Corona

by CharlieNozaki

As a murderous monster terrorizes the capital of Wano and its surrounding lands, there are only two strong enough to vanquish the beast: A runaway set on defeating the creature once and for all, and a lost samurai who has lived in shadow for far too long. Together, they must discover the balance between darkness and light, or risk that darkness consuming them both. [Fictional Wano]

2. ACT I: Sunset - PART II

Silence in the room. Nothing but the chill of his own blood pumping faster, harder, causing his head to throb and his mind to spin back into that horrible panic he was beginning to doubt would ever leave him.

Zoro knew who he was, had known all along, and there it was, the piercing feeling of eyes boring into him, even worse than in the marketplace because now those eyes were definitely on him.

He should have known. He should have known word would spread, that his father would send out a notice, that his father was perhaps here, in Wano, waiting for him. And not to welcome him back with open arms.

He should have known escape was impossible. And why? His father didn't want him, would never want him, so why couldn't he just be free?

He couldn't move, couldn't defend himself, couldn't even look up, could only kneel there, helpless, at the mercy of that blade and the mercy of a girl - no, a woman now - that he'd never imagined he'd see again. Certainly not like this.

The blond knelt there, heavy breaths leaving him, gaze, wide and unfocused, staring blankly at the swirling patterns of jade and gold that swept over the floor tiles beneath him with dizzying design.

He couldn't even be angry, not at anyone or anything but his own foolishness, for thinking that maybe, just maybe, he'd had a chance beyond his kingdom's borders.

The sound of clicking on the tile, echoing throughout the space, which he soon realized was a pair of shoes when they came into his field of vision, strange wooden sandals that clicked faster until they stopped directly in front of him, submerged in a pool of silky pink fabric when their owner sank to his level.

Hands, soft and slender, rose to his face, and though their touch was gentle, he still flinched instinctively when fingers met his jaw and brushed hair from his eyes. Those fingers lifted his chin carefully until he found himself staring at a young woman, long waves of teal hair tumbling over her shoulders, her features delicate and sympathetic, wrought with concern.

She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, even if thirteen years had passed since their last meeting, and the woman that crouched before him now was a stranger.

Yet her voice was quiet, almost hopeful, when she murmured, "Sanji…?"

His name. His real name, and the flash of emotion in his eyes was surely what had her red-painted lips turn up in what looked like relief.

"It really was you," she breathed.

Sanji barely had time to relay his shock, a flustered utterance of, "E-Empress-" before arms flung themselves over his shoulders and he found himself yanked into a tight, joyful embrace.

"I can't believe it!" she exclaimed close to his ear, the scent of her hair like fresh cherry blossoms, overwhelming at such close proximity. "You're alive! Sanji, do you remember me? You were so small, but-"

Just as soon as she'd leapt for him, the empress pulled back, holding Sanji at arm's length to gaze at him for an elated moment.

"Zoro, let go of him," she said distractedly, and though Sanji couldn't see his face, he could sense the swordsman's confusion when the grip he had on Sanji's wrists loosened slowly, almost reluctantly, before releasing him entirely.

Sanji supposed he hardly looked any less baffled by the situation.

The empress giggled, her hands unsure of where to land, fingers meeting his cheek, then his shoulders again, his chest, before they settled on his waist. And he had no choice but to allow it when she dove in for another affectionate hug, this one for longer.

Despite her delight, not to mention her beauty, Sanji couldn't lift his arms, couldn't hold her back, even if he no longer sensed any threat but rather the genuine joy of an old friend.

"Look at you," the empress said when she sat back again, giving a playful squeeze to his biceps, her bright eyes traveling over his form. "You're a man now." Another giggle and she leaned closer, lips flirtatiously smug as they pulled up in a smirk. "You probably enjoyed that hug, didn't you~"

"I-I-" he stammered once again, having lost any sense of eloquence he should have possessed, his cheeks growing unbearably hot, gaze unable to meet hers.

Mercifully, the swordsman's gruff voice sounded from somewhere behind him, the man's irritation clear.

"He was out near the base of Fuji," Zoro grumbled. "No food. No supplies. Nearly got himself killed."

But any insult he might have intended was quickly squashed when the empress' eyes flicked back to Sanji, a question quickly tumbling out.

"What were you doing there?" she asked, her grasp having settled on Sanji's forearms. "We were sent wanted posters! I thought you'd been kidnapped!"

Sanji resisted the urge to scoff, pushed it right back down along with his own forming question, the part of him that didn't understand why she cared, why she seemed so concerned after all these years. Even if they'd bonded as children, how could anyone care about what he'd become?

If he'd been kidnapped….well, at least that would have meant he had some worth. But that wasn't the case.

Thus, a sense of embarrassment, of shame, rose within him, replaced any happiness he might have felt over their reunion.

A hissed sigh, and he averted his gaze to the floor once more, staring hard at the patterns there as if they would direct his words. With Zoro, a stranger, it had been easy. With her, not so...

"Empress. Please," he murmured slowly, heart in his throat. "I ask...that you not alert my father as to my whereabouts. I-I left there, with the intention of never returning. I cannot go back. Not as I am."

The blond lifted his head guiltily, risked a glance at the empress' face. Though her grip on his arms remained, her brow had furrowed slightly with concern.

He took a shaky breath, swallowed hard, before continuing.

"I will not stay here long," he assured. "I will gather what I need for my journey and be on my way. The last thing I want to do is endanger your kingdom if my father comes searching for me. I will leave…."

Sanji's words were met with silence for a long moment, the empress looking torn, and Sanji thought he knew why when a man stepped into his line of sight, his body stout, but massively thick with compact strength. A burst of long fiery orange hair exploded from beneath a pointed straw hat he wore on his head, a red scarf covering much of his face, save for a pair of dark eyes and a small beak of a nose.

Sanji's brows rose for a moment, recognizing, if vaguely, this man. The empress' retainer, wasn't he? Sanji remembered, as a boy, being rather frightened of the odd, hulking man who'd eventually come to retrieve the princess from Germa. He was….Kawamatsu? The empress had used the name just a minute ago….

Name aside though, one thing remained. The blond could admit to the small feelings of dislike he'd harbored as a child, watching this man usher away the only friend he'd ever made...

And Sanji could sense an overbearing protectiveness when the man spoke, moving closer to the empress.

There was hardly an indication of Kawamatsu's expression when he stated, "Kaido controls the surrounding sea."

It was the same warning Zoro had given. Sanji sighed, nearly turning to shoot a glance at Zoro before thinking against it. He didn't know the swordsman's true intentions anymore.

"So I've been told…" the blond muttered, wishing someone would give him a solution instead of reiterating the truth that continued to trap him.

"And you can't pass through the mountains to Goa now either," the man added sternly. "A strange beast roams the forests. Until it has been vanquished-"

"Then let me vanquish it!" Sanji huffed out impulsively, his frustration and desperation beating its way to the forefront, despite the presence of the empress.

"You…?" Kawamatsu replied slowly, skepticism clear. "Forgive me, Prince, but even our samurai have yet to be successful."

"Yes, I've seen proof of that," Sanji said, unsure if he should mention his encounter in the mountains, ultimately deciding against it in case he found his head lopped off from behind.

A soft disgruntled noise left Kawamatsu in response, muffled by the scarf covering his mouth, and Sanji noticed his narrowed eyes had settled behind him, on Zoro, the blond confirmed with a subtle turn of his head.

For the first time since tumbling into the room, the blond took in the swordsman's stance, Zoro's arms crossed tightly over his chest, and his jaw twitching slightly as he clenched it.

Zoro's discomfort was clear, his own gaze fixated resolutely on the walls, which Sanji now saw were adorned with the bold lines of ink paintings on long hanging scrolls, many depicting the contorted forms of horrible-looking beasts. Others showed figures clearly ready to combat them, robes flowing and swords drawn in lyrical arcs of movement, brushstrokes almost animating the action within.

They were rather beautiful, transfixing, though something about them seemed to unsettle the swordsman, as he ultimately lowered his tumultuous expression to the floor.

"Stay with us, friend. Here, in the Scabbards' Compound."

The empress' voice nearly startled Sanji, particularly when her fingers gripped his arms a little tighter, and he reluctantly ceased his deciphering of the swordsman's face.

"Until Zoro has defeated it," the empress continued when Sanji met her eye again. "If you cannot return to Germa, then we will protect you here. And we will not breathe a word of your presence."

Immediately, however, Kawamatsu let out another displeased sound, his head shaking with almost automatic disagreement.

"Empress, please reconsider," he advised, the adamance in his tone far stronger than his words. "You know how the Germa royalty are-"

"He's not like them," the empress replied, her blue eyes kind and honest, as if they saw through to something Sanji could no longer see.

Still, Kawamatsu insisted.

"It's been years, Empress," he huffed. "We cannot continue to put blind trust in those that might bring harm to-"

"That's enough!"

The sudden and sharp exasperation in the empress' tone caused Sanji's heart to jolt in his chest, a seriousness coming over her features when she whipped her head to frown up at her retainer.

