Chapter 3 - Curly Cook
On Level 4 was a foundry, where the prisoners—many from other floors—were forced into hard labor. This was one of the literal hotspot for torture; Sanji had lost count of how many times he had seen a prisoner forced into the giant pot of blood boiling in the center of the room.
It was this very pot that caused this level of the great prison to be so hot. Both men started sweating the moment they entered the large chamber. The space resounded with the screams of prisoners being whipped into line and pushing the scalding hot metal carts to the smelter. The foundry provided the steel for cell bars, handcuffs, and the tools of torture used to keep the prisoners in check. The irony stung.
"You are LATE." Hannyabal frowned as he joined them at the door, his lack of clothing suitable for the level's heat. He gave Zoro's feet an approving glance, and the annoyance seemed to melt off his face. "Late for a reason, I see; let's hope he can still be of some use in the foundry." Hannyabal started walking, gesturing to Sanji to follow him to the back of the giant chamber.
Sanji saluted wordlessly and pushed Zoro roughly to get him to start moving. The Marimo stumbled at the sudden shove and looked at Sanji questioningly as he walked. Sanji didn't notice; he was too busy glancing around at the groups of prisoners shuffled through torture while being whipped by Sanji's co-workers.
"He can start on the wheel." Hannyabal's high pitched voice snapped Sanji from his thoughts.
Hannyabal was facing away when Sanji looked up, so his eyes met Zoro's for a second. All he got was a knowing smirk before the swordsman turned around to look at the 'wheel', a device that looked distinctly like a massive capstan. Sanji was slightly taken aback: that smirk left a strong impression, and he didn't know why.
"Chain him here and here." Using his black trident, Hannyabal pointed to Hannyabal pointed to one of the bars jutting from the wheel. Each bar had chains attached to it, clearly meant to to keep the worker's hands on it. Sanji wasn't sure if the brown coating covering the bars and rattling chains was rust or blood; he didn't want to know either.
Sanji put on his professional face, nodding respectfully to the Vice-Warden as he guided Zoro to the metal handle. The two chains connected to Zoro's handcuffs, neatly occupying the same link. He took a step back to admire his work and noticed Zoro look up at the pot beside them. His eyes trailed the same ground Zoro's had. The horizontal wheel was connected to a giant spade-like mechanism, designed to churn the bright glowing metal in the smelter.
"When these bars are turned, the spade moves in the metal." Hannyabal's pointless explanation of the obvious returned Sanji's attention to his superior. Hannyabal looked casually at Sanji again, pointing to the whip at the blonde's belt. "Make him turn it."
Sanji felt his blood run cold in his veins. "I'm not sure it's possible with him alone, Vice-Warden." Sanji weakly attempted to rationalize his way out of the situation, his hand resting on the whip and loosening the weapon slightly to hide his reluctance. "Perhaps if we had a few more men—" A loud scraping sound caught both his and Hannyabal's attention.
The massive wheel turned slowly, metal scraping against metal as Zoro groaned with the effort. Despite how his bloody feet slid against the floor, he pushed, using all his upper body strength to force the handle forward. Sanji could see the effort in the swordsman's face, but there wasn't any defiance; it was almost like he enjoyed the workout.
"Looks like he can handle this on his own." Hannyabal grinned at Sanji, "Make sure he keeps it up; just don't kill him." Sanji received a pat on his shoulder as Hannyabal walked past. "I'll be back in a couple of hours." With that, the Vice-Warden walked off yet again announcing his intention of becoming warden.
Sanji watched the large hat disappear around a corner before he turned to the swordsman again. He lit himself a cigarette as he watched the man closely. Sweat slicked down green hair, making it cling to the back of the tanned neck. The tattered prison shirt clung to his back and chest as the prisoner kept pushing with his monstrous strength.
After an hour of gruff grunting and creaking wheels later, the silence became too much to handle for the blond. Curiosity boiled over, and his well-trained legs complained about lack of movement.
"Oi, Marimo." Sanji took a seat on a pile of rubble, fishing the cigarette from between his teeth as he sent the green-haired man a suspicious look. "What's your plan?" He blew smoke towards Zoro as the other man kept turning the wheel.
