Sooooo, I might have tricked you guys or just plain suck at writing what I really want to happen. Kimi took a small taste of Luffy's Agony and couldn't stand it. She didn't take the entire thing! But no worries because this chapter is going to go into detail of what did happen!
Taiski: Hope this chapter clears up all of the confusion!
CupcakeLoopy: Muahaha, why you ask? Because it not only leaves you on the edge of your seat, but me as well! Plus reviews like this make me smile! Hope this update was fast enough.
Totong: Well, you are about to find out my friend! Hope you like the reactions!
Fanboy316: Thank you and I hope this new chapter has more of the emotional moments!
Little Ai: haaaaaaaaa, no worries! Kimi won't die... yet. ha! Now I completely freaked you out! (She won't die, you kidding me?!) I hope this update is just what you were waiting for!
DinoZilla: Who knows when Zoro will confess his feelings to her... hopefully soon? (spoiler alert) but you will have to read to find out!
-yesiamweird
She was out cold.
Not dead, Zoro noted as he felt a slight breath of warm air gasp out from her bloody lips, but closer to death than anyone in the vicinity. "Kimiko…" He held her bridal and snarled up at Kuma. "There's no way you expect me to let her die like this."
Kuma stared at Zoro. "But she has already given her life to save you. If you do not allow her to continue, then her and Strawhat Luffy's lives are at stake. I must keep my honor."
Zoro was shaky with the dead weight of Kimi in his tired arms. He continued to stand there, though, despite the agony that attacked his body. "I won't say it again!"
The words caused the Shichibukai to tilt his head in response.
"I may not be able to dismantle you, like Kimiko can, but…" He looked up at the robot full of determination in his eyes. "But this is the head of the man who will eventually become the world's number one swordsman! Surely that should be enough!"
"Despite your great ambition… you wish to take that woman's place for your Captain's sake… and approach death?"
"If you can't even protect your captain, then your ambition is worthless." Zoro mused out while holding onto Kimi tighter. "LUFFY IS THE MAN THAT WILL BECOME THE PIRATE KING!"
Kuma stood silently as Zoro continued to breath heavily. The sound of the howling wind forced the swordsman to gasp at the sudden change of temperature.
"This is my final request…" the swordsman knelt to the floor while resting Kimiko gently onto the sturdy ground. With a swift motion he pulled out his three swords from his waist and placed them specifically along the side of Kimi.
Kuma nodded with a sigh, "If I were to lay my hand on Strawhat after this, my honor would be at stake. You can trust me… I will keep my promise."
"I'm in your debt." Zoro continued to kneel. At first, he was kneeling to place Kimi down, and then bowed as a sign to respect at the Shichibukai. As he lifted his head to look back up, he caught a glance at Kimi's body. Despite the blood and grime protruding from the scientist face, she still lived up to her bounty name… Multiplying Beauty. Originally, she was given the name because of her devil fruit power, but Zoro was convinced the reason was because the more you focused on her beauty, the more it multiplied in your head.
"However," Kuma continued, "…you must take in all the remaining extraction of Monkey D. Luffy's pain that Tomoko Kimiko couldn't take. Since you are closer to death than she was, if you take in all of Luffy's agony, it would be impossible to survive…you will die."
Zoro nodded heavily with his breath still struggling to find any sort of relaxation. "Fine." He looked to Kimiko once again before standing… but he couldn't bring himself to raise his momentum to approach death.
This was the last time he'd ever see her. After this brief moment of life, Zoro would no longer see any of his crewmates again. He looked to Kimi, for the last time, and by instinct cupped his calloused hand underneath her neck while allowing his thumb to gently slide down her porcelain skin.
"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner…" He whispered and instantly raised her neck towards his face until the both of their lips met one another. Of course, this was cruel to himself… the lifelessness in Kimi's lips were only a reminder of the fact he was about to kill himself. He would never taste the life from her kiss…but at least he finally did it. Despite moments away from death he at least braved himself to kiss the woman of the crew he had such an interest in.
Capturing every essence of their skin-to-skin contact, Zoro placed Kimi back onto the concrete carefully. Using a slight bounce from his muscles, he raised his legs to stand to turn and face Kuma.
"Have a little taste as well…" The Shichibukai waved his hand through the red bubble pushing a small bit forwards just like he had done to the scientist minutes before.
