Chapter Text
The delectable aroma of food and soothing jazz music wafted through the air, gently prompting him from his pleasant slumber. The sun beamed through the windows, and he awoke in a flurry of throw blankets and pillows hurtling in the air. Outside, the sun neared its peak. He scrambled for the clock on the coffee table; 1:10 in the afternoon, it read. He was seven hours late from the one-sided deal he negotiated with the host.
Events of the night prior flickered in his mind. Zoro turned to find his Marine companion gone from where she snored throughout the night. The grand foyer was precisely how it looked from his arrival last night, save for the sunlight spilling in and the hypnotic hum of the music.
Getting up, he followed the savoury scent of omelette and bacon, and approached the bar to find the source. Beside the plate of breakfast stood a tall glass of orange juice. He identified his folded clothes on the stool and hoped they’d at least dried from the heat.
“Your clothes are freshly washed and pressed,” said a voice overhead.
He throws his head up to see Mina, the host, like a bat hanging up-side-down, knees bent and legs hooked over a beam. She was working on some wiring through a small opened vent on a wall. Her hair was tied in a tight bun, and she wore a matching prim black turtle neck and slacks. Unusually, she was barefooted.
She added, “It’s ready for use, "Without looking away from her work. Have your breakfast first, and then you can have a shower.”
“Anything I can help you with?” Zoro offered. There must be something he could do to at least repay her generosity.
“Eat your food.” She arched her back to look down at him, “If you’re still around after five, I’m gonna have to start charging.” She then focuses back on her work.
“Alright.” He said under his breath and propped over a stool.
As he dined, he couldn’t ignore the bareness of eating alone. There was no sign of the Marine, and he was tempted to inquire about her whereabouts but decided to brush off the idea. Maybe she busied herself with some errands. Or still asleep somewhere within the vast lodge. Or maybe the mistake of spending a night with a pirate dawned on her, and she’s halfway across the world to avoid confronting the consequences of her errors and decided the night never happened. He wasn’t always this pessimistic. Regardless, he secretly hoped she'd sprout unexpectedly like she always did.
When he finished his meal, his host led him to a lavish room with glass corner walls overlooking a fantastic view of the winter forest, all rolling white hills as far as the eye could see. In the shower, his mind drifted off to the missing Marine again.
Where was she? What happened to her?
He secretly hoped the host would ask him what happened last night while she was away or partially give a hint about the whereabouts of the Marine; any sort of contingency he could use to start up a conversation about her. This led him to wonder if he had dreamt the encounter. The burdensome and relentless musings made him realize how distressing her sudden departure was.
He turned off the shower and shook his head vigorously, hoping the thoughts would blast off together with the water on his hair. He made it a mission to devote himself to hours of meditation when he got back on the Sunny. He loathed how foolish his behavior had mutated even in a mere course of a single night spent with the woman. How weak he still indeed was.
Outrage consumed his bitterness. Why should it matter if left? She didn’t owe him anything. She needed a company for the night, and he fit the bill. Then morning came, melting away the appeal of his presence. And so she departed. They weren’t friends. There was no need for any form of courtesy or manner of farewell.
The next time they meet, he will uphold his role of being a pirate and her being a Marine. They may continue with their dilapidated alliance or face each other again as enemies. And if that time comes, he will avenge his grievances of this day, for being abandoned.
Fully dressed, he retired from the room but came to an abrupt halt when he saw the Marine outside the room, sitting hunched on top of an arm of a couch. She leaped in response to his presence.
“G-Good afternoon,” She bowed slightly.
In a flash, all hints of his resentments were stripped off. Zoro’s frustrations vanished. His defenses crumbled like the last half hour of turmoil never occurred, and he was immediately overcome with an overbearing sense of lightness. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to root himself at the moment, and tried to feign indifference by sliding Kitetsu through its belt.
“Mina said you’re heading out. I can walk you back to the village,” She chimed, smiling up at him. “You ready to go?”
He nodded, restraining his hands in his pockets the same way he subdued the burning questions on his tongue in fear of overwhelming the person who was the frequent cause of his convoluted mess of emotions. He prayed he'd at least make it to the bottom of the stairs without blasting her with an excessive fire of questions.
“I didn’t wake you up,” She mumbled, attentively descending the stairs, “I figured you’d wake eventually, but afternoon came.”
