OP Fic: Alongside All the Way 1/2
Fandom: One Piece
Pairing: Sanji x Zoro, Zoro x Sanji
Rating: NC-17
Part: 1/2
Word Count: 20.000
Spoilers: Post-Enies Lobby
Notes: Credit to AD&D Creatures of the Night: The Created GM guide and Dungeon magazine for assistance in this fic. And, of course, to Oda-sensei for making the boys with interlocking parts.
Summary: Somehow, when he wasn't paying attention, Zoro had become an integral part of his life.
Red and gold flames reached towards the velvet sky studded with stars. Laughter and chatter rose and fell with the drumbeats and chanting voices. Illwanii natives, painted with berry-tinted patterns of stripes, circles, and dots on their faces, danced or sat around the bonfire with the Straw Hat crew. Faces and fur painted from head to toe, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper threw their arms out and kicked their legs in no discernable rhythm as they danced around the circle with the Illwanii. Behind them, Franky did his own dance, peppering the chanting with "Yow!" and "Super!" and striking a pose. Robin and Nami sat with the tribal leader, listening to his tales, their cheeks warmed by a smaller fire ring and spiced rum. With a mug in hand, Zoro leaned propped on his elbows near the dancers, two berry-painted stripes streaking over his nose from ear to ear.
The sand tickled between Sanji's toes and warmed the soles of his bare feet. Spiced rum lightened his head. His jacket had been discarded hours ago, though his pale yellow shirt remained tucked in and his tie knotted and clipped in place in deference to being a guest. Smoke from his cigarette mingled with smoke from the barbeque. He rotated the skewers cooking over the flames, having taken over from the Illwanii cook. The Thousand Sunny had stopped at the island, called Noctac by the Illwanii, on their way to the next log pose destination, so Nami could add it to her map. The friendly natives were a bonus.
Waves lapped the shore behind Sanji. He watched his nakama with a small smile, liking that they were enjoying themselves. There were times when being at sea was rough, not counting all the battles the Straw Hats got into with the Marines, other pirates, or occasionally entire countries. Being welcomed readily, for once, was nice.
Luffy added a rubbery twist to his dancing that ended up knocking half the dancers to the sand when he untwisted with a snap. His laughter echoed across the beach. Past them, yet another girl approached Zoro and was quickly rebuffed. Sanji shook his head, adding one more mark to his mental tally in evidence that Zoro was a eunuch. Two Illwanii ladies, with scraps of material covering their breasts, giggled as they walked up to the barbeque. Sanji forgot about Zoro as the ladies called his name.
"Sanji-san," Ola said, tugging on his left arm. "Come and dance with us."
"Yes, Sanji-san," Twii said, tugging on his right arm. "Come and dance."
"I will dance a thousand dances, so long as they're with two beauties such as you," Sanji cooed, crooking his elbows. Ola and Twii giggled again and Sanji let himself be dragged towards the bonfire, hearts trailing in his wake.
The drumming and chanting seemed to liven as the night wore on. Sanji danced around the ring, Ola in front of him and Twii behind him. Sanji kicked sand at Zoro when he passed, earning a glare. One of the young Illwanii men was talking with Zoro the next time Sanji came around the ring. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper wove in and out of the dancers, chasing each other with laughter. Luffy knocked into Ola and Sanji caught her before she fell.
"Are you all right?" he asked, cradling her with his arm while kicking Luffy in the head.
Ola giggled and batted her eyelashes at him. "You saved me, Sanji-san."
"It was my pleasure, my delectable Ola-swan." Sanji righted her, but didn't remove his arm from around her waist. "Perhaps we should sit for a while. Somewhere out of the way, where you won't be hurt."
"That would be wonderful." Ola looked past Sanji at Twii. "Wouldn't it, Twii?"
"Yes," Twii linked her hand with Sanji's with a coy smile, "wonderful."
Sanji snorted steam and led them away from the bonfire before they changed their minds. They led him down to the water, and he tried not to get blood on his shirt from the nosebleed as the ladies frolicked in the surf. It's marvelous to be me…
Damp and disheveled, Sanji returned to the festivities with a grin on his face and hearts in his eyes. "Sanji!" Luffy grabbed Sanji and dragged him into the dance circle again. The bonfire crackled and the flames rose as more wood was added. The drums pounded faster. Hands linked with Luffy in front of him and Chopper dangling between his and Usopp's hands from behind, he kicked up his feet and danced.
"Sanji-kun," Nami called. "Bring everyone over here."
"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji called back. He got Franky's attention. Hands still linked, he pulled Chopper and Usopp out of the circle and headed to where Nami and Robin sat. The tribal leader had gone, leaving them alone at a smaller fire ring. Franky followed Sanji and dropped cross-legged into the sand beside Robin.
"Where's Zoro?" Nami asked, looking around.
Sanji craned his neck. Zoro was no longer seated near the dancers, though his mug remained. Sanji wondered when he'd left. "I don't see him."
"Go and find him, Sanji-kun," Nami said. "I want to talk to everyone at once."
"Very well, Nami-swan." Sanji didn't want to, but Nami-san had asked and he couldn't refuse her anything. He gave Luffy's hand to Franky, ducked under Luffy's rubber arm that stretched to the dance circle, and went looking for Zoro.
He probably got lost taking a piss, Sanji thought when he failed at locating Zoro on the beach. He wasn't on the Thousand Sunny, either. With a disgruntled sigh, Sanji set off into the trees. Large palm fronds weighed the tops of the tropical trees. Knee-high ferns and indigenous plants brushed Sanji's legs as he walked deeper into the island's terrain. He could still see the glow from the bonfire behind him. Night birds called to one another in the distance. Sanji listened for other animals, not wanting to become a late night snack.
A low moaning stopped Sanji in his tracks. It didn't last long and Sanji didn't hear anything else. Cautiously, he crept in the direction the sound had come from. It could've been an animal, but it also could've been that idiot marimo, injured or something.
"Or something" turned out to be the right answer. Sanji drew up short, gasp catching in the back of his throat. Eyes wide, he stared at the scene framed between two palm trees a short distance away. His profile to Sanji, Zoro leaned his forehead against his bent arm, braced against the trunk of another tree. His trousers were bunched around his thighs and the young Illwanii man that'd been talking with Zoro earlier was- he was-
Sanji knew about sodomy; he'd grown up on a ship crewed by pirates-turned-cooking staff. Aside from the lewd stories, he'd stumbled upon Patty and Carne in the storeroom on more than one occasion. He'd never tried it himself, because the men were too afraid of Zeff and customers were off limits. Besides which, women were much more soft and supple, and smelled better.
Zoro was anything but soft. He worked his left hand over his erection, as the Illwanii fucked him. Sanji swallowed, tugging at the too tight collar of his shirt. It never dawned on him that the reason Zoro turned down women was because he preferred being fucked by men.
Sanji knew he hadn't made a sound, but Zoro turned his head and his stare cut through the dimness to land right on Sanji. Zoro didn't say or mouth anything, or make murderous comments with his gaze. Temple resting against his forearm, he continued to watch Sanji watching him, hand still pumping his hard cock as the Illwanii pounded into him. Sanji's gut clenched and the night grew hotter. He couldn't tear his gaze from Zoro's. Blood rushed in his ears, blocking out any sounds. A bead of sweat tickled the underside of his jaw. He licked his dry lips.
Zoro's hand jerked harder on his cock and he closed his eyes. The loss of connection jolted Sanji back to reality. He was standing there watching Zoro get fucked. What was wrong with him? Whirling around, Sanji crashed back the way he came through the trees, not caring about how much noise he was making. He yanked at his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. Shitting hell. He snagged a jug of spiced rum when he got back to the beach and downed as much of it as he could.
Sanji avoided Nami's eyes when he joined his nakama around the small fire circle. "Where's Zoro?" she asked.
"Couldn't find him," Sanji lied, and downed another gulp of rum.
Nami sighed loudly. "Someone else will have to fill him in later, then."
"Fill him in about what?" Luffy said, releasing his grip around Usopp's neck. They were coated in sand, from rolling around, roughhousing. Franky stopped teaching Chopper a dirty song and leaned in to listen.
"The Chief-san told us an interesting story about an old house at the very top of Noctac Island," Robin began. The firelight flickered in her eyes. "Long ago, a miser by the name of Percivus built a home on this island to keep his treasure away from thieves."
"Treasure?" Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky said simultaneously. Sanji gained interest and stopped drinking.
"Hundreds upon hundreds of gold coins." Nami's eyes turned to beli signs and she clasped her hands to her chest.
"Percivus was a miser, reluctant to share treasure with his crew," Robin continued. "Shortly upon finding a chest of gold coins, he slaughtered his crew and built his house on the least-inhabited island on the log pose route, where he remained until he died sixty-three years ago. Since then, many pirates who have stopped at this island attempted to obtain the treasure for themselves, never to be seen again."
"What happened to them?" Chopper said with wide eyes.
Robin shrugged. "No one knows. The Illwanii refuse to venture to the house. Some reports have been made of fleeing pirates in the middle of the night. The ships are always gone before morning."
"We're going there first thing tomorrow," Nami said, rubbing her palms together greedily.
"We're going there?!" Usopp pressed a hand against his head and swooned. "Oh, no. I'm coming down with a sudden case of Avoid-Certain-Death-itus."
"Let's go now!" Hands sprouted from the sand and clasped Luffy's ankles, as Luffy leapt to his feet. His run into the darkness ended with windmilling arms and a face-plant in the sand.
"It'll take us all day to walk there. Chief Aba said the terrain is steep further inland and daily rains create washouts of trails." Nami rose and dusted the sand from her backside. "I want everyone ready to leave the second the sun rises. No hangover excuses! And Zoro had better get his butt back here before then."
Sanji's thoughts, which had been distracted by the story, immediately snapped back to Zoro's butt and what had been happening to it. He choked on his spit.
"Are you all right?" Chopper asked, turning worried eyes on him.
Sanji nodded rapidly and got to his feet. "Fine. I'm fine. I'm going to turn in, so I can get up early enough to prepare breakfast and bentos for everyone."
Taking the jug of spiced rum, Sanji made his escape to the Thousand Sunny. However, he couldn't escape the images in his mind. With a tortured sound, he locked himself in his cabin and guzzled the remaining rum. "Shitty marimo," Sanji muttered, wiping his mouth and chin with his shirtsleeve. How was he going to look at Zoro tomorrow, seeing what he'd seen?
Cursing Zoro's name and proclivities, Sanji thunked the jug on his desk, crawled muzzy-headed into bed, and buried his head under his pillow. It was going to be a long, sleepless night.
Sleep didn't prove elusive, as Sanji dropped into a dreamless, alcohol-induced slumber. He woke with a banging on his door that echoed in his splitting head. "Nami says if you're not on deck in the next five seconds, she'll put her shirt on," Franky called through the door.
Sanji bolted upright, which was a huge mistake. He clamped a hand over his mouth, scrambled out of bed, and tore out of his cabin. Franky jumped out of the way, laughing as Sanji ran for the head.
Despite desperately wanting to, Sanji didn't drown himself in the flushed toilet. He forced himself through morning ablutions, trudged back to his cabin to change, and ventured on deck. Sunlight scorched his eyeballs when he stepped outside.
"Here, Sanji." Chopper appeared by Sanji's side and pressed a glass of hangover cure in his hand.
"Thank you, Chopper. You're off the menu indefinitely." Sanji drank the cure, willing it to work quickly. As usual, Chopper's medical skills were superb and his headache was already subsiding by the time he reached the galley.
"A million apologies, Nami-swan," Sanji said upon seeing her glower. She sat at the table, tapping her nails impatiently. "I'll have breakfast ready shortly."
"Don't worry, Sanji-kun," she said with false sweetness. "You're not the only one who slept in."
Dressed in a navy tank that clashed with his ratty green haramaki, Zoro clomped into the galley a moment later, carrying a sleeping Luffy and Usopp under each arm. He dropped them on the floor beside couch. Usopp woke immediately. "Don't hurt me!" Luffy continued snoring.
"Oi, cook," Zoro said, straddling the bench seat. He looked at Sanji impassively, as if nothing had happened the night before. "Where's breakfast? I'm hungry."
"You'll get it when it's ready." Sanji busied himself unlocking the refrigerator and gathering eggs, milk, and butter. Luckily, making breakfast took all his attention, as Luffy woke the instant food started cooking and he had to fend off his grabby captain. Robin, Chopper, and Franky joined everyone in the galley, taking their places around the table.
Sanji made the bentos while the others ate, half-listening for needs of refills or additional servings. He cleaned up quickly afterwards, shoulders tense, waiting for Zoro to corner him in the now empty galley. But Zoro never showed, and Sanji decided during that time that it was Zoro's fault for having sex in the open, where anyone could see him. If he had a problem with it, he should find a bedroom like any other respectable man.
