Disclaimer: Hiya everyone! smiles at the praise she got Thank you all for reviewing. Aren't you glad I updated? I'm doing it again too, outstanding, ne? Sorry, I've just had a major breakthrough with the AB writer's block. Anyways, I'm answering my reviews now.

Kiari the Hell Cat: Dameon is so friggin adorable! w I love him. He's turned out to be my most favorite bad guy….purr…lol. Nice quote there Kiari-chan! I laughed, I cried, and then I died. (not really, or I wouldn't be writing this.)

The Hutchy.1: I'm glad I've updated too… …I've felt like I've been ignoring you all…But I've been working on various Faruba ones, and my Ayame one is SOOOOOOOOOOO tempting….looks longingly at the Maze of the Heart save file

ThunderAnn: hugs You're a peach, really you are Ann-chan. And isn't Faust from Shaman King uber cool? I adore him. And thank you for the praise on my Faruba's. They DO make up the vast majority of my few stories. I only like to write MEANINGFUL ones…not crappy ones like some people throw together and think it's cool to have a HUGE number of stories…cough that are crap and make no sensecough

SF Kitty: …squee? What're you talking about?...suddenly clicks OHHHHHHHH! Just send me an email and ask the question there. My mail is So knock yourself out. Dunno if I can help though… looks at Dagger How ya been? Been a while. Ya know…you make a cute couple with…no, no it'd be wrong for me to spoil my opinion, specially with SF-sama reading…

Dagger:growls with WHO! You people never tell me anything anymore!

Me:nods It's how we are…deal with it. We are like the messengers of the wind, we come in silently and leave with only a passing glance and a sticky note left on the fridge…gets all "young grasshopper" like

Dagger: Stop trying to act like a ninja…you look stupid.

Me:…locks her in the closet again Shut up Dagger. Now I know why SF-sama keeps you locked up so much… also! SF-sama, thank you for the praise. I was hoping I got Amy right.

Well, on with the fic!

Chapter 5: Just hold, on me, brother. When you need a friend, we all need somebody, to leeeeeeeeean onnnnnnn! (nope, this title relates to the story not at all. I just liked it.)

Lainy sighed, staring up at the night sky, looking at the stars. Her food was gone, and she could feel herself getting weaker and weaker with each passing moment. Partially, that was because of a storm on the first day that she'd been out. But she figured that was a good sign, since it meant that she was getting close to the island. A hand sifted through her slightly wet, red hair and she leaned over the side of the boat to look at her reflection. But what she saw underneath scared her into jumping back into her boat.

Sharks. Sharks were tailing her because they could smell her fear and could tell she was weak. Tears nearly sprang to her eyes, but a picture of Dameon flashed into her mind, making her gain back her resolve. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she once again took on her placid composure. 'I have to stay strong, I have to tell myself that Dameon wouldn't cower in fear like this…he'd most likely take a dagger and slice off the closest shark's fin…knowing him anyways…' she thought, and her thoughts of him calmed her. As always.

A sudden gust of wind made her jolt against something, and that something was obscuring her path. She looked around the front, and cursed. She'd hit a sandbank. It meant two things. One, she was EXTREMELY close to her destination, and two, she was shark bait if she tried to get out and scoop out enough sand to get her boat over it. Against all rational thinking, she swung her legs over and slid into the water with a small splash, if only to follow orders. This act of severe loyalty was daunting to her, since she'd never even CONSIDER doing this for someone else other than Dameon. But her feelings of confusion were too long, and sharks had surrounded her in a kind of pack, much like wolves who'll just wait for the weak one they're surrounding to fall so they can devour it.

'I…am going to die. I'm going to die, failing my mission, failing Dameon, and failing myself by not keeping my promise to survive, if only to seduce Dameon…what a stupid way to die…' she thought momentarily, then felt the first shark dart in and sink it's unparalleled rows of sharp, tiny teeth into her lower calf. She winced, and as it dragged her just below the surface, she realized that her body was screaming for air. Every inch of her burned, and the teeth of the sharks felt malicious and horrible to her skin. She realized that a shark's teeth were perfect for a torturous murder, since they didn't just slice and tear instantly. No, the sharks decided to shift their mouths every so often, so they could get a better grip and to keep the warm, red blood flowing into their mouths and filling it with its metallic taste.

