Work Text:
“You’re running an errand for us.”
Niji announced at dinner table that evening. The hateful dinner table that Sanji had been forced to join at each meal.
“No. I’m not having anything to do with any of your evil plans.”
His answer was quick and dismissive. Whatever task Niji deemed worthy enough of his time, could not not be evil. Sanji had only been with the Vinsmoke less than a week, but they had already disgusted him through and through.
“You don’t get to say no. Ichiji’s order.”
As if that meant anything. Besides, that moron was currently out on a short mission overseas. Who cared what he wanted?
“Why me? Get Yonji or some of your shitty soldiers to do it.”
“Well, since it’s an official exchange, one of us has to go as envoy. Now that we have our hands full with other crucial business the likes of you can’t even dream to handle, you get to do the pettiest one. Besides, Yonji has been doing this since forever. It’s time you relieve him of this shitty mission now that you’re back.”
Now that he was back. Right.
Yonji happily nodded his agreement, still munching away at his dinner.
“Still, no. I’ve given up any affiliation with you morons long time ago. I’m not running your business.”
“You don’t get it, do you, little brother? You don’t get to say no. Ichiji will be furious if you don’t follow his orders. And you know how our brother is when he’s furious.”
Sanji remained silent, mind racing. He could hold his own against Ichiji, that much he was certain of. But if it came to it, either of them might not come out without scrapes or bruises. And he wished to conserve what energy he could for the wedding party that was sure to be a showdown.
Reiju who hadn’t participated in any of their conversation dabbed her mouth with detachment.
“Come on, it’s just a simple gig. Octo is a very straightforward guy. You go and see that he sticks to the deal, then hand over the bargain. Easy. You’ll be back in no time and it won’t harm your good for nothing ass one bit. We’ve always had him on a delightfully short leash. He would lick your shoes clean if you just say the word.”
Octo was a common name in the Four Blues, but the most famous of Octo’s was the one embossed on every single piece of firearms in the market. Coming from Niji, this could be none other than the one and only Gerald Octo, the weaponry giant. The guy produced everything from handguns to canons. Anything that launched ammunitions.
From the sound of it, this exchange more than certainly involved procuring weapon supply for the Germa army. This all the more displeased and unsettled Sanji.
“Yup. Some pathetic guy he is, giving up everything for that half-dead little sister of his. He’s sick, I’m telling ya.”
Yonji piped up with a malicious grin that stretched his face impossibly.
Here's a catch. He knew he was definitely not going to like what he was about to hear, but asked anyway.
“…His sister?”
Niji explained, bored.
“You know, the same old melodrama shit. His sister is ill, we give him the meds to keep her going, he gives us what we want.”
Niji stabbed his steak, bit into it, and chewed aggressively. Sanji got the message that that was all there was to be said about the subject and suppressed the urge to ask more. He’d find out, but not from this bunch of morons.
Besides, something obviously stank about this whole “exchange”. He still didn’t want to accept it, but something was nagging at him. He worked it out quickly in his mind, and came to the conclusion that there might be more at stake than his own stupid pride.
So much for calling this ‘an errand’.
“So if this exchange doesn’t happen, she will be in trouble?”
“Who?”
Niji asked cluelessly, the subject already wiped from his mind. Sanji suppressed a long suffering sigh.
“Octo’s sister.”
Niji waved his hand dismissively.
“We don’t care about that. It’s about time he runs out of medicine and we can’t just let his sister drop dead. Once the woman is gone, the deal is up. No more leverage; no more artillery. Too bad, but the guy actually offers the best catalog in the market.”
Anger flared up within Sanji, but he gritted his teeth to keep his mouth shut. He was going to beat up these sad excuses of royalties the first chance he got, but that was not the priority. He summoned up every ounce of patience he didn’t know he had and bit out.
“…Tell me what I need to do.”
His brother didn’t seem the least bit pleased that he eventually capitulated. For Niji, it was only natural that he did anything and everything they said. Stuck-up bastards.
“You leave in an hour. Give Octo the medication only after we have secured the supply and not before. Quick and simple.”
Yonji laughed, condescending.
“It’s almost impossible for anything to go wrong with this mission, but don’t fuck this up, Sanji.”
Reiju who had been quiet all evening, decided to remark then.
“What about those …rumours? Have they been confirmed?”
Niji and Yonji shrugged indifferently. Sanji glared at them, reading nothing from their identically blank expression.
Their father gulped down the content of his goblet without intervening.
Since he didn’t have the customary Germa combat suit, they gave him a double-breasted waistcoat made from gold silk and a high-collared black cape, quite similar to the ones donned by his brothers. Thankfully, the number “3” was glaringly missing from his outfit. He returned to his room to change and had to (gently) shoo away the well-wishing maids trying to offer unnecessary assistance. Oh, the wasted opportunities. But no, not here on Germa’s lands.
Sanji put the garments on top of his black button-up and slacks. This look was completed with a yellow neckerchief, not unlike the one he used to wear as a kid. Unlike the combat suit, these didn’t serve to protect him in the least. Their only use was probably to advertise him as one of the Vinsmoke.
He was straightening out his clothes at the ornate body-mirror when he noticed a tinted bottle on the dresser. There was no other labels aside from a small red band wrapped around the glass. It hadn’t been there in the morning.
“That’s Ichiji’s MX-570 remedy.”
Reiju said. She had followed him inside and glared at him as he dressed, but he had made a point of ignoring her. His sister went on once he didn’t offer any response.
“A very potent medicine. Considering that it cures almost anything destructive enough to damage our Vinsmoke body, it can pretty much revive a corpse.”
“And Ichiji can kiss my ass.”
Apparently Ichiji had left it for him. Did his brother intend for him to use it? Damn that bastard for expecting him to get in trouble. And even if he did, there was no way he was going to accept pity from someone like Ichiji. Insulted, Sanji made to throw the bottle through the window.
Reiju stopped him blandly.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“I don’t rely on this kind of shit like you freaks.”
“Maybe you’ll handle it more carefully if you know what it’s made of.”
His sister lifted a disapproving finger.
“Concentrated human spinal fluids... was one of the main ingredients.”
“Seriously…”
Sanji snapped his head to glare at the tinted bottle as if it had personally offended him. That meant the Vinsmokes were using…?
“Why don’t you just hold on to it? If you don’t need it eventually, you can just return it to him and save us a couple of condemned prisoners. Well, not that we have a shortage of those…”
Mortified, Sanji grudgingly but carefully pocketed the remedy without another word. Leave it to the Germa to commit this kind of crime. To stoop so low as to make off of others’ life for one’s own survivals…
He would have gone berserk on them over this, but the whole ordeal that he had been through since his arrival had somehow numbed him against these questionable actions of the Vinsmokes. He reined in the urge to grumble and only retorted succinctly.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Reiju.”
“One more thing…”
Reiju began, seeming uncharacteristically apprehensive.
“If you are here to bitch about me not doing a good job…”
“That’s not it.”
His sister said, looking sideways. She crossed her arms.
“There are rumours about Octo. He could be hiding something… but since those two are not worried about it, I guess they’re just rumours.”
“I don’t care. As long as I get to save the sister…”
His sister narrowed her eyes and gazed at him, her deep blue eyes dull with the tiniest bit of emotions. Sanji was secretly glad to see that expression. At least Reiju was still, somewhat human.
“Be careful, Sanji.”
It was the middle of the night when Sanji departed. Niji graced him with his stinking presence to see him off at the pier of the ocean-going fort they were residing in. What Sanji hadn’t expected was a whole company of synthetic soldiers that were waiting.
“You have two hours, travel inclusive. These men will accompany you as aides.”
His brother announced with finality, arms crossed over his number-two marked chest. With blue hair styled in that gravity-defying way of his, he looked utterly ridiculous. Niji had always had a penchant for the silly douchebag look. If not for the way he held himself erect, radiating a menacing aura, he would have seemed so stupid in his Germa suit.
Sanji looked at the rank of men in uniforms and frowned in disgust.
“I don’t need them.”
Niji snorted, looking through the dark lenses over his nose at Sanji. The fact that Niji still loomed over him despite being the shortest of the brothers totally pissed him off.
“Of course you need them. You may be a Vinsmoke, but you are nothing like us. Everything’s wrong with you. You’re only a regular human, idiot.”
