Hello there, I'm WinglessCrows, but you can call me Crow. This fic is basically based halfly on what I think Sanji's background was like and the other half is just pure fiction. However, I do SPOIL things from the MANGA so if you are not caught up to CHAPTER 833 I would highly recommend that you do not read this fic. If you are caught up then I hope you enjoy.
This fic will have three chapters, but I prommise that each chapter will be quite long, so hopefully that makes up for it. I will upload the next chapter on the third Sunday of this month, so look forward to that :)
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece
Birth
Sanji didn't know if he just had a bad memory or if things had just always been this way, but all he could remember was fighting, training and studying all day, every day. Of course it wasn't always the same. His first memories were of him learning different languages and learning how to wield weapons as if they were part of his own body. Sanji was seven now and although he hadn't met many children his age, he knew that he was both smarter and stronger than most. He spoke almost all of the major languages of the world fluently. Not that there were many left after the World Government had decided to make the language spoken at Mariejoa the common tongue, meaning that all the one hundred and seventy three countries under their flag could speak the same language. That didn't stop some countries from having two languages though and Sanji had been told that it was always more respectable to speak the language of your host rather than your own, so when Sanji would start visiting people of importance it was essential that he knew their language.
On top of being able to speak in many different tongues, Sanji was also considerably strong. The word considerable is important here. While Sanji was much stronger than normal kids his age he had nothing on his siblings who were like small monsters. Of course the only reason Sanji knew that he was stronger than other children was because he would often sneak out of the small Germa Kingdom just to get away from everything. He would often find himself in small children's fights and no matter what side he ended up choosing after having watched whatever was going on for a time, he always came out on top, but his father couldn't use considerable strength, he needed absolute power. It wasn't that Sanji didn't try, because he did. He trained everyday with the hopes of catching up to his siblings so that maybe, just maybe, his father wouldn't look at him like he was mere dirt on the ground, but unlike his siblings, Sanji did not enjoy fighting. He fought because he had to and because he would get punished otherwise, but unlike Ichiji who would one day be head of the Germa 66 and Reiju who would be the queen of the royal family, Sanji didn't know what his strength was supposed to be used for. But for all the fighting he did, Sanji could never catch up. Once a week the siblings would be pinned against one another, and as surely as Reiju would win every single fight, Sanji would lose every single fight, and their father was more than disappointed. The fights between Sanji's brothers were always relatively even and every week a new one would stand as the male champion, but never Sanji. Sanji hadn't even been close to winning, not even once.
It had come to a point where his father had decided that he didn't want to use unnecessary resources on him, and where all his siblings had the best teachers his father could get his hands on, Sanji was now suddenly put in the hands of some random foot soldier. He was taught how to use a variety of weapons, but the one his father had decided should be his main asset was the sword. Sanji wasn't too displeased with this decision as he was actually quite good with wielding blades. He would have preferred something smaller and more flexible, but he could learn how to wield a sword. Despite the foot soldier not being anything like Sanji's old teacher, he was never mean to Sanji and as long as Sanji put in the work, he would still improve just as much as he had before. Not that that was anything to brag about, but at the very least he was making some sort of progress, even if his father didn't know about it. He would still get his ass handed to him during the weekly sibling fights and after his father had given him a worse teacher, it seemed that the punishments for losing also got worse. The punishments varied too. Sometimes he would get thrown into the dungeons without any food or light, and he'd sit there until his father decided to let him out. Sometimes he would have to fight their father in what would be a short and painful ordeal and other times he would be Reiju's personal punching bag. They claimed that it was because they needed a moving target, but Sanji knew better. He might be weaker than the rest of them, but he was also smarter than them... or at least he was smarter than they thought he were.
The only time Sanji could truly catch a break was during meals. His favorite meal was dinner, because it had more food and would therefore take longer. The thing about dinner was that if Sanji just behaved no one would talk to him and he could enjoy some peace of mind. Of course, maintaining proper etiquette while dining wasn't the easiest job for a royal child. There were so many dos and don'ts and every time you messed up someone would yell at you. Usually it would be mother, but occasionally it would be father or the head butler. Once it had even been his maid. But Sanji had been quick to learn how to stay out of trouble much unlike his siblings. He'd always make sure to sit straight and always keep his hands on his knees when he wasn't using them. His younger brother Yonji would often get told off for his poor posture and wild movements while eating. Sanji would make sure to use the utensils properly and in the right order, unlike Niji who either messed up what fork to start with or didn't grip the utensils in the right way making his eating clumsy. He would eat slowly so that he wouldn't be the first person to finish his meal. Often he'd match it so that he'd finish his meal around the same time as his mother. That way she couldn't complain. Ichiji was completely different as he usually finished food before anyone else and also made a lot of noise while eating. If he was ever spoken to, Sanji would respond in a respectful manner. He'd look at whoever was talking to him in the eye and speak clearly, but not too loud. He'd address his family with respect. He called his parents mother and father, rather than mum and dad, which many of his siblings preferred. He used honorifics with all of his siblings, even Yonji, and he would speak like an adult. He'd use no slang like Niji and no curse words like Reiju. He'd only speak when spoken to, not just because he didn't want to talk, but because children should be seen and not heard. He was glad that Reiju didn't follow that rule though. She was eleven years old and considered herself an adult, so she would always start a conversation with someone. She'd either talk to father about fighting or to mother about politics. This kept Sanji from being interrogated about his day and he could enjoy his food in silence.
As meal time had become his favorite part of the day he also started to appreciate the finer details in it. He noticed how the chef would change how much he'd cook the beef depending on the sauce and the side dishes. He noticed how salt complimented different ingredients and how there was a fine balance between using too much salt and too little. He noticed how salmon tasted better in autumn, while mackerel tasted better in spring. He noticed how different teas complimented different desserts and how cold and hot ingredients changed taste if not eaten at prime temperature. Many times Sanji wondered how many of the dishes he ate had been made and whether or not he could make them too. Very often Sanji would look at the cut of a fish and appreciate the fine blade work, and think that with his knife skills, he should be able to do it too. There had been many occasions where Sanji had been tempted to sneak into the kitchens, but he knew that his parents wouldn't approve and always decided against it. Until now that was.
