Weakness

Sanji continued to lead his small group of three through the cave. A drop of water fell from the darkness above them. It landed on his cheek. "I hope there's not a river above us. It would be bad if the cave flooded."

Chopper sniffed the air. "I don't think so. Smells like its just condensation. So where do you think the other's ended up."

"It's hard to tell," Sanji said. "I just hope Luffy doesn't go insane and cause the cave to fall in on us." He paused. Moving the torch to the wall he studied it. "But then again… since those bounty hunters have being using this place they probable reinforced it rather well."

"Do you think they're watching us?" Chopper asked.

"Probably." Sanji continued walking. "Or they might have split us up in groups so they can takes us on easier. Well, easier than they think. I'm sure the others will win with no problems." He glanced at Siria. She continued to walk along side him, quiet as ever.

Suddenly something flew over them. The fire flickered against the gust of wind then steadied.

"What was that?" Chopper asked.

Sanji lifted the torch. The flame rose higher on the wall but gave no clue as to what flew over them. "Maybe just a bat. Caves are often filled with them. Let's keep moving."

Holding the torch out the small group continued to move around the cave. Sanji noticed the wall of the cave had a curve to it. They reached a tunnel. Pitch black spread out behind the light of the fire.

"Are we going down it?" Chopper asked.

"Let's continue walking around first," Sanji said. "There might be a clue or something around here." A few more feet and they found another tunnel, then another, and another. "It appears there are several tunnels down here. And from the curve of the all we're in a circular area."

"So what do we do? We can't go down all of them," Chopper said. "Which do we choose? If we choose wrong we could end up farther away from the others."

Sanji's eyes wandered to Siria. The girl was dutifully followed along right by his side. Then her squirrels came to mind. If she used them for surveillance she could help them out. "Hey, Siria."

"Yes, Master?" Siria lifted her eyes to him.

"Summon your squirrels and have them search for the others." They stopped walking.

"Oh yeah. I forgot she could do that," Chopper said. "She'll be able to find the others quickly!"

"Yes, Master." Siria looked to her shadows. Once more her shadow lifted up, the squirrels appeared.

"Hm?" Sanji took a closer look at the squirrels. Their color looked off in the firelight. They almost looked a bit transparent with ragged edges. Before he could question it the squirrels scampered away from the light. Their small heads poked into the darkness. Their bodies suddenly stopped moving. They slipped back into Siria's shadow.

"I'm sorry, Master." Siria lowered her head. Her hands trembled as she collapsed them in front of her. "It appears I can't do as you requested. Forgive me."

"Don't worry about it. We figured you had weaknesses." Sanji stroked her hair. She calmed to his touch. "Now we found one of them it's rather obvious. I can't believe I over looked it."

"What do you mean?" Chopper asked.

"I should have realized it before," Sanji said. "Siria uses shadows. It's only natural those shadows would disappear where there's no light."

"No light?" Chopper look to the darkness that surrounds them. "Oh, I get it. She can't use her shadow creatures in the darkness."

"I also noticed that the squirrels didn't look like they did before," Sanji said. "It looks as if they were almost transparent and had ragged edges. So I can only assume that the amount of light affects the shadow creatures. You never used your abilities in a cave before, have you?"

"No, Master, I have not," Siria said.

"We'll test my theory later," Sanji said. "Right now let's just pick a tunnel and go down it. We'll get no where standing here."

"So which one are we going down?" Chopper asked. "There're so many of them."

Something flew over them again. The fire flickered before the torch was ripped from Sanji's hand. The bark scrapped against his skin. The torch fell to the ground with a clank before rolling silent. "Just great."

"What was that?" Chopper asked.

"One of the bounty hunters most likely." Sanji shook out his hand.

"Very good."

"So the big boss man came to find us himself," Sanji said.

"You really are very observant," Blitz said.

"I'm surprised." Sanji closed his eyes. He had to figure out where Blitz was hiding. If he could pinpoint the man's voice he could attack. "I figured you'd want to go after our captain."

"I really couldn't care less who I went after," Blitz said.

Sanji looked up. He's above us? How? Is there a room up there or something? Maybe a ledge he can stand on?

