.:Chapter 20 - Sora:.

Sanji needed to get out of there.

Zoro stood there in shaking silence, two swords still in his hands and eye uncharacteristically wet with anger. With frustration. With – fuck – with an aching sympathy Zoro couldn't even describe, because that was his crew member these bastards had mentally slaughtered. That was his partner they had emotionally drained. Pudding and Hollowell and the Vinsmokes alike. And he had had enough of watching this shit and of making the cook relive every gut-wrenching attack on his character!

The Straw Hats as a collective were feeling agonizingly the same. They had so much they wanted to tell their cook. So much that they needed their crewmate to know. Like that he wasn't responsible for his family's actions or the Charlotte family's. Or that he didn't deserve the ways he'd been treated. Or that everything he was hearing in this excruciatingly ruthless moment wasn't true!

Sanji's life had shown him unrelenting cruelty, and he wasn't responsible for most of the crap he's had to deal with throughout his eventful life. All he was responsible for was how he dealt with it. And the crew needed him to know just how courageous and strong and resilient he was because – dammit – nobody deserved to be so viciously mocked for caring. For being human.

Especially not their goddamn cook!

Their sweet, goofy, protective, clever, reliable, hardheaded, graceful, whole-hearted, twirly master chef who took care of them. Who laughed with them and cried with them and fought alongside them. Who shared dreams with them, and advice, and comfort, and…

And they needed to get Sanji out of there. Out of his memories. Out of that crappy neural headpiece that shadowed his eyes but not the streams of tears falling from them.

Charlotte Pudding, however, just wouldn't stop.

"It must be embarrassing to have such a dimwitted brother."

Eight pairs of eyes flashed with a never-ending fury.

"Yeah — he's so dumb," Rabian snickered.

Zoro wanted to slaughter these self-righteous assholes.

Nitro interrupted their ridiculing as he inspected his confined Vinsmoke. "Hey, uh, it looks like our little hostage is gonna pass out soon."

Reiju, indeed, looked ready to collapse, left leg drenched in the blood that flowed freely and unchecked.

"Yeah," Rabian agreed, solemn that their fun was probably over. "That's a lot of blood loss. If we leave her like this, she might be dead before morning."

"Well, that would save us some trouble - wouldn't it?" Nitro shrugged. "Ya thoughts, Miss Puddin'?"

"The fun is over," Pudding replied with a sigh. "If she croaks that'll ruin our whole plan, and that won't do. We still want her to attend tomorrow's ceremony."

"Huh? Do they expect her to remain quiet about all this?" Usopp wondered grumpily.

Pudding sauntered her way over to Reiju with a wicked grin. "The whole world needs a front row seat to the Vinsmoke family execution."

Reiju could barely keep conscious.

"Listen close, dear sister-in-law… I can't have you bleeding to death on us. And I certainly don't want to risk you ratting on me for all my unladylike behavior tonight."

Before Reiju could even process what could possibly be implied by such words, Pudding's manicured nails found a spot on the side of Reiju's temple before sinking her entire hand through her skin as if she was made of fudge.

The Straw Hats' eyes widened.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" several of them yelled in shock.

"What is this?!" Reiju demanded. The Vinsmoke felt the odd feeling of fear wash over her.

"Just relax. It won't take long."

Pudding began to dig around in Reiju's mind.

"She could do that the whole time?!" Nami shrieked.

"Why didn't Sanji warn us?" cried Chopper. "That's terrifying!"

"What is she even doing?!" Usopp didn't know if he wanted to lean closer to see, or to scoot as far back from the screen as possible.

As Pudding's hand reemerged, a strip of…film came with her, the other end still attached somewhere inside Reiju's head. The pictures being portrayed on the film strip seemed to be the conversation Sanji had just overheard.

"A strip of Reiju's memories?!" Chopper squealed.

