Chapter 2 - Kako Taco!

Sanji had been dangling by his right leg for over five minutes. “You gonna let me go anytime soon? I'm getting a headache.”

The monster looked down at the irritated cook. “You're not going to attack me?”

Sanji looked surprised. It can talk? He thought, but folded his arms; even though he was upside-down. “No…'cuz you're not hurting me. Much.”

The monster smiled, showing hundreds of gleaming, sharp, teeth. “Ahahahahahahaha…”

Sanji then realized something. His hands were feeling numb. “Hmm?” He stared at his hands. They didn't look any different, but he had lost the feeling in his fingers. The numbness was spreading from his fingertips to his palms, and started crawling up his arms.

The monster grinned. “Feeling numb yet?”

“Gh…” Sanji's arms fell limp, though he tried to hold them up. Saying he was worried would be an understatement. Here he was, dangling helpless by a monster's grasp upside-down, not being able to move at all. He sighed. “Now what?”

“Hmm?” The monster's gruff voice questioned. “Uh…I dunno…”

Sanji sighed once more. “Could you let me down then? I feel like crap dangling from here. I'm just glad Nami-San isn't here to see me. She'd never respect me again.”

The monster dumbly let Sanji go. The cook landed on the ground with a solid thump. “…”

“Who goes there?!” An ominous voice flooded from the bushes, sending chills through the monster's spine.

“Agh! It's Kako! Run!”

Sanji's whole body had turned limp. “In case you've forgotten, I can't move!!!!!” The angered cook sighed. The only thing he could move was his everything above his neck. “I wonder when that guy…uh…did he say `Kako' gets here? Maybe he can help me.”

Sanji laid helplessly on his back, arms and legs spread out. “At least it's not raining or anything,” he tried to look at the bright side of things, but his own arrogance kept him from believing that it could get better. “I'll just wait here `till I stop being numb. If that'll ever happen, that is. That monster shoot-head. I'd kill him if I could move!”

There was another rustle in the bushes and Sanji held up his head. “Oh, it's just you,” he growled. The monster that had caused all this had a fruit in its hand.

“Here, eat this,” it said, and showed Sanji a fruit that looked almost like the exact opposite of the fruit he had eaten before. “It'll help you get back your strength.”

“No thanks.”

“But-,”

“I told you I can get through this on my own! Now shut up and leave!!!!”

The monster seemed upset, but just in case, tossed the fruit right next to Sanji's head. “Bye, then, I guess.”

Sanji grunted and looked at the fruit. “Oi, come back,” he said, and in sympathy invited the monster to stay.

The monster seemed to grin and stomped back to the paralyzed cook. “Okay! All you do is eat this, and it'll take six point three minutes for you to regain your strength!”

“Look who's the smart one…now shove it down my throat. And this better not be a trick or I'll have your head! Get it?!”

The monster's eyes widened as he took a piece of fruit and held it out to Sanji. The cook gulped it down quickly, discovering it was extremely sweet. “This isn't too bad, really. Chopper always says that the medicines taste bad `cuz it's good for you.” He chewed up another piece and swallowed.

“Yes. The medicinal fruits on this island taste sweet, so the animals stay healthy. Now we better leave before Kako comes. I can hear his footsteps.”

Sanji strained his muscles trying to stand, but his brain wouldn't connect to his arms and legs. “No good. I guess I'll just have to survive until I get my might back. Or you could carry me.”

“I'm not going to carry you! They'd chase after me, then! I like the first idea better…good-bye!” The monster ran off, leaving Sanji in a desperate position. A tall man walked from the bushes.

Sanji stared. “What's wrong with your ears?” He was being blunt again, but since noticing the furry, long ears on the enemy's head he had to ask.

“Are you an outsider?”

“Well, if you wanna put it that way…yeah. Kind of.”

The man crouched down. His head was as large as all of Sanji. “Then you must die.”

Sanji cringed. I am in no position to fight…and this guy looks like he means business…

The man grinned. “I am so kind. I'll introduce myself before you die. I am the Taffy Man Kako.”

“Taffy Man? Is that why you're so tall?”

“Yes…”

Sanji blinked. “Did you eat one of the Devil fruits?”

“No…”

“Then how come you're so weird?”

The man sneered and pulled a sword from a sheath. “No more questions after this answer. I am a native species of this island. Fortunately, the most powerful; so I have killed off all the others and now I am the king.”

“Well, that's harsh. How do you think everyone else feels about it? I've gotta give you compliments on the fruit, though. These fruits are good. They're full of sugar. I like sugar. Sugar is sweet. So are these fruits. These fruits are sweet. And so is sugar. I like sugar. Do you like sugar?”

Kako raised an eyebrow. “Did you happen to eat a black fruit with white spots?”

“Uh,…” Sanji looked up. “Maybe…”

“Ha! That's why you won't move and you're rambling on and on! You ate one of the poisonous fruits of the island!”

Sanji grinned. “Wow! That's cool!”

Kako stood up straight, putting his sword back in his sheath, and tapped his shoe on the ground. “You're too annoying to live. How about I kill you? A sword is fit more for a criminal than an outsider…how about I beat you until you die? That'll be fun.”

Sanji laughed. “Yeah! Awesome! I wonder what it'll feel like. Maybe like ice cream!” He kept on laughing, even when Kako kicked him harshly. “Wow! That hurt!”

Kako walked over and picked the limp Sanji up by his collar. “How about you crash into a tree…” He threw Sanji, causing the lovesick cook to slam face-first into the tree's trunk. He slid to the ground.

“Hm?” The young man started to come to his senses. “Ouch. What was that for? Never mind. But for whatever reason you did it for, you're going to die. No one will hurt me.”

Kako laughed. “Have you forgotten?! You're paralyzed!”

“Oh…” Sanji tried to lift his leg. He seemed like he was going to cry when he saw Kako charge toward him. “Hang in there, Sanji…come on…”

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