Sanji let out a long exhale of smoke, looking somewhat thoughtful as he turned his gaze to the sky.
The weather had been most gracious to their crew for the last few days. The sky was mostly clear and the ocean was still, making their journey a lot more secure than it had been for a long time. Everybody on board had very little to complain about, as they were all catching up on rest, and fixing whatever it was that had been broken from their last exciting, albeit, dangerous encounters at sea.
Though he was thankful for the break, he also can't help but feel bored from doing nothing. He longed to set foot on a town again, shop for local, not-to-be-found-anywhere foods and ingredients, dine in a local restaurant where he gets to be the customer (an experience he finds amusing being the crew's own chef), and make merry with the pretty ladies the town has to offer. The blonde chef had been most excited for such an experience that he almost jumped into the water when Nami announced that they'll be landing on a habited island within the day.
As soon as the Thousand Sunny hit the shore, Sanji was already out before anybody else had the chance to review their plans for the day. He would be going exploring on his own, and he swore not even Luffy could stop him from fulfilling his soul's desire. No one could.
That was what he thought.
Apparently, Sanji has a soft spot for women, especially for the women of the Strawhat crew. He would do anything and everything, even set aside meeting a thousand local beauties, if only to make sure that Nami and Robin are always happy.
So it was no surprise that he made it his business to set things straight when he saw Robin come out of the crow's nest looking sullen, with tears obviously glazing her eyes.
It was uncharacteristic of the raven-haired beauty to be emotional. Sanji could even count with his fingers the rare occasions that Robin had shown emotions deviating from her usual level-headed attitude. She's always been calm, collected and not easily angered, so it's no easy task for anyone to know the reason behind her unusual behavior.
Fortunately (or not) for Sanji, he knows full well the few things that triggers Robin; Those that threatens to harm the crew's well-being, lewd people taking over Chopper's body*, and a certain moss-head meat-brain.
Seeing how their past few days had gone without Luffy picking a fight with some big-shot name, and no soul-swapping had been performed on anyone, it was a no-brainer that the blame would fall on Roronoa Zoro. Despite actually being clueless on what might have gone between his two crewmates, Sanji was already sure of Zoro being at fault. The young swordsman was the exact opposite of Robin; tactless, hot-headed, and an overall idiot.
"I'm going to kill that fucking Marimo." Sanji muttered to himself in annoyance before taking another lungful of smoke from his cigarette.
"Kill who?"
"N-nami?" Sanji turned at the voice that crept from behind him and was met by a piercing glare courtesy of the crew's navigator.
"If you're going to cause trouble, make sure you leave the ship alone." Nami warned, puffing her cheeks. "You and Zoro keep on making trouble for everyone every time you two decide to be idiots."
"But Nami, that marimo made Rob-" Sanji paused after realizing that it would probably better if he doesn't tell the others about what he saw. He assumed it would inconvenience Robin to have everybody flock around her because of his tattletale mouth.
"Zoro made Robin what?" Nami prodded.
"Ah Nami-san. What I mean is, that marimo made Robin go up the nest only to refuse the offer to go with us. He wasted Robin's energy and for that he must be punished, right?"
Nami sighed in return, blowing at the loose strand of her strawberry blonde hair that covered her face. "Robin doesn't even want to go with us anymore."
Sanji could not help but feel curious at the bit of information. "Nami-san?"
"Hm?"
"Why is Robin-chan not going with us? Did Zoro upset her or something?" he asked, to which Nami shook her head.
"Robin said she just felt woozy after the rocky landing." the navigator said, looking thoughtful herself, "Now that you mention it though, she did seem upset after coming down from the nest. Do you think Zoro offended her in a way?"
Sanji shrugged. He would rather leave the conversation as it was and not give Nami any more idea. It would not do to have the crew fussing about both Robin and Zoro now. He chose to divert Nami's attention instead to dismiss the subject.
"Look, Nami-san. You can go ahead with Luffy and the rest. I'll catch up with you guys later."
