A/N: This was supposed to be just a one-shot, but since majority of the reviews asked for a sequel-and I actually did have an idea for one-I was motivated to write this chapter. I always appreciate reviews, but this time, for those who did review, thank you very much because if you didn't, this chapter would not have existed.
Sequel
All of the schools entered summer break so every student went home with a school bag full of homework. The days at the beach with young girls in bikinis, men with swim trunks were far from their reach. Procrastinators dared to dream and abandoned their hell heap of homework while the rest glued their bottoms to their desk and arduously scribbled on their notebooks.
Zoro was the type to stay at his desk and finished all before playing, but this summer break, just once, he wanted to forget what he had to do this month and go out. Today for the second time, he threw his mechanical pencil and ran his hand through his sweaty hair.
The reason why Zoro was losing his focus on his homework was because of a thought: he needed to repay Sanji back.
Two weeks ago, Sanji invited him to the movies. After that everything was back to normal. The two hung out together during lunch, laughed and talked just like any other boy who hung out with friends. It was just that Sanji was the only normal guy and Zoro was still gay.
How was the question. He wanted to take Sanji out somewhere, but he didn't want it to make it so that it seemed like a date. He had his cell phone right within his reach and he had a couple of temptations to dial his best friend. Finally that balloon popped and Zoro snapped the cell phone open.
Two rings and Nami answered, "Hey Zoro!"
"Hey Nami. Are you busy?"
"Nope, just doing my homework...Urg, my head is fried."
Zoro chuckled, "Hey, I want to talk to you. Can I go over?"
"Um...yeah, you can. Just take your time coming over here. I need to change."
"Do you really need to change?" Zoro frowned, "I don't care."
"...I-I'm not pretty."
Zoro sighed, "Fine, do whatever. Ten minutes and I'll be there."
"Okay!" She quickly hung up; she needed all of the time she had to find an outfit that would make her look attractive and comely for her best friend. No matter what she wore though, Zoro was going to compliment her.
Zoro closed the cell phone shut and checked the time on the LCD screen. He counted ten minutes after that while he quickly stuffed his homework in a slender black shoulder bag.
"Dad!" He called out.
A second of silence later, he heard his father's quiet tone, "What?"
"I'm going to Nami's."
Zoro waited another ten seconds while his father was linking one with the other, "Be home by six." Zoro never told his family about his sexuality because they all found out about it by his subtle actions. Still, when it came to going over to a girl's home, even if his father met Nami millions of times, he still ordered Zoro to return before the sun set: a general rule that no teenager boy should stay at a young lady's home at night-even if he was gay.
"Got it," Zoro yelled to the other side of the wall. He zipped up his bag and threw it over his shoulder as he closed his room door behind him. When he skipped down the steps, he took a short trip to the kitchen to grab a cookie his second oldest sister Perona made and ran out the door.
-.-.-
It was perfectly ten minutes when he knocked on the door of Nami's home. It opened quickly as if Nami had been waiting there the whole time.
"Zoro!" Nami beamed and gave him a strong bear hug.
"Hey Nami." Zoro dropped his bag so he could hug her back. He noticed that she wore a flowery patterned one piece and she also pinned a flower pin in her hair. A faint splash of foundation covered her cheeks and her lips shone by some kind of clear gloss.
Zoro chuckled, "Don't hug me too long. I'm really sweaty."
"I don't care." Nami replied in a sing song voice, hugging her best friend tighter.
"Oh Nami! Hurry up and shut the door! All of the nice air's going to leave!" Nojiko yelled out suddenly and Zoro and Nami both jumped and spontaneously stepped away a few steps, "Oh, hello Zoro. What are you doing?"
"Hello Nojiko," Zoro picked up his shoulder bag, "homework." Nami's older sister gave a nod as an answer and ascended the stairs.
"Come on in," Nami said timidly, "we could work on it in my room."
-.-.-
Last time, Zoro had to speak out in front of Nami's friends but today there were the only two in the room. Nami's room was spotless clean except for her desk which was covered in paperwork. She grabbed a few from the stack and sat where Zoro was at, which was a small table at the center of the room.
She neatly spread her dress out before she knelt down. She spread the hems out around her legs and finally looked up to see if Zoro was looking. He wasn't, instead Zoro was pinching the collar of his shirt and fanned himself. Nami's eyes were drawn to the attractive scene and she hurriedly scrambled for her pencil to distract her thoughts.
