Shoko and Zoro spent the following week just as they had that day: Zoro waited at the restaurant until Shoko finished her work before they would head off to the forest for training.
"Ririka, what table do these drinks go to?" Zoro asked one day when the restaurant was particularly busy. Shoko was away at the moment, taking care of baby Rika, who was in a sour mood and refusing to nap.
Zoro had been feeling like he was taking up space, since he had been staying in their home and bumming at the restaurant during the days. And he wasn't able to train during the day because he could never seem to find his way to the training grounds without Shoko.
Riri smiled at Zoro appreciatively and showed him where to bring the tray of food. Zoro didn't strike her as a customer service type of guy—he was a bit gruff and didn't smile a lot—but then again, she appreciated the offer for help.
That evening, once Riri dismissed them, the two grabbed their equipment as usual and headed back to the woods to train.
The routine they had done the first day proved to be their favorite way to spend their time. After only one week, Zoro found that his reflexes were improving dramatically, and Shoko's aim was becoming more accurate each day.
That day, once they were both wiped from running around the trees, they sat in the clearing in comfortable silence as they usually did, listening to the wildlife as the air started to cool for the evening.
"I'm thinking I should go soon," Zoro said suddenly.
"You mean go home? Are you feeling bad? I did whoop your ass today," Shoko teased, nudging him in the side with her elbow.
"No," Zoro said, swatting at her elbow. "To another island. I need to get money somehow."
Shoko frowned. "What for? You can work for your food here. You don't have to pay us back." She knew she would be incredibly lonely if he left. She had other friends in Shells Town, but none of them were half as interesting as Zoro, and they sure couldn't train with her like he could.
Zoro grunted. "I have to go eventually. No offense, but I won't become the greatest swordsman just from our training."
Shoko slumped back on the tree she was leaning against. "So what, are you gonna get a job?"
Zoro reached in the bag he sometimes carried with him and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it to reveal a pirate's bounty poster for a million berries.
Shoko's heart sank. "Bounty hunting?" she asked incredulously, staring him down.
"Why not?" Zoro shrugged, putting the paper away again. "I heard a couple idiots at the restaurant talking about bounties they collected."
"So you're just gonna go copy the idiots?"
Zoro shrugged, and Shoko was acutely aware that he was avoiding her gaze. "It will be good practice, Shoko."
Shoko didn't respond. She didn't want to admit it, but he had a good point. In fact, it sounded like something she could even be interested in. Making money outside of the restaurant was something she'd wanted to do for a long time. And fighting evil pirates? It could be like a sort of application to the Marines. But she knew her mother wouldn't approve. No leaving the island until you're sixteen. That was the rule. And Shoko couldn't bring herself to disobey her mother.
"Will you come back?" Shoko finally asked him.
"Eventually."
"Come back and take me with you."
Zoro finally looked at her, eyebrows raised. "You'd be a bounty hunter?"
"Why not? If you come back and say it's good practice... I just can't leave the island until I'm sixteen, but my birthday's only three months away." Shoko shrugged. She'd never in her life considered bounty hunting before. And, though she'd never admit it to him, there was a part of her that was desperate to keep him in her life.
"Then it's a deal. I'll leave tomorrow, but I'll come back in three months and report back to you." Zoro held out his hand, smirking. Shoko grinned and took it.
The next morning, Shoko walked Zoro to the dock where he had left his boat. She carried a sack of food for him. Riri had prepared a few days' worth of meals for him just to get him started as he collected his bearings.
"Don't die," Shoko said, setting the food down in the boat as Zoro began organizing his things to begin sailing.
Zoro grunted, an amused look on his face. "As if." He pulled out the bounty poster from his bag. "There's no way this guy can take me on. Honestly," he leaned back leisurely against the mast of his small boat, "this is nothing but a test run to see if I even like collecting bounties. The real fighting practice won't start until later."
Shoko grabbed the poster from his hand, looking at the pirate's picture. "Dead or alive..." she muttered, then looked up at her friend. "You're not planning to kill anybody right?"
Zoro shrugged, but he was looking intently at her expression. "It's not part of the plan, no," he said, "but I guess there's never a guarantee that things won't go south in a sword fight."
Shoko frowned but didn't say anything. She knew she couldn't ask him to hold back, especially if a situation became a matter of life or death. Still, the thought of Zoro taking a person's life made her stomach turn.
She looked up when Zoro pushed himself from his position leaning against the mast and took a step towards her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning down slightly to catch her gaze with his own. "I'll be back in three months," he said, "Okay?"
Shoko nodded once and the tiniest of smiles appeared on her lips, though it barely touched her eyes. Then she reached out and pulled him into a tight hug, knocking him slightly off-balance.
"You better be," she said into his shoulder. Then she released him quickly and pulled her clothes straight, trying to look nonchalant, despite her previous actions. "Because I can't go back to sparring with Riri. She sucks," she joked before stepping off Zoro's boat. She looked back at him to see him smiling at her. She wasn't sure, but she thought she caught the slightest shade of pink appearing on his cheeks.
"See ya," she said as she watched him push off the dock. He waved at her one last time before turning to focus on navigating his way into the ocean.
He's going to get so lost out there, Shoko thought as she watched him unfolding a map, turning it over in his hands as he tried to figure out which way to hold it.
As she began walking back home, she noticed Riri standing against a nearby building.
"Did you seriously follow us?" Shoko asked incredulously.
"I had to make sure you didn't go with him," Riri laughed. "I still need your help at the restaurant."
Shoko rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I'd have to be totally obsessed with him to do something like that. Anyways, I wouldn't just ditch y'all without saying goodbye."
"I don't know," Riri sang teasingly. "The way you're always staring at him, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Shut up," Shoko said, feeling her cheeks heat up. Why was it that younger siblings always got the bad rep for being annoying? Older siblings could seriously push buttons.
"By the way," Riri started, "why didn't you just tell me if I'm such a 'sucky' sparring partner?"
"Eh," Shoko shrugged. "Gotta take what I can get, right?"
"Asshole."
"I wuv you," Shoko bumped playfully into her big sister as they walked, now in comfortable silence.
As they came into view of the restaurant and their apartment, Riri squeezed Shoko's shoulder briefly. "He'll come back, Sho," she said softly.
"I know he will." Shoko smiled sadly, avoiding eye contact with her sister as she thought of her friend as he sailed away, looking at his upside-down map. "Thanks, Riri."