One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Misrepresented and Misunderstood ❯ A Woman Scorned ( Chapter 10 )

Recap: Zoro and Tashigi began training/sparring together, Smoker lost his patience with Jango who appeared to be doing something strange, and the navy caught up to the Straw-Hats.

 

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Chapter 10 - A Woman Scorned

 

Tashigi looked up, dragging a hand across her forehead to clear the sweat that had gathered, yelping indignantly as she saw that Zoro had walked away from her. Was this his latest way of telling her that their sparring session was over? Remembering that he had told her they still had five minutes, and feeling determined not to waste a single second longer, Tashigi straightened up, holding her head high, and marched across the ship to where she could see the fuzzy green splodge of Zoro's hair.

 

“…General Disaster will be happy to go back to them,” she heard Zoro's voice say as she joined them.

 

Reading between the lines of Zoro's insult, Tashigi suddenly felt a rush of joy, and, looking out to sea, her suspicions were confirmed; she could see the blurry outline of a blue and white ship heading towards them.

 

“Here,” Zoro offered, handing her a pair of binoculars.

 

“Zoro!” Nami yelled, stamping a foot.

 

Tashigi frowned at the navigator for a brief moment before gladly lifting the binoculars to her eyes and hurriedly focusing them on the ship ahead. The binoculars gave her a clear picture of the navy insignia, and as she lowered her view a little, she could see the deck of the ship was littered with marines in standard issues uniforms, the sight making her tearful with joy. Scanning over the marines, Tashigi began to frown slightly, surprised to find that they all appeared to be dancing. And, she thought to herself, they were all dancing in step with each other, making their actions particularly odd. Moving over them, Tashigi paused at two officers in plain clothes, one of whom looked vaguely familiar. She studied him for a moment before she recognised his face as that of a very contemptuous and arrogant Second Lieutenant she had met previously. Was his name Fullbody?

 

Moving on, Tashigi scanned over another couple in plain clothes before returning to more marines in uniform. Tashigi froze, something inside of her snapping. Slowly, she panned back to the second couple without uniforms, her jaw dropping and a silent gasp drying her throat at what she saw. At first, she could hardly believe that the man she was looking at was in fact Captain Smoker - after all, this man was smiling. But, the longer she lingered on him, the harder it became in Tashigi's mind to either deny that it was her commanding officer, or to find any logical reasoning for what he was doing.

 

Captain Smoker was dancing, he was smiling and he was holding Captain Hina in his arms; and he was not even smoking.

 

“What the hell's her problem?”

 

Tashigi slowly lowered the binoculars, moving her eyes to Zoro. He looked at her innocently for a brief second before recoiling from her fearfully. Tashigi slowly moved her eyes to Nami, who was forcing an awkward smile and apparently trying to talk, although no sound was leaving her mouth. Tashigi turned her attention back to the sea, watching as the navy ship drew closer, and the joyous dancing marines became visible to her without the need for binoculars.

 

“Hi Smokey!”

 

Tashigi turned, her eyebrows shooting upwards as she watched Luffy wave his arms above his head. Turning back to the navy ship, Tashigi forgot how to breathe as she found her captain waving back, Hina still clinging to him, and the obnoxious grin still present on his face. Tashigi felt her insides buzzing, her surroundings becoming surreal and distant, her hand opening to drop the binoculars. As the binoculars banged against the deck, Tashigi heard Usopp mutter out something about being more careful before bending down to retrieve them.

 

“What did you just say?” she growled, pointing the tip of Zoro's sword at the boy's extremely long nose as he tried to stand once more.

 

“Nothing…” he said slowly, looking up at her with wide eyes.

 

“I heard you say something,” Tashigi said darkly, her voice sounding like a stranger to even her own ears. “If you have something to say to me, you needle-nosed, cowardly liar, you say it to my face.”

 

“Oh Tashigi, don't get mad at Usopp!” Nami pleaded with her.

 

Tashigi swung her arm sharply upwards, pointing the blade at Nami's throat.

 

“Do you want to try me now, you money-grabbing pirate girl?” she asked.

 

“I wasn't looking for a fight!” Nami hurriedly replied.

