The House on the Hill

Chapter Two

Irritated, Sanji stomped his way back downstairs to the annexe, muttering under his breath as he went. If he was going to go searching through the entire fucking mansion alone, again, then he might as well start from the bottom and work his way back up. He first went to the Kitchen and then the Library, upon finding nothing, he walked passed the front door to the other side of the corridor.

Sanji walked down the long corridor, pausing when he turned the corner. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he was seeing it right. The frosted glass door against the far wall, which had definitely been locked the last time he had been down this corridor, was now ajar.

He cautiously approached the door, trying to sense if there was anything behind the door or inside the room. It was pitch black behind the door and he didn't fancy any surprises. He didn't sense anything, but what he was beginning to learn was that, in this house, him not sensing anything didn't necessarily mean nothing was there. Sanji stood still and listened, straining his ears to hear something, anything, that might clue him on whether something was behind the door or not. But only deathly silence met his ears.

The cook wondered briefly who had been inside earlier, as it definitely hadn't been Law, and the others were way too small from what he saw. He flirted with the idea that it could have been Robin, however, he dismissed that thought almost immediately having not seen any sign of the others since they arrived at the mansion.

Sanji swirled his foot around, bringing forth flames - just in case, and walked towards the doorway. He could see a lightswitch illuminated by the flames on his leg, just out of reach. He slowly took a step into the room and turned the light on.

"Shit!" Something had come from behind the door and ran into him, slamming his body into the wall behind him. The wall caved in from the pressure of his body, plaster raining on him, falling into his hair, eyes and mouth. Sanji rubbed his face with his sleeve as he turned, putting just enough space between him and his assailant to slide a leg between them and land a kick into the thing's stomach. Whatever had attacked him, let him go, and suddenly, the room was plunged back into the darkness.

Sanji's blood pounded in his ears as he panted and tried to force his eyes to focus on the room around him. It was to no avail, a combination of the darkness and dizziness, from hitting his head against the wall during the attack, making it impossible for him to see anything. He staggered and fell back against the wall, knocking the light switch back on.

He frantically looked around the empty room, his eyes seeing double and refusing to focus. He tightly closed his eyes, fists pressing against them as he leaned his head back against the wall. He grimaced as plaster once again fell into his hair and over his face.

He rolled his shoulders, wincing in pain. Gingerly, the cook touched the shoulder where the pain had radiated from and noticed it was sticky and wet. He sighed, recognizing the smell of blood before he even saw the red substance covering his fingers. Great, he was bleeding. Pretty badly from the feel of it.

Sanji breathed in deeply and reopened his eyes, sighing in relief when nothing moved and everything looked clearer. He looked around for something to stop the bleeding, but all he could find was a damp towel on the floor. It had been knocked down when the towel rack was broken from the wall in the attack. He was hesitant to use it, for obvious reasons. He had no idea where it had been or who had used it previously, and, it was covered in dusty plaster.

He pressed his hand over the wound to help ebb the flow. He didn't think it would keep bleeding for much longer, and he would get Law or Chopper to tend to it the next time he met up with one of them.

The blonde studied the rest of the room. It was a bathroom- in the literal sense of the word. There was a tub with a shower attacked, a washbin and a mirror over a mahogany cabinet. There was no toilet. The floor was wet, and Sanji would see the wet footprints of whoever had been in there previously. He shakily straightened began to look around, searching for any clue that the room might hold. A cologne bottle, necklace, a sock even.

None of those things were present, but there was a key on top of the sink in place of a bar of soap. The tag on the key read 2 fl. Bedroom.

The room lacked all signs of what had attacked him, not even a footprint from the puddle by the shower, but if Sanji had to wager a guess, he would say it was the grey monster. With a sigh, Sanji turned to leave the room, when he froze, eyes widening in shock. The wall he had been thrown into earlier was no longer in pieces. It was completely repaired, with not a thing out of place. The towel rack was back where it had been previously, and even the towel, which had been on the floor covered in plaster, was hanging across it. Still damp, but otherwise clean. In fact, the only proof that he was attacked was his shoulder injury, not even his blood marred the wall.

