Title: Rebirth – Rating: T
Arabella walked along the concrete path in the park, watching the activities going on from amateur athletes working out to mothers watching over their young while chatting up with other mothers or nannies in the playground area. She likes her days off when the weather was good like today and she felt like doing something simple, like walking. It was rare for her to have a day when she doesn't have to go to school and having the day off because someone wanted the money more than she did for the day so they too can have the day off, it was refreshing to say the least.
Today, though, she felt drawn towards something.
The idea of going to the park had been her idea, and once she got there she simply let her feet do what they want while her mind wandered, realizing now and then that she was somewhere where she wasn't minutes ago, but shrugged it off and continued. Sometime later she stopped and looked over at a tree and went over there and found a young man with light green hair and very well toned physically. She couldn't help but feel that she knew him even though this is the first time meeting him.
~Hundreds of Years Ago~
Arabella was walking through a forest, looking for game to bring back for her and the crew to eat since they were flat broke. She wasn't much of a hunter, but she did set some traps and caught rabbits and wild fowl, but currently she's having difficulty getting anything.
"At this rate we might be eating bugs," She said as she heard a snore and looked over at a tree, hearing the snore again. She went up to it and found and recognized as the famous ex-pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro. 'He's asleep? Out here in the middle of nowhere?' She thought as she looked around. 'Guess there's nothing to do if you're out here a while.' She thought as she heard something rustle in the bushes ahead and waited patiently for it to come out or not when a squirrel came out. 'Not really enough meat to satisfy everyone… But I guess it would make a good salad topping or something.' She was going to kill it when, within a blink of an eye, the squirrel was on the ground, dead.
"You going to get that?"
She looked to see the man was awake. "Y-Yes…"
"It's yours then. I'm looking for much bigger game than that."
"You're looking for food as well?"
"Yeah."
She took out her bag to put in the dead squirrel in. "Thank you for this."
He shrugged as he walked in a certain direction, leaving her to go onto the other.
~Present Day~
Arabella wondered why the man was sleeping out here, but then it was a nice day out to do just that.
"Oi," He said as it made her jump. "What the hell are you looking at?" He turned his head up to face her, looking annoyed as if she disrupted his sleep.
"I'm sorry, I just noticed someone was here. I didn't mean to bother you in anyway," She said as he lifted a brow and shrugged.
"Staring at a sleeping man could get you killed."
"So would sleeping out in the open like you are now," She said, earning a chuckle.
"I suppose so," He said as he got up. "I've been sleeping too long anyway…" He stretched with a yawn. "So, what brings you out here?"
"Enjoying the day like you," She said as she tilted her head. "Have we met before? It feels like I know you…"
"That's strange but no. I would've remembered."
"Yeah… Sorry for being weird. I'll leave you be," She said as she was about to walk away when he mentioned her to wait. "Yes?"
"My name's Zoro. Roronoa Zoro."
"I'm Arabella. Arabella Willins…" She said as she started to feel her heart pound a little harder.
"Arabella huh? Unusual name."
"It's a pretty old time name, but I love it. It is my name after all."
He grinned as he nodded. "Yeah, it really isn't a bad name. If lucky enough we might meet again." He said as he walked away.
She smiled and nodded as she continued on her way.
~Hundreds of Years Ago: One week later~
She was walking around town after three days of being in Willie, the submarine, and her three crewmates. Her captain, Ran, playfully ordered them to just relax for the day and come back before nightfall. So she was spending her day walking around the shops, looking for anything that reaches out to her, and she did from a wanted poster of Roronoa Zoro with his latest rise in bounty.
"Oi, you're that girl."
She jumped as she looked to see the actual man in the flesh. "H-Hello again."
He nodded as he raised a brow. "I didn't expect to see you again."
"Same, but the world is a strange place regardless."
"I guess…" He said as he raised his brow. "So what are you doing out here? Hunting dogs and cats now?"
"No! Nothing like that!" She exclaimed before calmly continuing, "I'm just strolling today."
"Ah, staying here long?"
