[Roronoa Zoro] ~ Remembering You ~ ||Fanfiction||

~ Chapter 3 ~

The sun slowly peaked up from the horizon signaling a new day and Zoro's end to his night watch. Grunting as he stood up and grabbed his swords, he beelined down the ladder to the deck with full intention of being reunited with his bed. Unfortunately, he just had to hear the sounds of faint grunting from the other side of the deck. He frowned, exhaustion evident on his face. He knew it wasn't the shit cook so who else would be up at this hour?

Being the responsible first mate he was, he huffed in annoyance before changing direction to locate the cause of the sounds, moving his hand to sit on the hilt of his sword in the off chance of an invasion. To his disappointment, he finds you. To his eye, you appeared to be training with your sword near the tangerine trees with your back to him unaware of his arrival.

He noticed your attire: black, loose clothing almost tattered from extensive wear. Your hair was tied up and sweat glistened down your neck and back. At his brief observation of you, he could tell by the power you had as you swung your sword up and down that you were no novice. For some reason, he was reminded of home watching you. He felt nostalgic, briefly thinking of Koushirou from his time training under him.

'Was it possible that you were trained in the same dojo as him?'

He quietly continued to watch until you finished, hearing a sigh of relief leave your mouth. Sheathing your sword back and turning to head back to your room, a small gasp of surprise left you followed by a flush of embarrassment on your face as you realized Zoro was standing there. You stood awkward, you weren't sure how long he was standing there for but nonetheless offered him a shy smile.

Zoro: "Where did you train?" He asked as he walked to stand in front of you.

Y/N: "Back at our village, we trained in the same dojo. You wouldn't remember me, I was quite small and easily blended into the background." You answered, smiling at the fond memory you have as a kid watching Zoro defeat almost every student who dared to challenge him, including yourself. You couldn't help but mentally coo at how cute he was as a kid.

Zoro nodded. His eye was captured by your sword. He lifted his hand up with his palm visible, silently asked for your permission to see the sword. Your eyes went to his palm, frowning as you noticed the calluses decorating his hands.

'They look rougher from the last time you saw him.'

Your hand tingled remembering how they felt in your hand.

After a few seconds of ogling, realization dawned on you of what he was asking for. You unhooked your sword from your waist and gently handed your sword into his palm.

'I wonder if he will ever remember that he gifted me this sword.' You thought to yourself.

Zoro took your sword and unsheathed it, taking in the weight and its intricate design of dark green with gold decorating the entrance points. He knew this was a sword of a swordsman. He was amused at the thought of someone like you handling a sword like this. As he held the sword, he also felt familiarity with it, almost as if it wasn't his first time holding it.

He briefly looked up from the sword to observe you, seeing the visible definition in your arms folded under your chest, the faint sight of scars littered sporadically over your hands and the faint outline of abs on your waist. He had clearly misjudged you being delicate. You would feel the weight on his eyes on you, almost like...no there was no way he was checking you out.

Y/N: "I could kick your ass right now Roronoa." You spoke confidently as you took back your sword and re-tied it back to your waist, showcasing a cocky grin on your face.

Zoro: "Are you sure about that?" Zoro questioned with a raised brow smirking back at you, you nodded taking a few steps away from him. He could see the seriousness in your gaze as you unequipped your sword from its sheath.