Credit to the original story goes to Nami Krone. I am just rewriting, as well as continuing their story.

I changed some things that are different from the original story, however I will do my best to stay as true to the original fanfiction, as well as the original characters by Eiichiro Oda. I just changed it because 1, it was a bit difficult to understand some of the author's descriptions of certain situations, such as scenery. 2, this is how I imagined it as I was reading, and because of that, it will hopefully improve the writing quality (in my opinion, at least). And 3, I just want it to be this way. It sounds selfish, but it's just how I feel. Also, I changed the setting of the story to Japan! Why? Because why not.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Eiichiro Oda, and (again) the original story belongs to Nami Krone!

Chapter 1: New Girl in School

Zoro had been standing outside the entrance door of the school. Ominous dark clouds hovered above the sky, leadening, not only the usually bright blue sky, but the atmosphere out in the busy courtyard. The green haired teen had been waiting in the middle of the open area for his tardy friends.

Zoro's dark eyes scanned the eerie courtyard. The fully grown sakura* trees were in full bloom, though their pink petals were uncharacteristically dull. Nonetheless, the trees were fully bloomed, and that meant one thing: the start of a new school year. There were some… familiar faces, and others, not so much. Zoro was a second year student, and, despite his reputation from previous years, some still had the nerve to walk up to him. Most, if not all, of which were girls. His eyes examined the schoolyard once more, still though, no sign of his friends. What he did recognize were the loud whispers of gossip. Barely even twenty minutes into the school year, and the students were already gossiping about his friend group… gang, if you will.

Said group consisted of three members: Sanji Vinsmoke, a perverted second year whose love for women earned him the alias "gentleman". Monkey D. Luffy, an idiot with an adventurous spirit. His possessiveness of his straw hat had earned him his nickname: "Straw hat". And the last member of the trio was Roronoa Zoro. A prodigy kendōka*, and master of three sword style. He had always shown interest in becoming a police officer growing up, though as he grew up, he grew more violent. Still though, his nickname derived from his aspiration. "Criminal hunter". The group was known as the Monster Trio, seeing as how it was made up of strong and equally cruel students. Although the viciousness of the three was definitely accentuated thanks to some rumors.

A vein sprouted on Zoro's large forehead as he dug his large hand into his pocket, only to reveal he had taken out his phone. Despite his calm appearance, he irritably dialed Luffy's phone number. He held it up to his ear, and after a second or two of ringing, he had reached said person.

"Hey, Zoro! Where are you?" another, more prominent vein appeared on his tan forehead.

"Where am I?! Where the hell are you? I've been waiting in the damn courtyard for twenty minutes now!" Aggravation practically seethed, though the anger didn't entirely register with Luffy. Instead, he laughed it off.

"I'm almost at the gate! Gramps found out that I ate his lunch, so he made me stay a bit later." Luffy laughed off that last part, but replaying his punishment in his head was too painful. Just barely talking about it made the teen want to shiver with fear. "Is Sanji with you?" Luffy asked. They usually never cross paths on their way to school, seeing as how Sanji both worked and lived on the other side of town, so unless it was deliberate, they wouldn't have crossed paths.

"That damn ero-cook isn't here either! He's probably hitting on every woman he passes on the streets." Zoro spat bitterly. It was safe to say that the two didn't have the best relationship.

Luffy could only let out a chuckle as he briskly ran between oncoming cars when he crossed the road. Maybe it wasn't the safest decision, but Luffy was an impatient boy, and waiting for a light to change color was out of the question. "Don't get lost when you head to class, Zoro! Luffy reminded. That reminder was the signal that they were at the end of their call, but before either one could hang up, Luffy relayed one last message: "And make sure you stick to your promise; No bullying!"

"Yeah, yeah" Zoro grunted, and he immediately hung up.

As aforementioned, Zoro had quite a reputation. And that reputation wasn't the best. He was known as the bully all throughout junior high, and first year of highschool. But still, that didn't stop the girls from going wild or the gossip to cease. His father was the owner of the school, and even still, none of his delinquent-like behavior had ever been reported to his guardian, for reasons he could only guess were affected by the amount of fear he inflicted to each of his victims, as well as bystanders.