"But after hearing you all about the girl's powers, I'm glad I came here."

Sanji cursed. He never thought of the enemy being close so quickly. And he certainly never meant to give away her possible weakness.

"I think I'll be taking her from here," Blitz said.

"Well, you're going to have to get past me first!" Sanji tensed. He expected a reply from Blitz but he was only met with silence. Suddenly something hard slammed into his face. His body flew backwards, colliding with the ground. Warm blood trickled down his nose. "What the heck?"

"What's wrong, pirate?" Blitz asked.

Sanji brushed the back of his sleeve over the blood. Maybe he's swinging down from a rope or chain. No a chain would be too noisy. It must be a rope.

"I thought you said you were going to stop me." Blitz laughed.

"Get over here and I will! With pleasure!" Sanji snapped. "You could have seriously hurt my lovelies ladies with that stupid trap door." Silence greeted him. There was a whoosh before pain stung Sanji's cheek. Warm blood trickled down his skin again. "What the heck?"

"Sanji, what happened?" Chopper asked.

"He cut my cheek with something," Sanji said. "Siria, you should duck down. I don't want him hitting you."

"Yes, Master." Siria ducked to the ground.

Another whoosh came before something knocked into Sanji's head.

"How is he able to find us in all this darkness?" Sanji asked.

"I was wondering when one of your were going to ask that," Blitz said. His voice was still up above them. "I ate the bat bat devil fruit. I have the abilities of the bats. I can easily find you in the dark with my echolocation."

"So that's how you're doing it. You're transforming into a bat." Sanji took a puff of his cigarette. "Chopper?"
"Yeah?" Chopper asked.

Sanji knelt down next to the reindeer. Lowering his voice he said, "I have an idea that might get us out of here."

"What is it?"

"I want you to sit on my shoulders. You have better senses than I do. I need you to sniff him and hear him out and tell me where he is," Sanji whispered.

"I get it. I'll do my best."

"Siria?" Sanji asked.

"Yes, Master?"

Sanji reached towards her voice. His hand touched her shoulder. His eyes dropped to the low glow of the torch. "I need you to stay put right here. Keep the torch right beside you so I know where you are."

"Yes, Master."

Sanji felt her nod through his touch. He hated to leave her here in the dark. The remaining glow of the torch was sure to go out any second. He would have to make this fight a quick one. He started to pull his hand away from her but stopped when he felt her shiver. "Are you cold?"
"I am fine, Master," Siria said.

Sanji lowered his hand to her arm. Her skin was cold. He took off his coat and placed it on her shoulders. "Hold on to that. We'll be back soon." He turned to Chopper. Taking the small reindeer in his hands he placed him on his shoulders. "Ready?"

"I am." Chopper nodded. They waited for a few seconds before he leaned closer to Sanji's ear. "He's come down from above. To your left."

"Got it." Sanji listened to the whooshing. He held his ground until it got close enough. When it did he kicked out, landing his shoes on Blitz's chest.

Blitz gasped in the darkness.

"There you are!" Sanji lifted his foot again. He slammed it down on Blitz's head. The man slammed into the ground.

"What the heck?" Blitz asked. "How are you able to tell where I am?"
Sanji slammed his foot down on Blitz again. "Well, you didn't notice we have an animal on our crew. An animal's senses are far greater than a human's."

"Way to go, Sanji!" Chopper said when Blitz didn't make another sound. "I think you've knocked him out."

"I hope so." Sanji picked Chopper up off his shoulders and placed him back down on the ground. He then stepped back over to Siria. "Siria, are you okay?"

"Yes, Master," Siria said.

Sanji picked up the torch and pulled his lighter from his pocket. A few strikes and the lighter light up. He pressed the flame to the torch, hoping it would light again. Fire flared up, washing over the cave walls and Blitz, who was indeed knocked out. "Good thing he was so weak."

"What are we going to do with him?" Chopper looked to the beaten man lying on the ground. All three of them eyed the man's body. The membrane of his wings were attached from his arms to his hips. On his head were two large bat ears. And a bat nose was settled onto his face made him look more like a pig than a bat.

