estoria | I'm a whole lot better [CLOSED]

Entry tags:

sanji,
zoro roronoa

I'm a whole lot better [CLOSED]

Who: Zoro

serving_love
When: IC 7/19 during the event
Where: Straw Hat Apartments, Occupancy 2
What: Neither Zoro nor Sanji have ever told anyone else in the crew where they spent their two years training. Spirit fox shenanigans are going to force them to find out each other's secret.
Rating/Warning: nothing I can think of, maybe some sensitive topics discussed?

[Zoro has been on the slightest of edges since the day the world glitched around him, and though he still chalks it up to a technology problem inside ViViD, since it happened while he was in the gravity room, Weiss's information makes him wonder. Was he supposed to be in that train tunnel? Was he supposed to die?

And then this place just gets worse on him today, he wasn't sure for a good number of hours but now he's certain there's a weird white fox trailing him around. Only not a real one, no, it's all wispy and shit, and whenever he turns to look at the flitter of white, gauzy movement in his peripheral sight, it darts away, avoiding his eye. He only saw it once for the fox-shape it is, on his way back from the dojo, and though he hurried his pace to get indoors without it and hopefully trap it outside, he's pretty sure he just saw it drift through the kitchen. Dammit.

He is not drunk enough for this.

He hasn't even hardly settled into the couch cushions and he's up again, pacing, trying to see where the ghostly fox went. Maybe he can chase it out? Maybe he can find a fresh bottle of sake in the kitchen while he's at it. Cook's around, though...]

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[The thing is, that half-formed idea he had before, the vague thought that he and Zoro might've somehow just witnessed a similar time period in each other's lives, is starting to become a more solid conclusion the longer he stands here frantically trying to piece together what happened. And he's burning with curiosity, he wants to wonder over Zoro's flushed face, his embarrassment, the rare kind of frustration he's currently got on full display...

Sanji really wants to ask what the hell happened then, and he wants to know what Zoro went through when they were all separated.

But he's scared to.

Because the idea of Zoro turning it around on him, of Zoro remembering just what he saw and bringing it up again if Sanji pries too much, is...

Terrifying, frankly.

And something Sanji would prefer to avoid at all costs.]

I think it was you doing what you had to do to get stronger for Luffy.

[Apparently his mouth has other ideas, though, and he sort of lets that slip out without meaning to. He catches sight of his goddamn fucking fox out of the corner of his eye and tries to glare at it briefly, sure it caused all this somehow, but then he's quickly clearing his throat and taking a step away from the breakfast bar.]

But we don't gotta talk about it.

[too late, cook, he's not going to forget. He's only skillfully waiting for his chance to bring it back up again so that there's no escaping it, no clamming up and running away. Zoro gives himself a moment to internally flail at having his secrets revealed, taking a breath and letting it out slowly, and then turns back around at Sanji's comment.]

There's not much to talk about. You're right, though. I spent two years on his island, fighting to get stronger. He was the one who trained me in haki.

[which maybe explains why his Armament is stronger than his Observation.

Speaking of which, he realizes he's lost track of his own fox and hunts around the kitchen for that silvery little bastard. Can't see it, shit. Where'd it go?]

...so what's with the pink place, now?

[...Dammit. He'd only managed to back up another two steps and partially turn away before he paused to listen to what Zoro was saying. Trained by Mihawk of all people?]

He actually trained the guy who's trying to defeat him? Shit, what a cocky bastard.

[It's said with a somewhat impressed tone, though. Maybe even a tad awed. There aren't many people who would do that. And Zoro spent his entire two years there? With that man? Hell, Sanji hasn't even lived with Zoro for that long yet.

...That's a weird thought. One he's had before, though, when thinking about himself. It's still hard to believe that he lived with Iva and the others for longer than he's sailed with Luffy.

Which, shit, of course Zoro has to remember and ask about it. Sanji had started to turn back to face the other man while he was talking, but now he winces and turns on his heel with the goal of escaping to his room.

