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Chapter 43

Thriller Bark's ghosts

Sanji frowned as he looked through the menu.

The crew had rushed to the first restaurant to come as soon as they had disembarked on the long-awaited island despite the early hour and Luffy had shouted at the owner to bring them all he could by jumping on the counter. The cook was the only one who had wanted to take a look at what he was offering and the more he read it, the more his incomprehension grew.

"What is it, cook-san?" Robin inquired, noticing his game.

"This menu is strange, Robin-chan", the blond showed her. "Look, there isn't a single fish or seafood on the menu."

The young woman took the menu and wondered about it while Luffy was devouring everything within reach, leaving his other crewmates literally fight to eat. The captain was already a gluttony monster in normal times but after these last days of scarcity, even Nami hadn't managed to keep him a minimum. Thus, the latter had ordered two separate plates which she shared with Robin.

"This is surprising, indeed", the archaeologist agreed, giving the menu back to her friend. "It must have something to do with the lack of fish we have observed ourselves."

At this moment, a waiter brought a new dish brimming with rice and vegetables and Sanji took the opportunity to call out to him.

"Say, why don't you serve seafood? Is it because of their sudden disappearance?" he asked him.

"Well..."

The man sighed and didn't have time to put down his dish that it was stolen from him by an elastic hand.

"It's because we can't afford it", he admitted.

"There's still some left?" Brook wondered. "We haven't seen any in days."

"There are some but they're no longer available for simple restaurateurs..."

"I don't get it", Zoro said, taking a long sip of his beer. "Why can't you have it anymore? Where did they go?"

"It's a pretty complicated story", the owner interrupted them while he was approaching, arms full of food. "The truth is an organization of criminals from the Big Island has struck again and they're keeping all the fishing for themselves before selling it at unaffordable prices."

"Fish thieves?" Franky wondered, emptying his bottle of cola.

"Worse than that", he grumbled, clearing a few plates after serving his customers. "They're scavengers who ravage the entire ocean for a few berries!"

The man looked genuinely furious and Luffy questioned him with his eyes, sauce dripping from his lips.

"You see, they don't just steal the honest people who make a living from their fisheries", he spoke again, stacking up other plates. "These individuals use appalling methods to force the fish to go where they want."

"How do they do?" Chopper asked, shuddering.

The owner shook his head.

"They pour hydrocarbons along the coasts of the archipelago. They stretched for hundreds of kilometers to the previous island through which you had to pass. As a result, the whole region is affected and the fish have no choice: they rush to the only unpolluted place. That's where they pick them all up. They set up traps and they just have to wait."

"Oh my God!" Nami exclaimed, horrified.

"This is the second time this year", the waiter sadly added. "At this rate, we may clean the coasts; the ecosystem won't be able to recover easily..."

"And nobody does anything?" Franky got indignant.

"The Marine arrested a few members last time but the leader escaped, they didn't have enough evidence", the owner sighed.

The crew was appalled but Luffy nudged his closest neighbor.

"What's hydrocarbons?" he asked Ussop.

"Oil, Luffy", his friend sighed. "They dump pollutants into the sea and the fish are forced to flee if they don't wanna end up suffocated..."

"That's why these sharks were fighting", the cook gloomily understood. "These poor animals had nothing left to eat so they were killing each other to survive..."

An icy silence welcomed his statement while the owner and his waiter took away the dirty dishes. When they returned with new ones, Sanji questioned them again.

"Do you know where they are?" he asked.

The owner stared at him before nodding.

"A few kilometers south. Our island is at the mouth of the archipelago and we're the obligatory passage to set off again towards Grand Line but I don't advise you to venture there to haggle. They're some tough dudes."

"So am I", the cook replied, standing up.

"What are you doing, curly?" Zoro wondered when he saw him walk towards the door.

"I've got a score to settle", the cook said, putting on his jacket.

"Those men are certainly very dangerous", Brook pointed out to him.

