Wow. I just noticed it's been around 3 weeks since I put up the last chapter. Time flies, huh?

So sorry that it's been such a lengthy delay, I honestly didn't notice until yesterday when I got a new laptop and was transferring over all the files from my old desktop onto the new laptop. I came across all the chapters I'd written, and it dawned on me that it had been a while since I've updated this story.

In terms of why I just forgot about this, well, I've been busy with exams and I had a report due in last Wednesday, so yeah... Hate to make excuses, but that genuinely is the only reason. Fanfiction took a back seat in my mind while I worried about all those things. Still... three weeks isn't too bad considering I have left for months before.

I must say, it's weird writing this summer story now, just a week or so from Christmas (Hope you guys are enjoying the build-up to the big day!) after spending the actual summer not writing at all for this story. It was the same last year as well, I remember uploading a lot of chapters around January/February. I don't really have a point here, that's just an observation really.

So that's it. Sorry for the quite long author's note, so let's get on with this insanely long chapter. I'll be very impressed if you guys get through this one in one go. I imagine you'll need a break at some point.

Koshiro glanced up from his newspaper at the usual sound of someone's heavy footsteps lazily descending the stairs. He waited for a couple of seconds before the familiar green haired boy appeared in the kitchen doorway, scowling grumpily. "Ah Zoro, there you are. I was wondering when you'd get up."

Zoro yawned loudly as he plopped down on his usual seat at the table, opposite his father. "Why, what time's it?"

Koshiro smirked teasingly. "Nearly noon… so admittedly better than usual."

Zoro, not detecting his father's mocking tone, smirked, pleased with himself. Koshiro rolled his eyes. "Uh… anyway, are you doing anything today?"

Zoro shrugged, pouring himself some cereal. "Nothing really. I was just going to see Robin… maybe go to the gym… why?"

"No reason. Is a father not allowed to be curious about his son? Although, one thing…"

"What?"

Koshiro leaned back in his chair. "If… you're not busy or anything, I'd really like it if you could stop by 'Auntie' at the local foster home."

"Huh? Why? I've never been there."

"I know… and it's not really our problem… It's just… I went by the other day to drop off some of your old clothes, and she looked exhausted. I go there from time to time to give what I can, but I've never seen her so down."

Zoro crossed his arms. "I get it… but Robin's going through something right now, so I need to be with her. I'm sorry, but I don't have time for this."

Koshiro nodded. "I understand. Still, I wish there was some way we could help that poor woman…"

######

"Damn… where am I?"

Zoro looked around hopelessly at the surrounding houses. It was time to admit it.

He was lost.

This was the first time he was actually going to Robin's house on his own. Usually, she'd meet him at his house, or they'd meet up somewhere where Zoro definitely knew the way too, in order to prevent the green haired boy from getting lost. But, since Zoro figured that he knew the way to Robin's house since he'd been there so many times, he decided to try to make his own way there this time. That had clearly been a big mistake. He wasn't sure exactly where he was, but this area was way shadier than Robin's neighbourhood, that's for sure. I mean, when Roronoa Zoro is worried about the safety of an area, that's really saying something.

Zoro sighed, reaching into his pocket for his phone. Looked like he'd have to call someone for help.

Suddenly, Zoro heard the sound of footsteps running towards him. He turned around to see two boys, maybe 12 or 13 in age, running towards him. One of them had near vertical spiky brown hair, and an almost perfectly round face, whilst the other also had shorter and more normal shaped brown hair, and a more regular shaped head. That one held up a stick. "Hey you! Drop the phone."

Zoro blinked, unthreatened by the just over waist high assailants. "This is a joke, right?"

"As if! I'm Michael, and this is Hoichael! We're brothers, and we're the toughest guys in this place! We're so tough- Hey! Where are you going?!"

Zoro hadn't bothered to listen to their whole introduction, walking off halfway through. "I don't have time for this. I'm busy. Go play with someone else."

The one called Hoichael began running after Zoro, now waving a stick of his own. "Who's playing? Don't underestimate us just 'cause we're kids!"

Zoro moved out of the way of the running Hoichael, causing him to run past Zoro. He turned around as he ran, which meant that he wasn't watching where he was going, and so he tripped up.

"Hoichael!" Michael yelled, running after his brother, who was rolling on the ground in pain.

Zoro rolled his eyes and walked off, leaving his two muggers behind. Looks like he had nothing to worry about after-all.

######

"No, go right! Right!"

