The thick ropes scraped roughly against Sanji's skin as the net broke the surface with a splash, exposing them to the searing heat of the sun and the whipping of the wind over the waves. He felt Zoro's weight grow heavier, the merman's grip tightening almost painfully around his waist, gravity taking effect.
Sanji grappled to hold onto him, stop him from toppling the far distance to the water below, the net shooting up nearly twenty feet now above the waves, lifted by the ship's crane.
And then Sanji realized he couldn't breathe.
His eyes went wide, a choked sound escaping his throat, the horrible sensation of his gills closing up driving him into debilitating panic.
There was the instinct to gasp, as he would if he were human, but nothing happened when he opened his mouth and tried to draw in breath. His chest merely twitched fruitlessly, and his mind burst with blinding fear.
Gills burned like fire, eyes watered. His heart threatened to beat right out of him-
"Brace - let-" came Zoro's strained voice.
Then the two of them hit a hot white deck, tumbling roughly together as they collapsed, and Sanji remembered, a flash image in his mind of the one thing that could save him.
He finally managed to lift his hand from Zoro's shoulders and press the button on that bracelet, the metal ring popping off his wrist into his palm.
His eyes had shut at some point, but a warm, creeping sensation instantly crawled up his tail, leaving two legs in its place. And then, a great gasp when the warmth reached his chest, the blond finally taking in gulp after gulp of sweet air.
Moving was impossible for a long moment in his relief, lying there flat on his back, his wetsuit shorts soaking, still tangled in net, but it didn't matter because he could finally-
A feral snarl to his right, and his eyes snapped open to the deep blue sky above, and the sounds of a wet tail slapping the deck repeatedly as it thrashed. He knew the sound well.
Only now, it was associated with someone he was beginning to care for.
Shit.
Sanji shot up, arms flailing to free himself from the net.
He'd barely managed to pop his head out before two pairs of hands grabbed him roughly by the arms, yanking him from the net and dragging him backwards away from where he now saw Zoro struggling against two other men.
"Let me put it on him!" Sanji cried, still clutching the bracelet tightly in his fist. He didn't explain what "it" was, but there was no way they didn't know, especially after he'd just transformed himself in front of their eyes.
Panic left his voice shrill and gave his racing heart no rest, but dammit, Zoro's fight was slowing, the merman's thrashes more spasms than anything as his body began to give out, helpless to escape.
Sanji tugged, lashed out with a kick to one of his own captor's shins that drew a satisfying yelp of pain.
"Let me - fucking put it on him! Please!" he cried again, desperate, eyes not leaving Zoro, whose form grew limper by the second.
That was when Sanji finally felt those grips on his arms loosen, and he rushed across the deck, bare knees slamming to the floor beside Zoro, the merman's torso flopping unceremoniously to the deck when the men dropped him, a glazed look beginning to come over his dark eyes.
He took hold of the merman's wrist, clamped the bracelet on hastily, and then his hands were at Zoro's face as he transformed, his head dropping in relief when the merman finally took a gasping breath and began to cough, fully human again.
"It's okay. It's okay, breathe," Sanji murmured, stroking at his jaw until Zoro shifted, flopping over onto his back tiredly, panting.
Only when he was satisfied Zoro would be fine did Sanji turn to the group surrounding them, still hovering protectively over the recovering merman, a hand on his chest.
"You bastards! You could've killed him!" he growled, trying in vain to squash the very grave and very shocking realization that he was truly dealing with people who disregarded life so easily.
No one replied, and, in fact, the roughly twenty people lining the wide deck resembled soldiers more than scientists, all dressed uniformly in white, the blue M.A.R.I.N.E.S. logo visible on their chests. Their white caps shielded eyes, but did nothing to hide the coldness behind their stares. A chill ran down Sanji's spine, despite the heat of the day.
This was Sanji's first real look at his surroundings, a huge research vessel that was bigger than anything B.A.R.A.T.I.E. owned. The deck was clean, clinical almost, and above them the ship's interior rose two stories, the crane that had carried the net now swinging back into place atop the highest level.
The sound of a heavy metal door unlatching, and Sanji's eyes darted to the second story balcony, where a broad man, clad in a colorful floral shirt, stepped out into the sunlight, arms, thick with corded muscle, gripping the railing.
His gaze was stern beneath his M.A.R.I.N.E.S. cap, and his teeth bore in a near snarl around the cigar that puffed smoke around his head. If his crew were soldiers, this man looked every bit an unforgiving admiral, not even the brightness of his shirt able to soften his features.
He pulled his cigar from his mouth and blew out a stream of smoke, a flick of his finger sending ash flitting away in the wind.
"Sanji Red," the man rumbled down at them, voice low and deep, dangerous. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you."
Beside the blond, Zoro finally sat up, his slowing breaths laced with a subtle, threatening growl.
Sanji didn't have to look at the merman to feel the hatred in Zoro's glare.
And he also didn't have to know anything about the man standing above them to feel that hatred himself.
After all, this was the man who'd killed his mother.
Kuina's eyes remained fixed on the stationary hull of the ship high above her that served as a dark cloud blotting out the sunlight, sheets of bubbles still raining down from where the net had breached the surface a minute before.
She stared at that ship, waiting, hoping to see the net come crashing back down, for Zoro to get the hell out like he should have. Did the idiot have no sense of self-preservation? And though she knew Sanji had a bracelet, it did nothing to quell the fear that she'd just sat idly and watched Zoro disappear again, possibly forever.
She waited, brow furrowed tight and her heart thumping, a strong beat in her taut chest.
They weren't coming back, and dammit, why? Why would Zoro risk everything for a human, regardless of his blood? What had changed so much in the years they'd been apart?
She knew what awaited the two if they didn't escape. She knew the pain and danger that followed, and while Zoro was strong...
But no. Wouldn't it be insulting to assume Zoro would fall prey to the same weakness and compliance she had? Did she really believe Zoro was capable of giving up? He'd apologized for doing so, but looking at him now…. He'd grown so much.
Still, her own trauma continued to drift into her mind, a cloud over the confidence that had shone on her only minutes before, finally swimming free in the place that had been her home so many years ago.
Could she do it? Could she face her prison again, even when she held the key to literal change in her hand, fingers still twisting anxiously on her own bracelet?
"Kuina!"
A sudden voice cutting through the water had the mermaid jolt in surprise, just before a hand clamped down on her arm, bringing her face to face with the Queen herself, the mermaid's momentum pushing them sideways in the water.
It took a beat for her to process not only the Queen's arrival, but also the fact that she was this far out in the rock field. It had been so long, but still, Kuina didn't think she could remember a time she'd seen the Queen venture this far from Noah, cautious as she was.
There was no time to linger on this surprising fact, however, her own panic over the situation conspiring above quickly returning when she met the wide blue of the Queen's eyes.
"Your Highness! Fuck-! Your Highness, Zoro was-!" Kuina stammered, vaguely registering the appearance of the three brothers, now swimming far more casually up behind their sister as if their former captors' ship wasn't still lurking above.
"We have to get away from here," the Queen interrupted, suitably concerned at least, stealing nervous glances above them, hand giving an insistent pull on Kuina's arm.