But this year was going to be different. He made a promise to his upperclassman, Tashigi. The bullying would stop. He would make sure of it.

As if on cue, tons of rain came plunging down onto the stone ground as soon as his memory of his senpai* left his brain. The mutely colored blossoms flew in the subtle wind that readjusted the rain's direction. Stray petals stuck to the wet ground.

Zoro continued to watch the scene before him. Of course he was aware of the immense amount of water that fell on him every millisecond that went by, but he didn't care about that. It was water, it wasn't going to kill him. Though it seemed like the majority of the students in the courtyard thought so. Tons and tons of students ran into the building with every second that went by, using their satchel like bags as makeshift protection.

The scene was almost enough to make Zoro smirk in amusement. Inwardly, he compared them to livestock, rushing into a barn before a storm hit. It was quite hilarious, but it seemed his entertainment would soon be interrupted.

"Oomph!" something, or rather, someone had run into him. "Ow" the voice quietly muttered as they lightly placed their fingers on their irritated nose.

Zoro turned his head around to see who had bumped into him.

He gave the girl a once over while she was still distracted by her injured nose. Her long and very light brown hair was tied back. Her bangs covered her eyes, though he spotted some small freckles dotted around her cheeks. She wore the average uniform; a white blazer top with a maroon colored sweater vest overneath, and on top of all that was the school's black blazer, along with the black colored skirt that fell down to just above her knees.

Her head slowly tilted up as a small yet formal apology escaped her lips. But she didn't even get to finish it, because before she could even finish the word "sorry", she locked eyes with the one and only Roronoa Zoro.

She gasped heavily as her dark brown eyes shrank in shock. "I-I'm so sorry, Zoro-kouhai*!" she yelled. And without a second left to spare, her back immediately stiffened, as well as her limbs. She bent her back to a perfect 90 degree angle. Her hands shook ferociously as they tightly held onto the sides of her skirt, grasping it as tightly as she could, as if it were her lifeline.

Everyone had stopped, even in the pouring rain, to look and comment on the spectacle.

"I can't believe she was so careless as to run into Zoro. What bad luck" one student murmured to their friend group. The other four in the small circle silently nodded their heads to agree.

"She is definitely going to get bullied this year!" another noted to himself, aloud.

"Zoro is going to make her school year hell!"

"Is he seriously going to torment his senpai*?!"

Everyone's remarks blew in the wind like a stray sakura petal. Lost in the barrage of all the others. Each one just as astray as the other. But even with everyone's comments whirling around the two, along with the loud downpour, all he could focus on was the just barely audible whimpering of the girl in front of him.

It was true. Ever since he had made the promise to Tashigi, he had noticed how humane he grew with each and every passing day. And that day was no exception. Which is why he wasn't surprised or startled by the words that creeped out of his smirking mouth. "Don't worry about it".

Those four words made her stand back up, though she was still just as tense as before, this time she just wasn't bowing. "T-thank you, Zoro-sama*!"

Everyone inwardly agreed that she was just extremely lucky. But instead of focusing on the audience he had gathered, or the way her shaky legs just barely supported her as she frantically ran to shelter, all he could focus on was the very fast honorific change. 'Sama..?' to be called that by a senpai was certainly something worth bragging about… of course if the context had been different.

Once everyone from the audience had left after realizing the show was over, Zoro couldn't help but bring his attention over to the gate where students continued to shuffle in. Still though, no sign of Luffy, or that ero-cook. But there was a particular person who caught his attention though. Although it seemed she had just arrived based on the fact she had barely walked a foot away from the gate. Zoro was used to stares by now. Whether it was because his unnatural hair color had made people curious, or his violent actions had drawn a crowd. But this one… this stare was different. It was less a stare, and more a glare. Her cold brown eyes pierced his heart, and he hated the feeling. The stare annoyed him interminably. It was as if she was mocking him from far away. But with just a single glance. A single stare. Her gait was quick and never ceased, along with her staring.

"Stop staring at me, and I'll forgive you"... is what his mind instructed, but as she neared closer and closer, her stare penetrated deeper and deeper into his eyes, and even worse, his heart.

