Salutations

It had been a couple more weeks past that moment you and Zoro had during night watch, and you could now accurately say you both had grown much closer. To the point that even the others were noticing, much to their relief after witnessing the first mate’s initial cold shoulder to the newest recruit.

The two of you grew your friendship steadily but surely, between training together and teaching each other different tricks you each had, or fighting side by side in any skirmish the crew came across, you had come to know each other as if you were extensions of each other. Besides Luffy, and sometimes Nami, you were the only other person that could pull a smile from the swordsman, sometimes even the rare chuckle on a good day. On his end, Zoro had become almost a shadow to you, trailing behind or beside you on deck or during island visits, never more than an arm’s length away, or even just gravitating towards wherever you ended up on the ship. He wasn’t sure what he would call it, but he knew his life was improved with you in it, and couldn’t help but be drawn to your orbit.

You were thrilled to have finally broken past Zoro’s shield, and between his similarity in blade knowledge and his calming presence it was natural to gravitate towards him in return. You were both used to years of drifting on your own, working on your own, so you both had a tendency to naturally be on the fringe of things with the rest of the crew, still involved of course but just content to listen and obverse. But now that you had become close, the shadows on the edges had a affinity to drift towards the other.

It had gotten to the point where you could communicate with just glances and looks thrown at the other, no words needed. You both fought as if you were the same weapon, protecting, defending, and attacking as if of the same mind. And due to the combined might of both of your skills, fights weren’t usually too difficult for the crew, everyone making it out in the end with just minor cuts and bruises that could be easily managed. But not everything can be perfect forever.

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A day came when the Straw Hats got caught within an ambush during a routine island stop. It was the rare but unsurprising story of a village being under the heel of a local pirate crew, and they were out of options until Luffy’s strange group came along. And when had Luffy ever said no?

However, when the crew stepped into the pirate’s stronghold, you all immediately realized something was wrong due to how empty the place was.

The group naturally slid back to back in a loose circle as they looked around, waiting, hands readying on weapons. Suddenly, war cries were heard coming from all side as the offending crew rushed in from hiding place possible, and the fight was on.

While you all meshed seamlessly as a single unit once in a battle, this one was proving to be more challenging than usual. You were outnumbered 7 to 1, the largest crew yet since Arlong Park, and you yourself hadn’t even been present yet for that one. The Straw Hats were all scattered and spread out amongst the stronghold. Usopp having found a high vantage point from where he was slinging shot after shot while frantically trying to remain unnoticed; Nami and Luffy sticking to their respective corners, Nami sweeping her staff into every opponent that ran at her, Luffy swinging his fists expertly with Gum Gum abilities and swerving circles around his enemies; meanwhile Sanji flew all over the battlefield, his kicks landing deadly hits wherever he went, and Zoro weaving around him with his sword slicing through the air.

Meanwhile you had been holding your own just fine for a while, like the rest, twin blades singing and thrown daggers never missing their marks. However, you realized you were starting to wear down ever so slightly due to the opposing side’s sheer numbers. You go to successfully block and slash at a pirate in front of you, but the second he drops, another pops up already running full force at you, sword raised.

Tiring out as you are, you only have enough time to sidestep enough that the blade goes right through your shoulder, rather than your heart.

You let out a guttural grunt of pain as the hilt slams into your shoulder, the blade having gone all the way through. Before they have a chance to recover, you swing your unimpeded arm and swiftly slice your opponent’s hand from their wrist, blood spraying across you briefly as he falls away in pain, clutching his empty wrist, before you put him out of his misery.

Getting a brief respite, you’re quick to note that you can no longer use the injured arm in a fight, and you can’t pull the blade out either until you get back to the ship for medical help. So you grimace, bending down to pick up your dropped blade, sheathing it, then tucking your arm close to your body before heading back into the fray.

It only takes two more opponents before it goes downhill again. Barely finishing off one pirate, and you hear, too late, one rushing you from behind. With no time to turn fast enough to dodge in your state, your hands instead fly up, grasping the hilt of the sword impaling you, planting your feet as you shove backwards a step…. the blade slamming into the chest of the attacker before he can even swing his sword, and a harsh wail of pain cracked out of you at the impact as you feel blood start seeping down your front and back.

Zoro is naturally attuned to you and your voice by now, but he had never heard such a sound come from you before, and it was beyond jarring. But he recognized it nonetheless, and he quickly finished his opponent and whipped around on his stretch of battlefield to try and find you.

He finally spots you, but at his angle all he sees is your back to a pirate, your hands holding something by your shoulder, and a blade coming out of the enemy’s back that he assumes is your doing. He only becomes more confused at your lack of movement from this spot.

