Chapter Text
Awe, isn’t he adorable?”
“What a sweet omega-pup.”
“Hmm, bit small.”
“He’ll grow to be strong, I’m certain of it. Besides, look at how pretty he is! Can you imagine? We might have great-grandpups with golden hair!”
“Mother, please.”
Zoro looked from his moon-eyed granddam, Shimotsuki Furiko, to his analytical grandsire standing beside her. Roronoa Pinzoro—for whom he’d been named—was a big, weathered alpha crosshatched with battle scars and a heavy, scowling brow. Zoro’s sire, Roronoa Arashi, resembled Pinzoro in his mighty stature and prowess, but less in temperament. He stood straight-backed and proud ahead of Zoro, with his big hands folded casually into his kimono sleeves as he watched the Germa Kingdom’s procession. Directly behind Zoro stood his dam, Terra, who nudged the back of his shin with her shoe. He glanced back and caught her eye: Stop fidgeting! Zoro huffed and lifted his chin, trying to stand as straight and still as his predecessors.
The Vinsmoke pack looked like a tapestry as they approached. All of them had golden hair that shone in the sunlight, fair, flushed skin, and wore clothes of the richest, finest fabrics Zoro had ever seen. The foreign style of their garments cut close to the body and made them look tall, but very thin; much smaller than his own clan-members. The omega-pup whom Furiko was cooing at looked especially fragile.
I bet he doesn’t wrestle, hunt, or box, he thought critically. I bet he’s never held a sword in his life.
In Shimotsuki Village, alpha and omega-pups were instructed in basic self-defence and swordsmanship. His grand-uncle, Shimotsuki Ushimaru—Master Swordsman of the clan—had said once: “Clan-members without swords can still die by them,” and both sexes had learnt combat ever since.
Zoro caught Kuina’s eye, then glanced at the Vinsmoke omega-pup and rolled his eyes. She giggled, until her sire tapped her head with his fan in reprimand.
Finally, Vinsmoke Judge arrived at the pavilion, towing his omega-mate and pups behind him. He wasn’t as small up close, but the rest of them were dwarfed by Zoro’s pack, even the alphas.
One, two, three, four alphas, he counted the colourful pups. And only one omega. The smallest, most golden one, of course.
Introductions were made:
Vinsmoke Judge, King of the Germa Kingdom; his omega-mate, Queen Sora; and their pups in descending order of birth: Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Sanji, and Yonji.
Roronoa Arashi, High Alpha of Shimotsuki Village; his omega-mate, Terra; and their only alpha-pup, Zoro.
The first Vinsmoke alpha-male snickered, pointing a pampered finger at Zoro’s rude attire. The second made a pinched face at the simple pavilion and whispered to the fourth, who shuddered in mockery. Zoro sneered right back at them, knowing he could best any of these foreign pups in a fight, which was all that mattered.
Later, during the feast, he overheard the princes teasing their omega litter-mate:
“You’re going to have to live in this dump someday, Sanji, and sleep in the dirt with your mate!”
“Did you see his clothes? What is that, a potato sack?”
“I heard they do nothing but fight here. Like dogs.”
“I heard they do nothing but eat, sleep, fight, and fuck.”
“What’s fuck?”
“I don’t know. But if they do it, probably something gross and dirty.”
Zoro clenched his fists on his knees and growled, lips pulled back to reveal his teeth.
“Stop that,” Terra scolded. “They are our guests.”
“But, Mom, they’re so stupid!”
“Yes,” she agreed, and he could see her fists clenched as well, “but they are still our guests. Do not dishonour our clan. Self-control, Zoro. That is the difference between a warrior and a beast.”
So, Zoro sucked in a deep, meditative breath and held it until his cheeks went red. Then he breathed out all of his anger, like his great-uncle had taught. When he opened his eyes again, the little omega-pup was watching him.
He was kind of pretty in a skinny, fragile way. Like a flower. Zoro hadn’t known omegas could look like that. He had never seen anyone with such blue eyes.
Sanji.
When he noticed Zoro staring at him, Sanji smiled a little, shy and hopeful. Zoro’s insides flip-flopped and he replied with a growl. He didn’t trust any of the spoiled Vinsmoke pups. He didn’t know why they were here.
Sanji’s smile fell into an ugly scowl and he stuck his prim little nose in the air, turning away.
Pft, snob.
He said as much to Kuina after the feast, but rather than agree, she snorted.
“Zoro,” she said, taking pleasure in his disdain, “don’t you know why they’re here?”
He frowned at her. “No—?”
She snorted again, shaking her head. “You really are dumb. The Germa Kingdom want to be our allies.”
“Allies, for what?”
“I don’t know. But I heard my sire talking to your sire about it, and he said King Judge wants us to train his army. The Shimotsuki are the best swordsmen in the world, after all. And the Roronoa, too, I guess,” she added as an afterthought.
“So, what? I’m supposed to train that omega-pup?”
This time, Kuina barked in laughter. “No!” Her black eyes twinkled gleefully. “You have to marry him.”
“What?” Zoro recoiled, as if he’d been slapped. “No, I don’t!”
“Yes, you do! That’s the alliance! You have to marry Vinsmoke Sanji someday. If you don’t believe me, go ask your sire.”
So, Zoro did.
“Dad! I don’t have to marry that omega-pup, do I? Kuina said I do, but she’s lying, right?”
Arashi looked at Koushirou, who shrugged and hid a smile behind his fan. “Come, Zoro. Let’s take a walk.”