Zoro glared at the screen of his phone. "I am going right!" He should have known asking Nami for directions wasn't the best idea…

"Fine! Your other right!"

"Shut up! I know which way right is, damn it! You know what, forget it, I can find the way on my own!"

Zoro angrily shoved his phone back into his pocket. Why did Nami always treat him like an idiot? "That woman… screw her, I'll work this out on my own!"

"… Well well, are you two trying to mug us, huh?"

Zoro paused. That voice… He looked around the immediate surroundings, searching for the source of what was a very familiar voice.

"Y-yeah! We-we're not afraid of you!"

Zoro frowned. That voice he did recognise. It was those kids from before.

"Really? Because you sure sound scared."

Zoro's eyes widened, finally identifying the familiar voice. Looked like those kids had picked a fight with the wrong guys. Suddenly, the two boys ran out of a small alleyway to Zoro's right, running past Zoro without even looking at the green haired boy. Seconds later, the man to whom that familiar voice belonged, emerged out of the same alleyway, grinning widely, his 'sidekick' beside him. They both stopped dead when they saw Zoro, their cocky grins instantly disappearing. The two boys stopped a bit behind Zoro, confused as to why their pursuers had stopped.

Zoro crossed his arms and glared at the two men. "So… you guys are just as tough as I remember. Takes a lot of balls to threaten a couple of kids, huh?"

Hordy Jones just stood there, motionless, whilst Hyouzou was already stepping backwards. "No… Not you again….!"

Hordy glared at his right hand man. "Tch, you're pathetic. There are two of us and one of him…"

Zoro grinned widely at Hordy, causing the long haired boy's momentarily regained confidence to instantly disappear again. "Doesn't matter to me. I'll take you both on at once."

Hyouzou shook his head furiously. He turned around and stumbled away. "No! No, anything but that!"

"Hyouzou!" Hordy roared, but the messy haired boy was already too far away at that point. Hordy muttered something under his breath before running at Zoro. He swung at the green haired boy, who caught the fist. Hordy tried to pull away, but Zoro's grip was far too strong.

"I'll give you one chance to run away..." Zoro grunted, tightening his grip on Hordy's hand, causing the boy to gasp loudly in pain. After a couple of seconds of this, Zoro released his grip, causing Hordy to fall over backwards. He quickly scrambled to his feet, before running away, yelling something about how he'd get the green haired boy one day.

Zoro watched the back of the retreating boy, not really paying much attention to the most likely hollow threat. "What a coward," he said to himself, turning around. However, to his surprise, still standing there were the two boys, who were now beaming up at him.

Michael was the first to run up to a now uncomfortable Zoro. He grabbed the green haired teen's right hand and shook it overenthusiastically. "That was sooooo cool! That first guy was so scared of you, he didn't even try to fight you!"

Hoichael mimicked the action of his brother, taking Zoro's left hand. "Yeah! And you kicked that fat guy's ass too! You're amazing… uh… sorry, what was your name?"

Zoro shook the two off, and walked past them. "Zoro. But don't act like I was doing you a favour or anything. I just happened to know those jerks already. If you get in any more trouble, don't expect me to come and help you."

"Wait!" They both yelled simultaneously, running around Zoro so they were once again standing in front of him. "There's something we want to ask you!"

"What?"

They both grinned widely at him. "Be our big brother!"

Zoro's jaw literally dropped. "Wha- What!?"

Michael nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! You're really scary, so you'd scare off jerks like those guys!"

"Plus, you could teach us to be able to fight like you!" Hoichael added, his eyes twinkling. "Just imagine- Hey, stop walking off before we're done talking!"

Zoro yawned, and looked back at the two boys. "I really don't have time for this. Go bug someone else."

Surprisingly, the two boys just ran back up to Zoro, and once again stood in front of him. "No! We've decided we want you to be our big brother."

A vein popped on Zoro's head. "You don't get to decide that!"

"Too bad!" they both yelled back, pouting stubbornly.

"These kids…" Zoro looked around, searching for a way out. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He pointed behind the two boys. "Woah! What's that?!"

They both turned around. "What?"

Zoro took that chance to bolt in the opposite direction.

######

Zoro grinned, panting slightly. He was finally away from those two kids. And what was better was that he actually knew where he was now. To his right was the house still with the Christmas decorations, which meant that he was near Law's house, which meant that he could go ask him for directions to Robin's house. Looks like things were finally going his way.