"Those bastards starve living beings, thrive by making profits on the backs of the inhabitants and destroy the ocean", the blond firmly replied, lighting a cigarette. "There's no way they get out of it."

"Sanji's right", Luffy agreed, putting in a new bite of rice. "They must give back the fish!"

The cook gratefully smiled at his captain. He knew he understood.

"We'll go there as soon as we're done eating", the straw hat boy added.

"With Robin, we'll try to determine the extent of the damage on the coast for the cleaning", Nami suggested while her friend nodded.

"I'm coming with you!" Ussop approved. "It'll be less dangerous", he then quietly added.

"All you have to do is join me", the blond said. "I'm gonna start weed control."

"Be careful, Sanji!" the little reindeer begged him.

"Yeah, wait for us. Let us make them regret their method too!" Franky asked him with a fierce smile.

The straw hat crew's cook had quickly found the base of the criminals. They were clearly very organized and their property extended over several boathouses along the coast. After having discreetly observed their activities, Sanji had noted they were coming to the end of their process because aquariums filled with fish too packed to even move were piling up, ready to be loaded on boats which would head for different islands.

The young man clenched his teeth when he saw the state of the coastline on the horizon: everything was covered with sticky black pellets and several birds and marine mammals were stuck. They were trying to struggle in vain and were getting exhausted before letting themselves die.

Sanji fixed a heinous gazed on the small building from which several men were rushing away after receiving their orders. He was certain to find the leader inside and he would make him wish he would never been born. Sea was his home, and the way these men were treating his resources as well as its inhabitants was simply unbearable for him.

He threw his cigarette butt and took a firm step towards the building. His crewmates were probably not far away and they would join him.

"It's awful", Chopper whispered, looking at the coast. "It'll take months or even years for the flora and fauna to recover..."

The crew was watching in silence the sad carnage of oil on the beach. Some residents were trying to clean up the rocks and sand as best they could, but their efforts seemed derisory given the immensity of the task. Others were vigorously rinsing considerably stuck dolphins and turtles. The sight was sad to see.

"We have to help them", Nami decided. "The most urgent is to save these animals to the full!"

Ussop, Robin, Franky, Chopper and Brook nodded in agreement but Luffy clenched his fists.

"I'm gonna join Sanji. Those bullies need a lesson", he growled.

Beside him, Zoro nodded and the group parted, some towards the beach and others towards the boathouses.

Sanji wiped his lips dripping with blood and stood up. The gang leader was far more formidable than he had thought. After having easily got rid of the minions, he had believed the matter would be quickly settled but their leader was an outstanding knife thrower and despite his speed and skill, the blond had been hit in the left ankle and the right shoulder. His injuries weren't serious but the last blade he had avoided had required him to turn sharply to his left and his foot hadn't held. So he had collapsed on the ground and hit his head painfully.

However, he faced his adversary again who looked at him with a sneer, still as determined. He wasn't going to let him make it out alive, that was off the table.

"Nitoryu. Tiger Hunt!"

Zoro cracked another aquarium and Luffy jumped in front of him.

"Gum-Gum Finger Net!"

He caught hold of all the little escapees and hoisted himself up onto the roof before dropping them into the sea below. He then went down to his first mate, a huge smile on his lips.

"Sanji's gonna be so happy when he'll see the fish have been released!"

Zoro just went to the next aquarium. The guards they had taken care of on the way in were ridiculously weak and the cook had had to settle the score in seconds. Yet he was nowhere to be seen and that only meant one thing: he hadn't yet gotten rid of their leader who should be made of sterner stuff.

Suddenly, a metallic sound made him turn his head. He then saw a huge pliers directed by a small crane which rushed towards the captain and his eyes widened. The fencer wanted to run to warn him but it was too late. Helpless, he saw the pliers grab Luffy and throw him into the water in an empty aquarium. Immediately, the straw hat boy sank like a rock and Zoro positioned his swords.

