Chapter Text
“Remember, Tashigi, don’t do anything stupid! It’s an important mission but your life, and the soldiers' lives, are more important. Got that?”
It’s a windy afternoon, Unit 01 of G5 were busy preparing the ship for their mission, and Vice Admiral Smoker was currently briefing their captain before their departure.
“I know, Smoker-San. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them. And we’ll be back soon.”
Preparations made, they set sail to the open sea, the seagulls eager to welcome them to their territory. Even the wind was blowing in the right direction, and G5 took it as a sign that their mission would be successful.
“Ne, Captain-chan, looks like our voyage today will be an easy one,“ Otome, a soldier with brown hair and a ridiculous hat tries to make small talk to their captain. A habit of theirs from being on so many missions together the last two years.
“Don’t talk to me!” Captain Tashigi regards him cooly, eyes squinting, and displeasure clearly seen in her eyes. And if that wasn't enough, her aura definitely scared her subordinates and caused them to disperse.
“Man, Captain-chan is scary,” Otome says, trying to calm his racing heart.
Yuuhi nods with an agreement, “She is clearly still angry with us. It’s bad, really bad.”
“It’s Kazu’s fault. If it weren’t for him, we would never be in this mess!.” All of his friends voiced their agreement.
“Everyone!! Back to your post!” Captain-chan’s voice carried over the deck, and all of the G5 soldiers ran around, back to their duties.
---
It’s such a beautiful day, truthfully too beautiful to be spent hunting criminals and not laying around with a big umbrella as a shade on the beach. With a book or two to read and a cold drink as a company, that’s what she called a perfect day off.
Alas, as a marine captain, she has to do her duty for a job that she loves before she could take a week off. She feels a little bit guilty to her subordinate for her bad treatment, just a little bit though because they had made her endure all the embarrassment and mortification in front of Vice Admiral Smoker.
Tashigi shakes her head. It’s not the time to relieve the last month’s incident. She wants to forget the whole ordeal and erases it for her memory. But her mind clearly tricked her brain today, because it reminds her of all the gifts that she got from the Strawhats.
Besides the gift from Nami that she kept hidden from all the prying eyes, the other gifts were actually quite thoughtful.
‘Who knew that they could be so sweet’ Tashigi smiles when she remembers.
Chopper gave her vitamins and supplements, with a chart of exercises that she could do. His message was cute, basically ordering her to take a much-needed rest and drink her prenatal vitamins.
Brook gave her a CD of his songs. “ To soothe your baby if she/he is cranky,” he said, for once no perverted comment.
Sanji gave her his own version of instant food. ‘Tashigi chan… I’ve heard you have trouble keeping your food down. I made this myself, I really hope that you will love it’ and he signed it with a heart shape.
Robin gave her some books about pregnancy and newborn babies. ‘ Knowledge is power, Tashigi-chan. Maybe you’ll need it someday.’
Ussop gave her a lot of self-made toys, while Franky topped all of the gifts with a portable crib. It was so practical and sturdy, with an option to fold it for easy carry and storage. He even gave her the crib’s manual book. That man will be a famous craftsman if he decides to stop becoming a pirate someday.
The Strawhat’s Captain gave her many baby clothes and pacifiers. It took a long time to deciphered his message. But after struggles, she managed to read it with a little bit confused. It is written ‘Hey, Marine Lady, hear you will have a baby. I thought you’ll need a lot of clothes and pacifistas (?)’
She was touched with all of their attention, given they are on the opposite side of the law. Sometimes she wonders, what will happen if they are not her natural enemy? Could they be friends?
Tashigi shakes her head, this ‘if’ thinking has to be stopped. Nothing she can gain from her wandering mind. She takes a deep breath, trying to enjoy their journey before their mission begins. It is a beautiful day indeed, and it should be enough to soothe her heart. But her heart and mind troubled since the day she received their gifts being it lacked one member.
Call her pathetic, but she can’t help herself. Since last month, one question that always plagued her mind is ‘Why?’.
Why he didn’t give her a gift?
Did she such an insignificant thing, not worth his time even just a little?
Did he never saw her as a friend or an acquaintance?
All of his friends sent her wonderful gifts, so, why you didn’t, Roronoa?
Even just a card is better than nothing .
She exhales, will her forbidden thought away. This is her mission without Smoker-san, and she already promised him to keep herself and the soldiers return safely and complete the mission. It’s not the right time to keep thinking about a green-haired pirate. With that resolve, she turns around and inspects all the preparation for the battle to come.
---
Fate, it seems, is not on her side today, of all days. Her mission is pretty straightforward, ambush a weapon dealer, catch the boss and his subordinates, and confiscates their weaponry. That’s it!! She knows she will succeed in this mission, her subordinates are pretty reliable when they are serious about their mission.
