"Hey Zoro, are you working tonight?" Ace asked.
"No."
Zoro was in the basement of their apartment complex, training. He had just started working out because he didn't get enough exercise in the yard today. But the whole last month he hardly got enough exercise. Extreme work outs were the only way for him to let some steam out that had build up more and more over the last couple weeks. But even training till his muscles burnt didn't help a lot. He was constantly riled up, even easier to aggravate than before and way more violent and aggressive. His behavior started to affect his nakama, but he couldn't help it. Lately Usopp left the room every time he would enter; he caught himself snapping at Chopper – he even made that kid cry the other night.
Only Luffy seemed oblivious to his state of mind, or he just didn't really care. Of course Ace and Kidd had noticed, too. They tried to get the reason for his sudden change of behavior out of him, but he kept his mouth close.
He hadn't seen the blonde again.
That was his main reason. And it was fucking pathetic that the absence of this certain blonde did affect him so much. That made him even angrier.
It was so damn pathetic – and this was why he told nobody about the one fatal night a couple weeks ago. Usopp would just be running around and screaming that he was in love. Bullshit. He just wanted to fuck that man really bad. He had dreamed every single night about the blonde with the fucking curly-brow; he had imagined to be buried deep inside him, slamming into that slim body without restraint; than he had imagined how he would take him nice and slow, savoring every single moment they had together-
"So you're up?" Ace interrupted his train of thoughts.
"What?"
"Wanna come to the 'Ring'?" Ace asked again.
"Yeah."
The "Ring" was the name of a secret underground fighting club, it originally had some weird French name nobody could pronounce right, so the other Galleya workers and him who visited the place regularly just called it the "Ring". Usopp and Chopper were usually just watching the fights and betting on them, while all the other workers actually took part in the fights. They didn't have an official team, but it was well known that the Galleya workers didn't compete against each other. They fought, but just for the show. In the end they never declared a winner or a loser in those show-fights against each other. They didn't want to display the weaknesses of their nakama in public. But of course in their gym at the "Sunny" or outside in the shipyard they fought, too, and then there were definitely winners and losers.
Going to the "Ring" tonight was a real fucking awesome idea.
"Some big names up for tonight?" he asked.
"Not sure, but I heard they had a crazy newcomer, supposedly someone who could really kick ass."
"Sounds good to me. Who else is going?"
"Lucci and Kidd."
"What about Luffy? Isn't he the first one to take the 'Ring' apart?"
"He's got night shift. Some shit went down last night and I don't really know what they did, but Eisberg was fuming today. He was shouting and yelling at Shanks and all. Man, he was really mad. And I mean really."
"We could take him with us; get some anger out of him."
"Haha, you're the right one talking, but hey, I'm pretty sure Kalifa can handle him. I mean she's perfect for an angry fuck, I bet she likes it rough and dirty-"
"That's sexual harassment." A voice said.
Ace jumped and turned around, scared that Kalifa was probably going to kill him.
Zoro laughed real hard. He had noticed Lucci and his bird Hattori standing in the doorframe, and Lucci just let Hattori speak with a high pitched voice that sounded frighteningly like Kalifa. Zoro didn't laugh that much since that one night at the "Arabasta."
"Lucci, man, you scared the shit out of me, Kalifa would've ripped my throat out – with her teeth."
Lucci just shrugged. Zoro never heard Lucci laugh, he rarely talked at all, and if he had something so say, he expressed it through his bird. A talking bird would be really ridiculous and awkward for any other man than Lucci. But Lucci managed to let the talking bird appear somewhat dangerous. But who was he kidding? Everything about Lucci was intimidating, that men could walk in a fucking bunny suit and he would still be the scariest fucker he'd ever met.
"Let's go" Zoro said and dropped his weights. He didn't need to shower – he knew he would just be getting dirtier at the "Ring". He collected his swords and left the gym with Ace and Lucci.
