Connect the Crimson Minds
Of a Revolver
A fan fiction by Crystalbluefox
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Chapter 1
'All Blue Coffee Shop & Restaurant'
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The sun was glaring in through the windows, making the thick air almost claustrophobic to breathe in and giving the old fan on the ceiling a tough time with freshening the air in the humid stuffy room, where people were stuffed in together like a tin of sardines. It was in the middle of August, as New York was experiencing somewhat of a heatwave that took many people down. Even the nights were almost intolerable. The town hadn't seen a drop of rain for what felt like ages. Zoro Roronoa, a young man in his mid-twenties, buttoned up his shirt a bit more and sighed as his own little fan on his desk blew full blast on his face. The sweat covering his body cooled his skin as the wind made contact with his skin. This was one of the most hottest days, not that he couldn't take the heat, but there was a limit for even him.
Writing on his latest report, he didn't react as a grumbling muscled man suddenly stood at his table, staring directly at him. The glare was so intense that he swore that he could feel the man's gaze burn right through his skull. The moment a stack of papers was dumped onto his desk, it gave him yet another extra breeze to quietly enjoy. The man still didn't move after throwing the papers down and Zoro spared them a look. As the man impatiently cleared his throat and started to tap his foot against the ground, Zoro let out a sigh and took up the report, looking through them.
"What's this?" he asked, staring at the white-haired man before him.
"An invitation to a Royal ball… what the hell else do you think it is, dumb-kid?" The sergeant growled back as he blew out a storm of smoke from his cigar in the face of his subordinate. "You and Tashigi are on it!"
"I'm not working with that woman!" he pointed out tiredly as he threw the papers back to his superior. "And I'm not taking that job, Smoky!"
BANG!
Everyone in the humid room silenced at once, only the fans and the sound from the streets were heard as they all looked up at their thundering superior, who was glaring down at the freshman after almost splitting the desk into two pieces with his fist. The kid was either pretty brave to talk back to Smoker like that or he was pretty stupid! "Its Sergeant Smoker, brat!" he roared, glaring at everyone else in the room, who at once went back to their work with trembling hands. After a few seconds, he looked back down at the young man in front of him, who stared in annoyance back at him. It still made him wonder why in hell the captain had chosen this person to be in their unit. He was nothing but a mere kid, too young to even start being educated as a police officer. But then again, sometimes it did have its benefits… when that stubborn brat wasn't as stubborn as he was now!
He shifted his cigar to the other side of his mouth, dried some sweat off his neck in an effort to try to cool down his nerves again in this fucking heatstroke. He would get an earful from Tashigi about his blood pressure and such idiotic things. He had a thing to snap faster when the weather was too warm. Zoro crossed his arms and glared back at the man who had planted his other fist at the other side of his almost broken desk and leaned fully in to so the kid could hear his lowered voice, pointing a threatening finger at him.
"Look, kid: I don't know what the hell the captain sees in you," Smoker almost whispered in a grumbling tone, "but hadn't you been his favourite, I damn well would have kicked your sorry ass out on the street a long time ago! But you're the only one for this job." He pulled back and threw the papers back at the youth, and gave him one of his rare smiles. "It's an order from your higher up!"
Zoro glared at him and grabbed the papers as he stood up and stomped off towards the captain's office. Smoker laughed one of his cold laughs.
"Sorry, brat, but the Captain's not here today," he called after him, making the youth turn angrily around, interrupting him before he could even open his mouth. "The 'higher up' will be me for the next three months!"
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The can flew across the street at a high speed as Zoro kicked it hard and watched as it rolled the rest of the way down the road. People exchanged looks with each other as the young man came walking down the street with heavy steps and they moved out of his way so he could pass. Zoro turned around a corner and into one of those large buildings that he really couldn't name. He had walked this way so many times before that getting lost would have been quite embarrassing. He stomped up the stairs, going straight after the office at the third floor. Fuck! Even here the heat was almost suffocating! He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth while mumbling all kind of curses. That damn fucking bastard Smoker and those 'higher ups'! Them and their stupid 'plans' and-
"Oh, hi Zoro! What brings you all the way here to our wonderful office?" Zoro looked up at the dark-haired young man who greeted him the moment he opened the door. He closed the door and plopped down in one of the seats with a sneer. The nine other people in the room greeted him as well and he gave them a small nod before they returned back to their work. If Zoro Roronoa wasn't in the mood to even say hi, they had learned it was better to just ignore the young man.
