Zoro watched Tashigi train from across the deck as the sun was directly overhead. Her movements were steadily becoming more fluid. He watched as she struggled through the same move several times in a row. With a smirk he noted that she was attempting to perform one of his own single-sword style moves. He was about to call out and tell her to be more original when Sanji, in his button-down blue shirt and a distasteful apron, suddenly blocked his view of Tashigi, offering the marine a plate of small cakes that looked to be iced with little pink hearts. Though he couldn't hear them exactly, Zoro could tell what was happening. Sanji was trying to baby her with food, and she hadn't accepted, but Sanji was being persistent. Zoro grimaced. He couldn't stand it that Sanji was so persistent when it was obvious that a girl wasn't into him. A few slow puffs of hot air grazed Zoro's cheek. He turned around and yelled when he found Luffy only an inch from his facce, jumping away from the captain and landing on his back. Luffy giggled. "Did I scare you?" he asked, crossing his legs.
"What do you want, Luffy!" Zoro demanded, sitting up and brushing himself off. Luffy leaned in closer to his first mate, looking at him dead-on with huge, concentrated eyes. Zoro leaned back, raising an eyebrow. "Luffy, stop that. It's creepy."
"Ssh," Luffy said, putting a finger in front of his lips.. "I'm trying to figure out why you're so jealous of Sanji."
"What!' Zoro exclaimed. "I'm not jealous of that love-cook!" Luffy grinned suddenly and leaned away. "It's because he's hanging around Tashigi so much, isn't it!" Before Zoro could answer, he laughed and declared, "I knew it! Zoro's in loooooooooo-" Zoro clamped his hand over Luffy's mouth, reddening very slightly. "Shut up, I am not!" he yelled.
"Bur shersha sherdsman," Luffy said.
"I know she's a swordsman," Zoro argued. "She's not my type. I don't have a type. I don't need a girl to make me happy! Now you've gotta promise me you're not gonna run off telling people that I'm in… you know, the 'l' word. Got that?" Luffy nodded and Zoro released him, heading down to the galley. Luffy grinned and went on his way, thinking that he was much smarter than Zoro gave him credit for. Before long, he found just who he was looking for.
"Psst, Chopper." Luffy pulled the reindeer aside. "Zoro's got a secret."
"Really?" Chopper said with sparkling eyes, clasping his hooves together. "What kind of secret?"
"He's secretly in love with Tashigi!" the captain giggled. Chopper gasped, moving his hooves over his mouth. "Oh, so Usopp was right!" he said. "Zoro told you that?"
"Sorta," Luffy grinned. "He said something like 'don't go around telling people I'm in love'. So that means he is."
"But you just now told me," Chopper said, pointing to himself. "Won't that make Zoro angry? I don't think we want Zoro angry…"
"Yeah, but you're only half an actual person." Chopper considered and nodded. "You're right," he said. Luffy went off to be replaced by Usopp, who was carrying an armful of strange assorted objects, including something that looked reminiscent of Arlong's saw-toothed nose.
"Hey, Usopp," Chopper said excitedly. "Remember your theory about Zoro liking Tashigi?" Usopp nodded from overtop the pile of junk he was holding. "The ZoTa theory?" he said. "Sure I do. What about it?"
"Well, I heard from Luffy that it's true! Zoro's in love with Tashigi and he's just not telling her!"
"Really?" Usopp asked. "Must be shy then… wow. And I thought that Zoro was going to die alone."
"Me too!" Chopper nodded. "Isn't this weird! Well, I'll see you." He walked off and Usopp continued towards his workshop when he ran into Franky. "Hey, Franky, guess what I just heard from Chopper?"
Things were awkward at dinnertime. Everyone was awkwardly stiff, except for Luffy, who was readily helping himself to everyone's food, and Zoro and Tashigi, who were eating regularly and trying to figure out why everyone seemed to be staring at them, back and forth across the table.
"What is your guys' problem!" Zoro said finally. No one answered. They all exchanged knowing looks with each other. Sanji glared at Zoro intensely.
Meanwhile, Hina was leaning over the receiving end of the (as it turns out) red transponder snail, listening intently as it gargled out no sound.