"Hey big bro!"

Zoro froze. Well, that didn't last. "You're kidding… How did you find me?"

He turned around to see Michael and Hoichael standing there, both still beaming at him. Michael nodded smugly. "We know everything about this neighbourhood… Although I do have to hand it to you, you sure run fast big bro!"

Hoichael nodded in agreement. "As expected of someone like you. Although you did kind of make it easy for us. This is our house!"

Zoro's eyes widened, the colour draining from his face. "Your house? Does that mean your mom is…"

######

Zoro dodged the pebble which was flung at his head. When he had dropped the Santa Claus off at the home to which it belonged, he had expected that he would have some explaining to do. What he hadn't expected was that he would find himself running from some irate housewife who appeared to have genuinely been waiting for him to come back with the Christmas decoration just so that she could punish the culprit personally.

He didn't know how far away from Law's house he was now, nor how far he'd even run at this point, but all that was important to him now was getting away from this crazy woman. As he ran, Zoro couldn't help but wonder whether this woman was related to Nami, she was the only other woman he'd ever seen this angry before.

######

Suddenly, the door swung open. "YOU! YOU'RE BACK!"

Zoro gulped. "N-No way… "

It was that same woman, although this time she was clutching a baseball bat. Zoro took a couple of steps backwards, ready to start running again, when Michael and Hoichael stepped in front of him. Michael cautiously stepped towards the woman. Even he was a little scared of her. "W-wait Auntie, you've got it all wrong! Zoro's our big bro, please don't hurt him!"

Zoro's jaw hung open. "No way… this is Auntie?"

The giant orange haired woman frowned, and looked over Zoro. Said boy was frozen still, not sure how she was going to react. However, surprisingly, she lowered the baseball bat and smiled kindly. "I see. How kind of you to agree to that! Perhaps I misjudged you!"

Hoichael ran to the woman's side. "You should have seen it Auntie, this fat jerk was picking on us, but Big Bro came and kicked his ass! It was so cool!"

Auntie rolled her eyes. "Were you two causing trouble again?" She then looked at Zoro, who was still standing there, a little overwhelmed by the situation. "I'm sorry about that. I always tell them not to mess around with scary looking guys, but they never listen…"

Michael glared at the orange haired woman. "Of course not! We can't! We need money, don't we?"

Auntie smiled sadly. "I know… but you can't just take money that way. It's not honest."

"What, and that guy is?"

Zoro frowned. 'That guy'? What were they talking about? Auntie noticed his puzzled expression, so she smiled at him. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea? It's the least I could do, considering what you've done."

Zoro nodded absentmindedly, and followed the woman and the two boys into the house.

######

"Oh, so you're Koshiro's boy huh?"

Zoro smirked slightly. "Yeah. He told me about you."

Auntie smiled, taking the last sip of her tea. "That man is so generous, the only one who is in this damn town."

Zoro nodded. If there was one thing his dad was, it was definitely generous. As Auntie had stopped talking, he took the opportunity to look around the room, which looked like it was falling apart to be honest. The table that his mug was resting on was covered with dust, whilst the sofas looked like they hadn't been cleaned in years. The walls had dark coloured stains on them, and in the corner there was a lopsided bookshelf with no books on it. "So… this is a foster home?"

Auntie nodded proudly. "That's right."

"And you run this place on your own huh?"

"Have done every day for the last seven years."

This caught Zoro's attention. "Didn't Dad say that she had only been struggling recently? But if she's been doing this for the past seven years… what's changed now?"

Fortunately, Auntie didn't notice Zoro's thoughtful expression, as she was busy peering into her empty mug. "Excuse me, I'll just go and fill this up… You need anything?"

Zoro shook his head, so the large woman disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Zoro alone in the living room.

For a couple of seconds.

Before Zoro could blink, Michael and Hoichael noisily ran down the stairs, which creaked a little more than they should have, and skidded to a halt in front of Zoro. "Hey big bro! When's our first lesson?"

Zoro frowned. "Lesson?"

Michael pouted at him. "Seriously? You forgot already? You said you were going to train us, so we could be strong like you!"

Zoro's frown deepened. "Eh? I didn't say anything like that! Besides, why do you want to become strong anyway? It sounds like you cause a lot of trouble for your Auntie here."

Hoichael glared at him. "No way! We have to become strong! So we can protect her!"

Zoro was about to ask what they were talking about, when he heard the sound of a baby giggling. He turned around, and on top of the wonky bookshelf was a baby, who was already half hanging off the piece of furniture.

