A/N: Nya. Well. I didn't manage to get this chapter out nearly as fast as I'd hoped (or promised). Well, a great many things happen on a daily basis in my life, and I do my best to work around them. So, enjoy it while it's fresh. And thank whatever gods you pray to that it's actually done. I know I am. Freakin' 11 pages long…
Chapter 10:
The pair of swordsmen left the bar fairly quickly, sticking around only long enough to finish off their meals. Zoro was against the idea initially, wanting to take full advantage of the free food for as long as possible, but Tashigi's paranoia about the local lawmen getting wind of their actions spurred them into motion after all. That, and it kind of looked like that Doku guy was starting to wake up, which abruptly made Zoro just as eager to leave.
Out on the streets once again, there was little else to do but get the lay of the land until nightfall. By common and tacit agreement, the actual events leading up to the bar fight were not discussed. Zoro chose to simply take this as more of a warning for his future actions. Tashigi was not a woman to be underestimated, and apparently she was capable of giving as good as she got. That particular mistake was not one he would be making again in the near future.
What they found in their explorations was a fairly normal town, as far as places on the Grand Line went, filled with average people. There was an almost palpable undercurrent of some sort of tension in the air however, and it appeared that they were being pegged as outsiders on sight. No one was outright avoiding them or chasing them off or calling the city guards, but conversations had a way of suddenly dying off and suspicious glances abounded when the two of them came near. Obviously the place wasn't xenophobic enough for travelers to be unheard of, but people just as clearly didn't come and go absolutely freely from this place either.
They had migrated downhill over the course of the afternoon, and found themselves at the wharf proper at one point. There were quite a few ships around, but most were shallow water fishing vessels, indicating short distance travel only. The scattering of merchant ships all carried a similar design and markings, indicating some sort of controlling organization involved in the local commerce. And finally, the few obviously non-local ships were gathered in one particular area, and appeared to be under heavy watch.
The weather, though threatening, managed to hold out through the evening. Zoro, even with his own admittedly limited weather sense, knew that rain was in the offing in the near future. That didn't stop him from sincerely hoping that it would at least wait until the next day, since he really didn't want to try sleeping outdoors in a rainstorm. He'd slept through worse, it was true, but that didn't mean he enjoyed waking up soaking wet.
And sleeping outdoors was what they'd be doing, apparently. The cash they'd won in their bar challenge had initially appeared to be a decent sum of money. Normally, it would have been enough to get them one more meal and a pair of rooms in a lower end establishment.
Unfortunately, there was something extremely fishy about the economy on this particular island. The term 'inflation' didn't even cover it. Though their currency was still the universally known Beri, its value was approximately one tenth of the norm. How exactly this worked, Zoro wasn't sure, but Tashigi had implied something about a control of outgoing funds by those ruling this nation. Basically, the peasants paid ten times the price, while their overseers bought at normal rates from other countries. The only conclusion that could be reached was that those guys up top were making out like bandits with this scheme.
During the course of the day, they had split up several times to cover more ground, and Zoro had made excellent use of his time in his own opinion. The fact that Tashigi was willing to let him roam by himself may have implied something else about how tolerant she was of his company, but they'd managed to team back up every time so far. But even with all their wanderings for the day, they still hadn't managed to scrounge up any more money than could buy them a little bit of food for the evening hours. Where exactly that cash had come from Zoro wasn't willing to admit to his companion, since he had a feeling she'd object to alleyway brawls and ensuing wallet thefts. Too bad most back street fighters were broke.
Luckily the merchant areas were pretty much deserted in the evenings after most of the shops closed. People were either migrating home for the night or heading more towards the areas of town likely to hold taverns and whatnot. As nice as it would have been to follow their lead, Zoro found himself taking up residence on the roof of a particular warehouse type building for the night. This place was ideal, or as close as they were likely to get, because not only did it have a nice overhang to keep any potential weather at bay, but it was far out of the line of vision of the average wandering person, including those pesky city guards.
