Hey guys, how're you doing today?
The last chapter actually seemed to go down really well, which is just absolutely fantastic. It's great to see some people leaving reviews who I really haven't seen in a while. We're on 96 at the moment, so if we can just get one last big push to 100, I'd be extremely grateful.
So this chapter's a little different from usual. It's kind of aside from the whole Baroque Works thing, so I'm not sure if it will be a welcome break from that whole situation or not, but I'm hoping that you will enjoy it. It is a chapter completely devoted to, as Orlaith calls it, SANCOCK. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but hopefully you'll kind of enjoy it nonetheless.
"Hancock, I'm here. Please dear, let me in!"
"Go away."
"Please, this is all a misunderstanding, trust me-"
"Go away."
And with that, Boa Hancock hung up.
Sanji sighed. He was currently standing outside Hancock's gate, trying to get her to let him in. Since begging hadn't worked, he looked around the area, trying to find a way of infiltrating the small fortress that was his girlfriend's house. But his little search showed that this really didn't seem possible for him.
The gate at the bottom of the house's drive was high, much taller than him and at either side of the gate were thorned hedges, which were even taller. The whole house was surrounded by the seemingly un-scaleable hedge, so there was no easy way in. Sanji had expected that this would be the case, Hancock's family were pretty rich after all.
The blonde teen sighed and folded his sleeves up. With his right hand, he grabbed part of the hedge, and lifted his body up. He reached for the top of the gate with his left hand, nearly losing balance as the branch of the hedge which he was holding on to nearly snapped. Not wanting to test just how much stress the branch could take, he grasped the metal spoke on top of the gate, which thankfully wasn't as sharp as it looked. In one swift movement, Sanji flung his body over the gate, forgetting to take into account the landing. He flew over the gate and landed both awkwardly and painfully on Hancock's stone paved driveway. He lay there in pain for a good half a minute, before finally picking himself up with much difficulty.
He briefly considered ringing the doorbell, but figured that one of Hancock's sisters would open the door and ask him to leave, meaning he wouldn't get to see Hancock herself, meaning that the considerable pain he just went through would have been for absolutely nothing.
Therefore, he snuck around the back of the house, knowing that Hancock's bedroom was on the side of the house facing the back garden. He looked along the upper row of windows, spotting Hancock's silhouette through the curtains of the middle room. He grinned, before then realising he now had to find some way of getting her attention. He considered throwing pebbles, seeing as that always seemed to work in the movies, but decided that he didn't want to piss off Hancock's family even more by breaking a window.
His only choice seemed to be to somehow scale the side of the house. Easier said than done. Sanji scanned the back garden for something to stand on to give him a boost up. All that he could see was a dodgy-looking table on Hancock's patio. It looked pretty unsafe, but it was better than nothing.
Seeing no other option, he picked the table up and positioned it directly below Hancock's window. He gingerly put one leg on the table, already feeling it wobbling under his weight. His immediate instinct was to jump off, but since the table was his only way of reaching Hancock's window, if the table broke he'd be screwed. So the blonde teen gritted his teeth and put his other leg on the table, standing up fully on it. The table shook violently and felt like it was about to collapse, so Sanji reached up and grabbed Hancock's window ledge with his right hand. Just then, the table broke, one of the legs snapping, leaving Sanji hanging from Hancock's window ledge.
"Shit… that was loud."
As if on cue, Hancock drew back her curtains. She anxiously scanned her back garden, assuming that it was an intruder (which it technically was). Sanji, seeing this, lifted his left hand up and knocked on the window.
Hancock, alarmed by what looked like just a hand knocking on her window, fell backward onto her bed. She was about to scream when Sanji grabbed the ledge with his left had, and painfully pulled himself up so Hancock could see his face. When she saw the blonde, her expression went from shocked, to relieved, to angry. She crossed her arms and looked away. The silent treatment.
Sanji's heart sunk, but he wasn't going to give up after coming so far. He knocked on the window again. Hancock momentarily looked in his direction, and Sanji took this opportunity to give her his very best pleading face.
Hancock tried to resist, but she just couldn't bring herself to say no to that face. She gave in and opened the window.