'I'm sorry, Luffy. But I can't keep my promise,' Zoro thought again. It wasn't exactly the right person to apologize to, but he wasn't too far off.

Since her cold eyes were locked with his, she failed to notice the outstretched foot Zoro had put in her path, and sure enough, her foot got caught in his obstacle. She fell down to the wet ground, only suffering minor injuries, such as a scraped knee and hand. But she didn't say anything. She muttered a small groan of pain, though it was heard by no one. And sure enough, a bombardment of laughter soon filled the courtyard.

Zoro slipped his leg back as if nothing had happened. He glowered down at her, a smirk growing larger and larger by the second.

The red head stayed on the ground for a few extra seconds before maneuvering her legs to stand back up, which she had no problem doing. She nonchalantly patted any dirt or dust off of her skirt.

"So, would you mind explaining why you did that?" she lifted her head to face Zoro's. He inwardly cringed after being faced with those dark eyes yet again. Her voice annoyed Zoro to no end. It wasn't nasally or too high or low, but it was calm and collected. Much more than any of his victims' ever had been.

"Huh?" Zoro blandly snarled "Why do you care? It already happened. Nothing you can do about it," It was said so nonchalantly that it resulted in the red haired girl to gasp in odium.

Normally he would walk away at this point. He did what he had to do, and now that it was done, he had no reason to stay. But for some reason, he didn't. His feet stayed planted on the ground, and his eyes stayed on her.

She started to walk towards Zoro. Each long and aggressive step closed the gap between the two.

"Hm?" Zoro questioned himself. Most people would have run away in embarrassment after being publicly humiliated like that. Another one of Zoro's cocky smirks appeared on his face and grew as he became so sure of his own thoughts 'she won't do anything. She can act tough all she wants, but when i-'

Suddenly, he was cut off from his own thoughts when something hard collided with his cheek. The impact immediately brought Zoro out from his ridiculous stupor. And there she was; the girl he was so arrogant as to ignore stood with her fist tightly closed and pressed up against his cheek, and her other hand gripping the collar of his shirt, bending him down slightly so she could reach his face, which was much too high for her to reach.

The cold feeling of her fingers pushed up on his cheek felt nice, but when she quickly pulled away, all that he felt was pain.

His eyes widened in shock. Something like this had only ever happened once, except that time had resulted in much less physical pain.

The audience from before hadn't left. Everyone in the courtyard watched and murmured in shock.

"Did she seriously just punch Zoro?!"

"That first year has guts!"

"I can't believe someone actually punched him!"

Their murmurs were loud. Actually, they were practically the only thing he could hear. Not even the never ending rain could disguise their voices. Then he focused back on the witch that stood in front of him. Her eyes were still as cold as before, and the pain in his cheek increased more than he had ever expected.

"Why'd you punch me?" The answer didn't need to be said. He already knew, but still, he couldn't keep himself from holding the question back.

A silent chuckle came from her. A small yet brazen smirk replaced her tired frown. "Why do you care? It already happened. Nothing you can do about it" she replied cheekily. She had copied what he said earlier. Word for word. He felt his face burn red with exasperation.

"Damn you!" Zoro bent down to come face to face with her. His rough hands grabbed on tightly to the loose collar of her shirt, just like she had done earlier. He inched his face closer and closer to hers which didn't faze her one bit.

Her malicious smirk turned back into the bored, sullen lower. "Get out of my face" she casually closed her eyes and placed her small hands onto his own. The touch made him twitch inwardly. She peeled his hands off her collar so easily, even though he had been holding on as tight as he held his wado ichimonji- a parting gift from an opponent.

With his large, grubby hands off her uniform, she casually walked past Zoro, ignoring the whispers and murmurs circling around the courtyard. The rainwater that soaked her dripped from the ends of her short hair and her drenched clothes. Still though, the chill from the wind and the circulating gossip did nothing to phase her.

