Yay! I found some time to publish the next chapter! I'm not sure how good it will be, but I've been overloaded lately. Anyway, I hope it's satisfactory!

"Sanji!" Usopp screamed as he reached the nonchalant Sanji. He grabbed his shoulder forcefully and turned him around.

"What the hell was that all about!? After two years of training for him!? Why are you leaving Sanji?!"

"Get off of me." He said and he pushed him violently to the ground. Usopp looked up at him with tearful eyes, while Sanji looked back angerly.

"I'm not your Nakama anymore Usopp. Go away. I'm done with that shitty bastard." Usopp watched him turn away. What happened? After all this time? Usopp tried to hold back sadness. Flashbacks of when he left the crew...

"IT'S LONELY!" He shouted with high emotion. "YOU'LL HAVE AN EMPTY HOLE IN YOUR SOUL THAT WON'T GO AWAY SANJI!" He began to cry.

"It's not worth it...Believe me I know..." Sanji winced a little, then kept walking.

"I'm not like you Usopp.." Was all he said.

Suddenly, a large, bear-like silhouette appeared ion front of the two. The last thing they saw before they slipped into darkness was a giant white paw, then silence.

XXXXXXXXXX

Nobody slept that night. Eight bloodshot eyes stared at the ceiling of a tent for the remainder of the night. The only one who did anything different was a defeated Luffy, who had stopped his silent tears hours ago and just sat on his hammock in the Sunny, staring into the open mouth of his hat.

The next morning was just as silent. Nami threw together another stew, (Which everyone half-heartily ate) and Luffy did not move from his spot.

Nami was worried about him. He hadn't come down for breakfast. She swallowed, filled up the biggest bowl with the sloshy, mediocre dish, and boarded the Sunny with it.

She walked into the men's quarters and saw Luffy, still staring at his hat with a pained expression. His shirt was off, though it was covered from shoulder to thigh by the bandages. He had his knees up to his chin, his head resting on it gently. He seemed lost in his own head.

"Luffy." Nami said softly as she stepped closer to him. She stuck the bowl next to him gently, but he just faintly shook his head. She frowned in sympathy and placed the bowl on the floor.

"It's not your fault Luffy..." She lowered her eyes. She noticed that Luffy's eyes panged and he turned his head to the other side.

"Idiot.." He whispered, his voice cracking a bit. Nami began to tear up seeing him this way. It was even worse than when Usopp left. Nami paused for a moment, before crawling in the hammock beside him and hugged him lightly from the side.

"It's ok, Luffy. I'm here now. It's ok to cry."

Luffy struggled to keep it in, then he buried his face in his hands, weeping to himself. Nami blinked a tear too and stroked Luffy's soft hair. They stayed there like that for a long time.

"I'm sorry." Luffy said from beneath his hands. "I'm sorry that I'm such an arrogant con-artist. I'm sorry that I'm such a selfish captain..."

Nami stopped stroking his hair and grabbed his arm with sudden force.

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT AGAIN LUFFY!" She screamed. Luffy looked at her with surprise, both at himself and Nami's outburst.

"It's NOT your fault Luffy. You are a better captain, a better FRIEND, then any other captain on the seas." She let go of his arm and stared into his eyes.

"It's plain idiotic to apologize for something someone else did!" She added. Luffy stared at her for a moment, before tightning his mouth and placing his hat back on his head.

"You're right, it was idiotic for me to say that." He looked up from under his hat at Nami.

"If Sanji wants to come back, he'll come back. For now let's just wait." She finished. Luffy nodded with an "Aa." Nami smiled sadly and scooted off the hammock.

"Come down and eat in a bit, ok?"

Luffy nodded half-heartily and lay down on the hammock, ready to catch up on the lost sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

That night, everyone was sprawled on the ground and over logs, whining. Nami yelled at them.

"WHAT'S WITH THE GROANS?"

"We're hungry..." Moaned Chopper.

"I'm sick of stew..." Agreed Franky.

"YOU'VE ONLY HAD IT TWICE!"

"I'm so hungry that my stomach has shrunk...oh...but I don't have a sto-"

"BROOK!"

Brook kneeled into a aura of depression.

"Why have my brilliant jokes been getting interrupted so much lately?"

Just then, a loud, obnoxious yawn was heard in the direction of the Sunny. Everyone shot up and saw Luffy shuffling toward them sleepily.

