Chapter Text
Sanji could understand why the crew was treating him differently. They had cast him aside (though it was not their fault), watched him bond with rivaling pirate crew, and seen him nearly killed by their own First Mate. Sanji knew that everyone deals with trauma differently.
Even so - Sanji was not made of glass, nor did he ever indicate he was upset about anything. He had accepted all of their subtle ways of asking for forgiveness, whether it was a dishwasher upgrade made by Franky, or a small trinket from Usopp. Robin had started blowing him a kiss and Nami would give him a hug as a thank you for the snacks he would deliver them. Sanji was over the moon whenever they had started the action, but knowing the real reason for the change in behavior dampened the happiness that would wash over him. Luffy would jump on him more often, Chopper would come up to Sanji to cuddle with him frequently, and Brook had taken to playing songs in the galley as he worked.
The only person who remained mostly the same was Jinbei, which Sanji appreciated. Not being able to properly bond with the man on Wano, there wasn’t any change in behavior to note, either way. However, in the early hours of the morning, when Sanji got up to make breakfast, Jinbei would sometimes meet him there, and they would chat as Sanji prepped the food.
Sanji had decided that he would take whatever he was given, having missed the Straw Hats during his escapade with the Heart Pirates. While he appreciated the attention, however, there was a small part of him that wanted everything back to normal.
The worst of the Straw Hats was Zoro. Ever since Sanji had rejoined the Straw Hats from Adhara, Zoro had avoided Sanji like the plague. Sanji was willing to give the man some credit , however, seeing as he was manipulated into stabbing him through the chest. So, Sanji had resolved to bring himself back into shape, and dedicated himself to healing himself and making a full recovery.
After a couple of days, Sanji’s body was back to normal condition, with the exception of a scar near his heart, which he kept hidden underneath his dress shirt. Having been restored, Sanji had more than enough pent up energy inside him, and decided to seek Zoro out to propose a sparring match.
“Oi, Marimo!” Sanji shouted from the railing near the galley’s doorway, looking down at where Zoro laid down to rest. He was lounging by the sunbathing girls, with his mouth in a firm line and eyes shut.
Sanji made a show of jumping off the railings and landing by Zoro, knowing he was now feigning sleep after being woken up by his initial call. Sanji wanted Zoro to know that he was back to full strength now, and was ready for their usual duel.
“Get up, shithead.” Sanji nudged his foot, and Zoro opened his eyes to glare at the blonde.
“I’m not in the mood for a spar, Cook,” was all he said, and Sanji felt anger starting to bubble in his chest.
“I’m fully healed! I’m okay! I waited a week for this!” Sanji complained, backing off as Zoro had wanted, but unwilling to let the matter go so easily.
“Well, wait a bit longer,” the swordsman snapped, grabbing the swords that were laid by his hips aggressively before standing straight and walking off to the bunkrooms. “I’m taking a nap.”
Sanji griped at Zoro’s retreating form, then sauntered back to his galley, feeling more pent up than he had before leaving his kitchen in the first place. In the back of his mind, he could understand Zoro’s actions- it must have been jarring to wake up with his sword plunged into one of the crewmates he was responsible to protect. However, Sanji has missed Zoro. He’d missed him for much longer than Zoro had been able to, back on Law’s ship, opting to spar with the Heart Pirate’s captain rather than the sentient moss whenever he felt the itch to release his boredom. At the time, the entirety of the Straw Hats were manipulated into accepting Sanji’s banishment into the Land of Wano, and therefore, not minding his disappearance.
Sanji took a deep breath. He took a moment to remember the fact that he was back on the Thousand Sunny as a Straw Hat, counting his blessings and the fact that his crew was still around him, however differently they treated him, and though the First Mate chose to ignore the fact that he was back.
“You look… unwell.”
Sanji whipped his head to the source of the noise, making a sound of surprise when he realized he wasn’t alone in his galley. Jinbei was sitting on the far couch with a coffee mug in hand.
“Just a little pent up. Got a lot on my mind.” Sanji explained, and Jinbei nodded slowly in understanding.
