Hello my lovely readers! Welcome back! I'm sorry this update took so long, I have been studying for exams… I still should be . I made this chapter extra-long because I have exams till about 25th of May so I may not be able to update till then so please enjoy… I hope I'm not making Hancock too OOC cause it feels like I am… at least for this chapter. I'll fix her character more next chapter because she would be like this in the situation! Anyway enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think :D

Thank yous!

Kuyomi ~

Chapter seven

Life had gone back to normal. Zoro struggled keeping up with his studies. He was never academic anyway, but now if his GPA dropped any lower, then he would be kicked out of the dojo, school rules. Sword fighting had meant so much to him especially when Kuina had died, his only rival in the class. She had always been better than him and he never got a chance to prove otherwise. If Zoro remembered correctly, she was in Hancock's grade…

It had been a while since he saw the woman now that he was thinking about it. It wasn't like they were purposely avoiding each other but this connection they had… didn't feel right, something that normally never happened, though Hancock was known for her unorthodox love interests. Zoro entered the dojo, rather late from his tutoring with one of his many teachers. He didn't pay attention really but showing up was giving him enough credits to at least pass. The dance was done and Hancock was nowhere to be found. It had been like this for some time now, she no longer waited for Zoro and their comfortable little chats. She left as soon as class ended. She didn't even bother to change. She always donned her long coat and made her way out the door. Usually when Zoro entered, she never even looked up. It didn't bug him per se but it felt like they had taken a step backward somewhere. He had to admit she was still infuriating but Zoro wasn't the type of guy to turn his back on someone with that kind of story but if she wouldn't let him help then he couldn't… he wouldn't know what to do anyway.

On Hancock's part, it wasn't really that she was avoiding him either, but she really didn't want to drag Zoro into things, besides all that he was a stupid man anyway. It was good enough for her to have been able to tell someone. That was all she needed from him. She didn't deserve more than that, well she didn't exactly feel that way, secretly she wanted it all to have been a bad dream. Then she could be normal, but that wasn't the case. She also could no longer stay after dance at school pretending her class was just very long since she had been caught. Hancock was forced to go home and be in the presence of that despicable man. She was starting to have more than a few thoughts about murder, but the idea of her family kept her back. She was definitely starting to lose it. Her only escape was going to end its term soon, then what would she have? Dance would be off for a couple of months to allow for "rest", something Hancock didn't want and definitely didn't need.

Zoro would have the same but he would keep practising at home. For him it was no major loss. There were only a few weeks till the Easter holidays and then he could just train all day, but before that – there was prom. He hated prom but was always forced to go by Ace. This year would be no different he was sure.

Hancock on the other hand loved prom for obvious reasons however she had to keep her dancing to a minimal due to the fact most of it wasn't appropriate for such a formal occasion. Like Zoro she always went without a date, for the fact she hated all men except Luffy and he was going with Nami. Hancock still felt a pang in her heart when she saw them together but it was slowly starting to turn into a dull throb. She knew when things were hopeless yet she couldn't bring herself to fully give up. Hope was all she had anyway.

Zoro said nothing; he refused to admit that he had hoped that their relationship would have changed. For better or worse it didn't matter, what they had now was just awkward. They had this secret together no one knew of and they couldn't pretend it didn't exist, but at the same time it didn't make everything perfect between them, far from it, on a regular basis they were at each other's throats. He found her an annoying shallow bitch and she thought of him as an empty head pig. Things couldn't have been more uncomfortable.

He changed and went to his lesson attempting his usual attitude. When it came to the dojo, his mind was clear. He couldn't afford to think about other things. His lesson was the most important thing right now but for some reason for the past few classes that woman was on his mind. She was slowly looking worse and worse in school, her eyes sunken and dark. How could things have gotten worse for her?

Zoro pushed all his worries out of his mind and concentrated on his sword techniques. Each getting progressively harder, his forehead was starting to sweat as he was having a significantly difficult time with moves. He never had this much trouble. The woman was bad news. He needed to get her out of his mind but he had no idea how.

The class ended smoothly if not roughly on his part. He was frustrated with his lack of progress but left the dojo in a timely manner. His walk home felt longer as usual, the spring was slowly creeping up on them and the humidity seemed to cling to all the wrong places. Zoro let out a big sigh and ran his hands through his hair, stopping on his way home for some milk.

