A/N: Good luck.
xxxxxx
Several days after the confrontation with Blair and Cain, Zoro felt it.
It wasn't pain as much as it was a sudden awareness or an absence of feeling. Like something was missing. It was then that Zoro knew for certain that Cain was dead. His connection with the other vampire had been fleeting but it was enough for Zoro to sense this. There was no doubt that Blair and Cain had ceased to exist.
Zoro felt a shiver of dread travel up his spine.
xxxxxx
Sanji didn't find Zoro that day and he resolved to talk to the Marimo the next day.
The talk never happened however, because the next time Sanji saw Zoro it was at an assembly.
One of the higher ups of the academy, Akainu, announced the reason why everyone was gathered here: the killer had been apprehended and the academy would deal with him.
There were murmurs of relief among the students and Sanji himself felt as if a burden was lifted away, now that the man that had threatened his life was successfully locked up. When he glanced at Zoro in his excitement to see the man's reaction to this news, what Sanji saw was Zoro's pained expression as he clenched his jaw and glared almost murderously at the stage.
Confused, Sanji frowned as he realized that Zoro seemed to be sad about the killer getting caught rather than happy as he had expected.
Sanji catalogued that reaction for further analysis later, when he could personally ask Zoro. After all, he still needed to talk to the man about his excessive marking without Sanji's knowledge or consent and general rules about personal space.
However, things never really go as planned, and yet again, Sanji was unable to talk to Zoro in the midst of the preparations for the annual Christmas ball the academy had.
xxxxxx
The academy lied. That was Zoro's main thought as he walked back to his room in a daze. His senses weren't wrong; Cain and Blair were dead. However, they made it seem as if they were just imprisoning them and giving the vampire a fair trial.
The reality was that the academy lied and this gave more credence to Cain's words than Zoro was entirely comfortable with. He had been raised to never doubt the system, but now, he had every reason to.
As the weeks flew by, Zoro found himself lulled into a false sense of security in the ebb and flow of students participating in the preparations in their own ways.
It was fascinating walking through the halls to see the teachers take advantage of this building period to teach students more hands-on applications of their powers.
He saw Robin directing a group of teenagers with a similar pale white disposition, the only indication that they were probably frost demons or at least some sort of ice witch like Robin, to build an ice sculpture in the front courtyard.
When she noticed him watching in fascination she gave a small smirk before holding one of her hands palms up against the sky and letting out a flare of crystallized ice, intricate and delicate designs etched into the thin sheet, before she released her hold on it and it melted into droplets again.
He raised an eyebrow at the showcase and refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing his excitement at the display. It was pretty cool and he always found the powers of other monsters constantly amusing and at times amazing. He frowned as he walked into the building that would be the dancefloor for the ball, it was their auditorium and usually there were hundreds of chairs covering the floor, but for this event, they were all removed and a vast expanse of space was revealed.
Zoro stared in morbid fascination as Luffy scaled the walls using his unsheathed claws to pull himself up. His destination seemed to be a hook on the ceiling that Zoro noticed now hung a beautiful crystal chandelier. Zoro watched avidly as Luffy hung upside down on the ceiling, the only thing holding him up are his claws dug into the ceiling, and he released his nine fox tails.
It was always a treat to watch Luffy let out his potential, even if it was for a little bit. He was a foreigner, as most legends of nine tailed fox demons originated in other asian countries, it was quite plausible that Luffy was the only one in this country.
However, even if he was not on native ground, Luffy had so much power. Zoro could only watch in awe as Luffy seemed to take a deep breath and his eyes flashed blue briefly before he blew out a long stream of flames, straight for the unlit candles set in the chandelier.
Zoro couldn't help slapping his palm to his forehead in exasperation because he could already see where this was going and it wasn't going to end well. Seriously, he thought Luffy was up there to do something actually useful and productive. Of course he would try to light those small, delicate candles with the firepower of a flamethrower.
His head quickly snapped up when he heard someone scream and he already knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time. Luffy's attack had melted straight through the hook holding the chandelier and now it was falling at high speeds towards the students that had gathered under it to watch Luffy.
Damn it! Zoro snarled, he wasn't going to make it in time-!
Suddenly, someone flew past him and he paused his hands where he was about to grab his sword. It all happened in a split second and in a blink of an eye, the chandelier was cut into neat harmless pieces.
Baffled, Zoro took a hesitant step closer to see who the person who had saved the students was. When the cloaked man stood up with that familiar afro hair, Zoro sighed in disappointment. Damn it, he had thought it was actually someone interesting but it was just Brook.
