Wine for Your Sake [Zoro x OC]

3. Anything but a Coward

(POV: Zoro)

"This place looks familiar..." I mumble, staring at the tavern before me. "Or not. Maybe I have been here before. No, it can't be..."

It's getting quite late; the moon is up and glowing in a muted gold hue. More stars prick the midnight sky as building after building shuts off its lights.

I took that bartender's directions, but it led me right back here. To think she would mislead me just to keep a customer around.

"Didn't expect to find you here again," a familiar voice calls from behind.

I turn around to face the bounty hunter from earlier today. "Huh? And why are you here?"

She slowly unsheathes both of her broken swords - that's enough of an answer for me.

"I can't let you get away with hurting my brother," she says. "But even so, you should know this isn't personal."

If you're taking revenge for me cutting up your brother, isn't it nothing but personal?

"Doesn't matter to me." I draw two of my swords. "If you want a fight, I'll give it to you."

Her ornate mask glints in the warm moonlight, but it certainly doesn't outshine the fiery glint in her eyes. Suddenly, she lunges at me, sprinting with sharp ferocity.

"Nitou-Ryuu: Nana-Juu-Ni Pound Hou!"

I curve the slashes her way, but before they can leave my sword, she is already dodging to the right. Instead, my attacks meet the concrete of the building across. It crushes the entrance and forces the roof to cave in.

The bounty hunter lunges for me again, but I easily jump up before she can land an attack. I'll need a wide-range attack so that she can't dodge this one.

"Takanami!"

As if she's reading my mind, she leaps up into the air, letting the bladed gust of wind demolish the ground below.

I fall back to the cracked ground and walk around for a flatter surface as the dust clears. "That observation haki of yours is quite annoying. But you can't attack me if you're constantly dodging."

"And you can't land a hit on me if you keep staying back and throwing those projectiles," she intones.

The real fight hasn't begun yet; I'm sure she knows that as well. But, it's more satisfying to have a small taste first, to feel out the risks and danger before diving headfirst.

But now, I've gotta attack her head-on.

I lower to a crouch, returning my swords back to their sheaths and planting my feet firmly on the ground.

Oddly, she drops into an offensive stance too, bringing her swords behind her. Her posture, her mannerism, and even her breath change as she steps forward.

A translucent mirage of her silhouette trails behind her. For a moment, it feels as if an eerie chorus is echoing through the chilly air.

"Nitou-Ryuu Iai..."

"Echo Step..."

As I burst forward with the full force of my swords, she does too, and in a split second, we flash to opposite sides of the street.

"Rashoumon!"

"One-Thousand Cuts!"

I feel a sharp sting somewhere; it fades away quickly. A small cut is traced with blood on the left side of my torso, but it can't be more than a centimeter deep.

I turn around, observing my foe. Her shoulders rise and fall dramatically with every exasperated breath she takes. Although she's wearing a yukata coat, I can see the blood trailing down each hand and staining the handle of her swords before plopping onto the ground.

Suddenly, another sharp pain strikes my left side, forcing me to clench my jaw. I glance down at the cut - it's bigger.

When did she-

Another sharp sting. Blood spurts out of my wound, which has now grown to be an inch deeper and wider. The series of stings continue as I watch the cut grow. The pain of each individual cut isn't noticeable, but then it stacks until the gash at my side is burning with excruciating intensity.

Then I hear her melodic laugh cutting through the atmosphere, tinged slightly with a blazing madness. She yanks off her yukata coat, revealing two deep gashes, each starting from her shoulder and running down to her shoulder blade. It looks like I had cut out a pair of wings from her back.

She continues laughing and tilts her face to the sky. With a quick motion, she tears the golden mask off and swings it around her neck until it falls on her back. Slowly, she turns to me with mint-green eyes glowing in full light and a grin stitched on. It isn't the same one she was wearing when beating up those pirates at the bar - this one wasn't arrogant. It was a look of craving... of hunger.

"I have to thank you, Roronoa Zoro," she breathes, pointing her sword at me. "For reminding me how it really feels."

This woman has been mumbling utter nonsense since she got here.

I unsheathe my third sword and secure it in my mouth. The bounty hunter, meanwhile, finally ceases her laughing and stands still. She coats her swords with Armament Haki; I quickly follow.

We both let our blood drizzle onto the floor and lock eyes.

It is at this moment, not so far in the distance, that a thunderous explosion blooms. I keep my attention on her in case she decides to get the jump on me while I'm distracted. However, her attention is completely torn from the fight. She seems to be paralyzed with shock at the sight of the fire.

"No," she mutters shakily.

Then she's off to a sprint towards the flame and smoke.

"Oi!" I call, running after her. "Are you seriously running away now? Oi!"

She was the one who initiated the fight, so she has to see it through. And yet I can't help but feel this was anything but an act of cowardice.

When I turn the corner, she's gone, leaving me with a maze of alleys and streets.

"Shit," I whisper.

It would save a lot of time if I just find the Sunny now, but if I do, I'll never finish this fight. And leaving this fight unfinished, for some reason, doesn't sit right with me at all.

My eyes follow the trail of black smoke billowing up into the clouds and the scarlet glare flickering below it.

I'll go to the fire, then.