Chapter 5
"Alright, there's your snack, shitty rubber," Sanji said, flipping a hand towel over his shoulder and setting a plate piled with sandwiches down in front of Luffy. "So don't go touching the food I prepped for dinner!"
"Yum!" Luffy declared, picking up the first sandwich and eating it whole. With his mouth still full, he declared, "You'we da besf, Sanji!"
The cook sighed. "Don't talk with your mouth full like that! It's gross and you'll choke!" He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at the time. "Alright, the dinner prep's done, so I'm gonna go take a nap for a bit." He fixed Luffy with a pointed stare. "Do. Not. Eat. It!"
"Oi won'd!" Luffy declared, his mouth full of his second sandwich. Then he remembered what Sanji had just told him and swallowed. "I won't! I promise, Sanji!"
The cook face-palmed. "Whatever. I'm gonna go tell one of the others to make sure I'm awake in a few hours. Don't mess up my kitchen." He turned and headed for the hooks where he typically stored his apron, untying it as he went.
"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy called as the chef finished and began heading for the door, an unlit cigarette already in his mouth. The cook paused. The captain grinned. "Thanks again for the snack! They're really good!"
The corners of the blonde's mouth upturned into a small smile. "Of course they are, damn rubber!"
After the cook left, Luffy continued munching on his pile of sandwiches, glad that Sanji was starting to act more like his old self. He contemplated it a bit. The cook was taking Chopper's advice and resting frequently so he'd heal faster. Sanji of course had declared it was so he could make and serve the girls' snacks faster and more efficiently, but Luffy didn't miss the spark that appeared in the blonde's eye whenever he and Zoro passed each other. The two were gnawing at the bit to fight again, but Chopper still insisted they wait.
Even better was the fact that Sanji was finally comfortable enough to change in front of the other guys. Previously, the cook had gone out of his way to change clothes before the others were awake or well after they had gone to bed or else had gone somewhere more private to change like one of the bathrooms. A few nights ago, the cook had finally been started changing in the guys' room whether the others were in there or not. Not long after, Luffy had invited him to join them for the guys' weekly bath night. Sanji had politely declined. Luffy had shrugged; it appeared the cook wasn't ready for that yet.
Luffy grabbed another sandwich, legs swinging as he glanced up at the ceiling, lost in thought. The real changes had started after they had found out Zeff was alive. Luffy and Nami had gone back into the dining room not long after the call between the two cooks had ended. Sanji had been sitting in a chair, calmly smoking a cigarette, but at the sight of Luffy, the cook had grown nervous and guilty.
"L-Luffy, I…there's something I need to…" the cook had stammered. The Straw Hat captain had placed a hand on Sanji's arm, cutting him off.
"It was my grandpa, wasn't it?" Luffy had asked quietly.
"Luffy! Sanji-kun was trying to spare your-!" Nami had begun, but Luffy had held up a hand for silence.
"You thought he had killed your old man, right?" Luffy had clarified. The surprise, pain, and guilt that crossed Sanji's features had torn at Luffy's heart. He had placed his other hand on top of the blond head. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Sanji."
Tears had started to fill the blonde's good eye before he had flushed and turned away in embarrassment. "D-don't say such embarrassing stuff, you shitty rubber."
It was such a Sanji thing to say and do. Luffy had laughed out loud. It had been worth the threat of a kick after.
Even with the news of Zeff's survival, Sanji's problems didn't go away overnight of course. The nightmares still plagued him, but they weren't as frequent. Fires still made him jumpy, even if they didn't completely unnerve him like they had before. But some things did change with that phone call. The crying fits stopped. Sanji's confident personality started making a return to form. And yesterday, when the news coo had dropped off the letter with the Baratie's new location (sent by Crimson Leg Zeffrey), the cook's smile and good cheer had been infectious.
The Transponder Snail rang, bringing Luffy out of his thoughts.
