Angel of Death Fruit

Book One: Deadline

By Dixxy Mouri

Chapter Twenty

Sanji winced, closing his eyes as he turned away from the fight. He couldn't watch. And then he felt Stoker's body go limp. He loosened his grip and she fell to the floor. He looked down and saw a bullet hole in the middle of her forehead. He eyes were open, but she wasn't breathing.

She was dead.

Nami slid to the ground, breathing heavily as she still held the gun. Sanji abandoned Elizabeth Stoker's corpse and rushed to Nami's side, joining her on the groun as he embraced her. "Nami-san. . . you did. . . you did it," he said. Slowly, she leaned her head over and rested it on his shoulder, shuddering a little. "It's all right."

"You helped," she said, pressing her forehead to his and clutching his hands.

"YAHOO!" Sanae was on her feet, cheering. "We did it! We won!"

"Is she really dead?" Chopper asked.

The group froze, and all eyes turned to Stoker. Sanji got up and slowly crept towards the body – Nami held his hand and followed. The cook knelt down next to Stoker, investigating a bit closer than before. Nami, for her part, was clutching his arm. "What exactly are you planning on doing?"

"Checking for a pulse?" he said. "I've never really had to figure out if someone was dead before."

"Even at the restaurant?"
Sanji frowned, picking up Stoker's hand. "We roughed some people up but people usually didn't die – if it looked like someone was dead or dying Zeff usually took care of it. He wouldn't let anyone else nearby unless there was a doctor on board and even then. . ." He felt around and frowned. "I. . . don't know what I'm looking for." He dropped her hand. It didn't move.

Nami bit her bottom lip. "I killed her."

Sanji swallowed. "We killed her."

"I shot her."

"I held her."

"Sanji-kun, you don't have to take the blame-"

"-and I don't want you to bear this on your own!"

"You're having an argument over a dead body!" Sanae yelled.

A pause.

And then both Sanji and Nami shrieked as they scrambled away from the corpse as fast as they could. If the swordsman could have move, Sanji was convinced that Zoro would have been rolling on the ground laughing at them (especially him). The pair stopped at the wall, breathing heavily as they clutched each other for dear life.

"Haven't you killed people before!?"

"What!? What are you talking about!?"

"Marines, other pirates!"

"Hey I move on when they go down, I don't kick to kill!"

"Well. . ."

"Look at them!" said Chopper. He was still nursing him wound, now wrapping it in bandages over by Sanae and her uncle, who appeared to be dead now. "I don't think I've seen those two behave like that before! And what was that thing about Nami yelling that Sanji was 'her man'?"

Sanae shrugged. "Guess this means they're together or something."

March 5, about an hour and a half later

"They're still frozen over there?" asked Sanae. The Iron Butterfly walked around the frozen Straw Hats. She frowned and sighed, tapping her foot and crossing her arms. "How long does this stuff take to wear off, anyways!?"

"Two hours," said Chopper. "They should be okay any minute now."

"That's good – it means we can head back to the ship and put this all behind us," said Nami. She, Sanji, Sanae, and Chopper had been left with little to do aside from playing the waiting game while the effects of the stone smoke wore off – very, very slowly.

"YOSH! I can move again!"

In the span of a second, the frozen Straw Hats went from being imoblized to moving – and almost all of them crowded around the cook. Franky lifted Sanji off the ground in his bear hug lock, tears streaming down his face.

"We were so worried about you!" he cried.

"Franky, I'm okay, now if you could just-"

"I'm so sorry, Sanji! I shouldn't have pushed the birthday thing on you!"

"Really, Usopp, it's fine, you didn't-"

"SANJI! DON'T DIE ON ME!"

"Luffy, calm down!"

"I'm glad you're well, Cook-san. It looked like we were going to have a funeral."

"Um. . . thanks, Robin?"

". . . glad you're still alive, Stupid Cook."

". . . thanks, Marimo-head."

"Let's go back to Sunny and celebrate with lots and lots of meat!"

Sanji grimaced, but decided to take the rest of the crew's good will – he had come pretty close to dying, and at at least he knew where he stood with most of these people (possibly excluding Robin-chan). Luffy was his captain, but he still needed to keep him out of the kitchen. Usopp could get himself into trouble, but he still got along really well with him provided he was still in the crew. Franky was. . . Franky. And Zoro was still a stupid swordsman with green hair. Chopper was trying to make sure the others were all okay.

And that left Nami-san and Sanae-chan.

Both of them were standing off to the side, neither one getting very close. Sanji frowned. Things were going to be a bit awkward with those two for a while. He had to figure out how to rebuild a relationship with his baby sister after twelve years apart. And as for Nami, he needed to figure out what kind of relationship they would have from here on out.

It wouldn't be an easy decision to make.

