#zoluweek

The air was casual on the Sunny, something he had not felt to this degree. Certainly, every ship became comfortable in its own way. His crew included. And it wasn't the carelessness of Bartholomew’s ship either.

But it wasn't the casual nature of the crew that caught his attention but the seriousness of it when the occasions struck. When the seas and skies turned. When the enemies struck. When a devil fruit user was plunged into the murky depths of the ocean…

(Albeit even that… well perhaps he would call it carelessness with how Chopper, or Luffy even, would jump over the edge only for another to jump in after them.)

It was always Zoro. The swordsman. The unofficial first mate. He was the one who would jump in first to save his captain from certain doom.

And everybody else would only smile and watch in silence knowingly.

(Well, aside from that idiotic doctor of the ship who constantly forgot he couldn't swim.)

Law had tried asking around. Nami only asked for money. He wouldn't trust a word Usopp said anyway. Franky only burst into tears and pulled out his ukulele and started blubbering nonsense. Brook had made some idiotic pun about death as he always did. And Robin gave some cryptic message about loyalty and love and friendship.

Sanji, really, was the only one that made any sense:

“You have absolutely no idea what that fucking idiot would sacrifice so that Luffy would live.”

[one]

When Zoro’s wake up he finds himself in the deck of an ship, that’s something normal after all he lives in one, but he recognize at once that he isn't in the sunny. He has waked up enough times in the same situation to not identify the sound that the wood of the deck do with his nakamas running from one place to another, the sound of the waves hitting against the ship or that cheerful tone that Luffy loves to hum in the good days.

He stand up with his right hand resting against his swords and looking around suspiciously, he’s in a small caravel and can see two persons at the other side of the deck.

“Hey,” Zoro said, trying to capture the attention of the people and get to know how he get here, maybe he’s in the wrong ship… again – “Yo”

Zoro walks the small distance that separates him from the two men, waiting for them to acknowledge his presence, but neither of them look at him. The two men on the deck look at the direction where the ship has docked, both of them wear kimonos and hakamas, even when one of them looks more tidy and elegant than the other; they both have long hair tied up and just one of them has a sword secured in his Uwa-obi.

“Highness,” says the man with the sword hanging on his obi, he’s short and slim, hardly seem as a threat; but Zoro knows better. Those eyes are the one’s of a man who has seen too much blood being spilled be this from his own hand or just as a witness. “I don’t think this a good idea”

“This way better option than commit sepukku, Musashi. You’re gonna learn too many things from this place, this kingdom is how i want wano to be, even the rest of the world”

“We don’t even know if i’m gonna be admited here,” Musashi says, tracing the hilt of his sword with doubt

“Excuse me?” zoro ask again, he really isn’t interested in know more about this people, but his voice isn’t heard by anyone.

“The King is a good friend of my father, but above all he’s a kind man”

“Sounds like you are really fond of that man, his highness”  

“He treats people with kidness,” the man of the royalty says, a litle ashamed “He could be talking to a litlle boy with the same respect he talks to a King”

“Hey,” Zoro says, he tries to touch Musashi in the arm, but his hand don’t touch anything… if he were a ghost “well apparently i’m dead”

“They can’t hear you,” a voice that zoro don’t identify says, and search for his propetary in the two men in front of him “You’re not part of this world, the history of those man ended centuries ago and you are just one of the choosed ones to presence the chaos”

“show yourself!,” zoro demands “who are you, where the fuck i am and where is my crew?”

“I’m just the echo of the story of a void century,” the voice says “There are things that the world wants you to know and for that you need to see some events on the story of the world. The man of the D is okay,he’s in the last place you both were together”

“The man of the D…Luffy!” zoro says, and just now he can remember what he was doing before he waked up in the deck “Luffy… he cried when he touched that rock we found on the forest”  

“He’s quite adept to sense the emotions of living things,” the voice says “the poneglyph must be shared to him the emotions of the events that you gonna see”

“You think i’m gonna just wait here and do what a shitty voice says me to do?” zoro ask in indignation, with his arms crossed in front of his chest

“You’ll understand soon enough,” the voice says, leaving nothing to discuss “how this story affected you and how the live you lead right now defy the destine”

“You are not leaving me any option, right?” zoro says, but his question doesn’t have an answer. The swordman follow the two men who are now walking down the street.  

