Rating: T
Pairing: Sanji/Usopp
Summary: While waiting for Luffy to return, Sanji and Usopp head into one of the upturned houses to find something to ice Usopp's bruise with. Usopp feels like the house isn't the only thing turned upside down suddenly. (Arlong Park arc)
Word Count: 4,102
Usopp looks back over at him in time to watch Sanji slip through the window and leap over to the sofa, landing on it and balancing nimbly like a cat. He swallows. There's no fucking way in the entire East Blue sea he's going to find a way to manage that.
Sanji tucks his hands in his pockets, extends a leg, and hops lower to an upside down coffee table. He turns and looks up at Usopp. "Your turn."
Usopp stares down at the sofa, probably an easy twelve thousand miles away, and then lets out a long breath. "You know, I should probably wait here in case Arlong comes back, you know? Gotta-- Gotta protect Zoro. In case he doesn't wake up."
"Right," Sanji nods. "And you'll take on Arlong then?"
Usopp stares at him, caught in the conundrum.
But then, once more, Sanji's mouth curves up into an easy smile. "Relax. I'm not gonna let you get hurt."
"You kicked me in the face."
"That was an accident," he says, wincing a bit with guilt. "And it was that mossball's fault anyway."
Usopp sighs and looks back down at the sofa. "What if I can't make that jump?"
"Then I'll meet you where you land."
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Rating: T
Pairing: Sanji/Zoro
Summary: Zoro attempts to lead the others back to Arlong Park to get Nami back. This includes accepting his new crewmate, Sanji (whom he's decided he hates), and also possibly getting lost, and almost losing a leg to a bear trap.
Or: if two idiots argue in the middle of a forest and no one's around to hear them, are they actually just flirting?
Word Count: 6,502
Zoro takes a step closer to him. "One more word from you, and we'll see who's getting their legs cut off."
"Is that an attempt at a threat?"
"It's not an attempt. It is one."
"Interesting. How long will it take for you to thrust that sword in the right direction?"
Zoro flicks the handle of Wado, lifting it a few inches from the scabbard. "Wanna find out?"
Sanji's mouth curves over a sharp smile.
"You know, I don't know why Luffy decided you were the one we should bring on board as a cook, but he obviously sees something useful in you. But the minute you prove otherwise--"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll stab me with your little sword." He waves the threat away with the flick of his wrist. "A very scary mossball, you are. Tell me, will that one break as easily as the other two did?"
Zoro moves before he can stop himself, and in a blink he's got Sanji pressed backward against a tree, Wado set to the cook's throat. The only thing that stops him is the sudden pressure of something solid against his navel. Half a glance down shows him Sanji's knee pulled up between them, keeping Zoro from pressing flush against him.
"So that's your weak point, then?" Sanji smirks. "Shit talking your swords?"
"I don't have a weak point."
"Bet you do." Sanji moves his knee lower, just below Zoro's belt.
A cage door clicks closed behind Brook, as his captors go to do...whatever they plan on doing.
Well.
This entire situation has really been one big fever dream not unlike the disconnection from reality he suffered in the Florian Triangle, Brook decides.
First landing where he did, then the fights, then rallying the villagers, then freeing the captured Longarms, only to be captured in return...
Now to be a sideshow exhibit, it seems.
"Well. I certainly wasn't expecting this, yohoho!"
Yet he's not alone here either. There's another cage nearby his and instead of being empty like the others he saw while being dragged here...
There's someone in the cage across from his. A woman. A girl.
The girl looks like no one he has ever seen before, with or without a Devil Fruit.
First of all, her skin is dark violet. Second, she's floating. Floating midair, looking over at him with moon-like eyes and white hair. Instead of ears, three purple fins darkened on the edges slowly flap.
That, and the white flowing fabric (though torn as it is) that hides her legs, makes him think of a...mermaid, almost. If this is what mermaids look like. So not human?
She's glowing, here and there. As steady as a night sky star.
In how she looks at him...She reminds him of Shu-
Someone.
It doesn't matter. Those days are even further back than those as a Rumbar Pirate.
Her voice is light. Musical. As she asks,
"Oh. Who called you back?"
Brook would blink if he had the eyelids. But he doesn't! "Pardon me?"
The girl drifts closer to the bars of her own cage, silvery white eyes blinking at him. "You were dead, weren't you? Who remembered you enough to bring you back to the living?"
Something catches in his throat at the possibility the innocent question brings up, the idea that someone would have been waiting for his return as his soul searched for his body.
But.
It wasn't that. Not for him.
"I remembered myself, actually."
"Oh." The girl droops, drifts lower to the ground and something of the light about her dims. "I'm sorry."
"And why is that?"
Her fingers come up to rest against the bars, trace them. "There is no one to know to save you from this place."
...oh. That's an awfully sweet thing to worry about, about a stranger who looks like Death himself.
He's touched.
"And does anyone know to look for you?" he has to ask. Return the question, even if the answer may be painful and a 'no.'
If that's the case, Brook will take her with him. He's certain his captain wouldn't object to that.
