Chapter 11
*Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its wonderful characters.
A special thank you goes out to HadenxCharm, my wonderful beta-reader. Anyways, thank you so much for reading. Please enjoy!*
"Ugh… Shit…" Sanji mumbled as his eyes fluttered open, he slowly regained consciousness whilst welcoming a throbbing pain at the base of his skull. He'd been knocked out some time ago while he was on his way to wherever the hell he was at now.
Sanji grumbled as he shifted awkwardly in his confinements. He found that he was stuffed in a cage like a goddamned animal. He only had enough room to sit up and somewhat stretch his legs out with his knees at a bend. Furthermore, he was in handcuffs, and his good leg was restrained with seastone cuffs that were attached to the cage. Damn, that was smart of the fucking kidnapper, Blackleg Sanji may not have a devil fruits power, but they would need something as strong as seastone to restrain him, even if he was injured. Sanji muttered curses under his breath as he felt a dull pain in his chest and right leg. Then, as irritated as he was at the situation, he decided to scan his surroundings. It was the smartest thing to do, considering he couldn't really do anything.
He discovered that he was in a light tan tent. To his right was a small, thin desk that had paperwork scattered across its surface, a lantern being the only other thing on it. To his left was a makeshift bed made out of some mats and bed sheets. At the foot of the makeshift bed was a small filing cabinet. Everything in this relatively modest space seemed to be transportable, meaning that this was a temporary work and living space.
So, Sanji inferred that he had to be at some sort of camp.
Now, who was his kidnapper? Well, it was fucking smoke that had kidnapped him. Sanji would have to be a fucking idiot to not know that it was Smoker who'd taken him. Meaning that he was a fucking marine camp.
"Shit." Sanji cursed under his breath as he pieced together where he was and realized that he had a… small… personal problem on his hands. At least half of his stab wounds had reopened and they'd bled through his shirt. He hadn't even noticed much of anything until he'd seen red staining his shirt. Sure, he felt the dull throbbing pain… but he hadn't thought it was that bad until he caught a glimpse of red.
Damn it all… he'd liked this shirt and now it was ruined. Sanji fumed a bit before his thoughts were cut off by a sudden noise.
"Tch, he woke up," a deep, rough voice murmured from above.
Sanji's head whipped upward to see who was his visitor, but guessing upon the voice he already knew whom it belonged to.
"Smoker," Sanji hissed, venom dripping from his voice. Sanji's face morphed into pure rage as he snarled and glared. He was fucking pissed: his wounds had reopened, he was gonna' miss dinner, he didn't want to be here, he was hurting, he was in a cage, he was cuffed, and his fucking shirt was ruined! All thanks to this motherfucker! Once Sanji was out of his restraints, he was gonna' beat the living shit out of him!
But before Sanji could cuss him out, even before Sanji had gotten a good look at Smoker's face, the man left. This quelled his rage and piqued his curiosity. Wouldn't Smoker usually talk to his captives? Doesn't someone of a high status talk to the prisoners or some shit like that in the marines? Doesn't that mean that Smoker may have to report to someone of a higher status? Is he really going to follow some minor protocol like that? Wasn't Smoker known for being something like a stray dog insofar that he only followed his own sense of justice? What the fuck was going on?
Then, Sanji paled due to a slightly unnerving thought: 'Is there an admiral here on this small island?'
Though, Sanji shook his head at this.
'If there was an admiral here, then why wouldn't he come after the first marine attack in town? Why hadn't he come to the attack on the Sunny? ... Does that mean that some sort of high ranked government official is here? A Celestial Dragon? Or maybe someone that Smoker just can't oppose?'Sanji mulled over his thoughts.
After a while of going over the scenarios and possibilities of whom Smoker could be reporting to, Sanji came to the conclusion that it was most likely someone that Smoker just cannot oppose for some inexplicable reason. Besides, why would a Celestial Dragon come to a place like this? Wouldn't they think that it was beneath them to be at a camp despite the fact that this island was beautiful?
The other possibilities Sanji came up with just didn't seem plausible… Sanji began to ponder over other prospects until he heard someone shuffle into the tent. He'd barely noticed that the sun had begun to set, creating an orange hue on the tent while he was lost within his thoughts.
Sanji sent an icy glare upward to whoever had just walked in, assuming that it was Smoker, but after taking in the stranger's countenance, Sanji's glare slowly melted away into complete and utter shock. Sanji didn't even notice Smoker walking in behind the strange man.
"Wha…?" Sanji managed to breathe while the man slowly strode over to his cage.
"Why, hello, Blackleg Sanji," the stranger said politely with a silken voice that immediately went under Sanji's skin. This man was a vice-admiral based on his clothing, but… He was dangerous. Sanji just knew it. He felt something like fear and disgust mix together in his stomach, making him somewhat queasy when he heard this stranger speak. However… That wasn't the only thing that made Sanji uneasy… This man's hair was fucking abnormal! And his eyes…
Sanji's evaluation was cut off as the man squatted in front of his cage. Sanji scowled at the man to hide his discomfort.
"Something wrong, Mr. Blackleg?" the man sneered with his smooth voice.
The man's eyes rested on the blood-soaked shirt and Sanji immediately felt uncomfortable. This man had a sadistic glint in his fucking eyes that Sanji obviously didn't like. Sanji deepened his scowl to further hide his true feelings.
"Yeah, something's wrong you fuckin' dumbass. A lot of things are wrong, but I hardly believe that you actually want to listen to me bitch about it, so what the fuck do you want?" Sanji snarled with as much malice as he could possibly muster up.
All of which, Sanji had acknowledged, was probably a really bad idea considering the situation… but fuck it. He refused to be intimidated by this poser!
Besides, it was a lose-lose situation for him anyways. If Sanji cooperated, he'd probably go to Impel Down; if he didn't cooperate, he'd die. Who knows, they'd probably just kill him if he cooperated anyways, since Sanji was a proud member of the Strawhat pirates.
So, fuck it.
The strange man hummed and smiled an innocent smile towards Sanji, causing a chill to go up his spine. 'This man's a fuckin' creep! He's fucked in the head! Did I just cross someone I shouldn't have?' Sanji thought in slight fear as he continued to scowl.