As if Kuina didn't know that, but somehow, despite the risks, she couldn't bring herself to abandon her post.
"But Zoro and Prince Sanji were - the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. took them!" she insisted, a hand coming up to grasp the Queen's wrist in hopes of loosening her grip. "I tried to - tried to stop Zoro from going to the surface, but-!"
Eyes darted to the three brothers, and she wasn't sure if it was relief or surprise that passed through her when she saw their eyes widen, the glances of shock they exchanged.
"Shit, he actually had the balls," said Niji, eyebrows giving an impressed twitch over sunglasses, his lips curling up to reveal a sharp-toothed grin that was less proud than it was sadistically gleeful.
Kuina stared at him for a moment, baffled at his tone, and further perturbed by the ever-persistent tug on her arm urging her to swim away, to leave. Even Ichiji, normally the most decisive of the three, floated solemnly with no move to act.
"Why the fuck aren't you guys doing anything?" Kuina cried. "That's your brother up there, you know! Are you three really going to let your stupid grudge stop you from-?"
"He thinks he can change things with them. He told us not to follow him," Ichiji cut in seriously, the redhead crossing arms tightly over his chest, tail giving an agitated flick. "And why the hell would we? We just left that place."
"We're takin' bets on whether he makes it out or not," Niji cut in with a dark snicker.
Kuina scoffed, instead rounding on Reiju.
"And what about Zoro?"
"I advised they go together," the Queen replied, though her voice had become far less assertive, and her grip far more tentative on Kuina's arm.
Despite the mermaid's uncertainty, Kuina let out an unabashed noise of frustration.
"You advised this?" she pressed.
It was Yonji who spoke up next, for the first time since their arrival, arms also crossed over his chest to mirror his brother, though he was hunched forward nervously, and his eyes didn't leave the hull of the ship.
"They were just going to negotiate," he muttered sulkily, and Kuina frowned, noticing a slight tremor run through the merman's shoulders. Suddenly, his sulky tone looked a lot like fear, a far cry from his normal bravado.
Her eyes automatically drifted to Yonji's scarred cheeks, a reminder of long nights full of fruitless pounding upon glass and frustrated screams…twirling wisps of blood in the water.
"I don't think a net swallowing them up is a good negotiating tool," she eventually shot back, though her voice had quieted some in the face of the merman's nerves.
There had to be a way. There had to be a way to earn their support. She didn't know what she was going to do, but if all they did was wait, she feared it would be for something that would never come. She feared that it would be too late, and that trust in the situation wouldn't be enough.
When had it ever been enough?
And it wasn't enough, not when, suddenly, a shift in the currents swirled around them, forcing all of them to look up, dread spilling over as that dark cloud began to move. Massive propellers churned the water behind into frothy white tails, swishing their fins to push the ship forward, with two pieces of unintended cargo still aboard.
Kuina didn't hesitate.
She broke free of Reiju's grasp, lifting her fist to shove her bracelet roughly in the other mermaid's face.
A flash of shock passed over the Queen upon noticing it, and her expression morphed through confusion before landing briefly on poorly-hidden fear before Kuina clarified.
"It's not your brother's," she assured. "He still has his. It's from HQ, the one I used to help us escape. I have it, and I'm going to do something."
"Kuina, no. You just escaped," Reiju insisted, quick to protest, that same fear and perhaps a twinge of unbecoming panic shattering her regal countenance. "Like hell I would let you-"
"You don't know what it's like there," Kuina argued, speaking quickly now because that trail of bubbles on the surface was growing longer, the ship moving away ever farther. "You don't know what Sakazuki is like, what he did to us. Your brothers might try and act strong, but that place fucked them up too."
"Then it would be foolish to-!" Reiju pressed, only to be interrupted once more.
"Sakazuki does not negotiate," hissed Kuina. "He will not listen to him-he doesn't care! And you have no idea how badly he's wanted Sanji."
"All the more reason for you to stay put!"
Reiju's voice rose, assertive again, and her grip was back on Kuina's arm, even as her gaze flicked indecisively towards the retreating ship.
In that moment, Kuina didn't see their strong Queen, but rather her own self. Herself as she'd been for all those years, lonely, afraid of losing what little she had left, willing to place hope in foolish things if it served as an excuse for her own passivity, her own instincts for self-preservation.
This had never been a version of herself she'd been proud of, and it was one she didn't want for the Queen either, who she knew deserved none of the pain she'd been dealt in life, surely.
From a young age, Kuina had wanted to protect. And protecting required action.
"I can't," Kuina countered, this time reaching out to take hold of the Queen's shoulders, hoping to feed some form of strength, if only through her tone, her touch. "That would be—pathetic, I-"
She paused, closed her eyes briefly, then started again, feeling the burning stares of the three brothers now fixed on her as well.
"Your Highness, for so long. For so long, I have wished I could change my past—wished I could do something, and I never did because I was scared and I thought there was nothing left fighting for."
A beat, and then a tiny smile tugged at her lips because she saw it, the small flicker of recognition in the Queen's eyes. The pair were looking into a two-way mirror now, she knew.
"But it's not true - it can't be true!" she continued, giving the mermaid's shoulders a gentle shake. "I'm still fucking scared, but being back here and seeing - all I was missing, what you were missing... I - I have to go. If there's any hope of changing things, I have to go."
There was silence, during which Reiju's eyes stayed on Kuina's face, even when Niji's voice piped up stubbornly.
"You're crazy if you think we're coming with you!" he cried, but Kuina was quick to whirl on him.
"Did I ask you to?" she snapped. "No, I'm going alone." And while that thought was a little disheartening, she knew the brothers, brash as they were, were right about one thing.
They could not risk their newfound freedom so carelessly.
As if to confirm this, Ichiji's low tone rumbled from behind Reiju, and though it was serious, his voice lacked the defiance of before. It was quiet, almost tired.
"After all this," he said. "You're really going back."
Kuina's hands fell from Reiju's shoulders, and she turned to level the redhead.
"I didn't escape so that someone else could take our place," she stated simply. "Not even a human."
Ichiji's jaw merely clenched in response, a subtle twitch, but one Kuina recognized. It was a signifier of rare inner turmoil, and she could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen it. For once, it was hard to predict his reaction.
With Yonji still hunched uncomfortably, and Niji grinding teeth, there was no one left to speak. Save for Reiju, and what she said surprised them all.
"I can….alert Dr. Red," she said, her eyes clear and her voice beginning to regain some of its familiar certainty. "O.H.A.R.A. is too long of a swim, but B.A.R.A.T.I.E….. Dr. Red can call Dr. Nico at least."
"More humans?!" Niji growled in shock, but Reiju was quick to glare at him.
"Shut up!" she hissed right back at her brother, her hair a rosy cyclone around her head, and surprisingly, Niji obeyed, instantly snapping his jaw shut, brows furrowing deeply, but he remained silent.
Reiju's plan was unclear to Kuina. She could vaguely recall such names, human names, but it was difficult to piece together their correlation, not to mention how the hell any of them were going to help.
But Reiju's gaze burned with growing conviction when she met Kuina's once more, their reflections now balanced without a semblance of glass to separate them. Kuina knew she could never let glass confine her again.