Fuck fair play and all that.]

It wasn't nothing. Forget about it.

[Can he make it to the hallway now??]

[Zoro huffs a sardonic sort of laugh under his breath. Yeah, cocky bastard is right. At least Sanji can appreciate how fucked up that whole thing probably was. But he's not inclined to elaborate unless further questions come his way.

But he's not letting Sanji get away with just 'nothing,' oh no.]

Don't give me that shit! It was something and if you know about mine then I wanna know about yours! Get back here!

[and then, a second later, he lunges from his place, banging his hip against the counter island as he scrambles to get around it and get to the cook as fast as possible. He stretches to grab both his arm and the collar of his shirt at the same time, intending to yank back hard on whatever his hand closes on first.]

DON'T! Stop right there!

[because he just found where his little fox pal ran off to. It's standing right in the doorway, as if waiting for Sanji to walk through it again.]

The fuck do I care if you wanna know, it ain't your busin—ack!

[As he's yanked to an abrupt halt and choked by his shirt collar, what the shit?!

His foot's hovering right over the fox, unbeknownst to Sanji. But Zoro pulling on him like that has Sanji nearly stumbling backwards into the broad chest behind him. He manages to catch his balance and slams his foot backwards onto the ground instead, just barely missing stomping on one of Zoro's feet.

He doesn't miss elbowing the jerk in the gut, though.]

What the hell, asshole?! Get off me!

[Sanji tugs himself free, backtracking into the living room instead and rubbing at his neck with a scowl. He's sort of aware that there was something different in Zoro's tone right before he grabbed him, but he's too busy bristling like an angry cat to wonder about it.]

It ain't that fucking interesting, okay, it was just some other shitty island! Geez, calm the fuck down.

[He wants to leave it at that. He really wants to, but he also...

He needs to know.

So he more or less hurls the following question at Zoro.]

The hell all did you even see, anyway?!

[he takes the elbow without flinching, letting Sanji go and breathing a loud huff of relief when he goes the other way, missing the fox. Zoro takes a moment to aggressively advance on the wispy figure, but this time it doesn't startle, it just stands there looking at him like the dumb spirit thing it is. All he can do is growl at it and leave it be, for now, though as he wends his way through the kitchen, he wonders where Sanji's beast is...

Oh well, if he walks through it now, cook deserves to have another memory on display.

He stands just outside the doorway with his arms folded confrontationally over his chest.]

There was a lot of pink - the trees, the grass, everything. You were running from some really ugly women, and then...I guess, fighting? It was kind of blurry.

[but that non-answer already gave him enough to work with] Some other shitty island is where you spent those two years, wasn't it? Was that your so-called hell?

[Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shitty pink everything, he got that part. He can deal with that probably, it's the rest...

Sanji cringes slightly at the "ugly women" line, but even that he can sort of handle. So long as that...one thing...wasn't revealed. He's still tense with nervous anticipation, but he throws himself onto the couch with a huff, pulling his legs up and hooking his arms around his knees as he peers over the top of them at Zoro. His face is flushed pink and he's got his lips pressed tightly together, like he's still stubbornly going to refuse to talk about it.

He does, though. With effort, he forces himself to open his mouth and reply.]

Kamabakka Kingdom... Nothing so-called about it, it was hell. And those weren't women.

[He looks like he's about to say more, but his mouth snaps shut again and he just sort of glowers at Zoro. Trying to see if he can figure it out himself.]

[It takes him a second, but he works through it - if not women then what else...oh - and then peers, more perplexed than ever. Really, if he hadn't been shaken by having his own private memories revealed, he could be way more of an asshole about this. But instead of making snide comments about preferences, Zoro lets it go and focuses on the strange vision.]

So what was so hellish about it? Why were you running instead of, I don't know, kicking their asses?

