One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Catch Me If You Can ❯ Rain, Rain, Go Away ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own `One Piece' or any of its characters.

 

A/n: I don't have much else to say but to please send out a little prayer to everyone in New Orleans and else where suffering undeniably. I would give so much to know what to do to help them. I wish I had any money even just a little to spare….anything, but I know praying will reach out somehow. Please please take a few moments of silence out for the ones who died and the families suffering and give a prayer before you read this…..

 

 

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Catch Me If You Can

 

Tashigi awoke with a start and a small cough to bring in the air for the breath she thought she was still holding. She started to struggle still under the impression that she was drowning. A soft sigh emitted from underneath her and she jumped back in hurried surprise.

 

 

“Zoro?” Tashigi murmured at the sleeping figure. She looked around her in all directions expecting to see smoker or someone with her. When she found no one and only saw the vast ocean in all directions her eyes widened. She covered her mouth and screamed silently into her hand so not to wake Zoro.

 

 

When she noticed the three Katanas situated next to Zoro she had a rough thought of taking them and letting them sink to the bottom of the ocean. “No I couldn't let such beautiful swords be stuck useless.” She thought stabling herself to stand in the small boat. “But then again they would be better off then in the hands of this…this…man…”

 

 

Tashigi quietly started to assess the boat and figure out where they were headed without waking Zoro. As she walked past the sail she half expected to see a huge side of the ship full of life and safety through her blurry eyes. She prayed anyways. She knew before she walked over that after about eight steps she would already be at the other side of the ship.

 

 

She felt her hands go numb in frustration. Her body started to shake and her eyes clouded in pure anger. She had to let it out before she blew up. Not only did she not have her glasses but also she found her own sword Shigure no where in sight.

 

 

She finally let a scream into the afternoon sky and looked into the horizon that seemed to expand for an eternity. She looked over at Zoro who only stirred slightly in his sleep and rolled onto his opposite side away from her. More anger rose from the depth of her body and spilled into her veins like a volcano. She found herself walking to Zoro's side where he was facing her. She decided with a twisted smile to wake him gently and calmly figure out what he expected to do. Unfortunately not all her plans seemed to work how she figured them.

 

 

With a hard kick into Zoro's gut she started screaming her anger at him as soon as his eyes snapped open.

 

 

Zoro grabbed his stomach and started rubbing it lightly. He looked up at Tashigi with squinted eyes because of the bright sun right behind her and listened uncaring to the words that all blurred together in his sleepiness. He let a yawn and as he did so he heard her go silent. “Finally” Zoro spoke out loud and turned once again falling into a peaceful sleep.

 

 

Tashigi's chagrin lasted only a moment before reaching for a sword next to his body. Zoro snapped awake at the sound of the sheath dragging on the floor lightly to be lifted. He turned in a super quick motion, but not quick enough to halt Tashigi from holding it over the edge of the boat.

 

 

“Oh, I see now you're awake. It seems you value your swords more then your life.” Tashigi spoke through clenched teeth.

 

 

Zoro sat on his heels ready to jump into the cold ocean water if necessary and pulled his other swords closer to his side. “I use my swords to protect my life.”

 

 

“Is that so?” Tashigi asked sarcastically. She brought her hand back over the boat and gently laid it down in the boat at her feet. “Then tell me…” Tashigi walked closer to Zoro and kneeled in front of him. “Tell me…HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOUR SWORDS GOING TO PROTECT YOU FROM THAT?!?!” Tashigi yelled jumping to her feet taking Zoro with her and pointing behind him.

 

 

Zoro pulled away from her and turned to see what she was talking about. If it had just been a sea monster then he could easily prove his point.

 

 

His eyes widened in realization that he was going to need more then his Katanas to help him through what was coming at them. Deep red and grey hellish clouds were pouring in to there direction. They puffed angrily down at them as if you could reach your hand out and touch them. “A storm…” Zoro spoke out loud to himself.

 

 

Tashigi heard him and punched his shoulder as hard as she could which wasn't as much as she thought she could because of his resilient body. Her eyes were brimmed with tears. “Not just a storm! A hurricane and we have nothing but this small boat. Did you not think about the dangers of the grand line when you threw us on this small dingy!”

