#sanji couldn’t spare 1 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sabo-has-my-heart · 9 months

Text

Loving Blaze

The first of 2 part anon's next set of requests:

"1. Ace x fem!reader or gn!reader where Ace is a firefighter and reader is an architecture student whose apartment just burnt down. Ace was one of the firefighter that went to put down the fire and help reader finding a new place to live by suggesting reader to live in the apartment next to his (and also joking about how reader doesn't need to fear about the apartment building burning down). Reader repays him by making him meals for his job, and also finds out he lives with his brothers a highscholer Luffy and a politic major uni student Sabo. They bond overtime as neighbor but one time, reader misheard Luffy about Ace's work incident and thought he died in a fire, so reader came to the fire and cried, saying how he left without knowing reader's feeling and Ace was actually behind her, with a quite big injury but heard all of her confession."

Also, sorry for taking so long with fics lately. Been busy with various things.

Warnings: injuries, fires

Word Count: 1670

Watching the flames eat away at your home, you couldn’t help the despair that washed over you. Your entire life had been in there. Books, pictures, gifts from family and friends. Old keepsakes, your computer, everything had gone up in the fire. All you could do was watch as the firefighters put the flames out. You weren’t sure how much time passed before a hand rested on your shoulder, drawing you out of your thoughts. You vaguely knew the black haired boy in front of you. His name was Ace, you’d gone to highschool together.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re alive, that’s what matters.” he said softly, giving you a soft, sweet smile, “Why don’t I help you find a new place? There’s an empty place next to mine.” he offered. Despite your shock, you nodded, you would need a place to stay.

It didn’t take long for you to get the apartment, the manager feeling rather sympathetic and Ace offering to pay the fees and first month’s rent for you. It wasn’t that you couldn’t afford it and with the money you would get from your stuff burning, you didn’t want him spending his money, but he just smiled and said it was fine. Replacing furniture and other household items would be much harder, however. You’d have to wait until you got the insurance money for most of what you’d need, in the meantime, you could only hope you could afford the necessities. Ace had just smiled mischievously as he helped you go mattress shopping. The first thing you’d need was somewhere to sleep, the rest could come in time… right?

Apparently you had put too much trust in the boy, walking into your new apartment to find two boys holding a couch in your living room. One was a tall blond, about Ace’s height wearing rather nice clothes, and the other was a shorter boy with black hair and a straw hat.

“Oh… you’re back already. I must not have gotten Ace’s text.” the blond said awkwardly as the four of you stood there. You turned to Ace, looking for an explanation as to why these two boys were holding a couch in your new living room, watching as he smiled nervously.

“It’s uh, some old furniture from some friends. Thought it might help until you could afford something newer.” Ace said sheepishly.

“Sanji also said she could have his pots and pans! He’s been wanting a new set for a while, oh and Nami had a spare dresser!” the young boy said excitedly, making Ace facepalm.

“It was supposed to be a secret, gifts from a ‘friend’.” Ace explained, making you smile.

“Thank you, Ace. I owe you more than I can say.” you said softly, wiping away the tears that had started to gather at the corners of your eyes. It was sweet of him to go to such lengths for you.

“I uh, any time. Seriously, I’m just right next door if you need me.” he said with a charming smile. You nodded, you and Ace helping the other two boys set up. They were Sabo and Luffy, Ace’s brothers who lived with him. Apparently after telling them he was going to take you mattress shopping, they’d offered to help, knowing people who could help you.

Thankfully, it was easy to settle in, Ace offering to help you whenever you needed it and the money from the fire coming in rather quickly. You’d surprised the boy when you’d brought him lunch at his work upon finding out that he’d left it at home that day, too busy hurrying out the door to grab it. His heart had skipped a beat when you’d given it to him and another when he saw what you’d brought him. While helping you move in and adjust, he’d told you how much he and his brothers ate, meaning that you didn’t bring him a simple, small lunch, you’d brought him something that actually suited his appetite.

Sitting next to him, you played with your hands. You’d already finished your food and were now just sitting with him. The boy looked up from his food turning towards you.

“Thanks. You know, for helping me out so much. I really, really won’t ever be able to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me.” you said softly, giving him a sweet smile. Ace swallowed the food in his mouth, staring at you for a moment.

“It’s uh, it’s no problem, really. I was happy to help and besides, it’s better that you become my neighbor than some other weirdo, right?” he said nervously, hoping you didn’t notice how anxious he felt. You shook your head, still smiling at him.

“It might not be a big deal to you, but it means so, so much to me. So thank you.” you said again, making him smile and nod.

A few weeks had passed since you’d moved in, growing closer and closer to the brothers, Ace in particular. The two of you regularly spent time together, whether just sitting together when you brought him lunch or laughing on your couch when he came over to see you and talk. While you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him, you had more than a bit of a crush on him as he made your heart pound. The pounding of shoes outside your apartment made you smile. Luffy was home. It was clear that he was talking on the phone, but rather than the usual loud, nearly shouts of excitement, he was quieter this time.

“.... said it was pretty bad… no, Ace is…. Just not…. Alive… all that… he might not… come home… yeah… We’ll visit.” His words were too faint to catch more, but it didn’t matter. Ace was… no, it couldn’t be! You rushed out of your apartment, yanking your car door open before speeding down the streets. No, no it couldn’t be! He had to be alright! It didn’t take long to find where he’d been. While plenty of fires happened, few happened at the same time, making it fairly easy to find where he’d been. You once more stood in front of a burning building, tears running down your cheeks. The others struggled against its blaze and more of the geared up men rushed out of the flames, unable to withstand their fury any longer. Even without knowing much about fires, you could tell that this one was particularly bad… if Ace had been caught in that. Your vision blurred as you fell to your knees.

“Ace… Ace no… please… it can’t be true.” you sobbed into your hand, “I, please, please let it all be a nightmare. I can’t… I don’t know what to do without you. You’ve become my world. Without giving me time to tell you how much I care about you? Ace… I’ve wanted to, I wanted to ask you out or you ask me out, or something, anything, since… the moment you helped me. I fell for you from that very moment. You… you fucking idiot. Why are you in such a stupid, dangerous profession where I could lose you at any moment?”

The black haired firefighter carefully worked his way from the gurney, despite the protests of the paramedics. Setting aside the oxygen mask, he made his way over to you, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it’s a bad… okay, a couple of bad burns, but I’m still here.” his voice croaked, hoarse from the smoke. You spun around in shock, staring at the boy. He had bandages covering his lower stomach and right shoulder and more wrapped around his leg, but he was smiling at you.

“Ace!” you cried, throwing your arms around him, forcing a grunt of pain from his lips. Almost immediately, you pulled away, looking at him in worry as the paramedics finally pulled him back towards the truck, damn near forcing the oxygen mask back on him.

“He’s fine, well, mostly. Some serious burns to the back of his shoulder and abdomen, his leg was hit by a falling beam, but he’ll be okay. I trust you’ll be able to help him stay in the hospital and get better?” the paramedic asked with a small laugh.

“I’m not gonna need that much time, Marco! I’m fine!” Ace shouted, before the blond turned and glared.

“Mask back on!” Marco ordered, glaring until Ace put the mask back over his mouth, “As I said, he’ll be fine. He’s too stubborn to die that easily. I’m sure you can convince him to stay in bed if you play nurse.” Marco said with a chuckle, making you blush.

“I’ll take care of him. Don’t worry about that. I can’t guarantee you’ll get him back though.” you said with a small laugh. Marco chuckled but nodded in understanding. You were worried about him. The blond man walked away to tend to others, leaving you and Ace.

“I’m glad you’re alright.” you said softly, wiping some soot from his forehead before kissing it.

“Can’t die, not until I’ve taken you on a date.” he said, putting the mask back on when you flicked him for taking it off. In truth, he wasn’t entirely sure he still needed it, but Marco had insisted, so he wouldn’t argue.

“I uh… we can worry about a date after you get better. Though perhaps something a little less… flammable, we’ve had far too much happen together with fires for my liking.” you said with a smile.

“Only if I’m allowed to propose in front of another blaze.” he joked, making you blush and laugh.

“One thing at a time. Starting with a ride to the hospital.” you scolded, making him sigh and nod in agreement.

“Stay with me the whole time?” he asked, taking your hand, his thumb rubbing the back of it.

“Gladly.” you agreed, getting into the ambulance with him, the both of you heading to the hospital to get him patched up.

#one piece #one piece ace #portgas d. ace #fire fist ace #portgas d ace #ace x reader #fire fist ace x reader #portgas d ace x reader #op ace #hiken no ace #hiken no ace x reader #firefighter!ace #one piece firefighter au

48 notes · View notes

10piecechickennuggy · 5 months

Text

Magic and Secrets, Ch. 8 - Sanji x Witch!OC

WARNING: Mature content ahead!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Piece or the art featured above. This is a fan-created work featuring an original character.

Read Chapter 7 Here

Read Chapter 6 Here

Read Chapter 5 Here

Read Chapter 4 Here

Read Chapter 3 Here

Read Chapter 2 Here

Read Chapter 1 Here

“Shhh.” Sora’s delicate hands rubbed gentle circles on her son’s back. Her cheek rested against his crown of blonde hair as salty tears soaked into the blue cotton of her shirt. “Hush, darling. You’re safe now.”

Sanji sniffled, his tears continuing to fall as blurry eyes rose to meet his mother’s. “Why does father hate me?” His lip quivered as the question escaped unfiltered.

Her kind smile morphed into an uncertain frown. Her brows furrowed in frustration as she considered how to respond. “I’m sorry, Sanji.” She held him tight, burying his face into her shoulder. She couldn’t let him see her own tears which threatened to spill.

“Mom?” Sanji tried to push himself back, but found himself held in place by a firm hand on the back of his head.

“I’m sorry. So, so sorry.” Her voice had taken on a softer tone, barely audible as she began to pet her son’s hair. Golden lashes glistened with her guilt and sorrow. Every unspoken truth hung in the air, threatening to flow off her tongue.

Sora willed the waterworks away, releasing her strangling grip on the boy. When Sanji’s eyes met her matching crystal blue orbs, they had crinkled in a loving smile. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve brought today? That basket smells wonderful.”

Excited joy overtook the young boy, who scurried away to fetch the basket in question. Once returned to his mother’s lap, Sanji produced an array of treats. Muffins, scones, and cookies wafted their respective scents for Sora to take in.

Despite the cookies being soggy, the muffins having too much salt, and the scones being rock hard, Sora praised each of her son’s creations. The unbridled happiness which shone from his bright smile was worth every unpleasant bite.

When the boy had finally left for the evening, Sora found herself gazing out the window. Though her only view was the turrets of the adjoining snail, her mind was far into the future.

Would Sanji be alright without her? She could barely aid him in her current state, as evident by the boy’s constant abuse at the hands of her other sons and husband.

Curse that drug.

She scowled at her reflection in the glass. If only she hadn’t been so extreme in her rebellion against Judge. Had she not taken that accursed medication, she wouldn’t be bedridden and dying. If she’d only been smart enough to not -

No. Sora knew the dangers of her actions that day. She knew that taking the drug would cost her life. But without it - without its powerful effects, Sanji would be the same as his brothers. Sure, the boy would have been spared years of torment. But the retribution would have been his humanity.

Trembling hands muffled open sobs as the woman finally allowed her tears to fall.

***

“Wow, . . .” The word escapes Vera, less an exclamation and more a thought given unintended form.

“It is quite the sight.” Sanji speaks from her side, his smile broad. “Though, not nearly as stunning as you.”

Before the pair lay the festival grounds, countless lights glittering in the dark. Stalls advertising games and food littered the streets, illuminated by the warm glow of lanterns proclaiming good fortune. At the center of it all lay an effigy to the island’s guardian deity, a crowd dancing about the statue to live music.

Vera’s grip on Sanji’s hand tightened as she took in the scene. Though her expression held excitement, her stance betrayed uncertainty. She took a step closer to Sanji, her free hand raising to his elbow.

Sensing her unease, Sanji rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “It’s a lot to take in.” He spoke with a softened smile, his voice gentle as though any increased volume would frighten her away. “Why don’t we just walk around the festival first? We can see what all there is and then decide which stalls to return to.”

Vera nodded, the brim of her witch’s hat obscuring her eyes. She allowed her companion to lead the way, silently observing the sights and smells as they moved through the streets.

This was all so new to her. Festivals and celebrations were held frequently on Mariejois, but she’d never been allowed to attend. She was a slave, after all. Her inexperience kept her on edge.

How was one meant to behave in this situation? Would Sanji think her inept? Could one or two missteps ruin the prince’s perception of her? Was this date her only chance to win over her prince?

Wait. Date? Was this a date? Or was this simply two friends on an outing? Was he just being kind when he offered to accompany her? Sanji was holding her hand, but surely he had picked up on her nervousness. He was a gentleman - a kind, handsome, wonderful gentleman.

Knock it off, Vera!

A group of young children ran past the pair, laughter erupting from their small forms. One child, a boy around six, tripped in pursuit of his companions. He crashed straight into Vera, falling onto his behind in the aftermath.

Vera, who managed to stay upright thanks to Sanji’s quick reaction and firm grip, immediately turned to the boy in concern. “Oh my! Are you alright?” She leaned down, examining the boy for any injuries.

Tears welled in the child’s eyes as his mind processed what had just happened. Sensing his imminent meltdown, Vera quickly uttered a spell. “Here.” A colorful lollipop appeared in her hand, which she offered to the boy. “Candy always makes things better.”

She smiled down at the boy, who stared at the lollipop in surprise. When his chubby fingers stretched out to grip the stick, one of the other children rushed over.

“Don’t!” The other child pulled his friend upright, standing between Vera and the boy. This child appeared older, a scowl painted on his features. “She’s a witch. She’ll curse you!” The older boy’s eyes betrayed fear through his brave performance.

The younger child’s eyes grew in unison with Vera’s. How could she have forgotten? Prejudice against witches wasn’t contained to a single island. Had sailing with the Strawhats really made her guard drop so much?

“Go away, witch!” The other children had gathered now, one throwing a rock that landed at Vera’s feet.

“Hey!” Sanji stepped in, his voice an authoritative bark. “You little brats better watch it!”

The cook raised his right leg, which instantly became engulfed in flames. It was clearly a hollow threat, but the children cowered all the same. “You should be ashamed of yourselves, treating a beautiful woman like that. After she tried to help you too.”

The group scattered, shrieks of fear mingling with the boisterous noise of joyous festivities. Vera brought herself upright, dusting off the sheer tulle of her skirt. When Sanji turned to her with an expression of panicked worriment, she giggled.

“I take it you’re alright, then?” When she nodded, he released a sigh of relief. “I hope those kids didn’t ruin the evening for you.”

Vera shook her head, her chocolate curls dancing as she did. “Don’t worry. If I let every discriminatory child get to me, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything.” She offered him a reassuring smile as her hand reached for his. “And I intend to fully enjoy our time together.”

It was Sanji’s turn to blush. As their hands rejoined, he found himself at a loss for words.

Her resilience and kind heart were endearing. He’d been intending to monopolize her time at the festival simply to fuel his own interests. She was a gorgeous woman and he was a gentleman, so it was only natural he’d want to escort Vera to her first festival.

But was there more to his motives than he realized? Were his flirtatious nature and chivalrous duty the only reasoning for their current situation? Sanji wouldn’t deny he was attracted to Vera - he wanted to get to know her more. To know what her mysterious comments meant and perhaps peruse her romantically. But was there more to it than vague allure?

When Vera’s eyes lit up and she excitedly pointed to a food stall, the cook felt his heart thud just a little faster.

After their encounter with the group of children, the witch had miraculously opened up. It was as though the incident distracted the girl from her worries, allowing her to fully immerse herself in experiencing the festivities.

Sanji explained different foods and games, happily purchasing anything she wished to try. Childlike wonder had overtaken her as she bounced from stall to stall. Sweet and savory dishes were sampled, sugary were drinks guzzled, and many contests of skill were attempted. Sanji had even won her a prize at one such stall.

“Just drop a coin into the water.” The festival worker explained, gesturing to a large fish tank. There were bowls and cups of various sizes placed sporadically about the aquarium, each at differing depths. “If the coin lands in one of the containers, you get a prize.”

Vera eyed the possible prizes that could be won. Each dish had a corresponding color, which matched to different “levels” of awards.

“Something caught your eye?” Sanji had noticed her gazing at one of the prize walls, curious which difficulty he’d need to attempt.

Vera raised her hand timidly, pointing with a single finger towards one of the medium prize levels. “The hair comb with red gardenias.”

Three berries. That’s all the money it took for Sanji to win the comb. When his coin had landed in that purple wine glass, Vera had cheered openly.

She bounced with excitement as the comb was taken down and handed to him. She could hardly stand still long enough to allow Sanji to tuck the intricately carved piece of wood into the brim of her hat.

Her repeated thanks was like music to his ears as the pair continued through the maze of stalls.

The pair sat near a fountain, taking a much needed break while Vera happily munched on some fried dough. “This is delicious!” She spoke after swallowing a rather large bite of the crunchy treat. “How have I never had this before?”

Sanji chuckled, removing the cigarette he’d been smoking from his lips. “Who knew you’d like funnel cakes so much? I’d be happy to make you some for dessert one night.”

Vera had taken another bite, nodding enthusiastically at the prospect.

As she continued eating, Sanji finished his smoke. After stamping the remnants out with his heel, the blonde turned to his companion in amusement. “How have you never been to a festival before? Not even as a child?”

Vera finished her plate, wiping powdered sugar from her lips. She shrugged. “I wasn’t really allowed outside the mansion. And after I ran away, I was always too busy with my maid duties to ever do anything fun like this.”

Sanji halted his movements. His brows furrowed. “Apologies if this is overstepping, but you weren’t born into slavery, were you?”

Her spine straightened immediately, eyes like dinner plates as she mentally berated herself.

“Umm, n-no.” She instinctively moved her right hand to cover the slave mark which lay hidden beneath her sleeve. She looked away, mentally searching for a way out of the conversation. She was panicking. “Th-this was later. Ijust meant, youknow how parentscanbe. Alwayssooverbearing andcontrolling. Especiallywhentheyhateyourgutsfrombirth.”