[because if he knows anything about the cook, he doesn't run. The situation has to be more than it looks in a simple flash of memory.]

[Ugh, he's torn. He immediately feels defensive and wants to make Zoro understand just why that place was so fucked up, but he also doesn't want to go into too much detail.

Fuck. Dammit, why is this place always such a pain in the ass?!

Sanji's brow furrows. He doesn't know all the details of where the rest of their nakama ended up, but from what he's heard and pieced together it seems like they were all sent places they could improve.]

That shitty bear sent you to the home of the one guy you can't defeat. So that you could get stronger. You really think he would've sent me someplace where I could beat everyone there that easily? Those assholes were fucking strong and I couldn't— I wasn't about to let them catch me again.

[He looks away, raking a hand through his hair.]

I didn't only run from 'em, that's just what you saw.

[See? That's a perfectly acceptable explanation. Zoro nods vaguely, his arms loosening a bit but not dropping, and he shifts to lean one shoulder on the door frame]

Just like you only saw that one thing about me. [but what a thing, ugh] Guys in dresses were really that bad, huh?

[He heard that bit about getting caught, but actually...he doesn't want to know. Even if what happened to Sanji was horrifying, Zoro's own ideas of what would happen are actually worse so let's not go there.]

I still don't get why it's hell but that's all you, cook. It got you stronger, so it obviously did you some good.

They were okama.

[He glances back at Zoro, though he doesn't exactly expect him to get why this was such as issue. It's going to sound ridiculous (and probably like he's a discriminating bastard) without all the information, and Sanji isn't willing to give him that.]

There wasn't a single goddamn girl on that island, and did you hear where Luffy ended up?!

[The non sequitur is enough to get Sanji to unfold out of his defensive position as he sits up, letting one of his feet slip off the couch and onto the floor so he can make random angry gestures with his hands]

I mean, what the hell?! I could've killed that idiot. He's off living with a bunch of gorgeous women and I get stuck with these aggressive assholes who just want to be women and think everyone else should, too— What kinda bullshit is that?! I got stronger, yeah, I had to, that's how I learned Sky Walk, too. Just trying to get away from them.

[He slumps back against the couch again, digging a hand into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette that he immediately jams into his mouth and lights.]

They were good cooks, so there's that. I learned more than just how to be a better fighter. But fuck if that wasn't the longest two years of my life.

[Zoro has exactly zero shits to give about okama one way or the other, but Sanji's complaint that Luffy had it better drags a magnificent roll of his eye out of him. Of all the things!]

Don't give me that shit, you know full well he was training his ass off. With Rayleigh, it sounds like, not the warlord lady.

You weren't the only one, you know. Those two years weren't a walk in the damn park. [well, maybe for Brook. And Nami.] If that's where you got sent then that's where you needed to be, same as me. Same as any of us, really. So you had a shit time of it, you still survived.

[there's something more, maybe an admission of sorts, right on the tip of his tongue, but he bites it back. It's not like he's not sympathetic because yeah, it looked like a dumb place to spend two years, but Zoro has his own turmoils and refuses to own up to any of them. Where Sanji gets angry at the hand he's dealt, Zoro denies his entirely.]

Oh fuck off, I don't need a damn lecture. It's not like it's something I've been bitching about since we got back together. I wasn't planning on telling anyone, ever, and I sure as hell didn't fucking ASK for you to get a shitty glimpse of that place. I know it wasn't easy for any of us.

[He gives a mighty harrumph, crossing his arms over his chest as he puffs away at his cigarette.]

I told you, surviving is what I fucking do. I wasn't gonna let that hellhole beat me.

[And he has to stop himself from grinding his teeth at the idea that it's where he needed to be. He gets it, yeah, but it's still... Ugh, it just makes him uncomfortable all over again.

He shoots Zoro a look.]

Perona-chan was with you, too. Right?

