Chapter Text
He appeared after a rainfall.
Shortly after the New World, the Strawhats had found themselves bombarded by marine ship after marine ship. The Strawhats pirates were easily capable of fending of the marine vessels but it was tiring regardless.
Zoro stretched his muscles that mildly ached from the fighting. Not too long ago they had been in the middle of dinner. It had been pouring hard rain for the majority of the day and the pirates were glad to enjoy a warm and delicious meal together. That was until the marine ship arrived to claim their bounties, putting dinner on hold. No one was more displeased about missing out on food than Luffy. Least to say, the marines did not last long despite the captain boasting about having a new devil fruit ability.
After the battle, the Strawhat Pirates were wet, cold and hungry. Even Robin expressed irritation towards the unfavorable weather. The only boon was that the grey clouds finally broke after the battle and the rain stopped falling. Usopp, Chopper and Luffy cheerfully jumped in the puddles forming on the Sunny's grass.
Zoro yawned, wanting to finish dinner so he could nap. Usopp screamed (as he would later defend, a very manly scream) and Zoro drew his swords.
Usopp had fallen on his butt, pointing a finger at the main mast. Everyone was hesitant, wondering if a marine had managed to slip aboard their ship.
A head poked out from the mast. Zoro wasn't sure what to make of it. Whoever it was behind the mast was wearing some sort of iron helmet. It looked like a solid piece of armory. Zoro wondered how easily he could cut through it. The visor was a black empty void, shielding the wear's eyes completely.
True to Luffy's nature, the captain demanded to know who boarded his ship without permission. When the intruder decided to hid behind the mast without responding, Luffy marched right up. Zoro heard a single squeak as Luffy chased the intruder around the mast who shrieked and flailed when Zoro's captain caught him and hefted him into the air.
It was a child. A really small child. He struggled silently in Luffy's hands.
"Oh my," voiced Brook. "Do you think he came from the marine ship?"
"It would be odd for such a little guy to be out with the marines." Usopp mentioned.
Luffy cocked his head to side, confused. "Who are you?"
The child in the iron helmet just struggled harder. Scratching at Luffy's hands.
"OW! OW! OW!"
Luffy dropped him. The weight of the helmet made the boy's head hit the grass with a bounce but the child managed to scramble under the mast's bench. Luffy dropped to his belly, to glare at the kid.
"That hurt, yah'know?"
The child uncurled himself to peer out at Luffy. Still the boy did not speak. He proceeded to press himself further against the mast as if he would merge with the wood itself.
Nami took charge of the situation. "We still need to get clear of the enemy ship. Franky! Take the helm!"
"Sure thing, Nami-sis!" And the cyborg was off to the steering wheel.
"Chopper and I will work with the kid. They rest of you scram!" Nami yelled, turning to the one member who she expected to follow her commanded without hesitation, "Sanji."
Sanji, for all the time had been eerily silent, blinked at her, "Yes?"
Nami was slightly taken aback at the subdued energy of the cook. Maybe the fight had been harder than she thought. "Can you get a plate of food? Maybe we can coax him out."
Instead of obeying her with a fury of twirling and hearts, Sanji opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it. He gave a small bow, "As you wish, Nami-swan."
Sanji walked to the galley. Nami kneeled down beside Chopper. The child seemed to notice that most of the pirates had left the immediate area but still did not leave the perceived safety of the bench. Nami smiled warmly at him.
"Hi there," she greeted with all the friendliness she could muster. "I'm Nami and this is Chopper. What's your name?"
The child did not reply.
Chopper carefully stepped forward. "I'm a doctor. I want to check to see if you have any injuries so you have to come out from under the bench, okay?"
At this the boy checked his own body as if he was searching for any injuries. Chopper and Nami waited patiently for the boy to finish. It was several minutes before the child turned his attention back to them and shook his head. Chopper frowned, wondering if the boy had actually looked himself over for wounds. It certainly wasn't typical behavior for someone at his age. And what were the chances that the boy didn't miss anything? Chopper shared a look with Nami to share his concerns.
Nami decided for a different approach. "We're not going to hurt you. I promise. We want to help."
The boy continued to stare.
"Where did you come from?"
"…"
"Were you on that marine ship before?"
"…"
"Do you know who we are?"
"…"
Nami frowned a little. No matter what question she asked, she would receive no reply from the quivering form.
"Any luck?" Sanji asked as he appeared at her side.
