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Rapt Ch. 3 ZoSan

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Ch. 3


A few days went by and Zoro gradually regained his strength and color. He still couldn't move much--his wounds opened if he did-- so when Sanji cooked for his nakama, he had to make a seperate plate for the healing swordsman and take it to him, along with his daily dose of alcohol. As for Zoro, he constantly teased Sanji about the words that saved his life, calling him "Angel Boy" and "Your Angelicness" every chance he got. He was glad the words brought him back, but he wouldn't let such embarrassing speech go to waste.

As days went by and Zoro grew more and more into his old routines- eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat, sleep- Sanji thought more and more about his would-be death. Had he really saved Zoro, or was the marimo just kidding about that room with the three doors? And what would've happened if he hadn't told Zoro to stay alive and realize his dreams? Would he be staring at a freshly dug grave instead of a moss-headed human?

As for the Lust Potion...that found a nice, cozy home in the bottom drawer in Sanji's kitchen, folded up in a hand towel and left to itself. He occasionally had the urge to take it out and sniff it, see what it smelled like and if it really worked, but each time he shook the temptation off and got back to whatever he'd been doing. What would happen if the potion was genuine, and one of his nakama got a hold of it? Though, he probably wouldn't mind if Nami came calling, but if Luffy or Usopp or...gulp, Zoro got it.

Well, he didn't want to think about it.

And that's why he left it in the least obvious place. He left everything else of value in the most obvious, so people over looked it. But he couldn't trust the Lust Potion in that hiding spot, just in case.

He'd thought of carrying it with him instead of hiding it, because he could kick any pick pockter's ass before they got a chance to swipe it, but when he when he went to take Zoro his lunch, their hands brushed as the marimo took the tray and the little bottle heated up in his pocket. Curious, he made sure to touch Zoro when he came back to get the dishes. Heat exploded from the bottle so intensely he almost dropped the tray. When he really it only did that for Zoro, he got a little creeped out and put it in the drawer again.

His thoughts were never far from the potion and Zoro after that. He didn't know what to make of how it pulsed and warmed whenever he and Zoro touched, but he was almost as curious about it as he was freaked out. And after that little realization, he stopped groveling at Nami's feet all the time. He even stopped yelling at Luffy when he made to much noise, and he didn't curse Usopp for using his spices for his new bullet stars. In fact, he didn't do much of anything except cook and sit around and think. He'd even stopped smoking for the most part. He still had a habit of putting the cigarette between his lips, but he hardly ever lit it anymore.

After he realized what the heat meant, he started avoiding Zoro- Nami or Usopp would take him his food (Luffy would just eat it), and when the marimo's wounds had healed to the point he could sit at the table and eat, Sanji would eat less than usual the skulk off, or eat in his kitchen, or not eat at all.