They went outside and joined Kidd in the parking lot. They got their machines out and Zoro blew the dust from the seat of his bike. He fucking loved his bike, but the last weeks had been busy. And for some reason he had used all his spare time for training.
Bikes were another thing of the Galleya workers. Zoro was into motorcycles before he started working for Shanks and Eisberg, but he never had the money to fulfill his dream of his own bike. He had been out of his mind when he discovered that Shanks had a weakness for bikes and that they were building illegal motorcycles in a garage in the huge shipyard. Motorcycles were actually really Usopp's domain. He was even better at designing bikes than ships. It was one of their unspoken traditions that each nakama got his own bike. Usopp would design then, individual for each worker and Shanks would provide the basic parts, but it was your job to build it yourself. It was your bike, so you should put some fucking love and effort in it.
Zoro's bike was dark green and had a couple sweet golden details. He put some gas in the tank and stored his swords in the custom made box he build just for them.
Ace and Lucci were getting their bikes out, too; Ace got flashy flame designs all over his and the exhaust would spit flames – Ace often joked around that his bike was hot – literally.
They started the engines and roared off the abandoned shipyard.
They raced through the dark roads of Grand Line City, not caring about speed limits or traffic lights. They fucking owned the city and the other road users better didn't interfere with them.
The police was another story and Zoro wasn't sure how they managed to escape them again and again. He just knew that Ace had some suspicious relations with this one police officer, but Ace never talked about it, and Zoro did totally understand his need for keeping his private affairs to himself.
Yeah right, he would be lucky if he had a private affair, but he had absolutely nothing, just the really hot memory of that fucking curly-brow.
Stop thinking about him, Zoro told himself. He let the harsh head wind wash away his thoughts; of course their crew would ride without helmets. That was part of their bond: Living on the edge. Even Usopp rode his bike without a helmet – Zoro had to admit he was a little proud of Usopp for this little act of bravery.
After a twenty minute ride they arrived at another for the most parts deserted industrial area. Just the huge building of the "Ring" stood out. The parking lot was already full, but the four Galleya workers didn't care, they always got a spot reserved up front. But this time half of their usual spot was taken by a fancy looking blue Mercedes.
They squeezed their bikes together in space left. They just glanced at the other car, but apparently Kidd couldn't resist the provocation. He got his knife out he was always carrying and sliced the tires of the expensive car. Zoro chuckled.
"Fucker parked in my spot." Kidd growled.
"Well, now he's definitely going to park there for a long time." Ace laughed.
The bouncers at the "Ring" were way meaner looking than the bouncers at "Arabasta", but this was an entirely different scene. No drugs, no prostitutes, no music.
This place was ruled by violence.
But this was just fine in Zoro's eyes. He could easily miss the drugs and prostitutes. The bouncers let them pass and they stepped into a smoky bar. The crowd was drinking and smoking and it consisted mostly of men. In this area of the "Ring" gamblers were socializing and placing their bets.
All the assembled men looked up when the four of them entered the bar. And then the discussions started. Who would fight tonight? All of them?
They went over to the promoter and Lucci, Kidd and he signed in for a fight. The promoter still wanted to talk them into fighting each other, but they refused, like every single time this annoying being would ask the same question.
"Too bad, that would be awesome, just think how much money you would make-"
"We're not in it because of the money." Zoro said. "We just want to beat the shit out of opponents."
"We like watching people bleed to death because of the damage we did to their flesh." Kidd added.
Sometimes Kidd was just creepy, because Zoro knew Kidd wasn't joking when he said those things. Kidd and Lucci were rather bloodthirsty. Zoro shrugged, not his place to judge, he just wanted to fight.
They passed the gamblers and went to their own box above the big fighting area. The fighting pit was basically a drained swimming pool, and sometimes the drains were still needed – for blood.
Zoro got a bottle of whiskey from the stack in their box and started drinking. He itched for an intense fight; he already felt his swords rattle in their sheaths. He hoped he got to fight this crazy newcomer tonight.