Sanji's foot soldier teacher had called of training early claiming that he had a stomach ache and although Sanji knew that he should probably keep training himself, he figured that a half day of training couldn't make that much of a difference and did what he had always wanted to do. Go to the kitchen. Sanji made sure that no one saw him as he listed around the castle and when he finally arrived at his destination he hid behind a big box that smelled a lot like dirt. There weren't many people in the kitchen, only three, but Sanji knew that was because he had snuck into the main kitchen which only served the Vinsmokes, while the kitchen, which connected to a mess hall for their soldiers, was located in a different part of the huge castle. Sanji had never seen a meal being prepared before and as he observed the different methods of cooking, Sanji was enchanted. There were so many things that went into the food and so many small details which Sanji could never have figured out just by tasting. The chefs used different techniques for kneading in the spices into various ingredients. Sanji had always just thought that spices was something you put in top of everything, but it seemed like that was far from the case. Sanji spotted some pieces of meat resting in a bowl of oil and chilli, while one chef was careful massaging and rubbing some salt on the skin of a fish. Sanji also noticed how they used different knifes to cut with. The big pieces of meat were chopped up with the biggest knife in the kitchen, while the blades used for fish were more slender and flexible. The knifes for vegetables were small too, but more sturdy than the fish knifes. There were so many things to cooking and Sanji wanted nothing more than to ask the chefs about everything food related, but he knew that it was time to get back and as Sanji left the kitchen, he promised himself to one day go back there, even if he would once again just be observing.
That evening Sanji was extra careful while tasting and thought hard about how the flavours all came together. This all resulted in Sanji eating a little slower than usual which gained some unwanted attention.
"Are you not hungry?" His father asked without looking at him, but a quick glance around the table told Sanji that he was indeed the one being spoken to as no one else had any food left on their plate.
"Of course I am, father," Sanji said and looked at him even though their gazes never met, "I just thought that today's meal was unusually good." Sanji really hoped that his father bought his explanation, but Sanji knew that it didn't really matter whether he believed him or not. His father had been displeased with something he had done, and that usually resulted in things which Sanji would rather not think about.
"An excuse," his father snorted and Sanji felt the dread creeping up on him. Suddenly a hand grabbed Sanji's arm hard, and he flinched as he felt nails digging into his skin.
"Let me go!" Sanji yelled and tried to get out of the strong grip, but to no avail.
"You know what to do with him," Sanji heard his father say and his voice held everything Sanji needed to know. He didn't care. He didn't care at all.
Sanji protested, screamed and kicked all the way down to the dungeons, but the man who was dragging him along didn't even lift an eyebrow, and merely threw him inside the small cell with the iron bars, and locked Sanji up.
It was dark in the tiny cell. Sanji didn't like the dark. There were no windows and the man had taken the torch with him, so Sanji had no way of telling what time it was, which was the main reason why he hated the dark cell. He was waiting for something he didn't know when would come, if it ever would come. Sometimes he would find himself doubting if his father would ever let him out of the small cell. He'd think that maybe his father had finally had enough of him and decided that he should just die in this small, dark hole where no one would ever find him. Being locked up in itself wasn't so bad, but when his father had realized that he had no problem with a well lit cell and a certain amount of time to be in there, he had taken that luxury away from him. Sometimes Sanji would be sitting in his cell for hours, other times it would be a couple of days, all depending on what he had done to disappoint his father. Sanji didn't think that what he had done this time was all that bad, so he almost expected to be out by morning, but his father had been getting more and more annoyed with him lately, so it could drag on even further. Sanji walked along the wall of his cell until he found the corner he always sat in. He began counting. One. Two. Three. He counted the seconds. Four. Five. Six. He counted the minutes. Seven. Eight. Nine. He counted the hours. Ten.
Sanji heard foot steps by the tenth hour. Click. Clack. The footsteps moved slowly and they were sharper than the sound of normal footsteps. Click. Clack. Sanji was scared. Click. Clack. Click. He knew what was coming. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. She was coming. Click.
The sudden light was blinding, but Sanji preferred not looking. He heard the sound of the door being unlocked, but no one stepped into the cell. Sanji's eyes slowly adjusted to the light and the silhouette before him became clear. Her blonde hair was tied up in a loose ponytail showing her long neck and her pretty face. She was wearing a long white dress that was just tight enough to reveal her beautiful body and with it she wore glistening glass shoes. She was smiling, but as Sanji looked at her face it was her icy blue gaze which stared back at him.
"Mother..." He said slowly, because he didn't know why she was here. He didn't even remember the last time they had spoken. What had it been about? Had she been mad at him? Had he done something wrong? The answer was probably yes, but Sanji didn't know. He usually avoided her the best he could.
"Come now, Sanji my child," she said sweetly, "You've been down here for far too long." She held out her hand and terrified of disobeying her, Sanji took it and followed her out of the dungeons.
Sanji soon came to realize that they were going to his room, which meant that the two of them would be alone together, and honestly, Sanji would do anything to see Reiju's face right now. Being alone with his mother was never a good thing. When they reached his room they entered, and she made sure to lock the door behind her.
"Let's make this a secret from your father. He wanted to keep you down there for a whole day, but that's not fair, is it?" Sanji didn't answer. "Why don't you go sit on you bed, Sanji." He did as he was told.
She came to sit beside him and gently started to clean his dirty face with a wet cloth. They sat in silence for a long time while she just cleaned his face. Once in a while he would glance at her, but as soon as their eyes met he would look back at his feet again.
