Angel of Death Fruit

Book One: Deadline

By Dixxy Mouri

Chapter Ten – March 4, 5:00 pm

Nami and Robin were following Sanae back to the compound she had found Sanji in, and the women were taking some time to exchange information. Largely, they wanted to see if Sanae could figure out any other possible Mercy Tasks for her brother, but they determined nothing. "Elizabeth Stoker can't assign impossible Mercy Tasks, such as finding All Blue, since there's no proof that All Blue exists," said Robin. "It must be something that Stoker can complete herself."

"Such as?" asked Nami.

Sanae sighed. "I've got one – I saw her drain someone."

Nami felt her stomach twist. "What happened?"

Sanae folded her arms. "Well, she assigned some poor girl a task involving drinking a very rare, expensive wine from a specific year – something I'm SURE she had stocked away somewhere before he even met the girl, never mind assigned her the task, or she has enough money that she was able to buy it very easily – and she forced it down the girl's throat. Because Stoker had a hand in completing the task, it drained her life away and Stoker got to live a little longer. Because Stoker is a woman. . ."

". . . she's already fully equipped to complete his Mercy Task and drain him," said Nami. "So that means that what she does can't be impossible because she needs to finish the Mercy Task herself. So telling someone to find All Blue would be a bad choice because even she probably couldn't find it. For something like what happened to that poor girl, she probably already has waters from all over the place – most likely discluding All Blue – and since she has lips she can kiss Sanji-kun with the proper restraints."

"Why do you guys keep talking about All Blue?" asked Sanae.

"It's Sanji-kun's dream," said Nami.

". . . eh?"

"Luffy seems to collect people who have some big dreams and ambitions to join his crew," said Nami. "For example, I want to draw a complete map of the world. Sanji-kun's looking for All Blue for his mentor, Red Leg Zeff. If it does exist, it's would be like a cook's paradise because fish from every sea would be swimming in it."

Sanae mulled this over. "He's got one tough task ahead of him, doesn't her?"

And you need him to complete you dream.

What?

Well, everyone here needs to complete a journey or find an object. Sanji wants to find a place – a place that, if it exists, you would need to put on your map, right? Although it's true that Chopper's Panacea might only grow in one place that could be marked on a map and Ponyglyphs are a bit too large to move and could also have their locations marked as well, you'd want to know where All Blue starts and ends, and I'm sure Sanji would want to know that as well, don't you agree?

What does this have to do with your little plans for me and Sanji?

You'd certainly get to know each other traveling around and mapping All Blue.

And?

You might be alone. . .

NOW HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE!

It gets lonely on the seas! We've been over this before! Despite what happened before I don't think you want to be alone the rest of your life! Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like if someone wanted to be with you because they loved you and not because they saw you as someone to fuck?

A little.

You've never had a relationship.

This was true. Though Nami had been with four men – all pirates that she offered her body to in order to escape possible punishment – she'd never had a boyfriend. As it was, she was the one who brought up the idea of letting that smelly pirate have her in exchange for her freedom – something she'd omitted when she mentioned it to Robin. It really wasn't a lie – when the pirate learned she was a virgin willing to give her up virginity for her freedom, he did give her a few other options. Letting him have her with a LITTLE gold would have gotten her passed around the rest of his crew (although he would still be first in line). For all the treasure on the ship she'd need to be the crew's "personal service girl" for a year.

Do you really want to go through life without knowing something more than that? Even if it's not Sanji, do you really want to be alone for the rest of your life with just your money and your tangerines? They can't love you back, Nami. They just can't. They're things. Objects. Material goods. It's nice to have but they can't be all you have.

Before Nami could continue to argue with her subconscious, She realized both of her companions were stopped before her. Peering over their shoulders, she realized there was a rather large, angry looking men standing before them. "Another one of Elizabeth Stoker's henchmen?!" Nami said. "Oh, they don't give up!"

But the man wasn't paying attention to Nami – he was fixated on Sanae, pointing at her and shaking in his shoes. The Iron Butterfly's expression was a little unreadable. "YOU! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" he said. He pointed a rather large battle ax at the girl. "How are you still alive?! Are you a zombie!?"
Sanae narrowed her eyes. "Just because I can't swim doesn't mean I can't get pulled out of the water, you dumb ass – and I am NOT a zombie!" she said. In a flash, she had retrieved her weapons, holding them at the ready. "I know your mistress has my brother, so if you'll just step aside we won't have to kick your ass to get to him, okay?"

"But we KILLED you!"

"Butterfly-san, what is he talking about?" asked Robin.

Sanae didn't take her eyes off the man. "Oh they definitely TRIED to kill me – they just failed, that's all." She growled. "But I'm actually not that mad over what this guy did to me – my beef is with my uncle. This guy's just one of Stoker's goons, anyways. Don't let his attitude fool you – he's not one of the ones we're after. Isn't that right, Booger?"

