Warning! Even if this story is mostly centered on the heroes' journey, it will occasionally mention yaoi (male x male relationship) in later chapters, possibly with a few mature scenes. You've been warned. Don't like, don't read and please don't flame.

Disclaimer: characters from One Piece and all other references belong to their respective creators.

Author's notes can be found at the bottom.

Tarbes, modest mountain town and home of Roronoa Zoro…

The nineteen years old man was an average first year student, easily annoyed by his classes at the local university. It wasn't rare for him to even sleep through some of them, teachers having long learned that waking up a grumpy Zoro was a terrible mistake. He wasn't planning on preparing a common job anyway. Swordsmanship was his life and he fully intended to make a living from it.

Back when he was seven, kids from his orphanage had been invited to a charity event where they could practice various sports with some celebrities. Somehow, his natural talent when handling swords caught the eye of the world champion who then offered to support him so he could attend the best dojo in the country. Three months later, he was moving in Tarbes, meeting master Koshiro and suffering his first defeat against Kuina, his daughter.

Twelve years later, the reckless green-haired kid had grown into a great fighter and an attractive muscular young man. Daily training had greatly improved his skills, allowing him to become the seventh best swordsman in the world despite his young age. He and Kuina had become both best friends and rivals, spending much time together while competing to become number one before the other. She was currently number six and Zoro had yet to defeat her since their first duel.

Her dragging him to school was the main reason why he still attended it. She frequently threatened to give him hell if he didn't comply and he knew better than to get on her bad side. People who barely knew them often compared them respectively to a demon and an angel. The few who had the privilege to witness a pissed off Kuina knew she could make the Devil himself cower in fear.

Over time, Saturdays had become a real tradition for the two of them. They would spend all morning at the dojo, training together then sparring until one was too exhausted to keep up. Then they'd rest a bit while having lunch, Kuina's home being simply located on the second floor, above the training grounds. The rest of the day would usually be spent relaxing, which could vary from lazy cloud-gazing naps to crazy activities in town with some of their friends.

Today should have been no exception, so when Zoro woke up lying on the floor of his small student flat with his watch reading 2:38 PM, saying he was surprised was quite the euphemism. His head was killing him but he forced himself to focus on what he could recollect from his blurry memory.

He could remember jumping out of bed, cursing whatever wicked sadist had imagined such unbearable wake-up ring-tone and made sure it could not be changed. Why the hell did his much smoother alarm clock set ten minutes earlier have to shut down so often?

After an invigorating shower, the greenhead had quickly gotten dressed, putting on a white shirt with his trademark black bandanna tied around his left arm, some black trousers and his usual black rangers. He had always preferred simple light clothing and never wore any jewelry aside from the three identical golden earrings on his left earlobe.

Having a simple breakfast all the while, he had also prepared his small backpack, putting in two bottles of water and his black sleeveless training gi along with some spare clothes in case he slept over. He had finished by fastening his two swords on top of the bag. Last thing he could remember was searching for his keys before leaving. There was only darkness after that.

To his surprise, aside from his fading headache, he felt perfectly fine. He was wondering what might have caused him to faint when his phone intrigued him. He had been out for nearly six hours, yet there was no call, no message, not even a text from Kuina. She knew he wouldn't be this late unless something was wrong and she'd have come to check on him, even if it meant busting through the front door.

His concern about himself switched to his best friend. Failing to reach her by phone didn't make it any better. Network, Internet, power… everything was down. It wasn't just him anymore; something bad was going on for sure and there was only one way to find out. Faster than ever, he picked all his stuff up and left his small flat.

Zoro wasn't one to be easily nervous but even he couldn't ignore the creepy atmosphere emanating from the residence. Not a single student in the corridors, no sounds or music coming from the other rooms. The ordinarily lively place was literally devoid of life. What worried him most though was the oppressive silence coming not from inside but from the outside. Apprehension was getting to him as he rushed down the four staircases leading to the entrance.