"That's my line, curly-bastard." Zoro's voice was gruff with effort as he sent the jailor a glare before his circular path broke eye contact. "Why did you call out to me in that forest earlier?" Again, he disappeared behind the central axle, the glare returning as soon as he rounded the edge.
"I told you: it's because you are a lost idiot Marimo and we were already late for this part of your torture." Sanji snorted unimpressed; the tip of his cigarette glowed as he sucked on the filter. "But you, you could have broken those chains at any time; why haven't you tried to run or fight back yet?"
"And then what?" Zoro frowned, pausing his explanation dramatically as he rounded the central pillar again, waiting for eye contact before he kept talking. "Even if I got out, you bastards still have my swords and I have no ship to get back." Sanji could see him push harder in frustration; the metal wheel groaned in pain.
"You are a world class idiot, Marimo!" Sanji knew that he was asking for a fight; he even knew that trying to rile up a prisoner to escape would lead to him getting fired if someone overheard them. "You said earlier that you weren't going to die here, but you can't both stay and live, idiot."
The swordsman's pace slowed down slightly to keep the eye contact for longer. "I'm not staying here."
Ashes fell from Sanji's cigarette onto his beige uniform blazer. Anger started swelling up in his chest as he stood up. He pocketed his hands and kicked the handle Zoro was chained too. "You're going to die here, Marimo." The metal bar creaked with the force from both sides, but it didn't move.
Zoro glared up at Sanji, arms tense as he kept pushing.
Sanji glared back with his foot lodged in the metal between Zoro's hands as he pushed back.
"Luffy will come." The calm tone sent chills up Sanji's spine.
"You can't escape this place, you stupid Mosshead." He blew smoke in the determined face of the inmate, his fists clenched in his pockets. "No one does. You better just give up now; your captain has FORGOTTEN about you!" The cigarette burned its last, but Sanji didn't notice, the burned out filter forgotten and squished between pearly white teeth. "There's no way you can be saved."
"Luffy will definitely come."
Anger swelled up inside Sanji when he realized he was the only one who was upset. "Not even Whitebeard could save you; everyone knows it's impossible to break INTO Impel Down." The stress rattled his nerves; he took his white-knuckled hands out of his pockets as he lit himself another cigarette. "It can't be done."
"It can." Zoro started pushing again, bored with the conversation. "Luffy is the man who will be the pirate king." He managed to push hard enough to force Sanji to withdraw his leg; the blond took a step back, taking his first pull of smoke from the new cigarette.
"Suit yourself, Mossbrain." Sanji stormed to the kitchen: his mood was foul enough that his former co-workers stayed away from him. Well, almost all his former co-workers.
"Hey Sanji!" A chef Sanji had taught proper knife etiquette to before walked over to him with a smile. He wiped his hands on his apron in an unsanitary way that Sanji would have objected to if his mood weren't so bad. "Shame about your transfer. How's the new job?"
"I hate it." Sanji soaked a rag and wrung the water out like it was the Marimo's stubborn neck.
The other man fell into a slightly awkward silence as he watched Sanji take out his frustrations on the rag. Small blush crept up his cheekbones. "The new uniform looks good on you."
"Thanks." The compliment flew right over Sanji's head.
"So, um… are you on break? You missed lunch so… Do you want me to make you something to eat—?"
"I'm actually still on guard." After looking the rag over and giving it a satisfied nod, he tucked it on his belt and was pleased to see that it didn't stain the jacket. "My prisoner is just an idiot who is waiting patiently for his captain to pick him up, so he's not going to run away." Sanji frowned as he left the kitchen. "Don't tell anyone I was in here."
The young chef raised his hand in a wave, realizing too late that it was pointless since Sanji was gone.
"Marimo." Sanji tossed the wet rag at him, keeping his expression neutral as it hit the green head comically. "Wipe the sand off your feet."
Zoro pulled the rag off his head, looking it over suspiciously before he glared at Sanji. "What the fuck is the deal with you, curly brow?" The chains rattled as he held the rag as far away from him as he could. "What is your motive?"
