CHAPTER FOURTEEN UPDATED

The Lives That Bind Us

Chapter Fourteen: You Left Without Saying Goodbye

Sanji

Sanji sat awkwardly in the corner of the room. Both Zoro and his father seemed to be absorbed in conversation with one another, speaking quickly in Japanese. It left Sanji with no clue what they were saying to the other. He felt like he was intruding. After all, if it was for his ears, then they would speak English. Their tones suggested it was a serious matter.

Sanji felt bad for listening, even if he didn't understand the words.

Quietly the cook stood up and, unnoticed by the pair, slipped out of the room quietly shutting the door behind him. He was able to back track his steps to the stairs, creeping down them as if not to alert the Masters that he had left the room.
The butler was stood waiting at the bottom. He glanced quickly to the blonde haired man and then to the vacant space behind him. "Zoro-sama and Yoshiro-sama are still talking?"
Sanji just nodded. He was feeling useless. Useless and out of place in this giant house.

"Please follow me Sanji-sama," the Butler said, with his customary bow. Usually, Sanji would felt honoured to be treated with such respect, but it felt just as out of place as he did. He didn't deserve it. He had done nothing for it.
Maybe he had given Zoro a bed, showed him a little kindness, love and lust. Maybe he had been an ear, a shoulder and a rock. That was all.

But that was enough.

The Butler led the way, glancing back to make sure Sanji was following. They didn't walk as far this time, entering a room as large as the first, if not larger. The others guests had collected here, taking space as statues near the walls, grouped together through familiarity and comfort. They spoke to each other and only, no one daring to step into no man's land.

Sanji was in no man's land. He could see the sides, too many to count, too many to care. Kuina may have been there only connection, but no one dared build bridges. In fact, it seemed there was more going on here than just the simple occasion of remembering a loved one.
For a child's funeral, Sanji would've expected more children. More of her friends, more families with weeping mothers and teachers that nurtured the girl in their schools. There were women, but none wept. There were children, but none close to the age of the girl in the picture….
But there, in the back, he saw Zoro's friends. His friends too.

Luffy waved him over. Usopp stepped back slightly, opening the circle to allow Sanji shelter from the war zone behind him. Scrutinising looks fell upon him as he waded through the sea of repulsive stares. Whispers swelled like storm waves, rumours flooded over him.
The pressure in the room began to grow; a tempest ready to break its bonds. Sanji kept it at bay with his own choice of deadly glares to those that dared cross the line as "murder" met his ears.
It was not of him they spoke, but the man he had brought to this house of ridicule. From welcomed guests nonetheless, who should have another respect from their host.

Sanji almost ran the last several steps to Luffy's side before he had the urge to kick one particularly foul man who was insulting Zoro and the family loudly. It seemed he was proud of the uncertain looks cast by the others guests. Of course, they could gossip and share their own looks on the subject of the rebellious older son and the tragic murder of the daughter, but none did so openly as the large, pot bellied man who suit looked fit to burst.

He was bragging about how he could saved Kuina, if only she had been taken to his hospital. He didn't look like a doctor, or averagly smart for the matter. Sanji didn't know the man, but knew his boasts were baseless and revolting, here of all places.

"I don't care what Chief says, I'm going to hit him if he doesn't shut up." The one that spoke was a short, pink haired boy. He was between Luffy and another boy, although his attention was solely on the asshole claiming most of the attention in the room.

The Strawhat just grimaced, sending a murderous glare over to the fat man from underneath his prized hat. "You'd expect him to shut up, considering Smokey and Garp are here."
"But they're not," Nami interjected, doing a head count on the guests, coming up minus four. "They've both gone. It seems his daughter is still ill. He's gone to the hospital to check on her. And Garp's gone back to the station because they're undermanned."
That got a grumble of disapproval through the group, and some mixed reactions from the pink-haired boy and the Blonde next to him. "He gave you the day off, so you don't have to feel guilty about staying here. Besides, Kuina was your friend too, Coby," Usopp said, reassuring the boy with a pat on the shoulder. Coby forced a smile, but it quickly changed to a scowl when the fat man laughed at his own sick joke.

