Well! Here is the TashigiXZoro request I got from bonehead1st! I hope this is around what you were asking for! I kind of wrote it by a rough summary I came up with, but I liked how it went!
I may not get in another story today because I am running a 103 degree fever and I still have to work at 10 tonight, so sorry to anyone who is waiting! I will try to get them in as soon as possible!
Hope you like the story! R&R!
"A Marine huh?" A pirate said with an evil smile as he looked down at the dark haired woman.
Tashigi glared back at the pirate like he was a plague on the world. She was strapped to the chair by ropes around her legs and arms, and bruises were already visible on her cheek and arms where they had already hit her.
Tashigi cursed herself at her thoughtlessness; how could she even think she could take all of the pirates on her own? She had been walking with Smoker, but he had some important business to do with an informant, so she was left on her own. When she saw the group of Rose pirates walking through town like nothing was wrong, she had to take care of them.
"Isn't she the one who's usually walking around with that Smoker guy?" One of them asked, bending forward and looking at her face carefully.
"Yeah!"
The pirates all looked at one another, smirking wickedly at one another. They all turned on her, some bringing out their weapons and the others cracking their knuckles.
"Now, just give us what we want and we won't hurt you." The front pirate told her, flashing a dagger at her with shadowed eyes.
"All we want is some information on the Marine's." Another said, closing in on her with the first one.
Tashigi gritted her teeth, determination about keeping the Marine's secrets safe keeping her mouth closed for the time being. But the moment she felt the dagger go through her clothes and to her skin, the fire flaring up from the small cut was already eating her away.
Zoro let out a big yawn as he walked through the streets of the latest island they came upon. He rubbed the back of his head, a nap calling to him as he looked around. He thought he was going in the right direction where Nami told them all to meet up, but he guess he was wrong because he was suddenly in front of a building nowhere near the town.
"Shit! Lost again," He mumbled to himself, draping an arm over his swords and looking around the empty space.
He wasn't sure how to get back to where he began, and he definitely didn't know how to get to the meet up from where he was. Curse him and his directionally challenged mind! He frowned heavily and dragged his hand down his face, irritated at himself for being so bad at going places. He looked at the building once more and shrugged, thinking, if anything, he could get some directions from them, or even a ride.
As he got closer the building he could hear laughter and the sound of flesh hitting one another. A slight groan came after the hit and made Zoro's gut twist in revolt at the sound. It was definitely a woman that was groaning in there.
He narrowed his eyes and kicked the door open, letting the dirt settle from the air as a small group of pirates stared back at him. He looked past them at the slumped figure of a woman in a chair, covered in scraps, bruises, and cuts. Her clothes were torn and her hair was disheveled, showing they put her through hell before he arrived there.
"Don't you know only scum beat on women?" Zoro growled, flicking the top of his sword out of its sheath and letting the shadows cover over his eyes. His anger was past the boiling point at the thought of someone laying a hand on a woman, friend or not.
"Its! Its!"
"Roronoa Zoro!"
The pirates stared with wide frightful eyes as Zoro took out his swords and held them up to the pirates. He took two steps before he spun in a twister like motion, landing on the other side of them. They flew around in the air before landing on the ground with slight slashes on their bodies. Deep enough to scare them, but hardly deep at all to cause pain.
"Oi!" Zoro said, shaking the woman's shoulder gently.
She groaned a bit in the chair, making Zoro retract his hand from her. He could hear some of the pirates already recovering from the small cuts, realizing they were fine. He let out a small tsk before cutting her ropes and hoisting her up into his arms. Her head hit his shoulder as he carried her past the men and out the doors, walking through the vacant space until he luckily happened upon the town.
"A fence?" Zoro asked himself, not remembering one when he left. He let out a small sigh and took a couple steps back before running quickly towards the fence and using the boxes by it as leverage up into the air before landing on the other side.
"What?" Tashigi asked from the jostling. Her wide eyes focused on the blur holding her, seeing the man crouched on the ground with her still in his arms. "Who are you?"
Zoro finally looked down at the dark haired woman he saved and nearly choked on his own breath at the realization of who it was he just saved. He mentally smacked himself as first saw Kuina flash before his eyes, and then the dawning of it actually being the Marine swordsman who looks exactly like his childhood friend.
Zoro coughed into his shoulder, changing his voice into a deeper tone so she didn't recognize his voice. "Just hold on." He commanded her, making her listen to him with all her injuries.
