Authors Note: Hmmmm…. I will probably not include Franky, Brooke, or Robin very much. They'll be mentioned, but I'm not particually fond of any of them soooo. Enjoy!
This is not a pairing or lovey dovey fanfic!
Small Notes: I may accidently call Zoro, Zolo… so… sorry!
Chapter 1: Hidden
"I'll right everybody; it'll take the log pose a week to set. So nobody," Nami shot Luffy a look, "Get in trouble."
The crew was docked at the island of Cardea, placed in the deepest setting of the ocean. It was not a natural island, but was used a government institution. The project began as an effort to create a false docking station for Pirates; however it soon grew into an economical town which spread out into a country. Over the years it had developed a magnetic poll that threw the log pose off balance. Many pirates would dock there and be overwhelmed by the mass of military and marine might. The streets were lined with officials and there little opposition against authority. Some people would call it peaceful while others would argue that it was an asylum.
Luffy let out a goofy smile at Namis comment, but was secretly thinking about how to start exploring. "Right, we only have a week. So let's get going! Sanjii! Lunch box!"
A few screw members rolled their eyes at Luffy while Sanjii responded "It's dark! Lunch is long gone!"
"But I'm hungry…." Luffy whined at the cook. Sanjii shook his blonde hair and raised his curly eyebrow before deciding it would be better to comply than to fight with the childish captain.
"Do-do- you reckon there's any…m-m-monsters on this island?" Usopp asked nervously as he eyed the port. Trees and cliffs decked the landscape and past that a savannah laid spread out with the silhouettes of building in the distance. Yet there was an eerie feeling that hung over the land.
"No, but nothing the braavvveee Captain Usopp couldn't handle." Nami dribbled.
"Of course!" Usopp exclaimed as he hoisted himself up onto a barrel. "Did I ever tell you about the time-
"Yes, you've told us." Nami replied impatiently as Chopper fawned at Usopp.
Nami quickly headed off to her room to avoid hearing anymore of Usopps story as he launched into a dramatic story that involved a mammoth, a beautiful young maiden, and an obese raccoon monster. Robin smiled quietly behind her book, chuckling at Usopps escape from an underwater sea prism.
Zoro rubbed his eyes sleepily from his resting spot. He had dosed off from Namis speech and decided to start training. On board, Frankie, Brooke and Luffy were creating their own assorted chaos. Zoro decided it would be better if he trained elsewhere so he swung himself over the side of the boat.
"Zoro," Chopper yelled over the sound Usopps story, "Be careful! You're still injured!"
Zoro brushed the warning aside, and paid no attention to the multiple scars and injuries that were placed sporadically over his body.
"No fair! How come Zoro gets to go exploring at night!" Luffy cried back on the ship. Zoro kept on walking away, not wanting to engage with the captain.
"Oiy! Just let that idiot swordsmen go! Luffy!" Zoro could hear Sanjii calling to Luffy back on the ship. The loud clashes could be heard as Sanjii attempted to hold back Luffy who clinged to the railing of the ship.
Zoro continued to walk, not sure where, but anywhere where he could find a little bit of peace and sanity. He originally planned on following a dirt path that appeared to lead to a city, but somehow he found his way up a large grassy cliff.
"Now… it looks like I should go right?" He mumbled under his breath. Zoro took a sharp right turn and found himself over looking the overhang of a cliff. The sea underneath was rampant with waves and the crashes nearly shook the ground Zoro was standing on.
"Never mind, left it is." He said dismissively and continued up an unbeaten path. After a few wrong turns and an encounter with a very angry bird, Zoro found himself the perfect spot: An empty clearing surrounded by dense trees which was lit up by solely the moon and bright stars. The clearing itself was very dark and Zoro could only see the outlines of the trees, but he found it an ideal place to practice his technique.
He unsheathed his swords and began to tense up.
"Who is there?" He asked quietly, sure he sensed somebody else's presence and breathing.
A curvy frame stepped out from the woods. The moonlight shown sparsely down on her, but revealed a tall girl with stick straight brown hair that clinged to her pale skin.
"I could be asking you that." The girl spoke quietly but with a sharp confidence. Even in the darkness, she seemed to be looking Zoro straight in the eyes.
"Well I asked first." Zoro responded. His grip tightened around his swords and he squinted his eyes in the dark, feeling a dangerous presence from the girl.
"Are you a swordsmen?' The girl asked, her eyes widened greedily at the two unsheathed swords and the one that remained dormant in its scabbard.
Zoro stared at the girl and searched in the darkness for definition of her features. He caught a glimpse of rotten white as she smiled. A sweet sound rang through the air as she chuckled "That shouldn't even be a question. I mean your holding swords."
Zoro unintentionally relaxed a little. "I'm assuming you are also a swordsman?" He asked cautiously as he gestured towards her scabbard that was resting on her hip.
The girl nodded. "Would you like to spar?"
Zoro was taken aback by the question and looked at the girl curiously. It wasn't uncommon for swordsmen to meet and spar when they were novices, but as time passed the fights were more likely to be more and more deadly. Zoro looked suspiciously at the girl. He knew to never take girls likely, but he felt that even if the fight became real, he could easily take her. He let out an exaggerated sigh and replied "Sure. But let's keep it to sparing."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to hurt that pretty body of yours." The girl responded as she drew out her two swords. They twinkled in the moonlight, but they didn't look like anything special. Zoro drew his final sword and clenched it tightly between his teeth.
"Ready?" He asked the girl, feeling his muscles tense and the adrenaline kick in for the fight. This was not the basic training he was planning on, but he hopped she would at least make a good fight. She nodded slightly and bolted from her spot, the first real movement she made.
