The Shopping Expedition
A/N: Edited- Made revisions mostly due to some grammatical errors I noticed in the first version. Thank you for the favs, follows, and reviews! It makes me happy to know that others have enjoyed the story so far. Eventually, when time permits, I hope to add a chapter or two to this story, as this plot still tickles my fancy. Hope you'll like them too!
Zoro was a man of his word. He believed that if a man valued his honor, he would keep his promises no matter what sacrifice and work it would entail from him. As a man who used to be a bounty hunter, it was imperative that he followed through with his promises, in order to get paid. He earned his reputation as one of the best bounty hunters because he lived up to his promises of delivering the goods.
He also believed that he was a man of great discipline. He has committed himself to become the greatest swordsman in the world. And in order to do that, he continues to hone his body through constant training. It entails discipline to remain focused and constantly work towards one's goal. He believes that the mastery he has gained over his sword technique and his ability to rival the strongest proves how disciplined he is. He also believes that any challenge he faces is an opportunity to train and be stronger, which is why he has relished facing any challenge that is thrown his way, especially as part of the Straw Hats. To his allies, his ability to face such daunting challenges have been met with awe and admiration, while it has evoked fear and regret from his foes for trying to face him.
But today, because of a certain woman, (no – witch!) masquerading as the navigator of the Thousand Sunny, those two tenets of his being were being sorely tested. Because of the situation she has roped him into, he was about ready to throw everything out the window and be anywhere than where he was right now. Promises be damned! Even now, he can't believe how in the hell he wound up from napping under the tree on the main deck of the Sunny to sitting in a delicate-looking floral upholstered wooden chair, holding a porcelain teacup, situated inside a private dressing room of an expensive shop for…. women's undergarments. Damn it!
Although the room was cool, he felt sweat crease his brow from nerves. His right foot was tapping the floor continuously like a nervous tic, his hand holding the teacup slightly trembled, causing the tea to slightly slosh around inside the cup. Noticing this, Zoro carefully laid the cup down on the saucer placed at the small table beside the chair. He lets out a frustrated sigh. This isn't like him!
He takes a quick look at his surroundings. The room had lilac colored walls with tiny flower designs and was softly lit by lights at every corner of the room. Lining the walls at his left and right side were full-length mirrors. The floor was fully carpeted a dark shade of red. The room was spacious, with no furniture aside from the chair he was sitting on and the small round table by his right side, covered with a lace cloth and a vase overflowing with roses that filled the room with its fragrance. Trying to avoid looking at it directly, several paces in front of him was a large cubicle with a dark purple velvet curtain that hid the navigator changing on the other side...roses, frills, and laces… again Zoro wondered what was he doing here, when he suddenly jumped a bit off the seat when he saw the curtain gently sway, followed by siren's voice calling to him – "Zoro, hold on a minute okay, i'm trying on these lace stockings first."
Siren, Zoro thought grimly, definitely fit Nami in this instance, as he imagined how he was being lured towards his doom, like those poor hapless men in stories told, lured to drown at sea because they could not resist the siren calling to them, just like he could not resist whenever Nami asks something of him.
It all started because the siren extracted a simple promise from him after winning at a card game- accompany her the next time she goes shopping and carry all the bags without any complaint. Looking back on it, he can't believe how foolish he was to let his guard down and think this was but a simple task. After all, Zoro thought, this isn't the first time he has accompanied Nami in her previous excursions buying food, supplies, and even clothes for herself. He even accompanied her a couple of times when she purchased swimsuits.
But this…to Zoro's mind, is different. To him, undergarments are clothes confined to be worn in the bedroom, and thus involves a certain kind of intimacy. It was something that you don't show around to just anyone! And then he thought, "Damn, who am I trying to fool?!" In Zoro's mind, he finally admitted that if it were some other woman, he would probably be slightly uncomfortable or embarrassed catching a lady in dishabille, but would end up just not caring and think it was something inconsequential. After all, seeing women in swimsuits and bikinis is common as a man of the sea, and these outfits expose just as much or maybe even more than ladies' underwear. But THIS is a wholly different experience. To see Nami wearing lacy bras and panties in the flesh for the first time comes too close to dreams and fantasies he's been having of his siren witch. Just thinking about the possibility of his fantasies turning into reality now is making his heart pound even faster and him having to rearrange himself in his seat. Unbeknownst to Nami, this will clearly result in sweet torture for him.
And then a horrifying thought creeps into his mind. In all likelihood, if he sees Nami in underwear, there was a distinct possibility of him eating his words and end up like that ero-cook in Mermaid Isle right in front of Nami!
No! Zoro's eye suddenly flashes fire. His steely resolve pushing through as the internal war inside him reaches a precipice- "I have faced situations more dire than this, I have mastered my self-restraint and have disciplined myself too much to fail and fall in this battle now. I am a man, damn it all!"
Suddenly, Zoro's internal dialogue was interrupted by the rustling sound of the curtain and a delicate hand at the edge the curtain slightly pulling it back. Nami then calls out, "Zoro…can you help me with these ribbons?"
And he suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, knowing doom was upon him.