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Zoro's childhood was not a remarkable thing.
He was not a victim of war, nor lived under a tough regime, nor dealt with any parental troubles. Not like the rest of his crew seemed to.
His was simple. He left his village out of his own free will the minute he realized what he wanted to be. The world's strongest swordsman needed an early start, after all. He didn't think about the feelings of the townspeople who raised him.
(No doubt they felt relief, for he was a troublemaker from the moment he was born)
He vaguely remembers those early days, slowly moving from town to town, causing a ruckus, leaving when he could feel the opinions of the villagers shift. Life was tough for a 7-year old vagabond. Or it was, until he stumbled into Shimotsuki Village, stumbled into Koushirou's dojo, stumbled into his ambitions like a fawn standing on its own.
Koushirou took him under his wing, and the rest was history. Zoro had no use for the unclear memories that came before the dojo.
There was a moment, however, where he wished he could remember.
It was during a conversation Kuina started, after her 78th win against Zoro. Her wooden sword touched his neck as she towered over him like a tree. Zoro was nothing more than a leaf back then.
"We should fight two more times. So that I can get to 80 on my birthday," she said.
Zoro had only been at the dojo for 3 months, but the topic of birthdays never came up in that time. "Today's your birthday?" He asked.
Kuina took the practice blade away from his neck and went to put it back on the rack with the others. "Mhm. Today I turn 9!" Then, to harden the blow, she said, "But beating you is so boring, I wish I had a real birthday present."
That got Zoro upset. "I'll show you a fight worth your time, Kuina!!" He said, and went back to the rack to give her the practice sword she put away. "Fight me again! Let's make it count for your birthday!"
He couldn't help but feel satisfaction at the glint of excitement in Kuina's eyes. The outcome of the next two duals would be predictable, but Zoro was going to make sure she'd have to fight for the wins.
Twenty minutes later found Zoro in the same position: looking up at Kuina as she towered over him, practice blade positioned to deliver what would be a fatal blow. She pulled away her sword.
"So, when's your birthday?"
"Huh?" Zoro said.
"What, it's only fair! I've told you mine."
Zoro sat up from the hard floor and tried to think. He remembered the villagers from his old town were somewhat nice to him during the first week or two of November, but that had all stopped when he started complaining about whatever lame gift he was given. He didn't want anything that didn't have to do with weapons, and the town's natural reaction was to stop giving him gifts entirely.
Zoro scratched his head. Well, he knew the general timeframe, at least. He could just pick a random date in November to shut Kuina up.
"November 11th," he said decidedly.
Kuina held out a hand, and Zoro took it. She pulled him up from the floor. "Okay, I'll be sure to kick your ass extra hard that day."
Zoro huffed and turned away. But he liked the idea of a birthday. It wouldn't be any different, but it would be a day just for him. He liked the date he picked too. The 11th day in the 11th month of the year was probably lucky. And the number 1 standing up proud reminded him of swords in a row.
2 months later and Zoro had forgotten about that conversation. Which was unfortunate, since Kuina had challenged him to more duels than usual today (not that he was complaining), and he couldn't figure out why.
He was still mulling it over as he walked back to the dojo at the end of the day. Koushirou had given him some errands to run in town, which was a little unusual but maybe not. Maybe buying bags of rice for the dojo's residents was something that he would have to do now. Maybe he was gaining Koushirou's trust and respect.
It had been 5 months since he first started living in Shimotsuki Village. Things hadn't changed much since then. But for the first time in a very long time, Zoro found himself making friends. He smiled and shifted the rice bags over his shoulder, ignoring the throb of the bruises Kuina had given him earlier.
As he was approaching the dojo, he called out. "Oi! Is anyone there?" He slid open the door, "What should I do with the rice?"
His earlier content gave way to confusion as he saw the scene in front of him: Kuina, pointing a practice blade at him and taking a defensive stance. Koushirou, sitting cross legged to the side. A small box wrapped in old newspapers sat in front of him. "Ah. Just put it down for now, Zoro. I believe Kuina wants to challenge you," Koushirou said.
