"I'm sorry but the person you have called is not available." Shit, that old man was supposed to be using that damn phone. Was a flip phone too advanced for him? He slammed the payphone down and took a quick glance to his right. A black 4x4 was parked on the other side of the busy street, watching and waiting. Despite the tinted windows, he knew exactly who was inside. He knew exactly who was watching his every move.
They were waiting for him to flinch, to show some sign that he was about to make a run for it. Of course he was going to run, as far as he could hopefully, but he had to pretend he hadn't seen them yet. He casually took out some spare change and pretended to count the precious coins he had left. How in the hell did they get here so fast?
This Spandam bastard truly was a clever idiot. Clever in the sense that he knew exactly how to ruin someone's life within confines of the law, and an idiot because evidently, that purple haired freak was still chasing after said person. He inhaled a deep breath of crisp air and gently pushed the coins back into his front jeans pocket. Without any more hesitation or sideways glances, he launched into a full sprint down the heavily crowded pavement.
He didn't have a damn clue where he was headed, it didn't even matter. The more distance between him and that vehicle, the better. Large crowds were certainly ideal for losing your pursuer, but there was always the risk of stumbling onto an agent blended into the herd of businessmen and shoppers, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
He didn't have time to think about that though. All he had to do was just get out of there, just run, run, run, don't stop running until his gut instincts told him that he was safe. His pace slowed when he spotted an especially large crowd headed toward him and he managed to squeeze though a gap within the human barricade. Men and women gave him odd looks and some of them were smart enough to veer out of his way as he ran past them like an escaped convict.
An approaching alleyway was the key to his escape, as long as he kept cutting through the city, there was no way they would be able to catch up to him. The morning sun shone brightly in his eyes and sweat beads began to form across his forehead, although that was mainly due to the woolly hat covering his hair. What a perfect start to the day, he thought.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The Sunny Go apartment complex stood in the very heart of the cosmopolitan city of Grandline and housed some of the most unique tenants in the whole of the city. On the first floor there was an array of skilled carpenters who had built the apartment themselves and were usually employed in the most lavish part of Grandline, Water 7. The rest of the floors housed other colourful people like Dr Kureha, who had the body of an 80 year old woman and the attitude of a teenager, Jango the hypnotist who had an uncanny likeness to Michael Jackson, a ballet dancing okama who went by the peculiar name of Mr 2, and many many more. However on the 12th floor of the apartment complex contained the most colourful, noisy and insane group of people that occupied the whole building. The other tenants named them the straw hat crew seeing as the "captain" of the group was never seen without wearing his iconic straw hat.
Zoro Roronoa was a member of this wacky group and was currently staring blankly at the ceiling of his master bedroom after being rudely awoken by his alarm clock. Zoro didn't want to get out of his bed today, he really didn't. Any other day he would be in the shower by now but today he had to go to a damn pointless interview. Well, it wasn't really pointless seeing as he would be earning much more than he was now if he was hired but he didn't really want to go through all the trouble. He had to wear an uncomfortably tight suit that restricted his movements, sit in front of rich snobby interviewers while they judged his every word and movement. Normally Zoro didn't give a damn about what people thought about him but this time he had to care, because if he didn't they would just turn him down. The job itself sounded pointless. He had to teach self-defence classes and the students were no doubt snobby rich kids with Harvard university degrees and fancy haircuts. He'd probably get sued if one of them got so much as a paper cut and if that wasn't enough he had teach in a pristine white walled gym in a fancy office building. What the hell happened to good old fashioned dojos? But Zoro just had to face up to the facts. He needed money for the amount of travelling he did and an especially large amount to pay for information, not to mention that the bills needed paying and he needed to pay back the she-devil, Nami, after regretfully asking to borrow some money. He called her a friend but Zoro was a firm believer that she would gladly kill him in his sleep if it meant money was involved.
