Chapter Text
Let's start this story by saying that Zoro is an actual demon, but he doesn't want anyone to know that crucial fact. The only things that he remembers from his childhood are blood, death, violence, and a few blurry faces. However, it was all too quick for him to take in properly, so those memories were quickly forgotten by the forefront of his mind and pushed somewhere deeper. Ever since he could remember, he has been feared by many—almost everyone he's ever met. Many of the villagers in the town he grew up in feared him and called him a "monster" because of his appearance. When he was younger, he had the appearance of a demon. He had tiny horns sprouting from the top of his head that grew with him; his nails grew too quickly, making them long and sharp (he would accidentally cut himself a lot), and the tips of his ears were slightly pointed at the top, making him look even more different from the others around. If that wasn't bad enough, his black and purple eyes seemed to reflect any light shone onto them as if he were some type of animal, along with that, he had pointed teeth in his mouth that just made people runaway when he smiled, trying to be friendly for once, not to mention his slightly forked tongue that made people scream when he would stick it out at them in a split juvenile decision. Something that always bothered him was his skin. It's tougher than any of the normal kids in the village, and one of the features he finds absolutely annoying is his short tail with a small puff of hair at the end. It gets in the way a lot, and he's even stepped on it before. He looked like a proper baby demon left abandoned in a completely different world than his own, and no one would help him because of it. He couldn't earn money because no one would hire him for fear of scaring away their customers, being cured, or being eaten. So, most nights, he would curl up into a ball on the floor of an abandoned house he called home and cry himself to sleep with a starving belly that felt as though it would eat him from the inside. He had no one in the world who cared about him.... All he had ever known was the island where he grew up on, so maybe the outside world was kinder, or maybe it would be even crueler. The people were mean here, but it was home for him. He wished he looked different so people would be nicer to him — finally accept him —but that day may never come because these people live very backwards lives.
That's what he thought, at least. It wasn't until a friendly hand was extended out to him that he realized maybe not every person was as mean as those villagers who shunned and tormented him. Her name was Kuina. She taught him to hide the features that made him feared, so he could walk around without being stared at, but maybe looking like this made people stare more. He didn't look like how he did before; he felt like he was finally one of them, but why did it feel so wrong at the same time? The spell that helped Zoro fit in was from a book in Kuina's Dad's office. It said something Zoro couldn't read, so Kuina told him. Witchcraft, but Zoro got a little confused and associated his help with another word he heard from her father one day, Haki. No matter how many times she corrected him, he got it wrong each time, but she made him feel wanted and normal for once in his life, and maybe, just maybe, he could have a fun life of his own now.
He was twelve years old when he left the island. There was nothing else left for him now that Kuina was gone. He was training with his swords as she taught him when some kids from the dojo timidly approached him and told him that she had died. He didn't believe them at first because kids and adults were never kind to him, so he ran out of the forest and to her house. There, he found her father, Koushirou, kneeling on the ground next to her body that had a white cloth over her face. He looked up at Zoro and shook his head in sorrow. Zoro spent the next two weeks in denial at first, but his other friend, Saga, helped him with the truth even though it hurt him just as much. There were only two kids in the village who talked only with Zoro: Kuina and Saga. Zoro and Saga trained for a year before Koushirou gave them each a sword from his family. Saga got a cursed blade, and Zoro got Wado Ichimoji. He left the island the next day with Saga, but they didn't stay together on their journey. Their paths weren't completely aligned with one another, so they mutually decided to split ways, vowing to each fight in Kuina's honor and become strong enough to become the greatest swordsman for her. However, there can only be one greatest, so they'll have to fight each other in the future. "I won't hold back," Zoro said, and Saga agreed. He wouldn't either.
It's been a couple of years since he first set out on his journey to become the world's greatest swordsman, and it's been a bit lonely, but he's used to that by now. One day, he's exiting a town and walking to a port after he just bagged a good bounty when he hears two someones following him. He goes into the treeline and waits for them to pass by. When they do, he jumps out and points his swords at the two men; they both jump back in fear because Zoro surprised them, but not only that, he let his magic slip, too. "Why're you following me?" he asked the two men. They couldn't speak at first, but after about a minute had passed, they seemed to calm down. "We just, we want to follow you."
"That sounds so wrong," the other man said, bopping his friend on the head. "What Yosaku meant was that we've seen how strong you are, and we want to tag along."
Zoro sighed, not really wanting to deal with these two numbskulls anymore. He put his swords away and crossed his arms. "I work alone."