As she babbled on, her words grew more quiet and jumbled. Her speech increased in speed until Sanji could barely tell she was even speaking the same language as him. The cook took her hand, the action mirroring their first encounter.

“Deep breaths.” He instructed, for both Vera and himself. “You don’t have to share any more than you’re comfortable with.”

Her thoughts were spiraling, scenes of abuse throughout key points of her life replaying in her mind’s eye. Beatings at her stepfather’s hand, Laura begging for mercy on her behalf, her own mother holding her down so she could be branded. Being sold into an arranged marriage, forced into slavery in her own home, and then made to be King Judge Vinsmoke’s personal harlot.

All the emotions of these events came crashing over her as though she were reliving them in real time. The fear, pain, and betrayal she felt as a child ripped through her very being. Her eyes appeared to look at nothing as a myriad of tears began to spill without her realizing.

“Why?”

The question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. Herself, maybe. Her parents, more likely. But those answers would never come. She knew that, and still her soul longed for an explanation.

Why was she subjected to a life of misery? Her mother was the one who’d had an affair, resulting in her conception. Why was she the one to be punished? She hadn’t asked to be born - not to a cheating woman and not into a cruel household.

Why was she subjected to such barbarism? Why did her mother condone and participate in her mistreatment?

Why? Why? Why?

“Why what?” Sanji had gripped both her shoulders, searching her eyes for any sign she was still with him. His words felt like a far off whisper, meant to be heard by another set of ears than her own.

“Why was I born a Celestial Dragon?”

5 notes · View notes

purplehairedwonder · 3 years

Text

Hearts With(out) Chains Chapter 16

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Gen (eventual Lawlu) Words: 3,431 Characters: Ikkaku, Jean Bart, Clione, Monkey D. Luffy, Nico Robin, Straw Hats, Violet, Trafalgar Law, Bepo, Doflamingo Notes: I’m taking my turn at the Corazon!Law AU because my brain won’t leave me alone until this is written down. Tags will be updated as the chapters come out.

Summary: Law is reclaimed by the Family when he's 17 and, with Doflamingo holding the lives of his crew as collateral for his good behavior, eventually becomes the third Corazon. Years later, trapped by his impossible situation, Law finds a strange connection to Monkey D. Luffy, which offers a glimpse of something he's repeatedly had ripped away from him: hope.

Previous chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

For a moment, Ikkaku’s brain struggled to process exactly what she was seeing. Why was Straw Hat Luffy on the Polar Tang? No one had heard from him or his crew in two years—since her own captain had saved his life. Was she hallucinating? Had she hit her head? Had she fallen asleep? Her brain couldn’t find a logical reason for what she was seeing.

“Eh?” Luffy said, tilting his head at Ikkaku. “You’re not Sanji. Who are you?”

“Who am I?” Ikkaku echoed in disbelief. “Why are you on my ship?” she demanded, hands going to her hips.

Luffy frowned at her for a long moment before his expression lit up. “Your ship? You must be one of Torao’s nakama!”

“Torao?” Ikkaku repeated in confusion.

Luffy nodded. “Mhm. Your captain!”

Ikkaku’s eyes narrowed. “My captain is Corazon.”

“That’s what I said. Torao.”

Irritation washing over her, Ikkaku pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, it’s not. I work for Corazon, second in command of the Donquixote Family, not whatever you just said,” she said. (Though whether Law still held that title seemed to be a question up in the air, considering the crew had been attacked, but that wasn’t Straw Hat Luffy’s business.)

“Torao is Corazon,” Luffy said. “He’s Law.”

Ikkaku stiffened. “How do you know that name?”

“Eh? He told me!” Luffy replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

That she did not believe. Law wouldn’t just tell anyone his name—especially a rival captain. But Luffy didn’t seem inclined to expand on his explanation.

“You still haven’t answered why you’re on our ship,” Ikkaku ground out, deciding to change approaches since she wasn’t getting anywhere.

“Oh, it was Torao’s idea,” Luffy said, scratching his nose absently. “He was supposed to call hours ago, though, so I’m getting worried about him.” His vision narrowed in on her, and Ikkaku had to fight the urge to step back with the sudden intensity of his gaze. “Do you know where Torao is?”

Ikkaku frowned at that. Not only did she have a hard time believing Law had invited a rival pirate crew onto the Tang—never mind the pirate in question was one he’d gone out of his way to save for a reason he hadn’t been able to explain—but she was also struck by the statement that Law seemed to be missing. That wasn’t good.

“I don’t know,” she said honestly.

The atmosphere around them lightened as Luffy crossed his arms and made a thoughtful noise. Ikkaku watched him, unsure of what to do, but she was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of doors busting open behind Luffy in the mess and yelling. Oh boy. She’d completely forgotten about Jean Bart and Clione. Luffy spun around, eyes going wide, and dashed back into the room he’d just come from.

With a sigh, Ikkaku followed a moment later and entered a chaotic scene. Pirate Hunter Zoro had his blades drawn as he stared down Jean Bart, who had… were those hands spouting out of his shoulders? He’d frozen as he eyed the limbs perilously close to his thick neck. Demon Child Nico Robin had her arms crossed in front of her as she stood to the side of Zoro. The long-nosed sniper had a slingshot drawn and pointed in his direction as well.

Meanwhile, Clione was facing off against Black Leg Sanji and a skeleton? Wielding a sword? And a cyborg? What the—?

Ikkaku rubbed her eyes. She’d seen a lot of strange things in the New World, but this was definitely near the top of the list. There was just something about seeing the crazy happening on her own ship, which was supposed to be a safe haven, that caused her brain to short circuit.

“Stop!” Luffy yelled as he barreled into the center of the mess hall.

“Luffy?” Zoro asked, glancing at his captain.

“These guys just burst in and attacked us!” the sniper added.

“Because you’re on our ship,” Jean Bart growled.

“Your ship?” Cat Burglar Nami asked, loosening her grip on the strange baton in her grasp. “Are you—”

“Torao’s nakama!” Luffy interrupted. He turned and pointed at Ikkaku. “Her too.”

The other Straw Hats turned to look at her, and her face warmed at the attention. She awkwardly raised a hand in greeting. After a moment, the Straw Hats stood down. Once the weapons had been lowered, Ikkaku wound her way through the mess to stand next to Jean Bart and Clione.

“Who’s Torao?” Clione asked, confused.

“Not this again,” Luffy grumbled.

“Our captain is referring to Corazon,” Nico Robin jumped in immediately, a spare hand appearing to pat Luffy on the shoulder comfortingly before disappearing in a flurry of petals.

“Straw Hat knew his real name,” Ikkaku murmured to her friends. They gaped back at her, just as surprised as she had been. The only ones to still refer to Law by his given name were the Hearts, and they were careful only to do it when they were safely outside the hearing of any outsiders.

“How do you know our captain?” Jean Bart demanded.

“We… ran into him on Punk Hazard,” Nami said, sliding her baton into a holster at her hip.

“Punk Hazard?” Clione asked, glancing at Jean Bart and Ikkaku. “Was that where he went on his mission?”

“Must be,” Ikkaku agreed. It made sense since Law’s mission had to have been nearby, and Punk Hazard housed a sensitive project, though they didn’t know the details of it.

“Some jerk named Verto showed up and attacked all of us,” Luffy said. Well, that seemed to confirm the story; the only thing the Hearts knew about the trouble Law was in was that it involved Vergo in some way. “He called Torao a traitor and threatened Torao’s nakama.”

Ikkaku traded glances with Jean Bart and Clione.

“What happened?” Clione finally asked.

“We said we’d help,” Luffy said. “Torao saved me two years ago. He’s a good guy. And if you’re his nakama, you must’ve helped me too, so you’re good, too!”

Ikkaku gaped at Luffy. Was he serious? This was not how a pirate was supposed to act.

“Vergo’s dead,” Robin added. “Corazon killed him.”

“Good,” Ikkaku said without thinking. The thought that Law had gotten revenge on that bastard was a good one. They’d all seen how Vergo and Law interacted when Vergo came to the palace, and the malice that existed on both sides had been blistering.

“Good riddance,” Clione added.

“Not a popular guy, I take it,” Nami said, eyebrow raised.

“He hurt our captain,” Clione said. “What’s there to like?”

Zoro hummed in approval as he dropped into a chair and threw his hands behind his head in a more relaxed posture.

“That still doesn’t answer why you’re on the Tang. Our ship,” Jean Bart clarified at some confused glances.

“Torao told us to wait here until he called,” Luffy said. “But it’s boring when you can’t explore a new place.”

“So, you’re here to help us?” Ikkaku asked skeptically. Even if Luffy thought of himself as repaying his debt to Law for Marineford, it was crazy to take on a Warlord in the country he ruled as king. There was no way he had any idea what he was getting himself and his crew into.

“That’s what I said,” Luffy huffed. “Why does no one ever listen to me? That Mingo is a bad guy, so we’re going to help Torao take him down and save his nakama.”

“You didn’t know about this?” the sniper asked, absently fiddling with the handle on the slingshot he’d rested on the table.

“We haven’t seen the captain since he returned,” Jean Bart said. “We were supposed to meet after dinner—”

“But we were attacked by two executives and had to flee the palace before we could see the captain,” Ikkaku said. “We came to the ship, hoping some of the others made it here as well.”

The Straw Hats exchanged concerned looks. “Corazon called us not long after he reached the palace this afternoon,” Robin said. “He’d met with Doflamingo and intended to check in again when he met with you all, but we never got that call.”

“Do you think he’s been captured?” the little tanuki in the corner, Chopper, piped up, concerned.

“Or killed,” Sanji said with a frown.

The Hearts exchanged a look. Years ago, Law had revealed to them the ultimate ability of his Devil Fruit—the true reason Doflamingo had kept him at his side all these years. The true reason he held the Hearts as collateral for Law’s continued cooperation. (“You deserve to know why you’re being held hostage,” he’d told them when they’d asked why he was telling them this.) Doflamingo would not kill Law before he had the chance to perform that operation, but Doflamingo could make even the strongest men beg for death. And he would have no qualms killing some of the collateral if he believed Law was a traitor.

“If Doflamingo found out about Vergo,” Ikkaku began slowly, “he’d be furious.” Furious might be an understatement.

“And if he knew the captain did it…” Clione added, trailing off.

“That would explain why we were attacked,” Jean Bart said, crossing his arms.

“We need to find out what happened to L-er, Corazon,” Ikkaku said, cutting herself off. Luffy might have used Law’s name, but she didn’t know what the others knew. And she would never go behind Law’s back to reveal something like that.

Robin smiled. “Trafalgar Law, right?”

Ikkaku tensed. It was strange hearing her captain’s name out of the mouths of those who were not her nakama. Something about it felt wrong, like they were taking liberties they had not earned. And yet—

It was also a reminder that her captain was his own man, one whose identity did not revolve solely around the man he was forced to serve. Sometimes even he seemed to forget that, and maybe it was time his crew—and, apparently, their allies—helped him remember.

“Torao,” Luffy added with a nod.

So Luffy’s nickname was a butchering of Law’s surname. That made more sense than Ikkaku thought it would when she’d first heard the name.

“So, how do we find out what happened to Law?” Clione asked, looking between his nakama and the Straw Hats.

Ikkaku glanced around the mess. “I have a really bad idea.”

-----

This was definitely a bad idea, Ikkaku thought as the small group approached the palace. If anyone saw them… She shook her head; there was no real way to avoid this if they wanted information.

She and Clione had taken point, Robin and Luffy behind them. Ikkaku thought even four people was too large a group for this task, but she’d been outvoted. Ikkaku was small, stealthy, and knew the city and palace layouts so was a natural choice. Robin had operated as a spy for many years, plus had a handy—no pun intended—Devil Fruit ability. Luffy, while hardly a sneaky presence, had been adamant that he be part of the group that entered the city in search of news of the missing Heart captain. Neither Clione nor Jean Bart wanted Ikkaku to be outnumbered by the Straw Hats, even if they were apparently allied for the moment, and Clione, as the smaller of the two, had won out. Ikkaku led the small group through darkened back streets and alleyways to reach the palace.

Ikkaku turned back to the others. “We have to be very careful from here,” she whispered. “The executives have their rooms in the same wing; they’re not particularly close to each other, but if we make too much noise, any of the other three could still hear us.”

“We know,” Luffy grumbled, and Ikkaku found herself suppressing the urge to stick her tongue out at the other pirate—how childish. They’d gone over this when they’d made their hasty plan on the ship, but Ikkaku wasn’t taking any chances.

Robin nodded for Ikkaku to lead on, and she headed for the mostly darkened grounds. There should be guards patrolling, though by this late (or early) hour, they were likely to be tired and less attentive. However, with the Hearts loose, it was entirely possible that the guard numbers had been increased.

At one point, Ikkaku looked back to see Robin lagging slightly behind, her arms crossed in front of her and her eyes closed. A moment later, her eyes opened, and she dropped her arms. She met Ikkaku’s gaze.

“There was a guard approaching,” she explained as she caught up. “He’s no longer a problem.”

Ikkaku nodded and continued toward the wing that housed Law’s chambers. The group hid behind bushes or ducked behind retaining walls to avoid a few guard patrols, but eventually Ikkaku came to a halt. She pointed up to the second story to a dimly lit window overlooking a small balcony.

“That’s Law’s room.”

There was no telling what they’d find in there, if anything. But it was the best place to start.

“It’s empty,” Robin said, eyes shut. She opened them again and nodded to her captain.

Luffy nodded back and wrapped an arm around Ikkaku’s waist. Her demand of what the fuck he thought he was doing died in her throat as she was pulled upwards alongside the Straw Hat captain. She stumbled as her feet hit the tile of the balcony and threw a hand to her mouth as her stomach protested violently.

“Shishishi,” Luffy chuckled as he turned around and shot his arms over the railing and, moments later, pulled Clione over. He dropped to his knees, face green, as he sought to catch his breath.

“What the fuck,” he hissed. Ikkaku agreed whole-heartedly.

Robin appeared then, calmly pulling herself over the balcony. Ikkaku peered over the railing again, and her eyes widened at the sight of arms sprouting out of the side of the building to make stairs. Creepy as it was, Ikkaku would have preferred Robin’s method of reaching the balcony. She shook her head before turning back to the room.

Clione stepped forward, slid the balcony door open, and stepped inside the room. Ikkaku followed him, peering around for anything out of sight. She inhaled sharply as something immediately caught her attention. Clione followed her gaze and cursed quietly.

“What?” Luffy asked, coming up behind her.

“Kikoku,” Ikkaku said, pointing to the sword partially obscured by the coat on Law’s made bed. “If there was trouble, Law wouldn’t be without his sword.”

“Luffy,” Robin called quietly, standing next to the desk.

Luffy looked up, and Robin nodded to the straw hat sitting on the desk next to Law’s Den Den Mushi. Luffy frowned as he made his way over to the desk and picked the hat up. Ikkaku couldn’t read the expression on his face as he looked at the hat for a long moment before putting it back on his head.

“There are blueprints of the castle here,” Robin added, fingers running over a sheet of paper on the desk. “Was he looking for a way out?”

“Shit. There’s blood over here.”

Ikkaku, Luffy, and Robin turned at Clione’s words. He stood by the far wall, and his gaze was on the carpet. The first thing Ikkaku noticed was Law’s hat, haphazardly discarded on the floor. Law might not be so attached to his hat as to earn an epithet named after it, but he would never just throw it on the floor. Near it, there was a small, dark stain. Ikkaku’s stomach sank.

“Look at the wall,” Robin said, tracing a cut in the brick. There was blood smeared across the gash.

Violence had been done here.

“Ew, what’s this?” Luffy said, nudging a snot-colored streak next to the blood.

“Trebol,” Ikkaku realized, recognizing the executive’s mucus. The scene she was starting to piece together that had happened in this room was not a pretty one. “He’s an executive.”

“And his Devil Fruit controls mucus,” Clione added.

Luffy pulled a face at the thought. “Gross.”

Ikkaku nodded in fully agreement. “It’s really sticky and strong.”

“Strong enough to hold an adult male to a wall?” Robin asked, still eyeing the bricks.

“Yes,” Ikkaku breathed, realizing what she was implying.

“What are you saying, Robin?” Luffy asked. “What happened to Torao?”

Robin pursed her lips for a moment before speaking. “It seems likely Torao-kun was planning to meet with his crew but first was looking for a way to get you all out,” she added, glancing at Ikkaku and Clione, “and was ambushed.”

“Trebol’s mucus must have trapped him against the wall,” Ikkaku said, eyeing the blood-streaked gash in the brick. “Trebol doesn’t use a blade, though. If Law was stabbed…”

“Diamante,” Clione supplied.

“Another executive,” Ikkaku told Luffy and Robin. “Uses a sword.” She shook her head. “Could have been Doflamingo’s strings, too.” The Warlord was infinitely, after all, creative and cruel with his Devil Fruit abilities.

“But then where is he now?” Luffy asked, looking between the other three.

“Dungeon, probably,” Ikkaku said after exchanging a grim look with Clione. The palace dungeon was rarely used for prisoners, as criminals were typically sentenced to either jail or the colosseum. Prisoners who had earned Doflamingo’s special attention were the ones to be placed in the dungeon.

Law would definitely fit that criteria.

“So, we go to the dungeon,” Luffy said, pounding a fist into his palm decisively. “Get him out.”

“No way,” Ikkaku said, shaking her head.

“Why not?”

“First, we don’t even know if he’s there,” she said, issue after issue running through her mind. “And even if he were, we’d have to sneak through the entire palace to get there without being seen.”

“There are no external doors to the dungeon,” Clione added. “Or windows.”

“To prevent escape attempts,” Robin mused.

“And even if we got to the dungeon and got Law out without being seen—which is unlikely—he’s wounded,” Ikkaku added, gesturing at the blood on the floor. “He won’t be moving well, and we’d need speed to get out.”

“Plus, the rest of our nakama are spread out over the city,” Clione said. “If we got the captain out and back to the Tang, we’d still need to find the others.”

“The sun will be coming up soon,” Robin added, nodding toward the window. Outside, the dark of night was beginning to turn gray in the pre-dawn hours. “We’ll no longer have the cover of darkness.”