And so after a defeated sigh, Zoro heaved himself out of his warm bed and proceeded to take a shower. The water that hit his face awakened his senses and he found himself to be in a slightly better mood after he stepped out of the shower. Zoro grabbed a towel to roughly dry his obscure green hair and wrapped it round his lower half and advanced into the kitchen, all the while dripping water all over the floorboards. His apartment was designed so that the kitchen was a part of the living room and featured a fridge, cooker, sink, microwave and cupboards. It was kept relatively clean except the fridge was never full and he had to sometimes rely on his other female friend, Robin Nico, to buy his groceries. She didn't mind however, although recently she hadn't been in the generous mood and had ceased to call round every Wednesday to pick up his shopping list.
Zoro shrugged to himself as he spotted a full carton of milk in the refrigerator and made himself a bowl of cereal. He wasn't exactly a culinary expert but he got on alright and he knew fully the importance of food when it came to maintaining his strong physique. Zoro recalled Luffy mentioning the other night about how awesome it would be if they could find someone who could cook some good food to add to their gang. That way they could have parties every night and not have to worry about paying for a takeaway. The tenants of the Sunny Go apartments were no stranger to the extravagant parties that the straw-hat crew would host and they would occasionally join in the fun. This was only achievable by the design of the complex as there was a massive square shaped shaft going through the middle. It was bordered off by a small balcony and so if you looked over the edge you could see all the way down to reception and because the floors were so close together it was easy to have a conversation with your neighbours who lived two floors down.
Zoro paused his thoughts when he noticed a small sticky note on the end of the counter and read the words "Interview time changed from 11.30 to 09:30" and then looked up at the nearest clock that read 09:15. A spoonful of cereal slipped comically into the bowl as he looked disbelievingly at the words. Zoro blinked a couple of times and resorted to rubbing his eyes in hopes that when he looked at the note again the words would've miraculously rearranged themselves to say something else, but they didn't. Oh…shit. Zoro practically leapt across his apartment and ran into the bedroom, wrenched the wardrobe door open so fiercely it almost broke in half and set to work on removing his sweats and squeezing himself in the suit. How in hell had this happened?
He had set his alarm for 09:00 yesterday morning; he wanted to make sure that he had plenty of time to prepare and not rush like he was doing now. But Zoro also remembered finding a message left for him on the answering machine after he had come home from work. He had written it down of course but then Luffy, Usopp and Chopper came over to his apartment to remind him that it was game night. What had started as a four player Timesplitters tournament transformed into a night of drinking with the arrival of Ace , Brook and Nami. Although it was extremely hard for Zoro to get drunk, time flies when you're having fun and as soon as he found out that the time was one thirty in the morning he found it best to politely tell his guests to "GET THE FUCK OUT" and dragged himself into bed.
Zoro regretted every minute, every second he had spent emptying beer bottles and watching Nami win every single game of poker, instead of getting an early night's sleep so that he could arrive at the interview on time and well presented. He was halfway through looping his tie when Zoro glanced over to the white sword that was on a stand in front of the window sill. Kuina…forgive me. The sword looked displeasingly back at him but there was no hatred in its gaze, just disappointment.
Zoro quickly looked into the mirror to take in his appearance for the first time since he woke up. He flattened down the tufts of green hair that were poking out in all directions and straightened his miserable looking tie. He then realised that he still had his three golden earrings on, so he took them off and placed them in his jacket pocket. Satisfied, he dropped to the floor and hurriedly searched under the bed for the briefcase he had scavenged off of Galdino. He was a peculiar man who had an obsession with creating wax art figures and lived on the third floor in the third apartment, weird but friendly and kind enough to lend Zoro a used briefcase. There was nothing of importance in the briefcase, Zoro just assumed that it would look professional and create a good first impression.