"Bring him," Sanji said. "He's going to help us get out of here. I didn't hit him that hard so he should wake up in a few minutes."

"Right." Chopper nodded.

"Master, what is he?" Siria asked.

"He's just someone who at a zoan devil fruit," Sanji said.

"Zoan devil fruit," Siria said. "I believe I've heard my former master speak of those before. Though I have never seen one."

"They give a person animal abilities and features," Sanji said.

Blitz groaned.

Chopper changed into his human form. He helped Blitz to his feet when he started waking up, keeping the man's hands behind his back so he couldn't get away.

"Let go of me!" Blitz demanded.

"You are going to lead us out of here," Sanji said. He took Siria's hand and helped her stand up.

"And if I don't?" Blitz said.

Sanji grabbed Blitz by his shirt. "You'll get another beating."

Blitz shivered.

"Now get going." Sanji released him. He took Siria's hand in his again and followed Blitz as he gave them directions.

Several turns down different tunnels later the light glow of their flame gave way to the sun pouring in through a cave opening. They stepped out of the cave to find they were right back where they had started.

Robin, Usopp, and Nami turned to them.

"Robin! Nami! Usopp!" Chopper said with a smile. "You got out. Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Usopp said. "How are you all?"
"We're fine as well," Chopper said. "Sanji took care of this guy."

The women looked at Blitz.

"So he's a devil fruit user," Nami said.

"Did you two have to fight anyone with a devil fruit?" Sanji asked.

"No, we got lucky," Nami said. "The only guys we fought were normal."

"That's good. We had to fight together. We were trapped in total darkness for a while. I never would have been able to stop him without Chopper," Sanji said.

"Don't flatter me, stupid jerk! It won't work!" Chopper turned back to his normal form. His body wiggled at the comment Sanji gave him.

"I guess we just wait for the others to get back here," Nami said. Her eyes landed on Siria wearing Sanji's coat. "How are you doing, Siria?"

"I'm fine, Mistress Nami," Siria said. "Master Sanji gave him his coat to wear when I got cold."

"I can see that." Nami smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I am glad you two are fine as well, Mistress Nami," Siria said. "May I inquire about the others?"

"Don't worry about them." Nami waved her hand. "They'll be here any second now."

The group waited. Birds chirped overhead. The wind ruffled the leaves for a few minutes before more of their crew finally appeared. Brook and Franky stepped out of the cave. Dried mud spotted their bodies and clothing.

Brook laughed upon seeing his friends. "You made it out. I'm so glad."

"Super." Franky shook out his hands. Mud flung from him, splatting on the ground. "We would have been here sooner but we have a little trouble with a devil fruit user. Man, I have a ton of mud stuck inside of me. It's going to take forever to get it all out. So how did you all do? You look fine to me."

"We are," Sanji said. "Just waiting for the rest of our crew."

"So Zoro and Luffy are the only ones left," Chopper said. "Is it a good idea to leave them in there by themselves?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Sanji said. "Though Zoro is probably lost again."

The crew sighed.

Suddenly the cave shuttered. With two screams Luffy and Zoro busted out of the top of the cave. They landed hard as fragments of the cave flew all over the place.

Sanji kick a rock away from Siria. "Watch it, you idiots! You could have hurt her!"

"Finally." Zoro put up his sword. "I thought I'd never get out of there."

Luffy dusted off his hat before putting it back on his head. "That was fun."

"You two." Nami huffed. "All that trouble and we didn't get a single speck of treasure. It's so disappointing."

"We might as well head back to the ship now that we're all here," Robin said.

With a quick nod of agreement the crew headed back through the forest, leaving their enemies behind to pick themselves up.

"Will they be all right in there, Master?" Siria looked back at the cave.

"Don't worry," Sanji said. "They got themselves into this mess. Besides the cave's not been damaged enough to fall in on them. When they wake up they'll pull themselves out."

"Yes, Master." Siria faced forward again.

"And maybe next time they'll think twice before tricking another pirate crew into going down there," Nami said.

