Yamayori fic set not too long after the end of the plot where Momonosuke & the Akazaya nine want to have Yamato & Hiyori marry for political reasons after noticing the oni man has a bit of a crush. Wano is having a hard time accepting the son of Kaido into their hearts so having him marry the Shogun's sister would ease their anxieties & legitimize Yamato's role as protector of Wano.
However, Hiyori is still holding a flame for Zoro. She's hoping he will come around & return her feelings someday so is super against this. She's also tired of sacrificing for the sake of the country. She deserves to do what she wants for the rest of her life! She won't marry a man she doesn't love. Thus the rest of her friends and family spend copius amounts of time scheming together & trying to help Yamato win the heart of stubborn Hiyori.
It doesn't help that Yamato has the social skills of a feral racoon. He has no tact & no idea how to go about wooing someone without being awkward & slightly off putting. He literally tries to bring her dead animals because he's seen forest creatures do it during mating season. Instead of flowers he's bringing entire bushes, roots & all. They have to wrangle him into daily baths & explain why women don't like stinky men. They especially have to teach him not to refer to himself as her father when he's trying to flirt.
Slowly, but surely he starts to chip away at the walls Hiyori stubbornly put up. They have more in common than she originally thought & Yamato's sincere kindness is easy to fall for. It helps that the one time the Strawhats visit Wano Zoro practically ignores her the entire time. He isn't as attractive as she remembers anyways. Yamato even knows a thing or two about getting over someone you never had the chance to be with (r.i.p Ace 💔).
Then, just as Hiyori is ready to admit defeat & give into her newfound feelings Yamato decides to finally fulfill his dream & spend a year sailing around with the Strawhats. He assumes she still doesn't want him so he basically tells her he'll try & use the time apart to attempt getting over her. This upsets Hiyori greatly, but instead of asking him not to go she starts a big argument and Yamato leaves thinking she hates him more than ever.
When Toki catches her crying days after Yamato has already left Hiyori finally admits that she's fallen in love with him & hates that he left her. What if he finds someone else on his travels & comes home to her with a wife on his arm?
Word spreads quickly & everyone tries comforting her. Kinemon especially. He tells Hiyori that her parents also spent some time apart, but that it only made their love stronger. He tells her that Toki never left his own heart the entire time they were separated. He doesn't think Yamato will be able to forget her as easily as he assumes either. All she has to do is remain patient & let Yamato know she's thinking of him & guarantee he'll return more enamored than ever.
She doesn't confess via letter, but she does apologize & make up with Yamato. Then they spend the entirety of his travels being pen pals. She keeps him updated on the happenings in Wano & he describes in detail his fantastic & wacky adventures with the Pirate King. They get more intimate with each other than ever & when it's almost time for him to come home Yamato is so desperate to see Hiyori again he almost begs Luffy to cut the trip short.
Hiyori waits all day for him at the port on his scheduled day of arrival. He's jumping up & down screaming hi as soon as he sees her in the distance. Yamato also conveniently forgot to mention something to her.
Yamato honestly doesn't care either way, but Hiyori told him she wants kids one day so when the crew meets up with Iva he asks them to make it possible for him to give her children one day. He crudely tells her that it feels almost the same except that now what flops around when he runs is between his legs instead of on his chest. She drop kicks him with a bright red face for that particular comment.
Before Hiyori gets the chance to recite the confession speech she's been practicing all week, Yamato grabs her hand and drops to his knees. He then explains that Sanji read their letters & proceeded to yell at him for not realizing her feelings sooner. He tells Hiyori that Sanji & the girls spent the ride home teaching him how to propose properly.
After a very sappy speech which had both of them blushing like crazy Hiyori agrees to finally marry him. Que all their friends & family jumping from the bushes they were spying on them from as they cheer & celebrate the couple much to their embarassment.
Cut to a couple months later & all of Wano plus the Strawhats are gathered for the wedding of the season. After the ceremony the two lovebirds sneak off to Toki & Oden's graves so that she can introduce her parents to her new husband.
Yamato promises he'll do everything he can to make their daughter happy & Hiyori assures them that she'll live a life worthy of their sacrifices. The wind gently blows & covers them in flower petals. Almost like a sign that they were heard & the two were congratulating them from beyond the grave.