"You're not coming with us? And to think that you were the most excited about this trip too."
"I have to go check on our food stock first, maybe check up on Robin-chan too, if she needs anything. I'll be preparing a feast later so I'd rather make sure I won't miss anything" Sanji inwardly gave himself a pat on the back for the good comeback. The lie was believable enough to buy him some time to have a talk with Zoro.
Luckily, Nami quickly took the bait and left him without any more questions. Sanji watched her retreating back and continued to do so until the navigator reunited with the rest of the crew participating on the trip.
"Now," he said while reaching for another cigarette on his back pocket, "time to teach that marimo a lesson on how to treat women."
Ah-choo!
"Shit!" Zoro yelped when a dumbbell almost slipped from his grasp. Luckily for him, his reaction speed was enough to save his toes from being crushed by a 100lb slab of cold iron.
Only a few seconds after putting down the dumbbells for good, a tickling sensation made its way on his nose, and he let out a loud sneeze again.
"Those morons better not be talking about me behind my back." Zoro muttered, quickly pointing the blame on his crew mates. He was sure he has no allergies of any sort, and blaming the weather seems stupid; it was way too sunny outside to bring any cold draft in.
Noticing the agreeable weather, Zoro decided to halt his training for a moment to get a breath of fresh air. As soon as he stepped outside the crow's nest, his attention was immediately caught by a figure standing rigidly on the ship's masthead.
'What the hell is that guy still doing here?' he thought, realizing that the figure was none other than the ship's cook.
He was pretty sure he's the only one supposed to be left on the ship, as Robin did mention that everyone agreed to go to the mini excursion their captain planned out. It was also near impossible to have the blonde cook staying behind whenever they land on a new place with an established town.
He bounded over several platforms to reach the deck where he then approached Sanji.
"Oi, Curly brows, shouldn't you be with everyone else?" he asked with mild curiosity.
"Hm? Everyone?" Sanji returned Zoro's question with a probing one of his own. He jumped down from the masthead to join Zoro on the deck only to turn and direct a powerful kick toward the swordsman's stomach.
To say that Zoro was surprised by the sudden attack was an understatement. He barely managed to save his muscles from being torn apart by Sanji's powerful kick, somehow successfully mitigating the impact by catching the chef's foot with the back of his sword. He immediately leaped back as soon as the leg that almost crushed his gut was drawn back for a [possible] second attack.
"You shithead! Are you trying to kill me!?"
"What the hell did you do to Robin!?"
"What the fuck are you saying!?" Zoro shouted, annoyed by the confusing turn of events.
"I'm saying that," Sanji dashed towards him again, "you're a real masterpiece of a jerk!" The chef's right leg curved into a high half-arc, pausing for a millisecond before crashing down Zoro's sword, which the latter used to protect his head from the blow.
Zoro wanted to retaliate with a good string of pretty words, as he still didn't understand where Sanji was coming from, but the force of the kick aided by gravity was something he wasn't prepared for. It was taking almost all he had to keep his swords up, and the effort alone is putting a definite strain on his arm muscles. He doesn't want to succumb to his knee, as doing so would be admitting defeat, but he'd rather not use his sword effectively to harm Sanji either. He decided that it's best to hold his defense while waiting for Sanji to pull back again.
"Not saying anything after making Robin cry huh? You good for nothing scum!"
The accusation brought Zoro to a jolt. He did not expect the level-headed archaeologist to tattle on what happened between them on the crow's nest, so the sudden mention of her crying made him lose his hold and he staggered for a bit, giving Sanji the window to land a blow on his waiting head.
Sanji didn't receive his moniker, Black Leg, for nothing. This was something Zoro realized again as his whole body landed on the floor with a loud thud. He could not bring himself to stay up, but was fortunately still conscious enough to ask questions.
"You shit," he cussed at the lean figure hovering above him, "only for that?"
"You're not even any bit apologetic?"
Zoro groaned.
