Chapter 13

"Black Leg, didn't you say you weren't moving until Robin and your sister find those keys?" Law asked as Sanji led them back up the stairs.

"Yes, but I'd rather 'not move' somewhere else."

"Where are we going now?" Luffy asked.

"The kitchen."

"Are you going to make us food!" Luffy asked, getting 'a bit' excited.

"Hey Luffy, it Sanji that's leading the way. Where did you think we were going to end up?" Zoro inquired, sarcastically.

"Shut up, Moss Head. I need to cook something before I go insane."

"Don't tell me you have withdrawals from not cooking!"

"Don't be an idiot, Marimo! That can't happen! ...It's just…."

"It's just, what?"

"Being here… being around them… it… it stresses me out… cooking helps me destress…"

"Isn't that why you smoke?" Carrot asked.

"Not really… that's when I smoke more than usual…."

"So then don't drag us to the kitchen!" Zoro replied "just light a cigarette like you usually do! I don't feel like sitting in a kitchen while you cook for however long!"

"Can't."

"Why the hell not!"

"Bad habit… trying to quit…" Sanji said bluntly.

Everyone stopped walking as Sanji continued forward, "WHAAAAAAAAAA!"

Sanji turned around to face them, "I'm joking!"

"Oh, think God!" The Straw Hats said in relief.

"Had me worried for a second there! Thought you might have been sick!" Chopper said.

"So if that was a joke… then why can't you?" Zoro asked.

"I can't because… well…. I might have... run out…"

"Are you telling us that you used your entire stock of cigarettes already?" Zoro asked as they began walking again.

"No…. That is back at the Sunny… I used the box I had with me," he said turning to a hall on the left.

"Sanji-kun, didn't you just open that box yesterday?"

"Maybe…. Nami-san, please don't look at me like that. I told you it this place…. I hate it here…. I want to go back to the Sunny… but… I know it sounds stupid… but I feel like…. Like I have to stop whatever it is Judge is planning…. It's not going to be good for the North Blue or the world for that matter… I just know it…. If there is something… anything I can do to stop him…. Then I have to at least try."

"There's the Sanji-kun we know and love," Nami smiled.

"Nami-swan! You just said you loved me!" Sanji said his visible eye turning to a heart.

"Nami, do you not know how to watch what you say round him!"

"I could really care less, Zoro."

"What?!"

"If it gets him acting like his normal self then I don't care."

"I LOVE YOU TOO," Sanji began as he spun around on one leg. "NAMI-SWAAA~!" He continued, still balancing on one leg as he leaned in to hug the navigator. "Ow," he said after falling face first because Nami had quickly stepped out of the blond's reach.

"See, he's back to normal for now."

Sanji froze as he got to his feet.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami said looking down as the cook.

Sanji stared at the wall in front of him, "Tch."

"Come on Cook. I thought you wanted to go to the kitchen," Zoro said but received no response.

"Sanji-san? The wall's just a bit smashed…." Brook said.

Luffy crouched down next to Sanji in order to get a closer look, "There's blood on it…. Sanji… who's blood is on this wall?"

"You already know the answer to that," Sanji muttered.

"When and why?"

"When we were kids. I had just finished baking a cake. They came into the kitchen and took it so I ran after them. Ichiji said some things and I made the mistake of punching him."

"You punched someone?" Zoro said taken aback.

"I didn't stop fighting with my hands until after I meant Zeff…. Anyway, you remember yesterday when I told you about the time Judge looked me in the eye and told me I wasn't worth raising?" He asked turning to Luffy.

"Yeah."

"After they threw me into the wall, Judge and Reiju walked by. That's when I made the mistake of thinking he would help," Sanji finished as he reached out to touch the broken wall.

"Your brothers are terrifying…. Let's go back to the Sunny," Usopp said, he's legs trembling.

"We are not leaving without the keys! As long as they have me to beat up they're not going to lay a finger on you guys," Sanji said brushing some dirt off his clothes as he stood up. "Come on, I need to cook something," he added turning the corner. "Marimo, don't get lost!"

