Day 3 - 'Treasure'

Sanji awoke early from troubled sleep with troubled thoughts and did what any person would do in his position: lock the galley door against certain green-haired crewmates and make a 26-dish breakfast buffet.

By the time the sun was crowning the horizon with rose-tinted gold, heaped platters of tropical fruit from the island sat next to creamy coconut rice and cornmeal waffles with date butter, mango smoothies, sweetened achacha puree, and soft pitas stuffed with test portions of the roast pork. Dish after dish flowed from his hands as cooking excised the tumultuous thoughts from his head and restored some semblance of order to his mind.

He put one last pinch of salt on the grilled watermelon and collapsed back onto his favorite stool. His coffee had gone cold by then, but it tasted sweet paired with a fresh cigarette.

"Stupid asshole. Is he messing with me…?" Sanji sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

In his mind's eye, he saw the sink again. The hand on his neck had been dominating, insistent. He could feel the ghost of fingers caught up in his hair, the pressure pushing him down, the firmness of the thighs and hips pressed up against him.

What do you know of my appetites?

His cheeks heated. "Not a damn thing, apparently…" he muttered.

He abruptly stood and raked both hands through his hair with a frustrated growl.

Someone knocked at the door, startling him. Sanji approached it cautiously, but the shadow on the other side of the round window was unmistakable. He unlocked it and let Usopp in.

"Good mor—WOW!" the sniper exclaimed, taking in the spread.

Sanji shoved a serving spoon in his hand. "Go nuts. I'm going for a swim."

"What? You're not going to eat with us? There's so much, though…"

"Already ate," he lied. "And besides, Luffy will make short work of it. I'd serve yourself now if I were you. Just make sure you save some for the ladies."

Usopp saluted him. "I will guard whatever that delicious smelling pancake thingy over there is with my life."

"Good man," Sanji said. He clapped him on the shoulder and ducked down into the belowdecks area as fast as he could, trying to avoid any watching eyes from the crow's nest. He changed quickly into his swimming trunks and threw a netted bag over his shoulder with his—now mended—flip flops and a few kitchen tools for the pig roast inside. The sound of activity on the deck as he emerged from below made him hesitate.

Feeling foolish, he pushed the door open a fraction and peered through the crack. In the sliver of early morning light, he saw flashes of silver and green. Zoro had come down from the crow's nest and was practicing shirtless with his white blade. He cut slow, graceful arcs through the air as he worked his way across the starboard side of the deck.

Sanji cursed softly. It had been a long time since the swordsman had done this form of workout. Like so much lately, it felt off, though. He didn't know much about swords, but he did know the musclehead's habits, and this was the sort of thing he usually only did after big fights. To Sanji's uneducated eye, it had always seemed like some kind of recentering or something Zoro did when he was particularly banged up. Looking at the smug face and undamaged bare chest—horrific scar aside—he wondered if maybe he had got it wrong. Still, it was another thing to add to his list of oddities. He also couldn't recall the other man ever being up so early. Make that a long list of oddities, then.

As he pondered the elegant form, he saw the other man's lips curl into a knowing smile. He knew Sanji was there, watching him.

Embarrassment blossomed in his chest followed quickly by white hot fury. The insufferable, shitty bastard! He had done this. He had made things fucking weird. If anyone should be embarrassed about behavior, it was him.

Sanji slammed the door open and stalked out. The bang echoed loudly across the deck, but the methodical sword moves never faltered. Without sparing the other man another glance, Sanji picked up speed and with a grace equal to the dancing blade, leapt over the railing and dove into sea. He knifed cleanly into the water and let it wash the ugly feelings away.

Later that morning, and after a couple dozen circuits of the bay, Sanji was able to put his thoughts to the side at least for the time being. Somewhere between the 10th or 20th loop he'd resolved to bring it up to his crewmates, Chopper at the least in case the swordsman had a case of sun-scrambled brain. After last night's…incident, he was certain that something was wrong.

As he was putting the finishing touches on the pig, he saw the little reindeer coming over in the dingy with Nami and Luffy and waited for his chance. Once Chopper had unloaded Nami's parasol and was about to return to the Merry, Sanji called him over.