He found a place just outside the main streets where he could set her gently against a wall. He looked around for anything to help her wounds, but grumbled some more before taking his shirt off. Tashigi narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what he was doing when she saw him moving so much and then heard the sound of tearing fabric.
"Ow!" She hissed as he wrapped the fabric around her legs that were covered in blood from her torn pants and the injuries the pirates gave her.
He continued to wrap her up around her arms and legs, and tried to clean up as much blood as he could for her with the remaining cloth of his shirt. He'd just get a new shirt anyways; he didn't mind. Tashigi felt useless getting taken care of by some stranger she didn't even knowing. It wouldn't be so bad if she could just see his face so she could remember him and owe him a favor.
"What is your name?" She asked him with a tilt of her head, a small thankful smile on her lips as she looked at the blurred blob.
Zoro furrowed his brows, not sure what he should do. Tell her his name and risk her opening her injuries already, or lie until he can find her better help? The options in his mind bounced around until he saw her tilt her head again, waiting for an answer from him.
"Just call me…Ro." He said, coming up with a name on the spot. He felt so stupid at the stupid obvious name.
"Ro…" She said slowly before pausing. Zoro waited for her to realize it was him, keeping his body stock still and ready to run. "That's a nice name!" She smiled brightly at him, complimenting him on his name as a way of kindness for knowing who her saver was.
"They have to be in town somewhere!"
Zoro heard the distant shout and glanced over, seeing some of the pirates run by looking around frantically and angrily. Most likely for the two of them who just defeated them. Zoro knew he should leave her to find her own people, but when he looked at her and the injuries covering her face, she looked like a helpless puppy that needed his protecting right now.
He smacked himself in the face, trying to get a grip on his head that was telling him he belonged by her side; that he should protect. It wasn't just because she looked like Kuina, it was because she treated him like an equal, and vice versa. They were both talented swordsman and he had a soft spot for her because of it.
"We need to stay here for a bit," Zoro told her quietly, setting a hand over hers gently.
Even if he didn't like it, he knew it wasn't right to just leave her on her own when the group of pirates were still looking for her. He sigh and sat next to her against the wall, using the shadows cover to hid both of them from the sight of anyone passing by on the street.
"I'm not afraid of some pirates!" Tashigi argued, knowing that had to be the reason why he wanted her to stay hidden. "I can take on any pirate!"
Zoro snickered to himself, seeing the same determination and stubbornness on her face that he liked to see when facing against her.
Tashigi looked at him, a small pout on her face from the laugh. "I am just as good a swordsman as any man! I'm going to defeat my rival and prove that to the world!"
"Oh? And who's your rival?" Zoro asked, wondering who it was she was so determined to defeat.
"Roronoa Zoro!" She said with a pumped up fist in front of her. "He's good with swords and I want to prove I can be an equal opponent!"
Zoro smiled at the thought of him being her goal, but his heart panged in pain knowing it wasn't anything more than that. "Why the interest in him? Why not someone like Mihawk?"
Tashigi looked at him before looking forward again, finding it useless to try and look at him when she couldn't even see hardly. She leaned her head back against the wall, wondering herself why there was such a huge interest in Zoro over anybody else out there.
"Hm…" She hummed, thinking hard about it. Her cheeks flushed as she thought about him congratulating and smiling at her for becoming so well in swordsmanship. "Maybe I want him to notice me…"
Zoro stiffened and glanced at her, seeing the blush across her cheeks and how innocent she looked sitting there against the wall. He couldn't believe it! She wanted him to notice her of all things! That's all he thinks about when the Marine's come up anywhere; about her! A blush crept along his face heavily as he put up a hand to cover his cheeks and nose, telling himself he can't let anyone see him like that.
Tashigi laughed airily and rubbed the back of her head, feeling embarrassed that she actually said it out loud and found it awkward with the silence now between them. "I can't believe I just said that!" She joked, trying to make it more comfortable there. "Was that weird?"
Zoro shook his head, and then realized she couldn't see him. "No," He told her in a mumbled, hunched against the wall as he crossed his arms.
They sat there for a while in silence; not a word passing between the two of them because neither knew what to say after that. Zoro had just been confessed to technically, and Tashigi thinks she just told a stranger her feelings about a rival.