"LUFFY!" Chopper squeaked as he hugged him around the leg. He made a confused sound in his throat and yawned again.

The sleepy Luffy sat next to the fire, along with everyone else. Nami was extremely happy to see him, but frowned when she tried to get him to eat a bit of the old leftover meat, only for him to reject it once again.

"I'll take it!" Pleaded everyone.

"NO! This one is for him you heartless jerks!"

Once Luffy woke up a bit, Nami stood up.

"Alright! First order of business! Arlen! Arsen!"

"AYE NAMI-SAN-SAMA!" They shouted from their tent (Which they were told to stay in for the day)

"Come with us!" She ordered and she motioned for everyone to follow her to the Sunny.

Once they arrived to the kitchen/dining area, everyone gathered around the Den-Den Mushi.

"We need to call Law, maybe Bepo can tell us something useful about his father." Nami hesitated on the word 'father'. Picturing that cowardly bear with a perverted dad like Teddy unnerved her for some reason. Luffy nodded, still not smiling. Robin whispered to Franky.

"Mr. Captain hasn't smiled once since the incident with Sanji, Franky." She noted.

"Aa. I've noticed." He responded.

Nami lifted up the snail and, with nods from the crew and confused glances between the brothers, called for the Heart Pirates.

"Oi..Is this Trafalgar Law?" Asked Nami. Everyone looked at her with alarmed eyes before she laughed.

"Don't worry! This line isn't tapped. I know it!"

"TRY TO BE MORE WARY ABOUT THAT!"

Some fuzz came from the snail's mouth before a growly sounding voice responded.

"Uh...W-who is this?"

"This is the Strawhats. Is Law there?"

"N-no...This is Bepo, and I don't wear a strawhat.."

Nami sighed, then smiled.

"Well. If you answered that just makes it easier. Bepo?"

"W-who is this? THE MARINES!?" Muffled screaming was heard before Nami's eyes turned red.

"NO YOU STUPID BEAR! IT'S LUFFY'S CREW! YOU KNOW! THOSE GUYS?!"

The screaming stopped and a much calmer voice sounded.

"Oh...Hi!"

"Oi. Bepo, we have something to ask you."

Luffy sat on the ground listening to Nami talk with a bored face.

"What?"

"Just wondering...Does the name 'Teddy' ring a bell?"

Dead silence over the line. Then blue squiggly lines appeared over the snail, signaling some depressed thinking on the bear's side. Nami raised her eyebrows and shook the receiver. Then Bepo replied with a shaky voice.

"Ted...dy..." As if talking to himself. Nami became impatient.

"What about 'Arlen' and 'Arsen'? Do you know them?"

Arlen and Arsen rushed to the Den-den Mushi and scrambled for the reciever.

"BABY BEAR-CHAN!"

"IT'S US-ISEN!"

"REMEMBER!? BABY BEAR-CHAN?!"

Another pause. Then Bepo replied with a very uncharacteristic serious, yet desperate tone.

"Arsen. H-how are you two holding up with Father Bear?"

"Not so good Baby Bear-Chan! Come back! We miss you!"

"Y-you know I can't do that; Father Bear's too scary and mean."

"But you're his son!"

"He doesn't care about me! He's satisfied with the Big Brothers. He doesn't need a son like his wife!"

"But Big Brothers are the ones who are slowly killing us-Hisen!" Stepped in Arlen. The Strawhats were exchanging glances at each others as the two boys begged.

"I can't have any part in the rehabilitation of Animal-Warriors! That's not pirating!"

"But Baby Bear-Chan!"

"I'M A PIRATE! NOT A SWINDLING POWER-GRABBER!" Screamed the now-strong voice of the navigating bear. Arlen and Arsen flinched at the shout, then slowly gave the receiver back to a now genuinely-concerned Nami. She waited, then spoke.

"Bepo." She said with a soft voice. "We are here on the island. We need you to provide information about what your father is doing and what the animal-men are."

"Why?" Snapped Bepo timidly. Nami pursed her lips.

"So we have an even better reason to kick their asses." She smirked. That was something that Luffy would say. It felt good.

The receiver went silent yet again.

"Their?" The snail's eyes widened.

"H-how many Animal-Warriors are there?"

"Probably over one billion."

A slamming noise was heard from the snail, probably a book or a glass dropping. Luffy still sat on the ground, arms crossed and eyes closed, while everyone else was listening with alert eyes.

