Holy shit! I did it! I actually finished a multichaptered fanfic. I think I'm gonna cry here!

Anyway, here's the last chapter.

It was already sundown when he reached the temple.

The building, fashioned out of coarse grey stone, stood atop a tall hill overlooking the sea on the southern shore of Stillwater. It didn't look like any temple Sanji had seen before with its plain, featureless façade and crude columns on both sides of the entrance. Even the doors were bare except for the bronze knobs, which had long ago lost their shine. From afar, it resembled a large warehouse with small windows on its side and a big wooden dome over it. If not for the precise instructions, he would have been sure he had come to the wrong place.

Inside, however, it was a whole different story. Upon pushing the heavy doors open he found himself standing in a large space that smelled strongly of incense and lamp oil. The dome turned out to have large round windows that opened inwards, flooding the temple with the dimming light of the setting sun. Inside, murals and carvings adorned every centimeter of the stone walls. Depictions of daily life, kings and warriors and magical beasts stretched all the way towards the wooden vault from where long stripes of multicolored cloth hung like streamers. Little silver bells at the end of each stripe swayed gently in the sea breeze and upon listening closely, Sanji noticed they were all tuned differently. For a moment, he wondered if he was seeing some complex musical instrument meant to be played by an entire crowd.

He slid off his shoes and walked barefoot between the rows of low benches displayed in a circular pattern around the center of the temple. There, right under the biggest window stood a large altar carved out of white alabaster. A thick, sturdy table, clearly intended for offerings was presided by a massive statue of a muscled man whose exposed torso split into dozens of tentacles right below his bellybutton. It loomed over the flat surface staring at Sanji with white, unseeing eyes; its hands gripping the edges of the slab in silent expectation. When he walked closer, he noticed a thin layer of dust covering every inch of the statue except for the neck where the milky stone reflected the orange light of the dusk.

His fingers undid the knot on the cotton bag on his shoulder and took out the silver chain. The wooden tags clattered softly against the stone chest as he slid the relic over the statue's neck. He resisted the impulse to look back into the sea-creature's empty eyes.

Somewhere above him, the silver bells chimed under another gust of wind.

He smiled.

A sharp pain stung the left side of his head making him wince and lower himself on one of the wooden benches. The way to the temple had been longer than he expected plus his current condition did not help things. Stillwater's residents were considerate enough to carve steps into the rocky hillside but he still felt winded when he reached the top. Something white and soft brushed against his cheek and as he looked up, he noticed the bandages on his head coming undone. Chopper would have a fit when he found out. With a heavy sigh, he considered fixing them himself but there was no way he could do it without making it worse. Maybe the unexpected company would be willing to help.

"Hey Zoro."

The carefully muffled steps behind his back stopped. For a moment, silence hung in the air before the swordsman's annoyed voice confirmed his suspicions.

"Let me guess, loud swords?"

Sanji turned around. Against the reddish light on the horizon, Zoro's tanned skin looked even darker but as the man approached the altar, he could see the signs of the battle with the spirit still etched on his face. He wasn't as ghostly pale as when he lay sleeping at Solomon's mansion but even now, weariness and fatigue were clearly present in every step he took.

He nodded carefully and smirked.

"Told you, you should work on that. It makes you easier to notice."

Zoro grunted something unintelligible in reply.

"I heard you the first time, shit cook." He moved closer and leaned against a wooden bench. "So, what's the verdict? You gonna live?"

Sanji almost laughed at the swordsman's nonchalant tone. Zoro had never been very good at hiding his thoughts and now, he could read them on his face like an open book. He wondered if his were just as obvious in the swordsman's eyes.

"I'm still breathing, aren't I?" He fished out a box of matches out of the cotton bag and flipped open a pack of cigarettes. "What about you? How did you manage to sneak past Chopper?"

"I didn't," Zoro muttered. "When I woke up, he was already gone."

In the distance, a bell struck nine times, its sound drifting through the quiet evening air. In his mind, Sanji cursed for allowing himself to sleep that long. He had fully intended to return the Soul Chain as fast as possible but somewhere between late morning and early afternoon he had collapsed on the grass mattress in the infirmary and went out like a light for several hours. When he opened his eyes, the mansion was bustling with people running back and forth, with increasingly complicated tasks. He barely managed to snatch aside one of the local delivery boys to ask him for directions and when he had finally set out, the sun was already slowly beginning its descent towards the edge of the world.

Zoro's gaze swept the empty temple, settling on the monstrous alabaster statue. Now Sanji was even more aware of the awkward posture the swordsman was standing in and how he favored one leg. He wondered what had possessed the idiot to climb all the way up here undoing most of the reindeer doctor's work but there was nothing he could do about it anymore.

"What are you doing here?", he asked. "If you're looking for the Merry, it's on the other side of the island. You know, the one that's flat. And has a docking bay and everything."

