(A/n)
The art above belongs to ceejindeed on twitter, if you haven't checked them out already, you should totally go do it.

"All you fucking men need to learn how to take no for an answer." You growled as you jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding a knife that sailed past you.

Hayate had aimed low, for your shoulder if you were guessing correctly. He was hoping just to hurt you enough to subdue, you were going to go in with the mindset of kick his ass and hope someone would recognize him by the end of it. Right.

They'd all pissed you off with all this more than words could describe. You were going to have to pack up and leave after this scuffle. Hell, you weren't even sure if you'd be able to pack anything up. Zoro knew where you lived now but then again, him getting back there without help would be an entirely different story.

Hayate reached inside his coat again to fling another knife at you and this time, you ducked down and came back up with a fist to his chin. You could hear his teeth click together painfully and that gave you some satisfaction. His glasses practically jumped off his face and skittered across the ground, coming to a halt at Zoro's feet. His swords were locked in place with Wire's trident, neither of them budging an inch. For someone who was so satisfied with himself about kicking Kid gang ass, he sure was struggling. It made you wonder what the crew had been up to in the past year to get so strong.

"You should be focused on me." Hayate grunted as he swung yet another knife at you. You were hit with the sudden curiosity of how many he had hidden in that thick coat of his.

This time you weren't quite fast enough to dodge it, not completely. You noticed a moment too late that it was coated in haki as it dug into the shoulder of your coat and cut through it easily, sliding past it to rip part of the way down your arm and leave a small trail of red behind it. You winced in pain. The cut wasn't deep but it was rather long, spanning from your collar to just past your shoulder.

"You're rusty (Y/n)." He taunted you with a smirk, emboldened by the wound.

"How fast do you think I could take you out of I sprouted feathers?" You spat back.

He visibly paled, like he'd temporarily forgotten about your title before shaking his head and glaring at you. "You wouldn't do that here. It'd ruin your cover."

"I'd say you boys already did a fine job of that."

He lunged forward again and you stepped back, reaching behind you as you lifted a leg to slip out of a heel. It wasn't as good as a knife but it was better than nothing.

When he twisted around to aim for you again, you held the shoe by the front and came down on his chest with the back of the heel. He yelped in surprise and stumbled back, massaging the spot with his free hand. You had a feeling he wasn't taking this fight as seriously as he should have. Or maybe he was right and you were getting rusty.

Not like it mattered though. Before Hayate could make another snarky remark, Wire smashed into him and they both tumbled into the empty pool. And here you thought Wire and Zoro were pretty evenly matched.

"We're leaving." Zoro barked as he suddenly appeared beside you, wrapping an arm around your waist.

He'd sheathed two swords while one was gripped in his other hand tightly and before you could wiggle out of his one armed grasp, he tossed you over his his shoulder.

"Put me down before I fucking end you Zoro!" You yelled, trying desperately to keep the skirt of your dress from riding up to no avail. It was just too short of a dress.

"I'll put you down when we get away from these guys!" He shot back as he ran for the double doors.

You got a quick view of Hayate and Wire scrambling out of the pool before the doors swung shut. From there, you tried to squirm out of Zoro's grasp again but he only tightened his grip until his fingers dug harshly into you. You were too occupied with trying to get away to notice that he'd made a few wrong turns. He cursed under his breath each time until he finally came to the front door. The men behind you were hot on your tail until then.

When you were out of the building, it was like Zoro didn't care what way he went, as long as the turns he took created more distance between you two and the members of Kid's crew. The entire time, you'd shout obscenities back and forth at each other, you out of anger at him and the other gang members and him just because you were making him cranky.

By the time the other men had long been out of sight, you'd practically forgotten about them and settled on smacking Zoro's back with your fists. You were sure you'd flashed your panties to everyone who was unlucky enough to be walking the streets and that only added to your anger.

"Would you quit hitting me?" Zoro huffed as he lurched to a stop down an empty alley and rolled you off his shoulder.

You stumbled, almost falling over as you leaned a hand against the nearest wall for support, keeping your shoeless foot from touching the cold ground. Your heel had unfortunately been dropped at some point between hitting Hayate with it and getting picked up by Zoro like a sack of potatoes.

"Would you quit toting me through town like a god-damned prize? You know what, I'm tired of this shit. I'm done with it, I'm done with Kid and I'm done with you. I'm going home."

You took off your remaining heel and chucked it at Zoro's face before marching past him. You knew where you were, you'd be able to get back to your place and pack up. The Kid gang would probably be too busy looking for you out in the streets to worry about you being at your home so you'd take advantage of the situation.

Zoro sheathed his remaining sword and grabbed the nape of your ripped jacket. "I don't care if you're tired of this, you're coming with me and I'm not telling you again."