"At the moment, I wish I wasn't here. Because in a moment, I'm going to start a fight with Wapol."

"Sanji. Where's Zoro?" Nami asked, noticing it had only been him to arrive, and not his partner with him. "I thought the two of you went to say goodbye to Kuina together."
"We did," Sanji nodded, glancing over his shoulder to the open door. Zoro hadn't arrived, which meant he was still with Yoshiro. "He's talking with his Dad. It felt private so I slipped away." The group beamed, obviously proud of this development. "Thank goodness," the ginger sighed. "So he's finally talking to his dad again. That's good." Even though Zoro acted indifferent towards her, it was still clear they were good friends.

Sanji could hear Wapol's voice in the back of his head. He tried hard to ignore it, noticing the wash of silence that had befallen the room.
No one else was trying to listen, but when you try not to listen, that's the only thing you can do.

"… dare he come here. He just as good as murdered his own sister, leaving her in a bad part of town. You never know. He couldn've planned it. He couldn've even done it himself. Why else would he disappear and only turn up for her ceremony. Bet he's getting that old geezer to name him sole collector of the will before he pushes him down the stairs or something."

Luffy gave the fat man a death glare and Sanji was glad he was not on the receiving end.
Luffy was a bright cheerful boy but his anger made Sanji feel very unnerved. Something told him that anyone who got on Luffy's bad side was worse off than anyone who pissed off Zoro…"Some one do something," Usopp begged, making a point to look around, as if hoping someone would come in and knock the man out for them.

But there was no one. And Wapol was still running his mouth.

"…'re all idiots, but it doesn't really matter. If the girl was smarter she wouldn't have blindly jumped into that fight. If you can call it a fight. She deserved to die after what she did," the man laughed. "It's just a shame that the green-haired orphan wasn't there with her. I would've loved to attend his funer-"

Wapol's sentence was stopped short when his feet were wiped from under him. They slipped sideways, his ankles twisting from the awkwardness, tangling together. Before Wapol could even cry out in alarm, his face was squished into the floor, words muffled by his own weight that kept him down.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Sanji bellowed, standing over him. He'd been unable to contain his anger, reaching his breaking point. It blinded him like a five-course serving of rage.
Wapol had taken this joke one step too far, and Sanji was ready to kill him for it. It was almost as if his body was on fire with all the emotion radiating off of him.
It wasn't just anger for Zoro though. It was stress about everything.

Baroque Works had left a bitter taste in his mouth. Like coffee, it pumped him full of adrenaline and energy, but that energy had to go somewhere. Keeping him awake, energetic, ready to go…
He could dull it with his cigarettes, maybe hide it behind a the guise of a normal life if he had enough targets to beat to a pulp. But Zoro made it hard to find them. He had one, sure but beating a kid wasn't as satisfying as taking on a brute that could pass his own punches back.

Training with Zoro had crossed his mind on one or more occasions, but if his bloodlust got the better of him, he'd have a body on his hands, and no excuse. Besides, he had fallen for the man. He had used him as his own nicotine patch to wrap around his broken and fucked up life in hopes of repairing the cracks that appeared in his mask.

"This is Kuina's funeral. We're here to respect her death and give our grievances to the family! You should learn basic etiquette, you lousy piece of shit," Sanji growled. He could feel something purr inside him. That primal instinct found in lone wolves in the wild. Against a predator that threatened them or their hunting ground.

If Sanji was a wolf, lone as he may be, his target was a gluttonous boar with tarnished tusks, dull from where he had succeeded through other's hard work an not his own.
The boar kicked the mud at his feet, flailing to get up before Sanji could sink his maw around it's neck. The thick fur coat did nothing but sweat the pig. It wasn't armour. It was clear plastic packaging to stop the meat spoiling before Sanji flambéed it.
Lame de porc flambée dans le cognac avec des champignons sauvages, or maybe Bouillon de porc assaisonné….

