turned towards him and cocked his head.

“What is it Zoro?”

Zoro grumbled to himself mentally, he wasn’t quite sure why he had stopped Luffy it just felt like what he had needed to do. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times searching for an explanation but found none.

Luffy laughed, not his usual bright and boisterous one but a smaller version of that, “Are you nervous, Zoro?”

Zoro shot him an annoyed look and twined their fingers together instead, tugging just enough for his captain to take a few small steps towards him until their chests bumped into each other. Luffy tilted his head back so he could look up at Zoro’s face.

Luffy waited for him to speak or do anything else, standing in place, just gently staring at Zoro. Zoro heaved a tense sigh and pressed their foreheads together.

“I’m not nervous. Just a little tense.”

Luffy squeezed his hand in a reassuring gesture, and Zoro felt himself loosen up a little. He had known this was coming since the beginning.

“Is it cause Zoro’s gonna see his dad or cause he’s gonna see that other demon?”

As usual, Luffy was right on the mark when it came to him, and Zoros short disbelieving laugh caused a wide grin to stretch across Luffys face. “Yeah, you got it captain. It’s both of those things. There’s two things that have to be settled on this island.”

“Well me and the whole crew will be there too so Zoro doesn’t have to worry.”

Zoro smiled and nodded minutely. “Yeah I know, but I have to fight my father myself. It’s something I have to do on my own.”

“I already knew that. It’s Zoros battle obviously.” Luffys grin turned into a slight pout and he gently knocked his forehead against Zoros in retaliation.

Zoro pulled his head back and grinned down at his captain, who returned it with his own megawatt grin. Zoro then put his head to Luffys temple so his mouth was directly next to Luffys ear. He ignored Luffys small questioning noise.

There was a pause as Zoro took in a small breath and in an uncharacteristically quiet voice whispered something in Luffys ear, it was always strange when he slipped into his native tongue after so long, but something about saying this in that language felt right.

He steadfastly refused to acknowledge the blush that burned across his face as he pulled back, the last time he had said that to Luffy they had been at Thriller Bark and Zoro had thought he was marching off to his death.

Luffy grinned happily, the smile pulling at the edges of his cheeks as he bounced on his toes a little. “I’ve heard Zoro say that before.” He crooned happily.

Zoro tensed because he was sure that Luffy hadn’t been awake for that. Luffy continued before Zoro could overanalyze it.

“But I don’t remember from where. I just know I’ve heard it before.”

Zoro calmed down a bit after that, but the look in Luffys eyes spoke volumes about how much he wasn’t letting on, but at this point it was so far in the past. Zoro had also assumed Luffy wasn’t totally in the dark about what exactly happened on Thriller bark.

Luffy grinned impishly at the blush that still stained Zoros cheekbones, “Don’t be so embarrassed Zoro, I love you too.”

Zoro gave a fond little head shake and smiled at his captain, glad that he never really had to explain himself to the man in front of him, everything just fit together so easily.

“Alright then, let’s go give my old man hell.”

Luffys cheered and rocketed off the ship, dragging Zoro with him, by now Zoro was (mostly) used to being transported this way.

(He refused to admit there was still a noise of shock that was always jerked out of him when he was snatched from the ground.)

The crew walked in a cluster down the middle of a dirt road, Zoro and Luffy at the head of the group, Zoro as always was a half-step behind his captain. Luffy was acting relatively oblivious to the whispers and looks thrown at them by the demons who watched from their houses.

“They really don’t like people do they?” Brook asked staring at the demons lining the streets.

Most of the humans received disgusted looks from the demons, while Brook himself received mostly confused looks.

“Yes, from what I’ve heard the demons value pure demon heritage above most other things.” Robin said casting looks at the different kinds of demons around them.

“Oi Zoro it doesn’t seem like they like you much.” Franky stated, noticing how most of the looks and whispers were directed at him.

“That’s because they know I’m a demon.” Zoro said smirking as he caught another cluster of demons pointing and whispering about him. “They think its derogatory for me to travel with humans and serve under one.”

“Well that’s just bullshit.” Nami spat angrily.

“Very well said Nami.” Sanji said lighting up another cigarette. “Even if the marimo is sort of shitty.”

Zoro cast a dirty look back towards Sanji who responded in kind with his own glare.

“Shishishi! We’re almost there guys!” Luffy said excitedly pointing towards the castle in the distance.

They ended up being stopped halfway there by a large demon that towered over them in a pitiful attempt of intimidation.

“Now what do the straw-hat pirates want with our King?” the demon spoke in a guttural voice.

Luffy walked up to him and crossed him arms. “One of my crew has business with him.”

