Across the Ocean (Zoro x OC)

3 - Memorabilia

After they had set off, she gave Zoro no further explanations and remained completely silent, while heading to their mysterious destination. Basically a correct behavior, because they should stay focused on avoiding any pirates who were looking for them. At first Zoro had claimed that he could easily cut them down, but Akiko's piercing look was enough of an answer that he should not even dare! He would only risk a riot and they did not need that! ... Well, he agreed with her on this point and admitted his defeat. Then just stealth mode.

And that led them through various side streets and smaller alleys, which the redhead seemed to know like the back of her hand. He also commented on this, when they squeezed themselves into a narrow passage because two members of the dreaded pirate band were marching on the main street that they had to cross. "I had no other choice," Akiko murmured, not taking her eyes off the two atrocities. "None of us are keen on running into their arms. At first they were harmless, but now Jojo let his dogs out, so they can let off steam." Another description for the violence that had become rampant in Evida, since ever when.

"How long?" the swordsman wanted to know, looking at the woman right in front of him, who was half a head shorter.
"How long what?" she asked with a sarcastic smile. "How long have we been under siege or how long have we been playing roulette with our lives, day after day?" But since it was just a rhetorical extension of his question, she continued more seriously: "Too long. They invaded us four years ago. First they watched us, then they took over the town leaders and beheaded them." Akiko straightened up from her observing pose and took the first step towards the street because the coast was clear. "One thing led to another and as I said: The Marines cared a fuck." Again, the anger could be heard in her voice, which she usually suppressed in words, but that did not work anymore, either. "The government, too. It feels like they want Oykot to fall."

"Because the king has too much power. They can get rid of him like this," Zorro concluded. "Much easier than than to taking over a legitimate king. What?" the swordsman muttered, interrupting himself, when he noticed Akiko's astonished look over her shoulder. "I'm not an idiot!"
"No, but that was the longest comment you've made so far." She would have liked to tease him by counting the words in all his sentences since they had met, but she did not.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he jumped at her comment, but the redhead just smiled in amusement.

"Nothing." Because she liked it. She liked people she could talk to. Up until now, her rescuer had seemed very taciturn to her, harsh and somewhat clumsy in his manner of expression. "You've only impressed me," she explained to him his higher level on her personal likeability scale. However, it was up to Zoro whether he wanted to appreciate it or not. In any case, he did not pursue it any further, crossed nimbly the main street with her by his side, and re-entered a narrower side street. "How old were you when this started?" he asked a short personal question. After all, looks could be deceiving.

"13."

So she was 17 now? A year younger than him. "And what about the people? Did you all just accept your situation?" Zoro brought the topic back to the core, destroying Akiko's brief smile.
"Evida is characterized by open minds, kindness and peacefulness," she spoke more quietly, walking further between the houses and following the slight left turn of the cobbled path. "It has always been like this. That's why the king was able to take over. That's why people couldn't defend themselves against the pirates. At least not with weapons. We don't know how to fight. There haven't been a single war in our entire history. And the people who visited Evida and told us about such only fueled fear in people's minds, about how terrible these wars are." Daring a look at Zoro, she slowed down and stopped, making him stop, too. She glanced at his swords, which he had attached to his hips, and glanced at his strong arms and torso - signs of hard training. "You, for example..." she mused before looking into his eyes again. "You know the meaning of a fight. You don't shy away from it. I even think it's somehow admirable!" And with that she turned on her heel again and they walked on. "But that doesn't mean there wasn't resistance," she said more firmly. "A group had formed and met in secret. They exchanged information and tried to tear down Jojo and his people from an inner circle."