Chapter Text
Zoro pushed the wire into the keyhole, huffing in frustration when it took him several tries until the lock finally clicked open. Stupid old thing. Still, he was grateful for the fact that no one had decided to replace it yet.
The 14-year-old slipped into the building, flinching a little when the harsh lights turned on by themselves. They were far too bright and white, but he hadn’t figured out how to change them yet. He was sure there was a remote around somewhere, but it might be in one of the locked rooms and he didn’t want to risk getting caught.
Zoro rolled his shoulders, hissing when the movement irritated a fresh bruise on his back. That hit with the rock had fucking hurt. At least it didn’t break the skin. A scar would have been far too embarrassing.
As always he went for some stretching and warm-ups first before picking up some of the weights. Now that he was getting older his strength was increasing a lot, making him smile to himself in pride.
After finishing all his sets, he finally allowed himself to pull the white sword from his duffle bag. As always, the most confusing mixture of love, shame and rage flooded through him. He quickly focused on the latter, pushing the other useless stuff down.
First, he went through some simple routines, eyes closed, completely lost in the movement.
‘Shoulders square, don’t just slouch around!’, a voice in his head reminded him harshly.
He straightened up, gripping his sword more tightly.
‘Chin up!’
Zoro lifted his head and turned to the side.
‘Hand position! How many times do I have to remind you!’
He could barely stop himself from apologizing to the empty room.
‘If you can’t do it right, then just-’
“You got good form.”
Zoro’s eyes flew open, immediately stinging from the bright light.
“But you are far too tense. You look like a scared rabbit, shaking out of his own skin. You need to feel the movement, not just go through the motions.”
The teen stared at the tall man in horror, slowly lifting his sword higher. The guy had dark hair, a neatly trimmed and shaped beard and the most unsettling golden eyes.
“What are you going to do, fight me?”, the man chuckled darkly. “Alright then, little rabbit.”
The man reached for the necklace hanging from his neck, suddenly revealing a blade. Zoro almost had to laugh. The thing was tiny. It looked like escaping wouldn’t be too hard after all.
He lunged towards the tall man. One swipe of his sword, one twist, a block and- Zoro was on his back, the man’s knee pressing down on his chest, cool metal against his throat, his wrist twisted to a painful degree. He took a breath, surprised when the pressure on his chest eased up. Instead, the guy tightened his grip on Zoro’s wrist.
“Let go.”
“Never,” Zoro panted, gripping his sword tightly. “You’ll have to kill me first.”
Once more the man surprised him, removing the knife from his throat and letting go of his wrist, in order to rip the sword out of his grasp.
“No!”, Zoro gasped, now actually terrified of the looming figure.
“Please,” the man chuckled at the teen. “You really think I’d cut a child’s throat over something like this? I hate scrubbing floors, I’d never cause such a mess.”
“Give it back!”, Zoro shouted, trying to leap towards his blade. “That is mine!”
The man raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. “Oh? So now you care about ownership? You didn’t seem to care about that an hour ago when you broke into my dojo.”
Zoro tensed, pushing down the wave of shame rushing over him. “I-I never took anything.”
“I know. Three weeks, and not a single thing missing. Not even the time I left the money on the counter.”
What. The. Fuck.
“If you knew, why haven’t you stopped me?”, Zoro asked, pushing himself back to his feet.
“I wanted to see what you can do,” the man answered, beginning to circle the teen slowly.
Zoro didn’t answer, simply staring straight ahead, forcing himself not to turn with the guy.
“As I said, you have good form. Impressive stamina. Your strength is growing quickly. Not enough feeling though, the way you grip your sword makes it seem as if you are trying to break the poor thing.”
“I’d never!”, Zoro spat.
“Hm,” the man hummed, now directly behind Zoro. The hair on the teenager’s neck rose, but he didn’t dare turning around. If the guy thought he was unaffected, he might get bored and let him go, without drawing his blade again.
“It’s a good sword. Old. Where does a kid like you get a blade like that?”
“I. Don’t. Steal.” The words came out more hissy than he had intended. So much for getting out of this in one piece.
“I see.”
It was quiet for a while. The man had finished his little walk around Zoro and was now standing in front of him again. The teen felt like his golden eyes were burning holes into him. Suddenly he realized just how tired he was. Of sneaking. Of lying. Of fighting. Of staying awake all night. Of the constant fear of being caught. Of… everything. Everything he had to do all his life.
