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Sanji was weird, that was something every member of his crew noticed.
He could be very over the top and he wore his heart on his sleeve for anyone to see.
And yet, everyone could see he was hiding something from them.
Hell, even Luffy noticed that right off the bat.
But the only reason no one ever questioned about it, was because of their captain.
“Sanji’s business is Sanji’s, if he doesn’t want to tell us we won’t force him.” And the look he gave them was so stern and so unlike his usual ones that his crew had no choice but to follow his words.
“Besides,” Zoro added from where he was resting against the mast. “Is not like whatever curls is hiding affects the crew, so I say we leave him be.”
And so that was that, they stopped actively trying to find out what was it that Sanji was hiding, besides, with all the shit they got into as soon as they docked on a new place, plus their two year separation, inadvertently it ended up in the back of their minds.
At least, until one day, while half of the crew was on Zou as they waited for the others in Dressrosa, Sanji got a letter.
The serious semblance his face fell into as soon as he read whatever was on that paper, was something that told Nami straight on that they would be getting caught in the middle of a mess.
She was truly not looking forward to that.
Still, Sanji refused to tell them what the letter said, arguing that he needed the whole crew to be present.
A few more days passed before the rest of the crew arrived to the walking island and after niceties were exchanged, Sanji dropped a bomb on them.
“Permission to disembark, Captain?”
Sanji effectively killed all the noise in the cabin the Minks had lent to the strawhats, more than one head whipping around to stare at him like he was insane.
Luffy, for his part, had taken on a serious face, his mouth set on a grim line.
“Care to repeat that again, curls?” Zoro dared him with crossed arms.
Sanji did not take his eyes off Luffy when he spoke again.
“I need to leave the crew.” He announced, not a sign of stutter in his voice.
Yeah, Nami’s head was already hurting.
“No,” Luffy said and Sanji resisted the urge to groan. “Permission denied.”
“Luffy,” he tried again, trying very hard to ignore the eyes of every member of the crew on him. “I need to, I swear, I’ll be back, but I have something I need to take care of first.”
“I believe our captain would be more lenient to you if you were to say what is troubling you.” Robin spoke from her place at the table, a cup of tea in her hand.
Sanji looked conflicted, this was something he didn’t actually tried to hide but that he didn’t see reason in vocalizing out loud.
But it seemed that he was out of options and time was running out.
So he took the bait.
“I got a letter, there’s some family trouble and I need to be there helping out.”
“The old chef is in trouble?” Usopp asked.
But Sanji shook his head, making everyone even more confused.
“No, Zeff is fine.” Sanji informed them. “My mother is the one that needs me.”
He tried to hide his flinch as gasps filled the room, not that he could blame them.
“Your mother is alive?” Chopper exclaimed, before slapping his paws over his mouth.
Sanji couldn’t blame him for thinking otherwise, it is not like he talked about her.
But now she needed him and she has never asked anything from him, so he knew it was serious.
“Please.” He begged Luffy. “I need to go.”
He waited with bated breath for his captain’s answer and it looked like everybody was doing the same.
Finally, Luffy stood up from the chair he was in, walking until he was just inches away from his face, his eyes studying him from head to toe.
Sanji could feel sweat gathering in his forehead at being on the receiving end of such a stare.
“If you need to go to help your family, I’ll let you.” Luffy said and Sanji sighed in relief, opening his mouth to say thank you, but he wasn’t done.
“But you’re not going alone, we’re going with you.”
What?
He looked around his crew, hoping for some kind of protest against what their captain had just said.
He found none.
Instead, they all wore the same determined look on their face.
The sea is vast, you’ll meet kind people one day.
He tried to swallow down the knot that formed in his throat.
And in the face of his crew’s unwavering support, he nodded.
“So…” Usopp started, staring at the giant log pose at the helm of the Sunny that currently had a vivre card Sanji had provided them with. “And feel free to not answer of course, but how come you never told us your mother was alive?”
Sanji kept watching the vivre card like a hawk, it was actually the one thing he kept doing other than cooking, ever since they left Zou a few days ago.
He took a drag of his cigarette before replying. “It never came up,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I feel like it would have been a very awkward topic to just randomly bring up.!
And well, he wasn’t wrong, Usopp mentally agreed with him.
“Are the letters you get every other time from her then, dear cook?” Robin asked a few feet away from them, sipping her tea.
Sanji’s face went through a few emotions that were hard to discern for the ones present.
“I mean, not only from her.” He finally confessed, making Zoro, who was resting nearby, raise an eyebrow, something that did not go unnoticed by Sanji.