"I hate America!" the young police officer grumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, uhm… we also like you… Zoro…" the slight younger man said a bit awkwardly as he sat down beside his older friend. Even Usopp had a fan blowing full blast on his own table, but compared to his other colleagues, he didn't have one drop of sweat on his face. He brushed some of his curly hair behind one ear and placed his pencil there as well as he observed the radiating expressions under the shadow of the others hat. "Oh come on, it can't be that bad!" he joked, giggling slightly. Zoro's glare made him to shut his mouth at once.
"Is there somewhere we can talk in peace, long-nose?"
"Oi! Stop calling me that! But well… come on, my office is empty."
"Office?"
"Just shut it, okay?"
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"BWAHAHAHA! It just can't get any better! Hahahaha!" the Jamaican man slapped himself on the knee while laughing out loud. Zoro slammed his fist down onto the desk so it creaked, making the fan on the table jump slightly. Usopp adjusted it so it would face the way it had been before.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY! DAMN IT, USOPP!" the man roared, clenching his fist. He furrowed a brow as the other kept laughing. He stood, leaned over the desk, grabbed the man's neck, and squeezed it.
"Gargl! O-okay I-I'll stop –ghaa, just let go'f me!" One last squeeze and he was thrown back down into his seat, leaving him sputtering and gasping for air. Zoro sat down as well with – was that a smile he saw?
"Oh, come on, Zoro. You have to admit that that is funny!"
"…"
"Or perhaps not…" His voice trailed off and looked down at his messed up desk and groaned as he saw that Zoro's fist had connected with one of his drawings and smeared the black ink all over it. Thank God they had computers so he could digitally delete the mess without it looking weird. "So, what can an excellent artist such as I help you with?" Usopp jerked in his seat as the other made a move, but that was only to remove his blue cap to reveal a wisp of green hair. He still wondered if that was coloured or if it was a genetic mistake, but he was wise enough to know not to ask.
Zoro mumbled something under his breath and scratched his neck as he started to look a bit nervous.
"What was that?" Usopp asked, not hearing a single word he said.
"I said I need a job. Can I work for you?" The blinked a couple of times before his brain would realize what had just been said. Had Zoro just asked to work for him? Zoro? The fearless individualist who could only sleep, eat, and fight? Had he just asked him to work in his studio? "You can stop smirking already!" the police officer said in an irritated tone. "It's just to cover-up work while-"
"You're back in High School. Yeah, I got you already-"
"Undercover!" Zoro corrected him, "The higher idiots wants me to have both an innocent and an interesting job while I'm undercover."
"Hmm…" Usopp thought while he ran his finger under his nose. "Can you draw?"
"I don't draw," the green haired man said.
"Then why did you ask to work here if you can't draw?"
"I can clean...?" Usopp broke out into yet another laughing fit, slapping himself over the knee. He knew he was playing with the fire, but he just couldn't believe it. He had never expected to hear those words to come out of the police officer's mouth, ever! "Or I could be the one stuffing those drawings down your throat if you don't stop laughing!"
"Oh, come on, Zoro. Everyone can clean," the youth teased, "and besides, that's not an interesting job. Normally it's not me who hires people in my studio, even though it's me who's creating this manga. But, if you want a job, you need to be able to draw pictures so I can put in a good word for you." Usopp chewed on his lips while thinking. Of course he wanted to help his friend, but the one-tracked officer never had any experience with any kind of art. He looked up in surprise as he heard the other sigh and say something to him while he found a blank paper and a pencil. "Huh?"
"I said; what do you want me to draw?" Usopp blinked a couple of times.
"Oh uhm…" He thought before blurting out a random subject. "Feast." Zoro lifted a brow. The younger man looked nervously around. "Just come up with something you think of when you hear the word. An animal eating… or something like that..." He was surprised to see the other just nod thoughtfully before he placed the tip of the pencil down to the paper. Usopp leaned back in his seat while observing his friend.
It was really rare to see Zoro like this; calm, relaxed, concentrating about something other than a fight, and if he wasn't wrong, he even thought he saw a smile, a real smile… a thing to write down in his logbook in the section called 'Things that Zoro also can do'. Another thing he found out about his friend was that he was left-handed. It could have been that they had known each other since junior high, but Zoro had always walked a class above him.