"We know, but please!" the first man begged as he got onto his knees. The other one does the same thing, and they don't stop until Zoro tells them to. It couldn't hurt to have these two around, right? And if something does go wrong in the future, he can just leave them behind or use them as bait while he runs away.
"Fine. You two can tag along, but don't get in my way." They thank him, and they go back to the men's ship. 'Well, at least they're good for something,' Zoro thought.
A few months later, he finds himself tied to a post at a marine base, alone, without the men who begged him to come along on his journey. See, his friends, and he accidentally split ways when a large fight broke out among pirates in a local bar... As he was running away from the bar, he literally ran into an old friend as he turned a corner. They both ended up groaning on the ground before they got up and pointed swords at each other. When recognition passed them, they had a good laugh at the ridiculousness before they had to take off running again. They made it out into the forest when Saga collapsed suddenly. He was shot and bleeding badly. Zoro panicked and wanted to get help for himself, but Saga knew it was too late. 'Just leave me here, Zoro. I'm not going to make it. This isn't...something you come back from," he said. Zoro let his Haki slip as fear gripped his heart.
"I can't lose you, too. Not for something as dumb as this," Zoro half sobbed when he joked. He got Saga to smile a little, at least.
"Just promise me that you'll fight for me, too."
"Don't say that."
"I'm saying it, and you can't stop me." Zoro didn't want to believe it, but he knew he had to.
"Don't...leave me. We made a promise."
"I know and...I suck. I'm sorry, but.....there's too much blood.... He shot my chest. Even if you could get the bullet out, you'd need to suture the wound shut and stop the bleeding. No offense, Z, but you suck at that," Saga laughed, and that just made Zoro silently sob harder. "Don't worry too much, kay? You won't be alone for long. You'll find someone out there who will accept you for you.... Don't waste...that...opportunity, promise me."
"I-"
"Promise me, Zoro." Zoro taps his forehead to his and closes his eyes, dropping some tears onto Saga's face. "I promise." He stayed with Saga until he took his last breath. Zoro cried for a bit before he dug a shallow grave to lay him in. He couldn't just leave him out in the open like this.
Once the deed was done, he set his mind on getting revenge. That's how he landed himself in a marine base. He retaliated in the town against them and was only caught because he felt a little guilty afterward. He felt that maybe he should be punished for killing all those men, but they did just kill his friend.
As he waits, the nights are long and cold, but it feels really nice on his skin. The early mornings are almost as bad, with the cool mist and weirdly rising temperatures, but he can at least say that he's alive, for now. At least the Marines had the decency to place his bandanna on his head before hanging him up here, so being tied up out here isn't nearly as bad as he thought it was going to be. Just as he is deep in thought about the food he will get to eat after this, a strange-looking boy shows up out of nowhere, hanging on the stone wall, blabbering away with this pink-haired kid. "Hey, you two," he calls out. "Would you quit your blabbering? You're starting to give me a headache," he growls, and it's true, sort of. It's probably just from the sun. He decides to close his eyes and ignore them. He does so with success for roughly a minute before something scuffs the dirt just ten feet in front of him. He opens his eyes and sees this little girl in front of him, holding out some rice balls. His eyes soften a bit when he sees the food. His stomach churns a bit from hunger as his mouth fills with saliva. "What do....you want, kid?"
"I brought you some rice balls. I made them myself. I've never really made them before, so they look a little off, but I know they taste good."
"You got a death wish, pipsqueak?" he growls, and she doesn't run. He softens again with a soft sigh.
"But you haven't eaten anything in a couple days. I'm not leaving until you eat something."
"Why are you...so adamite, anyway?" Zoro asks, slightly tilting his head.
"You helped my Mom during the brawl. You saved her from a pirate who wandered in," the girl says, lowering her head a bit before raising it and looking him dead in the eyes. "I want to repay you." He hums in acknowledgment even though he doesn't remember saving some lady during that fight.
"Listen, kid. I'm not hungry, and you need to leave."
"What?"
"Go, now!" he shouts, and she backs up a bit. Just then, the gate to the base opens up, and in walks this blonde-haired idiot with a bowl cut and a purple suit. He struts up to the two and glares down at the little girl.
"Roronoa Zoro, seems like you got a little fan here to see you, even though it's forbidden," he ends his sentence, staring at the little girl. Zoro watches him intently before quickly glancing back at the other two marines. They quickly look away from him. "What do you have there, brat?" he asks as he takes a rice ball from her hands and pops it into his mouth. He chews it a bit, then coughs and spits it out onto the ground. He throws the rest of it onto the ground, where he just spat and stomped on the food. He grabs the rest of the food and does the same. Grabbing the young girl by her arm. He drags her away from Zoro.