With slight disinterest he watched the ongoing fights; he watched the crowd cheering; the room was filled with smoke and the smell of sweat and blood – wait – who was that? No, that wasn't curly-brow, what was he thinking, expecting the blonde with the designer suit at such a rough and dirty place?
Well, the man had been at the "Arabasta", a small voice in his head argued. Well, but he had never seen him again after those two fateful nights, and he had been there every single fucking night, waiting for the blonde to show up. He knew, he sounded fucking pathetic.
Time passed by and he distracted himself with drinking. Alcohol never effected his fighting, well after three bottles of straight whiskey it may did - but he was still working on his first.
"Oi, Zoro, Lucci, Kidd! Look at this kiddo over there; doesn't he remind you of Usopp?" Ace called. He had watched all the ongoing fights rather intensely.
Ace was right, that man was about the same height as Usopp, but the most noticeable similarity was the obscenely long nose.
"No shit, this must be his missing twin-"
"This can't be Usopp's brother; this one got a square nose." Lucci noticed.
They all stood at the railing and watched the ongoing fight. The man with the square nose was up against a really bulky and mean looking man. Both had one weapon of choice, the bulky man an iron club, the lean man a katana.
Zoro noticed the value of the men's katana instantly. "Square-nose is going to win." He stated.
"Why do you think that?" Kidd wanted to know.
"Look at his feet" Lucci pointed out. He seemed to be really interested in this fight. "Also the man is not even sweating yet. He just avoids the blows of his opponent, waiting for his chance to strike."
Zoro observed the lean man closely. Was this the crazy newcomer Ace talked about? It could be, since he was fighting quite talented with a sword.
Lucci was right. The fight lasted for another couple minutes and suddenly out of nowhere the bulky man just fell to the ground. He didn't move anymore and a pool of blood was appearing around the body.
Square-nose was fast, really fast. He looked like a worthy opponent for him, but Lucci was faster.
"I will fight him." Lucci stated. He glared right at Zoro and he sensed that Lucci was really intrigued with that square-nosed man. Zoro nodded.
"Whoa, Lucci, you know, bro, Zoro really needs an awesome fight-" Ace interrupted.
"It's fine, Ace. Did you see how he moved so fast? He used that special technique Lucci uses. Same with his attacks. Still same technique. Am I right, Lucci?"
"Yes. That's exactly why I want to fight him. I want to know where he learnt that. There are not many places left on this earth that teach this."
"Oh, I see. And now that you say it, he got something animalistic about his movements, I'm not sure if I can place it-"
Zoro stopped listening.
This fucking face.
This fucking face wouldn't leave his dreams, he couldn't stop fucking thinking about it; it fucking haunted him – that's why he came here. He came here to forget this fucking face.
And now it was here.
There was no mistaking it.
He was here.
A blonde man with a single visible blue eye and a fucking curly eyebrow stood right across the room, watching the fights.
He couldn't believe his luck. He had almost stopped hoping to see him again.
He followed the blonde man with his eyes as he moved through the crowd. He was like a predator watching his prey.
Without another word Zoro grabbed his swords and left their box. His eyes never left the blonde. The crowd parted for him as he stalked closer to curly-brow. He saw how the blonde man shrugging out of his fancy jacked and handing it over to Square-nose. So the two of them most likely knew each other. Curly-brow climbed down the ladder into the empty swimming pool and did some stretches.
Fuck, the blonde was fucking flexible. Instantly Zoro imagined bending this man over, taking advantage of his flexibility, taking him deep – fuck.
Zoro saw another man entering the fighting area; he was obviously curly-brow's opponent.
Something made click in Zoro's head. There was no fucking way he let some other man have what belonged to him. He was the predator and his prey was about to be eaten by some other, lower being.
He won't let that happen.
Without a second thought he leapt over the railing that constricted the audience of falling into the pit and faced his rival.
"I will take him." Zoro said.
The audience grew silent. That did never happen before - someone fighting over the right to fight someone!
His rival did obviously know him, or at least his reputation, because he backed off prompt.