The demon locked eyes on Zoro and his eyes narrowed in anger. “What business could a demon who sullies himself by traveling with humans have to do with the King?”

Zoro rolled his shoulder and glared up at the demon who faltered slightly. “That’s my business. Are you going to move or not?”

The demon watched him for a moment before his eyes slid back to Luffy and then quickly away, he stepped off to the side, venomously spitting out, “The King will take care of you and your filthy companions regardless of what you try to do.”

Luffy just laughed and continued down the road, the rest of the crew didn’t feel too worried. In fact, they were all in relatively good moods as they continued down the long path to the castle.

The hall of the castle was something else entirely. The demons that lined the streets as they passed had been what Zoro could only assume to be the lower class of demons, because everyone in this hall exuded a pompous smug air about themselves that immediately had the entire crew annoyed with them. They were also worse with the scorn regarding Zoro and the fact that a demon traveled with humans.

Besides that, he could also see some of them size up the members of their crew, he could feel the sick delight that rolled off Luffy and the others when some of the demons hung back or stopped their taunts after scrutinizing them. Zoro tried not to smirk like he was enjoying it too much.

There was a call and one of the demons was gesturing them forward to approach the King, who sat perched on a throne. As they drew closer Zoro saw the man the stood behind the kings chair and his blood turn to sludge and his anger began to build. Luffy had noticed the snap of his mood and leaned closer to him to whisper,

“Is that the guy who killed Zoros mom?” Luffys voice was dangerously low and quiet.

“Yeah that’s him, the one behind the king.” Zoro bit out, trying to keep the growl from his voice.

Luffy gave a short nod and leaned back to his spot but the position of his body was set on the offensive now and the rest of the crew shifted to a more alert mode as well as they approached the king.

The King didn’t have time to address them before one of the people in the hall burst out sputtering and yelling, “What do you humans think you are doing here? You have no right to address our king!” The word human had been spat on the ground in such disgust, but none of the straw hats flinched.

The demon then rounded on Zoro, “And you! What sort of disgrace to demons are you that you would travel with these humans?”

Another one stepped forward and sneered. “What sort of demon are you that you would be subservient to a human?”

Zoro didn’t pay them any mind and Luffy lofted one eyebrow at them, he opened his mouth to retaliate but the King spoke over them all in a deep and rough voice,

“I am curious as to why Strawhat Luffy is here on my island, requesting to speak with me? What business do you have with me human?”

Luffy shrugged. “I have no business with you.”

Luffy’s casual posture and dismissive tone towards the King caused some demons to sputter in anger and others to look around the room in confusion. To anyone else Luffy seemed to be wholly unbothered by the situation, but the crew could read how taut he was holding himself. The way his hands formed into fists by his sides before ultimately settling, spoke about the anger he was holding back. Zoro could also set the set of his eyes, his expression seemed blank at first glance but his eyes were steely and focused, this was an anger that was reminiscent of Arlong Park and Enies Lobby.

“Then why come here? Which of you needed to speak with me?” The King asked leaning forward in his chair.

Zoro watched his father for a long moment, before stepping forward, he glanced at Luffy who nodded at him and then the rest of the crew took a step back so Zoro stood before his father. The crew was a comforting wall at his back.

“I have business with you.”

“Oh, the demon who travels among humans. You must be a half-blood. No self-respecting pureblood would sully himself like this.” The king said intrigued. “What might your business be?”

“You are right, I am not a pureblood, but I have come to challenge you to a fight.”

“Oh?” The king said grinning; he unfurled his extra arms and heads in a show to intimidate Zoro, which did not work to the desired measure as Zoro just sent a wicked grin in response. “Why challenge me?”

“To prove myself. And to prove that being a pureblood isn’t everything.” Zoro tied his bandana on his head. “As well as to get revenge for my mother who was killed on your orders.”

The demon who killed his mother spoke this time. “Your mother must have either lain with a human or been a human herself who lay with a demon, both are worthy of death to us. Your vengeance is misplaced half-breed.”

Zoro ignored the burn of his anger and took a quick breath to calm himself so he didn’t attack both of them right here, “Both are wrong. My mother was a half-blood that is true, but she lay with a pureblood and was exiled and then killed for that.”

The King stood up, “I accept your duel. But first who were your mother and father, no demon comes to mind with your story.”

Zoro could hear Luffy huff a short laugh behind him and that made him grin wide and feral in return before he stared cockily up at the King who watched him bewildered.

“Maybe this will help it make sense.” With that Zoro took off the mirages that hide his demon limbs and he delighted in the rapid whispers that broke out when his demon form matched the Kings.

“Impossible.” The king breathed.