“I could try to help with that, if you want to try something new?” The fishman asked, and Sanji raised an eyebrow at the proposition.
~ . ~ . ~
“You wanted it like this, Jinbei-bro?” Franky skeptically held up a reel and a harness, both connected with a wire. Jinbei nodded, and the two of them, plus Usopp and Sanji made their way to the side of the ship.
Franky started nailing the reel down to the side of the deck, and Usopp pulled the harness onto Sanji’s body, tugging at the straps to check its sturdiness. The two engineers stood back and took in Sanji’s enthusiastic smile, grinning to each other as the three got caught in each other’s excitement.
“Ok, Sanji. You can jump in the ocean now. I’ll steer the Sunny to slow down or speed up to your pace.” Jinbei walked over to the wheel, peering over the side of the ship when Sanji jumped down and into the calm, blue waters.
Franky watched the reel set out the wire as Sanji moved farther from the ship, and Usopp watched the chef with awe. “What if he gets eaten by a sea king?”
As if on cue, a giant fish resembling a zebra popped out of the water and peered down at the stray. Sanji stood up on the surface of the water using Blue Walk, then walked up towards its head, delivering a swift kick to its nose, before falling back into the water.
~ . ~ . ~
Sanji swam until his arms and legs started aching, keeping a fast enough pace to keep up with the Thousand Sunny. He cut through the salty water, looking beneath him as he swam, at the endless depths below him. Finding a fish reaching the surface was rare, but Sanji marveled at the sea life whenever he finally approached one, the excitement of seeing a fish fueling his desire to keep swimming, despite the growing tiredness in his body.
Sanji felt a tug on the wire attached to his harness, looking towards the Sunny to find Luffy by the reel. “I'M HUNGRY!!” Luffy complained loudly, pointing to his opened mouth and dropping dramatically to the wooden floorboards.
Sanji sighed, then let himself be dragged in by his captain, Blue Walking on the surface to keep himself above the water instead of being forced below like a bobber on a fishing line.
“I don’t like this new training. Can’t you just lift weights like Zoro?” Luffy asked, hanging from Sanji’s drenched shoulders. Sanji moved his head from side to side, noting the thrumming sensations traveling up his legs from the unfamiliar workout, a feeling similar to how he usually felt after a sparring match. Since running for two years straight from the Okama’s lead to his Sky Walk technique, Sanji was interested to find out what swimming could possibly improve. “Nope, I’m interested to see where this goes.” Sanji answered, grabbing a towel Nami had set closeby, and bringing the two of them to the galley.
~ . ~ . ~
“Sensei, I ask of you that you let me have that sword.”
Zoro was back in the familiar dojo he had grown up in, feeling the wetness on his cheeks as he knelt on his knees, begging the father of his dead best friend for her most prized possession.
“Her sword? Kuina’s?” He asked surprised, gazing at the white-hilted katana before looking back at the child.
“That’s right. I’m going to get stronger than she ever was! Strong enough that my name reaches up to Heaven!” Zoro looked his mentor in the eyes, suddenly 21 years old again. “I am going to be the world’s greatest swordsman.” More tears escaped him, now running down the crinkles that formed around the eyes and the hard jawline that he had gained with age.
“Yes, the sword is yours. I leave her spirit and her dreams in your hands.” He held Wadou - Kuina’s spirit- up with both hands, and Zoro picked it up with reverence.
“Zoro? What did you do?” Luffy asked from behind Zoro, making him turn to his captain in confusion.
“What?” Zoro asked, feeling disoriented by the sudden appearance. Luffy’s mouth curved downwards, then started trembling in full force, making the rubber-man bite his lips to keep it in check. His hat covered his eyes, but Zoro could still tell the man was in extreme distress. “What’s wrong, Luff?” Zoro’s heart started pounding, and he looked around for the source of the other man’s sadness.
