Author's Note: First off, I must apologize for my utter and complete disappearance for the past two weeks. We had a hurricane come through our city, and it knocked out the city's power for a little over a week. After we got our power back … we still didn't get our cable and internet back … So I apologize. I'm actually at a friend's house, so we still don't have internet.

Alright, so it seems a few people are not understanding my story, or not paying attention, which one I'm not sure. It's pretty irritating when I got everything here already, but I won't say anything. I'm a little disappointed that after all I've written, some have, it seems, lost some faith in my ability to come up with an explanation for everything I write. I will say this. I have a reason for everything I write. There is a reason for everything that has happened in this story, or rather, an explanation. Also, there is one more factor that you all who gave me those reviews seem to have forgotten … You're guys … So of course you don't understand … -.- Once you have an understanding of a woman's inner workings … then you can come back to me and tell me those things … I mean, come on you guys … The title of the last chapter was Thou Art Not Thyself … Anyways … back to the story … Here is chapter 14. Read, enjoy, and review! XD

Genderly Challenged

Chapter 14: Holding Thy Grudge

Franky carried Robin into the infirmary and laid her down on the bed. She kept her knees raised and stared up at the ceiling. Chopper stopped just in the door way.

"I'm going to go get some ice. I'll be right back!" He said before going to do just that.

Franky watched Chopper leave before looking back down at Robin, and then scratched his head. "Ah … Sorry 'bout that, Nico Robin …"

Robin's cheeks flamed a bit as she kept her eyes shifted to the side now."It was an accident …"

"Aa, but I'm still sorry … I know it hurts …"

"It is ironic …"

"Eh?" Franky questioned as he blinked at her.

"Because of … what I did …"

Franky stared at her for a while before giving a smile and a small chuckle. "Aa, I guess it is …"

"My apologies …"

"Eh?!" Franky questioned in surprise.

"It … really does hurt …"

Blinking some more, he gaped at her for awhile before shifting his eyes to the side. "Mm, but ya knew it would hurt … I was bein' stubborn 'bout the whole thing …"

"Ee …"

"Not sure if I'd 've come as easily … if ya hadn't done it …" He said as he looked away fully and scratched his head.

Robin just nodded, but kept her gaze towards the wall. "I see …" She finally replied quietly.

"So … I guess we call it even then?"

Blinking a bit, Robin finally turned to look at him before smiling a bit and nodding. "Ee …"

Franky grinned down at her with a chuckle as he lowered his shades. "Even we are then!"

"I got the ice!" Chopper cried as he ran inside and handed it to Robin. "Here … put it … um …" He said as he pointed towards her middle.

Robin flushed darkly again before taking the bag of ice from him and doing as instructed. Just then, Nami and Sanji walked in.

"Are you alright, Robin?" Nami asked as she frowned down at her friend softly.

Robin leaned her head back to smile at her. "Ee!"

Only looking a little confused, Nami's frown deepened. "I'm sorry they laughed at you."

Releasing a chuckle, Robin's smile widened. "It's alright. I don't mind. Isn't that what they always do?"

"Eh?" Both Nami and Sanji questioned. However, Robin only smiled wider.

xxxx

Both Luffy and Usopp sat on the shore with their knees drawn to the chest and their arms wrapped around them as the tide receded to drench their feet and bottoms.

"I'm a little confused …"

"Me too …"

"Why were you afraid to be laughed at?"

Usopp remained quiet for awhile as a frown slowly formed on his brow. "I don't know …"

Luffy looked over at his friend. "You don't know …?"

Shaking his head, Usopp remained looking forward. "I just … didn't … I normally don't care, but …"

After awhile, Luffy looked back ahead of him. Things seemed a lot different. His crew seemed different. Did changing genders really change them that much? However, even with all the change of the others, why was it that he seemed to remain the same? Sure, he got a little emotional easily, but he was, over all, the same man he always was. The other person who didn't seem to have changed much was Robin. However, did he really expect any different?

"I guess … we really are just different …"

"Aa …" Usopp replied with a slow nod.

"I don't think we're all that different …"

Blinking, both turned around to see Zoro staring at them both. "What do you mean?"