As soon as he found the handle of said briefcase he grabbed it, hauled it out from under the bed and flung himself toward the front door. He scrambled for his keys in the small white bowl he kept on a coffee table right next to the door and grabbed his wallet that was also kept there, shoving it in his back trouser pocket. Zoro flung the door open and slammed it shut as soon as he stepped out of the apartment, turning to fiddle with his keys, only to be rugby tackled to the floor by a small teenager who had the strength of about 10 fully grown men.
"Arrgh goddammit Luffy! What the hell are you doing!" Zoro shouted down at the young boy who had wrapped himself around Zoro's midsection. Luffy looked up at Zoro's frowning face with gleaming eyes and a toothy grin.
"Hey, didja hear? Timesplitters 4 has just come out and Usopp preordered it! We're gonna go get it now, you wanna come?" Zoro managed to pry Luffy's hands and feet away and stood up to lock up his apartment. "Sorry Luffy," he said while shoving the keys back in his pocket "but I'm late for something, something really important that I can't afford to miss!" There was no way Zoro was going to tell his childish friend that he was going to an interview; he'd never hear the end of it.
"Eeeeeeeh? No way! Zoro don't be stingy!" Luffy shouted after Zoro, who had already started sprinting around the balcony and toward the elevators that were allocated at the opposite side of the building. "Eh? Where's Zoro going to in such a hurry?" Zoro pressed the elevator button repeatedly while he looked over his shoulder to see another one of his friends locking his own apartment. "Usopp! Zoro's being stingy! He says he has to go somewhere, tell him he can't go!" whined Luffy, as he sat on the floor, pouting. Usopp, a young art student with an abnormally long nose, shifted a blank canvas under his arm and looked over to his green haired friend and took in his suit and frantic movements. "Luffy, there's nothing we can do if he has somewhere to go. Besides", he lifted his chin high and grinned, "it must be something pretty important if he has to miss watching the Great Usopp defeat his opponents in the new-"
"Usopp you dork"
"WHAT?!" Usopp shrieked when Zoro interrupted his profound speech. The elevator doors finally opened and he dived in and pressed the button for the ground floor. As the elevator doors slowly started to close he responded "All I can say is that if all goes well, I'll be one step closer to achieving my goal". Once the elevator doors closed the last thing Luffy and Usopp saw was a rare cocky grin being worn by the swordsman. Usopp raised his eyebrows and looked over to Luffy who was strangely silent but he was wearing a confident grin.
The elevator journey took merely seconds, thank god, but it was getting to the damn building that was the problem. He could try walking there but he knew that wasn't going to happen when all he knew was the name of the place and his poor directional sense would be of no help either, even though he'd never admit it out loud. When the doors of the elevator opened he sprinted to the glass entrance doors, ignoring the "Good morning" that came from the receptionist, Camie.
When Zoro stepped outside, his eyes darted everywhere to find a taxi within the mass amount of cars that were waiting for the lights to change. Of course it had to be rush hour and of course all the taxi's he could see had to be occupied. Thankfully Zoro spotted an empty one parked next to a hotel on the corner of the street opposite him. Zoro jogged across the street but as soon as he reached the pavement he stopped dead in his tracks and the world seemed to stop as well.
He had heard a voice call out from behind him, it had called out his name. It was a female voice, a young female voice and it sounded sad and even…pitiful? All the blood drained from Zoro's face and he swallowed hard. It couldn't be? He was sure it had sounded like her. He turned his head to look behind him ever so slowly and his eyes widened at what he saw.
It was Kuina, it was undoubtedly her. She was standing still in the middle of the road, her eyes possessing the essence of death and her smile was sweet but unsettling. Was his mind playing tricks on him? She was dead, he was sure of it; he had seen the body himself. Zoro was eased slightly when he noticed that she looked as though she hadn't aged a day, even though she had died 7 years ago. So…what? Was she a ghost? No, Zoro didn't believe in ghosts. Perhaps he was still sleeping and this was a dream? Zoro ceased his questions when he watched Kuina lift up her hand, gesturing for Zoro to hold it.