 

 

“I hadn't thought that far ahead yet.” Zoro admitted and grabbed his sword strapping them securely to his waistband. He felt the boat start to rock a little harder as the waves built up their stamina. He allowed his feet to move with the boat to keep himself standing.

 

 

Tashigi had already fallen over. “First you steal my first kiss, you wreck my ship, kidnap me, nearly drown me, sail away with me on a small boat with no food or water in the middle of the grand line, sail into a huge hurricane that's going to kill us, and worst of all you didn't even bring my glasses.”

 

 

Zoro narrowed his eyes looking at her as if she was insane. Zoro turned back towards the storm and grabbed the sail to help steady himself as the waves become larger and larger. He assumed that they had about 10 minutes until the storm was situated close enough to cause them horrible trouble. He looked down into the dark murky water and back up into the sky. He was still fully amazed at the way the weather worked in the grand line. At that exact moment the sky above them was still a big beautiful cloudless blue atmosphere.

 

 

He watched Tashigi while trying to form a plan in his mind. She looked to be just as amazed by the difference in the weather as he was. His thoughts were interrupted by a large wave crashing into their boat. Water spilled onto the deck and Tashigi was thrown to the end of the boat landing her stomach on the edge of the ship. She would have let out a yell if the wind hadn't been knocked out of her.

 

 

Zoro observed for a moment as the water scattered around his feet not knowing where to go. There deck would be flooded in near minutes. They couldn't die though. Not yet he still had a destiny to fulfill. They would ride it out and hang on for dear life. The high winds muffled Zoro's cry as he yelled to get Tashigi's attention. Still holding onto the sail he held his hand out to her.

 

 

Tashigi looked at him miserably. Rain had now descended onto them and drenched them in a matter of seconds. It dripped from Zoro's out stretched hand and Tashigi frowned at the little hope Zoro was offering her, but somewhere deep down it struck a cord with her to know he was even offering anything to her in this time of desperation. She couldn't refuse.

 

 

Tashigi grasped his hand tightly hoping and praying they wouldn't slip loose, but as soon as she felt Zoro's warm and tight grip on her hand she almost felt everything would be okay. She knew he had no intention of letting her hand go. He pulled her swiftly allowing the next wave that hit them and try and jerk Tashigi from his clutch then slam her into him as the wave passed them.

 

 

He held her tightly to the wooden pole holding up the sail, with one hand wrapped around the thin pole then about her waist and the other holding her head to his shoulder. Zoro tried to ignore the seemingly endless amount of rain that poured from his brow down into his face and laid his head on top of Tashigi's to shield her face from the wind and rain mix.

 

 

As another wave hit them, they felt the boat nearly flip, but then hold itself steady. The boat took on enough water that it raised to their ankles. Both held their eyes tightly closed and waited for the next blow to finally capsize the boat. After a moment they felt a few small pushes on the boat but nothing big stirred it. Even the rain had lightened slightly. Zoro looked towards the storm and in a stunned silence let go of Tashigi and stepped away from the pole.

 

 

The hurricane had lifted. The clouds were slowly breaking apart and rays of sunlight flooded down through the terrifying clouds seeking a place to land on. Zoro ran a wandering hand through his hair to squeeze out the water and started shoveling handfuls of the water on their boat out back into the ocean, deciding not to question their luck.

 

 

Finally the clouds scattered and the bright sun bore down onto the boat warming Zoro's skin back to an average temperature. He sighed and continued to drain the boat and realized Tashigi was not helping him. He turned toward her to see her still clinging to the sail.

 

 

“Tashigi?” Zoro asked straitening to a stand. “Um…”

 

 

“Are we dead?” Tashigi asked innocently.

 

 

Zoro couldn't help but grin. “Well….Your still on a boat with me…do you consider that Heaven or Hell.”

 

 

“My goodness, what have I done in my life to deserve passage to Hell…”

 

 

Zoro lost his smug grin and ignored her comment to continue scooping out water. “Help me drain the boat so it can dry. We'll catch a cold if we can't let the sun warm us and the boat before nightfall.”

 

 

Tashigi opened her eyes and stared into Zoro's back. They were alive. The hurricane had disappeared. She would have thought she had been dreaming if it weren't for her soaked clothes. It was then that she realized she was still in her pajamas with no shoes on. Her eyes widened as she made sure all the buttons were done on her flannel night shirt and pulled up her soft flannel pants that were weighting heavy on her hips with water. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from Zoro.

