EPISODE 05 : EAT AT BARATIE !
( if there's wine, everything's (not) fine )
AFTER ANJALI AND zoro's 'devastating', as usopp called it, argument, the table lapsed into broken conversations.
zoro didn't speak another word. well, it was more like every time he tried, he was immediately shut down by anjali, who ignored him.
if he wanted to talk to her so badly, it would have to wait after she'd had at least a dozen more glasses of wine and three shots of liquor. that, and a bit of privacy where neither luffy's loud obnoxious chewing or usopp's endless teasing couldn't reach them.
seriously, anjali was getting real tired of them, real fast.
the plates on their tables grew stacked and cluttered, mounds upon mounds of food that had grown tasteless to anjali's refined mouth.
she no longer felt the pull of hunger at her stomach, yet neither was she satiated with what she had eaten.
what she wanted wasn't food, nor booze. it was to understand roronoa zoro and his complex, peanut brain.
what he was thinking, why he was thinking it, and how she was going to reply to what he was willing to tell her.
luffy spoke up at last after devouring what was probably his tenth plate of food, wiping his mouth with a napkin and raising the glass in his hands.
"let's make a toast!"
this time, anjali only halfheartedly raised her glass, back still angled away from the green haired pirate hunter sitting next to her.
"to the best crew sailing on the sea and to our victory! yeah!" he cried and downed his glass of milk.
"no, i'm sorry." nami interrupted with furrowed brows. "what victory exactly?"
luffy looked at her. "against the marines. our very first victory and we crushed them."
"i don't know how many naval battles you guys have been a part of —"
usopp interrupted quietly. "two dozen, at least." everybody ignored him, knowing the man was lying through his teeth.
"— but that was a disaster. we were unprepared, uncoordinated. by all rights, we should be at the bottom of the sea." she finished.
"we're not though." usopp said brightly. "luffy saved us."
nami looked between the crew, sitting up further in her seat. "are we really going to ignore the elephant in the room?"
luffy smiled and tilted his head in confusion. "you didn't think to mention your grandfather was a marine? and not just any marine, a vice-admiral! i don't know about you, but i didn't sign up for that."
"you raided a marine base. of course that'll make you a target." zoro said.
"if i stole the map, no one would've known i was there." the tangerine haired woman shot back. "as opposed to wrecking the base commander's office."
"guys —" anjali tried to step in, but the glared everyone was sending each other made it really difficult to diffuse the suffocating tension in the room.
luckily, she didn't need to intervene because sanji, their waiter, arrived at the perfect time, handing luffy a long piece of paper.
"your bill, sir." he said, and zoro's blazing eyes snapped upwards to glare dagger's at the unsuspecting waiter.
anjali ignored the wink he sent either her or nami's way, too busy thinking of whether this was the crew's breaking point or another argument they were hopefully going to come out intact.
luffy paused the conversation to scribble something on the bill, handing it back to sanji. "thank you, my good man."
the waiter's smirk grew wider as he gazed at the paper. "no, sir. thank you."
when he left, luffy cleared his throat. "i'm not saying it's good that the marines are on out tail, but we showed them that they can't just roll over us. this crew, our crew, can handle anything."
just as everything was clearing up, a loud voice and the following of clanking footsteps sounded from the tables.
"who the hell is monkey d. luffy?"
the straw hat in question peeked out of the booth, raising his glass of milk. "here!"
the man wearing a chef's hat clunked over to their table. "you seem to be confused about the rules of the house, but baratie doesn't offer credit. you eat, you pay."
luffy chuckled, placing his glass back down on the table. anjali could feel a headache rising to her temple at the sight of his impish face.
"i think you're confused. the meal has already been paid for. i just haven't given you the money yet."
anjali swore this man would one day give her high blood pressure.
the bearded man looked at him incredulously. "yeah, and how's that?"
"you can add it to my treasure tab." he replied, smiling proudly.
the man sighed deeply. "and what, pray tell, is that?"
"i may not look like a big deal yet, but you're talking with the future king of the pirates. and as soon as i find the one piece, i'm gonna come back, pay this bill in full, and with interest."
anjali chose her company, so having to constantly experience luffy's stupidity was partly her own fault.
the man chuckled. "i got a better idea."
he grabbed luffy by the shirt, and the two disappeared into the kitchens.
anjali jumped over nami and usopp in order to get out of the booth, despite the easier exit being to cross zoro.
nami sighed tiredly. "i need a drink."
zoro raised a finger, standing up to follow anjali out. "hold that thought."
and he chased after her with slight difficulty, his swords getting stuck a couple of times in between tables before finally making it out of the restaurant.
ANJALI TOOK A deep breath. the salty sea air was refreshing to her face, a nice change from the stuffy atmosphere within baratie.
she payed no heed to the gentle patter of steps following behind her, nor the obvious noises of three blades clinking against each other.
zoro joined her wordlessly, the two sharing the kiss of the gentle wind, minuscule droplets of ocean waves spraying their clothes.
neither knew what to say, the silence building between them rapidly.