"S-so what subjects do you have?"
"Uh, I brought Trigonometry, Language Arts, English, and Japanese History."
"Hmmm...I have all except Trig. I'm in Calculus."
Zoro stuffed the Trigonometry homework back into his bag and clicked the top of his mechanical pencil, "I want to get it over with this one. I hate English."
Nami chuckled, "Okay." Zoro was just about to write his name when Nami asked frankly, "Did you get any good ideas on where you're going to ask Sanji out?"
Zoro raised his head with a tight frown on his face. Upon seeing that, Nami covered her mouth to hide her smile.
"I'm not asking him out."
"I know, my gosh Zoro. Don't look at me like that."
Zoro sighed and finally finished jotting down his name, "Got any ideas?"
"Well my first thought, why not take him to the movies? Eye for Eye?"
"I think you're using the wrong phrase at the wrong time. Anyways, there aren't any good movies out besides 'Dyed in White.'"
"There's 'Moonlight.'"
"That's...really provocative...Two guys watching a girl romance movie? That's really straight."
"But you're not straight."
"He's not straight."
"Who said he was straight?"
"He did-Nami, we're going off topic," Nami was about to open her mouth when Zoro raised his hand, "and no, I'm not taking him to the movies."
"Okay, okay. I'll think of something else." By now both of their pencils slipped off their fingers and were rolling languidly across their opened notebooks, trying to get their owner's attention.
"Hmmm...what about a restaurant? D. Café maybe."
"I thought about that but he's really picky so I don't think he'll like that place. And I kind of don't want him to know our secret meeting place yet." Nami blushed when she clearly heard the word 'our' in the sentence. She hadn't told Zoro that even though she and Luffy had been going out for a month, she still hadn't shown her boyfriend the D. Café either.
"Amusement park? That's straight-ish."
Zoro frowned, "I heard that he's going to one next weekend."
"Oh gosh! What else is there?" Nami growled in frustration. The heat was rising to her face from the irritation on how fastidious Zoro's crush was. She was especially annoyed on how stubborn Zoro was to not believe that Sanji was starting to like him! There were so many hints that were so evident but he pretended not to see them-in better terms, he denied them. Nami knew-although Zoro would not admit it-he was afraid. He had asked Sanji out and was rejected and he did not want to experience that feeling again.
-but it was so obvious! Still, after the whole movie event, Zoro believed it was a crazy twist of fate.
"You know what? I'll lower the room temp so the cooler can start kicking in again." Nami reached over to grab the air conditioner remote and pressed a few of the rubber buttons until the machine whirred, "Gosh it's so hot this year!"
"I heard it's going to be in the forties."
"Forties? In this humidity? I hope it cools down before the festival-" Suddenly, Nami let out a gasp. Zoro also let out the same silent gasp and they both looked at each other.
"The Summer Festival."
"I completely forgot about that." Finally their conversation seemed to go somewhere, "That's a great place to invite him! Luffy and I will go with you guys so the four of us can spend the whole night there! And, it wouldn't be awkward for you!"
"Y-yeah..." When Nami laid her eyes on her friend, she saw a faint blush on his cheeks. He was trying to hide it by looking down at his notebook and scribbling nonsense.
"What...?" A cat like smile crossed her face, "Oh, OH! Hahaha, you're really cute!"
"Huh?"
"You're excited because you're going to see everyone in yukatas! Were you imaging Sanji in one?"
"N-Nami, no I wasn't-!" The sudden ramble told Nami everything so her smile grew wider, "I-I don't think he's going to wear one."
"Yeah, I kind of thought so. He's probably going to come in shorts and a t-shirt. He probably won't look good in one anyways."
"...I think he'll look good."
"No, his blond hair would make him look like some foreign cosplayer. Zoro, don't get your hopes up! Keep it down!"
"I will!" Zoro retorted but Nami clearly saw the smile on his face that he couldn't control. She sighed but pulled up a grin.
"Go and get your phone. We're going to call Sanji."
The smile immediately washed away from the Zoro's face and he turned pale, "What?"
She crossed her arms, "If you're not going to do it then who will?" It looked like he was going to utter something but Nami's intense glare caused him to surrender. Zoro clumsily fumbled with his pocket. When he clicked down his contacts, he raised an eye.
"What should I say?"
