Despite his confidence the other day, Sanji had no idea how he was going to help Zoro. His only other option was to draw out that dangerous state and force Zoro to rein it in. But the itchy bandage on his arm, hidden under the sleeve of his shirt, reminded him why that was definitely a bad idea.
He sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he picked through the rest of his lunch. Law was droning on in front of him, but his voice was distant. That was until a tattooed hand reached over and flicked the blonde on his forehead.
"Ow! What the hell?"
"Are you even listening to me?"
Sanji frowned, rubbing his temple. "Of course I am. Cell groups, and lab research, yadda yadda yadda."
"Actually, I was talking about the night out we've got planned," grumbled Law, giving Sanji a look that spelled out 'I'm tired of your shit'. "Franky and Usopp said they'd be up for it. Where the fuck is you head, princess?"
"I was just thinking, jackass."
"What, did you go too deep that your conscience drowned?"
"Fuck you," said Sanji, kicking his friend under the table.
The two lapsed into silence and enjoyed their lunch. Sanji glanced up at the sky dome, thankful that today's weather was temperate and sunny. Not really autumnal, but he wasn't complaining. It was nice to enjoy lunch outside of white and silver walls for once, even if they were still under the protection of that dome.
"Law," Sanji began, pulling his attention from the sky dome. "When you first heard you were getting Zoro, what exactly did you have in mind to do to tame him?"
Law frowned. "What do you mean?"
The blonde shrugged. "Just curious. How were you planning to tame him?"
"It all depended on what the tiger was like once I saw him," answered the doctor.
"And after that?"
Law scratched his head in thought. "Well, before I saw him, I was thinking maybe a little ECT, cognitive hypnotism, maybe even tethering if he wasn't as bad as they were making him out to be."
Sanji faltered at the mention of ECT. "You're joking."
"Of course I am! You really think I have the equipment for ECT in my lab?"
"No… But I'm sure there's one somewhere on this island."
Law shrugged. "Relax, I wasn't really going to do it. To be honest, I didn't really give it much though. It was best to see the damage first before thinking of a way to fix it, and I think what we're doing now is the best way of going about doing things."
Sanji returned to chewing his lunch thoughtfully. That didn't help him at all. Looks like he was alone in this one.
"Why do you ask?" said Law, giving the cook a leer of suspicion.
As Sanji racked his brains to come up with a justifiable excuse, a large shadow cast over the two of them. He looked up and almost fell of the bench, gawking wide-eyed at the bulky, pale, redhead stood before them in a thick, furry coat.
"Enjoying lunch in the sun?" asked Kid, his grin just as devious as Sanji remembered.
Behind him stood Killer, hands behind his back and keeping a short distance between himself and his owner. Sanji noticed the thick bandages around his arm, and peeking out over the neck of his shirt and on his face under his helmet.
"Who the fuck are you?" groused Law.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" the question slipped out of Sanji's lips before he could think about it.
Law's glare darted towards him. "You know this guy?"
Sanji hesitated, and Kid laughed at his dismay, propping himself up on the table and at the cook.
"Bet you didn't think you'd see me again, huh?" He snatched Sanji's Tupperware from the table. The cook was too dumbstruck to say or do anything, so he let the redhead pick through his lunch. Inside, he was just hoping and praying that Kid wouldn't let anything slip in front of Law.
"And you left in such a hurry the other night! So this is where you hole yourself up. I was right. Money really isn't a problem for you. I had a feeling, but it's still a surprise. What's a pampered lab rat like you doing fraternising in a club like mine, anyway? Life in the easy lane too boring?"
Kid paused and took a mouthful from Sanji's lunch, eyes widening as he observed the contents of the Tupperware in his hand.
"Hey, this isn't bad. Even the food's better on this Island, huh?"
"Wait, you're from Mainland?" said Law. Sanji saw his hand move towards his bangle. "How the hell did you get in here?"
Like a serpent, Kid slid from the table to the bench beside Law, wrapping his arm around the doctor's shoulders and gripping steel fingers around the bangle on his wrist, covering it completely.
"I have my ways," purred Kid as he held up a yellow key card with his free hand. Then he flipped the card over, and by some sleight trickery, replaced it with an I.D badge between his fingers.
He turned in over. "Doctor Trafalgar Law, huh? What a flouncy name."
Law's eyes widened. He slipped out of the redhead's grasp and snatched his I.D back, pushing himself up from the table.
