The rest of the week passed pretty uneventfully after that with Zoro seeming a little happier than usual which never failed to make Sanji smile.
It was clear that the others were warming up to him too. The awkwardness had gone and even though Nami still didn't look too sold on him, she was still making an effort to not purposely leave him out at school.
As Saturday arrived he organised to meet up with Zoro at the usual spot knowing full well that even with a knowledge of the area the mosshead would have no chance of finding the docks on his own.
"Oyyy!"
Zoro turned to him before waving.
"So are you actually going to tell me what's at the docks?"
"You'll see soon enough." Sanji replied as they rounded the corner to the industrial quarter of the prefecture by the waterfront, the docks coming into view in the distance along with a line of ships in the harbour.
"Wow!" Zoro's eye widened.
"Yeah, you see that huge ship over there?"
He nodded.
"Tom-sensei built it at the dockyard."
"Woooooooah!"
Unsurprisingly Franky had beat them there, or more likely was already there to begin with. He was currently in the process of checking the anchor of the huge vessel.
"Hey cyborg!"
Iceburg called from further down the dock.
"Yeah?" Franky replied.
"Get your ass over here and test this thing!" Paulie added.
"Oh hey guys!" The purple-haired brother noticed.
"Hiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Sanji and Zoro both jumped.
"LUFFY!" He scorned.
But his friend just chuckled as he ran off down the dock.
Sanji shook his head.
"He's the only person I know who can still manage to deafen a deaf person."
Mosshead burst out laughing.
"So what is it?" Zoro asked as they watched the brothers getting ready to cast off.
"It's a boat." Luffy helpfully supplied.
"I know it's a boat!"
"It's a sailing boat and a fast one at that, but it's designed so Franky can operate it from his chair." Paulie explained. "Watch, you'll see."
"Let's goooo!"
"Woo!"
Franky smiled as he opened up the sail, the wind hitting the material with a 'WHOOSH' before they were off.
Zoro noticed Tom-sensei stood on the deck of the huge ship looking out with an expression of pride.
"Franky's come a long way since he was a kid, he and Iceburg should be proud of what they've accomplished over the years." Paulie smiled softly.
They had to wait around a while before the rest of the Straw Hats arrived. Sanji ended up giving him a tour of the dockyard along with Luffy and Usopp who had shown up a few minutes prior.
"You ever been on a ship before, Zoro?"
He shook his head.
"Cool, then you can be my First Mate!" Luffy grinned.
"WHAT?!" Exclaimed Usopp. "That's not how that works!"
The straw hat kid shrugged.
"So you guys have your own ship?"
"Yeah, Franky built it with Kaya for a competition!"
"HEY!" A voice called in the distance.
They turned to see Vivi and Kaya waving as they ran down the dock.
"You got room for two more?"
Luffy chuckled.
"Of course!"
Half-an-hour later and they were all losing the will to live.
"How long does it take?" Usopp grumbled.
"Hey guys!"
Zoro turned to see Nami, Robin, Chopper, and Brook making their way over.
"THANK GOD…"
"Let me guess who you were waiting for." Sanji began.
"It could have been any of-." The ginger-haired girl began.
"It was Nami." Everyone else spoke up.
"HEY!"
Luffy rushed to his feet.
"Let's go already!"
"Right!"
Sanji hung back with him as the followed behind the group of Straw Hats who seemed very eager about whatever was in store.
"You excited?" The blonde asked sarcastically.
Zoro smirked.
"This…"
Luffy pushed open the doors of the dockyard.
"…is the Going Merry."
The ship was bigger than Zoro imagined and yet still practically just a converted trawler boat. It had what appeared to be a lower cabin below deck and a wide open back, which they would definitely need to considering the number of them.
A rather crude sheep was attached to the front as a masthead. As his eye caught sight of the flag however he couldn't help the laughter he burst out into.
"Hey, don't laugh at my flag!" Luffy scorned.
"LUFFY! Why did I bother painting a new one if you're not going to use it?" Usopp walked over to a crate and pulled out a skull and crossbones flag with a straw hat.
