This was it. The day Zoro had been training and competing the last two years for; he had a meeting with one of the leaders of an underground fight club. Not just any underground fight club, but the underground fight club. The organization called themselves The New World, claiming they had brought about a whole new level and style of underground fighting to America. There were a lot of different teams you could join that fell under the name of New World organizations, but Zoro had never been invited in to any until now. He figured he really owed it to Luffy for getting him a place on the team. It was currently run by a red haired man named Shanks- or maybe not named Shanks, but that was what he called himself. Luffy fought for him, and Shanks seemed to almost step into the father role in Luffy's life, leaving the two equally dedicated to each other. Zoro had met him once before when the offer was extended after his most recent fight last week, where some of the New World leaders had come to check out the upcoming fighters. Rumor had it that a couple of the teams were looking for some spots to be filled. Sure, Zoro could have easily kept climbing the rankings outside of New World's radar, but he needed to be affiliated with the name in order to attract the attention of a certain swordsman who was on the most elite team underground fighting had ever seen; they were known as the Warlords. They consisted of about seven people, but Zoro was only interested in one; Hawk. Hawk currently had the title of the best swordsman in the world, and as far as Zoro was concerned, that was a title he was going to take. But he had to be in the same system as Hawk to even get a fight, or he would be brushed off and the challenge never accepted officially. And now he was going to be.
He had woken up early that morning, barely able to sleep in his excitement. Running a hand through his short green hair, he decided not to dress to impress that much, but stick to a more casual appearacne. Dressing up was for the higher-ups in New World; your style of dress represented your status. So, not wanting to overstep and associate himself with Shank's level of power, he chose dark jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Not able to wait another second, and thinking it would be better not to be late anyway, he decided to leave ten minutes early. He grabbed the keys to his bike and practically ran out the door to his driveway. The drive there wasn't long at all. The meeting was going to take place at the arena itself. Zoro had only been to the first floor, where the entrance and lounge area was, and the basement, where the fight ring and spectator seating was. But he knew there was a second and third floor where more official business was held. And today, Zoro was going to the second floor. Arriving perfectly on time- how did he go from being early to being just on time? Oh well- he parked his bike and headed in. The building was so familiar that it eased his nerves a bit. He wasn't scared, just nervous because social things were not his greatest strength. He could cut a man down in seconds, but he couldn't always present himself smoothly when he had to talk. The plain fronted brick building and shabby doors made it completely inconspicuous to any who didn't know about the underground organizations who gathered here for fighting. And both the elevator and door to the stairs required a key card to open, so only members could get anywhere other than the lounge area. So, to anyone who did stumble upon it, it was just a room with tons of seating, a bar, and interesting lighting. Pushing the front doors open and heading across the floor to the back where the stairs were, Zoro held his card up to the door, and the light next to it turned from red to green. Grinning, he walked through the doors, and for the first time in his life he went up the stairs, instead of down. He wasn't an expert on metaphors, but this felt like a good one to him.
Reaching the door to the second floor, he found that too needed a card key to access it. Praying his would work, he held it against the scanner. Hearing the accepting click of the lock retreating, Zoro's heart jumped and the reality of his situation sank in. He had a place in New World.
He looked around and took in the setting. It was only a small hallway with a bunch of dark wood doors on either side, evenly spaced throughout the brick wall. Fortunately, Zoro noticed as he walked down the hallway, the names of the person each office belonged to were on every door. He read some of them, and barely any were familiar. The one he did recognize was Whitebeard, because his best friend Ace fought for the man. Zoro had never personally met him, but he knew Ace completely idolized him, and spent all his free time ranting about how he was going to make Whitebeard and his team surpass even the Warlords, and claim the title as the most elite underground fight team in the world. Finally, Zoro came across the door labeled with Shanks' name, and knocked. He heard a muffled but inviting, "come in!" through the door, and pushed it open.
The inside of the room was simple but classy. A large window filled the back wall, surrounded by gold curtains. and the brick walls had clearly been covered with drywall and painted a deep crimson color. The furniture was all dark wood, like the desk, cabinets, and the long table that stretched against the wall, and a couple random black leather chairs and couches were scattered throughout. To match the curtains, there were decorations and lamps with gold accents in various places as well. It seemed like it should have been a little odd with the color combination and mixture of textures everything had, but both the room and the red haired man in it seemed to hold itself in a way that owned the oddness of the appearance and made it into something strong and unique. Shanks smiled at him warmly, and gestured to one of the two seats on the other side of his desk.
"Zoro," he greeted, "good to see you again, glad you could make it."
Zoro felt relieved at the man's friendly demeanor- he could tell why Luffy liked this guy and still fought for him when there were higher ranking men who offered Luffy a spot on their teams. He felt some tension leave him as he replied sincerely, "I wouldn't have missed it for the world, I've been waiting for this for years now. Thank you."
Shanks' eyes crinkled as he smiled, and he half laughed, "Well, not a problem. It was your skill that got my attention, after all!" Then he laughed added, "Well, that and Luffy telling me you're going to be the world's best someday, and that I would be stupid to pass you up."
Zoro reddened a little at both the compliment, and the fact that it was Luffy after all who got him the opportunity. He rubbed the back of his neck, and didn't quite know what to say, but Shanks read his mind before he even had a chance to reply. "Not that I wasn't already looking your way before Luffy opened his mouth. It kind of just sealed the deal, you know?" Shanks grinned at him, but then turned serious, and the swordsman suddenly felt there was a catch to all this. "Although, I have to say, I really only have a place for one more on my team, Zoro."
Zoro raised an eyebrow, and couldn't help the sarcastic question that came out of his mouth, "What are you implying, do I suddenly have two heads and not count as one man?"
As soon as he said it he cringed; he didn't want to make it sound like he thought he deserved the spot automatically, or that he was already accepted on. He still had to make it through this meeting and maybe something else after that, even, depending on what Shanks decided.
Fortunately, Shanks laughed lightly and said, "Luffy told me you were a funny one!" And then he sat up straighter and clarified, "But no, the problem is that I only have one spot left, but there was someone else from another city's underground organization that I have had my eye on for a while. And turns out he's moving to Chicago for good, and he's willing to join my team now too. And I really don't know which one of you to take…"
Shanks looked like the decision was already a difficult one, and Zoro's heart sank at the news. He felt that it would be foolish to pick him, who had had the offer for about a week now, over this man who Shanks had apparently been wanting from across the country for a long time now. Would he still make it? Suddenly Zoro didn't like this man, and he wanted a chance to prove to Shanks that he could be better. With determination, Zoro decided he wanted to meet this man and take him down- nobody could get in the way of his dream!
Shanks saw the look on Zoro's face and, seeming to again be able to read his mind, informed him, "He should be here any minute now, he's coming to this meeting too, since you two are both trying for the same spot."
Zoro tried to appear friendly, and leaned back in his seat casually. Curious, he asked, "Alright, what's this dude's name?"
At that moment, a voice from the doorway answered, "Sanji. Sanji Black."