The Protector
By:: Melissa

Disclaimer:: I do not own anything from this story except for the few OC characters. Everything belongs to Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece. Constructive criticism is welcome. No flames please.

Chapter 1

Zoro walked down the streets, pushing his way through the crowds. He grimaced, scrunching up his nose. He hated these types of towns where it wasn't big enough for all the people. He pushed his way past persistent salespeople and excited shoppers. He scowled, wishing he could just get through these terrible groups. He held on tightly to the swords at his side, keeping a close eye on those around him. He didn't want his swords to get stolen. These were special swords to him and he couldn't let them get stolen. He couldn't. He made a promise.

Luffy, captain of their pirate ship, had decided to stop at port unexpectedly. Sanji had run off to find fine dining and women, Nami shopped for clothes, and Usopp looked for new things for his crazy inventions. That left Zoro all by himself to do whatever he pleased. Some might think that would be depressing or lonely but it was quite the contrary with Zoro. He liked being alone, able to explore things on his own. Being alone had never bothered him before.

As he pushed past a greedy salesman, he felt a moving force again his torso, pushing him backward. He looked down in amazement, his eyes going wide.

"Uh oh…." Zoro said quickly as he fell down on his back, the thing that ran into him falling on top of him. A large intake of breath could be heard as the people around him stopped and stared.

"What the hell?!" Zoro exclaimed, ignoring the people around him. His face screwed up into confusion. He shook his head sluggishly as the person on top of him groaned in pain.

"Ugh…" the person on top of him looked down at Zoro and screamed. Zoro looked up at the person and was surprised to see a girl. She was tall, probably at 5'10". She was athletic looking with strong legs and arms. She had long, dark purple hair with white streaks in the front. She had light blue eyes which contrasted with her dark skin. She had on a mid-length white kimono that had slits on the sides that went all the way up to her hips. Underneath, she had on black shorts to cover up her legs.

"Who are you? And what are you doing running into me?" Zoro asked, standing up and brushing himself off. People were still staring at them.

"Why should I tell you who I am, you no good stranger? It's not like you're going to see me again or remember me. Why waste the breath on you? And I ran into you because I was being chased." She shook her head, her long hair swaying slightly. Zoro scowled deeply, no liking her sharp tongue. Just as he was about to yell at her, ten men came running down the street. The girl turned her head and rolled her eyes when she saw who they were. They stopped in front of the girl and they sneered at her. Zoro watched in the background with confusion on his face. By this time, the crowds of people were growing as they circled around to watch what was going on.

"Well, little girl, looks like your time has run out. We're going to kill you." the leader of the group came forward and guffawed at the girl. She glowered at them and rolled her eyes again.

"I'd like to see you try," she said threateningly, her eyes darkening. The group came forward at a run for her. Zoro watched, waiting for her to take out a sword or some form of self defense. The seconds ticked by and nothing happened. She didn't pull out a sword or anything. As he continued to watch, he realized she was going to fight them bare handed. His eyes grew wide and he pulled his own swords out of their sheathes.

"Moron," he said sharply, putting a sword into his mouth and moving forward. He pushed her aside harshly as the group pulled out their own swords.

Metal clashed on metal as both Zoro and the gang connected. Zoro sneered at them, beating them all easily. He put his two swords back, the entire gang all on the ground bleeding. The group of people had left, scared that they would get killed. He looked at the girl and glared at her, remembered that it was her fault her got into conflict.

"You! Don't act so reckless like that, you idiot! You'll get yourself killed!" Zoro pointed his sword at the girl who glared at him defiantly.

"Whatever," she said, grimacing. "I could've taken them all…."

"With your bare hands? They had swords. They would've cut you to pieces." He put his last sword away and helped her up off the ground.

"What's your name, stranger? I owe my life to you now," she asked, dusting herself off. He hestitated. He didn't know if he should tell her or not. But then he reasoned that he would never see her again after this so it didn't matter if he told her his name or not.

"Roronoa Zoro," he said finally, waiting for a reaction from her. Whenever anyone heard his name, they cowered in fear. But she just looked at him and repeated his name sliently. He was glad that she didn't know who he really was. "What's yours, little girl?"

"Suzuki Lila," she said, shaking his hand. "But mind you, I'm not little. I just turned eighteen last month." She smiled and walked down the street with him.

"What's with the cheery attitude now? At first you were smart with me and now you're acting like we're the best of friends." He stopped walking, looking at her cautiously.

"Well, you did save my life and I'm not that big of a prick to be mean to someone who saved me," she winked at him and started walking off again. Zoro looked at her and smiled, walking quickly to catch up with her.

"So since you live here, what stuff is there to do here?" he asked.

"Well….do you like boat rides?" she asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I do," he said, laughing to himself.

"What's so funny?" she asked, perplexed.

"Nothing, let's go for a boat ride then," he said, smiling.

"Okay, come with me then!" She grabbed his hand and walked more quickly down the street. He blushed, not knowing what to make of this friendly gesture. He tried scowling to hide his embarrassment but to no avail. He walked with her down the street until they got to the docks. She was still holding his hand as they boarded the small boat.

"Look! You can hang your feet off the deck," she said, sitting down and putting her feet into the water. He sat down next to her but didn't put his feet in.

They were silent for awhile but it was a peaceful quiet, not one that feels awkward. He stared out over the water, the sun reflecting on his green hair. She shook her head and closed her eyes, soaking up all the sunlight. The warm ocean breeze washed over them, the salty smell going into their clothes.

"Why are you so sharp? Like when I first met you?" Zoro finally asked, breaking the silence. She opened her eyes and looked out onto the water.

"My parents….were killed by a stranger that came into town. They were just shopping for food and the stranger came into the store and just killed them. For no reason. He didn't even know them. I never found out who it was but whenever a stranger comes to town…. I get scared. I don't want people to be killed. I want to protect all the people in my town and keep them safe. I don't want them to have to feel the same pain or go through the same horrible feelings that I went through when my parents were killed." She looked over at him, determination in her eyes.

"You can't protect everyone… you'll just get tired out. You're not superwoman. You need to protect yourself sometimes too. Even if that means protecting yourself over others. You need to care for yourself sometimes because you can only rely on yourself. Don't you think that you're more important than others? If you try and protect everyone, you won't protect yourself," Zoro said, locking eyes with her.

"That's true, I suppose…. I can't protect everyone….but I can protect those around me… those that I see that need help. You know how it feels. To protect someone. It feels good. I want to help those around me and keep them safe," she said, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah, I do know how it feels. It is pretty good." He smiled and moved to get up as well.

Suddenly, a large boat came out of nowhere, coming up next to their boat. A large man came out and grabbed Lila by the waist. He took her off the boat and put her onto his own boat. Zoro struggled to get up and save her but the boat was already moving away.

"Roronoa Zoro, if you want to see the girl alive, come to the west forest and fight for her! I'll be waiting for you," The large man yelled, throwing a piece of paper onto the deck of the boat. Zoro stood up and made to go after her but the other boat was already gone.

Here's the first chapter to this story. It's a twoshot of course. I finally got it typed out! yay! Anyways, the inspiration for the girl, Lila, came from the Bleach character, Yoruichi Shinhouin. the personalities are different but the overall design is about the same. Just in case you're wondering, Zoro and the girl Lila are NOT romantic. It's purely a friendship relationship. So don't get your hopes up for something romantic. She is a little flirty, but they're just friends. The story will end with the next chapter. So please review! Thanks! 3