"Why is it so dusty up here?" Usopp asked as he moved yet another box.
The boxes were stacked almost floor to ceiling, in neat piles that were organized in a way Zoro was pretty sure only made sense to Sanji. What was in the boxes varied, one was full of nothing but collector spoons, another with books about one specific fish that lived in the arctic, and yet another had clothes that were about a century out of date. But each and every box was filled to the brim.
Why and how Sanji had all this stuff he had no clue, but when Usopp had complained about only being able to get space and privacy to work in the art building at his school at ridiculously late hours, Sanji had decided to turn part of the second floor into an art studio for him.
But that meant moving everything that was stored there, which meant heavy lifting, which he had almost gleefully pawned off on Zoro.
Zoro shrugged as he moved his own box, "Dunno. Didn't even realize there was a second floor until Sanji mentioned it."
"So, what?" Usopp gave him a funny look, "You thought those stairs were just for decoration?"
Zoro frowned. A lot of things in the apartment seemed to be for decoration. There were pieces of furniture he couldn't be on as a wolf - and Sanji had started using a spray bottle to enforce that rule - and certain ones he couldn't sit on even as a human. It didn't seem unreasonable that there was a spiral staircase in the middle of the sitting room just for show.
The tell-tale tingle of a transformation ran down his spine, and he glanced out the window to find the last rays of the sun vanishing along the horizon. He grunted as the tingling spread, and a sharp burst of pain formed in his feet, hands, lower back, mouth, and the top of his head. His hands and feet almost doubled in size as his finger and toe nails formed into long, sharp claws. His lower back felt like it was on fire until his tail burst out of his tailbone, his ears flattened against his skull as thick fur burst out of every pore, and his big fluffy wolf ears sprouted from his head. His mouth elongated as it grew into a fierce snout, his teeth growing larger and sharper as he let out a low growl.
Once the pain had fled and his transformation was over, Zoro glanced down. His socks and shirt were in shreds, and while his pants were torn, luckily they were still on and mostly intact, which would make Sanji happy. He was always harping on him about the pants thing.
He looked over and saw Usopp cowering in the corner, staring at him with wide, terrified eyes, "You've seen me transform before," he flicked his tail and watched Usopp flinch away, "why do you always freak out about it?"
"Because it's always a freaky thing to see," he answered, getting his shaking under control as he approached him cautiously, hand extended like he was about to touch him, but thought better of it and lowered it.
"Are you guys done up there yet?" Sanji called from the bottom of the stairs.
Zoro huffed and grabbed several boxes at once, his tail wagging involuntarily as he moved them to one of the spare rooms up here, "It would go faster if you were helping, prissy vampire."
"Excuse me?" Sanji said as he appeared at the top of the stairs carrying two plates of little hot dog things and dipping sauce, "So what you're saying is you don't want the delicious snack that I've put my precious time and effort into handcrafting for you, is that it?"
"I didn't say it," Usopp said, setting his box down and sprinting over to Sanji, "Can I have some?"
"Of course," he offered a tray to him, and Usopp grinned as he started picking at the food, dipping it into what smelled like honey mustard and giving the vampire appreciative hums.
Zoro glanced at Sanji, his stomach growling as he eyed the mouthwatering food, and let out a noise that was definitely not a whine.
Sanji rolled his eyes, but beckoned him over and held out the tray, "Alright, you big puppy. You worked hard, come get your snack."
He perked up immediately, taking the tray from Sanji as he settled down next to him and dug in with a gusto.
"Mannerless mutt," he muttered, but scratched behind his ear in that way he liked, making his tail wag a mile a minute.
"So what do you think?" He asked as he turned to Usopp, "Will it work for your art studio?"
"Yeah, definitely," Usopp said with a grin, "It's definitely big enough, and with all the windows and skylights the natural lighting should be good. Why don't you ever come up here?"
"All the natural lighting," he drawled and nodded towards the skylights, "I can put curtains on windows to block out the sun easily enough, but getting some on skylights is tricky."
"Oh," Usopp followed his gaze, "Can't you just fly up there?"
"And just how do you propose I do that?" He asked coldly as Zoro smirked around his snack.
"Uh," he grinned at him sheepishly, clutching the tray as he inched away from him slightly, "Can't you, you know, turn into, a bat, or something?"
"A bat." Sanji glared at him, "You really think all vampires can just turn into bats?"
"Sorry," he winced, "I just, I didn't mean to assume! I've looked up a bunch of stuff online about vampires online and it all mentions bats so I just thought-"
"That's ridiculous, you can't believe everything you read on the internet," he huffed, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers against his biceps. When Usopp was properly cowed, he continued "I'm much larger than a bat, where would all that extra mass go? You can't just make it disappear, you know! One single bat," he shook his head, "I can turn into a colony of bats."
That caught Zoro's attention, "You can transform?"
"What, you think mossy idiots are the only ones who can transform," he smirked and flicked his ear, making it twitch and Zoro growl, "I can turn myself into bats or a cloud of smoke, if I'm in the right mindset. I did know a vampire who turned himself into a swarm of flies once, but, ew," he shuddered at the thought, "No thank you."
"I see," Usopp blinked at him, and Zoro had to admit he was taking that bit of information surprisingly well considering his reactions to everything else so far, "So, why don't you turn into a colony of bats and hang curtains over the skylight?"
Sanji laughed, "I'm not going to turn into bats to hang curtains. It's a secret vampire art that shouldn't be used lightly."
"If it's so secret," Zoro asked with a smirk, "Why is that the one thing everyone knows about vampires?"
He expected the kick to the chest and was able to block it, but the strength of the blow still sent him across the room.
"Don't you shitheads have boxes to move?" He snarled, signaling an end to the snack break as they got back to work. With Sanji's help and Zoro moving multiple boxes at a time, the work was going much faster.
"Where'd you even get all this stuff?" Usopp asked as he set one of the smaller boxes down.
"Just, around," Sanji frowned as he glanced into a box full of bottles of old cookbooks, "When you're around for so long, you tend to just acquire things. I don't even remember where I got half of this shit."
Zoro poked his nose into one of the larger boxes he'd moved around and was surprised to find it full of paintings of a certain blond vampire with a swirly eyebrow and beautiful blue eyes.
"Why do you have so many portraits of yourself?" He turned to him with a raised brow, "Conceited much?"
"Shut the hell up," he said automatically as he came over to examine the paintings, "I've met a few artists in my time, and they always want to paint me for some reason."
"You don't have to keep them," Zoro pointed out, certainly not jealous or feeling any emotion as dumb as that as Usopp came over and grabbed one of the paintings.
"It would be rude not to when they put so much work into it," Sanji said as he crossed his arms, his gaze darting away as he pouted a little, one of his fangs poking out and biting his bottom lip, "Also, I don't have a reflection. Maybe it is a little conceited, but this is the only way I can see myself anymore. Although, I haven't gotten one in a while, so who knows how accurate they are."
Zoro stared at Sanji, at his hair shimmering in the moonlight, at his deep blue eyes that put any body of water to shame, at his pale skin that was just begging to be touched and caressed, and imagined not being able to see it, to see him. He knew he was lucky to see him everyday, to see every side of Sanji whenever he wanted, but Sanji not knowing what he looked like, not knowing why Zoro couldn't look away, made something stir in his chest.
Did Sanji not know how beautiful he was?
Outloud, he said, "You're not missing much."
"Jackass," he snarled, and Zoro snarled right back, always eager to meet his challenge.
"Uh, hey, Sanji?" Usopp asked before the fight could break out, turned the painting towards them, "Is this a Van Gogh?"
Sanji stared blankly at him, "It's a painting. It doesn't make vans go."
"No," he shook his head, "I mean the painter." He held it out more insistently, "Did Van Gogh paint it?"
"That's from the 1880s, I believe," he said as he stared at the painting. A small frown crossed his face, and his eyes grew distant, "There weren't any vans back then. Also automobiles can't paint?"
"No," Usopp sighed, clearly frustrated, "I mean, who painted this?"