There was no time, so she was left with only one question.
"Do you really trust them…?"
Reiju's reply was immediate, even in the face of that question's weight.
"With my life," she stated seriously. "And with yours."
Kuina closed her eyes, actively squelching the nerves and mistrust that bubbled within her. They needed the help. Zoro needed the help. And though she hardly knew the merman he'd grown to be….if he could trust humans after everything. If the Queen could….
She opened her eyes and reached out to grasp the ivory hilt of that brilliant sword, still resting atop the nearby rock. The hilt nestled well in her palm, and she chose strength over fear.
"Then there's no time to waste," she said, and with a flick of her tail, she made to rush after that boat, shrinking into the distance.
She didn't make it far before Reiju swam up too to block her path, lithe hands coming to her arms again, but this time, not to stop her. They were there as a form of support, surely.
"Kuina," she murmured softly, with a fiery gaze, but a gentle touch. "Bring them back. I can't do it again. I need…all of you."
Kuina understood. That was why she was risking this. Things needed to change.
"We're not alone this time," she replied. "None of us are."
A final look at the four siblings, who she would protect. She wouldn't let any of their own be taken. Never again.
Then she was off, darting as fast as her tail would take her through the open water, in the direction her migration instincts falsely labeled as "home."
Reiju watched her friend disappear yet again, hands lifting to hold herself lightly, her eyes fixed on Kuina's ashy tail, but her mind remembering one of deep blue, a gleam of golden hair instead, that had vanished with a reassuring smile and never returned.
Until Sanji had….
She turned abruptly, in the opposite direction of Noah, towards the land, miles away.
"Do as you wish," Reiju muttered to the three mermen still floating, dumbstruck, in the water behind her. "But I truly meant it. I need all of you."
Then she too was off, without so much as a meeting of eyes.
The brothers were left alone in heavy silence.
The air was quiet, save for the heavy thud of footsteps descending the metal stairs from the upper deck, as if Sakazuki wore boots, not sandals.
Quickly, Sanji scrambled to his feet, shaky after spending hours with a tail, but he managed, automatically turning to help Zoro, who nearly yanked him right back to the deck with his imbalanced insistence.
By the time Sakazuki reached the bottom of the stairs, Sanji had moved in front of Zoro, a hand reaching back to hold onto the merman's wrist protectively. No way in hell was anyone getting near that fucking bracelet.
Sanji had never been afraid of another human being before, not truly. That was surely a sign of privilege in his life, and though he'd come with such conviction and fury, he still felt panic creeping on the edge of his consciousness. The man was simply approaching, and calmly at that, but Sanji still felt his grip on Zoro tightening, right along with his chest, breaths coming lighter beyond his control.
But he stood his ground, particularly when he felt Zoro's fingers lacing with his. There were risks involved with giving away just how much Zoro meant, but Sanji needed the anchor.
Sakazuki was tall, taller than Sanji, and deep-set eyes were well shaded by heavy brows, unreadable caverns.
He stopped a few paces away and pulled the cigar from his mouth to flick off some ash before he spoke.
"You've made my job far easier than expected, Mr. Red," he drawled casually, as if they weren't speaking of potential kidnapping. "Practically climbing into my net as you did. And I see you've brought a friend."
Instinctively, Sanji's lips pulled back in a warning snarl much akin to the surprisingly aggressive energy he'd felt the first time he'd transformed.
"I wasn't aware your job was to hold living beings prisoner-" he spat out, anger rising within him, only to be cut off by Sakazuki, the man's voice still level.
"And the fact that you're aware of this situation at all means that I have every right to get acquainted with you," he said slowly, a hint of annoyance in his tone that might soon have morphed into something dangerous.
Sakazuki watched him for a long moment, the man's gaze one of mere boredom that still somehow managed to send the cold grip of fear clenching harder in Sanji's gut. But this time, not for his own safety.
No, his thoughts immediately wrenched to his father. His infuriating father who'd kept this whole damn secret from him for his entire life. His stubborn father who'd had nothing but his best interest in mind, who'd done nothing but protect him, even if it meant concealing the truth, and dammit, now was not the time to feel guilty over their argument from the previous evening. Now was not the time to wonder if he should have been more understanding, more cautious.
It was the wrong time to imagine his father's stern gaze in place of Sakazuki's. The wrong time to wish he was here to help deal with this shit…
But now was also not the time for inaction. Not anymore. And Sanji knew he couldn't afford to let his resolve waver.
And so, when Sakazuki abruptly turned on his heel to head back across the deck towards the ship's interior, frustration immediately swelled in Sanji's mind.
"Let's head back," Sakazuki announced, with a nonchalant wave of a hand that sent several of his crew members scrambling to their posts once more. "He'll do for now."
"But sir, what about the-?" cut in one crewman, his voice hushed as he flicked eyes to Sanji and Zoro.
"As I said, he'll do for now," replied the captain. "And something tells me he will come quite willingly if it means we will refrain from any further searching."
His hand met the railing of the steps, just as the ship gave a slow lurch forward.
And the moment the man started to ascend, the moment the ship began moving again, Sanji felt his feet move before he could stop them, felt rage bubble within him that he should have felt years ago. The merpeople's rage, surely.
Zoro tugged his arm back, but still Sanji pulled forward towards the indifferent man who'd wrought so much pain, but now did so little in the face of the justice he should have answered to.
"You bastard, face me, dammit!" Sanji called after him, Zoro stepping up his side, a low growl escaping him, seemingly fueled by Sanji's outburst.
Sanji didn't know what more he'd planned to say, but there had to be something. He couldn't let this man walk off, like he'd done nothing wrong and owed no explanation. He needed one, and it was just as infuriating to see the heavy sigh, the slow way the man turned around, almost devoid of energy when Sanji felt it coursing through his entire body in waves with every thundering beat of his heart.
This was for his parents, his siblings. This was for the scars on Yonji's face and the pain behind Niji's scowl. This was for the tired mistrust he'd seen in Ichiji's eyes. This was for the way Reiju held herself, as if she was the only one in the world who would.
And this was for Zoro, for the ferocious hope he held in his gaze, his kiss, and for the fact that he now stood beside him with just as much ferocity, just as much strength of will.
These thoughts whipped around Sanji's mind, a cyclical mantra that only grew louder as Sakazuki silently crossed the deck to him again, popping his cigar back in his mouth, and began his own slow circle around the two, a watchful vulture under the blazing sun.
"Human," he eventually mused, stopping before Sanji once more, though he spoke the word as an insult. "Entirely human, are you not? You stand; you breathe. You fooled even yourself into thinking so….. And yet, this…"
Dark eyes flicked clearly to Zoro's wrist and the metal bracelet encircling it.
The instant the man's fingers so much as twitched towards it, Sanji jolted, clamping both hands over that bracelet with a fierce protectiveness.
"Don't touch him!" he snarled, and though he felt Zoro's eyes fall on him, he didn't look, fury filling his chest, as white as the ship's bright deck. And then his next question burst from his lips without further meditation.
"Why?" Sanji gritted out, and when he didn't receive an immediate response, his tone became more demanding. "Why! You owe me the answer! Why have you done this!"
Surely the answer didn't matter. The answer couldn't excuse what had been done, what had been lost.
