I LEAVE FOR COLLEGE ON SATURDAY! WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO? D: Then again...I seem to feel this way every year...
-PD
P.S. Please vote in my poll :D
Once everyone's bellies were full of food, they headed back out into the frozen wasteland. "Well," Sanji lit up a new smoke, "I'm going to head off and see what this town has to offer in the way of food supplies. I'll catch up with you all later."
"Wait, Sanji-kun, I need to hand out everyone's allowances!" Nami called. The rest of the boy's quickly got in line, all their eyes shining with excitement. Nami sighed as she opened her bag. "Well, Robin and I were planning on doing some shopping as well anyhow. So I suppose I can just give everyone their money now." Nami reached into her bag and pulled out 4 individually wrapped stacks of money, leaving her own and Robin's much larger portions inside her purse. "Alright, these are everyone's allowances for this island. You know the drill: spend wisely and no asking for more!"
"Haai." They all responded in nearly perfect synchronization. Sanji added a happy trill of "Nami-swan~" to the end of his agreement.
Everyone quickly split off to go their own ways. They really didn't want to stay too long on this winter island, all except Chopper anyhow, and were all hustling and bustling about, trying to get their stuff done as quickly as possible. Robin had taken it upon herself to hold responsibility for Neko-chan for the time being, keeping him held to her chest protectively as he shivered away. She had gone with Nami to search for new clothes, among other things. Before long, the two of them were walking down the street with a few new shopping bags hanging from their arms. More were to be added to the bunch as the afternoon wore on.
"You know, I'm amazed with the variety of their stores considering how cold this place is."
"Well, just because a town is cold that doesn't always make it desolate, and they probably want to appeal to all varieties of clientele."
"That's true I suppose...Hey, Robin, look at this!" Nami ran over to a children's clothing store. "It's a kid's clothing store. We should get some stuff for Zoro."
"That's a wonderful idea, Navigator-san. I'm sure Neko-chan would appreciate having something to wear as he changes back. The fur won't keep him modest forever." She chuckled. Upon hearing his name, Zoro awoke from his comfortable position in Robin's arms. He meowed to announce that he had woken up from his restful slumber. "Oh, you're awake Neko-chan. We were just talking about you."
"Mmmyah?" He half meowed half spoke.
"We're gonna do a little shopping for you~" Nami gently tapped his nose with a finger.
"Nyo!" Zoro protested.
"You can't walk around naked forever, Neko-chan." Nami reasoned, smiling mischievously. "Besides, you can't escaaape~" The last bit had been more of a joke than a real threat, but Zoro took it all the same. It was true; he couldn't escape. So into the children's store he went. Once inside, Nami went straight over to the baby's and toddler's sections and looked through all of the brightly colored, roomy, patterned clothes that were hung up on itty-bitty little hangers. Robin headed over to the older child's section and began looking around as well. She smiled when she head Nami say with more than a hint of evil in her voice, "This is going to be fun~"
o()o()o
"Thank you for your purchases, valued customers! Please visit us again!" The clerk cried as Nami, Robin, and Zoro left the store, little shopping bags that suited the little clothes they held hung from Nami's arms as she strutted happily through the snow.
"I just have to change him into some of these when we get back. I can't wait!" She cried excitedly. Robin laughed at her younger Nakama's antics. She, too, had enjoyed picking out clothes for Zoro and had been just as into it as Nami had, though her excitement was much more contained.
"You'll have to alter them first Navigator-san—oh!" A man whose face was hidden behind shopping bags had appeared in front of the two women, almost running into them as they rounded a corner.
"Is that you, Nami-san? Robin-chan?" Sanji's blonde head peeked out from behind the large paper bags. "Not a lot of fruits or veggies, but they had some really high quality meat available. I'll get an amazing hot pot started for everyone tonight, I'll also put on a pot roast today so we can eat it for tomorrow, and I can grind up the rest for some chile con carne for the day after. How does that sound to you ladies?" He smiled broadly, quite happy with his plans for the supplies he'd bought.