“Dad?” said Zoro, panicked, now, as he followed Arashi into the forest. “Kuina’s lying, right—?”
“You know how alliances work, don’t you, Zoro? It’s an exchange of skills, goods, intelligence, and promises. Sometimes it’s an exchange of people, too. The Germa Kingdom is going to be our ally. They’re going to give us trade opportunities and tech we don’t have, and in exchange we’re going to share our skills as swordsmen. More or less,” he said with a head-bob.
“Kuina said we’re going to train their army.”
“Yes.”
“But why? We don’t need them. We’re the strongest—”
“The world is a big place, Zoro. A very big place.”
Zoro waited for his sire to elaborate, but he didn’t. “I don’t want to marry Sanji.”
“No?” Arashi looked down at him, a hint of bemusement in his grey eyes. “Don’t you think he’s pretty?”
“No!” Zoro lied.
Arashi chuckled. “Well, you might change your mind someday. If you’re not careful, you might accidentally fall in love with him. That’s how love works. It sneaks up on you,” he teased, poking the pup’s scowl. “For now, just try to be civil, okay? For the clan.”
He placed his big, strong hand on Zoro’s shoulder and squeezed.
“Okay,” Zoro huffed, crossing his arms. “For the clan. But I don’t love him and I don’t think he’s pretty.”
“Okay,” said Arashi, who chuckled again.
Stay here every summer? But Mom—!”
“Oh, Sanji, darling, you’ll have a wonderful time,” said Sora kindly. “Some time, err… independent of your litter-mates. Won’t that be nice? I’ll bet the Roronoa will let you use their kitchen.”
“Stay here… all by myself…” Sanji’s brow creased with worry; his eyes burned with tears and he whimpered. “Mom, please… can’t I go home with you?”
Sora pursed her lips. “Your sire, the king, thinks it’s best if you stay here. He wants you to acquaint yourself with your… betrothed.”
“But I don’t want to marry him! I want to marry someone I love!”
“You might fall in love with Zoro someday—”
“No, I won’t!” Sanji stomped. “Did you see him? He looks so conceited!”
“Sanji—”
“He growled at me!”
Sora sighed. “I’m sure he’s just as surprised by you as you are by him. You’ll feel differently once you get to know him better.”
“Did you?”
Sanji knew that his dam had been betrothed to his sire, too, a long time ago. That she hadn’t had a choice.
Her smile was tight when she answered: “Of course, darling. Marriage is wonderful, you’ll see. But not for a very long time.”
Sanji crossed his arms sulkily. “It had better be a very, very, very, very long time. And he had better turn into someone really nice and really handsome by then.”
“Oh? You don’t think Zoro’s already a handsome alpha?”
Sanji blushed. “What? Mom, no!”
She laughed and stroked a lock of his golden hair. “I love you, my omega-pup. I’m going to miss having you home this summer, but you’ll be safe here. Safe from… well. The Roronoa and Shimotsuki clans are good, honourable people. I trust them. And Terra has promised me that you will be treated just like their own pups.”
“Oh, joy,” said Sanji sarcastically.
It was then that Judge stuck his head into the plain, panelled chamber that would be Sanji’s bedroom for the next three months. “It’s time. Bring him,” he ordered, then disappeared again.
Sanji clung to Sora’s hand as they proceeded to the pavilion for the Vinsmoke clan’s farewell. The path—dirt and cobbled, unkempt and uneven—was lined with big, brutish-looking clan-members that made Sanji nervous. They looked like warriors, not like the sterile, uniformed soldiers he was used to. And they didn’t live communally in a barracks, but in individual homes; low, narrow buildings with courtyards open to the forest. They lived with their family. (Were soldiers allowed to have families here?) Sanji spotted dozens of pups, who stood as still and unyielding as their parents; little warriors-in-training, all of them dark-haired and sun-kissed and dressed in shades of green and black. Sanji was going to stand out like a canary amongst crows in this place. Everything about Shimotsuki Village was just so different. He was lucky they spoke the same language.
“Their clothes are weird,” he whispered to Sora.
“I think you’ll look lovely in a kimono, darling.”
Sanji tried again: “Their food is weird, too.”
“A wonderful opportunity for you to try new cuisines and maybe cook some, too.” She winked down at him.
That’s true, he thought. But he still felt overdressed.
When he saw Zoro waiting for him, he stiffened, but Judge grabbed his forearm and yanked him forward to formally meet his alpha-to-be.
I’d rather get chicken-pox, he thought sourly. What he said was: “I’m so happy to be here.”
Zoro didn’t move until his dam prodded him, making him stumble forward. “I’m so happy you could come…” he muttered unhappily. “I promise to love and protect you forever, Sanji…”
“I promise to love and take care of you always, Zoro…” Sanji miserably replied.
The omega-pup curtsied, the alpha-pup bowed, both wishing that they could run in opposite directions. This meeting, this awkward, forced courtship, this whole marriage alliance, was neither of their idea of fun.
Furiko: “The pups seem to get along quite nicely.”
Arashi: “We’ll join our clans if this arrangement clicks.”
Judge: “Roronoa, that’s my point precisely.”
Sora: “It’s such good parenting.”
Judge: “And politics.”
Arashi: “I’m glad we all agree.”
Judge: “I think we’ve got a deal.”
Terra & Sora: “My pup’s quite a catch!”
All: “This is my idea of a match!”