"Scarlet Fever"

Chapter 9: Kin

Sanji let his fingers brush against the stone walls as he walked down the small hallway, the cold sensation raising goosebumps on his skin in seconds. The smell of petrichor hung heavy in the air, Sanji hearing heavy raindrops as he came out onto a large tower, the sky smeared with dark clouds.

Standing before the large vertical openings that lined the edge of the tower was a familiar figure, Carmilla's long black hair tied up into a complicated braided pattern. She wore a simple blue dress, her feet wet and bare, not seeming bothered by the adverse weather.

Every other time they'd visited each other in dreams, the landscape had been pleasant. Sanji wondered if the storm was a reflection of her mental state. If it was, he wasn't sure what he'd done to upset her.

"Carmilla?"

The woman turned, regarding Sanji with a small smile that seemed a bit strained. "Sanji, come here."

He started walking towards her, Sanji's clothes rapidly getting soaked. They stood on the highest tower of the castle, a whole city laid out below them. "Where are we?"

Carmilla put her head to the side. "My ancestral home," she said. "It and my country have since been lost to time. My family wasn't quite as notorious as yours."

Sanji swallowed in shock. "What?"

She extended her hand, taking Sanji's in her own as if in silent apology. "After I learned what I'd done to you I thought it wise to do my due diligence on your background."

"I have nothing to do with my family anymore," Sanji said, automatically pushing down memories he'd left behind years ago. "You had no right."

Carmilla squeezed his fingers. "Forgive me, but I wanted to know who I might end up spending eternity with."

Put that way, Sanji supposed he might have done the same thing if he had been in her position. Still, it didn't mean he had to like it. He dropped her hand pointedly, the rain doing nothing to improve the tense mood between them.

Wanting to break it and figuring Carmilla would be interested, Sanji cleared his throat. "I told another of my crew about me, a doctor, and he made up some supplements."

Her forehead narrowing, Carmilla stepped closer. Above her Sanji could see snatches of a blue sky through the darkness. Perhaps she'd experimented alternate methods herself to managing the thirst once upon a time. "And?"

"They seem to be working," Sanji replied, the rain beginning to lighten up a bit. Not that it did anything to stop the shivers going up his spine from his wet clothes. "A little that is. If I double up the dose, I can go longer than a week without feeding."

For the first time in the dream, some of Carmilla's cheery disposition returned. "I'm glad, Sanji. Any side effects?"

Sanji hadn't even mentioned them to Chopper yet, not willing to have his friend worry unnecessarily about him if he could help it. "Headaches and…double dosing makes the hunger worse when it does return."

"Is it worth the trade-off, you think?" Carmilla asked, sounding curious.

"Maybe, I'm not sure yet." Truth was he felt more human taking Chopper's pills than not, and Sanji wasn't sure he could give them up easily if asked. "At least it takes some pressure off Zoro."

Carmilla moved to Sanji's side again, her gaze hooded. "Sanji."

After seeing her so confident most of the time, the sudden coyness on Carmilla's part was strange. "What?"

She placed her head against his shoulder. "I can feel you getting further and further away from me." Sanji went still, tensing up at her words. "Tell me I'm wrong."

He knew she wasn't just talking physically. Sanji bit his lower lip, unable to deny Carmilla's statement. He had been becoming closer to Zoro of late, and Carmilla usually only crossed his mind when he thought up another question about his condition.

"You're not," he replied quietly, watching Carmilla as she shifted to face him, making Sanji's next words that much harder to say. "And I don't mean to hurt you but when we can only interact in dreams, it all feels a little unreal once I'm awake in the real world."

A knowing look flashed across Carmilla's features as she crossed her arms. "Because he is there and you can touch him at will."

"Carmilla," Sanji said, recognizing the emotion gracing her face for what it really was. Despite himself, he felt a smile quirk his lips since it wasn't often a woman wanted to monopolize his attention. "Are you jealous of Zoro?"

"Yes." There had been no hesitation at all in her reply, Sanji impressed with how honest she was with her feelings. Then again, after hundreds of years of self-reflection, perhaps Carmilla had simply learned that avoiding the truth did little good in the long run.