"Yohohoho!" The skeletal man laughed as he scuttled over to help a fallen female student up, politely asking for a peek of her panties before getting slapped for his efforts.
Brook was very much a mystery around the school. He seemed to be friends with Luffy and the usual group but was mostly on the outskirts. He was not a teacher at the university and there were many speculations as to what or who he was. Some rumours said that he was a type of monster known to rise only in places where a fearsome battle has taken place and many had died. The blood of both allies and enemies enough to summon a dark spirit of its own accord usually in the form of a skeletal soldier rising among the dead. It was said that this monster killed indiscriminately and without emotion, feeding on the deaths of soldiers, without regard to which side they were on.
Of course, this was all legend and it was hard to reconcile that gruesome monster with such a jolly skeleton. Zoro had demanded many times to duel Brook but the man always seemed to disappear coincidentally and turn up later on sitting somewhere sipping tea.
Zoro still hasn't given up on that duel and as he stalked towards Brook, he was determined to finally fight him.
As if sensing his intent, Brook turned around. When he saw Zoro he quickly darted out of the building, chattering on about being late for his afternoon tea or something.
Zoro glared after him but startled when he felt human fingernails dig into his shoulder with enough force that he almost mistook them for claws. He swallowed nervously before turning around, already anticipating the fiery orange hair and angered look the back of his head was probably subjected to right now.
Indeed he was right, there stood Nami, one of the most feared teachers on the campus and also one of the strongest witches they had.
"I had nothing to do with this." Zoro replied with a complete poker face. It was true after all, he hadn't participated in Luffy's stupidity and though he stood by and didn't do anything to stop it he was still totally innocent. Surely Nami would see the reason in that...right?
He shuddered as Nami's glare turned into slits of pure anger and he looked around for someone to help him.
When he met the eyes of Franky he gave him a pleading glance, one that said "You're already dead, it would be easy to patch you up again."
Franky was a one-of-a-kind monster that no one has been able to accurately figure out yet. He wasn't dead but he wasn't alive either and though that was a rather common theme in a lot of the students and faculty here, Franky was an odd case as he seemed to be a weird patchwork of different human parts.
There were whispers of his rampage before the academy contained him and brought him here, where among those who would not judge him, he mellowed out. Only a few know his real name, Zoro being one of them as he was part of their close-knit crew. Frankenstein, that was what the humans had screamed when they ran from him, avoided him, and condemned him. It had been a dark time but after two years in this academy Franky seemed to be much happier and smiled a lot more now. Zoro was glad, the current Franky was a far-cry from the Frankenstein that they had befriended.
In this moment though, Zoro almost wished he had abandoned the man early on as Franky shrugged, made a motion of slicing his throat in a "you're so screwed" motion before giving him a shit-eating grin. Zoro glared. That traitor.
Before Zoro could try and get himself out of his predicament though, salvation came in the form of Luffy dropping off the ceiling as he retracted his claws and neatly flipped and landed on the floor. It was still littered with crystal shards but even barefoot, Luffy didn't seem to be affected by the sharp shards.
Zoro could only sigh in relief as Nami released her hold on him and turned her wrath on Luffy who seemed oblivious to his imminent doom.
"Nami," Luffy whined and pouted as he stomped one of his feet childishly, Zoro wincing in sympathy at the shards now stuck further into the soles of Luffy's foot. "We were having so much fun, why do you have to come and ruin it?" It should be abnormal for a man his age and status to pout but Luffy has perfected it and sometimes even used it to make sure students finished their homework.
"You idiot!" Screeched Nami as she hit him over the head with her staff, the one that only the best of witches could have. The staffs were created when witches hit their peak of power, usually it was a direct manifestation of their powers in physical form. It was very fitting that her's was a sky blue with glowing blue orbs that seemed to have a swirling white fog, much like clouds, in each orb.
No matter how powerful though, each witch had an affinity for certain types of magic. Nami's powers didn't allow her to fix things, she was a weather witch so she could only manipulate elements of the weather.
Nami sighed in annoyance as she used her staff to send out a small bubble that she whispered a message into before flicking it with her hand, sending it floating outdoors.
"I can't fix your stupid mistake but I'm calling in Robin to create an ice replica of the crystal chandelier that you broke!" She seemed actually upset about the broken chandelier and Zoro didn't know that she cared so much for the student's ball that she would be worrie- "This chandelier costs 10,000 beli. Ten. Thousand! I'm taking this out of your next paycheck." -of course, why did Zoro expect anything else. Of course it was about the money. He could only lean against the wall, amused, as Luffy whined about not having enough money to buy food to eat.