 

 

“My goodness! I'm not wearing a bra!” Tashigi tried to air out her shirt in the sun to help keep it from clinging to her skin.

 

 

“I don't understand how that knowledge is going to help me drain the boat.” Zoro murmured in annoyance.

 

 

Tashigi's mouth stood agape in realization that she had spoken out loud. She stood in shock noticing how her heart had sped up with embarrassment, but had hardly done anything in the fear that she was going to die a few minutes before.

 

 

Quietly she knelt to sit on her heels and in a daze she cupped her hands and worked to help dry the boat from the other side of the deck.

 

 

A few hours later they were both sitting dead quiet on the boat each on the opposite end allowing the sun to warm them. Tashigi was not looking forward to a cold night once the sun went down and silently thanked God for allowing them this much sun to dry them.

 

 

She heard a low growl and her heart sped up in fear this time. Somewhat making Tashigi happy to know her heart didn't just act up when it came to Zoro. She looked around her trying to figure out where the noise had come from. When she heard it again she looked toward Zoro who was propped up against the edge of the boat with his chin resting on his chest, dozing.

 

 

He stirred and she looked away quickly apprehending that it was Zoro's stomach making the noise. Now that her mind was on food her own stomach growled loudly. “So what's the smart one going to do about food?”

 

 

“I don't know. What are you going to do?”

 

 

“Are you calling me the smart one?”

 

 

“No, I'm saying that you need to fend for yourself.” Zoro shifted to look over the side of the boat into the water.

 

 

“You brought this upon me! So you need to take care of me!” Tashigi shrieked.

 

 

“Calm down will you. Stay quiet or you'll scare away the fishes.”

 

 

“You can't be serious! Were in the middle of the ocean its rare for fish to be close enough to the surface….and the chances of you catching one with your bare hands….” Tashigi cut off her own words as she heard Zoro unsheathe one of his swords.

 

 

Tashigi choked on her laughter trying to stay quiet, but failing miserably. She took a sharp intake of breath when she saw Zoro thrust his sword into the water and pull it back up with a small struggling fish spiked on it.

 

 

“So what was it you were saying?” Zoro asked with a sly smirk.

 

 

Tashigi ran over to his side of the boat and stared off over the edge. “How in the world?” Tashigi looked into the dark water not able to see anything but darkness. “Do it again!” Tashigi commanded.

 

 

Zoro shook his head in wonder at the childlike woman. He set himself up again after dropping the fish onto the deck and waited. An hour later they were still waiting and the sun was starting to set. “Seems like your face scared them all away.” Zoro laughed.

 

 

Tashigi smacked his arm comprehending that it was an almost playful gesture. She watched fascinated as he once again thrust his sword into the water and when he let a soft curse under his breath, she tried not to laugh. He was so prepared to endure anything but so senseless. Tashigi guessed that's how most Pirates were. It made her wonder how this man who had been such a well known pirate hunter had ended up with a captain as evil as Luffy, any pirate with a bounty as high as Luffy's was not to be underestimated.

 

 

Zoro found his eyes wondering over to Tashigi who was deep in thought staring at his sword. He narrowed his eyes and looked back into the water. At the sudden sight of another fish he slid the blade through the dark surface cutting it and nailed the fish. In his excitement he drew his hand back up so fast the end of the blade slipped through his water soaked hand and into the water.

 

 

Tashigi and Zoro both yelled and dived into the water.

 

 

“That dumb ass Zoro! How could he handle such a beautiful sword with such carelessness? He's trying to be the world's greatest swordsmen and this is how it could end for the very thing he holds dear to his dream. I can't let it be dropped to uselessness at the bottom of the ocean, but damn it I can't see! I have to keep searching its probably falling deeper and deeper, faster and faster, every second. I need air. The pressure of the water is getting to me. I don't think I can go much deeper. I must find it!” Tashigi reached out with her hands in one last hope of touching it and felt nothing. She looked above her when her lungs felt that they would burst and started struggling frantically back up to the surface.

