Naghi-tan: Luffy is the ghost in this fic –give myself something different to work with lol Sabo feels at fault for the car accident, and Ace is blaming him; Luffy will casually work that into future conversation.
Jeminaks: Thank you! This was a complicated story to write – all these complicated feelings and situations…I just hope that it continues to be a good story. I love and am obsessed with this pairing lol
4: He's Hid In His Hardened Way
Two days later, Law watched the sun rise up through the towering city buildings. The heavy silence in his apartment felt foreign and strange, almost overwhelmingly suffocating. The place his other selves had bought years ago was located near the north end of the city, and allowed ample sights of the city and the grey ocean in the distance. It was furnished with simple things, the curtains dark – but it felt so empty and so strange. Staying here was uncomfortable for him – the silence was too immense. He kept twitching towards the smaller sounds that were normal for his place; the creak of wood, the settling of glass under the warmth of the sunlight, the sounds of people in the hallway. Faint sounds, but sounds nonetheless. His sense of smell seemed heightened – his stomach gurgled noisily, and the only images to present themselves were that of venison, rabbit, bird – he never had a problem with meat. It was intense to suddenly acknowledge craving it.
Their adventure into the haunted forest was over. He had the memory of returning to the hotel room, but it was troublesome how spotty the images were. That was how it was – left with holes in his memory after a layering, but Penguin had taken the recorder, and Law had noticed that his blade was stained with foamy black remnants. Once he was himself – Jean Bart returning his layers to their appropriate boxes – Law was reminded of his mood in the first place.
He'd checked his phone – noticed that he'd called Sanji once during that time period, but there was nothing else to indicate what had been said. What did his other selves needed to say so urgently? It was incredible that they'd remember – but then again, layers were only aware of a situation if their host was. So more than likely they'd feasted on his continued ruminating over the situation.
Am I a better person with or without? Law found himself wondering for the countless time. Insecure, he'd found himself deliberating over his flaws with troublesome weight. He knew he came off abrasive and short tempered, but he'd always been like that. Nonetheless, it seemed like the room changed when he wasn't himself. So now he was questioning his worth.
He felt Sanji's words against the back of his thoughts and as a weight on his own tongue. Running his hands through his hair as he braced elbows atop of knees, Law ached to hear the admonishing words from the only man he'd ever loved. But he couldn't remember the sound of the waiter's voice - couldn't remember his laugh. It was time that took him away, and Law felt the weight of his own grief returning to knock at his doors.
Tell me what to do, he inwardly begged. He knew he wouldn't get an answer. The waiter was gone. He was gone. He rubbed his face with heavy fingers. Every decision and every choice he would make would be his own, with his own influence. He was certain every one of them would be bad ones.
His entire body jolted when he realized he was hearing actual knocks at his front door. Straightening from his easy chair, he stalked over to look cautiously through the peephole then stood back, feeling amazed. He unlocked it and opened it ever so slightly so Sanji could peek in on him.
"You awake?" Sanji asked him cautiously, carrying a bag in one hand. "I brought breakfast."
Law smelled the food and registered the scent of a new person – no, not new, he caught himself with a puzzled frown. Not a new person – it was Sanji's smell. Why would he think that…?
Sanji shouldered his way in, causing Law to scowl momentarily. He felt rocked off balance by the sudden visit, and wasn't sure how to compose himself appropriately. This was not a sign – it was a coincidence. But he shut the door. He winced as Sanji opened up the curtains in the living room, exposing the wakening city life and allowing the sun to illuminate his dark colored furniture. In his orange striped sweater loosely swinging over cuffed jean shorts, hair hanging in damp curls at his neck, the blond himself stood out brightly against the darkness. The color of his hair, the glow of his skin – a different man. But Law found himself staring at him in silence, a strong, indiscernible feeling making its weight known in his chest.
Affection, he realized. Genuine affection for another person. Why was it surprising to acknowledge that? Maybe because Law had convinced himself he wouldn't feel this sort of feeling for someone else after the waiter. It almost made him feel…hopeful. He was capable of feeling for another person.
After that, Sanji was in the kitchen – looking through cupboards and the refrigerator and giving a shake of his head. Unloading his bag with brisk movements, Sanji said, "I thought so, Captain America. You live at restaurants. You don't eat food."
