Madam Sharley looked like the kind of lady you would expect to hold séances and dabble in the supernatural. But then again, Sanji didn't look like the kind of person that did, and he was probably closer to the supernatural than she was. So he knew he couldn't really judge.
She was curvy, her dark hair shaped in a short, sweeping bob. She had pale skin and big, azure eyes framed by heavy eyeliner. Her lips were red, her nails long and painted violet, and her clothes mostly blues and purples. The more Sanji looked at her, the more he understood how she and Robin came to be friends.
The séance was held at her house, in her very dining room. The lights were dimmed, and candles were lit at the centre of the large, circular dining table they all gathered around. Sanji sat a seat away from her, and Nami sat to his left. There were five other people around the table with them. Strangers. Each one more different than the next. They'd all introduced themselves earlier before the start of the séance.
Coby, a young boy with glasses, sat between Madam Sharley and Sanji. He fidgeted constantly in anticipation. Next to Nami was an ugly looking punk with messy hair, a toothy overbite and a nose-ring. He called himself Bartolomeo.
His friend sat beside him. A girl called Lily who had curly, dyed-hair and smiled at everyone like she knew them. She constantly chatted to another friend sat on her other side, a young girl called Apis who looked like she was around Coby's age.
Finally, a guy named Pell completed the circle, sitting beside Madam Sharley. Unlike everyone else in the room, he looked the type to attend séances the most. Pale skin, slicked back hair, heavy eyeliner… Sanji could've sworn he was here with Madame Sharley herself.
"Before we begin," said Madam Sharley, clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. "We have some new 'contactors' here tonight, so I will explain some basic rules. I must remind you all, that regardless of what you believe, we are attempting to contact spirits tonight. Regardless of what you believe, some things may happen that some of you will find hard to comprehend."
Bartolomeo stifled a laugh from the other side of the table, earning a harsh glance from several people around him, including Sanji. The blonde himself came to this séance a little sceptical, but he knew how not to behave like an asshole about things.
"That being said," continued Madame Sharley. "It is important that you remain calm at all times. Spirits are sensual beings, and the atmosphere can alter their mood as easily as fire takes to paper."
Sanji swallowed. Did she really have to use such a dark analogy?
"Second most important thing is that you must remain respectful. We are dealing with the supernatural here, and there are powers at work that we cannot understand."
The room was quiet now, the air heavy, as everyone exchanged anxious glances at each other.
Madam Sharley smiled. "Of course, so long as you follow these two principles, we should be fine during our time of communication."
She paused and pulled a shallow box from under the table. From that, she produced a large Ouija board, and a palm-sized planchette. Sanji had to bite his lip to stop from snorting.
Really? They were going to contact the spirits in the most cliché way possible?
"Now, are we ready to begin?" asked Madam Sharley
Nobody replied. A few people nodded, but not a word was spoken. Madam Sharley took in a deep breath through her nose.
"If everyone can place both their hands on the table, palms touching the wood, we shall begin."
There was a quiet shuffling as everyone did as they were told.
"Clear your minds," instructed Madam Sharley. "Relax. Don't be afraid. The supernatural is not a dangerous thing. Relax."
Silence settled. Sanji took a deep breath. He couldn't sense anyone in the room, but somehow, he was nervous. Nami's foot gently tapped his leg under the table, and when he looked up at her, she gave him an encouraging smile. Sanji nodded and returned her smile.
"Oh spirits," spoke Madam Sharley. "We eight are gathered here tonight in order to reach out to you. I beseech you, heed our voices. Listen."
Silence again. Under his palms, Sanji felt the wood vibrate. People around the table glanced up, nervous eyes darting around the room. They could feel it too. But Sanji couldn't feel any other presence, or see any spectres. Alarm bells of 'hoax' were going off in his mind, but he kept these thoughts to himself.
"The spirits are among us," said Madam Sharley. "Can you feel them?"
She took in another deep breath and let the room fall quiet again. The vibration of the table continued, and the candles in the middle wavered in an unseen wind.
"Now," spoke Madam Sharley, startling Coby beside her. "Is there anyone here tonight hoping to contact someone in particular?"
