Hi Everyone,

Here is the second chapter. I was originally planning on finishing this last month but I was struggling with the direction of this chapter. I wanted the conversation to be organic, especially since Usopp and Sanji have a good friend relationship.

Another reason is that I finished "Skeleton Moon." I'm happy to have finished the story but a little sad. It feels strange not having a long term story to write.

Right now, this is the only chapter I have planned to reference "The Boy in the Iron Mask."

5/25/2021

WORTH

A day after Robin came to visit, Sanji was out gathering supplies for his stand but quickly found himself distracted by brightly colored stalls and the menagerie of goods other vendors were selling. Ranging for carved crafts, weaved rugs, and fresh fruit, there was just so much to explore and see. The weather was sunny and many citizens were out doing their shopping. Vendors sang out deals and exclusive offers to entice potential buyers.

Still feeling in a good mood from meeting Robin the other day, Sanji took his time to enjoy the market.

Two children ran by, screaming with delight as another wearing a mask of a tengu chased after them. The mask the child wore had Sanji stopping his stroll. Its long nose reminded him of a certain cowardly sniper and just like that, Sanji was back to thinking about his crew and what they were doing.

Sanji noticed a group gathering around a vendor. It sounded like quite the commotion coming from the center of the crowd. Mingling with Wano's citizens, Sanji managed to get close enough that he could barely see the vender over the heads of others. It was an older man in a green haramaka with a dorky green toad on his shoulder. His most notable trait was his long nose. Sanji smiled to himself, he's been thinking so much about the crew he's starting to see them everywhere.

"Gather 'round everyone! Gather 'round!" The man hollered, making wild gestures in excitement. "See the miraculous healing properties of East Blue's special toad oil!"

Hearing the salesman talk about the East Blue, Sanji joined the rest of the crowd that was gathering. Wano was a closed country so there was no way for the salesman to acquire toad oil from the East Blue. Even if the man was running a scam, Sanji figured the salesman's pitch would be entertaining to watch. Unfortunately, there was a relatively large crowd around the stand so Sanji couldn't get close but the old man was loud enough for his voice to carry over the crowd.

"—ere's a sheet of paper – no gimmicks or setup! One sheet becomes two…" Sanji could faintly hear paper being torn as the man talked, cutting the paper smaller and smaller and finally said. "I give you the fluttering dance of a springtime cherry blossom shower and the snowfall of Wano's early evening Hi-eiy!"

The crowd awed as the confetti rained down on them. Sanji had to admit that the salesman was pretty good at showboating.

"Now you see how sharp this great sword is! Just by grazing it a bit…."

The crowd gasped and Sanji assumed that the man cut his arm.

"See how easily you get cut. But watch this!"

Sanji craned his neck and could barely see the man rubbing the oil into his arm before holding it up for the crowd to see. As far as Sanji could tell, the wound was gone. The people around him whispered excitedly but Sanji wasn't convinced. He was a cook and had limited knowledge on medicine but Sanji had never heard of toad oil being able to make wounds disappear.

"Toad oil is the upcoming miraculous salve. You don't want to miss it!"

Sanji furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. That voice…. sounded familiar. And then it clicked.

"How does it work for burns?" Sanji called out. The crowd part enough for him to squeeze closer.

The old man perked up and quickly looked across the crowd until his eyes landed on Sanji. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. He grinned. Sanji knew for certain the old man was Usopp. Sanji wanted to call out to him but it crossed his mind that they were supposed to be under cover. Robin was going by O-Robin so Usopp must have a cover name as well. Sanji couldn't carelessly approach this situation. Who knew if Orochimaru had spies milling about.

"San—Buddy old pal!" Usopp remarked, pushing his way through the crowd to sling an arm around Sanji. "I haven't seen you in ages! We need to catch up right now."

Sanji grinned at Usopp's antics and let him pull him out of the crowd. Little did Sanji know what his dear friend "Usohachi" meant by catching up.

He didn't think he would find himself in the woods, hunting through the long grass with a net in hand to catch the toads Usopp needed to make his oil. He would much rather be catering to Robin and Nami than getting friendly with gross amphibians.

Sanji pulled back some reeds and found a fat toad sitting on a rock. Taking a deep inhale of his cigarette, Sanji blew out a puff of smoke into the toad's face. He was reward with the toad lashing its tongue out. He cringed as the slimy tongue hit his cheek.

"Gross,"

Sanji glanced over his shoulder to see Usopp crawling into a rotted out tree log in pursuit of a pink toad. Sanji chuckled to himself. When he and Usopp managed to leave the crowded streets, Usopp didn't even bother with any pleasantries and just got right down to business. Usopp was a doer. He'd rather be working with his hands than traversing an awkward conversation.