"If you have no respect for this family, you shouldn't even be here. It doesn't matter what ties you have to Yoshiro or anyone," Sanji hissed, his eyes narrowing further. He had lost only a fraction of his volume but his voice was like daggers to the man. Wapol flinched away in cowardice, trying to pull himself up off the floor.

"I think it's best you leave," the Blonde continued. Some normal part of him knew he should reign it in, apologise before he made things worse, or embarrassed Zoro's family at his little sister's fucking funeral. But Sanji was thinking about stopping. He had held it back as long as he could, and now he had let go. His words crashed out unchecked, unaltered. He had no control of this outburst, no reverse, no gears, no dampeners.

"You've paid your respects, if you had any in the first place. Now leave."

Wapol managed to lumber to his feet, his ankles creaking from where they had twisted. It twisted up his face too, his snarl no more than a whimper when he raised a shaky fist at the lithe man in front of him. "The hell-" he began, but was back to cowering as Sanji's explosion got a second wind.
He wasn't a wolf anymore. He was the entire pack.
And this piglet was going to be lunch.

"Leave."

Not a shout nor a roar. Cold and cool, like those psychotically broken villains on the big screen. The ones that left shivers running down your spine and you know that the protagonist is going to loose something important, like a limb or their side kick. Or perhaps both.

The room ran cold. Wapol shuddered. "You can't-" he tried, his voice shaking, feeling the knife pressed up to his neck.
"I SAID LEAVE!" Sanji roared, taking a step forward to illustrate his point. "You have until the count of three until I rearrange your face. Then your precious hospital that you love so dearly, can try their hardest to make you look remotely human."

"The nerve-"
"One."

The man had a frog stuck in his throat.
"I'll have you sued," he began but was cut off with Sanji's chilling voice.

"Two."

Wapol looked like he wanted to say something. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, his eyes scanning the crowd for someone, anyone, to back him up.
Sanji just smiled, his lips forming the last word.

"Three."

There was a loud crash before the unmistakable sound of Sanji's voice resounded throughout the dwelling.

"HOW DARE YOU!"

Zoro felt his eyes widen, turning to look at the point he thought his boyfriend was sitting. He no longer was however, and now seemed to be arguing with someone downstairs. "When did he-"
"Not too long ago," Sensei answered, knowing what Zoro was going to ask. He himself had seen Sanji leave, and had understood why the man did such a thing. To be out in the middle of this family affair was not his place, yet he dealt with it accordingly, and left the family when he felt he was crossing boundaries. Yoshiro didn't feel the same, yet maybe his use of his home tongue had done something to make the boy feel unwanted.

That of course was not the case. He was welcome in this home. For caring for Zoro and doing so much more than giving him a home to stay whilst he grieved. Yoshiro may not know the man personally, but listening about him from Luffy and meeting him for only a brief period, he knew the man's qualities.
And even the darkness he held in his heart.

"It seems your boyfriend is a spirited young man," Sensei smiled, enjoying the little colour that appeared on his son's cheeks. He nodded, not totally grasping the taunt as he concentrated on the empty spot near the door. "He's certainly something."
Sensei tried again. "This boy. You care for him?" So it seemed Zoro wasn't going to fall for it. Or was there something else. That was the case. Clear to see from Zoro's furrowed brow and the tenseness of his posture.

"Shall we see what the commotion is about?"

Zoro didn't need to be asked twice. He rose to his feet, holding the door open for Sensei, who followed at a leisurely pace. Zoro marched to the stairs, taking them from the living quarters downstairs. The guests were in the Kyūkei-shitsu, and that too was where Sanji's anger was focused.

"I SAID LEAVE," came Sanji's voice. God did he sound pissed.

"Two…" Zoro could hear Sanji's voice through the door in front of him. It was like a thousand daggers, each driving their way into Zoro's skull. He was sure that Sanji was trying to murder whoever it was with just his bottle rage alone.

The Swordsman entered, to see Sanji stood in the centre of the room, both fists clenched, legs in a balanced stance. He was glaring at Wapol, Drum Hospital's current owner, who looked like he was struggling to breathe under the Blonde's glare.

