Beast of Shadows

》Thirteen《

"This does seem like a slight hindrance, swordsman-san." Robin looked both troubled and hopelessly amused.

"How could this have even happened!?" Zoro growled, working on pacing a hole into the floor as Luffy and the others chowed down on the food Sanji had brought. The blond himself was seated across from Robin, his shirt unbuttoned and his jacket neatly folded on a nearby table. The dark-haired beauty was examining the burn mark on the chef's chest with intrigued deep blue eyes.

"By my guess, a combination of emotions from the two of you. Swordsman-san wanted to protect Cook-san, and Cook-san wanted a protector. The strength of these emotions is probably what altered the contract." Robin brushed her fingers on the scorch mark and the skin tingled.

Zoro bristled, his foot hesitating on his next step before he shook himself and continued. Robin's observing eyes caught this, letting her hand drop away from the brand on pale skin. Sanji took this moment of quiet to ask his burning question.

"What do the symbols mean?" He blurted, eyes scanning over the demons around him.

"It says Roronoa, means the two of you are connected deeper than just a contract. There are emotions involved." Chopper piped up, inhaling the brownies Sanji had baked.

"You mean we have an emotional connection to each other?" Sanji pressed, slumping in defeat when the curly-haired boy nodded.

"It's not unexpected, swordsman-san had met you as a child. He probably wanted to protect you from anything and everything that could hurt you. Strengthening the bond, the cult incident just solidified it." Robin shrugged, glancing at Zoro every few seconds to gauge his flickering emotions.

"Fantastic, so I'm bound to him until he dies?" Zoro growled, pulling at his hair. Luffy's gaze moved from Sanji to the Marimo a few times, his lips quirking into a wide smile.

"It's not so bad! Everyone here has some sort of contract with someone right now, even me. Or else we couldn't be here." Luffy stuffed more chicken down his throat as Sanji gawked.

"You mean-you all have...well then." Sanji coughed, slumping forward to rest his forehead against the cold wood.

"You also borrow power from Zoro, your aura's are intertwined. That's probably how your wounds healed so quickly, seemingly overnight correct?" Robin's hand rested on the blonde's back and Sanji mumbled an affirmative.

"You share the wound when your contract heals it, you take half the damage and Zoro takes the other. I wouldn't be surprised if swordsman-san had matching scars on his wrists and palm." Sanji jerked upright, waving Zoro closer with a frantic hand. The Marimo shot Robin a dirty look as the chef tugged Zoro's leather sleeve up. Low and behold, there was a faint mark on the tan flesh. More pronounced on the swordsman's darker skin than on Sanji's, the blond frowned. He examined Zoro's other wrist and found the same results, his palm was no different.

"Well this is concerning." Sanji grumbled to himself, Zoro had to share any wounds Sanji got now. The swordsman pulled away to continued his back and forth march with more vigor.

"What happens to the Marimo if the contract breaks?" The blond hesitantly asked, the question caused Zoro to jerk to a stop.

"I go back to hell and wait for another contract to be made." He grunted, Luffy nodding in forlorn agreement.

"So don't die Sanji!" Luffy ordered sternly, the blond seriously pondered what about the strawhat-clad boy was so terrifying.

Was this kid really the devil?

"Alright. Alright. No dying, got it. But what if I get sick with cancer or something?" Sanji challenged, Luffy's response was almost instantaneous.