"i'm sorry, pearl." he said quietly, his voice thick and raspy and full of underlaying emotion. this time, he really meant it.
"you're always saying sorry, but never for what." she looked at the going merry.
"i shouldn't have said what i said." zoro apologized, and gently grazed anjali's hand.
the copper haired woman finally grew the courage to face the pirate hunter.
his hair was still that damn green she swore never to look at with fondness, big doe eyes she had envisioned turning away from as she shut the man out of her life.
they weren't meant to meet and stay together, only to say their final goodbyes and part ways for eternity. anjali did not want to care for zoro, but her heart was a twisted, wretched thing that only selfishly tended to its own desires.
even if it jammed a sword through her, killed her, left her for dead.
even if that want was the all mighty roronoa zoro, the likes of which was meant to be a distant memory of a boy anjali had once cherished, a soul that moulded her being perfectly and more.
still, she had chosen to turn away from the pulling tide, her decision final and her gaze set, lest she turn back and let her resolve crumble at the sight of him once more.
anjali and zoro were two pieces of a puzzle who had once fit perfectly together, but were now so torn they no longer recognized their counterpart.
their shared gaze melted into red-hot lava, pooling down their throats and rolling off their cheeks.
"but you still said it. you're still exactly like that day, zoro. nothing's changed." anjali shot back, and her eyes darkened, the tumoil within her head coming to life with past memories that she had chosen to push away.
EIGHT YEARS AGO.
ANJALI HUFFED OUT various constricted breaths, hands resting against her thighs for support as she dropped her wooden katana.
wiping the sweat away from her face with her palms, anjali grinned up at the boy standing before her, bright green hair shining yellow in the light of the setting sun.
the small pond reflected the fiery star's outline as it descended down into the horizon, the two kids' shadows dancing and flickering against the grassy patches of earth beside the body of water.
"have you been practicing, zo'?" anjali said proudly, brushing the sweaty strands of hair out of her eyes.
"every day." he replied with a nod, voice not yet mature and still childlike.
his eyes twinkled with determination, face shiny and hair matted with sweat that went down to his swordsman's uniform.
"you think you'll be able to beat kuina yet?" the copper haired girl teased, making zoro grumble.
"she's impossible to beat." the boy kicked a stray rock into the pond.
"not impossible," anjali reminded him with a shake of her head. "just really hard."
the green haired boy rolled his eyes. "same thing."
the two, both worn out from practicing, left their wooden swords in a heap and layer down on the grassy area near the pond, watching the sun set slowly.
"don't you have any other dreams beside becoming a swordsman?" anjali asked zoro as the sunlight began slowly fading from the blue sky.
he didn't even have to think about it, shaking his head. "nope. i want to become the best swordsman ever and beat kuina."
anjali gazed at the boy. he was so sure of who he was, and who he was going to be.
zoro turned to look the copper haired girl in the eyes. "and you?"
she paused to think, millions of ideas popping into her head in that short second.
"not sure yet." anjali shrugged at last. "there's so many things out there that we don't know about."
zoro grinned at her. "well, it's not like we're stuck here."
his eyes rose to anjali's, pausing for a second. "one day, we can go and do whatever you want."
anjali laughed softly. "promise?"
the boy scoffed. "what are we, six?"
but he held up his pinky anyway, and anjali smiled and linked her finger with his.
the sun soon disappeared behind the horizon, and the two returned home.
the week passed, and at last, on a sunny friday, kumar anjali and roronoa zoro shared their final practice spar.
it was ordinary, a simple wooden sword fight.
that is, until kuina's father interrupted their sparring session.
his hair, usually kept in a ponytail, and disheveled, glasses splayed awkwardly on his face. there was hardly any color to his already pale skin, and he looked almost sick.
dark circles stretched his face, lips pale and chapped.
the two pupils bowed their heads in respect, but the man didn't bother to return the greeting.
"where's kuina?" anjali asked him, surprised that the man had gone out of his way to see them without his daughter in tow.
the man trembled as he struggled to say something, hands gripping tightly on his sword.
"kuina is . . ." he trailed off, watching the wooden swords in their hands with inexplicable agony.