"We're leaving in the morning."
"Same here," He said as he looked around the area. "Going anywhere specific?"
"No, not really? Is there a place you're going to?"
"I heard there was a good smith around here, but the people here aren't giving me the right directions to find it."
"Okay, I can help with that. I'm not great with directions myself, but I'm sure we'll find it before daylight runs out," She said as they both wandered around town and found the smiths shop in a half an hour. And when Zoro handed his katanas to the man to look over and told to come back within a certain time, they headed back out again and looked around the shops.
Sometime while they were looking around, Zoro seemed to panic and dragged her into the alley with her. "Stay quiet for a moment," He whispered as a group of five marines ran pass the alley they were in and waited a moment before he sighed. "Sorry about that," He said as he looked at her, who was blushing like crazy and they were very close. "Oi? You okay? You're face is starting to look like the same color as cotton candy."
"I'm fine. It was just sudden for me."
"Ah, sorry," He said as he leaned back and let her have some room.
'Stupid heart! Calm down!' She thought as they made their way out of the alley, making sure there are no marines around.
"Luffy must've done something stupid to get them running like that, again."
"You're not going to help him?"
"Luffy? He can handle himself."
"I see…" She said as they continued to wander around.
~Present Day~
Arabella was walking along with her friends and roommates when they decided to split up to find things for the party they were invited to. She was just looking around when she was looking at something and not paying attention as she ran into a body. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" She said only to see that it was Zoro. "Zoro?"
He looked up at her as he stared at her for a moment before pointing to her. "Ara… bella?"
"That's right," She said as he heart started to pound.
"Huh, so we meet again? If we ran into each other like this again it will be fate."
"Fate? Can something that simple really do that?"
He shrugged. "Maybe. Always thought that everything has a reason."
"Can't argue with that. Life is full of mysteries that could never be explained."
"That is true," He said as he looked around. "You here alone?"
"No, I'm with a few friends, we just split up to cover more ground. We're looking for stuff for this party we've been invited to in our apartment complex. So far no luck, but then I'm not much of a party person."
"You don't look like it. But since we're here, maybe you can help me find this antique weapon store that's around here."
"Antique weapons? Sure I think I passed by it not too long ago," She said as she led the way to said store and they went up to the owner.
"What can I do for you?"
"I'm Roronoa. I called you about three katanas you said you have here?"
"Ah yes, I remember. Just one minute." He said as he went to the back room and back out within a couple minutes, holding a long, cloth covered item before setting it down and revealed it to be three katanas that looked as though they have really been used in the past and well maintained. "You're one lucky bastard, ya know. These three were a bitch to find you know."
"I know," He said as he studied the swords.
She watched patiently as she saw the intense concentration of the katanas as he pulled out a bit of the blade to see his reflection in them before closing back in respectfully. 'This guy really likes those katanas. I wonder if he's one of those who enjoys kendo?'
"Looks like they don't mind me," Zoro said suddenly as the man nodded. "Thank you for finding them."
"Whatever, don't go asking for anything else difficult for me to find," He said as Zoro nodded, took the katanas to place them on his right hip and started to head out with the girl following him.
"Did you already pay for them?"
"Yeah, practically put me in debt for the next two years," He said as they walked side by side for a moment. "Do you have to leave anytime soon?"
She checked her watch and confirmed that the time she was to meet up with them was an hour and a half away.
"Wanna hang out then? I'm not really in the mood to go back to my apartment."
"Okay," She said as they did just that until some punk kid didn't see where he was going and bumped her to bump into the other.
"Hey watch it bi-" The kid was going to say when he saw the imitating glare from Zoro, making him run along with his buddies.
"You okay?"
"Yeah… I'm fine," She said as her face was starting to redden from that.
"You sure? You're face is starting to resemble the same color as cotton candy."
"It was just sudden is all," She said, nervously laughing it off.
"I suppose…" He said as they continued to wander around until the time was nearing for her to go back with her friends.