"You don't, either," Law mumbled uncomfortably, trying to sort out his feelings and put them back in their spaces so he could concentrate. Now that he was aware of them, he felt awkward and brisk. He didn't get the pop culture reference, envisioning old comic books – but Sanji had thought that the man standing stiffly in a white button-down shirt that was tucked into belted trousers resembled a recent movie character. Law wasn't exactly "America's Ass," but he sure dressed like him. It would be hard to explain.
"I'm working on that. I got a phone call over the weekend – how'd the trip go?"
"What was said?" Law asked cautiously, venturing over to join him at the counter. He could smell bacon – it caused every part of him to lunge with joy, mouth salivating. He was hungry – ravenous, even.
"Nothing incriminating," Sanji assured him, pulling out plasticware and unloading strips of bacon, eggs and English muffins. The eggs were browned and sloppy with bacon grease, the sight unappetizing for him. The English muffins could have used a couple more minutes in the toaster – he'd always cooked something light and easy for the other Law – but those ones…their taste buds were always demanding something different and they never seemed to care of the presentation. This situation was different. He wasn't sure how.
He then pulled out a carton of mixed fruit. He paused when Law snatched the small pile of crisp bacon, shoving it into his mouth. After a few moments of noisy chewing, Sanji looked up at him with disgust. "Are you a dog?"
Law watched him with a scowl. He spoke with his mouth full. "So you came over expecting to speak to those persons?"
Settling his hands over the opened plasticware, Sanji let the flare of temper build and pass over – tongue between teeth to keep from saying anything damaging from escaping. Don't go. He could feel those words. Don't run. Try.
That's my own instinct, right? he thought in a brief moment of panic. It took him a moment to understand that it was. Because after being introduced to this ghost-chasing lifestyle, it was fairly obvious that his first instinct was to flee the situation; being exposed to something new and possibly frightening fought against that one to remain with question.
Therefore, he was telling himself to stay. He opened the fruit container, setting the lid aside. Inside were hastily sliced fruits – sloppy, but Zeff's instructions had been present in his memory upon the actions.
"No," Sanji then said slowly, gathering some strength before looking at him. "I knew he wasn't around. Conversation wouldn't stop at a phone call, and my phone only rang once. I came here knowing it was you."
"I didn't invite you."
Well, duh, Sanji thought to himself. I invited myself.
He kept that to himself, awkwardly fumbling with his tasks.
Law was aware he'd made the other man uncomfortable. He exhaled tightly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't normally come over. I'm…unprepared. My thoughts are…scattered."
Sanji looked at him, a little curious as to why the man seemed upset. Maybe he should have warned him he was on his way – Law had the courtesy to do so. He looked over the breakfast items with a sense of distance.
"He hasn't been in the best of moods. Hasn't slept right since when he'd returned from his trip," an elderly man said from the sofa, hands atop of his thighs as he looked at Sanji with a tilt of his head. He peered up at Sanji from underneath his red visor, his gray hair slicked back from his elderly face. "Ruminating over too many things, I bet. I've been listening to his stomach growl for the past day."
Sanji stared at him in silence to judge the man's character, Law unaware of the visitor while he gave a gruff exhale to dispel the tension in his chest. Sanji's sudden silence and uncomfortable expression seemed to suggest that the younger man was in the midst of some insecure turmoil. He was so opposite of the waiter – Sanji wasn't the waiter, Law kept telling himself – that Law always seemed to stumble ungracefully in his presence.
"Sometimes," Law said low, "even if they are things you'll regret saying, just saying them would make everything clear."
"There's a dark air lingering over him. Smells foul," the man continued, wearing a concerned expression over Law's words. As he spoke, Law glanced at Sanji to see his reaction and found Sanji focused on listening to something else. "Lost my sense of smell years ago, but I'm reminded of a wet dog. And something like…rotten eggs."
Sanji looked to Law with concern, Law's eyes darting back and forth from him to an empty sofa.
"You brought something back with you?" Sanji then asked, tentatively returning to his task.
"Who are you talking to?" Law asked with exasperation. Sanji looked back at the man with question, the man answering slowly.
"Says his name is Wolf. Old man. Inventor," Sanji reported back. "You bought his 'cave' years ago – this was his place."
"Nothing was…I never heard a thing," Law then said with trouble, looking back at the empty couch.