No remorse crossed Sakazuki's face, and in fact, how his eyes narrowed seemed almost condescending, and Sanji despised the feeling it wrought, like he was a naïve child whose tantrum was about to be discredited.
Still, he waited, breaths struggling to remain measured, aware of Zoro's less controlled ones close to his ear.
By the time Sakazuki finally opened his mouth to speak, the blond felt nearly ready to explode with tension.
"Because your value is greater than a mere human's, Mr. Red," Sakazuki said slowly around his cigar, his words as thick and negative as the smoke that hung around his head. "The same goes for all of your kind. Do you not realize what your father unlocked?"
He paused to jerk his head towards Zoro's concealed wrist.
"That bracelet could hold the key to eradicating every single malady, every single disease on the planet, given time. Your kind, your ability to transform, could save millions - billions - of lives, if studied. As a fellow scientist, I'd assumed you were keenly aware of this-"
"So you murder sentient beings?" Sanji interrupted. "Hold them against their will? You-"
"I protected them, Mr. Red, and you would be foolish to think otherwise," Sakazuki growled right back, threatening irritation returning to his voice, the flowers on his shirt beginning to look more like twisting flames.
"If I had not acted quietly," he continued. "An all-out war between your kind and ours would have quickly alerted the rest of the world. And the Government would have surely bore down upon your tails with far more ferocity than I ever have. Have I not left you in peace for fifteen years?"
Sanji's hard gaze never lowered, but he didn't reply to the question, refusing to accept that, even for an instant, those words had made sense. He wouldn't acknowledge it, couldn't, not when the price of that peace had been so steep.
Sakazuki didn't wait for a response, and his voice quieted once more, losing its edge. To unsuspecting ears, it might have even sounded gentle.
"Thankfully, the Government has been too preoccupied with….other matters in recent years, allowing me to research without restrictions. But they've wreaked havoc before, and your kind would have been next had they discovered the truth.
The sacrifice of a few can save far more. The man you now call 'Father' understands this concept. Or rather he did. Now it seems he has no trouble sacrificing you as well. I suppose the ultimate example was your mother-"
"Don't even talk about her!"
The words erupted from his mouth before Sanji could stop them, and he felt no surprise, defending someone he'd never thought to defend until a few days ago. His mother had given him everything, and he hadn't even known.
He heard another primal snarl leave Zoro, ever sensitive to his upset, so he forced himself to stay rational, however unnatural that felt in that heated moment.
If he had any hope of negotiation while he had the bastard talking, he couldn't afford to lose it completely. Not yet at least.
He took a deep breath, slid fingers over Zoro's skin to ground himself.
"I'm not an idiot," Sanji said bitterly. "I know what the bracelet could do for the world. So take the bracelet, but not unwilling lives. What were you even planning to do, if not exploit them? Pass it off like you made them yourself?"
Sakazuki's lip curled subtly for a moment, though his mouth quickly straightened itself back into an impassive line.
"…If you joined our cause," he replied. "We could share the benefits. After all, you are one of your birth father's creations, aren't you? Wouldn't you like to honor his legacy?"
Insulted, Sanji scoffed.
"I won't honor it by becoming your experiment."
"But you are so willing to take up this mantle of 'protector,'" came Sakazuki's retort. "Just like your parents. Your compliance would not go uncompensated. The secret of your kind would remain safe. And we would have no need to take any other specimens. All thanks to you."
To Sanji's surprise, Zoro's voice sounded low in his ear, in direct response to the man's speech.
"Don't - listen," he hissed, leaving Sanji to wonder how much the mosshead had actually retained of what was being said.
The blond's hand lifted to the merman's chest, pressing there below his black beads with reassurance, eyes not leaving Sakazuki.
Of course, Zoro was right. For once, he would give him that.
"If I submit to you," he finally said, considering his words carefully. "My parents' sacrifice will be for nothing."
And it was a bit of a shock, even to himself, when he found his tone changing.
"If research is what you wish to do, B.A.R.A.T.I.E. can help you," Sanji pressed with earnest candor. "O.H.A.R.A. can help you. Hell, the merpeople can help you! We can do this together without any casualties. Without any more pain and suffering!"
Why? Why was he even offering that? Did he think it was deserved?
No. Surely not.
But did he think that maybe, somehow, it was what his parents would have wanted…?
He found himself leveled by Sakazuki's gaze once more, the judgment and calculation ever present, though, for a split second, Sanji thought he detected something else. Something far away, in another time and place.
Finally, Sakazuki sighed.
"Perhaps you are right, Mr. Red," he replied. "Then I will simply invite you. I will invite you to observe my findings, my developments. And let you decide for yourself what is worth fighting for in the end."
Again, Zoro growled, almost unconscious of it now, and Sanji slid his fingers down over the fist the merman had tightly clenched.
"Look at that," said the blond sarcastically, a brow twitching up. "You can negotiate like a human."
Sakazuki's eyes traveled over Sanji's form before they met the blond's once more.
"There's only one human between the two of us, Mr. Red," he stated.
He left that assertion hanging for a long moment, not even the wind that now whipped across the deck with the ship's movement enough to sweep it away.
Then he turned once again, retreating.
"We should arrive within an hour," the man added over his shoulder. "Should you and your friend choose to leave before then, this boat will make a return trip to East Blue. And I'm sure all of your kind will know why."
Sanji's heart beat fast, watching him go, feeling the sting of resentment hooking his heart.
For the first time in his life, Sanji thought he understood how it felt to be bait.
East Blue
"Captain Smoker….Sir…."
Gloved hands tightened on the ship's silver wheel, and the captain turned to see Tashigi entering the small wheelhouse, barely catching herself on the doorframe when the boat popped a little too high over a wave.
He reached over to crack open another window, allowing a bit more smoke to filter from the room, pluming out from the pair of cigars clamped between his teeth.
A grunt of acknowledgment, and he turned back to fix eyes on the shimmering ocean before them once more.
Tashigi said nothing right away, merely approached his side where she stood silently for a moment, though her very presence filled the room with a nervous energy. He waited for her to speak, as she was quite obviously working up to it.
The woman's thoughts practically whirred as loudly as the boat's engine in the silence, until finally, she seemed to settle on one question, accompanied with a huffed sigh.
"Sir, what are we going to do?" Tashigi asked, and he felt her apprehensive gaze on him.
If she was searching for a direct answer, she wasn't going to receive one.
Perhaps it was foolish, to come at this without a plan, beyond apprehending Sakazuki, but they were scientists, not pirates.
All Smoker knew was that there was a little green shape of another ship in their radar to the east, blipping far too close to the coordinates Robin Nico had given them. A ship with only ill intentions, surely.
A ship that needed to be stopped.
"Whatever needs to be done," he answered, knowing this at least was true. "It's time Sakazuki left the picture."
Tashigi's face blanched when he spared her a serious glance.
"You don't mean-!" she yelped, with a paranoid peek at Coby and Helmeppo, still out on deck. She quickly lowered her voice. "Sir, I agree, his methods of experimentation were horribly inhumane, but murder?"
At that, the captain merely smirked, removing his cigars from his mouth to blow out a stream of casual smoke, admittedly amused by her horror.
