.:Chapter 4 - Human:.
Sanji's mind wove like molasses. The imagery swirled, blurring colors together and reshaping them until a new memory solidified on the screen. It was the same castle wall as before, still splintered from little Sanji's assault, although it appeared a tad more worn. Like time had passed.
As the memory panned out, Sanji — their Sanji — stood tall above it. Jaw trimmed and squared. Hands in the pockets of his black slacks and wearing a white shirt that loosened further up the chest and ruffled outward. Sanji looked not the part of a pirate; but of a prince.
"That's what he was wearing when we saw him at Whole Cake Chateau," Chopper noted.
This was a more recent remembrance.
Behind the cook was a head of glossy green hair.
"Bring back memories?" an older Yonji sneered. The blonde didn't acknowledge him, but that didn't deter the green-haired Vinsmoke. "It's good to see you. I'm surprised. I thought you would be dead by now, but look — you're scraping along as a pirate…"
Sanji didn't say a word. Didn't so much as move. But Yonji wanted a reaction.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"Get lost," responded Sanji, not a glance in his brother's direction. "I have nothing to say to any of you."
"Fine. I'll leave you alone. Once you make me!"
The swift kick directed at Sanji only blurred through him as the vision morphed again, turning the two men back into boys.
"Aww, I wanted to see Sanji beat him up," pouted Luffy.
The boys were atop a high tower, peering over the edge with their three other colorful siblings. Down below, Vinsmoke Judge stood with a group of lab-coated men carrying clipboards.
"Reiju first," a man with thick glasses called out.
The pink girl in question hopped onto the ledge and jumped. She landed on her toes with a graceful yet powerful thud, splintering the stone floor.
The Straw Hats were not expecting that kind of force from the little girl.
Reiju stepped back as her first brother was called. "Now Ichiji."
Following the same easy movements as their sister, the first and second sons of Vinsmoke Judge jumped.
Then it was Sanji's turn. But the poor boy's lips were quivering.
He didn't move.
That's interesting, Robin thought. Sanji is the only one to show a wide range of emotion.
Yonji sent an irritated look toward his older brother before foregoing waiting his turn and launching off the tower with a big smile. The Germa scientists below called on the remaining Vinsmoke again. Sanji stepped forward, cautious. Sweat dripped from his brow. He eyed the height, and his vision blurred.
"Dad… It's scary."
It was a normal reaction from an 8-year-old kid, and yet the Straw Hats had to wonder why Sanji seemed to be the only one afraid. They knew their cook could hardly be called a coward, so if he was supposedly raised the same as his siblings then shouldn't he…act more like them?
Not that any of them wanted Sanji to have turned out like the other boys.
But still.
For the pirate crew who knew the chef better than anyone, the facts just weren't adding up.
Unable to summon the courage to jump, little Sanji dropped to his knees, defeated, and the images shifted into a slew of training scenes.
First, was a race. A starting gunshot fired into the air and young Sanji flinched at the loud noise while the other four siblings sped away in clouds of dust. Panicked, he quickly tried to catch up. His speed, however, was no match at all, and little Sanji hated that. Hated it so much that he was falling farther and farther behind. And hated that when he pushed himself harder, he tripped and scraped his knee.
Judge and the other kids didn't even wait for him to finish. He wasn't worth it, little Sanji's thoughts echoed. And by the utter look of helplessness on the boy's face, he had no hope that he was ever catching up. He was always too weak.
That pissed Zoro off more than the swordsman expected it would. Not only watching the memories, but also hearing Little Curly's thought process as well. Part of Zoro was irritated at the cook for his lack of confidence — Zoro was a confident kid after all. Maybe too confident depending on who you asked. But the logical part of Zoro knew he couldn't blame Sanji. He didn't have to be a child development expert like Chopper - or Robin or even Nami - to know that if every person around him called him a failure every damn chance they had, then of course that was what he was going to believe, wasn't it?
And the shitty cook didn't still think like that anyway.
Right?
The memory proceeded to the next session: an elaborate obstacle course constituting flaming hurdles.
Sanji was the only one who got burnt.
"Man, Sanji must've really trained hard to get as strong as he is now, huh?"
"He only seems so uncoordinated in comparison, Luffy," Nami snapped. "Are you telling me you were any better at the age of eight?"
"Haha~ yeah, I was worse! I couldn't match up to Ace and Sabo for a long time."
Nami sighed at him.
"It almost seems as if the Vinsmoke children are fitted to be stronger than an average human," Robin noted.
Usopp turned his head. "Fitted? Like altered?"
"How?" asked Chopper.