Sanji gritted his teeth. The white capes of the soldiers shone dully in the moonlight, faces hidden by masks betraying no emotions. One would think they were mere machines.
“I don’t need your stupid underlings to guard me like a five-year-old.”
Niji un-crossed him arms, a vein popped on his forehead.
“Oh yeah? What can you do on your own then, idiot? Can you deflect bullets? Can your skin withstand a stab? Do you have superpowers? No, not at all! We can easily take care of Octo if he ever pulls anything, but this is you we’re talking about, not us.”
Sanji balled his hands into fists. They never changed, after all these years. Everything was still about them being superior and him being inferior. And Niji was especially infuriating by assuming Sanji cared about any of that.
“Cut it out. Don’t act like you care about what happens to me. You just want to be conceited, because that’s what you fucking do.”
To Sanji’s surprise, Niji opened his hands to shrug, completely exasperated.
“You see, that’s where you have it all wrong, little brother. Of course we don’t personally care about you. These soldiers are simply our guarantee that you will come back to us and carry through with the marriage. They are more than ready to sacrifice their life than let you get so much as a scratch. Just because we don’t want it to go to waste after all the trouble we have gone through, doesn’t mean we give a damn.”
The honest disregard for his own well-being baffled Sanji, though it was to be expected. He was just surprised at the honesty. As much as he hated to admit, Niji did have a point. He hadn’t left his own crew for nothing, either. It would have been all for nothing if he were to die here, killed by some nobody who didn’t even have a grudge against him personally.
Still, Sanji was disgusted with the idea of taking a hundred-man force to guard him as he went about his business. Or, well, their business, to be precise.
“Five.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll only take five men and no more, or I’ll just Sky Walk there on my own. Five is more than enough to handle the supply. And like you said, this is supposed to be a routine exchange. I don’t plan on getting into a fight.”
Niji seemed opposed at first, but he just shrugged again and conceded.
“Very well.”
Maybe Niji trusted him, maybe he didn’t give a single damn, maybe a mix of both, Sanji would never know. He was flummoxed and relieved at the same time by Niji’s apathy. But since this worked in his favour, he had nothing to complain. His brother simply nodded and five burly soldiers who seemed to be the commanders of their respective troops stepped up.
“Remind Octo for us that if he pulls anything, he is dead meat. And you, remember: no artillery, no deal.”
Sanji turned towards the travelling mushi that was waiting to take him to his destination and replied.
“Shut up already.”
To Sanji’s utter surprise, Niji grabbed him by the forearm and swung him around. The action was completely unexpected it threw him off balance.
“Giving me lip now huh, loser? How dare a failure like you speak with that tone to a superior like me? Know your place!”
The popping vein made a reappearance on Niji’s annoyingly smug features. The corners of his lips turned down in plain annoyance. His brother shook the arm in his grip harshly as if he was scolding a child. The golden cuff on Sanji’s wrist jingled melodically.
It might be Sanji’s imagination, but he looked ready to murder him at the drop of a hat. The eyes under those dark lenses bore into him. Niji’s strong jaws locked and the vein throbbed on his forehead. It was almost hilarious how these people could be so unfeeling towards the lives of others but extremely touchy about their own stupid pride. Something never seemed to have changed since he had left them as a kid. Something Sanji wondered if he would ever understand.
“I don’t give a damn about your royalty crap. Let go.”
Sanji, however, was determined to not get dragged into a shouting match or a fist fight. He struggled against the iron grip as Niji’s gloved fingers dug through his muscles and pressed into the bones. Sanji gripped the thick wrist with his other hand, trying to pry it off. Damn these people and their genetically-engineered strength. It was unfair how he had always been on the receiving end of their violence.
“Make me, Sanji.”
Niji smirked triumphantly. The vice that was his grip didn’t budge and Sanji could feel the limb go numb. Niji's sinister smile widened and eyes gleamed under the lenses. His expression now bordered on sadistic.
“I doubt Octo would mind if our envoy shows up a little late due to some…family conflict.”
“Piss off. The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get your nasty mug out of my sight.”
Niji hardened his grip in retaliation and Sanji thought his arm would break. Bastard had the physical power to simply break bones with a bare clutch. But if the arm broke…
“Son of a…!”
“Hah! Useless little Sanji. As weak as ever.”
Niji suddenly shoved him off, dismissive. Sanji stumbled back heavily, almost falling on his butt. Niji’s face broke in to a vicious grin, and Sanji knew he had been toyed with.
“Knowing you, I know you are going to compromise our deal with your peasant bullshit. I’ll have you know that if you screw this up, you’ll have Ichiji to answer to.”
That reminded Sanji of the kitchen girl in the castle and it made him see red. Forgetting about his throbbing arm, he gave in to the temptation and snapped.
“Of course it’s all bullshit to your high and mighty selves. The likes of you wouldn’t know the first thing about people’s lives. All you care about is what you can get out of them!”
Niji’s face suddenly froze in puzzlement, before slowly shredding its malicious amusement. His brother might act stupid, but he was sharper than he pretended to be. At other times, Sanji would have been proud to have wiped that smirk off of his ugly mug.
“You’re planning to break the deal.”
Niji stated, completely grave. It was not a question.
“Deal or no deal, I’m going to make sure the woman survives.”
Faster than flash, speed already being Niji’s strongest attribute, his brother backhanded him across the cheek. It instantly split Sanji’s lips and he tasted blood.
The soldiers kept to their lines and stared blankly on ahead. Empty faces remained devoid of any emotion, unaffected by the scene unfolding before them.
“This is not about some lowly rats. This is about the Germa.”
Sanji used the hem of his cape to wipe off the blood. He wanted to go at him, but Niji threw his own black cape over his board shoulders and turned to walk away dismissively. He left a final warning.
“Go and do what is required of you. I don’t trust you to not pull anything, but I’m sure you are aware of the consequences should you come back with unsatisfying results.”
And as much as he hated to admit, Sanji was well aware that the threat was not empty.
On the travel mushi heading to Sweet City where the venue of the exchange was, one of the five soldiers sat him down and offered to put a pain relief pad on his face. Sanji let him. The pad stung a bit but instantaneously numbed the pain. He let out a sigh of relief. Damn, the little shit hadn’t held back at all.
“Show me the medicine for Octo.”
“Of course, Lord Sanji.”
Sanji lit a cigarette. Another soldier approached with a wooden crate. The man opened it and held it out for him. Inside, the box contained what appeared to be several months’ worth of syringes and vials, along with packages of medication and bags containing dubious fluid. From the look of it, whatever disease the woman was suffering from was probably terminal. The Germa commanders were apparently not the best sources of information, but he would have to make do. He tentatively voiced his questions.
“So…do you know about the nature of Miss Octo’s illness?”
“No, sir.”
“But do you know what these items are for?”
“Yes, sir.”
These emotionless soldiers had to be pretty well-rounded if they possessed some medical knowledge. He would have to take their words for lack of any other resources.
“The smaller vials contain cardiac accelerator. The blue ones are antibiotics. These pills are quick-acting pain relief and the red ones are blood pills. The capsules are special medicine prescribed to a specific ailment, on which I have no information.”
Sanji didn’t have any medical knowledge, but it sounded like the patient was in a particularly worrying condition. He pushed away his apprehension for the time being and continued with his questions. He had to know everything he could. There would be time for concerns later.
“Tell me about Gerald Octo.”
“As you wish, sir.”
The commander acknowledged as he stood at attention to give report.
“Gerald Octo, thirty-two, weapon merchant of North Blue origins. Became an orphan at the age of two when his younger sister was born. Created his first firearm at the age of ten, a handgun, and designed the famous double-exploding ammunition which he marketed at the age of fifteen and which set him up in the business. Has been producing since. His articles are said to be the best among the suppliers and are sold across the Four Blues.”
That was common knowledge on Gerald Octo, the man who produced the weapons the residents of the Blues employed to persecute one another. It had not been known until now, however, whether he participated in or sponsored any war or conflict. His business had always been restricted to selling to anyone with enough resources to buy from him. Now, though, it was cleared that he had been secretly supporting the Germa in their campaign.
“When did he start trading with the Germa?”
“Three years and two months ago, sir.”
“How did it start?”
“He came to us to seek medical assistance. That was around the time Miss Octo fell ill. We have been providing him with the provisions ever since, sir.”