"You're gonna regret doing that," he growls at the back of the guy's head.
The guy turns around with a smug look on his face. "Are you threatening me, demon?" Zoro scratches his arm to keep himself from lashing out. "Because it sounds like you are. Another week should teach you some manners, and for you. If I ever catch you sneaking in here again, I have you lashed," the blonde guy growled, before tossing the young girl onto the ground outside the base. The gates are closed, and the blonde guy walks back up to him.
"When I get out of here, I'm gonna take my swords back and fix that ugly haircut of yours." Zoro flashes his demon face, and the guy runs away with those two idiots following behind him. Zoro sighs to himself before dropping his head off his shoulders. When he hears scuffing of the dirt again, he refuses to look up.
"So, I hear you're a bad guy," that kid with the straw hat says. Zoro looks up to get a better view of the kid. He's wearing a red vest, blue rolled-up pants, sandals, and wearing a straw hat with a stupid-looking grin on his face.
"Are you still here, kid?" Zoro growls. "Scram!" he shouts, baring his sharp teeth, but the kid doesn't run away. Zoro blinks, and his eyes change next, but the kid still doesn't run away.
"Being stuck out here for all to see.... Are you really that strong?" he asks.
Zoro looks away with a scoff. "Of course, I am."
"Then how did you get captured?"
"I let them."
"Why?"
"What do you want, kid? Are you just here to annoy me, or are you just that stupid?"
The boy smiles. "If I were you, I'd starve to death within the first hour."
Zoro glares at him. "I've got way more will power and spirit than you'll ever have, now if you don't mind-"
"What a weirdo." Zoro gawks at the kid before glaring. His eyes catch something, and he sighs.
"Wait a second." The kid turns around. "Can you pick that up for me?"
"The...rice balls? Or what used to be them.... What a waste of food," the kid grimaces. "You want to eat that?"
Zoro nods. He may not like people all that much, but this little girl showed him that she wasn't afraid of him. She made him something, so maybe she isn't all that bad. "Just shut up and give them to me, now." The kid gives him the food, and he eats it. It's not that great, but he won't let something someone made for him go to waste. The kid eyes him before nodding and hopping back over the wall. Zoro coughs a bit, but he swallows it all. He lets out a soft sigh. That'll help for a little bit at least.
About an hour late, the kid comes back. "You again? You've sure got a lot of free time, kid."
"My name isn't kid. It's Monkey D. Luffy. I've got a proposal for you."
"Tch."
"I'll unite you, but you have to promise to join my crew first."
"Crew? What are you, some kind of sailor?" Zoro laughs.
"A pirate!" the kid, Luffy, says happily. Zoro laughs out loud at the claim. "It's true."
"No way, kid. I'm not playing games with you."
"Good thing I'm not either."
"Are you really serious?"
Luffy nods with a serious look on his face and crossed arms.
"You don't look like a pirate, kid. You look like you're playing pretend," Zoro says. The boy just laughs.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I am a pirate. Now, will you join me or not?"
"Forget it. I'm not going to stoop down to that low level."
"What's so wrong with being a pirate?"
'You're kidding, right?" The kid doesn't answer. "They're thieves, they harm innocents, and they commit acts of unnecessary violence."
"Not my crew!"
"You're delusional."
"Come on. What do you have to lose? People already know you as some vicious bounty hunter."
"People can say whatever they want, but I've never done a single thing in my life that I regret. I'm going to make it through this and keep a promise I made to my friends."
"Suit yourself." The kid turns around.
"Wait."
Luffy turns around with a smug look on his face. "Yes?"
"I'll join you on one condition."
"What's that?"
"Freedom to do what I please."
"Deal." The kid comes over and unties him. Zoro rubs his sore wrists. The kid tries to drag him away, but he tugs his arm away. "What's wrong?"
"I need my swords first."
"Where are they?"
Zoro turns around and looks back at the building. "They're in there." The two are quickly spotted after Zoro looks away from the building.
"Get your swords and meet me down at the port." Luffy turns on his heels and runs. Zoro runs to the building and sneaks around until he hears that bowl cut bastard. He kicks the door open before backing into it and closing it. The guy turns around with Wado in his hands and goes wide-eyed. He's about to protest when he suddenly shuts up. "I told you that I was going to make you pay," Zoro growls as he transforms into a demon. He gets his swords back while getting revenge on that guy. He exits the room and leaves the building. He stops to catch his breath in an alleyway to think about that kid's offer. Is it really a good idea? He sighs to himself before leaving and running down to the port. He spots the straw hat kid and runs up to him. Luffy gets into a small boat, and Zoro grumbles to himself. "Bad idea, idiot." He turns around, preparing to leave, when he's grabbed from behind and pulled into the boat. Luffy kicks off from the port, and suddenly they're floating out in the water, getting further and further away from the island. Luffy lets go of him and sits back. "You're..." Zoro goes a bit wide-eyed at the realization.
