A/N : TY FOR 8K READS!
Please don't' forget to review guys! I love reading what you have to say about the chapters. All of you loyal readers are absolute legends esp Kakashi's Library xx Anyways, studying has been going super well so I have some free time to update now! Also just saying I do love some angst and arguments, and with Zoro/Sanji's personalities please expect some drama ;)
I followed Zoro and Franky out of the bar, my ears perked up as we tried to find out where Luffy had run off to.
"Maybe he ran off to get it on with that chick," Franky suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. "She was getting quite friendly with him last time I looked over at them."
I couldn't help but chuckle at this, "If Luffy went with her she probably promised him food or something."
Zoro sighed, "it doesn't matter we have to find him, otherwise Nami will increase my debts - again."
I shrugged, "so where should we start looking?"
Zoro looked around for a moment, "let's split up it'll be easier to find him."
Franky and I both stifled a chuckle, "buddy no offense but it wouldn't be the best idea for you to go off by yourself, especially on a new island."
I couldn't hold back my smirk as Zoro's face flushed and he growled at Franky.
"Don't worry," I stated and placed my hand on Zoro's shoulder. "I'll go with Zoro and we'll handle the South side of the town, you take the North," I said and Franky seemed to agree with this proposition. I couldn't say the same for Zoro, who seemed to be less than ecstatic that I was teaming up with him. I didn't know why he was being so grumpy, but I intended to find out. I followed Zoro's quick strides across the street and we both began looking all over for any sign of Luffy.
"So," I began, intending to reach the bottom of this. "Why are you acting like this?" I asked, watching him frown.
"Like what?" he asked nonchalantly.
I stopped walking and gave him a sideways glance, "all moody - don't tell me you are jealous of Banri?"
Zoro stopped walking as well, and he glared in my direction. "Jealous? Don't make me laugh," he stated coolly. And thus started the longest search for our rubber captain.
I walked on the deck, just wanting to have a nice quiet sleep.
"Sanji I'm Hungry," Usopp complained as soon as Zoro, Franky and I had walked over to the rest of the crew. Robin and Nami came over as well, clearly all anticipating some information about the mysterious town.
"Wait a minute…" Nami spoke up, and I knew what she had picked up on. "Where's Luffy?"
I took a deep breath, "we may have lost him…"
Nami's mouth fell open, and we knew she wasn't going to let this one go. "How could you lose him?" she half-yelled, facepalming in distress.
I shrugged, "it wasn't a very big town - we'll find him easy, we just need everyone looking for him."
Nami still wasn't convinced, but she seemed to let it go for the time being, "what else did you find out?"
After realizing neither Zoro or Franky were planning on answering that, I did. "Not much, like I said it is a very small town. We met a few people, a woman named Venus and I met someone named Banri," I replied, recalling the events.
Robin's breath hitched, but no-one else seemed to notice except me. Nami massaged her temples in annoyance, and she leaned back in her chair as she tried to decide our next move.
"We have to stay here for another day at least to wait for Law and for the log pose to set, that gives us 24 hours to find Luffy," she said. "Let's have some dinner and then we'll split up to search a couple of hours tonight. If we don't find him we will have to wait until tomorrow."
I nodded and stood up, wanting to start on dinner. Zoro watched as I left the group, his scowl never leaving. What's his fucking issue?
After a few minutes, everyone else had left the gathering and were up to their own duties as I made a delicious soup - purposely sticking in some mushrooms just to spite Zoro since he was being a dick for no reason. I like him, a lot, but he is not in touch with his emotions and he needs to learn how to express them, otherwise, this is just going to be too difficult for me to keep up.
About an hour later the soup was pretty much done the cooking, so I yelled out the kitchen window to let everyone know.
"Sanji it smells amazing!" Usopp commented as he sniffed the air while walking in. I took the large pot off the stove and placed it in the middle of the table.
"Thanks, Usopp," I grinned and poured him a heaping serving. After all, since Luffy was missing it meant we could each have much bigger plates.
The rest of the crew made their way in and took their seats, and I could hear stomachs rumbling. I guessed none of them had any lunch while we were off exploring. I served everyone a heaping bowl, making sure to get extra mushrooms in Zoro's. I knew it was petty, but I didn't care. If he doesn't voice his opinions and emotions to me, he's going to lose me.
"It's bad to say, but it's so calming to eat without Luffy in the room," Chopper spoke with a soft, adorable giggle. I couldn't help but laugh along with Usopp and Brook at that because it was too true.