Zoro slid the bags to the floor with a huff. "Again?" But he was already reaching for a wooden sword and shifting his feet into a fighting stance.
Kuina gave him no time to react. The minute he was ready she ran at him with a cry, and Zoro defended her blade with his without thinking. It was remarkable how his instinct protected him without having to think about it.
They clashed, and Zoro pushed her back. Kuina swung her blade back to drive it forward again, but Zoro was ready for her. He parried her attack and caught her off guard, the weapon almost slipping out of her hands.
Neither of them had any time to feel surprise before she recovered in an instant and attacked him again, swinging the blade quicker than before. Zoro tried his best to defend, but couldn't find an opening to attack. Kuina was a flawless fighting machine.
She landed a hit on his forehead, causing him to stumble a couple steps backward. She swung the blade into his stomach, sending him toppling onto his butt with a painful "Oof!"
Zoro took a moment to catch his breath before glaring up at Kuina. But he did not expect to find a smile on her face. Well, he did, but he was expecting a cocky and teasing smile, not the soft and fond smile that showed itself now. Zoro breathed out, and felt something unravel in his chest.
It was then that Koushirou stood up, taking the mysterious wrapped box with him. Usually, this would be when Koushirou would point out where Zoro had made his mistake, but this time what he said was, "Happy birthday, Zoro," and held out the box.
Oh, Zoro thought. Everything that happened today made sense now. He took the box from Koushirou and put it in his lap.
"Open it," Kuina said, her voice lacking its usual attitude.
Zoro ripped apart the newspapers slowly, unsure of what to think. His fingers pried open the cardboard flaps and stilled when they saw the item they contained.
It was a pair of earrings. No, Zoro thought, a triplet of earrings. Three identical golden drops shimmered in the light, and Zoro had no doubt what it meant. He had developed an almost obsessive interest in Three-Sword Style recently. They were beautiful, which was saying a lot coming from Zoro. All of a sudden, a concern pressed to the forefront of his mind. “My ears aren’t pierced,” he mumbled.
“Well, we’ll just have to pierce them, then,” Kuina said, like it was nothing. Koushirou smiled over her shoulder and said, “I trust you two will use a safe method?”
Kuina didn’t even glance at him. “Of course.” And that was that. Zoro would be getting his ears pierced whether he liked it or not. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up, and to his dismay, she didn’t let go. “C’mon, let’s do it now,” she said.
“Wha— now?!” Kuina!” Zoro protested, but she dragged him by his hand outside and around to the back of the dojo.
At the back of the building, it looked like Kuina had been banking on this. There was already a powerful lantern, a towel, a bucket of ice, sewing needles, and a potato, of all things, set up on a bench. “Sit,” commanded Kuina, and Zoro sat.
Kuina moved the lantern closer. It was not quite dark yet, but it would be soon. Bugs buzzed in the air as she inspected her client.
“Left or right?” she said. Zoro didn’t really think about it when he said, “Left.”
Kuina picked up the towel first, using it to pick up ice without getting her hands cold. “Tilt this way,” she said, moving Zoro’s head so his left ear was accessible. If he wasn’t so uneasy, Zoro would’ve made some sort of smart remark.
Without warning, she pressed the ice to his ear and held it there. Zoro sucked in a breath at the coldness, but shoved down the part of him that wanted so badly to complain. It was cold. He hated it. His ear started to go numb.
After a minute, Zoro made his discomfort known by shifting his weight and shimmying in his seat. He could complain without words. Gratefully, Kuina deemed his ear numb enough and removed the ice. Zoro swung his feet as she prepared the needle, wiping it on a different part of the towel and lining the potato up with the back of his lobe.
“Kuina…” Zoro started, “You know what you’re doing?” He felt bad for doubting her, but he really was uneasy.
Kuina seemed to know this. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ve done it before.”
That was all Zoro needed to hear, because when the needle finally made the first hole, he found it was barely a pinch. “That’s it?” He said.
