Stronger
01 - Tashigi, Zero

Nanohana was different from the other, smaller villages they'd stopped at during their pursuit of Straw Hat. It was a real town. There were alleyways so labyrinthine that your could lose your self, and never find it again. There were crowds in the marketplaces, so deep with sea-bond strangers that you could drown in them. There were drinks, and dives, and dalliances aplenty, for those who knew where to look and how to brood.

Not that it mattered.

Tashigi wasn't looking for for sex or rum or rock-and-roll to take the mission off her mind. Nor was she looking for a dilapidated pier or atmospheric cafe where she could leisurely pore over all the particulars of her discouraged mood, and steep herself in existential angst. Nanohana might be larger and more exciting than most of the places that their ship docked, but really, she could find those things anywhere. If she wanted to. Which she didn't. Tashigi knew that she couldn't bury herself in distractions and expect to get out of the Grandline alive, and she had no intention of repeating that embarrassing crying jag. Since when did Marines cry? Why must she always turn into such a ... girl when these things happened? It must have been so humiliating for poor Captain Smoker, to have her break down like that in front of a fellow officer.

And she was probably blushing about it right now. Great. Wasn't that wonderful. It didn't matter how much she tried not to act girly; her body, as usual, was hell bent on doing the exact opposite of whatever she demanded of it.

So.

Sigh.

Tashigi wasn't looking for anything simple. She wasn't up to hounding informants about Roronoa and the crew of degenerates he worked with that evening, and she doubted that there were any interesting sharp objects to be sought out in an area where warring factions had so recently cast down their arms.

No. No none of that.

Tashigi was looking for justice.

...

One would think that she would already have found it. Grandline was full of all sorts of miraculous beasts. Yet for all the months at sea she spent, and the hour she'd wasted pacing half of Nanohana, Tashigi'd found nothing. And the Marine had a sneaking suspicion that this was not entirely because she was nearly as blind as a bat. Tashigi was not, by any means, unaware. She could still see the tents of the desert-dwellers who traveled into Nanohana to peddle their wares, their white faded to a brown that grew weary with travel. She smelled the scent of smoke - real smoke, woodsmoke - in the air, and the faint tang of curry, and she knew that she was getting closer to one of the impromptu street celebrations that reports said had been springing up, since the rains had finished washing away Albastians' frustrations, and the giddy reality of peace finally began to hit them. Tashigi tasted the grit on her tongue and felt the trade winds muss her hair. She wasn't stupid. Her senses were working. She would know justice, when she found it.

And justice was a no-show. Alubarna proved it. The lawless ruled, so that even the law had to rely on them. The people of Albasta had wanted justice, to the point that they'd risen up to take it for themselves in a revolution. But didn't matter how hard they had worked to gain power, or how much they wished. They would never have real justice. All they had was the slack that lawless pirates had cut them, while fighting amongst themselves. The lesser of two evils.

Only those who ran wild had the power to impose their will on the Grandline.

But there must be justice, somewhere. Tashigi had to believe that. So if she couldn't see it, then the problem must lie in her. That was what she had to fix. Smoker said it best: try harder, try harder, try harder and when you're sick of trying harder, try harder to try harder, and...

...but ...

she was getting so tired...

A street-lamp guttered.

Wait, was it getting late already?

Tashigi stopped to look at her watch, angling it towards the setting sun. She was nearly out of time! If Captain Smoker had returned, and she were late... she'd already disappointed him enough to last a few months! There was no way that she was going to get caught returning late. She couldn't be absent, in case something happened that might allow her to redeem herself.

The Marine turned on her heel and began to run back towards the dockyards, dodging revelers and wandering drunks as she went.

Unfortunately, since Tashigi happened to be Tashigi, this could only lead to disaster.

***

"This is a disaster!" Jack cursed, and slammed his empty glass of bourbon back on to the counter. "A total, and complete disaster! Ms. Next Monday is missing or in jail or whatever, so I've got no buyer. And if I don't unload you soon, Captain Bell is going to kill me."

The locked chest taking up the barstool next to him seemed disinclined to hold up its side of the conversation. Jack persisted.

