Chapter 4: So, We're Married? Zoro & Robin Blend In As Lessons Begin
Robin rubbed her eyes and yawned as she was awaken from her slumber by a familiar scent. Unfortunately, that was the only thing familiar about the scenario. She opened her eyes and was momentarily jarred by the unfamiliar settings until yesterday's events replayed in her mind. As she looked around the room, she saw that her nakama was no longer in the room. With worry on her mind, she sat up with her guard raised, prepared for what might happen. However, she was calmed when she heard her crew mate's voice. "Oi, you can relax," said the swordsman as his voice came from down the hall. Though still new to using it, his Kenbunshoku Haki kept him aware of his nakama at all times, but being with only one crew member instead of eight, he was able to be more in tune with Robin's state of being.
As Robin stood up and began to find the source of his voice, the missing swordsman said, "Before you come down, get ready for the day. We have a lot to do." Slightly perplexed by Zoro's statement, she peered out the window to see the sun had just broke the horizon and started to fill the previously dark sky with light. "I would assume he means for training me in using a sword,"she thought as she prepared for the day and made her way out of the room, following the somewhat familiar smells. As she left their room and made her way down the hallway, she entered the kitchen area to see the two other men staying in the house.
"Good morning, Miss," said Ken as he was seated at the table, "Your nakama offered to make breakfast." Robin smiled as she looked towards the stove to see Zoro cooking. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you could cook, Zoro," she said as she made her way to the table. "Oi, I'll have you know I've been taking care of myself long before I teamed up with Luffy. I may not be as good as that shitty cook, but I can make a pretty decent meal if I say so," he said in his defense. A slight burning smell came from the stove top as Zoro turned his attention back to the food and continued making breakfast. "I have the coffee already made. Help yourself while I finish up with the rest of breakfast," he said as tilted his head towards the pot of coffee.
"Please don't be too alarmed, Ken-san," said Robin as she bloomed a series of arms near the pot and brought the coffee to the table. Despite the request, he was still shocked. "Wh-wh-wh-what was that? Hands just came out of nowhere," questioned the old man, as Robin had the arms pour herself a cup of coffee as well as one for the shop owner. "Robin has a Devil's Fruit ability. She can make duplicates of her body or its parts," said the swordsman as he started to move the food to plates. "A-a-aah, I see. S-s-so, you're just like Aokiji," he said as he tried to calm his nerves, sipping the coffee. Robin's eyes shot wide as she heard a name she wasn't expecting to hear. "How do you know him," she said, hints of despair laced in her voice as she asked the question. "Oh, this island used to hold the Marines' promotion ceremonies here," he said as he began to reminisce. "He was promoted to Vice Admiral here many years ago, and he made it snow."
He sipped his coffee, a slight grimace at the bitterness of it and coughed. "I think you made this a bit too strong, sonny. Especially for your lady fri...," he said, only to be stopped by the sight of Robin drinking the coffee with a calm face. "Don't worry. She prefers her coffee on the bitter side, as well as prefers her food to not be sweet," said Zoro as he brought out the plates of food. Three plates with sunny-side up eggs, slightly burnt hash browns, and strips of bacon. Robin was intrigued by this bit of knowledge of herself revealed by the swordsman. She didn't figure that he knew this aspect of her.
"How did you know this fact about me, Zoro," she asked as she took a bite of her eggs. Zoro sat down and began to eat some of his bacon, saying, "I hear that stupid Ero-Cook talk to himself whenever he makes breakfast when I'm on watch from that previous night. He talks about what dishes to prepare as he mulls over everyone's unique tastes." He took a couple bites of his eggs as he continued, "He may be a perverted asshole, but he is a good nakama." Robin's eyebrows showed her surprise by this revelation of Zoro. She's never heard Zoro say anything nice about Sanji, always an insult or crass remark. "Don't tell the bastard I said that," he said, not even looking up from his plate to see her expression, as if he could read her mind. "Didn't hear a thing," she said with a smile as the trio continued to eat.
