So I'm a day late with this chapter, and unfortunately I had to cut a scene out, but no worries, it'll be included in the next and final chapter. But more about that in the end notes, for now, enjoy the chapter :)


Duty

The mission had failed, and in his father's eyes, the worst possible outcome had been realized. Nico Robin had once again escaped the clutches of the Government, his wife had been killed, yet his failure of a son had somehow survived the ordeal. Of course, Sanji was smart enough to not tell his father what had actually occurred that day. If the truth was ever revealed, Sanji would not have long to live, and for the first time in his life, he had a reason, a purpose, to stay alive.

This was the story he had told his father:

Pirates had attacked, they'd been outnumbered, their enemies had been strong, and in the spur of the moment his mother had jumped to protect him, thus sacrificing herself for him. Sanji knew that his mother would never in her life have chosen to let him live rather than her. However, she wasn't there to defend herself, and if his father, by some miracle, believed that his wife had given her life to keep Sanji alive, Sanji was sure that his father would at least think twice about punishing him.

Of course telling a story, however believable it may be, would never be enough to convince his father, so Sanji had taken countermeasures and made his story as credible as possible. Before arriving to the docks, where their men were waiting for them, Sanji had purposely given both himself, and his mother's body a painful amount of cuts and bruises to make it look like they had been in a dangerous fight. After having returned with his dead mother, he had excused himself from the crew, and asked for some time alone to mourn over his loss. He had attempted to cry to make it more believable, but the tears wouldn't come, so he did whatever he could to hide his face. The crew, sympathising with Sanji, gave him a few hours before he was told that they had to set sail. They would have to find a coffin for his mother anyway, so he was free to do what he wanted in the mean time.

Sanji had wasted no time, and as soon as he was out of the sight of the crew he had run to the other side of the island. Sanji had hoped, hoped with all his might, that he would find what he was looking for, and he had been in luck. On the other side of the island, hidden safely away from the sights of strangers passing by, but completely exposed to the person looking for it, was a pirate ship. And where there was a pirate ship, there was bound to be pirates.

Sanji had scouted the ship for a while before deciding to take action. It had been easier to deal with the pirates than he had first anticipated since they had all been pretty drunk. Sanji had charged onto deck, a knife in each had, and cut down the pirates. He hadn't killed any of them, and if they got treated in time, they wouldn't die. Sanji just wanted to make it look like they had been in close combat, but come out as victors in the end. When he had dealt with the random pirates, he went to the captain, who had looked proper scared with a bottle of rum in one hand, and a sword in the other. Sanji had slowly approached him, calmly forced the sword out of his hand and put his knife to his throat. He had then made an empty, yet very convincing threat, and made the pirate captain do as he asked. Spread a rumour that he had fought a female assassin and her son, and then brutally killed the woman in front of the boy. Of course the pirate captain would never understand the demand, nor the fact that he would probably be killed by the Germa 66 for a crime he didn't commit, but Sanji was fine with it. They were pirates after all. They had probably committed a number of crimes for which they deserved death or imprisonment for life, and out of the options, death was probably the better one. Sanji had heard rumours about Impel Down, and he'd much rather die than get tortured there.

After he had dealt with the pirates, Sanji had stolen some clothes in town, changed his disguise, and gone around spreading rumours. He made sure to change everything a little, because rumours seldom stayed the same after being told so many times, but he made sure to keep the part about the woman protecting her son as the most important part of the rumour. He changed where he had the information from every time though. Sometimes he'd say he'd overheard the very pirates who had done it talking and bragging about it, sometimes he had heard it from a random mercenary and sometimes his 'parents' had been talking about it over breakfast.

Sanji had then changed back into his bloodied outfit from earlier and returned to the ship that would take him back to the Germa Kingdom. The voyage had been over in an instant, and while Sanji had spent the entire time training or 'mourning' over the death of his oh-so-lovely mother, he didn't feel any stronger, and he was beginning to suspect that the people around him were starting see through his act.

He told his father the tragic tale of what had happened all while acting like he was on the brink of tears, yet holding it back to maintain a strong front, when in reality he was struggling to look sad, since his mind was in a completely different place. As soon as he had secured his own safety, at least for now, it was time to act on his promise to Nico Robin. He had just about a week before she would venture over the Red Line and it was important to lure the government away from her during that time.

Sanji had decided to go with more rumours that he spread around to whoever passed close enough by their floating kingdom. It was easy, almost too easy, for Sanji to reach pirates, sailors, whoever came across and start rumours. If the people were drunk enough he could just outright tell them the lies, and they wouldn't question why a boy was suddenly on their ship, but if they weren't he'd just spread the rumour in other ways. He'd feign letters, whisper to people who were somewhere between being asleep and awake, or he'd hide a bounty poster with her 'rumoured' location on it. But subtly spreading rumours would never be enough, so this time he also planted seeds of information into his father's paperwork. It wasn't the most difficult thing to steal a letter sent from Marine Headquarters concerning Nico Robin, and add a little piece of information concerning her whereabouts. So with the information his father thought he had gotten from the Government and the various rumours floating about, the Germa 66 was quick to act. With the Vinsmokes in action, the marine bases from around the North Blue soon moved towards the location Sanji had planned for them all to go to, while Nico Robin was hopefully moving closer to Reverse Mountain. It was a perfect plan, and no one would ever be able to trace any of this information back to Sanji.

