So... this is Soroka finally trying her hand at this plot and chapters thing. She hopes the result will satisfy whoever wishes to read her half-witted scribblings about Oda's characters. She doesn't live on reviews but appreciates them anyway. She also likes to write about herself in third person.

Disclamer: No, I don't own One Piece. Sigh...

Sanji was humming to himself.

It was a habit that he had picked up during all those long early mornings at the Going Merry when he was alone in the kitchen and the grey light was only beginning to seep through the humongous window on the ceiling. Back at the ship, humming some half-forgotten tune helped him distract himself and broke the monotony of cutting thick slices of ham and cracking eggs on a pan. Now, as he was running along the beach seeking out the swordsman, he was doing it to concentrate.

He would never admit it to Zoro, but Sanji had always envied his ability to enter an almost Zen state when he fought. When Zoro took out his katana the outside world blended into the background for him. Watching him in battle was like watching a very carefully executed dance where a step in the wrong direction could slice you into ribbons. He had been his dance partner way too many times to underestimate him but as his eyes scoped out the beach and the grey cliff overlooking it, he couldn't help but feel a little bit worried.

Worried and angry. Angry like never before.

"I figured you would come."

Sanji stopped in his tracks at the sound of a calm level voice and spotted Zoro's silhouette etched against the bottom of the cliff. The green haired swordsman was standing in front of an entrance to a cave so overgrown with wild ivy that Sanji almost didn't notice it at first. Zoro turned his back to him and stepped towards the green maw, completely ignoring the cook and only a strong kick to his head made him turn around and glare at him menacingly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sanji returned the glare and lifted his left leg again. Good, maybe he wouldn't need the humming after all. Fighting with Zoro was, in turn, the one thing that made the outside world fade into oblivion for him. Maybe their animosity would finally be useful for something.

He chose to save his second kick for later.

"What does it look like I'm doing? Who do you think you are to leave me in the dust like that?"

Zoro let out a mix between a sigh and an annoyed growl.

"Stupid cook, you're useless in this fight! I don't have time to watch your back! This can actually get ugly."

"What did you just say?" Sanji could feel his blood boiling as he stared down the swordsman whose eyes were almost mocking him. "Who told you I needed you to watch my back, moss-for-brains? I can fucking take care of myself!"

"Sure, we could all see how well that worked out last night." Sanji could feel his stomach sinking at the memory and maybe Zoro noticed because he turned his back to him again and sheathed his blade. "Go back, Sanji. Take care of the others. Leave this thing to me."

The mention of his name froze him on the spot as did the sudden change of his tone. He was used to Zoro yelling at him, being condescending to him and even making fun of him but the unexpected softness in his voice made his fingers curl into fists as rage rose inside him like a tidal wave. He was dismissing him; he was actually dismissing him like one would a child or a wide-eyed teenager picking up a weapon for the first time. Sheer fury propelled him forward as he hooked his foot around Zoro's shoulder and made him turn so abruptly that they both swayed where they stood.

"Fuck you, seaweed-head! I'm not letting you go there alone!"

Zoro's steely eyes looked at him impassively. Finally he shrugged and tossed his head towards the darkness ahead.

"Be my guest. It's your funeral."

Later, Usopp would proudly tell everyone that he was the first one to think that the island was weird.

It had looked like a nice place, quiet and isolated, a tiny speck of land in the middle of the sea. They didn't see many ships when they docked and the ones they saw were tiny fishing boats. Nami had officially declared it was the perfect place to restock and get some rest and Luffy and Usopp almost didn't wait for her final confirmation to run wild and blend with the locals who proved amused and a little frightened of the captain's rubber powers. The kids had instantly taken to Chopper and had seemingly agreed to treat him like something between a new friend and a fuzzy pet. Robin and Nami had decided to spend their time sunbathing and huddling over old books and maps at the old library. Even the swordsman, snoring as he was on the deck, oblivious to everyone and everything around him, looked more relaxed and glad to have stopped for a while. As Sanji wandered the island's bustling market, marveling at all the fresh fruit and vegetables and the endless possibilities they offered, he couldn't help but feel a bit relieved to finally have solid earth under his feet. As much as Luffy and the rest loved the Going Merry, they had been cooped inside the ship for too long and walking about a new place was refreshing.

Well, maybe the statues were a little weird. As he strolled across the market, he had spotted some of them on corners, hidden behind pillars and, sometimes, right in the middle of the street. They were statues of people of all ages, carved out of white marble and so amazingly detailed that he had thought they were just street performers at first. It was only when he had walked closer that he noticed the dead stone eyes and that they were cold to the touch. Some of them looked frozen mid pace while others appeared to be covering their heads or eyes. And finally, there were the ones that were just kneeling on the cobblestones. At first he had marveled at them but as the day went on and his gaze lingered on them longer and longer, a strange sense of unease crept into him. Luffy and Usopp had poked them for a while until they got bored, he had seen Nami frown as she passed a statue of a small child hugging the library wall as if playing hide and seek and when Zoro woke up, he had given them his best this-is-really-fucked-up look before ignoring them for a while and looking for a place that sold anything fermented.

"What do you think they are?" Luffy asked, his mouth full of apple pie from a nearby stand. "They look alive, don't they?"

Robin lifted her head from her book and smiled.

"I think they're supposed to, captain. They are there to remember the dead."

"What?" Nami had looked at her puzzled. "These're supposed to be statues of dead people?"

"That's the impression I got from the locals. They're like tombstones where people can honor the memory of their loved ones."

A shadow crossed Nami's face at the revelation. She was probably thinking back to the statue of the little boy hugging the wall. The tangerine smoothie Sanji had made for her quivered a bit in her hand.

"They're just being practical, I guess. It's a small island, not enough space for a proper graveyard. They probably just burn their dead and scatter their ashes" Robin continued absentmindedly.

