Inside of Onigashima Castle, on the third floor Banquet Hall. A lot of noises were going on inside of there, as Sanji was trying to get away, as he had more important things, like getting back to Luffy and helping him to get to Kaido. Everyone in there was chasing him into a corner.
"He's Escaping!!!" one shouted as another followed-up with; "Don't worry... There's no escaping from here." to ease the worry of their fellow colleague. Almost feeling out of breath, was Sanji doing his best to dodge them; "Woah!" came from his mouth as he was also trying to keep his balance with his upper body. As having been tied up in spider web wasn't his ideal thing or situation to be in right about now.
"You can't~ ", "Don't run from us~ " was coming from all of the women that were chasing him, to be honest, it was sort of a dream of his, to be chased by a group of women...Wait? now wasn't the time to be thinking about stuff like that!
The tip of his shoe felt something in front of it, being unable to think about it quick enough, he tripped over his own feet. "Ugh!!" he grunted, meeting the floor again. Worming forward a bit, he didn't care if he had to crawl away from that place, "I must go, there's somewhere I need to be...!!" he said in-between his breaths, "But still...". "Hey you~ You said were lovestruck didn't you?" said Black Maria flirtatiously gaining his attention, "Huh!". As he turned his head to see his female pursuers, he was met with a sight that both were normal for their world yet it was still able to scare anyone.
As every-women in that hall had taken a more monstrous-looking form, as some had longer necks, one of them tongue were longer than that of anyone normal...well normal if you haven't eaten a Devil Fruit that changed your appearance to drastically.
As for Black Maria were hanging from the ceiling of the room? And was her lower half that of a Spider?
A light chuckle came from the large blond beautiful women, "Stay here with us. I'll make you my pet. "
Women!!
Women!!
And more Women!!
He thought.
Laughter was coming from every-women in front of him. But Sanji spoke out loud as he let his fantasies take center stage for the moment; "Is this heaven?" blurt out catching every one of the ladies off guard, one of the ladies even yelled, "This guy is nuts!!".
Black Maria lightly laughed as she stretched one of her Spider legs towards Sanji, having a feeling that she could win if she just seduced him like everyone that came before him. But then she couldn't feel that Spider leg anymore.
"Fiamme di passion!" A voice shouted as the person cut through in between the Ladies of Black Maria and Sanji, creating a dust cloud that blinded their vision for a good few seconds. "Lady Maria, there's a second intruder!?" one of Black Maria's subordinates called out to her, as Black Maria herself had pulled one of her Spider legs back after feeling one of them been chopped off. A shape of something; No. A person soon could be seen inside the dust cloud.
"Sorry for being a bit late, Sanji." the voice said in such a familiar tone to the tied up flirty cook. As the dust cloud disappeared and the person was visible to everyone in the room. A fair-skinned young woman who had long orange hair and green eyes. "L-Lauren..." escaped Sanji's lips as he looked at her from her back, in both surprise and shock. Lauren looked back at him for a brief second and told him, "You sit back and let me handle these ladies, as well as teach them not to mess with us or mess with someone from the Cheng Family!" even smiling at him to make sure he had nothing to worry about when it came to her and the way she fought their enemies. "What a Cheng?!"; "How?!"; "I thought they were all dead and or gone?!" it sounded from everyone in the room. It seemed that Lauren's family had even been in Wano but, that may have happened long before they went into hiding or something along those lines? Gaining the attention, Lauren just smirked at them, thankful that all eyes were on her for a while.
Balck Maria took a glance at the coat Lauren was wearing and noticed a familiar crest on it. Her face contorted into one filled with rage, cursing the young woman standing in front of her, letting her anger spread on the entirety of the Third Floor. "CHENG!!!!" shouted Black Maria, charging at Lauren, who had quickly jumped back, meanwhile she takes hold; of Sanji, giving them a large gap between them and Black Maria. "Lauren! just cut the web of me and let me fight them!" Sanji pleaded with her, as he didn't want a girl to get hurt, regardless of who they were. Lauren, please. It would hurt me to see you get hurt because of me. You've done enough for me. He thought while starring at her back, as she never broke her fighting pose and were ready to fight for him and their friends on the lower and upper floors of this place. As she stood there with her Akinoyo no honō in her right hand meanwhile; her Momiji rested in its scabbard; always there is she should need it. Sanji, I know what you're thinking right now; but I'm so sorry. But I can't let you fight; because you'd fall for their tricks as well as your hubris and let your guard down around them. Lauren thought while glaring at Black Maria, who was still charging at them.