Dinner went by smoothly, and we were all able to actually eat slowly and enjoy the meal without having to worry about it being stolen by the black hole himself. After everyone had left, I noticed Robin was still in the kitchen and began to help me dry the dishes with her devil fruit ability.
"Is something the matter?" I asked, remembering how she reacted when I told the crew about the island.
She seemed hesitant to speak for a moment, "it was just that name that you mentioned," she said softly.
"Venus?" I asked, repeating the beautiful girl's name.
Robin nodded, "I'm beginning to believe the myths about this island, especially since there really is a girl named Venus there,"
"What do you mean?" I asked as a bad feeling crept over me.
"I didn't mention this before," she began. "But the myths stated that the Siren who ran the island and never let men leave…was named Venus."
I was about to reply when Nami's voice alerted the both of us. I tried to hide my frightened face as Robin and I headed out onto the chilly deck to see what our navigator had decided upon.
"So we'll split up and look for Luffy for about an hour tonight, then everyone is to report back here and we'll put it on hold until tomorrow," Nami said calmly, and she began assigning people into pairs. As Nami approached me, I glanced over to Zoro while he wasn't paying attention, and shook my head - hoping she got the picture.
"Sanji will go with…. Robin," she spoke finally. I mouthed a quick 'thank you' to her, and she smiled. "I will go with Chopper, and that's everyone! Meet back here at nine sharp please."
Robin and I walked along the beach, first deciding to search the shores for any signs of Luffy.
"So what exactly does a Siren do?" I asked, trying to remain calm and find out as much about this potential enemy as I could.
"I haven't read extensively on the subject, but according to ancient legend they had the power to attract men and would lure them in before killing them viciously," Robin replied, a frown on her face. "However there are many different opinions on them, I for one always believed them to be just myth and nothing more."
I was confused. "Why bother luring them in?" I asked, "why not just kill them outright if that is their ultimate goal?"
"I think it is because they like to know and be reminded of how attractive and irresistible they are. They go for men of power, and love the feeling of controlling them," Robin responded, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she spoke.
"Do you really think her 'charms' will work on Luffy, though?" I asked, knowing our captain quite well. "He's never been attracted to women before, or anyone for that matter. I don't think he has a romantic nerve in his brain."
Robin laughed at this, her smooth voice somehow cheered me up slightly. "That is true, it probably will not affect him."
I managed a smile back, "what will she do if her abilities do not work on him?"
I saw Robin's smile fade, "I don't know, she might go for the next most powerful man available to her, but it's hard to say as all of this is just based off of what I have read. To make a proper judgment I would have had to meet her."
"The next powerful man…" I repeated, the information sinking in. "That would be…"
"Zoro," Robin finished for me. Before I could say anything or begin to react, she spoke again, "since Zoro is attracted to females, her abilities will probably affect him."
I gulped, kind of wishing I let Nami pair me with Zoro so that I could at least try and prevent them from running into each other. All I cared about now was him getting back to the ship safely. Robin must have noticed my anxiousness because she placed her hand supportively on my shoulder as we turned around to head back to the ship.
We got onto the ship and saw that everyone was now sitting on the ship in the same place that we had been previously. Everyone…with another person missing.
"Where's Zoro?" I asked, looking at the guilty faces in front of me.
Franky, who must have been paired with Zoro spoke up. "We ran into Venus again, and she had Luffy unconscious and tied up against a waterfall in a deep cave. She had two men each holding a knife to his neck and said if we moved an inch he was dead, then she made Zoro stay and sent me packing," Franky said, lowering his head. "There was nothing I could do."
I sighed, "what are we going to do now?"
Robin moved to stand in front of Franky, "did she say anything else?"
"Something about the Song-Song fruit, but she wasn't saying that to me I heard it as I was walking away," the cyborg replied, clearly blaming himself for everything that had happened.
"Franky it's not your fault," Chopper said, reading the situation perfectly.
Brook nodded, "Chopper-san is right, you couldn't do anything."
Nami stood up, her hands on her hips. "Law will meet up with us at dawn tomorrow, meaning we will have an extra crew to help us get Zoro and Luffy back - we just have to trust in them until then," she said.
"In the meantime, I will get as much information about Sirens and the Song-Song fruit that you mentioned, Franky," Robin added, and she quickly made her way into the girl's cabin, where she kept her books and study material. The meeting was dismissed, and I was about to head up onto the crows nest, but Nami took hold of my arm.
"Sanji, don't worry about them, they are the toughest guys on this crew - they will survive one night, even with a crazy Siren bitch."