"You have a sharp tongue, Mr. Blackleg. I can safely assume that you will not cooperate. So now, I have to prepare an interrogation room," the man said with a certain calmness that further disturbed the chef.
Then, the stranger quickly stood and walked out of the tent, startling Sanji as he did so, and leaving Smoker behind to watch the captive.
Upon noticing that Smoker was also within the room, the stranger had already departed, and Sanji was left with more questions. But before he addressed those questions, Sanji finally got a good look at Smoker's face and he saw the mark burnt into his forehead. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he glared at the vice-admiral who'd noticed him staring. Smoker stared at the feisty chef for a moment of two before he redirected his gaze to the desk. Sanji continued to glare until Smoker took a seat at the desk and started on some paperwork. Then, once Sanji was satisfied with his glaring, he turned his attention to the questions floating around in his head.
'Who was that man? He was obviously a vice-admiral since he was wearing the same get-up as Smoker… But… why does he look so similar to him?! What's up with that vice-admiral's hair?! Was his hair fucking natural?! And what's up with his eyes?! They're the same as his! But… a probably more important thing to wonder right now is - when he mentioned the interrogation room… Why did he have a strange glint in his eyes?! Shit, this has gotten really fucked up… Speaking of fucked up, what's up with that fucking burnt flame symbol on Smoker's fucking forehead?! From a distance it looks like a fucking bruise, but that kind of assumption's wrong - it looks like a fucking burn, like someone burnt that into his fucking skin. I almost forgot that he had that fucked up shit on his forehead… What the hell is going on?!' Sanji questioned in his head with desperation.
Soon after he questioned himself, he felt irritation replace his previous anxiety. He gritted his teeth and let his head fall back against the cool bars of his cage.
'Shit, calm the fuck down, Sanji,' he practically chanted to himself until he actually felt somewhat calm. 'Okay, I can't be thinking about shit I can't answer, instead, I should come up with some sort of plan to get myself get out of this situation without getting myself killed. I could always wait 'till my nakama come to break me out, but I'll have to wait for a little while… maybe that's the best thing to do. I can't possibly break out these fucking cuffs and cage, and beat the little shits that try to stop me from escaping. I already feel a little lightheaded from the blood loss. I guess all I can do is to try to keep myself alive and not give these motherfuckers a reason to kill me too early…' Sanji began to contemplate.
He began to think of how to answer the questions in his interrogation and he thought about the different kind of questions that would be asked. He was so consumed by his thoughts that he hadn't noticed his surroundings darkening and the lantern being lit.
Finally, he heard someone walk into the tent again.
"Come, Mr. Blackleg. Everything's prepared for your interrogation," thestrange man said in a smooth and sickening way. Sanji gulped and glared while he silently prayed that his nakama would hurry the hell up and rescue him, 'cause the man standing before him was dangerous. Yet, Sanji didn't know just how dangerous this man really was until the… interrogation.
: -:
"Luffy! Shut up! I can't hear over your damn racket!" Zoro roared as he tried to silence his rambunctious captain. Zoro had finally finished a quick and simple beef stew in about a half an hour later and after all of the anticipation to hear the plan… He can't fucking hear shit with all the fucking noise!
Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself, but when that didn't work, he found that trying to stab Luffy's wandering, food-stealing hands was a better way to blow off steam.
"Anyways," Franky began again after swallowing a chunk of meat. "I have a suuuuuuuuuuuper plan!"
"What is it, Franky?" Chopper asked inquisitively as he chewed on his portion of stew.
Zoro was just as curious as Chopper, but while he was trying to stab Luffy, he glanced at the quiet old man. Chie just ate and watched the remainder of the crew, which still intrigued Zoro, since usually normal people would question if they were crazy or something like that…
'Well, he did say it was nice to be like this, but still, for some odd reason I can't quite believe him… People hate weirdoes… That may be just my experience talking, who knows? … But none of that matters right now,' Zoro thought to himself passively as he ate his modest meal.
At first, he'd served himself the smallest portion, since he wasn't all that hungry, but Chopper threatened to cut his own meal down when he saw Zoro's measly helping. So, Zoro reluctantly gave himself a serving fit for one young male, a meal size that seemed almost too much for Zoro to eat. Though, according to Chopper, Zoro's meal size before was that of a 'child's serving'. But Zoro could honestly care less. Sanji was out there, with the fucking marines, and the only ones who can save him were eating! They weren't even talking about the fucking plan yet!
Zoro felt himself grow irritated again as he grit his teeth and tightened his grip on his spoon. He was just about to yell at everyone to shut the fuck up, until Franky basically did it for him.
"Hey!" Franky bellowed, grabbing the attention of everyone present, he even got Luffy to pause in his eating, which wasn't much of a surprise since Franky rarely shouted in such a serious tone... towards them at least. Once he saw everyone's eyes on him, he gave a curt nod of approval and crossed his arms.
"Now, we know Sanji's been taken by the marines and locked away," the cyborg began. He glanced around the table, noticing that those present were giving him small nods as a sign that they were listening, prompting him to continue. "Well, while Zoro was cooking, I asked Chie if there was any news about a marine camp on the island." Franky redirected his gaze to the small old man, causing everyone else's eyes to follow. Chie glanced around and nodded once in confirmation.
"And, according to him, there's a marine camp site on the opposite end of the island from where we are now," Franky informed. "So, I say we raid the place."
"Wait, what," Zoro said as more of a statement than a question as his spoon stopped halfway to his mouth with a chunk of meat on it. Everyone shifted their gaze to the swordsman to see that his eyes were slightly widened and that he was completely frozen; he didn't even move when Luffy stole the forgotten piece of meat from his spoon.
"Is that it? We waited just to hear that we're gonna' raid the fuckin' place?" Zoro asked in mild exasperation. He was expecting more than that since he was made to wait to hear the plan.
"Yup!" Franky shouted in triumph, as if he'd made the best plan ever to be brought about.
Zoro stared at him dumbly, as Luffy howled in laughter and Chie chuckled at their antics.
