Disclaimer: I don’t own One Piece.

 

Guardian Spirit

~Luffy~

 

 Zoro got himself into trouble again. I should have gotten used to it by now, but it always manages to annoy me. I truly wonder how does he manage to cause so many problems. It must be some kind of an inborn trouble-magnet.

 The funny thing is, it’s not as if he did something bad. On the contrary, he actually helped someone. He killed a pet wolf of a stuck up brat of a son of a Marine captain to protect a girl. Guess what? The stuck up brat got him tied to a pole for a month with no food. If he survives, he’s free to go. Well, if this sorry excuse of a Marine thinks he’ll win, he’s mistaken. I am not going to let Zoro starve.

 It’s going to be a tiring and boring month – for me. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Zoro did the right thing and I’d do the same. I’m not mad at Zoro – he’s a good kid… A big, arrogant and weird kid, but a good one. Unfortunately, neither killing the sissy, nor teaching him a lesson how to behave weren’t an option. Life of an adult is complicated… Even for a teenage spirit.

 

 Nine days. It’s been nine days and it was boring as hell – like I expected. The idiot Helmepp came every day to brag about how he ‘caught’ the great Pirate Hunter Zoro. Damn moron. He only has him, because he’d hurt the girl otherwise. Any honourable person would do this. But how would such an honourless dog know? I seriously wonder how did this annoying piece of trash manage to survive for so long? Bur I’m insulting dogs in comparing them to that piece of useless filth. You’d expect someone would drown him or something similar. Must be his ‘daddy’. Honestly, that man should have given a spanking to that overgrown brat long ago.

 Huh? Who’s that? A guy in a straw hat and a pink-haired nerd in glasses? What do they want? Zoro is becoming the attraction of the place. They should put a sign ‘Come and see the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro starve to death.’ Honestly, you’d think it’s not that interesting.

 ‘D-don’t be ridiculous Luffy!’ The pink-head suddenly yelled, making me loose my track. I decided to listen to them for a bit - it might be interesting. ‘If he gets away, the entire villages safety will be at stake! He’d try to kill you, Luffy!’

 Is he talking about Zoro? I never knew he had such a bad reputation. Sure, I knew people said nasty stuff – but that bad? C’mon, it’s plainly stupid!

 ‘Hey you.’ Now Zoro noticed them.

 ‘Huh?’ The Luffy-fellow doesn’t seem frightened, after what the pink-head said. A-h well, it’s not that much people are afraid of someone tied to a pole… That guy with glasses is, I can tell.

 ‘Eek!’ Like I said. He’s all chicken.

 ‘Come here for a second? Could you untie this ropes?’ I don’t think they’ll help him. Not with his bad reputation… ‘I’ve been here for nine days. I think, I’ll die soon.’ Liar! He doesn’t think so… And even, if he did – he’s smiling. He’s not afraid, not of dying. Not him.

 ‘Hey! He’s smiling!’ That Luffy said. Funny, he didn’t seem surprised, but rather amused.

 ‘Eek! H-he! He spoke!’ What do you think pink-head? Did you’re brain evaporate? Everybody speaks… From time to time.

 ‘I’ll pay you back.’ If they help him, he could kill Helmepp and Morgan… ‘I’ll kill all the wanted man in this area and hand them over to you. I’ll keep my promise!’

 Yeah, but first you’d better remember about the girl, kid. What will happen to her? This little brat my hurt her.

 ‘N-no Luffy! If you untie him, he’ll run away and kill us!’ Wow! How brave of you, pink-head. Check you’re pants. ‘Don’t be fooled!’

 ‘He won’t kill us.’ Well, at least one person is sensible. ‘ ‘Cause I’m strong.’

Oookaaay. Right. No one except me is sensible. They’re all either crazy or cowards.

 ‘What?’ A good question Zoro. The pink-head mumbled something, I couldn’t possibly hear. And then a girl appeared – the same girl Zoro saved. She peeked over the fence and climbed over it. What is she doing here?! Is she suicidal? Get out!!!

 ‘Wait! It’s dangerous!’ Pink-head is right, but I don’t think, she’ll get the message.  Now both Zoro and the pink-head were screaming at the girl to get out. She didn’t listen… She run to Zoro, holding something in her hands. Rice balls. It was cute and very nice of her to bring them, but incredibly stupid at the same time.  

