For candy-of-doom. It's the same as the last chapter, but I really wanted to do something from Zoro's point of view.
He'd killed Tashigi. That was the first conscious thought to his mind. To say he was sad might have been an overstatement, but he did feel a little bad. She had a big attitude, but none of the guts to back it up. It was no wonder he'd gotten bored with her so easily, and he wasn't surprised when he'd noticed that all too familiar creeping blackness invading his vision. Still, she'd been a patient, kind-hearted person. It was a shame to see someone like her fade from the world.
She'd just met the wrong person, really.
He felt bad that his monster hadn't killed her instantly. She didn't deserve to suffer.
"What happened?" A voice asked from behind him.
The still present monster in his mind stirred at the sound. A witness. Someone who should be killed. More blood to spill.
Zoro ignored the darkness. He owed Tashigi. She'd been kind to him, encouraging and warm. She deserved to die quickly.
The spray of her blood satisfied the beast inside of him for the moment, and it forgot about the voice from before. He stared down at the lifeless form at his feet. She was quiet now, her pleading and whimpering had stopped. Her heart had stopped. The only sound she made now was the steady drip drip of blood as it flowed from her body.
He felt better knowing she was dead.
"She was an innocent woman," The voice spoke again. With his demon settled, he was more aware of the person's voice, low, undeniably male. It didn't sound shocked or afraid, as Zoro had grown accustomed to. It sounded offended.
"She was," Zoro replied. It was true. She was good. Innocent. Kind. She loved people, loved helping those in need, loved making people smile. But her fate had been sealed the day she noticed Zoro.
"Did you know her?"
"I did," Zoro replied. His curiosity got the better of him, and he turned to look at the speaker. A tall, blond man stood behind him. Handsome, young…and unusual. "She was my girlfriend," He explained, turning back to Tashigi's corpse.
He'd expected the blond to make a move. To attack him or scream for help. The fact that the man was just standing there, interested but not panicked, almost made Zoro uncomfortable. This was not the usual reaction he got when he was caught. There was usually a lot of screaming, swearing, and cursing him to his grave. As if he could be any more cursed.
"What happened?" The man asked again.
Zoro's interest in the blond grew. Who was this man? Why didn't he threaten Zoro? Why didn't he try to run? Why was he interested?
"I got tired of her," Zoro replied with a shrug. There was no better explanation. Once his inner monster grew bored, it killed the things Zoro cared about most. Zoro was careful not to get close to anyone anymore, but occasionally they still found their way into his life, like Tashigi had.
There was a moment of silence. Zoro was sure this was it. The blond would call him a madman, a demon. He'd wish Zoro to hell. He'd run for help, spewing insults as he fled. Zoro would catch him before he made it to the street. He'd end him here, in this dark alley, without even knowing the name of the man he was killing.
"What are you going to do now?"
Zoro turned to look at the blond. The man didn't look frightened. He didn't glare at Zoro with hateful eyes. He didn't condemn him. He met Zoro's eyes easily, with a look of interest as he waited patiently for the answer to his question.
Zoro wasn't sure what to make of the man. This whole situation was beyond his expectations.
He turned back to Tashigi, nudging her body with the toe of his boot. She swayed lifelessly under his motion. He wasn't sure what to do about the blond. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on but…but he could at least answer the guy's question.
"Bury her, I guess."
Another moment of silence stretched between them. Zoro continued to push at the body with his foot. He was nervous. The blond was strange. Zoro was no stranger to the dark, and he was well acquainted with the unusual, but still the blond was foreign to him.
"Seems like a waste," The blond finally replied.
Zoro's nervousness broke. His uncertainties about the blond and the confusion the man caused him seemed to vanish. This was a conversation. This was normal.
"Do you have a better plan?" He asked, his eyes rolling sarcastically at the comment.
"Well if you'd let me, I'd love to cook you dinner," The blond man replied, a genuine, beautiful smile lighting his features. It was a smile Zoro couldn't help but to smile back. It was a strange smile. He'd smiled before, but never had once stretched his lips so wide or felt so warm on his face.
The blond's name was Sanji, and that was the name and the face Zoro would forever find comfort in. No matter the curses wished on him and the names he was called, only Sanji's voice would matter to him from then on.