Another chapter for all of you! Once again, I really want to give a HUGE thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, and reviewed! Every notification gives me huge strength to keep going and keep writing, even when the scenes are tough and I'm tired from a long work day and my computer's hard drive is failing. And just, you know, thanks to all of you out there who are reading it. I hope that you get some enjoyment (or something) out of this twisted little fic of mine. Anyway...

This fic is rated M.

I do not own One Piece.

Sanji wanted them to stop hurting him, but was powerless to do anything. His entire body was stiff, heavy, frozen in place. He didn't have the strength to lift his legs and kick his attackers away. He couldn't even move his arms, leaving him completely at their mercy. Instead, Sanji turned his head to the side, his eyes screwed shut as one Iron Fist after another took his turn with him. Sanji felt so helpless and pathetic. He hated himself. How could he have been so stupid and so…so weak as to let this happen? It was pointless to hope for rescue. Why would Luffy and the others want someone so worthless? If he couldn't even defend himself, of what use would he be to his crew?

As time and his torture dragged on, Sanji lost count of how many Iron Fists had used him. Some of them he recognized by what they did to him. Some preferred him on his back; others rolled Sanji onto his stomach. Some held his legs apart with a bruising grip, but still more used their knees so their hands would be free to roam. With every second of it, Sanji felt more of his will to live drain away. He wished it would end. Over and over, more times than he could keep track of, Sanji prayed that the earth would open and swallow him up so he could be alone.

And then, suddenly, the Iron Fists' relentless onslaught stopped. Sanji laid completely still, overwhelmed by confusion and pain. He couldn't understand why. What had made them leave? Then Sanji felt a long hand caress his cheek, his jaw line, and his neck. His breath caught in his throat as elongated fingers tucked his hair back behind his ear and he began to shiver when lips brushed against his skin.

"You promised me anything I wanted, remember Sanji-kun?"

Sanji tried to speak. He wanted to scream, but it was like his mouth had been glued shut. His entire body went rigid as Kuroda's hand traveled down his side.

"You know I've grown quite fond of you, Sanji-kun."

The fingers of Sanji's left hand curled into a weak fist as he felt the doctor's body weight settle on top of him and a hand work its way under the sheets. No. He couldn't do this. He couldn't simply lie still and let Kuroda have his way with him. He would rather die.

Reality began to fade in and out for Sanji as the doctor ground down against his body. Long fingers tickled at the soft flesh beneath his ear as a thumb swiped gently across his bottom lip. Then there was nothing but intense darkness, pain, and nausea that threatened to swallow up Sanji's very existence. Then Kuroda was back, his mouth sucking on the side of Sanji's neck while his hand worked him into hardness beneath the sheets. Then he was gone again.

This cycle continued for what felt like an eternity until Sanji no longer knew what was real. One moment, the doctor would be on top of him, holding him down and pleasuring him against his will; and the next he would be floating in a void, lost, alone, and in so much pain. Over and over, Sanji tried to cry or to call for help, but his voice wasn't working properly. Then, when he had grown tired of straining against his own stubborn vocal cords, he tried to curl in on himself, but his body wasn't working either. Instead, he was left stretched out on his back, his arms lying motionless on either side of him and his legs slightly spread. Sanji was completely vulnerable to anyone that wanted him, a fact that Doctor Kuroda was more than happy to take advantage of.

Then, finally, the universe seemed to settle on one constant state. Sanji still couldn't move, but he could feel a hard mattress beneath his body and a sheet pulled over him. Worse yet, there was someone lying in bed beside him, their body heat radiating through layers of bandages. Whoever it was had molded as closely as possible with him, even going as far as to throw an arm over his chest and a leg across his. They were cuddling with him. The very thought made Sanji's skin crawl. He wouldn't stand for it. The Iron Fists had taken too much from him. He was not about to be intimate with them.

Sanji clenched his jaw, his lips pulling away from his teeth in a silent snarl, and that's when he realized that he could speak again.

"Get off," he said, his voice sounding as small and pathetic as he felt.

The person on top of him didn't respond except to hold him more tightly. Sanji felt a nose nuzzle into his shoulder and something inside him snapped.

"GET OFF OF ME, YOU SHITTY SACK OF CRAP!"

