candy-of-doom asked: ZoSan. Sanji is having a quarrel with Zoro while standing in a queue for Heaven. They've met each other a few minutes ago, when they were trying to get out of a burning bus and successfully blocked each other's way out.
989 words
Rated T
The last things Sanji remembered were heat and a burning feeling in his chest that felt as though he were drowning in fire. No matter how hard he pulled for air, only searing pain and panic coursed through his body.
He was painless now, even the sore feet he usually had after a day at the restaurant were blissfully pain free. He felt lighter, as if his daily worries and problems had slipped away. It was a pleasant feeling, and he felt no pressing need to open his eyes and end his peaceful moment.
"Oi, Curly-brow, wake up and get moving, you're holding up the line."
That voice snapped Sanji to alertness in a flash. It ignited an instant feeling of rage in Sanji's system, and his eyes shot open to properly glare at the speaker.
It was blindingly light, but Sanji's eyes didn't sting or water at the sudden change in brightness as they usually would. Instead he was free to take in his strange surroundings.
The landscape seemed to shift, changing form constantly. It never settled into one shape long enough to make out its exact shape or texture before changing again. It was a confusing process that would have hurt his head had been in a normal, not so pain free state.
He looked around some more for some other clue to his whereabouts. It seemed there were other people here, lined up in front of him in a loose and scattered line. While he could see them well enough to identify them as people, any attempt to pick out distinguishing features about them was impossible as they seemed to be made of the same stuff as the landscape. He followed their trail up to the only solid and recognizable object in the visible area; a towering archway made of something opalescent and white.
"Would you move already?"
Scratch that, there was a second identifiable object in the area, but the large archway was far more attractive than the annoying green-haired bastard behind him.
"What did you say to me, moss for brains?" Sanji scowled.
This bastard had been the source of all of Sanji's problems today. Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly this is idiot's fault that the bus ended up in that accident. In fact, Sanji wasn't entirely sure what had caused it. There wasn't much time to figure it out after he'd righted himself in the tipped over wreckage and discovered there was a fire raging far too close to the bus' fuel system.
It was fortunate that there were very few people riding the bus at the time of the crash. It was even more fortunate that the bus had landed in such a way that they were still able to make use of the main doors.
Those that had recovered quickly after the crash made their way towards their only means of escape, while Sanji stayed behind in an attempt to rouse those that had been knocked unconscious or were injured at the time of the crash. Those he failed to rouse he hauled to the front of the bus and, with the help of a few volunteers, managed to get them to safety.
He was not the only one doing this. It seemed another passenger had the same sense of obligation as Sanji felt towards the injured. Sanji was more than glad for the help though, as the bus continued to burn and smoke grew thicker in the small area.
The last man handed out, Sanji did one final check of the bus before deciding to escape to safety himself.
"Are there any more?" the stranger that had been helping him asked. He was waiting by the exit, obviously ready to leave as well, but staying in case he was needed. He was a young guy around Sanji's age, with algae green hair and a permanent scowl on his face, but at the time Sanji was more than thankful for the man.
"No, that was the last one," Sanji replied, joining the stranger at the exit. "Ready to go?"
The strange man nodded and reached for the open doorway, ready to heave himself out and into the open, clean air beyond.
Unfortunately, Sanji had the same idea at the same time, and their bodies tangled and collided in midair, sending them both crashing back down.
"What the hell?" Sanji voiced in irritation.
"That's what I wasn't to ask," the man snapped. "I saved way more people than you, I deserve to get out of here first!"
"This wasn't a competition, idiot!" Sanji shouted. Shouting was a bad idea, as was getting angry, as he began sucking in larger lungfuls of air that were more smoke than oxygen.
"No but I sure as hell pulled my weight, the least you could do is let me out first."
Sanji could already feel his head spinning, and his throat and lungs burned from the toxic air, but something about the stranger made him refuse to give in.
"I saved just as many people as you did, you bastard," Sanji gasped.
Their argument continued, a never ending cycle of insults and a competition in whose life was more valuable. They went at it despite the screaming ache in Sanji's lungs, and they were still at it up until the moment Sanji had lost consciousness.
"I said move it," the green-haired man repeated. "Your attitude already got us killed today, I'll be damned if I'm going to let it keep me out of heaven."
Sanji balked at the notion of his death, but the moment was brief before the rest of the moss head's words sunk in.
"I'm not the one that got us killed! That was you!"
The wait to get into heaven can be a rather long one, unless you have something to keep you busy. Fortunately for Sanji he'd be busy arguing with the green-haired man for the rest of his time.