This time round, the trip was smoother. Either that, or Sanji felt more relaxed. It was a dangerous sort of relaxation that came from knowing he got away with this the first time, so he could get away with so much more.
"Hey."
Sanji startled when Zoro bumped his shoulder. He glanced at the tiger, standing close to him in the crowded tube, expecting a question or something. But the tiger just stared down at the cook, brows knotted.
Sanji frowned back. "What?"
"Do you realise you do that a lot?"
"…Do what?"
Zoro moved a hand across his eyes. "Get all still and starey. It's unsettling."
Sanji nudged him away with an elbow. "I was thinking."
"Well don't do it too much. It looks like it hurts."
He glared at the tiger from the corner of his eyes. With such a straight face it was always hard to tell if Zoro was making an open banter or not. Sanji decided to play into it anyway.
"If I don't do it, then I'd end up like you, mossy. Dull and stupid."
"I'm not the one spacing out in the middle of a conversation."
"We weren't in the middle of a conversation," said Sanji, but Zoro was gone, out of the tube doors. Sanji looked up and realised they'd reached the central terminal.
Following the flow of the crowd leaking out of the tube, he caught up with Zoro at the back of the platform.
"See," grunted the tiger. "You're completely clueless."
Sanji pulled a face, about to retort, but Zoro walked on again, making his way to the exit. Sanji shook his head and followed, watching the gentle sway of Zoro's tail, and slope of his relaxed shoulders. At least he was in a good mood.
They stopped when they got out onto the street, Zoro once again taking his time to observe everything. He glanced over his shoulder at the blonde, then started down the other end of the road.
Sanji decided to let Zoro lead the way this time. Explore the city to his heart's content. The tiger took an interesting route. It was only when he circled the block and led them back to the same street the station was on did Sanji realise that Zoro lacked any form of navigational bearings.
He tried to hide a smug smile as he watched Zoro's bewildered expression upon seeing the station on the other side of the street. He walked on and turned a different way, only to circle that block in the opposite direction, leading back to the street with the station again.
Sanji laughed, catching up to Zoro who glared at a shop window, recognizing the displays.
"You realise we've been past here twice now."
Zoro grumbled and walked on, taking a right.
"And if you turn that way," added Sanji. "You're gonna take us back around to the other side of this road."
"The streets are confusing," said Zoro with a growl.
Sanji quirked a brow. "Are you sure you're not just-"
"I'm not lost."
The tiger gave him a sharp glare. Sanji laughed. It only seemed to annoy Zoro more, but something about that pleased Sanji.
"Fine," said Zoro. "If you know these streets so much, then you lead the way."
Sanji shook his head. He glanced down the street as an idea pieced together in his mind.
"I haven't fed you yet, have I?"
Zoro frowned. "Did you hit your head or something? You're not making any sense."
Sanji rolled his eyes and started of towards the south side of the city.
"Just follow me, and don't get lost again."
"I wasn't lost!"
They continued down the road for a while, heading into a deeper part of the city where the streets were narrower. The buildings that surrounded them were less glinting and glamorous, but still sported brightly lit signs and moving holograms. Zoro's nose began to twitch. Soon, even Sanji caught scent of a mixture of aromas, spices, grilling meat and sugary scents wafting from a street ahead.
Osaka Street. A long, twisting and narrow alleyway, big enough to fit pedestrians but nothing more. Stalls, open window ways and even a few tables and chairs lined either side of the street. It was less bustling that the main stretch of the city, but the din of conversation was still present, accented by the calling of various merchants, advertising their food.
The sounds, the scents, and the soft glow of the blue street lamps gave a warm feeling in Sanji's chest as he walked down the alleyway.
"Trust you to bring me to a food place," said Zoro, following behind him.
Sanji chuckled, but said nothing, as he ducked into a red food stall with a low awning. He rapped the awning roof with a knuckle.
"What's today's special, chef?" asked Sanji.
A lanky man, with auburn hair jutting out from under his cap, turned around from behind the counter. His eyes widened behind thick rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose, and his freckle-riddled face lit up in mix of shock and pleasant surprise.