"What?! Then why did you make us wait to hear your plan?!" Zoro hissed as he slammed his hands on the table, which didn't startle anyone, if anything, it made Luffy's laughter increase in volume. "We could've done that immediately!'
"You know, we didn't wait that long. Sanji literally got taken about an hour ago. But, that doesn't mean that I wasn't concerned or anything! I made you wait to hear the plan to motivate you into working faster since we need to refuel and regroup. Besides, you were lost in your own world," Franky said in a serious tone as he looked at Zoro and finished his meal.
His serious tone quieted the laughter of the captain and caused everyone to hesitantly look over at a silenced and expressionless Zoro.
'Shit,' the sullen swordsman thought as he took in his nakama's words. 'So it's partly my fault that we didn't just go right after him. Damn it… I'm such a big fucking failure… Sorry, Sanji. I hope my shitty little feelings didn't put you into any more danger. I hope my worthless petty feelings didn't prevent me from saving him on time… Shit, I'm so fucking forlorn and pathetic. I know Franky didn't mean anything bad by saying that; I'm at fault for thinking this way… Sorry…' Zoro thought resentfully as he continued to put up a straight face as the knife of guilt stabbed his bleeding heart and its poison coursed through his veins, but he soon realized he didn't really know whom he was saying sorry to at the end of his thought… was it to Sanji? Franky? … Or himself?
"Anyways," Franky continued, slicing through the tension that had fallen upon them and regaining Zoro's attention. "If there are no other oppositions, we have to hurry over to the camp before they think that it's a better idea to leave, since they probably know that we'll come to get our nakama back."
"Now, wait right there," a voice interrupted. Everyone turned their attention to the old man that they'd almost forgotten the presence of.
"What is it, Ji-ji?" Luffy asked as he began to steal from Zoro's half-eaten portion of food. It's not like Zoro was all that hungry anyway, so he let his idiot-captain steal his food.
"Why would they try to leave now?" Chie questioned ominously, catching everyone's attention, even the captain's.
"What do you mean?" Zoro asked slowly, suspicion dripping from his voice as he leaned forward and placed an elbow on the table to rest his chin in the palm of his hand.
"I mean that their camp is pretty big. They have hundreds of soldiers here. It's more accurate to call it a temporary marine base, than a camp. Besides, they have one of your nakama, why wouldn't they try to use him as a hostage to lure the rest of you out?" Chie asked passively, yet with firmness in his voice to let one know that he was serious.
"Well, even if they aren't going to leave, and even if this is just a trap, we're going to go save that curly bastard," Zoro said with dead-set determination.
Like hell he was gonna' let someone take away the one he loved and not do something about it! Those marine bastards are gonna' fucking get it.
"Franky."
"Yeah, Zoro?"
"We're gonna' fuck them up," Zoro said as he got up to put his plate in the sink.
When he turned back around he saw the cyborg grinning with mischief at him. Zoro smirked in return.
"Everyone! Let's go get back our chef!" Luffy yelled with command as he placed a hand on his famous straw hat.
"Yeah!" the remaining members of the Strawhats shouted in resolve as they rose from their seats.
"Chie," Luffy called firmly for the old man sitting at the table as he watched everyone. Chie jumped slightly at the sound of his name being called for the first time by the straw-hatted boy.
"Yeah?"
"Lead the way. You know where the camp is right?" Luffy asked as he walked towards the door.
"Yeah," was all the old man could say before the captain of the Strawhats walked out of the kitchen with the remainder of his crew right behind him.
: -:
'My, my,' Chie thought as he watched the young, green-haired man walk out the kitchen after his nakama. 'So, he's the one who possesses Sandai Kitetsu.'
Chie didn't ask the swordsman anything about his katana, but instead he managed to guess it considering that the rest of his nakama didn't seem to have any weapons. However, he did think that it was possible that the other Strawhat members that he hadn't met may have Sandai Kitetsu, but he figured out that he was wrong as they discussed their plan.
While the meeting was taking place, Chie noticed something that no one else seemed to have noticed, even the young swordsman himself: Kitetsu shook.
It happened after the cyborg, Franky, said that they waited to replenish themselves and give Zoro time to recover mentally. Right after Franky had said that, the young swordsman became straight-faced and Chie's eye caught something. Rather than hearing a clattering noise, he saw the sword tremble at its master's side while the master himself was too distracted to notice anything.
When Chie witnessed that, he was sure that the trembling katana was Sandai Kitetsu since his rival's cursed weapon used to tremble too. It used to shake whenever he got close to needles…
'Ah,' Chie thought passively as he followed the young crew out of Sanji's kitchen. 'So, does that mean that the weapon reacts whenever the master is near or experiencing their weakness? In other words, whenever the master thinks about their weakness, or whenever they indulge in their vice, or whenever they are near their fear, or whenever they are experiencing their vulnerability… it shakes? But, why? Does that mean that the weapon is working to enhance their suffering…? Or is it just a reaction that the weapon has?'
"Chie!" Someone shouted near him. Chie looked up to see the remaining Strawhats staring at him with questioning countenances.
"Hm?" The old man hummed, wondering why they're staring at him.
"What's up, Ji-ji? What's the hold up?" Luffy asked childishly as he pouted and crossed his arms.
Chie stared at him for a moment or two wondering how he can behave like that considering that his injured crewmate was kidnapped but Chie soon provided him with an answer.
"Nothing, let's hurry up and save Sanji. I don't have all day to wait around," he said placidly.
"You and me both," Zoro mumbled as he jumped down from the deck onto the dock below.
"Come on, Chie. I'll carry you. Just tell me where to go and we'll make sure to follow…" Franky began confidently but trailed off as he finished his sentence and extended his large, robotic hand out to the little old man.
"Something wrong?" Chie asked curiously as he took his hand and climbed into his arms.
"Eh, um. Maybe. Chopper, you're in charge of making sure Zoro doesn't get lost," Zoro squeezed in a grunt of displeasure as Chopper yelled 'Roger!' before Franky continued, "Oh, and before I forget, let me give you these." Franky smiled mischievously as he pulled out several small contraptions of sorts.
