"Stop following me."
"No."
"Stop it."
"No."
"Go home."
"No."
"SHIT, JUST STOP IT! LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!"
"...No."
This was ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous. "Kid, you can't keep following me like this. Aren't your parents worried about you?"
The child in question was a little girl who couldn't have been a day over three years old. She seemed to wince slightly at the question, avoiding the man's gaze. "No," She answered simply, repeating the same word that she had been for the past half hour.
The poor green-haired swordsman simply let out a loud sigh and squatted down next the little girl who gave him a weary look. "Do you have a name?"
The girl blinked, seeming to become confused by the question. "N-no."
Zoro cocked his eyebrow suspiciously at that. What kind of kid doesn't have a name? Something wasn't quite right about this. "Do you have a home?"
The nameless girl shook her head quickly and began to tug at the hem of her dirty dress nervously. Zoro could tell that his questions were making the kid quite upset and decided be slightly less invasive. Not because he felt bad for her or anything. He just didn't want her to start crying or something. "Can you say anything else besides no?"
The little blond girl seemed to perk up at that. "Yes," she shouted loud enough to make Zoro's ears ring. "Jez kid, there's no need to be so loud... Can you say anything else?"
"No."
"Of course you can't," he groaned, rising back to his feet. The girl stared up at him, smiling at his annoyed expression. "Um... Do you know where the docks are?" Zoro asked, slightly embarrassed at the fact that he had to ask an obviously orphaned kid for directions.
The blonde girl nodded her head enthusiastically, before grabbing the startled swordsman's hand and dragging him through the streets of the Red Light District of the city that Zoro had somehow wandered into.
It wasn't more than a ten minute walk until Zoro and his unwanted companion had arrived at the docks. "We must have took some sort of shortcut or something..." he murmured to himself, still holding the now scared looking little girl's hand. Suddenly she let out a whimper of absolute fear and hid herself under Zoro's dark green trench coat, much to the man's disdain. Zoro glanced up to see what had suddenly got her so worked up only to find that the stupid love cook was heading toward the odd pair with hearts in his eyes, obviously intended for the little girl that now was wrapped securely around the poor swordsman's leg.
"WHO IS THIS GLORIOUS LITTLE BEAUTY?" Sanji swooned loudly, flittering about Zoro and the still hidden child.
"Shut up you moron, you're scaring the kid," Zoro berated, pinching the bridge of his nose at the other man's stupidity. "I don't know who she is, she doesn't have a name. She kind of just followed me here and she can't talk."
Sanji halted his swooning for a moment to give the swordsman a suspicious look. "Are you serious mossball?" What kind girl, especially a small child, would find interest in the brain-dead Marimo?
"I wouldn't have a reason to lie," he shrugged in response. Zoro shifted his leg slightly, sighing as he realized that the little girl was not going to detach herself from his leg at any point in the near future.
Sanji noticed the other man's distress and smiled at the red tinge that arose on his cheeks. "Need some help Marimo?"
"Fuck off," was Zoro's immediate response.
Sanji simply rolled his eyes and squatted down so he was able to peek inside of the blushing Marimo's coat. Two of the most beautiful blue eyes Sanji had ever seen greeted him as he moved to open up the dark green coat. The girl squeaked in fear at the sight of him and buried her face into Zoro's leg, causing the green haired man to huff in annoyance. The cook ignored him and turned his direction back towards the half hidden child. "Well hello there, aren't you just the cutest little girl on the Grandline," Sanji cooed, smiling widely to show that he meant her no harm.
The little girl stared at him in confusion before beginning to giggle quietly into Zoro's pant leg. She shook her head no, causing her light blonde locks to become slightly tangled together. Sanji let out a laugh at the girl's adorable nature and reached out his hand as if offering a handshake. "Well Miss, it's been a pleasure meeting your acquaintance, my name is Sanji by the way.
The blonde child let out an excited squeal and ran towards the blond cook, completely bypassing his extended arm. Sanji let out a quiet 'Ompf!' as the girl wrapped her arms almost completely around his waist and hugged him tightly. "Mommy!" she said, excitement evident in her voice.
Zoro, who had been watching the scene, let out a barking laugh at the cook's horrified facial expression. He could tell the blond was trying to stay calm for the sake of the kid but he wasn't sure how much longer the other man could last.
"N-no sweetie, I'm not your... Mommy," Sanji stammered through his explanation, trying not to have a panic attack. He shot a glare at the laughing Marimo, while trying to pry the little girl off of him.
"Mommy!"she said again, squeezing the cooks midsection. The girl nuzzled her face into Sanji's chest, causing his heart to pound loudly.
"Come on kid. This really isn't fair..." Sanji whined, causing Zoro to let out another barking laugh. The girl's cuteness was just too much to handle that Sanji was unable to stop himself from wrapping his arms around the tiny child.
The girl squealed in excitement as she was picked up and held closely to the cook's chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled broadly, as if she knew that she had gotten her way. "Mommy," she said again, giggling all the while.
Sanji simply sighed and decided that arguing with the child would only make her upset. "Yeah, yeah okay," he muttered in fake annoyance.
Zoro's laughter had finally subsided enough to where he was able to look at the cook without a single snicker. The sight before him was... well to put it simply, it was cute. Usually Zoro didn't put the words Sanji and cute in the same sentence but every rule has an exception. And this was a very big exception.
"Oi, shit cook," Zoro called, to the now glaring cook.
"What do you want shit for brains?"
Zoro smirked, walking confidently up to the bewildered blond and wrapped his arm around his waist. "So blondie, if you Mama then who's Papa?"
Sanji became absolutely livid. "YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU MARIMO BASTARD!" he screeched loudly, jolting the little girl out of her blissful state.
"M-mommy," she cried, tears filling her eyes. Sanji immediately stopped ranting at the swordsman to stare at the little girl who sobbed quietly into his chest.
"Oh... Oh sweetie, it's okay. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I yelled. Mommy won't yell anymore," he soothed, rubbing the little girl's back in slow circles.
Zoro had to bite his lip to stop the laugh that bubbled up in his chest. This whole thing was just so completely ridiculous but damn, was it cute. But all good things must come to an end when you lead a life as a pirate. "You know we can't keep her, right cook?"
Sanji gave the swordsman a look of absolute horror that made even Zoro wince. "What the hell are you talking about Marimo? Of course we're keeping her," he said simply, holding the girl slightly tighter against his chest, causing her to let out a surprised squeak. "She needs a good father figure in her life. She's staying."
Zoro groaned at Sanji's stubbornness. "We can't keep a kid on a goddamn pirate ship you idiot. What if she got hurt?"
"She's not going to get hurt because I'll protect her!" Sanji said simply, spinning on his heal and walking back towards the ship. "We're keeping her and that's that. You best not argue with me Marimo."
Zoro's mouth was slightly agape as he watched Sanji saunter down the dock with the nameless little girl peaking at him from behind the blond man's shoulder. She raised her tiny arm to wave at him, smiling all the while. The swordsman felt himself smile and wave back somewhat awkwardly.
Maybe the kid wouldn't turn out to be such a bad thing after all. Maybe all good things never really had to end, but just start again.