“Well, you need two more, idiot,” snarked Kuina.
Zoro huffed and let her continue. The other two piercings were finished in a similar manner. Kuina grabbed the earrings from the box and started working them into the holes she had just made. Zoro fought back a wince.
“There,” she said finally, “All done.”
Zoro stood up and ran around to the front. There was a small pond where he could see his reflection there. Kuina followed him.
When he kneeled down and caught sight of his reflection, Zoro fought to hold back a gasp. They were… Well, they were pretty. There wasn’t another word for them. Graceful, maybe. Definitely cool, but that seemed like a word too small for the earrings. They clinked together like chimes as he tilted his head, trying to get the dying light of the sunset to shimmer on them.
Kuina stared at him from the reflection. “What do you think,” she asked.
Zoro felt himself smile, happy and carefree, “They’re amazing.”
Kuina snorted, and kicked him so that he toppled into the pond. She turned around and walked towards the dojo, leaving Zoro spluttering in the water.
“Happy birthday,” she mumbled, almost to herself.
In the rest of his years in Shimotsuki Village, he took great care of his piercings. He learned about different antiseptics that would help the holes heal without infection, and different ways to clean and polish gold. He never had a need to know these things, but this was different. It was important.
He got used to the tiny chime of his earrings with every movement, and it soon became a comfort for him. He started training with them in, then he showered with them, and eventually the only time he took them off was when he went to sleep. It got to the point where he felt naked without his earrings.
When he finally left the dojo, he left a pair of silver earrings next to Kuina's grave, and took her beloved Wado Ichimonji as some sort of twisted trade. He wished he could give her something more, he wished her birthday hadn't passed in somber silence that year, he wished he had been able to give her a gift worth remembering.
I will give you a gift worth remembering, Zoro thought, placing his thumb on the hilt of the Ichimonji. His earrings jangled as he stood, glistening in the rising light. I will become the greatest swordsman in the world, for both you and me.
---
Zoro felt the alcohol hit his stomach as warmth spread throughout him. It was a late night in the local bar with Johnny and Yosaku, and while they were lightweights and not good drinking buddies, they were also cheerful and fun to be around. Zoro wouldn’t admit it, but he had grown protective of the two of them over the past year.
Which is why when Yosaku meekly admitted that it was his birthday, Zoro dragged the both of them to the nearest pub to celebrate. Although he was younger than both of them, Zoro often felt he was some sort of older brother figure for the two.
“So,” Zoro said, swirling his drink, “How old are you turning, Yosaku?”
“Hmmm,” Yosaku closed his eyes to think, a drunken blush spreading across his cheeks, “23!”
“Ah, didn’t know you were so old, Grandpa,” Zoro said teasingly. Johnny struggled to keep himself from laughing. Yosaku grumbled with annoyance and put on his best old man impression: “I’m not dead yet, you youthful spring-chicken.”
Zoro felt himself smile. It was getting easier to smile these days. Kuina’s death had hit him hard, but finding Johnny and Yosaku had lifted his spirits quite a bit.
Suddenly, Johnny spoke up from behind him. “Say, Zoro. When’s yours?”
“When’s my what?” Zoro asked.
“Y’know, your birthday!” Johnny pumped his arms in the air as he said it, and the drink he was holding sloshed onto his shirt. He was proving every second that he was the most lightweight out of the three of them, and Zoro found himself holding back a chuckle.
He closed his eyes and tried to think. What was today’s date? He knew that November had just started, so his birthday had to be soon. “What’s today?” He asked.
“Today’s my birthday,” Yosaku said, “Oh wait you mean like the date. Today’s the 10th.”
Zoro quelled his shock. He hadn’t expected that his birthday would come so soon, nor that Yosaku’s would be the day before his. What a coincidence. “Mine’s tomorrow,” he admitted.
“Whoa, no way. For real?” Johnny said. “Oh no!! We didn’t even get you a gift!” He put his head in his hands.