The Vinsmokes soon reached the island Sanji had chosen for his diversion. He had been very careful when choosing, and the island was perfect for what he wanted to do. The island was deserted and had been so for many years due to the eruption of a volcano that had destroyed almost everything. However, many years ago the civilization had been rich in culture and history, and remains of that past were rumoured to still exist, and wouldn't that be a paradise for a archaeologist?

The Germa 66 never worked directly with the World Government or the marines, since the powerful army they commanded was supposedly mythical, and why would the Government allow that much power to a family who weren't all that easy to control. They knew the Vinsmokes were powerful, but just how much power they had was kept secret from them, and Sanji's father was sure to keep it that way. It was therefore the Vinsmokes themselves who set foot on the island, while the marines kept their distance and had decided to fortify their strongholds surrounding the island, so that in the event that Nico Robin should escape from the Vinsmokes, she would have nowhere to run.

Sanji had been forced to join in on this mission, as it was his fault that they were here in the first place, but Sanji didn't mind. He had been tasked with guarding the eastern side of the island, and with him he had a few of the Germa 66 soldiers, including his harsh teacher. Sanji didn't really expect anything to happen, but when a band of... was it pirates or bounty hunters? Either way, a band of people, most likely criminals of some sort, were running towards them, weapons in hand and though Sanji knew that there was no reason to fight, he prepared himself for battle.

Their enemies were strong, and had Sanji been alone, he would have had his ass handed to him, but fortunately he wasn't and it was easy for him to take advantage of that. He knew that his father would never approve if Sanji didn't fight and took at least a few of these people down, but his father also had nothing against being underhanded. So Sanji, being a child and therefore not much of a threat, shifted the attention away from himself and onto the people who looked much tougher than him, and took down his enemies when they were least expecting it. He felt a little bit bad doing it, but if they were all going to get defeated anyway, then he might as well make sure that he wasn't punished along with them.

When the amount of opponents around them had thinned out quite a lot, and the ones that were left standing were almost completely exhausted, Sanji thought that it would be safe to start taking them on in a more fair fight. Also, in that way, when his stern teacher was actually paying attention to what he was doing, he could look like he was fighting bravely for the family. Sanji took a couple of people out quite easily by having both speed and size on his side and suddenly he found himself face to face with a female opponent. Sanji charged at her like he had done with the others before her. Why should it matter that she was a woman? She looked as desperate and mad as her fellow criminals. Her hair was wild, her clothes ragged and torn, she had some scars to show on her skin which was far from clean, yet when Sanji looked into her blue eyes, he hesitated. It was only for a moment and he hastily brought up his blade to defend himself when she swung her sword at him. He then ran around her before she could react and this time he didn't even look at her eyes, yet he still hesitated. He couldn't do it. The closer his blade got to the woman in front of him, the stronger her words echoed in his mind. For me. Even with his mother gone from this world, she was still there, whispering her poisonous words in his ear.

Sanji didn't even flinch when a sword plunged through the woman and killed her on the spot. The soldier who had done the deed didn't spare a single glance at Sanji and returned to fighting the rest of their opponents. Sanji took a last look at the dead woman before he charged at the closest man with all his might. The fight was soon over, yet when Sanji looked at his bloodied hand a terrifying realization hit him. He couldn't get rid of her. The fear that he thought had died with her slowly crept back into his mind. And for the first time in weeks, Sanji was scared.

It wasn't long after that Sanji and the men he was with received word from his father that the information they had gotten were either wrong or they had been too late. In any case Nico Robin wasn't to be found on the island. If everything was going according to Sanji's plan, Nico Robin should have entered the Grand Line by now. There was nothing more that Sanji could do for her.

More weeks passed. Nothing really happened. Sanji trained with his teacher and slowly improved. Now that he no longer had Nico Robin's survival to motivate him, he once again found it hard to see what exactly he was supposed to get stronger for. His father wasn't blind to this unfortunate turn, but he never sent Sanji back to the dungeons. Perhaps in respect for his mother. That didn't stop the punishments though. Although Sanji's father didn't really do much, his siblings had somehow gotten much worse.

Only months ago they would have kept their torments and vicious acts from their father, and if they were ever caught by a servant in the act, they would pay them off. But now they no longer cared. They'd beat him up during practice, they'd steal his food and destroy his belongings. Once or twice their father had walked past, but he hadn't even bothered to look at them, and Sanji had been left at his brothers' mercy.

But even this wasn't anything compared to Reiju. Sanji had never really liked her, but he had put her in the same category as his brothers, but now... Now that their mother was gone, it was like Reiju was slowly turning into her. Slowly, but surely. Before... everything had changed, Reiju wouldn't have thought twice about joining her brothers in bullying Sanji, and the first time Reiju wasn't there with them Sanji had been happy. He'd been happy because she was the alpha, and her not being there meant that everything was a little less painful.

Yet that same evening, when Sanji had gone back to his room with bruises and cuts all over his body, he had found her sitting on his bed. She had told him to come sit beside him. He had obeyed, afraid of what would happen if he did not. She had cleaned his wounds, while smiling and keeping her blue eyes on him. She had taken his hand. She had told him that he was strong for enduring his brothers' torments. And suddenly Sanji was back with his mother. He was no longer seeing Reiju's face, no longer hearing her words, but he could feel her. Her touch was like fire on his skin, yet he dared not retreat his hand. He was in pain, but he was frozen with fear. What could he do? At some point she had left, and Sanji's body shot down on the spot. Next morning he woke up on the floor.

