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"For fuck's sake," Zoro muttered under his breath as he crouched down behind a crumbling wall and watched Sanji being dragged away, his legs wrapped in chains. Of course, his captors were all women. "Idiot."
Marines had flooded the small island not long after they'd landed. The Navy wasn't usually much of a hindrance, but this group was unusually disciplined and strategic. And unfortunately for Sanji, one of the ships was entirely manned by women under the command of a Vice Admiral who looked like someone's very scary grandmother. Some of those women had clearly targeted Sanji when he was alone doing the shopping.
Zoro glanced back in the direction of the shore, but he couldn't see the Sunny from here. Hopefully, they'd made a clean getaway.
If their roles were reversed Sanji would probably follow along at a safe distance and gather more information. He'd make a plan and be strategic about it. But Zoro wasn't Sanji and so he leapt over the wall with two blades drawn.
He slashed as he jumped, the force of the air knocking most of the marines over. In the chaos, Sanji was able to pull free and roll out of the way while Zoro took out the rest of the women. He wasn't trying to kill them, but they were strong enough that he couldn't risk holding back.
Besides, neither Enma nor Kitetsu would be happy without tasting at least a little blood.
Once he was sure everyone was either unconscious or dead he turned to look at Sanji. "We can't ever leave you alone, can we?"
For once Sanji didn't have a smart comeback. He kept his eyes down, struggling with the cuffs on his wrists.
Zoro sighed and took out Wado--he didn't trust the others nearly as much--and flicked a carefully controlled slash at the chains on Sanji's legs. The steel links split and fell to the ground. Sanji's trousers sustained a few tears, but his skin was unmarred. Zoro would never hurt his crew, but even though he was confident in his ability, he wouldn't risk Sanji's hands the same way. He jerked his head back toward the women lying motionless behind him. "Do you know which one of them has the key?"
Sanji's eyes darted over to the bodies, his face blanching as he took in the scene. "Was that really necessary?"
"Yes."
Sanji sighed. He stood up and held his hands out in front of him, the chain between his wrists pulled taut. "Just cut it."
Zoro swung Wado, breaking the chain in the center.
Sanji rubbed at his wrists, moving the metal bands up and down. "Usopp should be able to pick the locks. They aren't explosive." He finally looked up, meeting Zoro's eyes for the first time. "Are the others okay?"
"They're fine. But they had to move the ship. Nami said they would swing back around to the north shore to pick us up."
Zoro started in the direction of a small hill on the horizon, but a swift kick had him stumbling to a halt. He spun to glare at Sanji. "What's your problem?"
Sanji nodded toward a thicket of trees. "North is that way."
It didn't seem very likely. The trees were downhill from them, not at all in an upward direction, but Zoro knew better than to question it. Sanji always seemed to get them where they were going faster than Zoro managed on his own. Even if his directions never made any sense.
At least the trees provided some cover, and once they were deep enough in he let up on his Observation Haki and took a proper look at Sanji. He'd been silent for the last several minutes, not even calling Zoro an idiot once. He was fiddling with the cuffs on his wrists, but there didn't seem to be any actual injuries to his hands.
"You okay?"
Sanji scowled over at him. "Fine."
They continued in silence for several more minutes before Sanji drew to an abrupt stop. "Do you really think I'm a liability?"
"What?"
"Back there," Sanji said, gesturing the way they'd come, the chain still hanging from his wrist whipping around. "You said that you can't trust me alone."
"No," Zoro corrected him. "I said that we can't leave you alone. Trust has nothing to do with it."
Sanji glared at him, a red flush high on his cheeks. He started yanking at the cuff on his left wrist, hard enough that his skin was turning red.
Zoro stepped forward and grabbed his right hand, holding it firm to keep him from hurting himself. "Stop that."
Sanji looked down, his eyes widening in surprise at the marks on his wrist.
Zoro loosened his grip on Sanji's hand but didn't let go. He lowered his voice, doing his best to soften his words. "I trust you with my life, but I don't trust you with your own. You can't fight women and the Navy knows that now. It's not an accident they sent an entire ship full of powerful women after us."
Sanji reached into his pocket with his free hand and retrieved a cigarette, but he didn't pull away from Zoro's hold so that he could light it. In fact, he held on to Zoro's hand tight enough that it nearly hurt. "Maybe I should have kept the raid suit."
"No."
"I'd still be loyal to Luffy. I know that. I'd just be a better fighter. Less of a liability." Sanji bit down on his cigarette, talking around it and completely ignoring Zoro. "Less trouble." He laughed, a fragile bitter sound. "Not caring would be a hell of a lot easier, too."
Zoro had heard enough. Gone were the times when they could just fight or fuck and then pretend like everything was okay. If nothing else Whole Cake Island had proven that they couldn't afford not to talk. The New World was too serious and too dangerous to not be on the same page.
"Stop it." Zoro tugged on Sanji's hand to get his attention. "You aren't a liability any more than Usopp is. Or Nami is. Or, hell, I am. Do you think you're special?"
"How are you a liability? You never hesitate. You never back down. You always do what you need to do."
It was a testament to the seriousness of the moment that Zoro didn't immediately gloat about Sanji praising him. But he did file it away to use later when Sanji was back on solid ground.
"I seem to remember you having to literally carry me through a battle not long ago," Zoro pointed out. "I'm not stupid enough to think that my back is free of scars entirely due to my own efforts. Every member of this crew has protected it at one time or another, and no one more than you."
Sanji ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair, yanking at it. "I don't need my emotions for that. I could do that better without them."
"I shouldn't have to tell you this, Cook," Zoro emphasized his nickname for Sanji, giving it a reverent sort of weight. "But this crew is a family and the Thousand Sunny is our home. And the heart of every home is the hearth." He tapped Sanji's chest, right over his heart. "You feed us more than just food. Luffy doesn't want an emotionless warrior. None of us do. We just want Sanji."
Sanji's eyes opened wide and then grew misty as they filled with tears. Zoro pulled him into a hug, letting go of his hand so he could wrap both arms around his waist.
"You're such an idiot," Sanji muttered into Zoro's shoulder.
"So you've told me. A lot."
Sanji's shoulders shook as he laughed. He held onto Zoro for a moment longer before he stepped away. He lit his cigarette and took a deep drag before finally meeting Zoro's eyes. "I hope you realize that you've just signed up to do the shopping with me at every port."
"I can think of worse fates."
Sanji smiled, a small thing but genuine, and grabbed Zoro's hand again. He threaded their fingers together and set off on some path that only he could see. Of course, if Zoro was being honest with himself he didn't even know which direction they'd come from let alone where they should be going.
But he was more than happy to follow Sanji. After all, they all had things that they needed help with.