"Ohhhhh…" He grumbled.
One flag change later and they were ready to sail.
"Brook!" Luffy called.
"Yes, Captain?"
"Play us off?"
"Certainly."
Zoro had been wondering what was in the case and soon got his answer as Brook began to play a tune on his violin.
Nami and Vivi were at the front of the ship with the ginger-haired girl acting as the navigator and Vivi steering.
Robin and Chopper were at the side of the ship, her arms wrapped around him as he leant back against her, the two of them watching the brothers in the distance. He could hear Chopper excitedly pointing out birds and fish as they passed with Robin's encyclopaedic knowledge giving him a name for each of them.
Usopp and Kaya were dancing together to the music giggling.
Luffy was on top of the cabin roof, which didn't seem overly safe, but considering the others weren't bothered this obviously wasn't the first time he'd done it.
Which left Sanji at the rear sat on the wooden bench as he puffed away at his cigarette looking out to sea.
Zoro took a seat next to him.
"So… First Mate of the King of the Pirates already, must be an honour." The blonde teased.
He smirked.
"King of the Pirates?"
Sanji shook his head.
"Honestly, don't ask."
Zoro felt something rough as his hand came to rest on the wooden panelling. Furrowing an eyebrow he soon realised that three names had been carved into it, each in their own style.
'ACE' 'SABO' 'LUFFY'
He obviously knew who Luffy was, and he'd met Sabo briefly, but Ace?
Sanji seemed to notice where his attention had travelled.
"Luffy did that with the two of them when we sailed out on this thing for the first time. Franky and Kaya threatened to throw the three of them overboard for it."
"Is Ace another one of the Straw Hats?"
He noticed a change in the blonde before he continued.
"Nah Ace wasn't a Straw Hat, Sabo isn't either, but they are Luffy's brothers, which I think you knew… well… for Sabo at least." Sanji took a drag and blew out a cloud of smoke. "Ace died four years ago pretty suddenly, it took all of us by surprise. One day he was at school completely fine, then apparently he got pretty sick overnight and ran up a fever. It got so high that they rushed him to hospital but his body couldn't fight it."
Zoro was stunned.
"Ace was always a little sickly, he had a mountain of shit that went wrong he was born and it all just kept adding up. You wouldn't think the guy was fighting anything at all when you talked to him though, just imagine all Luffy's energy on someone slightly older and you have Ace. He was amazing and it's just weird that he isn't around anymore."
He didn't know what to say.
"That's why Luffy was so freaked when he found you."
Because of that stupid fever he had from being out in the sun for all those days.
"He didn't mention it."
Sanji shook his head with a sigh.
"He wouldn't; Sabo talks about him from time to time but Luffy rarely does, him and Ace were real close, he looked up to him a lot."
"Fuck."
"Yup."
"That's awful."
The blonde looked over to Luffy sat on the cabin roof.
"He's a lot better than he used to be, the poor guy was a wreck when it first happened. He stopped showing up to school and all of our attempts to try and invite him out with us never worked, Luffy just wanted to be alone."
"So what changed?" He asked softly.
Sanji smirked a little around his cigarette.
"His Grandpa came back from the Marines and basically flung him back at us."
Zoro smiled.
"The teachers were really good about it and he eventually started opening up more and more through the rest of the year until we saw the old Luffy coming back slowly but surely."
"He was lucky to have you guys."
The blonde flicked away his cigarette before a soft smile came to his face.
"He's nakama, you do that for them."
"CROSS THE GOLD AND SILVER SEAS, THE SALTY SPRAY PUTS US AT EASE. DAY AND NIGHT TO OUR DELIGHT THE VOYAGE NEVER ENDS! YO-HOHO-HO, YO-HOHO-HOOOOOO!"
Zoro walked past the singing idiots to find the cook below deck making hot chocolate with a really old looking kettle.
He tapped him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention before the blonde turned. A smile came to his face at recognition.
'SING NO YOU?'
Sanji pulled a face as he shook his head.