He still remembered the first time he met the man; back then he honestly had thought that the teen -who were two years older than he- would kill him when he bumped into him the one day when he had been bullied by some other kids because of his looks. To his surprise, Zoro wasn't like the other kids, maybe a bit scary, but even as a little scrawny teen, Zoro had people's respect, and as he beat up the bullies, Usopp had found himself his own guardian. The green haired teen had never held anything against the Jamaican teen being with him, and soon, the two of them became pretty close friends.
Sadly, one year later, Zoro had to move to high school. As soon as Usopp was done with junior high, he did all what he could to get to the same high school as Zoro. Even though they met from time to time after school, Usopp missed his guardian. Not only to keep the bullies away from him in school, but there was just something about the teen that made him feel comfortable being around him.
"There!" Zoro suddenly said some time later, pushing the paper back to the Mangaka. Suddenly pulled out of his memories, Usopp almost fell out of his seat, and looked surprised at his friend as the other rose up from his chair and was about to leave. "Call me if you need me." With that said, he placed the blue cap back on his head to cover the green hair and left the office.
Blinking, Usopp leaned over his desk and turned the paper to take a better look at what he had done. His eyes widened when a perfect picture of a wolf eating a weasel in the middle of a forest was revealed to him. What the hell? Was that idiot really walking around and hiding such a wonderful talent? How the hell did he never know about this? He scrambled out of his chair and shoved the door open, which resulted in his co-workers jumping in their seats and staring in surprise at their young boss as he went straight to one of their eldest colleagues who looked just as surprised as the rest of them.
"Patrick, you're retiring here in the next month, right?" Usopp asked him. Patrick merely nodded. The young man pulled the drawing out and laid it on the table before him. "And you're also one of the best artists and have the best eye for talent, right? What do you think about this picture?" he hurried to say while he glanced nervously around in the room. Patrick's eyes widened and his jaw literally dropped. Christine, one of their newest colleagues, came over to them and looked down at the picture as well. David, Oda, Alicia, and Daisuke came over as well and froze on the spot.
"Who drew this picture?" Daisuke asked as he let himself be captivatd by the brutal but beautiful scene on the picture.
"If it's the kid who left just a moment ago, I would advise you to go get him before he gets away from you," Patrick told the young man, who nodded in response. The older man turned around in his seat and looked up at his boss, who also was a long-time friend. "Usopp, you got a real talent here, don't let him get away from you, and I'll put a good word in to Shotoka Eiichiro. Shonen Line will be good with a talent like him. Don't miss your chance!"
"He's already gone," Oda said, pointing at the door that just closed. Patrick's rumbling laugher echoed in the room.
"Wasn't he just standing here a second ago?" Christine asked as she moved her curly, dark hair behind her one ear. David patted her on the back.
"You'll get used to how fast our sensei can be." The rest of the group started laughing as well.
"Well," Patrick said as he stood up and rolled the picture up, "let's take a break for now then. Usopp-sensei would say the same. You've worked hard today. Take a break for half an hour, go into the refrigerator to get cool," the others chuckled at this, "then let's meet again after the break and find a new table for our incoming freshman."
"YOSH!"
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"Hey, Zoro –gasp- wait! Damn it, wait a second!" Usopp called as he ran after his friend down the street, finally grabbing his arm. Zoro stopped, but didn't look back as the younger man tried to catch his breath. It still amazed him that the man could run without collapsing or even break a sweat when it was this hot. "Why didn't you tell me that you have that kind of talent?" the slightly younger man asked, trying to take a look at the other's face that was hidden in the shadow of the cap. "That picture was just amazing! The details, the shadows, everything! I've never seen anything that beautiful before. You shouldn't hide it!"
"I was always laughed at about it when I was a kid," the young man suddenly spoke, ending his sentence with a sigh. He turned slightly to look down on his friend. "That's why I haven't drawn since. A real man doesn't draw."
"Oi!" Usopp sounded offended as he stabbed his finger right into the other's ribcage. A flash of anger flashed in the other's eyes, but this time Usopp didn't care. "A real man can master arts in different classes! A swordsman like you should know that! A real man should be able to handle the dangerous and brutal sword in his hand and the soft and peaceful pencil in the other!" Zoro lifted a brow in confusion. "Damn it! Just understand what I'm trying to tell you!"
"It's not that," Zoro said and looked up at a cloud that floated peacefully above them, hiding the glaring sun behind it for a long time, giving the people in New York City a time to breathe out in delight. "My sensei once told me something like that… back in Japan. 'A real fighter can master both the sword and the pencil'," he turned completely around to look down at his friend, who had lifted a brow as well, his inhumanly long nose vibrating slightly as he gave him a weak smile. "He told me that it would be healthy for me to be able to master the art in both 'classes'."
