The Roronoa Fruit - Chapter 10
First: Wow, this seems very rushed to me, but really I don’t I could have written it any other way. When it hits the fan in canon, it really hits it, so taking this particular part slowly seemed wrong. Second: I realized while writing this chapter that this arc is missing an antagonist, and it also seems like I made Nami the bad guy. I didn’t really mean to do that. I don’t hate Nami at all. I just don’t like how she treats Sanji. I tried to make that work into the progression of the SanZo part of this fic, and I ended up making her this total bitch. Sorry. You do have to remember though that this is drugged!Nami after all, but meh. Take it how you want, just know that I don’t have an anti-Nami agenda or anything.
I still lack a beta, so all mistakes are mine. (And I’m sure there’s an exorbitant amount. Sorry.)
Obligatory Disclaimer: I don’t own One Piece.
Chapter Title: Escape
Pairing: Sanji/Zoro
Rating: R (Language, violence, sexuality)
Warnings: Thriller Bark Spoilers
Summary: The friendship between the cook and the swordsman starts to run deeper than both of them ever expected.
Previous chapters here.
One of the terraces on the East side of the Polluge castle overlooked the largest of the leisure pools and the lower level hanging gardens. It was a surreal view-one that you would think could only be seen in paintings. The trellises stood high, carved from wood and bleached to bone white. They stood over rows of lush greens and held curling vines of sleeping buds ready for the morning. Fountains made of marble and stone dotted the pathways and the quiet trickle of water served as a soothing background melody.
As two figures sat admiring this view, the artificial sun cleared the horizon and started its slow climb through a false sky. It was a beautiful sun, impossible to discern from the real one. As it shown over the hanging gardens, all manner of colors seemed to burst from the awakening flowers. The fruits that hung from the trellises appeared to glow.
“Quite a sight.”
“Yeah… it’s pretty Super.”
The man and the woman had been lounging on the terrace since the night before, eating, drinking, and watching the party below. As people had begun to retire and the music and merry-making had died down, the two had opened maps and discussed the structure of the Polluge city. When morning had started to break, their conversation had trailed off and they had watched in awe at the sunrise.
The man glanced over as the woman tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Hard to believe it’s not real,” he murmured.
She nodded, her look was melancholy.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shrugged gracefully. “I don’t know. I just feel like something’s… off.”
The man grinned. “It’s probably just you being depressing again.”
Her eyes slid over to him, and her lips turned up in the smallest of smiles.
“Maybe.”
This gentle flirting would have continued if four pairs of arms (one of them suspiciously skeletal) had not appeared and pulled the man and the woman from their chairs. There was a quick squabble, and then a tiny reindeer in a pink hat moved in and pressed a container of fruity, green liquid to the woman’s mouth.
“I’m sorry, Robin!” Chopper cried. “I’m so sorry! Just drink this! It’ll counteract the toxin and you’ll be back to normal! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Don’t squeeze! Ow! Ow! Don’t squeeze!!!”
X x X x X
“I don’t get it!” Franky growled. “This is like one of those ‘choose your own adventure’ books I used to read as a kid! I mean it can’t be real, it’s too messed up!”
“I assure you, it’s very real,” Moge said calmly. “We need to find our captains and get out of here.”
“Therein lies the problem, however,” Robin murmured, “how exactly are we going to get out? The C.R.A.B. is too small to hold two separate crews, and in researching the layout of the city, I found nothing to suggest that there are any other ships. No passages to the outside except for the one under water.”
“What about the opening they sealed off?” Brook asked. “You know the gates where they used to bring in ships with new prisoners?”
Robin nodded, “I had thought of that, but there’s no guarantee that if we were to get to those gates that we could get them open. The history records are not specific on how they sealed them. It could have been some kind of welding, or they could have used dynamite and blocked them off with an avalanche, there’s no way to know.”
“Where are the gates?” Sanji asked, his lips teasing the end of a cigarette.
“Here,” Robin said, pointing on the city map. “There’s an old docking bay underneath the castle. If someone were to get the gates open, they would come out to a cove that’s only a mile or maybe a mile and a half from where Sunny is anchored.”
Franky pounded a fist into his palm. “So if we can get the gates open, we could sail Sunnyright into the castle!”
Robin nodded, “Yes, but only if you can get the gates open. There’s still the possibility that this underground docking bay has been completely destroyed.”
Sanji shrugged. “So Franky and I will go down there and see if it’s accessible,” the cook turned to Franky then and grinned, “and if it’s not, we’ll see if we can make it accessible.”
Franky shot Sanji a thumbs-up. “I got your back, bro. I’m feelin’ pretty Super today!”
“What are we going to do about Luffy?” Zoro asked from across the room.
Chopper’s voice was weary as he answered, “I’m sure the antidote will work. I just don’t know what kind of side effects he’s going to experience. With his metabolism and his rubber body, anything is possible.”
“Do we know here he is?” Robin asked.
Chopper nodded. “Right now he should be in the great hall with King Hatmet. There was a party with music and dancing scheduled for this morning.”
“What about Nami-san?” Sanji asked, a little too enthusiastically.
“We’ll find her, Sanji,” Chopper reassured him, “She’s probably with Luffy, or at least she’ll be where the festivities are.”
“All right,” Robin straightened, “So Sanji and Franky will go down to the docking bay and see if the old gates can be opened. Zoro and Chopper, focus on Luffy. Brook, Usopp, and I will go with Moge to gather the rest of his crew.”
“Simple,” Zoro grunted.
“Okay, wait,” Usopp put up his hands, “let me see if I got all of this straight: Zoro and Chopper are going to find Luffy and give him an antidote that might-I say again,might-cure him, but probably not because he’s eaten half the food under the mountain, and really it’s probably going to cause him to spontaneously combust or something, and then me and Robin and Brook have to go and make an entire crew that is perfectly content with living here leave-right after puking their guts up, and then Sanji and Franky are going to go down into the bowls of this city, to maybe open an escape route that may or may not even exist anymore!!??”
There was silence for a moment, but then Zoro spoke.
“Yeah, sounds about right.”
Usopp looked from the swordsman to the other Strawhats in turn, but then his shoulders sagged and he sighed heavily.
“Okay. Just checking.”
X x X x X
Judging by the fact that not a single one of the guards had recognized Brook when he had emerged from the dungeon, Robin’s group figured it was probably safe for Moge to walk about the party. Moge was, after all, a fairly normal-looking person, and if the Polluge had forgotten something as sensational as a walking eight foot skeleton, there was probably no risk of Moge getting caught.
As the group reached the great hall, they were greeted by several servants who offered them goblets and platters of different fruits and nuts. Robin and Brook turned them down politely, but Usopp’s face turned a little green as he half-flailed and said something unintelligible. The servants took the hint and bowed graciously as they moved away.
“Do you see your crew?” Brook asked Moge softly.
The first-mate nodded. “Most of them are seated around that table by the pillar. Captain’s over by the king as his attendants… and the rubbery guy.”
“That’s our captain,” Usopp said.
“Really?”
“Moge, stay with Brook,” Robin murmured, “Usopp, stay with me. We’ll spread out and start gathering Moge’s crew. We’ll meet back at the bottom of the stairs and head down to the docking bay together.”
“And if it’s sealed and it’s not the way out?” Usopp asked quietly.
Robin’s eyes were dark and clouded as she calmly surveyed the room. “Then we make a new plan.”
Usopp slapped his palms to his cheeks and wailed. “We’re gonna die!”
X x X x X
Franky looked right and then left, ran a hand through his limp hair, and then started down another corridor. Sanji and the shipwright had been descending deeper and deeper into the mountain for the last half hour, and now the dark, stone walls and passageways were blurring together.
That, however, was not really at the top of the problem list. Sanji hadn’t said anything earlier, because he knew his crewmates didn’t need anything more on their plates, but he hurt. A lot.
The pain had started as a dull ache just beneath his ribs. It wasn’t anything too terrible, not like when his ribs were actually broken, and his incision had not been sore or itchy or anything, it had just been a minor annoyance that had left him needing to stop and remember to breathe slowly once in a while. Kicking in the door to Moge’s cell however, had aggravated it significantly. He had definitely pulled or torn something and now the ache was something a little more debilitating. His lungs were tight, his entire side felt like it had been ripped open with a dull knife, and his incision let out a wail of protest every time he turned his body even slightly. He was nauseous, his head pounded, and he knew his temperature was rising because, despite the fact that he was sweating, chills rolled through his limbs and down his spine.
“Hey, Sanji,” Franky said at his side, “Bro, you gonna be okay?”
Sanji nodded and pushed through another set of double doors. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You sure? ‘Cause you really look like shi-”
“I’m good, Franky,” Sanji said firmly as he wiped sweat from his hairline. “Let’s just find this docking bay.”
“It should be just ahead. If you listen you can hear the water. That’s a good sign, means that there’s a current, and if there’s a current then there’s-”
“-an outlet to the ocean.”
“Right!” Franky’s voice echoed off the walls. “Even if the gates are sealed, we might still be able to swim out and bring Sunny around!”
“We’ll get the gates open,” Sanji growled. “I don’t care if they’re sealed or not.”
“Yeah!” Franky cheered. “That’s the spirit!”
As it turned out, the gates had been sealed, but it looked as if time and the pounding of the waves from outside had weakened the hold. As Sanji and Franky rounded the last bend and came out into the old docking bay, sunlight, real sunlight, poured in through a small crack above the gigantic metal gates. Sanji stood for just a moment and let that warmth touch his face. He breathed in the free air, and for one moment, he forgot his pain.
“This is great!” Franky exclaimed. “It’s a real crappy welding job! The current from the ocean has been pushing and pulling at the base of the gates, loosening where the welding of the doors has started to rust! A few good hits right there, and probably there, should break the whole thing apart!”
Sanji nodded. It was going to take a lot out of him, but he could do it. Just a couple kicks and the gates would be open. They could get out, get Sunny and bring her back to take the crew away from this awful place.
“Let’s do this,” he growled.
It took more than a few kicks, but with Franky’s help, the two Strawhats managed to crack the welding and pry the gates apart. Sanji tread water as he watched the blue-haired shipwright climb the rock face and turn the handle for the pulley system. Gears creaked and a loud, metal groan rang out as the gates slowly started to open.
“YEAH! SUUUPER!! We did it, Sanji!!”
Sanji chucked, pulling himself out of the water. He sat on the dock and retrieved his cigarette pack from where he had left it with his jacket and tie. He lit up and inhaled, letting the smoke fill his lungs and give the illusion that it was soothing the ache.
“All right!” Franky called out as he climbed down to the ledge. “Let’s go get Sunny!”
Sanji took another drag and shook his head. “I don’t think I can.”
Franky turned to him, confusion etched into the lines of his face, but then understanding settled into his features.
