A/N: hello it's eury again! im sorry if i didnt happen to update last week it's because im still bombarded with school works last week ; - ;

before i begin, this fic is once again beta read by my sister who isnt a one piece fan but eventually she will be *evil laugh* she just told me if she happened to watch one piece, then she might as well ship zorobin too HAHAHAHAH

anw without further ado, i hope you'll like this!

"Bepo, don't forget to bring this," Law reminded Bepo, handing him the basket as Bepo nodded with a grin at the doctor before he and Zoro leave the clinic.

Zoro remained silent that late morning when Law handed Bepo a basket. As much as he wanted to ask Bepo, he noticed that they were already at the market instead of heading to the flower shop.

"Why are we stopping by at the market? Aren't we going to the flower shop?"

Bepo gave him a smile, "Law asked me to buy something for her. You know, Zoro, you're gonna like her so much. She's pretty nice! Even Law is fond of her!"

"Huh?" Zoro gave him a questioning look, which made Bepo realized what he had just told him.

"Wha— Forget what I've just said. Sorry… But really, she's one of the nicest people I've met! Let's go buy something she'd like."

Zoro just nodded to what Bepo had said.

Then the two of them stopped by at a fruit stand which Bepo took notice of the apples and oranges. He eventually asked the vendor for three of each fruit.

"I think she'll like cakes that aren't too sweet..." Zoro muttered whilst staring at the fruits.

Bepo turned to face Zoro. "Hm… What did you say?" Bepo looked at him.

"Huh?" Zoro was also taken aback when he said that.

"You just said that she'll like cakes?" Bepo gently placed down the fruit on the stand.

"Ah… Just a hunch." He waved off. Why the hell did I said that? Fuck.

"Well, now that you've said that, let's go buy some cakes. Kinda strange that it's too specific, Zoro, but oh well," Bepo shrugged as they both look for food stalls to buy a cake just like what Zoro said. When they found a bakery, someone stood beside Zoro as he checked one of the pastries.

"Nice swords you got there."

"Luffy?" Zoro muttered out loud as his eyes widened from the sight of his captain. He even almost banged his head onto the glass casing of the cakes, but luckily, he didn't.

"Hah? How did you know my name?" Luffy tilted his head to the side.

"Ah— Bepo told me your name," Zoro quickly pointed his thumb at Bepo. Good thing he managed to come up with a reply. Why the hell he didn't recognize me at all? This shithead—

"Oh, Bepo! Hello!" Luffy looked at Zoro's side, waving at Bepo. Upon seeing Bepo looking at the cakes, he continued, "What are you looking there?" Luffy grinned at him.

Bepo just gave Zoro a quizzical look then just slowly waved his hand at Luffy, "Hello, Luffy. Nice to see you, again! We were buying something to put here in the gift basket, wanna help?"

Luffy nodded enthusiastically at him then trailed behind Bepo, leaving Zoro standing at the food stall.

"Luffy, where the hell are you?!"

Zoro flinched when he heard that familiar voice. Shit. Was that Nami?! He slowly turned his head at the voice. Nami noticed him instead of Luffy, who was with Bepo eating at a Takoyaki stand not too far from them.

"Oooh!" Nami cooed as her eyes landed on Zoro. The woman quickly slung her arms around his shoulders as if they've known each other—which they don't.

"You must be that lost swordsman in Law's clinic, huh?" She flashed him a grin.

"So?" He crossed his arms with a raised brow yet, he didn't pry Nami's arms around him.

"Bepo, you didn't tell me that this swordsman's so cocky?" Nami grinned at Bepo as she patted Zoro's back. Bepo saw Nami then shrugged at her, as him and Luffy was still eating the Takoyaki.

Then, Nami shifted her gaze at Zoro, giving him a grin, "Why not you and I head back?"

"Hah?!" He gave her a perplexed look as Nami just let out a guffawing laugh at him. Pulling away her slinged arms around his shoulders, she then extended her hand at Zoro.

"I'm Nami. Nice to meet you, swordsman."

Zoro squinted warily at her. Knowing Nami, she will definitely act like this but why the hell, just like Luffy, didn't she recognize him at all? But then, he still clasped her hand.

"Zoro."

She hummed, "By the way, you really are a strange man just like the ladies said. Always bringing that swords wherever you go." Nami smiled as she pointed at his swords.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Yearh, whart's whrong whith thart? Hish weally coohl, Nami," Luffy interrupted, mouth full of Takoyaki as he and Bepo approached them in the bakery.

She rolled her eyes at Luffy, "What I meant is," she put her left hand on her hips, "I'm just wondering if Zoro here, is gonna help me earn some money?" She gave him a sly smirk.

"So, what do you say?" Nami raised a brow at him as Zoro glared at her suspiciously. Nami is still the same as ever, but she still won't recognize me, at all! Just as I've thought.

