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. Sailing to the next island was a breeze, especially considering the nice weather and Nami’s good mood. They had left quite a bit of Beri behind, but that was due to the island’s extremely large shopping district. Everyone had gotten new clothes for their wardrobes, the kitchen was stocked to the brim, a new bag full of books was stored away in the library for the resident bookworms, and they were even able to buy more material for inventions. Nami, despite her penchant for hoarding gold and coin, had declared it a one in a lifetime opportunity and gave everyone on the crew well over what they usually received (although Luffy’s was given on the case that there would be supervision). The good mood had yet to completely die down to normalcy.
The next island was an autumn one based on the chilly air without any snow in sight, so the crew bundled up in their new sweaters and coats while Sanji passed around hot teas and coffees and chocolates. Chopper, a well-known lover of cooler temperatures, sat on the deck, enjoying a hot chocolate and a new medical book on the treatment of broken bones. The waves that passed by were easy to tune out. Clouds blocked the sun, but Nami promised it wouldn’t rain, so Chopper happily spent his time outside.
The little reindeer picked up another book in his stack, wanting to skim through and determine which would be a more interesting read to pass the time. This book was on human nutrition, specifically on the after effects of both starvation and overeating. He buried his nose deep into it, folding the corners of some pages he wanted to return to later.
It wasn’t long before he took the last sip of his hot chocolate. Content with the weather, Chopper decided to stay in place, but he sadly looked at the bottom of his mug. Yet, a pale hand carrying a warm mug appeared before him. He blinked a couple times before realizing who it was.
“Sanji!” Chopper smiled, taking the new mug. “Thank you! Your hot chocolate is the best!”
Sanji smiled and took the empty mug in return. “Anything to keep our doctor happy.”
“Shut up! Saying that doesn’t make me happy, asshole!” Chopper’s body betrayed his voice and he grinned widely while wiggling in his seat.
The cook sat down across from the reindeer, tugging his coat tighter around himself. “Are you not cold out here, Chopper? Nami-san said it’s going to get pretty cold before we hit the island.”
“I’m okay! I grew up in temperatures colder than this.” Chopper took a sip of his refilled drink. “This book is really interesting too! I don’t wanna move until I’ve finished it!”
“Oh, what’s it about then?” Sanji leaned back, resting his ankle on his knee. Carefully, he lit a cigarette.
“Human nutrition! I’m in the middle of the section about starvation. Since you’re a chef, do you know anything, Sanji?”
He exhaled deeply, letting the smoke leave his lungs. “I don’t know all the medical terms, but I know enough. Trust me Chopper, I won’t ever let this crew starve.”
“I know, I know, I just want to be prepared. Did you know it can have a lot of long-term effects? It’s kinda scary to think about…”
“Long-term effects?”
“Yeah, like an increased risk in cardiovascular diseases and issues with blood pressure.”
Sanji was quiet for a second. Chopper turned a page of his book. “Could you tell beforehand? If someone had a disease from starving.”
“I might be able to, but it’s difficult. There’s a higher rate of death from stroke. If that happens, I could see the warning signs, but only before it would happen.” Another sip left only half the refilled hot chocolate in the mug. “Is there something wrong, Sanji?”
He felt a strong urge to call Zeff, or Carne (Patty would never let him say more than two words before hanging up the phone), and ask if the old man has had any heart problems. Chopper said an increased risk of death… What if he sailed back home only to find a grave?
“You’re looking a bit pale, is it too cold out here?”
No, he had to have faith in Zeff’s health. If something happened, the other chefs would get him to a hospital and they were well off enough that they could afford the bills. The Baratie would be fine, he told himself.
“Sanji?”
He blinked. “Ah, sorry Chopper. I was just lost in thought. I think I’m going to head in now, I’m cold down to my toes.”
Chopper nodded. “Drink something warm! And wear thick socks!”
Sanji smiled. “Will do, doc.”
The chef headed inside, stopping in the kitchen to drop off the mug in the sink. Chopper returned to his book, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. He paused before lowering the mug. It was empty again.
