AN: As much as I want to write a story which is very much in congruence with the manga, I simply could not find a good plot yet so I decided to write one which does not involve any supernatural powers and all. The characters here are all normal. I don't know if I chose the correct pairings here but well, this is my choice.
Summary: "Marry me, Stranger," she said to the first man who came to her.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
The club was full of many people who are simply enjoying the night. They seldom come here but most of the faces are already familiar to them. After all, this is the place where most people who wanted to relieve stress would hang out. There was a blue-haired man who loved and enjoyed serving the drinks at the counter as he was accompanied by a man with an afro.
On one end is a long-nosed guy who was telling a story to a short guy or probably a kid. He wore a pink hat on top of his head, his face too awed at the story he was hearing or more like a lie. But they were enjoying the night with a couple of beers.
On another end lies a small group of females who wore worried looks as they watched the blue-haired girl taking all of the liquors straight as if she was simply drinking water. She looked drunk already but she insisted on drinking still. Because she wanted to forget even just for tonight. And that was why they all accompanied her because they worried that she might do something stupid. Besides, she is an important person.
"Vivi, that's already the tenth bottle, haven't you had enough?" Robin asked her friend calmly as she sipped on her own. Vivi raised her head, her eyes dried with tears she had just cried for the whole day.
"I still want more," she said and forced a smile. "Just for tonight."
"But Vivi – " Nami interfered and sighed. "We still have a session tomorrow. You should not drink too much. You'd be suffering from severe headache tomorrow."
Vivi gave a bitter smile to the orange-head. They were a weird combination of models. She grew up with Nami so they knew each other too well. When they decided to accept the offer of modeling despite Cobra's protest, they met some other good people like Robin, Caimie and Boa. While Robin looked the smartest, Nami was closest. Boa seemed intelligent as well but she mostly keep things to herself. That did not stop her though from joining her friends when they needed each other. Now, Caimie is the youngest and the liveliest. She is too naïve as well that sometimes, her kindness is already exploited by many. If not for the others, people would still continue exploiting the naiveté that seemed to be her trait.
When it comes to relationship, not all of them are committed. Nami is already dating a blond model as well as cook. His name is Sanji. The man maybe such an idiot when it comes to any girls, but his love for Nami is real. Sometimes though, it annoys Nami whenever he happened to swoon in front of other females. But that's one thing amusing about Sanji.
Now, Robin is actually engaged to the man across the counter who was serving drinks with his afro friend. Franky. The two had already been going steady long before Vivi became friends with Robin. In fact, her relationship with an ordinary man had actually taken the attention of media and they loved prying over her private life. Some commented how unlucky she was to have ended up with a guy who is merely a bartender in a well-known club. Of course they don't know that he owns the club as well. Sometimes, people are just too judgmental and they loved to find faults to destroy anyone. It is a good thing Robin had always been a sensible woman who chose to ignore all the rumors about her.
Caimie is single and she planned to be that way. From the looks of it, she was the one who loved modeling so much that she hardly had anytime to even pay attention to any guy at all. She would like this man and that man today but it easily fades. Her passion for her career is more important to her.
Boa is a difficult case. She hated men in general. Her hate rooted from her past which she never wanted to reopen anymore. Among all of them, save for Vivi herself, Boa had some family left. She lived with two sisters who are working in a publishing company. Though she might be a bit vain, she was still a good woman at heart. And all of them prayed that she would let go of her bitter past.
Robin too had a terrible past which continued haunting her but for the woman, running away from it is pretty pointless. She might just as well face it head-on. She's a brave woman.
Now Vivi…
She had a smooth relationship with her childhood friend, Kohza and she thought it was going well for her. Until she found out earlier that he is seeing another woman and is practically cheating on her. That's the reason she is now drinking this night to forget about the pain and betrayal she had to suffer – even just for one night. Then, tomorrow, she would have to act like nothing happened and that she can live without him. After all, he is but a man.
"I swear I'll have Sanji skin him alive if he ever shows up again," Nami continued.