"Only Company employees are allowed on the Island," said Law, his face set in a serious glare. "I suggest you leave. Now."
Kid's grin spread wider across his face. He got up slowly, turning his attention back to the blonde.
Sanji felt his hackles rise. "What the fuck do you want?"
Rounding the table, Kid slipped something from his pocket and held it out to the blonde. Sanji eyed the thin, aluminium card but didn't take it.
"You're going to learn something about me very quick, blondie," he said, then leaned forward and shoved the card into the breast pocket of Sanji's lab coat. "I don't take 'no' for an answer."
"Kid," Killer's soft, low voice broke the tension building between the three men. Sanji's followed the redhead's gaze to the far end of the grassy park, watching a small group of tall, metallic forms thunder onto the grass.
Kid let out a harsh sigh, pouting at Law. "Killjoy," he muttered.
"Fine, let's go. We've done what we came here to do, anyway." He gave Sanji two heavy pats on the shoulder before turning to leave. "You'll see me again, blondie."
And just as soon as they'd arrived, they were gone, dodging the security bots that and ducking into the next tube that pulled up along the tracks outside the park.
Law sighed as he sat back down, watching the robots bumble uselessly around the grass.
"What the fuck was that all about?" he asked.
Sanji shrugged, and dug the card out of his pocket, inspecting it while Law was distracted. Engraved shallow on the surface of the aluminium was the word: SABAODY. As Sanji tilted it towards the light, a red spectral word appeared, completing the card: SABAODY UNDERGROUND.
He turned it in his hand, and caught a glimpse of a small, holographic map, before Law distracted him.
"So, who the hell was that fucker?"
Sanji shook his head, stuffing the card away in his breast pocket. "No one important."
He took a sip from his drink, avoiding Law's eyes. But he could see the doctor arch a brow at him from out of his peripheral.
Law's face suddenly cleared and he gave Sanji a look of shock.
"Don't… Don't tell me… Is that the guy you went to see on Mainland the other week?"
Sanji choked on his drink. "What?" he spluttered and coughed. "What are you talking about?"
"That time I caught you coming back from Mainland on your own, in the early hours of the morning."
When Sanji didn't immediately respond, a small smirk played on the doctor's lips. "So it was him."
"I keep telling you, I didn't see anyone! Even if I did, do you really think it would be that walking catastrophe?"
"I was going to say. Because you could do a whole lot better."
Sanji chuckled. "Jesus, is there nothing else you think about?"
"So what's his name?"
"I don't fucking know!"
"Do you have a picture of him?"
"What?"
"Robin'll wanna see this guy."
"What makes you think I have a picture of him?"
"Clearly there's something there, if he's managed to pilfer someone's keycard, sneak past security, and track you all the way here just to give you his number."
"What the hell are you- What? What number?"
"On the card. That's what he gave you, right?"
Sanji shook his head, a helpless laugh escaped his lips as he packed up the lunch he'd lost his appetite for since the redhead got his hands on it.
"I don't have time for this," he muttered.
Law glanced at his bangle. "You're right. It's two-fifteen."
"What?" Sanji checked his, insides growing numb as the numbers stared back at him from the screen. "Two-fifteen! I was supposed to back in the lab fifteen minutes ago!"
He scrambled to gather his belonging and tripped over the bench as he hurried to his feet, trying his best to ignore the tattooed doctor holding back laughter behind his hands.
"You should've told me sooner! I fucking hate you, you shitty-doctor bastard!" Sanji yelled over his shoulder, not even stopping to look back once.
Jessica berated him like some high school truant for being late back from lunch. But as soon as he was back in the nursery, calmly going through his routine checks on the seedlings, his mind wandered back to the surreal encounter with Kid.
Although he was relieved that the redheaded maniac kept the reason for his visit vague, he couldn't help but dread over the last thing he'd said before he left.
You'll see me again.
The idiot better not have planned anymore surprise visits. Barely an hour into work, Sanji's thoughts and progress were distracted by a stream of messages from Law flickering up on his bangle.
'Thought about it and decided to give you two my blessing.' –TL
'You always had a weak spot for the bad boy type, you masochist.' –TL
'I've told Robin the good news. She says she's looking forward to having you two around for dinner.' –TL
'I told her to hide her jewellery; he's a bit of a klepto. She's not impressed.'-TL
Sanji gritted his teeth and stole away in a quiet corner of his lab when he was sure no one was looking. He pulled up a green hologram of letters from the screen of his bangle and began to tap out his reply.
