Hello, guys! Sorry for the long wait, I've been busy trying to brainstorm ideas for this story and updating my other stories! You could say that this story is a sort of a prologue, a Part 1 to the One Piece series I'm planning for Ruka and Zoro: Scaled Piece. Why that's called that, you'll find out much later. That said, even now, I'm brainstorming ideas but you'll all see.
AO3 Link: /works/45506545/chapters/139287028
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any One Piece series, only the OCs!
Days have turned into weeks ever since Zoro took in Ruka, the slave girl whom he had personally named since she didn't have properly have one. It was...strange. Strange to have some form of new change in his life, where he was a lone wolf, constantly seeking out battles to grow stronger and to fulfill his dream of becoming the World's Greatest Swordsman. Strange to have a new companion at his beck and call. Strange to...have someone to take care of, and to also care for him in return.
It was...a nice kind of strange.
In all honesty, it took Zoro some to get used to Ruka's presence now in his life. It wasn't that he disliked her, but rather, he needed time to get used to not being alone. Still, he found much comfort in her company. He enjoyed conversing with her even if she had to write it all down due to being mute. Every single bit of detail about Ruka, he made sure to remember everything.
And little by little, both started placing their trust into each other.
The longer the two of them stayed together, the more closer they became and it became more sense that they stuck together as a packaged deal. Both had their own roles that had them working together, even if they were somewhat stereotypical.
Zoro could protect Ruka, keep and make her feel safe, as well as provide for both him and herself. He was both a hunter and a fighter, able to juggle the duties of bounty hunting and food hunting to receive essential needs like food and money for the two of them. When it came to cooking and cleaning, however, Zoro's skills were nearly nonexistent, only doing the bare minimum.
Years as a slave had honed Ruka's skills as a cook, cleaner, and healer. Whatever food Zoro had hunted down, Ruka would cook to make more delicious and nutritious meals. Whatever clothes or supplies were dirtied, Ruka would clean up, though Zoro always had a close eye on Ruka whenever she had permission to clean his swords not out of distrust, but to ensure she wouldn't get hurt. Whatever injuries he sported, Ruka would always either heal him with her powers or bandage him up. And Ruka would take care of any supply shopping.
Ruka herself wasn't very good in a fight, or rather, she had very little experience in it. She relied on Zoro in that part, always staying a good distance from all of the fighting or hiding. At times, she had no choice but to defend herself or run away until Zoro dealt with the enemies, but she never tried to stand in Zoro's way of fighting. All she could do was mend his wounds the best she could whenever the fighting was over.
As they continued traveling together, Ruka realized that she hated seeing Zoro in pain. To see him covered in cuts or any other wounds every time he returned from a battle, the slight winches he tried to hide whenever she tried healing him, it always pained her. She knew his wounds were minor, compared to wounds he's inflicted onto his enemies and bounties. Still, that didn't make her worry even less.
It was the same for Zoro. He knew he was capable of protecting himself when it came to battle, so it became a whole different challenge when he was fighting not only for himself, but also to keep Ruka out of harm's way. He knew he was strong, strong enough to make a name for himself as a formidable bounty hunter and only improving himself with each victory he claimed. He thought that with his currently increasing strength, he could easily protect Ruka and fight enemies at once.
He never imagined how much challenging it was.
It wasn't that Ruka was a burden or got in his way in battles. If anything, she did try to stay out of battles or was forced to defend herself with her own water powers, despite the backlash effects they caused her. But multitasking was proving more difficult for Zoro the more stronger the enemies were or especially how outnumbered he tended to be. If he was by himself, he could easily make a slaughterhouse, but fighting and protecting simultaneously was proving harder and harder, especially with how his reputation was growing with the "suspicious rumor" of Ruka being his new companion, which many enemies would see as his one and only weakness.
Zoro could have left Ruka with the marines every time he turned in his bounties, or even in a more peaceful town where he was certain someone far more capable could take care of her. That way, she wouldn't be exposed to danger the more she traveled with him. After all, in this cruel and unfair world, there had to be at least one kind person who was willing to take in someone as vulnerable and fragile as Ruka.
Hell, he could have tricked her into staying at some random town or abandoned her without leaving a notice. And yet, he didn't. He simply took her with him.
Although he pitied her for her slavery situation, pity wasn't the reason why he allowed her to accompany him. He saw how scared she tended to be, always hiding behind him whenever someone approached them. How she clung to either his arm or his clothes and was trembling so much, he would have assumed that she was cold instead of frightened. With everything she's been through, with who knows how long she's been a slave for, it was natural that she wouldn't be able to trust anyone.