They had run across several groups of said guardsmen during the day, but had been quick to duck out of sight around buildings and such. The men hadn't seemed particularly alert either, which was rather perplexing. After all the chaos they had endured to arrive at this place, it would have been logical for the law enforcers in the nearest town to be alerted and on the watch for them as well. This didn't seem to actually be the case, but neither Zoro nor Tashigi was willing to take the chance of having misread the situation. Therefore, avoiding notice was the name of the game.
"Staying outdoors again…" Tashigi had finally made her way up onto the rooftop as well. "I'm having flashbacks to basic training. I haven't really camped out much since then."
"Well, it couldn't have been that long ago." Zoro dropped down onto the rooftop under the overhang, making sure he was reasonably centered underneath the shelter.
"It feels like ages though." She sat down and then peered up at the sky, just as Zoro had been doing moments before. "We really couldn't do better than this?"
"Hey, I didn't see you volunteering any particularly cozy looking spots for the night." Zoro commented while generously gesturing for her to settle in on a convenient piece of roof tile next to him.
"Well, you know…"
"Feh. Whatever. It doesn't bother me." Zoro leaned back against the wall, hands behind his head.
"I'm sure. You're just a poor pirate, after all. I'll bet you're quite used to sleeping in the elements." She curled up, much like she had the night before, with her arms around her knees and her back against the side of the building.
He laughed a little at her statement, which was obviously not the reaction she had been expecting. "That's true. Sometimes even when I don't want to. It must be nice to be a Marine and have guaranteed food and shelter pretty much anywhere."
"It is one of the perks of the job, but it wasn't high on my list of reasons for joining. I'm not that shallow."
"Oh, I see. Excuse me for not particularly enjoying hypothermia and starvation." Before she could snap back, he went on to ask a question that had occurred to him a while ago. "Why did you sign up with the military then, with your high ideals?"
Her answer was instantaneous and appeared somewhat well worn. "I joined the Marines in order to have pride in my skills, to use my blade for the good of those around me."
"Oh? So you didn't or couldn't get satisfaction from your skills without the recognition of a government organization?" He snorted in incredulity, "Somehow I don't believe that. There's no way you could have already mastered swordsmanship without having cherished those talents for many years."
"Like you would know." It may have been his imagination, but there seemed to be some bitterness in that statement.
"Of course I would. You think just because I'm a pirate that I don't take pride in my skills?"
"Bounty hunter turned pirate." Tashigi shook her head. "It's such a waste, and so frustrating!"
Zoro quirked one eyebrow in confusion. "Well, I can't say anything about what you choose to be frustrated by, but a waste? How do you figure?"
"Skills like yours could be used for so many other, better purposes. That you're using them for a life of crime…" She sighed somewhat dramatically, dropping her chin down onto her knees.
"Hmph. Being a bounty hunter isn't actually a crime, you know. As a matter of fact, you could say that it's a failing of the Marines and the World Government that that job field even exists." He relished this particular bit of logic that he had been saving up specifically for her.
"What?!" Her reaction did not disappoint his expectations.
He took a moment to collect his thoughts before replying to her angry outburst. Plus, it was fun to watch her stew in insulted irritation. "Well, think about it. If you guys were actually adept at catching all those criminals, you wouldn't have to put prices on their heads and rely on guys like me to hunt 'em down for you. For those years I was a bounty hunter, the Marines were paying my living expenses just as much as they were yours."
She blinked, this particular viewpoint obviously having never occurred to her previously. "Are you implying that I should consider bounty hunters some sort of… free agents for the Marines?"
"Why not? That's actually a pretty good way of describing it, I think." He glanced out over the city for a moment. "Well, at any rate, that doesn't change the fact that I'm most definitely a criminal nowadays, since I'm a pirate."
"Thus the wasting of talent on a criminal lifestyle."