He avoided her eyes the entire time and only produced a low hum in response to her small talk. He was still battling with his turbulent thoughts. How quickly they shed their skin and take a new form with only a simple smile. The wayward delight radiating through his body in response to being within her proximity again put him on edge. His emotions were growing rather inconvenient. Get a damn grip, he chastised himself, shoving the feeling away.
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“You’re welcome. Bring your friends next time.” The host returned his modest bow after expressing his gratitude for her hospitality.
He nodded and presented a casual smile, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Mina turned to the Marine beside him, her round head encased in the hood of her coat, “Come back soon. We’ve got a lot to do.”
The Marine silently nodded, and they departed through the two great doors. He couldn’t help but ponder over the curious goodwill provided by the peculiar host. During such instances, he would approach apprehensively. But Zoro only sensed a spooky vibe emanating from her, which wasn’t a cause for concern. Just another typical oddball I suppose, he concluded.
Blinking midday sun from his eyes, he noticed what once was the snow concealed road leading to the inn was now bare, exposing its red and black bricks. What was a snow-covered road was now powdered with rock salts, bracketed by two rows of oil-lamp posts that snaked through the winter forest.
The Marine’s unusual silence was gnawing at him; calling it an ‘awkward silence’ as they ambled side by side was an understatement. Where was her usual pestering behaviour? He wonders if she remembered the sentimental moment they briefly shared last night. Was that so shocking that she regarded him differently now? Or maybe she was still drunk?
Zoro slowly turned his head sideways to check on her.
He flinched when he found her already staring at him. In a moment of sheer panic, he bleated,
“I thought you-”
“Listen I-”
But both simultaneously broke the silence, their words crashing on each other. Flustered, he turned away. Zoro bit on his tongue and had to will the beating of his erratic heart to calm down. What was he so anxious about?
“Please go ahead,” The Marine offered.
“I thought you had already left,”
“No I had to clear off the snow from the path.” She gestured around them, “I was supposed to do it yesterday, but the blizzard happened.”
“You cleared the snow off the road on your own?” He asked, astonished.
“With the help of a machine, of course.” She smiled, “It’s not that hard.”
So she was only doing some errands. He felt foolish for meticulously devising absurd vengeful methods against her when he assumed she had ‘abandoned' him.
You’re a damn embarrassment, he thought to himself, So what if she left?
Silence descended between them again, heavy like it might crush his lungs. At least a distant gull cried it's obnoxious cawing overhead. He cautiously looked up. He always had a strong disdain for seagulls; they always shit on his head, especially when he was napping out.
“Uhm,” The Marine started, interrupting Zoro from his thoughts, “I’d like to apologize for any improper behaviour I displayed last night.” She pressed two gloved hands over her nose, “I shouldn't have drunk too much.”
Memories of her struggling to finish half a drink and her distorted expression brought an amused grin to his face. She noticed his reaction, “I hope I wasn’t being too difficult.”
“Nah,” He sneered when a thought clicked in his mind, “You were only dancing on the bar naked.”
“I-I was not!” Panic coursed through her features, adding into the redness on her face. “Was I?” She looked down, as if searching for the answers on the ground. “Oh, lord. Was I?!”
“You don’t remember?” Zoro feigned confusion and released a smug sigh, “I’m surprised you didn’t.” He shrugged, adding fuel to the fire. He reveled in watching her fluster intensify and realized how amusing it was to torment her. He decided to continue the charade.
“N-no, I-I really don’t-!” The panic in her voice spiked.
“Really?” Zoro stifled a laugh. “You seemed to have enjoyed it.” He cast her a furtive glance.
“That’s not true!” She was heavily breathing now, steps faltering. “I would never enjoy such a humiliating act!”
“Well, I enjoyed it.”
The words were out of Zoro’s mouth before he thought better of them. Oh fuck! He thought with mounting terror.
So delighted he was in tormenting her that he got too carried away. She probably considered him a complete perverted jack-ass now. His words surprised him more than they did her. Panic clawed when the woman, wide-eyed, frowning at him in disbelief.
“I’m kidding! Haha!” He rapidly backpedaled, pushing her with his elbow, followed by an awkward laugh. Zoro walked ahead of her, biting at the inside of his cheek.
Shut up. Just shut the fuck up! He groaned inwardly.