What he found out on the street outmatched everything he had imagined. Countless people were lying face down on the pavement, showing no sign of breathing. Numerous cars had either bumped into others or simply crashed into walls or various urban equipments; some were even on fire. Most drivers were still on their seat, apparently in the same condition as those on the ground. Others had been thrown out of their vehicle while the most unfortunate ones were burning inside it. At least two buildings were also being prey to the flames but trails of thick black smoke tainting the cloudless cerulean sky hinted that there were others around town.

Close to the door he had just come out of, the greenhead recognized Johnny and Yosaku, some of the very few people he had befriended over the years. Crouching down, urging them to open their eyes, he checked their pulse only to understand they'd never wake up. Surprisingly though, they were lacking the usual cadaveric rigidity, like they weren't really dead. After examining a few more bodies without any better result, he shouted for help but soon gave up. It didn't look like there was any other survivor, at least not in the vicinity.

Fighting off the fear and desperation rising inside him, he hurried in the dojo's direction, the same scene of unexplained death repeating itself at every corner. Corpses of dogs and pigeons here and there seemed to indicate that animals had shared the same fate. He kept yelling from time to time but no one ever answered him.

Running through the desolated streets of Tarbes, he tried searching for a radio broadcast on his mp3 player but no matter the frequency, all he could hear was silence or static. At best, the local radio relays weren't working anymore. At worst, things were as bad in other towns as they were here…

Minutes later, his destination finally came into view and he was relieved to see that the traditional wooden building wasn't engulfed in flames. Sprinting through the front courtyard, he stopped abruptly at the main entrance door. His extended hand so eager to open the door the previous second was now frozen by hesitation. As much as he wanted to check on his best friend, he was afraid of finding only her lifeless body. He was but the only living person among the dozens of dead people he had come across. Statistically, he knew he'd better to prepare for the worst.

Gathering up enough courage, Zoro slid the door open. The large training room was empty and awfully quiet. He wasn't surprised not to find anyone here. If everything happened at the same time he had fallen unconscious then Kuina and master Koshiro were probably still upstairs. Dropping his bag on the floor, he headed up the stairs, calling their names though not really expecting an answer. When his eyes arrived at ground level, his heart skipped a beat.

Kuina was sprawled on the floor near the top of the stairs. Judging from her sword Wado Ichimonji lying close to her hand and from the white training gi she was wearing, she was certainly about to go down and start her warm-up. She had that peaceful face he'd admired many times while watching her sleep. However, like all those people on the streets, she showed no sign of breathing. Crouching at her side, the greenhead carefully set his hand on her neck and waited for the verdict he feared so much.

No pulse.

At first, he didn't move, hoping in vain to detect any feeble trace of life. Then tears were welling up in his eyes. All the emotions he'd fought so hard to ignore on his way here were finally catching up. Holding her body in his shivering arms, his head buried in the crook of her neck, he cried.

For the first time in his life, he let his tears flow freely. He was just a baby when his parents had died in a car crash; Kuina was the first loss he was truly experiencing. Sorrow and anger were building up in his mind like never before, fueled by the frustrating lack of answer to all the questions tormenting him. What exactly happened today? Why did he survive? And why was he the only one? What about…

Thoughts of his master suddenly hit him. Getting a hold of himself, Zoro laid his best friend back on the floor and stepped further into the house. He found the old man in the living room, lying on the floor near the door leading to the corridor where he had found Kuina. This time he didn't even bother himself with verifications. Sliding down the door, eyes going back and forth between both bodies, he gave in to grief once again. For long minutes, he remained there to cry, sitting on the ground, knees pulled to his chest, arms crossed over them with his head down and eyes closed.

Since his solitary childhood among the orphanage kids, he considered himself a natural loner. The frequent lack of company had never bothered him and as much as he cared for the few friends he'd made over the last several years, he'd always thought he'd be perfectly fine even without them around. Only now was he realizing how wrong he'd been. Part of him prayed for it all to be a horrible dream from which he'd soon wake up but deep down, he knew it was foolish. They were gone; nothing would ever bring them back…

"Zoro?"