They broke through the finally trees and stepped out of the forest. The ship rocked on the ocean, waiting patiently for them. After climbing aboard Sanji gave the crew a run down of what happened with Siria's abilities. They moved into the kitchen to test her abilities again.

"Go ahead." Sanji nodded to Siria. "Let's test them again in the low light of the ship."

"Yes, Master." Siria summoned her squirrels.

The crew watched as the squirrels morphed into lighter colors than they were before.

"So I was right," Sanji said. "Her shadow creatures are weaker in lower light. That's a good thing to know."

"We'll have to keep a close eye on her until she learns how to defend herself," Usopp said. "She'll also need to learn how to defend herself without her abilities. What should we teach her? Should we pick a weapon for her?"

"Good question." Sanji crossed his arms. "Well, we don't have to decide anything now. Together I'm sure we can teach her the basics of self defense."

"It'll be fine," Luffy said.

"So what are we going to do now?" Chopper asked.

"The sun's settling so we might as well stay the night here and head out in the morning." Nami looked at the log pose. "It's set."

They left the room.

"We can clean Siria's new clothes for now." Back out on the deck, Sanji gathered the scattered bags, pushing the clothes that had fallen out back inside. He placed them closer to the mast bench before disappearing into the storage room. Grabbing the tub, soap, and scrub board he headed back outside.

"Well, I'm going to try and get all this mud out of my body," Franky said heading up the stairs.

"Thank you, Master. Here is your coat." Siria handed over the black coat to him.

"Thanks." Sanji took it and tossed it onto the mast bench. He filled the tub with water then the soap. Rolling up his sleeves he started washing her clothes.

"Master, allow me to do that," Siria said.

"Don't worry about it." Sanji waved her off. "I don't mind. It won't take long anyway. Why don't you sit here with me? I could use to company."

"Yes, Master." Siria sat down beside him, folding her hands in her lap.

Sanji smiled at her before going back to cleaning her clothes.

Before long Brook pulled out his violin and entertained the crew with different songs.

While scrubbing her clothes Sanji continued to toss looks over at Siria. She kept her eyes down on the deck the whole time. Concern was clearly present in the young woman's eyes but he wasn't sure exactly what was the cause of it. It could be possible she was concerned about her weakness or because they were talking about her learning how to fight. Either way it was a new experience for her. He was going to have to talk about it with her in private. And the best place he knew to do that was in the kitchen or their shared bedroom. With the last clothing item washed, he placed it over the drying line. "There done. I'm going to get dinner started now. Siria, why don't you come help me?"

"Yes, Master." Siria stood up.

Sanji led her into the kitchen. Washing up he pulled out some vegetables and gave her the job of cutting them up while he readied the other food. "So how are you really feeling? You seem to be a confused and a bit nervous."

"I'm fine, Master," Siria said.

"Now, don't lie to me." Sanji smiled at her. "I can tell there's something on your mind. Go ahead and tell me. Are you worried about your weakness?"

"No, Master, not really," Siria said.

"Tell me," Sanji coaxed. "Is it about learning to fight?"
Siria nodded. The knife clunked as it cut through the carrot she held down.

"I know it can be scary," Sanji said. "But you're going to be fine. I promise nothing is going to happen to you. We only want you to be able to defend yourself without your abilities if you ever find yourself away from us."

"My former master would never allow me out of his sight," Siria said.

"I can understand that," Sanji said. "But he's not a pirate. He had more control over his life than we do. Understand?"

"Yes, Master." Siria nodded.

Sanji scooped up his meat and dumped it into the pot. He took the cut up vegetables from Siria and put them in as well. Placing the lid on it he let it cook and turned to her. "How about we start right now since it's just the two of us?"

Siria's hands trembled. She collapsed them in front of her to make them stop.

"It's nothing series," Sanji said. "I'm only going to teach you how to throw a punch. Although…" His eyes drifted down to her hands. He took them in his. Her skin was soft and slightly cool still. "Maybe not. I don't want you to damage these precious hands of yours. Perhaps I should each you my way of fighting."

"Your way?" Siria blinked.

"I use my feet to fight," Sanji said. "Since I'm a cook I don't want to damage my hands."