"Hmm," Usopp said thoughtfully and gave him a bigger smile. "It's still light until nine or ten… School ends at two thirty if you're not a straggler. Come straight to work right after."
"Don't you work in the mornings?" Zoro asked, clearly confused. Usopps smile grew even more.
"Not always… only if we have something to do. We're pretty flexible about that. I know that other places they have the rule 'you meet from this time to this time and then go home'. It's not like that at our place. Some of us are not good at doing our job in the morning; therefore most of us work from two till ten… depends on our life at home."
"You've always been weird, Usopp, and sometimes too nice for your own good." He slapped him a couple of times on the back, making the other almost fall onto his nose. Then he turned away and held a hand up in the air. "See ya on Monday at three… sensei!"
Usopp blinked. Then blinked again before he twirled around on his heel and ran back to the building of Shonen Line, going all the way back up to his office to tell everybody the good news… and to get the good news: Zoro was hired in that time-space he had hoped for, his boss didn't mind about that, if they just could come out with the chapters to the manga at the right time. Some of his co-workers agreed to change their time schedule as well so Usopp could live up to that lie he had told his friend. Of course they had special time to meet and go home on, but thanks to Patrick, that wasn't the case anymore. Thanks to his friends, it would no longer be a lie he had told his friend.
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The bubbles in the beer disappeared as soon as they hit the white foam on the surface. The dull music playing in the background did nothing at all for him. The temperature had lowered drastically, almost making it feel like it was autumn. Had it been as humid and hot as before, Zoro wouldn't have been able to sit and listen to the babbling coming from the girl next to him. He grabbed his glass and swallowed the rest of the beer in one gulp before he rose from the chair and paid the bartender. The woman followed after him and tried to tell him sweet nothings, but he wasn't interested and asked her to leave him alone.
"Hmph!" she said, offended, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You'll never get to know anyone if you never give it a try, Mister."
"Use my name, Linda, you know it pretty well!" the young man sneered back. Linda sighed and stepped in front of the man, making him to stop and look at her.
"Why do you not want to be with me?" she asked innocently and closed the space in between them. She ran her soft fingers under the youth's jaw and whispered into his ear. "Is there someone else? Don't you think I'm beautiful enough?" Her other hand started to pull the zipper of his jacket down and sneak inside to play with the buttons of his shirt. Zoro tensed under the contact, but groaned in annoyance. "I really want you, so why don't you want me?" The man swallowed hard and pulled himself out of the woman's grasp as he felt her delicate hand sneak underneath his clothes to get in contact with his skin.
"Look, Linda. I'm not someone who goes to bed with woman after woman. I'll only share my bed with the one I love, got that?"
"But you'll never find one if-"
"If she loves me, she'll wait. If she loves me, sex isn't the only thing she wants. That's how it is!" Linda smiled at him.
"You know, you're the first man I've ever met who looks at things that way." She leaned up and placed a fast kiss on his chin. She smiled even more when she saw some redness on the youth's face. How sweet. He always tried to stand out as a tough guy, but was nothing more than a mere, embarrassed child underneath all those muscles. "When you ever find her, please introduce her to me. I would like to congratulate the one who was able to steal the heart of Zoro Roronoa." She patted him on the shoulder and sent him another flying kiss as he walked away and fastened his pace, wanting to get away from her as fast as possible. Perhaps he didn't want to be with just someone, but Linda always had a way of making him a bit soft and horny. He would have liked to be with her, if she hadn't been a whore who sold her body to whoever she met.
Raindrops landed on his cap. He looked up and soon a stream of water slammed down on him. He almost would have enjoyed it if the evening air hadn't turned out as cold as it was now. He closed his jacket more around his body and hurried over to find a place where he could seek shelter. He soon found a dry place and shook himself free of water, like a dog that had gotten wet.
Just great!
The day couldn't get any worse now, could it? First they had a heatwave for a week, today warmer than the others, then it suddenly turns all cold like they've moved up to Canada or something, and finally it starts raining. Add up what that fucker Smoker had put him through, and it equals one of his most shittiest of days. He heard a doorbell ringing behind him and turned around to see who was coming.
"Oh great! It's raining and I'm wearing a new suit!" a young blond man poked his head out from the door and groaned at the sight of the weather. It took the kid a whole five seconds before he noticed the surprised officer standing to his left, blinking. The man straightened up to his full height and opened the door a little more, his golden bangs covering his right eye. "I'm sorry, but we're closed," Zoro blinked a couple more times.