  Like I said it wasn’t the smartest thing to do – guess who’s here. Mr. Spoilt Brat himself. He said, the girl made the rice balls for him. Like anyone would! Than that moron ate one rice ball and got o-so-angry, because it was sweet. If he wouldn’t have stolen it, he wouldn’t be disappointed. However, such complicated reasoning is far beyond his low level of intelligence. Of course, he had to show what a spoilt brat he is and tramped over the rice balls. And I know why - he realised she was going to give them to Zoro.  She was lucky he only made that marine throw her out. I wonder, if she realised what exactly could happen. After convincing everyone, who weren’t yet convinced that he was a complete git, sissy and a moron, Helmepp went away.

 ‘Why the hell are you still here?’ That’s easy Zoro, you’re the attraction of the place. ‘If you’ll just stand there, he’s gonna tell his dad.’

 ‘I’m looking for people to be pirates with me.’ What?! I actually felt my jaw drop to the ground and eyes pop out of their sockets. Does he expect Zoro to join him?

 ‘Pirates?’ Zoro was equally surprised, I can tell. The Luffy-boy doesn’t look like a pirate – more like a cheerful village kid. The one you’d expect to be your good friend… but not a pirate. Not some kind of a blood-lusty killing machine. ‘That’s ridiculous to want to degrade yourself to the level of a common criminal!’ That’s a good point, kid. I’m proud of you.

 ‘It’s my decision! What’s so bad in wanting to be a pirate?’ Pirates kill and rob people – that’s what. It ‘s weird, I have strange feeling about this Luffy. I don’t think he’d kill good people, he doesn’t seem that sort. But than, I don’t really know anything about him – I could be mistaken.

 ‘I don’t expect you’d unfasten those ropes without asking me to join you, eh?’ I don’t expect he’ll do it at all – after all the pink-head said, I’m sure he thinks you eat kids for breakfast.

 ‘No. I’m not planning on freeing you, yet. You’ve got a bad reputation.’ Like I said.

 ‘So I’m a bad guy, eh?’ Precisely bright-boy. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s another way you could keep our promise… And I know, you’re not evil. You know it too – that’s what matters. And stop babbling like an idiot, he doesn’t believe you’ll survive that long anyway.

 Willpower? If you only knew, who’s keeping you alive… But your willpower is pretty helpful. If you were weaker, I’d have much more job to do.

 ‘Hey, wait!’ Wonder what does Zoro want from that kid?

 ‘What?’ Crude, but it sums up the situation.

 ‘Will you bring this over here?’ Zoro!!! You suicidal nut! You can’t be serious! Argh! Now I’ll have to make sure, you won’t get sick from those. Eating food from the ground… Hadn’t my father taught you anything except sword fighting?!

 ‘Are you gonna eat this? It looks more like mud ball than a rice ball.’ Listen to him Zoro!

 ‘Spare me the details. Just feed me, okay?’ You are going to have a stomachache of the century, I’ll make sure of this!

 ‘I warned you.’ I did too. ‘You wanna die?’

‘P… please tell the little kid!!!’ Huh?

 ‘What?’

 ‘It was great. Thank you very much for the meal.’ You know what Zoro? I think you convinced him you’re not bad. He might ask you to become a pirate after all.

 

 This is so boring! I am not going to count clouds – that’s for sissy little girlies and I’m strong… and dead, and nobody will know, and it can’t be more boring than doing absolutely nothing. I practised a bit, but you can’t do it all the time and I have to concentrate on keeping Zoro in shape. Okay, one… two…

 ‘Yo!’ Th… Huh? Oh, it’s that Luffy. What does he want, now?

 ‘If you want to ask me to become a pirate – forget it!’ Straight to the point, eh Zoro-kun?

 ‘I’m Luffy! Join me and I’ll untie the ropes.’ He knows, how to sound convincing. Bravo young man – you’re on good way to becoming a good pirate. Note the sarcasm.

 ‘Are you listening to me at all? I told you I have things to do.’ Yeah, you have. You have… ‘Who the hell would want to become a pirate and ruin their lives?’ Lots of people do this Zoro.

 ‘Why do you care? They call you evil bounty hunter already!’

 ‘I don’t care! But I wont do a single thing against my convictions!’ I smiled - he had always been like this. ‘That’s why I wont become a pirate!’

 ‘Who cares? I decided you’ll be my companion!’ You decided? I think you’ve got it wrong.

 ‘It’s not up to you to decide!’

 ‘You use a sword, right?’

 ‘Yeah… Or at least I would, I wasn’t tied.’ That was pretty obvious Zoro. Maybe you could also tell him that it’s day?