Zoro didn't think upon it, he automatically moved toward the middle of the road where Kuina was standing and lifted up his hand. His mind was mostly blank now, all he was focused on was Kuina's hand however for a second he heard someone shout "OI, LOOK OUT!" but it wasn't enough to sway him. He was just mere millimetres away from touching her skin when she faded away and Zoro was left pawing at the air.
A very, very loud noise brought him back to reality and he turned his head toward it and realised what the noise belonged to was approaching him fast. Shit! Zoro squeezed his eyes shut upon seeing the front of the huge lorry and waited for the inevitable force to collide with him. And something did collide with him but it wasn't the same force a massive lorry would have caused.
It was light and it hit him from the side hard enough to lift him of his feet. He kept his eyes closed again as he waited for hard tarmac to smack him in the face but he landed on something far less hard and painful and after a few rolls along the ground Zoro finally came to a stop, with his back to the floor.
He spent a few seconds waiting for the dizziness to fade from his eyes. He found it a little more strenuous to breathe and then realised that whatever soft thing he had landed on before was now sprawled across his front. The ringing in Zoro's ears faded and was replaced with the sound of someone's heavy breathing next to his left ear. Finally it was time to open his eyes and as soon as he did all he saw was yellow.
It wasn't the sun, although Zoro could have sworn this yellow shared the same brightness. No, it was a person's hair; it belonged to the same person who had probably just saved his life. The stranger's head was hung over his shoulder and Zoro raised his arms to shake the other's shoulders. "Oi…oi you okay?" he asked with slight worry etched into his voice when the body didn't stir. However just when Zoro was about to raise his voice the yellow head moved slightly and Zoro heard a choked growling noise next to his left ear.
The stranger then raised their upper body with lightning speed in order to stare down angrily at Zoro from above and grasped handfuls of his white shirt. He could finally get a look at his supposed saviour and they turned out to be a young man, 19 no 20? He certainly looked the same age as Zoro and his hair was styled so that his left eye was completely covered by blonde locks, and blood was dripping down from a fresh cut on the top of his head, so that his right eye was mainly covered in the red substance.
But the most important thing that Zoro managed to notice was the utter fury that was written across the guy's face. His eyes were burning with pure ferocity, his white teeth were clenched with rage, and his fists shook with anger. When Zoro opened his mouth to say something the blonde stopped him by screeching in his face.
"YOU STUPID FUCK! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT!" Zoro blinked slowly, perplexed by the blonde's words.
"You do realise you're not supposed to stand in the middle of the fucking road when there's a massive lorry coming straight towards you! You shitty, dumb, asshole! What's wrong with you, huh?" All Zoro could do was just stare dumbly at the angry blonde and as he took in each word that was spat, his own anger began to boil inside.
The blonde suddenly wiped off his scowl once he came to realise that a crowd of onlookers had gathered around them, and he looked down to stare in utter disgust when he also realised that he was sitting on top of a fully grown male, with his knees spread on either side of said male's midsection. The blonde scrambled a few feet away but still remained on the ground with his long legs bent, and glared at Zoro who was pulling himself up into a sitting position. Zoro returned the glare.
"I didn't ask you to save me, asshole," Zoro stated while narrowing his eyes.
"Heh. That's a nice way of thanking someone for saving their damn life"
"Shaddup! I didn't need your help!"
"Hah. You must have hit your head harder than I thought or you were already this stupid to begin with. Are you seriously trying to tell me that…that..." the blonde trailed off as he started to pat his hair as though something was missing. He turned his head frantically from side to side and stopped when he found a woolly hat on the floor and he immediately snatched it up and stretched it over his head so that most of his golden locks were covered.
Zoro looked down at himself for a quick second and miraculously found that his suit wasn't as crumpled as he thought it would have been, and his shirt hadn't been ruined by any stains. Zoro grabbed the handle of the briefcase that had landed close to him, and he also picked up his brown wallet that lay on the ground between the blonde and him.