Until that amusement turned to alarm when, suddenly, Coby's voice, full of panic, sounded from outside.
"Tashigi! H-Hold on! Helmeppo, grab a life ring!" the young intern cried urgently, and the pair in the wheelhouse turned around just in time for Coby to stumble up to the door, glasses askew, pink hair tousled by the wind.
"Captain!" he shouted into the small space. "Man, er, woman overboar—"
But he stopped short, mouth quickly snapping shut before brows furrowed in absolute confusion upon laying eyes on the equally confused, but safe, woman standing within.
"W-Wait…Tashigi…?" Coby stuttered, and he quickly looked back over his shoulder at Helmeppo, already busy grunting out an irritable, "I can't believe this," as he tugged a large life ring off the outer wall of the wheelhouse.
And beyond that, in the water, sprouting periodically from the trail of white bubbles the vessel left in its wake, was a head of dark hair, struggling to keep up with their quick pace.
Immediately, Smoker and Tashigi shared a glance.
And then the captain hastily cut the boat's engine, turning the vessel hard to swing back towards the figure in the water, nearly sending both Coby and Helmeppo flying in to join it.
The boat slowed to a halt, bobbing idly until, surprisingly, a sword of all things, glaring in the sunlight, clanged onto the back platform, followed by a pair of arms.
"Permission to board, Captain," Kuina said, not waiting for an answer from the stunned humans on deck as she snapped her bracelet onto her wrist and pushed herself up out of the water.
East Blue - En route to M.A.R.I.N.E.S. Headquarters
"Hey, babe?"
In response, Robin, gazing fixedly out the cabin window at the endless expanse of blue that had long since swallowed up the cragged coastline of O.H.A.R.A., pivoted to find her vision filled with the colorful pineapple print of Franky's open shirt. She lifted eyes to meet his.
Franky managed a slight tilt of lips in the face of her clear worry, a rarity on his girlfriend's ever-composed features, and he brought a large hand to the small of her back, coaxing her closer to his side so he could indicate the wide radar screen before them.
"'Nother ship just popped up in our radius. An' it looks like Smoker's changin' course…" he mumbled, tapping the form that had settled on the edge of their radar, heading in the direction of their own modest Sunny.
That now made five discernible shapes, their green silhouettes creeping like insects across the black screen, ever closer to what seemed to be a single destination. Two of them, the larger shapes of what were surely Admiral Whitebeard and the West Blue Navy's ships, were making a direct route to M.A.R.I.N.E.S. HQ.
Smoker's smaller vessel sat slightly off-course, towards the east, but now showed northward movement as well.
The fourth ship, closest to the north, was situated in what Robin recognized as dangerously close proximity to the merpeople's colony several dozen nautical miles away. They could only assume, with great concern, that it belonged to the M.A.R.I.N.E.S.
And now they had fair warning of yet another vessel approaching fast, its shape swiftly moving directly towards their research vessel, surprisingly.
"Better go and check it out. She's comin' up fast," Franky murmured, but Robin's only reply was a quiet, "Yes," her brow furrowed low over her eyes, glued to those ships.
It was enough to make Franky sigh, and the man swiftly blocked her view of the control panel and leaned back to pull her slim frame close. He pushed his sunglasses up on his forehead and quirked a brow at her expectantly.
For all Robin's restraint with showing emotion or concern, Franky knew that look tarnishing her features, and he'd seen it enough lately to warrant his own worries. Nothing good came from keeping those emotions in, so he waited the few moments for Robin to gather her thoughts, her slender fingers coming to play gently with the buttons on his shirt.
"What if we've endangered them, Franky," she eventually said, her voice soft but words heavy over the light hum of the boat's engine. "Suppose we made a mistake. Suppose we lose their trust-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there," he cut in, lifting a hand.
She let out a quiet huff at the interruption, but said nothing to protest, in fact ready and somewhat in need of his inevitable rebuttal.
Franky ducked his head until she lifted her troubled gaze to meet his.
Robin was easily the most intelligent person Franky had ever met, and yet it was pretty damn amazing how vulnerable she managed to look in that moment, how small and unsure when her every action did nothing but radiate power and decisiveness on a daily basis.
He supposed, in his more self-satisfied moments, that he was one of the few allowed to see this side of his girlfriend.
It was hard, times like these. What business did he have pretending to know better than her when she was always right? What business did he have trying to give her advice when he was constantly rebuilding and rethinking his own self the longer he was with her? She challenged him that way.
But many things didn't change, the main one being that he knew her. He knew Robin, and he knew that, despite being human, she didn't put those she cared about in danger. Receiving Robin's vow of protection was of utmost security.
"The way I see it, none of this is a mistake," he assured, bringing hands to her hips where thumbs rubbed gently. His mouth screwed in thought for a moment. "Well, Zoro ramming himself into that propeller mighta been….and if Sanji-bro really did spill the beans to the Navy-"
Robin's eyes narrowed, lips pulling into an unimpressed line, so Franky quickly remedied his musings, pulling back from his rambling thoughts.
"But we wanted change," he justified. "And this way we can get it."
He shrugged, knowing he wasn't the best when it came to tactful persuasion. Still, his ways usually seemed to be enough for his girlfriend, who stepped closer and slid hands beneath his shirt to rest on his bare waist, almost waiting for the rest of his reasoning.
"I really do think Smoker and the chick got a good head on their shoulders," he continued, smirking when Robin quirked a brow elegantly. "Nami trusts her mom, and I dunno, I get the feeling Sanji-bro wouldn't've told anyone he didn't trust."
"And suppose the entire World Government learns of them and sends scores of submarines to scour the ocean floor for the colony," Robin countered stubbornly, though arms circled his waist more firmly, and when the glint in her eye turned more teasing than worried, he knew he'd cracked the ice. She wanted to hear his response.
"Suppose they are captured and held like animals, showcased and exploited, test objects just like the four held at-"
"The reason they were taken," Franky interrupted, recognizing this game. "Is because we weren't around to stop them."
He grinned the instant she let out a breath that was now fully amused, if under the guise of exasperation.
"It's not just us anymore," he continued while he had her attention, lifting a hand to brush some strands from her long ponytail back over her shoulder affectionately. "We got a lot of people on our side…." A beat and he risked a snicker, plus a disturbing thought. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Zoro could just eat Sakazuki if it comes down to it."
The sharp sting of nails pinching the skin of his hip followed immediately after.
"Never put that image in my mind again~" Robin warned pleasantly, leaving a painful pair of indents from her pinch.
Franky rubbed at the spot dramatically, but his grin was relaxed, and there was a light flutter in his heart when Robin leaned in first to pull him down for a gentle kiss to his lips, stroking fingers over his square jawline.
The embrace was brief, but the sentiment was there, and the smile on Robin's lips when they parted was enough to assure Franky of her returned confidence, particularly when the faint sound of another boat's engine cut the moment short.
Robin turned her head to glance behind them, out the open door of the cabin to the ocean beyond where, indeed, a small center console boat popped along the waves towards them, a trio of figures visible aboard.
Most curious was the clear mark of the East Blue Navy adorning the bow.
"Stop the engine. I'll handle this," she murmured with a final pat to Franky's waist as the boat slowed.