An unexpected tension rippled through the air, and it heightened the blond's nerves enough that he knew he had to dispel it somehow.

"If I help defeat the beast, then I can leave sooner," Sanji cut in quickly, his words falling out faster than his common sense could edit. "Consider it my payment for your generosity."

Surprisingly, silence followed his statement for a long moment, along with the judgment of Kawamatsu's stare yet again.

"Payment…" the man murmured quietly, almost mulling the word over by the sound of it, and when Sanji risked a glance, he saw that he had once again let his contemptuous gaze drift to Zoro for reasons unknown.

"So he's staying?!"

A shriek interrupted the strange atmosphere, and Sanji looked up to see the little girl, Toko, previously unnoticed, now looking their way from across the room, where the floor lifted in a raised platform and she knelt in front of a low table, arranging the pink-hued flowers and small branches she'd gathered in a decorative vase.

In fact, there were many flowers, he noticed, the blond finally taking proper stock of his surroundings, a long room with low ceilings, the walls and ceiling a grid of wooden supports framing those beastly paintings. It was an audience hall by the looks of it, with minimalistic opulence, a gold accent here and there, no furniture but that table, surrounded in a semi-circle by ten cushions placed on the floor.

It felt small, with its lack of windows, and it made the blond feel all the more nervous for that reason...

"Yes~" Hiyori answered, her lips turning up and her voice returning to its cheerful tone. Her hands released Sanji's arms gently then, and she rose to her feet, the full splendor of her intricate robe on display right before Sanji's eyes.

She turned to Kawamatsu and said with finality, "I'd like to speak with him. Privately."

Though the man stood defiantly taller than her, it only took a few moments before he let out a heavy sigh and seemed to bow under her authority.

"You have Enma," he muttered quietly, Sanji following the gesture of the man's large hand to notice, almost hidden amongst the folds and waves of the empress' robe, the long ivory sheath of a sword tied to her waist by a sash.

Her delicate fingers brushed the hilt for a brief moment before she assured, "I won't be needing it."

Her lips curved up a little more, her palm extending towards the swordsman behind Sanji.

"Anyway, Zoro is here. All will be fine~"

But Kawamatsu's response was fast and sharp as the blade he'd just indicated.

"No," he growled, jerking his head at the swordsman. "You are dismissed."

Sanji's mouth felt dry, witnessing, for the second time since he'd arrived, the utter disdain for the swordsman that he'd experienced in the marketplace. It was disturbing, and though he was still unsure of the reason, he couldn't help the twinge of sympathy he felt, despite knowing nothing of the circumstances, particularly when the swordsman quickly turned away without so much as another word. His dark eyes merely met Sanji's for a split second more before he swiftly crossed the room, slid open a door, and was gone.

Sanji stared at that closed door for perhaps longer than necessary. For all his irritation at the swordsman for his manhandling, for his blunt, unfiltered tongue... The apparent hatred for him felt….entirely misplaced.

Or perhaps he was seeing too much of his own past manifesting in the situation...

"I'll be outside," Kawamatsu was saying, reluctantly brushing past to follow the swordsman's path and exit the room after him, leaving Sanji alone with the empress and Toko, still fiddling with her flower arrangements quietly.

Even if Toko was preoccupied, he sensed a troubled pang from the empress when he looked up at her, her brow now furrowed at the door, lips drawn into a small, pouting frown.

"I'm sorry…" Sanji mumbled, feeling embarrassment start to creep over him once more. "I'm causing you trouble…"

The empress' hand met his shoulder with a reassuring touch before she offered the same hand to help him to his feet.

"You're not," she said when he took her hand with a closed smile and stood as well. "Please don't mind him…"

Sanji sighed, releasing the empress' hand, rolling his shoulders a bit to relieve some of the soreness wrought there by Zoro's rough treatment. The damn swordsman had been far too eager to carry out his little mission.

"You look exhausted," noted the empress, her tone sympathetic. "I can show you to the guest quarters if you'd like to rest. Are you injured?"

He shook his head, forced a smile. "No. I'm fine. Though I appreciate the concern."

Still, his eyes drifted to the door through which Zoro and Kawamatsu had disappeared, wondering how long it would be before the empress' retainer deemed it time to intervene.

The empress hardly seemed bothered though when she said, "Let's take the scenic route then," with a pretty smile as she boldly looped her arm through his, drawing heat to the blond's cheeks, no matter how innocent the gesture.

"Toko, will you join us?" the empress asked the girl, who, after a few slight movements of flower stalks, finally looked up from the table, still with a bright grin that hardly ever seemed to dim.

"Let's go!" Toko chirped, hopping to her feet. "Y'know, he fell asleep standin' up earlier, out in the gardens. Think he's real tired~"

The empress chuckled.

This certainly didn't help the heat currently assaulting the blond's face, but he stayed quiet, merely let out a sheepish breath and shrugged to hide his embarrassment.

Maybe he could admit to a bit of fatigue... It would certainly be nice to sleep indoors again, that was for sure.

The empress led Sanji over to the edge of the low platform, where he noticed she slipped out of the high wooden sandals she wore and stepped onto the woven straw mats with her bare feet.

Toko giggled, then slipped her hand into the empress' free one and gave a playful tug towards the other end of the room until the empress followed with a chuckle of her own, shooting an expectant look back at Sanji.

The blond stood where he was for a long moment, slightly baffled by the foreign concept of removing his shoes, but eventually, he followed suit, though it took significantly longer to undo the many laces and buckles that fastened up his boots.

An awkward minute later, his dirty, scuffed boots slumped beside the empress' pristine footwear on the tiles, and he stepped onto the platform in his wool hosen that would probably sully the mats anyway, in need of a good wash as they were.

Sanji felt entirely out of place as he made his way to the two, Toko having slid open another door near the corner of the room, this one made of a translucent paper that stretched taut over the frame.

But neither the girl nor the empress seemed to mind his uncertainty, Toko skipping off ahead of them, the empress sliding her arm through his once more.

They emerged into a hallway, smooth wooden floor stretching impossibly long before them. More closed doors lined the left side, but a glance to the right had Sanji's breath catch in awe.

The right stood open to the air, revealing a beautiful courtyard, much like the garden he'd wandered into earlier, lush trees and flowers circling a pond where he saw a glimpse of some of the biggest fish he'd ever seen, orange and gold scales flickering in the sunlight as they swam slowly about.

Looming, impossibly huge beyond the buildings on the opposite side, was the towering shape of the palace tree, curtains of water spouting from the trunk itself where they thundered into a hazy mist near the base.

But despite that fantastical sight, what Sanji found most fascinating were the fine gray pebbles filling in the spaces between plants and walkways in the courtyard, pebbles that were raked carefully in mesmerizing patterns and designs, perfect circles mixed with rigidly straight lines, not a mark out of place.

He must have been staring for far too long, a strange sense of calm coming over him as he took in the swirling grooves of the garden's designs because he heard the knowing smile in the empress' voice when she said, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

He let out a breath and nodded.

"Yes, it is," Sanji murmured in reply, feeling, not for the first time since arriving, that this land had the power to transport him much further than the physical distance he'd traveled.

"Kawamatsu changes the design every morning," the empress explained. "He says it's a form of meditation for him. I would help, but I've admittedly never had the patience for it."

Sanji's lips turned up slightly, a faint memory crawling to the forefront of his mind. Fingers digging trails in the sand. His mother's fond smile…..

His brothers' feet trampling heavily through his proud scrawlings…

Sanji turned away, Toko now much farther down the hallway, humming a carefree tune to herself as she floated along.

"Toko is an orphan," the empress said, the gentle breeze playing with her bangs, the two starting after the girl once more. "Our fathers were close, but hers passed away two years ago and she had nowhere to go. She lives here now. Helps around the palace." She smiled and glanced Sanji's way. "You know, it's said her father died laughing."

One look at Toko ahead of them, the girl waiting at the end of the hallway for a beat before vanishing around the corner with her identifying grin...

Sanji smirked.

"I'd believe it," he murmured, smirk growing when he heard the empress' quiet chuckle beside him.

It was peculiar, Sanji thought, to stroll so amiably with an essential stranger. He was surely a stranger to her himself. After all, he hardly felt like the same person as that small six-year-old who'd seen that mysterious burst of light between the lush rows of grapes in the castle vineyard.

A little boy, not yet ruined by his father and brothers' abuse, who'd tugged on his mother's dress lightly, and found a foreign girl huddled there in the vineyard path, clutching a mysterious scroll, alone and trembling, but shedding no tears.

She never had, the entire time she'd stayed in Germa, and in fact, she'd never even spoken a word, an eventual messenger the only way they'd even come to learn of the terrible events in Wano.

Sanji had stayed with her, talked to her, even if she remained silent, because even though he hadn't understood her sorrow and trauma at the time, in his young mind, he'd known it mattered, and he'd known she needed a friend.

Now, thirteen years later, he did understand her plight. He understood fully, that horrible terror and wrenching uncertainty that came with losing a parent. Even Toko did, apparently.

But here the empress and the girl were, their smiles full of genuine light, and Sanji had no idea, no idea how it was possible…

And he had no idea how to talk about it.

