Title: Take My Hand
Pairings: LuffyxSanji
A/N's: I will from now on try to at lest post a new one of these once a month. Also remember I'm taking requests, so if you have an idea, toss it out to me, and I might use it, if I don't use it, well no harm in asking. Right?
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The whole crew piled into the Mini Merry and headed back for Sunny, in a very hurried pace with their new treasure loot. The Mugiwara pirates' latest adventures had brought them to treasure hunt under very dangerous circumstances. Not only had the tomb the treasure had been in, been filled with traps, but worst yet, and what had them running for their lives was while they had been inside the tomb, the island's 5 volcanoes started to go off all at once. They clearly had made it out with their lives, but the small island was filling up with lava fast and already some was spilling into the sea in some areas.
The crew climbed up and onboard of their ship, as Robin and Zoro secured away the Mini Merry.
"We need to go now girlie! The water level is dropping and if we wait around anymore the ship is gunna start scraping on the bottom of the coast line and we could get stuck." Franky called out over the loud roar of volcanoes as the spilled forth there dark smoke clouds, clogging the bright skies.
"Quick everyone put on these!" Chopper ordered in his determined doctor mode, as passed out surgical face masks. "The volcanic gas, and carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide in the air coming from the volcanoes are very dangerous to your health! Let me know at once if anyone of you start getting a headache, feel confusion, lethargic, or anything else out of the normal!" ordered the little reindeer.
As Chopper handed out a mask to Luffy the captain didn't take as he was to busy panicking, as he was looked all around himself, but could not find his hat. "MY HAT!" cried out Luffy.
"Brook, Sanji get the sails down, Franky and Chopper are right we need to get out of here fast!" ordered Nami, "Franky take the helm!" she then added as she put on her face mask.
"There it is Luffy!" cried out Usopp using a telescope to pinpoint the strawhat, that was currently hanging off a tree branch on the island a bit ways from the beach shore.
"It's too far! I can't stretch to get it." replied Luffy in worry for his beloved hat.
Nami picking up on this other conversation, and now looked to where the hat was, and frowned. "Luffy we can't go back now, it's too dangerous."
Luffy gave a single nod, not willing as well to put his crew's life at risk, but still it pained him dearly. He was going to have to stand here and watch lava take another thing dear to him.
"Dammit Brook, Sanji! I told you both to get those sails down." Nami cried out.
"But Sanji-san." Brook said, pointing a bone finger to the oceans waters.
At once those on deck turned their attention to where the skeleton was pointing, and all their eyes widen in worry, as they saw Sanji swimming back to the island through the dark ashy waters.
"SANJI!" Luffy cried out, and at once held tightly to the railing of the ship, and stretched out a rubbery arm over the water, and all the way to the island shore as the cook stepped out of the water. Luffy's finger tips brushed the blonde's back as Sanji then started to run to tree line jungle.
"NO! Sanji take my hand!" Luffy yelled out, but the cook was not listening, didn't even turn around to look back at his captain.
Sanji rushed to the tree the hat was in, jumping over the flowing red lava as it trickled in a fast pace onto the sandy shore, leaving some areas untouched from its path of destruction. It was these small areas the cook used to help him reach the tree, and quickly climb up the trunk.
The strawhat was far out on the branch limb, and the cook found himself having to inch himself onto the branch. The wood creaked, and branch bent as Sanji moved further out onto it. His hand reaching out, so close to his goal yet still not close enough. Further still he inched himself on the branch, his hand now closer, yet still not enough … then suddenly the branch gave, and broke off from the tree, dumping the strawhat, and cook to fall down towards the lava below.
Those on deck all gasped out, as Robin and Zoro now just came up topside having finished securing the Mini Merry, and got caught up to speed on what was going on.
"SANJI!" Luffy cried out again, about to rocket himself over, but was stopped by Nami.
"It's to far Luffy!" she said trying to get through to Luffy, not wanting more of her nakama possibly lost.
Sanji however, having more lives then a cat, used the tree branch as a stepping stone in the mid air, and closed in that last inch from the strawhat, grabbing it with his out reached hand, then flipped to land on a on fiery log, that was floating in the now heavy flow of lava.
The lava had now covered all of the ground, only leaving a few rocks poking up from the deadly magma. It was these rocks Sanji made use of, and other logs floating on the lava when he could. His body bending, and flipping, at times the cook having to use one of his precious hands to land on small space so he could keep going, as there was little time to think about the burns it was causing his hands. If the lava got him, the light burns on his hands would be the least of his troubles.
So Sanji kept on going till he found himself trapped, with nothing else left to jump to. Lava was all around him on the small little rock he was on, and as he looked back to see if there was a way he could go back, and find another path he was greeted by the sight of a fast large wave of lava coming towards him. He would not be able to escape that unless he went forward, but there was nothing but lava in front of him, blocking path to the ocean. It looked like this was it for him. Sanji turned back around, and faced his nakma and smiled at them. It had been honor, and a good life sailing with them.
Luffy felt ashamed he had ever felt worry over his hat getting swallowed up by lava. To have one of his nakama …to have Sanji taken from him the same way as … Luffy fought back the tears burning in his eyes, and shot out his arm again, stretching it to the limit, and then some, straining his ability to the fullest. His face turning red, as his the veins on his neck popped up, while he still tried to stretch more to the blonde, but he was still to far away.