"Sanji? Sanji! I haven't seen you in ages!" The man practically leapt over the counter and grabbed Sanji in a tight hug, clapping his back fondly and laughing so loud the other vendors nearby were looking over.
"You're still as embarrassing as ever, Tajio," Muttered the cook, trying to pry himself away from the hug.
"Mr Black?" a little red-haired girl appeared behind Tajio, smiling brightly. "Good to see you again. We've been talking about you this morning."
"Should I be worried?"
Several other children, a lot younger than the girl appeared around the counter after her. They all gasped at the sight of Zoro and approached the Companion. Zoro glanced at them cautiously, but looked elsewhere, trying his best to ignore them. The children all exploded in comments and questions at once.
"Is this your Companion?"
"He's huge!"
"Biggest cat I've ever seen!"
"Stripey! Stripey!"
The smallest of the children, a toddler with bunches and barely ambling around, grabbed onto the bottom of Zoro's trousers and held her arms as high above her head as she could.
"Up!" she called to the tiger. "Up, up!"
Zoro stared at her with wide eyes and a scrunched frown, head tilting slightly and ears twitching to the calls of the other children.
"Don't all crowd around him," said the eldest girl. Sanji watched her try to pry away the other children unsuccessfully. He did a quick head count.
"You've had more," he said.
Tajio's face reddened. "Oh c'mon. You can't expect things to stay the same after a few years. Especially nowadays. Change happens so quickly."
Sanji chuckled as he turned back to the man behind the counter. "It hasn't been that long, has it?"
Tajio hummed as he whacked up the stoves behind the counter and placed two large pots of hot water onto them.
"Let's see," he said. "Last time we saw you was at the stall's fifth anniversary. This year's our seventh."
Sanji stilled at that, eyes hooked on the faux wood of the counter. Had he really not been to Mainland for that long?
Tajio looked up from his cooking, frowning at something behind Sanji.
"Kids! Please, try not to muss up Mr Black's Companion!"
The blonde turned around and had to hold his breath to stop a laugh from escaping. All of the children had turned Zoro into their personal climbing frame. A child each clinging onto Zoro's legs, two boys swinging from his arm, the elder girl counting the stripes on back of his free hand and the littlest one with the bunches, somehow managing to make it to his shoulders and sat with her legs dangling over either side, hanging on to the fur on his head.
Zoro stood as still as he could, looking unsure of himself and of what to do. Sanji wondered if this was the first time he'd been around human children.
"Kids!" Tajio yelled. They all groaned and reluctantly peeled themselves away from the companion. Zoro shook his fur, holding on the little girl's ankles on his shoulders to make sure she doesn't fly off. The other children laughed.
Tajio sighed. "Sorry. They don't get any easier the older they get."
Sanji smiled, elated by this new side of the tiger he was witnessing. "It's fine. Zoro doesn't seem to mind."
Tajio passed him a small container, filled with steaming dumplings glazed in a dark sauce. Sanji mouth watered at the sight of it.
"This one's a new recipe I've been experimenting with," said Tajio, placing a second tray on the counter for Zoro. "I hope you like it."
Thanking Tajio, Sanji took the second tray and handed it to the tiger.
"What's this?" asked Zoro, nose twitching at the dumplings.
"Siu Mai," answered Sanji. "Try it."
The tiger took another cautious sniff before popping a dumpling in his jaws and chewing it. It was too loud around them to tell if he was purring or not, but judging by the quirk of the stripes on his brow, Zoro seemed to like it.
With a smile, Sanji turned back to the red haired man behind the counter. "We're going to wander around for a while."
"Alright, it's great to see you again," said Tajio, clasping Sanji on the shoulder. "Pop back in before you leave. Kids! C'mon, Mr Black and his cat are leaving now."
The children groaned, each one sidling closer to Zoro, reluctant to leave his side.
"It's fine, they can come with us if they want," said Sanji.
Tajio frowned, the freckles on his cheeks creasing. "You sure?"
"Yeah," Sanji turned to the eldest girl. "Besides, I need someone to show me which stalls do the best desserts."
The girls face lit up and she took Sanji by the hand. "I know just the place!"
