-All soldiers report to the gulf! Prepare for the public execution of Portgas D Ace! I repeat, all soldiers report to the gulf-
"Shit I'm getting nervous."
Strauss glanced over her shoulder as she ran, ignoring the intercom as it continued blaring on in the background, "Why? I thought you were looking forwards to this day?"
"I wasn't looking forward to this," Coby grimaced a few paces behind her. "I was anticipating it. It's different."
Helmeppo clicked his tongue, probably rolling his eyes behind his visor, "You're kidding, right? That's basically the same thing."
"Hey no it's not!"
Neither of them had any idea of what was about to happen. Strauss pursed her lips. Neither did she for that matter. Not the true extent of it at least. Sure she'd been fighting pirates for a few years now, and dealt with many other harrowing scenarios, but outright war?
She shuddered despite herself.
From how Law had talked about it the few times he had mentioned his past to her… she didn't think she could ever be prepared for something like that.
Until she actually experienced one that is.
She was still trying to figure out how to separate herself from this lot. Law had suggested to sneak out using an excuse rather than vanish altogether, to which she readily agreed. Security was high enough as it was, an extra intruder would shut down the facility entirely. Fortunately Garp wasn't around to watch her leave (Strauss had absolutely no idea where he was nor was she about to complain about it), but in the meantime Bogard was still watching her like a hawk… Hopefully she'd get a chance to slip away if and when the Whitebeard pirates showed up amidst all the chaos, but that still left a significant degree of luck for it to work. Strauss hated luck. It could never be trusted. So she had to figure out another solution…
Bogard raised his hand at the head of the group, signalling for the squadron to halt. "This is where we will be stationed for the next three hours." A glare was shot over his shoulder as Helmeppo began to groan. "Don't get complacent."
As much as Strauss was confident in her abilities to remain perfectly motionless for three hours, that much was inacceptable. She needed to think of a plan to get out of this… and fast.
An excuse… she needed a suitable excuse…
"Hu… Is that… HEY!"
Her eyes widened. That voice sounded familiar. And if that voice sounded familiar, that meant she'd probably met that person before. And if she'd met that person before…
"Yeah you! Girl in the front row with the pale-ass hair!"
It meant her cover was blown.
"You're that chick from that damned restaurant! What the hell're you doing here?!"
Wham! "H-hey! Keep it down. Do you want to make Hina angry?"
"But it's her! It's definitely that fucking waitress who got my wine order wrong! I swear it!"
Hm… Maybe not…
Flicking her eyes towards the source of the noise, Strauss notice two men in a nearby platoon hastily huddled together. One she had definitely never seen before. His rose tinted sunglasses and weird striped… growth on his chin were far too distinctive. But the other… the man he was holding back…
Pink hair. A scar under his right eye. And iron bolts welded to his knuckles. Not to mention a very kickable face.
"Oi! Fullbody! Calm down already!"
"How the hell'd you expect me to calm down! That chick and her blond haired partner made me look like an idiot in front of the whole East Blue!"
She stifled a smile.
It seemed as if that excuse she'd wanted had finally shown up before her.
.
"Forgive me, but that's my dear friend you seem to be attacking there."
He hoped his voice wasn't shaking. His heart was pounding so loudly he wasn't able to tell. Since… well Sanji didn't know quite why. Because part of him couldn't quite believe she was there? Actually standing there in front of him after two years? Because he still hadn't come to terms with why she'd hit him earlier… or promptly decided to ignore him at all times afterwards? Or because of how close the razor sharp wing restrained behind his foot had come to slashing across her body?
So many emotions and sensations and damned feelings were whirling around and around inside of him so fast he wasn't able to tell which one was which. But he had to do something to try and pull his act together. Otherwise…
He didn't want to think about otherwise.
"Hey Strauss."
At the sound of his voice Strauss pivoted towards him, those eyes he'd known so well boring into his own. The sheer rage and indignation within them practically made his knees weak. Sanji forced a smile onto his face despite himself.
"It's been a while."
Still the same old Strauss. For better… or worse.
WHAM!
Sanji didn't so much as flinch as a toned arm shot right past his face, blackened fingertips digging into the snowy muscle of that strange bird woman he was restraining. With a wince Monet retreated back only to be met with a flurry of blades not long after.
"A while?" Haki vanishing quickly from her fingers, Strauss retracted her arm, "You've got to be kidding me, we… We saw each other earlier didn't we?"