His apartment was modest of size. Big enough that he lived comfortable but not that big that he wouldn't be able to pay his rent, he would pay half of it from his inheritance from his parents but the other half came from his weekend job. Working in a warehouse away from prying eyes, he spent his weekends moving large boxes; it was like training so Zoro loved it, as he would. The pay was decent and he got by but he was never really bothered to get any other job anyway. He was comfortable where he was.

Zoro sat down in his modestly sized living room. The walls were bare, the floor was bare, the kitchen was bare… his whole apartment was bare. He didn't care for decorations. He only had the necessary things, like his sword rack, kitchen tools, his bed and bathroom. That was all he needed he believed. It was also the reason he never brought girls back to his place. It wasn't his style. His apartment was his sanctuary alone, where girls were forbidden, he didn't need any ties that made coming home harder than it already was.

Going home wasn't particularly hard but it was a constant reminder of all that he lost. He wouldn't mind sharing his apartment with someone but Ace couldn't and he really didn't have any other candidates.

Zoro turned on the TV and had a nutritious meal of Soba noodles. Without warning Zoro fell asleep the empty bowl falling out of his lap as his snoring filled his empty apartment. This was common. Many nights Zoro never made it to his bed because he always fell asleep before he even could get up.

The phone rang loudly and Zoro was startled out of his deep nap, his body instantly feeling the repercussions of sleeping the way he did. He groaned pulling out his outdated mobile from his pocket. Without looking at the screen he answered the phone with a rugged:

"Hello…?" He groaned again rubbing sleep from his eyes.

There was silence on the other end of the line but Zoro could swear he heard some very silent sobs. Who would call him crying? Was this a prank call? If it was he would hang up right away but the croaky response told him this was no joke.

"Zoro?" The female voice asked through soft sobs. His demeanour softened instantly as he realized who called him. He said nothing but quietly waited for the woman to continue.

"Are you… are you busy?" The croaky voice continued on in a tone that seemed to plead? He wasn't sure if he heard her right, surely she wouldn't show weakness unless she was really desperate. There was silence for a while and suddenly Zoro knew he was supposed to reply.

"Oh! Yes… I mean no, I'm not busy, what's up?" Zoro knew he was acting too casual but he also didn't want to act too seriously, maybe she broke a nail or something? Was he overthinking things?

"Can we… could we meet up? I don't want to at home right now…"

Zoro agreed to meet her and they discussed a place. There was a park near her house he would meet her at. Zoro sighed as he got up and stretched out his stiff legs. He wasn't sure why he was even meeting the woman; he never went through this much trouble for one! Though… it wasn't like he was helping her for romantic reasons… he just felt sorry for her plus he was her only confident. That is a lot of pressure for one guy!

Zoro made his way to the park. It was cold outside the humidity from his earlier walk home completely gone now and he was thankful for his coat. It was very thin and perfect for this type of night; anything thicker would have made him sweat from the distance. The walk took him about ten minutes, even with that time he was the first to arrive, normally however the walk would have only taken him about a minute or two, but he got lost which he refused to admit. He took a spot on the swings and waited quietly for the woman to appear. It was starting to get quite late or so it seemed, Zoro had forgotten to check the time before leaving. Zoro was only sitting for a couple minutes before a tear streaked Hancock came jogging up the hill. She wasn't wearing heels for once and when he came face to face with her, he realized how short she actually was compared to him. She was still tall for a woman, don't get him wrong. The top of her head came about at his eye level so she was actually very tall but when she wore heels… she was a lot taller than him. She was wearing clothes that seemed so out of character. Long baggy trousers with a large top and sneakers. She seemed like a completely different person, her hair up in a messy bun and a zip up hoody to top it all off. Zoro let his eyes roam around a little longer; he had to admit this very unattractive set of clothes still didn't look bad on the woman. She really had a gift for always looking breathtakingly beautiful, not that Zoro was going to admit that to her or himself for that matter.

"So… what's wrong? Would you like to sit?" Zoro gestured awkwardly at the swing set and rubbed the back of his head.

Hancock said nothing but sat down. The silence was deafening as she sat there staring at her feet. Zoro was starting to regret showing up but hoped just his presence would help a little… gosh what an annoying woman she was.

