Chapter Text
Food is Symbolic of Love when words are Inadequate.
-Unknown
Like most things concerning the cook, it starts with food.
-
Zoro made his way back to the ship, tossing the strange round fruit up and down as he went, studying its weird physiques. Since getting a doctor, he'd been particularly careful of eating things he wasn't familiar with-- it most definitely didn't have anything to do with the fact that Chopper looked up at him with wide doe eyes-- but this time around he'd been getting hungry. While the swordsman could hold out on any kind of substantial sustenance for a long time, it didn't really mean that he wanted to. And well, his stomach growled, there just so happened to be a large tree bearing fruit, and the small thing was suddenly down his throat with another tucked in the pocket of his haramaki.
The small tanuki would be interested in seeing the damn thing anyways(the cook too but that was dangerous thought territory), Zoro was sure of it, considering that after a bit of bodily pain-- it was excruciating, but if he couldn't handle it then he most certainly wouldn't be able to take on Mihawk-- all of his senses were extraordinarily enhanced. It was like he'd been living in the world with impaired vision, let alone hearing and small.
Taste too. He thought, wrinkling his nose at the unsavory flavor of burning coal, making his ways towards it, since that was likely the path back into the city, and from there, the shipyard. The island they were on was a summer one, but it got chilly at night, or so the villagers said when they docked. The scent of fire was so strong it singed the hair in his nose and made him growl lowly, wishing for a nose clip or something of the like. He wondered if the effects of the fruit he ate would wear off anytime soon, and if between Robin and Chopper, would they be able to create something more permanent. With less potency if at all possible.
Ears pricking, Zoro stilled, seeing something green and silky in his peripheral. He shrugged, deducing that whatever animal it was, was hardly threatening and went to move, nearly yelping in surprise when he found himself pouncing in the other direction. He was squatting over the ground, hands placed on top of one another in the dirt and with mild apprehension he lifted them slowly. Nothing was there and with a disappointed huff, he straightened himself, pausing slightly to wonder what the fuck he just did. Shrugging it off, the swordsman continued on his way, hearing the sounds of people talking and quickened his pace.
He got to the town not long after and strolled through the city, ignoring the curious and frightened stares he got. Zoro wasn't really worried about, considering the fact that he was a pirate, and a pretty fucking infamous one at that, let alone the rest of the crew. It was starting to get a bit irksome though, especially knowing that Luffy was typically the one to cause such a ruckus. He just hoped they wouldn't try anything stupid, all he wanted was some booze.
In the corner of his eye, he spotted that green object, or whatever it was from earlier and tensed, turning back lighting fast, so quick his feet stirred up bits of dust. Once more he pounced without thinking, crouching close to the ground, nails digging into the ground-- much sharper than he remembered ever having them. Long tails tended to dig into the palm of his hands as he wielded his katana. And Kuina had made fun of him for "fighting like a girl" the one time they ended up tousling and he scratched her. He stared at the claw-like thing peculiarly, forgetting for a moment about the thing he'd been chasing.
A small tap fell on his shoulder and he hissed, the sound dying off when he noticed a little girl, looking at him with a cutely confused expression. It greatly matched Zoro's own feelings.
"Mr. Pirate," she started, wide green eyes boring into him imploringly, as she held up the green...tail that he'd been after for the past few hours. "Were you looking for this?"
He stood slowly, craning his neck to the side as he studied the girl, wondering how he didn't notice her in the forest earlier. Clearly the girl was an expert hide and seek player, or maybe she'd consumed some kind of Devil Fruit that hid her from his sight. He flinched as he felt something brush his neck and raised a hand to the back of his head absentmindedly, wondering when the hell hair grew out so much and resolved to cut it as soon as possible.
"Yeah kid." Zoro drawled, looking down at the little girl. "Where you been hiding that thing?? And how can you move so fast?"
Despite the cool air, he felt a bead of sweat slide down the side of his face as the brat stared at him with wide, eyes, lips puckered in an expression of surprise before she began giggling. She laughed so hard her cheeks flushed, bright red hair misplaced with her wild motions and she wiped tears away, Zoro feeling his ears burn.
"Mister!" the girl gasped between chuckles. "This is your tail!" As if to prove her point, she tugged on the fluffy object and he nearly jumped when he felt pressure on the place where his tail bone would be. "You have ears too!"
Zoro stared at the girl blankly, his mind still wrapping around the whole thing. Once the wheels stopped turning, he cocked his head to the side, raising a brow and said, "HAH? What was that?"
-
"Shihihihihihi Zoro's a cat!" Luffy laughed, falling back onto the deck, and rolling around as he watched the swordsman's tail swish from side to side, bristling slightly.
"I am not a cat." He snarled, restraining from gripping his swords and froze, feeling his pupils dilate when Nami procured a ball of string. He narrowed his eyes as she smirked, swinging the bundle of fabric from side to said. Traitorously his eyes followed the motion, fur going flat and legs tensing as he mentally prepared himself to jump forward.
"Stop it, witch!" Zoro hissed between his-- admittedly abnormal-- teeth felt his eye twitch when her smile only widened evilly.
"Mariiimooooooo!" Came the familiar voice and the swordsman pricked his ears, tall shooting high into the air. He felt his body vibrating softly, opening his mouth to draw in the chef's scent. The smell of tobacco was a lot stronger now, though under it was a thick layer of natural musk and Zoro leaned towards the odor.
"Don't call the lovely lady that, you damn Neanderthal." Sanji's voice was loud, heated and anger-filled the way it typical was but the 19 year old hardly heard it.
In the back of his head all he could hear was minemineminemineMINE.
With a suddenly jerk he jumped back from a well aimed kick and landed in a crouch, Wado clutched in his hand. His eyes were wide, body actively fighting down the flush threatening to flood his cheeks as he stared at the chef.
Because what the fuck was that?