Looking around, Vivi noticed that most are already starting to dance. She stood up after drinking one glass again. She swayed a little and she felt a little dizzy – being one who never really drinks at all. "Where are you going?" Caimie asked.
"I'm going to enjoy this night and forget about him," she said while tasting bile in her mouth. She had always trusted Kohza and what pained her more is his betrayal. She could not accept that he actually chose someone over her. That's what's making her angry and she decided that she would get even.
Walking towards the center, her eyes scanned her surrounding. She could not find anyone who could actually interest her at all. She shook her head idly then decided to start dancing with the tune as her hips slowly swayed. Her father would surely get mad if he saw a respectable daughter dancing like this in this crowded place.
Boa sighed as her chin rested on her palm. "That's why men are scum on earth," she muttered cynically as she sympathizes with her friend. Having seen Vivi crying almost the whole day over some stupid guy made her hate men more. They're all selfish and think of themselves only. They thought that women are mere toys for them.
"We better take Vivi off the dancing floor," Robin suggested. "She's starting to attract attention."
Indeed. Vivi continued dancing seductively that the men had all stopped from what they were doing and simply gawked at the woman who was unconsciously drawing the attention of the crowd to herself. Boa hissed when some had already given Vivi a leery look. "Men are really disgusting," she said and was the one who stood up. "I'll go take her."
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.
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He had been watching from the dark corner as he continued to drink alone while waiting for his companion. He just came back from the Headquarters and was given the permission to spend the week off before they'd be assigned to the Middle East. He was thankful for the short break given to him.
He needed it. He is so damn bored with his routine life and decided to do something new. So he decided to drop by this place. He had not come here for many years and he was glad the business is doing good. He was so proud of Franky for achieving this much.
He saw the blue-haired dancing like crazy, oblivious of her surrounding. one look at her face tells him she is not in her right mind that moment. People tend to do crazy things when they get drank after all or when they are having some problems. She's either of the two. He sighed and glanced at his watch.
Luffy said he is still on his way and Zoro wondered if he could wait that long. Luffy is a soldier like him who was given a temporary leave as requested. Zoro, Luffy, Franky and Sanji were all childhood friends and most of them are orphans. They went to the same school together and excelled in their own area of expertise. When they reached college, they have started going their separate ways to chase on their own dreams, to follow the path laid out for them.
Franky had taken Business Administration despite his skill in craftsmanship. He could have taken up Engineering instead but he did not. Though from time to time, some companies still sought out his service despite not having earned the degree in Engineering. The mere fact that he was a protégé of the great Tom was enough to give him credit and Franky had proven time and time again that he is a genius when it comes to ship manufacturing. After graduating, he had a partnership with Iceburg who owns the Galley-la Company, the biggest company manufacturing ships. After earning profits, he put up this club which boomed in the past years.
Sanji finished Hotel Restaurant and Management and later helped with his foster father in running Barratie. Aside from that, he works as a model. When Luffy asked him once why he suddenly joined the modeling world, his reason is to seek out girls. He had always been the ladies' man. From the latest he had heard, he is dating one of the woman across him. The one with orange hair and from what he could tell from their last talk, Sanji was serious in marrying her. He's merely waiting for her to say yes.
Only him and Luffy enrolled in an Academe. After passing the examinations, they were sent to America and trained under SEAL. So they rarely come home here. They often only hear news about their friends from the media or from them directly. A year after graduating from SEAL, they were sent in various countries such as Bosnia as soldiers. But having noticed their potential, they were taken out from the war and were assigned undercover works – which is the reason why they were being sent to Middle East.
Him and Luffy had faced death countless times, had actually trifled with it and despite being warned by some comrades that going to Middle East is suicide, they still took the job. However, they were given a week to have a break because one would never know if they could come out alive after all.
Standing up, he made a hand sign towards Franky that he would be going to the bathroom. Franky nodded his head as he raised one bottle. He did not bother glancing at that crazy woman once again.
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Boa raised her brow and took a few steps back as she recognized the look on her friend's face. "Oh no…" she said and shook her head, giving Vivi a warning look. She glanced at the others but they were now on with their own business.