Sanji felt his face soften. That pause… spoke volumes… Even if she hadn't meant it to. "True-" He lowered his leg and took a step closer- "but we didn't exactly have the time to catch up."
"And you do now?!"
Tsk! He shot a glare over his shoulder, "Shut the hell up you dumb bastard and beat that snow woman already!"
"If you're so worked up about it," Zoro grunted while shoving Monet away from the G-5 marines who were only now catching up to Sanji after he'd sprinted towards Strauss, "then why don't you come on over and deal with her yourself!"
"As if!" Even though the woman had gone ahead and attacked Strauss, he still had standards. Come to think of it, he hadn't had a proper look at this mysterious attacker had he? For Strauss's sake, he should probably try to figure out the bird woman's strengths in order to try and block them. "Like hell I'm going to attack someone so…" She turned towards him. "So…"
Piercing golden eyes the colour of molten amber sat in the centre of a smooth milky skinned vision… Luxurious yet wild lime green tresses cascaded down her back, far more vibrant than the sickly growth on top of that damned swordsman's head… All framed by the most elegant feathered wings he had ever seen in his entire life…
"So…"
He clutched a hand to his chest, trying to calm the desperately thumping heart in his chest. Trying to steady his dizzying head… Trying… trying… to…
"So…"
Before an extensive fountain of blood rushed up through his nasal cavity and gushed through his nostrils and onto the pure white snow around him.
"SO DAMN CUUUUUUUTE!"
Strauss… just grimaced.
To the casual observer, such intense nosebleeds around the presence of someone fortunate enough to possess conventional beauty in the female form would be seen as abnormally (if not impossibly) perverted and misogynistic. And indeed in the case of Vinsmoke Sanji… that would be a perfectly reasonable observation. Especially considering how the man was rendered completely incapacitated by a pair of scantily clad breasts on Fishman Island and had been in immediate need of a blood transfusion.
Yet for Sanji, such physical reactions were not wholly unexpected.
For quite some time he had struggled with cases of high blood pressure. It had been something he'd been born with, possibly an after-effect from whatever mutations his biological 'father' had tried to impose upon him in the womb (and certainly not helped by the copious quantities of cigarettes Sanji was compelled to smoke). It was imperative for such pristine soldiers to reproduce after all, and pass on their superior genes. Or that was what Sanji had come up with anyways. After all, it wasn't as if he'd ever had the chance to ask about the genetic modifications that were supposed to be present in his body. Nor did he particularly want to for that matter.
He'd thought that disgusting even back then, and downright insulting towards all the phenomenal and amazing women who didn't turn on those primal instincts. Every woman in the world was worthy of love and affection in their own right, and should not be quantified solely by their physical appearance. Working side by side with Strauss had only made that more apparent.
However it was only after his two year stint on Momoiro Island with the Kamabakka Kingdom that his extreme… bodily reactions… had intensified beyond all control…
On that island… Uh… Well…
Sanji wiped away the last remnants of blood in his nose, the thought of those Okamas having stopped the nosebleed completely.
…Let's just say that he'd gotten a new appreciation of beauty after his time there.
Since… really. Someone needed to tell them that they didn't need such heavy and caked on makeup to be feminine. It was bad for their skin.
"Woah…" The G-5 marines had finally caught a glimpse of the lime bombshell standing next to the swordsman. "What the…"
"A bird with a human face?"
"A-A harpy?"
"But… SHE'S STILL CUTE!"
"RATHER BEWITCHINGLY BEAUTIFUL!"
"YEAH SO SEXY!"
"Oh for fuck's sake…"
WHOOSH!
Sanji managed to straighten up just in time to see an outstretched leg collide with Monet's head. Or rather… through Monet's head. Her form shuddered, flushed face turning paler than physically possible as the gaping snowy gash began drawing in the surrounding snowflakes.
"If you have enough time to be sitting around getting horny," Strauss hissed through gritted teeth, not even bothering to look at anyone else other than the snow woman, "then you should channel that blood flow somewhere useful and get out of here before you get yourself killed."
Woah…
Strong. That was the word that came to mind when he saw her. Strong, and elegant. Perfectly poised. One leg pointed despite all the times he'd told her otherwise. Although as he watched her… he wasn't even sure any of his advice was effective. Even though the attack didn't have a single drop of Haki behind it, he could practically feel the air ripple with shockwaves after just one blow. And despite the heated words she'd just spewed a few moments earlier, somehow she still managed to remain ever so calm and collected.
She was… beautiful. Breathtakingly so.