His room was the complete opposite of the prison cell. It was big and well lit. It had a massive bed that even his father could lie in and still be left with plenty of space to move around on. There were a big balcony opposite the entrance with big glass doors which Sanji always had open because he liked the smell of the ocean which they were always sailing upon. Of course, his mother had made sure to close the doors and draw the curtains, so even if it was a bright day, Sanji had no way of knowing. He had a big closet for all of his training gear and formal clothing, and of course his personal bathroom with the biggest tub you would ever see... unless you saw Reiju's. But most of Sanji's room was taken up by shelves upon shelves of books. Up until last year, Sanji had thought that perhaps if he became a well studied person, his father would overlook his lack of physical strength and allow him to help the family through his mind rather than his fists. When his father had burned his favorite book it had become clear to him that that would never happen. Yet despite this room being as big, bright and luxurious as it was, Sanji still felt more trapped here than in the cell. In the cell he at least knew that nothing worse could happen and that, eventually, he would get out, be that because someone released him or he died. Sometimes he thought that either way would be fine. In here though, he never knew what could happen, and now with his mother beside him, he felt more trapped than ever.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked sweetly and Sanji dug his nails into his knees to avoid flinching.
"Nothing, mother," He answered and tried not to sound too scared or timid.
"We both know that's not true," she said and he felt the cloth digging into his skin before she continued, "You always think. Even more than your brothers, so tell me, what were you thinking?"
Sanji bit his lip, "I was just... I was thinking about how I could become stronger." He hoped she would believe the lie.
"Your father doesn't understand. You know that don't you?" Sanji looked up at her not knowing what she was getting at, "He doesn't understand that you are already strong. None of your brothers have ever gone through all the things your father has done to you, and I think that has made you stronger than them, but in a different way."
She brushed the lock of hair he had covering his left eye away and continued washing his face. She was smiling, but then again, she was always smiling. Sanji didn't like her smile. He didn't know why, but it scared him. It scared him more than anything ever would.
"One day you'll be great, Sanji, you understand? One day you'll be great," She took his hand and lifted his head so that he would look at her, "You'll be greater than your brothers, because you are smart and because you understand things they will never understand. You know real pain." She gripped his hand tighter, "You'll be great." The grip got harder and he wanted to speak up but the words wouldn't come. "You have my blood running through your veins, so for my sake," she gripped even harder, "You'll be great." Her nails were beginning to draw blood.
"Mother..." Sanji gasped, her other hand still in place on his chin so he couldn't look away.
"You'll be great for me." Her voice was nothing but a hiss and the words were starting to resonate within him like a curse.
"Mother..." Sanji whispered and he felt tears prickling, daring to start falling at any second, "You're hurting me..." She didn't listen.
"You understand, don't you, my sweet boy. You'll be great."
"Mother!" He cried out and she let go of him. She didn't look at his now injured hand, instead she just smiled at him, wiped a tear away from the corner of his eye and kissed his forehead.
"You must be tired," she said as she stood up, "Get some rest," and with that she left Sanji alone in the room.
He sighed, relieved, and fell back on his bed. He didn't care that the blood from his hand was slowly dripping onto the white silken covers, he didn't even notice the pain anymore, he just felt his chest as it went up and down with every breath he took. It was always harder to breather with mother being near. He closed his eyes, trying to forget her smile and her piercing blue eyes, but he couldn't. The more he tried to forget, the clearer she became and her sweet sickening voice became louder and the words for me would haunt his dreams forever. He opened his eyes again. He didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to sleep and dream of her, so he took a bath. He found a book which he knew was too complex for any of his siblings, but he enjoyed it and only had a few more chapters left to read, so it would make for good bath entertainment and hopefully help him forget her, if not completely, then just for a while.
No one disturbed Sanji that day. Maybe no one knew that he wasn't in the cell anymore or they just didn't want to bother with him. Either way, Sanji was content with being alone. When it was time for dinner and no one came to get him, Sanji decided that he would never get an opportunity like this ever again, and snuck back down to the kitchens. This time when Sanji arrived the kitchen was empty. There was a single pot on the stove, but other than that the kitchen was clean. Sanji was curious as to what was in the pot, but he dared not open it in case he ruined something, so he just got close enough to catch the faint smell of beef and tomato. It made his mouth water, and Sanji realized that he hadn't actually eaten in about twenty-four hours, so it made sense for him to be hungry.
Sanji quickly ran to the door to ensure that no one was coming before going to the fridge. As he opened it he was met with a lot more food than he had expected. The shelves were overflowing with so many different things that Sanji could hardly believe his eyes. He couldn't even name half of the things in the fridge. Sanji's stomach made a growl and Sanji looked for something to eat, but everything was raw. He knew that eating things raw was bad and could potentially make you ill and while Sanji had never been ill, he had been injured enough for him to be bedridden and his father had been more than displeased with that. And then a thought occurred to him. He could just cook the food himself! What a brilliant idea, except... Sanji didn't really know the first thing about cooking. Sanji looked around the kitchen for something he could use, and bingo there it was, right on the counter, a recipe book. Sanji closed the fridge again, ran to it and opened it excitedly.
As Sanji flipped through the book, he was glad that it contained pictures, because he found that he didn't know what a lot of the words meant, so he had to somehow just wing it. Sanji decided that the recipe that seemed the simplest would be what he was going for and it happened to be a mackerel dish. From what Sanji understood, he didn't have to do much to the fish other than salt it, so he found the fish and the salt, and rubbed in the salt as he had seen the chef do the day before. The tricky part was to cooking process. It said to cook at medium heat, but Sanji didn't know what exactly that was supposed to be, so he had to guess. The recipe was also very specific with the oil that he was supposed to fry it in, as it he was supposed to put a lot of things in it. Sanji found all the ingredients, except for sugar, because he thought that that was a weird thing to put on a fish. He then found a frying pan, which was just big enough for the fish and got to work.