"Shut it, stupid eyebrows!"

"Prince Sanji! Do you need something?" Cosette asked as the Straw Hats filed into the kitchen a minute later.

"Have you started lunch?"

"Not yet, we were just getting ready to."

"Don't bother. I'll make today's lunch. You and the rest of the cook's can take a break."

"But Judge-sama…."

"I will take full blame for it… if he finds out. You guys work to hard for them, you deserve a break, and I need to cook. It's a win-win for all of us."

"You are going to cook lunch for everyone in the castle… by yourself…?"

"I've cooked for a lot more… an entire city to be exact."

"That party you guy threw back at Water 7 was pretty supper!" Franky responded.

"And the food was the best!" Luffy's mouth watered at the memory.

"Sanji-kun's cooking is the best!" Nami said as Sanji went to the storage room.

"And it's still hard to believe how much better it gets with every meal," Robin added.

"Nobody say anything about this," Sanji said as he maneuvered around the kitchen as if he were on the Sunny.

"You seem to know your way around this kitchen as well as you do the Sunny's," Nami said.

"I cooked in here all the time as a kid. Cosette seems to keep it in much the same way as her grandfather did so it's not too hard to figure out…. Is it bad that I'm getting a really strong urge to piss Niji off?" He said with a hint of a chuckle.

"Sanji-kun, don't do that!"

"I just meant serve him something he doesn't think he likes even though he hasn't tried it…"

"You mean the stuff he had for dinner last night?"

"Aligot… yup…. He'll just waste it again though…. But then again…." Sanji grind a bit evilly.

Sanji finished cooking with barely enough time to get back to the dining hall. He had apologized to the chefs for making them serve the meal but none of them wanted Judge to find out who had actually made lunch.

"Sanji, why are we running?" Chopper asked.

"Do you want to find out what will happen if we're late? They have the Baratie as a hostage, I can't afford to make Judge too mad. If the Baratie was out of the equation then I wouldn't care…. One more thing before we get there…."

"What is it, Sanji-kun?"

"After dinner to night, head to my room and wait for me there. I believe there's something I need to finish telling you guys, especially after what happened in the dungeon earlier."

"We get it, Sanji. That was were your father imprisoned you."

"Yes, but there's a bit more to it them just that," Sanji replied, sliding to a halt in front of the dining hall doors.

"You're late," Judge scolded as Sanji and the others walked in.

"We lost track of time during the tour."

"Don't care what your excuse is. Training after lunch as punishment, then break for dinner."

"Tch."

"Don't give me that attitude, Sanji! I warned you last night! You best prepare yourself, you'll be fighting you brothers."

"This is going to be fun," Niji said as his evil smirk appeared on his face.

"Hell yes!" Yonji laughed.

"You best hope you really are stronger than you used to be, Sanji, because we're not going to go easy on you."

"Even if he has gotten stronger, so have we. Our hierarchy over him hasn't changed," Niji interjected as maids came in with the food.

"Boys," Sora said taking a seat next to Niji. "That's enough."

"It's fine, Mom. I've learned to ignore what they say, for the most part anyways. However, I will say this… it is not you people I need nor want to prove myself to… however… if I'm allowed to fight back for once… don't expect to come out the winners. Just remembered, sweets may have came from Heaven… but spices came from Hell…. Don't forget may be the son of an Angel," he glanced at Sora before looking at Judge, "but I'm all the son of the Devil." He turned back to his brothers, "I can be the kindest person you'll ever meet or I can burn a hole right through you soul. I'm a demon born of an angel…. I suggest the tree of you prepare for a lesson in manners you'll never forget! You think this is going to be punishment… I say it's going to be sweet revenge. Laugh all you want, it makes my winning all the more sweeter."

"Sanji's so cool," Chopper said.

"Well said, Sanji!" Luffy laughed.

A/N: Is it bad that I love Niji's evil grin...? …...Lol

And once again I finish the chapter at three o'clock in the morning 😅 lol. All well!