Chopper shook his head sadly. "The kid won't budge."
Sanji took a deep inhale from his cigarette and handed Nami a cup and a straw. It wasn't from tonight's dinner but from the leftover soup Sanji had provided to Robin when she came down with the flu several days ago. It was a light soup but delicious none the less though Nami was confused to why Sanji put it in a cup instead of a bowl.
The smell was enticing. So much so that it made the boy lean closer to sniff the air.
Nami smiled, pushing the cup of soup close to the bench. "Would you look at this! Soup just for you! But here on this ship we have manners! We don't eat from under benches!"
Slowly, the boy crawled out from under the bench. He marked where every person was on the ship as he proceeded until he was before the cup. Reaching up behind him, the boy struggled with his helmet.
"Do you need help?" Chopper asked.
The boy tucked his chin as if to say yes.
"Okay, I'm going to come over then." Chopper explained every movement he did as he approached the child in the attempt not to scare him.
Sanji watched Chopper fiddle with the back of the helmet. Instinctively his hand went to run his fingers through his yellow locks of hair. "I don't think that will do any good."
Nami tilted her head up towards him. "Sh! You'll jinx it."
Sanji shifted uncomfortably.
Chopper looked at them with dread. "I can't get it off."
The boy's shoulders slumped, resigned. Sanji just pointed to the straw. "I figured. The straw should bend through the mask. Try it."
The boy fiddled with the straw and managed to thread it between the metal and took a tentative sip. The three strawhats watched the boy as he repeated the process. Half way through the meal, he hiccupped. This was followed by a sniffle. Tears dripped down from under the mask and into the soup.
"Stop crying."
The boy flinched under Sanji's harsh words. Nami elbowed his knee. "Be nice, this kid's obviously been through a lot."
Luffy took this opportunity to invade the little boy's space. "What do you think? It tastes awesome right? Sanji makes the best food!"
The masked boy turned his attention to the blond man towering over him.
"I'm Luffy! And this is my crew. You're a bit of crybaby but I like you," said Luffy with a smile but frowned when the boy didn't reply. "It's hard to tell what you want with the helmet on."
Before the boy could react, Luffy grabbed the mask and yanked. The boy choked and Luffy pulled. In a blink of an eye, Sanji dashed forward and kicked Luffy in the head. The rubber man was sent right into the railing.
"Are you an idiot!?" Sanji yelled, "THIS. DOESN'T. COME. OFF." Sanji poked the kid in the mask, accentuating his words. The kid's head bobbled with each poke.
Nami punched Sanji, pile driving him right into the ground. She scooped up the boy into her arms for protection. "YOU'RE NO BETTER!"
The boy looked awkward in Nami's arm, holding on to his empty cup for dear life. Calming down, Nami took a moment to examine the boy herself. While there was a mechanism to allow for the hinge to loosen and the jaw of the helmet to drop there was no other signs of how to take the it off. It was less of a helmet and more of a mask, one that made it impossible to even distinguish any features above the boy's nose from the overhanging shadows. Nami sighed.
Robin, Brook and Franky watched the crew interact with the boy from the upper deck.
"I super don't get it. Did he come from the marine ship?" Franky asked.
"He could have been a stowaway." Brook offered.
"Perhaps the navy changed the age for recruiting." Robin speculated.
"If that is true, that is much too young." Brook murmured.
"It can't be helped!" Luffy announced. "He's a mystery kid."
"He's a KID! A normal kid!" Nami shouted, slapping her captain over the head.
"Far from it," Sanji muttered into the grass and stood up. "Oi, you want seconds?"
The boy jumped a little. He looked to Sanji and then to his cup. Shaking, he held it out.
"Look, you're scaring him." Nami said, taking the cup and handing it to Sanji. "Can you go reheat dinner? I'm starving."
"Anything for you Nami-swan," Sanji spared the boy one last glance who quickly looked away from him. "Che." Sanji blew out a puff of smoke and walked away.
Nami place her free hand on her hip. "Honestly what's gotten into him?"
"I can see why Sanji-san is being mean." Brook said, observing how the boy was looking straight down into Nami's cleavage.
"Oh yeah? And why's that?"
"That boy is very lucky." Brook said sagely and took a sip of tea. "To be between the valley of the gods."
Nami's eye twitched. She took her shoe and, with expert snipership that could make Usopp jealous, nailed Brook right in the skull.
