Twenty-seven.
Title: Hot and Cold
Theme: # 22 Zombies
Claim: Luffy x Sanji
Words: 713
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: AU, violence, disturbing imagery.
Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Oda-san. I make no profit.
Part of the supernatural!verse.
The fog was so thick that he couldn’t see a foot in front of his face. He was at a disadvantage because Luffy had disappeared and Sanji only had a shotgun and poor aim. If one of those things came running at him, he couldn’t trust himself to put it down fast enough.
Sanji exhaled a breath as he pivoted on the spot, trying to make out any dark shapes in the distance. He could see outlines of tipped over trash cans and cars with their doors wide open, but nothing human-like.
He was worried about Luffy more than himself. The raven hadn’t been the same since the theatre incident, something Sanji just wanted to forget about, but it was like his friend was holding a chip on his shoulder.
There was a sudden rustling noise from behind him and Sanji turned, pointing his shotgun in the general direction of where he thought it was coming from. A few feet down were a few bushes, blocking off the entrance to a driveway that lead up to a three story mansion of a house.
“Rich bastards.” He whispered to himself, pulling back on the pump of his gun and loading the shell into the chamber. The rustle this time was louder and the blonde raised his gun in anticipation. “Come on you undead piece of shit.” He hissed under his breath.
The bushes parted for a brief second and a relatively tall man stepped out of them and into the street. He was just at Sanji’s height, and from where he stood, Sanji could see the three gold earrings dangling from his left ear. The man was also hunched over and was carrying a severed arm in his grip, with strings of flesh hanging from the end.
When Luffy told him that zombies existed, Sanji hadn’t wanted to believe it. But low and behold, this little town in the middle of nowhere was infested with them and the blonde was surprised it hadn’t spread to the rest of the U.S.
Sanji raised his gun to fire, but a sudden movement to his left made him jump back and swing it around. It was only Luffy but he looked wrecked, like he’d taken and beating and then some.
“No, no, no.” he muttered to himself, taking a step toward the zombie, dropping his shotgun along the way. Sanji opened his mouth to tell the man to stop - that walking into the thing was suicide - but Luffy walked right up to the thing and put his hands on either side of its head. “What happened to you guys, Zoro? Why does it have to be me?” he whispered, his voice cracking with something that wasn’t quite a sob.
“Luffy - “ Sanji breathed, coming to the horrible realization that his friend knew the things they were hunting. He’d known every single one so far: the ghost, the werewolf that had attacked him, the vampires and now this zombie.
The zombie - Zoro, he supposed - lunged at Luffy, but in that split second Luffy said something under his breath and the whole area was lit up with blinding, white light. Sanji cried out as he covered his eyes, but he could still see the red under his eyelids and it burned.
When it cleared, there was a thump of a body hitting the ground and a hand placed itself on his arm. Sanji moved his hands and blinked rapidly as Luffy came back into focus and he looked so heartbroken it made the blonde’s chest seize.
“They’re all dead.” He whispered, falling into Sanji’s arms and crying into his neck jacket. Luffy’s arms wrapped around his waist and Sanji could feel his fingers gripping the fabric of his jacket. “Don’t leave me, Sanji. Please don’t leave me.”
Sanji bit his cheek to keep himself in check, but he was terrified for the man breaking down right in front of him. Luffy had been so strong before, so infallible before. How could he survive a world full of monsters if his savior lost himself to the darkness, too?
“I’m here, Luffy.” Sanji muttered, rubbing circles in the other man’s back as the fog finally lifted. “I won’t go anywhere, I promise.”
He should’ve known that not all promises can be kept.