DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece, and I am not making any money from writing this. All rights to the characters and the world of One Piece is property of Eiichiro Oda. (Except for The Shepherd, he's mine.)
The Bond of The Crone
Chapter 1
"Halloween, Halloween, Halloween~"
They had been chanting it all morning, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Sanji had tried to refrain from smacking his head on the counter. He wasn't exactly excited about celebrating the day where the veil between the living and the dead was the thinnest. If he was to be totally honest about it, he despised it. And it didn't exactly help that the boy's had been going on and on about it for over a week. How they knew they'd entered the month of the autumn harvest, he wasn't sure. They had been at sea when it started, and it wasn't like they had a calendar on the ship. Well, he had one, and he was sure Nami and Robin had one in their bedroom as well. He just didn't think the other boys knew about it.
He rubbed his temple, feeling the twinge of throbbing pain that was wrapped around his head like a belt. Fucking migraine, he sighed. He had started getting them the first day of the month and he hadn't needed to check his calendar to know why it was happening. It was the same every year, and he knew it was only going to get worse. It always did.
"SAANJIIII~"
He groaned as he heard Luffy's tell-tale yelling of his name, he knew that tone so well, and knew that there was only one thing Luffy was after. Food.
"Lunch will be done in an hour!" He yelled back as he shifted his weight to one foot, readying himself for the inevitable. This is gonna hurt, he sighed again. Not even a moment after he'd thought it, he felt rather than heard, their captain rushing towards him. He timed his kick perfectly and connected it with Luffy's head, sending him crashing to the floor a few feet from him. "I said," he growled through clenched teeth as the belt around his head squeezed a little harder, "Lunch will be done in an hour!"
"But I'm hungry!" Luffy whined.
"We had breakfast not even three hours ago, and I just gave you a snack, so stop whining, damnit!" He knew he shouldn't have raised his voice, but he couldn't help it. It was a habit, and he couldn't stop himself from doing it.
"Sanji is so mean!" Luffy pouted and stuck his tongue out at him.
He tried not to rub his temple as he growled in frustration, "We're running low on supplies again Luffy! If you want more than rice and whatever I'm able to scrape together with the few things we have left in the fishtank, then make yourself useful and catch us something!" He turned back to the stove, the bread was nearly done. "And bring Usopp and Chopper with you!"
"So stingy!" Luffy huffed, but ran back outside yelling for Usopp and Chopper to grab the fishing gear.
That was easier than I expected. He looked at the timer, nine minutes left. He really wanted to just lay his head down on the cold surface of the counter to cool down his steadily increasing aching head. But he still had to prepare the fishcakes, the bacon and ham omelettes, the salad, and the veggie-burgers for Chopper, and then he had to put on a fresh pot of coffee, and then make some new lemonade. He ticked off the list in his head as he made his way over to the fridge. As he was rummaging through it, he almost put his entire head inside, feeling the cold temperature soothe some of the aching as the belt around his head lessened a fraction. The relief was short lived however as he knew he didn't have time to stay there, he needed to get on with the cooking. The crew's needs were always top priority.
He had decided not to go to Chopper until it was nearing the end of the month however, when he knew the pain would be substantially worse, and he would have difficulty not throwing up, or fainting, or both. He gritted his teeth, regretting it immediately as sharp pain shot through his head again, and his peripheral turned black for a just a second. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, knowing full well that getting frustrated or angry would only make it worse.
It's definitely worse than last year. He continued his breathing exercise as he minced the remnants of the Zebra-Shark Luffy had caught a few days prior. But it's probably just because of the stress and fatigue though. They had been sailing the New World for close to two weeks already, not hitting one island so far, and with the ocean as wild as it was, he was sure that that was the reason it was worse this time.
"ISLAAAAAAND!"
Sanji's head shot up at the sound of Luffy's shout, regretting it immediately as his vision swam for a second and a wave of nausea hit him. That can't be right; Nami-swan said 3 or 4 more days.
"WHAAAAT?" He heard most of the crew shout in surprise, as whoops and shouts came from Luffy, Chopper and Usopp. Then the thumping of shoes hitting the floorboards came as they ran towards the front of the ship. He winced as the sound made the throbbing in his head feel like someone was hammering it with a sledgehammer. Definitely worse than last year.
He gingerly made his way to the door, trying to tread as lightly as he could to avoid any sudden movements. From there he could hear Luffy yelling and laughing at Nami for being wrong, and her screaming back that it was probably an uncharted island, and that she couldn't have known about it. He really wanted to run up there and kick Luffy for yelling at his beautiful flower like that, but he couldn't manage it. Instead he swallowed his shame of failing to be her knight in shining armour again, and went back to the kitchen, just as the timer for the oven went off. The sound was blaringly loud and he had to clutch his head with one hand as he took the steaming bread out of the oven. The smell should have been delicious, but it made his stomach churn instead. Maybe I need to ask Chopper for some pain medication after all, he let out a shaky breath.
oOo
He wiped sweat from his brow as he finished setting the table, having managed to finish everything despite the constant waves of nausea and his steadily darkening peripheral vision. He steeled himself as he walked towards the door again, hating how his feet felt unsteady and how his body was shaking ever so slightly. He took a few deep breathes before he managed to yell that the food was ready, and then bit down on his cigarette as another wave of nausea hit him at the same time as a million needles stabbed his brain. It was all he could do to not run to the railing and empty the contents of his stomach overboard.