And Sanji found he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Which was why he noticed something was wrong. It was so slight, barely inperceptible really, but… He squinted. There was a… tiny twitch in Strauss' shoulder. A mere flinch. Barely more than the flex and tense of a muscle. While her form was excellent, she almost seemed twisted to avoid straining the area more than needed. Which was odd coming from someone who made it her duty to utilise as much of her body as possible… Unless…
His knuckles whitened.
Who the hell had dared to…! Why he was gonna kick in that shitty marimo's skull if it was the last thing he'd…! How dare he not defend her properly! And while he was at it he'd beat in Law's too goddamn it: he was the reason she was here after all! NGH why had he been so slow! If he'd been here sooner, he might have actually been able to-
"Hey. Roronoa."
"Mm?"
Sanji hastily tried to stifle the sheer panic and rage seeping though his veins as he watched Strauss turn back towards Zoro. "You can hold her off while I get these idiots out of here, can't you?"
If this had been at any other time, the G-5 Marines would have probably broken out into raucous cries of indignation. However, having watching this strangely gorgeous bird woman get her entire head kicked in two and quietly knit herself back together was enough to hold their tongues for the time being.
Good, Sanji thought to himself. They were out of their depth anyways.
"Who the hell'd you think I am," Zoro hissed. "You know the direction Nami, Chopper, and Robin went in, so clear off with those idiots already before they piss me off more than they already have."
"You're just going to leave? Aren't you forgetting about someone?"
The wind roared louder, sending flurries of deadly snowflakes careening around the room. Many of the Marines glanced up, so used to Punk Hazard's bitter cold that they were only now aware of the freak storm that was somehow manifesting inside the building.
Monet grinned, teeth pearly white and getting sharper by the second. "I believe I have made myself clear that I will not let anybody take those children. The appearance of a scraggly group of Marines makes no difference to me."
A sudden gust of air sent Strauss sliding uncharacteristically off balance away from the harpy. Without so much as thinking Sanji dashed forwards to catch her, ignoring the panicked screams as one of the men behind him got engulfed in snow.
"Strauss? A-Are you…?"
"I'm fine."
The sharpness of her tone surprised him. So much so that instinctively he let go of her and took a step back. She'd snapped at him back at the Baratie, especially when it came to his, haaaah, 'overprotectiveness' (which he still believed was justified at least morally), but this…
"I'm fine," she repeated, squaring her shoulders with a hastily stifled wince. "Just need… I just need to get out of here…
That wasn't anger. Or grit. Or any of the strength he normally associated with Strauss.
That sounded more like the voice she used to put on her facade for the customers. To make them believe everything was alright. And, although he didn't think she'd noticed it herself, to convince herself of the same.
He blanched.
Why was she so pale? And her face so pained? How come she was beginning to slump over a little?
With one hand clutched right above her heart…
Law winced. This… wasn't going well. The arrival of the Commodore had been a glimmer of hope at first. But now?
Smoker gagged, a Haki coated fist planted firmly in the centre of his stomach. Vergo's face tensed as he flung his former subordinate across the room and into the railing on the opposite side.
To any outsider, this was. Although…
His eyes traced towards the beating heart still clenched in Vergo's free hand.
It wasn't getting actively crushed anymore… but even he could tell that Strauss' heart was getting battered over there. Vergo wasn't pulling his punches, and Law could tell that she was feeling the side effects. His Counter Shock had worked for the most part to keep her heart beating (thank god), but he'd feel way better about their chances if he managed to get that heart back.
He sure as hell didn't want to deal with that wretched Straw Hat crew by himself.
Grimacing, Law continued to eye the ongoing fight before him. Smoker wasn't fighting at his full potential. That much was evident. And the quick glances he was shooting towards Law weren't going unnoticed. He got the message. He could pretend to be vulnerable for a little while longer and wait. Wait until Vergo's attention was turned entirely away from him. Then…
A small blue dome manifested between his fingertips.
… the tables would turn.
"Strauss! Strauss can you hear me?!"
Fuck! Strauss grimaced, unintentionally gnawing a gash in her cheek as she struggled to keep herself upright. The moderate pangs from her chest weren't all that bad compared to earlier, but the gradual accumulation of fighting and running and downright surviving was beginning to take its toll.
Which she hated. She hated being this useless with every fibre of her being. Whatever the hell was going on with Law… he'd better sort things out, and fast.
She shook away the hand grasping her wrist, "For the last time, Sanji, I'm fine! I don't know what you're expecting from me, but I'm at least capable of pulling through this much."