Jerking his head up at the unexpected voice, he wondered for a brief second if madness hadn't overcome him. His best friend was leaning on her right elbow looking at him, bringing her left hand to her forehead as she groaned in pain. It was impossible… and yet definitely real.

"Kuina!" he shouted, rushing to her side. "You're alive! But how…" She sent him an annoyed look as he helped her getting on her feet.

"Of course I'm alive! Do I look like a fuckin' zombie?" Venomous retorts were too unlike her not to be taken aback by her answer. Even when she lost her temper, she never relied on those. Plus, her demonic frenzy was generally a result of exasperation, never genuine animosity. However, someone cut in before he could reply anything.

"Watch your tongue, young girl!" His master had also come to and was facing them, glaring daggers at his daughter. Haughty authoritative eyes contrasted so much with the kindness which usually radiated from them. "Never forget your place. As a woman, you are to show respect to men," he added with a firm tone.

"Shut up, Father! Being a girl doesn't make me inferior to men, especially not to an old geezer like you!"

The greenhead was shocked. He'd known the two of them for years yet he felt like they were complete strangers. They had always disagreed about male dominance in swordsmanship but this went far beyond their traditional argument. Despite their difference of opinion on this recurrent topic, they loved and respected each other. Insults, sexist remarks, threats… It was nothing like them.

"Silence, brat!" his master said, walking to his daughter and backslapping her rather violently on her right cheek. "Don't you dare talk back to me like this ever again! Get to your room and don't come out until I allow you to. Be glad I'm not in the mood for a real punishment!"

His voice was cold, devoid of all the affection he'd always shown for her. The way he was looking down on her, like she was nothing but shit disgusted Zoro to no end but he was too stunned to move. He couldn't even think straight, his brain too busy trying to understand what was going on.

Anger and pride were shining in Kuina's dark brown eyes like they always did during their arguments. While he expected her not to back down and face her father, he was surprised to see her lower her head and walk a few slow steps towards the corridor. However, she stopped not far behind her father and turned around, facing his back before calling for the older man. It was just a whisper but still loud enough for both men to hear.

His master turned around to face her, waiting patiently for her to say whatever she wanted to, his expression not softening in the least. His stoicism was the complete opposite to his daughter's nervousness. Her head was still bent down; her breathing was getting louder and uneven; her arms were trembling. Her right hand was tightly fisted while her left one was clutching so hard on her katana's sheath that her fingers were turning white.

Her eyes rose to meet her elder's gaze and while not directed at him, they gave Zoro a very bad feeling. Her previous emotions no longer filled them, replaced only by one terrifying desire.

Murder.

"Fuck you!" his best friend yelled, her free hand suddenly reaching for her weapon, aiming straight for the neck. Koshiro was too surprised to react, his expression turning into a mix of fear and bewilderment as the blade got closer to him. Flesh and bones were no match against the sharpness of the blade added to rage-induced strength. A second later, body and head were two separate parts, the first falling backwards on the floor while the other flew over the inner balcony down to the training room.

Zoro had automatically stepped back, his eyes widening at the bloody show in front of him. He was doing his best not to look at his master's headless corpse and remain focused on Kuina who hadn't moved an inch since her attack. She just stood there, looking down at her victim as drops of crimson blood dripped from Wado Ichimonji which she had yet to put back in its sheath.

He couldn't decide what to do. Leaving was impossible without getting closer to her. Until now, he trusted her to the point he'd have let her put her blade right by his throat without any second thought. Now, she just scared him. If she could kill her own father without hesitation then she could easily attack him as well and if she did, he was defenseless. Oh, why the fuck did he leave his own weapons by the door?

