Chapter Text
You first met him in front of the bar you were working at.
“Watch out for the ‘Pirate Hunter’ Roronoa Zoro,” as said by people around you. You didn’t know him much nor did you ever see his face. All you heard was about how he was a fearsome swordsman believed to resemble a ‘demonic beast’, because he mercilessly hunted pirates and became the fiercest bounty hunter in East Blue. People were usually unsettled every time someone mentioned his name due to his reputation, but you were not one of them.
Sometimes you thought people liked to exaggerate things, especially when it came to wanted men. It’s not like you wanted to defend criminals—there were many heinous criminals out there, but Roronoa Zoro was different, at least for you. This mysterious man seemed to only kill pirates. You’d never heard him hurting civilians or burning down a whole village like some crazy people out there—both pirates and bounty hunters. You always thought, “isn’t it great if he keeps hunting down pirates? They’ve been causing too much trouble anyway,” especially after your parents got killed by some pirates a few years back, leaving you alone with your shitty aunt who neglected you all the time. You didn’t hold a deep grudge against those pirates because sadly, that was just how it was; pirates would come, cause chaos and go. Many deaths were expected since the navy didn’t do their shit properly. People just held to their luck to live and your parents weren’t included among the ‘lucky ones’ who survived the attack.
Basically, you supported this mysterious pirate hunter’s doing. And yes, people did like to exaggerate things. Like, come on. There was no such thing as demons or swordsman beasts—at least on the small island you were living in—especially after seeing the so-called beast man got lost right in front of you.
You were smoking after a fight with your boss because you asked for a pay rise. You had been working there for almost three years since you were 16, doing every kind of work with the same wage even though you made the best drink according to your loyal patrons. Yes, you started working there when you weren’t even legal to work yet, especially in a bar, but you had no choice since your aunt didn’t leave you any money to buy food. The owner at that time was generous enough to take you in as a cleaning girl with generous pay for a 16-year-old, along with free meal during your shift. However, ever since that small business was taken over by the first son, you were used as the bar’s ‘mascot’, doing everything else other than cleaning. As disgusting as it might sound, once again, you had no choice. You were so desperate for money and wanted to get out of your aunt’s house as quickly as possible, buy a new house with your saved wages.
Well, you were terribly naïve. Even if you’d saved most of your unchanged income for 10+ years, it wouldn’t be enough to buy a house. You could only rent a small room next to a brothel which… was kind of an inconvenience for you at night.
Your aunt also kept nagging you for money every month—how dare she. It became even more obvious that your pay was no longer enough to cover everything.
You thought of getting a new job, but who’d hire the well-known bar girl like you? You were infamous for being ‘that flirty’ young lady who always got too friendly with her customers. It was an act, of course, for a small tip those horny men usually left behind every time you acted ‘nicely’. But rumours spread fast, especially within a boring small community where people got nothing else to do. They thought you were also working at the brothel at night, giving several married men your ‘service’. Most shop owners hated you and obviously wouldn’t hire you. They were too scared you’d snatch their husbands away. It was just plain stupid but hey, you gotta suck it up.
Maybe you should just get rid of your aunt to relieve you from this never-ending financial problem.
That was just a joke, of course.
“Such an ungrateful bitch she is! My father let her work here in the first place and I’m still keeping her until now. Can’t you see how generous my family is? And all she’s doing now is making me the bad guy! Maybe I should just fire her—ugh, if only most of our patrons weren’t her fanboys.” You could hear your boss yelling at other employees, as if you were not there listening.
You did a heavy sigh, lighting another cigarette to calm your mind. You stared blankly at the street in front of you and suddenly saw a green-haired man walking pass your bar. He looked normal, like any other people on this island. He wore a thin, white polo shirt, green pants and was carrying three swords on his side. He looked young, maybe your age? He was also not very bad-looking. In fact, he was kind of attractive according to your standards. His somewhat defined muscles were shown well by the clothing he was wearing and—
Okay, why were you thirsting over a stranger?
You saw him walked by, just like any other people on the street. But no longer after that, you once again saw him walking pass the bar heading to the opposite direction. You were then thinking, “is he lost or something?”
“Hey you, moss-head!” you called the man while still leaning on the wall. He then looked at you with his sharp eyes, maybe looked unhappy with the nickname you gave him? But yeah, honestly it was kind of rude.
“Ha?” he answered curtly.
“Where are you heading?” you asked, not expecting him to answer.
“Are there no weapon shops on this island?”
“Oh, is he new here?” you thought to yourself. You then pointed the direction he was heading earlier, “there’s one over there.”
“Oh, thanks.”