Neither Sanji nor Usopp knew how to talk about the time Sanji left for Whole Cake Island. Usopp understood that Sanji kept his family a secret from them and he respected that Sanji needed space. Talking may be out of the question but Usopp was trying to make Sanji feel at ease by carrying on like they just saw each other yesterday.

Judge and his brothers made Sanji's life a living hell. He endured jeers, choruses of malicious laughs and endless beatings that left his body sore and bruises decorating his skin. Sanji was ridiculed for his kindness and he wasn't strong enough to defend his ideals. After he escaped Germa Kingdom, Sanji spent years thinking he had to prove he had value. He owed a lot to Zeff for helping him find his strengths and confidence. Judge merely saw Sanji as a broken tool, one that was a blemish to his reputation.

Unconsciously Sanji went to rub his wrist. He started developing a habit after they left Big Mom's territory. It felt surreal he was able to rejoin the crew without losing his hands, he couldn't help but double check that bracelets were gone. His fingers brushed over a bump encasing his wrists and Sanji tensed. It was a familiar and unwelcoming sensation. Sanji looked down and sucked in a plume of smoke when he saw the yellow bracelets encircling his wrists

It was wrong. But they were real. Sanji could feel how the bracelets constricted uncomfortable against his skin. Sanji stumbled back and land on the ground as he coughed out the smoke he inhaled. His lungs burned and his chest seized in panic. The beating of his heart pounded in his ears as it tried failingly to provide nonexistent oxygen. Sanji scratched at them, digging his finger nail under his skin but unable to get any grip.

A rough hand squeezed his shoulders and Sanji could breath, sucking down a gulp of need air. Sanji guessed he must have made some noise to attract Usopp who was kneeling beside him with a face contorted with worry.

"Sanji? Are you okay?"

Sanji hated how hoarse his voice sounded when he replied, "Get them off."

Usopp examined his wrists and lightly smacked Sanji's hand away from where he was trying to tear the bracelet away.

"Don't pull." Usopp said. "It's going to make them tighten around you. You gotta stroke them."

Usopp ran his finger down the middle of one of the bracelets which quivered under the stroke. It popped off and landed on the ground. Sanji's stomach felt queasy at the round suckers on the underside of the supposed bracelet which matched the red, round markings on his wrists.

"Coiled Leeches," was all Usopp said as he stroked the other one. Like the first, the leech on Sanji's wrist quivered and dropped. "I forgot to warn you. These guys live in the reeds and like to latch on to large mammals to suck their blood."

Usopp scooped up both leeches and tossed them off into the woods. Sanji just stared at the red marks on his wrists. A small quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he came to terms with the fact that he mistook slimy leeches for cold metal. He sighed and slumped back against the sniper.

"Sanji!?" Usopp asked in alarm, unprepared for the unexpected weight. "I'm sorry okay?! I forgot, honest!"

Sanji glanced over his shoulder, "Want dinner?"

They took a break from frog hunting and sat under a tree together. Sanji took out the soba he brought along and poured it into their individual bowls. Usopp fidgeted quietly, watching the liquid slowly pour from the container.

"I forgot how creeped out you get about creepy crawlies," he joked.

Sanji's one visible eye narrowed in frustration, "Tell anyone what happened and I'll kick you back to the Bolin islands."

Usopp gulped at the clear threat but found a bowl of soba shoved in his direction minutes later. To avoid anything else stupid coming out of his mouth, Usopp took a large slurp of soba. He savored the taste in his mouth before swallowing, "So good."

To that, Sanji smiled.

"I've missed your cooking. Nothing can come close."

"Yeah," Sanji shifted uneasily. Not really wanting to talk about his time with Germa, Sanji found something else to talk about. "I heard you cheered little me up when I wasn't around."

Usopp scrunched his face in confusion before he realized that Sanji was talking about, "You mean the little you from the Devil Fruit incident? That… was forever ago. What brought this up?"

Sanji shrugged. "Nothing in particular. I just never thanked you for cheering that brat up."

Usopp's reddening face hinted that the sniper was flustered by the sudden praise. "I didn't do much, just told him something you told me."

"And what was this great advice, oh humble one?" Sanji drawled.

Usopp chuckled and scratched his chin. "What you told me at Enies Lobby…." Usopp trailed off when Sanji's smug grin grew bigger. "What?"