Sanji stared at the painting, and Zoro followed his gaze. The painting was of Sanji, of course. The colors were bright and beautiful, with particular attention paid to the yellow of his hair and the blue of his eyes. The colors were blended skillfully together, the background swirling in a way that made it seem almost dreamlike, with Sanji in sharp focus, highlighting his natural beauty. It captured his likeness well, Zoro had to admit.
"Vince painted it," Sanji eventually answered, "This Dutch guy I met when I was in the south of France, but I'm not sure of his last name. He was sweet, a bit off sometimes, but who isn't." He shrugged and gestured to the painting, "He said I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen wandering around at night and he simply had to put it on canvas. A few days later he gave me that. And his ear, for some reason."
Usopp's mouth dropped open, "You're the reason Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear?"
"Van Khokh," Sanji snapped his fingers in realization, "That was his last name. You're pronouncing it wrong, that's what threw me off. And yeah, but like I said, he was Dutch," he shrugged, "I'm sure the ear thing was just part of a Dutch superstition about vampires."
"It's not." Both Usopp and Zoro answered.
"Because you two are so well versed in Dutch superstitions, I'm sure," he rolled his eyes and sighed, "Well, I'm not sure what else it was supposed to mean."
Usopp turned the painting to look at it again, "I'm pretty sure it meant he was in love with you."
Zoro's eye and ears twitched. Sure, this Van Gogh guy was probably long dead, and Sanji was free to accept severed ears from whoever he wanted, but that didn't stop the possessive feeling from clawing at his chest.
"Now you're being ridiculous," Sanji clicked his tongue as he took the painting from Usopp and gazed at it once more, "He had trouble selling paintings, but I always thought he was very good. I'm surprised you've heard of him."
"Heard of him?" Usopp laughed, "I just spent an entire semester studying his works! He may have died in obscurity, but he's one of the most well renowned artists in the world now."
"Is that so? Good for him," he said, a soft look crossing his face that made Zoro's heart ache, "He did have a way with colors though, didn't he?"
"They were kinda his thing, yeah," Usopp agreed.
"S'alright, I guess," Zoro huffed, "If you like that sort of thing."
Sanji hummed, a soft smile gracing his lips that made Zoro's heart clench in both longing and jealousy before he put the painting back in the box.
"Alright, come on," he said, patting them both on the shoulder, "This art studio isn't going to clear itself out."
When all the stuff was tucked away into the spare rooms upstairs, Sanji let them have a break.
Usopp gratefully collapsed into a couch in the sitting room. He was thrilled about having his own private space to work, and very thankful to Sanji for letting him use it. He absently wondered if there was something he could do to thank him, but what did you get for the man - or vampire - who has everything?
Zoro was about to sit on the couch next to him, but Sanji shot him a glare over the box of books he was carrying.
"No, absolutely not," he said, kicking him in the small of his back and away from the couch, "You know the rules, you're not allowed on the couch while you're covered in fur. Don't make me get the spray bottle."
"Then where the hell am I supposed to sit?" Zoro barked at him.
"Anywhere you want," Sanji smirked as he went over to the bookcase, "But not on the furniture."
Zoro growled, standing by the end of the couch as he walked away. Sanji set the box down and began putting some of the books he'd forgotten he'd had onto the shelf, muttering to himself as he tried to find space. Zoro's eye watched him the whole time, his gaze softening in increments until it could only be described as fond.
Usopp leaned in and whispered, "You've got it bad, huh?"
"Shut the hell up," he muttered back.
Before he could say anything back, Zoro's phone rang. It took him a while to answer it with his claws, but he eventually did, putting it on speaker and saying, "Yeah?"
"Hey, Zoro, guess what?" Luffy's voice shouted through the speakers, "I got a car!"
"Awesome," he said, resting his hand on the back of the couch, "How?"
"It was parked outside of my building! The keys were in it and everything!"
"Were the owners, I don't know," Usopp asked, "going to come back for it?"
"I dunno," Luffy laughed, "But it's mine now! I've never had a car before, this is so exciting! You guys want to go for a ride?"
"Do you even have a license?" Usopp asked, trying not to let the panic seep into his voice, and Zoro gave him a judgemental look, like that was anything other than a perfectly reasonable question to ask.
"No, but it'll be fun!" He said with a laugh, "C'mon! I'm already here, just come down!"
"Hard pass," Usopp answered as he sunk further in the couch, "I'd rather live another day, all things considered."
"I'll go, sounds fun," Zoro said, and of course he had a death wish, "Wait, hold on," he looked over at Sanji and asked, "Do you need to move anything else or can I go with Luffy?"
"Uh," he glanced around, considering, "No, I should be good."
"You can come too, Sanji," Luffy said, and Usopp would have been touched by his insistence of including as many people as he could if the activity in question wasn't so goddamn suicidal, "There's plenty of room."
"Yeah I really don't think this is such a good idea," Usopp said in some attempt to stop the madness.
"Oh, you always say that," Luffy said, and while that was true, Usopp was also always right, "C'mon Sanji, it'll be fun!"
"Thanks, but I've still got a lot to do here," he said as he picked up another book, "You guys have fun though."
Usopp stiffened, scared at the thought of being here all alone with an actual real life vampire, without the buffer of Zoro or Luffy or Nami to distract him from the fact that Sanji was a bloodsucking creature of humanity's deepest nightmares. For a brief second, he considered going with them, but then he remembered what that entailed, and kept his seat on the couch.
Zoro shrugged, giving the two of them the briefest of goodbyes as he left.
Usopp could only gape as he watched what could only be an accident in the making walk out the door.
"You're not, uh," he said as he stared after him, "You're not worried about them?"
"Why should I be?" Sanji shrugged as he continued shifting around the books on the bookshelf, "They're adults, they can handle themselves." He paused, then turned to Usopp, "They are adults, right?"
"Yes," he answered slowly and nodded, "They are, if only in the legal sense."
He was probably expecting too much of Sanji in the empathy department. He was a vampire after all, who had been alive for who even knew how long. Thousands of years, maybe. Millions even. The lives of Usopp and his friends were just blinks, blips of insignificant time to someone like that, if he even saw humans as anything other than a food source. What did he care about some mortals injuring themselves?
That's not to say Sanji was a jerk, he wasn't. For a vampire - and, to be fair, Usopp didn't know any other vampires - he was unexpectedly kind. He'd been true to his word about not eating them, didn't even seem to have an urge to suck their blood, which Usopp may have taken personally if it was just him, but he didn't seem to want any of their blood. Instead he fed them whenever they came over, and he let them come over whenever they wanted. He'd given them all a safe place to just be.
Which is why it was jarring, to Usopp anyway, when he was so cavalier about Luffy and Zoro's incredibly dangerous antics. This current one being just one in a long line of perilous endeavors they'd get up to that Sanji was totally cool with.
"You know," Usopp started, and Sanji tilted his head to show that he was listening, even as his attention remained with the books, "Luffy doesn't have a driver's license."
"Since when do you need a license to drive a car?" Sanji snorted.
"Uh," he stared at him, wondering if it was a trick question or if he just sincerely didn't know, "Since always? You've always needed a license to drive a car."
Sanji gave him an exasperated look, "One of us has been around since they started making automobiles, and no, you have not always needed a license."
"Okay, maybe not always always," he conceded the point with a placating gesture, "But it's been like that for a while."
"Why would you need a license to drive a car?" he said with a frown, "You never needed a license to drive a carriage, and it's practically the same thing, right?"
"It's not. At all."
He turned to face him, giving him his full attention as he put down the book, "What's one difference between a carriage and a car?"
"The horse, for starters," he counted off on his finger. Sanji scoffed, but he continued, "Even if you have no clue what you're doing, the horse will."
He choked out a laugh, "You've clearly never met a horse."
"And," he went on, ignoring his correct remark, "They don't go as fast. With a carriage you're going, what, five? Ten miles an hour maybe? Cars are going twenty or thirty through the city, and as fast as eighty the highway. If you fuck up going that fast and crash, you are going to die."
