Reunited
I.
"Land ho!" Robin yelled from the front of the ship, pointing to the island ahead of them.
Sanji had just exited from the kitchen, sticking a new cigarette in his mouth. He quirked a brow at her sudden exclamation: "Ho?"
Chopper squinted his eyes from the sunlight to get a better look, "Yep, that looks like the island Nami said about." Usopp nodded in agreement.
Nami had been standing on the left side of the ship. Smirking, she put her hands on her hips, "See, Luffy. I told you the island existed."
Luffy, having been standing on the right side, turned around and blinked, "I never said it didn't exist. I just said I have a hard time believing an island that looks like a heart could exist."
She gave him a strange look, "I don't understand why it matters what the island is shaped like."
Grinning largely, Luffy showed off his teeth, "It's like…one of those things that represents something."
Sanji turned to the conversing pair, grabbing the cigarette between his fingers to blow out smoke, "A symbol?"
"Yeah!" Luffy got excited that Sanji guessed the word correctly, "The shape of an island symbolizes what will happen on the island."
"In that case…" Sanji poked the cigarette back into his mouth before sticking his hands in his pockets. Slyly, he began to walk over to Nami. Needless to say, it wasn't that hard for her to figure out what was coming next. Her eyes followed Sanji as he kneeled to one knee in front of her, taking her hands into his. "Nami-san, I would be happy to escort you around the island. After all, it symbolizes my love for you."
Sweat dropping, Nami pulled her hands away, "Enough with all the corny symbolism crap! It's just an island like all the others!"
"That means we're probably going to run into trouble," Zoro finally threw in his two cents. He had been napping in the middle of the deck, but apparently had been listening also. He opened his eyes and sat up, ready to help Luffy dock the ship properly.
"Trouble! How do you know they'll be trouble?" Usopp asked, terrified at the thought of danger waiting for him.
"I'm psychic," Zoro mumbled, not bothering to go into detail.
"Oh…" Usopp looked down in thought.
Robin turned around to watch Zoro and Luffy get the anchors ready. Her eyes drifted to Nami, "What did you say this island was named?"
"Tatila," Nami answered.
Smiling, Robin leaned back against the railing, her arms crossed over her chest, "I thought it sounded familiar. Tatila is famous for its tattoos. Right on the outskirt of the main town, there's about ten tattoo parlors. Pirates go there a lot to add to their collection."
"Really?" Luffy asked, his eyes widening with surprise and joy.
When Robin nodded, Usopp scratched his head in confusion, "So what keeps the pirates from attacking the whole island if they're so welcome?"
Robin shrugged, "I guess the islands not known for much else. I've never heard of pirates trying to invade."
"What? Are they all so satisfied with their body art that they leave peacefully?" Chopper asked incredulously.
"Wow…guess the tattoo artists are really good!" Luffy commented, going to the poles to steer the ship with instinctive expertise. He smiled at everyone, "Maybe I'll get one of my own."
"Of what?" Usopp asked, smiling at the thought of getting one also, but frowning at the thought of the pain.
Zoro turned toward the crew, smirking, "What else would Luffy get a tattoo of?"
Sanji chuckled, "A piece of meat."
"Nani? Iie…" Luffy trailed off, thought about it, then grinned, "Well, maybe I'll get two tattoos."
Chopper shook his head, "The two things that are most important to him."
"Meat and being a pirate," Zoro finished, pointing up to the infamous flag of the skull wearing a straw hat.
"Hee, that's right!" Luffy agreed happily. Nami smiled in his direction, putting a finger to her chin in thought.
It didn't take that long for them to dock, securing their ship safely. Before they got down from their ship, they looked around from a higher view. Sure enough, about half a mile away were the many tattoo parlors Robin had mentioned.
"Well, I should find a store to stock up on food supplies," Sanji broke the silence, taking another cigarette from his pack. He lit it, inhaled deeply, then slowly let the smoke exit from the side of his lips. His eyes turned to Nami, "Would you like to join me?"
Nami smiled but shook her head, "Iie. Arigatou, Sanji-kun, but I have my own things to stock up on. Plus I want to look at a few other things." She began, jumping over the side of the ship to land on the pier nicely.
Luffy followed her actions, "Yeah, and I wanna check out the tattoo places!"
Watching them go, Sanji then turned to Robin, "How about you, Robin-san? Would you like to join me?"
"Mm…" Robin walked down the gangplank onto the pier, "Sure. I want to learn more about Tatila, but I'm sure I can do that while I walk with you."
Smiling, Sanji followed her down the gangplank, "Nice."
Zoro grasped his three swords out of habit and freed himself from the ship Luffy and Nami's way. He looked up at the ship, seeing Usopp leaning against the side looking down at him, "What are you going to do, Usopp?"
Usopp pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "I think I'll keep watch over the ship with Chopper for awhile."
Zoro shrugged, "Suit yourself." He began walking away from the ship. He didn't know why they would want to stay on the ship that they were on for many weeks in a row. It wasn't that he didn't like relaxing to the motion of the sea, but he also enjoyed relaxing on land.
He looked ahead at the two duos. Luffy was practically dragging Nami to the first tattoo parlor they came to, no doubt trying to maybe talk her into getting one with him. Sanji and Robin were heading into town for food and a history lesson.
Frowning, Zoro followed further behind them. Though he didn't mind wandering the island alone, he wasn't sure what to do. Could always find a nice, shady area and take a quick nap. Why not? As Robin had said, the island was pretty much hidden from danger. Not like he was going to run into anything of interest.
