One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Misrepresented and Misunderstood ❯ Facing the Truth ( Chapter 12 )

A/N: I think I have almost decided how to end this fic… I was undecided between three different endings, and I've definitely ruled one of them out, I now just have to pick between the remaining two. (At this point, I once more remember the importance of a storyboard).

 

Recap: Zoro felt sympathy for Tashigi, Tashigi was feeling confused and Smoker was angry.

 

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Chapter 12 - Facing the Truth

 

Zoro awoke late - later than usual. He wandered to the kitchen optimistically, but the pervert cook had cleaned up and left already. Laziness outweighing his own hunger, Zoro decided to simply go above deck, find a nice warm place in the sun and go back to sleep until lunchtime.

 

Once he had reached the deck of the Going Merry, Zoro briefly looked about himself, finding the rest of the crew loosely scattered about the bow of the ship. Deciding he would get no peace amidst the others, Zoro started towards the stern, letting out a yawn as he walked. Something flashed in the water as he passed Nami's mini orange grove, causing him to pause and frown curiously. Zoro rolled his eyes upwards, thinking carefully about what he had seen when he had stepped up onto the deck: Luffy was sat on the ram's head at the very front of the ship, Sanji had been sandwiched between Nami and Robin as they discussed a map and Usopp and Chopper had been playing cards.

 

`The girl,' Zoro thought with a sigh. `She wasn't with them.'

 

Turning to the water, Zoro grimaced as he remembered how she had so foolishly jumped into the sea the day before, apparently believing that she could find her sword. Zoro was still not sure if her actions had been a result of the weakened health she had been quietly suffering from, or if she was simply an idiot. He silently decided that if she was in the water again, it was her own doing, and he was not going to rescue her again. Smoker would find her eventually and take her back to the navy and everything would return to normal: Zoro would not have to suffer looking at Kuina's face and he would finally get peace from the girl's nagging voice.

 

Moving over to a calm, sunny spot, Zoro slowly sat down, leaning back against the railings of the ship, basking in the warmth of the late morning sun. The sound of the water lapping against the sides of the ship was soothing, and the warmth of the sunlight was very enticing; but Zoro couldn't sleep. He opened one eye, his eyebrows knitting creases into his forehead as he considered the implications of that foolish marine girl being in the water. Did she realise how fast a ship like the Going Merry travelled? She would get left behind in a matter of minutes if she did not get back on board soon.

 

Growling in frustration, Zoro flipped over onto his knees, grasping the railing and leaning over to check the surface of the water for her exact location. When he had not sighted her after a few seconds, Zoro began to think that perhaps she had already been left far behind. Or perhaps she had gone under the ship. Or perhaps she was on the other side of the ship. Or maybe she was tangled in the rudder and dying a gruesome death. Zoro shook his head vigorously, sitting back down hard, folding his arms moodily. Why should he care if anything untoward had happened to her? If she was floating about in the sea somewhere behind them, that meant she was gone from the Going Merry, and, with any luck, Zoro thought to himself, he may never have to see her face ever again.

 

Zoro leaned his head back, closing his eyes again, thinking about never seeing Tashigi ever again. It would make his life a lot less complicated if she disappeared for good. No longer would he have to torture himself looking at her face and thinking of Kuina and no longer would he need to worry about her stealing his most prized possession imaginable. And if she was gone, the threat of the navy looking for her was removed also. Life would be more peaceful, and normality would have finally been restored.

 

Zoro hesitated, his mind blanking for a moment, before something began to stir in his chest.

 

“Damn it!” he snarled, jumping to his feet and turning to lean over the railings again, looking back in the direction they had come from, squinting for any traces of unusual movement.

 

Images of sea-monsters, sharks, misplaced rocks, venomous creatures, less than savoury pirate crews and unexpected current fluctuations began darkening Zoro's mind, to the point that he found himself removing his boots, preparing to leap into the water and swim back to find her.

 

“Idiot girl!” he cursed, throwing his boots across the deck.