“You sent my mother away when you found she was a half-blood when she was pregnant with me, and you had him,” He gestured to the other demon who gripped the throne with pale hands, “come and kill my mother, but thanks to her I escaped and now I am here.”

“The prince, he’s the exiled prince!” A demon in the back shouted.

More murmurs went rippling through the crowd.

“You got this Zoro.” Luffy said before he and the rest of the crew moved to the side of the hall along with the rest of the demons as the fight began.

“Of course, captain.” Zoro said grinning at Luffy.

The fight began rather quickly after that. His father used a double-edged ax wielded in his two main hands, but even he didn’t have weapons in his extra pairs of limbs, unlike Zoro who had each extra limb have its own sword, a fact which made his father’s eyes widen.

The battle was hard. The king had gotten in a few good swipes and there had been too many close calls for Zoro to feel completely comfortable in the battle. But he had returned each of those attacks with one of his own.

The two of them were locked in a stalemate in the middle of the floor, much of the hall had been destroyed in their fight and both were panting visibly. But the King seemed far too cocky for someone who had no sure shot at winning.

“You are pretty good, you must truly be my son. Too bad you will not win here.”

Zoro sensed it a second to late but there was another demonic presence flying towards the back of his head and all his limbs were occupied leaving him with no chance to defend.

“You asshole! You’re just a cheat.” Zoro growled at his father.

“Not so, but while I may be the King my right hand man is often times the better fighter if I were to be honest. Who knows he may be stronger than I even.”

Zoro growled, the man who killed his mother was planning a cheap shot, Zoro could sense him nearing closer and closer to where he was. But before that attack ever landed there was an explosion of rubble and stone and the stalemate was broken as the King gaped at what happened to his partner. Zoro however knew exactly what had gone down.

Amongst the clearing rubble and smoke stood his captain whose arm was lofted as if he’d just punched someone and he had, because the right hand man of the king was plastered deep into the stone wall not moving. The king faltered and Zoro stared proudly at his captain who turned to address the rest of the demons in the room.

“This is Zoros fight.” Luffy spoke low and dangerously. Zoro knew he hadn’t used any Conquerors Haki in that moment, he had not felt the wave of Luffys presence wash over them, but all the demons stiffened and took a step back regardless. Luffy turned his narrowed eyes to the King in a silent challenge. “No one interferes.”

From where Zoro was standing he could see even the King stiffen his posture and take an unconscious step back from his captain, who just stalked back to his spot by the rest of the crew, the only other people in the hall who had not reacted to Luffys speech or attack.

His battle with his father resumed after that, but now that one of his goals had been accomplished, Zoro felt less hindered and the fight seemed to flow easier for him. He landed more hits and evaded even more than that and soon he had the King pinned to the floor on sword pointed at his neck.

The kings eyes were wide with fear and he held up two hands in a surrendering gesture, “Just do it, you were only after my throne weren’t you? Just like the filthy humans, the same humans that tainted your blood.”

Zoro regarded the king, regarded his father, for a moment, he had heard much about him from his mother, but the man before him seemed less than any story his mother had even told him. “I don’t want your throne. I have no desire to rule this island.” He grinned widely. “My dreams are much bigger than this.”

“Then what was your goal? Do you want us to welcome you here so this can be your home?” The king said voice bordering on hysterics. “No demon in his right mind would accept you here as anything! Not as a prince! Not as a servant! Nothing!”

Zoro sheathed his sword and stood over the King, he cast once glance back to lock eyes with his captain. He had no desire to be welcomed to this island or among its people. He felt his mother could be at rest with the resolution of this battle.

As well as that, this was not his home. When they had walked into this place he had tried to image growing up here, and he could not imagine any reality in which this island was his home. There was nothing for him here. He had searched for his home for a long time but he had found it years ago. His home was with his captain, always being a half step behind him on the precipice of some new adventure. That was home.

“I have no need of anything from this place. I am content with having beaten you and avenged my mother. Now you all must live with the knowledge that your great king has been defeated by someone with mixed blood.” Zoro said calmly, however he did scoff the last line as he turned one last glance at the king.

He rolled his head and sent his demon limbs away and turned from the King. Heading back out of the hall he fell into step beside Luffy and the crew who had turned to leave a moment before him.

He walked out paying no mind to the yelling and commotion behind him, just headed back towards the sea where the Sunny was waiting for them. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Luffy, the backs of their hands brushing as they walked through the town. Luffy sent him an excited grin and Zoro responded in kind with his own.

Their adventures and their dreams were far from being accomplished, but Zoro had found his home and put the ghosts of his past to rest. He had found a captain and crew who never minded him no matter if he were human or demon and he found the place he was at peace at.

All that’s left was achieving their dreams and following their captain to the ends of world on whatever adventure awaited them next.