The next few seconds seemed to go in slow motion. The baby, oblivious to the danger of its current situation, continued crawling, right off the edge of the bookshelf. In that instant, Zoro covered the length of the room and dove forwards at full stretch. It was close, but he made it to the bookshelf just in the nick of time, catching the falling baby.

Zoro panted heavily, relieved, whilst the baby just continued to giggle happily. Zoro stood up, making sure to keep a careful hold of the small bundle now in his arms.

Behind him he heard clapping. Standing there now were not just Michael and Hoichael, but five other young children and also two infants. Auntie had also emerged from the kitchen and was applauding him as well.

"Impressive. By the way, these are the rest of my kids. That's Yoko, Yuuya, Sho, Ayako and Akihiro," She introduced, gesturing to the rest of the five children in turn. Zoro nodded a greeting to them, before he felt the baby tugging at his hair.

Auntie giggled at that. "How cute. He probably thinks it's uh…"

"How about Broccoli!" Yoko suggested.

Auntie nodded. "Yes. Hey, that's a nice nickname for you, isn't it? Broccoli head!"

Zoro glared at her. "It's not Broccoli-head, its moss-head!"

Michael, Hoichael and the rest of the children all nodded. "I see, so it's moss rather than broccoli then…"

"That's right it's moss-he- Wait, no, it's not!"

Zoro grumbled something under his breath, before handing the baby to Auntie. "Just take this back. Thanks for everything, but I've got to go now, I need to see-"

Auntie frowned disappointedly. "Really? Do you have to leave right at this moment? Because I was just planning on going shopping now. It would be a really big help if you came along and helped watch the kids…"

"But I really don't have time-"

"Please big bro!"

"Please!"

One by one, all of the kids, including Michael and Hoichael surrounded Zoro, giving him their best pleading looks. Zoro gulped.

Looked like he was going shopping.

######

"Do I have to carry them like this?" Zoro grumbled, gesturing to the sack slung around his neck in which the three babies were quietly snoozing. Everyone around him was staring at him. Auntie frowned.

"Well sure. How else would you carry them?"

"Uh… A stroller?"

Auntie glared at him. "Why pay for a stroller when you can use a sack for free!"

Zoro rolled his eyes, deciding against protesting further. He looked at the six shopping bags he was clutching. How had he got roped into this? He didn't owe anything to this woman or her kids…

The green haired teen sighed. He couldn't run away now, it was too late for that. He looked around the farmer's market, bored out of his skull, searching for some way to entertain himself whilst Auntie tried to barter with the stall owners. Damn, she really was like Nami…

"God damn it.. Where did Hancock go?"

Zoro's eyes widened at the familiar voice. Running straight towards him, but not yet spotting him due to the large crowds in the market area, was Sanji, frantically looking around. Zoro gasped before darting into a nearby alleyway. If Sanji saw him like this, with three babies slung around his neck, he'd never hear the end of it.

Zoro breathed a sigh of relief as he emerged out of the other end of the alleyway. Thank God he hadn't been seen.

"Excuse me, have you seen this rabbit?"

Zoro's jaw dropped. Standing literally right in front of him, but with their backs turned to him, were Luffy, Chopper, and Brook. Zoro quickly ran to the right, before they turned around, turning the corner onto yet another street.

"God damn it… Why is everyone here?!"

"We'd be SUPER grateful if you could show us where we could find this."

Zoro skidded to halt, before darting into another alleyway. There was Franky and Usopp too!

The muscular boy panted heavily as he emerged for this new alleyway, onto a quieter street. He had no idea where the farmer's market was, but at least he was away from his friends.

"Must be tough, huh?" A voice beside him said.

Zoro nodded at the stranger's comforting. "You have no idea…"

Zoro frowned. That voice sounded familiar. He turned around, to see an amused looking Robin standing there. "R-Robin!"

"Robin! Where are you?"

Zoro, grabbed Robin and dragged her into the alleyway he'd just emerged from at the sound of Nami's voice. Other than Sanji, the orange haired girl was the last person he wanted to see him like this. He looked desperately at Robin, who still had that same amused expression. She was absolutely loving this.

"Its fine," she giggled. "I won't tell."

Zoro nodded gratefully. "Thanks…"

Robin giggled once more, before beginning to walk off. However, just as she was about to go out of the alleyway, she stopped and turned back at Zoro. "Although… It does suit you."

