| Hunting Grounds | Zosan Angst 🪓|

3 | Stolen Dice

Sanji's breath hitched.

What?

Yamato's frown bored into Sanji's eyes as he grabbed his hands behind his back. Sanji struggled to get out of the bodyguards grip.

"Taro! You can't be serious!" Sanji cried, trying to shove Yamato off him.

"Sorry sweetheart, but you'll be coming with me." Crocodile spoke, resting gold ringed fingers on Sanji's shoulder.

"Taro! Hey! Taro-!" Sanji shouted before Nico Robin punched him in the gut, making him gasp and stop struggling in Yamato's hold. Sanji looked up, meeting eyes with Taro. He looked sad, and he grimaced when Sanji was given another blow to his stomach.

"Ugh! Fuck!" Sanji spat, his knees becoming weaker as it felt that Robin had clawed a chunk of his gut out.

"T-aro- what the f-uck are you doing?!"

Sanji's eyes welled up, but he didn't cry. He wouldn't.

"Sorry Sanj', you'll have a great time. Wherever you're going, I'm sure it's better than this dump." Taro smiled, his image blurred from Sanji's tears.

"-..why?..Please Taro! I don't want to go!" Sanji pleaded, but to no avail. With one last blow, his eyes slowly closed and he melted to the floor.

"Ta-...o"

The last thing Sanji recalled with his mostly lidded eyes was Taro walking to him and kneeling next to him.

"I'm sorry Sanj', I promise I'll miss you." He smiled before his image became smaller, getting further away from Sanji's twitching body. Sanji watched in silence as Crocodile handed a silver case to Taro. Sanji wanted to scream and cry, but he couldn't.

"Bye bye Sanj'."

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...

The ground bounced up and down monotonously. The never ending motion only sending more waves of anger up Sanji's unconscious body.

"Wake up love."

Hm? Who was that? Taro?

A hand nudged Sanji's knee. His eyelids slowly revealed his blue eyes and he twitched with life. Once he was awake, he shivered and pulled the even colder cloth around him.

He made a soft gurgle sound, which meant to be telling whoever was there to fuck off.

"I said wake up." A harder nudge, a push even.

Sanji tasted a little dried blood on his tongue as he straightened up and fully opened his eyes.

"Hmn? Wh're y-ou?" Sanji's vision focused on the shape in front of him.

It was a man, middle aged white guy with dark hair and a small stubble on his chin. His eyes were dark, and he looked scared.

"You okay? You look pretty beaten up."

Sanji didn't know where he was, he wasn't aware of anything. Apart from the pain. There was a terribly painful burning sensation on his back.

"You got stamped, must've hurt. I got mine a week ago, hurt like hell." The guys said. Sanji slowly turned turned his head around, looking at the cold wooden surroundings.

He was in a dark carriage of some sorts, all the bouncing must've been from the wheels going over humps and cobble. There was little room, about four seats and room for two more blocked off at the front of the carriage. Sanji and the other guy were the only people awake, there were two people slumped on chairs on the other side of the carriage. One was an older guy, little hair but a decent beard. The other was a girl, she was young with long blonde hair, she was very pretty. Sanji held back a nosebleed when he figured that she was naked under the long cloth over her slim body. Though, there were red and purple marks on her shoulders, she looked like she had been grabbed, tackled to the floor and ruthlessly beaten. And the fact they stripped her naked made Sanji's blood boil. Sanji reached the conclusion that the girl must've been raped. It made Sanji sick to the stomach. He averted his eyes back the guy who was talking to him.

"Where am I? What stamp?" Sanji questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"That burning sensation, they stamped you. It should be on your back, you have a number." He said, motioning to behind Sanji.

Sanji put an arm around to touch his back, only to seethe at the different, painful and burning surface. 

"Ow! Fuck!..." he hissed.

"Turn around, I'll tell you what the number is," the guys said. Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Why should I do that?" Sanji growled, backing up slightly.

"Trust me, if I tell you your number you'll know who they're referring to when they call for you." 

Sanji sighed and turned around, still confused about who 'They' were.

"Ah, nice number you got. Triple digits."

"So-?"

"333, that's your new name."