Anyone but Zoro, that is.
Being with Ruka felt like...a refreshing new comforting feeling for Zoro. Sure, she couldn't fight, but what mattered more was her company, her silent kindness, her desire to help out in any way she could. Perhaps it was because she wanted to repay Zoro for everything she's done, but either way, it felt...nice. Nice to have someone by his side, someone that was always waiting for him after he finished taking down a bounty or any other task.
Soon, they arrived at a town, wanting to gather more supplies for a supposedly long journey ahead. Ruka had a keen eye for gathering the necessary supplies while being mindful of their savings. Zoro himself attempted to give Ruka her own personal savings through an allowance of sorts, but Ruka always handed any money she found right to Zoro. Zoro was grateful to Ruka when it came to handling money for supplies, but did felt a bit tad guilty since that did mean he wasn't always reliable with money, which was unsurprisingly, given that he usually spends his money on drinking in bars.
Glancing around the outdoor open marketplace, Zoro noticed that it wasn't just food being sold. Other places such as women accessories, jewelry, and clothing were being sold out on the open as well. Zoro thought that maybe he should gift Ruka something as a reward for helping him as they traveled together, but...
He had no idea what exactly Ruka liked.
Zoro himself was observant, so he made sure to remember every single last detail about Ruka when she started traveling with him. He knew she loved flowers, especially the blue kinds. He knew that Ruka's favorite meals always involved fish. He knew she enjoyed rainy days, whereas most others hated them. He knew that she would always willingly heal him at the expense of her feeling the pain of his wounds.
But other than that, he knew nothing more about her.
Granted, he could just gift her a random gift and Ruka would like it, simply because it was a gift from her savior, but he wanted more than that. Zoro wasn't a picky guy, but he was particularly picky about getting a really good gift that would wow her, make her eyes sparkle with joy just like every time she ate fish.
And no, gifting her fish wouldn't really be a first-choice gift. That would just be taking the easy route out.
Making sure that he was close by Ruka so that she wouldn't wander off and get lost, Zoro pretended to be looking around elsewhere while his eyes were focused on the feminine products before him. Jewelry, accessories, makeup...a lot of good choices but far too expensive with their savings. Why did gifts for women always have to be expensive?
Zoro cleared his throat before tapping Ruka's shoulder, gaining her attention. "You know, Ruka, if you want, we can look around here, too. See if there's...anything you like."
Yeah, that seemed like a good idea for Zoro. He could observe her and gauge her reactions, see what sort of products she loves. If it was too expensive, he could always suggest staying for a few days, sneak out to grab some bounties, and use the money to get whatever expensive stuff she wanted.
Constantly glancing between Ruka and other products, Zoro examined her reactions, and although Ruka did regard the feminine items with wonder, there was a lack of desire or interest in having any of them. Even more so when she discovered just how crazy expensive they were.
After some time passed, it was clear that Ruka didn't seem interested in even sneaking a second glance at the products meant for women only. She and Zoro just bought whatever necessary food and other supplies needed for their journey before leaving the marketplace. Or at least, they were close to exiting the marketplace area when something else did catch Ruka's eye.
Zoro paused, stopping in his tracks when he saw Ruka wandering off towards another vendor. He followed behind her and saw that she was excitedly looking at different toy products meant for children. Dolls, blocks, toy ships, all sorts of toys one would expect a child would want. But there seemed to be one particular type of item that Ruka really was intrigued with.
Stickers.
Being curious, Ruka grabbed some of the sticker notepads and flipped through some of them, amazed by their small but cute designs. For example, one was filled with teddy bear stickers, another with animal stickers, and another with food stickers. But the one she seemed to like the most was the sticker notepad filled with flower stickers.
'...Okay, I can work with this,' thought Zoro, fishing out some Beris to pay. Perhaps because Ruka had spent who knows how long as a slave, her curiosity was like that of a child's, so like a child, she would enjoy stuff like simple toys instead of more mature women stuff like makeup and jewelry. At least for now.
"Here," Zoro said, paying for the flower sticker notepad that Ruka wanted. "This should be enough for the stickers, right?"
The toy vendor owner nodded. "Of course! That'll be enough. Is there anything else you want while you're here?"
Realizing that Zoro must have paid the stickers for her, Ruka smiled brightly. clinging the sticker notepad to her chest like hugging it. Thinking that she was already happy enough for now, Zoro said, "No, we're alright."
"Alright, then! Have a good day, you two!"
Later, in the inn room...
