Chapter 6: Don't Throw it Away For Me, Zoro!

A/N! Hey guys! Thanks so so much for all the support for my fluffy, lovey story. Without further adieu.

Chapter 6: Don't throw it away for me, Zoro!

Emi's eyes fluttered open. The room was dark, with only the light from the port hole filtering through. She scanned her room, and immediately noticed the strong body pressed up against her. Its long arms wrapped protectively around her waist, and held her securely. She adjusted her head and when the body tensed around her, she knew he had awoken as well. Emi was too embarrassed to face him, and felt her face burn hot in the dark.

What do I do, what do I do?!

Zoro pulled her in even tighter. She turned to him in a moment of confidence, but immediately regretted her decision when she was met face-to-face with her savior. His hand came up to clumsily tuck her hair back behind her ear, and Emi could feel his hesitation. She looked into his eyes through the dimly lit room, butterflies dancing in her stomach and a face so hot she feared he could feel it.

His fingers lingered on her cheek, and his mouth twitched open like he was about to speak, but instead his lips captured hers again. Emi melted against him, relief and something more washed over her body like a wave engulfing her senses. It left her gasping for hair, and he looked at her pointedly, a little shaky himself.

"Do you have a goal?"

This stopped Emi, she had never thought about it before. Her whole life was the restaurant and learning with her father. She thought hard before answering, a long silent time had passed and she was afraid he'd fallen asleep again. His breathing was rhythmic, on purpose, as if his whole life had been spent training it. Her thoughts wandered to her father and the way he took care of the villagers, how he taught her so much. The look she remembered seeing on her father's face when he would look at her mother— the way it looked as her ship left the harbor that day.

"I do have a goal."

"What?"

"I have a goal!"

"You're slow."

"Ugh, Do you want to hear it or not?!" Emi yelled a little, but quieted when Zoro placed his hand heavily on her cheek.

"I want to save people, and find my mom so that Luffy can find One Piece."

"Okay." Zoro said, almost making a note of it. It made sense, she was a nurse and Luffy had a way of making other people want to help him. Her mother would bring Luffy even closer to One Piece, so in his mind her goal was now his.

"That's it?" She said huffily, a little dejected at his flat response.

"What?"

"Just 'Okay'? No, 'Wow, Emi thats a GREAT goal! You should jump right on that.' " Emi waved her hands a little as she mocked him, and Zoro could feel his eyebrow twitch in irritation.

"Get a better goal and maybe I will." He said off hand, Emi rolled her eyes at the cynicism in his voice.

"Do you have a goal, Zoro? I barely know you and here you are in my bed." Emi slowed at the last part, finding it a little awkward to say. She could've sworn she saw a spark in his eye at this question, but the room was far too dark for that.

"I'm going to be the best swordsman there is. I made a promise, and I will keep it." He said it proudly, a little rehearsed but not lacking conviction. Emi placed the spark now, it was the same in her mother's eye when she left. Her stomach bounced with both pride and worry, deciding that one day she would hold the same conviction. She looked into his eyes a bit longer, still feeling butterflies but completely comfortable. He held her there a moment, then closed his eyes and rolled over to his back. "In my village there was a dojo and there was a girl. She put all her time and effort into honing her abilities. I could never beat her. When she died I made the promise to fulfill her goal of being the best swordsman in the world. Right now only one man stands between me and that title."

"Dracule MiHawk." Emi interrupted, "Mamoru told me the stories of the Seven Warlords." Zoro grabbed Emi's hand and ran it over his chest, she tensed as she felt the rib of a scar under his shirt. "You've faced him."

"And next time I won't lose. For Kuina." He stared off into the dark room, watching as little specks of light danced on the wooden ceiling. Zoro was lost in his thoughts when Emi sat all the way up, propped against his chest and looked down into his eyes.

"Was she special to you?" Emi looked concentrated on what Zoro would say next. How would he even answer that question? Of course she was special to him, but was she 'special'? He took a deep breath and answered honestly.

"Yes, she was."

"Then I will do whatever I can to help you reach your goal. In her honor." Emi was a little jealous of this girl who so motivated the man she found so irresistible, but knew that anyone so deserving of his afflictions must be someone worth honoring. Her goal was to help people and she could find no one more deserving than the man who saved her life time and time again. Zoro was a little taken aback, this girl kept surprising him and with every moment she ingrained herself further into his life. He had spent the last three weeks nothing short of stalking her, thinking about her when she was gone and practically fantasizing about her. How was it that a women could have this power over him?