From that day onwards Sanji had avoided Reiju the best he could, but it almost impossible. Every gaze from her was fire, every word was poison and each smile was a knife to the heart. Sanji could feel himself falling apart. He had no outlet, no place of comfort, no one to rely on, and it was slowly killing him. But then came the end of the summer and a small light was lit in Sanji's dark world. The head chef was retiring. A trivial, unimportant event for most, but for Sanji the announcement was life changing.

He dared not act immediately, so he waited. Patiently. Before entering the kitchen, Sanji noted how the quality of the food had changed. They had always eaten good food, but Sanji had never had anything like this before. It was like the world of cooking expanded a hundred fold, and the life inside Sanji which had almost completely vanished was restored. The new head chef turned out to be quite the talker too, and when presenting the food they would be eating with every meal, he was very good at telling them where everything had come from. Sanji noted how he tended to use ingredients from all over the world, rather than just from the North.

Sanji waited three weeks before he acted. It was late night. His father had taken Ichiji and Niji on a diplomatic mission, Reiju was planning some sort of battle strategy, and Yonji was down with a flu. It was all perfect. Sanji listed down to the kitchens, and found that a lock had been placed on the door. Probably to keep him out, but just because Sanji hated his life didn't mean that he never learned anything, and it had been years since he had perfected opening a door without a key. Sanji was soon inside, and the first thing he noticed was that the kitchen was different.

There were more fridges. The counters had been moved around to make more room for movement. There were now tools hanging from the ceiling and it seemed that most of the equipment was now of better quality. Sanji was excited, but it had been a while since he had been in a kitchen, so he decided to make something as simple as bread. Of course bread took a long time to make, but that was the point. It was simple, and he would enjoy it for longer.

He took his time with the dough, and when it was time to put it aside, Sanji explored. He pulled out drawers and opened all the cupboards just to examine any new tools they might have acquired. In the end what caught his eye was a book. It wasn't a recipe book, it was more of a theoretical cooking book. It discussed how flavours came together and how it was often very different things that made the best flavours, which was why sweet and sour was such a good combination. In the end, it all lead up to the All Blue which Sanji had been interested in for awhile. It discussed the possibilities that came with getting fish from both the North and the South and combining their unique flavours. In the cold North the fish had a rich, yet mellow flavour, but in the South it was more striking and if not handled right, southern fish could easily overwhelm anything it came into contact with. As much as Sanji wanted to keep the book, he had learned from his mistakes, and when it was time to finish baking the bread he made sure to put it back exactly where he had found it.

The baking was over quicker than Sanji liked, but in the end he had made a bread that tasted amazing, and there were no traces that he had ever been in the kitchen. And with the bread in his hands, Sanji ran back to his room only to get a few hours of sleep.

Sanji didn't wake to a maid opening the curtains, but to the bells ringing. The bells only ever ringed for three reasons: The first one was in the occasion that someone died. The bells would be loud, but there would only be six rings in a minute. The second reason was a wedding. In this case the bell would ring constantly during the ceremony and the third reason was when they were approaching an island. Sanji counted. Three rings. A pause. Three rings. A pause. There was an island ahead. And since his father wasn't with them, they'd probably stay until he returned.

Getting out of practice had never been easier, and Sanji snuck out of their kingdom. He roamed the streets for some time, but eventually decided to explore the island further. Most of the island was populated, and there wasn't a long walk between the houses furthest apart. The island itself was also rather small, and Sanji soon made it to the opposite side of where he had arrived. And it was stunning. Sanji had come across a beach. A beach with snow as white as sand, and water so clean that Sanji could see right through it and found a diverse marine life inhabited so close to him. Sanji couldn't resist. With no one in sight and not a care in the world Sanji stripped and let the water engulf him. And right in that moment, surrounded by the ocean which muffled out all sound and swimming among fish of vibrant colours, Sanji was free.

Sanji stayed by the beach until sundown, and then went straight back to the small part of the Germa Kingdom he was staying on. Dinner was fairly awkward as it was just him and Reiju. Yonji was still not feeling too well, and in the silence, Sanji focused solely on the food. It was good. One day he wanted to be good enough to make food like this. But that was a far and distant dream, and it would probably remain a dream. Reiju said nothing to him, which Sanji was thankful for, and he was soon back in his room where he went out as a light.

The next day, Sanji stayed to practice his sword fighting. He didn't want to disappear too much after all. He practised alone, but he made sure that he was seen doing it. He did it in a place the faced the island though. It didn't make a big difference, but Sanji found comfort in looking at the townspeople going about their lives. Living in a fortress on a sailing snail could easily drive a person insane as it was always the same people you saw. Especially if you didn't like the people, as was Sanji's case. Therefore seeing strangers was calming and kept Sanji from going completely insane.

On the third day Sanji went back to town. This time he brought his bread which he had made three nights earlier. It had been months since Sanji had shared his cooking with others and Yu-chan had always said that the greatest joy of cooking was sharing. Sanji didn't have to go far before he met a woman and her child begging on the streets.

"Please sir," the woman said, "Could you spare some change for food?" Both of them looked hungry and Sanji smiled to them.

"I don't have any money, but what about this bread?" He gave them the food and child's eyes lit up.

"Bread!" The child exclaimed and the woman looked at the bread, and then back at Sanji.

"Can we really take it?" She asked in shock.

"Of course. You just have to tell me how it tastes." Sanji requested.

The woman took the bread and split it in half. She gave the bigger piece to her child. They both took a bite. For a brief moment none of them spoke, but then the woman started crying. First Sanji was worried, but then...