The crew thought his strange behavior came from what he had seen; he'd been the only witness to the shot that had "killed" Zoro, and had received a pretty bad shock when he saw the marimo was still alive. They'd talked about him, once or twice when they thought he wasn't around, and he had to try his hardest to keep his mouth shut, to keep the truth a secret. Because the truth behind his odd behavior, why he was now so easily flustered and made mistakes on the simplest tasks, why he frequently spaced out and had to be yelled out of his daze, why he had grown so distant from everyone, especially Nami, was just too hard to comprehend. Because he had purchased a rare ad magical potion that made people fall in relentless lust...and it was pointing him towards Zoro in a very suggestive way.

~~~ZsZsZsZs~~~

Zoro growled as Nami pulled him away from his weights, leading him by the hand like a little two-year old.

"Damn it, Nami," he snapped, trying and failing for the umpteenth time to free his hand from her grasp. "I have to train today. If I just sit around--"

"Your wounds will heal and you won't die," the girl cut him off, smiling at him over her shoulder. Zoro rolled his eyes. He was going to say something like, "I'll get rusty", but whatever. He knew everyone had believed he'd died when he'd been shot, but he'd thought they'd have enough sense to know that Roronoa Zoro was not going to be killed by some random marine guy. Besides, shooting him would be way too easy. But apparently, his nakama thought he was beneath an actual effort.

And out of everyone, who had taken his supposed death the hardest? Was it Luffy, since they'd been together the longest? Nami, with her fragile girl emotions? Usopp, for whom he'd helped save his home town? Or could it have been Ero-cook, who was supposed to hate him, who had known him the least amount of time, who knew nothing about him, who fought with him all the time? If you chose D, you're correct. Fucking Sanji was the one who'd cried, who'd tormented himself with different scenarios, the one who'd been depressed ever since he'd gotten shot. He didn't even know why the pervert chef was so upset about two little wounds, or why he'd tried so desperately to keep him alive. What had he been thinking, calling himself an angel? Zoro'd been dying, not stupid.

"God, you people are so serious about two little holes," he grumbled, but let Nami pull him along regardless.

"Those 'little holes' would've killed the average man," the navigator snapped, indicating his weird endurance for pain and blood loss.

"Whatever. Where are we going?"

"Kitchen."

Zoro blinked. "Why?"

"To grab the first aid kit and change your bandages. Have you noticed you're bleeding?"

Zoro stole a quick glance at the bandages that wrapped around his waist and chest. There were a few spots of blood dotting the white around one bullet wound (the other was on his back) but it wasn't that much. "It's just a little."

"And a little can turn into a lot if you agitate your wound. Not to mention how unhygienic it is to wear dirty bandages."

Zoro rolled his eyes again, wondering why she was the ship's navigator instead of the doctor. She'd volunteered to take care of Zoro's wounds, and she was doing a really good job; he was healing faster than normal, he was in hardly any pain, an infection hadn't set it... He looked up to ask her how she knew so much about medicine, but stopped when he saw they'd reached the kitchen.

Sanji had been acting weird for the past few days, but judging by his kitchen alone, one would never guess anything was wrong. Everything was sparkling clean and in its place, no plates or silverware lying around, all food and other ingredients back in the cupboards and storage containers. It didn't surprise Zoro to see the kitchen so spotless; Sanji had always been OCD about keeping it clean, but he'd also skipped out on lunch that day, and had had extra time to clean up, so even though they'd just finished lunch 20 minutes ago, all dishes were washed and dried, all messes cleaned up, and not a scrap of leftovers remained (partly because there never were any leftovers.)

"Huh. Sanji's not here," Nami mused, stepping through the door after looking around. "I was hoping he'd show me where it is, but I guess I'll just have to look."

"Idiot's been spending a lot of time in the crow's nest," Zoro said, not sure is Nami knew about the shit-cook's new habit. He'd have teased the cook for acting so depressed once upon a time, but now he was a little worried about him. Autumn was approaching fast, and the days were getting cold, dreary and wet. If Sanji kept this up, he'd be moping in snow before too much longer.

Nami opened a drawer and rooted around inside. "Wonder why?"

Zoro had thought the same thing many times before. What in the world had the power to depress Sanji? Every time he wondered this, he could only think of one thing. "He's probably upset I'm still alive," he mumbled, knowing this truly wasn't the case but just wondering if it would sound anymore plausible out loud. Quite the contrary, he sounded more ludicrous.

The navigator opened the next drawer. "That's not true and you know it. You didn't see his face when he thought you'd died. He looked so sad, like he'd lost everything that ever mattered to him."

Zoro grunted a disapproval.

"Oh, stop being such a man," Nami snapped, slamming the drawer closed so hard glasses in the attached cupboards rattled threateningly. "Just because you're completely heartless doesn't mean everyone is."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "So if that's not it, then what?"

Nami hesitated before going back to her search. "Maybe he knows about us?" She mumbled.

Zoro made an argumental noise. "He knows you're just taking care of my wounds. I don't think that's it."

"Not you and me… I'm seeing Lu- I'm seeing someone else." She'd tried to cut herself off, but Zoro had already guessed.

"Oh, God, you and Luffy?" he exclaimed with false horror. Then he laughed.

"Shut up! He can be really romantic and sweet when he wants to be!"

"Man, I should've stayed dead! Things are getting a little too weird for me."

Nami flushed. "Just shut up about it, kay?!" She spun around and continued her search. "Ya know, you can help," she said after looking through another drawer.

Zoro huffed but complied, starting to rummage through the drawers at the far end of the room. As he reached to open the bottom drawer in one column, he thought he felt an ominous aura pulse from within, but it didn't last long enough for him to be sure. He dismissed it as the weird mood thinking about Luffy in a tux and pouring wine had put him in and opened the drawer

All that was in the drawer were hand towels and fancy looking rags, but given the love-cooks new weirdness, Zoro didn't put it past him to keep a first aid kit in with the towels. He pushed the towels aside, looked in the corners, then pushed them back. He was about to give up on the drawer when a small gleam caught his eye. Moving a few towels out of the way, he found a small crystal vial and picked it up.

Its contents were a pale pink color that moved like liquid silk and splashed against the glass like melted metal. It was sealed with a cork and black wax. Zoro rolled it around in his hand, looking for a label but there was none. It was a sunless, cloudy and chilly day, but despite the temperature of its surroundings, the bottle was warm, and seemed to pulse in time with his heart beat.

Nami was still looking for the elusive kit, paying no attention to him in the least, so he was free to wonder what the bottle held. His first thought made it out to be some sort of special spice, one that was expensive or rare, one Sanji didn't want anyone messing with or wanted to save for a special occasion or dish. But all the spices the cook had were powdered, so that was out. Maybe it was some kind of flavored oil? Tipping the vial back and forth, Zoro dubbed that a no-go, too. He didn't know much about cooking, but this stuff didn't have the consistency of any oil he knew of.

Next he dreamed it was a poison- was Sanji a killer? Was he planning mutiny and killing Luffy, or would he kill them all? Had it been meant for his former employer, but forgotten over time? One of his old cooking rivals? Those occasional pirates the Baratie got that demanded food and killed the staff? Or was it for someone else entirely? But then, Sanji didn't look like the kind that killed for pleasure. He killed when he needed to, but he never enjoyed it. Poison was out.

It could've been some kind of love potion… Zoro nearly burst out laughing at the thought. Yeah, it was a love potion, because those are so real. Moving on.

Next came cologne. It made sense; the chef was always prancing around with some kind of spicy, nose-tingling aroma radiating off him. Though, why would he keep perfume in the kitchen? He could easily mix it up into the food and make the whole crew sick. Zoro didn't think Sanji would risk it.

The only logical explanation left that Zoro could think of was medicine. Was it a counter for food poisoning? Was Sanji allergic to something? Of so, what? He could hardly have such a large pallet if it was some kind of food, so was it pollen? Animal hair? Dust? Smoke? It could've been some kind of anti-nicotine medicine. Sanji was acting like he was trying to quit. Or it might've been a drug. Zoro got off track for a second to think about all the side affects of today's popular drugs. He found Sanji was showing signs of most. So, Sanji was taking drugs? Wow, who would've thought? Was less exciting than the poison theory, but still pretty interesting.

Content with his conclusion, Zoro smiled. He'd just confiscate the drug for now, maybe sell it back to him later if he begged. Slipping the vial into his pocket, he rose to get back to his previous search.