Zoro spent the rest of the day checking in on all the student's and lending his vampire super strength where it was requested.
Towards the end of the day, Usopp, a banshee had ran screaming into the ballroom and everyone panicked, thinking there was another death. Banshees predicted death through horrific visions and screams. The predictions came sporadically though, no one really knew why banshees could only see the deaths of certain people. It was usually pretty random and banshees didn't predict all deaths within their vicinity, just a select few. Since it was a prediction, sometimes if a person acted quickly enough they could stop the death from happening. They had called Usopp in for his particular set of skills when Gin first went missing, hoping that Usopp would be able to point them in a direction. However, when Usopp let out a heart-wrenching wail upon arrival to the academy offices, everyone knew that it was too late. They wouldn't be able to save Gin in time and he was most likely dead.
Fortunately, this was not Usopp's power making itself known but instead it was Luffy chasing after him with a giant snake on his shoulders, laughing at Usopp's terror. Zoro noticed the little Tanuki, Chopper, also running away from Luffy and felt a twinge of worry. Maybe he should help Usopp and Chopper…
The opportunity was lost though, when the trio ran back out, echoing screams of fear and cackles of amusement.
Zoro snorted, before shaking his head and settling against the wall again, watching the building and efforts of students around him and lending a helping hand whenever someone called for him.
It was a good day.
xxxxxx
It was evident that no matter how hard Sanji tried, some event always seemed to pop up and stop him from confronting Zoro. In the end, Sanji decided to simply ignore the scenting problem for now and focus on the ball. He wanted to have fun and that wasn't going to happen if he had a huge argument with Zoro right before the event.
As Sanji busied himself with helping his classmates prepare the rooms and courtyard (they mainly utilized his wings and made him fly heavy things back and forth), he spent a lot of time with Ace and had to listen to him chatter on about "that hot security guard Smoker" almost 24/7.
He appreciated Ace, he did, however, that didn't mean he needed to know that much detail about Smoker's "hot bod'". He had limits too.
Sanji knew that Ace really liked Smoker though and that underneath the enthusiastic descriptions of hotness, his friend was actually really sad that Smoker didn't like him back.
Or at least that's what Ace believed. Even Sanji could see that Smoker had a soft spot for the fiery man. The way the security guard let his eyes linger on Ace longer than anyone else when he dropped by to "make sure they weren't getting into trouble". Oh please, Sanji knew it was because Smoker wanted to see Ace.
That's why he almost let out an uncharacteristic fist pump when Ace slid up to him to start on their usual hammering and building with a worrying silence, cheeks tinged a light happy pink, almost bashfully telling him that Smoker had asked Ace to be his date for the dance.
Sanji grinned and gave the man a relieved pat, happy that his friend had found love, even when his heart gave a tug of jealousy. He wouldn't allow himself to have that kind of relationship with Zoro until he got his powers under control. Sanji hasn't been idle these past few days and in between preparations for the ball, he had Ace teach him techniques to control his pheromones. So far it's a bit of a hit and miss. Sometimes, he managed to completely erase the influence of his pheromones and other times he accidentally released more. He was making progress though and that was enough for now.
Their training sessions were put on hold though, when Sanji realized that with both preparing and also helping Sanji, Ace had no time to actually enjoy his hard-earned new relationship with Smoker. After the hundredth time Smoker showed up to watch them train or work under the pretense of patrolling the school grounds, Sanji gave a huff and told Ace that they could continue training after the ball when Smoker and Ace's relationship wasn't as new. Seriously, they were like newlyweds and actually disgustingly cute. Or as cute as grumpy cat Smoker could manage. Smoker seemed softer around the edges and generally happier around Ace though, as if the more excitable young man gave him something to be happy about.
Sanji shook his head in exasperation as he took a drink from a water bottle they had set on the ground before they started the training session. His eyes trailed after Smoker and Ace as they headed back towards the dorms, an easy and affectionate air about them as they walked, shoulders occasionally brushing from their proximity.
Again, disgustingly cute.
That didn't stop Sanji from smiling at the adorable sight.
xxxxxx
The night of the Christmas party came faster than anticipated, everyone still tired out from the preparations. It was worth it though. Every student dressed their fanciest before walking down the courtyard decked with ice sculptures and decorations that glittered and chimed beautifully as the cold night air rustled them, before entering the hallway transformed into a tunnel of vines and roses, courtesy of the nature oriented students.
