Chapter 6

"Start explaining, Cook," Zoro said sliding to the floor along the wall.

Sanji sat at the foot of the king size four-poster bed. He sighed, removing the cigarette from his mouth.

"What's with this Royal secret of yours? And why the hell were you keeping it from us? How do you expect us to trust you if you're hiding things like that from us?"

"Zoro! Sanji is our friend! Secrets or no secrets, we trust our friends."

"Luffy's right. Besides it isn't like we cared before about what each other's pasts where, so why should we start caring about it now?" Nami reminded the swordsman.

"Maybe Zoro just cares about Sanji more than he lets on," Franky teased.

"Are you guys stupid! He's a member of Germa! Do any of you not know anything about that Kingdom?"

"This kingdom. This ship is technically a fraction of the kingdom itself. It's made up of multiple ship's just like this one, they fit together like a puzzle," Sanji quietly explained.

"Cool, a sea barring kingdom!" Luffy exclaimed. "So they're like pirates?!"

"No, Luffy," Sanji said.

"All I am trying to say is for all we know our cook could be a spy for Germa and the show he and his brothers are putting on for us is all an act. Why else wouldn't he tell us?"

"Did you ever thank maybe that right there is why I never said anything?! Germa is the Demon Kingdom! It is heartless and ruthless. I know that better than anyone!"

"Sanji? When you and Cosette was talking, you mentioned that you're father faked your death… Why would he do that?" Robin asked.

Sanji looked down at his hands, folded in his lap, "Because I'm nothing to him, nothing more than a failure anyway."

"A failure?" Nami asked.

"All this started March second, twenty one years ago, when my brothers and I was born, well for me and my brothers any way, it started for my sister, Reiju, when she was born. My… er… Judge, the king of Germa~"

"Your father," Robin stated.

Sanji looked at her and repeated, "The king of Germa, experimented on the five of us. Gave us genetic enhancements to make us stronger, more powerful than ordinary humans. On top of that he attempted to take away the emotions of my brothers and l. Most of them anyways, he left emotions like anger and hate, but took away emotions like empathy, sympathy, compassion, and love."

"What are you talking about? You're one of the kindest, most caring people we know!" Luffy argued.

"I said he attempted to. While my brothers were able to take out Judge's soldiers when they were just a year old and enjoyed it, I couldn't. Judge forced us to train everyday with no time to just be kids. My brothers and sister had slowly developed exoskeletons, making their bodies practically impenetrable. Reiju developed a strong immunity to all known poisons and she can not only eat and adsorb poison but also produce poison. Ichiji developed the ability to cause explosion by producing sparks, although he can chose weather he uses sparks or explosions. Niji, as you saw today, possess the ability to produce electricity, he is also, literally, lightning fast and Yonji has superhuman strength. For some reason my genetics had gone back to their normal state, because of that…" Sanji stared at his hands unable to look any of his crew mates in the eyes. "B-because of that… I… I was not only verbally... abused... by Judge, with him constantly calling me a failure and weakling… but also mentally and emotionally abused by not only him, but my brothers as well."

"Sanji-kun," Nami said, taking a seat next to Sanji on the bed.

"What's worse is the fact that Judge didn't condone but encouraged my brothers in their physical abuse. There wasn't a day that didn't go by that I didn't have some sort of cuts, bruises, swelling, or broken bone. Judge would walk by and see what they were doing… One of the times I asked him for help, but that man just stood there. He looked me in the eyes and said, 'why should I? It's clear as day that you'll be useless as a warrior in the future. I have no obligation to help you. And I see no worth in raising you either. You're nothing but a stain… A disgrace to our family name' (Chapter 833)."

The Straw Hats stared at Sanji in shock… all wondering what kind of man would say something like that to a young child.

"I always knew Germa was run by a bunch a basterds… but to thank that they even treat their own family as ruthless as their enemy," Law said.

"Warrior? He is the king of the most feared Kingdom in the world, despite most of the world thinking Germa is a myth, so what would he need more warriors for?" Brook asked.

"And why did these warriors have to be his children?" Robin added.

"Both those questions can be answered just by taking a look at that painting over there," Sanji said pointing to a painting on the other side of the room. "The king of Germa standing victorious over the other Kings of the North Blue. Judge's dream, to once again rain over the entire North Blue."

"Sanji-san," Brook turned away from the painting to look at Sanji. "Are you saying that you're surname is Vinsmoke? As in the very Vinsmoke family that once ruled over the North Blue with an iron fist? The very Vinsmoke family that was feared by the world?"

"Y-yeah."

Chopper walked up to the blond and rested his hooves and chin on the cook's lap. Sanji could only see half of his eyes, the top of them being covered by his hat, as a tear rolled down his cheek, "W-we're the same, aren't we, Sanji?"

Sanji looked at the little blue nosed reindeer, "What do you mean, Chopper?"

"Both our birth families… They made fun of us and treated us horribly… just because we were different from them… so we both ran away from them and found a new family…"

Sanji placed a hand on top of the reindeer's head and gave him a weak, half smile, "Yeah, Chopper… I guess we are." He picked up the reindeer and sat him on his lap as he continued, "My sister… She was different from the others… Even though she stood there and laughed along with my brothers… She was always so much kinder than them, she always treated my injuries after words… She was afraid of my brothers as much as I was…" he added seeing the confused faces of his friends. "She knew if she tried to help me, they would just turn on her… I understood that and never held a grudge over her for it… To be honest she's the only one of them I don't hate."