Sanji was not satisfied with the brief answer, but as the commander didn’t offer any additional detail, he assumed that was all the guy knew on the subject. The story only served to confirm the medical and scientific influence of the Germa and little else.
“What’s their relationship like, Octo and his sister?”
“Gerald Octo loves his sister deeply. He even refused a highly influential marriage with a royalty of the World Government to remain by her side.”
That was new. He hadn’t heard about that. But again, he did not concern himself a lot with the weapon trade. It somehow aligned with Yonji’s offhand comment from earlier, though.
That was all he could glean from the Germa commander before his train of thoughts was interrupted by the announcement of their arrival.
“Approaching Sweet City!”
The capital island of Whole Cake Island could be made out as a dot on the horizon. Since the Germa fleets were already in the territory, they were only under an hour away from the wedding ground.
“Who picked this venue of exchange?”
“We did, sir. Since the Lords Vinsmokes will attend your wedding ceremony on Whole Cake Islands, we asked Gerald Octo to come with his cartage.”
Sanji hummed in acknowledgement. Something was not right with the whole deal. He was sure that the Vinsmokes had a leverage on Octo in one way or another. If his wretched family was getting a whole arsenal of the most advanced weapons for a crate of drugs, no matter how potent, then they were certainly up to something. Sanji was determined to drag the truth out of Octo when he met him in person, even if he had to resort to violence.
It was also obvious that Octo would do anything for his sister. Miss Octo must be a beauty for her brother to refuse to leave her side. But wait, that was besides the point and hardly appropriate.
Sanji noticed that the soldier was still standing there waiting for further questions. He thanked the guy and sent him back to his business.
Sanji touched the crate, determined to deliver it to the woman at all costs.
Ground zero of the exchange was an empty concert hall in the suburbs of Sweet City. They had probably rented it out specifically for this. When Sanji and the five soldiers arrived, Gerald Octo was already waiting there. Behind Octo were cargos on top of cargos. They all contained the firearms to be handed over. A whole arsenal worth of weapons.
Octo himself looked younger than his age. He had light brown hair and carried himself with an air of reserved politeness. If Sanji had come across him in the street, he wouldn’t have pegged this mild-mannered man as the producer of the world’s deadliest weapons.
Upon Sanji’s arrival, Octo hastened to bow deep. It reminded Sanji again just how powerful the Vinsmokes were. He could only imagine how it normally would have gone if one of his brothers had led the mission instead. They would gloat, that much he was sure of. Octo would probably have to shower them with his shitty praises, before they could get down to business. All the usual bullshits.
“Lord Vinsmoke.”
That first utterance started Sanji a bit. While Octo’s mannerism bespoke peace and courtesy, there was an edge to it. Although Octo was showing deference through his lowered eyes and mild gestures as one would in the presence of a royalty, there was nothing submissive, nothing servile in the way he carried himself.
“Gerald Octo.”
Sanji returned the greeting, trying to hide his discomfort. When the older man finally looked up, Sanji realised the cause of this uneasiness. Something cold lurked in the merchant’s expression, and the indulgent smile did not reach up to his eyes. Sanji suppressed a shudder as he felt himself scrutinised minutely, all his strengths and weaknesses explored and assessed in that one sweeping glance.
This man was dangerous, despite whatever his brothers had said.
But when the merchant finally met Sanji’s eyes, the hostility was quickly replaced with polite astonishment. It was almost genuine.
“You must be Lord Vinsmoke Sanji. It’s my greatest honour to meet you in person. Please excuse the impertinence, but I had always thought that you didn’t exist until the wedding was announced. The Germa must have rejoiced to receive you back.”
Octo bowed again, but not quite respectfully — Sanji could now tell. This man’s statement hid his intentions well. Sanji couldn’t tell what was behind this regular ass-kissing. There was something almost disdainful in the gesture.
The weapon producer kept his head lowered and it occurred to Sanji that he might be waiting for the permission to rise. Not used to this kind of arrangement, Sanji was unnerved.
“Cut the crap already. I’ve got no idea how those pathetic losers go about this, but I’m not here on an ego trip. Let’s just get it over with.”
Somewhat surprised, Octo straightened up. He seemed to contemplate this response. His demeanour shifted following whatever conclusion he had drawn. A mysterious smile appeared on his lips that put Sanji immediately on guard.
“What? If you have anything to say, out with it.”
The older man hurriedly replied.
“Lord Sanji, a lowly commoner like myself would never dare pass a judgement on your mighty person…”
Sanji cut him off sharply.
“Enough of that shit. Whatever is your problem?”
“There is none, sir. One can only have the highest opinions towards the royal house of Vinsmoke…”
“Bullshit. We all know they’re sadistic, immoral pieces of trash.”
Octo brought a hand up to his mouth to capture a cough and Sanji realised that he was actually suppressing a smirk. Octo’s manners became more open, but he still remained on guard.
“My apologies. If I may be so bold, I’ve noticed that you don’t carry yourself like your royal brothers.”
So that was it, huh. The guy had been expecting another stuck-up idiot with a stick up his ass.
“Well, sorry to disappoint, but I’m not one of them.”
“What do you mean, if I may?”
“Long story short, I don’t consider myself one. Now can we get on with this so I can stop playing Vinsmoke? It’s sickening.”
He waved over the soldier carrying the box of medicine for Octo’s sister. He reached for the box once the solider approached, but the latter bowed and refused to hand it over.
“Please allow me to carry this for you, Lord Sanji.”
“Give it to me.”
“I daren’t let you carry a disgraceful wooden crate, sir.'”
“I will carry a shitty box if I damn well want to.”
Sanji wrenched it out of the man’s grasp and immediately handed it over to Octo.
“Here’s the medicine for your sister.”
The soldier protested weakly.
“But…Lord Sanji, your esteemed brother specifically instructed not to pass it over until we have secured the supply…”
“He’s not esteemed. And I don’t care what he said.”
The weapon maker accepted the box wordlessly. Sanji hadn’t expected a thank you, but the increased pain in the merchant’s eyes was too apparent to not notice. Already suspecting foul play from the Germa’s side, Sanji decided to ask, although very carefully.
“So…is everything alright with your sister…?”
Octo’s head snapped up at his words. Presently his mild manners had melted down completely and gave way to something fiery. The man’s eyes burned far too brightly to hide any emotions. There was so much hate and suffering in them that Sanji was taken aback. He knew that feeling all too well.
It was forbearance. It was suppressed hatred out of powerlessness.
For a split second, Sanji thought Octo would lunge at him, but the latter seemed to have come back to himself. The man closed his eyes. His hand wandered absent-mindedly to the breast pocket of his jacket, touching something hidden inside. Finally, he let out a heavy breath, tension bleeding away from his posture. When he opened his eyes, he captured Sanji’s gaze and asked with a steady voice.
“Would you like to meet her — Olie?”
This sudden turn of events caught Sanji off guard. It occurred to him that he should be more wary of the merchant. Why was Octo inviting a Vinsmoke, apparently an enemy, to meet the woman who was very important to him? But he was not about to waste an opportunity to find out the truth behind this nasty business, so he quickly brushed his suspicions aside.
“Of fucking course!”
“Lord Sanji, this is ill-advised!”
“Your brothers would strongly disapprove of your departing with the counter-party all on your own. And more importantly, your return is expected in under an hour. Please reconsider!”
His escorts clamoured around him, seeming apprehensive. It did cross his mind that they might suffer the consequences dealt out by his family if anything were to happen. But nothing was going to happen. He just needed to learn the whole story behind this mess and do what he could to fix it. Besides, if it came to blows, he doubted this man would overpower him.
“How many times do I have to repeat myself? I. Don’t. Care.”
“But, sir…!”
“Lead the way, Octo.”
“Our ship is just on the other side of the cape. It’s only a quarter of an hour away on foot. I can tell you about what happened between us and the Germa…in private.”
The older man nodded in the direction of Sanji’s escorts. Sanji shrugged and ordered dismissively.
“You guys stay here and transport the shitty goods back to the mushi. I’ll be back in a bit.”
The soldiers rippled with opposition, but orders were orders. Shooting one last glance at the motionless Germa soldiers, the merchant turned around and started walking towards the entrance without another word, the crate of medicine cradled protectively in his arms.