The sound of sirens approaching made Zoro scowl and he looked back at the blonde who was now wearing a peculiar look. It was a mix between fear and uncertainty and his head had turned to face the direction of the sirens. The blonde stood up but quickly bent down again to pick something else up from the ground and stuffed it into his jean pocket. "Tsk, I shouldn't stay here," the blonde murmured to himself while he wiped the blood off his forehead with his sleeve. He turned away but before he ran off, he looked back to Zoro who was still sitting on the ground.
"Hey moss-head, try not to get yourself killed in the future while crossing the road. Next time I might not be there to save your ass!" The blonde ran off and swerved through the maze of cars that had all stopped because of the accident until he was out of Zoro's sight.
Zoro looked at his wristwatch and saw that the face had smashed but the hands were still ticking. 9:23…shit. He felt someone's hands on him and realised that he was slowly being lifted up so that he was standing.
"Hey are you okay? That was a quite fall" Zoro looked next to him to see an elderly man, he must have been the one who had helped him.
"Yeah I'm okay, I dunno about the other guy though" Zoro looked in the direction where the pissy blonde had run off to. Zoro wasn't considerably worried about the other guy seeing as the cocky shit sounded like he could handle himself, but that cut wasn't exactly small.
"Well, don't worry, the ambulance has just arrived to take a look at you" Zoro looked back at the old man and asked as politely as he could "Sorry, old man, but can you tell me where the Saboady Building is?" The elderly man looked at him with confusion for a few seconds but smiled politely.
"Yes of course, just go down this street and take a left and you can't miss it, it's the tallest building in this area" Zoro cursed inwardly at his terrible geography skills, "thanks old man".
Zoro ran through the crowd of onlookers and headed down the street that the old guy pointed to. He heard numerous shouts behind him, telling him to come back and that he might be injured. Zoro ignored them, sure it was a heavy fall but that strange blonde guy had cushioned the blow. Besides Zoro had received injuries far more severe than simple cuts and bruises. He broke into a fast sprint and was making good progress down the sidewalk. No damn car accident was going to keep him from getting to this interview, hell if a meteor happened to crash into earth it still wouldn't be enough to stop him from getting to this damn interview.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Zoro sat slumped over the diner table with his head in his hand and looked down at his empty plates. He was currently sat in the Spice Bean diner which he came to eat lunch in almost every single day. Zoro was also currently brooding over the day's events and how it had turned from crap to absolute shit in a matter of hours.
When he had arrived at the interview his appearance was what let him down first. Although his suit was in normal condition, his tie was a skew, his shoelaces had come undone and he was panting and breathing like a mad man. Zoro also thought that he had made it in time, but one of the interviewers helpfully pointed out that he was two minutes late, which was in their opinion "disgraceful".
Three hours Zoro had to sit in a chair, while being asked a number of questions he either didn't know the answer to or couldn't answer properly. Every time one of the interviewers raised one of their bushy eyebrows or turned to look at another interviewer with a questioning look, Zoro cursed inwardly and knew it was a bad sign. The final straw was when one of the interviewers asked him what it would mean to him if he got this job. When he replied "It would mean a hell of a lot, seeing as it will bring me one step closer to achieving my goal, which is to become the world's greatest swordsman" he received the most questioning of looks and was told he would be contacted again soon, and was then asked to leave.
Zoro let out a frustrated sigh, drank the last of his ice cold ginger beer and sat back to slouch in his chair. He didn't think there was anything wrong with simply stating the truth because that's exactly what he did. To any normal, simple person his goal probably sounded ridiculous but Zoro wasn't a normal person, and every day he pushes himself so that he is one step closer to reaching his goal. Zoro's mind flickered back to the event that had happened this morning at the mention of his dream. Because it wasn't just his dream, it was her dream as well…Kuina's dream.