"Yoho!" Brook uttered as he toppled over.
"Men," Nami grumbled. Brook's comment couldn't be more wrong. Sure, the boy in the mask was letting her hold him and looking down at her breasts but it seemed like a result of him not wanting to look at them. The boy still hadn't touched her even to given himself stability. The boy kept his hands clasped together, playing with his own fingers nervously. His shoulders were hunched in as if he was trying to make himself as small as possible in her arms.
Nami gave him a comforting pat on his back. "Let's go finish dinner and then we'll have Chopper look at you."
When the Strawhat pirates returned to the galley, Sanji had reheated the meal and put out some booze for them. Sanji watched them eat from the counter, especially the boy seated between Chopper and Nami. Everyone was tired from the battle and they were hungry so no one noticed when Sanji slipped out the door. No one but the one-eyed swordsman.
Sanji closed the door carefully behind him before slumping against the door with all of his weight. His legs had been wanting to give out on him the moment he saw the boy. Relighting his cigarette, Sanji took a moment to calm his nerves. Leaning his head against the door, Sanji looked up at the stars that were appearing across the dark navy sky.
Why was he here? It should be impossible.
He's dead.
It must be some New World trick. Why else would he be here? Could it have been from the devil fruit user? Sanji hadn't said anything when he was hit by the pirate's beam but nothing happened so he didn't think anything of it. That made sense, Sanji was hit by a devil fruit user's beam and he's here.
If he's from a devil fruit ability then he must be some sort of effect. Usually devil fruit abilities don't last long so Sanji just had to wait until he disappeared. The only problem was making sure his crew didn't discover who he was. There was no need to dredge up the past. Sanji knew it was cowardly to hide this from his crew. A crew that he considered nakama. A crew he would die for but this was a part of his past he could never share. Taking one last breath of nicotine, Sanji returned to the galley and the Strawhat crew. After all….
Vinsmoke Sanji died when he was nine years old.
~~ALL~~BLUE~~
He wasn't going away.
It had been a full day since he appeared and the boy was still here.
After dinner, the boy promptly went to sleep so Chopper waited until after breakfast the following day to examine the boy leaving Sanji to have a sleepless night fretting over what the reindeer would find in his examinations.
Sanji counted his blessings when Chopper discovered that the boy had no additional injuries. On the other hand, Chopper hypothesized that the boy did not come from, as he said, "a nice place." His skin coloration indicated that he hadn't been getting enough sunlight. Paired with the iron mask on the boy's face and his fearful behavior around adults Chopper was sure the boy was held in a dark place against his will. Sanji's heart nearly stopped at the accuracy of Chopper's guess with the few details he had.
Dear Nami-swan was completely endeared to him and decided that the crew would help him recover. Luffy fully agreed with the idea and so he was a permanent resident of the Thousand Sunny until he disappeared.
Sanji decided the best thing for everyone was to let the devil fruit take its course. He wasn't speaking anyways so Sanji tried to convince himself that everything would be fine. He just had to act normal and unfazed by him.
Unfortunately, Sanji masterplan lasted a grand total of a half hour.
After Chopper's examination, the boy in the iron mask either clung to Nami or Robin for protection. Sanji brought out a snack for his lovely ladies and tried not to be jealous that he was allowed to sit between Nami's legs as she sunbathed on her deck. What was worst was he laid that ugly, heavy mask on Nami's delicate skin. Mustering up his gentleman suave, Sanji approached.
"You snack, mellorine~" Sanji placed the orange jello on the table beside her. The boy in the mask raised his head in interest.
Nami glanced up through her sunglasses. "Thanks Sanji," She took a bite, "This is delicious!"
"As a cook, it sends my heart running when I hear such compliments from you." Sanji swooned.
"Could you get one for him?"
"Huh?"
"The kid,"
Sanji was unable to hide his frown. "He can wait like the rest of the shitheads."
"Sanji," Sanji cringed hearing such a disapproving tone coming from the navigator.
"Right away,"
A bit subdued, Sanji spun on his heel and walked away. He did not expect him to slide of Nami's chair and follow him. Sanji gritted his teeth and sped up as he descended the stairs. Of all the places for the damn swordsman to sleep, it had to be the bottom of the stairs. Sanji kicked Zoro a little viscously.
"Move shitty marimo. You're blocking the stairs."
Zoro yawned. "I was here first."