"Nitoryu. Tig-"

The swordsman was lifted in the air by the pliers and his blades slipped out of him. He was thrown into another aquarium half full of shellfish and he blocked his breathing so as not to swallow seawater. Amidst the restless crabs, he then tried to grab the only sword he had left while throwing frantic glances at the other glass cube in which Luffy had lost consciousness. The crane operator had already fled, convinced he had won or gone in search of backing.

Zoro redoubled his efforts when he freed Sandai Kitetsu. He pushed the terrified animals and positioned his sword against the glass. He gave it a big blow but the water pressure was slowing him down considerably and he had to do it three times before cracking it. On the fourth stroke, the pond crumbled and he got swept away by a wave of water and crabs to the ground.

He got up quickly and looked for his other blades. He then jumped forward to grab them and rushed to Luffy's aquarium.

Facing the glass, he focused while trying to catch his breath. He shouldn't push too hard or he would hurt Luffy who couldn't protect himself.

"Ittoryu. Thirty-six Pound Phoenix!"

The air blades hit the glass surface and it exploded from all sides. Zoro blocked his breathing again and got ready for the breaker while trying to catch hold of his captain.

He grabbed him with his fingertips as he passed and then placed him on the ground, anxious. Luffy was unconscious and had probably swallowed water: he needed help. He looked for a Den Den Mushi and rushed to the back of the boathouse when he saw one. He then dialed Franky's mobile Den Den Mushi number, frowning.

"Yeah?" the cyborg's voice said after a few seconds.

"Franky, bring Chopper immediately, Luffy needs help."

"Luffy? Chopper? Is that you, Zoro?"

"Hurry up, we have no time to lose!" he cut him brutally. "We're in the second boathouse!"

The fencer hung up and went back at the bedside of his captain, definitely worried.

When the rest of the crew turned up several minutes later, Chopper darted towards Luffy. He immediately began an intensive cardiac massage and the captain was beginning to spit water from his lungs when new attackers surrounded the straw hat pirates. While the battle was starting from everywhere, the little reindeer too focused on his patient didn't pay attention to the huge pliers which grabbed him violently to make him land in a hermetic cage.

His friends busy to protect themselves didn't react immediately and when a man grabbed his cage to run away with it, Chopper started to shout.

"Continue the massage, don't stop!"

Brook and Franky looked up and rushed after him while Ussop was throwing himself beside his captain to implement the doctor's recommendations.

"Where's Sanji-kun?" the navigator asked while warding off a missile in her direction with her Clima- Tact.

"We haven't seen him", Zoro replied after having repelled several enemies.

"This isn't normal", Robin said as she was strangling several men. "He should already be back."

"I'll get him", the swordsman decided.

Robin and Nami agreed and positioned themselves around Ussop to protect him from their remaining opponents as the fencer was dashing towards the exit door.

Zoro discovered his crewmate in the smallest building of the property. He was facing the leader of the group and despite his obvious obstinacy, he was visibly in trouble. Blood was dripping from his left leg and his jacket was torn, not to mention his bloody lips and scratched face.

Sanji had understood how the man was managing to throw his knives at superhuman speed. Being used to fight against Zoro, he should have been able to stand up to him but the looters leader had explained to him he had eaten the propeller fruit: his knives were actually blade swirling at breakneck speed and digging at the heart of its target to the point of crushing it.

The blond had still managed to deflect many of his attacks with his kicks but the strength of the propellers had finally cut his skin, leaving him more and more weakened.

In front of him, the man clearly seemed to be having fun and he swung yet another propeller. The cook tensed and was about to deflect it again when a sword stopped the missile a few inches from his eyes.

Appalled, he then noticed the fencer was positioning himself in front of his rival.

"What do you think you're doing, marimo head?" he barked. "Can't you see I got this?"

"Find Nami, Robin and Ussop in the second boathouse. They're gonna need you."

