Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.

Warning: Rushness; Grammar; OOCness; Yaoi; Lemon; swearing; repetitiveness (I'm a repetitive person) and anything you notice that isn't on this list but is on this list.

Thank you to everyone who is following this story and has favourited it. :)

EDITED : 2/4/2014
Previous word count: 2,471 - 3,249
New word count: 3,752

Chapter 2: For A Price

'…It's cold and dark…I'm scared…'

'…Zoro…'

Sanji felt a sharp jolt of pain shoot through him as his heart was forcefully restarted. He shivered violently, feeling the warm liquid of his blood circulating in his body once more. His hands flew to his neck as he gasped for breath. He looked around himself frantically, noticing he was still underwater...yet he was able to breath now? That shouldn't be possible, no, what shouldn't be possible was him being alive right now, he was certain he had died...

"Don't be afraid..." Spoke a gentle soothing voice.
Sanji's ears piqued, that heavenly sound was music to his ears, it was the sound of a female. Ah his heart was beating rapidly again but from happiness, he attempted to calm himself, hoping to hear from the voice again.
"Did you save me?" He asked the bodiless voice, wondering if there was a gorgeous body along with the gorgeous voice, he could imagine what the woman would look like. Curvy and soft, a large chest with long flowing hair. He could feel a nose bleed coming on from the thought, his imagination was too powerful for him.

As his thoughts continue to run wild, too wild, the woman appeared; it had been the same woman he had seen in the ripples of the water during the fight. He couldn't help but freeze and stare at the woman, she was indeed as beautiful as her voice; she had long black hair that danced around her slim figure, her plumb red lips smiled at Sanji, taking in his sudden expression change; his eyes turned into hearts, oh how wonderful it was to be saved by such a beauty as herself! A woman of her beauty shouldn't have bothered with his dead body and yet she had. Maybe it was love?! Love at first sight!

"Yes I did," She answered, her eyes began to smile a hollow smile.
"At a price..."
Sanji paid no attention to her hollow smile and instead continued to ogle her, shimmering his body in the water, "What is your price?" He sang happily, "Oh, I'll do anything for you pretty-chan! I was born to serve a lady like you! Even to the darkest depths of hell I shall follow you my princess! I shall give you my heart if that is what you wish!"

She smiled softly at him, his words flattering her but she continued none the less, not letting herself get distracted by his actions.
"Your memories."
She spoke it so simply, as if there was nothing wrong with such a request.
Sanji's eyes widened, his previous actions immediately coming to a halt as the words entered his mind. Well, that was sudden, he hadn't expected that would be the price, why his memories? He frowned, it really wasn't something he could give to her, no matter how grateful he was to her or how beautiful she was, it just seemed to impossible.
He continued to smile at her politely. "I don't think that's possible, how about a dinner and a sweet night with me?" Sanji offered, thinking it was a brilliant bargain, he and her would both be winners.
The woman laughed at his small attempts to change her mind, but it wasn't going to happen, it had to be his memories.

"There's an exception," Her smile grew wider, "As you died, you had regrets...if you can over come your lack of memories and remember your regrets and fulfil that one...I will return them to you."
Realising that this was really going to happen, Sanji held out his hands to her, "Wait!" He desperately said in an attempt to stop her.

No way, his memories is what made him 'him'! She couldn't take that away, it was precious, it was his life, why should he live in a body without memories? It would be like having an empty shell!
She appeared by him, and Sanji panicked, he knew he couldn't get away and he knew she was taking his memories without his choice at all.
"What is that one?!" Sanji quickly shouted.

"Even if I answer, you won't remember." She tapped her fingers roughly on his forehead, knocking him unconscious in just a blink of an eye.
She understood that Sanji didn't want to agree to it, no one really would, but she wasn't giving him a choice, it had to be done. She waved her hand and sent a small current to carry him up to the surface and to the ship he had came from. She wished him the best of luck.

A gust of wind flew past everyone, dancing around them as they continued to cry for their loss. The wind spun around Luffy, blowing his hat off of his head; he looked up suddenly at the hat, reaching up as he grasped at it as fast as he could, but it was too fast and already out of his reach. He watched as it slowly drifted downwards, settling on the water, floating with the gentle waves beside the ship.