 

Grabbing the railings in one hand, Zoro stepped a foot up, ready to leap over the top, when the sound of a muffled scream drew his attention back to the cabin. Turning and running in the direction of the sound, Zoro found himself at the top of the stairs that led below deck. The sight of what lay at the bottom of the steps made him stop short, freezing on the spot in unrivalled horror: the grown-up Kuina was lying in a twisted pile at the bottom of the staircase, the Wado Ichimonji at her side.

 

“What happened?” Sanji asked, crouching down at her side.

 

“She fell down the stairs,” Chopper replied, lifting a hoof from Tashigi's face and turning it over to reveal blood on his fur.

 

“Is she alright?” Sanji asked.

 

“I don't know…” Chopper said slowly, reaching a hoof towards her neck.

 

Zoro clapped a hand over his eyes - he could not stand to watch it a moment longer. Chopper was obviously about to feel for a pulse, and Zoro could not allow himself to relive his own history, watching the girl die all over again.

 

“The-the Wado Ichimonji…”

 

Zoro let his hand slip to his mouth, his eyes dropping to the girl once more at the sound of her voice, watching as she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.

 

“Whoa, take it easy, Tashigi!” Sanji said to her.

 

“The Wado Ichimonji!” she said weakly, reaching a shaking hand towards Kuina's sword.

 

“The sword is alright,” Chopper assured her. “But you're not! You're still weak from the fever you had, you're supposed to be resting, not fighting with swords! And now you've cut your lip!”

 

“Are you hurt anywhere, Tashigi?” Sanji asked her.

 

“Hey, what happened?” Nami asked, slinking past Zoro and starting down the steps. “Tashigi! Are you al-hey!”

 

Zoro ignored Nami's protest, unceremoniously shoving her aside as he jogged down the stairs, clearing two steps with each bound.

 

“My wrist hurts a little,” he heard Tashigi say. “I think I landed on it and bit my lip. And my ankle really hurts, I caught my foot on one of the steps and twisted it badly.”

 

Chopper nodded his head, taking hold of her hand and gently moving it around experimentally.

 

“How does that feel?” he asked.

 

“It hurts a little, but it's not too bad,” Tashigi softly replied.

 

“What about your ankle?” Sanji asked.

 

“I-I don't think I can stand up just yet,” she replied, before hanging her head, her hair falling over her face.

 

“Don't try to move it, you might make it worse,” Zoro said firmly, crouching down at her side.

 

“Zoro?” she whispered, turning her head to face him. “I'm sorry, I was just taking the Wado Ichimonji down to polish it-”

 

“Stop talking,” Zoro said hurriedly, raising a hand in the air to halt her words.

 

Really, the coincidences were becoming hard enough for him to cope with, he did not need to hear that every single thing she did and said was so ridiculously like Kuina.

 

“Let's just get you to your room, we can raise your ankle to stop it swelling up, and Chopper can take a look at it properly,” he added.

 

Tashigi cast a small frown at him, but Zoro ignored her questioningly look, grabbing her uninjured wrist and pulling her arm around his shoulders. Her face instantly flushed bright red and her chest shuddered as she gasped at his actions.

 

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked hoarsely.

 

Zoro decided that she would find an answer to her question soon enough without him explaining himself, and so he remained silent, grabbing one arm around her waist and hooking the other around the back of her knees. She yelped as he hoisted her up, rising to his feet with her cradled in his arms.

 

“Did I hurt you?” he asked her, looking down at her as he spoke.

 

“No,” she hurriedly replied, her face turning even redder than before.

 

Taking a deep breath, Zoro started towards the women's quarters, looking back over one shoulder as he walked, locating Chopper.

 

“Hey Chopper, come on!” he called to him.

 

Chopper scurried off, calling out something about needing more supplies. Zoro rolled his eyes, continuing onwards, kicking open the door to the ladies' room and marching briskly in. He moved over to the hammock Tashigi had been sleeping in, gently lowering her into it. He slowly slid his arm out from behind her back, holding her legs up a moment longer as he grabbed a nearby sheet, winding it around his hand to create a ball, before laying it down onto the hammock, and resting her feet onto it. Releasing a sigh that had felt tight in his chest, Zoro sat onto the hammock next to Tashigi's, lowering his head into his hands.

 

“Zoro?” she said quietly. “I was only trying to keep the sword beautiful, don't get angry with me!”