"What?! Are you fucking kiddin' me?!"

Zoro repulsed a series of propellers launched at full speed in his direction, making them crash hard against his blades while their enemy was doubling the number of his deadly weapons. For his part, Sanji decided to take advantage of it to rush towards the man.

"Don't come near him, you idiot!" the fencer shouted, understanding his intention. "You can't take him hand to hand with his speed!"

Sanji ignored him and was about to powerfully kick him when the propeller-man suddenly turned towards him, a huge smile on his lips. The blond slammed but it was too late. At this distance, the propeller was impossible to avoid completely and it cut his shoulder deeply before finishing its ride in the back wall. The cook got down on one knee and felt the taste of blood fill his mouth when he bit his lower lip out of pain.

He then saw Zoro rush to his side to spare him the next blow.

"Santoryu. Streaming Wolf Swords!"

The fencer allowed them to escape a new salvo of propellers before sharply counterattacking by sending them back when they hit his blades, forcing their launcher to retreat.

Grabbing a brief lull, the swordsman quickly glanced at the blond who got up to be on guard.

"Go find them", he repeated, not taking his eyes off his opponent.

"No way, shitty swordsman!" the cook persisted. "It's up to me to beat him up!"

Their rival burst out laughing at them.

"You're far too weak to stand up to me, kid! I've been sending you my propellers for a while and you've never been able to attack!"

Sanji saw red and even before the fencer could hold him back, he dashed towards him with the idea of striking out an Anti-Manner Kick Course at him. The man snickered again and threw about twenty propellers which swirled around him to protect him in the form of an armor with sharp blades. Launched in his race, the blond didn't slow down. He had decided to carry on regardless this sharp wall.

"Santoryu. Dragon Twister!"

Zoro leaped towards their enemy, destroying his protection thanks to the power of the twirl of his own swords. Nevertheless, the cook was too close and he was forced to slightly shift so as not to hit him and a pale reached the swordsman at the waist, deeply cutting him.

Stunned by his move, Sanji also deflected a propeller which had flown away under the force of the fencer's attack. The looter had been thrown against the wall, but he was getting up again with a threatening look, now furious, and focusing all his attention on the swordsman. With an infuriated gesture, the cook turned to his crewmate, pointing to his wound.

"You moron, look what you did! Let me take care of-"

"Join the others, Sanji, that's an order!"

The blond suddenly froze. The swordsman's eyes were on fire as he was catching his breath and Sanji wiped his own lip, dripping with blood. From as far back as he can remember, he had never heard Zoro refer to his position in the crew, let alone use it to establish his authority over his crewmates. So he felt all the more hurt.

However, he took a short breath before turning around, letting the fencer resume his fight.

Sanji rushed to the second boathouse and quickly saw Nami and Robin who were trying to contain the attacks of other opponents alerted by their fight noises.

"Mouton Shot! Flanchet! Concassé!"

The blond literally exploded all of his enemies, giving free rein to his rage at the same time. When he straightened up, he noticed that Nami had knelt beside Ussop near Luffy's body and he darted towards them.

"What happened?" he inquired with concern.

The navigator looked up with tears in her eyes.

"He-He's not longer breathing and Chopper has been kidnapped", she stammered.

Leaning over the captain, Ussop was continuing his cardiac massage but Luffy's elastic body responded badly to the pressures put on his body.

"Where did they take him?" the cook asked.

"Brook and Franky went after the man who put him in a cage", Robin told him. "They made their way to the boarding boathouse."

"All right."

Sanji looked around and noticed that some of their enemies were slowly regaining consciousness.

"Ussop, you're gonna take Luffy and bring him back to the Sunny. You'll be safe there. Robin-chan and Nami-san, you'll have to escort him along the way."

"No problem", the archaeologist claimed while Nami was agreeing, drying her eyes.

"What are you gonna do?" the gunner asked, his face red with the effort he had been making for long minutes.

