Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Merry Christmas and Blessed Yuletide! Here's an early Christmas present for everyone. I was doing a good bit of work on this chapter, a few starts and restarts, but I finally got it finished. All I Wanted is also getting updated tonight, so if anyone wants to read that, please do so at your leisure. This chapter is a good bit longer than some others, and I hope it will prove worth the wait.
And now, I present to you Chapter 15. Happy Reading!
~SZSZSZSZ~
Reunited with a Promise
Sanji finishes up the last of his takoyaki and discards the box, wandering through the Grove until he reaches another part of the shore. An old man stands near the ocean's edge in a state of total panic while behind him is a tall black-haired man, who comforts a crying toddler in his arms. "Shh, shh," the second man coos, patting the girl's back while she sobs on his shoulder. "Mama's okay. I promise."
Sanji inwardly gasps.
If this girl's mother is missing, then that means there's a lady in danger.
He hurries up to the man and grabs his shoulder, but the words die on his lips as the man turns, familiar gold eyes staring down at him. "It's you…." he murmurs.
"Hello, Sanji," Vlad greets, still bouncing the girl in his arms. "I see you've got a new look." He looks him over and nods. "It suits you."
"I…." From the side of his eye, he sees the old man bordering on a full-out breakdown. Thankful for an excuse to escape, he goes to him and asks, "Is everything all right? What's going on?" He already knows, of course, thanks to Vlad's earlier words, but the old man seems to know more.
"I can't believe this is happening!"
"What is it?"
"The young man who was here before! I was on my way out to go fishing, and he'd asked to come along! I told him to wait on my boat while I went to get my equipment, but when I came back, he'd fallen asleep on a pirate ship! I tried to wake him, but the ship headed off to Fishman Island!"
Sanji narrows his eyes.
Why does this sound so familiar?
He shrugs his pack off one shoulder and digs around inside it, pulling out the rolled up wanted posters. He opens them enough to reveal Zoro's face and shows it to the man. "Is this what he looks like?"
"Ah, yes! That's him!"
Before either of them can speak further, the ocean's surface shoots up like a geyser as a massive ship bursts through, having been sliced cleanly in half. A huge crowd gathers nearby, each person trying to figure out what's happened.
"Was the ship not coated well enough?" one asks.
"Then, the pressure must've crushed it," another suggests.
"But it looks like it's been cut," a third person says.
"That's impossible!" a fourth shouts. "There's no way anyone could've done that!"
"You bastard!" comes the pirate captain's voice from one half of the devastated galleon. "You've destroyed our dream!"
Shusui's black blade shines as the water gets shaken off. "It's your bad luck I ended up on your ship," a familiar voice declares from the other half. "Blame fate, not me."
Sanji spots the greenet in an instant.
Zoro coughs out a mouthful of water as he slides Shusui back into its sheath. "Looks like I got on the wrong ship."
"No shit, dumbass," Sanji grumbles.
Zoro hops down from the galleon onto the shore, giving an apologetic wave to the old man. "Sorry about that," he says. "I'd still like to go fishing, but I'd rather not cause you any more trouble."
"That's an understatement, you idiot marimo," Sanji states, sliding his hands into his pockets.
Zoro shrugs off the top half of his dark green coat and wrings it out. "Shit cook?" he says, finally noticing him. "When'd you get here?"
Sanji tears his eyes away from the iron-forged torso and meets his surprised, confused stare. "A-A few minutes ago," he replies, noticing the new scar holding Zoro's left eye shut as well as the lighter tone of his skin rather than the natural tan he had before.
"Oh. Okay. Then, that makes you," Zoro closes his eye for a few moments, then reopens it, "Number Seven."
Sanji blinks, confused. "Number Seven?"
"Yeah. You're the seventh one of us to get here."
"Who was first?"
Zoro smirks. "Me."
Both men hear Vlad snort and turn. Sanji watches as Zoro all but runs over to him. "Is she okay?" Zoro asks.
