Skin Deep: A One Piece Romance (Sanji x Reader)

Chapter 2: Metronome

"Drip...drip...drip..." 

A leaking pipe in the ceiling echoed a slow beat throughout a big stone chamber. Empty, lit by a few florescent lights humming faintly. In this chamber, a number of moderately sized cells lined along the stone walls. Each cell housed a simple bed, table, chair, shelf, and a small bathroom with no door. 

"Drip...drip...drip..."

This unpleasant chamber is in fact located on Lucky Isle, ironically enough. Inside these cages were an assortment of different young ladies. These ladies are not as lucky. These women are slave dancers, traded or sold from Sabaody Archipelago brought to entertain the members of the Navy against their will. This is a common practice, as human trafficking is overlooked a lot due to the corruption surrounding the Celestial Dragons and the government. These people were powerful, and the demand for slaves and other human services by higher-status people was high. 

Clashing against the beat of the drops of water, came the sound of a man's footsteps echoing down a set of stone stairs. It was time for the ladies' afternoon meal. 

"Alright, lunch is here!" The man slid a plate of bread, berries, and nuts underneath a small door at the base of each cell, only about 3 inches tall. One lady with short blue hair and tattoos raced to her plate and started eating right away. Others were not quick to their meal because either despair clouded over them, or they were too tired to move. The server reached the next chamber.

"Drip...drip...drip..." Inside this chamber, a young lady lay on her side on the stone floor, synchronizing her voice with the sound of the drops of leaking water. 

"Shut up!" The man violently kicked the iron bars. 

"What did I do now?!" Burst out the woman from the jump-scare.

"Silence whatever you were doing, it's annoying."

"If you want to kick something annoying then kick that pipe! It's been leaking for four days now and I have nothing else to listen to!" 

"How dare you back-talk me! Are you asking for it?" The man tightened a fist at her.

"For my food, yes I am." The lady slyly grinned at the man with tired eyes. "Can I eat now?" 

"Fine, eat you wench!" The server chucked the plate of food onto the stone floor, shattering the plate on impact. The food spread everywhere on the floor. "Stupid woman...if anyone knew just how despicable you really are, you wouldn't get half the attention you do."

"Maybe so..." The lady picked up a berry from the floor and ate it. "But they don't care about personality here, and you know that. Don't be dumb." 

The server's face turned red, fuming from anger. He grasped the bars and screamed, "YOU BITCH!" He spits, "You have the audacity to call the person who feeds you dumb? I can easily stop-"

"That won't do." The girl in the cage interrupted, munching on some bread. "How else will I have the energy to dance for King? He wouldn't like that." 

"Your luck will run out one day." The man growled ominously, pointing to the woman's face. "And when that day comes, I will make a toast to you burning in hell on top of your grave."

"And I'll be laughing all the way down." 

The man sneered and continued passing out food to the other women in the cells. The woman continued to eat her food on the floor in silence. 

"You keep up that attitude, King might change his mind." A low feminine voice echoed from the cell adjacent to the woman.  

"I'm eating off the floor like a dog." She replied bitterly. "This is a circus. We are the circus animals, and King is the ring leader. These men took away the person I once was, so I'm basically already dead if you think about it."