"What are they?" Zoro asked as he picked up one of the small pieces of technology. There were five pieces, one for each person there.
"They're earpieces! They're like mini denden mushi, except they fit in your ear and you don't have to call! They're connected to each other so we can talk and everyone who has one in their ear can hear what the person is saying! Just put it in your ear, push this little button on the outside and talk, and everyone, who has one of these in their ear, can hear you!" Franky explained enthusiastically as he demonstrated.
Luffy and Chopper cheered and raved about how awesome this invention was while Chie and Zoro gaped at the cyborg.
"When did you make this?" Zoro asked as he put the earpiece in his ear, impressed as his nakama's handiwork.
"This is the project that Usopp and I were working on, pretty cool, huh? I finished it just before this whole mess!" Franky said excitedly as he helped Luffy put in his own earpiece.
"Whoa! This is so cool!" their captain shouted enthusiastically.
Soon after everyone equipped their earpiece, Franky had them check if they all worked before they left, and with no technical problem evident, they finally departed before sunset.
At a breakneck pace, the remaining Strawhats rushed to save their incapacitated chef in hopes that he was still alive and that the marines weren't going to transport him.
But then Franky abruptly stopped, causing Luffy to run right into him, which made him to fall backwards and onto his ass. While Chopper had to stop Zoro before he decided to go in some random direction, making him huff in irritation.
"Ouch! What was that for, Franky?! Why did you stop!?" the captain whined as he sat up and rubbed his nose.
"I have a great idea, guys," Franky announced with a large, impish smile playing on his face.
"Eh? What is it, Franky?" Chopper inquired as he held onto Zoro's pant leg.
"You guys take Chie, and I'll meet you there at the camp. I'll tell you what I'm doing while you guys are on your way."
And with that, the cyborg handed Chie to Zoro and then went into the direction of the Sunny. Everyone present just stared after him.
"Where's he going? That Franky…" Luffy mumbled in a puzzled, child-like voice as he scratched his head. Then Zoro stepped forward to take the lead.
"I have no idea, but we can trust him. Right now, we need to get to Sanji," he said in a firm voice as he trudged forward, ignoring Luffy and Chopper's stares.
'Sanji,' Zoro thought to himself while Chopper re-directed him onto the right path as they followed Chie's 'confusing' directions. 'I'm sorry I got you into this. But, I'm gonna' get you out of it. Even if it kills me, I'll make sure you're safe... I love you… Just hang on, you curly bastard.'
: -:
"Oh, come on!" Nami screamed in frustration as she electrocuted the same group of marines for the ninth time in a row. They all fell, but Nami knew that they would just get back up again, since that weird mark on their forehead began to glow just as it had the previous eight times. She noticed, as the rest of her nakama had, that each time a marine fell in defeat, the flame mark would glow and the marine would get back up, but he would be stronger than before.
The battle between the other half of the Strawhats was raging, and a marine had yet to fall permanently. The fatigue and irritation began to fall upon the group of Strawhats until one of them hollered in victory.
"Hey! Guys! I knocked one out!" Usopp cheered as he pointed to his defeated opponent.
"Good job, Usopp! Now hurry and beat up the rest of them," Nami huffed as she used her Clima-tact to electrocute the group of marines for a tenth time while dodging a different marine that had tried to grab her. Usopp shouted an 'Eh?! No way!' at her before engaging in a new battle, but Nami barely paid him any mind.
"Hey! Look! I managed to knock this group out!" she yelled to whoever was listening.
"How many times did you hit them with thunder?" Robin asked while she battled a different small group of marines on her own.
"About ten times!" Nami shouted to her while commencing in a new battle with another group.
"Then try attacking them ten times with the same attack. I've been trying to keep track on how many times I should attack with the same attack and it seems to be quite persistent. About ten clutches would keep one of these guys down, which shouldn't be possible, but oh well," Robin explained as she'd finally managed to subdue the small group she'd been fighting.
"Okay! Guys, did you hear that?!" Nami shouted to her other nakama.
"Yeah!" Brooke and Usopp yelled in union as they fought.
"Alright! Just keep attacking and keep track of how many times it takes! Let's do this!" Nami exclaimed, eager at finding a new solution to their problem. But, it may take a bit longer than they might think…
: -:
"Gyaaah!" Sanji forced out a strangled scream as a sharp pain shot and pulsed throughout his body.
It was the first time he'd shouted in pain since this had started.
He was really trying not to let out any cries of pain, but he couldn't help it… They'd been at it for what felt like hours to Sanji.
The mystery vice-admiral had brought Sanji into the makeshift 'interrogation' room, along with Smoker, who was making sure Sanji couldn't escape - not like he was planning to, or could for that matter. But, as he went to the 'interrogation' room he got a look around the camp, and it looked more like a temporary base for the marines. There were about ten larger and longer tents that were the same color as the tent that Sanji had been held captive in, but there were one or two small, one-room buildings. There was also what seemed to be some sort of training area that had training equipment with barbed wire fencing around it. He'd also found that they were on the far side of the island, since he heard the waves, smelt the salt in the air, and saw a cliff towards his right. The lining of the forest was to his left.
They were headed to one of the small buildings and once they were in it, Sanji was shoved into the room and the door closed with a bang. Sanji winced as the shove caused his to put most of his weight on his fractured leg. But, Sanji quickly regained his composure, as to not show weakness, and he scanned the dimly lit room, and, frankly, he did not like what he saw… not in the slightest.
There was a chain hanging from the ceiling and a table was set in front of the chain, standing only a few feet away. The table was filled with miscellaneous tools, such as pliers, scalpels, knives, nails of all sizes, a metal bat, a metal pipe with a rusted end, a rusty spoon, there was even a fucking thumbscrew…
And that's where Sanji's problems ensued and persisted, until now, his miserable present.
Sanji had no idea how much time has passed, but he doesn't really care at this point. He was hanging from the ceiling, the chain wrapped around his wrists, and he was in a great deal of pain.
