This is not a pairing fan fic. I don't support any one pairing. Some ZoroxNami or ZoroxRobin might slip in there, but if you don't want a fan fic about pairings it's pretty easy to ignore.

PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY!

If I don't get any reviews, I'll catch a horrible disease called emo. I may even stop writing.

Edited by Missmountain94

A/C= Authors comments.

Part two: Drums

The rain had finally stopped. The river was still overflowing, so Zoro couldn't go to work. Sanji, however, was needed until noon at Baratie, the popular restaurant downtown, and because Luffy couldn't wait until noon, the task of taking Luffy to the Takoyaki stand fell to Zoro and Robin. The library that Robin worked at wasn't open on Saturday, so the three of them were sitting at a stand, with the sunlight smiling down upon them, and the birds singing.

Robin had first met Luffy and Zoro through Nami. She remembered Nami getting a call from Luffy one night. Zoro was drunk. He was in trouble. They needed a place to hide. Not exactly the situation for best first impressions. Robin knew people who could make police records disappear. With her help, the whole incident was smoothed over. Apparently, Zoro had gotten hammered and then challenged a woman to a fight. The woman had looked like a dead friend of his. If this had been just any other girl, things might have been worse, but this girl was good at swordplay. With Zoro drunk, she won. But someone had already called the police, so...

Zoro did look like the type who would get drunk and challenge a stranger to a duel. He had a fierce look, a muscular build, and carried his swords everywhere. But when you got to know him a little more, you saw how much he valued honor. It was more than that but Robin didn't know how to describe it. Robin had learned to judge people quickly, to know them without being attached to them, but there were still some people she couldn't find words for.

"This takoyaki is good!" said Luffy, "Why aren't you having any Robin?" Robin smiled. Luffy was another person she found hard to describe.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"That's crazy!" said Luffy, but he stopped talking then, so he could focus more on eating.

'It is good," Zoro commented, chewing. Robin smiled,

"I'll try some then," she took a little bite. It was good.

"Do you like it?" asked the stand owner. His name was Hatchi. His arms were longer than his legs, and he had reddish skin and a big torso. She nodded and Hatchi beamed with delight.

"Luffy, did you really learn how to play guitar in a little less than two days, just for this?" Luffy swallowed,

"Nope. I would've learned anyway."

"That's what I thought." Robin took another bite. She was really enjoying herself. There was a slight breeze, and all the plants were green because of the rain. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone. The food turned to ash in her mouth. She knew that face.

"What's wrong Robin?" Zoro asked,

"I have to go," she said, and she left without another word.

Zoro walked into the apartment at 1:00, even though they had left the Takoyaki stand at 10:30. Without Robin, it had taken a long time to get back. Why'd she leave in the first place? That little-

"There you are you stupid marimo!" Sanji, at least, was back already. Usopp too. Sanji was making lunch and Usopp was oiling his riffle. Sanji finished dicing some onions and dropped them into a pot. "Where's Robin-chan? I thought she was with you."

"She was, but she left," said Zoro, fishing a beer out of the fridge and opening it, "Thought she came back here."

"Well obviously, she didn't" said Sanji, clearly annoyed. Zoro shrugged. A fight might have broken out, but a distraction arrived in the form of a boy with a straw hat.

"Sanji! That Takoyaki was the best!" Sanji smiled

"Glad you liked it. Wish I could've taken you, but they needed me at Baratie." Sanji began stirring the pot. A bang made everyone jump.

"Sorry!" said Usopp, holding a smoking riffle, "I thought it wasn't loaded."

"Be carful Usopp," said Sanji, "someday you're gonna kill someone!"

"Usopp! That was so cool!" said Luffy, bouncing up and down, "Can I try?"

"No!"

"Why do you keep that with you anyway?" Asked Zoro,

"I have my reasons," said Usopp, holding his gun close. Everyone knew the reason Usopp carried a gun. Despite the rumor that it was out of paranoia, it was mainly because it was the only way he was getting girl. Maybe it was also because he liked to shoot things, but without the sniper rifle, Usopp was pretty much hopeless when it came to the opposite sex. Accept maybe that Kaya girl, Zoro mused, taking a sip of beer, she seems to have a thing for him. So really, he doesn't need that gun. Maybe it was paranoia after all?