Luffy stuck his bottom lip out in a pout but nodded his understanding. “Fine. But we have to do something.”

“What are you doing in here?” a new voice demanded from the doorway.

Ikkaku’s breath caught in her throat—they’d been here too long, they’d been too loud, fuck—as she slowly turned to the door. She hadn’t heard it open.

“Who’re you?” Luffy demanded.

Ikkaku’s eyes widened as she recognized the figure in the doorway. “Violet?”

-----

The sound of multiple sets of footsteps approaching pulled Law into full wakefulness. He’d only managed a light doze since Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin had run out of questions for him, considering the uncomfortable position he found himself in. Not only was his strength being leeched from his body by the Seastone shackles, but his shoulders were also starting to ache from the strain of being chained above his head, his head throbbed, and his hand…

Law swallowed and shoved that thought aside. He couldn’t think about that right now.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since there were no windows to let light in. It felt like ages and no time at all at the same time.

“Captain?” Bepo murmured worriedly. With his mink ears, he’d probably heard their guests approaching long before Law had.

Law grunted in acknowledgement of his first mate but didn’t have time to reply. His eyes narrowed as his cell door opened. The guard stepped aside with a bowed head to reveal Doflamingo.

Fear from his vulnerable position warred with rage in Law’s chest as he looked at the taller man. The man who had killed Cora-san, had stolen his freedom, and held his nakama’s lives in the palm of his hand out of a selfish, egomaniacal desire for power. Law clenched his jaw but said nothing, not trusting his voice, as the Warlord regarded him from behind his sunglasses, expression unreadable in the dim light.

Finally, he spoke. “Get him cleaned up then bring him to my office.”

Next chapter

#It’s a plot movement chapter #Trafalgar Law #Heart Pirates #One Piece fanfic #One Piece fanfiction #Caitlin's fic

7 notes · View notes

sartorialavarice · 4 years

Text

Tashigi - love? hate?

All new to this, but I need to get all this off of my chest somewhere.

So I started One Piece a month ago, and I’m currently on episode 630. So SPOILERZ AHEAD for up to Punk Hazard arc.

This isn’t a hate post, but I must confess I hated Tashigi at first. She totally misunderstood Zoro upon their first meeting, and was extremely judgemental about his inability to harm her when she didn’t even see the bigger picture. She refused admit her own incompetence and was convinced that the perceived insult was all misogyny on Zoro’s part, when in fact, 1. he wouldn’t harm her because of his Kuina trauma, and 2. he just dislikes getting serious with weak opponents. And particularly in contrast to Sanji, I have pointedly noted how indifferent and non-discriminatory Zoro is with regards to serious combat.

That’s why it pissed me off to have this weak ass, patronizing marine criticizing him for his non-existent prejudice.

She felt to me like one of those people who had so thoroughly convinced themselves that they were always the victim, the underdog, and the object of derision, that they couldn’t even tell when it was real or not. Like in her mission to rid the world of such close-mindedness, she herself had succumbed to the exact same kind of close-mindedness of seeing everyone through the same lens. Railing against prejudice so insistently like that felt counterproductive and hypocritical, like she was screaming for attention to the fact that she was a woman and almost inviting the different treatment. And it seemed like she felt so justified in it, too, caught up in lofty ideals of righteous justice that blinded her to the grey, grey morality of basically everything around her.

Then Tashigi changed my mind in Alabasta when she actually acknowledged her lack of ability and aided our mugiwara bebies. I was impressed with her for setting aside her pride as a marine, as a fighter, and for recognizing the need for compromise. I was genuinely looking forward to her character development.

Punk Hazard had me excited at her post time skip debut, and she didn’t disappoint. Her hair was more mature, fashion sense was still endearingly shitty, coat was cooler, and she reigned over those G5 scoundrels like a boss, what’s not to like?

Uhhhh, yeah, then I got to the Monet fight. And everything just seemed the same as before. She still misunderstood Zoro in the most frustrating way, and righteously (patronizingly) lashed out at him for NOT KILLING A WOMAN. Seriously, I thought she stood on the side of absolute justice?? Is sparing your opponent’s life something so shameful and wrong?? No wonder Zoro literally admits to looking down on her. He’s right to deem her weaker than him, but Tashigi yet again is in denial or actually cannot tell the disparity between them.

She also didn’t get that Zoro didn’t refrain because she was a woman, he refrained because that’s not his thing.

He’s not killed a single opponent so far: not Hachi, not Daz Bones, not T Bone, not Kaku, not Hyouzou. Monet is no exception, her gender has nothing to do with it. Maybe because it’s a shounen, but also, I think, because Zoro just doesn’t kill. He wants strong opponents, and maybe he’s aware killing might prevent them from growing stronger and challenging him again.

The point was defeat, which Zoro did the moment he broke Monet’s spirit, and Tashigi totally missed it, and I’m pretty sure she felt real proud inside for her petty “win” from cutting Monet up “first.” Yeah, I was disappointed, because I was expecting so much better from her. Two years should’ve been enough for her views to mature, but. Oh well.

Of course she redeems herself with the children thing, and I start liking her again, because dammit Oda you make EVERYONE so goddamn likeable at one point or another.

So I guess I just hate her interactions with Zoro. Once he’s out of the equation, she’s just another loveable, quirky, badass One Piece character.

And thus concludes this Tashigi love/hate post that probably no one will ever read. But if anyone does, I hope you could sort of relate to my internal conflict with this gurl.

#one piece #tashigi #character analysis #zoro #monet one piece #alabasta #punk hazard

19 notes · View notes

whirlybirdwhat · 5 years

Text

one piece head canons that I may develop into a story one day who knows oh well

because I'm bored and I have things to share

in a modern au texts between Luffy and Zoro are only ever 1-3 word texts because they read each other that well

the straw hats usually hate people as a whole, typically following Luffy’s lead, but the one person Luffy likes but they hate, or at least, strongly dislike, is Garp. No one should make their captain - who has declared war on the world for just one of them without an inch of fear - that terrified.

Dadan has everyone of her boys wanted posters hidden in her bedside drawer (to make sure no one gets the idea that she cares about those brats after all) - even Sabo’s.

Sanji knows all of the crews comfort foods and serves them up when needed - no one ever told him these.

In a fight, Luffy normally doesn’t watch for blows heading Zoro’s way, as he knows he can take care of himself. However - it is a completely different story when blades head towards the swordsman back.

Nami tells Robin, Franky, Brook, and Jinbe about Vivi and the kingdom of Alabasta (as Robin was an enemy at the time) and a day later they draw the x’s on them. The other straw hats cry. It's touching. Later they all get them tattooed !!

Zoro’s jaw is like. insane. He can bite through metal, just like Luffy. It's terrifying. He could eat a rock.

Luffy wants to get a tattoo like Ace did - one that stands for each of the people he cares about and himself. The problem is he wants to include all his crew too, and his brothers, and everyone - so he can never decide on a design. In the end he gets ASL in very tiny script on either his collarbone or his hip, and the Straw Hat Pirate design either on his shoulder or his back.

Another problem is that he’s rubber so the design might not work and stretch and look weird. Who knows.

Zoro thinks everything works best in threes. Three swords, three earrings, three directions - himself, wherever Luffy is, and up - to the heavens. This is part of the reason he is always lost. - More head canons below!

This ones kinda my view on Sanji’s characterization, which is how I see it in the earlier chapters before it got messed up later (like around the end of enies lobby/ thriller bark) , but feel free to skip it. Sanji has gotten it into his head that women are the pinnacle of humanity. They can take care of themselves just fine, and are perfectly capable, but to Sanji, they are to good to have to do so. This is why he is weird and worshipful of them (even trans-women. fight me.) But yeah

Sanji has also never touched a woman without her consent/out of fight.

All the straw hats have participated in one or two demonic rituals. results have varied. One time they summoned Zoro.

Luffy’s hair would be really, really soft if he took the time to take care of it like Usopp and Sanji do. Instead, like Zoro, he lets it grow wild and crusty with sea salt and never brushes it. Everyone, sans Zoro, is trying to fix it.

Chopper curses like a sailor. Everyone outside of the straw hats is surprised. But - Chopper just wanted to be a pirate, and pirate curse like crazy. Therefore - Chopper shouts FUCK whenever he stabs his toe. Its very funny.

Chopper’s favorite form is Brain Point because he’s tiny enough to be carried by the crew and fluffy enough to comfort them when need be. Its also a good surprise whenever an enemy shows up.

Luffy only ever drinks sake when there is a new member in the crew, and he always shares a cup with them. The rest of the time he drinks a different type of alcohol or just juice. The others don’t question this, until after marineford (rip ace) that is. And then feels.

Ace only ever told Thatch and Whitebeard about the meaning behind his tattoo. Whitebeard, because the E stood for ‘Edward’ and Thatch because he teased Ace one too many times about the spelling of it.

Luffy and Ace only learned to read at the level they could because of Sabo. Makino attempted to teach Luffy but she had to work and the bar typically distracted him, and the bandits did teach Ace the basics, but Sabo took it further with promises of pirate books.

Sometimes, Luffy will sing and dance with Brook to Sea Shanties. The words only ever half correct most of the time, but its a great big bundle of laughs anyway.

Luffy, when he's feeling tired, will drape himself across Franky’s shoulders/back while he tinkers, and just enjoy the company.

Luffy’s go to teddy bear is Zoro. Everyones teddy bear is Zoro. Until Jinbe comes along. Giant fish dad 100% most cuddly. He does still drag Zoro along for the ride.

Modern Au Strawhats are a mob no exceptions. Luffy’s the gang leader but no one thinks he is until he punches them.

Also Modern Au - every time the ASL brothers meet up someone either ends up in a hospital, jail, or both. They're lucky enough that only 30% of the time its one of them.

The straw hats are very, very domestic and have no care for personal space while its just them on the ship. It’s very cute.

Robin will read bed times stories if one asks. It's sweet.

Another factor in Zoro’s increasing directionlessness is Kitetsu. A cursed blade must have some price.

On stormy nights Zoro sits by the stairs.

Nami occasionally wishes she was on land for some of the storms if only she could enjoy them instead of ordering the crew about.

Luffy is actually very light. It concerns Sanji sometimes because he couldn’t possibly feed him more without starving the rest of the crew, but Chopper says his weight is fine so he lets it slide. It doesn't stop Sanji from trying to create foods that will stop Luffy’s appetite.

Zoro took out his own eye. It was from the same logic of ‘gotta cut of my feet so I can fight’ and ‘one of us has to cut off our hands so we can fight’.

Chopper. is this close to hunting down Buggy the Clown and killing him so he can stuff his fruit down Zoro’s throat so the risk of him cutting off his limb is shortened drastically.

Zoro and Luffy used to cut their own hair with spare knives. Someone else now cuts their hair.

Luffy’s nightmares are quiet.

Chopper has put a lot of research into lengthening life spans. Messagesto doctrine have helped. With out it .... Luffy might die before he even becomes the Pirate King and that can’t happen.

This last ones more of a theory but yeah - Luffy will give Shanks his hat back, Shanks will place it on his head, and put it back on Luffy's. “Cant be a pirate King without your crown! Sides - you went and made it your trademark. Can’t be Strawhat Luffy without the Straw Hat, eh?”

Send me prompts for more characters if you want more head canons!

193 notes · View notes

anubislover · 5 years

Text

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya

Chapter 1: The Deal

If someone had told Nami a week ago that she’d willingly seek out Trafalgar Law, she would have called them an even bigger liar than Usopp. The rest of her crew might have only paid attention to their own bounties, but since entering the Grand Line, the brilliant navigator had kept tabs on who was who in the pirate world. In particular, the Surgeon of Death’s reputation had chilled her to the bone. He was a rockstar in the criminal underworld, especially where the black market organ trade was concerned. Rumors of his cruelty, intelligence, and abilities were whispered in bars and back alleys, all with a tone of reverence and fear. Some of them had to be hyperbole; there was no way that the hearts he sold were still beating, right?

Still, she doubted his reputation was exaggerated to the extent of Luffy’s. Pirates, in general, were still self-serving scum willing to kill, exploit, and pillage. Her captain—that kind-hearted, trusting, ridiculous fool—was the exception, and that was why Nami was willing to confront the Dark Doctor. News of what happened during the War of the Best had reached even Weatheria, and though Haredas had tried to discourage her, she’d demanded he help her track down the Supernova that had saved her captain’s life. Perhaps the old man felt guilty over the tears she’d shed over not being there for Luffy—not all of them had been fake. It had helped that one of the other wizards had spotted the Polar Tang not far from the floating island, so he’d allowed her the use of a Weather Ball to go down for an audience with the Surgeon of Death.

“I saved your captain on a whim. I’m not interested in your thanks.” Leaning against the side of his yellow submarine, Law hardly spared her a glance, seeming more focused on studying the DEATH tattoos across his fingers. Nami knew it was a ruse, though; he wouldn’t have agreed with her demands to meet if he hadn’t been interested in what she had to say.

Stubborn and scowling, she crossed her arms and jutted out her hip. Short, orange hair brushed her cheeks as the soft ocean breeze caressed her. She wore the same tight t-shirt and white shorts she’d donned at Sabaody, and the high heels of her tan sandals gave an echoing tap when she’d landed on the metal deck. Part of her wished she could have dressed a little sexier in case she needed to use her feminine wiles in this meeting, but her options had been limited, and even if she’d had her full wardrobe, it was probably safer not to attract this strange and deadly man’s attention too much; she didn’t have her crew to bail her out if she got in trouble, after all.

As she glared at the bored-looking man leaning against the submarine’s steel hull, Nami started to wonder if she’d made a mistake. It was too late to turn back, though, so she took a steadying breath and stated, “Whim or not, I don’t like the idea of Luffy being in anyone’s debt; especially not a rival’s. I want that squared before we head to the New World. So, if you don’t want thanks, what do you want?”

Interest piqued, Trafalgar Law finally graced her with his full attention. Nami had to admit, at first glance, he didn’t fit the image of a pirate captain. His skin was a warm olive tone; she could lay in the sun for hours and never achieve a tan like that. Midnight blue hair, sideburns, and goatee framed his angular face, and the dark circles under his eyes implied he rarely got a decent night’s sleep. His clothing was casual, consisting of spotted jeans, black boots, and a yellow hoodie; hardly the apparel of a feared warrior. Atop his head rested a spotted, furry hat, and she wondered if it had sentimental value like Luffy’s did; she really couldn’t imagine why someone of Law’s reputation would wear such a silly accessory otherwise.

Being a pirate was about more than just looks, however. Up close like this, Nami could tell he was dangerous. Taller than even Zoro, though far leaner, the muscles of Law’s exposed forearms showed he wasn’t some skinny weakling. It was intimidating, to say the least, especially when the nodachi propped on his shoulder was nearly as long as she was tall, and her hand itched to use the Clima-Tact strapped to her thigh to turn herself invisible and run away. She keenly recalled seeing the vivisected pieces of navy soldiers that had littered the battlefield at Sabaody. Even if there hadn’t been any blood, the gruesome scene was like something out of a horror story. The sunny yellow of his sweatshirt seemed too cheerful for a man of his reputation, yet it easily enhanced the intensity of his calculating gold eyes.

Eyes that were locked on her. Assessing. Calculating. Appraising.

“That depends on what you’re offering,” he replied, not bothering to hide his lecherous grin as he gave her curvy figure a slow, penetrating once-over.

She shuddered. Of course he’d suggest that; men—especially pirates—were all the same. “Not what you’re thinking, that’s for sure. Look, I know medicine and the like ain’t cheap, and assuming you fed Luffy at some point, that’s a hell of a grocery bill. I’m here to pay you back so you can’t hold anything over his head in the New World.” Squaring her shoulders, she met his gaze unflinchingly. Much as she loved money, she knew the importance of paying one’s debts. More specifically, she knew the power debts could have over a person. “Just name your price. It might take me some time to get it, but I’m not called ‘Cat Thief’ for nothing. You’ll get your belli.”

Pushing away from the wall, Law slowly circled her, studying her like she was a new and unusual specimen he was eager to dissect. “You think I want money?” he asked, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest. “The hearts I sell on the black market are worth ten times your bounty. I can empty a safe of its contents without opening the door. Moreover, I saved your captain’s life, not his wallet. If you want to pay me back, you’re going to have to give me something more valuable than belli, gold, or jewels.”

“And what is that?” she asked, twisting around so she could keep him in her sightline. There was no way she trusted him enough to take her eyes off him. She’d feel more comfortable being stalked by a hungry leopard than the lanky surgeon.

One final circle and he stopped in front of her, looming over and blocking out the sun like the Grim Reaper himself. “Time. Your crew agreed to meet up in Sabaody in two years, right? Then spend one year as a member of the Heart Pirates.”

“Are you crazy?” she shouted, stepping back. “I’m not joining your crew! I need to spend that time training!”

He shrugged. “You can train aboard my ship. There’s no better vessel to study ocean currents with, which will be beneficial for getting to Fishman Island, among others. Besides that, I saw your fight at the Auction House; you desperately need combat training. And I’m sure your captain would hate for your thieving skills to get rusty. Can you do all that on Weatheria?”

It was infuriating how logical his argument was, mainly because his smile was uncomfortably smug. “My combat techniques rely on my knowledge of weather science. I can’t give up the opportunity Heradas is giving me,” she argued.

“You’ll still have a full year to learn from him once your debt is paid, Nami-ya. Surely the weather wizards understand how important your captain is to you; otherwise they never would have brought you here.”

Small fists clenched, nails digging into her palms. She hated how easily Law had backed her into a corner. He was cunning, calculating, and knew exactly how to manipulate the situation in his favor. She’d actually admire him if it weren’t focused on her. There was no way she was giving up without a fight, though. “That sounds like I’m getting the better end of the deal, which doesn’t translate to paying off a debt. What’s in it for you? If your skills are as impressive as you claim, surely you’re not in need of a cat burglar?”