"kuina is gone."
anjali's smile dropped, and the wooden sword she had so carelessly been holding tumbled to the floor.
kuina is gone.
the thunder of yells erupted into her head, filling her brain with noise.
kuina is gone.
her knees hit the dirt floor, and her fingers bunched around whatever grass she could touch, pulling at the ground as if it were her own hair.
her white uniform grew matted with dirt, and her face filled with salty tears.
anjali lost more than her best friend that day.
she lost everything.
everything, including roronoa zoro.
his promise broke within the month, cold eyes searing into her as she accepted kuina's sword on the mourning platform, her eyes burning with tears yet holding nothing lifelike within the dark pools of darkish brown.
anjali suffered through the loss of her practically sister, taking on her duty as soon-to-be chief of shimotsuki village.
that had been her father's will, and if it meant easing his grief, anjali would do it over again in a heartbeat.
but she lost kuina and she lost zoro, who had left without a word, leaving behind his broken promises and taking with him the last remainder of kuina that anjali possessed.
in the dark, with the only source of light visible was the glint of the eggshell white sword reflecting in the moonlight, hidden beneath his funeral clothes.
and even though anjali cried and cried, neither he nor kuina ever once returned, leaving her a chained bird holding onto their final dreams as if they were her own.
training day and night, without the love of a father that would never be hers, pushed to her limits to become the swordsmaster his daughter never got the chance to be.
ridden with the harsh words zoro had left with her, angry shouts and painful accusations, anjali wished she could hate the boy for what he did to her.
but he was still zoro, the boy with the green hair who had treated anjali as if she was the only thing he could set his eyes upon. and her heart had grown comfortable with him, aching for his return with open arms.
deep down, she'd always forgive those brown eyes and green hair. no matter how it returned to her.
whether that be with his sad, deer eyes or with those glaring eyes that tore her apart from the inside.
ZORO LOOKED DOWN at his feet. anjali felt like her food was coming back up her stomach and jamming into her windpipe.
as always, the man had nothing more to say other than —
"sorry, anjali." he used her real name this time. no pearl, no sweet little nickname that was a memory of their shared childhood.
just anjali, the name she was born with. the name zoro had refused to call her for the entirety of their lives, leaving his lips so sorrowfully.
"at the time, i was so. . . angry. i thought you had betrayed me. betrayed kuina. so i took her sword without even talking to you and left." his gentle hands were holding hers now, and anjali's eyes were growing increasingly watery by the second.
"do you know how hard that was? having to play pretend for a life that was never supposed to be mine, without being able to leave because there was nothing out there waiting for me?" anjali asked him quietly. "do you know what i had to go through every day, walking on eggshells around my own master because he still whispered kuina's name in his sleep?"
"i was her replacement, but nothing i did could ever live up to what she was in his eyes. i was always alright. never good enough to make him happy."
her eyes flickered down to her calloused hands. "then, when he finally realized that i was never going to become like kuina — when he realized that i wasn't even the slightest bit exceptional in the way he wanted me to be — he tossed me aside and left me to rot away."
"i'm —" zoro began.
"don't say sorry." anjali wiped away her tears. "i managed. it wasn't all bad. around that time, a few years ago, i discovered my conqueror's haki. i used it on mostly animals, sometimes even the smaller children in the village to keep them in check. but then the chief found out . . ."
the copper haired girl trailed off. "and he banished me. i think he just wanted to finally get rid of me and ease his conscience. after that, i went out looking for you."
"and here we are." she gestured around, her tone sour and dead. "exactly where we left off."
"and once again, all you can do is say sorry."
zoro's eyes scanned her face. anjali had built up her resolve, the shakiness of her voice finally gone. but his damned, sad eyes were breaking her walls, ramming into her fortified skin and leaving holes for guilt to seep through.
"but then again, there's not much you can say other than sorry." she said softly.
curse roronoa zoro and the gentle spot he held in her heart.
"what can i do to fix it? — this, us two. just tell me and i'll do it." zoro said, and anjali heard the pleading in his voice.
"i don't know." anjali said quietly. she really didn't know how he could mend such a deep wound.
"anything." he murmured, grabbing her arms and looking her dead in the eye. "say the word, and i swear i'll do it."
"i don't know, zoro. you can't just force this." anjali sighed, rubbing her temple.
"i can wait." he said suddenly. "no matter how long it takes."
the copper haired girl looked at him, blinking slowly. "you're about as patient as a kid holding in his piss."
zoro didn't laugh at her deadpanned joke.
"if it's for you, i can."
anjali turned her head away from him.
"for starters, why don't you buy me a drink? i'm feeling too sober to try and argue with you again." anjali suggested.
zoro nodded. "sure."
and the two walked back to the restaurant, leaving behind their dumpster-fire of emotions to dissipate into the ocean foam.
⚔︎ AUTHOR'S NOTE !
i don't know how to write elaborate arguments so here u go!!!
anjali and zoro backstory finally explained ?!😦 ik it kinda sucked guys don't come for me i had so much work to do that my brain is barely functioning 😭
also idk how this argument is gonna shift their dynamic but bc i sick at writing theyre probably gonna get over it really fast and then yk fall in love blah blah wtv happy ending!!
this chapter is long for being written in one day so im kinda happy ab that tho even tho i hate it so bad this is def my worst chapter in terms of plot holes 😣
anyway pls lmk if there are any mistakes in the spelling or anything so i can fix it !
also don't b afraid to vote or comment, i will probably (very likely) reply!!!!
happy reads!
─── ANNIE