Sanji cursed under his breath and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it. This was definitely a time to smoke. He looked at the key in his hand. There was no way he could figure out what the fuck happened, but he could go to the second floor and see which bedroom this key went to. Both of the rooms he had previously been in on the second-floor had been bedrooms- how many more could possibly be on one floor!? Shitty mansions and their stupid bedrooms.

He made his way back up the stairs, making a left and going down the corridor by the stairs that led to the front of the house. He tried the room on the far left, but, although the key fit into the lock, it wouldn't open. That meant the key had to fit one of the other three doors on the floor. He went to the door on the far right of the corridor and tried the lock there, smirking when it made the telltale click! of the lock tripping.

Upon entering he checked the lock to make sure that it wouldn't lock behind him, it wouldn't, as it was a turn-lock that only locked from the inside. He closed the door firmly and flipped the lock, not wanting the monster to sneak up behind him.

He turned and scanned the room. It appeared to be empty, and he certainly couldn't sense any danger. There was something familiar that he could feel in the room, but it was too faint for him to put his finger on. The room had two beds on the far wall, with a small bedside table between them that held a lamp and a notepad. There was a dresser against the wall by the door, a wardrobe and three windows that lined the right wall. The windows had curtains tightly shut over them. Something was off.

Sanji walked up to them and merely studied the curtains for a moment. All of the other windows in the house weren't covered with curtains, so why were these? He reached out to open them, but paused just short of it, changing his mind. Who cared if the curtains were closed? Them being open wasn't going to help him find anyone. He turned his heel to check out the wardrobe when the curtains suddenly burst open.

Something with long orange hair leapt out at him shouting, "Gust Sword!" the stick in their hand pointing it straight at his chest. Sanji jerked to the left, the sharp gust missing him by mere millimetres. It slammed into the far wall, leaving behind a huge crater.

"Sanji! I am so sorry, I didn't realize it was you!" Nami put her climatact away and hugged Sanji tightly, ignoring the blood coming out of his nose. "I heard the door open and I thought that thing had come back for me!"

"Just me, my dear Nami-swan," Sanji brushed himself off, stealthily wiping away the blood dripping down his face. He took a deep breath, commanding his heart to slow in his chest. "What did you think was coming back for you?"

"That grey monster! You've run into it, I can see something hurt you." She moved to touch his shoulder but paused at his wince. "Is that why you disappeared on us?"

Sanji leaned his head up and blew the smoke in his mouth towards the ceiling, "I went to the kitchen to see what broke," his eyebrows furrowed. "Don't you remember?"

Nami hummed, crossing her arms. "Maybe? I'm not really sure, what happened with all the confusion. That monster suddenly rushed at us from the left side of the house, must've turned the corner when we weren't looking. Anyway, Usopp ran ahead of us up the stairs, screaming his head off, and I and Law ran off after him. Usopp and Law disappeared, so I ran into the first open door and hid."

"I saw Law a while ago, he seemed fine," Sanji commented, taking a drag from his cigarette. "I've not seen Usopp."

"Of course, not. If Usopp doesn't want to be found he-," Nami stopped what she was saying and stared at the door with wide eyes. "Sanji, did you lock the door?"

The doorknob jiggled, stopped for a moment, and started jiggling again. Sanji stared, wide-eyed.

Nami pulled her Climatact out of its holder as Sanji began to swirl his leg around, feeling the flames begin to lick up his leg.

The doorknob stopped jiggling and that was when Sanji cautiously began to make his way towards the door. He held up a hand to stop Nami from following him, wanting her to keep a distance in case whatever was on the other side of the door attacked.

He shakily turned the lock and stepped back, waiting to see if that would cause whatever was on the other side to open the door. After a moment of silence, he quickly threw open the door and put himself in the doorway. He cursed and jumped to the right, just missing the grey fist that slammed through the floor just outside the door. Nami squealed and moved further back into the room, the back of her knees touching the bed. She held her climatact firmly in front of her, eyes trained on Sanji.

Sanji immediately attacked, "Parage Shot!" He aimed a kick at the monster's chest, turning it around. Nami pointed her Climatact at the monster's back, "Gust Sword!" the attack hit the monster head-on, forcing it to stumble forward. She leaned down next to Sanji's flaming leg and whispered, "fog tempo!" Fog suddenly filled the corridor, covering them completely.

