Pre-Notes: All One Piece characters, situations, ideals, locations, etc. are the property of Eiichiro Oda and Viz Media.

The Thousand Sunny bucked, groaning and creaking as the ocean shoved against it. Tumultuous waves, slamming into the solid wood like battering rams, shoved the smiling ship. The sky was like a sheet of steel. Angry gales roared at the ship and her crew, making it nigh impossible for them to hear the world around them, much less one another.

Chopper and Usopp leaned on the railing of the ship, looking anxiously out over the waves at the marine base that squatted on the next island. Together, the wondered the horrific possibilities that could come of being so close to it, but they kept their complaints to themselves. Though Nami would have gladly joined them in such musings, she was with Robin below decks, distracting the chef.

Zoro sat upon the deck, carefully wrapping a large object as Luffy watched from his usual perch. As he was nearly done, the object's shape was obscured in a mass of cloth and leather, but it was easy to see that it was easily as large as the man that was packaging it.

"So you're taking it with you?" Luffy asked, stretching his neck a bit to get a better look.

"Yeah," Zoro replied, scrutinizing his work a bit. He was beginning to wonder how he would strap it to his back. Shrugging, he rose, content with the job he had done. After all, they could not afford to spend all day hanging around a marine base. Not with the title Luffy had finally secured after years of dreaming.

The swordsman picked up the package carefully—it was fairly light—and picked up a spare strip of leather. He secured the bundle to his back, slinging the leather up over one of his shoulders and under the other. Once he was happy with it, Zoro checked the weapons on his hip like a teacher counting students. Satisfied with his preparations, the green-haired man went to speak with Franky, and before long the two of them were speeding towards the base aboard the Mini Merry II.

Giving Zoro a look as they traveled, Franky asked, "You sure you want to swim back?"

"I'm not making you guys wait around for my personal business."

"What about your lady friend? You're going to make her swim too?"

"I can carry her."

"As manly as that sounds," Franky said, "You're just going to piss her off doing that." For a while, neither said anything as Mini Merry bucked her way across the water. It was only once they had made landfall that the cyborg spoke again. "I'll be here for an hour."

Zoro gave him a look that, to anyone not in their crew, would not have appeared as grateful as it was. With a nod, the swordsman rose, stepping easily onto solid ground and taking off, heading for his destination with quick, measured steps. Ears open and eyes alert, Zoro approached like a juggernaut, arm resting in a deceitfully calm way upon his blades. He could feel the package pulling against him, but it would not hinder him too much once a fight finally broke out.

Which it inevitably did.

Gunfire rained upon him from the fortress, much of which missed while the rest was deflected by quick, yet gentle, bladework. The lone swordsman did not bother to stop his advance. Though futile, the marines continued their assault, moving from simple bullets to cannonfire. Munition failed to phase the pirate. Without skipping a beat, Zoro slashed the massive doors of the base to slivers and continued inside.

Before he could even exit the main hall, he was surrounded by marines bristling with weapons. It was only then did Zoro stop, taking a look around him. The guards seemed hesitant to approach the swordsman, each watching as though they expected him to electrocute them. For a moment, not a word was uttered.

"Hey," Zoro finally said, addressing the room at large, "I'm in a hurry. Where's the vice-admiral's office?"

The marines stared at him, dumbfounded, for a while. Breaking the silence, one cried out, "We're not letting some thug pirate touch our cute vice-admiral." A roar of approval rang from the crowd as they cocked their weapons at the lone swordsman. Zoro scowled at them.

"Fine," he muttered, "I'll find it myself."

Without further hesitation, Zoro dashed forward, swatting marines away with the back of his blade. Boots pounding the solid floor, he kept his eyes out for any doors or signs to point him in the right direction. Seeing nothing, he turned the first corner that came up, not slowing for an instant. Sounds of pursuit filled his ears, but he ignored it. Turning another corner, Zoro found himself facing a hallway packed with marines. Keeping stride, he barreled through them, still glancing at any and all doors he passed.

After unknowingly backtracking, getting turned around, and slamming through several more barricades, Zoro finally arrived at his destination. Pushing the door open wide, he stopped with one foot in the door, Tashigi's sword tip inches from his nose.

"What do you want?" she growled, eyes narrowed behind her glasses. Zoro's head cocked away from the blade, an annoyed look scrawled across his face.

"The hell is your problem?" he rumbled. Tashigi stared at him in disbelief.

"You are!" she barked, advancing a step. Calls echoed up the hallway. Taking a step back, Zoro glanced down the hall. Cursing under his breath, he drew one of his swords and diverted Tashigi's blade enough to slip into the room past her, pushing it shut.