"My sister. I was...looking for her." White hair flops into her face, to be pushed back. "Have you seen her? She floats like me, but she's much paler and smaller, and her name is Faint."
Brook hates to say no but-
"Alas. I have not."
-he won't lie about something like that.
The girl sighs and the sound pops in the air. She doesn't look surprised, is the thing.
There's a quiet despair about her, one that Brook must attempt to chase away, on his honor as a gentleman.
"I may have not been 'remembered' by another to return, but I am remembered now."
Silver eyes widen. "By who?"
"My crew. They will come looking for me, or I for them. Hope is not lost!"
"Your crew?" Color gleams along her skin, tinging it in an interested shade. "Are you a...pirate?"
"Yes. And more importantly..." He removes his violin from his ribcage, flicking up his bow. "...a musician!"
Her glow intensifies, enough that he almost feels like he has to squint at the sight, oh my!
"Any requests, my dear?"
The girl shakes her head. "I don't know any of the local songs. Only...what's your favorite?"
Ah. Ah. What a soft kind of ask. The kind of ask Brook might ask a fellow musician himself, actually. Is this girl a performer of some kind? He could see it, with her clothes and voice and appearance.
His fingers tap against the neck, as he moves it into his own neck, to start playing.
"Well, that is-"
Brook plays the start notes and begins to sing out, "Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho~"
Rating: T
Pairing: Nojiko/Usopp
Summary: Usopp has time to pass at Nojiko's house and is just really fascinated by tattoos.
"I do some artwork myself," Usopp nods. "I actually designed our flag."
"Oh?"
"Mhm," he says, rubbing at the back of his head. There's still some dampness to his hair and a couple droplets of water drop down over his wrist.
"Is that why you keep looking at my tattoos?"
Usopp snaps his gaze up. He hadn't even realized he started tracing them again. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying t--" his throat catches and his stomach lurches. Nojiko's shirt is just about half way up her body before Usopp spins around to stare at the headboard instead. "Wow, that's... They're nice. The tattoos! I mean. Yes. Hey, your headboard match-- matches the..." he points to the tables on the side of the bed, suddenly forgetting what the hell they're called.
It's not like it's the first time he's seen a topless woman, but it's certainly the first time he's been alone with one. He's glad he spun around fast enough before he'd actually seen anything he probably wasn't supposed to.
"You're an artist?" she asks like she's reconfirming.
He can hear her walking around somewhere behind him in the room. He hears a drawer open and close and some clattering on a desk. Was there a desk in the room? He suddenly can't remember anything except the tan color of the wall behind the bed.
"Ever drawn on a person before?" she asks.
Usopp opens his mouth to say no, but then a pile of things lands on the bed just to the right of him. There's a small zippered case, something that looks like a glue-gun with a long wire, and a pack of gloves. "Um. No, I don't...think I have."
"Want to?" she asks, stepping up behind him close to his right shoulder.
Rating: E
Pairing: Arlong/Zoro
Summary: Zoro is taken captive in Arlong Park. Arlong smells blood and decides he's got time to get off before the rest of Zoro's crew comes looking for him.
Warning: begging you to read the tags before you read the fic
"If you think I'm so weak, then why the ropes?"
Arlong's smile turns to a sneer, eyes darkening. "I like my humans tied up. It keeps them in their place."
"And Nami? I notice she's not tied up."
"She has a job on this crew. There's an exception for her."
"And how do I get one of those?"
Arlong watches him for a moment. "Prove you're useful."
Zoro shifts his gaze to his sword again and then back to Arlong. "You're not giving me a chance."
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Rating: G
Characters: Luffy & Sanji
Word Count: 1,355
Summary: Sanji has second thoughts about leaving The Baratie.
It's about a half hour and two cigarettes later that Sanji starts to feel his breath coming a bit more shallow, heart tapping an incessant rhythm against his ribcage. His hands grip the edge of his old boat. Somewhere behind him, that Yosaku guy is steering them further and further from the Baratie, and Sanji is starting to feel the distance in his bones.
"Stop," he says quietly to himself. And then again louder: "stop." His arms shake. He spins from the railing, ready to storm Yosaku, but is stopped short when Luffy suddenly lands in front of him from God knows where.
"Hi!" Luffy says, straightening the hat on his head.
Sanji stares at him, blinks once, and then says, "hi." And then, "I have to go." He catches a split second of Luffy's frown as he steps around him, but then he feels a hand at his elbow and then Luffy is in front of him again.
King did not want leave to Wano, especially at time of such upheaval.
But his Captain has ordered him to, so he is here.
Taking some Marine transport, a transport that Joker claimed had some kind of weapon on it. A weapon that his Captain was very interested in claiming for himself.
The fighting hasn't been difficult, but the Marines weren't expecting them and King's strength is far above human masses. Even a high ranked Admiral wouldn't be enough against him. They're only human, after all.
Not Lunarian.
He sighs.
He really really wants to get this wrapped up to get back to Wano.