Witch woman.

"How long have we been in here? Are the others back? I should go get my stuff from the deck." Zoro hadn't notice Emi stand up and go to light the candles in the room. "Oh! Did you get these for me?" She spotted her bags next to her wardrobe, and beside them was the box from her gift, as well as Zoro's three swords.

"Its been a few hours. After you fell asleep I decided to replace the blade in my sword. I haven't heard anyone come back on board. I wouldn't be surprised if they all went to get dinner. We could go find them." He offered, sitting himself up and looking at her in the newly lit room.

"Yeah, sure! I need to change first though. I finally have my own things again!" Emi sang, pulling wads of fabric from the shopping bags and throwing them on the bed. Zoro stood to leave, Emi fully distracted by her new clothes. As he opened the door, Emi stopped him. "Don't get too far, okay?"

Zoro nodded, and stepped right outside the door, closing it behind him. He thought about what he'd just experienced with this girl, this woman. His eyes glazed over and pictures of her sleeping filled his vision. Her breathe was shallow and consistent, little noises escaped her lips when she would snuggle closer into him. He wasn't sure what this feeling was but his heart raced and suddenly standing outside the door was too great a distance to bare. Zoro debated bursting through the door and taking Emi in his arms, but before he could, it opened.

Emi stepped out in a new outfit. It was an almost floor length dress that wrapped around her slim figure with red and blue embroidered flowers. It had elbow length sleeves that draped gracefully over her arms, it looked beautiful. Emi blinked at him, "Uh, Hello? Are you in there? What's going—" He grabbed her a kissed her hard.

His arms laced around her tiny waist once more, finding their home and trapping her in what could only be described as a passionate embrace. Emi deepened their kiss and entwined her fingers into Zoro's hair, pulling him even closer. Her lips parted, making an entrance for him and hungrily she accepted his lips between hers. Slowly, she flicked her tongue over his bottom lip and a deep groan erupted from his body. His weight pushed her back in to her room, and his foot kicked the door shut, looking into Emi's eyes for permission to advance. When she jumped into his arms, he knew she was ready. He carried her to the bed, and sat her down in front of him, she sat on the edge, and could only just reach his lips when he looked down to her.

His fingers traced over her chest and under her dress, pushing it down and exposing her shoulders and arms. He kissed up from her elbow and over her shoulder toward her breasts. Emi lifted his head back up to hers, and feathered her fingers over his cheeks. She looked into his eyes, lust thick between them. "I've never… I've never done this before." She squeaked, looking down and as she admitted her lack of experience. Her hands dropped to her lap, and nervously her fingers fidgeted against her dress between them.

BOOM

The room shook violently, and tossed the couple to the ground. Thunderous ripping tore through the ship, deafening Emi and Zoro and tossing them through the room, they both clawed their way under the bed.

Emi lifted in an effort to orient herself to the room, but as soon as she did a hard smack shook the room again and something crashed into the back of her head. She brought her hand up to nurse the wound and was met with a hot and sticky liquid. Pulling her hand into view, she saw the liquid that coated her fingers was a deep red and then darkness engulfed her vision.

It went quiet, and the room all but disappeared. She was only aware of the pain, and vaguely aware of the man yelling her name from somewhere in the distance.

"Zoro?"

"Emi, I'm here. Are you okay?"

There wasn't a reply, and Zoro feared the worst. He begged the turbulence to stop so he could go to her, but it continued. Soon, he inched his way to her and reached out a hand to close the rest of the distance. He didn't feel her chest moving, and he was terrified that her devil fruit would fail her. Blood rushed from her head, and pooled between them quickly.

"Emi!" He pleaded, hoping that something would give, but the blood continued to rush toward him. Her eyes remaining still and closed, her chest still and her extremities were limp.

"No, You can't die. Not now." His arm locked around the leg of the bed, attached to the floor, and hefted himself the rest of the way to her. He immediately took her head in his hand, searching for the wound but not finding it. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and put his forehead to hers. He sat there waiting for the end of the attack, and when it finally came he relaxed. He couldn't move, but he relaxed. Soon the exhaustion over took him, and be pleaded with the universe that someone would find them quickly. But the darkness came first.

"Zoro! Emi!"

