Duel

Chapter 3

Rating: Pg-13

Sergeant –Major Tashigi was still upset with Zoro's sudden move and still pondered about it until one of her teams arrived with news.

She had split up her battalion into smaller teams in order to locate Zoro or his Straw Hat friends. She received a report from one of her search teams that they were able to locate the Straw Hat Pirates' ship at one of the docks.

"Are you sure, Sergeant Hawk?" Tashigi demanded.

"Absolutely, Sergeant-Major. I saw those people on that ship who matched the sketches of them."

"Good work," she complimented. "We must reach the dock." She was glad her marines were wise to report to her rather than mount an attack by themselves. She wasted no time in hurrying for the dock.

They arrived on time when Luffy, Zoro and their straw Hat crew was already on the ship but didn't even pull their anchor yet. The Straw Hat pirates were ready to leave the dock and they would have already if the marines delayed for 5 minutes.

Spotting the marines, Sanji warned the others but it was too late for them as Tashigi and her men already boarded the ship.

As soon as the marines engaged in a ferocious fight with the Straw Hat pirates, Tashigi ordered the men to leave Zoro to her,

"Do not attack Zoro, men. He is the one I want. Zoro is mine. Do you hear me?" Tashigi bellowed.

Obeying her orders, the marines decided not to fight with Zoro but instead battled with the pirates. Tashigi finally confronted the swordsman alone. This time she didn't use the flat of her sword to strike at him.

When the green-haired swordsman saw the sharp edge of the blade coming at him, he realized she was going to cut him seriously. He instinctively blocked the sword with his own. Tashigi was pleased he finally fought. He soon had three swords in his mouth and hands, poised to defend himself and he knew he had no choice but to defend himself otherwise he would be dead. However while their fight progressed, Zoro's movements became more awkward and sluggish.

'What is wrong with him? He's fighting slower and more sluggishly as if he had no fight in him. As if he has no passion,'she thought.

Even though it could be an advantage, Tashigi was more offended by it than pleased because he didn't give her enough respect by fighting like an impassionate amateur than a veteran warrior.

"Why can't you fight more fiercely?" Tashigi hissed. "First you refuse my challenge. Now you fight like a rookie. Have you not insulted me enough?"

Zoro failed to maintain his grip on his three swords so she used her sword to yank them off his hands, leaving him defenseless. He held up his hands in the air and conceded, "I yield."

Zoro finally surrendered although not without a terribly lame fight, which left Tashigi unsatisfied. She was more than disappointed that he didn't put up a good fight. Her victory seemed hollow to her because of that. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips to form a disgusted frown but said nothing. She turned around to check her marines.

Sanji, Usoup and Nami were already taken down. Dr. Chopper rather surrendered than join the fight for violence was never his style. Only Luffy remained and still held his ground on his own until she jumped at him behind and struck him out cold with the hilt of her sword. Then Luffy joined his unconscious pirates.

She looked at their unconscious forms then switched her gaze to Zoro and Chopper.

"You are under arrest, Straw Hat pirates," she soberly said with disappointment.

When Tashigi presented her captives to the marine headquarters, she received praise from her superiors, especially Captain Smoker but she still felt no satisfaction in this for that Zoro truly disappointed her with a poor fight.

"Where are you going, Tashigi?" Smoker demanded.

"I'd like your permission to interrogate a prisoner, sir."

"Why?"

"Because he has something I want," she reluctantly said.

"Something you want? Not something we want?"

"Yes, sir."

"Information?"

"Yes, sir."

"You said you want the information  What do you want from Zoro "

"Remember that we read the reports that the Straw Hat pirates were said to have saved several villages including Alabasta island from the pirates, Captain Smoker?" Smoker nodded. Even if the reports were true, he couldn't fathom Straw Hat crew's motivations.

"Yes, what about it?"

"Well, I am planning to extract answers about their motivations in saving the villages."

"I will give you my permission, Tashigi."

 "Thank you, sir."

"Will you start with Captain Luffy?" Smoker asked.

"No, sir. I'd like to start with Zoro first."

"Why Zoro?"

"Because he appeared the easiest to interrogate, sir."

"What makes you think he's easy to interrogate?"

"It's a hunch, sir," she said.

"I see. Permission granted. Make it so."

She later entered the brig where the Straw Hat pirates are holed up. She had instructed Zoro to be separated from others and to be put in a separate cell so she would interrogate him. Entering his cell, she saw him sitting on his bed.

"Roronoa Zoro," she said, looking at him with contempt.

"Sergeant-Major," Zoro returned.

"Why am I separated from my friends?" Zoro inquired.

"Because I want to talk to you,"

"About what?"

"Everything,"

"Tell me about it, Sergeant-Major,"

"First, I knew you were a pirate hunter and I respected you for your exploits against pirates. So why did you change from a pirate hunter to a pirate? Why did you become who you have been fighting?" Tashigi questioned.

"Because Luffy rescued me."

She stared at him passively.

"And I owe him for that. I had to join his crew in return for his rescue of me," he continued. "At first I was reluctant but I realized Luffy wasn't a bad pirate. He was pirate with a pure heart."

"It is hard to believe that Luffy is a good pirate and has a pure heart," she skeptically said.

"Believe it or not, Sergeant-Major. He isn't like those pirates you fought. He is different from other pirates," he explained.

"In what way?"

"He is not a murderer,"

"Is he?" Tashigi said, not believing him.

"Have you heard that he has killed any innocents?"

"No, I never heard of any reports that your captain has killed innocents."

"That is because he never did," he stated

"But he terrorized the innocent people,"

"No, he did not. Didn't you know that he led us to defend the innocent bystanders?"

"Do you have proof?"

"Remember that we saved a town from a pirate named Buggy? That we saved another town from a captain called Kuro?"