Vivi's face was sweaty now as her hand flew to her mouth. The audience had already lost interest when Boa had pulled Vivi from the center and they were now standing near the doorway. "I think I'm going to be sick," Vivi muttered and fled towards the nearby door.
Boa sighed. "Stupid," she mumbled in annoyance. "Your body could not handle that big amount of liquor."
Vivi did not reach the comfort room in time because the moment she opened the door, she bumped into someone and unable to control her vomit, she puked right in front of him.
"What the – " she heard a man growl as she stared at his feet while sighing in relief.
Moving away from the man, she leaned on the wall as she felt her body suddenly weaken. Her eyelids started to drop. The liquor must be taking its effect on her now. She raised her head and amidst the blurry eyes, she saw a shade of green. His face was dark as he scowled at her in annoyance.
"If you don't have a tolerance, then don't be so stupid drinking more than you could handle," he barked, his voice laced with every bit of irritation and anger.
Vivi, still out of her mind since a while ago studied him before she broke into a grin. Leaning away from the wall, she leaned her face close to him. He smells of pure masculine scent. "Marry me, stranger."
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Zoro frowned upon hearing the statement coming from the woman. Is she out of her mind? What person in her right mind would suddenly ask a stranger to marry her? He was right about her. She is real nuts. He took a step back. "Go ask someone else," he barked the order.
Glancing at his watch, Zoro decided to leave. It seems Luffy was held up so there's no point waiting for that idiot. He just has to call him tomorrow then. As of the moment, he was set on going home.
The woman tugged at his arm when he was about to turn around. Tilting his head a little, he studied her closely. Her eyes were full of sadness. "Marry me," she repeated in a steady voice this time. Aghast, Zoro could only look at her. "I promised myself earlier that I would marry the first man to come to me."
"I did not come to you," he pointed out and tried to free himself from her hold. What had he suddenly gotten himself into?
"My name is Vivi."
"I'm not interested to know," he growled again. "Now go back inside."
She ignored him when she stepped a little closer to him again in a daze. "Nice meeting…" her voice trailed off when she went black and Zoro had no choice but to catch her in his arms while he wondered what he would do. It is no surprise to see her passing out. After all, she barely held onto consciousness.
Maybe he should just leave her here? He shook his head at the thought. He might be rude sometimes and uncaring towards any women but it is against his manners to actually just leave anyone – especially an unconscious woman – in a place like this. He could not just go inside carrying her. That would attract too much attention.
Sighing in frustration, he scooped her up in his arms and decided to bring her with him. He will just have to call Franky or Sanji to inform their girlfriends about where she is so they could come pick her up. He does not want to be troubled anymore by bringing her to her own place.
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Luffy blinked for the fifth time when he arrived at Franky's place to find Zoro gone. Scratching his head, he walked towards Franky. "Eh? Where'd Zoro go?" he whined. From his looks, it's so hard to tell that he is a trained soldier. His face is that of an innocent and stupid man which is contradictory to Zoro's stern features. But somehow, despite being poles apart, the two are always in synch especially when they are in combat – it was something which actually caught the attention of the top brass.
Franky looked up and his face lit with happiness at the sight of his other friend. "Luffy, pal," he said as they shared a man to man hug for a split second before Luffy took a seat at the stool and looked around. "Man, this place looks like it is getting bigger and better," he commented with a grin. "How've you been?"
There is no need to even ask about it. franky has the look of a contented man. Stable financially and stable relationship. What more could he ask for? He had one of the prettiest girls alive. He jerked his head towards the direction of Robin. "Always well…what with a woman like her."
Noticing the contentment in his voice, Luffy grinned. "When do you plan to get married?"
"Sometime next month. I expect you all to be there of course," Franky answered as he cleaned one glass.
The grin left Luffy's face before he scratched his head. Noticing it, Franky sighed. "Don't tell me…you can't."
The man gave a reluctant smile. "Well…it depends."
"Where are you being sent this time?" Franky asked casually. Luffy gave him one steady look. Franky and Sanji never knew that they are no longer part of the soldiers deployed to war zone areas. What they were assigned with was more dangerous.
