Hello everyone,

Here is Sanji's interaction with Franky. This was an interesting dynamic to explore since it's a pairing that not closely examined in the cannon. The raid suit made a nice connection between the two of them because I could relate it to Franky's past.

7/23/21

OWNERSHIP

Sanji sat on a grassy slope, overlooking the capital's water canal. He sucked in a deep breath of nicotine before blowing out a large plume of smoke in irritation. The sun was rising in the distance, the light reflected off the water giving it an orange glow, but not even the picturesque view of the shinning rooftops of the Flower Capital could give him peace of mind. The object that plagued Sanji's mind was the Raid suit Judge passed to him during their last encounter.

Upon returning to the capital after his incident in the woods with Usopp, Sanji had been driven in ridding himself of any trace of the Vinsmoke family - specifically the Raid suit - but no matter what Sanji tried, he couldn't destroy the canister.

He first borrowed a hammer from Usopp and attempted to smash it. When that failed, Sanji upgraded to a boulder but it didn't get scratched. He went to the blacksmith and asked for it to be melted down. The blacksmith burned his furnace at its full capacity but when he pulled the canister out, it was still cool to the touch.

Sanji spent the entire night thinking of new ways to destroy the Raid suit but all attempts ended in failure. If Sanji couldn't break the canister, there was no way he would be able to damage the Raid suit itself.

Pulling it out, he traced over the glossy yellow three.

Even after all Sanji has done to separate from the Vinsmoke family, they keep trying to maintain their connection to him. He doesn't see why they bother since he is considered a failure.

Sanji clenched it tight. Just looking at it made his blood boil in anger. He refused to be a Vinsmoke. He would rather die than use the Raid suit. Sanji had half the mind to throw it in the river and wash his hands of it but he couldn't risk an unscrupulous individual acquiring the suit and reverse engineering the technology. It was too dangerous.

So Sanji sat, smoking through his dilemma. He would never use the Raid suit and he certainly didn't want to keep it but there was no sane way to destroy it.

While he pondered if there was a nearby active volcano he could run to, Sanji heard a woman scream. "Pervert!"

Instincts kicked in as Sanji identified the young lady in distress. There was a hulking man standing before her, only covered by a jacket and a loin cloth. Sanji sprinted forward, his leg catching fire.

He could see the pervert leer over the woman, "Pervert? Ow! You don't have to complimen-"

"Collier!" Sanji's kick connected with the man's neck and the momentum carried through, sending the pervert into the river with a splash.

"You are safe now, my sweet angel." Sanji swooned, gracefully landing and twirling like a limp noodle around the woman.

The woman gave a slight nod, looking quite astonished at Sanji's flaming leg.

The river erupted as the pervert broke the surface with a loud roar, ready for vengeance. Sanji readied for the next attack but the man slammed his box shaped forearms together and posed. "Get ready for a SUPER counterattack!"

Sanji let out an exacerbated sigh, "Should've known."

The "pervert" took a second to examine Sanji before breaking out into a wide smile. "What's up Sanji?"

"You're harassing an innocent young lady! That's what's up! Couldn't you go a day without being a weirdo!" shouted Sanji.

Franky laughed, "It's hard being this super!"

"I'm not trying to praise you! Godammit!" Sanji huffed in frustration but instantly changed his tune as he turned to address the lady, "Please ignore this oaf…. My lady?"

While the two had been arguing, the lady found it best to slip away while the two weirdos were distracted by each other. Sanji quietly mourned the loss of being in the presence of the beautiful woman. Franky trudged out of the river, ringing out his jacket as he did.

"Now my clothes are all wet and I'm cold." He stated.

"You're a cyborg. Don't you have an internal heating system of something?" Sanji asked, lighting up his next cigarette.

"Like warm food?" Franky hinted with a grin.

Sanji rolled his eyes.

Forty minutes later, Franky happily slurped down a bowl of warm soba. When he drained the last drop of broth, he put the bowl with a satisfied sigh, "Super job. Wish I could wash it down with some cola! With the country be'in closed and all, I have to keep my stash hidden for fueling."

