Meet the Parents
By: Escachick357
Disclaimer- I don't own One Piece or its characters except for Emily, Cherry, Misao, Riku, and Naoko
A/N: Okay, this is kinda a sequel to The Melody of the Seas. This story is about Zoro when he goes to his hometown to see his parents. This story mainly features Zoro and Emily, so if you don't like any of them, then please don't read this story. Hope ya like it.
- - - - - -
It was a nice sunny day on the sea. The soft sea breeze was calming for each of the Straw Hat Pirates on the Going Merry. At the time, everybody was doing their usual tasks: Luffy was sitting on the bow, Zoro was sleeping, Nami was looking over her map, Usopp was experimenting on weapons, Sanji was offering snacks to the girls, Chopper and Robin were reading, and Emily was busy playing games with Cherry.
Everything was calm until Luffy asked, "So, where are we going again?"
Nami let out a sigh, "We're going to Siatoru."
Zoro's eyes quickly opened. "Where are we going?" he asked frantically.
"Siatoru." Nami answered.
Zoro shook his head, "No we're not."
Nami nodded her head, "Yes, we are. Our supplies are low and the closest city is Siatoru."
"She's right." Robin called from her chair. Zoro grumbled.
"What's wrong with Siatoru?" Emily asked, sitting down next to him with Cherry.
"Yeah, is it a dump or something?" Usopp asked.
Zoro shook his head, "It's not a dump."
"Then, what's wrong with it?" Emily asked.
Zoro took a deep breath, "Siatoru is my hometown. My parents still live there."
"You have parents? When was the last time you saw them?" Chopper asked, looking up from his book.
"I last saw them when I was ten." Zoro answered.
"That long? What's wrong? Were they abusive or something?" Sanji asked.
Zoro stared at him, "No, they weren't abusive, but…"
"But what?" Emily asked him.
"Well, dammit! No grown man would go to his parents after ten years of being gone!" Zoro shouted, closing his eyes.
Cherry hopped off of Emily's lap and onto Zoro's. She then began to rub her small head against Zoro's.
"Leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it." Zoro commanded without opening his eyes. Cherry kept rubbing her head against his. "Emily…" Zoro started.
Emily let out a sigh, "Leave him alone, Cherry." Instantly, Cherry hopped back to Emily's lap.
None of the crew had decided to bother Zoro about his uneasiness of Siatoru for the rest of the evening. In fact, everybody tried to forget all about that very afternoon. Of course, that didn't mean that the trip to Siatoru would be ignored. Supplies were low and Siatoru was the place they needed to stop at.
- - - - - -
Zoro woke up the next morning feeling extremely uncomfortable even though nobody was acting strange. The crew ate their breakfast like they normally did, but Zoro was still feeling uneasy. From on top of the deck, Usopp cried out, "Land!"
Quickly, everybody except for Emily, Cherry, and Zoro ran onto the deck.
Nami looked at both the map and land in front of her. She placed a smile on her face, "It's Siatoru. We're here!"
Emily and Cherry ran onto the deck and stared in amazement at the land. How can he not like anything so beautiful? Emily wondered as Sanji and Chopper let down the anchor.
Zoro walked onto the deck and helped tie the ship to a nearby dock.
"So, who's staying?" Luffy asked.
Before Zoro could say anything, Usopp shouted, "Me! I'm going to be fixing weapons and need silence and space." Zoro stared at him.
"Besides Zoro. While you're here you should see your parents. I'd like to meet them." Emily said.
Zoro shook his head, "I'm not going to see my parents. Not no way, not no how. You can't make me."
- - -FIVE MINUTES LATER- - -
"I can't believe I'm going to my parent's house." Zoro muttered.
"Oh come on, Zoro. Your parents can't be all that bad." Emily said from next to him.
Zoro grumbled, "I can't believe you're making me do this." Emily and Cherry giggled. Zoro, Emily, and Cherry (who was sitting on Emily's shoulder) walked down the roads of Siatoru and stopped when they reached a mailbox with the name "Roronoa" painted on it.
Zoro led Emily and Cherry to a medium sized brown house behind the mailbox. The three then stood in front of a brown door.
"Aren't you going to knock?" Emily asked Zoro.
"No, why should I?" Zoro asked her. Emily let out a sigh and bravely knocked on the door. "Emily…" Zoro started. He didn't get any farther than that. The door opened and a woman's scream filled the air.
