To the end of the sea [One Piece]

*The text is irrelevant, modern setting

* Similar to the visual sense of an otome game, the four male protagonists all confessed but the female protagonist did not respond clearly

------------------

This year's Valentine's Day Ikegawa Ena received an invitation early.

"Ena! Ena! Come to my house to hold a banquet in two days!" Luffy yelled on the phone.

"Are you stupid, Luffy? It's Valentine's Day, isn't Eina going on a date?" She heard Usopp's complaints in the background.

"A date? What is that? Another party? Can I go?"

She heard a beating over there.

"Don't listen to that kid's nonsense, hang up first." Zoro hung up the phone in a hurry.

She looked at the phone in confusion, put down the phone and stretched out on the sofa.

"Are you thinking about a date?" Nami squeezed in next to her while eating ice cream, "Hey, are you going to have a headache again this year?"

"Give me something to eat." She was fighting for a spoon with the orange-haired girl. "Ace originally asked me to go to the aquarium, but Sanji called me in the evening and said that the restaurant was all booked."

"Where's Shanks? What did Shanks say?" Nami's eyes lit up.

"Why are you more interested in me than me?" Eina pushed her in disgust, "There is no news about that guy yet."

"Hey -" Nami leaned back, "It's great to have so many suitors! When can you choose one, Ena!"

"I don't want it." The silver-haired girl rubbed her temples in distress, "I don't even want to think about this kind of thing."

Her schoolmate and classmate confessed to her after graduation, but the younger brother she took care of when she was young suddenly said to her "I love you as a man" when he grew up.

There was also her neighbor's uncle when she was a child. The two of them used to get along like father and daughter, but when she grew up, one day the guy suddenly started blushing when he looked at her.

Anything!

————————————————————

The day before Valentine's Day was Friday. After work, she finally packed her things and was about to leave, but was stopped by her colleagues.

"Ena! The boss is calling you!"

"Eh? I understand, thank you, Kirby." She nodded to the pink-haired young man, put down her bag and walked towards the office.

She knocked on the door: "Mr. Kuzan, I'm coming in."

There was a reply from inside, and she walked in.

Her tall boss was sitting behind his desk wearing an eye patch, his nearly two-meter-long legs crossed and leaning on a low stool to sleep.

"Hey, are you fishing again?" Ena raised her forehead, "Mr. Sakaski's department has complained against you many times."

"Tell him to find Porusalino." Kuzan took off his blindfold and sat up straight, "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Eh?" She was stunned for a second. "Is there any work that requires overtime? I can finish it tonight."

"No, it's not work." The man raised his eyelids to glance at her and then lowered them, seemingly unintentionally pushing a ticket to her: "Someone gave her two tickets to the ice sculpture exhibition, and I wanted to ask if you want to go together."

She looked at the ticket and then at him, her eyes dull.

She wanted to ask what this meant. The generation gap between her 40-year-old bosses and their young counterparts shouldn't be so big that they don't know what day tomorrow is, right?

But it was also... so unusual that she suspected that he really just had no one to watch the ice show with.

Kuzan remained motionless on the surface, but his big hands under the table were secretly squeezing.

The silver-haired girl hesitantly picked up the ticket and looked at the time. It started in the afternoon.

"There should be no problem in terms of time..." she said hesitantly, "Maybe you can ask Mr. Sengoku...?"

Kuzan's eyelids twitched.

"He has plans."

"Then maybe..."

"They're all busy."

Ena wants to say that I won’t be so fucking busy!

But she suppressed her complaints and nodded: "Okay... I'll see you tomorrow."

The man finally breathed a sigh of relief. His eyebrows softened: "See you tomorrow."

----------------

Robin was actually changing her shoes when she got home.

"Hey! Sister Robin!" she said in surprise, "You're back! Why didn't you say something and we'll pick you up!"

"It's okay." The black-haired woman said with a smile, "The airport is not far from here."

"Ena! Hey! Robin!" Nami ran out of the room, "You're back from a business trip?!"