"Hey, Sanji! Can I help you with something? Are you drinking enough water? You look tired. Did you sleep badly? I can make you something—"

Sanji smiled at the reindeer's nonstop stream of care. How they'd lucked out and gotten such a talented and kind doctor, he didn't know, but he was doubly glad he had an expert to ask these kinds of delicate questions.

"I'm fine, thanks, Chopper. I did have something I wanted to ask you, though…"

He gave an abbreviated version of Zoro's behavior—while glossing over the previous evening—and waited for Chopper to mull it over.

"How funny…" Chopper said after a few moments of thought. "Luffy asked me about Zoro too just before."

Sanji was surprised. "Luffy did? What did he say?"

"He asked if Zoro was okay."

"Did he say why?"

Chopper shook his head. "He just wanted to know if I thought Zoro was sick or anything."

Sanji pulled a cigarette from the waterproof case he'd brought with him and lit it. "Huh… And? What do you think? Does he seem off to you? Can sunstroke make people act weird?"

"Well, he doesn't seem ill or anything. He's certainly been…short with people, though."

Sanji snorted. He still had the mark of a blade on his neck, and he didn't imagine that the no-name pirate from the day before had recovered from Zoro's 'short' temper yet.

"Sunstroke can cause confusion, irritability, and temporary changes in behavior, but…"

"But?"

"But I would have expected him to be sunburnt or dehydrated or have some physical symptoms to go along with it if it were that bad."

"He did drink my whole flask when I first found him."

Chopper cupped one fuzzy cheek with a hoof. "I think I'd have to examine him to really know." He looked up, eyes suddenly very round and moist. "Would…you come with me? To ask him to let me look at him?"

Sanji patted the doctor's head. "Of course. I have to get this pig back to the kitchen anyway. Help me load the dingy, and we'll go."

"Thanks, Sanji!"

"You don't need to thank me. You're the one doing me a favor."

Chopper wiped a tear away. "To be so worried… You really care about him, huh?"

Sanji almost swallowed his cigarette. "Uh… I guess. I just wanna make sure we're not sailing with a crazy person, that's all."

Chopper beamed at him resolutely.

He waved his crewmate over in his human form, and they were just hefting the wire-wrapped roast onto their shoulders when a pair of lips and ears sprouted from the hindquarters. Chopper squeaked and let go of his end, forcing Sanji to drop into a near-splits to catch the center of balance before his hard work spilled all over the ground.

"Chopper," came Robin's calm, measured tones from the lips. "We need you on the ship. Usopp says he's killed Zoro."

Chopper and Sanji gaped. "WHAT?!"

"Yes, he seems to have electrocuted him. I believe his toes are twitching, though. Still, I think we require your assistance, Doctor."

Sanji blew out a breath and carefully set down the pig. "All right. We're on our way, Robin." He turned towards Nami's direction and called out. "Namiii~! Do you know where Luffy is?"

She pointed towards the beach on the south end.

"When he comes back, tell him the idiot swordsman electrocuted himself! I'm taking Chopper to the ship now!"

She waved and gave them the thumbs up. Sanji followed after Chopper to the dingy and together they returned to the Merry.

"Sanjiiiii!" Usopp wailed when he saw them. "I've killed Zorooooo! Kiiiiiiilled him! I was tuning Nami's clima-tact and just wanted to test it, and he kind of walked through the test cloud, and…!"

Sanji peered around the distraught sniper and saw the prone form of the swordsman lying by the mast. Aside from looking a little crispy around the edges, he didn't seem too bad. As Robin had mentioned, bits of him seemed to be twitching, and there was the unmistakable rise and fall of the broad chest. Chopper was poking at him, but the reindeer's demeanor didn't seem panicked.

"Usopp, he's fine. Look. This is the meathead we're talking about. He probably just fell asleep—"

"But he said… He said, 'Stop' and '…killed me…'! Like, 'You killed me'!"

Sanji patted him on the shoulder. "I think you misheard. He's fine, really. Right, Chopper?"

Chopper had reverted to his smaller form and was checking Zoro's eyes. He put a velvety soft ear to the bare chest and listened. They all looked expectantly at him when he straightened.

"He's-"

"Deeeeeaaaaad!" Usopp sobbed messily into Sanji's shoulder. Sanji firmly removed him and turned him around.

Chopper cleared his throat. "He's not dead, Usopp. And he doesn't seem to have any real damage."

"See?" Sanji said.