"Just tell him that you, me, and Luffy are going to the Summer Festival downtown and wondered if he wanted to come too. Simple as that." Zoro had this puzzled and down expression on his face, but Nami did not ask to hand her his phone. He was going to ask Sanji out on his own.
When Zoro pressed the call button and placed the phone near his ear, there was a completely different Zoro sitting before her. Just a minute ago, he blushed and paled, joked and smiled. All of that had shut down as he waited for the caller to pick up the phone. He looked like a perfect statue but with the most bored expression carved on it. Nami wondered if Zoro had to do this every time he met Sanji.
She saw Zoro's shoulders flinch slightly; Sanji answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey Sanji."
"Oh hey Zoro, how's your summer going?"
"Not bad. How 'bout you?"
"Eh, so-so."
"Uh, do you know the Summer Festival downtown?"
"The Fuusha Village Summer Festival? Yeah I know that one."
"Well, Nami, Luffy, and I go there every year and I wondered if you wanted to come with us. I kind of wanted to return you a favor for buying me the movie ticket."
"You really didn't need to."
"...is that a 'No' then?"
"No! That's not what I-Yeah, I-I'll love to."
"Okay. We usually meet at the shrine entrance at six. We'll see you there."
"O-Okay, yeah, I'll see you too." Zoro snapped the phone shut and sighed long and deep like a deflated balloon.
Nami was right in his face, "He said yes?"
"Yeah."
She slapped him hard on the shoulder and he actually fell onto the side, "That's good!" But the stone hard expression was still on Zoro's face, "What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"
"I am but..."
"But what?"
Zoro didn't seem to hear her so she asked again, but again with no reply. When she asked the third and that ended in vain, she gave up and returned to her homework.
"Come on and get up. We need to finish at least half to enjoy the festival."
"Yeah," As soon as he said this, Zoro sat back up and his hand reached for his mechanical pencil. The room finally gained an air of silence and the gentle sounds of pencils scribbling commenced. Their conversation stayed on topic about the problems on their English and they each asked each other if they spelled the word correctly. Soon, unfortunately, they were losing their concentration and finally Zoro flung his pencil.
"Hey Nami, what kind of yukata are you going to wear?"
"Me? I thought of buying a new one this year. I ripped the one I had on the ends a little bit."
Zoro smiled, "I'm going to buy a new one too. Do you want to go out?"
Nami blushed in scarlet when the words sounded like a proposal, but this was Zoro's way of asking.
"Sure. You have a better taste in these kinds of fashion." Zoro beamed, accepting the comment as a grand compliment.
Zoro stayed at her house for two more hours before he went home. When she was all alone, she remembered she had forgotten to ask one more time on what was the hidden meaning to the word Zoro had said earlier.
-.-.-
The day when Sanji was supposed to be out to the amusement park with his family (or friends) Nami and Zoro were out in the busy parts of town looking for the right Japanese clothes store. Zoro was known for his terrible sense of direction but he was able to reach a destination easily if it was either somewhere he had been to hundreds of times or it was his favorite. So, the store where Zoro bought his kimonos and yukatas he found in the first minutes of their window shopping.
Since it was summer, the store had put away the heavy multi-layered kimono and brought out many variations of yukatas: men on one side of the wall and the women on the other. First they wandered to the women's side to see what kind of yukata that would match Nami.
"I want anything but pink. The one I wore last year was pink."
"'Kay," Zoro first pulled a hanger with a pale purple yukata with wisteria designs over the fabric, "What about this one?"
"Nn, I like the color ...no."
Zoro laughed at her ambiguous answer as he searched for another.
Nami glanced over to the men's side and saw the earthy color tones. She randomly selected a pale pink yukata with white butterflies, "Zoro, why don't you pick from here? It's floral and pretty."
"I'm not an okama Nami."
"Same difference." She brought up her angelic smile.
"No it's not." Zoro snapped, "I just like guys."
Eventually, Nami liked a white yukata with dark blue wave like pattern. Next they went over to the men's. Just like Nami, Zoro took his time picking the right one, but Nami looked bored. The main colors for men were black, gray, brown, navy blue, forest green, and amber-yet Zoro examined every one of them carefully.
"Just pick this one." Nami said and pulled up a dark green one with black stripes.
"I don't like the tone."
"Gah, everything looks the same! Men are boring!"
"Really? I like these colors," Zoro blushed when he happened to see a man come out of the dressing room in a medium blue yukata, "God, men in yukatas are so hot. Do you think so?"