But no, it turns out their mission becomes more complicated than what they had gathered from the intel. First, not only the criminal dealing with illegal weapons, but he also sells women from all over the new world to become slaves or prostitutes. And to make the matter worst, he has a giant bodyguard who doesn’t hesitate to attacks them when they come in sight. And hell break loose, marine and criminal clashes in a messy battle.
When the giant man turned to her, ready to smashes her into pieces, Tashigi feels helpless. Her sword missing from her hand when she falls and her shigan doesn’t have an effect on him. She notices her subordinates busy fighting the guards, and in no condition to give her a hand. She quickly looking for Shigure, find it a couple of meters from her right. She just needs a little bit of distraction, so she could dive for it but it’s impossible right now.
With a roar, that giant blasts an attack to her. But before it could reach her, she hears another shout and that man thrown off from his own blast.
Surprised, she eyed the direction of the shout that she heard. And what a surprising sight that welcomes her. Cyborg Franky in his robotic form, all metals with his trademark pose. With smoke coming from his right arm, tell Tashigi who her savior is. And just with their arrival, the situation reversed on her side. The criminal’s man, who is still conscious, runs away, following their leader who has escaped since the first moment of the marine’s ambush.
“Tashiigiiiii chaaaannnnnn!!!!” with a flourish spins, Sanji grabs her hands, “You are such a sight for sore eyes. You look absolutely glowing today,”
Tashigi rolled her eyes although she couldn’t help but smile at Sanji’s antics. With bruises and dirty clothes she didn’t feel glowing at all, but it’s nice to hear his praise.
“Tashigi, why are you here? Should you just rest? Are you hurt somewhere?” The reindeer, Chopper fusing over her, looking at her face, her body, to inspect some damage.
“I’m fine, don’t worry, it’s just some scratch. But, what are you doing here?"
"We promise Cie to find her brother here." Strawhats Luffy chimes in with his large smile.
"It's because you are dumb and almost drown on a lake!!" Nami bonks her captain's head.
"Luffy almost drowned on a lake if not for her" Roronoa gestures to a teenage girl behind him, a cute red-haired whom Tashigi didn't notice before.
"She needs help to find her brother that got himself captured by criminals here. Luffy felt indebted, so here we are." His presence suddenly makes her self-conscious.
“But should you take a mission with your condition, Tashigi-chan?” Robin inquired, and all of them immediately stared at her stomach. Tashigi feels her head start to throbbing and hot feelings creep into her face. 'This is ridiculous!!'
And then with a flushed face and a little bit of a hysterical voice, she screams, “I’M NOT PREGNANT!!!”
"Eh????" Tashigi stares at the pirate's crew in front of her, they clearly have disbelief in their faces. Even Roronoa checking her body as though to prove her words, not discreetly if she may add.
"Wait, Tashigi chan," Sanji points to G5 Soldiers "They tell me that you were pregnant."
She glares at her subordinates, they quickly retreat, at least they have the decency to feel scared and ashamed of their action.
She can’t believe she has to deal with this big misunderstanding. What are the bad things she did in the past that she has to be punished like this? This must be some kind of Karma!! She remembers the horrible event in Smoker's office a month ago.
“You were looking for me, Smoker-San?” She asks, a little out of breath after running like a madwoman when a soldier told her to go to Smoker’s office ASAP.
Her superior didn’t answer right away, instead, he observed her from head to toe and lingered a little bit longer at her midsection. 'What is he doing?'
"Tashigi…" He calls her name with a little bit of apprehension, snaps her out of her musing.
"Yes, Sir?" She half-answers half questions, still feeling a little bit wary with his inspection.
But what he said next really threw her off balance.
"Are you pregnant, girl?"
"What?? Nooo!!! Why do you ask that?" Her superior was clearly hallucinating, or maybe he accidentally hit his head? No… That was her of course. So where is this question coming from?
Smoker-san just tilted his head, although his posture was more relaxed than the time she entered his office. Gesturing to the pile of packages beside him, Tashigi approached hesitantly. When she makes a move to see inside the boxes, Smoker just shifts to give her more room.
Her superior's question absolutely rattled her, but it's clearly nothing more than what she feels when she sees what's inside the packages.
A flimsy nightgown comes first, with a card attached. Written inside, "Being pregnant won't make you less sexy, girl! Seduce your man with this, it's success guaranteed. Nami."
Furiously shoving the gown and the card back to the bottom of the box, she tries to calm her racing heart and her hot blushing face.
She looks away from it, silently asking Smoker what he means with all of this.
Taking pity, Smoker explains, "Soldiers brought them here, saying that you've got packages from The Strawhats. And I have to see all of this craziness. Now I ask you again, Tashigi, are you pregnant?"
With a pale face, she shakes her head furiously.