"You Marines as an organization have your own issues." Zoro felt compelled to point out before continuing, "Besides, It's not like I'd ever really considered joining the military. I'm not the kind of guy who likes to take orders."
"So says the man who calls an incredibly dangerous yet unbelievably stupid man 'Captain'."
"Well, Luffy isn't really much of a 'giving orders' type." Zoro explained, "And I'll say this – the few times he does, I'm glad to go ahead and listen, because there's a damned good reason for it."
The conviction with which Zoro made that statement actually gave Tashigi a moment of pause. "You place a lot of faith in him."
"Faith? Not the word I'd use, but… whatever." He took a moment to consider the rest of his crew, and their current condition, before continuing, "It doesn't make sense to follow a person you don't trust. And after all, don't you have a lot of 'faith' in your Captain Smoker?"
She didn't respond to that directly, instead choosing to change the subject once again. "How exactly did you make the transition from bounty hunter specializing in catching pirates to being a pirate yourself?"
He shrugged, deciding to give the simplest answer. "Luffy asked."
The answer had obviously left her stunned. "He asked? He just asked, and you decided right there that you'd quit hunting pirates and become one?"
"There were… extenuating circumstances. The details don't really matter, but I didn't do this on a whim. I had my reasons."
"I'm sure." Her voice held quite a bit of sarcasm, not something he really would have expected from her. "Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter, since you apparently don't want to tell me anything else."
"About as much as you'd like to tell me the real reason you decided to join the Marines, I imagine."
"I suppose we'll just leave it at that, then." She was obviously still irritated, but his reply had apparently made her more unwilling to continue the conversation as well.
Zoro simply nodded, the wear of the last few days was starting to catch up to him, and unlike the young Marine he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before either. There was a limit to how far his own stamina and stubbornness could take him after all, it seemed. All this talking was giving him a headache anyway.
That being the case, he settled himself in for the night, lying casually back on the roof tiles with his arms crossed behind his head. As he closed his eyes, he listened to the soft sounds of Tashigi settling herself into a more comfortable position nearby. It seemed like she was planning on staying awake for a while longer. Well, that was fine. She could keep watch tonight, since he'd been up the entire night previous.
Unlike the previous night, it didn't seem that unconsciousness was going to be particularly elusive. Perhaps it was because his situation was so much more sorted out, and therefore there wasn't too much to overly occupy his thoughts. Of course, it mostly helped that he didn't need to worry about Tashigi much anymore. It was odd, but that was really what had made sleep impossible earlier. His crew he wouldn't bother losing sleep over – as he'd repeatedly asserted, they could take care of themselves for the most part. Hell, they might figure out a way to spring themselves out of this situation before Zoro ever managed to step in. That would be convenient, but it would make his agreement with Tashigi come to an abrupt and unexpected end.
As sleep started creeping in at the edges of his consciousness, Zoro vaguely wondered what exactly his temporary partner would do in such a case. Would she stick with him until they safely escaped from this island, or would she immediately turn on him in favor of her Marine comrades? Well, she'd promised to help him, and it only seemed right to return the favor. So, even if Luffy and the rest managed to get loose, Zoro decided he'd remain until Tashigi's crew was free as well. After all, those people were just as important to her as the rest of the Straw Hats were to him.
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By the time they really got started the next day it was mid morning, but the sky was still quite dark. It hadn't actually rained the night before, much to their shared relief, but it was still seriously overcast. This worked in their favor to an extent, making it easier to slink around inconspicuously. The reason for their late start was also partly due to the consuming gloom of the day, the lack of bright sunlight having led to a bit of oversleeping on both of their parts. All their running around was rather energy consuming though, and they hadn't had much in the way of food and whatnot in days, so they could likely be excused for their sleeping late. At least no one had bothered them during the night.