By the time everyone was ready to go, it was well into morning and Nami had screamed at them a total of seventeen times. Sanji passed out the multiple bentos and water skins, keeping Nami and Robin's with his in his pack, so they would not have to carry them.
Skin flushed with anger, Nami snarled, "We're leaving now." Sanji watched the shift of her shorts-clad hips as she stormed off the Thousand Sunny.
Robin slid on her cowboy hat and caught up quickly with Nami. Chopper followed Zoro off the ship, and Luffy launched himself from the rail. Sanji grabbed Usopp by the back of his overalls and dragged him down the plank. Franky had drawn the short straw and would remain on watch. He waved from the deck. "Later!"
The pale bark trees curved over the path Nami located, heavy palm fronds shading it from the bright sun. The foliage became denser the deeper into the island they went. Birds chirped and sang overhead. Smaller animals chattered. The dirt path forked several times, but no one questioned Nami's directional sense. The terrain grew steeper as the morning stretched into afternoon.
"I am renown throughout the world as the Greatest Wine Taster from East Blue," Usopp was saying, with a wave of his arms. "I have traveled extensively, tasting wine from every vineyard. Only those that receive the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp's seal of approval are bottled."
"Oh?" Sanji said, taking a drag on his cigarette. He exhaled smoke letters of the alphabet, as Usopp went on. Ahead of him, Chopper gestured enigmatically while speaking with Zoro. He occasionally caught of glimpse of Robin's smile when she turned towards Nami, even further ahead.
"Woohoo!" Luffy swung past them, going from tree to tree like a rubber monkey.
"The secret to my success is all right here." Usopp tapped his long nose. "I am able to smell exactly what has been added to the wine. My sense of taste is beyond extraordinary, too. Why, one time, someone claimed to have a bottle of the rarest of red wines, but I, the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp, foiled his attempt at subterfuge and announced to everyone gathered that he had stolen a bottle from the neighbor's vineyard and changed the label."
"I'd like to see the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp in action." Sanji whipped out a wine glass and a small bottle of red wine.
Usopp's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. "You can't just pull a wine glass out of nowhere!"
"But I thought the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp would jump at the chance to show off his skill."
"I'mb comding down wib a code," Usopp said, and sniffed dramatically.
Sanji chuckled. He collapsed the portable glass and tucked it and the small bottle back in his pack. One never knew when a romantic situation would occur that required wine.
"Look out below!" Luffy bellowed.
Sanji looked ahead in time to see Zoro get conked with a coconut.
"Luffy!" Zoro yelled.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Zoro bolted after Luffy, who sprang quickly from tree to tree. They both went off the path.
"No! I will not have you two getting lost!" Nami exclaimed, her hands clenching into fists. "Get back here this instant!"
Hands grew out of the tree trunks, snared both Zoro and Luffy, and flung them back onto the path. Robin lowered her arms, as Nami stalked over to them and pounded them on the heads.
"Ow!" "Oi! You witch!"
Sanji threw his arms in the air and cheered. "Nami-swan is the best!"
Luffy and Zoro, with lumps on their heads, got to their feet and trudged at the front of the group under Nami's threatening fists. Usopp slid the coconut into his hipbag.
The sun climbed high overhead, piercing through the canopy of palm leaves. After a short lunch break, the hike continued. Sanji had left his jacket and tie on the ship and he rolled his blue shirtsleeves as the temperature climbed. The path grew even steeper and narrower. The dense trees prevented them from seeing how much closer they'd come to the top of the island.
"Camoberra!" Chopper veered to the edge of the path, with delight. He removed an empty jar from this backpack and began picking the tiny yellow berries. "This is excellent for soothing stomach aches."
"It makes for a delicious marinade, as well." Sanji crouched beside Chopper, his own jar opened to fill. "Adding it to a lemon-butter base with a variety of spices is fabulous with pork."
"It's interesting how a single plant can be used for many different things," Chopper said. "Like thisanle root. It's used to make a healing paste and can be woven into clothing."
"Porditheeny can be used in soup and relieves vision ailments," Sanji said, with a nod of enthusiasm for the conversation.
"Sasho cures sore throats and it's used in polishes. And Iroro-oh!" A drop of water falling on Chopper's nose surprised him.
A second drop landed on the back of Sanji's hand. He looked up. "Is it starting to rain?"
In answer, the sky opened into a downpour.
Sanji sputtered, drowning in a face full of rain. Chopper yelped and tugged at his hat. Further up the path, Luffy hooted and danced in a circle. Usopp held his bag over his head. Zoro folded his arms with a glower.
"No, no, no!" Nami stamped her feet, raising her fist to the sky. "There aren't even any clouds!"
Water ran off the rim of Robin's hat. "It is very peculiar, I agree, Navigator-san."
"Should we find shelter?" Chopper asked.
"We are not stopping," Nami stated, eyes flashing dangerously. Rain darkened her hair and glistened her skin. Sanji swooned with her beauty.
Spinning on her heel, Nami stormed up the path. The rest of the Straw Hats followed quickly.
The heavy rain poured steadily, soaking everyone to the skin. Sanji brushed his wet hair from his face, only to have it fall again over one eye. The dirt path became slippery mud, with small rivers of water running down the incline. Luffy fell on his face repeatedly, though Sanji thought it was on purpose. Chopper had mud up to his knees. Robin caught Nami before she slipped. Zoro's stomping sent splashes of muddy water everywhere.
"Uh, Nami…" Usopp ventured, mud coating his nose from falling. The path had steepened and Usopp hung on to the back of Zoro's haramaki. "Maybe we should stop."
"Forget it," Nami growled. "It's only rain. What's the worst that will happen? We get we-aaaaaahhhhh!"
The pounding hiss of the heavy rain had drowned out the sound of a rush of muddy water roaring down the steep path. Chief Aba had warned them of washouts. The wave came too fast for anyone to get out of the way. It hit Nami first, sweeping her feet from under her. She grabbed Robin's arm as she fell, taking Robin with her. Usopp tried running, but the slippery mud underfoot made his legs spin uselessly. He went down hard, yanking Zoro's haramaki half off.
"Hey!" Zoro exclaimed, batting Usopp's hand away and pulling his haramaki back into place. The distraction cost him. The water washed Nami and Robin into Zoro, knocking him over. His flailing arms caught Luffy, sending him sprawling. Luffy crashed head first into Chopper, who was launched into Sanji, and Sanji couldn't keep his balance in the slippery mud.
Head first, the water propelled Sanji down the slick path. Foliage whipped past his face in a green blur. He shot around a bend and became airborne for a moment before crashing back onto the muddy track. A cacophony of screams rang in the air.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
The steep path zigged and Chopper, who was lighter than Sanji, flew over Sanji's head. Sanji saw bulging eyes streaming with panic-tears and a wide open mouth, as Chopper sailed past. "AAAAHHHH!!!" Chopper screamed.
"AAAAAHHH!!!" Sanji screamed back.
The rain made a water-slide of the trail. The Straw Hats careened down the incline, which shot them along random forks in the path.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
The canopy vanished, the rain ceased abruptly, and the wave of water washed them right off the edge of a basin. Sanji flapped his arms, but couldn't stay airborne. He dropped like a stone, landing on his back in a soupy, earthen bowl of mud. His eyes widened when he saw Luffy plummeting toward him.
"Ack- oof." The air was crushed from Sanji's lungs when Luffy landed on top of him. Past Luffy's shoulder, Sanji saw Usopp nose-diving right for them. Aw, shit.
With a slurping noise, Sanji managed to roll himself and Luffy aside just in time. Usopp landed in the impression Sanji's body had made. Sanji pushed upright and craned his neck to see Zoro, with his arms around both girls, shoot over the edge into the air. The three landed in a pile, with Zoro on the bottom as a worthless, brawny cushion.
"Nami-san, Robin-chan, are you all right?" Sanji called, using Luffy as a stepstool as he hurried in their direction.
"That was fun!" Luffy declared. "Let's do it again."
Chopper appeared as if he'd been dipped in chocolate. He attended to Usopp's bent nose. Zoro helped Robin to her feet. Kneeling on the ground, drenched and mud-streaked, Nami pounded the mud. "I want my gold!"
"I will get it for you, Nami-swan!"
The heat returned with the cessation of the rain. The mud began drying quickly on and beneath their clothes. Sanji received a punch of love from Nami when he neared her. Chopper clucked his tongue, doctored the bruise, and went to check on Luffy.
"Now what?" Zoro said. He shook his head like a dog, spraying water and bits of mud. Some of it hit Nami and Robin.
"Watch what you're doing, asshole," Sanji snapped, his leg shooting out in a kick. Zoro blocked with a fast draw of a katana. Sanji narrowed his eyes, drew his leg back, and slammed it outwards again in three short, varied-leveled kicks. Zoro's katana rang against the sole of Sanji's shoe. Twisting his body, Sanji dove into a handstand, swinging his other leg up in a kick to the underside of Zoro's chin. Zoro jumped backwards, out of the way, and nearly fell into the kick anyway when he slipped in the mud.
"Should we return the way we came, or try a different route?" Robin asked, holding onto her hat as she peered up at the edge of the basin.
Shading her eyes, Nami looked into the distance. The highest point on the island was visible from the basin. "I think we'll take a shortcut and head straight through the trees."
Sanji righted himself, ducked under Zoro's swing, and aimed a snap kick to Zoro's knee. Zoro blocked, crossed swords ringing with the impact. Mud smeared along his jaw and diagonally over one eye. He struck out again with his blades. Sanji jumped in a split-leap, avoiding them. He landed and pivoted on his toe, using the mud to give additional torque to his spin kick.
A row of cupped hands appeared along the steep side of the basin. "Let's go, everyone," Nami ordered, as she began to climb the Devil's Fruit ladder.
Sanji snuck in one last kick to counter Zoro's slice, toeing mud into Zoro's face. He laughed at Zoro's sputter. "Shitty cook," Zoro grumbled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, making the mud smear like a mask.
"Stupid marimo," Sanji said, and hurried to climb up behind Robin. His tongue lolled to his belt buckle at the exquisite view above him.
Zoro climbed up behind him, followed by Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy, after leaving several mud angels in the basin.
"We're heading straight there," Nami declared. "No more stopping or being washed away by the rain."
The journey towards the top of the island continued, but it became a lot less fun. It was hotter walking through the trees, fighting against the knee-high plants and foliage. The mud dried, making clothing stiff and skin itch. Sanji puffed wearily on his cigarette. The washout seemed to have sapped the Straw Hats' energy. Luffy and Usopp's hands dragged on the ground as they trudged behind Zoro. Sanji carried Chopper on his back, the coating of dried mud making it too hard for Chopper to walk. Nami's determination remained, but her steps had slowed considerably.
The brook, when they came upon it, was like an appeasement from the island. Dappled sunlight filtering through the palm fronds glittered on the surface of the water. The brook wove through the trees, the burbling water flowing rapidly from the rain. It could be crossed with a running jump and Sanji could see to the shallow bottom.
All eyes turned to Nami pleadingly.
"Fine." Nami threw her hands in the air. "But don't take too long."
"Woohoo!" Luffy yelled, leapt into the air, and belly-flopped into the brook.
Nami shot Sanji a pointed glare. "And no peeking!"
"I would never act so ungentlemanly," Sanji said. In his mind, he cursed his bad luck, as he was going to do exactly that.
Nami and Robin walked further upstream, going around a bend in the trees. Hands sprung from the shoreline, plucking ferns and holding them up, shielding the girls more from view. Sanji stabbed out his cigarette with an unfulfilled sigh. So close, yet so far away.
Luffy threw his clothing out of the water and tossed his hat. "Sanji, catch!"
Sanji caught the precious straw hat and set it on the shoreline. He toed of his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt. Chopper tugged off his hat and set it on his backpack before wading into the brook. Luffy floated on his back in the middle, blowing water into the air like a whale. Usopp knelt near the edge of the stream, bare ass in the air as he scrubbed mud from his overalls. Zoro's two katanas and the third sword lay atop his pile of clothing, but Zoro was nowhere to be seen.
Stashing his cigarettes and lighter in his pack, Sanji finished removing his clothes and brought the dirty ones with him into the brook. The water deepened towards the middle of the stream, coming up to mid-thigh. He threw his shirt over his shoulder and scrubbed the dried mud off his trousers first. He turned to toss them to the shore.
The surface of the stream rippled nearby and Zoro surged to his feet. Sanji's trousers fell short of the shore. The water sluicing from Zoro's naked form caught Sanji's gaze. Sunlight glistened across the breadth of Zoro's shoulders and the curve of his ass. Corded muscle shifted beneath the tanned skin of his thighs. His biceps bulged as he scrubbed his hands through his hair.