They walked with the children for sometime, watching teppanyaki chefs flinging vegetables over hot steel plates, stopping to smell the aroma of frying batter and grilling seafood coming from another stall and even sampling a few from places Tajio's eldest had picked out.
All the while, the girl with the pigtails stayed on top of Zoro's shoulders, massaging the fur between his ears. The longer he stayed with them, the more relaxed Zoro seemed around the children and even gave one-worded answers to questions they asked. Sanji kept all thoughts and jeering comments to himself, not wanting to spoil this natural flow of the tiger coming out of his shell.
But it was hard to keep his excitement down about this development. If only it this little trip wasn't a secret. The fact that Zoro was here, now, interacting with children shows that he was tamable, or potentially anyway. He doesn't have to be locked up. He's perfectly safe!
Sanji watched Tajio's eldest run over from a brightly lit stall, sticks of Milkice in her hand enough for everyone. Her brothers crowded around her immediately, but she managed to pass three to Sanji before they completely cut her off.
"Thanks for buying these, Mr Black!" she yelled over the din of her brothers.
"Don't worry about it," said Sanji, noticing the little girl with pigtails extending her hands out to Sanji.
"Milky! Milky!" She called out.
"You're gonna have to get down from there, you'll get ice cream on kitty's fur."
The girl pouted and pressed herself closer into the tufts of fur behind Zoro's head.
"No!" came her muffled cry as dark, beady eyes glared at Sanji from between stripped ears.
The tiger chuffed and swiped a Milkice from Sanji. "It's fine," he grumbled as he unwrapped the dessert and passed it up to the girl.
Sanji watched her face light up as she bit the stick of ice cream. He smirked, passing the second stick of Milkice to Zoro.
"So you're a child friendly Companion, huh?" he teased, unable to hold back any longer.
Zoro grumbled but didn't deny it. He bit into the Milkice but quickly withdrew from it hissing.
"It's cold," he frowned.
Sanji laughed. "It's supposed to be, idiot. It's a frozen dessert."
The little girl patted Zoro's head, calling the tiger's attention.
"Lick, kitty. Like this," she paused and licked her stick of ice cream. Zoro glanced back down at his and did the same, brows quirking, as the sweet taste must've hit his taste buds.
Sanji grinned like a fool. This Zoro was completely different. He was gentle with the children. The way they seemed to flock around him as soon as they saw him, Zoro must appear to be no threat to them. If only Law could see this now.
Sanji checked the time on his bangle.
"Time to head back?" asked Zoro. Sanji noticed the hint of anxiety in his tone of voice.
"We've got a few more hours," he coaxed.
A man bustled by and shouldered Sanji as he passed. The cook frowned.
"Watch it!" He yelled after him, interrupted again by Zoro pulled him out of the way of another pedestrian. Sanji turned and suddenly the narrow alleyway was full of people walking by.
The eldest of Tajio's children tugged on Sanji's sleeve. "I heard thunder. It's probably gonna rain again. We should head home too."
Sanji nodded. "We'll walk you guys back down the alley."
It was a squeeze and a struggle to get by the crowd, but they managed. The little girl on Zoro's shoulder moved to her sister's arms as she led the way. Their brothers had already ran ahead, but Sanji wasn't too worried about them.
He turned to glance at Zoro, following eagerly behind them. "Stay close, okay?"
The tiger nodded.
They came to a halt as the crowd seemed to get too thick to push through. The eldest girl groaned, nodding through the crowd.
"The stall's just across there."
Sanji crouched beside her. "Hold onto your sister." He knelt down and picked both girls up in his arms, pushing his way through the crowd.
Tajio's head popped up from behind the stall as they approached.
"Ah, your brothers said you'd be here soon," said Tajio. "Sorry for the trouble, Sanji."
The blonde shook his head as he dropped off the girls and ushered them inside.
"Don't worry. It was nothing."
"Rains coming. You guys wanna duck in here 'til it passes?"
"Nah, we'll keep walking. There'll probably be somewhere else to duck under. Right, Zoro?"
Sanji turned to the alleyway and the thinning crowd. The cold hand of dread gripped his insides, as he looked about the street.
"Zoro?"
The tiger was nowhere in sight.