“I can’t help but to notice how everyone is different here” the man of long red hair says, looking with discretion the people around the city. Zoro do the same and can identify people of different races; people of the long-arm tribu, giants, fishmen, longlimb humans, snakeneck tribu and some other that zoro doesn’t know the name.

“From generations the leaders of this country have believed that we all are the same and that we can live in peace with each other”  

“I find it hard to believe, your highness. People of the same race kill each other without an ounce of doubt and the people here that is so different live at peace?”

“When people get here they adopt a D on their names,” the man of the royalty answers; the mention of the initial D catch zoro’s attention “and before you ask me, I don’t know why… when i asked the King he just smiled and leaved it to my critery“

“If i’m gonna live here I suppose i’ll know it at some point”

After that, they walk to the palace where the King is in silence, the guards on the doors knowing about the visit walk them inside the palace,the place is very discrete for other castles of the royalty that zoro has seen. The guards leave them in front of a door, he step in letting the King know about his inviteds and wait for the King autorization to let them in. Zoro’s breath catch on his chest and his eyes are big with surprise when he sees the smile on the lips of the man that let them enter on his office because zoro could recognize it anywhere, in any face, is so dear to him that he could never confuss it with another.

Is Luffy.

Well not really, the person who is saluting with cordiality to the samurai isn’t Luffy, even when is hair is black too (but the hair of this man is long) and his eyes are brown. He’s taller than zoro and his body is bigger that Luffy’s rubber body.

“I’m Ravana” the King says,with a hand on his chest

“I’m Musashi Miyamoto”

“Your highness,” the man of the elegant kimono says bowing his head

“Kujo, you don’t need to bow in front of me” the King says, putting a hand on his shoulders “we’re friends from a long time, tittles aren’t necessary beetwen friends”

Judging by kujo reaction, he didn’t know that they were friends.

“Please, take a seat. I bet it was a long trip. Was everything okay, didn’t you have any problem?”

“I hope we are not imposing ourselves and interrupting anything”

“ah, don’t talk nonsense,” Ravana says, siting in front of the two men “How is your father?”

“He’s fine and says that you excuse him for not being here himself” Kujo answers, meanwhile zoro sits on the floor looking at the King “My father is now really busy taking the place of the emperor of wano”

“so the old man did it, didn’t him?”

“The shogun has ended after so many years”

“I’m so happy for you and your people” the King says “being sincere, i thinked that it would take more time for the revolution to form; your father never accepted my help and the shogun as system was strong enough to wipe the forces that you father haved conjured. So may i ask how the shogun was taked down?”

“I did it” the red haired man answers, there’s nothing in his voice that seek for praise, he’s just stating a fact “Wano needed to change and the shogun was the obstacle. The land of wano is now open, for first time in 50 years”  

“You did it alone?” the King question, and the samurai nods solemny “You’re incredible! You changed the course of your country with your own strenght”

“Musashi-dono leaved his honour, principles and values for the sake of our country” kujo says, looking at the King directly at the eyes “When a samurai loses his honour he must lose his life too, because a life without honour isn’t a life worth of living”

“You’re saying he was gonna …”

“He was gonna commit seppuku and i didn’t leave him,” the prince of wano says “The circunstances and his sense of duty make him broke his vows, he didn’t need to lose his life for something like that. It will take time some time before things calm down in Wano, and if Musashi is in our country he inevitably will be involved; that’s why i offer him to live here peacefully without consulting it with you before”  

“Raftel have his arms for those who needs to find a place to belong”

Zoro let’s a strangle sound of his throat and look at King with unbelief because this prosperous kingdom is Raftel, the place every pirate know is looking for.