The one that won't kill

They stayed there in the open-aired garden that was messed up with dead bodies for a little while. Usopp took deep breaths slowly, Sanji sat in the corner smoking, and Zoro leaned against one of the walls that wasn't broken from the attack, crossing his arms.

Each was silent for a while until one of them finally spoke.

"Hi..Sanji, thanks for saving me in there, you okay? You don't look so good."

"Totally fine, what about you Usopp, where were you?! What the hell is going on..?"

"You see…it's…a long story and…well, I lost Nami on the way.."

"What did you say?! You lost Nami-san?! How could you lose the sweet angel, Nami-san?! I shouldn't have saved you!" Sanji screamed and started to move around restlessly in circles. Usopp looked at him stupidly and rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to be so harsh you know!"

Sanji pulled his hair with freaked out face.

"Ahhh! Poor Nami-san! She must be so scared and alone right now, surrounded by all the beasts around here! She must be crying right now! I will save you Nami-san! Wait for me Nami-san: I will come to save you!" He started running off a random way, and Usopp looked at him like he was the dumbest person in the world.

"She's the last one to cry or need saving..Oii! Wait, she's not in that way you idiot! I thought you were tired…I knew he would do that."

"Tch, idiot!" Zoro muttered, and Usopp sighed and looked at him.

"So, you're Roronoa Zoro, right? The famous criminal hunter."

"You've heard about me?"

"Yep, I know a lot about you. I'm Usopp, by the way. The most amazing and strong fighter in the whole world! I even defeated the king of the Red Kingdom. He begged me to have mercy on him, and since then, we've become best friends…Oi, where are you going?!"

"To the exit, since it seems who I'm looking for is not here," Zoro said casually.

"Wait, you're going the wrong way! The exit is that way" Usopp pointed him in the right direction.

Zoro stopped and turned another way, mumbling curses.

"Tch! It is this stupid place fault. Why does it have to be so big and move all the time?"

Usopp looked at him with the same look he gave Sanji a while ago.

"He's a hopeless cause just like the other idiot."

Zoro kept walking until he arrived at the destroyed rooms with a lot of corpses lying around. He sighed and turned again, walking in empty hallway.

"Damn this place! Let me out of here!" Zoro hissed and swore to not come here again! But when he came to the same hallway again, he started to search for someone to direct him to the exit. But instead he found something else: two voices that came from somewhere he couldn't see.

"Gin, why are you doing this?"

"Sanji, it's nothing personal against you. I'm just following my orders."

"I…don't want to fight against you, but if I have to fight, I will!"

"You may have saved my life that day when you fed me, but I'm still going to take your head today, Prince Sanji. Be prepared to die."

"Oh, I'm ready alright, but I'm not going to be killed! Even by you, Gin!"

"We'll see."

Zoro recognized that voice right away. It was that crazy blond he fought before he just took off. That idiot blond, what the hell was he up to now?! It seems every time he leaves him alone, that idiot found someone else that wanted to kill him. Seriously, can't he just stay put in one place that doesn't have bastards after his head? And he really didn't like to admit it, but he was a little worried for him.

The first time they fought, he felt something that Zoro could not explain or even felt the need to. It was strong and filled him with adrenaline, He had fought against plenty of enemies before, but the curly blond was different. And he wanted him alive, just to fight him again and feel that something.

Besides that, he wanted to test his strength, which he managed to do when he saw him fight, and he liked what he saw. That idiot's speed and agility were impressive, and he had some skills.

It was the armored bastard that pissed Zoro off so much, that coward that hid behind his blind mob that kept attacking them and was going to shoot the idiot from his safe distance away from behind. Zoro liked face-to-face combat, a fair fight! Not someone that won using dirty tricks, who was lower than a coward! But anyhow, Zoro needed to find out where that dork was and who that Gin was.