It wasn't Sanji's first visit here. His only visit was when Law had clumsily invited him over for Christmas. Sanji hadn't been back since. It was too awkward. Too intimate. Neither had them had figured out how to relax.
He repeated what Wolf added. "Said he didn't have to say anything to you. Just stayed out of the way. By the way, uh…those were his things you shoved into storage – I don't know what that means…"
Law thought of the various things he'd packed up and away because they weren't his – he'd thought they were all the others'. He looked back at the couch with frustration, feeling incredulous that he'd lived here all this time with another ghost. Why couldn't he smell him…?
He focused on the present. "What's this about bringing something back?"
Sanji removed his glasses, setting them aside on the counter. One arm was bent. The lenses kept fogging up. There was an odd heat to the room that didn't make any sense. "The trip. How did it go?"
"…I thought you wanted space."
Sanji exhaled heavily, reaching up to fiddle with his hair. The ends curled at his ears and danced at his neck. "I took a vacation of my own."
"So, you're healed, now?" Law asked him, his sarcasm dark.
Sanji grimaced, looking down at his own shoes, his words ringing back at him. He was used to tension – family circumstances – but this was too intimate. Like fighting with an upset partner(jealousy?). He wasn't sure about jealousy. Because of his siblings and father, he'd hated men; he knew his own jealousy was based on what they were allowed to do and how they were treated compared to him. The other selves of Law had childishly used his jealousy in such a way that Sanji couldn't treat it seriously – never knowing if Law were serious about him in the first place - so relationship-type jealousy was a new concept for him. But the word wasn't right. It felt too accusing; maybe the man wanted to fight. A useless fight to continue hiding from his own uncertain feelings.
It made more sense, because Law avoided talking about his feelings.
Sanji asked Law, "You're testing me to walk away, and I warn you right now, I will. I won't stand here and fight just to prove myself."
Law stared down at him for several moments, then said, "So you'll create boundaries against the living, but can't of the dead? What a hypocrite."
Sanji looked at Wolf, his hands sliding into his jacket pockets. He approached him, exhaling lightly. "All you have is a smell?" he asked him, trying to stave off the shaking in his voice. The man didn't wear a gleam. He was as solid as a ghost – blue in the lips, his muscle elasticity evident. His eyes sagged low against his cheeks – his teeth were yellowed and seemingly fragile. His skin was pale with a green tinge – the backs of his hands, his upper forearms were heavily discolored with the presence of blood pooling. He was someone who died and hadn't been discovered for some time. "Of…of this wet dog?"
"It's not really a smell," Wolf said slowly. "It's…a sensation, as if I had smelled it in passing and registered that I did. And this room…it isn't always this dark. You have the curtains open, yet everything looks as if it's painted in shadows."
Sanji glanced about, noticing that it was true. There were too many heavy shadows cast against the walls and floors, the furniture caught in some sort of eve between night and early morning. The sun was steadily lifting, bathing the city in warmth, and this place felt cold and hidden away from it.
He then looked to Law with suspicion, the man frowning back at him. But Sanji couldn't maintain eye contact – his eyes lowering to the other man's shoes. He then nodded stiffly to himself.
Surely a man that regularly layers himself in leftover ghosts would detect being possessed by something else, he mused.
"The living changes their pain and focus based upon how they feel at that moment," Sanji told Law tightly. "The dead are caught in theirs. It's easier to dismiss and walk away from the living when they are only temporary and judgmental."
"It didn't seem like I was temporary to you."
"I already stated my reasons. For me to insist on repeating them upon your constant jabbing means you're feeling some type of insecurity. What happened up there?" Sanji asked, tensing himself against the answers.
"Should I pile on some layers on so you can get an easy answer?"
"You're snippy, today. Extra sensitive," Sanji muttered. "Did someone offer you a senior discount again?"
Law looked at him furiously, Sanji squinting as he looked up into those angry, amber eyes, looking for someone else. There was a faint tinge of black around his irises that didn't seem right. He reached out and shoved a shoulder, causing Law to rock on his feet. In that moment, Sanji saw a shape in foamy black catch up to the man's flailing limbs as he straightened himself. Sanji froze, hearing the couch creak as the older man stood in startled reaction.
"What was that?" Wolf demanded as Law shoved Sanji back hard enough to stumble over the hall runner. Wolf caught his arm, keeping Sanji from hitting the floor. He released his arm anyway, surprised that he had made physical contact with the living as Law gave a startled look at that invisible grip. Wolf looked back at Law with alarm, the man wearing a stunned expression as Sanji stood up quickly.