Zoro has already started walking towards you when he stumbles in horror as he witnesses you pull away from the pirate, the blade pulling out of their chest, them falling away to reveal that the blade is going through you as well, and the startling streak of crimson that has seeped down your back from the wound…. and now he’s sprinting.

He’s fighting off straggling pirates as quickly as he can on his way over, keeping his eyes on you as much as he can, watching as you finally sway and buckle, your hands falling from the hilt as your knees slam into the ground.

Zoro finally reaches you, sliding on his knees to stop in front of you just as you start to raise your hands, as if to grab the blade again, until Zoro’s hands fly up to carefully grasp your elbows to stop the movement, and you let out a pained whimper as you finally notice who’s in front of you.

He quickly looks you over, noting the smaller injuries of a split lip and brow, blood dripping from both down your pretty face, the start of a bruise coloring your cheek, before he snaps his attention back to the blade stuck through you.

You’re becoming dazed as the adrenaline wears off and the exhaustion and hurt sets in in full force, and he barely hears as you mumble seemingly to yourself.

“…. I can’t get it out-“ you trail off.

For once, Zoro hesitates, eyes flicking up to see your unfocused ones, his first instinct being to not cause you further pain. But his logic kicks in and he knows it has to be done at some point. Looking around first, noting how the battle is nearing it’s conclusion, he stands, gripping one hand on your hurt shoulder, and his other wrapping carefully around the hilt, readying, when he looks at you again, still zoned out.

“Just do it,” your voice, tired but resolute, drifts to him.

Without a single warning, Zoro rips the blade out as smoothly as he can manage, wincing as he hears another shriek rip from your lungs before you finally settle.

Throwing the sword away, he immediately kneels back down to gently grasp your shoulders, feeling your slight shaking, and peers into your eyes questioningly, a hand drifting up to cup the less injured side of your face. Finally making eye contact with the swordsman as frantic as you could ever describe him as, you give your head a tired shake as if to tell him “I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” and you see his shoulders relax ever so slightly in response.

Zoro’s eyes widen as you pull away enough to shove yourself to your feet, shooting back to his own feet as he watches you, baffled, lean down to retrieve your dropped sabre and start shuffling in the direction you remember the fight being in.

Running on autopilot, you keep going until you run into a strong arm shot into your shambling path, swiveling your head to look at Zoro as you feel his hand wrap gently but firmly around your arm, keeping you in place.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing.” It’s not entirely a question, but a demand, concern seeping through his dark eyes.

“I’m going back to finish the fight,” you mumble like it’s obvious.

All your Demon does is slightly frown and tilt his head as if to say “come on now” and looks at you far more seriously than usual.

“You’re in no state to fight and you know better,” he deadpans to you. “Plus the fight is practically over now anyway.”

It’s then that you finally take an actual look at the compound around you. And realize he’s right, there are only a few stragglers left and your crew mates have it completely handled.

You let out a sigh and your entire body seems to sag in exhaustion, your blade slipping out of your fingers and hitting the ground with a clang, as if it was harder to hold than you were willing to admit. Zoro just gives a small relieved smile as he leans down to pick up your weapon for you. He holds it in one hand as his other arm carefully wraps around your shoulders, holding you firmly enough to keep you from falling over on the way back to the ship or a doctor. Easy enough to find in this village without issue. Zoro was even willing to bet some Berry that they wouldn’t even charge for the visit due to their work here.

You let out a light chuckle, trying to distract from the aches and pains, your arm weakly wrapping around his waist. “Looks like I won’t be able to beat you in training for a while, you must be thrilled.”

The journey of being recruited to the Straw Hats to then becoming actual friends and crewmates with them was a whirlwind adventure in itself, happening in seemingly the blink of an eye.

Luffy had approached you about joining his crew after seeing your skills in combat when you lended aid against bounty hunters that came after the crew during your mutual stay on a more populated pirate island. You had been a wandering sell sword for a few years now, making money where you could, traveling nearly every day. Busy using up some recently earned Berry at the local tavern, you had recognized Luffy when the eclectic group had wandered in, taking up the only empty seats left in place by you at the bar itself. The orange-haired girl ended up next to you, but once you made a comment complimenting her weapon, Luffy took notice and struck up a conversation, telling you all about the crew, how talented they were, and how he planned to become King of the Pirates.

It was during this that the swordsman you recognized as the famous Demon, Roronoa Zoro, finally glanced over in your direction, immediately zeroing in on the two short sabre swords on each hip, and the row of throwing knives stashed along your belt. Not overly flashy, but still clearly finely made blades, clearly used. You dismissed the look, due to already doing the same to the other customers in the vicinity yourself, it was second nature. During this time of chatting with Luffy and a couple others, you took note out of the corner of your eye when a more menacing presence strolled into the tavern, until they rolled right up behind Luffy himself, breathing down his neck until the boy finally turned around.