Emily and Cherry quickly hid behind Zoro as a green haired woman just slightly shorter than Zoro threw her arms around his shoulders, crying, "Zoro, my little boy. Oh my God…it's been so long."
"Hey, Mom." Zoro said, nervously patting the woman's back, "Uhhh…Mom? I…can't breathe…" The woman let go of him, but didn't stop crying.
"What's the matter, Naoko?" A man's voice asked from inside the house. The man, who also had green hair and looked almost exactly like Zoro, walked up to the door and stopped.
"Hello, Dad." Zoro said to the man.
The man stared at Zoro, "Hello, son. Well, it's been ten years and you never wrote to tell your mother and me that you had a kid."
Naoko paused. She didn't even notice Emily until just now. She pushed Zoro softly aside and knelt down in front of Emily. "She's so cute. Zoro, why didn't you tell us you had such a cute daughter? What's her name?" Naoko asked with a hand under Emily's chin.
"Her name is Emily…and she's not my daughter." Zoro told his parents.
"What do you mean she's not your daughter? She looks almost exactly like you." Naoko told him.
"Emily is an orphan that I recently adopted as my sister…and she's twelve." Zoro answered.
His father walked up to Emily and looked her over, "A bit small for a twelve year old." Emily blushed.
"Be nice to her, Riku." Naoko told her husband before turning back to Emily, "So, Emily…our son has adopted you as his sister?" Emily nodded. Naoko cried and threw her arms over Emily's shoulders, narrowly missing Cherry. "I got a little girl!" Naoko cried out happily. Emily smiled a little until the woman let go of her.
"Who's your friend?" Riku asked Emily.
Emily held Cherry in her small hands and up to Riku, "Her name is Cherry. She's a Mailing Cat."
Naoko reached forward and began to stroke Cherry's head. Cherry let out a happy purr. After a while, Naoko and Riku led Zoro, Emily, and Cherry into the house. The house inside looked a lot smaller than both Zoro and Emily thought it would, but it was most likely because of all the things everywhere: shelves full of teas, cabinets of alcohol, chairs, a large fireplace, an upright piano, and much more…and that was only in one room.
"Hey, Mom? When'd you get the piano?" Zoro asked, pointing at the piano.
"Oh," Naoko answered, "We got that about a year after you left."
"Can you play it? I've never heard you play an instrument before…or Dad." Zoro asked.
"What are you talking about? I used to be a master at the drums." Riku told his son.
"And the drums used to be my head!" Zoro pointed out.
As both Riku and Zoro argued, Emily let out a soft giggle. She thought it was hilarious to see Zoro and someone else fight…as long as it was painless and not serious.
"Do you know how to play the piano, Emily?" Naoko shouted above the arguing of her husband and son.
Emily shook her head and shouted back, "I only know how to play a song or two with only one hand, but I mastered the flute. Will you play a song?"
Naoko smiled and sat on the piano bench. She quietly took off the top of the piano above the keys, took a deep breath, placed her fingers on the keys, and began to play. Almost instantly, Zoro and Riku stopped fighting and listened to the music coming from the piano Naoko was at.
"Damn, Mom. You really can play the piano." Zoro said to Naoko.
Naoko finished the song and turned towards her son, "Of course. I used to play before you were born then took a break for a few years."
"Why did you stop?" Zoro asked.
"I had a house, a man, and a little boy to take care of. I was too busy to play." Naoko told him, "And besides, it was worth it to care for my little boy who used to wake up crying because he claimed he saw an evil monkey in his closet." Emily began to laugh.
Zoro turned red, "MOM!"
"Stop teasing the man, Naoko." Riku said to his wife.
Naoko laughed, "Okay, okay. I'll leave him and alone and brew up some tea."
"Do you want me to help you?" Emily asked.
Naoko shook her head, "You just relax anywhere you want." Emily shrugged and took a seat on a nearby couch. Zoro sat down next to her. Emily looked on top of the fireplace at the many pictures that lay on top.
"Is that you?" Emily asked, pointing at a picture of a much younger Riku and Naoko and a small green haired boy of about eight or nine. Zoro nodded his head. Emily giggled, "You look like Aron."
"Who's Aron?" Riku asked, sitting next to her.
"He was my big brother. He died when I was a month old and he was seven." Emily answered, showing sadness on her face. Nobody said anything else to her.
