Beast of Shadows

》Eight《

"Marimo." If it was even possible, the demon went even more still. A snarl erupting from his chest as his claws twitched, Sanji tried very hard not to be intimidated.

"What?"

Sanji threw his hands up in a silent a cry for mercy, fighting down a smile at the look of pure contempt twisting the Marimo's features.

"In human form, your hair reminds me of a Marimo." Sanji shrugged, as if the reply explained everything. The Marimo still looked insulted by the nickname but had to begrudgingly leave the blond to his ridiculous naming logic.

"Go to bed dartboard, you have work tomorrow. And don't bring the bell to church, it wouldn't end well."

Marimo grumbled, moving back as Sanji obediently slipped under his covers. Watching as the demon evaporated into thin air, leaving the blond to be alone once again.

*

Sanji threw his hand onto his phone, silencing his alarm. He yawned as he sat up with a large stretch, that had been the best nights sleep he's had since this whole mess started. His eyes sleepily scanned the room for the Marimo, disappointment curling in his belly when he found the room empty. He quietly cursed, hoping he wasn't getting emotionally attached to a demon of all things...or people. Tossing his covers back to clamber out of bed and get dressed for the day, snatching up the bell and his phone before heading to the bathroom to touch up his appearance and brush his teeth.

He tamed his hair into his normal look before pulling the bell over his head to rest on his chest when he tucked it underneath his dress shirt. As he scrubbed his teeth free of germs be decided to forgo the jacket and wear a vest instead, it was a beautiful burgundy that paired really well with some matching colored dress shoes. He was buttoning his cuffs when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye before his wallet was tossed at him from across the room. The blond startled, but caught it nonetheless.

"Thanks Marimo." Sanji shoved it into his vest pocket and moved out the front door, locking it behind him. He felt the Marimo's presence follow him as he navigated the streets, feeling the tension radiating from the demon as Sanji moved into the more sketchy part of town where the Sunny was built.

"Calm down will you? I've done this plenty of times." To anyone who happened to see, it would look as if the blond was talking to himself. Which was a huge deterrent in the chef's book when it came to being approached by unwanted visitors. He turned the corner and smiled as the Sunny's front doors came into view, waving at Usopp as he strut in. The curly haired boy paled and hesitantly returned the gesture before scurrying into the back, making Sanji's brows scrunch.

"Well that was weird..." The blond mumbled, moving into the kitchen to quickly pull on and tie his apron before warming up the stove as the first few customers came in. With no one at the bar up front, the two customers were forced to sit around and wait. After about three minutes, Sanji had just gotten to the point where he considered going out to take their orders himself.

Thankfully, Luffy burst out of the break room and hurried up to the counter to greet them with one of his signature smiles that took up the bottom half of his face. After that it was all a flurry of activity with a steady stream of orders to complete, Sanji was ready when his break time finally came. Letting Usopp take over for ten minutes as he headed to the room in the back, plopping down in a chair with some fries he had made for himself.

"Hey bro!" Franky bellowed, patting Sanji's shoulder as he walked in to take a seat himself.

"Hi Franky. How's the bar?" The blue-haired beefcake leaned back with a chuckle.

"We've already got our regulars coming in for my SUPER drinks!" He boasted, it reminded the blond of Braxton. 

"Really? I'll have to try one when I'm off the clock then." Something shifted in Franky's expression, but his smile was back so fast that Sanji had no hope to decipher the emotion.

"Sure thing bro! I have the perfect one for you!" He babbled excitedly for the rest of the chef's break; Sanji listened but his mind would always go back to that dark look on Franky's face. The blond stood when Usopp poked his head in to inform him that his break was over, he bid Franky a good day and went back to the kitchen to finish up his shift. 

He was walking down the hallway when he heard the shattering of glass, it came from the dining area so he sped up into a full sprint. Sliding out of the back and to the front dining area, he rushed over to the woman who was kneeling down to pick up shards of a cup. He ignored the phantom tugging sensation on his sleeve to approach her.

"Are you alright miss!?" He knelt down beside her and moved to help her clean up the dangerous shards, she paused what she was doing to openly stare at him with wide gray eyes.

"Did you cut yourself?" Sanji pressed, eyes flickering up from what his hands were doing to meet her steady gaze. Her mouth opened and the blond tensed at the sight of inhumanly sharp canines. He hissed as a sharp pain flared up from his palm, looking down to see he had squeezed the piece of glass that had been in his hand. The woman's eyes followed his gaze down to the bright red blood that dripped onto the floor, the entire bar had gone silent and a chill raced down Sanji's spine. He peered around to see everyone was watching him, he jumped when the woman's hand shot out to catch his wrist in an unforgiving grip. His heart stuttered in his chest when her tongue slid out to lick the wound, the blond jerked back but was unable to escape her hold.

"What the fuck!?" He squawked, panic rising up as his stomach did impressive flips.

"I didn't know Luffy had taken to hiring humans..." She peeked up at him, pupils slit like a cats with her unnaturally long tongue hanging down past her chin. Panic melted into terror and his entire body locked up, the bell on his chest heated up as she leaned back down, mouth widening as if to bite into him. Once again a pressure built in the back of his throat and he didn't hesitate to blurt out the name he knew he'd be forgetting.

"Uh...Roronoa!?" He shrieked and the woman flinched away as if hit, wide eyes snapping up to his face in fear.

"What? How do you know that name!?" The rest of the customers shifted away from the chef, horror dawning on each of their faces as hands curled around Sanji's shoulders. The Marimo's dark shape forming behind the blond, the woman cringed back when that red eye glared down at where Sanji's wrist was held hostage.

"Don't tell me you didn't sense it."

The Marimo sounded beyond raged, leaning more toward white hot fury. He tugged Sanji up to his feet as he too stood, lifting the blonde's injured hand to inspect. He plucked the glass chunk out of Sanji's grip and carelessly tossed it aside, stance shifting as Luffy stepped out of the back. His eyes scanned over the petrified guests, freezing on Sanji and the Marimo.

"Zoro?" 

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I know, I know. CLIFFHANGER! Trust me, I am well aware of the torture I'm putting my readers through; but it was getting too long guys! I kinda had to stop it there...so don't murder me? As always, don't forget to Read & Review! Stay weird my lovelies!

Tibby out!