"You're being dramatic, you won't die," he rolled his eyes, "If you do crash you'll, what, break a few bones? Maybe go through the windshield and bleed a little? That doesn't kill people. It'll heal in a few hours, tops."
Usopp stared at him, mouth open, "That, that specific thing kills people all the time. And broken bones take months to heal."
"No they don't," he scoffed and crossed his arms, "I break bones all the time. They're usually better in a few minutes."
"Yeah, well, you're a vampire," he pointed out, "It's different for humans."
"I used to be human, you know," he huffed and muttered, "It's not that different."
"Apparently it is." When he was met with a glare, Usopp sighed and asked, "Did you ever break any bones when you were human?"
He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, brow furrowing and eyes darting to the side as he thought it over, eventually concluding, "No."
"Well, as a human who has broken their wrist before," Usopp explained in his most patient voice, "Let me assure you that it takes about a month to heal, if you're lucky."
Sanji stared at him wide-eyed, "That long?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "And worse injuries can take even longer."
"Worse injuries?" He cringed and rubbed his arm, "There are worse injuries than breaking a bone?"
"Well sure," Usopp started counting off on his fingers, "You could lose the limb entirely."
"Yeah, but can't you just like," he made a squishing motion with his hands, "Push it back on and reattach it?"
"I mean, a surgeon can sew it back on, if it's like a finger or a hand or something," he explained, "But only if they're quick enough. If they wait too long, then they can't."
"And, it's gone forever?" he asked, a horrified expression crossing his face."
"Yup," he nodded, "And don't even get me started on the brain injuries."
"Brain injuries?" Sanji frowned, running a hand anxiously through his hair, "How can the brain be injured? It's inside your head."
"Sure," he said, tapping his head, "But the skull can only do so much, and it can't really stop you from getting concussed."
"Concussed?" His frown deepened, "What's that?"
"It's when you get hit in the head so hard your brain smacks against your skull," he clapped his hands together for emphasis, making Sanji flinch, "and gets bruised."
Sanji gaped at him, "Humans can bruise their brains?"
"Yeah, sure," he shrugged, "It happens all the time. People hit their head too hard then bam, concussion."
"What, but, what?" He held his head in his hands and glanced at him, "Does it hurt?"
"Well, yeah, getting hit in the head hurts, but a lot of people don't even feel the concussion really until days later when they start feeling loopy and forgetting things and passing out everywhere, and sometimes if it goes untreated or you hit your head too many times it can kill you, but-"
"And you just let them go?" He shouted suddenly, startling Usopp, "You just let them go crash a car they don't even know how to drive and have shattered bones for months on end and bruise their brains?"
"I tried to stop them," he reminded him, "You're the one that said it was fine!"
"That was before I learned humans can bruise their brains!" He snapped and stomped to the balcony, opening the door wide with a flourish. He stood up on the railing, then turned towards Usopp with a stern look on his face, "Do not follow me. Apparently this can kill humans."
"Wasn't planning on it," he mumbled as Sanji jumped off the balcony and disappeared into the night.
He came back within the hour - through the front door, much to Usopp's relief - dragging Luffy and Zoro by their ears.
"Are you shitheads crazy?!" Sanji shouted as he tossed them roughly onto the couch, "You could have died!"
Zoro snarled, his large teeth on full display and his claws at the ready, making Usopp duck behind Sanji, just in case, "You didn't have a problem with this before!"
"That's before I learned humans can have bruised brains!" He snapped, "And take forever to heal!"
Zoro growled, his fur standing on its end and tail ruffling, "I'm a werewolf, I don't take forever to heal."
"I do," Luffy said with a laugh, "but where's the fun if there's no danger?"
"There's plenty of fun to be had in staying perfectly safe and not losing limbs," Sanji insisted.
"What's it to you anyway?" Zoro huffed, "Who cares if we get hurt or not?"
Usopp had been wondering the same thing ever since Sanji freaked out and ran after them, but he had more self preservation than to actually say it. Still, he was curious. Why did the safety and wellbeing of a couple of humans - and a werewolf, he supposed - matter to an ancient undead being like Sanji?
Sanji gaped at Zoro's question, his hand planted dramatically on his chest as if Zoro's words had physical weight to them, "I care, shithead! If you're under my roof, that means you're under my protection, and I'd rather drink holy water in the sunlight than let anything happen to my-"
He clamped his mouth, eyes wide, as if he was afraid of the unsaid word. His eyes darted between the three of them, Zoro with his ears perked and tail wagging despite his grumpy demeanor, Luffy with a manic grin on his face, and Usopp, who could only stare at him, mouth hanging open in disbelief.
Nothing he'd researched about vampires could have prepared him for being basically adopted by one. Sanji may have been a vampire, but he was starting to realize that didn't matter as much as he thought it did.
Sanji was, first and foremost, a good person.
"Friends," Luffy finished for him, "Right?"
"Y-yeah," Sanji said, a smile slowly spreading across his face, and for once Usopp didn't flinch away when he saw the fangs, "Friends."
The full moon was out and shining brightly through the windows of the living room. Sanji had just settled down for the evening with a glass of wine and a book, with Zoro curled up on the couch next to him, despite the numerous times he'd tried to get him to stay off. He was calm now, dozing slightly after being fed, and Sanji couldn't say he hated the warmth by his side.
He was just getting to the good part of his book, where the duchess had to choose between a life of adventure on the high seas with her roguish pirate love or a stable life with the earl she was betrothed to, when his phone rang.
He sighed dramatically, causing Zoro to lift his head in curiosity. It was probably just Luffy - who had a habit of calling and texting him at all hours for the most bizarre reasons - and was prepared to ignore it. The humans were busy, he'd hunted the other night, and it had been a while since he could have a nice quiet evening at home. He wanted to enjoy it.
But it wasn't Luffy, it was Nami. Sanji was many things, but he wasn't one to ignore a lady in distress.
He put his book down and answered the phone, "Nami, my dear, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hey," her voice was quiet, like she was trying her best not to be overheard, and he was instantly alert and on edge, "What do you know about ghosts?"
"Ghosts?" He frowned and glanced at Zoro, who had tilted his head in confusion, "Ghosts aren't real."
"Well, vampires aren't supposed to be real either, so." There was a crash on her end, then the sound of frantic footsteps and a door closing before she continued, "We need you to come here and exorcize this ghost."
"I'm sorry my dear, but I am physically and spiritually incapable of doing an exorcism," he said as he absently scratched Zoro's head, "Shouldn't you be calling a priest?"
"Then assert your vampiric authority or whatever and get rid of it," she said with an edge of desperation, "Please, we need you!"
"Where are you?" He asked as Zoro leaned his head further into his hand. His eye was focused on Sanji's face, taking in everything he said.
"Usopp's school. He was here late working on some art project or whatever-"
"I cleared out upstairs for him to use," he said with a frown. If Usopp had no plans of using the space, then what the hell was the point of clearing it all out?
"He wanted privacy or something, I don't know. All I know is he asked Luffy and I to bring him something to eat. Apparently the theater attached to the building is haunted, and now the ghost has migrated into the art building and-" Another loud crash, and he heard Nami whimper into the phone.
"Shit, Nami," he sat up in his seat. Zoro let out a low growl, and he put his hand on his head to calm him, "Are you okay?"
"Usopp and Luffy are missing," she continued, "You gotta come here and get rid of this ghost."
"I," he glanced at Zoro, who was just as agitated as he was, "It's the full moon. I can't leave Zoro here alone."
"Bring Zoro too," she said, "Just say he's a service animal if anyone asks. Please, Sanji, I don't know who else to call and-"
Nami screamed, but it was quickly cut off as the line went dead.
"Nami? Nami!" He shouted into the phone, but the call had already ended. He tried to call her back, but it went right to voicemail, and the same thing happened when he tried Luffy and Usopp.
"Shit," he glanced at Zoro who was growling, fur standing up on its end and tail flicking back and forth, clearly on edge.