"I'm sure you can remember how bad I was back in choir."
"And? They aren't exactly pitch perfect either."
"I wouldn't know."
The reply threw Zoro for a loop despite it being incredibly obvious.
He probably just assumes everyone can sing better than he can.
"What I meant was you shouldn't let it stop you."
Sanji seemed a little on-edge.
"I would just sound bad."
"So what, I can't sing either, doesn't mean I won't if I feel like it everyone else be damned?"
"I know how the verses go, I've just never known how to do the chorus, I've never been able to read what they're singing on that part, their mouths make a weird shape, it's almost like they're saying nothing even though I know they're saying something."
"It's…" Zoro began to sign. 'Y-O H-O H-O H-O'
Sanji furrowed an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Ooooh, so like a pirate?"
"Exactly."
"Could…" The blonde began before shaking his head. "Nevermind."
"Do you want me to sing it so you can read how it goes?"
"You don't have to, I just-."
Zoro reached out and gently took hold of Sanji's hand before placing it against his neck. He then sang the yo-hoho-ho's they were all still screaming upstairs.
The blonde seemed fascinated before he nodded.
"Wait, so it's; yo-hoho-ho, yo-hoho-hoooo!"
He beamed.
"Yeah, you got it! Nice, dude!"
Sanji blushed.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
The kettle began to whistle.
'KETTLE'
"Ohh!"
The blonde quickly turned back and removed it from the heat.
'THANK YOU'
Suddenly there was an almighty clunk from the bottom of the ship which sent him flying into Sanji. His friend hit the wall as Zoro tried to find his footing.
"Shit, sorry."
Offering a hand he helped the blonde back to his feet.
"Uh oh." He heard Usopp voiced from the top deck.
A hiss followed before Sanji's eyes widened.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me?!" Zoro shook his head as he saw the water pouring in.
"AHHHHHHHH WE'RE SINKING!" Nami, Chopper, and Usopp screamed.
"Will you three chill?!" He shouted up.
"Okay so here's the problem…" The blonde began as he explained their situation.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOUR OF YOU CAN'T SWIM?!" Zoro exclaimed, back on the top deck now. "Why the fuck are you on a boat then?!"
"Because it's fun!" Luffy chuckled.
He scrubbed a hand down his face.
Sanji, who had been working away bailing below deck, turned to him and signed.
'EYE'
He spotted what was in his hand.
"Watch your eyes!" He shouted before the blonde released the flare, the red trail soaring up into the sky leaving behind a cloud of smoke.
"Guys… not to alarm anyone but I'm pretty tall and it's already up to my waist down here." Brook commented.
"Do we have life jackets?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah."
There was a but coming wasn't there?...
"…But?"
"I think we forgot to put them on-board."
The others looked equally as furious.
"YOU WHAT?!"
"And what do you mean 'we'?!"
"Luffy they're supposed to stay on the ship permanently!" Vivi shouted.
"I KNOW THAT!"
"Guys…"
Zoro looked to the water.
"Yeah we're going down, we're gonna' have to jump."
"But I can't…" Chopper cried.
A wave hit the side of the ship drenching them.
"Fuck, that is not what we need right now." He spat out the seawater before turning to Nami. "How far out are we?"
"A couple of miles."
"Great, no wonder it's getting choppy."
"Zoro we can't jump into that, we'll drown." She replied.
"We don't have much of a choice!" He looked between. "So who can't swim?"
Four of them put their hands up.
"Okay, Luffy, Robin, Chopper, Brook."
He then counted who was left.
Six including himself.
Not everyone would have the strength to keep someone afloat though, or bring them up to the surface if they went down.
The waves were against them so keeping themselves alive was going to be enough of a problem without the ones who couldn't swim.
An incredibly large wave hit the ship sending it tipping harshly to the side.
"Woooooooah!" He heard someone cry out.
His eye widened as one second Sanji was beside him and the next he was gone, an impact spot in the water indicating just what had happened.
"SANJI!"
"Crap!" Zoro cursed.
He was sprinting before he even had time to think.