"What do you want?" She coldly asked.
"Uh… Could you please let me in… I think I'm going to lose my grip…"
Hancock rolled her eyes, but took Sanji's left hand and helped him climb in through the window. When he was in, she took a seat on the edge of her bed and just stared at the blonde, who was sitting on the floor in front of her, trying to figure out what exactly to say. He smiled at her, but she just continued to stare coldly at him.
Sanji's face fell. "This is a big misunderstanding. Vivi's just a friend of mine. Of ours. We met her yesterday, and she was in trouble, so we've all been kind of focused on helping her. Not just me."
"Who's we?"
"Luffy, Nami and the others. Ask them if you don't believe me. I'm sorry that I missed all of your calls, that was dumb of me. Were you worried?"
Hancock's expression softened, starting to see that she may have made a mistake. "A.. A little."
Sanji smiled weakly at her. "I'm sorry love."
"And there's nothing between you and this new girl?"
Sanji shook his head dismissively. "Of course not. What kind of idiot would cheat on the most beautiful girl in the world?"
Hancock blushed. "Sanji…"
Sanji smirked. He stood up and tilted Hancock's face upwards. He gently pressed his lips to hers, glad to feel her kiss him back. His first kiss since leaving for Sabaody. He held the contact for a couple of seconds before pulling away. "Come on. It's been a couple of weeks since we went out."
"Wait… right now?"
Sanji nodded. "Don't worry, take as long as you need to get ready. I'll wait."
Hancock smiled, getting up. "OK. You know, I missed you a lot when you were gone."
Sanji shoved his hands into his pockets as he made for the door. "Yeah, well… I'm back now. You've got me to yourself for the rest of the summer now."
######
Sanji whistled as he hopped down the stairs, a spring in his step this particular morning.
Last night had been a huge success. He took Hancock to the Baratie, where he'd been able to get a great table, one of the best in the restaurant. Of course, to get that table he had to agree to work a few more hours that week. But it was nothing he couldn't sacrifice, especially for Hancock's sake.
After dinner, he'd of course walked her home, where, for all his troubles, he received a goodnight kiss. Leaving that night, Sanji couldn't help but feel that it had been a job well done. All misunderstandings had been sorted out, and him and Hancock had had an extremely successful date.
Of course, by then it was only eleven, so, as per his deal with his father, he'd had to head back to the restaurant for the late night shift. But even then he'd gotten home by around two and had gotten a good seven hours or so of sleep, so he felt perfectly fine.
Plus, unlike usual, a grumpy Zeff, who wasn't a morning person, wasn't around, which probably meant he was at the restaurant. Sanji didn't have to go to work until the afternoon, so that meant he had a free morning and the house to himself.
Sanji looked around the kitchen, searching first for some coffee. Finding some, he checked to make sure the kettle was full, before turning it on. "I should probably check up on Robin and Vivi… I don't imagine anything could have happened, but better to be sure…"
However just then his phone, which was laying on the kitchen counter, began vibrating. Sanji walked over to it and checked the screen. It was Hancock. But it was just a text.
The blonde teen frowned. She usually called him if she wanted to talk. He clicked on the message.
"Meet me at the hospital."
Sanji's eyes widened. He sprinted out of the room. The hospital? In an instant, he completely forgot about about Robin and Vivi.
And his breakfast too.
#######
Sanji cursed as slipped forwards, nearly losing balance on the smooth hospital floor. Running in a hospital was definitely not a good idea.
He frantically looked around the crowded waiting room, eventually spotting Sandersonia talking to a nurse. When she noticed the puffing Sanji, she waved at him, although she didn't look happy at all, further alarming Sanji.
"What's going on? Is Hancock OK? I got this text-"
Sandersonia shook her head, interrupting Sanji. "It's not Big Sis. It's our mother…"
"What happened?"
Sandersonia bit her lip, as if she couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted to. Sanji put his hand on her shoulder, seeing that it was difficult for her to say whatever the problem was. He smiled gently at her, causing her to momentarily weakly smile back, before her face fell again. "She… she had... a heart attack. We- We called an ambulance as soon as it happened and they took her away! She's still in there, Big Sis was trying to get in to see her, but the nurse wouldn't let her."