Zoro just stood motionless, his face glowing bright red. Robin winked at him once, before going to re-join Nami and Vivi. Zoro gritted his teeth. "You know… I really hate these kids…"

######

"There you are! We've been searching everywhere for you!"

Zoro, who was sitting cross legged on the pavement, looked up. Auntie and the other seven children were walking towards him. "Great. You're done. Can I go-"

"Big Bro!" Michael cheered, running up to Zoro. "We got so many great deals today! Dinner's gonna be awesome!"

Auntie nodded. "That's right. You should stay."

Zoro shook his head. "No thanks, I'm fine."

"Aww, but big bro…" Michael pleaded, grabbing Zoro's hand.

"Please stay big bro… "

"Big Bro…"

Zoro gulped. However, to his surprise, Auntie took this chance to intervene. "Now now… Zoro's a busy person. Don't forget, he has his own family to go back to. Besides, he'll be back tomorrow, won't you?"

Zoro sighed. "S-Sure…" Looked like he couldn't get off this ride.

Auntie beamed. "Good! If you could just carry those bags back for us… "

Zoro tried frantically to think of some excuse, but failed. "F-fine."

The children cheered, thrilled that their new 'big brother' would be walking home with them, whilst Zoro inwardly groaned.

######

Zoro watched the children, walking a bit in front of him and Auntie. It looked like Michael and Hoichael were doing some sort of impression, whilst the other kids were laughing. Zoro smirked slightly. Auntie raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"It's nothing… It's just… your kids remind me of me and my friends when we were younger. They seem really close."

Auntie nodded proudly. "Of course. We're family."

"So which ones are yours?"

Auntie frowned. "They're… all mine."

Zoro shook his head. "No… I mean which are actually your family? The ones which you actually… you know… gave birth to."

"Oh. None of them."

"So why do you look after them? I mean, it must be difficult with so many of them…"

"I look after them because we're family."

Zoro frowned slightly. "But… they're not really your family, are they?"

Suddenly Auntie's expression changed. She looked… angry. "What are you saying?! Just what do you think family is?! Family isn't about a blood bond, it's about a parent's love for their children, and their children's love for them. So tell me, how are we different from any other family?!"

Zoro nodded slowly, completely taken aback by Auntie's angry response to what he thought was a valid statement. "I guess you're not that different…"

What followed was an awkward silence, with Zoro not sure if Auntie was really pissed off with him. It would seem that he had touched on a sensitive topic. Finally, Zoro decided to change the subject. "I was actually meaning to ask you something. You wouldn't happen to know a girl called Monet, would you?"

Auntie blinked, surprised. "I do, yes. She was under my care until a couple of years ago. Was she a friend of yours?"

"Yeah she… wait a second, what do you mean 'was'?"

Auntie shook her head. "Of course, silly me. What with phones and social media now, you could talk to someone on the opposite side of the planet now, right?"

Zoro stopped walking. "Wait, what are you talking about? What happened to Monet?"

Auntie frowned. "Uh… she moved away. Last week. Huh, I'm surprised if you were a friend of hers that she didn't tell you…"

######

As soon as they were out of Law's driveway, Luffy puffed his cheeks out in annoyance. "Trafal-guy's such a jerk! Cooking dinner but not letting us stay!"

Nami nodded. "I understand that the meal was for his parents, but he didn't have to be such a jerk about it…"

Sanji shook his head. "Honestly, you should have seen him this morning. I can understand him being pissed off because of what happened to his house, but he's usually such a cool guy…"

Nami frowned. "Exactly. There's definitely something up with him. We should find out."

######

"Damn, I had no idea…"

Auntie nodded. "You know, I thought there was something off with that Caesar guy when I first met him. Guess I should have listened to my gut instinct huh? Well, I'm glad she's found a new family now. Although, she seemed kind of sad about leaving… I guess she really thinks of this place as her home."

Zoro nodded absentmindedly, wondering how Law was coping. Poor guy…

"Um… Old lady, there was something else I wanted to ask you…"

"Oh?"

Zoro sighed, considering how to ask what he wanted to ask. "Uh… have you been having any problems recently? It's just my dad said-"

"Your dad noticed, huh?" Auntie interrupted, a sad smile on her face. "Figures, he's an intelligent guy…"

Zoro looked seriously at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… nothing I can't handle…"

"What is it?"

"Its fine, I can handle it."