Whoever had been trying to cuddle with him reacted swiftly and awkwardly, jumping up at the sound of his voice and tumbling out of the bed. Something tugged sharply at his arm as they fell, pulling at it painfully until it came free. Sanji shook with rage as he listened to them land with a dull thud on the floor and whine in pain. How dare any of those bastards complain after what they had done to him? Sanji heard another needy whine and ground his teeth together, ready to unleash a full on verbal assault.

"Sanjiiiiiiiii," came Luffy's voice from the floor beside his bed. "What was that for?"

The sound of his captain's voice stole Sanji's breath away. What was Luffy doing here? Hadn't that been an Iron Fist pirate just now?

"You said it was okay earlier…" Sanji could hear Luffy pout as he spoke.

"He was obviously having a nightmare!" yelled Nami from the other side of the bed. "Geez, Luffy, you can be so stupid sometimes!"

Sanji froze. Nami was here too?

"Dammit all, Luffy!" snapped Usopp from the side that Luffy had fallen from. "You pulled the IV out of his arm again!"

And Usopp?

"Oh no!" cried Chopper. Sanji heard hooves skitter across the floor as the reindeer rushed to his bedside. "I have to put that back in right away! We can't waste any of this medication!"

Sanji's mind was reeling. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper; what were they all doing here?

"Sanji-kun, are you okay?" asked Nami. He felt her fingers entwine with those on his left hand. He still couldn't move his right hand.

Sanji licked his lips. He was starting to feel a little sick. "Uh…Nami—Nami-san?"

"Sanji, do you know where you are?" asked Chopper.

"I'm…I'm…um…" Sanji winced as he felt the sharp point of a needle slide into his arm. "I'm, uh…"

Sanji's mind raced. He was missing something important here. This was definitely real. Everything felt more solid than it had before but not being able to see anything was confusing him. Sanji frowned as he racked his brain for information, some snippet of a memory that might tell him what was going on. There was nothing for a moment, and then it all rushed in on him. Waking up in the infirmary aboard the Navire; being reunited with his nakama; the realization that they were safe and sound and that he had been rescued. Three days had passed since then, according to the others. In that time he had learned that Sergeant Bailey had successfully escaped and found her way back to her crew. He had met her and as she stood beside his bed, Chopper had told him about how she had stepped in and saved them all when they had needed help the most. When Sanji had tried to thank her, she had stopped him.

"I owed you," she had said. "A Marine can't stay indebted to a pirate."

Sanji slowly relaxed one tense muscle at a time. He was safe. No one was going to hurt him here.

"I'm aboard the Navire," he said. "I've been here for…three days?"

"That's right," said Chopper, beginning to check his other vitals.

"Well, technically, it's been a week," said Usopp, drawing a harshly whispered reprimand from Nami. Sanji heard the rustle of Usopp shifting on his bed. "What? It's true! He's only been awake for three days."

Nami huffed an exasperated breath and Sanji was certain that she probably rolled her eyes at the longnose, even if he couldn't see it, but she didn't press the issue any further.

"Hey, Sanji! You got that faster than last time!" laughed Luffy. From the angle of his voice, it sounded like he had climbed into Usopp's bed to his right.

"Do you remember anything else?" asked Chopper.

"I'm, um…" Sanji frowned. This felt painfully familiar, almost like a routine. What was he missing? Then the answer began to creep up his throat. "I'm gonna be sick."

Sanji heard Chopper yelp and Usopp whine something along the lines of "Not again…" while Luffy chimed in that that wasn't the right answer. A pair of large, furry hands tipped him onto his side and pulled his pillow out of the way just as Sanji began to gag. Sanji tried to force his mouth closed, pinching his lips together in a thin line. He really didn't want to throw up today. But his body worked against him and he soon found himself coughing up the pitiful contents of his stomach. The rancid odor of pure bile assaulted his nose, causing wave after wave of nausea. Sanji's entire body shook as he vomited into the bedpan that had been thrust beneath his lips. Each heave rattled painfully through his broken ribs before settling in his empty stomach, constricting around it and reminding him of another time in his life when he hadn't been able to keep food inside. About halfway through, Sanji noticed that he had involuntarily begun to sob, a conditioned response that he had absolutely no control over.

"You're almost there, Sanji-kun," said Nami, and Sanji realized that she was helping him hold his head up, pinning his hair away from his face so it wouldn't get dirty. The sorrow in her voice made his whole body shudder and he threw up more bile into the bedpan. "Just a little more. You can do this."