"Closed?" he asked, dumbfounded. A finger was shoved up in front of his nose, pointing upwards. He stepped slightly back out into the rain to look up to see a big board above the door with the name All Blue Coffee Shop written on it. 'Oh, I didn't see it was a shop I ran into,' he thought before getting back underneath the shelter he found.
"Yes, closed. I'm sorry, sir, but you have to come back tomorrow instead if you –Damn it, where did I park that car?" The blond café-owner looked up and down at the dark street in irritation. Suddenly, his one visible eye widened in fear and the glass-door flew open as the long legged man hurried out and looked frantically from the one side of the street to the other side. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He shoved his hand down into one pocket and pulled some keys out. He fumbled with them until he found his car-key and pushed the little remote on it. But there were no Bi-bib-sound to be heard. "No! Don't tell me it's true!" He ran down along the street to the left, looked into a dark alley, and then ran to the right side of the street, panicking even more. Zoro had already understood what was happening. "FUUUCK!" Tonk! "AUCH!" The blond hopped around after angrily kicking the streetlamp nearby, and it had… bent? "Damn fucking shit! Burn in hell!"
"Oi! You okay?" the green-haired man asked in slight worry, even though he was more worried about the bent streetlamp that threatened to fall over at any moment. Where the hell did he get that strength from? The blond turned around furiously and instead kicked a post-box, sending it flying.
"No! I'm not fucking okay! My car has just been stolen, damn it! Shit! And now all my clothes are wet!" He mumbled and grumbled his way back into the café, passing Zoro while cursing all kind of things and how he wished to kick those fuckers' asses. The police officer poked his head into the shop and blinked a few times. How could he have never seen this place before? Even though most of the room was covered in darkness, he could see that it was a cozy place with cream-coloured walls. Pictures and items were hanging on the walls, giving one the impression that they were inside a ship. The furniture was made of mahogany and with the upholstery in ocean blue-colours didn't make it any better. Even the desk was nothing but a big aquarium with fish swimming around in it. He lifted a brow. How the hell could that even be possible? Didn't they normally have shelves with stuff on them in this kind of place? But even so, everything was put perfectly together so it gave a warm and a comforting atmosphere.
He found the young café-owner slump down onto one of the cozy sofas at the window and bury his face into his hands. Zoro allowed himself to go inside the dark shop and closed the door behind him. It was much warmer in here. He stepped up to the still form and almost jumped in surprise as the other suddenly spoke.
"Just leave me alone, will ya?" he said weakly, but with a hint of anger. "I said that we're closed… come back tomorrow…"
"Why don't you call the police? They-" Zoro was abruptly cut off by a stifled laugh from the blond in front of him, like had he just heard a joke. Zoro lifted a brow.
"The police?" the blond said sarcastically as he looked up at him, the light from the street lamps outside lighting up his pale face. "Yeah, they'll definitely help me a lot. One week and they don't want to work with the case anymore. They'll just say that they have more important things to work on."
Zoro chewed on his lips; he definitely was not going to comment on that one. And another thing was for sure; it would be a really bad idea to tell the café-owner what his profession was. It might end up with his back being bent the same way the street lamp further down the street was, or he would be sent flying like that post-box. And third, he wasn't in the mood for a fight either.
Suddenly, the silence in the shop was interrupted by a growling sound. Zoro mentally cursed. That was right, he hadn't ate anything all day; he had woken up late, hurried to work, from work to the Shonen Line Publisher, from there to the bar, and then from the bar to here. Secondly, he had forgot to even buy food.
Really great!
The blond looked up in surprise when he heard the sound and blinked a couple of times. Zoro looked the other way, embarrassed.
"You hungry?" he asked, making the other man glare daggers into the wall. 'Really nice of you to grumble so loud that others can hear you!' he cursed inwardly as he mumbled something. "What?"
"No, I'm fine," he repeated. His stomach growled once again, indicating that he was lying. 'Traitor!' he grumbled. He was about to leave, but a hand suddenly grabbed his arm. "I said I'm fine!"
"Yeah, I can hear that, idiot! Go sit down and I'll make you something," the blond said stubbornly and motioned for him to take a seat.
"I don't have any money." He tried to excuse himself and took another step, but that hand still held onto his arm.
"Doesn't matter. I'm not allowed to sell anything after closing time either. Take it as a gift for not blurting out shit when I feel like shit!"
