OXO Helloooo~ thank you for checking this out. I'm new to posting online though I've written a couple fanfics mostly just for fun. Please be patient with me. I know it won't be that good. But here goes. See you at the end maybe. One Piece doesn't belong to me. Enjoy reading! OXO


Collision Course

Breath in.

Breath out.

Breath in.

Breath out.

Seinah carefully sat behind a couple of wooden crates in an alleyway as she hid from her pursers. Storm grey eyes peered over one of the crates, watching as people passed by unaware of the person hiding in the shadows. Under the black newsboy cap was short dark blue hair that barely brushed her shoulders and lightened to a soft blue at the tips. She dressed more like a boy with a green sweater a bit too big and shorts that were more like capris on her, covering most of her olive skin and hiding her small frame.

The girl slowly stood up, her boots crunching some pieces of glass as she carefully listened. She didn't hear any of the shouting she previously heard while she was being chased. She hadn't been here long, no more than a week, but somehow managed to find trouble. Seinah's a rather unlucky person or she claims herself to be. All she was doing was staring at the exotic flowers of brilliant colors around the town's stature of the island's founder when she accidentally bumped into someone. That someone turned out to be a pirate captain.

Now here she is, hiding in an alley like a frightened animal. She doesn't know much about this island other than it's a trading hub and a well known resort that many people flock too when they can.

"Where's that little bitch?"

Seinah quickly ducked down behind the crates and held her breath when a familiar voice reached her ears. She heard heavy footsteps stop not too far away from her hiding spot. If they find her she is more than dead. She doesn't have anyway to protect herself and hates violence. It would have been safer if she had just stayed on her home island, but there's nothing for her there anymore.

"I swear I saw her go this way Captain."

"Sneaky little snake. No one runs into me and gets away with it. Find her before I teach you guys a lesson!"

It took a few moments before it went back to the normal sounds of people passing by and chatting among themselves. Seinah waited several minutes before she dared to move. She peered over the crate again, carefully moving her small body from out the back alley into the bright streets. The summer sun blazed down on her, making her eyes close from the exposure. When her eyes adjusted, she glanced around. She didn't see any of those men from earlier and a shaky sigh of relief passed her soft pink lips.

"But now where do I go?"

She's pretty sure the trading ship she payed to be on is gone by now. There is the chance of starting her life over here. Even though it is an idea, Seinah doesn't feel like she'd be useful here. Her skills are more qualified for being out on the ocean than on land. She shook the roaming thoughts from her head and just focused on avoiding the pirates. But her brief time with luck just expired.

"Captain! I found her!"

Her heart jumped into her throat and her body went into flight mode. She was thankful the streets weren't too full of people and they were smart enough to get out of the way when they saw her sprinting towards them. Though the shouts were growing faint behind her again, she wasn't going to stop. She kept going, reaching the harbor and running along the damp wooden planks of the boardwalk. She looked around back towards town, seeing a couple of the pirates running on the upper wall.

The moment she looked back, she slammed right into someone. She fell back on her butt hard and the person she knocked into went face first into the planks with a loud grunt. Seinah grumbled at the stinging pain, but quickly forgot it as she stood up and noticed a man in a white shirt with a green sash laying flat on his stomach. She hesitated to approach him when she noticed three swords on his belt. But the guilt of knocking him down forced her to apologize.

"A-ah I'm so sorry sir! I didn't...didn't mean to run into you."

There was no reply. Instead she watched as the man pushed himself off of the boardwalk and stood up. He turned around, he face slightly red from the impact and just glared at her with dark eyes. Seinah backed up a little under his gaze.

"S-sorry..." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Watch where you're going next time kid."

His husky tone made her stomach twist. "Yes yes of course sorry."

Without saying another word, he turned around to leave. Her heart refused to slow down as she watched him walk away. Something about him seemed so different from other people she has meet in her short travels.

A sudden hand on her shoulder made her jump and she let out a scream that was quickly muffled. The heavy scent of cheap alcohol filled her nose. She tried to squirm away, but the grasp around her was too strong.

"Finally got ya," a male voice whispered in her ear. She could smell the man's rotten breath. "Captain just wants to talk to you that's all. Come quietly and don't make a scene."

Seinah stopped squirming and the man moved his arm away from her mouth a little. She took the chance and bit down hard into his hand. That made him let go completely, letting out a shout as she scampered in the direction of the green haired swordsman. She grabbed him by the arm, turning him around to face her purser and hid behind him. It was the perfect shield with his tall stance and broad shoulders. He tried looking behind him and shaking her off, but her grip was too tight on his shirt.

"That hurt you fuckin' bitch! You even made me bleed. What the hell's wrong with your teeth?"

She looked from behind the swordsman, but didn't say anything. The pirate stopped just inches away from the taller man, eyeing him like an eagle looking for prey.

"You know this little girl?"

"Am I suppose to?"

The man tilted his head to the right, staring at Seinah. "If you don't then hand her over."

Seinah cowered the best she could behind her human shield; her shaky hands clenching the white fabric of his shirt. She doesn't know what she's doing. Instinct told her to go after the green haired stranger. She felt safe around him. But she doesn't know if this will help her or make her more into trouble. With her luck, trouble is literally right around the corner.

"Why would I do that?"

He's serious tone with the question made Seinah flinch. Was he really protecting her? Or...

