Dinner was in the oven, the kitchen was cleaned up and the dishes from lunch were washed. Sanji had time that could be put to good use. Time to be productive. Time that could be used in any way possible and yet here he was standing in the kitchen watching Usopp fiddling with straw.

"Do you really have to do this at the dinner table?"

Usopp didn't look up and instead took a pair of scissors and started snipping away at the straw.

"The lamp downstairs is broken and I have to finish my things here until we get a new one!"

He now took a red ribbon and began to tie it around the structure.

"And what the hell are you doing that has to fill the poor dining room table with straw?"

The sniper gave the cook an annoyed look and finished his little project before holding it up proudly.

"A little straw hat!"

Sanji stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"What do we need a little straw hat for?"

Instead of answering, Usopp walked around the table to the chair where the teddy bear was sitting. He used the treasure chest where they found the bear as a booster seat so Mister Treasure could look over the table. He placed the little straw hat on the little bear's head.

Sanji was at a loss for words. Usopp beamed with pride at his successful work.

"So now you've not only littered the dining table, but you've also wasted time making a straw hat for the stuffed animal - which we fished out of the sea, mind you?"

Usopp shrugged.

"Mister Treasure is now part of the crew," was the sniper's reply.

"You named the bear?"

"That was Nami!"

Sanji swallowed any comment he wanted to make about the bear's name. Usopp took the bear and walked over to Sanji and placed it on the counter that the cook was leaning against.

"Maybe you and Mister Treasure should spend some time together."

The cook looked down at the bear and noticed the beady eyes, which seemed to be made of endless darkness. He didn't like this bear at all and wished he could just throw it back into the sea, but Nami gave this thing a name and which meant that it belonged to her now. Why she allowed Usopp to carry the stuffed animal around with her was a mystery to him.

"Why would I want that?"

"He's a good listener and it would do you good if you just got it off your chest."

Sanji rolled his eyes.

"Besides, Nami will probably ask you to hold Mister Treasure for her from now on and you'll have to spend a lot of time with him. It's better if you two become friends right away," Usopp added, took an apple from the fruit basket and disappeared from the kitchen.

Sanji looked at the clock. It will be a while before the food is ready. He looked back at the bear and shuddered. Normally he would describe this stuffed animal as cute, with its big pink bow and little straw hat, which looked almost identical to Luffy's. But those eyes. This endless darkness with a touch of forbidden knowledge.

The cook sat with the bear on the kitchen floor so that he could see the oven. He placed the bear on his lap and took a deep breath.

"For Nami," he whispered to himself.

He closed his eyes so he no longer had to see the black buttons and focused more on his sense of touch. He carefully squeezed the bundle of fabric and wool and let his fingers slide over the "fur" and the bow.

The bear was soft and gentle under his fingers. The bow was made of a high-quality material, perhaps even silk.

Mister Treasure felt like a well-made teddy bear and for some reason that fact made Sanji's heart heavy.

Without realizing it, he hugged Mister Treasure to his chest and hugged him, like seeing an old friend again after years.

"The reason I became a cook..." Sanji began, holding the bear as if his life depended on it. "...because it brought my mother joy."

Tears gently ran down Sanji's cheeks as he thought of his mother. The only person besides Zeff who showed him parental love.

"She became seriously ill and couldn't get out of bed...and I wanted to make her happy."

His breathing became heavier and he fought not to completely lose himself in his grief.

"It was my first attempt at cooking...I was young...and inexperienced...it looked grotesque," a small smile appeared on his lips as he thought back to his very first dish. "But she ate it all and asked me if I could cook for her again!"

At this point Sanji couldn't hold it in anymore and all the dams broke.

Now he sat there. Crying on the kitchen floor with a teddy bear in his arms. What the others would think if they saw him. But now at this moment Sanji didn't care.

The pain and suffering he experienced after her death weighed heavily on his soul, but thanks to Zeff it was partially lifted.

The rest of his family, the people whose blood he shared, were no longer his when he ran away.

He only had Zeff.

The Straw Hats were there too.

Mister Treasure was there.

The smell of sandalwood hit his nose and he looked up, confused. There was nothing in the kitchen that could produce that smell and yet it hung heavy in the air like an invisible fog. Sanji stood up to see if anyone had entered the kitchen and brought in the smell, but no one was in sight.

It was just him and Mister Treasure. And dinner that had been in the oven for far too long.

Sanji set the bear down on the counter, wiped the tears from his face and began to set the dining table.

Instead of the usual five plates, he added a sixth and moved Mister Treasure's treasure chest to the other end of the table so he could sit across from the captain. A special place for a special member of the crew.

Nami and Zoro were surprised about the extra plate, but Usopp just gave Sanji a knowing nod and Luffy was more excited about the little straw hat instead of worrying about the extra plate.

However, nobody said anything and dinner went as usual. Only Zoro noticed that the cook's eyes were red and slightly puffy.