“You’re not okay, are you, bro?”
Sanji shook his head.
Franky studied him for a moment before he nodded. “I got this, you stay here and rest. We don’t want Chopper having some kind of hysterical fit later, do we?”
Sanji chuckled again and shook his head. “No, that would be bad.”
Franky saluted him. “Okay, I’ll see you when I get back! ONWARD! SUPER CANON-BALL FRANKY!!”
The shipwright posed as he flung himself into the water, and then surfaced and swam out into the daylight.
Sanji watched his friend as he shrank against the horizon. He felt bad for lying, but there was something he had to do, pain or no pain, Sunny or no Sunny. He snuffed out his cigarette and stood slowly, his hand clenched over his wound.
“Sorry, Franky…” he said softly.
X x X x X
“You know,” Chopper said quietly as he and Zoro neared the king’s table, “of all the messes Luffy’s gotten himself into, this might be the easiest to get him out of.”
Zoro frowned. “Huh? How?”
Chopper held up the vial of fruit concoction. “Hey, Luffy, drink this.”
“Oh, right.”
It was true, of all the crises Luffy had managed to get himself into, the way to get him out of this one was getting him to ingest something. It could have been worse. Zoro would have chuckled if he hadn’t had so many things on his mind already. Getting Luffy might not be a problem, but Zoro really hoped that Chopper remembered the way to the underground docks, because he sure as hell didn’t. And then there was the possibility that they wouldn’t even be open. And then there was this whole other crew they were going to have to take care of. They weren’t pirates, so were they fighters? Was he going to have to babysit?
And then, on top of all that, there was Sanji. Zoro already had so many confusing feelings towards the idiot cook it was unbelievable, and now there was the fact that during the Strawhat’s meeting Sanji had serious looked like he was about to die. The cook had seemed off when they were picking the mutant fruits, and he hadn’t really eaten all that much, but Zoro had chalked it up to Sanji’s obsession with making sure everyone else was fed before himself. But now, now he was worried. Worried about the fucking cook. Zoro shouldn’t have to be worried about the stupid bastard. Sanji was strong and capable and Zoro knew he could always depend on him if he needed him…
But what if Sanji was getting sick again? What if his wounds were infected or torn or something from all the shit they had gone through the last few days? God damnit, they had sent the cook down to the docks to potentially break down giant steel doors. Shit. Why hadn’t he volunteered to do that!?
“Luffy!” Chopper’s voice pulled Zoro from his thoughts.
“Chopper! Zoro!” Luffy exclaimed, wrapping both his doctor and his first mate in a tight hug. “What’s up? Isn’t this a great party!? They just keep bringing me food and drinks and they let me slingshot stuff out the windows and-”
“That’s really great, Luffy,” Chopper said distractedly as he poured the vial of mutant juice in a goblet and shoved it into Luffy’s hands. “Here, drink this.”
“Sure!”
Zoro watched as Luffy tossed back the antidote. The swordsman wasn’t sure what he had expected, maybe that his captain would turn and throw up a substantial amount of food, or that he would pass out or something, but none of those things happened. After swallowing, and then going very still for a few seconds, Luffy just blinked a few times and belched loudly.
“Wow, that was good,” he said quietly. When he looked over at Zoro, he had lost that glazed look and his eyes were clear and back to what Zoro considered normal.
“Zoro, what are you doing here? Wait,” the captain glanced around quickly, “Where are we? Chopper? What’s going on?”
“No time to explain, Luffy,” Chopper said and hopped to the ground. “Zoro and I wanted to show you something! Come with us!”
“Cool! Let’s go!” Luffy stood and started to follow Chopper out of the great hall, giving the king and the attendants a quick wave over his shoulder. “Thanks for letting me sit at your table, important-osans! I don’t remember what we were doing but it was probably cool since I’m not tied up!”
“Come on, Luffy,” Zoro murmured, trying to push his captain along.
“What’s the rush, Zoro?” Luffy asked as they passed by some servants. “Oh, hey! This looks good!”
“NO! LUFFY!”
Too late. Before Zoro could stop him, Luffy had scooped up something that looked like a cross between a watermelon and a pineapple and had swallowed it.
“God damnit, Luffy!” Chopper screeched.
“Woa, what’s wrong guys?” Luffy grinned. “It’s a party! Let’s eat!”
As the two Strawhats watched in baffled amazement, Luffy took an entire tray of various fruits and tipped it into his mouth.
“Unbelievable…” Zoro growled.
Chopper slapped his hoof to his forehead. “Okay, new plan: let’s get him down to the docking bay and then we’ll give him the antidote.”
“Good idea.”
“Luffy!” Chopper pulled at his captain’s shirt.
Luffy paused in the middle of shoving another giant waterapple into his mouth and smiled down at the little reindeer. “Hey, Chopper! What’s up!? Great party, huh?”
Zoro had had enough. He slipped behind Luffy and wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders. “Hey, Luffy,” he said softly, “you’re never going to believe this.”
“Zoro!” Luffy’s grin widened. “You should try this!”
“Later. Did you know that down in the basement they have meat stored away?”
Luffy’s grin evaporated and his eyes widened. “Meat? Really?”
“Yeah,” Zoro continued conspiratorially. He lowered his voice and whispered into Luffy’s ear. “They hide it away down there because they don’t like sharing it with pirates like us.”
Luffy puffed up his chest. “That’s awful! Meat should be shared with everyone!”
“I know right?”
“They keep meat in the basement?” Chopper exclaimed, looking up at Zoro.
Zoro turned to the doctor and both his eyes twitched.
“Oh!” Chopper suddenly understood. “Hey! I know where it is, Luffy!”
Luffy fist-pumped and turned serious eyes in Chopper’s direction. “Lead on Chopper. Show me where they keep this meat!”
X x X x X
After some careful consideration and observation, Brook discovered that Moge’s lax attitude had nothing to do with the lingering effects of the toxin. The seemingly unconcerned and blasé manner that the Red Rose’s first mate held, was pretty much the personality type of the entire crew, especially their captain, Iggy Nox.
Iggy was a large man with a full beard and green eyes that were dull but kind. He took the antidote that Moge offered him without much thought, and after a few humorous faces, turned and wretched into a trash can.
“Oh my,” he said in a gruff, smokers voice, “what’s going on?”
“We’re a couple years behind schedule, Captain,” Moge said softly, “We’ve settled in with the Polluge people and forgot all about the treasure hunt.”
Iggy stared at his first mate for several seconds before he murmured, “Bummer.”
The rest of the crew was no different. Brook and Moge handed the antidotes to six others and then met up with Robin, Usopp and five more at the bottom of the stairs. Usopp motioned with his head towards a stairwell and they all followed.
“Hey,” a voice rang out behind them, “Where are all of you going?”
Brook turned and had planned on giving an amazing performance to confuse and disorient the guards and their sudden interest, but Robin beat him to it. A pair of slender arms grew from each of the guard’s shoulders, and hands with beautifully manicured fingernails clamped down over both their mouths.
“Go,” Robin said softly, “I’ll catch up.”
Brook let the others pass him on the way to the stairs before he tipped his hat to the dark-haired beauty.
“Don’t break anything,” he said quietly, “They’re pretty nice people, despite their shortcomings.”
Robin smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll just tie them up and leave them in a closet somewhere.”
X x X x X
“OH WOW!!”
Luffy’s voice resonated through the underground cave, bouncing off the high ceiling and dancing over the gentle roll of the waves. The smell of the ocean hit Zoro’s senses, and the sunshine was warm on his face as he turned the last corner into the old docking bay. The reflection of the light on the water was so beautiful, the swordsman had to stop for a moment and take it in. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how much he had missed the real sun.
“Oh!” Chopper exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful! Zoro! Can you believe it!?”
Zoro nodded and watched the little doctor run after their rubbery captain.
“Wait! Luffy, wait! I have something for you! Come here and drink this!”
“Zoro!” Usopp’s voice was in his ear suddenly, and the swordsman turned. The sniper was grinning at him as he approached. “You made it! And you found Luffy!”
Zoro nodded. “Yeah, but Chopper might need some help catching him. We gave him the antidote once already, but he ate a bunch of food again.”
Usopp rolled his eyes. “Gaaahh, okay, I’ll go see if I can… LUFFY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET DOWN FROM THERE!”
Zoro turned from his flailing friend and watched as thirteen large and haggard looking men, who Zoro assumed were the Rose’s crewmembers, filed into the bay. They blinked at the glare from the sun and moved cautiously down the planks to the water’s edge.
“They haven’t seen the real sun in years,” Brook said softly as he came to stand beside Zoro. “It’s such a tragedy.”
Zoro nodded. He felt for the men, it was terrible that they had lost so much time because of their love of adventure, and it was even worse if any of them had families or loved ones waiting for them. But Zoro also knew that what was done was done. What they needed to focus on now was getting off this stupid island and getting these men home.
“Yeah! Look everybody!” Luffy cried from his perch on a giant metal gear. “It’s Sunny!”
Zoro looked to see the familiar outline of their ship coming around and into the cove.
Turing to Brook, Zoro clapped the skeleton on the back. “In just a few more minutes we’ll be out of this place forever.”
“Thank God.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, gentlemen,” Robin’s soft voice spoke up behind them, “but we might not have a few minutes.”
Zoro didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t want to know why they were all about to die, or be frozen to death, or buried alive, or whatever other horrible disaster that was about to hit them.
Brook asked anyway.
“Why not?”
Robin stepped up beside Zoro and sighed. “Well, apparently there’s a watch tower that was built recently that has a perfect view of the gates. I didn’t know about it because it wasn’t on the map we looked over. I guess a guard saw Sanji and Franky break the gates open and went to tell the king.”
“Great,” Zoro growled.
“There’s more,” Robin said softly.
Zoro closed his eyes. “Do I want to know?”
Robin moved in close and whispered into his ear. “Yes, Zoro, I believe you want to know this.”
Zoro cracked one eye and glared at the woman.
“It seems only one person left to retrieve Sunny.”
Frowning, Zoro turned to Robin and crossed his arms over his chest. “What does that mean?”
“Well, apparently, our cook has decided to go back up into the castle.”
Zoro’s heart skipped a beat. His stomach did a kind of strange flip-flop as he tried to swallow. “What? Why would he do that? What the hell is wrong with him!?”
Robin glanced around and tilted her head in that infuriatingly calm way. “Who else from our crew do you see is missing, swordsman-san?”
Zoro took a quick look and when he realized what Robin was talking about, he cursed under his breath.
Nami.
“Son of a bitch, I completely forgot about her.”
“Obviously, cook-san did not.”
What the hell was wrong with him? How could he have forgotten Nami!? He was so fucking worried about the stupid, fucking cook that he had forgotten his job as first mate?!