A light thump hit against Tashigi's shoulder, making her jump slightly in surprise until she heard the even breathing and slight snore from the man against her. He had fallen asleep next to her and tilted over just enough to rest on her. She smiled thankfully, realizing it was the awkwardness that made the silence, but him falling asleep instead.
She narrowed her eyes and peered at the man, trying to discern any features she could from him, but it was so blurry it was hard for her to see anything detail on him; just the rough lines of where his features are.
She reached a hand up to his face, hoping he didn't wake up at her touch. She warily put a hand to his cheek, letting her fingers run over his skin and around his features. She traced his hairline, his eyes, nose, and finally along his mouth; trying to create a picture in her head of what he looked like. Of course it's not like she was good at it, but she like the thought of at least having some idea of what he looked like.
She dropped her hand and wiggled her fingers around at the remaining feel of his breath on her fingertips. It was tingly and warm, and it seemed to linger no matter what she did. She wondered if that was how a kiss would be like. She instantly flushed at the thought and shook them from her head.
She breathed out a sigh and smiled again, happy to have somebody like Ro by her side right then. She leaned her head on his, listening to his light snores and falling asleep to them herself.
"Ro….Ro!...RO!"
Zoro awoke quickly and sat up, looking around with his sword at the ready. He looked at Tashigi who was hanging onto his arm and staring up at him with her brown eyes.
"I think we can leave now," She told him, patting his arm to make sure he was awake and listening to her.
Zoro looked up at the sky and came to the conclusion that they must have taken a short nap for an hour or two. "Yeah," He said, grunting as he stood up and stretched his muscles.
He reached down to her and gently grabbed her hand, pulling her up slowly enough that her injuries didn't reopen, but enough that she could stand up on her own. He held onto her hand so she wouldn't run into anything while he lead her out.
Tashigi gripped his hand like a life line. Not so much because she felt helpless, but more because she liked the warmth that came from him. She didn't know why she felt so nice around him; it was almost like when she was around Zoro, but that couldn't be.
"There they are!"
Tashigi jumped at the shout. They had been walking around for awhile in the town, and suddenly hearing the pirates made her heart sink into her stomach.
"Well well," A deeper voice said. "I heard you took care of my men pretty harshly."
Tashigi turned at the familiar of a sword being unsheathed right next to her. Her heart pounded at the sound, her hand instantly wanting her own sword. She reached out and placed her hand over his that was on the hilt.
"Let me fight too," She told him, looking up at his face.
"Can u fight?" He asked, not thinking she was weak, but more because of her not having her glasses.
She nodded her head with a smile, and smiled brighter as he handed her his sword. His hand wrapped around her wrist, making her pause for a moment.
"Just until we get your own sword back." He said possessively. His swords were his life; he wouldn't let anyone take them from him.
The pirate boss in front of them laughed loudly as he took out Tashigi's sword and held it up to them. "Let's see who will win this battle." He told them competitively.
Tashigi smiled victoriously already before breathing in and composing herself, turning into her swordsman personality. Her and Zoro stood side by side as she concentrated on the blurred blobs in front of her with their own weapons.
The pirates charged at them with shouts, aiming their swords high above their heads before swinging down. Zoro blocked to the swords with his own, giving Tashigi time to dash forward and slam her hilt into their stomachs, knocking the first round out quickly.
Zoro smirked at the Marine, finding it interesting that this time they were fighting on the same side and not against each other. He had to admit, she was much better when she wasn't letting her anger get the best of her, and when she wasn't fumbling to keep sight of her opponents.
Dodging and twisting around the pirates that came after them, it was like they were in sync completely with one another. Zoro would dodge and give her enough room to hit them with her hilt and knock them out. Soon it was just them against the boss. It wasn't really difficult, they were a weak crew to begin with.
The boss was quivering in front of them even as he stood there. Zoro walked towards him, using the fear against him to get the sword back for Tashigi. He freaked out in fear and swung his sword around, missing Zoro completely and instead slicing a rope that was nearby.
The rope strained against itself until the last thread snapped, making the rope fly up into the air. Zoro heard the strained metal before he saw it. The pirate boss dropped the sword and fled the moment he saw his chance. Zoro looked up and saw the metal bar starting to drop down from the rope giving way.