Sanji's mouth ran dry. He'd seen Zoro naked numerous times - the Going Merry hadn't been that big and they'd been in similar situations before with the need for outdoor bathing - but he didn't remember Zoro looking like this: raw and powerful, with shadows arching under the defined muscles of his chest and abs, the slight shine of his scar, the darkened dip of his navel, the thin trail of green hair that led Sanji's eyes further down.
Shit. Sanji's eyes jerked upwards, the blatant sight of Zoro's package shocking him from his stare, to meet Zoro's unperturbed gaze. Sanji felt a rush of heat to his cheeks and he lashed out with discomfort. "What are you looking at, marimo?"
Zoro's eyebrows climbed. "What am I looking at? How about you?"
Sanji fixed a smirk on his face and purposefully glanced at Zoro's crotch again. "I'm looking at nothing."
Zoro's expression darkened and he slashed his arm across the water, sending up a wave that sprayed Sanji in the face.
Sanji coughed, wiped the water from his eyes, and growled, "Oh, it's on." He pulled his shirt from his shoulder, twisted it quickly, dipped it in the water, and snapped the end at Zoro.
"Oi!" Zoro jumped backwards, as the wet tail slapped his stomach. He cut his arm across the water again, splashing Sanji.
"WATER FIGHT!" Luffy bellowed and tackled Zoro from behind.
"Luffy!" Zoro staggered forward, catching his balance. Sanji used the distraction to his advantage and snapped his shirt at Zoro again. It left a red welt across one of Zoro's thighs. "Bastard cook."
"Wuss," Sanji countered, and then smacked Luffy's bare ass with the shirt because it was there.
"Yeow!" Luffy let go of Zoro and collapsed back into the water, sending up a splash. Chopper took that moment to pop up in front of Sanji, changing rapidly to human size, and shake his fur. Water drops whipped around, hitting both Sanji and Zoro.
"And now, the Master of Water Fighting will demonstrate how it is really done!" Usopp declared. Standing naked on the shore, he used his smaller slingshot to send a small projectile into the air. It arced and whizzed down in the middle of the brook, near Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Chopper. The instant it hit the surface, it exploded, sending up a whoosh of water that drenched them all.
"YOU GUYS BETTER NOT BE HORSING AROUND OVER THERE!"
Usopp's eyes bulged and he hid his slingshot behind his back. Chopper shrunk and cowered behind Sanji. Zoro wiped a hand over his face, failing to hide a grin. Sanji was properly cowed by his fiery love's temper, but it didn't last long. Luffy flicked water with his fingers at Zoro, devilment in his smile. Zoro flicked water back. Sanji used the end of his shirt to snap the surface of the brook, getting both of them. Soon, Usopp and Chopper joined in, the splashing grew louder, and laughter and shouted insults filled the air, until Nami's shout of "YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE BEFORE I PUMMEL YOU ALL" sent them scrambling to the shore.
Once redressed, after Nami and Robin joined them, they continued on their way.
Pale weathered wood and dark empty windows made the house look like a misshapen monster's skull in the moonlight. The land around the house was barren. Scrubby weeds poked from the hard-packed dirt. Crumbling steps led to the broken door hanging from one hinge. The amorphous shadows of the Straw Hats stretched towards the house, like black ghosts reaching for home.
Sanji shifted his torch to his other hand. It had taken them until well past nightfall to reach the top of Noctac Island. Zoro set Chopper on his hooves and snagged Luffy's collar before he ran ahead of them into the house.
"It doesn't look like anyone's home," Usopp said, peering cautiously around Sanji's shoulder. "We should come back another day."
Nami gulped, staring fearfully at the house. Then, she thinned her lips. "Come on," Nami said, determination in the tilt of her chin. Torch held high, she marched towards the house.
"Someone should stay out here, t-to protect everyone from intruders." Usopp backed away. "I, the Brave Captain Usopp, volunteer to t-take on such a-a-a dangerous task."
Sanji grabbed Usopp's nose and dragged him after the others.
The landing steps creaked ominously underfoot and the door whined as Nami pushed it open. "Um, Zoro? Why don't you go first?" she said, taking a step back.
Zoro tramped readily into the house, with Luffy on his heels. Everyone else followed. The yellow glow of the flickering torches illuminated the front entryway. Faded paint coated the walls. A hatstand leaned in the corner. A cracked mirror reflected their broken faces. Open doorways gaped on either side of the front hall and a worn staircase led up to the second floor.
"How do you propose we search, Navigator-san?" Robin asked.
"We'll have to split up," Nami replied, sounding not too happy about it. "Sanji, Luffy, Chopper, and Robin, you look around down here. Zoro, Usopp, and I will check upstairs."
"Call if you need help, Nami-swan, and I shall come to your rescue," Sanji said, clasping her hand. "Unless you'd like me to come with you now…?"
Nami pulled her hand free. "No, thank you, Sanji-kun. I'd be much more grateful if you found my gold."
"I will find it immediately!" Fueled by the desire to please his goddess, Sanji chose a doorway and got to work.
The interior of the house was as rundown as the exterior, having been unlived in for sixty-three years. Dust and cobwebs coated the surfaces of rotting furniture. Stains marred the rugs and paint was chipping on the walls. Shattered glass twinkled on the floor in the torchlight. Sanji discovered evidence of fights that occurred, a reminder that other pirates had searched for Percivus's treasure, only to disappear.
"I found something!" Chopper exclaimed, searching in a cabinet filled with broken curios. Sanji stepped over a tipped table with cracked legs, hurrying to Chopper's side. Lowering the torch, he looked at the tarnished coin in Chopper's forehoof.
Experience told Sanji it was gold discolored with age. An image of a hook-nosed old man with a vicious scowl on his face stamped the front of the coin. Sanji picked it up and turned it over. On the back was a picture of a human heart and beneath it the inscription aures est anima - gold is life.
"I think this is it," Sanji said, excitement building inside him. Chief Aba's story might be true! He tucked the coin in his pocket and turned his attention to the curio cabinet. "Where did you find it?"
"It was sitting on the shelf," Chopper said.
"There has to be more of it." Sanji ground out his cigarette, switched the torch to his other hand, and began searching the shelves. "A treasure doesn't consist of only one gold coin."
"I don't see any others, though." Chopper ransacked the lower shelves. Sanji knocked on the wood on the back and sides of the cabinet, looking for a secret cache. Upending the cabinet sent a hiding rat scurrying across Sanji's shoes, but revealed no more gold.
Scowling, Sanji lit another cigarette, as Chopper knocked on the wall that the cabinet had been against. The rest of the living room had already been searched without turning up anything. Sanji decided they'd just have to search it again.
"Six gold coins." Nami stared forlornly at the small pile in her hand. The Straw Hats had gathered in the dilapidated study hours later, after fruitless searching. "Only six gold coins."
Sanji opened his arms and rushed towards her. "I will comfort you, Nami-swan."
Nami's arm shot out, halting Sanji with her fist without looking away from the coins. "I can't believe there are only six."
"Maybe the other pirates took the rest of the treasure," Luffy said, perched on the scratched old desk. Candles and holders had been found in the kitchen, replacing the torches.
Robin paged through a yellowed book. Extra hands replaced the books littering the floor back on the bookshelves. "It is a possibility, Captain-san."
Zoro's jaw cracked with a yawn and he elbowed Usopp, leaning sleepily against him. "Are we done, then?"
"I guess." Nami's shoulders slumped and she tucked the coins in her cleavage. "There are three bedrooms upstairs. We'll stay here the rest of the night and head back to the Thousand Sunny in the morning."
With seven people and three bedrooms, they'd be forced to share. Sanji's mind went to a happy place.
"Good morning, Sanji-kun," Nami said, cuddling up on his left side in bed.
"Good morning, Nami-swan," Sanji said. He curved his arm around her waist, fingering the flimsy material of her nightgown.
"Did you sleep well, Cook-san?" Robin asked, snuggling against his right side.
"I slept wonderfully, Robin-chwan." Sanji slid his hand lower down her back. "What would you two lovely ladies like to do this fine morning?"
Robin and Nami giggled. "How about we stay in bed?"
"Robin-chwan, Nami-" Sanji blinked several times and looked around the study. He was alone. "Shit." He'd missed his chance again.
Cursing his luck, he picked up the candle left for him and headed upstairs. Three of the doors in the rose-colored corridor were shut tight. A sign was tacked on the closed door nearest the stairs.
STAY OUT. This means you, Sanji.
With a sigh, Sanji continued down the hall. The single open door led into an empty bedroom and Sanji set his candleholder on the single bedside table. A faded canopy curtained the large double bed. Moonlight angled through the broken glass window, casting fractured patterns on the stained blue rug. The door hung off the tall armoire, revealing empty shelves inside.
Sanji smacked the bed covers, sending up a cloud of dust that made him cough. He didn't care much about the dust or dirt, but bedbugs? Sanji shuddered and beat the bed again.
"What are you doing?" Zoro said from the darkened doorway.
"What does it look like, idiot?" Sanji picked up the husk pillow. A puff of dust tickled his nose when he hit it. He sneezed.
Zoro kicked shut the bedroom door. "Prissy cook."
"Annoying asshole." Sanji tossed the pillow back on the bed. Zoro crossed behind him to put his extinguished candle on the bedside table. Why did he always get stuck sharing a room with Zoro? "One snore and I'm kicking your head in."
"Hn." Broad hands snaked around Sanji's waist, making him freeze in shock. The length of Zoro's body pressed against Sanji's back and his breath was hot against the shell of Sanji's ear. "Wanna fuck?"
Sanji choked on his tongue. "Wh-what?"
"Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper are asleep and the girls won't come out of their room." Zoro's fingers rucked up Sanji's shirt in the front, working it free from his waistband. "Come on. I've been horny since you came onto me at the river."
"I came onto you? What the hell are you talking about? I didn't come onto you," Sanji said, attempting to keep his voice level. It had to be a joke. Zoro was messing with him, trying to get a freaked-out reaction. "This is revenge for last night, when I found you and that guy-" Sanji sucked in a sharp breath when Zoro slid his hand beneath Sanji's untucked shirt. The calluses on Zoro's palm and fingertips felt rough against Sanji's stomach. An uncomfortable heat bloomed in Sanji's gut.
"Having you watch turned me on." Zoro's mouth trailed on the nape of Sanji's neck. "Do you want to fuck me? Or can I fuck you?" Zoro's other hand dropped lower, cupping the front of Sanji's crotch.
"Shit!" Sanji jumped at the intimate touch, shoved Zoro's arms away, vaulted onto the bed, and mule-kicked.
"What the hell?" Zoro blocked the kick with crossed forearms, staggering backwards several steps on impact. "Why the fuck are you kicking me?"
"You touched my dick!" Sanji crouched on the bed, ready to kick Zoro again if he came any closer. "I can't believe you touched my dick!"
"We're gonna have sex. Of course I touched your dick."
Sanji's jaw dropped. Zoro was serious. "Are you crazy? I'd never have sex with you. Ever."
"Then why the hell did you come on to me?" Zoro said, growing angry.
"I didn't come on to you, you shitty pervert!"
Zoro's expression blackened. "You keep telling yourself that," he growled, taking a menacing step closer to the bed. He jabbed his finger in Sanji's direction. "And if you ever call me a pervert again, I'll be touching your dick when I rip it off." He snatched the lit candle off the bedside table and stalked out of the room. The door slamming echoed against the walls.
Sanji collapsed onto his ass in a puff of dust. He was breathing heavily. Zoro had wanted to have sex with him. Sex. The same kind of sex he'd seen Zoro and the Illwani having last night, dirty and wrong, stroking his hard cock while being fucked from behind. Only, it would be Sanji instead of the Illwani fucking Zoro. Sanji, pinning Zoro against that tree - on this bed - overpowering him in the most base way.
The heat that had previously bloomed in his belly grew white hot. Sanji's trousers tightened, his cock hardening, and he bit his lower lip. He hadn't thought about it like that. Zoro would submit to him, showing once and for all who was superior.
Zoro would want to touch him, though. Maybe even kiss him, like a girl did during sex. Sanji'd had to kiss some not-so-attractive whores in the past; kissing Zoro couldn't be much different. And touching… Sanji rubbed his hand over his stomach. Zoro had touched him just now and it hadn't felt too weird, except when he touched Sanji's cock, but Sanji hadn't been expecting that. He supposed if he tried it and didn't like it, he didn't have to do it again, and he'd always have the experience to lord over Zoro.
So, he was going to do it. Sanji climbed off the bed, lit a cigarette, and then lit the remaining candle. He smoothed his shirt and brushed the dust from his trousers as best he could. Course set, he left the bedroom in search of Zoro.
Zoro was downstairs in the study, stacking books on the shelf where Robin had left off, restrained anger in his movements. He glanced up and sneered when Sanji entered the room. "Piss off."
Sanji set his candleholder on the desk beside Zoro's and slid his hands in his pockets. He clenched his fingers. "I changed my mind. Let's fuck."