He stared at his hat, sadly gazing at it, his mind still thinking of Shanks. What would Shanks say to him if he knew he hadn't been able to protect his friend? He really couldn't face him now.
His eyes widened as a figure slowly floated up, pushing his hat slightly as they finally surfaced. What greeted him was a sight he thought he would never see again.

"Sanji! I see Sanji!" Luffy shouted from the deck of the thousand sunny, wiping away his tears as he grinned.
"Sanji! Respond to me Sanji!" Luffy continued to shout at the unmoving body of the cook. Everyone looked up, wiping their tears from their eyes as well; they rushed to the side of the ship, and just like Luffy had said, Sanji was really there.

Zoro jumped up as soon as Luffy had shouted, energy suddenly filled his body and without hesitation, he dived back in to the water and grabbed the cook, turning him to face upwards, his face deadly pale.
He dragged the cook up on to the deck where Chopper quickly looked at him, performing chest compression CPR, it was only a few seconds and a few pumps, but it felt like forever as they waited in anticipation for any reaction from the cook. Then finally, they watched as Sanji coughed violently, spitting water out of his lungs.

They all released a sigh of relief as Sanji slowly woke up, his hazy blue eyes staring at them, he seemed to still be slightly out of it, that was until he regained enough senses to figure out what was going on, his eyes widened as he jumped up and away from all of them.

What was going on? Where was he? Who was he? He couldn't answer his own questions, the only thing he could do was…

"Get- Get away from me!" Sanji screamed, scrambling away from them and up on his trembling feet, screaming at him for moving his aching body so harshly. He held his hands out, as if it were able to push them away from him with a strange force he might just happen to possess.
When he thought none of them were going to jump at him and attack, he slowly took a look around, his eyes scanning the surroundings so he could get a rough idea of where he was.

It was a boat, no, a ship and there was a black flag with a skull, cross bones and a straw-hat. It seemed scary but friendly at the same time…he didn't know what to make of the image but either way, it had a skull. That didn't seem good.
His eyes tore away from the flag, and focused back on the people, studying each face, his own paling as he looked at them individually. They were odd and scary looking, some shouldn't even be alive or human in the slightest!

But as he looked at them, he didn't notice their tear stained faces or their red eyes, he was too focused on being confused and lost that he was unable to comprehend anything but fear that crawled up his spine the more he continued to look at them. He slowly looked down at his body, was he liked them. Pain shot through his joints, blood dripped from the cuts on his skin and through his ragged looking clothes.

He slowly made sense of the situation; scary people and his battered body only meant one thing. "You guys did this to me?" Sanji whispered, accusing them of his current state.
They could see the terror and absolute fear in his expression; an expression Sanji had never given them before, an expression he had never had.

Were they going to kill him? Oh fuck no! He couldn't die, he hadn't...he...he...
Sanji froze, looking at them in a state of panic, he didn't know where his thoughts had been going to. Why couldn't he finish that sentence, there was a nagging feeling in his mind telling him why he couldn't die yet, but he couldn't tell what it was about. He shook his head, it didn't matter! Either way he didn't want to die, he had to escape. Now.

"No we didn't." Nami reached out towards him, hoping her voice would calm Sanji down like it always did, he must be in shock right now that he's a little confused about it all. He would be fine once he calmed down and Chopper fixed him up, his mind must be jumbled up slightly.

The glare he gave her sent shivers down her spine, Luffy and Zoro braced themselves in case the cook would suddenly attack, something was definitely up with the cook, and it wasn't good.
"Don't come near me." He gritted out between his teeth. They had never seen Sanji act like that to Nami, or any lady before, what was making him turn against them all of a sudden?

The crew were struggling to keep up with this sudden twist of events, only minutes ago they had thought Sanji had died, and they had been grieving in sorrow for their loss, yet only moments ago they had been so happy to see he was alive, but now it was like the cook didn't even know them.

"Let's go get you treated properly..." Chopper explained, a worried expression on his face as he walked towards him slowly. The lack of oxygen must have been cut off from Sanji's brain for too long that it might have caused some damages to his memory and as the Doctor, he had to check that everything was alright for the cook.
"Don't come near me you...you raccoon?!" What creature or animal could speak with human intelligence? It was freaking Sanji out, it shouldn't be possible!