"Old lady…"

"I said I can handle it!" Auntie said firmly, her tone of voice saying that she didn't want to hear anymore.

Zoro, however, wasn't satisfied with this. "You obviously can't."

Auntie suddenly stopped. She glared at him. "I'm sorry?"

Zoro stopped walking too, and returned Auntie's glare, staring her down, honestly surprising the large woman. "Because if you could, those two wouldn't be so worried."

Auntie was about to respond, but instead stopped herself and continued walking. "Michael and Hoichael? I don't know what you mean."

"They're obsessed with being stronger… because they want to protect you. Protect you from what?"

Auntie didn't respond, but just kept walking. Zoro just stood still, not budging an inch. Auntie glanced back at him, giving a look which told him that their conversation was over. But Zoro still didn't budge. He could be just as stubborn as her. Auntie continued walking, before slowing down and glancing back once more at the teenager. She sighed in defeat, at last stopping. "F-fine, I'll tell you…"

As soon as Zoro had caught up to her, Auntie began explaining. "It's my sister's ex-husband, Mikazuki… Ever since she… she passed away about a month ago, he's been bugging me. He'll come over every now and then with his thugs, demanding money."

Zoro frowned. "Why? What do you owe him?"

"He was a crook, involved with some gang. When my sister found out, she left him without a second thought. But… then she ran into financial difficulties. She asked me for help, but… well, as you can see, I'm not exactly loaded. He was the only person she could turn to…"

"I see. And now he wants you to pay her debts."

Auntie nodded. Zoro frowned at her. "Why haven't you gone to the police?"

Auntie chuckled humourlessly. "I have. I talked to some guy… an officer Teach or something like that. Those fat-asses haven't done a thing to help. Oh look, we're here."

Zoro looked up. Sure enough, they had reached Auntie's house, and all the kids were waiting outside. Zoro set the bags down, before turning back to Auntie. "Contact the police again, ask to speak to Officer Ace or Newgate. They'll help you, I can guarantee it. If you have to, go to the station, I know they'll-"

"What's the point? They don't care. Nobody cares. This family is just a bunch of orphans and an old hag. Who would care about us?"

Zoro didn't say anything, so Auntie nodded, glad that she had made her point. She began walking towards the children. "Thanks for the help today. By the way… don't bother coming back tomorrow, I'll just tell the kids you were busy. They'll understa-"

"You're wrong."

Auntie frowned, looking back at Zoro, who was staring straight at her. "What?"

"I care."

Auntie didn't say anything, so Zoro began walking off.

######

Surprisingly enough, Zoro did actually come back the next day. And the day after that. Every day he came back. Zoro wasn't particularly skilled at household chores, but he did what he could, whether helping Auntie around the house, playing with the children, or looking after the babies. Auntie was genuinely surprised, considering how reluctant Zoro was to help her out on the first day. Why was he now voluntarily spending his free time helping out?

Although she didn't know it, the reason was that Zoro wanted to meet Mikazuki. He could tell that Auntie and her children were fine enough on their own when it came to looking after the house, but the violent gang member was what they couldn't deal with. So every day he came over, hoping that Mikazuki would show so he could warn the guy to back off. When he had done that, he'd be able to leave the foster home alone, happy that they'd be fine.

Zoro peeped his head into the kitchen. It was his sixth day at Auntie's house now, and still no sign of Mikazuki. "Old lady! It's nearly seven now, so I'm gonna head home, unless you need me!"

Auntie nodded. "Sure, that's fine. Thank you so much for your help. You've only been around for a week, but I wonder how we'll ever cope without you!"

Zoro smirked, giving her a small thank you nod, before going out of the kitchen. He went upstairs and said goodbye to the kids, before finally leaving the house. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. On his second day there, Michael and Hoichael had walked home with him, despite Zoro's protests. Incredibly, the following morning, the two presented him with a map they drew of the route from their house to Zoro's, saying it was so that he wouldn't get lost again and so could come over whenever he wanted, since he no longer had to fear getting lost. Zoro hated to admit it, but it was one of the nicest gestures anyone had ever made for him.

"Let's see…" Zoro mumbled to himself, tracing the route on the piece of paper. "So I go right here…"

Zoro began to follow the route, as he did every day. You'd think a hand-drawn map made by a couple of 12 year olds would be pretty poor, but it was remarkably accurate. Zoro hadn't got lost once since he'd started using it.

"Big Bro!"