“As my subordinate, you’ll use your numerous skills to aid me and my crew. I know you’re a talented navigator and cartographer on top of your infamous thieving abilities. Perhaps you could even help me run some cons with that incredible beauty and high alcohol tolerance of yours.” He chuckled at her shocked expression. “Mugiwara-ya talked extensively about you all; mostly in his sleep. Anesthesia has a fascinating side effect of acting as a truth serum, and I had to keep him under quite a bit so he wouldn’t rage about and tear open his wounds.”

Damn you, Luffy! Nami screamed mentally. She should have known he’d be an idiotic blabbermouth, even on death’s door.

Still, this needed to be done. It was too great a risk, letting someone like Trafalgar Law, the sadistic Surgeon of Death, hold a life debt over her nakama. He may claim he’d acted on a whim, but Nami knew pirates like him never did things out of the goodness of their hearts. Maybe he’d intended on calling in a favor at a later time, using her good-hearted captain for his own plans. Luffy would agree in a heartbeat, too, since he’d probably assume anyone who had saved his life was his friend. Thinking like that could get him killed.

That’s exactly why he needed someone like her.

The Cat Thief couldn’t fight like Sanji and Zoro, but she could protect her captain from the machinations of a rival. They had the strength, but she had the brains and survival instincts they lacked. She’d promised she’d make Monkey D. Luffy the Pirate King, and if she had to spend a year working for another crew to do it, she would. At the very least, she might be able to discover Trafalgar Law’s weaknesses.

And maybe—just maybe—she’d run into Luffy. She knew he’d fulfill his promise to meet them in Sabaody, but that didn’t mean she didn’t worry about him. He was an idiot, but he was her idiot, and if she had the chance to at least check on him, she’d take it. Law had saved his life; perhaps he knew where the rubber captain had disappeared to.

“So, do we have a deal?” Law asked, gold eyes bright and smile too wide for his narrow face. He could see the gears turning in her mind, grinding and processing until she came to the conclusion he desired.

A small voice in her head whispered that this was a mistake, that this was sounding too much like her deal with Arlong, but she pushed it away. Guilt at not being there for her captain far outweighed her distrust at making pacts with pirates. Swallowing down her fear and doubts, the beautiful navigator stuck out her hand, brown eyes meeting amber with determination. “Deal. I work with your crew for one year; not a day more.”

His calloused, tattooed hand engulfed hers, shaking firmly. Like a leopard that had trapped his prey and was eager to pounce and gobble her up, his expression was triumphant and hungry.

“Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya.”

61 notes · View notes

onepiece-imagines-bartoloclub · 5 years

Text

(Welp this is the stupid bowling headcannon that was going to be inevitably made sooner or later. I just hope what I wrote was coherent enough cause I was too tired when I started writing this. Hope yall enjoy.)

(Also this is just part 1, I'll add in part 2 tomorrow since I was too busy today to get it finished, I just couldn't leave yall empty handed after so long. Have a good night!💖❤💖❤)

~ Strawhats bowling headcannons part 1 ~

- Luffy -

•His attempts to bowl always end up with something breaking in the alley. If he tries to swing to downwards, he ball smashes the wood, and if he tries to throw it a little bit before it starts rolling, it hits the wall above the pins.

•He even tried to roll one that was too small for him and all that did was stretch his arm forwards with the ball stuck to his fingers and it came back, hitting him in the face.

•At that point, he decided to just grab and punch the pins with it, much to the annoyance of some of his crew who wanted to play a fair game of bowling.

•Even if he could throw it normally, his only advantage would've been his strenght, cause he can't aim at all and even accidentally hit a strike on someone else's row.

•Luckily Franky was there to repair any damages Luffy might've caused.

- Zoro -

•He wouldn't join in, he'd much rather sit and watch everyone play while he drinks.

•The only reason he would play is if Sanji was baiting him on by thinking Zoro was worried about getting low scores.

•His points are only slightly better than Luffy's, but not by much since he relies too much on rolling it as hard as possible to see if gets him a strike.

•He got so frustrated at his score that he cut the pins using his sword without needing to cross the line. That ended up with Zoro being banned from the alley (well they didn't kick him out, they let him drink and stay with the crew since they were too afraid to actually get rid of him).

- Nami -

•It didn't take much for Nami to want to play, since while she isn't dying to play it, it looks harmless enough for her to enjoy (and because of how much it costed to get in so she might as well put that money to good use).

•Once she started playing, she adapted to the game very quickly and starting getting almost the most points out of everyone in the crew.

•She also manages to get spares when she gets a 7-10 split also as if it second nature to her.

•While Nami does end up scolding Luffy a lot of the time for his reckless behavior during the game, she does take her time to at least try to teach how to properly play the game and only successfully managing get him to keep the ball in his lane.

- Usopp -

•Arguably one of the few people you could trust to not cause any problems in the alley.

•His snipping skills make it so that he gets a strike in every turn, to the point where the crew had to negate the whole "fair game" rule and use their abilities to even think of matching Usopp's score.

- Sanji -

•Sanji only ever plays if he has a chance to try (and failt) to impress to the female crewmembers or to show off in front of Zoro. As mentioned, pissing Zoro off is the only thing that could get him to olay and once that starts, it doesn't end when everyone else is done with the game.

•His games become intense as both try to out score one another and always ending up in ties. The reason for that is because Sanji's hands are for cooking so he's not used to putting it to use in a different setting.

•He tried to kick the ball towards the pins, and while he did get a strike from that, he was warned that will get banned too.

•Sanji's score is mixed, getting mostly 7-10 splits with the occasional spare here and there.

•Aside from that, he'd much rather serve food while the crew has fun while only occassionally taking someone's turn if they want to rest for a bit.

- Chopper -

•Chopper doesn't care about how high or low of a score he gets, so long as he gets to have fun playing with the crew, that's all that matters.

•Because his normal body isn't suited for rolling the ball, he uses his "Human" form to play, although the downside is that his fingers are too big to use the ball properly so he holds it with his entire hand.

•His score varies, either getting the occasional strike or more often than not, getting low points from not being able to roll the ball because of his dilemma.

#one piece #one piece headcannons #monkey d luffy #roronoa zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #chopper

11 notes · View notes

neverwatchedonepiece · 5 years

Text

561-562: "A Massive Confused Fight! The Straw Hats vs. The New Fish Man Pirates!" and "Luffy Loses the Fight?! Hordy's Long Awaited Revenge!"

Show me on the doll where the humans hurt you, Hordy!

Oh, that cliffhanger.

That infuriating and awesome cliffhanger.

The plot’s getting juicy now. Hordy Jones has a secret identity! I’m guessing this is what you guys were referring to in the replies. The flashback Toei added of Hordy witnessing a kidnapping probably clashes with this big reveal that’s about to go down.

I really wanted to steam ahead and watch 563 but this is the best time to make some predictions, since I’ll probably get answers right away. At least, I’ll get some about Hordy. I have a feeling I’ll have to wait longer to find out what the deal is about Noah. Still won’t stop me making crackpot theories!

But before the main event...

Back at the Plaza

Ahhh... this is the Sanji I like to see. The guy who is proficient in all forms of roasting. You’ve got to admit, he gets some good lines. “You damned steamed bun bastard!” Who taught you to roast like that, Sanji? Do all chefs aspire to achieve Gordon Ramsey levels of withering put downs?

I suppose that’s what you get if you take Nami down with an accidental wind blast.

Well, that’s what you get from Sanji. What you get from Nami is repeatedly struck by lightning with her Black Ball trick. But it’s not a trick! She is not a magician. Definitely not. Her techniques are based on science. (Yet another reason to like Nami right there!)

Of course, Zeo, being the brains of the outfit noticed Nami is Sanji’s weak link. He teamed up with Ikaros (the squid guy) to ambush her. Zeo used his camoflage to grip Nami’s feet. When Ikaros came screaming up with a spear, she couldn’t move. She called for help.

Brook was closest. He stepped between Nami and the spear and took the hit.

There was an instant pantsu moment. This confused Ikaros. Whose side was this guy on? Oh, well. Best not worry. Get down to stabbing. Ikaros jabbed Brook several times with his desiccating spear. Incredibly, Ikaros wondered why his spear didn’t work on an Obvious Skeleton. (Maybe he should have taken some of those classes Otohime was running back in the day).

“I’m pretty dried up already,” Brook explained (if the skeletal features weren’t a big enough clue). “No, really, it’s a long story. About fifty years ago---”

Brook was so ready to tell his entire story to this random Fishman goon who wanted to kill him. Then Iron Franky stomped over and lamped Ikaros in the face. xD

Bemused, Brook looked around the battlefield. A fodder goon coughed politely. “Um, you should maybe watch your feet.”

He’d freaking stepped on Zeo’s face!

The best part? Zeo spun it as a TOTALLY DELIBERATE MOVE. “Ahaha, skeleton! How did you like taking a headbutt to the bottom of your foot? The pain should be with you momentarily.”

Brook, who was probably deeply confused by this point, reverted to politeness. “I’m sorry I stepped on your face!”

Honestly, Brook is hilarious. That whole scene was golden.

Honourable mention must also go to Usopp and Chopper’s teamwork against Daruma (I remembered his name!) and the Big Guy. Their battle experience really showed here. Usopp remembered fighting Mr 4 in Alabasta (the mole one who could dig). Together, they schemed to connect all the tunnels Daruma chewed out. Once Chopper was done, Usopp fired a massive bomb down the connected network and blew that little ratbag into the sky.

That was a good moment. I’ve always liked Usopp’s clever, tactical way of fighting.

Unfortunately, now they’re on the ropes, Hordy’s Head Goons reached for their Roids. I guess the tables will turn on the Strawhats for a while. You know, because a ship of apocalyptic scale falling on top of the island isn’t tense enough. xD

I’m Free.. Free Fallin’

After Hordy put Decken out of commission, Shirahoshi’s brothers finally realised that... hey, maybe swimming directly above the island wasn’t such a good idea. Not quite sure how they found out Hordy had speared Decken. I assume it happened on the deck and they saw the deed done.

Hordy gloated, as per. “Fishman Island will fall and I’ll make sure all your friends die, Strawhat!” Of course, what he should have been doing was watching everyone else. While he gloated, the brothers got the message to Shirahoshi. She swam off to the side. Hordy knew he’d screwed up, so he pursued her. Luffy tried to grab him, but his Devil Fruit powers weakened in water.

What Hordy also should have been doing was ensuring Decken was dead.

I’m still not convinced Decken is down. I’d actually like him to contribue to Hordy’s downfall. Not because I want to see him redeemed, or anything. Just because it would be more humiliating to Hordy.

At Least He’s Found Another Focus?

The good news, at least, is that Decken touched Hordy Jones with his left hand. Shirahoshi is still marked by his right hand. I hate admitting this but Decken could still do something to help save Fishman Island (or at least amend his own psychotic screw up).

“I’ll hunt you down to the ends of hell. I’ll drive you down physically and mentally. My axe! Hit Hordy!”

Unfortunately, said axe was too heavy. He couldn’t lift it and blacked out.

Useful. Thanks, Decken, you eternal screw-up.

Of course, Noah immediately began to fall. And what I did notice, even before I watched 562, was that Hordy laughed and yelled, “I WIN!!” Like, mate, you are about to destroy Fishman Island. What the hell are you about? He seemed more interested in himself and his own victories than in his vision of the future of Fishman Island.

There was some interesting comparisons to be made between the princes too. Mamboshi and Ryuboshi, upon realising Decken was down and the Noah would fall, said, “Fishman Island is finished!” They were ready to give up. But not Fukaboshi. “We have to stop this somehow! We must save Fishman Island and the Noah’s purpose that has been protected for hundreds of years. We must save the kingdom at any cost!”

Honestly, if there was an election, my vote would go to Fukaboshi. Or Shirahoshi. They’re both brave, determined and will fight to the bitter end.

The Neptune flashback was interesting. He told his sons about Noah. Apparently, centuries ago, a promise was made to a great man. The Noah was kept on the seafloor until “the appointed day comes”. The ship has not yet served its purpose. Neptune didn’t even know who they managed to make that ship. But it cannot be damaged until that day comes.

First: who is they? Ancient Fishmen, I’m guessing. Second: the great man. I wonder if it’s Joy Boy who was referred to in the poneglyph Robin found? Third: a promise was made to this great man. The poneglyph Robin found was an apology, wasn’t it? Maybe the ship was made as reparation. Forth: the purpose of the ship. What is it? (I still think it’s mass transportation.)

At any rate, Noah is Superrrr Important to Fishmen. Neptune made his sons promise to spare Noah. Luffy, however, isn’t willing to take that risk.

Hordy goaded Luffy. “Were you fooling yourself, Strawhat, when you said you’d protect your crew?”

“I’ll do it!” Luffy yelled. “I’ll break that ship into pieces before it hits!”

Fukaboshi did not like this plan. No, he said. Noah has a long history. Luffy didn’t understand. How could they save the island? Decken, Fukaboshi said. If they woke him up, he could alter Noah’s course. But what if Decken was dead? There was no time! As if to emphasise this, Hordy swam in for an attack. Luffy tanked a bite from his razor sharp jaws. (I actually liked that Luffy’s hardening haki wasn’t strong enough to defend against it. That means there’s something to improve on in future and Luffy isn’t all-powerful just yet!)

Fukaboshi told Luffy to wait. Little did I know, he had hatched a pretty clever plan.

+1 Fukaboshi for Fishman President

When he said he would save Fishman Island and Noah at any cost, he really meant it. He was willing to sacrifice himself to hand Luffy the opportunity to defeat Hordy Jones.

He’d contacted the Air Tank control (I love that that exists) and arranged for them to shoot a massive air bubble at Noah. Of course, it wouldn’t stop Noah falling. It would merely slow it’s progress (ah, the old classic slow fall to earth to give the good guys time to fight back). The exciting downside? They only have one shot, as a bubble that big will take all the air they have in reserve.

While buying time, Fukaboshi engaged Hordy Jones directly. He also asked the questions I wanted to ask, which was nice.

“Hordy, mate, you are making no sense! First, you wanted vengeance against humans for Fishmen, now you’re trying to take those fellow Fishmen’s lives along with the island. You even abandoned the ones you grew up with in Fishman District. Or is your hatred for humans so deep it made you lose your mind? What happened to you?” he yelled. “What did humans do to you?”

Hordy’s mouth stretched in a slow, creepy smile. He said something underwater (all I heard was “blort, blort”) then he stabbed Fukaboshi and tossed him aside like an old glove. Luffy coudn’t take that lying down. He snapped Hordy’s steel fin and punched him in the face. (Nice.)

Of course, Hordy’s pride is like a soft, squidgy little bunny rabbit. Fragile and easily startled. To remedy this, he necked another fistful of Fish Roids. At this point, I’m wondering if the Roids will destroy him before anything else. Is he not dangerously close to overdosing?

The DDM Fukaboshi had given Luffy rang. Air Tank control was ready. Fukaboshi, struggling but alive, also called him. “About Hordy Jones,” he croaked. “I found out who he really is.”

My jaw dropped. I actually WTF’d out loud. Then I grinned because, honestly, that is an excellent cliffhanger. I also have no idea who Hordy Jones really is. Is he an ex-slave of St Myosgard? Is he a descendant of a past royal family who is raging about something? Did he read the poneglyph and despise Joyboy for some reason? Did Joyboy do something to his family?

I honestly don’t know where to begin here. You guys reading the manga at the time must have had a great time coming up with theories. :D

This guy should be in politics. His spin is so tremendous it could knock the Earth out of orbit.

#one piece #neverwatchedonepiece #nwop #never watched one piece #fishman island #monkey d. luffy #hordy jones #fukaboshi #princess shirahoshi #captain vander decken #sanji #nami #usopp #tony tony chopper #franky #roronoa zoro #brook

54 notes · View notes

the-tv-ninja · 6 years

Text

Trick or Treat

Chapter 1: Costumes

Sanji wondered through the streets absent-mindedly, taking appreciative glances at the mélange of orange, yellow and red. It was nearly the end of October and autumn was present everywhere – from the colourful leaves, to the chilly wind that made him shiver a little to the Halloween decorations.

There were various cinnamon candles, pumpkin lanterns and even skeleton ornaments scattered throughout the city streets.

The cook smirked, he'd always been one to enjoy the holidays. He could debate why – perhaps it came as an occupational thing since he'd get to prepare seasonal dishes.

This time around though…there was something special about autumn. The air appeared clearer, the various shades of the trees more vibrant and for the first time since he was twelve he was actually excited about Halloween.

"Seems just like you be excited about a girly ass thing, ero-cook," Zoro mocked when he'd stupidly shared his thoughts out loud.

Still, the words lacked bite and he could see Roronoa smirk a little, as though their little banter sessions made him happy.

"What about chopper?" Sanji asked to which Zoro had promptly looked away, the way he always did when he couldn't convey emotions into words.

" He used to love Halloween when he was really small…back when Tashigi and I-"

The words hung in the air awkwardly and the chef bit his lip, opting to change the topic.

Now though he was going through town, on a mission. A sudden idea sprouted in his chest like a weed and no matter how much he wanted, he couldn't tear it away.

In the end it was decided – they were going to celebrate Halloween, regardless of what the Marimo had to say about it.

xxx

Sanji stood before the window screen of a large, decoration shop and briefly debated if he should enter. He'd always been on the prideful side and something told him buying not one but four costumes, one of them for a kid, was bound to get some raised eyebrows.

"How may I help you, sir?" the shop assistant, Keimi, as the name tag read asked when she noticed how lost he appeared.

The chef quickly explained, for once omitting his usual praise for the beautiful lady before him.

Keimi's lips stretched into a warm smile which brightened the whole shop,

"I think we have just what you need," she promised, taking his pale hand and dragging him towards the rows of different costumes.

xxx

To say Chopper was excited two hours later would be understatement of the year.

"Sanji, you're SO cool!" he cried out, bouncing on his feet as he clung onto the Halloween costume the blonde had just handed to him.

Zoro seemed stunned, unable to even comment. He was stilling sitting on his bed in his room, one remaining grey eye wide in bewilderment,

"You…really shouldn't have," he whispered after an unnaturally long pause, "But thank you."

Sanji felt something flutter in his chest, a wave of warmth washing over him. He couldn't get past the pure gratitude in the other's voice, how damn happy he looked.