They spent most of the rest of the day moving around to various high traffic areas, hunting for general information on the state of this particular nation. From what they gathered as far as public notices, newspapers and general overheard conversations were concerned, they became aware of what was essentially a dictatorship in place. Though the country was ruled by a king, as many Grand Line nations seemed to be, another man was running the country, with an assortment of powerful allies at his back and call to keep the citizens in line. Furthermore, this appeared to be a recent development, as in within the last couple of years.
The general muttered sentiment of the people Zoro and Tashigi eavesdropped on was that there was something terribly wrong, that the King would never have simply allowed such men to overtake his country willingly. Though the King was still present and apparently in power, no one had seen him for months, though dictates were still handed down from his office on a regular basis.
What truly would have been helpful at that point were specifics on the men in charge. For example, who they were, where they lived, the basis of their power and so forth. Unfortunately, common folk rarely have access to such intimate details as to the lives of their rulers, and this time was no exception to that fact. There was, in aside, some mention of a pair of crazy criminals having escaped from the Arena, which was a nearby source of entertainment for a chunk of the local populace. A few had even been present for the event, but the story had been passed around so often, and frequently in situations involving alcohol, that the details were quite fuzzy. For example, people couldn't seem to come to a consensus as to what those two terrifying people actually looked like.
When the first droplets of rain finally began to fall, it just seemed to perfect accent to the whole situation so far. Concerned as they were with staying out of the public view as much as possible and not having funds for other forms of shelter, it took the pair of swordsmen a few minutes to find a reasonably secluded awning to take refuge under. Zoro pressed himself flat against the bricks of the building behind, giving Tashigi as much space as physically possible. Even if he was traveling with her that didn't mean he wanted to be touching her or anything.
The sounds of raindrops impacting the cloth overhead were almost enough to drown out other sounds there on the street. Almost, but not quite. In unison, the two fighters abruptly turned their heads to peer back along the narrow alleyway adjacent to their shelter spot.
"Someone's back there." Tashigi commented, cocking her head to one side and listening intently.
"No kidding."
"It sounds like…" She trailed off, frowning, as Zoro pushed of the wall and stalked out into the downpour, heading towards the source of the commotion. Whatever had gotten her irritated this time, it didn't stop her from immediately moving to follow him between the buildings.
Hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants, Zoro rounded the corner and stepped further into the shadows between the structures. The issue at hand was immediately apparent, and he sighed in annoyance. Couldn't he go for half a day without having to stand up for some woman or another?
Well, woman may have been too strong a word. The person in question was little more than a girl, and looked positively petrified. This was understandable surrounded as she was by three large, unfriendly looking men. Furthermore, the men in question were wearing some very distinctive uniforms, marking them as members of the city guard that Zoro and Tashigi had been working hard to avoid all day. They were obviously off duty, their uniform jackets being either unzipped and hanging loose or tied around their waists despite the rain, and there was something of a drunken air hanging around them as well.
"C'mon little lady, just for a while."
"Yeah, after all, where would you be without all of us to protect you and the rest of this crappy little town?"
"Heh, you pretty much owe us a little of your time for that service, right?"
The petrified young woman just barely managed to stammer out, "I-I need t-to go home…"
"Home, huh? You live at that ratty little bakery around the corner, don't ya?"
"Yeah, that place. I bet if someone actually went in and inspected it they'd shut it down in no time."
"Or maybe something a little worse… accidents do happen, you know."
"W-wait! I…"
Zoro was aware of Tashigi just behind him, already whipcord tense and no doubt dying to jump into the fray at a moment's notice. He was about fed up with the whole display himself, and took a step forward toward the action.
He didn't get a chance to lay into the morons in front of him quite yet though, for yet another person chose that moment to dive in, appearing from over a nearby rooftop and dropping down between the men and the young woman. This would have been a much more intimidating display of athletics had the person in question not been about twelve years old as well.
"Oi, retards! Back off!"
One of the men actually took a step back in surprise, but went no further. "The hell--?"