“Trust me,” he continued. “It’ll be better if I just show you, after all,” he looked to the horizon, able to see a small speck of something getting bigger as they approached. “I believe we have arrived.”
Everyone gathered at the front, some looking with wonder at the magnificent view.
“Are those giant snails?” Usopp shrieked as they got closer.
“Forget the snails,” Nami chastised. “Is that a fucking castle?”
“ That’s so cool!” Luffy exclaimed in excitement, being held back by Franky from leaping from the railing.
Their looks of astonishment plus his captain’s childlike wonder, did bring a laugh out of Sanji.
“Please, allow me to welcome you, to the Kingdom of Germa.”
Robin snapped her head at those words and he could feel that Brook did the same, not that he can blame them, not really.
Thankfully, or not, he was saved from having to answer more questions at the moment, by a booming voice coming from the castle.
“Announce yourself!” A guard yelled from his post. “And your intentions within the Kingdom.”
Sanji rolled his eyes at the dramatics, but with an equally loud voice, he replied. “It’s me, Sanji, I’m here with my crew!”
The guard didn’t reply, but Sanji saw him scrambling from his post, yelling orders to the ones behind him and soon enough, a door opened at the base of the snail.
He turned to look at his shocked crew. “We can leave the Sunny in there,” he informed them. “I promise you, it’s going to be safe.”
And while a lot of them still looked a bit unsure, Luffy just smiled, nodding his head.
“If Sanji says it’s okay, I believe him!” He announced. “Let’s dock the Sunny and go inside!”
Franky, dutifully, took the helm to do just that.
What awaited them as they entered the port, was a collection of guards, which immediately put them on edge, Sanji could see from the corner of his eye, Zoro putting his hand on the hilt of his swords.
“It’s alright,” he lifted a hand to placate them. “They’re not going to do anything to us.”
“And how do you know that, curls?” Zoro questioned him.
But instead of answering, Sanji just leaped from the Sunny, until he landed right in front of the guards.
The guards, who, as soon as he was within distance, dropped to their knees, bowing.
“Your highness,” The one at the front said as a squeak was heard in the port. “Welcome back.”
He didn’t need to turn around to see the gobsmacked looks on his crew’s faces.
“You’re a Prince?!” Nami kept shrieking as they walked the halls of the castle.
And Sanji adored her and would do anything she asked from him, but honestly, after the first 5 times of her and the rest of the crew asking the same thing, he was getting a bit tired.
Yet, his answer didn’t change. “I mean, technically, I am, nor that I broadcast it nor go anywhere by my title, I kind of renounced it to be a cook.”
He had no doubt his friends still had a lot of questions, but it all went to the back of his minds as soon as the grand doors to the throne room opened.
There, standing up from her throne, was the one person Sanji wanted to see more than anything.
“Mom,” he breathlessly said, rushing to the open arms that were waiting for him.
“My Sanji,” she hugged him tightly. “It’s been so long, you’ve gotten so big.”
She looked over his shoulder, noticing the crew standing there awkwardly, yet as regal as she always was, she greeted them with a smile.
“Welcome, Strawhats, My name is Sora,” she bowed her head a little, “I want to thank you for taking good care of my son.”
“Mom!” Sanji could feel his face flush, both at his mother’s words and because of the teasing looks he got from some of the crew.
“Well, can you blame her?” A voice came from the back of the room, making everyone whip their heads in that direction. “After all, you were always the one that needed more protection.”
“Yeah, Sanji was always the crybaby.” A mocking voice, though without any heat, joined in.
“Sometimes it still surprises me, mother let him go on his own.” A calm voice carried out.
“Well, leaving the nest and all that, his place was always too small for our little brother.”
Sanji scoffed. “I am older than you, Yonji!”
“But I’m bigger!” The last voice replied with glee.
The strawhats watched in both apprehension and amazement as four figures materialized, one girl and three boys, all wearing the same shade of blonde both Sanji and his mother had, although with a few strands of different colors in their hair.
Suddenly, a groan of despair resonated through the room.
“There’s four more of you?” Zoro whined, looking in horror at who everybody could assume were Sanji’s siblings.
Sora giggled, effectively stopping Sanji for giving the swordsman a piece of his mind.
“I believe we have much bigger things to discuss, after all, no matter how much I would want it to, this meeting is definitely not a pleasure call.”
She waited until she had all the attention in the room.
“So,” she clapped her hands. “Shall we?”
“So, let me get this straight.” Usopp started once Sora finished talking. “Big Mom wants an alliance with your kingdom, because she wants your technology.”
“Germa specializes in clean energy,” Reiju, as she had introduced herself a few moments ago, said. “We try to look for ways to make our kingdom thrive while trying to help those that require our assistance.”