Zoro stood tall as the bubbled floated towards the middle of his chest. And then all at once, the pressure of ten million attacks engulfed his body. The pain forced him, just like Kimiko, to lash out in a horrified scream to try and force the pain to cease. He fell to the ground bleeding more than he had been from this mini-attack. If he was going to take the rest of Luffy's pain, there was no way he was going to survive.
He flipped to his back allowing what little of oxygen could engulf his lungs. "Just let me… choose… the location…" He slammed a bloody fist to the floor. He couldn't let Kimi or the others find him in a pile of blood when they would wake.
He pushed all of his weight onto his muscular arms and stood back onto his tired and shaky feet. "F-F-Follow me…" The swordsman nodded to the enemy. The two walked in silence with the large red bubble following closely behind until eventually, Zoro deemed their location worthy of a sacrifice.
They were about five minutes away from the others in the middle of the forest. Of course, with it being daytime now, the forest didn't look as grim as it had when they first passed through the woods in the hunt for Moria's castle.
"This is where you will die." Kuma stated effortlessly as Zoro nodded. In the next second, the large Pascifist disappeared from the area leaving Zoro and the demon bubble of agony…
One breath.
Two…
Three…
He thought grimly staring at the red transparent death…One more breath and a thought, 'Here goes nothing. For Luffy…' As he outreached his arms.
And with that final thought, the swordsman experienced hell on earth.
Chirping… that was the noise that flooded Sanji's ears as his achy brain pounded against the skull of his head. The pain required the cook to wake in a groan of pain. "Whaaaa?" He flipped onto his side to attempt to remember what exactly had happened.
Instead, a rather loud and obnoxious noise distracted him from his thought process. "Yahoooo!"
"Oi, oi, you're kidding, right?!"
"I wonder how he got so much energy?"
"Luffy! You are so loud!"
Luffy stood bouncing on a broken piece of marble wall while Franky, Robin, Usopp, Chopper and Nami sat around their captain gawking at his burst of energy after their tough battle.
Sanji shook his head while sitting up from his spot on the ground. Attempting to once again recall just what exactly had happened, he grunted at a tender spot on his ribcage. "Huh?" He rubbed the side of his torso feeling a large bruise underneath his suit. "Wait a minute!"
An image flashed through his mind of Kimiko elbowing him. Then another image of the scientist attempting to give her life up to Kuma in exchange for the lives of the crewmates and captain.
Standing up abruptly, Sanji scanned the area for any sign of Kimi. About five feet away from him, there was a strand of blue hair. "Kimi-swan…" He whispered under his breath and ran to the area.
Indeed, there lying in the rubble was none other than the Strawhat Pirates' Scientist Crewmate. "Oi… oi!" Sanji bent down to examine her closely but his foot collided with an object causing an unexpected noise. It was all three of Zoro's swords.
"What the-?" He bent down while tilting his head in confusion. "Why did that marimo give up his-" Sanji whispered to the unconscious Kimi but then stopped as soon as he realized what Zoro had done. "NO! That Baka!"
He must have replaced Kimiko's original sacrifice and doing the same that she had done to him, knocked her unconscious. However, from the blood and cuts surrounding Kimi's body, Sanji would have to guess there must have been some other type of battle that occurred while the others were passed out. There was no way Zoro would admit that much damage to her.
Placing one hand carefully under her shoulders and the other underneath her knees, Sanji picked Kimi into his arms while yelling out to their ship's doctor. "Oi, Chopper! Kimi-swan is in trouble!"
"Huh?" The crew looked to the cook walking back towards them.
"No!" The small reindeer cried. "Kimiko! What happened to her! Why is there so much blood than before!?" As soon as Sanji placed the woman down near the group, Chopper wasted no time in bandaging her up.
"Kimi!" Luffy gasped. All of his happy energy was now full of concern. "What happened?! Why is she like this, Sanji?"
The cook shook his head. "I'm not sure. Zoro is missing too… Chopper, take care of Kimi-swan. I'm going to find that Marimo." It left a big pit in the depths of his stomach to know Kuma and Zoro were gone and nowhere to be found. He had to find that crazy idiot… he was probably in a world of trouble thinking he could possibly take on Kuma.
Already knowing the answer, Sanji took off running pass the spot where he had discovered Kimi and towards the forest area. His heavy footsteps echoed in the open silence of the area. A rather large piece of the castle wall threatened to block Sanji from trespassing, but the foot-work skilled cook only climbed the brick and then slid down the other side with ease.