Not only that but surprised as well, as though he wasn't used to people treating him nicely. It made the chef frown, he'd been the same way but as he was slowly starting to realize – things were changing. He may not have had the best biological family, sure, but he had Zeff and now, with Zoro and Chopper around it almost felt like he had a family of his own. Sure, they weren't there yet, but it felt nice, offering a long forgotten sense of security to Sanji.

"Come on, Chopper, try it on!" he insisted, shooting the six-year-old an encouraging look.

"Okay! I'll go to the bathroom and change!" the kid said, smiling brightly at them before running away.

Sanji then turned to Zoro himself, opting to sit next to him as the old bed creaked under their combined weight.

The scene of their first kiss, a mere week ago, flashed before his eyes – Roronoa being only centimetres away, hot breath dancing over his lips. And then his lips, a little chapped but welcomed... the way his tongue clashed against his. The contact had been unexpected and playful, like a breath of fresh air after being locked inside for too long.

The blonde cleared his throat, retrieving back to reality once the memory lost its grip on him,

"Here, I got one for you too, moss for brains," he offered, the insult was slowly turning into a loving pet name,

The look of shock on Zoro's face deepened - some strange emotion, caught between surprise and faint embarrassment. Then, much to Sanji's surprise things escalated further as his sides turned a pleasant red colour.

The cook couldn't help but grin at him – who knew this fearsome man could blush so deeply? He had to admit though – it suited him, making him appear younger and happier, adding some bonus points of attraction, as if he needed any. The word cute swam in Sanji's mind but he would never say it out loud though, he wasn't in the mood for getting chopped to pieces.

Perhaps he could steal a picture of Roronoa like this, all surprised and flustered, having a hard time comprehending basic human interactions. Then he would probably frame it over his bed, all in the name of teasing him.

"Thanks," the other muttered in the end, burying his face in the parcel and refusing to meet his gaze.

He stared at the costume, somewhat bewildered, evidently unable to guess who or what he was supposed to dress up as.

"You're going as Zorro!" Sanji couldn't help the sarcastic giggle, as uncharacteristic as it was for him – perhaps the man had a strange effect on him,

"I thought it would be clever – because of your name." he went, barely suppressing his own laughter, "And he has a sword as well! It's the perfect choice for you, don't you think?."

The taller man shook his head, lips curving into a smile which soon morphed into a sunny grin.

(Hearing Zoro laugh did something funny to his heart.)

"Damn, cook, you really are one cheesy bastard!" Zoro shot back but there was no edge to his words, if anything he seemed happier than he'd ever seen him before.

Sanji shrugged, a month ago he would have been offended, he'd have screamed an insult back or raised his leg for a kick. But now things were different, now he had an adorable six year old around, a directionally challenged marimo to help out in the kitchen and a twenty something child who wreaked havoc on his meat supply.

The new dynamic changed him, mellowed him down and took away the bitterness he'd felt for as long as he could remember.

"Don't just stand there, try it on, algae!" Sanji demanded, tone harsher for good measure.

Roronoa didn't protest, instead stood up and took his T-shirt off, as though that was the most natural thing in the world to do.

The cook couldn't help but stare, taking in the smooth tan skin and the strong defined muscles underneath it.

His blue eyes trailed over Roronoa's scars – thin white lines which criss-crossed over his torso, like rivers on a map. If anything they made him all the more attractive to him, as if a proof to his strength and endurance, a reminder of the pain he'd survived.

"I bet you only bought this, so you could see me strip," Zoro whispered, turning to him and winking like the damn asshole he was.

It was Sanji's turn to go red in the face, glad Chopper wasn't listening to their exchange, "Cocky bastard,"

Roronoa grinned at him, "That's how you like me,"

The chef rolled his eyes, "Touché,"

Zoro then proceeded to snake out of his torn, washed out jeans, tossing them aside on the floor. The French couldn't shift his gaze, hungry eyes falling over the man's plump ass and his strong thighs.

Various images flashed through his mind, none of them including any Halloween costumes or other clothes. He could picture the strong swordsman over himself, those damn good muscles working their magic. He'd never been attracted to a man before, hell he'd never even spared men a second look.

But Zoro…the damn bastard looked like sex on legs and he seemed to realize it which made him all the better in Sanji's eyes. Though he would never admit it, apparently he had a thing for arrogance, all mixed in with a round of banter between them. Not to mention, that six pack didn't hurt either.

"Cook, you might wanna tone down the looks, my son is in the other room," Roronoa joked, shaking his head as short locks of green swayed with his throaty laughter.

"Asshole," Sanji grumbled but still looked away, hating the way Zoro seemed to know all the right words to make him flustered, one way or another.

The private show the other man was giving him only lasted a few minutes, entirely too short in the French's opinion. Soon enough he stood before him, all dressed up as none other than the mythical legend Zorro.

Sanji grinned brightly at him, "You don't look half bad,"

Roronoa rolled his eye, stealing a look of himself in the reflection on the window.

"I'll kill you for this shit," he grumbled, "This is the cheesiest thing I've ever done."

It was true, the costume even provided a cheap, nylon cape which caught the fluorescent glint of the indoor lighting and added some bonus cringe points.

Sanji licked his lips, "You know Chopper will love it. Luffy probably too."

Zoro smirked, the look on his face shifting from slight annoyance to something else entirely, something warm and caring.

"Yeah, they will."

Speaking of the devil, the two flew in the room, much like a tornado of emotions.

"Sanji, the costume is so awesome!" the kid cried out, round grey eyes full of happiness and excitment.

The chef felt his heart melt at the sight, wishing he could seal this moment forever, so he could go back and play it on repeat, marvel at the three content faces that stood before him.

"I can't believe you got me a pirate costume!" Luffy all but shouted and the smoker was positive people in a radius of a few miles were hearing about it.

"How did you even know it was my childhood dream to be a pirate!?" he demanded, dark gaze full of awe,

The blonde shrugged nonchantly, "Must have been a hunch,"

He eyed Luffy who was dressed up in a stereotypical pirate attire, despite sternly refusing to have an eye patch as he deemed it would interfere with his trick-or-treating abilities, whatever that meant.

"Thank you so much!" the younger man cried out, throwing himself around Sanji's torso suddenly.

The chef froze on spot, sensing two long, skinny arms wrap around him as Luffy all but buried his head into his chest.

The contact was awkward at first, he was so unused to hugs, he'd almost forgot how they felt. Him and Law never embraced, despite carrying the unofficial tittle of best friends. The closest they'd got to a hug was that whole half armed thing they did at their university graduation. (And that been purely because Zeff had insisted, while pestering them about taking photos of them).

Slowly Sanji wrapped his arms around Luffy, returning the hug.

"This is the best Halloween ever!" The noirette shouted, rendering him nearly deaf in one ear.

"Glad you like it," he responded, turning to face the trio.

Zoro looked like hotness wrapped up in a cheap Halloween costume. Luffy fitted into the role nicely, as though he was born to be a pirate, travelling through the seas with some marry and probably equally crazy crew.

And Chopper was the cutest reindeer he'd ever seen. The boy looked adorable, dressed up as the animal, he'd even put the antlers which completed the look and a red nose (drawn with the lipstick Luffy had somewhere in his pockets and Sanji most definitely did not want to know where he got it from).

xxx

"Well?" Luffy demanded impatiently, bouncing on the heels of his feet, "Get dressed up as well! You don't get to go costume free."

Sanji smirked at them, retrieving towards the bathroom to change. He caught the disappointed look which flashed on Zoro's face and it made him a little smug – so the bastard did want to steal a glance of him!

Hopefully, that would happen too, though the chef didn't want to rush into things, despite the few dreams he'd already had about the two of them.

Upon retrieving there were a couple of gasps as they took him in,

"You're an elf!" Luffy screamed enthusiastically, clapping his hands at his own clever of observation.

"A garden elf or something, blondie?" Zoro demanded, smirking at him.

The cook shot him a dirty look, "No, moss for brains! For your information I am in fact-"

"Legolas!" Chopper cried out happily, eyes wide in amazement as he seemed to make the connection, "Dad, look, he even has a bow and an arrow!"

Roronoa appeared puzzled to no end, his gaze darting between the chef and his smartass son who was for sure a geek in the making,

"Uh, so this Legolas thing…he supposed to be a cartoon character or something?"

"No, dad," Chopper shook his head, the way kids did when they were eager to correct an adult making a mistake, "He's that cool elf from that big book I read, "Lord of the Rings,"

Zoro grinned, ruffling the kid's hair lovingly, "I swear, kiddo, you're too smart for your own good."

Sanji smiled warmly at the scene, memories of him and Zeff going through his head. Truth to be told his adoptive father would always fall asleep during their movie marathons but still, it was the effort that counted. He missed the old fart, he should call more often.

"I can't believe you dressed like a character from a kid's book," Zoro teased, a devious look on his tan face.

The French felt a flicker of indignation in him come to the surface, sending him a glare, "For your information "Lord of the Rings" is anything but a kid's book, it's a classic!"

"Whatever you say, blondie," Roronoa grinned, then he moved in and sealed their lips.

Luffy made an excited squeal and Chopper appeared unfazed, too preoccupied to marvel at his own costume.

Sanji smiled against the kiss, it felt warm and good and right.

Zoro tasted of sake and steel and he smelled like some cheap aftershave, still it was his nirvana and he melted into the contacted, unwilling for it to end. Their tongues collided, it felt like a challenge, something fun and simple, with the lingering feeling of something more, something yet to be explored.

For one long moment he let himself have this, soak in the feeling of happiness, grateful he'd chosen to chase after Zoro that fateful day.

xxx

"Where are we going now?" Luffy demanded excitedly, as soon as they stepped outside, "Can we please go trick or treating already?! Ace and I loved doing it when we were kids!"

Sanji opened his mouth to question who Ace was but thought against it, he'd ask another time or if the brunette felt like it, he'd share himself,

"Not yet. We have to get Mr. Grumpy here, then we head out."

"You mean, Torao right!?" the younger man cried out, "I can't wait to see him play dress up!"

"Mr. Law is coming too!?" Chopper appeared elated, "He's so cool, one day I'll be a doctor, just like him!"

Zoro patted his son on the shoulder as he held the jacket for him, "Of course you will,"

Sanji smiled, Law had better appreciate he was all but dragging him out of the apartment and offering him the chance to make friends for once.

"By the way, Sanji…you have any idea why Torao didn't reply to the text I sent him from your phone? I even asked him on a date! How mean of him not to respond!"

xxx

Law glared at his Messenger app, squinting his eyes as he took in the picture of a very happy looking Luffy.

He snorted, throwing the small device away from him.

Unfortunately he wasn't on duty that night which meant he got to spend the night at home, with the lights turned off in vain hope that perhaps the damn kids from the neighbourhood wouldn't bother him that way.

"Meow," Beppo jumped on his bed, invading the covers and claiming his rightful spot at the Spaniard's feet.

Trafalgar sighed, running tan fingers through the cat's long, soft fur,

"Don't meow-me, you're so fortunate,' he mumbled, "You're just a cat – you're not forced to socialize, make friends. And celebrate this dumb Holiday."

The cat meowed once more, as though mocking him.

Law grunted, these monologues he was having with his cat were getting concerning.

Perhaps he really needed to get laid.

It was then that Luffy's text flashed before his eyes, "Wanna go out on a date?"

And that was garnered with a photo of the brunette, that same sunny grin, which seemed to be his trademark, gracing his attractive tan face.

Law covered his eyes with a hand and sighed loudly. For the past few days no matter what he did his thoughts dragged him back to that same loud, obnoxious and kind of daring he say it - cute - noirette.

Luffy – what kind of name was that anyway? And going on a date? Didn't Sanji inform him – Law doesn't go on dates! No, he just has sex with hot people in bars, every once in a blue moon. Then he gets back to his usual lonesome life as a surgeon with a shady past. Yeah, his life would make a good TV series.

"Man, I need to go out and find someone," he thought to himself, staring at the white ceiling of his room. Great, even his own home looked as sterile as a hospital these days.

Perhaps, going on a date wasn't such a bad idea, minus the whole small talk and the obligatory fake smiles. Not to mention how would he even find one?

It was then that Luffy's sunny image flashed before his eyes, all sparkly eyes and smooth tan skin.

The kid did want a date, didn't he? Trafalgar scoffed but still took another appreciate glance at his photo, he did look good.

So…what if? No! He couldn't think about that, he was Sanji's friend and he seemed naïve and kind enough, the sort of guy who wanted an actual date and not a mind blowing one night stand. He would probably even want to hold his hand and go to the movies. Law on the other hand, had different ideas about fun,

The image of two of them, tangled in the sheets flashed through his brain and then-

The doorbell rang. How anticlimactic.

Trafalgar grunted, covering his face and his ears with the fluffy pillow and pretending he was asleep. Maybe the damn kids would scatter away and leave him alone if he kept really quiet...

"I know you're in there, asshole!"

The Spaniard froze in spot – wasn't that Sanji's voice? Perhaps the blonde had decided to drag him out of the house and for them to head out, maybe even find some dates.

"Torao, you'd better bring candy!" he heard another voice and to his horror (and perhaps his delight as well) it was Luffy's.

His heart sped up, a small part of him thinking what were the odds the man he was thinking about would just show up at his door. If were a romantic, he'd say it was fate or something like that but he wasn't one to think about that. Hesitantly Law headed for the door, shaking his head, it was going to be a long night.

TBC

#one piece #One Piece Fanfiction #zosan #lawlu #halloween #roronoa zoro #sanji #monkey d. luffy #trafalgar law #zoro x sanji #Law X Luffy #fanfiction #anime #family love #families by choice

89 notes · View notes

purplehairedwonder · 3 years

Text

Inside a Broken Dream Chapter 4

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Gen, brief hint of Lawlu that you can ignore Words: 3445 Characters: Trafalgar Law, Penguin, Donquixote Doflamingo, Smoker, Tashigi, Nami, Chopper Note: Story title comes from the Vertical Horizon song “Shackled.” Character and relationship tags reflect the current chapter. Obviously this is canon-divergent ;)

Summary: Two years after Wano, peace on the Grand Line is fragile. Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates are doing their best to help maintain the peace, but the return of a figure from Law’s past might shatter the balance of power entirely.

Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

The walk back to the brig was quiet as Law turned over what had just happened; Doflamingo had the uncanny ability to keep Law off-balance, even after all these years. As he chewed on the unexpected conversation, he could feel the swordswoman’s eyes on him. He looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Well?” he demanded. “Spit it out.”

She started, pink rising in her cheeks. “W-what?”

“You’re staring. You obviously have something you want to say.”

Tashigi pursed her lips in annoyance but replied, “You said on Punk Hazard that you once worked for Doflamingo. But there was more to it than that, wasn’t there?”

Law shrugged his unwounded shoulder but didn’t elaborate. Let her make of that conversation what she would. It didn’t matter.

Tashigi huffed irritably. “There’s obviously a long history there. After getting out of Impel Down, he went after you rather than simply escape, even though he could have. That tells me the hard feelings go both ways.”

Law smirked, unable to resist prodding, “Getting caught up in the affairs of pirates, Captain?”

“I’m as much a captive as you are, Trafalgar. I’d at least like to know what I’ve gotten myself into,” she snapped. “And if knowing whatever is going on between you and Doflamingo can help us escape, then yes, I’ll get involved in the affairs of damn pirates!”

Surprised, Law stopped and studied the woman. She was glaring at him, cheeks still tinged pink. She’d had that same fire back on Punk Hazard, though she hadn’t been strong enough to back up her words back then. That was two years ago, though. Maybe he could make use of her—especially if Doflamingo was keeping her close.

They eyed each other for a moment before Tashigi jerked awkwardly, the strings pressing her into motion again. She pushed at Law to get him to start walking again, and Law hissed as her hand knocked into his shoulder.

After several steps, Law said, “You’re right. It’s a long and ugly story, and it’s personal on both sides.” He looked back at her. “If you want to get out of this, we need to work together.”

“What do you want?”

“Information.”

“What kind of information?”

“Where we’re going, for starters,” Law listed. “Whether he has more allies we’ll need to account for. Anything about what he wants.”

“Revenge?” Tashigi suggested as if Law were an idiot to have not considered it. Law barely suppressed an eye roll.

“Having a chat over breakfast rather than him beating the shit out of me would indicate something… else. More. I don’t know.” Law couldn’t help but feel like the meeting had been an assessment. Of what, Law had no idea. And that made him uneasy.

“So, what? You want me to spy on him for you?”

“Consider it to be for yourself. And your men,” Law countered. Then he went for it: “And your boss.”

Tashigi inhaled sharply, and Law knew he had her. She’d been the one to push Smoker to work with Law and Luffy on Punk Hazard, after all. She was the practical one of that pair.

“Fine,” she agreed coldly, coming to a stop outside the brig door. “I’ll find out whatever I can.”

Law nodded and she opened the door. She shoved him inside and into his cell. Once Law’s cell door was locked, Tashigi turned to Smoker.

“Smoker-san…”

“Stay alive, Tashigi,” the Vice Admiral replied brusquely, cutting her off. “Whatever it takes. You hear me?”

Tashigi glanced back at Law briefly before nodding at Smoker. “You too,” she replied before being forced to retreat from the brig. The door shut with a clang behind her.

“Captain!” Penguin exclaimed, scurrying toward their shared cell bars. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Law replied, sitting down against the wall once more. He ran his hands tiredly over his face. “He just wanted to talk.”

“What?” Penguin sounded skeptical, and Law didn’t blame him. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting when he’d been taken from his cell either.

“I don’t know what he wants, but it doesn’t seem like it’s just revenge.” Law didn’t doubt revenge was part of whatever Doflamingo was up to, but there was something else. Something he wasn’t seeing yet.

“Now what?”

Law’s lips twisted up as he shifted to dig around in his pocket. “How do you feel about a bit of field surgery, Peng?”

-----

“You think he’s okay?”

Nami looked up from the map she’d been studying to see Chopper on the other side of the table. She smiled wanly at the reindeer, who was frowning worriedly. “Who, Torao?”