"Nooo!!! I've told you and I've told you once more. I'm not pregnant! And I don't know why they sent me this!" She frantically waving her hands in front of her.
"So how the hell did they just assume that you are pregnant and send you all of this??"
"I don't know Smoker-san, I haven't encountered them in a couple of months." She says desperately "Whoever gave them the crazy idea that I'm pregnant clearly was not me!"
Smoker stares her down, and Tashigi meets it head-on, no flinching in her expression. He has to trust her, she can't have her supervisor doubt her.
And just like that, he closes his eyes, wipes his face, and looks like he's thinking of something.
"That black leg Sanji," He suddenly talks after minutes of silence, "He talked with the soldiers on the last mission we met. And it looks like they were talking about something and they are trying to be discreet."
She squinted her eyes, the metaphorical gears in her head spinning to process this information. She only has one deduction, they must be behind this disaster. “If you excuse me, Sir, I’ll take my leave. “ She saluted Smoker-san before turning back to the exit. She has a mission, finding the culprit responsible for this. She promises they will regret all of this when she is done with them.
"It's just a big misunderstanding on their part." She explained to them while massaging her temple when a headache started to form. This incident really brought the worst out of her. The look of surprise and disbelief on the Strawhats faces are hilarious, she could admit that. But then a big explosion suddenly can be heard from a distance. They stare in the direction of the sound.
"And I know it's not the right time to talk about it." Tashigi turns to her soldiers.
She gives them orders to release all the women and take them to safety, also to detain all the criminal guards.
"You guys follow me!! The rest deal with these criminals and the woman victims" She barks orders left and right, assuring her subordinates follow her orders, and then she is ready to leave them, prepare to pursue the crime boss and all of his higher-ups.
"Hey, we wanna help too!" Luffy appears in front of her, making her startled and halt her run.
"Well, this criminal has several hideouts, you could help me find the victims or the boss. It's your choice which one you'll go to."
"If I may ask, Tashigi chan, could you lend some of your soldiers to show us the way?" Nami chimes in, " Can't have them get lost and make more trouble for us" she gestures toward the monster trio, who are too excited to have some actions for her taste.
"I'll join your medics to heal the victims, Tashigi" The cute doctor of the straw hats suddenly jumps in front of her, excitement clear in his eyes.
"Sure, I'll order some of my men to be your guide, and of course you're welcome to help us heal the victims, Chopper."
When everything is settled, without further ado, Tashigi continues pursuing the mafia boss and his underlings.
---
“ So…” She hears Roronoa mutters behind her,
“ You are not pregnant.”
His statement makes her roll her eyes, she can feel the air around them get a little thick with tension, ready to snaps and it’s not only because of the dire spot they are currently into.
“Really Roronoa? It is not the time to talk about it."
Could he be more ignorant about their situation here? They are currently standing back to back, facing several strong opponents hell-bent to kill them. And he still has the time to ask about that ridiculous rumor? And she doesn't know how she can end up with him again. One moment she is still with her troops, eager to capture all of the criminals. And minutes later, she's surrounded by the enemies, clearly much stronger than the last, with only Roronoa Zoro as her company. Not a bad choice of company when you are surrounded by enemies, truthfully. But right now, he is just a pain the ass.
He struck some of the opponents, who successfully escape from the attack, while Tashigi dodges and gives her own battle. The sound of heavy breathing, clangs of steel, loud screams, are not enough to hinder Zoro from his so-called “interrogation”.
“They said they found a sonogram picture on your desk”
“What???!!!” Looking back at this moment, Tashigi will be embarrassed for her voice, shrieking several octaves higher with a hysterical tone. But it will be later, not now when her mind is furious with her man, directing her anger into her sword, slashing and parries her opponents right and left.
“You have a date with Koby and some fucking captain.” Despite being in the middle of battle, Zoro’s calm and collected. How Tashigi envies him.
“HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT!!” Okay, this is getting ridiculous. She has to have a very serious talk with her underlings after all of this mission settles down.
“So… it’s true..” Maybe she is just imagining things, but she can hear the hidden fury in his tone, although the way he says it casually. Well, as casual as someone swinging his sword (Wadou this time, she noted) toward a cluster of enemies.
“THAT WAS (slash) NOT (slash) YOUR BUSINESS(slash..slash…)!!!” panting, Tashigi is motivated enough to finish the battle as soon as possible. And Zoro understands it too, if he wants to talk with her uninterrupted, their enemies must be gone.
Looking at Tashigi, already fighting a horde of the goons, he feels a smile creeping on the surface of his face. “ Damn.. that woman looks magnificent in the battle.”
He turns his attention in front of him, where the big remains of the goons, unsheathes his swords and gives them an evil smirk.
“Bring it on, losers!!”
---
“Now, we have time. Explain!”