The ballroom was breathtaking in it's beauty.
The chandeliers generated a dim candle light that seemed to flicker and lick across the skins of all present, and glowing light grey-blue orbs floated around, creating mysterious shadows. The stage in the center of the huge room had literal floating fairy lights above it, as the band playing for the dance today were musical faeries.
Sanji had arrived without a date. He had hoped, even though he really shouldn't, that Zoro would ask him. Sanji had even went looking for the Marimo, taking the initiative and hoping that Zoro would agree to go to the dance with him. He never found the green-haired man though and it was funny how they spent so much time together and suddenly they barely saw each other except for the occasional distracted 'hello' as they passed each other in the halls, rushing and helping with the preparations.
Sanji was optimistic that tonight he would finally have some alone time with Zoro and wrangle a dance or two out of the man.
He hummed in quiet contentment as he grabbed one of the champagne glasses from the plate of a nearby waiter, giving him a nod of thanks before sipping the bubbly red fluid.
Ace had been in charge of the alcohol, party man that he was, and he had excitedly told Sanji that he had imported human champagne for the party. Surprisingly, most people here had never tried champagne because it was considered a human sustenance and thus unnecessary and a waste of effort for them to consume. It was incredibly tasty though and Sanji could see the looks of approval throughout the dance floor as they drank the champagne.
Sanji was quite happy that his fellow students were enjoying a human concoction. It made him happy seeing as how he was raised as a human for most of his life. It made him feel like he belonged and that he was accepted here.
He finished the champagne glass and set it down at a table before grabbing another one from the waiter walking past.
Now to hunt down Zoro. Sanji thought with a small giggle, he blinked rapidly at the drink he held in his hand. Wow, this champagne was much more potent than Sanji expected, and he quickly downed the rest of it before putting it down on a table. He wanted to be sober for the dance tonight and decided that he wouldn't have anymore alcoholic beverages until later.
Sanji glanced around the dancefloor where couples waltzed to beautiful music that the musical faeries played on the stage. Disappointed when he couldn't spot the familiar head of green hair, he headed towards the doorway that led out to the hallway and then to the courtyard. If Zoro wasn't inside then he was probably in the gardens.
Just as he opened the doors to the exit, someone entered at the same time and Sanji slammed his face painfully in the person's muscled chest.
Sanji quickly looked up, thinking it was Zoro but instead saw that it was Smoker. He tried not to let the disappointment show on his face but Smoker must have seen it anyways because he gave Sanji an amused quirk of his lips.
"Expecting someone else?"
Sanji was about to reply but it was then that Smoker took a deep breath. His expression went through a series of changes until it just settled on confused and slightly alarmed.
"I was looking for Ace...last we spoke he told me to meet him at the ballroom but I've waited for over two hours now and he still hasn't showed up." Smoker looked around, taking in the beautifully renovated ballroom with with worried eyes.
Smoker took another deep breath as he made another confused sound and his brows furrowed in contemplation.
"This place reeks of him though…" Smoker kept glancing around the room, hoping to spot Ace within the throngs of dancing students.
Sanji cocked his head to the side, as he took a surreptitious sniff of his own. Strange, he couldn't really smell Ace but werewolves had the strongest senses of smell out of all the monsters so he didn't doubt Smoker.
"Does it smell like he's been here? Maybe he came in to look for you and walked back out when he couldn't find you." That was a reasonable assumption, as Sanji was just about to do the same and go look for Zoro in the courtyard.
"No...it's more like-" Smoker stopped talking as he frowned and then slowly leaned in towards Sanji who resisted the urge to lean away at the other man's close proximity. When Smoker sniffed his mouth though, Sanji was more than weirded out.
That thought was further reinforced when Smoker grabbed Sanji by the throat and slammed him onto the nearby wall aggressively, the commotion attracting the attention of students.
"Why does your mouth smell like him?" Smoker all but growled into Sanji's face, his face set in a terrifying snarl.
Sanji scratched at the choke hold the man had him in futilely, trying to speak over the crushing grip.
"Dude...I didn't kiss Ace if that's what you're thinking. That's disgusting, he's like a brother to me." Sanji coughed as Smoker's hold on him loosened, dropping him back on the floor.
By now a lot of the students were whispering to each other, unsure as to step in or to just let the scene play out.
Instead of satisfied with the answer Smoker now looked frantic. He grabbed a nearby student by the collar of their t-shirt before leaning in without any regard of personal space and also giving his mouth a thorough sniffing.