There was not much to comment on the landscape, so they covered the short distance without saying anything to each other. Sanji had seen the same quaint scenery on his way to the island on the Firetank ship. As they approached the shorelines where the sound of the waves could be heard, a nondescript galleon could be seen anchored up ahead. That was when Octo finally broke the silence.
“You know, Olie hates conflicts…”
Now that there were only the two of them, Octo had dropped all pretence at courtesy. He no longer referred to Sanji as a Lord, and had picked up some sort of easy arrogance. The merchant’s eyes wandered to the horizon, where candy trees marked the beginning of the forest. Sanji idly observed the ship — the vessel looked plain enough and was easily twice the size of the Thousand Sunny. A perfect ship for going incognito.
“She is the kindest person I know.”
Sanji remained silent. He lit a cigarette and took a drag, letting nicotine soothe away some of the tension. Falling a few steps behind the merchant, he couldn’t see the emotions on the other’s face. They stopped in front of the wooden plank that led abroad the ship. Strangely, none of Octo’s crew was present… they might have been ordered to make themselves scarce while Sanji was here. He wondered at that.
“Our parents died when Olie was born. She is all I have. I took care of her and did everything I could to make sure two orphan kids survive. I pieced together my first gun from whatever scraps I could get my hands on back then. I wanted to create something to keep my sister from harm. Something to bring her the peace she always sought.”
Octo’s voice became especially gentle when he talked about his sister.
“My dream is to build the strongest weapon in the world, so I can always protect Olie.”
Sanji bit his lips. He had anticipated drama, but he was not ready for this revelation, nor the hopeful glint in Octo’s eyes as he stared into the ocean.
The man’s dream reminded Sanji of his own. The All Blue. He wanted to bring a smile to everyone’s face. Cook different food. Make everyone happy. “See, I told you it exists!”, he wanted to go back and tell them this. Octo's dream resonated a thousand things that belonged similarly with the All Blue in his own heart.
Sanji quickly collected himself with a painful clenching of his fists. The All Blue was out there, but he was no longer capable of going after it. He was going to be bound and weighted down by the marriage, if he ever came out of it in one piece.
The All Blue could no longer be his dream.
Sanji dropped his eyes to the ground, but suddenly, the beauty of having a dream and pursuing it brought a long-forgotten warmth to his heart. He might not be out in the world after what he desired, but the fact that Octo was made him happy. Sanji looked up at the back of Octo’s head with renewed hope.
“I’m sure you will one day. I’m sure you will make that strongest weapon to protect your sister.”
A melancholy smile blossomed on Sanji’s face as he imagined a gun that would shoot through anything. A weapon to protect.
The thought also brought a renewed resolve to help Octo’s sister. He would do everything he could for her.
Then Sanji noticed that the weapon-smith had suddenly stopped walking and looked back, seemingly bewildered. His expression became unexplainably conflicted.
That look passed and a shadow stole across the merchant’s face. His expression became pained. As they resumed walking and crossed the plank onto the ship, Octo broke the silence again.
“But it’s…entirely my fault. I was the one who got her into this state.”
Octo’s voice sounded so hollow Sanji had to hold his breath.
“As much as she hated fighting, we received a lot of threats as a result of our business. It happened three years ago, when I was taking down one of our pursuers in a shootout. Olie got in my way to try to stop me from killing the bastard. The guy did it to avenge his wife, who had been killed by one of our weapons, which was why Olie didn’t want me to kill him. I saw it differently, though. A threat is a threat, regardless of the reason behind it. I was preparing to fire when she grappled with me and the gun backfired. It contained my poisoned bullets and just one of those could take down a giant Sea King… We managed to keep her alive, but she never recovered since.”
There was much guilt and recrimination in Octo’s words. Sanji understood the feeling. The feeling of having someone getting hurt in his place, because of his own doing. He dropped his eyes to the ground, casting a shadow on his expression.
“That’s where the Germa came in… Having exhausted all means of help in North Blue, I turned to your kind for medical aid. We were well aware of your technological advancements, and thought that you of all people could help us if no one else could. Of course, normal people like us shouldn’t have dreamt of negotiating with you… The Germa take what they want, they don’t trade.”
Sanji bit into the cigarette at the mention of his hated family. His fists tightened but he remained silent for the merchant to continue. He had known he was not going to like this.
He of all people knew first hand just how evil the Germa could get. How readily they would sacrifice other people for their gain. But he also understood the feeling of being cornered, of desperation. Of having to cling to the last choice he had, regardless of the consequences. After all, here he was, living the consequences of his own decision to give himself up and keep his friends safe.
“I happened to be able to offer enough, though, so they agreed to a deal. They came to fix Olie and left us some medicines. I was to give them a fresh supply of guns and ammunitions every six months, and they us the medication to keep her alive. It was not perfect, but we thought we were all set at first.”
Octo’s grip on the box tightened. They had made their way into the cabin. He stopped in front of a thick, plain wooden door and turned around. The look he shot Sanji was both scathing and murderous. Once again, Sanji was taken aback by the intensity of the piercing eyes, but gave no outward indication.
“How stupid of us to expect honour from the Vinsmokes. Fix her they did, but they also subjected her to a lifetime of addiction while they could have just restored her completely. These are not medicines but drugs. Without them, she’d die. Even now she’s wasting away from the side effects. We’ve been chained by servitude forever.”
So that’s the reason. It was just so simple, so typical of the Vinsmokes. After all, that was what they had done to his mother… They had given her drugs. Forced her to…
“…Those bastards!”
Octo carefully put the much desired but hated crate on the ground. Down along fell Sanji’s cigarette. The merchant finally pulled out what he had hidden in his coat pocket.
It was a revolver, made completely from black metals. The barrels gleamed ominously from the overhead light of the cabin.
“I planned to eliminate whoever came today as envoy.”
Sanji stared blankly at the gun, still lost in his own fury. Although he had mentally prepared himself for the worst, he couldn’t have imagined of this level of cruelty. Of course they would do that, this heartless bunch of evils. Of course they would take what they could get from this man, sucking everything that was worth anything out of him. They took away the only person he ever cared about without taking her away. Now he understood the hate and the pain in Octo’s eyes. Both were justified.
The man adjusted his grip on the gun and pointed it at Sanji.
“…”
“If anything, I know better than to come unprepared. This revolver contains Vinsmoke-effective bullets. I know what makes you tick and made sure these boys will pierce through. A shot from this gun is guaranteed to kill you.”
That pulled Sanji completely out of his reverie and back to reality. His eyes zeroed in on the gun. Vinsmoke-effective bullets… Those morons hadn’t mentioned anything like that at dinner. Niji and Yonji would have known…and Reiju…
Wait.
The rumours.
His sister mentioned something about rumours. Could that be it? How stupid of him to not have inquired further.
But again, that wouldn’t have changed anything. The Germa had done what they had done. They would still be evil. He would still decide come out with Octo alone. Olie would still need help.
Sanji looked into the black muzzle. Its darkness promised certain death, he knew. It took far less to hurt him, not to mention a specially-designed weapon to kill the Vinsmokes, made by the most famous weapon maker in the world. As much as he hated to admit, he was still made of the same flesh and blood as those sons of bitches.
But that was just irrelevant. His blood still boiled at the story that Octo had just related.
“I was expecting one of your brothers, though, maybe the ape. With one of you bastards dead, they’d know that I am a real threat. I will make them heal Olie the way they should have done three years ago.”
Octo's declaration was steady and clear. He was no longer the submissive servant bowing to the Vinsmokes in exchange for assistance, but a predator. The guy was indeed prepared to take out a Vinsmoke and was confident the the weapon in his hand would do the job. There was a click when Octo pulled the hammer. Sanji’s black cape hung heavily around him, doing nothing in terms of protection.
“Listen…”
“If you had checked those cargos back there, you’d have found them all empty. I didn’t plan to have a deal today. You’re really stupid for a Vinsmoke. Those mindless underlings of yours have even more brains in them. You should have listened and stayed away. I was planning to lure one of your brothers out here and get rid of him, but you made it real easy for me. You just insisted on meddling and stick your neck out. Since you offered yourself up so nicely, how can I not accept?”
Sanji bit down on his lips to reign in an impending outburst, removing his eyes from the gun and meeting Octo’s eyes. Octo hadn’t planned to take him to Olie in the beginning, but to lure him to his ship and finish him off.