Fortunately he had seen how to turn on the stove the day before and a small flame appeared before him. He turned it up a little, because it was supposed to be medium heat, though Sanji still wasn't sure that he was doing it right. He then placed the pan on the heat and put in the fish with all the ingredients. At first nothing happened, and it occurred to Sanji that he didn't know how long the fish should cook for. The recipe just said fry until done, but that didn't really help Sanji a whole lot. After a few minutes the pan was starting to make noises and the hot oil was beginning to fly everywhere, so Sanji protected himself with a towel to avoid getting a burn. Hot oil was no joke. A little late Sanji realized that he probably had to flip the fish over, and found a fork to help him do it. As he flipped the fish he saw that it had gotten a little burnt, but it didn't seem too bad. After a few more minutes, Sanji turned off the stove and waited for the oil to stop attacking him before putting the fish on a plate. He didn't have any side dishes, and though he knew that fish went well with rice, there was no way he could finish the entire fish anyway, so it didn't really matter. Then he heard talking.
Sanji hadn't made too much of a mess, but compared to when he had entered the kitchen, it was obvious that someone had been in there. However, Sanji had no choice and quickly made a run for it with his fish and the recipe book, which he had forgotten to put back. From behind him he heard shouting, but as no one was following him, he believed that it was just the head chef having found the kitchen in a not so pristine shape as it had been left in, but if they couldn't find the culprit then it was all fine by Sanji.
Sanji ran all the way back to his room and locked the door when he was safe inside. He placed the book on his desk and sat in his favorite reading corner to eat his food. It didn't look as good as the food he was usually served, but it was better than nothing and he dug in. The fish tasted... interesting. It had a weird kick which Sanji didn't really like and he couldn't quite figure out where it came from. It wasn't quite cooked in the middle either even though one side was burnt and the other had been close to also burning, so Sanji made sure to stay away from the more raw areas. There wasn't enough salt on it either, even though Sanji had thought that he had put plenty on it. All considered, Sanji had never cooked before and as the dish hadn't ended up being completely inedible he counted it as a win.
He didn't finish the dish though and threw out the waste. Sanji then went to bathroom to wash up, but when he came back to his room the smell of fish made itself known to him, and Sanji immediately knew that that was a problem. He then opened the balcony doors, and shivered. It was a cold autumn night, so if the doors were to stay open, he would have to sleep with extra blankets. Sanji was also quick to hide the recipe book before going to bed. As soon as he was under the covers he fell asleep. It had been a long day.
The next few weeks were rather uneventful. Sanji would wake up to an hour of studying the topic of the day, then he would practice his sword skills until the sun went down, then he would attend the family dinner, and for an hour before he want to sleep he would read in his recipe book until he had memorized every word. The routine changed one day at dinner, and this time it wasn't because Sanji had done something bad. They were approaching an island. The children were not allowed to set foot on an island without their parents or a suitable guard, but Sanji had quickly figured out how to sneak out of the Germa Kingdom without his parents being any the wiser. This time both his parents would be visiting some royal family to discuss terms of peace. Not that they were at war with the nation, but every monarch in the North had a good reason to be wary of the German Kingdom, so staying on their good side was in their best interest. It was also revealed that Reiju, for the first time, would be joining their parents, which had her in very high spirits, as she was finally old enough to attend important meetings. Sanji had eyed his father when he had given her the news and he saw through him immediately. This was an opportunity to find a suitable husband for Reiju. Sanji wanted to smile at the thought but held it back. Reiju would hate the idea of an arranged marriage and Sanji so wanted to see father and his little princess get into a fight. Call Sanji a sadist, but since he was always the one getting punished while Reiju got all the praise, it would be nice to change it up, just once.
They arrived at the island after three days and Sanji watched from his balcony as the island got closer. It had been months since they had last been on land, and Sanji was eager to get away from the kingdom. He watched as his parents and Reiju left and were greeted by a guy in a uniform who lead them to their castle. Not long after Sanji's guard came to take him to practice, and the soldier who was training him, whose name Sanji still did not know, was the only one standing between Sanji and three hours of freedom. He had a plan though. A brilliant, and completely fool-proof plan to get the guard out of the way without anyone suspecting the slightest. It wasn't the most honourable thing to do, but it wouldn't hurt the guy too much, so it was okay. So as the guard looked away Sanji slipped a small bag containing a white substance into his water, which would have him pooping the rest of the day. It didn't take long for the drug to do its work and the soldier panted as he ended their training session early and ran for the loo. Sanji smiled. Freedom was within his grasp.
Sanji snuck out the same way he always did and before long he was standing on a busy street surrounded by strangers. Sanji didn't know where to start. Everywhere he looked there was something interesting, something new, something exciting. Sanji was about to choose the biggest chocolate store he had ever seen, since chocolate and other sweets were a rare thing to come upon in the Germa Kingdom, because, as his father said, you should never eat food that couldn't improve your body. However, Sanji's attention was caught by a woman who had just dropped all her bags and was frantically trying to gather all her things in the midst of the hurried crowd. With his small body, Sanji easily manoeuvred through the busy street and as he reached the woman he started helping her. It didn't take long for the two of them to gather all her things and Sanji gracefully offered to carry some of her bags so that she wouldn't drop them again. They walked for a while down one of the streets and Sanji took a look at all the places he wanted to check out before he went back to the Germa Kingdom.
Eventually they arrived at a bookshop, which made sense as most of the bags they were carrying contained books. The woman gestured to a counter where Sanji could put the bags he was carrying and thanked him for the help.
"Do you want anything?" The woman asked him as he was about to leave the shop, "You can choose a book to take home with you. Can you read?"
"I can read." Sanji said, and wondered if it was rare for people not to be able to read.
"That's good. You can choose any book you want. Do you have a preference?"
Sanji thought for a while about that. He could always get more books of the political kind, so it would be a waste to get one of those. He was running out of fiction as his father didn't really like him wasting time on nonsense, as he called it. Originally the fiction books had been used when they were learning to read because they usually contained an extremely varied vocabulary. But then an idea came to Sanji and it all seemed so obvious, because this was the one thing his father would never allow him to own.