"Yeah. I ate a devil fruit when I was younger. The Gum-Gum Fruit."
"Great."
—
When starvation is finally too great for his 'captain' Luffy, he shoots himself into the air out of pure starvation. Guess he was being honest at the Marine base when he said he wouldn't last more than a day without eating. Luffy gets stuck in a bird's mouth. "Idiot," the swordsman mutters under his breath as he races to catch up with the rubber man. The fierce waters crash against the sides of the small boat as he paddles faster and faster with the two oars in this small dinghy. Turning around in the small boat, he notices an island in the distance. A sigh of relief fills his lungs as he continues rowing. When he reaches the port, he stops rowing and ties the boat to the dock. Making sure to lay low, he carefully sneaks around, checking every corner, road, and alleyway for Marines or anything that could be a potential threat. He walks down the road until he comes across a small white dog.
It barks at him as it sits in place.
He tilts his head at it.
The dog's staying still, unmoving. 'That's odd,' he thinks. The former pirate hunter shrugs his shoulders and decides to pad off to find his 'captain.' He eventually comes across a group of miscreants who call themselves the 'Buggy Pirates'. Whatever. Zoro isn't interested in them; all he wants to do is get his captain and get out of there, but that's easier said than done, seeing that he's currently stuck in a cage.
—
Shit goes down in the wrong direction, and they end up fleeing the town with wounds and a large cement cage with Luffy in it. 'Why'd this idiot have to get himself stuck in a giant bird of all things?? Oh, right. Silly me. How could I possibly forget? He was fucking hungry! Maybe following this kid was a bad idea!' Zoro thinks in a huff as he runs with the large cage above his head.
This redhead starts following them from an adjacent street. Zoro looks over at her in confusion before he hears Luffy laughing.
"What's her deal?" Zoro asks, looking up at the boy he's still carrying.
"That's Nami! She's going to be our navigator!" Luffy happily shouts, making Zoro huff in annoyance with an eye roll. He wearily presses on until he collapses near that white dog again. Luffy tumbles to the ground in the cage as Zoro collapses onto the cobblestone. Guess he accidentally got cut up in the process of saving his 'captain' and escaping. Great. Just great. They're going to see that he isn't normal now, and he'll be shunned, again....
Luffy tries to pet the dog through the cage, but it bites him, so he sends the dog flying into the air. Still lying on the ground, going in and out of consciousness, Zoro faintly hears a man talking, but he needs to catch his breath first. That little event got the better of him for a second there. His breathing picks up before he passes out for a couple of minutes.
Something feels... off when he wakes up; it's a loud explosion that startles him awake. It startles him into sitting up rather quickly. Grumbling, he lies flat on his back, suddenly and acutely aware of the flesh wound in his torso. He looks down at it and winces slightly. His blood is seeping through the bandages.... He doesn't remember having any on, so where did they come from? He rubs his head as a faint voice calls out his name. "Zoro! Zo......" the voice seems to stop right in front of him. Another voice joins in, with a loud, shocking gasp. Through the dust cloud, he sees two figures standing before him, and when the dust settles, he sees that it's Luffy and that Nami girl. Zoro lowers his hand up to eye level and looks on in horror. His Haki wore off, and he looks like a demon again. His nails are longer and sharper, but what else has changed? He wonders. Probably a lot considering Nami's reaction...
The redhead steps back, but his captain is unmoving. "You're....you're an actual demon...." the girl mumbles out in shock with her hands covering her mouth. "..the rumors are true..." she barely whispers out, but Zoro has a great sense of hearing. He heard her. The swordsman sits in the pile of rubble, upset by what he's shown them. He's not upset with himself for being foolish enough to trust other people with his true form, that is. It's not like he asked to be born this way....
Luffy pads over and reaches out a hand. With his other hand, he pushes up his straw hat with a large smile on his face. "Come on, Zoro! We've gotta get going. I think we made that guy mad," the rubber man says unexpectedly. Slowly but carefully, Zoro reaches up and gets dragged up onto the shoulders of his captain. He ends up fainting again, but not before hearing the girl's voice mutter something unintelligible to his delirious mind.
