CHAPTER 4

Enter Fruit-Picker Ari!

Burglar in the Men's Quarters!

"Finally." Zoro comes to a stop in a small clearing in the forest. "Some peace and quiet." Zoro takes in his surroundings. The trees tower above him, reaching for precious sunlight. A majority of the trees are in their fruit bearing season and the plump fruit weighs down the branches. Beams of light peek down through the treetops in small patches that illuminate the forest floor. In the distance, ocean waves crash against a far-off shore. "Where is everyone? Geez, did those idiots get lost again?" He looks for his friends, wandering aimlessly through the forest. The crashing ocean waves become louder, and underneath it humming echoes through the trees. Suddenly, he walks into another clearing and sees a woman picking fruit on the edge of a cliff.

Shit! He scurries behind a tree and his body thuds against its solid trunk. He peeks around the tree and observes her. She stands on the tips of her toes to reach up for the red fruit. She picks it, and then kneels down to place it gently in her bag. She continues to pick fruit and Zoro concludes that she didn't see him. He leans his head back in relief against the tree, knocking a plump fruit from a high branch that bonks him on the head.

"What the-" he says loudly and rubs his head. He turns his head around the side of the tree, wondering if the girl had heard him.

"Huh?!" The girl whips her head back at the sudden noise. Her movement was so sudden that her still-outstretched arm and her still-reaching hand throw her off balance and she tips toward the cliff. She topples over the edge and into the ocean, catching her foot on her bag, which falls down with her.

"AH! SHIT!" Zoro rushes to the cliff's edge and peers over it. He looks down to the water and tries to spot her. Swearing, he dives in after her. His body scoops under the water's surface and he blinks open his eyes, looking all around for the girl. He spots her steadily sinking a few feet below him, unconscious. He swims down to her and wraps an arm around her waist. He paddles her up to the surface and sets her down gently on the shore.

"Hey, sorry about that." He looks down at her. Crap! That's right she's unconscious! He grasps his hair in his hands. His face drops in denial as he realizes what he has to do. "Alright. I guess that's my only option then." Zoro places both of his palms on her chest and pushes down repeatedly. Her ribs move with each push. After a while of trying this with no luck, he positions his hands on either side of her. He leans forward and presses his mouth to hers, breathing into her. She peeks open one of her eyes, not unconscious after all.

"GET OFF OF ME!" she screams at him and shoves him, sending him flying a few feet. She wipes him off of her lips with the back of her hand. Zoro gives her a shocked and bewildered look.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!" he shouts right back at her. "I WAS ONLY TRYING TO-"

She runs along the shore, kicking up the sand and leaving a trail of dust behind her.

Okay then… Zoro walks in the other direction, presumably where his friends might be, when he trips. He grunts and gets to his feet and dusts himself off. He looks behind him for the source and finds a bag with some bright red fruit as well as some herbs inside. Without thinking about it, he takes the bag in his hand and continues walking. After wandering along the shore, he happens to come across a small, secluded shed and takes a peek inside. The door creaks open and the floorboards groan in protest as he tiptoes along their splintered surface. There's a small bed tucked in the back right corner with a dresser beside it, a fireplace on the left wall, and a square table in the center. Despite the floorboards and walls being partially withered away, the shed seems to be in good condition. There isn't a speck of dust coating any surface, but there are nibbled fruit cores littering the table and clothes thrown about in the room. It's almost like someone lives here or something. A small rectangular object rests on the dresser. Turning it over in his palm, Zoro holds the small object in his hands and finds that it's a broken picture frame. There are dark, dried up droplets on the edges of the shattered glass. The blood stains the picture, giving it an eerie tint. Below the surface of blood is a faint image of a small girl and boy. Both of them hold bamboo swords at their sides and each has an arm wrapped over the shoulder of the other. Zoro looks at the image closer and can barely make out a second, smaller boy in between the other two. That's strange, what's something like this doing on an island of just women? Zoro sets the frame on the dresser face down, just as he found it. He takes his leave, not noticing anything else worth investigating inside the tiny shed.