~Hundreds of Years Ago~
They wandered around until it was time to go back to the smiths and pick up the looked over katanas that looked as though at least one could take out a marine fleet on its own.
"Thank you, I can tell they were looked over with the upmost care," Zoro said, obviously pleased with the man's work.
"If I didn't I would get a sack ton load of bitching. And those were not easy for me to look over, especially that white one, lot of history on that one alone."
"Yes. Thank you again," He said as they headed out and wandered to the ports. "It was relatively peaceful today. I half expected Luffy to cause something like earlier."
"I'm guessing he does that quite often when you guys hit land," She said as the other chuckled. 'He has a nice smile.' She thought.
"Yeah, but then it beats us getting too comfortable. But days like this is nice as well, enough time to breathe at least." He said as he looked at her. "Although I didn't expect to have company to accompany me around, and you're rather quiet."
"Well… I'm not really talkative unless otherwise."
"Same with me as well," He said. "Although I usually don't have just anyone accompany me that is not from the crew or someone I know personally outside of it."
"Maybe because I'm a woman?" She asked as he laughed.
"That's a good one! I know women that can easily kick my ass just by pissing them off! So no, I know how you women are when pushed far enough."
"So… what then?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"When you were looking at your katanas, you studied them as if they were truly living. You don't see that every day. And if one were able to do that, surely one can study people with the same eye but different lens."
He looked at her for a moment and grinned. "You're an unusual one. In a good way though. Trust me; I've seen a lot of strange things."
"I believe you on that," She said as they reached the marina. "Well… this is where we part again."
"So it is," He said as he rested his right hand on his swords. "Well, if we ever do meet again, its fate that we will be close."
"Close?"
He shrugged. "However you see it I guess."
She hummed a bit before nodding. "Can't argue when fate is concerned. If it's to be then let it be. Who knows what's in store for everyone in the world?"
"That's true," He said as he turned to head to the ship. "Until then, stay well."
"To you as well," She said as she went the other path towards the sub.
~Present~
"I better meet up with the girls; otherwise they'll start to worry."
"You get in sticky situations often?"
"No, I'm pretty much like the mother hen. It's a persona that I couldn't get rid of even if I tried."
"That could explain a few things."
"Hey…"
"I don't mind it! In fact there are some days I feel like a parent myself."
"Really? That's good to know that I'm not the only one who feels that way," She said with a giggle. "I guess this were we part again. I enjoyed my stroll with you."
"It was nice. You're not what a normal girl would act."
"How can one define normal?"
"Got me there," He said with a laugh. "Well, if fate allows it, we'll meet again."
She smiled and nodded. "I hope so as well." And with that they parted their ways once more.
A month went by and Arabella and the girls were having a movie night. They went to the theatres and purchased their tickets.
"Oh Ran!"
All the girls looked over and Ran was nearly knocked over by a male a bit smaller than her.
"Luffy! Son of a bitch! Don't knock me over out of the blue like that!" She yelled at him, which he just laughed off.
"Sorry, sorry." He said, but he didn't seem sorry as he looked up at the other girls. "Oh, you must be her friends she told me so much about! I'm Luffy!"
"Nice to meet you," Arabella said. "But you really shouldn't do that to people," She wagged her finger at him. "At least not without so much as a warning! You could've hurt Ran like that! And you don't want to hurt someone you care for, right?"
"No…" Luffy said as he looked like a kicked puppy as his head was rubbed.
"Just remember the next time you try something like that, okay?"
"Okay!" He said as he chuckled. "You must be Mamma-san! Nice to meet you!"
"It's actually-"
"Arabella?"
She turned to see Zoro and was surprised to see him.
"Shit on me…" He said as he laughed. "It really is you!"
She laughed as well. "It's good to see you to!"
"Nah? Oi Zoro! You know her?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
~Hundreds of Years Ago: Years Later~
She worked in a tavern for a few years now and it was never really boring to her as she got to listen to many different tales from travelers of all walks of life. In that time frame she was asked to be married by a few, most of them drunk, but she politely turned them down and continued what she was doing. She had followed on any news about the Strawhat pirates, wondering what crazy ventures they've been in recently. And when she would see a wanted poster of Zoro up one the messenger boards, she would smile and continue on her way.