"Hm," Nami shrugged, "I think that's just you." That was half true. Zoro blinked and then laughed mirthfully because he read between the lines. She turned up a smile and they resumed searching.
-.-.-
Zoro carried both bags in his hands as they walked on home.
Nami sighed, "I can't believe we used up three whole hours to buy yukatas. Gosh, I wonder how long it'll take to buy a kimono..." Nami silently noted to herself that when she was going to go out with Zoro to buy a kimono or some sort, she was going to bring a book to kill time, "Aww, if you didn't so much time we could have went to the D. Café!"
"My bad...I just-"
"I know, I know. I don't want your apology, but next time."
"D. Café?"
"Yup."
"Alright."
After Nami had accepted Zoro's apology, they both blabbered on about the Summer Festival stores and what games they were going to play. Time elapsed quickly and they soon found out that they were walking up Nami's street.
"Sanji-kun's single?"
"Isn't that weird? Sanji loved Carmine so much yet..."Zoro stopped on his tracks, "Wow, that was fast," he peeked in the paper bags to make sure he was going to hand the right one, "Here."
"Thanks...oh and thank you for helping me find a good yukata."
"You're welcome." Zoro gave Nami a goodbye hug and he watched her slip into her home. When he made sure she closed the door behind her and she was out of view, he sighed. The sigh was slow and lifeless, as if the last leaf fluttered down from an autumn tree. This whole day, he was planning to tell her, but his courage abated every time. She noticed something and asked if he was ill, but she didn't utter a word about it.
He had wondered about this for quite some time, a week after he had been rejected by Sanji actually. It took two months and two weeks but finally the idea was sinking into his skin.
He should give up and find someone else. It was no use following after someone who wouldn't love him in the same way. There are thousands of men out there and if he scavenge well enough he would eventually find a gay men who was equal or better than Sanji.
The Summer Festival was going to be his last to have these feelings for Sanji. When it was over, so was his first love.
When he came back to his senses, he saw that his knuckles were white from squeezing the paper bag so hard.
His face was also wet.
He blamed it on the heat.
-.-.-
It was near in the afternoon when Zoro got out of his home with his family. The sun had set and the sky was slowly turning dark but there was not a star in the sky yet. Nonetheless there was a dense humidity so Zoro and his father slipped a sensu fan in their obi (Perona and Kuina brought an uchiwa fan so they can swat the mosquitoes easier). His two older sisters were planning to go with their father for the first few hours and then enjoy the rest of the night with their friends. His father was probably going to find his own friends and share a drink or two while watching the big finale: the Summer Fireworks.
He and his family separated at the entrance of the shrine. He shuffled his feet as he enviously watched them slip into the crowd so he snapped open his sensu and fanned himself. His nerves calmed down as he gazed at the people who wore the yukatas and listened as their Geta sandals clicked away. Most of the people, however, just wore plain t-shirts, tank tops, and shorts so that lowered Zoro's spirits a little.
Soon he saw a bright orange hair in the crowd and he waved Nami over. With a help from her older sister, she had the white and blue yukata nice and tight over her beautiful body. She tied her hair up and pinned it with a shiny hair ornament. Quite a few men had their eyes on her as she skipped toward Zoro.
Zoro teased, "You know, I saw tons of girls coming here, but I can't compare you to them. You're literally shining Nami." He grinned when her face turned in a shade darker than her hair.
"S-Stop it you stupid!" She barked and slapped her mini purse against Zoro a few times while her friend went on laughing. She hastily stopped when she was gathering an audience and in that curious crowd she found her boyfriend. "Luffy-!" She suddenly let out a shout which alerted Zoro to look toward her direction.
"Luffy? What-" Zoro's words were trapped in his throat when he saw Sanji along with Ace and Sabo. All were dressed in yukatas. Luffy wore a dark shade of red with thin black stripes, Ace's was amber with moss green and pale yellow dots, and Sabo's was white with sporadic black stripes. All three Zoro had some assumption, but Sanji was unexpected. His was a dark blue yukata with one large phoenix designed on his upper chest. All of the yukatas were designed so that the chest was revealing but it was as if the four were doing it on purpose. Zoro's whole body went rigid and he turned away because his face was on fire.
"A-Ace? Sabo?" Nami gasped in bewilderment.
"Hey Nami, Zoro!" Luffy answered cheerfully, "Why do you know my friends?"
