The sound of meat and rice being inhaled drowned out the conversation of the other diners. The once-white table cloth clung to the table in damp patches of sake.
"I thought Sanji was going to meet us here." Usopp asked.
"Huh?" chew chew chew. "Sanji?" chew chew swallow.
"I didn't notice he wasn't here!" Luffy laughed.
"Shouldn't we go look for him?" Usopp pressed.
"After lunch," said Luffy confidently and lifted a leg of lamb from his plate."He probably just found a pretty girl," Zoro said at Usopp's frown. "He'll be fine."

Scratch scratch scratch

Sanji's right eye struggled to focus in the low light. He knelt in water, his wet socks squelched in his shoes. He gently felt around his eye. It was tender and sore.
When he closed his eyes he could see her face again. Soft black hair, large brown eyes, an athlete's figure, a smile like the navigator's.
Sanji opened his eyes on black stone. He closed them again.

Squeek squeek squeek

In the darkness she smiled again. Her lips were warm. Her skin soft.
Her dress red. Her shoulders bare.
Her husband angry…
Sanji reached into his pocket for his lighter and lit it.
He looked around the narrow shaft he knelt in, maybe four feet by four feet.
He looked up and saw a disc of sky and a bucket on a pulley hanging overhead.
He remembered. The well.
He looked down.
They looked up.

Squeek!

"AHHHHHH!" Sanji dug his fingernails into the round stone walls and scrabbled up a few feet before he slid back down.

Squeek!

A heavy little furry body flopped over Sanji's left foot. Another on his right.
A cold little nose poked up his trouser leg.
"Yerk!" Sanji cried as the wet rat galloped up his leg.

"MMmm" Luffy licked gravy form his lips and stretched luxuriously in the sun as he led his crew out of the tavern.
"Let's go to the harbour and see if those Marines have arrived yet!" he said excitedly.
"But what about Sanji?" Usopp asked again.
"He's probably gone back to the ship," said Luffy. "We'll look there first."
They headed down the street towards the forest of masts beyond the last buildings.
A few hundred metres down the road they entered the town square. A large crowd was gathered in the middle of it, standing in a circle around something Luffy couldn't see.
"Let's check it out!" Luffy said cheerfully and he headed for the crowd.
The others followed, Zoro without curiosity, Nami hopefully. Usopp walked reluctantly, several metres behind the small group.
Zoro was focused on a striking marble building flying a red and orange flag. Soldiers were gathering out the front. It looked like some kind of parade was going to start soon.
He was suddenly in a hurry to leave this busy, overly colourful town behind.
His mind was already on the ship so he didn't notice the projectile dropping out of the sky until it landed on his head with a wet slap.

Zoro cried out, startled, as he felt something cold wriggle and scratch in his hair.
He slapped as his scalp, learnt forward, stood up, spun around. Luffy and Nami were holding their sides. Usopp danced even further away from Zoro.
"A rat! A rat hat!" Luffy giggled in delight at Zoro's dance.
Suddenly Usopp screamed. Nami and Luffy turned to see a rat hanging off Usopp's chest. Collective screams began to emanate from the crowd gathered in the middle of the square. Long-tailed grey rodents were arching up out of the centre of the crowd, peppering their hair and clothes in wet rat. Most of them were doing pretty much what Usopp was doing.

Zoro had dislodged his rat by now and was starting for the crowd with renewed determination. Luffy raced along beside Zoro. Nami reached over to Usopp, plucked off the rat and followed the guys. Usopp decided to stay behind, then recalled what just happened and changed his mind.

The closer Luffy got, the thicker the rats rained down. Those that didn't land on the rapidly retreating crowd hit the ground scurrying.
The young captain danced carefully through the animals, careful not to step on one.
Zoro was shoving them aside with this boots. Nami was running as if they weren't there.
"I'll just go and guard the ship!" Usopp called to Luffy over his shoulder as he ran before a wave of damp rats.

Now that the crowd was scattering, the remaining Straw Hats could see a stone well. From the well rats were flying, soaring up in a loop and landing on the cobblestones to scurry away in search of darkness.
Over the sound of screaming townsfolk and surprised ratty squeaks a voice echoed out of the well.
"Get off me! Get off me or I'll spit-roast you!"

"Sanji?" Zoro called down the well.
The rats stopped flying.
"Zoro?" said Sanji. "Zoro! Is Luffy with you?"
"Ha! I'm here, Sanji." Luffy's grinning face appeared at the mouth of the well.
"Luffy, can you Gomu-Gomu me out of here?"
"Sure! Nami, could you hold my hat? If it falls down there the rats may eat it."
"Nami? Nami-san is up there?" Sanji called. "Ah, I can get out myself, hang on."

Sanji pressed his back against one side of the wall and the soles of his feet against the other. He started to walk his feet but the rough stone gripped his back and he couldn't slide it.
"Just a minute," he called up. Luffy listened to Sanji's painful grunting and snuffling for another twenty seconds.
"You're not moving, Sanji. Stand up."
"Hang on..."
"Stand up, that's an order."

Sanji never ignored the Captain Voice. He stood.

"Gomu-Gomu no Tsuchi!" Luffy's arm stretched down to the bottom of the well, coiled around Sanji and retracted. Sanji's head spun as he hurtled towards the distant disc of sky. He flew out of the well with an undignified yelp. Luffy swung his arm to the side, lowered it to standing height and carefully uncoiled his arm, setting Sanji on his feet.

Sanji brushed his now dirty, sopping suit down with great dignity.
Zoro gestured to the shiner on Sanji's eye.
"Didn't know she was married huh?" he asked with a smirk.
Sanji glared at him, his mouth opened to deny it but he couldn't think of a more likely explanation so he said, "Nami-san is the only girl for me." He offered her his damp arm. "Allow me to escort you back to the ship."
"Um, no thanks, Sanji. You kinda smell like wet rat."
"Yeah Sanji, you're staying down-wind." Zoro ordered.

Nami, Luffy and Zoro were snickering all the way back to the ship and Usopp whom they found running about the deck, slapping it with a broom.
"Kuso," said Sanji.