Out of the corner of his eye Sanji could see him walking right along to the top of the stairs. If Zoro wasn't going to move then Sanji would make him. So Sanji brought his heel right down into the swordsman's gut, perhaps harder than he usually did but Sanji couldn't deny it was a little satisfying.
Zoro was on his feet, two of his swords drawn. He snarled. "Dart-brow. What the hell?!"
"You gonna cry?" Sanji asked as he walked towards the galley.
Sensing an incoming attack, Sanji raised his leg. The black sole of his shoe hit steel and the match was on. Sanji released all his pent of frustration and stress on Zoro, lashing out harshly with each kick. Zoro met Sanji's violence at the same level as they brawled across the grass.
Zoro stumbled back when Sanji landed a solid heel to his chin.
The battle paused.
The crewmembers on deck were now watching what should have been a normal brawl with concern. Leveling the cook a hard stare, Zoro spit out a bit of blood and pulled out Wadou. Both men leapt at each other, full intent on getting the final blow on the other.
Without warning, the boy in the iron mask stumbled on the stairs. With his head far heavier than the rest of him sent the boy toppling down the stairs and right into the swordsman's path. In a moment of quick thinking, Zoro managed to avoid stepping on the boy but he lost his balance. He was falling at Sanji, swords ready to skewer him. Sanji tried to abort his attack as Zoro tumbled over him but his leg was still moving on its original course.
In an instant, Luffy was there. He parried both their attacks, sending his crew members crashing into opposite sides of the deck. Sanji stayed on the ground breathing heavily. In that last moment before Luffy interfered, the swordsman tried to turn his swords away from Sanji but Sanji couldn't change the trajectory of his kick. If Luffy - If Luffy hadn't been there... Sanji would have kicked Zoro's arm and kicked his sword right into his-
Sanji jerked his head up. The green haired bastard was rubbing his head but he was unscathed. The cook froze seeing Luffy standing in the middle of the deck, he was in between his captain's legs. Luffy did not look happy. The rest of the crew had gathered at the fringes, confused and unsure.
No one got a chance to say anything as something hit the Sunny hard. Everyone scrambled to stay on their feet and the Sunny rocked side to side. A shadow overtook the ship as the black and white sea king rose from the ocean waters.
"EEEEEEE!" Nami and Usopp shrieked.
"I can't believe my eyes. Though I don't have any. Yohohoho!" Brook gave a terrified laugh before a wave of ocean crashed into him.
The sea king body slammed into ship. Franky ran down from the helm. "It's trying to capsize the Sunny!"
"MEAT!" Luffy cheered. "Let's eat it!"
Zoro grinned, already fully recovered. "Aye, captain!"
The captain and the swordsman launched themselves at the sea king. The sea king flailed when Luffy's punch knocked it back and Zoro gouged three deep cuts into its body. The failing only rocked the Thousand Sunny more and created waves that dosed the remaining crew members on the decks. Sanji gripped the railing tightly to not be thrown off. He quickly surveyed the rest of the crew. Nami was hanging onto Usopp's hair for dear life. Franky had Chopper with a sopping wet and limp Brook cradled in his arms. With Robin inside the library, everybody was safe.
A flash of white was all Sanji saw when he, too weak to get a grip on the grass, slid right into the churning water below. Sanji's leg twitched, instinctively wanting to go after him as he did whenever one of the devil fruit users went overboard but he didn't.
This was probably for the best. Because he was around, Sanji was vulnerable, his secrets right in plain sight of his unknowing crew. Zoro was a directionless neanderthal on his best days but he was nakama and Sanji nearly kil- hurt his nakama because of him. He wasn't real anyways, just an effect of a devil fruit, probably disappeared the moment he hit the water. Sanji tried to convince himself that he was content with thinking that.
But Luffy had to screw that up.
Luffy was still in the air when he saw the boy in the iron mask fall right overboard.
"Hang on!" Sanji's eyes widened when he saw Luffy's fling his rubbery arm and grabbed the Sunny's railing. "Gum gum ROCKET!"
Luffy rocketed himself into the water after the boy. Sanji cursed and dove in after his idiot captain.
It was slightly terrifying and amazing to see how the part of the sea king sticking out of the water really was just like the tip of an iceberg. The fish was humongous, Sanji couldn't even see the end of it. Even his captain would have trouble eating all of it, that same captain that was sinking to the inky darkness below.