Nami rushed past him, grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down the corridor. "Let's get out of here before it can see again." Sanji didn't stop to see what condition the monster was in, and followed Nami to the stairs, down them and to the Library. She ripped the door opened, holding it open just enough for Sanji to get through before slamming it shut Sanji fumbled with the keys in his jacket until he found the right one, shoving it into the lock and turned, feeling relief when the lock clicked! into place, securing them inside.

Sanji sighed and pulled up a shaky hand to pull the cigarette from his mouth, "damnit, I dropped my cigarette."

Nami raised an eyebrow, Sanji's cigarette between her lips. She pulled it out and blew smoke in his face to catch his attention. "Nami-swan, that was some quick thinking on your part." He gratefully took the cigarette from her and inhaled deeply, allowing the gesture to relax his muscles.

Nami laughed, "I just followed my instincts."

"Good instincts," Sanji muttered, pushing off the wall and moving to unlock the Library door. "We should go check on Law. He wasn't doing too well the last time I saw him and his door doesn't lock." Sanji chose not to mention that he suspects that Law was up to something.

Nami nodded and followed Sanji back up the stairs, straining her ears to hear for the monster. She didn't trust that the thing suddenly disappeared, and could feel her heart pumping faster the closer they got to the second floor.

Sanji opened the door and allowed Nami into the room. "What the hell is that metal door?" The silence in the room was permeated with the sound of banging from behind the door.

Sanji looked over her shoulder as he closed the door. "Something Law had found earlier. It's weird," he stopped to look at the door. "When I first saw him in here it was just a curtain covering a stairwell, but the second time I came in, there was a metal door blocking the stairwell."

"Where on earth would he have gotten a metal door from?" Nami asked incredulously, walking over to it and leaning over to study it. It looks like the one on Usopp's factory."

Sanji shrugged, "in the state he seemed to be in, I doubt he could even tell us. Not clearly, in any case. He wasn't really acting much like himself. If I had to actually wager a guess, I would say from wherever the stairs behind the door led, but I can't be sure."

Nami reached up and knocked on the door, "Law, open up! It's Nami and Sanji."

The silence behind the door ended. They waited with bated breath as footsteps hurried down the stairs and the door swung open. Had Sanji not pulled Nami back, she would have gotten hit in the face. "Where's Usopp? He isn't with you‽"

Sanji shrugged and shook his head, "I haven't seen him yet. I'm sure he is just hiding someplace."

Nami wrapped her arms around herself, Usopp's sweater still on her. She pressed her face into the neck of it. "He might have fallen asleep where he was hiding. He's been exhausted lately."

Sanji scoffed, "that scaredy-cat wouldn't fall asleep here." Sanji bit his tongue, about to admit that he doubted even he could fall asleep in the damned mansion, no matter how exhausted he was.

"We need to go look for him," Law said, his eyes flickering with urgency.

"I agree," Sanji nodded, "and we can go check the den den mushi stuck in the wall upstairs. Maybe one of you can get it out."

Nami turned, eyes narrowed, "there's a den den mushi here?"

"Yeah."

"Stuck in a wall?"

Sanji shrugged, "I don't know how it got there, but seemed annoyed that I bothered it."

Nami hummed, watching Law as he went back behind the door. "We might be able to contact the ships from it."

The metal door locked behind Law, and he secured his sword to his belt. "Let's go," he led the group from the room without preamble, anxious to get upstairs. He stalked up the stairs to the third floor and then the fourth. Sanji bit his tongue, not bothering to ask how Law knew where they were going. Sanji reopened the door with the key in his pocket and let them in, motioning towards the bookcase for Law. The den den mushi growled, hiding so far in its shell that it only its antennae could be seen.

Law touched the wall by the den den mushi's shell, crouching to its level. "It's nervous with all the people here. Why don't you guys go check out the other room?" he suggested, "I'll see what I can do here."

Sanji nodded, escorting Nami out. He led her to the other room across the stairwell, where Nami was automatically drawn to the bookcase and desk. Sanji decided to check out the beds, as he hadn't bothered the first time. He leaned down and ran his fingers over the bedspread, before picking up his hand and looking at it. The bedspread felt clean, and no dust came up on his fingers. Someone was keeping the house clean. He had yet to see a speck of dust in the entire place. It was almost too clean, in fact.