 

 

It was then that she realized she had gotten deeper in the ocean then she imagined. She couldn't even see the surface and her eyes were losing there sight and falling into the darkness. “Damn… what a way to go…”

 

 

 

Zoro dropped his precious katana back onto the deck then dived back into the water for Tashigi. He found her drifting helplessly in the heavy depts. Grabbing her around the waist he pulled her frantically to the surface hoping she would take a gasp of air once they resurfaced. She didn't. Growling he heaved her on to the deck and pulled himself up after her.

 

He turned her onto her back and checked her pulse only to feel light pulsing in her veins. He pushed up her chin opened her mouth and started to present her with his CPR skills. Five minutes of pumping and breathing into her mouth and she finally spit up the water narrowly missing letting it into Zoro's mouth. He wiped his face and fell back against the boat. “How in the hell was she ever a high ranking marine.” He thought with a sigh as she sat up in a fit of coughs.

 

 

“The sword!” She yelled and dived back over the edge and into the water.

 

 

Zoro's eyes were wide in disbelief. Choking on his words he forced himself to jump in after her and yank her back up by her arm. When they broke the surface he threw her back up and started yelling at her. “I got the damn sword!” Zoro yelled pissed he had to return to the cold waters once again.

 

 

Tashigi looked around frantically and grasped the sword lying on the ground tightly. “Thank God!” She gasped happily.

 

 

“What the hell did you think you were doing jumping back in after almost dying?”

 

 

“I didn't want to lose this.”

 

 

“What the hell does it mean to you?” Zoro stomped over and forcefully yanked it from her grasp.

 

 

She sat quiet looking down at her hands.

 

 

“What the hell does it mean to you?” He asked again a little louder.

 

 

“It doesn't matter to you what these swords mean to me. Only that one day a man like you will never be allowed to touch them again.”

 

 

“A man like me huh?” Zoro paced angrily. “What exactly do you mean a man like me?”

 

 

“A man of evil using his swords for all the wrong reasons! These swords were forged in the name of justice and you just throw all that away for your own sick pleasure.”

 

 

Zoro was more furious then he had been in a long time. He glanced at Tashigi noticing that her lips were a pale blue. He wondered if it was from almost drowning or the cold he was now starting to feel from the declining sun.

 

 

“Take your shirt off.” Zoro put bluntly feeling the anger drain quickly from his heart.

 

 

Tashigi's eyes widened in horror. “You don't expect…”

 

 

“You'll go hypothermic if you don't.”

 

 

“I can't….I have nothing…”

 

 

“I won't look. Just do it.” Zoro turned his back to her and drew off his own shirt. He dropped to a sit and started unlacing his boots. Once they were off he happily allowed his feet to air out of the soggy shoes. He waited for Tashigi to move or do something, but when he felt her still sitting still behind him he frowned deeply.

 

 

“If you don't do it yourself I'll do it for you.”

 

 

Tashigi stiffened. She would have been more cooperative if she at least had a bra on but she didn't. She undid one button before stopping and deciding against it. She'd rather deal with the cold.

 

 

“Look Tashigi. A man whose evil can still hold Honor and I am a man full of that, no matter what type of person, good or evil, you decide I am.”

 

 

She looked at Zoro's bare, compact, muscular back and noticed some small scars on them. She fought with the urge to go up and read the scars. “Promise me.”

 

 

“I promise I will honor your modesty.”

 

 

With the promise she finally decided the cold was too much and she had to do anything possible to stay alive.

 

 

Zoro felt a tightening in his lower region when he heard her shirt hit the deck with a damp plop. He pushed the thoughts aside and started to discard his pants.

 

 

“What are you doing?” Tashigi asked slightly taken back.

 

 

“It would do you good to take the pants off also. I'll assume you at least have underwear on.”

 

 

“I'd like it if you didn't assume anything.” Tashigi spoke angrily, shyly turning away before he started to pull them off. “Keep them on!” She growled.

 

 

“Look whether of not you decide to take your pants off is up to you, but I'm not under your command and I don't intend to die out here like this. We have a long night ahead of us.” Right as Zoro finished speaking he felt a light touch of a finger run down his back. He tensed until she spoke to him.

 

 

“It's code to a swordsman to not attack from behind. It's shameful. You have so many scars.”