Once Sanji was merely dry heaving, he heard Chopper pull away the bedpan and then press a cloth to the corner of his mouth to catch what little else came up. Nami let go of his head with one hand so she could run her fingers soothingly through his hair. The two of them held him this way until his nausea had passed, leaving him laying on his side panting for breath. Then Chopper pulled the cloth away and rolled Sanji back onto his back, placing an extra pillow under his head so he was propped up just a little more. As Sanji struggled to breathe normally again, he felt the doctor wipe sweat from his forehead and neck, and then excess drool and bile from his lips.

"Do you feel any better, Sanji-kun?" asked Nami, caressing his cheek beneath his bangs.

Sanji leaned into her touch, pinning her hand against the pillow, and nodded weakly.

"That's good," she said, her voice shaking a little.

Overwhelming guilt washed over Sanji as he felt Nami's other hand comb through his hair, now damp with sweat. Her fingertips ghosted over the edge of the bandage that covered his right eye, tracing the bruised skin that peeked out from under it as she brushed stray strands of hair from his face. He owed her so much more than this. He should have been dancing around her and lavishing her with praise. But the strain of being sick had been enough to completely exhaust him.

"So, did you remember what else was gonna happen today?" asked Luffy.

It took more effort than he cared to admit, but Sanji somehow managed to turn his head toward the sound of Luffy's voice, his cheek flopping against the pillow. He frowned. "No?"

Luffy laughed. "Chopper said that he was going to take out your stitches today!"

"Stitches?" asked Sanji. Which ones? He had so many; he didn't really grasp the significance. As far as he was concerned, it would just mean more discomfort. Just yesterday, Chopper and the no doubt lovely Nurse Mika had changed the dressings over his burned feet and the pain had been excruciating. Or had that been the day before? Sanji was still having trouble keeping events in order.

"The stitches around your eye, Sanji-kun," said Nami, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze.

"You're gonna be able to see us!" said Usopp, unable to contain his excitement.

A small smile crept onto Sanji's face. "Really? When?" He turned his face in the direction that he had last heard Chopper. "Soon?"

"I was going to do it as soon as you woke up," said Chopper from the opposite direction. "But I can wait, if you're still feeling sick. We had to switch your medication for an older kind and I know it makes you nauseous."

"No, you can do it now," said Sanji, trying his best not to sound too eager.

"Are you sure?" asked Chopper. Sanji heard him walk around the bed and the metallic clang of tools being placed on a tray. Sanji's mind immediately flashed back to his torture at Saul's hands and the sounds of his knives and pliers falling against the metal table, and he involuntarily flinched away from the sound. He barely stifled a yelp when he felt a small hoof touch his arm.

"Sanji-kun, what's wrong?" He felt Nami lean against the bed, making the mattress sink.

"It's…" Sanji swallowed hard. The inside of his mouth still tasted horrible and the mere thought of Saul had brought on a whole new wave of nausea. Sanji noticed that he was shivering. "I just…remembered something."

"We can wait," offered Chopper. "This isn't something that—"

"No," said Sanji. He turned his head to face Chopper again. Another shiver rattled through Sanji's body. He had grown too accustomed to begging. "Please? I want to see you guys."

Nami gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze and he heard Usopp and Luffy shift in the bed beside his.

"Do it, Chopper," ordered Luffy.

Chopper was quiet for a minute and Sanji was pretty sure that the tension would kill him.

"Okay," the doctor finally relented. "This will be a little uncomfortable, though. I'm counting on you to tell me if you're feeling sick or afraid or anything."

Sanji clenched his jaw and nodded.

"I'm serious, Sanji," said Chopper. "This isn't the time to try to act tough. Promise me."

Nami squeezed his fingers again and this time Sanji did his best to return her grip. "I promise."

"Good." Sanji could hear the sad smile in Chopper's voice. "I'm going to remove the bandage, then. You're going to feel a tug. That's just the tape."

The hard smooth touch of a hoof brushed against Sanji's skin and he couldn't help but to hold his breath. The tape stung a little as it pulled at his bruised skin, but Sanji was concentrating on the feeling of the pressure that had held his right eye closed lifting. The air in the infirmary felt pleasantly cool as it finally came in contact with his healing flesh and it was all that Sanji could do to patiently keep his eye closed until Chopper had completely removed the bandage.

"Okay, Sanji," said Chopper. "You can open your eye, now."

