Chapter Text
Zoro never feared death. That is - never his own, at least. He knew if his time would come, he wouldn’t be afraid to go, he just knew he wouldn’t die before his dream was achieved. Until then he had to keep fighting, keep getting stronger and keep protecting those that mattered the most.
Zoro never feared death, but it was always the possibility of the others around him being taken without his say so that terrified him. With him failing to protect them. Without him being there for when they needed help.
He beat King. He wanted to rest, but seeing a skeleton materialize in front of his eyes, wrapped in long black cloak and carrying a giant scythe that moved all too quickly with blade that reflected the moonlight, the sight of it sent chills down his spine.
His body couldn’t move and for a split of a second he thought it was there for him, it would explain why he felt so much pain and fatigue. (There was a time when he felt similar pain, and maybe even more than this, but this pain was his own, hard won but incapacitating.) Maybe the death was there for him afterall, but he wouldn't go without a fight.
Then a different thought crossed his mind. Looking from his swords laying beside him, and to where King fell into the depts under the moving island, he had a thought that Death might be making rounds for more people around Onigashima, and he felt all too alive to give up everything now. Why would it stopped before King of Hell?
He let his haki flow and he searched for a person that he would recognize miles across by now, by the sound of his laughter or by the way his flip flops struck the ground when he run, chasing his dream, of the way his energy liked to tangle and spiral around his own when they napped together on the Sunny.
He didn't learn to hear for it until recently, until their first reunion in the Land of Wano, but only thanks to that feeling in his mind - his heart - he knew that no matter what happened after they’ve been separated again, that Luffy was still breathing, still fighting.
Until now.
It hit him like a lighting bolt when he realized he couldn't hear Luffy's voice. His veins filled with dread when all he found was silence and stillness. It wasn’t right. He was just hearing his heartbeat a minute ago. It couldn’t be--
Zoro eyed the Grim Reaper standing above him, that looked as if it was deciding to go and leaving Zoro alive, lying on the dusty broken ground, or taking him along as another soul for the collection.
Before Zoro could comprehend what it meant, he wanted to reach out but his body couldn’t move. So instead he pleaded again.
“Not yet, not him! Take me instead.”
It seems it’s not your time.
"It’s not his time either! Haven't you been watching?"
He is not entirely what you know of him.
“He's Luffy and that's enough for me. Now get lost for good! Don’t even think about touching him!”
We will see who wins this fight.
And with that the space in front of him was suddenly empty, and Zoro could only hope the Grim Reaper listened to him.
He was quickly losing consciousness, the beating his body took earlier was taking its toll on him now, the blood around him was dripping from new wounds and cuts, but nothing pained him more than the thought of losing his captain.
Darkness overtook him then, and he would think he was dead - that the Grim Reaper decided on taking him after all, and he would go willingly if it meant saving Luffy. But then he heard a voice calling his name from what felt like every far away, soon after there was a tight grip on his body as Franky was yelling from above, holding him securely in his hand before he could plummet into the void beneath him.
Franky. His crew came for him. He still had a chance to go to Luffy. He still needed to watch him beat Kaido - to see the glimpse of him laughing in triumph and being closer to becoming the Pirate King. His king.
Before his mind slipped into a full unconscious state, he heard something new - a heartbeat.
It had a strange rhythm, but it was full of familiarity. It was wild and it was full of joy. Luffy. Then, Luffy's voice slowly reappeared at the back of his mind, just like the constant compass he was missing, and Zoro knew he did his part, the rest was up to his crew, and up to Luffy to finish Kaido.
He passed out, finding a welcoming peace drumming with a new heartbeat within it.