"Somewhere," he said. "Gimme my drink already," Luffy whined to divert the subject of talking about their pending job. If Franky does not know about it, then perhaps even Zoro had not told him anything. Mah, not that Zoro would be the type to divulge such important undercover job. He never would – even to his most trusted friends.
"Baka, you don't drink." Franky said and hit Luffy's head a little before grinning widely when Robin approached and sat to a stool next to Luffy. "Do you need anything more, Robin?" he asked.
The woman gave a serene smile as she leaned her elbow on the counter. "No."
"Oh," Franky nodded and turned to Luffy. "This one here is Monkey D. Luffy, a friend. Luffy, this is my fiancée Robin."
The raven-haired man fixed his position so he could face Robin fully before giving a wide grin. "Hello. Nice meeting you, Robin."
Said woman smiled at the warm welcome. "Oh? So you're Luffy. He always talked about you and someone like Roronoa-san."
The grin never left his face as he nodded. "Ah, that would be Zoro," he said and glanced around again. "Man, but I thought he would be waiting. He's impatient as always."
Franky filled a customer's drink nearby. "He said he'd be going to the bathroom but I surmised he left already since he never returned."
Luffy jumped down from the stool and shook Robin's hand. "It's really nice meeting you, Robin," he said and turned to Franky who was already frowning at the abrupt departure. "Franky, I'd be goin' ahead. Tell Sanji I dropped by since I'd be flying tomorrow morning."
"Ha?" Franky dropped one glass much to the surprise of those nearby. Even Robin studied Franky's baffled look. "Ya barely stayed here for a day and you are already leaving? How about Zoro?" Franky could not explain it but there is a nagging feeling inside him. Call it intuition but this is the first time in the rare times when they'd be leaving that Franky felt afraid.
Luffy maintained his grin though it decreased a little. "He'd be staying for a week or less. It depends on him. I have to fly over some place. I heard that's where my brother had been staying for long."
With that, he walked away. Franky watched the back of his friend and felt a chill run down his spine. He felt afraid for them. "What does your friend do?" Robin asked suddenly, noting the worried look from her man.
He seemed a little surprise when someone spoke to him as shown from the slight flash from his eyes. "Uh, sorry. I must have spaced out. Luffy travels a lot. He and Zoro. To be honest, we don't know what they really do. It's been years and we felt like they are hiding something," he admitted with a sigh. Hopefully, this feeling would fade…this troubling feeling.
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Sanji grabbed his mobile as he sautéed something. He glanced at his watch. It's already near midnight. He just arrived from his own shooting. Name said she could not meet him since they are worried sick about Vivi. She had filled him in with the details and he does want to beat Kohza to death. Vivi does not deserve to be treated. She's a fine woman. His thought about her and Nami fled away when he saw the name of the caller.
Pressing the answer button, he spoke. "Oh? You called, marimo?" he greeted but his voice could barely keep the excitement. It's been three years since they last talked together.
"Urusai, you shitty cook," came the growl from the end of the line.
Sanji smirked. "So, you're here?"
"Hn."
"And Luffy too?"
"Yes but that's not the reason why I called," he said, not bothering to hide the annoyance from his voice. "Could you come over and bring your girlfriend with you."
"My girlfriend is mine to keep in case you plan – "
"Stupid," Zoro hissed. "If you don't want to bring her along then come and fetch this crazy woman over here."
"Oi marimo, don't call a woman crazy," he chided as his eyebrow twitched. That's something that he had observed about Zoro. It's not like he disrespects women. Heck, he had an odd way of showing it but that's beside the point. The point is Zoro is always rude to any female. It's like he never give a damn about them which often drove them into arguments way back in high school.
"Hai, hai," he conceded and that made Sanji doubt his friend even more. "I'd be hanging up already cook." Sanji could hear a very loud noise in the background and heard Zoro yell some unprintable oath before the line went off. Sanji stared at his phone for a while. Been a while since he heard that man cursing all the deities. A smirk crossed his face. He might as well take his time in going there to give the woman more space to annoy Zoro.