"Look, I don't know what you're up to—"

Nami chuckled then she shook her head, "I know you're gonna refuse, swordsman. Anyways, Luffy?" she turned her head to face Luffy.

"They're looking for you, come on."

"Orh, yearh, raight." Luffy nodded then waved goodbye at Bepo and Zoro, following Nami from who knows where.

"Why does it look like you know Luffy and Nami?" Bepo asked him while he took a glance of the cake after he finished his Takoyaki,

I know them, they just didn't recognize me. All my friends didn't recognize me, at all. He wanted to tell Bepo that, but Zoro can't reveal that to him. He still doesn't know how can his friends will ever trust him in this town.

"Like I told you, I'm new here— wait, what's that?" He looked behind his shoulders— Most people are now scurrying away from the market, he observed.

"What is happening?" He heard a whistle from the other part of the town, not too far from the market. Is something amiss?

"I guess it has started…" Bepo mumbled from his breath as he quickly handed the vendor the payment for the cakes then putting it to the basket.

"The what?"

"The first day of Floraleigh!" Bepo beamed.

"That fast?"

"People of Rustbay really looks forward for the festival, you know, even tourists love them! Come on, Zoro! You don't wanna miss it." Bepo motioned Zoro to follow him on to the other street.

"But it's just the first day?" He strode along with Bepo.

"Don't worry, unlike the end of Floraleigh, the crowd's not that dense today, besides, after the parade, we'll surely head to the archeologist! But first, let's enjoy the start of Floraleigh!"

Soon after they left the market, Zoro and Bepo arrived at the riverside. They squeezed themselves to see the parade as people gazed at the float with awe. Their mirthful faces are one of the highlights of the parade. Children even wave their colorful flaglets in the air as the melodious sound of the marching band on one of the boats has started to resonate around the place followed by more iridescent boats.

"So that's why they're already hanging lanterns from the other day… Makes sense." He muttered to himself as he just realized that it is the start of the Floraleigh.

Watching the boats, Bepo nudged Zoro to set their eyes at the mini boats that were floating in the river.

"Look Zoro! The floats were decorated with ornate flowers on them!"

"Yeah, it's pretty obvious, Bepo." He grumbled.

Bepo pouted but as soon as their clinic's own float showed up, the mink grinned and shouted with glee.

"Law! I already have the cakes for the archeologist!" He lifted the basket up high in order for Law to clearly see it. No doubt Bepo knew Law will be in one of the floats, not just one of their co-workers.

Law winced from where he was seated, but Zoro can't read his expression clearly. Maybe he was annoyed that Bepo has told everyone around them that they have a gift for Robin or maybe he was just in a bad mood, as always; either way, it doesn't matter, the clinic's float already moved away from Bepo and Zoro's sight. Law didn't bother to reply at his assistant, after all.

As the crowd swarmed to enjoy the parade, Zoro was kind of surprised that Bepo now acted as his own tour guide. Zoro thought he was just feigning his ignorance earlier, but fortunately, even if Zoro didn't ask for his impromptu tour guide, at least he got to learn something about the festival. He told all sorts of information such as who are the people in the float (even if Zoro didn't know them, at all).

Zoro wasn't surprised that Bepo also knew which flowers were put in the parade as he pointed out— the designs of all the floats are distinctly different like Bepo told him. The townspeople used different flowers from daisies to dahlias, even flower papier mâchés to make it look more colorful.

"Zoro, look! That mini float was made by the ladies!" He paused his mini-tour—tugging Zoro's shirt— There, he pointed his finger at the next float.

The float has some grasses on it in which it lies from the middle to the rear of the boat. There's even a gold dangling thing on its left side that reaches the water below as grasses encircled the three sticks in the middle to which resembles—

"Wait, is that me?" He mused upon seeing the float. He never thought that the ladies would dedicate something for a lost swordsman like him in Rustbay.

"Yeah! Cool, right?" Bepo grinned as he patted Zoro's back, "Looks like they really liked you, Zoro!"

"Yeah." He smirked, but as the mini-Zoro float moved away, Zoro took notice of the familiar jet-black hair from the other side of the river. Even with the crowd around them, he squinted his eyes as he recognized it.

Could that be?

The hairstyle's a little bit different, though— longer and pulled back from what he was used, too. The bangs he was fond of, wasn't there.

Robin? He blinked, making sure that his eyes never betray him.

He saw her smile whilst holding someone to her chest. He squinted his eyes, again, to clearly look at her companion— it was Chopper. He heaved a sigh of relief knowing that it was only the two of them.

Then, he noticed Robin glanced at his direction. It compelled Zoro to gape at the sight of her. Their eyes meet despite the crowd around them as if time had stopped. Her smile never left her face— it felt like he was breathless when he took a glimpse of her but he didn't know why. His heart pounded a little bit of fast and he smiled a little.

