A/N: There's so much head canon involved in this I may as well have filled in her entire back-story. She's just such an interesting character I couldn't help myself. I should be ashamed but, sadly, I'm not.
The idiot is lost again. Perona sighs to herself as she drifted about the murky forest searching for the missing swordsman. She had long since learned that there was truthfully no reason to search for Zoro. He would never admit he was lost or thank you for finding him and most of the time he could somehow find his way to his destination. Perona doesn't even know why she cares enough to look.
(She knows exactly why she cares. She just doesn't know when she started to.)
Perona thinks that she could've left the island a long time ago. Mihawk was here already. She's sure if she really bugged him enough he would be more than glad to get rid of her and send her back to Thriller Bark.
(But there's no one left there. Would she really want to go back?)
At first, she really did consider just leaving, going away. Back to the Grand Line, the New World, wherever. Fly away to any place where she wasn't stuck with a muscle headed idiot who just wants to train, eat, and sleep.
(The idiot's the real reason that she did end up staying though)
She was all prepared to leave when Zoro first started talking about them, his nakama. She was reluctantly entranced by the way they would stick together through thick and thin. She was amazed that all this painful training was mostly to get stronger for his captain, not even himself. It was stupid.
(It was incredible)
This idea of being bound to other people was defeating the entire purpose of her coming to the seas in the first place. She wanted her whole life to enjoy all the cute things she wanted without someone telling her it was improper, to play with her Devil Fruit power without being hidden away into her parent's mansion, to do whatever she wanted without rules, to have fun and to be free. Having a connection like that with someone would only slow her down and she wanted nothing more than to speed past everything.
(Having friends who trust you and you could trust is another sort of freedom in its self right?)
The longer she stayed, the more she questioned all that she believed in for so long. She wasn't meant to be confined behind stone castle walls or tied to the unmoving land. Her laughter was too shrill, her voice was too loud, her hair was too bright, her clothes were too flashy and her parents could never have changed any of those things.
(Yet, someone can and someone has)
Perona can remember when Mortia had come to talk to her parents. She was only around ten but was already so desperate to leave the island, she joined Thriller Bark. Going out to the seas was thrilling. She left with only some of her clothes (Mortia had promised to buy her new ones) and Bearsy, the original toy.
The first thing she did was permanently dye all of her dull black hair pink. She remembers giggling at the mirror as her newly pink hair fell in front of her thick-mascara eyes. It was cute, wasn't it?
Since then her obsession with cute things only grew and with the freedom she now had she could have the cute, pink childhood her parents restrained her from. She had felt like nothing could stop her from loving cutesy things.
(Only, now, no one's stopping her but her own lack of interest in them)
It's been almost two years since Zoro had been banished to the island and soon he'll be leaving. She's not completely sure what she's going to do after that. Her obsession of cute things has been replaced with a burning desire to have nakama, too.
(She just doesn't think people like her are supposed to have nakama though)
Soon after hearing his first, extremely vague story she began demanding him to tell her of all their adventures whenever she was bandaging him up. They had gone to a land of sand, a sea of clouds, an island of dinosaurs, a place of dreams and met people who had wings, an island whale looking for his friends, a god who could shoot lightning, the princess of a struggling country and so much more.
(It's pathetic how little she hides her eagerness to hear them)
Zoro began telling them automatically now. She thinks it helps him to have someone who wouldn't judge him of his thoughts, a listening ear to help cope with the long distance from his nakama. It still unsettles her how sometimes he almost looks at her with a look of pity. As if he pitied her for not having any friends. She doesn't need any. They are nothing but a hindrance and she is anything but lonely.
(It mostly scares her because he sees through her like no one else has bothered to do despite how transparent she makes herself)
It starts to seem like Zoro's making an effort to be her friend. It makes her want to scream at him, yell at him, and send a thousand Negative Hollows his way. There was no need for his pathetic efforts. It's not like he's incredible at making friends either. Sometimes she clenches her fists together and closes her eyes and breathes shuttered breathes, because she just wants him to stop.
(Stop encouraging her stupid interest! It'll only make things harder when he leaves)
Right now, Perona has no place to go and nobody who wants her around. She's leaning on Zoro as the one person who cares even a little. She's not sure what'll happen to her when he leaves. He'll be going home to the Thousand Sunny and his nakama and she's just homeless and hopeless.
(If she let's herself fall now, she's positive there will be nothing to catch her at the bottom)
Perona finally finds the marimo sitting by the shore staring at his vivre card again. There's only two weeks until they're supposed to meet up, two more weeks until she'll be taking him to Saboady, two more weeks until she'll have to say goodbye.
"Found you," she says simply. Normally, she would be scolding him for running off when he can't find his own way back but there's only two weeks left and she's not sure she has the energy for that.
He makes a sound in response. His gaze still fixed on the card that'll take him home.
"Only two more weeks, huh?" he wonders aloud and she can't help but notice how hopeful he sounded.
She only nods.
(She wants nothing more than to beg him not to leave or to take her with him and for him to agree)
"Guess Mihawk wants me back," Zoro said getting up and gesturing for Perona to lead the way.
She nods again before walking away without turning back.
(She wants to jump into his arms and tell him to stop making her so sad and just care for her like she wants)
They walk back in silence. One's mind is occupied with meeting his nakama again and all the ways he's gotten stronger in order to protect them and thinking nothing about the one he's leaving behind. The other's mind is filled with nothing but goodbyes and how for once in her life she wants to be with other people and how one green-haired idiot swordsman could change so much.
Perona hates it.
Yet she loves him.
(Aren't contradictions simply lovely?)