Lingering Mint
A/N: I'm on hiatus from writing until the end of my junior year of school, but every once in a while I'll post something; after all, it is very difficult to stay away from writing for long.
Warnings: Zoro/Sanji, language, angst, AU
xxxxxx
"Do you know what mint symbolizes?"
"No, why the hell would I know that, Mihawk."
"You know, Reapers give off a scent, and I chose mint for yours."
"So, what does it symbolize if you think it's so important?"
xxxxxx
"Here's another job from the boss," said the grumpy man sitting at the booth filing papers, as he practically shoved the paper into Zoro's hands "Mihawk wants this mission to be done as soon as possible, he has other ones lined up for you."
Zoro grunted in annoyance at the rude gesture, he must not be getting any action lately, Zoro mused. Not that kind of action, perverts.
Zoro worked for the Soul Reapers, spirits who could not pass on due to certain regrets and worked helping other souls pass on until they could move on themselves. There were bad spirits too, ones that needed to be destroyed rather than peacefully guided to the next world. Thus, spirits like him who had some fighting ability before death were rare and needed for the more dangerous jobs.
Zoro sighed as he read over the mission, crumbling the paper and throwing it over his shoulder as he walked toward one of the portals that would take him to his destination. It was another boring one, he was supposed to help this one guy move on to the next world and there wasn't an evil spirit that was haunting this one, so it meant no action.
It was too bad; recently Sandai Kiketsu was more bloodthirsty than usual…
Arriving at the portal he stared at it with a bored gaze before stepping through, this was such a tedious mission…why did he get assigned something so standard? It was unusual since he always got the more formidable missions that were much more dangerous.
Well, here goes nothing…
xxxxxx
God damn it, I need to get Mihawk to do something about those lights…
Zoro squinted in slight pain as he slowly recovered from the bright flash of light that always accompanied the use of the portal. Looking around carefully he realized he seemed to be in some sort of…restaurant?
Well, if this was a restaurant then it was sure as hell a very busy and rowdy one. People bustled everywhere and waiters rushed in and out of the kitchen taking orders and carting food back out just as quickly.
"Sanji, you little bastard eggplant! Hurry up with that soup will you?!" Zoro perked up as he heard a gruff voice shout at the blond manning the kitchen.
His target's name was Sanji, so that was him then… he didn't look like anything special. Though he seemed quite lean and muscled for being a cook.
Suddenly, Sanji seemed to be running toward him with anger radiating off of him which greatly surprised Zoro.
He shouldn't be able to see me! Zoro had a small panic attack before Sanji walked right through him toward a man who seemed to be trying to ditch his bill. For some reason Zoro felt a small twinge of disappointment, somehow he assumed that he had caught the attention of the feisty blond.
"Get back here!" roared Sanji as he charged the man and reduced him to a pile of pulp with his legs alone.
Zoro raised an eyebrow in amusement; this Sanji was looking to be more and more interesting by the second. Not only was he very aesthetically gifted but he also seemed adept enough at fighting that he may even be able to hold his own against Zoro.
I would've liked to spar with him. Zoro mused as Sanji grabbed the barely conscious man and put him to work washing dishes to foot the bill. Of course, that was just wishful thinking, after all, he had a job to do and it involved the unfortunate death of said blond.
Zoro stood off to a distance, observing the blond in his element as he flitted back and forth, giving orders and cooking up a storm (quite literally).
It was well past dinner time before they closed the restaurant, and as Sanji said his goodbye's to his co-workers, Zoro followed him on his walk home.
It must be a cold night. Though Zoro could not feel heat nor cold due to the fact he was technically dead, he could see Sanji's puffs of breath as he sniffled even when bundled in that ridiculously huge coat of his.
The moonlight reflected off Sanji's hair causing to shine almost with a silver light, Zoro admired it as he tugged at his own short strands. Being dead meant he was basically stuck looking the same as when he died (minus whatever injuries acquired as those generally fade away), thus this meant he was in a suspended state and nothing grew, not his hair, nor his nails or anything else.
As they were crossing the street, a van tore past the corner in a hurry and didn't slow down, heading straight for Sanji.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion at that point; Zoro gave a panicked glance at Sanji noting the look of surprise then one of horror as he realized he wouldn't get away in time. Before he could think, Zoro solidified his hands and gave a hard shove, pushing Sanji out of harm's way while the van passed through him.