Despite the fact that the air in the house was stale and tasted of dust, nothing looked that way. Nothing looked aged or weathered at all.

There was a click! and the bed began to slide up and away from Sanji. He tumbled, unable to keep his balance from the sudden loss of ground under him. He fell, trying to grab the edge of the hole as he did so. He caught it for a moment before the excruciating pain in his injured shoulder caused him to suddenly let go. He landed hard on the floor below, a leg twisted under his body.

Nami's head peeked from over the hole, "Sanji! I'm so sorry, are you okay‽"

Sanji moved to his knees and rolled his shoulder. He would be feeling that for a few days. "I'm fine. What happened?" He called back.

"There was a lever on the wall. When I pushed it the first time, a key popped out. When I did it again, it moved the bed." Nami studied him with wide eyes as he winced with every movement, "are you sure you are okay?"

Sanji gave her, what he hoped, was a reassuring smile, "of course, Nami-swan."

Sanji pulled himself to his feet, wincing at the pain in his knee as he leaned on it, looking around the room. There was absolutely nothing remarkable about the room at all. "There doesn't look like there is anything much in this room, but it has a door."

"Should I come dow- what‽" Nami turned away from the hole, suddenly alert. "Sanji, I'll be right back."

Nami stood and vanished without another word. "Be careful, Nami-swan!" Sanji sighed and began to limp to the door.

He stopped for a moment at the windows and took a peek outside, shocked at how dark it looked outside. The clouds seemed to cover whatever light the moon was producing.

He sighed and turned back towards the door, taking a moment to look at the room. It was… white. Really white. Everything was white- the curtains, bed, rug, floors, walls, ceiling fan, desk, bookcase. Even most of the books on the bookcase were white. He felt unnerved, it felt like he was in one of those mental hospitals described in Robin's books.

He limped to the door and opened it, stopping and holding his breath when he heard a door closing at the other side of the corridor.

He frowned, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as he slowly began to walk towards the door. He could sense something there, but again, while it felt familiar, he couldn't place his finger on it.

Sanji turned the knob and it opened under his ministrations, revealing what looked to be a second Library to him. Had Nami come down and lockpicked the door thinking he was in there? He peered inside, "Nami-swan?" He caught sight of a person on the left side of the door. No, not Nami. Usopp.

"Usopp!"

Usopp jumped three feet into the air and frantically turned around, his knees shaking as he held up his Kabuto. He let out a shaky breath and slowly put down his weapon when he saw it was only Sanji. "Sanji!"

"Where the fuck have you been, Shit-head‽" Sanji crossed his arms to glare at the sniper after slamming the door shut behind him. "I've been looking for you for hours!"

"I've been looking for you guys!" Usopp pulled his long hair out of his face and put it in a bun. "This house is huge. You need a map to get around here, I kept getting lost." Usopp knelt and slipped a blue leather book into the bookbag by his feet before closing it. "Where were you? Have you seen anyone else?"

"Nami-swan and I got Law from the second floor and went upstairs. There is a den den mushi stuck in a wall I wanted them to look at." Sanji leaned against the bookcase to his right to get the weight off his knee. "What the hell happened to you? Nami-swan told me you got separated from them."

Usopp took a deep breath and gave an awkward laugh, "you know. The monster came out of n-n-n-nowhere; it really s-s-surprised us. We all ran, but it wound up ch-ch-chasing me, so I ran up the stairs. By the t-time I got upstairs, th-they were b-both g-g-g-gone. Nami screamed, y-you didn't h-h-hear h-her?"

Sanji sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Something about Usopp's story didn't sit right. He would have heard her scream, the kitchen wasn't too far from the annexe and the corridors echoed like crazy. And Usopp only stuttered that badly when he was hiding something. But why would Usopp lie to him now? "I didn't hear anything," he said after a moment of silence passed between them.

"T-That's o-odd!" Usopp hiked his backpack onto his shoulder and shifted it to reach into the front pocket. "You should drink some water, you look exhausted."

Sanji raised an eyebrow but accepted the bottle from him. Just as he expected, as soon as Usopp was done lying his stuttering stopped. He took a quick drink before handing it back to Usopp. "We should go back upstairs, Law will be relieved we found you. He was worried I didn't earlier."