—
When he finally wakes up, he recognizes the swaying sensation he felt before. He's back on a boat. Upon opening his eyes and slowly sitting up, the ones around him immediately stop their conversation and go silent. There's a dim light around them, so he assumes it's a little before dusk. He wearily looks over to the two sitting on the opposite side of him. He expected Nami to be in their small dinghy, too, but she's in a separate boat that's tied to theirs. Luffy is the first one to speak. "So," he starts, "you're really an actual demon??" he asks with sparkling eyes, reaching over with a hand to get a better feel of the green-haired swordsman's horns. Zoro feels like he's died and gone to hell. No one has ever accepted him this quickly before, not even Johnny or Yosaku at first. 'Kuina and Saga are a completely different case. They were both weirdos. Hmm. Well, Luffy does seem to be a weirdo, too,' he thinks.
"Zoro, right?" the girl asks, leaning against the side of her boat, where Luffy is sitting. He nods, deciding to keep his mouth shut for right now. If he opens it, something offensive might come out. "We're," she gestures to both Luffy and herself, "not afraid of you," she utters in a shaky voice. "It's just... a little shocking, I mean.... The rumors are actually true," she admits with a half-fake smile. Perhaps he's a little gullible for thinking this, but he feels compelled to believe her because of her tone. She may look scummy, but she seems genuine, which is a very odd combination. He nods again, skeptical of the statement.
"Can I touch your horns?! They look so—"
Luffy is struck on the head by the redhead. "Knock it off, will ya?!" she shouts in an angry tone. Zoro narrows his eyes at the bickering bunch. "Will you at least say something?" she offers, staring back at him. "You..heal quickly, too. Is that like...a demon thing?"
The former pirate hunter goes to open his mouth, but remembering that he has sharp teeth, he instantly closes it. He doesn't want them to be even more freaked out than they clearly already are. He covers his mouth and starts to speak, "I don't wanna freak you-"
"Little too late for that, buddy!" the girl shouts. Nami is referring to his eyes, teeth, and horns. His eyes are reflective and shining back at both of them in the dim light of dawn, which is unnerving her a little, but what's creeping her out more is him not speaking to either one of them.
"Let me touch your horns!" Luffy demands with fists held high. He's like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Zoro sighs and lowers his hand to his lap, looking down at it. His tough skin, combined with his sharp nails, looks... creepy. "Why aren't you afraid of me? Whomever I've come across always seems to react badly, even if it's just one glance," he admits, tilting his head to the side. His voice is a little deeper when he looks like this. It's a bit freaky to hear it for the first few times because of how menacing it sounds.
"Can you blame them?? " Look at you!" the navigator exclaims, gesturing to him. Zoro rolls his eyes. Not that he hasn't heard that before.
"Nami, rude! I think he looks very cool!" Luffy shouts, trying to subtly touch his horns again. Nami smacks his hands away as he attempts to stretch out and cop a feel of those cool-looking horns. "Stop it! I wanna touch them. He's a part of my crew, so he has to do what I say," Luffy pouts.
"It doesn't work like that," Nami says with a sigh of frustration. Zoro looks away from them and out at the sea. Just how long was he out for? He doesn't see any land nearby.
"Look," she starts, "your captain is trying to say that he trusts you. I think... Nonetheless, you don't exactly seem like the type of person everyone's trying to make you out to be," she admits suddenly.
"Not my captain. I'm just tagging along—"
"What?? We are all a crew!" Luffy complains with his arms in the air. "Not a crew!" Both Zoro and Nami say. Luffy sits back, pouting. Zoro has come to the conclusion that his "captain" is indeed a child.
"Still, I can't just go walking around like this. It—scares people, and personally, I don't like being called a 'freak' or a 'monster' everywhere I go." He takes a second as all the horrible memories come flooding back into the front of his mind. "You tell no one of this," he growls at them, his black and violet eyes fixed on them with a serious look.
They nod, and he uses his Haki to hide his demon form once again. They ask about how he's able to hide it so quickly and other similar questions, but he's not up for conversion right now. For a fact, he's not really "hiding" anything. He will always look like a demon underneath. It's just that the special "Haki" he's using is just a fancy way of hiding the fact that he's using witchcraft to hide away his demonic features. It's a very old and outdated practice and form of magic that doesn't really seem to exist nowadays. It's as if it has been completely forgotten in the new world, which is nice for him.
Zoro closes his eyes and lets his mind wander as the rocking of the boat drifts him off. He's exhausted from the day's long events.