"It's the best thing I've ever tasted. Thank you." She said through her tears and Sanji had, truly, never been happier. This was the joy Yu-chan had been talking about. Sanji knew the tears weren't shed because of the bread. They were shed because he had shared his food. And then something clicked in Sanji. He couldn't spend his entire life fighting, not when he could be cooking. Fighting made people sad. Food made them happy. Sanji wanted to make people happy.

Sanji smiled at the two of them one last time before he turned around to make his way back to the fortress, but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed his father staring straight at him. Of course, they would have no proof that Sanji had made the bread, but feeding... the less fortunate was probably just as bad in his father's eyes. Sanji braced himself for the worst, but it never came. His father's gaze lingered for only a moment before he turned his back on him and walked away. Was that it?

Sanji followed his father soon after, but didn't see him again until dinner came around. And nothing happened. His father told them that they would be leaving the island as soon as the sun rose again. He asked if Yonji had recovered from his illness. He spoke with Reiju about whatever she had been doing, while informing them that neither Ichiji nor Niji were attending dinner because they were resting. He didn't really say anything to Sanji, but getting ignored was something Sanji rather enjoyed.

The last thing their father told them before dismissing them was that they had a new destination outside the North Blue, and to get there they wouldn't use their usual snail ships. Snail ships weren't actually the official name for them, but Sanji had conditioned himself to call them that because when he was younger he had found that funny. Their father didn't tell them their destination, but Sanji knew that the only reason that he was coming with them was because his father didn't trust him to be alone for such a long period of time.

And so their journey began. At every island they came across, Sanji gave some of his cooking to various people in need, and a few times he had professional chefs give him pointers, and it came to a point where every member of his family knew about this. And while that just gave his siblings more excuses to beat him up, his father never attempted to stop him.

They abandoned their snail ship a week before they reached the Red Line. They docked at an island and Sanji watched as the snail swam away from them. It was a weird sight. The six of them stayed at a hotel for a couple of days, and used the down town to practice. In that regard nothing had really changed. They were then picked up by a vice-admiral, and a battleship took them to their destination: The Holy Land, Mariejoa. The Vinsmokes were to attend this year's reverie, and while children weren't allowed at the meetings, there would be other small princes and princesses, and making alliances was a big part of maintaining a powerful kingdom. Friendly relations, future marriage arrangements, scouting potential enemies, these were all important to the Vinsmokes, and they would make sure to make the most of this world meeting.

They crossed the Calm Belt and arrived at the marine stronghold, G-1, located in the New World before long. From there they were escorted to the Holy Land. They arrived in the morning, and the place was covered with a thin mist, which just added to the magic of the place. Even if the people living here were the worst scum the world had to offer, the place itself was beautiful. They were far above the clouds, and as the mist slowly disappeared then sun broke through and illuminated everything. The Holy Land consisted of an enormous castle surrounded by a garden so big that Sanji couldn't tell where it ended and where it began. The only downside to this place was that the ocean was far away, and Sanji wasn't sure how long he could live without it.

The Vinsmokes were lead to the rooms they would be residing in during their stay. Sanji was a little dissatisfied when it was revealed that he had to share rooms with Yonji, but at the very least, he was the easiest person for Sanji to get around. Yonji wasn't all that bright after all. Reiju was the only one of the children to get her own room. Sanji couldn't figure out if it was because she was a girl or the oldest. Their father got a room on a completely different floor, where all the leaders would have their quarters as well.

Sanji spent the rest of the day by a pond in the garden. The reverie was set to start the following day, and Sanji could easily observe all the newly arrived from his position. He made it a game to name as many families as he could, and was proud of himself when he recognized most of the flags immediately. The first family to arrive was the Riku family from the New World nation, Dressrosa. It's representatives were the King, Dold III, and his youngest daughter, Viola. If Sanji remembered correctly, the eldest daughter and heir had died a couple of years ago. Their country was a poor, yet peaceful one known for its exotic cuisine and passionate women. Sanji would love to visit it someday.

The next arrival that caught Sanji's eye was the representative from Drum Kingdom, Wapol. Yet another king from the Grand Line, yet completely opposite to the king of Dressrosa. As far as Sanji knew the king had no children, and to be honest, what woman would ever venture close to that man? The country was located on a Winter Island, yet Sanji still found the dead bear on Wapol's shoulders distasteful.

The last family to arrive that day was the Nefeltari family. The King, Nefeltari Cobra, and his only child and daughter Vivi were the representatives of the Sandy Kingdom Alabasta. Their country was located on a Summer Island not far from Drum, and from what Sanji had read it was vastly different from the North Blue where he had grown up. It was another place Sanji would like to visit someday.

Sanji was very well aware that the only purpose his father still found in him was to marry him off. And, honestly, Sanji wasn't too much against that idea. He'd marry some princess, and live in her kingdom to rule... or something. Of course, Sanji would prefer to marry a kind girl, but judging from the princesses that had arrived at the Reverie, there was a greater chance of marrying a mean one. An example of a girl such as this was the princess Sally of the Goa Kingdom in East Blue. From the moment she had arrived and until Sanji could no longer hear her, she had been complaining. First the servants hadn't been holding her bags properly. Then she was thirsty. Then there wasn't enough ice in the water. Then there was too much ice. At some point she had complained about the position of the sun, and Sanji silently thanked the Gods that none of his siblings were like that. Beating him up was one thing, but hearing a person constantly nag and complain would have driven him mad before long. Then evening came, and it was time to eat.