"Oh…okay…?" He cocked a brow. That blond was weird, and now when he looked closer at his face, he wondered what the hell was up with that inhumanly curling eyebrow. "But I'm wet, I-"
"Take off your jacket and sit over at the fireplace over there then," If he was as stubborn as this kid in front of Smoker, no wonder the older man wanted to kill him so many times. Zoro looked the way the blond pointed and, sure enough, there was a fireplace. "Just throw some more firewood on the coal while its still hot."
"But-"
"I'm not throwing a hungry dog out on the street!"
"Oi!" Zoro ripped his arm out of the blond's grasp and pulled off his jacket while he walked over to the almost dark fireplace. He heard a satisfied "hmph!" as the other turned on his heel and walked out into his kitchen, lighting the lamps in there. Zoro blinked a couple of times before getting used to the sharp light, and so did the blond.
He threw his wet jacket on the floor and then threw some branches into the fireplace. It only took a few seconds before the fire came to life and started gnawing hungrily in the wood. When the fire had gotten strong enough, he threw two pieces of firewood into it as well so it had something to 'eat'.
He sat down on the floor and stared into the fire while his thoughts raced through his mind, reminding him once again about the events at the police station. Either it was magic or he was starting to get tired as the flames started to show pictures of him sitting in Smoker's office with the smoking asshole himself and that woman Tashigi. His eyelids suddenly felt all heavy as he kept remembering the words the Cigar-freak had told them.
Zoro hammered his fist down onto the desk between them and glared at Smoker. "Hell no! I refuse to do that! And especially with that woman!" He pointed a shaking finger at the dark-haired woman beside him, who gave him a glare in response.
"Oi! Watch your mouth or I'll twist your testicles so hard that they'll fall off!" A shiver ran through both Zoro and Smoker by that comment.
"I wonder where she learned that from?"
"Don't fucking look at me like that, Smoky!"
"SERGEANT SMOKER!"
"I –Haaah! ARGH!" Zoro swallowed hard as his vision suddenly started to blur and go white, his voice failing as he felt the most painful feeling ever… down there. "…shigi…! Let the hell go!" Hadn't his fist been planted on the desk in front of him, he would have fallen to the floor when the dark-haired woman stabbed her nails around the fabric covering his groin. She twisted one more time before she let go. He felt dizzy and stars formed before him. What he could see beside the stars and the whiteness was a smirking Smoker leaning back into his seat, satisfaction on his face.
"Sit down, Roronoa, or I'll give you the same treatment again!" Tashigi said seriously with a hint of anger in her voice. He didn't need to be told twice; Zoro sat down in his chair again, hissing inwardly and grumbling at the glasses-wearing woman beside him. He furrowed his brow and glared directly at Smoker when a low, rumbling laugher filled the room.
"That is why I put you to work with this 'woman'! She's the only one who has the right 'grasp' on you! WHAHAHAHA!"
The green-haired youth clenched his fist so hard his knuckles turned white, and he cursed the two of them inwardly. He wondered at the same time how much damage Tashigi's iron-grasp actually had done to his balls. Damn they hurt!
A stack of papers were thrown in front of them. Tashigi was the fastest one and took the journal, so Zoro had to lean a bit over to be able to see. "This is the kid?" she asked the sergeant, who nodded in response and read what was on the paper. "Luffy D. Monkey, eighteen years old, son of Dragon D. Monkey, brother to Ace D. Portgas also known as Firefist Ace." She looked up. "Dragon? Isn't that the Mafia boss of the Dragone family? The one ruling downtown?"
"It's the one," Smoker said as he blew out some smoke.
"Why don't you just arrest him then?" the green-haired man asked, still looking at the journal in the woman's hands.
"Course we don't have any proof on him doing the trades of drugs, the weapons, and the alcohol in and out of this country!" Smoker told him. "And now are rumours that he's making a rebellion against the government… but we don't have the proof, green-head." Tashigi turned a page and pulled out a picture.
"Is this the kid?"
"He looks like a little brat to me." Zoro looked up. "And what exactly should this brat know?" He received a smack to his head from the woman beside him. "Oi! Stop that already, woman!"
"If you would have been listening, then you'd know that he's the main key to Dragon's business," she told him angrily. "Dragon always has one of his sons with him, but Ace is too smart and knows what is up. The youngest son is too naïve and therefore an easy prey."
"You know, we're not out hunting," the youth said with a sweat drop while observing the woman's eyes turn into fire.