The man then walked straight without changing his direction, even though you had clearly showed him the way to his destination. “Was he not listening?”
You approached the man and tapped his shoulder lightly, “hey!”
You could see he was suddenly alert, one hand on his sword as though he was ambushed. You were slightly taken back by his response and automatically raised both of your hands to the air to prove you were harmless. When he realised it was you, the brief tension was gone.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“You were supposed to walk this way.” You pointed a thumb to the street behind you.
“Oh, I know.”
“Uh, yeah? Then… why are you heading that way?” you then pointed at the direction he was heading.
He rubbed his hair, surprisingly didn’t look as confused as normal people when they got lost. “Oh.”
“Is this guy serious?”
“Let me take you there, then. Follow me.” You then walked him to the only weapon shop on the island which was quite far from your bar. You needed to be away from the bar for a while, getting away from your asshole boss who wouldn’t stop cursing you all day. He also wouldn’t need you anytime soon anyway, the bar was pretty quiet when you left.
The two of you remained silent throughout the short journey. You were itching to start a conversation, but the man radiated a strong ‘don’t talk to me’ aura, which was kind of intimidating. But you were uncomfortable with the silence so you started a friendly chat in the end.
“Are you new here?” you kindly asked him.
He glanced at you with the corner of his eyes. You thought he would ignore your question but he then answered, “I’m just visiting.”
“I see. My name’s (Y/N) by the way. But people here call me Kimi.”
“Kimi?”
“Yeah. It’s… just an alias I use for my work.”
“Oh.”
“What’s yours?”
“Zoro.”
You were startled for a moment, thinking of the infamous name ‘Zoro’. “Are you the Zoro everyone’s talking about?”
“Oh, everyone’s talking about me?” he asked, looking amused.
“Well, you’re quite famous around here.”
“What if I am? You’re not scared?”
“Nah. Unless you were a demon or some shit like everyone says.” You jokingly said.
He chuckled, “demon?”
“People say you’re a dangerous demon.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I know, right?”
The tension between the two of you reduced a little bit. You got more comfortable talking to him—he wasn’t so bad at small talk after all.
“Why are you revealing your identity to me? I can just rat you out to the navy, you know? I know some people there.” You asked again and were genuinely curious. Why did Zoro calmly admit he was the ‘Pirate Hunter’ Roronoa Zoro, one of the most wanted criminals you know? If you were him, you would be more careful—you wouldn’t even walk around at noon like this.
“Hahaha, would you do it, though?”
“Nah. Not really a fan of the navy.”
“Then there’s no problem. I can just fight them all anyway if they find me here.”
“Tsk. You cocky bastard.”
Both of you arrived at the weapon shop after a 10-minute walk from the bar. That shop was one of the most established shops on the island. It was run by a weapon-savvy family who’d been passing down the business from one generation to the next. They were one of the few people who treated you as ‘(Y/N)’, not as ‘Kimi’ since both of your families knew each other very well.
“Hey Stevens, what’s up?” you greeted the first son of the current shop owner, who was happen to keep watch over the shop.
“Oh hey, (Y/N). You’ve got an interesting company here.”
“Yea, he was looking for a weapon shop so I’m taking him here.”
“Ah, a swordsman, huh? How can I help you, sir?”
Zoro took out a bottle from his pocket and showed it to Stevens, “I’m looking for some oil or polish like this. No need to be the same brand, though.”
“Ah, yes. We don’t have that brand here but I can show you some other varieties we’re currently selling.” Stevens took out a crate full of bottles of oil and wax for swords maintenance.
You were just enjoying the view of the two men talking about weaponries and exchanging remarks about each other. Stevens was intrigued by Zoro’s swords without bother asking about his occupation—because the only people who carried swords/weapons around were either navy officers, pirates or bounty hunters and most islanders were usually cautious of anyone with weapons if they didn’t look like an officer. He said it was unusual for people to carry more than two swords altogether and was surprised when Zoro said he used all three to fight. It was sort of his fighting style, Zoro said. Zoro was also fascinated with the range of weapons the shop was selling. He was looking around the sword section, checking out some swords as though he was looking for a new one.
“I can give you a discount on those swords, since you’re (Y/N)’s friend.” Steven said when Zoro was done window shopping.
“Oh, thanks. I’m not looking for a new one at the moment, but thanks for your offer.” Zoro politely refused.
After spending a few good minutes chatting with Stevens, the two of you left the shop and walked aimlessly along the street.
“You’re not going back to whatever you were doing before this?” Zoro suddenly asked you.
“I don’t feel like it. My boss isn’t happy with me at the moment, hahaha. I’ll just take you wherever you want.”
“Then do you know a nice place to get a drink?”