"Genetically," Franky guessed. It couldn't be cybernetically as Franky would have sensed another cyborg on board. "But little bro Sanji doesn't seem to be working – for, uh, lack of a better word." He added the last part when he caught Zoro's glare in his direction. The cook worked just fine.
"If that's the case, though…" Franky trailed off.
"Then our dear Sanji is the only one actually physically feeling anything," Brook finished, voice low. "Pain. Exhaustion. Etcetera."
Nami frown tightened. "It's no wonder he's scared all the time."
"That's so unfair," Luffy said, trying to cross his arms before he remembered they were confined.
"You mean he's the only one who gets hurt?" Chopper watched the screen of memories with knit brows. "Poor Sanji…"
Far out in the ocean, the next exercise took place. The children were thrown into the water to test their swimming and stamina. The shore was miles away. Of course, four out of five popped out at the finish line. Sanji never made it, drowning in the current as his siblings nonchalantly wondered if he finally died.
Everyone glowered.
"Even if he is slower than they are, they don't have to be so mean!" Chopper snapped.
The Germa scientists monitoring the kids' training fished little Sanji out of the water and resuscitated him.
Nobody wanted to think how many times their cook probably nearly died as a child.
A classroom setup appeared next, and for the first time, little Sanji was smiling.
Aww , came his thoughts. A baby turtle had wandered onto his desk.
"Come here, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you," he softly promised the tiny creature.
He giggled, pleased when the turtle trusted him. He loved animals. They were cute and nice to him and were his only friends.
"Waahh~" Tears streamed from Franky's eyes. "That's super sad, bro!"
Usopp had his face buried in the crook of his arm. "I'm not crying or anything. Captain Usopp doesn't cry…"
"I'll be your friend, Sanjiiii!" Chopper cried, making Luffy laugh because he was an animal, too.
Robin's eyes softened. She knew loneliness all too well. Did young Sanji have anybody?
What seemed to be some time later, in the same classroom, Sanji's bandaged face lit up as his turtle friend moved around him. That is, until a brown boot flew into view, kicking the animal away. Little Sanji cried out.
Along with Chopper and Luffy.
"Oh c'mon," Zoro groused. "Let the kid cook have something." He had never hated children until these three curly-browed brothers became known to him.
"Why do you keep playing with that dumb turtle for?" Yonji demanded, looking down at his brother.
Sanji's fury was lit. "Why did you do that?!" He launched himself at his brother.
Of course he became infuriated enough to fight when it was someone else who was hurt and needed defending, the Straw Hats thought.
Yonji socked Sanji in the face before he could touch him, blood spurting at impact. The other two boys came over to watch as Yonji pounced on the blonde, smiling as their brother's grunts of pain echoed through the room.
"Sanji's just their punching bag," muttered Usopp with a glare. "They're lucky I didn't know Sanji during this period or I – the mighty Captain Usopp – would've called my fleet of 8,000 men to overthrow the kingdom of Germa!"
"Yeah!" Chopper enthusiastically agreed.
"The one with green hair seems the most antagonistic," Brook said, then looked over at their swordsman, along with everyone else.
"No wonder he didn't like you," Nami told him. Luffy laughed as Zoro glowered at the witch.
Within the next second, the memory manifested a crowd of cheering Germa soldiers. They circled around Niji and Sanji as the two faced each other armed with bamboo swords. Sanji stared at his brother; his expression solemn.
Little Sanji didn't want to fight.
The Straw Hats noticed how much he was already scratched up and bruised, whereas none of his siblings had a single mark on them.
Rightfully frightened, Sanji was quaking. Still, he pushed himself forward. He closed his eyes with a deep breath and brought the bamboo stick above his head before bringing it down against Niji's. The blue-haired kid let him. Just stood there. The sword snapped to pieces, leaving no damage to its target.
"No wonder Sanji doesn't use swords," said Luffy. "He's not very good with them."
"Rubber idiot," Zoro muttered at their captain.
After Sanji lost his sword, Niji gave him an evil smirk. It was his turn.
Niji jumped into the air and swung his sword full force. He smacked Sanji over and over and over, while the little blonde cowered against the stone, defenseless and trying to surrender.
"Oww, it hurts… Gaahh! Okay, I give up…"
Niji didn't let up. Nobody stopped him.
Sanji cried as his brother beat him relentlessly with the stick.
"Please, stop it! Leave me alone, Niji…"
"Why isn't anyone doing anything?" Nami stomped her feet in agitation.
It wasn't until Sanji was nearly unconscious that the surrounding soldiers forcefully pulled the blue boy off the yellow one.
There was a moment of awareness for Sanji that his father was watching, unimpressed, and a memory within the memory formed. It layered over the one they had been watching. Like a filter. It was the five Vinsmoke children lined up in numerical order.