Zoro awkwardly put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “We didn’t get Yosaku a gift either. It’s fine,” Then, without thinking, he added, “You guys being here is a gift enough.”
Johnny threw his arms around Zoro with a wail. “Wahhh Zoro! We love you too!” Yosaku burst into a fit of laughter, loud and unrestricted. The sound carried across the bar and some of the local patrons shot glares their way, but Zoro didn’t care. The three of them would regret their hangovers later, but for now they felt happy and carefree. It was as good a birthday as any.
When Zoro woke up in the inn that morning, he was not expecting to see Johnny and Yosaku towering over him. The rising sun shone across the room and made his head throb. It was too bright and too early for this.
“Happy birthday Zoro!!!” Both Johnny and Yosaku loudly exclaimed, not noticing the wince that crossed Zoro’s face. He rolled over and closed his eyes, hoping that would keep his headache at bay.
“How are you guys not hungover?” He grumbled. Whatever it was that Johnny and Yosaku had planned for today, it would have to wait until Zoro’s head stopped pounding. He heard the two of them back away (thank god), probably to give him some space. “Good morning to you too, dude.” Yosaku said.
Zoro lay down for a few more minutes as the other two men gathered their belongings. Sounds of backpacks zipping shut and furniture being moved filled the room. Were they going somewhere? Zoro couldn’t find it in himself to care that much. He vaguely heard the door shut, and then sweet, blessed silence.
A couple of hours later, the door creaked open again. Which was good timing, because Zoro had just finished tying his boots and getting ready to leave. His headache had subsided pretty quickly once Johnny and Yosaku left, and he could only pray that it didn’t return now that they were back. “How’d you sleep?” Johnny asked, forgoing any small talk and formalities.
Zoro grunted. “Feeling better, thanks.” He left it at that.
“Good! We got you a birthday present!” Yosaku said. They both seemed proud of themselves and excited.
Zoro finished securing his swords to himself. “Oh?” He said, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice, “What is it?”
Johnny reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of cloth. Zoro went to take it, but Johnny pulled his hand away. “It’s a haramaki,” Johnny explained, “Here, let me put it on.”
Zoro thought to protest, but Johnny was serious and quick to wrap the fabric around his waist. Its color was the same green of Zoro’s hair, with darker green stripes running vertically along its length. “Where did you find this?” Zoro asked quietly.
Yosaku spoke cheerfully: “We made it! Well, some of it,” He scratched his head and started to explain, “This old woman was making it, and she said if we helped her finish she would sell it to us at a discount.” Johnny finished tying the fabric to Zoro’s waist as Yosaku continued, “I didn’t know if you would like it, but Johnny said that the color was just like your hair, and we couldn’t find any other gift that was good, but if you don’t like it it’s okay, I just wouldn’t know—”
“I love it,” Zoro said, and it shut Yosaku right up.
Johnny smiled, “I’m glad. Happy birthday.”
Yosaku lost his doubt quickly. “Happy birthday!! Thanks for drinks yesterday,” he said.
Zoro groaned at the memory of last night, and Yosaku’s own impromptu birthday gift. “I’m never taking you guys drinking again,” he said, even though he knew it was probably a lie. He wanted to take Johnny and Yosaku out to drinks for the rest of his life.
A year and a half later the three of them disbanded. Johnny and Yosaku were content with taking down small bountyheads to scrape by, but Zoro was searching for something bigger. He needed to be doing more, training harder, fighting tougher enemies. He needed to get stronger.
So he thought of the only thing he could do. He left. Just like he left his home village, Shimotsuki Village, and now Johnny and Yosaku. But unlike the other two times, he left with a bone-crushing hug, and a tearful departure.
“We’ll miss you,” Johnny had said, “Only 19 and you’re already so grown up,”
“Yeah,” Zoro said, because what else could he say? He was going to miss these two. “Take care.”
---
On his 20th birthday, Zoro found himself moping.
It wasn’t like him to sulk for more than a few minutes, let alone an entire day. But today was his 20th birthday, and the only people he could imagine celebrating it with weren’t here, goddammit.