"Yeah, she is now." Vlad looks over at his shoulder and smiles. "She cried herself to sleep." He reaches out with his free hand and taps Zoro's forehead with the tip of his middle finger. A bubble of black fire surrounds Zoro, drying him from head to toe. "You need to stop scaring her like that. Poor thing started screaming her head off the second she couldn't see you."
Zoro holds out his arms, and to Sanji's surprise, Vlad hands the baby over to him. It's only then that it clicks. The green hair should've given it away at the start. Zoro must be her father.
The swordsman opens the right side of his coat and tucks her inside, cradling her in his arms. She instantly snuggles against him in her sleep, sucking her thumb.
Vlad puts his hands to his hips and chuckles. "Yeah, that's Mama's little girl, all right."
Zoro blushes all the way to his ears and looks away. "Shut up."
"Never."
The two start to leave, but Zoro stops and turns. "You coming, ero-cook?" he questions.
"Don't we have to look for her mother?" Sanji points to the girl in the swordsman's arms as he comes over to them. "She was crying for her earlier."
A squeaky yawn draws all three men's attention to her. The girl stretches and squirms, then opens her eyes. For a moment, she looks at Zoro's chest, then up at his face. She blinks and squeals with a smile, reaching up for him. "Mama!" she cries out.
Zoro smiles and untucks her from his coat, nuzzling her nose as he holds her up.
Sanji stares.
Did she just call him Mama?
"Let's get going already," Vlad says. "Sounds like the last two are just getting in."
Zoro holds the girl on his shoulder and again closes his eye. "Yeah, you're right," he agrees after some silence. "I get the feeling we won't be leaving quietly."
Vlad snorts. "As if you ever do."
The three make their way through the Groves, somehow drawing neither the crowd's nor the old man's attention, all of them still focused on the destroyed pirate ship. Vlad and Zoro walk side-by-side ahead of the cook as they talk and laugh, but Sanji's focus isn't on either of them. The little girl stares back at him, her big, round eyes locked on his. She can't be more than one or two years old at most. That can only mean Zoro was with someone during the crew's separation.
A painful sting pierces Sanji's chest, a wave of nausea coursing through his stomach. He knows this emotion well from how much attention he's seen Zoro get from women – and at times men – at the multiple islands they'd visited in the past.
Jealousy.
Who can Zoro have been with? He'd confessed to him before the crew had been tossed, before… Sanji never could've imagined this kind of thing would happen. Zoro has a daughter, one that he can tell is biologically his. Sanji has never been jealous of a woman, but as they say, there's a first time for everything.
The Transponder Snail he'd gotten from Franky starts to ring, snapping him out of his thoughts. He shrugs off his pack and fishes around inside it. He grabs the crawling creature and pulls it out, Vlad and Zoro turning at the sound. "Who is it?" Zoro asks.
Sanji looks up to meet the swordsman's gaze. "Uh, probably Franky," he says.
"You've seen him already?" Zoro readjusts his daughter on his hip as she lifts her head and turns to look at the cook.
"Yeah. We met up when I was shopping for food." Sanji sits down on a large, flat rock, the Transponder Snail crawling around beside him. He lifts the mouthpiece and answers, "Hello?"
"Ow!" comes Franky's iconic voice. "Sanji-bro, there's Marine ships comin' in everywhere. Guess they remembered."
Sanji scratches his hair and sighs. That picture of Luffy's tattoo had been broadcast all over the world. Since it was taken at Marineford, it's only natural that the Marines have held onto it. "So, what's the plan?" he says.
"We're movin' Sunny to Grove 44. Meet up with us there."
"Got it."
The line disconnects, and Sanji puts the Transponder Snail away.
"Well?" Zoro says.
Sanji looks over at him. "Weren't you listening?" He stands. "Let me see how to explain this…. Ah!"
"What?"
"Marines. Here. We. Ship. Run." Sanji pulls the unlit cigarette from his mouth. "Got all that?"