 

“No you weren't,” Tashigi said quietly. “Just interfering again.”

 

“Ladies, what's going on out here?” Sanji asked as he joined the group. “Hey, what are those sailors doing?”

 

“Well if it isn't the slimy pervert!” Tashigi snapped, turning the sword to Sanji.

 

“Whoa!” Sanji said, holding up both hands.

 

“And the little fur-ball, hiding behind a barrel again!” Tashigi yelled, pointing her sword at a barrel as Chopper disappeared behind it. “Don't think I can't see you! And you!”

 

Robin started as Tashigi pointed the sword at her, her eyes growing wider as she spotted the navy ship passing them.

 

“You're the biggest scoundrel of them all!” Tashigi yelled.

 

“Do me next!” Luffy cried cheerfully, clapping his hands.

 

“You, Straw-Hat?” Tashigi roared, spinning around to point the sword at him. “The rubber-man? You could have eaten any Devil Fruit in this world, you could have gained control of the elements, transformed your physical being, but what did you do? You ate the Gum Gum Fruit! Gum Gum for the dumb dumb!”

 

Luffy laughed, pointing at her.

 

“Gum Gum for the dumb dumb, you're so funny!” he said.

 

“Why give up the ability to swim, why risk death by the sea, just to be able to do this with your face?” Tashigi yelled, before hooking one finger into one corner of her mouth and pulling her cheek outwards. “It's not a power, it's just puerile!”

 

“Hey, look, your crew are here, so maybe now would be a good time for you to just go back to them,” Zoro suggested.

 

“You!” Tashigi snarled, rounding on him. “You are the worst of them all! Look at you! You carry a sword in your mouth, what is wrong with you? You are the worst man I have ever met in my life! You, single-handedly, have ruined the honourable name of the swordsman, and you don't deserve to carry the Wado Ichimonji, you're not worthy of it!”

 

“Hey, back off!” Zoro snapped back. “There's your ship, get back to it! If you need any help, I'll gladly throw you into the water - which, by the way, is what I wanted to do with you in the first place! It wasn't my idea to let you stay!”

 

“Well good, because I don't want to stay anyway!”

 

Tashigi turned around, finding that the navy ship was almost completely past them; but she could still see the fuzzy image of Captain Smoker spinning Captain Hina around in his arms.

 

“Oi Chase!” she yelled, running to the stern of the ship. “Here's your salute, Sir!”

 

Leaping up onto the railings at the very back of the ship, Tashigi threw Zoro's sword down to the deck and thrust both arms up in the air, extending her middle fingers at the navy ship as it slowly drifted away from her.

 

“What the hell are you doing?”

 

Tashigi looked over her shoulder to see that the Straw-Hat Pirates had all gathered behind her, with Zoro at the front of the group.

 

“They left me here,” she said slowly, lowering her arms and turning to face him. “They just left me here, with pirates! And my Shigure is lying dead at the bottom of the ocean, I can't take this any more!”

 

Tashigi turned back to the water and threw herself forwards, diving off the back of the ship. She had no idea how far they were from where her ship had sunk, but she felt confident that if she swam for long enough, she would eventually find her Shigure - it could only have sunk to the seafloor.

 

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“Hi Smokey!” Luffy called out, waving his arms above his head.

 

Zoro tensed at his captain's rash actions, but, to his utter amazement, the typically moody and tenacious marine began waving back, grinning at Luffy as though they were the oldest of friends. Zoro toyed with the idea that the man might be drunk - but it did seem a little odd that the entire crew of marines were all acting the same way, and none of them seemed in the least concerned that they were passing a pirate ship. The sound of something dropping to the deck of the ship brought Zoro's attention back to Tashigi with a start, the look on her face warning him that she was evidently not pleased with what was happening.

 

“What did you just say?” she growled out suddenly, pointing the tip of Zoro's Yubashiri at Usopp's nose, her eyes suddenly sparkling with rage.

 

“Nothing…” Usopp warily replied.

 

“I heard you say something,” Tashigi said. “If you have something to say to me, you needle-nosed, cowardly liar, you say it to my face.”