Robin smiled and poured himself a glass of water: "The country I went to this time happened to have two very important festivals for them. Many people in the archaeological team had to go home for the New Year, so we ended early."

"No wonder." Eina put on casual clothes and lay down on the sofa comfortably, "I also asked you why you came home when you are so busy."

"Then let's go to Luffy's place for dinner tomorrow!" Nami said, "I'll call Usopp to tell him!"

"Okay." Robin smiled, "Will Eina go too?"

"Ah, um..." Eina was confused, "I don't know..."

"If you're worried about your date, sometimes it's a good idea to act stupid." Robin winked darkly.

"That's nothing... But I really haven't thought about how to deal with it... If I reject anyone, I will be afraid of losing them."

"That's something they have to think about," Robin said. "Ena just needs to make the choice she thinks is right."

Ena seemed to understand something.

Sister is indeed a sister.

----------------

The next day came quickly.

Early in the morning, she was pulled by Nami to try on a bunch of skirts, and finally she settled on an off-shoulder black sweater and a khaki skirt.

The irregularly shaped belt tightened her slender waist and outlined her slim curves.

"Okay - look!!" Nami held her face, "If I were Ace, I would hug you and give you a kiss first!"

Eina's cheeks turned red: "Don't talk nonsense about Nami!"

"Makeup is essential." Nami pulled her to apply another elegant makeup, making her already exquisite facial features more three-dimensional.

Then she was pushed out of the house.

It was still quite cold in winter, so she tightened her beige coat tightly.

After getting out of the car, she walked towards the aquarium. From a distance, she saw a black-haired boy waiting for her with his pockets in his pockets.

She trotted two steps: "Ace!"

When he saw her, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Ena!"

"Is it cold?" He saw her red hands stretched out and complained distressedly: "Didn't I ask you to buy a pair of gloves?"

Eina's face turned red: "Hey, I was so busy with work that I forgot about it."

Ace held her hand in his, and the man's constant hot body temperature suddenly made the tips of her ears turn red.

"Again, is that boss of yours who is always taking advantage of you?" He muttered, "Really, what kind of man is he always exploiting a little girl like you?"

Eina moved her lips and found that she had no way to refute.

Mr. Kuzan, you really should reflect on yourself!

After entering the aquarium, the heater was turned on just right. Ena looked at the two people's hands and found that Ace had no intention of letting go.

So she was led by him to see three venues.

"I originally wanted to go to the amusement park," Ace said, "but it's too cold - Ena can go with me in the spring, okay?"

She said without hesitation: "Okay."

The black-haired boy was excited.

They came to the most famous venue of the aquarium - the deep sea sky.

The walls and high vaults on all sides are made of aquariums. There is no light in the venue, only the dim blue light revealed by simulated sea water.

He held her hand and walked in the dim light, as if he were under the sea.

Beautiful schools of fish swim behind the transparent glass, and the water flows slowly. Time seems to have stagnated in this space, with a hazy phantom.

Ena was amazed by such a scene and looked up at the ocean in fascination.

"If only I had a chance to go to sea," she murmured.

Ace pulled her and the two of them stopped.

He looked into her eyes, the blue sea reflected in his pupils.

"I want... to go everywhere with you." He said nervously, "As long as Eina wants to go, I hope the person accompanying you is me."

"It's the greatest luck in my life that someone like me can get your attention..." The handsome boy, who was always a bit arrogant, had blushing cheeks, and his small freckles flickered in the flowing water.

"Can I accept my feelings for you...Ena?"

The girl's heartbeat accelerated, and she didn't know how to react.

"It's okay," he said, "I'll wait for your answer."

In the shadow of the ocean, two figures stood opposite each other.

In the quiet and deserted seabed, she heard the boy's powerful heartbeat lingering in her ears.

After walking out of the aquarium, Ace was about to ask her about her afternoon plans when his cell phone suddenly rang.

After answering the phone, his face became solemn, and he said apologetically to Eina: "Marco said that daddy's side doesn't seem to be doing well...Ena, I might have to go to the hospital."