Sanji smiled, giving Zoro the impression of a dangerous cat before it struck…
Zoro could see the man shift his leg to this forward foot, his knee bending a fraction, the killing aura growing stronger than ever. "… three…"

"SANJI!"

Zoro hadn't meant to shout, but if he left Sanji to it, he was sure that he would've kicked him back to the city. Not that was any concerns of Zoro's, (he didn't like the man naturally), but that meant Sanji would break a wall or two in the process.

Besides, Wapol was Yoshiro's business partner and the man had accepted Zoro into the hospital many times on accounts of his under ground fighting. The men's relationship meant the police never got wind of any suspicious injuries, including the uncountable knife and bullet wounds.
Zoro didn't really want to screw that up for himself, yet he knew this argument must've been justified. Sanji was a gentleman. He'd never do anything that wasn't considered correct, even if someone deserved a really good beating. So why…

Sanji turned his face away and scowled at the wall opposite. Zoro couldn't say anything. His voice seemed to be stuck in his throat. He didn't want Sanji to look pained like he was but no matter how hard he tried, his body just would not go over and hug him, nor would his voice offer any words of comfort-

"I'm going home. Sorry for the disturbance." He turned on his heels, marching to the door. There was barely an inch distance from him and Wapol, who flinched when the man passed.

Zoro wanted to stop him but his body still wasn't listening. Sanji gave him a death like glare, leaving Zoro stumped and a little… well, hurt.
Finding no other way, Zoro looked to his friends. Usopp saw Zoro's silent message, and scuttled after him, apologising to Yoshiro before leaving. "Sanji wait," he called, his footsteps vanishing into the heavy silence the filled the room.

"I apologise everyone," Yoshiro said, stepping around Zoro to address the dumbstruck guests. "It seems tensions are high today. We all act differently when hurt, or feeling lost. Forgive him. But not you, Mr Wapol." Yoshiro's tone darkened, his body turning to face the man in the centre of the room.

"I suggest you thank my son, the one whom you fondly believe is a murderer, yet has just saved your own life." Murmurs rippled in the group as Wapol turned a dark shade of red. "Afterwards, please leave my house. I shall be visitng the hospital within the week to discuss our current business deals. Good day."

The last word was final. Full of anger and bitterness, it left Wapol no other option to leave. The man squeaked like a mouse and fled, those that had come with him, just as meekly following.

Sensei turned to talk to Zoro, but the boy had gone. He had followed Sanji from the house and into the rain.

Zoro stood in the shelter of the wall bow, looking across to the little Blue Prius Sanji was ramming his house key into. Stressed didn't seem to cut it. Pissed sure, but that wasn't the half of it.

Usopp was walking back across the driveway, hands in his pocket, nose to the floor. His discussion with Sanji hadn't gone well. Or hadn't gone at all. There was no way they could've talked at all from the time it took leaving the common room to reaching that car that Sanji was finally able to unlock and throw himself into.

"Did he say where he was going?" Zoro asked Usopp. The boy shook his head, watching the car pull away, disappearing down the little country lane. "No. Just sorry that he got angry."
"What happened?" But before Usopp could speak, there was commotion from behind as Wapol and his followers jumbled down the garden path. "Curse that Yoshiro," the leader cussed, eyes on his feet and not in front of him. "I only came so I could get his signature for the new business deal and here he kicks me out of his house on a whim. Not to mention his Blonde pet decides to bite my hand. Damn dog."

Zoro glared at him. "Let me guess. Wapol pissed him off." The long-nose nodded.

"Wapol was running his mouth like normal, only he was being a bit personal about you and Kuina. I think everyone wanted to kick the man's teeth in but Sanji got there first. I guess the man said something that ticked him off because Sanji didn't hold back."
Zoro smirked, imagining his lithe boyfriend jump kick the fat bastard to the floor. "Wapol definitely deserved it. I'm just annoyed I didn't get to see." His tone was light, but Usopp's was not.
"But you should have. Sanji looked like he was going to kill the man. I wouldn't have been surprised if he did. Sanji looked like he could and…" Usopp's sentence trailed off, his eyes dropping to the floor as Wapol got closer.
Usopp wasn't spineless, but he could be timid. This was one such time, as Wapol bolstered his way up to the pair, chest out, chip up, trying to look tough.

