Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Gin, Sanji, or any other characters affiliated with it. They are owned by Eiichiro Oda. So please don't sue me.
Sanji's POV
The Demon of the Seas:
I don't know when I first noticed it. I think it was around the point where I could no longer stand without shaking. I was sure I was on the ground when it really hit me, though. I'd taken quite a few hits from Gin's iron clubs already and my rib cage felt like every rib had shattered. I attempted to push myself up, but only succeeded in collapsing onto the broken fin of the Baratie. Blood crept up with every painful cough. I still remember my every though t drifting back to, "God, I could use a smoke…"
Gin stood a few feet away, looming over me like the shadow of death. From where everyone else was he showed no mercy, but I knew different. I could feel with every blow that he was starting to soften the swings, and as I found it harder to react, his movements became a bit slower. That's not to say that he wasn't still pummeling me. I couldn't tell if he was trying to help me or torture me.
Which one, honestly, I didn't care. All I knew was that as long as I was alive I wasn't going to let them have Zeff's beloved restaurant. I wouldn't let him lose anything else because of me. The pirates and cooks were still in the water, despite the threat of the fire being gone. They were likely just trying to avoid getting mixed up in the battles between Luffy and Krieg or Gin and I. I started pushing myself up. I couldn't show Gin any sign that I was giving up.
"Huff…Those skewered dumplings you're swinging aren't much good, are they?" I taunted him. "You…small fry scoundrel." I shook as I got to my feet. I knew I was in trouble. Gin was tough. But I wouldn't give up.
"I'll finish you now!" Gin yelled, running at me, iron clubs swinging. "Don't squirm!" I gasped a bit. Gin's movements were much slower. His heart wasn't in this attack. He swung hard, but way too early. I easily dodged it by hefting my weight onto one of my hands. "Die, Sanji!" he screamed at me, as if it would cause me not to notice.
But I did notice, and I was furious. "What is this!?" I yelled back. If I had to fight for my life, then he had to get serious. "You missed on purpose!?" I put as much venom as I could into what I had to say. Gin didn't say anything back. That made me angrier. I hated when people toyed with me. "Quit Playing around!" I screamed, kicking him on the back of the head as I went to land. I drove his face into the wooden fin as hard as I could.
I regretted it, though. Every broken bone in my body suddenly jarred and I could feel more blood shoot out from between my clenched teeth as I tried not to scream. I succeeded until I landed on my knees, cradling my abused ribcage, hoping none of the ribs punctured anything.
"Die…" Gin suddenly grabbed my neck from behind and shoved me back onto the deck. I was so sore I couldn't even fight back. This time, as he kneeled down above me, I knew he was the shadow of death. He held a hand around my throat, club poised to crush my head in. I glared up at him. I must have been a disgusting sight, blood covered and sweaty. He, on the other hand, looked completely the same as when I met him. All of those hits I pulled off didn't even faze him.
No, actually, he didn't look the same. The Gin I first met was my friend. He would have never tried to shoot Zeff, or jack our ship, or kill me. The man I knew was just that – a man. But this creature staring at me with those cold, unfeeling eyes was a demon. And for some reason, it hurt. More than the cracked ribs and broken bones, more than his hand that was nearly crushing my windpipe. What hurt the most was knowing that it was Gin doing it.
"Lousy cook!" Gin's voice cut through my thoughts. I was going to reply, but something hit my cheek that stopped me. A tear. Gin was crying. "I CAN'T DO IT! DON KRIEG!" he suddenly screamed.
"What?!" Don Krieg's voice reflected the shock that I felt.
"I can't kill this man!" Gin continued.
"What did you say!?" Krieg demanded.
Gin seemed like he couldn't hear him. "Cause I…" he seemed to be speaking almost automatically. He wasn't looking at me, not even at Krieg. He simply stared at the floorboards. He was a mess, unable to control his emotions. "That was the first time in my life that anybody was ever so kind to me!"
I immediately thought of when I brought the food out to him. Normally, I would have just set it down and went back to my duties. But something about him made me sit down and keep him company. I didn't realize doing so would have so much impact on his life…and save mine.
"I…I can't kill this man!"
Krieg started into some kind of crock about principles and disappointment. I couldn't remember it off the top of my head. But all I knew was that this was the Gin I knew. The demon was simply part of it. The demon was the part he let out for what needed to be done without feeling. Gin was the part that I found myself suddenly wanting to get close to. But I had to squash those emotions for the time being.