Zoro's eyes shifted to Usopp. "I think we're relatively the same, just … with a slight push?"

"A slight push …?" Usopp asked as he quirked a brow.

"Sure …"

Tilting his head, Luffy then turned back around. 'A slight push …?'

xxxx

After they went back to the ship, washed Nami's swim suits and put them up to dry, Usopp and Luffy made their way back to the front of the ship. Robin and Nami were sitting in their usual chairs, only Robin had a pack of ice in between her legs. She didn't seem like she was in pain any longer. However, Chopper might have insisted. Nami glanced over, narrowed her eyes and then looked away from them slowly. Luffy's brows furrowed into a frown as he looked down at her, and Usopp frowned sadly before looking away.

"Don't worry about it, Usopp …" Luffy whispered over to Usopp as he kept his frown.

Blinking, Usopp looked over to Luffy in some confusion. "Huh?"

Ignoring his confusion, Luffy made his way down and towards Robin. Looking up, Robin then smiled up at him. "Hello."

"I'm sorry for laughing at you."

Robin released a soft chuckle as she smiled wider up at him. "Don't worry about it. I was not offended. It was just an accident."

"Does it hurt anymore?"

"No, it does not." Robin replied as she removed the bag of ice and placed it on the table.

"I figured it didn't. The pain doesn't really last that long."

"Ee!" Robin replied as she grinned up at him.

Grinning in return, he then turned and walked away, all without even glancing at Nami. Narrowing her eyes further, she 'hmphed' before turning away. However, she felt herself wince again, but ignored it. Usopp watched Luffy all the while, and had slowly climbed down the stairs. Walking over to him, Luffy pat his shoulder before plopping down next to him. Frowning, but only slightly, Usopp sat down next to him.

After awhile, Sanji came out of the kitchen and made his way down. "I need a few things from town before I can fix dinner."

Turning to him, Nami then smiled slowly before standing up. "I'll come with you."

Frowning deeply, Luffy stood up as well. "I wanna go into town too!"

Also frowning, Nami turned to look at him. "No."

Deepening his frown, he ignored her as he turned and made his way to the railings. "Usopp, you coming?"

Biting his lip, he shifted his eyes from Luffy to Nami, and then back to Luffy nervously. Luffy turned to Usopp then with an angry frown. "Are you coming …?" He asked slowly, but it caused a shiver to run down Usopp's spine.

"A-Aa!" He replied quickly as he jumped to his feet.

For a moment, the look Luffy had just given him rivaled that of Nami's. Sanji only frowned as he watched the two, but then looked over at Nami, who was almost scowling at the two. Zoro stood then and also headed to the rail after the two had climbed down.

"I wouldn't mind a trip into town …" He said as he also began to climb down. 'And I wouldn't miss this for the world …'

Robin also stood with a smile. "I would also like to come as well."

"Well, we might as well all go!" Nami said as she made her way to the rail and began to climb down.

Still frowning, Sanji finally made his way to the rail with a sigh as Franky, Chopper and Brook followed behind him. Nami brushed past Luffy and Usopp, walking ahead of them, even though she had no idea where Sanji needed to go. With another sigh, Sanji also walked past them to catch up to her.

They all walked into town, Sanji and Nami in the front as everyone else looked around. However, Luffy kept his eyes on Nami's back. It was kind of irking him that she constantly seemed to lose her temper and blow up at him, but yet to everyone else, she seemed nice. Even though everyone else laughed, it always seemed her anger was directed towards him. Even though she had said that she was disappointed in Usopp, it was at him that she had yelled at, not Usopp.

'What's her problem anyway …?'

Zoro watched Luffy carefully. 'Is he finally tired of her? I wonder if he will do anything about it … Well, if he does, I wanna be there to see it …' He said as he gave a small smirk to himself.

Suddenly, there was a commotion and two men came flying out of a bar from what seemed to be a gust of wind. They rolled across the ground for awhile before standing and looking back towards the bar in fear. After awhile, they screamed and took off running. In that second, a man stepped out of the bar and sheathed his katana as he turned to watch them run away.

"Cowards … First they start a fight and then don't finish it …"

The crew gaped at the tall man's back before he suddenly turned to look at them. His expression was completely apathetic as he then turned and went back into the bar. He had black hair that was long enough to come down over some of his face on each side, and it wasn't a bad looking face at all.