Dinner was... chaotic. Sanji was eating with all the members of royal families that weren't actually attending the meetings, and with representatives from more than one hundred and seventy countries, there were many people. And to make it even worse, many of them were quite young. Sanji was among the youngest there. Princess Vivi of Alabasta was probably the youngest, being only six years old. Yet the sand princess was one of the most mature and dignified people there. Sanji found himself sitting between some prince of a southern family, and the ever loving princess Sally. Sanji tried his very best to make conversation with the prince, but there were two problems with this. First of all, the prince was the least talkative person Sanji had ever met. Not that Sanji had met a whole lot of people, but this was ridiculous. He'd only ever answer with one-word replies and he never engaged in conversation. The second problem was of course the princess, who unlike prince silent, was super talkative and wouldn't leave Sanji alone.

When Sanji arrived to his designated room, Yonji was already there.

"Everyone here is an idiot," said the idiot, and Sanji had to resist rolling his eyes.

"What did you expect?" Sanji retorted, and made his way to the bed not currently occupied by Yonji. He just wanted to sleep.

"I expected royals to act like royals!" Yonji said in the most stuck up manner he'd ever heard him talk. Maybe the flu had done more damage than they thought?

"So you're saying that always wanting things to go your way isn't how royals usually act?" Being tired and having dealt with Princess Complain for an entire five course meal had really agitated Sanji.

Yonji glared at him, but Sanji didn't care too much and got ready for bed. If Yonji hadn't been stronger than him, Sanji would probably have started a fight, just because. On the other hand, Yonji would probably have started a fight had he not been alone. He was strong, but he wasn't one to take the initiative. Sanji was grateful for that.

The next morning was day one of the Reverie. Apparently only dinner was eaten with other people, and Sanji was woken to one his usual maids bringing him and Yonji breakfast. Another good thing about being here was that they had been forbidden from training. Instead they had been told to study. The Holy Land had the biggest library in the world, and except for a few sections, all books were available to people of royal blood. So after breakfast Sanji went to the library.

As it was a unique opportunity, Sanji was not surprised when he found about fifty people reading in the quiet halls. Sanji expected that his time would be spent either in here or it'd be spent socializing. Both Ichiji and Yonji had completely neglected the studying part, and never even entered the library. Reiju had apparently borrowed a couple of books the day they had arrived and was reading before bed, while Niji was actually in the library. Two days passed with Sanji just reading.

On the third day of the Reverie, Sanji decided to go to the gardens again. It was, as always, a lovely sunny day, and he really needed to be near water. He had borrowed a book called Cultures of the World, and was flipping through the cooking sections, when someone arrived. A crew of people were carrying boxes into the castle, and Sanji got a little closer to find out what it was about. It turned out not to be anything exciting. They were simply delivering food and they would be leaving again as soon as the job was over. Disappointed, Sanji went back to his room.

Yonji wasn't there which was nice. He collapsed on his bed, book still in hand, and let his mind wander. Sanji thought about the last year of his life, which had been eventful to say the least. Why was that, he wondered. Why this year? Sanji knew why. It was because, for the first time in his life, he had made decisions for himself. He had decided to go into the kitchens, he had decided to save Nico Robin rather than kill her, he had decided to continue studying cooking even when his father was so against it. And though as much bad as good had happened in that year, Sanji would never again go back to letting his father, his sister or his brothers decide for him.

And as Sanji was thinking about how decisions made by himself could drastically change his life, he thought of making another decision. His father had taken him with them, because he didn't trust for Sanji to stay in the Germa Kingdom alone. Yet ever since arriving, Sanji had hardly seen his family, and wasn't that the perfect opportunity? Sanji knew that he could never get what he wanted if he stayed with his family, and would they really miss him that much? The answer was no. Sanji smiled to himself. It was bold, it was reckless, and it was brilliant. If it didn't work he would be in for a world of pain, but if it did. If by any chance this worked, Sanji's life would change forever.

The next morning Sanji went to the library again. He borrowed a few books. Although it wasn't really borrowing if you never planned to give them back, was it? Sanji wasn't stupid. He knew that running away would mean that he'd have to live by himself, and though he had a little money, it wasn't enough. Books, however, they could be sold, and for quite high prizes as well. It would work out somehow.

Sanji then went back to the gardens, and found a place that sheltered him perfectly and allowed him to notice all newcomers to the Holy Land. For a long time nothing happened, but suddenly Sanji heard some rustling behind him. He turned around quickly, momentarily fearing that he'd already been discovered, but then found himself face to face with the desert princess, Nefeltari Vivi.

"What are you doing?" She asked innocently and smiled at him. He needed to find a good lie.

"I'm playing a game," Sanji said as it was the first thing he thought of. Not the best lie.

"What kind of game?"

"Um, Hide and Seek."

"Who are you playing with?"

"My... brothers."

"I thought you didn't get along with your brothers?"

Silence. As it turned out, the princess was quite perceptive, and Sanji was lost for words. She looked at him, then looked at his bag and then back at him.

"Are you running away?" She asked, still looking innocent.

"I- uh," Should he lie, or tell her the truth?

"You are, aren't you?" Sanji decided to not confirm or deny anything, "I won't tell anyone."

This puzzled Sanji, "Why? You don't owe me anything."

"That doesn't matter. It's your life."

Sanji could only look at her. She smiled at him.

"So, what are we waiting for?" She took her eyes off him and looked in the direction Sanji had been staring at before she had arrived.