"You cocky little bitch! I'll make you wish you had drowned! AND IT'S BORGAT!"

"Whatever," said Sanae.

Borgat grinned. "You'll be sorry once you see MY ability."

Nami stepped back. "Uh oh."

"'Uh oh' is right, little lady," he said, grinning at her. "HAE HAE DROP!"

All three women were suddenly thrust into the air and slammed back into the ground – repeatedly. It was as if large invisible hands were beating them into the ground like rag dolls. "Robin! Can't you bloom something near him?" Nami asked as they were thrust into the air again.

"We're – AHHHH! - moving too quickly!" Robin said.

"I don't think I could hit him!" said Sanae. "This is bad!"

But the next time to the girl hit the ground, they weren't immediately lifted up again. Instead, Borgat was holding his shoulder and looking around. "Who's there!?" he demanded. "I'll kick your ass, too!" He closed his eyes and turned to the girls. "Well, perhaps it seems as if some of your other pirate friends have decided to join us!" His head snapped back as something explosive hit him into the face.

"Long nose-kun!" Robin said.

". . . what?" asked Sanae.

"One of our friends – he's a sharpshooter!" said Nami.

Sanae pointed at a tree. "You mean Sogeking?"

There, standing in on the branch of the tree, was Usopp – fully dressed in his Sogeking outfit (Nami groaned – not this "Sogeking" bullshit again) and pointing at Borgat in defiance as his legs shook like twigs in the wind. "As the King of Snipers, Sogeking, I will NOT allow you to harm these women!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOUR LEGS SHAKING!"

"HA! MERELY A TACTIC TO, uh, MAKE YOU THINK I'M SCARED!"

"He's petrified," said Nami.

Borgat shook his head, recovering quickly from the blow. "Don't think that's the last-"

"COUP DE VENT!"

And now Borgat was sent rocketing into a different tree, Franky standing at the edge of the clearing with a grin on his face. "You wanna try that again?" he asked. He struck a pose (which created more exasperation for Nami and a world of confusion from Sanae, who hadn't expected this kind of behavior from pirates worth more than 30 million a piece). "Because we're SUPER!"

"RUMBLE!"

"And here comes Doctor-san," said Robin, smiling as she sat up.

"JUMPING POINT!" Chopper emerged from the trees in Jumping Point (to which Sanae was now beyond stunned as she clumsily got to her feet), getting a very surprised reaction from

"You'll really want to consider running before our Captain and Swordsman-san show up – then you'll be very, very sorry you stayed," said Robin, standing up and crossing her arms. "CINCO FLEUR!" Several arms sprouted from the tree Borgat had crashed into and began slapping the man crazily, just in time for an Arm Point Chopper to join in on the face bashing.

"What. . . is that?" asked Sanae, pointing at Chopper.

"You know him as Cotton Candy Lover," said Nami.

"HOW IS THAT WORTH FIFTY BERRIES!?"

"Because the Marines are stupid."

By the time Zoro emerged from the trees – his bandanna on his head and his swords in hand, Borgat was well beyond defeated, so the swordsmen sheathed his weapons and leaned against a tree. Chopper and Sogeking began to celebrate – Franky was checking on Robin, and Nami walking towards Borgat – maybe he had some valuable information.

"Hey, Nami, what are you guys doing out here?" asked Zoro.

Nami frowned. "We've got a problem," she said. "You see, Sanji is-"

"SUGEI! SANJI HAS BOOBS!"

All attention was immediately turned to Luffy (who, oddly enough, had a squirrel wearing a pirate hat on his shoulder) and Sanae. The Iron Butterfly didn't seem to happy that the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates had grabbed both of her breasts and we looking at them with great interest. "How did you become a GIRL!?" Luffy asked incredulously.

"Could you please let go of my breasts?" asked Sanae.

"But this is SO COOL! How can I get boobs, Sanji?!"

"That's NOT Sanji!" said Nami, temporarily forgetting Borgat to berate her captain. She slapped him across the face (and in the process got him to let go of Sanae's breasts). "You idiot! Boys don't become girls just like that! And you DON'T go up and grab their breasts! EVER! Do we understand each other!?"

Luffy frowned. "But. . . she looks like Sanji!"

"This is Cook-san's little sister," said Robin.

"So. . . where's Sanji, and why is she here?" Usopp asked, pulling the Sogeking mask off.

Nami sighed. "Sanji's in a lot of trouble right now and if we don't find him by midnight, he's going to die," she said. She quickly explained the situation to the other Straw Hats (Sanae and Robin adding in notes where they felt appropriate) and turned to Luffy for an answer. Their captain had a very serious look on his face. "Luffy?"