Hence the irony that was to come.
Once he got to town, he lost sight of Robin and Sanji. He didn't see how, considering how few people were walking the streets. The island looked big enough, but apparently it wasn't too populated. The people moved slowly, gradually going with the flow of life's pace.
Mothers walked their obedient children hand in hand. The children made no loud noises and only waved happily if they saw a friend. The small families walked in and out of stores, seeming to buy something at every one.
Zoro couldn't help but wonder if it was necessary to purchase something if you walked into a store.
The noise level was so low, it was loud. Zoro could hear each footstep of every person, and even make out what they were saying when they talked quietly twenty feet away. With the way his surroundings were, he couldn't tell if he was surprised or not at the fact that no one was alarmed at his appearance. He didn't see anyone else carrying a sword, let alone three.
He quirked a brow as he walked further into town. Maybe I should have went with Luffy to the tattoo parlor. I could fall asleep as they tattooed my whole body. He thought about turning around and doing just that, but he continued forward.
"There has to be something…" he mumbled to himself, "A bar even! What kind of place doesn't have a pub?"
Zoro sighed and stopped after awhile, "This is getting me nowhere."
"Pardon me, Sir?"
Turning his head, Zoro saw a middle-aged man wringing his hands together. It was apparent the man had been speaking to him since he was now signaling for Zoro to come closer. Without thinking too much of it, Zoro obliged.
"You're new to Tatila, correct?" the man asked.
"Yeah, and soon to be done with Tatila. This place is boring," Zoro said bluntly, not caring if the man took offense or not.
The man merely found it humorous, however, and chuckled, "Ah, but Tatila is a place for people who wish to settle down in life with no worries or hassles."
"Perfect place for them, then…" he commented, putting a hand on his hip and looking around at nothing.
"Would you like to hear the story of how Tatila came to be what it is today?" the man asked, his smile widening as though he took great pleasure in every word that came out of Zoro's mouth.
Zoro smirked at this, "Not interested. I know someone that is, though," he said, having Robin in mind. He thought about maybe finding out all about the island and then going back to the ship to see the look on her face after she realized that he knew more about Tatila than she did. But then again, he figured he might end up falling asleep at the beginning of the story and have nothing to tell.
The man nodded, then pointed further down the road Zoro was traveling on, "About four more miles, you will come to a part of town with many beautiful women."
Zoro scratched his head, "Again, not too interested. I know someone that would love it, though," he now had Sanji in mind.
Not trying to continue the pattern that Zoro was making, the man didn't mention anything else. He nodded and turned the other way, mumbling something about uninterested tourists.
Once again, Zoro was undecided to either keep going or head back. He thought about what the man said. "…you will come to a part of town with many beautiful women."
Well, he couldn't make Robin envious. Getting Sanji upset seemed more appealing anyway. He sighed, hoping against hope that there would be something of interest. With that thought in mind, he prepared himself to walk four more miles.
When he reached his destination, he couldn't help but think of this other part of town as a zoo compared to the main part. There were, in fact, many attractive girls, walking and giggling together. They talked amongst themselves without whispering and walked quickly in excitement.
The men were also boisterous, allowing themselves a few loud laughs and to flirt with a couple girls. The kids still seemed well behaved for kids, but at least they didn't act like robots.
All the people he walked past always said hi or nodded their head politely. The place seemed so normal and calm, Zoro wondered what was wrong with it. Although there seemed to be many young people around, he still didn't come across a bar. He did, however, spot a restaurant that said they served soft alcoholic beverages.
"Soft?" he questioned even as he began to walk toward it, "There's actually soft alcoholic beverages here? God forbid…" he commented sarcastically.
He stopped short when he saw two girls about to enter the restaurant. The tall one with the long blonde hair and big blue eyes wasn't the one that caught his attention. It was her shorter friend with the short, dark blue hair and midnight eyes that was penetrating his mind.
His first sane initial thought was, Why the hell is Tashigi here? But that was when the insane thoughts began to come forth. Wait, there's something different. It looks like Tashigi…but it's not her. She's someone familiar…someone that looks like the girl I always compare Tashigi to.
Zoro's heart skipped a beat. Don't tell me there's another look-alike! His heart skipped two beats when the girl's eyes turned to him. That look… His heart skipped three beats when her eyes widened before she slowly walked toward him, leaving her confused friend behind. If his heart skipped anymore beats, he would have a heart attack.
He was prepared, however. Apparently, many girls liked to mimic the look of his childhood friend. He dealt with it in his own way when he met Tashigi, and he wasn't about to treat this other clone any differently.
The woman stopped three feet away from him, looking up into his face. Zoro's right eye twitched at the strong way she scrutinized him. He felt heat rush to his face. Why did he always have to be attracted to the girls he loathed?
Finally, a smile curved the girl's lips. Zoro pictured that smile on his childhood friend after he would say something to brighten her day. A twinkle appeared in her eye, "Zoro…"
He took a step back in surprise. She…knows my name!
He wanted to hold it in; really he did. He didn't want to raise his hopes by letting it slip on his tongue. In the end, it was but a mere mistake when the three syllables left his mouth.
"Kuina…"
My first One Piece fic! I tried my best to keep everyone in character, though this miniseries were mostly be based on Zoro and Kuina. The others may or may not make many appearances.
I've been wanting to do this for awhile, actually, 'cause I love Kuina and hated it when she died. But hey, the joys of writing fanfiction allows me to have her "come back from the dead." Hope you enjoyed!
Enula