After the man had left the pit Zoro turned around to face the blonde. He almost got kicked in his head by a really angry blonde. He dodged it barely.
"YOU!" The blonde screamed. "What the FUCK are you doing here, moss-ball?"
"Fighting you, curly-brow."
Sanji was so mad right now. He had come here to fight, to get some adrenaline running through his body, to distract him.
And yet here was the reason why he needed distraction so badly.
The fucking green-haired bastard had just shown up out of nowhere. What the fuck?
"You…you fight?" He stuttered. Shit, he his voice trembled.
"Yeah" the other man just said.
"You fucker, you really got a problem, I'm going to kick your ass through the roof, I'm going to shove my foot so far up your ass that it'll come out of your mouth!" Sanji screamed.
The other man just shrugged at his insults: "Try it, curly-brow."
Sanji was fuming. What was it about this man that he felt abnormally drawn to him and at the same time so riled up by that green-haired bastard? He got a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. He let the nicotine calm him. He wondered if the moss-head could fight. He sure looked strong enough, but Sanji knew that nobody could really stand up to his kicks.
The green-haired bastard just stood there, watching him with hooded eyes. Well, if he just stood there and stared at him with those scary intense eyes, he guessed it would be him to start the fight.
He started their fight with some rather light kicks, aimed at his face, but the fucker just dodged his kicks all too easy. He still had made no attempt to attack Sanji. He got really pissed. Just because he was slightly smaller than him and not as broad as the moss-head, he was not a weakling.
Pissed because the other man would not attack properly he sped up the rate of his kicks. He almost got bored by the passiveness of the bastard. But suddenly the man drew one of his three swords – three swords, really? Those were at least two swords too much and besides that he always thought that sword fighting was rather ridiculous, man, they lived in the 21st century after all – but his powerful kick aimed at the man's gut was blocked mighty with a sword that weren't in his hand a moment ago. Fuck, he was fast.
They both pressed forward, trying to get the other man to back down.
Sanji couldn't comprehend how strong the other man was. They both jumped back and their eyes locked. Nobody dared to break this connection. The green-haired bastard raised an eyebrow and Sanji took this as a provocation to attack the man again. This time he put way more power in his kicks and the bastard drew a second sword.
Sanji was amazed how easy the other man defended his death-blows. He had to admit that the man was really good with two swords, instead of constricting the other arm both swords worked together, complementing each other in the task of defeating Sanji.
They were fighting back and for, dodging, attacking, blocking, cutting, kicking – it was almost like a dance, Sanji thought.
He never fought against a man who could keep up with him without any visible sign of struggle. He felt sweat running down his back and his neck, he heard the crowd cheering like he never heard them before, but at the same time he blocked out every sound or every influence other than the man before him. His breathing sped up and he was panting by now. He felt the other man attack more viciously and Sanji moved as he never moved before.
In the end it was a tie.
They both stopped their fight for a few seconds, panting really hard, chests heaving, sweat dropping. Sanji wanted to open his mouth and declare their fight as a tie –
The other man shot Sanji one last determined look, then he drew his third sword and placed the handle between his teeth.
What the fuck?
He couldn't process what he saw: A fucking sword in the bastard's mouth. For a second he remembered what else had been in this strong, hot mouth, no, fuck, concentrate Sanji! Instead of looking weird or absurd the man just looked downright dangerous. Sanji swallowed. He collected his strength and took a deep breath.
Then they let hell break loose.
The man attacked like a demon, Sanji had the feeling he multiplied; he saw nine swords coming down at him instead of three. Sanji flipped on his hands and started blocking the violent strikes. He had no chance. The man was a fucking demon, he was everywhere. After a few seconds of only trying to avoid the heavy blows he felt his powers fade away.
Suddenly he was on his back, pinned to the ground by muscular arms; the bastard lying heavy on top of him, their faces were close, he could feel the other man's breath tingling on his face, he smelled the sweat, he felt the heat, he was so fucking hot, he looked right into fiery grey eyes – all of a sudden he felt the tip of a sword right at his neck, the steel cutting into his skin slightly. He felt small drops of blood running down his throat.