“But Big Mom has no interest in that,” Ichiji, Sanji’s older brother continued. “She wants Germa tech but I’m sure her intentions are less that clean.”
“Alright,” Usopp rubbed his forehead. “And so, Big Mom, you know, an emperor of the sea, offered you one of her daughters to ‘secure’ the alliance and you said no?”
“We have no interest in getting caught up with the likes of her,” Niji spoke, resting against a sofa.
“Yeah, Big Mom doesn’t do teamwork, we deduced the ‘marriage’ she wants to secure the alliance is a scheme to get rid of us and appropriate our tech.” Yonji said seriously, his arms crossed.
“So, now, as you can imagine,” Sora kept the conversation going. “Big Mom is less than happy and a certain person who is close to her ranks, told us she's planning an invasion of our kingdom, her intentions clearly to get rid of us by force.”
“But we’re not going to let that happen!” Luffy jumped from his seat, a determined look on his face. “This is Sanji’s family! We’re going to help.”
Sora smiled softly, before directing her next words to Sanji. “You found a good crew, I’m happy for you.”
Sanji, in the face of his crew’s smiles, could feel a knot in his throat forming.
“Yeah,” his voice cracked, just a little. “I did.”
They retired soon to rest, as Sora informed them that her inside person would be with them the next day.
It seemed that Sanji was still full of surprises.
“You have your own wing?” He didn’t need to look to know that Nami’s eyes surely had a berri sign on them.
“Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s how the castle was designed, guess mom never got rid of mine after I left.”
“Why did you leave?” Chopper asked him and Sanji could see that everybody had the same question.
He sighed, may as well face the music.
He waited until they got to the common room in the wing, taking a seat on the couch as soon as they entered, the rest of his friends doing the same.
After a few minutes of silence, Sanji started talking. “The short answer was that I wanted to be a cook and I wanted to find the All Blue ever since I first read about it in a book.”
“But surely the chefs in Germa could have taught you all about cooking?” Robin asked him gently.
Sanji nodded. “And they did everything they could, but even at eight years old it felt like it wasn’t enough.”
His face turned grim, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the crew. “Then one day, Germa was crossing the waters of the East Blue and I remember being in the garden and spotting a rock in the middle of nowhere, but it wasn’t empty, no, there was someone in there”
Nami’s eyes widened, connecting the dots. “It was Zeff.”
Sanji nodded again. “It was, I screamed for my mom and we directed our course so we could help him.”
He shuddered. “He was so destroyed, he was so malnourished, the doctors even told us he wasn’t going to make it.”
“But he did,” Luffy spoke from the front. “The old chef is tough.”
Sanji barked out a laugh. “Of that I have no doubt, it wasn’t slow, that’s for sure but as soon as the geezer could walk again with that prosthetic of his, he was practically demanding we let him into our kitchens and after a few months he became the head chef of Germa.”
“Don’t get me wrong, but the old man doesn’t strike me as someone that would settle working for royals.” Usopp added.
“And you’d be right.” Sanji assured him. “But he still stuck around for a few years, at first he didn’t want to spend time with me or my siblings unless he had to, but well, if you know me, you know I can be stubborn.”
Zoro snorted. “That’s a given.”
Sanji glared at him before continuing. “My siblings gave up rather quickly, they never had that much interest in cooking, but I stuck around and after a few missed kicks to the head, he started teaching me and I soaked everything like a sponge.”
“But how did he end up building the baratie and how did you end up with him?”
“Well, when I was 15, the geezer had saved up enough money for working for us and he just straight up told us one day he was leaving because he wanted to build the restaurant,” he informed them. “I remember I was sulking, I didn’t want him to go, but well–”
“Well?” Chopper was almost at the edge of his seat, entranced in his story.
“My mom, she’s wonderful and she noticed way before I did, that this place, as majestic as it was, was too small for me and what I wanted to do, she’s the one that told me to go with Zeff.”
“For a mother to let go of his child.” Robin spoke softly. “That’s the hardest thing they could do.”
“Yeah,” Sanji’s voice was laced with both love and sadness. “But she always says she wants us to be happy and to be able to choose what we want to do with our lives.”
“She seems like an amazing woman.”
“She is and I’m so lucky she’s my mom.”
“May I ask something and you can choose not to answer, but I noticed that there doesn’t seem to be a king in this country.” Brook’s words sent a chill down Sanji’s spine and he couldn’t help the glare he sent his way.
“The King is dead. ” Sanji’s words left no room for argument. “That’s all you need to know.”
Brook raised his bony hands in surrender, but Sanji could see how not only him, but the rest of his crew suddenly grew curious; well, they had to live with that curiosity for he had no need to speak about the late king.
