"Zoro! Look! We're getting close to the shore!"

The green-haired pirate opened one eye, giving his captain the most unamused look he possibly could, certainly not appreciating the loud voice of the gangly, rubber-boy as an alarm clock. But it was his own fault, he supposed. After all, he had told the crew to wake him up when they got closer to land. He only wished Luffy would learn to use a softer tone sometimes. "Is that so?" He asked, sitting up slightly as his brain started functioning again.

"Yep!" exclaimed the overexcited captain. Any new land to him was a great new adventure. It was hard most times to not get as excited as he was, but Zoro was starting to develop a resistance. Unwillingly, the first mate opened both of his eyes, seeing Sanji, Nami, Vivi, Chopper, and Usopp watching the sandy beach grow closer and closer. Sanji, as usual, was desperately trying to get the two girls', attention, while Chopper and Usopp were fighting about something, probably who would be carrying their supplies to the nearest town. Zoro really wouldn't mind carrying the supplies, but he would much rather be training, so he left the two to their bickering.

The Merry-Go jerked slightly as the anchor was dropped in the small bay, before finally settling over the small waves that ran against it. The crew had taken a ship to the beach and walked up it, seeing a village up ahead. Nami yelled at Luffy as he ran full-speed ahead, his stomach growls heard from even a long distance away. Zoro flashed his trademark smirk as he watched the crew part ways, going on their own paths for a while. 'Finally, some training time.' he thought, walking up to a middle-aged man. "Is there a waterfall somewhere around here?"

"Well sure!" the man nodded, turning towards the road and pointing. "Just follow this road and it'll take you right to it."

"Thanks." Zoro nodded, hooking his thumb into the green wrap around his waist as he walked down the road, taking a lazy pace.

Some time later, he stepped over the tall grass, looking around for any sign of the road. 'He tricked me!' Zoro groaned, before stopping. "What-?" He blinked, walking towards whatever the sound was.

He smiled as he stood in front of a large waterfall, realizing that it had been the sound he had heard before. He removed his shirt and hopped down into the water, walking towards the falling water. Zoro lifted two great rocks onto his arms as he closed his eyes, holding his position as best he could when he heard a voice.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

His eyes popped open, looking for the source of the angry voice when he saw a blonde haired girl standing not too far away from him, her hands placed on her hips. Zoro raised his eyebrow, wondering what it was exactly that she was doing. "Standing under a waterfall with rocks on my arms? What exactly does it look like I'm doing?" He asked irritably.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to find a different place, then, and different rocks. I need this area to train." She answered, equally irritable.

Zoro flat out laughed, trying to imagine this small girl even attempting to lift one of the hugely heavy stones on his arms. "I doubt that." He snickered, then blinked at the even more dirty look the girl was shooting at him.

"Is that a challenge?"
Zoro smirked. "Yeah, I think it is. Tell you what, if you can carry this one rock to the top of that waterfall, I'll leave you to your training, alright?"

The girl's lips grew into a smirk as her eyes gained a mischievous gleam to them, her short hair clinging to her neck as the water droplets landed on her. "Agreed. Now set them down."

He set the rocks down and leaned back against the wall of smooth rocks next to the waterfall. "Go ahead." He gestured to the large stones laying on the ground. "It shouldn't be too difficult for someone as strong as you." He chuckled.
"You're right, it won't be." The girl smiled at him, tying a rope that had been around the rock around her waist, a rope that he hadn't noticed. She tightened the rope as she grabbed onto a much smaller rock behind the waterfall. Zoro watched the girl climb with ease up the enormous waterfall, courting the rock as easily as if it were a part of her body. As she grew closer to the top, he was forced to shield his eyes, although he could see her no more.

"You stuck-?" He asked partially until the gigantic rock landed with a loud boom next to him. Zoro jumped to the side and blinked, looking up at the very top of the waterfall and seeing the girl standing there.

"No, but I did just win a waterfall, thank you." She shouted down to him. He grumbled unhappily, until he saw the girl leap from the top of the fall face first. He stared, watching her get closer and closer to him until she dropped into the water.

"Hey!" He shouted, searching the unmoving water a few moments after she had either jumped or fallen. His black eyes searched for any bubbles coming up, and nearly fell off of the small ledge when a voice piped up from behind.

"Hey what?" Zoro spun, coming face to face with the soaked girl, and made a small grunt. At this distance, he realized that her eyes were two different colors, having only seen one previously due to a shield of bangs covering the other. However, now the bangs were wetted back, and her green and blue eyes shone.

"N-Nothing." He blinked, not very good with speaking with women. In fact, he rarely ever spoke that much at all, but even less to the opposite sex.