"ZORO!"
He hit the water hard and fuck was it cold. The sea was dark as he dived down in search of the blonde. It luckily didn't take long to spot him.
Reaching out his hand he couldn't be more thankful when it was gripped tight before they made their way back to the surface.
Bursting through the water he gasped for air before propelling Sanji up with him.
"Are you okay?"
The blonde nodded.
"I'm fine." He coughed.
Confident that was actually safe Zoro looked back to the ship.
"You have to jump!"
"WHAT?! NO!" Chopper panicked.
"You'll be okay, we've got you." Sanji called up in reassurance through a very battered throat.
"Nami, you take Robin!" Vivi organised.
"Right. Ready?"
The two girls jumped in.
Sanji quickly checked they were okay.
Usopp didn't look too sold on the idea of leaving Kaya but she seemed fine. He took a breath.
"Okay fine… Luffy get over here!" He wrapped his arm around him. "And hold onto your damn hat, the last thing we need is to have to search for the thing."
"Let's go!"
'SPLOOSH!'
They both spluttered as they hit the water.
"AHHHHHH, IT'S COLD!" Usopp screamed.
Luffy chuckled before slipping a little.
"LUFFY!"
Usopp grabbed him before he could fall beneath the water.
The straw hat kid's expression changed to a serious one before he offered a nod to his friend.
"Thank you."
Zoro looked back up at the deck.
"Okay Kaya, grab Chopper."
"Right!" She nodded. "Sorry about this but it's for your own good."
"WHAT?!"
She grabbed the kid and threw them both off.
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Which just left Vivi and Brook.
But Brook really didn't look so good.
"Brook, it's okay…" He heard Vivi attempt to reassure from the deck.
Zoro heard Sanji gasp beside him and soon saw why.
The front end had submerged meaning the rear would begin to rise.
"YOU NEED TO JUMP NOW!"
He turned back to the blonde.
"When this ship goes down it could suck us down with it, you need to get everyone away."
Sanji's eyes widened.
"What about you?!"
His voice was getting harder and harder to understand, Zoro guessed it was because of fear and panic.
"Just do it!"
He nodded determinedly before beginning to corral them away.
"BROOK!"
The taller kid threw the strap of his violin case across his body before closing his eyes. He took a deep breath.
"Okay, here goes…"
'CRACK!'
Zoro gasped.
The ship had split straight down the middle.
And then…
Brook made a grab for Vivi but wasn't fast enough to catch her.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"VIVI!" Both he and Brook screamed as they watched their friend fall down through the tear at the centre of the ship.
Sanji was rushing over.
"GET BROOK, I'LL GET VIVI!" Zoro instructed.
"BROOK JUMP!" He heard the blonde scream before he once again dived below the water.
Unlike the last time the conditions were far from ideal. He thought it had been dark before but now as he dived below the ship had blocked out all the sunlight available leaving him in almost complete darkness. With visibility so low it was becoming increasingly harder to make out anything, or more specifically, find their friend.
Come on Vivi, please be okay. Please.
He could hear the ship creaking above them as it continued to sink lower and lower.
And then he spotted her.
She was stuck against a section of what had been the cabin below deck.
The water was red beside her.
No, no, no, no, no!
Taking her in his arms he refused to acknowledge the almost dead weight as he fought his way back to the surface against the current created by the sinking ship.
The first fucking time I go on a boat and it friggin' sinks!
He could see the sun again, or at least it's reflection on the surface.
Just a little further.
Hold on, Vivi, just hold on…
"GUHHHHHHHHHH!" He practically absorbed the air around him as he broke through.
"VIVI!" Nami screamed.
Sanji looked horrified as he quickly took her from him.
Zoro took the chance to get his breath back.
"FRANKY!" Robin screamed.
He turned to see the two brother's boat approaching.
"THEY'RE OVER HERE!" They heard Iceburg shout.
"DAD HURRY!" Franky's voice followed.
"…moss… sshead… ead…"
His eye flickered.
God he was tired.
"ZORO!"
...