"You have a lovely voice, Empress," he finally murmured, deciding that he could at least compliment her on that, even if he still felt too insecure to openly acknowledge his own weakness in comparison. "I feared, even then, I might never hear it."

They reached the end of the hallway and turned, now heading down a long, low-ceilinged passage connecting to another building, Toko still farther ahead.

"It was my own way of coping," the empress said, and when Sanji spared her a glance, her head was held high, a twinkle of bold determination in her eye, particularly when she looked at him seriously. "But I quickly realized that silence would not change the past, certainly not bring back those who were lost. And it would not lead my country…"

He found himself nodding, even though shame filled his chest at his own inability to live by those words.

"Empress…" he murmured after a moment, and voiced something that had taken him aback when they'd reunited. "Why did you seem surprised I was alive….?"

Her brow furrowed at that, and she slowed her steps a little to fix him with her full attention.

She looked at him for a long moment, her breathing light as she studied his face.

"We were told you died…" she finally said gently, her free hand coming to rest on his arm.

Sanji's heart knocked hard in his chest, a sickening feeling suddenly rising in his throat in lieu of any response he could have had.

The look on his face must have been troubled enough that the empress shifted to take his hand in both of hers, giving a comforting squeeze.

"Shortly after I returned to Wano, all those years ago," she explained quietly. "We received word that you had died of a mysterious illness. So soon after...my family and the Scabbards, I…." She trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment before continuing. "It was a shock. Even as young as you were, you were so kind to me. I never forgot it."

The blond stayed quiet, finding it difficult to quell the dread he felt. Perhaps worst of all, he didn't feel angry, merely defeated...accepting...

"A few days ago," the empress added. "A messenger arrived with wanted posters for a missing person from Germa. No mention of a name. The illustration was rather crude, but I knew it was you."

A faint attempt at a smile, but her brows soon furrowed again, her gaze now fixed on him intently, almost searching his face for answers.

"What I can't understand was why we were told you were dead," she said. "You're their prince. Was it false information? Was it sent prematurely? Did you survive your illness or-?"

"I was never ill," Sanji cut in, his voice void of any emotion. "I've just been dead to my father since that time. He told my kingdom I was dead….kept me locked away. I guess I'm not surprised he wanted the world to think so as well."

A flash of empathy flickered through the empress' eyes, fingers giving his another squeeze.

"Why…?" she murmured.

"I bear no Seal, unlike the rest of my siblings," he said with a dejected shrug. "After Kaido attacked your kingdom, my father began to see them as weapons. In case Kaido targeted Germa. And….considering the Seal Kaido obtained from your brother, we would need the extra power to combat him." Sanji sighed. "He had no use for my weak form."

The empress was silent, Toko's faint humming ahead of them and the soft padding of their footsteps the only sounds to break it. Sanji knew he'd troubled her with his explanation, and while he most certainly did not want to do that, he was merely stating facts, things he'd learned to live with. He didn't need pity.

"Perhaps he was trying to protect you…" she eventually said, her voice quiet, but a little hopeful.

Still, he had to shake his head.

"No," he murmured. "If he'd really wanted to protect me, he would have trained me like my siblings. But he made my worth to the family very clear... My mother was the only one that kept me safe until now."

Another silence, this one heavier than the last as that familiar dark fog of sorrow crept over his heart, grew to cloud the very air around them.

"Is the news about your mother true…?" the empress asked quietly.

He nodded, looking straight ahead through that blurry fog. "Yes."

He felt her weight grow heavier against his shoulder, the smooth pad of her thumb brushing over the back of his hand, an attempt at comfort. "I'm so sorry."

Sanji swallowed back the stinging lump in his throat. "Me too…"

It seemed the conversation was ruined, as thoughts tumbled back into darkness. Not even the sunlight, shining warm and bright through the windows on either side of them, was enough to light up his spirits.

It was a slump he admittedly hadn't felt all day, not since he'd been lost in the woods, alone and hungry. Shit, he was still pretty hungry too…

But why was that? What had cleared the fog, if only for a short while? Nothing had changed. He'd merely been burdened with the presence of that irritating swordsman for most of the morning. Nothing else remarkable.

That strange swordsman with his strange attitude, strange hair, strange Seal on his chest, strange smirk that had seemed to be hiding something…

Sanji wanted to see him again, he realized. He still had to kick his useless ass, even if just verbally, for dragging him to the palace like some kind of animal. For some reason, the swordsman's very presence lit a fire in him he'd never been brave enough to unleash.

"Seals do not dictate a person's worth."

The empress' voice cut into his thoughts, Sanji almost forgetting where he was for a moment as his mind wandered.

He turned to look at her, blinking owlishly.

"That's what I believe," she continued, meeting his eye with a small upturn of lips. "Only my mother and brother possessed one, and yet my father was emperor. And he was loved by the people. Just as much as my mother and brother."

The blond resisted the urge to scoff in the presence of such a respected woman, but he couldn't exactly help it. Not when he remembered clearly how the people in the streets had looked so sneeringly at Zoro. How her very advisor had dismissed him so readily. Surely the commonfolk didn't share the sentiments of the past. In fact, it appeared to be the exact opposite now.

"Of course, Wano has changed," the empress continued, her brow furrowing as she confirmed Sanji's thoughts. "Since my family was killed. Since my brother's Seal was taken. Most see Seals as threats now, a target on our kingdom to lure other greedy enemies. Those who bear Seals keep them hidden."

"Not your swordsman," Sanji replied, Zoro's smug face filling his mind. "I saw his clear as day."

Again, her lips pulled up, though the warmth didn't quite reach her eyes, her gaze seeming to travel far from the passageway they walked through now.

She seemed to mull over her words for a minute before eventually replying, "Zoro is….different."

"So I judged," he muttered.

Surprisingly, she chuckled, and when he glanced over at her, her smile was fond.

"Perhaps you two have that in common," she said, an impish glint in her eye. "If you'd like, I can order him to train you~"

"I think I'd prefer to train on my own," he answered quickly, knowing that would surely be disastrous, even barely knowing the man.

She sighed as they rounded a corner in the hall, a long row of doors appearing to their right.

"Well, as much as I appreciate your offer of help, I'd like to avoid seeing you truly killed," the empress admitted, fingers squeezing his. "I haven't seen the monster myself, but some of the farmers have detailed quite terrifying accounts. Our mountains are full of large beasts, but never have they shown such...murderous intent."

Murderous intent, she said, and yet the damn swordsman had traipsed around the wilderness like it was nothing.

"You sent Zoro to defeat it," he mumbled, trying not to sound sulky, but he did have some pride left to uphold.

Pride that was effectively crushed when she replied, "Zoro is strong. Stronger than anyone here," though her tone was somewhat wistful, particularly when she continued. "His history with our family goes back...to the day of Kaido's massacre."

"How so…?" he asked slowly, studying her face and wondering what history lay behind her words. His gaze drifted to her turquoise hair. "Are you related?"

This earned him a bright laugh from the empress, her eyes alight with mirth.

"No," she assured. "But he has pledged his life to me. I think….it's a story he might not want me to tell you."

Sanji couldn't help the small frown of confusion that came to his lips. Yet more mysteries unfolded, but he decided to let it go for the moment as the empress stopped before a door. Toko was nearby, he noticed, dutifully sliding open a few more wooden panels along the wall to let in more fresh air and sunlight.

"Get some rest, Sanji," said the empress, gesturing towards the door before them, and he realized they'd seemingly arrived at their destination. "I'll have you sent something to eat. Along with someone to show you to the bathhouse."

His stomach dropped a little with embarrassment, the blond briefly glancing down at his own form, which could certainly be described as haggard at best, and he knew he hardly smelled anywhere near as enticing as the empress' perfume.

A hand covered her mouth as she chuckled.

"Will you join me tomorrow morning for breakfast?" she asked, and though Sanji felt his face heating yet again, he hastily nodded.

"Of course, Empress."

"Hiyori~" she corrected, with a wink and a gentle squeeze of his shoulder. "Now go. Unless you'd like company in the bath~"

To add to his torture, his heart stuttered, eyes going wide and his mouth gaping for a response, none escaping him beyond an unbecoming stammer.

The empress merely giggled, then stepped away.

"Until later, Sanji," she said, a hand coming to rest gently on Toko's head when the girl joined the empress at her side, giving Sanji a cheeky wave of her own. The empress' voice softened. "I'm so glad to see you again."

Then the two turned away, leaving Sanji staring after them for a bit too long, his pulse still hammering a bit too hard.

But when they turned the corner, leaving him alone in the long hall, he managed a deep breath, which he let out slowly, a faint smile reaching his lips.

"Likewise… Hiyori," he murmured.

---

When Sanji slid open the door to his room, his breath caught because, although the room was minimally decorated, again with soft woven floors and wooden accents, he was treated to an uninterrupted view of that magnificent garden they'd passed on the way. The walls of the room had been slid open entirely, letting in the warm breeze and the soothing floral scent of the air.