 ‘Where is it?’ I guess, I know what he’s planning. He’ll try to steel Zoro’s swords and make him join for them… And this might actually work…

 ‘Taken away by that idiot.  They’re the most important things to me after my life. My treasures…’ (A/N ‘My preciousss. Tricksy Helmeppses! We hates him forever!’ Sorry, couldn’t refrain myself. ^^;) As much as I share your feelings kid, I wouldn’t have said that. I really wouldn’t.

 ‘Your treasures, huh? Well, I’ll steel them back for you!’ Now the hook…

 ‘What?!’ Oh, Zoro you’re so unperceptive sometimes…

 ‘If you want them back, you gotta to join me.’ Like I said. A classic.

 ‘That’s not fair!!!’ And I’m the supposedly younger? Life was never fair. Kid, start acting your age! ‘Hey wait!’

 ‘Be right back!’ …in pieces, might I add?

 

 What a mess. Marines running and screaming up there, Morgan yelling to kill that and this and that and him and her and the fluffy little sheep too and the pink-head down here trying to help Zoro. Maybe he isn’t such coward after all.

 ‘…And Luffy’s going to be pirate king!’ Ambitious one that Luffy. Wonder, if he knows how much candidates for this place are there? 

 I feel so useless now… And how could I feel anyway? It’s not as if I could help. I can only watch from the side and hope everything will be fine. How I hate this feeling! I can’t stand being useless, not being able to do anything then observing in such situations. Before I did what I could, so Zoro wouldn’t starve and now… Now I have to wait… Waiting had always been worst.

 ‘Pirate King?! Do you know what it means?!’ Honestly Zoro, this was one stupid question. Every child knows it.

 ‘Ehehe… I was surprised too, but he means it. That’s what kind of a person Luffy is.’

The marine! They’re going to shoot.

‘I’m wounded!’ Trouble. The marine started shooting. Get out of here pink-head!!! ‘I’m bleeding! I’m gonna die!!!’ Now, don’t be ridiculous. You don’t die from that. Stop acting like a damn pansy, who just broke her nail and get out! It’s too dangerous for sissy pink-heads like you.

 ‘Get away now! I’ll be okay, if I survive a month.’

 ‘You won’t be saved!’ W… what?! But he promised! ‘They’re going to execute you in three days!’ H… he promised!..

‘The idiots son promised I’ll be free if I survive month! What are you talking about?’

 ‘He never intended on keeping the promise!!!’ That dog! How dare he break a promise?! ‘And than Luffy hit him because of that! Helmepp had you under he’s foot all the time!’

 I… How can…

‘The marine are your enemy now! Please join Luffy, he saved me and he really is as strong as he says!’

…

Morgan! It’s either Zoro joins Luffy or…

‘Roronoa Zoro I heard you’re pretty strong, but your strength is nothing compared to my authority!’ What is he babbling about!? What authority? He bullied all those marine and villagers in to obeying him!

 Zoro you have to get out! No matter what, no matter how, you have to! You promised remember? You can’t die before you fulfilled it… Not like that. If you could at least fight…

 What?!

 It was that Luffy. He not only managed to steal Zoro’s swords, but also saved him. He must have eaten an Evil Fruit – he stretches like rubber, so all the bullets bumped of him. I guess, it means Pirate Hunter Zoro will become Pirate Zoro… At least, it won’t be boring.

 Luffy brought all three swords, although he thought Zoro uses one. I always said Two-Swords Technique is out of date and Three-Swords? You have to be crazy… or Zoro. He’s the only person I know, who could come up with such a ridiculous idea and manage to make it real. But the funniest thing is, he can talk with my sword in his mouth.

 ‘If you fight against the marines, you’ll become an enemy of the government or you can die here.’ Another master of obvious, that Luffy. They’ll make a fine pair. ‘Which is it?’

 I knew the answer long before. You just needed to take a look at Zoro and his eyes said everything. He would live, he would fight – he had something more important to do after all.

 ‘Otherwise I’ll die, I might as well… I’ll become a pirate!’

 

 That was the day, which changed Zoro’s life. For the better or for the worst none of us knew. But he chose this path and it would eventually lead him somewhere. If it was right or wrong we would see. But no matter what, I’d be with him – until he would become the best swordsman. I couldn’t keep one promise, so I made another – to help Zoro and I intended on keeping it.

 

A/N

 I am not going to retell all the episodes, just those I think Kuina would consider important. If you have any advice about it, feel free to suggest – I’m all ear. About this one – it’s a pretty long chapter for me – I usually don’t write that much, so some chapters will be much shorter. Also, I didn’t remember exactly what happened and there may be some discrepancies between that and the episodes. I tried to be as exact as possible.