"No, I don't!" Zoro snaps. "Say it in a proper sentence!"
Yes. This is exactly what he needs. Sanji shrugs. "Sorry. Thought a muscle-head like you couldn't understand proper sentences."
Zoro sucks his teeth and sticks his tongue in his cheek, his eye half open. "Okay. You. Later. Slashed," he retorts.
Sanji notices the girl smiling around her thumb, amusement evident on her face. "Yeah, yeah," he says as he turns away.
"Sounds like there's a party going on," Vlad mentions.
Zoro and Sanji follow his gaze towards a cluster of trees in the distance. Shouting, cheering, and yelling reach their ears.
Something's definitely going on.
Vlad grabs their wrists and Flame Steps to the trees where they find a massive amount of pirates and Marines engaged in heavy combat. Among them is a huge yellow ball bouncing around, which they soon realize is a giant, overstuffed backpack, and carrying it is their grinning captain.
"Hey! Luffy!" Zoro shouts, running alongside Sanji towards him, having given his daughter over to Vlad.
"Luffy, you big idiot!" Sanji calls. "I should've known it was you! Why are you always causing trouble?"
"Oh!" Luffy's grin widens with excitement and joy. "There's no mistaking it this time! It's really you! It's been forever!"
A Pacifista zooms out from a huge cloud of smoke between them, its mouth open as it charges its laser. Zoro unsheathes his swords, his teeth clamping down on Wado Ichimonji's hilt. Sanji's right leg ignites, and he leaps skywards. The pair attack, wrecking the Pacifista from the ground up. They land just as Luffy stops beside them. "And you're Number Nine, Lu," Zoro points out, putting his swords away.
"You're bringing that up now?!" Sanji all but screams at him.
"Let's get going," Zoro ignores him as he runs past with Luffy right behind him.
Sanji grunts in annoyance and follows them.
"Vlad, get us outta here!" Zoro commands.
"You brought Cool Guy with you?!" Luffy cheers.
"Easier said than done!" Vlad calls back, pointing behind them to the Marines right on their tails.
Zoro looks over his shoulder and snarls. "Shit. We don't have time for this." He turns on his heel and skids to a halt. Just as he moves to arm himself, a host of Negatives flies past him, weaving through the Marines and bringing them to their knees.
"Honestly!" a voice huffs. "I can't leave you two morons alone for anything."
Zoro turns and frowns. "What are you still doing here, Rona? I thought you went back home already."
"As if I'll have Dad on my ass because of you." Perona gets right in her youngest brother's face, the brim of her hat scrunched up against his forehead and her finger right in his chin. "If not for me, you would've gotten yourself lost ass backwards the whole way here, Noa."
Zoro's cheeks flush, but he doesn't answer.
Loud sniffing makes them turn to see Sanji noodle dancing beside Perona, his face the picture of pure perverted bliss. "It's a woman! A real woman!" the cook practically sings.
"Of course I'm a real woman, you creep!" Perona shrieks.
"Uh, guys?" Vlad pipes up. "I hate to interrupt, but we've got trouble."
Everyone looks over to see a second swarm of Marines heading their way.
"Eh?! What the hell did you idiots do?!" Perona demands.
"Dammit, we need to get outta here!" Zoro snaps.
"This is a dangerous situation, to be sure, but for some reason," Sanji murmurs, still sniffing at Perona's shoulder, "I'm unable to move away from this spot."
"What are you doing at a time like this?!" Perona barks at him.
"This sweet, wonderful scent…. Sweet Mellorine!" Sanji trills, his eyes turning to hearts as he throws his arms to the sky.
Within seconds, he's facedown on the ground with a Negative on his back and Perona's boot print on the back of his skull. Vlad rolls his eyes and hoists the cook over his opposite shoulder. "You got these guys, Perona?" he says.
"Good grief," she sighs. "Yeah, get going." She then beams and waves. "Bye-bye, Misao!"