"People delivering food."

They sat together for a while, eyes on the entrance, then she spoke again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Sanji didn't really see how much more information he had to give her, since she already seemed to know everything.

"Why don't you like your family?"

"Why do you think I don't like them?" Sanji said a little defensively, though there really was no point in denying it.

"Isn't that why you are running away?"

"I suppose..." Sanji wasn't actually sure why he was running away. He didn't like his family, but he had lived with them for so long, so why not continue down that path. It probably all came back to making decisions for himself, "I just want to be in control of my own life."

"Oh..." She breathed and looked at him with big eyes. After a little pause she spoke again. She was too curious, "You still haven't answered my question."

"There is something I want to do, but my father won't allow it," Sanji decided to say. He wasn't really comfortable with sharing his entire life story with this girl no matter how nice she was.

She seemed satisfied with the answer and they went back to looking at the entrance. They didn't have to wait long before someone appeared and soon there were people going back and forth with big wooden boxes.

"How are you going to do it?"

"I'll hide in one of those boxes," Sanji said determined. The boxes being carried inside contained food, while the boxes being carried outside contained empty bottles or other waste.

"Hmm..." She sounded sceptical, and just as Sanji took his eyes off her, he heard her move and before he knew it she was talking to the people carrying the boxes.

Sanji was ready to slap himself, but when the princess started sending him signals behind her back, it suddenly made sense. She was helping him by distracting the workers. Sanji ventured as close as he could though still hidden by bushes and flowers, and waited for the right time to move. The princess gave him that time. She suddenly screamed, and as a princess, it was the duty of the people to come to her aid, and everyone turned to look at her. Sanji saw her explaining something, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. It didn't matter though, no one was looking and Sanji moved.

He chose the first box he got to as there was no time to waste and climbed inside it. It was filled with fish bones, innards and other things which Sanji preferred not to think about. The smell was horrid and he had to do his very best to not throw up. It wasn't long after that he felt the box beginning to move.

"Wasn't this box lighter before," he heard someone say and Sanji instinctively closed his eyes, put a hand to his mouth and did his very best not to move or make any sounds.

"Maybe you're just losing muscle?" Another teased.

"Are you saying that I'm weak?!"

"No no, you are pretty strong for your age," the person laughed.

"And now you're calling me old? Shouldn't you show more respect for your elders?"

"Of course, I'm sorry. What are you thinking of doing when you retire?"

They began laughing and the box got shoved around more than Sanji liked. At some point the box was put down, but Sanji dared not move. He waited. He waited until he was sure he was alone. Until he could feel the rocking of the waves. Until the only sound left was his own breathing. Only then did he dare lift open the box and take a look around.

It was dark. Almost too dark for Sanji to see, but there was a single window that allowed a dim light into the room. There were boxes everywhere, and Sanji was lucky that his box had been the one on top of other boxes. Wanting to get out of the fish he had been sitting in for hours, Sanji slowly slipped out, careful to not make any sound. The fish stench followed him around, and he desperately wanted to change out of his clothes, but beggars can't be choosers after all, so had to make do. There was only one door out of the room. Sanji pressed his ear against the exit, trying to pick up any sounds. He then tried his best to look through the gap between the door and the floor, and decided that it was probably safe to go outside. The door wasn't locked, not that it would have any difference, but it did make it a little easier to sneak out.

The bright hall blinded Sanji for a second, but as soon as he got used to the light he found that he had no choice but to go forward. Sanji slowly listed down the hallway, and by the end he was met with a choice. Left or right? And then Sanji had a thought. Where was he going? He had just wanted to get out of the smelly box, and now he was roaming around on some ship. When his stomach growled Sanji sighed and started looking for the kitchen.

He decided to turn right, and continued down another hallway. This time there were a lot of doors, but only to his right, and Sanji imagined that these doors were mostly sleeping quarters. Sanji had wanted to get past these rooms quietly, but suddenly the ship tilted and Sanji was literally slammed into a door so hard that it opened. But his streak of luck was continuing. This wasn't a sleeping quarter. This was a storage room.

Looking around, Sanji found mostly cleaning tools, but he also found some clothes. Granted, most of it was way too big for him, but he could make it work. Sanji found the smallest sizes of whatever this was and with a scissor he had found in a box he adjusted. Stripping himself of his fishy outfit and slipping into his new clothes, he found that it was still relatively baggy, and the pants were dangerously close to sliding down. To counteract this he found a long piece of cloth and tied it around his waist, keeping everything together. Sanji was aware that he was now looking like a walking potato sack, but he didn't smell of fish anymore. Not that much at least. His hair was still weirdly wet, and his skin had some strange marks, but it worked. He also stole a bag, since the one he had brought was also were fishy by this point, and Sanji was quite pleased with the outcome. If anything, he looked nothing like a prince.

After having put his discarded clothes away in a place where no one would find it in a long time, Sanji sneaked back out of the room. The ship was still moving and rocking a whole lot, but after the initial surprise, Sanji wasn't too concerned about it. He had grown up sailing the ocean.

When Sanji had been moving around the ship for almost half an hour, he began to grow concerned as he had yet to see another person. As well as it worked out for him, it was unusual for a ship to be this devoid of people. The longer Sanji moved around the more wary he became and every time he turned a corner he expected to see people, yet there never were anyone. Sanji then reached a staircase. He weighed his options, but he was pretty sure he had exhausted this part of the ship for all it had, and he could also turn back if it seemed dangerous. The stairs lead to a big room that could only be a mess hall, which in turn meant that a kitchen had to be close. Sanji didn't have to search for long until he found the door that lead to a kitchen, and he was suddenly very excited. His stomach again reminded him of how hungry he was, and he went to the fridge. A glance at a lonely clock told him that it was three in the morning, so Sanji figured he still had some time before he had to leave.