"Master Zoro! Thank you so much for these! I will cherish them forever!"
Zoro nodded. "It's no big deal. Just figured that I should get you something. You did work hard as always ever since we started traveling together."
"Master Zoro! Should I also buy you something for all the hard work you did too?"
If anything, Zoro's wish would have some high-quality booze or any kind of alcohol, but high-quality stuff like that would be pretty expensive, sometimes even more expensive than women's jewelry or clothing. Way too much for Ruka to handle, which is why if he told her what he wanted, she would have struggled hard, harder than ever before, just to get him what he wanted, and he would never want her to hurt herself trying to obtain what he wanted.
"I'm fine, don't worry. Just enjoy your stickers, okay?"
A puzzled look formed on Ruka's face. "Sticks? These are not sticks, I don't think? Am I not holding mini paintings?"
Zoro paused, looking over at Ruka. "Wait, do you seriously not know what stickers are?"
More confusion on Ruka's face as she never even heard the term confirmed Zoro's question.
With a sigh, Zoro gently took the sticker notepad from Ruka and peeled one of them off, sticking it to his finger. The astonished look on Ruka's face as she watched was like watching something entirely new from her perspective.
"Look, this is a sticker, okay? They're...well, they're like little pieces of paper that you can easily peel and then stick to another thing. People often use them for decorating or uh...sticking stuff with. They're kinda like accessories. They're also used for fun, so I guess they're like toys, in a way? Anyways, you just peel them like this and just stick them. Here."
Zoro used the sticker he just peeled off and stuck it onto Ruka's nose. He took her to the nearest mirror, where they could both see their reflections. It also allowed Ruka to see herself, specifically where the sticker landed on her face. Ruka silently panicked, wondering what to do with the sticker now that it was "stuck" to her face.
"Relax. Look, stickers are easily to peel off, too."
Demonstrating that face, Zoro easily peeled the flower sticker off Ruka's nose, assuring her that she was going to be fine. Not wanting to keep the sticker on his finger any longer, he then stuck the sticker against her cheek, rubbing his thumb against it. He could feel the smooth and soft skin as he did so, feeling a sense of relaxing with his normally callous fingers stroking her soft skin.
Realizing what he was doing, Zoro pulled his hand back, clearing his throat. "R-Right. Here." Zoro handed the flower sticker notepad back to Ruka. "Anyways, you normally use the stickers on your most favorite things. It's fun and easy to do."
Curious, Ruka wrote down, "Anything? Any favorite things? Any favorite things I like?"
"Yeah. Anything. Books, paper, even yourself-h-hey!"
Easily mastering the art of peeling stickers off the notepad, Ruka then proceeded to start placing stickers on things like her notebook all over Zoro. Stammering and squirming around, Zoro only succeeded in stopping Ruka from her sticker onslaughter by grasping her palms with his. By then, parts of his face were smacked with stickers, along with parts of the rest of his body randomly.
Taking a glance at his own mirror reflection, Zoro turned red-faced when he saw the embarrassing state he was in. God, if he had been out bounty hunting when this happened, his fearsome reputation would have taken a deep dive.
Frowning, he peeled the rest of the stickers off him with ease. Even though Zoro didn't care about his reputation that much, it still wouldn't paint him as a fierce and scary bounty hunter if he was discovered with cute stickers scattered all over his body.
After he took down the rest of the stickers and tossed them in a nearby trash bin, he felt like his heart was being stabbed by guilt when he saw the hurt puppy dog look on Ruka's face. She must have thought that he didn't like them enough to just simply throw them away.
"Hey, hey, it's alright," Zoro told Ruka gently. "Ruka, it's not as thought I hate them. It's just...I don't want stickers placed on me. Besides, you would have a better use for them than on someone like me."
Ruka shook her head and wrote down, "But you said to put the stickers on anything I like! Any favorite things! And you're my most favorite thing!"
If Zoro's face could burst into a combustion, it would have done so immediately after hearing those heartfelt words. Face redden, Zoro turned away, placing a palm over his face as though to hide his embarrassment.
"I-I don't...I'm not...You shouldn't..." With a sigh, Zoro reluctantly gave up his attempts of trying to correct her. "...Thanks."
The beaming smile formed on Ruka's face only further embarrassed Zoro...and yet made him happy too.
This chapter is a bit short, but I also wanted to emphasize the slow-growing relationship between Zoro and Ruka. There'll be more moments like this in the future chapters as well, but I just wanted something sweet, cute, and fluffy here! I hope you enjoy!
Read and review!