"What do you want?" Zoro growled. "You know that you are not wanted here."
Wapol's eyes narrowed in anger. "You tell that blonde bastard. If I ever see him again, I'll kill him."
Zoro laughed, his tone quickly becoming deadly. "If you touch him, then I'd drag you to hell myself." He wasn't worried for Sanji The man could hold his own against Baroque Works, so dealing with an over weight corporate brat would be nothing more than a warm up.

Zoro couldn't help but feel smug when Wapol gulped. He shook off the fear quickly, stabbing a podgy finger in the pair's direction. "I'll get you both for this!" He barged past, heading to his limo on the far side of the drive, snapping at his subordinates that weren't keeping pace with him.

"You go on ahead," the Marimo told Usopp, pulling out his mobile. "I'm going to ring him."
Usopp left him to it, jogging up the garden path as not to get caught in the rain that still slew the ground.

Zoro thumbed through his contact list, clicking on the Blonde's pick when he spotted it. Then, opting to text him instead, opened the messenger box. He knew Sanji would ignore his phone call in this situation, and a text at least gave him space and time to cool his head before running his mouth and digging himself a deeper hole.

Just checking you're okay. You stormed out quite quick. Seemed like you didn't want to talk. Just don't do anything stupid, okay?
And don't worry about Wapol He had it coming.

I'm coming home after I've finished up here.

The remainder of the ceremony went smoothly. More people offered their prayers and condolences, before the doors were opened and everyone began to head home. Luffy and the others had wrangled Coby into giving them a lift back, but Yoshiro wanted a word. "I'll meet you outside," Zoro told them, before kneeling in front of Kuina's casket.

Sensei took something from among the white lilies that surrounded her picture; a sword.

A white sword.
"I know this is hers, and you obviously have yours, but I can't stand for it to become a museum piece." Sensei spoke with so much hurt in his voice, Zoro couldn't look at him. He looked at Wado, not bothering to conceal his emotions with every memory that came flooding back with that sword. With two hands, and a gentle touch, Zoro took the sword, holding it ever so preciously.
And as he took it… he could feel Kuina's life force. Combined with Wado's energy, he could feel his little sister's spirit inside her treasured sword. Her burning energy to fight, her stubbornness and wilfulness. Her desire to help and her unwillingness to give in. Zoro held the sword closer, slowly gripping the handle. His hand moulded to Wado's shape. He could almost feel the phantom touch of Kuina's hand besides his, drawing the sword from her sheath together…

Wado's blade shone brilliantly in the disheartened room.
Zoro couldn't help but smile. Kuina's last gift to her beloved older brother.

"Arigatōgozaimashita, aisuru imōto."

Zoro was sat to one side.
He was still holding Wado close, every now and then pulling her from her sheath just to admire her blade. He hadn't even noticed Nami approach. "Coby's offered to give us all a ride back to the dorms. Sanji's place is on the way, so he can drop you off there," she said.
"Uh huh," Zoro said, still staring at the blade.

Nami didn't move on though. Instead, she sat herself beside the swordsman, her feet curled up underneath her. She fiddled with the buckles on her gladiator shoes, slipping them off and placing them beside her. She began massaging her feet, staring off at the various guests, probably looking for something to say. Or something else, rather than the one thing on her mind.

"Hey, have you heard from Sanji?" So, maybe she couldn't think of anything else.
"I texted him, if that's what you're asking," Zoro answered. "Did you get a reply?"
The Marimo broke his gaze with Wado and stared at the woman he usually didn't get on with. He frowned for a second, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the small device.

Nothing. No new messages. Weird. Sanji would always send a reply, just so Zoro would know that he got the text. Even if it was as small as an emoticon, or more likely an insult…

Odd.