 

“Oh Tashigi, don't get mad at Usopp!” Nami pleaded with her.

 

Zoro gasped as Tashigi swung her arm sharply upwards, pointing the blade at Nami's throat.

 

“Do you want to try me now, you money-grabbing pirate girl?” she asked.

 

“I wasn't looking for a fight!” Nami hurriedly replied.

 

“No you weren't,” Tashigi said quietly. “Just interfering again.”

 

“Ladies, what's going on out here?” Sanji asked as he joined the group. “Hey, what are those sailors doing?”

 

“Well if it isn't the slimy pervert!” Tashigi snapped, turning the sword to Sanji.

 

“Whoa!” Sanji said, holding up both hands.

 

“And the little fur-ball, hiding behind a barrel again!” Tashigi yelled, pointing her sword at a barrel as Chopper disappeared behind it. “Don't think I can't see you! And you!”

 

Zoro leaned forward to see Robin moving to join them, watching her stumble to a halt as Tashigi threatened her with the sword.

 

“You're the biggest scoundrel of them all!” Tashigi yelled.

 

“Do me next!” Luffy cried cheerfully, clapping his hands.

 

Zoro cringed, wondering just how stupid his captain could get - although he was still unsure why the girl was getting so upset and angry. After all, her beloved Captain Smoker had just returned, and he looked like he was having fun. Surely she should want to go and join him?

 

“You, Straw-Hat?” Tashigi roared, spinning around to point the sword at him. “The rubber-man? You could have eaten any Devil Fruit in this world, you could have gained control of the elements, transformed your physical being, but what did you do? You ate the Gum Gum Fruit! Gum Gum for the dumb dumb!”

 

Luffy laughed, pointing at her.

 

“Gum Gum for the dumb dumb, you're so funny!” he said.

 

“Why give up the ability to swim, why risk death by the sea, just to be able to do this with your face?” Tashigi yelled, before hooking one finger into one corner of her mouth and pulling her cheek outwards. “It's not a power, it's just puerile!”

 

“Hey, look, your crew are here, so maybe now would be a good time for you to just go back to them,” Zoro suggested to her, deciding not to wait any longer, as the navy ship would soon be past them completely.

 

“You!” Tashigi snarled, rounding on him. “You are the worst of them all! Look at you! You carry a sword in your mouth, what is wrong with you? You are the worst man I have ever met in my life! You, single-handedly, have ruined the honourable name of the swordsman, and you don't deserve to carry the Wado Ichimonji, you're not worthy of it!”

 

“Hey, back off!” Zoro snapped back, finding the remark about him being unworthy to carry a sword he had fought and begged for to be a little below the belt. “There's your ship, get back to it! If you need any help, I'll gladly throw you into the water - which, by the way, is what I wanted to do with you in the first place! It wasn't my idea to let you stay!”

 

“Well good, because I don't want to stay anyway!” she moodily replied, turning her back on them.

 

Zoro rolled his eyes, hoping that she would just fall overboard. Captain Smoker was sure to collect her and then life onboard the Going Merry could finally return to normal; or at least, as normal as life with the Straw-Hat Pirates could be.

 

“Oi Chase! Here's your salute, Sir!”

 

Zoro baulked as he watched Tashigi run to the stern of the ship and leap up onto the railings. Once there she threw down Zoro's sword and thrust both arms up in the air, extending her middle fingers at the navy ship as it slowly drifted away from her.

 

“Oh she didn't just do that!” Robin gasped.

 

“She did,” Zoro growled, marching after her. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.

 

She looked back over her shoulder at him, her eyes moving a little to acknowledge the rest of the crew as they joined Zoro behind her.

 

“They left me here,” she said quietly, lowering her arms and turning to face Zoro directly. “They just left me here, with pirates! And my Shigure is lying dead at the bottom of the ocean, I can't take this any more!”

 

Zoro watched, dumbfounded, as the girl turned around again and jumped off the ship, attempted to dive into the water but managing little more than a loud and painful-looking bellyflop.

 

“Shit!” Sanji gasped, rushing to the railings and leaning over. “Hey Tashigi, are you alright down there?” he called to her as she resurfaced.