Sanji was suddenly nervous. What if he opened his eye and his friends weren't there? What if this had all been another dream and rather than a Navy infirmary he found himself back in his cell? Sanji almost didn't want to do it. Better to be trapped in darkness than learn that his rescue had been yet another hallucination. Sanji took a deep breath, frustrated with his own cowardice, and opened his eye.

Bright light immediately assaulted his vision. Sanji had to blink several times before his surroundings came into focus. The first thing that he noticed was that the ceiling of the Navire's infirmary was almost the same color as that of the galley aboard the Sunny; which was a…strange thing to think. Chopper was leaning over him with a serious expression on his face that broke into a relieved smile as Sanji managed to focus on him.

"It's still really bruised, but the swelling has gone away," said Chopper, leaning in close. "How is your vision?"

Sanji couldn't help the stunned look his face, his mouth falling open. "You're really here."

"Of course we are. Where else would we be?"

Sanji turned and found Luffy grinning widely at him. The Straw Hat captain was seated cross-legged at the end of the bed beside his, his hands planted firmly on his ankles. He had a few small bandages on his arms and legs and a large square one on his forehead, but those did nothing to dampen his sunny disposition. Usopp took up the rest of the narrow bed. The sniper was leaning against several pillows and had his sketchpad and pencils in his lap. Sanji was also quick to notice the massive padded brace that encased Usopp's left knee. He wanted to ask him about it, but then he remembered Nami.

Shifting slightly on the mattress, Sanji slowly faced her. Nami gave him a shaky smile as he finally looked at her and Sanji thought that there might have been tears in her eyes.

"You're as radiant as I remembered, Nami-san," said Sanji. "Words can't even describe."

Nami wiped at her eyes with one hand, being sure to keep the other clasped firmly around Sanji's. "You idiot."

Sanji finally smiled.

"Okay, Sanji, are you ready?" asked Chopper. "I need you to turn back this way so I can reach your stitches."

Part of Sanji wanted to refuse. He could have kept staring at Nami for hours, days even. Yes, some of it was because she was his smart, beautiful, talented, angelic Nami-swan, but mostly he wanted the extra reassurance that she was safe. After everything that she had been through—the torture she had endured on his behalf—to see her safe and relatively unharmed was a huge comfort. Sanji wanted this moment to last for as long as possible. All too soon, though, Nami lost her patience.

"Geez, Sanji-kun," she muttered, rolling her eyes. She gave his head a gentle nudge with her free hand, turning it so he was looking at the ceiling once more. "Let Chopper do his job."

Sanji immediately turned so he was looking at her again. "But, Nami-san—"

Nami deadpanned at him and wordlessly turned his head toward Chopper. Sanji knew that if the circumstances had been different and he had been healthier, that he probably would have earned himself a slap to the back of the head by now. Just the thought of it made a dopey grin spread across Sanji's face. Nami heaved an exasperated sigh and Luffy laughed.

"You guys are so weird," grumbled Usopp. "I swear, I'm the only normal one in this crew."

"Oi, don't call Nami-san weird!" snapped Sanji, trying to sound angry though his smile betrayed him. This felt so good; so normal. He tried to turn his head to admonish Usopp properly, only to be stopped by a gentle touch from Chopper. The poor little doctor was still intent upon doing his job. Sanji suppressed a laugh. "You're the one that's weird, shitty longnose."

Usopp must have made some sort of face at Sanji, because Luffy fell into hysterics and even Nami began to laugh. What little tension that had been in the room broke and soon Chopper had joined in, falling off of his stool in a fit of giggling. Sanji's grin widened. This was the most active that any of them had been since he had woken up. Laughter bubbled up inside him, the sound almost foreign to his ears, but he couldn't stop. The relief that he felt was overwhelming and to be able to joke around with his friends was something he had thought permanently lost. His lungs and his ribs ached from the strain of laughing, but he didn't care. He could bear this pain.

"Okay, but seriously," Chopper finally said, climbing back up onto the stool he had positioned beside the bed and wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Let me get a good look at this."

Sanji had to take several deep breaths, but he managed to calm down, though his breathing was still a little labored. "Okay."

"Good," said Chopper. "Now relax and look at the ceiling." The reindeer prodded gently at the cut that ringed the outside of Sanji's eye. "Looks like some of the stitches scabbed over a little. That's pretty normal. I just need to soften them with some ointment and then I'll start taking them out."