Maybe Sanji hadn't got home yet.
Maybe he had gone to the Baratie to work instead.

Maybe his phone was out of batteries.
Or out of range. Or left in his coat pocket…

Maybe it was better to call him. Zoro clicked on the small icon next to Sanji's name and put the mobile to his ear. Nothing happened. "Shit I have no signal," Zoro cursed, reading the little message that flashed on the screen. He stood up, his grip on Wado just as tight as the one on his phone. "Excuse me," he said standing up, not giving Nami a second glance as he made his way to the Garden. He found his way to the outdoor seating near the Cherry Blossoms.

The rain had let up now, but the chill had not left the wind that still howled over the countryside. Zoro leant into the phone, listening to the repeated tone of connecting line.

Zoro waited.
And waited.

Maybe Sanji hadn't got home yet.
Maybe he had gone to the Baratie to work instead.

Zoro tried again. He held the phone to his ear and hut his eyes, listening to nothing more than the noise from the phone box.

Maybe his phone was out of batteries.
Or out of range. Or left in his coat pocket…

Suddenly, there was a click. The line had connected.
Zoro felt himself sigh from relief. "Hey Sanji, I just-"
"This caller cannot be reached-"

Damn it.
Zoro ended the call, jamming the screen to find "Home," newly entered. There was no voicemail on this line. Only the constant endless drone that seemed to weigh heavier than the silence from Sanji's mobile.

Odd.

Zoro felt a niggle behind his left ear. Something whispering about dark things and darker consequences. There was pain in the man's chest, disguising the swell of fear that loomed over his shoulders. Like the wind, wrapping its cold fingers around his neck, choking him.

No, no, no. Sanji was just in a foul mood. He was being bratty and ignoring him because he an asshole. Yeah Sanji was constantly bitching and throwing a hissy fit whenever the he thought he wasn't being loud enough…
But he never gave Zoro the silent treatment. Sanji loved to berate the Marimo for every shitty detail he got wrong.

Zoro sunk down onto the bench, readjusting Wado in his hand. She felt cold in his sweaty hands.
Or was she warm and his hands cold. He couldn't tell. He felt numb, worry seeping everywhere into his body. The fear in his chest was gone now, leaving an empty chasm of nothing. He could feel his mind slipping, feel his body itching to move, but nothing seemed to coordinate with one another.
He was stuck here, letting the cold wind whip at his hair and the fear-demon whisper chills down his spine. Victim to his minds eyes that saw Sanji, bloody and bruised, dragged to a Tribunal of blank-faced enemies.

Something brought Zoro back to the here and now. A little buzzing. Coming from his hand, lit up by the face of Sanji, sleeping on the face of his phone screen. It was a picture he had snapped when Sanji was sleeping, and tagged it to his contact in the phone book. It covered the screen, blemished by two circles. One green. One red.

Zoro stared at it, until his brain, screaming and fighting against the lull of the fear-demon, realised that it meant Sanji was calling him.
Sanji was calling him.

The fear-demon was kicked back to the depths of his depression, relief and warmth spreading through his body as he answered the call. "Sanji, I tried calling. Where are you?"

"It's not Sanji."

Zoro's voice stopped in his throat. "Z-Zeff?"
The old man sounded hurt. Or old, it didn't matter, but there wasn't the usual snap of agitation to his voice.

"Zeff where's Sanji?"
"Gone."

The fear-demon reared its ugly head once again, laughing as the emptiness fell right to his toes.

"Gone? Gone where?"
"I don't know," came the voice through the phone. There was fear there too. Just as fresh and bloody as Zoro's.
"He came to the Baratie." A statement. Not so much a question, but there was room for Zeff to deny or confirm it either way.

"Yes he came by. He told me not to tell you."
"I'm coming now."

Translations

Kyūkei-shitsu - Common Room (Large communal rooms mainly reserved for entertaining guests and visitors)

"Arigatōgozaimashita, aisuru imōto." - Thank you, dear Sister

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