Sooo I remembered what it was I was forgetting last chapter... I'll add that now, lol.

Chapter 29

(We interrupt this chapter for a quick completion of the previous chapter)

"I never thought my past would catch up with me this soon..."

Luffy looked at Sanji, who was still facing the counter. "We protect each other, Sanji. Your problems are our problems. Your fight is our fight. That's how it's always been and that's how it always will be. It doesn't matter what your past is, you know that."

"You should know that better than any of us, Sanji-kun. I can't count the number of times you saved us in tight situations."

"Yeah, that time in Alabasta when we all got caught by Crocodile," Usopp said.

"I had help."

"But it was your plan," Chopper interjected.

"When you snuck on board the Sea Train and freed Usopp and I from CP9."

"I snuck aboard the train to save Robin, not my fault you two were idiots and got yourselves caught."

"That time on Skypia when you took the hit for Usopp and I letting us escape from Enel and his lightning."

"And we can't forget that day on Drum Island When you threw yourself in front of that avalanche to save Nami and I. That was a stupid move, by the way. Next time you do something like that warn me."

"Yeah, don't need you breaking your back again," Chopper lectured.

"He broke his back," Niji said with a grin.

"Shut up. I barely broke it."

"How do you barely break your back?" Yonji asked.

"It was just a crack, obviously. I'm still able to walk aren't I?"

"Miraculously. He overexerted himself. Running around and fighting. Not to mention before that you already needed surgery on it."

"Yeah, just a crack, sure," Ichiji chuckled. "That's why you needed surgery on it."

"Go eat your pudding on the deck! All three of you!"

"Don't feel like it," Niji grinned before eating a spoonful of chocolate pudding.

"Yeah. Besides we're royals. A royal should never eat outside," Yonji added.

"Out!" Sanji yelled as the three brothers got to their feet and ran out of the kitchen laughing. Sanji sat down in the chair next to Nami with a sigh. "...? Niji took the whole bowl of chocolate pudding with him didn't he?"

"Yup," Some of the crew said as the others said "I believe so."

Sanji stood back up running out the door while yelling, "Niji, I'm going to kick your ass! That chocolate pudding is for everyone! Get back here!"

(Now, back to our regularly scheduled chapter!)

"Uh... Sanji, what are you doing?" Yonji asked.

"Taking a nap."

"On the grass?" Niji added.

Niji and Yonji had just walked into the deck from the boys' dorm to find Sanji laying on the ground under one of Nami's tangerine trees.

"Go away."

"Don't feel like it."

"Is that your reply to everything, Niji?"

"No... Well, only to you."

"I thought napping was the Pirate Hunter's thing," Ichiji said coming out of Chopper's office with the little doctor standing on his shoulders.

"Sanji!" He growled jumping to the deck.

"What, Chopper? You wanted us to rest and that's what I'm doing."

"I also told you to wear your raid suit!"

"Sorry Chopper, but that's not going to happen."

"Your siblings are wearing theirs'!"

"I'm never putting that thing on again."

"Where is it?!"

"I'm not telling you. You'll make them put it on me while I'm sleeping or something."

"No, I'm going to make you put it on now!"

"Saaaanjiiiii!" Luffy hollered rocketing to the tree. He was then joined by Usopp. "Please!" They begged, starry eyed.

"No!"

"But it would look so cool! I wanna see it!" Luffy wined.

"You already have!"

"I did?"

"Yes! All of you did!"

"I don't care! I wanna see it again! And Chopper said you had to wear it!"

"Ugh! Fine! Just shut up already," he said getting to his feet and taking the raid suit out of his pocket.

"Yay!"

"But it's going to the bottom of the ocean first chance I get to throw it there."

"Then I'll go get it," Luffy said.

"I'LL LET YOU DROWN!"

"But it looks too cool to through away!" Usopp said.

"Shut up or I'll throw you overboard!" Sanji said, inches from the sniper's face, before heading to the kitchen.

"Sanji, wait a sec," Niji called after him. Sanji stopped is his tracks. "If you were never going to wear your raid suit again then... why are you carrying it around in your pocket?"

"To keep it away from you three!" He growled before fumbling, in annoyance, with the headphones to get them off his head and threw them on the ground. He then sky walked to the door of the kitchen.

"Hey, Ich? Thank we should take these back to him?" Yonji asked picking up the headphones.

"No, we've tormented him enough for now. We'll irritate him some more later. After he and Cosette make dinner... ! Niji, where are you going?"

Niji stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to his older brother. "Nothing! I'm just... I'm... going to see if they have any chocolate!" He said before running to the kitchen while muttering, "Yeah... that's what I'm doing..."

"That was weird," Yonji staighted watching as the door closed behind Niji. "He's been acting strange since we left Germa."

"It's been a bit longer then that. But you're right."

"Wonder what's gotten into him."

Just then, everyone's head turned to a yelling Nami, who came running to the front of the ship.

"Furl the sails! There's a huge storm coming!"

"Hehehe, that was fun," a certain pirate with a straw hat laughed, a giant grin spreading across his face.