Before he did anything though, Kuina raised her head and turned towards him, meeting his fearful gaze. There was no remorse to be seen in her dark brown orbs. No guilt, no shame, no sadness… Nothing but pure amusement and contentment. If anything, she seemed all the more satisfied with what she had just done, like a cold-blooded murderer in all her splendor. "What's wrong Zoro? You scared?" she asked, tilting her head on the side with a wide smirk.

Finally snapping out of it, Zoro took time to think his answer beforehand, something he couldn't recall ever doing before. "You just killed your father out of the blue, of course I'm scared." he replied, making sure not to sound aggressive. The last thing he wanted was to get her angry. Too bad the way she narrowed her eyes at his answer didn't reassure him.

"So what if I killed him? All he ever did was treating me like shit. At least now he won't look down on women anymore!" She quickly glared at the beheaded body at her feet before getting back on Zoro. "You're not saying I should have let him hurt me and thank him for it, are you?" she added with an alarming accusatory tone.

"Of course he had no right to abuse you but he didn't deserve to die just because of it, especially not in such a way," he answered defensively, cursing himself for not thinking this one through. She didn't react at first, letting an oppressive silence settle between the two of them. The way she lowered her head a bit with a sad smile on her face was a very bad omen. What scared him the most was the glint of madness shining in her eyes.

"You're supporting him? I thought you were better than other men..." she said, looking at him in a disappointed way. Her tone was changing from accusatory to what seemed like a weird mix of pain, sorrow and resignation. Altogether it sounded awfully close to insanity.

"I'm not…" he tried to answer but she didn't even let him finish his sentence.

"Aren't you my friend, Zoro? I thought you liked me!" She stepped forward while saying that, which only served to make the greenhead even more nervous as his own back quickly hit the wall.

"Kuina, I…" Once again, she didn't wait for him to answer.

"Don't you like me, Zoro?" Yet another step forward.

Zoro didn't even try to answer, he was on full alert. Kuina was now close enough for her blade to reach him and the way her hands were trembling reminded him horribly of the last moments preceding his master's death.

"DON'T YOU LIKE ME?"

As he feared, the loud cry was accompanied by a slash aimed at his head which he successfully avoided by leaping to his right side. His mind was desperately urging him to flee but part of him couldn't resign itself to leaving her behind, at least not without trying to get some sense back into her. She'd been his best friend for years, she deserved that he at least tried to save her from this madness. But first, he had to disarm her.

Taking a few steps back, he watched her carefully, looking for an opening. In normal times, those were extremely rare. While he had the upper hand when it came to strength and endurance, it was barely enough to resist her impressive skill and speed. Right now however, she wasn't exactly herself. Her first attack had been slower than usual and her overall moves were nonchalant. More importantly, she was barely holding her sword with only one hand, something she never did during a fight. Hell, her guard wasn't even up!

"Why did you lie to me?" Kuina said softly as she was approaching him. She suddenly dashed, bringing her sword up for a descending strike which Zoro dodged to his left. Instead of running away as her hand was getting ready to come back up, he blocked it with his right hand and charged his whole body into her, effectively forcing her to drop her weapon as she stumbled backwards. She was struggling to get her balance back when her feet unexpectedly hit her father corpse, sending her falling towards the stairs.

When Zoro noticed them, it was too late to catch her. "KUINA!" he shouted once more, rushing after her as pained yells came to his ears. She was still rolling down when her voice fell abruptly silent, freezing the greenhead on the spot at the top the stairs as a simple question tortured him. Was she simply knocked out… or worse? The day had been so extremely shitty until now, he was afraid he already knew the answer. When he finally dared look down at her, tears welled up in his eyes again as his fears were confirmed.