He turned back to Robin. “Make sure everybody gets on board. Don’t wait for us, we’ll find the C.R.A.B. and get out the other way.”
Robin nodded and Zoro whirled around.
“LUFFY!” Zoro roared, “LUFFY GET OVER HERE!”
X x X x X
Sanji twisted and brought his foot down on another head. Another body fell limply to the floor. A trail of unconscious Polluge guards was in the cook’s wake as he moved through the halls of the castle. No one was safe, not guards, not servants, no one. He had come back up to the castle to make sure Nami was brought safely to the dock, but when he had returned to the party, he had seen her.
His pain had been forgotten as he had surveyed the room carefully. He saw Brook and Moge gathering the Red Rose crew and Zoro and Chopper leading Luffy down the stairs, but not a sign from the navigator. His heart had started to pound against his chest as he had moved silently from pillar to pillar, trying to listen to conversations, trying to find any clues as to where she might be. Finally, he had heard a group of people talking about how the party was spreading to the East wing of the castle. More room was required to accommodate the different tastes in the music and some of the dances required a ball room type of area. Hearing this, Sanji had headed east, hoping she had just moved to suit her style.
Nothing. Nami had not been in either of the ballrooms, and had not been watching any of the musical groups playing on the various makeshift stages. Heart hammering against his ribcage, Sanji had started to climb stairs and kick down doors. The upstairs halls were filled with people doing a little more than just listening to music, and with every door Sanji opened, and with every new scene he witnessed inside each room, Sanji hoped and prayed harder that he would not find Nami anywhere near these kinds of festivities.
Finally, at the end of a long, corridor stood a set of tall, decorative doors. Sanji moved forward, swallowing a large lump in the back of his throat. When he heard the familiar laughter from inside his heart stopped and his chest tightened painfully. It was definitely Nami’s voice. She was definitely in there.
Placing his hands on the door, Sanji pushed and the creak of old hinges rang out in the hall. Inside, several people looked up and smiled at the cook as he entered.
“Hello there,” a beautiful blond said from her perch on a large cushion, “Come to join the fun?” Several others, a few men included, beckoned to him as well.
On any other day, Sanji would have jumped on the chance to be part of such a fantastic display of smooth skin and silk and cushions and… positions… But right now, all he cared about was finding Nami. Nami was all that mattered.
“Nami-san,” he said carefully, “Are you in here?”
“Sanji-kun?”
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Nami-san! Where are you?”
The silk curtains that hung around the bed parted, and Nami’s face appeared, her lips pulled into the strangest of smiles. “Sanji-kun, what are you doing here?”
For a moment, Sanji found it very hard to breathe. Nami was wearing nothing but a golden chain around her belly, a thick golden choker around her neck, and an assortment of bracelets and anklets. Her naked body was something like a force of nature. Sanji had watched Nami for many months as she walked around in clothes that left nothing to the imagination (and granted his imagination was very good), but it was one thing to imagine it, and another completely different thing to see it in front of you. Her shape was perfection, every line, every curve, every inch of muscle and bone. Her smooth skin shone with body oil, the sweet-smelling perfume of it lingered in the room, easy to decipher from all the other smells of wine and sex and sweat. Her hair was that tussled, bed-muddled perfect that Sanji had dreamed of seeing every day since he had first laid eyes on her. It fell across her face just like he had always imagined. It framed her perfect jaw like it did in every one of his fantasies.
Seeing Nami like that, and then remembering where they were and what was happening, Sanji felt a sharp pang in his chest. This was not anything like what he wanted from Nami and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
“Nami-san, we need to go…”
“I agree,” her delicate fingers beckoned to him from between the curtains. “Come here, Sanji-kun,” she said, sweetly.
Her voice was very persuasive, but Sanji held his ground. “I can’t Nami-san, not like this.”
She yanked the curtains aside so he could see the bed, and the three other figures that shared it with her. One was a woman with long, dark hair and the other two were men, one of which seemed to take the exposure as an invitation and started to run his large hands over Nami’s thighs.
Sanji seethed.
“Nami-san…” he growled between his teeth.
Nami scoffed. “What, Sanji? What are you going to do? You talk and you flirt and you act like a player, but when it comes down to it ‘you can’t’.”
“No, Nami-san, that’s not… I would gladly, but not like this, with all of...” he gestured around at the naked, writhing people, “…this.”
Nami rolled her eyes and put an arm around the man sliding his hands up her hips.
“This guy bothering you, babe?” he asked.
“Who is he?” the dark-haired woman asked, “He’s really cute.”
Nami settled back against the man and sighed. “He’s my ship’s cook. He’s good, and he’s a good fighter, but as a man...” She looked at Sanji from behind heavy lashes, blinking slowly, provocatively.
“…he’s worthless.”
Sanji’s heart stung.
“Really? The smaller man on the bed moved forward and put himself in a provocative position on his hands and knees. “I’m sure we could fix that.”
“Don’t bother,” Nami said. “He croons and he talks like he’s a big deal, but he’s a child.”
Sanji knew that this wasn’t his Nami. He knew, deep down that this woman on the bed, letting herself be groped by strangers, was nothing like the woman he had come to know and respect. The drugs from the food and the air had changed her. He knew the real Nami would never do anything like this. Never.
Knowing that however, didn’t make it hurt any less.
Pushing his emotional pain in the same place as his physical, Sanji focused on getting his navigator out of there. If he had to take down every sing person in this room, he would. He didn’t have a problem with that.
Taking a step forward, Sanji slipped his hands in his pockets and growled at the man that was touching Nami’s skin.
“Let go of her now, or I’ll kill you.”
The man on his hands and knees moaned softly. “Oh Nami, how can you not want him, he’s so hot…”
Nami smiled coyly. “Why don’t you make him, Sanji?”
“Yeah,” the man sneered, “Make me.
In retrospect, they had asked for it. If in the foreseeable future, if Sanji ever felt bad about what he did in the next few seconds, he could always go back and remember that the man really had told Sanji to “make him”.
One step, a twist, and there was a crack and a splash of blood on the sheets. The man released Nami and his hands flew to his face. He screamed as blood poured from his nose. The other man and the woman on the bed stared in silent shock as Sanji pulled Nami from the sheets and tore the curtain from the canopy.
“Sanji!” Nami growled, “Let me go! What the hell are you doing?”
“We’re getting out of here.” Sanji gently gripped the back of Nami’s head and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry.”
He cracked his forehead against hers and she fell limp in his arms. He wrapped her body in the silk curtain and held her close.
Two large men jumped up from the floor and advanced. “You can’t leave,” one of them said.
Sanji ducked the first attack and bent low, taking Nami with him as he swiped the first man’s feet out from underneath him. The second man came from the opposite side and tried to take Nami from his grasp. The cook twisted, bending his body backwards, planning on bringing his leg up and slamming his leg down on the man’s head.
But agony exploded from his side and Sanji almost fell to the ground. He recovered and the last moment and pulled himself out of the direct line of attack.
“Shit… fuck!”
Luckily, his attacker was not that quick on his feet. Even with the intense pain, and Nami’s weight against him, Sanji was able to side-step and take out one of the man’s knees. He cried out and fell to the floor, clutching his leg.
Three more came at him, but Sanji managed to evade with small, precise movements and incapacitated all three attackers with quick hits to the shins and ankles. When the cook realized the attacks had stopped, he took a moment to breathe and glanced at the stunned people around him.
“Anyone follows us, or tries to take her from me you’ll end up looking like him.” He pointed to the bleeding man on the bed, and everyone else shied away.
Sanji saluted, trying to ignore the throb in his side, and left the room.
When he moved into the hall, Sanji noticed that something was wrong. Guards were running in the direction of the great hall, and servants were speaking frantically to one another.
“What’s going on?” Sanji asked a young woman in a maid’s uniform.
“Someone is trying to leave the mountain!” she exclaimed. “Gage saw them break open the old gates, and now their ship is in the cove!”
Well, shit.
“Well, that’s awful!” Sanji replied. “What are they going to do about it?”
“The King and the royal guard are going to get the backup!”
Sanji’s stomach filled with dread. “What’s the backup?”
“No one can leave, so several years ago, a failsafe was installed. All the King has to do is unlock a panel and push the failsafe button, and the wing above the docks in demolished. The docking bay will cave in and that ship won’t be able to leave.”
Perfect, that was exactly what they needed. “Wow, um, you should probably get somewhere safe then.”
The maid looked at Sanji in shock for a moment, and then ran.
Sanji rolled his eyes. What the hell was he going to do now? What if the crew hadn’t all made it to Sunny yet? Should he try and find them? Should he try and make it to the ship before the castle caved in? Should he-
A searing pain in his side made his breath catch and the cook doubled over. He almost dropped Nami, but he gathered her in his arms at the last moment.
“Shit…” he moaned. He looked down at his shirt. The left side was soaked in blood, he had finally torn the incision completely. Now he was completely screwed.
He tried to stand, but the pain he had ignored for the last two days was now unbearable. Nausea washed over him in a wave so powerful, he could feel himself starting to pass out.
No… no… I have to get Nami to the ship!
The ground shook beneath Sanji’s feet, and a loud boom erupted from somewhere below. The walls trembled and people screamed as vases and framed art and stone carvings fell to the floor and shattered.
No! No, the ship! Luffy! Zoro!
He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, the pain in his side was so overwhelming he felt tears in his eyes. Black started to creep into the sides of his vision. He pulled Nami tighter into his arms, unmindful of the blood that was running from his wound and soaking into the curtain that covered her body. He held the navigator tight, whispering softly as his head fell back against the stone.
“I’m sorry, Nami-san… I’m sorry…”
There was another explosion, this time closer, and Sanji had to twist to cover Nami as debris fell all around them.
“Sanji! Nami!”
Sanji’s eyes snapped open. That was Zoro’s voice! What was Zoro still doing in the castle?
“WHERE THE HELL IS MY COOK!!!”
Sanji chuckled at Luffy’s maniacal voice and had just enough strength left to turn his head and see his captain, first mate, and a large furry reindeer coming up the stairs towards him before be passed out.
X x X x X
“Oh… oh, Sanji… how could you do this to yourself?” Chopper’s voice was watery as the little doctor inspected the cook’s wound. “He would have to have been in so much pain for so long! How do you guys manage this kind of crap!”
Zoro tried not to look because every time he glanced down a Sanji’s unconscious form his stomach started to do funny things. Sanji’s side looked horrible, bruised, bloody, and all kinds of yellow and white fluids were seeping out of the place where he had torn the stiches. What the hell had the stupid cook been doing? Didn’t he care what was happening to his body? Didn’t he understand that there were people who cared about him and worried about him? Didn’t he get that there were people who hurt when he hurt!? Stupid fucking cook!