Thankfully, because somehow he always knows, Luffy stood up.
“If Sanji doesn’t want to tell us, he doesn’t have to.” He spoke firmly and Sanji felt relieved to have him on his side, knowing the subject will be swiftly dropped.
“I believe we ought to rest.” Robin intervened. “After all, Queen Sora said her informant will be here early tomorrow.”
His crew sighed, knowing they were beaten and soon enough, they retired to the quarters that were lent to them as Sanji laid on the bed he hasn’t been in for the last 6 years.
And as he stared at the ceiling, he just hoped that whatever were to happen, would not be as terrible as things tend to be when his crew is involved.
He was so fucking wrong.
That was the first thing that came to mind as soon as he saw Capone Bege sitting comfortably at the top of the large table in the meeting room, his wife and his son beside him and his crew behind him.
And as he spoke, Sanji could feel the headache getting bigger.
“Let me get this straight.” He started once the man finished talking. “You want us to disturb Big Mom’s tea party, something she absolutely adores, destroy the cake she has been waiting for, for months, may I add and hope that she goes crazy enough that she’d be weakened so we can kill her.”
It was madness, not even Luffy could come up with a plan this stupid.
And yet the calmness in which Bege smoked his pipe told him that the man was completely serious.
He was glad that at least a few of his crew and two of his siblings seemed to think the same as him, so he turned to look imploringly at his mom.
“Do you realize how crazy this whole scheme is, right?” He asked him.
She proceeded to sigh. “I know sweetheart, trust me, I have thought it over a lot, but given our current situation, it’s our best shot.”
“I told Big Mom I’d be coming for her,” Luffy should not fucking sound that excited. “So I guess this is the time!”
Nami slapped him across the head. “This is not something to be excited for, Luffy!”
The captain rubbed his head as he pouted at his navigator. “But we promised Sanji we’d help him and we’re going to do just that!”
And even as they faces still showed some doubt, not a single person of his crew went against his word.
Sanji sighed, they were truly doing this, he turned to look at Bege.
“Alright, what’s the plan?”
Bege’s smile did nothing to ease Sanji’s nerves.
As expected, it was a fucking disaster.
They succeeded in destroying the cake and trashing the party, oh they did, but they failed in their attempt to assassinate Big Mom.
But the worst part, in his opinion, no doubt his crew would disagree, was that he made a girl cry.
He didn’t even know what it was that he said that made her react like that, alright?
He just saw her as he was trying to run from the emperor’s fury and he couldn’t help but compliment her on her third eye.
Only for her to collapse right there, a gun falling from her dress.
And even though it pained him to leave her in such state, he had to get the fuck away from that place and reunite with his crew and his mom.
And when it seemed like they were finally getting out of Whole Cake, the same girl appeared, introduced herself as Pudding and asked him and Chiffon for help in recreating the cake.
“Please,” she begged them. “If we don’t satiate her hunger pains, she is going to destroy her whole territory, the people living in there do not deserve that fate.”
So that’s how after requiring permission from both his captain and his mother, he found himself at the heart of Cacao Town, baking the biggest cake of his life in a battle against the clock, knowing that his crew and his siblings were probably not having an easy time trying to fight off Big Mom’s lackeys.
The cake itself was easy to bake and now he had time to kill before it was ready to decorate.
As he was sitting in one of the kitchen tables, he felt a presence appear at his side, turning his head slightly, he was met with the blushing face of Pudding.
“Is something wrong?” He asked her.
She fidgeted with her hands, not quite meeting his gaze.
“Pudding?” He tried again.
“You, you told me my eye was beautiful.” She said so quietly, Sanji had to strain his ears to hear her.
“Well, it is.” Sanji assured her. “I would never lie to a lady, it goes against my code.”
She still looked nervous. “Nobody had ever said that to me before.”
Oh.
Suddenly, Sanji understood where she was coming from.
It couldn’t have been easy, growing with someone like Big Mom as your mother, someone that prioritized her conquest over her children.
He thinks that had his mother not taken matters into her own hands, his fate would not have been so different as the one Pudding faced.
But if there was one thing his mother and his crew had taught him, was that the past did not define you and the present can be changed so the future could thrive.
It seemed Pudding desperately needed someone to tell her so.
“You are worth more than whatever they made you believe.” He told her firmly, watching as he snapped her head up to look at him, her mouth opening in astonishment.
“You think you’re trapped, that there’s no way out, that you have to obey to survive, that you have to follow every word your parent tells you, that you need to be strong, that you need to be useful, otherwise you’d get thrown aside.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Pudding's quivering voice replied.