"Oh, come on." Pudding smiled. "That wasn't so bad, right? Everyone carries unpleasant memories and trauma we would rather forget. How wonderful would it be not to remember all that nonsense? This is the power of the Memo-Memo fruit."

Pudding ran her fingers over the part of the memory she was looking for and smirked, an image of her being the one who shot Reiju in the leg.

"Germa 66's technology sure is something. Despite being shot in the leg, you dragged yourself pretty far. Not that it matters – ahahaha!" Another strip appeared, separate from Reiju's. "I'll just paste this memory of a soldier who was hit by a stray bullet here… A quick edit…!"

The Straw Hats watched, mouths agape, as Pudding manipulated Reiju's memories like it was an art project.

"So not only can she gain access to someone's memories, but she can keep the snippets she alters," Robin said, a chill running down her spine.

"And add someone else's memories into another's…?" Nami added.

"How many memories has she stolen?" Usopp gulped. "How many does she have stowed away?!"

There was an immediate uneasiness among the Straw Hats, even as Hollowell clicked his tongue in intrigue. Charlotte Pudding's mind-altering devil fruit power would fit in nicely there at Hollowell Mind Tech.

When Pudding was done editing, the strange film strip slid back into Reiju's mind with a snap, and the pink woman immediately passed out.

"Call the soldiers and have them take her to the ward."

As the harsh chaos inside died down, the memory panned back outside before fading into nothingness. Outside, Sanji was already gone, slipping away just as silently as he arrived, flowers leaned delicately against the wall as a parting gift to the brutal truth.

"None of it was true, though," Nami sniffed angrily, not knowing if she wanted to continue crying or yelling, because it all seemed appropriate as far as she was concerned. Sanji shouldn't have had to deal with all this alone.

"S'just brutal," Franky agreed, more solemn than he'd ever been before.

"Please tell me he stayed long enough to witness her power," Robin prayed.

When Sanji's memory faded back in, the scene displayed was the Whole Cake Chateau medical ward. There was a single occupied bed where Reiju slowly woke, eyes fluttering. Cautious.

"Where am I?"

From the far corner of the room, a familiar flick sounded.

"Sanji!" Reiju shot up and immediately winced in pain. She glared down at her bandaged left side. "I hurt my leg…"

Sanji took a slow drag, surprisingly calm. "Do you recall how you got hurt? Or what happened?" he asked her.

"I remember…walking around the castle and then coming across some soldiers who were shouting about intruders. I must've gotten involved somehow."

"Reiju, think harder," Sanji demanded, calm façade breaking. "That's not it!" He sighed. "Your memories were overwritten…"

"That's good. Sanji did see what happened," Chopper said.

Robin nodded, before adding, "None of you were alone with her, I hope."

"Whenever Pudding was around we were with each other," Nami said, the others nodding. "But would she have just altered all our memories? Ugh!" The navigator threw her head against her knees. "Now we can't even trust our own memories?!"

"There's no way she would've been able to do anything when we were together," Luffy said, and the others were quick to agree. However…there was one person they couldn't be sure of…

Zoro gritted his teeth in worry. Did she do something to him? How would they even know if she had?

Sanji inhaled slowly, letting the nicotine calm his adrenaline once more before addressing Reiju again. "I'll fill you in. But let me warn you – the truth is damn ugly."

The memory jumped forward, information clearly relayed, and Reiju could only stare at her brother.

"Think I'm lying?" Sanji tried after a moment of silence.

Reiju's eyes softened. "I don't. I know you would never mislead me." She looked away from him, contemplative. "I was wary of Pudding, but never imagined her to be this devious."

"Indeed," Brook agreed.

"More than devious," Chopper grumbled, eyes still wet and angry.

Sanji seemed surprised. "You noticed something off?"

"I had my suspicions. She…just seemed a little too perfect for me, so I thought I should eavesdrop a bit."

Robin quite appreciated Reiju the more she learned of the woman.

Sanji glowered at the floor, shaking. "I didn't know a damn thing."