"Do you have any books on cooking?" Sanji asked, and the woman smiled.
"You like to make food?"
"I'd like to learn," Sanji answered and smiled back at her.
"So you're a beginner, yeah?" Sanji nodded, "Well, then I have just the perfect book for you."
She disappeared for a minute and then came back with a book at least twice the size as the one Sanji had hidden in his room.
"This should explain all the basics of cooking. It will take a few tries to get some of the recipes right, but it's all about learning from failure, right?" Learning from failure? Sanji had never heard that before, but he decided to let it slide.
"Are you sure I can take this?" Sanji asked. No one had ever given him anything before. At least not for free.
"Of course. I have a bunch of copies of that book anyway, so it's no big deal and I wanted to say thank you."
"... but you did say thank you," Sanji wondered out loud and tilted his head slightly. The woman chuckled and ruffled his hair. Sanji found that both odd and comforting.
"I believe that with words come action. Now off you go, you looked like you had somewhere to be and I'd hate to keep you from it."
She followed him out the door, and he thanked her for the book before he left. Sanji spent the last few hours of his free time going around to different food shops and buying little things he could easily keep hidden in his room. When it was time to get back, Sanji quietly snuck into his room and made it look like he had been practising all day. The day was soon over and, as usually, no one suspected Sanji for not having stayed in their floating fortress.
More weeks went by and in that time they visited two more islands. Sanji acquired a new book about cooking on each of them and now had four books safely hidden behind a set of books his father never even glanced at. They were all books about basic economy, and while Sanji had read them all a couple of times and they had nothing knew to teach him, they were good references, so no one saw a need to take them away from him. Besides, his father would rather get rid of his fiction section, but he hadn't seemed to bother with it just yet.
Sanji had also been in the kitchen a couple of times since he had made his first fish. The second time had been after he had read the book he had gotten from the lady at the book shop, and the fish he had made had tasted much better than the first one. He had added the sugar this time which had gotten rid of the kick the first one had had, and Sanji was impressed at how sugar could work in this way, as the fish didn't taste sweet at all. He had also waited to put the fish in the pan until the oil was hot and he had used the right heating so that it wouldn't burn, but this time get cooked in the middle. The fish still wasn't at the standard of food which Sanji usually ate, but it was levels above his first attempt and Sanji had gotten so happy that he had snuck into the kitchen again the following day, even if he knew the risks.
During these sections, Sanji had gotten pretty good at working with fish. He had decided to learn about one sort of cooking first before getting into something else. His two other books also reflected this. One book was all about cutting different types of fish and what the special properties of those fish were, while the second one was all about how to bring out the flavour of fish, and what spices went well with them. One thing that had caught Sanji's interest in the second book was the first chapter which described an ocean call the All Blue. A legendary ocean where fish from all the seas came together. A chef's paradise. Sanji often found himself daydreaming about the legendary ocean and he had read about the All Blue more times than the actual recipes the book contained. He would even think of the ocean while he was working with fish, and it only kept encouraging him to go back to the forbidden room. Of course, with all that Sanji was using the kitchen he was bound to be found out at some point.
It happened one night where Sanji was trying out a salmon dish, and he hadn't heard the door open as he was way too focused on his work.
"When you cook salmon you should always fry the side with skin first," a voice said and Sanji got so frightened that he fell off the box which he had been standing on. The guy who had walked in laughed and Sanji got a little more calm. The guy was wearing a standard chef's uniform with the little Germa 66 logo above his chest. He was quite tall, but didn't seem all that muscular. He had long brown hair tied back in ponytail, which gave him a very laid back look.
"You won't tell my father?" Sanji asked almost immediately. If his father ever found out it would be the end of him.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, but you should probably be a bit more careful. The head chef has been noticing that food keeps disappearing."
"Sorry..." Sanji whispered, but the guy just laughed again.
"Don't worry, don't worry, it's not like we are having a food shortage or anything, so it's all fine. But why are you cooking anyway? Shouldn't you be spending more time fighting?"
Sanji didn't answer for a while, trying to best find the words that would explain why he was cooking, "It's... fun?" Sanji was a bit hesitant with the word. He hadn't really used it before.
"I know. I know!" The guy exclaimed and Sanji looked curiously at him, "It's like you have this boring and bland ingredient, but then when you work with it, it just becomes something more, and you can share it with others, and it's just super fun!"
"Is that fun?" Sanji asked slowly and the guy looked at him like he didn't understand the question.
"Is what fun? Cooking? Didn't you just say so yourself?"
"No... I mean... Sharing your cooking with others."
"What do you mean? Of course it is! That's the best part! Are you telling me that no one has tasted your cooking before? Like never ever?!" A slight pause, "Well, I guess that makes sense considering that a prince shouldn't really be cooking. Well then, how about I be your first costumer? I can taste that salmon for you."
"Really?" Sanji's eyes lit up. Now that he thought about it, having a proper chef taste his cooking would be amazing. He could get some good advice, and he had been getting good lately so he really wanted someone to taste it.
"Yes, really, but you should probably concentrate on your salmon before you cook it black," the guy laughed and took a seat close to Sanji.
The next couple of minutes were filled with small talk while Sanji cooked his fish. Sanji learned that the guy's name was Yusei, but he preferred Yu-chan, which Sanji had a problem remembering as nicknames wasn't really a thing in the royal circles. He had been cooking in the Germa Kingdom for approximately two years. He had come when he was sixteen, and now as eighteen he didn't want to leave the Germa Kingdom, at least not for a while.
"I wanted to teach in a culinary school," he told Sanji as he was plating the food.
"What's a culinary school?" Sanji asked as schools were places for reading in his mind.
"It's like an ordinary school, but instead of learning numbers and letters, you learn how to cook."
"Oh!" Sanji breathed, feeling stupid for not having understood that, "Well, the food's ready."