Zoro collected everyone's plates and was cleaning up when Ken appeared next to him and rolled up his sleeves. "I'll take over here. You go out and see what our little island offers here with your lady friend," he said as he pointed back towards Robin. "Besides, you need to at least get some new clothes while you wait for your friends to come back," he added. Zoro nodded in agreement as he dried off his hands and went back to their room. He unfastened Sandai Kitetsu and Shuusui from his hip and placed them under the mattress. "I'm sorry, but I have to keep you two here while I am out. With my notoriety for using three swords, I have to drop down to one. Once I return, you will be back out," he said to his two swords as he placed the mattress upon them gently, as if a parent placing a blanket on their child.
"Mind if I ask why you are doing that," Robin asked as she caught sight of Zoro as he lowered the mattress. Zoro felt a bit flustered by this sudden interrogation, but he composed himself as he stood up and faced her. "We can't do anything that the Marines know about us as Roronoa Zoro and Nico Robin, so that means I can't carry my three swords, and you can't use your powers in front of others," he said. "That's not what I meant, but that is a good point," she said, entering the room. "Oh, what did you want to know," he asked back, being met with her response, "Why were you talking to your swords?" The swordsman grinned as he replied to his interrogator, "You'll find out once you're a swordswoman." Robin raised an eyebrow to his response, taken aback by Zoro using Robin's own wordplay against her. "Let's head out," he said as he adjusted Wado Ichimonji onto his right hip and made his way past Robin, adding, "and don't forget your sword. We'll be going over some basics during our day."
Robin grabbed a hold of her sword and attached it to her belt as she made her way towards the downstairs. She was met with a bit of difficulty as she now had to maneuver through the hallway with the sword on her waist. "Zoro makes it seem easy," she said to herself as she walked down the stairs, trying to prevent the end of the scabbard from hitting them, with only a fifty percent success rate. Robin looked up to see Zoro standing in the doorway leading to the street, saying, "I make it easy because I follow simple rules. Swordsmanship Basic Rule Number One: The sword is an extension of the person, not a tool. It should be as natural to your body as your arm or leg." He turned his back to Robin while in the doorway, missing the frame and the door with his scabbard, looking back at her with a smirk. "It'll take some getting use to, but I know you'll figure it out. So, shall we go?" Robin smiled as she made her way to his side. "Of course, Jubei," she said with a teasing, almost flirtatious tone as she stepped out the door. Zoro was once again caught off-guard by his nakama, this time in the way that reminded of when she first joined the crew. He smirked again, as he shook off the nostalgic feeling.
The two strolled down the street, looking at the various shops in the search for the clothing store while going over the basics of using a sword, the parts of it, and the grading scale. The two were receiving looks from the locals, noticing that the two aren't from the island, among other aspects. Even though he grew a bit, Zoro was still shorter than Robin by several inches. The scars on his eye and chest along with his rugged physique was also quite the heavy contrast in comparison to Robin's sleek and delicate form. Even though the age difference between them is only nine years, people could tell that Robin was older than Zoro. He grew increasingly annoyed with the constant stares that they were receiving from the townsfolk. "Don't these people have anything better to do than look at us," he muttered under his breath, to which Robin replied with a smile, "Don't let it get to you," she said coyly.
Although she said it with confidence, Robin was noticing that some of the younger women were eyeing the swordsman and his muscular physique that showed through his unbuttoned shirt. She grabbed a hold of Zoro's hand, unaware of her own reaction. She felt the roughness of his hand, callouses built over the years of wielding his swords. "Even his hands are as rugged as he appears," she thought as she smiled. Zoro was a bit too distracted to notice her grabbing his hand as he was noticing that the young men were looking at Robin. He glanced over at Robin and could see why they were staring. Even though Ken-san had clothes for the both of them, they weren't really in their sizes. Robin's top was a bit on the short side as her waist and cleavage was for all to see, and the pants really hugged her curves. It was then he noticed that Robin was holding onto his hand. He felt the smoothness and slight warmth in her hand against his grip. "This feels... quite nice," he thought as he looked forward, giving more death glares to the men of the town looking at Robin.