Tashigi believes she has to check her eyes when she gets back to the home base, she rolled them too much today.
“There is nothing to explain, Roronoa.” She swept the area with caution. All of the criminals they were facing before down for the count, but there’s nothing wrong with staying alert in enemy territory.
"It's my own problem and not your business anyway."
Suddenly Roronoa Zoro appears in front of her, growling low, a dangerous aura she could feel around him.
"Oh..this is where you were wrong, Tashigi."
Tashigi shuddered in the way he spelled her name. Usually, he only called her with her nicknames, captain, glasses, sometimes sword nerd, but never her name. And now he called her real name, with something that she dares said, real close with possessiveness.
"Everything that is related to you is my business."
Tashigi takes a step back, she needs a little distance from the green-haired pirate.
"What are you doing, Roronoa? Why are you doing this?"
"Is it not fucking obvious, Captain?"
The familiar nickname eased her, making her breathing a little easier although it doesn't help her poor heart which doing somersault right now.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Tch.." Zoro glares at some point behind her, his right hand tapping his sword handle, if she doesn't know better, she will think that Zoro is nervous or uncomfortable. But this is Zoro, the big bad pirate hunter, the first mate of Strawhats Luffy, surely she is wrong. Right?
She notices him exhales slowly and prepares herself from the rush of adrenaline when his eye laser focuses on her again.
"I've thought I've made myself pretty clear from the last time we met, Tashigi."
Blushing furiously, her traitorous mind supplies with their impromptu kiss. She shakes her head, trying to get rid of it to no avail.
"You're joking, right? You are making fun of me right now." Denial is so much easier than accepting the opposite theory, which looks ridiculous in her head.
"I'm totally serious when I know what I want, Glasses."
His hand hovering above her shoulder. "Wait, when did he get closer?"
"And I want you." He whispered next to her left ear. Forget about blushing or her pounding heart, you can see her spontaneously combust, and her brain is fried, making her frigid and continue to stand still when Zoro touches her shoulder.
"And I know you want me too." His damn smirk and words wake her up from her stupor.
"You know we can't." She whispered back, almost afraid if she spoke louder the world would know what was inside her heart.
"Really? You will talk about bullshit things like marine and pirate again?"
"We are on the opposite side of the law,Zoro." For once she used his name and was pleased when she saw a surprised look on his face.
"Whatever happens between us will not be meant to be." She tries to plead with him, to make him understand their relationship is impossible. She is a marine and he is a pirate, a high rank wanted pirate. She can not see a future for them, not if they want to reach their dreams.
But Zoro just scowls at her, sighs, throws his head back, and ends with chuckles.
"I don't trust destiny, faith, or whatever fucking things you call it. When I want something, I definitely give all of my energy to reach it, be it power or your heart. I give it all and take the risks. I'll defeat every risk if I must to have you. The question here is, will you take the same risks for me?"
Tashigi doesn't know what to make of his gaze, so serious but also soft and tender. It makes her heart beat faster than before if it is possible for a human body, and when she sees his eye flicker to her lips for a second, she throws caution to the wind. She closed their little distance, put her hand to his shoulder, tiptoes to match his height, and kissed him.
She feels more than seeing when his body tense, but after just a split second of hesitation, he returns the kiss with as much passion as she has. But this kiss is so much different from their impromptu and spontaneous kiss last year. Instead of an explosion, heat, full-blown and desperate kiss, this time it is a sweet, slow, and tender kiss albeit with as much passion. She is a bit surprised by this side of Zoro, she knows that he must have a soft side somewhere inside his rough exterior. she saw his interaction with their reindeer doctor after all. All of her doubts vanished in the kiss. Yes, she will risk everything for this man. That's how deep she falls.
But it's not for long, when Tashigi gives a gasp, their kiss morphs into a battle. Hands wandering, little bite here and there, it looks like they are in their own bubble. Time stands still, nothing important except their kiss, the heat, the passion, the love they felt for each other. But suddenly their bubble burst, by simultaneous screams near their position, forcing them apart. Panting, out of breath from the battle and the kiss, Tashigi looks at the source of their disturbance and promptly stutters, blushing furiously. Hysterical screams coming from G5 soldiers, it’s clear they already saw their heated “exchange”.
“CAPTAIN CHAAAAAANNNNNNN…..!!!!!!”
“NOOOOOOO…….!!!!”
Truthfully, if it’s not for her predicament all of these things would be funny. Especially their hilarious expressions. But she remembers they are in this situation because of her, she can’t find anything funny at all.
“Oh, shit!” She is a polite woman, but their current setting is pretty reasonable for a curse or two.
She glanced in Zoro’s direction. With a smirk and satisfied gleam in his eye, he repeats her words,
“Oh shit indeed, Captain.”
“Damn him!!”