"Ha!" Zoro laughed sarcastically. "Fat chance."
Sanji should've guessed this would happen. If he really wanted to do this, he'd have to prove it. He took a final drag off his cigarette, stubbed it out, and walked over to Zoro. Zoro glared at Sanji, chest puffed with belligerence. He didn’t back up when Sanji got into his space. They were the same height. All Sanji had to do was tilt his head slightly, lean forward, and kiss Zoro.
Zoro's lips felt the same as any other lips Sanji had kissed. That didn't stop Sanji from screaming internally: SHIT, I'M KISSING ZORO! He jerked his head back, heart hammering in his chest. He stared wide-eyed at Zoro.
Zoro appeared somewhat stunned, and then he shook his head, bemused. "Aho cook," Zoro declared, wrapped his hand around the back of Sanji's neck, and brought their mouths together again.
The kiss felt nothing like any other kiss Sanji had had before. Zoro's lips were wide and harsh, and Sanji felt it all the way down to his toes. He grasped Zoro's arms, trying to keep up with the kiss, as Zoro tasted every corner of Sanji's mouth. He didn't know they'd moved until he bumped the edge of the desk.
Zoro nudged between Sanji's legs, bringing their lower bodies flush. Sanji felt the solid ridge of Zoro's erection alongside his own through the material of their trousers. He made a desperate sound that he'd later deny and dug his fingers into Zoro's arms.
Zoro broke the kiss, dragging his lips wetly across Sanji's cheek to his ear. "Shit, I always knew you'd kiss good," his teeth nipped Sanji's earlobe, "with that filthy mouth of yours."
"Fuck," Sanji rasped, bucking his hips reflexively.
"Yeah," Zoro breathed hotly, grinding his pelvis against Sanji's. "Like that."
Sanji stared blindly at the cord of muscle curving Zoro's shoulder. He was losing control and he couldn't let that happen. He just hadn't expected Zoro's kissing would be good.
But Sanji knew he was better. He got his hand under Zoro's jaw, turned his head, and slanted his lips over Zoro's again. Zoro opened readily, and Sanji deepened the kiss. His tongue slid against Zoro's, teasing at first, until Sanji remembered he didn't need to be gentle and consumed instead. Zoro clutched painfully at the back of Sanji's neck, exhaling noisily, grinding against Sanji. The hilts of Zoro's swords poked Sanji in the side. Sanji could only think oh, thank fuck when Zoro pressed the heel of his palm against Sanji's hard-on through his trousers and rubbed.
Sanji pried his mouth away, panting harshly, his lips stinging from the kiss. Zoro had both hands at Sanji's waistband now, pawing at the button and zipper. Sanji watched, blood pumping hotly, as Zoro freed Sanji's erection and gripped it in a tight fist. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sanji panted, bucking into Zoro's hand.
Zoro sucked his lower lip behind his teeth and bit down hard. He shoved at his trousers, pulling out his own hard, flushed cock. He pressed it against Sanji's, capturing them both in his fist.
Hot. Stiff. Sticky from sweat. Sanji dug his fingers under the edge of the desk, as the world narrowed to Zoro's cock held against his own. Zoro stroked them both with short, rough jerks, and Sanji could already feel the orgasm lifting his balls. Zoro's earrings jingled with every stroke. A wildness twisted in Sanji's gut. "Shit, Zoro…"
A choked sound came from Zoro's throat and the hand around them spasmed. Sanji was going to come. He was going to come. He was going to-
"YEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Sanji and Zoro's heads jerked up at the female scream, coming from upstairs. "That was Nami-san."
Zoro was halfway out the door in an instant, yanking his trousers up as he ran. Sanji had a bit more trouble with closing his button and zipper over his hard-on. "Shit, shit, shit." He managed to get himself fastened and bolted upstairs.
He crashed into Zoro at the same time Zoro crashed into Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, and the five of them went down in a heap in front of Nami and Robin's door.
"HELP!" Robin cried.
Zoro untangled himself first and slammed the door open with his shoulder. He drew his katana as he burst into the bedroom. Sanji used Usopp's face as a prop to scramble to his feet and charged after Zoro.
Dual candles splashed yellow, flickering patterns on the chipped pink walls. The rug was threadbare underfoot. Two rotting armoires flanked either side of a splintered window. Nami lay on one side of the large, ornate bed, a hulking figure wearing what looked like a tarnished suit of armor bending over her, its hands around her neck. Her face was red from choking.
Robin stood behind the figure, arms crossed to use her Devil's Fruit powers, but there was fear on her face. Four hands grew out of the armor and immediately fell off the body with a jingling sound. The hands vanished when they hit the floor. Scattered around the figure's feet were tarnished circlets.
"Robin, duck!" Zoro yelled, and swung his katana. Robin dropped to a crouch and Zoro's sword cut right through the figure's neck. Circlets scattered from the edge of the blade. The head tumbled off and exploded on the floor with the noise of falling change.
The figure didn't fall. Instead, circlets of the chain armor began to shift and grow until a new head formed.
"Zoro!" Sanji shouted, and Zoro ducked as Sanji grabbed the bedpost and swung his body over both Zoro's and Robin's. His feet slammed into the figure's back and passed right through. "What?!" Sanji slung around the bedpost, as a part of the body collapsed with the jingle of change and immediately began to reform.
"Get your hands off my nakama!" Luffy demanded from the doorway. He drew his fist back. "Gomu gomu no pistol!"
Luffy's rubber punch stretched across the bedroom and knocked into the figure's head. Like with Sanji's kick, Luffy's fist passed right through the head, which reformed with a jingle.
"Rumble!" Chopper ran past Luffy, leapt onto the bed, and under the figure's arms. "Guard Point!" His fur puffed out, forcefully putting distance between the figure and Nami. The jingle of hundreds of coins falling rang in the room, as the figure's upper body collapsed.
Nami rolled quickly to the other side of the bed, leaving a scattering of circlets behind her. Luffy pulled her off the other side of the bed and put himself protectively in front of her. "What the hell is that thing?" Nami gasped, eyes watering, clutching her hand to her neck.
The body started reforming in a different shape, in front of everyone's astonished eyes. Chopper yelped when the circlets on the bed started rolling towards the body. Robin snatched one of the pieces with a Devil's hand before it reached the body and tossed it to Sanji. Sanji caught it and was startled to find it pulling against his closed hand.
The thing finished shaping into a snake and it slithered fast under the bed. "Damn it," Zoro cursed, and dropped to his knees to peer underneath.
"AAAAHHH!" Nami screamed. The thing shot out from under the bed and twined up her leg and around her body before anyone blinked. It wrapped around her throat, cutting off her second scream. "AAAHH-"
"Nami!" Luffy spun around.
Usopp's slingshot from the doorway hit the thing around Nami's neck. It partially exploded, circlets falling to the ground. Nami took a gasping breath, but the thing filled in the spot and started choking her again.
Luffy pulled at the thing, sending circlets flying everywhere. It kept reforming the moment he was done.
"Cook-san?" Robin said, desperation in her tone. Hands sprung up all over Nami's body and began pulling at the circlets.
Sanji wiggled his other fingers into his closed fist and pinched whatever it was on either side, before opening his hand. He nearly lost the thing with the sudden pull, as if it were trying to get back to the body. One close look and he knew what it was. "It's a gold coin, like the ones we found."
"What?!" Usopp exclaimed.
Sanji could now make out the emblems on the thing wrapped around Nami: the hook-nosed man and the heart. "It's made entirely of gold coins!"
"Who cares?! How do we kill it?" Zoro said, hacking at the lower parts of the coin-snake without nicking Nami.
"I don't know!"
"Maybe there's information in one of the books," Chopper said, already galloping for the door. Usopp rushed after him.
"Go, Cook-san. Help them. Hurry," Robin said.
Sanji tightened his grip on the coin and ran out the door. He careened into the study, right behind Usopp and Chopper. Zoro and Sanji's candles still burned on the desk where they'd set them. Sanji felt a brief rush of desire for things left unfinished, but it disappeared with a wave of worry for Nami-san.
Sanji shoved the coin in a desk drawer, closing it in. It rattled against the inside, trying to get free.
"How will we find anything in all these books?" Usopp despaired.
"Look for a picture," Chopper said, picking up a book and flipping quickly through it. "Or maybe a diary. Percivus had these coins first. He may have written about them."
Sanji grabbed the nearest book. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Time was passing, and Nami-san could be dying, and Sanji felt so useless. He threw the book over his shoulder and grabbed another and another. Usopp dropped a book and cursed. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture.
"Diary!" Usopp stumbled over his own feet, rushing to show Chopper. "It was in the broken bottom desk drawer. I saw it when I was picking up the other book."
Chopper took it and began skimming the pages rapidly. Sanji held his breath. The flickering candles cast devilish shadows on the walls. "Here. It's here," Chopper said finally, more than halfway through the diary. "The coin-thing is alive! Percivus didn't slaughter his crew, this monster did. He found the coins in a locked iron chest and had the whole chest transported to his ship. He broke the lock to look at the treasure and kept the chest in his cabin. He writes of having found a coin occasionally on the ship, but he'd immediately put it back in the chest. It was lucky he did. The monster sets out a few coins as bait and then hunts whatever takes the coins. His crew must've found coins and pocketed them, leading them to their doom."
"What does it say about killing the thing?" Sanji pressed.
Chopper shook his head, leafing further through the diary. "You can't. The closest Percivus ever came was to locking all the coins in the chest again. He brought the chest here to keep it away from people."
"We've got to find that chest, then." Sanji looked around the room, not remembering if he saw one in there. There hadn't been one in the living room. "Usopp, do you recall seeing one?"
"No, but I will search again until it is found!" Usopp charged out of the study, in search of the chest.
"I'll go and tell the others what we've learned," Chopper said, tucking the diary under his arm.
"I'll help Usopp," Sanji said, finally able to do something to help.
He and Usopp tore the house apart, Chopper and Zoro joining them in the search for the iron chest. They didn't find it until Zoro fell through the rotted porch on the back of the house. It lay on its side underneath the porch, surrounded broken and decaying skeleton bones. Zoro dragged it out between the posts. "There's no lock."
"Aha! I know where one is!" Usopp said.
Zoro hefted the chest and headed quickly upstairs, while Usopp retrieved a lock. Sanji dashed back to the study to get the coin from the drawer and ran up to the girls' bedroom.
Lying on the floor in the bedroom, Nami wheezed after Luffy's every scoop of the coins away from her throat. Fury creased his brow, but he kept the same rhythm, enabling Nami to continue breathing. Robin stopped the coins on her chest from compressing and crushing her.
"We have to get all these coins into the chest somehow." Zoro set the chest beside Nami and Luffy. He moved back next to Sanji, hand on the hilt of his katana.
"I will do it, Swordsman-san," Robin said, and the fury on her face was equal to that of Luffy's. "Be ready to close the chest."
Zoro and Sanji nodded. Chopper, human-sized, moved behind the chest and put his hand on the lid.
Robin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Luffy, move! Now!"
Luffy sprang back, off of Nami. "Cien Fleur!" A hundred hands sprouted from the floor and over Nami's body. Nami was lifted in the air and then the hands were grabbing the coins at blurring speeds and throwing them into the chest.
"Close it!" she exclaimed.
Sanji winged the coin in his hand into the chest right before Chopper slammed the lid. Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy jumped on the chest, as the chest started to bounce and shake. Chopper knelt hurriedly by Nami, checking her over. Robin searched the room for any coin she might have missed.
"I have the lock!" Usopp yelled as he ran into the bedroom. He held a fat iron lock high above his head. The hinge hung open.
"Robin-" Sanji said.
"I see none, Cook-san," Robin replied.
Sanji held out his hand for the lock. Usopp gave it to him and he slapped it on the chest. The chink of the lock catching was music to Sanji's ears. He sat back on his heels and stared darkly at the chest. He wanted to kick it to the moon, for daring to hurt Nami-san.
"What do we do with it?" Usopp asked, crouching beside Sanji. Zoro and Luffy sat on the chest, bouncing with it as the coins tried to escape.
"I say we throw it into the sea, so no one else will ever find it," Nami rasped, sitting up with Chopper's aid. She had coin-shaped bruising around her neck.
"Nami-san, are you all right?" Sanji said, scooting over to her.
Nami waved her hand. "I'm fine. Pissed off that I'm going to lose all this gold, but fine."
"We'll take it with us tomorrow and throw it into the sea," Robin said, wrapping her real arm around Nami's shoulder.
Chopper glanced towards the window. "It's almost morning. In another hour or so, it'll be light outside."
"We should try to get some sleep," Nami rasped. "It's a long walk back."
"You're probably right," Usopp said. "We should do exactly that."
But no one moved from the bedroom, instead keeping an eye on Nami and the chest the rest of the night.