"AAAAAAHHH."
Did some morons set themselves on fire fighting the Marines? Of course they have.
Absently, he puts out the fires as he moves towards the source of the screaming and threats. Which is strange because normal fires don't respond half as easily as his own Fire, the Fire of a Lunarian.
âEnough of this, what are you fools up-â
King stops. Not because the morons he commands what stopped their idiocy but because of the box. Or rather, what's in the box.
The box that they weren't supposed to break open, the box labeled with sent to Vegapunk, and property of the World Government. It's open. Broken, shattered.
To reveal two people inside of it. One-
King's breath catches.
Those wings, he sees those first, those wings are exactly like his- and another stands over that still still body. Pale. Marked with dark hair and green about him.
âDonât you dare touch him," the pale boy snarls. The pale boy whose hands spark with fire, the same kind of Fire that burns always at King's back.
But green. That's...not normal.
âTouch him.â
It's like when Kaido rescued him from Punk Hazard, is the thought repeating over and over in his mind. One individual standing up against all possible threats for the broken Lunarian at his feet.
Because that is a Lunarian. One of his people. The black wings, the skin, the hair-! All of it. Laying so very still.
Is he-? King stretches his senses. Breathing. Good.
The boy is speaking again.
âMy twin.â
At least his face is covered, preventing his confusion from showing. Because...
Twins? Twins aren't known among his people, but...King lets his eyes fall on the pale individual standing before him.
If he's related to the Lunarian laying so still, maybe there is a mixing of races at place. Enough for twins to occur. Or, perhaps, there could be other ways that these two...live.
(Who knows how these two came to be, under the sun.)
He did bear the Fire earlier, after all.
âYourâŠtwin.â
Green eyes squint at him in disdain. As green as the earlier fires. âDonât you have anything better to do than repeat everything I say? Leave us be.â
If this child is a Lunarian too, though he looks very different from his apparent twin, then...
âWhere are your wings?â
There's a hesitation, a hand going towards the chest, before the boy gathers up his will once more.
âWhat need is there for a God to have wings?â
("They called your people Gods once." A cold sneer, as a booted foot presses harder and harder on his wing, forced flat against the ground in agony. "But down here...what need does a so-called God for flight?")
Such similar words, parroted back at him. From a child that has clearly had his wings taken. Taken out of the same jealously and hate humans have always directed towards his kind.
King thinks he's been quite reasonable, actually, in that he somehow does not burn the remains of the box prison down around the two. Only his wings move, in the motion of spreading fire. In how much he wants to.
That box which still screams property of the World Government, on one of its more solid shards.
âWell, are you going to help us or not?â The boy demands, hands on his hips. Still glaring, still full of fire, though not the actual green fire that he was using before.
King wants nothing more than sweep the two up and carry them off, away from the peering eyes of his subordinates.
But if that had happened to him, shortly after Punk Hazard...
He huffs.
Kaido was truly fortunate in this sturdiness, for that, or he would have lost an eye for certain.
"Come with me, and I'll do what I can."
Which is...everything he can offer. For two lost fragments of his people.
The boy nods at that, before walking over to his fallen twin to try lifting him up, supporting him against his body. Too small to do so effectively, especially lacking the wings that his unconscious brother has.
"I can-"
A glare. "I will not. He is my brother."
Ah. Well, if it's like that...King watches.
He'll catch them when they fall. Because the boy certainly will, with his burden and how exhausted his Haki reads, so to his credit, he hides it well.
(Hides like a lab experiment does, against those who seek to cut him apart.)
Watches both the twins and his subordinates. For if one wrong move is made...well.
They can always replace what is lost here. This crew is no loss. Not when King has gained so very much.
Under his mask, he smiles. The first time in years.
Rating: G
Characters: Luffy & Sanji
Word Count: 1,994
Summary: Luffy tries once more to convince Sanji to join his crew. (Baratie Arc)
One of the waiters comes out, breathless, and stops in front of Luffy. "I've got some cake or we can do a pie, but that'll have to bake first."
Luffy leans back in the chair and frowns down at his stomach.
"Two slices of cake," Sanji says, sparing the waiter a glance.
"Yes, sir," he says, spinning and jogging back to the kitchen.
Luffy's mouth twists to the side and then he nods to himself. "Yeah. Yeah, I can fit that still."
Sanji lets out a snort. "You've got some appetite. Is that also from the devil fruit?"
"Not sure," he shrugs. "Always been hungry. Always ate everything I could. You never know when your next meal is gonna be, right?"
Sanji's mouth quirks up. "Right."
Luffy's leg shifts a bit beneath the table. Then it bounces. Then he looks around the Baratie. And then he looks down at his hands.
"What's wrong?" Sanji finally asks, eyes still trailing every one of his movements.
Luffy shakes his head, but then shrugs. "Worried."
"About?"
"Zoro."
Sanji eyes him for a moment. "That's your swordsman, right?" He waits for Luffy to nod before he leans forward to ask the question that's still bugging him. "Why'd you let him do it?"
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