Since the moment that Luffy snapped into his life, Zoro felt a great pressure come off his chest. Then Nami came, then Usopp, then Sanji. He felt lighter than he had in years. Then Chopper, then Robin, then Franky, then Brook, and by the time they got to Sabaody he was alive with new energy. He knew what it meant now, to have a family.
Of course, he knew what it meant before, too. Kuina and Koushirou had been his first family, then Johnny and Yosaku quickly established themselves as his bounty-hunting brothers. But nothing would compare to being part of the Straw Hat crew. He felt an ease he hadn’t felt since Kuina died. He still had his ambition, but the pressure to achieve it alone was no longer there. He could become the world’s greatest swordsman next to the future king of the pirates. And wasn’t that something?
Well, it was something, until it had been snapped in half like a twig in a storm. None of them were strong enough to go against Kuma, and when he sent Zoro off to Kuraigana that was it. Zoro never felt more helpless than he had in that first week of being there.
Then Perona showed up, then Mihawk, and Zoro didn’t think it could get any worse.
Then the news came of Luffy’s break-in and break-out of Impel Down, of his fight and the massacre at Marineford, and Zoro swore in that moment that he would be there, goddammit. Luffy was his family and he couldn’t even be there for him.
Zoro took a breath. Going on tangents in his brain would not help him become stronger. Two years wasn’t long at all. He would wait.
“Wh— are you sulking?” A shrill voice called from behind him, and oh no.
Zoro turned around to look at Perona. “Stop sneaking up on me,” he grumbled. Perona merely floated up to the tree branch that he was sitting on and sat next to him. She could fly, why was she sitting next to him?
“It’s not sneaking! What, am I not allowed to go where I want to?” she said, “Geez, you complain about everything.”
“Do not!” Zoro said, but his heart wasn’t in it.
“Do too!” replied Perona, playing her role in their routine. She stuck her tongue out at him and let the topic drop.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said instead, “Are you sulking up here?”
Zoro felt a wall close around his heart. “No,” he gritted out. It was his worst lie yet. Surprisingly, Perona didn’t comment on it. The silence that fell around them was both comfortable and tense. God, Zoro was tired. He wished Luffy were here.
“Hm,” Perona started, and Zoro braced himself for… something, but all she said was, “It’s pretty up here.”
He looked out at their view. They were sitting high on a tree that was taller than the rest and close to the shoreline. “Yeah,” Zoro breathed. Looking at the ocean always relaxed him a little. He knew the rest of his family were out there on that sea, somewhere.
They sat in silence for a while longer. The sound of the waves could be heard from their tree branch, and the rhythm helped calm Zoro a little. Perona shifted closer to him, as if it mattered with her ghost body.
“You miss them,” she said, and it wasn’t a question.
“Yeah,” Zoro said, and the wall around his heart started to crumble.
“Today’s my birthday,” he started, “It’s never something I cared about, until I had other people who cared about it for me.”
Perona didn’t say anything, for once. Zoro was more grateful than he cared to admit.
“I never told them when my birthday was. But it doesn’t matter anyway, we wouldn’t be able to celebrate it now,” He sighed and looked away, a big show of emotion for him, “I miss them,” He finished.
Zoro’s admittance hadn’t been anything big. But with the way his heart was pounding, and the way Perona remained silent, it might as well have been.
“You’ll see them again,” she said.
“I know,” he replied.
Later, when Zoro comes back to the castle bruised and bleeding from fighting off humandrills, Perona startles him by grabbing his hand and hissing, “Got you something.” Zoro barely has any time to register what’s happening before she’s dragging him along the hallway and up the stairs to his (temporary) bedroom.
What awaits him is some sort of cloth folded on his bed. He lets go of Perona’s hand and reaches for it without thinking, his hands find the shoulders of the outfit and lift it up to unfurl it.
A graceful, dark-green robe greets him. Its proportions are just right, the fabric is soft under his fingers,and Zoro can’t think of what to say.