"I'll get it!" the rubber man declared happily to the empty dining room, stretching an arm and grabbing the receiver. "This is Luffy! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"Hello again, Straw Hat."
The smile dropped off Luffy's face. That voice. It had been a couple of months since that horrifying call, but Luffy would always remember the voice of the man who had murdered Ace and tortured his cook.
Quickly, the rubber man shot a glance at the kitchen door, then stretched his neck towards the porthole. No sign of Sanji. Good. Luffy didn't want the cook to hear the fleet admiral's voice and regress. Not after he was just starting to be the old Sanji again.
"What do you want?" the Straw Hat captain asked, once his neck had snapped back.
"Oh, just calling for a chat. Was hoping I'd get your chef. I heard you managed to get him back. A disappointment, but no bother." The fleet admiral chuckled. "How's he doing nowadays anyway?"
"You'll never touch him again." Luffy answered firmly.
"Don't worry. When I finally capture you and your crew, I'll be merciful and kill that pathetic cook first."
"Sanji's stronger than you think."
Sakazuki chuckled again. "He wasn't when I was finished with him. I'd say that I taught him about starvation, but he seemed to already know that one. I did teach him all about pain. He learned quickly that whenever he saw me, he was going to experience torture like he'd never known before. I don't know when he screamed louder: when I practically burned off his manhood and boiled his insides or when I had that old geezer killed in front of him. At least he wasn't puking or pissing himself by that point. Not enough in his system to do either."
Luffy was silent, forcing himself not to crush the Transponder Snail receiver in his hand. Or worse—to gloat that the "old geezer" was in fact still alive.
"Rest assured, I'll make sure you go last, Straw Hat. You'll get to watch me kill every one of your crew mates, just like your brother. Maybe I'll even invite Garp to your execution. He wouldn't want to miss another one."
The fleet admiral began laughing outright. Luffy suddenly raised the receiver to his mouth.
"I'm glad you called."
That snapped the admiral out of his reverie.
"What was that, Straw Hat?"
"Didn't you wonder why I didn't have our Transponder number changed? I've been waiting for you to call us back. Because I wanted to tell you something." Luffy replied.
"Oh?"
"I'm going to become King of the Pirates. I'm going to sail all the way though the Grand Line and find the One Piece. All of us, my whole crew, we're going to follow our dreams," Luffy stated as usual.
"You're a fool, if you think-"
"And once we're done," Luffy continued as if the fleet admiral hadn't spoken. "Once we're the strongest crew in the world and we've proven to everyone that we can do anything…" Luffy's eyes hardened. "Once we've done all of that, we're coming for you."
Sakazuki didn't respond. But Luffy could hear a slight growl over the line.
"We're heading there, to the new Marine Headquarters. And we're gonna tear it apart, brick by brick. And once we've destroyed t, that place where you trapped and hurt Sanji," Luffy stated, "I'm going to find you and punch you in the face."
"Heh. Revenge, Straw Hat? Revenge for your…"
"No." Luffy cut him off again. "Not revenge. A promise to someone. That you'll never hurt Sanji again."
"You really think you can come here and do all that, you little pipsqueak?! You're pathetic! You couldn't even protect-!"
"No, I don't think I can do all that. Not right now." Luffy replied. "But I know someday, I will." He took a deep breath. "You won't be able to call here again. Goodbye."
"Wait, Straw-!"
Luffy hung up.
Then he grinned as he turned and finished his sandwiches. Once he was done, he placed the plate in the sink and ran off to find Franky. It was finally time to change their Transponder Snail number.
Author's Notes: Yep, told myself that this story was only gonna be 4 chapters. I had this scene loosely playing in my head while I was writing chapter 4 and it felt like it would be a good closer for the story. But chapter 4 was already so damn long, this ended up becoming its own chapter. An epilogue if you will. Especially since chapter 4's ending, while emotionally satisfying, didn't feel like it quite had the "closure" I was looking for. If that makes sense.