"Yes, we had talked with the mayor of the town Buggy terrorized. He even said you left half of Buggy's treasure to his town. We also conferred with a wealthy girl named Kaya. She insisted that you saved her from Kuro's assasination attempt and her town from his invasion. Imagine my surprise when you exploited the poor gullible girl's gratitude to get a new ship."

"We did not exploit her gratitude because we didn't even ask anything from her. She gave us a ship willingly," Zoro protested.

"I am not convinced you did it out of goodness of your hearts. Perhaps you were trying to eliminate the competition and win the townspeople's trust so you'd abuse it later," Tashigi said.

He just sighed.

"Have you heard of Arlong Park?" Zoro asked her. She knew it was the island which the pirate called Arlong ruthlessly occupied and ruled for years. It was hard for her to believe the reports that Zoro's pirate friends liberated the village from Arlong.

"Yes, The townspeople of the former Arlong Park claimed you freed them from Arlong pirates' control.

"It's not the claim. It's the truth."

"Do you have anything to add up, Zoro?

"How about Alabasta?" he suggested. She remembered that the pirates led by Luffy had saved the people of Alabasta from a pirate called Crocodile. However, the marine high command took the credit for Crocodile's defeat and credited Tashigi's superior, Captain Smoker with it. Smoker was outraged that he was given the credit which belonged to Luffy. Tashigi shared his outrage equally.

"Yes, I remember Alabasta," she admitted.

"And you took the credit for the rescue of Alabastan people and defeat of Crocodile," Zoro said flatly.

"No, Captain Smoker and I didn't. It was our superiors in the marine high command who took it and gave it to us who didn't served it because it wasn't true,"

"So why didn't you protest?" Zoro narrowed his eyes at her.

"Because it wasn't our position."

"Do you believe we saved the people of Alabasta from Crocodile?"

"Yes, I do. I even think you deserve the credit but you fought pirates because you view them as competition and you wanted to weed them out."

"But why did we save the towns and islands from other pirates?"

"I also suspected you only did it so you can be seen as heroes in order to avoid persecution. You are using the people's gratitude for your own ends."

Zoro's eyes widened and he feigned shock. "Have we exploited people's gratitude? How do you have proof we asked anything from them? Are you sure?"

"No but I'm sure you must have asked anything from them,"

"Did the Alabastan people tell you?" Zoro's question put her in a corner. She knew he proved her wrong again. .

"No, they said that you didn't demand anything," she admitted.

"But?"

"But I think you only saved the Alabasta Island to win their trust. I hate to imagine how the pirates would abuse the innocents' trust," Tashigi said.

"Have you seen us take advantage of their trust?" Zoro pointed.

She didn't retort this time.

"Are you convinced?" Zoro prodded.

"Not completely, but let's change the subject."

"Okay, what is it, Sergeant-Major?" He smiled.

"Why did you kiss me?" Tashigi asked with tension in her voice, her shoulders shaking .

"I have no idea," Zoro bluntly said.

"You kissed me and you don't know why?" she rasped.

"No," he confirmed.

"I can't believe it. I can't believe you," she hysterically said.

"I don't blame you for not believing my word. You don't trust pirates."

"No. What I meant is that I can't believe what kind of man you are."

Zoro silently shrugged.

"Roronoa Zoro?"

"Yes?"

"Will you kiss me again?"

"Are you sure, Sergeant-Major?" Zorro raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I am sure. Please call me Emily," Tashigi pleaded.

"Then call me Roronoa, Emily."

Tashigi walked to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Pulling her body close to his with his arms behind her back, he kissed her back

She pushed him on the bed and she was on top of him. The young lovers made love to each other.

After their mutually intense lovemaking session, she even offered to help him and his friends escape. The green-haired man accepted the marine's offer.

Tashigi led Zoro out of his cell and they went to the other brig. They were able to render the guards unconscious and went inside the brig to find the Straw Hat crew in their cells..Some of them were sitting while the others were standing.

"Zoro, Is that you?" Luffy exclaimed in joy.

"Why is that marine with you?" Nami asked, glaring at Tashigi.

"She's here to help us escape," he announced.

"Are you kidding?" Luffy said in disbelief.

"No." Zoro countered as his lover opened the cell doors with each key. When she was done unlocking the doors, the swordsman turned to her and said "I can't thank you enough, Emily. I owe you."

"Don't speak of it, Roronoa. Now go."

"Goodbye, Emily Tashigi." He sadly nodded.

"Wait. Let me ask you one thing."

She leaned near his ear and whispered, "What shall I name my child?"

"If it's a daughter, name it Kuina," Zoro suggested. Tashigi knew it was the name of his dead childhood friend who he told her about. She had no objection to it.

"We'll meet again someday, Roronoa."

Zoro and others went on their way out of the brig, leaving her alone to ponder.

Later the marine officers were frustrated that they had somehow escaped and they still didn't know how.

A few months later when Tashigi's belly got bigger, she knew she was pregnant with Zoro's child.

Upon learning the news of Tashigi's pregnancy, Smoker demanded to know the identity of the child's father. She made an alibi and said she had a dalliance with an unknown civilian sailor she met. Satisfied with her explanation, Smoker even offered her a leave of absence so she could take rest in order to prepare to give birth to her child. She was grateful for his generosity.

When she finally delivered her baby after several months, she discovered she bore a daughter.

'When my daughter reaches puberty, I will tell her about her father.' Tashigi thought. 'Someday, I will introduce my daughter to her father.'

When doctors asked Tashigi what she was going to name the child, she smiled and said "Kuina Tashigi."

Peeking at outside through the window of the hospital, she proudly cradled newly christened Kuina in her arms, looking forward to the future with her child.

The end.

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