A Long Lost Roronoa [One Piece]

06: Brother Sister Bonding Time

The sniper sat cross-legged as Mei was working on the last sword. His eyes were closed and his head bobbed up and down. A small snot bubble was in sync with his shallow breathing. Mei wiped the sweat off her brow and smiled. She was done. All three of her brother’s swords were complete. She was extremely grateful for Usopp and Franky for lending her their workshop and tools.

With Zoro’s swords in her dominant left hand she headed outside for some fresh air. The moon was high which meant it was far past dusk. Mei had no idea how long she spent, but knew that whenever she began working, hours passed without her noticing. A draft of wind blew across the sea and Mei shivered, holding herself in her arms. Her sweat became cold and decided to head to the bath.

It took a few minutes to find the correct door, but when she found it, she entered the changing room. It was small and well lit with a table, a stack of towels, and a couple white baskets: two empty and two with clothes in it. She deduced the empty ones were for clean clothing and the other two were dirty, separating the women’s and men’s.

When she looked at herself in brighter light she realized how dirty she was. Muck and grind stuck to her clothing and hands, and she still felt the salt from her trip from the sea clinging on her.

Leaning the swords against the table she then removed her clothing and placed it on the table, since she didn’t have extra clothes. Then grabbed a towel and slid the glass door to the side.

Inside was steamy and warm. When the heat hit Mei, she instantly felt revived. Through the steam she saw a figure sitting in the tub. It turned around at the sound of her footsteps hitting the tile floor. Her brother was the one soaking in the tub. He wore a shocked expression and at the sight of his sibling his face turned bright red. Zoro made a loud splash as he twisted back around keeping his eyes away.

“I’m about to leave,” he said, “You should wrap yourself and face the wall.”

Mei giggled. She was not expecting to bump into her brother so late at night, nor to see his awkward expression. It amused her greatly.

“You shall not,” she replied and proceeded to use her Devil Fruit abilities, making the door disappear from sight.

She knew Zoro’s weakness well and knew he’ll never find a way back outside without breaking the ship. If he did, he’ll have to fend himself from a raging Franky... And the rest of the crew.

Mei walked to a faucet and turned it on to fill a small blue bucket underneath. She took a bottle of shampoo and begun scrubbing her thick green hair, covering it with suds. She felt the dirt release its grip from her roots. The girl wondered when the last time she had a proper bath was. She thought back to the dips in her river and trips to the waterfalls as she rinsed her hair with the filled bucket. Then squeezed out the water from her long hair and mentally crossed out the nature baths she took.

Turning her head, she saw Zoro sitting silently with his back to her. Sighing she stood up and wrapped the towel around her body and strode towards the tub.

She gently tapped Zoro’s shoulder, “Don’t be so cold to me. Help wash my back, you know I can’t reach it.”

Slowly turning his head, he saw the towel and made eye contact with his sibling. Only then did he nod. Mei sat on a wooden stool and Zoro sat behind her. She brushed her green hair away and held her towel under her arms, covering her front. The swordsman grabbed a cloth and a bar of soap, rubbed them together, and started to wash his little sister’s back.

It was quiet. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them knew what to say. When the brother finished scrubbing, he took a bucket of water and poured it directly above Mei’s head. She squealed loudly. It was cold and she turned to smack him, but saw him already back in the tub. Smiling to herself she stood up, made sure she was sud free, and walked towards the tub calling her name. With her white towel wrapped around her chest she stuck her feet in and her body slowly followed. It was relaxing to just sit and lean her head over the edge of the tub.

“I finished your swords,” Mei said, interrupting the ring of silence.

Zoro nodded in reply. Looking up at him, she saw his eyes staring at the wall to his left.

The smith giggled, “What’s so interesting about the wall?”

He frowned, “Nothing.”

Mei scooted closer to him and he tried to back away. She cornered him in the small tub, but his eyes never left his interesting wall. Sighing she relaxed her body and let it limply lean forward with her eyes closed. Strong hands gripped her shoulders and held her upright.

Opening her eyes she saw her brother’s worried ones and smiled, “Gotcha.”

He frowned, “Don’t scare me like that. I thought the heat…” he trailed off as Mei leaned into his body.

She felt his muscles flex as he shifted to become comfortable.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

“I missed you too,” and gently kissed her forehead.

A small smile curled on her lips. Her eyes closed and her breath became in sync with his. With the warmth of the bath and the comforting embrace, Mei felt the wave of exhaustion finally hit. Nearly falling asleep she felt Zoro move her and her eyes fluttered open.

He asked, “Did you work since dinner?”

“Yeah, I have a policy and that’s to never leave a job unfinished.”

Zoro frowned again, “You need to rest regularly you’re a girl.”

Pouting Mei watched as he left the tub with a sopping towel clinging on his waist. He kept one hand holding his heavy cloth and the other out to her. Mei’s eyes followed up his arm and to his chest, where they rested on his diagonal scar.

Zoro saw where her gaze was and said, “Don’t worry. It happened a long time ago.”

Biting her lip she nodded, took his hand, and climbed out.

Pushing her to change first, he slid the door and shoved her in the next room. He told her to open the door when she was done and wait outside for him.  When it was his turn, he noticed all of his swords propped against the table. Still in his wet towel, he reached for them and unsheathed Wado. He had to admit, his sister did an impressive job. The blade looked amazing, the sword had a happy aura. Most smiths take years to accomplish a quarter to a half of what his did. It was no simple task and Zoro felt a glimmer of pride in the Roronoa family name, talent was being passed down the tree in many ways.

By the time he finished, he opened the door and caught Mei in the middle of a large yawn. The sky was beginning to brighten from the morning sun. It was a wonder how Mei completed the swords in a short amount of time. Interrupting Zoro’s thoughts, her tan muscular arms rose reaching for him. His eyebrow cocked up, but didn’t ask questions as he bent over to pick her up. She held onto his neck while he carried her bridal style.

He took her to the boys’ room and placed her on Usopp’s empty bed. Zoro knew his mate when down in the evening to keep his sister company, so he deduced that the sniper fell asleep. He saw no point in waking him as he tucked his little sibling in. Mei smiled with her tired eyes and held the sheets close to her chin.

“Wolf,” she muttered.

“We could go in the morning and check on him,” Zoro whispered.

After seeing her smile, he continued, “Could you show me some weapons you created?”

A frown appeared as she slowly drifted off, “No.”

“I could test them for you.”

The smile returned, “Ok.”

Zoro grinned, he knew what his sister wanted and hoped to make their reunion a happy one until they had to separate once more. Slowly crawling into his own bunk he pulled the covers over and instantly fell asleep.