Sanji placed the food by the counter and Yusei dug in.
"This is really good, Sanji-chan!" "It's Sanji-kun." "I mean, it's not perfect, but for a person who just started it's amazing, Sanji-chan." "-kun. Sanji-kun." "If you want me to teach you, it's Sanji-chan."
It took Sanji a few seconds to comprehend that. "You will teach me?" Sanji had to fight to keep his voice down.
"I just told you, didn't I? I wanted to teach cooking, and it seems like I have found my first apprentice." He smiled, and Sanji smiled back. It seemed that in his dark and never changing life, he had, for the first time, found some light.
Winter came and went by so quickly that Sanji hardly remembered what snow was. He and Yusei had decided to have Sanji's cooking lessons every Sunday, and now that Sanji had something to look forward to every week, he slowly started improving on his training as well. And this did not go unnoticed by his father. Halfway through winter Sanji got a new teacher who taught Sanji, not only sword fighting, but also martial arts, and in for the first time it had been months since Sanji had been in the dungeon cell. It seemed that everything was going well, and as far as first times were concerned, a few weeks before his birthday, something amazing happened.
"It seems that Sanji is starting to catch up to his brothers," his father said and though that didn't seem like the most impressive sentence to many, to Sanji, that was everything he could ever hope for, "It may even be time for him to go on his first mission. All his siblings have already had theirs."
Sanji beamed. He was receiving cooking lessons, he was getting stronger and his father was finally acknowledging his strength. Could it get any better? It really couldn't. His father didn't say any more than that, but it put Sanji in a good mood for the rest of the day, and as he made his way into the kitchen, Yusei immediately caught on to his happiness.
"Well you surely seem happy today. Did something happen?"
"My father is thinking about sending me out on missions!" Sanji answered excitedly.
"Missions? What does that mean?"
"I don't know the details, but all my siblings have already started going on missions, so that means father is finally treating me like them."
Yusei didn't seem convinced by that explanation at all. "How can you be so happy when you don't even know what they'll have you do? What if you have to fight someone strong? Like someone really really strong."
"I can handle it!" Sanji said with new found confidence, "I'm a better fighter than a cook anyway."
This made Yusei smile, "Well I sure hope so, because your cooking skills are still at novice level." With that they began the cooking lesson.
Two weeks before Sanji's birthday was when everything finally turned and Sanji hated himself for ever thinking that his life would remain this good. It started when one of the maids discovered his secret books, and no matter how much Sanji had tried to make her stay silent about it, she still ended up going to his father. Saying that he had been angry would have been a very nice way to put it and quite far from the truth. His father had been outraged. The books had been burnt to ashes and as Sanji desperately held onto the last one his father had forcefully taken it and Sanji so close to the fire place that if Sanji had not let go he would have been burnt along with it. His father had then personally dragged him to the dungeon and thrown Sanji into the cell with such force that Sanji could hear his ribs breaking as he collided with the wall.
"Father..." Sanji gasped as the door was locked and his father took the torch, "I'm sorry."
"If you're sorry then you will stop it with these disgusting activities, and put that energy into becoming a strong swordsman."
"I'm sorry," Sanji cried silently, "But I..."
"You what?!" His father roared, and Sanji could hardly see him through his tears.
"I love to cook. Please father. Won't you let me cook? I promise I won't neglect my training, just let me cook. Please father!"
For a long time his father didn't say a word. He just stared at him blankly... and then: "Pathetic." The word was a mere whisper, but Sanji knew that the battle was lost and as the last flicker of light had left the room, Sanji cried harder than he had ever cried before. He cried. He screamed. He hit the walls and ignored the pain from his broken bones. He cried some more and by the time he was let out he had no more tears to cry.
Sanji had been in the cell for three full days without food or water, and after a small meal and a few bandages applied to keep him from moving too much, his training started again. His new teacher was more strict than ever, but Sanji never complained once, because he knew that this was the punishment for his happiness. And it only got worse.
A week after he had been discovered Sanji was forced to stay after dinner, and when he and his father were the only two members of their family left in the dining room, Sanji wished that he was back in the dark cell. Two people had entered the room. One was the head chef and the other...
"This is one of the assistant chefs in our kitchen, Yusei," His father began, and looked at Sanji, "Do you know him?"
"I don't," Sanji lied immediately. Even if he had to be punished, there was no need for others to go down with him.
"There has been food disappearing from the kitchen for a couple of months, Vinsmoke-sama. Not much, but enough for us to notice. The food all seem to disappear during Sunday night, which happens to be the one day Yusei here has free time. Moreover these ingredients that have been missing were all things that would have been fairly easy to prepare. Perfect for a beginner, but Yusei has been cooking all his life, as have all the chefs in my kitchen, so it has become apparent that he has been teaching someone."
His father looked at Sanji intensely, but instead of asking him more questions, he turned to Yusei.
"How do you know this boy," his father asked and it stung that he referred to Sanji as if he was a complete stranger.
"I serve him as I serve you, Vinsmoke-sama." Yusei answered and Sanji prayed that their cooking lessons wouldn't be discovered despite all the proof they had.
"So you would say that you don't care for this boy," His father asked and Sanji got confused about where this interrogation was going.
"I care for him as I care for all those I cook for. Nothing personal."
"Is that so?" The was a brief second where nothing happened, and then Sanji screamed. He hadn't even heard the gunshot, but the pain coming from his leg was overwhelming.
"Sanji-chan!" Yusei's voice was almost drowned out by Sanji's screaming, but he still heard it and in that moment he knew that the pain to come was much worse than what he was experiencing now.
"That should settle the matter. Get him out of my sight."
"No..." Sanji cried, "Don't hurt Yu-chan. Please father, I beg of you, he did nothing wrong. Please father, if you have to punish someone, then punish me! Please don't hurt Yu-chan!"