The blond wore a look that could only be described as relief. It feels so much better knowing this aggression isn't his, Sanji decided at that moment. It's someone else's.
Sanji scanned the apartment, spying the sword case hanging up near the bedroom door – almost covered by casual jackets. He then remembered that intense moment when his own mother tried to kill him – how the action had taken the gleam he'd wore in place of his death. Perhaps he could kill the one hiding within Law to reveal the man himself.
He exhaled lightly, and walked to the kitchen to finish unloading the food. Law stood near the living room, looking in the direction he'd last seen Sanji direct attention to. Wolf was watching him, taking careful steps to the side and seeing Law unable to detect his movement. Once Sanji caught his eye, the blond pressed a finger to his lips, Wolf wearing a frown.
"Eat some breakfast," Sanji said, finding a plate and dumping the eggs, fruit and English Muffin upon it. "Maybe you won't feel so cranky after you get some food in you."
"I just don't get why you're here," Law said, turning to look at him. "After what you told me. Suddenly, you decide to disregard your own fucking words? You came here because you'd hoped to talk to someone else – "
"I already told you," Sanji snapped at him, taking his plate to the table, then returning to find some utensils. His hand hesitated over the single steak knife near the utensil drawer, but he drew that out as well, searching the cupboards for a cup. He abandoned the task. "I know how the other one works. Communication stopped at a single phone call – it wasn't always just a phone call."
He walked back to the table, setting the utensils down. He gestured at the table. "Eat."
"I'm not hungry. I don't eat breakfast."
Sanji thought about the bacon the older man had shoved in his mouth a few minutes ago, and decided that riling him up was a dangerous choice. He didn't know who was standing in his shadow.
Sanji slowly sat, pulling his chair in close to the table. He picked up his utensils, and started cutting the food upon the plate with aggressive gestures. He forced a mouthful of eggs, chewing with effort as Law slowly approached him. His chewing turned continuous as he felt his building adrenaline pulse at his veins and shorten his breath.
"Where are the others?" he asked, hardly able to swallow.
"At the bar. I want you out of my place. I didn't ask for your company. I'm…angry at you," Law then demanded, frowning down at him. Sanji furrowed his brow, wondering why the word left him so stressfully.
That could be his actual feeling, Sanji thought with some consideration, food tucked against the inside of his cheek. It surprised him to acknowledge that. To feel something at that level for some(thing)one to grasp onto seemed to settle some things inside of him; lighten the load of his own insecurities. He set the fork down, the utensil clattering against the plate loudly. The eggs he'd chewed to pieces refused to venture anywhere near his throat, so the content felt like gummy bile against his teeth and cheek. He almost felt like retching as he clasped his hands together over the plate.
He's hurt, he thought incredulously, heart thumping slightly. He's hurt.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Law continued to frown down at Sanji. But his hands tightened into fists.
"Aren't you going to swallow that?" he then asked of Sanji, the tension thick between them. Sanji rose from his chair, hand clasped over his mouth.
"Where's your bathroom?" he asked Law.
"Is your cooking that bad? It's down the hall," Law said, pointing in that direction. Sanji nodded, hand passing over the utensils before pushing away from the table.
He clumsily stabbed at the man, but Law's fingers wrapped firmly around his wrist – his grip unflinchingly and unnaturally strong. Sanji stilled, wincing at the squeeze, feeling as if his bones were grinding together. He ended up dropping the knife, trying to pry fingers away from his wrist. When that wasn't possible, he headbutted the man's chin as hard as he could. It felt like he'd just bounced his head off the wall, his brain ringing. He ended up spitting out the pieces of his eggs to the floor.
"I've had enough of your idiocy," Law muttered, jerking his arm down and pulling him roughly towards the door. "Whatever your intentions were, they were unwelcome."
Sanji managed to jerk himself behind him, causing Law to pause in mid-step, turning to look at him. Sanji landed a foot just above his groin, natural reaction having Law crouch and release his wrist at the same time. Before his foot could come down, Sanji kicked upward, putting all his strength behind it – imagining Law as one of his brothers to give him that strength needed to exert the pressure.