It oddly made Sanji fonder of her. He pulled Carmilla into his arms, wanting to ease her fears if he could. Even with his growing feelings for Zoro, he didn't want to lose this. Her.

"Carmilla, I-"

"Wake up, Blondie."

The sight of Zoro's face over his as Sanji opened his eyes was jarring, his heart giving a jolt. Shaking off the vestiges of sleep, Sanji pushed Zoro back from the side of his bed. "Goddamn, you almost gave me a heart attack."

Zoro narrowed his eyes as Sanji shook off the covers, then put his feet on the floor. He glanced at the nearby porthole window, wondering why the sun seemed to be so bright.

"It's noon," Zoro announced, Sanji glancing at him sharply in response. "We tried waking you but you wouldn't budge."

"What?" He got to his feet, off-balance briefly, Zoro quick to steady him with a hand on Sanji's shoulder. Though he'd overslept, he was still tired. Had the dream with Carmilla had something to do with it?

Sanji nodded his thanks and went to fetch some clothes. "What'd you guys do about breakfast?" He would have loved a shower but knew he had to make lunch for the crew, somehow making up for the missed meal earlier.

"Nami and Usopp made omelets."

Changing in front of Zoro didn't bother him, Sanji finishing up within minutes. Now he had to visit the bathroom for a few necessities and he could be on his way. Zoro followed him out of the men's quarters, Sanji watching him from the corner of his eye. Was he worried about Sanji? If so, he could just say something rather than lurk about.

"I'm fine," Sanji said, wanting at least a few moments to himself. "Really."

Zoro shrugged one shoulder, finally brushing past Sanji. "If you're sure."

Thinking back to his dream and Carmilla's clear jealousy over him, Sanji grinned. "I am."

A week later found the crew arriving at an autumn island called Konoha, the air crisp but a tad on the cool side. In short order, Sanji restocked any food supplies that had been lacking and set out to explore the large marketplace he'd uncovered during the earlier shopping trip, intent on tasting any regional specialties from the food stalls.

He was keeping pace behind a large group as they walked through the main hall, idly smoking a cigarette as he scanned the food stalls, noting any of interest so he could come back around and visit them.

A rising scent of mellow tanginess caught his attention, Sanji slowing to concentrate on it. It took a few minutes but the smell definitely wasn't coming from any of the food stalls around him. He turned around, Sanji's head rising in the air.

There was something very familiar about the scent. Inexplicably drawn, Sanji focused his senses as far as they would go and followed it, quickly leaving the marketplace behind him. He had finally pegged the aroma whiffing in the breeze as sandalwood just as he came upon a dark alleyway where it was the strongest.

He'd clearly reached the source.

"Well, I've come this far," Sanji muttered to himself, starting down the alley, determined to see his impromptu mission through.

After passing a few closed doorways that no doubt led into businesses and restaurants, a rising shadow on Sanji's right made him pause, the hair on the back of his neck rising.

"I thought I sensed one of us," a steady male voice intoned. Tossing his cigarette to the ground as he glanced in the man's direction, Sanji saw a figure dressed in black baggy clothes, their features obscured by a large hoodie with a neck gaiter. Only a pair of eyes, one white and one green, and a dark-skinned forehead were visible.

"I'd know that saccharine scent anywhere. You're one of Carmilla's children."

He hadn't expected the warm exotic scent to lead him to a man of all people, and a fellow vampire to boot. Caught off-guard by his discovery, Sanji swallowed nervously. "You're like me."

"Yes," the stranger confirmed with an air of amusement. "I am. Part of a different line though."

Both scared and elated at finding another like him, a thousand questions came to the forefront of Sanji's mind. "I was under the impression we were rare," Sanji replied, keeping space between them, ill at ease with the situation.

The man chuckled. "We truly are. You're the first I've seen in centuries." He took one step towards Sanji. "You smell very new."

Sanji debated how much to tell, then decided on the truth or as close to it as he was comfortable sharing with a virtual stranger. "I've only been one for six months."

"Huh, a youngling then."

"Can I…" Sanji started, the words sticking in his throat for a second. "Ask you some questions?"

