Naghitan: There is that…

Guest#1: it was a terribly strong chapter.

SiberianRS: But he still has a ways to go…he can't give up, now (as much as he wants to) it was more than a sting, but it won't be the last! D:

Lily: you are right about the cellphone charge, but what makes it move? A conversation, or a clue? Eventually, he'll find what he's looking for, but in doing so, he has to remember *correctly what had happened in order to get to his goal.

A/N: This is the last chapter for the weekend. But it's definitely a game changer. I really enjoy hearing everyone's theories! They're very creative and it's amazing how involved ya'll are with the story!

Chapter Ten –

Night fell quietly – the crew decided on a bonfire, and as that was going, Sanji silently passed out the necessary ingredients for s'mores. He kept thinking about the phone. What was going to happen when it hit 0%? Would he be taken back home? Or would he be taken elsewhere to places he couldn't even fathom?

Why was he here in the first place?

He impatiently helped Luffy reload his skewer with a new piece of marshmallow, and barely managed to pull his hand back in time as Chopper nearly bit him for helping Luffy. The pair of them argued, fighting over position in front of the fire, and Zoro snapped at them both. Somehow, his robe caught fire, and Ussop, appointed fireperson, sprayed him with the fire extinguisher. He lost control of it, tossed backward, spraying Nami with white foam, and she shrieked with outrage.

Luffy laughed uproariously, Chopper taking the chance to eat what was left of his marshmallow, then screaming in pain as the gooey mess wasn't completely cooled off.

Idiots, Sanji thought morosely, standing in the middle of it all. He gave Robin a new piece of chocolate, to which she formed a perfect s'more, and gave it to Franky.

"Did you learn anything new about those apples?" he then asked Robin, who gave him a solemn shake of her head.

"I've looked through a great majority of my most reliable sources regarding possible enchanted fruits, but I've yet to find anything matching the description of this particular apple," she answered. "Also, the messenger bird has yet to return with the information I'd requested. I'm afraid you're stuck with us for just a little while longer."

"That's unfortunate for you," he mumbled. "I really need to get home, now. I'm sure my friends are worried."

She looked at him with concern. "Why do you not sound so convinced of it?"

"Too much thinking, I suppose." He shrugged. "Plus, you have to admit, I bet your guy is anxious to get back, as well."

"True."

He looked for the other man, but he figured Law was off sulking because another talk about strategy and catch-up with Zoro had turned into a laugh fest. All Luffy wanted to do was get there, beat some guy up, and let that be the end of it. He didn't want to hear about World Government things or who was dying or what the plan was to capture a few other pirate captains for a foothold in power over others in the New World. It sounded like a huge adventure meant for a big screen, but Sanji was more worried about his phone dying than anything else.

After everyone was served their evening drinks, and Zoro started chatting about what he'd learned from the other samurais, Sanji put the tray out of everyone's path and took the effort needed to hide behind Nami's tangerine garden. Once there, he sat at the edge of the roof so his feet could dangle towards the floor below, let his shoulders slump, and pulled his phone from his pocket. He was startled to see it at 20%, and he looked up at the sky with a heavy expression.

Was he some sort of sea demon? Would that explain the weird stains on his shirt, the footprints he left behind in the dark? The weirdness with the sea? What if he was some sort of manifestation of something he couldn't understand…what if, when he lost power to his phone, his one connection to a world that he knew would be the breaking of some tether point for him?

What was his goal here?

Why?

It had to do with the bar scene – it had to do with the black out periods. But what if once he found out what happened, he ceased to exist, anyway? What if he learned something terrible?

At the scrape of sound down below, he looked over and saw Law standing there in the darkness, looking out over the darkness of the sea. He had such a lost expression to his face that Sanji wanted to call out and ask what was wrong. But he decided on getting up and moving away to give the man space to think. He ended up turning too wide, and ended up slipping off the edge of the roof and falling down to the deck with a garbled noise.

"Call off the ambulance, I'm okay!" he said moments later, when he was able to get his breath back.

"Why are you spying on me?"

"I was here, first. You interrupted my melancholic musings. If you want to brood, brood on the other side of the ship."

When nothing emerged from the other man, Sanji brushed himself off, then made to walk away.

"What size are your feet, Mr Blackleg?"

"Elevens."

"Then why do you leave a size bigger than that behind you?"

Sanji looked back, and, in the moonlight, he could see the footprints behind him. Carefully, he aligned one foot with one of them, and was startled to see that he was right. He was bewildered.

"Weird. I don't know why I'm leaving footprints behind."

"Is this why you prefer to go shoeless?"

"To be honest, the shoes here hurt my feet. And since I can't feel with my feet, I see no problem walking barefoot."

Law turned to look him, frowning heavily. "How did you lose sensation to your legs, Mr Blackleg?"

"I tripped," Sanji said.

"No, you didn't."

furrowing his brow, Sanji couldn't think of anything to say at that moment, hearing the echo of some long ago memory being spoken right in front of him.

"A spinal cord injury is often caused by blunt force trauma in cases here. I'm assuming, in your world, that you experienced something similar."

"To be honest…I can't remember."