Zoro turned around, recognising the voice. Running towards him was Hoichael, who literally looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Hoichael? What is it?"

Hoichael skidded to a halt in front of Zoro, panting heavily. He'd been running, and fast too. "He… He's here…"

"Wait, you mean… Mikazuki?"

Hoichael nodded frantically. The poor boy was frightened. "What are we going to do?"

Much to the surprise of the boy, Zoro smirked. He pressed his fist and palm together. "Good. I've been wanting to teach that jerk a lesson for a while… Just need to make one phone call first…"

######

Auntie groaned as she was shoved against the wall, held by the throat by the man she hated the most. Thankfully, Michael was keeping the other kids inside, so they didn't have to see this. Behind her attacker, four of his lackeys were chuckling, thoroughly enjoying the scene.

"So… dear sister-in-law… I've noticed you've picked up another brat. Although he looks nearly grown up."

Auntie smirked through the pain. "I see… You're so scared of the thought of having to fight a man that you specifically waited for a point when Zoro wasn't here. How pathetic, you're a coward."

The man tightened his grip on Auntie, causing her to whimper in pain. "Hey… I'd watch what you say… I could kill you this easily right now."

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Michael ran out. He made for Mikazuki, but one of his men stepped between the two, lifting the boy up from the back of his collar. Mikazuki laughed heartily. "What, this brat again? Don't try to mess with adults' business kid…"

"Hey boss," one of Mikazuki's men said, pointing to the road. "Isn't that the Auntie's new brat over there?"

"What?" Mikazuki turned away from Auntie, whilst still maintaining his grip on her neck. Sure enough, running straight towards them were Hoichael and Zoro. Rather than go for Mikazuki, Zoro first made straight for the one holding Michael. He dropped the kid, ready to fight back, but before he could do anything, Zoro had closed the gap between the two, and roughly shoved him into the wall of the house.

Zoro glared straight at Mikazuki. "So you're the one troubling the old lady."

Mikazuki laughed. "Indeed I am. And you're her new brat. You know, I never understood why she keeps these kids around… It's just a waste of her time and money. She could live fairly comfortably if she didn't have to look after them, yet this is what she chooses…"

Auntie was about to speak, when Michael ran in front of Zoro and glared heatedly at Mikazuki. "Shut up! We're a family, that's why she looks after us!"

"What family? None of you are her real children. You're all just runts whose parents didn't want you."

Michael clenched his fists. "What's that?! I'll-"

He was interrupted by Zoro putting his hand in front of him, stopping him from charging. "Don't pick fights with people who are stronger than you."

"But-"

Zoro stepped in front of him. "Leave this to me. Family looks after each other, right?"

Mikazuki laughed heartily. He released Auntie, roughly pushing her towards Zoro. She collapsed in a heap on the ground, with Michael and Hoichael immediately at her side. Zoro looked once at Mikazuki, before looking at the house. The kids were all watching through the upstairs window. Zoro gave them a reassuring smile, not paying attention to Mikazuki, who was charging at him.

Mikazuki swung at Zoro, but the teenager ducked and evaded the punch before delivering a sharp uppercut to the other man, sending him tumbling backwards into the wall. Mikazuki tried to get up again, but Zoro punched him in the stomach as he tried to rise again, causing him to fall to the ground, gasping hopelessly.

Mikazuki's men could only watch their boss getting his ass kicked, not knowing whether they should intervene or not. When it became clear that Mikazuki wasn't going to recover, they all moved to attack Zoro, but suddenly, two police cars sped down the road, skidding to a halt outside the house. Out jumped Ace, Marco, Thatch and Jozu, all pointing guns at the dumbfounded thugs.

"Put your hands where I can see 'em!" Ace barked. The men complied. While everyone was distracted, Mikazuki, made one last attempt to get Zoro, but the teenager anticipated this, easily evading the dodgy attack, before rendering the man unconscious with a last punch to the gut.

While that was happening, Jozu and Thatch went around handcuffing all the thugs. When that was done, Ace walked up to Zoro patting him on the back. "Good job Zoro. Who would have thought that these guys would be the 'Big Helmet Gang'? What a weird name that is…"

"Zoro, you…"

Zoro looked down, finally remembering Auntie, who was leaning up against the wall of the house, a little overwhelmed by what had just happened. He smirked at her. "These guys won't trouble you anymore."

Auntie nodded, getting a little teary eyed. Before she could do anything, the door of the house swung open, and the kids all ran out and surrounded Zoro.