Sanji looked out the window, with a worried expression.

"I wonder where Robin is? I hope she's safe." Zoro's cell rang. It was Brooke.

"Hey Brooke," said Zoro, "What's up?"

"Hello Zoro-kun. I was only wondering if you had the lyrics ready yet?"

"What?"

"It's fine if you don't. I'm not going to harp on about it! Yohohohohoho!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The lyrics I asked you to write, for our next performance? Is there anything wrong with the recording I sent you?"

"Uh... No, I don't have them yet, I will soon." Zoro hung up, staring at the phone like it was a meteorite. "What was that about?"

"What was it about?" asked Sanji

"Brooke says I was supposed to write some lyrics for him. I don't remember that..." Sanji smacked his forehead,

"Oh! Forgot to tell you! He emailed me wondering if any of us could write lyrics for a new song he wrote. He has the tune, but-"

"You didn't." Sanji grinned.

"I told him you could do it."

"He believed you?"

"I sent him a sample of some of your previous work." Zoro glared at him,

"What previous work? The only thing I have on that computer that is remotely lyrical is that- Oh no way..." The only thing Zoro had ever written that resembled lyrics...

"The love poem you wrote to your girlfriend. When you were five?" asked Sanji, gleefully scooping curry powder into the pot, "Yup, I did."

"I hate you."

"I know."

"A lot."

"I try." Zoro felt like he might like to take Usopps' riffle and shoot the blonde cook. He thought about it. But dinner wasn't ready yet. No, there was no way he could ever forgive Sanji for this.

"I'm not writing them!" said Zoro,

"Yes you are," said Sanji, "Brooke's already expecting you too and the performance isn't too far off. You'll need to hurry up if we can practice at all."

"Why don't you write them then,"

"Well, I told Brooke that if you don't, he can use the love poem I sent him. And I told him who it was by." Sanji hummed as he set the timer for twenty minutes.

"I'm going for a walk," growled Zoro, and he left.

"I hate that cook!" Zoro muttered to himself, kicking a tin can and listening it rattle down the ally ahead of him. "And how did I end up here?" He stopped and looked at yet another dead end. He turned and started going in the other direction. "Well now I have to write a song. How do I do that? Where do I get inspiration? Rrrrrrrr." Zoro stopped. He was back at the same dead end he'd seen less than a minute ago.

He imagined a nearby trashcan had a curly eyebrow and blonde hair. He drew his sword and cut it in half. "How about I try and write a song about how much I hate that cook?" Zoro sat down and thought for a moment. Then he remembered he didn't have any paper. He swore and got up. "I'll just find a cafe or something." He stomped off.

How he ended up at Bellemere's orange orchard, he did not know. But now he found himself looking at the run down little building, behind it, the sun illuminated the orange orchard, flooding it with molten gold light. The trees were dripping with ripe oranges.

"So this was the place Nami grew up," Zoro said to himself. He might as well go in.

A bell rang as he opened the door and stepped inside. It was cool, and dark compared to outside. There were a couple little tables and a stand where Nami's sister Nojiko was leaning her head on her hand. She had blue hair and a tattoo on her lower arm. It resembled Nami's tattoo a little, but Nami's was smaller, simpler, and on her shoulder.

"Hello Zoro," she said, when he came over to the stand, "would you like some orange juice? It's fresh."

"Sure," he said, and he sat down. Nojiko turned her back to Zoro, and a few minutes later, she placed a tall glass of bright orange juice in front of him. He took it with a muttered thanks, but didn't drink.

"What's bothering you?" asked Nojiko, leaning forward,

"I never said anything was wrong," said Zoro,

"It's written all over your face." Zoro scowled,

"Is it now?" Nojiko smiled a little,

"When a grown man accepts a glass of orange juice, there's something wrong." She nudged his glass, "Have some! It's good for the soul." Reluctantly, Zoro gulped the bright orange juice. It tasted like sunshine and breezy afternoons. "Now," said Nojiko, as he set the empty glass down, "why are you looking grumpier than usual? Maybe I can help." Zoro looked at her smiling face.