"But he's not waking up," Chopper concluded with a frown. "He doesn't seem to be in any imminent danger, but I'm going to move him to the infirmary until he regains consciousness." He shifted into his human form and carefully took Zoro into his arms as though he were a child. He disappeared belowdecks.

Robin watched them go and then looked down at the unsheathed sword laying on the deck. It was the white one, Wado Ichimonji, that Sanji had seen him practicing with that morning. She made no move to pick it up, and Usopp sat rocking himself by the mast muttering, "He's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me…"

Sighing, Sanji walked over, and with a delicacy he reserved for only his best knives, gently sheathed the blade and collected the other two from their spot by the mast. They felt heavy and strange in his arms, the black one particularly. Just picking it up made his skin tingle unpleasantly. Robin noticed the distaste on his face and nodded.

"Be careful with it," she said.

He didn't need to be told twice. He'd heard about how Zoro had gotten it and knew what it was. The sooner he could drop them off at the idiot swordsman's side, the better.

He caught up with Chopper in the Merry's make-ship infirmary—a converted storage room—and carefully deposited them by the bed. Zoro didn't react as Chopper arranged him on the cot, but his fingers twitched when Sanji set down the blades.

"Even in your sleep you wanna fight, huh?" Sanji murmured.

Despite saying so, Sanji thought he looked more peaceful now. The calm, stoic face he was familiar with had returned, and the smirking, intense Zoro of the last few days was gone.

"Well, here's your chance to look him over at least, right?" Sanji said.

Chopper was rifling through a drawer but nodded. "I would have liked to ask him some questions too. When he wakes, I suppose…"

The big, moist eyes returned.

Sanji smiled. "I'm going to go get the meat but call me if you need me when he does."

Chopper shot him a grateful look, and Sanji left him to his work.

Back on the ship after finally ferrying over the much-neglected pig roast, Sanji found that Luffy had returned and was arguing with Nami.

"The conditions are perfect, though! If we catch this wind, we'll be to the next island days ahead of the time it usually takes!"

Luffy shook his head stubbornly. "We can't go yet."

"Why, Luffy? There's nothing else to do here. The log pose has set, and we've loaded up on as much stuff as this island has to offer." She saw Sanji approaching and looked to him for support. "Right, Sanji?"

He spread his hands in apology. Pleasing Nami was generally his first, second, and third priority, but Luffy's face was set into familiar lines, and he knew there'd be no talking him out of something he'd decided to do—or not do. Sanji smiled as he recalled a similar argument Luffy had had with Nami all those months ago at Cocoyashi Village just after he'd first joined them. His new captain had just lain on the ground and refused to budge, much to her frustration. Here, he was sitting cross-legged on their deck, but the determination was the same.

"We can't go yet. Something's wrong."

Exasperated, Nami threw her hands in the air. "What is wrong? We have supplies, a good wind, and I checked with Robin. She said Zoro's just sleeping or something."

Luffy shook his head, uncharacteristically serious, but didn't elaborate. He seemed lost in deep thought.

Robin strolled over to join them.

"Oh, thank goodness," Nami said. "Someone reasonable. Robin, please back me up here."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Luffy. Something is wrong."

"Wrong with what?!"

Sanji lit a cigarette and blew out a long plume of smoke. "It's Zoro."

"But…"

"It's not because he was zapped. He's been acting…weird since we got here."

Nami was unconvinced. "Do you mean the arm thing during the fight? Yeah, it wasn't like him, but…"

"It's not just that. He's been really, umm…" Sanji fingered the half-healed line on his throat, trying to put his suspicions into words, but now that everyone was looking at him, he felt foolish.

"He said I had lovely long limbs," Robin suddenly interjected. They all looked at her.

Nami raised an eyebrow. "A compliment isn't a bad thing." Usopp had since rolled over and joined them and was giving her a look. She colored slightly. "Okay, fine. From Zoro it's a bit weird."

"He kept touching the black blade when he said it," Robin added with a smile.

"Oooookay, never mind then. Anyone else?"

All eyes except Luffy's returned to Sanji.

"He…"

His thoughts returned to the kitchen again. Zoro's words had been a threat and a promise. The hand on his neck pushing him down hadn't been asking permission, and the interest had been unmistakable. Sanji's face went scarlet.

"Oh my god!" Usopp laughed. "Did he flash you or something?!"