They both paused to catch their breaths, Sanji from the shock of almost being run over, and Zoro from the discomfort of a solid object passing through his body. It was an uncomfortable sensation and one that Zoro never got used to.
Zoro paused in his own recovery to give Sanji a once over. He seemed fine, with only minor scrapes from the fall and maybe some psychological damage but over all nothing seemed wrong.
Sanji shakily got to his feet and patted himself down before slowly continuing his walk back home.
Zoro raised a brow at this, most people would still be in shock over a near death experience but this guy just brushed it off and continued on like nothing happened.
He's stronger than I originally thought. Mused Zoro, appraisingly as he followed Sanji again.
xxxxxx
Once they arrived at Sanji's house, the blond immediately headed straight to the shower leaving Zoro with nothing to do.
Deciding to snoop around a bit, Zoro noticed the amazing kitchen with its many utensils; it intrigued him as to why cooking required such complicated tools.
There were some pictures on top of the fireplace mantle that caught his attention and he picked one up. It was the blond, surrounded by what he assumed were friends as they were all chugging beer or liquor of some sort while laughing.
So…he has people that will miss him when he's gone. The realization unnerved Zoro, he had never once thought about the fact that other than the person dying, others would also be affected.
Putting the picture back down, Zoro silently walked over to the couch and sat down. Now that he had more of a clear mind and time to think, he questioned why he had saved the blond. After all, it was unavoidable; until Sanji dies everything will be out to kill him. At first, there will be a few 'accidents' here and there but as the days drag on and he still exists, literally everything will be able to kill him in some way. So why was he dragging out this job any longer than necessary?
Zoro sighed and ran a hand through his hair out of habit, he knew he was only preventing the unavoidable but he wanted to make sure that the blond was ready to die instead of it happening in an instant. After all, he might still have regrets and Zoro certainly didn't want Sanji to become something like him. In the back of his mind, Zoro didn't know why he cared so much for the blond. It was irrational, after all, he's known him for a grand total of maybe two hours and Sanji didn't even know he existed.
What a great start to a friendship, or whatever this is.
Hearing a noise behind him, Zoro turned around…to find Sanji walking out with nothing but a towel around his waist. Zoro's mouth went dry as his eyes lingered on the sleek shape of the blond highlighted by the droplets of water slowly sliding down that ski-
Okay, woah woah, stop. Okay pull it together. This is his house he is justified to be….half-naked if he thinks no one is there. Taking deep breathes (He didn't even know getting turned on was possible for a dead person…or spirit, whatever he was) he closed his eyes and recited the multiplication table (Who said it wasn't useful? The teachers are right when they say it'll come in handy in the future. It could calm any boner, anytime). After calming down he saw that Sanji had put clothes on, pajamas to be exact. With little anime girls on them. In bikinis.
Oh great, he's a grade A pervert. Regrettably that did not make the blond any less attractive to him.
Damn, hormones are a bitch even when you're dead. As he was thinking, Sanji had grabbed a beer and sat himself next to Zoro turning on the television directly in front of them.
Moans filled his ears as his eyes widened in horror at what he was seeing. Straight porn. Sanji was watching straight porn while his hand was slowly slidi-
It was at that moment Zoro decided enough was enough and teleported himself the fuck out of that mad house. As much as he would love to see some Sanji action, having straight porn as background music was not exactly an ideal environment for it to happen.
Too lost in his own thoughts, Zoro realized he had no idea where he had teleported himself to.
Fuck my life. Or uhh non-life. Whatever, fuck it all. He observed his surroundings and found he was in someone's living room judging by the very bright pink couch in the middle of the room. Since he definitely did not want to return to that house until the next morning he plopped himself on that outrageously pink couch and set to cleaning his swords.
Might as well bunk here for the night. He mused as he unsheathed Wado and started dabbing it with a cotton swab. It's gonna be a long few days…
xxxxxx
These were definitely the longest days Zoro had ever experienced in his non-life; he's been protecting Sanji's ass for almost a week and it was starting to tire him. He figured that there should be a limit to how often a person could have a near death experience but Sanji was just disregarding that limit like it's nobody's business.
At first it was things that weren't too outrageous but it quickly derailed from there:
Five days ago…
It happened when Zoro was stalk- following Sanji around the market shopping for groceries when all of a sudden…
"Oh my god, someone stop that cart!"
The cry came out of nowhere and Zoro barely reacted in time to push Sanji out of the way of the incoming shopping cart with probably several tons of beef in it before it crashed into the shelf, where Sanji was standing before.