 

“Why do you wear her face?” Zoro breathed out, the words leaving him as some sort of instinctive reaction that he had no conscious control over.

 

“What?” Tashigi asked shakily.

 

“You look…” he began, lifting his head to look at her as he spoke.

 

Zoro paused, finding her watching him with tears in her eyes and worry creasing her features. Her lower lip was scarlet with blood and she was visibly shaking, Zoro did not know if she looked that way she did because the fall had shocked her system or if she was in more pain than she was admitting to; either way he felt bad.

 

“You look like the girl who owned the Wado Ichimonji,” he confessed, his words coming out as a monotonous string.

 

“The girl who…” Tashigi began. “Then how did you come to own the sword?”

 

“Her father let me have it after she died,” Zoro explained.

 

“Oh…” Tashigi said slowly.

 

“Her father owned the dojo I trained at,” Zoro continued. “She was my biggest rival, she was my greatest idol and she was my source of motivation and inspiration.”

 

Zoro lowered his head, slowly pushing his fingers through his hair. He could feel Tashigi's eyes still on him intently, but he could also hear Chopper running towards the room, and so he kept his head down and remained silent.

 

“How are you feeling Tashigi?” Chopper asked, hurrying into the room with an armful of bandages and a small first aid box.

 

When Tashigi did not answer the reindeer, Zoro lifted his head a little, looking up at her. She was still staring silently at him, her mouth slightly open, her eyebrows pressed together in a concerned frown.

 

“I'll leave you to it,” he said quietly, rising to his feet.

 

Keeping his eyes on the door, Zoro walked from the room, heading back up onto the deck. He ignored the others as they shot questions about Tashigi at him, continuing across the deck to the bow of the ship. Silently relieved that he was still barefoot, Zoro stepped up onto the railings by the ram's head and dove off the ship, plunging into the water below. Cutting through the water, he swam back to the surface, breathing heavily as he treaded water.

 

“Shit,” he sighed out, shaking his head slowly. “That was just… Shit.”

 

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“Don't try to move it, you might make it worse.”

 

“Zoro?” Tashigi whispered, turning her head to face him as he squatted at her side. “I'm sorry, I was just taking the Wado Ichimonji down to polish it-”

 

“Stop talking,” Zoro interrupted her, raising a hand in front of her face.

 

Tashigi obediently fell silent, the urge to cry increasing as she realised that Zoro was even angrier with her than she had suspected he would be. She had only been trying to do him a favour and fulfil her own desires to admire the elegant craftsmanship of the wondrous Wado Ichimonji; she had not intentionally tripped and fallen down the stairs. Her own wretched clumsiness had not only made Zoro hate her even more than he already did but she had probably also just damaged his priceless, irreplaceable sword.

 

“Let's just get you to your room, we can raise your ankle to stop it swelling up, and Chopper can take a look at it properly,” Zoro said gruffly.

 

Tashigi frowned at him incredulously, her mouth opening, but words failing her. In light of what had just taken place, the sound of Zoro arriving at her side had made her think he had arrived to retrieve his precious sword and inspect it for damage; but he had not so much as glanced at the Wado Ichimonji sine his arrival, and now he was showing concern for her welfare? What was going on?

 

Before Tashigi could theorise on the matter, Zoro grabbed her uninjured wrist, a yelp of surprise leaving her before she could stop herself. She thought perhaps he was about to fight with her somehow, having grown tired of her clumsiness as Smoker had done; but instead he pulled her arm around his shoulders and hunched over her, his face set into an intense look that made her chest buzz and her face burn. She tried to speak, but managed nothing more than a shuddering gasp at first.

 

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked on her second attempt at speech.

 

But Zoro did not so much as flinch at her words, grabbing an arm around her waist, his fingers curling over her mid-section. He reached his other arm under her legs, folding his hand over her knee, before smoothly standing, lifting her up in his arms as though she were little more than a sack of feathers. The ease and unexpected nature of his actions took Tashigi so by surprise that she yelped again, the sound of her cry bringing Zoro's eyes to hers sharply.

 

“Did I hurt you?” he asked her quietly, his expression deeply intense and solemn.