Sanji flicked his spent cigarette over the side of the ship with a scowl. "Something like that…"

Nami gave him a curious look, but Sanji hid behind his hair, pretending not to notice as he lit a new one. He faced away from the little group while they mulled over the information, but he felt Robin's gaze on his back.

Luffy finally spoke up. "He didn't eat Sanji's food."

"What?" Usopp and Nami said as one. Sanji joined them silently in his head.

Luffy crossed his arms. "He didn't eat Sanji's food! I found a bunch of onigiri in the crow's nest. He always eats them. He gets mad when I try to take one. He'd never leave those. Never."

The captain stood up. The troubled look still darkened the boyish features, but he seemed relieved to have put a name to his own concerns. For his part, Sanji was surprised. Did Zoro like his food that much? Or just that particular food? It was true that he made them especially for the swordsman ever since he had heard a little about where he was from, but everyone liked a taste of home, right? He filed the information away for later.

"All right," Nami said. "So something's wrong with Zoro, but what, and what can we do about it?"

Sanji rolled the cigarette in his mouth as he thought. "He was fine when we landed. It was after he went for his walk that he went weird."

"You said you found him sleeping standing up?" Robin asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. He was out of it like he'd been asleep or something, only he was just standing there. I asked Chopper about sunstroke, but he said he would have expected him to be sunburnt or something."

"Maybe he ate a bad pig," Luffy said.

"Or drank something," Usopp added.

Nami tapped her cheek with a long, delicate finger. "Where did you find him again?"

Sanji pointed towards the rise of rock at the center of the island. "Near there in a field of weird black stones."

"Sculptures?" Robin asked.

"No. They looked natural. They were tall and thin, shiny and black."

"Obsidian, maybe," the archeologist mused. "Luffy, I think we should take a look."

He nodded. "Yeah. If there's something wrong with Zoro, we need to fix him."

Nami looked up at the sky. It was late afternoon, going on early evening. "Maybe we should wait until—"

"We'll go now," Luffy said. He began walking to the rope ladder leading to the dingy.

"All right, then…" Nami sighed. "Luffy, Robin, and Usopp…?"

Sanji shook his head. He remembered the way Zoro had looked at her after the fight. He had a niggling feeling in his chest, a fear for her that he couldn't name, and he suddenly didn't want her anywhere except by Luffy's side where she'd be safest.

"You go with them, Nami. I think this is a problem that needs our best minds on it. Go and find out what the moron got himself into, and make sure Luffy doesn't go wild. I have to get dinner prepped anyway. Usopp can keep watch, and I'll be here to deal with him if he wakes up in a bad mood."

Nami smiled at him, and he knew he'd managed it. She patted him on the shoulder, and his heart swelled under her touch.

"All right," she said. "I'm counting on you."

With hearts in his eyes he dashed to the galley and fetched them water and snacks to put in their shoulder packs. Luffy was impatient to go, but he grinned brightly up at Sanji when he saw the banana leaf-wrapped packets of sticky rice and meat.

"More to come when you guys return," he grinned back. "I'll have dinner ready, so don't stay out too late!"

He waved them off and got to work dismantling a 300lb pig.

...

Robin picked her way carefully through the dense undergrowth, eyes constantly on the lookout for the stone markers the cook had mentioned. They'd made almost a full circle of the island by the time they found a clear enough route towards the rising rock at the center. The gently sloping ground soon became stone, and they knew they were on the right path.

Luffy barreled ahead, and Robin had to scoop Nami up and over some spiny bushes using a bridge of hands to keep him in sight.

"This is it, right?" he called excitedly. "This's gotta be it!"

Robin saw thin pillars of chipped, glossy black rock rising from the ground ahead as she and Nami pushed their way through a final barrier of undergrowth.

"Yes, it seems so."

She approached one of the pillars and touched it. It felt cool and glass-like under her fingers, but the edges were razor sharp. Her fingertips came away clean. The pillars were strange but seemed unlikely sources of whatever was wrong with the swordsman.

Nami was studying one as well. "Volcanic?"

Robin nodded. "Obsidian. Probably from when the island was first formed. The wear on them is unusual, though…"

She wove her way around them, looking for anything else out of the ordinary.

Luffy poked at some pink flowers. "Maybe these?" he asked.