"Let's go, Moss Wolf," he said as he stood up and made his way to the door, Zoro hot on his heels, "Looks like we've got a ghost to catch."
Usopp's school wasn't far from the apartment. It was a relatively small campus, and the art building and allegedly haunted theater were easy to locate.
The doors were locked, and none of the lights were on. It looked for all the world like no one was in the building. If Usopp or Luffy had called him, he would have assumed they were playing a prank, but he knew Nami would never do that.
"Well shit," he tugged at the door again - it still didn't budge - and turned to the wolf at his side, "Guess we have to break a window?"
Zoro started to trot around to the side of the building, but froze, his ears lying flat against his head as he let out a low growl.
"What's wrong?" He asked as he followed his gaze.
Coming down the walkway, right towards the building, was a woman. She would have been invisible in the darkness of the night if it weren't for Sanji's stellar night vision. She caught sight of them as she approached, but didn't break her confident stride, continuing until she stopped in front of them.
They both stared at each other for a bit, before she asked, "Are you a student here?"
Sanji tensed, leaning back a little into a more defensive position, "Are you?"
She smiled and showed him the id on the lanyard around her neck, with 'Dr. Robin Nico: History Department' in bold letters across it. A teacher then, but what did a history professor want in the art building?
"I showed you mine," she said as she tucked the id away, "You show me yours?"
"I, uh," he glanced down at Zoro, who was staring at Robin - he'd stopped snarling at least, but hadn't relaxed - then towards the art building, "I left it inside. My name's Sanji, I'm, part of the art department?"
"I see," she said as she gave him an analytical look.
He tried not to squirm under her gaze, unsure if dress pants, elaborate pinstriped shirts, and cloaks were normal fare for art students, but instead of commenting she nodded towards Zoro, "Pets aren't allowed in the building, you know."
Zoro growled, and Sanji placed a hand on his head to calm him down, "He's a, service animal?"
"What service is he providing?"
He noticed his claws digging into the ground, and moved his hand to grip the back of his neck in warning, "Emotional support."
"I see," her scrutinizing gaze turned to Zoro, and she asked, "What breed is he?"
"Uh," Sanji's mind blanked as he realized he could not name one single breed of dog, "Green."
"Fascinating," she turned her gaze back to Sanji, staring at him for what felt like forever before saying, "If I let you into the building, will you help me find the ghost?"
Sanji blinked at her, "Ghost?"
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" She stated more than asked, a mysterious smile creeping across her face, "You're an amature ghost hunter, yes? Working on a podcast or something like that?"
He had no idea what that was - or that ghost hunters were actual things people could be - but if it could get them into the building to see what happened to their friends, he was willing to play along, "Yeah, you caught me. If you let me in, we can find the ghost together."
She gave him that inscrutable smile again. He wasn't sure if she believed him, but she nodded, saying, "Of course," as she unlocked the door and entered the building.
They walked through the darkened halls, silent save for the click of Zoro's claws and Robin's heels on the floor.
"The theater where the ghost supposedly is was built in 1834," she explained, "It's the oldest building on campus, predating the university by 24 years."
"Interesting," Sanji said absently as he glanced into the empty rooms, looking for any sign of his friends.
"The first recorded 'haunting,' so to speak, was around 1926. Several actors rehearsing Roses of Picardy reported levitating props and sheet music mysteriously vanishing. There have been other reports of hauntings over the years, including in the attached art building when it was opened in 1989, but no confirmed ghost sightings." She turned to smile at him, "But you must already know this, since it would be unfortunate for a ghost hunter to go into a haunted building without doing the proper research."
"Y-yes," he said, flashing her the most charming smile in his repertoire, "Of course."
She looked like she was about to say something else, but before she could Zoro barked sharply at something on the ceiling. They both looked up, but nothing was there.
"Your dog is very, excitable," she commented.
"He's not usually-" he started, but stopped when he noticed something shimmery floating up through the ceiling into the floor above.
Zoro barked again and took off, sprinting towards the stairs and up to the second floor.
"Zoro!" Sanji shouted as he took off after him, Robin following after, "Stupid dog, wait!"
Zoro led them to one of the art rooms, and it was a mess. All of the chairs were overturned, an easel was knocked on its side, and paint dregs and bits of scrap metal were scattered everywhere. Sanji glanced around the room as a feeling of dread sank to the pit of his stomach, while Zoro sniffed the easel and whined softly.
"Mr. Ghost Hunter," Robin called out, pointing at some spots on the floor, "It may just be paint, but doesn't it look more like…?"
Sanji came over and crouched down, catching the scent of something he was all too familiar with, "It's blood."
Robin hummed in acknowledgment, but her face grew darker at his proclamation.
He took a more deliberate sniff and was able to identify an O blood type riddled with cortisol that could only be, "Usopp."
"Pardon?" Robin asked, but Sanji had turned to Zoro, who was already looking at him, body tense and ready to spring into action.
"It's Usopp's blood, uh," he glanced up at Robin and explained, "our - my friend. He was working late on a project here, but," he sniffed again, "there's two blood types here. The other is AB negative. With a hint of, calcineurin inhibitors, I think."
"Franky," Robin said, her hand falling to her chest, and Sanji noticed the glint of a ring on her finger, "my husband. He was here with one of the art students, your Usopp, I presume."
Sanji frowned. She'd implied she'd just been after the ghost before, and hadn't mentioned anything about a husband. It wasn't that big of a deal, but then, since it wasn't, why not mention him before?
He tensed as Zoro growled, a low threatening sound as he approached her. He held up his hand and said, "Zoro, wait," which stopped the werewolf's advance, if not his threatening posturing.
Sanji stood up, his eyes never leaving Robin, "Why are you here, really?"
Her cool gaze easily met his, "Who are you, really?"
Sanji's eyes narrowed, but when he sniffed again, he found she was completely human. A human with nerves of steel, but human nonetheless, with a hint of worry about her, probably for her missing husband. With his friends similarly unaccounted for, he couldn't help but relate.
He relented with a small sigh, placing his hand on Zoro's head to calm him, "My name is Sanji, this is Zoro. We got a call from our friends about some problems with a ghost here, so we came to check it out."
"You are," her gaze was steady, darting between him and Zoro before settling on Sanji with an inquisitive spark in her eye, "the vampire, I presume?"
His hand clenched in Zoro's fur as the werewolf growled, "What possibly would give you that-"
"The cloak, for one," she explained swiftly, "And Mr. Usopp had mentioned to my husband he had a friend with a supernatural background. With how you analyzed that blood on smell alone, I simply assumed."
"Uh," he blinked as he processed all that, "Usopp talks about me?"
His nature wasn't exactly a secret, but it wasn't something he wanted to get out either. A coven-less vampire was an easy target, for rival vampires, vengeful wolfpacks, and vampire hunters alike, and he didn't want knowledge of his existence becoming too well known.
"Yes," she said with that smile, "My husband has taken to coming here after hours to work on his more unconventional engineering projects. He's not officially employed by the university, so he's taken to working in whichever building is still open. Recently it has been this one, as Mr. Usopp has been working here late on a project of his own. He talks about you two quite frequently."
"Uh huh," he frowned. He'd have to impress on Usopp the benefits of discretion, once they found him of course.
"As for what I'm doing here, it's the same as you," she crossed her arms in front of her, "I received a call from my husband about a ghost. I'd assumed he was pranking me, knowing my interest in ghosts and the theater here in particular, and that you were in on it. Forgive me for not being so forthcoming while I assumed the worst of you." She glanced down at the blood splatters, and he could see the worry clear on her face.
Right, they had more pressing matters now, "So, if this ghost has our friends and your husband, what are we going to do about it, if it even is a ghost?"
"True," Robin glanced around the room, "Most ghost stories are told to explain ununderstood phenomena." Her eyes landed back on the blood spots, "However, most stories don't leave behind blood."
Zoro sniffed the blood carefully, and Sanji scratched behind his ear, "What do you think? Can you sniff them out?"
Zoro gave him as unamused a look as a wolf was capable of giving.
