| LIKE A REBEL | RORONOA ZORO
summary: roronoa zoro has always believed love was fickle and stupid - until he saw the local flower capital rebel and thief vaulting clean over six foot walls, laughing at the people she left behind. pairing: wano thief! reader / zoro wc: 4k tags: strangers to lovers, fluff, f! reader, no use of y/n, fake dating trope, wano spoilers and slight canon divergence (zoro finds out who ushimitsu kozo is early), you're a thief and part of the rebellion, you're connected to ace just like everyone else in wano, robin hood themes, zoro in the flower capital before he blows it all, zoro is shy and inexperienced
Life as an undercover ronin in the flower capital was pretty easy, if Zoro had to describe it. He wandered from shop to shop, spending his day sightseeing and listening to idle gossip. It was rare that anything actually exciting happened.
Except, with each passing day that he waited for his captain to show up, he started hearing more and more about the midnight thief that stole from the rich in the capital, and distributed goods to surrounding labor towns that were on the verge of starvation and collapse.
Rumors of a beautiful kunoichi, sneaking in through windows and leaving at the break of dawn, houses and mansions robbed clean with a silly little note left behind - almost a mockery of wealth in such dire times.
Interesting. He'd thought. But rumors were aplenty in Wano Country, and he'd always think of stories as fake until he truly saw proof of it.
"Catch that woman!" A shrill cry rang through the street, drawing vendor attention as soldiers of the Shogun ran about. "Where did she go?! Where did that damned kunoichi go?!"
Kunoichi? Zoro blinked. Surely not. Surely not the kunoichi everyone had been talking about.
His senses flared, eye darting to the back street behind the acclaimed dango store. Quiet, rapid strides, elegant and arrogant.
"She's over here!" A woman screamed in the back alley, clearly interrupted from whatever she'd been doing. "Goodness, someone catch her!"
"Uh-oh." You laughed, darting into the main street with a large burlap of goods on your back, squinting at the sun. "Oh, no." You murmured again, seeing the soldiers hot on your heel.
Zoro chuckled lowly at your panic - or was it humor - and gently leaped upwards, sitting on a roof for a better view. You locked eyes with him, squinting at the swordsman in silent aggravation.
Oh, you're enjoying this, are you?
Yeah. He was.
"Close the gates!" The head of the squadron yelled to the men guarding the city's entrance. "Now! Close them!"
The large stone gates began to shut slowly, tall and unbreachable. You sighed, adjusting the sack on your back as you moaned and groaned at the inconveniences bestowed upon you.
What now, kunoichi? Zoro grinned, chugging his sake. He blinked in astonishment as you crouched, before making a mad dash towards the gate anyways.
"She has nowhere to go! Stop her!" The guards at the gate pointed their swords at you, brandishing them in warning.
You got on your haunches, squatting deep as your legs flexed, before leaping high into the air. At least six feet, jumping clean over the guards, the wall, and straight out of the capital.
The guards chasing you skidded to a halt, shouting at the soldiers above the gate to open them once more. The soldiers shouted back, desperately trying to reopen the gate - but just like it closed, it opened slowly too.
By the time the gates were open, you were gone. Not a single trace of you. Zoro sniffed the air.
Even your scent was gone. The smell of cherry blossoms - like you spent time lingering in a cherry tree, watching the bustle of people below you. The smell of food and booze, no doubt what you were hauling on your back.
Gone.
He scoffed, downing his liquor once more, eye scanning over the uselessly open gate. He wondered if he'd see you again.
"Did you hear?" The drunken man sat beside him attempted to whisper to the bartender - though he was, in reality, hollering at the top of his lungs. "That woman who thieves in the night - she's teamed up with Ushimitsu Kozo!"
"You're kidding!" The man to the other size of Zoro huffed, leaning across the counter to look at the man who spoke originally. They both had comically sunken eyes, hair frazzled from days upon days of drunken stupor. "As if they weren't already problems on their own! Those damn thieves, stealing from us to hand off to Okobore Town, Amigasa... And Ebisu too!"
The swordsman clicked his tongue, frowning upon the conversation as the two men practically leaned into him to speak to each other. "Take this elsewhere."
Intoxicated and woozy, they ignored him, continuing to babble on about the injustices you and Ushimitsu Kozo were committing - and don't even get them started on the Mount Atayama thieves and Shutenmaru.