"Come on man. You don't know her and my captain wants to have a chat with her."

The swordsman scratched the back of his head, causing the three golden earrings in his left ear to clink together. "It looks like she doesn't want to go with you."

"She's just being stubborn that's all. Just hand her over already."

"Don't see why I should. Get lost before you make my mood even worse."

The pirate didn't move. "I'm not leaving until you hand over the girl."

The swordsman placed a hand on one of the hilts of his blades. "I'm not going to repeat myself. She doesn't want to go with you and I'm in a bad mood to be arguing with a little shit like you."

Seinah was starting to think this was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

"Tch have it your way then. We'll get her soon."

The pirate took awhile before he finally left, grumbling to himself as he vanished with the street goers. Seinah stepped away from the grumpy shield, feeling a little less tense now that the other man is gone. She carefully looked up at the green haired man and flinched when she noticed he was glaring down at her. He looked really mad.

"S-sorry...I just acted without thinking..."

He stepped before her, his broad stance looming over the small girl. "You owe me."

"Uh s-sure. What do you want?"

It looked like he was about to answer when Seinah heard something growl. A few moments of silence pass before she realized it was his stomach that growled. They stared at each other in silence until Seinah felt her cheeks warm under his gaze and glanced away.

"I could...find a place for you to eat at. Is that okay?"

"Fine."

He walked past her, back up towards the streets. Seinah watched him for a few seconds before following after him. She stayed behind him, cautiously looking around her for those men. All she saw were townspeople enjoying the summer day without much care. She felt envious of them as she remembered her not so pleasant upbringing. All the strict rules she had to follow. All the do's and don'ts. The lack of freedom.

When she looked back towards the front, the swordsman was gone. She froze in her tracks, panic rushing through her veins and her heart beat quickened. She whipped her head around several times. He wasn't in sight. It was just unfamiliar faces all around. But the biggest feeling of relief overcame her as she spotted the odd colored hair and the three swords going the opposite direction he originally was going in. She chased after him, grabbing his arm when she reached him and looked down when he faced her.

"You're going the wrong way," she mumbled.

He didn't say anything and shrugged her hand away. She quickly took a hold of his wrist, leading him back down the street. Her heart barely calmed down. The way he glares at her makes a shiver race down her spine. While he looks dangerous and has the presence of a killer, Seinah doesn't feel like she's in danger around him compared to when that pirate got a hold of her. And she doesn't even know the guy.

"Will you let me go dammit?" he asked in his low voice.

"I'm making sure you don't get lost."

"What the hell are you talking about? I wasn't lost."

"You were going in the wrong direction."

A pause. "No I wasn't."

Her hand tightened around his wrist. "There are restaurants this way."

There wasn't a reply. Just bitter grumbles, but he didn't try to take his arm back. Seinah kept her head down as she continue leading him to the food district of town. Each town, all 4 of them, on this resort island are divided into different sections. Food, shopping, residential and entertainment. It's a neutral island; many people from all over the Grand Line come here. Pirates, nobles, ordinary people and sometimes Marines. But even with the neutral status, there's still problems. Especially with pirates. Seinah's been hearing that more and more pirates are making their way through the Grand Line in search for the treasure left behind by the greatest pirate to ever have lived.

She stopped, still holding onto the swordsman's wrist when the scent of opened door restaurants welcomed her. There were fancy ones, small coffee shops, bakeries and ones more for families. Seinah shyly looked over at the man behind her. He was still glaring, causing her to glance away once again.

"Where do you want to eat?" she asked quietly.

"Wherever is fine."

Seinah pursed her lips into a slight pout and led him down the street to the last eatery on the right. It looked like a small ramen shop with bright red curtains covering the top half of the entrance. She looked up at the man behind her as she let his arm go finally. He wasn't looking at her this time. He just walked in and sat at one of the stools. Seinah took a quick glance around for those men before sitting next to him. He already ordered his food and Seinah quickly ordered hers; a large spicy shrimp bowl. Now they wait in silence. Until Seinah found the courage to speak.

"M-my name is Seinah. And you are?"

"Zoro."

"Nice to meet you. Again sorry for what happened."

He didn't reply.

"I didn't mean for you to get mixed up in that. And sorry for running into you."

No response again. She glanced over. He was staring straight ahead, watching the elderly lady make the bowls of ramen. It was a very focused and piercing gaze. Her eyes followed his strong jawline and along his Adam's apple down to his shirt covered torso and following up his toned arms. Such strong slightly roguish features...

"You stare a lot."

His voice made her jump and quickly looked down in her lap with a reddening face. "S-sorry."

"And you apologize a lot."

"...sorry."

It was back to the silence when two steaming bowls of freshly made ramen was placed before them. The scent of Seinah's spicy shrimp made her mouth water. Zoro was already eating his. Seinah broke apart a set of chopsticks and shoveled a huge bite into her mouth. She's never had food like this before back on her home island and it almost made her cry from how amazing it tastes. She looked over to her left, seeing the swordsman almost done with his.

"How...how is it?"

"It's good."


OXO Was that okay? Sorry if the chapter seemed too dry or long. It'll get better. I hope. Went through a lot of re-writes. New chapters will be posted when I get the time and this is rated M just to be on the safe side. That's it for now. Thank you for reading. Annyeong! OXO