Lose Yourself

Sanji witnessed the slice that reopened Zoro's old chest wound with a detached sense of disbelief. He'd been too far away to have intervened even if he hadn't assumed that the swordsman would be able to block the slash—which he could have if he'd only had a sword in his hand.

The pirate who had gone after Nami with that enormous blade had been lucky enough to choose the perfect moment to strike—in the instant that their navigator had been thrown to the deck by the lurching of the Thousand Sunny, that same unexpected motion had caught even the sturdy swordsman off-guard, and a large wall of water had knocked him over and washed his weapons away.

Truly, that pirate owed his successful slash to the luckiest of circumstances, because Zoro happened to have been knocked closer to Nami while his swords settled nowhere near close enough for him to have retrieved them before the blade fell. The fearless first mate had done exactly what was expected of him and didn't hesitate to throw himself into the blade's path at the sound of their navigator's cry.

Somehow, it had bled even worse than the first time, and Sanji was forced to witness it again...except now he felt the cut as if it had sliced his own chest in two. Horror began to fill him as he watched Zoro stumble, his momentum carrying him into the railing, and another unfortunate lurch of the ship aided in throwing the swordsman's weight backwards. Someone screamed as he tipped overboard and was immediately swallowed by the raging sea—it wasn't until much later that Sanji realized it had been his own panicked voice piercing the roar of the storm.

His feet had taken over before his mind fully registered their movement, and suddenly he was running at breakneck speed, desperation clouding his judgement as he attempted to climb the railing and dive in after his nakama. Strong arms held him back as his captain stretched to prevent Sanji from being taken by the sea as well. More screaming permeated the sounds of the storm as the cook thrashed in Luffy's arms—his voice was hoarse from it, muscles aching from the strain of fighting the rubber man's immeasurable strength.

"ZORO! LET GO OF ME! BASTARD, LET ME GO—I NEED TO GET TO HIM! HE'LL DROWN! HE'LL—!"

"Sanji, you need to calm down!" someone shouted. "We're still in the middle of a fight!" It was Nami's voice, and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Sanji almost ignored her, despite how it would go against his character to be so rude to a lady, but more arms were restraining him now as Robin helped Luffy drag him away from the railing.

The no-name pirate bastards who had decided to attack the Strawhat crew were still in the middle of a fight. The unexpected storm had caught them all by surprise, save for Nami, but even her forewarning hadn't given them enough time to prepare for the onslaught of fierce wind and waves. The reminder of the battle prompted Sanji to quit his struggling and turn his attention to the remaining enemies. His eyes locked onto the bastard who was swinging around a sword coated in Zoro's blood.

Sanji was going to kill him.

"You can't kill him, because I'm gonna beat him up! You're acting really weird," Luffy commented, alerting Sanji to the fact that he had spoken aloud.

Robin's grip on him tightened as their captain made a beeline for the enemy swordsman. Despite the fact that she was a woman, Sanji fought with all of his strength, surprising his crewmates who were close enough to witness the scene. "Let me at least look for Zoro. Please!" he begged, choking on his own words. Fear gripped him as he watched the powerful waves that continued to batter the ship. Why were they still sailing? Why wasn't anyone else worried about that idiot swordsman? Even Roronoa Zoro could drown the same as any man—the sea was relentless and unforgiving...Sanji had learned that at a very young age.