Apologies for the extremely delayed update. I know I have to work on my two stories more and hope to update then more often as time goes by. I definitely plan to have at least one of my stories finished by the beginning of summer!

I do not own One Piece. There would have been romance by now and I would have been rolling in money instead of typing a story on FF.

"You cannot find peace by avoiding life." ~Virginia Woolf

Chapter 4:

Nana's stomach growled as she strolled through Enro-town in search of a restaurant. Her day had taken quite a few twists and turns so she was ready to just sit down and enjoy a nice warm meal. She paused as she found a restaurant on her left. Ecstatic, she walked inside the place with a little bounce in her step.

It was a small little place with pale blue walls and hardwood flooring. Flourescent lighting lit the area above the tables while nearby windows illuminated the entire room. The booths were all filled up and there was only a few tables left empty.

Nana was about to talk to the hosts at the front counter but found that their attention lied elsewhere. In all actuality, however, it was not just them. The majority of the customers were murmuring to each other with surprised looks on their faces. Some slyly glanced out of the corner of their eye while holding a menu wheras others decided to just outright stare with wide eyes and mouth agape.

The attention of the entire room had been directed at a boy with a stack of empty dishes two feet high on his table. The numerous stares sent his way were promptly ignored (or perhaps unnoticed?) as he stuffed his face with the stack of meat on his current dish. Less than 5 seconds passed when he grabbed a drumstick from the next full plate and bit it with the ferocity of a ravenous animal.

Nana rubbed her eyes and looked back at the scene. Was she dreaming? This was unreal. Then, as she refocused on the disturbing sight, Nana slowly backed away toward the exit. After seeing that boy in the restaurant, she decided to just settle for a drink at the bar. The boy, Nana noticed, was wearing something she had actually seen earlier that day: a straw hat. Sure enough, this was the same boy that almost crossed paths with her, Monkey D. Luffy.

Anyone who knew Luffy could easily tell you that he eats everything in sight. It is not easy to get him to stop once he starts. He becomes so immersed sometimes that it gets hard to even have a conversation with the guy because he's too busy devouring an entire cow! It really was not surprising that he did not notice Nana walk into the room and stealthily walk out. Chances are he would not have even acknowledged her at the moment, anyway.

Perhaps Roronoa Zoro would have better luck? Thanks to his lack of motivation, the swordsman had not bothered to begin searching yet and just wandered throughout the town. It was unlikely that he knew what he was doing. He often walked in huge circles, thanks to his natural ability to get lost, and passed the same places over and over again. He was thankful when he finally noticed a bar and walked inside. Zoro was definitely in the mood for a drink. Or several. Then again, when DIDN'T he want to drink?

He sat on a stool right in front of the bartender. After getting some booze, he sat there for around fifteen minutes and drank silently. Most of the people there walked in either depressed or excited for a drink with some buddies. They walked out stumbling, quickly letting their self-control be drowned in alcohol. After years of experience, Zoro learned bar fights were common, but there were not any particularly determined instigators there, that day. It was a good thing, too, since a girl had just walked in, which did not go unnoticed by a few of the people in there.

Zoro smirked to himself. What was a girl like that doing in a bar? She must have lost her mind. She stuck out like a sore thumb in a room of rough, bulky men. The black-haired girl was petite and, judging from a bag she had, just went shopping. She did look like she needed a drink, but she should not have tried getting one in this bar.

The girl saw an empty seat next to Zoro and sauntered over to sit next to him. Though she should have been a bit hesitant, Zoro had to give her props for being very casual in such a setting. The girl seemed comfortable in a room full of men, almost as if she prefered it.

"Hey, Nana," the old bartender said to the girl as he leaned on the counter. "How's life been treating you?"

"Fine, how about you?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. How's that story coming along?"

Nana flinched but recovered quickly. Zoro noticed this but said nothing. Rubbing the back of her head, she bashfully replied, "I kind of ditched it. No inspiration, I guess."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow. She writes stories? Perhaps this was the girl his captain was looking for. "Oy," he spoke up, garnering attention from the two others. "What's your name?"

Nana's eyebrows furrowed as she looked him over. She had never met this guy, either. The girl's eyes wandered to his waste, which had three swords attached at the hip. Her eyes widened at the thought that this guy might be dangerous. Choosing to avoid eye contact, Nana tried playing it cool and said, "Why do you ask?"

Zoro took another sip of his drink. "My boss is looking for somebody who can tell a great story. He's kind of got the attention span of a two year old."

Nana smirked at this and decided to hold out her hand. "Nanami Kanada. Just call me Nana."

Heh. Mission accomplished. And Zoro didn't even try.