Usopp nodded, "yeah! I'd be interested in seeing that den den mushi as well!" He put his book bag on his back and started towards the door.

Sanji followed him to the door, eyeing him wearily. He looked… calm, almost too calm. Especially for Usopp. He made a mental note to ask Law and Nami about it later but assumed that it had something to do with the fact that, other than his first meeting with the monster, nothing had been after him.

As they ascended the stairs, a thought occurred to Sanji. "Oi."

"Hmm?"

"Do you have your tools on you?"

Usopp stopped halfway up the stairs and raised an eyebrow at him, "my tools? Which ones? I might have some with me."

"Did you bring that drill of yours, the one that moves?"

"Er-" The rest of Usopp's sentence was drowned out when he opened the door and Law yelled, "Usopp, take Nami and get out!" Law had his sword pulled out and was standing in front of Nami who had her climatact. "What are you waiting for? Go!" He commanded, almost snarling the command.

"W-w-what's g-g-going on!?" Usopp pulled Nami to his chest, allowing Sanji to jump in front of them, his leg already igniting. Sanji took note of the stuttering for a later time. Something really wasn't right with Usopp.

The monster was in the room, crouched between Law and Nami, Usopp and Sanji. Nami was breathing heavily and there was a nasty bruise on her neck. She had her Climatact trained on the monster, eyeing it above Sanji's shoulder from her spot against Usopp's chest. Law was breathing heavily and seemed extremely weary.

"Usopp, take Nami-swan and get out of here!" Sanji growled, jumping high and landing a kick to the monster's forehead.

The monster slowly turned towards them after the hit, standing up to its full height. It hadn't actually attacked them since they entered the room. In fact, other than standing up after the kick Sanji landed, which seemed to do NOTHING, it hadn't moved at all. It was almost as if it were waiting for something.

Sanji studied the monster, his throat feeling tight. While he had seen it multiple times already, he hadn't been able to study it. Now that he could, he saw that its shape looked familiar, like he saw it somewhere before- one of Robin's books, or Usopp's sketches, perhaps? It had a tall thin body, it's skin a ghastly grey, much much too small for its head. The monster's eyes took up most of its face and were as black as the inky sky outside.

He was broken out of his reverie by movement behind him, he looked to see that Usopp had pulled out his weapon, and moved to stand next to Nami, his eyes trained on the monster as well.

"Kaen Dama!"

"Fog Tempo!"

Sanji took the distraction to throw himself at the monster. Nami slide to the side to avoid him with her next attack. In the confusion, they were able to corner it. It was then, while cornered that it attacked, slashing at Sanji, catching him on the side and causing him to skid across the floor. His leg gave out from under him and Sanji went down, tumbling across the floor. Law slashed the creature under its arm, causing it to give an inhuman screech. Sanji used the distraction to do a swing-kick from his position at the same time Law attacked it from the other side.

"Radio Knife!" The monster snarled and slapped Nami into the wall in its distaste. However, other than being annoyed, it didn't look like Law's attack did anything to it.

"Radio Knife!" he tried again, and suddenly, the monster vanished.

"I told you it would work fine!" Usopp said happily. "You hit it perfectly!"

Sanji threw him a confused look from the floor. What. The. Fuck?

"Is everyone okay?" Law asked, sheathing his sword. He looked each of them over from where he stood but seemed to deem them fine, because he merely sat down at the desk, his back against the wall and one leg folded over the other as he looked around the room.

Usopp was sat in the middle of the room, on the rug, pulling out and counting his ammunition. There was a frown evident on his face as he counted and recounted his inventory.

Sanji winced, slowly seating himself in the red chair at the back of the room. Nami went to sit crosslegged at his feet, examining her weapon. Law was doing the same with his sword. "Did you find anything?" she called over to Law, who shook his head. "Me neither." She slipped her climatact into the front of Usopp's sweatshirt and sighed.

Nami leaned her chin on her knee, playing with the strap of her sandals. "I thought I heard something earlier, and when I got here the Monster was already attacking Law. I was so glad when you showed up." She blinked up at him, her eyes widening. "Oh, that reminds me. This is for you." Sanji peered down at her, confused. What did Nami-swan have to give him? He opened his hand and took what she handed him. It was another key. It wasn't quite like the others, more smooth and didn't have nearly as many teeth on it than the others in his pocket. He checked the tag, 2nd fl.