Sanji closed the entrance behind him, noted a pair of sandals, similar to the empress', positioned near the door, and climbed the raised step into the room.

A low table sat in the center of the room, upon which a steaming pot of tea already waited for him, inviting enough that he took a few minutes to indulge, cradling a small ceramic cup in his palms as he knelt there, taking in the moment of tranquility and trying to clear his brain of all he'd experienced in the past hour alone. It was enough to make anyone's head spin.

Eventually, he padded from the first room into a second one, an adjacent bedroom by the looks of it, its doors closed to the garden, with a thin sleeping mat laid out on the floor, topped with ornately-patterned layers of blankets. Folded atop the blankets were what looked like a robe and a sash.

He couldn't help the near shudder that escaped him, so enticing was the sight, and it was almost a rush to throw off his bow, his arrow quiver, all his clothes, slip into the clean cotton of that striped robe, and stretch out blissfully on the mat with a euphoric sigh.

He lay there, breathing in the soothing scent of pine, reminding him of the deep forest in which he'd spent the last few days, but this was relaxing, faintly mixed with smoke or incense that he couldn't quite identify.

It didn't matter, Sanji thought, as his eyes closed of their own accord. There were certainly plenty of things about Wano that he didn't yet understand. But these were things he could discover later, because for all his haste to be in and out quickly, he could admit that he'd perhaps earned a bit of rest, as the empress - Hiyori - had so urged.

He wasn't sure how long he lay there, time seeming to pass in a strange haze measured only by his slow breaths and the passing of shade over his closed eyelids as the day wore on, the sun reaching its height and beginning its descent.

...

Or at least, he'd assumed it was the sun, for when he opened his eyes again, he found the room entirely dark, save for a small wood-framed lantern he noticed in the corner, the flickering dance of a flame visible through its translucent paper.

He slowly sat up, unsure of his surroundings for a moment before he remembered the garden, the empress' sweet smile….Zoro's titanic grip on his arm….his knees slamming hard into tile.

A sudden tapping sound in the darkness, and his head whipped towards the source, though he couldn't locate it, the room empty as before. He could have imagined it...

But then, that tapping persisted, a leisurely wave of successive clicks that Sanji quickly realized was not coming from the room itself but from outside, beyond its thin walls.

Those clicks grew louder, closer in their lazy approach, and the very air turned dark around him, even the lantern's light seeming hesitant to shine. He now feared what lay in the sheer black beyond the room's threshold.

Sweat began to bead on his forehead, his heartbeat quickening, the rush of blood in his ears filling the silence surrounding him.

The room grew frigid, his body rooted to the spot, and suddenly, it hit him. That all too familiar terror, the same as he'd felt in the forest, as if a heavy shroud had been dropped on the world, the approach of those clicks entirely sinister.

Closer…. Closer…. Toying with his senses until they came to a sudden halt, the lantern's flame giving a shudder, lanky shadows contorting along the walls.

And then, the low scrape of unmistakable scratching, long and loud, right on the other side of the wall, enough to send a tremor through his body, the sound raking through his chest like a blade.

One scratch…. Digging into the wooden floor… Another… A third… A fourth….

Then, silence. Silence, save for the slow expelling of air from lungs that weren't his own, his own breath frozen.

The light from the lantern flickered out in one fell swoop, plunging the room into sheer darkness.

Until, with a massive rattle, the paper stretching the walls tore, claws puncturing it, ripping parallel trails clean through.

The moon shone through the holes, bright and full, into the room, a beam of light illuminating him where he quaked in horror.

Then the moon disappeared, replaced by a black void, and a single crimson eye locking onto him.

An otherworldly growl shook the air.

Even his own scream died in his throat.

And then he gasped, a great gulp of air that caused his whole body to lurch, eyes shooting open to find the ceiling above him, softly lit by the sinking orange of sunset.

Sanji scrambled up to find himself in the same room, his face covered in a cold sweat, but the room was light, not yet engulfed in that horrible darkness.

The wall stood intact, the paper undamaged.

And Sanji nearly jumped out of his skin to find a young woman knelt on the floor by the open door to his bedroom, peering timidly into the room.

"A-Ah!" she huffed in surprise, averting her gaze. "Forgive me for disturbing you. I've merely delivered your dinner. Also taken your clothes for washing. Please excuse me."

She placed her hands on the floor, bowing low, before getting to her feet and shuffling from the room, the eventual slide of another door signalling her exit.

Left alone in silence once more, Sanji's heart hadn't stopped its pounding, his entire body on edge, as if any second he'd hear that telltale click of claws on wood again, hear the fierce tearing, and see that red eye burning into him…

Could he even eat now? He wasn't sure, even as his stomach gave a protesting rumble to contradict his thoughts.

Still, he didn't want to sit there alone in such an enclosed space, so he quickly got to his feet and hurried into the other room, where the doors to the garden still stood open, letting in the comforting view of the setting sun and the light breeze that was nowhere near stifling.

On the table in the center of the room sat a pot of some kind of stew, the homey smell of boiling vegetables and broth taking him right back to the kitchens of the castle in Germa, where he'd spent so much of his time growing up. And the sight of a steaming grilled fish and rice, waiting for him on another platter, instantly told him to forget his damn anxiety and sit down to enjoy his first proper meal in days.

So he did just that, even if fingers clumsily handled the two short tapered sticks meant as utensils, his eyes constantly darting around the room as he ate, the vivid memory of that monstrous stare boring into him...

---

Sanji didn't wait for an escort to lead him to the bathhouse after his meal, which was perhaps foolish considering the darkening halls and the many wrong turns he made as a result, but dammit, he wanted to prove to himself and to any shitty demons that haunted him that he wasn't scared. He couldn't be scared anymore, especially if he was to face this beast again for real, had volunteered for it, for fuck's sake.

As it was, Zoro was probably already wandering the mountains in search of it at this point in the evening...

And yet, after some time, Sanji managed to find himself, somewhat miraculously, in what had to be the bathhouse, a large tiled room, lit by lanterns, the walls lined with the gaping maws of stone dragons who spewed, not fire, but water from their mouths.

The room was empty, so he tentatively entered, eventually stripping down and seating himself on a small wooden stool where he proceeded to fill a nearby bucket with water and dump the entire contents over his head.

It was freezing, but he hardly cared. It felt far more refreshing than it should have.

Another bucket by the wall contained bars of waxy soap, and he set to washing himself, every nook and cranny, almost frantically, as if it could cleanse him of not only the physical dirt, but every negative thing he'd been feeling.

He could have been there for an hour, for all he knew, the sun sinking ever lower outside the open door, a cool night breeze blowing the hanging cloths that shielded the entrance.

Except no...that wasn't the entrance. It was another doorway he hadn't noticed at first, on the opposite end of the room, this one with a stone path visible through the open lower half, the warm light of yet more flickering lanterns illuminating it.

Curious, Sanji filled up one last bucket-full of water, rinsed himself of all suds, then got to his feet.

He grabbed up his robe, tied it around his waist, and slowly moved to peer through the doorway.

Sanji inhaled sharply in surprise. The door led outside, to another enclosed garden, this one peppered with several large pools of steaming water amongst the trees, a lantern-lined walkway leading to each.

Again, the space was empty, so, with a glance behind him, he stepped outside and made his way along a path, to the nearest pool.

Another quick survey of the area to assure he was alone, then he slipped out of his robe and, nude, slid slowly into the warm water, first a toe to test, then his whole body once he became used to the heat.

A deep relaxed sigh and he leaned back against the rocks, tilting his head to the sky and closing his eyes, nothing but the sound of trickling water and the rustle of the wind in the trees to accompany him.

"Mind if I join you, Prince?"

Sanji's eyes shot open with a start, and he hastily turned to see the broad form of Kawamatsu, clad only in a green robe circling his thick waist, his orange hair like flames underlit by the lanterns.

The blond stammered for a second, but eventually regained himself enough to shake his head and slide to the side, allowing the man more room to climb in.

He averted his eyes automatically as Kawamatsu's robe met the stones beside the water, followed by the long sword he still carried, and then his own nude body slipped in with a satisfied sigh.

Sanji sunk lower into the water self-consciously, arms crossing over his torso. Not that his nudity was exposed, hidden by the dark water, but he still found himself a little embarrassed, particularly when the air fell into a silence he deemed awkward, though the other man seemed not to mind.

The silence persisted for a while, long enough that Sanji wondered if the man would say nothing at all. But, after some minutes, Kawamatsu's perceptive gaze met his, now unobscured by the hat and scarf he'd worn earlier.

"I'm afraid I can't apologize for my wariness earlier, Prince. When it came to letting you stay," said the samurai. "But I do owe you thanks."

"Thanks for what?" the blond asked, raising a brow.

After all, he remembered the man's so-called 'wariness' a little differently. Not so much cautious, but more so contemptuous. Perhaps Sanji's own reaction had been a little brash, volunteering to kill the monster as he had. But if proving himself was what he needed to do...

"For the kindness you bestowed on the empress when she was a girl," Kawamatsu continued, admittedly not the answer Sanji was anticipating. "I worried immensely after I sent her away, but it seems your care resonated with her, to this day."

