"Why was I nominated to cook again?" Law asked, looking annoyed. Several of the crew members were waiting in the kitchen for their food.

"Sanji's gone and we're hungry." Luffy replied, banging his silverware on the table eagerly.

"I'm not a cook, I'm a captain."

"We already have one of those." Usopp added. Law turned his steely look towards the marksman. Usopp cowered behind his napkin.

"Think of it as payment for ferrying you across the seas." Franky added. Law frowned.

"Even so, that won't make me any better of a cook."

"We've eaten Luffy's food, anything other than that is a feast." Usopp explained. Law sighed but walked behind the counter to see if there was anything simple to cook. It seemed like it was time for his not so famous ramen noodles with a side of whatever he could find in the cabinet. He opened one of the doors and glanced over the ingredients. Brown seemed like a safe color. He grabbed a bottle that said cinnamon and one of the least dirty pots from the sink.

"If you didn't want this type of situation then you should have stopped your cook from running away." Law said as he placed the pot on a burner.

A loud bang rang out through the room as Zoro's fist slammed against the table. Law and the others looked over at her.

"Don't talk about stuff you know nothing about." Zoro said, then got up and left the room. The others glanced at one another but weren't that surprised from her outburst.

"How're you holding up?" Nami asked as she walked up to the swordsman who was leaning against the railing and staring out at the gentle sea. She was worried about her crewmate, who was gradually closing herself off from the others. Though usually not the most open of the group, Zoro was actively avoiding the others and spending all of her time alone, training.

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked, scowling. She hadn't been in the best mood these days. The others had been approaching her from time to time, trying to get her to talk about her feelings or something like that. She wasn't interested. She didn't see how that would help anything.

"Er, well, it's been a month now…" Nami said, glancing over at the swordsman.

"So what?" Zoro asked, immediately defensive.

"It's nothing… but well, we're here you know? If you want to talk…"

"I'm fine." Zoro put weight into her words, cutting off the conversation. Nami frowned but nodded and walked away, worried about her friend. She glanced back at Zoro, but the swordsman had quickly got lost in her own thoughts again and scowled out at the sea. Nami shook her head and went off to talk to the others.

Law shot his arm out just in time.

Zoro's body fell forward and in one fast motion, Law had slung the swordsman's body over his shoulder.

"Stupid." Law muttered. Zoro had been training too much and getting too little sleep. It was catching up to her and making the whole crew even more restless than usual. Law sighed and carried her to the to the sleeping quarters.

The smell of lavender.

Zoro dropped the weights in her hands and they smashed violently into the ground. She was on her feet in a second and already at the door of the crow's next, throwing it open expectantly.

"San—" She stopped.

"S-sorry…" Chopper squeaked, holding a cup of tea in his hooves. It trembled slightly. Zoro looked down at the little deer and frowned.

"No… sorry. I just thought…" She sighed and held the door open for the doctor as he entered the room. Zoro shut the door and took a seat on a floor cushion.

"I heard you have trouble sleeping." Chopper said, handing over the tea. Zoro frowned and took the cup, looking down into it.

"Did Sanji tell you?" She asked. The smell was a wave of nostalgia for her. It smelled of long conversations, of comfort, of flutters in her chest.

"Yeah. He came to me one day and said he was worried about you. We worked on different solutions for a while. He said you would refuse any type of medicine."

Plop.

"That idiot… should mind his own business…"

Plop.

"Zoro?" Chopper looked from the cup to the swordsman. Seeing her face, the deer reached over and gently took the cup out of her hands, then carefully crawled into her lap and wrapped his arms around her.

A soft knock on the door caused Zoro to jump. She quickly rubbed her eyes.

"What?" She called out, her voice a bit rough. The door cracked open slightly and Robin peeked into the room. When she saw Zoro's red eyes, she smiled sympathetically and slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked over to the glaring swordsman and sat down beside her on the ground. She had been carrying a book and she opened it up to her previously placed bookmark and started reading. Zoro watched her warily, waiting for some kind of lecture, but it didn't come.

"You need something?" Zoro finally said, breaking the silence. Robin shook her head.

"No. I just thought I'd come up here and enjoy the company." She smiled at Zoro before returning back to her book. Zoro's expression lightened slightly and she yawned. If Robin wasn't going to bother her, she was going to try and take a nap. She leaned against the wall, and in a matter of seconds, was out cold.

"Zoro-brosis! I need your help!" Franky announced loudly, slamming the door to the Crow's Nest open without knocking. Zoro had been trying to take a nap. She squinted at the disturbance, dark shadows under her eyes.

"What do you want?" She asked, cranky.

"No time!" Franky turned abruptly and jumped off the balcony. Zoro hesitated a moment, then pushed herself up and followed him out.

She found him in the workshop, tinkering away at some. She announced herself by clearing her throat and Franky looked up with a grin.

"To your right, see that box? There's a bunch of bolts that need to be unscrewed and cleaned." Franky said, turning back to his workbench. Zoro looked down at the box.

"You can do that yourself, why do you need my help?" Zoro asked, irritated.