God , he was an idiot. How could he be so stupid? So blind?

"Uh oh," Usopp mumbled, eyes scrunching.

"I really screwed up."

The sniper, Franky, and Brook snapped their fingers in unison.

"There it is," they sang.

The cook's thoughts are becoming more obvious to everybody now, Zoro thought, rolling his good eye. On the plus side, he wouldn't be able to fake his feelings anymore and lie; although, he was sure the cook himself wouldn't see that as a plus.

"I assumed if I accepted the marriage, they would spare my crewmates. It turns out that was never in the cards."

Sanji threw his head in his hands.

"It was all a ploy," he spat. "Of course they were blowing smoke up my ass! I thought everything would work out if I took one for the team." His fingers tangled into his hair and tightened in anger. Anger with himself.

"I never took notice of that habit of his until seeing it so many times in his memories," Robin commented. "Hair pulling… Is he trying to hide? Relieve stress?"

"It is a common response to cope with trauma," Chopper said. Everyone in the crew had their odd quirks and habits the doctor assumed formed from whatever experiences their childhood elicited. Sanji's was the only one he was witnessing almost firsthand.

"What kind of fantasy world was I living in?!" Sanji growled at himself. "I should've known better!"

"Desperation and anxiety do crazy things to one's mind," Brook hummed. "Though of course he will blame himself."

Zoro groaned.

Reiju seemed as taken aback as his crewmates.

"They fooled our father, too," she said, blinking at him, trying to understand his thought process. "He's a wise man, but he was undone by his arrogance. He's dealing with an emperor – he should've been more cautious. And now it's far too late."

After a moment, she continued, softer.

"This still might play out for the best, though. I believe that Germa should be destroyed."

Sanji snapped out of his own self-pity.

"I'd like to pretend I'm ignorant," Reiju said. "And let Big Mom carry out her plan."

"Haah?" Luffy scratched his head. "That's stupid."

"Don't be stupid," Sanji growled. "They'll kill you tomorrow, too, Reiju."

His sister looked at him with a grin. "Aww, it my little brother concerned for me?" Then she sighed. "Leave the past where it lies – we're beyond that. You don't owe me a single thing. I only helped you once before."

"She also patched him up," Chopper noted. "And was probably going to warn him about Pudding's betrayal."

"And it's Sanji," Luffy smiled.

"Yeah," Zoro shrugged. "He already cares too much for her to let her get hurt."

The swordsman suddenly knew his cook wasn't just going to walk away from his obnoxious family if they were in danger, and he sighed.

Reiju met Sanji's eyes. Firm.

"Go find the Straw Hats and leave this island, Sanji."

"Like hell! I can't do that! What do you think would happen to The Baratie?"

"Just run. Figure that out after you've escaped. Stay here, and all of you will die."

Sanji stared at her, uncomprehending what she was asking him to do. Because to him, it wasn't even a consideration to abandon her.

"Sanji… You have to live."

"…"

"For our mother's sake."

Sanji froze.

"Why bring her up?"

"Because there's one memory I can't forget… There was a fight between our parents. I was just a child at the time, so I didn't understand the catalyst of Mother's resentment of Father until much later, but it's obvious in retrospect. While our mother was still carrying the four of you, she was quite adamant against turning quadruplets into coldblooded killing machines."

Sanji's memory converged with Reiju's words, and suddenly the scene before them was of their parents, surrounded by the dull gray of Germa.

"You're not serious?" Sanji's mother was saying as a tiny Reiju listened quietly by the open doorway.

"Of course I am," Judge scoffed.

"Never! How could you do that to them?"

"Enough…" He was running out of patience with his emotional wife. "Surgery is already arranged."

The woman grabbed pleadingly now at her husband's chest. "Don't do this! These are my children, as well. I beg you – please, Judge! They need their humanity!"

"Being human won't cut it," Judge responded, towering over the woman. "Not when monsters win wars."