~~~ZsZsZsZs~~~

It was raining. Sanji was cold, wet and tired, and totally bored out of his skull just sitting up here with only the cloudy black sky to look at. The crew was most likely asleep by now, and Sanji could've slipped into the cabin and dried off, but he didn't want to risk going inside. Zoro had a habit of meditating for a few hours before he went to sleep, and Sanji didn't want to see Zoro right now. Maybe not ever. Not until he could forget about how the Lust Potion had been pointing towards Zoro since he'd bought it. He'd have thrown it away some time ago, but found that each time he tried, he couldn't. Curiosity would over power the fear he felt, and he'd decided to keep it for studying purposes. Maybe it was just the shock of Zoro getting shot that made it point to him. Sanji had been concentrating on him the most. Once he got over the marimo "dying", maybe it would point to Nami like it should have been doing from the start.

Nami…She'd been spending a lot of time with Zoro for the past few days. He knew she was just taking care of the marimo's wounds, changing his bandages and all that, but his stomach still pitched when ever he saw them together. At first, he thought he was furious at Zoro for drawing the girl's attention so easily, but as the days wore on and on, he had to rethink his anger. He knew Zoro enough to know he'd never think about touching Nami; not only would Sanji kick his ass, Nami probably would, too.

He soon realized it was, for some unexplainable, inhuman reason, Nami he was angry at. She flirted with Sanji to make him do her bidding. Next, she's helping Zoro with his wounds even though she never really liked him, and before Sanji knew it, she and Luffy were all over each other behind the cabins! He wasn't accusing her of being a slut or anything, but he was finally seeing her in a normal, non-worshipful light. She was a woman. They acted like that. He'd still defend her honor and protect her from harm, because that was the time of gentleman he was, but he no longer felt as though he loved her.