Robin left Franky at the helm and crossed the small room to step out onto the deck, their visitors pulling up alongside them.
"Greetings, civilians!" called a dark-haired man with a sprinkling of freckles across his face who crossed to the rail with a rather informal two-fingered salute under the brim of his cap, dressed in full Navy uniform. His smile was bright and charming to offset his rigid, militaristic stance.
"We're doing a bit of, uh, patrolling here!" the man continued, joined at the rail soon after by a taller man, tufts of blond visible beneath his cap. "You seen anything….suspicious going on around these waters?"
Robin's voice carried easily over the short distance between their boats, both engines having silenced.
"Other than one of the Navy's large vessels moving with haste towards M.A.R.I.N.E.S. Headquarters, no," she answered, smooth and honest.
She tilted her head in subtle calculation the instant the blond man leaned in to mutter something to the other.
Her calculation turned cold when she caught the word "O.H.A.R.A." leaving his lips.
The dark-haired man's brows shot up and his eyes locked onto Robin's with realization, followed by an immediate exclamation.
"Hold on, are you with O.H.A.R.A.?" he asked, nearly breaking his professional stance to lean forward eagerly. "Is Sanji Red with you by chance? From B.A.R.A.T.I.E.? Tall, blond, uh-"
"May or may not be a fish," muttered the third man at the helm, a brunette with a rather impressively styled goatee, to which the freckled man sang over his shoulder, "Shut uppp~"
Robin's observant eyes were quick to dart to the man's uniform, where the name 'Portgas' sat in crisp white font over the right side of his chest, beside the golden pin of a commander's position.
"He is not. Why do you ask?" she replied, despite now being certain this was the commander Nami had informed them of, the one who had apparently detailed the merpeople's existence to Whitebeard himself.
There would be no more information leaving her lips, however. Not until these men had proven themselves trustworthy.
"Well, I know you guys, uh-" stammered Portgas, Robin noting that it was clearly not within this man's abilities to hide the truth effectively.
To his benefit, the blond beside him, another commander with the name 'Phoenix' on his chest, interrupted more smoothly.
"We received word you were working together," this man stated, sounding far more assertive and self-assured. His voice was rehearsed though, words chosen carefully in a long-winded explanation.
"Dr. Red informed us the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. were removing some specimens in the area. They have yet to secure a permit, however. The admiral went to investigate the matter. We were sent to contact B.A.R.A.T.I.E. and monitor the-"
"As it happens," Robin cut in, electing to play along with the man's no-doubt fabricated story with one of her own. "We were notified as well and are now on our way to Headquarters in order to determine their exact intentions."
"Oh, are you heading to M.A.R.I.N.E.S. HQ as well?" asked Portgas, to which Robin leveled the man with a deadpan stare.
"Yes, I've just stated that."
"Perhaps we should escort you," Portgas offered swiftly.
Robin lifted a skeptical brow.
"Do forgive me if I'm wrong, but I was not aware the Navy acted as a police force. I'm quite positive we can manage on our own, thank you. These are free waters, as I'm sure you know. Passable for research vessels."
When the freckled man replied, his voice had lowered an octave in a poor attempt at deception.
"Well, we at the Navy can tell you these waters are also dangerous. Full of - sharks and…things."
"We have no plans to fall into shark-infested waters, Commander Portgas," Robin retorted with growing agitation. "And I do not see any rogue waves on the horizon either. We will surely be fine."
It was truly a wonder how someone with the subtlety of a person on fire could achieve such a high rank in the military, she thought.
Failing actor though he was, he was also persistent, Robin found, evident when, after but a quick flicker of fluster on his face, he shot back, "Yes, but we, uh, we at the Navy can ensure you smooth passage. Other ships must yield to us, you see. And you look like you're in a hurry?"
"We are," she replied, monotone. "So if you'll excuse us..."
"Yes, but we at the Navy certainly know a great deal about marine life too!" Portgas countered, hands, no longer capable of staying clasped behind his back, slapping onto the railing insistently.
The man jumped, however, when his blond companion elbowed him roughly in the side.
"And we at the Navy should just let it go," he gritted out, though Robin was already prepared with her next comment.
"Do you now," she mused, admittedly with growing interest in the exchange. "I assumed the Navy dealt mainly with the euphotic zone."
Despite a quick glare in the blond's direction, Portgas was undeterred…and utterly unconvincing.
"Well, I certainly take interest in that…zone," he assured with crumbling confidence. "You may not know this, but Sanji Red and I go way back so….I like….fish…too."
Beside him, a disgruntled noise from Phoenix, who had finally broken all professional composure to remove his cap and muss up the tufts of blond atop his head in long-suffering exasperation, a cringing grimace tugging at his features.
"That is to say that the ocean's habitats are of great importance to the Navy, Dr. Nico, and…"
The blond's attempts to translate 'Foolish', while admirable, ultimately proved fruitless when he let out another huff and seemed to give up with a shake of his head.
It was quiet then, both men lost for words and not finding them when Robin's gaze only narrowed, looking between the still nervously broad smile on the freckled man's face and the shining disappointment hanging over the blond's.
In her peripheral, Robin saw Franky approach the rail as well, thick arms crossing over his chest.
"Commander Portgas," she finally said, not bothering to mask the judgment in her tone, eyes moving smoothly between the two men. "Are you and your pineapple brigade trustworthy individuals?"
The freckled man's head lifted, wide eyes meeting hers for a moment…until the smile slowly fell from his face, and it was Robin left surprised at the sudden serious severity that had so quickly replaced his bumbling demeanor.
Suddenly, she was amazed to find a true soldier before her, whose voice was bold and decisive when he replied, "I'd kill anyone who tries to hurt Sanji."
Robin practically felt Franky's shock beside her, certainly felt his gaze shift to her, despite her own remaining on Portgas, who did nothing but stare back with smoldering conviction.
It seemed Franky was too impatient to wait out the long moment Robin remained silent.
"You guys packin'…?" asked the man.
A soft snort from the blond.
"As military officials, yes, we are required to carry certain firearms in case of-" the blond replied, but Portgas cut him off.
"Hell yeah we are," he stated, still with that pointed gaze on Robin, a silent message passing between them.
Franky nudged Robin's arm gently with his elbow.
She sighed, hand finding her temple where it rubbed.
"Commander Portgas," she addressed, voice finally losing some of its edge in favor of slight exhaustion. Franky had been right, after all. They were no longer alone in this endeavor.
"I will refrain from causing your honorable death in the line of service," she conceded, however reluctantly. "Along with your dear indiscreet friend, Mr. Red. I will deal with you both when our more pressing matters are taken care of. Now, since you are so inclined, you may lead the way."
With that, she turned on her heel, tugging Franky's shirt gently to drag him back to their vessel's cabin, pretending she didn't catch a glimpse of a triumphant fist pump, nor hear the blond's disgruntled mumble of, "Pineapple brigade…?"
North Blue
Zoro remembered.
It had been a fine day just like this. The sun had cut curtains of light through the water, catching the scales of countless fish, sparkling glints in the blue. It had been perfect for hunting, and apparently he and Kuina hadn't been the only ones to think so.