"Just where is that bastard?!" He grunted continuing to run and avoid the rubble as best as he could. He stopped running to look out into the open area. So far he couldn't see a sign of battle or anyone in the area. Grunting, he continued to run forwards allowing his footsteps to echo once again. "Damn… where is he?" He cursed. "Did Kuma take him to the Marines? Surly not…"
As time continued to pass by every painful second, Sanji wouldn't allow his body to give up on finding the swordsman now… No matter how tired he felt.
Taking a few more steps forwards, the sudden overwhelming scent of musty iron engulfed his nostrils.
The more he walked towards the bottom of the hill where the forest started, the more the smell flourished through his head. That wasn't iron… the smell was blood. And a lot of it.
He ran faster, jumping from brick to brick with such speed he didn't even know was possible for his tired body. Until… "Found him!"
There, he stood with his back faced towards her. From the looks of it, he seemed to be fine from a distance, "Phew! Oi, what do you think you're doing, huh? Where'd that Shichibukai go…?" He joked as usual but with each step Sanji's face twisted into horror.
There seemed to be a pool of thick crimson liquid surrounding the area. As if a giant bubble of red had popped and exploded around him. Zoro stood, with his arms folded across his chest and his head focused towards the ground. As he made her way closer and closer to him, the scent forced Sanji to gag. "OI! What in the hell is with all this blood!?"
He still didn't respond. Only standing tall, despite the blood and sweat dripping off of his body.
"Oi! … Are you still alive?! Where is that guy?!"
His shirt was torn completely and only stayed attached around his shoulder by a thread. His green hamaraki now soaked a dark red from the blood pouring from all exposed parts of his body. On one side, his pants were completely torn and even his thick black boots were even torn up just as badly.
"What happened here?!"
"N…" Zoro's deep voice caused Sanji to widened his eyes at the sight. "No-thing… Ha-happened…"
"I'm starving, Sanji!"
"Eat some cheese then!"
Already held tightly in the Strawhat captain's rubber arms, Luffy munched at the large pieces of cheddar cheese from the kitchen. "It's not enough energy for me!" He complained as usual. The cook rolled his eyes. "Then get your ass in gear and bring the cooking ingredients to the courtyard!"
Lola smiled at the cook for his services for her and her pirate crew. "Thank you so much. Everyone is so happy since they haven't seen the sun in a long time. We're sunbathing in tears! But, do you have enough supplies for everyone?"
Sanji nodded. "Seems there was a lot of food added to our stock so we're fine."
"I wonder who did it? They must be a very kind person because they even stashed all this treasure here!" Lola looked to the side of the ship at Nami sleeping on top of the piles of treasure.
Looking over his shoulder, Usopp scoffed at Luffy as he engulfed the large pieces of cheese in his mouth. "How the hell are you so energetic?! This is definitely wrong!"
"This is heaven!" Nami sighed turning onto her back as if she were sunbathing in the glimmering gold of the treasure. Luffy and Usopp walked down towards the pile of fortune, "Wow a glass bracelet!" Luffy picked up and item and then placed it around his bandaged arm. "This is cool, I'm gonna wear it!" He admired the item.
"O-oi, if you go and take that… Nami will be furious! R-Right, Nami-san?!" Usopp panicked and looked to the navigator gleaming with the money surround her like a bed.
She opened one eye to look at the two, "Oh it's fine, those aren't even real jewels! But don't take anything else, do you hear me!"
"Our saviors deserve all that treasure. Enjoy it all to the fullest, Namizou!" Lola smiled with her large red lips. The name caused Nami to sit up startled. "Huh? What did you just call me?"
"Huh? Those words just escaped my mouth… who's Namizou? I have this weird feeling that we've met before."
"OH!" Nami stood from her pile, "Could you be… Lola?!"
The pirate woman nodded, "That's right. Didn't I tell you my name…?" The realization caused Nami to run and embrace the oddly shaped woman. "I'm so happy we can meet again, Lola!"
"Wait a minute! She's that fat-ass pig zombie?!" Usopp had recognized the name as well. Nami quickly ran back to the pile of treasure and then handed Lola the amount in her arms, "I know you don't understand and I'll explain it later. For now, take this! It's yours!"