[Zoro's expression sours again at the reminder, and he looks off to the side, huffing]

She was on the island, yeah. Don't get excited, it's not like we hung out or anything. She was just there.

[Well, at least he's learned as much as he wants to know about Sanji's strange memory. What's done is done and he's satisfied with the explanation.]

Just there. With Mihawk.

[He's not quite sure where that thought is going but it's definitely to someplace weird, so he cuts it off before it advances too much.]

Kinda surprised he let her stick around, he seems like a shitty loner.

[Now that his own shit is out of the way, he's back to wanting to throw questions at Zoro. He's not entirely sure what questions, but the entire idea of Zoro being under Mihawk's wing is just...really interesting.]

So. You anywhere close to beating him?

Yeah, I don't get why he didn't give her a boat and tell her to scram. [hmm. Wait, boat. He scratches his chin.] Unless the one he tried to give me was the only one on the island besides his...

[well, no matter. He looks around briefly for foxes and then takes a cautious step or two further into the living room.]

Guess we'll find out the next time we cross paths. It's not like I was there specifically to defeat him then and there.

[Every time Zoro looks around the room, Sanji unconsciously copies him. His foxy friend seems to be ambling through the kitchen for some reason, but he loses sight of it almost as quickly as he spots it, which doesn't make any fucking sense. It better not come dashing into the living room...]

Yeah, but I figure you sparred with him and shit. So you gotta have a better idea of what it's gonna take.

[Seriously, he's seen Zoro in action and it's hard to believe there's some asshole out there who could still be THAT much stronger than him. ...Actually.

Sanji peers at Zoro suspiciously all of a sudden.]

You didn't already beat him and just conveniently forgot to tell us or something, did you?

No. [he says it quietly, but not with any sort of sense of disappointment.] I actually didn't really fight him directly, at all. His idea of training wasn't to fight me.

[assuming canon doesn't say otherwise. Zoro looks around again, but figures Sanji would warn him if the fox was anywhere directly in his path and crosses to go and flop on the opposite end of the couch from him, keeping obvious distance between them.]

Aside from teaching me about haki, he was pretty hands-off. Left me alone for a lot of it.

Huh.

[That's a shame. Or maybe it's not.

Sanji wants to be there when it happens, after all, so he's glad they didn't miss it.]

Well, whatever his shitty method was, it worked.

[And that's about the closest Sanji's gonna get to giving Zoro a compliment. He wants to ask him something else about his Shichibukai Crash Course in Haki, but he spots something glimmering out of the corner of his eye before he can.

His stupid fox, of course. Bounding into the room on its three legs. Sanji barely has time to react, his eyes just go wide -- he's only sort of made the connection that these shitty ghost animals are what caused the visions they each had, but whether he knows for certain or not he's sure as hell not going to let that damn thing touch Zoro again. So he kind of lurches off the couch as the fox jumps, diving forward at Zoro and more or less performing a spectacularly awkward bellyflop straight onto Zoro's his lap in an effort to get in the fox's way.]

NO!!

[It's pretty pointless, of course. Being a ghostly spirit thing, the fox just kind of sinks straight through Sanji and into Zoro. And then to make matters worse, it leaps up again onto Zoro's shoulder before skittering away down the back of the couch to the opposite end where it takes a seat to innocently watch them.]

Goddammit, you fucking—

[And that's about all he manages to get out. He doesn't even have time to push himself up off of Zoro before the nausea hits.]

[There's not even time to react to sudden cook in his lap before Zoro is deep in the throes of another memory that isn't his. Clearly not, because he's never seen that barren rock in all his life, no matter how lost he's been. At least he's sitting, this time, and aside from clenching his hand on the arm of the couch as if to cling to reality, it doesn't throw him too badly.

By now it's happened enough that he definitely knows it's the weird wispy foxes causing this phenomenon, which means one just passed through him and he certainly didn't see it, so...maybe Sanji can be forgiven for his position.

Maybe.