The Marine jogged beside him. “That’s not funny,” She grumbled.
No, it wasn’t. It was foolish and unnecessary, and childish! The remark was so out of character of him. While he wasn’t a stranger to speaking his mind, ‘flirtation’ was an alien territory he had never considered. It wasn’t that he lacked interactions with women; he talked to them every day!
“- women who are not Robin-chan and Nami-san, you dick-weed!”
He remembered the cook shouting at him once. He was always too preoccupied with his goals that he never thought it necessary to attract the opposite sex: he was never fascinated. Why bother? It was irrelevant to his purpose. But it suddenly seemed an essential feat to, at least, have a little experience on the subject to avoid mortifying instances like this. He hated to admit it, but maybe the cook was right? Perhaps he should consider talking to other women once in a while.
“I guess I owe you.” The Marine cut off his thoughts.
“Hm?"
“Last night, you made me laugh even when I didn’t want to smile.” She flashed him a warm, friendly smile. “Thank you.”
For a brief moment, Zoro’s body went slack, surprised, his breath hitched and his eye widened- there and gone, so fast he had to right himself quickly.
“You’re... welcome. I guess-” The last words died to a whisper.
He could not evoke any sort of state of mind to anyone, especially not to her- that role befitted individuals like Luffy. Last night was just another carousing moment for him, albeit a bizarre one, given that his drinking partner was a previous enemy. So whatever she felt following that wasn’t his intention at all. But he'd be a liar if he denied that her confession didn’t fail to surprise him.
And although he would probably never admit, not out loud anyway, that somehow, he too enjoyed the night they shared. He tried to snuff the adamant thought out.
Think of something . Think of the crew.
Thoughts of them always put him at ease. But not today, not when his memory drifted to the pull of Nami’s words, from years ago,
“-y’know that Marine lady. That one who’s always with Smokey,” She had said.
“Ah! Tashigi-chan?!” The cook beamed.
“Is that her name?” Nami asked, " Well, she begged me; she bowed to have the children handed over and be under her care. To think a Marine officer would bow to a pirate. What an odd lady.”
"Now that I think about it,” Usopp interjected, “I think that was the same woman who helped Vivi and I back in Alabasta.”
“Shishi! She told me where Crocodile was!” Luffy laughed, “Haha! She’s a weirdo!”
“Ah. Didn’t she beg Torao to set her and Smoker free back in Punk Hazard too?” Robin had joined.
Despite her blind justice, he was glad that at least the “Copy-cat” wasn’t yet another tool of the crooked government. Back then, he paid little to no attention to the insignificant acclamations of his crew about the Marine. They were, after all, big into discussing peculiar characters from their travels. All that talk about her didn’t pique his interest. But with the previous battles they’ve fought alongside each other, his views and judgment towards the woman had slowly improved. And he just had to see for himself.
Each passing moment spent with her seemed to produce one epiphany after another. And he soon realized that, while being enemies was innate in their roles, they had a lot in common. It was more than the shared affinity for katanas or being the second in command of their respective crews, or the bloody precision of how she wielded her sword.
He supposes it was her bravery and determination, her readiness to fight and die for what she believed in. Although, he had to admit that her vexing recklessness and overbearing confidence, and headstrong disposition, were also very much apparent in his nature. He still knows very little of her, but it didn’t take a genius to see her unrelenting duty-bound loyalty to her crew while keeping their safety paramount, considering them as the source of her drive (or hunger) to always improve on herself. He has often witnessed her always being ready to sacrifice her pride for them, even if it meant forfeiting her life and dreams.
Was he defining her? Or himself? He made a grunt that resembled a laugh.
The probability of them becoming 'friends' was low. Yet overnight, their 'relationship' had drastically developed. An almost accidental truce that flowed so naturally, and he began to wonder what results would an entire day spent together do to this budding ‘relationship’.
Yesterday evening’s tension between them had been at its peak. Yet, the night ended far from how he imagined it would; they didn't end up killing each other. Instead it happened this way; retiring side by side in endless playful banter, finding solace in each other, and unintentionally providing the other an unintended comfort—a sort of temporary safe house.
He was glad that she too, benefitted from their time together, and he wondered what other identical eccentricities they shared. Years ago, he would consider the notion of having this current standing with her absurd.
