Author's Note: Sorry this took several days to complete. I've been so busy with school, boyfriend trouble, and other things that just make me go "Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." But I'm back on track, and this chapter's definitely a good one, I promise! I'll probably have Chapter 8 up within the next two days. I won't wait for the weekend to pass.

I hope you like it :D


Luffy stood in the hallway of the hotel, waiting for the crew to arrive. Nami paced uneasily behind him, biting her lower lip as she went through her thoughts. She continued to tell herself Sanji would be okay, that there was no way he could be defeated, but she couldn't get the image of the blood from his suit jacket left behind on Usopp's hands. Her heart was filled with worry. She swallowed, glancing into the hotel room, wondering if she should grab her clima-tact.

She looked up as footsteps began echoing down the halls. The crew came around the corner, running to meet Luffy and Nami. Usopp and Chopper, who were leading the others, had calmed down greatly since they had left. Upon reaching their captain, they came to a halt.

Luffy was looking down, his hat casting a shadow over his eyes that created an image that was almost menacing. For a moment, no one dared to speak.

"Tell me everything," Luffy said, his voice low.

Robin crossed her arms, her expression giving no sign of emotion. "We last saw him as he went to dance with that woman. Later, when he had disappeared, we began to ask if anyone knew where he had gone, but no one seems to remember seeing him after that. Then, someone screamed…" She paused, glancing at Zoro.

Luffy was impatient with worry. "Then what?" He said, looking from Robin to Zoro, and eventually to the rest of the crew. His brow was furrowed as he waited for her to continue.

Zoro sighed. "The girl he had danced with was lying behind some trees, and that's where they found the stupid cook's jacket. The girl was dead." He yawned, looking almost bored.

"How can you just stand there with no respect? Aren't you worried at all for Sanji? You act like you don't care!" Usopp lashed out.

"Whaddya mean? I'm NOT worried! He's going to be fine!"

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't be concerned! He could be hurt! His jacket was soaked with blood!"

"Well, he probably kicked some ass!"

Before Usopp could retort angrily, Luffy put his hand on his shoulder. "Oi," he said, his voice chilling. "We don't have time for this. How do you think Sanji would feel if he saw us worrying this much about him?" Luffy looked at Usopp and Zoro.

Franky smiled. "He's right. Sanji's SUPER strong!"

Nami walked into the hotel room, and called over her shoulder. "Well, let's not doubt his abilities." She returned with her clima-tact in hand. "Instead, let's worry about finding him. He'll be alright, he IS strong!" Brook and Chopper nodded in agreement.

Robin still looked uneasy. "Luffy, there's still one more thing. The girl, the one that was killed, her body had been mutated."

Luffy's eyebrows rose. "Mutated?"

"Her skin was green, and her bones had extended by several centimeters in some places, growing out of her skin. Her eyes had whitish films over them, like cataracts. She had been bleeding out of her mouth and ears, bleeding heavily."

Luffy took in the information silently. He set his jaw. "Yosh. Let's go then."

"Where?" Usopp asked, his legs beginning to shake.

Luffy began to walk ahead of them in the direction they had entered a serious look on his face that showed he meant business. "We're going to find Sanji."


Sanji ignored the pain in his arm, which was growing to be unbearable. He focused on his opponent, trying to estimate his strengths, and find his weaknesses. "What the hell is this?" He muttered, walking forward slowly.

The bear-man laughed, his voice a low growl. "Heh heh heh hah ha ahhhh!" A pipsqueak weakling like you has no chance of survival against someone like me!" He boasted. He extended his clawed fingers, causing his knuckles to pop loudly. "I'll make sure to kill you slowly." He threatened, grinning maliciously.

Sanji broke into a run, preparing to deliver a barrage of attacks. He jumped into a one-handed handstand (obviously using his uninjured right arm) and swung his leg into his opponent's ribs. "Cotelette!" He shouted as he began to spin the opposite way, this time to kick the bear's lower back. "Sellé!" He landed on both feet and prepared to evade his bear-like opponent's counter.

The bear-man had been knocked to the ground, but within seconds, he was back on his feet. Sanji coughed, blood landing on the ground as he spat.

"You weakling!" The bear snarled. "There's no hope for you! Don't even bother fighting me, you'll only cause yourself more pain!"

Sanji spat again in a futile attempt to rid the metallic taste of blood from his mouth. He stared into the human eyes of his opponent. "Dumbass," He mumbled.