"Hey, I see you guys at our work, am I right?" When Zoro turned, he saw Ace's eyes on him. He drew out a hand, "Name's Ace. Nice to meet you."
Zoro accepted the man's hand. He was surprised to find out that the other's hand was a size bigger, "Zoro."
Sabo raised his hand to follow after Ace. Throughout the whole time, both of the taller men had their eyes on Zoro.
Zoro, on the other hand, widened his eyes at Sanji, "Y-You know Luffy?"
Sanji nodded, "He and I've been buddies since...what year was it Luffy?"
"Second year of middle school." Luffy called out and he quickly turned his attention back to Nami.
Sanji pulled up a small tentative smile, "You look great in that." Another wave of heat splashed on Zoro's face. He unintentionally ran his hand down the hems of his black yukata with red crane silhouettes along the edges.
"Thanks." Zoro replied in a terse manner. He should be ashamed for feeling so giddy by just a mere compliment. Sanji's didn't really mean it.
-.-.-
The group took another minute to introduce each other and then Ace and Sabo went away on their own while the rest made sure they weren't going to separate.
"Here's my number in case you get lost."
"Thanks Zoro." Luffy chuckled, not mentioning the fact that Zoro should be the most careful, "Na Nami..." he stopped when he saw the look on her face, "...Nami? What's wrong?"
She suddenly snapped out from whatever she was in and looked through Luffy as if he wasn't there. Then the color returned to her face and she smiled softly, "Nothing," She sidled up to Luffy and locked her hands around Luffy's arms, "let's go." Luffy blushed at this and completely forgot about her mysteriously dark expression.
The Luffy and Nami pair began on walking, but Nami shot a quick glance back to see Zoro and Sanji walking side by side. There was an invisible, but indestructible wall forming between them-and it was growing. She bit her lip to push down her worries. She saw that it was Zoro who was building up the wall while Sanji was making an effort to tear it down, but only succeeded in leaving diminutive scratches. Zoro was giving Sanji up? When did this happen and why didn't Zoro tell her? She was most shocked about the second because she thought she was the only person whom he could tell her everything.
If Zoro had told her before, she would have stolen Sanji's phone number out of Zoro's contacts and verbally kicked the blond to action. Was it too late? Did Zoro already find someone else? Maybe she was wrong for keeping her mouth shut, but this was Zoro's problem and he should deal it on his own.
"Nami! Let's try that!" Luffy's cheer abruptly ended her thoughts, and her instincts centered to the booth with the blue roof with the name, 'Goldfish Catching' painted on it. A crowd of people gathered around a wide case filled with water and hundreds of tiny goldfishes, trying to see if they could get a batch.
Luffy squeezed through and bought him and Nami one game. The old man of the booth handed each of them a bowl filled with water and a small plastic net, however, the net itself was made out of fragile tissue paper. The young teen immediately went for the fishes, dunking the whole net into the water and came up with nothing but a torn up net. Luffy pouted and trudged out of the merry circle to sulk near Sanji.
Nami, on the other hand, handed the rice paper net to Zoro, who approached the booth also, "Here you go."
"Huh? Why me?" Zoro snarled.
"You're better at this than I am," suddenly she pressed her lips near Zoro's ear so only he could hear, "You can impress Sanji."
"Na-" Zoro started and he hissed sharply, "I'm not here to woo him okay!" Nami's heart tightened when she heard that but nevertheless she kept up a smile as she held the net and the bowl in his face.
"Do it."
"God Nami." Zoro face scrunched up but he snatched the net, "...Give me that...how many do you want?"
"Oh I don't know. Maybe fifty?"
"Got it, but you better take care of them this time." Zoro accepted the challenge as if he was just telling how nice the weather was. When he sank on his knees he called Luffy over. Luffy, who still huddled behind Sanji, slowly squatted next to the green haired teen.
"Do you want to play Sanji?" Zoro asked but didn't look at him in the eye.
"Nah, I'll just watch."
"Okay," Zoro peered into the tank filled with goldfishes, "Luffy, the key to getting a fish is to not get the net wet." Right as these words spilled out of Zoro's mouth, he barely touched the surface of the water with his net and scooped up two fishes into his bowl. Luffy's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets since this was his first time seeing a live person fishing out the goldfishes so easily. It was like watching magic as Zoro gently but swiftly brought the fishes out of the tank and into the bowl. When the tiny wet portion of the rice paper finally gave away, Zoro just flipped it to the other dry side and continued in the same manner. The crowd grew as they gave a strong applause when the young green haired man collected perfectly fifty goldfishes in less than half an hour.
