Sarge1130: They are a little nutso lol Maybe they'll help Sanji see humor in life, again, open him up :) His life as an old man living with older men will surely change for the better! Law is so...bratty here lol A child swimming in an adult's body, with no one but his weird family to listen to - maybe Sanji will help him grow up ; ) Ah, the things these two can teach each other! Yes, Rayleigh's power is like that, but there's so much more...thanks for sticking along!

9: Ussop

The next morning, Law peeked into the room he'd finally managed to trap Sanji in. He, Vergo, Corazon, Jora and Dellinger peered around the door with caution. The room was a wreck – but the window was too high for Sanji to jump out of, being that it was the highest window in the west tower. From the window, they did see a bunch of sheets and curtains tied together, but most of the household objects had banded together to cut it halfway down.

"Is he dead?" Dellinger asked in a loud whisper, causing the others to shush him. A snort from the farthest corner of the room caught their attention, and they saw that Sanji was sitting in a chair facing them, looking exhausted.

Law cleared his throat as the others nudged him. "Will you now listen to reason?"

"I'm all ears."

"Listen, this was for your own good," Law said, opening the door wider so he could step in. "Storming off to the village with a hot head wasn't the smartest thing you could do."

"Yeah!" Dellinger echoed, sliding along behind him. "You big bully! You're not very nice to us! And we're being all sorts of nice to you!"

"A little appreciation and 'thanks' would be nice," Jora added.

"I understand that, now. Without you guys, I'd...so...thank you," Sanji said, rising from the chair with a huff. "Admittedly, I sat down to think about things while I plotted on burning this entire place down. Looking back, I realize I wasn't much of a match against Rayleigh. He's very manipulative, and I could have just…ruined things if I made my way to him, now. Especially after what you've said of Zeff. All I ask at this point is being able to speak to Ussop."

"Well, regarding that – we can arrange a meeting with him. Far from the village," Law added carefully. "But you promised to - !"

"I remember my promise," Sanji muttered with a frown. Hands bunched at his sides, he said, "If I could just speak to Ussop, I'd be fine with things."

"It appears that Rayleigh has packed and left your house," Corazon said, jumping onto a nearby shelf. "He didn't give much of an explanation to the townspeople, but he didn't allow himself any time to do anything. Your friend, Ussop, was already telling people that Zeff had been found."

"Alive?" Sanji asked tentatively.

"Yes." Corazon paused as he looked around the room. "From what it sounds like…there isn't much sympathy from him regarding your situation. Apparently, Ussop and Zoro had spent most of this time trying to convince him to come back to speak with you personally."

Sanji looked at him with an expression of concern, then looked at Law. Law shrugged. With a grim frown, he said, "I need to talk to him. If this is so, that Rayleigh is gone, please allow him here."

"We can't risk it," Vergo said. "The villagers need to stay in the unknown about us, or we'll be in trouble. Law risked his life and ours by revealing himself to Rayleigh last night, and even if he returns with an army or something to redeem himself, we at least have time to prepare for that. The villagers might be a little more…overwhelming."

Sanji's lips thinned, but he nodded. "Fine. Whatever. Let's do this."

: :

Hours later, he sat on a stump, chin in palm. Anxiety made his knees jiggle as he watched the animal pathway that was located near the north of the castle. All around them, the trees rustled with wildlife, birds chirping noisily. Squirrels darted about, and deer munched at underbrush nearby. He was wearing a nicely sewn shirt and some fitting trousers made out of some wool material, and his worn shoes had been replaced with some ridiculously beautiful boots that one of the household items gave to him. The sewing machines had been quite talented in just eyeing him and creating these pieces for him, in literal minutes. The cloak he wore was green, allowing him to blend in with the scenery around him, and while he wasn't alone, he felt alone.

Zeff wasn't coming back. Sanji's interaction with Ussop would be limited. All that would be his company would be the Donquixote family, and their screwiness was sure to mess with his head. He hoped he didn't turn out like them.