"It was nothing," Sanji replied, somewhat taken aback. "I…. I needed a friend."

Kawamatsu nodded, and Sanji noticed the man's gaze shift distinctly to his bare chest, something that automatically had Sanji lifting a hand to brush over it uneasily, even if his lack of a Seal seemed to be preferred in Wano.

"You and the Empress are alike," the man eventually said. "I sense you will be a great leader. Without the need for excess power."

It was odd for Sanji to hear. It was certainly a sentiment he'd never before heard in his life, not even from his mother, but where it should have been encouraging, there was something about the intensity behind Kawamatsu's words that sent a twinge of discomfort through the blond. He struggled to conceal it.

"Thank you, but I shall never see my family's throne," he murmured in reply. "Even if I was first in line, my father would never allow it."

Kawamatsu shifted in the water, a frown coming to his thin lips, dark eyes lifting to Sanji's face.

"With all due respect, your father has his values backwards."

Sanji let out a dry laugh, one that held little humor and much bitterness.

"I can certainly agree with that," he muttered. "I've experienced his shortcomings firsthand, to put it lightly-"

"You misunderstand, Prince."

The samurai cut him off, his tone sharper than expected, causing Sanji to snap his mouth shut, his body instinctively slinking further away in the water, his increasing discomfort most likely obvious by that point.

"There are hard truths that must be faced when ruling a country," Kawamatsu explained coldly. "Your father has not recognized the true threat to this world."

"Seals, you mean," Sanji replied.

Kawamatsu nodded.

Sanji's whole life had been dictated by this same threat, one that had pressed him down both physically and mentally since birth, given him the still-healing bruises to prove it.

And yet, his mind drifted instantly to the green-haired swordsman again, whose gruff attitude had somehow managed to be endearing, intriguing at the very least. And whose irritated scowl had seemed to be concealing something other than just anger….

Sanji could have sworn he'd witnessed a flash of his own pain in Zoro's eyes. But perhaps that was merely wishful thinking, his own attempts to justify his inexplicable curiosity about someone who he had every reason to hate...

"Perhaps things could have been different in Wano," Kawamatsu mused quietly, interrupting Sanji's thoughts after a long moment. "Had Kaido not attacked. But there is no use dwelling on what could have been. Even if my shame still plagues me. As I often tell the Empress, we must live with the fate presented to us, and do what we can to ensure the past does not repeat itself."

His words rang true, but still, Sanji found himself contradicting them. For all this man deemed it useless to dwell on the past, he still seemed to let it dictate his life. Just as Sanji's father did. It was starting to unsettle him.

"Kaido has long since moved on," the blond replied carefully. "He already got what he came for. Surely there is no need for fear any longer-"

"Nonetheless, he has left his mark on this land," Kawamatsu said. "And the Empress has unfortunately forbidden me from destroying that final link to his power."

"Final link?" Sanji repeated with a deepening frown. As far as he knew, Kaido was gone from Wano, which had served no further use to him after obtaining the prince's Seal.

What could possibly be left…?

Just then, a shadow shifted in the doorway of the bathhouse, and Sanji made out the shape of a figure slipping through the hanging cloths out into the open, his damp torso glistening in the low light of the lanterns, Seal dark as a ragged hole on his chest.

A trio of sheathed swords he held in his grasp, and his blindingly white robe stood out around his waist, as did the whites of his eyes when they locked onto Sanji's. Mild surprise crossed Zoro's face upon seeing him, the swordsman pausing there in the doorway.

Kawamatsu noticed the drifting of Sanji's stare, the man turning to glance over his shoulder as well, his own gaze running frigid when he too laid eyes on the swordsman.

"That is also not to say there aren't others who lust for such power," the man continued slowly, his eyes not leaving Zoro, who'd looked away from both of them and begun to slink off to the other side of the garden instead, towards the far end of a separate pool.

Sanji looked away with some difficulty when the swordsman eventually began fumbling with his robe to remove it.

"I suppose I have no business dictating how to run your country," Sanji said instead, Kawamatsu sliding his attention back to Sanji as well. "I merely sympathize with those scorned, that is all."

Because things may have been opposite to Germa here, but he knew how it felt to be reviled for something he couldn't control.

He heard a faltering splash come from Zoro's direction, as if he'd stumbled getting into the water, but he didn't look over.

"A price to pay for Wano's safety," Kawamatsu said with cool judgment that he now seemed to pass on the blond as well. But Sanji stared back defiantly, with courage he perhaps couldn't have mustered in front of his own family.

The air grew silent for a long minute, the blond unsure if the samurai would speak again.

He didn't, just let out a sigh eventually, and plopped hands on his knees to get to his feet, displacing a wave with his large form that splashed up Sanji's chest.

"Well, I will leave you to it," he said, his expression unclear as Sanji quickly dropped his gaze to the rippling water between them. "Enjoy your evening, Prince."

The blond nodded and mumbled his thanks as the man climbed out of the pool and gathered his belongings, eventually lumbering back off where he disappeared into the bathhouse once more.

That left Sanji keenly aware of the moss-headed swordsman's presence, the two of them now alone in the night air.

Somehow, Sanji was unsurprised to find Zoro's eyes already trained on him when he glanced over subtly.

It wasn't a glare though. In fact, there was almost confusion behind the swordsman's gaze, visible even in the dim light. Confusion that seemed far more vulnerable than the blond had assumed possible.

Neither said a word, Sanji eventually settling back against the rock and sinking low into the water, closing his eyes to the increasing sounds of crickets raising their shrill voices in the evening.

He stayed there until he heard the sloshing of Zoro exiting his pool, the faint slap of his bare feet crossing the stones once more.

Soon, Zoro had left too.

Though Sanji had definitely heard him hesitate near the bathhouse for a long moment...

---

Sleep evaded Sanji that night, enough so that, the next morning, when an escort came to fetch him, another young woman in a patterned robe, Sanji was already awake, sitting on the step that led to the garden outside of his room, watching the sunrise peeking out through the branches of the massive tree that loomed above. He was thankful it wasn't hidden because he was eager to see it, when his thoughts had continually whirled in a dark cyclone all night after both his nightmare of the creature and his encounter with Kawamatsu.

But despite every strange thing he'd experienced, one thought persisted in his mind.

The desire to confront that damn swordsman, whose eyes had stayed in Sanji's mind far more stubbornly than even the piercing crimson of the monster's. He wasn't sure why, but Sanji was beginning to wonder if it was Zoro who held the answers to the mysteries that seemed to cloud this land.

There was much that still frightened Sanji, pathetically so, but somehow, despite every reason he should have had, he couldn't believe Zoro was one of those frightening things. He couldn't be, not when Hiyori seemed to trust him so. Not when he remembered his teasing smile, which had surely been real, not to mention that odd look of his in the bath garden the previous evening.

If Zoro was a threat, he wanted to find out for himself, once and for all. He didn't want to take anyone else's word for it. He wanted to confront that which he should fear, from here on out, and maybe this was the first step.

And if he ended up a fool, well….it wasn't as if he had much left to lose in this world.

So with those thoughts in mind, he took up his bow and arrow quiver and followed the quiet escort, barefoot, through the open halls of the compound towards what he assumed would be the palace to meet the Empress.

The escort's long robes swished smoothly over the wooden floor ahead of him, and the morning breeze tickled Sanji's hair.

He took the moment to suck in a deep breath, preparing himself for whatever conversations, potentially unwanted, inevitably awaited him….

….only for a hand to clamp down over his mouth, stifling his yelp of surprise, dragging him off through one of the open doors beside the hallway, his bare feet landing on a soft bed of moss.

The hand continued to pull him down behind some low bushes until the escort rounded the corner of the hallway and disappeared without so much as a backwards glance, oblivious to the sudden assault.

Quickly, he whirled around, fully expecting to find that feral grin of the swordsman's, already growling, "What the hell do you think you're-?"

But instead, there was the pleasant smile of none other than the empress, looking far less groomed than the day before, bare-faced, her long hair gathered messily atop her head in a loose bun, her cotton robes far less decorated.

He'd worn his new striped robe as well, tied his hair up as best he could in a small bun himself, though half of it still fell persistently around his face.

It had been an attempt to blend in better with the locals, but here crouched the country's monarch, and a lady no less, right there in the bushes with him. His own attempts at grooming seemed not to matter.

"Good morning, Sanji~" Hiyori chirped, laughing when his jaw dropped in shock.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked casually when he didn't reply right away, to which he could do nothing but stammer.

"I-I - Yes." Even though he'd barely managed to doze. "Thank you, Empress…" He shook his head, squeezing eyes shut before correcting himself. "Hiyori. Please forgive my-"

"Good," she interrupted with a bright smile and reached out to squeeze his hand, tugging him up to his feet. "Now let's go, before the morning market gets too busy~"

"Go where?" he stuttered as she pulled him nimbly onto the stone path, her own bare feet carrying her gracefully along.

"Breakfast," she replied with a playful glance back over her shoulder. "Aren't you hungry? I'd much prefer to eat outside the palace. Unless you'd rather stay here?"