He damn well hoped he wasn't strong enough to kill that idiot! The only one that allowed to kill him was Zoro himself. At least that what Zoro felt in those moments of searching for the idiot blond. Where the hells were they anyway?! He ran with all his might one way that he thought was the right way, but he came to a dead end again. Oh hell, in that case he could only do one thing, cut his way through.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen right next corridor where Zoro was, Sanji and Gin's fight continued. Sanji didn't like this fight one bit, but he had to fight if he wanted to save his mentor, who they were using as a hostage. He would teach them a lesson after he had finished with Gin.

But their fight didn't seem to end, and that weird guy that they called hawk-eyes, with his gold eyes and large sword behind his back, watched them from afar and crossed his arms. Sanji guessed he was strong, but he didn't seem to care or want his life, which made Sanji wonder what he doing there in the first place.

Gin raise his tonfa again at Sanji, who managed to get away in time at the last minute, but his head hurt like a bitch. It hardened him to concentrate his focus on the fight. He'd had worse before, but it was really starting to annoy him.

He didn't have time for this shit, Sanji knew. He had to finish quickly and save that old fart before they killed him. Another hit by Gin to his chest send him flying to the wall, and this time Sanji didn't make a move to avoid the hit. It damned hurt but Sanji didn't care about that. The only thing he worried about was if they shot the old man before he reached them. So he got up and blocked Gin's tonfa that came at his head. He was too close to him now, which Sanji didn't like at all. He needed a safe distance from that guy to hit him.

The fight didn't last long until Gin mange to pin him down to the floor. Sanji didn't know about the condition of his head much, but he could feel his consciousness fading away, which wasn't good at all! The pain in his head was screaming in his ears and he could feel the tonfa robbing his painful area with force, which sent a shiver through his body.

If Gin hit this area strong enough, he was as good as dead! But the strange thing was that Gin didn't make any move to do it. He just stayed close to Sanji and pinned him to the floor, which confused Sanji. What was he doing? He could not tell, but he hadn't killed him yet, which was good. He could hear the deep voice of the golden eyed guy saying he was bored and then he walked away. Everything was so messed up and damn confusing. He wasn't even sure what was happening anymore.

"I'm sorry, but I can't kill you Sanji…I just can't!" he heard Gin scream in his ear. It made Sanji open his eyes, even if his vision was blurry and it was hard to spot anything.

"Wait…Gin…!"

But before he could say anything else, he heard a hard crash with a scream and felt burning in his body. What was going on? Sanji tried to focus on his environment but it took him time. When he finally could see clearly what was happening, he saw that everything was on fire. And Gin's body was next to him on the floor; Gin's eyes were wide open and he was stabbed through his back with thick wooden stick. Sanji could barely breathe, his heart was beating like crazy and he could hear it in his ears. He tried to calm himself down, to be composed, but it was so damn hard and he felt sick at seeing Gin's face.

He moved his hand and closed Gin's eyes with shaking hand, so at least he could rest in peace now. He needed to stay in control and remain calm, to not break down and cry because that fucker had died because of him.

Sanji looked around and saw the old man there, standing a little farther away from him and free. Which was weird, since Sanji was sure he had been surrounded by at least three guys with weapons and tied up before. Slowly, with a shaken up body, Sanji got up to his feet, too weak to walk to him but he knew he could hear him.

"What happened here old fart? Where is everyone? And Gin…"

But the old man only shook his head and sighed deeply. He looked worn out and defeated in a way, which Sanji didn't like at all.

"It seems your crazy dad finally lost what was left of his fucked up mind. Come after me little eggplant."

"Wait… what the hell does that mean?! Oi! Where are we going old fart?!" But the old man didn't wait, so Sanji pushed himself forward to follow his lead. He wasn't sure where he taking him or why, but he didn't like it! On their way, Sanji could spot so many dead men and women, which made him shudder. He hoped with all his heart that Nami and Usopp were okay and alive somewhere in all this mess. And that jerk Zoro too. Why was he even thinking about that asshole now? He didn't have any idea. He just was…a little worried that's all, not anything special.

Sanji knew that he may never see that man again or fight with him, but he still wanted to keep that little hope that he got out safely from there.

TBC