Sanji’s blood soaked his shirt and the smell of it was strong on Zoro’ senses. The swordsman’s fingers dug into his biceps as he watched the water slide over the glass dome on the C.R.A.B. After they had found Sanji and Nami in the East wing, Luffy had scooped up the navigator and told Zoro to grab Sanji. With Chopper’s help, they had found their way back to the underwater entrance, and thankfully, their little ship had still been there. The Polluge King had detonated some kind of explosive, caving in the underground docking bay, but Franky had already set sail and the crew had been well away from the cove when it had happened. It turned out the C.R.A.B. had an autopilot set up to take it directly back to the ship, so all they had to do now was sit back and wait for the little ship to get them back to Sunny.
“Chopper,” Luffy’s voice was eerily quiet, “is Sanji going to be okay?”
Chopper sniffed. “Yeah, he’ll be fine… the infection looks a lot worse than it is. I just don’t understand how he popped so many stitches.”
Zoro glanced over at Nami who was asleep in the passenger seat. The navigator had on pretty much nothing underneath what looked like a bed sheet, so Zoro had a few pretty good ideas how the idiot cook could have hurt himself.
He hoped the several of them weren’t true.
“Okay,” Chopper sniffed again, “I think that’ll do it. I have to remember to thank Franky for packing an extra medical kit in here.”
“Good job, Chopper.” Luffy’s voice was still quiet, and his hand was gentle as he touched Zoro’s shoulder. When the swordsman looked up at him, the young captain motioned with his head towards Sanji and Zoro understood.
Standing, Zoro stepped around Chopper and patted the little reindeer on the head. Chopper hugged his leg and turned tiredly to climb up into Luffy’s lap.
“Luffy,” he said softly, “how long until we’re home?”
Luffy wrapped his arms around his doctor and murmured softly. “Go to sleep and it’ll seem like minutes.”
X x X x X
The return ride to Sunny was quiet. Zoro sat with his back resting against the cushioned bench, listening to the sounds of Luffy’s gentle snoring and the quiet hum of the engine. He had tried to sleep for a while, but too many thoughts were running though his head and he couldn’t settle himself.
There were explanations for why he was feeling the way he was, but Zoro just couldn’t make himself linger on any of them for long. The answers were simple, but to admit to them, well, he wasn’t ready. He would never be ready.
Zoro heard a soft noise from behind and he turned his head. The cook lay on the cushions, his head propped up by the one blanket they could find. He had been still for so long, but now he stirred. Was he waking up? Zoro sat frozen, didn’t breathe. He waited to see if Sanji’s eyes would open. They didn’t, but the cook’s thin body started to tremble. His breath shook softly.
Forcing his body to move, Zoro slowly pulled himself to his feet. What was he going to do? There was only one blanket in on the ship and it was being used as a pillow. He didn’t even have a jacket or an extra shirt or anything to spread over…
Oh, wait.
As gently as he possibly could, Zoro pulled the blanket from under Sanji’s head, and ever so carefully, he moved to sit on the seat. He slid close, resting the cook’s head on his thigh. Blanket free, the swordsman unfolded the soft wool and threw it over Sanji’s body. He stilled then, waiting, hoping he hadn’t woken the other man.
For a few long moments, Zoro sat unmoving. He watched the erratic rise and fall of Sanji’s chest; he felt the cook’s body shake against him. Please don’t get sick again, he thought. Please get warm. Please get better. I can’t do this again… Zoro’s heart beat slow but incredibly hard. Every thump against his ribs was like a fist pounding on the inside of his chest.
I can’t stand seeing you hurt…
Sanji made a soft noise in the back of his throat, turning his head into Zoro’s haramaki. The swordsman’s breath halted. The cook’s hands came up and pulled the blanket to his chin. The furrow in the cook’s brow faded and he stopped shaking. His breathing slowed, evened out. His body relaxed fully.
There was too much air in Zoro’s lungs. He let it out as silently as he could, surprised and embarrassed that he had been holding it for so long. The relief was so great he felt dizzy. He let his head fall back and he closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get that terrible pounding of his heart under control.
He’ll be okay… he’ll be fine. Chopper said he’ll be fine…
Suddenly, everything was very clear.
Zoro opened his eyes. He sat still and serene, watching the ocean fly over above them. He sat that way a long time, his thoughts coming together and his feelings finally manifesting into something recognizable. When he finally moved, when he looked down at Sanji’s sleeping face, he put an elbow on the back of the seat and rested his temple in his palm. He studied the cook’s curling eyebrows, the soft eyelids, and the long lashes that danced over the tops of pale cheeks, his nose, his strong jaw, the stubble across his chin, the small scratch on his bottom lip…
Zoro’s hand was halfway there before he realized he had been about to touch Sanji’s lips. No. No, he couldn’t do that, Sanji would be angry. His hair? Would Sanji be okay with him touching his hair? He just wanted to run his fingers over it. He just wanted to see what it felt like. Zoro had touched Sanji many times, fighting him, helping him wash dishes, carrying him when he was hurt, but he had never touched his hair before.
His hand hovering, trembling slightly over blond that would no doubt be soft and silky, Zoro admitted something to himself. He might be able to pretend, he might be able to lie, to put on a mask for the others and go on as if nothing was different, but he never lied to himself. Never.
He had fallen for Sanji, and he had fallen very, very hard.
He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that, other than lock it away. He had only felt this way once before, and that had been a long time ago. She had died and he had moved on with her dream and her memory. What was he supposed to do when the feelings he had were for someone that was alive? Someone that was with him? Someone he could just reach out and put his hands on?
Sanji made another soft noise and it startled Zoro out of his thoughts.
The swordsman looked down and almost gasped aloud when he saw that Sanji’s eyes were open.
“Sanji?” he said softly.
Sanji said nothing. He lay there, staring off into some faraway place that Zoro couldn’t see. His eyes were so tired, so dark and alone that Zoro found himself sitting forward, aching to touch him. He restrained himself with everything he had from just sliding his fingers into Sanji’s hair, putting his arms around the cook’s thin body, pressing himself as close as he could.
“Sanji,” oh wow, was his voice shaking? “Sanji, are you okay? Do you want me to get Chopper?”
Sanji still didn’t move. He didn’t even shake his head.
“I’m fine, Zoro.”
He wasn’t fine, it was so obvious. The cook may not have been in pain, but he was hurting. It was written all over his face, brimming in his eyes. He lay there, still, his features slack, but Zoro knew Sanji was screaming inside. Zoro knew because he was doing the same thing at that exact moment.
“Sanji…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sanji whispered. “Just forget it… It doesn’t matter…”
It didn’t take much to understand what Sanji meant, not after finding him so broken and bleeding, but still desperately clinging to Nami like he was the only thing in the world left to protect her. Zoro tried not to hate the navigator at that moment, but it was hard. It was really, really hard.
Zoro didn’t think, he just moved on instinct. He moved in response to the ache in his own heart. He laid a hand gently over Sanji’s eyes, and the cook let out a quiet breath beneath him. Zoro turned Sanji’s head away from him and he leaned down to speak into his friend’s ear.
“Chemicals, toxins, and drugs… that’s what she was saying. You know it wasn’t her. She loves you. You know that. You know that.”
Zoro’s voice caught and the swordsman took a moment to feel himself start to tense up, start to tremble. Every part of the body he trained so hard, and depended on so profoundly, was failing him.
It was failing him because for the first time in a long, long time, Roronoa Zoro was truly frightened. Frightened of what Sanji was going to do, how he would react; for the inevitable rejection that was about to come.
He felt weak, helpless like a child, but he pushed the words passed his unsure lips because he had to.
“You know that you matter to Luffy, to this crew. You know you matter to Nami, even though she doesn’t like to show it… And you know you matter to me.” He swallowed thickly, his mouth dry.
“You know you matter… to me.”
He willed it. He ached for Sanji to understand. He pleaded with forces that he didn’t believe in for Sanji to just get it. Zoro was his friend. The crew was his family. Whatever Nami had said back in the castle wasn’t real. Don’t believe it.
And then Sanji’s hand, cool and steady, slid over his. Sanji splayed his palm over the one Zoro held over his eyes. He curled his fingers around Zoro’s, calmed the trembling. Soothed the ache with just that simple touch. Zoro’s fear left him, trickled away like water in the minutes after the rain. Sanji may not feel the same way he did, and he probably never would, but he accepted Zoro’s comfort and returned it. It was far more than Zoro had hoped for.
They said nothing after that. Sanji just held onto Zoro’s hand, and the swordsman closed his eyes and buried his face into blond hair that was indeed fantastically soft. When the C.R.A.B. reached Sunny and the rest of the crew came hurling themselves into the little vessel, Zoro separated himself from Sanji so the cook could be taken inside and fussed over properly. The swordsman accepted hugs from Usopp and acknowledged Robin with a nod of his head, but then he slipped away quietly, snuck into the galley to steal a couple bottles of sake, and climbed up into the crow’s nest.
Later that evening, the sounds of celebration rose up from the deck below. The Red Rose crew sang songs and danced as the Strawhats clapped and cheered. There was much call for celebration since they had all escaped from the Polluge with no casualties and they were finally on their way home. Zoro knew he should go down and be with his nakama, but he wanted no part in the merriment.
After finishing off the last of the sake, Zoro lifted weights until sweat beaded heavily on his skin. He traded between the two heaviest sets for about an hour, but then stopped as he heard someone coming up the ladder.
He turned to tell whoever it was to go away, but he froze when he saw who it was.
“What the hell, cook? You enjoy popping stiches or something?”
Sanji smirked and unloaded four bottles of sake and a covered plate of something that smelled divine onto the floor before he pulled himself up. “I can just take these back if you want.”
Zoro felt his eyebrow twitch. “No, don’t do that.” He felt like should have helped the cook up, but then decided he had touched Sanji enough for one day.
Sanji moved across the crow’s nest to where Zoro was standing. He was dressed in sleeping pants and a sweatshirt, and he held a pillow under his arm.
“Are you planning on sleeping here or something?” Zoro asked.
Sanji snorted. “No, I just wanted something to sit on.”
“Sit?”
“Yes,” the cook dropped the pillow on the floor and lowered himself gingerly down onto it. “I’m not gonna sit up here with you and play cards with all these new staples in my side without something under my ass.”
Zoro blinked. “Cards?”
“Okay, seriously?” Sanji growled. “Did you get dumber in the last couple hours or what? I brought you food ‘cause that’s my job, I brought you sake to thank you for coming back for me, and I brought cards because I don’t want to listen to another rendition of Lady Love of Mine! Now, will you kindly get your dinner and your booze and sit the fuck down before you make this more awkward than it already is!?”