"But that's why we're going after this kid," Smoker said, taking over where the dark-haired woman left off. "He must know something. And that's where you're coming into the picture, Roronoa. You have to infiltrate them in order to find any kind of evidence to arrest not only Dragon but the whole shitty underworld society once and for all!"
"And her?" Zoro said, pointing at Tashigi with his thumb.
"She's the one ensuring that you keep to the plan and won't kill anybody too early… again!" Zoro rolled his eyes at that comment and hurried their Superior to come to the point.
"So, what you're saying is that I have to become one of this 'family'?"
"That's correct. You need Dragon's trust. From there, you'll be entrusted to let us know what is going on, and later you'll be able to find out where those shitty drug factories are hidden and where the rebels are hidden. And PROOF! We need proof to arrest that shitty bastard and his family. And this kid can help you with their own end!" Smoker rose from his chair as he hammered his fist down onto the desk. "Even if you have to seduce the kid, suck his cock or whatever. You'll get the information! You'll get that high rank and you damn well will get the proof without killing any of 'em! Got that?" Zoro rose from his chair as well as he slammed his own fist down onto the desk once again, making the poor wood creak.
"Who the hell do you take me for being? A whore? A damn faggot? I'm not doing it, god damn it!"
"You'll do it, or your own records will come out! You get what I mean, Roronoa?" He smirked as he saw the younger man glare dangerously up at him. "You think your father would like to know what you're doing most nights down in downtown?" He saw the fear flash through his eyes for a second, and smirked even more, knowing that he had hit the right spot. Tashigi lifted a brow in confusion.
"You have no right to threaten me like that to take the job, Smoker!" Zoro said while gritting his teeth. Smoker's smirk faltered and became a glare instead.
"Then let me tell you another thing," he said calmly but seriously "I would have preferred to leave this out." Even Tashigi had to blink twice while hearing her superior talk this way. "Have any of you ever heard about the state of Ohara?" Zoro lifted a brow in question, but Tashigi widened her eyes.
"I thought that was just a mere story," the woman breathed out.
"What happened to that place?" the younger man asked. Smoker sat back down in his chair as he rolled his cigar between his two fingers.
"The world government were after a group of people that they found to be extreme dangerously. In order to get them all after the police, FBI, CIA, and the 'unknown' group of CP9 had failed, they ordered what they call 'The Buster Call' on that place, and blew up the whole state!"
"That's sick!" Zoro yelled. Tashigi had to nod to this.
"They even say that a child succeeded in escaping from that state and they're still after her. She's a danger to our society." The woman mumbled as she adjusted her glasses on her nose.
"What is sicker," Smoker now said. "Is that if we fail in this, we'll be the next ones who'll be wiped out by a 'Buster Call'!"
"WHAT?"
"They can't do that!" Tashigi protested as well. "Millions of people's lives will… they can't do that!"
"They can and they will!" Smoker said as he bit hard down in his cigar. "CP9 is already on the case as well and they don't know the difference between friends and foes. You stand in their way, they'll kill you, and they'll just say that you tried to hinder them in their work and tried to kill one of them as well, or that you were one of their foes."
"That's why we want you in on this case, Roronoa," the white-haired man said sometime after as he grounded the butt of his cigar down on his green ashtray. "You're damn strong, you're not stupid, and you're the only one for this case. You were once one of the best sword-fighters in the world. Why you stopped is still a mystery to me, but we need your strength in this."
Zoro sat down slowly and looked away, finding the stone collection on the shelf to be very interesting to look at all of a sudden. He gritted his teeth as he suddenly felt Tashigi's worried eyes on him as well.
"Rumours are these CP9-people are working together with the World Government and that it was they who found the people of Ohara as well. Hell, it says that it was them who called the Buster Call on them, killing every living creature near that place, except for that girl." Smoker lighted himself not one, but two cigars at the same time and blew out a large white cloud of smoke. "You're our last hope, Roronoa, you both are. So… you'd better like that threat?" Zoro sighed deeply as he chewed on his lips till he tasted the tang of blood in his mouth.
"When do we start?"
"…ey… lo… Hello…? Hey, green-head? You alive?" Zoro grumbled at the irritating voice and wondered why his bed felt so hard and why someone was shaking him like they were. He woke up to the smell of something heavenly right under his nose and opened his eyes. The first he saw was fire. He sat up abruptly and found himself in an unknown room that definitely wasn't his bedroom or livingroom with an open fireplace before him. He blinked a couple of times as a blond head suddenly came into his vision, blue eyes looking a bit worried at him. The person before him tilted his head slightly. "Hey, green-head! You okay?" the blond man asked, and finally he started to remember. He was still in that coffee shop.
