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Zoro wasn’t the type of person to warm up to someone. The only emotion other than anger he displayed was hunger and hunger wasn’t an emotion. So when Luffy added another misfit to the crew, he was less than impressed. There was barely enough room for them, and now there’s one more person.
She was quick to get comfortable and close with the rest of the crew. It wasn’t hard with Luffy, he made friends with everyone. Nami was thrilled to have another lady on board. Sanji wasn’t hard to befriend, as long as you complimented his food and smiled. Zoro, however, was a different story.
At first, she did her best to find common ground. When it came to fighting, she could definitely hold her own, especially coming from a crime-riddled village. However, her fighting style was different from his style. As determined as she was, it was going to be challenging to pick up a new fighting style. The way his swords cut through the air and his footwork were so elegant. It would take time for her to even begin to fight with one sword.
She took to watching him when he trained. She followed his sword movements from a distance, not wanting to distract him. While it didn’t break Zoro’s concentration, he did notice her lingering in the corner. She was confident she had the basics down to break out her sword when the crew encountered a group of rowdy pirates. A part of her wanted to impress Zoro with her progress, but every time she snuck a glance, Zoro would be engrossed in his own fight.
There were musty pirates coming left and right and she was moving slower due to her newly incorporated fighting moves. She wasn’t sure she was going to keep up with the numbers. Panic was starting to rise and arms were burning with exhaustion. Just as she was trying to catch her breath, another pirate snuck up behind her to attack. Her heavy breathing and fatigue muddied her senses. Just as the pirate was about to strike, Zoro’s sword swiftly clashed the pirate’s ax away, inches from her face. She gasped sharply and dropped onto the ground.
“Stop messing around!” He scolded her, before running towards another group of raging pirates.
Embarrassed by his save, she put her sword away. She got up from the ground and she reverted back to her original fighting style. For the rest of the fight, her cheeks burned from humiliation. How could she even face him when they return to the ship? She channeled that dread into each kick and punch. Eventually, she made it through the rest of the rowdy pirates and joined the rest of the crew.
“We should celebrate!” Luffy suggested.
“I could use some food.” Zoro agreed.
“I’m too tired to cook, let’s just swing by a restaurant.” Sanji said.
The group agreed and headed into town for the first restaurant.
Since that incident, she trained even harder and longer to avoid another repeat of that fight. To her surprise, Zoro kindly offered to train her and offered her tips. She was giddy with excitement to take one step closer to get on his good side.
“Straighten your stance.” He commented. She straightened up and swung her sword.
“Better.” He muttered. The corners of her lips curled into a beaming proud smile on her face.
Zoro unknowingly opened up to her with each training session. She had made the same misstep in footwork as he did when he was younger. She was getting frustrated with herself. Impatient. He could see that her mindset was affecting her training.
“Stop getting in your head.” He lightly tapped her on the forehead with his finger.
“Easy for you to say…” She muttered, starting over again.
He sighed and clicked his tongue, “I used to make those same mistakes…” He shared. She dropped her stance and gazed up at him with intrigue.
“You? The greatest swordsman?” She gasped, eyes sparkling with playfulness.
He rolled his eyes at her teasing. “Yeah, when I first started out…” He started.
His brown eyes softened as old memories flicked through his mind. Bringing up the past was hard, it brought up a lot of pain he tried to suppress. He typically doesn’t share much, yet there was a sense of relief when he did talk to her about it.
“I wasn’t always this good. There was someone so much better than me.” He admitted. She nodded along as he timidly continued. “She pushed me to be better and we promised we would fight until we became the greatest swordsman.” He said with a small smile.
Her chest clenched from the sadness in his eyes. “And you will, especially when you keep fighting like that.” She nudged, encouragingly. He offered an appreciative smile and nudged her right back.
Zoro was slowly opening up to her. It wasn’t hard for the rest to catch on. All but Luffy of course. Nami was the first to notice, when he started spending more time with her. Even when she would go on supply duty, he would volunteer to go with her. Nami found it odd, given Zoro’s lazy nature. Usopp and Sanji caught up after. Zoro would normally be unexpressive, but they started to notice he would sit next to her, even chuckle at her jokes. All very strange behavior.
“This is the best seafood fried rice I’ve ever had, Sanji!” She exclaimed. She practically stuffed her face, melting in her chair from how delicious each spoon was. Sanji beamed proudly, leaning on his elbows at the table to watch her eat. Happiness and joy surged through every nerve within Sanji’s body. He loved when someone truly enjoyed his cooking.