Just as Lainy had given up and closed her eyes, her muscles relaxing and giving into death, she felt two pairs of strong arms grasp onto her. One pair of the arms she could tell was kicking the sharks away, and she finally felt the sharks teeth break away from her skin. She opened her air-deprived eyes and saw only blurry images. She saw a large, light yellow mass of color, and two pairs of eyes, or what she thought were eyes. One pair brown, one blue. She closed her eyes again and let the darkness overcome her, but not without a parting thought.

'I wonder…if these are angels taking me away…no…it wouldn't hurt if they were angels…guess I owe whoever has saved me…' she thought drowsily, her mind finally slipping into the black oblivion.

When Lainy woke up, she saw a girl with long blonde hair and sweet blue eyes rushing about her, rearranging blankets, fluffing pillows, and making sure that the washcloth on her head was kept warm. Lainy blinked once, then twice, and looked up at the girl.

"Who are you?" she asked, wanted to know to whom she owed a favor to. She was hoping it wasn't who she thought it was, or she would be displeasing Dameon even more so than she probably already would for being foolish enough to dive into a sea of surrounding sharks. The girl cocked her head and smiled sweetly.

"I'm Jasmine. I'm here to take care of you, since everybody else is helping daddy get ready to take the Baratie back out to sea. What's your name?" Jasmine said, her tone light and her hands gentle as she pulled back the covers and started to rebandage the bloody gauze that surrounded most of Lainy's legs and part of her stomach. Lainy looked away from the sight. One thing she'd never been able to handle was the sight of her own blood. Others, she could deal with. But not her own, to her, it seemed as if she was watching her life slip away between the cuts.

"Lainy. I'm Lainy…thank you…Jasmine, was it. For saving me and all. I know it was you, since your hair still looks a little wet…but who else helped you? There were two of you," she said calmly, though her insides screamed at her for letting the prey she was supposed to be watching save her. She knew she should have died for her foolishness back there, but a part of her was afraid of it.

"Oh…that was Sanji…he's a really great guy, he kicked those sharks away from us both. We were walking on the beach when we saw your boat hit a sandbank, and we were going to go help you, but then you dived under and didn't come up…so Sanji and I ran to get to you, and saw the sharks. I dived in first, so I don't know if Sanji helped because of me, or because of you. I'd like to think it was both!" Jasmine chirped, and Lainy could tell there was something between Jasmine and this 'Sanji' she talked so fondly of. It seemed to Lainy that Jasmine had suddenly grown a kind of airy, faraway feel to her, as if she was daydreaming. Lainy suspected she was.

"I owe you both…just don't expect anything INCREDIBLY important, cuz I have to join up with my crewmates sometime," she answered, crossing her arms, yet putting on a kind face for Jasmine.

She was supposed to befriend the girl, and lull them all into a false sense of security. That was her job. And damned if she wasn't going to do it. She continued to chat with Jasmine, when she heard a clattering downstairs, and a tousled looking guy came in. He had short, tousled hair, and warm, soft brown eyes. His build was sturdy and lean, but he looked powerful. He had on a striped shirt, with a black blazer and jeans on. He looked as if he'd run all the way home, which Lainy suspected he'd done to see Jasmine. She could tell somehow, since the minute he'd stepped into the door, an air passed between him and Jasmine, it felt like love that was buried so deep that the lovers themselves didn't realize their feelings.

Lainy thought longingly back to Dameon. She wished that they too, would have that air about them. She shook her head and closed her eyes with a sigh. It would never come to pass, and her dreams of being with him would go unrealized. But in a way, she was so envious of Sanji and Jasmine, and so angry that they didn't realize their affections, that deep inside her all she wanted to do was obliterate any chances of their love blossoming, since hers hadn't had the chance to. She resolved she'd do just that, she'd become friends with them, and then find little ways to tear them apart.

