III.

The waves of the All Blue were high and rough. The water was dark, the light of the sun vanished from the sky which was now covered in rapidly growing storm clouds. The ship-hands rushed to and fro across the deck, sliding on the rain-slick wood and shouting rushed and breathless orders. Prince Zoro held tight to the ship's railing, the three golden earrings that decorated his ear rustling in the wind as he stared out at the angry sea.

"It's the wrath of the underwater king!" Usopp wailed at his side, shaking from fear and the fierce rocking of the ship. "We're done for! His power is known for sinking eight thousand ships at sea—"

"Shut up!" Zoro barked over a clap of distant thunder. "Pull yourself together!"

"Y-Yes, sire!" Usopp tried to puff out his chest in a manly manner, despite his knees knocking. "I am, after all, the brave Usopp—" He cut himself off as lightning lit up the sky and thunder sounded loud in their ears. The sea tossed the ship carelessly along, the vicious wind practically tearing apart the sails. A shout was heard from one end of the deck where a lantern was knocked over and flames leapt from where they spread quickly over the wood. They were in deep trouble.

The beauty of his sisters only distracted Sanji from his thoughts for so long. He was so caught up in being torn between his father's strict rule and his desire to feed the hungry—no matter where they may be—that he never would have noticed anything, had Chopper not paused in his swimming to wonder aloud, "What could that be?"

Sanji stopped and looked up where he could see just barely see the light of a red and orange glow right above the surface of the water.

"I don't know," he admitted after a moment, his curiosity more than a little piqued. "Maybe we should—"

"No!" Chopper gasped. "You heard what the king said, Sanji!"

"Right, right." Sanji nodded, but Chopper eyed him suspiciously. "No, you're right. We'll just leave it alone."

"Good," Chopper said, satisfied, as he continued swimming. "'Cause, you know, Sanji…I know you're the king's son and all, but in a lot of cultures the royal do kill their young. Maybe even eat them, too! And wouldn't that suck, Sanji?" He waited. "Sanji?" He looked around worriedly and his eyes went wide when he saw the familiar fin of his comrade steadily moving towards the surface. "OH NO, SANJI!"

A couple of ship-hands were hurrying to lower the life boats onto the troubled waters. Others were trying to put out the fire; some were attempting, in vain, to continue steering the ship through the storm. Usopp, clinging to the mast, called out to the prince in desperation, "What should we do, sire?!"

Zoro frowned slightly, his mouth set in tight line and his brow furrowed as he surveyed the chaos on board. But before he could answer, a particularly strong wave pitched the ship roughly to the side, and Prince Zoro was knocked unceremoniously over the railing and into the sea.

"SIRE!" Usopp screamed in horror. "MAN OVERBOARD!"

Sanji had been watching intently as the bright, colorful flames spread along the large wooden thing that was moving unevenly atop the waves, when the man fell into the water with a nearby splash that shook Sanji out of his trance. He ducked beneath the water to see the man swimming frantically…in the opposite direction of the ship. Sanji wasn't sure whether to pity him or laugh at him. When his body eventually went slack, air bubbles leaving his open mouth in a rush, Sanji swam to him quickly, grabbing him under his arms. He cringed—the man's muscles and boots made him a much heavier weight than Sanji was used to lifting—and started pulling him up to the surface. By that time he could no longer see the wooden thing the man had fallen from; all he could do was keep a good grip on the hard, wet body against him, and swim until he reached shore.

IV.

The sun was warming the calm waters of the glistening sea when Chopper finally found Sanji on a sandy beach, watching over an unconscious man with green hair.

"Sanji?" Even if his slightly worn out state, the fish knew that this was no good. "What's going on? Who—who is that?"

Sanji shrugged his shoulders, a little tiredly, but did not move from where he was seated on the shore, his hands palms-down on the ground, fingers curling into the sand as if to stop him from touching the bronze skin of the man beside him.

"Some idiot who almost got himself drowned. His head looks like a marimo, doesn't it?"

"He's," Chopper breathed, somewhat awed and also terrified. "He's a human."

"Hn."

"Sanji, he's a human."

"Hn."

"He could eat us!"

"Hn…"

"Sanji!"

There was a familiar flapping of wings and then a squawk of recognition as Luffy landed ungracefully from the sky and onto the sand.

"Hey guys! What a storm, huh? Whoa! Who's this guy?" The seagull squinted curiously at the man and leaned close, his beak almost touching his forehead. Chopper swam in a circle, anxious and uncertain.

"Be careful! Sanji, we need to get away before he wakes up! What if he sees you?"

One look at Sanji told Chopper that the merman wasn't really listening. His visible blue eye was focused intently on the man with a marimo head, glazed over with something glossy like concern…something that Chopper rarely ever saw in his friend's eyes, and never for such a lengthy period of time.

Luffy, oblivious, pulled back a bit and grinned—as much as a seagull can, anyway.

"He looks interesting!"

Chopper looked back at the man, in particular at the muscles of the slowly heaving chest that showed through the wet white shirt.

"He looks strong!"

The line of Sanji's mouth turned down a bit.

"He looks stupid."

Chopper saw Sanji's fingers unclench in the sand; the hand hesitated momentarily before lifting to touch the green hair, sifting through it like it was something precious.

"Maybe he needs mouth to mouth," Chopper offered.

Sanji tore his hand away from the green hair like it was on fire.

"You've got to be kidding."

"Actually," Luffy said, leaning close to the man again. "I think he's asleep."

"Asleep?" Chopper squeaked. "You mean he's not dying or anything?!"

"What?" Sanji's gaze hardened as he also leaned down close to the man, and, indeed, he could hear faint snores emitting from him.

"What a funny guy!" Luffy laughed, stepping back. Chopper sighed, feeling relieved for some reason.

"St…stupid human," he muttered, irritated. "Making me worry like that…" In one swift movement, Sanji twisted on the sand, raising his fin up and bringing it back down hard on the man's chest. "Shitty marimo!"

The man's brow furrowed and he grunted in pain, stirring from his peaceful slumber.

"Sanji!" Chopper cried, horrified. "You've woken him!"

But Sanji was already slipping back into the water, grabbing Chopper by the fin and pulling him along.

Zoro sat up and squinted, using his hand to shade his eyes from the sudden, bright sunlight. He thought he'd heard a voice—and why was there a pain in his chest?—but all he saw was a gull flying away and the blue waters of the sea.

"Weird," he murmured, looking around. "I could've sworn I heard someone…"

"Sire! You're alive!"

Zoro stood and turned to see Usopp come running down to the beach, arms outstretched and black curls fluttering behind him; it made for a sweet image, although they both knew he would chicken out before he even got close enough to hug the prince.

"We're here, sire!" Usopp announced as he motioned with his head for Zoro to follow him back the way he came. "Princess Tashigi's castle is on that hill right there. She saw you on the shore and was about to have you arrested before she realized who you were—Oi, sire, this way!"