Zoro hesitated for only a moment or two before he obeyed. He sat and inhaled the grilled fish and potatoes with normal, good old red and yellow peppers Sanji had cooked and tried not to moan his pleasure too loudly. After cleaning the plate, he set it aside and downed half of the first bottle of sake.
Running the back of his hand over his mouth, Zoro murmured softly, “Thank you…”
Sanji scoffed. “Shut up and shuffle.”
TBC
:]
I still lack a beta, so all mistakes are mine. (And I’m sure there’s an exorbitant amount. Sorry.)
Obligatory Disclaimer: I don’t own One Piece.
Chapter Title: Escape
Pairing: Sanji/Zoro
Rating: R (Language, violence, sexuality)
Warnings: Thriller Bark Spoilers
Summary: The friendship between the cook and the swordsman starts to run deeper than both of them ever expected.
Previous chapters here.
One of the terraces on the East side of the Polluge castle overlooked the largest of the leisure pools and the lower level hanging gardens. It was a surreal view-one that you would think could only be seen in paintings. The trellises stood high, carved from wood and bleached to bone white. They stood over rows of lush greens and held curling vines of sleeping buds ready for the morning. Fountains made of marble and stone dotted the pathways and the quiet trickle of water served as a soothing background melody.
As two figures sat admiring this view, the artificial sun cleared the horizon and started its slow climb through a false sky. It was a beautiful sun, impossible to discern from the real one. As it shown over the hanging gardens, all manner of colors seemed to burst from the awakening flowers. The fruits that hung from the trellises appeared to glow.
“Quite a sight.”
“Yeah… it’s pretty Super.”
The man and the woman had been lounging on the terrace since the night before, eating, drinking, and watching the party below. As people had begun to retire and the music and merry-making had died down, the two had opened maps and discussed the structure of the Polluge city. When morning had started to break, their conversation had trailed off and they had watched in awe at the sunrise.
The man glanced over as the woman tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Hard to believe it’s not real,” he murmured.
She nodded, her look was melancholy.
“What is it?” he asked.
She shrugged gracefully. “I don’t know. I just feel like something’s… off.”
The man grinned. “It’s probably just you being depressing again.”
Her eyes slid over to him, and her lips turned up in the smallest of smiles.
“Maybe.”
This gentle flirting would have continued if four pairs of arms (one of them suspiciously skeletal) had not appeared and pulled the man and the woman from their chairs. There was a quick squabble, and then a tiny reindeer in a pink hat moved in and pressed a container of fruity, green liquid to the woman’s mouth.
“I’m sorry, Robin!” Chopper cried. “I’m so sorry! Just drink this! It’ll counteract the toxin and you’ll be back to normal! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Don’t squeeze! Ow! Ow! Don’t squeeze!!!”
X x X x X
“I don’t get it!” Franky growled. “This is like one of those ‘choose your own adventure’ books I used to read as a kid! I mean it can’t be real, it’s too messed up!”
“I assure you, it’s very real,” Moge said calmly. “We need to find our captains and get out of here.”
“Therein lies the problem, however,” Robin murmured, “how exactly are we going to get out? The C.R.A.B. is too small to hold two separate crews, and in researching the layout of the city, I found nothing to suggest that there are any other ships. No passages to the outside except for the one under water.”
“What about the opening they sealed off?” Brook asked. “You know the gates where they used to bring in ships with new prisoners?”
Robin nodded, “I had thought of that, but there’s no guarantee that if we were to get to those gates that we could get them open. The history records are not specific on how they sealed them. It could have been some kind of welding, or they could have used dynamite and blocked them off with an avalanche, there’s no way to know.”
“Where are the gates?” Sanji asked, his lips teasing the end of a cigarette.
“Here,” Robin said, pointing on the city map. “There’s an old docking bay underneath the castle. If someone were to get the gates open, they would come out to a cove that’s only a mile or maybe a mile and a half from where Sunny is anchored.”
Franky pounded a fist into his palm. “So if we can get the gates open, we could sail Sunnyright into the castle!”
Robin nodded, “Yes, but only if you can get the gates open. There’s still the possibility that this underground docking bay has been completely destroyed.”
Sanji shrugged. “So Franky and I will go down there and see if it’s accessible,” the cook turned to Franky then and grinned, “and if it’s not, we’ll see if we can make it accessible.”
Franky shot Sanji a thumbs-up. “I got your back, bro. I’m feelin’ pretty Super today!”
“What are we going to do about Luffy?” Zoro asked from across the room.
Chopper’s voice was weary as he answered, “I’m sure the antidote will work. I just don’t know what kind of side effects he’s going to experience. With his metabolism and his rubber body, anything is possible.”
“Do we know here he is?” Robin asked.
Chopper nodded. “Right now he should be in the great hall with King Hatmet. There was a party with music and dancing scheduled for this morning.”
“What about Nami-san?” Sanji asked, a little too enthusiastically.
“We’ll find her, Sanji,” Chopper reassured him, “She’s probably with Luffy, or at least she’ll be where the festivities are.”
“All right,” Robin straightened, “So Sanji and Franky will go down to the docking bay and see if the old gates can be opened. Zoro and Chopper, focus on Luffy. Brook, Usopp, and I will go with Moge to gather the rest of his crew.”
“Simple,” Zoro grunted.
“Okay, wait,” Usopp put up his hands, “let me see if I got all of this straight: Zoro and Chopper are going to find Luffy and give him an antidote that might-I say again,might-cure him, but probably not because he’s eaten half the food under the mountain, and really it’s probably going to cause him to spontaneously combust or something, and then me and Robin and Brook have to go and make an entire crew that is perfectly content with living here leave-right after puking their guts up, and then Sanji and Franky are going to go down into the bowls of this city, to maybe open an escape route that may or may not even exist anymore!!??”
There was silence for a moment, but then Zoro spoke.
“Yeah, sounds about right.”
Usopp looked from the swordsman to the other Strawhats in turn, but then his shoulders sagged and he sighed heavily.
“Okay. Just checking.”
X x X x X
Judging by the fact that not a single one of the guards had recognized Brook when he had emerged from the dungeon, Robin’s group figured it was probably safe for Moge to walk about the party. Moge was, after all, a fairly normal-looking person, and if the Polluge had forgotten something as sensational as a walking eight foot skeleton, there was probably no risk of Moge getting caught.
As the group reached the great hall, they were greeted by several servants who offered them goblets and platters of different fruits and nuts. Robin and Brook turned them down politely, but Usopp’s face turned a little green as he half-flailed and said something unintelligible. The servants took the hint and bowed graciously as they moved away.
“Do you see your crew?” Brook asked Moge softly.
The first-mate nodded. “Most of them are seated around that table by the pillar. Captain’s over by the king as his attendants… and the rubbery guy.”
“That’s our captain,” Usopp said.
“Really?”
“Moge, stay with Brook,” Robin murmured, “Usopp, stay with me. We’ll spread out and start gathering Moge’s crew. We’ll meet back at the bottom of the stairs and head down to the docking bay together.”
“And if it’s sealed and it’s not the way out?” Usopp asked quietly.
Robin’s eyes were dark and clouded as she calmly surveyed the room. “Then we make a new plan.”
Usopp slapped his palms to his cheeks and wailed. “We’re gonna die!”
X x X x X
Franky looked right and then left, ran a hand through his limp hair, and then started down another corridor. Sanji and the shipwright had been descending deeper and deeper into the mountain for the last half hour, and now the dark, stone walls and passageways were blurring together.
That, however, was not really at the top of the problem list. Sanji hadn’t said anything earlier, because he knew his crewmates didn’t need anything more on their plates, but he hurt. A lot.
The pain had started as a dull ache just beneath his ribs. It wasn’t anything too terrible, not like when his ribs were actually broken, and his incision had not been sore or itchy or anything, it had just been a minor annoyance that had left him needing to stop and remember to breathe slowly once in a while. Kicking in the door to Moge’s cell however, had aggravated it significantly. He had definitely pulled or torn something and now the ache was something a little more debilitating. His lungs were tight, his entire side felt like it had been ripped open with a dull knife, and his incision let out a wail of protest every time he turned his body even slightly. He was nauseous, his head pounded, and he knew his temperature was rising because, despite the fact that he was sweating, chills rolled through his limbs and down his spine.
“Hey, Sanji,” Franky said at his side, “Bro, you gonna be okay?”
Sanji nodded and pushed through another set of double doors. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You sure? ‘Cause you really look like shi-”
“I’m good, Franky,” Sanji said firmly as he wiped sweat from his hairline. “Let’s just find this docking bay.”
“It should be just ahead. If you listen you can hear the water. That’s a good sign, means that there’s a current, and if there’s a current then there’s-”
“-an outlet to the ocean.”
“Right!” Franky’s voice echoed off the walls. “Even if the gates are sealed, we might still be able to swim out and bring Sunny around!”
“We’ll get the gates open,” Sanji growled. “I don’t care if they’re sealed or not.”
“Yeah!” Franky cheered. “That’s the spirit!”
As it turned out, the gates had been sealed, but it looked as if time and the pounding of the waves from outside had weakened the hold. As Sanji and Franky rounded the last bend and came out into the old docking bay, sunlight, real sunlight, poured in through a small crack above the gigantic metal gates. Sanji stood for just a moment and let that warmth touch his face. He breathed in the free air, and for one moment, he forgot his pain.
“This is great!” Franky exclaimed. “It’s a real crappy welding job! The current from the ocean has been pushing and pulling at the base of the gates, loosening where the welding of the doors has started to rust! A few good hits right there, and probably there, should break the whole thing apart!”
Sanji nodded. It was going to take a lot out of him, but he could do it. Just a couple kicks and the gates would be open. They could get out, get Sunny and bring her back to take the crew away from this awful place.
“Let’s do this,” he growled.
It took more than a few kicks, but with Franky’s help, the two Strawhats managed to crack the welding and pry the gates apart. Sanji tread water as he watched the blue-haired shipwright climb the rock face and turn the handle for the pulley system. Gears creaked and a loud, metal groan rang out as the gates slowly started to open.
“YEAH! SUUUPER!! We did it, Sanji!!”
Sanji chucked, pulling himself out of the water. He sat on the dock and retrieved his cigarette pack from where he had left it with his jacket and tie. He lit up and inhaled, letting the smoke fill his lungs and give the illusion that it was soothing the ache.
“All right!” Franky called out as he climbed down to the ledge. “Let’s go get Sunny!”
Sanji took another drag and shook his head. “I don’t think I can.”
Franky turned to him, confusion etched into the lines of his face, but then understanding settled into his features.
“You’re not okay, are you, bro?”
Sanji shook his head.
Franky studied him for a moment before he nodded. “I got this, you stay here and rest. We don’t want Chopper having some kind of hysterical fit later, do we?”
Sanji chuckled again and shook his head. “No, that would be bad.”