"I'm gonna bring Chopper back."

He then lit a cigarette and blew out his smoke.

"I'll distract them, get ready."

His three friends firmly agreed and they rushed behind him.

Hidden by the massive outline of the Sunny staircase, Sanji was watching his friends laugh and sing on the deck since the start of the evening.

He had managed to join Brook and Franky just before the boat where poor Chopper had been locked up set sail. The thieves likely had the idea of selling him in the same way as the fish they had hijacked. With the help of his friends, he had been able to get rid of the sailors who were firing on them from the deck and had freed their doctor before rushing to the Sunny to find Luffy.
Zoro hadn't turned up until two hours later, claiming to have quickly rendered the leader harmless, but the cook hadn't stopped staring at the wound on his waist which had stained his white tee-shirt in red. Most likely, however, he simply had been lost on the way home, hence his late arrival.

Luffy had then regained consciousness and Chopper had treated the other wounded persons. The cook was doing fine and apart from a few scratches, only his ankle wound made him suffer a little. The crewmates now together, they had wanted to return to the beach to free the rest of the animals imprisoned. Yet in the meantime, the Navy had taken over the space and was taking care of arresting the culprits while organizing the cleaning of the coastline.

The straw hat crew had therefore quietly disappeared and had set out again with a light heart. Brook had of course begun to delight his friends with lively music celebrating their journey and Sanji had feasted them on juicy meat and multicolored cotton candy in honor of the two heroes of the day.

Late into the night, Sanji finally decided to lean on the stern to be some time alone and he breathed deeply. Their victory and the joy of knowing everyone was alive couldn't get him out of the apathy he had been in for a few hours now. Indeed, the dull anger he had felt earlier had been swept aside by another event that had come to his mind, terribly echoing what had happened that morning.

Thriller Bark. When Zoro had cruelly shown him he wasn't good enough. And even today, he had reminded him of it, painfully bringing back that wound that had never completely healed in him. Yet he knew the important thing was that everyone got out of it and he was sincerely delighted to know that all his friends were in good health. He was thus forced to admit that the fencer had made the right decision, but his ego was nonetheless wounded once again.

Sanji sighed. Their relationship wasn't equal, it never had been. Whether when they were mere crewmates or now, Zoro was enjoying this little superiority and he couldn't bear it.

"We need to talk about what happened."

The cook almost jumped at the sound of his voice and he slowly turned to him.

"No", he simply said before wanting to walk away.

He was already tired of this fuss but Zoro stood in front of him to block his way.

"Yes, it's important."

"What if I refuse, what are you gonna do? You're gonna order me?" the blond got ironic, annoyed.

The swordsman stared at him straight in the eyes and Sanji prevented himself from shivering in front of his imperious gaze.

"I don't want to do this ever again", he coldly replied.

At these words, Sanji rolled his eyes, not wanting to be impressed by his posture.

"You shouldn't have done it, jackass. I could've easily handled it without you."

The fencer's gaze hardened further and his powerful aura took over the cook.

"I don't have time for you to take unnecessary risks", he hurled at him. "I'm not gonna protect you, you gotta pull yourself together!"

"I don't want you to protect me and if you ever do that again, you won't see Mihawk before he reaches the hell where you'll rot!" the blond threatened back, his eyes bright with rage.

Zoro watched him carefully for a moment before raising his eyebrows.

"Then stop messing around."

He was going to go away so to close the discussion but now Sanji didn't want to.

"I am not messing around, it's you who tries to continually humiliate me!" he spat.

The swordsman turned to him questioningly.

"What, is that what makes you so angry?" he wanted to know.

"Of course it is!" the blond exclaimed, infuriated. "You showed up with your swords and you nicely asked me to get lost like I couldn't handle myself!"

"You shouldn't have stay, the others needed help", the fencer calmly pointed out, folding his arms.

"But why did you want me out, you saw I was busy!" the cook kept on in the same tone.