 

“Leave me alone, creep!” she yelled back, before dipping under the water and swimming away from the ship.

 

“Does she think she can catch that ship of sailors?” Sanji asked the others.

 

“She's upset, you idiot!” Nami snapped. “She just saw her whole crew celebrating without her, and none of them even cared that she was with us and looking for their help! Zoro!”

 

“What?” Zoro yelped, turning to face her.

 

“What are you waiting for?” Nami yelled, slapping his shoulder. “Get in there after her!”

 

“What?” Zoro wailed. “Are you out of your mind? Why should I go in there after her? She threw herself in, she can get herself out again!”

 

“You have to rescue her because it's your fault she's in this mess in the first place, idiot!” Nami argued back.

 

“She doesn't need “rescuing”,” Zoro spat. “Let the marines “rescue” her! If she's such a fantastic marine, she'll be able to swim for as long she needs to.”

 

“How could you do that to a lady, Marimo?” Sanji yelled at him.

 

“She did it to herself!” Zoro indignantly shot back, pointing down at the water.

 

Sanji arched his eyebrows at Zoro, the look on his face suggesting something sinister. Zoro turned to look over the edge of the ship, finding Tashigi thrashing about in the water, gulping down water and waving her arms about desperately. She should, he thought, be an excellent swimmer; but he suspected that, between her unstable emotional state and being caught in the crosscurrents of the two ships passing each other, she was not as strong as she ought to be.

 

“Damn it all!” Zoro grumbled, dropping his Kitetsu to the deck and pouncing up onto the railings.

 

With one last sigh of despair, Zoro dove into the water, finding himself a little taken aback at just how rough the waters between the two ships were. Fighting to keep his balance he swam over to Tashigi, Zoro narrowly avoiding a blow as she swung an arm around in the direction of his head as she fought the waves to stay above water.

 

“Hey, stop it!” he yelled at her. “Just come with me, you'll be fine.”

 

Struggling against the waves, she turned to glower at him.

 

“Just come with you?” she yelped out breathlessly. “Just go with you, and be a pirate?”

 

“No, just shut-up and get out of the water before you drown!” Zoro sighed impatiently.

 

“I can't!” she replied. “I have to find my Shigure!”

 

“Your… Didn't you leave your sword on your ship?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Which means it sank with the ship.”

 

“I know. That's why I have to swim to find it.”

 

“Do you have any idea how far away we are from where your ship sank? Do you even know which direction to go to get back there?”

 

“I don't care, I have to find my Shigure!”

 

“Look, forget the Shigure-”

 

“How can you say such a heartless thing? Could you forget the Wado Ichimonji?”

 

Zoro rolled his eyes, thinking silently that there was no comparison between the two swords - the Wado Ichimonji was Kuina's gift to him after she passed on, a symbol of his life's work and dreams. The sword Tashigi had was probably just some ornamental gift Smoker had given her when he was trying to woo her.

 

“Come on back to the ship,” he said quietly, grabbing one of her arms and reaching the other hand under the water to wrap it around her stomach.

 

“What are you doing?” she screamed at him.

 

“Something I know I'm going to live to regret: I'm saving your life,” Zoro grumbled, kicking his legs out to swim backwards, dragging Tashigi with him.

 

“I don't want to be a Straw-Hat Pirate!” she wailed.

 

“Nobody wants you to be a Straw-Hat Pirate,” Zoro assured her.

 

“They left me behind!” she added.

 

“Well, maybe it's for the best.”

 

“But why?”

 

Zoro groaned, wishing that she would stop talking and use her energy to swim back to the ship, instead of leaning her weight against him and leaving him to drag her back. Although, Zoro thought to himself as they neared the Going Merry, she did have a good point: it was inexplicably odd that the marines had just passed them by, waved and smiled at them, and done nothing to either recover Tashigi or try to arrest or kill the Straw-Hat Pirates. Marines were always doing things that Zoro could not explain or understand, but he had been convinced that, just as Luffy had said before, Tashigi was Smoker's little woman, and so surely he wanted her back?

 

“Come on, grab onto the ladder,” he said, pulling Tashigi towards the rope ladder that led up the side of the ship.