"Oh," she said.

"The old geezer I use to work for taught me how to cook and fight," Sanji said.

"May I ask his name, Master?" Siria asked.

"Zeff," Sanji said. "He once was a pirate but had to give it up because he lost his leg when he…" He sighed.

"Master?"

"He ended up eating his own leg because we were stranded at sea," Sanji said. He pulled his hands from hers and slipped them into his pockets. "It was my fault it happened. I had fallen overboard because of a storm during the time when his crew attacked the ship I was on. He ended up saving me because we both had the same dream of finding the All Blue."

"All Blue?"

"It's a place where fish from all the seas come together." Sanji smiled. "I know it exists and I'm going to find it."

"So this Zeff is important to you?" Siria asked.

"He is." Sanji nodded. "He's basically my father."

"Do you have any siblings?" Siria asked.

Sanji flinched. His smile faded.

"I'm sorry, Master." Siria ducked her head. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't." Sanji placed his hand on her head. "It's a long story. One I may tell you some day but not right now."

Siria peaked up at him.

Sanji gave her a soft smile. "I'm not upset. I know you're just curious. I'm actually glad you asked. That's one step closer to you becoming your own person."

Siria's cheeks flushed.

"You're so cute when you blush." Sanji chuckled. "Now, hold up your arms like this." He pulled up his arms to his sides, guarding his face with his fists. "Make sure to keep your hands close to your face like this."

Siria copied him.

"Good." Sanji held up his hand. "Now hit my hand."

Siria hesitated.

"Go ahead. You won't hurt me." Sanji nodded.

Siria looked at his hand. She threw her fist out. It tapped against his palm.

"Not bad," Sanji said. "Try harder."

Siria threw another punch at him.

"Better. Again."

Siria pulled back. She threw her fist out again a little too hard this time. Her fist skimmed across the side of his hand. The sole of her shoe slipped on the floor causing her to fall towards him.

Sanji saw her body flying forward. He slipped his arm around her waist, keeping her from hitting the floor. "You okay?"

"Y-yes, Master."

"I think you threw your fist a little too hard with that one." Sanji sat her back up on her feet. "But you did a good job for your first time. We'll continue with this later. Okay?"

Siria nodded.

They turned their attention back to the food.

"Hey!" Luffy walked into the room, sniffing the spices in the air. "Is it done yet? That fighting made me hungry! And it smells so good in here."

"It's almost done," Sanji said. "You know I'll call when it's ready."

"But I want it now." Luffy sat down at the bar.

"Well, you'll have to wait," Sanji said.

"Fine." Luffy looked at Siria. "So are you a cook too?"

"No, Master Luffy," Siria said. "I know a little about cooking but I was never allowed to cook my former master's meals."

"Really? So you're not going to be a cook with Sanji?" Luffy blinked.

Siria looked over at Sanji.

Catching her confusion Sanji said, "She doesn't have to be a cook because she's spending time with me. I'm sure she'll develop her own interests that she'll be spending time doing."

"You should come fishing with me sometime," Luffy said. "It can be kind of boring at times but it's also fun."

"If that's what you wish, Master Luffy," Siria said.

"Aw, come on." Luffy dropped his chin on the counter. "Call me Luffy. Lu-ffy."

"Knock it off, Luffy. I already told you she needs time." Sanji stirred the stew. "Why don't you go bother someone else?"

"Nami already hit me for doing that," Luffy said.

"Well, I'm going to hit you too if you don't leave us alone," Sanji said.

"Is dinner almost ready?" Luffy asked.

Sanji sighed. "It'll be ready when it's ready."

"But I want it now!" Luffy whined.

Dropping the spoon Sanji walked over to Luffy. He grabbed his captain by the back of his shirt and tossed him outside. "And stay out until I call you!" He slammed the door shut and walked back over to the stove. Siria stood there, widened eyed. "Sorry about that. Sometimes you have to be rough with that idiot."