She kept her swords high, and came down with the left one across Zoros body, who easily blocked it with a twist of his chest. She kept her balance on her landing and ducked as Zoro swung his sword swiftly through the air with a hissing sound. The girl smiled and made a jab at Zoro's feet, who quickly hopped back towards the trees. He responded with an elegant swoop downwards with his right sword then a dash through the air as he drew it back and crossed his swords. The wind flew by the girls head and gave her enough warning to manage to dodge the attack with a timed flip off of one of Zoros swords.
The fight continued for a long enduring time. Zoro began to smile as he realized that while the girl had a dark and powerful aura, her personality and swordsman ship were opposite. While her strikes became weaker and weaker, she seemed to be enjoying herself as she fought. The personality was catchy and Zoro also found himself occasionally smiling with his sword between his teeth. The strokes shared between the two were friendly, but still forceful enough to push each other. Zoro had spent so much time focusing on life and death fights that he had neglected the passion that made him a great swordsman.
Zoro knew that he clearly had the upper hand in the duel and finally decided to end it. With a satisfied expression he drew his sword to the sky and contracted his arm muscles, bringing the sword down with a force that shattered the girls grip. Her sword spiraled out of her hands and she gave a blank stare at her empty hand as Zoro spun slyly around to her back and pinned her to the ground, planting his sword inches from her face.
"Congratulations sir, victory is yours." The girls muttered, her face buried in the dirt. "Now would you kindly remove yourself from on top of me?"
Zoro chuckled and retracted from his hold on the girls back. He smiled and propped himself up against a tree and put his swords away. He looked into the girls eyes and couldn't see a reason to be afraid of her. They were bright blue and reminded him of the ocean, flowing and free but inside he saw they also were dark with crashes and rapids.
The girl dusted herself up and bowed to the slumped Zoro. "Thank you."
"Yeah, it was good practice." Zoro agreed. He felt refreshed and renewed, not even slightly demeaning towards the girl. He enjoyed the true freedom and passion she brought with her craft. It had been a long time-too long for Zoro- that he had any true real passion for swordsmanship. "Do you spar often?"
The girl looked down at her feet and back up to Zoro with an unsatisfied expression. "No. This is a military town. You either fight for or against the military. It's not…fun anymore."
Zoro felt a twinge of anger but pushed it down. It had been a long time since anybody had ever called fighting and swordsman ship 'fun'. He couldn't tell if it was offensive or not. It wasn't just 'fun' for him. It was painful and complex and a lifestyle and a promise and a motivation.
The girl walked over out of the clearing without another word. Zoro looked up curiously, surprised to see the back of her. He got up and followed her out, having lost his interest to train. He felt he owed it to the girl to show her a level of respect, even though she had lost the duel.
She was perched overhead of the cliff edge, her feet barely dangling over the edge. Waves crashed calmly underneath and let up a light spray onto the bottom of her feet. A bland pair of dirt covered shoes was barely hanging on to her feet. Zoro approached behind her and took a seat next to her. There was more visibility now and Zoro could begin to see the shape of her face. Her eyes were a sapphire hue, complimented by long skinny eyelashes which flickered in the light. She looked as white as ghost but with a metallic rose colored tint to her cheeks. The brown hair looked clotted and dirty as it whimpered weakly in the slight wind. However, Zoro saw that she looked physically young but her face was tolled by grief and sorrow. If he had to guess, he would say she look around 15.
"What's your name?" He asked her. He had meant to ask her earlier out of etiquette.
"Haven't you already asked that?" She shot back with a cheeky grin.
"I asked who you were. Different story there." Zoro replied. He spoke for himself when he said that. My name is Zoro, but my story is so much more.
"Touché. It's Rena." She giggled slightly and cocked her heads upwards as the moon blazed in the dawning sky. "Rena," She repeated quietly, and mouthed the word slowly to herself one more time before a distant look grew in her eyes.
Down across the shore there was a ruckus and a loud party echoed through the sand and up towards the cliff. In the distance, the Sunny was lit up and loud music boomed over the silenced night.
Rena moved her foot rhythmically. "They aren't the quietist bunch are they?" She said, tilting her head back and forth to the beat.
"Tell me about it." Zoro remarked, lying down across the beaten dirt. His nakama were known for being loud.
"Wait, are you with them?" She asked attentively.
"Yeah, we're pirates." Zoro replied sleepily. The stars in the sky seemed to be weaning him to sleep. It came out blunt, as if it was no big deal. He felt out of character saying, like he still wasn't quite used to the pirate lifestyle.
Rena felt a little shaky. "For real? Wow. Are you… any good?" She felt stupid asking, because she wasn't quite sure how you could be bad at being a pirate, unless you were dead or in prison.
Zoro chuckled. "Yeah. I've got a bounty. But I'm not really aiming to be a good pirate. I want to be the world's greatest swordsman." Even thinking about it brought a smile to Zoros face. However he soon blushed slightly as he realized he was too open with the girl.
Laughter swam through the air, some of it descended from the distant ship, but most of it came in a bubbly laugh from Rena. "Well good luck. You just beat a little girl who fought with toothpicks. You're halfway there!"
A pink hue began to creep over the night sky; a signal that day was fast approaching. Zoro smiled and stretched out his legs over the cliff before quickly perking up. He turned to look down at the girl, and felt the unspoken bond of swordsmen between them.
"Leaving already Mr. greatest swordsman? Or are you a vampire?" Rena asked, trying to hide a little sadness. She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling as though she had offended the man in some way.
"You sure ask a lot of questions. Are you an interrogator?" Zoro countered with a grin.
"Don't get lost!" She shouted as Zoro had already begun to walk down the hillside towards the Sunny.
He gritted his teeth, Why does everybody tell me that?