"That depends on the type you ask," the man said, a smile in his voice.

Best to start with the basics. "What's your name? I'm Sanji."

"Fritz."

Well, that explained the faint accent Sanji heard in his words, a certain thickness towards certain vowels. "Can I please see your face?"

"You wouldn't want that," the other vampire stated flatly, moving from the doorway he'd come out of to the wall of the alleyway, leaning back against it.

"Why?"

A tense minute went by, Sanji thinking he'd pressed Fritz took hard too soon, then, "Because I paid the price for one of my kind's curiosity. Severely at that."

Sanji leaned forward, his interest piqued. "Don't we heal everything?" Carmilla had mentioned needing blood to regenerate injuries, but not that there was a definite limit to the ability.

Fritz laughed bitterly. "There are some things even we can't come back from."

"It can't be that…" Sanji's voice trailed off as Fritz came closer to him. Now fully out of the shadows, one of his arms was definitely shorter than the other, only his right appearing intact as he unzipped the front of his hoodie. He pulled down his hoodie and neck gaiter, fully exposing his face. "Bad."

It was so much worse than he'd thought.

As Sanji had expected, half of Fritz's left arm was missing, a heavy mass of mangled scar tissue on his upper chest and neck. The single white eye made more sense now, most of the lower part of Fritz's face an angry scarred mess. A hole in one cheek exposed part of his upper mouth, an extended canine tooth all too clear.

"W-What happened to you?"

One corner of Fritz's mouth rose. "A woman happened to me." His expression turned angry. "All because of her damned scientific endeavors."

Sanji's blood went cold as he recalled Carmilla mentioning how she and a doctor had investigated the physiology of their kind, but he found it hard to believe such a well-meaning kind woman was capable of such violence, or such deceit.

"Carmilla likes to appear benevolent and wise, but underneath her soft curves is a ravenous beast. Give it time and she'll eventually reveal her true intentions in regards to you."

That confirmed it. Still, Sanji wanted to believe the best of her, of every woman really.

"You're lying," he dared to say, his breath catching as Fritz suddenly came forward, his right hand clutching Sanji's throat, hauling him up against the opposite alley wall roughly.

Fritz squeezed, his strength unnatural, snarling at Sanji with his fangs bared, eyes gone dark in anger. "I never lie, boy. You watch, one of these days she'll put out her siren call and your illusion of free will crumble to pieces. You'll want nothing more than to serve her, make her happy.

"And she'll use you up and spit you out. Because that's her true nature," Fritz said, Sanji's fingers grasping at the other vampire's hand, the world becoming fuzzy around the edges.

He could barely feel the tips of his fingers become razor-sharp claws, self-preservation instincts kicking in, desperately cutting into Fritz's wrist and forearm, drawing blood.

The sharp scent of copper summoned his own fangs, Sanji hating the small jerk his stomach gave in response. Seeing that claws weren't enough, Sanji squeezed his eyes shut as the skin on his arm grew hot, turning black. Hard curved spikes ripped through Sanji's sleeves, skewering Fritz's hand and arm.

He shuddered as he opened his eyes, his spine flexing, a burst of heat and pain clutching Sanji as a row of something sharp grew outward from his flesh, ripping through his back and propelling Sanji forward.

It gave him just enough space and momentum to kick out at will, putting all his considerable strength in the blows, hitting Fritz in the hip and stomach as hard as he could.

Though he'd struck dead on, Fritz seemed to absorb the hits as if they were nothing, his hand digging into Sanji's throat tighter, hauling him up higher against the wall, his grip like iron. Oblivion coming near, Sanji wheezed, using the last bit of his strength to extend the spikes on his arms further.

Pain temporarily brushing his features, Fritz leaned forward and growled in Sanji's face. Blood dripped down his arm splattering against the front of Sanji's legs. "Son of a…" He took a deep breath, then put his head to the side, studying Sanji's low-grade shapeshifting that was imbedded inside his skin.

"I forgot how very ugly your kind can be. Very inventive though."

"Let him go."

Sanji blinked in surprise as one moment the pair were alone, then not as one of Zoro's swords was suddenly against the front of Fritz's throat, the weapon's edge eagerly biting into his flesh.