 

“No,” she hurriedly replied, her face becoming unbearably hot.

 

Tashigi's concerns that she was blushing were confirmed as she caught sight of the end of her nose, which looked redder than Straw-Hat Luffy's shirt at that moment. She felt Zoro's chest press against her side as he drew in a deep breath before striding through the ship.

 

“Hey Chopper, come on!” he called over his shoulder as he walked.

 

Tashigi looked up at him in awe that he could walk and look about himself with such ease whilst supporting her entire weight in his arms. Tashigi began to sweat as her face burned hotter still as she tried to figure out what to do with her hand that was at Zoro's shoulder. Should she hold on to help support her weight or ought she not to try touching his bare skin? Looking up at Zoro's face she saw him roll his eyes with an exasperated look: could he tell what she was thinking?

 

With a thud, Zoro kicked the door to the ladies' quarters open, apparently not feeling any pain, despite kicking a wooden door with his bare foot. He carried Tashigi to her hammock, where he lowered her down, sliding his arm out from under her back. As he straightened away from her, Tashigi's arm slid down his, her mind once more racing she tried to guess what was acceptable behaviour in such circumstances. Her arm eventually fell from his as he reached for a blanket, rolling it over his hand. Tashigi clutched at the hammock as he lifted her legs up to push the ball under them before he finally placed her feet down, stepping back and breaking all physical contact with her.

 

Tashigi watched Zoro sit into Robin's hammock, lowering his head and covering his face with both hands. Just before his face disappeared from her view, she caught an odd look fleet across his eyes, one that left her feeling very guilty once more.

 

“Zoro?” she said quietly. “I was only trying to keep the sword beautiful, don't get angry with me!”

 

“Why do you wear her face?” Zoro responded, his voice heavy but quiet.

 

“What?” Tashigi echoed, wondering if she had heard right, since his words did not seem to match the apology she had just attempted.

 

“You look…” he began, lifting his head to look at her as he spoke.

 

Tashigi held her breath as she watched Zoro, waiting for him to continue. His expression shifted into a scrutinising one for a few seconds before blanking over again as he continued talking.

 

“You look like the girl who owned the Wado Ichimonji,” he finished.

 

“The girl who…” Tashigi began curiously. “Then how did you come to own the sword?”

 

“Her father let me have it after she died,” Zoro explained.

 

“Oh…” Tashigi said slowly.

 

“Her father owned the dojo I trained at,” Zoro continued. “She was my biggest rival, she was my greatest idol and she was my source of motivation and inspiration.”

 

Tashigi opened her mouth, but her voice failed her. She had, of course, always wondered how Zoro had come by a magnificent sword like the Wado Ichimonji, but she had always largely assumed that he had either stolen it in his time as a pirate or he had taken it from the hands of an opponent he had duelled to the death with as some sort of trophy for his victory. But, more of a revelation for Tashigi than learning that Zoro had been gifted with the sword, Zoro had trained with a girl, and still held her in high enough esteem to call her his source of inspiration and motivation.

 

And, Tashigi thought, this amazing girl who owned the Wado Ichimonji and helped turn Zoro into the unbelievably skilled swordsman that he now was, looked exactly like her - so much so that Zoro found it hard to look at her face. Tashigi had never considered that there had been a deeper meaning for Zoro finding it so difficult to look her in the eye, but suddenly a lot of things about his treatment of her were starting to make a lot of sense.

 

“How are you feeling Tashigi?” Chopper asked, hurrying into the room with an armful of bandages and a small first aid box.

 

Tashigi ignored the little reindeer, keeping her eyes fixed on Zoro. As Chopper began arranging his medical supplies on a nearby desk, Zoro lifted his head a little, his eyes looking out at Tashigi. Tashigi held her breath again as she waited for him to say something more, to continue his story; but instead he stood up, moving his eyes to the door.

 

“I'll leave you to it,” he said quietly.

 

Tashigi watched Zoro leave, barely noticing Chopper as he moved to her feet. Her mind was racing with the information Zoro had just imparted, and she was trying desperately to make sense of it and to fill in the gaps between what she did now know.