The tangerine smoothie sloshed dangerously in Nami's grip.

"Though eventually I guess they will run out of space and the whole town will be crowded by..."

"Okay...okay I get it" Nami put her drink down on an empty barrel and shook her head in disbelief. "Doesn't... doesn't that seem horrible? Seeing death around every corner?"

Robin smiled.

"Death is a part of life, isn't it? I'm sure that's how they choose to see it."

And it seemed to be true. Despite the bizarre statues, the place could not have looked more normal. It was only when they announced that they would be staying for a couple of days when they had started to feel the anxious glances around them. Someone had even suggested that they should sail now to take advantage of the wonderful strong wind but Luffy was having way too much fun to get stuck on a ship again and so was his crew. As the day grew older, they retreated back to the shore under the watchful eye of the locals and stayed next to the ship wolfing down Sanji's takoyaki and drinking root beer until the day bled out in the sky and darkness fell.

It was then when they heard the scream.

It was without a doubt a female scream and it tore the quiet night air like a razorblade. They just sat there dumbfounded for a split second and then Zoro dropped his empty mug and shot up like a released spring. Everybody else was hot on his heels as they raced towards the houses in the distance where lights were starting to come on like dozens of tiny eyes illuminating the island. The air around them suddenly grew cold, too cold for a warm summer night and definitely too cold for their current location. The darkness, so soft and welcoming just a minute ago, now seemed alive and almost oily. As they ran deeper into the town past the white marble statues reflecting the light from the windows, Sanji could not repress the uncomfortable thought that they looked like ghosts.

What they saw next, however, almost made him wish they were.

The screamer was a girl no older than seven who was now cowering on the ground of the square where the market had taken place. Right in front of her, the lights from the windows around them shone on a writhing dark mass that vaguely resembled the shape of a person in torn doctor's garments. Or at least, Sanji had thought it resembled a person until he realized that the rags it was clothed in had a life of their own. The creature slid towards the girl in total silence, almost like a snake as she stumbled back, trembling but too terrified to scream again. As she clumsily moved backwards, never daring to look up, one of the rags twisted into the shape of a human hand and wrapped itself around her wrist.

Sanji's body moved on its own before he realized what he was doing. He raced forward and grabbed the girl's hand dragging her away from the slithering darkness split seconds before Luffy's fist plunged into the creature and knocked it back. As he looked for a place safe enough for the child clinging to his arm, he could see Zoro leaping into action and slashing the creature that slid even further back. For a second, Sanji could swear he had seen it grow a little.

A second later he was completely sure of it.

He carefully pushed the girl towards Nami and ran to the center of the square where Luffy and Zoro were trying to dodge the rags that looked more and more like tentacles. His left foot slammed against the surprisingly solid shadow and as the creature went down, cracking the pavement, he almost gasped as a sudden chill went up his leg and into his body. The shadow, no longer resembling a person but a lumpy, black mess let out a piercing cry and, like a giant wolf, lunged towards the girl in Nami's arms. Sanji heard a swooshing sound behind him and ducked just in time as Zoro shot past him like a hurricane. His blades sank into the dark mess on the cobblestones and the cook was almost surprised to hear a long, gutual scream as a dark, glue-like substance stained them. The thing took the ordeal for a couple of seconds and then rose up,like a wild animal, knocking the swordsman back with a force so great he flew backwards a couple of steps. As the light reflected in Zoro's blade fell on whatever they were fighting, it illuminated a flat surface among the lumps and tentacles writhing about.

A flat surface that almost resembled a human face.

A face that found itself on the receiving end of Luffy's fist a moment later.

This time, the cry almost made him fall to his knees. It reverberated in the night like a siren, making his vision blur and his eyes water. Luffy let out a scream and covered his ears as his fingers wrapped around the creature and sank into it as if trying to make it stop but the unearthly sound only intensified. It rose and fell like some unholy canticle, drowning out everything else until suddenly, the creature tore itself from Luffy's death grip and slid back deeper into the town, melting into the darkness.

Zoro was the first to snap out of his daze. He let out a long, complicated curse and ran forward but his blades only met empty air this time. He growled something inaudible, sheathed his swords in frustration and turned around to meet the astonished faces of the crew.

"Can anyone explain to me what the fuck was that?"

Luffy shrugged while furiously cleaning his ears as if trying to dig out the rests of the horrible sound from inside them. Behind him, Usopp was still wildly aiming at random spots in the dark, still expecting the creature to slither from anywhere around them for its second round. Robin had her arms around Chopper who was shaking like a leaf while Nami retreated towards the big pillars surrounding the square, still holding the little girl who was now effectively trying to merge with her.

"Is everyone okay?" Sanji had finally found his voice again. The strange chill from the creature still lingered on his skin, like he had just stepped out of a walk-in freezer. The half-hearted confirmations and nods around him made him feel a bit more relieved as he made his way towards the little kid in Nami's arms.

"Hey, I couldn't hear you back there." He tried to make his voice sound friendly but he was pretty sure that right now it was falling on deaf ears. "Are you all right? Did it hurt… you…?

He could hear his own voice trailing off as his eyes caught a glimpse of the hand the creature had wrapped itself around for less than a second before he pulled her away. The girl was staring at him like she had never seen a blond person before, tears glistening in her eyes as she clutched her wrist like she was trying to twist it off. Nami, who had noticed his sudden confusion, stood up and tried to gently push the girl into the brightest spot of the square so she could see it for herself but as her fingers came in contact with the girl's hand she suddenly gasped and jerked her hand away like she had been burned.

"What the…" Sanji could hear her voice breaking a little. "What the hell..?"

The girl's hand, from the wrist to the delicate fingers, now consisted entirely of cold white marble.