"SANJI!" Luffy screamed as the wave of lava neared the blonde. This could not happen again, this just could not happen again!
Another hand then popped up at the end of Luffy's, and then another, and another making a rope of arms reaching out the rest of the way to the cook, and gripping the blonde's hand.
Luffy's eyes widen causing the tears in them to leak down his cheeks, as he realized at once Robin was helping, and wasted no time pulling his arm back to reel in the cook. The wave of lava just missing Sanji by moments.
The captain's arm came back with a snap, and Robin's extra arms popped in a shower of flower petals, letting the blonde land on the deck on his feet.
Sanji held out the strawhat to Luffy, and took one step towards his captain, only then to have his body crumple on its self as he passed out, Franky and Brook catching him before he could hit the deck, while strawhat went uncaught, and landed on the wooden deck boards. At once Chopper was over to Sanji's side checking the blonde out, and yelling for them to get Sanji to the med room at once, as he had taken in to many of the toxin in the air to his lungs.
Luffy stood there panting watching Sanji get taken away, as the rest of his crew then hurried to get the ship moving away from the island. Once Sanji was then out of sight Luffy took the few steps towards his strawhat that lay on the deck. A small corner of the rim singed. The captain then reached down slowly, and picked up his hat, and stood back up putting it on his head, letting the rim of it hide his face in shadows, as he then went to help out on getting the ship on course with the others.
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Sanji looked out over the calm waters of the night, as he had just popped out for a smoke. Everyone was now finally in bed, and Sanji didn't have to worry about Chopper yelling at him about not smoking. The little doctor claiming Sanji's lungs already had gotten a harsh work out from the volcano toxins today, and that it was best not to smoke for a few days or maybe just quite all together. Like Sanji would ever do that though.
The blonde fidgeted with the bandages on his hands, as he worked to get his lighter to light. His hands only having gotten some minor burns, and with Chopper's salve, the wounds would heal in no time. Finally getting the smoke he held between his lips lit he took a deep drag of it, and coughed having to take the cigarette out of his mouth. Oh how that hurt, but the taste of nicotine was worth it. Sanji eased himself down to sit on the deck and put his lighter away. He then took a few deep clean night air breaths and took another slow pull from his cigarette taking more care this time yet it still made him cough again.
Luffy dropped down from the crows nest. It being the captain's night watch tonight, and in truth the captain had been asleep till the sounds of the cook's coughing below had woke him. Worried Luffy hurried down the ship mass, and in one final jump landed on the deck, only then to rush over to Sanji, and swipe the cigarette from Sanji's lips, and tossed it over the railing to the dark waters.
"Oi! You shitty rubber what the hell!" Sanji asked glaring up at his captain.
"Chopper told you not to smoke for a few days! He is a doctor you have to listen to him about these things." Luffy informed.
"Che I'm fine." retorted Sanji, not wanting to be made seem some weakling.
"You were coughing and woke me up!" Luffy frowned.
"Ah sleeping on watch huh?" Sanji ask with a smirk to his lips.
Luffy bristled, "Huh no…" he lied.
Sanji's smirk turned into a smile, and he reached into his pocket to get out his pack of smokes but was stopped as Luffy squatted down putting his hand to Sanji's.
"Don't." ordered Luffy ever so serious now.
Sanji frowned at this change, and found his own anger rising due to annoyance. "I saved your hat the least you can do is let me have a cigarette if I want one."
Luffy flinched at that. "Why …why did you go back for it?" he then asked, letting the said hat tilt down to hide his face.
Sanji pulled his hand away from Luffy's and looked away for a moment then looked back at his captain again, and a smile came to the cook's face, as he now made light of the situation. "What strawhat captain would you be with out your lucky strawhat?" he asked rather in humor.
Luffy drew back his fist and hit Sanji in the jaw hard, making the cook's head jerked to the side from the force of the hit.
Sanji turned back his head with anger in his eyes, and was just about to start yelling at Luffy for hitting him when Luffy lifted his head up so his hat didn't hide his face any longer. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as his bottom lip trembled. The sight of his captain looking so grief stricken made the cook pause and then could only stare up at the other teen in confusion.
"Baka!" Luffy then yelled. "What would I be with out you!" he then threw himself down on the blonde and hugged Sanji tightly as he sobbed on the other teen's shoulder.
Sanji in return let his own arms come around Luffy, hugging him, as the cook let his head fall back against the railing of the ship, and look up at the night sky, and the many stars. He could not help what he did. He loved his captain, to see Luffy smile, and reach his goals of becoming the next Pirate King … well it had just turned into one of Sanji's own goals, to make sure it happened, and Luffy would need his hat for that.
Neither one of the two boys said anything they just went on holding each other through the night.
Luffy could not tell Sanji to be a coward, and Sanji could not make promises he would not keep. Sanji was just the sacrifice type, and he always would sacrifice himself for Luffy, no matter how big or how little. Sanji would protect his captain however he could.
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A/N's: I can't have them all be funny one heh. I hope you all liked it anyways.
Don't forget to reveiw.
Lolly would love feedback on what you think. ^.^