"YOU NEARLY GOT US ALL KILLED, LUFFY," Nami yelled, giving him a well deserved punch on the head.

The straw hats and their allies sat around the kitchen table as Sanji and Cosette finished up dinner.

"If you're not going to wear these, Sanji, at least put them around your neck," Ichiji said walking up behind Sanji and shoving the yellow headphones in his face.

"Bug off," Sanji said looking up from the pot of curry he was stirring, which irritated Ichiji so he shoved them onto Sanji's head as he carried the pot to the table. Sanji silently growled and pushed them off his ears and onto his shoulders before dishing out everyone's food. "Does anyone know where Niji ran off to?" He asked as a loud crash of thunder sent vibrations through the Thousand Sunny.

"Last we saw him he ran in here for more chocolate," Yonji said.

"Yeah, but he left right before everyone else came in, just before the~" Sanji trailed of, unsure if what he just realized could be possible. "I'll be right back. Luffy, don't still anyone's food," he warned.

"Where are you going?" Zoro asked as Sanji began to leave the kitchen with a plate of food.

"None of your business, Marino!" He stepped out into the pouring rain, using the cape of his raid suit to keep the food dry and walked down the stairs to the boys' dorm.

The door slowly creaked open. He stepped into the dark room and looked around. Niji was sitting in the far corner of the room. His knees were pulled up to his chest, elbows on his knees, and hands pinning his headphones to his ears.

"Just as I thought," Sanji sighed under his breath.

He walked over to his older brother and sat the plate in front of him. Niji looked up with a slight jump, his eyes popping wide open.

"S-Sanji? What do you want?" He asked turning away with a light blush on his face.

"It's dinner time and you ran off, so I brought your food.

"How'd you find me?"

"It's kinda a small ship. Not that hard to find people... plus I have my haki."

Niji burried his face in his arms at another crash of thunder, his body trembling.

"S-Sanji, wh-what is this?"

To any other person that question would not have made sense, but for Sanji... he knew exactly what his brother meant. He sighed as he sat next to Niji. He pulled his knees to his chest, laying his arms across them, he rested his chin on his arms. "It's fear, Niji," he answered softly.

Of course Niji would be afraid of thunder and lightning now that his emotions are intact. Who could blame him? He was forced to stay outside during thunderstorms as a child. Sometimes Judge even made him act as a lightning rod if the storm was really bad. Being strapped to a table with electrical wires stuck to his body was bad enough when training. But Judge would also order Niji to be locked out of the castle during thunder and electrical storms and nobody was ever aloud to let him back in until the storm passed. Who wouldn't be afraid of thunderstorms after a childhood like that.

"I... I don't... like it," Niji replies.

"Nobody does. Fear is not a fun thing."

"I... I never..."

"Felt like this before?" Sanji finished for him. "You were emotionless. What did you expect? You'd continue feeling nothing but anger and annoyance and only every negative emotion there is and nothing else?"

"I don't know. Maybe..."

"Fear is not a fun thing..."

"You already said that."

"Let me finish. Fear is not a fun thing but it can be a good thing."

"That doesn't make sense. Shut up and go back to the kitchen Weakling."

"It does. See, fear is scary. It's fear, it's supposed to be... however it can also be life saving."

"How so?"

"Well... take for example arachnophobia... otherwise known as the fear of spiders. Most people would say spiders are a ridiculous thing to fear... However people have a good reason to fear them because some species are poisonous and can kill a person. Same thing with snakes, some are poisonous others are so big they can suffocate anything they can wrap around. My point is people tend to avoid the things they fear which could potentially save their life or someone else's. I don't think he'd ever admit it to us but I think that's Luffy's greatest fear."

"What's that?"

"Losing someone he cares about. I think Ace's death triggered it... well it was always there just never as obvious as it is now. His fear motivated him to become stronger. That's why we practically vanished off the face of the Earth for the past to years. We got separated and was supposed to meet up at the Sunny in three days. After Ace died he realized he wasn't strong enough, physically, to move onto the New World, none of us were, so he decided it would be best if we meant backup in two years and to spend those two years training. His fear didn't make him week, it pushed him to become stronger."

"I never... thought of it like that."

"You were never aloud to."

"Wait... Three days... Two years... Is that what the deal was with that picture in the paper of him was? Three D crossed out and the two Y?"

"Yup, he was telling us 'not three day but two years'. He knew that was the only way he could get the message to all of us."

"Who would've thought that idiot could come up with a plan like that?"

"I'm pretty sure Raleigh and Jinbe helped him out with the planning," Sanji laughed. "You really should eat, though," he added looking down at the plate.

"I'm not really hungry."

"I don't care. As long as I'm the chef on this ship nobody is going without food. Now, I have to go make sure Luffy is not stealing everyone's food. When I come back you best be eating and I better not find out you waisted any of it." He stood up and walked to the door but turned back, "One more thing, just tell her already. You'll never know if you don't say something."

"Tell who what?" Niji asked, finally looking up, only to find Sanji had already left.

Thanks again for the Reviews! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as I enjoyed writing it! Until next chapter sayonara!