Zoro was slightly disturbed by the fact that she had appeared like a ghost in the middle of the road like that, but he couldn't deny not feeling happy when he saw her again. It had been 7 years since her death and there wasn't a day that passed when he didn't think about her and the promise they had made to each other. But she…she didn't look happy to see him. She looked sad and disappointed and when she called out his name and her voice sounded as though she pitied him.
Wait, did she know that the interview was going to go terribly? Did she know he would let himself down? ...Did she know that he was failing to fulfil his promise? Zoro's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the clinking of plates and looked down to see that his table had been cleared and was left with a bill.
Zoro looked up to see someone he didn't recognize, a new guy perhaps? Zoro was a regular customer at the diner and so memorised all of the faces that worked there. This new waiter was certainly older than all of the employees; in fact he must have been older than the owner. He was plump, there was a slight limp in his step and he was also sporting a ridiculously long braided moustache. When Zoro squinted to look at the man's name tag it read the word "Zeff". Zeff huh?
Zoro looked down to see his bill of 21 berri. Shit, he had splashed out more than he usually did, but seeing as he never got to finish his breakfast and the interview lasted roughly 3 hours, he was entitled to eat as much as he damn well liked.
But there was a problem, Zoro discovered; when he found that his wallet was empty. It was completely devoid of anything, no credit cards, no notes, not even any small change. Shit! Had he been robbed?! This day only got worse and worse. But Zoro thought twice when he took in the wallet's appearance. It certainly looked like his own wallet from a far, but on closer inspection the stitching looked different and the leather was a slightly lighter shade of brown.
So he had picked up someone else's wallet? Who's? Zoro racked his brain to think of a time when he could have replaced it. He recalled what had happened this morning, the car accident and that strange blonde. Zoro did remember seeing the guy put something in his back pocket, he must have picked it up thinking it was his, just like Zoro did. Damn, they must have fallen out and gotten mixed up during the collision.
Zoro let out a very heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fuck, what was he gonna do? He could tell the owner he would pay him back, he'd been there plenty of times, and the owner must have known him well enough to trust him. But that left the problem of actually getting the wallet back; he could go to the police station and ask if a wallet had been handed in. Assuming that the blonde was a half-decent guy, which seemed likely seeing as he was willing to save a complete stranger's life. Well he says "life" but Zoro would be ashamed to call himself a swordsman if a mere lorry had killed him.
He supposed he was grateful to the man for saving him going to a hospital and being pestered by annoying doctors. However seeing as how the wallet was pretty much empty, it was safe to assume that the blonde would've leapt for joy when he found Zoro's stash of notes and credit cards.
Zoro grimaced and tried looking through the wallet again to see if there was anything like an address or phone number. Rummaging through one of the back pockets, he managed to find a thin piece of paper which had been folded several times. When he opened it, he noticed it was half covered in dried blood.
Someone had written in rushed, messy handwriting: "Stay safe, stay hidden, don't get killed." Zoro blinked slowly and read over the words again a few more times. What the hell was this? Did that guy have a hit on him or something? Zoro ceased his questioning when he realised the note wasn't any of his business, and that he was a man who respected someone's privacy. He quickly stuffed the note back in its place and shoved the wallet into his jacket pocket.
"Umm excuse me!" he called over to the new waiter, Zeff, who looked up at him lazily and waddled over to his table, folded his arms and looked down at him over his moustache.
"Whaddya want, kid?"
Kid? "Urr I don't really know how to say this but I err, seem to have lost my wallet and I don't really have any money on me at the moment. I know the owner, I 'm a regular and I'm sure he'll understand." Zoro scratched the back of his head awkwardly and Zeff looked at him with an unimpressed look.
"Look I promise I'll pay him back, I should have the money by tomorrow" Zoro waited for Zeff to burst out in anger, and accuse him of being stupid enough to think that he could eat without paying. Zeff sighed deeply.