In the time that he has been in this 'interrogation' room, these bastards removed his shin splint and were beating his fractured leg with the crowbar, and every time that crowbar made contact, it cut his leg. The sick part was that they were taking turns hitting him. They'd agreed that they'd get in five hits each before they stepped up their game, or rather, the mystery man did. Smoker just nodded with a stupid sadistic grin on his face, even though something in his eyes made it seem like he was conflicted about doing this.
But Sanji wasn't really worried about that at the moment. Unsurprisingly, Sanji was preoccupied and promised to himself that he would try his absolute best not to give into their sadistic desires. He was doing his best not to scream or make any indication that he felt the pain. But then, after about the tenth hit, Sanji was sure they'd broken his leg in several places and he'd let out the first cry of pain, causing a sadistic grin to appear on their smug, ugly, shitty, fucking faces.
"Well, well, Mr. Blackleg," the stranger said with his loathsome, smooth voice as he set aside the crowbar and picked up the rusty spoon. "Do you want to answer our questions? Hm? Because if you don't, I don't mind continuing our little game."
"You… you haven't even ask me anything yet, douchebag," Sanji slightly panted and spat at him while he glared daggers at his torturers. "Besides… I thought that torturing is a big no-no in the Marines? Oh, and while I'm on the subject of rules and shit like that… isn't there a rule against your hair or something? Or are vice-admirals allowed to dye their hair?" Sanji asked slowly as a smirk inched its way onto his thin lips and a frown made its way onto the stranger's face.
But, Sanji regretted saying anything shortly after he'd said his share. After he'd finished with his questions the vice-admiral stabbed Sanji's bullet wound with the spoon while looking at his victim right in the eye, with his own cold, dead eyes. He used so much force in his jab that he'd managed to get half of the head of the spoon into Sanji's wound. Sanji's eyes widened in shock and pain, his mouth hung open, and he paled into an impossibly white complexion, letting let out a strangled cry a moment later.
Satisfied with Sanji's suffering, the man smiled, but his eyes remained desolate.
"Well, Mr. Blackleg," the man began holding eye contact with Sanji while yanking out the spoon from his re-opened wound, causing Sanji to grunt and glare. "I already knew you would refuse to answer any of my questions, so I asked for special permission to use this tactic with the higher-ups, and they allowed me to do it since I was so successful in getting information using this method in the past. Moreover, after your crew angered the world government, they don't mind if I torture you. I can even kill you once I'm done." The man's smiled widened as he spoke, which really freaked Sanji out, but he made himself glare at his torturer to hind his terror as the man continued to speak.
"Oh, and about my hair; I was born with this color."
Sanji's eyes widened a fraction as he heard the last bit, but he quickly resumed his glare. 'But, I only know one other person who claims that they were born like that…' Sanji thought in suspicion but he quickly dismissed it.
He'll get back to that once he gets out of this situation, but for now, he has to try to focus on absorbing all of the pain so that they will keep him alive longer. If he gives in and screams every time they do something to him, they'll get bored and kill him sooner than if he withheld his shouts of suffering.
So, when it was Smoker who'd stabbed him in his stomach with the spoon and had gotten it deeper than the man before him, Sanji didn't do anything. He just hung there, in the middle of the dimly lit room; he almost didn't make any sounds as they re-opened his bullet wound with a rusty spoon.
His torturers stood there in fascination as they watched his old bullet wound bleed profoundly and Sanji didn't scream, or cry, or even moan in pain. Sure he grunted a few times, but he remained mostly silent. There was even a few chunks of his flesh on the floor, and yet Sanji didn't panic or anything. It was like he'd just turned off a part of his brain and he was simply dealing with the pain they inflicted upon him. This seemed to anger Smoker, and he was about to whip out his knife to stab Sanji and probably kill him, until the man stopped him.
"Wait, Smoker," the man ordered, causing Smoker's flame mark to glow, and he stopped. This piqued Sanji's interest but he knew he shouldn't think about such things, so he filed that scene away in his mind to return to later while the man continued. "If he holds in his screams, this is going to be a lot more pleasurable than if he screamed all the time. Besides, his cries are worth the effort." The man finished with an innocent smile as he picked up a scalpel.
"You," Sanji spat blood on the man's clothes before he continued. "Are one sick, sick motherfucker. You haven't even asked anything," Sanji spoke slowly as he tried to steady his trembling voice.
'Shit, this hurts so fucking much! Fucking shit! Damnit! Everyone… Anyone… Zoro… Please! Hurry the hell up and fucking save me!' Sanji shrieked in his head as pain shot and coursed through him. The pain was almost unbearable. Sanji didn't even know how the fuck he wasn't screaming or anything. He was in incredible pain. His bullet wound hadn't finished healing and now it was fucking re-opened but a fuckin' rusty spoon! Not only did that deeply wound him, but now, it's gonna' get fucking infected!
"So," the man said, catching Sanji's wavering attention. "Are you going to answer our questions? What are you Strawhat pirates plotting against the world government? Are there any other injured crewmates? What are your crewmates weaknesses? What are your crews' intentions? What are your future plans? Care to answer?" he asked in his suave voice as he slid the scalpel down Sanji's cheek, causing a shallow yet stinging cut down Sanji's face, from the bottom of his eye to his chin. Sanji felt some blood trickle down his face to his neck before he smirked, ignoring the stinging sensation and blatantly said 'Nope.'
The man smiled in return, his eyes staying lifeless. "Well, I'll continue to do what I want with you until you're either dead or until you give in and tell us what we want to know. Now, shall we?" he said as his smile widened, and he moved the scalpel up to his left forearm.
Sanji's eyes followed the scalpel and it dawned on him on what this insane man was going to do to him.
'Wait, don't tell me he's gonna' Lingchi me?!" Sanji thought in terror as he watched the scalpel cut off a piece of his flesh.
Blood escaped from the wound, but it wasn't as deep as Sanji had anticipated. Actually, if he were to escape, it was a wound that he could recover from. It wasn't like a whole chunk of muscle had been cut off, just a sliver. It was something that hurt like a bitch, but it was also something that wouldn't permanently damage him. This caused Sanji to inwardly let out a sigh of relief at the slight damage and he winced inwardly at the wound inflicted, but before he could think of anything else, the man spoke up.