The other vampire seemed just as shocked, staring at Sanji's crewmate closely.

"Now," Zoro commanded. His sword pierced deeper, cutting a fine line on Fritz's throat that swiftly welled up with blood.

Fritz brought Sanji back down onto his feet, pulling his arm off the spikes that Sanji had summoned, slowly releasing Sanji as requested.

Once free, gasping for air, Sanji fell to the ground, coughing madly. He barely noticed the extra bits he'd sprouted shrink and disappear, too focused on filling his burning lungs with sweet beautiful oxygen. That had been far too close for comfort.

The darkness in Zoro's eye as he pinned Fritz down never wavered, walking him against the opposite wall until he was essentially trapped there. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Fritz's eyes flicked from Zoro to Sanji, his nostrils flaring momentarily. "So that's how it is. Your prey to the rescue." He smirked at Zoro. "I wonder how far away you were when you were overcome with his sense of terror as I threatened his life."

Zoro flinched, the one small movement enough for Fritz to duck down, escaping Zoro's sword. He easily evaded the swordsman's next swing, practically dancing away from it.

"W-" Sanji tried to say, his voice gone, realizing that Fritz had been playing with Zoro all along. He wondered how his crewmate had even gotten the drop on them to begin with. It'd been like magic.

"You have no idea how truly precarious your situation has become," Fritz said, his gaze fixed on Zoro. As they watched, the vampire's figure gradually became thinner, Fritz's face seemingly melting away into a thick cloud of gathering shadows, all but becoming one with the darkness itself.

"Enjoy the future, my dear boy."

He wondered which one of them Fritz had been talking to because they were suddenly alone, the overwhelming presence that had dominated the space of the alley gone as if it had never been.

After he made sure they were indeed alone, Zoro went to Sanji, his sword sheathed at his side. He placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder. "Are you okay? This is a lot of blood."

Sanji wanted to say it wasn't his, but his voice was gone, vocal cords shot to hell by Fritz's cruel and unyielding grip. Instead he nodded, sure it would take a while to recover. If he fed, he had no doubt he'd heal right away, but these days Sanji was trying to abstain as much as possible.

"What an asshole," Zoro said, scowling. "Did he abduct you or what?"

Sanji shook his head, gesturing to his nose. Zoro's brow wrinkled. "You smelled him?" He was frowning. "Couldn't resist investigating, huh?"

Zoro surveyed his throat, using the tips of his fingers to tilt it upwards. "He broke the skin in a couple of places and there's already a lot of bruising."

Lowering his head, Sanji sighed. He was tired and just wanted to rest.

Appearing to be on the same wavelength, Zoro grabbed his arm and began walking, avoiding any busy areas of the town. A smart decision considering how bad Sanji looked.

"What he was saying…," Zoro stated with some hesitancy. "About feeling your terror."

Sanji waited, not at all surprised as they went to a small motel, Zoro securing a room. The elevator from the lobby was fast, seeing them out onto the second floor in no time.

Zoro paused in front of their room, his grip on the key tightening. "I was having a drink at a tavern when I suddenly couldn't breathe. I somehow knew that it wasn't me with the problem and exactly where you were. Like I could see through your eyes."

He took a deep breath, turning his gaze to Sanji with a dark expression. "I had to find you."

The connection between them was fascinating. Sanji touched Zoro's arm, offering a small smile of thanks. Shaking it off, Zoro unlocked the door, letting Sanji go first.

There was one bed in the room, but it wasn't like Zoro was going to sleep with him. Disappearing briefly into the bathroom, Zoro came out with a wet towel in his hands.

Sanji sat down on the edge of the bed, letting Zoro clean him up, wincing at the oversensitive skin of his throat as it was touched upon by the towel. "Sorry." When Zoro finally lowered the damp cloth, there were large streaks of red on it.

Leaning closer, Zoro fingered the holes in Sanji's sleeves, sticking his fingers out of them. "Yeah, I'm not even going to ask." His expression troubled, Zoro pressed a kiss to Sanji's forehead, quickly retreating to the bathroom afterwards.