"I recognize you." A voice from behind him spoke. He turned ever so slightly, eye widening.
"You." He blinked. "You're-"
"Shhh." You grinned, finger over your lips. You'd ditched the discreet outfit you'd had on the other day - not that the outfit had done much to avoid you drawing attention to yourself. "Surely you don't think this is the best place for that?"
He glanced at the men beside him, still deeply immersed in their own conversation about the wealth being stolen from under their noses. "...I guess."
You turned on your heel, walking outside, and for reasons unknown to him, he followed. Even as you walked quietly, without uttering a single word, he followed. Even when the landscape changed from the flower capital to the freezing environment of Ringo - a place he found strangely connected to - he didn't complain, and merely followed you and your footsteps in silence.
When you reached the Northern Cemetery, you knelt down in front of the graves, seemingly unbothered by the cold and the snow that soaked into your knees through the kimono.
Zoro mimicked your actions, setting his swords beside him and kneeling silently behind you.
"So, Pirate Hunter." You began, bowing deeply to the graves in front of you as you spoke. "What brings you to the land of Wano?"
Zoro froze, eye scanning over you as you murmured prayers to the dead, forehead buried in snow. His fingers twitched towards his swords.
"My mother was born and raised in Wano." You continued, ignoring his apprehension. "But my father took me out to sea with him, and we traveled the world when I was young."
You unbuckled the sword sheath from your side - one that seemed rarely used and untouched, laying it in front of you as you sat straight up. "We returned when I was five, twenty years ago - just in time to see Kozuki Oden die. After that, I set out to sea once more, and only returned a year prior to find my country in disarray."
He listened, fingers no longer reaching for his sword, now buried in the snowy ground.
"You are the moon unaware of the dawn. May your purpose be fulfilled, and cast nine shadows on the night woven of twenty years, and you shall know the brilliance of the dawn." You quoted, staring at the grave in front of you. You took the sword out of the sheath, standing, before plunging it into the gravestone. "Those were Oden's wife's last words. This year marks the twentieth."
Your fingers grazed the stone. "And this is my father's grave. He was a vassal of the former Daimyo of this region. I'm sure you've heard of the tradition the swordsmen here have with their swords when they're laid to rest."
"Yes, I've heard." Was all he could muster. He found himself strangely enamored with your story.
"While I was out at sea, I met your captain's brother. Fire Fist Ace." You chuckled at the memory of a fiery fight and an attitude to match. "But two years ago, I was too late to save his life. I returned to Wano to train some more, hoping that in a year your captain would arrive in Wano. Ace had promised me his brother would be the King of the Pirates, after all - and there would never be a King that wouldn't stop by the Land of Wano first."
You fell silent now, pressing your forehead deep into the snow once more in front of your father's grave.
Zoro watched, and waited for you to be done paying your respects.
"We're here to kill Kaido." He stated, when you sat upright once more.
"Good." You laughed, standing and dusting the snow off of you, turning around once more to look at him. "Someone has to. And where's your captain?"
"Late." Was all he could offer. He hadn't a clue where Luffy was, or how long it would be until the shitty cook was back.
"That sounds like him." You smiled, as if you'd known Luffy for a lifetime. "So you're biding your time until he arrives, then?"
"I'm keeping myself out of trouble."
"And doing a fine job, from the looks of it." You retorted. "You left me to die, you know?"
"You handled yourself just fine." He shot back, crossing his arms.
The two of you laughed lightly, snow falling all around you. Neither of you seemed fazed by the cold.
"So, what's with the stealing thing?" He asked, fishing around in his robe for his jug of sake.
"Isn't is self-explanatory?" You snorted, arms raised to the sky. "This country is failing, and it's all Kaido's fault. People only matter for labor, and they eat just enough to sustain themselves to work. What a miserable life that is."
"And Ushimitsu Kozo?" He prompted.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that part." You smiled sadly. "How prying of you, Pirate Hunter."
"Let me help you, then." He offered, reaching out a hand. "I don't know how long it'll be till Luffy arrives. I might as well do something."
You chuckled at the superficial reason, but took his hand anyways. "Alright."
He asked for your name, and you gave it to him. He said it over and over, as if testing how it felt leaving his mouth.
He decided he liked it.