Misao giggles and waves back at her aunt. "Bye-bye!"
The men race off, legging it as fast as they can through the Grove. A loud screech comes from overhead, followed by a voice shouting down to them, "Zoro, Luffy, up here!"
They all stop and look up to see Chopper waving at them as he hops around on the back of a giant bird, which swoops down and extends its wing to let them climb on. "Perfect timing." Vlad dumps Sanji onto Zoro's shoulder. "I'll get his stuff and bring Misao to the ship."
Zoro nods.
"Mama?" Misao says, her eyes brimming with tears as if she knows they're about to be separated again.
Zoro smiles and kisses her forehead. "Mama's gonna be right behind you," he assures. "Be a good girl, okay?"
Misao sniffles but holds in her tears.
"See ya, Cool Guy!" Luffy says before climbing up the bird's wing with Zoro on his heels.
"Why'd that little girl call you Mama, Zoro?" Chopper asks.
"No time," the swordsman replies, dropping Sanji beside him. "Let's go."
"R-Right!" Chopper pats the bird's back, and it takes off.
The sudden rush of air smacks Sanji in the face, and he immediately sits up. "Huh? What?" He looks around. "What's happening?"
"Sanji!" Chopper trills, hugging him. "You're okay!"
"I'm fine." He blinks. "Are we on a bird?"
"Yep! He's one of my friends. His mate's down there."
They look back to see a near identical bird fending off the Marines that had been chasing them.
The bird flies them to Grove 44 where Sunny and the rest of the crew await them. One look at Nami and Robin and Sanji freezes, stunned by how they've changed over the last two years. His nose erupts, and the fountain of blood shoots him off from the bird's back over the side onto Sunny's deck with an almighty thud.
The bird hovers beside the railing, and the remaining trio climb aboard just as Vlad appears from a spiral of black flames with Misao in one arm and a bunch of balloons containing food in the other. He ties the strings to the railing and sighs with relief. "Made it."
Robin blinks in surprise. "Vlad? What are you doing here?"
"Let's just say I was invited." Vlad swings Misao side to side as he sets her down, smiling as she squeals with laughter. "Hope you don't mind the intrusion."
At the sight of Zoro, Misao runs to him. "Mama here! Mama here!" she shouts.
Zoro turns and smiles, scooping her up in his arms. He lifts her up over his head and brings her down to kiss her cheek, then holds her against his shoulder.
"Hey, Zoro," Luffy says, his voice deeper than normal.
He looks up and instinctively snaps up his left hand, catching something the captain throws at him. He unfurls his fingers to see it's the key to his private room. He returns his gaze to Luffy, watching as he comes over to him.
"I saw your note two years ago," he continues, the brim of his hat shadowing his eyes. "You left us, Zoro. You left me."
Zoro says nothing in reply. "I'm sorry" won't be enough to explain himself.
Luffy raises his face. "I won't ask you what happened. I know you'll tell me when you want me to know. But don't lose that key again. That room is yours and only yours. No one else can have it."
Zoro nods, tucking the key into his haramaki. He'll put it back in its hiding spot when he gets to his room.
Luffy reaches out and grabs Zoro in a tight hug, gripping the back of his coat with both hands. "Don't ever leave us again, Zoro," he pleads. "You're my first mate and my best friend." He squeezes him tighter. "We need you. I need you."
Zoro can't help smiling as he remembers Sanji's words from Thriller Bark. He loops his free arm around Luffy, hugging him back. "I won't," he says.
Luffy releases him and holds out his hand. "Promise?" he asks, his eyes locked on Zoro's.
Zoro grips Luffy's hand and gives a tight squeeze the same way he had Kuina's all those years ago. "Promise," he answers.
~SZSZSZSZ~
Author's Note: Once again, a Merry Christmas and Blessed Yuletide to all of you! I have a feeling I'll be on a roll in the coming days for both these fanfictions, so look forward to more updates.
Have a safe and happy holiday and see you in the next chapter!