"That was so cool!"

"You're the best Big Bro ever!"

Zoro laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Haha… it was nothing."

Michael grinned. "What'd I tell you guys? I told you that Big Bro Zoro would help us get rid of those jerks!"

While the kids were busy with Zoro, Ace took the opportunity to talk to Auntie. He crouched down next to her, clutching a small piece of paper. "Zoro told me everything. I want to let you know that you shouldn't hesitate to contact me if you have any problems in the future. Here's my phone number, my actual personal one. If you ever have any problems, contact me directly. You should also know that Officer Teach, the man you spoke to, has been disciplined for his actions. We're always here for citizens in need."

Marco smirked, watching the two from the outside his car. He nudged Jozu. "Typical Teach huh? Lazy bastard."

"How he became a police officer is beyond me…" Jozu grumbled.

######

After all the commotion, it took a good fifteen minutes or so for the police to leave the area with their new captives. When they'd gone, Auntie had insisted on Zoro staying for dinner, saying it was the least she could do, considering all that he had done for them, not just that evening, but over the last six days too.

Yuuya sighed loudly, staring down at her food, not eating it, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. Auntie smiled warmly at her. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… if Big Bro was trying to catch that guy… does that mean he won't come here anymore?"

That was the question that everyone had been thinking really, but it was the first time it was out loud. Everyone looked at Zoro. He shook his head.

"No… I'll still come here sometimes… just not every day. Plus, when school starts, I'll have even less time to spend here…"

All of the children, bar Michael and Hoichael who had been expecting an answer like that, looked distraught. Yoko tugged on Zoro's hand. "But… who will help us do our chores?"

"And protect us from scary guys like that?"

"Who'll be our big brother?"

Zoro smirked. "What are you talking about? You've already got a couple of big brothers. Michael! Hoichael! I'm relying on you two to look after everyone, including the old lady!"

Michael and Hoichael both grinned, raising their hands to his foreheads in a salute. "Aye Aye Big Bro! You can count on us!"

Yuuya frowned. "But they're not as strong as you!"

Zoro shook his head. "Are you kidding? Michael was the one who saved the old lady when she was in trouble. And Hoichael risked getting caught by those guys to go and find me. They're the bravest guys I know."

Yoko's eyes lit up. "Did you two really do that? Wow, that's amazing!"

Ayako nodded in agreement. "So… without you guys, Auntie would have gotten hurt by that guy!"

Michael and Hoichael blushed, both happy to be praised. "Yeah, I guess…"

Auntie smiled. She glanced at Zoro, before standing up, and gesturing for him to follow her into the kitchen. When they were both out of earshot of the children, Auntie turned to Zoro. "I don't know how we can ever repay you for all you've done for us."

Zoro shook his head. "It's fine, I don't need anything. I just did what anyone else would do."

She laughed. "I don't think anyone else would go anywhere near as far as you've gone for us… "

Zoro smirked. "You're wrong. I know eight people who would."

"Oh? Are they those friends of yours that you were mentioning earlier?"

Zoro nodded. "That's right."

Auntie smiled once, before moving towards the kitchen door. However, just as she was about to leave, she stopped. "You know, I'm gonna miss your help around the house…"

Zoro smirked. "I'll bet you will…"

"You know… there's a lot of washing up to do…"

"You're kidding…"

Auntie gave Zoro her best pleading look. "Aww c'mon, you're already here…"

Zoro groaned. "Uh… fine."

"Thanks!" Auntie beamed, practically skipping out of the room.

Zoro sighed. He definitely wasn't coming back tomorrow.

Quite a touching little story there in my opinion, of course based on the filler episode after Enies Lobby. I don't know if we'll see more of the kids or Auntie later on in the story, but this chapter was just something I wrote a couple of months back now, just on a bit of a whim really.

So I hope you enjoyed this little standalone chapter, and as always, please don't hesitate to leave a review.

Which reminds me, thank you so much for 100 reviews! We reached that I think the day after I put the last chapter up, which was really shocking for me. I thought it would take this chapter to just about reach 100, but no, we reached it after just 25 chapters, so massive credit to you guys. As promised, a shout out to AnimeOtakuNyanx3, who was the one who claimed the 100th review. I believe that she is a new reader of mine, so welcome aboard and thank you so much for your review!

And with that I'm done.

Wait, one last thing. Sev, Law's chapter will be the chapter after next. Who knows, maybe I'll get it up on Christmas day for you ;)