The woman stepped back, realizing the true monster was standing in front of her. Perhaps he was right, but there was more to life than war and death and pain. She wanted so much more for her children than what she had received, than what she had witnessed. She'd already made the mistake with her firstborn, and if the technology had been perfected now…

"Our end goal is to reclaim North Blue by force and restore it to its former glory," Judge was saying. "Accomplishing that vision will take incredible strength. Which is the reason I give this gift to my own progeny."

"He says it like he really believes it's a blessing of some kind," Nami said.

"There is no reasoning with a madman," Brook said sadly.

At Judge's command, Germa doctors had grabbed his wife by the arms.

"Take her away."

The woman struggled, and Reiju ran to hide.

Judge wouldn't listen to his wife's crying pleas that this was their family he was sacrificing. No. Family – to the king – was meant for strengthening the bloodline. Nothing more.

"Sheesh, how'd she even wind up marrying him?" Usopp wondered.

"Doubt she had much say in it, if I were to guess," Zoro muttered. Could it be the cook also inherited his insanely bad luck, too? Zoro figured it was as possible as anything else.

"Poor Sanji's mom," Chopper whispered.

"They forced the surgery on her," Reiju's adult voice echoed across the black screen. "But…our mother took a toxin in an attempt to foil our father's plan."

Several Straw Hats gasped at this.

"Our father was furious…"

The screen blinked back to life as the beautiful blonde woman gulped down the bottle of toxin until every last drop was ingested.

It took affect quickly.

Blood was coughed up right before she collapsed.

Judge ran into the room at the sound, soldiers and doctors hot on his trail.

"No!" he shouted, spotting the empty bottle beside her prone form. "What did you just do?!"

The screen went black, and Reiju spoke:

"It was a powerful drug. Strong enough to affect the manipulated bloodline elements."

Hollowell tilted his head. "Hmm? ~Teeshishi. Of course their drugs would be advanced as well for their purposes. It will all be ours in time… ~Teeshishishishi."

What the hell did that mean? the crew collectively wondered.

"Unfortunately," Reiju's voice continued. "It wasn't enough. It didn't take long before superhuman-like abnormalities began appearing in our brothers' bodies…"

Another flashback appeared.

A Germa doctor was praising the success of the operation, and Judge was relieved that their genetic blueprints were not altered in any which way by the toxin by that soft woman.

"Soft? The chick drank poison to protect her children – that's tough as hell," Franky boasted.

"That's why she was sick…" Chopper realized with a sad gasp.

The scene changed to Sanji's mother laying in a familiar hospital bed, tears streaming silently onto her pillow, before going back to Judge and the doctor.

Just then, a yellow onesie-clad toddler waddled up to them with a bucket and garden shovel in his tiny hands.

"BabySanji!" Robin and Nami crooned without warning.

Cheeks even rounder with cute baby fat, and a bandage already taped to his chubby little forehead, baby Sanji smiled eagerly up at his father with bright, hopeful eyes that scrunched at the corners. "You wanna play?" toddler Sanji asked hopefully.

Judge and the doctor frowned at the boy.

"Master Sanji on the other hand…," the doctor told the king, "…is falling behind. We'll…uh…monitor the boy. Perhaps his development is a bit delayed."

Toddler Sanji tilted his head, unaware of what any of the words meant. He just wanted to play.

"I'd play with baby Sanji," Luffy said with a laugh.

Zoro, however, was fixated on the phrasing of his development being 'delayed'… Was it postponed, inactive until the raid suit was used, and now…? No. The cook had come out on the other side of Wano still himself. It had to be over. Nothing was changing.

The scene shifted to a slightly older Sanji being chased up a tree by a rabid dog.

"What is with Sanji and being chased by dogs?" Usopp said.

"Believe me, being chased by dogs is no fun," Brook mumbled, remembering his time with the minks. "No fun at all."