"Right," he sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, "If you could then you would've."
Just then, the lights started flickering on and off, and the temperature in the room dropped. Sanji instinctively pushed Robin behind him, and Zoro planted himself in front of him, growling at just about everything.
A shimmering figure appeared, looking almost skeletal, with a big black afro surrounding its head. It let out a ghastly moan as it reached out towards them, hand open as if beckoning them to come closer.
Zoro's grow grew steadily louder as he crouched down, ready to pounce. Sanji shifted too, although he didn't think attacking the ghost would do them much good.
"Who are you?" Sanji demanded when the ghost paused its hellish moans, "Where are our friends?"
"Fr…iends…?" The ghost said before vanishing from sight.
"Hey, wait!" Both Sanji and Zoro lunged forward, but were met with nothing but empty air.
Robin gasped, and they both turned around to find the ghost had rematerialized behind her and had grabbed her wrists. Her eyes were wide as she tried to tug them away, but to no avail.
Zoro barked as he shot forward, launching himself forward and biting down on the ghostly arms. They vanished into mist as soon as he'd made contact, but the ghost released its hold on Robin. Sanji immediately grabbed her and pulled her away, holding her protectively against him in case the shitty ghost tried to get to her again.
"Friends…" the ghost moaned as it vanished. With it's departure, the lights turned back on, and the room steadily grew warmer.
"So," Sanji said breathlessly, "I guess ghosts do exist."
"Indeed," she replied just as cool as ever, but she was gripping his shirt tight, and he could feel her heartbeat racing.
Zoro growled suddenly, and they turned to see if the ghost had made a reappearance, but his eye was fixed on Robin.
"Don't be rude, you mossy mutt," Sanji snapped at him, "We're all in this together."
"My apologies," she said with a laugh as she released him and stepped out of his hold, "I didn't mean to overstep."
Satisfied, Zoro sat down right in front of Sanji and looked up at him, his eye wide and pleading as his tail swished back and forth.
"You're so fucking needy like this," he sighed as he pet his head, and Zoro leaned into his touch.
"It seems safe to assume that the ghost has taken our friends," Robin said as she paced the room, "Although I find it curious that it went right for me instead of targeting you two."
Sanji frowned, moving his hand to scratch behind Zoro's ear, "Perhaps it only wants humans as friends." It wouldn't be the only one.
"Perhaps," she agreed, "The hauntings started in the theater, so that could be its base of operations, so to speak. If the ghost is keeping our friends alive, it may be holding them there."
It was at least worth checking out, so with no better plan, they made their way to the theater.
The theater, as Robin had mentioned, was old, and Sanji could feel the weight of its history as he stepped into it. It had been refurbished over the years to keep up with modern sensibilities and safety standards, but the bare bones and original aesthetics of the place were still very much intact.
"So if I were a ghost taking people hostage after who knows how long," he mused as they walked through the rows of seats, "Where would I hide them?"
"Assuming, of course, that the ghost hasn't ben brutaling murdering them as recompense to their own untimely death."
Zoro growled at her, and Sanji privately agreed. These were his friends, his squishy human friends, and he was supposed to protect them. If they'd gotten hurt, or died, if he'd failed them, he didn't know if he could live with himself.
He had tried not to, but he'd started thinking of them all as a kind of pseudo-coven, as his responsibility. He hesitated to use the word coven for their little group and all the possessive ownership that went with it - much preferring the simpler term friends that Luffy had used - but he couldn't help being possessive of them. Zoro, Luffy, Nami, and Usopp were his, and some shitty ghost wasn't going to take them away from him.
Zoro bounded forward suddenly, leaning his paws against the orchestra pit. Sanji and Robin followed, peering inside to find Usopp, Nami, and a man with a floral shirt and blue hair seated in the chairs there, unconscious but seemingly unharmed.
"Franky," Robin gasped, hauling herself over the edge and dropping down into the orchestra pit and rushing to her husband's side.
Sanji joined her not a moment later, to check on Nami and Usopp. Their pulses were steady, and aside from a small cut on their arms they were unhurt, no other bruises or cuts or wounds. He shook them a little and called out to them, but they wouldn't wake up.
Zoro whined from above, and Sanji looked up at him, reading the sadness and distress in his eye. He glanced around the pit, but didn't see anyone else.
"Where's Luffy?"
As if on cue, a haunting violin melody began from the stage. He grabbed Nami and Usopp and jumped out of the pit to get a better look.
There on stage in the spotlight was Luffy. He was playing the violin, looking focused and enthralled with his task, but Sanji could see the blank look in his eyes, the tell tale sign of hypnotic trance.
"Does Luffy play the violin?" He asked, just to make sure.
He took Zoro's low growl as a no.
Sanji put Nami and Usopp down in the audience seats and, after making sure they were as comfortable as they could be, jumped up on the stage next to Luffy.
"Luffy," he whispered sharply, but he ignored him, eyes downcast as he kept playing. He snapped his fingers in his face, but got no reaction.
There was a small cut on Luffy's arm, just like the others. The wound was mostly clotted, but there was one drop of blood still running down his arm as he played. He ran his thumb across it, gathering the loose blood there, and brought it to his mouth, swallowing as much of it as he could.
He had no idea if he could assert his vampiric authority - or whatever Nami had called it - and wrestle control of his friend away from a ghostly possession - if that was even what this was - but he had to try.
"Stop playing," he said, and Luffy did. His arms were trembling, as if he was trying to fight the command and continue, but it seemed for now Sanji was in control.
"Give me the violin."
There was a pause that seemed to last forever, during which Sanji worried that this was too far and he wouldn't obey, but he did hold out the violin and the bow for him with shaking hands.
Sanji snatched them away from him, and the second they were out of his grasp Luffy's shoulders slumped and his face went lax, no longer fighting Sanji's control.
Relief flooded him, marred only slightly by the guilt of taking advantage of him in this way.
"Go to Zoro," he said, and when Luffy's feet started shuffling towards the edge of the stage, he added, "When you pet his head, you will snap out of it."
Luffy jumped off the stage, and Zoro trotted over to meet him. He absently pet his head and blinked, clarity returning to his face, and Sanji breathed a sigh of relief.
He tried to follow after him, but found his feet frozen in place, stuck there at the center of the stage, "What the hell?"
The lights began to flicker, and the temperature dropped suddenly as a ghostly wail filled the theater.
"Shitty ghost," Sanji snarled as he brandished the violin bow like a weapon.
"Hey, Brook!" Luffy shouted towards the ceiling, "He's my friend! You don't have to do this!"
The wailing stopped, but the flickering sped up, and the theater seemed to grow even colder.
Sanji turned his frantic gaze towards the humans. Robin had carried her husband out of the orchestra pit and was staring up at Sanji with wide eyes. Nami and Usopp were still slumped unconscious in their seats, and Luffy had a tight grip on the fur on the back of Zoro's neck, holding him back from leaping up on the stage. He had no idea what the ghost's plan was, but he couldn't risk them getting possessed, not again
"Luffy, Zoro," he called out, without the command in his voice, "Get them out of here."
Zoro growled, and Luffy protested, "Sanji-"
"Please," he practically begged. He didn't want to exert his will over Luffy's again if he didn't have to, but he needed them all to be safe, "I need you to do that."
He nodded towards the other's, and Luffy's gaze followed, eyes widening as he took them in for the first time, "You need to protect them."
Luffy frowned, but nodded as he turned back to Sanji. He released Zoro, who immediately jumped up on the stage and planted himself by Sanji's side.
"You dumb dog," Sanji growled at him, trying to move his foot to kick him away, but it was stuck to the stage, "I'll be fine! Go with the others!"
"I've got them," Luffy shouted, "Zoro'll stay with you."
Sanji looked down at him and sighed, resigning himself to his guard dog.
"Be nice to Brook," Luffy continued, "He doesn't mean it, he's just sad and lonely."