 

“Ow!” she cried as Chopper pushed against the ball of her foot.

 

“That hurts?” he asked, looking at her.

 

“Damn right it does!” Tashigi snapped back.

 

Chopper eyed her curiously, and Tashigi found herself confused by her own outburst. At that moment, she was not sure which was causing her more discomfort: her injuries or her incomplete understanding of Zoro's erratic treatment of her.

 

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Zoro paused, frowning at the shadow on the deck in front of him. Slowly turning his head, he saw Tashigi standing over him, dressed in Nami's clothes, looking particularly worried about something. Zoro, who had been in the middle of carrying out a set of one-arm push-ups, reluctantly got to his feet, turning to face her.

 

“You're not fit to spar with me,” he said bluntly, since, he decided that could be the only reason she had sought him out.

 

“I-I know,” she said weakly, nervously tucking her hair behind one ear. “I just wanted to say I was sorry - about your friend Kuina, and for trying to take the Wado Ichimonji from you, I never realised it held so much meaning to you.”

 

Zoro waited for her continue, a part of him actually wanting her to apologise for looking so much like Kuina that it ate at his soul just to look at her: but she appeared to have finished her little speech.

 

“I earned the Wado Ichimonji, and I carry it with pride,” he told her.

 

“Oh, I understand that now,” she replied, nodding her head. “And back in Arabasta, I was pleased that you used the Wado Ichimonji for something honourable.”

 

Zoro shrugged his shoulders, unsure of what she wanted him to say or do next. Lowering his eyes, he saw that her left wrist had been wrapped in a bandage.

 

“How's your ankle?” he asked, pointing at her booted feet, neither of which looked as though they had been treated for an injury.

 

“Oh, it's…” she began, her face faltering a little. “It will be alright.”

 

Zoro nodded his head, wondering what more she wanted from him.

 

“I just wanted to ask you a question,” she eventually said. “About your friend Kuina.”

 

Zoro sighed, turning his head to one side, the prospect of discussing Kuina with someone who essentially was Kuina leaving him feeling awkward and anxious.

 

“I just wondered about two things…” Tashigi continued. “First of all, I wondered how old she was when she… When she passed away.”

 

“She was fourteen,” Zoro replied, keeping his head turned away. “But that was seven years ago.”

 

“Seven years ago,” Tashigi repeated. “So she really was the same age as me. And she looked a lot like I do?”

 

“No, it's not that the two of you look alike, it's that the two of you are identical,” Zoro ground out, casting her a sideward glance to gauge her reaction to his words.

 

“Oh, it's as significant as that?” she asked quietly.

 

“You have no idea,” Zoro replied.

 

“And she was only fourteen, so young!” Tashigi said, shaking her head solemnly.

 

“She fell down the stairs when she was on her way to sharpen the Wado Ichimonji,” Zoro added darkly. “Just like you did this morning.”

 

He finally got a reaction out of the marine, her eyes doubling in size at his words.

 

“Oh I'm sorry you had to relive that!” she said, pressing a hand to her heart.

 

“Just be more careful,” Zoro said firmly.

 

“Was-was Kuina clumsy?”

 

“Hell no!”

 

Zoro snapped his head around to face Tashigi directly, the one glaringly obvious difference between the two girls making it suddenly easier for him to confront Tashigi.

 

“She had poise, dignity, grace…” he said, finding his words strained as he was becoming oddly breathless. “She was the first person to ever beat me in a duel, and she beat me every day, every time we duelled. She was a master swordsman and I was helpless against her.”

 

“Not at all like me there then,” Tashigi said quietly, lowering her head.

 

“But your style is very similar to hers,” Zoro added. “And, just like you, Kuina thought she couldn't be the best because she was born a girl - which was ridiculous, because she beat me 2001 times.”

 

Tashigi lifted her head, her eyebrows shooting up to disappear under her hair, as she was apparently shocked to hear Zoro's last words.

 

“Anything else?” he asked tightly, silently hoping that he had imparted enough personal information to be rid of her.

 

“Just one more thing…” she said meekly, holding up a pointed finger and smiling shyly.

 

“What?” Zoro growled impatiently.