Sanji swam after captain. The water grew colder as he descended deeper. It was like Luffy was sinking faster than normal. Finally Luffy was in his reach and Sanji managed to grab his ankle. Sanji now understood why Luffy was heavier. Though Luffy had been weakened by the water, his arms were wrapped tightly around him.
Sanji brought them back to the surface, gasping for air when they reached it.
"Sanji!" Usopp shouted. Sanji grabbed the rope that was thrown to him. Franky held onto the other side and with one strong pull, yanked all three of them back onto the deck.
Chopper was on them immediately. Seeing the boy coughing out the water and sitting up, Chopper turned his attention to Luffy. He leaned in to feel for air being expelled from Luffy's mouth.
"Not breathing!" Chopper announced. Sanji felt his heart leap to his throat. Chopper transformed into his Strong Point and slammed a fist down onto Luffy's chest. Luffy's lips puckered as all the water was forced from his lungs. Luffy sat up and stuck out his tongue.
"The ocean's way too salty,"
The tension Sanji had completely melted hearing this and collapsed down beside him. "Then don't inhale it, you shitty captain,"
"Shishi. Ah, the meat!"
"It got away," Zoro said.
Luffy flopped back on to the grass. "Awww. I wanted to eat it."
"OW!" Franky struck his pose. "Better luck next time."
Luffy kicked his legs out like a child having a tantrum. "But I wanna eat it!"
"Should've helped marimo catch it," Sanji chided.
Luffy puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "Then mystery kid would have drowned."
"YOU WOULD HAVE DROWNED TOO!"
Luffy ignored him and lifted the boy to his feet. "Hey, you okay?" Luffy asked knocking on the mask.
A sneeze was his only answer.
"My, what happened out here?" Robin asked when she joined the rest of the crew on the grass.
Nami sighed. "Don't ask."
"Dinner got away," Zoro replied.
"That's unfortunate but at least the ship wasn't split in two," said Robin.
Sanji sighed. He really needed a cigarette.
~~ALL~~BLUE~~
It was later in the evening when Sanji finished cleaning up the kitchen. He was being a little bit more meticulous in ensuring everything was absolutely spotless but he needed something to keep his mind occupied. After the kitchen was clean, Sanji promptly whipped up a cup of tea. Sanji walked through the dim corridor, surrounded by the gentle smell of the warm drink and wisps of smoke from his cigarette.
He stopped before the library door. The door was cracked slightly, allowing light to pour into the black hallway, confirming Sanji's suspicions. Preparing to put on his cookly charm for Robin and treat her to special soothing tea for her to enjoy for her evening reading, Sanji paused when he heard Robin talking.
"What would you like to read?"
Sanji muttered a "che" under his breath. He had forgotten that Nami had passed him off to Robin after dinner so she could enjoy a soak in the bath. Unsure if he could really evade suspicion from Robin if he was present, Sanji leaned against the wall. He listened to the sound of books being shuffled around for several minutes.
"How about this?" Robin offered. "It's from a North Blue tale book, Sora and the Germa Kingdom. I believe this was inspiration for a comic book."
Sanji could hear just how violently he shook his head from how the mask rattled. There was more shuffling of books as if he was determined. Robin stayed quiet until he made his choice.
Robin hummed in improvement. "That is an interesting choice."
Sanji could hear them moving around before settling down for this story time.
Robin spoke again. "Have you heard of the All Blue before, Mystery Boy?"
He decided not to disturb Robin's reading tonight.
~~ALL~~BLUE~~
After being rescued from drowning, the boy in the iron mask was more comfortable around the men on the ship. He held particular interest in Luffy and Luffy was ecstatic to have another playmate during the day. Chopper would occasionally take the boy for a short checkup before returning him to his captain. If the boy wasn't with Luffy or Chopper than he would still likely be with one of the girls on the ship.
Brook and Franky still seemed to intimidate the boy and Zoro didn't really stick around for the boy to get attached. Sanji occasionally found himself with a shadow. It was usually when the cook was making his way to the galley to do meal prep when he would sense him following him. One glare would send him running back to Nami's arms. It went on for two days like this and he still wouldn't disappear.
Sanji felt like he was constantly waiting for a hammer to fall and demolish his sense of normalcy. Nami had already tried to pick the lock to no avail much to the irk of her thief's pride. Now Franky and Usopp were devising ways to get the helmet off without hurting the boy. Sanji's time was limited. On one of his increasing smoke breaks, Luffy came to pester him.