"Mr. Vampire," Robin said as she stood next to Luffy, "If your friend is saying what I think he's saying, the ghost here is a musician known as Soul King Brook. He was supposed to perform here one night in 1962, but vanished without a trace hours before what was to be his breakout performance."
"Okay," he said, acknowledging the information with a nod, "What am I supposed to do with that?"
"I'm not familiar with the nuances of ghost hunting," she said with that mysterious smile, "But having more information never hurts."
With one last parting nod, they gathered up their unconscious friends and left the theater.
The wailing picked up again, and the flickering grew to headache inducing levels. Zoro circled his legs, a low growl rumbling through him as his claws clacked with every step, leaving shallow scratches in the wood. Still, the ghost - Brook, he supposed - failed to make an appearance.
The stage lights overhead started exploding, and Sanji was starting to get frustrated. He was all for dramatic theatrics, but this was getting absurd.
He stared down at the violin in his hands. He'd been forced to learn it when he was a child, when he was human, but hadn't played in at least a century. Still, if it was a performance Brook wanted, it was a performance he'd get.
He cradled the violin in his arms, rested his chin on the chinrest, and set the bow against the strings.
The flickering stopped, all the lights going dark, save the spotlight, which was on and pointed right at him.
He ran the bow across the strings, trying to remember the right angle he needed to make the right sound. The first note came out very sharp and more than a little piercing, making him flinch away for a second.
Zoro whined at him, his sensitive ears flat against his head as he shot him a glare.
"Shut up," Sanji growled, "I'd like to see you try after a hundred years."
His next few tries weren't much better, but eventually he did get the instrument to sound like a violin and not a screeching cat. He ran through a few of the basic scales he remembered, then trailed off into bits of songs he still knew.
"You're not bad," a voice said.
Zoro stopped his pacing and snapped his head towards the ghost, Brook, and Sanji's gaze followed.
"With some decent training, you could be great," Brook said, taking a few silent steps toward them.
Zoro planted himself between Sanji and the ghost and snarled, showing off all his teeth in the most threatening way he could.
"Thanks," Sanji said as calmly as he could, "but I've already had training. The violin just isn't my calling."
"A shame," Brook said, stopping a few feet away from Zoro, "What is your calling?"
"Cooking," he said with a grin, "You seem more talkative than before."
"I must give you both my sincerest apologies about that," he lowered his head in a slight bow, "The further I stray from my violin, the less articulate and in control of my corporeal form I become."
Sanji glanced at the violin in his hands, "Which has been here in the theater, I assume."
"Correct," he held out a hand, "I needed someone to retrieve it for me. As you can see," he reached out towards Sanji. Zoro barked and took a swipe at him, but his claws passed useless through his arm. He touched the violin, but his ghostly hand passed right through it, "In my current state, I can't even touch it. My most precious position, the anchor keeping my soul here, and I can't touch it."
His grip on the violin tightened, "So, if I destroy the violin, would you go away?"
"I suppose," he sighed heavily, "It has never been done before, so I've never died. Well, I have never died a second time." He let out a loud, musical laugh that had Sanji's lips twitching into a smile.
"But it seems you have put me in quite a pickle," Brook said as he walked away from Sanji and towards the edge of the stage, "May I tell you my story?"
"By all means," he said, shifting the violin so he could place a hand on Zoro's head, gaining comfort from the touch.
"When I was young and alive, I had this band," he said, staring wistfully into the distance, "The Rumbars. They were more than a band even, they were my family. The only one I really had."
Sanji dug his nails into Zoro's fur, then scratched behind his ear, "I can relate."
"More than anything, we wanted our music to spread to every corner of the world," he continued, "For everyone to laugh and sing along with us, to spread our joy. But," he sighed and glanced away, "One by one they were taken from me. By disease, by violence, by accident and happenstance." He put a hand over his mouth, "Even our bandleader, my beloved Yorki, who I loved more than anything, was taken from me."
Sanji could feel Brook's sadness deep in his very soul, and absently noticed that Zoro had stopped growling as he continued petting his head, "I'm sorry," was all he could think of to say.
"Thank you," he said softly, the lights surging briefly, then he continued, "One by one I lost them all, until it was just me, the last one to carry on our dream. And then, just as I was about to get my chance," the lights flickered rapidly, and Zoro's hackles were raised, "I was murdered."
Sanji's eyes darted around quickly, taking in the still flickering lights before landing back on Brook, "Is that what this is about, why you took our friends? As part of some twisted vengeance for your murder? Because I hate to break it to you, but you've been dead for a while. None of them killed you."
Brook laughed again, "I am aware. I haven't a clue who killed me, and even if I did, vengeance is not something I desire." He turned back to face them, "I have but one regret: that I could not finish what my compatriots and I started. It has taken me some time, but I finally figured out how to achieve it. I need a human vessel to play my violin, and an accompanying band to take on the world for me."
He took a step towards him, and Zoro growled, "I had several candidates here tonight to become members of my new band, but because of your interference, they appear to have vanished."
He reached through the violin and into Sanji's chest, making him shiver with the cool touch, "Simply touching the violin should allow me to possess you, however it appears all I can do is keep you here."
Sanji ground his teeth, trying once again to unstick his feet from the floor, "You can't just kidnap people and force them to be your friends!"
Brook took a step back, "Is that not what you're doing, vampire?"
Sanji froze, a shiver that had nothing to do with Brook's presence wracking through him.
He didn't intend to force anyone to be around him, but how else could he explain that they were? He didn't want to have a coven, to have a bunch of sycophants running around praising and worshiping him. He didn't want his friends to be his coven, to have his will forced upon them above all else. But he had forced his will upon Luffy earlier, hadn't he, and he'd done it to Zoro too. He could still feel Luffy's blood still churning inside of him, being nourished with his friend's life force, waiting for him to use it again.
He knew, deep down, that this peace he'd found would never last, not without him and his nature fucking everything up.
He knew he was better off alone.
Zoro barked suddenly and slammed his entire body into him, knocking him off balance and making him drop Brook's violin.
As soon as the violin was out of his grasp his feet became unstuck, and he fell hard to the floor. Zoro stood over him, growling and barking at Brook until his eye landed on the violin. He raised one giant paw, claw fully extended, to slash at it, but Sanji wrapped his arms around his neck and held him back.
"Don't," he hissed in his ear, and Zoro lowered his paw back to the ground, eye fixed on Brook instead.
Brook gazed sadly at the violin on the ground. He bent over and tried to pick it up, but his hand passed through it. He sighed, a weary sound that Sanji felt in his bones, and moved to sit at the edge of the stage, the lights going out around him.
Sanji let Zoro go, giving his head one last stroke as he walked over to the edge of the stage, and sat down next to Brook.
"I get it," Sanji eventually said, "I was killed too."
Zoro padded across the floor and lay down next to him, his head a comfortable weight in his lap. Brook's gaze turned towards him, and he took a deep breath and continued.
"She was a beautiful dancer who seduced me away from the crowds. We were, well, you know," he shot an embarrassed look at Brook.
"Canoodling, making whoopee, having an amorous congress, getting your ashes hauled, yes, I know it well," he nodded as Zoro's low growl rumbled through him. Sanji stroked his head to calm him down, "Continue, please."
"She bit me," he said, running a hand along the side of his neck. The scars were nearly invisible on his pale skin, but he knew where they were and could still feel them, even after all this time, "I didn't think much of it at first, just went home and lived my life as normal. A few days later I was sick. Just a cold, I'd assumed, I'd be back on my feet in no time. The next day I was dead."
Zoro whined, and he held onto him a little tighter, taking as much comfort as he could from his warm presence.
"But, you came back," Brook pointed out, "You could have continued on with your life."
Sanji shook his head, "I did, well, I tried. I went back to the restaurant where I'd worked, but…"
He remembered Zeff, the old chef that had practically raised him, bleeding out on the floor, a deep cut in his leg because Sanji couldn't control himself. That first year had been especially tough, he'd been caught by vampire hunters and isolated in his first month, and after he'd escaped, he'd been starving, ready to feed on anything and anyone, including his own mentor, the man he'd owed everything.