Zoro was surrounded by a dark fog, little pin points of light interrupted the darkness. His arm reflexively shot out to the sound of his friends' voices, pushing through the thick air engulfing him. Chopper? Nami?

The fog twisted around his finger tips, his limbs disappearing slowly into the haze. Panic came over the swordsmen and images flew before his disintegrating body.

Yellow eyes pierced him, causing his chest and abdomen to ache. The eyes morphed into a silhouette of the moment Hawk Eyes slashed his chest on the deck of the Baratie. He flinched, reliving the moment, but pushed his semi-corporeal body toward Dracule Mihawk challenging him again.

As he reached his hand out to take a fistful of Mihawk's jacket, he was replaced by a pair of little eyes in front of him. They pulled shame and guilt from his heart, but those emotions were replaced with conviction and pride. He watched as they carried her away again, tears streaming down his face. He screamed his promise to her again, hugging himself back together.

Then there were dead eyes, the worst of the images, they were a glazed over chocolate brown. Sweet by memory but completely gut-wrenching in front of him. Any composure over himself was lost, "Emi!" He roared her name. He willed for the twinkle to return to those eyes, begged God to return the woman he held such a strong connection with so quickly and so entirely.

"Zoro, wake up PLEASE!"

He shot up from the ground, following the sound of her voice and pulling the small arms on his chest closer into himself. Zoro crashed his lips into hers, ignoring the dizzying in his head. When he felt her body push further into him, his breath released in a deep growl of relief. When he pulled back and traced his fingers over her face, she saw a bloody and completely disheveled mess. Her dress was ripped and stained with the same dark-red substance.

"I thought you were dead." He whispered into her lips, not daring let go of her.

"We almost were." Zoro noticed the weakness in her now, her slouch and airy words. The shaking in her fingers as she ran her hands over her dress to smooth it out as best she could. He finally looks around the room, and saw Chopper and Nami pale faced beside them.

"The ship was attacked, Luffy and the others are outside. Its the men from the Sword shop, they came after Emi's money." Chopper breathed out, unsure of what to say. Nami reached out to Emi when her eyes widened and began to water.

"This is my fault?" Emi questioned, guilt engulfing her entire body. She had killed her father, and now risked the lives of the people who saved her all because she wasn't more careful with her money? Her eyes stung as the tears came, but before they could fall Zoro was standing in front of her.

"No. Its the fault of the men who attacked us." He growled, tying his bandanna over his sweaty forehead. He went to the door, and ignored Emi as she protested. He had to face the men who had put his woman in danger, the men who dared cross Roronoa Zoro, the Demon himself.

His legs moved with such a force; he didn't feel in control. The hall way passed him by, pictures and candles on their side or on the ground completely. Zoro reached the door and pushed it open without hesitation. His eyes met an empty deck with broken tree limbs and splintered wood covering it.

"Give us the money and none of 'yuns gets hurt, ya feel me?" The man, Zoro assumed, was from the shop where Emi had purchased his new blade. Zoro smirked at the thought of killing him with it.

"Look, we don't have any money! Not that we'd give it to you anyway, Nami would kill us!" Luffy yelled as he dodged.. a cannon ball? Zoro thought, The men who own a sword shop brought a CANNON?!

Turning the corner, a 6-story tall black, iron cannon came into view. The swordsman wondered how he'd missed it. How to defeat a cannon? Luffy saw him and cheered that he was okay, Ussop used him as an excuse to retreat. Sanji didn't take his raised eyebrow off the giant armory as he panted, out of breath from battle and Franky stood murderous on a broken piece of mast.

"You're gonna regret attacking this ship, bro." Franky's normally light hearted voice, weighed down with the thoughts of his life's work laying broken beneath him, turned into a low rumble at the word 'Bro.' Zoro's demented smirk widened when he saw his crew-mate share his anger, thankful to have back up if the situation escalated.

"Zoro, that man is strong. Be careful." Sanji warned.

His eyes scouted the area, the man holding the firing mechanism of the cannon was large, but the skinny man behind him seem to do all the talking. He'd be easy to kill once he got to him, but this large man was a wild card. He put off the intense energy but didn't reveal much of what he was capable of while firing the cannon at Luffy.

"That broad in the store today had thousands, if not millions a'berries in a bank bag. I saw it, and I saw her run back 'ere, hours ago." His eyes shifted to the new comer, "Ahh, You must be the man she came in for, see your likin' that blade she picked out. I'll let you keep it, I can make a thousand more with all the dough your girl was totin'." The man's eyes fell on the sword already unsheathed in Zoro's palm. His fingers gripped it tighter.