"I can't recall getting a chance to talk with you at Enies Lobby," Sanji teased, flicking him in the nose. "I was stuck with that Sogeking guy. You do have similar noses though, like that giraffe guy."

Usopp let out an aggravated sigh of frustration, "That joke is so old."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sanji deadpanned, but he maintained his devilish grin.

Usopp shoved his nakama in retaliation. "Be serious."

Sanji held his hands up to placate him. Taking it as his sign to continue, Usopp did so. "You said, that we all have things we can't do. That's why we do the things we can do and rely on everyone for the rest. Back then that… really put things in perspective for me. And it help little you too."

"You remember that cheesy one-liner?" Sanji chuckled lightly.

"It's not cheesy!" Usopp defended, face reddening more. He crossed his arms in a huff. "You should have taken your own advice."

Sanji quietly thought on that for a moment and instinctively rubbed his hands again. He was not prepared for Usopp to suddenly reach out. The sniper's calloused fingers gripped his forearms and pulled him closer, forcing Sanji to lean forward while Usopp inspected his hands. After a careful inspection, Usopp sighed in relief. "Nothing,"

Sanji frowned, confused. "What?"

Usopp didn't reply. Sanji realized that with his hands in Usopp's, his nakama was able to see that his hands were shaking. Sanji was ready to pull his hands away when Usopp spoke up. His voice was quiet and weak. "What did they do?"

Usopp had loosened his grip enough for Sanji to take back his hands but he was willing to admit, "Nothing that'll last. A little therapeutic, I guess."

"GAH!" Usopp exclaimed and sat back. "You get threatened to by your evil family into a political marriage with a fiancé who wants to kill you and you call that therapeutic?"

Sanji chuckled and leaned back against the tree. "I could have gone without ever seeing my family again. Believe me. But it did let me remember what really mattered." His furrowed swirly brow expressed an air of seriousness, "Nami and Robin's happiness."

Usopp rolled his eyes. "Good to see you didn't lose your personality."

Sanji smiled ruefully, "I know I can thank my mother for that."

Usopp waited for Sanji to go into detail, but the blond just stared at his bowl of soba with a tender smile on his face so Usopp said, "Moms are awesome."

"Yeah," Sanji finally looked at him. "My mom is the reason I'm a failure."

"….. What?"

Sanji nodded sagely.

"Look Sanji. I beginning to think I'm underequipped – and underqualified – to have this conversation."

"She saved me humanity." Sanji elaborated.

Usopp frowned in confusion. "And that makes you a failure?"

"To Judge, it does." So Sanji told Usopp about his biological father and his experiment to create the ultimate soldiers. Sanji explained his mother taking the counter drug and what life was like for him in Germa. He finished with summarizing the events of the wedding. Usopp listened carefully and did not say a word while Sanji talked. When Sanji finished, the sun was setting, painting the sky with hues of red. Usopp sat back from his attentive position into a comfortable slouch as he processed everything that Sanji told him.

"Man, that's rough,"

Sanji scoffed as he pulled out his cigarette pack. "That's all you got to say?"

"No wonder Little You was so keen on proving yourself." Usopp muttered. He didn't look at Sanji, occupying his attention with his fingers. "Are your hands alright?"

"Yeah,"

"You keep playing with them."

"I do, don't I?" Sanji mused. "Judge knew I valued my hands as a chef so I was made to wear explosive bracelets. If I ran, I would lose my hands."

Usopp's eyes widened in horror and mouth dropped in shock. "That's… I – uh…"

"Shitty?"

"Yeah," Usopp managed to utter out. "Your dad did that?"

"He is not my father." Sanji snarled.

"Right, right. Can of worms I shall not touch." Usopp said quickly, but it was clear that he was trying to quell his own anger towards the Vinsmokes. "Why would he do that?!"

"I don't mean anything to him. I was a waste of space and a stain on his great life." Sanji stated, bitterly.

Usopp twiddled his thumbs, nervously, "…..Sanji, you do know you don't have anything to prove to us?"

Sanji paused to think. Usopp watched him stand up to pace and smoke. Sanji thought about Usopp's question as he watched the sun set. Finally, he turned back to his friend, the orange light catching in his yellow hair and illuminating his smile. "No. I know my worth."

Usopp smiled back and said in a teasing tone, "You have no right to look cool with a sunset at your back."

That comment earned him a kick to the side. "Shut up, I'm always cool."

Usopp laughed as he stood up to join Sanji, "The coolest, Mr. Prince."

Together they gathered the toads and empty bowls and walked back towards the city, jabbing at each other with their elbows and good natured taunts.

Next Chapter: Ownership

-DigitalGuardian