"Despite what all of you guys think, I'm not property! You can't just uproot me because you feel like it!"

He let out a frustrated huff and slowly released your jacket. "What if I made you an offer?"

"I don't want whatever you're offering."

"Let me at least tell you it first!" He snapped.

When you answered with silence, arms folded and your stare stern, he decided that was good enough for him to continue.

"We'll stop by a store and I can get you some new clothes. We'll go meet up with the crew and you can hear Luffy out, I'm sure that annoying cook will want to make something good with you there, and you can spend the night with us, sleep on whatever Luffy says and make a decision on the morning."

You weren't happy with how the day had gone so far but fresh, free clothes and a hot, home cooked meal did sound good. You couldn't remember the last time you had a real meal.

"Would the rest of your crew honor that?"

"Luffy won't take you in if he doesn't hear you say you want to join. He may annoy the shit out of you until you agree though." He shrugged. "We don't really have any spare beds but there's plenty of extra space at the hideout, we can make something up for you for the night and it'll still be better than staying in....whatever you want to call that place you've been at."

He wasn't wrong and that annoyed you.

"If I still say no, you'll leave me be?"

"We will but that doesn't mean Law, Kid, or the other gang leaders will."

You looked down at your feet as you frowned. They were beginning to feel a little numb even though your body heat was melting the ice around them.

"If shoes are a part of the deal, then I guess I can hear you guys out."

He smiled like he'd won but you didn't plan on actually staying past the one night. It was enough to get you warm, rested, and ready to find a new place to hide. You knew a good opportunity when you saw one.

----

"Gimme the tags so I can pay." Zoro held his hand out after tossing a pair of boots at your feet and placing a jacket in your arms.

You'd already pulled the tags off of what you had on so you gathered them up and placed them in his open palm. Without another word, he turned on his heels and headed to the front to pay. It was more than a little unconventional doing it this way but the shop owner wouldn't throw a fit with him around. Zoro had made quite the name for himself and was easily recognized outside of his city.

The jeans you picked were a dark shade of blue and the material was thick and durable. They fit well, along with the tank top and knit sweater you wore on top. You were able to finish the look with the boots he'd brought you and the jacket. The boots were nicer than you thought he'd be willing to buy, full leather ones that went halfway up your calves. Good for keeping the snow out and the warmth in. The jacket was similar to his own, a soft material on the outside with a thicker lining on the inside.

When you'd pulled the boots and jacket on, you walked to the front to meet up with Zoro. You'd led him to this store in particular since it was technically outside of the city he found you in and therefore, far enough from the Kid gang to allow for a stop.

He gave you a glance as he handed the cashier a was of cash, just enough to let you know he had an eye on you. You walked past to the front door and stepped outside, finally properly dressed for the weather. The old clothes were left in your changing room, used to stop your wound's bleeding. The staff could take care of them.

"You're expensive." Zoro joined you outside and huffed, creating a puff of mist from his breath.

You smiled and almost chuckled. "I wasn't going to get leather boots and a jacket, I was planning on sneakers."

"Yeah and you'd freeze your ass off without the boots and jacket." He tapped your shoulder and motioned to the street. "We're supposed to have a taxi here soon, unless you wanted to fly."

"No thanks." Your smile fell just as fast as it had come.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he faced the street with you, leaning against the side of the building. "No one had heard about the dragon since you left. I thought you needed to change forms once in a while, how've you been hiding that?"

"I don't change anymore. Haven't since that day."

"Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow at you, watching you from the corner of his eye.

"Yep."

"Why not?"

"I know you aren't the sharpest knife in the block but come on Zoro, it's not that hard to figure out."

"People die all the time (Y/n) and everyone who joins this line of work does so knowing their chances only increase. We all accept the risks, all of us except you."

"It's not my job to decide who lives and dies."

"It's no one's job to do anything and it's frankly wishful thinking to hope that you never have to kill while working with a gang. Your enemy comes at you fully intending to end you and if you don't come at them the same way, you're only risking ending your life prematurely. You're strong (Y/n) but if you don't act like it people will continue to take advantage of you."

"Are you suggesting my situation is my fault?" You hissed angrily.

"I'm suggesting things would have played out differently, as for exactly how, only you'd know that."

Just then, a bright yellow cab came into view and slowed to a stop in front of you two.

"Let's get you to the hideout. I called Usopp while you were changing so they all know we're on the way."

The idea of old familiar company was both inviting and intimidating. You couldn't tell if you were excited to see your old friends or ready to change your mind and head back home. But you could keep up your end of the deal, it was only till tomorrow.

(A/n)
Nightmare only has one more chapter to go so I thought I'd update this today as a nice little surprise~