Hello~

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :3


The day had continued with an uncomfortable air around the two men. Whenever Zoro walked past Ace he would look down and avoid eye contact. Ace even ignored him

when he stayed to watch him work. The only thing that saved them from this awkward situation was a small ringing sound. Ace had a customer at his door. The mood changed

quickly as Ace went to welcome in his client. "Ah! Welcome Smoker!" Ace greeted the man. He was a well built man with a serious composure despite his exposed chest. Zoro

thought it was only natural for one of Ace's clients to clearly have no problem exposing his torso. He was about to roll his eyes when he saw the two cigars in the man's

mouth. What the hell? He was smoking two at a time?! That can't be good for him. "Ace I can't waste any time with you. I'm here to pick up my seastone-tipped jutte."

Smoker turned to look at Zoro who was sitting in a far corner. "You seem to be busy." He commented. Zoro stared at him without any thought of it. He noticed Smoker's

marine jacket. He looked different from all the other marines he had encountered; "This guy must be really strong", he thought. "Right, I'll get it from the back," Ace said as he

went out the back door of his workroom. After a few moments of waiting, Smoker broke the silence. "So kid," Smoker addressed Zoro. "What brings you here in this shop?

You're picking up your sword, too?" Zoro was shocked that he'd even start a conversation with him, "For a guy with such a busy schedule, you sure have a lot of time to have

some small chat," Zoro gave him a smug look as he said this. "Don't get me wrong, 'Roronoa Zoro'! I'm only interested in figuring out why you'd come to such a shabby looking

village and stay at this guy's house!" Smoker almost growled at him. Zoro was surprised. He didn't know the marines were tracking him by now. Smoker noticed Zoro's tense

expression and sighed. "Relax. I'm not here to arrest you. You actually help us out by catching those third-rate pirates; though you're reckless as ever while doing it." Zoro felt

reassured, but still kept his guard up. Ace then re-entered the room with Smoker's jutte. "Here you go, Smoker, sorry for the wait." Ace's attention was only on Smoker, one

would think he forgot Zoro was even there. Zoro almost felt sad, but it was his fault for pushing him away. Smoker paid Ace and was on his way to leave the room when Zoro

stopped him. "Wait. I'll come with you. Maybe you can convince me about join the marines or something." Smoker looked back at him and arched an eyebrow. "You?! Join the

marines?! Don't be crazy, dumbass!" Smoker almost dropped a cigar from his mouth. Ace was shocked as well, but only showed it on his face for a second. He waited to see

what Zoro would say. "Don't get ahead of yourself, I told you to 'convince' me, remember? If I decide you guys aren't strong enough to have me, then I'll leave it at that."

Zoro got up from his seat and headed out the door. Smoker looked at Ace, but it seemed he was already moving on to his next task. He sighed again and joined the younger

man outside.


After walking for a few minutes Smoker stopped which caused Zoro to stop and look at him. "Are you two fighting or something?" he inquired. "W-WHAT?! What makes you

think I….he…huh?!" Zoro instantly over-reacted. "Calm down damn it! Geez, you guys make it so obvious. All I asked was whether you two had a fight! You're making it seem

like there's more going on between you two!" Smoker scolded him as he took out another cigar from his pocket. These idiots were really wearing him down. Zoro blushed and

looked away, "It's nothing. I just didn't want to be in there anymore." Smoker looked down at him and smirked. "Alright, alright. Heh, I guess I don't have to consider recruiting

you anymore." Zoro chuckled at this, "No way! I've heard about you marines. You guys are all about sharing your booze. I want ALL of the booze to myself." Smoker gave him

an incredulous look. Was booze his "raison d'etre" or something? He sighed louder than the last two times. Moments later, the two could hear someone yell for Smoker. "Captain

Smoker! Captain Smoker!" called out a young girl. Zoro looked at her short black hair, dark brown eyes…where had he seen those before? The girl ran to join them. "Captain

Smoker, we have orders from headquarters-" Smoker interrupted her, "Again?! Couldn't you tell them we were busy, Tashigi?!" Zoro stared at her. "Tashigi…" he said under his

breath. "Of course not! There's no way I would lie, captain!" Tashigi scolded him. She turned to look at Zoro and the two spent a few minutes looking at each other. It then all

became clear to Zoro. Tashigi was the spitting image of Kuina! His first love! (At least that's what he came to the conclusion of) Zoro's cheeks became flushed. "Like what you

see sergeant?" Smoker teased. Tashigi pushed her glasses closer to her face, "D-Don't be ridiculous, Captain! I was j-just…" Smoker looked at Zoro and noticed his condition.