Part Two
Pairing: Sanji x Zoro, Zoro x Sanji
Rating: NC-17
Part: 1/2
Word Count: 20.000
Spoilers: Post-Enies Lobby
Notes: Credit to AD&D Creatures of the Night: The Created GM guide and Dungeon magazine for assistance in this fic. And, of course, to Oda-sensei for making the boys with interlocking parts.
Summary: Somehow, when he wasn't paying attention, Zoro had become an integral part of his life.
Red and gold flames reached towards the velvet sky studded with stars. Laughter and chatter rose and fell with the drumbeats and chanting voices. Illwanii natives, painted with berry-tinted patterns of stripes, circles, and dots on their faces, danced or sat around the bonfire with the Straw Hat crew. Faces and fur painted from head to toe, Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper threw their arms out and kicked their legs in no discernable rhythm as they danced around the circle with the Illwanii. Behind them, Franky did his own dance, peppering the chanting with "Yow!" and "Super!" and striking a pose. Robin and Nami sat with the tribal leader, listening to his tales, their cheeks warmed by a smaller fire ring and spiced rum. With a mug in hand, Zoro leaned propped on his elbows near the dancers, two berry-painted stripes streaking over his nose from ear to ear.
The sand tickled between Sanji's toes and warmed the soles of his bare feet. Spiced rum lightened his head. His jacket had been discarded hours ago, though his pale yellow shirt remained tucked in and his tie knotted and clipped in place in deference to being a guest. Smoke from his cigarette mingled with smoke from the barbeque. He rotated the skewers cooking over the flames, having taken over from the Illwanii cook. The Thousand Sunny had stopped at the island, called Noctac by the Illwanii, on their way to the next log pose destination, so Nami could add it to her map. The friendly natives were a bonus.
Waves lapped the shore behind Sanji. He watched his nakama with a small smile, liking that they were enjoying themselves. There were times when being at sea was rough, not counting all the battles the Straw Hats got into with the Marines, other pirates, or occasionally entire countries. Being welcomed readily, for once, was nice.
Luffy added a rubbery twist to his dancing that ended up knocking half the dancers to the sand when he untwisted with a snap. His laughter echoed across the beach. Past them, yet another girl approached Zoro and was quickly rebuffed. Sanji shook his head, adding one more mark to his mental tally in evidence that Zoro was a eunuch. Two Illwanii ladies, with scraps of material covering their breasts, giggled as they walked up to the barbeque. Sanji forgot about Zoro as the ladies called his name.
"Sanji-san," Ola said, tugging on his left arm. "Come and dance with us."
"Yes, Sanji-san," Twii said, tugging on his right arm. "Come and dance."
"I will dance a thousand dances, so long as they're with two beauties such as you," Sanji cooed, crooking his elbows. Ola and Twii giggled again and Sanji let himself be dragged towards the bonfire, hearts trailing in his wake.
The drumming and chanting seemed to liven as the night wore on. Sanji danced around the ring, Ola in front of him and Twii behind him. Sanji kicked sand at Zoro when he passed, earning a glare. One of the young Illwanii men was talking with Zoro the next time Sanji came around the ring. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper wove in and out of the dancers, chasing each other with laughter. Luffy knocked into Ola and Sanji caught her before she fell.
"Are you all right?" he asked, cradling her with his arm while kicking Luffy in the head.
Ola giggled and batted her eyelashes at him. "You saved me, Sanji-san."
"It was my pleasure, my delectable Ola-swan." Sanji righted her, but didn't remove his arm from around her waist. "Perhaps we should sit for a while. Somewhere out of the way, where you won't be hurt."
"That would be wonderful." Ola looked past Sanji at Twii. "Wouldn't it, Twii?"
"Yes," Twii linked her hand with Sanji's with a coy smile, "wonderful."
Sanji snorted steam and led them away from the bonfire before they changed their minds. They led him down to the water, and he tried not to get blood on his shirt from the nosebleed as the ladies frolicked in the surf. It's marvelous to be me…
Damp and disheveled, Sanji returned to the festivities with a grin on his face and hearts in his eyes. "Sanji!" Luffy grabbed Sanji and dragged him into the dance circle again. The bonfire crackled and the flames rose as more wood was added. The drums pounded faster. Hands linked with Luffy in front of him and Chopper dangling between his and Usopp's hands from behind, he kicked up his feet and danced.
"Sanji-kun," Nami called. "Bring everyone over here."
"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji called back. He got Franky's attention. Hands still linked, he pulled Chopper and Usopp out of the circle and headed to where Nami and Robin sat. The tribal leader had gone, leaving them alone at a smaller fire ring. Franky followed Sanji and dropped cross-legged into the sand beside Robin.
"Where's Zoro?" Nami asked, looking around.
Sanji craned his neck. Zoro was no longer seated near the dancers, though his mug remained. Sanji wondered when he'd left. "I don't see him."
"Go and find him, Sanji-kun," Nami said. "I want to talk to everyone at once."
"Very well, Nami-swan." Sanji didn't want to, but Nami-san had asked and he couldn't refuse her anything. He gave Luffy's hand to Franky, ducked under Luffy's rubber arm that stretched to the dance circle, and went looking for Zoro.
He probably got lost taking a piss, Sanji thought when he failed at locating Zoro on the beach. He wasn't on the Thousand Sunny, either. With a disgruntled sigh, Sanji set off into the trees. Large palm fronds weighed the tops of the tropical trees. Knee-high ferns and indigenous plants brushed Sanji's legs as he walked deeper into the island's terrain. He could still see the glow from the bonfire behind him. Night birds called to one another in the distance. Sanji listened for other animals, not wanting to become a late night snack.
A low moaning stopped Sanji in his tracks. It didn't last long and Sanji didn't hear anything else. Cautiously, he crept in the direction the sound had come from. It could've been an animal, but it also could've been that idiot marimo, injured or something.
"Or something" turned out to be the right answer. Sanji drew up short, gasp catching in the back of his throat. Eyes wide, he stared at the scene framed between two palm trees a short distance away. His profile to Sanji, Zoro leaned his forehead against his bent arm, braced against the trunk of another tree. His trousers were bunched around his thighs and the young Illwanii man that'd been talking with Zoro earlier was- he was-
Sanji knew about sodomy; he'd grown up on a ship crewed by pirates-turned-cooking staff. Aside from the lewd stories, he'd stumbled upon Patty and Carne in the storeroom on more than one occasion. He'd never tried it himself, because the men were too afraid of Zeff and customers were off limits. Besides which, women were much more soft and supple, and smelled better.
Zoro was anything but soft. He worked his left hand over his erection, as the Illwanii fucked him. Sanji swallowed, tugging at the too tight collar of his shirt. It never dawned on him that the reason Zoro turned down women was because he preferred being fucked by men.
Sanji knew he hadn't made a sound, but Zoro turned his head and his stare cut through the dimness to land right on Sanji. Zoro didn't say or mouth anything, or make murderous comments with his gaze. Temple resting against his forearm, he continued to watch Sanji watching him, hand still pumping his hard cock as the Illwanii pounded into him. Sanji's gut clenched and the night grew hotter. He couldn't tear his gaze from Zoro's. Blood rushed in his ears, blocking out any sounds. A bead of sweat tickled the underside of his jaw. He licked his dry lips.
Zoro's hand jerked harder on his cock and he closed his eyes. The loss of connection jolted Sanji back to reality. He was standing there watching Zoro get fucked. What was wrong with him? Whirling around, Sanji crashed back the way he came through the trees, not caring about how much noise he was making. He yanked at his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. Shitting hell. He snagged a jug of spiced rum when he got back to the beach and downed as much of it as he could.
Sanji avoided Nami's eyes when he joined his nakama around the small fire circle. "Where's Zoro?" she asked.
"Couldn't find him," Sanji lied, and downed another gulp of rum.
Nami sighed loudly. "Someone else will have to fill him in later, then."
"Fill him in about what?" Luffy said, releasing his grip around Usopp's neck. They were coated in sand, from rolling around, roughhousing. Franky stopped teaching Chopper a dirty song and leaned in to listen.
"The Chief-san told us an interesting story about an old house at the very top of Noctac Island," Robin began. The firelight flickered in her eyes. "Long ago, a miser by the name of Percivus built a home on this island to keep his treasure away from thieves."
"Treasure?" Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and Franky said simultaneously. Sanji gained interest and stopped drinking.
"Hundreds upon hundreds of gold coins." Nami's eyes turned to beli signs and she clasped her hands to her chest.
"Percivus was a miser, reluctant to share treasure with his crew," Robin continued. "Shortly upon finding a chest of gold coins, he slaughtered his crew and built his house on the least-inhabited island on the log pose route, where he remained until he died sixty-three years ago. Since then, many pirates who have stopped at this island attempted to obtain the treasure for themselves, never to be seen again."
"What happened to them?" Chopper said with wide eyes.
Robin shrugged. "No one knows. The Illwanii refuse to venture to the house. Some reports have been made of fleeing pirates in the middle of the night. The ships are always gone before morning."
"We're going there first thing tomorrow," Nami said, rubbing her palms together greedily.
"We're going there?!" Usopp pressed a hand against his head and swooned. "Oh, no. I'm coming down with a sudden case of Avoid-Certain-Death-itus."
"Let's go now!" Hands sprouted from the sand and clasped Luffy's ankles, as Luffy leapt to his feet. His run into the darkness ended with windmilling arms and a face-plant in the sand.
"It'll take us all day to walk there. Chief Aba said the terrain is steep further inland and daily rains create washouts of trails." Nami rose and dusted the sand from her backside. "I want everyone ready to leave the second the sun rises. No hangover excuses! And Zoro had better get his butt back here before then."
Sanji's thoughts, which had been distracted by the story, immediately snapped back to Zoro's butt and what had been happening to it. He choked on his spit.
"Are you all right?" Chopper asked, turning worried eyes on him.
Sanji nodded rapidly and got to his feet. "Fine. I'm fine. I'm going to turn in, so I can get up early enough to prepare breakfast and bentos for everyone."
Taking the jug of spiced rum, Sanji made his escape to the Thousand Sunny. However, he couldn't escape the images in his mind. With a tortured sound, he locked himself in his cabin and guzzled the remaining rum. "Shitty marimo," Sanji muttered, wiping his mouth and chin with his shirtsleeve. How was he going to look at Zoro tomorrow, seeing what he'd seen?
Cursing Zoro's name and proclivities, Sanji thunked the jug on his desk, crawled muzzy-headed into bed, and buried his head under his pillow. It was going to be a long, sleepless night.
Sleep didn't prove elusive, as Sanji dropped into a dreamless, alcohol-induced slumber. He woke with a banging on his door that echoed in his splitting head. "Nami says if you're not on deck in the next five seconds, she'll put her shirt on," Franky called through the door.
Sanji bolted upright, which was a huge mistake. He clamped a hand over his mouth, scrambled out of bed, and tore out of his cabin. Franky jumped out of the way, laughing as Sanji ran for the head.
Despite desperately wanting to, Sanji didn't drown himself in the flushed toilet. He forced himself through morning ablutions, trudged back to his cabin to change, and ventured on deck. Sunlight scorched his eyeballs when he stepped outside.
"Here, Sanji." Chopper appeared by Sanji's side and pressed a glass of hangover cure in his hand.
"Thank you, Chopper. You're off the menu indefinitely." Sanji drank the cure, willing it to work quickly. As usual, Chopper's medical skills were superb and his headache was already subsiding by the time he reached the galley.
"A million apologies, Nami-swan," Sanji said upon seeing her glower. She sat at the table, tapping her nails impatiently. "I'll have breakfast ready shortly."
"Don't worry, Sanji-kun," she said with false sweetness. "You're not the only one who slept in."
Dressed in a navy tank that clashed with his ratty green haramaki, Zoro clomped into the galley a moment later, carrying a sleeping Luffy and Usopp under each arm. He dropped them on the floor beside couch. Usopp woke immediately. "Don't hurt me!" Luffy continued snoring.
"Oi, cook," Zoro said, straddling the bench seat. He looked at Sanji impassively, as if nothing had happened the night before. "Where's breakfast? I'm hungry."
"You'll get it when it's ready." Sanji busied himself unlocking the refrigerator and gathering eggs, milk, and butter. Luckily, making breakfast took all his attention, as Luffy woke the instant food started cooking and he had to fend off his grabby captain. Robin, Chopper, and Franky joined everyone in the galley, taking their places around the table.
Sanji made the bentos while the others ate, half-listening for needs of refills or additional servings. He cleaned up quickly afterwards, shoulders tense, waiting for Zoro to corner him in the now empty galley. But Zoro never showed, and Sanji decided during that time that it was Zoro's fault for having sex in the open, where anyone could see him. If he had a problem with it, he should find a bedroom like any other respectable man.