Octo could shoot him for all he cared, because what was more important was…
“Listen, Octo…”
“Save your breath. Nothing you say will change my m…”
“No, you shut up and listen to me!”
Sanji’s hand shot out to grab at the barrel. There was a click when Octo touched the trigger, but he didn’t shoot. Sanji yanked the muzzle of the gun towards his own forehead and knew that he risked getting shot, but was far too furious to care. The unexpected action stunned Octo, so Sanji could finally get a word in.
“You can shoot me, I don’t care! I am Vinsmoke too, after all. Avenge your shit or whatever. But the most important thing now is saving your sister, isn’t that right!?”
“What…”
Sanji went on, pressing his forehead against the gun.
“I will do whatever it takes to make those bastards help your sister, even if I have to beat them to a pulp. I didn’t say this to save my own life, but hers. After that you can come at me or whatever, I couldn’t care less.”
“You…!”
The expression on the merchant’s face went through rapid transformations. First his face contorted in anger, his eyes bulging. Then it was quickly washed with waves of doubt and hesitation.
Finally, Octo’s face settled in to a mask of determination.
Sanji continue to glare at the merchant without averting his eyes.
There was another click from the gun. Sanji braced himself for the worst, but it never came.
“Shit…”
Octo cursed, and wrenched his gun out of Sanji’s grip. His expression was exasperated, and maybe …hopeful. He looked like a man who had just grabbed on to the end of a thin rope offered to him while hanging by the tips of his fingers on the face of a cliff.
“…I will take your word for it.”
The merchant finally drew his revolver away and pocketed it. Sanji let out a breath he hadn’t know he was holding. Octo cast another long, final look at Sanji before bending down to pick up the medicine crate and put his hand on the door.
“Come, Olie is waiting.”
It was an utterly plain room. It could have been inside any other cabins, except for the machines and equipment that lined the walls. In the middle was a giant bed where a solitary figure lay motionless. It was connected to multiple tubes and pipes from the life support machine. Lights blinked coldly in the otherwise dark room.
The body itself was nothing but dilapidated. The arms outside of sheet were bone thin, the bare body under the blanket pallid. The shock of brown hair identical to Octo’s, which would have once been beautiful, rested limply on the pillow. The sunken eyes were covered by bandages. The woman was not much younger than the weapon merchant, and Sanji could tell that she had to have been a person of great beauty in health.
She looked just about dead already. Sanji hated to admit, but it made him wonder if anything could be done to make her better at this stage.
The sight was plain depressing. It wrenched his heart to see her like this. He vowed to himself that he would make the Vinsmokes pay for this. For all of this.
Octo put the crate down and stood next to the bed. He took her hand in both of his and held it quietly for a while. For a minute, Sanji thought the merchant was weeping but could not tell for certain. He moved to stand next to Octo by the bed.
“Olie, I’m back,” Octo said shakily.
“I’m back with the medicines. You will get better soon, dear, I promise.”
Those words were lies. Octo’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. The usually cold merchant were now broken to pieces. He bit his lips and scrunched up his face to hold back the sob. Sanji would give everything to not have to experience this, but all of this had happened because of the Germa, and he would take responsibility as one. He ground his teeth and stood there, taking it all in. It was his burden to bear. It was the least he could do.
Octo held the limp hand tighter and said through gritted teeth.
“Olie…is always too kind. She never wants to hurt anyone for her own sake. It’s so damn unfair that she has to suffer because of this…!”
It shook Sanji to see the calm and collected man break down completely. He bit his lips until it hurt. He was all the more determined to pay his family back for their selfishness.
“Olie barely responds… She can’t see anymore and she’s become so still. It’s as if she has turned into a corpse… A cold, stiff corpse…!”
Sanji wanted to say something, maybe to lash out at the Vinsmokes, maybe to comfort Octo, but words escaped him. The fate of the woman was beyond tragic. His heart ached and he felt a burning in his heart.
Then a word that Octo had used triggered something in his memory. Sanji froze.
“A corpse…”
A corpse… a corpse? He had recently heard the word pronounced somewhere. Where was it? What did it have to do with a corpse?
“…it can pretty much revive a corpse.”
It… what was it? When was it mentioned?
Suddenly it all came back to him. Those were Reiju’s words. She had said that about… about the remedy from Ichiji.
Sanji frantically pat himself down, looking for the tinted bottle. He eventually found it in the inside of his vest pocket. Octo watched him warily. The merchant had now moved to stand between Sanji and his sister, hand hovering over the revolver, sending clear message that he would be dead before he could try anything funny.
“What the hell are you doing?”
It was not a question but a threat. Sanji slowly presented him with the bottle. Octo all but growled.
“What is that?”
“This is a very strong potion…according to Reiju. It should restore your sister back to health.”
Sanji purposefully omitted to say what it was made of. He set the bottle down on the bed. To prove this, he reached for the sharp object nearest at hand — a pair of dressing scissors. He gripped them in his hand, blades poised down towards his left forearm. Sanji hesitated for a split second, instinct to preserve his arms at all costs kicking in.
Fuck this.
Before Octo could say anything, Sanji drove the scissors straight through and pulled them out with a pained grunt. If he couldn’t trust his ever important arm with the remedy, how could he trust Olie’s precious life with it?
“Are you insane!?”
Sanji immediately lost feeling of his left hand. It scared him but he refused to allow himself to think about it. He panted heavily and pressed onto the wound to prevent blood from getting all over the place. This was nothing, the potion was going to work, he told himself as he braved the pain. He gritted out between shaky breaths.
“Give me the bottle.”
It took Octo only seconds to recover from the shock. The merchant unscrewed the lid and passed the bottle over.
Sanji took a sip from it and almost howled.
The wound burned instantly. He could feel the destroyed muscles and tendons knitting themselves back together around the bones. Blood slowed to a stop and his broken skin crawled back to join up and smoothen out. The healing happened and was over within two intakes of breath, the very manifestation of scientific miracle. His forearm didn’t look the least bit like it had been mutilated just seconds ago. He tentatively moved his fingers, but felt not even a ghost of pain.
Sanji found himself kneeling on the floor, catching his breath. He covered his face with his right hand, sincerely relieved that it actually worked. Despite everything, he still had his doubts for anything his siblings offered. Octo, still half incredulous, reached down and pulled his arm towards himself to inspect it closely. He seemed satisfied with the result.
“The Vinsmokes sure are amazing with science.”
Sanji braced himself against the nearby machine and got up to his feet. He wiped the sweat from his brows and handed over the potion bottle.
“Here, take it. This way you guys will no longer be dependent on them.”
The merchant looked at the bottle, then back up at Sanji. His expression seemed agonised, calculating and cautious at once.
“Why are you doing this, Vinsmoke?”
Sanji let out a sigh.
“Told you it’s not Vinsmoke. Name’s Sanji.”
“Answer the question!”
“Fine. Honestly, I don’t give a damn about you or the Germa. Like I said, I only agreed to come here because I wanted to help Olie. Nobody deserved to be on the receiving end of a cruelty, if I can help it.”
Sanji had been through this. Had spent the earliest years of his life being the victim of his family’s malice. He was lucky to have escaped. It also gave him the chance to find his true family. Olie didn’t have such luck.
Sanji continued to hold his gaze with the man, conveying everything he had. He only said what he believed. All he wanted was to be able to help the woman.
Octo reached out a tentative hand. For the first time, he seemed uncertain.
“That heart of yours will be the dead of you one day. But thank you…Sanji.”
Sanji only nodded and sighed. Octo finally took the bottle.
“Olie…Olie, dear. This potion will help you. This will help you recover, Olie!”
They stood together by the bed as Octo gently but dextrously removed the oxygen mask from his sister. The brother then proceeded to tip her head back on the pillow a little, exposing her parted pale lips. Octo looked at her without saying anything for a minute, taking in her sickly features. He kissed her on the forehead and Sanji averted his eyes at the show of tenderness, feeling embarrassed to have witnessed the intimate side of the people he barely knew.
Octo held the rim of the bottle over his sister’s mouth for a second and closed his eyes as if he was saying prayers. The next second, he tipped the entirety of the content all the way down.
They held their breath through the tensed three seconds. The whole room seemed to freeze in silence.