Siria wrapped her towel around her body. Her eyes were locked onto her hair in the mirror. It looked so different now being as short as it was. But it was also easier to manage. With as short as it was it only took a couple strokes of her hairbrush to get the tangles out. She wrung the remaining water out of her hair before brushing it out. Unwrapping the towel she finished drying off before pulling on her nightclothes. She eyed herself in the mirror again. The clothes were simple with light yellow flowers up and down the pant legs. One single flower was over her chest on the shirt. It cotton fabric brushed against her warm skin as she left the bathroom. Her eyes scanned the books in the library as she passed through it. Her feet paused. Shame washed over her when she couldn't understand what the words on the spines of the books read. Her former master never allowed her to read. It was one of many things he had forbidden her to do. Reading wasn't necessary for her to preform her jobs for him. Then an unexpected thought came to her mind. She wondered if she ever read any books what would she read.

The thought startled her. Her body jerked. Never before had she had such a thought. Or not that she could remember. There were vague thoughts of wanting to try things when she was a kid but they quickly faded away to memories of pain. Her fingers touched a burn mark on her arm. She remembered. Before when she had the desire to try something new her master would hurt her by burning her or shocking her with the cuffs that use to be on her.

She left the room.

Reaching the stairs she looked down. A few of the crew were still scattered on the deck. They were talking amongst themselves and had yet to notice her. Carefully she allowed her thoughts to wander. Sanji's words came back to her mind. He had told her she would be able to develop her own interests. Her body tensed in expectation to the pain that always came when her thoughts wandered like this. Nothing happened. She exhaled.

Sanji noticed her then. He turned his eyes to her and smiled. "Siria, you're done with your shower?"

"Y-yes, Master." Siria stepped down the stairs. A breeze rose off the ocean. Goosebumps pricked up on her skin from the cool touch. A tickle appeared in the back of her throat. Covering her mouth, she coughed it away. She wanted to go inside as quickly as she could. It was too cold out here.

"I guess we're going to turn in for the night." Sanji stood up.

"Good night, you two," Robin said.

"See you in the morning." Usopp waved.

"Good night, Master Usopp, Mistress Robin." Siria nodded. She waited patiently for Sanji to open the door and followed him inside. The warm air of the ship engulfed her. The tickled reappeared but not strong enough for her to cough it away. Stepping into their shared bedroom her eyes fell to the new bed. A sheet had been placed over it at some time. Two blankets had also been placed on the bed.

"Go ahead and climb into bed," Sanji said. "I don't mine which side you sleep on."

Siria stood there. She wasn't sure which side to sleep on. This would be the first time she had ever slept on a bed. She said, "I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"Nonsense," Sanji said. "We're both mature enough to share a bed. And I want to make sure you're safe at night if you happen to…" He waved his hand, searching for the correct word to use. "…change again. Okay? No more sleeping on the floor for you. Understand?"

"Yes, Master." Siria still didn't move. She studied the bed.

"I'm going to go brush my teeth. I'll be right back." The door opened and closed.

Siria moved closer to the bed. Reaching out she touched the blanket. Her eyes bounced to each side of the bed while her mind wandered over the dark secret hidden inside of her. She swallowed. Her head pounded in sync with her heart. She wondered if she should tell her new masters and mistresses of the thing that lurked inside of her. Master Sanji already encountered the creature but he didn't know what it was. Though she wasn't sure exactly what it was either. Maybe her new masters and mistresses would know something about it. But was it worth telling them? What would they do to her if they knew? Would they change their minds about her? Would they treat her like her former master did? She had no way of knowing.

Footsteps coming closer to the room prompted her to climb onto the bed. She went right over to the wall and pulled her knees to her chest. The door open. Sanji walked in. "Decided to sleep by the wall, huh?"

"Yes, Master." Siria nodded. Though she didn't really decide it. Hearing him coming closer to the room propelled her to climb on the bed.

"That's fine." The lights went out.

Siria glanced at Sanji from the corner of her eyes when his weight lowered onto the bed. Through the small amount of light that remained in the room she watched him lie down.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, Master." Siria slipped under her cover. Turning on her side, she faced the wall. "Nothing's wrong. Good night, Master."

"Good night, Siria."

...

Stopdropanroll: That would be cute. We'll just have to see what happens.

.X: I love fluffy moments like that.