He regretted his tone almost immediately. Lighting flashed in the grey eyes as Zoro took a step forward and stumbled; his fingers gripping the back of the bench for balance. The swordsman glared at him menacingly as if evaluating his intentions but Sanji remained where he was, his stance relaxed. If Zoro wanted to wreck his body even further, he sure as hell was not going to be part of it.

"Screw you, dartbrow! You're not worth it!" Zoro leaned back with disdain, as Sanji suppressed a sigh. "I was looking for some peace and quiet. The whole town is going crazy right now. There's some sort of celebration tonight, too. And Nami has already managed to arrange it so that everything we bought on the island before the spirit attacked is free of charge. Plus some extras on the side, of course."

He rolled his eyes at the memory. Sanji smiled, tucking a loose bandage behind his ear.

"That's Nami for you." He lit a crumpled cigarette and let it hang loosely between his lips. "So while everyone else is helping or looking out for the crew, you've decided to weasel out of everything as usual?"

"You're one to talk." His companion's voice picked up a condescending ring. "What are you doing here then? Did I interrupt your prayers?"

"I don't pray."

Zoro's eyes narrowed at his answer. Sanji watched his reaction with amusement and mild intrigue. The swordsman stayed silent for a while, apparently losing all interest in the conversation before asking.

"How come?"

Sanji did not reply. His gaze drifted towards the pristine white altar, now completely bathed in the light of the dying sun. Under that crimson hue, the eyes of the octopus-man looked bloodshot and even more imposing. It was hard to imagine a deity like that being capable of love or compassion. It was hard for him to imagine any deity that would be bothered to care about the affairs of humans. And yet, he found the idea of such a being strangely comforting.

"I never figured out who to pray to."

He half-expected Zoro to laugh or to throw another sarcastic remark but his answers were a mild shrug and silence as his companion turned towards the setting sun.

"We should get back," Zoro walked between the wooden benches and stood at the entrance, his face half hidden in the long shadows. "Solomon wants to know what happened in that cave. Not to mention the rest of the people. They have been grilling me ever since I woke up."

Sanji held back a long winded curse. After Miriam disappeared behind the garden door, he had wandered around Stillwater and even managed to talk to some of the villagers waiting on the streets. Chopper's explanation gave him only a vague idea about the condition of the people affected by the curse but the thick voices of their loved ones told him more than he needed to know. Walking through the little town had been like witnessing a group of soldiers returning from a long war. There was laughter and tears of joy in some places. In others, the tears had a much more bitter taste.

They were tears of people cheated out of a miracle.

He made up his mind upon returning to the mansion. For the next half an hour, he found himself walking in circles around the infirmary, pondering on the right words before the exhaustion and lack of sleep finally took their toll. He hoped his seven-hour-nap had not cost him everything.

"What did you tell them?" he asked, his voice deceptively steady.

Zoro shrugged again, his face reflecting genuine confusion.

"I told them to talk to you. I still barely understand how that whole forgiveness thing worked."

Sanji released a breath he did not realize he was holding. As relief flooded him, his lips curved in a malicious smile.

"Is that why you told Miriam she had only me to thank?"

Zoro's eyebrows twitched at the mention of Kara's mother. His expression quickly turned sour, as if anticipating a long streak of merciless teasing. Sanji's lips unwillingly split into a big, toothy grin. For all he knew, the swordsman was completely right.

"Don't get a big head over this!", he scowled. "I'm pretty sure I softened him up for you."

"Like hell you did!" For a moment, Sanji forgot himself as he jumped from his seat, a loud, familiar yell rising in his throat. He quickly recovered, his voice turning serious again. "It doesn't matter anyway. I was wrong."

He could see the subsequent retort die in Zoro's throat at his unexpected change in demeanor. The green-haired man gave him a long, inscrutable look and frowned.

"You'll have to narrow it down for me, love cook. You tend to be wrong about many things."

Sanji sighed, letting the jab slide.

"I was wrong about Solomon. When he first told us about Fellman's trial, I said that he only lamented the consequences of marooning him." He paused at the memory of the mayor's guilty eyes. "I think he honestly regrets that decision. It's the rest of Stillwater that's the problem. It's the rest that must never know the truth."

Zoro let out an annoyed grunt.

"So what? That spirit is gone forever. It doesn't matter how they feel about it anymore."

Sanji shook his head and blew a long strand of smoke towards the colored stripes above him.

"Of course it does. They missed their chance for justice thirty years ago. But we can still give them peace."

"At least they got their loved ones back. Not everyone gets to be that lucky."

There was something in his voice that made Sanji pause. Zoro's eyes hardened, the muscles of his jaw clenching ever so slightly under the tanned skin. For a while, he stared straight ahead, purposefully avoiding Sanji's gaze. Under the growing shadows, he almost looked remorseful for speaking.