"Huh!?" Lola smiled while her eyes almost bulged from her head. "Really? Mine?!"
"NAMI GAVE AWAY HER TREASURE!" Luffy and Usopp ran to the rail of the Sunny to warn everyone of their selfish jewel thief's actions. "A STORM IS COMING! RUN AWAY!"
Down below, Franky and Sanji looked to the two pirates in doubt. "Huh? A storm? Really?" Franky muttered which caused the cook to shake his head. "Ignore them, Franky. Your life will be a lot easier that way. Besides, we've got no time for distractions right now. Let's take these supplies and get dinner started."
"Yosh." The cyborg responded with a large bag of supplied held overtop of his head. "Oi did we remember to get more bandages for Chopper?"
Sanji nodded. "How could I forget? He only demanded it a 1,000 times." He puffed out a breath of smoke from his cigarette. "He needs those supplies anyways to retreat Kimi and Marimo."
"Yea." Franky nodded as the two passed by Lola's pirate crew sun bathing on the battlefield. "Poor Twin-san. I wonder what happened to them?"
"We will have to find out when they wake up… I guess." The two continued into the abandoned castle. Looking over at Chopper examining the swordsman's injuries, Sanji introduced their presence. "Chopper, we brought the things you asked for, just as promised."
"Oh! Thanks!"
"How is he?" Franky wondered. The reindeer had just been checking up on Zoro's wounds before the two entered. "Well, this is the first time I've seen Zoro take so much damage… His life was really in danger. I'm sure something happened when we were knocked out."
"And Kimi-swan?" Sanji heaved the large bag of food down near the spot he was going to be arranging the food he had prepared on the ship.
"I just checked up on her a while ago. Robin is with her now." The reindeer assured him. Due to the two conscious females demand, Kimiko was placed in Perona's room so she could have privacy when Chopper went to bandage her. Afterwards, Nami and Robin helped change her into a less bloody outfit while she slept. "She isn't as bad as Zoro but still… Kimi was in pretty bad shape too."
"Will Twin-san wake up soon?"
Chopper shrugged at Franky, "She'll wake when her body tells her too. But it shouldn't be too much longer… Zoro on the other hand. He could take a while to wake up. We won't know until we find out what really happened to them."
Sanji nodded while staring off into the distance drowning in his thoughts. He recalled the fire flaring in her eyes behind those thick-rimmed glasses. She was completely serious about giving up her life for Luffy's but something was strange about her reasoning.
She had stated something about being a threat to the World Government, and while Sanji completely agreed that she along with the rest of the crew was a huge threat to the world… it was strange at how she made it seem that the Government was already wanting her capture before she became a pirate.
Shaking his head, he decided it must have to do with her history of working for the government's projects. She had stated that her father and she were forced to experiment and create assignments strictly given to them.
"You want to know just what happened, ya mean?!" A voice called out. Sanji stopped his thoughts and looked to the two men curtly. "Da truth is…" The man with the brown afro smiled. "We saw the entire thing!" The other, with a blue mask, added in. "Want us to tell ya what happened then?"
"Come here." Ripping the two men from their stance, Sanji led them outside and away from the others. "Tell me what happened." He demanded while positioning himself to sit.
"Huh? Why?"
"You were pretty awesome too, ya know!?"
"Ya even said, "take my life" just like the woman and the swordsman did!"
"Shut it." The cook glared. "Just hurry up and tell me what happened after I lost consciousness."
The two glanced at each other before the afro-man responded. "Well the Shichibukai accepted the woman's offer and then touched Strawhat with those paws of his… he claimed to have extracted all of Strawhat's damage!"
"Damage?" Sanji questioned.
"Ya, like a great sphere of anguish. Then, he told the woman to take in all of the damage. He pushed off a small piece of the bubble towards her."
"Just a lil' bit of that stuff had the girl screamin' bloody murder! We were so worried!"
Sanji bit down on his cigarette after hearing how much pain Kimi went though. That, no doubt, explained all the blood she was covered in.
"I guess her devil fruit ability wore off when she passed out. And the swordsman caught her just in the nick of time!"
The afro man nodded, "That woman is lucky to have a boyfriend like the swordsman. If it wasn't for him, the Shichibukai was gonna make her take in all the pain- conscious or not! So instead, he declared to take the rest."