"Sanji! I'm bored!" He called.
"Go bother marimo then."
"He's training." Luffy said, draping himself over Sanji.
"I need to work." The cook tried to walk away, dragging his flexible captain along with him.
"You've been no fun since we found the mystery kid." Luffy grumbled into his shoulder. Sanji paused, unsure if Luffy was being annoyingly insightful or if he was just complaining. Either way, Luffy was right. Sanji had been on edge since he showed up. He was so worried that his nakama might learn something about him that they shouldn't. Sanji thought he was hiding it well but he guessed it wasn't enough because his oblivious captain noticed.
"Wanna see how high I can kick you as a balloon?" Sanji asked.
Luffy grinned like a madman. Finally releasing his cook, Luffy sucked in as much air as he could take. Satisfied with his sphere shaped captain, Sanji did a couple experimental kicks. Luffy pressed his lips together in an effort to not laugh while was bounced gently off of Sanji's knees. Soon Sanji added more strength for each contact and Luffy would rise higher into the air. It was admittedly a little fun to use Luffy as a giant ball. Sanji didn't even notice he came out with Chopper.
Sanji kicked Luffy high enough to wind up his leg back and kick Luffy up the moment the ballooned captain came back down. Luffy soared into the air until he was just a tiny dot in the sky. Sanji waited patiently. Luffy whizzed around sporadically through the blue sky, laughing and expelling all the air he had managed to hold in. Eventually he dropped back down to the deck of the Thousand Sunny with a bright smile on his face.
"Shishishishi! That was fun!"
Sanji smiled slightly, glad that he was able to please his captain. That smile faded as he approached Luffy.
He stopped before him. Tentatively, the boy reached out a hand and paused. His gaze shot up to read Luffy's expression who was smiling, waiting for the boy to make the first move. The boy pinched Luffy's skin and pulled, he immediately let go when the skin stretched.
Luffy's smile grew as his shock expressed itself in how he jumped when the rubbery skin snapped back. Luffy squatted down and stuck out his tongue as his pulled on both his cheeks to outrageous lengths. "Bleh,"
"…you ate a devil fruit." The boy's voice was so soft Luffy barely heard him utter the words. His cheeks snapped back when his fingers slipped in surprise.
"You can talk!" Chopper exclaimed happily.
The boy hunched his shoulders and looked down at his feet. Luffy tapped on his shoulder and had his face stretched into a goofy expression for when the boy looked up. The boy stifled a laugh.
Satisfied, Luffy said, "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit and now I'm a rubber man."
The boy looked to Chopper expectantly and Chopper happily said, "I'm a reindeer who ate the Human-Human fruit. Devil Fruits have amazing abilities, don't they?"
Sanji nearly panicked right then and there because of his next comment. Shuffling on his feet nervously, the boy said. "I wish I had the Clear-Clear fruit."
"Really?" Luffy asked, unfazed by the boy shuffling his weight between his feet nervously. "That's funny, Sanji wants that fruit too."
He didn't even dare look at Sanji.
"Why do you want to eat the Clear-Clear fruit?" Chopper asked, hoping to encourage the boy to continue talking but Sanji desperately wished the reindeer had kept his mouth shut.
The boy tilted his head to look solely at his feet and no one else. "So I can disappear."
Chopper's forehead furrowed in concern.
Luffy made a comment on how that answer was boring. Both of his crewmates' attended to the boy and Sanji had no outward reaction but he was desperately struggling to tame his thoughts and stay calm. He thought he couldn't speak. Not only could he speak but – seeing as he knew what first got him interested in the Clear-Clear fruit – he knew everything.
Later on, Sanji found himself on the first shift of night watch duty. Instead of taking his post in the crow's nest Sanji was at the railing, looking out at the vast and dark ocean before him.
Sanji had been sure that he couldn't talk, at least, that's what he tried to convince himself. Now Sanji had to face an ugly truth that he could speak, had his memories and could spill his secrets at any time. He had to do something about whatever this devil fruit was doing. But what? He couldn't do anything tonight and thinking anymore about him was going to just lead to more stress. Putting out his cigarette, Sanji made for the crow's nest but stopped when he heard a pot hit wood flooring.
