ONE PIECE Imagines

ZORO and LUFFY

ZORO'S POV

The love cook and I scourged the area for any remaining Marines, as we made our way towards the front gate. I slashed through the thick metal and sprinted inside, finding it surprisingly clear.

"Where do you think all of them are?" Sanji asked, breathing heavily while running. I quicken my stance. "Doesn't matter." I huffed. "As long as we get to Luffy, who cares." We stopped at a three-way stop.

"Sanji," I pointed to the left. "You go that way. I'll take the right." Sanji snickered a little. "All right, but just to let you know: that's the left and that's the right." He crossed his arms in the different directions. I gritted my teeth. "Whatever, just go!" And I sprinted down the long hallway.

It wasn't long until a yelp coming from one of the rooms. I unsheathed two of my swords and crept up to the cracked door. I was destroyed after seeing him.

Luffy.

What have they done to him?

The bastards have tied him up to where hung by his broken wrists almost 5 feet off the floor. Blood dripped from 50 different slash marks across his chest, legs, arms, and face. Ugly swollen bruises covered his thighs and head. His straw hat hung on a post about 20 feet in front of him.

I almost didn't recognize my own friend.

"Luffy!" I yelled, busting through the door. I sprinted towards his half-dead body. There weren't any Marines, but I wasn't focusing on anything but my friend. I slashed the tight ropes and caught Luffy in my arms. "Luffy...Luffy! Can you hear me!?" I gently laid him down, but kept his shoulders and head leveled in my arms.

Luffy spurted up blood and gasped, almost like he couldn't breathe. "Luffy, come on now. Open your eyes." I breathed, nudging him a little. Luffy gasped and coughed again, and his eyes forced themselves to open.

"Zoro..." he squeaked. "It's hard to see you..." His body shuddered. I readjusted his shoulders and held him closer. "It's ok now, Luffy. I'm taking you back to the ship." I shuffled around to slide his legs under my right arm, but Luffy immediately cried out in pain.

"It's no use." he coughed. Then, his body seemed to relax in my arms. His eyes met mine. For the first time ever, they were full of fear.

"You can't give up, Luffy." I bit my lip. "You still haven't fulfilled your destiny yet." I tightened my grip on his shoulders. "You can't die. You won't die!"

Luffy smiled.

I couldn't hold back anymore. He was smiling even though he knew...he was dead. "Luffy..."

"Thank you...Zoro..." Luffy breathed. "for following me this far..." He forced his hand up and gripped my wrist; his whole arm shook. "I couldn't have done it without you....or everyone else. Thank you...so much...I love you guys..." Tears poured down his bruised face, but he kept smiling that same ridiculous grin.

Then, his eyes began to close. I began to panic. "Luffy! LUFFY!" I tried to shake him awake. His hand went limp and fell from my wrist.

"LUFFY!!!!"

He was gone. The last movement he made was his head resting on my arm. I cradled his body and cried for the first time since I promised him.

Sanji approached from behind me slowly and kneeled down beside me. "Let's go, Zoro. Let's take him back with us." he bit his lip.

Nodding, I gently scooped Luffy's body in my arms and I carried my beloved captain all the way to his home.