It had enough give to cause Law's head to snap back, that foamy black substance visible for a split second – Sanji lunged at it, fingers curling within the foam and finding solid weight in the sensation of something that bristled like wire over his fingertips. He yanked back towards himself, heels in the carpet as Law stumbled back and the weight of another material became present in Sanji's hands.
The animal twisted with a wild snarl, body pulling away from Law's. The released weight caused Law a hard fall against the door and Sanji to hit the floor with unexpected release. Wolf gave a startled cry, jumping backwards as white curved teeth snapped at the air.
Once revealed, Sanji saw the shape of the animal Law had sent him a picture of – only it was half of the beast, dragging its upper body by appendages with human hands attached to them. Red, beady eyes locked upon him as its tonal snarls crackled through the silence. It fought to brace itself, Sanji noticing movement from the corner of his eye. The shadows that enveloped the place unnaturally seemed to seep towards the beast, reforming its missing pieces with wet sucking noises. As it grew, it seemed to expand in size, fur bristling as its shoulder spikes trembled. It began to fill in the parts of its body that was missing, the sound growing as a staticky hiss that cracked and popped.
The shadowy animal whirled with a warning snarl as Law scrambled to his feet, looking for his sword. Sanji kicked at the creature to recapture its attention, landing a Vans covered foot against one of its hands – the movement of it seemed to crackle like shattering ice as fingers curled inward and that "paw" lifted with injury. The creature looked to him, then darted forward with its mouth unhinging wide to bite. Sanji covered himself without any other choice, hearing a solid crunching noise rend the air.
He looked over to see that Wolf had inserted himself between them, and the animal snapped the ghost in half with a single chomp of its teeth and strong jaw. Before the man could fall to gruesome pieces, spilling rotted innards onto the floor with a splatter, Law had returned with his sword and lunged at it. The blade ripped through the animal's' neck, causing it to jerk wildly backwards. With a windy howl, it spilled foamy black sludge over the floor and wall, darting towards the door. The shadows evaporated over its reforming body, leaving behind spurts of black mist as it disappeared through the doorframe.
Sanji looked to where Wolf had been, watching the ghost evaporate into absolute nothing without uttering a sound. In disbelief he sat there, heart thumping noisily as his breath came back to him in short gusts. He looked to Law, who wore a surprised and pale expression, eyes wide against his own face.
He immediately reached out and pulled Sanji to his feet, looking him over. Sanji noticed that the apartment seemed brighter – in a sense, the shadows that had weighed so heavily over every object, hiding within every corner had disappeared. The natural lighting was more prominent, now, giving the place a sense of life that hadn't been there when he'd walked in minutes ago.
In a slight state of shock, Law touched his own face and hands, Sanji jerking his head quickly out of reach from his sword's blade to avoid being cut.
"How'd you know?" Law asked him incredulously.
"You didn't know you had some demon animal inside of you, hitching a ride?" Sanji returned, bending at the knees to fight off the woozy feeling he felt at the encounter.
"I thought I'd killed it – here, sit down," Law then directed him to the nearby chair, ushering without touching. Sanji took the seat, exhaling heavily at the loss of adrenaline.
"Jesus, I'm not going to get used to fighting ghosts," he wheezed, hand pressed to his heart. "And they just get weirder and weirder!"
Law gave the closed apartment door a grim look, fingers tightening around his sword's handle. "If it hitched a ride…it could bring its owner to us," he stated slowly. "It was tracking us as much as we were tracking it."
He wore a troubled expression. "I remember nothing of that trip to the woods. My memory is…punctured with holes. But my blade carried evidence of attacking it."
"What about the other layers?" Sanji then asked him skeptically. "Wouldn't they be affected?"
"Jean Bart said nothing when he removed them." Law looked to him with apology. "I'm sorry. I…I was aware of myself, but the aggression wasn't mine. Now that I'm free of it, I'm…rather embarrassed that I was so short-tempered."
Sanji watched him with some uncertainty, words fighting to leave his mouth. Reading this struggle, Law said gruffly, "Just say it. Your generation is one that can speak. So…say it."
"They…they were your feelings, right?" Before Law could gather breath to answer, Sanji sat up to add, "It's all right to express your feelings. I mean…we might not have all the right things to say, but I think that it's important to say something…just like you said earlier, 'even if they are things you'll regret saying, just saying them would make everything clear'."
Law stared at him in silence, absorbing those words. He wasn't sure what to say, thoughts scattered to fumbling noises at the back of his tongue. But he nodded. In the end, he still couldn't speak.