"Zoro?"

He was surprised at how quiet the name came out. Maybe the swordsman was too, since he stood silent, his face still hidden under the cloak of the rapidly approaching night. The awkward silence lasted exactly two seconds before Zoro turned around and cocked his head, his lips curved in a small, mocking grin.

"I'm sorry, cook. Were you trying to sound cool over there?"

Sanji slammed a hand over his face with a loud groan. Sometimes it really felt like talking to a wall with him.

"Look, it's not that simple, moss-head! The spirit is gone but the damage is still there." He walked briskly to the entrance and stretched an arm towards the houses in the distance. "Look at this place, it's not that big. There must be at least one cursed person in every family and half of them may never recover! Do you think their friends and loved ones are in a forgiving mood right now? You can't force absolution out of people!"

Zoro just continued to grin at him, almost amused by the exaltation in his voice.

"Isn't that what that spirit did to you? You would have died if you hadn't forgiven him. Sounds like forcing absolution to me."

"That's different. I meant it."

This time it was Zoro's time to be dumbstruck. The mocking grin wavered and slid off his face, replaced by utter puzzlement.

"Come again?"

Sanji paused, savoring the effect. He had come to treasure that look on the swordsman's face since he did not get to see it often. When he spoke, however, he felt the smug sensation vanishing with every word.

"It had to end, Zoro. They've been stuck in this loop of hatred and violence for thirty years. Someone had to put a stop to it; I was just the first one really willing to."

Zoro did not answer. His eyes lingered on Sanji for a while, almost as if they were trying to figure out a complex puzzle. Eventually, he let out a long sigh and leaned back against the wooden frame with a smirk.

"You probably should have thought of that before promising to make him pay, don't you think?"

Sanji felt a pang of guilt as Miriam's grateful smile floated up in his memory. He closed his eyes and hung his head, letting the cool evening wind loosen the bandages around his head even more.

"Some promises have to be broken; for the good of everyone involved."

"Right…" He felt a nonchalant tone returning to Zoro's voice as his crewmate walked out of the darkening temple. "Seems like you have it all figured out. What are still sulking about?"

Sanji cringed slightly at the open question. Maybe he was becoming an open book to the green-haired swordsman as well. No sense hiding it any longer. Maybe they could actually talk like civilized human beings for once.

"You tried to take me out." He rolled his eyes at Zoro's quizzical look. "Back in the cave, before we got to the spirit. You tried to take me out. Don't think I've forgotten."

A deep frown spread over the tanned forehead. Eventually, the grey eyes widened as Zoro stared at him with a mix of disbelief and righteous indignation.

"And I would do it again! You were useless against that thing. Hell, we got lucky it decided to go along with your idiotic ramblings!" He held Sanji's icy glare and took a step forward, his voice growing louder with every word. "You think I was just going to stand by and let you get yourself killed?"

Sanji remained perfectly still, refusing to back off. His voice came out steady and levelled, a striking contrast to the swordsman's.

"I don't care. Give me your word you'll never pull this shit again."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Zoro's mouth.

"I thought some promises have to be broken. For the good of everyone involved."

The triumphant smug spark dancing in his eyes nearly made Sanji forget about his injuries and slam him into the side of the building. The memory of Wadou's hilt narrowly missing his head resurfaced in his mind and brought with it a wave of bitterness and resentment. Who the hell did the swordsman think he was to decide what Sanji could handle or not? Who the hell was he to leave him behind?

"Goddamnit Zoro, I'm serious! Just fucking say it!"

He could feel his own voice cracking in anger around the last two words. His whole body tensed up, ready to kick the promise out of him if he had to. Zoro's condescending smile slowly vanished. For a while he was quiet, eyeing him closely as if expecting him to launch into another cursing tirade. Finally, he threw his hands in the air and stepped aside, rolling his eyes in resignation.

"Okay, fine! I solemnly swear never to stop you if you ever try to do something stupid again. Happy now, love cook?"

His annoyed tone was hiding something that almost resembled admiration. Sanji felt a feline grin unfold on his face as he gave him a slight nod.

"Ecstatic." He threw one last look at the dark temple and turned towards the stairs carved in the mountainside. "Come on, let's get back before Luffy finishes all the food."

Zoro let out a short laugh and followed him. In the quiet evening air, Sanji could distinctly hear the soft clacking of his swords with every step the swordsman took. His fond smile went unnoticed as they slowly walked down the steps and into the dying sun.

And there it is! It's finally over! Thanks to everyone who stuck with this fic for nearly a year, it really meant a lot. I know you've all been holding back on your reviews but now that the fic is over, you can finally unleash them all. (wink wink)

No, seriously. Let me know what you think. Every comment makes my day.