Hello everybody! To make up for my late update being a little late, I'm posting this chapter early, I hope you like it! And thank you so much to SilenceOfRain7 for betaing this, I really appreciate it. ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters
"We're going through the Calm Belt," Luffy said, a serious look on his face. He and the rest of his crew were gathered around the galley table, solemnly eating their dinner. His statement was met with no complaints, only a few murmurs of agreement. They knew crossing the Calm Belt would mean trusting Soutsu –and none of them wanted to do that- but they missed Zoro and Sanji. Traveling back through the Grand Line was taking too long; they wanted their crewmates back now.
After they'd finished eating, the crew exited the galley and gathered around Soutsu where he was tied to the mast. Luffy spoke up first.
"You're taking us through the Calm Belt."
"Finally... I was wondering when you would ask. I'm just as sick of you all as you are of me," their prisoner sighed.
"How do we know you won't betray us?" Ussop frowned.
"The sooner I help you the sooner I can get out of here, so just unchain me and we can be there in about..." Soutsu looked up in thought, "two weeks."
"It'll still take that long?" Brook asked.
"Well they are in East Blue," he rolled his eyes.
"Well you got Zoro and Sanji there really quickly," Chopper frowned.
"They were two people, this is an entire ship. Besides, I will need to take a few breaks," he scowled.
"Oh I'll give you a break alright," Nami seethed, taking a threatening step toward him.
"Calm down, do you want my help or not?" he feigned indifference. The crew all share a few looks before Franky stepped forward and unchained Soutsu.
"It's good to finally get those off, they were really hurting my wrists," he huffed, rubbing at his wrists.
"That's nice. Now hurry up," Nami snapped.
"Alright alright, calm yourself woman." Soutsu was promptly knocked unconscious by Nami's fist.
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Sanji wondered what human flesh tasted like. He was immediately disgusted at the thought, but couldn't help his mind from pondering it. When he was trapped on this rock before, Zeff had to resort to eating his own foot. Sanji doubted it tasted good; more than likely, it nearly made the shitty geezer sick. Though how could Zeff have ever thought of resorting to...that? To chop off one's one limb, and then eat it, must have been a terrible thing. And why his foot? Certainly, he couldn't have even considered doing the same to a hand. Zeff's hands were his life, so a foot would be the only other alternative. Thinking about it made Sanji wonder if the old geezer had considered eating him first before his own foot... His gaze drifted over to Zoro, lingering for a moment.
Turning his attention back to his own foot, Sanji wondered what it would taste like. How would one even go about cooking a foot, or any other body part for that matter? Of course over a fire, but what method would make it taste the best. Boiling, or just roasting it above the flame? Sanji gazed down at his foot contemplatively. Would it taste better if it were cooked whole or flayed first...? An image appeared in his mind of a large platter filled with rice and in the center, covered in barbeque sauce, a grilled foot. A shudder ran through him as he put a hand over his mouth. No, he shouldn't think of that. Besides, one leg wouldn't be enough to feed both him and Zoro and he wasn't ready to lose both legs... yet.
He was so weak at this point anyway that it wouldn't make much of a difference. If anything he would die from blood loss or an infection, so eating any of his limbs wasn't really an option. But he needed something to eat, and so did Zoro. If they continued on like this for much longer, they would both be dead by the time Luffy reached them... if their captain even came.
Sanji sighed, wishing desperately he still had even one cigarette. Having nicotine withdrawal on top of starvation did not make this any easier, especially when smoking tended to help him forget about hunger. Fifty-seven days now. Sanji stared down at his hands, which were trembling slightly. At this point, he doubted Luffy was even coming. He wanted to have hope but he knew that was just being naive. If Luffy were coming, he would be here already.
Sanji pulled his legs up to his chest and dropped his head, resting it on his knees. He was so tired, of everything. Tired from hunger, tired from several sleepless nights, but most of all he was tired of hope. Lying to himself every day that everything was fine and that he and Zoro would be rescued soon was exhausting. It was so much easier to just accept his fate. There was no hope and he was going to die here. Sanji let out a shuddering breath. That was exactly what he'd thought when he was trapped here as a kid.
"This is just like before," he whispered to himself. The only difference was that this time, there would be no rescue. This was it, he was going to die here. He was never going to see Nami-san and Robin-chan again, or the rest of the crew. And he was never going to find All Blue. But not just him, Zoro was going to die too, and never achieve his dream of the world's greatest swordsman. Why did they have to get trapped here? Sanji cursed, clenching his fists.
"Hey ero-cook, what are you doing?" Zoro questioned and Sanji tensed. He was not going to lose his composure, not in front of that idiot marimo. He had to stay calm... But what was the point anymore? He was going to die, Zoro was going to die. Why did it even matter?
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"Sanji, what's going on?" Zoro asked trying to keep the concern out of his voice. The cook had been acting weird since the moment they got here, and it had only gotten worse as time went on. He thought it was nothing at first, but now realized it was a problem and wanted to find out what exactly was going on. Zoro waited a few minutes then decided to ask a different question when he got no answer.
"What did you mean when you said 'this is just like before?'" he asked.
"...You heard that?" Sanji asked, his voice quiet and lacking its usual confidence and sarcasm.
"Yea," Zoro frowned. He wasn't used to the cook acting like this and it just felt strange. He much preferred Sanji yelling at him and being irritating than so quiet and weak sounding. It just didn't suit him.
"...I've been here before," Sanji confessed in an almost whisper.
"You've been here before? Zoro's eyebrows furrowed. Why would he have been here before, and why was that such a big deal?
"Yea, are you deaf or something shitty marimo?" he growled, though didn't really sound irritated, just tired. Sanji straightened up and reached into his jacket's breast pocket as if to grab a cigarette but stopped and dropped his hand when he remembered they weren't there.
"What do you mean?" the swordsman asked.
Sanji hesitated before answering, "The ship I was on before the Baratie was caught in a bad storm. I would have died but Zeff saved me and we ended up on this island. There was only twenty days' worth of food and...," he grimaced, "I didn't know it at the time but the shitty geezer had given it all to me. We were stuck here for eighty five days," Sanji finished quietly. Zoro's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Well that would explain the cook's strange behavior here, and a few other things, but...
"How is this time like then?" Zoro frowned.
"It's exactly like then!" Sanji suddenly snapped, turning his head to glare at Zoro. "Just as damn hopeless."
"What do you mean hopeless, idiot dartboard brow, Luffy and the rest of the crew are coming," Zoro growled.
"No they aren't you shitty swordsman! I didn't think you would be this naive... If Luffy were coming he would have been here by now!" Sanji kicked out at Zoro and the swordsman jumped to his feet, moving out the way.
"What's your problem!?" Zoro hissed, glaring at Sanji.
"You don't see how hopeless this is! No one is coming, we're both going to die here!" Sanji yelled. Zoro stepped forward, grabbed Sanji's shirt tightly in his fist and slammed the cook back against one of the boulders behind them.
"You should know better than to doubt Luffy you damn cook! No matter what gets in his way, he would never abandon his nakama and we are his nakama! He is coming!" Zoro shouted.
"No he isn't Zoro! And I'm tired of waiting," Sanji's voice suddenly went calm before he turned and ran. The swordsman stood there frozen for a few seconds before he took off after the cook who had just ran out of his sight through the center of the island. Zoro scrambled over boulders, following Sanji with his haki since the stupid cook had disappeared from his sight.
The swordsman made it to the other side of the island then froze. Sanji, who was standing dangerously close to the edge of the rock, glanced over his shoulder at Zoro. He turned back around. Then he jumped.