"Because that wasn't your place."

Sanji gasped and he fiercely grabbed the swordsman by his tee-shirt's collar to bring him closer in a threatening move.

"What do you call it, throwing something like that at me?" he hissed, livid with anger. "You're just... a... perfect bastard..."

Zoro hadn't tried to free himself and the cook loosened the fabric with a trembling gesture.

"You always want to belittle me", he continued in a quavering voice. "It's exactly like Thriller Bark! You make your own decisions and you don't care about the others..."

This time, Zoro frowned.

"Thriller Bark? What this has to do with anything?"

Sanji sadly laughed.

"Of course, for you it means nothing but I'll remind you that you humiliated me there too! You knocked me out to take my place and afterwards, you acted as if nothing happened!"

"No, it was you who stepped in", he reminded him. "I had already made my choice and offered the exchange. And it wasn't to humiliate you."

"You took me off-guard!" the blond roared again. "When I woke up, I discovered your swords, I didn't know where you were and I found you in a bloodbath! Besides, all you could tell me was "nothing happened"!"

"I did what I had to do", the swordsman firmly replied.

Sanji fixed his gaze on his before glaring at him. Recalling that cursed day was hurting his ego again while bringing back his fear and pain.

"What about me, then? What I was doing was useless so you swept me with a blow in the ribs with a sword?!" he got indignant.

"It wasn't your place!" Zoro repeated, tensing up.

At these words, the cook froze, deeply hurt.

"How can you say that!" he reproached him angrily. "I'm part of the crew, dammit!"

Suddenly on edge, Sanji felt he was going to crack up. That the fencer had such a low opinion of his person was ravaging his heart as well as his reason. He had no chance of building something lasting and sincere with someone who didn't give him enough legitimacy when it came to fight alongside him at crucial moments.

Trembling with rage and pain, he no longer knew if he wanted to beat up the swordsman or start crying out of spite so he preferred to put distance between them as soon as possible. He passed him to reach the front of the Sunny but immediately felt the hand of the fencer fall down firmly on his arm. Slowly catching his breath, the blond didn't make a move to turn around.

"You're gonna listen to me, you moron", Zoro growled in a hoarse voice. "You think I do this kind of thing for fun, to have my moment of glory?!"

The cook didn't move more but managed to unclench his lips to answer him in a flat voice.

"I know you don't think I'm strong enough to protect the crew anyway. This morning like in Thriller Bark, you make me understand pretty clearly that I'm not good enough according to you."

Zoro's hand tightened on his arm and Sanji kept himself from wincing under his iron grip.

"Look at me."

The swordsman's low voice was irrevocable and the blond slowly ended up turning around, as if drained of all emotion.

"You don't get it", the swordsman spoke again, trying to control his own anger. "I know you'd have gone all the way but what for? Earlier, you took unnecessary risks and at Thriller Bark, you'd surely be dead! You got a death wish? You wanna become a martyr and we all mourn for you? Is that what you want?!"

Sanji felt doubt came over him in front of his crewmate's incomprehension and disappointment. Yet, he didn't want to be a hero. He just wanted to be there for his friends and do his best to help them fulfill their dreams. And he didn't want the fencer to consider him a negligible amount. He wanted to be recognized for his strength and not feel indebted to him.

"Of course not. I want to take part, that's all", he went on reluctantly. "I want... I just want to have a place among the crew and be worthy of it..."

Emotions abruptly rushed into him from all sides and Sanji tried to put on a bold front while the swordsman was still piercing him with his stare. Admitting his helplessness and his feeling of inferiority was hurting him because he was admitting it in front of someone who tolerated no weakness.

Yet, the fencer's features softened at his words and he released the pressure on his arm to put his hand behind the blond's neck, still staring at him straight in the eye.

