A/N: Wheeee angst! Kind of a short chapter, though. I'd apologize, but... I'm saving the awesome for the next chapter. Which will be long. :)
Um, what else? ... O.o ... Oh, yeah, er, the end of the chapter. It's... cheesy. I originally intended to make the particularly cheesy section a drabble on its own, but soon after writing it I got depressed and hated it and deleted it. And then I wanted to write that particular part again, but the moment was gone, you know? Of course you do, dear reader, for you wouldn't be here reading this if you didn't write your own stuff. So I shoved it in this story. Rather conspicuously, to be quite honest. Oh, well. Enjoi~
Sanji had been rejected by all eight women in the tavern and was chatting away his depression with the barkeep. He elegantly sipped a glass of wine and sent a glance toward Zoro's snoring form. He knew the bastard wasn't unconscious (unlike others who had slid under the table), because he never actually got drunk. He'd just fallen asleep, as usual.
Perhaps I could go to the next tavern, or a local restaurant… wander the streets and find a lovely woman to walk with me… he would never know… the blond mused. But he had made a promise to Nami-san to stay with the bastard, and he could not break a promise to a lady.
"Kuso," he muttered under his breath, taking a drag and staring at his wine glass. The barkeep was laughing a full belly laugh so loudly at a joke another customer had told that the pirate chef did not hear the door opening and shutting. It wasn't until the barman's guffaws suddenly fell silent did he notice that the tavern's patrons were now different than they had been a moment ago. He looked about the now-quiet room to find that he was completely surrounded by…
… women…
"Mello-"
He was cut off by a booted heel slamming into his jaw, flooring him. He quickly leapt up again to challenge the man who dared to come between him and all these beautiful maidens, only to find that the man he was to fight was… a stunning woman the likes of which he had never before seen! He quickly switched to praising her unparalleled loveliness, from her black-as-night hair to her flawless white skin to her cherry-lips…
She ignored him until the barman had given her a drink. She flung back her long cape and threw back the shot of liquor as though it were water. Sanji continued to murmur accolades, and after approximately ten seconds of enduring this, the woman had had enough, and kicked his face again.
He fell on the floor, proclaiming that her kicks spoke of the truest love. Suddenly –
"Damn it! What the hell! Bitch, let me –"
Sanji angrily sprang at the marimo, but stopped in surprise, his cigarette falling from his open mouth. "What's going on here?"
Before him stood six women, five holding down and tying up a recently awoken Zoro, who was bewilderedly struggling against their hold on him. The sixth stood off the side, Zoro's three swords carefully tucked under her arm. Sanji frowned. Something didn't smell right. "Oi, marimo. How'd you let these lovely ladies capture you?" He paused. "Ah, yes. That's right, you were aslee-"
"Shut up, damn cook, and get my swords back."
Zoro's eyes were locked on the woman with his katana. They were murderous. No, they were beyond murderous. Sanji had seen this desperation and determination on his crewmate's face once before, but he turned his mind away from it. Violence, in this case, would never be the answer. The fairest sex must always be handled with care and delicacy. He turned back to the woman at the bar, who was casually throwing back another shot.
His match sprang to life with the scratch-whoosh of a new flame. He cupped it to the cigarette clamped in his mouth. With this completed, he approached the woman at the bar.
"I cannot imagine what I could have done so right as to merit such angels condescending to bless me with their presence. To what do my vulgar companion and I owe your visit?"
"Bounty," was the woman's simple answer.
"Ah." He thought for a moment. "Go ahead and take him away, then," he returned, shrugging his shoulders. "I won't stop you."
"Bastard."
"Marimo."
"Oh, we know you won't stop us," said the woman with a laugh. "You can't stop us." She finally looked at him, and despite his growing dread, a part of his heart melted. "You are Black Leg Sanji, and he is ex-Pirate-Hunter Roronoa Zoro. He was to be the difficult one, and he has lived up to that expectation magnificently. You have also lived up to our expectations."
"And they were?"
"You refuse to touch any woman in a menacing fashion. And thus, my great commander directed my division – consisting solely of women – to aim for you two, and keep you here." As she spoke, she drew a mini DenDen Mushi from a pocket in her short skirt and set it on the bar. Sanji noticed the barman had fled. His feeling of wrongness compounded. He had to ask exactly the right questions and figure out what was going to happen.
"Keep us here? What good will that do, if you're after our bounties?"
"We're not after your bounties, Black Leg." A few of the women tittered.
"Then who's – ?"
"Your captain. Monkey D. Luffy. We have been ordered to make sure you don't go running to help him. He's weakest when he's alone."
"Tch," Sanji remarked and took a drag. Some local bounty hunters were certainly nothing for Luffy to worry about. Of course, they had captured Zoro and him rather effectively… But Luffy had defeated two Shichibukai. And if anything happened to Sanji or Zoro, the blond chef didn't doubt that Luffy would eat these women's commander. He almost smiled, and relaxed.
"Nani! What are you doing?!" cried Zoro as Sanji walked behind the bar.
"These lovely ladies are not going to harm us, bastard. I thought I should be the gentleman and offer them some refreshment until Luffy kicks their commander's ass all the way back to East Blue. Would you like that, my angels?" More of the women laughed at him, but he would not be deterred. He started pulling bottles and glasses off shelves, then he noticed that the leader was speaking on the DenDen Mushi.
"… Hai, we were successful, sir. Yes. Yes. Of course we shall. Best of luck to you, sir. Second-in-Command Miyoko out." She set the mouthpiece back on the receiver. "It will not be long now, my friends," she called out, addressing her underlings. "Soon, our commander will defeat Mugiwara no Luffy, and we will become the most powerful crew on the Grand Line!"
Cheers erupted throughout the bar. Sanji glanced at Zoro, who was no longer struggling against his bonds. Their eyes met for a long moment, and then both looked away.
"So, how about those drinks, Black Leg?" asked Miyoko, laughing. "I want to enjoy this as much as possible."
"Hai, right away!"
But as Sanji poured the drinks, he found his gaze returning to the green-haired man's slumped form. He had read an urgency in the bastard's eyes that mirrored his own. The same thought had crossed their minds, and it troubled Sanji.
Each of the Strawhat crew, at some point, had doubted themselves and their dreams.
(What if he just wasn't cut out for the sea, or what if there came a crucial time when he had to be brave, and he just couldn't?)
(Or what about drawing a map of the entire world – if no one had done it before, how was she to know when she was done?)
(Or what if All Blue was really nothing more than an old wives' tale, spun of fantasy and wishful thinking, and that he was on a wild goose chase?)
(What if a panacea doesn't exist, or what if one of his nakama became sick with something he couldn't treat, and they died?)
(What if too much of the Rio Poneglyph had been destroyed by the World Government, and she too would never find what she was looking for?)
(What if, on their journey to Raftel, something terrible happened and he couldn't fix the ship, and everyone drowned?)
(What if he never made it back to see Laboon, or what if his friend gave up or died before he could return?)
Even Zoro had doubted himself since joining the crew, though only twice: when Mihawk defeated him, and much later, not even a month ago, at Thriller Bark. He had touched Luffy's pain; he had received a tiny portion of it and screamed. If Luffy could take that much… if Luffy was willing to go through that much hell for them, he could end up killing himself without noticing. What if that happened? Where would the crew be… where would Zoro be, if Luffy were lost?
Luffy was fine, the two men were easily convincing themselves of that fact. But looking at one another, another tiny doubt surfaced. Why were these bounty hunters so confident? Didn't they know who they were dealing with? Something was going on. They just had to find out what.