Ussop popped into view, breathing heavily, looking tired. But once he saw Sanji, he brightened, hurrying the last few steps to him. "You're alive!"

"I am. Where've you been?" Sanji asked him with concern, rising up from the stump and looking him over. "What did that asshole do to you?"

"Look, I'm sorry to have to break it to you, but Zoro found Zeff on accident," Ussop said, his face darkening as his shoulders slumped. "He was living in a small shack out there – convinced that Rayleigh would kill you if he left it. So he listened to Rayleigh and had intended on living there."

"Why?"

"I don't think I need to answer that question," Ussop said gravely, fiddling with his gloves. "But, um…I don't think you should visit him. Rayleigh kept him captive with that threat, but…Zeff isn't…normal."

"He was always a little gruff, and – "

"He disrespected you by saying you were a piece of property, and I don't know if that's Rayleigh's influence or just his thoughts, but…I didn't like it."

"If he's still under Rayleigh's influence, maybe I should visit him myself," Sanji muttered, feeling his brow furrow. "Maybe if he sees me, he will think differently."

Ussop reached out and touched his arm, a compassionate look to his face. "I'm your friend, Sanji. I went with Zoro that day because he needed to show you this, and I would absolutely do whatever it took to make sure you were safe and sound. But on that, you're my best friend. And as your best friend, I beg of you – don't go. You won't like what you find there."

Sanji's lips tightened, and he said, "If you know me as well as you claim, then you know I have to see this for myself."

"I just don't want you hurt." Ussop looked down at his own boots, toeing the soft mud. "Look, I know you think that Zeff had always said you were mere property. That's how…that's how he thinks. Even without Rayleigh's influence. The things he said, they were cruel and…I ended up dragging Zoro out of there. Hearing him say those disgusting things, I just…I don't want you to meet him face to face, again. He is not worth your effort, and your time."

Sanji felt his jaw tighten. On one hand, he felt he should trust Ussop's words. He was confident that Ussop was looking out for him, and he believed Ussop. But another part of him needed to hear these things from the man himself. After all, only he was sure of Rayleigh's influence.

Ussop looked at him cautiously. "You're not going to return to the village, are you? I mean…where are you staying? And how…? You're friends with the Beast, now?"

Sanji looked away from him, saying, "It's complicated. But…I agreed to stay there, at the castle."

"As a prisoner?"

"No," Sanji said impatiently. "I agreed to staying there for…reasons of my own. But at this moment, it's unsafe for me to come out. Rayleigh left the village, I understand."

"He did. He told the villagers that you'd run off with another man. He found these weird letters that I can't imagine you – you never mentioned."

Sanji gave him a puzzled look, then shook his head. "Just know I …it's not a situation for you to be concerned about. Believe me, whatever drivel was found, it wasn't my influence. More than likely, it was those bastards at the castle that did something that stupid. Whatever, as long as it works."

Ussop frowned at him, then looked around. The forest seemed alive with its usual array of life, and the air smelled of fresh rain and soft earth. The sun was brilliant, but it was soon to be swallowed up by incoming clouds. The mountain tops were dusted with faint traces of snow. He then looked up at Sanji again. If anything, the man looked even more stoic than usual, face heavy with thought. Being free of Rayleigh, Ussop thought he'd look a little more relieved, happy – but he saw sleepless eyes and a tight frown and scrunched shoulders, with tight fists.

"How will we communicate?" he asked.

"We can meet," Sanji assured him. "I will be living there for a little under a year. It's…complicated."

Ussop furrowed his brow again. "Are you helping those guys to get over the curse?"

"I'm going to try."

"I don't know if that's a good idea…"

"Look, like I said, it's complicated. I…they helped me. I can return the favor."

"But they're bad guys, Sanji," Ussop lowered his voice in a low whisper, reaching out to hold his arm. "Doflamingo was an uncooperative dictator, who thought of himself as a god. And those kids were mean! And the rest of them - !"