Nami crouched down for a closer look. "I think they're just flowers…"

Robin closed her eyes and concentrated. Dozens of blue eyes appeared amongst the rocks and around the central stone hill. She shifted through them one by one, peering into unexplored corners and dark recesses.

As she methodically worked her way around the area, she thought about the last few days. She hadn't sailed with the Straw Hats long enough to know the swordsman's every mood, but she felt certain that something was amiss. The way he moved had become almost predatory to her senses. Roronoa Zoro was a dangerous man even at the calmest of times, but he reserved his special brand of violence for their enemies, and she knew the weight of that threat very well. She hadn't been one of those in some time, but her shoulders had begun to itch under that hot gaze once again. And then there was the cook. She had seen the pair bicker and spar a thousand times, but something had changed there as well. Zoro had stopped picking fights. Zoro had stopped speaking to Sanji almost completely the last few days. Zoro now watched the other man intently, following the lean lines of the Straw Hat's cook as he moved about, worked, or chatted. Robin's instincts for her own safety were starting to sing, but worry was turning into fear for her soft-hearted crewmate. Sanji's admission, or non-admission, on the deck had confirmed it to her. Their captain had been right to go immediately. They needed to discover the reason behind the swordsman's change before he did something they would all regret.

She blinked again and was now looking inside a curved lip of stone. The soft gray of the rock was dotted with sparkling mica that made the recesses seem to glitter in the waning light of the sun. At the back of the depression she saw something else reflecting the light.

"Luffy," she called.

He and Nami straightened from their inspection of the flowers.

"I believe I have found something…"

Together they made their way to the semi-concealed area guided by Robin's beckoning hands that sprouted from the sides of the rocky formation. Luffy entered first and beelined for the old chest Robin had spied.

"It's treasure!" he shouted excitedly.

Nami clapped her hands together gleefully. "Treasure?!"

"I wouldn't touch it," Robin warned. "If this is what Zoro found, then it's unlikely to be anything good."

They both pouted but waited until Robin had joined them inside.

Nami sighed. "I know, I know. It's probably filled with poison gas or something, but just once I would like a normal treasure chest filled with normal gold and jewels."

"Gas…" Robin murmured as she approached. "Yes, it's probably filled with flesh-eating gas that will melt our skin until our faces peel from our skulls."

"Robin!"

She smiled. "Let me have a closer look."

Robin knelt in front of the chest. Dust and crumbled bits of rusted metal littered the space around it. The lid was offset, recently disturbed. She gently smoothed her fingers over the ivory insets and let them trail down to the discolored leather of the base. The design was marred by age and the salt air of the sea but still beautiful. Beneath the tarnished brass lock, the pad of her thumb felt several small impressions. They were so worn that parts were impossible to make out.

"Hmmm… "

She closed her eyes and let the indentations take shape in her mind.

"It's too short to be a message… I think…it's a name," she said at length.

Luffy knelt beside her. "I don't feel any energy or bad stuff. It feels…empty?"

"Yes… But like something was here and now is not."

He agreed with her assessment placed his hands on the lid. Robin nodded, and he lifted.

Nami squealed as a pair of gaping eye sockets and a distended mouth yawned out.

"Not a treasure chest, then, but a coffin…" Robin said.

Luffy frowned. "I don't like it."

Robin considered the bones and the dark staining that had reached the outside of the chest. "I don't think whoever they were liked it either."

"So, Zoro found a chest full of bones…" Nami craned her neck for a better look but came no closer. "Do you think they're cursed or something?"

"It's possible. We've seen how intent can infuse an object, especially malevolent intent. Zoro carries one such item already. I would not be surprised if those kinds of things call to each other."

"But are we even sure it rubbed off on him? Or however curses work…"

Robin shook her head. "No, but it seems our best guess right now." She looked down at the bones, eyes tracing the sad lines of the crisscrossing ulnas and unhinged jaw. Her gaze traveled down to the wrists and splayed fingers. She leaned closer.

"There," she said, pointing.

Nami was forced to inch a bit nearer to see over Luffy's shoulder. "What?"

"There's a finger missing. Pinky on the left hand."

"Ewww…"

"If Zoro has that finger…"

Luffy chewed on his lip. "I don't really get curses… Just, can we fix him?"

Robin stood and brushed the dust from her skirt. "I think we'll have to see. But if these bones aren't happy in their grave, Captain, I say we give them a burial at sea."