Zeff had never blamed him, not once, not even when he'd lost the leg. He kept insisting Sanji come back, but he didn't, couldn't. Refused to risk hurting him - or anyone he cared about - again.
"I had dreams too, goals, people I cared about, promises I'd made that I never got to keep," he rested his face on Zoro's head, breathing in his familiar wolf scent, and took comfort from it, "But I lost all of that when I was turned. When I was killed."
"And, you're not mad?" Brook asked, "About what happened? About everything you lost?"
"I was at first," he admitted, "But, I moved past it. I may never have my own restaurant, or feed the world, but I have friends now." He scratched behind Zoro's ear, and the wolf looked up at him, understanding clear in his bright green eye, "I can feed them, at least, and that's a start."
"That, sounds nice," Brook said softly, "I must say I am jealous." He glanced over at the violin, "Perhaps you should destroy it, and send me on my way."
Zoro's head perked up in surprise, and Sanji turned to face him, "Are you sure?"
Brook reached out for the instrument, his hand passing through it once more, but this time when he made contact, it gave off an eerie glow, "Ghosts are lingerers, amalgamations of regrets and longings that cannot move on to the next world, and thus remain in this one." He turned back to Sanji, "Abominations, if you will. I cannot in good conscience face my former friends after failing them so spectacularly," he sighed, a deep and weary sound that showed his age, "But perhaps I have lingered too long."
Zoro growled then, shooting to his feet and walking over to the violin. He pushed it towards them with his nose, leaving it right between them, before he sauntered backstage for reasons unknown.
Sanji reached for it, hesitating slightly before plucking at the strings. It was a lovely sound, perfectly in tune. He'd noticed when he was playing it that, despite how old it must be, the instrument was well maintained. Which made sense, he supposed, considering Brook's soul was trapped in it.
Zoro came trotting back to them with a violin case in his mouth. He set it down in Sanji's lap and looked at him expectantly.
"That's a smart, well trained dog you have there," Brook said.
Sanji laughed, "Werewolf actually, and he is neither of those things." Zoro huffed, and he scratched behind his ears, making his tail wag, "But he has good ideas sometimes."
He packed the violin into the case and snapped it shut, "You've hung on this long for a reason. You don't have to give up, maybe just rethink your methods. The world can still hear your music, from you," He stood up and offered him a hand, "if you want."
Brook smiled and stood up as well, pressing his ghostly hand against Sanji's own.
"Yes," he said, "I very much do."
Zoro woke up in his bed sometime in the late morning the next day. A pair of pants had been helpfully placed at the foot of his bed - most likely by Sanji - so he put them on. His growling stomach made him leave the room in search of food.
As he entered the kitchen, he could hear voices from the living room. There was a plate piled high with eggs and sausages that he assumed was for him, so he grabbed it and joined everyone.
Sanji was perched in his favorite armchair, sipping from a mug of tea. Luffy had his own plate of sausage and was seated on the couch next to the professor from last night. She had a cup of coffee and an arm draped over her shoulder from who he could only assume was her husband, who had his own coffee too. On the chair across the coffee table from Sanji was the ghost, who looked like he had his own cup of tea on the table in front of him, although he had no idea how he was drinking it.
"Zoro, you're up! And you found your food that Sanji wouldn't let me eat," Luffy grinned at him, shifting over a bit to make room next to him on the couch, "C'mon, join us!"
"Yeah, like I'm gonna sit next to you with a plate full of food and expect to eat any of it," he rolled his eye and opted instead to sit on the arm of Sanji's chair. Sanji blinked up at him in surprise, but he just leaned back, making himself comfortable as he started eating.
"Does anyone need anything?" Sanji asked, turning towards their guests, "Robin, you're looking a little low."
"I'm good, Mr. Vampire," she said with an enigmatic smile, "But thank you."
"I'll take some, bro," Franky said, downing the rest of his coffee and offering his cup to Sanji.
"Get it yourself," Sanji growled, "I had enough problems dragging you over here last night while the sun was coming up."
"I must thank you again for your hospitality," Brook said, his hand reaching for his teacup, not quite gripping it but not passing through it either, "Your kindness touches my heart. Or it would if I still had a heart!" He finished with a laugh.
"Brook, your praise makes my pulse race," Sanji responded with a grin, "Or it would if I still had a pulse."
The two of them shared a laugh, and Zoro glanced between them with a frown, "Are you making fun of your own deaths?"
"They've been doing this all morning," Luffy stage whispered to him at a volume everyone could hear anyway, failing to suppress his own chuckles, "Isn't it funny?"
"Not really," he glanced between them, "Isn't it depressing."
"Oh, what do you know?" Sanji grinned and waved him off, his manic laughs winding down, "You've never died."
"Or died again," Brook nodded, and Sanji raised his cup in solidarity.
Zoro shook his head. Maybe it was a dead thing, but Sanji looked happy, so he couldn't really complain. Perhaps having someone to bond with over something so morbid was good for the moody vampire.
"I must say, Mr. Werewolf," Robin said as she set her mug down on the table, "You're certainly not what I expected as a human."
He frowned and glared at her as he finished his food, "What do you mean?"
"You seemed very aggressive last night," Robin leaned forward, gaze analyzing him, "Very, protective."
"I'm afraid you've got that backwards," Sanji laughed, "He's just a big cuddly goofball as a wolf." He reached up and pat his back, and Zoro stiffened at the sudden contact, "It's his human form that's rude and annoying."
"Shut up," Zoro grumbled, trying not to blush but failing. He tried not to, but he couldn't help leaning back into his touch.
Robin hummed, "Perhaps he's just like that with a select few then."
Zoro's eye narrowed as he studied her back. The last thing he needed in his life was another dangerous woman.
Speaking of dangerous women, "Where're Nami and Usopp? Are they okay?"
The last thing he remembered was that they were still unconscious from whatever Brook had done to them. But seeing as Franky was awake and everyone was being all buddy buddy with the ghost, they must have been alright.
"Usopp went to recover his project from the art building," Sanji huffed, "and explain why the shit I went through all the effort of giving him an art space if he wasn't going to use it."
"That was a team effort, if I remember correctly," Zoro said, nudging him playfully with his elbow, "And some of us did all the heavy lifting."
"It's my apartment," he pointed out, but conceded, "Fine. When we gave him the space. Whatever, the point is he still picked the haunted art building over our upstairs."
"To be fair, I only ever haunted the theater," Brook said, "The art building was simply what you would call an auxiliary haunting, and technically what I haunt is the violin."
The intercom buzzed, and Sanji stood up to answer it. The second he left, Luffy lunged across the chair to make a play for the rest of Zoro's food, but Zoro had already dumped it into his mouth and swallowed it in one go. He slid into Sanji's vacant seat to save it for him when he got back, and Luffy returned to the couch, defeated.
"I'd probably pick a place to work that was only rumored to have a ghost over one known to have a vampire and a werewolf," Franky said.
"Well no one asked you," Sanji growled as he returned, glaring at Zoro in his chair, "Do I have to start using the spray bottle on you as a human now?"
What an ungrateful shit. Why did Zoro like him again?
"No fur, see?" Zoro raised his arm to show his normal body hair, "And I was saving your seat from Luffy."
"That's true," Luffy laughed, "I was totally about to steal it."
"That so?" Sanji smirked and ran a hand through his hair, "What a good guard dog."
Zoro froze, heat rising to his cheeks from the touch and the praise, and Sanji petting him sure felt different without the ears and the fur as a buffer, his cool hand touching his warm skin directly. A good different though. He wanted Sanji to do it again and more often.
Oh, yeah, that's why he liked him.
He brushed Sanji's hand off and stood up, "There's your seat, your highness."
"Finally, the respect I deserve," he said as he sat down in the chair like it was his throne.
Zoro kicked his leg, just to throw him off balance. Sanji growled and kicked him back.
"Are they always like this?" Robin leaned in and asked Luffy.
"Oh yeah, all the time," he answered.