During his musings, the rain had gotten worse. It was falling harder, faster, and in more sheets now, and didn't look as though it would stop anytime soon. He looked up at the sky, protecting his face from the rain with his hand. The clouds were dark grey and puffy, the sky liquid ebony and the moon barely visible through the precipitation. He knew that if he stayed there much longer, he'd get sick, but he was reluctant to leave until lighting flashed brilliantly in the distance and thunder rolled over the sea.

As he was crawling and onto the net ladder, a huge gust of wind attacked the surf. The waves made the Merry rock dangerously back and forth across the angry surface and sea water splashed onto the deck. Sanji lost his grip on the wet rope and fell the last few feet of the climb. It was easy for him to land on his feet, but with the unsteady rocking of the ship he couldn't keep his balance and fell on his ass.

Seconds after he landed, Nami burst out of her cabin, her face set in concentration. The usual bloom of love he felt whenever he saw her had ceased to exist since she'd made her preferences in men more apparent, and he wasn't surprised when his heart beat stayed normal at the sight of her in her skimpy night clothes. If anything, he was surprised she had the gall to wear something so revealing on a pirate ship, when the rest of the crew was composed of men. He'd have said something to her about it if she hadn't ducked back inside her cabin and reappeared as she was pulling on a robe, tying it tight around her waist before marching towards the men's quarters.

She slammed the door open. Sanji heard a cry of surprise and two disgruntled curses. "Okay, guys, there's a big storm blowing in from the north, so if you don't want to be sunk by morning, IO suggest you get out here!"

Three seconds later, Usopp was saluting her. "Brave Captain Usopp offers his services!" he announced.

Nami clapped his shoulder and pushed him out onto the deck. "Good. Go tie up the sails with Luffy. Zoro!" she stepped into the cabin. "Zoro! Get up and raise the anchor!"

Zoro grumbled from within the cabin, but emerged a few second later, scratching his hair and yawning. Sanji lost all train of thought as a moon beam cut through the clouds and illuminated the deck with milky light. But it wasn't the pearly glow that caught his attention; it was Zoro. He wasn't racing to complete Nami's orders, walking across the deck towards the anchor at his usual slow, casual pace. He slept in his pants, but his chest was revealed all but for the bandages. His scars caught the light and made dramatic shadows over his sculpted muscles. Add that to the fact that he was now soaking wet, and Sanji couldn't look away, mesmerized by the silver rivulets that slid down Zoro's chiseled jaw, thick neck, toned chest and disappeared as they fell to join the others on the deck.

"Hey! Sanji!"

He forced his eyes away from Zoro and look at Nami. She'd walked closer to him, but still stood several feet away. "Tie up the cannons. We don't want them rolling around up here with all this rocking."

Sanji nodded, trying to mentally slap himself out of his Zoro-induced daze. His steps were shaky as he walked towards the cannons, but he tried his best to cover it up and make it look completely unrelated to anything going on. He tied the cannons down numbly, wondering what it was about Zoro that made him want to stare. It couldn't be his scars, could it? He'd see those scars millions of times before. Why would they look any different now? He finished with the cannons and turned to watch the swordsman. He'd gotten the anchor and was now tying it in its place, face in and impassive smile despite his nakama's panicky expressions.

He stood, ready for his next order, only to hear Nami scream out some kind of command for everyone. He was the farthest away from her, and was about to ask her to reapeat the order when a wall of water swept onto the deck and pushed him to his knees. He reached out to grab something, but it was too late. The ship jumped as another huge wave crashed into it. The water picked him up and threw him into the sea. The last thing he heard before the water engulfed him was his nakama's screams. Zoro's voice seemed to be the loudest.
Yeah, sorry, no fun picture at the top. Okay, so, I have no time to do a real author's comments, I will do an edit later.

EDIT:

Bwahaha! This time, SANJI DIES! Take that, fangirls! Um...Yeah.

Anywhoooo... Random emo Sanji time! Who wants to take pictures!? *counts hands* Wow. That got more than Naruto in the shower. Oooh, that rubber duck was scary. *shivers*

So, I have now gotten to chapter three! Someone give me a hug! ...NOW! ...I'm having trouble writing chapter five, though, because (insert spoilers) and then Sanji (insert spoilers) and I have no idea how to write about cooking...so just wish me luck and stay with me throughout, please and thank you?

[link]

VERY IMPORTANT EDIT:READ.
For some reason, everytime I try to add the next chapter's link, it just goes to my blank gallery page. So either go to my gallery, go to "RAPT" or I can send you the link. Thankies, and keep reading!
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Kendecia's avatar
why there's no more?!