Luffia sat at her office – the top floor of Thousand Sunny Building. At first look, the building looks like a building for entertainment, because of the unusual colors mixed to it compared to the other business buildings around New World.
The building has 10 floors.
First floor is like a lobby, or relaxation area for guests who waits for the employees. The second floor is the cafeteria which looks like a restaurant of some sort. Part of that floor is the manufacturing for spices, and some healthy food products that they also sell in the Market – courtesy of their chef, Sanji Prince.
Third Floor is the area for Medicinal products they produce and sell in the market. This area is managed by a genius young doctor, Chopper. Most of the products are from exotic plants and it sells well. They have a farm for the plants that Tony Chopper needed and that is where Usopp sometimes helps. The farm is just a few kilometers away from the building itself.
Usopp Sogeking is more like into weapons, but he also likes to grow exotic plants. He along with Franky is designing ships and weapons along with it. He also sometimes teaches archery.
The Straw Hats specializes in Ships but along the way, the business broaden. Since the first specialty is building ships, and motorbikes, the building is situated near the ocean. The area around the building is for manufacturing ships.
This is where Franky Cybrorg comes in as well as the Galleyla Company. Galleyla is one of the partners of SHI and they build ships along with them. Aside from the ships, they also accept requests to build skyscrapers, buildings, and houses.
The Fourth floor is for manufacturing of magazines, mostly about fashion. This is where Nami Mikan comes in. Aside from that, she also manages the Orange orchard that monopolizes the entire New World Market. She also specializes in Maps. Along with Robin, they produce books that talks about the world and maps.
The Fifth floor is a huge library. Nico Robin is in charge of this. The Sixth floor is where the real manufacturing of the books they publish. Robin is a history expert and she is a genius freelance archaeologist – not until Luffy persuaded her into joining the team which was 5 years ago.
Seventh Floor is where Brook is situated. He is a very famous musician and composer. This floor is for manufacturing of musical instruments which was monopolized by the SHI. The Eighth Floor is a studio for young talents that Brook trained.
The Ninth Floor is Roronoa Zoro's studio. He trains Kendo to young athletes. Aside from that, he aslo teaches Martial arts. But in most days, he just go there to sleep.
Tenth Floor is the relaxation for all of them. There's a swimming pool at the roof of the building. A bar, mini-kitchen, more like a condo unit instead of the CEO's office. Luffia is more like a homey type of CEO, so she wanted it like this.
"This is boring…" she muttered to herself and went downstairs in search of Zoro. Surely, she found the man sleeping in the couch. She just kept quiet and let him sleep. He is such a heavy sleeper and heavy drinker.
Zoro is her very first friend and also her best friend. Just seeing him like this make her think of the time when she met him first and then the others.
"I wonder if you could still remember that day?" she asked no one in particular but the question is meant for Zoro.
xx—Flashback-xx
A 7-year old girl is sitting in a tree in a park, watching the sunset. Anyone can tell just by watching the little girl's expression that she is very upset.
People just won't take her seriously because of her parents. It's not like they wanted it to be this way, but people around her just won't take her seriously. They keep on telling people through tabloids and magazines how lucky the children of Gol D. Roger and Gol D. Rouge nee Portgas. They keep on rambling that they are some sort of royalties living the vast riches of the world, and how the world should look forward to the day that the children of the richest man in the world follow the footsteps of their parents and become the best in the world. Well, a good thing is that there are no pictures of them yet.
She and sisters hated it,
When she was younger, some of the maids just treated her like a vase, fragile and needed attention. She hated it. She is strong, she can take care of herself and she is not a vase! She is a person!
Her sister Ann told her one time that anything they do is just nothing because it is expected of them. They would always be behind the shadows of their famous parents. She did not understand it at first but now, she does. Even though her parents are the best, people around them are not, well with a few exemptions.
"Stupid people! I'll show you one day! I'm gonna be better than my dad! I'm gonna be the King of the Business World!" she shouted at no one, her voice is full of annoyance. She did not notice how she is slipping from the tree and falling into the ground.
"Ahhh – ugh!"
"Argh! What the?! Are you trying to kill me?!" Someone shouted at her. Being a little dumb, she tried to figure where the voice came from. She turned from left to right in search for the voice.