"Two bags please! Twenty-five each!" Nami butted in between Zoro and the booth owner.
"Hey! I'm not going to keep any fishes!" Zoro retorted.
"I know that!" Nami snapped but returned a smile when the man handed her two large bags each filled with twenty-five fishes. She skipped up to Luffy and handed one bag, "Here Luffy."
"M-Me?" Luffy's hands trembled as he received the bag, "T-Thanks Nami, Zoro!"
"It's nothing. I kind of used your money anyways."
"Wow, you got some hidden talent." Sanji mused and he actually sounded impressed. Zoro tightened his lips into one line and gave a swift nod.
-.-.-
Earlier, they took a short trip back to Luffy's home (the closest to the Festival) to drop off the fishes. After that the four returned and went right and left to all of the booths. They played some games and they bought food so they could eat while walking. Luffy carried an armful of roasted buttered corn, cotton candy, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and teriyaki chicken sis kabobs. Nami carried most of the prizes all of the men had won. Sanji was playing with a water yo-yo balloon and Zoro was looking about with a white fox mask on his face.
Zoro noticed that the crowd was so big that they only had one centimeter circumference of space. The crowd moved like a river and was heading in one direction. Zoro glanced up at the sky and saw that it was pitch black with spots of stars.
"Nami."
"Hm?"
"What time is it?"
"Eh, um...it's-" Nami pulled up her sleeve and Sanji let out a silent gasp as her flawless white skin was revealed, "Oh! It's almost the Fireworks Show! We got to get seats!"
"I know a great place Nami-san." Sanji reached out and snatched Luffy's hand, "Nami-san, although I would love to hold yours and escort you, I think that is the job for Luffy. So, can you hold his hand?" Nami nodded and quickly grabbed Luffy's hand. Zoro was about to grab Nami's hand but the blond threw out his own, "Come on."
Zoro tensed up, "I-I am not going to run around like some merry-go round game!"
"Oh just listen to him Zoro! You're the one with the most trouble!" Zoro glowered but Nami gave an equal deathly glare so Zoro had to oblige. When he slipped his hands in Sanji's, the blond flinched. Zoro felt like he was floating between heaven and hell. This was definitely something he was going to remember for the rest of his life, regardless of how stupid they looked.
The awkward moment passed and Sanji went full speed into the mob. People were pushing and shoving against one another. Zoro was starting to get queasy from the heat and reek from sweaty bodies so he lost his balance for a brief second. But that second was precious for he yanked his party and jerked them around, causing Sanji to release Luffy's arm. The rest were like a powerful ocean wave as the two groups were swept away in opposite directions by the rushing mass of humans.
-.-.-
Sanji and Zoro drifted off to the east side of the shrine. The blond was right about finding the right place: they were on a grassy hill overlooking a river where the firework performers were setting up. Since Sanji took a secret route through the tiny woods surrounding the shrine they were the only ones there. Just one major problem: where were Nami and Luffy? If they weren't here (especially Nami) then this meant Zoro and Sanji are all alone together.
That's great! Zoro's positive but at the same time clueless inner self cheered in his mind. How romantic!
The green haired teen, however, was struck with both ecstatic and consternation. Yes, he was agreeing to his inner self that it was wonderful and this chance would never come ever again, so he should be grateful. If only Sanji was in love with him...and here he realized he was still holding Sanji's hand.
He ripped his hand out of the grip and wiped his clammy hands on the yukata.
"N-Na Zoro..." Sanji scraped his Geta sandals on the ground, "I...I want to tell you something..."
"You can tell me later. First we got to find Nami and Luffy." Zoro turned to leave when Sanji got a hold of his wrist, "What are you doing?" Zoro couldn't help but raise his voice.
"They're okay."
"What do you mean 'they're okay'? They're freaking lost!" Zoro shouted as he tried to wring his wrist free. Sanji was stronger than he thought.
"I, I mean...Luffy and I, planned this."
Zoro thought he misheard his words, "What?"
Sanji's eyes finally met with Zoro's. Zoro had seen his beautiful blue eye before but tonight it had a strange luster to it, "We planned to get you guys separated so Luffy can have a talk with Nami, and I can have a talk with you."