Because the dark cloud that had come overhead that day had been the very same, Zoro now realized, remembering this exact deck vividly, remembering how huge and blinding it had seemed, how his shoulder had stung from the heat when he hit the deck hard, wrapped in netting and struggling madly to be free.
There had been no salvation. There had been no bracelet, and when Kuina had disappeared into a hatch in the floor, he'd been left terrified and alone for his last minutes of consciousness.
It was impossible to forget.
So Zoro's eyes stayed fixed on the sea, that endless blanket beneath which stretched freedom.
They sat mere feet from it, he and Sanji, the two of them tense where they'd settled, on a bench against a wall on the lower deck, wary eyes shifting about, though no one seemed keen on bothering them anymore, aside from the occasional crew member who glanced their way.
It would be so easy, as it hadn't been with Kuina, to take Sanji and escape. The ocean was so close, and every instinct in his body screamed for him to leap right over that rail to what was surely safety.
But that would be too damn easy, wouldn't it. It would change nothing. The M.A.R.I.N.E.S. would be right back on their tails, and even more lives would be at risk.
It would be too easy and yet he wanted it, selfishly. Not for his own safety, but for Sanji's.
So what if they were in danger? The ocean was fucking massive. They could relocate, or….or…
"I'm not afraid of him, Zoro."
Sanji's voice beside him, perhaps the only thing that could tear his gaze from the sea.
Zoro turned to look at him, practically trembling now with the adrenaline still coursing through him with no destination, confused now that there was no fight, but also no flight.
The blond was hunched over his knees, staring hard at the deck until he let out a resolute breath and sat up straight to look back at Zoro with a strength the merman didn't feel he possessed in that moment.
"I can't be afraid of him," Sanji finished to Zoro's face, though it seemed to be more of a mantra for himself.
With nothing to say, the merman reached out to take Sanji's hand with a heavy sigh of his own, lacing their fingers and squeezing tight with any hope that this would fucking be alright.
To his surprise, Sanji let out a quiet chuckle.
"You're good at that," said the blond, who lifted his free hand to card through Zoro's hair, smoothing back some of his still-damp spikes.
"Huh?" Zoro stuttered, mouth going a little dry.
"Sighing dramatically," Sanji clarified with a pointed smirk. "Just…funny, considering…."
But he shook his head and trailed off, seeing Zoro's face, which didn't even crack a smile in return, the merman looking more troubled and resigned than he'd ever felt recently, despite his faith in Sanji.
"Hey," murmured Sanji, his brows furrowing in concern. "You okay?"
Fingers stroked a little more urgently before he pressed the back of his hand to Zoro's forehead as he had that first morning on the boat ride to O.H.A.R.A.
It wasn't the heat though. Not this time.
"I remember," Zoro said, his voice and memories completely clear.
Sanji blinked at him for a moment, then leaned in a little closer.
"Remember…?" he replied, searching Zoro's features.
Zoro met his eye again, choosing to look where the future was in view, not the past.
"This ship," he said.
At that, the blond sucked in a breath, eyes flicking to their surroundings.
Zoro watched him until, a second later, he saw the realization hit, Sanji's eyes now widening a fraction before meeting Zoro's again in dismay.
The merman nodded, jerking his head slightly to the deck behind him without looking away.
"There. Kuina. They…."
A vague gesture that implied what he couldn't formulate in human language. That horrible moment he'd seen her disappear. That moment he'd assumed it was over.
Immediately, Sanji tightened his grip, squeezing Zoro's forearms then sliding hands down to grasp his.
"When all this is finished," he implored, voice hushed, but strong. "When the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. are no more… I'll burn this ship. And all of its memories."
For some reason, whether it was Sanji's words or his very presence, Zoro suddenly found it harder to breathe, a tingling sensation in his chest, particularly when Sanji's lips tilted up and he asked, "You ever seen fire before?"
Fire. That brilliantly bright heat that overtook everything in its path with its gracefully deadly, almost liquid, power.
Sanji's eyes held him with that same mesmerizing warmth, which spread through his body, had him licking lips unconsciously and nodding.
"Yeah," he breathed, staring directly into that fire now, and he saw Sanji's eyes automatically drift to his lips where they stayed for a long moment.
The blond lifted a hand to Zoro's jaw, touched delicately, his thumb stretching out to brush over Zoro's bottom lip.
Zoro stayed firmly still with almost shy hesitation, certainly anticipation, that he hadn't felt, not in the same way, in his normal form. His breaths came unevenly, and his heartbeat picked up speed.
Frustration became palpable on Sanji's face for a moment, for reasons Zoro wasn't sure of. But the blond let out a huff eventually and glanced quickly over his shoulder at the now empty gangway.
They were alone.
Then the blond turned back to Zoro, muttered, "Fuck it."
And then their lips had met in a clash that made the entire outside world drop away to nothing the moment Zoro's eyes closed automatically, his hand finding its grip in Sanji's hair.
This was different. This was entirely different to kissing Sanji as a merman, Zoro quickly discovered. It felt almost more urgent, more desperate, and his senses felt heightened, Sanji's lips sending pleasant clenches of electricity that seared through his chest the longer they kissed.
There was more to taste, more to feel, particularly in Sanji's hot breaths over his lips, which tingled, wanting more in the instances he pulled away.
His chest had begun to burn, and he wondered if it wasn't because of Sanji's hand, skimming over his beads to land on sensitive skin that, for some reason, now seemed to silently urge him downward alongside the shiver that ran the length of his spine.
It was overwhelming, suffocating, for a few moments until Sanji knocked his fist into Zoro's chest with a muttered reminder of, "Breathe," prompting Zoro to suck in a quick breath he'd forgotten he needed.
Sanji only gave him a few seconds of recovery, however, before he stole that breath again, not that Zoro was particularly complaining.
He didn't know what this was. He didn't know why his brain seemed to become even fuzzier than it had the other times they'd kissed.
He didn't know what this feeling was, this tenderness and soft affection that he'd never felt, nor been capable of feeling. The way his emotions started to feed into his lips, seemed to want to say more to Sanji than he had yet, trivial things that didn't matter, but did now, if only he had the words.
He didn't know why, but it was suddenly making some semblance of sense, why he always saw Franky and Robin kissing. Why humans did it so damn much in their weird movies.
And then all too soon, Sanji was pulling away again, with another knock to Zoro's still chest.
"Again, idiot. You keep forgetting," he urged, though he was smirking by the time Zoro remembered, breaths finally coming again in heavy pants.
A snicker and the blond leaned in to kiss the corner of Zoro's lips, knocking his nose to his cheek.
"We'll practice," he murmured in Zoro's ear, his tone teasing enough to force an eye roll from the merman. For all Sanji's jabs, the asshole sounded pretty damn breathless too.
Sanji nuzzled close for another minute while the both of them calmed, Zoro bringing hands to Sanji's waist.
It felt easier, far more natural to reciprocate like this. Even if he had no idea what he was doing, his now fully human instincts seemed to better understand this side of him, and maybe better understand the blond's frequent affection.
"Thank you, Zoro…" Sanji said eventually, forehead knocking against the merman's, where he closed his eyes. "You didn't have to come with me."