"Wow …" Usopp whispered as they all stared at the now empty bar doors.

"That must 've been a pretty powerful swing." Franky said as he lifted his sunglasses.

"He is indeed a very skilled swordsman." Brook whispered as he lifted a hand to clutch at his bony chest. "He makes the swordsman in me tremble with excitement."

However, everyone began to blink as they all turned to the sound of rattling and then gasped. Zoro was gripping his treasured sword, Wadō Ichimonji tightly, and it seemed he was trembling, but grinning at the door.

"Z-Zoro?" Usopp asked as everyone blinked at him.

"I'll be right back …" Zoro said as he began to walk towards the bar door.

"O-Oi!" Usopp called as they all watched him.

Throwing open the doors, Zoro looked around, ignoring the smirks and glances he received, and spotted the same tall man, sitting at a table alone. He had a jar of sake and a cup in front of him. Releasing the doors, Zoro then made his way over to the man and stopped just behind him.

"What do you want, woman?"

Eyes twitching, he tried to ignore that. "You seem pretty skilled with a sword."

"So?"

Eyes twitching further, Zoro walked around to face him. The man slowly glanced up at him before slowly shifting his eyes down to Zoro's swords. Zoro smirked, but then frowned when the man uncaringly looked away.

"Just because you wield two swords, doesn't mean you can go around challenging people, lady …"

Clenching his teeth, a stitch appeared just above Zoro's brow. He only carried two, because unfortunately, his newest sword, Shuusui had been far too heavy for him in the state he was in. "I wouldn't wield a sword if I didn't know how to use it …"

"That right …?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

Sighing, the man looked back up at him, his expression bored. "Look toots …" He started, but the word 'toots' really irked Zoro as he quirked a brow and clenched his teeth tighter. "I don't fight women … Okay …?"

"What does gender matter in a duel?!"

"Everything …"

"As long as I've the experience and skill … gender should never matter …"

"Well, we're not going to find that out …" The man said before downing his sake and standing. "I told you … I don't fight women … Or at least, not if I don't have to. I definitely don't duel them …" He said as he turned and walked out.

Zoro could only gape at his back and watch him leave. He had been rejected … because of his gender. He suddenly felt cold and shivered where he stood. His arms rose up and clutched at his arms as the memory of Kuina's sad face came to his mind. She had said she couldn't be a swordsman because of her gender. His face slowly broke into a scowl as he dropped his arms and stormed out. He looked around, but didn't see the man anywhere.

"Oi, Zoro …"

Turning, he saw the crew, still waiting outside for him. "If you're looking for that guy, he's gone already …" Usopp said as he frowned at Zoro's expression.

Furrowing his brows deeper, he clenched his fists and teeth tightly, baring them slightly before bolting back towards the ship, pushing Luffy and Usopp as he passed.

"Oi!" Usopp and Luffy cried as they turned and watched as he ran.

"What the hell …?" Sanji questioned as he scratched his head.

"He was rejected for a duel …"

"Eh?" Everyone questioned as they turned to Brook.

"Rejected?" Luffy asked as he blinked at the skeleton.

"Aa … probably because of his gender …"

Nami frowned deeply as she watched Zoro's back. "Mmm …" She hummed before she began to walk quickly in his direction.

"Oi, Nami-san?"

"I'll be right back! You go ahead and get what you needed!" She called over her shoulder before she broke into a run.

"Heh …" Sanji scoffed with a bit of a smirk before turning and continuing on his task.

Luffy remained where he was for awhile, just watching Nami run off with an apathetic expression himself, or so it looked to be. After she turned a corner, he turned and began to follow the others, who had already walked some distance.

Nami lost sight of him after he'd turned a corner, in the direction opposite the ship. She looked around and continued walking quickly, hoping she'd get lucky. She ended up at the harbor way on the other side and sighed. However, she could hear mumbling somewhere close by. She looked around and found him sitting next to a crate with his legs dangling over the side.

Walking over quietly, she blinked when she could hear some of what he was mumbling, and then eyes opened a little more when she noticed him wiping his hand across his face.