"You'd make a good counselor," he said, sighing, "fine. I have to write a song by Tuesday, for a performance on Wednesday. I'm not inspired, I've never written a song in my life, hell, I haven't even heard the tune." Nojiko listened patiently.

"Well, I can't say I haven't heard this rant before," she said, "I've heard it form Nami many a time." She got out a paper and pen. "Why don't you just write down the first thing that comes to mind?" Zoro stared at the paper, his mind blank. He couldn't believe he was doing this. After a few minutes, the only thing he'd come up with was, "I hate you Sanji, I hate you Sanji, I hat you Sanji," so he gave it up.

"Let's think..." said Nojiko, looking at the ceiling pensively, "Do you have a lover?"

"What? No!"

"No need to be indignant, that just makes you suspicious,"

"Really, I don't!"

"I believe you." Nojiko turned and got some more orange juice. Just then the door banged open. Three men entered. Zoro looked them over. One was big, with black hair and a triangle mouth. Zoro noticed two lumps in his sleeves, which were probably weapons of some kind. He guessed clubs. Another had big ears and hands. He had the look of someone who worked out on a regular basis and Zoro guessed he had some experience in martial arts. The last one wasn't even hiding his weapon. He carried a saw on his back. Zoro could tell that it had cut more in its lifetime than just wood. He noticed all this in less than ten seconds. He was getting slow. Perhaps he should work on that.

"Hey sweetheart," said the man with the saw, pushing Zoro aside so he could face Nojiko, "Wanna get me and my boys something?"

"Three glasses will cost thirty dollars Arlong," Arlong sneered,

"Couldn't you make it free?" Nojiko shrugged,

"Gotta make a living,"

"He hasn't payed yet," said Arlong, gesturing toward Zoro,

"Just about too," he replied, "how much for two glasses?"

"Uh," triangle mouth tapped Arlong on the shoulder,

"Gotta be at least twenty dollars," Zoro tried hard not to laugh. When triangle face opened his mouth, he looked like a bird. Then his brain caught up with his instincts. Nojiko was overpricing the juice. That meant... Zoro slapped a twenty on the table, then headed for the door. Arlong turned back to Nojiko, and that was when Zoro struck. He carried his swords at all times, and this was why.

He drew two. First, he knocked out big mouth with the flat of his blade. No wounds, but he would have a headache for a while. Then Zoro sliced open triangle mouth's sleeves and the two weapons he'd been carrying fell to the floor. He was right, they were clubs. He cut them in half. Then he clashed with Arlong's saw.

"Wait! Zoro!" Nojiko yelled, but it was too late. Zoro easily sidestepped Arlong's clumsy swing, and soon, triangle mouth was the only one left standing. Without his clubs, he seemed a little less threatening.

"Leave," ordered Zoro, and triangle mouth ran for his life. Silence followed. Nojiko had her hands over her mouth.

"What were you thinking?" she whispered, as Zoro sheathed his swords,

"They were harassing you," he replied, "I can tell a thug. Probably cause I am one." He left the orange orchard without saying anything else.

Sanji was worried. Not because Zoro was still gone. Zoro was probably wandering around downtown, wondering why he wasn't at the apartment yet. He was worried because Robin hadn't shown up yet, and she wasn't answering her cell, or her home. It was already 6:00. He was seriously considering looking for her. Nami and Robin had moved back into their own apartment, but they had had promised to be there around 5:00 to practice the bands newest songs. Nami was there. She was typing something on her laptop, Chopper watching her. Luffy was watching a movie with Usopp and Ace, and Brooke was napping.

"Have you got a call from Robin-chan yet?" Sanji asked Nami hopefully,

"No," she said, "don't worry yourself. She's a big girl, she can handle herself."

"Damn Marimo," said Sanji, wringing his hands and pacing,

"Don't say that," said Nami, closing her laptop and nudging Chopper off her lap, "It's not his fault."