Zoro lunged at the skinny man with the big mouth, his body moved so fast it was impossible to watch, but as he reached close enough to cut him, the large man jumped in front of him. Zoro's blade sliced through the man, deep, causing a gush of blood to cover the ground in front of him. Zoro laughed as the man fell to the ground, lost to a murderous hunger for revenge. He never stopped going, finally reaching the skinny man. His arms lifted the blade high into the air, positioning himself for a perfect shot at the man's jugular.

"ZORO, WATCH OUT!"

His head flipped around as the large man sunk a long dagger into the middle of his back. The shock threw Zoro to his knees, Luffy flung himself at the man who'd stabbed his first mate.

"Gum, Guuum Rocket!"

He connected to the man, and sent him flying backwards, digging into the earth beneath him. Luffy steadied himself and they watched in horror as the man stood again. He didn't bother to wipe the blood steadily trickling down his face, but Luffy wiped the sweat from his brow.

"What is he?" Sanji questioned, he'd not only lived through two of the most powerful attacks in the sea, but he was standing as if nothing had happened. Earlier, he kicked one of those cannon balls right back at him with no reaction. It'd simply crushed as it hit him.

"Oh, wouldn't ya like to know." The skinny man laughed out loud at the crew before him, he definitely had the upper hand in this match. How'd these fools even get all that money? They had to be the worst Pirates he had ever seen. He had no idea why their bounties were so high. "How did you people even manage to get a bounty? You're weak as hell!" He laughed louder. "Well, seein' as how you'll never defeat him I can tell you my secrets. You'll all be dead shortly."

Zoro twitched at the man's words, unable to disprove them. Each member of the straw hat pirates readied themselves for the worst; Chopper, Nami and Emi creeping from below deck to watch the fight. They positioned themselves on deck, and Emi cringed at the condition of the man she had been going into bed with only hours before, what her actions had done to him. She wanted to run to him, heal his wounds and run away, but she knew him. He'd never be happy until he defeated his enemy, she hoped no one else would die because of her.

"He's a robot! I built him to do some grunt work, but realized he's so much more fitting as a body guard!"

"A robot?" Chopper said, taking in the meaning.

"A… robot? A robot doesn't bleed. What have you done? YOU MONSTER!" Franky yelled and charged at the man, locking arms with the mysterious body guard instead. "You don't have to fight for him, bro! I'm a cyborg, too! You can be free!" Franky pleaded with the emotionless face in front of him. The man broke Franky's grasp and went to punch him in the jaw. Franky dodged and grabbed his arm again. Franky pleaded with him to only speak to him, "Show me you're still in there!"

"You can't reason with it! It's fully under my control!" He laughed manically at the blue haired surfer trying to talk to his weapon like a person.

While they were distracted, Emi got an idea.

"Zoro, you have to take out the store owner! Once you do the other man will be free of his control!" Zoro took the opportunity Franky set for him by distracting the other Cyborg. He charged at the store owner full force, reaching him before his body guard had time to break contact with the Shipwright. Zoro slashed the man almost in half with the force of his rage. As the man fell, so did his creation. Franky took him into his arms as he dropped, already crying for his almost companion.

"Bro! Are you there? Come on, speak to me!"

Emi ran from the ship to where the two were kneeling, Zoro tried to stop her but she ignored him to run to her newest patient. She ran until she was on her knees with her hands on either side of that large man's head. She closed her eyes and felt for his soul.

Everyone was quiet.

They shifted uncomfortably as energy visibly left Emi, they all wanted to know whether the man was human or not. She felt part of herself enter his body, and she willed the torn skin and muscles to heal but they wouldn't. She willed herself to find his soul, but she couldn't. Her eyes fluttered open, and tears fell as she shook her head.

"I'm not sure when he died, but he isn't here anymore."

Franky punched the dirt. Emi took him in her arms.

"This isn't you, Franky. We don't know him, maybe he was dying like you were. Maybe this gave him a little bit more life. Don't beat yourself up, we tried to save him. We did." Emi had gotten to know Franky over the last three weeks as she had watched him maintain the beautifully crafted ship. She was never less than amazed at the small details he could accomplish with such a large body. He had also told her his story, how he came to be, how to he came to become a Straw Hat pirate.

"Thank you, sis."

