Chapter Text
Grass. It was soft, and the slight breeze blowing was making it brush against your skin. You gasped for breath, your body sitting up as you grabbed your head. You were in a rye field, the tall stems flat around where you were sitting. It wasn’t a very large field, as there were trees surrounding the area, some nearby your spot.
‘Damn what a headache…’ You rubbed your forehead, grumbling and looking up. ‘Where the hell am I? I swear I was…’ Your mind went blank, your eyes blurring. You shook your head. ‘What was I thinking?..I can’t even remember..’
You went to move your hand to your head, realizing it was already there.
‘Damn what a headache… I guess my body was faster than my brain, huh?’
You suddenly heard footsteps from afar and tensed, ducking a bit in the tall stems almost by instinct.
‘Crap, a person!’ You peeked over the grass slightly.
“Where the hell am I…” A deep voice grumbled. “The whole crew was next to me a few seconds ago. Jeez, what is up with them, always getting lost..”
You looked towards the sound of the voice, spotting the culprit as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking around. He was an interesting character, the top of his head sort of resembling moss with its green color and shape. He had on a tight fitting white shirt and black pants with matching boots, and you could make out gold earrings glinting in the sun on his left ear. In addition, there was a green band around his abdomen with three swords attached, and a black bandana tied around his left arm.
‘Who the hell is that?..’
You squinted as you looked closer. His face turned quickly to where you were hiding, your eyes widening as you ducked.
“Who’s there?” He snapped, moving towards you.
‘Crap crap crap!’ You took a breath, thinking. ‘Well..I guess he doesn’t seem evil.. I’ll just go for it.’
You moved out of the grass, looking over at him. “Right..uh, sorry about that.” You stood there awkwardly as he eyed you suspiciously. “I don’t know why I’m here, I kind of just woke up in this field..”
He crossed his arms, skeptical. “You just..woke up here? Do you not remember what happened before that?”
You thought about his question, your mind blanking again. ‘Remember… Do I..? Remember..remember what… What?’ You blinked, looking back at him. “Sorry, what did you say?"
He stared, his eyes squinting as his mouth hung open slightly in confusion. “Did’ya hit your head or something woman?"
You glared, a bit offended, “No I did not hit my head, thank you very much! I just didn’t hear what you said.” You huffed with an eye roll.
‘The nerve of some people!’
He muttered something before turning. “Well, not my problem. You have fun Miss I didn’t hit my head.” He walked off as you grumbled in annoyance.
‘What a rude person!’
You shook your head, looking back at the field and wondering how you got there in the first place. Your mind was empty.
‘What was I thinking?..’
You could feel the headache again, and you rubbed your neck, your hand brushing against something on your back.
‘..What?..’
You reached for the object, realizing it was the hilt of a sword. Confused, you wrapped your hand around it and pulled, a second hilt appearing as well. You raised an eyebrow and brought them both out of the black strap around your back. Your eyes widened slightly as you unsheathed them, revealing both the blades to be broken off, only a small bit still showing.
‘The hell happened?..’
You stared at the hilts, trying to rack your brain again for memories. They seemed familiar, although you weren’t sure why. One sword had a deep purple, thinly shaped cord wrapped around the handle, a gold band sitting in the middle. Its sheath matched the hilt, a blackish-navy colored hanging cord resting below the guard. The other sword’s hilt was a rich maroon color, the cord thicker and more traditionally wrapped. The sheath was maroon as well, however halfway down it transitioned into a crimson red, shining in the sunlight.
While you were staring at the swords, thinking, you heard footsteps again, turning to the trees and pushing the swords back into the strap.
“Hah?? You again? Are you following me?” The green haired man stared at you accusingly as you looked at him in confusion.
“I uh..haven’t moved since you were here the first time.” You responded awkwardly.
He grumbled angrily, his eyebrows furrowing. “Stupid island’s a maze..I swear..”
You stepped forward a bit. “Are you..lost?”
His eyes snapped back at you angrily. “I’m not lost! I just..keep ending up in this damn field..”
You laughed. “So you are lost.”
He bristled, his eyes widening in embarrassment. “Am not!!”
You gazed over through the trees, almost immediately spotting buildings in the distance. You laughed to yourself, your eyes going back to him.
“I can help you get to the town if you want, since you can’t find it yourself.”