Now's your chance, he heard himself say. Say something.
Like what? He thought as a clumsy answer to himself.
"They were my feelings," he then admitted low, "because I want to make sure it's me you wanted to talk to, not…them."
"I knew who I wanted to talk to when I came over, this morning. And it wasn't them. You were the one that left, you took on the trip with a goal – I wanted to know the details. Your details. Also, it was to make sure you were okay. The things you described was…worrisome. I was worried," Sanji admitted stiffly. "Robin keeps assuring me that you'd be fine, but I needed to see this for myself."
Sanji watched the twitching of his expression, and was vaguely amused by the concept of it. Since it was obvious it took tremendous effort, Sanji figured there was a lot of things the man had been thinking about. It gave him some comfort that this situation wasn't dismissed that easily. His mouth twitched ever so slightly, and Law caught sight of it.
Judging by the guilty color in his cheeks, Sanji decided to talk about it at another time; simply because there was indication that there would be another time to talk about it. That was a start; he'd had enough time to learn that the man often thought about the things to say before saying anything. Sanji had the feeling that none of it would be negative – he could see it in the man's troubled amber eyes.
You big wimp, he thought affectionately, unaware that the expression was showing on his face.
He's scared, he then realized with a start. This man is scared because…!
Sanji felt overwhelmed with his own relief. He stood up before the other man, unsure of how to connect without it being awkward – or obvious. He took a few moments to look into embarrassed amber eyes, seeing the lack of telling black tinge he'd seen earlier. Law could feel his face heating from the intensity of the look, and ended up lowering his eyes in response.
Satisfied he saw nothing, Sanji reached out and adjusted the collar of Law's stiff white shirt. Should I make a move? he then wondered, judging the other man's response to him. He thought Law could hear the excited thundering of his heart, because Sanji was suddenly anxious and all his blood seemed to warm and pulse like lava due to excitement and nervous joy. After a moment's hesitation, he brushed his lips against the other man's jaw, and he felt Law stiffen like a statue upon reaction.
That's enough – don't give him a heart attack, he scolded himself, amusement causing his lips to twitch. But he lingered there, skin against skin, because he craved the physical interaction so badly that his mouth filled with the want of it. It took a lot of strength to pull back. I hate his shitty good smell…would it be creepy to admit aloud that I only want to breathe it in like it's oxygen…?
Sanji then slipped past him to retrieve his glasses from the kitchen counter, to busy his own hands and tame his own physical frustration. Law wore an unsatisfied expression, upset with himself and his own reaction. But he acknowledged the relief and gratitude he felt from the contact; like he normally did whenever Sanji chose to touch him.
"You sure you're not carrying anyone else?" he heard Sanji ask him, and Law looked over to see him fiddling with his glasses, casually moving away from the moment to politely give him room to relax. The gesture at his collar felt like an echo. It took a lot out of him to repress feeling any weakness so he could concentrate on the bigger picture. So Law considered what had happened with a grim frown. His skin tingled where Sanji's lips had brushed.
Focus! he ordered of himself. Stop acting like you're new to this. You're no fucking virgin. With a huff, Law answered gruffly, "That creature is that spirit's most treasured item. If it's here, there's no doubt he'll follow."
"Did you speak with Robin, yet?"
"No. I've been here at home."
"She found some information."
Law furrowed his brow. "Is that where you were?"
"Yeah. I, uh…I made a new friend. That's who she's with. Teaching him how to be a ghost, I guess. He has a gleam. You can't take it from him," Sanji then added firmly. "He needs to be returned when she's finished with him."
"She took on some apprentice?"
At the sight of his shrug, Law wore a confused frown. He then looked away, straightening his collar and adjusting his shirt around his waist, ensuring it was tucked in properly. He found his tie on the chair where he'd been sitting earlier, snatching it up and pulling it around his collar "Let's go to the bar. I need to talk to the others."
"Did you find the extra bibles you need to bring with you?" Sanji asked skeptically, causing Law to pause in mid-movement. He was puzzled by the comment until he saw the other man's pointed look at his shirt and tie. He tossed the tie aside with a huff, hearing Penguin calling him a missionary.
Not quite America's Ass, Sanji thought with some mirth as the man turned to snatch a jacket from the nearby bedroom, but close to it.