"Stupid … I hate this …! What the hell …?!"

"Zoro …"

Gasping, Zoro quickly looked up at her with large eyes with water definitely filling in them. Then his expression turned into a deep scowl. "What the hell do you want?!"

Sighing deeply and closing her eyes, Nami leaned against the crate he was sitting next to. "Brook said you were rejected for a duel …" She said as she opened her eyes to look down at him.

"Yeah, well what the fuck does he know?!"

"Is it true?"

"…"

She watched as he looked back towards the sea, not saying a thing. Instead of saying anything, she just waited until he was ready to say something and just watched the tide with him. She didn't have to wait long.

"He said he didn't duel women …"

Shifting her eyes back down to him, her frown deepened. "I see … Although, I don't see that alone making you of all people want to cry …" She said softly.

He pursed his lips and sniffed hard as he looked away. "Yeah … I got my reasons …"

"I see …"

"Gender shouldn't matter … If you're strong, you're strong …"

"I agree …"

Blinking, Zoro quickly looked up at Nami. Then he looked away again. He was silent for awhile before speaking. "Someone once told me that they couldn't be a master swordsman because of their gender …"

Nami's lips part in a bit of a gape, surprised he was reveal even just that much to her. "Oh?"

"I had said … that gender didn't matter … but … I don't know … I can see now … just how difficult it could have been …"

'Could have been …?' Nami tilted her head. "What happened to her?"

"Not important …" He replied quickly with her having barely finished her sentence.

Narrowing her eyes a bit, but not with malice, she regarded him seriously. "I see … I guess it could be hard for a swordsman, if she were a woman, not being taken seriously. I get that too … but I'm not a swordsman, who's trying to be great …"

Zoro nodded as he continued to stare of along with Nami. Then he tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. He actually felt a little better after talking about it. Then he seemed in thought.

"I thought you said you would laugh at me if something happened to me …"

"Oh yeah … Hahahahahaha!"

"Oi!" He exclaimed, scowling.

He quickly looked up at Nami, who was smiling down at him, but it wasn't a mocking smile. He lost his frown and just stared at her wide eyed. However, she then looked back out to sea.

"Look … it doesn't matter what gender you are now … Once you turn back, you can kick his ass, right?"

His expression turned into a bit of a gape, before he found himself smiling too. "Aa …" He said as he looked back ahead of him too. "But …"

Looking back down at him, she blinked a bit. "But?"

"I want to try again like this … Just so he can see that a woman can kick his ass and be strong … He was strong and would be good exercise, but even like this and with only two swords, I can still beat him." He said as he smirked. 'And so that I know … Kuina could have done it too.'

Chuckling, Nami straightened up. "I don't doubt that."

He grinned broadly before standing up and facing her. Then he blinked and looked to the side, a slight blush crossing his nose. "Thanks …"

Her smile turned warm before she shook her head. "Don't worry about it …"

"Why?"

"Eh?" She asked as she stared at him in confusion.

"Why do you do this … even though …?"

Her expression turned serious as she looked away. "I don't know …"

Watching her for awhile, his expression also serious, Zoro then closed his eyes before turning to walk. He really didn't understand her right now. However, with them all being this way, he didn't understand much of anything.

Watching him now, she finally stepped up to lead the way back to the ship. "Guess we should go back, huh?"

"Mm …"

"I noticed you only carry two swords … Is the other one too heavy?"

"Shut up …"

She chuckled and smiled as she kept her gaze ahead of her. At her soft chuckle, he felt himself smile as well as he looked to his side.

'Heavy or not … I will show that guy what I can do with just two swords …'

To Be Continued …

Author's Note: Hehe, I just finished reading all of Rurouni Kenshin, and the swordsman in this chapter, I kind of see him as Aoshi! XP Or similar to Aoshi … So, what did you all think? A little boring? Probably. More will happen next chapter for sure! X) I bet you are also confused again, aren't you? However, women are very confusing creatures, are they not? I confuse myself sometimes … No seriously, I do … o.o But I guess that's not very hard to do … x.X Like I said above, I have my reasons for everything that I write, and you will soon come to understand it all really soon. Anyways, leave me a review! XD