"It sounds amazing, Sanji-kun."
"Indeed. We'll be looking forward to it." Robin said, gracing him with a gentle smile.
"Well, I best hurry back to the ship. Shall I take some of your bags?"
"Sure. Thanks, Sanji-kun." Nami and Robin shared a look. As fast as light, a plan had been formulated between them. "Actually, Sanji-kun, instead of our bags, do you think you could take Zoro back with you? He's not handling the cold too well."
Sanji's blue eye slowly traveled to the sad looking lump that was curled up in Robin's arm, shivering and shaking like crazy, even though he was all bundled up in Nami's handmade suit. "Alright, but only because my lovely ladies asked me too~" He warbled. "C'mon Neko-Marimo. Let's get you back to the ship."
"Nyanji?" Zoro looked up at the blonde man that had turned him away earlier that day. He withdrew and tucked deeper into Robin's arms. He didn't feel like being with Sanji. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He did want to be with Sanji, but he didn't want to be with the crabby cook if the man didn't want him there. Zoro knew that his time as a kitten was almost up, and he was excited to get back to his regular, daily regime. However, for the past month, his daily life had consisted of lots and lots of Sanji. He knew it was stupid to expect things to remain as they were when he was a cat, but he couldn't help but wish that this whole cat thing could last another week.
"C'mon, Marimo. Let's go." Sanji turned his back and started walking away, his strides preposterously slow. It was as if he was expecting Zoro to follow him on foot.
Nami and Robin shared a confused look. Was Sanji honestly expecting Zoro to walk on his own? What was going on here? He had always been so willing to carry Zoro about on his shoulder before. What had changed? Nami called out to him. "Sanji-k—"
Zoro's desperate meowing interrupted her. He had felt as if there was a strong magnetic force that was pulling at him, encouraging him to follow the back of the man whose affections he'd gotten far too used to. The thought of living without them was nearly unbearable. He wriggled and squirmed until he freed himself from Robin's arms, dropping down into the snow with a soft "paff" sound. The three of them waited a moment, debating whether they should help the kitten or not. However, soon enough, Zoro's snow speckled head popped up. After wriggling about for a moment, two green forepaws emerged from beneath the heavy snow. Seeing that Zoro was beginning to make progress, Sanji turned around and started walking away, though very slowly so the kitten could still catch up.
The poor kitten wouldn't be catching up anytime soon, unfortunately. With every attempt to climb out of the deep snow, his body would sink in again, oftentimes leaving him in a more awkward and difficult position than before. He reached forward, trying to pull himself up and out of the snow once again, but only managed to sink in further. He furrowed his eyebrows and puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. This was not going as he had planned. When Sanji had finally gotten about 10 feet away, still walking preposterously slow, Robin decided to give the little tyke a hand. An arm sprouted from beneath the snow like a flower, much like the name of Robin's ability implied, reached over and picked a snow-speckled Zoro up by the scruff of his neck and placed him into one of Sanji's footprints. From there, the kitten bounded from foot print to foot print with greater ease than when he'd tried to walk through the deep snow on his own.
Nami couldn't help but find the scene of kitten Zoro racing to catch up to Sanji absolutely adorable, even though the voice in the back of her mind was telling her that it was cruel for making Zoro walk on his own. But then again, it was Zoro that we're talking about. Even if he was a kitten at the moment he'd still manage. Reluctantly, she and Robin both slunk away silently, even though they wanted to watch how the scene would unfold, they decided it would better for the two to get back on the good terms they'd been on for the past several weeks. So, begrudgingly, Nami and Robin continued with their shopping, now officially Zoro-less.