“Hi there!” a happy grin stretching wide.

The pirate just stared him down, his handful of crew behind him, waiting, until a more sinister grin crawled across his own face. “I take it you’re Luffy.” It wasn’t a question.

“Sure am! And this is my crew!” You carefully watched as Luffy cheerfully answered the man, clocking how Zoro and the blonde did the same, tensing like you all knew where this was going. Your hand slowly started to reach for one of the knives in your belt. Despite having just met, you had taken quite a liking to the kid.

“So here’s the deal, Rubber Boy…. this bounty of your’s is mighty enticing-“ the pirate trailed off, his intent clearly implied as he held up a wanted poster, Luffy’s face grinning back at him wildly.

The captain had just rested his free hand on the hilt of his sword as his crewmates did the same, about to draw, when suddenly a knife imbedded itself right at his feet with a loud thud.

He had barely jumped back a few inches in shock when both crews whipped their attentions over to you, where you had gone back to your drink. The silence was deafening.

Without looking at him, you took another sip. “Now see, I don’t appreciate you threatening my new friend,” you paused, downed the rest of your drink, then finally turned in your seat to face him, “especially when I’m in the middle of enjoying my drink.”

You missed the miniscule smirk Zoro gave, his own hand now resting on his sword hilt, at the ready.

Looking back on it, you can’t recall how exactly it started, who threw the first punch, swung the first sword, but next thing you knew, you all were in a jumbled bar fight, fists flying and blades singing. You remember being briefly shocked when seeing Luffy’s Gum Gum ability in person for the first time, but quickly recovered when more attacks came in. At one point you ended up on top of a table to dodge an attack and got a brief view of the rest of the crew. The blonde man throwing kick after skilled kick, the sharpshooter either hiding or hitting a mark, the girl, Nami, expertly spinning her staff, Luffy throwing hits and dodging hits comically, and finally Zoro with his single katana slicing through the air. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t briefly in awe for a moment before flying back into the fray with your own two blades.

The fight itself didn’t last too long, but it was after that did Luffy approach you, complimenting your skill and thanking you, and then dropping a bomb in the form of offering you to join his crew.

You remember how you glanced at the others, all of them looking like they’ve seen this act before with each other, and unbothered with Luffy’s proposition. Looking back at the young captain, you had contemplated for a moment, explaining to him your profession as a sword-for-hire, a mercenary. Unbothered, he merely shrugged and commented how you must be very good at it, and reminded you that that was what Zoro used to be, and how they could always use another swordsman and protector on the crew, and how you seemed like a great fit.

“What’s your dream?” He peered at you curiously. You almost laughed before realizing he was completely genuine.

You hesitated. “… I don’t know. Never really had the time for any, I guess I’m still figuring it out.”

You had answered as honestly as you could, and luckily Luffy had merely smiled softly and nodded like he completely understood.

“Well, maybe if you traveled with us, we could help you find what it is.”

You gave it another minute before you reached over to shake his hand with a smile.

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Time seemed to fly by, days into weeks, until it had been about a month of you being on the crew, with more minor skirmishes and weird adventures here and there. And you had to admit, this was probably the best decision you had made yet, especially after having been on your own for so long.

You had become quick friends with Nami and Usopp after Luffy. You’d entertain Usopp’s wild tales while in turn telling him the (more true) tales of your own adventures, you’d laugh at Luffy’s antics and talk to him about his origins, and you’d visit with Nami while she worked on her maps and navigated.

Sanji was interesting in the fact his flattery and way with words would always get a laugh from you, maybe a snappy comeback thrown back at him in return, until it became less about him flirting with you and more just banter between friends whenever you visited him in the kitchen.

Zoro was a little more difficult. Nami already warned you that he was a more quietly-inclined person, it wasn’t anything personal, he just wasn’t naturally talkative. But you noticed he seemed to be moreso whenever you were around. If he saw you seated for dinner before him, he’d sit in a different corner. If he spotted you on deck, either relaxing or training, he’d casually stroll off again in another direction. Then he just wouldn’t talk to you in general to begin with, unless absolutely necessary.

You’d finally had enough one night, more confused about what you could’ve possibly done to offend him than be offended yourself. So you silently waited, hidden in the rigging, for when you knew his night watch was.

Sure enough, you see him finally wander out of the cabin and begin his walk around the deck. Quietly as you knew how, you carefully slipped down the rigging and ropes, barefoot, until you crept up to within five feet of Zoro-

“What are you doing.”

You started, not too surprised he noticed your presence, but you waited until he actually turned around and looked at you, his usual deadpan expression painted on his face, wrist casually draped off the end of his sword.

You blinked. “Well mostly I had a question for you, and honestly this seemed the only way to make it happen,” you deadpanned back to him, hands loosely in your pockets.