Her body was sprawled on the lower floor and though lying down motionless didn't necessarily imply death, the lack of breathing was always bad news. Drops of blood were slowly dripping from the back of her skull. Far worse was the way the unnatural way in which her neck was twisted. Plus her face wasn't wearing the peaceful expression usually worn by unconscious people. Instead it was distorted in a mix of pain and fear that was so alien to her. What shocked Zoro most was her open eyes. Devoid of all feelings. Empty. Dead…

Because of him…

For the second time that day, Zoro let himself drop to the ground, taking time to deal with all the feelings flooding his mind. Sorrow was back and it had brought terrible acolytes: guilt and incomprehension. They weren't just dead out of some unexplained event anymore. He had seen them turn into hateful people getting at each other's throat. He had witnessed his master being beheaded by Kuina right in front of him. And to top it all off, he had killed her. Even if he hadn't meant to, even if she was trying to murder him back then, it didn't change that one simple fact: he had pushed her to her death.

Along with the emotional storm came the craziest of mystery. How could all this happen? He wasn't crazy; they were dead the first time he checked them. Resurrection was impossible so how the hell did they just come back to life? He won't deny it had made him happy at first, until their newfound hostility showed up. Now, he wished they'd never returned at all.

As a sudden realization hit him, he started noticing the sounds coming from the outside. What about all those people on the streets? Were they back too? Were they also… different?

Standing up, Zoro went to look out the nearby window but what he saw made just as much sense as all that had happened until now. All those in his sight were up and alive, the only exception being a severely wounded driver that had apparently bled to the death after being ejected from his car. However, their behavior was extremely confusing.

Two women and a man were fist-fighting pretty violently. A beefy guy was screwing a smaller one against a wall, the latter looking like it might not be consensual. Another man was running around the place, shouting crazy stuff about ducks spying everyone from the shadows. Yet another man was … wait, what the fuck? The driver had just gotten up and was walking towards the fighting trio in a weird and very slow way. Something was wrong though. Unlike all the others, his eyes still looked… dead.

Getting close to the group that wasn't paying any attention to him, he grabbed the woman closer to him from behind and bit her harshly, earning a painful scream from his victim and cries of terror from the others. The way he tore the flesh of her neck from the rest of her body, letting a river of crimson blood flow freely while he ate his mouthful before going for a second was sickening. People around them just watched as more bites succeeded to others, petrified by the horror of the scene.

When the girl finally died from her wounds, her killer let her body drop on floor then crouched above her to continue his meal. Only then did someone react, kicking him away from his poor victim before he could do any more damage to her body. When the driver stood up, the man prepared himself for a fight but did not expect an attack to come from behind. The partially eaten girl had grabbed his leg and was biting in it. She now had a look very similar to her own killer.

People around them started running away, leaving the man at the mercy of the two flesh-eaters. Though he did his best to resist despite his leg injury, they eventually got the better of him and devoured much of him before going after other targets. Seconds later, he stood up with those empty eyes and followed behind them, moving in the same slow way.

Zoro was shocked. The more he saw, the less sense the situation made. He felt like he was in one of those stupid movies Johnny and Yosaku liked so much, except it was neither a film nor a dream. The sounds of someone coming up the stairs took him out of his thoughts. He turned around only to face yet another nightmare.

Kuina was coming up the stairs, looking at him with that same evil face he'd seen on the cannibals in the street, though it seemed her very twisted neck made it hard for her to move correctly. She wasn't talking anymore; instead she just groaned randomly. Seeing his best friend come back to 'life' like that disgusted him even more than the insanity of her first return. Luckily, her slow pace gave him some time to brace himself and prepare himself for running away from her.

While she was coming up, he noticed she was surprisingly alone. Master Koshiro hadn't moved an inch, nor had he turned into some weird flesh-eater. And it wasn't hard to see what was his particularity compared to his daughter. It could be a mistake but that was worth a try.

