Hey guys! I am back this short little drabble, hope you enjoy! :D
When the advertisement outside an authentic Japanese shop caught Sanji's eye, he could not for the life of him ignore it and simply walk away. The coincidence and the rarity of the situation just made it that impossible.
He decided that he needed to check the item out; it was too intriguing to ignore.
As he walked in, he told himself it was simply out of curiosity. Not because he cared for that certain someone or because he needed a reminder. He told himself that it is perfectly normal and any normal person would never waste this opportunity, it was simply too precious.
He walked in to the small store, looking around briefly at the crammed interior. The packed shelves held all types of foods, some he saw around before and some he did not. He made a mental note to come back later and check those ingredients, not today though. Today he only had one item in mind.
He walked up to the shop's clerk, the one he suspected to be the owner of the shop. It was an old Japanese man, his back bent with the weight of the years he lived, but his eyes shown of youth and life that was only existed in the eyes of a few.
"Hello" Sanji greeted, he scanned the shelves behind the clerk. Yes, it was just what he wanted.
"How can I help you today?" the clerk asked enthusiastically.
"I just wanted to check those Japanese marimos you have, I am very interested in buying one" Sanji said.
"Well young man you have a very good eye for quality. You see this shipment just arrived from Japan, those marimos are considered a national treasure there. You are very lucky to have passed by here, especially that I did not see you around before." The old man said while proceeding to take some of the marimos off the shelf to display them for Sanji.
"Yes, I am very well aware of that, I really am lucky to have found this shop today" Sanji inspected the jars that held the marimos that were displayed on the counter for him; they were in all shapes and sizes, with different shades of green. There was only one shade that caught his eyes though. He told himself that it has nothing to do with a certain swordsman's hair color.
"I would like to see this one please" Sanji pointed to the large jar that held one soccer ball sized marimo that was the exact shade of bright vibrant green he desired.
"Young man, you do have an excellent eye for this. This is the finest marimo we got and the most expensive too. What is so special about this marimo is that it is very vibrant, a color you will not find anywhere else, and it looks like fresh grass! Plus it is very durable, most marimos die from hot or cold weather but this one went through all that and still survived and held its amazing color" The old man displayed to him the price tag on it.
It read "200 dollars". That would be all the money that Sanji carried right now.
The price did not even faze Sanji, it only motivated him more to buy it because of its rarity. He told himself it was definitely not because of the resemblance between it and the marimo he had in mind.
"I will buy it then" Sanji resolved.
"Just let me warn you young man, this is a strange one. Instead of rolling around in steady patterns, it has very irregular movements, almost like it is lost. I guess you can say this is one odd ball" The old man laughed loudly at this own pun, Sanji mentally shook his head.
This marimo was even more desirable to him now; no way he was going to let it go. He told himself it was not because of the similarity between it and his eternal rival's sense of direction.
"It is okay, I will still buy it" Sanji proceeded to pull the cash out of his wallet.
"Thank you for your business!" The old man chirped happily as he put the jar in a box. Sanji took it and proceeded to exit the shop.
As he walked home he told himself that he bought it only because he always wanted a pet that he did not need much care, he told himself that he was always interested in buying a marimo anyways and the likeness between the marimo and Zoro was not uncanny. He told himself it has nothing to do with Zoro and the butterflies he got in his stomach when he thought about him.
He told himself that Zoro has absolutely nothing to do with this.
Sanji walked home with a slight bounce in his walk because of the bubbling excitement. He entered his apartment and placed the jar on top of his desk in front of his window.
And as he grabbed the permanent marker to name his new pet, he could not help himself as he wrote "ZORO". And of course he told himself that it had nothing to do with the feelings and secret attraction he got for the swordsman, it was only because of the similarities between the two.
Sanji could tell himself all of this and pretend to believe it. But deep down he knew that it has everything to do with Zoro.
Speaking of whom, the swordsman was coming over tomorrow night to drink with him. He will have to be careful that no one knew about his new friend, Zoro the Actual Marimo.
TBC
I know that marimos are usually waaaaaaaaaay cheaper but I over exaggerated the price for the sake of the story! XD
So what do you guys think? Please let me know! :D