"My 'motive' is to clean your stinking feet." Sanji glared back, pointing to Zoro's feet. "Hurry it up before Hannyabal sees you." Sanji glanced around, unable to hide the uncomfortable, stress-fuelled tremor in his hands.
Zoro seemed to be evaluating him for a few extremely long and agonizingly tense seconds before he reached down as far as his chains would allow, clumsily wiping blood caked 'sand' and dried up blood off his feet. Sanji's chest eased greatly when the wounds looked clean, and Zoro tossed the rag back at him. "Whatever you want in return, I'm not giving you anything."
Sanji snorted as he tossed the rag aside. "You've got nothing I want, idiot Marimo." The swordsman went back to turning the wheel, his feet sliding less on the hot metal floor, much to Sanji's satisfaction. "You can't tell anyone about this though." Sanji felt a little nervous: he could easily be punished for this and the Marimo was unpredictable.
The swordsman had a rather suspicious and thoughtful expression as he circled the pillar. Sanji felt dark eyes settle on him; as he looked up, the swordsman's lips were slightly parted and his expression was more serious than suspicious "This job, you're—"
"SANJI!" Zoro was interrupted by Hannyabal's nasally voice as he appeared around a corner. "He's still pushing! Good job! I want to become the Warden!"
Sanji didn't notice the compliment, his mind was brainstorming an ending for Zoro's statement. He saluted Hannyabal mechanically, his hand hitting the dark auburn brim of his hat."Welcome back, Vice-Warden." He eased his salute when Hannyabal lazily waved to him. The large black trident was dangerously close to the discarded rag. Sanji's eyes glanced down to the dirty cloth: the dirt made it look like it was a rock, and the heat had already dried it.
"I'll be taking the prisoner to the carts." The Vice-Warden put his hand out for Sanji's keys. "The Warden wants to see you in his office."
Sanji's hand froze, hovering over Hannyabal's hand. AGAIN? The Warden wanted to see him AGAIN? His blood froze in his veins. He glanced fearfully at Zoro before his eyes darted down to his feet. Had the kitchen staff told on him? Did Magellan know that Sanji had treated a prisoner kindly?
Cold sweat formed at the back of Sanji's neck as he dropped the keys. Zoro was looking at him with slight concern. Great, concern from a prisoner. Sanji forced himself to be professional, fixing his hat to find something for his shaking hands to do. "At once, Vice-Warden." He tried his hardest not to break into a run as he walked away. He heard Zoro's handcuffs rattle from their fastening and a heavy hollow thump that sounded suspiciously like the handle of a trident hitting a proud back.
When Sanji entered the Warden's office, the man was sitting in his giant chair. There was a lot of paperwork on the table and a newspaper not too far from the private bathroom at the back of the room. Sanji saluted dutifully to the warden, trying to look both as professional and innocent as he could: it wasn't a good mixture. "Warden Magellan."
"Ah, sorry to interrupt your first day torturing Roronoa." Magellan put down a paper when he was saluted, leaning forward on his desk. "I wanted to clear up a few things with you I think I forgot to mention."
Sanji swallowed hard as he forced himself to look the huge poison man in the eyes. "Yes, sir?"
"The marines want him bled for information about his captain's intentions; they charged us with the duty of guarding him"—he took a sip of something that smelled faintly of sulfur and raw eggs, most likely poison—"because they are afraid he would escape a normal marine compound."
"Won't his crew attempt to come for him?" Sanji wasn't sure he wanted to tell Magellan what the prisoner had said about his captain: after all, breaking into Impel Down was impossible, and he didn't want to be laughed at for mentioning it. "We could catch them all when they try."
Magellan scoffed. "Impossible. His crew already left him for dead and ran away by themselves." The Warden stood up, reaching for his newspaper as his stomach grumbled. "He'll soon realize that his captain has abandoned him to die. Then you must be prepared to force him to talk." Magellan walked to the screen door at the back of his office. "And I would like my dinner served at the normal time, just after 9:30 this evening."