Franky saluted him. “Okay, I’ll see you when I get back! ONWARD! SUPER CANON-BALL FRANKY!!”
The shipwright posed as he flung himself into the water, and then surfaced and swam out into the daylight.
Sanji watched his friend as he shrank against the horizon. He felt bad for lying, but there was something he had to do, pain or no pain, Sunny or no Sunny. He snuffed out his cigarette and stood slowly, his hand clenched over his wound.
“Sorry, Franky…” he said softly.
X x X x X
“You know,” Chopper said quietly as he and Zoro neared the king’s table, “of all the messes Luffy’s gotten himself into, this might be the easiest to get him out of.”
Zoro frowned. “Huh? How?”
Chopper held up the vial of fruit concoction. “Hey, Luffy, drink this.”
“Oh, right.”
It was true, of all the crises Luffy had managed to get himself into, the way to get him out of this one was getting him to ingest something. It could have been worse. Zoro would have chuckled if he hadn’t had so many things on his mind already. Getting Luffy might not be a problem, but Zoro really hoped that Chopper remembered the way to the underground docks, because he sure as hell didn’t. And then there was the possibility that they wouldn’t even be open. And then there was this whole other crew they were going to have to take care of. They weren’t pirates, so were they fighters? Was he going to have to babysit?
And then, on top of all that, there was Sanji. Zoro already had so many confusing feelings towards the idiot cook it was unbelievable, and now there was the fact that during the Strawhat’s meeting Sanji had serious looked like he was about to die. The cook had seemed off when they were picking the mutant fruits, and he hadn’t really eaten all that much, but Zoro had chalked it up to Sanji’s obsession with making sure everyone else was fed before himself. But now, now he was worried. Worried about the fucking cook. Zoro shouldn’t have to be worried about the stupid bastard. Sanji was strong and capable and Zoro knew he could always depend on him if he needed him…
But what if Sanji was getting sick again? What if his wounds were infected or torn or something from all the shit they had gone through the last few days? God damnit, they had sent the cook down to the docks to potentially break down giant steel doors. Shit. Why hadn’t he volunteered to do that!?
“Luffy!” Chopper’s voice pulled Zoro from his thoughts.
“Chopper! Zoro!” Luffy exclaimed, wrapping both his doctor and his first mate in a tight hug. “What’s up? Isn’t this a great party!? They just keep bringing me food and drinks and they let me slingshot stuff out the windows and-”
“That’s really great, Luffy,” Chopper said distractedly as he poured the vial of mutant juice in a goblet and shoved it into Luffy’s hands. “Here, drink this.”
“Sure!”
Zoro watched as Luffy tossed back the antidote. The swordsman wasn’t sure what he had expected, maybe that his captain would turn and throw up a substantial amount of food, or that he would pass out or something, but none of those things happened. After swallowing, and then going very still for a few seconds, Luffy just blinked a few times and belched loudly.
“Wow, that was good,” he said quietly. When he looked over at Zoro, he had lost that glazed look and his eyes were clear and back to what Zoro considered normal.
“Zoro, what are you doing here? Wait,” the captain glanced around quickly, “Where are we? Chopper? What’s going on?”
“No time to explain, Luffy,” Chopper said and hopped to the ground. “Zoro and I wanted to show you something! Come with us!”
“Cool! Let’s go!” Luffy stood and started to follow Chopper out of the great hall, giving the king and the attendants a quick wave over his shoulder. “Thanks for letting me sit at your table, important-osans! I don’t remember what we were doing but it was probably cool since I’m not tied up!”
“Come on, Luffy,” Zoro murmured, trying to push his captain along.
“What’s the rush, Zoro?” Luffy asked as they passed by some servants. “Oh, hey! This looks good!”
“NO! LUFFY!”
Too late. Before Zoro could stop him, Luffy had scooped up something that looked like a cross between a watermelon and a pineapple and had swallowed it.
“God damnit, Luffy!” Chopper screeched.
“Woa, what’s wrong guys?” Luffy grinned. “It’s a party! Let’s eat!”
As the two Strawhats watched in baffled amazement, Luffy took an entire tray of various fruits and tipped it into his mouth.
“Unbelievable…” Zoro growled.
Chopper slapped his hoof to his forehead. “Okay, new plan: let’s get him down to the docking bay and then we’ll give him the antidote.”
“Good idea.”
“Luffy!” Chopper pulled at his captain’s shirt.
Luffy paused in the middle of shoving another giant waterapple into his mouth and smiled down at the little reindeer. “Hey, Chopper! What’s up!? Great party, huh?”
Zoro had had enough. He slipped behind Luffy and wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders. “Hey, Luffy,” he said softly, “you’re never going to believe this.”
“Zoro!” Luffy’s grin widened. “You should try this!”
“Later. Did you know that down in the basement they have meat stored away?”
Luffy’s grin evaporated and his eyes widened. “Meat? Really?”
“Yeah,” Zoro continued conspiratorially. He lowered his voice and whispered into Luffy’s ear. “They hide it away down there because they don’t like sharing it with pirates like us.”
Luffy puffed up his chest. “That’s awful! Meat should be shared with everyone!”
“I know right?”
“They keep meat in the basement?” Chopper exclaimed, looking up at Zoro.
Zoro turned to the doctor and both his eyes twitched.
“Oh!” Chopper suddenly understood. “Hey! I know where it is, Luffy!”
Luffy fist-pumped and turned serious eyes in Chopper’s direction. “Lead on Chopper. Show me where they keep this meat!”
X x X x X
After some careful consideration and observation, Brook discovered that Moge’s lax attitude had nothing to do with the lingering effects of the toxin. The seemingly unconcerned and blasé manner that the Red Rose’s first mate held, was pretty much the personality type of the entire crew, especially their captain, Iggy Nox.
Iggy was a large man with a full beard and green eyes that were dull but kind. He took the antidote that Moge offered him without much thought, and after a few humorous faces, turned and wretched into a trash can.
“Oh my,” he said in a gruff, smokers voice, “what’s going on?”
“We’re a couple years behind schedule, Captain,” Moge said softly, “We’ve settled in with the Polluge people and forgot all about the treasure hunt.”
Iggy stared at his first mate for several seconds before he murmured, “Bummer.”
The rest of the crew was no different. Brook and Moge handed the antidotes to six others and then met up with Robin, Usopp and five more at the bottom of the stairs. Usopp motioned with his head towards a stairwell and they all followed.
“Hey,” a voice rang out behind them, “Where are all of you going?”
Brook turned and had planned on giving an amazing performance to confuse and disorient the guards and their sudden interest, but Robin beat him to it. A pair of slender arms grew from each of the guard’s shoulders, and hands with beautifully manicured fingernails clamped down over both their mouths.
“Go,” Robin said softly, “I’ll catch up.”
Brook let the others pass him on the way to the stairs before he tipped his hat to the dark-haired beauty.
“Don’t break anything,” he said quietly, “They’re pretty nice people, despite their shortcomings.”
Robin smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll just tie them up and leave them in a closet somewhere.”
X x X x X
“OH WOW!!”
Luffy’s voice resonated through the underground cave, bouncing off the high ceiling and dancing over the gentle roll of the waves. The smell of the ocean hit Zoro’s senses, and the sunshine was warm on his face as he turned the last corner into the old docking bay. The reflection of the light on the water was so beautiful, the swordsman had to stop for a moment and take it in. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how much he had missed the real sun.
“Oh!” Chopper exclaimed, “It’s so beautiful! Zoro! Can you believe it!?”
Zoro nodded and watched the little doctor run after their rubbery captain.
“Wait! Luffy, wait! I have something for you! Come here and drink this!”
“Zoro!” Usopp’s voice was in his ear suddenly, and the swordsman turned. The sniper was grinning at him as he approached. “You made it! And you found Luffy!”
Zoro nodded. “Yeah, but Chopper might need some help catching him. We gave him the antidote once already, but he ate a bunch of food again.”
Usopp rolled his eyes. “Gaaahh, okay, I’ll go see if I can… LUFFY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET DOWN FROM THERE!”
Zoro turned from his flailing friend and watched as thirteen large and haggard looking men, who Zoro assumed were the Rose’s crewmembers, filed into the bay. They blinked at the glare from the sun and moved cautiously down the planks to the water’s edge.
“They haven’t seen the real sun in years,” Brook said softly as he came to stand beside Zoro. “It’s such a tragedy.”
Zoro nodded. He felt for the men, it was terrible that they had lost so much time because of their love of adventure, and it was even worse if any of them had families or loved ones waiting for them. But Zoro also knew that what was done was done. What they needed to focus on now was getting off this stupid island and getting these men home.
“Yeah! Look everybody!” Luffy cried from his perch on a giant metal gear. “It’s Sunny!”
Zoro looked to see the familiar outline of their ship coming around and into the cove.
Turing to Brook, Zoro clapped the skeleton on the back. “In just a few more minutes we’ll be out of this place forever.”
“Thank God.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, gentlemen,” Robin’s soft voice spoke up behind them, “but we might not have a few minutes.”
Zoro didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t want to know why they were all about to die, or be frozen to death, or buried alive, or whatever other horrible disaster that was about to hit them.
Brook asked anyway.
“Why not?”
Robin stepped up beside Zoro and sighed. “Well, apparently there’s a watch tower that was built recently that has a perfect view of the gates. I didn’t know about it because it wasn’t on the map we looked over. I guess a guard saw Sanji and Franky break the gates open and went to tell the king.”
“Great,” Zoro growled.
“There’s more,” Robin said softly.
Zoro closed his eyes. “Do I want to know?”
Robin moved in close and whispered into his ear. “Yes, Zoro, I believe you want to know this.”
Zoro cracked one eye and glared at the woman.
“It seems only one person left to retrieve Sunny.”
Frowning, Zoro turned to Robin and crossed his arms over his chest. “What does that mean?”
“Well, apparently, our cook has decided to go back up into the castle.”
Zoro’s heart skipped a beat. His stomach did a kind of strange flip-flop as he tried to swallow. “What? Why would he do that? What the hell is wrong with him!?”
Robin glanced around and tilted her head in that infuriatingly calm way. “Who else from our crew do you see is missing, swordsman-san?”
Zoro took a quick look and when he realized what Robin was talking about, he cursed under his breath.
Nami.
“Son of a bitch, I completely forgot about her.”
“Obviously, cook-san did not.”
What the hell was wrong with him? How could he have forgotten Nami!? He was so fucking worried about the stupid, fucking cook that he had forgotten his job as first mate?!
He turned back to Robin. “Make sure everybody gets on board. Don’t wait for us, we’ll find the C.R.A.B. and get out the other way.”
Robin nodded and Zoro whirled around.
“LUFFY!” Zoro roared, “LUFFY GET OVER HERE!”
