Hello! :D Another update while our temporary net connection's doing its job! :D Thank you for the reviews, the follows, and the favourites! :D From this chpater on, brace yourself for more drama and a little bit of fluff inserted in between!

Chapter Four

If This Is Your Idea of Funny, Then You're Some Sick Bastard!

Tashigi turns her computer off and leans on her office chair's backseat. Her back hurts a bit from sitting to long, and her hands aren't faring well either. She's been encoding her students' grades in time for the end of the semester and has been writing her reports since her break this afternoon almost nonstop. If her colleague hadn't reminded her of lunch time, she might've missed it. But at least she's done with all the paperworks they need to pass, and that way, she can come home earlier than usual, and maybe even pick Yuuhi up from school like the old days. Her daughter will probably like that.

She looks at her wall clock and is surprised to find that she just passed the 12-hour mark of being outside the house. She left the house at 6 in the morning to bring Yuuhi to school, and now she's leaving her workplace at 6 in the evening. She's never been this inattentive to time even during her periods of enthusiasm when working on a project or conducting an interesting educational research. Ever since Yuuhi was born, she's always been sensitive to time so as not to keep the kid to fend for herself. The lady immediately fishes for her phone inside her bag and sees a barrage of calls and messages from Nami with the last message sent thirty minutes ago. She swipes her screen and begins to read them all.

Today. 3:30PM

"What time will you be home? I'm already fixing Yuuhi some snacks so if you're on way here and thinking of buying some on the way, you don't have to. :)"

Today. 4:28PM

"I'm guessing it's OT again? Yuuhi's already asking me if you're on your way home, but you're not replying. Anyway, my sister and I are meeting some old friends from our hometown at 6:30, and I still have to buy food for everyone (because we all know Nojiko can't cook to save a life) because she'll be home at exactly 6:30. She'll pick up our friends from the bus station. I can't leave Yuuhi here, ya know."

Today. 5:13PM

"You're probably going to kill me, but I brought Yuuhi with me to the store, and promised her a bowl of ice cream with sprinkles and some caramel syrup for desserts later. I told you; I can't just leave her alone. And answer your phone if you have time."

Today. 5:30PM

"I'm guessing you're really busy for ignoring my texts and calls. Anyway, just telling you that Yuuhi's with us, so no need to worry if you're coming home late and you don't see us. :x

P.S. This isn't kidnap okay. This is me, being a responsible adult. And of course, you have to pay me extra! :x"

"Oh good lord," she mutters as she checks her missed calls and sees 6 missed calls from Nami. She hurriedly types her reply after. At least Nami has the mind to keep her daughter in her watch (and to remind her to pay her extra for the extended services). But she really can't complain right now, and Nami's been a treasure especially when things were beginning to get cloudy on her side of the world.

After another fifteen minutes of putting her papers in a neat file, arranging the other trinkets on her desk, and double-checking if all the electonic gadgets and appliances are turned off, Tashigi turns off the lights and proceeds to college lobby. That's when she hears the thunders roar and the skies rumble.

"But it's in the middle of summer!" she hisses as she looks and feels inside her bag for her umbrella.

When she feels none, she marches back to their area faculty room, and searches for a spare umbrella among her things, but all she found are a pair of heels, an extra canvas bag for bringing some of the papers home for checking, and her stash of jasmine tea. What a time to be alive!

She sighs in defeat as she rearranges her. Looks like she's going to have to wait this out in the building. And if this summer rain persists, then she guessed she'd just go back to the office and work again, then go home early in the morning. She can text Nami to let Yuuhi stay with them for the night, since she'll be paying her extra anyway and it is Saturday tomorrow, which means Yuuhi has no school. So she does so before leaving the room the second time.

On the way to the lobby, she manages to catch a glimpse of green hair coming out of the men's room. Tashigi's eyes widen and her entire body stiffens, but she recovers from the surprise immediately. She hopes he doesn't notice her (even though it'll be impossible not to notice her since the others have left a long time ago already), but Murphy's Law is always bound to kick in at the worst possible times. She trips on the loose rubbered edge of one of the five steps leading to the lobby as she hurries, sending her to the floor with a loud thump. She can hear footfalls approaching, and she hopes that she finds the guard standing in front of her.

But with her current streak of misfortune, this can only mean one thing.

"Didn't they tell you to watch your step all the time when climbing up and down the stairs?"

Tashigi doesn't even need to look for her glasses to know the owner of the voice and the one whose hand is on her shoulder belongs to. The voice is all too familiar.

"Ma'am, what happened here?"

The lady replaces her glasses and looks up at the guard. "Believe it or not, I'm okay. I just tripped on the stairs, that's all. Nothing to worry about, haha!" she tells him, but what she really wants to do is to strangle him and yell at him for coming to her aid only after her ex-husband came running to her side. "Don't worry, sir. I'll be able to walk on the way home."

Just this time, she allows Zoro to touch her (again), and lets him drag her up to her feet (like the many time he does whenever she trips or falls), strong arms supporting her equally strong frame (from working out together on weekends) as she gets to her feet. She feels a little strain on her left ankle, but she dismisses it and hopes the pain will subside by tomorrow. The guard leaves shortly, but with worry etched on his face.

Zoro hasn't let her go yet, and this is something he usually does after assisting her. Old habits die hard, perhaps?

"I'm okay now," she reassures him, once again peeling of his hands on her arms. "And I'm going home."

So Zoro releases his hold carefully. Tashigi silently thanks him for not keeping her long like the last time. But then she turns round and her legs immediately give away. Her body hitting the floor doesn't come, though, for the man was able to catch her.

She waits for him to chide her or even tease her for lacking grace and finesse, but it also doesn't come. Instead, she finds herself being lifted off the ground, bridal carry style, and being enveloped by the homey warmth that she used to go home to at the end of a long day. Her chest begins to constrict again as memories of being carried by Zoro (she misses this, but won't say out loud) floods her head in insane amounts (because when they used to stroll by the park, he would often just carry her, much to her delight and embarrassment, and he would keep that up until they found their usual seat by the bay to watch the sunset).

"Put me down." She weakly protests. "And I need to get my bag."

So he puts her down slowly, but her feet haven't even touched the ground when she's in his arms again (technically, she hasn't left).

"There, I got it for you." He quips and then he starts to walk to the exit like everything is normal.

Tashigi shoots him a mortified look. "Zoro! I told you to put me down!" She hisses, because if she yells, they'll be too noisy, and she really doesn't want to bother the poor guard with one of their silly dramas.

But Zoro doesn't budge. He doesn't even flinch when she swung her legs violently in the hopes of reaching the ground. He just adjusted his hold on her and doesn't even say anything.

"Hey, sir. Can you help us get to my car? I can't reach for my umbrella right now, so can we borrow you and your umbrella on the way to the parking area?"

This time she grabs his chin and forces him to face her. "Where the hell are you taking me, Zoro?"

He grins. "Home."