"Have you heard of 'a death by a thousand cuts'? Well, I thought it was a great idea to do a less gruesome version of that to you! Instead of the deep cuts of flesh that the Chinese used to do, I'll break you down piece by piece. Besides, I still need to give you a chance to change your mind and it would end too quickly if I didn't modify it," the man said light heartedly which made Sanji's dread intensify ten-fold… if that were even possible at this point.
'Oi, Zoro…' Sanji sobbed in his head as the scalpel moved down to his right triceps. 'Save me... Please… hurry up and save me, you marimo bastard…'
And right at that moment, right as the scalpel pierced his skin and right before Sanji winced with all of the pain ringing in his head, an alarm blared and screams were heard from outside of the building.
The scalpel stopped halfway through its incision as the man froze.
"Gah! What the fuck is that?!" the stranger roared in frustration as he slashed the rest of the piece of Sanji's flesh from his arm. Sanji yelped at the rushed infliction, but his cry of pain was drowned out with the screeching of that damn alarm and the stranger slamming the scalpel onto the table's surface. Sanji limply glared daggers into the man's back as said man released a heavy, disappointed sigh.
"Well, Mr. Blackleg," the man began as he turned back to the disheveled, bleeding chef, his face the picture of professionalism which made Sanji sick to his stomach. This man could get off on hurting someone but then act as though he were high and mighty? What the fuck is up with that?! But before Sanji could spit at the man in spite, the despicable man continued.
"I have to go see what that's about. Seems like someone's had the insane idea to invade the camp… I wonder who that could be," the man growled at the end of his little farewell, before he twirled towards the door and stomped away with Smoker in tow, leaving the incapacitated chef to his lonesome in this god-forsaken room.
"… Shit…" Sanji quietly cursed as the pain coursing through his being and the blaring of the alarm rang in his hollow head.
"Damn it, guys… Can't you make a quieter entrance? … You fucking shit heads… Hurry up and save me… Zoro," he mumbled as his eyes became incredibly heavy, while his blood flowed freely from his stomach and arm, drenching him in red.
"Shit… I can't go unconscious… not yet…" Sanji grunted as he fought to keep himself awake.
'Shit.' Sanji thought groggily as he hung flaccidly from the ceiling. 'My head hurts. Shitty alarm. My arm, leg, and stomach hurt. Everything fucking hurts. I'm not gonna' let that sadistic bastard break me, but fucking hell that was horrible… That shitty bastard and his shitty… green… hair…' Sanji's thoughts began to trail off, and just when he was about to give into the blackness of unconsciousness, he heard someone break through the door.
Then Sanji fought the urge to pass out once again as he looked up to see his visitor, and when he did, he was so goddamn thankful.
'Finally… a moss head that I want to see…' Sanji thought with a lopsided smile, and just before he fell into unconsciousness, he saw his moss head run towards him, shouting something at him.
: -:
"Sanji…" Zoro mumbled to himself after his little group had managed to find the camp. They were now lying in wait within the lining of the trees, and Zoro was getting antsy. He wanted to fuckin' charge in there and get his cook back, but he had to wait.
While they were on their way to this shitty camp, Franky talked through the ear piece that he'd given them, and he said that he was getting the Sunny so they could make a quick get-away once they'd saved Sanji. So, now that they'd arrived, they had to wait for Franky to give the signal for Luffy to go and to cause havoc per usual, while Zoro and Chopper try to find Sanji as fast as possible and bring him to the ship.
The sun had just set, so now it was a bit dark, which would be perfect for a raid. They just had to fucking wait for their escape route to be prepared! The Sunny had to be a specific distance away, so that when Luffy creates a distraction and while Zoro and Chopper were looking for Sanji, Franky would be able to bring the Sunny around without anyone noticing.
"Chie," Zoro began in a stern and serious voice as he looked down at the old panda-like man.
"Hm?"
"Go back to your home. You can find the way back on your own. If they catch you here, they might assume that you helped us, and that'll be bad news for you. Once it's safe for you, I'm sure Luffy just might bump into you again, who knows. Anyways, get out of here," Zoro said factually as he crossed his arms and peered at the old man, looking for any sign of disapproval from him. But instead of finding disapproval, Chie looked rather passive as he stared up at the young swordsman. Then the old man sighed and turned towards the forest.
"Well, this young lad is right. I should get going now. Besides, even if I wanted to go with you and fight, I can't. I'm too old. Anyways, Luffy, everyone, good luck. And bring Sanji back home," the old man said over his shoulder as he disappeared into the thicket of the forest.
Then, just before Luffy or Chopper, or even Zoro could say farewell and thank you to the old panda-like man, Franky began to speak into the earpiece.
"Everyone! I'm in position! Luffy, go and wreck the place! Zoro and Chopper, look for our cook!" the cyborg's voice boomed in their ears.
"Yeah!" Luffy hollered as he bolted out of the forest and into the camp.
"That rubbery idiot!" Zoro hissed as he and Chopper followed the tree line for a bit, moving away from the place their stupid captain had barreled out of.
After a few moments of waiting for Luffy's distraction to take full effect, Zoro and Chopper sneaked out of the forest and went into the closest tent.
It was a relatively small tent compared to the others, and it had a portable desk, makeshift bed, a small filing cabinet and… a seastone cage.
"Shit. They must've held Sanji captive here and then moved him," Zoro mumbled in irritation of having not found Sanji. He then steadied his breathing to calm himself and think of where they could have taken him. They couldn't have left already since Franky would have probably seen them from the Sunny…
"Yeah, it smells like Sanji, another smoker, and someone else have been in here about maybe an hour or two ago," Chopper concluded as he sniffed around in the tent in his full reindeer form.
"That's it! Chopper, sniff out Sanji," Zoro said as he unsheathed two katana, readying himself for a fight if need be.
"Okay!" Chopper shouted, going to work right away. Then after a few moments, Chopper muttered a 'follow me' and Zoro tried to the best of his abilities to do just that.