He slowly shuffled backwards, away from them all, his eyes focused on them with each careful step he took and when he thought he was at a safe distance, he turned and fled as fast as he could, jumping from the ship and onto the beach, his legs giving in slightly from the fall. He saved himself by quickly diving into a roll before he swiftly got up and ran off with a powerful speed that shocked everyone, including himself.

The crew equally jumped off of the ship and watched as he escaped, slightly surprised by it all, none of the information sinking into their minds. Having known Sanji for as long as they did, they thought he would have fought against them to escape but instead he had ran? It was unlike him...

Nami was the first for the information to process in her mind, and was quick to start what needed to be done. "We need to get Sanji back and figure out what's going on..."
"Sanji was in the water too long," Chopper whispered quietly "I need to check his condition and heart!"
"We have a few hours before the sun sets fully, we should get him before then..." Robin spoke thoughtfully, looking at the position of the sun.

"Yosh, as captain I shall get Sanji back!" As captain it was his duty to protect Sanji, he failed earlier and had regretted not protecting him, but since Sanji was still alive he could do his job as captain and make sure he never had such a feeling like that again.

"I'll come with!" Chopper exclaimed. "With my nose I'll track him, it'll be easier." Luffy nodded, grinning at Chopper, yes with Chopper finding Sanji would be no problem.
"I'll go as well." Zoro stated, glaring into the distance where the cook had headed to, he had dived into the water twice to save the blonde, he wasn't going to stop saving the shitty cook now. The cook could just repay him back when he gets better.
"Someone should go with them to watch these two!" Nami pointed at Zoro and Luffy, "I don't want him causing more trouble for us, and this one to get lost."

Zoro growled at her, this wasn't the time to be insulting him on his directions. He wanted to shout at her for it, but he noticed a look behind Nami's eyes. He bit his tongue, she can hide it as much as she wanted but her eyes told Zoro the fear and sadness she still felt. She might be taking charge right now, but she was still in shock.

"I'll go with captain-san, swordsman-san and Doctor-san" Robin said, quickly agreeing with Nami that they should be watched.
"Franky, Ussop, in the mean time fix the ship. Brook could you check the area and make sure there's no more awaiting ambushes?" Nami continued to order, her eyes still slightly damp from the tears.
"What about you?" Zoro asked, watching Nami's eyes closely.
"I'm going to find and raid the other's ship" They all could already see the money sign in her eyes but Zoro knew otherwise.

Without anything else said, Chopper sniffed in the air, and ran ahead whilst the rest of the 'Bring Sanji back' team followed after him. If they weren't quick to catch up to Sanji, he would get too far and they could loose him, there was only a limited time that Sanji's scent would linger, unless he rested in a place long enough for them to get there and get him.

—-

Sanji breathed heavily as he ran, his legs could go on forever and it surprised him how much power and speed they had despite the wounds he had, it really came in handy for his get away just now. He ran into a small village, stopping to a small jog as he looked around the busy village. Were they chasing him? If they were then he needed help right?
He looked around but the crowd ignored him, not paying attention to his state of health and clothing, they just continued on their merry way as if was a normal scene for them to see.

He ran into the first door he saw, thrusting it open with all his might.
"Could you help me?" Sanji asked the man.
The man raised an eyebrow, confused by the blonde, looking at his attire up and down. Help him how?
"A room's 100,000 Berī per night...?"
"Berī? What's Berī?" Sanji frowned, he shook his head, what ever this Berī thing was, he didn't have any. Did that mean he had to buy help from the people in this village?
Without waiting for the man's answer, he ran back out of the building and straight into a large man, the force causing him to fall to the ground. His blue eyes shaking as he looked up at the man who looked down at him curiously, lifting one thick eyebrow at him.
"Help me! Please! These people are trying to kill me"

The guy grinned down at Sanji, well, what had he found? A little pretty fishy, all tattered and battered, well who couldn't say no to that?
"Sure thing, pretty boy...why don't you follow me and my crew..."
Sanji paled, his instincts telling him to run away, but he ignored it, a strong feeling of relief washed over him instead, it was much stronger than his fear, especially now that someone had said they were going to help him. He could already feel his mind clearing up.

The man wrapped his arm around the blondes waist, pulling him along with him in his pace towards a dock. Sanji didn't feel comfortable with this gesture but he didn't push it away, he didn't quite understand it, so instead, Sanji thanked them for their kindness and they merely grinned at him.