"The Captain can't kill me," Jack tried to convince both the chest, and himself. "I'm young! I'm healthy! I'm charming! I have devil fruit powers! ...I'm even almost debt-free! Killing me would be a complete waste of potential. Plus, it would get blood all over everything. And blood-soaked is not a good look on anybody, except maybe Mihawk the Hawkeyes, and even then only because he's one freaky-looking son of a bitch, or so I've heard. Yes. Therefore, there is absolutely no possibility whatsoever of Captain Bell killing me. I mean, look at me. Who could kill a face like this?"

The chest, being an inanimate object, did not look into the mirror behind the bar where Jack was reflected. That was alright. Jack was scrawny and sharp-boned, with questionably-styled hair. His shirt had seen better days, and his patched-up suede jacket had probably seen better decades. In short: the chest was not missing out on much.

Jack sighed.

"Captain Bell could, definitely."

Jack leapt to his feet, his smile returning with manic desperation.

This was not be the first time that he wondered if he ought to take to wearing a top-hat, if only for effect, "Barkeep! A word with you, good sir!"

The bartender was cleaning a glass, but deigned to sidle his eyes over.

"Whaddya want?"

"Would you happen to be aware of any patrons who might have, say, ten to eleven million bellies worth of spending money at hand?"

The bartender blinked, and then started to laugh at him. Eventually he had to put the glass down and clutch at the counter for balance.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Jack slumped. Plan J - like A through I before it - had been a spectacular failure. He should have known that the kinds of bars he'd find customers in would be empty, what with Hina the Black Cage in town.

Oh well. It was only sunset. He still had time for Plan K.

Jack grabbed his merchandise, and then disappeared through the door. Literally.

***

Run, run, run... Tashigi was not getting out of breath. Progress! Those laps she did 'round the starboard bow were finally paying off.

Wow. There were really alot more people out on the street than when she had been walking around before. Or maybe she was just noticing them more, on account of she had to be careful to stay out of their way. Tashigi had to make sure that her concentration was as perfect as she could make it, and scan the horizon at all times for new obstacles. A person just never knew when something like, say, a sign, or an urn, would leap into her path of its own accord. Really, those inanimate objects were very dangerous.

Forward, then jump up and over, then watch out for that abnormally tiny dog, then turn to the left WITHOUT hitting the street-lamp, then try not to be distracted by all the shiny lights coming from that street party (please please please let her not be blinded by anything please please please)...

"HEY!"

Tashigi stopped in her tracks, and narrowly missed running herself into a wall. She did knock her shin against a bicycle rack, but as far as these things went with her, that was pretty much par for the course.

"Um, hey?" Tashigi turned, surprised, to see some guy holding a drink at the outskirts of the party. He had one one of those funny dress robe things that all of the Albastian men wore. It wasn't flamboyant enough for her to suspect that he might be a Baroque Works agent. For some reason, pirates had the greatest color sense.

"What's got you in such a hurry, miss? Is everything alright? You look pretty stressed out," the guy smiled and gestured her over. Tashigi decided to take him up on his offer. As an officer of the Marines, she needed to be accessible in case this citizen was having some kind of emergency. People like Tashigi had to help rehabilitate the Marine reputation! She knew firsthand what some of the commanders in the backwater areas got away with. Word was that all of the boredom and the paperwork drove them a little... eccentric.

Hm. Was she eccentric yet? With every challenge they faced in the Grandline (or, to put it better, every challenge that Captain Smoker dragged their sorry butts through), her quest for the blood of Roronoa Zoro seemed a little more insane. Tashigi might not have what it took to do this on her own. She certainly hadn't had it in Loguetown, or Alubarna.

"Oh, I have to get back to my Boss," Tashigi smiled back, politely. Her expression did not reach her eyes.

"Business! What business could you possibly have now, of all times!?" the guy exclaimed, raising his voice so that he could be heard over all of the party-related babble. "Whatever it is, it can't be so important that you'd miss out on the party. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event! Aren't you happy that things can go back to normal?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"No buts about it," he manhandled Tashigi into the crowd, before she quite realized what was going on. It had never crossed her mind that he might.

"I'm Omar, but that's not important. Tonight, Ms.Business, I am going to make sure that YOU have a good time."

Wait a second. Men didn't manhandle Tashigi. Tashigi manhandled men. That was just the way that the universe worked. Who forgot to pass this jerk the memo?