"Did you hear?" The drunk man gossiped in the bar, catching the attention of other drunkards around him. "A ronin has joined the thieving with Ushimitsu and that kunoichi!"
"Another thief to worry about?" A man exclaimed, slamming his hand on the counter. "How bothersome!"
"Actually," the drunkard said, prodding his friend, "do you remember that ronin who sat next to us a couple weeks back? In between the two of us, the brooding green-haired one."
"Yeah, what about him?"
"Look!" He exclaimed, pulling out a wanted poster from his pockets, pointing at the drawing. "Didn't that guy look just like the slayer on this poster?"
"Huh..." His friend said, squinting at the poster, before his eyes bulged out of his head. "He did! Zorojuro?!"
"What if he's the one that's also stealing?" The drunkard wondered.
"No way." Everybody in the bar burst out laughing. "He'd be getting into more trouble than he could handle!"
"Hey," a man in the corner of the establishment began, "Where's my coin pouch?"
"Huh? Mine's gone too!"
"Shit! We've been robbed!"
"Drunkards aren't very observant, are they?" You laughed from the roof of the building, shoveling coin pouch after coin pouch into a large burlap sack.
"You're mean." Zoro hummed, sake jug fully refilled.
"No, actually." You shrugged. "This is for the good of the common folk."
"Yeah, you tell yourself that. You just like stealing." His eye squinted at you humorously.
You gasped in offense, but continued to shovel the money into the sack, before standing up, head nudging towards the oh-so-familiar gate. "Come on. We've got places to be."
Days turned into weeks, and time flew by just like that. Zoro started taking up residency in your small house in middle-of-nowhere Ringo. His days started by watching you pay respects to your father, eating a hole through your pantry and drinking your alcohol cellar dry, before going along with whatever plans you had for the day.
Other days consisted of running from law enforcement, whether they recognized you or him, for thievery or for murder, and you'd always end up back in Ringo, laughing at the absurdity of it all.
The pillow that'd been placed between the two of you as a cautionary barrier during sleep slowly got kicked away over time, Zoro's arm ending up slung over your chest or your leg ending up sprawled over his on the futon, as the cold of Ringo seemed to only affect the two of you in your sleep.
Both of you eagerly awaited Luffy's arrival, but until then there was nothing to do but steal and give.
"Can we have some form of identification, please?" An officer asked politely with an outstretched hand. You and Zoro had gone through the trouble of putting on disguises today to do some much needed grocery shopping - but leave it to the two of you to somehow bungle even that.
"What for?" Zoro huffed, carrying your vegetables. You smacked him lightly. "I mean - officer, we're just trying to do some shopping here."
"I understand that, and I apologize for the inconvenience." He bowed in true apology. "However, the two of you look strikingly similar to two criminals running amok in the capital."
You and Zoro blinked, Zoro's graying hair rustling in the wind and your bright pink hair and purposefully overdrawn lips gleaming in the sun. "Are you sure?" You laughed, signalling at yourself and him. "Like, really?"
"It's the face shape, miss."
"Listen, man-" You elbowed Zoro again. "I mean - sir. We're here just trying to do some shopping. We didn't bring any identification because we just didn't think we'd need it for something so trivial. I'm sorry, but we have nothing to give you."
"I see." The officer hummed. "An entirely valid pretext, but I'm afraid I really just need some proof that you are who you say you are."
"And I'm afraid we don't have any." You replied calmly, gesturing to Zoro, who looked nothing like himself and was still holding your groceries. "We're husband and wife, and we're picking up vegetables so we can eat tonight."
Zoro blinked, before his head slowly turned to you, practically creaking. "...Right."
"I see." The officer sighed. "Well, I'll follow you home then. You can give me your documentation then."
You clicked your tongue, annoyed. Glancing at Zoro, you squinted.
Play along and I'll explain later.
Zoro rolled his eyes, shrugging.
"Alright." You hummed, turning on your heel and walking to a very specific area of the capital. "But I warn you, officer - you're going to get in trouble."
"Huh?" The officer fired back, suddenly aggressive. "The hell does that mean?"
"Wait and see." You replied, walking down the main street until toil and construction turned to laughing and music. "Just remember that you're the one that made both of our lives difficult."
Arriving at a familiar pleasure house with the noise of a shamisen playing, you shouted upwards towards the balcony. "Kyoshiro!"
