"Teach me how to play."
Sanji blinked at the tiger. His hand, clutching a fork full of rice and meat, stilled in mid air. Zoro glanced at the chequered wooden box, peeking out from under the table on Sanji's side of the room.
The cook smirked. "I thought you said this game was stupid?"
"It is," growled Zoro. "So I want to understand what you people find so good about it."
Sanji emptied his plate and chewed in thought as he pulled the chessboard from under the table. Earlier that evening, Zoro ignored Robin, who came to interest him in another game and casual conversation. What made him change his mind?
"Do you remember what the pieces do?" asked Sanji, arranging the black and white figures on the squares.
Zoro watched him set up the board with furrowed brows. "Pawns move forward, Rooks in a straight line, Bishops diagonally, Knights in an 'L' shape, King and Queen can move anywhere."
Sanji tapped the white queen pieced in her space, and the board was set.
"Good memory," he said.
Zoro's eyes flicked from the black pieces on his side to the white pieces on Sanji's side.
"White moves first."
Sanji nodded, moving one of his pawns in the middle two spaces forward. Zoro frowned.
"Pawns can move two spaces at a time as well as one," explained Sanji.
The tiger's face straightened with clarity. He mirrored Sanji's move with his own piece.
"You should've played with Robin," said Sanji, moving another pawn. "She's much better at this."
Zoro imitated Sanji's moves, making the board exactly symmetrical for the time being. His eyes stayed focused on the game, but his ears twitched away from the cook's voice.
"I don't like her," he answered, eventually.
Sanji raised a brow. "But you'd play chess with me?"
"That doesn't mean I like you," snapped Zoro. "I just find you less threatening."
Sanji paused, taking up the pretence of assessing his next move. It was probably meant as a joke, but is that really how Zoro gauged people?
"We're not gonna hurt you, you know."
Zoro huffed. "You couldn't even if you tried."
Sanji had formed a perfect 'v' shape with his pawns, and moved his bishops towards the middle of the board. Zoro did the same.
"You're not gonna win by just copying me," said the cook with a frown.
"Shut up. I'm learning." Zoro's slitted eyes darted around the pieces on the board, his tail swaying behind him in thought. "I don't understand the 'L' shape the Knights move in."
"Like this." Sanji picked up one of his pieces shaped like a horse's head. He moved it in front of one of his pawns, before pointing to four other squares. "It could've also gone to any of these spaces."
He glanced up, to find Zoro watching him intensely. Something about that piercing stare never fails to send a shudder running through Sanji.
"Where did you learn to play chess?" asked the tiger.
The question threw Sanji off, but it relaxed a tense knot in the muscles on his back. He sat back and started to roll himself a cigarette on the table. It was Zoro's move anyway.
"Usopp," he answered. "Same guy who made the board and taught Robin how to play. Still better than me at it, but Robin's catching up to him."
The blonde became hyper aware of Zoro's eyes lingering around his lips and fingers as he lit up. He cleared his throat after breathing out smoke.
"It's your move," he muttered, awkwardly.
But Zoro's eyes were focused on the cherry of the cigarette in his hand.
"What is that stuff?"
"They're cigarettes," he answered. "I know we don't have to roll them up anymore, but there's something nostalgic about the way the old world used to smoke."
"Why do you keep using them?"
"Just a habit now, I guess," he answered with a shrug. When Zoro's attention wouldn't divert from them, Sanji started to roll another one. "You wanna try?"
Zoro didn't answer, but his ears flicked forward, tail rising up behind him. Sanji pushed the newly rolled cigarette across the table, followed by his lighter. Tentative fingers picked them from the table, turning them in furry hands like treasure found on the shore.
"Put the end with the filter on your lips," said Sanji, doing the same with his. "Light the other end and suck in while you do."
It took a while for Zoro to get the cigarette lit. When he did, he took a deep drag then coughed it all out in a splutter. Sanji chuckled.
"Yeah, that can happen the first few times."
The tiger cleared his throat. "It burns."
"Hm. You get used to the feeling." Sanji watched him take another drag, still coughing, but he managed to blow out all the smoke before he did. "First alcohol, now cigarettes. Law's gonna murder me if he finds out I'm spoiling you."
In the silence that followed, Zoro's stare returned to the cook. Sanji tried to distract himself from it by fiddling with his Rook on the chessboard.
"Law is what you call the doctor?" asked Zoro. "The man with the drawings on this hands."
Sanji nodded, realizing they never were properly introduced.
"And the woman is called Robin?"
Another nod. Zoro glanced back at the chessboard, eyes falling on his Knight piece, as a thought seemed to form a tight knot between his brows.
"The Robin woman calls you Mr Black, but the doctor calls you Sanji."
"Sanji is my first name."
Zoro frowned at him. "You have two names?"