"That's okay kid. I'll let him know." Zeff noticed Zoro's bewildered look and chuckled to himself. He then picked up the bill and walked away. That was strange, Zoro thought. That guy had practically just let him eat for free. Maybe his day wasn't going to end up being shit after all.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
When Zoro stepped outside a draft of cold winter air hit him hard and he shivered. He also felt small droplets of water hit his skin and he looked up to see that the sky had turned a murky grey colour. Zoro scowled but he wasn't put off by the gloomy weather and he began to walk in the direction of home.
This was his daily routine, to go to work in the morning, have lunch at the Spice Bean and walk home and because he had gotten used to this routine, walking to and from these places was no longer difficult. He could probably walk from the diner to his apartment with his eyes closed. Zoro had walked just only 10 yards when a familiar deep voice called out from behind him. Zoro's brows knitted into a frown as soon as he heard the annoying voice.
"Oi brat" Zoro looked to the side to see a car pulling up beside him with the window rolled down. In the passenger seat sat a 30 odd yr old man with white hair and spoke to Zoro in a gruff voice. This man's name was Smoker White and he was a good friend of Zoro's father, and so Zoro came to call him his uncle. The reason his voice annoyed Zoro was because whenever he heard it, it was either a voice that teased him or lectured him. Damn old guy should mind his own business.
"What the hell do you want, you old fart," Zoro said as he approached the car and bent over slightly to look at Smoker's stern face.
"Heh, that's a nice way to address your uncle. And here I was thinking of offering you a lift"
Zoro was about to tell him that he wasn't his uncle, when he thought about his offer. A lift did sound nice. Without any words of complaint, Zoro silently made his way over to the other side of the car and slowly opened the car door, dropped into the front passenger seat and slammed the door shut. Smoker drove away slowly and glanced to the side to take in Zoro's peculiar appearance.
"So, what's up with the suit?" Smoker asked gruffly, his voice not truly expressing the amount of curiosity that was starting to increase when he noticed the briefcase. Zoro had turned to look out of the window in an attempt to avoid talking to Smoker, and he growled when it turned out to be useless.
"Shut up, old fart" Zoro spoke into his clenched hand and instead chose to look at the Christmas lights that were starting to be lit in the shop windows. But after a few minutes of silence, Zoro caved in and huffed loudly.
"I went to a job interview" He waited for the teasing to begin.
"A job interview? Hm yeah I thought it was something like that. Ace did mention something about you trying to find a job. But what the hell do you need a new job for, you've got a perfectly fine one right now" Damn, the old geezer sure liked to lecture. And Zoro should've known better to keep his mouth shut when he was around Ace.
"Leave me alone, Smoker, it's my life, I can do whatever the hell I want"
"It's that cocky attitude that's gonna let you down in life, you ungrateful brat" Zoro half listened to Smoker's words when he felt the car coming to a stop. He wasted no time in getting out of the car, while mumbling a barely audible "thanks". Zoro took care in slamming the door with extra force and walked fast toward the glass doors of the Sunny Go apartment. When Smoker called out to him again, Zoro stopped but didn't bother looking back.
"Kid, I hope you know what you're doing with your life" Zoro ignored the "helpful" tip his uncle had offered and settled for answering his question with a middle finger. When he opened the glass doors, a new temperature hit him, but this time it was warm and welcoming. Zoro spotted Camie chatting like a maniac to her brother Hachi, the janitor, and sighed in relief. He didn't fancy talking to the happy go lucky girl; in fact he didn't really feel like talking with anyone. He just wanted to get back home, and crash onto the sofa.
Zoro hardly even noticed the elevator move as he stared into space. When the elevator doors opened he walked around the balcony. He shuffled through his pockets to find his keys, and only noticed that there was something waiting outside his apartment door when he rounded the last corner. As he walked closer he soon realised that it was a person, sitting with their back to the door and had long legs spread across the floor. The woolly hat had at some point fallen off to reveal the man's golden locks.
He was sleeping. He was waiting outside his apartment. He was sleeping outside his apartment.