Just as Sanji was deciding on what to make a loud noise made him turn around. There was no one behind him, and when he peeked out into the mess hall there were still no people. Sanji wanted nothing more than to go back to the kitchen, but years upon years of learning how to fight, survive and always stay one step ahead of your opponent was not easily forgotten. Sanji had to check out what was going on.

He moved away from the kitchen and the mess hall, and as the sounds grew louder he knew that he was moving in the right direction. He soon found a door that would undoubtedly lead him to the deck of the ship, but Sanji didn't need to open it to figure out what was going on. Someone was fighting. The familiar smell of blood was starting to make itself noticed and Sanji ran back to the kitchen. He didn't know what was going on, but there was no way he was dying here. He quickly gathered as much food as he could carry and ran back.

Sanji peeked out of the door and found the deck a full blown battlefield. He didn't know who were who, but that didn't matter, he needed to find a way to get off this ship. Simply jumping into the water wouldn't do, he'd drown before long. Besides, wasn't this the Grand Line? Sanji began moving along random objects to keep himself hidden the best he could, but it all turned out to be in vain when the ship suddenly tilted a dangerous amount. There were terrified screams coming from all around, but as soon as the water hit, it became dead silent.

Sanji took a deep breath when he broke the surface, but soon found himself underwater again. It didn't matter how good a swimmer he was, the ocean was too strong for him to fight. Sanji was frantically searching for something to grab onto, and was getting more and more desperate, when the time he had between each new breath continued to get longer. As Sanji's vision was blurring and his legs were feeling like they would give out at any moment, he saw his salvation. At first he thought that he was hallucinating, but as he grabbed onto it he smiled weakly. Apparently the ship had been completely torn apart by the waves and a big piece had floated Sanji's way. With the last of his strength Sanji climbed on top of it, still clutching his bag, and collapsed. As Sanji's body gave out and his mind surrendered to unconsciousness, the storm calmed and the sun rose over the horizon.

Sanji woke up in coughing fit. His mind was hazy, his head heavy and it was a little hard to breathe. A chill went through his body and he tugged the covers closer to him. Wait, the covers? Sanji looked around. He was lying on a strange bed in an unfamiliar room. Opposite him were two windows which let the moonlight shine through and a clock showing that it was midnight hung between them. Sanji tried to get up, but his body wasn't responding well and he collapsed back on the bed.

The second time he woke up someone was staring at him. Again he tried to get up, but this time he was held down.

"Don't move. You're still not well," the man said. Sanji wanted to protest, but coughed instead. The man put a glass of water to his lips and Sanji obediently drank it all. The man then helped Sanji sit, and placed a pillow behind him to rest on.

"You were lucky we found you," the man continued and Sanji followed his movements as he went to a cupboard by the foot of the bed and took something out of it, "It seemed that the rest of the crew weren't as lucky. Were you one of their kitchen boy?"

Sanji nodded. It was a perfectly fine cover. The man then gave him some medicine, and Sanji figured that if he hadn't killed him yet, then why would he do it now, so he took the awfully tasting liquid and swallowed it as quick as possible. Damn it was horrible.

"We rescued your things as well," the man said and pointed to the makeshift bag, where Sanji had put the food and books, "The food was completely soaked though, but we managed to save the books."

Sanji smiled. It would have been such a waste if he had just lost the books.

"What's your name?" The man asked, not introducing himself. Without thinking Sanji answered.

"Sanji," his voice was hoarse, and he regretted giving his name immediately after he had done it. How ridiculous would be if he had gotten this far only to get found out because he used his real name?

"Well then, Sanji," The man said as he stood up, "Welcome to the Orbit."

The ship which had saved Sanji turned out to be a cruise ship. The people on board were either crew or rich people on vacation. As the name suggested, the ship sailed throughout the world. It mostly stayed within the borders of each of the four blues, but apparently one of its selling points was being able to venture across the Grand Line. They had picked Sanji up when going from South Blue to East Blue, and they were currently sailing across the Calm Belt. Sanji had been puzzled with this revelation, as very few ships would dare go across the sea that housed the most sea monsters, but apparently the ship was build like marine warships: with a bottom made of seastone. Sanji could only wonder where they had gotten the money to get something like that done, but he kept his silence.

When Sanji had recovered from what had apparently been pneumonia, he had been allowed to work in the kitchens. As he had pretended to be a kitchen boy he had first been tasked with the trivial chores of dish washing, potato peeling and onion cutting. However, as he continued to show his enthusiasm for cooking and the chefs grew more and more fond of him, they eventually began teaching him. Sanji liked these chefs. They were kind, they taught him cooking and they never asked any unwanted questions. Sanji spent an entire year on the Orbit, becoming a better cook and reading his stolen books until he could recite the perfectly.

And then the fateful day arrived. Sanji was throwing out the waste and cleaning the dishes, as he heard a storm building up. It didn't worry him. It never did. It was just another storm. Sanji wasn't exactly sure how he and the other cooks had ended on the topic, but they were suddenly talking about the All Blue, and it excited Sanji more than he dared admit. Even after all this time, he still dreamed of the legendary sea, and working with food for so long without anyone telling him off had fuelled the fire to his once so small dream. Apparently the other chefs thought that it was dumb, and called him a kid for believing that it existed, but Sanji had seen a lot of the world. Sure, logically it didn't make any sense, but Sanji couldn't help but dream.