"A first name and a surname. Everyone has that."
"Everyone?"
"Well," Sanji faltered, butting out the end of his cigarette on an ashtray. "I guess Companions don't really get surnames unless given one by their owners."
Zoro rolled his eyes, tail slapping on the floor. "It's always down to you people, isn't it?"
"Why do you hate it so much?"
The tiger glared at him, amber eyes ignited once again as his pupils narrowed into thin slits.
"Wouldn't you? Who wants to be told what to do and what to be from the day they were born?"
Sanji drummed his fingers on the table. "Did you know that Companions were created to be obedient to humans? There's an innate instinct in all of you that ensures it."
Zoro chuffed. "Bullshit."
"All Companions are like that. Chopper, Bepo… I've never met one so opposed to even be associated with a human the way you are. What makes you so different?"
"Maybe you forgot to put in whatever thing makes me 'obedient' when you made me."
Sanji shook his head. "Doctor Vegapunk created you, and last I heard he's quite the big shot in the genetics world. I doubt he'd make such a slip-up."
Zoro growled. "Face it. I do whatever the hell I want. That's that."
"And yet you couldn't even choose a name for yourself."
The tiger was silenced then. Sanji pressed further.
"If I took off your collar now, what would you do?"
Zoro's eyes widened, pupils dilating. His ears folded back and in a low tone, he answered.
"I'd kill you and get the hell out of here."
"But would you?" There was a pause as they continued to stare each other down. "Part of that obedient instinct is similar to the rule of robotics. No matter what, Companions can't ever harm humans."
Zoro's frown split into a small grin then, pointed fangs barring as he chuckled.
"Don't forget how close I was to killing you before," he spoke in a low and quiet tone. "Just because you've never seen a Companion kill a human, doesn't mean it's not likely to happen ever."
They were quiet after that. Sanji broke his stare as his eyes fell on the chessboard, staring at his Rook in thought.
"I wonder if you'll think differently now that you know my name," he said.
Would the tiger still kill him without a moment's hesitation after knowing him for this short time? Yes, probably. Sanji laughed to himself. Who was he kidding? To Zoro, Sanji was just another doctor that pushed and prodded him with tests and questions. The only good thing was that he fed him too. Either way, he was still one of the people the kept Zoro 'caged up'.
He looked up, catching the tiger watching him again. "It's your move, kitty."
Zoro scowled at the chessboard. "I don't want to play anymore."
The blonde shrugged. "Well, that was short lived," he said as he started to replace the pieces back into the box.
"I'm thirsty," Zoro grumbled.
Sanji rolled his eyes. "There's better ways to ask for a drink, you know? Like, 'May I have some water, please?' for a start."
The tiger snorted. "I don't want water."
"Yes, yes, I know exactly what you want, you alcoholic," said Sanji as he made his way out of the room, grumbling as he went. Opening the fridge door, Sanji stared at the neat row of green bottles on the shelf.
Were there really Companions out there that thought like Zoro? That didn't like their owners? Have incidents of Companion rebellion already happened that have just gone unheard of? Sanji sighed and rubbed the tight knot on his forehead. Grabbing two bottles of beer, he returned to the tiger room.
He found Zoro sat on the futon across the room, one leg folded to his chest and an arm resting on his knee. The chessboard was gone. He must've put it away. The cook motioned to place the bottle down on the table, but Zoro held his arm out, gesturing for Sanji to pass it to him.
The blonde rolled his eyes and walked across the white tape. "Lazy ass," he muttered, lowering the bottle into Zoro's palm.
His hand shot out, gripping Sanji's arm. Panic squeezed the cook's heart with a cold hand. He stared with widening eyes as Zoro's other hand sailed across the air, clutching the thick, wooden chessboard.
Thwack!
Pain and heat spread across the left side of Sanji's face. The nerves in his limbs melted, sending him tumbling to ground. His vision blurred, dotted with black and white spots.
Shit.
He felt Zoro's tight grip around his wrist. This was it, he thought. The tiger was going to kill him, and he was going to start by tearing Sanji limb from limb. Then he felt his fingertips brush against fur and something cold and metallic. The collar!
The click of the sensor brought him back. The silver collar cluttered on the ground in front of him. He grabbed at the blur of green and black before him.
"Zoro!" He rasped out, feeling his throat close around his words. "Wait… Don't-"
Strong claws gripped the collar of his shirt. The world tilted and Sanji felt his limp body yanked from the ground. He had a moment to take in that Zoro lifted him overhead. Then everything pulled away. He hurled through the air and crashed into the sliding doors. The back of his skull cracked against the glass, before he landed limp on the floor.
His body seized up. Padded footsteps passed him and faded down the hallway. Feeling his mind start to slip, Sanji's vision faded at the sight of the chessboard across the room, split and splattered with his blood.