He'd been guilt ridden ever since Robin started sobbing out of nowhere during their quick talk on the nest. He didn't really understand why she cried, and to make matters worse, she just left with a plain as day I hate you without even giving him the chance to apologize.
He sure as hell didn't need Sanji to berate him after a being served a good beating.
Try as he could, Zoro still did not figure out how he got into such a mess. He wanted to shove the fact on Sanji's grim visage, only to find himself unable to do so when he ended up coughing like mad on his attempt at retaliation. He looked up to see the blonde cook stare at him with an irked expression, but could do nothing about it at his current state.
Zoro estimated a good minute has passed before Sanji broke eye contact and started walking a few steps away from him. He figured his crewmate would just leave him without any further explanation, a presumption that surprisingly made him agitated.
Much to his fortune though, the devil granted the blonde chef a detestable, garrulous tongue.
'Maybe I won't break his nose then.' He thought as the Sanji started to talk.
"Listen, you idiot."
'Ok. I still will.'
"I don't know what went on when Robin sought you under Luffy's command," Sanji started lighting a new cigarette he retrieved from his coat lining, "and I really could care less, because for all I know, she was just asked to let you know we're going to town."
"But something did happen up there and you could not convince me otherwise after seeing her all glassy eyed when she came out of the crow's nest." Smoke started making their way out of Sanji's mouth as he took his time explaining things to Zoro. The swordsman who usually oozes out manliness is nothing but a clueless idiot when it comes to women, and Sanji took it upon himself to make the said idiot understand more practical things in life.
"Do you know how many times you've agreed to go to town with us ever since Robin joined the crew?" Sanji asked rhetorically, "I figure you don't. I don't. Hell if anyone does," He puffed another smoke with an amused smile on his face. "But for whatever reason, there is someone who does know."
Robin.
"You might have not noticed it yet, but it was only times when Robin was tasked to fetch you that you refuse. She's smart, she would've noticed it the first few times, but she keeps on taking on the task anyway. Even if she's not asked to, she would come up with some pathetic excuse, like you're not getting enough sun, or any shit about your health, really."
Sanji looked back at the still lying Zoro. Catching the slight shift on the swordsman's gaze as his words started to sink in. He relished for a bit at seeing his companion's dumbfounded look before continuing his conscience inducing tirade.
"You should consider yourself lucky that someone as wonderful as Robin even takes interest in you. If it's just the rest of us, we'll leave you to rot and gladly skip the effort of finding food to bring back so you'd get your lazy ass stuffed. Nami would be especially happy to cross out your expensive sword polish from the shopping list, and I bet even Chopper would be grateful to forget worrying about patching you up all the time. Can you not be grateful at least!?"
Sanji sighed heavily, flicking away the used cigarette he was just smoking. His words became too harsh, and he did not like the way he sounds so... bitter.
"One would think she's your sister, the way she fusses over you. Except, siblings don't really..." he trailed off, leaving his thoughts unsaid. It would be bad if his tone suddenly betrays him in the process of pointing out his observations.
He was supposed to give Zoro a push, not take out on him his own misgivings.
"Talk to her at least." the blonde chef said once more before finally deciding to finally leave.
Zoro was thakful to the brash cook for taking the effort to literally knock some sense into him, but he thought it curious how Sanji seemed too affected by his plight. He was sure that the blow he received to the head did make think twice about everything, but the one thing he was sure of was Sanji held back something important all along.
It was in the last few seconds before darkness overwhelmed him that Zoro realized what the blonde chef was afflicted about.
"Shit's got the nerve to lecture me, when he's the one- Aaaah!" whatever he was going to say was cut short with a bellowing howl of pain, as his head throbbed once more, pulling him and his words into unconsciousness.
A/N:
Bad finish, but at least I managed to sneak in some Sanji (along with a handful of technical mistakes).
It would be nice if you (readers) would discuss One Piece with me. I think 30% of my reason for writing fanfictions is so I can find like minded people. lol.
Peace!