Then the screaming started and they were alerted of the approaching threat of pirates. Sanji was told to stay in the kitchen as he was only a child, and Sanji needed to remind himself that these people didn't know about his fighting abilities. But after awhile it became clear to Sanji that these pirates were winning whatever fight was going on and, as pirates, they would likely kill everyone on board. Sanji wouldn't allow it. He couldn't die here.

He grabbed the sharpest knives the kitchen had to offer and ran to deck to find that the pirates had the crew rounded up. Sanji took his stance and prepared to go in on who he assumed was the captain. The pirate simply looked down at him. He could faintly hear the chefs telling him to step back, but if he was going to die, he might as well die fighting. There was no way he was going down easily.

As a kick send Sanji flying backwards he had to remind himself that he hadn't actually been fighting for a year and just remembering the stance wasn't enough. He launched himself back at the captain, and dug his teeth into his shin. The guy used kicks, right? Why not go for the legs. And for no reason at all, Sanji declared that he would find the All Blue. He wasn't really sure why he said it, but it felt important at the time. He was kicked away again, but Sanji refused to die. He got up just as the wave hit the ship. For some reason, Sanji was experiencing deja-vu.

This time Sanji didn't wake up in a nice soft bed covered with warm blankets. He woke up on a rocky surface, and though he wasn't sick, he was aching all over. And the person who had saved him this time wasn't some kind doctor, oh no, it was the pirate who had attacked the ship in the first place. After some arguing they each had their share of food, each their side of the rocky island Sanji would soon call hell on earth and nothing to do but wait for help. And Sanji did what he did best in these kinds of situations. He counted.

By day five a ship passed but it was raining hard and they didn't notice Sanji.

By day twenty five he ran out of food.

By day fifty he was mostly bones.

By day seventy he got desperate and broke the deal he had made with the pirate.

Sanji crawled to the other side of the island using whatever energy he had left and his eyes widened at the sight that met him. The pirate still had a lot of food left. It was unfair, was it not? Sanji had had no food for weeks, and here the damn geezer still had more a lot more to spare. And if the pirate wasn't willing to give it to Sanji, he'd just take it for himself. Sanji took out his knife, which he still had for some reason, and made his way to the pirate. He wasn't as silent as he had wanted be and the pirate heard him before he even got close.

"What did you come for, little eggplant. Did you spot a ship?"

"I'll kill you and take your food," Sanji declared. Probably stupid to tell a person that you wanted to kill them, but after so long without food, logic was the last thing on Sanji's mind. The food though. Sanji was so hungry that he went for the bag instead of the pirate and he used his knife to cut the bag open. Sanji was both disappointed and confused when he found no food, only treasure in the bag.

"What's this...?" Sanji asked defeated. Did he not have any food?

"I have treasure, but no food. Strange isn't it?" The pirate mused and Sanji was suddenly filled with rage.

"Then did you give me all the food? How did you survive?" Sanji made his way to the pirate and grabbed hold of him, and the sight before him shocked Sanji more than anything ever would. The pirate was missing a leg, and the realization hit Sanji hard.

"Did you eat your own leg?!" Tears were forming in his eyes.

"Yes," the pirate said calmly.

"Why?!" Sanji screamed, "I don't remember ever doing anything for you! I even tried to kill you! Why?!"

The pirate was still looking over the horizon. Calm, collected, and then he smiled: "Because you and I share the same dream."

And in that moment Sanji knew. He was forever in debt to this pirate. Whatever rage or frustration he had once felt towards him had completely disappeared and he listened as the pirate revealed another dream of his. Opening a restaurant that sailed the ocean.

On the eighty fifth day they were saved.

On the ninetieth day they used the money the geezer still had to buy a boat that would serve as the restaurant.

On the hundredth day the Baratie was open for business.

And just like that, nine years passed. Sanji went from a novice kitchen boy, to the most experienced chef in the East only surpassed by Zeff, and though his dream of finding the All Blue never disappeared, it was slowly hidden away. He could never leave the geezer. He had saved Sanji by sacrificing his life as a pirate and his dream of finding the miracle sea. He had raised him into becoming a proud chef who used his hands for cooking, and a strong fighter who used his legs to win against any opponent who dared take him on.

And then one day, when Sanji was cooking like usual, fighting some rude customer as usual and flirting with a woman as usual, there was a loud bang. A cannon ball had fallen through the roof of the restaurant, right into Zeff's cabin. The culprit turned out to be a pirate with a strawhat.


So I just want to comment on something which I have yet to touch upon in this fic, and that is Sanji's flirting with women. I promise to have an origin to that trait of his included in the next chapter.

Also, you might have noticed that the timelines don't really match up with the one given in the manga, as Sanji should have left his family a year before Reverie, but y'know, fanfiction... I'm allowed to take liberties. I tried to make everything else fit though. I also went pretty quickly by the Zeff stuff, as we know about that from the manga and there really was no point in telling that information twice.

Respons to my guest reviewer:

Guest1: Thank you for the follow :D I'm glad you like my version of Mama Vinsmoke. I tried my best to make her really creepy :) And yes, Yu-chan, Sanji's lovely teacher was killed by his father. I tried to imply it with how Sanji said that he was in heaven. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.