***

Jack reemerged from a door on the other, more respectable side of town. If the Marines were gonna be inconsiderate enough to swarm Nanohana and fuck up his biggest customer, and the black market wanted to wuss out and lie too low for him to dump his merchandise on it, then Jack was clearly going to have to switch demographics. Surely there had to be at least one trader in this damn town rich enough to want to dabble with the devil. Jack just had to find him. Yeah. That was it. That was totally it. He was on a role! Gooooo Jack.

... Jack hoped that he wasn't developing a paunch. That was the problem with having the power to connect completely different doorways. Being able to walk into a doorway on one side of the city, and then exit through a doorway on the other side of the city, made traveling long distances on foot kind of pointless.

Sooooo... merchants. Merchants. If Jack were a merchant, where would he be? In a shop, probably. That was what merchants did. But sundown had already passed him by, and the only shops open were bars. Hm. Reevaluation. If he were a merchant, at night, celebrating the aversion of civil war, where would he be?

... Jack had no freaking clue.

Jack needed some alcohol. It was time to find a kegger.

***

It took Tashigi a few seconds to process the fact that she was, apparently, being hit on. Or at least flirted with. Was there a difference there? Should she be picking up on... 'vibes', or something? For Tashigi, meeting men usually involved either screaming demands at them, or causing them severe bodily harm.

Hunh.

She really really had to get back to the ship. She'd told them she would be back soon, and Tashigi was never late, because she took her job seriously. If officers didn't have respect for their words, how were enlisted men supposed to have any!? Nope. There was no sense staying here at all, even if this Omar person seemed like a decent citizen. His friends also looked pretty law-abiding, even if some of them were kind of tipsy. All the lanterns strong up were pretty, and also a nice break from the boat, and look! He had gone off to fetch her a refreshing orange juice. It would be impolite to refuse an innocent drink, wouldn't it? Alot of those rebel types had been pretty heavily armed - maybe he might know something about swords! Tashigi didn't really spend time around many people who could hold a decent conversation. All of these people looked so cheery and being off of the boat for a while was just what her bad mood needed. And it was her night off, and all, and... was being hit on really that bad?

When in doubt, junior officers were supposed to follow one very simple directive: ask themselves What Their Commanding Officer Would Do, and then shut up and do it. This usually worked out fairly well. It was easy to remember, for the ones who were maybe short on brains but big on special combat powers, and if you screwed things up at least your direct superior wouldn't be angry enough to demote you back to private.

Er, plus, whatever their commanding officer would do was usually the right thing.

Tashigi was feeling discouraged, so what was she going to do about it? Tashigi knew exactly what Captain Smoker would have done in her situation. Namely, he would not have been in her situation, because he was Captain Smoker, and Captain Smoker DID NOT get discouraged. Frustrated, maybe. Angry, probably. Annoyed, certainly. But discouraged? The was no chance in hell.

However, if Captain Smoker were to somehow, hypothetically, inexplicably, unprecedentedly become discouraged, Tashigi knew that he would go to one of those degenerate pirate bars and bash heads in until he forgot all about it. Then he would pretend that it hadn't happened, and drive it completely from his mind.

Now, there was no way that Tashigi was going to one of those horrible places. She was too much of a lightweight for bar fights, or pirate grog. But... this could be her version of a degenerate pirate bar, except open-air and with respectable people in it. And then she'd feel better, and she and the Captain could never think of her unfortunate incident ever again. So she would stay!

"Here ya go, Ms.Business, " Omar handed her a drink, and attempted to look at her rakishly under the brim of his cloth headdress desert hood thing.

"Thank you," Tashigi nodded, "Wow. This is quite the party you've got going, here."

"Well," Omar leaned in, "I can't believe that a nice girl like you hasn't got her own party to go to. It's our duty as Albastians to celebrate at least until tomorrow. Haven't you heard? You can't be that busy. Tomorrow the partying is going to reach whole new levels. The Princess herself is back, and she's coming! Hina the Black Cage will be there too! They're throwing a big public rally for the Marines who got rid of that pirate bastard who was screwing with the rain."

"... I see."

The crowd milled. Some guy in suede nearly elbowed her in the gut.

"Yeah, you totally have to go! It'll be great. It wasn't Hina that took him down, you know. They sent in some real elite troubleshooters all the way from Loguetown - Smoker the White Hunter, fresh outta Marine Headquarters special black-ops unit, and his hand-picked protégé, the swordsman Tashigi. In order to defeat Crocodile's number-one minion, this Tashigi guy had to be able to cut through steel. Can you imagine? It will be so neat to see them."