One pounding rainy evening, she was about to close when she heard the door open and she looked up from cleaning one of the tables. "I'm sorry sir, we're closed to-" She stopped when she got a good look at the man who entered the closing pub, drenching wet. "Zoro?"
He looked at her as a look of realization hit him. "You're that girl… Arabella!" He said as he chuckled. "Shit… Seems like fate has it in us to meet each other."
"A few years later since last time we saw, but that's fine," She said as she mentioned him to sit down at the bar. "I'll pour you a drink. On the house."
"You don't have to do that. I'll pay for my fair share," He said as he did sit down. "The strongest you have."
"You got it," She said as she poured him a drink. "Since you're here, you have to tell me what has been going on, and don't leave one detail out."
"Seriously?" He asked, a bit amused.
"The total tab will be cut in half if you would tell me."
"Deal," He said as he told her about what he and the Strawhat crew have done.
~Present~
Soon everyone was in the theatre, and in a cruel twist of fate that seemed to lend its power to Ran, Arabella and Zoro were sitting next to each other, while the others were seats away from them.
'Darn you Ran… What have I done to deserve this?' She thought as she had to sit through the latest horror movie, which did have a few scare moments that she would have nightmares for a few nights.
In the next part of the movie, she had to close her eyes for when she sensed the other leaning and whispered if she was okay, which she nodded, braving looking up to see a gore fest going on that made her disgusted more than scared.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Zoro said in her ear, making her shiver as she agreed and went with him out of the theatre and out to the lobby area. "Want to sneak in a different movie? I didn't really care for that movie much."
"Wouldn't we get in trouble?"
"We paid for our tickets, right? Why would they stop us? The movie we were in was lame, and we have to get into a better one to make up for it. Don't you agree?"
"I guess that makes sense…" She said as she was grabbed by the wrist.
"Then let's go," He said as he entered a random theatre door, which was showing a children's movie and quickly went back out, which she had to hold in her giggle of the little mishap.
~Hundreds of Years Ago~
She laughed, gasped, and remained silent when she heard Zoro's tale of what had happened over the years, and soon it had been three hours since he walked into the bar. And when he was done, they stayed in a comfortable silence for a moment before he chuckled.
"To think that after everything, I still remember that day in the town."
"I remember that too… I'm guessing you're not staying long."
"Nope, heading out first thing in the morning."
"Seems like fate will continue to let us meet now and then due to our professions."
"Guess so…" He said as he smiled. "Well, at least each of us has good company."
"That we do," She said as she poured him another glass. "But sometimes I wonder what life would be like if we were in different positions? Would we even meet at all?"
He shrugged. "Who knows? But I won't argue about the different life thing."
"Being reborn you mean?" She asked. "It's a nice thought, but then we wouldn't know each other even if we would meet? Would we?"
"Not my place to say," He said as he finished up the drink. "But if fate makes us bump into each other, maybe it would in the next life? Who knows?" He mused as he paid for his drinks. "I better head back to the ship."
"Okay… I hope I can see you again."
"That's fate's choice to decide," He said as he headed out of the door.
"Stay well then."
~Present~
When the movie they snuck into ended, they went out towards the lobby when Zoro stopped walking for a moment, making her look back and questioned if he was okay or not.
"Remember when we first met? You said that you felt that we might've met before? But that it was impossible?"
"Yes."
"I'm getting that feeling as well…" He shrugged. "Maybe we knew each other in another life?"
"As in a rebirth kind of thing? It sounds a bit farfetched."
"Life is mysterious, in all forms it seems."
"Can't argue with that," She said.
"Looks like we'll be seeing more of each other now, considering that Luffy is hanging around… Ran?"
She nodded. "It looks to be so," She said as both saw the group, the girls having looks of suggestion that she had to face-palm for; she had hung out with these girls too much to know.