The bear gritted his teeth, and lunged at Sanji with his huge paws, bellowing "Bear Slash!" Sanji jumped, avoiding being impaled by the enormous claws. The bear-man's attacks came close, but Sanji was much more agile. "Joue!" Sanji shouted, bringing his left leg hard into his enemy's cheek. The bear roared as his claws crashed into a filing cabinet. He forced his paws out, leaving the metal edge of the damaged cabinet ripped. A drop of blood fell from the corner of the bear's mouth. He roared, and charged at Sanji. "Bear Charge!" Sanji leapt into the air again, but his opponent had learned his lesson. Jumping into the air, the bear captured Sanji mid-air. "Bear Tackle!" He shouted, crashing to the floor with Sanji in his grasp. Sanji bellowed with pain as the bear crushed him. He could feel several ribs cracking under the weight of his opponent. His shoulder wound had been reopened, and he gasped as the throbbing pain ripped through his body.

His opponent stood up, laughing malevolently. "I knew you were only a weakling! Look at you right now! Pathetic!"

Sanji forced himself to stand, feeling woozy. The warm, sticky feeling of blood was everywhere on his skin. He breathed heavily. "You shitty dumbass," He snarled. "I was only just getting started."


The crew searched the mostly abandoned Azumi Square, hoping to find some clue as to where Sanji had disappeared. A few townspeople were still gathered, but the joy of the festival vanished with Sanji. They talked quietly amongst themselves.

Robin approached a group of older women to see if they knew anything. When she was within earshot, she heard one of them hush the others, saying, "Shh, one's right there!" The others turned to face her, with looks of disapproval on their faces.

"Do you ladies know about anything that happened?" She questioned politely. The older ladies shook their heads, not speaking anything to her. Robin thanked them, and walked away. She created an ear using her devil fruit ability, allowing her to listen to their conversation.

"That was Nico Robin!" One gasped.

"I hate pirates," Another chimed in, "They deserve everything that'll happen to them."

"Did you see who was killed this time?"

"It was Rin-san."

"I saw her sister crying over the body. She'll probably get the curse too!"

"If that pirate that disappeared comes back, he'll contaminate the whole crew!"

Robin stopped listening. She felt nauseous listening to the bitter talk of the women. She sat down on a bench, replaying the scene in her head.

"You alright?" Zoro asked, stopping in front of her.

"Yes, but I think we need to talk to Luffy," She replied, standing to walk toward Luffy

"You found something?" He asked, following her.

"No, more like overheard something."

"Ah," He nodded.

When they reached Luffy, he was pacing around the area in front of the stage where Sanji had been last seen. He was concentrating hard, making his face look strained. He stopped in front of some trees, groaned, then walked back to the platform.

"Luffy!" Robin called.

"Robin, Zoro! Did you guys find something?" He asked, hope filling his eyes.

"It doesn't tell us where Sanji is, but it might help us find out what's going on." Zoro told him nonchalantly.

Robin nodded, then proceeded to tell Luffy what she had overheard. Luffy pressed his lips together, furrowing his brow. When she finished speaking, he took a deep breath. He was obviously exhausted, but Robin knew he would refuse to relax until he was sure Sanji was okay. "I want to talk to them."

Robin indicated the group of gossiping older women, still standing some distance off. "Oi!" Luffy called. "Baa-sans!"

The women glared in his direction as he ran toward them. "That idiot," Zoro sighed, rubbing his temples with his right hand, his left resting on the hilt of one of his katanas.

Luffy stopped as he arrived in front of the women. "Baa-sans! Do you know what happened to that girl?"

"We don't know anything," One yelled at him, smacking him in the head with her purse, "And don't call us grannies!"

Luffy rubbed the side of his head. "Please! Sanji-kun, he's my nakama! I need to know!"

"Why would we tell you? You're a pirate!" A tall, scrawny woman said, her voice high-pitched and shrill.

"I just want to help my nakama! Is it a curse? I can stop it!"

The women looked at him for a moment, silence filling the air. Then, they began to laugh. Luffy stood, his expression not changing, waiting for them to stop.

"Break the curse? Hei ei ei!" Cackled a short, leathery-looking woman. "I'll tell you, pirate boy! People have been disappearing every few nights. Always young people. A person like me won't have to worry Hei ei ei ei! And most of them are never seen again! Hei ei ei!"

"Most?" Luffy asked.

"And the ones that do always look like Rin-san. Your nakama is long gone! There's no hope for him! Hei ei ei ei!"

Luffy walked away, steaming. He looked up to the night sky. "Sanji," he thought, "I hope you're okay."