Sanji soon felt electricity flow in the air and, he knew where that was coming from since his gaze hasn't removed itself from Lauren. Small electric sparks were coming off from Lauren. As for he could hear her quietly say, "Biri Biri no..." getting one of her moves ready. Taking one step forward and dashed ahead only, hearing Sanji call out to her "LAUREN!".
Lauren soon flew at Black Maria, at a fast speed towards Black Maria, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Drago!". Her sword clashed with one of Black Maria's horn, both of them glaring into one another's eyes; "you and your kind have been on Kaido's bad side for so long, as well as mine! So I should get on with it and just kill you since you are a child of Cheng Dragon and Cheng Coco!". Black Maria angrily said as she threw Lauren to her left right into a wall, hitting the wall with a big thud and crash. As Lauren; was slowly getting up on her legs again. And Sanji struggled to get out of the web that was keeping him tied up and unable to go and help the person that was so important to him.
I have to get this sticky web off me and get to Lauren since she needs my help! Ngh! Come on you; stupid spider web! Get. Off!
A low; yet womanly voice chuckle that came close to Sanji as he quickly turned to see who it was? Sarahebi, the woman he thought that were in trouble from being sexually harassed by a vulgar man playing along. "My~ Oh my~ Looks like your Hero is gonna be a bit busy with Lady Maria~," she chuckled as her smile wasn't innocent at all; he could tell that there was poison in her tone of voice. Her eyes as; well were filled with malice and evil.
Meanwhile, with Lauren and Black Maria. Her sword clashed with her horn; as she was being tossed around like a rag-doll. As Black Maria laughs with every blow, she threw at Lauren, "what's wrong with you, child of Cheng! Had enough!". Grinding her teeth and pushing back, yelling back at Black Maria, "Never!"; As she gets up from the floor and on her legs again and having to cut into Black Maria before getting smacked away and in the direction of where Sanji was. "Argh!" she grunted; ending up on the floor hard enough; to knock some of her wind out of her. Sarahebi laughed while congratulating Black Maria on her partial victory. All Sanji could do was stare at Lauren, as she was trying to get her breathing under control.
Lauren! Those monsters, calling themselves ladies, how; how could they do that to Lauren! Sanji thought as he tried to both get up and get over to Lauren, as he felt his anger rise to the top but, someone was keeping him from doing that. As he soon saw the large blond-haired woman, who picked up Lauren in her hands while laughing as if she just had won. "LAUREN!" it sounded from Sanji, as he saw that she was awake but in a lot of pain from being clenched in Black Maria's hand. Everything seemed to slow down as Black Maria screamed in pain and lets go of Lauren, as well as Sanji got cut free from the spider web that had been keeping him tied up. He quickly got up on his legs and jumped to catch Lauren, before she would have met the floor.
Looking at the girl in his arms, he couldn't help but feel his heart twinge in pain as it hurts him to see her in any form of pain and or danger. Lauren... He thought as he frowned being disappointed in himself.
Why does everything feel so dark? Yet this warmth around me, it feels so familiar. Lauren slowly opened her eyes and was met with a familiar face. "S-Sanji?" she softly spoke while her somewhat tired eyes looked at the blond cook, who had landed on the floor as he turned around trying to understand what just happened as there was a group of familiar people in-front of them. Lauren's eyes followed where he was looking and saw...
"Ren..." H-How can Ren be here, how can his crew also be here? It was hard for Lauren to understand how her older brother and his crew be here, in Wano nonetheless. The young black-haired man and his friend stood in front of her and Sanji, it was clear that he was glaring at Black Maria. "Oh. I'm so sorry for interrupting anything, but how about you let these two get a move on because they got somewhere to be." the young man moved some of his hair to the side revealing his third eye, a symbol of some of his family heritage. His eyes were filled with similar rage as Sanji had, "Oh and don't you dare to hurt my Lil sis. Ever. Again!" he shouted as he glared at them, with of them passing out and falling to the floor as if some sort of force...well forced them to the floor. It was as if he didn't lay a single finger on them.
