Sorry for the bit of a long simmer lovelies. Fair warning...the next chapter is gonna have a bit of sexual content that you are more than welcome to skip.

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Zoro had (finally) managed to return to the property of his employer as the sun began to rise above the horizon. The scenery around him was draped in shades of warm red and brilliant orange. Morning dew glistened like small gems and the soft coos of mourning doves echoed in a haunting tune. The entire trek back he had a nasty knot in the pit of his stomach. Something in the back of his mind was warning him of trouble. It was worsening the closer he approached the boss's mansion.

It was...obnoxious to say the least. The white marble fencing was inlaid with golden wave-like etchings and topped with large, polished pearls. The massive front lawn had topiary in the shapes of dragons and tigers. Right in the center was a jewel-encrusted gold fountain with a mermaid spilling water from a pitcher. The mansion itself, a three-story building, was made from dark stone and had silver railings beneath the windows. Bright flames flickered in bronze lanterns along the brick path that lead up to the great wooden door with an iron frame. It was downright gaudy.

He stepped through the open gate, ignoring the glares from the guards. The uneasy feeling had turned into an angry animal clawing at him yet still he pushed it aside. Was what Sade said to him really bothering him? About them might having to kill one another. His brows furrowed as he passed the threshold of the mansion. He didn't want to think about that.

Zoro suddenly stopped, just inside the dark foyer. That abhorrent feeling was at its peak. He immediately turned around and headed back outside, making his way behind the building. There were supposed to be more thugs. He wasn't greeted as usual when he entered the building. The side paths were empty. There was no one.

He slowed his pace when he heard two voices, one of which he recognized as his boss. He crouched behind a yellow rose bush and peered through the finger-like branches at the silver gazebo where a couple of men sat. The larger man was his employer while the smaller better dressed man he knew by face only as the rival boss. Why were they talking with each other? A truce?

But he was about to discover it was much worse.

"So, this is your plan then?" the well-dressed man spoke, swirling the dark liquid in a wine glass. "I am well aware of their strengths. That's why we used them. To thin out the herd so to speak. Those mindless peasants were getting too much to handle, and we can't possibly take all of them aboard the ship."

Zoro's boss let out a bellowing laugh that echoed through the early morning. "You get shittier with every day! It's a shame though. I like the swordsman."

"Yes, yes so I've heard. But it's time to throw all that away and carry out the plan. We've kept our strongest hidden long enough. They've already taken to the roads to hunt them down and kill them. Your little swordsman pet and that bitch of a mercenary."

No fire could stop the chill that filled Zoro's veins. This was what that feeling was warning him about.

Wait.

Sade was alone.

Disregarding he would be discovered, Zoro bolted from his hiding spot and left the mansion behind. There was fear. Only slight, but he feared Sade was in trouble despite knowing her strength. She could easily be ambushed. Where would she be though?

He stopped when he noticed he was in a forest, in a place he didn't recognize. The hazy sun filtered through the leaves and morning mist hung to the forest floor. He wasn't alone. He unsheathed two of his blades as three men appeared from the shadows of the woods. These men were different from the ones he had fought before. They were bigger and better equipped with double-bladed axes and a claymore. Each one of them were wearing dark-metal armor of sorts but they only had helmets and around their torsos.

"Mind telling me what the fuck is going on?" Zoro asked as he readied his stance to attack.

"The only thing you need to know is we're here to kill you and that little bitch."

Zoro gritted his teeth as he charged the one the spoke, crouching low when he swung his ax to the side. The man was slow to protect himself as Zoro slashed upwards, cutting his arm right off. He tumbled back with a scream as the next person brought their claymore down at the swordsman, but their sword embedded itself into the ground below. Zoro had jumped back to evade and dashed towards his opponent. He used the claymore as a jumping platform, springing up with his two swords above his head.

The armored figure gurgled on their blood when the sharp edges cut into the soft flesh between the neck and shoulder. Zoro didn't wait for the next person to attack. He charged the final figure, the other with a double ax, and slashed across their unprotected legs. Their left leg above the knee was sliced off and the right hung on by sinew. As they fell, Zoro cut across their throat and they choked on their blood as they toppled to the ground.

The one missing an arm tried to scramble away but was stopped when Zoro stabbed him through one of his thighs. His cry of pain was cut short by the other blade of the swordsman at his throat. Behind the helmet, Zoro saw regret and fear.

"Not going to finish a fight you started, you fucking coward?"

The man seemed to have accepted his death rather quickly and a twisted smile spread across his face. He spat at Zoro and that was enough to seal his fate. Like a hot blade through butter, the blade lacerated his throat. Zoro watched as the life faded from the man's eyes as he fell back to the ground, going still after his body twitched several times.

The swordsman stood above the dead bodies, his hands gripping the hilt of his katana tightly in anger. Blood dripped from the tip of the swords and onto the leaf-covered ground. It went quiet. No birds, no wind, no bugs. He cleaned his blades on the back of one of the dead men and left the corpses behind. He had to find Sade.

Did she even know what's going on?

Could she have...

Zoro shook his head. That was not a thought he wanted going through his mind. He turned right when the sound of shouting and metal on metal was heard as gentle echoes. The birch trees were beginning to thin, and the brightness of the late morning illuminated the white wooden houses. He stopped up on the rock wall, noticing a line of several dead bodies leading down towards the beach. These men were dressed differently as well. Instead of armor, they wore thin cloth and leather getups like that of typical assassins.