"You can't remember hurting your back severely enough to lose sensation to your legs?" Law repeated. "I'd definitely remember something like that."

"The thing is…I don't know if I had it before or…or after. But I do know it was an older matter."

"Then…maybe it happened to someone closer to you, perhaps?"

"I don't understand. How could something such as a spinal injury close to someone to me, affect my own legs?"

"Admittedly, I've been bothered recently, after you…saved me from drowning," Law said slowly, looking away. "There was something I saw down there that hasn't left me, quite yet."

"My super amazing swimming skills?"

"I was unsure of how to approach the topic. But after some observation, I'm afraid I've come to no other conclusions, other than Mr Roronoa being right about you. Unless Miss Robin can come up with something different, and Mr Tony can explain those mysterious apples you've mentioned."

"What'd you see?" Sanji asked curiously.

For a few moments, Law didn't say anything. He looked distinctly uncomfortable. Somewhere in the distance, a strange animal called out, and was answered by something as equally as eerie miles to their left. The clouds in the night sky drifted slowly over the bright moon, casting odd shadows on the deck. It wasn't cold – it wasn't warm. It was the perfect temperature to sit on deck without a blanket, without a sweater.

"I saw myself," Law answered slowly. "But…my reflection was…different. It was me, yet it wasn't."

Sanji stared at him in silence for several moments, unsure of what to say. He couldn't even formulate a reply. But it definitely explained Law's expression after that day.

"Sometimes, I feel that…the sea itself beckons me. I've…accomplished what I needed to, what happens after that? For thirteen years, I'd only survived just to gain revenge for someone…dear, to me. Now that I have it…what do I do? I'd never given a thought to an 'after', Mr Blackleg. I was prepared to die, back there, so perhaps that's why I never thought about it much. But I never thought that this after would be so…unfulfilling."

"Why would an accomplishment be 'unfulfilling'? You completed a goal, you should be celebrating."

"Indeed, I should. I should be considerably joyful, but…I wonder if it's because long standing habits are hard to break when they are now all I've known."

Sanji was quiet for some time while he processed this. He knew nothing about this man. He knew nothing about what he was talking about, and he couldn't fathom the feelings he was expressing because of what he'd endured. But he was familiar with this type of monster. It was the same type that had his Law locking himself in his room for a day or two, that made him say or do ugly things he normally would've never done if he were 'okay'; the type that made him take unnecessary risks, to "whatever" the risk of losing a job, or even making it difficult to interact with people.

The kind that ate someone up from the inside, and made it difficult for them to reach out because their voice was stolen, and because it hurt to talk. It was only his actions that helped his Law out of it, sometimes, but there wasn't much he could do about it with this one.

"in the end, I think, it's okay to feel this way. Because you feel you have nothing left to do, right? Even after we all accomplish a task, there's always a 'What do I do next?' that comes after it. It doesn't always happen right away. But I think that if you let yourself go after all the fighting you did to get there…it would seem like a terrible waste. You said it yourself to me just the other day."

"But I don't care about that, right now."

"Because your loved one isn't here? Whoever it was wanted you to be happy. Maybe it's time to look at a different goal."

"I have one. It's to overthrow – "

"No. I don't want to hear about this fight and that fight, and this battle that will end all battles," Sanji interrupted, causing Law to frown at him. "In the end, that's an entire world problem. You aren't the entire world, ba-yyyy leaf."

" 'Bay leaf'?"

"Never mind! What matters now is what you want as an individual. I don't want to hear about beating this guy up, or that guy going to prison – whatever. I want to know what you want for yourself. Is it unlimited sex with gorgeous women? All the riceballs you can eat? Gaining twenty pounds?"

"NO."

"Okay, how about….for instance, I will give a good example. I want to go home so I can make peace with my live-in. Now…you….?"

For a few moments, Law looked up at the sky. Then he scrunched his brow. Then he frowned, stroking his chin. Then he tilted his head one way, then the other.

"I suppose all I want is peace. But how could that be possible after looking back at all the dead bodies that have piled up behind me in my quest for the treasure?"

"This world is nuts, then," Sanji decided, hands on his hips as he looked out over the sea. "I would have to live here to understand it."

"This is the life one lives when they grew up in it! To have something as frivolous was wanting to go home to a 'live-in' to make peace with them – that's beyond my imagination."

"So is yours."

"Then it's a stretch for either of us to understand one another."

"Not entirely. You have a lot of similarities to someone dear to me. in a way, I feel good in that I can be here to help in some way, because I live with those similarities, too. Their battle, my battle, overall."

"But if you aren't in the midst of it, then how could you even begin to understand the emptiness as a result of it?"

"I do. It's called 'alcoholism'."

"Then why bother giving advice if you don't even know how to fight your own battle?"

"Then why discuss 'strategy' with someone that doesn't understand your concept of it, but knows how to get to the end result because he agrees with what you're trying to accomplish?"

Law fell silent, then. He crossed his arms tightly, scrunched his shoulders, and curled his lips with irritation.

Sanji wanted to laugh because even if they were from different worlds, they shared the same pout. Without thinking, he reached out and hugged him, holding onto him tightly. Law immediately tensed up and gave him that shocked/furious look that he often gave Luffy when Luffy grabbed him unexpectedly.

