CHAPTER 10

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Diary of Dracule Mihawk, entry #977:

Took them to Notson Ear yesterday. Roronoa demonstrated his inexperience in dealing with the opposite sex. I think he upset her by remarking on her "immature" hobbies. Apparently he did not know she is twenty-three. He thought she was eighteen. It was priceless.

Then he proceeds to stare at her over dinner, unnerving her and forcing him to get defensive. Result: A spectacular demonstration of her negativity ghost-powers. Perona 1 Roronoa 0.

I should take them to Notson Ear more often. It is entertaining.

… … …

The little port town Mihawk favoured for his supply runs on Notson Ear Island was the same as before. It hummed with a soft buzz of activity that seemed to permeate the streets of every small town Zoro had ever been to. It was different with large, bustling cities like Water 7. He preferred big cities. It was easier for him to go about unnoticed by the authorities in big cities. In small towns he was entirely too noticeable.

It wasn't quite so bad in this one, though. The local law enforcement appeared to consist of two or three easy-going policemen, and the Marines had no base there. Perhaps the townsfolk had also become so accustomed to having a Warlord drop in every now and then that Roronoa Zoro – and he was certain that at least some of them were aware of his identity – was not cause for alarm. Or maybe it was because he came with Mihawk, and Mihawk's presence reassured them.

Zoro didn't know if the staff at the largest clothing store in town knew of him, but the sight of him laden with an armful of clothes courtesy of Perona was definitely making them giggle behind the racks and the counters. He took a deep breath and willed himself to say nothing.

Perona was busily picking out new things for him to try on. She had insisted on new T-shirts, new pants, maybe a jacket or something. All he wanted was a new haramaki.

He had tried to argue against all the other new clothes but Perona had rejected his argument.

"All that training you do is bad for your clothes!" she had said. "You've torn so many pieces, and I refuse to attempt to mend all of them. Mihawk gave you a clothing budget, and we're going to use it. I'm not your personal seamstress."

Zoro gave in there, but he was adamant about not wanting anything in colours other than white, black, or green. Perona had rolled her eyes at his colour choices.

A saleswoman came up to them and – to Zoro's intense annoyance – pointed them towards the section displaying men's formal suits.

"I think sir would look good in the one on the mannequin there," said the girl to Perona.

Why was she talking to Perona and not to him? Surely he was the one she should be addressing, given that they were looking for his clothes. Women.

"You may be right," Perona said, giving the dark grey suit a contemplative look. "Zoro! You're going to try that on."

"Why should I? Who made you king?" demanded Zoro.

"No one," she replied, walking with the saleswoman to where the suits were hanging. "But" – she smirked at him – "I am the Ghost Princess. That makes me higher-ranked than you. So there." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned her attention back to the suits.

Zoro wanted to throw all the clothes on the floor and walk out. What the hell? She wasn't even a real princess – her title was just a result of her Devil Fruit! So ridiculous.

But… That sudden, playful smirk had been pretty hot.

That too was ridiculous. Although he had, to an extent, become accustomed to the idea that he thought Perona an attractive woman, he was not accustomed to how randomly the idea would assail him. He could go a whole day without thinking it and then she'd do something – it could be as minor as a furrowed brow while reading – that triggered the thought in his brain. It was strange.

Perona divested him of the other pieces of clothing he had been holding and dropped the various pieces of attire that made up a suit into his hands.

"Go put that on. You do know how to put on a suit, right?"

"Yes, yes, I know!"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Prove it." She pointed to the dressing room.

Zoro stomped into it. Of course he knew how to put on a suit! He had had to learn once, years ago, when his mark had been a pirate with a taste for upper-class life. To track the man down and corner him meant sneaking his way into one of the upscale parties he frequented. And that had meant needing to put on a suit. So he had learnt what that entailed, and now that memory came back to him automatically as he shrugged on the white dress shirt and buttoned it.

He felt silly and restricted in suits. Suits were the domain of that curlybrow idiot, not his. He grimaced and adjusted the bowtie. (Hey, look at that – he still remembered how to do that!) Sighing in resignation and putting a scowl on his face, he opened the door and stepped out.

"There. See?"

The reaction he got from Perona was definitely gratifying. Astonishment, and unwilling admiration. Now it was his turn to smirk.

"Told you I know how to put on a suit," he said. Then he added quickly, "But I'm not buying this! I don't have any use for it."

… … …

Perona wasn't sure whether or not she regretted making him try on the suit. She'd done it at first out of a mischievous inclination to put him in something she knew he probably wouldn't like – possibly might not even know how to put on – and out of a desire to see how Roronoa Zoro might look if he cleaned himself up a bit.

It turned out that Zoro didn't like suits but he did know how to put them on (even including a bowtie!) and he looked really good in one. The shirt had been a bit too small and the coat a little too large, but… He had looked good. Very good. He knew it too! He looked so smug. She shouldn't have made him try it on.

She wanted to smack the smugness off his face yet also run her hands over the sleeves of the coat and feel how those biceps of his felt underneath the smooth material…

NO. Stop it right now!