"He's the famous Roronoa Zoro." Tashigi stopped babbling immediately and gave an amazed look. "She's a sword freak. You'll thank me later." Smoker leaned in to whisper in

Zoro's ear and walked away. "Ah! Captain, don't forget to go back to the ship!" Tashigi reminded him as he left. Zoro was confused. What did smoker mean by telling him that?

"Mr. Roronoa?" Tashigi looked at him while waiting for him to respond. "A-Ah, yeah?" Zoro tried to act natural. "What brings you here to this village?" she asked. Zoro wasn't

sure he wanted to answer. Thinking about it would mean he'd have to think about Ace and he just wasn't up for that at the moment. "Ah… you know, just stopping by before I

head out somewhere else," he answered. Tashigi noticed the hesitation in his answer, but pushed no further. "Is that so? Well, I've been wondering! Will you do me a favor?

I've wanted to ask this of you ever since I heard about you." Zoro blushed a little as he heard this. What did this girl want to ask him? Tashigi's gaze became serious and Zoro

felt his heart race. "Kuina would often look at me like that…" he thought. Tashigi dragged this on for a few more seconds and finally spoke. "I want you…" she began saying

with a slight blush on her cheeks. Her eyes showed hesitation which caused Zoro to go crazy. Was this…?! "I want you to fight me!" she finally exclaimed. Zoro thought he had

fallen flat on his ass as his hopes came crashing down. "What the hell?!" he yelled. This girl had him on his toes for this?! Zoro wanted to tell her off, but the excitement in her

eyes was apparent. She was serious and actually looking forward to this. Zoro sighed and scratched the back of his head. "You know…" he started saying. "Is it no good Mr.

Roronoa?" Tashigi asked with pleading eyes. Zoro couldn't help but blush once more. Geez this was becoming worse than when he was with Ace. "It's not that it's 'no good'… I

just can't fight you." Tashigi frowned. "What do you mean?! Is it because I'm a woman?!" she was appalled. She hated being looked down on by other men. Just because she

was clumsy at times, didn't mean she couldn't fight like the best of them! Zoro felt troubled. He didn't want to fight her because she was a "woman", but because she

resembled Kuina way too damn much! "It's not that… and anyway you look more like a girl…." (A girl that I used to be really close to…) "H-H-How dare you!" Tashigi shouted at

him as she slapped him across the face. "Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Zoro also shouted. The two of them were making a scene in the middle of the village. "You just

insulted me!" she responded. "How the hell did I insult you?! You look like a girl so I'm going to say you look like one!" Zoro was holding onto his throbbing cheek. "N-No!

You jerk! I'm already 21!" Tashigi looked childish as she yelled at him. Bystanders would admire her cute feisty outburst, especially the men. "Ehhh?! You're OLDER than me?!"

Zoro exclaimed. "What the hell are you using? Some fountain of youth or some-" Tashigi slapped him once more. "You idiot! Watch what you're saying!" Tashigi's pale skin had

turned beet red by now. Zoro rubbed his cheek, "OW! Would you stop hitting me?!" This was ridiculously similar to how he and Kuina would argue. It made his blood boil; it

gave him a rush. Tashigi realized that they were the center of everyone's attention and quickly grabbed Zoro's arm to pull him out of the crowd that surround them. "H-Hey!

Where are you taking me?!" Zoro would whine and complain as she dragged him away.


Ace had long since put down his tools. Although work helped him avoid looking at Zoro—as much as that pained him, it had become tedious now. He sighed as he turned

around to look at the seat which once had Zoro in it. How could he ignore him like that? He wanted to act like nothing was wrong, but things were serious now. There was a

real problem and Ace needed more time to think it through. How could he convince Zoro to give in to him? He thought he did during their first night together, but it seems like

Zoro is still latching on to something else. He couldn't be bothered by losing his virginity right? Besides, that's something girls fret over and Zoro was no girl, he confirmed it—

even though he was so damn cute. Ace slapped his face a little to stop himself from thinking about Zoro moaning while he was under him. Now was not the time. It was

unmistakable though, Zoro was holding on to something….wait, no, maybe someone! That couldn't be, he was a virgin after all! Zoro looked like he'd never interacted with

anyone besides casual confrontations before! Ace held on to his forehead. Brainstorming over this was becoming a pain. "Ahh…why do you have to tease me so…." he sighed.

"It's not like he's not interested…. Even though he said so, it obvious that he was lying…" Ace got up from his spot and decided to change his mood by doing something else.

He wished Zoro hadn't left; that he hadn't made him leave. He had so many questions to ask.