"Huh? That's strange. There is no person here, but I heard a voice. Could it be… a ghost?" She slightly trembled, a tear is now forming in her eyes.
"How long are you gonna sit on me, huh? Can you move?" There is that voice again and as she listened to it, she realized what the voice said so she looked down only to see that there is a person underneath her. She is practically sitting in the boy's chest.
She blinked and frowned at the green haired boy.
"Why are you under me? Are you lost?" she innocently asked and the boy just became annoyed.
"You fell on me, stupid! Get off me!" Luffia only laughed at him but she get off of him.
"You're so funny." The boy just stared at her with a serious frown. "My name's Lu. What's yours?" she grinned like she was not upset in the first place.
"Zoro."
"Nice to meet you, Zoro. Why are you here? Are you lonely as well?" she asked and sat down next to him. He continued to lie down to the grass and he looks sleepy. Zoro made his hands as his pillow as he tucked them under his head.
"Hmp, of course not! I'm just here to sleep." He grumbled to the kid. The kid had a mop of black hair, and dressed like a boy. Trouser shorts, and a tee-shirt with an anchor design on it. So this kid is a boy.
"Really? Are you always asleep? Do you wanna be my friend?" The kid grinned more to him, and the boy just felt like he wants to smile too. He is much too cheerful for a grumpy little boy like him.
"Yes. No. Maybe." He answered since he asked three questions. Unfortunately, the kid seems too slow and apparently a little dumb as he is now tilting her head sideways like Zoro have muttered an alien language.
Zoro just sighed at him and closed his eyes to get a little peace. Unfortunately, peace does not exist in the vocabulary of this young boy.
"Why are you sleepy! I want to be your friend! Why is your hair green? How old are you? Where do you live? Tell me! Tell me!" Lu shook his shoulders and that prevented Zoro into drifting to a heavenly sleep. He can't help but feel irritated because for first: he is tired from his all day training and he will resume his training once he is done napping and that won't happen due to this kid's interruption.
He wanted to yell at him but he does not have the heart to do so, not when he have that goofy smile on his face.
With a sigh, Zoro sat up and faced the boy.
"I train with swords and I need sleep to resume training. I lived nearby in the East part of New World City. But I mostly stay in the nearby dojo to train." He answered.
"Oh, that's so cool! I bet you're strong! I am strong too! I go and train with my grandpa and sisters."
"Train? For what?"
Luffia paused to think of the things that their grandpa makes them do.
"Hmm, well, we got to punch those hard bags, fight each other, some basics and dangerous trainings." She said.
"Heh~, that sounds boring."
"No, it is not! It's scary! Granpa is scary! He make us do things that adults could. He's mean, but sometimes he is sweet but he is still scary." He pouted and Zoro just laughed at him.
"You're weird."
"Nope! You are! Shishishi!" Zoro scoffed at her but did nothing to hide the amused smile on his lips.
"Where are your parents? Aren't you supposed to be with them?"
Lu thought for a moment. Her parents did not even know that she went outside of their home. Her sisters did not know as well.
"Hmm, they don't know that I sneaked away and went here. But they probably are working. Sometimes they are busy so I get lonely. I don't have friends because people are mean. You're my only friend." She pouted at Zoro.
"Hmp, then why don't you make friends?" Lu shook her head.
"That's why I'm here, remember? I want you to be my friend!"
"I'm busy. Find somebody else! I have to train to get stronger." Zoro said with full of determination. He craved to be a world's best swordsman. Not because he is following the footsteps of his foster father – Dracule Mihawk, but because he wanted to for himself.
He's an orphan staying in one of the dojo in the lower parts of Grand Line. This is where the middle class lives though there are mansions situated in this area, it is nothing compared to the mansions and palaces in the East Part of New World City.
In that dojo where he lives and trains for free is where he met the said strongest man in the world – Dracule Mihawk. He have no wife or any known family to inherit the vast riches he had for his winery business, and he might have noticed Zoro's potential, so he adopted him. But Zoro kept his old name in memento of where he came from.
He would frequently visit the dojo since his foster brother is usually away for business trips. And here he is.
"Don't worry! I won't get in the way! I promised!"