The other man stalked closer and for a second Sanji thought the man was going to kiss him, right here, in the middle of the bloody pit, accompanied by the frantic cheering of the wild crowd. Sanji felt his body tighten in anticipation -
"I win." The other man simply stated. He got off him and sheathed his swords. The man smiled. Sanji almost wanted to answer that smile, and then he reminded that he had lost. Fuck, he never lost! And especially not against a moss-head-
"I'm Zoro." The man stated. "Was nice seeing you again."
Zoro turned his back to Sanji and started climbing up the ladder. Sanji scrambled on his feet and hastened after him. He still could not comprehend that he had just lost.
"Oi, Shithead!" He called.
Zoro just grunted.
"I'm talking to you!" Sanji yelled while he was stumbling after the green-haired fucker. When they were both back on the observers level Sanji faced a rather annoyed Zoro. They were surrounded by a mass of people, who wanted to congratulate them, patting their backs and shouting some nonsense. Sanji noticed an astonished Kaku fighting their way through them, but his attention was all on the fucking moss-head.
"You lost, boy, get over it." Zoro said playfully. Why was this bastard smirking? Sanji wanted to kick him in the face – again!
"Well, I did. But I bet you are nothing without your swords." With his words Sanji reached for his jacket Kaku handed him and lit a fresh cigarette. He blew the smoke right into Zoro's face.
"You wanna find it out?"
"I will kick your fucking ass, moss-brain."
"I don't think so, curly-brow."
"Bring it, shithead!"
Zoro smirked and bent his head down so he was whispering into his ear: "Well, we can't fight here another round, but I'd love to try you without my swords. You really want another fight?"
"Yeah." Sanji said while he pushed Zoro back.
"Fine. Follow me."
Zoro walked off, tearing his way through the crowd, ignoring most of the people trying to get a hold of him. Zoro only stopped to talk for a few seconds to that red-head he had seen with him at the "Arabasta" that night. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the red-head just shrugged and let Zoro go.
Sanji followed Zoro outside.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked.
"To a decent place where we can fight in private."
Sanji gulped. Fight in private. That pretty much sounded like a suggestion…
"Oi, curly-brow-"
"Don't fucking call me that!"
"Well, I don't know your real name yet, you wouldn't tell me the last time I asked."
Sanji blushed. "It's Sanji."
"Sanji? I like how that sounds." Oh, shit, Sanji liked it too, the husky way Zoro pronounced his name, the way his named rolled of Zoro's tongue. Oh, fuck, Zoro's tongue, now he knew why his tongue was so strong and skilled – if you were able to handle a sword in your mouth, you were definitely able to handle a dick-
"I guess you should just follow me where I'm driving. My bike is right over there." Zoro pointed in the direction where Sanji had parked his Mercedes.
"Uh, my car is right over there too."
Sanji got to his car and he noticed the badass bikes parked next to his Mercedes. He watched Zoro getting on the pretty hardcore green bike. He wanted to get in his car but he noticed something was amiss – what the fuck!
"What the fuck! My tires are sliced!"
Zoro's face looked suddenly really funny, like he was suppressing a laugh.
"Do you think this is funny, shithead?" Sanji nagged.
"Shit happens, curly-brow. Don't sulk over your tires. If you can afford a car like this, you can easily afford a second set of tires. Get on." Zoro made a gesture with his hand, like he was supposed to get on his bike. There was no fucking way he'd get on this death machine.
"You wanted to fight me so bad, even after I already won. I usually don't give second chances." Zoro stated.
Sanji sulked.
"You're a chicken, or what?" The bastard asked.
"Shut up." Sanji growled and got on Zoro's bike.
He wasn't sure if he would survive this night.
A/N: Thank you all for your kind reviews! And yeah, I let Zoro win their first fight...but Sanji might win another one, just ties all the time are a bit boring!