In a life built through lies, Sanji navigated alone. People who would die for him would never know the truth. A life forgotten and abandoned was haunting him and as much as he ran he would never overcome it. A lavish life that anyone would kill for; he rejected it all. All he wanted was to be a cook, but before that all he wanted was to be free. Free of the savagery that surrounded him. Free of all the suffering and despair that he witnessed. Saint Marcos; a name so foreign and yet so intertwined with his own being. The person that he was, is, and would be rotated around the long forgotten name that was stashed behind a facade of perversion and happiness. Oh how he would like to be reborn. In a village or city, like a commoner. Living with a simple family that was happy and carefree. He would sell his soul for it. Yet he was born as a noble, considered higher than those who were exactly as he. Two feet, two arms, a head and a body; all the same, yet his birth signified the addition of a noble into the world and he was disgusted.

Two weeks had passed since his escape from Zou, ever since his refreshed poster that actually resembled his face; he constantly tried to conceal his worry. However, he couldn't escape his own past it seemed. CP 0 had caught up with him and left him a message: "Return to the holy lands." Five words and yet they were so heavy. It wasn't a suggestion but an order and the hidden meaning behind the words was not lost on him. He was the only one who could fight in their group. With Luffy and Zoro in Dressrosa he couldn't fight them nor escape them. Visions of Nami and Chopper getting killed flooded his mind and he couldn't let them get hurt.

Holy land, Mariejois

Sanji traversed the white marble covered streets and looked in disgust at all the nobles that currently were going on about their day. Slaves holding carriages which contained overweight lords, invalids and freaks dancing around to the nobility's amusement. A slave stumbled and got instantly shot, his comrades looked away and went about their ways not wanting to be noticed by the nobles. His blood raged and he barely held himself lest he brought more attention to himself.

After the long walk that seemed like an eternity Sanji arrived at Heaven's gates, which aptly described the nobility's arrogance and idiocy, two guards standing at each side, and his family in the middle waiting for him. He held no hate for his mother or father and his siblings he had never met, but at that moment when he laid his eyes on them he could have recoiled. His father Saint Christopher looked skinny and ill, Saint Charlotte, his mother, had puffy eyes and dark rings underneath them, but his siblings were what surprised them the most, a blonde girl with blue eyes around the age of twelve, her hair was curly and well kept. Her eyes sparkled when he looked at them and he could swear that she was happy for seeing him. His brother on the other side however, was indifferent and almost a mini clone of him, minus the tuff of hair that cover his eye. All of them had curly eyebrows and gave off a warm feeling much like what he felt when he met the Straw hats after their two-year hiatus.

Time seemed to freeze for a while and everybody was silent. Even the guards who were most of the time stoic and silent, looked each other with confusion not recognizing the stranger that arrived at the Tenryubito's lair.

The tall woman who Sanji now barely identified as his mother took swift steps and then broke into a run, before Sanji realized it, he was clumped into a tight hug.

"Marco, my sweet little Marco!" she sobbed, and in an ironic way he realized that he couldn't identify himself with that name. He wasn't Marco, he wasn't a noble. This woman was his mother yes, but his family was Zeff and the cooks and the Strawhats! He opened his mouth to retort his disagreement but he couldn't bring himself to do so. This woman was crying on his shoulders. How could he break her heart even more? "Hey mom" he whispered soothingly. "I'm home."

The moving island of Zou

"Luffy! You finally made it!" yelled an excited Chopper when he laid his eyes on his captain. Luffy broke into a sprint and grabbed Chopper and Nami into a tight hug.

"Shishishishi! I missed you guys so much! Where is Sanji I need food!" he yelled with excitement. A small drop drool falling from his mouth at the mention of his cook.

Luffy pulled himself back to look at his silent comrades and his stomach tightened in a twist when he noticed the fallen faces of his comrades. A morose preamble ringed in his ears.

"Luffy… Sanji isn't with us anymore…"

Zoro and Luffy looked at them as if they had grown a second head. "Explain. Where is the shitty cook" muttered Zoro, Chopper clamped up and hid behind Nami, urging her to do all the talk. "You see, after we arrived at Zou, Sanji left. " she said.

"Left?" asked Luffy.

"Yes, you see Sanji never even existed" she sobbed.

"Eh…?" was the smartest thing Luffy and Zoro could ask. Nami pulled a newspaper page from her pocket and gave it to her captain. "Read the front page" she ordered silently.

Breaking news!

St. Marcos returns to Mariejois after twelve years!

After years of memory loss, the Tenryubito St. Marcos regained his memories.

Now the person who we all knew as Black leg Sanji returned to the Holy lands

And regained his place among the righteous and just.

All wanted posters of 'Sanji' will be removed swiftly, the Gorosei said that 'His memory loss resulted from an accident at sea, he was later assumed dead now we believe that he was manipulated by the strawhats.

More details will be described later today on Den Den Global!

N A

A small Oneshot regarding Sanji's situation after Zou. I don't think that I will continue with it, as I mostly read crossovers. This one would have been a Naruto/One piece but I decided not to go that route for now. Hope you enjoy the small drama :D