You sighed, “well I guess I’ll take you to the place I’m working at, then.”
“If you don’t mind, of course.”
“Yea, yea, no problem. At the end of the day, I’ve got to face that dickface anyway. Come.”
You took Zoro to the bar where your annoying boss, Dicky, was waiting for you to come back—you weren’t even surprised as you were a valuable asset to his business. ‘Dicky’ was not a made-up name by the way, it was actually your boss’ real name. You thought it was kind of funny, since that name fitted him so well. Other than because he was an asshole—or a dick you may say—his head also looked like a circumcised penis. It wasn’t an exaggeration, he actually looked like a penis. His head was somewhat triangular and bald, and there was also a long slash wound on the top of his head that looked similar to a pee hole.
“Kimi, where the fuck were you? Trynna run away from me? I bet you can’t.” Dicky scolded you once you stepped inside the bar.
“Shut up, I was just getting some fresh air. I brought you a customer by the way, he’s just visiting.” You pointed at Zoro who was standing behind you, looking puzzled by the sudden commotion between you and Dicky.
You could see Dicky’s face was suddenly lit up when he saw the fine-looking man next to you. You swear to God you could also see multiple Berry signs in his eyes. He then said, “oh sir, welcome, welcome. Please enjoy your time here. You can ask my Kimi for anything, she makes the best drink here,” in his sickening high-pitched ‘polite’ voice.
“Asshole,” you whispered under your breath as you were walking behind the counter to start serving Zoro. You could hear Zoro chuckled before he sat down and stared at you cleaning some glass.
“What’s up with him?” Zoro asked you once Dicky was out of sight.
“He’s just being an ass as usual. Refusing to pay me more. Anyway, what would you like to drink, sir?” you winked and acted flirty, putting on your ‘work mode’ mask.
Zoro just giggled because of your sudden change then said, “I’ll try a pint of your beer first, then maybe your specialty next?”
“Oho~ you’re trying to judge my drink now, huh?”
“Do your best then.”
“Hahaha, don’t worry. As much as I hate to say it, I can actually make decent drinks for you.”
Both of you then spent most of your time chatting until the sun started to set. You mostly talked about Zoro’s work as a bounty hunter, like how much he earned and how the whole ‘bounty hunter’ system worked. He told you the pay wasn’t so bad but they—as in the navy or World Government—didn’t even pay him in full. He would only get up to 60% of the promised bounty, since he had to pay the ridiculously high amount of tax. He also told you that he wasn’t even perceived well by neither navy nor the government. He was treated as a killer, even classified as a criminal for killing people although he was doing them huge favour.
“It’s not that I care anyway. I’m not doing this for the money or reputation among the navy. I just want to get stronger.” Zoro told you while chugging his fifth pint.
“To get stronger, huh? What are you preparing for actually?”
“To be the best swordsman in history, I guess.”
“Oh? Good luck with that.”
Dicky suddenly approached you and said, “Kimi, go get changed. It’s show time.”
“Oh, alright. I’ll be back, Roronoa-kun~”
“Where are you going?”
“To go get changed. It’s time for Happy Hour.”
One thing you couldn’t deny about Dicky was: he was a brilliant businessman. When his father was still owning the bar, he was nearly on the edge of bankruptcy because the bar was pretty much dead the entire time. There were only the same old folks visiting to enjoy the not-so-bad beer a few times in a week. Ever since Dicky took over, the bar changed drastically. He invented new drinks and even held special events once in a while to attract more people coming, especially the youngsters. It was a risky decision but turned out to succeed massively. People then came to the bar not only to enjoy the drinks, but also the live music and shows by the bar ladies.
‘Happy Hour’ was one of those special events held every evening until midnight. You were the recurring performer in the event ever since Dicky found you were a pretty good singer and very likable. The job was quite simple: just dressed up sexily and sang along the same old bar music every night. You might sometimes have to dance or interact with drunk customers who would get very touchy, which you really hated.
You put on your usual long red dress with a split to show off your skinny right leg. As much as you hated your job, you always looked forward to dressing up. You felt very powerful every time you wore this dress. There was somehow a boost of confidence from looking sexy and showing off your feminine sides to many people. You were not necessarily an exhibitionist or nudist, but a little bit of ‘teasing’ excited you.
You went out the dressing room after putting on some make up—a simple smoky eyeshadow look with bright red lip colour to match your dress. People were cheering and whistling on you as usual, you were always the star of the bar anyway. Your gaze was somehow directed to Zoro, who was still drinking while also looking at you. He was giving you a poker face look, but his stare was sort of full of… awe and admiration?
Maybe you were just reading into it too much.