"We all have a role to play here", he quietly reminded him. "Nami makes us sail, Ussop is our shooter, Franky takes care of the ship, Chopper heals us, Brook entertains us, Robin guides us, Luffy brought us together and you're the cook. What about me, what do you think I do? Aside from wielding my swords, I can't do anything. So that wasn't your place because protecting the crew and Captain, that's my job. It doesn't mean you can't, it means you have something else to do."

Sanji stared at him for a long time before trying to open his mouth again, but Zoro went ahead of him.

"You're essential to this team, you idiot", he went on, playing with his fingers at the base of his blond hair. "That's why you have to stay alive. You have your own battles to fight. And All Blue to find."

"But I know, it's just that..."

Silence settled for a few moments as Sanji desperately searched for his words.

"What's the matter?" the fencer finally asked.

"I don't know, marimo", he ended up answering slowly. "I think... It's just that..."

Zoro interrupted him with a finger on his mouth.

"Don't say a word. Just for once, don't say a word."

They looked at each other for a long time, the swordsman keeping the pressure of his hand against his partner's neck who was staring at him without managing to put into words what he had purely and simply misinterpreted since the first day.

When Sanji finally assimilated what the fencer's statement really meant, he felt the emotion came over him again and his resistance finally left him. He gave up expressing himself and closed his eyes before leaning against the swordsman's forehead. Zoro then lowered one of his hands to his waist to pull him into a possessive embrace.

"You know what I thought when you picked me up that day at Thriller Bark?" he whispered in his ear.

Against him, the cook shook his head, still unable to make a sound. He couldn't believe the fencer was the more talkative of them at the moment and he shivered.

"That I was lucky to have a crewmate like you", he calmly spoke again. "Despite all our differences and our continuous rivalry, I knew I could count on you no matter what if one day I failed in my mission to protect the others."

At these words, Sanji felt his eyes fill with tears before suppressing it quickly and he mentally thanked the fencer for put up with hugging him.

"You don't know how scared I was, stupid", he whispered in a hoarse voice. "First, I thought you didn't make it with your swords left behind and when I saw you, it wasn't any better. Damn, you were covered in blood, you were quite scary..."

The swordsman pulled away slightly to gaze at him with amusement.

"It takes more than that to kill me. I still have my goal to reach."

Sanji smiled weakly before leaning hesitantly over the fencer. Zoro received him quietly and they slowly tasted each other's lips, as if conscious of not rushing their embrace after this roller coaster of emotions. And so, as they were kissing as if they were reliving that terrible day, Sanji understood.

He understood why he was constantly looking for evidence of Zoro's attachment to him. He understood why he had the impression of being judged or kept at a distance by the swordsman since their first encounter. He understood why anger had overwhelmed him that day when everything had changed between them. And he understood what was that pain in him he thought was humiliation.

Because beyond their instinctual rivalry, Zoro allowed him to be completely himself and therefore he was competing with him on all levels. On the physical plan, on the mental plan, and now on the sentimental plan. And if Sanji was never entirely satisfied, the swordsman was only asking him to do what he was born for and what he was the best at.

Sanji closed his eyes a little tighter as he was enjoying the caress of the swordsman's lips on his. Was he so afraid of losing the gaze of his crewmates? Was he afraid of losing Zoro's attention, he who knew how much he thought highly only of those who were worth it?

Yes, probably. His family had told him throughout his childhood that he didn't live up their expectations, so today he was still convinced that he couldn't satisfy anyone.

The blond suddenly squeezed up a little more against the fencer, both reassured and almost desperate. It wasn't in Zoro that he was lacking confidence. It was in himself.

This chapter is essential because it's about their relationship's roots. And it allows Sanji to understand his own attitude towards Zoro.

In my opinion, Sanji is trying to hide a great fragility of his self-esteem so he needs to feel he's alive and he's loved (by Zoro in my story, by women in the manga). Of course it has to do with his past and this part of him really interests me.

I hope you're convinced and I wanted you to know I'll try to post a chapter every 7 to 10 days from now on. Then see you next week!