A single pink blossom that was caught in the tight grasp of the wind flew perfectly into the redhead's hair. She picked out the pink flower and let it sit in her palm as she observed it. But without waiting for any more inspection, the wind picked up again, flying back into the world. As did the petal, the girl continued on. However, the wind seemed to have other plans for the small flower, because it soon landed straight into the face of Zoro. Still angered, he grabbed the fragile flower with his whole hand and ripped it off. Without even giving it a look, he threw it on the ground. The blossom stuck to the wet stone, like an insect stuck in a spider's web.

His eyes stared at the blossom that stayed on the ground next to his foot. The wind was unable to pick it back up. Still though, no matter how much the petals blew in the wind, they would never come unstuck from the ground. Not until the clouds changed back to their white color and the water dried up. He looked up from the flower, and in the corner of his eyes, he eyed the red haired girl that was almost at the entrance doors. He wasn't entirely sure how long he would continue staring, at least until his friend finally showed up.

"Zoro! Were you waiting long?" Luffy had a bright smile on his face. As always. Even when the sun was nowhere to be found, and the sky was a monotone grey hue. His head turned to his lifelong friend in front of him. The bright smile had some effect on Zoro, because he soon found his anger simmering down.

"So, where's curly brow?" Zoro asked. It wasn't usual for him to ask about Sanji's whereabouts, but it could hurt to have some information about that idiot.

"My love for you is endless, like this pouring rain"

It seemed the curly browed teen was closer than they thought.

"Oi, love cook, get over here!" Zoro shouted, fully aware that it wasn't the best moment to intervene.

Sanji cringed when he heard Zoro's voice, and reluctantly turned around with an annoyed face, only to see Zoro, bored and standing with his arms crossed next to Luffy waving his arm frantically.

"What was that, marimo?" Sanji's face turned disgusted, having to look at Zoro.

"What are you? Deaf?" Zoro retorted, which angered Sanji even more.

"You want to fight, moss head?" Sanji was aware he had just ignored Zoro's previous question and replaced it with one of his own, but he was itching to fight, and who better to fight than Zoro.

Sanji flung himself at Zoro, one of his long legs coming straight at him like an arrow. Zoro squared his shoulders and put his forearms to right in front of his large chest to block the kick. The fights were repetitive and were always brought on for the most insignificant reasons, but still, everyday, you would find them fighting with each other at least once.

Luffy just laughed with no intention of splitting the two up from their both physical and verbal brawl. The girl Sanji had stopped in the rain to woo quickly ran away, hoping to not get anymore involved or soaked.

A few minutes passed with nothing but fighting, but when the number of students entering the courtyard and the school decreased and the teacher who was standing at the gate's glare intensified along with the rain, they decided to call it a day.

"So, Zoro, how'd you get punched?" Sanji asked cooly as he slid the wrapper of a lollipop and inserted the candy into his mouth. He was a smoker, but it helped relieve his urges to smoke during class.

"Huh?" Zoro touched the wound lightly. It didn't hurt, not until you touched it. It was red for the moment, but it would surely turn to a deep purple as time went on. "It's nothing." he never elaborated, and both Luffy or Sanji wanted to ask as the atmosphere grew tense.

Sanji sighed heavily. "Alright, well let's head in before it's too late." he suggested as he took the first step. Luffy trudged behind.

And Zoro finally took his first step since arriving in the courtyard about thirty minutes ago. Though on his first step, his large foot completely enveloped the small cherry blossom. When it lifted off the ground, the flower was flat. One of its pale petals had completely separated itself, and the other four petals still left were completely stuck to the wet ground. They were creased, and their pristine shape became sullied with the dirt on both the ground and the sole of his shoe.

And with each step he took, the farther and farther away he became, leaving the destroyed blossom in the distance.

I marked certain words with asterisks to explain what they mean, which will hopefully improve your reading experience. I will do my best to explain their meaning, so if I mess up, please notify me, and I will make a change.

Sakura: Cherry blossom

Kendōka: A practitioner of kendo.
Note: I will be calling Zoro a swordsman here and there because a kendōka is also known as a kenshi, and kenshi means swordsman

Kouhai: A junior involved in the same business or organization as you. E.g. work, school, industries

Senpai: An honorific used when someone is older or has more experience than you

Sama: An honorific given to someone of high status or respect