By the time everyone was ready to go, it was well into morning and Nami had screamed at them a total of seventeen times. Sanji passed out the multiple bentos and water skins, keeping Nami and Robin's with his in his pack, so they would not have to carry them.
Skin flushed with anger, Nami snarled, "We're leaving now." Sanji watched the shift of her shorts-clad hips as she stormed off the Thousand Sunny.
Robin slid on her cowboy hat and caught up quickly with Nami. Chopper followed Zoro off the ship, and Luffy launched himself from the rail. Sanji grabbed Usopp by the back of his overalls and dragged him down the plank. Franky had drawn the short straw and would remain on watch. He waved from the deck. "Later!"
The pale bark trees curved over the path Nami located, heavy palm fronds shading it from the bright sun. The foliage became denser the deeper into the island they went. Birds chirped and sang overhead. Smaller animals chattered. The dirt path forked several times, but no one questioned Nami's directional sense. The terrain grew steeper as the morning stretched into afternoon.
"I am renown throughout the world as the Greatest Wine Taster from East Blue," Usopp was saying, with a wave of his arms. "I have traveled extensively, tasting wine from every vineyard. Only those that receive the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp's seal of approval are bottled."
"Oh?" Sanji said, taking a drag on his cigarette. He exhaled smoke letters of the alphabet, as Usopp went on. Ahead of him, Chopper gestured enigmatically while speaking with Zoro. He occasionally caught of glimpse of Robin's smile when she turned towards Nami, even further ahead.
"Woohoo!" Luffy swung past them, going from tree to tree like a rubber monkey.
"The secret to my success is all right here." Usopp tapped his long nose. "I am able to smell exactly what has been added to the wine. My sense of taste is beyond extraordinary, too. Why, one time, someone claimed to have a bottle of the rarest of red wines, but I, the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp, foiled his attempt at subterfuge and announced to everyone gathered that he had stolen a bottle from the neighbor's vineyard and changed the label."
"I'd like to see the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp in action." Sanji whipped out a wine glass and a small bottle of red wine.
Usopp's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. "You can't just pull a wine glass out of nowhere!"
"But I thought the Greatest Wine Taster Usopp would jump at the chance to show off his skill."
"I'mb comding down wib a code," Usopp said, and sniffed dramatically.
Sanji chuckled. He collapsed the portable glass and tucked it and the small bottle back in his pack. One never knew when a romantic situation would occur that required wine.
"Look out below!" Luffy bellowed.
Sanji looked ahead in time to see Zoro get conked with a coconut.
"Luffy!" Zoro yelled.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Zoro bolted after Luffy, who sprang quickly from tree to tree. They both went off the path.
"No! I will not have you two getting lost!" Nami exclaimed, her hands clenching into fists. "Get back here this instant!"
Hands grew out of the tree trunks, snared both Zoro and Luffy, and flung them back onto the path. Robin lowered her arms, as Nami stalked over to them and pounded them on the heads.
"Ow!" "Oi! You witch!"
Sanji threw his arms in the air and cheered. "Nami-swan is the best!"
Luffy and Zoro, with lumps on their heads, got to their feet and trudged at the front of the group under Nami's threatening fists. Usopp slid the coconut into his hipbag.
The sun climbed high overhead, piercing through the canopy of palm leaves. After a short lunch break, the hike continued. Sanji had left his jacket and tie on the ship and he rolled his blue shirtsleeves as the temperature climbed. The path grew even steeper and narrower. The dense trees prevented them from seeing how much closer they'd come to the top of the island.
"Camoberra!" Chopper veered to the edge of the path, with delight. He removed an empty jar from this backpack and began picking the tiny yellow berries. "This is excellent for soothing stomach aches."
"It makes for a delicious marinade, as well." Sanji crouched beside Chopper, his own jar opened to fill. "Adding it to a lemon-butter base with a variety of spices is fabulous with pork."
"It's interesting how a single plant can be used for many different things," Chopper said. "Like thisanle root. It's used to make a healing paste and can be woven into clothing."
"Porditheeny can be used in soup and relieves vision ailments," Sanji said, with a nod of enthusiasm for the conversation.
"Sasho cures sore throats and it's used in polishes. And Iroro-oh!" A drop of water falling on Chopper's nose surprised him.
A second drop landed on the back of Sanji's hand. He looked up. "Is it starting to rain?"
In answer, the sky opened into a downpour.
Sanji sputtered, drowning in a face full of rain. Chopper yelped and tugged at his hat. Further up the path, Luffy hooted and danced in a circle. Usopp held his bag over his head. Zoro folded his arms with a glower.
"No, no, no!" Nami stamped her feet, raising her fist to the sky. "There aren't even any clouds!"
Water ran off the rim of Robin's hat. "It is very peculiar, I agree, Navigator-san."
"Should we find shelter?" Chopper asked.
"We are not stopping," Nami stated, eyes flashing dangerously. Rain darkened her hair and glistened her skin. Sanji swooned with her beauty.
Spinning on her heel, Nami stormed up the path. The rest of the Straw Hats followed quickly.
The heavy rain poured steadily, soaking everyone to the skin. Sanji brushed his wet hair from his face, only to have it fall again over one eye. The dirt path became slippery mud, with small rivers of water running down the incline. Luffy fell on his face repeatedly, though Sanji thought it was on purpose. Chopper had mud up to his knees. Robin caught Nami before she slipped. Zoro's stomping sent splashes of muddy water everywhere.
"Uh, Nami…" Usopp ventured, mud coating his nose from falling. The path had steepened and Usopp hung on to the back of Zoro's haramaki. "Maybe we should stop."
"Forget it," Nami growled. "It's only rain. What's the worst that will happen? We get we-aaaaaahhhhh!"
The pounding hiss of the heavy rain had drowned out the sound of a rush of muddy water roaring down the steep path. Chief Aba had warned them of washouts. The wave came too fast for anyone to get out of the way. It hit Nami first, sweeping her feet from under her. She grabbed Robin's arm as she fell, taking Robin with her. Usopp tried running, but the slippery mud underfoot made his legs spin uselessly. He went down hard, yanking Zoro's haramaki half off.
"Hey!" Zoro exclaimed, batting Usopp's hand away and pulling his haramaki back into place. The distraction cost him. The water washed Nami and Robin into Zoro, knocking him over. His flailing arms caught Luffy, sending him sprawling. Luffy crashed head first into Chopper, who was launched into Sanji, and Sanji couldn't keep his balance in the slippery mud.
Head first, the water propelled Sanji down the slick path. Foliage whipped past his face in a green blur. He shot around a bend and became airborne for a moment before crashing back onto the muddy track. A cacophony of screams rang in the air.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
The steep path zigged and Chopper, who was lighter than Sanji, flew over Sanji's head. Sanji saw bulging eyes streaming with panic-tears and a wide open mouth, as Chopper sailed past. "AAAAHHHH!!!" Chopper screamed.
"AAAAAHHH!!!" Sanji screamed back.
The rain made a water-slide of the trail. The Straw Hats careened down the incline, which shot them along random forks in the path.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
The canopy vanished, the rain ceased abruptly, and the wave of water washed them right off the edge of a basin. Sanji flapped his arms, but couldn't stay airborne. He dropped like a stone, landing on his back in a soupy, earthen bowl of mud. His eyes widened when he saw Luffy plummeting toward him.
"Ack- oof." The air was crushed from Sanji's lungs when Luffy landed on top of him. Past Luffy's shoulder, Sanji saw Usopp nose-diving right for them. Aw, shit.
With a slurping noise, Sanji managed to roll himself and Luffy aside just in time. Usopp landed in the impression Sanji's body had made. Sanji pushed upright and craned his neck to see Zoro, with his arms around both girls, shoot over the edge into the air. The three landed in a pile, with Zoro on the bottom as a worthless, brawny cushion.
"Nami-san, Robin-chan, are you all right?" Sanji called, using Luffy as a stepstool as he hurried in their direction.
"That was fun!" Luffy declared. "Let's do it again."
Chopper appeared as if he'd been dipped in chocolate. He attended to Usopp's bent nose. Zoro helped Robin to her feet. Kneeling on the ground, drenched and mud-streaked, Nami pounded the mud. "I want my gold!"
"I will get it for you, Nami-swan!"
The heat returned with the cessation of the rain. The mud began drying quickly on and beneath their clothes. Sanji received a punch of love from Nami when he neared her. Chopper clucked his tongue, doctored the bruise, and went to check on Luffy.
"Now what?" Zoro said. He shook his head like a dog, spraying water and bits of mud. Some of it hit Nami and Robin.
"Watch what you're doing, asshole," Sanji snapped, his leg shooting out in a kick. Zoro blocked with a fast draw of a katana. Sanji narrowed his eyes, drew his leg back, and slammed it outwards again in three short, varied-leveled kicks. Zoro's katana rang against the sole of Sanji's shoe. Twisting his body, Sanji dove into a handstand, swinging his other leg up in a kick to the underside of Zoro's chin. Zoro jumped backwards, out of the way, and nearly fell into the kick anyway when he slipped in the mud.
"Should we return the way we came, or try a different route?" Robin asked, holding onto her hat as she peered up at the edge of the basin.
Shading her eyes, Nami looked into the distance. The highest point on the island was visible from the basin. "I think we'll take a shortcut and head straight through the trees."
Sanji righted himself, ducked under Zoro's swing, and aimed a snap kick to Zoro's knee. Zoro blocked, crossed swords ringing with the impact. Mud smeared along his jaw and diagonally over one eye. He struck out again with his blades. Sanji jumped in a split-leap, avoiding them. He landed and pivoted on his toe, using the mud to give additional torque to his spin kick.
A row of cupped hands appeared along the steep side of the basin. "Let's go, everyone," Nami ordered, as she began to climb the Devil's Fruit ladder.
Sanji snuck in one last kick to counter Zoro's slice, toeing mud into Zoro's face. He laughed at Zoro's sputter. "Shitty cook," Zoro grumbled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, making the mud smear like a mask.
"Stupid marimo," Sanji said, and hurried to climb up behind Robin. His tongue lolled to his belt buckle at the exquisite view above him.
Zoro climbed up behind him, followed by Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy, after leaving several mud angels in the basin.
"We're heading straight there," Nami declared. "No more stopping or being washed away by the rain."
The journey towards the top of the island continued, but it became a lot less fun. It was hotter walking through the trees, fighting against the knee-high plants and foliage. The mud dried, making clothing stiff and skin itch. Sanji puffed wearily on his cigarette. The washout seemed to have sapped the Straw Hats' energy. Luffy and Usopp's hands dragged on the ground as they trudged behind Zoro. Sanji carried Chopper on his back, the coating of dried mud making it too hard for Chopper to walk. Nami's determination remained, but her steps had slowed considerably.
The brook, when they came upon it, was like an appeasement from the island. Dappled sunlight filtering through the palm fronds glittered on the surface of the water. The brook wove through the trees, the burbling water flowing rapidly from the rain. It could be crossed with a running jump and Sanji could see to the shallow bottom.
All eyes turned to Nami pleadingly.
"Fine." Nami threw her hands in the air. "But don't take too long."
"Woohoo!" Luffy yelled, leapt into the air, and belly-flopped into the brook.
Nami shot Sanji a pointed glare. "And no peeking!"
"I would never act so ungentlemanly," Sanji said. In his mind, he cursed his bad luck, as he was going to do exactly that.
Nami and Robin walked further upstream, going around a bend in the trees. Hands sprung from the shoreline, plucking ferns and holding them up, shielding the girls more from view. Sanji stabbed out his cigarette with an unfulfilled sigh. So close, yet so far away.
Luffy threw his clothing out of the water and tossed his hat. "Sanji, catch!"
Sanji caught the precious straw hat and set it on the shoreline. He toed of his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt. Chopper tugged off his hat and set it on his backpack before wading into the brook. Luffy floated on his back in the middle, blowing water into the air like a whale. Usopp knelt near the edge of the stream, bare ass in the air as he scrubbed mud from his overalls. Zoro's two katanas and the third sword lay atop his pile of clothing, but Zoro was nowhere to be seen.
Stashing his cigarettes and lighter in his pack, Sanji finished removing his clothes and brought the dirty ones with him into the brook. The water deepened towards the middle of the stream, coming up to mid-thigh. He threw his shirt over his shoulder and scrubbed the dried mud off his trousers first. He turned to toss them to the shore.
The surface of the stream rippled nearby and Zoro surged to his feet. Sanji's trousers fell short of the shore. The water sluicing from Zoro's naked form caught Sanji's gaze. Sunlight glistened across the breadth of Zoro's shoulders and the curve of his ass. Corded muscle shifted beneath the tanned skin of his thighs. His biceps bulged as he scrubbed his hands through his hair.