One of his companions snorted in derision. "A shrimp. Tch. How annoying. Run home short stuff, we're having an adult conversation here."
Utterly unintimidated, the boy sneered back, "Adult conversation? Sounds to me like you're making asses of yourselves and picking on a girl half your age."
Zoro shook his head, smiling a bit at the display. An excellent sentiment, but the kid was one quarter the size of the errant guards and had no apparent weaponry on his person. People like that didn't live long unless they got a clue really quick.
Speaking of which, the guardsmen were obviously not amused by such a show of bravado. Drunk as they were, the men were professional soldiers and reacted accordingly. If their movements were slow and clumsy, they still had the upper hand against an untrained child who was backed into a corner.
"Isn't it sad that the people she needs saving from here are the ones supposed to be protecting the city?" Zoro flinched as Tashigi's voice cut through the falling rain, irrevocably involving the both of them in this fight. And the element of surprise was totally gone as well.
Well, it wasn't like he was going to just sit back and watch while this happened anyway… maybe it was more the tone she had used to call the morons out? Yes, most likely. It was a very familiar sound to him, since he'd heard it directed at himself more than once. Hopefully the drunks found it just as terrifying.
Cracking his knuckles threateningly, Zoro stepped forward, Tashigi by his side in the advance. The other five people present stared at the intruders, though the heavy shadows most likely hid their features. This was a good thing, since though Zoro wasn't going to stand back and ignore this he really didn't want a massive manhunt launched as punishment for doing a good deed.
The frozen surprise didn't last for long, as expected. The guardsmen, now with a pair of much more threatening targets in view, were reacting much more aggressively. Two of them charged forward, weapons swinging, obviously intent on taking out the two apparently unarmed interlopers. From what he saw of their technique, Zoro knew he didn't even need to pull out his two swords – his fists would be enough for this job.
Interestingly, Tashigi apparently reached the same conclusion. He'd never really seen her fight hand to hand, since the bar fight had been a flurry of action, but he recalled her assurances of her own abilities in that regard. Indeed, she had a pretty good uppercut, which one of the men got a very close up view of.
The third man, after watching his friends being laid out near instantaneously by to random people, turned on the less threatening people present, with one standard method in mind. He was quite quick for a drunk, and managed to grab the girl by one shoulder. Zoro growled in irritation at her lack of initiative. She should have run away or hid or something while all this was going on, but she'd just stood there. And now the situation was just that much more annoying.
"Stop! Back off now or something unfortunate will happen to the girl!"
"Taking hostages now?" Tashigi's ki was practically visible now, enflamed by the sight of such base tactics. It was truly something to behold, and Zoro was quite impressed.
"Let Miki go!" While Zoro was admiring such a nice battle aura, the least effective fighter present decided to go ahead and get involved. Fists flying, the boy lunged towards the last remaining guardsman.
The man didn't hesitate, and appeared not to hold back either. He swung his weapon – some sort of heavy club – into the child's ribs, swatting him aside and sending the youngster tumbling.
Taking the distraction for what they could, both Zoro and Tashigi darted forward, fists at the ready. Before the man could reset his arm from that first swing, he was joining his two buddies on the muddy ground.
So, yet another good deed had been added to Zoro's karma score for the week. He only hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite them directly, since they'd been working so hard to avoid notice, and therefore recapture, for the last few days. Well, at the very least with the darkness, the rain, and their inebriation, they probably never really saw who hit them.
With their opponents sprawled out in the rain puddles, Zoro turned to glance at the two youngsters. The girl had apparently gathered her wits somewhat, and was currently helping the boy to his feet. For the boy's part, though he was still clutching his stomach and wheezing a bit he appeared not to be seriously injured. That was good, because Zoro wouldn't have had any pity for him if he'd gotten mangled doing something so stupid.
"Th-thank you." The girl managed, at least, to bow politely to them, while her friend was still working on catching his breath.
