Chapter 20 – The Sword that Can't Cut Through Anything

"Listen, Zoro. In this world, there are swordsmen who can't cut through anything, yet with the same sword, can cut through metal."

Quiet.

His heartbeat, too loud.

Breathing.

There was life in everything. Breath, in everything. His opponent. His swords. The falling rocks. The trees. The land.

And that presence, standing at the side watching him.

It was a strange presence. Different from Daz Bones', different from the presence of all living beings.

But at the same time, it was familiar. Familiar in a way nothing else around him was, except for Wado Ichimonji in his hand.

Breath.

In and out.

That familiar pattern, with its calm and quietly confident rhythm, free from the hitch that had interrupted it as doubts plagued her. So unlike the eerie silence of her unmoving body.

It was the calm that he associated with the firm steady grip of slim fingers on a wooden hilt; sure hits that parried his immature slashes again and again and again. The back that he had chased after, endlessly, endlessly.

In and out.

He matched that breath and felt his focus sharpen. The whispering of the land quietened into the background – still there but no longer clamouring for attention.

Zoro took a deep breath, and that presence breathed in sync.

In and out.

The familiar texture of Wado Ichimonji's hilt under his palm, the sword's breath like tinkling bells.

In and out.

His opponent, entwined with the weighty breath of metal.

In and out.

Her.

He took a step forward, and cut.

In the moments before he lost consciousness, he sensed that presence come close, almost felt a phantom touch across his brow.

He smiled, sharp and soft all at once; exhilaration filled every cell in his body but at the same time his heart was steadier than it had even been.

So you've been there, all this time.