7.


As Sanji gripped the white sword harder, Zoro's eyes finally moved to stare at the blonde cook, "Sanji?"

He opened his mouth to respond but his frail voice perished in the desert of his dry throat. Choking, he struggled to force out actual words instead of the pathetic croaking noises he kept producing. He needed water. His tongue rasped on the flesh his mouth like sandpaper, thick and swollen. Up on the stairway, the woman wrapped around the still-bleeding swordsman smirked broadly at the cook's obvious distress. Zoro made no move to escape as she embraced him closer, her nails leaving more bloody tracks on the swordsman's already tortured skin.

Sanji watched helplessly as she sensually ran her blood-red tongue over sharp teeth before turning and parting her lips near Zoro's ear. "You're a waste of space. Just a shitty swordsman."

That was not a woman's voice.

It felt like the ground had suddenly dropped out from beneath his feet when Sanji heard his own voice coming from between bloody lips. She was watching him - enjoying his reactions of horror - as she spat his own horrible words, in his own voice, into Zoro's ear. "Filthy, disgusting neanderthal. You make me sick!"

Her purple irises were fixed on him - revelling in his agony at hearing his past words. Zoro's wide, dark eyes were watching him too. Sanji felt sharp pain pierce his chest when he saw the hurt in the swordsman's expression. He had said these things. There was no way he could deny the poison being spoken in his own voice. Sanji was responsible for the pain in Zoro's eyes. Him, and him alone. Wado slipped from his limp fingers and landed on the ground with a soft clink.

This was all his fault.

"No one needs a useless pile of seaweed like you!"

He was the real monster.

"You're just in my way, shitty bastard!"

It was no wonder the swordsman hated his guts!

"Get lost like always, asshole! I can't stand looking at your ugly mug!"

"Okay..." Zoro's voice was soft and there was too much pain in his eyes as he replied to Sanji's voice.

Sanji didn't want to listen to this anymore. Those were his words, but not his feelings. Zoro was a powerful presence in his life. He didn't want to think of future without the two of them, fighting side-by-side. Zoro was brave, loyal, compassionate, and talented - and Sanji fucking loved him.

He couldn't lose him.

"Zoro!" The intensity of the feelings he'd hidden and denied for so long lent his broken voice strength, "Don't you dare think of leaving my sight, you shitty marimo!"

His words rang out, surprisingly clear and sharp. The sound echoed against the stone stairs - rebounding throughout the little clearing. The tall grass surrounding them shivered and rattled as if in response. Sanji panted, feeling wrung out just from even that one small effort. Zoro blinked at him before frowning, "I don't understand. Don't you want me gone?"

Sanji struggled to find the right words. "I... don't hate you... Zoro."

"Liar!" The woman hissed in Zoro's ear, "He doesn't want anything to do with you. Why would he? You're pathetic! You couldn't save anyone from some shitty candles! You were all going to die and Sanji knows it's your fault!"

Sanji snarled, "Shut the fuck up! It wasn't his fault! I wasn't there! I should have been there to help!"

Zoro's eyes darted between the monster digging her claws into his shoulder and the emaciated cook at the bottom of the stairs. His expression was torn as he echoed the monster by his ear, "I should have been able to protect everyone... It's my responsibility."

"You failed." Sanji ground his teeth as the woman continued to speak awful things, "You are too weak to protect anyone! You couldn't save yourself without chopping your body into pieces, and you couldn't even protect a little girl from a simple accident! You are always too weak!"

Zoro reeled back like he'd been shot. His eyes were wide and glassy - no longer seeing Sanji standing before him. The woman chuckled darkly and Sanji clenched his fists as he watched her trail those long nails over the swordsman's chest until they rested over his heart.

"She wouldn't have died if it weren't for you. Sanji will also die because of you! You kill the people you love because you're weak!" Zoro screamed in pain as her nails sank into his chest. His spine arching in agony.