"Yeah, whatever. Just go home and try not to get into any more trouble on the way." Zoro grumbled and turned to head out of the alleyway, back the way they had come so shortly before.
Tashigi muttered something under her breath, giving the unconscious men one more glance before moving to follow him. She was obviously still irate about the blatant abuse of power and position she had just witnessed, and thus wasn't paying much attention to the others present. At least she wasn't going to give Zoro any trouble about leaving.
"Tch. All that trouble for guys that weak." Zoro muttered at a level that just Tashigi could hear, "And now we're really soaked."
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Over an hour later, it was still raining in torrents and the afternoon was steadily wearing away toward evening. In the interests of not drawing attention to themselves by hanging around in one spot for too long, and also from the viewpoint of 'fleeing the scene', the swordsmen had opted to move several times, trading one marginally dry spot for another some short distance away.
Currently they occupied the stoop of an older looking building a few doors down from a brightly lit tavern. Zoro was at the moment considering possibilities for getting into the aforementioned establishment and acquiring more food and possibly lodgings, but wasn't sure how he'd manage since Tashigi was sure to be on her guard from now on. And he didn't want to give her another chance to turn that particular technique against him again. At least that little scrap earlier had given her a chance to vent some frustration.
"This is ridiculous." Tashigi finally broke the silence a few minutes later, "We can't stay out here all night."
"No kidding." Zoro answered shortly, none too thrilled with their current state.
Tashigi sighed, leaning back against the doorframe. "We're really not making much progress, are we?"
Settling back and turning to face her, Zoro replied, "I dunno. We've made it into a town with lots of people, we're not actually starving right now, and we're not technically out in the rain."
"Ah. Success through a matter of degrees, I see."
"It's all in how you look at it, really." He explained seriously.
She pondered that for a moment. "Funny, I wouldn't have pegged you as an optimist."
Zoro shrugged lazily, which served as a convenient means to work muscles that were tensing up from the chill. "Eh, well, I've been through worse."
"It's amazing you're still alive."
"Hey." The voice broke though their conversation, such as it was, causing both of them to swivel to stare at the new speaker. It was hard to make out the details due to the encroaching darkness, the heavy rain and the large coat the person wore, but the voice and the form were familiar.
"Oh, it's the brat from earlier." Zoro had a flash of insight, abruptly recognizing the person before him.
"Who's a brat?!"
Casting a glance at her curt companion, Tashigi stepped in. "Sorry about him. I'm glad to see that you're alright after that fight earlier."
"Yeah, no problem. It'd take ten times that kind of damage to take me down!" He puffed out his chest in a show of machismo for a moment before apparently remembering something. "So, why are you two sitting out here like this?"
"None of your business."
Tashigi sighed and shook her head at Zoro's bad attitude, but didn't get a chance to say anything before the youngster spoke once again, a sly grin marking his features this time. "You guys don't have anyplace else to go, do ya?"
"That is pretty much the case." Tashigi admitted before Zoro could come up with any more snide commentary.
The kid's eyes lit up, "Great! Come with me, then!"
"What? Why should we follow you anywhere?" Zoro's stubbornness came directly to the front.
"Well, maybe because my Mom owns the inn just down the street? Come on, I owe ya for helping me protect Miki earlier. If I tell her about that, I'm sure Mom'll at least give you guys some dinner. It'll be better than sitting out here in the rain, right?"
Indeed, just about anything would be better than staying outside, and the promise of free food just clinched the deal. Leaving their temporary shelter to follow the boy down the street, both of the swordsmen were instantly soaked once again, a situation made worse by the fact that now that the sun was down the rain was acquiring a sharp chill to it. Needless to say they made a good pace towards the busy inn, but were slightly surprised when the youngster didn't lead them to the front entrance. Instead, he trotted off around the back of the building, gesturing for them to follow.