You gracefully walked to the stage, getting ready to perform. Once the music started, you were unstoppable. You sang to the very familiar jazz music and gave a little bit of twist in between the chorus. Everybody drunkenly sang and danced along with you. The bar became the liveliest place in town at night with people kept coming and going every minute.
You stole a few glances at Zoro, who was apparently doing the same thing to you. The man looked very calm in his seat, enjoying every second of your performance, not looking bored although he’d been spending hours sitting on the same spot. He was faintly smiling and once in a while lifting his glass to cheer on you. You tried to keep your performance professional, hiding your blush caused by the butterflies inside your stomach.
That night was a blast. You hadn’t felt very energetic in a while, probably because there were no annoying perverts disturbing your performance—which was very unusual. In between your performance, you’d make Zoro some drink or join him in a drinking battle. You found out that he was a very heavy drinker, even the known ‘top drinkers’ at your bar lost the battle against him. The two of you drank until you got wasted, like any other people in the bar.
“Where are you staying, Zoro? I’ll take you there—scared you get lost again.” You jokingly nudged him, remembering your first encounter with him this afternoon. Both of you were walking along the dark main street to sober up. The bar was long closed. Dicky also let you go early because you’d done well that night—and he might also feel bad for cursing you all day, which he wouldn’t obviously admit.
“I didn’t get lost, okay? Tsk. I haven’t booked any inn. I just arrived today, really didn’t get the chance to find one.”
“You have no sense of direction that’s why,” you thought to yourself. “I live in a motel. They might have some empty rooms for you to stay.”
“Oh? Sure, thanks. You do know your island, huh?”
“Born and raised here. I obviously know every corner of this island. It’s pretty small anyway. Oh, but… it got a little bit um… noisy at night because the motel is literally next to a brothel. The walls aren’t really soundproof.”
Zoro chuckled, “I’m a heavy sleeper. Don’t worry.”
You then led him to a small, old-fashioned motel where you lived. No tourist or local residents really stayed there for the night because of, well, the brothel and some weird motel policies like the prohibition of any sexual activities inside the motel. The policy was probably made to create a ‘fair’ competition between the two businesses, but it always felt like a dumb deal to you, since the brothel seemed to be more well-off in the end. To cope with their losses, the motel then rented out the rooms for longer or even permanent stays for cheaper price.
“Kimi, you are aware of the motel’s policy, aren’t you? No sex—”
“I’m aware, Fuji-san! Don’t get me wrong, he’s only looking for a room for his short visit.” You were talking to an old man named Fuji, who was the owner of the place and also having his daily night shift. He was never so nice to you, presumably because he thought you were going bring men over and caused dispute between him and the brothel’s owner—the whole ‘bar girl’ stereotypes who liked to fuck around.
“You sure? You’ll know what happen if you break the rules, Kimi.” Fuji carefully gave Zoro’s room key to you.
“Yessir, no problem. Thank you and good night. Follow me, moss-head.”
Zoro followed you from behind, heading to his room that was located on the first floor.
“What’s the deal with him?” he curiously asked you.
“Ah, he’s always like that. He hates me.”
“Why?”
“He’s scared I’d break the rules.”
“What rules?”
You turned to Zoro and walked backwards, “no sex allowed here.”
“Ha? That’s bizarre—didn’t you say this was a motel?”
“Hahaha, yea. Everything’s weird here. I’ve never got my head around it.”
Both of you finally set your feet in front of Zoro’s room. You handed over the key to him and said, “here you go. Go get some rest. If you need anything, I live upstairs. Just knock on my door—room 200. Okay?”
Zoro nodded, “thanks.”
“Well, I should go now. Good night, moss-head-kun~” you started walking away until Zoro called you.
“Hey.”
You turned your head to face him, “yea?”
“Doesn’t everyone know your name?”
“They do. What’s wrong?”
“Why do they keep calling you ‘Kimi’ instead of your real name?”
You were stunned by the man’s simple question. You then casually answered, “I guess it’s a way for them to look down on an unladylike girl like me. Not calling someone by their names makes people feel better about themselves sometimes. It’s as though they refuse to acknowledge your presence and make you feel lower. I don’t really know nor do I care. Maybe ‘Kimi’ is also easier to remember.”
“ ‘(Y/N)’ suits you better. It’s your name after all.”
You could feel your cheeks burning. The feelings you experienced when your eyes meeting his came back to you. You couldn’t say anything more to reply his compliment. You shyly smiled at him and said, “thanks.”
“Well, good night then.” He smiled at you before entering his room and locked the door.
You then walked to your room and continuously smiled like a teenage girl in love—or maybe you were?