Sanji was moving before he even realized it. He no longer felt the fatigue or the protest of his emaciated muscles. He only felt the blood thundering through his veins and adrenaline ringing in his ears. The cook reached the top of the stairs with hell's fury burning in his glare. Her purple eyes widening in fear, the monster tried to dodge his strike, but she was far too slow. Sanji's fist slammed into her face with his full weight behind it. She released Zoro with a shriek of pain and her body was flung from the top of the stairs with the force of the impact.

Once he was freed, Zoro slumped forward and Sanji caught him - the swordsman's weight carrying both of them down onto the stones. As he held his marimo to his chest, Sanji could feel the warm rush of blood soaking the front of his clothes and throbbing pain in his own fist matched the beat of Zoro's heart as it pumped blood out of his wounds. He made a soft whine of distress as he tried feebly to put pressure on the deep wound with his thin fingers, but it seemed his strength had vanished along with his adrenaline rush.

His forehead resting on Sanji's shoulder, Zoro chuckled softly, "I can't believe you punched a woman."

Sanji froze in horror. He had hit a lady hadn't he? Oh how was he going to face his precious swans from now on knowing what a brute he was! Sanji craned his neck to look down from the stairs and see what had happened to the purple-eyed woman. However all he saw was Zoro's infamous demon sword, Kitetsu, quivering blade down and embedded in the dirt.

That shitty monster had been a SWORD?

He huffed through his nose in annoyance. He would have punched the damn thing earlier if he'd known that! Zoro needed to control his shitty swords better and keep them from running wild. Why the hell did he have such a nasty sword anyway?

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Really?" Zoro pulled back slightly to examine Sanji's expression, "You would go that far... for me?"

"Of course."

Zoro dropped his forehead back onto the cook's shoulder, but Sanji could still feel his smile through his thin shirt. It almost felt like the bleeding had stopped completely, but Sanji couldn't be sure. "Quit trying to grow on me, shitty moss and let me look at that wound."

Zoro leaned back and Sanji saw to his immense relief that the bleeding had stopped. He was feeling better too. The intense ache of starvation had faded into a warm rush of relief. Sanji looked up from where he'd been examining the injury over Zoro's heart only to be caught by the swordsman's gaze. Zoro's expression was intent and unsettling, and feeling uncomfortable, Sanji snapped at him out of habit, "What are you looking at?"

He instantly realized how harsh that had sounded. His blue eyes widened and Sanji scrambled to correct himself. Hadn't he learned anything? "Shit! I mean... uh, is something wrong?"

"I'm going to become stronger." Zoro's dark eyes were serious, staring Sanji down, "I won't disappoint you again."

Sanji sighed and reaching out, he clasped one hand around the nape of Zoro's neck. He brought him in with a gentle tug and pressed their foreheads together. "You could never disappoint me - you HAVE never disappointed me."

"I put you in danger. I wasn't able to fight her off myself."

"So?" Sanji stared directly, firmly into Zoro's eyes as their breaths mingled.

"I-I can't... lose you, Sanji."

There was deep, deep hurt in Zoro's gaze. Sanji brought up his other hand to stroke his thumb soothingly against Zoro's temple while the rest of his fingers sunk into soft, green hair. His voice held no nonsense, and he commanded the swordsman with his tone, "Listen to me."

Zoro's eyes searched his, and Sanji could sense the tension in his body. The cook tightened his grip on Zoro, seeking to convey his sincerity through any way he could. "You're not responsible for my life. If something happens to me, it's not your fault. It was just my shitty luck."

Zoro's sigh fanned against his face and Sanji instinctively licked his lips. "I just want to protect you. I can't imagine sailing the Grand Line without you."

"I can take care of myself." Sanji grinned briefly before his smile dropped into a shadowed, haunted expression. "Besides I should be worried about you. How much blood do you have in your body anyway?"

The swordsman chuckled and looked down at himself, "I won't die. You don't have to worry."

"And neither will I. We're going to be together forever."

Zoro shuddered under his fingers - his eyes were open and vulnerable as he murmured, "I'd like that."