 

To his relief, she did take hold of the ladder in her hands.

 

“Come on, start climbing!” he added, nudging her in the back with his elbow.

 

He saw her shoulders slouch a little as she paused, looking off in the direction of the navy ship, which was rapidly diminishing on the horizon. Turning back to the Going Merry, she began to slowly climb the ladder at last. Zoro waited patiently for her, even though she was moving at a ridiculously slow rate, following her carefully, watching for any signs of her falling down onto his head - which he strongly suspected might happen.

 

“Tashigi!” Nami called over the edge.

 

Zoro paused, watching as his crew began reaching for the girl, offering to help her back on board. Had he missed something? Why were they all fussing over one of their worst enemies? And at his expense!

 

“Tashigi, beautiful, what were you thinking jumping into the water like that?” Sanji asked her as she accepted his hand, allowing him to help her back onto the deck.

 

She muttered something in reply that failed to reach Zoro's ears as he finished ascending the ladder.

 

“Let's get you dried off and into some new clothes,” Robin offered, moving to put an arm around her shoulders.

 

“Don't touch me!” Tashigi snapped at her. “Just leave me alone! All of you!”

 

Zoro dropped onto the deck of the ship once more, watching as Tashigi marched off to the bow of the ship, her arms huddled around herself as the wind pressed against her. Glancing around the others, Zoro saw them all watching him expectantly. He sighed, hanging his head in resignation.

 

“Leave it to me,” he reluctantly offered.

 

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Tashigi reached shaking hands up to her hair, squeezing it desperately as she tried to remove the excess water. She wanted to cry, but she flatly refused to show such weakness around pirates, of all people. Shivering involuntarily, she began clawing her fingers through her hair and squeezing desperately at the ends, silently questioning if she was shaking from the cold, from her utter despair or from her fear of being stuck with the Straw Hat Pirates for the rest of her life.

 

“Here,” a voice said gruffly, as something smacked against the back of her head.

 

Tashigi started to turn to question what was happening, but the sudden sensation of fingertips pressing against her head through a towel made her stiffen.

 

“I can't let you catch pneumonia and die,” she heard Zoro say from beyond the towel he had thrown over her head and shoulders. “I want the bounty on my head to go up because of my reputation as the greatest swordsman in the world, not because I let some marine captain's little lady die of the cold.”

 

“What?” Tashigi echoed, reaching up to flip the towel up off of her face. “What did you just call me?”

 

Zoro frowned down at her curiously, his fingers still pressed against her head.

 

“I didn't call you anything,” he eventually answered.

 

“You called me “little lady”!” she argued.

 

“I didn't mean it if I did,” he calmly replied, shrugging his shoulders.

 

Tashigi paused, wondering if she was simply paranoid, as that had always been the moniker Smoker had given her when he had been looking to torment her for some reason or another.

 

“I'm fine thanks,” she said, stepping out from under Zoro's touch.

 

To her surprise, Zoro grabbed the ends of the towel and lunged forwards, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her back flush against his chest.

 

“I meant what I said,” he said quietly, his voice suddenly very close to her ear, the feeling of his warm breath against the damp skin on her neck making her shudder. “I can't let you get ill. We'll get you back to Smokey, just hold on a little longer.”

 

“Maybe I don't want to go back to Smokey,” Tashigi bitterly replied, turning to look at Zoro.

 

Tashigi gasped involuntarily as her actions caused her nose to brush against Zoro's. She felt her eyes widen as she suddenly realised that she was in his arms and her face was almost touching his. She saw his eyes slowly move to her lips, lingering there for a moment before moving upwards to once more look directly into her eyes. Tashigi lifted her chin slightly, at which Zoro tilted his head, his lips lightly brushing against hers. Tashigi yelped in alarm, pushing his arms off of her and running away from him, heading to the one place she knew he would not follow her - the women's quarters.

 

Once she was back in the women's room, Tashigi slammed the door shut behind her, pressing her back against it as she fought to regulate her breathing.

 

`What just happened?' she thought desperately. `Was that a kiss? Did I kiss him, or did he kiss me? Oh my!'

