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eiliemTitle: Farewell to the Harbour
Characters: Zoro, mentions of the Strawhats & their captain &hearts, mentions of Ace
Pairings: Nami/maps, Usopp/adventure, Sanji/cooking, Zoro/swords, Ace/freedom
Rating: PG-13?
Beta:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
peachpai ^^
Summary: The passage of Time is kinder to some Strawhats than other. Zoro isn't sure if he's supposed to be counted among the lucky ones.
Warning: DEATH FIC DEATH FIC DEATH FIC DEATH FIC! Have fluff on hand.
This isn't a dark fic, like "Doflamingo shows up and makes all the Strawhats murder each other in increasingly horrific ways". It's just...sad. As such, it has already made two people cry and one of them was me! (I don't cry when I write, ever, and yet-)
Farewell to the Harbour
He hated being old.
The creaky bones and aching muscles were not his gig. Sleeping a lot was good. But the being tired all the time and the goddamn heart palpitations were a pain in the ass.
Being unable to lift ten times his own body weight anymore was the most frustrating thing though. He’d been wounded in battle, his body had failed him before. He’d never had this tedious, irrevocable march towards deterioration.
He wasn’t the only one though, and he couldn’t quite figure out if that was worse or reassuring. Sanji could barely walk anymore. Nami’s eyes were nearly shot.
Or at least that was how they’d been the last time Zoro saw them.
They...didn’t see each other that often anymore. Hadn’t since Luffy died.
He'd had a decent run of it, for a pirate in the Grand Line during the Golden Age of Piracy. For the most notorious, wanted pirate in the world.
He’d outlived the old Pirate King. Which was something, at least.
Except that Luffy had never seen it as a competition. His quest had never been about surpassing Roger. It had been about Luffy. Luffy’s freedom and adventures and love of life.
A life he’d loved a little too wildly, lived a little too hard.
And when Death had come to collect him, young, so young – the seconds of his life used up protecting nakama and dreams and freedom – Luffy went without a regret. Died with that stupid grin on his face.
They never told Ace the price Luffy paid in Impel Down. And Zoro knew he never guessed, or even suspected, because he hadn’t thrown himself off the nearest bridge.
He was still roaming along the Grand Line, last Zoro had heard, as he’d been for the past several decades. Captain of his own crew, living as freely as he’d promised Zoro’s captain he would.
They didn’t stay down long, those brothers. It made the pain – old and heavy and familiar – just that much easier to bear, knowing that someone else out there understood what it meant when Luffy left the world, and surpassed the grief nevertheless. It was almost hopeful, in a distinctly Luffy way.
Chopper had been next.
In turned out reindeer – even human ones – didn’t live very long compared to other people.
Zoro could never regret having had Chopper as a nakama, not after watching him grow and learn and realize his dreams. But he wondered, sometimes, if the furball would have lived longer had he stayed in Drum and not downed Rumble Ball after Rumble Ball to keep up with – and protect – nakama who were so much more monstrous than he.
But those kinds of thoughts hurt worse than his joints and he pushed them as far away as he could. Except in moments when something brought them to the surface.
Like when Franky finally broke down beyond repair.
That. That could have been bad. That could have been-- But Franky had been in Water 7 when it happened and Iceberg…
Iceberg had made it his life’s work to know how to fix things – and when they were irreparable.
They had all showed up for the funeral. A little less shocked this time ‘round, a little grimmer, a lot older. And, somehow, missing Luffy all the more desperately.
It was the second-to-last time Zoro saw Robin alive.
And really, it was his fault for going so long between visits. It wasn’t like she’d keeled over right after Franky.
The message came from a student of hers. Passed away in her sleep. Peaceful as little in her life had ever been.
Nami hadn’t even cried. Their fourth funeral for a nakama; it had almost ceased to be a surprise by then.
The students though, the students had cried. That was good.
Maybe the next one wouldn’t be a surprise. Maybe the next one wouldn’t hurt. It could even be a party. They could break out the booze and Sanji could get off his arthritic ass and cook – assuming it wasn’t his funeral.
Zoro hoped it would be his. And he hoped his nakama would all get stupidly drunk – well, maybe not Nami because she was just unnatural. None of them were as limber anymore, so Usopp wouldn’t be able to do the stupid chopstick dance, but they could all sing, or something.