Hancock got home a lot earlier than she had done in a long time. She had hoped she would be alone, or not alone. She wanted to be alone if her sisters weren't home yet. If they were she wouldn't have cared. Alas her sisters were out, probably at tutoring and her mother was out at a friend's. This was all assumption of course but Hancock knew it would be something along those lines. Hancock searched the house silently hoping for every room to be empty but just as sure as she was that her stepfather was at work, then there she found him in his office hunched over stacks of paper.

He looked up at the creak of a floorboard and gave Hancock a sly smile.

"Welcome home darling, I can't play with you yet, daddy's got some papers to file"

Hancock left without a sound relatively happy that the man was busy. She sat down in the kitchen and settled to do some homework that had been given a long time ago. She had gotten used to being in the same house as him alone. He didn't always try anything but that didn't mean she didn't fear he would. Hancock was old enough when it started to believe it wasn't normal. She was also old enough to know it could get worse as well. Hancock sat in her gym clothes staring at the blank page willing it to write itself but nothing happened. Her mind was empty of all thoughts. She was just really tired. Tired of all the stress her home gave her. It also seemed the older she got the worse the treatments were. This man was not into little girls, he was not into teenage sex, and he probably wasn't deprived either. He was just infatuated with her. He wanted just her. Though Hancock knew this, she also knew he probably didn't mean the threats against her sisters, but she couldn't be sure. Although Hancock suspected him to only want her, she couldn't take the chance. If he did go after her sisters… because of her, then…. She would never be able to forgive herself.

A few notes were jotted down on the blank paper but Hancock really couldn't concentrate. Eventually she gave up and put her stuff away. She just really couldn't think right now.

Slowly Hancock made her way to her room. She would have to get it over with at some point and the sick man probably wouldn't want to miss the chance of being alone with her in the house, but she didn't expect that what was waiting for her was much worse.

On the bed lay a long almost sparkling silver dress. From what Hancock could see it had a long slit on the right side of the dress that would expose her well-toned thigh. From the front it looked like the perfect dress. The cleavage line didn't seem like it would expose too much. Hancock stood stunned. The dress was beautiful almost perfect…

"Why don't you try it on?" Her stepfather's voice said from behind her as he slipped her jackets off of her shoulder to create a pool on the floor of folds in the fabric.

There would be a catch of course, Hancock couldn't see what just yet but she knew better than to deny him what he wanted, and it was better this than the violence. Her back couldn't take much more abuse. Her biggest fear was if he got bored of it and moved on. Her back was already hard enough to cover, but any more parts…and she would probably have to join a convent and become a nun.

Hancock couldn't help but smile at the thought of herself dressed as a nun but was quickly pulled back to her horrible reality with a small shove towards the dress lying innocently on the bed.

Hancock wrapped her fingers around the silky fabric and pulled it up realizing instantly what was going on. The dress had no fabric that would conceal her back. In fact the dress was made to expose as much of it as possible without going too far. In any normal circumstance, the dress would be perfect. It was gorgeous, but he was teasing her, more than that, he was taking her one fear and throwing it right back at her.

Hancock swallowed hard and stood horrified by the piece of fabric looking as if it had just talked or killed someone. Her stepfather let out a small chuckle at the sight of her face, which forced her to put on a neutral mask. She really didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt, especially over a dress.

"I heard prom was going to be soon, your mother told me all about it! She explained how much you loved it but you haven't gotten a dress yet, so I took the liberty in getting you a nice dress, aren't you grateful?" Hancock could hear the snicker in his voice even when he was trying to act innocent; it made the feeling in the pit of her stomach much worse.

Hancock turned away from him and slowly started to strip. She pulled the dress over her shoulders and down her body feeling the silk caress her thighs for a moment too long. The dress looked and felt perfect from the front. It hugged her features perfectly and flattered her best features. Her leg came out from the slit but as if only shyly showing itself to the world. Hancock turned slowly allowing her back to face her full length mirror. She stood appalled at the sight of her back. She usually avoided looking at it, but still she pulled her hair around her shoulders to get a better view.

The dress was open up until about the small of her back and ended in a V shape. It was held up around her neck and her back seemed as if it was being framed, her scars and burns standing out even more in contrast to the light silver and glimmered. Hancock bit down hard on her bottom lip and sucked air through her teeth to keep her temper in check. She was feeling a mixture of emotions, anger, sadness and a strong feeling of downright hopelessness.