“If you do not wish to steal from me, why come here at night? Are you that reluctant to deal with other students? Not that I wouldn’t agree, but it is a skill a young man like you will have to learn.”
Zoro had to suppress the urge to kick the bastard in the knee. “Unless I start stealing,” he hissed out, “I won’t be able to pay your fees.”
The man hummed again, as if that thought hadn’t even occurred to him. Fucking bastard. Only now Zoro realized the way he was dressed. Tight dress pants, black leather shoes, a shiny red shirt, and that cross around his neck was probably real gold.
“Expensive sword, but no money for the dojo?”
That fucking asshole!
“I didn’t take-”
“Yeah, yeah, so you said,” the man cut him off. “Well then, what is your name?”
“None of your business.”
The man clicked his tongue. “Such a bad attitude. Has no one taught you to respect your sensei?”
Kicks to his stomach. A hand on his throat. A harsh voice yelling directly in his ear.
Zoro shook himself a little, realizing he had stood completely frozen for far too long.
“You- You are not my sensei,” he said, not sure if he was telling the man in front of him or himself.
“I could be. You have talent, boy. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.”
Boy.
Have I taught you nothing, boy?
Pick up your sword, boy!
You are not worth the food I waste on you, boy!
“Don’t fucking call me that!”, Zoro yelled, leaping to get to his sword again.
“Well, you have not given me a name-”, the man mustered the panting teenager for a second, “child,” he finished.
“Why would I give you one? So you can call the cops on me?”
The man rolled his eyes in the most exaggerated way, somehow managing to look even more arrogant. “Yes, because it would be sooooo difficult to find the b- child with green hair. Besides, I could alert the authorities right now and they would just take you away anyways.”
Yes, that was where all of this was heading, wasn’t it? Zoro would definitely end up in prison for this. Normally a kid wouldn’t be convicted, but no one had treated him as a child in a long time. His eyes flew to the door and the man clicked his tongue again.
“Running won’t get you far. I like to think I have made it more than clear that I can easily beat you in a fight, little rabbit. So, will you finally stop this little game of yours and tell me your name?”
His shoulders slumped down in defeat. “Zoro. Roronoa Zoro.”
He got an acknowledging hum, but no other answer.
“Sir?”
The man looked surprised at the teen’s sudden change in attitude. “Yes?”
“May- May I ask you for a favor?”
“You break into my dojo, yell at me, disrespect me, and yet you have the audacity to ask me for a favor?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, Roronoa Zoro. What could a child like you possibly ask of me?”
“Not a child,” Zoro whispered.
The man huffed and the teen shook his head.
“Not in the eyes of the law,” he explained. “I turned 14 last month. And… And I had some issues before. I’ll probably go to prison for this. So… Would you mind looking after my sword?”
“Your sword?”
“They’ll take it away. Force me to sell it to pay a lawyer or throw it in a damp basement and let it rust. You are the only person I could possibly trust with it.”
The man nodded in agreement. “A sword like this needs to be respected. I would probably honor your request, but-”
“Please, sir! I don’t have much, but- but-”
“Stop interrupting me,” the man cut him off, probably aware of the irony of his own actions. “Again, learn some respect for your sensei.”
“You are not my-”
“Yes, yes, so you said,” the man waved him off. “Let’s try not to go in circles here. As I said, I could train you. I want to see what you can do with some proper guidance.”
“You- You won’t call the police?”
“No,” the man affirmed. “Under the condition that you join the dojo.”
“I told you before,” Zoro gritted out. “I have no money.”
“Unimportant,” the man shrugged. “You said you had trouble with the law? That will no longer be permitted. You will come here after school, finish your homework and train. Understood?”
“Why would you do this for me?”
The man frowned. “As I said, you are talented. I may be able to beat you with both hands tied behind my back, but I have to admit, you are far above the other students in your age group. And a lot more dedicated. A few more gold medals would look nice in the dojo...”
“You won’t tell anyone?”
“Not as long as you stick to the rules.”
Should Zoro agree? Could this man truly be worse than prison? Well, Zoro knew that answer, but maybe he wasn’t as bad as his old sensei. Besides, this time Zoro could escape whenever he wanted, even if that meant going to jail.
“Fine,” he said.
“Don’t act like an ungrateful brat.”
Zoro sighed. “Thank you, Sensei.”
“Mihawk,” the man corrected. “You may call me Mihawk.”