Brook was still around, of course, the invincible dead guy. So there could be music at the next funeral, if they had the heart for it. But then, who knew what the time limit was on his Devil’s Fruit. And over the past few years he’d taken to...sleeping. A lot.
Maybe the next funeral wouldn’t have music.
It wasn’t...it wasn’t like they were racing each other to the grave or anything stupid. Or even waiting around uselessly to die. They lived. They had lives.
Nami had retired to her beloved Cocoyashi Island, writing books on navigation and weather patterns and maps – and making a medium-sized fortune doing it.
Sanji, disdaining aches and pains and the way his legs were giving up faster than the rest of his body, still sailed around on his little restaurant boat, learning new recipes and teaching them to every sorry sap who dreamed of feeding people.
Zoro had opened a dojo. Zoro had students. He taught sword fighting. Taught! And who’s fucked up idea had that been anyways?!
He wasn’t a hundred percent sure what Usopp did, but it involved a lot of sailing around and having adventures and, Zoro strongly suspected, turning that long-practiced tongue to tales about the Pirate King. Keeping Luffy’s memory alive as best he could. As only Usopp could.
Or maybe he’d retired from that since the last time they saw each other, what the hell did he know.
Somewhere along the line, at some point in this godsforsaken aging business, Zoro had stopped being the greatest swordsman in the world – because he was too fucking old to lift shit ten times his weight – and become a goddamn legend.
Roronoa Zoro. First Mate of Strawhat Luffy, the Pirate King. Greatest Swordsman in the world. Isn’t he dead?
And yeah, he’d promised Kuina his name would resound to the heavens but weren’t people supposed to wait until after you’d died before they turned you into a myth?
Then again, nothing Luffy had ever touched – in life or after it – turned out the way it was "supposed" to.
~~
Maybe after this my brain will be satisfied and I can go back to fluff and happiness! ^^ *crosses fingers*
Characters: Zoro, mentions of the Strawhats & their captain &hearts, mentions of Ace
Pairings: Nami/maps, Usopp/adventure, Sanji/cooking, Zoro/swords, Ace/freedom
Rating: PG-13?
Beta:
peachpai ^^Summary: The passage of Time is kinder to some Strawhats than other. Zoro isn't sure if he's supposed to be counted among the lucky ones.
Warning: DEATH FIC DEATH FIC DEATH FIC DEATH FIC! Have fluff on hand.
This isn't a dark fic, like "Doflamingo shows up and makes all the Strawhats murder each other in increasingly horrific ways". It's just...sad. As such, it has already made two people cry and one of them was me! (I don't cry when I write, ever, and yet-)
Farewell to the Harbour
He hated being old.
The creaky bones and aching muscles were not his gig. Sleeping a lot was good. But the being tired all the time and the goddamn heart palpitations were a pain in the ass.
Being unable to lift ten times his own body weight anymore was the most frustrating thing though. He’d been wounded in battle, his body had failed him before. He’d never had this tedious, irrevocable march towards deterioration.
He wasn’t the only one though, and he couldn’t quite figure out if that was worse or reassuring. Sanji could barely walk anymore. Nami’s eyes were nearly shot.
Or at least that was how they’d been the last time Zoro saw them.
They...didn’t see each other that often anymore. Hadn’t since Luffy died.
He'd had a decent run of it, for a pirate in the Grand Line during the Golden Age of Piracy. For the most notorious, wanted pirate in the world.
He’d outlived the old Pirate King. Which was something, at least.
Except that Luffy had never seen it as a competition. His quest had never been about surpassing Roger. It had been about Luffy. Luffy’s freedom and adventures and love of life.
A life he’d loved a little too wildly, lived a little too hard.
And when Death had come to collect him, young, so young – the seconds of his life used up protecting nakama and dreams and freedom – Luffy went without a regret. Died with that stupid grin on his face.
They never told Ace the price Luffy paid in Impel Down. And Zoro knew he never guessed, or even suspected, because he hadn’t thrown himself off the nearest bridge.
He was still roaming along the Grand Line, last Zoro had heard, as he’d been for the past several decades. Captain of his own crew, living as freely as he’d promised Zoro’s captain he would.