"WHAT IS YOUR GUYS' PROBLEM!" the snail exploded suddenly. Hina jumped a little and wrote down on the notepad next to her, 'enemies being strangely quiet'.
"Hey, Tashigi, why don't you come down to the galley with Robin and I after dinner? I've got a question to ask you."
"Um… uh, sure… I guess…" Hina narrowed her eyes and recorded the conversation on the notepad. Normally, there was one of her men in the small room listening to the red snail's transmissions at all times, but Hina preferred to take the last hours of the day for herself. She had found that the most interesting information came through at night, ever since the night before a soldier had written down a transmission that seemed to reveal Mugiwara nearly swallowing Tony Tony Chopper whole.
Tashigi followed Nami and Robin into the galley and took a comfortable seat on the newly added couch. Robin and Nami sat down on either side of her.
"You are in such a perfect position," Nami snickered. "I'd almost be jealous, if it weren't Zoro…"
"Nami, don't discourage her," Robin said. She turned to Tashigi. "Tashigi-san, are you aware that the swordsman is in love with you?" Tashigi's cheeks grew fully red. Back in her own ship, Hina's eyes widened and she gaped. Tashigi's jaw dropped as well. "Wha- what?" she squeaked, covering her mouth with one hand.
"I heard it from Sanji," Nami said, winking. "Sanji said that he thought it was stupid, but Zoro was in love with you, and he wouldn't have Zoro act that way to any of us three… he heard it from Robin."
"I heard it from Brook," Robin said. "Brook heard it from Franky."
"Franky heard it from Usopp," Nami continued.
"Usopp heard it from Chopper."
"And Chopper heard it from Luffy, who heard it from Zoro," Nami finished. "We double checked everyone to make sure we got that right."
"Apparently he's so in love with you," Robin said. "Brook said something about him being so shy that he covered it up with an edge and was afraid of telling you… forbidden love, a pirate and a marine… you're a social leap above him…"
"Do you know what that means?" Nami said, grabbing Tashigi's shoulders. "Just act all cutesy around him and he'll do whatever you want! He'll keep Sanji away from you if you want to! Seriously," she added grouchily. Robin chuckled and whispered to Tashigi, "Nami's a little jealous because she used to be the only woman Sanji swooned over."
"I am not!" Nami denied.
"Wait," Tashigi said, cutting their argument short. "Something's not right. I don't even know Zoro too well, but I do know that he'd never tell something like that to Luffy, even if it were true."
"Zoro just may be a deep, intelligent man with feelings," Robin said sarcastically.
"Exactly," Tashigi muttered. "How would that make sense if he said that at all? I'm pretty sure he's just not interested in a relationship with anyone at all."
"Men," Nami scoffed. "Zoro just may be that cheap."
"You never know," Robin answered. "Sanji made a comment to Zoro about not attracting girls a few days before you came aboard. He's had time to think about that since then."
"Zoro is not a deep person," Tashigi said bluntly. "The only thing emotional about him, I'm sure, is his swordplay." She shouldered Shigure and pushed her glasses up onto her forehead. "Excuse me," she said, exiting quickly.
Hina picked up the den den mushi in her office and dropped into her chair after swapping shifts with another marine. She massaged her temples and waited out ten rings until Smoker picked up.
"There's just no ignoring you, is there?"
"Smoker-kun, Hina has bad news. One of the Mugiwara pirates has developed feelings for Sergeant Major Tashigi." A moment passed where Smoker said nothing, and then asked, "Which one is it?"
"The swordsman, Roronoa Zoro. We've picked up a transmission from his crewmates telling the sergeant."
"I figured as much."
"Tashigi believes they've misunderstood the swordsman, so it may be a possibility." Hina looked down at the map before her, tapping one dot with a pencil. "Is Smoker-kun still stuck on that island?"
"Thanks for reminding me. How close are the Mugiwaras to Orange Ring Isle?"
"A few days," Hina said irritably, propping her head up on one elbow and gritting her teeth. "Stop being so protective of Tashigi-chama*."
"If you're jealous, say so."
"Hina is not jealous," Hina growled, snapping the pencil in two. Smoker sounded amused.
