Author's Note: Sorry this chapter seems to feel so short, especially after a long wait. But, there's a reason for it. My chapters are going to be more slow going from now on. Between my wedding being only a month away, working a full-time job, my house needing to be cleaned from top to bottom before the wedding, and the most massive allergy attack ever (I'm allergic to tree pollen, and here in Ohio, the trees are budding) I've had no time for this fic.

I did however have a bachelorette party, a bridal shower, a final dress fitting, and got all my thank you notes and invitations written, addresses, stuffed and mailed out. In short, I'm pooped, so enjoy this chapter, it may be the last for a while!

Chapter 5 At Last, They Meet

The young girl sharpening the blades continued her sad song, blissfully unaware that she was being watched. Zoro couldn't believe his luck. He hadn't even stepped foot in the town and he had already found the perfect addition to the crew. All he had to do now was convince a young girl to join a wanted pirate crew.

Zoro smirked to himself and thought 'I've been in tougher spots.'

Slowly, he stepped out of the foliage and into the yard behind the shop. The girl must have been in her own little world, because she completely missed the tall, green haired man with three swords standing directly in front of her. She stopped her tune momentarily to inspect the blade in her hand. Zoro decided that now was as good as any to let himself be known and cleared his throat loudly.

Tashigi loved the old bard she was singing. It was haunting, sad, and beautiful all at the same time. The song itself was about unrequited love, but to Tashigi, it was more. To her, the song stood for love, for better or for worse. It stood for memories lost and loved ones found. She may have been a marine and a swordsman, but she was still a woman, and her heart cried out with this song.

She had been sharpening the blade in her hand without thought to the task, putting herself in autopilot as she let her mind wander. Drifting back into reality, Tashigi stopped her song and inspected the now razor-sharp blade. Just like the ten before it, it was a terribly cheap sword. However, it would sell well and do in a pinch if someone needed a replacement.

Again, Tashigi's mind wandered to the last day she spent in her home of Lougetown. She had met Roranoa Zoro, and all he could afford were katanas like the one she held now. She had helped him, not knowing who he was, impressed by him even, and he managed to leave with two legendary swords because of her help.

The memory was a source of bitter anger for Tashigi, and she was in the midst of her irate sentiments when the sound of someone clearing his throat met her ears. She looked up startled and gasped. The object of her rage was standing before her, a cordial smile plastered on his face. Tashigi felt like she was moving underwater. Her every movement seemed slow and heavy. Her mouth hung open in shock, and she barely registered to look of shock on his face as she felt a white hot pain shoot through her palm.

Suddenly, it seemed like time sped back up, crashing into reality. Tashigi gasped as she held her hand, blood gushing out and falling onto the blade that now rested at her feet. She lost her concentration in her pain, and she could feel her body begin to change to its genuine self. Quickly, she concentrated on the form she named Katarina, trying her best to block out the pain. Tashigi kept her eyes shut tight, refusing to think about anything but her disguise.

He should have known not to startle the girl when she had a freshly sharpened sword in her hand. The girl looked up, obviously scared, and let the blade slip across her palm. Zoro could see time slow down as he watched the sword fall to her feet, blood gushing from her palm like a spring. However, it wasn't the injury that had him rooted to the spot.

Zoro could have sworn for an instant there the woman standing before him was Tashigi. But, before he could register the image in his head, it was gone. The swordsman shook his head violently. It was bad enough Kuina haunted his dreams; he didn't need that damned marine doing the same. Quickly, he crossed the yard to the girl, now holding her eyes shut as tightly as she held her gushing palm.

He took the girl's pale hand in his own, marveling at the small, delicate size. Zoro pressed a rag from the table to the wound, trying his best to staunch the bleeding and ease her pain. The girl's breathing was shallow, and she still wouldn't open her eyes, so Zoro instead concentrated on her wound.

As the bleeding ebbed, so did the pain. Tashigi tried her hardest to suppress a shudder, but still, it escaped. Slowly, she opened one eye to peak at pirate attending her hand. He was concentrating on her hand, but must have sensed being watched because he glanced up nervously at her face.