They didn’t stay down long, those brothers. It made the pain – old and heavy and familiar – just that much easier to bear, knowing that someone else out there understood what it meant when Luffy left the world, and surpassed the grief nevertheless. It was almost hopeful, in a distinctly Luffy way.
Chopper had been next.
In turned out reindeer – even human ones – didn’t live very long compared to other people.
Zoro could never regret having had Chopper as a nakama, not after watching him grow and learn and realize his dreams. But he wondered, sometimes, if the furball would have lived longer had he stayed in Drum and not downed Rumble Ball after Rumble Ball to keep up with – and protect – nakama who were so much more monstrous than he.
But those kinds of thoughts hurt worse than his joints and he pushed them as far away as he could. Except in moments when something brought them to the surface.
Like when Franky finally broke down beyond repair.
That. That could have been bad. That could have been-- But Franky had been in Water 7 when it happened and Iceberg…
Iceberg had made it his life’s work to know how to fix things – and when they were irreparable.
They had all showed up for the funeral. A little less shocked this time ‘round, a little grimmer, a lot older. And, somehow, missing Luffy all the more desperately.
It was the second-to-last time Zoro saw Robin alive.
And really, it was his fault for going so long between visits. It wasn’t like she’d keeled over right after Franky.
The message came from a student of hers. Passed away in her sleep. Peaceful as little in her life had ever been.
Nami hadn’t even cried. Their fourth funeral for a nakama; it had almost ceased to be a surprise by then.
The students though, the students had cried. That was good.
Maybe the next one wouldn’t be a surprise. Maybe the next one wouldn’t hurt. It could even be a party. They could break out the booze and Sanji could get off his arthritic ass and cook – assuming it wasn’t his funeral.
Zoro hoped it would be his. And he hoped his nakama would all get stupidly drunk – well, maybe not Nami because she was just unnatural. None of them were as limber anymore, so Usopp wouldn’t be able to do the stupid chopstick dance, but they could all sing, or something.
Brook was still around, of course, the invincible dead guy. So there could be music at the next funeral, if they had the heart for it. But then, who knew what the time limit was on his Devil’s Fruit. And over the past few years he’d taken to...sleeping. A lot.
Maybe the next funeral wouldn’t have music.
It wasn’t...it wasn’t like they were racing each other to the grave or anything stupid. Or even waiting around uselessly to die. They lived. They had lives.
Nami had retired to her beloved Cocoyashi Island, writing books on navigation and weather patterns and maps – and making a medium-sized fortune doing it.
Sanji, disdaining aches and pains and the way his legs were giving up faster than the rest of his body, still sailed around on his little restaurant boat, learning new recipes and teaching them to every sorry sap who dreamed of feeding people.
Zoro had opened a dojo. Zoro had students. He taught sword fighting. Taught! And who’s fucked up idea had that been anyways?!
He wasn’t a hundred percent sure what Usopp did, but it involved a lot of sailing around and having adventures and, Zoro strongly suspected, turning that long-practiced tongue to tales about the Pirate King. Keeping Luffy’s memory alive as best he could. As only Usopp could.
Or maybe he’d retired from that since the last time they saw each other, what the hell did he know.
Somewhere along the line, at some point in this godsforsaken aging business, Zoro had stopped being the greatest swordsman in the world – because he was too fucking old to lift shit ten times his weight – and become a goddamn legend.
Roronoa Zoro. First Mate of Strawhat Luffy, the Pirate King. Greatest Swordsman in the world. Isn’t he dead?
And yeah, he’d promised Kuina his name would resound to the heavens but weren’t people supposed to wait until after you’d died before they turned you into a myth?
Then again, nothing Luffy had ever touched – in life or after it – turned out the way it was "supposed" to.
~~
Maybe after this my brain will be satisfied and I can go back to fluff and happiness! ^^ *crosses fingers*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 10:10 pm (UTC)Seriously - what is wrong with me o_O
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 10:12 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it. And that it hopefully didn't break your heart. :S
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 11:08 pm (UTC)Chopper's death was the one that made me cry ^^; That was mean, making him die of old age before everybody else even got old. ;_;
And I was awful to Franky. Poor Franky.
want to beta it?
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 11:21 pm (UTC)Wha? Meee, really? o_o I'd be happy to~
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 11:29 pm (UTC)Sooo cute!!
Oh, right, of course he's immortal! Silly me for forgetting!