"Give me a call if you find out anything else, Hina." The captain hung up the den den mushi and so did Hina, respectively, throwing the pencil into a wastebasket. She let her eyes wander to the picture on her desk of herself and Smoker from their training days, back when her hair hadn't grown out as much and he wasn't as buff. "Hina had Smoker-kun first," she said aloud.
Tashigi tried once again to pull through Zoro's one-sword Shishi Sonson attack and stumbled on the last swipe of Shigure, sighing at the full feeling in her stomach. She shouldn't have accepted so much food that Sanji had made.
"You're reaching for your sword wrong," Zoro said. Tashigi jumped slightly and turned to look at him. He wasn't looking in her direction at all, but at the sky, which was becoming a dark shade of blue, heading into nighttime.
"What?" she said, confused. Zoro crossed the deck to her. With each footstep Tashigi felt her heart beat a little faster. What was this? Why hadn't this ever happened before? Zoro took the arm holding the sheathed Shigure and positioned it behind Tashigi's head, then moved the other arm backwards, behind her head to grip the hilt. "You're not holding your katana in the right place," he said. "Then you draw your sword and bring it forward," guiding her, "as you pass by your opponent." Tashigi felt her face burning red as Zoro guided her along the same move once more. "Now try without my help," he said. Tashigi unsurely returned Shigure to its sheath and stood very still, breathing in and out deeply.
As he watched her perform Shishi Sonson with less than a flaw, Zoro's mind went again to earlier that day, when he had watched Tashigi train and Luffy had made a wrong assumption. Zoro was sure that Luffy had found a way around his promise not to go and spread rumors; everyone had been acting oddly enough at dinner… how could he play it off? As he watched Tashigi flow through the movements, he got an idea and grinned slowly. He drew Wadou Ichimonji and blocked her last swipe, pushing Shigure away from him. "Fight me," he said, knowing she couldn't say no. Tashigi looked confused. "Why?" she said slowly.
"Because we are rivals," Zoro said loudly, looking around to make sure he had everyone's attention. The whole crew was watching subtly, except for Luffy, who was staring Zoro down again. "And you're always saying how you want to fight me." Tashigi raised an eyebrow and adjusted her glasses. "Uh-huh.." she muttered. "All… all right…" she stepped back and held Shigure ready, as did Zoro with Wadou.
"Luffy, call it," Zoro said.
"3, 2, 1, Go!" Luffy laughed. Zoro attacked first with a fierce upwards slash. Tashigi, startled, jumped back, but before she could regain herself Zoro lunged again.
"What's gotten into you?" Tashigi said, holding up Shigure to block.
"He can't keep away from her," Nami giggled to Robin on the upper deck. Zoro's eyebrow twitched and he pulled away from the 'X' he and Tashigi's swords were creating, swiping at her shoulders, which she again blocked. Tashigi finally pulled away and held Shigure before her, targeting Zoro, then ran past him, swiping at the nearest point on him. He sidestepped, spinning his upper body to block her sword again and pushing her backwards. Tashigi ducked under his arm and turned to catch Wadou, leaning back simultaneously. Wadou grazed the tips of her hair. Tashigi moved around Zoro, putting herself in between him and the stairs to the upper deck.
Zoro pulled back and attacked with Shishi Sonson just as Tashigi had the same idea and attacked with the same move. They both pivoted on one foot, miraculously unscathed, and moved around in a circle, focusing on each other intently, until Tashigi lowered Shigure to the ground, preparing to swipe upwards, and caught Zoro's ankle. He tripped ironically over Shigure and fell forward into the wall, hitting his head squarely on the wood, recovering to find that Wadou had slid behind Tashigi's head so that it pillowed her neck on the wall. Their faces were mere inches away from each other.
OOC… I'm just anxious to get this story along with Jishu as well… review please! J The * on Tashigi-chama… in case you didn't know, I read that adding '-chama' implies talking about a baby or something really cute. I'm a HinaxSmoker fan, so that's why I make Hina use '-chama', implying that Tashigi is too young for Smoker and so on…Ah, and then Next Time…
"You didn't say anything, though," Nami pointed. "It couldn't have been you that made him mad; he's in love with you anyway."
"Yes," Tashigi said quietly. "Yes, but sometimes it's the ones that you love that hurt you the most…"