March 5, shortly before sunrise

The Straw Hats, Mr. Acorn (who had appeared shortly after the group exited the building) and Sanae had returned to the Thousand Sunny in all but complete silence. Though everyone was okay, there was a slight sense of melancholy in the air over what had happened with Elizabeth Stoker. Zoro and Franky carried her body with them – attributing to some of the atmosphere – in order to dump her body in the ocean.

Once Stoker's body was dumped, the mood lightened

But nothing had been done with Kenji's body. Sanji said the man didn't deserve the effort.

Chopper did, however, determine what killed him. "When Zoro hit him, he did more than just knock the wind out of him – there's evidence to suggest he was bleeding internally. Sanae might have hurried up the process by scaring him, but I don't think it made much of a difference in the long run."

But now most of the crew was in bed, Sanae given tempoary residence in the girls' room.

Sanji, for his part, was sitting at the base of one of Nami's tangerine trees in an old t-shirt and blue pajama pants, an ashtray to his right and a cigarette in his left hand. He had a lot of thinking to do, and he needed to be alone – the other men in the crew were staying on the ship for at least that night before they re-organized their hunting expedition.

But now things were slowly getting back to normal. At least, that's what Sanji thought. The dust was still settling. The others had spent a lot of time fussing over him (even Zoro) and Sanae had been possessive of him until fatigue won her over and Robin brought her to the girl's room for the night. Sanji had missed her as well, and somehow having his baby sister able to hold him after all these years without making him ill put a sort of final closure to the whole nightmare.

As for Nami. . .

"Hey."

Sanji looked up to see Nami was sitting next to him, a blanket around her shoulders. He smiled, not sure what to do beyond that. The navigator returned the gesture, putting a hand on his back before rubbing it gently. He closed his eyes and leaned forward. "You don't have to do that," he said.

"You're enjoying it."

Sanji closed his eyes. "I didn't say I didn't like it."

"Are you all right?"

"Hmm?"

Nami retracted her hand to pull the blanket around her shoulders a little tighter. "You haven't given me the 'mellorine' or 'Nami-swan' treatment. Normally I would expect that from you – you've gotten awfully quiet. Are you even fighting with Zoro or the other boys?" She sighed. "Not that I want you guys fighting, but. . . this isn't like you."

Sanji shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't felt the need to go all crazy like that over you."

"And the guys?"

"I think we're all too tired to fight," he said with a slight laugh. Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and looked up at the sky. "Don't worry – I'll probably send Zoro off with a threat and a challenge to his masculinity and yell at Luffy to make sure he doesn't eat all the food we're supposed to be bringing off the island tomorrow morning."

"I'll believe it when I see it," said Nami.

"I don't think how I feel about the other men in this scrappy little crew has changed. It's the women I've had a change of heart about," said Sanji. "I think that the Garnish was controlling a lot of my behavior around women. I mean I still like women – a lot – but I don't think all of that outlandish behavior was me. It was either me being desperate to be kissed or something working against my desperation."

Nami rested her head on his shoulder. "So you're not crazy about me or Robin anymore?"

"My feelings for each of you have changed," he said. Sanji put the cigarette out and breathed out the last tendrils of smoke from his lungs."I still think Robin is an attractive woman and I think she's going to make some lucky man very happy one day, and I hope he makes her just as happy – I'm just don't think I want that to be me anymore."

"And me?" asked Nami, feeling a little red.

Sanji closed his eyes. "I am absolutely certain I love you."

Nami's eyes widened. "So your feelings weren't affected by the Garnish?" she asked.

Sanji shook his head. "A lot of the over-the-top stuff was, but I remember the first time I saw you back on the Baratie, I thought something was different. It didn't feel like any of the other girls I'd fawned over and been shot down by. With them it was like I wasn't in control and it scared me. With you something was. . . different. But the more I got to know you, the more that feeling developed and I realized that this really was . . . real."

"But why me?" asked Nami. "Sanji-kun, Don't I remind you of your uncle?"

Sanji was taken aback by her comment. "Nami-san! Why would I compare you to that. . . that. . . he did a lot of awful things with his life. He killed my parents, he tried to kill Sanae and Akito and even though my brother is alive he can't walk. . . how could I even begin to compare you or ANYONE on this ship to that monster? You're not like him! Why the hell would you remind me of him!?"

Nami sulked. "Because I like money?"

Sanji sighed, turning to face Nami. "But I don't think you've ever seriously hurt someone for money. The man exploited children for a living. You exploited pirates, and most of them, well, they might have deserved it. But children? I don't think I was that bad of a kid, and I'm sure most of the kids he did that to didn't do anything very bad either." He placed his hand gently on her cheek. "Besides, you were trying to buy back your village from Arlong. Kenji probably wanted the money for himself."

"What do you think I do with all my money?" asked Nami.

"You're not. . . too unreasonable."

She sighed. "Maybe."