Hancock pushed her hair back over her back. It covered her burn perfectly but her scars sprang out from the edges. There were too many to cover. Her scars looked like veins running from the middle of her back. With her hair covering it seemed like they were coming from her hair. Like the back of a demon with the face of an angel. She could never grow her hair long enough to cover everything. They would always show. Especially the scars that were that were always reopened, peeled back open by her wicked stepfather so that they healed ragged and uneven, never able to fully disappear. That man made it impossible to ever forget. If the scars on her heart would ever heal, he sought to it that the ones on her body would not.

Next to the mirror stood her stepfather with a large smirk across his lips his next words were torture.

"You look amazing, breath-taking!"

If his mocking tone wasn't enough he started to clap, loudly and slowly, each clap rang through the room and sent shivers down Hancock's spine forcing her to subtly flinch away each time.

"You know I cannot wear this" Hancock said after a while knowing he wouldn't. She tried to keep her tone nonchalant as if this was no big deal for her, but she wasn't fooling anybody. She tried again with a more common approach to men she didn't know "I know I am probably beautiful in anything I wear, but… I cannot wear this on prom, besides I already have a dress picked out"

"I'll be the only person to see this artwork? That doesn't bother me. You belong to me anyway, mi amore"

My love… Bullshit! Even if he did love her in his sick and twisted way she would never love him back. For what he did to her, this was the worst he had ever done. Hurting her physically was one thing, she could always get up and wash away the blood… but psychologically she could never clean the wounds.

Hancock's stepfather stepped forward and left the lightest of kisses on her shoulder, where he traced her long ragged scar that spanned from her hip to her shoulder. He was so gentle it was scary. He was only ever gentle when it came to playing with his scars. She knew it was a weird fetish he had over her back. Hancock felt his large hand push her down on the bed.

Here it comes… she thought to herself sighing quietly, she was too tired and upset to fight back not that it ever helped anyway. It only turned him on more. Everything seemed to blur, Hancock was sure exactly why but she felt him push her hair from her face and untie the strings holding up her dress and how exposing her plain black bra she refused to take off.

Downstairs the familiar click of the door opening sounded and her stepfather was out of her room in a second to greet whoever just arrived home, but not before he readjusted his member out of view from the unsuspecting eyes.

Alone Hancock sat in her room with her dress half down. She hadn't even noticed that the door had been closed and the reason for her blurry eyes was thick tears that she couldn't even feel fall because she was so numb.

Slowly Hancock slid off the bed and wriggled out of the dress not caring that it would get crinkled. The dress was horrible. It was perfectly horrible! Hancock grabbed old trousers she wore when she was upset and a large baggy top, and a large sweater to match. Hancock wore these to feel unattractive, something that would surprise most people. Her beauty ruined her life practically so sometimes she just didn't want to be noticed. She pulled her long hair into a messy bun above her head and donned large fluffy socks. She sat there for a while waiting but her sobs wouldn't stop.

Downstairs she could hear her cheery mother happily talking to her demon husband about her day. He replied perfectly talking of his filing and not having done much else. If playing with Hancock's psychological state of mind was considered "much else" then the world was really screwed up.

Hancock pulled out her phone unsure of what she was doing. She knew for sure however that she had to get out of the house. Hearing his voice kept sending fresh tears pooling down her face. Her breathing was ragged with her attempt at keeping quiet. This was worse than he had ever done to her. Which was throwing back all the horrid memories with a fresh wave of pain?

Hancock dialled slowly, wiping vigorously at her face so she would be able to see the screen. The dial tone seemed to last forever and she thought that he wasn't going to pick up but suddenly she heard a:

"Hello…?" accompanied by a long groan.

Zoro stared down at the woman in horror holding the swing bar tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning sheet white with his ferocity. He wasn't good at this kind of thing and didn't know what to say. He was probably the worst person to have come to for comfort. He wanted to brush her messy hair from her face but remembered her explaining how her stepfather had done it. Zoro stopped himself figuring that it would probably just remind her of him.

Zoro was at a loss for what to do. He stood there like a gaping fish for a couple of seconds and then just attempted to empty his mind. He figured it was worth a shot to let his body do something. He had seen enough movies to give him an idea of what to do, he just really hoped it didn't give the woman the wrong impression that would scare her off or make her feel ever worse.

Zoro leaned down and pulled Hancock up - forcing her to stand - and into his arms. He held her tightly rocking her slightly.