The pair exited the tent, avoided conflict and chaos, and managed to stop to the side of one of the small buildings.
"He should be in there, but Zoro," Chopper began in his small report as he reverted back to his brain point.
"Hm?" Zoro hummed, silently asking for the little doctor to continue.
"Sanji isn't alone, and I smell blood," Chopper informed in a dark and sullen tone as he looked at the ground in front of him.
Zoro froze.
'Wha… What? Blood?' But before Zoro could think about it any longer, he used his haki and discovered that in fact, Sanji was in the room of this small building and there were two other identities that he knew.
'Shit.'
"Zoro?" Chopper questioned, realizing that the swordsman hadn't said anything or even breathed since Chopper had said something about the blood that he'd smelled. But Zoro hadn't heard him, for he was too lost within his frantic thoughts.
'Don't tell me he's here…'
Then, once Zoro thought that, the door to the small building opened. Both Zoro and Chopper pushed their back to the side of the building, and then after a few hesitant moments, they both looked around the corner and they were met with the unexpected. Especially Zoro.
Zoro was dumbfounded. His face was consumed with numb shock, while Chopper's face was more puzzled than shocked.
"Zoro, who's that man? And why is Smoker with him?" Chopper whispered as he looked up to his astonished nakama. After a few moments of unresponsiveness, Chopper tugged on Zoro's pants and brought the swordsman back into reality. Zoro shook his head as if he were to just shake his thoughts out of his head and replaced the shock with unbridled determination.
"We have no time for this. Once they're gone, we're going in to get that curly bastard," Zoro said with deadliest determination in his voice. Chopper gave a curt nod and they waited for the strange man and Smoker to be out of sight before they moved in.
Once those marines were out of sight, the pair rushed forward and Zoro cut the door down, and when he stepped into the room… he stood in absolute astonishment and horror, letting those emotions play on his face.
He'd found Sanji… tied with his wrists in chains and above his head, connected to the ceiling, while numerous wounds were littered on his body and bleeding severely.
Zoro gaped until he noticed Sanji shaking slightly as he raised his ruffled, red-blonde head to look up at Zoro and smile, muttering something about a 'moss-head'.
"Zoro, what's… wrong…?" Chopper began to ask as he padded into the room, just to see the mess that Zoro was witnessing.
"Sanji!" Chopper wailed as he began to run to the chef, but Zoro acted faster. Before Chopper knew it, Zoro was untying Sanji's tied up hands and had him in his arms in two seconds flat.
"Zoro, lay him down. I need to do first-aid. Guard the door," Chopper said with his stern doctor voice as he rushed to Sanji's side and slipped off his backpack.
But, Zoro didn't respond. He just stared at the blonde with desolation, sadness, and pain. Chopper's heart hurt to see his nakama like this, but he had to get Sanji the help he needed, he needed to be protected, and he needed Zoro.
"Zoro! I need you to go protect the door until I'm finished! Sanji needs you to do this!" Chopper shouted in an attempt to reel him back into reality, which seemed to work, since Zoro shook his head, quickly stood up, and began to stand at the entrance of the door, protecting his nakama from the marines that are sure to see something wrong with a door in pieces on the ground. And surely enough, Zoro was soon engaged in a battle with several marines with flame marks on their heads.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit,' Zoro repeated in his thoughts as he hacked away at his opponents, not really caring if he dismembered a number of them.
'I can't believe I let that happen?! How can I live with myself?! This is allmyfucking fault that he's like this!' Zoro roared in his mind as he guarded the door from a swarm of super marines with those fucking flame marks on their heads.
'I'm sorry, Sanji.'
"Zoro? What're you sorry about?" Chopper began, making Zoro realize that he'd said that last thought aloud. "Come on! I administered first-aid! We can go to the Sunny! We need to hurry!" Chopper shouted at his blood-soaked nakama as he put on his backpack.
Zoro hadn't realized how lost he was within his head, for when he came back into the real world he was surrounded by bodies and severed limbs. Zoro shook his head again in an attempt to shake off his destructive thoughts and emotions as he went back into the room and scooped Sanji up into his arms.
"Alright! Let's go!" Chopper hollered as he ran out of the room. Zoro quickly followed behind his furry nakama as they escaped.
"Luffy! Franky!" Chopper yelled into the earpiece as they fled to the cliff. "We got Sanji! Hurry! Let's escape!"
"Roger!" Franky's voice rang in their ears. "The Sunny is in position! We are right under the cliff!"
"Roger!" Chopper confirmed. "Luffy?! Come on! Hurry up! We've already reached the cliff!"
Chopper and Zoro skidded to a stop as they'd reached their destination of the cliff. Zoro looked just over the cliff to see the Sunny with Franky on its deck. After a few moments of silence, Zoro huffed.
"Chopper, I'm dropping Sanji off on the Sunny. We have no time to be waiting around. Get on the ship and fix him. I'll get our idiot captain," Zoro grumbled with a snarl and before Chopper could argue or say anything, Zoro jumped off the cliff and landed onto the deck. Soon after Zoro heard a thud behind him.
"Zoro! Be careful! You don't want to hurt him!" Chopper squealed as he scurried over to the swordsman to check on the chef.
Zoro froze at that. His eyes widened a fraction as he stared down at the unconscious cook in his arms and he stopped breathing, as if by making another single movement, Sanji would shatter.
'Shit… I really am the worst, huh? Sanji, I'm sorry…' Zoro thought as Franky tried to get his attention.
"Huh? What?" Zoro asked in a slightly shaky voice as he looked up at the cyborg next to him.
"'Hand Sanji to me and go get Luffy,' is what I've been trying to say for the past several minutes," Franky said with a frown and a contemplative wrinkle in his eyebrows.
"Ne, Zoro… Are you okay?" the man questioned in a hushed tone, as if they were whispering secrets to one another.
Zoro blinked at Franky as he let his words set in, and when they did, Zoro's eyes widened for a moment as he practically shoved Sanji into Franky's arms.
"Tch, I'm fine, Franky. Enough about me, where the hell's our captain?" Zoro grumbled in his Zoro-like manner as he scowled and placed a hand on one of his katana.