Over the years, Chopper and Law had developed an unexpected friendship as doctors; Nami thought it would never stop looking odd to see the two of them together, poring over journals or debating animatedly about something medical no one else could understand. But it made a certain kind of sense. Chopper pushed Law to remember the humanity behind medicine while Law pushed Chopper to challenge himself in ways he’d never thought he could manage. (And, Nami supposed, Law’s best friend was a polar bear mink, so who was to say what was odd?)

Nami looked at the vivre card on the table; after the initial scorching they’d discovered on the paper the day the Heart Pirates had called them for help, it had remained undamaged. That had been a good sign as they’d used it to track down their ally—no, friend.

Their alliance had technically run its course after Kaido’s defeat two years earlier, but Luffy had refused to let Law dissolve it, and Law hadn’t put up much more than token resistance. Though their situations had changed, especially with Law’s rise to Emperor and his decision to take over protecting territory Doflamingo and Kaido had left behind, the two crews had remained allies because of the friendships that had developed between them—and especially their captains. While Law had chosen, like most of the previous Emperors, to establish a territory with a home base, Luffy would not be tied down in his search for One Piece, so any islands he took under his protection ended up, by proxy, protected by Law as well, since Law was usually in a better position to send aid.

The Straw Hats had been in constant contact with the Heart Pirates after that first call; between Bepo’s and Nami’s calculations, they’d figured they’d been about two days apart at the time of Law’s capture so decided they’d make the best time if they both followed their portions of Law’s vivre card until they met up—or found Law.

“No. Well, yes,” Chopper replied, correcting himself. “I am worried about Torao, but we know he’s still alive from his vivre card, right?” Nami nodded. Chopper glanced out the window toward the deck. “I’m worried about Luffy.”

Nami turned and followed the little doctor’s gaze toward Luffy, who was sitting on the figurehead. She knew what Chopper meant; Luffy’s typical frenetic, playful energy had been subdued since the call from the Hearts. He hadn’t said much, other than to check with Nami on their progress and get food from Sanji, and spent most of his time on the figurehead, staring out toward the horizon. Nami knew from years of experience with her captain that he became serious when his loved ones were in danger, but she couldn’t help but feel there was more going on here.

According to her crewmates who had been in Dressrosa, something had happened between Law and Luffy on the castle rooftop when they were fighting Doflamingo that had brought the two men close. Robin seemed to have the best idea, but even she didn’t know the full story. In Wano and in the years after, Nami seen that connection in the way Luffy had glued himself to Law whenever they were together and in the way Law didn’t stop him, in shared smiles and hidden laughs, in shared food and lingering touches. She’d commented on it to Bepo once, and he’d nodded knowingly; the Hearts had noticed it too.

And now, Law was in danger from Doflamingo once more, and whatever had happened on the roof seemed to be coming back to Luffy. For all his openness, Luffy tended to keep personal worries to himself, and this seemed to be another case of that.

“I think he’s worried about Torao, too,” Nami said finally. She turned back to Chopper and forced herself to smile. “But it’ll fine be!”

“You think so?”

“Between those two idiot captains? And their highly competent crews? Doflamingo doesn’t stand a chance.”

Chopper huffed a laugh, and Nami spared one final glance for her idiot captain before returning to her map. She had another idiot captain to find.

-----

Law slumped wearily against the brig wall, sweat drenched and woozy with pain but free of the bullet in his shoulder. He’d awkwardly pressed himself as close to the Seastone bars separating his cell from Penguin’s as he could without touching them, biting down on his shirt to keep from crying out as Penguin used the tools in the surgical kit to dig out the Seastone bullet in Law’s shoulder (sans anesthesia). Penguin’s movements were awkward with the strange angle he’d been forced to work at and his own restraints limiting his movements, but he’d pushed through at Law’s encouragement.

Once Penguin had removed the bullet—and thankfully it was still whole—Law had nearly collapsed from the return of feeling, as though color had come back into his vision, after the Seastone had dulled his senses so acutely. Penguin had then stitched up the wound as best he could, refusing to let Law further risk infection the longer they sat in the dank, dirty brig. It was ugly and would scar, but Law had just nodded his thanks to his friend. Penguin, meanwhile, muttered darkly under his breath about having his captain’s blood on his hands.

The shackles on Law’s wrists still suppressed his powers, but the brain fog had lifted. Law could think again. And they would have an element of surprise on Doflamingo, as long as he thought Law bound twice over by Seastone.

Still, the pain from the makeshift surgery was intense, so Law spent the day drifting in and out of consciousness as his body forced him to rest to start healing as best it could in the face of the draining effects of the Seastone. Penguin woke him up every few hours to check in on him but otherwise let him be.

A heaviness sat on the air among the four prisoners as they waited to see when they’d garner their captor’s attention once more.

-----

The next evening, the brig door opened and Tashigi entered, flanked by two Marines. The soldiers unlocked Law’s cell and pulled him to his feet. Though the bullet in his shoulder was now gone, Law didn’t have to fake the grunt of pain as the healing wound was jostled.

“He wants to see you,” Tashigi said as Law exited his cell.

“I figured,” he replied dryly.

“Captain,” Penguin said. Law looked back at him. “Be careful.” There was an edge to his voice, and Law could understand his worry.

Law nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the brig. He glanced at Tashigi, wondering if she’d picked up any useful information since their conversation the day before, but her eyes flicked at the other two Marines before shaking her head minutely.

Interesting. She didn’t trust these men enough to share anything in front of them. Either they were being forced to report on one another or they were voluntarily helping Doflamingo.

Law frowned as they passed the door that had taken him to the deck the day before and instead up another set of stairs and down a hallway. Tashigi brushed past Law to knock on the door at the end of the hall.

“Herrenlos,” she whispered by his ear as she moved by him.

Law stiffened in surprise. The swordswoman had apparently picked up some information after all. But what was Herrenlos? Something niggled in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite place it.

“Enter,” Doflamingo called at the knock, and Law’s hands clenched into fists and unclenched in front of him.

Tashigi opened the door, and Law’s guards nudged him inside. He’d been taken to the captain’s quarters. There was a neatly-made bed, a dresser, a desk covered with scattered papers and maps, and a table with two chairs. Law’s eyes widened and a growl rose in his throat when he saw his hat on the dresser and Kikoku propped against the wall next to the bed. Doflamingo reclined in one of the chairs with one arm thrown casually over the back, the other holding some papers that the former Warlord watched Law over with a knowing smirk; he’d gotten the exact reaction he’d hoped for.

Law was going to make the bastard regret displaying Law’s belongings like trophies. But for now, he had to make sure the man believed he was completely helpless.

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” he drawled.

Doflamingo’s lips twitched before he dismissed Law’s guards. “Wait outside the door,” he told Tashigi. She nodded jerkily, not that she had a choice as she exited the room with one final look at Law. The word she’d whispered to him was obviously important, but what was it? Why did it sound so familiar?

“Sit,” Doflamingo directed in an uncomfortable echo of the previous morning. “Dinner will be here soon.”

Law contemplated resisting for only a moment before sitting of his own volition rather than let Doflamingo force his compliance. No, he needed to use this as an information-gathering operation, and getting into a spat over something so small wouldn’t help with that.

“And here I thought you’d forgotten about me,” Law said, doing his best to lounge in the chair casually despite his restraints.

Doflamingo’s smirk widened. “Never.”

Law felt an uncomfortable chill run down his spine, the implication clear; Doflamingo had never forgotten about Law, not after Minion Island, not after Dressrosa, and not now. They were forever linked. Law schooled his features.

Doflamingo eyed Law for another moment, as if making sure his message had been received, before returning his attention to the papers in his hand. If that was the way he was going to play this… Law looked around the room. He clenched his jaw as his eyes went to Kikoku, but he forced himself to keep looking. The papers and maps on the desk were obviously of the most interest, but he couldn’t make out what was on them from his current position.

After several silent minutes, there was a knock at the door. Doflamingo looked up. “That’ll be dinner,” he told Law before calling, “Enter.” Doflamingo rose and discarded the paper he’d been reading on the desk as two Marines entered with several trays of food. Law pushed himself up from his seat while Doflamingo’s back was turned to try to get a look at the desk but was unable to see more than the unfamiliar outlines of a few islands on a map that Doflamingo’s paper soon covered. Law sat back down, and the Marines quickly set the table with plates and silverware and placed several dishes in the middle before departing. Doflamingo returned to his chair and gestured at the food.

“Eat.”

Law still didn’t know what the other man was up to, but there was no point in weakening himself further by refusing food. He served himself a fish entree and vegetable side and set to awkwardly eating with the shackles still around his wrists. The food might not be Sanji’s, but it was significantly better than the scraps they’d been given in the brig. The two men ate in silence, Law unwilling to give the other man the satisfaction of speaking first.

“You know, Law,” Doflamingo said once both of their plates were empty. “I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve been following your rise over the last two years.”

Law raised an eyebrow. “They let you have the paper in Impel Down?”

“Fufufu, of course. One of my few luxuries as a prisoner. But the paper hasn’t been my only source.”

Law frowned, considering the soldiers Tashigi hadn’t wanted to speak in front of. “Some of the men on this ship are working for you.”

Doflamingo’s smirk simply widened. Law had his own sources within the Marines, so he wasn’t surprised Doflamingo did too, even after Vergo’s fall. He was starting to understand how Doflamingo’s takeover of the ship had happened after Smoker’s version of the story.

“How’s your alliance with Straw Hat?” Doflamingo asked after a moment.

Law’s eyes narrowed at the change in subject, but he didn’t say anything.

“Pirate alliances rarely last as long as yours has,” Doflamingo added. “I must congratulate you. But you did tell me once that Straw Hat can perform miracles.”

And Law had been right. Luffy was the reason Law was still alive today, not having died on Dressrosa as he’d expected to.

“What of it?” Law didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking.

“I only wonder if they’ll be able to perform yet another one.”

Law frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“My source has their ship about a day out, moving very quickly in our direction.” Law’s eyes widened. His crew had called the Straw Hats?

Of course they had. It was the smart thing to do.

Doflamingo had been defeated by Luffy on Dressrosa, and Luffy had only grown stronger in the intervening years. Yet Doflamingo didn’t seem concerned at all.

In fact, he seemed pleased.

“You wanted them to come.”

“Very good,” Doflamingo replied. “I have a debt to settle with Straw Hat. But don’t worry, Law. I won’t kill them. Or your men.”

Law started. “What?”

“I have use for your men when they come for you, Law. They’re not far out either, by the way.” His smirk was practically feral. “But the Straw Hats? Well, how many Family members do you think Akainu will exchange for them?”

“Not a single member of your Family is worth one toenail of any of the Straw Hats,” Law hissed.

Doflamingo growled angrily, strings flying from his hand, binding Law to the chair. The inertia from the strings threw Law backwards, knocking the chair over and sending Law onto his back with a surprised oof as he was suddenly staring up at the ceiling and unable to move. The larger man rose from his chair, posture predatory as he rounded the table to tower over Law.

Doflamingo stepped one leg over Law’s chest and knelt, straddling him. Law recoiled from the invasion of his space, and Doflamingo reached down to grasp Law’s shoulder. He pressed hard as his thumb found the bullet wound. Law gasped, vision darkening around the edges, as the pressure increased and Doflamingo dug into the stitches and broke the wound open again.

“What?” Doflamingo frowned, and Law realized with a jolt that of course the string Fruit user would notice the messy stitches in his shoulder. Shit.

Doflamingo grabbed Law’s shirt and pulled the collar down to the side, revealing Law’s bare shoulder and the freshly bleeding wound. His thumb jabbed into the blood and rubbed around the wound, Law struggling not to writhe under the pressure, until he found the broken stitches. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

“You removed the bullet,” Doflamingo noted. “I should have known not to leave you on your own for too long. You’ve always been too clever for your own good, Law.” He rose and stepped back from his captive, pulling that familiar pistol from his waistband. He twirled it in his fingers a few times before aiming it at Law. Law went cold. “I should put another bullet in you, somewhere it won’t be so easily removed. Make sure you won’t cause any more trouble.”

“Why don’t you just kill me?” Law was getting sick of playing by the other man’s rules when he didn’t even know what game they were playing.

Doflamingo tilted his head, as if surprised by the question. “I need you alive, Law.”

“Why?”

“There’s something only you can do for me.”

Of course. Law huffed a laugh, remembering a similar moment on the castle roof in Dressrosa, putting as much disdain into it as he could manage. “How many times do I need to tell you? I’m not going to perform the Eternal Youth Surgery on you, you son of a bitch.”

“That’s not what I need you for.”

Law blinked. “Then wha—”

Doflamingo cut him off. “I’m dying. And you’re going to fix it.”

#Caitlin's fic #One Piece fanfiction #One Piece fanfic #Trafalgar Law #Donquixote Doflamingo #Heart Pirates

4 notes · View notes

agemintherough · 7 years

Text

I'm so sorry, everyone...

Folks, I have let you down.

My new job has been rather demanding time-wise. I have been given quite a bit of responsibility and I have not had a spare moment to even breathe for the past month. It has been quite a transition, but it is so worth it for what I am doing. This, combined with my Master's courses and that little thing called being a husband and father of two, has left me with such little time to do much of anything.

This is the longest hiatus I have ever had, and we are slowly approaching the two year anniversary of the story. On one hand, I was able to churn out new chapters within days back when the story started. On the other hand, those chapters were roughly 1/5th of the current sized chapters I put out now. I'm sorry that I haven't been updating and I'm sorry that you are all eagerly awaiting for the next chapter...

That being said, I'd like to at least give you a preview of what I have actually written thus far...

*GWMAPT*

Inside of Captain T-Bone's sea train car, the costumed forms of Petrea and Damian were slumped in their seats. It was clear the two of them were dejected at the mounting realization that what was intended to be an easy escape from Backslide Island was quickly turning into an impossible rescue mission on top of other issues that the due were barely comprehending. "CP9...of all the boogeymen that we would be pitted up against; why the hell is it CP9?" Damian groaned, burying his head in his hands while slumping forward. "It just seems impossible! I mean, I know we have a reputation as infamous assassins, but even we can't stand up to the World Government's secret kill squad!" Petrea cried. "This just isn't fair!" "Fair or not, we can't just sit idly by. Steven and Robin are counting on us..." Damian propped himself up. "They need us...I don't know what we are going to do, but they need us." "We can do this...we can do this..." Petrea repeated to herself. "Okay...HOW are we going to do this?" "The hell if I know," Damian took off his sunglasses, rubbing his eyes as he tried to think in frustration. "Damn it, has a month living in Beach City REALLY made us this useless?!" "As someone who didn't elect to stay in Beach City, I'd like to point out that I feel helpless too!" Genevieve called from her hiding spot, which she opened for a moment to breathe in some fresh air. Sweat was forming on her brow, which she wiped away before it got into her eyes. "God; why is it...why is it so hot in there?" "Do you require any assistance?! Are you injured?!" Captain T-Bone jumped up and ran to the young girl, worry etched on his gaunt face. "I'm fine...unless you have any ideas on how to beat CP9 by ourselves without any of the Monster Trio on this train?" Genevieve asked hopefully. "'Monster Trio?'" Captain T-Bone and the former "Mr. 5 Pair" repeated back. "You know...Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji: the powerhouses of the crew. That's what Usopp started calling them after I joined up and it kind of caught on..." Genevieve explained. "We've never once heard them be called that," Petrea pointed out as she raised an eyebrow. "Has there really been an appropriate time since you came back?" the painter countered. "The name fits...though I'd say the Gems should definitely qualify to fit that group..." Damian trailed off. "That would make them...what? The Insidious Six?" "The Sinister Six?" Captain T-Bone offered. "The Powerhouse Six?" another random Marine spoke up. "I got it: the Monstrous Six!" Genevieve snapped her fingers. "How's that sound?" At once, murmurs of agreement rang throughout the car. As everyone began to nod, Petrea looked around and nearly had to pick her jaw up from the floor. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IDIOTS STILL TALKING ABOUT THIS WHEN WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON FIGURING OUT WHAT SUICIDAL PLAN WE ARE GOING TO GO THROUGH!" The nodding abruptly stopped, leaving the room silent. As they did so, the faint sound of clinking could be heard. All heads slowly looked upwards to the ceiling of the train. "Is...is that footsteps?" Damian asked.

"No. No, it couldn't be...could it?" Petrea gulped. "Permission to speak freely, friend?" Captain T-Bone asked Genevieve, who nodded. "The idea that anyone would be on the roof of a sea train like this during the Aqua Laguna is quite simply ludicrous. There is no conceivable way that a person could survive such ferocity..." "Nobody could...but maybe..." Damian looked out of the window and paused. He waited a moment before he adjusted his Marine uniform and walked towards the door to the car. "I'm going out there." "What?! Why?!" "It's simple, Petrea. Nobody could survive the Aqua Laguna, true...but our crew is not just anybody. They would fight tooth and nail to storm this weather. If Casey Ryback could do something like this on both a train and a boat, what's to say that the Straw Hats couldn't do this on a sea train with their eyes closed?" "What the hell are you talking about?" Petrea asked. "What I'm saying is that I think there is somebody on the train!" Damian pointed to the ceiling and motioned for everyone to be quiet as he cracked open a window. Sure enough, one could faintly head muffled voices from outside despite the howling wind. The sound was nearly impossible to make out, but it was unmistakably that of voices. "I stand corrected," Captain T-Bone noted. "I apologize for stating my opinion without factoring in a variable like..." "Captain, it's fine," Genevieve handwaved him, her eyes darting outside. "I don't even...just...just how is this possible?" "I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Damian ran to the car door and opened it up. "But how can...how can we even be sure that it's them?!" Petrea called to the bomb-man. "I swear I thought I head their voices yelling out here!" Damian yelled back before fully stepping outside. "If it's who I think it is, then we..."