Sanji clicked his heels together and saluted when the Warden disappeared behind the screen. He hurried out of the room as soon he heard the sound of a toilet seat. Domino nodded gracefully to him as he fluttered past her. She really WAS a beauty! The loveliest thing in Impel Down!
"You have returned. When I'm warden, I'll have you make my meals too." Hannyabal stood next to Zoro; the green-haired man was pulling three carts on chains behind him, sweat dripping off his wide forehead as he struggled with the inhuman load. "He's a strong one, but his method is a bit… unique." Hannyabal gestured to Zoro with his trident, or more specifically, gestured to each chain in his hand and the one clenched between his teeth.
Sanji fought the urge to face-palm. What was that idiot Marimo doing?
"It is to be expected from 'Three Sword Style - Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro'." Hannyabal sighed like a mother over a spoiled child. "Have him finish pulling this load, feed him, and put him back in his cell." Hannyabal ordered as he fixed his hat. "When you have eaten, start the Warden's meal."
Sanji watched the pot-bellied man stroll between rows of screaming prisoners; jailers pausing their whippings as he passed. When he was out of earshot, the cook lit himself a cigarette. "You fight with three swords? Are you an idiot?"
"Fighting with three swords is not the same as using Santoryuu," the swordsman grumbled surprisingly clearly through the chain between his teeth. "Did I hear that fat bastard correctly?" Zoro turned slightly, grinning around the chains like a madman with a gag. "You're a cook?"
Sanji crushed the cigarette between his fingers. "CHEF," Sanji snapped at the prisoner, the hairs at the back of his head rising in annoyance. "Cooks fry things and follow recipes without knowing what they are doing!" Sanji was fuming: his chef pride was injured. "Chefs create foods from the heart!"
The swordsman's grin widened; Sanji wondered if those teeth were made out of some kind of white steel.
"Just like using three swords and Santouryuu isn't the same thing, Idiot Cook."
Sanji's hands twitched for the whip. It would be so easy—it was EXPECTED—for him to whip him for talking like that to him. But as soon as he felt the rough texture of leather and saw the suddenly cold and steeled eyes of the swordsman, he moved his hand casually from the weapon, relighting his poor abused cigarette. He wasn't going to stoop so low. This whole thing was beneath him.
"Talk shit to me and you'll regret it." He took a long drag of smoke and forced his face into neutrality.
He didn't care if people called him a cook, the distinction wasn't that great anyway. He'd been a cook on the Baratie and even called himself a fighting cook. It was just the way the shitty swordsman said it: like he meant it as an insult or something.
Why did he care what the prisoner thought? He had been prepared for insults, hadn't he?
Nothing was really going according to plan anymore.
"Get those stupid rocks up to the top of this track and I'll get your food." Sanji looked up to the giant furnace that was gaping wide for its coal. "You're hungry, aren't you?"
Since this morning, Sanji had himself skipped lunch since the Marimo had gotten lost in the forest around his lunch break. The prisoners only got one meal a day, dinner, which was around this time. He could hear the other man's stomach rumble in agreement.
"No. I'm not hungry." The swordsman grunted between the chain links, turning away as he started climbing the slope again.
"Bullshit." Sanji grumbled, the swordsman knew how to push all the right buttons to get him fuming. "I can hear your shitty stomach rumble, Marimo. You're starving."
"I'm not." Zoro drew closer to the incinerator, the cook trailing after him. "I've been without food for longer than this."
"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT OKAY!" Sanji snapped, quickly covering his mouth and looking around, afraid someone had heard him. His cigarette fell on the bricks at his feet. A few prisoners looked at him strangely, but none of them paid much attention to him when they noticed Zoro dragging three carts.
They probably assumed Sanji was forcing him to and didn't want to be tortured with the extra weight. The few prisoners that had heard him raise his voice quickly directed their gazes to the ground, pulling the heavy chains over their shoulder. It was better not knowing.
Zoro ignored his sudden outburst as sweat dripped down the back of his neck from the effort and heat of the furnace that grew closer with each step.