Entering into the clothing store, the two pirates were greeted by the store owner and shown the wares. "Not only are we looking for new clothes, but we also need to grab some for training as well," Zoro said as the two went to their respective sections. He avoided anything that would resemble anything that he had worn during the crew's skirmishes with the Marines. He settled on a burgundy t-shirt, a black zip-up hoodie with a skull and crossbones on each side of the chest, and a pair of golden-brown pants as his casual wear. He had several other clothes picked out as well and set off to the side. "How do I look, Jubei-kun?" Zoro turned towards the voice calling his new name to see Robin in her new outfit. She was wearing a teal corset-like tank-top showing off her stomach and cleavage, a lavender collared button-up shirt with faded yellow dots randomly adorning it, and a pair of blue jeans. Zoro was a bit dumbfounded by the sight. "You look...very...nice...Masako," he said sheepishly, turning away to hide the redness that was appearing on his cheeks.
Using the last of their money for their new threads, the duo now spent their time walking through the town, still going over the basics and looking for a place where they can practice. Robin was picking it up fast, but Zoro knew that this would be the easy part for her. "She's a fast learner when it comes to the book stuff, but the real learning will be tomorrow," he thought as the two continued to walk along the edge of the town. He could see a small clearing ahead that was behind several rows of trees. "Let's head over there," he said as he turned and made his way there, with Robin following behind him. The pair entered the clearing to see a small creek traversing through the middle of it. "This looks like a good area to do our training. We'll come back tomorrow morning and begin then," said the formerly green-haired man as they eyed over their spacious training ground.
As they made their way back to the shop, they saw a line of Marines extending out of the door. Feeling a bit hesitant to enter, the pair tried to head another direction when they heard a Marine holler out, "You two, hold it." The pair slowly turned around, both of them preparing to either run or fight as Robin, being the more experienced infiltrator responded back, "Do you mean us?" It was then that the two of them recognized the source of the command. It was one of the two Marines that questioned them last night. "Oh, hello again, Mr. Marine," said Robin as the pair eased their tension as she asked, "What brings you and the Marines here, if I may ask?" "Your uncle could use a hand in there. We had an altercation with some notorious pirates the other day that led to our sabers being damaged," he said as he held up his weapon, showing the damage done. "Your uncle is one of the few blacksmiths permitted by the Marines to work on our weapons," chimed in another Marine as they held up their chipped, nicked, or even cut swords. Zoro sweat-dropped over the fact that he was the cause for some of the damage. "So, shall we go help Oji-san, dear," asked Robin as she saw the look on Zoro's face and tried to snap him out of it. The part of that question that brought him back to reality was the final word.
"Dear."
"Sure, let's go give him a hand, Masako," said the young man as the pair made their way through the crowd of the people that chased them just over twenty-four hours ago. They met up with Ken in the back area to see him hard at work at the forge in the back area. For an old man, he was not frail to say the least, but the amount of work demanded upon him was a bit much and began to tire him. "Oi, Oji-san, what do you need us to do," asked the swordsman as the pair got his attention. Ken was caught off guard by the familial term from a non-relative, but he quickly recovered, saying, "Welcome back, you two. Masako, I want you to run the front, making sure that all of the orders are organized and delivered correctly, as well as bringing the swords to the back." "Of course," said Robin as she made her way to the front, buttoning up her top. Ken turned to Zoro, saying "You are out back on the main forge. Once you have the metal evened out, bring it in here for me to hone." "Okay," said Zoro as he began to take off his shirt and hoodie and grabbed an apron.
The two men walked out back to the main forge, and Ken showed Zoro what he had to do. Like Robin, Zoro is a fast learner, as long as what he is learning is physical. Ken smiled as he watched him fire up the forge and banged away at the chunks of metal. Ken leaned in and whispered, "I take it you are the reason for all of this?" Zoro sighed a bit but then grinned and nodded his head, adding, "Some of them, yes. Some of them, no." Ken laughed a bit and continued, "I should be thanking you for giving me this work, but now, you gotta help fix what you broke." The two men laughed as they began their tasks of repair. "I can't believe the Marines are getting their weapons fixed by one of the pirates responsible for breaking them," Zoro thought to himself as he continued to work the forge.