Her face fell a little with that question, the burgeoning disappointment clear on her features, as well as the beginnings of what may have been a manipulative emotional ploy when her eyes seemed to shimmer under the climbing sun.

A ploy that he fell right into when he quickly answered, "Whatever you want!"

Her face instantly lit up again, her steps regaining their bounce by the time they reached the other end of the garden, Hiyori guiding him confidently back up the step onto a perpendicular walkway that looked nearly identical to the last.

With nothing else to do, he followed her as she slid open an inconspicuous door panel, this one depositing them on the outer perimeter of the building, under the shade of a line of tall trees that stood just inside the high stone wall that circled the entire compound.

Hiyori released Sanji's hand and hopped right down onto the ground outside, stooping to pull out a pair of sandals from a gap under the building, a second pair following that, which she scooted towards Sanji. Clearly, she'd had this planned.

"Uh...Empress," Sanji stammered, still somewhat baffled, but sliding feet onto the provided sandals nonetheless. "What about-?"

"Kawamatsu?" she asked, slipping on her own shoes and closing the panel behind him. "He's no doubt waiting for us right now. But Toko is rather good at distracting him."

"Does he hold much sway over what you do?" Sanji replied, admittedly finding her energy a bit contagious, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips as he teetered on the elevated sandals.

"He tries," she hummed, reaching out to steady him before she leaned in conspiratorially. "But I don't always let him." Then she took his hand and gave another eager tug. "Now, come!"

And she dragged him off, a burgeoning sense of exhilaration in his chest as he stumbled after her.

---

The capital was just as lively as it had been the previous day, still with vibrant sights and sounds at every turn, but with Hiyori, it managed, somehow, to seem brighter. The Empress was hardly dressed in her full regalia, yet this almost seemed to enhance her presence, Sanji thought.

Her arm looped casually through his, Hiyori eagerly led him through the town, her town by the looks of it, the expressions of passersby lighting up upon seeing her, her feet carrying her swiftly and easily through streets she seemed to know well.

Stall owners waved, offered 'the usual.' Respectful, but friendly greetings sang out on every block. Children approached to gift her flowers. The very sun seemed to step out from behind the clouds to shine on their path.

And it was while the two of them munched on delicious meat skewers given to them for free, listening to Hiyori happily pointing out the capital's best noodle stands and most talented seamstresses, that Sanji came to realize this was what Germa was missing.

This was a true ruler, one that wove themselves among the people, was an ordinary person, with the same mundane interests and joys as the rest. It was how he'd always imagined his mother to be, though her poor health had kept her from public appearance, particularly during the last few years of her life. It was how, in his most hopeful moments, he'd fantasized himself to be, should he ever ascend the throne.

And yet, Hiyori was no fantasy. Wano was no fantasy.

It was almost surreal, certainly the complete opposite to his introduction the previous day, when crowds had scowled in disdain and parted for an entirely different reason, a reason that couldn't stay off his mind for long because-

"Zoro!"

Hiyori's face lit up, and suddenly, the empress was tugging him along faster, Sanji's head whipping through the crowds for a glimpse of green hair, confused when he saw no stray patches of moss.

Until Sanji noticed the empress' gaze was directed upwards and he finally locked eyes on a particular swordsman, lazily reclined on a rooftop of all places, head propped on a hand and his eyes closed as if he'd fallen asleep there.

The slow movement of his jaw chewing on the long blade of grass that stuck out from between lips betrayed his consciousness, however, the swordsman opening an eye a second later to lock perceptively onto the two when they stopped below him.

Of course, they were also met by a rather disgruntled old woman, incessantly swatting at the scalloped roof tiles with a broom. Her hunched petite form struggled to reach though, and her shoulders visibly slumped with relief seeing the empress.

"Ah, Your Majesty!" the woman exclaimed wearily, her sagging cheeks red with both rouge and fluster. "Please do something! He's been there all morning, and he's scaring away customers!"

An insistent gesture to her nearby stand of apples, which stood devoid of business despite its enticing display.

"Shoo! Shoo, I say!" And the woman started her efforts anew, frantically waving her broom, even as Zoro closed his eyes again and ignored her.

Sanji had to cringe at the ridiculous scene, though Hiyori seemed unperturbed, the empress merely stepping forward with a subtle smile to press a hand gently onto the woman's shoulder.

She said nothing, but the message was there. She would handle this, and her quiet insistence was enough to make the old woman sigh and trundle back to her stand, grumbling under her breath.

Only after she'd left them alone did the swordsman finally acknowledge their presence. Although, with his eyes still closed, he looked to be sleep-talking more than anything.

"Don't you remember what happened last time you snuck out..." he muttered, to which the empress merely chuckled.

"Don't you remember we have a guest?" she replied, gesturing to Sanji with a smile that was cheeky enough to prove she could hold her own against the rude oaf, to Sanji's subtle surprise.

"I'm aware," the swordsman mumbled in reply, his brow furrowing irritably for reasons unknown.

Sanji was certain an eye roll would have accompanied that statement. One certainly escaped the blond, but he managed to stay silent for the empress' sake.

"I haven't heard talk of monster sightings last night," Hiyori continued, something that had Sanji's eyes sliding to her with an uncomfortable knock of his chest. "Does this mean you've succeeded?"

Somehow, Zoro's brows drew in even further, his eyes finally opening to stare hard at the shiny roof tiles.

"I couldn't track it," he muttered, barely audible.

How the hell had he not? Sanji had to wonder, particularly when a closer examination of Zoro's face revealed tired dark circles beneath his eyes. Had he been searching for it all night?

"Perhaps it's moved on finally," the empress offered hopefully.

"Doubt it…." Zoro replied, almost sulking now as he picked absently at his robe.

But then his eyes lifted sharply to lock onto Sanji's, something oddly knowing passing between them in a way that sent a chill down the blond's spine, as if Zoro could read his mind, see straight through to the unsettling nightmare he'd experienced.

The intensity of the moment had Sanji's breath hitch, and he broke eye contact first, struggling to will away the strange heat that spread over his face.

"Optimism, Zoro~" Hiyori reminded sweetly, and though Sanji didn't look at him, the annoyed exhale and the long silence that followed was enough to spell out the swordsman's irritation.

A few seconds later, he mumbled a dismissive, "Did you need me for anything?"

Hiyori merely shrugged gracefully though, her free hand coming to rest on Sanji's arm.

"No, I suppose not right now," she said. Her lips lifted with a teasing smirk. "But I'm still waiting for that kata training you promised."

"You made me promise," Zoro complained as he sat up, pulling his swords into his lap to examine them. "Your focus was all over the damn place last time."

She laughed. "It's not my fault the world is full of so many distractions!"

The swordsman huffed. "Butterflies aren't distracting-!"

But Zoro suddenly cut himself off, his unraveled expression quickly turning stoic, and for a moment, Sanji wasn't sure why, until...

"I love butterflies!"

The startling entrance of a new, much younger voice, directing Sanji's attention to Hiyori's waist, where now stood Toko, grinning excitedly up at the group.

And behind her stood the broad, imposing figure of the empress' retainer, his face once again largely hidden by his wide hat and scarf, but it was clear from his stance that he was far from pleased.

Movement on the rooftop, and it was Zoro getting up, gathering his swords and walking off without another word, his movements easy and lithe, even on the sloping tiles.

Kawamatsu's voice quickly fell into scolding the sheepish empress, but Sanji's eyes stayed on the swordsman, who nimbly jumped the distance to the neighboring roof as casually as he'd avoid a rut in the road.

...

"Your Majesty, the meeting."

"The meeting?"

"Regarding the irrigation canals."

"Yes?"

...

The conversation faded into the background, and Sanji took an unconscious step away from the group the moment the empress' arm slipped from his.

...

"You're late, Empress."

"Am I?"

"You are."

"Oops, I am! Well, I suppose duty calls."

…

The blond was already several paces away, fixated on Zoro's retreating form so as not to lose him.

A sheepish chuckle behind him, and Hiyori's voice grew louder.

"Sanji? Will you-?"

He jolted a little, glancing over his shoulder to find the remaining three staring at him, Hiyori tilting her head with a bit of curiosity at his dazed expression.

"A-Ah, I think I'd like to explore a bit more," he said, a little self-conscious as he turned back to face them, though eyes wanted desperately to follow the swordsman. A hasty bow of his head. "If that's alright with you, Empress."

To that, Hiyori smiled brightly.

"Of course! Come find me later?"

He nodded as Kawamatsu took the empress' arm and pulled her away gently but insistently.

"I recommend Ebisu Town!" Hiyori called over her shoulder as they left, stumbling a bit when Kawamatsu gave another grumpy tug. "Everyone is quite cheerful there!"

"Bye!" Toko called too, the two of them waving before the throngs of pedestrians swallowed them up as if they'd never been there at all.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sanji let his own waving hand drop, and he immediately turned on his heel, taking off after Zoro.

But he was dismayed to find the swordsman gone from his sight as well, his prowling form no longer visible on the rooftops ahead.

