Chapter 18

A/N dedicated to a super nice reader! Thank you!

Zoro's POV

Why is she disturbing my sleep?
I fell onto the couch but hardly able to go back to sleep with her yelling.
What's her problem?

"You see what I mean? I don't care what I said when I was a child... IM NOT MARRYING ANYONE EVEN IF THEY HAVE GREEN HAIR!"

What?! What's going on today?
Why does she think she's getting married?
I'm pretty sure I'm the only guy with green hair she knows...

I must be imagining things...

Ouch! She just hit me on the head!
What the heck was that for?

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?! Get out of my house if your going to hit me!" I pushed Katou and her friend out of my house.

Can't a guy get any sleep?

Still, I can't help but think about what she was saying about marriage.

Something about when she was a child...

💚💜~KYOMASHIGI!!!~ (A/N idk what what means...)💜💚

Katou's POV

~18 DAY TIME SKIP!~

I think I need a holiday... But I hate going alone...
I'll just stay here then...

It's three days until Christmas...

Luffy gave me the awesomest gift the other day!

NOT!

For my birthday he came to my house with a truck that dumped what seemed like a lifetimes supply of instant ramen.
I asked him what was going on and he said it was in case I got hungry...
That guy...

What will I do for Christmas without Sanji?
I don't know how to cook a roast!!!
Nooooooo!

That's it, my life is doomed.

Then suddenly I heard a tapping on my bedroom window.

I grabbed my sword and opened the window.

"Take that gremlin! Don't come back anymore!"

But my sword was stopped by another sword.

"Zoro? I thought you were a gremlin! What are you doing?"
"Can I go train in your dojo?" He asked sheathing his sword.
"Of course, you don't need to ask, just go up, but please enlighten me... Why are you dripping wet without a shirt in the snow?" I put my sword down and put my head out the window further.

"Ice swimming." He started to walk away towards the dojo.
"ICE SWIMMING?!"

He is crazy...

💚💜

It's been one hour and all I can hear is random clashes of metal from the dojo.

It's sooo boring in here! Maybe he won't mind if I go wat- train too.

I approached the dojo and heard his voice.
"1016, 1017, 1018..."

What is he doing?

I nearly fainted when I walked into to see Zoro swinging these super weights back and forth like a sword.
But that's not it... Whilst moving these giant weights like a sword he had a weight in his mouth.

Did I mention he was also shirtless?

I ran quickly behind the wall so he wouldn't see me.

I'm so screwed...

I casually walk in (behind him so he wouldn't see me) and walked into the second back room inconspicuously...

I walked into the room with lots of boxes... Oh, this room.

WHY DID I WALK INTO THE STORAGE ROOM!

I walk out of the room failing to hide from Zoro's sight.

"Oh I didn't see you there." He said taking out the weights in his mouth but continuing heaving the super weight back and forth.

"Your crazy... You train so much, not to mention with weights like that." I said sitting on the floor in front of him observing him closely.
"I just need to get stronger."

"Okay, seems fine to me... I wonder when the school will open back up... It usually closes for a week for Christmas but no ones been going because of the snow, so they shut it down for awhile..." I wonder to myself lying back on the tatami mat.

"Hey Zoro, what are you doing for Christmas?" I ask closing my eyes.
"Nothing, probably just what I do every other day. What about you?"

I seriously can't believe he can talk and pull that thing.

"Same, usually Sanji makes heaps of food but he's not here... I'll probably just sleep the whole day."
"We could suffer in boredom together, come to my cabin, it's better to do it together than alone, we'll drink sakè."

"Are you sure? I'm trying to quit drinking." I said leaning up on my elbows to look at him, screw the Eiffel Tower, screw the pyramids... This is the best view I've seen.

"Yeah I'm sure, it's Christmas everyone breaks the rules on Christmas."
"Everyone breaks the rules on Christmas huh? Okay, I'm in." I smirked and got up on my feet.

"I'm going to take a nap, anything you need the back door's open. Asta La Vista swordsman." I smirked at him and walked out the dojo doors and walked back to the house.

So Christmas? I think that will be the day...

💚💜BUTTERFLYS AND SUGAR DREAM CUPS!!💚💜

Zoro's POV

So, Christmas.
Yes I think that will be right day.

I walked out of the dojo and passed Katou's window.

I stopped for a second as she had her back to me.

She looked like she was painting in an easel, but I can't see the picture at all... I didn't know she could paint or draw.

I knocked on her widow and she looked up standing in front of the easel.

I waved and she nodded her head waving back so I walked away wondering.

What was she painting?

She seems like the kind of person that if you ask them to paint a picture they would give you a field of unicorns surrounded by rainbows.

Hmmm...

Katou's POV

I waited until Zoro walked out of the grounds to continue my painting.

I didn't tell him because I want it to be a surprise.

A Christmas present...

I wonder what goes through that guys head...

Probably something like...

MUST TRAIN, MUST TRAIN, MUST DEFEAT HAWKEYE, MUST DEFEAT HAWKEYE, MUST BECOME BEST SWORDSMAN, MUST BECOME BEST SWORDSMAN.

Yup, I think that wraps it up.

💚💜NEXT DAY, ONWARDS PAPPADAMS! (MY VERS OF INTERMISSION!)💜💚

I woke up early to go train, I felt last night I needed to today.