"Abraham Lincoln," blurted out Bartolomeo. Lily whacked him at the back of his head.
Madame Sharley ignored him, glancing around the room. No one else spoke. Nami nudged Sanji with an elbow.
"Uh, I guess I have someone I want to talk to," he said.
Madame Sharley smiled at him. "Who would you like to contact?"
"His name's Zoro."
With a nod, Madam Sharley addressed the rest of the table.
"In order for use to make contact with the spirits, we must give them that method of communication. We will use the Ouija board. May I ask you all to place a finger on the planchette?"
One by one, each person touched the planchette. Sanji swallowed, wondering if he should've mentioned that Zoro wasn't dead, so they couldn't really contact him, but it was too late now anyway.
"Everyone relax," Madame Sharley reassured them, before she closed her eyes. "Spirits! We wish to speak to the one named Zoro! Please bring him forth."
They all grew still and silent. Sanji kept his eyes on the board.
Madam Sharley turned to Sanji again. "What is Zoro to you?"
"Uh…" Sanji hesitated. "A friend."
She turned back to the board and closed her eyes. "Spirits, please let us speak to the one named Zoro. His friend wishes to make contact."
Nothing. Then, after a while, the planchette moved and inch to the side. Everyone took a breath of awe, and Coby just about stifled a whimper. Even Bartolomeo gawked at the board. But his face quickly fell when he saw that the planchette didn't actually land on any letters.
"Was that it?" he said,
Madam Sharley shot him a stern glance, and he fell silent immediately.
"Oh spirits," she spoke again. "Do not be shy. We mean no harm. We only wish to speak with the one they call Zoro."
They waited. The planchette began to move. It landed on the letter 'W'.
"Oh my god," breathed Pell.
"Oh my god!" Bartolomeo imitated him mockingly. "A 'W'! Oh the horror!"
"Barto!" scolded Lily.
Madam Sharley turned to Sanji. "Does this letter have any significance for you?"
Sanji shook his head.
"Then the spirits have not finished talking," she closed her eyes again. "Sprits, please do not be afraid. Speak to us. We are waiting."
The planchette moved again.
H. O. A. R. E. Y. O. U.
The small piece of wood stopped at a question mark. Pell squinted at the board.
"Ho… Who… Who are you?" he said, piecing together the letters.
Bartolomeo grunted. "No shit, Sherlock."
"Will you shut the fuck up?" Sanji snapped at him.
Madam Sharley held up her free hand. "Gentlemen, please. Remain calm. The spirits are asking you to introduce yourself."
Sanji stared at the board. Was this really Zoro?
"How do I know it's him?" he asked Madam Sharley.
A thin smile spread across her face. "Why don't you ask?"
Sanji turned back to the Ouija board. "Are you really Zoro?"
W. H. O. A. R. E. Y. O. U.
Sanji sighed. It had to be Zoro. He didn't know any other spectre that could give him such a headache at just an introduction.
"It's Sanji," he answered. Whether or not that might mean something to the guy who's never met him in his waking life, Sanji couldn't tell. But he was about to find out. The planchette crawled its way across the board.
S. A. N. J. I.
Everyone around the table uttered gasps and noises of disbelief. Even Bartolomeo seemed taken on by it.
"You better not be moving the thing and spelling out your own name yourself," he said.
Sanji glowered at him. "If I was moving it, I'd be spelling out how much of an inconsiderate piece of shitty ass you really are."
The man opened his mouth to protest, but Apis cut him off.
"It's moving again!" she exclaimed.
The small, wooden plank slid across the board, spelling Sanji's name again. Then, it carried on.
L. O. O. K. B. E. H. I. N. D. Y. O. U.
Sanji's heart dropped into his stomach. Everyone's eyes were on him, some even looking passed him over his shoulder. Was there really something there? Swallowing past a lump in his throat, Sanji turned his head and looked over his shoulder.
The rest of Madam Sharley's living room spread out behind him. He frowned and turned back to the table.
"I don't see any-"
A head rested on the table, on top of the Ouija board. Blood and muscles dripped from its neck, spilling onto Sanji's fingers. Void like eyes stared at Sanji.