He grumbled, looking away, his cheeks a bit pink. “..Sure, whatever..”
You moved so you were in front of him and walked towards the buildings, looking down to notice that there was a path leading there. You shook your head.
‘Seriously..’
You decided not to point it out, not wanting to embarrass him further. After a bit of silence, you turned your head slightly.
”Oh, by the way, I didn’t catch your na-“
‘…Where did he go?!’
You stopped walking, surprised, turning around and looking at your surroundings.
‘He was here two seconds ago! Why did he run off? He doesn’t seem like the type to get scared.’
Your gaze stopped suddenly at a weird looking plant sticking over a bush. You squinted, stepping closer. Suddenly the plant turned, and a person popped out from under it.
’Wha-‘
Your eyes widened as you realized it was the swordsman.
”Oi! What are you doing over there??” You yelled over in confusion. He turned towards you, eyes lighting up as he jogged over.
”There you are lady! You were next to me one moment and the next you ran away! Seriously..I thought you asked to lead me to town.” He grumbled, running his hand through his green hair.
‘There’s no way he’s serious..’
“This time lead the way without getting lost!” He stated, crossing his arms.
‘HE’S SERIOUS!!’
“YOU!-..you know what, nevermind.” You muttered, not even willing to bother with him. After walking towards the clearing in the trees to the town multiple times after and him somehow wandering off each time, you had enough.
”Alright, that’s it!” You declared angrily, stomping over to him again. You grabbed his hand, tugging him back on the PATH that you had both been walking on. The PATH!
‘Seriously, what is wrong with this man!’
“Oi oi, what are you doing woman??” He said, his eyes surprised as he stumbled forward with your pull.
You put your other hand on your hip, facing him as he tried to pull away. “You keep wandering off! Enough is enough, if I’m bringing you to that town this is how it’s gonna happen.”
He opened his mouth to protest but you cut him off, walking forward again and dragging him behind.
”I don’t want to hear it! Save it for when we get there green hair.”
His face was slightly pink as he grumbled something about not being a child, but he didn’t pull his hand away.
After a bit of walking, you remembered the thought you had earlier, looking back.
”By the way, I didn’t catch your name?”
He glanced over, meeting your gaze. “Just call me Zoro.”
You thought about it. “..Zoro..it suits you.”
He looked away, his ears warm. “Yeah yeah, whatever.” He was assuming you would know who he was, or at least, he wasn’t expecting you to say that.
You laughed quietly, noticing the light pink hue on his face. You didn’t mention it, instead turning back to the path in front of you.
‘He’s not bad looking, now that I think of it..’
You snapped out of your thoughts when Zoro cleared his throat, looking at you expectantly.
”..Huh? Did you say something?”
He rolled his eyes, annoyed. “Seriously woman, are you deaf?” He rested his free hand on his swords. “I asked what your name was, since you know mine.”
You looked at him, your ears red. “Right right, sorry. I’m..” Your mind emptied.
‘..Who am I?? I can’t remember my name! That’s not normal, is it?’
You looked around, your eyes landing on the first thing they saw. “You can uh, call me Rye.” You replied awkwardly. Zoro glanced over to where you had looked, a bit confused.
..And you woke up in a rye field, what a coincidence.” He commented, his voice having a bit of a questioning undertone, but you ignored it.
”Haha..yeah, the world is pretty weird isn’t it.” You muttered, looking ahead. Eventually, you both made it to the town, the noise of people talking and moving about their lives filling the air.
”Where did you last see your crew?” You questioned, stopping at the edge of the buildings.
Zoro thought about it, looking up as his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth opened slightly. “..Uh..”
You sighed, facepalming. “Ok, so you don’t remember. Where should I bring you? I don’t trust you enough to not get lost if I just leave you here.”
His face reddened as he looked away, muttering.
”Well, our ship is docked to the side of this island, so I guess we can go over there.”
You looked down the hill, eyes moving towards the left, then right side of the end of the island.
‘Well, I can see docks on the right side, so I guess we go there.’
“Right, let’s go.” You nodded, pulling his hand and heading for the docks.
Zoro grunted as he followed along, not expecting the sudden movement. However he was used to your pace now and walked alongside you this time.
You looked around at the small buildings, taking it all in. You still weren’t sure how you got on this island, and your head hurt every time you thought about it. As you both walked past one building in particular, you noticed Zoro’s gaze following the sign a bit. You looked back, the sign reading ‘Bar’.