"W-Why did you do that?" Zoro was suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He was still in a lock and Sanji's eye was strangely examining every body part of him, the same way Sanji would look at a woman, "Y-You could have just told me you wanted to speak to me privately."
The blond chewed his bottom lip, "It's something I don't want anyone to hear but you...but if there's a girl nearby it'll screw everything up."
Sanji pulled Zoro close but Zoro was twisting his body to create some space.
"Stop Sanji..."
"No."
"We're too close-"
"I don't care. I don't care Zoro! Don't you see?" Sanji's voice grew to a shout but Zoro acted as if he didn't hear him. The strength in Sanji's shoulders left but still he did not let Zoro go. "Remember when you told me you loved me...and I rejected you?"
Of course I do. Zoro dropped his head to avoid Sanji's gaze. That's why I was trying to-
"-I was an idiot. I realized it when I left you that I missed you. I love women, I still do, but...even though you're a guy I-I feel as if I'm attracted to you somehow..."
Zoro shook his head, still trying to wring away, "I don't get it..."
Sanji's grip tightened, "Darn it Zoro! Do I have to say it even simpler? I love you!"
Zoro's features tightened and he hurriedly turned away from Sanji's face. Sanji raised the other's chin up, but Zoro shielded his face with the fox mask.
"Zoro!"
"D-Don't look at me!" Zoro's voice was trembling. As Sanji leaned in closer, the other flinched but had no intension of running away this time. Slowly, the blond touched the bottom of the mask and pulled it over Zoro's face to reveal a heavily blushed scowl.
Sanji felt his heart go 'Rocketman' up into his throat. "Z-Zoro...? A-Are you-" He wasn't able to finish because he received a good punch in the face.
"I said don't look!" Zoro snapped, sending a fierce glare down at the fallen blond. There was a burning red mark in a shape of a fist imprinted on Sanji's face and the blond covered it with his hand.
"Why'd you do that for?"
Zoro adjusted the mask so it stayed on one side of his face again, "It's your fault that you didn't listen." Sanji was about to shake his fist and blurt out another swearing but when his eye caught the sight of Zoro with a blush and a small smile, he stopped. Sanji rose on his feet and cupped his hands around Zoro's cheek.
Sanji pulled up a sloppy smile, "So...um...may I go out with you?"
Zoro let out a low growl to relieve the quick beating of his heart, "Yes, yes of course idiot."
When their lips touched was when the first firework exploded in the sky.
-.-.-
Meanwhile, Nami and Luffy were on the west side where all of the people were gathering. It was cramped, tight, and devastatingly hot. In this stifling heat, Nami was in a panic. She was pushing away through the crowd to find a way to get out while Luffy was frantically running after her.
"Nami, where are you going?"
"Finding Zoro of course!" Nami shouted back since she could barely hear him from the mass of people. Knowing him, he was lost somewhere in a mysterious place that usually no normal human would ever reach. Maybe Sanji was with him to prevent his unbelievably hopeless bad sense of direction.
Thankfully, the crowd was thinning as she moved away from the fireworks area. Just as she was free from body contact, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Nami wait!" It was Luffy, but still that didn't ease her worries, "D-Don't worry! Zoro's going to be okay!"
Her patience finally snapped and she flung her arm with such force that broke Luffy's strong grip. "Don't you understand? Zoro's lost! You don't know how bad the situation is, do you?"
"Zoro has a cell phone! If he is lost, he'll call you!"
"That's the bad part! Zoro doesn't realize he's lost-and I tried calling him but it's not connecting!" The more she yelled the more frustrated she felt, and the more she couldn't control it. "If you want to stay and watch the fireworks, then go! I'll go and find him-"
"Is that all you can think about Nami!" Luffy shouted and it nearly tore her eardrums since she was so close to him. In an instant, all of the anger she had was lost, taken away from Luffy's exclamation.
Without any anger in her system, she felt like an empty shell. She didn't know what expression she should make, so trying to find a clue, she finally looked into Luffy's face-and her eyes flew open in surprise.
Luffy was crying.
"L-Luffy...?"
Luffy's mouth was in a squiggly line in a bad attempt to hold back his sniffles, "T-That's what you always say! Y-You always go after him, waiting for him to turn his back around...but he can't Nami! He won't and he never will, but you know that! You know that yet-!