He screamed, leaping back from the table and landing flat on his back on the floor.
"Sanji!"
Nami was on the floor beside him immediately, as Coby shot up out of his seat.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Sanji groaned, pain shooting up his back from where he landed. At least he didn't hit his head.
"Great job, genius," said Bartolomeo. "You flung the board across the room."
Sanji glared at the man as he pushed himself up from the floor.
Madam Sharley was looking at him with wide eyes. "What did you see?"
"It was…" Sanji's voice trailed off. Everyone watched him with wide and fearful eyes. Despite what was happening, would they really believe him if he told them?
"N-nothing," he answered. "Sorry. I thought I saw something, but I was wrong."
Bartolomeo grumbled, but everyone else seemed to sigh in relief. Madam Sharley narrowed her eyes at him, but whatever she was thinking of quickly passed and she turned to Pell beside her.
"Would you mind fetching the board back for us again, please? Everyone else, I suggest we return to our seats and continue."
"C-c-continue?" stuttered Coby, eyes growing wider than the rim of his glasses.
Madam Sharley nodded. "The spirit is still here. We have not ended the conversation properly. It is important that we do so."
Sanji got back to his seat, just as Pell placed the board back on the table with the planchette. Madam Sharley reached for the wooden plank when it launched from the table and collided with her head with a sharp thud. She fell backwards onto the floor.
Apis screamed, and everyone else leapt up from their seats. Pell quickly knelt beside Madam Sharley, and Sanji rounded the table to her side too.
"Madam Sharley?" asked Pell, holding her up by her shoulders. "Are you alright?"
She winced, her eye lids fluttering open.
"Wh-what…"
"Oh my god, look!" Coby pointed back at the table. Sanji got up in time to see the Ouija board slide to the centre of the table by itself, joined by the planchette. Everyone watched in horror, as the wooden disk moved from letter to letter, unguided.
S. A. N. J. I.
"What the fuck is going on?" cried Bartolomeo. "What the fuck did you summon?"
"I didn't summon anything!"
"Sanji…" Nami called his attention back to the board.
The planchette was going crazy, syphoning between the letters of Sanji's name, the scratching noise of wood on cardboard filling the air among the whimpers and gasps.
"It's you!" cried Coby. "It wants you!"
"Make it stop," said Pell, helping Madam Sharley up to her feet. Sanji gawked at him.
"How?"
"You're the one that spoke to it! Make it stop!"
"I better not die tonight because that thing's out to get you," grumbled Bartolomeo
"Die?" Shrieked Apis. "Nobody said anything about dying. I don't want to die!"
Lily pointed to Sanji. "If anyone's dying tonight, it's him. I'm not getting involved in your mess!"
"You're all being ridiculous," Nami piped up. "This isn't his fault."
"Ridiculous?" said Lilly. "That thing is moving by itself, and it's calling to him!"
"For god's sake, will you make it stop already?" Pell pleaded with Sanji again.
He gave a harsh sigh. This was a bad idea. Sanji stepped forward and slammed a hand down on the table, trapping the planchette under his palm as it was spinning towards the 'J' of his name.
The candles around the room flickered out.
"E-end it," said Madam Sharley, her voice shaking. "End the conversation. Bid your good-byes."
"Uh…" Sanji stared at the Ouija board, uncertainly. "Good-bye, Zoro."
The room felt silent.
Coby approached the table. "I-is it over?"
Sanji stiffened. He tried to pull his hand away from the planchette, but a weight kept him rooted to the table. Grunting, he tried to pull away again.
"Sanji?" said Nami. "What's wrong?"
"I… I can't move."
The planchette moved again, dragging Sanji's hand with it. Everyone backed away from the table, looking on with jaws agape and eyes wide.
S. A. N. J. I.
"What, what is it?" Sanji snapped. His head was starting to spin, and his breathing thinned like he was trying to breathe through a cloth. "What the fuck do you want?"
L. O. O. K. B. E. H. I. N. D. Y. O. U.
A wet hand clasped Sanji's shoulder. With a yell, Sanji was flung across the room, hitting the wall with his back.
"Look ou!" Nami shrieked.