An elder looking man had quickly gotten to Sanji and Lauren's side, checking on any major injuries they might have gotten. "Sergey... I'm fine" Sergey lightly chuckled and shook his head, "from the beating you got from that woman, you might have a few things broken..." he softly said. Sanji though turned his attention to Lauren herself; "You were being reckless, doing something like that, Lauren...", Lauren looked up at him and into his eyes, she could tell he was a bit angry with her for what she did. "I'm sorry, Sanji... But what else was I supposed to do, when you were having a hard time trying to fight or well...trying to get away from them..." she softly replied back to him, "although while fighting that woman my Devil Fruit powers wouldn't fully listen to me...", "is there something going on somewhere that made it acted out?" both of them (mostly Sanji) started to wonder what could have gotten her Devil Fruit abilities to stop listening or to be more correct respond, to her when she needed it?
As she tried to get up, she was only met with a sharp pain shoot through her body. "Arg!" escaped her lips, as Sanji tried to make it easier on her "Lauren! Hey take it easy, if you did get something broken I wouldn't want to see you in that pain..." he said as shook his head slightly as he mentioned the word pain. Both of their eyes locked on to one another, Lauren could tell there was a form of sadness in Sanji's eyes, Sergey could from that gaze they gave one another was that of true love, he lifted his hand and said "Oto Oto..." and gently letting his hand move over her body, as small sound waves float over every-part of her body trying to see if there is anything broken, bones vice.
His eyes then widened slightly as his powers felt something, to which Sanji noticed and spoke up "you found something?", Sergey nodded "yes even though it's rather small..." holding his hand over where it was at, "it seems that two of her rib cage bones have gotten fractured but if she was to move for any further in this building. Those bones might tilt in-ward and pierce her lung." which shocked Sanji to his core, a part of him told him to stay, to be by her side meanwhile another side of him told him to stick to the plan and be there to help their captain in defeating Kaido. I want to stay. But what would Luffy say if I'm not there to help him? he thought it over and over again, as his gaze never left staring at his most precious treasure in the world.
Her breathing seemed stable, as it looked like she was listening to what Sergey was telling her. Probably giving her a choice?
Sanji couldn't. No, he didn't have the time to sit here and think about it. And yet it pained him that he had to go and help Luffy, and just leave Lauren behind. Just why! He thought cursing himself and his loyalty to Luffy.
As a pair of coal-black eyes looked at them before the owner of those eyes became inraged by the pained love in-front of her.
"Captain. Let me handle these foul-mouthed women. This fight does need a Woman's Touch." said a woman with long jet-black hair, as she stepped forward rage being really clear from her body language. To which Ren stepped back and let his crew member trusting in her ability, "Hm. Go for it, Cleo but don't go to wild like the many last times before." he said, lightly chuckling as he slightly remembered one time when Cleo did "Go Wild", which almost killed the person they were after.
"Oh don't worry about that, Captain. I'm doing this for your little sister and her cook." Cleo let out a giggle before she began walking in the direction of Black Maria while having her pet snake following right behind her. Black Maria chuckled before speaking to this new intruder "and what is it you are going to do?", Cleo then pulled out one of her swords, looking up at the large blond spider looking woman in front of her. "Oh, just something simple. Helping a friend that you hurt." Cleo then charged forward cutting the remaining spider legs bringing Black Maria fully down to the floor and then pointed her sword to Black Maria's face, in which Black Maria stared at Cleo in pure horror. As if she just had angered a mother bear from hurting one of its babies. "Don't you DARE hurt, little Lauren EVER AGAIN." commanded Cleo. To which Black Maria processed to pass out from fear.
"And that does it. See what I tell ya, Captain, ~ " Cleo said while sending him a cheeky smile and walking back to everyone.
"I still think you went wild, Cleo." said a sweet voice, as a female Rabbit Mink going by the name Lucky, who had gotten to Sergey, Lauren, and Sanji's side. Checking on how Lauren was feeling. "Is she going to be okay, Sergey?" she asked in concern for Lauren.
"I knew that Wano went to shit b~ut didn't think it would go this far down the shitter." came from the second-in-command and swordsman, Aito someone who was from this country but remembered about the wonderful stories he had heard from like his grandparents.
Ren kneeled down in-front of Sanji and Lauren and was next to Sergey. "So how's it looking?" he asked looking over to his ship Doctor. "She got two fractures by her rib-cage. And if she were to move on up to Kaido, her two fractures might just tilt in and pierce her lung." he looked down as if he was disappointed in himself "I...I wish if I had something that could instantly heal her since their Captain needs them. Plus we are way too far from our ship to give her any immediate care... I'm sorry, Captain." he said keeping his head lowered.
"Why are ya looking so down, we have something that can heal her right up~ "
All eyes were now turned to Cleo, what was going on about?