A.N: I am making this little two shot M fic to cure my writer's block. My series is going flat and I can't seem to finish any of my other chapters so I am hoping this one with cure my OcxZoro block.
Please enjoy! And for those of you who don't know my regular One Piece OC, I ask that you visit my T-rated fic.
A Love in Grand Jipang
Grand Jipang
I enjoyed a midnight drift as much as the next girl but when this midnight drift included looking for a missing girl, I felt all the need to complain.
"Has to run away at the last moment without her father knowing, and why do I have to return her in the first place? Isn't Robin taking care of that preparation herself?"
I tightened the obi around my white yukata and adjusted the sleeves of my happi. The crest on the back was of the Tora Clan, my clan. Even though I worked for the Head Family at the palace, I still valued my clan.
Now I was on a wild goose chase for a runaway princess. Could today get any more exciting?
"You can't escape us!"
I turned to find a group of weird looking men chasing someone down the night street. I recognized the pale blue hair of the pursued and sighed. Apparently they were about to get much more exciting. I straightened myself and grasped at the hidden kodachi, Toratsume, at my hip. If push comes to shove, I would need to protect her.
The princess turned into the alley and ran straight through, ignoring the warnings of the men behind her. I jumped from the boat I was currently using as a travel road. Just as I opened my mouth to alert them, I saw the princess attack. I cursed silently and hide behind the tree as the men attacked right back. Now was the time for me to get this on with before she became seriously hurt. The man with the strange painted face drew his katana and pointed it at her head. I grasped the grip of Toratsume and took a step forward.
"Don't take us lightly."
I took another step, and would have attacked if not for the amazingly loud yawn the penetrated the silence. I looked over at the creator of the yawn. A boat was the source of the yawn. I ducked back behind the tree as a man sat up and stretched. He yawned once more before standing, shedding the straw mat that had been hiding him this entire time. This first thing I noticed was he wore a monk cloth. I shook my head again to see if I was wrong, but I wasn't. He was most definitely a monk. One of the guys grimaced at him.
"Who the hell are you? What business do you have here?"
Before he could finish questioning the monk, the man jumped from the boat and landed safely on the edge. His dark straw conical hat covered most of his face and besides, in the dark I couldn't see much. He spoke, his voice casual.
"I've something to tell you."
The leader of the gang grinned at the monk. "We don't have time for Buddhist lectures, or are you trying to act like a hero?" I watched silently, waiting to see what the monk would do, all the while keeping my hands on Toratsume.
"To save people is a job for God or Buddha. I've no interest in that."
My heart, on its own accord did a slight flip. He had to be the coolest monk I had ever come across. Seeing as I worked in the palace most of the time, that was saying a lot.
"Anyway, can I get in on it?"
My heart jumped again, this time in fear. Was he planning on helping capture the princess? My hand tensed and I brought my foot out to leap in if needed. If he tried I would slice him without a qualm.
"No food or drink for three days. I won't earn any rewards if I ruin myself further."
I could have almost laughed. He was starving, and thirsty, and willing to do anything to earn money for meals. I could have wept, for maybe if I could get to him first I could offer him a deal. I prepared to leap again-seriously I was on edge at this moment-but was stopped again as one of the men, the same who asked who he was, grabbed him by the collar.
"Get lost, you shitty bonze."
In my life I learned to never call a monk a bonze, for that matter a "shitty bonze". So at this moment I feared for the idiot's life. All of a sudden, the monk latched his staff around the back of the idiot's legs and tripped him. I stood opened mouthed as the man flew backwards into the river. The splash echoed through the night. The monk stared out for a second before smiling.
"Oops, I'm sorry. My hand slipped."
"You bastard!"
I watched as the leader dove for the green haired monk, as I now saw that it was indeed green, and sliced downwards with his katana. The next couple of men dove forward as well. I took another step to leap in, but I was not needed. With a flourish of perfect moves, the monk dispense and wacked all the men who came within range of his staff. I stared in awe. He was incredible, his moves perfect and flawless. It wasn't until the last man charged that I noticed a watchmen's lamp in the distance.