Sighing, Chopper decided to get up and pick up a tea from the kitchen. Before, he looked out to the sea. A bit of fog had gathered, making visibility difficult but not impossible. Just beyond it, he could make out a shape. Squinting harder, Chopper tried to make it out.
The ship continued onwards, allowing Chopper to finally understand what he was looking at. “I see the island!!”
As if they were magic words, Luffy appeared from seemingly nowhere, scaring the little reindeer. “An island?! Where? Where?”
Chopper quickly recovered and pointed in the direction of the island’s silhouette. “That way, do you see it?”
“I see it! Hey everyone, we see the island!!”
Even though they were at a distance, they could still make out the general outline. Nami walked out on deck, wearing a thick, dark blue long coat to keep her warm. She smiled at the sight. “We should get there before the sun sets. I got a map from the last island and this one looks like a large forest with nice beaches on every shore. There seems to be a village there too!”
“Do you think they have meat?” Luffy said, his mouth already watering.
Blatantly ignoring her captain’s comment, Nami unrolled the map she had tucked under her arm and examined it. Being able to rely on a good map increased her good mood even more; she had missed the old non-grand line way of navigating. “It looks like this island’s name is Selva. There’s a lot of undeveloped land, and what looks like some ruins on the south side. Maybe there’s some treasure!” Her eyes turned into beri symbols while she took mental notes on the island’s terrain.
Chopper resumed reading his book. He wanted to read through as much as he could before they docked. Something told him he wouldn’t have very much time to relax on this island.
Above the little reindeer’s head, the sun slowly lowered. About an hour away from sunset, they finally reached land. Zoro awoke from his nap and did his job of making sure the anchor lowered. Franky and Usopp emerged from the workshop, where they had been tinkering with their new materials. Robin also stepped out on deck, most likely from her place inside reading. (She would have loved to read outside with Chopper, but she did not have the same tolerance for the cold.) Nami caught Luffy by the back of his jacket before he could jump off the ship in the name of adventure and meat.
“Okay, Luffy, Sanji, Robin, Usopp and Chopper will all go explore the island for now. Me, Zoro, and Franky will all guard the ship until we know how friendly this island is.” Nami gave Robin the map, who smiled in return.
Sanji came out of the kitchen after hearing his name (Nami didn’t bother to correct her volume) rubbing his hands together. He immediately took the ‘watch over Luffy’ duty by getting a bag and packing a couple lunch boxes he had made earlier. Chopper joined him and grabbed his small backpack full of medical supplies. Usopp did his part too by packing his own bag full of sniper materials and small useful things.
The five walked off the ship and into the forest. Robin directed them, using the map Nami had marked on as a guide. The village, thankfully, was closer to the coast than the center of the island. Luffy bounded forward, a spring to his step that was so uniquely him. Once the village came into sight, the group was met with silence. There wasn’t anyone walking around or talking. They all quickly took notice how deserted the place seemed.
Before Usopp could comment on the creepy atmosphere, Chopper rushed forward. Slouched against a building, was a man. A starving man. He was pale and his hair was thin. He was unconscious, but Chopper confirmed he was alive.
“His heart is still beating, but he’s weak. He needs immediate treatment.”
Robin did a quick 360 and suddenly she could point them out. There were bodies pressed up against buildings, people laying flat on the ground. She counted at least 10 more of them in the entire village once she used her devil fruit power to check. “I looked everywhere, everyone seems to be the same. I-“
A noise stirred behind them and the crew quickly turned around. Their guard was dropped when they realized it was one of the villagers. She was weak, but she was standing. “P… people… hungry…”
Sanji pressed his lips together. They had more than enough food back on the ship for these people. “Captain, they’re all starving.”
Luffy lowered his hat, no longer excited to adventure. He knew his crew’s passions; he knew they had to help these people. Sanji quickly took one of the boxes out of his pack and opened it. He readied a pair of chopsticks as well.
“Ma’am, how long has it been since you’ve eaten?”