It wasn't even a lie. She was fine, in her eyes at least. And she had dealt with worse. But the way Sanji was looking at her made it seem like she was on deaths door. Didn't he think she knew her limits? That she could handle herself just fine?
"Please…" He blinked at her, his blue eyes staring in abject worry and consternation, "Tell me what's going on. I can help. You don't have to strain yourself anymore."
The reason her skin paled was not due to the falling temperatures.
Her rose-tinted memories hadn't accounted for how over protective he could be.
Dammit Pretty Boy… I changed. Why haven't you?
Once again she detangled herself from his grasp. "We'll talk later. When we're not constantly about to die." Pausing a moment, she traced her gaze towards the group of terrified Marines getting lumps of frozen flesh bitten off their bones by Monet's Mannen Yuki. "She'll be busy with them for a while. We should go now and let your swordsman finish her off without risk of collateral."
"Wait…" Sanji furrowed his brow. "You're just… going to abandon these guys?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
It made sense didn't it. She wasn't exactly going to last long in a fight right now, especially against a Logia. Even then, what did she have to gain by saving those Marine's lives? For all she knew, they could backstab them all once this was all over and they were all exhausted and end them all to Impel Down. Law had done too much planning and sacrificed too much for her to let that happen. Especially now his plans were finally beginning to be set into motion.
If this was actually a semi-competent branch she might have considered stepping in to help, but those guys were…
A vein in her brow pulsed as she watched the 'burly' men flailed their cutlasses helplessly in the air without a drop of Armament Haki in sight.
…perfectly useless. Forget about adding to their fighting force, these guys would only weigh them down. It didn't matter that they probably had friends or family or lovers that would be crippled by their deaths…
The horrified look on Sanji's face was enough to make her metaphorical heart sink. Sink deeper than it already had.
He'd never understand. She knew that. She wasn't even sure she understood it all herself.
"I know…" Her voice sounded weak. Frail even. Pausing, she tried again. "I know that's not a kind thing to do. But… I'm not a nice person, Sanji. I might have been before but…"
This was stupid. So completely stupid. And although she was certain that this really wasn't the time for this and all she should be doing is beating Monet then catching up to Chopper and the other Straw Hats to try and stop those kids from eating that candy and then going to support her captain wherever the hell he was or figuring out how to destroy this facility…
The words needed to be said. Before they bubbled up and destroyed her from the inside. Since what she'd seen and what she'd heard…
Sizzling droplets of blood spilling onto slate tiles. A heavy thud as the limp body crashed into the ground. The keening wails of a young boy who'd had his entire world taken from beneath his feet. Burning heat that she could feel even from that far away. And tears that refused to run down her face.
"... have you seen one of your dearest friends… die right in front of you? When you could do absolutely nothing about it?"
It would be burned into her memory forever.
"I understand that you have your morals. Believe it or not, I have mine too." Gathering her courage, she raised her head to meet his gaze head on. "But after all I've been through, after all we've been through… you seriously can't expect me to re-"
"AAAAAAAAARGH MY SHOULDER!"
"WHAT… I-I'M FREEZING! MY BODY IS FREEZING OVER!"
"JUST MAKE IT STOP!"
The frenzied screams and cries from dying Marines were enough to smack her back to cynical reality once again.
What was she doing? She mentally kicked herself. This was the middle of a battle. A battle where she could pass out at any given moment because of forces outside of her control. This was… this was…
Against her better judgement she looked back at Sanji, trying her damned hardest to keep her expression flat. To keep her emotions hidden. Even though it was normally so easy for her to do.
Why was it that around him she was always so… weak?
"I've changed," she finished simply. "Time passed, I changed, end of story. If you want to save those Marine idiots go ahead and do it. For the sake of our alliance I have no choice to help… even if I disagree with you."
Sanji's nose wrinkled. "Strauss… I-"
"OI!" A frustrated grunt sounded from behind one of the various snowdrifts beginning to form around the room. "Will you two actually go and do something useful instead of being sappy and emotional over there?"
Ugh… She didn't need to be reminded…
Two tsks echoed in unison. And two faces turned to look at each other in surprised amusement.
"You hate the shitty swordsman too?"
"Well I wouldn't go as far as hate… but I definitely disagree with some of his principles."
"No way, same! He's a real asshole sometimes."
"He's an… How on earth do you put up with him on your crew then?"
"With difficulty, Strauss. Great difficulty. But it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. For the sake of the delightful Nami-san and Robin-chan."