"Sanji… If you don't mind my asking… I couldn't help but notice that you haven't mentioned your mother yet… Why?" Robin asked.

Sanji sighed, "I was wondering when someone was going to ask…. Do you know the comic strip in the newspaper about Germa 66?"

Everyone nodded, other than Luffy, who looked rather confused.

"The Navy soldier in those comic strips, named Sora… He is the hero that always defeats Germa… Well, now that you all know that Germa is real… What if I told you that the Marine was also real but was never a Marine? And that he was really a she? ...in fact… She was the queen of Germa… and my mother."

"But if that's true… then why would they use her as the hero that won against Germa in every comic?" Nami asked.

"Mom wasn't anything like Judge. She was the kindest, most loving person anyone could ever meet. She somehow always managed to find the good in people, even when it seemed like there was no good in them."

"Was?" Franky pointed out Sanji's use of past tense.

"For almost as long as I could remember, Mom was very sick and in the hospital. I used to sneak out of the castle and walk all the way to the other end of the kingdom to visit her, Judge yelled at me whenever he found out about it but I continued to do it. Being with mom… that was the only time I truly felt... happy. The abuse from the rest of my family got worse when I started to cook for her, but she always looked so happy when I brought her food. She ate every last bite of it then she would smile at me and tell me how good it was. I know now that at least some of the time she was lying… but even so… those are the only good memories I have of Germa… Than that day came when Judge told us that she had died… Not having anyone to cook for, I started cooking for a rat… that only made things worse for me… but I loved to cook and despite being a prince… that's what I wanted to do… One day Judge came into my room, said that I better not have been feeding that rat again. "Royals Must never serve others. How many times must I tell you this. Your mother has long passed. There is no merit and nothing to be gained from following the legacy of the dead. For whatever reason, you were not gifted with the aptitude and talents of your siblings. As such, it is your duty to work hundreds, no… thousands of times harder than the others. You will be a part of and contribute to the plans I have set for the future of Germa. Being a disappointment and legging behind is not an option (Chapter 840). He then proceeded to by smashing a picture of mom and me and told me that I better not prepare another mean again while throwing, not only the plate of food, but the rat as well, out the unopened window. A harmless, defincless animal."

The Straw Hats were completely speechless.

Well all except Zoro who spoke up after a few seconds of silence, "Again, how do we know you're not lying?"

"Zoro! Why would he make this up!" Nami said.

"Once again… did you ever think maybe he's a spy or something?"

"Nami, it's fine… I already told you guys that i don't expect you to believe me… As long as I have yours and Robin-chan's trust… that's all I need, I don't care if the others trust me or not," he said, trying to lighten the mood for his friends, if only a little. "After that Judge ordered some of the soldiers… he… ordered my imprisonment… forced me to... "

"Sanji-kun…" Nami placed a hand on the cooks shoulder. "You don't have to finish if you don't want to."

Sanji shook his head, "No, I-i ha-have to… I… I keep it from… you guys l-longe… enough."

The navigator reached up and wipe tears from the blond's cheek, "Sanji-ku~"

"I'm fine, Nami-san."

"Okay, but if you want… you can tell us the rest latter…"

Sanji nodded, his eyes closed tightly, as more tears began to fall.

Luffy walked over to his friend and stood in front of him. He took the straw hat off his head and placed it on Sanji's. Sanji's eye popped open as he let out a quiet gasp, not expecting the jester.

"Whatever it is they want with you… We won't let them have their way… We're your friends, Sanji. And as your friends, we won't let you fight whatever this is by yourself… even if you say you don't want our help. I don't trust them around you… are any of my friends for that matter… But even if you find yourself defenceless against them, for any reason, we will fight for you."

"Luffy," Sanji muttered, pulling the brim of his captain's prised hat over his eyes. He knew no matter what he said or did to argue the matter, Luffy would never change his mind.

"Finish the story later, Sanji. Captain's orders… I have a feeling we all should get some rest before we get there."

Everyone stared at Luffy. They were in complete shock. When has their captain ever said that they should get some rest before they walked into unknown territory when they knew that more than likely a fight was going to break out.

"Luffy… I-i know they have rooms for you guys… but… if you're going to take a nap… would you guys mind… staying in here? ...for a while…"

Luffy turned back to Sanji. He began to feel angry towards the people that hurt his friend so much that his body tremble in fear at the mere thought of them. "Of course," the captain replied.

Sanji slid to the floor, Chopper still in his lap, and looked up at Nami, "You, Robin-chan, and Carrot-chan can have the bed. The others can have one of the chairs of couch."

Nami moved to the floor and placed an arm around the cook's shoulders, forcing him to rest his head on her shoulder, allowing him to doze off in her arm, tears streaming down his face. For the first time she didn't care about Sanji's lecherous streak.

Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you are enjoying my first One Piece (and manga/anime) fanfiction.

That little coversation between Chopper and Sanji is one I've imagined the two having every sense I found out about the rest of Sanji's past. While I'm sure by now that the two aren't going to have a similar coversation I decided to write it into this fanfic... (I really wish my drawing skills were where I want them to be because the image of Chopper with his little hooves and chin on Sanji's leg with his hat covering half of his eyes is just to cute... Also the image of Sanji sleeping on Nami's shoulder while crying and wearing Luffy's hat and her arm around him 💙) ...and okay that's enough rambling! On to writing the next chapter...!