 

 

“None of which on my back are from a sword.” Zoro rebutted immediately. He felt her fingers trace one in particular on his shoulder.

 

 

“This one is.” Tashigi pointed out expertly. “And this one.” Tashigi lightly fingered the skin on his back near his hip.

 

 

“If you want to call the knife Buggy used a sword then may be.”

 

 

“You're right it is a wide blade that seems too short to qualify. Still looks painful.” Her voice had a caring sympathetic tone to it.

 

 

Zoro grinned at the thought of his first fight along with Luffy as part of his crew. Zoro shivered and felt his back break out into Goosebumps as she went back to his shoulder. He waited for Tashigi to say something about it, but she said nothing.

 

 

“This on was from a hooked blade, they attacked from the front, the hook just got the back of your shoulder.”

 

Zoro grunted in affirmation, with a little laugh. “A stupid mistake on my part back when I started out in my pirate hunting.”

 

 

Zoro heard Tashigi fiddling around behind him and finally heard the sound of more cloth hitting the floor next to him. It gave him his cue that he could finally take his pants off leaving him naked except his boxers.

 

 

Tashigi had just finished taking off her pants when she plopped down so there backs were facing each other and started pulling off her damp socks. “Thank you.” She said quietly.

 

 

Zoro snapped out of his daze of thinking how perceptive Tashigi was, to figure out why she said that.

 

 

“For saving me….all those times.” She finished

 

 

Zoro grunted in acceptance and brought one knee up to his chest letting his arm linger over it and keeping his other leg outstretched. He fingered the white sword next to him and watched the sunset fading to darkness. “The sun sets in the west right?”

 

 

“Yes.”

 

 

“Then were headed south.”

 

 

This time Tashigi grunted in agreement.

 

 

“That's about the best navigation I can do.” Zoro grinned. “My nakama definitely lets me know that.”

 

 

Tashigi raised her head at the word `nakama', companions, maybe even closer then that. “You can proudly call them that?”

 

 

“Easily.”

 

 

Tashigi shivered from the cold and started rubbing her arms. She surprisingly felt much better without the damp clothes to hold in the cold, but still didn't think it would be enough to stop hyperthermia.

 

 

“Lean you back against mine.” Zoro spoke firmly in answer to her silent question.

 

 

She gave in easily nearly sighing at the warmth he had to offer. Her smaller body was pushed back and forth lightly with each of his languid breaths. She could tell how utterly exhausted he was and was now starting to feel the strain on her as well. “You know there's a dead fish on board.”

 

 

At her completely serious comment in an act of spontaneity Zoro cracked out laughing. At his laughter Tashigi started laughing and both continued to laugh until they were breathless.

 

 

“I hadn't realized we had nothing to cook it with.” Zoro spoke just now excepting the fact that if he had just not even bothered to try and catch fish with his sword they wouldn't have to sit here half naked and completely freezing on this godforsaken boat.

 

 

“We could light the boat on fire and kill two birds with one stone.” Tashigi laughed referring to keeping them warm with the fire as well.

 

 

Zoro laughed lightly and then calmed himself down. “I gotta pee.”

 

 

Tashigi gaped. “Thank you for the information.” She was even more irritated when she lost the body heat she once had when he moved.

 

 

She waited a moment trying hard not to turn and look at him until she heard the stream of water hitting water. “How amazingly pleasant, you men are all alike.” She pulled her knees up to her chest cringing when her frozen thighs touched her breasts and kept her nipples irritatingly hard. She dropped her head onto her knees to try and ignore the noise and tried not to crack up laughing at how long he had been going now. “Are you finished yet? My god!!” Finally she let out a laugh.

 

 

Zoro ignored her and fished up, moving back to his position with his back against Tashigi.

 

 

She loved the feel of him. She knew it was just because of her desperate need of warmth but it brought a flush of color to her cheeks. Her own back was now covered in goose bumps and Zoro seemed to be perfectly fine, almost hot to the touch now. “How are you used to the air already?”

 

 

“I trained for years out in weather colder then this. This is nothing to me.”

 

 

Tashigi wished she could say the same, but all her training was done mostly indoors at a dojo. “Did you train at a dojo?”

 

 

“Hn...” Zoro responded.

 

 

“Who's your sensei?”

 

 

“You probably wouldn't know him.”