The chime of the hammer striking down on the metal and anvil rang throughout the alleyway and onto the street with each swing. Zoro had to be careful with how hard he swung the hammer as to not break it, the metal, or the anvil, but he managed to find the right level and continued to work. With the two additional hands, the orders seemed to be done much faster. Swords that needed edge work done were given directly to Ken to fix, while broken and cut swords, more than likely done by Zoro, were given to him to melt down and reforge into a single blade, which were then given to Ken to hone. The rhythmic ringing of the hammer striking had attracted some of the townsfolk as this wasn't a typical event. People gathered around, watching Zoro as he worked the metal. Although he was outside, he was smart to take off his shirt and hoodie, as the immense heat from the forge was making him sweat.
This drew the attention of some of the women of the town who gazed at him with hungry eyes. Every once in a while, Robin would pop out back and hand the swordsman another broken sword. During these moments, Robin would grab a look herself of his nearly perfect physique as he worked the forge. As Robin walked back inside she began to wonder. "Out of all of the times I have seen him work out, why is it now that I am noticing his body? Is it because we haven't been together this long while isolated from the others before?" she thought as she made here way back to the desk as she began to recall all of the times she had seen Zoro work out. The longest period of time she was alone with Zoro was during their adventure in Skypeia, which was only for several hours. As she handed the latest repaired sword to its owner, she recalled the women outside staring at Zoro. "Is it because he is attracting the attention of other women that I am feeling like this?"
With the final strike on the forge, the last of the Marines' weapons was repaired and delivered to its owner's hands. As the Marines left, the men began to quench the forges and prepare to close up the back. Robin brought the men some towels and glasses of water. "Thank you, my dear," said Ken as he wiped his brow and drank the water. Zoro hung up the apron and grabbed his tops as Robin offered him the towel and glass. "Thanks, Robin," he said as he drank the water in one gulp and began to wipe down his body. Robin grabbed a glance at his chiseled yet marred torso as he wiped it down in the glow of the dying embers from the inner forge. Robin would have continued gazing were it not for the chiming of the bell signaling a customer. "Looks like we got a late customer. Could you prepare the forge should they need repairs," asked Ken, to which Zoro nodded.
Robin and Ken went to the front to handle the customer as Zoro hung his tops back up and grabbed his apron. He recalled what Ken said when Robin offered him the towel and water. The last word rang once again in his mind, recalling the moment Robin said it earlier, her voice now echoing the word in his mind. "Dear," he thought to himself, "Coming from her, it sounds quite...what am I thinking? This is Robin. My nakama. She's either just messing with me or acting the part as my wife. My...wife." That last bit of thinking began to plague the swordsman's mind. He had never thought about ever having a wife, especially not Robin. He only thought about being the greatest swordsman in the world. If it wasn't related to that thought, it wasn't important. His current situation has begun to make Zoro reevaluate his decisions though. "What else is there left after I become the grea...," he thought as he shook his head, hoping that the thoughts would fall out of his ears.
As Zoro was donning the apron, his Kenbunshoku Haki picked up a malicious intent. He hurriedly ripped off the apron and grabbed his sword, only to be met with a sound of commotion out front. As he ran to the other side of the curtain, he saw Ken on the ground. Before he could look up, he heard a gruff voice yell at him, "YOU! Drop the sword or the lady here gets it!" He looked up to see a man standing behind Robin, with one hand over her mouth while the other holding a knife to her throat.
Kenbunshoku Haki - Observation Haki (Using haki to become aware of one's surroundings/intent/people, was known as Mantra during the Skypeia Arc)
The second floor of Ken's Sword Shop is the living area, complete with a kitchen/dining area and two bedroom, each with a bathroom.
Their new outfits come from the 12th intro when they were playing Othello
Oji-san – Uncle
Ken's Sword Shop has two forges: the outdoor one (in the alley behind his place) is used for the main aspect of making a sword and other large projects & the indoor one (behind the curtain) is used for honing the edges and minor works that don't require the outdoor one.
