Standing at in the corner of the dining hall with his bottle of sake, Zoro watched their guest with a frown. He knew he was just being childish, he had no reason whatsoever to be as mad at her as he was. She hasn't done anything wrong, he was the one who murdered dozens of her students and co-workers, yet he acted like it was the other way around. Even worse, she was trying to be nice to him, smiling at him and waving politely when he came in with Sanji earlier. What the hell was wrong with her?

She was currently talking to Usopp and Chopper, giggling behind her hand at whatever Usopp was telling her. He had to admit that she fitted in perfectly.

She lifted her gaze from the longed nose centaur and looked in his direction, catching him staring. She gave him a charming smile before turning her attention back to Usopp. Why did she look at him? Was it because she could feel his eyes on her or was she trying to sneak a glance at him herself? And why did she smile at him? Wasn't she supposed to be mad and resentful? Was she trying to seduce him so she could kill him in his sleep? That was probably it. That would also explain why she borrowed Nami's clothes that seemed a size too small for her, especially around the chest. Not that he was Staring at her chest, definitely not.

Shit.

He knew he was being unreasonable. She wasn't wearing Nami's clothes to seduce him, she was wearing Nami's clothes because he ruined hers during the attack. Nor was she being seductive on purpose, she was smiling and being nice because she would be spending at least the next month with them and she was trying to get rid of the awkward tension.

He was reading all her actions as sexual because he couldn't stop thinking about her that way, it wasn't her fault that he was a sexually frustrated guy with the libido of an animal. it wasn't his fault either though, since the only female company he had for the last few years was Nami, who was really more like his sister than anything else, and the thought of doing anything sexual with her almost made him throw up.

Not that he was the type of guy who would go all gaga over a woman just because she's female, he wasn't like the stupid love-cook or brook.

Usually, the idea of having a one night stand stand with someone just to satisfy his sexual needs disgusted him. He preferred to get to know a person before he got into bed with them. So what was it about this woman that made him want to jump her? Sure, she was attractive, gorgeous even, but was that really it?

"Kenshi-san?" He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. When did she get behind him?

"What do you want?" He grunted out, a hint of hostility in his voice. Turning around to look at her, he realized now that she was a few centimeters taller than him, much to his annoyance.

"Nothing in particular. You seemed lonely standing here all by yourself, so I thought you could use the company." She gave him another warm smile, and Zoro could feel his ears turning slightly red, whether it was because of her smile or close proximity, he wasn't sure.

"I'm fine. What's up with the nickname?"

"Nami told me you're a swordsman, so it seemed fitting." Her voice had a melancholic undertone to it, and Zoro got the feeling she was trying to avoid something. Of course, it's not like they actually had a conversation up until now, not to mention the only real interaction they had was basically him trying to kill her. Speaking of which, now was probably as good a time as any to clear the air between them regarding this particular subject matter.

His black eye met her mesmerizing blue ones and he asked with a stern voice "Why aren't you afraid of me, or hate me, or something? I killed your students, and co-workers, and almost killed you. Don't you think that you're acting a little familiar around me?"

Returning his gaze with equal seriousness, she answered calmly "I've heard everything from Luffy and the others. I know the circumstances of your situation. What happened wasn't your fault, you had no control over your actions. What's done is done, I don't blame you."

Zoro stared at her in shock. Was there something wrong with her head? In control or not, he still murdered people she knew, innocent people. Any person in their right mind should be the least bit resentful, or at least hold a grudge. But she seemed to do neither, was she a sociopath or something?

Of course, there was another possibility. The possibility that death was nothing new to her, and that she turned numb to it. Looking into her eyes, it made sense. There was deep rooted sadness hidden behind all the blue, and he couldn't help but wonder what happened to her to bring her to this point.

"Kenshi-san?" Her voice snapped him out of the trance he was in, pulling him out of the depths of her eyes back to reality.

"Sorry. Were you saying something?"

"You became so quiet I was wondering if you fell asleep." She giggled, and Zoro could feel his entire face burning up. What in the world was she doing to him?! First she made him feel guilty without even talking to him, then she seduced him without even trying, and now she's making him blush! The fuck was wrong with him?!

Turning away from her, he grunted out some impossible to understand response and started heading towards the door. The party was held in the dining hall, which was supposed to be in the middle of the castle's first floor, the bedrooms were on the second, or something like that. Now he just had to find the bloody staircase that kept changing places all the time.

As he walked down the candlelit hallway, he removed a little the heavy curtain that covered of the windows and looked outside. The sun was just starting to rise, which meant it was about 6am in the morning. It was about 8pm when the sun set yesterday, meaning it's been around ten hours since he went berserk. Replacing the curtain, he made sure no light could get through before continuing his quest of finding the staircase.

If it was up to him, the curtains wouldn't even be there, but Luffy insisted, because 'otherwise Sanji would melt!' Tch! Like he cared what happened to that good for nothing vampire.

He turned a few corners until he found himself face to face with the dining hall's double doors. Damn it. Now the rooms started switching places too, not just the stairs. That damned Nami, was she doing this to mess with him or something? That sounds just like her actually, switching around the rooms so she could lead him back to his room for a price. He always knew she was able to do more than just weather magic like she insisted.

"Are you lost, Kenshi-san?" Speaking of damned women, Nico Robin was leaning against the wall to his left, giving him a somewhat smug smile. That was the second time she managed to sneak up on him, how the hell did he miss her? Was she really a teacher? With her skills, she was more like a ninja, or, more than likely now that he thought about it, an assassin.

"Tch! Don't be stupid woman! That damn witch just switched up the rooms again is all." Crap, was he blushing again?! His ears certainly felt warmer.

She chuckled, and before Zoro had time to register what was going on, she grabbed his arm and started leading him in some random direction. Linking their arms she navigated through the castle halls with infuriating ease, dragging Zoro behind her. How could she be so confident?! She's only been there for ten hours, and was out of commission for at least three, yet she acted like she lived there all her life. Was she a witch too?! Was she the one who switched the rooms around?

They reached the staircase and Zoro had to muster all his willpower just to make sure his eye didn't wander to her backside as he climbed the stairs, a few steps behind her. Why did she have to wear Nami's tight shortie shorts of all things?! Reaching the second floor, he broke free of her grasp and headed towards his room, which luckily was just in front of the staircase and didn't seem to have been moved.

He was about to enter his room when he realized she followed him. "What?"

"My room is the one next to yours, so if you need to go somewhere just let-" He pinned her to the wall before she had time to finish the sentence. Arms on either side of her head, he tried to look as threatening as possible while looking up at her.

"Stay away from me" he said slowly, "For both of our sakes." He entered his room and slammed the door behind him, leaving her slightly stunned, still against the wall.