Oh, no. They couldn't possibly think any of that... she hadn't been 'picked' at all, she couldn't cut through steel, it was all so...

Tashigi was NOT going to cry.

She sipped her orange juice, so that she wouldn't have to speak. It tasted more like orange-colored vodka.

Was that it? This person couldn't possibly believe any of that bullshit propaganda. Did he know who she was? Was that it? Was this flattery? Was this person trying to... to... to... liquor her up and then womanize her!?? MEN! That was SO typical! Men were all the same, only capable of thinking about one thing. Sure, for some of them, that thing was a decent thing - like Captain Smoker's dedication to justice. But the rest of them were thinking of something... much more inappropriate!

"Listen here, you!" Tashigi wrenched away from Omar, scowling. Her arms crossed. "I don't know WHO the hell you think you are, but you can't just go around repeating stupid gossip just to get your way. I will not allow it!"

"Whoa... what are you talking about?" Omar shrank, taken aback. "Listen, lady, what's your problem? I was just trying to be friendly. I know that alot of people don't think kindly of the Marines, but... sheesh. They did save us. This has really restored my faith in them. For all their talk of justice, they abandoned us for so long, but really they were only biding their time until they could bring their big guns in. Isn't that kind of... comforting? At least?"

Tashigi deflated.

What was her problem? This wasn't his fault. And Headquarters was only doing what they had to do. This was... this was her fault. All of it. She was so weak. It was Tashigi versus the world, and so far, Tashigi scored a perfect zero. No physical strength like Roronoa, no commanding presence like Captain Smoker, no grace or charm like Captain Hina... Tashigi had to get stronger, but what was she supposed to strengthen?

"I'm very sorry," she said quietly. She could not meet his eyes. "I'm not usually like that at all."

"If you say so," Omar looked skeptical. "Maybe you need a few more drinks, hunh? It's been a rough few years for everyone. Makes sense some folks would have a hard time getting back to real life."

"Um... no thanks."

Omar looked stung. Did he see her refusal as a rejection? Tashigi messed so many things up... that hadn't been what she meant at all.

"Again - I'm really, really sorry," Tashigi rushed to make herself understood. "I think that was a reflex. It's just that, well. I've been all over the Grandline, you know. People are dangerous out here. And what makes it worse is that you never know with people, do you?"

Tashigi began to gesture. She hadn't realized how much she needed to say this to someone. Anyone. Even a complete stranger named Omar. "Sure, you meet guys, and maybe they're kind of a screw-ups, but they seem alright. They seem okay. Maybe they even seem more than okay, like you have things in common that you could talk about and they're sort of nice as well as really talented. And you're happy, because how often does that happen in your line of work? Or any line of work? But of course, as soon as they manage to suck you in they show their true colors and BAM! They turn out to be misogynists or deadbeat dads... or... or... or Roronoa Zoro!!!"

And then where were you? Where were you!? You were an eighth of the way down the Grandline where suddenly there were revolutions and Armed Seas and NO ORDERS, and they gave you medals for no reason on ribbons that twisted like nooses. You were where Marines were the exception rather than the rule, and pirates governed entire nations, and the whole wide world turned so far upside-down you weren't sure if it could ever be righted again. That was where you were. Wherever that was. Somewhere where the magnetics were all screwed-up, the polarities went out of whack, and nothing made any damn sense anymore.

Omar began to back away. Slowly. As if he were dealing with a vicious animal. "Y-you know... just what is your business, anyway?"

His eyes drifted towards her sword, and the deathgrip she had on it. "L-look. None of us c-can fight here, right? And I - I've been nice to you, right? Please. Stay, if you want, I'll pay for your drinks. Please don't hurt any of us. Everything's over now.. we don't want any trouble with pirates or bounty hunters.. not that I would call you anything like a pirate or bounty hunter, Ms.Business. That's not my business at all."

And then he fled.

Well, that was the end of that. She guessed. Time to go on home.

***

... had he heard the name, Roronoa Zoro? From the lips of someone who knew Roronoa Zoro?

JACKPOT!

Jack was the man. Jack was THE man! The only pirate or bounty hunter brash enough to be out and about with over half of the Black Cage fleet in dock, and HE had found her. Ha ha. HaHA! Take that, Captain Bell! Jack was in the ZONE! His peerless instincts had drawn him to this kegger, for sure!