"If you're going to love someone, you have to accept everything," said Sanji. He smiled, looking up at the sky. "My parents had their differences. My mother, for example, had this thing for hair ornaments – she'd buy them left and right – and it drove my father nuts with how much money she spent on them. Then again, she wasn't always happy with him if he was sent out to buy clothing for me or Sanae or Akito – he'd come back with some of the UGLIEST kid's clothing I've ever seen, and half of the time they didn't fit right. Neither one of them could ever agree on what to do with this spot of land in the backyard they wanted to use as a garden – she wanted flowers, he wanted vegetables. And I'm sure there were other things that they didn't like about each other. But I know they loved each other. All three of us experienced the trauma of 'walking in' on the proof of that." Sanji shuddered. "We had all been spooked by a sound from outside – probably just a neighborhood cat or something – so we all decided to seek refuge in our parents room and. . . well, Akito had to explain what they were doing to me and Sanae. Still, he said that it meant they loved each other."

"I never had two parents," said Nami. "At least, Bellemere-san was never married, so I didn't have that kind of a father figure when I was a kid. We had Genzo, I guess, but Bellemere-san used to tease him a little bit and he'd get frustrated with her but they were really just friends, I think."

"Family doesn't have to be defined by a married couple with kids," said Sanji. "Most of the time I was growing up I was on the Baratie, and Sanae and Akito had Master Anatak. I don't think any of us could say Zeff or Anatak wasn't some kind of a father figure to us. It was still family, just different."

Nami inched closer. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sanji.

"Us."

"Nami-san, we'll figure it out – let's try not to rush things too fast."

Nami sighed. "It's not you. It's. . . I haven't had the best. . . history."

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "I know that everything with Arlong-"

"This isn't about Arlong," said Nami. She curled into an even tighter ball. "If you want to have a relationship with me, you need to know this about me. I wouldn't feel right if you didn't know, I think." She looked at Sanji with sad eyes. "This is so hard to say, but. . . I'm sorry I must sound like a complete flake."

"It's all right, I'm listening," said Sanji.

"I. . . I was fourteen. I was trying to rob a pirate ship when one of the pirates found me and I realized I wouldn't be able to fight him off. He, of course, wanted to turn me in to his captain, but I tried to strike a deal with him. I didn't have anything of real value on me, so I couldn't try to pay him off, and then I realized there was one thing I could give him. . . my body." Sanji's eyes widened. Her bottom lip started to quiver, and within seconds Sanji had pulled her into a tight hug as she started to cry.

Sanji tried calming her down, holding her tightly. "Shh. . . it's okay to let it out."

"It hurt so bad. I ran home and cried to Nojiko for days."

"He had no right to do that to you."

"But I was the one who suggested it!" she said. "It wasn't like I was raped!"

"Could I kick his ass if we run into him?" asked Sanji.

"That wouldn't make me feel better."

"It would make ME feel better."

"I'll be all right," she said, but she returned the hug anyways.

They stayed there for several minutes while Nami calmed down. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong. Why are you apologizing?"

Nami sighed. "It's not that, Sanji-kun. You've had a rough past couple of days and I made this about me," she said. Nami looked up at him and smiled. "Well. . . since everyone else is already in bed and probably doesn't want to get woken up, if you're okay with that, do you wanna find someplace quiet to sleep together tonight?"

Sanji looked a little confused. They hadn't been together that long and already she. . .?

Nami, however, was concerned with the far away, disconnected look in the cook's eyes. She sighed. It looked like not ALL of Sanji's behavior was related to that damn Garnish after all. "Not to 'do it' or anything – I just want you there when I fall asleep and when I wake up tomorrow – just to know you're safe. You gave me a real scare, Sanji-kun."

Back in Reality, Sanji smiled nervously at Nami. Right. That makes more sense. Still, even if it's just cuddling with her. . . "That's fine," he said. He was trying to fight back a smile. "I'm delighted at the chance to spend the night with you, but I know the reasons aren't so. . . great." Sanji got the two of them to their feet. "So . . . where do you propose we sleep? Robin and Sanae are in the girl's room and the guys are all in the boy's room. . ."

"Maybe just the floor of the lounge? There's a bunch of throw pillows in there."

"All right. We'll sleep in the lounge if that'll make you feel better."

Nami smiled. "Thank you, Sanji-kun."

Sanji placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Of course, Nami-san."

"I just have one little request."

"Yes?"

"If we do this relationship thing, could call me 'Nami' or maybe 'Nami-chan?'"

"Anything for you, Nami-chan."

Author's Notes

Okay, okay, I'm updating, I'm updating!

Besides, yesterday was my birthday, so here's a gift for all of you!

There's still a little left to tell! Probably just the epilogue at this point :) Enjoy, and reviews are more than welcome!

Special thanks to Crystal Cat-Chan who beta-tested this chapter for me.

-Dixxy