He followed the bloody mess, noticing the dark-haired Sade fending off several adversaries with her dancing like spearplay. Her weapon pierced the fleshy bodies, sending streaks of blood across the ground and the surrounding buildings. Even from where he was, he noticed her pale eyes blazed with rage. He was going to call out to her once she killed the last one standing when he noticed a few men hiding in the alleyway waiting for the perfect moment to strike. In a swift movement, Zoro unsheathed one of his blades and cleanly sliced through one of their necks.

"Shit! It's the swordsman!"

The shout startled the other men hiding in the shadows as well as Sade. For a brief moment, their gazes locked. The pure anger was replaced by relief. But she also became distracted, and a thug jumped up behind her with a dagger above their head. In an impressive show of speed, Zoro dashed towards Sade, raising his katana to block the attack. He quickly unsheathed a second blade and slashed up diagonally. Blood sprayed from the grievous wound as the man fell with a pained shout. It ended in a gurgle when Sade stabbed him through the throat.

She stayed there, leaning against her spear with her breaths in soft pants. Zoro looked her over, noticing several cuts and bruises. How long had she been fighting? She stepped back, pulling the spear from the dead man, and faced Zoro. There was uncertainty in her icy eyes. She looked like a wounded animal on the defensive. He lowered his swords.

"Fancy seeing you here Mr. Swordsman. Are we going to have a problem?" Her question was valid.

"I'm on your side." The sigh she let out was heavy and she relaxed. "We were both fucked over. I heard our bosses talking with each other about hunting us down and killing us."

"Is the so? Always knew my boss...well former boss now was shady as shit. But what's done is done I guess." Sade sauntered over to the short barrier lining the edge of the beach and sat down, tossing her spear into the sand. "They showed up at the inn I was staying at all quiet and mysterious when they just suddenly attacked without a word. No matter what street I ran to I was ambushed. For several hours it was like fighting an army of never-ending ants."

He sat down next to her after placing his swords back in their sheaths. He noticed by the calm tone she had, Sade wasn't bothered by this. Like she was expecting it to happen at some point. But why had she looked so pissed off then?

Zoro was about to ask her something when she suddenly grabbed her spear and jumped up, racing towards the harbor. He found it strange until he noticed the expensively dressed man and the hulky boss were trying to sneak onto a ship. He sped after her right as she threw the spear with all the strength she had. It flew true to its target of her former boss, piercing him right through the stomach and impaling itself into the wall of a building. The other gang boss just stood there, stunned by what happened.

Sade wasn't done. She launched herself at the tall man who was confused by the hole in his abdomen, knocking him to the cobblestone road with a kick to his throat. She straddled him and she started a flurry of fists on his face. There were several sickening crunches from his face being caved in by a very pissed-off Sade.

Once the big man shook himself from his temporary paralysis, he reached behind where a large two-handed sword was. With his swords at hand, Zoro swooped in again to protect her. The hefty man used his mass to push into his attack against Zoro. A sadistic smile spread across the bearded face of the larger man. Zoro grimaced from the weight of the chunky bastard.

The swordsman steadied his footing and pushed back against his enemy with a low angry growl. He parried the barrage of heavy blows, each metallic strike singing out under the morning sky. It was quite obvious this man was not a fighter. His attacks were beginning to slow almost as soon as they started. The bigger man was getting red in the face as he sweated profusely.

Zoro didn't hesitate, catching the larger blade in the X shape he made with his swords and shoved him back. The beefy man stumbled over his feet and fell on his ass, allowing Zoro to deal the finishing blow. Another clean cut through a scummy person's neck. He was kind of hoping the hulking presence of a man would've been a better opponent. But if one sends nothing but worthless pawns to fight their battles, they will only get weaker.

Sade was hunched over the lanky man, breathing hard with bloodied fists like an animal with a fresh kill. She left the carnage behind and slowly walked to the beach, knelt down in the water, and started washing the blood away. Zoro watched her from where he was, wondering what she was thinking. He never expected her to look so full of rage. She stayed silent when she joined Zoro back on the road. She glanced down at the freshly deceased bodies then met the gaze of the swordsman. The calm was back in her eyes.

"No honor among thieves huh?"

Zoro didn't respond, but he nodded.

"I was raised in a tight-knit environment so even though this was to be expected, it was still infuriating."

"What was that all about? Punching the shit out of your former boss."

She avoided his gaze and pursed her mouth. "I got a little mad alright? I mean they both were sending their own men to their death and not caring a single bit about that. It's disgusting. And I'm disgusted with myself for being a part of that without knowing."

Sade did have a point. That's how the world was sometimes. People blindly fighting for empty promises by rich scumbags. People will do anything for power and money. It was a little surprising to Zoro that someone like her actually had a sense of honor. But it was all over finally.

"What are you going to do now?"

Despite the question being directed towards Sade, he was asking himself the same thing. He had no reason to stay here anymore. Sade turned her eyes down with a finger to her lips. She stayed like that, and her brows knitted together. Seconds passed by before she finally said something.

"I really don't know. Guess it's time to leave."

That was the exact thought Zoro had.

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I'm terrible at action scenes. I'm sorry. And sorry for the mistakes I failed to catch.