...

Sanji slid the last piece of buttery soft pork from his knife with an air of satisfaction. The texture and flavor had developed beautifully in the make-shift oven, seasoned with local herbs and salt extracted from the very water of the bay. It had been well worth the extra trouble and time to slow roast the meat properly. They'd have a proper feast tonight, and hopefully it would also be a celebration of a return to normalcy.

He covered the enormous platter of meat and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a bicep. It was the only part of him that didn't feel like it was coated in grease or sand. Leaning over the sink as he washed up, he peered out the porthole and saw there was still a bit of light left. Time enough to take a quick shower and freshen up, then.

Dashing belowdecks, he grabbed a fresh suit—one of his recent purchases, a dark blue vested number with cross-stitched welt pockets that was sure to impress the ladies—and scrubbed the day's work from his skin and hair. He emerged from the bathroom feeling like a new man, and practically skipped upstairs to make Chopper and Usopp some snacks. A few minutes later and he had the doctor's favorite tea and some nutty brittle ready. Chopper would never admit it, but the little reindeer had a massive sweet tooth. Luckily, Sanji always had a little something on hand for his crew. Surprising people with an unexpected treat was one of life's little pleasures, after all.

He was just making his way down the stairs with the tray when a bang followed by a crash suddenly rattled the stairwell door on its hinges. Frowning, he called out, "Chopper? Everything okay?" When he received no answer, he set the tray down on the top step and approached the infirmary cautiously.

Another bang shook the hall, and all senses singing, he threw open the door. There, just inside the little room lay the crumpled form of the reindeer. Blood marked a spot on the built-in shelving where Chopper stored his bandages as though he had been thrown. He wasn't moving.

"Chopper!"

Sanji stepped into the room, head turning quickly to check the back corner where the cot was situated. He expected to find Zoro there, and he wasn't wrong, but the swordsman had his back to him, busy at something on a silver tray by the bedside.

"Zoro, what happened?!"

Sanji knelt by Chopper and turned him over. The little reindeer was still breathing but completely out. A gash marred the fuzzy head, and one eye was swollen and blue.

"Zoro, did you do this…?" He looked up, shocked but certain he was right.

Zoro didn't reply.

"Answer me, you bastard!"

Still facing away, Zoro now had both hands to the left side of his head. Sanji watched in horrified fascination as blood trailed a line down one muscled arm and began to drip off the elbow and onto the floor.

"What…are you doing?"

Zoro finally turned around. "There."

Sanji's eyes trailed up, looking for whatever Zoro had meant by "there," but he only made it to the swordsman's burly neck before the other man attacked.

Sanji threw himself backwards into the hall as Zoro leapt over the stool, arms reaching for him. His shoulders hit the wall and he pushed off, hurtling back at the swordsman. He lashed out and caught Zoro square in the chest. The other man was sent flying back into the infirmary to smash into Chopper's desk.

"Have you gone crazy?!" he shouted. "Why would you attack Chopper?! What's wrong with you?!"

Zoro straightened, eyes fever bright in waning light coming through the porthole windows.

Sanji tensed under that scorching, hungry gaze. A feeling of wrongness permeated the air, thick and rancid. It rolled off the swordsman in waves.

"You're not Zoro…are you?" he said, mouth suddenly very dry.

Zoro smiled at him. "But I am." He tapped his head. "He's right here."

Zoro surged forward while Sanji was still trying to process the thought, and a solid mass of muscle carried him back into the wall. Together, they crashed into the wood planks with an audible crack that shook the boat. Sanji got a leg up between them and pushed him off, twisting to the side to get out from underneath the heavy bulk. Zoro reached for him again, but a vertical side kick forced him back enough for Sanji to make a dash for the stairs. The hallway was too tight for him to really be effective. He needed space, and he wanted whatever was wearing Zoro away from Chopper.

Sanji felt rather than heard Zoro tearing after him. The swordsman was deceptively quiet for someone so muscle-bound, but there was no masking the raw violence behind him that sent his alarm bells ringing. He hit the stairs and spun, using the momentum to aim a flying kick right back at the other man. It caught Zoro solidly on the shoulder but hands seized his ankle as his foot connected, and he was swung into the portside wall as Zoro sailed into the back of the hallway with a crunch. They both hit hard, grunting with the impact and shattering wood.