 

Tashigi closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the door, the memory of Zoro's warmth and closeness replaying in her mind. To her utter horror, as she relived the memory, she felt an odd rush in her chest.

 

“What is wrong with me?” she whispered, staggering over to her hammock and gladly sitting into it. “What is this feeling?”

 

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Smoker groaned, twitching awake at the sensation of something bashing against his inner thigh. Opening his eyes, the first sight he was greeted with was the sky. Frowning in confusion, he turned to one side, finding himself on the deck of the ship, several other marines lying asleep a short distance from him. Turning to his other side, Smoker found the reason he had awoken the way he had: Hina was lying at his side, one leg wrapped over his left leg and one arm draped across his chest, her head resting on his bicep.

 

“What the hell?” he growled, hurriedly pushing her aside and scrambling to his feet.

 

He groaned involuntarily as he stood, suddenly distinctly aware of aches in his legs and arms that he was sure he had not felt before. He instinctively touched his right hand to his left arm, expecting to find a supply of cigars; and it was only then that he realised he was not wearing any clothes from the waist up. Turning on the spot he saw Hina curl up into a ball at his feet.

 

“Hey!” he barked at her, nudging her legs with the toe of one boot. “Get up!”

 

She moaned softly, arching her neck and twisting her body a little before settling back down.

 

“Hina!” he yelled, nudging her a little harder.

 

She slowly opened her eyes, lifting her head to look at his foot hovering by her knees.

 

“Oh charming!” she spat, growling out a sigh and slowly rising to her feet. “Ow! My legs, my arms, my head!”

 

“What happened here?” Smoker demanded as she staggered to gain her balance in front of him.

 

“Well…” Hina began, flicking back a curtain of pink hair to slowly look around the deck of the ship. “Oh. Hina knows exactly what just happened. Wake the other officers, Mister Smoker, Hina will take care of this!”

 

Smoker quirked an eyebrow at her as she marched off a little stiffly, leaving him feeling no less enlightened as to what was happening. Feeling irritable and confused, he dug his hands into his trouser pockets in the hope of finding a spare cigar, something to take the edge off the tension. In one pocket he found a lighter, and in the other he found something sharp. Plucking the sharp object from his pocket, Smoker brought it round in front of his face, studying it carefully. It was the sharp, shiny metal ring dangling on a string that he had confiscated from Jango earlier. Watching it swing back and forth, winking in the sunlight, Smoker found his mind wandering to Jango climbing to the upper deck of the ship and dangling down a barrel lid on the end of a rope. Thinking more on the matter, the last thing Smoker could remember before waking up on the deck of the ship was Jango saying the words “one, two, Jango”.

 

“Idiot,” he muttered, flinging the metal ring over the side of the ship. “Get up! Wake up! Get up!”

 

Walking towards the bow of the ship, Smoker shamelessly kicked at the sleeping bodies around him, barking out orders as he went. Behind him he heard the officers slowly arise, groaning in much the same way he and Hina both had, as they too were apparently suffering from pained limbs. But Smoker's biggest concern was that, since no-one appeared to be monitoring the situation, perhaps they had been blown off-course. At the bow of the ship Smoker found a compass, grabbing it up and aiming it in the direction the ship was facing, relieved to see that they were still travelling southwest as had been agreed.

 

Smoker took a moment to look out to sea in every direction, cursing to himself when he saw nothing but rocks and a small merchant ship on the horizon. Marching back across the deck, waking more marines as he passed, Smoker made his way below deck to his own quarters, closing himself in and shortly locating a box of cigars. He gladly took one out, replacing the box and reaching for the lighter in his pocket. As he bit down onto the cigar, Smoker's eyes landed on an item laid on his bed, his hand slipping from his pocket without the lighter. Walking over to the bed, he gingerly untied the string wound around the pile of linen, opening out the material to reveal the Shigure.

 

“Tashigi,” he said with a sigh, dragging one finger along the flat side of the blade. “Where are you now, my little lady?”

 

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Next Chapter: Zoro tries to console Tashigi, Tashigi tries to understand Zoro, and Smoker is less than impressed when he learns about Tashigi's special salute. Chapter 11 - Lessons of the Past.