Sanji froze, unable to quite process what he'd just heard. He weakly nodded, struggling to keep calm at this point, but knowing he had to remain composed for Sandersonia's sake. "Where is this? Where is she being treated?"
"Uh, I-I don't know… Big Sis just went with Marigold."
"Right. Listen, just sit tight here, and don't go anywhere. I'll go see what's going on, and then I'll come back and get you, OK?"
Sandersonia nodded. Sanji gave her one last reassuring smile, before leaving her side in search of a nurse. Luckily, just at that moment, Chopper's dad, Dr. Hiruluk walked into the room. He had a folder tucked under his arm, and was heading straight for the front desk.
"Mr Hiruluk!" Sanji called out, attracting the attention of the doctor. When the grey haired man saw Sanji, he eyed the blonde teen carefully, as if trying to work out who exactly he was. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as the identity of the unknown youth dawned on him. He quickly ended his conversation with the nurse before walking over to Sanji.
"Your Chopper's friend, right? Sanji, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Hiruluk nodded. "Yes, he told me all about an incident a few months ago. Something to do with those kids down the road. I never got to thank you personally, those thugs haven't bother us since. So… what can I do for you?"
Sanji glanced over at Sandersonia. "That girl's mother had… she had a heart attack. Could you please tell me where she's being treated? Her name is Nyon."
Hiruluk eyed Sandersonia for a moment, before nodding understandingly. "I'll see what I can do. Just give me a second."
Hiruluk then returned to the nurse at the front desk and, after a short conversation in which he frequently glanced back at Sanji and Sandersonia, he returned to them. "Follow me, I'll take you…. But, I should warn you… It doesn't look good."
Sandersonia quietly gasped, while Sanji struggled to maintain a calm expression. Hiruluk nodded solemnly, before opening the door of the waiting room, standing aside to let Sandersonia and Sanji through first. He led them through the hospital corridor, often worriedly glancing back at Sandersonia, although he probably didn't need to since Sanji was constantly comforting her as they walked.
Suddenly Hiruluk stopped and gestured to a door on the right. "This is it. First, let me go in, and check whether it's OK for us to enter."
However before he could do so, the door opened, and out came Hancock and Marigold. Marigold had tears streaming down her face, whilst Hancock's expression was completely neutral. Marigold immediately pulled Sandersonia into a tight hug, holding her younger sister as tightly as she could. Sanji just stared at Hancock, who hadn't acknowledged his presence, and was still maintaing a completely neutral expression. Sanji wanted so say something, but there didn't seem to be anything to say. He knew what had happened.
"Hancock, I…"
"She's dead."
Sanji bit his lip. He stepped towards the tall girl, wanting to hold her, but instead she pushed straight past him, not even making eye contact once. She stormed away, leaving a speechless Sanji behind. He looked at Sandersonia and Marigold, who were both freely crying at this point, and then at Hiruluk.
"I'm going after her. Could you look after these two for me?"
"Of course."
Sanji gave a small nod, as if to say thank you, before running off after Hancock.
######
"Damn, where is she?"
Sanji frantically looked around the packed farmer's market, searching for, but finding no sign of, his girlfriend.
After searching the hospital and the surrounding area thoroughly, Sanji had pretty much resorted to running around desperately, hoping that he'd stumble upon the dark haired girl by chance. What had quickly become obvious was that this was clearly a pretty poor strategy which wasn't likely to yield any results.
With that, Sanji skidded to a halt. "OK… I have to think like her… Where would I go if I was Hancock?"
Pondering this, he looked up at the sky. Now that was a good question.
"Last chance to bag the catch of the day! Bidding starts at $20!"
Sanji glanced over at the fisherman's stall. Fish. Water. Oceans.
He gasped. He knew where to go.
######
Hancock stared straight ahead, the sound of the waves doing little to calm her. Inside she was panicking, very unlike her. But then again, this clearly wasn't a normal day.
Her mother was dead. That was new.
Her father wasn't here. He was never here, always off on Business trips and the such. He probably had no idea what had happened. That wasn't new.