Zoro glanced between Sanji and her, feeling a bit irritated by the cook’s watching eyes.
“Oh, you’re not eating your shrimp. If you don't like shrimp, I can eat them for you!” Luffy offered, his mouth filled with rice.
She shielded her bowl of fried rice, “No! I love shrimp, I’m just saving them for last.”
Luffy pouted, but returned his attention to his large bowl of food. Zoro continued to eat silently, picking around the shrimp until he finally finished his rice. He awkwardly pushed his bowl filled with shrimp over to her.
“Hm?” Her head tilted back and raised her brow.
“I’m… full. You can have the rest.” Zoro mumbled, avoiding her puzzled gaze.
She broke into a grin, “If you’re sure… More for me!” She giggled and emptied his bowl of shrimp into her bowl.
Luffy watched the whole thing with a perplexed scowl. Something wasn’t right. Zoro never shared his food, yet he left a whole bowl of shrimp. It concerned Luffy, as Zoro almost had a bottomless appetite like him.
“Are you feeling ok, Zoro?” He asked.
Zoro cleared his throat to hide the blush starting to spread on his cheeks. “Yep, going to take a nap now.” He muttered quickly and hurried off.
Zoro kept doing things out of character here and there. While the rest was starting to feel suspicious, she was oblivious more than ever. She was just happy she had finally made a home for herself and that she had gotten closer to everyone. She finally had a group of people she called family. And she was content with that.
The crew stopped at a town to replenish their supplies. In the meantime, they stopped by a restaurant for food and drinks. Per usual, Luffy filled the table with plates of food. Already chowing down before all the plates have arrived.
“Slow down Luffy! You’re going to get a stomachache!” She scolded him.
“He’s got a stomach made of steel, he’ll be fine.” Sanji reassured her.
“Oh he’s definitely getting sick later.” Nami sighed.
“I’m going to get us drinks.” She got up and headed straight for the bar.
She leaned over the counter and waved at the bartender further down the table.
“What can I get for you, beautiful?” The bartender leaned towards her on the counter.
“5 beers and 1 milk, please.” She ordered, smiling timidly as she looked away from the bartender’s flirtatious gaze.
“You got it!” The bartender winked and got straight to work.
Zoro glanced back at her over at the bar, wondering why it was taking so long. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed at the way the bartender leaned in really close. He got up from the table and headed straight to the bar.
“Are you going to be in town for long?” The bartender asked while he filled each glass with beer.
“Umm, we’ve only stopped by to replenish our supplies. Not sure if we’re going to be staying long.” She explained.
“That’s a shame, wish I could see you on my day off tomorrow.” He winked.
“What’s taking so long?” Zoro tossed his arm over her shoulders, deliberately interrupting their conversation.
“Hm? Oh, I-” She started, but nothing comprehensive would come out of her mouth. Especially when he was standing so close to her with his arm wrapped around her. Her cheeks flushed with heat, heart racing. He’s never so physically touchy with anyone, so it completely caught her off guard.
The bartender’s eyes glanced between the pair, silently assessing the situation. He cleared his throat and finished pouring the last drink, a cold glass of milk.
“Finally.” Zoro stared at the bartender with deadpan eyes and grabbed 4 out of the 6 drinks, while she grabbed the last 2.
“Uh… thanks!” She flashed a quick smile and followed Zoro back to the table.
“What was that?” She whispered, scowling up at him.
“You shouldn’t talk to weird men.” Zoro lectured, avoiding her scowl.
She scoffed, “You don’t control who I talk to.” She quickly whispered before they reached the table.
“No, but I will control who talks to you.” Zoro said, nonchalantly flashing a smirk.
She rolled her eyes at the determination in his eyes. She took a seat and handed out everyone’s drinks. She felt like her stomach was filled with butterflies. Why was he looking at her like that? Her heart raced with nerves and a tinge of excitement. They sat eating quietly, occasionally glancing at each other, only to look away when their eyes met.
He cleared his throat and adjusted his chair to disguise the fact that he moved his seat closer to her. She blushed and stuffed her mouth with meat, fighting the smile threatening to take over her face. His knee would bump against her leg, and he would play it off. She was going to have to confront him when he’s alone because she was starting to rethink her feelings for him.