"I'm sorry," Gin started to speak and my focus regained on him. "I would never betray you. And I don't regret anything I've done in your service." I saw a 'but' coming. "But…this one person, I cannot kill!" If I didn't have my pride to consider, I might have started crying too. "Don Krieg," he continued, "Is there any way…Any way at all…that this ship could possibly be spared!?"
That entire sappy speech was perfectly worth it, if only for Krieg's reaction. He was so stunned and angry that he couldn't even answer for a few seconds. He then yelled, "It's inexcusable that you, my most trusted officer, should refuse to obey my order! What madness has possessed you!?" I got a bad feeling. Said feeling was justified. People started yelling about a poison gas bomb and I knew I was screwed. I couldn't move.
"Don Krieg!" Gin tried to reason with him. "These cooks saved all of our lives!"
"Drop your mask, Gin!" Krieg ordered. "You are no longer part of this crew!" The last part was cold and heartless.
"What!?" Gin was shocked. "But…Don Krieg…"
"Drop that mask!" Krieg repeated this time yelling.
While Gin seemed to consider this, Luffy suddenly attacked. "You think I'd let you shoot that!?" he screamed at Krieg, charging across the fallen mast.
"Outta the way!" Krieg demanded, shooting the stakes he shot before at him.
Luffy jumped out of the way. "You won't hit me again!" he declared. He latched onto the underside of the mast and started crawling. He really did look like a monkey.
I looked back at Gin, who hadn't moved. He looked so lost. I wanted to reach out and touch him, let him know that there were better things than what Krieg had for him. But I still couldn't move. He looked around, then finally at me. I wanted to say something, but somehow I just couldn't get any words out. The way he looked at me was pained and confused. I felt the same way, though my pain was more from the several blows I took to my internal organs.
A loud Tha-Wump! caught my attention. Luffy had landed hard on the deck. A few stray stakes followed, and the mast was even more broken than before. "Gin!" Luffy yelled, jumping up. I'd never seen him so furious before. Then again, at the time I'd known him for less than a day. "Don't obey that pansy Krieg! I'm gonna clobber him!"
I was almost speechless. Luffy, who was here only by chance, shouldn't have even been part of all this. But he was still unwilling to give up against Krieg. Just like me, he refused to stop protecting what was important to him. "Chore boy…" was all I could manage.
"Hey, brat!" Gin finally spoke. He sounded pissed. "Don't belittle Don Krieg! Don Krieg is the mightiest man alive. A runt like you could never defeat him."
Gin's stubbornness seemed to revive my motor skills. My battered body tried to disagree with me, but I ignored it as I shot a hand out and grabbed his arm. "Wake up, Gin!" I screamed desperately. I tried to get him to look at me again, but he simply stared ahead. "Your hero's trying to kill you!" I tried again. His response wasn't the one I was hoping for.
"Of course," he replied. It was the demon speaking. "I'm a coward who let foolish sentiment get in the way of duty! I deserve to die!" With that he threw his mask into the water.
I couldn't believe how easily he threw away his mask – his life – for someone like Krieg. If Zeff ever asked the same of me, I'd probably flip him off, take a kicking, and then continue with my life. So I had to ask, "Why?"
Even his crewmates were stunned, but that quickly passed. They had more to worry about. Specifically, the poison gas bomb flying toward us. The pirates threw on their masks. The cooks dived. I didn't really mind that they didn't try to save me. There wasn't enough time. And honestly, I wanted a smoke more than anything, even help.
I wouldn't usually give up, but my whole body trembled and cursed at me after I sat up. I couldn't move further without collapsing.
"Here, you guys!" I looked up to see Luffy throw a couple of masks our way. I smirked, seeing the looks on the pirates' faces he pulled those off of.
I reached for the closest mask, but Gin snatched it away. I couldn't believe it, after all that about not being able to kill me he was going to let me die? But he then threw it to Luffy, who didn't have one, and I understood. He wasn't letting me die; he was sacrificing himself.
"Gi-!" I didn't have a chance to protest. He shoved the mask onto my face, forcing me onto the deck. I fought and struggled, refusing to let him die for me. I already caused one man to lose it all. I wasn't going to let that happen again. I couldn't see him through the glass window of the mask; his hand was in the way, holding the mask on. His other hand pinned me down by the shoulder, while he literally sat on me, straddling my waist to keep the rest of me still.
He started coughing, and I saw blood splatter onto the mask and I then knew why he had his hand there. "San…ji…" he coughed out. I could feel his pain. He was keeping me from seeing it. He didn't want me to know what the MH5 was doing. But I could feel it, I could hear it, and it scared me.
