Zoro has been feeling out of sort for some time now. He doesn't know why. Sometimes he looks around and the world just shifts and he finds himself in different settings than his own world. His crewmates and people around him tease him about it, saying that he gets lost. But he wouldn't put it like this. Its something else.
It used to happen before in his pirate hunter days. Its fine! He knows what he sees. He meets so many people around, he has learnt things that even the demon child would not know...and believe. But not like he wants to mention it to her either.
He has saved worlds before with some white haired sorcerer, never saw him again though. Then some apothecary practicing girl. Then some ninjas, 'oh yeah they were real ninjas' he thought to himself while sipping on his sake on night watch. He met so many people in so many different worlds.
He wanted to tell the cook though. He doesnt know why...but he does. He had almost tried to tell him one day. But he saw something when he looked at the cook that day. The cook one time there just kinda disappeared for a second, before reappearing back again. He thought manybe his eye is playing a trick on him and just let it be. But then it happened again...and again. He finds himself taking up on fights and stances he is not familiar with. He somehow knows that he doesn't belong there. Like its someone else's place...the cook's place. This has been affecting him. Alot! And his has nothing to do with his feelings for the cook too. Its something else. Like real danger the ones that makes your being shiver.
Then one day...he reached that world. It seemed like any other world. Well he would even call it a very mundane one at that. There was not immediate threat he could sense. Then he walked in to a building. People flocked around him. Started saying how cool is his...what was that word again...'Ah! Yes..."Cosplay"'.
They were taking his pictures with cameras, as he had learned that device was called on his numerous 'adventures'. Then he saw others...all of his friends from another worlds...his crewmates (one too many if he were to say). They were his friends...but not quiet. They wore their attires and some even mannerisms...but not faces or personalities. He realised it the more he saw...they were playing dressup as his friends and foes alike. 'Interesting' he thought. So he walked around to see what this was. That's when he learnt about the issue. The controversy. The hate. And well more about his world...as he would like to put it.
He had wandered into a room full of people in attires he had recognised belonging to one person in particular...his cook. The room had heads full of blond hair. And a blond very much the colour of cook's hair. He realied they were cosplaying as his cook. He felt like he had walked into a very eeire heaven. He liked it but hated it so much too. Their heads moved towards the only green head in the room. And they started laughing and saying how he lost his way yet again. It felt like home to be teased like that, but also something was empty. It was a joke but without the promise of a sparring session after it. He didn't like that.
Then he saw something one the screen. An image...a drawn image of his nakama, his love, his cook. Sanji vs Toei read the title. He was intrigued. 'What is that?' He thought. Then found a quite corner and sat down on the chair.
And thats when he understood what was going on. He learnt that his world was a manga, the ones he had seen in Wano, and on other islands. And his world's creator was someone called Oda sensi. This however didn't suprise him as much for some reason. It was almost like he knew this information instinctively. What really bothered him were things he was learning in regards to the Toei...they were some sort of a company that took their world and made it into a...'um...what was it...anime! Ah yes a moving picture.'
'Hmmm...this seems interesting..'he thought. But then the blond guys dressed as cook on the stage said something. Something that didn't sit well with zoro at all. He said that they were going to...going to kill off SANJI?! That they were putting more spotlight on zoro and he showed the fights were Zoro was given Sanji's spotlight. Coincidentally, those were also the fights when Zoro had felt he didn't belong. Instances when cook would do that weird disappearing acts. Zoros heart was a mess, something cold was clutching his heart, he felt hairs stand on end at back of his neck. He felt he was going to be sick. 'So this is what was happening' he thought. He felt so scared for the first time. Real anxiety rush through him. He couldn't breathe. Then there was a tap on his shoulder and he turned around to look and he froze. He saw blue eyes...almost like his cook's and hair blond like his cook's. But the eyebrow was painted. That wasn't his cook. It was a girl dressed like his cook...but she felt thats what Sanji would look like if he grew out his hair...well a bit more masculine but surely as pretty as that girl...no more beautiful that her.
He raised a questioning eyebrow at her. And she replied in a voice that didn't go with the attire she was in...and asked him if he was okay? He grunted a yes and was about to turn. When she caight his attention again with another tap. "You look like you are having a panic attack. Are you sure you are okay?" She sounded more like chopper than the cook. He grunted another yes and turned his head.
Truth be told he felt more scred and sick than ever in his life. Heck he wasn't even this scared to face his death in wano. This was a new low for him and he didn't know what to do. He needed to do something though. But what? If what the discussions around him were saying was true then he could potentially lose his cook?! Another wave of existential threat sook his body.
"I think you are having a panic attack. Here take some water." he heard the girls voice again and saw she was handing out a bottle of water. He took it and gulped it down in one big gulp. "Do you want me to sit with you?" she asked. He didn't say anything and she took it as a signal to sit down. "Okay. Now breathe." She said. And zoro had half mind to tell her to piss off. But then he caught a sight of her face and just couldn't help him self but follow through with her instructions. "Good! Now breathe out" she said and zoro followed. "Good! Keep going, brethe in...breathe out. Slow and steady." Zoro thought it wierd that someone dressed as cook was telling him how to regulate himself was just too funny of an occurrence that has ever happened in his life. "Very good. Now I want you to hold onto something. Something that might comfort you." His hand flew to the hilt of his white sword. She chuckled almost like she expected him to do just that. "You are really committed to your bit. I see." She smiled. Zoro didn't quite follow what she meant...but then it dawned on him that she was talking about him 'playing as a zoro cosplayer'. And he scoffed unhumorously. "Hmmm" he grunted.