"One billion?" Bepo repeated.

"Most likely more."

A pause.

"I will call you later. I-I need to think over this for a while..." Was all he said. The snail clicked and everyone didn't move for a moment.

"Well then, let's wait for him to call later!" Nami announced, breaking the silence. Everyone nodded and left the Sunny one by one. Nami, while leaving, stared at the boys firmly.

"Are you two hiding anything from us?"

They hugged each other frightened, then replied.

"W-We've told you everything we know! We didn't even know Baby Bear-Chan was a pirate! We swear!" Then they fainted.

Nami facepalmed and looked toward Luffy. He was still sitting on the floor with his eyes closed and crossed arms. She was disturbed by how serious, yet calm he was. Luffy being calm was always the scariest thing to her. After the whole Sanji thing, and their relationship, and the tension with Teddy-Sama, she didn't even know what he could be thinking about now.

"Definitely not Luffy Planet..." She said to herself sadly and left the boy to himself.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sanji awoke abruptly. He shot up and looked desperately around him. He was in a cell, a small one. The door was tightly sealed. Then he noticed Usopp, still unconscious on the stone floor.

"This was all his fault! I wouldn't have gotten distracted if it weren't for him!"

Then he flinched at his harshness. Well, if he and Luffy wouldn't have fought...He gritted his teeth and rested his hand on his head. That shitty idiot. Look what he'd gone and done now!

But...He looked back at the long-nosed moron. Usopp knew what it was like. What had he said?

"IT'S LONELY!"

"YOU'LL HAVE AN EMPTY HOLE IN YOUR SOUL THAT WON'T GO AWAY SANJI!"

He already felt a glimpse of that hole. Was he really being so selfish that it made Luffy shout like that as if he were an enemy?

Usopp began to stir and he saw Sanji in his stressed position. He sat up.

"Sanji?"

The cook looked toward him, trying to maintain his pride.

"What do you want you sheep?"

Usopp flinched. That hurt. He sighed and looked at the floor with sad eyes.

"Luffy was right." He began. "You are a selfish ass..."

Sanji made a hurt noise in his throat. Now Usopp, the scaredy cat liar, was calling him that. He looked away and thought.

"Being honorable to women is considered selfish now, eh?" He said. Usopp snapped up his head and grabbed Sanji by the shoulder.

"WHAT YOU WERE ARGUING ABOUT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HONOR! THAT'S NOT HONOR, IT'S TRYING TO WIN A WOMAN! THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!"

Sanji was taken aback by his shout. He swallowed. Usopp let him go violently and looked at the wall, steaming with anger.

"Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you?" Usopp choked.

They both sat there in silence for a while, trying to gather their heads.

"You're right." Sanji agreed quite suddenly. Usopp lifted his head and looked back at him in shock.

"Sanji?"

"Luffy hates people like me the most. Selfish asses who treat others like objects. That's what I am, and I don't blame him for what he said." He punched the ground with his fist.

"But Usopp...How am I supposed to deal with my captain loving Nami-San?" Usopp didn't answer.

"It may sound selfish. That's the perfect word. But I couldn't stay happy on the crew knowing that!"

The liar sighed and sat himself next to Sanji, tweaking his nose.

"Is that so? Would you really go so far as not feel happy on Luffy's crew if he loved Nami?" He closed his eyes. Usopp paused, then continued.

"I'll admit, I was just as surprised when I found out. But. Our soul purpose of being on his crew is to support him in whatever he does. And if you do rejoin the crew feeling unhappy about all this, you might as well not. You know Luffy. He hates making his friends unhappy. And if you do rejoin, you wouldn't be supporting him, now would you?"

Sanji stared at Usopp, astounded by his words.

"No..." He whispered.

He then dug in his pocket for a cigarette, but didn't find one. Then he coughed and smiled softly. Usopp cocked his head and waited for a long while for Sanji to speak.

"Usopp?"

"Eh?"

"When we get out of here, will you help me find a recipe for a marvelous wedding cake?"

Usopp's eyes widened at his very sudden remark, and he gawked at the smiling Sanji.

"Where did that come from?"

"Will you?"

Usopp thought for a moment, then grinned.

"Of course!"

Sanji grinned hugely and they shook hands.

"Thanks for knocking some sense in this selfish ass's brain."

"No problem Sanji."

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for being so patient. The fic will pick up the pace again soon, I promise!