From then on, Lu would sneak away from their house to go and meet with Zoro. Usually, he would just be there, swinging that bamboo stick and sometimes sleep. There are times that he would start a conversation with Luffia.
One day, she came across this store that sells clothing. Well, she is not really a fan of fancy clothing, but she found a dark colored bandana and she immediately thought of Zoro.
She asked her mom if she could have a money enough to buy something.
"What would you like to buy, honey?" Rouge asked her youngest. At the tender age, Luffia does not know how to lie, and she is a terrible liar.
"Uhm, it's a secret! Shishishi! Please?" And she gave her mom the infamous puppy dog eyes. And naturally, her mom can't say no and gave her daughter 30 000 berries for what she needed to buy.
The next day, she found Zoro sleeping. He probably finished his training earlier as he is now napping.
With a mischievous gleam, she tried to do a sneak attack on him. She tiptoed towards the bench nearby Zoro and with a count of three, she leaped her entire body towards the boy while screaming his name.
"ZORO!" Without even opening his eyes as to guess who the idiot that would scream while attacking was, Zoro shifted himself and that resulted in Lu, falling face first to the ground.
"Uff!"
Lu grunted and Zoro sat up yawning. This occurrence happens way too often. The first time it happened, his bones almost cracked by the huge impact, so he learned well after that.
"What are you doing, idiot?"
Lu sat up and faced the boy.
"Zoro! No fair! I was gonna wake you up!" she pouted at him and he just give her an incredulous look.
"No normal person will wake someone by catapulting himself to the sleeping person! That should be obvious!" he scolded Lu but like usual, Lu just gave him the famous grin.
"Shishishi. Really? Anyway, I got something for you." Zoro raised an eyebrow at the kid when he shuffled something from his pockets and presented a dark colored bandana on his face.
"What is this?" Zoro asked as he took the bandana from the small hands of Lu.
Like usual, Lu gave Zoro that 'Are you stupid' look.
"It's bandana. Don't you know a bandana?" Lu asked innocently at Zoro and with a vein popping on his forehead, Zoro smacked Lu on the head.
"Of course I know what a bandana is, idiot! I mean to ask what for?"
"Oh. Ah, it's for you, idiot! A gift, idiot!" Lu said and smacked him in the head every time she says the word idiot.
Realizing what Lu just said, a small blush crept to Zoro's face. He is used to hardships and training regimens. No time for dandy pleasantries and easy going.
"You're giving me this?" Zoro asked.
"Yup! You will be reminded that in battles, you sometimes have to take it easy. My dad says that you can be serious while taking it easy. Dunno what it means though." Lu shrugged and Zoro just laughed at the kid's response.
The meetings went on for weeks, until one day, Zoro never came back to the park to meet her. At first, she thought that he is just sick or something. The next day, there are still no Zoro.
For almost a week, the little girl keep on coming back to the park in search of her first friend, Zoro. But two weeks has passed, there is no Zoro.
She was depressed and upset that Zoro left without a word. Her parents knew nothing about this. Even the twin sisters knew nothing of the sort. She became cranky and does not smile too often.
It took months before she regained her usual vigor, but despite that, deep inside her, she still misses her first friend, her best friend but life must go on.
Approximately, 10 years later…
17 year old Luffia is walking around East Blue Town. For years now, she have this subtle idea on how to start business. She really don't care about money. She just wanted to have a business.
She already finished her High School year earlier than most, because contrary to what everyone believes, she is smarter than she looks.
Right now, she is on her way to her third year in college, but she wanted to do something aside from the studying because it is getting boring.
As she continue her stroll around town, she saw a very familiar mop of hair of a certain man. His back was facing her and she stopped on her tracks.
The certain man has three bamboo swords in his waist, a haramaki to hold it and the bandana that is tied in his left arm.
She knows that Bandana. No way would she forget that bandana. No matter how long has it passed, she won't forget the only person she had given that Bandana. There is only one person…
"Zoro…"
AN:
OKAY… I BET YOU DID NOT SEE THAT COMING, EH? THIS IS A ZOLU STORY TOO!
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE CLIFFHANGER… I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PROCEED WITHOUT MAKING THIS CHAPTER LONGER. I PROMISE TO MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER LONGER…