"Yu-chan?" His father said coldly and Sanji knew he had made a big mistake, "Not only did you pick up on a nasty habit, but you have even begun to speak like a commoner." He wasn't yelling. It was always worse when he wasn't yelling. "Do you have no respect for the Vinsmoke name?"
"Father, I'm-"
"You are a disgrace to our family."
Sanji didn't remember what happened after that. All the voices had become one and his vision had failed him, so he had closed his eyes. His fathers words continued to play in his head even after he had lost consciousness and when he finally woke up in his bed he cried the last tears he would ever cry in the Germa Kingdom.
Sanji never saw the dungeon cell again. All he ever did was train. He trained from the moment he woke up until he collapsed from exhaustion. It became mechanical and where the days before had passed by fast because he had been happy, they were now going by quickly as he had stopped thinking entirely. He didn't want to think about cooking, because if he did he would think of Yu-chan. Yu-chan who he would no longer see, because Yu-chan was in heaven and Sanji was doomed for hell. He didn't want to think about his family who had stopped talking to him completely. He actually preferred it when they had tormented him, because at least then, he existed. Now, he was nothing but a ghost bound to his father's will. Sanji just preferred not to think.
The breaking point was his eight birthday. Once again they were seated by the dining table and Sanji was having trouble remembering why he had once liked dinner time.
"I have finally found a suitable mission for you, Sanji," his father started and Sanji looked at him with empty eyes, "There is a person whom the government has been trying to catch for years, but so far they've had no luck. She was recently spotted in the North. The mission is simply. Bring her to me and you succeed."
"I understand," Sanji said coldly and returned to his room after having been dismissed.
In his room he found information on his target placed on his desk. It contained her wanted poster which seemed to have not had gotten a new photo since it was first taken nine years ago It had information about her parentage, her upbringing and her recent activities. Sanji read everything until he had memorised and decided that it would be better to just get it over with. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen to him if he should fail.
A week later the day finally came where Sanji would start his mission, and a horrible surprise awaited him. He would not be going alone, and his companion would be his lovely mother.
"Since this is your first mission, I wanted to come with you," she smiled and boarded the small ship with him. Sanji stared at her for a few seconds, but then he composed himself. There was nothing that this woman could possibly do to make his life worse than it already was, so he no longer had any reason to fear her.
They had a couple of people to manage the ship with them, but as soon as they docked on the island they would be alone. The journey would be about a week long, and in that time Sanji continued to train. He had his mother watching though, and in the beginning he had flinched every time she spoke, until her icy voice had become a part of him. It was always the same words that came out of her mouth: "How strong you have become, Sanji.", "You really are amazing. As expected of my son." and the best one, "With this strength you will serve me well."
It was the morning of the eight day when the captain of the ship informed them that the island had been spotted and his mother gave him some new clothes to wear. "We need to look like we belong," she had explained and Sanji put on his 'commoner' outfit. It consisted of a pair of baggy shorts and a white though slightly stained shirt. His mother was wearing another white dress. It was much more simple than those she usually wore, and it was easy to see that the clothing material was much cheaper than anything she owned, hell, their curtains looked better than her dress, but it didn't really matter. Sanji hid a blade under his shirt as well as one by his thigh, while his mother did the same, and they went into town. It was still a bit early so there weren't many people on the streets, but none of that mattered. They had a job to do and Sanji would make sure to succeed.
Sanji was the one in the lead as this was his mission to prove himself to his family, and according to Sanji's calculations the target should be near the ruins in the middle of the island far away from the civilization. It took them a while to get to the location, and the entire way they spoke no words, which Sanji was grateful for. The last thing he needed now was his mother's poisonous encouragement. They were now walking in a forest, and had this been a few months ago, Sanji would have loved to stop just to appreciate the change of surroundings, but in his current state of mind a tree was just a tree and nothing more. As the trees started to thin out, Sanji knew that they were approaching the location and he started to thread more carefully and made no sounds as he ventured closer to the ruins. When he got so close that the ground beneath him turned into stone, he moved gracefully between the tall structures to keep himself hidden from anyone who might spot him, and as he got to the centre of the ruin he saw one of the most magnificent things he had ever laid eyes upon. A rock.
Of course this wasn't your typical rock. First of all it was gigantic. It was probably the single biggest thing Sanji had ever seen. Of course the Germa Kingdom was bigger, but it was all made up of smaller things, so that was different. The rock also had vines all over it and moss growing on the sides, which made it seem like it was a part of the forest itself. But what really drew Sanji in was the writing on it. Sanji knew many languages, but this one he couldn't even recognise. It wasn't written in the common alphabet nor was it the symbols used in Wano. These were completely different, and it intrigued Sanji more than he wanted to admit. And then a thought hit Sanji. Why was this person wanted again? She was an archaeologist, was she not? What so wrong about that? He was about to ask his mother, but one look at her and he knew he was too deep in to start asking questions so he ignored the mysterious rock and continued onwards.
For a long time Sanji just searched, but then he found a small gathering of rubble and a person sitting in the shade of what had once been some sort of wall. Sanji had no doubt that this was the person he had been looking for. She had black hair that went just below her shoulders, a distinct nose and was quite tall for her age of seventeen. It looked like she hadn't yet noticed Sanji, but as soon as he stepped out from the rock he was currently hiding behind, she would see him, so Sanji calculated what route would take him to her the fastest.
He glanced at his mother before jumping into action and he knew she would be following to ensure that he got the job the done. The girl looked to him as soon as he had appeared from behind the rock and immediately started running in between the scattered rocks only taking her bag with her. Sanji chased her for a while, purposely leading her to a place where he knew she wouldn't be able to escape him.
She realized too late that she was trapped and when she turned around to run back the way she came, Sanji had already blocked her way. Sanji saw as she frantically looked around for somewhere to run, but there were no openings. She then crossed her arms and Sanji got mildly surprised when a hand sprouted from his shoulder, but he quickly drew the blade he had on his thigh and softly pressed it against the hand and watched it dissolve into pink petals.