Olie let out a puff of breath. It was small at first, like a wheeze. Then it progressively grew into a whine, before turning into a scream. Her gruelling shriek filled the room with the agonising clarity of her torture. Her thin, frail body thrashed and spasmed on the bed. Octo cried out and threw himself over her, trying to hold her down. He held her against himself, as if trying to take away all the pain. Sanji clenched his hands, wishing he could go through that in her place.
Seconds stretched into minutes before Olie’s screams finally died down. It had become eerily quiet. Octo held his sister tight in his arms, eyes squeezed shut.
“Olie… Olie…”
The weapon merchant called his sister gently. He looked at her with all the tenderness in the world. The beginning of a smile was forming on his lips.
She had become strangely still.
“Olie… Olie?”
Octo’s voice was incredulous… before gaining a hint of urgency. He inspected his sister closely and seemed to have realised something. His words grew panicked.
“No, no, no, NO! Olie! What’s wrong! Olie!”
“What happened?”
Sanji approached them cautiously and took one of her hands in his. It was completely cold and limp. He slid his fingers up to her wrist and found no pulse. None at all.
She was not breathing.
“No, Olie! Open your eyes, Olie!”
For a second, Sanji could not understand what was happening. Then it finally hit him. His knees grew weak, and his feet took him away from the bed. His back hit the closest machine.
Octo held on to her for dear life. He held his dead sister in his arms. The merchant was openly crying now, tears running down his cheeks and his face scrunched up into a mask of agony. He never stopped calling for her. For his departed sister.
Sanji closed a hand over his mouth, suddenly feeling nauseous. She was dead. She was dead because —
Without warning, Octo whipped out the black revolver and locked it on Sanji, never loosening his hold on the cold body.
There was a distant noise outside. It sounded like something solid was being crashed in. Somebody yelled. The cabin shook minutely. Neither of them paid any mind.
“YOU TRICKED US!”
“I… I…”
Octo all but screamed. Sanji looked dazedly into the muzzle, feeling vaguely like he had been in the same situation before. He could barely piece together a sentence. The medicine —
There was a loud thump at the door, followed by a rattling the magnitude of an earthquake. Someone shouted something from the outside. It sounded like that person was trying to break in.
“Vinsmoke bastards…I should have known! They sent you so I would let my guard down. THIS HAS BEEN YOUR PLAN IN THE FIRST PLACE.”
The potion — it should have restored Olie to full health. It healed his stab wound instantly. But now she was dead. She had not been dead before. The potion killed her. He gave them the potion. He killed her. He —
What shocked Sanji most was not the fact that he had a gun pointed at his heart, but the fact that he had just dealt the final blow to the very person he set out to save in the first place.
“No… I…”
“I’ll kill you first, then the rest of you fuckers. I swear I will never stop until I have rid the world of your name! DIE, VINSMOKE!!!”
As if on cue, the door swung open and revealed a giant mass of green. There Yonji stood, fully clad in battle uniform, black cape billowing behind his muscular, towering frame. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking put-upon — the very image of the annoyed youngest brother who was always bullied into doing the shittiest task.
“Finally! Sanji, you took so long they sent me out. Always such a dead-weight. Should have handled it myself after all, saves me the trouble of coming to get you. What are you doing at his ship anyways? Ichiji is going to be back soon and we’re going to be late, let’s go.”
Ignoring Octo and his gun entirely, Yonji stomped his way into the cabin and let out a string of complaints in one breath. He put his arm on Sanji’s shoulder and started to drag him out of there, not giving a damn about the mission. Sanji was still stunned, but instinct soon kicked in and he struggled from being manhandled. Damn, the kid was strong. To think that they were just minutes apart.
“No…Yonji, wait!”
“We haven’t got all day, come on.”
Sanji did his best to resist Yonji. His younger brother was a mass of muscles and tendons, perfectly immoveable. Yonji, on the other hand, looked like he had had enough of his struggle, and was debating with himself whether knocking him out would make things easier.
Octo instantly pointed his gun at Yonji.
“Yonji… Those special bullets can hurt us…!”
Sanji warned urgently. In any other situation, he would have bitten off his tongue for having likened himself to a Vinsmoke, but now was not the time.
Yonji’s features grew blank at first, before a spark of understanding illuminated them. A grin broke on his face, making him look almost boyish. He was entirely confident and condescending when he growled out.
“Don’t worry, Sanji. I can protect you.”
Can, not will. Cocky little bastard, treating him like he was some helpless moron. Repulsed by that simple statement, Sanji redoubled his effort in trying to break free. He refused to let this dumb kid do as he pleased. He was going to show him.
“You…Son of a bitch!”
While they were grappling, Octo pulled the triggered.
The bullet was easy enough to dodge for either of them. Instead, Yonji pulled Sanji against his body, pressing his nose into his hard pecs, locking him in place as if to make good on his statement earlier. It looked as if he was being bodily embraced by the brother he hated dearly. Sanji started to struggle, but Yonji put up a thick arm across his shoulder-blades, blocking the bullet’s path, the other holding him down by the small of his back.
The arm and its Germa skin should have deflected the bullet, but this was no ordinary weapon. Yonji paid no attention to his warning. He just wanted to be a dick.
The ammo went right through Yonji’s arm like hot knife through butter and embedded itself between Sanji’s ribs. It seared its path deep inside and exploded once it had lodged itself in the flesh of a Vinsmoke. A scream stuck in his lungs, unable to make its way to his throat. Sanji’s vision went white, while Yonji didn’t so much as flinch.
“Gah…!”
When Sanji came to seconds later, the pain had already engulfed his right side. His hand flew to the wound, but it was too painful to touch. The bullet had to have hit something vital, because a worrying amount of blood was gushing out of his mouth and nose. His face was still pressed into Yonji’s chest, soaking blood into the material of the suit. Sanji grabbed blindly at the front of Yonji’s vest and refused to let go. If not for the strong arm hooked around his middle, he would have crumbled to the ground already.
Yonji shook the arm that took the hit as if he was getting rid of an itch.
“Aw, that stings!”
Before Octo could get off another shot, however, Yonji pounced on him with a speed unexpected of someone his size. Sanji was still attached to one of his arms, so he couldn’t do anything but allow himself to be dragged along uselessly.
“Sneaky little bastard! So the rumours that you have been crafting a special weapon to use against us are true, after all.”
The youngest of the Vinsmokes complained. Despite his easy smile, his dark eyes betrayed a vivid thirst for blood. Octo shivered bodily and raised the gun once more.
“DIE!!!”
Flexing his free arm which the bullet wound had left a bloodied hole in the flesh, Yonji reached for Octo’s throat. In a crazed panic, Octo gasped and emptied the gun at Yonji. Always with the trademark stupid smile on his face, Yonji closed a fist over the muzzle of the gun and calmly wrenched it skyward, taking all the hits without a change in expression. When the weapon had been emptied of ammunition, he simply opened his bloodied hand. The gun clanked against the floor, its metal crushed with imprints of giant fingers.
“That hurt.”
Yonji complained without losing his lop-sided smile. He loomed over Octo, his huge frame casting a shadow on the latter who was scampering away. The merchant stuttered in fright.
“M…Monster!”
Even through blurry vision, Sanji could tell that Octo was sincerely terrified of Yonji. Honestly, he didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t say he was scared of his younger brother, but he wouldn’t willingly mess with him either at this point. What kind of monster stopped a firing gun by taking all the hits with bare hand and still not so much as twitch an eyebrow? Not to mention that said gun had been specifically engineered to kill him, too. Sanji felt his body grow progressively colder, and it was not just from all the blood pouring down to the floor, he was sure.
“It’s such a shame since you make us really good guns, Octo. But I guess this is it, because you decided to turn against us. I always knew it was gonna end this way.”
Yonji put his massive hand on top of Octo’s head. The hand was so huge the entire head fit in the palm, fingers reaching both ears. With all the flailing and shrieking, Octo seemed no different than a toddler throwing a tantrum with his head inside of a meat grinder.
“Get your hand off me, freak!”
“Yonji… What are you…”
Sanji immediately realised what Yonji was planning to do. The son of a bitch was going to twist off the merchant’s head! Since he was still half-carried around by his brother, he reached out a hand to try to stop him. The second he let go of Yonji’s shirt, however, his vision swam and he blacked out for the second time. Octo’s terrified cries sounded near his ears.