The stranger guided him towards another dock on the other side of the village, and onto their ship filled with more singing men, who grew silent upon seeing their "guest". They all broke out into toothy grins, sheepishly glancing at each other.

Sanji didn't miss the gestures the men gave each other nor the fact their ship too had a skull, the gut feeling continued to tell him to escape, growing stronger as the minutes passed. Maybe, maybe he should just go…he stood awkwardly, wanted to back away and run, run like he did earlier but all the gazes rooted him to this spot, immobilising him. The large man slowly stepped towards him, the floors creaking with each step.
"No need to look so tense dear boy, I promise we'll become very good friends..." He purred grabbing Sanji roughly, easily throwing him against the wall; Sanji grabbed at his side in pain from the impact. The man finally showed his true colours, he wasn't going to help him, he was going to harm him! He was no better than everyone else. This world, this place, it was too scary.

Fear crept into his system once more, he needed to get away from whatever this guy wanted to do, which certainly didn't seem to be friends as intended.
The large man dived onto the blonde as the others chuckled, joining in on the amusement as well.
The panic was kicking in again and Sanji yelled. "Get off!" he automatically kicked the large man in the face, his leg flexibility was quite impressive as he stretched that high to reach the mans face. He screamed slightly as he struggled against the others before kicking them as well. What was this power? It felt so good! He cartwheeled before hand standing and spinning himself to kick all the men that attempted to come near him, the power rushing through his veins.

How could he fight so well, and why was his body still able to take it despite it aching?

"Well, well, well." The large man wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and licking it. "Such flexibility, I can imagine the many positions I can bend you in, boy!"

Sanji shivered again, the hair at the back of his neck standing on end, what was that suppose to mean? The men slowly got back up but before they were fully up, Sanji took it as an opportunity to run away once more, heading back to the village and disappearing into the crowd of people.
What was he to do now? No one would help him, even if they wanted to, could he trust them? No, it was too scary! So scary! He had to get away from it all.

He ran through the village, weaving in and out between people before he came to the end, running through a grass field and up a small path through the woods. Jumping over rocks, boulders and fallen trees. His heavy footsteps crushing leaves and twigs with each step, until he came across a woman, sitting by a river bank, softly singing to herself.

He stopped, listening to the melody. It was beautiful and gentle, was she the same? Was she different from those creeps and those villagers? His eyes observed her, she looked only a few years older than he was and much kinder than the previous strangers.
"Are you okay?" She asked gently, turning to face the blonde.
"I'm sorry…I uh…I…"
"It's okay, do you want to join me? The fishes are beautiful…"

Sanji gulped, she seemed nice. He slowly and hesitantly walked over to her, and sat down a few feet away from her. His eyes widened, the fish were beautiful, their scales almost like a rainbow, they swam so elegantly, capturing his attention.

"Do you like them? I come here often, it relaxes me…"
"It's nice…" Sanji whispered gently, slowly, leaning down to let his fingers glide along the top of the water.
She turned to smile at him. "My home is up the way, it would be an honour if you would come with me, get you out of those clothes and clean you up. How about a nice cup of tea?" She held out her hand to him.
He nodded slowly, chewing on his lip as he took her offered hand, almost like a scared lost child who had been separated from his mother.

They walked up the small path that she guided him though, taking in the fresh forest air. The women led him up to her house, it was breathtakingly beautiful with small rose bushes growing by the door and around it, creating an arch over it. The door looked old but interesting with many engravings on it, and in the middle of the lawn stood a beautiful water fountain, crystal clear water flowing from it, sparkling in the bright sun.
He didn't get to admire it for long as she guided him into the house and into the living room, gently sitting Sanji down on the sofa.
"Stay here, please don't move around too much, I don't want you getting hurt. I'll go make some tea and food now." Sanji frowned, confused by how he would get hurt in such a place, it looked too safe and cared for.

He sat down on the sofa awkwardly, looking around the room curiously.
"Okay..." He whispered quietly, gazing at a picture of her with a blonde man.
"Is that you and...?" He phrased it as a question, not wanting to say anything wrong with any bad guessing in case he offended her.
"My fiancee..."
Sanji blushed at her smile.

'Your friends will be here soon'

Second day, and here is the second chapter.