"S-Sanji…?" came a quavering voice at the top of the stairs.

Through slightly unfocused eyes, Sanji saw Usopp standing on the landing in the open doorway. He was gaping at the destruction below with an open mouth.

"Shit… Usopp, get…" Sanji yanked his elbow out of the wall where it had gone through. "Go get Luffy!" he shouted.

"What? What's happening? Oh, Zoro! Are we under at—"

Sanji leapt to his feet and buried a heel in Zoro's midsection as the other man tried to fly past him up the stairs. "Run!" he practically screamed at the sniper. "It's not Zoro! It's—"

A line of fire burned its way up his side and back. He hissed in pain and snapped his head back around. A blade gleamed in the lantern light of the hall. Zoro was now holding the short knife he carried in the back of his haramaki. Blood coated the edge and tip. Sanji tentatively reached behind himself and felt the neat cut in the fabric of his vest, felt the wetness creeping up the satiny material.

Usopp goggled. "Holy—"

Zoro's head shot up.

"Oh, uh…"

The swordsman grinned and backhanded Sanji hard into the wall with a fist that felt like it was made out of iron. He tasted blood, and his head swam. A scream brought him back to himself, and he charged drunkenly up the stairs.

Zoro, or the thing that was pretending to be Zoro, had caught up to Usopp and pinned the terrified sniper against the mast. One of the brown eyes was swollen shut, and blood dribbled from the younger man's lips. The short knife was a line of flashing silver under the setting sun as Zoro twirled it in his hand, considering.

"I should gut you for what you did before. That wasn't very nice…"

"I, Usopp, wholeheartedly apologize! Unreservedly! Unabashedly! Please don't kill me!"

The tip of the knife, still wet with Sanji's blood, traced a sharp line on the burnished cheek.

Usopp whimpered.

"Hey!"

Zoro turned and Sanji stomped the tea tray on the top step, sending the saucer and brittle into the air. He pivoted and kicked the teacup. It hurtled with pinpoint accuracy into Zoro's hand and knocked the knife away. The swordsman looked down with fascination at his bleeding fingers where the pieces of porcelain had nicked him. He dropped Usopp and turned, but Sanji was already moving. Two strides and he was within reach, left leg blurring in a series of lightning quick blows. They caught Zoro unguarded, and the force threw the other man across the deck.

Breathing heavily, Sanji clapped a hand to his side and winced. Usopp scrambled to his feet.

"Go!" he said. "Get Luffy and tell him it's not Zoro! I'll hold him here, but bring Luffy back!"

Usopp hesitated. "Where's Chopper?"

Across the way, Zoro slowly stood and looked at them. It might have been a trick of the light, but his eyes seemed to shimmer. He began running.

As carefully as he could manage in the circumstances, Sanji planted a foot under the sniper's rear and booted him off the ship. Usopp's yodeling cry of surprise ended in a splash, but Sanji could just make out the sounds of the other man swimming for shore before Zoro crashed into him with enough teeth-rattling force to carry him into the wall of the cannon deck.

His head hit one of the porthole windows with a crack. Stunned, his legs gave out and he pitched forward, but then Zoro was in front of him. The swordsman caught him by the shirt and hauled him back up until they were eye to eye. The wall behind him felt hot and wet, and he giddily thought that he'd have to change his shirt again before dinner. A hand in his hair and a whisper in his ear brought him back to reality.

"It's just us now. Shall we take it from where we left off?"

Zoro's eyes bored eagerly into his, reflecting cat-like in the dusk light. Sanji thought he saw a flicker of familiar black before the hand in his hair yanked his head hard to the right, and teeth brushed his throat.

"The hell…we will…" Sanji snarled, legs scrabbling for purchase on the wall to push the other man off.

Zoro anticipated the move, though, and pressed in closer, pinning his thighs. Even so, the muscles in the swordsman's neck stood out with the effort, and he was slowly but surely being forced back. With a smile that was half annoyed, half feral, Zoro pulled Sanji's head forward then smashed it back against the porthole window. The glass shattered, and Sanji went limp. Zoro stepped back and dragged the unconscious man across the wall until they were back at the entrance to the belowdecks area, a bright stripe of red shining wetly in his wake. He descended the steps, pulling Sanji in after him and then shut the door.

To be continued...