"Yes, Nami-san." Nami stood and put her hands on her hips.

"If you're that worried, I'll go look for her."

"No, don't worry Nami-san, I'll do that for you,"

"You wouldn't know where to look Sanji-kun. I know a couple place Robin likes to go when she disappears." said Nami. Sanji didn't persist, and Nami got her coat on.

"Nami!" said Luffy from the couch, "Could you get us a pizza?"

"You just had dinner Luffy,'

"But I'm hungry again!"

"Me too," said Ace,

"Maybe, if I have time," said Nami, pulling on a hat and walking out the door.

Zoro was on his last resort. He had tried walking, he had tried talking, he'd tried fighting. The lyrics to that elusive song still escaped him. So there was only one thing left to do. Zoro might get lost easily, but somehow, he could always find his way to a cheap drink. That's where he was now, at a bar, taking deep drafts of his third beer, with a piece of paper bearing the heading: song for Brooke, lying on the table in front of him. He slammed down and empty glass and demanded another. People were giving him strange looks, but he didn't care.

"Damn that song, damn that cook" Zoro muttered, downing another beer, "that's low, threatening me like that. Hey, get me another one." He gestured toward his empty glass and the bartender set another beer in front of him. Why hadn't he gotten rid of that document? It wasn't important. No. He couldn't. He downed his fifth beer. The man sitting next to him moved to sit at one of the tables. So what? This was nothing. His record was forty drinks before he was too drunk to keep track.

But it was about his sixth drink when the memories came flooding back. He raised the seventh beer to no one in particular.

"Kuina, this is to you," the seventh disappeared. Kuina. He had met her when he was only three. That was his first day at the dojo. He and Kuina hadn't really trained together, more of trained to outmatch the other. Then Kuina had died. The publicly known story was that Kuina had died in a car crash, but Zoro didn't think so. One thing he remembered about Kuina is how she always walked home from the dojo, her house being only a few blocks away. For now, he was accepting the car story, but someday... He was on his tenth drink now.

Someone came down the stairs to the shady lower bar where Zoro was. Two someones. They were talking. He didn't know why, but it peaked Zoro's curiosity. He slumped on his stool, and rested his head on the table. It isn't hard to pull off being drunk when you're nearly there.

"Nico Robin," were the first words he heard, "is this place safe?" The voice was deep, male.

"Of course," It was Robins voice. The footsteps stopped.

"What about him? Is he not your friend?"

"He's dead drunk. Probably doesn't even hear us."

"Right." Zoro heard the scrapping of chairs as Robin and her mystery companion sat down.

"What is it you want from me?" asked Robin,

"You know." said the other,

"If it's about Baroque Works, you know I've stopped with that sort of thing." Zoro searched his memory. He was pretty sure he'd heard Baroque Works before. He cursed the eleven drinks inside him.

"That's not it Robin. It's them. You know who I mean."

"CP9?" Robin asked. Zoro didn't hear a reply, but he could just picture the man nodding. He could feel Robins discomfort from his spot at the bar. "I can handle it."

"Can you?" Zoro heard Robin shift in her chair,

"That doesn't explain why you're here Akoiji,"

"I came to warn you."

"Why would you help me like that?"

"I heard learning to play an instrument is good therapy,"

"Stop playing with me!" Zoro heard Robin stand.

"Just something a late friend told me," said the other man, Akoiji. Zoro heard him leave. He heard Robin come to the bar and sit down next to him. She sighed.

"Did you hear all of that?" Zoro stiffened, "You can stop pretending now, he's gone." Zoro raised his head a little. Robin was trying to smile at him, but wasn't really pulling it off. It was no use trying anymore. Zoro sat up and grabbed the twelfth beer in front of him.

"How did you know?" Robin snorted a little,

"I've seen you down more than this. There were only eleven empty glasses. One Scotch please,"

"You're freaky like that. Another beer." The bartender gave Zoro a wary look at this latest order, but slammed another one on the table none the less. "Why did you let me overhear that?" Robin looked into her drink as if it held all the answers. It occurred to Zoro that this might not be her first drink of the day.