"What the…" Sanji stood up from where he had crash-landed and looked around warily wondering how he had managed to avoid that cart.
"It smells vaguely like…mint?" Sanji shrugged off that weird feeling that, again, he wasn't alone and continued on his way.
Four days ago…
They were walking down a street when out of nowhere a grand piano fell from a third story building and Zoro just barely managed to pull Sanji out of the way.
"Damn it, cook, watch where you're going." Zoro grumbled, exasperated even if Sanji couldn't hear him.
Three days ago…
"…This taco tastes funny." Stated Sanji with a raised brow before choking up and turning slightly purple; Zoro sighed.
The countdown toward the date of Sanji's death was not doing good things to his sanity, Zoro realized as he called the ambulance for a case of food poisoning.
Two days ago…
This is getting ridiculous. Zoro growled in frustration as Sanji somehow managed to trip on nothing and almost impale his jugular artery on a very conveniently placed nail barely saved by Zoro reaching an arm out to steady him.
Present day…
Zoro had to admit that he was not the most patient man but anyone would be at least mildly frustrated by all the ridiculousness of the situation.
However, it was by constantly guarding the blonde and being near him, shadowing his everyday life that Zoro managed to learn a lot about Sanji.
He knew that Sanji was a kind-hearted man when some hoodlums had bumped into a woman and tried to harass her which Sanji immediately put a stop to; saving the poor woman.
He knew that Sanji was a pervert unable to take a hint judging by the fact that he tried to chat up the same exact woman who had just been harassed. It was understandable and deserving that he ended up with a reddened cheek from a well-placed slap.
He also knew that Sanji was always there for his friends. Always. These times included when Sanji was woken up in the middle of the night to bail Ace and Luffy (Two of his close friends that seemed to always be in some sort of trouble at all hours) out of jail after the two had beaten up a bully. He then proceeded to get himself thrown in jail by getting a good kick in with that same bully.
He knew that Sanji could be gentle to women and without ulterior motives as he comforted Nami after a particularly bad breakup with her (now) ex-boyfriend; making her food and leaving after she was better without taking advantage of her distressed state.
He also knew that he was in deep trouble judging by the fact that the more he learned about Sanji the more he did not want the man to die. He loved seeing Sanji full of life in a kitchen where he was happiest or laughing with his friends about something mundane. It was unfair, Zoro decided. It was unfair that someone so good should die so young just because "his time is up", however, fate was a fickle mistress and there was nothing a lowly reaper like him could do anything about it.
It was a tragedy, he decided, that even knowing the inevitable end of Sanji; he couldn't help but love him just a bit more everyday. Even though Sanji didn't know he existed and never would, it was enough to see him happy.
It was only right that he would do anything to protect that happiness.
xxxxxx
Zoro knew that eventually he wouldn't be able to protect Sanji from these well-placed 'accidents', but he definitely had not taken into account the fact that human bodies were, after all, susceptible to disease.
As Zoro sat on the chair next to Sanji's hospital bed, he could only watch on in despair as Sanji grew increasingly weaker everyday.
Cancer, the doctors had said. It wasn't until Sanji had fainted that the hospital had performed a thorough check up on him; finally coming to the conclusion that he had a malignant brain tumor and that was the reason for Sanji's recent irritation and increasing headaches. Sanji had put on a façade at that news, laughing it off even as his friends cried for him.
"It's okay. I thought everything was trying to kill me recently and every time, I was only able to survive through sheer luck. It seems this is as far as my luck goes, my guardian angel can't save me anymore." Sanji had said quietly with an odd sense of resignation as he signed the paperwork required to move him to the hospital for treatment.
Zoro had flinched, thinking that Sanji knew about him, this 'guardian angel'. However, after careful observation Zoro realized he had just meant it as a metaphor and nothing more. He didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved.
It was only after Sanji was left alone late at night on the hospital bed that his mask began to crack. Now that he had no worried friends to put a show up for, Zoro felt pain as he saw just how hurt and broken Sanji really was.
"I've lived a fulfilling life." Sanji said to no one in particular but this gave a fright to Zoro as the silence was broken and he wondered yet again if Sanji knew about him. Again, he was disappointed to see that Sanji was just speaking to himself in general to get things off his chest.
"I was happy, surrounded by friends who I knew would do anything for me. Even without a family, they became my family. That is why; I believe that if it is my time to go, then I shall leave this world knowing that at least in someone a memory of me smiling will be left behind."