They came to what was apparently the kitchen entrance and were led inside quickly. The boy was glancing around very suspiciously, giving Zoro a few new qualms about the situation. That didn't stop him from following the brat inside, since he wasn't too keen on the idea of staying out in the rain any longer that night.
Indeed, when the door was opened and the swordsmen were ushered inside they found themselves in the back of a kitchen area, mercifully unoccupied at the moment. That state didn't persist for very long, however.
"Kajou! There you are! What were you doing outside at this time of night?" A voice called from another room, accompanied by the sounds of footsteps approaching.
The brat instantly replied, his tone quite chipper. "Just picking up some street bums, Mom."
"Bums?" Zoro muttered under his breath, raising one eyebrow as he tried to shake some rainwater from his sleeves.
"What are you…?" A middle aged woman appeared through the kitchen doorway, stopping in her tracks at the sight of a pair of dripping wet strangers in her home, standing just behind her son.
"Ah, hello ma'am. We're sorry for the intrusion…" Tashigi elbowed Zoro rather sharply in the side at that point, as he was still more concerned with drying himself off and observing his surroundings than making polite introductions.
"Eh, hi." That was about all she was going to get out of him as far as greetings were concerned, in the end.
"These are the guys I told you about earlier – the ones who beat the crap out of those city guards that were bugging Miki." The young man, Kajou apparently, further explained. "I figured they'd be nearby, so I went looking for 'em."
"Well," The woman relaxed somewhat, now that she knew they weren't random weirdoes from some alley, "We do need to thank you for that, and for protecting Kajou from those men as well."
"I didn't need protecting…"
Ignoring her son, the woman took another step forward, sizing up her two newest visitors. "I must say, from what I had heard from the youngsters, I was expecting people with a more frightening appearance."
"Ehm, well…" Tashigi was apparently going to attempt some sort of explanation, but Zoro decided to stick with his own tried-and-true 'keep quiet and stare' response. He wasn't in a very friendly mood at all that evening.
"No matter. It's good that Kajou found you, so that we can repay you kindness properly. We couldn't very well leave you two out in the rain on a night like this, even if you hadn't helped Miki!"
Zoro began to wonder how such a soft hearted person managed to remain in the business of running an inn at all, but didn't get very far in his ponderings. They were ushered out of the kitchen proper and, once again, to a place Zoro didn't expect. He'd anticipated being mixed in among all the customers in the front room, being given a table or a couple of bar stools and some food. Instead, they were herded into another, smaller room that appeared to be part of the private residence section of the building. A small, well worn table and chairs and an equally ancient looking china cabinet were pretty much the only furniture in it, but at least that didn't give an ambushers convenient places to hide.
And that was the crux of the problem right there. This whole situation, being thanked and rewarded for helping out a random stranger, was nice. It was convenient. It was really, really suspicious. Zoro had this seriously paranoid feeling that these people had freaked out when the realized the amount of trouble they'd be in for being involved in the alley fight incident, and were now making good with the government by leading the two responsible parties into a trap. The one thing he found himself not regretting this day was teaming up with Tashigi – she was proving a surprisingly capable partner, though her whole Absolute Justice things still kept getting in the way entirely too often.
Well, at least he and Tashigi had a few tricks up their rain dampened sleeves. Those kids hadn't seen them pull their weapons, so hopefully whoever came after them would underestimate their fighting capabilities.
Well, that would just be the perfect end to a very, very long day anyway, so Zoro determined to wait and see where this latest turn would take them. One more fight or one more free meal, either way it was a win-win situation from Zoro's point of view.
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End Ch. 10
Next Time – Memories! Even though you're no longer here, your spirit lives on!
Ending Note: MORE PERVERTS! Why do I write so many…? Most of next chapter will likely be flashback as well… I know you're all here for the ZoroTashi-ness (or most of you anyway), but I'm writing a One Piece fanfic here, and I like to keep with the One Piece theme as much as possible. And that includes, unfortunately, at least a couple chapters of angsty backstory for random people who are important in that particular arc.