Sanji nodded and he heard the others' laughter quiet as well. He tried his best to concentrate on the wooden ceiling of the infirmary, but found himself watching Chopper from the corner of his eye instead. The doctor carefully soaked a cotton swab in some sort of lotion and then gently applied it to Sanji's healing cut. Chopper's touch was soothing, in a way, even if the lotion stung a little. Flesh that had felt tight from healing seemed to loosen a little as it was moistened and all too soon, Chopper was ready to move onto the next step. Something metallic flashed in Sanji's peripheral vision and he immediately saw Saul's pliers and suddenly the pain and fear that he had thought gone for the moment rushed in on him and Sanji felt his finger nails being pulled one by one all over again. The warm light of the infirmary darkened and the wooden ceiling disappeared, replaced by stone and harsh lighting. Then his mattress and blanket were gone and Sanji found himself back on that metal table, unable to move because he was strapped down. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear Nami's voice and his heart sank because that meant that Saul had her too. He flinched, his whole body jerking violently and painfully, when a hand squeezed at his.

"Sanji-kun!"

Nami was calling for him. What was that bastard doing to her? Self-loathing snuck into Sanji's heart and gripped it hard. How could he have let this happen?

"Sanji-kun!" Nami continued to plead. "Everything is okay. Sanji-kun, open your eyes."

Open his—when had he closed his eyes? Sanji suddenly realized that the hand gripping his was Nami's, that she had never let go. The thing under him was the hard mattress of an infirmary bed, not a metal table in an underground torture chamber. That hadn't been Saul wielding knives and pliers, but Chopper with sterile surgical tools. He was safe. He was with his friends. No one was going to hurt him here.

Sanji took a deep breath that made his broken ribs scream at him and opened his eye. He found his friends watching him with open concern. Chopper looked like he might cry at any moment.

"I'm—I'm really sorry, guys," said Sanji. He noticed that he was shivering and fought to regain control of his body from his subconsciousness. "Seriously, I didn't mean to—"

"No, I'm the one that should be sorry," whined Chopper. "I didn't think about what I was doing. I didn't mean to scare you. Please don't be mad, Sanji."

"I'm not mad, Chopper," said Sanji, doing his best to force a reassuring smile. He didn't think it was working. "It's not your fault. Let's keep going, okay?"

Chopper sniffled and nodded, picking up his tools from the tray just outside of Sanji's vision once again. Sanji's heart immediately began to race.

"Um, Chopper?" he asked. Sanji swallowed hard, trying to stay calm. "Could you maybe show me what you're going to use? I keep…" Sanji had to take a deep breath. "…I keep picturing something else and it's…" He really didn't want to say it. Sanji wanted everything to go back to the way it had been a few minutes ago when they had all been laughing. He took another deep breath and let it out in an exhausted sigh. "…it's just…I'm really scared, Chopper."

Nami's grip around his fingers tightened even more and Sanji heard Luffy climb out of Usopp's bed and then felt his weight make the mattress dip as the Straw Hat captain settled between his feet. Sanji spared him the briefest glance before looking back at Chopper. The young doctor was staring at him with a strangely unreadable expression on his face. At first Sanji thought that his friend might be upset with him, then he realized that Chopper was likely running through the long list of possible things he may have done to accidentally hurt him. Sanji could feel the guilt rolling off the reindeer in waves.

"Chopper?"

"Yeah, of course," said Chopper, jerking slightly as he snapped back into the moment. Reaching to the side and out of Sanji's line of vision, he picked up his tools and held them up for Sanji to see. "I'm going to use these tweezers to lift the stitches away from your skin," he said, giving the tweezers a small shake, "and I'm going to use these to cut them just below the knot."

Sanji immediately fixated on the small pair of cutters. He recognized the tools in Chopper's hooves, of course. He had used similar ones on several occasions before the doctor had joined their crew; most notably to remove the stiches around Zoro's ankles after Little Garden. But the cutters looked like something else too, something far more sinister. Before Sanji knew it, his heart was racing again and he was running the pad of his thumb over his painfully empty fingernail beds.

"Sanji-kun, he doesn't have to do this right now," said Nami, laying her other hand over his and gently prying apart his grip. She laced all of her fingers through his so he couldn't do anymore damage by worrying at the ends. "Right, Chopper? This can wait."

Chopper nodded and put his tools down. "I don't even have to put the bandage back on, so you can still see us."

"But I want to," insisted Sanji, a slight tremor creeping into his voice.

