Goretober 2024

9~Weapons~

TW: blood (pretty much every chapter :/)

ZOLU (Zoro x Luffy)

This is actually way too sweet for Goretober!  >O<

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Voices called out to me, flooding my mind with thoughts and images that weren't my own. They were sweet, complimenting my skills, my body, my life accomplishments, and my strong personality traits. My heart swelled at the praise, even as my stomach dropped.

I felt compelled by their whispering to follow the wishes of words washed in a disguised sense of trust and security. What they said was strange, but I listened mindlessly anyways. Everything felt so relaxing, like I was swimming in calm, warm waters that lapped at my tanned skin while I floated there, without a care in the world.

We'll take care of you.

There's nothing to worry about.

Forget your troubles. Yes, just like that.

They continued to whisper with smiles I could hear in their voices. I inhaled and exhaled slow and soft. Like a phantom feeling, my arms are legs moved; I knew they were, even without my conscious thought, but I couldn't be bothered as to why.

Relax.

Let us handle things.

You're so strong-willed; it's admirable.

Let go and trust us completely. We know you can.

Cut them down.

What you've endured is amazing! 

So powerful, so dependable.

My body twitched. A frown etched itself onto my face. I could feel a disturbance; something wasn't setting right with me. Even as their words coursed calm throughout my entire body, so did newfound energy at the simple thought that this wasn't right.

Since when was I so relaxed? 

The voices shook, as if a pebble was dropped into the clear waters and had sent a ripple across the surface. In between each praise, new and strangely familiar voices resounded and proceeded to rattle around my skull. 

One in particular tugged at my heart. I recalled warm memories that involved a bright smile, and that smile was all I could think of now. 

They tried to wipe it away. They tried to make me forget again, but it was already plastered behind my closed eyelids and burned into my mind as everything began to clear.

When a scream shook me to my core, the voices were thrown aside, and I was shot back into my body.

I gasped for breath as my five senses slowly returned to me. 

With taste; copper and warm saliva.

With smell; dust and metal the first to be recognized.

With hearing; the more prominent cries of pain that tore my heart.

With touch; hard and level-weighted surfaces in both hands, slick, uneven ground beneath my feet, and a wetness along my exposed skin.

Finally, with sight; blood. Vivid, crimson blood pooled and splattered on the ground, coating my legs, arms, and likely the areas I had noted as feeling wet, and gushing out from the long, diagonal slash freshly inflicted on my captain's chest. 

First came the reminder of my loss at the Baratie, then came the crushing weight of shame, guilt, and so many other negative emotions at the sick realization that this was my fault. 

Breaking my wide gaze to take in my surroundings, I could see so many wounded, simple townsfolk, either slumped against walls with brutal injuries, or laying lifeless on the road I stood in the middle of. It was broad daylight, too, and yet aside from the injured, the town here appeared barren. Anyone still conscious that I accidently made eye-contact with froze in fright, and a sick feeling rolled in my gut.

As soon as I dropped the swords from my shaky hands, my mind cleared entirely and the voices shut out immediately. I trembled, trying to force out a string of words to the one person willing to look at me without fear, but my narrowed vision on the singular colour of red covering every surface in sight wouldn't allow anymore development past full consciousness.

"Zoro," Luffy croaked with an outstretched hand from only a few feet away. His other was pressed against his wound that I had caused, and I felt the need to purge my stomach's contents.

I tried to push him away, but my captain grasped my wrist in an unbreakable grip, even as it shook from the pain etched into his face. He brought my hand to his wound, leaning in closer to press my trembling digits deeper. His blood spilled between my fingers and crawled down my arm, but the only thing I had eyes for now, seeing as it was all up in my face, was the gentle smile gracing those soft lips. 

"Glad you're back, Zoro. Where were you?"

"I-" The words wouldn't come out. I felt his warm breath on my face, his kind eyes locked onto mine, but I still couldn't bring myself to speak. The shame was too much to bear. What had I done? Why wasn't I strong enough? If I was, then he wouldn't be bleeding out before me. If I hadn't picked up those damned possessed swords-

As if reading my thoughts, Luffy raised his other hand to flick my forehead. I flinched, and I found his face much closer. It was like he was peering into my very soul with those large, beautiful eyes of his.

"It's not Zoro's fault," he stated like it was fact. I couldn't believe it.

"It was-"

"Nope. Not Zoro's fault." Luffy grinned up at me and squeezed my wrist tighter. It was grounding to feel his strength, but it was obvious that this was only adrenaline keeping him standing like he was. Luffy needed a doctor, but instead he was here with me. 

It shouldn't have made my heart skip the way that it did. I should be begging for forgiveness on my hands and knees, but I knew that my captain wouldn't have it, so I just let the tears fall and shoved my face into his shoulder to hide them.

"I'm sorry," I whispered hoarsely against his neck. He raised a hand to comb through my sea-green hair and held me close without another word. "I'll get stronger, I promise."

I allowed my arms to wrap around his lithe waist, and he was quick to release my wrist and hold me back just as assuredly. I choked on a sob and burrowed my face further against him.

"You're already so strong, Zoro," Luffy whispered affectionately into my ear, curling his fingers in my scruffy hair. "You're amazing, and I admire so much about you."

He continued to say the stupidest things, and I couldn't hold back the sappy grin from spreading across my tear-stained face. Compared to the voices from earlier, my captain's were filled with so much love, all of it spoken genuinely and unabashedly, and it had my heart melting into a gooey mess of emotion.

"I love you," I sighed. His flow of words paused, and I could absolutely sense that smile currently stretching his cheeks.

"Mh, love Zoro, too!"

...

"Now, go get yourself looked at by a doctor, you idiot."

He just laughed.