The galley light was on, somebody was in his kitchen. Luffy was probably trying to sneak a snack while Sanji was on watch but he's usually smart enough to keep the lights off. Sanji kicked open the galley door to scare Luffy before beating him and scared the occupant Sanji did. The boy dropped the bowl he was holding and it clattered loudly to the kitchen floor.
Sanji frowned. "What the hell are you doing in my kitchen?"
He shifted beside the stool to try and hid the ingredients behind him. Sanji took one look and recognized several items he used to make Nami's snack a few days ago, including some mushed tangerines.
"You stole from Nami-swan's trees?" The boy flinched at the accusation. "And you wasted food in my kitchen." Sanji stalked over and grabbed a rag. "Go back to bed, I'll clean this up."
Much to his annoyance he didn't move, in fact he started to cry.
"Stop crying," the boy flinched at Sanji's harsh tone. Seeing his reaction, Sanji ran his fingers through his hair. A bit awkwardly but gentler, he said. "Please stop crying. Your tears are going to make the inside of the mask wet and it won't dry properly and then your skin will get irritated….. what?"
The boy stared at Sanji while the cook rambled but, even though he couldn't see his face, Sanji knew the boy was thinking about something. The boy touched the top of his iron mask and examined Sanji from head to foot. Sanji shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to do.
The boy in the iron mask fisted the edges of the metal. "You are me."
Sanji's mouth dropped open.
"I am you." The boy added.
Sanji got angry and snapped, "We are not- you are not me!"
"You are me." The boy persisted.
"Shut up you shitty brat." Sanji growled.
Even as Sanji stalked forward, he held his ground and stated firmly. "You are me."
"Shut up, you're just from some shitty devil fruit." Sanji stood towering over him and lifted his knee, posed to strike. "You are just some shitty illusion. If I don't get rid of you then they'll learn about everything I've hidden from them and I- and I can't have that!"
Sanji fully extend his leg and brought his foot down with the force he would use to kill. He didn't move, just gripped his fists tight. The lighting was just right and Sanji could see the white of his eye looking up at him with helpless terror but also …. hope. In that moment, Sanji wondered if that's what Judge saw whenever Sanji looked to him to save him from his brothers.
The kitchen counter shattered when Sanji's foot made contact. Wood splintered and the stone counter was reduced to rubble but the boy in the iron mask remained unscathed.
Sanji withdrew his leg and collapsed to his knees before the boy. He gritted his teeth, twisting his hair tightly between his fingers. Even if it was because of a devil fruit, it was still a child.
It was still him.
The boy waited for a moment before saying again, "You are me."
"Yeah," Sanji gasped out in a broken tone, bowing his head further. "I am you."
The cook's kick had not only shattered a good portion of the counter but it shook the entire ship, enough to awaken the sleeping occupants. The Strawhats burst into the galley, all in an assortment of night wear and levels of wakeness.
"Wha-what happened?!" Usopp exclaimed from behind his human shield named Luffy.
"Sanji….?" Nami questioned gently.
The crew had felt like they had entered strange territory. Sanji was turned away from them, hand tangled painfully in his hair. Two halves of an iron helmet lay heavy on the floor next to the boy who stood before Sanji. The pale boy looked up at the crew with his single visible blue eye as his curly eyebrow shot up in alarm.
Luffy looked between the child and his cook and cocked his head. "Sanji has a kid?"
There was an uncertain and awkward tension as the Strawhat pirates gathered around the dining table. Both halves of the iron mask were placed on the table. The boy who looked like Sanji sat beside the aforementioned cook who, in a rare instance, was smoking in the galley. The crew shared looks between them, unsure how to address the issue, all expect Luffy who was waiting on his answer.
"You have a weird way of hiding your kid from us." Luffy said, rocking one of the halves.
"Tch. He's not my kid." Sanji grumbled into his cigarette.
"You look super similar though," said Franky "Like you're clones."
"Eh?" Usopp gasped. "Sanji were you involved in a science experiment that makes billions of you to create an army!?"
"NO! How'd you come to that conclusion!" Sanji yelled.
"One is enough," Zoro grumbled.
"Screw you!" Sanji sighed. "Remember that fight a couple days ago? I got hit by a devil fruit user. Nothing happened at first so I assumed it didn't work but then we found him on the ship."
"The devil fruit made you a father," Luffy said knowingly.
Sanji resisted the urge to throw something at his captain. "He's not my kid, idiot. I already said that."