"No, you smell like him too." Smoker face grew increasingly stormy as he grabbed another student, a female this time and shoved his face near her mouth, taking a deep breath.
"You smell like him, you smell like him," Smoker continued murmuring like someone who had lost his mind as he went from student to student, everyone growing increasingly confused. "You all smell like him. What the hell is going on?"
Sanji slowly walked towards Smoker, a circle of student's around the man as everyone else kept a wide berth away from him.
"Smoker you need to calm down. We can't understand what you're trying to say."
Smoker's eyes flashed werewolf red as he snarled "Your mouth's! His smell is concentrated there and I can't figure out why."
"You're not making any sense Smoker, none of us have had contact with Ace in the last 24 hours and the only thing our mouth's have come in contact with is the food and drinks…" Sanji trailed off as his eyes widened, an epiphany just at the corner of his mind, one that he didn't want to acknowledge.
He grabbed one of the champagne glasses on the table nearby and all but shoved it into Smoker's face.
"Here, smell this." Sanji insisted urgently as Smoker gave him a suspicious look before sniffing the drink.
His tentative sniff grew into full blown deep breathes as he grabbed the drink, confused by what his senses were telling him.
"Smoker, what do you smell?" Sanji felt dread well up inside of him and though he could guess the answer to his question, he still couldn't bring himself to admit it.
"It smells like...Ace's blood," Smoker managed to choke out as his breathing quickened, a far-off almost heartbroken look on his face. "and death."
Sanji's brain was still trying to catch up to that information when they heard a scream from the courtyard.
It was almost comical how everyone froze and collectively looked towards the exit if it wasn't for the growing horror as people seemed to realize what was in that champagne.
Sanji and Smoker ran towards the courtyard almost at the same time and pushed their way through the students that were hanging out at the gardens as they followed the thick cloying scent of blood to the biggest tree in the garden.
The sight that greeted them would haunt Sanji for years to come.
He came to an abrupt stop, breaths coming in pants but everything seemed as if it was moving in slow motion. He faintly registered Smoker's presence next to him and the wounded whine that came out of the man's throat.
Ace, his confidant and always cheerful friend, was now reduced to a vague, mangled shape sitting at the base of a tree.
If one looked at his face, they could almost mistake his slack expressionless face as a sign of peaceful slumber. If they looked lower however, they would see his sprawled out arms, multiple puncture wounds and slits where his blood had been drawn. He was frighteningly pale and seemed almost ghostly white.
The worst sight however, was the huge gaping hole in the center of Ace's stomach. It looked as if someone had tried to rip out his organs bare-handed and it was such a clean wound that Sanji could see the bark of the tree Ace was leaning against through the hole.
Cut deep into his chest right above the gaping stomach wound were the words: One of a kind.
Sanji couldn't control it, he shoved his fingers down his throat trying to purge himself of the blood he had consumed and threw up onto the bushes as he tried to sob through it.
He felt disgusted and dirty, as if he had killed Ace himself. Now that he concentrated closely he could feel the surges of power through him, the after effects of consuming Ace's blood.
He didn't want this. He didn't understand what was going on.
Sanji felt familiar hands turn him around and hug him as he buried his face into Zoro's neck, still coughing and taking deep wet breaths.
"Zoro, Ace he- Ace, Ace, Ace, Ace."
He couldn't breathe, couldn't even wrap his mind around the horror and pain he felt.
Sanji saw, feeling detached and broken, as Smoker dropped to his knees next to Ace's body, wordlessly gathering the man into his arms. His face kept shifting between wolf features and his human face, as if the shock had taken away all control he had.
Through the mindless sounds of comfort Zoro made, a howl full of despair and heartbreak echoed throughout the academy.
Sanji felt like he was drowning.
TBC
A/N: Well shit, that was rather horrifying. Let me just say that my friend (The same one who forced me to update. Let's just call her "A".), tried to stop me from doing this. She said it was too cruel. It's funny how she's on the reader's side more than me. Maybe that's because she's also suffering through the pain of reading this while I'm sitting here, writing it and laughing. xD But hey, the plot was always going to end up like this. I hope ya'll will stick through it. Everything does get better, don't worry. Shit's getting real.
Reminder that updates are every two weeks on a Wednesday. But 15 reviews and I will update a week early. Reviews give me a lot of motivation ^.^
Thank you to all the guest reviewers, people who favorite or follow my story, and to everyone who reads this.
I appreciate all of you a lot :)