"How insulting," Law commented from above them, causing Ussop to jerk back. Once he caught sight of him, he made to faint – Sanji caught him quickly, lowering him to sit on the stump he'd abandoned. Then gave the Beast a dirty look. He was sprawled over on a branch over them, like some large predator, blending in with the thick foliage of the tree.

"I told you to keep your trap shut," Sanji snapped at him. "Ussop is sensitive. He'll have a heart attack looking at your ugly mug!"

"He was insulting us, first," Law snorted, resting chin on hand, foot dangling from the branch.

Ussop recovered shakily, gaping up at the Beast with a fearful expression. He clung to Sanji with both arms, saying, "You can't eat him! He's stringy and foul tempered and smokes a lot – he'll give you indigestion!"

"As if his cooking hasn't, already," Law grumbled.

Sanji tossed Ussop aside and kicked the tree, the Beast clinging to the branch with startled action. "Shut up! Opinion to yourself, you bastard! Anyway, Ussop, I've made up my mind. This is something I agreed to do, and I made a promise."

Ussop trembled for a few moments, knees knocking as he stared at the ghastly creature that grumbled to itself, resetting itself on the branch. When it opened one brilliant amber eye, the vertical pupil focused on him. Then widened with blood lust before the Beast bared its teeth. Ussop started to faint again before Sanji caught him and sat him down impatiently.

"We can still talk, and there'll be plenty of eyes and ears around to hear you call for me, okay?" Sanji said. "There's always a bunch of them in town. They're on high alert – I guess Doflamingo is aware of any tactic Rayleigh might use to cause danger to us all. But…I'm confident that they have my back."

"B-bu-but I just…I don't think…!" Ussop gulped tightly. "This isn't Doflamingo?"

"No."

Looking at him with puzzled action because Sanji didn't expand on it in anyway, Ussop moved on. "Everyone is trying to kill him, won't you be in danger?"

"No. Look, I have a situation to talk to you about, now that we're in the area," Sanji said, sitting next to him. "You're good with people, right?"

"Aw, don't talk about it in front of me!" Law complained, shifting restlessly, Ussop clinging to Sanji. "So embarrassing!"

"SHUT UP if you want to live!" Sanji looked at Ussop, who started to look puzzled, taking in account Sanji's impatient attitude towards the fearsome creature. "I need some advice on how to…entice somebody's interest. Love interest."

The request was so outlandish, considering the situation, that Ussop lost track of thought, looking at his friend with a puzzled expression. He looked from Sanji to Beast, until he refocused on Sanji once more. "For…why?"

"I've …I need to fall in love with someone," Sanji muttered, looking as if it were hard to speak. Not in the least embarrassed. His expression was so flat that Ussop did not believe him. "Within a year. Or there will be permanent consequences to my failure."

"You're cursed?" Ussop cried in panicked.

"Very. Only True Love's Kiss will cure it," Sanji repeated tonelessly. "Please help me."

Ussop gaped at him while Law growled, and Ussop looked up at him with panic, then back at Sanji, unable to believe this bad fortune of events. "I – I – I - ! I'm the worst person to ask! I've never - ! Well, uh, shouldn't you take a period of grievance, first? I mean, you were engaged - !"

"Wasn't my choice. Look, first things first. How do I…find someone interested in romance?" Sanji asked seriously. "Are there any single maidens available?"

"Plenty…but…Sanji, you know how the villagers are," Ussop said uncomfortably, looking down at his boots once more. "Now that you had a failed engagement with a male, women…won't be your first choice."

"Whatever. Single men, then?"

"For you, a lot. Um, how about Zoro? He's not that bad of a guy – "

"No. Next."

"Uh, well – "

"When men want to be courted, how do you think they'd want to be?" Sanji asked, Law sitting up to listen to Ussop's answer.

Ussop felt himself sweating nervously as he realized the Beast was listening intently. It puzzled him that it would, and he couldn't help but glance upward at him, finding those eerie eyes focused directly on him. He stuttered as he answered, "I – I don't know! From your experience, what do – ?"