"Seastone..." She gasped and sounded extremely defeated. She fell her to her knees. There was nothing she could do, but Sanji looked at her and felt... something. He couldn't describe the feeling, but he wanted nothing more than to tell her that she would be okay. He didn't like seeing her being scared. Being scared of him.
"Why do you go against the government?" Sanji asked without thinking and he felt his mother's stare at his back, but right now she didn't matter. All Sanji cared about was the frightened girl in front of him.
"I just want to learn history," she whispered and for a brief moment Sanji saw himself. He saw himself lying on that dungeon floor trying to make his father allow him to cook. And he saw his father turning his back on him and making his life a living hell. Sanji did not want to become his father.
"Sanji, my sweet child, finish the job." His mother's voice brought him back to reality and Sanji took a step closer to the girl, and in response she clung to her bag and moved even closer to the wall that trapped her.
"I don't want to hurt you." Sanji said, "But I have to bring you to my father. If you don't resist they won't hurt you at all and-"
"Kill her."
Sanji turned around to look at his mother and felt a twinge of fear. She wasn't smiling anymore.
"Why?" Sanji protested, "Father said to bring her to him. He didn't say to kill her!"
"What do you think they'll do to her once they catch her? Her wanted poster says dead or alive. The government doesn't care whether they get her in one or two pieces. Just kill her!"
Sanji took a step back. A step away from his mother. A step closer to the girl.
"She has done nothing wrong! How could I kill an innocent person?!" Sanji shouted. He had never before stood up to his mother because her poison only affected him, but now that another person was involved, Sanji couldn't stay silent.
"Nothing wrong? She went directly against the world government. She is the living incarnation of the citizens of Ohara!" She shouted the last sentence, but then seemed to regain her composure and a smile crept back on her face, "She is a demon, Sanji, and demons deserve to die."
She took a step closer to Sanji, "If you don't do it I will, but we wouldn't want to let down your father, now would we?" She took another step, "So do the job." Her voice was firm, but she was somehow still smiling and Sanji gripped his knife tight. He had to do it.
He turned back to the girl. She was crying, but she didn't say anything. Something about the look in her eyes told Sanji that she had been expecting this. He got closer to her, so close that he could hear her ragged breath, and her silent whispers of names he didn't know.
"I think you're right, mother." Sanji said slowly, "Demons deserve to die, but I don't think she is a demon. I think she's just scared and misunderstood." Just like me.
"That's what she wants you to think, my sweet boy, demons lie and manipulate."
"Yes they do." He dropped the knife he was holding and kicked it lightly towards the girl, encouraging her to take it. She didn't. She just looked at it and then she looked at him, confused.
"Sanji." He could hear her coming closer. She was right behind him.
"Demons deserve to die..." Sanji whispered and slowly moved to unsheathe the knife secured under his shirt, "I'm sorry mother."
Sanji spun around quickly and dove the knife straight through her heart. She fell backwards and Sanji climbed on top of her, continuing to drive the knife deeper and deeper in. The blood was staining her white dress, but the colours all melted together in Sanji's blurry vision.
"You... you monster," she breathed underneath him, "Curse... you...". When Sanji's tears hit her face the life left her blue eyes.
It took Sanji a while to understand just what he had done, and when he understood the shock hit him hard. "Mother..." He whispered, but she didn't answer, "Mother! Mother, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Sanji apologized over and over, still crying over his mother's dead body. Her blood was starting to stain his clothes and his skin. It was still warm and Sanji screamed in agony. This wasn't what he wanted. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.
"You should go," a voice suddenly said and Sanji looked frightened at the girl who had spoken to him. It was like their positions had suddenly switched.
"I can't leave her," Sanji sobbed and the girl looked at him with kind eyes.
"Then take her with you. Do you know anyone close by?" Sanji didn't think twice about why this girl had so quickly gone from being scared by him to taking care of him.
"The docks..." Sanji mumbled, and she smiled, although it did look a little bit forced.
"Can you carry her?" Sanji nodded, "Then take her there."
"Why are you helping me," Sanji asked through his tears.
"You saved my life. If you hadn't done what you did, your mother... she would have killed me."
Sanji looked back at his mother. Her eyes were still open and the blood was still spilling. More tears pressed on and Sanji suddenly found himself in a warm embrace. He couldn't quite understand the action as no one had ever hugged him before, but he suddenly felt much warmer, much safer.
"You're a good person. In this world, good people suffer the most. I learned that the hard way and so have you."
As she let go of him, Sanji asked her one more question: "Where will you go?"
"... I don't know, " she confessed, "This was the last place I knew I could find the information I needed, yet it seems that this wasn't what I was looking for either." She smiled again, but this time she looked sad.
"Go to the Grand Line," Sanji said suddenly and looked at her. A plan was forming in his head. Now that he had killed her to save this girl, he wanted her to keep living. To keep searching for whatever she wanted to find, "You'll be harder to track there and I'm sure you could find out where to go next."
"How will I ever make it there?" She said and looked at the ground, "No matter where I go, they follow me, I can't escape the world." She looked like she was close to giving up, but Sanji couldn't allow that and took her face in his hands and looked her straight in the eyes.
"I'll deal with them. I'll lie and say you headed further north. Cross Reverse Mountain in two weeks and I promise, they won't catch you."
A single tear fell down her cheek and she smiled, "Thank you."
"Now go." Sanji pushed her away and she ran.
Sanji turned his attention back to his mother, lifted her up and went back to the docks. Sanji was no longer sad, no longer lost and no longer scared. He had a purpose. Protect Nico Robin and get her safely out of the North.
I hope you enjoyed reading that. It is a bit different from what I usually write, and although I tried to make it angsty, it didn't quite get as dark as I wanted it to be, but there is still more angst to come for those who like that genre :)
If you enjoyed the chapter then please fave it, follow for more and leave a review with your thoughts :)