"Hah?" A voice replied from above you two. A drunken man peered over, light blue pompadour rustling in the wind, blinking at a disguised you. "Oh! It's you. What've you got an officer with you for?"
"K-Kyoshiro-sama!" The officer stammered, hands in the air. "I- Well - These two people seemed very similar to the two criminals on the wanted posters, so I wanted some identification-"
"There's no need for that." The money changer waved him off. "They work under me - can't you tell it's clearly their day off? Who in the world carries identification with them to get groceries?"
"I understand that, sir, but-"
"Hey." The yakuza boss glared. "Do you want me to tell the Shogun about this? I already told you to drop it, didn't I?"
"Yes!" The officer shrieked, bowing deeply. "I'm very sorry, sir!"
Kyoshiro narrowed his eyes at you, pompadour practically falling apart from what you assumed to be hours of dancing. His gaze slid suspiciously to the man next to you.
"Well, come up, then."
You tugged on Zoro's sleeve, and he hesitantly followed you as you traversed the pleasure house as if you'd been here thousands of times before. Pushing past courtesans who were rushing downstairs, you could only assume Kyoshiro had sent everyone away.
You knocked on the door of the room you'd just seen him in.
"Yes, come in."
You slid the door open, dragging the wig off your head and tossing it to the money-changer. "Thanks for that."
"No problem." He replied, puffing his pipe as his gaze fell on Zoro once more, who was following your lead and pulling his disguise off this head. "You... Oh, gods. Kunoichi, don't tell me-"
"Kyo." You smiled mischeviously, waving your hands in a "ta-da!" motion towards the unamused Zoro, who was setting your groceries down on the floor. "This is Pirate Hunter Zoro!"
"This is the backup you were referring to?" Kyoshiro grumbled, pressing his fingers against his temples. "I mean, honestly. This man is in serious trouble here in the capital, do you know that? They're saying he's killing people in the streets!"
"I'm not." Zoro offered, as though that was any true proof. "I've been stuck with her for weeks now."
"You've dragged our saviors into stealing!" Kyoshiro gasped, the angry look on his face settling into a comical disappointment. "Honestly, what is it with people from Wano who leave to travel the world? You, Oden, probably Izou - even Dogstorm and Cat Viper from Zou - you've all become strange! Where do you get the nerve?"
"I thought you were Orochi's money-changer and bodyguard." Zoro squinted, leaning close to Kyoshiro. "Unless there's something the ninja girl hasn't told me."
"There's much the ninja girl hasn't told you." Kyoshiro shot back, glaring at you. "Much she wasn't supposed to tell you."
You'd thought that explaining Kyoshiro's real identity as Denjiro, one of the Nine Scabbards, as well as Ushimitsu Kozo, would be a big deal. Evidently not, because by the end of the story, he'd merely shrugged and asked Kyoshiro for a bottle of his finest sake to take back to your house.
He received a laugh of disbelief, and a bottle nonetheless, with Kyoshiro jokingly patting him on the back, telling him to take care of you and never hurt you.
Zoro had just shrugged, brushing the man off before hauling your groceries again.
It was late that night when Zoro finally finished the bottle of sake, tucking into the futon beside you, shirtless and reeking of liquor and sweat.
"You should really get into the habit of showering more often." You mumbled, eyes squinting at your book as the lantern flickered beside you. You flipped the page, laying on your stomach.
Zoro's hand landed on your lower back, and you stiffened ever so slightly, eyes leaving the pages in front of you to stare at the tipsy swordsman beside you. "...What's that look for?"
"What look?" He murmured, tracing circles into your back. His eye darted around your face, mouth curved in that mischevious smile he always had when he was thinking of you.
"Zoro." You huffed, receiving a hum in response. "You're drunk."
"I'm not." He retorted, pinching you gently and smiling as you laughed. "Seriously, I'm not."
"What are you doing, then?" You closed your book, setting it aside as you leaned your chin on your hand, watching him.
"Just taking you in, that's all."
"Are you getting soft on me, pirate hunter?" You teased, leaning towards him with a smug grin. "The long weeks are getting to you, is that it?"
"Don't do that." He warned, hand leaving your back to poke your forehead.
"Why?"
"Don't act coy, woman. I know what you're doing."