Wadou was fully unsheathed, and the first thing Zoro noticed was the weight on the end of the sword. Blood ran down the uncovered part of the blade, pooling over the side of the hilt and onto Zoro’s hand. Sanji lay motionless further toward the tip of the sword, arms and legs swinging limply as Zoro held him up. Beside him, Nami’s decapitated head sat on the floor, blood pooling from her neck and the rest of her nearby body. More Straw Hats’ bodies laid lifelessly on the ground surrounding Zoro, the blood staining the side of Zoro’s boots as he looked down helplessly.
Zoro looked back at Luffy’s horrified expression and screamed.
Zoro shot out of his bunk, panting heavily. He looked around the empty bunkroom, scanning for any signs of life. Finding none, he jerked the white sword from his hip and threw it on his bunk, running out of the room and onto the deck.
Luffy hung off of Sanji’s shoulders like a koala, despite the blonde being drenched to the bone, the two laughing about something before walking into the galley.
“Zoro, you’re covered in sweat! Were you training?” Usopp asked, inspecting a wet harness before placing it on top of a reel nailed to the side of the railing. That wasn’t there before, Zoro thought, nodding thoughtlessly in response to Usopp’s question.
~ . ~ . ~
Luffy watched Sanji prepare him a snack, silently tracking the blonde’s movements as he moved around the galley. His shoulders were pulled up tight, and Luffy could tell that Sanji was irked by the uncharacteristic silence Luffy was staring at him with.
Usually, Luffy would get bored and move away from Sanji, instead running back up to the galley when the treat was fully prepared, but Luffy had chosen to get off of Sanji when they had reached the kitchen, and was sitting down on the chair with a blank expression.
He knew the changes to his behavior were unwelcome- Sanji was even annoyed with Nami and Robin’s guilt-laden touches. But, Luffy couldn’t help it. It seemed that every time he’d closed his eyes, he would see Ace in front of him, arms outstretched and a fiery hole through his chest, smiling so brightly towards the brother he had given his life for. He would remember his own crewmate, giving his life with no hesitation, showing him the same kind smile and resigned look in his eyes as his brother had given Luffy in his dying moments.
Luffy hated knowing that his crew would give their lives for him without a second thought. He hated the fact that he was weak enough to experience it once again, watching the blade meant for him driven through Sanji’s chest with enough force that the tip of the blade had almost cut through his chest. However, Sanji’s perseverance was one to rival with his own, and Sanji had pushed back on the blade to keep it scratching just barely on the surface of Luffy’s skin.
Luffy had been too close to loss. Too close to once again losing someone he loved dearly, and it felt like his heart had been torn wide open.
Luffy watched the curled eyebrow of his troubled cook twitch once as he took a tray of baked bread and ground beef out of the oven, setting it in front of him, making Luffy salivate as the smell reached his nose from directly under him.
“They are mini beef tourtieres. Eat as many as you like, and the rest go to the crew.” He sounded muted, and he inspected Luffy carefully, fighting to keep his irritated expression at bay.
Luffy pushed down the dryness building up in his mouth as he grabbed the piece, eating it slower than usual as he fought the unfamiliar tightness in his throat.
Luffy couldn’t fault his crew from treating Sanji differently since he had rejoined the Straw Hats. He has been one of the worst ones- clinging onto Sanji whenever he could like he was a lifeline, and pretending like it was something he had always done. Luffy couldn’t fault Zoro for looking at Sanji like he was a ghost, or looking secretly relieved whenever Sanji sprang out of his galley’s door to deliver snacks to everyone on the deck.
“You’re all grieving me.” Sanji said suddenly, making Luffy look up from the tray of food, finally meeting Sanji’s eyes. The action made Luffy finally realize that he had been gazing at Sanji’s chest the whole time he was in the kitchen, right where he had been impaled. “But I’m right here?” Sanji questioned, a hurt expression briefly crossing his face before schooling it back into a guise of neutrality.
Luffy tipped his head forward, so his hat was lowered enough to cover his eyes, unwilling to show his chef the emotions battling within his chest. “Give us time?” He asked, and Sanji leaned back on the counter, closed his eyes, and nodded.