X x X x X
Sanji twisted and brought his foot down on another head. Another body fell limply to the floor. A trail of unconscious Polluge guards was in the cook’s wake as he moved through the halls of the castle. No one was safe, not guards, not servants, no one. He had come back up to the castle to make sure Nami was brought safely to the dock, but when he had returned to the party, he had seen her.
His pain had been forgotten as he had surveyed the room carefully. He saw Brook and Moge gathering the Red Rose crew and Zoro and Chopper leading Luffy down the stairs, but not a sign from the navigator. His heart had started to pound against his chest as he had moved silently from pillar to pillar, trying to listen to conversations, trying to find any clues as to where she might be. Finally, he had heard a group of people talking about how the party was spreading to the East wing of the castle. More room was required to accommodate the different tastes in the music and some of the dances required a ball room type of area. Hearing this, Sanji had headed east, hoping she had just moved to suit her style.
Nothing. Nami had not been in either of the ballrooms, and had not been watching any of the musical groups playing on the various makeshift stages. Heart hammering against his ribcage, Sanji had started to climb stairs and kick down doors. The upstairs halls were filled with people doing a little more than just listening to music, and with every door Sanji opened, and with every new scene he witnessed inside each room, Sanji hoped and prayed harder that he would not find Nami anywhere near these kinds of festivities.
Finally, at the end of a long, corridor stood a set of tall, decorative doors. Sanji moved forward, swallowing a large lump in the back of his throat. When he heard the familiar laughter from inside his heart stopped and his chest tightened painfully. It was definitely Nami’s voice. She was definitely in there.
Placing his hands on the door, Sanji pushed and the creak of old hinges rang out in the hall. Inside, several people looked up and smiled at the cook as he entered.
“Hello there,” a beautiful blond said from her perch on a large cushion, “Come to join the fun?” Several others, a few men included, beckoned to him as well.
On any other day, Sanji would have jumped on the chance to be part of such a fantastic display of smooth skin and silk and cushions and… positions… But right now, all he cared about was finding Nami. Nami was all that mattered.
“Nami-san,” he said carefully, “Are you in here?”
“Sanji-kun?”
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Nami-san! Where are you?”
The silk curtains that hung around the bed parted, and Nami’s face appeared, her lips pulled into the strangest of smiles. “Sanji-kun, what are you doing here?”
For a moment, Sanji found it very hard to breathe. Nami was wearing nothing but a golden chain around her belly, a thick golden choker around her neck, and an assortment of bracelets and anklets. Her naked body was something like a force of nature. Sanji had watched Nami for many months as she walked around in clothes that left nothing to the imagination (and granted his imagination was very good), but it was one thing to imagine it, and another completely different thing to see it in front of you. Her shape was perfection, every line, every curve, every inch of muscle and bone. Her smooth skin shone with body oil, the sweet-smelling perfume of it lingered in the room, easy to decipher from all the other smells of wine and sex and sweat. Her hair was that tussled, bed-muddled perfect that Sanji had dreamed of seeing every day since he had first laid eyes on her. It fell across her face just like he had always imagined. It framed her perfect jaw like it did in every one of his fantasies.
Seeing Nami like that, and then remembering where they were and what was happening, Sanji felt a sharp pang in his chest. This was not anything like what he wanted from Nami and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable.
“Nami-san, we need to go…”
“I agree,” her delicate fingers beckoned to him from between the curtains. “Come here, Sanji-kun,” she said, sweetly.
Her voice was very persuasive, but Sanji held his ground. “I can’t Nami-san, not like this.”
She yanked the curtains aside so he could see the bed, and the three other figures that shared it with her. One was a woman with long, dark hair and the other two were men, one of which seemed to take the exposure as an invitation and started to run his large hands over Nami’s thighs.
Sanji seethed.
“Nami-san…” he growled between his teeth.
Nami scoffed. “What, Sanji? What are you going to do? You talk and you flirt and you act like a player, but when it comes down to it ‘you can’t’.”
“No, Nami-san, that’s not… I would gladly, but not like this, with all of...” he gestured around at the naked, writhing people, “…this.”
Nami rolled her eyes and put an arm around the man sliding his hands up her hips.
“This guy bothering you, babe?” he asked.
“Who is he?” the dark-haired woman asked, “He’s really cute.”
Nami settled back against the man and sighed. “He’s my ship’s cook. He’s good, and he’s a good fighter, but as a man...” She looked at Sanji from behind heavy lashes, blinking slowly, provocatively.
“…he’s worthless.”
Sanji’s heart stung.
“Really? The smaller man on the bed moved forward and put himself in a provocative position on his hands and knees. “I’m sure we could fix that.”
“Don’t bother,” Nami said. “He croons and he talks like he’s a big deal, but he’s a child.”
Sanji knew that this wasn’t his Nami. He knew, deep down that this woman on the bed, letting herself be groped by strangers, was nothing like the woman he had come to know and respect. The drugs from the food and the air had changed her. He knew the real Nami would never do anything like this. Never.
Knowing that however, didn’t make it hurt any less.
Pushing his emotional pain in the same place as his physical, Sanji focused on getting his navigator out of there. If he had to take down every sing person in this room, he would. He didn’t have a problem with that.
Taking a step forward, Sanji slipped his hands in his pockets and growled at the man that was touching Nami’s skin.
“Let go of her now, or I’ll kill you.”
The man on his hands and knees moaned softly. “Oh Nami, how can you not want him, he’s so hot…”
Nami smiled coyly. “Why don’t you make him, Sanji?”
“Yeah,” the man sneered, “Make me.
In retrospect, they had asked for it. If in the foreseeable future, if Sanji ever felt bad about what he did in the next few seconds, he could always go back and remember that the man really had told Sanji to “make him”.
One step, a twist, and there was a crack and a splash of blood on the sheets. The man released Nami and his hands flew to his face. He screamed as blood poured from his nose. The other man and the woman on the bed stared in silent shock as Sanji pulled Nami from the sheets and tore the curtain from the canopy.
“Sanji!” Nami growled, “Let me go! What the hell are you doing?”
“We’re getting out of here.” Sanji gently gripped the back of Nami’s head and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry.”
He cracked his forehead against hers and she fell limp in his arms. He wrapped her body in the silk curtain and held her close.
Two large men jumped up from the floor and advanced. “You can’t leave,” one of them said.
Sanji ducked the first attack and bent low, taking Nami with him as he swiped the first man’s feet out from underneath him. The second man came from the opposite side and tried to take Nami from his grasp. The cook twisted, bending his body backwards, planning on bringing his leg up and slamming his leg down on the man’s head.
But agony exploded from his side and Sanji almost fell to the ground. He recovered and the last moment and pulled himself out of the direct line of attack.
“Shit… fuck!”
Luckily, his attacker was not that quick on his feet. Even with the intense pain, and Nami’s weight against him, Sanji was able to side-step and take out one of the man’s knees. He cried out and fell to the floor, clutching his leg.
Three more came at him, but Sanji managed to evade with small, precise movements and incapacitated all three attackers with quick hits to the shins and ankles. When the cook realized the attacks had stopped, he took a moment to breathe and glanced at the stunned people around him.
“Anyone follows us, or tries to take her from me you’ll end up looking like him.” He pointed to the bleeding man on the bed, and everyone else shied away.
Sanji saluted, trying to ignore the throb in his side, and left the room.
When he moved into the hall, Sanji noticed that something was wrong. Guards were running in the direction of the great hall, and servants were speaking frantically to one another.
“What’s going on?” Sanji asked a young woman in a maid’s uniform.
“Someone is trying to leave the mountain!” she exclaimed. “Gage saw them break open the old gates, and now their ship is in the cove!”
Well, shit.
“Well, that’s awful!” Sanji replied. “What are they going to do about it?”
“The King and the royal guard are going to get the backup!”
Sanji’s stomach filled with dread. “What’s the backup?”
“No one can leave, so several years ago, a failsafe was installed. All the King has to do is unlock a panel and push the failsafe button, and the wing above the docks in demolished. The docking bay will cave in and that ship won’t be able to leave.”
Perfect, that was exactly what they needed. “Wow, um, you should probably get somewhere safe then.”
The maid looked at Sanji in shock for a moment, and then ran.
Sanji rolled his eyes. What the hell was he going to do now? What if the crew hadn’t all made it to Sunny yet? Should he try and find them? Should he try and make it to the ship before the castle caved in? Should he-
A searing pain in his side made his breath catch and the cook doubled over. He almost dropped Nami, but he gathered her in his arms at the last moment.
“Shit…” he moaned. He looked down at his shirt. The left side was soaked in blood, he had finally torn the incision completely. Now he was completely screwed.
He tried to stand, but the pain he had ignored for the last two days was now unbearable. Nausea washed over him in a wave so powerful, he could feel himself starting to pass out.
No… no… I have to get Nami to the ship!
The ground shook beneath Sanji’s feet, and a loud boom erupted from somewhere below. The walls trembled and people screamed as vases and framed art and stone carvings fell to the floor and shattered.
No! No, the ship! Luffy! Zoro!
He leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, the pain in his side was so overwhelming he felt tears in his eyes. Black started to creep into the sides of his vision. He pulled Nami tighter into his arms, unmindful of the blood that was running from his wound and soaking into the curtain that covered her body. He held the navigator tight, whispering softly as his head fell back against the stone.
“I’m sorry, Nami-san… I’m sorry…”
There was another explosion, this time closer, and Sanji had to twist to cover Nami as debris fell all around them.
“Sanji! Nami!”
Sanji’s eyes snapped open. That was Zoro’s voice! What was Zoro still doing in the castle?
“WHERE THE HELL IS MY COOK!!!”
Sanji chuckled at Luffy’s maniacal voice and had just enough strength left to turn his head and see his captain, first mate, and a large furry reindeer coming up the stairs towards him before be passed out.
X x X x X
“Oh… oh, Sanji… how could you do this to yourself?” Chopper’s voice was watery as the little doctor inspected the cook’s wound. “He would have to have been in so much pain for so long! How do you guys manage this kind of crap!”
Zoro tried not to look because every time he glanced down a Sanji’s unconscious form his stomach started to do funny things. Sanji’s side looked horrible, bruised, bloody, and all kinds of yellow and white fluids were seeping out of the place where he had torn the stiches. What the hell had the stupid cook been doing? Didn’t he care what was happening to his body? Didn’t he understand that there were people who cared about him and worried about him? Didn’t he get that there were people who hurt when he hurt!? Stupid fucking cook!