 

“She was fourteen, it was seven years ago… So you were… You…”

 

“I was twelve?”

 

“Oh.”

 

Zoro sighed in relief, as his last words appeared to answer the question she had apparently been unable to put into words.

 

“I have to finish up here,” he said, again trying to get rid of her.

 

“Of course, I'm sorry,” she said gently. “And… Thank you.”

 

She nodded her head, chewing on her lower lip before turning her back on him and walking off. Zoro watched her go, quirking an eyebrow curiously as she continually looked back over her shoulder at him.

 

“Strange girl,” he muttered under his breath once she had disappeared from sight.

 

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“I just wanted to ask you a question. About your friend Kuina.”

 

Tashigi tensed as Zoro turned his head away from her upon hearing her speak the name of his dead companion. She knew that she was pushing her luck broaching the subject with him, but her curiosity was eating her up, and she simply had to know the answers to the questions plaguing her own mind.

 

“I just wondered about two things…” she continued, deciding she might as well carry on since Zoro had not refused to answer her. “First of all, I wondered how old she was when she… When she passed away.”

 

“She was fourteen,” Zoro replied, keeping his head turned away. “But that was seven years ago.”

 

“Seven years ago,” Tashigi repeated. “So she really was the same age as me. And she looked a lot like I do?”

 

“No, it's not that the two of you look alike, it's that the two of you are identical,” Zoro ground out, casting her a sideward glance as he spoke.

 

“Oh, it's as significant as that?” she asked quietly.

 

“You have no idea,” Zoro replied.

 

“And she was only fourteen, so young!” Tashigi said, shaking her head solemnly.

 

“She fell down the stairs when she was on her way to sharpen the Wado Ichimonji,” Zoro added darkly. “Just like you did this morning.”

 

Tashigi froze, the answer to one of her questions finally realised. Ever since Zoro had told her the small snippet of information about how he had inherited the Wado Ichimonji, she had wondered what had taken Kuina's life. Part of her worried that Zoro had been the cause of Kuina's death, either through battle or by some tragic accident - but she was relieved to hear that neither was the case.

 

“Oh I'm sorry you had to relive that!” she said, pressing a hand to her heart, her mind beginning to comprehend why he had been so anxious to tend to her upon her fall.

 

“Just be more careful,” Zoro said firmly.

 

“Was-was Kuina clumsy?” Tashigi asked cautiously.

 

“Hell no!” Zoro snapped, turning his head back to look directly at her. “She had poise, dignity, grace…”

 

Zoro hesitated, and Tashigi's eyes lowered to his chest, which was heaving under laboured breaths; obviously his memories of Kuina were very emotional for him, she thought sadly.

 

“She was the first person to ever beat me in a duel,” he eventually continued. “And she beat me every day, every time we duelled. She was a master swordsman and I was helpless against her.”

 

“Not at all like me there then,” Tashigi said quietly, lowering her head.

 

“But your style is very similar to hers,” Zoro added. “And, just like you, Kuina thought she couldn't be the best because she was born a girl - which was ridiculous, because she beat me 2001 times.”

 

Tashigi lifted her head, staring at Zoro incredulously. She had not thought it possible for anyone to defeat Zoro, much less a girl - and for him to admit that he had lost to her 2001 times was simply unbelievable.

 

“Anything else?” he asked tightly

 

“Just one more thing…” Tashigi said slowly, determined to get the answer to her second question, the one she was too scared to ask directly, but the one she most needed an answer to for her own peace of mind.

 

“What?” Zoro growled impatiently.

 

“She was fourteen,” Tashigi began, hoping Zoro might catch her meaning. “It was seven years ago… So you were… You…”

 

“I was twelve?” Zoro offered.

 

“Oh,” Tashigi said, nodding her head.

 

Tashigi had assumed by the way Zoro had spoken of Kuina that the two of them had been lovers, and when he had said that Kuina was fourteen at her death, it had still made the chance of them being romantically involved a possibility: but since Zoro had only been twelve, Tashigi assumed that, for a boy at such an age, Zoro had not thought of Kuina in a romantic way after all. The worry of looking like Zoro's dead soul mate had been tearing her apart with anxiety.