“...Eight days… we are all so weak...the curs-“
Sanji nodded and gave her the lunch box. “Eat slowly then. Too quick and your body will reject it all.”
The woman took the box as if it were the most precious thing she had ever held. Her hands were shaking, but still could hold the chopsticks. She went straight for the meat, which was most abundant (it was a box designed for Luffy after all), and carefully ate pieces of it. It was awkward to keep standing and Chopper insisted she rest so they sat on the porch of one of the wooden houses. Luffy, Robin, and Usopp helped bring Chopper his new patients so he could do check-ups on them all. While he was doing so, another person woke up, this time a man.
His eyes immediately locked onto the lunch box the woman was eating. “Meat.”
The woman kept eating, ignoring the man.
All of a sudden, he lunged at her. Sanji’s eyes widened and he stopped the man right away. “Woah, hey, cool down! I have another box, alright?”
The man stopped and focused on Sanji instead. He looked the cook up and down. “...Another?”
Sanji got the second box out of his pack, leaving one more. He gave it to the man, who opened it and started to eat with his hands, leaving the chopsticks with the chef, who watched with a sad expression as the man tore into the meal.
At that moment, the woman put her chopsticks down. Sanji turned his attention to her. “Are you okay now?”
She smiled and held the box back out. All the meat was missing now, leaving only the two side dishes he had made. “Thank you so much. I feel much better now. I assume you all must need an explanation.”
Chopper nodded. “Even for eight days, it’s dangerous to starve. Is there nothing edible on this island? Is there no one to trade with?”
The woman rubbed her now empty hands together, as Sanji had taken the box. “This island… this island is cursed.”
“Cursed?” The crew said with varying degrees of fear.
The man stopped eating now, also handing the box back to Sanji. Just like the first, all the meat was gone, leaving the rest. “Lana, rest for now. I’ll explain.”
Lana, her name now revealed, leaned back against a post on the porch. Chopper looked her over while the man spoke.
“It’s like she said, this island is cursed. Every person who lives here has had a spell placed upon them, and if there are children born here, they will also be cursed.”
Robin leaned in, interested in the story, while Usopp freaked out and tried to kick the sand off his shoes, scared to let any part of the island stick to him.
“I don’t know how it started, or when. But, we can only eat meat. Anything else and we get sick and die.”
The explanation was so incredibly ridiculous that even Robin had her doubts. Sanji and Chopper exchanged looks of uncertainty as well; they both knew that things like scurvy would be a lot more apparent.
Usopp took the hit and spoke up. “Only eat meat? There’s no way.”
The man’s face fell. “You don’t believe us.”
Sanji winced but continued where Usopp left off. “It’s just… things don’t completely add up. I’m that dish, I added things like seasoning and basil and you both ate it all when those things aren’t meat.”
Chopper jumped in as well. “Yeah! And I don’t see any signs of illness beyond the short-term starvation…There’s no way you could have a healthy diet with just meat.”
Luffy crossed his arms. “Yeah! Even I eat my vegetables sometimes.”
The crew had flashbacks to Sanji holding Luffy’s mouth open while shoveling in greens. Yeah, sometimes.
Lana pressed her lips together. “A doctor once studied us and said that the meat transferred into all the vitamins we need. He… tested us and found out that as long as the main dish is meat, other things can be added, but not much. We were curious about these things too.”
“Please, believe us. I have seen too many friends die just because they couldn’t eat anything, even though this island is abundant with fruit and herbs.” The man spoke with his head down.
Sanji pressed for answers, trying to wrap his head around this strange occurrence. “Can you guys have fish? Any poultry? Chicken? Rabbit?”
They both shook their heads and Sanji felt depressed. He had grown up eating seafood at the Baratie and couldn’t imagine his life cursed to never eat it again. While he was glad they couldn’t eat rabbit, which would definitely give them protein poisoning, their flavor palette was extremely limited. What a goddamn shame.
Going through the types of red meats in his head, Sanji suddenly froze. He turned so Chopper was in the field of his vision, as well as the villagers who were unconscious. “Do you… eat meat raw? For the vitamins?”