"Oh?" You scoffed, leaning closer. "Wasn't it you that started cuddling me while you slept? And wasn't it also you who started touching me like it was normal?"
"You called me your husband today." He grumbled, arm splayed across his pillow as he buried his face in it.
"I did." You affirmed, reaching a hand over to run through his hair. He buried his face deeper into the pillow, though the flickering lantern light showed his bright red ear, hot to the touch. "I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable."
"It didn't." He clarified, eye peeking out of the pillow to watch your smiling face. "It's just, y'know.."
"What?" You laughed, face inches from his.
He sat up suddenly, large hand cupping your face. His pupil was blown wide, face flushed as his nose grazed yours. "Tell me to stop."
"What?" You whispered, blinking in confusion.
"Tell me to stop, and I will." He said, as he leaned in further. "Otherwise, don't be surprised that it ended up like this."
His lips met yours, and you melted into his touch, hands splayed across his warm chest. His teeth nipped at your lower lip, and you sank yours into his in return, as if doing it out of spite.
"Ow." He mumbled into your mouth, one hand gripped firmly around your waist.
"You did it first." You replied, pulling away. He groaned in complaint, face chasing yours, and you laughed as he buried his face into your neck, peppering kisses all over.
"Will you stay in Wano, after we beat the shit out of Kaido?" He asked, voice muffled by your skin. His grip tightened, as if you would disappear if he let go.
"No." You hummed, nails tracing his spine. "I was going to set sail again, and visit Ace. I never got to visit his grave after Red-Haired Shanks buried him."
"Why don't you come with us?" He asked, still not meeting your gaze.
"Shouldn't you ask your captain that?"
"He asked a dog and a cat to join our crew the last time I saw him." Zoro huffed. "He won't give a damn about a kunoichi joining."
He paused, hand drifting to your back again. "Especially not if... well, you know."
"I don't." You shrugged, playing dumb.
"You know, if, like..."
"Huh?"
"If you were my girlfriend." Zoro blurted, eye meeting yours, head still spinning from the kissing - and probably the liquor too. He cursed himself for being so stupid, so bad with words. You were probably laughing at him-
"Are you drunk?" You snorted.
"No!" He groaned, raking his hands down his face. "I promise I'm not drunk, alright, I'm serious! I've wanted to be with you for weeks now, come on!"
Stunned by his sudden confession, you sat there, blinking at him, as he tapped his fingers on his knee, waiting for you to say something - anything.
"Hello??" He asked, waving his hand in front of your stunned face.
"Oh. Yeah. I'd like that too."
The two of you had a knack for romance, clearly. You sat in silence for a little longer before Zoro practically pounced on you, heavy as a brick and crushing you into the futon.
"Oh, god! What the hell-" You shouted, wheezing as you hit him on the shoulder before he shut you up again, kissing you over and over.
"I wanna spend time with my girlfriend before my captain arrives."
Zoro wished those days had lasted forever. But inevitably, Luffy did show up - and so did the shitty pervert cook.
"GIRLFRIEND?" The cook shrieked, falling to his knees in front of you, Nami and Robin shaking their heads disappointedly behind him. "A GIRLFRIEND?! We leave him alone for a month and he somehow manages to scrounge up a beautiful girlfriend from god knows where! Cher, please do believe me when I say that there are many a better option for you out there - like me, for example-"
"Shut the hell up, pervert cook." Zoro frowned, thumping his fist on top of Sanji's head, resulting in them scuffling.
"Wow! Zoro somehow got a girlfriend!" Luffy exclaimed, laughing. "That's super funny! Hey, miss, whatcha do here in Wano?"
"I steal things." You smiled, before digging into your pocket and pulling out a few items. "These are for you."
A pouch full of berries for Nami, a history book for Robin, a coupon for ten free meals at a restaurant for Luffy, a sashimi knife set for Sanji, a Wano-exclusive book on herbs for Chopper, a shamisen for Brook, and a toolkit fully forged by a local smith for Usopp and Franky to share.
"Wow!" Nami gasped, hugging you tightly. "Zoro's kunoichi is totally cool!"
"This is very kind of you." Robin smiled, bowing appreciatively as the rest of the crew fawned over their gifts.
"Awesome!" Luffy drooled, staring at the coupon. "She's totally coming with us!"
