Sword

Chapter 15

*** (A/N) TW: Panic attack! It's short but if you get stressed reading through panic attacks, I'll mark that section at the beginning and end with a lot of asterisks (***********) and TW so you know what to skip!

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"You're catching on fast," Tashigi complimented Shoko, sitting against a wall, slightly out of breath after a hand-to-hand sparring session. "Just two weeks ago you weren't getting in half this many hits."

"Yeah, thanks for all the help!" Shoko responded with a polite smile, sliding down the wall next to her. Even after a month at Loguetown, all of her conversations with Tashigi were like this: very surface-level and professional. Ever since their tense discussion about Zoro, they avoided very personal conversations, instead opting to stay polite and professional.

Still, as a "work" friend, Shoko was glad to have someone like Tashigi to show her the ropes. Tashigi was passionate about swords and sword fighting, and had solid ideals of justice and kindness. It was refreshing compared to other officers Shoko had met, who gave the impression they were just going through the motions, here to make some money.

Shoko was missing her conversations with Zoro. They had always happened so easily. But she hadn't heard from him except for a letter that arrived about a week after she first arrived at Loguetown.

But he promised he'd come by. He'll be here.

As she downed a glass of water, a lower-level officer entered the training room and stood at attention.

"Sergeant Major Shoko," he addressed, and Shoko stood up. "There's someone asking for you on the transponder snail. A Lieutenant Commander Ripper from the base on Shells Town."

Ripper?

Shoko smiled and thanked the officer, excited to hear from home. Maybe he'll have news about Zoro too!

She slipped into the lounge she shared with the other Marines of her rank where the transponder snail was waiting for her.

"Ripper?" she asked into the mouthpiece. "It's me."

"Hey, Shoko." Ripper's voice was low, as if he was worried someone might be listening in on him. "I need to keep this quick. Can you get back to Shells Town? Soon?"

Shoko's heart stuttered in fear. "I- I can probably figure something out. Is everything ok?"

"Zoro's been arrested."

Her heartbeat stumbled to a stop before speeding up at an exponential rate. Questions tumbled from her mouth. "A-Arrested? Why? What for? Shit, why? Was this Morgan? Did they hurt him?"

"Shh, I don't have time to explain everything now. They have him tied up with no food or water. It's been three weeks, but they plan to leave him there for a month. This is the first chance I've had to call you."

Shoko felt all the blood run from her face and down into the pit of her stomach. No food or water for three weeks?

"I don't know if there's anything you can do without jeopardizing your position, but I think you need to come see him," Ripper continued. Shoko heard the underlying message.

You need to come see him before he runs out of time.

Adrenaline suddenly ripped her body out of shutdown and her mind became impossibly clear.

"Ripper, I need you to make something up. Any bullshit you can think of. I need you to contact Captain Smoker here. He's my superior-" She continued speaking clear instructions into the transponder snail mouthpiece as if she were Ripper's commanding officer, but she knew somehow what she had to do, even without all the details of the situation.