"Take it from your mysterious reflection, Law. There is always a second chance. This is it. Don't let it go to waste."

Sanji then whipped away before Law could move. He walked up to the back railing and looked over at the water below, admiring the way the moon lit up the white caps, caused the stars to disappear within violent ripples of strength. He looked out over the sea with a melancholic expression, wondering why it was easier telling someone this when he should abide to it himself. But was this his second chance?

'Can't stand looking at you, sometimes.'

'I c that,' came the surprisingly fast reply.

'You can be someone else's problem. Kill yourself.'

'What a shitty thing to say.'

'Maybe Hell will appreciate your failures, you sorry ass human being.'

When he heard Luffy shout his name, he pushed away from the railing with a heavy sigh. "There's not enough Dimetap in the world for that kid…"

"If you are some sort of demon, trapped between worlds…what would it take for you to move on?" Law asked, facing away from him. "Was it something that you did, or something that…that he did?"

"I'm pretty sure it was something I did," Sanji answered, fiddling with his pants, enjoying the looseness in the waistband. Having most of his food stolen, plus all this physical activity, lack of alcohol had really changed his shape. "Otherwise, why serve someone else's penance?"

Law was silent for some time, so when Luffy screamed for Sanji once more, Sanji turned to walk away, hollering a cranky reply back.

"ARE YOU PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK, SANJI?"

"WE'LL COME FIND YOU!"

"YO HO HO HO HO! SANJI!"

"Because maybe you aren't here to fix yours. Maybe you're here as someone else's penance."

"I'm not dead," Sanji reminded him. "And it doesn't make sense to be someone else's penance when I'm the one with the problem. And if you are no where associated with the Law of my world, why would I leave that world just to come…fix something of yours? Shouldn't my supposedly dead self remain over there? This is an other worldly matter caused by mysterious apples."

Law looked at him. "What if you were on the way to reach the stars and was pulled back to the sea?"

"You are obsessed with that theory. To me, it doesn't make sense. I'm not dead."

"SANJI ISNT IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM!"

"HE'S NOT ON THE MAST!"

"HE'S NOT UP NAMI'S SKIRT!"

"BROOK!"

"Ghosts are real, Mr Blackleg. They haunt others in their dreams, or in their thoughts. They can manifest as living beings."

"I'm NOT dead!"

"Maybe you didn't come here to serve a penance for yourself. Maybe you came here as a personal message to me. maybe it's not something that you have to do for yourself in order to return home. Maybe it's reminding me of what I should be doing."

"It doesn't make sense, though. You've no connection with my world, so why would I reach out for you?"

"Then why in the sea am I looking at myself?"

"I don't know. But it doesn't mean you belong down there, either, if that's what you're trying to convince yourself. What was your relationship with this world's me like?"

"I could depend on him."

"On a personal level?" Sanji asked, pinky up with a leer on his face.

"NO," Law said impatiently, reaching out and pushing that pinky away. "Utterly ridiculous."

"HE'S NOT UP HERE!"

"HE'S NOT IN THE KITCHEN!"

"HE'S NOT ON THE SLIDE!"

Sanji laughed, reaching out to touch his hands as he said in singsong, "You want to hug me, you want to love me, you think I'm gorgeous - ! Ow."

Law threw his hands away from him, but in the darkness, underneath that brim of that hat, Sanji couldn't see his expression. "Utterly ridiculous."

"You repeated yourself, you're definitely all shook up at the – no, wait, come back!" Sanji laughed as Law turned and walked away. "Come back, I was just kidding! Okay, okay, you two were just great man friends that didn't ever think once of molesting each other. I'm the only one that thinks that way! I can't help it!"

"I hope you find your way home, soon, Mr Blackleg. This type of idiocy isn't needed, here."

"Annnnd you closed up shop for the night. We were just getting nice and tight."

"THERE YOU ARE! LAW! Were you helping him?" Luffy asked, jumping onto Sanji's back, causing him to stumble under his weight. "You knew we were looking for him!"

"Mr Strawhat, I refuse to be involved in your games."

"It's okay to play with us, you know. We won't look at you any differently."

"it's not that I feel self conscious about the way you people look at me. it's just that I'm much too grown for such games."

"You were given this second chance, y'know," Sanji reminded him, grabbing a hold of Luffy's hands as Luffy looked down at him curiously. "Don't let it go to waste."

Then he walked off as Brook and Chopper turned the corner, looking disappointed that Luffy had found him first.

"Aw! I wanted to find Sanji first!"

"Sanji! I'll take a peek of your underwear in lieu of payment for the efforts I used looking for you!"

"Shut up! All of you!"

"Slaves don't talk to their masters that way, Sanji."

"I knew it!"

"We're hungry, Sanji!"

After the noises faded, Law returned to looking over the sea. The conversation that had just taken place repeated itself over and over in his thoughts. He did have to second guess the sea demon theory. He looked at his hand. The moonlight caught and illuminated all the discolorations of his skin, rendering it bright against the shadowy shape of his hand. His skin tingled, remembering the warmth in Sanji's hands on his.