Lana looked guilty, which was enough of an answer on its own. The man answered for her. “Not often, but we have. It’s a good way to replace fruit. We don’t want to get scurvy after all.”
Sanji nodded, suddenly very tense. Luffy caught onto it and followed his line of sight to Chopper. The atmosphere grew thick. Chopper himself was coming to a sort of realization.
Venison. The one red meat Sanji would never cook. Alive, but raw. Standing right next to people who just said that they have eaten raw meat. And although they wouldn’t admit it, Sanji could tell they were hungry.
“Robin, Usopp, escort Chopper back to the ship. Tell them what’s going on and get Franky to bring back the grill and some meat.” Luffy commanded. Seeing as the two awake villagers hadn’t made a move towards Chopper, they were at least somewhat trustworthy, but he wasn’t about to take chances. Sharing the stock of meat they had might be a pain later on for Luffy, but he knew that Sanji wouldn’t leave until everyone was well fed, especially after their period of starving. Cooking the meat and serving it to them would get him to leave this place and its dark shadows.
The man watched this all happen carefully. Once Chopper left, there was a moment of silence before he stuck out his hand. “I never introduced myself, sorry. I’m Calen.”
Luffy crossed his arms. “I’m Luffy, and this is Sanji.” The latter of which shook Calen’s hand. “It’s like he said. I’m a chef, once we get some meat back from the ship, I’ll prepare it so that the rest of your village can eat.”
Calen grabbed Sanji’s hand just as he was pulling away. “You’ll prepare meat? For us? Why?”
Sanji took his hand back, but smiled. “I won’t turn away from anyone who is hungry. It’s awful it is not to have food or water. Don’t worry, you’ll all have a good meal tonight.”
“Thank you! We don’t know how to repay you!” Calen said emotionally. Lana stood up and thanked the Strawhats as well. Luffy laughed. “Really, don’t worry.”
Franky appeared soon after that. With a grill in one hand and a large box in the other, he walked up to his captain, grinning widely. “Yo! I got the stuff. This the village?”
Sanji smiled and helped set up the grill. “Yeah. Robin probably told you, but they only eat meat, so that’s all I can cook.”
“Yow! Cook-bro, should I get the rest of the crew? We could have a large feast all together!”
While Franky was excited about the idea, Sanji pressed his lips together. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt for some of us to come out here, but Chopper stays on the ship.”
“Why?”
Sanji glanced over at Calen, who was chatting with Luffy, to make sure he wasn’t listening. “They only eat red meat here. Chopper’s a reindeer. They’d eat him whole.”
Franky frowned before looking at the village. “I guess you’re right, cook-bro. How many of us should stay on the ship then?”
“These people here are weak, I think only one or two people would be okay. I’ll make sure to cook them a warm meal and walk it over to them. Is this everything for the grill?”
The cyborg nodded and grinned. “You’ll be cooking meat easy with this puppy! Let me know if you need a bit of extra power, I can fix it in a second!”
Sanji nodded, knowing he would never be doing that. With Franky, that would be turning the grill into a weapon and he really didn’t want to come back to Luffy on fire.
Luffy and Calen both were drawn towards the large box full of meat once Sanji opened it. The chef looked warily at the two of them before pulling out the plates on top, as well as the seasoning someone had packed in for him. It was getting a bit dark, but Franky set up some lanterns and soon there was a fire pit going. Calen was able to wake up the others in his village once Sanji had cooked a few pieces already. Turns out that just the smell by their noses was enough to shock them out of unconsciousness. Luffy, on more than one occasion, tried to take some of the raw meat, but Sanji snatched it back and made Franky watch over him.
The atmosphere became lighthearted. A lot of the villagers were genuine people, and even shared a couple interests. Sanji smiled as he passed a plate onto Lucy, who looked much more alive than how she looked when they first met. This is what he lived for as a chef: to see people happy and full of life because of the food he fed them. Usopp, Nami, and Zoro all made their way to the village, mentioning that Robin had chosen to stay with Chopper as they both had gotten a bunch of good books to read at the last island.
