Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, although I wish I did, so then I could proudly say that Sanji-kun was all mine! I own Opal though XP
Ceestar: This story is pretty pointless, just something I made up after watching something and blah blah blah. You don't need to hear the story. So um. Don't get me wrong, I love Sanji-kun as much as the next crazy fan-girl, but like I said, this is just a one-shot I'm tossing around. Reviews are of course welcome, and flames…well, only if you really have to please. Don't kill me…
Opal looked curiously at Zoro and Luffy. The two of them had just landed back on the deck of the Merry Go and ordered that they set sail immediately.
"What about Sanji-kun?" She questioned. "Aren't we going to wait for him?"
The name seemed to pierce the swordsman and rubberman hard, because they both flinched. Neither of them said a word and Luffy walked slowly forward and dropped his hat on Opal's head.
Opal stared at her captain at first, she couldn't see his eyes, they were hidden under the young boys hair. He seemed to be sad though, no body saw Luffy sad very often, and when he was, you could just tell.
He didn't say a word and wanted to head into the kitchen, but no. Not there.
"Where's Sanji-kun?" Opal half demanded.
Ussop and Nami stared at their nakama. Luffy raised his head and looked directly at Opal, she stared back intensely. He didn't say a word but his eyes were now revealed. They looked sad but angry at the same time, something was definitely wrong. The marksman and navigator feared for the worse and looked over at Zoro who hadn't moved since boarding the ship. He looked at the two of them, feeling that he knew what the two wanted to ask. He nodded sadly. Both of the Straw Hat crew members stared in shock and Nami placed her hand over her mouth, shaking her head, begging that it wasn't true.
"Luffy-san…" Opal said silently. "Where's Sanji-kun? Why isn't he with you?"
Luffy bit his lip, he didn't want to tell her. She was the youngest of the crew and had a strong bond with the cook; he didn't want to be the one to break her heart.
"Zoro-kun. Tell me, where is he?"
There was a moment's silence, but Opal didn't like the truth being kept from her. A casual secret was all fun and games, but this was serious. Why had the cook not returned with the other two, and why were they not answering her questions? Why had they left their friend behind?
"Tell me!" Opal shouted, startling everyone. "Where is he!"
"He's dead!" Zoro shouted in answer. He couldn't hold it any longer, he didn't want to hurt Opal, but she had to know.
"Nan…nani?" opal stuttered, feeling slightly dizzy.
"The idiot cook blocked an attack for us."
"He's not an idiot Zoro!" Luffy snapped. "Sanji died saving us!"
"I know that Luffy!" Zoro snapped back, holding back tears. "Don't you think I understand! I very well know what he did for us!" The swordsman bit his lip and a small trickle of tears fell down his face. His friend was dead. As annoying as Sanji got, he was dead, protecting him. This made Zoro feel weak, but there was no time to think of that now. Sanji was gone.
Ussop and Nami looked worriedly at Opal who hadn't said a word. Luffy and Zoro didn't notice anything; they were lost in their own thoughts. The musician's eyes had gone blank, as if there was a thick fog in front of them.
"He's dead," whispered a voice in Opal's mind. "He's dead. Gone forever, you're never going to see him again. You're never going to hear his voice again. Never again will you see his smile. Never again will your experience his flirty ways. You'll never taste his cooking again. He'll never be worried about you again. He'll never gently touch your face while you were sleeping again."
"Sanji is dead."
Opal couldn't bear it, the voices rang inside her head and as if a major explosion occurred, she blacked out. Her eyes closed as she collapsed, but Luffy saw and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Opal!" Luffy asked in a very worried tone.
Zoro wanted to rush over to her, but he couldn't move. His hand was still gripped tightly around his sword, but he didn't notice this. He didn't really notice anything, not even the rain that began falling hard on their bodies. Luffy rushed Opal inside and Ussop followed closely. Nami was about to go but noticed Zoro still standing in that exact same spot.
"Zoro, come on." The navigator said.
He wanted to answer, but he couldn't do that either. He only knew one thing right now, and that was how much he hated Sanji.
"Why?" Zoro cried. Nami looked at her nakama in surprise but didn't move.
Questions flew around like wild bees in Zoro's mind.
"Why did he go and die! The moron could've just stayed down and not done anything! Why did he go and die! Baka!"
Zoro knew he hated Sanji right now, he hated him for dying. He hated him for causing the crew, especially Opal, so much pain. But nothing was going to bring the cook back. No one could rewind time and prevent the events that had just happened.
"Zoro…" Nami said in a comforting tone. "It'll be okay." She walked up to the swordsman and put a hand on his shoulder. Zoro wrapped his arms tightly around Nami and cried into her shoulder.
Nami had been taken by surprise at first, but she hugged him back, tears falling rapidly down her face too. The rain fell even harder as they both stood there, but it didn't bother them at all.
"He was protecting us!" Zoro cried. "I shouldn't have been in the way!"
"It's not your fault Zoro." Nami said through her own tears. "Sanji did what he wanted to do, and he died a hero."
Zoro loosened his grip and stood back up straight. "Sorry, about that."
"It's okay." Nami said softly. "It'll be okay. We'll all work through this. It will be hard, but we have to support each other all the way. Especially for Opal, she and Sanji were very close."
"I know," Zoro took a deep breath in. "We'll help each other. We'll protect each other. That's just what nakama do."
"Yes." Nami sighed. "Now come inside or you'll catch a cold."
The navigator walked inside with the swordsman close behind. Before he entered the room though, Zoro looked up at the moon high in the sky. He saw the cook's face shining as brightly as the moon, and smiled.
"Ja ne, my nakama."
Ceestar: There it is. It can be seen as a ZoroNami, or ZoroSanji if you want. I don't really care. It was a little more of an OpalSanji, but I don't think that's the way it turned out. Oh well. Once again, don't get me wrong, I love my Sanji-kun. Hopefully if I decide to write another One Piece fic, Sanji will be alive and kicking (literally). Ja mata ne!