You know, Zoro isn't the only pirate who Tashigi has a grudge against.
(Oh, and if anyone who requested a story is reading this, I haven't forgotten. I'm still attempting to get over my writer's block.)


Maybe it was a reflection in her lens, but for a split second, something inside Tashigi twitched and she found herself walking briskly in the direction that the flash of blue had vanished. She brushed past people, hardly noticing their grumbles as she fought against the pushing crowds.

Tashigi ducked into an alley, her heart pounding. Cautiously, she peered around the corner of the building, her hands moving to the hilt of her sword.

"Oh dear. You look quite lost."

Before Tashigi could react, several arms had her pinned against the wall, wrenching her sword away and slamming her head none too gently against the rough surface. The shout rising in her throat was silenced by a punch to the jaw that caused her teeth to clamp down on her tongue, drawing blood.

"Now, what would a Marine be doing in a quiet town like this?" a voice whispered right by her ear. Tashigi flinched and ceased struggling when the hands poised the tip of her sword between her eyes. From the corner of her vision, Tashigi saw a tall figure stepping out from the shadows of the alley.

Nico Robin.

The name throbbed in Tashigi's mind like the pain from a fresh bruise.

Or from a shattered leg and a broken pride.

"After all, it isn't as if there's anything to see here," Robin continued, leaning against the wall opposite of Tashigi. Her many arms sensed the Marine's slight attempts to break free from her grip. Much to Tashigi's annoyance, the Demon Child laughed casually. "You seem to misinterpret my intentions. I don't plan to kill you."

"Oh yes," Robin stepped forward and traced a finger along the flat side of the sword's blade. "Because if I left the dead body of a Marine lying where the stench of decomposing flesh could be easily detected, your commander would no doubt realize that something is amiss and go off to investigate. And I wouldn't want to bring such trouble to my nakama."

Tashigi could only silently tremble in anger and glare furiously. Blood began to gather in her mouth and she spat in the other woman's face.

"How unpleasant," Robin muttered, wiping the blood and spittle away with the back of her hand. Her expression hardened and she grabbed Tashigi's throat with her real hand. "If you fire so much as one cannon at the Strawhat Pirate's ship or wield a blade to any of my nakama, I promise I won't let you get away so easily next time."

With that final warning, the arms restraining Tashigi disappeared in a blur of petals, obscuring her vision. When Tashigi was able to brush the petals away, the Demon Child was gone and her sword was lying on the ground.

"Damn it...!" Tashigi gritted through her teeth, falling to her knees. It was only her second encounter with the Demon Child, yet it only further aggravated the urge to cut the proud woman down to the floor and incite the same expression of fear and helplessness that Nico Robin had wormed out of Tashigi.

"Next time, I will have you in seastone shackles and at the mercy of justice," Tashigi whispered, picking up her sword and quietly walking back out onto the street as if the exchange had never happened.