"I don't have any experience, Ussop. An 80 year old man manipulated me and made the experience entirely unpleasant for any future aspirations into that area, so asking me would not work," Sanji snapped.

Ussop furrowed his brow once again. "Then who are you asking for, if it isn't for yourself, Sanji?"

"Er…"

"This is a waste of time!" Law snarled, sitting up. "I thought you said he'd be useful!"

"He is!"

"So far, he's not."

"For you?" Ussop asked with incredulous action, gaping. Then he said with hesitation, "There's no hope for you. Nobody can fall in love with a Beast."

"I know that," Law growled, dropping down from the branch with a heavy thump of sound. Ussop dove behind Sanji's back as the fearsome creature took to low ground near some brush, blending in with it so that if anyone happened to look in their direction, they'd see the men, first.

"Then why b-bother?" Ussop asked shakily.

"There's a chance," Sanji answered. "It can happen. We have to at least try."

"Which one are you?"

"It doesn't matter," Sanji waved off that question. "The only thing that matters is courtship. I was thinking maybe we can lure someone close to the woods at night, and these two can have meaningful conversation that will eventually turn into – "

"Everyone is terrified of the woods at night, that's not going to work," Ussop said patiently. To the Beast, he said, "Look, just accept that you're going to die. This isn't happening. It can't. You're too scary to look at."

"I have to try!" Law insisted, his voice fearsome for Ussop as he hid behind Sanji once more. "I have to try – I have a year! I need to do this!"

Sanji shrugged a shoulder. "It couldn't hurt to lay low for a year to do this. That's why I agreed to it."

"You knew it was a lost cause?" Ussop asked, before burying his face against Sanji's cloak as Law growled at him.

"Maybe love letters will do," Sanji decided, hands on his hips. "You can scout a person out in town. He can play secret admirer."

"That sounds easier!" Ussop said, peering up at him. "I can run the letters back and forth!"

"Guys don't like 'love letters'," Law mumbled. "Sounds stupid."

"You're one of the kids, aren't you?" Ussop asked, lifting his eyebrows. "You're…Law. You're Law, right?"

"Shut up. You're not worthy to utter my name."

Sanji kicked the bush and said to Ussop, "He's just as bratty as you remembered, just bigger."

"You were such a jerk to us," Ussop mumbled. "I'll never forgive you for chasing off my sheep – "

"I did too many things to apologize for one thing, so I'm not apologizing."

"Then why should I help?"

Law growled, rising up from the bush, Ussop hiding behind Sanji once more. Sanji frowned up at Law with impatience.

But Law said, "He's right! I can't count on him, Sanji. This is ridiculous. The more we speak of it, the more stupid it gets! There's no hope!"

"Not with that attitude," Sanji muttered. "And please hide. You're easily seen. Our voices can carry."

"Look, we can do that secret admirer thing," Law said, sitting near the brush once more. "Baby can write letters. She's good at that. Then, as interest rises, maybe we can start talking in the dark. It'll be easy to plan our conversations ahead."

Sanji looked at Ussop. "All we need is you to pick out the sucker – or the lucky guy. Or girl."

Ussop fretted for a moment, then looked at Law again. He was utterly convinced that this task would go nowhere. The guy was too scary, and all Ussop remembered was him as a child, making fun of others, and causing trouble. There was no way he'd ever find a love interest in anybody in town. But it was for Sanji, and Sanji was set on helping. Ussop didn't understand why, but he figured Sanji needed to do this to stay out of Rayleigh's reach, and keep from approaching Zeff. He would do it for Sanji.

He nodded solemnly. "I will do this."

"I will assign someone to you," Law said. "Keep your windows open."

"If possible, can you please bring me a bag full of my things from the house?" Sanji asked Ussop. "My winter clothes, and…my book of…ahem…Norland's tales. The rest…let them have it. I won't return to that town after this. I'm too ashamed to show my face after that entire thing with Rayleigh."