There was a pause as Sanji seemed to consider his words carefully before he spoke, these words unmistakably addressed to Zoro.
"I may just be crazy or sentimental, talking to myself like this…but…recently I felt as if I've had my own guardian looking after me. It was creepy at first, I mean; anyone would be freaked out if they felt that someone or something was watching them. And you know, you always smell like mint. That's how I know you're nearby."
Another pause as Zoro held his breath and waited for more, knowing that this would probably be as close to an actual conversation that he would ever have with Sanji.
"For some reason, it didn't scare me. Instead, I somehow knew that you- if you're listening to this- were kind and I thank you for it. That's the most thanks you'll get out of me though." Sanji chuckled as he felt slightly insane talking to himself like this. "I hope it's not just me being stupid or insane but that you are actually here listening to this. Whatever you may be, I appreciate the many attempts at keeping me alive…but this seems to be the end of the line. I don't think you'll be able to prevent my own body from killing me, unfortunately. The only thing I can be thankful for from all these occurrences was the chance to sort of meet you. I- I think in another life we could have been friends…it's a pity I'm not even sure what you are."
With that last statement Sanji reached out one of his hands in front of him as if to try and touch Zoro. Breaking a little inside, Zoro allowed his own hand to reach over and lace with Sanji's; solidifying them enough for Sanji to feel them.
Sanji gasped in delight as he felt something like a man's hand hold his own before laughing in relief that he wasn't crazy, that there was something or someone here with him. His own guardian angel.
Sanji fell asleep from exhaustion soon after, with their hands still laced together and Zoro studying his fingers and counting the breaths he took; knowing there would be no more.
However, he was never one to go down without a fight and he reluctantly got up and away from Sanji as he thought of a plan.
xxxxxx
Zoro poured over the books and records in the soul reaper's main library, a place that he, previously, had deemed not suitable and too nerdy for him to go near.
It was in this state, surrounded by open books and what-not that Mihawk had found him. Of course, Mihawk knew what Zoro was trying to do and it saddened him slightly that this would be his inevitable fate.
"I know what you're looking for." Startled out of his reverie by Mihawk's voice Zoro glared at the man before the words registered.
"Wait, how-" Zoro started before being cut off by Mihawk with a raised hand.
"I know." Repeated Mihawk softly before clearing his throat. "Although this ritual is deemed forbidden; it is actually quite simple. All you have to do is transfer through an orifice. Any orifice will suffice."
Zoro's lips thinned to a grim line as he stood up and backed away from Mihawk.
"Are you going to stop me?"
Mihawk accessed the situation for a moment before speaking. "No."
Zoro seemed surprised as he faltered in his movement to unsheathe his sword.
"No." Mihawk said again, before sighing in annoyance at the confused gaze Zoro gave him. Yes, he should be stopping Zoro, after all, the thing he was about to do was suicide and absolutely idiotic but it was something Mihawk could definitely see Zoro doing.
"I've told you before that soul reapers don't 'die' as we are already technically dead. We reap souls and send them to the afterworld, it is what we do and though no one knows why, we continue doing it. However, there are ways that we can move on."
"I know, you've told me this a million times. One is to fix whatever regret that caused you to stay in the first place, and the other is to do this ritual." Huffed Zoro at being treated like an uninformed child; he really needed to get back to Sanji's side and it was starting to make him fidget in worry.
"In your case it is both."
Zoro stopped fidgeting at that, "What do you mean?"
"Do you even remember why you are here? Do you remember your regret?"
Zoro thought back, many of the reapers here were much like him; stuck in this plane existing for so long that they eventually forgot why they were here in the first place. Zoro didn't have the faintest idea either, though he realized he should.
Seeing Zoro fall into silence was enough of an answer for Mihawk. "Died June 7th of 1993 in a car crash. Victims Zoro and Sanji, with the cause of the crash because of the driver, you. You didn't mean for it to happen and it was a complete accident but all the same you felt responsible and thus unable to move on. Do you understand now, Zoro? By giving your life to the one you loved and killed, you're redeeming yourself and therefore able to move on to be reincarnated."
"I- But how did you-" Stammered Zoro in a rare moment of astonishment at this information.
Mihawk gave a small, sad smile at Zoro's bewilderment before answering. "Don't forget, I've been here much longer than you have and I was present the first day you came here. You shouldn't linger here too long, though, Sanji's life is on the line."