Taking a quick deep breath, she managed to produce some semblance of normality and rolled her eyes at his insistence on not buying the suit.

"I'm not making you buy it," she said. "I just said to try it. Here, go see if these other clothes fit and decide which you want. " She shoved the other clothes at him and shooed him back into the changing room.

"Why are there more clothes than before?"

"They multiplied by themselves," Perona said. "Obviously, I picked out some other pieces for you to try!"

He grumbled incoherently from within the changing room.

"The suit looked good on him, didn't it, miss?" asked the saleswoman.

"Uh, I suppose so? He – he's not really one for suits though." Besides, his swords would look awkward dangling from his belt under the dress coat.

"Ah, what a pity. But perhaps someday he'll need one. We'd be most happy to accommodate you. We can have suits customised and –"

"Yes, uh, well…" Perona glanced at the main entrance. She didn't want to listen to the woman's suggestions on Zoro in a suit. Thinking about Zoro in a suit was not conducive to a more neutral stance on their relationship. "Excuse me. I need to get something from the shop across the street."

She started towards the door, then turned and went towards the changing room.

"Zoro!" she called.

"What?" came his muffled voice. It sounded like he was either putting on or taking off a shirt.

"I'm going to the opposite store. When you're done trying on clothes, let me know so I can come back and pay!" She thought for a second and said, "I'll get the salesgirl to direct you to the store. Okay?"

"Yeah, whatever!"

She looked at the saleswoman. "When he's done, could you just point him in the direction of the store so he can come get me?"

The woman looked puzzled. "But it's just across the street…"

"He'll need directions. Trust me."

The shop across the street was a hat shop. Perona busied herself with trying on different hats. The little crown she wore so often was getting rather worn. It was high time she got herself some new hair accessories. She took up a white sun hat with pink flowers and a green ribbon. She tried to put it on, but her usual hairstyle got in the way. So she removed her hair ties, shook out her hair and placed the hat on her head.

Oh, this is cute!

She tilted the hat at an angle and smiled at her reflection. It was certainly not a "childish" hat. It was quite ladylike, in fact, when coupled with the way her hair looked when it was hanging loose down over her shoulders.

Another hat – it looked like a puffy black top hat – caught her eye. She took off the sun hat and reached for the black one. She was arranging it to the best effect on her head when she heard a gentle cough behind her.

Someone said, "Excuse me?"

She turned around.

… … …

Zoro emerged from the changing room with a sigh of relief. He held some of the clothes in his arms, and left the others on the floor of the dressing room.

To the saleswoman he said, "I don't want those." He jerked his head in the direction of the clothes left on the floor.

The saleswoman looked at the mess and gave him a strained smile. "Of course, sir. Let me take the others to the cashier for you."

He handed over the chosen clothes to her, saying, "You're supposed to show me where Perona went."

"Yes. This way, please."

The woman led him to the front door and gestured (as best as she could while holding a pile of clothes) to the shop opposite. "She went into that store, sir. The hat shop."

Zoro crossed the street and strode into the store. He instantly felt out of place amongst the plethora of hats – mostly ladies' hats. He looked around, trying to locate the familiar pink hair. But she didn't seem to be there.

That was strange. Where was she?

It was then that he became aware of a tension in the air.

Something's wrong here.

He fixed his gaze on the plump middle-aged man behind the counter. "Hey, you! Was there a girl – a woman here with pink hair?"

The man fidgeted and stammered something.

"What? I can't hear what you're saying. Was she here? She told me to meet her here."

The man cleared his throat and seemed to calm down a little. "Ye-yes, there was a lady like that here. About thirty minutes ago."

"Thirty minutes ago? Where did she go?"

"Uhm, out the back door."

"The back door?" Zoro went right up to him. He narrowed his eyes at the poor cashier and said, "Something happened. What?"

"The – the Marines, sir. There was a – an officer and she – uhm, she – well, she arrested the young lady. Something about a pirate? And she took her out through the back door. To avoi – avoid creating a fuss out front, she said."

Horror gripped Zoro. Almost by instinct, his hand darted to his swords.

"Tell me where they went! Now!"

The plump man looked even more scared, but he nodded and showed Zoro to the back of the store. He opened the back door and pointed down the alley. "They went that way. All the way down to the end and – and to the left. I think th-they probably went to the police station?"

Zoro took off running. A million curses went through his head as he ran. Marines on Notson Ear? But Mihawk said that they were hardly ever there! And they'd arrested Perona! Of all the things to happen!

He nearly stepped on a cat as he reached the end of the alleyway. The cat yowled at him, but he barely heard it.

... ... ...

The plump man, who had remained at the back door watching Zoro's frenzied run, gaped. Why had the crazy swordsman gone right instead of left?

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A/N: It's... been a while, huh? ^^; Thank you for your patience!

And thank you also to the faithful and new reviewers! Those reviews really help keep me going (though I did hit another severe writer's block recently...).

To the Guest reviewers (since I can't respond to you personally): I'm really happy that you found the last chapter fun! :D

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