"Please?"

"Fine…" Zoro sighed and plopped down on the floor, pulling the box over to herself. The two sat in silence and worked on their individual projects with only Franky occasionally asking Zoro's opinion on something.

After some time there was a knock at the door and it opened to reveal Nami holding a tray of sandwiches and some drinks. She smiled cautiously at them.

"Thought you guys could use some refreshments. I know Law's cooking isn't really hitting the spot… Nothing fancy, just some fish sandwiches."

"Thanks sis!" Franky wiped off his hands and grabbed a sandwich, handing it over to Zoro. "Eat up, gotta keep your energy if you're going to be helping out here." Zoro scowled but took the sandwich, munching on the end a bit. Franky winked at Nami who smiled back and left them alone to eat.

"I want to tibia honest, I had a bone to pick with the guy. But he was so strong I marrowly got away. Yohohohoho!" Brook continued his story.

"I told you, I don't care. Just be quiet… You're just making this story up aren't you?" Zoro said, gripping the bridge of her nose in frustration. She was trying to clean her swords.

"Yohohohoho~ You saw right through me—though everyone can! Yohohhoho!" Brook laughed as he had to narrowly dodge a swipe of one of Zoro's swords.

Zoro's head jerked around when she heard the caw of a bird in the sky. She frowned and rubbed her neck. She looked out at the sea again, frowning. How long had it been? Why hadn't they heard anything?

Suddenly she stumbled forward when something hard smacked her on the back of the head. She turned abruptly to see an apologetic Usopp holding a large beam of wood.

"Ah sorry Zoro, didn't see you there! You okay? Franky wanted me to carry some things up here for him. There's a crack in one of the walls he wants to repair." Usopp turned to point to one of the walls. In doing so, the large beam of wood swung with him and smacked Zoro in the head once again.

"Hey!" Zoro growled rubbing her head. "Watch it!"

"Ahh! Zoro! Sorry!" Usopp bowed his head quickly, causing him to go off balance due to the weight of the wood and he stumbled into Zoro.

"Ugh!" Zoro grabbed the plank in Usopp's hands. "Give me that!"

"Ack, sorry Zoro! But thanks for carrying it for me. We need it just over there." Usopp said, pointing.

"I'm not helping you, I'm getting my revenge." Zoro told him, holding the plank of wood like a bat.

"What?! No, I said I was sorry!" Usopp screamed in terror and bolted across the deck.

"Get the hell back here!" Zoro yelled, running after the man.

"I miss Sanji." Luffy admitted with a loud sigh one day as both he and Zoro sat on the railing, fishing into the ocean. Zoro looked up surprised. Sanji's name was a bit taboo these days. Everyone was walking on eggshells around her, not daring to say the name. She nodded.

"He'll be back. Soon." She said, though her voice was weaker than usual. It was as if she didn't believe what she was saying, and it was a mere reaction.

"It doesn't feel right without him. And Law is a terrible cook." The captain complained as he reeled in his line to see his bait had been stolen.

"Yeah…" Zoro agreed, frowning.

"Hmm.. then let's find him and bring him back." Luffy announced.

"What about his family?"

"They can come with us!"

Zoro laughed.

"What if he has a really old grandma that wants to come?" Zoro asked.

"Brook is also kinda like a grampa."

"I dare you to tell him that."

"Oi! Grampa Brook!" Luffy shouted across the deck. Brook looked up slowly as Usopp beside him burst out snickering.

"That's not very humerus, Captain." The musician cracked back. "It's a good thing jokes like that don't get under my skin—because I have none!"

"We got a letter! Everyone! I think its from Sanji!" Usopp shouted from the top of his lungs as he ran across the deck. Various crew members started appearing from different areas of their ship at the commotion he was raising.

"From Sanji?" Luffy asked excitedly, bounding over to his crewmate. "Was any food attached?"

"Does it say when he's coming back?" Chopper asked.

"Is everyone here?" Usopp asked, looking around and taking note. Zoro had dropped down from the crow's nest and was leaning against the mast. When he saw the last member, Robin, emerging from the library he grinned and opened the letter.

"It says: Dearest crewmates, I hope you are all doing well. I apologize for my delayed contact, I have been very busy." Usopp read brightly, "However, I have a favor to ask of you all. Please go on without me." Usopp stopped reading at that moment and his face fell. He reread the sentence to himself then quickly started speed reading through the rest of the letter to himself. The straw-hats looked confused.

"Wait, what does it say?" Nami asked, frowning.

"Read the rest of the letter." Zoro commanded, she had crossed her arms and were gripping them together tightly.

"It says… that he was able to find his family again. He thanks us for everything we've done, but he has to take responsibility for his family now and he hopes that we understand." Usopp said, frowning.

"The hell?" Zoro walked over and snatched the letter roughly out of Usopp's hands, reading over it herself.

"He really said that? It was his handwriting?" Franky asked, looking over Zoro's shoulder at the letter.

"Sanji is just leaving us? Just like that?" Nami asked, frowning. "I can't imagine him doing that."