I just put a black bra and loose light blue silk pants on for space to train. Now that I look at my self I kind of look like an Arabian dancer without the jewellery...
Oh well, clothes get in the way of my training.

I take out my sword and stand in the centre of the dojo.

I breath in deeply and breath out, I'm perfecting a new technique called the mermaid technique.
It sounds strange but it's not really.

The mermaid technique is a state of mind were you feel completely at ease with your surroundings, taking in the rhythm and heartbeat of everything, being sharp and sensitive.
Like a mermaid underwater, everything is you and you are everything.

It's taken me weeks but I think I'm on the verge of perfecting it.

I'm half way through the state (which is similar to meditating but standing on the hilt of your sword with your eyes open) when I feel a new flow in the room.

I turn around quickly, jumping off my sword breaking my state of mind to see Zoro just entering the room.

He mustn't of heard me. Then again I was standing completely still standing on the hilt of my sword.

He looked up and his face went really red.

Why is he- oh...

"Ahh! I'm so sorry I didn't hear you so I thought it was empty!" He put his hands over his eye like a school boy.

"What Roronoa? Are you embarrassed?" I walked closer to him feeling the need to annoy him since he broke my state.

"Please don't come any further." He didn't take his hands away from his eyes and I tried to hold in my laughs.

I walked up to him and slung one of my scarred arms around him feeling my arm connect against his shoulder.

I noticed something too.

HE ISNT WEARING A SHIRT EITHER!

Now he's making it hard for me.

"Okay, I'll let go but I'm not leaving, I'm training here and if your scared of a bit of skin I understand if you want to come back another time." I took my arm away and walked back to my sword.

"Just keep it down my training is a lot different to yours and requires no noise."
He just nodded his head, maybe he is incapable of talking anyway... Hehe.

Payback mister.

Zoro's POV

"Just keep it down my training is a lot different to yours and requires no noise." I just nodded to her watching her walk to her sword.

I can't talk... Why isn't she wearing a shirt! I'm not going to be able to concentrate at all...

DAMN WOMEN!

I tried to focus on something else like lifting that giant weight with one hand...

Yeah, thats a good idea.

~~

After reaching 2040 I stopped not because of fatigue I just thought it was strange that absolutely no noise was coming from the other end of the dojo where Katou was supposedly training.

I turned around to see her standing on the hilt of her sword completely still, still as death. I spied her tattoo that seemed to be looking at me... Is that possible?

That's some balance, maybe that's what she's practising...

I walked around her and was shocked to see her eyes were wide open, but empty at the same time.

I stood completely still in shock.

What is she doing? Is she trying to freak me out, or is this an an actual training technique?

Then suddenly her eyes closed and she began to fall off the hilt of her sword.

I quickly ran to catch her.
She's. Still. Not. Wearing. A. Shirt.

"Katou! Are you okay? What were you doing?!" But her eyes fluttered close and she seemed limp.

I ran as fast as I could to her house...

I put her in her bed, noticing that she was fine, just weak and needed rest.

What could she have been doing that drained all her energy? It seemed as if she was doing completely nothing.

I looked around her room, everything is really clean.
She must been some sort of clean freak...

The whole room smelt like her, honey and jasmine.

I looked at one of the corners.

It was a door, not the entrance to her room, maybe a cupboard...

Something about that door...

I walk to the door and pull it open.

CANVASES?

Heaps of blank canvas, parchment, different types of paint and other expensive looking artist tools are in here.

I never ever would have thought she was an artist.

But here it is, evidence that she does in fact have something...
That she's not alone with her sword.
That she has something that ties her to the earth.

I began to wonder if she did.
Sometimes when people have lost so many loved ones in their lives they lose the will to do anything but sit and wait for death to knock on the door.

But she fights back, not only does she fight back...
She never lost one ounce of her humanity.

That is true strength and power.

💜💚(A/N I Feel So Dramatic Today (ﾟOﾟ)＼(- -;💚💜

After two hours of sitting on the chair next to her bed Katou finally stirred.

"Are you okay?" I ask quickly jumping to her side.
"You should continue resting."

She just looked at the roof and smile, a full face smile.
She started to laugh happily leaving me in confusion.

"I did it! I finally did it! she sat up straight the looked a bit dizzy and fell back down.
"Stay down, your weak. What did you accomplish?" I ask leaning back in the chair.

"The mermaid technique. I finally did it." "What's the mermaid technique?"

"The mermaid technique is were you surrender the feel of your body, sight and smell to heighten your sense of hearing and the ability to pick up the radio waves of everything around you. Meaning you can cut through anything, of course I've only completed the vital stage, there is one more step that will finalise the technique. It's called the mermaid technique because you heighten your senses to your surroundings like a mermaid in water." She explained barely keeping the smile from your face.

"Wow... You'll have to teach me."
I closed my eye trying to imagine this technique.
"First I have to master it myself. I'm surprised you didn't accomplish it before me Roronoa, now I have something on you." She smiled smugly and fell asleep in satisfaction.

"Little do you know I have something on you."

A/N Next chapter... You will love me. By the way copy right on the mermaid technique thingy I think it was an awesome idea if I do say so myself.
I just want to say I've had the most fun writing this fan fic and I love all my readers! Really! You guys are so nice and make me laugh and give me the will to continue! Thanks a bunch you guys! I HAVE THE BEST READERS EVER!!!!!

Cat ^\\\^