After walking a little ways, Sanji looked back to see if Zoro was following him. Sure enough, about 10 feet behind, the little runt was doing his best to keep up with Sanji's long strides, jumping from shoe print to shoe print. He would spring out of one imprint, fly through air, and then completely disappear when he landed in another. Apparently, that trick he'd learned earlier today was serving a purpose. Sanji stopped and waited for Zoro to catch up. He could tell that Zoro was getting tired, as he was taking longer and longer to jump. Sanji couldn't help but take pity on the poor creature and promised himself that he'd carry the tyke the rest of the way once he caught up.
Zoro was panting and huffing and puffing as he took a brief rest, unused to this much physical exertion. He'd been spoiled by that blonde haired jackass and had been carried everywhere for nearly a month, so this extreme hurdling adventure was wearisome. He cursed Sanji for making him walk all on his own. He'd show him! He'd make it all the way back to the ship all by himself without that stupid bastard's help. Zoro sat back on his haunches and lept in the direction he'd thought the next footprint was. Now, we all know how reliable Zoro's directional sense was. He landed in the cold snow, sinking completely out of view.
Sanji sighed and walked back over to where Zoro lay in the snow. Balancing the two large bags in one arm, he picked the kitten up and placed him back on his shoulder, brushing the snow from the tiny face. "Baka Marimo," he muttered with a trace of fondness in his voice, "let's get you back to the ship." Sanji placed the kitten under the faux fur lined collar of his coat, giving the kitten a gentle pat on the head before heading on his way. Occasionally he would look down at the sleeping feline on his shoulder. He'd reach up and gently run a finger back and forth across the soft green hair and over the pointed ears. He smiled when the ears gave a twitch as he tickled them. Oh yes, he was going to miss this horribly.
o()o()o
When he finally awoke, Zoro was curled up on the counter next to the stove, enjoying the heat it gave off as Sanji made warm drinks for the crew that he assumed would be arriving shortly. HE noticed that SAnji had removed those infurriating snow booties and that bulky snow suit and sighed in appreciation. He began purring again as he drifted between being asleep and being awake. Yes, he much preferred the warmth of Sanji's kitchen; he hated being cold. He sneezed, bringing Sanji's attention from the concoction in the pot back down to his neko marimo.
Sanji thought about cooing over Zoro as he had in the past, but knowing now that Zoro understood, and would probably remember, his doting little phrases...he felt awkward about doing it. Embarrassed even. So once again he held himself back, and instead went at Zoro with a slightly harsher jab. "I thought idiots couldn't catch colds." He smirked, going back to what he was doing instead of his usual post-insult coddling. This perplexed the freshly awoken marimo greatly.
Zoro looked up at Sanji with a frown, not understanding what was going on. Sanji was supposed to scratch him behind the ears or give him a taste of what the was making, tease him a bit, gently smiling, not smirking, and then get back to work. He wasn't supposed to ignore Zoro, insult him, and then continue doing whatever the hell he had been doing as if Zoro hadn't just done something completely adorable and praise worthy. Of course, these weren't Zoro's exact thoughts, but they described how he was feeling well enough, whether he was aware of it or not. His brow furrowed and a scowl that hadn't worn in a very long time etched deeply into his face. He curled back up and went back to sleep, his purrs ceasing all together. Sanji looked down at the kitten who had turned away from him and frowned, sighing a bit before going back to the steaming pot. They were beginning to grow apart once again, and neither one of them liked it.
Author's Note
Woohoo! Flamers are sending nearly daily messages now! On this account and my other one. :D You know it's always so awesome to begin your day with a couple pieces of hate mail in your inbox. I'm sorry I can't heal the eye wounds you gave yourselves after reading my fics, eat shit (I'm allergic), or go die for you in a ditch somewhere, but I appreciate the suggestions all the same, as they are always welcome. I'm afraid that I had to get rid of those comments so others wouldn't be bothered by them, but take that as a compliment! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to explode with senseless anger at someone you've never met before over something no one forced you to look at, and for doing so while hiding behind an anonymous name. Hope we can do it all again real soon! ^^
-PD