(Untitled)

[threesword]

Who: Roronoa Zoro (threesword), Sanji (baratiesbest), Umi Ryuuzaki (embracethewaves)
Where: Outside the Northern Lights
When: August 11th, During the party at the lights
Rating: PG-13 at least :|
Summary: Things finally reach their breaking point between the two Straw Hats.
the log:

Comments

[baratiesbest]

Good question. What was he going to do about it? What could he do?

Nothing. The damage was already done, there was no way he could take that back and to be quite honest he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to. He liked Anemone a lot and if she wasn't engaged this would have happened a long time ago, that much he was sure of. But as things were... there really was nothing he could do. Lay low. Pretend like nothing had happened. Talk it over with her, obviously, make sure she wouldn't get in trouble. But beyond that? Nothing.

When it came to Umi he could do even less. The three of them were locked in an impossible situation - Zoro wouldn't make a move for whatever shitty reasons he had, Sanji couldn't without risking his life and whatever friendship he could salvage with the idiot moss head. And Umi... he just didn't know. She seemed to like both of them, but how deep that ran only she could know. It was a pain, all of it and as long as things remained unchanged it would only get worse.

Either he had to give up the chase or Zoro had

[baratiesbest]

Sanji didn't waste any time - the damn swordsman might be up on his feet but he wasn't going to stay there for long. Unleashing an initial kick aimed for Zoro's ribs Sanji used the momentum to flip up onto his hands, followed by a series of spins. Shins, thighs, ribs, neck... he made good use of his long reach and high speed, aiming a kick for every single opening he could find.

Even if he didn't hit or cause any significant damage it should at the very least wear the shithead down. Right now Sanji was fairly sure that he was the stronger of the two, not just because of the time difference but also because the constant lack of food in Discedo hadn't gotten to him yet.

[threesword]

This was more like it. This was where the real challenge was and quite frankly, more like what he expected of Sanji. It couldn't be denied - Sanji only having recently returned did give him an upper hand of sorts. At least in this regard. A constant barrage of attacks did wear on him a bit.

Zoro did as much as he could, using his swords to block the majority of the kicks. A few slipped by, and while they hadn't been enough to completely take him down, he could feel the effect of them. He wasn't down for the count though, eventually crossing his swords in the right place in order to push the chef away from him.

He wasn't holding back. Not that he was in the first place - but this time, he meant business. He held his swords in front of him, beginning to spin them at a furious pace - he was sure he wouldn't even have to say the name. Tatsu Maki spoke for itself.

[baratiesbest]

That it did - by now the cook could recognize that particular attack almost anywhere. That didn't mean that he could always avoid it though, especially not with the handicap of not being on his feet. Desperately scrambling to get out of the way he pushed himself back but it wasn't enough - the attack hit him straight in the chest, sending a good amount of blood onto the pavement.

Coughing he backed up, tried to regain his balance and assess the damage. It hurt like a bitch and for a moment he felt just about ready to pass out from the sudden shock of being injured. Not that he would let something shitty like this take him down. Oh no.

It did look like he needed to bring out the big guns though. He had only used this particular attack in battle once before but that should be more than enough preparation. Gritting his teeth against the pain Sanji glared at the shitty moss head before crouching down. This required excellent timing and with the slippery ground he had to be extremely careful.

[threesword]

Zoro had a small air of gratification as he watched the attack connect. There was something absurdly satisfying right then about seeing Sanji's blood splatter, staining the snow around them a deep shade of red.

Probably more so than it should have, but he really couldn't help himself. After knowing what he knew... seeing what happened and hearing Sanji's words to him just a few minutes before - it felt good.

It didn't last long though. He saw the way Sanji moved - the way he was standing signified that something was up. He watched cautiously, doing his best to anticipate whatever it was he was going to do.

[baratiesbest]

If Zoro had known any better he would get moving right about now. Sanji couldn't help but smirk when he saw that the moron was just waiting for the blow - this would be satisfying in more than one way.

And then he moved, lightning fast despite the icy ground, sending himself off the ground and into an airborne spin. This was the tricky part, the last time he had used it Luffy had been there to keep his target still. If Zoro figured out what he was about to do...

"CONCASSÈ!"

The attack was aimed at the swordsman's shoulder rather than his head - despite his current rage Sanji had no intention of killing him again. Even so there was a significant amount of power behind it, crashing down like a small tidal wave.

[threesword]

Okay, this was new. He'd seen moves from the cook that were almost similar, but this was new. He'd forgotten how fast Sanji could be at times, and this was one of those times - and it paid for it dearly

[embracethewaves]

It was with a broad smile and a deep breath that Umi stepped out of the Northern Lights, into the frigid snowy weather of Discedo. Snow in August... She shook her head, buttoning her coat.