Perona speaks up from behind him.
“We, uh— I mean Mihawk and I, well we wanted to get you something. NOT because we care or anything. And I think it’s totally ugly, but that stupid Warlord was saying its suited to a swordsman, whatever that means—
And the color! The color is so you. It’s the only thing good about that hunk of trash, honestly! So if you don’t like it you can just—”
“Perona,” Zoro cuts her off, alarmed when his voice comes out choked. This moment is so much like that time with Johnny and Yosaku, when he turned 18 and the world was so small. He purses his lips and tries again.
“I love it,” he says, and immediately puts it on. It fits like it’s been his for his whole life. “Tell that hawk-head I said thank you.”
Perona smiles, and for all her talk about brooding and spookiness, her eyes light up like the sun. “Sure thing, you big idiot.”
---
“Oi, Marimo! Stop drinking my cooking liquor!”
Zoro heard Sanji’s angry footsteps approaching the galley and started to chug the bottle of wine in his hand. He couldn’t be caught if there was no evidence.
The door burst open with a slam as Sanji marched into the galley like a general, commanding the kitchen with absolute authority. “Get. Out,” he snarled.
“Why should I?” Zoro snarled, “It’s my birthday, shit-cook, I’ll do what I want.”
Zoro prepared for the next insult, and it felt like a brick had hit him when it didn’t come. “Today’s your birthday?” Sanji said. Ah, he had forgotten to tell them.
Between their action-packed reunion and the mystical Fishman Island, Zoro didn’t really have time to sit down and express his love for his crew. He had missed them these past two years.
He also didn’t want to tell them about his birthday, as he hated having the attention on himself, but Perona made him promise for some reason.
“Hm. Yeah,” Zoro said. “I turn 22 this year,” he grinned at Sanji menacingly, waggling his eyebrows and hoping for a fight. He missed the shit-cook and their fights, too.
“Ok. Alright. OUT, you stupid mossbrain,” said Sanji, putting his hands on Zoro’s back and shoving him towards the door. “Wha— hey!” Zoro said, but too late. The door slammed behind him as he stumbled onto the deck.
Zoro grumbled to himself. Best to just let it go. Sanji couldn’t hog the galley to himself forever. And it was so nice out today, a steady breeze steering the Sunny towards their next destination, fish in the water and birds in the air. Might as well enjoy it.
He found a spot next to Robin and layed down nearby, hoping to get a couple minutes of sleeping and sun-bathing in. The ever-cloudy climate of Kuraigana and the absence of real sunlight on Fishman Island had done horrendous things to his tan.
Robin did nothing to acknowledge him, which Zoro found himself grateful for. He wasn’t up for conversation. He just wanted to lie down for a while.
A while had turned out to be a good 3 hours, judging from the sun’s sinking position in the sky. Zoro stood up and, to his rising dismay, found that his crew was nowhere to be seen.
“Oi, shit-cook! Are you still in there?” Zoro called, approaching the galley and knocking on the door. Why was he knocking? He made to shove his way inside, but the door didn’t budge. Who locked this? Why was the galley locked?
“Hey! Is anyone in there?” Zoro said, his voice giving away his unease. In all the time he had spent with this crew, they had never locked doors without a damn good reason.
Zoro was just about to give up on the galley when Chopper emerged from the infirmary, his tired expression turning into a shocked one when he caught sight of Zoro. “Ah! Zoro!! You’re awake!”
“Yeah. Why is this locked?” He asked, cutting to the chase. He was getting more worried by the minute.
“Oh uh— well it’s uh.. I have the key!” Chopper said abruptly, “We’ll just unlock it and find out what’s going on.”
Zoro nodded, his nerves calming already. He stepped back to let the reindeer unlock the door, and stayed close to Chopper as he pushed it open. His hand instinctively went to rest on swords.
The door opened slowly, and the sight that greeted him was like nothing else.
“Surprise!!!!” All his crewmates shouted.