Once safely up in the tree, Sanji's cowering was abruptly halted when he heard some high-pitched. He climbed further, toward the tweeting, and found a nest of singing baby birds. His fear all but forgotten, he smiled.

"You must be hungry," was the first thing he said.

There were several chuckles.

"Just one second." Little Sanji dug around in his pockets and pulled out some seeds he had found in the yard he was saving for later. The baby birds needed them more, though, so he offered them over and the creatures started happily pecking away, much to little Sanji's delight.

The doctor had appeared below him, closely monitoring the boy as promised, and dropped his clipboard in surprise. "Wah? Master Sanji is…feeding animals."

Judge was beside him in an instant. "He was supposed to be devoid of emotions," he complained. One out of four… He growled, knowing exactly who to blame for this imperfection.

"Sora…!"

"Sora? His mother's name is Sora?" Chopper said, surprised as he realized something at the same time as Usopp.

"Isn't Sora the protagonist in those North Blue comics Sanji's family was written into as the bad guys?" the sniper questioned, rubbing his chin.

"That's funny," Luffy chortled.

"It can't be a coincident…" Robin said.

The memory returned to Whole Cake medical ward.

"You were growing," Reiju told Sanji. "But not as Father wanted. Thanks to our mother's efforts, you had compassion. Meanwhile, our mother got weaker and weaker due to the long-term effects caused by the poison."

Sanji was already sitting up straighter, horrified at all of it, because…

"She died…" he whispered. "Because of me?"

"Dammit, Sanji, no!"

Reiju took instant offense. "Nonsense! Don't think that way!"

Nami clapped her hands together. "Thank you, Reiju! Honestly, that cook of ours…" She shook her head, just as fond as she was exasperated.

Zoro also shook his head, a clear chuckled deep in his throat. That idiot dartbrow really was gonna drive him insane, wasn't he?

Reiju sighed at her brother. "Listen…"

The memory converged backwards in time again.

"Mother?"

Little Reiju poked her head into Sora's room, and the woman smiled in delight, looking better than she had in days. She brought her child into a giant hug and asked how her father was treating her.

But little Reiju frowned.

"The only thing he wants to do is make us train," she complained. "It's dumb. He's only happy when Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji get stronger."

"I see…" Sora said, her soft smile never faltering.

Reiju wondered why she was in such a good mood. Why she looked so bright. Then she noticed a tray on her bed table.

"What is that?"

"Oh!" Sora's ocean eyes sparkled. "Take a look! Sanji cooked me a meal all by himself."

"Remember when we cried when Sanji was trying to cure his mom with his food?" Franky wept dramatically. "Well maybe…" He sniffled.

Robin smiled softly, finishing the shipwright's thought. "Maybe, in a way, he did."

"Stop saying these things!" Chopper and Nami cried, bawling.

Another memory filtered in of little Reiju once again visiting her mother. Sora was petting her hair, but her words were only for Sanji. Bragging. Proud.

"Guess what Sanji told me today? That boy is so sweet." When she pulled away, her lips quivered and eyes watered. "He said, 'Get better soon.'"

This made Sora bawl.

"He's the best son ever!"

"The bar's not set very high, though, is it?" Usopp said, but was cut off by a wave of Chopper's hoof.

"Having proof of any ounce of compassion is momentous in that family," Chopper huffed.

Luffy was laughing. "He is the best son ever! He brings food!"

A bead of sweat dropped down Usopp's head. "Luffy's bar's not set very high, either."

As another memory formed, adult Reiju spoke once again.

"You brought our mother genuine happiness. Every day."

The memory solidified:

Little Reiju. In her mother's hospital ward bedroom.

"Sanji's hurt again," she was informing her mother. Sora had seemed more tired than usual, so Reiju tried to bring up Sanji. Didn't matter what it was about. "He got beat up by my brothers like he always does. That boy's so weak."

Through her exhaustion, Sora only smiled. "I see…"

After a moment of Sora staring idly out the window with that same soft, tired smile, Reiju wondered if she should call a nurse, but then her mother pulled her close.