Hancock stood stiffly at first feeling his strong arms wrap around her not so delicate frame. She had considered pushing him away but his warmth was comforting. Slowly with shaky hands she clung to his back, with two fists full of his white shirt she wept loudly into his shoulder. She shook and trembled but Zoro kept her standing as he felt her fists tighten and loosen constantly. He stood there and took it all in making cooing noises to calm her down. Part of him considered stroking her hair like you would a child but he discarded the thought for the same reasons as before.

Hancock stayed in Zoro's arms for a long time; she wasn't sure how long exactly since the moon was already out for quite some time. She felt oddly secure in his grip even if he was a man. He was not the type of person she would trust with her secret but hadn't had a choice. Now he was here comforting her. She was very grateful to him, more than he probably knew. She gripped him tighter and in response he pulled her closer to him. He was so warm… Not sickening warm like her stepfather, just the perfect amount to keep the chill away from her.

Hancock stayed in his arms longer and Zoro was starting to get tired legs. She stopped crying and was quietly breathing. Slowly Zoro tried to pull away but her strong fists seemed unwilling to let go. He looked down at her; she seemed to be pleading with him. He was again at a loss for what to do. It was a fluke he had done something right.

"I'm guessing you don't want to go home?" Zoro asked her

She nodded her head slowly but there really wasn't a place for her to go… and she was sure his parents would mind a girl staying over. That thought was barely through her head when she realized him explaining that he lived alone due to his parents not being around any longer.

Zoro stepped away from Hancock but kept his hands on her shoulders keeping her steady. Indeed she needed him to because her legs felt weak and all the energy drained out of her. She was so very tired. Would one night hurt? Would her stepfather do anything to her sisters? She couldn't risk it, but she wouldn't be able to be home right now and act like everything was fine. Her mother or sisters would suspect something. Her stepfather would have to let her go. Even if just for one night, she would make him agree. She wouldn't go inside however since that was risking herself.

Zoro started guiding Hancock out of the park but it seemed her legs were glued to the ground. Her knees gave in but Zoro caught her. Without words he hoisted her onto his back and she wrapped his arms around him neck.

"I ugh… need to speak to my stepfather first… I think you know why?"

Zoro grunted in reply. He did know why. She had to make sure he would stay away from her sisters.

"Where do you live then?" Zoro asked heading away from the park. The woman was surprisingly lighter than she looked and he carried her without ease. It was odd. He never had a woman at his apartment… though he guessed it wasn't bad since it wasn't that kind of relationship.

Hancock pointed out where she lived and they walked onto her drive. He set her down slowly and walked to a nearby lamppost. Far enough to be out of hearing distance and hopefully noticeable distance, but not so far that he couldn't quickly run and help her.

Zoro felt awkward about being at her home. So close to the asshole but he

Couldn't exactly tell her to fuck off and take care of her own problems. He wasn't the type of guy to turn his back on someone who needed him as desperately as Hancock seemed to need. Her vulnerability seemed rare, something she only ever showed him and her stepfather. The latter wasn't willingly.

Hancock knocked at the door knowing she forgot her key. She was silently praying her stepfather would be the one to open the door and to her luck it was. He frowned at the sight of his stepdaughter at the door. He was unaware she had gone out.

"How can I help you?" Her stepfather said not to alert the rest of the family at this odd occurrence. He closed the door behind him and stood silently waiting for Hancock to explain.

"I need to stay at a friend's house tonight" Hancock said with a shaking voice. She stared at the ground feeling pain in the pit of her stomach again.

"If… if you don't want your secret blown you will let me go because…" Hancock swallowed hard angry with herself that she had to admit it to the monster "… I cannot pretend to be okay tonight"

Hancock let out a small sigh feeling better admitting it out loud even if it meant it was to this bastard.

Her stepfather said nothing and nodded, a small note of anger filled his face but it seemed like he understood what she needed.

"Promise me, you won't do anything!" She said feeling a little bit of courage well up behind her words. She looked him in the eyes. He seemed sincere but it didn't come without a price.

"Fine, but you WILL make it up to me" he whispered with a smirk, he was never one to let an opportunity go by unused. To which Hancock nodded, she assumed as much. There was no longer anything he could do to her that could make it worse anyway. One night of rest without fear he might come in and wake her was what she needed; one night was more than enough.