'You're such a fucking immature bastard, you prick.' -SB
He got a few more messages, which he chose to ignore, and then one from Robin that dropped a heavy feeling in his gut.
'Mr Black. Would it be possible to speak to you after work?' -RN
Grimacing to himself, Sanji hurriedly typed out another reply.
'If it's something you heard from Law, I'm afraid they're all lies, my dear Robin.' -SB
Her reply was prompt.
'As entertaining as this little banter between you and Doctor Law is, I can assure you that I wish to speak with you for a different reason.' -RN
Before Sanji could reply, his bangle flashed another message up.
'Come see me at my office when you're done.' -RN
After that, Sanji's bangle was confiscated for the rest of the day and he was confined to work in solitude, much to his embarrassment.
Any other day, Sanji would've revelled in the fact that Robin had invited him to her own office, alone. But now, going the opposite direction from home was the last thing Sanji wanted. It was bad enough that he had to do over-time to compensate for taking a longer lunch break, but now he had to see Robin about something he didn't know but worried about anyway. All he could think about was how much longer Zoro had to spend alone and unsupervised in his flat. Sanji laughed at himself. How did it come this? With Sanji being more concerned about a Companion, than elated about going to see Robin?
The tube slowed to a halt.
"Hospital Bay," chimed a feminine voice, and Sanji stepped out, gently pushing past the crowd of the home-time rush.
He considered paying Chopper a visit, but decided it was best not to keep the lady waiting any more than she already had been. The sooner he could talk to Robin, the sooner he could be back home. Striding past the expanse of the marble hospital building, Sanji made his way to the tall, red-bricked tower a few blocks down.
There was something eerie about Robin's place of work. It was always quiet, in a way that made you feel lije something big was about to happen. Even when you spoke, your voice would come out dull and numbed, like the whole air was filled with invisible cotton wool.
Sanji always tried his best to hide how much the place creeped him out every time he visited. But the other people working there didn't help. You'd think, after seeing him so often, that they had gotten used to Sanji and saw him as nothing more than a regular face. Yet for some reason, it only made their heads turn and eyes follow him as he walked by, like they were reading his every intent of being there.
Dodging another group of employees, Sanji breathed a sigh of relief when he slipped into the lift, only to suck it back in when he saw a lady with a short black bob and bright blue eyes standing in the lift with him, right in front of the button panels.
"Floor thirteen, right?" she asked, finger hovering over the number on the panel.
"Y-yes," Sanji stuttered, flashing her a bright smile. "Thank you, beautiful."
"You must be Mr Black," she added, her eyes never pulling away from him. "We were expecting you."
Sanji swallowed and turned away, feeling a shiver run down his spine. Normally, he would be flattered by such attention given to him by a lady. But her eyes were too intrusive, and Sanji would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little uncomfortable under her stare.
The lift dinged and Sanji bowed his leave before all but leaping out of the lift, still feeling her eyes on his back. He tried to shake it off, winding his way down the many corridors to Robin's office. He stopped at one of the brushed iron doors that lined the hallway. The door was ajar and Robin's voice came softly from inside.
"Remarkable. Truly remarkable."
Sanji moved to knock at the door, but stopped as his eyes caught sight of what was inside. Robin stood with a few other doctors before a large wall of glass that displayed charts and graphs, green and yellow lines glowing among several blinking lights. With their backs to the door, they observed the room beyond the glass. Sat on a bed in the room was a young girl. Thin frame, pale skin, and caramel coloured hair sprouting wild and unruly from her head. She stared with wide, dark eyes, at a multitude of objects floating around her.
Pens, tablets, cubes and transponder orbs all suspended in the air. Sanji's voice stuck in his throat, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing, but deciding it was none of his business. He finally managed to pull his eyes away, and knocked on the door. A startled gasp came from behind the doorway before Sanji heard the clack of heels approaching.
Robin's stern glanced peered out of the iron door, but her face softened as she saw Sanji.
"Ah, Mr Black," she greeted, sliding out of the door and shutting it behind her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, my dear Robin," Sanji beamed at her, trying to forget anything and everything he just saw.
Robin smiled back. "Not at all. Care to take this to my office?"
He followed her without a word, deciding to ask her about why she summoned him once they were in private. A little part of him was also curious about what they were doing in that room, but Robin was always so secretive about her work, there was no point even thinking about it.