Ussop looked at him sadly, Law looking at him with interest. "We have several volumes of Norland's – "

"I want my own, I don't want yours."

"FINE."

"You'll really be okay?" Ussop asked again, looking at Sanji with worry. Sanji nodded, pulling his hood over his head. He patted Ussop on the shoulder and followed after the Beast as he led the way out of there. Ussop watched them both disappear into the trees, and felt anxiety warm up his insides. While the entire encounter was just weird, he couldn't decide which was weirder. Beast looking for a true love, or Sanji agreeing to help.

He supposed he had his reasons. He turned and headed home, mind filled with questions.

: :

That evening, Sanji cooked quietly, running Ussop's words through his head. He had a feeling that Zeff would react as he did, and now that Ussop had confirmed it – he felt unsure of his feelings. All that he knew was that he needed to talk to Zeff himself. Just for closure. If the old man truly felt he were only property to him, that he was given to Rayleigh for something as simple as a horse, then he needed to hear it from him himself. Then he'd move on from the situation.

He pulled the tray out of the oven, and then shuffled with it over to the counter. Law was sitting nearby, waiting with anticipation. The Beast reminded him of a dog, sometimes, just sitting in the corner of the room watching him. Not like a creeper, Sanji reflected, but a dog, eager for the scraps or a bit of attention. It was when he opened his mouth with some ridiculous thing that made Sanji react.

Beast watched Sanji drop layers of shredded cheese over the mountain of meatballs, then set it back into the oven once more. He stirred the potatoes before closing the door, then tended to the vegetables. After that, he pulled out the platter he used to feed Law, then a smaller plate for himself. Once the food was ready, he heaped the platter with a clean presentation of potatoes, with a side of meatballs, then arranged the vegetables fittingly. He shoved the platter over to Law and scraped what was left of the crispy cheese and pieces of meatball onto his own plate.

Law looked at his food, then looked at him. He grabbed an uneaten meatball and dumped that onto his plate. Then sat back and ate the rest, humming in delight. Sanji frowned at him as he looked down at the meatball with fur on it, then plucked it off, and ate in silence. Law licked the platter clean, then removed it from his face with a satisfied air, dropping the platter onto the counter.

"Tasted like shit," he said, burping. "Cheesy. I can't handle cheese – "

"I'd be more insulted if you hadn't just cleaned your damn plate."

"Just warning you for next time."

Sanji rolled his eyes, then looked up again when Law growled, looking frustrated. He changed his tune, saying with immense effort, "I lied. I only said that because I was mad. It was actually very good. Perfect. I liked the crispy parts of the cheese around the edges. And the vegetables were juicy."

Surprised at the change in tune, Sanji finished chewing. "Ah. Well. Thanks."

Law studied the ceiling for a few moments before saying, "We have a room ready for you. You can redecorate it, if you'd like. And the seamstresses have already started on a wardrobe for you, and fresh blankets set on the bed. It's been checked for bugs. It's good."

Sanji wasn't sure about the idea of sleeping in the castle. It wasn't that it was scary – not with the amount of noise from everyone, and there was no fear in anybody sneaking up to the place to cause damage. But it was the fact that his life had changed significantly. For the better? He wasn't sure. He was relieved in that he wouldn't feel Rayleigh's touches anymore, not have to taste his kisses. But Zeff was still gone. And helping Beast find a True Love was going to be difficult when he could barely stand Law's childish reasoning.

He set his plate aside, indicating for him to take the rest. Then he started cleaning, saying nothing while Law ate the remnants quickly, licking the oven warmed dish clean as well. He then settled on the floor to clean himself as Sanji wiped the counters down. Baby and Buffalo shuffled into the kitchen, complaining about something, causing the three of them to argue and fight amongst each other. Sanji didn't pay attention to what it was, but Baby whined, Buffalo threatened, and Law growled until Baby was laughing, Buffalo was looking forward to the promise of blueberry pancakes as soon as he was human, and Law was picking out brambles from his shirt. Sanji once again thought that it was pitiful that these kids never had a chance to grow up – he wondered what they'd be like, human. He finished cleaning, the appliance all calling out 'thanks!' for the extra attention, and then headed upstairs. Law followed after him, the candles lighting their way. The family room was silent and cold, Sanji wondering where everyone was.

