EDITED ON 7/30/14: Okay, so I went back through this frickin first chapter because I realized that I actually made several big errors that would give me trouble with upcoming chapters. I corrected the ones I could find. Sorry for my shitty-ness. Please let me know if anything seems inconsistent or out of place too!
A/N: Inspired by a Japanese drama I like. Will grow to be a multi-chapter fic, but I'm not sure how many chapters it'll be. Will definitely take a while to complete. Apologies for the inaccuracies later on, as I don't actually know what police work entails. I hope you like it!
Zoro pocketed his phone and slid open the door to the bar, and walked in. The familiar atmosphere of the Japanese bar greeted him, and the murmur of conversation was nearly nonexistent, as most of the patrons sat alone. A woman sat at the counter, her dark shoulder-length hair hiding her face, but Zoro recognized her immediately. Smirking, he approached her, and took a seat next to her.
"Hey." he greeted quietly. The woman didn't look up, but smiled down at her scotch.
"You're late. Did you get lost?" she asked teasingly. Zoro rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." he muttered.
"You did, didn't you?" she snickered. She looked up, her eyes twinkling with amusement. Kuina took a sip of her drink. Zoro sighed, and waved over the bartender, and ordered a sake.
"So how have you been?" Kuina asked, her mocking behavior falling away. Zoro shrugged.
"Fine."
"What are you doing now? Are you still wandering around teaching kendo or something?" Kuina asked with a quirk of her eyebrow. Zoro shook his head.
"That didn't last long. Became a cop." Zoro said. Kuina's eyebrows rose further.
"No kidding? You? An upholder of the law? A protector of citizens?" she asked sarcastically, disbelieving. Zoro snorted.
"Nah. But the coffee's pretty good." he said with a grin, and Kuina laughed.
"So how's being an ally of justice, then?" she asked.
The bartender brought over the small pitcher of sake, and the accompanying cup. Zoro thanked him, before turning back to Kuina.
"Pretty good, actually." he said, filling the small cup and downing the drink.
"Really? No asshole coworkers? No corrupt supervisors?" she questioned seriously.
"Nah. The guys are great and Smoker's pretty laid back when there aren't any criminals to apprehend." Zoro said with a shrug.
"And Smoker is...?"
"The captain. He actually has one of the highest numbers of wanted criminal arrests in the country. No one knows why he's here in a city like ours, though."
"Wow." Kuina murmured, impressed.
"Yeah." Zoro agreed. He poured himself another cup of sake. "So what about you?"
"Hm?"
"How have you been? I haven't seen you in - what is it - like, two years? How are those kids of yours doing?" At the mention of her children, Kuina grinned. She downed the rest of her scotch as she reached into her pocket, and fished out her phone. She fiddled with it for a while, before showing it to Zoro with a proud look on her face.
On the screen were two boys, both with black, unkempt hair, and the same wide grin plastered on their faces. The older one had freckles dotting his cheeks, and his hair was a little more wavy. The younger one had a scar below his left eye and a too-big straw hat on his head. Dressed in swim trunks, they were posing in front of a sandcastle that Zoro assumed they constructed themselves. He smiled, and took the phone to get a better look.
"How old are they now? Last I remember, they were in diapers and the younger one was trying to eat stuff off the floor." Zoro swiped to the next picture, and it was another picture of the two kids, this time, on a swingset at a park.
"Ace is five, and Luffy is three." Kuina replied, peering at the screen and smiling. "They're growing so fast. Ace is going to start school in the fall." Zoro looked at her in surprise.
"No kidding? That's...Wow." He chuckled, and swiped across the screen again. It was yet another picture of the two boys, petting a small fluffy dog. Swiping further, Zoro found a seemingly endless string of pictures of Ace and Luffy.
"You know, you're what they call 'oyabaka'(1)." he said with a laugh, handing her her phone. Kuina beamed.
"Of course I am. How can I not be?" she responded mock-haughtily as she pocketed it.
"Where are they tonight?" Zoro asked, sipping his sake.
"With Father. They have sleepovers there a lot, actually. They love the open space of the dojo, and Father lets them run around as they please as long as they don't cause too much harm. He spoils them." she said with an amused sigh.
"He does seem like the spoiling-grandfather type." Zoro agreed chuckling. "Speaking of which, how's he doing? Koushirou, I mean." Kuina shook her head.
"Father is stubborn as ever, really. He refuses to stop teaching. I told him it's high time he retired from it, but..." She shrugged. "He doesn't listen. As expected, I guess." Zoro hummed softly.
"Sounds like he hasn't actually changed much, then."
"Graying hair is about all that's different. Still the dedicated teacher." Kuina looked at Zoro. "You should visit us sometime. I'm sure Father would love to have you teach a class or two." Zoro chuckled.
"I'll keep it in mind." he said, finishing off his sake.
They of them ordered more to drink, and the two of them spent the rest of the evening talking and reminiscing. It was early morning when the two got around to saying their goodbyes, and went their separate ways, promising to meet up again soon.
A/N: I realize that this first chapter isn't exactly telling you anything about the actual story, but if you are patient with me, I promise this is going somewhere. (Eventually.)
So the strange word that pops up:
1.) 'oyabaka' is a Japanese term, which literally translated, means 'stupid parent'. It actually means a parent who is obsessed with their child and the child's well being and thinks their child is #1. I suppose this applies to all parents to an extent, but 'oyabaka' is something of an extreme case.
In this, of course, Zoro is just kind of teasing. Sorry for the shit explanation.
Anyway, yes, this will be a family-type fic where Ace and Luffy are kids, but this is all working up to eventual ZoSan and stuff. I promise.