Little Roronoa ~ One Piece Fanfiction

Chapter Two

Ayame sat on the deck of the ship, glumly sharpening her swords as the crew ran into the kitchen. Zoro looked back at her, an unreadable expression on his face before continuing into the kitchen.

"Are you alright?" She looked up, her eyes widening as the racoon dog which addressed her quickly hid behind the mast. She giggled, laying her swords down beside her. "You're hiding wrong," She said, causing the racoon dog to quickly move so only his eyes were peeking out from behind the mast. "What a cute racoon dog," Ayame said with a laugh, "I'm not a racoon dog, I'm a reindeer!" He exclaimed, "And my name is Chopper." She smiled, "Interesting name."

"Are you alright?" He repeated, making Ayame shrug. Chopper noticed the long wound Zoro had given her, causing him to run forwards. He opened his bag, taking out a cotton swab and a bottle of cleaning alcohol. He dabbed the cotton swab in the alcohol, carefully cleaning her wound. She winced, making Chopper recoil. She smiled reassuringly, letting him continue. Chopper took out a small needle, while he slowly jabbed it into her arm. He then quickly reached into his bag to get some thread and a needle. He carefully stitched the wound closed, then wrapped her arm in bandages.

"You should be careful with your arm, you might reopen your stitches," When Ayame looked over at the reindeer, his eyes nervously escaped her gaze. "D-do you really know Z-Zoro?" The girl sighed, a small smile on her face. "Yeah," She picked up one of her swords, continuing to sharpen it. "Why doesn't he like you?" She froze, "I don't know."

Noticing the change in Ayame's mood, Chopper nervously returned to the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder before returning to the other Straw Hats.

She returned to sharpening her katanas, a frown on her face. They had already set sail, there was no way she could escape and continue being a stowaway until she made it home. That would be impossible anyways.

You don't even know how difficult it was to sneak onto a ship which was on its way to the New World, and even so, some of the pirates were extremely cautious. Not only that, but they were strong. Whenever she was caught, she only barely managed to escape with her life. She had a promise, and she kept it. Ayame finally fulfilled her promise, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to continue. She found Zoro, she never said how long she would stay with him.

"Bon appetit, mademoiselle."

Ayame looked up in surprise, seeing Sanji holding a plate with two sandwiches on it. She smiled, thanking him as she took the dish. He watched her expectantly, waiting for her to try the food. Once she took a bite, her eyes widened. "Wow, this is good!" She exclaimed, making Sanji beam, "Merci," The cook thanked her for her compliment, bowing before walking back towards the kitchen. He stopped halfway up the stairs, not looking back.

"If that Moss Head ever hurts you, yell for me. It's impolite to hurt a lady, I'll save you any time, anywhere."

With that, the blonde walked into the kitchen, leaving Ayame deep in thought. She never thought of Zoro actually hurting her, besides their fight when she arrived. She honestly thought of that as him testing her skills. Yes, he did seem angry, but he had no reason to be angry. Why on earth would he be angry, shouldn't it be the other way around? He did practically abandon her.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by loud shouting in the kitchen. Looking up, she saw Zoro storm out of the kitchen. "Fucking cook," He muttered, stomping down the stairs. He angrily punched the mast, making Ayame flinch. Once he pulled his fist back, he cursed under his breath as he noticed the dent he left.

"Wow, what got you so angry?" Ayame asked, earning a glare from the man. He looked away, punching the mast again, cursing. The girl shivered, looking at the ground awkwardly. While Zoro let out his anger on the poor mast, she clenched her eyes shut.

"I'm scaring you, aren't I?" He asked, not making eye contact with her, though Ayame shook her head. "The only time you scared me was when you left mom and I to go hunt pirates," Zoro's eyes flicked over to her angrily, "You weren't there when the pirates attacked and killed mom." He froze, making Ayame's eyes widen in realization. She wasn't supposed to tell him that.

"That can't be true," Zoro murmured, dropping to his knees, "You can't be Ayame." That felt like a stab to the heart, making her look down in dismay. "No," He sighed, "You look just like I remembered," As if he just now realized, his eyes slowly went over to her, the sight of the child making him wince. "They killed her." He said helplessly, Ayame watching as he shakily ran a hand through his hair, eventually pulling on it. She frowned sadly, watching as he began cussing. "I wasn't there to protect your mother," He muttered once he had calmed down, "I should have fucking been there!" He yelled in rage, pounding his fists on the floor in distress, "What the hell is wrong with me, I should have been there damn it!"

Ayame hesitated before crawling forwards. Zoro looked up, his face showing how much he regretted leaving them. She crawled onto his lap, feeling him tense before slowly relaxing. "Don't blame yourself, it wasn't your fault. You were on a different island," Zoro didn't answer, he only awkwardly sat with her in his lap.

When he hugged her to his chest, she let out a surprised gasp. Looking up, she saw the last thing she expected. Zoro silently cried as he held her tightly. "I promise, I'll be a better father."