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 07:31 pm (UTC)I was faring well through the story until "...Zoro strongly suspected, turning that long-practiced tongue to tales about the Pirate King. Keeping Luffy’s memory alive as best he could – as only Usopp could."
That made me a bit misty eyed.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 10:15 pm (UTC)Oh Usopp &hearts Of all of them I could see him adventuring the longest. And who better to spread the legend of Strawhat Luffy, Pirate King, than Usopp, greatest teller of tales?
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 10:17 pm (UTC)Isn't that the worst kind! ;_;
The saddest part for me is that scattered SHs. How each of them had to leave because, like the Jolly Rogers, their captain was the heart and soul of their crew and it just wouldn't be right to go on without him. ;_;
That was bad of me, separating them like that, but yeah, Luffy's crew. :(
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 10:15 pm (UTC)I'd always thought though, that Zoro would go out as soon as someone successfully took his title or at least fighting but I guess its always possible he'd outlive them all (cause life's funny that way)
...10 years isn't that much right? when you're just 17? right?
(then again Gear 2nd isn't helping)Luffy was happy til the end which is a lot better than most.Love how they never let grief beat them but lived. They
ll see each other again in the next life :)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-04 11:04 pm (UTC)You'd think so, wouldn't you. I don't know - the image just came to me of, how would Zoro handle getting old? o_O
Not so well, apparently ^^;
...10 years isn't that much right? when you're just 17? right? (then again Gear 2nd isn't helping) Luffy was happy til the end which is a lot better than most.
Gear Second is not helping, but I figure he makes it to nearly 50? If he lives longer than Roger did (and Roger would have been around his mid-forties when he died). But for Zoro who's in his, 80's now maybe? That would have been young. (I deliberately didn't put any dates/years/time in the fic so it could be however anyone interpreted it ^^;)
They'll see each other again in the next life :)
^^
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 10:56 am (UTC)Its Luffy and his indomitable will to live...I'd say midfifties maaaaybe even 60 if he stops with all the near death experiences...^^; though even if he lives to just 50 his reign would have been a lot longer than Roger's I'm guessing since Gol probably set out in his 20's (and who knows how long it took him to become King...Luffy's likely to do it in a year)
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 03:22 am (UTC)baka.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 03:35 am (UTC)Go read
Unlike the evil that lurks in my brain. @_@
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 04:20 am (UTC)This totally broke every gear in my heart. So sad. Each and everyone of them. Why?
WAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Odacchi!!!!!!!!! Please don't make them old! Please don't let them die!!!!!!!!!!!! That would make my heart stop functioning completely. T.T
I need something happy to read! Right now!
Even if this story did break my heart. This is still love~~
Nakama~~ Forever...
And I wanna make happy!Strawhats fanart!! To shoo these tears away!
*hugs you*
Date: 2009-09-05 04:25 am (UTC)I didn't mean to write horrible evil depressing fic of DOOM!
Go read "Brother of the Year" on my journal! It is chock full of fluff and happy!
Odacchi!!!!!! Please don't make them old!
It's okay - Luffy turns 17 every year remember? He's like Peter Pan - he'll never get old!
And I wanna make happy!Strawhats fanart!!
YES! DO! Ace & Luffy hug, Ace & Luffy hug, Ace & Luffy hug *subliminal message*
no subject
Date: 2009-09-05 11:38 pm (UTC)And if this is how Oda finishes his story I don't think there will be enough tears IN THE WORLD to cry.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 07:05 am (UTC)Wow, I think we share a brain ^^ that's what I tried to convey here a bit, the idea that no, Brook isn't actually immortal and he's going to run out of steam one of these days.
Franky breaking down is something I was totally not prepared for
Sorry *hugs you* - if it helps, I wasn't prepared for it either? My brain just went: Zoro is old and Luffy died youngish - go. =_=
And if this is how Oda finishes his story I don't think there will be enough tears IN THE WORLD to cry.
...nobody dies in One Piece ^^
no subject
Date: 2009-09-06 02:14 am (UTC)WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?
So touching and moving and arrrrg I-I'm not crying dammit! *sniffle*
uuuuuuuuuu....
no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 07:12 am (UTC)Clearly my brain is evil.
I cried. I never cry - especially when writing!
*needs to write more fluff*