Sanji just had a feeling as he reached the door to the house that he needed to see Jasmine. He'd been so scared when she'd jumped in after the girl whom was obviously going to die, that he'd jumped in after her without hesitation. He ran inside, dropping the groceries on the counter, and dashed upstairs. He paused in the doorway, seeing Jasmine talking to the girl with a smile on her face. He'd never felt such a wave of relief wash over him like this, just knowing she was there and ok. He hadn't been able to shake the feeling of ominous darkness hanging over his precious Jasmine ever since laying eyes on the girl they'd saved. He stopped. He didn't realize when he'd started thinking of her as his Jasmine, but obviously he had. It wasn't an unwelcome feeling, just new and unknown. He wondered, as he relaxed, when his wandering eyes had settled down on one woman.

He'd certainly never been that way with the countless other women he'd romanced, including Nami. He'd always found someone else to lavish his affections on in a matter of minutes. But not with Jasmine, for it seemed as if she owned all of him, and that he was seemingly never going to get himself back. He sat down on the bed, next to Jasmine, yet keeping an eye on the new girl. Something about her threw him off, and not in a good sense. She was trouble, he could feel it. But he figured she wouldn't try anything, since she owed them her life.

"I'm Sanji. Nice ta' meetcha'," he said in a laidback tone, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, taking a long, slow drag. He puffed the smoke back and disappeared in a cloud of black. The girl waved the smoke away and smiled.

"I'm Lainy. Nice to meet you too, Sanji-san. So you were the one who saved me, huh?" she said sweetly. He nodded, then shook his head.

"Not really…Jasmine helped a lot…and if she wasn't there I…" he began to say, then stopped. He wanted to say 'If Jasmine wasn't there I wouldn't have saved you,' but that wouldn't have been a good thing to say to either of the girls. So he shut up, figuring it the smarter of the two things to do. Jasmine just tugged on his sleeve lightly with a smile, and nodded toward the door.

"About time to make supper, isn't it Sanji? Let's go. Oh, Miss Lainy, you'll be ok alone, won't you?" Jasmine asked worriedly, making Sanji smile warmly. He adored the fact that Jasmine was so worried and involved with people. She cared about people more than anything, and he loved that. He nodded and took her hand, seeing her blush from the corner of his eye, and with a small, content smile, led her downstairs. He wanted her away from Lainy as fast as humanly possible.

Once downstairs, he led her to the kitchen. She started to hum as she got cooking ingredients down from the shelf, and Luffy's tell-tale laugh alerted them to his presence in the house. Sanji sighed a little in relief, since more people, meant he wouldn't get too intimate with Jasmine. He knew, that knowing about his love for her, would make him want to tell her and to be with her at all times. But he was afraid, afraid that she'd reject him like Sora. And he'd seen the effects on Sora afterwards. The guy always seemed to immediately need something sweet to gorge on after a rejection. But he never gave up nonetheless, but Sanji was worried that he'd grow fat and lazy if Jasmine kept rejecting him. He chuckled lightly, thinking of a fat Sora. Jasmine looked at him, cocking her head, her blonde hair hanging in the air and over her shoulder and her beautiful eyes inquisitive as ever.

"What's so funny Sanji?" she asked, her tone light and curious. Their little cat friend, which Sanji unimaginatively named 'Neko-chan' hopped up onto the counter and licked her hand, begging for a treat and Sanji knew he was just meowing out 'Look at me Jasmine, I'm cute, feed me'. He tickled the cat's ear and smiled.

"Just looking at Neko-chan. Now, we should get going or Luffy will swear he's dying of…" Sanji started, but Luffy's whining drifted into the kitchen.

"SANJI! JASMINE! Hurry, hurry! I'm dying of hunger out here! I want some meat, if you don't mind!" he called, his stomach rumbling loudly for added effect. Jasmine laughed, and held Sanji's arm for support so she didn't fall from the action. Sanji puffed out proudly, elated and giddy that she was touching him so casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And it was.

AN: Well, how was it? Hope you liked it! Review, and give suggestions if you so wish to do so…I make no sense whatsoever, do I? well, till next time, avedase'! ok…that was spelled wrong…um…arivoir'…no…oh just screw it. Catch ya later. w