A soft clink on the stone beside them had them springing apart, flushing with embarrassment. Kneeling next to the pair was a slender young man. The stern cut of his jaw made him appear older than the two pirates, but his smooth complexion hinted at youth. His skin was so pale that the patterns of his veins could clearly be seen beneath. And his hair was whiter than his skin - the short strands falling over his forehead like drifts of snow. However his most striking feature was the strange pearl hue of his eyes. Even his pupils were white, and Sanji couldn't help wondering if the young man was blind. That thought was dismissed when with fluid movements, his long fingers tipped with short, hooked claws pushed a full, white sakazuki cup towards them - those strange, pearly eyes observing them intently.

"Y-Yubashiri?" Zoro blinked in surprise after recognizing the aura of his sword. Offering a small nod of affirmation, Yabashiri gestured toward the offered drink. Zoro took the cup and nodded his thanks to the sword before bringing the cup to his lips.

Don't drink...

"Wait!" But Sanji had called out too late. He tensed, waiting for god-knows-what to happen after Zoro swallowed.

"What?"

"N-nothing." After a few moments of Zoro not bursting into flames or turning to dust, Sanji let out the breath he'd been holding. He suddenly became all too aware of how thirsty he was. He reached out for the cup in Zoro's hands, hoping to get a sip before the damn marimo sponge drank it all. Zoro willingly passed it to him and Sanji was struck with the realization that the swordsman's wounds were not only no longer gushing blood, but they appeared to be closing and healing. Had the sake done that?

As Sanji reached for the cup he noticed his hands were no longer shriveled and dry. The pain in the cook's fist had vanished as well. He glanced down and was thrilled to see his body healthy and whole once more. Maybe it wasn't the sake then.

"You okay cook?"

"Yeah." Sanji's fingers brushed against Zoro's as he accepted the drink. The brief, warm brush against his skin sent an exhilarated shiver up his arm. Everything was okay. They were both okay. Sanji only hesitated a moment before lifting the cup to his lips. The taste of fine sake rolled over his tongue and soothed his throat. "This is good!"

"Isn't it?" Zoro reached over to take the cup back.

Yubarshiri bared his sharp teeth in a wide grin.

Intense sensation burned up his arm, making Sanji gasp. Instead of the same light touch of their hands like before, this time when Zoro's fingers wrapped around his own there was a feeling of light pressure before their skins melded with a mild prickling and Zoro's hand slipped inside Sanji's. Stunned into speechlessness, Sanji stared at where their hands had mingled into one. He wasn't frightened by the strange occurrence - there was no pain - but his mind hadn't yet caught up to what had just happened. Powerful energy, like the adrenaline from a fight, rippled through his body, quickening his heartbeat into a wild drumming against his ribs. It felt like dying and living all at once.

The overwhelming assault of electrifying vitality on his senses was immediately followed up by Zoro... Zoro's thoughts, his fears, his memories and everything about the swordsman rushed into Sanji's body through their hands - filling him to the point where he felt like he might burst out of his skin. He knew from their connection that Zoro felt the same.

He'd never experienced anything as amazing as this.

Their breaths fell into perfect synchronization along with the beating of their hearts. There was no longer the two of them - they existed and felt as one. Sanji gazed at Zoro sitting before him, and for the first time he knew exactly what was behind those dark eyes.

Zoro was looking back at him with all the love Sanji had only ever dreamed that he'd have one day.

The swordsman's whole being filled all the empty spaces that Sanji hadn't realized had been hurting up until now. For the first time he was truly whole and well. Sanji smiled and knew he didn't have to say a word - Zoro knew. Just like this they were complete and perfect.

The white sakazuki cup flashed golden in their hands, and without any warning, the lake overhead came crashing down. Everything was instantly flooded with dark, heavy water. Sanji had never felt such a painful loss as when Zoro's hand was ripped from his and he was once again only one person - alone in the dark blue void. He tried to scream out for the swordsman, but water filled his throat and invaded his body.