"I wish I knew."

"Well, I've got time. Another!" Zoro received his fourteenth beer, and drained it in one go. Robin downed her drink. The bartender gave them both refills. Robin laughed and it wasn't the usually composed laugh. It was rather tipsy.

"Right then, drinking buddy?" Zoro inhaled number fifteen, and looked at her.

"You go first."

Fifteen drinks and a lot of confessions later, Zoro was having trouble remembering how he got here.

"Ish funny," said Robin, "now we gone and told e'thother all thish stuff, I don think we gonna remember it tomorrow." Robin hadn't had nearly as much as Zoro, but her voice was still slurred. Zoro laughed, then downed number thirty-one.

"Damn. I sorta feel like it wuz important."

"Nev'r mind that."

"Yeah, ne'r mind." Zoro drained his thirty-second beer. The ceiling was spinning. "I gonna try 'n write it down," said Zoro, picking up a pen and staring at a piece of paper on the table. It had something written on it. What was it? He held it up for Robin to see, "Can you read this?" Robin squinted at the paper.

"Nope." She shook her head for a little longer than was normal, then collapsed on the table. He glass rolled out of her hand and nearly fell to the floor, but the bartender caught it.

"Woah!" said Zoro, swaying back and forth, "how you'd that?"

"If I didn't, there wouldn't be any glasses left," said the bartender, smile full of pity, "what happened to you? Why're you here tonight?" Zoro shrugged, and then laughed. This guy was hysterical, his head looked like a bull. "What's your name?"

"Ronazrrr. Zerro." Zoro's head thunked on the table and he started snoring. The bartender caught his glass before it hit the ground. His speed was almost inhuman. A girl with orange hair blazed down the stairs.

"Robin! Robin! Oh, there you are!" She stopped at the bar. Nami was wearing her hat still, and her checks were red. "What was Zoro doing here too?" She wondered, "Oh good lord," she said, "what happened?" she turned to the bartender.

"They had a little talk," he said, "didn't listen to most of it. There seemed to be a couple of confessions in there somewhere. Don't worry, it's nothing like that," the bartender said in response to the look of horror and wonder on Nami's face. She sighed.

"Well, better work on getting these two home. They wont be going anywhere by themselves." She got a cellphone out and dialed a number. "Sanji-kun? Could you come and pick us up please? Thanks. Bye," Nami hung up, then noticed the pen in Zoro's hand, and the piece of paper. "Song for Brooke?" she read aloud. Her look of confusion changed to a smile. "You hopeless man," she muttered, then began to write.

Zoro woke up in his bed. He preformed the check. One, was there any immediate danger? No. Two, was Luffy there? No, but that was ok. Luffy wasn't supposed to be there. Third, was there anything else wrong? Yes. There were many things wrong. Half of those things where located in his head, causing him a fair amount pain. It's tough waking up in the morning with an angry marching-band for a cranium. He tried to get up, but his limbs weren't responding. He tried again and the pain in his forehead increased. His tongue felt like sand. He groaned. What happened? He looked for the memories, but everything past drink eleven was fuzzy, and everything after fifteen was just plain gone. He spotted a glass of water on his bedside table. He reached for it gratefully and gulped as though he hadn't had a drink in days.

After that, he felt a little better, but he still got dizzy when he tried to get up. He was usually good at recovering from hangovers, but this one was really bad. The last time he could remember a hangover like this was when he challenged Nami to a drinking competition. That was the incident with forty. Nami had won.

He noticed a little piece of paper that had been underneath the glass of water. It had the heading, "Song for Brooke," and had a song written underneath it. Beneath that was written, "Just this once." He scowled. Nami knew just how to make him in a worse mood than he already was.

When he finally dragged himself out of bed, he found a note from Sanji on the table along with a couple of fresh biscuits and a glass of orange juice. Orange juice. De ja vu. The note said, "River still flooded, so don't go to work. Just take it easy. Nice job on the song. Didn't think you could. Practice tonight." Zoro turned off the glaring lights, got himself a glass of water and an aspirin, and sat down to eat breakfast.