Sanji nodded accepting the fact that Zoro saved Kimi basically. Then one word popped into his head. "Oi! Marimo is NOT Kimi-swan's BOYFRIEND!"
"Huh?" The masked made tilted his head. "You sure?"
"He even kissed her just before taking off..."
This sentence made the cook do a double take, "What?! He did what?"
"Oi, he kissed-"
"DON'T REPEAT IT!" Sanji flared. Calming himself briefly, he gave the two men a wave of his hand. "Oi, just continue. What happened… after?"
"That swordsman took a little bit of the bubble as well and screamed just as loudly as the woman. When he got back up, him and the Shichibukai walked off to the forest."
"The swordsman's lucky to be alive, if ya ask me!" The masked man added. "The whole scene moved me to tears!"
"Yea! I was really cryin' my eyeballs out!"
"I see…" Sanji sighed while burning out his cigarette on the ground. "So that's how Luffy's this energetic while Kimi-swan and Zoro's out cold. That's just so reckless."
"Yosh! I'm gonna go tell the rest 'a the Strawhat crew the story of a man's pride!" The masked guy laughed.
"Damn right ya is! Let's go!"
"Hold up." Sanji demanded causing the two to stop in their tracks. "Don't say a single thing. Zoro didn't put his life on the line for a simple thanks. Besides, if Luffy found out his suffering was passed onto his comrades how do you think he and the others will react?"
The two attempted to contain their disappointment, but clearly Sanji could tell how distraught they were about not being able to tell the story. "Just keep your freakin' mouths shut, Bakas! As long as everyone's alright, it's fine." Sanji walked pass the two. "Now, let's go eat."
"Huh?" The two pirates remained silent looking one another in confusion. As Sanji's footsteps echoed in the small distance from the men and the castle, the two smiled in excitement, "T-T-That guy's freakin' cool!"
Her eyes fluttered open slowly revealing to her brain the strange location of her body: a deep purple canopy above her head and a warm soft cushion underneath. Turning her head to the side with a wince of pain from her neck, Kimiko observed Nico Robin smiling down at her. "Oh good. You're awake!"
"Huh?" Kimi flinched at the pain surrounding her head in a violent ache. The soft pillow caressed her head easing it back into a state of not aching. She quickly came to the conclusion that she was on top of a bed but with another examination, she discovered she and Robin were located within that Ghost Woman's child-like bedroom. "What. Happened?"
"Hm?" Robin placed her cool hand on top of Kimi's shoulder. "I was hoping you could tell me that? You're in bad shape since Kuma exploded that bomb."
Her words made no sense in the scientist's brain. "What? What bomb?"
"Oh no, do you have amnesia?" Robin gasped. "What is your name?"
Kimi sighed. "I'm Tomoko Kimiko."
"And who am I?"
"Nico Robin. Archeologist of the Strawhat Pirates."
"And how old are you?"
"20 years old, Robin, this is silly. I remember all of that stuff, I just don't remember what happened to me… why do I feel like a house of bricks landed on me?"
Robin giggled. "Maybe one did if you can't remember." Her words caused Kimi to panic. "I wonder if Zoro will remember what happened then?"
"Zoro?" Kimi questioned.
"Oh yes. You do remember who Zoro is, correct? Roronoa Zoro – the Pirate Hunter?"
"Oi, Robin, I remember who he is!" Kimi sighed while sitting up from her lying position. "I just don't remember why Zoro would be-"
A flash of memory occurred in her brain forcing the woman to gasp. After taking a small hit of Luffy's pain, Zoro held her in his arms just before she fell asleep.
"No…" Kimi whispered causing Robin to sit on the edge of her chair. "What's wrong?"
"Zoro… is he okay? What happened?"
Robin shook. "We don't know… but more importantly, what happened to you?" Her question made Kimi shake her head. "I had to do it, Robin. Kuma was going to kill Luffy if I didn't step in. So I did, but I guess I wasn't strong enough to handle it…" Kimi placed her gloved hands on her face. "And I guess Zoro did."
In the moment of silence, Kimi debated with her inner self of explaining every single detail to Robin. Then she thought about Zoro and how upset he would be to learn Kimi had told them about his sacrifice. She was completely and utterly confused on what to do…
"I don't really understand everything you're saying… but I'm glad you are okay nonetheless." Robin smiled and then stood from her chair. "Do you feel okay?"