"You sound like him too, you know." She chuckled.
'Thats because I am him.' He thought.
"Okay keep breathing. And now name five thing you see around you." She said.
That caught zoro offgaurd. "What?" he said.
"Name five things you see around yourself" she said.
Zoro wasn't sure but something in him said to go along the blond girls words and he did. "Wado ichimonji, Enma, Sandai katetsu, chair..." he thought and added at last "a lot of blond hair...?"
"I don't if I should laugh or cry, but you sound exactly like Zoro somehow. I mean kudos to your cosplay and hats off to your commitment to the role." She said amusedly. "Okay, now I want you to tell me 4 things you can touch."
Again Zoro found himself following along. Was it because he was feeling helpless and wanted something to be able to get his mind off of that feeling and be able to see what his options were? What he could do about such absurdity of cooks life hanging in balance because some people decided that his existence was too much to handle. They were a bigger evil than all the beings he had faced in his adventures. "Wado Ichimonji, bottle of water" he moved his hand and rested it on his scar on his abdomen. "Scar" then moved his hand again not sure what to touch next. "Haramaki" he said as he rested his hand finally on his most precious piece of clothing. He was feeling lighter than before. Its wasn't like he wasn't thinking about all these things but now his head was more clearer. Atleast he was breathing normally. 'This person really is something. Whatever they are doing they know its effective, almost like they are practiced in this" he thought.
"Perfect" said the blond girl. "Next tell me 3 things you can hear around you."
Zoro concentrated on his surroundings more and tried to make out the noises around him. "People talking, music and dress shoes hutting the ground."
"Wow, last one is a bit too specific. But thats good. Now 2 thing you can smell."
"Cigarettes and some cologne." He thought out loud.
"Well I would ask you what you can taste. But I guess you are really not eating anything—"
"Bile" zoro said.
"Huh! That bad was it?" There was a pause then she the blond girl continued. "I know its not my place to ask, but what is bothering you. And as much is its eeire that you are still in character, I know for a fact that what you had was a genuine panic attack...whats the deal with that...how can you still be in character during a panic attack?"
As much as Zoro was thankful for her help he was not inclined to answer her questions. So instead he shifted the whole conversation to a different direction. "What's happening here? Whats this Sanji vs Toei deal? I mean I am a fan but I dont know much about this. What is happening?"
"Oookkkaaayyy, we are shifting the conversation. Fine by me." The blond raised her palms up. "So I see you are new to this fandom. Welcome!" She then explained all of the situation to Zoro, including the things that are different in manga and anime. Of the theory how they were plannign to remove Sanji's character from animation because they can't handle him. 'Well sometimes he is too much to handle' zoro thought with fondness, but no one has the right to touch his cook. She went on to tell him how they really put zoro's character in spotlight unnecessarily. "I don't hate zoro's character but some of his fans are so toxic, no offence to you."
'None taken' thought zoro but didn't say anything.
"Toei is such a Zoro glazzer" added another cosplayer passing by them as they had happened to listen on girl's explanation to zoro.
Zoro continued to listen, as he acknowledged the hi waved to him by the cosplayer passing by.
The girl also told him how Toei would just give weird expressions to Sanji and how they also made him have heart eyes to Bonney who is a child.
'Cook would be disgusted by this. He is a bit annoying with his special treatment to women but he would never look at a child like that.' Zoro found himself really hating this Toei studios more the more he listened.
Finally, the blond finished.
"Where is this Toei Studios?" Zoro heard himself calmly ask the blond.
"Huh?!" The girl paused unsure how to answer him. "Well I think Tokyo. I am not sure but I can google it for you." Then she proceeded to take out a device from her pocket. A phone as Zoro had come to understand it was called from all his travels.
"It says Nakano in Tokyo." She said.
"Hmmm" Zoro grunted and then asked the real question. "How do I get there?"
"Well you are in Tokyo Central so you can just take a train ride Nakano. Or you could walk too, since the weather is nice—Wait!" she paused. "Why are you asking that? Are tou planning to go see Toei Srudios hq?"
"Yea something like that" Zoro played along.
"Oh! Okay but are you better enough to go?" Asked the blond in concern.
Zoro grunted in affermative. He's never been so better. Infact he is almost thrilled. 'He should really visit his fans' thought Zoro with almost sadistic satisfaction.
"Alright then. I will get going." The blond girl got up from her seat. "It was really good talkign to you. Must say I am really diggin your cosplay and the act."
She turned around to leave and then paused and turned towards Zoro again and extended her hand. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Nami and this is my girlfriend Vitoria" she pointed out to a person dressed as Vivi from what Zoro could tell.
'Nami and Vivi huh...well good to see somethings remain unchanged in changed worlds' zoro thought to himself.
Zoro took her extended hand and said "Roronoa Zoro, Swordsman of the Stawhat Pirates." The blond rolled her eyes at him in exasperation.
"Oh God! You really taking that bit so seriously" she snickered. "Anyway good bye and have a safe trip to Nakano." And she walked away with her partner.
Oh he was really looking forward to the meeting with his fans.
