Sanji took a calming breath and knocked on the door in front of him. There was stumbling about and a lot of swearing from inside the apartment before the lock finally rattled.
The door swung open to reveal a very drunk Zoro. He snorted at the chef, waving a large tankard in his direction. "The hell you want?"
His nose wrinkled at the stench of sour hops from stout ale the ex-bodyguard had purchased in town. "I need to talk to you."
"Bullshit." He turned his good eye on the man and burped. "You and I have nothing to say to each other any more."
He started to close the door but Sanji whipped his leg in the way, cracking it open again. "You idiot!" He hissed angrily. "While you're drowning yourself in drink, the new head of security is getting closer to her."
Zoro's expression flatlined. "Fine," he muttered. "It's what's supposed to happen l."
Sanji stormed inside the room. "Oh? I heard you chased her off. She's hurt and she's pissed beyond <i>belief</i> at you."
He ran a hand through his green hair. It was growing longer since he didn't really care about it now and he had taken to tying the back with a piece of cord. "Good. She won't come back then."
"Are you fucking blind?!"
Zoro grunted. "I may only have one eye, asshole, but I fucking see just fine." He braced himself as the cook tapped one foot ominously on the floor. When the kick came, he couldn't parry with his swords because they were propped up in a corner. He used his arms instead. The impact pushed him back but he would have stayed upright if not for the empty beer cans on the floor. He fell backward and landed heavily on a six pack, crushing the cans under his weight.
Sanji huffed in disgust. "You know what? Great. I came here to try and reason with you - she's injured beyond belief because of you -- but I see you don't give a crap. Whatever." He left, slamming the door behind him.
Zoro lay there and stared bleakly at the ceiling.
Several hours later after dinner Elly was resting by the pool as she talked with Aizawa about demon-human relations over the years.
"After the humans created me from neglect and abuse, they then said I was evil." Elly sighed, her eyes closed as she recalled the painful memories. "I was not like the <i>bakaneko</i>, which was viewed in a better light. No, the <i>nekomata</i> usually killed and ate people. Due to, and I'm just guessing here, you know ... the fact that all our pain and suffering came from humans."
He nodded, scratching his messy hair. "But not all of you were evil."
"Of course not. More powerful than the other demon type, sure, but not all bad."
"I suppose ..." He paused as the soft chime from the speaker set at the patio door announced someone. "I'll go."
She shrugged. "Okay."
He picked up his extra set of scarves before opening the door, just in case. Looking through the peephole he was surprised to see the one person he thought wouldn't show up for some time.
Zoro nodded to him. "I came to see her," he muttered uncomfortably.
"Oh?" Aizawa's lip twitched ever so slightly. "I thought you were keeping away from her."
"Cut the crap," Zoro told him bluntly. "Where is she -"
Elly's head poked out of the hallway to stare in disbelief. Her ears twitched several times as she struggled to process the sight of the swordsman standing near her new head guard. They very deliberately folded back as her eyes narrowed.
"You took too long," the dark haired man told him quietly.
"Cat?" He called out softly. Elly's reaction to his voice was immediate; she hissed spitefully and ran off. Zoro was left, dumbfounded, his normally tan face drained of most of its color.
"Cats hold grudges," Aizawa advised him solemnly.
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