"I CAN HEAR YOU Y'KNOW!"
"And?"
"We're only speaking the truth."
"Oh fuck off already!"
Strauss felt the corner of her lip quirk up a little, and glancing over at Sanji his was doing the same. For that brief moment it'd been like they weren't in the snow filled Biscuits Room, on Punk Hazard, or even on the Grand Line.
They were back to two years ago. Exchanging banter in between bussing tables or serving customers. That strange feeling of comfort and relaxation, even though every other conversation ended with an argument. And it felt…
Good. It felt better than good even.
It felt like home.
"Shall we?" Sanji turned to her, that strange coiled eyebrow of his arching in questioning amusement. "Just like the old days."
The old days… huh?
She snorted despite herself, "When you require a blood transfusion if you so much as look at her? What good are you going to do in a fight?"
"That was only in Fishman…"
The twitch in her smile was enough to turn him an impressive shade of pink.
"N-Nevermind, I'm over that already." Even in embarrassment his grin still lit up the same way it had always done. So bright and blinding and warm. "I'm more than able to block her aren't I? And I'm not going to get another nosebleed… If I do, I trust you'll punch me back to my senses again."
She couldn't resist. "Sure. If I haven't died again."
"If you haven't what?!"
Exchanging one final glare between each other, they eventually dissolved into hushed chuckles.
"We really have a lot to catch up on, don't we?"
"Yeah. We really do."
Together they walked forwards, their crunching footprints growing further and further apart as they began picking up speed.
"Once this is all over?"
"Once this is all over."
CRUNCH!
The air filled with the powder and flurry of destroyed snowdrifts, alongside the moans of many freed Marines. Their moves weren't as synchronised as they used to be, nor were they that efficient at working with their partners. But neither of them cared.
The rush of fighting side by side again… knowing that the other had their back… that was enough. That was the boost they needed.
It almost made everything seem right again.
"AAAAARGH!"
The sudden blood curdling screech, however, was enough to stop them both in their tracks.
Monet crashed down to the ground, the trickle of crimson in her wing vibrant against her pure white body. Strauss searched for Zoro only to find him far on the opposite side of the room… with a strange look on his face? But… why…
"Hm?" The newcomer glanced up, ignoring the trail of blood seeping down her katana as she readjusted her glasses. "Is that…" She squinted tentatively. "You're here, Strauss?"
She shrugged. "I go where my captain wants me."
"Hmph." Tashigi rolled her eyes. "And to think I used to wish we'd fight together. You really should've become a Marine you know."
"I think I've already made my opinions on that matter clear."
A long pause lingered in the air. Accompanied by numerous expressions of shock and confusion.
"Captain-chan…"
"Strauss…
"-how the hell do you two know each other?"
A/N
I'll be honest with you readers... not one of my best chapters. At least in my opinion. But I have been pretty busy lately (doing a whole buncha stuff that would take way to long to write down in general so just know I finally graduated uni), which is why I'm getting this chapter out now. Not the keenest on the ending. Can you tell I wrote it while watching Encanto and barely able to see the words I'm typing through the constant stream of tears trickling down my face? Probably! Did I give it an extra day to actually post so I could look over it and maybe edit a few things only to give up in the end and decide I couldn't be asked so I posted it anyways? You betcha! Hopefully you all can decipher this strange stream of consciousness I've come up with. Strauss definitely took over for a hot second there, and that girl does NOT know what she's doing! Which is relatable, but not great when trying to write a cohesive chapter that moves the plot forwards a little bit. Tashigi is there at least... I... tried?
That being said, I'm having so much fun writing this. Right now this is one of my favourite stories to work on, mostly because I have a lot more freedom to do what I want. Even then, I would definitely not have come this far without the encouragement from you, my lovely readers. It's all ok to write something that you enjoy doing, but another to have it engaged with and positively LIKED by the community. Seriously. I know I keep saying this over and over again at the end of practically every chapter, but that's because I mean it from the very bottom of my heart.
Thank you. Thank you so so much for putting up with whatever chaos I regurgitate from my brain and attempt to make coherent in a text document. Thank you for telling me which parts you liked, and which you kinda didn't. Thank you for saying so many kind things about this story that I quite frankly aren't even sure I wholly deserve. Thank you for just reading it.
Thank you for being you.
I love you all. And I am so grateful you're here with me to continue this journey. I wish you all a happy and satisfying day/afternoon/night, and look forward to seeing you in the future! Bye for now X