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but that was it. “What’s the question.” His own words sounding more like statements than inquiries.

Shifting on your feet, suddenly a bit nervous, your gaze slipped to the deck beneath you.

“Did I do something to offend you?”

Now it’s Zoro’s turn to blink, surprised. “No. Why would you think that?” His arms cross, you notice his words sound forced.

You look up with a furrowed brow, a confused half smile growing. “You’re joking right? You’ve done nothing but blatantly avoid me since I stepped foot on the Going Merry. Why is that?”

You watched as Zoro remained seemingly unchanged from hearing the accusation, still as a statue. If you had befriended him by now, you’d be able to tell he was actually inwardly scrambling to come up with an excuse to avoid admitting the real answer out loud. Instead you waited, and when he continued his silence, you scoffed lightly, shifting back a couple steps as you started to circle him.

“Alright fine, how ‘bout this?” And you pull your blades from their sheaths, the scrape of metal ringing through the still night air as Zoro watches you, unmoved, from the corner of his eye and you continue circling.

“I’ve seen you fight, and you’ve seen me fight. If you win, I go back inside, no questions asked, and you finish your watch in peace. But if I win, you have to answer my question.” You finally came to a stop off to his right, in easy view of his sword, your feet casually shifting into a ready stance.

You watched as he contemplated it for a few seconds, before turning to you and carefully drawing the katana, the polished blade gleaming silver in the moonlight.

“Sounds fair.”

There was nothing but the sound of the faint breeze sweeping past and the creak of the deck and rigging as you both waited at the ready for who would start off the dance.

You shot forward, feet silent as your two blades met his in a loud ringing clang through the still night. Neither of you said a word as he pushed you off and continued the dance, both of you spinning and blocking, swaying and striking, the rings of metal on metal wavering like music. Where Zoro was like a force of wind in the flow of his movements, you were water, twisting and turning to either avoid or meet his single blade, only to strike with your own right after.

A brief reprieve when you broke apart momentarily had you glancing at your two blades. Looking back to Zoro you pointedly glanced at his one blade, before purposefully storing away one of your own, to match him more evenly. He merely cocked his head, watching, until this time he was the one to shoot forward to restart once again.

Despite having been at it for several minutes, you both seemed to gain a second wind for round two. The two of you now utilized your surroundings more, dodging between barrels, leaping over abandoned equipment, blade meeting blade without pause.

The fight seemed it might have to end in a stalemate with how evenly matched you were, until you saw an opportunity arise.

Spotting a loose piece of rope on the deck, you kicked it into Zoro’s feet, causing him to stumble just briefly enough for you to run at the barrel next to him, jump and leap off it, over Zoro himself, and rolling to a stop right behind him, before you quickly stayed in your crouch and spun your leg out hard into his, knocking him flat on his back.

By the time those couple seconds had passed and Zoro caught back up to the plot, he found the tip of your sabre at his throat, a soft smile on your face.

“Answer my question, please.”

The Demon was stunned enough by you beating him that he immediately answered without overthinking it.

“I was worried you’d want to replace me.”

Zoro watched as your smile immediately faded, briefly realizing he missed it for some reason, and saw your expression turn into bafflement, and then concern as you immediately lowered your blade and stumbled back a step, processing an answer you never expected.

As he pulled himself to his feet, sheathing his katana, you stared into space into the horizon, trying to rationalize why he of all people would have that fear, why he would fear you, until it clicked and you glanced back over to him, the same concern still evident on your features.

“Because we’re both swordsmen?” You voice ghosted over the air between you, still in disbelief.

Zoro looked uncomfortable again, his arms crossing as he avoided your glance.

“…Maybe.”

You watched him carefully for another moment before you sheathed your blade and cautiously approached him until you were a few feet away, still giving him space as you watched him continue to avoid your gaze.

Hesitantly, you finally spoke. “Zoro… you’re one of the best swordsmen out there. A pirate hunter so feared, they named you The Demon. Spared by Dracule Mihawk. And now you’re first mate to Luffy the Devil Fruit Eater,” you smile as you take one step forward. “I understand your concern, but I promise you it’s unfounded. I have no intention of replacing you on the crew. I’m good, but it’s not my dream to become the greatest. That’s your’s. I just want to be part of the crew, maybe also figure out my own fate.”

At that, Zoro finally looks back at you, something in his shoulders finally relaxing as he sees the honesty in your eyes and words as you wait for his reaction.

“And I’d much prefer us to be friends on this journey, rather than just opposite shadows who never speak,” you add into the silence.

You watch as he finally cracks the smallest smile at this, hope blooming in your chest as he now takes a step forward to close the gap more. He looks at you another moment before extending a hand between you both, an olive branch.

“Let’s start over then. I’m Roronoa Zoro.”