"Cola isn't the ideal drink for every meal." Sanji stated flatly.

"Agree to disagree then. Anyways, it's great to see you again. You had us worried for a bit." Franky said.

Sanji shrugged, "I didn't think my family would seek me out."

"Speaking of your family. I can't believe you're a part of Germa's royal family. That country's technology is serious stuff."

"We may share blood and once a name, but they're no family of mine." Sanji sat down across from him and said, "I have a favor to ask actually."

He placed the canister containing the Raid suit. Franky recognized the technology immediately, face morphing through multiple emotions of surprise, confusion, and curiosity. He picked it up to get a closer examination, "Is this Germa technology?"

"It's called a Raid suit. Exclusive to the royal family… and me. It's basically an indestructible suit that enhances my physical abilities." Franky's excitement of the new technology was squished when Sanji added, "I want you to destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Franky echoed with a frown. "This is an advanced piece of technology. The fact that you got this is super lucky. Luckier than winning the jackpot."

"I don't need technology to be stronger." Sanji rebuffed.

Franky shook his head. "No, that's not it. What's got you bothered?'

"Franky. This suit was made by evil hands to do evil acts. It needs to be destroyed."

"Does it though?"

"This isn't up for debate!" Sanji exclaimed.

"But the possibilities!"

"Can you get rid of it or not?!"

"Who do you think I am?" Franky asked, playfully tossing the canister in his hand. "I'll find away, but before that." He placed it down on the table and looked Sanji squarely in the eye, "I want you to reconsider. This technology isn't evil."

"It is." Sanji insisted.

"What makes it evil?" he asked.

"Germa uses suits just like this one to conquer entire nations and hurt innocent lives."

Franky rubbed his chin in thought, "So are standard muskets."

"Muskets and Raid suits are two entirely different things."

"Is it though? What makes them different?"

"The Raid suits were made because of Germa."

"What if Germa made muskets?"

Sanji slammed his fist against the table, rattling the empty bowl. "Nothing good comes from that place, muskets, soldiers, any of their technology."

Acknowledging that this line of questioning was annoying the cook, Franky said, "Because Germa is evil, all they create will be used for evil."

"I have to make sure that Germa can't live through me." Sanji said, looking away.

"You're not Germa." Franky replied.

"Of course not!" he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "That's not the point. Anyone who uses crap like this won't use is for good intentions." Sanji stated.

"Let's look at another perspective. My teacher, Tom, was sentenced to Enies Lobby for execution."

"Spandam orchestrated the attack with battleships and put the blame on your teacher," Sanji recalled.

"An attack with my battleships," Franky added, "It was my battleships that fired on Water 7, blew apart buildings, hurt the citizens and condemned a good man. By your reasoning, my battleships were used for evil and that makes me evil."

"That's not what I meant. You didn't build your battleships to hurt others. It was Spandam's fault."

"It's not up to the craftsman how their work is used." Franky remarked wistfully. "It doesn't matter what we intend for our work to be. But that's the story for the creator, you are the user."

"….And?"

"Take ownership of that suit. You are the one who can choose what this technology is used for."

Sanji was quiet.

Franky rolled the canister back over to him. "I want you to hold on to it. If you still want to destroy it, I will, but think over what I said."

"… Why do you want me to keep the suit? Nothing good comes from Germa." Sanji muttered sullenly.

"That's super wrong, bro." Franky replied and smiled brightly at his nakama.

"…" Sanji scowled, he snatched the Raid suit back and tucked it away.

A while later, when dinosaur tore through the streets in search for a fugitive soba stand vendor, Sanji would be glad to have the Raid suit on hand to disguise his identity. As he dashed over the rooftops, evading the teeth of the dinosaur, Sanji had to acknowledge what Franky said. The Raid suit was created to further the glory of the Germa kingdom but he could use it to protect his nakama. He could live with that idea.

Germa's symbol left a bad taste in his mouth. Maybe Franky could alter the design….

Sanji & Zoro's chapter will take a bit longer as their relationship doesn't lend to a more talkative interaction. Nonetheless, I am excited to write it.

Cheers,

DigitalGuardian