"I…I'm really sorry for startling you." Zoro said, his voice low and rumbling.

Tashigi couldn't speak. Here was the man she hated more than any other, the man at the very top of her shit list, cradling her hand like a treasure. She gasped as she felt him run his thumb over her wrist, again repressing the shivers that ran down her spine. Maybe…Maybe Smoker was at the top of the list…Zoro was number two.

"Why don't you sit down?" Zoro whispered as he guided her back to her chair.

He felt terrible. This girl looked terrified, and that certainly wasn't how he wanted to introduce himself. He'd be lucky if he got her name at this point, let alone got her to join the crew. He decided to try to smooth things over, and if everything went well, maybe he still had a chance at getting her to follow him.

"I heard you singing from the woods, it was really nice." He tried, hoping to get a response out of her.

Tashigi heard Zoro's voice, but his words didn't register. Nervously, she looked for Shigure, still propped up against the back of the building. If she could just get to her sword, she could defend herself…

Zoro loosened his grip as he felt the girl shift slightly, indicating she was getting ready to bolt. He didn't want to scare her by not letting her go, it would only make matters worse, and he would actually have to spend more time looking for a musician. Suddenly, she bolted up and tried to run, however, the girl didn't quite make it. She began to wobble as she ran, and Zoro quickly grabbed her and pulled her to his chest before she could fall.

If Tashigi hadn't just lost so much blood, she would have blushed. She was pressed against a very hard, very defined chest. Zoro held her firmly, but not painfully against his warm body. He smelled like musk and seawater, and Tashigi couldn't help but finally look up at his face. Concerned eyes found her own, and she felt his chest rumble as he spoke.

"You lost a lot of blood, you shouldn't try to get up so quickly."

"Let-me-go." Tashigi ground out between clenched teeth and tight lips.

Zoro couldn't help but cock a smile. Where the hell did she think she was going to go when she was pinned to him? Zoro nearly laughed when he realized he wanted nothing more than to tease this little girl. He wanted to let her run so he could catch her again, maybe even entice her to use one of those swords she had been sharpening. But the rational side, or the side that didn't feel like looking for another candidate for Luffy, won over. He was going to be sweet, he was sure it couldn't be that hard.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Why don't you let me take you to someone who can patch up that hand for you?"

"If your not going to hurt me, then why is my hand sliced open? And I'm not going anywhere with you." Tashigi spat, narrowing her eyes behind her new wire rim glasses.

"Come on, give a guy a break! It was an accident!" Zoro cried, getting more than a little irritated with the little waif.

Zoro still had Tashigi pinned to his chest, and the two were glaring daggers into the other's eyes. Zoro was reminded of the last girl he had pinned down, about how she starred at him with the same fury and hatred. The memory made him squeeze the young thing in his arms harder.

It seemed as though the two had spent eternity glaring at each other when a voice cut through the tension radiating through the air.

"If I told ya once, I told ya a thousand times! There ain't no girl staying here but me niece, an she's out right now! Now, unless you be buyin somthin, get out!"

Tashigi stiffened as she heard Duke argue with his 'customers'. She had no doubt in her mind that the navy had come looking for her, trying to tie up loose strings. She struggled against her captor to free herself, desperate to hide. Again, her eyes darted to the sword propped up against the side of the shop.

Zoro watched as the girl her was holding began to wriggle in his grasp. Her eyes darted from side to side, obviously looking for an escape. Zoro craned his neck to look around the building to the street, eager to see who was looking for the allusive "girl". His eye widened as he caught sight of a man in a navy uniform.

Just great. The navy was here. If he couldn't get the girl to come with him, he'd have to leave without her. He took one more look at the girl's face and loosened his grip. She threw herself out of his embrace, violently pushing strands of mousy brown hair out of her face.

Tashigi wanted nothing better than to give that jack ass a piece of her mind, but she didn't want to drawn attention to herself, especially when the navy was prowling about. Again her eyes darted to her sword. There was no easy way to get to it, seeing as how Roranoa Zoro was between her and Shigure. She was going to have to wait it out until he left, because she sure as hell wasn't going to leave her sword unattended with him.

Fate, however, had another plan.