He tucked it away in his pocket and offered her a smile, "Nami-swan is the best! This will be very helpful!" Nami smiled at him, hiding a yawn behind the sleeve of Usopp's shirt. "Are you feeling okay, Nami-swan?"

She nodded, leaning her forehead against his thigh, "just exhausted. It's been a long day."

Sanji hummed, looking over to where Law and Usopp were talking on the other side of the room. "Do you think Law is okay?"

Nami looked over at the two men. "I think he's worried," she said after a moment. "From the looks of it, his powers don't really work well here, and Usopp was gone for a really long time without any of us seeing him." Sanji nodded, he had noticed that Law's powers didn't have the usual effect they normally did. "He's also exhausted, we all are. We've been here almost 12 hours already."

Sanji glanced out the windows and all he could see was his own exhausted reflection staring back at him. Everything beyond the window was utter darkness. "I could do with the rest," he admitted, despite really not wanting to sleep there. He needed to heal and they weren't going to get out of the mansion that evening by the looks of it.

Nami nodded, "I saw your leg give out on you. Rest might be best."

"We would need a room that locks though, so it can't sneak up on us. We can do what we do on the ship and have watch shifts."

Nami stood, and stretched. "I'll let the boys know. Can you look around and see if there is anything else useful in here?"

Sanji pulled himself up from the chair, wincing in pain as he put weight on his knee. He hoped the rest would allow it to heal some and he wouldn't be in as much pain when he woke. He tended to be a very quick healer. He would have Law look at it once they've settled in a room.

Sanji searched through all the nooks and crannies of the room while Nami spoke to the others. He found a closet opposite the den den mushi and opened it. Inside was a wooden box with something inside. He tried to open the lid, but it was locked. He carried it to the group as Law helped Usopp to his feet.

"All I found was this box," he handed the box over to Usopp for examination. "You need a key for it though."

"I'll take a look at it later. Between me and Usopp, we should be able to get it open." Nami said, taking the box from Usopp and putting it in his backpack for him. "Let's go."

"We should check all the rooms we have keys to, to find the one that seems the safest." law suggested, allowing Usopp to lead the way out of the room.

They all agreed. They made their way to the second floor and looked through the rooms. One room had matches, and there was a first aid kit in another one (the same one mentioned on the note he found earlier?). They settled on the bedroom that had a fireplace and the tools to build a fire. The house was much colder in the evening without the suns warmth to help bake it. Nami went to the windows and closed the windows tightly while Usopp started on the fire. Law sat at the desk and began to root through the first aid kit, making note of what they had. It really did help to have a doctor with them, Sanji mused.

Sanji pulled off his blazer and then his buttondown, eyeing the blood that soaked through his light blue shirt. Not even the best dry cleaner in the world would be able to get the mess out of the shirt. He glanced at his arm, scrunching up his nose. Dried blood covered his arm and his back. Blood was smeared over his undershirt, across his ribs and stomach. He sighed, throwing the button down on the floor before cursing. He had gotten blood on his good pants!

Usopp looked over his shoulder to where Sanji was, "you okay?"

Sanji crossed his arms and scowled, "my clothes are covered in blood. I didn't bring anything else with me."

Usopp hummed before his eyes brightened, "I think I have some clothes with me in my bag."

Sanji narrowed his eyes, why on earth?... "I would appreciate it," he said instead, swallowing his suspicion. Who cares why Usopp was carrying extra clothes with him?

He picked his shirt off the floor and laid it over the back of the chair next to him while Usopp rummaged through his bookbag, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. They both looked suspiciously like Laws. Sanji accepted them and moved to the corner of the room to change so that he wouldn't embarrass Nami-swan. He folded his pants and undershirt and put them with his buttondown.

"Feeling better?" Nami asked.

"Much, thank you, Nami-swan." Sanji smiled sweetly at her and sat down on the chair with his clothes. Nami sat on the floor crosslegged by the fire beside Usopp. "Law?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind checking my knee and shoulder? I injured them both earlier."