Sanji’s blood soaked his shirt and the smell of it was strong on Zoro’ senses. The swordsman’s fingers dug into his biceps as he watched the water slide over the glass dome on the C.R.A.B. After they had found Sanji and Nami in the East wing, Luffy had scooped up the navigator and told Zoro to grab Sanji. With Chopper’s help, they had found their way back to the underwater entrance, and thankfully, their little ship had still been there. The Polluge King had detonated some kind of explosive, caving in the underground docking bay, but Franky had already set sail and the crew had been well away from the cove when it had happened. It turned out the C.R.A.B. had an autopilot set up to take it directly back to the ship, so all they had to do now was sit back and wait for the little ship to get them back to Sunny.
“Chopper,” Luffy’s voice was eerily quiet, “is Sanji going to be okay?”
Chopper sniffed. “Yeah, he’ll be fine… the infection looks a lot worse than it is. I just don’t understand how he popped so many stitches.”
Zoro glanced over at Nami who was asleep in the passenger seat. The navigator had on pretty much nothing underneath what looked like a bed sheet, so Zoro had a few pretty good ideas how the idiot cook could have hurt himself.
He hoped the several of them weren’t true.
“Okay,” Chopper sniffed again, “I think that’ll do it. I have to remember to thank Franky for packing an extra medical kit in here.”
“Good job, Chopper.” Luffy’s voice was still quiet, and his hand was gentle as he touched Zoro’s shoulder. When the swordsman looked up at him, the young captain motioned with his head towards Sanji and Zoro understood.
Standing, Zoro stepped around Chopper and patted the little reindeer on the head. Chopper hugged his leg and turned tiredly to climb up into Luffy’s lap.
“Luffy,” he said softly, “how long until we’re home?”
Luffy wrapped his arms around his doctor and murmured softly. “Go to sleep and it’ll seem like minutes.”
X x X x X
The return ride to Sunny was quiet. Zoro sat with his back resting against the cushioned bench, listening to the sounds of Luffy’s gentle snoring and the quiet hum of the engine. He had tried to sleep for a while, but too many thoughts were running though his head and he couldn’t settle himself.
There were explanations for why he was feeling the way he was, but Zoro just couldn’t make himself linger on any of them for long. The answers were simple, but to admit to them, well, he wasn’t ready. He would never be ready.
Zoro heard a soft noise from behind and he turned his head. The cook lay on the cushions, his head propped up by the one blanket they could find. He had been still for so long, but now he stirred. Was he waking up? Zoro sat frozen, didn’t breathe. He waited to see if Sanji’s eyes would open. They didn’t, but the cook’s thin body started to tremble. His breath shook softly.
Forcing his body to move, Zoro slowly pulled himself to his feet. What was he going to do? There was only one blanket in on the ship and it was being used as a pillow. He didn’t even have a jacket or an extra shirt or anything to spread over…
Oh, wait.
As gently as he possibly could, Zoro pulled the blanket from under Sanji’s head, and ever so carefully, he moved to sit on the seat. He slid close, resting the cook’s head on his thigh. Blanket free, the swordsman unfolded the soft wool and threw it over Sanji’s body. He stilled then, waiting, hoping he hadn’t woken the other man.
For a few long moments, Zoro sat unmoving. He watched the erratic rise and fall of Sanji’s chest; he felt the cook’s body shake against him. Please don’t get sick again, he thought. Please get warm. Please get better. I can’t do this again… Zoro’s heart beat slow but incredibly hard. Every thump against his ribs was like a fist pounding on the inside of his chest.
I can’t stand seeing you hurt…
Sanji made a soft noise in the back of his throat, turning his head into Zoro’s haramaki. The swordsman’s breath halted. The cook’s hands came up and pulled the blanket to his chin. The furrow in the cook’s brow faded and he stopped shaking. His breathing slowed, evened out. His body relaxed fully.
There was too much air in Zoro’s lungs. He let it out as silently as he could, surprised and embarrassed that he had been holding it for so long. The relief was so great he felt dizzy. He let his head fall back and he closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get that terrible pounding of his heart under control.
He’ll be okay… he’ll be fine. Chopper said he’ll be fine…
Suddenly, everything was very clear.
Zoro opened his eyes. He sat still and serene, watching the ocean fly over above them. He sat that way a long time, his thoughts coming together and his feelings finally manifesting into something recognizable. When he finally moved, when he looked down at Sanji’s sleeping face, he put an elbow on the back of the seat and rested his temple in his palm. He studied the cook’s curling eyebrows, the soft eyelids, and the long lashes that danced over the tops of pale cheeks, his nose, his strong jaw, the stubble across his chin, the small scratch on his bottom lip…
Zoro’s hand was halfway there before he realized he had been about to touch Sanji’s lips. No. No, he couldn’t do that, Sanji would be angry. His hair? Would Sanji be okay with him touching his hair? He just wanted to run his fingers over it. He just wanted to see what it felt like. Zoro had touched Sanji many times, fighting him, helping him wash dishes, carrying him when he was hurt, but he had never touched his hair before.
His hand hovering, trembling slightly over blond that would no doubt be soft and silky, Zoro admitted something to himself. He might be able to pretend, he might be able to lie, to put on a mask for the others and go on as if nothing was different, but he never lied to himself. Never.
He had fallen for Sanji, and he had fallen very, very hard.
He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that, other than lock it away. He had only felt this way once before, and that had been a long time ago. She had died and he had moved on with her dream and her memory. What was he supposed to do when the feelings he had were for someone that was alive? Someone that was with him? Someone he could just reach out and put his hands on?
Sanji made another soft noise and it startled Zoro out of his thoughts.
The swordsman looked down and almost gasped aloud when he saw that Sanji’s eyes were open.
“Sanji?” he said softly.
Sanji said nothing. He lay there, staring off into some faraway place that Zoro couldn’t see. His eyes were so tired, so dark and alone that Zoro found himself sitting forward, aching to touch him. He restrained himself with everything he had from just sliding his fingers into Sanji’s hair, putting his arms around the cook’s thin body, pressing himself as close as he could.
“Sanji,” oh wow, was his voice shaking? “Sanji, are you okay? Do you want me to get Chopper?”
Sanji still didn’t move. He didn’t even shake his head.
“I’m fine, Zoro.”
He wasn’t fine, it was so obvious. The cook may not have been in pain, but he was hurting. It was written all over his face, brimming in his eyes. He lay there, still, his features slack, but Zoro knew Sanji was screaming inside. Zoro knew because he was doing the same thing at that exact moment.
“Sanji…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sanji whispered. “Just forget it… It doesn’t matter…”
It didn’t take much to understand what Sanji meant, not after finding him so broken and bleeding, but still desperately clinging to Nami like he was the only thing in the world left to protect her. Zoro tried not to hate the navigator at that moment, but it was hard. It was really, really hard.
Zoro didn’t think, he just moved on instinct. He moved in response to the ache in his own heart. He laid a hand gently over Sanji’s eyes, and the cook let out a quiet breath beneath him. Zoro turned Sanji’s head away from him and he leaned down to speak into his friend’s ear.
“Chemicals, toxins, and drugs… that’s what she was saying. You know it wasn’t her. She loves you. You know that. You know that.”
Zoro’s voice caught and the swordsman took a moment to feel himself start to tense up, start to tremble. Every part of the body he trained so hard, and depended on so profoundly, was failing him.
It was failing him because for the first time in a long, long time, Roronoa Zoro was truly frightened. Frightened of what Sanji was going to do, how he would react; for the inevitable rejection that was about to come.
He felt weak, helpless like a child, but he pushed the words passed his unsure lips because he had to.
“You know that you matter to Luffy, to this crew. You know you matter to Nami, even though she doesn’t like to show it… And you know you matter to me.” He swallowed thickly, his mouth dry.
“You know you matter… to me.”
He willed it. He ached for Sanji to understand. He pleaded with forces that he didn’t believe in for Sanji to just get it. Zoro was his friend. The crew was his family. Whatever Nami had said back in the castle wasn’t real. Don’t believe it.
And then Sanji’s hand, cool and steady, slid over his. Sanji splayed his palm over the one Zoro held over his eyes. He curled his fingers around Zoro’s, calmed the trembling. Soothed the ache with just that simple touch. Zoro’s fear left him, trickled away like water in the minutes after the rain. Sanji may not feel the same way he did, and he probably never would, but he accepted Zoro’s comfort and returned it. It was far more than Zoro had hoped for.
They said nothing after that. Sanji just held onto Zoro’s hand, and the swordsman closed his eyes and buried his face into blond hair that was indeed fantastically soft. When the C.R.A.B. reached Sunny and the rest of the crew came hurling themselves into the little vessel, Zoro separated himself from Sanji so the cook could be taken inside and fussed over properly. The swordsman accepted hugs from Usopp and acknowledged Robin with a nod of his head, but then he slipped away quietly, snuck into the galley to steal a couple bottles of sake, and climbed up into the crow’s nest.
Later that evening, the sounds of celebration rose up from the deck below. The Red Rose crew sang songs and danced as the Strawhats clapped and cheered. There was much call for celebration since they had all escaped from the Polluge with no casualties and they were finally on their way home. Zoro knew he should go down and be with his nakama, but he wanted no part in the merriment.
After finishing off the last of the sake, Zoro lifted weights until sweat beaded heavily on his skin. He traded between the two heaviest sets for about an hour, but then stopped as he heard someone coming up the ladder.
He turned to tell whoever it was to go away, but he froze when he saw who it was.
“What the hell, cook? You enjoy popping stiches or something?”
Sanji smirked and unloaded four bottles of sake and a covered plate of something that smelled divine onto the floor before he pulled himself up. “I can just take these back if you want.”
Zoro felt his eyebrow twitch. “No, don’t do that.” He felt like should have helped the cook up, but then decided he had touched Sanji enough for one day.
Sanji moved across the crow’s nest to where Zoro was standing. He was dressed in sleeping pants and a sweatshirt, and he held a pillow under his arm.
“Are you planning on sleeping here or something?” Zoro asked.
Sanji snorted. “No, I just wanted something to sit on.”
“Sit?”
“Yes,” the cook dropped the pillow on the floor and lowered himself gingerly down onto it. “I’m not gonna sit up here with you and play cards with all these new staples in my side without something under my ass.”
Zoro blinked. “Cards?”
“Okay, seriously?” Sanji growled. “Did you get dumber in the last couple hours or what? I brought you food ‘cause that’s my job, I brought you sake to thank you for coming back for me, and I brought cards because I don’t want to listen to another rendition of Lady Love of Mine! Now, will you kindly get your dinner and your booze and sit the fuck down before you make this more awkward than it already is!?”
Zoro hesitated for only a moment or two before he obeyed. He sat and inhaled the grilled fish and potatoes with normal, good old red and yellow peppers Sanji had cooked and tried not to moan his pleasure too loudly. After cleaning the plate, he set it aside and downed half of the first bottle of sake.
Running the back of his hand over his mouth, Zoro murmured softly, “Thank you…”
Sanji scoffed. “Shut up and shuffle.”
TBC
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