"Well, alright then. I'll tell you what." She nodded, resting her hands on her hips again. "You can have the waterfall, for now. I've got a few things to take care of."

He blinked a few times, then furrowed his eyebrows. "Then why exactly did you just do that, if you weren't even planning on staying around?"
"To prove a point." She informed him, turning away from him. "Don't underestimate the power of a woman."

-----

The young man had decided to end his training early. He just couldn't get over what the girl had said, or even more, what she had done. She was shorter then Nami, but she had the same basic build. He couldn't even imagine Nami doing that, let alone this new girl. 'Pretty impressive. A little too competitive though." He admitted to himself, still deep in thought as he entered the combination of a pub and restaurant. There, he immediately picked out Luffy and Chopper, both with towering plates beside them, although Chopper's was much smaller then Luffy's. Zoro assumed that the little reindeer had already gone to the local doctor to pick up some supplies, since there were a few boxes seated next to him.

Luffy's mouth was filled to brimming with he saw a mostly filled plate close to him. Stretching out his arm, he attempted to grab a hunk of meat when a fork slammed into his hand. "OW!" Yelped the naive captain, pulling his hand back to him and rubbing the stab marks. "That hurt!"

"Well, you shouldn't steal from other people's plates!" Replied a voice that was all too familiar to the first mate, he turned and stared at the girl he had met earlier that day.

Before Luffy got to reply, a few of his other shipmates joined in the conversation, and Sanji was the first to notice the girl seated near the captain. "Fair maiden!" He exclaimed, down on one knee and holding the small woman's hand. "Your beauty is comparable only to that of an angel!" Zoro rolled his eyes as he grabbed a mug of grog, taking a long drink as the girl stared at Sanji.

"Uhm are-are you alright?" The girl asked, staring at the yellow-haired cook.

"Any and all wounds would be healed by the mear glimpse of you, my sweet!" He cried out, holding his hand to his chest as if holding in his heart. "Tell me, my angel, what is your name? I must know!" While Sanji was shouting out his questions to the girl, Luffy and the rest of the crew had grown seemingly interested, even though he was still scarfing down every scrap of food.

"My name's Okazi Kida." She blinked, wondering what exactly was wrong with the man when she saw the green-haired man from before pulling the obsessive guy away. "Friend of yours?" Kida asked, still staring at the man with a curly-eyebrow.

Luffy finally swallowed enough food before nodding. "They're both pirates on my ship!" He announced to her, even though the question she had asked was directed at Zoro, not him. "How do you know Zoro?" He asked, nosily.

"We met earlier today, at the waterfall." Kida proceeded to explain the whole thing to the small crew, Zoro standing off to the side, still holding back Sanji. Plus, she had accidentally let it slip that she had left the lake early due to the fact that she had forgotten her instrument.

After the story, Luffy slammed his hand on the countertop. "That settles it! You'll come with us and be our musician!" He shouted, still obsessed with having a musician aboard the Merry-Go. The others sighed and shook their heads wearily.

-----

It had only been a few months since Kida had agreed to join the Straw-Hat pirate crew, and she was still ecstatic to be there. While she rarely got a moment away from Sanji, who made it a point for the newest member to never be cold, hungry, thirsty, or too hot, she had still managed to befriend the entire crew, including, oddly enough, Zoro. She smiled, seated beside the small reindeer as they spoke about their very different lives.

Zoro practiced on the deck of the ship, seeing the blonde haired girl talking to their residential doctor, reminiscing over how much they had discovered about each other in only a short period of time. Apparently, she had taught herself her own style of fighting, having grown up in an orphanage and because she was always the smallest girl. She used her agility to her advantage, and had learned how to play the violin at a young age. They had also managed to squeeze out that she was 18 years of age, and she wanted to someday see the world. Sometimes she trained with Zoro, challenging his strength with her speed, which, admittedly, was a difficult feat. They usually ended with a stalemate, or were interrupted by Sanji yelling at Zoro about ever laying a scratch on the girl. Zoro unhooked his swords and set them on the deck, walking over to the side and leaning against the rail.

As Chopper had to finish arranging a few things for any future accidents, Kida leapt down from the raised deck and leaned over the rail beside the tall pirate, staring out at the glimmering sea. "It's so beautiful." She murmured, the reflection of the golden waves lingering in her exposed blue eye. It was odd to him. Sometimes, she seemed like such a tough woman, the side of her she showed to most people. But other times, usually when she spoke to Chopper or sometimes, on the rare occasion, himself, she showed a much softer side. Whenever she did, he felt odd, almost protective. Normally, Zoro told himself that it was merely the fact that she had let her guard down, and she was just a woman.

"It is." He agreed softly, resting his chin on his arms as he glanced out at the water, trying to clear his head of any thoughts.

