Hi,

I haven't posted here for a while. There have been a lot of things going on, but I haven't stopped writing.

A few years ago, I, and another author, started a fic about Zoro as a merboy (of about 9 years old). Besides kind of losing touch with the author, I also kind of lost interest in the fic. Then not too long ago, I decided to start this one. I hope I'm writing it ok, and that everyone who reads it enjoys it. Please leave a review if you like it.

Thank you

"Isn't there any woman you're interested in? Like a mermaid or fishgirl?"

Zoro pondered the question for several long minutes. Ever since he'd been a betta merchild, born to a fishman father and a mermaid mother, he'd never really been interested in girls. When he was younger, he'd had mer and fishgirls as friends, rather than as romantic interests. As he grew older, Sanji, his fishman friend, had developed an almost perverted interest in the female sex, particularly human females. Because of this, he'd had many narrow escapes at the hands of humans. Sanji just really liked the female sex, regardless of species.

He, on the other hand, had no such interest.

After another minute, he answered a simple, "No."

"Well... are you interested in guys then?" Sanji asked, giving his best friend Zoro an odd look.

"If you mean sexually, I'm not interested in anyone actually. Girl, guy, or otherwise."

Sanji belted out a hearty laugh. "You just turned 21, and you're still not interested in anyone, Marimo? You're really weird!"

"No weirder than a pervert who chases after girls at every given opportunity." Zoro said, folding his arms and flicking his deep orchid colored tail with the large, billowing fins. "You don't even care what species they are."

"Hey! Chasing after girls is normal for a healthy 21 year old fishman! But you're no different now than you were when we were kids."

Zoro's good eye narrowed. "I am! I'm just not a pervert like you."

"You're right. You're not perverted. You've just got some kind of some kind of weird sexuality no one's ever even heard about," Sanji retorted in a way that made it sound as if Zoro had some kind of odd disease.

"Okay, you know what? I don't have to stay here and listen to this." Zoro began to swim away, but Sanji caught his arm.

"Wait! Okay, I'm sorry," Sanji apologized, albeit a bit halfheartedly.

Zoro tried to yank out of Sanji's grip. "I don't care! Let me go!"

"Can I at least buy you a drink?" Sanji asked. He really hadn't meant to upset his friend. "Let bygones be bygones?"

Zoro thought for a moment, then he sighed. "Okay, but two bottles?"

"Two bottles then."

Zoro could really hold his liquor. The drinks he'd ordered had had a lot of proof in them. Had it been Sanji, he'd be plastered and under the table by now. As it was, Zoro was only slightly beyond buzzed.

"So, you forgive me?" Sanji asked as he sipped on his second mug of lager.

"Well, shit." Zoro sighed. "Yeah. I guess I can forgive you. This time. I may not know what my sexuality is, but it's not weird, and you have no right to make fun."

"Okay. Your sexuality isn't weird then." Sanji still thought his friend was weird, but said nothing. After a moment, he asked, "Wanna come girl watching with me?"

Zoro really didn't want to go, but didn't want to get called weird again either. He sighed again. It seemed he did that a lot when he was around Sanji. "Alright."

"Let's watch the human girls above the surface," Sanji suggested.

Zoro slammed his web-fingered hands on the table. "No way! You know I was nearly caught by humans not that long ago! You see what they did to me!" Zoro pointed at his left eye which was scarred; the eyelids permanently closed. He'd lost that eye in the escape from the humans. He was happy that that was the only thing he'd lost, besides his trust in most humans.

"Don't worry! If the humans take too much of an interest in you, I'll be there to help you!"

"In a human's eyes, merpeople are more valueable than fishpeople. I look like a fishman from the waist up, but I'm a merman from the waist down. If they see that, they're gonna try to capture me again!"

"Well, we don't have to leave the water, just poke our heads above the surface. If they see us, they'll think we're just two fishmen paying them a visit. They don't even have to see your tail. C'mon!" Sanji prodded.

"No."

How he always managed to get roped into doing whatever Sanji wanted, Zoro had no idea.

"So b-beautiful!" Sanji whispered as he and Zoro watched the ladies frolic on the beach, playing volleyball and frisbee. Still others were sunbathing. A trickle of blood ran from his nose as his face took on a lecherous appearance.

Zoro sighed. "Beautiful, yeah. I know." Glancing at Sanji's face, he said, "That's really gross, you know."

Sanji sighed in his lovesick way. "I wanna go talk to them..."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "And chase them around. I get it. Listen. I'm going back down. You do what you want. And wash the blood from your fa-" He was interrupted by Sanji grabbing his arm.

"Come with me Zoro!"

"You forget I don't have legs like you. I can't walk around on land," Zoro told him. "Let go!" Zoro snatched back his arm.

"Oh yeah, I guess that's a bit of a problem, isn't it?" Sanji pondered for a second, looking down into the water at Zoro's swishing tail. "Oh well, I'll go myself, and you can watch my back. See ya!"