"Well… if it's about family… he hasn't seen them in a long time, as far as we know right?" Robin asked.

"The letter he got from Kuino mentioned his mother." Zoro said, staring down at the letter in her hands.

"Take responsibility… that's odd phrasing. Maybe his mother is sick." Usopp wondered out loud. Zoro pushed the letter back into Usopp's hands and turned around, going back to the Crow's Nest.

Zoro was busying herself by lifting weights once again in the Crow's nest to distract herself from thinking too much. She couldn't understand what was going through Sanji's head. She knew there was some sort of history between Sanji and his family. But, it had always seemed like something he never wanted to talk about. He always avoided talking about it, and when it was mentioned, his face looked pained.

He had briefly mentioned his father before, but his mother had never been brought up. Zoro didn't have a family, so she didn't know how to relate to what was going on. She would never leave her crewmates for anyone else, but she also didn't know how deep a family bond could be. She saw how distraught Luffy was over his brother, but even so, when they were young they were willingly separated for the purpose of following their own dreams. Maybe Zoro's gut feeling was wrong, and maybe she had confused Sanji's previous words.

The door to the crow's nest opened and Zoro instinctively reached for her sword, startled. Robin, Law and Brook, an odd group to see together, entered the room and shut the door.

"What?" She asked, grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Tell us, Zoro, what did you think of that letter?" Brook asked.

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked, narrowing her eye and frowning at the group.

"Humor us, swordsman-san." Robin said, walking over and taking a seat on the bench. Law stayed leaning against the door.

"It was… weird." Zoro said after thinking a moment.

"Why do you think that?" Brook asked, walking past her and looking out one of the windows, his hands behind his back.

"I don't know…" Zoro replied, suddenly wondering if what Sanji had told her before was in confidence. She didn't know how he would feel if she shared his personal information.

"Swordsman-san, we also feel like something is amiss." Robin added, leaning towards her. "But its just a feeling we have. We're trying to figure out if we should bring this to the Captain's attention."

"Why? What do you all think?" Zoro asked, looking puzzled.

"Vinsmoke." Brook said, turning around to face them. "Is an incredibly powerful family, a royal family. Why would a royal family let one of their family members traverse the seas as a pirate?" Zoro looked over at the skeleton then at the other two. Robin was watching her carefully and Law had his eyes closed.

"So just because of that?" Zoro asked, though she knew just by hearing it that something was wrong.

"Well… if I may be so blunt, there's also your relationship, swordsman-san." Robin said, looking apologetic at bringing up the topic. Zoro's face immediately turned red.

"W-what? What are you talking about?" She asked, almost too quickly.

"She's saying that Black-leg-ya is too in love with you to just abandon you without a reason." Law finally spoke up, opening his eyes and looking over at her, slightly annoyed. Zoro sputtered.

"You know how the cook is, Zoro. Its not in his nature to abandon people. He loves with all his heart." Brook said, crouching down next to her. Zoro looked away from them. They were right.

"He never told me about his childhood." Zoro admitted, "But… things would slip through every now and then. It felt like… it felt like he had escaped something. He didn't seem to have any good feelings associated with his past. Or his father. It seemed like he was trained since a very young age, but he seemed to be very bitter about that." Robin nodded and glanced at Brook who nodded in return.

"I figured as much. Let's tell the Captain." Robin suggested.

"Then let's go and save him." Luffy said, grinning at his crewmates. After explaining their thoughts to the Captain, Luffy was on board immediately.

"Hold on, we don't even know the whole situation. There's not just the Vinsmoke family, one of the most powerful royal families, but also possible marine involvement. We should assess the situation from afar and make a plan." Law said as they sat around the table together.

"Oi, Law-guy, you may be a captain, but you're not our captain." Usopp daringly told the man. Law turned his cold gaze to the sniper who quickly hid behind his napkin.

"He's right though." Nami said, "You're just our temp." She waved her hand at Law, who looked increasingly shocked at his treatment.

"Thanks," Zoro said, looking over at Law. "But we're not going to waste anymore time, right Captain?"

"Full speed ahead!" Luffy shouted with a grin.

"Mom…"

The cigarette dropped from Sanji's trembling hand as he stared at the woman before him. She was exactly as he had remembered her. Her crystal clear blue eyes, her long golden hair that matched his own, and a smile that warmed the entire room.

"You've grown up so much, my love." The woman replied, putting her hand over her heart and smiling at him. Sanji sputtered in confusion and shock, but his feet moved for him. In a second he had already crossed the room and had wrapped his arms around his mother tightly. She hugged her son back, rubbing his back. A few tears dropped quickly onto her shoulder as Sanji's emotions overwhelmed him.

"I.. I missed you so much…" Sanji whispered, his voice trembling. Sora reached up and stroked her son's hair.

"There, there… It's okay my love…Everything will be okay…I'm here now."

AN: Thanks for reading! This was also a fun chapter, finally getting Zoro to spend time with each member, even if briefly. This final arc is a bit more serious in tone, but I'll try to keep the humor in it as well. :) Please let me know what you think!