What the hell is this feeling? Why am I smiling?

"Zoro, you seemed to enjoy the parade, huh?" Bepo nudged his side, snapping Zoro out of his reverie.

"Uh… Yeah?" He slowly nodded his head whilst in his mind, he now knew that he's almost close on getting out of this island.

On the other side of the river, Robin enjoyed the sight of the flower procession whilst holding Chopper to let him see clearly the parade. She can't help but smile at the floats but then something has caught her gaze. She directed her gaze at the green grass—

Wait, the swordsman? He's still here?

Although some of her customers had told her that he was leaving for a few days, why does he still choose to be here? And Bepo was there, too? Strange, the doctor's assistant went with him. She didn't know why she felt relieved that the swordsman was there.

Her smile never left her face when he caught her staring or maybe it was just her imagination that he was looking at her. She didn't know why she felt so relieved seeing him.

"Robin? Look! The flowers!"

Her thoughts subside as Chopper pointed at the procession, then turning her head to face Chopper.

"Yeah, they're so pretty, aren't they?" She looked away at the swordsman as she directed her gaze at Chopper with a smile, "Good thing Doctorine let you go out, Chopper."

"Yeah, mama wants me to have fun but she warned me not to go with Sanji—"

"Robin-chwaaan!"

Oh dear, speaking of Sanji…

As the procession's still going on, Zoro still can't help but gaze at Robin from afar despite the crowd's getting dense. He's just glad that he can see her doing well even though she was a little bit far from him. However, if only Robin can recognize him, if only he can shout her name, he won't hesitate to call her name out among these crowd.

Robin…

Then to his surprise, someone called Robin's name.

"Robin-chwaaan!" They shouted, making the crowd startled at them as Zoro recognize this cacophonic voice.

"Dart brow?! What the fuck he's here, too? Of all people!" He gritted his teeth from the sight of him.

As if he had read his mind, Dart brow then glared at Zoro, flipping him off when he took notice of him. Then changed his expression to a beaming face as he waved his hand enthusiastically at Robin and Chopper, making his way at them.

What the hell is this idiot's problem? Does this shithead recognize me? Might as well follow him in order to go to Robin.

There are flowers blocking Zoro's view on him but he still managed to follow Sanji. Bepo still distracted by the flower parade, never took notice of Zoro leaving him alone to follow Sanji on going to Robin and Chopper.

Zoro darted his eyes to and fro, finding where did that idiot go.

"I can't lose sight of that shithead. I must see her," He lifted his head as he glanced from the crowd. Good thing his blonde hair stood out but he never thought he will be jumping from one boat to another.

The crowd gasped and looked at him with awe. Even the kids thought that Sanji was doing a show for the parade, but no, he's just making his way to Robin and Chopper on the other side of the river. With his legs, no wonder he can jump that high.

"Guess I have to follow that idiot." Zoro shook his head, then he jumped as well from the nearest float.

"Oh careful, young lad!" the boat keeper exclaimed as Zoro set foot on the float.

He muttered a sorry to him, then he followed Sanji. Good thing the gaps between the floats aren't that far.

Still making his progress, the crowd clapped at Zoro, probably because the lost swordsman in Rustbay is doing a show with someone he doesn't know— honestly, it's kinda entertaining to the parade watchers especially to the kids.

However, Zoro's luck isn't in favor of him that day. He lost sight of Sanji and he didn't know the direction he went. He leaped one last time from the last float and he was on ground once again. He glanced from his surroundings— only a handful of people were here.

Shit where did that dart brow go?

He looked around and realized he strayed far away from the parade and Bepo.

"Great, it's where the boats have come from," he thought. Following Sanji is not a great idea, he even led him to nowhere!

"Bepo might wonder where the hell I went but, oh well." He grumbled as he looked around and he found a bench to seat on. Bepo and Zoro parted ways since Zoro followed where Sanji went. But the thing is, he has a reason to be parted with Bepo. Both of them may have been at awe by the parade but he still needed to find Robin— he needed help from her, after all. He heaved a sigh, leaning his head on the backrest to rest his mind for a while.

Give me a break.

Guess he can just take a nap there. He slumped on the bench, not caring where he was. Clueless, he didn't know that he was already close to the flower shop—

Talk about luck.

end notes: ... i know im sorry for the cliffhanger xD but you know im also close to beating shit out of me because i cant yet meet zoro and robin lmaooo but uhhhhhhhh maybe in the next chapter ?

oh wait some great news? im planning to put some illustrations drawn by me it's either i'll post it on my art acc or maybe here in the fic but it's still a plan bc as of now, i can only write fics, school's still not yet finished until may *sighs*

comments are appreciated and anw, see you next update!