Shit. Where the hell had he gone?

He'd been damn stealthy the previous day, leaving Sanji thankful there were no trees overhead as he pushed his way down the street. Still, he kept his gaze fixed above, because, for all he knew, the swordsman was waiting to ambush him from the fucking sky itself.

Nothing. Nothing. Just a blur of robes and confused looks as he jogged with growing frustration.

Until, by a twist of fate, he spotted a glimpse of a familiar green robe on the ground ahead, swishing through the gaps in pedestrians. Pedestrians that sidestepped away with various curses and frowns.

Sanji felt his heart speed up along with his feet.

"Hey!" Sanji called, brushing past a few women who looked rather baffled when they noticed just who he was running toward.

Somewhat predictably, the idiot swordsman ignored him, even as he grew closer.

"Hey!" he called again. "Zoro!"

A flash of purple hair near his waist, the blond nearly plowing over a young girl who just barely scampered out of the way in time.

Damn his sandals. He could hardly keep his balance, unused to them as he was.

"I'm sorry!" he stammered, placing a hand gently on her head and pausing just long enough to assure she was fine before he hurried off again, the girl staring after him.

A few more hurried strides, and finally, his hand clamped down on the swordsman's shoulder, pulling back hard enough to spin Zoro to face him.

Zoro let out a loud irritated grunt, as if he were some kind of unseemly ape before he squawked, "What do you want?" in Sanji's face, tightly-drawn brows certainly not clearing the simian image from the blond's mind.

Sanji must have caught him off-guard, however, because, for a moment, scrutiny marred his features, the swordsman's eyes flicking over Sanji's form briefly. Maybe it was the new robes… But he ultimately shook his head and narrowed his gaze again.

"Shouldn't you go off with Hiyori? And go deal with royal shit?" Zoro muttered, his tone almost sulky. He turned to shoulder past the blond once more, mumbling, "Since you're such good friends and all…"

"You're the one who dragged me to her!" Sanji shot back, striding right up in front of him so he could block Zoro's path. "I could have been in and out of Wano easily if it hadn't been for you!"

Not that he wasn't happy for his reunion with the empress, but the fact still remained that it complicated things.

Zoro scoffed, shifting to the side to avoid him. "You didn't tell me the truth, Your Highness."

"I was hardly obligated to!" Sanji grumbled, grabbing Zoro's arm again and forcing him to stop. "You knew who I was anyway! Why did you turn me in?"

"There's a reward on your head - why do you think?" the swordsman growled, irritation growing, loud enough to draw the attention of several stall keepers nearby, their eyes snapping to them once more.

Sanji bristled self-consciously, stepping up to hiss right back at close proximity.

"I left my kingdom - didn't you hear me?" he insisted, then, for the sake of any concerned onlookers, he called over his shoulder, "I wasn't abducted!"

A hiss, and he whipped back to face Zoro. "Are you that greedy?"

"No!" the swordsman retorted, frown trying hard to reach his chin, his eyes darting to Sanji's hand still holding tight to his arm. "I don't care about the money! Hiyori said to bring you to her if anyone found you. I didn't know it was 'cause she knew you. I was following orders."

He huffed childishly, and looked away, finally ripping his arm from Sanji's grip, crossing arms over his chest to mutter, "You must have people who follow yours…"

Untrue. Zoro didn't know anything about Sanji's life, and that only made his arguments all the more invalid. Not to mention infuriating. Sanji was the only one allowed to sulk about his own position in life. Certainly not stupid samurai who couldn't even think for themselves.

Still, despite his annoyance, Sanji felt himself looking away as well, frowning hard at the wooden wheels of a nearby cart rattling over the dirt.

"My brothers are the real princes," he muttered eventually. "Not me."

The market was bustling, but quiet fell between them, and Sanji hated that he could feel the moment Zoro's eyes shifted back to him, though he didn't return the gaze. He fucking wished his emotions weren't as volatile as they were, that a mere mention of his upbringing held no power to trigger anger and helplessness within him. He'd come here with the intention of giving the swordsman an earful, but the flame within him now dulled so easily...

"The queen was your mother…?"

Zoro's voice rumbled again, surprisingly soft despite his ire of a moment ago, and it was enough to form a lump in Sanji's throat.

He nodded stiffly, taking a measured breath through his nose.

"Is that why you ran?"

Sanji let out that breath with a frustrated sound and shook his head.

"Enough questions," the blond muttered, finally meeting Zoro's eye, if only to shoot him a glare.

Zoro stared back, the activity of the street passing them by as if neither existed, if only the girth people skirted around them wasn't so abnormally wide. But in a way, it meant the two of them were alone, with no one to burst the strangely intimate bubble that seemed to encapsulate the conversation. Their emotions were contained there...protected...

"Is that all?"

Sanji's brow furrowed a bit, dragging himself back to the moment to find Zoro looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer almost warily.

"What?" the blond muttered, trying to clear his head.

"Is that all you came to yell at me about?"

Sanji scoffed, a tired sound more than anything. He supposed he could bring up the incident in the marketplace the previous day. The spiteful stares that persisted to this moment, that Zoro had insisted were directed at Sanji.

But knowing what he'd learned from the empress… He elected to leave that concern unspoken for the moment, particularly when Zoro stood there, invisible to the world, but so imposing to him.

"Yeah, I guess so," Sanji mumbled, a little unsure what to do next now that his initial reason for confronting the man had fizzled.

Zoro's brow quirked, the swordsman's stare intensifying the longer Sanji stood there, unmoving.

"Then why are you still here," Zoro pressed, as if Sanji should have every reason to leave. "Don't you have a beast to go kill at least?"

Why was Sanji still there? Surely, Zoro's intention was to mock with that question, but Sanji couldn't help but wonder if there was something more behind that mask, behind the way Zoro's jaw clenched, somehow mirroring his own awkward uncertainty. It was a contrast to the day before, when his grin had been so bright and teasing.

Now he looked at Sanji with an air of dejection...

"Yes," Sanji replied, steadying his gaze, and his lips tilted up a bit, his subsequent words tumbling out of him before they could be stopped. "But that's where you come in."

Confirming Sanji's thoughts, Zoro's eyes widened in surprise, his dumb mouth dropping open slightly before his brows were right back to their near permanent furrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the swordsman asked, full of suspicion.

"The Empress gave you that job," Sanji clarified slowly, because Zoro was obviously too dim to figure out his implications. "I'll be helping you."

"As if I need your help," was Zoro's automatic response, but the edge to his voice was almost inviting this time, certainly still bewildered.

"You know the forests," said the blond, who stepped forward with hands outstretched, pivoting on his heel to shuffle backwards towards the mountains looming in the distance. His smirk widened, but how could it not when Zoro's bemusement was becoming downright endearing, yet again. "Show me around so I can get familiar."

"You just need my help," Zoro retorted, though he'd slowly begun to follow the blond, coming up to his side as Sanji spun to walk normally again.

"No," Sanji shot back.

"You do. Admit it."

"No."

"Then prove it," Zoro insisted, whacking a fist into Sanji's back with a dull thump, the blond stumbling a step and scowling when a slow smirk came to Zoro's lips too.

"Fight me right here," Zoro challenged, gesturing in front of them. "'Cause if you can't get through me, there's no way you'll kill that monster."

Sanji glowered at him, unsure if the guy was really that reckless or if he was just an idiot. Probably both.

"Right here?" he pressed. "In the street?"

Zoro nodded. "Sure. People will move."

"And what a lovely impression that will leave," the blond grumbled, the image of shattered market stalls and houses toppling like timber vivid in his mind. But a glance to Zoro, whose demeanor had wilted and fallen back into a more irritated scowl, and he quickly amended his statement. "Besides," he said. "Arrows against swords is hardly fair."

Zoro flicked eyes to him for a moment, then huffed.

"True," he replied. "Not those arrows at least, remember?"

The swordsman reached out to pluck one of the arrows from Sanji's quiver, twirling the shaft in his hand and boldly touching a finger to the tip of the head. A second of pressure, then he pulled it back smugly to show his undamaged skin, not a bead of blood in sight.

Sanji snatched that arrow back with an indignant grunt, returning it to the quiver sulkily.

"Then let me use one of those," he said instead, jerking his chin towards the three blades tied to Zoro's hip. "You've got three."

And considering Zoro's lack of qualms about stealing one of his own weapons, the blond took the liberty of grabbing the hilt of a sword, the dark one, wrapped tightly with purple cloth.

Ignoring Zoro's immediately stammered protests, he yanked it out with a smooth slide of metal.

He held the blade out towards Zoro's face, the metal tempered with a strange flame-like pattern that matched the deep purple of the hilt, and he straightened his shoulders confidently in an attempt to mimic the heroic knights that graced every portrait in his own castle.

Sanji stared Zoro down teasingly, feeling an odd burst of confidence despite the questioning looks from several onlookers. He stood there, waiting for a reaction from Zoro, surely a roll of eyes or some screeching.

But instead, Zoro stood there, hands frozen in mid-air where he'd reached to stop him. His mouth gaping, he stared hard at that blade which rested peacefully in Sanji's grasp. His chest rose and fell visibly, breaths shuddery, a strange tension mounting between them in that moment.