"Take a seat," Robin gestured to the patent couches in her office, as she made her way to her kettle. "Coffee?"
"Ah, allow me."
Robin held up a hand. "I'm perfectly capable of making coffee, thank you."
Reluctantly, Sanji left her to it and sat down on the couch. He may as well cut to the chase.
"You wanted to talk to me about something?" he asked.
Robin hummed in reply, pouring dark, boiling liquid into two cups.
"How is Mr Tiger doing?" she asked. Sanji should've guessed it would be about Zoro.
"Fine. Still a pain in the rump, but he's doing alright."
"Still uncommunicative?"
Sanji shrugged. "You can never tell with him. One minute it's the cold shoulder, and the next he's roaring murder in your ear."
Robin giggled at his expression. "I've noticed he's been quite active the past few nights, actually."
Sanji stiffened. Noticed? Had she been visiting the tiger anyway despite Law's plan?
"Wh-what do you mean?" he asked, trying to appear inconspicuous as he gratefully accepted the mug she handed him.
"I can sense your apprehension, Mr Black. I can assure you, I haven't made direct contact with Zoro. I merely came with Chopper whenever he went to check on the tiger. He's always scrambling about in that room. I can hear him every time we come in. I don't blame him, of course, he must be getting restless."
Sanji swallowed, and hid his discomfort by busying himself with adding powdered cream and sugar to his drink. Had she finally pieced it all together and figured out what they were doing?
A feeling of dread hit him. He didn't realize it until Robin had given him his drink and taken a seat on the couch opposite him. This was Robin's interrogation setting. He had seen her play this out to others, even to Law, and he'd walked right into her trap. The fact she'd called him here for this meant she was suspicious of something. He would have to be extra careful with how he answered her.
Robin tilted her head at the blonde. "Have you noticed this recently?"
"Uh, restlessness? Um… I can't say that I have."
Robin hummed in thought and took a sip from her cup. "Really? How odd. I would've thought you'd be the first to notice, since you are in such close proximity."
Sanji chuckled. "Maybe he just gets startled when he hears people come in."
"Perhaps… I just thought you might know something and you were keeping it from us, like when Mr Zoro started speaking again."
She laughed darkly, and Sanji forced a laugh of his own out.
"Robin, my dear," he said. "You know I could never lie to you."
Robin's face broke into a sweet smile. "Of course not."
The silence dragged out between them. Sanji clasped his hands tighter around his mug to stop himself from fidgeting and forced his eyes to make contact with Robin's piercing stare. Even if he looked away for a second, she would know he was lying.
Then, Robin placed her cup on the table and folded her hands on her lap. Her face softened and Sanji felt a weight lift from the air.
"I'm sorry," said Robin, her tone of voice relaxed. "Chopper came back from his check up on the tiger yesterday with such a vague report. I thought something must have happened that he wasn't quite telling me."
"Oh," replied Sanji, wary that she was still playing the interrogation.
"You know how our little doctor likes to put on a brave face."
"Yes, of course," he added. But Robin did seem genuinely worried about Chopper, so Sanji decided to put her mind at ease.
"Actually," he started. "I was there when Chopper came for the check up. It was fine. Nothing happened. Went quite smoothly."
"Is that so?" asked Robin, and Sanji nodded, beaming reassurance at her.
"Yep. Even managed to feed him pancakes before he left."
"Yes, he was very vocal about the pancakes. But then again, I've still yet to meet a soul who stifles their praises once they've tasted your cooking."
Sanji felt his cheeks flush. "You flatter me, my dear," mewled the cook, sipping happily from his mug. "And if you're still looking for that one jerk with no taste buds, you should come around after I've fed Zoro. It's like feeding a wall. I'd get a better reaction pouring soup over a chunk of metal."
Robin giggled, hiding her lips behind a hand. Sanji reclined in the couch, a smug feeling welling up in his chest. It seemed he managed to dodge Robin's questions and even pulled a laugh from the usually stoic lady.
"Is that a formal invitation?" Robin asked, smirking at the blonde.
"To come over? My dear, you know your welcome any time, that's why you have a key card."
"I know. You say that again and again, but it's nice to hear you voice your permission. I'd feel I was intruding otherwise."
Sanji frowned and waved a hand. "Well, anyone else would be intrusion. But you can come in anytime you fancy."