“No…NO!”
“D…Don’t…”
Don’t kill him. It wasn’t his fault.
The merchant screamed in fear and tried to fire the empty gun in his hand. It was all Sanji could do to hold onto his consciousness and watch his brother murder someone in cold blood before his eyes. He clung to Yonji and forced himself to look.
“Arghhhhh!”
Yonji twisted patiently until the skin on the neck ripped and blood started to seep out. Flesh torn apart like paper and the volume of the blood increased. With it came other components that made up the inside of a neck. He continued to manoeuvre mercilessly until the spines broke. Applying a little pressure towards the end, the Vinsmoke finally ripped the head clean off of the body. Blood shot out like a geyser from the torn neck. The body fell limply next to the stiff corpse of the woman. Sanji had never seen a killing so effortless.
And it was all over.
“No…”
No, it was my fault. I killed his sister, I deserved this. He didn’t have to die…
So this was the power of the Germa. Super strength, sure. Technological support, of course. And not to forget other bioengineering modifications. But the what made them truly terrifying was none of these: it was their lack of emotion. It was what allowed them to kill without a single thought in their head.
Sanji felt like crying, but his eyes remained stubbornly dry. He tried and failed to suppress a shudder that shook his whole body. The edges of his vision was growing dim. He realised that his body still clung to Yonji like a lifeline, even when his mind was screaming at him to get as far away as possible from this person.
Yonji tightened the arm that was holding him almost protectively and considered the bodies of the Octo siblings. Brother and sister, side by side even in death. One with the head and one without. He rubbed his chin and gazed absentmindedly at the bleeding wounds on his arm.
“Come on, Sanji. Can’t waste any more time here.”
“Hurgh…”
Yonji barely glanced at him, but when Sanji took too long to reply, he did a double take. Yonji's dead eyes scanned his body rapidly. When he finally noticed the red mess that was soaking through the fine silk, his eyes grew sharp instantly.
“Wait, this looks bad.”
Sanji’s legs chose that moment to give out, but Yonji easily caught him. His brother had to have noticed something, because expression shifted.
“Where’s that bottle Ichiji left you, Sanji?”
For the first time since their reunion, Yonji had lost his aloofness. Something akin to panic crept on to his expression. Yonji held him up with a hand behind his neck, the palm supporting the entirety of his skull, while the other stayed firmly around his torso. The same bloodied, massive hand that had just twisted a man’s head off without so much as a flex of fingers. Sanji was made aware of how little it would take for his brother to do the same to him. How easily his head could be plucked off. Another bout of chills ran through his body and he shook violently.
“Yon…j…”
Sanji called out to him, but wasn't sure why or what for. What did he want to tell his brother? More blood seeped out, dripped, was absorbed by the floor planks and he was closer to passing out.
“Shit!”
Although incapable of emotions, Yonji had a rare expression on his face, something almost like concern.
What was he trying to say? He cracked an eye open and peered past his own bloodied silk clothes towards the formless mass that used to be the Octo siblings.
He trusted me, yet I…
“I forgot that you are not like us. Shit, shit, shit!”
Not even when he was twisting a man’s head off had he lost his cool, but now Yonji was openly panicking. Sanji could only guess at what his brother saw in his face. Darkness stole up on him, and he went out a weakened breath and a dimming thought.
Neither of them should have died. It was all because of me.
Consciousness was slowly returning to Sanji.
“Damn, that was a close call.”
“I know. If you hadn’t brought back that scumbag, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“Oh, well. Ichiji ordered me to… I would have just left him lying there in his own innards.”
“When is he due back?”
“Any time now.”
Two voices were speaking. They sounded apprehensive, even if the tone remained emotionless. They were identical to his. His brothers.
“I don’t want to be there when he finds out. It’s all your fault, Yonji.”
“Jackass, why are you blaming me!? You told me to go pick him up because he was late, so I went. If it’s anybody’s fault, it’s yours. You let the dumbass go without protection.”
“Why don’t you make that excuse to our brother, then? And no, it’s because you were late. If you had just hurried up.”
He could tell that they were back at the castle. The comfortable bed underneath him, the pleasant smell of luxury perfume… His body is so, so heavy. He felt weak and could barely lift his eyelids.
“When did they say it’d be ready? I swear those idiots are taking their sweet-ass time on purpose just to be funny! We need to get this fixed before he comes back.”
“For the love of fuck, Yonji. Run down to the lab and get that remedy. Right. Now.”
“Right, right.”
He heard a sigh, and the rustling of clothes. A weight lift from the mattress, jostling him a little. It sent a barrage of pain to his midsection, and he let out an involuntary groan. He eyes snapped open and his body shot upright. An immense pain flared up with a source somewhere in his chest, causing his vision to go white.
“Idiot! Don’t move.”
He felt rather than saw that he was tackled back down flat on the mattress. He bit back another groan and forced his eyes open. Niji was pinning him down onto the bed, gripping Sanji’s wrists in each of his hands. His brow was furrowed with annoyance and a trace of something he couldn’t identify. Sanji resisted weakly.
“What…”
“What did I tell you!? I said not to go and mess this up! Now look what you have gone and done! Not only have we lost our weapon pipeline, but you have ALSO damaged your body critically. If it had been any of us, we could have had it fixed in no time. But a failed case like you… we don’t even know if the remedy will work on you.”
Niji was shaking with rage. His expression was unreadable underneath his shades. He was almost straddling Sanji now, sitting half on top of him. Sanji felt like the world just toppled and resisted the blackness that was creeping up on him.
“Now, now… That didn’t kill him, but you are finishing the job, Niji. Why don’t you lay off.”
Yonji said from the door. He put his hand on the handle, making to leave the room. Before he could do that, however, the door swung open from the outside, revealing the person both brothers most dreaded at the moment.
“Oh, Ichiji… Welcome back.”
Yonji greeted sheepishly, scratching his head.
“Hey, brother. How was your mission?”
Without saying anything, Ichiji shot a glare towards Sanji and Niji who were attached to each other on the bed. His cold facade did not reveal anything. Yonji saw his opportunity to leave the scene and avoid trouble and made to move past Ichiji.
“Niji. Yonji.”
Both brothers froze at the call. Ichiji took long, slow strides in to the room to reach Sanji’s bedside.
“This is unacceptable. I expect your presence for corrective actions afterwards.”
As he spoke, Ichiji looked into Sanji’s eyes. He crossed his arms, expression cold. Sanji opened his mouth, but Yonji was quicker.
“Look, brother, I am about to go get that remedy now.”
Ichiji’s come back was instantaneous.
“No need. I’ve got it right here.”
Ichiji produced a small tinted bottle from his pocket, which Sanji recognised immediately. It was MX-570, the Germa’s cure-all elixir.
“Oh, I thought you gave yours to…”
“I stopped by the lab. Now leave us.”
Yonji scrammed and was gone in an instant. Niji reluctantly let go of Sanji’s wrists and turned to face Ichiji.
“I can explain, Ichiji. This idiot…”
“Save your explanations. Don’t make me repeat myself. GET. LOST.”
Both Niji and Sanji jumped at the sudden shout. Ichiji sounded like he was truly out of patience and was radiating murderous intent. Sanji had to give Niji credit for not scramming out of there like Yonji had. Instead, his brother slowly got to his feet, looked back at Sanji with something as close to worry as Germa emotions got. He cast another glance at Ichiji and looked as if he wanted to say something. An impatient brow raise from Ichiji sent him heading to the door. Niji was already out in the corridor, but before the door closed, Sanji heard Niji’s strained voice.
“Just keep in mind: if you injure him now, he’ll die for real.”
The door clicked shut, leaving behind an intense silence. Ichiji still stood by his bedside, glaring down at him with his arms crossed. Despite his weakness, Sanji did his best to push himself up. Even if he didn’t give a rat’s ass about their stupid mission to procure weapons, he knew he had screwed up real good. Regardless of Niji’s concern, however, he was not afraid of whatever punishment their eldest brother had in mind.
“Well, what is it… going to be, then…”
Sanji said with shortened breath. Ichiji didn’t say anything. To Sanji’s surprise, he simply threw the thin sheet back, revealing his blood-soaked shirt. Somebody had hastily stitched his gunshot wound closed, but blood still trickled out stubbornly. It could be the doing of one of those Germa-effective enhancements.