"You should rest," he said softly, coming back out into the room, the towel gone. Zoro went over to the table in the corner and took a seat, resting his feet on top of it. "I'll wake you in a few hours and see how much you've managed to heal up."

He wanted to tell Zoro he appreciated all his help, that he had no idea where he'd be without Zoro swooping in to save the day. What a time to lose his voice.

Sanji crawled up to the top of the bed and laid down on his side, studying Zoro's profile in the light leaking from the half-closed curtains over the large window. Over time, those rough features of his had become a comfort, Zoro's silence presence something to appreciate even when things were at their best.

Shit, pain made him one sappy bastard.

Turning onto his back, Sanji's eyelids dropped down, sinking into comforting darkness before too long.

"Cook."

Sanji moved towards Zoro's voice without opening his eyes, reaching up to grip the back of the man's neck. He started to pull Zoro down on top of him when the chest against his vibrated in laughter.

"I'd love to indulge you, but we've spent too much time here already."

Making a sound of disappointment, Sanji let Zoro go, tentatively feeling his throat as he sat up. What had been one throbbing hurt was now a light ache that had almost completely subsided.

He cleared his throat. "Zoro." The name came out whole, a slight raspy edge to it like he'd strained his voice rather than almost gotten choked to death. "You did it again."

Except he'd saved Sanji from more than just hunger this time.

Zoro's gaze was warm, looking amused. "Seems to be a common thing these days." He shifted closer to him, Sanji looking towards the ceiling so Zoro could get a better look at his throat. "Yeah, you can barely see the damage anymore."

The one good thing about being what he was. Well, that and feeding, more for the added sexual component than the blood itself.

"You said earlier you had to find me. How'd you get to the alley so damn fast?"

Zoro's brow pinched in thought. "My feet kind of moved on their own so it's all a bit of a blur really."

Which answered nothing. Sanji mulled the matter over as he fixed his collar. Perhaps Zoro himself didn't even know how his timely appearance had been.

"Do you need blood at all?"

Sanji shook his head. By the time they reunited with the others, he'd been healed up entirely. "Not today anyway."

"Maybe you've hit on something with the whole sex and blood bit," Zoro said. "Since you only seem to need it once a week now."

Despite having gotten used to his nature and everything it entailed, Sanji felt his face flush in discomfort. "Yeah." He got to his feet. "Anyway, we should go."

"That guy in the alley, do you know what the hell he was talking about at the end?"

The rather ominous statement Fritz had made about Zoro's fate. "I have no goddamn idea." However, Sanji had his suspicions.

It was disconcerting as hell, but they'd dealt with such things before and prevailed. Surely they could handle whatever lay in wait in the future.

They were heading back to the docks, Sanji adjusting the sleeves of the new clothes he'd brought since he'd shredded his old ones. He was puzzled at the damage along his spine until he remembered Zoro once said he'd felt growths there during a feeding.

Possibly it was a throwback to what the first vampires had looked like before evolution kicked in. Sanji really didn't want to confirm the theory first hand though if he could avoid it.

"I didn't know you could do that," Zoro said uneasily, Sanji looking at him questionably, wondering what he was referring to. "Broadcast your pain, I mean."

Sanji pursed his lips. "I didn't either." He'd been so desperate to survive, Sanji could barely remember anything but the breath being slowly crushed out of him, Fritz's hand an unmovable force upon him.

Considering how tightly bound he and Zoro were physically at times through flesh and blood, it didn't seem that surprising that the bond between them could extend to the metaphysical side. Developing it further might come in handy in the future.

Recalling Carmilla's statement about vampires growing stronger over time, Sanji rubbed the front of his throat lightly, reminded of Fritz's overwhelming power. Given enough time, would he too become that cold and uncaring towards others?

No, it wasn't possible. With Zoro and the others in his life, Sanji was certain that even if he ended up outliving them, he would never become so callous. It just wasn't in him.

After all, he needed people, and right now his friends were the perfect reminder that while Sanji needed to do things that made him feel like a monster sometimes, he was still human.

And that was what made all the difference in the end.

To Be Continued…