"I'm sorry, Reiju. Your mother is very sick. I wish I could watch you grow up. Sadly, I don't think I can make it. But…"

She never continued, only smiled. Full of joy.

"Now I understand why she smiled that day," adult Reiju said, as Sora's image slowly faded away. "She didn't lament what happened to you or regret her choice to poison herself. She was content in her decision."

"Because she knew Sanji being 'weak' only meant his humanity was strong," Chopper noted.

"And that's all she ever wanted for him," Robin smiled.

Little Sanji appeared before a young Reiju. He was crying at their mother's grave.

Judge walked up behind them with the other three boys in tow.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded at the blonde.

"Huh? Dad?" Sanji whimpered, rubbing his eyes. Judge stomped over and crushed the flowers Sanji had picked for his mom under his heavy soles.

The Straw Hats were back to glaring.

"Flowers for the dead is a pointless rite," Judge said. "You're proving your uselessness."

Intense, unfathomably irritated glaring.

Little Sanji frowned, and then began to cry harder. These tears were angry. Furious in his grief. He wailed and raised his fists as he ran toward his father. Yonji kicked him back before he could land a hit.

"Stop your crying," the green-haired child said, as the other two boys knocked Sanji in his back, flinging him forward again. Sanji landed face first in the dirt of his mother's gravesite. The boys laughed, and Judge commanded the boys and Reiju follow him.

They left Sanji – useless – in his heartache.

"Our father's beliefs were completely contrary to our mother's," adult Reiju said as the memory completely dispersed. Sitting in her hospital bed, Reiju's eyes had softened tremendously. For a moment, she didn't look like the trained assassin she was created to be. "That's why he could never accept who you were, Sanji. He blamed you for everything that happened and lashed out at you as punishment."

"That's why Sanji continuously feels responsible for everything that goes wrong, even now," Robin said somberly. Trauma could do that to a person.

Reiju whispered, "Even though Mother has passed, she's still here." Reiju looked up at her brother with rare tears in her blue-blue eyes and their mother's smile on her lips. "Her kindness…lives on in you."

Sanji's breath hitched; teeth clenched down on the butt of his cigarette. His own gaze shook.

"Needless to say, you are no failure."

Luffy beamed, the Straw Hats smiled, and Zoro's tension finally relaxed.

The swordsman wouldn't be completely relaxed until the cook was safe, and part of him even felt he'd never be able to relax fully again after this. But, after their captain's declaration at the clearing of their duel, these were the words the curly-browed idiot needed to hear the most, and someone had finally said them.

"Our mother selflessly gave her life to protect you and your humanity," Reiju told Sanji. "You are the future Mother wanted to see. That's why you're more kind and tender than anyone."

There was a patent peace that washed over the Straw Hat crew.

Vinsmoke Sora did live on in Sanji.

Everything she fought for… Everything she believed in… Everything she was…

Sora had given their dear friend a chance at humanity, and Sanji had fought for it his whole life without realizing that that was what he was fighting for. He grew up with everything battling against that very humanity, and he had stuck it out and made it. He persevered and succeeded, just like he always had. Just like the Straw Hats knew he always would.

That was their Sanji Sora had sacrificed herself for, a move that Sanji would ultimately do for his nakama without hesitation. Like mother like son. She had – intentionally and not – been the reason he never quit on his dream to become a chef. When locked away in that dungeon, her words had inspired him. Her love and kindness – the never-ending affection and encouragement even in the small amounts he managed to sneak away to get – was what spared him. The courage it took to stop the mutations to his bloodline in its tracks, no matter the cost to her, had defended Sanji's humanity.

Ultimately, her compassion had protected him. A definite kindness he had absorbed and used to protect others.

Zoro and the crew had Sora to thank for saving for Sanji.

They had Zeff to thank for caring for Sanji.

And now, they straightened with a unified purpose:

They would take it from here.