"I...I always loved you...but you never look at me. I thought that if we start going out, maybe you'll finally see me...but..." Tears continued to fall from his round eyes, the eyes that usually radiate with happiness, "I-I can start taking Kendo classes, if that's what you want. I can like swords and stuff...I-I could even dye my hair green-Just, please Nami...give me a chance." Luffy couldn't continue anymore and he covered his hands over his eyes to stop the forever running tears.
Nami felt tears rolling down her face also.
She never realized she was acting stupid and selfish until now.
All the time, she thought she was the only one who was dealing this pain. She never knew that her actions were breaking another's heart just the same.
"...Luffy..." Nami tentatively approached Luffy. Since he didn't move, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her chest, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry I hurt you." The boy shook under her gentle embrace and he finally shattered, crying uncontrollably. They both poured out every drop of sorrow out of their souls and Nami finally released the red string that she had wistfully waited for Zoro to have.
-.-.-
The fireworks performance started and a spectacular array of colorful lights lighted up the night sky. The breathtaking show lasted thirty minutes and the last act was the famous, "Niagara Falls". When everyone awed at the golden shower of fireworks that resembled a waterfall, that was when Nami's phone began to vibrate. She couldn't hear the ringtone, but she knew who it was.
"Hey Zoro! Where are you?"
"Uh...somewhere with a lot of trees-" there was a pause, "Oh, Sanji says we're heading towards the main shrine entrance."
"Did you watch the fireworks?"
"Duh, but I have to tell you something." There was brightness in the man's voice.
"Okay, we'll see you there."
"Bye." Nami clicked her cell phone shut and gazed at the LCD display. What was Zoro going to tell her? She felt a presence and she turned over to her boyfriend with a smile.
"It's Zoro. They're at the main shrine entrance."
"Okay! Let's go before it gets crowded again." Before Luffy could finish his sentence, Nami reached out her hand. The boy froze, looking at the hand as if it was something magical and took her small hand into his. He blushed in scarlet as he led her out, but they exchanged a few quarrels because upon the first few minutes, they found out that they took a wrong turn.
-.-.-
"I didn't know you also had a bad sense of direction."
"I usually don't get lost..."
"Are you sure about that?" When Luffy didn't answer, Nami burst into laughter. She leaned in to Luffy's face and giggled.
"What?"
"I tried to imagine you with green hair, but you already look amazing in black...so please don't dye it green."
Luffy grinned, "If you say so." He kissed her in the cheek and the corners of Nami's mouth pulled up in a pretty smile.
They found the two leaning against the wall of the shrine. Nami first noticed how close Sanji and Zoro were and that gave her instant hints that something good happened to them. Zoro seemed to read the difference of air around Nami, how her eyes weren't gazing at him longingly anymore.
Zoro waved first, "Hey you guys."
"Zoro! Did you see the fireworks?" Luffy beamed.
"Yeah we did." Zoro shot a quick glance at Sanji and the blond turned red.
Nami caught the gesture and grabbed Zoro by the sleeve, "What happened? And why are Sanji's cheeks red?"
"Oh, he asked me out."
"Really?" She let out a squeal, "I knew it!...and what about the cheeks?"
"Well, I punched him once for not listening to me and the other," Zoro's voice turned flat, "He tried taking off my clothes."
"What?" Nami's face turned red upon her imagination.
"Yeah, he jumped me and I couldn't see the fireworks so I had to punch him out cold, so I don't know if he saw it."
"I did." Sanji butted in, "God, you really do tell her everything."
Zoro grinned and his attention went to Luffy, "So, what were you guys doing?"
Luffy blushed and raised his thumbs up, "We had a great time." The boy had a genuine smile so that lifted some weight off of Zoro's shoulders. From now on, he could trust Luffy to make Nami happy.
"Come on, let's go home."
"Right." Zoro slipped his hand into Sanji's, and Nami followed suit by slipping hers into Luffy's.
The way the Summer Festival ending was unexpected and quick, but Zoro was glad of it. Everyone was together and they all could go home with warm hearts.
The End
Note: You will be able to read the scenes of 'fish catching' in Ranma ½ and ONE PIECE movie 6 (the fish is humongous but they kept the concept).
Unfortunately, if you travel to Japan in the summertime in hopes to go and see this game, it is now forbidden for reasons of animal abuse etc. Nowadays it's called rubber ball catching: the rules are exactly the same, except that instead of fishes it's rubber balls.