When they pulled away, Emi stood and turned to the man with green moss hair. She stood a few steps away, unwilling to close the distance. She was afraid that if she touched him, she would heal him before she could stop herself, and she didn't want to do it without his permission. They stared into each others' eyes, completely unsure of what to do next.

"Oi, just fuck already." Sanji said as he turned toward the ship.

"STUPID COOK, FUCK YOU!" Zoro yelled before taking Emi by the arm and pulling her toward the ship as well.

The Sunny had a hole in the side the size of one giant cannon ball. It hadn't penetrated very deep as Emi learned Luffy had been wrapped around it at time of impact, but it definitely prevented the ship from sailing today. Nami's trees wore bent branches and had lost tangerines, but were still alive. None of the bedrooms, bathrooms or the kitchen were damaged meaning the crew could still stay aboard during repairs. They went to work cleaning the damage, and Chopper offered to treat Zoro's back.

Emi let him go without hesitation, straying to her room before anyone could say anything. All she could think of was how this was entirely her fault. She couldn't stand seeing their faces, she knew they must hate her. This woman from nowhere who'd shown up and caused so much trouble. By the time she reached her room, she had already decided to leave.

The damage to her room was minimal, she began to gather up what items she still had. Emi threw all the clothes into her scuffed and dented suitcase, and went to the desk to retrieve her books. Pulling open the drawer she was thankful her ink well had been sealed tightly, she handled her notebook with care. Thumbing the pages from the islands they had visited, reminiscing about all the memories she had made in three weeks.

Luffy had probably eaten a million pounds of food, and sang until his throat was sore every night. Luffy, Ussop and Franky had made her laugh, made her feel at home. When they had asked her to join the Straw Hats, she was sure they didn't know what they were taking on. Nami had helped her through the loss of her father, if Nami knew anything, it was how to grieve and move on. Emi felt so guilty about all those lost tangerines, she knew they meant so much to Nami. Sanji and Chopper had taken her abilities, without her abilities, to a whole new level. Chopper had shown her treatments from his island that had never been attempted in her home town. She was not happy about cutting her lessons short, but to face him or Sanji who had taught her so much about cooking would be impossible.

She wrapped the book in the fabric Zoro's gift had been in.

"Zoro."

She said his name out loud, having forgotten all about him. Her savior. The man who had changed her life that day he stopped to help her with a simple errand. An errand that seemed so far away now, from a life so far gone. She wanted so badly to ask her dad what to do, beg him to make her decisions and hold her close.

Emi thought of when Zoro held her close, when she had woken up in his arms and how sweet it had felt. She honestly didn't know what he must think of her; he'd been shot at, nearly blown up and now attacked by a gigantic cannon and a cyborg/robot assassin. What else would happen to him with her around? If he died because of her, he'd never reach his goal. She wouldn't be the reason the world's greatest swordsman never realized that dream.

That made up her mind.

When she was sure no one was around, she ran to take a shower and change. She slipped her ripped and stained kimono off her body, leaving it beside the shower door. Emi turned on the water, feeling steam fill the room and her lungs, bringing with it a sweet and relaxed relief. She stepped under the water's gentle caress, closing her eyes and willing the world to stop. Her fingers danced over the parts of her body covered in bruises and flecked away at the dried blood that covered them. Her long brown hair fell from it's disheveled bun and red mixed with water as it drained from the ship. She stood in the warmth until it began to turn cold, and made her way out as she turned off the water.

She had a new fluffy purple towel with a large red flower that she had purchased from the shop earlier, and she tucked it around herself. Before leaving the shower room she threaded her hair into long braids to dry, then tied them into a bun on the back of her head. She ducked her head out of the door, and peered down both sides of the hallway. It was clear.

Emi bee lined for her room, and leaned against the inside of her closed door when she finally made it. She walked to the bed and rifled through her clothes, still in the suitcase. Her fingers stopped at a white, tight fitted t-shirt and a yellow pencil skirt with red flowers embroidered into it. She slipped her feet into elevated sandals and pushed her arms through a crisp white cardigan, similar to a doctor's coat.

Emi zipped her suitcase and threw it off the bed in front of her. She took one last look around the room that could've been hers forever and checked the hallways for anyone. She walked sadly toward the back of the ship sneaking out from a door under deck. The moment her foot stepped on sand, she wished Zoro was here to help her with her bag. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she decided it'd be the last one.