Their mock fighting was cut short by the door opening, as Usopp and Nami made their way into the living room. Usopp was holding a rectangular package and glancing nervously around the room.
"Hey guys," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry about last night."
"You're fine," Zoro said as he nodded to Brook, "It was mostly his fault anyway, wasn't it?"
Brook laughed, "I suppose I am guilty of causing you all a smidge of alarm."
"You possessed us and held us hostage, I wouldn't call that a smidge," Nami said, "But Zoro did kidnap and try to kill us once, so whatever."
Zoro balked, "I was never going to kill you!"
"Oh, sorry," Nami's mischievous grin turned to him, "You're right. You were going to let Sanji kill us."
"Can you please just let that go?" He huffed, blushing slightly in embarrassment.
"But everyone is here and alive right now," Sanji said, clapping his hands together as he turned his attention towards Usopp, "So if you could please explain why the art studio we made for you is not up to your obviously high standards, I would greatly appreciate it."
"I love the art studio," Usopp said, unwrapping the package, revealing a canvas, "And I'm very grateful for it. So grateful that I wanted to do something special for you, and if I wanted to surprise you I couldn't do it here, and, uh, well…"
He shoved the canvas at Sanji, who took it and looked at it curiously.
"It's no Van Gogh," Usopp said, fidgeting his fingers as Sanji's eyes ran over the painting, "But, at least it's a more updated version than something from the 1880s, and uh, I hope you like it?"
Sanji stared at it, eyes growing wide as he took it in.
"I'm sorry," Usopp said quickly, "It sucks. It's nowhere near as good as the ones you have upstairs. I'm still learning and everything and you can just forget it."
He lunged for the canvas, but Sanji pulled it away from his grasp, stopping him with his foot to his chest.
"Don't you dare," he said, firmly but not unkindly, as he looked back at the painting, "I love it."
Curious, Zoro leaned over to see what it was. It was a portrait of Sanji, sitting in the very same chair he was currently sitting in, a familiar glass of wine in one hand. The other was resting on the head of a giant green wolf with one eye sitting by his side, imposing and fierce, sure, but the wolf was anything but frightening.
Zoro didn't know shit about art, but in his opinion it was much better than the Van Gogh.
"I need to frame it," Sanji said, his eyes darting around the room, "And hang it."
Usopp blushed, "Y-you don't have to-"
"Of course I have to," he said as he stood up and wandered around the room, "This is incredible! It deserves to be seen, not tucked away in a dusty box." He grinned, showing off the painting to the rest of the group, "Do I really look like that?"
"Yeah," Luffy said, "Of course."
"Just like you," Nami said.
"It's super good," Franky flashed him a thumbs up.
"It captures your likeness well," Brook said.
"It really does," Robin agreed.
Sanji turned to Zoro and asked sheepishly, "Am I really that beautiful?"
Yes, Zoro thought, you are. You are that and so so much more.
And yes, he liked Sanji very very much.
To Sanji, Zoro shrugged and said, "S'alright, I guess."
"What does a shitty dog know about art," he said, but that beautiful smile stayed on his face, making Zoro's stomach flip.
"You look good here too," Sanji noted, nodding at the wolf, "Elegant, even, a very noble image, you know, for a smelly wolf."
"I always look good," Zoro snorted, his stomach doing weird flippy things when Sanji just hummed in acknowledgement.
"I do know a good framer," Robin said as she stood up, holding onto a violin case, "Shall we see them?"
"Uh," Sanji glanced towards the curtained windows, "Right now?"
She chuckled, "Tonight, perhaps." She lifted the violin case, "I think I will be busy today gaining a unique historical perspective from our ghost friend here, and starting a new research project into his untimely demise for my next book, while I'm at it."
"And I am more than happy to prattle on to you about my life to a beautiful woman such as yourself," Brook said as he stood as well, "It warms my bones to tell you my story, or it would if I had any bones!"
"Yeah, yeah," Franky waved him off as he stood as well, "We'll keep your violin so you can stay with us, but just remembered she's a married lady. I'm super lucky to have her, and I'm not going to lose her to some ghost."
"I can't possibly blame you," Brook agreed, "She is divine. And although I am lacking bones, I may just have one left for-"
"I swear to fuck, ghost-bro," Franky shouted, "I love a good dick joke as much as the next guy, but I will kill you again if you finish that sentance."
"Noted," he said with a laugh, "I think one death is more than enough for anyone personally."
Robin smiled, amused by the exchange as she bid everyone goodbye, and the three of them left.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you who survived a demonic possession last night," Usopp said with a yawn, "But I'm beat."
"It was a ghostly possession," Nami corrected, "I'm sure a demonic possession would be much worse."
Usopp gaped at her, mouth open in fear, so Sanji said, "I can assure you my dear, there's no such thing as demons."
"Yeah, sure," she crossed her arms and glared at him, "That's what you said about ghosts, wasn't it."
Sanji balked, smiling sheepishly at her, "Y-yeah, I guess I did…"
"You spent most of last night sleeping," Zoro pointed out, "How can you possibly be tired?"
"I did, true," Usopp agreed, "and the sleeping bit was exhausting. Sanji, are the guest rooms still free?"
"Yeah," he said, nodding towards where they were, "Whenever you need them."
"My own room, delicious free food, and my own art studio," Usopp laughed, "I may never leave."
"Careful," Nami said as she grabbed his shoulder suddenly, making him jump, "That's how vampires trap you."
"Oh no," Usopp wailed dramatically as they walked off, "Please save me from the vicious bloodthirsty vampire!"
Luffy followed them, laughing the whole while.
Zoro glanced at Sanji, who was staring at the painting again, a much sadder look in his eyes.
He remembered what Brook had said last night, the accusation that Sanji was forcing them to care about him still made a burning hot rage fester in his gut. It had come from a place of loneliness and anger, emotions he knew well, so he could quite blame Brook for it, but that look of horror and doubt on Sanji's face still haunted him, still made him want to claw and bite and punch anyone who dared put it there.
Zoro placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder, "You know they're just kidding, right? They wouldn't be here if they didn't want to be."
"Yeah," he sighed, relaxing a little against his hand, "It's just…"
His eyes darted from the picture to Zoro, "Why are you here?"
He blinked at him, "What do you mean?"
"If I'm not forcing you, if I'm not manipulating you, why are you here?" He shook his head, "A vampire and a werewolf living together? Being friends? This should be a disaster, but you're still here."
"Yeah, well," he blushed and looked away, "I don't exactly have a place to live."
"Before sure, but you have options now. I'm sure Nami could put you up," he said, "Or Robin and Franky have extra rooms. Or I could even buy you another apartment, if you want to get away."
"I don't want to get away," he said automatically, frustration seeping into his voice, "I'm here because I want to be. I like living with you. I like, being your friend. I like taking care of you, and letting you take care of me. I like the thing we have going on, and who cares if it's supposed to work or not as long as it is." He glanced back at him, almost nervous as he added a soft, "It is, isn't it?"
"It is," Sanji reassured him, glancing back at the painting and running a careful finger over the image of Zoro there, "I just wonder how long this can last."
"As long as we want it to," Zoro told him.
The sad look was still there, and he would have given anything to peek into Sanji's mind and see what he was feeling and how he could make it better, but before he could ask him, he said, "Okay. I want you here too."
Zoro blushed, his hand gripping his shoulder tighter as Sanji continued, "I want all of you here, I just," he sighed, "I don't want to take advantage of you."
"You're not," he assured him, placing his hand on his other shoulder, "If anything we're taking advantage of you, invading your space and eating all your food."
"I like that you're here," he insisted, "and I want to feed you all."
"So we agree," he released him with a grin, "We're all just doing what we want, so what's the problem?"
"There's no problem," he huffed, but that small smile was back on his face, and Zoro considered that his greatest victory.
Sanji glanced back at the painting, holding it up to the spot above the fireplace, "This will look great over the mantel."
Zoro followed his gaze and imagined the portrait of the two of them hanging there, claiming this space as their home.
"Yeah," he agreed, "it really will."