”See something?” You asked, pausing. Zoro turned, grinning a bit.
”Well, it never hurts to get something to drink, eh?”
‘Not necessarily..’
You sighed, facing the building. You supposed you could use a drink right now... “I guess so.. You got money?”
He took his hand back, reaching in his pockets, almost as if he didn’t know.
‘Does he not know if he has money??’
“I might..” He replied, his expression doubtful as he rummaged through them.
‘He doesn’t know!!’
You shook your head. “Seriously! Who doesn’t know if they have money or not! Usually people don’t go around looking for things to buy if they can’t pay for it..”
Zoro pulled out some berries in his hand, looking proud. “I do have some!”
You rolled your eyes, grabbing the berries from a surprised Zoro and counting them.
”Just about enough to buy a bottle or two, if these prices are normal.” You stated, handing the money back to him.
He stuffed it back into his pockets as you both headed through the door. Most of the people looked up as you entered, their eyes widening in shock as they spotted Zoro. You noticed, but ignored it, figuring they were just drunk or something. Or maybe it was just their reaction to that green hair... You followed him as he walked towards the back wall, looking over the bottles. You waited next to him as he grabbed a few, reading the labels. Suddenly, you felt the air get a bit tense.
”Roronoa Zoro, eh?” A bearded man declared gruffly, standing from his chair.
‘Roronoa?.. That name sounds a bit familiar.’
Zoro continued looking over the alcohol, as if he didn’t even hear the man.
”And if I am?” He said, almost sounding..bored? As if he was used to this or something.
The man chuckled menacingly. “You got a hefty bounty on yer head, swordsman.” He took a step forward, grinning. “And I wanna collect it.”
Zoro put the bottles he was holding back on the wall, standing straight, still not facing the man.
”And what makes you think that’s going to happen?” You turned to look at his face, a devilish grin on his mouth. You shivered.
’As if he wasn’t strange enough..’
The man’s grin widened. “Well..”
Your eyes glanced down at his hand, which had just flicked to his leg, before going back to normal. Suddenly, Zoro’s eyes widened as he lunged forward.
”GET DOWN!"
He shouted before barreling into you and knocking you to the ground, landing on top of you. A millisecond after he launched himself at you, the bottles behind the both of you exploded, bullet shells hitting the floor. You gave a shocked glance to the side, the men at tables behind the bearded guy now brandishing guns. You didn’t even have time to register how close the both of you were before Zoro pushed himself into a crouch over your body, barely deflecting the next round of bullets with his sword, his face grimacing.
‘When did he pull that out of its sheath?!’
Your jaw hung open, watching in amazement as Zoro moved off of you, somehow cutting bullets in half. He lunged towards the men and sliced with his sword, their guns falling apart into neat pieces as shouts filled the bar. Your jaw could just about fall off at this point.
‘Is that even possible?!?’
After knocking out the men around the table he moved towards the bearded man next. You could hear the swords clanging together as they fought, Zoro bringing a second blade practically out of thin air.
‘Again?!’
As you were watching, Zoro quickly dodged another slash, coming up on the side of the man while facing the opposite direction, his arm raised as his sword pressed against the man’s neck. That same devilish grin spread on his face, his eyes glinting.
”What was that about collecting my bounty? Sorry, I need a little refresher..”
‘What a terrifying smile..’
Before the bearded man could respond, you yelped in surprise with the feeling of a hand yanking you from the ground, gripping your arm roughly. You looked over to see the barrel of a gun pointed at your skull, a younger looking man staring at Zoro.
”L-listen man, if you don’t let boss go I’ll shoot your girlfriend!” He stuttered, his finger over the trigger.
Your ears went a little warm at being acknowledged as that, but the current situation deterred you from thinking about it more. Zoro frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he moved his sword, stepping away and facing him.
”Put the gun down bastard.” He growled, glaring at the man with eyes that could make just about anyone falter.
‘I think everything about him is terrifying..’
For some reason, you weren’t really worried for your life. It was like your brain knew he had it under control.
The man gave a nervous laugh, his finger resting on the trigger. “I’ll do it, really!”
Zoro let out a menacing chuckle, staring him down. “Go ahead, shoot then. I don’t care.”