“You failed, Sanji.”
Ichiji said with a straight face. Sanji bit his lips and felt his heart clench agonisingly. The pain was almost more unbearable than the physical wound throbbing in his side. He knew that there was no point telling Ichiji, of all people, about the story of the Octo siblings. Compassion, empathy, kindness… these did not figure among the vocabulary of the Germa.
Now more than ever, he thought of Luffy and the Strawhats. If they had been in his place, they would have done everything in their power for the sake of the two.
And now more than ever, Sanji felt so powerless.
“But before we get to the punishment…”
A rough hand gripped his jaws, forcing his lips open.
Ichiji chillingly popped open the cap of the tinted bottle with his other hand. The miracle cure made from the sacrifice of other humans. They were planning to use MX-570 on him, Sanji had gathered that much from the conversation. Sanji’s hands went to crawl at Ichiji’s wrist.
“No…No!”
Sanji did his best to resist, but Ichiji was stronger than he was even at his full power. He was no match for his brother.
“Sanji,”
Sanji instantly stopped struggling at having his name called. It was as if his body had frozen up from the simple command in that tone.
“This is the prescription that works only on the Germa.”
Yes, he had figured out that much. That was why it hadn’t worked on Olie. That was why she…
“And only this can cure the wound from the weapon of the same property.”
The irony of it was eating at him. Sanji knew more than felt that his body was trembling from the way his hands threaten to fall from the wrist locking on his jaws. He felt his eyes burn, his throat lock up, but he refused to show it to the man in front of him.
“No…”
He fought against the tears. His tears were worthless in the face of the people who died to make this medicine. Ichiji kept a steady hold on him, but Sanji could tell that his patience was running out now. He bit out every word achingly.
“I refuse. I am not like you… I will not take the lives of others… in order to survive.”
Sanji had expected annoyance or even rage from his brother. To Sanji’s utter surprise and horror, however, Ichiji’s face broke into a wicked grin. His brother had anticipated this. It chilled Sanji to the bone.
“Naive, naive little brother. Always so soft and foolish.”
Ichiji’s unrelenting grip hurt, but Sanji refused to give in. His brother went on coldly.
“What about Octo? You tried to save him, but that scum had given us weapons to wage war. He knew his guns were killing countless people, yet he still traded them with our medicine in order to keep his sister alive. Is that not simply against your principles?”
Sanji’s throat closed up as angry tears threaten to spill, but he hung on to his resistance.
“…That was only because he was taken advantage of first! …If you bastards and your greedy scheming had not forced him into this, he wouldn’t have been driven to that!”
“Oh, so you think he did that because he was forced to? That’s why I said you were still so naive, Sanji. If Gerald Octo had been a good man at heart, then tell me: why did he point his gun at you?”
Sanji froze at that. He wracked his brain for an answer, but eventually came up short. He remembered looking into that black muzzle, looking death in the eye.
Ichiji’s hand left his jaws and moved to pinch his nose. Wounded and weak, Sanji could only resisted so much. He tried to keep his lips close, but when his already shortened breath ran out and his pierced and bleeding lungs screamed for air, his mouth couldn’t help but fall open to suck in greedy lungfuls.
“Everybody who has connections to the Germa knows about you, the lost prince who has returned from the dead. They also know that you are just a useless, powerless pawn. And that’s what you are: a pawn. He was going to kill you because you were just a pawn to him too.”
Sanji felt numb, but at the same time he could also tell there was wetness on his face. The angry tears he had managed to hold back, but the self-pitying tears had fallen freely long ago.
“Killing to survive is wrong? How pathetic.”
Ichiji poured the content of the MX-570 bottle into Sanji’s gasping mouth. Sanji tried to scoot away, but Ichiji’s hand clamped down firmly on his lips, forcing him to swallow. He shook his head desperately, but there was no fighting against Ichiji.
“And I have been meaning to tell you that this bottle of MX-570 was actually made from one specific human. A certain Gerald Octo.”
Sanji’s scream was muffled by the hand covering his mouth, his tears in an unstoppable flow. The effect of the hateful remedy was immediate. He could feel the flesh and organs where the bullet had pierced regrow and realign themselves back together. Haemorrhage reluctantly slowed to a stop and bruised skin regained its paleness. Difficulty breathing was gone and he could suck in full doses of air. He wished the medicine had had no effect on him, leaving him bleeding and injured like he deserved to be, but he could not change the fact that he was a Vinsmoke. MX-570 healed him because of who he was, and he could do nothing to change that.
“Since that scum was the one who injured you fatally, it’s only fair that he was traded over for your recovery. That’s why I told Yonji to bring his body back, to use as ingredient.”
Sanji flopped down on his side, drained of the will to hold himself up. His newly restored body was struggling to catch up with the inorganic regeneration it had been forced into. What little energy he had was completely gone now. He almost didn’t manage to grit out between each laboured breath.
“You… planned this… since the beginning.”
“Yes. I heard about this new merchandise, so I could confirm that Octo was going to turn against us. I intentionally sent you as envoy to trigger him. I even left you a bottle of MX-570 because knowing you, I knew you would get yourself in trouble. Yonji had already been assigned to go to you in case of emergency, even. But what I didn’t expect was for you to ditch your escorts, as they were supposed to protect you. I had expressly ordered your foolish brother to see that you didn’t, but this was the first mission he has disappointed me in a long time. I guess Niji got incredibly involved when it comes to you. He always did.”
“Damn it…”
He was really just a pawn to lure Octo and Olie to their death.
“Those morons didn’t have the full story, or they would have just gone and removed Octo themselves. I wanted to send you, to make you realise something, Sanji.”
Ichiji continued levelly and tossed the empty medicine bottle onto the ground. The bottle that had contained what was left of Gerald Octo.
“Kindness has no currency. Trying to force it onto this cruel world only complicates matters. That man and woman would still die. They might even have preferred to be killed in cold blood at the hand of Niji, instead of being offered false hope by you. As it happened, they died at your hand because you tried to offer them kindness. And that was your punishment for not turning back on them as you were told to.”
Naivety. It was truly as Ichiji had pronounced. Trying to blindly save everyone was a doomed pursuit. His trying to save Octo and Olie only resulted in getting them killed. Sanji unknowingly fed this endless loop of killing and survival because of his naivety. His hand gripped at his chest, where his heart was clenching so painfully.
“Shit…”
Ichiji settled him fully on his back and made sure he was breathing easily. His brother opened his blood-soaked shirt to inspect the result of the healing and ran his fingers over the spot where the wound used to be. By general standard, the gesture was carried out in what was a completely detached manner, but it was as close to gentleness as it got coming from a Vinsmoke. Niji and Yonji were transparent in their obvious lack of emotions and morality, but if anything, this whole mess made Sanji wonder if Ichiji was as emotionless as he appeared to be. Maybe the feelings that they have been clinically ridden of so early on in their lives lay dormant somewhere deep inside their eldest brother, waiting to be awakened after all?
Sanji slapped that hand away with his remaining strenght.
“Don’t …touch me.”
Ichiji didn’t hesitate to leave his side like Niji had. His brother just got up and left, having accomplished what he had set out for. It was small mercy, because as soon as the door closed, the self-pitying tears began their second onslaught. He cried into the crook of his arm even when there was nobody to see, wishing his heart would just stop wringing itself raw.
Now more than ever, he thought of Luffy. His captain would have beaten the crap out of the Vinsmokes and made them set the Octo siblings free. Luffy was strong like that. But Sanji was just so weak it was pathetic. He couldn’t even stand up to his own family to save himself, let alone anyone else. Never had in the past. Never would.
And beat the crap out of them was what he should do. But somehow, he found himself thinking of the hopeful expression on Octo’s face when he had talked about his dream. That was not the face of a cruel man. It was the face of someone who had once believed in happiness, but was forced to accept the reality of this world.
Sanji thought about the love that the Octo siblings shared. No such love existed between him and his brothers. But while it was utter foolishness, he also knew that he would risk everything to save them too, if he had been in the same situation as Octo. Logically, he knew his siblings didn’t deserve it. He knew the world would be better off without the Vinsmokes, but he could not just let them die. His stupid mind just refused to accept the rules of survival. He could not just stand by and let them perish.
And the thought made he felt most pathetic.