Screaming a battle cry, Straw Hat Luffy lost his temper and punched a tree. "THAT ELIZABETH STOKER BITCH! SHE CAN'T GO AROUND AND HURT MY NAKAMA! I'M GONNA GO AND KICK HER ASS!" Then, he blinked and hit the tree again. "Huh?" Luffy hit the tree a few more times, looking at his hand in amazement between each blow. He tried punching the tree softly, then hard, and giggled.

"Luffy?" asked Nami. "It's a tree. And that's your hand."

"SUGEI! MY HAND IS SQUISHY!"

The Iron Butterfly quickly her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. "Oh no!" Sanae said, walking over to Luffy with a worried look. Nami raised her eyebrow at Sanji's little sister, who began to apologize to their captain. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do it, I swear! Oh, I can't believe I let this happen!"

"Huh?" asked Nami. "Sanae. . . what are you talking about?"

Sanae frowned. "Well, when he grabbed my breasts I must've used my ability."

"Whatever it is it's cool!" said Luffy. "I'm squishy!"

"Luffy, let me take a look at your hand," said Chopper. He took Luffy's hand and examined it a bit while Luffy continued to laugh and hit the tree. "It is a bit. . . squishier. . . than before, but everything else seems to be fine – he doesn't appear to be in any pain and it doesn't look like he's lost any mobility. . . but Sanae, have you eaten a Devil's Fruit?"

Sanae nodded. "Meru Meru no Mi. The melting fruit."

"The MELTING fruit!?" asked Nami. "You almost MELTED our captain?"

"To be fair, Captain-san probably shouldn't have grabbed her breasts," said Robin.

Sanae shrugged. "I ate it because Anatak-sensei wouldn't let me train with Onii-san," she said. "I thought eating a Devil's Fruit would make me stronger, and because of that he allowed me to be his other apprentice. Onii-san wasn't too happy but he grew to accept it after a while. I didn't mean to hurt him – I don't like inflicting pain with my ability. It can really hurt people."

"You can melt FLESH?!" asked Usopp (who had since removed his mask). He shuddered and started to walk away from Sanji's little sister, laughing uneasily as he didn't take his eyes off Sanae. "Guys, I think I've come down with a sudden case of I-can't-stand-near-this-girl-disease so I think I need to go back to the ship."

"I can't melt flesh, but I can melt metals and plastics onto flesh and it hurts people a LOT," said Sanae. She sighed. "I usually only do that if someone's getting REALLY nasty with me or someone else, like this guy who threatened to have his way with me in a bar – he had a cheap ring on his finger, so I welded it to his hand and he was so busy screaming that he couldn't fight back when I dragged his ass to the Marine base. But aside from your captain, I can't hurt any of you with my ability without anything I can melt nearby, and I really don't want to try and hurt anyone who's going to try and save my brother's life – especially not when I'm this close."

Luffy flexed his hand and frowned. "My hand isn't squishy anymore."

Chopper sighed and took a second look. "It's back to normal, so you should be fine."

"He probably wasn't hurt because it wasn't direct contact with her flesh," said Robin.

Luffy pointed at Sanae. "Can I touch her and be squishy again?"

"NO, YOU CAN'T!" said Zoro, hitting his captain on the head. "You could get seriously hurt, and we're probably going to need you if we have to fight Elizabeth Stoker, remember? You want to save the idiot love cook, right? If you're too busy being 'squishy' you might not be able to throw a punch right!"

"I'm just glad he's okay," said Sanae. "I'll just have to be careful around him, that's all, but Zoro's right – we don't have time for Luffy to be grabbing my ass to make his hands squishy – we have less than seven hours left, but I'm pretty sure that if we ran into Borgat we're getting closer."

Luffy started to laugh and turned to the hat-clad squirrel, who jumped onto his shoulder. "We can make me squishy later, but first we need to rescue Sanji!" he said. He laughed. "Don't worry, you'll like him – he makes great meat! He's my cook! Come, Mr. Acorn, let's go kick that bitch's ass and get some meat!"

"Mr. Acorn?" asked Nami.

Usopp sighed. "You see. . . Luffy found this squirrel the other day. . ."

Author's Notes

I didn't ORIGINALLY plan on including Luffy and the others in this part of the story, but something about Borgat getting his ass kicked (despite being a minor character) and Luffy grabbing Sanae's breasts seemed to work better than Plan A (which didn't involve Luffy having squishy hands).

I also caught an error at the last minute. It would probably create a plot hole later on in the story.

Technically, the Japanese word for "melt" is "meruto", but that's one too many syllables to fit Oda's fruit naming pattern. "Meru" doesn't really mean anything, though. The English would be the Melt Melt Fruit, and the Japanese would be the Meru Meru no Mi. Simply put I couldn't find a Japanese word that has two syllables than means "melt" or something similar. "Hae" means "Fly", so Borgat was essentially making the girls fly – and crash land.

Review please :)

Dixxy