Loud breaths could be heard on a small field. Zoro's cheeks reddened as he panted. Tashigi was also in the same condition. They were completely exhausted from their

sparring. Well, it was more like Tashigi trying to attack Zoro while he evaded her advances. He managed to not get a single hit nor give any of them himself. This outraged

Tashigi to no end. "Why won't you take this seriously?!" she demanded as she made a final charge at him. "I am!" Zoro was too tired to dodge and instead decided that he'd

grab her and make her unable to attack any more. "L-Let go of me! Let go!" Tashigi tried to escape Zoro's arms, but couldn't. "I'm not letting go until you promise to stop

trying to fight me." Zoro said. He really was not interested in fighting her. He was only prepared to reunite with Kuina and fight with her again in the afterlife. Once Tashigi

assumed that Zoro was not going to release her she gave up. Or so Zoro thought. The moment he released her and sat down she threw another attack at him. Zoro didn't

bother moving this time. He just sat there. As Tashigi realized he was not going to avoid her she stopped. "Why…Why do all men do this to me?! I can be strong! Take me on

seriously!" Tashigi slumped to the ground on her knees. Zoro looked at her and sighed once more. How many times had he sighed today? "I do take you seriously," he

responded. "Then why won't you fight back?! Why did you avoid all my hits?!" Tashigi was starting to tear up. Zoro was surprised by this. He never remembered seeing Kuina

cry before…this was a face he had yet to see. Seeing Tashigi cry made him want to be gentler. "I told you I can't fight you." He said as he patted her head. Tashigi looked at

him, she was a little startled by his sudden gentleness. "Why?" she asked more calmly. Zoro wondered if he should tell her. He figured he didn't have to tell her the whole

story. "You just look like someone I knew," he finally confessed. Tashigi was confused. "Another girl?" Zoro nodded at her question. Tashigi felt a slight blush come to her face.

"Did you….did you like…her?" she was curious. If he liked this other girl who she looked like…then did he… "Yes." Zoro answered. Tashigi was so lost in her thoughts of Zoro's

confession and her own ideas of him that she wasn't sure what question he had answered. Her heart was racing and she didn't dare to look away from him. She hadn't realized

this before because of her bad vision, but looking at him this close, he was very handsome. "Well, I think we should end it here for today." Zoro said as he got up from the

ground and patted the dirt off his pants. "W-Wait!" Tashigi called after him as he walked away. Zoro just waved at her with the back of his hand as he kept heading in his

direction. Tashigi sat there while lost in thought. "He said 'for today'… does that mean I can see him again?" Her mind was completely overtaken by thoughts of the handsome

swordsman. Zoro on the other hand hoped he had handled the situation well enough. Little did he know that he added more problems to this story.


When Zoro finally reached Ace's home he was greeted by a fire user waiting to pounce on him. "Where were you?!" Ace hurried to him and held him tightly. Zoro was

embarrassed. "I…I had things to do." He responded. Ace released him and looked at him. He noticed Zoro was out of breath, sweating, and flushed-face. This was eerily similar

to how he would be when he was with him. Zoro couldn't have?! Zoro read the panic and anger from Ace's face. "Calm down… I just got lost on my way here, that's why I'm

so late." He started to walk further inside until he was pulled back by the arm by Ace. "No. Tell me…where were you today?! I doubt that you stayed with Smoker all day….

wait! Does Smoker have anything to do with this?!" Ace yelled at him. Zoro wondered how many times he was going to get yelled at and scolded in one day. "Have to do with

what? And no, I was with someone else." He was confused. Why was Ace so angry with him? Ace tightened his grip on Zoro's arm. "Who?" he asked while giving him a serious

look. "J-Just a girl… why are you so angry all the sudden?!" Zoro pulled his arm away. Ace felt his body heat up. Zoro was with a girl? A girl…did he do it? Was he actually not

interested, then? A million thoughts ran through his mind. "I leave you for one evening and come back to you acting completely weird!" Zoro complained as he tried to walk

away again, but Ace pinned him down at the entrance. "H-Hey! Get off me! I haven't even stepped foot in this house!" Zoro shouted from underneath him. Ace would not

listen. The thought of Zoro being with someone else was unacceptable. "Zoro….can't you see I love you! I love you!" Ace pushed Zoro down even more which caused Zoro to

hiss in pain. He felt desperate. How could he make Zoro understand? Zoro blushed despite the rough treatment. "You've already told me! What's wrong with you, get off me,