Yet, the longer it lasted, the more confusion seemed to come over the swordsman's face. He slowly frowned, looking down at himself, a hand subtly rising to brush over the Seal on his chest before his gaze snapped back to Sanji's face.

The blond noticed the change, confusion twisting over his own features, enough that he lowered the sword to stare back at Zoro.

"What?" he mumbled, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, which he tried to remedy with a quip. "Lost the will to fight?"

He was half teasing, though it sure seemed that was exactly what had happened, for whatever strange reason. He resisted the urge to flick eyes to Zoro's Seal.

This finally earned him the roll of eyes he'd been expecting from the beginning, though Zoro's irritance seemed to be more for show, a hasty cover-up for whatever strange emotion had crossed his face a moment earlier.

"Shut up," muttered the swordsman, who reached out to snatch back the blade from Sanji's hands, quickly returning it to its sheath.

Sanji watched the man's fingers run over the hilt of the sword for a moment, the careful way they traced the detailed accents and criss-crossing fabric that decorated it. It didn't seem he was even conscious of it, particularly when he lifted his gaze to Sanji's again, a bit of that strange vulnerability still lingering.

The blond wondered if perhaps now was the time to mention the glares that persisted through the marketplace, the way the crowds parted and avoided the man in an almost absurd fashion for reasons unknown.

"Zoro…" Sanji began slowly, wary of triggering a negative reaction again. "You work for the Empress, but everyone in town is eyeing you like you have the plague. What's with that?"

Zoro's breath shook when he hissed out an exhale, flicking his eyes to the surrounding people for a moment before fixing them on Sanji again, almost defiantly.

"They're staring at you," he insisted, but with half the ferocity and double the uncertainty he'd shown the first time.

Sanji was ready, however, not believing his words for a second.

"Not this again," the blond grumbled, automatically stepping back into the swordsman's personal space. "Y'know, I was gonna let it go, but you really think I'm stupid? I'm not the one getting death glares! Not to mention the way Kawamatsu treats you." He paused for a moment, lowering his voice a touch. "It's 'cause of your Seal, isn't it."

The instant glare he received rivaled those of the townsfolk around them as Zoro shot back, "That's none of your business."

"Then forget my business!" Sanji retorted immediately, satisfied when he pushed himself close enough that he forced the swordsman to falter. "Look, I don't give a shit if you have one or not! In fact, I think you're damn lucky to have one! But can you at least assure me you're not about to murder me and take the reward on my head?"

His tirade left a heavy silence between them, and it was strange, seeing the swordsman struggle for words until he ultimately gave up, averting eyes and mumbling, "I told you m'not after any money..."

Sanji didn't know how he'd expected Zoro to respond to the confrontation, but he'd certainly assumed he'd get a glimpse of that predatory swordsman who'd dragged him to the empress with such relish and cunning. Arrogance and abrasiveness at the very least.

Definitely not this passiveness that had suddenly manifested in Zoro's hunched shoulders, the anxious way his fingers twitched at the hilt of his sword, not to attack, but instead as a nervous habit, it seemed.

"Good. Then let's go," Sanji said, his chest giving an oddly pleasant clench when the swordsman lifted eyes to him again warily, almost as if Sanji was the one to be feared between the two of them. It was a foreign and entirely new feeling, liberating in a way, after living oppressed in his own home for so long.

Thus, his smile had inadvertently grown when he added teasingly, "It hunts at night, right? We'll need to be ready."

Zoro scoffed.

"You think you'll beat it tonight?" the swordsman replied derisively."You're delusional. And yeah, you must be stupid if that's your plan."

"If I'm to open a path to Goa as soon as possible, then yes, I have to start right away," Sanji shot back, undeterred.

But Zoro had his next retort ready.

"Why are you trying to leave so quickly? You on a deadline?"

The blond rolled his eyes.

"I said already - it'll only spell trouble if my father comes in search of me. It's best if I keep moving."

"You don't think you're safe here?"

"Is that an offer of protection, Zoro?"

Sanji had again stepped closer without knowing it, boldly narrowing the distance between them in an unplanned move that the swordsman seemed to become acutely aware of, judging by his quick inhale and stumble that sent him nearly knocking into a passing cart whose owner sent a string of angry curses his way as he wheeled off.

Yes, there was definitely no way Sanji wanted to stay here, amongst the judgmental townsfolk. For either of their sakes.

But it seemed Zoro was way ahead of him when, after a long moment, he gathered himself with a heavy sigh and a final, equally heavy stare at the blond. Then he abruptly turned and marched off in the opposite direction with a muttered, "Let's go."

Sanji blinked, staring after him for several heartbeats before he shook his head quickly and hurried after him.

"Hey!" he called, speeding to catch up. "Go where?"

And to Sanji's surprise, when Zoro looked at him, the look in his eye was one of growing amusement, though the swordsman clearly tried to hide it with a frown and a gruff response.

"Thought you wanted to learn the forests," he replied.

Sanji didn't get the chance to respond before a sudden commotion sounded down the street, dragging both men's attention towards a barrage of angry shouts, scrambling feet, and then the unmistakable fearful squeal of a young girl.

"Let go of me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

To Sanji's surprise, a rare look of unconcealed dread seemed to come over the swordsman's features at the sound of that voice, the dread palpable when he hissed out, "Tama!"

And then he was taking off, abandoning Sanji altogether to sprint and shove his way through the crowds, disappearing into the sea of robes that continued to mill past like nothing was amiss.

Sanji's stomach dropped, and despite his uncertainty over what was even happening, his first instinct was to shout, "Wait!", the blond hoisting his bow and arrows up on his shoulder and rushing after Zoro.

An unexpected panic filled his senses, losing Zoro so easily again, and he wasn't sure why. But he was perhaps coming to realize that he didn't want to be left alone, not in the midst of chaos at least. Even if that meant following the unpredictable swordsman into a potentially dangerous situation.

So he too dodged carts and passersby alike in a desperate chase down the street until he burst forth at the foot of a bridge, similar to the one he'd crossed in front of the palace gardens. Only this bridge spanned the width of, not a placid moat, but a swiftly moving canal that bubbled and churned far more rapidly beneath.

And standing at the rail of that bridge was a massive man, a deep scowl on his heavily stubbled face, his huge fingers bunched tightly in the verdant robe of a young girl whom he dangled precariously over the water below.

"Think you can steal from me? Huh, kid? You think we don't all got mouths to feed?!" growled the man ferociously, letting the girl purposefully slip a few inches in his grip, drawing another frightened cry from her lips.

"I'm sorry!" she cried again, legs kicking and head shaking frantically, familiarly violet strands coming loose from her hair bun. "I surrender! I'll - I'll pay it back! Just let me go!"

It was the same girl he'd nearly collided with earlier, Sanji realized.

It was also then that he noticed the spilled bag of rice grains littering the ground nearby, just as Zoro became visible ahead of him, pushing through the last of the onlookers with swords drawn to attack.

Sanji wasn't thinking about the consequences when his hand automatically drew his bow, nocking and aiming an arrow with far quicker precision than he'd shown hunting in the forest.

He wasn't thinking when he let that arrow fly, no time to even be surprised as its flight path soared directly through the negative spaces in the crowd towards the man's arm, where it stabbed flesh with a dull sound and ripped a howl of pain from his victim.

The man's fist released the girl entirely in his shock, and she plummeted with a scream, Sanji cursing himself for not having foreseen it.

He bolted forward too, just as not one, but two of Zoro's swords slashed at the man, sending him tumbling to the ground from the force where he nearly bowled over several pedestrians.

Sanji's heart thundered in his chest, his legs carrying him swiftly to the bridge's rail. Hands caught himself hard on the vermilion-painted wood as he leaned over, eyes widening when he saw the girl, barely clinging to a support beam several feet down.

His relief couldn't last long though when the whimpering girl's trembling fingers nearly slipped.

Instantly, he lunged forward, folding himself over the rail to reach out toward her desperately.

"Grab my hand!" he gritted out, the girl already frantically trying, though she nearly lost her grip once more with a yelp.

A scuffle behind him, followed by the ringing of clashing metal, and Zoro's voice was gritting out to him, "She can't swim!" before he gave a fierce growl, the gruff voice of the girl's attacker also sounding again as they fought.

A shot of newly justified panic cut through the blond as mercilessly as one of those blades, but Sanji couldn't look. He could only focus all his attention on the girl, leaning down as far as he could, stretching, straining, to reach her. Teeth clenched hard, muscles quivering, the girl's fingers slipping slowly off the wood.

Until, in a last burst of energy, she swung herself with desperate momentum, her hand finally clamping onto his, just as her other let go, the full weight of her body hanging from Sanji's arm.

Their victorious smiles only lasted a split second though.

He couldn't hold her, her weight causing him to finally lose his footing, sliding fully over the rail himself.

It was only when he failed to catch himself, the two of them freefalling towards the water below, that he remembered, foolishly late.

He'd never learned how to swim either.