 

 

“I'm not going to get past a wall in this topic am I?”

 

 

“Hn…”

 

 

“Why must you be the greatest?” Tashigi finally found it in herself to ask.

 

 

“Because I hold not only my own destiny but someone else's to achieve it. That's all you need to care about.”

 

 

“How do you hold someone else's destiny? A hostage situation?”

 

 

Zoro scoffed and grabbed his white sword thoroughly looking at it. “Kuina's destiny is engraved in my sword.” Zoro thought with a mix of happiness and grief.

 

 

Tashigi looked over her shoulder at Zoro who was holding the white sword up in the moonlight in front of his face. She figured that was all she would get out of him right now from his words getting more annoyed and decided not to keep pushing. Was it her questions that were annoying him?

 

 

Zoro set the sword with the two others in front of him. He furrowed his brow when he felt her shiver in the cold and decided to do something about it. “Keep your arms covering your chest.”

 

 

She did so and immediately started to ask why only to be cut off by Zoro wrapping his arms around her belly and pulling her up in-between his legs.

 

 

Tashigi was too shocked to move. She felt her back being pushed into his chest and his arms covering her arms by wrapping the around her front. She kept her knees up close to her chest and Zoro's legs bent up beside hers holding them firm. The warmth was insane. She couldn't tell if it was from his body or her embarrassment.

 

 

Zoro sighed and laid his head back against the side of the boat ready to fall asleep.

 

 

Tashigi had to give him credit for as close at she was pulled up to him he sure was holding his promise to spare her modesty. He had yet to even react to her half naked intrusion. She felt for the first time since she met him an ounce of trust pour through her.

 

 

She smiled widely. Tashigi normally would have hit him by now, jerking away if it wasn't for the cold, but she could wait for tomorrow to do it. Right now it just felt too nice, too safe, and just right in his arms. She brought out some nerve and laid her head back on his broad shoulder, her forehead lay in the crook of his neck and she could hear his heart beating under her ear. Add his sensual masculine scent and a girl, any girl could get used to this.

 

 

She smiled when he let out another content sigh and then a thought struck her.

 

 

“Zoro?”

 

 

“Hn?”

 

 

Tashigi could feel his voice reverberate through his hard warm chest. “How exactly did you get captured? I wasn't around to see it.”

 

 

Zoro groaned and refused to answer the question.

 

 

Tashigi let it go.

 

 

Zoro frowned and thought about how it was that Luffy managed to screw him over this time. He had the picture of Luffy with his silly ass grin planted in his features swinging his rubber arms back behind him.

 

 

“Ready Zoro?” Luffy had asked.

 

 

Zoro shook his head understanding what Luffy had intended to do.

 

 

“Luffy wait!” Zoro yelled, but before he could resist further he felt the smack of Luffy's hands on his side forcing him off the boat and through the air and into Smokers boat. He had flung through a wall and landed unconscious in one of the jail cells. Smoker had him stripped of his swords and chained up by the time he came to.

 

 

“Damn Luffy…” Zoro groaned drifting off to sleep.

 

 

Tashigi didn't question his slight comment only slowly drifted off to sleep again ignoring her stomachs protests and her fear of more dangers of the grand line. For now she was going to rest in the most animalistic feel of protection she had ever come across…and she loved it.

 

 

 

Tashigi awoke to the sound of laughing above her. She blinked her eyes open forcefully willing her completely relaxed body to waken. When her eyes blurred to as focused as they could without her glasses she found herself in the center of a ring of long bearded, dirty, pirates all grinning at her.

 

 

Zoro awoke at Tashigi's shriek and the feel of her being pulled away from him. He noticed it was light out once more and their boat had beached itself on an island. Zoro's momentary relief was disturbed by the pirates pulling Tashigi off the boat and into the sand. He reached for his Katanas only to realize that they were in the filthy pirate standing before him, hands.

 

 

Zoro growled and grew furious as they pulled Tashigi to an upright position and held her hands behind her back leaving her open for all the pirate crew to see.

 

 

Tashigi continued to cry out.

 

 

The fowl smelling pirates laughed and dared him to do something about his predicament.

 

 

“Heh…” Zoro nearly laughed. “Looks like our adventures not nearly over yet.”

 

 

 

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