Ace!" Zoro thought he had lost his mind. Ace gripped Zoro's ass through his pants. Zoro gasped at this. "Zoro…don't do this to me, you're mine! I can't let you go to someone

else!" Zoro thought he was hearing things. Who was Ace even talking about? "What do you mean 'someone else'?! There's no one!" he yelled. "Then who's that girl?! Why won't

you tell me?!" Ace was furious. His hands heated up and Zoro felt it through the fabric of his pants. He tried to push him off, but the older man was much heavier and stronger

than him. "S-She's no one special!" Zoro blushed in embarrassment which cause Ace to go mad. "No one?! You sure about that, babe?! It seems like this 'no one' is making

someone turn red!" Ace was long gone now. He couldn't control himself anymore. Zoro not becoming his was not an option. Zoro didn't want to talk about Tashigi because

then he'd have to talk about Kuina and he just wasn't ready for that. Ace violently pulled down Zoro's pants to reveal his well-toned and firm ass. "H-Hey! I don't want to… I

don't want to fuck today! Not here!" Zoro yelled. "Really? But baby it looks like you already did it earlier with that girl! I guess once you got your fix with her you want me

now!" Ace yelled and began to viciously bite Zoro's ass. "A-Ahh! Quit it! And I didn't do it with her!" Ace was not convinced. "Then how come you came here all hot and

heavy?!" he continued his attack. Zoro felt pain and pleasure at the same time. Ace was ruthlessly leaving teeth marks and hickeys on his "cheeks". "A-Ace….stop it! I don't

want this!" Zoro clawed the floor beneath him. "You need to be punished, Zoro. How could you show that body of yours to another woman?! How could you let anyone else

hear your moans?!" Ace smacked Zoro's ass with his heated hands and left more marks. "Aaaah! Ace, STOP!" Zoro didn't know what to say to calm the other down. At this

rate this was going to turn into rape. Zoro felt his flesh becoming raw as Ace continued his assault. His cries echoed in the house. They were not the same cries of the last

two encounters. His heart was racing, but because of fear, not excitement. This was like the time he first arrived in the village—when he nearly got raped by that thief. Ace

was the one to save him now, but who would save him from Ace now? Ace flipped him over on his back and Zoro felt the cold floor on his burned and wounded skin. He

shivered at this. Ace then spread his legs and grabbed his member. "What's this? Not getting hard? You all drained out, babe?" Ace commented on Zoro's lack of erection. Zoro

glared at him, "Of course I wouldn't be turned on by this, bastard!" Zoro punched Ace, but was stopped. Ace had wrapped his wrist in some sort of fire shackles. "Wha-What is

this?!" Zoro yelled as he shook his wrists. His skin touched the fire for a second and was burned. "Careful, baby. I don't want to burn you too much." Ace said as he held Zoro's

arms up behind his head so it wouldn't burn anything else. He then proceeded to stroke him. Ace had turned his hand to fire as he did so. Although Zoro was terrified, he was

shocked when he realized he wasn't being burned. Instead he just felt heat radiating all over his member. "Do you like this trick? I have more, but you'll have to fully submit to

me in order for me to show you." Ace leaned in to Zoro's face. "Haven't I already let you fuck me twice?!" Zoro did not understand what Ace meant. "No Zoro. You haven't

even given me the time of day. I want you to fall in love with me. I've told you this before." Ace kissed Zoro roughly. He pulled back after a few seconds. "How many times do

I have to tell you? I only make love to you, Zoro." Zoro started to feel it in his groin. Although he wasn't into his abusive sex, he couldn't neglect the sensations it made his

body feel. Was this really considered "making love"? Even though Ace was not as gentle and caring as before. Zoro started to blame himself. He's the reason Ace is acting this

way. If he hadn't realized his lingering feelings for Kuina so late Ace would still be the old Ace that he first met. The Ace that he started liking now that he thought about it.

The thoughts brought tears to his eyes. He was causing Ace trouble. How could he. Ace looked at Zoro's tearful expression and stopped. "….Z-Zoro…" Ace was heartbroken.

What had he done?! How could he treat Zoro like this… just because he got a little upset! "Zoro, I'm-!" Ace was cut off by Zoro. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Ace" Zoro exclaimed

while crying. Ace thought his heart sank all the way down to his bowels. Seeing Zoro cry so much was too much. He was the one that deserved punishment. "I'm

sorry….sorry….sor-" Zoro pleaded over and over again. Ace leaned in and kissed in countless times. As each tear fell he planted soft kisses on Zoro's cheeks. He held him in his

arms for what seemed like hours. Zoro just wouldn't stop crying and Ace couldn't help, but hate himself by the second.