Steel Heart

Ch 36 - Absalom

As much as he hated to admit it, but Sanji was getting his ass kicked. The Clear-Clear fruit user was taking full advantage of the fact that Sanji had Nami-san in his arms. Sanji couldn't fight back, otherwise Nami-san might get hurt in the process, so all he could do was keep her held above his head while he took the blows.

"Phantom Leg!" Nami's abductor shouted as he kicked Sanji hard in the back.

Sanji grunted and gritted his teeth but he stood firm as he protected Nami-san through it all.

"I wouldn't drop that woman if I were you!" his opponent taunted.

I know that!, Sanji snarled. He was in too much pain and too concentrated to actually verbalize his thoughts. There was a sound of metal and Sanji braced himself for the incoming attack.

Shing! Clank!

"Catch."

Sanji stiffened as something leaned against his back hard. He peeked over his shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of the angel. She stood back to back with him. Pygmy growling by her feet and sniffing the air. She had caught a small dagger between her palms, with it predominantly stuck on her metal glove.

"Nana-chan!" he gasped.

"Quiet! I'm trying to listen," she ordered in a low tone. Pygmy immediately silenced as well.

"You..." a soft voice purred and Nana threw the dagger across the room.

Thwack!

The dagger floated in midair for a second before blood started to drip from it. A man with a lion's muzzle stitched to his face came into view. The dagger lodged squarely in his shoulder. He only wore pants and Nana could see that his upper body was stitched together with patches of skin and muscle that clearly did not belong on his body.

"You..." he snarled, "You, you bitch! Y-Y-You're the one who attacked me in the bathroom! You're the one covered in ugly scars."

"Have you-" Nana started to say but she couldn't finish her snappy comeback to tell him to look at himself in the mirror. An instant feeling of danger was exuding from behind her back.

"Nana-chan..." Sanji growled.

Without another word, Nana found herself holding Nami in her arms.

"I'll leave Nami-san to you..." Sanji said, not even looking over at her. He took a few steps forward and then his fiery rage returned and consumed his body.

"Just when I thought that our bad blood couldn't get any thicker...," Sanji roared at the lion man, "You dared to peep at the angel and COMPLAIN?!"

"The angel?" the invisible man scoffed, oblivious to the land mine he had triggered, "You call her an angel? She's more like a wild animal. With her scarred body and barbaric nature...So not my type. You can have her."

"I can't expect to explain Nana-chan's beauty to you. As it is a waste of breath to explain high art to a wild animal like yourself," Sanji spat.

Nana's mind inevitably flashed to an image of a volcano at the point just before eruption and she regarded the cook with mild amusement until she heard his next words.

"How would a barbarian like you appreciate Nana-chan fully? Every scar on her body is a symbol of her dedication, her strength, her fearlessness, and her ambition. It's been finely crafted into a work of divine art!"

Nana was taken aback by the cook's words. Sanji...

"How would a savage like you recognize an angel when it is in your presence?!" Sanji thundered as he lunged forward towards the invisible man, "Even a man with half a brain would be able to appreciate how unique Nana-chan is. But you don't because you are a varmint that needs to be put down!"