If he couldn't handle this now, then how would he ever get back to normal? Sanji felt an involuntary tear drip from the corner of his eye, stinging the cut beside it as it rolled down his cheek and towards his ear. He was all at once upset, frightened, and frustrated. Something this small shouldn't have been causing him to panic, especially not when his friends were there with him, but try as he might, he couldn't make his racing heart slow. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop picturing himself back on Saul's table.

"I really want you to keep going, it's just…I keep…"

Sanji wanted to stop them, but once again he was powerless to do anything. He didn't want to hurt his friends, but the words tumbled out of his mouth anyway.

"…he had all these—these tools and…it hurt. It hurt so much. I couldn't even think straight. Nothing felt real, but then it was too real and…"

Sanji tried to concentrate on the wooden ceiling again, but it had gone blurry. He realized that his entire body was shaking.

"He kept talking and talking and he wouldn't shut up, but I couldn't…I couldn't say anything. And then he had these—these pliers and…and…"

He could feel the weight of his friends watching him and he thought he might suffocate under it, but he still couldn't stop himself. Nami was holding his hand tightly enough that it hurt and Chopper was leaning against his other arm. The bandage over Sanji's left eye was uncomfortably wet and he was pretty sure that his right ear was completely waterlogged from the tears that kept falling into it. He felt so weak and pathetic. All he wanted was to be normal again.

"And then he started to—I swear, I thought he was pulling my fingers off. How could I cook for all of you without—without my…my…"

The muscles in his right arm spasmed as he instinctively tried to lift it to cover his eyes. Sanji felt so ashamed. He was supposed to be one of the strongest members of the best pirate crew in the world and yet here he was, whimpering and crying and too weak to even move one arm. It was only gauze and cotton that encased his hand and fingers, stabilizing delicate bones as they healed, but his hand may as well have been locked inside of a lead weight for how heavy it felt. He arched his back off the bed in an effort to gain some leverage, but that didn't work either. Instead, it just made him more exhausted and upset. Sanji felt another hot tear drip into his ear.

"Shit."

Sanji could feel the others' eyes on him, all of them watching him, unsure of what to do as he fell apart. He wasn't the confident, smart-mouthed cook that they had once known, and that thought alone only made Sanji feel worse.

"You know that he's dead, right?" Usopp finally asked, breaking the tense silence after several minutes.

Sanji turned his head toward Usopp's bed, silently noting that Chopper scooted to the side so he could see him. He blinked dumbly at the sniper. "What?"

"That mechanic guy," said Usopp, "Saul or whatever. He's dead. Zoro killed him."

"He cut his head off," Nami added quietly.

"And not just that," continued Usopp. "Zoro tore down that whole shitty room. That bastard is buried under so much rubble that the Marines can't even get to his body."

Sanji took in the new information quietly. He knew that his crewmates had been the ones to fight and defeat the Iron Fists, but he hadn't known any of the details. He didn't even know which Iron Fists had died and which ones were rotting in the hold of the Navire, awaiting their transfer to Impel Down. Sanji had wanted to ask, but had held back; both in a vain attempt to move on more quickly and because part of him was afraid of the answer he would receive. But to know that Saul was dead and buried and far out of reach…

Sanji's panicked heart rate finally began to slow. He took a deep breath, expanding his chest as far as his bandages would allow, and then took another. When he finally looked at Chopper again, he found the doctor still holding the tweezers and cutters, though their presence no longer caused the same panic.

"Okay, Chopper," said Sanji after a third deep, calming breath. He faced the ceiling once again and did his best to pretend that he was aboard the Sunny, safe and sound and at home. "I'm ready."

"Okay."

Chopper hesitated for the briefest moment and then Sanji felt the slight tug of a stitch being lifted away from his skin. Then he heard a small snip and the first of many was gone.

Hidden amongst the dense jungle foliage at the edge of the black beach, Kuroda waited. He had been playing cat and mouse with the Marines for the last several days since the Straw Hats had invaded and stolen Sanji away. It was a small miracle that he hadn't been captured and arrested yet. The Nameless Island was completely infested with Marines. They clogged the beach, the scratch of their shovels digging into the sand filling the humid air from sun-up to sun-down. They were excavating the bodies of Standish's past victims, digging them up one by one and working to identify them. At the beginning, he had watched in mild amusement as they had struggled with the task, trying desperately to compare the remains to missing posters. Their job had become significantly easier, however, since the discovery of Kuroda's files.