Now to figure out if she was rich, using his unbeatable sales techniques.

"Yo," called Jack, because she had put down her glass and looked about to up and walk away. It was his personal favor to her. Even though Jack got that no self-respecting bounty pirate would want to hand around such a lame party, with stupid lights and girly mix drinks, he felt that it was his duty as a salesman to make sure that this customer did not miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. "Did I hear you say that you know Roronoa Zoro?"

Step one: find a topic, and pretend to agree with whatever the customer thought about it. This was otherwise known as 'chatting the customer up.' It made them feel like you gave a shit, and for once, Jack actually did. He needed this sale.

"So what if I do?" the target stopped, and her eyes narrowed. Or at least Jack thought so. It was hard to see them, between the glare on her glasses and the glare of her shirt. His target must take 'adventurous' pirate fashion to heart. Jack hadn't known they made shirts that loud.

" If you do... I'd say that it's amazing that you know the famous swordsman pirate!" Jack had to play it safe. Maybe she was part of his pirate crew. The last thing that Jack needed was Roronoa Zoro out to maim him, in addition to Captain Bell. "Roronoa's so cool. Is it true that he killed two hundred bounty hunters on his own at Whiskey Peak? And that he can cut through titanium like it's butter? And that he can swing his sword so fast that he can create tidal waves? And that..."

The customer was frowning Shit.

***

Who was this joker? Since when were piracy and injustice cool? That Grandline didn't make any sense. Didn't these people realize how much harm men like Crocodile and Arlong and Ace the Burning Fist did to all of those poor unfortunates who crossed their path? Didn't they care? They thought...

They thought that power was cool.

"No. It's. Not.," Tashigi cut the shabby man off with a glare, and unconsciously gripped the hilt of her Shigure so hard that her knuckles began to whiten.

And yeah, yeah power was cool. Tashigi understood that. Her Shigure, for example, was one of the most beautiful things this side of the western Redline. But pirates like Roronoa Zoro didn't deserve to have power if all they were going to use it for was bullying and lawlessness! That wasn't right. That wasn't fair. That wasn't justice. Power should belong to people who deserved it because they worked hard and did the right thing, not selfish deceitful criminals that cared only about personal reputation and gain, who were born with big impressive male muscles and given famous swords for no reason better than LUCK!

"Oh," whoever this new guy was gave Tashigi a knowing look. Clearly he failed to notice the comfort that Tashigi drew from sharp objects during times of emotional crisis. "Ouch. Sorry if I touched a nerve. ...Ex-boyfriend, hunh?"

"NO!" Tashigi cried a little too loudly, and a lot too desperately. Somewhere out there, the spirit of the Wadou Ichimonyi was calling out to be used for justice, and it was her duty as a Marine officer to put things right. "Roronoa Zoro is nothing but a lowlife! I will not rest until he dies by my Shigure... or I am killed myself."

If she were weak, she deserved to be defeated, and she deserved to be killed. That was the code and honour of a swordsman. Roronoa had denied her that, but Tashigi would not be denied again... whatever the outcome of their next meeting.

There were worse things in life than to die as a swordsman.

"I see," the shabby man grinned. Tashigi could see the whites of his eyes. "You got the cash to afford a named sword? I'm impressed by your taste. You want to take out Roronoa Zoro? I'm impressed by your courage. So listen up. My name's Jack, but you can think of me as your your personal fairy godfather, 'cause I'm gonna offer you the deal of a lifetime."

-TBC-

***

Author's note: Thank you for all of your kind feedback on the prologue! I hope that chapter one makes for a half-decent followup ^_^.

To be perfectly honest, this was a hard chapter for me to write. Why?

As the inimitable Stacey, Queen of Marine Fangirls puts it: MARINES DON'T ANGST. Marines do, however, get upset during trying situations, and can also be a tad bit insecure. Or at least they can if they're Tashigi, as I see her. "Tashigi, Zero" was an attempt to portray Tashigi as wound-up and distraught and self-doubting, without miring her in a pit of out-of-character angst. I hope I succeeded without damaging her too badly. The OP characters are, after all, only borrowed toys :P

Jack's "Gate Gate Fruit" power was inspired by Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Originality? From me? Surely you jest.

Smoker and Hina return next chapter. Also, we learn what the hell is up with Jack, and Tashigi's not returning to Smoker's ship is explained. That all was supposed to go in this chapter, but it got too long.