All three of us stared with our mouths open in shock, including the bearded man, who had just brought his sword up to attack, his arm now frozen in the air.
‘I mean, I just met him but damn!’ You sobbed.
“W-what?” He stuttered, his hand faltering a bit.
Before you could even register the man’s slip up, Zoro moved, slicing both his swords through the air. Somehow, they worked like normal slashes, one cutting the man’s gun in pieces and the other knocking him to the ground, his hand falling off you but still knocking you over with him as he yelped in pain.
You landed roughly on the ground with a grunt, raising your gaze in time to see Zoro duck under the bearded man’s now moving attack. He knocked him in the knees and slashed with his sword, effectively taking the man out in two moves.
After dealing with him, Zoro stepped back over to where you were standing and grabbed the young man’s shirt collar as he was struggling to get off the ground.
“Not so funny now, huh small fry?” He growled, punching his face and knocking him unconscious, throwing him into the pile of the other men.
You suddenly became aware of all the people still in the bar, staring in shock and fear. The barkeeper peered over the counter as the remainder of the customers rushed out the building, free now that the group had been taken care of.
Zoro turned towards you, scanning your body.
“You good?”
Your face turned a bit pink and you looked away.
“Am I good, what about you! You just fought like thirteen men and don’t even have a scratch! What is up with you..”
You shook your head, looking back. Zoro chuckled, resting his hands on his swords.
“I’ve had a bit of practice.”
Before you could respond, the barkeeper cleared his throat, standing up and brushing himself off awkwardly.
“Excuse me..uh.. you two, but i’m ‘fraid you both have to leave now, after that uh, scuffle. I hafta clean this here mess up and uh, ya sorta scared off all the customers..” He motioned towards the broken glass and alcohol on the floor.
“..Although, them guys were giving off bad energy from the start, and I suppose ya did take care of ‘em… So for that ya can both get a bottle, on the house.” He muttered the last bit, almost as if he hoped you both wouldn’t hear.
Zoro grinned, nodding at the man. “Right, thanks old guy.”
He moved to the wall, picking a bottle he had been holding earlier and glancing over at you.
“What are you getting?”
Your eyes flicked over to the bottles, unsure of the difference of half of them.
“I dunno, you choose for me.”
He rolled his eyes, looking back at the wall before choosing another bottle and handed it to you.
“There, you might like that.”
You shrugged, accepting it as you both walked out the building. As you moved you began to notice people staring at Zoro. You turned your head to spot blood staining his shirt in a few areas, a bit on his face as well.
“Zoro! You have blood all over you, and people are staring..”
He looked down, noticing his shirt and shrugging.
“So what? If they’re scared let ‘em be.”
‘He’s crazy, I'm certain.’
You rolled your eyes, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him to face you. “Seriously, what do I do with you?” You raised your hand to his face, rubbing off the blood and causing his cheeks to turn pink.
“Oi oi, I can do that myself lady..” He grumbled, his eyes flicking away in embarrassment.
You whacked him on the side of the head, crossing your arms. “You know my name, stop calling me that!”
“Yeah, whatever you say woman.” He muttered, grumbling as he rubbed his head.
‘Now that was on purpose!’
“You-“ You got cut off as Zoro grabbed the sides of his shirt, pulling it off and throwing it to hang over his shoulder. You stared in surprise, your face turning pink. He was very muscular, with a strong chest and defined six pack, which disappeared under the green band around his stomach. However the most noticeable thing was a long scar with poorly done stitches running from over his heart to the bottom right of his torso, going under the band. Your mouth was open slightly, not even noticing how long you were looking.
“You good Rye?” Zoro asked, snapping you out of your head.
“Wh- oh uh, yes! I’m great, actually!” You said, rubbing your neck, your face a bit flushed as you quickly looked away. “Why did you uh, take your shirt off?”
He raised an eyebrow as he realized you had been staring before, although his expression remained neutral.
“You said there was blood on my shirt and people were staring, did you not?”
You started. “Right! Right. Sorry, I’m a little disorientated.” You said quickly, trying to brush it off. His gaze lingered on you for a moment, though you wouldn’t be able to tell what he was thinking even if you noticed.
‘Ok, not only is he a crazy good fighter, but he’s extremely hot too! All I can think about is tracing his scar..and-’
“YOU SHITTY LOST BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!?”