But what was new as her situation. Her sisters were just 13 and 14, still little girls in her eyes. How could she look after them? How could she care for them in the same way that her mother cared for them? She couldn't. There was no way…
Hancock inwardly scolded herself. She shouldn't be thinking like that, she couldn't afford to. "I'm grown up now, aren't I? Just one more year at school, and then that's it…"
The dark haired teen gulped. She wasn't ready for this. The fact that she'd run away earlier, rather than stay behind to comfort her sisters, was the perfect example of that. She'd let them down. Hancock felt tears forming in her eyes.
However, just then, she heard footsteps in the sand. Someone was there. They stopped a metre or so short of her, and Hancock quickly identified who was standing there. "So… you followed me here, huh? How'd you know to find me here?"
"Well… this was the place that I showed you. The little part of the beach between two cliffs that no one knows about. I knew you'd come here… because you didn't want anyone to see you cry, right?."
Hancock didn't reply, proof enough for Sanji that he was right. The blonde teen sat down on the sand next to her, although she didn't look at him, her eyes looking out at the ocean. Sanji glanced at her, before also staring out on the large expanse of water, understanding well the calming effect that watching the waves slowly roll in has. He was the one who showed her that, after all.
For a few minutes, the couple just silently watched the sea, neither having any words to say. There were no words that could make everything OK, and both of them knew that.
At last, Sanji gently placed his hand on her forearm. "I was worried about you…"
"Why?" Hancock bluntly replied, still mesmerised by the sun setting over the waves. It was a truly beautiful sight, which unfortunately did little to make her feel better.
"It's OK to feel upset…"
"I'm not upset. I'm fine."
Sanji stared helplessly at her. He felt completely pathetic, unable to think of any way to cheer up the beautiful girl. He removed his hand from her arm, and stared down at the sand. "You know, I know exactly how you feel…"
Hancock at last looked at him, although the look she gave Sanji was one of annoyance and irritation. It seemed like that was the worst thing he could have said. "How could you?"
Sanji smiled sadly, his eyes fixed to the sand. Tears stung his eyes. "Because… I've lost my mother too."
Hancock's expression instantly softened, immediately feeling guilty. Why did she have to say that? Sanji wasn't looking at her, his expression one of complete sadness. She could see that she'd really hurt his feelings. She bit her lower lip, as she watched her normally cheerful boyfriend looking… broken. Now that she thought about it, she never had met Sanji's mother and he'd never mentioned her before. How she'd never connected the dots, she didn't know. "What… happened?"
Sanji looked up, staring out onto the ocean in the same way as Hancock had been earlier. He didn't think of his mother often. It had been such a long time since he'd seen her…
"She was a waitress. At the Baratie. That's how she and the geezer originally met. And then one day… there was this customer. He liked her. Too much. When she turned him down at the restaurant, he wouldn't take no for an answer. One day when she was done with her shift… he waited outside the restaurant and followed her. But she was strong… so she fought back… and then…"
Unable to continue, Sanji held back a sob. Tears were freely streaming down his cheek, although he was, with much difficulty, stopping himself from breaking down completely. Now it was Hancock's turn to stare helplessly at the blonde. "Is that why… you saved me before? From Hordy?"
Sanji smiled slightly at the memory of Law's party, in his eyes, the real start of their relationship. "I can't stand men who try to take advantage of women… They're the worst kind…. I always want to protect women from harm, because… they can be vulnerable to people like that. I won't let that happen again… "
Suddenly, Sanji reached out and grabbed Hancock's hand, holding it tightly. He stared directly into her eyes, passion burning in them. "I won't let that happen to you. I'll always be here for you, and I'll always protect you! You can count on me!"
"Sanji…"
"I'm serious. Look at you now. You're so upset but you haven't cried once. You're always trying to act so tough!"
Hancock tilted her head downwards, her eyes fixed on the ground. "I have to act tough, I have to be strong for my sisters now… they're relying on me! Who else do they have? I'm all they have..."
Sanji pushed her slightly so that she was looking at him. "You have me! You're not alone! I know you feel like you have to hold in your tears and act strong for everyone… but you don't! It's OK to cry!"