Hancock's stepfather turned and opened the door, entering the house without a sound, but before he closed the door behind him Hancock lent in and grabbed her book bag and gym bag at least she would be slightly prepared for school and would have some clothes. Better than nothing…

Hancock turned to the sound of the door closing and made her shaky way towards Zoro. He was watching her with… pity? No it was something else… his eyes seemed soft when he watched her, sympathetic maybe. She wasn't exactly sure but it definitely wasn't pity.

Hancock smiled at him sadly at him following him silently as he turned to leave. Hancock would be either very stupid or ignorant if she thought it wouldn't be awkward at all but he understood as well as her that there really wasn't another choice they had.

They walked in silence during what seemed like forever but was probably only a span of five to ten minutes. Hancock walked next to Zoro fiddling with the strap of her bag. When she looked up again they were standing in front of a big apartment complex.

"Well this is home" Zoro breathed out looking up at his apartment, of course Hancock wouldn't know which was his but they were pretty much all the same anyway.

Zoro took the initiative and made his way into the building and up the stairs. The pair still walked in silence. Zoro was silent because he was starting to realize exactly what he had gotten himself into. They may not have had that kind of relationship but she was still a woman after all and he was a man. Plus she was probably the most attractive woman Zoro had ever met. Hancock was silent because everything she had wanted to comment on would have come out as an insult, something she should refrain from doing at that moment.

They entered his tiny apartment with the same silence as before and Hancock slowly set her stuff down on the floor. She looked around. It was very bare but it fit her current feeling right then anyway: Empty. There was a bathroom with a shower, a small kitchen that connected with the living room and a bedroom with a bed and a desk. Hancock wondered where she would sleep but it didn't really matter in the end.

Zoro cleared his throat. "Well here it is… my house… or apartment rather"

Hancock nodded.

"I'm sorry…" She said after a while. Zoro's confused expression told her he didn't quite understand what she meant.

"For barging in on you, I know you don't need this kind of problem in your life"

"Don't be stupid! I invited you here didn't I?" Zoro practically yelled. He may have been surprised at why he was helping her so much but he knew that he definitely wasn't being forced to do so. He helped her out of choice and even though he didn't understand everything that was happening, he did understand that what he was doing was right.

Hancock stared at him surprised forcing Zoro's face to turn slightly red. Gosh… this woman was really annoying! One second she is in your face and so self-assured, the next… she is this weird timid kitten.

Hancock replaced his surprised face with a small smirk.

"You invited me huh?" Hancock laughed softly and circled around Zoro. "Why ever would you have done that?"

Uh oh… she was feeling better. Zoro was surprised at how quickly he was able to pull her out of that place she had nested in. He knew it to be a dangerous area.

Hancock ran her hands over his shoulders lightly forcing his face to grow pinker. After a few seconds he shrugged her off and made his way to his bedroom, her annoying laugh filling the empty apartment.

"You can take my bed tonight if you want" Zoro said attempting to force his face to regain its normal colour. He didn't understand why she could be so teasing even after all that she had been through, but he could guess that it was probably a coping mechanism, she knew she was beautiful and learned to use it to her advantage. Zoro was looking at Hancock with the same eyes as before which caused her own face to soften. She was glad she told him about her issues. She may not have thought it before but there really was no one else she could have told.

"Thank you…" Hancock said to him with a small smile. She wouldn't argue for the bed because in the end she did want it plus Zoro was probably the type of guy who would refuse to letting a girl sleep on the floor.

Thinking about this Hancock realized she really did know much about the guy and she was staying at his house!

"I know this is a little weird… but can I borrow some… clothes to sleep in? And I'll need something for tomorrow…"

Hancock cringed at her stupidity. Her gym bag was empty except for her ankle boots and some extra gym clothes she would need for dance. Zoro nodded and cracked a smile. Hancock couldn't help but smile back and eventually the two of them were laughing at how weird the situation was. Neither of them would ever have thought something like this would happen. Neither of them would have ever thought they would be on speaking terms…

Zoro walked to the single dresser in the room and pulled out clothes that may fit Hancock. To sleep in he just pulled out a baggy top and some shorts. It didn't matter did it? But… clothes for the next day were tricky. He ended up pulling out some stretchy black knee length trousers and a white top. He added his haramaki but he wasn't sure she would want it.

Hancock sat down on the bed; it was softer than it looked, she sat there for a while in silence looking around the room and then back at Zoro. She picked up the clothes intended for her to sleep in. She got up awkwardly and gave Zoro a questioning look.