Robin tapped his chin in thought. "But our Mystery Boy is you as a kid. Am I wrong?"
"Oh Robin-chawn~ Of course you would be the first to get to the bottom of this~" Sanji sang out his praises before becoming more subdued. "That's right. This is me… or was me? Che," He ruffled his hair in irritation.
"No way!" Nami gasped. "How old are you?"
"Eight," the boy said shyly.
"Ehhhh?!"
"And this is all because of a devil fruit?" Chopper asked.
Sanji nodded. "It's my best guess."
Zoro's eye flickered between the two curly eyed boys and stated. "You knew who he was all along."
Sanji frowned, "Yeah."
"Why didn't you tell us? You got hit by a devil fruit user?"
"Because he wasn't hurting anybody! I figured he would disappear shortly and there was no need to worry the crew." Sanji explained, not caring if he sounded a bit defensive.
"And you thought it was okay when we let him wander around our ship?" Zoro's voice rose as he spoke.
"It was none of your business!" Sanji shot back, his own voice rising to match Zoro's.
"Like hell it does. You were hiding stuff from us," Zoro jabbed a finger towards the helmet, "What else are you hiding?"
Sanji nearly bit through the filter of his cigarette.
"Mah," voiced Luffy, instantly quelling the rising tension between his crewmates, "Sanji. Join my crew."
The boy looked at Luffy surprised but there was also a shining spark in his eye.
Sanji karate chopped Luffy on the head, "Enough out of you!"
"But we could have two cooks! That means double the meat!" Luffy argued.
"You only need me."
Luffy frowned. "I want two cooks."
"He's not a cook! He's a kid."
"Awww"
"Our little Sanji is the result of a devil fruit user. How did you know the user used his ability?" Robin asked.
"A beam,"
"And you have no idea why the devil fruit manifested you as a child?" Robin asked to which Sanji shook his head.
"Oi," the little boy looked up at the larger, "Do you know why you were created?"
"…. To be a soldier,"
Sanji paled at this response.
"What do you mean?" Robin pressed but Sanji held up his hand.
"It's unrelated to why he was created from the devil fruit." Sanji said carefully, avoiding addressing what the boy said.
Robin respected his attempt at evasion and said, "I'll try to figure out the type of devil fruit so we can figure out why the child version of you manifested."
"What about the helmet thing? Was that from the devil fruit user?" Usopp asked.
Sanji knew he should have said "yes" but he hesitated. His silence was apparently enough for Chopper, "You actually wore this? Sanji! You can't even eat in that helmet!"
The boy took one look at the mask and shrank in his seat. Sanji sighed and placed a hand on the younger one's head whose apprehension turned to marvel as the cook stroked his locks. "I only had it for a few months. It wasn't that bad, Chopper."
"But why did you have it on?!" Chopper asked clearly distressed.
Sanji frowned, struggling to figure out how to word his explanation to put the doctor at ease but not reveal anything. "It- It wasn't…. I…."
"I was dead." The littler Sanji piped catching everyone's attention when the boy pointed to the cook. "He became Sanji."
Franky frowned. "You're name's not Sanji?"
The boy thought for a moment. "He's Sanji but I'm Vinsmo-Mmphf!" Sanji slapped a hand right over the boy's mouth.
"You're names Vinsmo?" Usopp chuckled but quickly shut up when Sanji sent him a scalding glare.
"Can I call you Vinny?" Luffy asked the boy.
"No, my name has always been Sanji, Vins… what he was going to say doesn't matter. And do not call him Vinny," Sanji grumbled. His crewmates looked at him expectedly.
"It's okay, Sanji." Luffy smiled. "You're a crybaby but I like you."
"That's normal for an eight year old! You're just a monster." Chopper chimed.
"Oh yeah, Shishishishi," Luffy laughed.
"I don't mean to hide anything from you guys but this…. this stuff should really stay in the past. So I got a rule I want to put down." Sanji patted the boy's head. "No asking him questions about me. Got it?"
"You're no fun." Luffy whined.
"You know that makes us extra curious." Nami teased.
Sanji sighed, a little defeated. "I know, but I hope that you guys respect my personal boundaries." Sanji hated the looks of surprise, confusion, and disappointment that crossed his nakama's faces but he had to make this boundary clear. The meeting concluded with one question, what was the purpose of baby Sanji?
And secretly, the crew wondered what Sanji had to hide?
-DigitalGuardian