Sanji growled, picking up his cigarette and putting it out as he took his position near the edge of the slope. He watched wordlessly as the swordsman pulled the carts up to the balcony and dumped the contents into a large opening in the floor, the coal falling into the fire below.
"Okay Marimo, it's dinner time." Sanji frowned as the swordsman put his carts in line to be refilled, clearly not in a hurry. "Get going." He emphasized his authority with a demanding push between the shoulder blades.
The prisoners got soup, bread, and some water for dinner. It wasn't luxury cuisine and was usually made from cheap ingredients. Sanji remembered when he was on "gruel" duty at the kitchen before he had been promoted to staff-cuisine; it had been the most degrading thing he had done as a chef.
"Make sure you eat all of it." Sanji frowned and tapped his foot in annoyance at the man who sat on a pile of rubble before him, eating with the table manners of a brick.
"Sit straight already," Sanji snapped; he was itching to kick the arrogant green head. "Don't bite the bread directly; it's sourdough: you're supposed to DIP it." Sanji felt the onset of a huge headache at watching the Neanderthal eat the food with no respect.
"Shut up, curly-cook. Let me eat in peace already," Zoro argued, frowning over the bowl of thin soup.
Sanji sighed, refraining from smoking until he was away from the food. "You have NO table manners; the chef on your ship must cry himself to sleep each night."
Zoro grumbled something, Sanji was about to ask what it had been when a chained-up prisoner walked towards them, keeping his distance from Sanji.
"Pirate Hunter Zoro?" The man had the most sickening smile on his lips; his tongue dipped out of his mouth. He had a scar around the top of his forehead, which looked like someone had attempted to flay his scalp. "I knew it; you ARE him." He licked his lips as he looked him over before he added, "And unarmed, no less."
Sanji glanced at Zoro, who seemed unfazed as he kept eating; he didn't even look like he acknowledged the larger man's existence. The latter felt clearly emboldened by Zoro's lack of response.
"I heard you joined a pirate crew, Roronoa: became a dog of some kid with a straw hat." With complete disregard for his own health, the prisoner kept talking. "Do you remember me, Roronoa? You claimed my bounty a few years ago."
"I don't remember every weakling I beat up." Zoro hummed into his soup, drinking it down in a few gulps. Sanji had to stifle his laughter at other prisoner's expression; he looked like he'd been hit in the face with a salmon.
After a few moments of intense thinking to come up with a comeback without realizing the moment to save his pride was long past, the large -mouthed man kept digging his own grave.
"You shouldn't talk so big, Roronoa; you're unarmed in a place crawling with men with a grudge against you." He clearly thought his comeback was brilliant. It wasn't.
"Everyone knows swordsmen are worthless in a fight without a sword."
As if he was watching a tennis game, Sanji had directed his attention from one man to the other: now Zoro had his rapt attention. If looks could kill, the glare Zoro sent the other man would have caused him to spontaneously combust. The larger man dropped down on his knees and trembled.
Sanji had never seen such danger in anyone's face before. This was probably the expression that had earned him the title 'Demon of East Blue'. Sanji subconsciously shifted his weight off his dominant leg, just in case the 'demon' went on a rampage.
The trembling man forced himself to break eye contact, scrambling to his feet and running away. In a voice mostly resembling a sob, he called, "My cellmate is out for your blood, Roronoa! You're going to regret this!"
Rather bold words for a man that looked at the verge of tears.
Sanji directed his attention back to Zoro, expecting the man to run after the offender like a mad dog. On the contrary, the 'demon' simply kept eating calmly. Sanji's face softened with approval as he watched the Marimo use the last of the bread to clean every last drop of soup from the inside of the bowl.
Sanji waited for the other man to finish his bottle of water before he pointed towards the stairs. "Time to get you back into your cage, demon-Marimo."
Zoro frowned at him, but the bloodlust was gone from his expression.
"And don't get lost this time." Sanji couldn't help but smirk.
This chapter took forever because I kept rewriting it! Damn it! There were so many things I wanted to stuff into it, but I'm trying to make this story a little longer! I'm no good at long stories!
Edit: BETA'D 3 february 2013! Thank you Copper Clouds!