That seemed to shock Zoro into action as he quickly put the books back and made a run for the door before hesitating. "Will-" He cleared his throat in order to dash away his voice that was filled with gratitude and a sudden sadness, revealing more to the man who has helped him many times over than he would like. "Will you be okay?"
Another sad smile but this one with some resignation. "I've been here for a long, long time, Zoro. I've long forgotten what my regret was. Besides, if I'm not here there would be no one to guide the lost ones like you."
With that, Zoro didn't look back as he headed straight for the portals and to Sanji's side.
xxxxxx
When Zoro materialized in Sanji's room, it was to find the cook still asleep and looking even more haggard than before.
Well, this is it, then. Zoro flopped into the chair he had occupied previously and leaned closer to Sanji to study him.
The man truly was beautiful, even on the brink of death it made him look other-worldly and paler than normal but still, without a doubt, Sanji.
Zoro stood and sat on the bed beside Sanji as he ran a hand gently across his cheek and then cupped it reverently. He chuckled when Sanji nuzzled the hand in his sleep; he would have never done that conscious so it was quite amusing to see him perform such a…cuddly action.
He sobered up, however, when he ran a thumb gently across Sanji's lips and parted them slightly, feeling the warm huffs of breath that was evidence of his existence.
Leaning down, Zoro pressed a chaste kiss to Sanji's lips before pulling back to look at the man one last time.
"I wish we could have been friends." Another kiss on both cheeks, gentle and brushing.
"I wish we could have been more than that." Another kiss again, this time on his nose.
"But most of all, I wish you knew that I existed. Not as your omnipotent mystical 'guardian angel' but as a human being with warmth and flesh that you could love." The last kiss on his forehead, sealing the ritual.
One last sad look at the man whom he would give anything for before he took a deep breath and pressed his lips to Sanji's.
"Goodbye." Zoro whispered into Sanji's mouth as he exhaled out.
He felt the pain immediately as Zoro tried to control of the outflow of his life's energy so as to not overwhelm Sanji.
Sanji scrunched his brows in discomfort but still remained asleep.
"It'll be over soon." Zoro managed to gasp out as he tried to keep his mouth slotted over Sanji's directing the flow into him. It was proving to be difficult however, as he could feel himself disappearing starting from his feet.
And dear God, it hurt. It felt as if someone was slowly and excruciatingly peeling layers of his skin off and the feeling of his organs disappearing did not help at all as his body (Or what remained of it) shuddered in pain.
One more push. Come on just a little more… Zoro nearly blacked out as another ripple of pain went through him. He almost gave in to his body's own scream to survive and exist when he felt a tongue in his mouth.
He wasn't even sure if Sanji was awake but through the blurry haze of his suffering he felt the blonde hold his face gently and kiss him back.
Thank you thank you-hurts-thank you I love you I love you-pain-anything for you, please, just don't let go.
And Sanji didn't.
It was through this litany of I love you's that Zoro finally felt his energy run out.
I love you forever, always, I love you, love you, I love-
Then, nothingness.
xxxxxx
They said it was a miracle that he had survived. The doctors were completely baffled that the tumor had all but disappeared and Sanji was the picture of perfect health.
After the initial proclamations of "This is a miracle!" and other such similar things, they finally left him alone to recover. He would have to stay in the hospital for a while for them to monitor and make sure he was completely okay but other than that, he was healthy.
It was only after the first moments of stunned disbelief had faded that he found himself with tears running down his face.
He blinked in confusion as to why he was crying, was it the fact that he was still alive?
"Why…why am I crying?" Sanji's question and resulting sob seemed to echo in the empty room and for some reason, he felt overwhelming loneliness envelope him.
He didn't know why he was crying.
Tears.
All he knew was that there was a slight smell of mint mixed with his own scent…
Pain.
After all, there was nothing left, nothing but the lingering scent of mint.
Loneliness.
fin
A/N: Mint was used as a purifier in olden times and considered a sign of forgiveness.
I have a lot of drabble/ one shots/ chapters for the multi-chapter stories I have on my computer but I just never have the time to finish them. This one was a work in progress for half a year xD I wrote a little at a time so it may not flow well. Thank you for reading! And I will be posting a small fluff part that I wanted to include in this chapter but couldn't fit it in. It was kind of a deleted piece to this story, like bloopers xD
I am not responsible for whatever pain and sadness you experience due to the Zoro/Sanji feeelllsssss. ;)
If there is a mistake please tell me! Everything I write is unbeta-ed or edited. Reviews are VERY much welcome and will make me lurvvvv you :D