Out in the storm, Damian peered his head around to find some kind of an answer. The former "Mr. 5" knew in his heart that his friends were there to help save the day...they just had to. He knew that even with Captain T-Bone in their pocket, there was no way that the three of them could win against CP9. This was the miracle Damian was praying for. This is the only way he could see them coming out on top. Amazingly, his prayers were answered. There before his eyes was the unmistakeable form of Sanji. He knew it. He knew that they stood a chance now. He was talking with a second figure that was vaguely familiar but it did not click for several seconds just where he met the blue-haired, speedo-wearing man. In an instant, the hangover he had been ignoring came back in a terrible way, falling to the ground in shock. "HOLY CRAP! HOW...HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!" Damian asked as he tried to get up, falling down a second time in shock back toward the door. "'How did...?'" Sanji repeated, clearly confused about his own presence on the train. "No...the shitty bomb-idiot?!" Before he could answer, a new voice came out of nowhere and surprised all three of them. "EXPLOSIVE STAR!" In an instant, the hangover that had returned suddenly became trivial as Damian's head began to pound. His body was shot back into the car, clearly caught off-guard by what had to be an explosive. While such devices don't affect him given his Devil Fruit abilities, it still could strike him just the same. The power of the shot caused him to hit the floor with such force that it shook the car. "Ugh..." "What the hell just happened?!" Petrea jumped back as the smoldering form of Damian twitched. "Are you okay?! Was it them?! Are we found out?!" "This man has been shot! Quickly, we must dress any wounds he has!" T-Bone shouted, rushing to Damian's side. "I'm fine...just...just wishing that I didn't drink last night," Damian murmured as he tried to find his bearings.

3 notes · View notes

your-iron-lung · 7 years

Text

Mixed Up 4 | I Hate Your Guts on Sunday |

Chapter Word Count: 3396

Pairings: Zoro/Sanji

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Chapter Warning: Strong Language, Recreational Drug Mention

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3

Next Chapter: 5

Sanji woke up the next morning feeling bad.

Not in a sickly sense, though his headache hadn't gone away and his body was sore from where it had bruised from the fight he'd had with Zoro. He felt bad in terms of his character, as though he'd done something spiritually wrong and deserved to be reprimanded for it.

And he did, he realized; he'd been incredibly rude towards Zoro when he'd asked for money, and although he didn't feel apologetic in the slightest, (really, it was the punk's own fault for offering a ride in the first place), he did feel that his character had suffered for refusing to pay him. He knew that, if circumstances had been changed, and he was the one giving rides to Zoro, he would have wanted money for it, too, and would have pitched a royal fit if the ungrateful bastard hadn't at least compensated him for the spent gas.

Lying in bed, he stared up dismally at the ceiling and thought about the unfairness of life.

Yesterday's bad manners, he thought, could be written off due to the fact that it was Saturday and he had no real control over himself on Saturdays because of whatever unfortunate curse it was that plagued him. If he had, he probably wouldn't have been 'fired', and his car would still work, and then he wouldn't have even needed to meet Zoro in the first place.

And oh, shit, his fucking car.

He groaned miserably and turned over on his bed to lie face down on his pillow. Even if he hadn't been fired, Saturday's curse would still have carried over into today when it had damned his car's battery. Those things didn't fix themselves.

Which meant he'd need a ride to an auto store.

Turning his face to the side, he glanced at the digital display of his alarm clock and noted that it was only 6:30 in the morning. He'd had a late night, and tiredly closed his eyes again to get some more rest.

Obviously, he would deal with his problems later.

When next he woke, it was at the much more reasonable hour of 10:30. He felt groggy as he sat up and yawned, but ignored it as he stood and stretched his back. He casually dressed himself in the clothes he'd worn yesterday and went into the bathroom that connected to his room.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror listlessly and began to brush his fringe into place with his fingers. He looked paler, somehow; tired, even though he'd just woken up. Faint, dark circles underlined his eyes and the goatee he was growing looked unkempt and unprofessional. He looked like he needed a cigarette.

Though it was an unofficial rule, smoking in the apartment units was typically frowned upon by the Thousand Sunny Acres staff and could land the tenant with a fine if they were caught. He hated having to go outside to have a smoke, but was left with no other choice. He grumbled to himself irritably as he trudged into the main living area of his apartment and looked out the window.

One of the perks of living in an apartment on the ground floor, he'd found, was that he was able to see everything that went on in the parking lot. He didn't consider himself to be much of a snoop, but it was handy when it came to watching out for women.

He was hoping to see one of the ladies he occasionally smoked with as he put on his overcoat and tapped on his shoes, but he scowled when he saw instead the face of the punk he'd lately become all too familiar with.

Zoro was outside, standing around aimlessly and looking bored on the sidewalk that lined the parking lot. Sanji sighed as he fished his hand into the pocket of his coat to withdraw his new pack of cigarettes, and paused when his fingers were met with the small baggie of weed that'd been thrust upon him last night instead.

The main reason he hadn't wanted to pay Zoro, (besides being cursed with Saturday night agitation), was because he didn't carry cash. His paychecks were directly deposited into his bank account, which meant, essentially, he never had a need to carry cash around. Even if he had wanted to pay Zoro last night, he wouldn't have been able to unless he'd paid for it directly himself. The idiot had pre-paid for it before he'd even brought up the fact that he wanted compensation, leaving Sanji to figure, again, that this was all that morons fault.

Frowning, his fingers tightened around the bag and pulled it out. He stared at it and wondered if maybe this would be enough to make up for it. He had no plans to smoke it himself, anyway.

Glancing out the window again to make sure Zoro was still out there, Sanji dropped the weed back into his pocket and stepped outside.

The first thing Sanji noticed was that it wasn't as chilly as it had been yesterday. His coat was largely unnecessary, but he felt it was too late now to go back and change. The second thing he noticed as he walked out of the breezeway was that Zoro was walking his dog, and it had suddenly become aware of him.

It lunged, snarling, and almost yanked itself free of Zoro's surprisingly lax grip. Sanji shouted and stepped back as it barked, and Zoro seemed to have to exert all his might to keep his dog from going after him.

"Chopper, no!" he yelled, pulling hard at the leash while Sanji stood staring at him, far too surprised to move. "Chopper!"

"What the fuck is wrong with your dog?!" Sanji found himself shouting, shaking out of his stupor to take offense.

He'd heard that Zoro's dog was big, but seeing it in person was overwhelming. Big, he realized, was an understatement; the thing was huge- monstrously so.

"What the fuck do you want?" Zoro growled through grit teeth, focusing hard on keeping his dog under control. Chopper's hackles were raised as he strained hard at the leash, saliva dripping from his mouth as he growled lowly in Sanji's direction. It looked as though he could yank himself free of Zoro's grip at any time, momentarily causing Sanji to forget what he'd wanted to say.

Ignoring the way his hands had begun to shake at the threat of the massive dog coming after him, he went to take out his pack of cigarettes and remembered what he'd come outside for when his hand brushed the baggie of weed.

"I uh, was going to apologize about last night," he said, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. His eyes never left Chopper, who was still pulling purposefully against his lead. "Er, also, I need to give you the stuff we got from, uh, Johnny, last night."

Zoro looked confused for a moment and frowned.

"What? Why?" he asked stupidly, and then shook his head and yelled at Chopper when he lunged again. "Look, just- just come by my apartment in an hour," he said, pulling Chopper away as they stepped on down the sidewalk. "I can't talk with Chopper."

"Which one's yours?" Sanji called, smoking lazily now that the threat of being eaten alive was dwindling.

"Top floor," Zoro yelled, and then gestured to the opposite side of the building as he turned away with his dog. "All the way at the back; on the right!"

He watched Zoro walk down the sidewalk and saw them step off into the woods that lined the apartment complex. Sanji let out a relieved breath and tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette and then turned to stare at his car. Damned piece of junk.

Wondering if, perhaps, Saturday's curse might have faded, he pulled out his keys from his coat pocket and made to try and revive it. He unlocked the door and left it open as he sat smoking in the drivers seat, and then tried the ignition. It made a promising sound and Sanji thought it was about to start before the engine gagged and gave way to nothing.

He scowled and sighed, but kept himself seated until his cigarette was done. When he'd finished smoking, he looked around to see if he might see Zoro again, but when he didn't, he locked his car, flicked the butt away, and walked back into his apartment.

With an hour to spare between now and their meeting, Sanji shrugged out of his coat and set about making himself a late breakfast. His mind wandered as he brought out his culinary equipment and started to cook. His movements were languid and natural, and it didn't take long before he lost himself to the feeling of productivity. He pretended he was at the Baratie while he prepped his ingredients and wondered, vaguely, if he ought to try and ask Zeff to reconsider their arrangement. He didn't realize he'd prepared too much food until he was halfway through with cooking it all.

He frowned down at the surplus, but before he could get angry at himself for making a wasteful amount, he shrugged and continued cooking. He'd just bring the leftovers to Zoro as an extra peace offering. He doubted the guy had ever eaten anything of five-star quality before, and smirked to himself, taking pride in his cooking, knowing there was no way Zoro could hate him after he'd eaten something so delicious for free.

Once he'd finished making his meal, he ate what he could and then put the rest on a clean plate and wrapped it with saran wrap. He took out his cellphone and glanced at the time, noting that he still had 20 minutes before Zoro had asked him to come by, and sat down in front of the tv to see what was new on the Cooking Network.

He half-watched whatever Rachael Ray was talking about until he noticed that it was time to head upstairs. He felt giddy as he debated on whether or not to wear his coat up, but couldn't pin why exactly he felt that way. He ignored it as he decided he looked better with his coat on and then gathered up the plate of extra food he'd made and left his apartment.

He'd heard Zoro stomping up the stairs when he returned with Chopper sometime ago, and noted that he was a lot quieter ascending the steps than the punk was. As he climbed up the flight of stairs, he began to notice that he was following a trail of dried mud and wondered if this was Zoro's doing.

When he got to the top floor, 3 flights of stairs later, he snickered to himself as he followed the trail of mud to the apartment that Zoro had indicated. He stepped around the large clumps as he went to knock on the door, and then abruptly stopped himself.

Zoro's dog hadn't been happy to see him on the street, what would happen when he saw him at the door? Could this be Zoro's way of getting back at him for their fight last night? He wondered, but considered the fact that, if Zoro had really wanted to sic his dog on him, he probably would've just done it when they'd met in the parking lot.

He knocked steadily on the door and then stepped back, breaking apart a thick clot of mud. It took a few moments, but when the door opened, there was no giant dog in sight.

Zoro gave him an odd look when he saw the plate of food in hand, but ignored it and invited Sanji in.

Confused, Sanji stood where he was.

"I thought I was just dropping Johnny's stuff off," he explained when Zoro quirked his brow.

"I got my gravity bong out," Zoro said, rolling his eyes and looking impatient. "We'll smoke your stuff and call it even. Like a, y'know, smoke 'em peace pipe type of thing."

"That's racist."

"It's the best analogy I could come up with."

"What about your dog?"

"I put him on his anxiety meds. He's sleeping in his crate in the back." Zoro raised his brow at him and leaned against his open door, crossing his arms. When Sanji didn't move, he sighed and dropped his arms, tucking his hands into the pockets of his denim vest. "Quit pussyfooting around and get in here."

"Jackass," Sanji grumbled before stepping inside.

Unsurprisingly to him, there was a mess of dried mud scattered across the hardwood floor that led to where Zoro's boots sat on a bath rug along the far wall. Sanji was half-tempted to ask about it, but thought better of it as Zoro shut the door behind him. He gave a quick glance to both the food in Sanji's hand and the coat he was wearing before passing him into the main living area.

"What's that for?" Zoro asked, and Sanji shrugged.

"I made extra; figured I'd give them to a guy who obviously had no taste."

Zoro tch'd and took the plate when Sanji offered it to him and made his way around the tall separating counter and into his kitchen.

"You can take your coat off," Zoro said as he opened his fridge and dumped the plate inside. "There's dog hair everywhere but you can set it wherever's clean."

"You're not gonna eat that?" Sanji asked as he took off his coat and looked around for a spot devoid of dog hair. True to his word, though, there was dog hair everywhere; nowhere looked clean, so he simply held onto it. He'd decided that the giddy feeling he'd had earlier was from wanting to see Zoro experience his cooking, and was disappointed that he wasn't going to eat it right away. "I'm going to want my plate back, so you'd better eat it soon."

"Whatever." Zoro sounded dismissive as he came back around and walked past Sanji to take a seat in the armchair in his living room.

Sanji stood around absently for a moment before he followed after Zoro, holding his coat as he sat down on the worn leather couch in front of what he assumed was the gravity bong.

A liter bottle of soda had been cut in half and was resting in a small, clear bucket of water on top of the coffee table. A stem and bowl were stuck in the side of the bottle, held in place with what looked like dried gum. Sanji stared at it with complete incomprehension.

"I feel like now is probably the time where I tell you I don't smoke," he said, digging into his coat pocket to withdraw the weed.

"Bullshit," Zoro remarked, snorting as he took the baggie from Sanji. "You were smoking when you caught me with Chopper."

"Yeah, tobacco."

Zoro shrugged in response and Sanji scowled. He sat back in the sofa and watched as Zoro opened the little baggie to inspect the product.

"Their stuff usually doesn't have seeds," Zoro commented as he pulled a few away from the plant. "This trial shit, though; not a good way to market their stuff." He shook his head disapprovingly.

Sanji watched him separate the seeds from the bud disinterestedly before casting his gaze away to look at the various posters that lined the walls.

They were mostly gig posters advertising shows in venues he knew must have been local, but had never heard of or been to. A few of them had signed setlists attached to them, but the ones that caught his attention the most were the large, colourful band posters that looked handprinted.

Simple in colour- most of them had only two or three tones- they featured extravagant linework that made up for the lack of detailed colouring, and illustrated various romantic scenes and settings centered around obscure band names.

"Did you make those?" Sanji asked, gesturing to the posters, though he didn't take Zoro to be an artist; especially not a romantic one.

Zoro didn't look up, but shook his head.

"Nah. The store I work at has this guy that comes in to paint stuff, and he makes posters and shit for this weird underground art scene he's a part of. Sometimes he gives me what he can't sell," he said, finally satisfied with what was left of the weed. He began to break it apart and packed some into the bowl in the side of the bottle. "He makes all my patches, too," he said, sitting back and pulling out the sides of his vest to show off the various patches that were sloppily sewn into it. "Names Usopp, he's some kind of freelance artist, I think."

"Usopp," Sanji said, musing quietly to himself before a look of recognition crossed his features. "Curly hair, long nose?"

"Yeah," he said slowly, narrowing his eyes slightly before he looked away to search for a lighter. "How do you know him?"

"My old man hired him for some interior design work a little while ago." Trying to feel casual, Sanji let himself rest back against the sofa with his coat folded in his lap. He watched Zoro lift some junk up off the table and scatter other things around before giving up his search.

"You got a lighter?" he asked, and Sanji nodded and pulled his out, handing it over to him. Zoro didn't take it and gave it a strange look.

"What?"

"It's white," he said. "White lighters are bad luck."

Sanji rolled his eyes and set it upright on the table.

"Says who?"

"The 27 Club, man," Zoro said around a scowl and stood up. "I got a book of matches somewhere; you can put that death omen away."

"I didn't take you to be the superstitious type," Sanji said as he rolled his eyes and picked up his lighter. He held it in his hand and looked down at it; he'd never heard before that white lighters were bad luck. He shrugged and pocketed it as Zoro left him to search through his apartment.

He took his cellphone out and checked the time, noticing that the Baratie would be starting its infamous lunch service soon. He sighed, wishing he were in the kitchens there and working instead of hanging out with the punk he'd barely come to know.

He could hear Zoro rifling around in whatever backroom he'd disappeared into, but it didn't seem like he'd be coming back anytime soon. Standing up, Sanji laid his coat on the seat and went to take a closer look at Usopp's posters.

"Hey," he said, but when Zoro didn't answer he repeated himself louder. "Hey!"

"What?" Zoro asked, but his voice was muffled and distant.

"These are all signed 'Sogeking', not Usopp."

Sanji heard a grunt emanate from Zoro's direction and turned to look down the short hall he'd gone down.

"It's his street name," Zoro eventually said after a moment of silence. "He does a lot of graffiti and stuff; can't sign that shit with his real name. Sogeking is his Banksy."

"Oh."

He continued to admire the posters for a minute or two before he grew bored of that and went to sit back down, when someone knocked on the front door. Sanji paused and then turned to face the door and then looked back at the gravity bong.

'Oh shit,' he thought as a mild panic overtook him. Dammit, it was just his luck to get busted; he should've known better.

"Hey, Zoro, open up!" The voice outside was female and kept insistently knocking on the door. "I know you're home, I saw your bike outside!"

"Someone's at the door," Sanji called lamely into the back, nervously hoping Zoro would know what to do.

"So answer it," he heard Zoro say, and his hope vanished.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, fuckin'- let her in, man," Zoro grunted, sounding strained, and Sanji wondered if he was still just looking for a book of matches.

He shrugged to himself and performed the Catholic cross across himself as he went to answer the door.

'God,' he thought. 'If I'm going to be busted, at least make this woman busting me hot.'

He opened the door, and saw that she was.

"Praise the Lord."

#zosan #zosan fanfic #zosan fanfiction #one piece fanfiction #zoro/sanji #one piece #punk au #modern day au #slow burn #mixed up

6 notes · View notes

multi-wild-imagines · 7 years

Note

Match up?im 156cm,gemini i like writing stories and reading too i love eating sweets i have black hair and since my family likes to travel my skin can't handle it so they cracked so my legs kinda look like snake skin i would sometimes have eye bags because i stay up gaming and surfing the web i try making people laugh but it sometimes backfires i have a wierd sense of humor i can get paranoid and im really moody i even have tantrums to sometimes but i prefer friends over family to much? Im sorry

Sorry? Sorry for what,asking? You’re perfectly fine I’m happy to abide! I hope you enjoy!

Top Two

1st choice- Rosinante: Cancer anda Gemini don’t seem to have a lot in common but to me you don’t really fit the Geministereotype (sorry if you think differently) and to me you seem to fit more of aVirgo a Earth sign whereas Cancer is Water; and works surprisingly well. Now I’mnot saying that you are what a Virgo is I’m just observing! Regardless Rosinanteis a very clumsy man (dork) he loves to listen to your jokes and even if yourjokes backfire he’s always gonna laugh even if it wasn’t funny or anything he’llmake up some excuse as to why it was. He’s not only doing it out of pity but tohelp spare you of embarrassment. He wants to do all he can to care for you andmake sure you are as comfortable as you can be. He’ll go through excruciatinglypainful lengths just to find some sort of medical cream to ensure your comfort.Also he’s likely to ask you if he could do your makeup whether or not you carefor it; I beg you don’t let him. What results is such a horrifyingly smile andtear drops. A clown he turns you into a clown, not on purpose but yeah… or ifyou like clowns than go for it?