Law showed him to his room, where the fireplace was already started, and the candles around the room showed Sanji a bed near the fire, an empty bookshelf, his meager things at the edge of a dresser.

"Is there anything alive in here?" he asked cautiously.

"No. They won't come up unless you call for them. Ah, this overlooks the south end of the valley," Law noticed, standing carefully aside the window, looking out. The stars in the sky shone brilliantly, the moon a silver disk in the distance. An owl took flight from the eaves, and someone shrieked with laughter from the courtyard. A hunter screamed in surprise somewhere, followed by rapid shouts from the guards. He closed the windows, and looked back at Sanji as he sat at the edge of the bed with a frown.

"What are my duties, aside from cooking and finding you true love?" he asked heavily. "Can I be of any assistance in anything else?"

"I don't know, it'll be a day to day thing," Law said. He wondered if that expression of Sanji's suggested that the blond thought of himself as a prisoner, or something. Law wondered if he was – but Sanji had volunteered, he reasoned. Sanji volunteered to help him do this, in exchange to find Zeff in the first place. He would have to remind him of this.

"We have plenty of servants and things like that here. You're free to wander the castle and look at things. I usually go out hunting early in the morning, late in the afternoon. It's almost time for the Harvest Festival, and I like going down to the village to see those things."

"You do?" Sanji asked, looking at him curiously. He thought of the nighttime celebrations – where people played music and celebrated the year's bounty, where they feasted on the extras, and danced and courted each other gaily. They sometimes dressed up for All Hallow's Eve and hung decorations out. It was a good place to be.

"Yeah. We'd hide out on the streets to look at everything. My favorite place to sit and watch is the church's bell tower – no one goes in there, and I can see everything," Law said cheerfully, laying down in front of the fire, rolling onto his side. "It always looked like a lot of fun, down there."

"It…it is," Sanji muttered, wondering how many times he'd looked in that direction, unknowing that they were being watched from above.

Rolling onto his back to satisfy the itch on his back, Law rolled about until he found a satisfying position to scratch. "I like those things, with the drizzle on top. Little balls with hidden treats inside. Like a cherry, or an apple slice."

"Oh…fruit pops."

"Yes. And the watermelon with ham around it, that the butcher's wife makes. I like watching the games that they play, near the wishing well. Everyone with their masks and ribbons, and music….one day, when we're human again, we'll be able to participate," Law said as he lifted his head, tail slapping the floor, eyes narrowed. "On our own terms. I look forward to that day when we get to participate."

Sanji narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "When you turn human again, will you want revenge?"

"No."

Sanji knew he was lying, with the way he looked in the opposite direction. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, wondering what would happen once these people regained their forms. He wondered what he'd feel in a year. He couldn't say for sure, because right now, all he felt was sympathy for the kids that watched the festivities from a distance, unable to participate. He pulled off his boots and heavy sweater, folding it aside. He reached for his nightgown sitting nearby, and pulled that on. Then he slipped underneath the blankets with a heavy sigh, finding that the bed was too massive for one person. He tossed and turned to get comfortable, and bunched most of the blankets up around himself to trick himself into thinking he wasn't alone. Then fixed them, smoothing them out.

He lifted his head and looked over at Law, finding him staring at the fire with a wistful expression. He cleared his throat. "Do you…want to sleep…here?"

He patted the end of the mattress, nervous at the invitation.

"I'm not a fucking dog!" Law snapped at him, rising from the floor and leaving his room with a slam of the door. Sanji scowled at the door and drew the blankets over himself, huffing.

Staring at the shapes the fireplace made on the wall, Sanji wondered what Zeff told Ussop to make Ussop feel the way he did. He needed to see for himself what the old man was thinking.