"Gin!" I yelled desperately. I wasn't sure if he could hear me until I felt his muscles tense. I pulled on his arm weakly with both hands. I wanted to tear the mask off, to share it with him. But he was too strong – and I was too weak. "Why?" I choked out. I was trying hard not to cry.
"I'm…sorry…" he coughed out. It sounded like it took all his strength just to speak, but still I couldn't move him. "For the first time…since I can remember…when you gave me that meal…when you…listened to me…I felt like someone actually cared…"
"Isn't that worth living for? It's not too late!" I pleaded, trying to reason with him. "We can share the mask! Take turns having it!" I continued to try and pry him off.
"Nothing is worth living for…if your captain doesn't want you to live at all…" He started coughing again.
It was obvious from his words that the MH5 wasn't the only poison Krieg exposed Gin to. "That's not true!" I fought harder. I couldn't let Gin throw away his life. "Gin! Please don't die!"
At those words, I felt Gin's entire body tense. I smiled behind the mask. I finally got through to him. But then my smile melted. Something was wrong. I could feel Gin's body tremble, even weaken. So I started struggling harder. I couldn't let him die now! Not when I finally convinced him to live!
"Gin! Get off me!" I screamed. "Gin!"
Gin finally lifted the mask and I gasped. Blood seeped from his nose and mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and his body trembled. But his face was concentrated. It was cold. Emotionless. Gin didn't protect me. The Demon Man did.
He opened his mouth to say something, but blood shot out instead of words. I could only stare in horror as he fell back. Despite the pain I was in, I all but leapt forward, catching Gin's shaking form. "Gin!" I yelled at him, wanting some reaction, any reaction.
But the only reaction came as Don Krieg laughed. "D-Don Krieg!?" Gin coughed out. I couldn't believe he was shocked at Krieg's cruelty after all that.
I held him a little tighter, determined not to let him go. "Gin…" I muttered, though I was looking at Krieg. "You made a mistake in choosing to follow that man." And, God, did I ever need a smoke.
A few months later, that little crew Luffy accepted me into grew. I didn't have time to think about much more than feeding all seven members. What time I spent not cooking I was either fighting or doting on Nami and Robin. I couldn't help it; part of my upbringing was to always treat every woman like a princess.
Miraculously, one night I found myself with some time on my hands. I was the only one awake, for some reason unable to fall asleep. I lit up a cigarette on deck and breathed in the sweet nicotine. Chopper had pointed out before that smoking would slowly kill me. I figure if I manage to live through all the shit I go through as a Straw Hat pirate I deserve a long, slow death caused by something I actually like.
I thought about why I even joined this deathtrap we call a pirate crew. The All Blue. Yeah, that was my excuse. And it was mostly true. Mostly. The truth was that I probably never would have joined if I hadn't made the promise to see Gin on the Grand Line. Would I see him? I didn't know. But I had to try.
I never brought him up in conversation anymore. The last time I did, I nearly sent Zoro flying overboard from the force of the kick I gave him. It was his fault. He called Gin "Krieg's Yes-Man". I would have let it go if he hadn't persisted. But he insisted on pissing me off.
I'm not sure what Zoro's problem is. I'm not even sure what started it. All I know is that we can't stand each other. Nami likes to joke that we argue like an old married couple. That might be true – if old married couples liked trying to bash each other's skulls in. Besides, Zoro? I could never like him as more than a shipmate and sparring rival.
Zoro's too much of a man. He holds back, would never kill someone that didn't deserve it. Not that that is a bad thing. But men like that – men who are simply men – come around everyday.
I need a man with a little demon in him. Not demon fruit. It's easy to win a battle with supernatural powers, like Luffy. But it takes an extra amount of skill to win using no more than your natural abilities. I have that skill, able to defeat any number of opponents with only kicks. But like Zoro, I'm no demon. The only man I've ever met like that is Gin.
At first I hated his demon side. There was nothing I wanted more than to only have Gin. But…something changed. It might have been that I could finally accept that the demon was a natural part of Gin. Or maybe it was that, like his normal self, the demon Gin came to love me too.
Yes, I said "love". I didn't tell him that I knew. When he's ready, if we met again, he could tell me. I long since accepted how I felt. I think what I loved about him was that I could be myself, really talk to him. Gin, and his demon side, he didn't realize it, but I felt as much comfort with him – when he wasn't pummeling me into a bloody pulp – as he felt with me. I only hoped I could see him again.
I spat my cigarette, which was barely anything anymore, into the sea. I pulled out another one and lit it. Lucky for me, I would get my wish. In a pirate town called Port Piece.