Wheeling around on him, the woman struck, only to find herself easily blocked. Gritting her teeth, the swung again, was stopped again. Each blow was diverted, each strike for nothing as the Straw-Hat swordsman matched her easily.

"Why do you keep doing this?" she snarled.

"Doing what?!" Zoro barked, genuinely confused.

"Treating me as inferior to you. Waltzing in here just to assault me, to show me that you're better than me," Tashigi screeched, striking with all the fury she could.

"That's not it."

"That's exactly it, you idiot! Beating Hawkeye wasn't good enough for you?"

With a deft maneuver, Zoro swept Tashigi's blade from her hand, burying it in the wall behind her. Before the woman could move, the pirate had her at swordpoint, his face unreadable. More shouts could be heard approaching.

"Why won't you strike?" Tashigi snapped, unmoving. She was not worried about him attacking—she knew he would not. There was something off about his eyes though, and she had to admit that had her concerned. Pirate or not, she had seen the kind of man Zoro could be.

Quietly, Zoro sheathed his blade. "That's not why I came here," he muttered, removing the package from his back. For a moment, he fumbled with the leather before he finally found a strap that would loose the whole bundle. Tashigi did not move as she watched him withdraw its contents.

"Kokuto Yoru," she breathed, watching the ebony blade shimmer in the light.

For a moment, the two of them looked at the massive sword, admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into it. Before she realized it, Tashigi had stepped forward to better inspect it. After a while, realization struck her, and she glared at Zoro.

"You didn't use it against me," she snapped, getting in his face.

"Didn't need to."

"Because I'm not good enough for you?"

"No!"

"Then why not?"

Erratically, Zoro swung the blade around, holding the long hilt out to her. "Marry me."

Tashigi stared at him, unsure what level of angry she should be. "What?"

"Marry me," he said again, gesturing a bit with Yoru.

"You're a pirate."

"Yeah."

"And I'm a marine. A vice-admiral."

"So?" Zoro cocked an eyebrow at her.

"No!"

Zoro looked at Tashigi's blade, still buried in the wall behind her. "You wanted me to take your life not two seconds ago."

"Those are two completely different things."

"They're not," he replied, finality in his voice.

"So you think you can come in here and propose after attacking me and my men?"

"You attacked me."

Tashigi said nothing for a moment, eying the blade that Zoro still held out to her. As subtly as she could, she turned her head, looking to her own sword. Finally, she sighed.

"How does your crew even deal with you?" Tashigi asked, grasping Yoru's hilt. Zoro's face seemed to light up as he relinquished the blade to her grasp. Saying nothing, he crossed behind her and yanked her sword from the wall, returning it to her. Tashigi eyed him.

"Hold that tight," Zoro said, scooping Tashigi up and bolting out the door before she even had the chance to object.

"My men," she yelled, trying to free herself.

"They'll be fine," Zoro grunted, holding her steady, "They've got that Smokey guy, don't they?"

"Where are you even going?"

"My ship. There's no way in hell I'm going to be able to stay on a marine base."

"And you expect me to live with pirates?"

"It's easier than me joining you," Zoro said, turning another corner and spotting a group of marines.

"Did you even think this through?"

Zoro didn't answer, instead asking, "The hell's the exit?"

"Behind you."

The pirate turned on his heel, bolting back in the direction he had come, not saying another another word until he re-emerged in the massive main hall he had entered in.

"He's got the vice-admiral," someone yelled above the clicking of guns.

"Don't shoot," Tashigi yelled, still flailing a bit. Zoro took the instant of confusion and slammed forward, erupting out of the base and racing towards the Mini Merry II, still bobbing up and down with Franky. It was only once they had made it to the small vessel that Zoro finally released Tashigi.

"Hey, looks like our swordsman's back," Franky boomed, "And it seems he's got his lady sailor with him."

The woman glared up at him. "That's vice-admiral Tashigi."

Franky gave a little laugh. "Not if you said yes to him," he said, getting the little ship underway, "And especially if you're going to be living on Sunny with us."

Zoro laughed, slinging an arm around Tashigi's shoulders. She glared at him, and any outside observer would think she was considering decking him. However, she did nothing, said nothing, except for look from the swordsman to Yoru as she silently considered why she had even said yes.

AN: A while back while I was re-reading through the Punk Hazard arc, I kinda realized that I totally ship Zoro and Tashigi. Granted, I ship Zoro with a few people (no Zoro/Sanji stuff though), but the way they act towards each other during Punk Hazard is actually kinda sweet. At least, as sweet as you can get out of Zoro. Either way, I've been mulling around the idea of Zoro using Mihawk's sword to propose to Tashigi around for a while, and thought it would make an interesting Valentine's Day one-shot. I hope you guys like it!

As I Am,

Lady Spritzy

2/14/2015