Zoro groaned and raised his hand up to his head. "Must've fallen asleep," he said tiredly, confirming it with a loud yawn. The café-owner cocked a brow.
"Well, anyway, dinner's ready, so you'd better eat it before it gets cold." The green-haired youth stretched his arms high above his head as his stomach growled once again. He grumbled at this.
"Thanks," he said as he took the plate of delicious food of grilled fish and Danish potato salad. Just the smell of it alone made him droll and his stomach growl even more. Then he remembered something. "Isn't this a coffee shop?" he asked as he looked sceptically up at the young owner.
"It's a coffee shop yes, and a restaurant since last Monday..." the blond youth told him, shifting his position slightly so he could sit a bit more comfortably. "I haven't got that written on the sign yet; those boards aren't the cheapest things in the world." The police officer nodded and looked down at his plate of food; he had to swallow before his saliva started to 'run over'.
"Well…" He placed the plate down on the floor in between him and the blond café-owner and clapped his hands together while giving a little bow towards the other. "Itadakimasu!"
"What?" The blond asked as the other man started eating. Zoro stopped in the middle of lifting his fork with grilled fish on it halfway up to his mouth.
"It's a phrase you say before eating your food," he explained. The other 'ooh-ed' at this.
"You're from one of the eastern countries?" he asked curiously. Zoro nodded.
"Nippon."
"Where?"
Zoro sighed. "Japan. Okinawa."
"Oh, cool. So… what brings you to the United States?" Zoro froze and gave him a glare as he started eating his dinner. He hummed at the wonderful taste. He had eaten grilled fish many times before, but he'd never tasted anything like this.
"This is good," he complimented.
"Yeah, I know," the blond said, giving him a satisfied smile. He had already understood why he didn't answer… He didn't want to talk about his past. No wonder, they'd just met. "By the way, my name's Sanji Black," he said merrily, killing the heavy aura he felt slowly engulfing them. He reached his hand out to the other. Zoro glared at his hand and sat his plate down once again before shaking it.
"Zoro Roronoa," he said after swallowing the last bit of the fish, looking in longing at the potato-salad like a hungry puppy. Sanji smiled at this as he let go of the other's hand and sat next to him instead. Sitting with his back towards the fire was a bit too hot for him, especially in a black suit. "So, where are you from?" Zoro asked after finishing his plate and thanking him for the food. Sanji just nodded with a 'hm'.
"France, lived there most of my life, raised by a stubborn chef who taught me how to cook proper meals. Then I wanted to try something new and I always wanted to see America… and that's how I ended up here in New York." Zoro nodded at the information. "And what about yourself? You know I got this café… what uhm… what do you do, if I may ask?"
'Should I tell him? Or just…'
"Going to start on this towns high school this Monday," he told him, which actually was true.
"Oh, so you're pretty new after all. What high school? We got three of them here in this town." Zoro thought about this. What had Smoke-head called it?
"Grand Line High School…?" He saw a smile grow on the other's lips.
"Really?" Zoro nodded. "Well, if you ever meet a hyperactive monkey wearing a straw-hat, say hello for me, will ya?"
"Uhm… sure," the 'teen' said unsurely.
"And another thing," Sanji quickly pointed out, lighting himself a cigarette. Zoro grunted, irritated by this. "Tell him if he's not going to pay for the thirty meals he owes me soon, I'm going to kick his fucking sorry ass so hard that he wont be able to sit down for the next month! And then, no more meals!"
'Auch!' He somehow already felt sorry for that kid. "Well, how do I find him?"
"Don't worry, he'll find you instead."
"Why?" Sanji pointed his cigarette at the other's head.
"The moss you call your hair looks weird. He'll notice you."
Zoro cursed inwardly. Should he just leave it… or thank him with a fist to his head?
The second sounded much more tempting than the first one.
~To be continued~
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AN: Dedicated to my friend and little sister Michelle (Silvey115). This story was originally a story we both wanted to work on, but after a while she handed the story over to me so I could freely write as I wish. This story here is more than one year old, and I thought it was a shame for it to just lay on the shelves and collect dust instead of being read by you wonderful readers.
Thank you for reading, and not to forget; a big thank you to the wonderful Cloud-Ima for beta'ing this chapter here.
~Pernille