Hey, guys! Well, here is another ZoNa fiction, not really related to One Piece. For the time being, main characters will be Nami, Zoro and Arlong and I'm thinking of adding a bit of LuffyxVivi, but later on. The story takes place in the real modern world and characters are about to graduate High School (except for Arlong of course). I will attempt to make it as good as possible, since it is quite difficult to write an angst/romance centered story. Rating T just to be safe, might change according to your reviews people. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: I Spy With My Little Eye
The time was passing by rather quickly on that rainy and cold evening. Seconds went by, but the ticking of the clock could not be evident inside the little bar as loud music overruled any other sound. Howeer, an orange-haired beauty managed to concentrate on her book without any problem at all.
Now and then, she would take a sip of her hot coffee warming up her freezing body. Although she did not wear her usual undergarment like clothes but was supposed to be protected by the quite warm ones she had put one, Nami felt the goose bumps that were formed throughout her body. It was kind of expected since Christmas was on the way and the young woman could not like less the idea of winter. She considered it a sacred time of the year one should celebrate with family or people they cared about. And for another year, she would be alone.
Her luscious curves were covered by the heavy piece of clothing she had decided to wear. The long woolen gray jacket reached up until her mid-thighs whereas her black sweater did not give the filthy alcohol consuming customers of the rural bar the chance to enjoy the sight of such a pretty woman. That, of course, did not stop them from buying her drinks or making inappropriate comments the girl had gotten used to.
The real question is: what was she doing at that dumbster of a bar all by herself? Well, let's just say that was the best alternative of the two. She indeed preferred being surrounder by lustful drunkards than at "home", a crowdeed 3-room apartment, with her greasy substitute of stepfather, Arlong. The visits she had become accustomed to over the past years soon became her daily routine as they were the only pplace where she would be alone, a luxury she craved more and more each passing day.
However, the fierce orange-haired future would change as she would become 18 in 7 months. 7 more months until she would be set free. Only 7 more months until she would be able to break free from the masochistic bastard who dared to call himself her father. Only 7 more months until her 18th birthday and she would be able to start her life anew, no Arlong, no nothing. But she had to be patient until then, so she did the only thing that would help time pass more quickly; escape from him even fo a few hours a day.
Her older sister, Nojiko, was quite lucky, really. She had managed to escape the harsh reality she used to live in two years ago, leaving everything behind her; including a younger, helpless sister. Despite of this action of hers, she did not keep any hard feelings towards her sister. She knew she would have done the same thing if given the chance. She was planning to do something similar to what her sister did and that time was not that far away.
While she was reading the romance novel of hers, her concentration was suddenly disturbed. Nami got the nagging feeling of being watched and could not shake that thought away. Well, it wasn't like all these filthy men had not being staring at her from head to toe from the moment she set foot inside the bar, as always, since she was the only girl there that was not a hooker or such. It was just, this time, it felt oddly different. The gaze she felt settle upon her was kind of...pleasant. It kind of made her insides warm up despite the weather's cruelty.
She had to find the source of that intense gaze. No, she needed to do so. So, she scanned every little corner of the crowded bar in search of the responsible one. Looking around again, her big brown eyes met dark, inviting ones. The broad smirk, the overconsumption of booze and a hint of green made clear who was the cause of her disturbance, even behind the shadows created by the dim light of the place.
She held her breath unable to process all her feelings at once: anxiety, longing, nostalgia, anger,...hope. She put down her mug of coffee and book and kept eye contact with the person that was sitted in the opposite side of the room. With a trembling voice, she whispered, mostly to herself: "Zoro?"
Thank you all for reading! Please review:)