"What…? Oh! The bathroom is that way" Zoro pointed towards a closed door across the hall.

Hancock made her way to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaving Zoro alone in his room.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself rubbing his head roughly again. Neither of them seemed to be acting like themselves.

Zoro stood in the middle of his room awkwardly. He knew having someone over would change how his apartment felt. He was right, and he wasn't even sleeping with her! Why was it so odd for him?

To pull Zoro out of his thoughts Hancock entered the room in the shorts. The top he gave her was longer than he thought and it ended up covering even the shorts, making it seem like she was not wearing any trousers at all! Zoro was staring at her he knew but those legs… they were something else. He couldn't keep the blush from his face but quickly looked away. Stupid woman…

Hancock noticed his blush and smirked again with that patronizing look in her eyes.

"Oh…? Do you like the sight?" she asked stretching out her leg and falling backwards onto the bed.

Zoro coughed loudly and smirked back at the woman, at least they were acting like themselves again.

"You wish woman! Not everyone is in love with you! You are so annoying… put those legs away, I don't need to go blind… you are so pale!"

Hancock was indeed very pale. This wasn't a surprise since she couldn't really swim in a bikini or swimsuit for that matter, and a t shirt would lead to too many questions, so sun tanning was out of the question. Being pale surprisingly fit her however.

"You are just jealous stupid swordsman!"

"What am I jealous of? I would rather not be a stupid bimbo!"

"Bimbo? I'll show you who is a bimbo!" Hancock jumped off the bed and tackled Zoro lightly to the floor. They wrestled half playfully half violently. Zoro attempted to be gentle with the woman but she definitely wasn't being gentle with him, it took most of his effort to keep her from kneeing him in the groan. It took the rest of his effort to not feel her breasts against his chest.

She took off her bra…

Zoro smiled, he now knew how to get her off of him.

"Hey… they are smaller than they look huh?"

Hancock stopped shifting instantly and became very aware of her breasts leaning up against him. She flew off of him in only a few counts and stood staring at him angrily.

"You… pig" She wasn't exactly angry. She knew he didn't mean it like that but still…

"Hey… you were the one pressed up against me…" Zoro lay on the floor his hands up defensively in case she was going to be crazy again.

Hancock made a noise that seemed almost like hissing, Zoro wasn't sure but it made him laugh loudly causing Hancock to scowl.

"It's because I am beautiful!" With that Hancock threw one of Zoro's pillows and it hit him square in the face. Now it was Hancock's turn to laugh.

Zoro pulled the pillow off of his face and showed a very soft smile.

"You laughed… that was the first real laugh of the night"

Hancock stopped laughing and gave Zoro a sad smiling whilst settling back onto his bed. Zoro grabbed more sheets from his closet and laid them on the floor in a messy pile while he himself left for the bathroom to change. He came back out not too long after donning similar shorts like Hancock but no top. She stood staring at his scare then she like him looked away blushing.

Zoro settled onto the floor and sat up watching her as she tucked herself under the covers. She looked down at him and smiled for a couple of seconds.

"Thank you again, Zoro" She whispered for only Zoro to hear even though they were alone in the apartment.

"You are welcome, but I still find you infuriating!" He said back with a cheeky smile.

"I wouldn't have it any other way! Plus you are the idiot swordsman, and I wouldn't want to be caught dead with you! I do not understand what Luffy's older brother sees in you!"

Zoro growled at the woman.

"Because unlike you, I am good company!"

The two sat in silence for a bit. Hancock looked at Zoro and suddenly her face changed into a seductive one. Her eyelids half closed and her mouth open slightly. She sat up slightly and brushed her hair past her shoulders.

Zoro couldn't look away even though he knew she was playing him.

"Am I really that bad?" She asked after a while, her voice had completely changed. It was quiet for a little while as Zoro was fighting with himself.

"Yes" He said through gritted teeth… stupid woman was trying to manipulate him!

Hancock's face returned to normal with a smile, he really wasn't like most guys if he didn't fall for that. Good, she didn't want it any other way. In some ways he was a lot like Luffy. She treated Zoro a lot better than most guys because he knew her secret but also because there was no need to be a bitch; it seemed to be now that he knew she didn't really mean it.

In one day, there relationship changed drastically, they may even be called friends now.