onepieceyaoi100 | [Fic] He Came When the Cherry Blossoms Bloomed

Title: He Came When the Cherry Blossoms Bloomed
Words: 300 (though received terrible cuts, again TT_TT)
Pairing: none (so what's it doing here? *sigh*)
Rating: G
Topic: Family

The small village barely changed, except for the season; it had been summer when he had left, and now it was early spring. It also seemed smaller than he recalled. No wonder, after having seen so many parts of the world: vast deserts, wealthy cities built on clouds and underwater kingdoms. And he had grown, too...

His heavy boots trod the ground slowly as he took in the sight of old and familiar mixed with new, and a pleasant warmth started to fill his chest. He didn't even pay attention where he was going. It was like his feet had taken him all on their own, and the next thing he beheld was the antique building of the dojo. He just stood there for some minutes, hesitant. It has really been long...

Heaving a deep sigh, he began walking along the narrow pathway leading to the outdoor training grounds. The young kendo students noticed his nearing steps, and stopped their practice to stare at him, alarmed.

“What's the matter?” A firm voice called, and soon the clacking of wooden sandals on the polished terrace could be heard as the head of the dojo came to see what disturbed the training.

He had to lean more onto his walking-stick now, and his long hair was a wispy gray, but his face had barely changed. The surprise was obvious in his gaze as he regarded him through his spectacles.

“Zoro?” His voice was shaking just barely.

“Sensei...” The green haired man replied with a soft smile, bowing respectfully. “I'm back.”

The sandaled feet took a few deliberate steps towards him, until the elderly man's thin, yet strong arms wrapped around him. Embracing him like a father would greet his son, who after a long-long time, finally came home.

A/N: Okay, this image has been in my head for a very long time now. Don't ask me why, maybe I just like Zoro's sensei too much, or something... xD And it just popped into my head when I saw the topic for the week, and it refused to leave, so this just HAD to be. I know, I suck. I'm terribly sorry... *bow* Oh, and, just like it's always the case if I write drabbles, this one was originally 400-ish, so it had to be butchered. *sniff* Longer ver. is over on my ff.net, if someone's interested...