And as if he were summoned, Luffy went flying off of the cliff and crashing down onto the deck. It was as if he was knocked off the cliff, but they had no time to figure out what happened, they just needed to escape and keep Sanji safe.
So, Zoro took the initiative to race to the helm to make their get away.
"Zoro! Use a small Coup de burst so we can find our way back to the island!" Franky yelled over his shoulder as he ran to the infirmary with Chopper leading the way, leaving Luffy on deck since, Sanji was a larger priority at the moment.
"Yeah…" Zoro began to shout over his shoulder, but when he turned his head to glance back, his eyes caught something that he really didn't want to see.
At the top of the cliff, there was a man who stood tall and proud with a head of green hair… a shade of green that was identical to Zoro's…
Zoro froze for only a moment until his instincts kicked in, causing him to launch the mini Coup de Burst, and allowing him to run away from a problem that he'd thought he'd outran before.
The sea breeze whipped his short hair around and made his earrings clatter against each other wildly as they fled to the sea.
Once the Sunny had settled down on a spot in the ocean, Zoro rushed to the infirmary. He had to get to Sanji. He had to… he had to… do what? He couldn't do shit and now Sanji was…! Sanji had hurt because of his inadequacy… These kinds of thoughts and emotions drove Zoro to run faster and with more desperation.
For once, Zoro had managed not to get lost, but he slowed down to a stop when he found Franky staring at the door labeled 'infirmary'.
Zoro stared at the scene before him for a moment or two before he walked up to stand next to him. Franky glanced down at the swordsman; however, Zoro just stared listlessly at the door in front of them.
Time passed in a tense and slow manner as the two silently stared ahead. But then, the heavy silence was broken when they both heard shouting and stomping around on deck. Franky sighed as a weary smile tugged at his lips.
"Well it looks like Luffy's fine if he's making that much noise in search for his cook." Franky chuckled, and as if he were called, Luffy came barreling towards them.
"Oi! Zoro! Franky! Where's Sanji…" Luffy began to holler, but then slow realization kicked in as he saw the two outside of the infirmary, staring at the door. He skittered to a stop a few feet away and then quietly walked over to stand to the other side of Zoro.
After a moment or two of silence, Luffy opened his mouth.
"Is he going to be okay?" he asked in a hushed yet serious and worried voice while he joined in on the staring.
Zoro remained unresponsive while Franky answered his captain.
"We don't know. He lost a lot of blood. He'll need the devil's luck. Which he has, and since this is Sanji, he should be okay," Franky informed softly as a wide smile played on his lips. Luffy looked away from the door to see his nakama's smile, smiling his own toothy grin.
But then, as time wore on, Luffy and Franky noticed that Zoro hadn't moved in the slightest; the swordsman had barely even blinked. The two looked at each other and then to the distant swordsman until Luffy decided to break the tension hanging in the air.
"Ne, Zoro, what's up? Is something wrong?" he asked probingly.
However, even the captain couldn't raise a response out of Zoro. He just stood like a statue, completely unresponsive to anything outside of his head.
"Hey, come on, Luffy. Let's leave him alone," Franky said in a hushed tone as he tilted his head towards the direction of the deck. Luffy looked up at the cyborg and then back to his swordsman until he gave a small curt nod. With that, the two left Zoro to his lonesome.
Yet, Zoro barely noticed anything around him. His mind had ensnared him again. His brain had trapped him and was now attempting to eat him alive… again. His ocean had consumed him again, drowning him, and this time he didn't struggle. The knife of guilt stabbed his heart, mind, and gut, tripling the poisoning effects it usually had.
'Shit… I'm so sorry, Sanji. It's my entire fault. If I were there for you… you wouldn't be there, being operated on, being in pain and suffering like that... Heh, who the fuck am I kidding… even if I were there, I still wouldn't have been able to do anything… like I've proved before when we got ambushed… Shit… Why am I even fucking here…? I'm so fucking useless. I can't do shit except cause fucking trouble… All I do is get revenge, because I'm never quick enough to stop bad things happening to people before they do… Why am I here? I just… I just… I just fucking hate myself so fucking much… I can hardly stand it anymore… I can hardly stand myself anymore… why am I here.' Zoro thought almost absentmindedly.
He felt as if these were his thoughts, but he just didn't care if they hurt him… not anymore. He didn't give a single fuck as to how he was doing or any of that other shit about his well-being… he doesn't deserve to. He doesn't deserve to feel anything better than what he was feeling now.
Nevertheless, he couldn't help himself, even though he knew better. Zoro fucking knew better than anyone about this, yet, he couldn't help it. With everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, he just couldn't hold it in anymore, no matter how hard he tried - even though his thoughts weren't really helping him at the moment with this predicament…
He fucking knew better, and yet, he cried.
With his face as melancholic as it could get, his mouth in a slight frown, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, he cried. He didn't even blink. His tears spilled and traveled down his tanned, long face to his strained neck.
Then, after a minute or two, Zoro's countenance creased in agony as he backed into the railing and slid down to the floor with a hand over his mouth as if to silence his already muted screams. Zoro didn't make a sound as he wept in front of the infirmary where his beloved was probably never going to walk out of ever again – or anywhere for that matter.
'I- I- I'm such a goddamned idiot. Sanji… Sanji… I'm… I'm so sorry… It's all my fault that you're in there again. I… I! I… I don't know what to fucking do… This shitty void in my chest is about to swallow me whole… I can barely breathe… Did that wretched ocean finally drown me? Or am I still alive? Why? I feel so separated, so empty… Why am I here? Why?' Zoro thought as he rested both arms on his knees and let his head fall back with a thud. His tears continued to pour from his eyes as he stared at the ceiling despondently.
'Sanji… please… please make it out of this out alive. Because if you don't… I… I… I have no idea what to do. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I don't think I can live with myself… So, Sanji, you better stay alive you shitty, curly, lovely bastard. I need you… I love you…'
*Lingchi= the cutting off of pieces of flesh; an ancient Chinese torture where chunks of flesh are cut off; is also known as 'death by a thousand cuts'*