Sanji opened his eyes and saw the table flying towards him.
He ducked out of the way, curled up on the floor as the table smashed to pieces on the wall, scattering splinters onto his back.
Then, something tugged on Sanji's ankle and dragged him across the floor. Everyone screamed. Bartolomeo after him, missing him by inches. Nami got close, her hand grazing his shoulder, before she was blown backwards and onto the floor.
"Nami!" Sanji struggled to get up, but a weight kept him pressed to the floor.
Coby let out a cry, and Sanji turned to see him lifted up against the wall. The lights flickered. Books flew from shelves. Chair skittered across the floor, knocking people off their feet.
Madam Sharley backed up against the wall, away from the chaos and panic. She held her hands up in the air.
"Spirits!" She yelled over the din. "Be calm! I beseech you!"
Sanji grunted, trying to push himself off the floor to get to Nami. His eyes darted to where she was again. Blood froze in his veins, cold spiking through him. The bloodied man stood above Nami, soulless eyes focused on her.
"No!" cried Sanji. "Leave her out of this! Leave them all out of this, they have nothing to do with it!"
He watched as the spectre reached out a crimson hand towards Nami.
"Stop!"
The bloodied man touched her shoulder. Nami shrieked out in pain.
"Zoro, stop!"
The lights cut, then the flickered back on. The room was still. Everyone gasping for breath, some sobbing softly into their hands. Madam Sharley, eyes wide and visibly shaken, stood at the centre of the room.
"We will end the séance here," she said. "Thank you for heeding our call, oh Spirits."
"'Thank you'? You're thanking them?" Bartolomeo crawled out from behind the couch in the living room where he hid.
"We must remain respectful."
"We could've died! What the fuck was that all about?"
"If… if I'd have known we were contacting an angered spirit…" She turned to Sanji. "Did you attempt to contact him knowing what he was?"
Sanji lied and shook his head. To be fair, he didn't know that Zoro would try to hurt other people.
Madam Sharley nodded. "Then it is not a fault of yours either. I should have warned you all at the beginning. Vengeful spirits must never be contacted."
She turned to rest of the room. "You will all leave here now. But do not go straight home. You must all visit or pass through a public space first. This is to ensure that the spirit does not follow you home. Understood?"
Those who could, nodded in agreement. Sanji pushed himself up and ran to Nami's side.
"Are you alright?"
She winced as she got up, but nodded. Sanji helped her to her feet.
"Ow!" she cried as he touched her shoulder. Sanji's hand whipped back.
When Nami peeled back the shoulder of her cardigan off the sleeveless top she was wearing, Sanji's eyes widened. A bright red hand mark imprinted on her delicate skin. Guilt and anger bubbled up inside him.
Madam Sharley gasped as she approached them.
Nami craned her neck to try and see what was wrong. "What is it?"
"You… You've been marked by a spirit."
"What does that mean?" Sanji asked, panic tightening across his chest.
Madam Sharley shook her head. "It's never a good thing. I strongly advise you don't try to contact the dead until the mark is gone."
She turned to Sanji. "As for you… I… It is possible that the spirit is vengeful towards you. Have you wronged this person when he was alive?"
Sanji shook his head. He couldn't be bothered explaining that he never really knew Zoro when he was alive.
The frown on Madam Sharley's face only deepened. "Then… I'm afraid I have no easy solution for you… I'm sorry."
Sanji glanced back at the red mark on Nami's shoulder, but she quickly shrugged her cardigan back on.
"Don't worry about it," she said, smiling. "It'll probably wear off in a few days. I'll be fine."
This time, her smile couldn't sway Sanji. This was his fault. He knew there was a reason he was reluctant in her help in the first place, and now that reason was staring at him plainly in the face. Zoro's spectre injured her, as well as several others in the room now.
The sharp reality of his situation dawned on Sanji. He realised that he'd been keeping his abilities to himself, not just because he knew he'd get ridiculed for them. But because he knew just how dangerous meddling with spectres could be. He never wanted anyone else to bare that burden. He shouldn't have let Nami help him in the first place. Now he was going to make sure she wouldn't come to harm anymore.