Naoko then walked into the room holding a tray that had two cups, two mugs, a bowl, tea, alcohol, and milk. The alcohol was poured in the mugs and given to Zoro and Riku, the tea was poured in the cups and given to Naoko and Emily, and the milk was poured in the bowl and given to Cherry. Zoro and his father downed their drinks while Zoro told both his parents about both his and Emily's life of piracy.
After 20 minutes, Riku and Zoro stepped outside to the backyard. Naoko took a good look at Emily, "Now Emily, since they're gone, I want to know more about you."
"Me?" Emily asked.
Naoko nodded her head, "I want you to tell me everything."
"E-everything?" Emily stammered. Naoko nodded, "Everything."
- - - - - -
"So, you think you're really strong?" Riku asked his son.
Zoro shook his head, "No, I know I am."
Riku smiled, "Then fight me. Prove to me that you really are that strong."
Zoro smirked, "No problem."
Instantly, the two men ran at each other, fists flying. Although Zoro was an expert swordsman, he was just as good a fist fighter as he was a sword fighter.
The fight lasted almost an hour. Riku was an expert fist fighter, almost better than his own son, but in the end, Zoro ended up being the victor.
"I am strong." Zoro told his father.
Riku nodded, "You made me proud, son."
"What, so I didn't before?" Zoro asked.
Riku stared at him and laughed, "I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Zoro."
"You better be, you old fart!" Zoro shouted.
"I guess even if you are a man, that's never going to change." Riku said. Both men laughed.
- - - - - -
"And then Zoro, Nami, and I used the bracelets to destroy Pam." Emily finished. In the whole time Zoro and Riku were gone, Emily had been explaining her life to Naoko: when Shanks saved her after her family was murdered, she claimed Misao as her sister, when Zoro spent his final berries to buy her instead of weights, and the multiple times he got her confidence up. She even explained about another slave teaching Emily and Misao how to play one handed songs on their master's piano without getting caught.
Naoko was shocked, "Oh, you poor girl…"
Emily shook her head, "Don't worry about me. I'm free now and there are other people that have been through worse things than I've been through."
"But Emily, those people are in their 30s or even their 40s. You're only twelve." Naoko argued.
Emily frowned, "I know, but it's okay. All the horrible things are over. I don't have to worry about going back to slavery."
Naoko smiled at her, "I'm glad."
"Me too." Emily giggled, "So tell me more about the evil monkey in Zoro's closet."
Naoko laughed and began telling the story. Riku and Zoro came into the room just as Naoko said, "And the last time the 'monkey' came, Zoro screamed and ran throughout the house screaming 'MOMMY! THE MONKEY'S GOING TO KILL ME!'" Emily was laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe.
Zoro turned red, "MOM!"
Naoko laughed, "Sorry, Zoro. Emily was the one that wanted to know about the monkey."
"EMILY!" Zoro shouted. Emily kept laughing. "Emily…we have to go now." Zoro told her.
Emily stopped laughing, "Okay." She stood up, placed Cherry on her shoulders, and bowed at Riku and Naoko. "It was nice to meet you both." Emily told them.
Riku patted her head and Naoko gave her a hug. "It was so nice meeting you." Naoko told Emily. She stood up and took a good look at both Zoro and Emily, "Be careful out on the seas." Zoro and Emily nodded and left the house.
Once outside, Zoro turned to his sister, "I can't believe you made me go to my parents' house, Emily." Both Emily and Cherry stared at him.
"What do you mean? Your parents are so cool!" Emily shouted with a large smile.
Zoro shook his head, "No, they aren't. I can't believe they acted so…"
"Weird? Well, I think they're supposed to. They haven't seen you in years. I mean, Mama and Papa were acting the same way when they saw me back in Redding." Emily told him.
"Yeah, but you were only gone for three years and the ringmaster and his wife didn't act as weird as my parents." Zoro told her.
"And you were gone for ten." Emily pointed out.
Zoro paused and laughed, "Touché. Now let's go into town. We're probably going to have to leave as soon as possible." Emily nodded and began running. "Last one to the crew gets stuck with the evil monkey in the closet!" Emily shouted.
Zoro ran after her, "EMILY!"
- - - - - -
After Zoro and Emily left, both Riku and Naoko sat back in the living room.
"I'm going to miss those two." Naoko sighed.
Riku nodded, "I know. So will I." The two looked at each other for another few minutes before heading outside: Naoko to the front yard to work on her garden and Riku to the back yard to work on his training.