Law stood and walked over to him, motioning for the man to pull off the shirt he was wearing. He leaned down, gently touching around the wound on his shoulder. "It doesn't look too bad." The doctor murmured, turning to pull some antiseptic and gauze from the first aid kit, accepting the water bottle that Usopp handed over to him.

Sanji winced as Law began to clean the plaster and blood off the wound, but otherwise sat still listening as the others conversed amongst themselves.

"What are we doing once we rested?"

"Get out," Law said. "I assume the front door isn't an option?"

Sanji shrugged his good shoulder, "not by just opening it. But maybe Nami-swan or Usopp could pick it. We would need to be careful though, it is a place where that thing could easily trap us in if it gets in the right position." Sanji rubbed his eye, "I don't even understand how the door got locked. It requires a key from both sides."

Nami scrunched up her nose, "it's one of those. The only houses that have those are ones with something to hide."

"A monster perhaps?" Usopp said airily. He sighed, ignoring the dirty look Nami was giving him. "One of us could try while others keep watch. There are three corridors, so each person could keep an eye on one while the person picks the lock."

Sanji studied Usopp as the teen talked. He was studying his hands, leaning more and more against Nami with each word that passed his lips.

"We could break a window?" Law suggested, pulling tightly on the gauze on Sanji's shoulder before tying it off. He motioned for Sanji to put his shirt back on. He kneeled and rolled up Sanji's pants, gently examining the knee.

"Tried it already," Nami said. "The windows won't even unlatch. Even if we could break them, we would have the bars to deal with."

"Even on the upper floors?"

"Yeah," Sanji said, backing up Nami's assessment. "Every window I've seen has had bars on it. And if the walls can repair themselves, we won't be getting out by going through a wall either."

Nami looked at him incredulously, "the doors can repair themselves‽" She looked over to Usopp who was still studying his hands, "how the hell did you figure that out?"

Sanji pointed to the injury on his shoulder, "I got this injury because the monster threw me through a wall in the bathroom downstairs." He rotated his shoulder, wincing. "I had looked around the room, and retrieved something from the sink and when I turned around, the entire wall was fixed. The only proof I had that it even happened is my injuries."

"What was in the bathroom?" Usopp asked, perking up.

"A key."

Usopp raised his eyebrows, "exactly how many do you have?"

Sanji leaned over to dig through his jacket pocket and took out the keys. "Four. the Library, 4th floor, the room that I found Nami-swan in and the one that she gave me that opens something on this floor."

"It's like one of those 'escape the room' puzzles. Maybe we just need to hit the right combination?" Law suggested as he began to dig in Usopp's bag.

"Maybe," Nami said softly. Sanji looked up to see Nami was pale, there seemed to be a look of fear and disbelief on her face. However, as soon as she noticed him looking, she forced on a smile. "Who is taking the first watch?" As she asked that, she was already beginning to lay down and place her head in Usopp's lap.

Law went back over to him and handed Sanji two pills and a bottle of water. Sanji took them gratefully, mulling over Nami's question while he drank down the pills. "Sanji should sleep now, he has the most injuries," Law stated before Sanji could state his opinion. But for that, Sanji was grateful.

Usopp nodded, "I agree. I don't mind staying up if you guys want to rest." Law covered a yawn as he sat down beside him.

"You can rest, I'll take the first watch," Law argued, but the exhaustion was evident in his voice.

Usopp shook his head, "Nami is already out." He motioned to the girl who was sleeping with her head in his lap, "and you are obviously exhausted." He pushed Law down so that he was laying, head on Usopp's bookbag, "just rest now. I promise I'll wake you in a couple of hours." Law couldn't hide his next yawn and just mumbled his consent, moving to get into a more comfortable position.

Usopp sat there, watching the flames dance across the walls and floors of the room. He listened to their breathing as he fought to stay up himself, weakness seeming to seep into his bones with every second that passed. Slowly, he began to recline until he was laying back, eyes feeling heavy. "I can't… let … them … down."

In seconds, he too was out. No one kept watch that night, except for the lone figure watching them from the darkest corner of the room, black eyes reflecting the light of the fire.

To be continued…

Hello All!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. To see the artwork you can go to my Deviant Art or the story on Archive of our own, both under Chandlure Trainez.

Best,

Chandlure