Sanji smiled sadly at her. “But I do.”
“How?”
“Because once upon a time, that used to be me.”
Memories, so long thrown aside, of a monster who called himself a father when he was none, of long speeches of conquest and power that these days were worth nothing.
A life of a little boy who lived in fear, until his mother found the strength she didn’t know she still had and saved him from a fate that spoke of cruelty.
That boy’s name was Vinsmoke Sanji.
Who was standing here today, whole and free, thanks to the hope his mother had for a better life for him, for his siblings.
And he believed Pudding had the right to choose a better life for herself too.
A tear fell down her third eye, and gently, Sanji used his thumb to wipe it away.
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you who you are or who you’re supposed to be, Pudding, only you can decide that.”
He wasn’t surprised by the sob Pudding let out, nor the way she wrapped her arms around his middle, Sanji returned the hug, petting her hair softly.
“I know right now it’s not much, but one day, hopefully in a future not so far away, when you hear about a restaurant opening in the heart of the All Blue, know that there’s going to be a place specifically waiting for you, if you so desire, after all, who can say no to great chocolate.”
The broken laugh she let out warmed Sanji to his core.
“Thank you, Sanji.” She whispered. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
They were then interrupted by the sound of the oven announcing it was done, Pudding let go of him, wiping her eyes.
“Shall we take the cake to mama?”
Sanji lit a cigarette, standing up from the bench and waiting until she did the same.
“Let’s do this.”
Miraculously, as usually is when the Strawhat Crew is involved, they pulled their ridiculous plan off.
Big Mom was so enamoured with the cake, she forgot about them enough so they could escape.
Sanji knew this wasn’t over, not by a long shot, but he very selfishly hoped that she would be too centered on trying to destroy them, especially after Luffy swore war on her, to go after his family.
But at least for this night, he wanted to put all those thoughts aside, just one night.
They put as much distance as possible from Whole Cake Island and once they were sure they would not be reached, Luffy, of course, declared they needed a feast before they parted ways.
And that’s how they found themselves in the castle’s ballroom, as Luffy devoured plate after plate that was brought out from the kitchen, Yonji trying to do his best to keep up with him, but losing terrible.
Sanji was resting against a wall on one of the corners of the room, looking with a light heart as both of his families mingled.
Although Niji giving his insight on tech that could be updated to Usopp and Franky was sure to sent a chill down his spine.
He felt someone stop beside him, not surprised at all when it turned out to be his mother.
She was smiling, as she tends to do, watching with pride the scene before her.
“I’m happy for you,” she told him. “I’m happy you’re following your dream.”
Sanji turned to look at her. “If you didn’t convince me to go with Zeff all those years ago, this wouldn’t be possible.”
“Letting you go,” she sighed. “Was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.” She turned to face him, taking both of his hands in hers.
“After everything that happened when you were children, the last thing I wanted to do was to have any of you out of my sight, out of my protection.” She took a hand to his cheek, softly caressing it. “But I’m a mother and my heart knew that I had to let you do that.” She looked around the ballroom. “This place, as grand as it is, was never going to be enough for you, for you were meant for greater things, the world has many gift to offer you, Sanji and I’m glad you’re getting the chance to experience it.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “But always remember, no matter where you are or what you’re going through, know that in this part of the ocean, your mom will always be waiting for you, ready to have his little boy in her arms again for as long as he wants to.”
She hugged him then and Sanji wrapped his arms around her fiercely, knowing his voice came out wetly when he spoke.
“I love you, mom, thank you, for everything.”
“You have nothing to thank me for, sweetheart, knowing you grew up as someone free to make his own choices, was the one thing I wanted for you and your siblings, it has been my privilege.” She told him as they separated.
Just then, a booming laugh filled the room, both Sanji and Sora whipped their heads to look for the source.
They were not surprised to see Luffy at the center of whatever mayhem was happening, everybody else surrounding them.
“You should go to them,” Sora encouraged him. “I’ll be fine.”
And he knew she was telling the truth.
So after one last hug, he went to join the party.
They laughed, they talked, they even danced.
It was the best night of his life so far.
And the next day, after goodbyes were exchanged, Sanji stood at the mast of the Sunny, watching as Germa grew smaller with the distance.
Luffy appeared at his side, his smile present on his face as always; he didn’t need to say anything, Sanji already knew.
The Strawhats were his family now and he wouldn’t change it for anything and he would give his life for all of them and know they would do the same for him.
But he knew, he’ll always have more than one home waiting for him.
And how many people can say that?
He’s lucky, he knows it, always have.
Now it was up to him to make every second count, to make everyone he loves proud.
He’ll be ready for it.
Just watch.