Zoro watched his friend leave, noting that Sanji hadn't even washed the blood from his face like he'd told him to. Oh well, if that pervert got himself in trouble again, and he most likely would, it was no skin off his back.

Then again, no matter what, Sanji was his friend. He couldn't just leave him like that. Humans were mostly untrustworthy. Even Sanji knew this. As much as he didn't really want to, he'd look out for his perverted friend and help him if he needed it.

His eyes scanned the beach. It was very warm for this time of year, and there was a mix of men and women, having a great time playing or relaxing. He watched the women for a moment, and try as he might, he couldn't understand what it was about them that made Sanji stay sexually charged all the time. Zoro himself was content to stay a virgin for the rest of his life. He didn't understand people like Sanji who seemed to live on sex and being around girls.

He began to wonder if Sanji was right, and he was weird. After all, even people who weren't as sexually charged as Sanji, still enjoyed sex. Zoro on the other hand, found the whole sex thing... kind of gross.

He shook his head. No. He wasn't weird. He was just... different. Sighing, he scanned the beach, seeing Sanji chasing several human women; his perverted hands clutching air as he ran, as if he'd like to squeeze whatever part of them he could grab. This was one of the few times Zoro wished he had legs, so that he could stop Sanji's perverted pursuits. Embarrassed by his friend, he sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, closing his eyes. Opening them again, he turned his head, spotting a fishing peer a little ways away with two young human men sitting with fishing poles; their legs dangling in the water.

From the looks of them, they were having a friendly chat as they fished. The one furthest from him wore yellow swim trunks, and a large, curly, black puff of hair was tied in the back of his head. The other young man wore red swim trunks. His hair was shorter, straighter, and blew in the gentle breeze. Sporting a straw hat with a red band that hung on a string around his neck, the young man laughed at something his friend said.

Zoro noticed the large eyes that looked like they craved adventure, the bright smile that turned into a big grin at the first opportunity, and his sunny personality. Unbeknownst to Zoro, a shy smile formed on his face as he watched the man in the red trunks go about what he was doing, completely oblivious to him.

Zoro sighed, but this time, in a happy way. This human looked innocous enough. He really wanted to talk to him. Zoro didn't dare swim closer though. He'd encountered "innocous" humans before. For now, he'd just be content to gaze from afar.

"Sure is warm out here," Usopp said as he put down his fishing pole in a spot where it wouldn't get dragged out into the ocean by a wayward fish. "I'm gonna get something to drink. Want anything Luffy?"

"Yeah. I'll take a cherry soda," Luffy said without turning around.

Usopp was genuinely puzzled. "No meat soda?"

"Well..." Luffy pondered for a moment. He turned to grin up at his friend. "You can bring me a meat soda too."

"Okay, if that's what you really want." Usopp shrugged, turning and jogging toward the drink stands.

Luffy turned back, resuming his fishing. After a long moment, his senses told him he was being watched. He glanced out in the sea to his left, spotting several yards away, what looked like a fishman floating there watching him as he fished. Luffy wondered how long he had been there. The fins on his head and ears screamed fishman, but he had an almost human skintone. He'd heard that fishpeople and merfolk often interbred, creating an endless variety among the people. Was this actually a fishman, or did he have merfolk qualities as well?

Normally, whenever Luffy met a potential new friend, he'd shout in happiness, loudly urging them to become his friend. This time though, he didn't want to draw attention to himself, nor to the fishman in the water, so he quietly beckoned his new friend over.

At first, Zoro stayed where he was, too apprehensive to actually approach. But then, this was only one human, and he was a lot stronger than one human. Diving into the water, he swam toward the fishing peer.

Surprise registered on Luffy's face as the fishman suddenly popped his head above water near the end of the pier where he was sitting. He hadn't really expected him to come over. He grinned down to his new friend. "Hi, fishman! My name is Monkey D. Luffy! What's your name?"

Zoro couldn't believe the human was being so friendly with him. He paused a second from gazing into the eyes of the human, before blurting out, "Zoronoa Roro! I-I mean, Roronoa Zoro! B-But you can just call me Zoro!" He hated to stammer, but he felt a lot like a giddy schoolgirl meeting her favourite member of her favourite band for the first time. His heart sped up, his breathing quickened, and he swallowed hard.

Luffy let out a playful laugh. "Hey, Zoro, when my friend Usopp gets back, wanna join us in a game of volleyball? You can be on my team!"

"I... can't..." Zoro said; face turning pink.

Luffy was puzzled. "Huh? Why not?"

Zoro quickly dove underwater; his tail flipping upward out of the water as he did so. As his head broke the surface again, he could hear an awed gasp from Luffy.

"You're not a fishman at all! You're a merman!" Luffy exclaimed happily.