"Very well. Thank you, Mr Black," said Robin, taking a sip from her drink. There was a tone of satisfaction in her voice that made Sanji feel like she'd gotten exactly what she wanted from him. Looks like he had to be extra careful with Zoro from now on and tell the tiger to do the same.
"Anyway, it's so nice to chat with you, but I must get back to work."
"Of course! The pleasure was all mine," said Sanji, getting up and following her to the door. "And thank you so much for the coffee. You're always so lovely and hospitable-"
Sanji's words were cut short as he left the office and nearly collided into Robin who had stopped suddenly outside her door. He peered around her to see the girl with wild hair Sanji had seen them observing in the other room earlier.
"Koala?" Robin asked, her voice high and surprised.
The girl moved, stalking past Robin and leaning close into Sanji. He backed away under her wide-eyed stare, a nervous laugh escaped his lips as she stared into the very depths of his soul.
"Er… miss?" he tried to get her attention.
"Green and black… green and black…" she muttered.
Sanji froze as her hand reached up and plucked something from the shoulder of his jacket. She held the thing in the air, gasping like she'd found treasure. Sanji squinted and saw, very faint and pressed between the girl's thumb and forefinger: a strand of green fur.
Her wide-eyes fell on Sanji again, and the cook shuddered at the vast expanse of her pupils engulfing him like the darkness of space.
"It's begun," she whispered.
"Koala!" A yell from down the corridor broke the spell between them. The girl startled then withdrew behind Robin, shrinking away from view as a small group of doctors strode down the hall towards them.
Robin turned and looked at the girl, her face set in that reading stare she wore when accessing something or someone.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," whispered Koala, her voice trembling.
Sanji stepped in front of her, about to defend her to the doctors, but they seemed more intent on speaking with Robin.
"We're sorry, Mrs Nico," spoke one of the doctors. "She just suddenly... vanished."
"It's alright," answered Robin and turned, smiling at the girl. "Koala, would you accompany Dr Joe back to your room please?"
The girl, Koala, seemed to gain some confidence back, shifting her glance between Sanji and Robin.
"Green and black," she muttered again. "The world is growing, angered people. Protest, protest! A ship in the sky!"
She clasped her hands over her mouth, shocked by her own excitement. Robin placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Yes, yes," she said, never breaking that smile. "You can tell me more later. But now, will you go with Dr Joe?"
The girl nodded numbly then followed the doctors down the corridor. All the while, Sanji could hear her muttering under her breath.
"Green and black… green and black… green and black…"
Fading as the distance grew between them. Sanji was left feeling all the more bewildered and confused.
"What…er…" Sanji stumbled. "Actually, never mind. I'd rather not know, right?"
Robin threw him a smile and began to lead him down the hallway to the lift.
"Her name is Koala," she explained. "She's one of our patients. What do you think of her?"
"Uh," Sanji began, although not knowing where to begin. The image of Koala holding up a strand of green fur imprinted on his mind. "She… She knew about Zoro."
Robin giggled, and Sanji could sense something prideful in her laugh.
"Koala has a very good sense of intuition. But don't worry about her ramblings. She gets excited when she meets new people."
"Yeah, I gathered."
The lift dinged, interrupting their conversation.
"Thank you once again for coming, Mr Black," said Robin, as Sanji slipped into the lift. "It's been very insightful."
"Anytime you need me, my dear," replied Sanji, but the lift doors slid to a close and cut him off.
He leaned back against the cool metal walls of the lift, watching the leafless trees twitch their branches in the rain. Despite keeping everything to himself, Sanji couldn't help but feel Robin had gotten what she wanted from him. Then there was that Koala girl, with wide dark eyes that rivalled Robin's piercing stares. Who was she? How did she know about Zoro?
"Green and black," Sanji found himself mumbling, as he brushed a hand along the sleeve of his jacket. When he turned his palm up to inspect it, sure enough there were a few strands of green fur in his hand.
He always heard colleagues who had Companions complain about malting and fur getting everywhere. Sanji hadn't even noticed. How much of his clothes were covered in green? Was his flat the same way too? Zoro wasn't even his Companion, and yet here on his jacket and in his palm was proof that the tiger had taken up a big part of his life.
The lift dinged again, pulling Sanji from his thoughts. He brushed the rest of the fur from his hand and strode out of the lift and towards the tube. With each step he took, Sanji tried to shake off everything he'd witnessed and that had happened. He was determined to leave Robin's work place without a single bizarre memory. It was probably best not to think too much on these things.