-Why didn't I have a scene where the Straw Hats just break into Marine Headquarters and punch Sakazuki in the face? As satisfying as that scene would be, I don't think Luffy's at that level yet (even now, facing against an Emperor). He'd have to face the full might of the World Government. I felt it was one of those things the Straw Hats would be able to accomplish at the end of their journey. So for now, Luffy's giving the fleet admiral a promise. And knowing Luffy, someday he'll make that a reality.
Finished this fic and looking for more Sanji fanfics? Here's some Sanji fanfic recommendations! Remember, if you like an author's work and style, it's always a good idea to check out some of their other works. Some reccomendations I've made already in Ambience, but they bear repeating here:
-Fade Away by three_days_late—Sanji had a nice, quiet life running a café with his wife, Pudding. But at night, he dreamed about pirates.
-Chivalry Makes Dead by kumiko_sama_chan –This fic inspired the phone call scene in this one. Definitely pay attention to the content warnings. Sanji gets on the wrong side of a violent pirate crew after defending Robin and Nami's honor. And then bad things happen. Very bad things. Have I mentioned read the content warnings? Anyway, excellent characterization in this one.
-Undone by pkmntrainer_alex—Judge demands his sons' emotional modification be removed after what happened at WCI. It…does not go well.
-mr. cellophane by MalkyTop and A Human Being is Worth More than Air by Flyndragon—Mr. Cellophane was the original fic and A Human is Worth More than Air expands upon it. Sanji gets hit by a Devil Fruit user that makes it that no one can sense him or remember him (except the rare moments when they can.)
-sanji's a ghost and never tries to peep so this is clearly not a canon-compliant sanji by MalkyTop—Sanji dies and the only Straw Hat that can see him is Brook. But he doesn't regret it.
-Mindshattered by Velkyn Karma—Sanji helps Zoro recover from starvation.
-Just One Week by Dandy—Sanji sure does starve himself in a lot of fics. The crew's running out of food and Sanji realizes it would last a lot longer if there was one less mouth to feed…
SanjixNami:
-Black Cat by Itsthemooface—Super hero AU where Sanji is Stealth Black hunting down the mysterious thief, Black Cat. If only she wasn't the love of his life.
-Tea Party by Dixxy—Read this one before the one below.
-Knotted by Dixxy—Written while WCI was being written, so think of it as a worst-case scenario of that. Sanji is forced into a loveless marriage with Pudding. Great fic, but depressing as hell (I still can't read the Bink's Sake scene without crying)
-Kiss Kiss by dandywonderous—Sanji falls in love with a mysterious woman and then the other Straw Hats start inexplicably getting attacked.
-Room for Two by dandywonderous—Due to an unusual Devil Fruit user who can remove people's souls, Zoro's soul ends up together in Sanji's body. Will the two of them get along long enough to get Zoro back to his own body or will they kill each other first?
-A Chef's Hands—by dandywonderous—Sanji's attacked and his hands are horribly injured in the process.
ZoroxSanji:
-Nothing Happened by Shadowcatxx—Sanji's worst nightmare happens when the crew is lost in a dangerous stretch of sea and food begins running low.
-blue by adietxt—Based on the modern day Hungry Days noodle commercials. The idea of what if Sanji worked at the Baratie, went to high school with the other Straw Hats…but lived with the Vinsmokes. And then Zoro notices.
-Exposure to Sunlight by LibbyLune—During the two year time skip, Zoro takes a job with the Vinsmoke family, training their troops. Then he learns about the family's third son, a blond young man locked in the dungeon with a mask on his face. An AU where Sanji never escaped the Vinsmokes.
-Learning Curves (and how it all leads me to you) by TheWanderers—Imagine if someone took the story "Blue" above and made a multichapter fic of the idea. A modern day story where Sanji meets the Straw Hats in high school, lives and works with Zeff during the week but is stuck going back to the Vinsmokes on weekends and holidays.