Weird. Just weird.The party had been an incredible success -- Hikaru looked really happy at the surprise, and everyone had a good time. The food, the people...everything was perfect. Except that she had left Hikaru's present back at the Gohl house, of course...which was what she was fixing now. The small girl had offered to come with her, but that would have ruined the surprise, wouldn't it? Besides, it might give her a chance to make some friends

[baratiesbest]

It took Sanji a moment or two to really understand what had just happened, so wrapped up in the fight that he barely noticed his surroundings. And then that water barrier came crashing in between them and everything came to a grinding halt. Breath quick and shallow he turned towards the source, only to freeze up completely once he saw who it was.

Shit.

Shit.

This night couldn't get much worse. Of all the people to pass this way it had to be her - the object of their rivalry. He remained silent, wide-eyed, staring at her in disbelief until the initial shock subsided and he had to look away. Ashamed he took a couple of steps back to increase the distance between himself and the idiot marimo, shoulders slumped in defeat.

Now would be a good time for the scientists to swoop in and send any of them home. The cook had a feeling that the conversation that was to follow would hurt a lot more than the mass of cuts on his chest.

[threesword]

The timing... well, it probably couldn't have been much better. Had that barrier not been there, things would have been far... well, worse in some sense of the word. Zoro hadn't heard Umi's attack call, but there was only one person he knew that would make a barrier like that.

Well. This sucked.

Standing in position to fight was no longer an option. In a couple of pained motions, all three swords had made their way back to their scabbards. He didn't look up at all. This was not something Umi was going to take to well at all.

Really, he wanted nothing more but to just collapse right then. Everything hurt. His shoulder throbbed, he could feel the cracks in his ribs, and he was covered in blood from head to do.

Sleep would do well right that. But that wasn't an option. So instead, he turned away from both the magic knight and and the cook with eyes closed.

[embracethewaves]

"Why--" Umi finally began, but the word caught in her throat. It was...an unbelievably big question, she realized, once she began. But

[baratiesbest]

"..."

What the hell could he say to that? She deserved a response but as much as he wanted to give it to her the words just weren't there. Sanji sighed, a shuddering breath shaky with pain and adrenalin followed by a slight cough. Still nothing and in an attempt to buy some time he went for the pack of cigarettes - maybe the soothing effects of nicotine would hold an answer.

Nakama. Friendship. Trust. Family. Closest thing to a brother he could ever get, and then this...

He didn't understand it any better than she did. Not how it had gone this far at least, even though he knew the reasons behind most of their fights the past nine months. But he couldn't very well say it was all because of her, could he? Better to lie, throw out some flat cliché and hope that she'd still be talking to him after all this.

Inhale. Exhale. Eyes still firmly fixed on the ground, hands shaking. And then the only thing he could think of that wasn't utter bullshit.

"...things change."

[threesword]

All of this sucked. Every last bit of it. This wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. For a while, they'd been okay. Getting along, even. Sure, Sanji and Zoro had their banter, but that was what they did.

Just as Umi had becoming someone very important to Zoro, somewhere deep under the surface, Sanji had too. He'd joined the Straw Hats after seeing what it really meant to never give up on dreams. And sure, Zoro would roll his eyes when you could practically see his eyes turning into hearts when Nami walked by. And he'd be the first to challenge the cook to see who could get the most meat. Any petty competition to keep their rivalry going.

But Zoro reveled in that. That sort of rivalry was like no other. Sanji was different. They could fight all day, but at the end of it, there was a mutual understanding that made it gratifying. It didn't take long to accept him as a part of the crew. Underneath it all, they were friends. Brothers. If one of them was in a bind, the other would always be right there to bail them out (though

[embracethewaves]

"Things change," she repeated, softly, voice flat. Was that really it...was that all? Was it right?

Umi stared in disbelief for a moment. Friendship had always seemed so solid and unquestionable to her -- rock-steady. Hikaru and Fuu had taught her that. Even them...she hadn't known them long, in Cephiro, and at first, sure, they had bickered. She had snapped. But people that you would give your life to save...could "things changing" really ruin a thing like that? Could this place do something like that

[baratiesbest]

It didn't look like Zoro was going to contribute all that much to the conversation. Useless fucking moron, was he actually going to leave all the talking to Sanji? Fuck that, they were both in this mess together. He wasn't going to take all the blame when this shit went even more sour on them

[threesword]

And there is was. It was confirmation that Zoro had been asking for just a little while earlier. Really, he wasn't sure how to react. A part of him was relieved it was... all out there. But the other part of him was completely horrified. Partially, because Sanji had just said it outright. Mostly because... how was Umi going to react to it.

Zoro quietly sputtered. His back was still to them, which made it a bit easier to hide the terrified expression that had taken over his face. He couldn't believe any of this was happening.

Eventually, he found himself able to turn around, though he still couldn't bring his eyes to meet with either of the people there. It was hard enough to hear the quiver in Umi's voice - he knew that seeing her cry would be one of the most painful things right now - more so than any physical injury he had. He knew he had to say something, but nothing came out at first. This really was unlike anything else he'd ever experienced in his 20 years