He didn't dance or sing or anything as the crew filtered into the dining area, and when Chopper was about to pass him he grabbed his shoulder. "Chopper, can you meet me in the infirmary after you're done eating?"
"Huh?" The little doctor stared up at him, "What, why? Are you feeling sick?"
"No, no, it's just a headache, don't worry. I just need some painkillers is all, but you go ahead and eat first." He squeezed his tiny shoulders. "I'll meet you down there," he smiled down at him, though it felt more like a grimace, before he walked off towards the sickbay doing his best to look as nonchalant and relaxed as he could, though with every step his vision swam and his brain felt like it was being torn to shreds.
As he reached the door to the infirmary, his vision had gone almost completely black. The tunnel vision had started just as he was starting his decent down the stairs, and he had had to hold onto the wall for support as his legs had started shaking uncontrollably with each step. He fell against the door as he worked on turning the handle, just a little bit further, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this. He put all his strength into the act of shoving the door open and fell forward as it swung open. Shit, this is bad, this is really bad. He needed to get to the bed; he couldn't let Chopper find him unconscious on the floor, if he could just reach the bed. But with each step he took, he felt as though cold water ran down his head and neck, and his vision was turning more and more black. No, no, no…
oOo
"SANJI!"
From far away he heard a voice call out. He could not place it, nor could he understand it. Maybe it was a name of some kind? He let his eyes open and saw that it was night, or maybe it was dusk or maybe dawn? He was not sure. It was the colour of black and lilac and gold intertwined, but separate from each other just the same. Where am I?
"SANJI!"
There it was again, that voice, that high pitched voice that came from so far away. Who is it? He thought he had said it, but for some odd reason it did not feel like he had. His lips had moved, or at least he thought they had. Who are you? He tried to yell, but no sound came. He raised his head towards the sky and yelled it again, but yet again there was no sound. What is this place?
"Chopper, what's going on?"
Another voice? But to whom did it belong? He tried to think, it felt like he had heard it before. And that name, again it sounded so familiar, but the memory eluded him. He looked around, he wanted to find them, but instead he caught sight of something shining in the distance. A glinting light far away, it felt so warm and inviting, beckoning him towards it.
"It's Sanji! I don't know what happened-,"
It was a name, and he felt he should know it. Like an old friend he had forgotten, but could not recall.
"He told me he had a headache and he wanted some painkillers, b-but-"
A strange sensation filled his body as he listened. The high-pitched voice was crying now, but he did not understand why. All he knew was that he felt a deep need to help, though he had no idea how he could. As he pondered upon a way to find them and help them, he stroked his chin and found he had a goatee. A goatee? He was sure it had not been there before? Or maybe it had and he just now noticed? It was all starting to be ridiculously confusing he thought somberly. At least there was one thing that was not that, and that was that light that was shining so bright far in the distance. He felt his spirit lift however as he discovered it had gotten nearer. And as he looked down at his legs, they were moving him steadily closer to it. Why had he not noticed their movement before this time? He had had a body before this moment, had he not?
"H-he told me I should just eat first, and he didn't look like he was in too much pain, so I-I…"
Still that high-pitched voice was crying, and even though he did not know why, he felt an ache in his chest that was neither unwelcomed nor unknown to him. He knew the act of crying well, but as with nearly everything else, he was not sure why that was. He kept his gaze at that shining light that was in front of him. Yes, he could almost see it now. He felt it getting nearer with each step. A warm smile had made its way to his lips, though yet again he was not sure exactly why that was. But there was something about that shining light that called out to him, and pulled him towards it, and somehow he knew there was something there waiting for him. Something he had been waiting to see, for a long, long time.
Suddenly the earth shook beneath his feet, and he felt a sharp pain as his knees and hands scraped the hard earth. As he raised his head to look at that shining light again, he saw that it had gone. He moved his head in every direction, trying to find it again, no, needing to find it again. But no matter where he looked all that was there was the barren ground he sat on, and the odd sky which had yet to decide if it should be night, dusk or dawn. Then, without a warning, a bright light filled his vision and he could not see.
And then as suddenly as the light had come, it was gone, and there was nothing.
AN:
This is my first try at something other than a depressing story filled with angst and misery (See Try and Try Again, or my latest one-shot Mirrors), other than my one-shot The Strawhat Boys Play Never Have I Ever, which was my first try at humour.
It's not your typical Halloween fic. I was supposed to have it done by Nov 1, but it turned out to be longer than I expected so it'll probably take a little bit longer than that.
There will be spoilers from the Whole Cake Island Arc in later chapters.
I hope you like it, and please fav/follow and or leave a review if you want. I cherish any comment, good or bad, as I always strive to get better.