Kimi nodded after running her fingers through her hair. It wasn't held back in its usual bun. "I feel sore and weak, but overall fine. Is Zoro…?"
"The last I checked he was still asleep. He's in pretty bad shape." The raven-haired woman frowned. "If you'd like, I can help you to the banquet room. Zoro is there with Chopper and Sanji is preparing dinner."
Kimi nodded and then carefully un-tucked her legs out of the blankets of the bed. "Hmmm? I don't remember wearing this?" She thought aloud staring down at a pair of maroon shorts and a green tank-top.
"Oh, after Chopper cleaned you up, Nami-san and I changed you out of those ruined clothes. We didn't want you to wake up with dried blood all over you."
The biggest smile could not be contained on Kimi lips. "Robin, you two are the best. Thank you!" The older woman offered Kimiko her hand to lean upon as the two walked down the empty hallway and towards the banquet room.
"Oh! Kimi!" Luffy's voice called from the other side of the room. "You're just in time! Sanji just finished dinner and it's time to party!"
"OWWWW! Twin-san!"
"Yosh, Kimi!" Usopp called out with a crowd of Lola's pirates. "Ohhhhhhhh! KIMI-SWANNNNNN! I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE AWAKE AND BETTER!" Sanji twirled over to her and Robin with a big red heart in his visible eye ready to pounce until Chopper stopped him from attacking her. "Oi, Sanji, I need to check her bandages first!"
Robin and Kimiko laughed as the two proceeded to argue, "Oh Kimi!" Nami's voice pulled the two females away from their amusement. "I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried." The red-haired navigator hugged Kimi tenderly.
"Thanks Nami-san." Kimi hugged back with one arm while still keeping her hold onto Robin's support. "By the way, I love your dress!" Kimi winked as Nami pulled away from their embrace.
"Ah, I knew you would!" She stuck her tongue out. On their venture through Water 7, Kimi had picked out the exact dress for Nami in one of the shops. Of course, the fashion-obsessed navigator proudly bought it after modeling it for Robin and Kimi. "Come this way for Chopper to check up on you."
Kimi did as she was told following Nami as a young duckling would with its mother. When she realized exactly where they were headed, Kimi's heart literally shattered into a million pieces. Her feet stopped instantly, "Zoro…" She whispered under her breath.
He was bandaged from head-to-toe motionless on a portable makeshift bed they had brought out into the room. Even though he slept soundly, she could physically see how badly he had been beaten up just from looking at his bruised face. His eyes were sunken in just as much as his cheeks were.
"Come sit…" Nami placed her in the chair alongside of the resting swordsman. "This is where Chopper is keeping all his supplies." She assured the reason as to why Kimi was being forced to sit next to Zoro's body.
It was her that was supposed to take Luffy's pain and give up her head for her captains. Not Zoro! Why did Zoro have to step in her fight… She argued inside of her own mind while staring down at the man.
"There!" Chopper's voice squeaked causing the scientist to blink twice. She hadn't even realized the doctor had even done anything by the time he declared finishing. "You will be fine, but make sure you take it easy and don't do too much physical activity while you heal."
Kimi nodded with a slight smile but quickly her eyes resorted back to scanning the swordsman for any sign of movement.
"Soooo," Nami placed a chair alongside of Kimiko's position. "What caused the two of you to get into such bad shape, hm?"
Still not wanting to reveal the truth of her attempted suicide, Kimi shook her head slowly. "I'm not sure… I can't really remember to be honest."
"Ehhhhh!? Kimiko, don't tell me you have a concussion and don't know who you are!" Chopper panicked. Robin nodded, "I said the same."
"No no no." She waved her hand in the air to play off the worry from the small reindeer. "I just don't remember what happened. I tried fighting off Kuma after the attack, but it's all fuzzy to me."
"Oi oi, let's not pressure Kimi-swan into remembering after just waking up." Sanji strode over to the group. In his hands and arms, he had brought over plates of various foods for them. "I'm sure you're starving Kimi-swan!"
He smiled just as his usual self, but behind that grin Kimi could tell Sanji was attempting to protect her from the interrogation. She of course knew that Sanji attempted to take her place in front of Kuma but that course of action only forced her to be defensive and take him out of the picture.
Taking a plate of food from out of his hand, Kimi smiled back at the cook with a look that said, "thanks-for-saving-me." And then quickly she dug into her food so that she wouldn't have to respond to another word.