When they reached the town square, it was as if Zoro had truly just woken from a deep refreshing sleep. All his senses came alive with the noise of the square, an immense transition from their pensive stroll in the forest. Market stalls were laden with goods. Merchants were hawking their wares at the top of their lungs. Vendors rang bells, and others rattled wooden clappers while some drummed their knuckles over their wooden stalls. All these drew him back to reality, as though he was spirited away in some unknown realm that contrasted with this present bustling environment.
“There it is.” The woman pointed.
He craned his neck to see. Over the heads of the passers-by and the tarp coverings of the food stalls, he distinguished the Thousand Sunny’s jolly roger, undulating against the pungent ocean breeze in all its splendour. She led him closer to their multi-coloured ship- no doubt for his sake.
They both paused, “I guess this is me.” He said, keeping his eye trained on their ship.
He turns to her. Her eyes got a far-off look. The wind kicked out her dark hair, lifting the wispy bits that had fallen over her face. She watched all docked ships bobbing at every swell of the waves. And for the first time, he hungered to know whatever thoughts were encased in her head. If only he could crack apart her skull and fish them out.
Their time together was coming to a close. When will they see each other again? Who could tell? So he drank this remaining time with her. Hoping to remember every moment of this. Whatever their path may divulge or whatever the future had in store for them, he would welcome it.
Zoro took a sharp breath, “I’ll see you around?”
She blinks and smiles tightly up at him. His left cheek throbbed with the ghost of her touch's chaste yet heady caress. A rare occurrence, he thought, may be years before he can earn it again.
“Don’t miss me too much.” He was about to do a wink but realized he couldn’t. So it came out an ordinary blink.
She chuckled in response and shook her head, “If I have to spend another hour with you, I swear I’m gonna gut myself in front of all these innocent people.”
"That's something I'd like to see. Maybe I should stick around some more?” He challenged. She laughed wholeheartedly at this, making his grin wider. “You should laugh more.” He said and lifted a fist to box her bicep gently, “Laughing looks good on you.”
“E-eh?” Pink shades powdered her cheeks.
His grin widened, “At least you don’t look like you got a stick up your ass all the time!”
This makes her laugh some more. Zoro closely watches her deep brown eyes and claps a heavy hand over her shoulder.
Her chest swelled, and she held her breath at the contact. He must have imagined the current that flowed between them. He wished to recreate the feel of her touch last night, hoping he could reciprocate the exact effect she did towards him.
This touch wasn’t enough, but it would have to do. He wasn’t about to make a fool of himself again and especially not towards the same person. Zoro squeezed her shoulder, only enough to pull her back to look her in the eyes again.
“Listen, I’m not gonna pretend and say I know what you’re going through. Because I don’t. But,” He paused, “Sometimes you can be doing everything right, yet things can still go wrong. The key is never to stop doing what you think is right.”
Zoro wasn’t sure if he made sense. But he hoped he was able to lift her mood again.
The Marine smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” She grinned. “You should probably go. I bet your crew misses you.”
“I bet they don’t.” He grumbled at the realization of all the chores awaiting his return. How many hours will he be scrubbing the decks this time? He hoped Luffy didn’t spill too much food on the kitchen floor during his absence.
“Alright, I better go.” He nodded, “Thank you... For the night.”
He finally walked off, head down, hands inserted in his pockets, but paused when a memory returned to him.
“Hey,” Zoro turned, “Tashigi.” He called. He never thought her eyes could widen any more than they always were. But they did.
Her face went slack, mouth gaping and her body went rigid, ‘Y-yes?’ she quickly righted herself.
“Thank you.”
She blinked and arched an eyebrow, smiling a crooked smile at him, “I know. You already said that.” She chuckled.
“No.” He shook his head, “A year ago you saved me from drowning. Thank you.” He bowed ever so slightly. Then he turned and walked off.
---
Roronoa Zoro shouldered his way through the crowded square, his image slowly drowned out by the bodies of scurrying islanders, merchants, and tourists. And soon, she lost sight of his green head.
Tashigi, however, stayed frozen on her spot. She let out a shuddering breath she had been holding and pressed a fist on her chest, trying to calm her galloping heart. Hearing him speak her name gave her a temporary inability to form rational thoughts until sense returned to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this good.
But…
Tashigi finally got the answer to the question plaguing her for over a year. She was awash with an ecstatic sense of relief. All because...
“He remembered.”