XXX

After sunset, Zoro finally makes his way back to the village. Luffy and the others are in the center of town, stuffing their faces with all kinds of food as he makes his way over to them. The crackling of the bonfire and the singing of the women as they dance around it give the air a celebratory aura. Luffy, himself, sits at a huge buffet of his own. In front of him are stacked towering piles of meat, and beside him, a pile just as high of dirty dishes. Luffy, with his mouth still full, looks over at Zoro.

"Heyy, Zoro, where were you? You're missing out on all the FOOD!" Luffy waves a chunk of meat in the air and then stuffs it in his face.

"Nowhere."

"More like the middle of nowhere," Usopp whispers under his breath, saying it so quietly that only Chopper hears him. They both start laughing to themselves.

"Nowhere my ass, mosshead. Did you get lost again?" Sanji smirks and then continues eating.

"I wasn't lost, you were. I couldn't find you guys anywhere."

"You see, Zoro, that's why you really shouldn't go running into forests." Nami shakes her head at him. "Oh, cute bag by the way," she laughs. Zoro glowers at the bag still in his hand.

"Yeah... well... I…" Zoro stutters. "Nevermind!" He walks away and runs into Marguerite and asks her where the crew is staying for the night. Having overheard their previous conversation, Marguerite decides to lead him there instead of just giving him directions.

On the way there, they walk in silence. The only sounds around them are the distant singing of the women and the chirping of the crickets hiding in the bushes lining the road. They approach the palace and stall at the gate.

"Well, here we are," Marguerite says. "This is where you'll be staying."

"Thanks." He opens the gate and starts toward the door.

"If you want, I can give that bag back to the original owner."

"No thanks," he says, "I'll give it back to her myself."

"I was only saying that because she doesn't care for pirates much."

"Funny since she's being ruled by one."

Marguerite just shrugs at this. "Well, in either case, whatever you want to do."

"I'll give it to her."

"In that case her name is Ari, she's pretty hard to miss around here." Zoro nods at this and Marguerite walks back down the road to rejoin the celebration.

Zoro walks down the stone path leading to the palace and knocks on the door. He waits for a few minutes, and kicks a stone in his boredom, watching it hit each step going down. After a couple moments, some rustled footsteps are heard and a servant hurriedly opens the door for him. Zoro can't help but notice the veil covering her face.

"This way to your room." She bows her head in respect and leads him up a set of stairs. Before long, she pauses by door with the number one embossed in gold. She ushers him in. The ceiling reaches up at least ten feet and a sparkly chandelier hangs from the center of it. Zoro frowns at the initial girlyness of the room. "Our Empress apologizes for any inconvenience regarding the style of your rooms," the servant explains. "You see, we had very little time to prepare rooms for you and your crew members."

"It's fine," Zoro says. "As long as it has a bed I could care less about what it looks like."

"Good, good." The servant bows once more. "If you need anything, just let us know."

Zoro nods. The servant closes the door with a small click. Zoro throws the girl's bag onto a chair and collapses on the bed from exhaustion. Ari, huh? I'll deal with it tomorrow. For now, I'll... Zoro falls asleep before he can finish his internal conversation.

He dreams that night. He is once again facing Mihawk and his swords are at the ready. They are back on the ocean as they were at the Baratie all those years ago. He unties his bandanna from his left bicep and ties it tightly around his head. The salty ocean breeze lifts his shirt and his hair, but his feet remain solid and steady on a plank of wood. Mihawk is a bit aways, sitting on a wooden reclined chair on a small boat. All of a sudden, Mihawk is face to face with Zoro, only inches away from his face. Mihawk draws a delicate, soft finger along the scar on Zoro's chest. Mihawk's yellow eyes turn greener and give him a curious gaze. What the?!

Zoro is so shocked by the content of his dream that he is sprung wide awake. He flashes open his eyes and sees a girl leaning over him with her finger on his chest. She realizes with a shock that he is awake. She rushes over to the window quickly and jumps outside, her feet landing with an audible thud.

"WHAT THE-" Zoro scrambles out of bed, fumbling and tripping over the covers. As soon as he untangles himself, he rushes over to the window, but by the time he gets there, the girl is nowhere to be seen.