Streamers lined the walls and ceiling. The kitchen was a mess. The table was covered in all sorts of food and alcohol. Everyone besides Zoro and Chopper stood behind the table, clapping their hands and launching confetti from who-knows-where.
Everyone then started to sing, dear god, and when the happy birthday song was finally over (Brook, Franky, and Luffy had given their best performance), Sanji came out of the kitchen with a cake.
Zoro was stunned. The first word he managed to get in after all that was, “Chocolate?”
Sanji nodded seriously. “I know you don’t like sweets, but chocolate’s different. It’s black cherry forest.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
“Oh just EAT IT, you shitty mosshead!!” Sanji exclaimed. He then proceeded to restrain Luffy before he could eat the whole cake in one go.
Robin handed Zoro a fork, and he took a piece of cake and popped it into his mouth.
“Mm. Tastes good.”
“Damn right, it tastes good. I worked hard on that cake,” said Sanji, putting out plates as everyone started to sit at the table.
“You didn’t have to,” Zoro said, but he too was sitting down and putting food on his plate. Half-hearted protests could wait until after dinner. And the food was really good, all sorts of things that everyone liked. Zoro noticed a large plate filled with onigiri, and all sorts of other rice dishes.
“Zoro,” said Robin, picking at her breaded chicken, “Why didn’t you tell us about your birthday?”
Zoro shrugged, “Never came up, I guess.” It was true, Zoro never liked to talk about himself more than he had to.
The conversation carried on, and besides the streamers and the cake, it was pretty much a normal Straw Hat dinner. Zoro found himself eating a good portion of the cake, and just for today, his crewmates let him.
After dinner, blankets were laid out on the deck so that the crew could stargaze. It was a habit that had started in the early days of the Straw Hats, back when they were still wreaking havoc in the East Blue. It made Zoro nostalgic, to do it after such a long time.
Zoro layed down between Nami and Brook. Chopper curled up in the crook of his arm. Luffy and the others layed close by, and the world grew small all over again. It was just the ship, the sea, and his family.
“Sorry Zoro, we didn’t get you anything,” Usopp said.
“Hmph. Wasn’t expecting anything. Don’t apologize,” Zoro replied. This was more than enough.
The stars shone beautifully from where Zoro lay. He thought about asking Nami which ones were which, knowing she’d have an idea since she sometimes used them to navigate. But he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He just wanted to lay here for the rest of his life.
“Well, I put something together at the last minute,” Robin said softly. Zoro lifted his head. “You did?”
Franky’s voice boomed across the ship: “And I picked out the color!! It’s super wonderful!” He said, and Zoro could hear the pride in his voice.
Something was passed across the crew until it was pressed into Zoro’s hands. He held it up and took a breath. “A necklace?” He said.
“Yes,” said Robin, “Gold to match your earrings—”
“And GREEN to match your hair!!” Said Franky.
Luffy laughed from somewhere on Zoro’s left. He sat up to better inspect the piece of jewelry, trying not to jostle his crewmates in the process.
The chain and clasp was gold, and the pendant was an emerald embedded in a gold geometric shape. It was small enough to be light and usable. It wouldn’t interfere with his fighting.
It was more accurate to say that the green was closer to that of his robe than that of his hair. But still, the emerald shimmered with a glow that none of his other various green items held. It was unique and gorgeous and so him.
Zoro, once again, felt himself grow speechless. A small voice at the back of his head said he didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve any of the kindness that he was shown throughout his life. Not Koushirou and Kuina’s, not Johnny and Yosaku’s, not Mihawk and Perona’s, not his crew’s. But that voice was being stupid, because this was family. To care for each other was how they breathed, how they lived.
He closed his eyes and layed back down. “Thank you,” said Zoro.
Luffy giggled quietly as the rest of the crew shifted to get more comfortable. And the lull of the waves against the hull, the wind in the sails, the snores of his crew all jumbled into one sound that graced Zoro’s ears like a piece of heaven.
You're welcome, it said, and Zoro smiled.