"Well, my Dad is a fishman, but my Mom is a mermaid." Zoro explained calmly. "Weirdly enough, my sister got fishfolk legs, but I got a tail. Weird huh?"

"That's not weird, actually." After a moment, Luffy said, "And your tail is really beautiful!"

Zoro flushed deeper this time. "Thank you... Though sometimes, I wish I had legs so I could stop him..." He jerked a thumb in Sanji's direction. "...when he gets too wild."

Luffy gazed over to where the fishman in question was busy chasing human girls all over the beach. "That your friend? What's he doing anyway?"

"Chasing girls. Human girls." Zoro sighed. "It's like he can't live without..." He made a face. "...sex... or something... I just don't get that."

"I don't get those kindsa people either. That's something I can frankly live without, but whatever floats his boat I guess."

Zoro turned back to Luffy, surprised. "Really? Same here! I'm not sexually attracted to others, and the idea of sex doesn't appeal to me at all. Actually... It's kind of revolting..." His brow furrowed as he gazed into the water. "But Sanji's always making fun of me and calling me weird for that. Just 'cause I'm not like him, doesn't make me weird!"

Luffy seemed to sense some of Zoro's frustration. "You sound like you're asexual. It's not weird to be asexual, just different, that's all! I-"

At the unfamiliar word, Zoro's ears and head perked up. "What did you just say it was called again?"

"What? Asexual? Yeah! It basically means people who don't experience sexual attraction. Some of us are even sex repulsed. Actually, that sounds like you!"

Zoro smiled a small, embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I guess it does..."

Luffy grinned at the merman. "Hey, wanna be friends?"

Just then, Usopp showed up with drinks in hand. "Who're you talking to, Luffy?"

Luffy pointed down in the water to Zoro. "Him! His name is Zoro! He's my new friend!"

Usopp put down the drinks, sitting down on the pier again, crossing his legs. "Whoa, I've never seen a fishman up close before!" He said peering down into the water at Zoro.

Before Zoro could say anything, Luffy told Usopp, "He's not a fishman, he's a merman with a cool tail!"

Now that Luffy had mentioned it, Usopp could see Zoro's lazily swaying tail beneath the surface of the mostly clear waters. "Your tail is cool, but what's it look like in the sunlight?"

Zoro once again did his flipping maneuver, to which an awed Usopp said, "Look at that color! And it shimmers in the sunlight too! Beautiful..."

"Thanks... I can't tell you how many humans have tried to capture me for my tail," Zoro told them, shaking the water from his hair. "The last time, I lost my eye in the escape."

"That's horrible!" Usopp exclaimed, then he thought a moment. He then said, "I heard that mermaid tails split when they get older. Won't your tail split too? Then they won't come after you so much."

"And you can walk around on land!" Luffy chimed in.

Zoro explained further. "Only some mertails do that. Mine's not the kind that splits. I don't mind having a tail instead of legs, except for the few times I need to leave the water. Then it gets a little annoying."

Luffy commented, grinning, "I wish I had a cool mertail, then I could swim!"

This surprised Zoro. "You can't swim? I thought all humans could?" He knew that humans were slow and not very graceful in the water, but he still had thought that all humans could, at least to some extent, swim.

"He could swim okay as a kid, but.. I dunno... Something happened as he got older. He can't swim anymore. He goes into water any deeper than to his waist and he could drown." Usopp explained to Zoro.

"Wow... " Zoro breathed in disbelief. "My sister Kuina and I have always been excellent swimmers. But... I guess that's because we're made for it, after all."

Usopp recognized the name Kuina. "Is your sister the fishwoman who owns that dojo over on 4th Street?"

"Yeah," Zoro confirmed. "Though I'm unable to train there. What's the dojo like, anyway? I've never seen it."

"Well, I'm not exactly a swordsman, so I've never been inside," Usopp admitted, finishing his drink and grabbing his fishing pole again. "I hear it's a good one though, and with a wait list, it's hard to get into."

"Wow... Kuina told me it was popular, but that was all she said about it. She doesn't talk much about work." Zoro looked into the water off to his side. "Looks like you're about to get a bite," He told Usopp.

The fish in question, being unafraid of Zoro, swam straight for the bait on Usopp's hook. As it took the bait, Zoro whispered loudly, "Now!"

Usopp pulled on his line; the 14" fish popping out of the water to hang flapping around in the warm air. "Wow! That's a big one! Thanks, Zoro!"

"No problem!" He turned to Luffy. "Next time, I'll snag a fish for you!" He glanced toward the beach just in time to see several human men chasing Sanji with weapons in hand. "Anyway, I need to get going before Sanji gets himself into anymore trouble. See ya round! And thanks Luffy!" He said before diving beneath the surface again, and quickly swimming toward the beach.

"Luffy? Why'd he thank you?" Usopp asked. He turned to Luffy. "And who's Sanji?"

If you liked it, please review. Thank you