Sanji's mouth ran dry. He'd seen Zoro naked numerous times - the Going Merry hadn't been that big and they'd been in similar situations before with the need for outdoor bathing - but he didn't remember Zoro looking like this: raw and powerful, with shadows arching under the defined muscles of his chest and abs, the slight shine of his scar, the darkened dip of his navel, the thin trail of green hair that led Sanji's eyes further down.
Shit. Sanji's eyes jerked upwards, the blatant sight of Zoro's package shocking him from his stare, to meet Zoro's unperturbed gaze. Sanji felt a rush of heat to his cheeks and he lashed out with discomfort. "What are you looking at, marimo?"
Zoro's eyebrows climbed. "What am I looking at? How about you?"
Sanji fixed a smirk on his face and purposefully glanced at Zoro's crotch again. "I'm looking at nothing."
Zoro's expression darkened and he slashed his arm across the water, sending up a wave that sprayed Sanji in the face.
Sanji coughed, wiped the water from his eyes, and growled, "Oh, it's on." He pulled his shirt from his shoulder, twisted it quickly, dipped it in the water, and snapped the end at Zoro.
"Oi!" Zoro jumped backwards, as the wet tail slapped his stomach. He cut his arm across the water again, splashing Sanji.
"WATER FIGHT!" Luffy bellowed and tackled Zoro from behind.
"Luffy!" Zoro staggered forward, catching his balance. Sanji used the distraction to his advantage and snapped his shirt at Zoro again. It left a red welt across one of Zoro's thighs. "Bastard cook."
"Wuss," Sanji countered, and then smacked Luffy's bare ass with the shirt because it was there.
"Yeow!" Luffy let go of Zoro and collapsed back into the water, sending up a splash. Chopper took that moment to pop up in front of Sanji, changing rapidly to human size, and shake his fur. Water drops whipped around, hitting both Sanji and Zoro.
"And now, the Master of Water Fighting will demonstrate how it is really done!" Usopp declared. Standing naked on the shore, he used his smaller slingshot to send a small projectile into the air. It arced and whizzed down in the middle of the brook, near Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Chopper. The instant it hit the surface, it exploded, sending up a whoosh of water that drenched them all.
"YOU GUYS BETTER NOT BE HORSING AROUND OVER THERE!"
Usopp's eyes bulged and he hid his slingshot behind his back. Chopper shrunk and cowered behind Sanji. Zoro wiped a hand over his face, failing to hide a grin. Sanji was properly cowed by his fiery love's temper, but it didn't last long. Luffy flicked water with his fingers at Zoro, devilment in his smile. Zoro flicked water back. Sanji used the end of his shirt to snap the surface of the brook, getting both of them. Soon, Usopp and Chopper joined in, the splashing grew louder, and laughter and shouted insults filled the air, until Nami's shout of "YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE BEFORE I PUMMEL YOU ALL" sent them scrambling to the shore.
Once redressed, after Nami and Robin joined them, they continued on their way.
Pale weathered wood and dark empty windows made the house look like a misshapen monster's skull in the moonlight. The land around the house was barren. Scrubby weeds poked from the hard-packed dirt. Crumbling steps led to the broken door hanging from one hinge. The amorphous shadows of the Straw Hats stretched towards the house, like black ghosts reaching for home.
Sanji shifted his torch to his other hand. It had taken them until well past nightfall to reach the top of Noctac Island. Zoro set Chopper on his hooves and snagged Luffy's collar before he ran ahead of them into the house.
"It doesn't look like anyone's home," Usopp said, peering cautiously around Sanji's shoulder. "We should come back another day."
Nami gulped, staring fearfully at the house. Then, she thinned her lips. "Come on," Nami said, determination in the tilt of her chin. Torch held high, she marched towards the house.
"Someone should stay out here, t-to protect everyone from intruders." Usopp backed away. "I, the Brave Captain Usopp, volunteer to t-take on such a-a-a dangerous task."
Sanji grabbed Usopp's nose and dragged him after the others.
The landing steps creaked ominously underfoot and the door whined as Nami pushed it open. "Um, Zoro? Why don't you go first?" she said, taking a step back.
Zoro tramped readily into the house, with Luffy on his heels. Everyone else followed. The yellow glow of the flickering torches illuminated the front entryway. Faded paint coated the walls. A hatstand leaned in the corner. A cracked mirror reflected their broken faces. Open doorways gaped on either side of the front hall and a worn staircase led up to the second floor.
"How do you propose we search, Navigator-san?" Robin asked.
"We'll have to split up," Nami replied, sounding not too happy about it. "Sanji, Luffy, Chopper, and Robin, you look around down here. Zoro, Usopp, and I will check upstairs."
"Call if you need help, Nami-swan, and I shall come to your rescue," Sanji said, clasping her hand. "Unless you'd like me to come with you now…?"
Nami pulled her hand free. "No, thank you, Sanji-kun. I'd be much more grateful if you found my gold."
"I will find it immediately!" Fueled by the desire to please his goddess, Sanji chose a doorway and got to work.
The interior of the house was as rundown as the exterior, having been unlived in for sixty-three years. Dust and cobwebs coated the surfaces of rotting furniture. Stains marred the rugs and paint was chipping on the walls. Shattered glass twinkled on the floor in the torchlight. Sanji discovered evidence of fights that occurred, a reminder that other pirates had searched for Percivus's treasure, only to disappear.
"I found something!" Chopper exclaimed, searching in a cabinet filled with broken curios. Sanji stepped over a tipped table with cracked legs, hurrying to Chopper's side. Lowering the torch, he looked at the tarnished coin in Chopper's forehoof.
Experience told Sanji it was gold discolored with age. An image of a hook-nosed old man with a vicious scowl on his face stamped the front of the coin. Sanji picked it up and turned it over. On the back was a picture of a human heart and beneath it the inscription aures est anima - gold is life.
"I think this is it," Sanji said, excitement building inside him. Chief Aba's story might be true! He tucked the coin in his pocket and turned his attention to the curio cabinet. "Where did you find it?"
"It was sitting on the shelf," Chopper said.
"There has to be more of it." Sanji ground out his cigarette, switched the torch to his other hand, and began searching the shelves. "A treasure doesn't consist of only one gold coin."
"I don't see any others, though." Chopper ransacked the lower shelves. Sanji knocked on the wood on the back and sides of the cabinet, looking for a secret cache. Upending the cabinet sent a hiding rat scurrying across Sanji's shoes, but revealed no more gold.
Scowling, Sanji lit another cigarette, as Chopper knocked on the wall that the cabinet had been against. The rest of the living room had already been searched without turning up anything. Sanji decided they'd just have to search it again.
"Six gold coins." Nami stared forlornly at the small pile in her hand. The Straw Hats had gathered in the dilapidated study hours later, after fruitless searching. "Only six gold coins."
Sanji opened his arms and rushed towards her. "I will comfort you, Nami-swan."
Nami's arm shot out, halting Sanji with her fist without looking away from the coins. "I can't believe there are only six."
"Maybe the other pirates took the rest of the treasure," Luffy said, perched on the scratched old desk. Candles and holders had been found in the kitchen, replacing the torches.
Robin paged through a yellowed book. Extra hands replaced the books littering the floor back on the bookshelves. "It is a possibility, Captain-san."
Zoro's jaw cracked with a yawn and he elbowed Usopp, leaning sleepily against him. "Are we done, then?"
"I guess." Nami's shoulders slumped and she tucked the coins in her cleavage. "There are three bedrooms upstairs. We'll stay here the rest of the night and head back to the Thousand Sunny in the morning."
With seven people and three bedrooms, they'd be forced to share. Sanji's mind went to a happy place.
"Good morning, Sanji-kun," Nami said, cuddling up on his left side in bed.
"Good morning, Nami-swan," Sanji said. He curved his arm around her waist, fingering the flimsy material of her nightgown.
"Did you sleep well, Cook-san?" Robin asked, snuggling against his right side.
"I slept wonderfully, Robin-chwan." Sanji slid his hand lower down her back. "What would you two lovely ladies like to do this fine morning?"
Robin and Nami giggled. "How about we stay in bed?"
"Robin-chwan, Nami-" Sanji blinked several times and looked around the study. He was alone. "Shit." He'd missed his chance again.
Cursing his luck, he picked up the candle left for him and headed upstairs. Three of the doors in the rose-colored corridor were shut tight. A sign was tacked on the closed door nearest the stairs.
STAY OUT. This means you, Sanji.
With a sigh, Sanji continued down the hall. The single open door led into an empty bedroom and Sanji set his candleholder on the single bedside table. A faded canopy curtained the large double bed. Moonlight angled through the broken glass window, casting fractured patterns on the stained blue rug. The door hung off the tall armoire, revealing empty shelves inside.
Sanji smacked the bed covers, sending up a cloud of dust that made him cough. He didn't care much about the dust or dirt, but bedbugs? Sanji shuddered and beat the bed again.
"What are you doing?" Zoro said from the darkened doorway.
"What does it look like, idiot?" Sanji picked up the husk pillow. A puff of dust tickled his nose when he hit it. He sneezed.
Zoro kicked shut the bedroom door. "Prissy cook."
"Annoying asshole." Sanji tossed the pillow back on the bed. Zoro crossed behind him to put his extinguished candle on the bedside table. Why did he always get stuck sharing a room with Zoro? "One snore and I'm kicking your head in."
"Hn." Broad hands snaked around Sanji's waist, making him freeze in shock. The length of Zoro's body pressed against Sanji's back and his breath was hot against the shell of Sanji's ear. "Wanna fuck?"
Sanji choked on his tongue. "Wh-what?"
"Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper are asleep and the girls won't come out of their room." Zoro's fingers rucked up Sanji's shirt in the front, working it free from his waistband. "Come on. I've been horny since you came onto me at the river."
"I came onto you? What the hell are you talking about? I didn't come onto you," Sanji said, attempting to keep his voice level. It had to be a joke. Zoro was messing with him, trying to get a freaked-out reaction. "This is revenge for last night, when I found you and that guy-" Sanji sucked in a sharp breath when Zoro slid his hand beneath Sanji's untucked shirt. The calluses on Zoro's palm and fingertips felt rough against Sanji's stomach. An uncomfortable heat bloomed in Sanji's gut.
"Having you watch turned me on." Zoro's mouth trailed on the nape of Sanji's neck. "Do you want to fuck me? Or can I fuck you?" Zoro's other hand dropped lower, cupping the front of Sanji's crotch.
"Shit!" Sanji jumped at the intimate touch, shoved Zoro's arms away, vaulted onto the bed, and mule-kicked.
"What the hell?" Zoro blocked the kick with crossed forearms, staggering backwards several steps on impact. "Why the fuck are you kicking me?"
"You touched my dick!" Sanji crouched on the bed, ready to kick Zoro again if he came any closer. "I can't believe you touched my dick!"
"We're gonna have sex. Of course I touched your dick."
Sanji's jaw dropped. Zoro was serious. "Are you crazy? I'd never have sex with you. Ever."
"Then why the hell did you come on to me?" Zoro said, growing angry.
"I didn't come on to you, you shitty pervert!"
Zoro's expression blackened. "You keep telling yourself that," he growled, taking a menacing step closer to the bed. He jabbed his finger in Sanji's direction. "And if you ever call me a pervert again, I'll be touching your dick when I rip it off." He snatched the lit candle off the bedside table and stalked out of the room. The door slamming echoed against the walls.
Sanji collapsed onto his ass in a puff of dust. He was breathing heavily. Zoro had wanted to have sex with him. Sex. The same kind of sex he'd seen Zoro and the Illwani having last night, dirty and wrong, stroking his hard cock while being fucked from behind. Only, it would be Sanji instead of the Illwani fucking Zoro. Sanji, pinning Zoro against that tree - on this bed - overpowering him in the most base way.
The heat that had previously bloomed in his belly grew white hot. Sanji's trousers tightened, his cock hardening, and he bit his lower lip. He hadn't thought about it like that. Zoro would submit to him, showing once and for all who was superior.
Zoro would want to touch him, though. Maybe even kiss him, like a girl did during sex. Sanji'd had to kiss some not-so-attractive whores in the past; kissing Zoro couldn't be much different. And touching… Sanji rubbed his hand over his stomach. Zoro had touched him just now and it hadn't felt too weird, except when he touched Sanji's cock, but Sanji hadn't been expecting that. He supposed if he tried it and didn't like it, he didn't have to do it again, and he'd always have the experience to lord over Zoro.
So, he was going to do it. Sanji climbed off the bed, lit a cigarette, and then lit the remaining candle. He smoothed his shirt and brushed the dust from his trousers as best he could. Course set, he left the bedroom in search of Zoro.
Zoro was downstairs in the study, stacking books on the shelf where Robin had left off, restrained anger in his movements. He glanced up and sneered when Sanji entered the room. "Piss off."
Sanji set his candleholder on the desk beside Zoro's and slid his hands in his pockets. He clenched his fingers. "I changed my mind. Let's fuck."