Hancock's eyes closed, tears welling up in them. Sanji released her, expecting her to run away again.
However, the opposite happened. Without warning, the girl leaned forward, burying her head in Sanji's chest. The blonde fell on his back, Hancock lying on top of him.
Sanji's eyes widened as put his arms around the now uncontrollably weeping dark haired girl. This was the first time he'd ever seen her cry. Even when Hordy had tried to have his way with her (twice), she had never cried. She was always so strong, so stoic... so proud.
Sanji tightly held her as she sobbed into his chest. He stared up at the, now almost dark, sky.
"You know… you're the strongest woman I know, right?"
"R-Really?" Hancock sniffled, a small smiled forming on her face.
"Yep. Just.. uh… don't tell Nami that I said that."
######
Hancock hopped down the stairs at the sound of the doorbell ringing. She had a visitor.
It had been a week since her and Sanji's conversation at the beach. After they had watched the waves for a little longer, the couple headed back to the hospital to pick up Sandersonia and Marigold. After letting the three talk in private for a while, Sanji insisted on walking them home. After cooking dinner and staying with the three sisters for a few hours, he'd headed home.
Then, surprisingly, Hancock's father had called, telling them that he'd heard the news and he'd be back home within the next few days, which was something that Marigold and Sandersonia were looking forward to more than Hancock. It wasn't that Hancock didn't love her father, it's just that they didn't have much of a relationship since he was always away.
To Hancock's surprise, her father was there when she woke up the next morning. After catching up, he'd taken her and her sisters out for the day. It really did seem that he was going to make much more of an effort to be around now, although it was still early days.
Hancock opened the door to a beaming Sanji, who was clutching a bouquet of flowers. "Morning! Say, you busy?"
Hancock shrugged. "Not particularly. Marigold and Sandersonia went out with some friends. Why?"
Sanji grinned. "Great. I've got a surprise for you. But…" The blonde reached into this pocked and pulled out a blindfold. "You're gonna have to wear this."
Hancock eyed the blindfold suspiciously. "Why? Where are you taking me?"
"It's a secret. I promise you'll love it though. Come on… " Sanji begged, giving her his best pleading face. It normally didn't work with girls. In fact, it usually creeped them out. But Hancock was the first girl Sanji had found who couldn't seem to say no to that face.
"Alright. But this better be good."
######
"And here we are. You can take it off now."
Hancock hesitantly lowered the blindfold, not sure what to make of the shrieking sounds she'd been hearing. The first thing she saw was a grinning Sanji, who was pointing to something. She looked in the direction he was gesturing at. Hancock frowned, honestly feeling more than a little let down.
"This is… a theme park?"
Sanji nodded, seeming proud of himself. "Yes… yes it is. Water 7."
"Wait, Water 7? So this is..."
"We queued up all day for that love slide before, but we didn't get on because of that stupid little… Uh anyway, this time, I made sure that we got here nice and early. The place is literally just opening up, we'll be the first one in the queue! So… what d'ya think?"
Hancock stared at the entrance. She had completely forgotten about Water 7, and honestly, whilst she had been disappointed on the day, a month or so later, she didn't feel that she'd really missed out on a life changing experience. "Um…"
Sanji smiled expectantly at her. "Come on! This was what we wanted before, right? Let's have the special day that we missed out on back then, OK?"
Hancock turned to her excited looking boyfriend. She giggled, and held out her hand to him, the blonde eagerly taking it. Because it wasn't the actual slide which made it a special experience.
It was who she was with. that was what made it a special experience.
Cheesy, cheesy chapter. I suck at romance so much, it's ridiculous. Alas, maybe I'll get it right some day. I hoped you at least weren't too creeped out by it.
And, since that's all, as always, thanks for reading and please leave a review. We're so close to 100 now, so let's just go for it. The person who get's review number 100 will definitely get a special mention, be that next chapter or whenever. It obviously depends on when we reach the century mark.
Oh, and to Sev, Law's chapter is coming, trust me. I think it's 2 chapters away, but it may be 3. I'm so happy to be able to to say that actually. You've really been looking forward to that one, so I really hope I don't let you down :)