"Children!" Judge addressed the orderly row of younglings standing before his throne. "Of all the things I've built, you are the greatest. You're an incredible team of scientifically modified super-humans."
Everyone's ears perked at the information, including the creepy Hollowell Mind Tech scientists.
"You're the fruits of my extensive research. Brilliant. Unlike normal humans, you are unbound by emotion."
"Haah?" Luffy tilted his head. "They don't feel anything at all?"
"That's why they're cruel for no reason," said Zoro.
"If there is a reason to be cruel," Brook added absently.
"They don't know what pain feels like — physically or emotionally," realized Nami. "There's no guilt, because there's no remorse."
Robin nodded. "And there's no kindness, because there's no empathy."
"Vinsmoke Judge used his own offspring as experiments! ~Teeshishishi. How fascinating!"
Fascinating was not the word Zoro would use. He tried not to think about how the warmongering king did the altering, but there was no way in hell it could've been pleasant.
Onscreen, Judge was still spewing out his nonsense.
"Soon you'll command military forces of your own. And one day lead Germa 66 to even greater heights. All thanks to the power of science."
As the memory panned across the orderly children, Luffy pointed. "Hey, Sanji's eyebrows don't match! That's why he's special." He laughed in delight, like he always knew the man he chose as the chef to the future pirate king was special and was waiting for the physical evidence to tell everyone else. Apparently to Luffy, that evidence was the direction his eyebrows curled.
Robin smiled gently. "You're right, Luffy. They go in the opposite direction than those of his brothers and sister."
Nami noticed a certain swordsman had gone unnaturally still at their captain's observation. "Are you okay?" she quietly asked him.
Was he okay? Zoro wasn't sure. Not when all he could picture was raid-suit extraordinaire Stealth Black, brows swooping the same way as his brothers and sister… This was what the cook was afraid of when he made that oath with Zoro back in Wano, wasn't it? Zoro never really took the request too seriously. Thought Sanji might've been overreacting. He was a dramatic dartbrow, after all. But this had Zoro rethinking everything.
Was Sanji's true fear turning into his brothers? Cold and heartless and cruel?
And could it seriously happen?
Zoro closed his eye and breathed, reopening his steely gaze with sudden calm. He refused to think about that right now.
"I gave you the power," Judge was saying. "Your job is to train."
All five kids straightened like soldiers. "Yes, Father!"
Vinsmoke Judge smiled, and the filter of a memory melted back to Niji pounding mercilessly at his blonde brother with the bamboo sword. Nearly unconscious as the Germa soldiers pulled Niji off him, Sanji just knew that his father was angry. Not because his son was being beaten, but because his son was so weak.
"The gap in their scores keeps increasing," Judge was complaining to his Germa scientists when the memory shot forward in time again. The experts were scribbling madly on their clipboards. The one who seemed to oversee most things responded.
"We got the test results back, sir. Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji are making excellent progress in their training. Their exoskeletons have developed, and according to the data we've gathered their flexibility and strength are already equivalent to those of grown men. On the other hand…"
The scientist trailed off as he watched a bleeding and bruised Sanji be mercilessly beaten with bamboo sticks by all three of his brothers now.
Nami was furious. "What the hell! Why are they allowing that? They aren't 'training' anymore!"
"I'm beginning to wonder how our Sanji survived his childhood at all," said Brook, as everyone glowered at the screen.
"It is interesting how the girl never participates," Robin said. As much as she hated it, she came to expect such violence against Sanji, and so tried to focus on other specifics.
"It pains me to tell you this," the scientist continued. "But unfortunately, Sanji has proven himself to be a failure.
There's that fucking word again, Zoro internally growled.
"We were certain that we had successfully modified the bloodline elements for each of the children. But for some unknown reason, Sanji's seem to have converted back to their original configuration."
"Through the bloodline?" Robin noted, intrigued despite herself. She watched as the Hollowell scientists furiously typed away at this new information.
"So Sanji was spared somehow." Chopper curled in on himself. "Just like we thought… But still…"
Luffy reached over and patted Chopper on the head with both hands (since they were tied together), smiling down at the reindeer. "That means Sanji's made of something special!"
Zoro, eye closed again and sitting in his meditation position, huffed quietly. "We already knew he was something special."
"Awww!" Nami nudged her shoulder into his. Realizing what he said, the swordsman sputtered, turning beet red and almost losing his balance. The others snickered.
Onscreen, Judge narrowed his eyes at the scientist's final diagnosis.
"Sanji's normal. He's…just human."
Vinsmoke Judge did not like that.
How does Sanji remember moments he wasn't a part of?
WE DON'T ASK QUESTIONS HERE
Actually, we'll call it onset observation haki lmaooo