Naoko was in her garden for only about ten minutes when a large group of Marines were standing outside of the fence of the Roronoa house.
"Is this the home of Roronoa Riku and Naoko?" the leader of the Marines asked.
Naoko nodded, "Yes. May I help you?"
"We are looking for Roronoa Zoro and Emerald Emily." The leader announced.
"I don't know any Emerald Emily and Zoro isn't here." Naoko answered truthfully.
"LIAR!" The leader screamed at her.
"I'm not lying!" Naoko shouted back at him.
The leader of the Marines was getting impatient, "Stop lying to us, woman!"
"I'm not lying!" Naoko shouted.
The leader sighed, "For lying, you will have to be punished…get her!" In an instant, the Marines entered the yard and began to advance on Naoko.
- - - - - -
The race was close, but in the end, Emily was the winner.
"Ha ha! You're going to be bothered by the-" Emily started. Zoro quickly placed a hand over her mouth before she could say "Evil monkey in the closet."
"The what, Emily?" Sanji asked her.
"Nothing. She said nothing." Zoro quickly answered.
"Take your hand off her mouth, Zoro." Nami commanded. Zoro obeyed her and removed his hand from Emily's mouth.
"Now what was going to bother Zoro?" Sanji asked Emily.
Emily smiled, "Can't say."
"Why not?" Robin asked her.
"Because it's a secret between brother and sister." Emily answered, smiling at Zoro. Everybody laughed.
Their laughter was soon interrupted by a small boy crying to his mother.
"Eli, what happened?" A woman asked the small boy.
The boy had little cuts on his arms and legs, a scraped knee, and bruises were on his small arms, legs, and his left cheek. "Mama, I was playing hide-and-seek with the other boys and when it was my turn to hide I asked Mr. Roronoa if I could hide behind his shed while he trained and he let me. I was being really quiet when these Marines began hurting Mrs. Roronoa and headed to Mr. Roronoa. They saw me and began to hit and kick me. Mr. Roronoa got them off of me and told me to run, so I did."
Immediately, Zoro and Emily ran towards Riku and Naoko's house. Like the injured boy said, Marines were beating on Riku and Naoko, who were being unsuccessful and defending themselves.
"STOP!" Emily screamed.
One of the Marines looked back at her and shouted, "There they are! Roronoa Zoro and Emerald Emily!"
The Marines left Riku and Naoko and headed for Zoro and Emily. Zoro took out his swords and Emily took out her boomerang.
"Are you ready?" Zoro asked.
Emily nodded, "Definitely."
Zoro slashed at the Marines while Emily hurled her boomerang. These Marines were pretty skilled, both Zoro and Emily had to admit that.
These Marines were smart enough to come with a large group and bring along nice weapons, but they were stupid to attack an innocent man, woman, and child and even stupider not to shoot or slice one of them with their nice swords or guns. That is, until one of them shot at Zoro's head, which he narrowly dodged. Soon, the other Marines were shooting and swinging their guns and swords wildly at Zoro and Emily.
The battle didn't last much longer. The gunmen were out of bullets and the swordsmen were knocked unconscious. The conscious Marines grabbed their conscious comrades, ran to their ship like wimps, and immediately sailed off.
"Wimps." Zoro muttered. He looked at the ground and noticed an emblem that one of the Marines must have dropped.
The emblem was made from pure gold and had the symbol of the Marines carved into it along with a few carved stars. Zoro picked up the emblem and looked it over. Emily also looked over it.
"I think I've seen this thing before." Emily said.
"Where?" Zoro asked.
"I…don't remember where, but I remember seeing it before." Emily answered.
A scream came from behind them. Naoko was crying and placed a hand on both Zoro and Emily's cheeks.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Zoro asked Naoko.
"You…you both are hurt." Naoko cried.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Zoro asked. Riku led Zoro and Emily into the house and placed them both in front of a large mirror.
Zoro and Emily had the same cuts, scrapes, and bruises as the little boy that was beaten by the Marines, but nothing really serious. Using a little water and two clean rags, Zoro and Emily cleaned up the little blood from their bodies.
"Emily, is your last name Emerald?" Naoko asked Emily.
Emily half nodded, "Yeah, kinda. My real last name is Asakura, but before then I chose the last name Emerald."
Zoro looked over Riku and Naoko. "Mom, Dad? Are you okay? Did those bastards hurt you?" Zoro asked.
"Zoro! Watch your mouth around your sister!" Naoko shouted at her son.