2nd choice- Sanji: I’d say I thinkSanji would be the most tolerant of you; from your staying up late to moodiness.He may have to take a step back but he’ll always have his eye on you. AlthoughSanji is a Pisces and you a Gemini; an unlikely pair but as I always say Zodiacis not fact. Sanji is a very chivalrous man and dotes practically every woman;and to adjust himself to you is no big deal. He loves to bake you sweets andwill try to make something’s sometime. And you kidding me he’s gonna be on hishands and knees begging Chopper to help mix up some sort of ointment to heal yourcracked dry legs. And of course Chopper always fixes something up for you; he’swilling to help you apply it on but of course Sanji always insists but loses. Chopperneeds to also wrap your legs for just a day or so to help you. Also he’s likelyto try and restrain you if you’ve become quite childish (not meant to be rude) andtry to soothe you back to reality. In other words Sanji once again is a ladies’man and knows how to treat you right.

Other Possible Candidates

Iceburg: ‘Patience’ ishis middle name, he is anyone’s dream man when it comes to consoling his lovedone and giving up everything else for you. He is mayor though; he cannot escapehis daily duties but cancels meaningless appointments and takes time off. As aCapricorn man and an older gentleman he has had his fair share ofmisunderstandings so having a Gemini s/o is nothing. (They say that Capricornand Gemini’s don’t get along too well but Iceburg isn’t that Capricornish…). Hecouldn’t care for such excuses.

Zoro: I’m justthinking about when you’d have a tantrum that you’d throw a lamp at his faceonly for him to dodge it and run out standing guard of the door to both protectyou and everyone else including himself. I swear to god he’s frightened for hislife; he doesn’t understand the human spectrum of emotions and that of another.He doesn’t mean it to be rude but rather it’s because he doesn’t know how tohelp you at that point and may give up sadly. He cares but he has his ownlimits; he’ll check up on you later on and if you need it he’ll get youanything well almost anything really.

These kinda ended up being long but I hope you’ll enjoy them! (Baby’shere for you :P)

~Noelle~

#One Piece #Rosinante Donquixote #Sanji Vinsmoke #Iceburg #Zoro Roronoa

3 notes · View notes

your-iron-lung · 7 years

Text

Mixed Up 1 | Saturday Morning Coming Down |

Chapter Word Count: 3278

Pairings: Zoro/Sanji

Genre: Comedy, Humor, Drama, Romance

Summary: On one fateful Saturday, Sanji finds himself getting mixed up with the annoying, irritable, and generally hated punk that lives in the apartment three floors above him, only to discover that he isn't as cruel and thoughtless as his neighbours have made him out to be.

He then finds himself rapidly being submerged into a violent subculture he'd had no interest in before, and can't seem to find his way back out of. Pretty girls, good music, and rough attitudes mix with a form of camaraderie that can only be found in the underground world of punk rock.

'You need a hobby', his old man had told him only a few days before. He wondered; did this count? A punk (eventual ZoSan) AU.

Chapter Warning: Strong language

Next Chapter: 2

Swearing under his breath, Sanji swore that this sort of thing was just his kind of luck. Saturdays always were a particularly hard day for him.

He didn't mind being scheduled to work on weekends because the full-time pay was nice, but for whatever reason, he always, always, always had a hard time getting them started; be it via unintentionally oversleeping, or plain old forgetting to set his alarm, it seemed- to Sanji, at least- that Saturdays were out to ruin him.

He had never in his history of working at the Baratie been able to make it into work on a Saturday on time. There was always some delay that set him back, and when this pattern had been noticed by the scheduling staff, they'd tried to accommodate for his lateness by scheduling his shifts at slightly altered times in hopes that it'd allow him to come in on time, but even then, he was inevitably late.

Nobody could figure out why.

So it came as no surprise to him, then, that as per his weekly routine, this Saturday decided to thwart him by giving him car troubles.

Twenty minutes before his shift started, Sanji was sat struggling to start his car.

The engine gagged and rolled over with every attempt to get it to start, and in the afternoon's cold sun, Sanji cursed whatever deity it was that ruled over Saturdays. He considered begging for its forgiveness as he hopped out of the drivers seat and walked around to pop the hood, but decided to curse the lord instead as he stared forlornly down at the dead battery.

Scowling, he let the hood slam shut; no amount of poking and prodding could revive the dead. Sanji growled and turned the collar of his coat up against the chill winter wind as he dropped himself to sit on the hood of his car, wondering about what he ought to do. Twisting his face into an irritable expression, he considered his options.

Option one had him running after the city bus to try and catch a ride, though he didn't know its schedule, nor its fare, and honestly didn't want to be seen running like a fool for the public transport. Option two was to call up a friend and have them come round to give his car a jump, but the only people he knew with a car were either already at work or lived too far away for them to be of any timely use.

He shivered as the wind blew by and scowled. Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he watched his breath solidify in the air, encouraging his need for a cigarette.

He dug one of his chilled hands into the pocket of his overcoat and withdrew his pack. Tapping the pack to pop one out, he took it and began tamping it on the back of his hand before sticking it in his mouth. After he'd put it between his lips, he put his pack away again and cupped his hands around the cigarette to bring it to light.

Inhaling and shoving his hands into the pockets of his coat, he considered that option three was to just call in sick and take the day off. With this realization, Sanji sighed as he drew in another breath of smoke, and exhaled through his nose.

He really didn't want to have to call in sick; he genuinely enjoyed working at the Baratie, and he knew that, being the head-chef, the quality of the food served would slip if he didn't show up. And beyond that, he didn't trust his subordinates as far as he could throw them (which, admittedly, was pretty far) to run the kitchen properly.

If he called in sick today, the Baratie would be in shambles by tomorrow.

Grumbling angrily to himself about all the responsibilities he'd accumulated in his young age, he cast his gaze skywards and narrowed his eyes towards where he thought the lord of Saturdays was likely to be seated, perhaps on the grandest cloud, undoubtedly laughing at him.

'O' great, merciful lord of the weekend,' he thought, squinting and baring his teeth. 'Fuck you.'

As he blew a smoke ring in the direction of heaven (and then inserted his middle finger through it), option four presented itself to him.

A great ruckus in the stairwell of his apartment building caught his attention as a heavy and repetitive thunking noise came down the stairs. Sanji knew what it was; everyone who lived in the complex knew what it was, and as it reached the end of the steps and stepped out onto the parking lot's sidewalk, Sanji saw his last option step onto the scene.

It just so happened that his last option was the much-hated terror of the apartment building's community.

He was a green-haired punk with a bad attitude and an aura that demanded he be left alone. Absorbed in his own world of tight, acid-washed jeans and over-sized leather jackets, he was normally accompanied by his monster of a dog and was nearly impossible to approach on any given occasion.

Sanji watched him pause by the steps and crouch down to do up the loose laces of one of his boots and noted the way the gig bag he had on slid up the length of his back. The tip of the tall guitar almost touched the pavement as Sanji found himself wondering if it'd be safe to approach him, as no one he knew seemed to have anything nice to say about the man. Normally, the guy was nigh unapproachable; any past attempts that anyone could recall of trying to socialize with him had been met with his dog viciously intervening.

The man's dog was truly a menace, and if his neighbours' words were anything to go by, the man himself wasn't any better. His dog was much larger than the allotted pet weight limit allowed for residents to keep, and no one could figure out why the two hadn't been evicted yet.

The dog in question was a great, brown, beastly mutt that was constantly straining at its leash and snapping at people that happened to be nearby. The punk never said a word of command to it, and looked as though he could barely keep it in line when it lunged at people. Without the dog by his side, though, Sanji didn't know what to expect should he try to initiate anything.

Normally, he would have kept his distance. Normally, he would have left well enough alone and conceded defeat to whatever it was that didn't want him working on Saturdays.

But today was not normal. Today was Saturday.

Drawing in an anxious breath of nicotine, he let it go and stood up as the man finished tying up his boot.

"Hey," Sanji said, addressing the punk from a few empty parking spots away. Met with either indifference or ignorance, he scowled and held his cigarette in hand as he called out, "Oi, I'm talking to you."

Unable to tell still if he was being purposefully ignored, Sanji called out louder with more than a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Hey, punk!"

Finally having seemed to catch on to Sanji's attempts at his attention, the punk spared him a glance and froze in place. Sanji stared at him expectantly as the man began to look around him, turning around stupidly before looking back to face his caller. It almost looked as though the guy was asking if Sanji was looking to pick a fight with him, but even as he prepared himself for the worst, the green-haired man took on an inquisitive look as he dumbly jabbed himself in the chest.

Rolling his eyes, Sanji nodded, relieved.

"Yes, you, dammit; get over here, I need some help."

To Sanji's surprise, the man approached him devoid of all of his usual machismo. He seemed almost affable when he came close enough to ask, "What's up?"

Sanji faltered, not having expected the punk to be the least bit friendly. Recalling his neighbours' stories about how the man's attitude was so rudely displaced, Sanji began to find himself wondering if the amount of bias that seemed to be stacked against him wasn't entirely undeserved.

The ash line of his cigarette grew longer as he caught himself staring at the three safety pins that lined the punk's left ear, and when the man's eyebrows began to furrow, Sanji remembered his intentions.

"My car won't start," he said lamely, gesturing to his car as he tapped the ash off his cigarette. "Wondered if you might be able to give me a jump."

"Oh." The punk turned from Sanji to look at the impotent car. He continued to stare at it silently for a moment before he said, "Well, I would if I could, but I ride a 'cycle, so I can't."

"Dammit," Sanji found himself cursing, turning away angrily to kick at one of his tires. "Shit. Thanks for nothing."

Royally peeved at how his day was turning out, Sanji couldn't help but diss everyone and everything around him, and though he wasn't afraid of fighting the punk, he found himself almost regretting having called the guy out on his uselessness. He really didn't need this Saturday to be any worse than it already was.

To his immense relief, the once fearsome man merely snorted at his comments.

"Hey, it's not my fault, asshole," he said, looking more amused than annoyed at his antics.

"Shit, whatever," Sanji said, sighing heavily and resting back against his car. "Fuck me, though, you were my last hope."

With all his options dashed, Sanji relented and decided he had no other choice but to fall back onto option three. As he finished off his cigarette, flicking the butt to the side, he leaned up a bit to dig out his cellphone from the deeper reaches of his coat pocket. As he dragged his finger to unlock the screen, he looked up and noticed the punk was still waiting around on him.

"What?" Sanji asked, turning away to glance at the screen in his hand.

"I can give you a ride, if you really need it," the punk said with a slightly questioning tone. "I was about to head out before your dumbass called me over here."

Ignoring the insult, Sanji looked up from his phone and hoped that he didn't look too desperately hopeful at the suggestion.

"Yeah?"

"Sure, yeah." The guy shrugged lazily. "I mean, if you don't mind riding bitch."

Sanji pursed his lips at the terminology and saw that his acquaintance was giving him a bemused grin. Rising to the challenge, Sanji shrugged.

"Fine, I don't care, I just really need to get in to work," he said, standing up again. He glanced at the time on his phone before pocketing it. "I got ten minutes before I'm late; think you can manage that?"

The green haired man grinned.

"The pressure's on."

As he stepped away, Sanji walked back around to the driver's side door of his car and locked it before following the punk to his motorcycle. The man slipped the gig bag off his back and handed it over to Sanji as he straddled himself across the motorcycle's seat.

"You're going to have to carry that while we ride," he said, slipping his key into the ignition and revving the motorcycle to life. "It catches wind, so don't fall off or anything."

Sanji frowned as he strapped the tall guitar to his back.

"And if I do?"

"Then you'll have to buy me a new bass," he said, looking entirely serious as he reached down to pick up an old-school helmet, which he then passed to Sanji.

"Asshole," Sanji grumbled as he put the helmet on and buckled it. He felt stiff as he mounted the bike, trying to manuever while hte guitar force his back to remain in an upright position while he slid onto the seat behind him.

Hesitantly, he draped his hands over the punk's shoulders and tried not to lean in too close, as the pointed studs that lined the crude back patch of his leather coat pressed into him uncomfortably. The motorcycle's engine revved loudly, and Sanji found himself lifting his feet as they were carefully backed out of the parking space.

"Where do you work?" The man had to shout to be heard over the noise of the engine.

"The Baratie," Sanji shouted back, making sure to yell as directly into the punk's ear as possible, and grinned when he saw him wince. "Over on East Sambas street."

The man didn't reply, but sat still for a moment, as though he were thinking about what the best route to take would be. Just as Sanji was about to ask if he knew where that was, the man started them forward, and then they were off.

True to his word, the tall guitar caught a lot of wind resistance as they rode, initially causing Sanji to fear flying off the back. He had to strengthen his hold over the driver as the resistance tried to drag him back, but when they got into the city, their speed dropped to comply with the inner-city speed limit and he found himself relaxing as the wind lost most of its force.

Their surroundings became familiar the longer they rode on, and Sanji felt relief flood him as he thought that he might be able to make it in on time after all. Looking over the punk's shoulder, he could see that they were approaching the Sambas street intersection, and was about to celebrate his success, when his ride drove straight past it.

Confused, Sanji turned back around to watch the street fade back as they rode further away from it. He wondered if the man perhaps knew of some short cut to get him to the Baratie even quicker, but this thought quickly disappeared as soon as he realized that the man's slowed speed meant that he was lost.

"Hey," Sanji said, trying to raise his voice over both the wind and the motorcycle's motor as they rode through unfamiliar streets. "Hey!"

"What?" The guy said, turning his head to glance back at him quickly.

"Where the hell are we going?!"

Instead of replying, the man pulled to the side and stopped to park beside the street sidewalk, using his legs to prop the motorcycle up.

"What?" he repeated when they'd stopped, looking annoyed.

"I said, where the hell are we going? Sambas street was 5 blocks back!" Cross, Sanji got off the back of the motorcycle to pull out his phone and check the time. He thought that they'd been making good time, but this setback had officially made him late. "Goddammit, now I'm late. Good going, shithead."

"Hey," the punk said angrily, putting down the kickstand for his bike to join Sanji on the sidewalk. "I didn't have to give you a ride, you know; a little word of thanks would be appreciated."

"Oh, yeah, sure; thanks for making me late!" Sanji scowled and undid the bike helmet, shoving it roughly into the punk's hands. "I can't believe you drove straight past it. Are you fucking blind?"

"Well fuck you too," the green-haired man retorted, dropping his helmet onto the motorcycle's seat. Sanji couldn't tell if the red in his face was from embarrassment or from riding against the cold.

"What's your fucking phone number?" Sanji demanded, unlocking his phone and navigating to the contacts folder. He shrugged out of the man's guitar bag and all but threw it at him as the punk stared at him. "Well? Come on then, asshole, I don't have all day."

"I'm between phones right now," he said slowly, narrowing his eyes at Sanji as he put the guitar on his back. "What the fuck do you need it for?"

"So I know I have a ride home after my shift ends." Sanji sighed as he typed up the name for the new contact, labeling it 'Idiot Marimo' for the time being.

"What the fuck makes you think I'm giving you a ride home?" the man snapped angrily.

"Because, shithead, you made me late; you owe me now."

"Like hell I do," he said with a snarl, turning to get back on his bike. "Call a fucking cab or something; it's not my fault your car died on you. It's not my responsibility to keep driving your ungrateful ass around."

Sanji grabbed hold of his shoulder and pulled him back before he could remount the bike. The motorcyclist looked about ready to start a fight, then, clenching his fists and stepping in dangerously close to his person, but Sanji ignored his mean look as he calmly took out his pack of cigarettes and fished one out to light.

Inhaling and exhaling slowly in an effort to diffuse the situation, Sanji turned an even look on the man and was met with a mild expression of annoyance.

"Look, fucker, don't make this hard on me. Just give me something I can fucking reach you at by the end of my shift so I don't have to waste my money on some sketchy late night transportation when I'm probably gonna have to spend all I have on a new battery for my piece of shit car anyway, alright?"

The man looked unwilling still, but as they stood there in the cold on the edge of the sidewalk, eyeing each other warily, he ended up sighing and conceding.

"Fine. Fine, fine. Jesus, you're fucking annoying though," he said, and held out his hand for Sanji's phone.

He was almost afraid that the guy was going to take it and break it, just to spite him, and so was hesitant in handing it over, but once it traded hands, Sanji realized that the guy had no intention of wrecking it.

Sanji watched as the guy typed in some kind of contact info, and looked it over when his phone was passed back to him. He stared blankly at what was typed in the section that stored e-mail addresses, and could feel his irritation reach a new threshold as he read what was written.

"'Wildslutangel22 at Yahoo? Are you shitting me?" Gritting his teeth, Sanji glowered at the punk angrily. "Are you for real right now? Swear to god if you're fucking with me-"

"Nah, it's totally legit," the man said, laughing. "It just blows people's minds when I tell 'em it's mine. It's hilarious."

"Christ, you are a real piece of work, you know that?" Sanji said irritably as he pocketed his phone, ignoring the fact that he was now twenty minutes late for work.

"Sure do," he replied, still grinning as he covered his spiked head of hair with his helmet. "Email me a few hours beforehand so I don't forget. Or don't, so I do. And my name's Zoro, by the way; to hell with that 'Marimo' shit you're trying to pull."

Sanji gave him the middle finger as he turned away to walk back the way they'd come, only pausing long enough to turn back and yell, "Well with that shitty dye-job, how was I to know?"

He laughed when he saw that Zoro had raised both his middle fingers high up over his head. Feeling a bit better, but still pressed for time, Sanji hurried on down the street even as he saw Zoro ride by, presumably on his way to his own job.

"Fucker!" he shouted after him, and heard, but didn't see, Zoro yell "Asshole!" back over his shoulder in reply.

#one piece #one piece fanfiction #zosan #zoro/sanji #punk au #modern day au #slow burn #zosan fanfic #mixed up

3 notes · View notes