As he snaps back to the present, Zoro is a bit rattled to find an actual memory of his own flashing to mind - a few months ago, and some books on the coffee table - because this one makes him flush red right to the tips of his ears. As a result, he freezes where he is, not twitching a muscle, particularly not the ones in his thighs right beneath Sanji.]

Ugh, shit. These little bastards...!

[Luckily for Zoro, Sanji's too busy trying to get his head to stop swimming to notice his flushed face at first.

Unluckily for him, though...Sanji's too busy trying to get his head to stop swimming to actually, you know. Move. The most he can manage is to rise up on his knees a bit, so at least he's not still just flopped across Zoro's legs. His hands are balled up into fists, though, digging into the arm of the couch, and he's got his forehead pressed against Zoro's thigh, his eyes squeezed shut.]

Nnnngh— Shit.

[The flash of memory that Zoro gets comes more from the end of Sanji's stay on that shitty barren rock, when the hunger pains were constant and so bad that he contemplated throwing himself into the ocean on more than one occasion just to make it stop. When he was nothing more than skin and bones, and so exhausted, and so hungry that he finally went looking for that ol' geezer.

Only to find that he had no food at all. And was missing a leg.

By the time Sanji stops feeling like he's about to hurl, he almost doesn't even want to look at Zoro. Because fuck knows what he saw. If it's more of Sanji's own personal hell...

But he does crack an eye open eventually and peeks up at the other man. At which point Zoro's red face becomes entirely obvious and Sanji just.

Groans.]

Ugh, fuck me -- what did you see, you bastard?

[The end of that tale is gut-wrenching enough, as if he's sharing in that nausea. Zoro doesn't even know what to do with his hands, now, not even to help Sanji get up. It's probably better if he holds still, anyway, though his eye flicks down to the cook at the question.]

Get off me already.

[It's not the usual flailing, snarling demand, just sort of a flat-toned suggestion. His blush evaporates pretty quickly, just thinking of what he saw, pushing past the much nicer memory that came immediately on its heels thanks to the warmth of the body pressed against his.]

You were a lot younger. A kid. The old man was there. It looked like...just a tiny island with nothing growing on it.

Oh.

[There's not relief in his tone, exactly, but the tension in his body dissipates almost immediately upon hearing that. No, he sounds...weirdly okay with what Zoro just said. That blush could've meant he'd seen any number of things, after all, most of them not significant in any way but all of them embarrassing nonetheless.

This, though...

Sanji grunts, then pushes himself up with effort. He doesn't bother moving back to his end of the couch, instead collapsing back against the cushion right there next to Zoro for now.]

That was before the Baratie was a shitty thing.

[He brushes a hand through his hair and then props his elbow on the back of the couch so that he can rest his temple against his palm. His gaze goes distant for a moment as he stares across the room, thrown back into his own unpleasant memory of that time.]

Hm... I don't recommend ever getting shipwrecked, marimo.

Shipwrecked...?

[Zoro instantly relaxes as soon as he's free, looking around yet again as if he can spot the culprit who visited that lovely vision on him before settling to regard the cook next to him.

Two and two add up a lot more quickly in his head this time.]

You were shipwrecked when you were a kid? That how you met the old bastard?

[Sanji looks back at him for a moment, weighing his options in his head. Trying to decide where to begin, what to tell him. What not to tell him. If he wants to tell him anything at all.

In the end, he figures he might as well. Luffy knows, as do all the cooks back home now since he blabbed about it in the middle of that fight. So it's not really like it's a secret, it's just not a fun thing to remember.

He lets out a breath, eyes drifting away again.]

I met the old bastard because his crew raided the shitty cruise ship I was working on. Then a bad storm kicked up... Never did find out if anyone else survived, but that asshole somehow managed to grab me before I drowned. We ended up there.

[He glances back at Zoro, gesturing randomly as if to indicate the tiny island he mentioned before.]

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