"Sorry, Mom." Zoro sighed.
"We're fine, son." Riku assured Zoro.
Zoro nodded, "That's good."
"But why would Marines attack us?" Naoko asked.
"They were probably looking for me and Zoro and after knowing that you were Zoro's parents, they assumed that you would know our whereabouts. And knowing Marines, they'll do anything to get what they want." Emily answered.
Riku and Naoko frowned, but nodded.
"Don't worry. I doubt the Marines will come back." Zoro told them with a smile. Riku and Naoko smiled back at him.
"Well, since you're a man, I won't be worrying about you leaving. But before you leave, I'm going to give you the same advice my father gave me: you are a man, but I'm a better man, so don't try to get better than me because you never will." Riku told his son.
"Keep dreaming, you old fart." Zoro laughed. Emily, Riku, and Naoko joined him.
After the laughing was over, Naoko gave both Zoro and Emily hugs and a kiss on each forehead.
"I'm going to miss you both so much." Naoko cried.
"Don't worry. When Cherry gets old enough, we'll send letters to you." Emily told her.
Naoko smiled, "I'd like that."
"We need to go now. Good-bye Mom and Dad." Zoro said. Riku and Naoko gave a good-bye to Zoro, Emily, and Cherry.
The three smiled and walked back to the Going Merry. The other Straw Hat Pirates were already ready to leave. Before Emily walked onto the ship, a piece of paper was placed in her hands. She slightly turned her head and saw Riku and Naoko standing there. Both were smiling widely. Emily smiled back and headed onto the ship. The anchor was pulled up and the ship began to sail away from Siatoru. Riku and Naoko waved good-bye. Zoro and Emily waved back.
Once the ship was out of sight of Siatoru, Zoro stopped waving and turned to Emily.
"Mom gave you a note, right?" Zoro asked her.
Emily nodded.
"Well, what does it say?" He asked her. Emily reached into her pocket, pulled out the note, opened it up, and began reading out loud.
Zoro and Emily,
Words can't express how glad we were to have been able to meet Emily or see Zoro again, or how afraid we were after seeing the large group of Marines heading after you even though you beat them and escaped with a few scratches and bruises, or even how saddened we were after knowing that you would be heading back to the sea, but we knew we couldn't stop you.
Zoro, you really have grown up from our little baby boy to a strong and caring man and we're really grateful for all of that. Emily, we are very happy that we were able to meet a sweet girl like you. We both hope for you two to write us as soon as Cherry gets big enough and we both hope to see you again in the future.
-Roronoa Riku and Naoko
P.S. Zoro, the evil monkey in your closet is really going to miss you.
"Dammit, Mom!" Zoro shouted into the sea. Emily let out a light giggle. "Do you think that damn stupid monkey is ever going to leave me alone?" Zoro asked his sister.
Emily shrugged, "Maybe. Don't worry, Zoro. Your monkey is back at your parents' house is Siatoru."
Zoro let out a sigh, "At least I won't have to worry about it."
- - -LATER THAT NIGHT- - -
"AAAHHH!" A loud scream came from the men's quarters. The scream echoed throughout the ship, waking everyone up from their light and deep slumbers. The owner of the scream ran all around the ship, screaming for help.
Nami and Emily ran out of their room, Robin(who was on her shift) from the crow's nest, and Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, and Chopper from their room. The seven of them met the screaming Usopp in the lounge.
"What's wrong, Usopp?" Luffy asked, letting out a tired yawn.
"T-there's an evil monkey in my closet!" Usopp screamed.
"Really?" Chopper asked with a scared look on his face. Luffy also looked scared.
"There's no evil monkey in the closet." Zoro told him.
"Yes, there is! I saw him!" Usopp argued. Zoro raised his fist and knocked Usopp unconscious. Everyone headed back to their quarters or crow's nest for their shift.
"Are you sure there's no evil monkey in the closet?" Chopper asked Zoro.
Zoro shook his head, "There's no monkey." He lay down in his hammock grumbling. The evil monkey in the closet, even though it wasn't real, was never going to leave him alone.
The End
- - - - - -
A/N: Okay, that was my story. I picked up the evil monkey in the closet from Family Guy, but everything else is made up by me. R/R if you want, but if you hate it, don't flame me. Oh, and the evil monkey is NOT Luffy. It's just an imaginary monkey that isn't real, kind of like the boogeyman. He's not real, yet some kids claim that they see him.