As Kuina reached the top of the stairs, Zoro made a run for Wado Ichimonji, still lying on the floor only three steps in front of her. Easily evading her slow arms as he came dangerously close to her, he quickly grabbed the sword and turned around to face her before her next attack. When she tried to catch him again, he dodged to the side and, using all of his willpower, forced himself to slice her neck. As he hoped, her body fell limply to the ground while the groans stopped. His instinct had been right. He had killed her. Again…

Looking at her unmoving corpse, the greenhead reflected on the whole situation, or at least what he could try to guess of it. 'Dead' people were coming back to life, all pretty much insane though each in their own way. As for those who really died, they were turning into some sort of flesh-eating zombies unless you removed their heads.

'Great… Now what?' he thought. There could be others like him somewhere in town but was it worth looking for them? Between crazies and undead, moving around the streets would soon be a real nightmare. Plus he had no idea where to search. Hell, he didn't even know if there was someone to find to begin with.

Another option was staying here and barricade himself until things calmed down but then again was it really safe? The dojo wasn't designed to be a fortress. The traditional walls could easily be torn down and reinforcing them all by himself would be long, if he even had the materials for that. He could also isolate himself on the upper floor and destroy the stairs but he'd still have to go out for supplies eventually. Could he last until things calmed down? If they ever calmed down that is…

He could also leave town and try to reach a safer place, although he had no idea what he'd find. Was Tarbes an isolated case or were the same strange events happening all over the country, if not more? He'd have to make good use of what the wilds had to offer and use his own supplies only when necessary. As for danger, as long as he avoided crowded zones, he could defend himself against a few zombies or crazies. Yes, as long as he was prudent, traveling through the wilderness seemed like the best option.

There was no going back to his flat however, meaning he had to make preparations with what he could find in the dojo. Thus, he spent the next hour searching through every single room for potentially useful items. Each time, he'd bring what he found in the living room on the second floor, making sure to constantly remain silent and discreet so no one, whether alive or undead, would notice him from the outside. Once the whole place had been thoroughly cleared, he sorted everything he'd gathered one last time before placing what he decided to keep in a large dark green traveling rucksack taken from the house.

Water. Fresh food in an isotherm bag for the first few days, cans for later. Matches. A flashlight with a few spare batteries. Painkillers and a first-aid kit. A thin blanket for the nights as well as a small towel in case he had the opportunity to wash himself. The spare clothes he'd brought from home plus a few pieces from his master's wardrobe. A pair of sharpening stones. His wallet and cell phone, in case nothing was going on in other towns. He also took his and Kuina's swords, fastening them at his waist so he could easily grab them even while traveling.

With everything packed, there was only one last thing to do before he could allow himself to leave. After making sure no one was there, he opened the door to the backyard and gathered some chimney wood on the traditional wooden fighting ring located there. Then, protecting himself with a thick blanket, he picked up the bodies and heads of his master and best friend and gathered them on the ring. Lacking properly flammable material, he spread rum over it then threw a lit match. It wasn't the best but a makeshift pyre was better than letting them rot.

As the fire was growing, slowly consuming the remains of those he cared for, Zoro picked up all his stuff and left, heading for the hills behind the dojo. He didn't know the surroundings so much but he knew there was a road to the east, linking the cities of Stillwater and Buffalo Falls. Though there was no clear path, as long as he didn't stray much from this direction, he should eventually come across it. Then all he'd have to do was follow it to either town. Hopefully, things would be better in there.

If not, then it was just the beginning of a very long trip…

Author's notes:

Keep in mind that the events are supposed to take place in a France-like country, meaning firearms aren't for sale and are prohibited for most people. This is also why I mention Zoro as a "first-year student" instead of a "freshman".

The name of the fic is a reference to the game "Advance Wars: Days of Ruin" (not the best in the series, i know...). The title for this chapter is also a reference to a music from the same game.

Tarbes is a reference to a French city where are trained some of the most promising saber-fencers of the country. Stillwater and Buffalo Falls are respectively references to the games 'Saints Row' and 'Gangsters 2'.

Thank you for reading, even more for reviewing. Don't hesitate to point any mistake, inconsistency or anything. Useful criticism is always welcome, especially for a beginner like me.