 

“I have to finish up here,” Zoro said gruffly, pointing at the deck where he had been exercising prior to her interruption.

 

“Of course, I'm sorry,” she said gently. “And… Thank you.”

 

Tashigi turned from Zoro and slowly walked away, stealing a few backward glances as she left, silently wondering how strange it really must be for him to have to see her face if she truly was so identical to Kuina, someone he had cited as his “motivation and inspiration”.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“Please don't do it.”

 

Smoker looked down thoughtfully at the sword hilt peeking out from the fold of linen in his hand.

 

“Are you listening to me?”

 

Lifting his eyes from Tashigi's sword, Smoker watched as his crew shook hands with Hina's crew, the number of officers gradually diminishing as Hina's crew returned to their ship and Smoker's own crew filed into the nearby naval office.

 

“Smoker please, be serious.”

 

“I've never been more serious about anything in my life,” Smoker quietly replied, turning his head to look at Hina, who was watching him with the face of a freshly poisoned ferret, her displeasure radiating off of her despite her best attempts to disguise it behind sympathetic words.

 

“You're being ridiculous,” she said tightly. “Absolutely ridiculous. The government won't like this. You could lose your job. You could lose everything we worked for!”

 

“We?”

 

Smoker raised his eyebrows questioningly, but Hina did not appear to see anything wrong with the words she had spoken.

 

“Is that what you want?” she asked him. “Do you want to be the ruin of Captain Hina's career and reputation?”

 

“This isn't about you,” Smoker sighed, shaking his head at her. “It never was.”

 

“I can't keep making excuses for you!” Hina hissed. “Your pig-headed attitude has almost cost you your career many times, and it's only thanks to me that you are still a marine!”

 

“I don't care what the government thinks,” Smoker calmly replied, turning his back on Hina. “And right now, I don't really care what you think.”

 

He heard Hina sigh loudly in frustration behind him.

 

“Smoker, the girl ran away with a pirate,” she said stiffly. “You've known since the day Straw-Hat and his crew arrived in Loguetown that Tashigi had a silly little crush on Roronoa Zoro, and you knew this would happen one day. Why can't you accept it? I did like her too, but she was a ditzy dreamer, and she would never have made it into the senior ranks of the navy! No-one ever took her seriously, she was the most accident-prone person anyone had ever met! I can only guess what sort of pirate she will make.”

 

“She's not a pirate,” Smoker quickly pointed out. “She is a Sergeant Major of the navy.”

 

“Not for long…” Hina muttered.

 

Smoker looked back over his shoulder, watching Hina light up a cigarette.

 

“You're wasting your time,” she added, lifting her eyes to his. “And you've wasted Hina's time.”

 

“Your half-wit junior recruits wasted everybody's time playing tricks on us all,” Smoker pointed out. “If that hadn't happened, I would have her back by now.”

 

“Face it Mister Smoker, Tashigi isn't coming back,” Hina said with a disinterested sigh.

 

“Yes she is,” Smoker insisted.

 

“Well, perhaps she will come back when Hina arrests her for being a pirate.”

 

“Not going to happen. I'm going to find her, and I'm going to kill Straw-Hat and Roronoa Zoro.”

 

“Alone?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Hina doesn't understand why…”

 

Smoker sighed, looking down at Tashigi's sword again. On the journey to land he had spent most of his time considering both the merit of continuing a search for Tashigi and his reasons for doing so, and had only managed to come up with one reason for all of it: even though it had been painful for him to admit to it, even to himself.

 

“I can't leave her with pirates,” he said quietly, pinching at the bridge of his nose, silently willing Hina to leave.

 

“This goes beyond your call of duty,” Hina replied in a low voice.

 

“Yes it does,” Smoker admitted.

 

“Why then, Mister Smoker? Hina has to know.”

 

Smoker paused, looking down at the sword and then up at the horizon, scanning over the all-but empty coastline before finally answering Hina's demands.

 

“Because I love her.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Next Chapter: Zoro is surprised, impressed and then confused; Tashigi is content, conflicted and then confused; and I didn't write Smoker in the next chapter, but we'll just say he was probably confused too… Chapter 13 - Sense and Sensibility.