She looked over at him and smiled, setting her hands on the rail. "You know...I never thanked you."

"For what?" Zoro asked, abandoning his attempts to clear out his mind.

She cleared her throat and adjusted her footing, almost nervously. "Well, I probably would have never joined this crew if I hadn't met you that day. I'd still be stuck there, kicking swordsmen away from the waterfall." She smiled as he laughed at her joke.

"Well then, you're welcome." He smiled broadly up at her, then blinked, just then seeing that she had been exceptionally nervous. He started to feel that protective feeling in the pit of his stomach, especially when Sanji slid up behind her and set his hand on her lower back.

"Sanji!" Kida jumped, blinking at the blonde chef, who didn't seem to notice that she had been in a private conversation with Zoro.

"Ah, Kida. Have I ever told you how radiant you look in the setting sunlight?" Sanji asked poetically.

Zoro grunted at shook his head, standing in silence as he heard Sanji tell Kida exactly everything that Zoro himself had thought, until he blinked. 'Wait a minute...everything I just thought...?' He asked himself, shaking his head. 'I gotta knock it off. She's just a member of the crew.' He glanced over at Sanji and the girl and stood, heading back into the cabin.

-----

It was finally time to dock at Nanohana. It had been so incredibly chaotic that Zoro rarely ever got a chance to get Kida in private, but now that they had gotten to the desert continent, he doubted that he would get her in private now either. But now that Baroque Works was getting more and more involved, he had a lot more to worry about then talking to her, and he was certain she felt the same.

Luffy, again, had made his lone pilgrimage to the nearest restaurant, and the rest of them had left Sanji in charge of purchasing clothes while they sat in the shade. It didn't really help all that much, as the heat was nearly unbearable. Kida sighed as she rested her head against the wall, staring up at the cloudless sky. "Maybe we should go looking for them." She mumbled, not putting forth much effort to move.

Zoro grunted, holding his hand up in the air. "After you."

As if on cue, Sanji and Chopper showed up from the beaming sunlight. "Good timing, guys." Kida nodded, standing up with the help of Chopper and taking her clothes. "Thanks." She nodded, then headed back to get dressed with the other two women. The men slipped on their clothes, which weren't much different from the ones that they were already wearing.

A few minutes later, Vivi and Nami came back, telling Sanji that they looked more like belly dancers then actual people. Zoro blinked, noticing that Kida wasn't with them. "Hey...where's Kida?" He asked the two girls, who informed him that she was still getting dressed.

Sanji leaned in close to the green haired swordsman. "Why so worried, Zoro? Think she went and found herself some nice men to hang out with?"

Zoro glared at the chef, angry at how he had seen through the way that Zoro was trying to hide his worry. "Of course not. Luffy's gone, I don't want to lose any other members of the crew before he gets back."

"Oh, of course. Well, you'll be thanking me later for this, I promise you."

"Thanking you? Why would I be-?" He stopped in midsentence, seeing Kida come out from around the corner. A long, exotic skirt hung loosely on her curvaceous hips, a sparkly stomach shirt covering her upper body though not leaving much to the imagination. She glanced over at Zoro, the bottom half of her face covered by a thin piece of fabric. He knew that the blood had risen to his face, and probably other areas of his body as well.

Sanji leaned over again to Zoro, smirking. "Never mind about thanking me, your expression is thanks enough." He whispered.

"Nice pick, Sanji." She mumbled, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "We're gonna get charcoaled."

Zoro felt like his eyes were glued to the girl's outfit, even blinking took a great deal of thought and physical effort, hoping that Kida hadn't noticed. Of course, she had. Yet she was trying to avoid looking at him, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold back a blush if she made eye contact. Luckily, Sanji jumped in front of Zoro's view and took Kida's hand. "I would do nothing to sabotage your beautiful skin, my sweet. I also purchased some cloaks to protect you."

The three girls blinked and nodded their thanks before seating themselves down. Kida took her seat against the wall again, and Chopper changed back to his brain point, laying down on Kida's shins. He panted from being in the sun too long. After a few short moments, Vivi sighed. "Suppose we should go look for Mr. Luffy?"

Zoro rubbed his cheek. "Probably should. He wouldn't do too well out here in a desert by himself." He offered his hand down to Kida after Chopper had removed himself from her legs. "Need help up?" He asked, feeling the blood rush to his face again as he looked down at her, hoping the reaction that she kept giving him would go away soon.

"Huh? Oh! Sure." She smiled, taking his hand and being lifted off her feet, Zoro forgetting his own strength. "Whoa!" She laughed, regaining her balance. "Heh, not that heavy, Zoro." He blinked a few times and mumbled an apology then realized that she wasn't laughing at him and laughed along.