Right before his eyes Kuina was standing there below it, and then it cleared up and showed an oblivious Tashigi who was smiling right at him. Zoro's heart froze as he realized he couldn't stand the thought of losing Tashigi too. He had already lost Kuina, he couldn't lose the one woman he saw as his equal.
He dashed forward, ignoring his mind that told him he was a dead man if he did. He pushed her out of the way just as the bar came crashing down, hitting him in the head and making his world go black in front of his eyes.
Zoro grumbled in pain as he felt a pressure pushing against his temples repeatedly. He cracked his eyes open and saw a hand hovering over his face with a damp cloth that was already covered in blood. He followed the hand and arm to Tashigi who was trying to dab the blood away from his head.
"Thank god you're awake!" She said thankful, hearing him groan and move his head, looking around the room. "It's good that you have a hard head!"
He sat up quickly and pulled her over, looking over her quickly to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere even more. She gasped and placed a hand on his chest to stop her from falling forward. Zoro froze and realized what he had just done and the situation they were now in.
Tashigi was straddling his waist with one hand on his chest and the other on his stomach while he sat up on his elbows and was looking directly at her face. Tashigi turned bright red as she felt his stomach muscles move below her hand, her mind telling her to feel more of it while she could.
"S-sorry!" She said, about to move off of him.
Zoro reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving while he looked at her closely. He felt so relieved that she was unharmed from the metal bar. He cupped her cheek, wiping away the small amount of dirt there and was consumed by the depth of her eyes that peered into him.
He leaned forward and kissed her gently, wondering if it was alright or not. At first she stiffened and seemed shocked from the sudden kiss, but she relaxed and pushed into it herself while she closed her eyes. The sweet soft kiss was anything but what she expected from the hard, rough man that she had come to picture.
He pulled back and looked at her, setting his forehead on her own and breathing her in while he felt her soft lips still over his like they never broke apart.
"That was…" She stopped, a brighter blush overcoming her face before the smile took over. She felt like a little girl that wanted to giggle because something was making her heart flutter. "…that was nice."
Zoro chuckled a bit and sat back completely, letting her move off of him and compose herself. There was a knock at their door before a man cracked it open and gave a sheepish smile.
"Young miss, there's a Marine by the name of Smoker looking for you." He told her.
"Smoker?" Tashigi asked brightly, happy to have her commanding officer find her again. Now she could get her extra pair of glasses, and finally see the man she needed to thank.
She all but rushed off the bed and out the door to Smoker who looked her up and down with slightly wide and shocked eyes. It wasn't what he was expecting when he found out she had checked into a room.
"What happened?" He asked, slightly worried for her.
"It's a long story," She laughed slightly, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "Do you have my glasses? I lost my other pair."
"Of all things to say, you ask for your glasses." Smoker sighed, shaking his head, but thankful she was alright if that was what she was asking for.
Tashigi ran back up to the room and looked around excitedly. Her smile dropped as she saw no one in there anymore and everything that was with Ro was now gone. She ran back down stairs and at the man who owned the hotel.
"What happened to the man I was with?" She asked him anxiously.
Smoker looked at her in surprise, not hearing about that part, and definitely not expecting it from his top sailor. But from the anxious look on her face he must have been someone important to her already.
"I did not see him leave." The man told her with a shrug, looking over his papers and shaking his head.
Tashigi furrowed her brows and ran out of the hotel, looking down the street either way for the man she was with. Suddenly a man dropped from the window above, landing a few feet from her. The familiar grunt she heard all day came from his lips as he landed, making her smile in delight.
"Ro!" She shouted, and then froze in her steps once he stood up.
Roronoa Zoro stood there facing her slightly with a smirk on his face. He tossed her sword at her, making sure she caught it and was able to see once again. He gave her a slight nod of goodbye before he started walking off again.
Tashigi normally would have been angry or irritable at the sight of him, and would have instantly called him out for a sword fight. Yet all she could think of was the day she had with him and the kiss they shared moments ago. Not only that but she had told him about her feelings for….well him! Her face exploded like a small bomb as she collapsed to her knees, watching him walk down the street and disappear into the people that were walking around.
"Tashigi! What's wrong?" Smoker asked, seeing her on the group and dashing over to her. "Why's your face red?"
Tashigi covered her face embarrassed, trying to hide her blush from her superior. She shook her head and peeked through her fingers. She wanted to see him again; not for revenge, but to pay him back for the kiss he gave her and to make him confess to her the next time.