"Ha!" Zoro laughed sarcastically. "Fat chance."
Sanji should've guessed this would happen. If he really wanted to do this, he'd have to prove it. He took a final drag off his cigarette, stubbed it out, and walked over to Zoro. Zoro glared at Sanji, chest puffed with belligerence. He didn’t back up when Sanji got into his space. They were the same height. All Sanji had to do was tilt his head slightly, lean forward, and kiss Zoro.
Zoro's lips felt the same as any other lips Sanji had kissed. That didn't stop Sanji from screaming internally: SHIT, I'M KISSING ZORO! He jerked his head back, heart hammering in his chest. He stared wide-eyed at Zoro.
Zoro appeared somewhat stunned, and then he shook his head, bemused. "Aho cook," Zoro declared, wrapped his hand around the back of Sanji's neck, and brought their mouths together again.
The kiss felt nothing like any other kiss Sanji had had before. Zoro's lips were wide and harsh, and Sanji felt it all the way down to his toes. He grasped Zoro's arms, trying to keep up with the kiss, as Zoro tasted every corner of Sanji's mouth. He didn't know they'd moved until he bumped the edge of the desk.
Zoro nudged between Sanji's legs, bringing their lower bodies flush. Sanji felt the solid ridge of Zoro's erection alongside his own through the material of their trousers. He made a desperate sound that he'd later deny and dug his fingers into Zoro's arms.
Zoro broke the kiss, dragging his lips wetly across Sanji's cheek to his ear. "Shit, I always knew you'd kiss good," his teeth nipped Sanji's earlobe, "with that filthy mouth of yours."
"Fuck," Sanji rasped, bucking his hips reflexively.
"Yeah," Zoro breathed hotly, grinding his pelvis against Sanji's. "Like that."
Sanji stared blindly at the cord of muscle curving Zoro's shoulder. He was losing control and he couldn't let that happen. He just hadn't expected Zoro's kissing would be good.
But Sanji knew he was better. He got his hand under Zoro's jaw, turned his head, and slanted his lips over Zoro's again. Zoro opened readily, and Sanji deepened the kiss. His tongue slid against Zoro's, teasing at first, until Sanji remembered he didn't need to be gentle and consumed instead. Zoro clutched painfully at the back of Sanji's neck, exhaling noisily, grinding against Sanji. The hilts of Zoro's swords poked Sanji in the side. Sanji could only think oh, thank fuck when Zoro pressed the heel of his palm against Sanji's hard-on through his trousers and rubbed.
Sanji pried his mouth away, panting harshly, his lips stinging from the kiss. Zoro had both hands at Sanji's waistband now, pawing at the button and zipper. Sanji watched, blood pumping hotly, as Zoro freed Sanji's erection and gripped it in a tight fist. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Sanji panted, bucking into Zoro's hand.
Zoro sucked his lower lip behind his teeth and bit down hard. He shoved at his trousers, pulling out his own hard, flushed cock. He pressed it against Sanji's, capturing them both in his fist.
Hot. Stiff. Sticky from sweat. Sanji dug his fingers under the edge of the desk, as the world narrowed to Zoro's cock held against his own. Zoro stroked them both with short, rough jerks, and Sanji could already feel the orgasm lifting his balls. Zoro's earrings jingled with every stroke. A wildness twisted in Sanji's gut. "Shit, Zoro…"
A choked sound came from Zoro's throat and the hand around them spasmed. Sanji was going to come. He was going to come. He was going to-
"YEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Sanji and Zoro's heads jerked up at the female scream, coming from upstairs. "That was Nami-san."
Zoro was halfway out the door in an instant, yanking his trousers up as he ran. Sanji had a bit more trouble with closing his button and zipper over his hard-on. "Shit, shit, shit." He managed to get himself fastened and bolted upstairs.
He crashed into Zoro at the same time Zoro crashed into Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, and the five of them went down in a heap in front of Nami and Robin's door.
"HELP!" Robin cried.
Zoro untangled himself first and slammed the door open with his shoulder. He drew his katana as he burst into the bedroom. Sanji used Usopp's face as a prop to scramble to his feet and charged after Zoro.
Dual candles splashed yellow, flickering patterns on the chipped pink walls. The rug was threadbare underfoot. Two rotting armoires flanked either side of a splintered window. Nami lay on one side of the large, ornate bed, a hulking figure wearing what looked like a tarnished suit of armor bending over her, its hands around her neck. Her face was red from choking.
Robin stood behind the figure, arms crossed to use her Devil's Fruit powers, but there was fear on her face. Four hands grew out of the armor and immediately fell off the body with a jingling sound. The hands vanished when they hit the floor. Scattered around the figure's feet were tarnished circlets.
"Robin, duck!" Zoro yelled, and swung his katana. Robin dropped to a crouch and Zoro's sword cut right through the figure's neck. Circlets scattered from the edge of the blade. The head tumbled off and exploded on the floor with the noise of falling change.
The figure didn't fall. Instead, circlets of the chain armor began to shift and grow until a new head formed.
"Zoro!" Sanji shouted, and Zoro ducked as Sanji grabbed the bedpost and swung his body over both Zoro's and Robin's. His feet slammed into the figure's back and passed right through. "What?!" Sanji slung around the bedpost, as a part of the body collapsed with the jingle of change and immediately began to reform.
"Get your hands off my nakama!" Luffy demanded from the doorway. He drew his fist back. "Gomu gomu no pistol!"
Luffy's rubber punch stretched across the bedroom and knocked into the figure's head. Like with Sanji's kick, Luffy's fist passed right through the head, which reformed with a jingle.
"Rumble!" Chopper ran past Luffy, leapt onto the bed, and under the figure's arms. "Guard Point!" His fur puffed out, forcefully putting distance between the figure and Nami. The jingle of hundreds of coins falling rang in the room, as the figure's upper body collapsed.
Nami rolled quickly to the other side of the bed, leaving a scattering of circlets behind her. Luffy pulled her off the other side of the bed and put himself protectively in front of her. "What the hell is that thing?" Nami gasped, eyes watering, clutching her hand to her neck.
The body started reforming in a different shape, in front of everyone's astonished eyes. Chopper yelped when the circlets on the bed started rolling towards the body. Robin snatched one of the pieces with a Devil's hand before it reached the body and tossed it to Sanji. Sanji caught it and was startled to find it pulling against his closed hand.
The thing finished shaping into a snake and it slithered fast under the bed. "Damn it," Zoro cursed, and dropped to his knees to peer underneath.
"AAAAHHH!" Nami screamed. The thing shot out from under the bed and twined up her leg and around her body before anyone blinked. It wrapped around her throat, cutting off her second scream. "AAAHH-"
"Nami!" Luffy spun around.
Usopp's slingshot from the doorway hit the thing around Nami's neck. It partially exploded, circlets falling to the ground. Nami took a gasping breath, but the thing filled in the spot and started choking her again.
Luffy pulled at the thing, sending circlets flying everywhere. It kept reforming the moment he was done.
"Cook-san?" Robin said, desperation in her tone. Hands sprung up all over Nami's body and began pulling at the circlets.
Sanji wiggled his other fingers into his closed fist and pinched whatever it was on either side, before opening his hand. He nearly lost the thing with the sudden pull, as if it were trying to get back to the body. One close look and he knew what it was. "It's a gold coin, like the ones we found."
"What?!" Usopp exclaimed.
Sanji could now make out the emblems on the thing wrapped around Nami: the hook-nosed man and the heart. "It's made entirely of gold coins!"
"Who cares?! How do we kill it?" Zoro said, hacking at the lower parts of the coin-snake without nicking Nami.
"I don't know!"
"Maybe there's information in one of the books," Chopper said, already galloping for the door. Usopp rushed after him.
"Go, Cook-san. Help them. Hurry," Robin said.
Sanji tightened his grip on the coin and ran out the door. He careened into the study, right behind Usopp and Chopper. Zoro and Sanji's candles still burned on the desk where they'd set them. Sanji felt a brief rush of desire for things left unfinished, but it disappeared with a wave of worry for Nami-san.
Sanji shoved the coin in a desk drawer, closing it in. It rattled against the inside, trying to get free.
"How will we find anything in all these books?" Usopp despaired.
"Look for a picture," Chopper said, picking up a book and flipping quickly through it. "Or maybe a diary. Percivus had these coins first. He may have written about them."
Sanji grabbed the nearest book. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Time was passing, and Nami-san could be dying, and Sanji felt so useless. He threw the book over his shoulder and grabbed another and another. Usopp dropped a book and cursed. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture. Diary. Picture.
"Diary!" Usopp stumbled over his own feet, rushing to show Chopper. "It was in the broken bottom desk drawer. I saw it when I was picking up the other book."
Chopper took it and began skimming the pages rapidly. Sanji held his breath. The flickering candles cast devilish shadows on the walls. "Here. It's here," Chopper said finally, more than halfway through the diary. "The coin-thing is alive! Percivus didn't slaughter his crew, this monster did. He found the coins in a locked iron chest and had the whole chest transported to his ship. He broke the lock to look at the treasure and kept the chest in his cabin. He writes of having found a coin occasionally on the ship, but he'd immediately put it back in the chest. It was lucky he did. The monster sets out a few coins as bait and then hunts whatever takes the coins. His crew must've found coins and pocketed them, leading them to their doom."
"What does it say about killing the thing?" Sanji pressed.
Chopper shook his head, leafing further through the diary. "You can't. The closest Percivus ever came was to locking all the coins in the chest again. He brought the chest here to keep it away from people."
"We've got to find that chest, then." Sanji looked around the room, not remembering if he saw one in there. There hadn't been one in the living room. "Usopp, do you recall seeing one?"
"No, but I will search again until it is found!" Usopp charged out of the study, in search of the chest.
"I'll go and tell the others what we've learned," Chopper said, tucking the diary under his arm.
"I'll help Usopp," Sanji said, finally able to do something to help.
He and Usopp tore the house apart, Chopper and Zoro joining them in the search for the iron chest. They didn't find it until Zoro fell through the rotted porch on the back of the house. It lay on its side underneath the porch, surrounded broken and decaying skeleton bones. Zoro dragged it out between the posts. "There's no lock."
"Aha! I know where one is!" Usopp said.
Zoro hefted the chest and headed quickly upstairs, while Usopp retrieved a lock. Sanji dashed back to the study to get the coin from the drawer and ran up to the girls' bedroom.
Lying on the floor in the bedroom, Nami wheezed after Luffy's every scoop of the coins away from her throat. Fury creased his brow, but he kept the same rhythm, enabling Nami to continue breathing. Robin stopped the coins on her chest from compressing and crushing her.
"We have to get all these coins into the chest somehow." Zoro set the chest beside Nami and Luffy. He moved back next to Sanji, hand on the hilt of his katana.
"I will do it, Swordsman-san," Robin said, and the fury on her face was equal to that of Luffy's. "Be ready to close the chest."
Zoro and Sanji nodded. Chopper, human-sized, moved behind the chest and put his hand on the lid.
Robin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Luffy, move! Now!"
Luffy sprang back, off of Nami. "Cien Fleur!" A hundred hands sprouted from the floor and over Nami's body. Nami was lifted in the air and then the hands were grabbing the coins at blurring speeds and throwing them into the chest.
"Close it!" she exclaimed.
Sanji winged the coin in his hand into the chest right before Chopper slammed the lid. Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy jumped on the chest, as the chest started to bounce and shake. Chopper knelt hurriedly by Nami, checking her over. Robin searched the room for any coin she might have missed.
"I have the lock!" Usopp yelled as he ran into the bedroom. He held a fat iron lock high above his head. The hinge hung open.
"Robin-" Sanji said.
"I see none, Cook-san," Robin replied.
Sanji held out his hand for the lock. Usopp gave it to him and he slapped it on the chest. The chink of the lock catching was music to Sanji's ears. He sat back on his heels and stared darkly at the chest. He wanted to kick it to the moon, for daring to hurt Nami-san.
"What do we do with it?" Usopp asked, crouching beside Sanji. Zoro and Luffy sat on the chest, bouncing with it as the coins tried to escape.
"I say we throw it into the sea, so no one else will ever find it," Nami rasped, sitting up with Chopper's aid. She had coin-shaped bruising around her neck.
"Nami-san, are you all right?" Sanji said, scooting over to her.
Nami waved her hand. "I'm fine. Pissed off that I'm going to lose all this gold, but fine."
"We'll take it with us tomorrow and throw it into the sea," Robin said, wrapping her real arm around Nami's shoulder.
Chopper glanced towards the window. "It's almost morning. In another hour or so, it'll be light outside."
"We should try to get some sleep," Nami rasped. "It's a long walk back."
"You're probably right," Usopp said. "We should do exactly that."
But no one moved from the bedroom, instead keeping an eye on Nami and the chest the rest of the night.
Part Two