Immediately, Zoro shook his head in response, a soft grunt of protest leaving him.
"Did - have to," he insisted. He had to for so many reasons, but especially this new one, whose lips turned up before he tilted his head to kiss Zoro again, just gently.
Despite remaining in enemy territory, Zoro and Sanji both fell into silence, holding onto each other's presence for support, oblivious to the crewmembers who witnessed, with some degree of shock, their display of intimacy…
The remainder of the trip passed in relative calm, the two of them regaining a bit of their rationality and watchfulness the further they sailed into the unknown.
Sanji didn't know what to expect, having never been to M.A.R.I.N.E.S. HQ, and he hated that he now knew the reason. Now he knew why all correspondence between them and B.A.R.A.T.I.E. had taken place solely over the phone, or online.
He felt stupid for never having questioned it, and despite the welcome distraction of the comforting kiss he and Zoro had shared and his own declarations of bravery earlier, the fact remained that he was traveling to the place that had held his brothers prisoner for their entire lives.
He was traveling to the place where his mother had likely died…
Thus, that first hazy glimpse of land on the horizon before them did nothing but send a host of protesting butterflies swarming through his stomach, every inch of him filled with cold dread.
Zoro seemed to sense his discomfort, for the merman took his hand as that blur of land grew clearer, crew members now moving with increased pace to prepare for docking. The merman held it tight, his features sharpened with determined focus.
The blond closed his eyes, forcing that same focus into his own mind before he stood, Zoro following, the two of them walking the few paces to the rail for a better look at their heading.
Below them, the water gleamed a lighter turquoise as they approached the shallows, and what stretched before them was not the proper coastline, but a smaller island, a white sand beach visible, topped by the brilliant emerald of swaying trees.
And there, its own island amongst the green, was an imposing circular building, built in tiers that towered above the canopies several stories. From its base jutted a series of piers, stretching like claws out into the water where, already, Sanji could see a number of vessels docked, none quite as big as the one on which they sailed now.
It looked a haven, surprisingly, a paradise of sorts, the vegetation lush and healthy, the surrounding water clear, colorful coral visible beneath.
The pier they approached was large and impressive, sturdy white wood, staircases casting down to the smaller vessels.
Sanji's hands gripped the railing harder as the ship began to turn, swinging portside towards the pier's end in order to dock, men ashore, dressed in the same white uniforms, already preparing ropes to secure them.
There was no joy in the process, no excitement or friendly banter, just a mechanical routine among the crew that seemed devoid of life, of the passion for the sea Sanji knew his own tiny crew at B.A.R.A.T.I.E. always enjoyed.
And it wasn't until the boat finally stopped, bobbing in place beside the pier, the gangplank lowered, that Sanji was even aware the captain had emerged onto the deck.
Not until he heard Zoro growl and shift, just before another figure appeared on his opposite side.
"Welcome to Marineford Island," Sakazuki rumbled coldly, hands, devoid of cigars, clasped militantly behind his back. "If you'll follow me."
Sakazuki stepped away, towards the deck where the gangplank now connected the ship to the docks, and Sanji realized they had no choice but to follow, a few other crew members appearing silently, but threateningly, behind them.
So the blond clamped a hand down on Zoro's forearm, guiding the merman along, carefully over the wobbly gangplank until feet, still bare, touched down on the warm wood of the dock.
Sakazuki didn't look back, merely began walking down the long stretch of the pier, which converged with the other jetties before the entrance to the building, a broad set of white doors above which the M.A.R.I.N.E.S. logo was painted, large and far too blatant for Sanji's tastes, as if they didn't already know where they were.
The blond spared a glance at Zoro, who met his eye, but nodded subtly in support.
Sanji nodded back, and then they were moving again, following Sakazuki's heavy plod, the image of a pirate plank vivid in Sanji's mind with nothing to do but focus on the great abyss before them.
It was a few dozen meters or so, but it felt like miles, Sanji's heart pounding the entire way until they reached the end, Sakazuki gesturing them onward up a flight of stairs in front of the entrance.
He glanced expectantly at his two guests, eyes trailing up and down Zoro's form for a moment before starting up himself.
Sanji paused at the bottom of the staircase, turning to Zoro with the intention to help him, but the merman already had a determined hand gripping the wooden railing, tentatively lifting one foot to place it on the first step.
Stairs. It was something Zoro had never done before, but for all his bitching about walking a short distance the other night at B.A.R.A.T.I.E., the merman seemed completely resolute now, looking at Sanji, waiting for his assistance.
The blond let out a breath and glanced up.
Fifteen steps. They could do this.
So he brought a hand firmly to Zoro's waist, the other hovering over his back, and they began their clumsy ascent, receiving no help from their hosts.
The climb was not without its stumbles, the merman losing his balance several times, a palm slamming down onto steps above to catch himself more than once. It was shaky and slow, and had they been anywhere else, Sanji would have been laughing his ass off.
But somehow, they managed, the two of them slumping onto the top landing finally, Zoro breathing heavily.
And despite the fact that Sakazuki stood nearby, waiting, stoic, by the doors, despite the fact that freedom and safety was now far below, Zoro and Sanji both found themselves cracking triumphant grins, the merman bringing a hand to his mouth to try and hide it.
Only to have that hand grabbed tightly, wrenched back from his face and twisted behind his back by one of the grunts who'd followed him, the other quickly tackling Sanji and dragging him back towards the doors to the building.
Sanji's heart leapt into his throat, a cry of alarm escaping him.
"Get your hands off me!" he snarled, thrashing and lashing out with a leg that couldn't quite reach his attacker, the man's grip strong and his arms pinned.
Behind him, the heavy doors began to slide open, Sakazuki standing calmly to watch for a moment before he beckoned towards the interior and stepped out of the sun into the shaded building.
Sanji struggled to get his footing, get on his feet at least so he could have some traction against this bastard and help Zoro.
They were alone. Fuck, they were alone, and why the hell had he let his guard down? How the fuck had it come to this - the fact that he'd been stupid enough to think that maybe, just maybe, he had a chance of civil negotiation here.
He couldn't hear, couldn't see through the blind panic that wracked his body, terror he'd never felt before.
Until Zoro's voice brought him back, gritting out his name, the blond's wide eyes falling immediately on the merman, whose arm was yanked up at a painful angle, his attacker with a claw-like grip on his wrist.
Zoro's eyes met Sanji's, his panicked huffs fast and frantic.
And to Sanji's absolute horror, the man swiftly unclipped the bracelet from Zoro's wrist, throwing his arm down and stepping over him like he was worth nothing.
The world slowed, Sanji's kicks and thrashes futile as the second man pocketed the bracelet and joined the first in subduing him, pulling him back into the building with renewed force.
His own voice sounded dull and distant, his screams for Zoro to escape, get back to the water as skin disappeared and that green tail sprouted anew.
Zoro didn't listen though, the merman flipping himself to his stomach, teeth clenched in a grimace and arms trembling with the effort to drag himself across the landing towards the doors.
His voice was nothing but a choked whisper.
"San - ji-"
Zoro's struggling image outside was swallowed up by that narrowing crack of sunlight.
Tears were hot in Sanji's eyes as those doors slammed shut between them.