She nodded: "Then go quickly and say hello to them for me."

The black-haired young man hugged her reluctantly and quietly left a kiss in her hair.

"This is a gift for you." He put a delicate bag into her hand and said with a smile, "Be sure to wear it well when you come to see me next time!"

She opened the bag and found a pair of finely crafted gloves.

This guy…

She raised her lips.

----------------

In the afternoon, she came to the park where the ice sculpture exhibition was held as scheduled. The street lamps were filled with colorful lights.

"Yo." She turned around and saw a tall man wearing a dark down jacket standing behind her.

"Mr. Kuzan." She smiled, "You are really well-dressed."

He glanced at the coat she was wearing with disapproval: "Won't you get cold in this?"

"No." Eina said, "Besides, girls work very hard to look good."

He scratched his head in distress, unable to seem to find the words to refute her.

So he took her into a coffee shop first.

"did you eat lunch?"

"Not yet, I wasn't very hungry just now." Eina said, "But now I am a little hungry - please bring me a cake!"

With the light music playing in the cafe, they looked out the foggy window.

"I didn't expect it to be so lively here." Eina's cake was brought up, and Kuzan ordered a cup of coffee.

“In addition to ice sculptures, you can also skate,” he said.

"Eh?!" Eina's eyes sparkled, "Can Mr. Kuzan do it?"

He nodded: "I know a little bit."

She showed an envious expression: "It's great... I also want to try skating."

His heart skipped a beat.

The mature and steady man put down his coffee cup and cleared his throat: "Then, do you want me to teach you."

"Eh?" Eina was stunned, "No, no, no matter what, Mr. Kuzan is also..."

"Today is not working time." There was a smile in his eyes, "You don't need to treat me as your boss or anything."

The silver-haired girl smiled brightly and said, "Then I'll leave it to you!"

They went to rent two pairs of skates. After she changed them, Kuzan held her white hand with his big, sharp-jointed hands.

The tips of the boss's ears turned red.

Eina didn't notice this. She walked carefully on the ice, Kuzan pulled her and followed slowly.

"Keep your balance and lower your center of gravity." His deep voice sounded from time to time.

Although it was ice, she started to sweat lightly.

The girl's cheeks were a healthy red, and her smile was rubbing against the ice beneath her feet.

A little boy shouted and rushed towards her, about to hit her.

A strong pair of hands pulled her into his arms, safely avoiding the crisis.

Eina raised her head and found the tall man looking at her worriedly.

There was a deep affection that he unintentionally showed.

She was startled.

Kuzan quickly withdrew his gaze: "Are you tired? If you are tired, take a rest."

She nodded quickly.

The two of them put on their shoes and returned to the ground, walking on the road in the park and looking at the exquisite ice sculptures on both sides.

The transparent artwork reflects brilliant light, creating colorful reflections in the setting sun.

It was almost time for their visit.

Kuzan suddenly asked Eina to wait for him.

She sat on a bench, looked at the lively crowd, and rubbed her hands.

The sun finally faded away its last rays of light, and the dark sky highlighted the romance of the ice lanterns in the park.

It's like a lively gathering and a dreamy forest.

Suddenly there was a commotion in the distance and she looked up.

She held her breath in surprise.

Her unsmiling, lazy and mature boss was walking towards her with a bouquet of bright, fiery roses in his hand.

Kuzan walked up to her and squatted down, eye level with the petite girl.

"For Valentine's Day, sending flowers is the most classic thing, right?"

He said so.

Ena spent a lot of effort to find her voice: "Ku...Mr. Kuzan, what are you..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... don't force an older man to say disgusting things..." He lowered his gaze, as if he was really a little embarrassed.

Then he looked into the girl's dark green eyes and said to her seriously: "Whenever I think of you working so close to me, my heart can't help but feel soft."

"But gradually I can no longer be satisfied with such a simple relationship."

"So, Miss Ikegawa Ena, are you willing to stay with me at all times except during working hours?