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"What the hell are you doing, woman?!!!" Zoro bellowed as he threw his mobile to the couch and rushed to the living room to find the woman playing with the stereo. After dropping her to his bed, he left and went to his dojo to train a little. It had been his hobby to practice kendo since he was young. He was wiping his sweat from his face as he made his way upstairs while talking to Sanji when he heard a loud noise.
The woman stood up and swayed a little, an indication that she is still under the influence of liquor. "Oh, hello stranger. So you brought me here," she said and looked around.
"Would you turn that music off???" he demanded in ire. "You're disturbing the neighborhood!"
Ignoring him, Vivi jumped into the couch like a child and giggled from her private joke perhaps. Zoro sighed in frustration and switched off the stereo before giving her a glare. "Listen here, stranger," he said, mimicking the name she's calling him. "First, you are not in your own house so you listen to my word!" he started in a stern voice. "Second, you go and prepare since they'd be coming to fetch you."
For a moment, her face turned sober as she studied him closely. Despite being drunk, she could still think clearly and she was serious when she asked him to marry her so he could spite Kohza. But what amazed her now is the fact that he does not act like one of the fan boys. He does not even look like he knew her or had seen her face somewhere when in truth she's a famous personality together with her group of friends.
Standing up, she gave a hand sign. "Wait here," she said and went to the comfort room. She had explored the place earlier so she knew where to find it. reaching the sink, she turned the faucet and cleaned her face to help getting her sober. A few minutes later, she returned to the living room to find the man already watching television. "What's your name?" she asked.
"I don't just give my name to anyone," he answered in a rude voice.
Vivi huffed at the brusque attitude. "I remembered what I said before I passed out."
"I don't remember anything," he answered without looking at her.
Annoyed, Vivi pulled his ear to the shock of Zoro – he who was trained could not even deflect this simple attack. "Ouch! Would you stop that?!" he ordered, his face getting flush in annoyance. Vivi continued pulling his ear.
"You're rude!" she hissed and let go of his ear when she realized she was doing the same thing she always did to Kohza when they were young. Remembering the man, she felt a stab of pain in her chest.
The man only glared and ignored her comment. Vivi was wondering how to ask him again when the doorbell rang. "Oi, marimo!" a shout was heard. "Hurry up and open this already."
Vivi blinked. The voice seemed familiar. Turning to the man, she found him already yawning as he headed towards the door in boredom. Vivi remained where she was and waited for the visitor at this ungodly hour. She glanced at the place. The man had few belongings around. A few appliances though they looked expensive enough. It's as if the man does not need more things.
"You've gone rusty, shitty cook," she heard the man speak and though she could not see him, she felt like he is smirking to whoever arrived.
"Bastard," the other voice cursed. "Anyway, why won't you let us in."
Silence and Vivi turned to see who the people are only to gape in shock upon seeing Sanji and Nami. Nami looked like she was still processing whatever she saw outside that it took her longer to notice her friend who was just as surprised as she is. It was Sanji who spoke. "Vivi?"
Coming to her senses, Nami finally turned to her friend. "Vivi," she explained and went to her. "You had us worried. Boa kept looking for you."
Smiling hesitantly, Vivi just toyed with her hair. "Uhm…about that…"
"Oi, marimo, you just called this woman crazy a while ago," Sanji turned to his friend and gave a kick which the other deftly blocked, his face still wearing a smirk.
"What's this? Modeling sure softened your skills," he said and released the man's leg. He turned to his unwanted guest.
"You know each other?" Vivi whispered, still recovering from shock upon finding out that her friend's boyfriend is actually connected to this rude man.
Sanji smiled warmly. "Mah, it seems you were unfortunate to meet this stupid marimo," he said. "Anyhow, oi, meet Vivi. Vivi-chan, this is Zoro."
Name sighed. "You know him?" it was her turn to ask this time.
Vivi turned to her friend and a wicked smile curved her lips. "He's going to be my husband," she ignored the shock faces of Nami and Sanji as she fixed her gaze on Zoro who chose to pretend like he heard nothing at all. "So again, I'll say it. Marry me, stranger."