"Damn," I whispered. "Not enough time to grab her and him." So saying I retreated to the shadows of the trees and waited this one out. The leader had gotten back up and turned to look at the lamplight.
"Oh no! It's Straw Hat!"
Straw hat, huh? I stared out to look past the light and sure enough it was the famous Straw Hat Oyabun. Maybe I could use his help. The men stood and the leader shouted for them to leave. One by one the men stood and hobbled away. Content to know that the princess was alright I turned to leave, but not before looking over to see the monk one last time. He had returned to his boat for a second before grabbing his things and leaving the lorry. When the long nose tried to accuse him of hurting the princess, oyabun came to his rescue. As he turned to leave again, the monk lifted his conical and grinned. My heart did another loop on its own accord again.
"Bye, Straw Hat Oyabun-san." He clonked down the road, leaving silence in his wake, so I turned to look over to the princess. They were already helping her up and leading her away. Maybe I was content to leave her in Oyabun's hands, or maybe my little trippy heart wouldn't let me leave the monk alone. Either way, I would have followed him.
As the night wore thin, I found that following the monk was nothing special. He simply walked for ever without any clue to his destination. Seeing as this was getting me nowhere, I decided to make my entrance. I jumped two roofs away and waited until he was a feet below me before I sprang. He had amazing reflexes for a monk and even as my right gata hit the ground, he swung the staff at me. Toratsume was out of its scabbard before he even came within an inch. He stared at me, respect flashing in his green eyes.
"So you finally attacked. I wondered when you would have the guts to get on with it."
His response made me laugh, but I smiled instead. With a twist of my wrist, I moved his staff to the ground and grabbed at its end. The green haired monk saw the move, and moved the staff down and up to counteract the twist. He brought it up to my defenseless side and swung out again. This time I simply leapt back a pace. Smiling still while he frowned at me, I sheathed Toratsume.
"Not many have been able to move as quickly as Toratsume and me. I respect that, even in a lowly, starving monk."
"What's your point, woman?"
I sneered before shaking my head.
"Really let's start with introductions first." I bowed slightly and bent my arm over my chest in a commander's salute. "I am Mina Delacroix, of the Tora Clan. It is an honor to meet you."
He stared at me for the longest while before lowering his staff and tipping is conical lightly. "Roronoa Zoro." Ah, even his name spoke volumes. "Now could you tell me why you have been following me since the river?"
"Oh, so you knew I was at the river also. Funny, really, and to tell the truth I can't answer that completely, only know that you intrigue me Zoro-san." He gave me a silly confused look before walking up to me. "Why would I intrigue you, Mina-san?"
"Why? It is because you are strong."
He nodded in consideration. "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. As long as there is food and drink involved I'll help." I almost giggled at his choice of words, so innocent.
"I need you to help me protect someone. I promise all the food and drink you desire if you help me do this." He stared at me again and this time I felt self-conscious. "What? If you can't help, then stop staring at me." He blinked as if he was pulled from his thoughts.
"Sorry," he mumbled, lowering his conical once more. "It's just your hair is a weird color." I tugged at my white and black hair and twisted a bit between my fingers. I lowered my head, blushing slightly.
"Certainly, it can't be as weird as your hair, Zoro-san."
He huffed. "Lead on then, Mina-san." I nodded and led him down the road to the building I had set up as a safe house. Tonight was going to be a long night.
A.N: Chapter 2 and the lemon start next. Sadly, as many times as I have tried to write my ZoroxMina, ZoroxOC story M-rated, I never seemed to succeed, hopefully this will help.
Word Explanation
Note: For those of you fans who haven't seen the Oyabun TV Special, I feel sorry for not explaining. Gomen!
Yukata: a common robe for women
Happi: a straight short sleeved coat, usually has a symbol on the back
Tora: in case of Mina's clan, she is part of the tiger clan
Kodachi: a sword that is longer than a dagger, but shorter than a katana
Toratsume: Mina's kodachi, it basically means Tiger Claw, which is Mina's bounty name.
Bonze: monk, I think it is a rough term for a monk though
Conical Hat: even if it is not italicized, it is the Japanese straw hat that Zoro wears in the Oyabun Special.
Gata: straw sandals