After Zoro and Nami had found him hiding inside the compound, the doctor was having greater and greater difficulty getting back inside. Upon learning that he was alive and still very much a threat, the Marines had doubled their security around and inside of the compound. Kuroda could barely manage to sneak in for a break from the unrelenting heat, let alone for food and clean water. The one time that he had managed to get in for more supplies, he had found his office ransacked and every file he had ever kept about past patients missing. He had nothing left now.

Kuroda huffed an irritated breath into the sticky heat, the inside of his mouth and his fingers itching for one of the cigarettes tucked into the pocket of his filthy lab coat. He instinctively reached for them, but stopped before his fingers touched the crumpled box, choosing instead to wrap his arm around his aching middle. He knew that his injuries were healing poorly. The medication that he had stolen from his own office and the clean bandages that Nami had retrieved for him had only been a temporary fix. He needed prolonged treatment, or at least access to the supplies to treat himself. At this point, the nicotine from his cigarettes were all that he had left to distract him from the pain and he needed to conserve the few that he had left.

Well, there was one other distraction that worked to keep the ache in his ribs and the slow burning sting of his open wounds at bay. Sanji.

Anymore, the blond pirate was ever present in Kuroda's mind. He had completely given up on trying to banish Sanji from his thoughts, ever since that moment in the cell. Just thinking about it sent a pleasant shiver through Kuroda's body. One of his hands reached up to grasp at the spot on his shoulder where Sanji had nuzzled into it for comfort and had begged him for release. And where he had made his promise.

Anything.

Kuroda shivered again. If he thought hard enough, he could almost feel Sanji's heated flesh against his. He had promised him anything. Anything he wanted. Anything in the world. Anything in exchange for relief. Well, he had given Sanji more than that. He had saved his life; he had saved him numerous times, in fact. And Doctor Kuroda had decided that in return, he wanted everything. He wanted Sanji; all of him, for the rest of their lives. He had never felt about anyone like he did about him. Kuroda was certain that Sanji must feel the same. They had shared too many moments together for him not to.

But how to get him? Sanji was currently trapped aboard the Navy ship—so he had gathered by listening in on the conversations of passing soldiers—surrounded by Marines and the other Straw Hats. There was no way that he could sneak past so much security, get Sanji, and leave unscathed.

The Straw Hats' ship though…perhaps if he could get Sanji there, then he would only have to get past the pirates. Kuroda was certain that they would be more lax aboard their own ship. Once they let down their guard, stealing Sanji away would be easy. Not to mention that once Sanji was no longer in the Navy infirmary, that the Marines would almost certainly leave. He imagined that they intended to move Sanji eventually, but he needed to find a way to expedite the process. Kuroda didn't think that he could wait much longer.

"Man, I'm getting tired of this hell hole," complained a young Marine, wiping sweat from his neck as he and another walked painfully close to where Kuroda was hiding. The doctor ducked down, shrinking as far back into the undergrowth as he could.

"You're telling me," said the other, fanning himself with his hat. "This place is like something out of a nightmare. Can you imagine if Bailey-san had ended up here?"

The first Marine shivered. "Let's not even talk about it."

"Right."

"Well," said the Marine, "I guess at least being out here is better than guard duty on the ship. I hear that Standish is a real demanding bastard."

The Marine with the hat wrinkled his nose with disgust. "You know, I don't get it. The Straw Hats killed almost all of them. Why they would leave him of all people alive is beyond me."

The rest of the Marines' conversation fell on deaf ears. Kuroda's heart was beating in his throat, a plan rapidly taking shape in his mind. Of course. Standish and a handful of others had survived and were being held prisoner aboard the Navire. While sneaking off the ship with someone that was critically injured would be nearly impossible, getting on board and below deck into the hold would be fairly easy. Kuroda still remembered the basic layout of a Navy ship and knew that their brigs weren't often heavily guarded, especially if their prisoners were as bad a shape as the Straw Hats had left the Iron Fists.

As the two Marines begrudgingly left the shade to return to their labor on the beach, Kuroda silently slipped further into the shadows of the jungle. Killing his surviving crewmates would be just the right catalyst to urge the Straw Hats to return Sanji to their own ship. He just had to gather the right supplies and everything would fall into place. A few days, that was all he needed.

Kuroda let a wide smile curl at his lips. Just a few days and a few more dead pirates, and Sanji would finally be his.

Not too much left to go now! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! 3