Sanji was sure to give them helpings as well, rooting himself to his place in front of the grill. Calen smiled when he came back for his third helping. “This is amazing! Thank you, Sanji-san. We haven’t been able to eat this much meat for a long time.”
Nami overheard the conversation and interjected, “How do you guys not have trade or anything? The last island isn’t that far away, and I imagine someone must’ve come here from there.”
Calen turned sullen all of a sudden. “That island was our main helper. They supplied us meat for years, but out of nowhere, everyone switched to a vegan diet. They sent us the last of the meat they had, then stopped the industry they had in favor of plant-based foods. We haven’t had any contact with them since.”
“Plant-based? But Luffy ate meat while he was there, didn’t he Sanji-kun?”
“Yeah, I remember that. Did they make their own plant-based meat, then?”
Calen nodded. “We can’t eat it to survive. Ever since they started plant-based foods, this village had fallen into darkness. Our numbers halved, then halved again. For you to feed us, you’ve saved the spirit of this village!”
Sanji smiled softly. “Really, don’t mention it. Nami-swan, I’m going to go give Robin-chan and Chopper their plates.”
Nami nodded before continuing talking with Calen. Sanji finally stepped away from the grill and walked in the direction of the coast where the ship was docked. He balanced a plate on each hand. The warmth of the food soaked through, keeping his hands away from the cold that had started to grow once the sun fell. He walked happily to the ship and was able to find it and board it without any trouble.
“Robin-chan! Chopper! Food’s here!” Sanji called out while he walked into the galley. The two bookworms appeared in a moment. Sanji smiled and put the plates down in front of them. “Eat up while it’s still warm. If you’re still hungry, I can always bring you back more or I can heat up some soup.”
Robin gave a small smile. “Thank you, cook-san. Is everyone enjoying themselves?”
“They seem to be, it took a while to warm up to everyone but they have a huge fire pit going. Do you need anything? I can always stay here with you.”
“No, no.” Robin laughed. “You go enjoy yourself too. I’m sure we’ll hear all about it tomorrow morning.”
Sanji smiled. “I will Robin-chan!” He quickly washed his hands before leaving the ship, hoping (and praying) that someone had stopped Luffy from eating all the remaining meat. Nami was good at that, she brought her clima tact so Luffy most definitely got whacked on the head. He walked along the dark beaten path, drunk on the happiness that his crew were enjoying themselves.
And then he tripped.
Sanji sputtered and spit out the dirt he had gotten in his mouth. Confused, he went to push himself up, but a dark figure appeared and sat on top of him, keeping him down. The same figure wrestled his hands behind his back and started to tie them there.
Sanji struggled, but slowly stopped when he realized he wouldn’t have the upper hand this way. He waited until his attacker guessed that the fight had drained out of him before finishing the tie. The second Sanji felt the person shift their weight forward a bit, he was able to get his legs flat against the ground. Once he did that, he forced himself to his side, which forced his attacker to put part of his weight on the ground instead.
Quickly, so the other person wouldn’t have time to react, he drew a leg towards his chest and used it to kick them in the stomach with all the strength he could muster in such an awkward position. He scrambled to get onto his feet once he was free and frowned when he realized the rope was too tight to slide off his wrists. Without his arms to balance, he lost power and couldn’t do a handstand, but he knew enough kicks to defend himself.
“Who are you?! What’s going on?”
The person didn’t answer. Sanj looked them up and down, noticing they were wearing all black and a mask to hide their face. This was planned then. He tried to think of who would attack him, but no one came to mind. It wasn’t like he was sailing the seas making personal enemies (he left that job up to his captain), so unless this was all a joke, Sanji didn’t understand.
His attacker made a motion with his hand which had Sanji more confused, but his eyes widened with realization. He turned around just as another person, equally covered in black clothing, tackled him to the ground, making sure to keep his legs together. Sanji cursed loudly. He started to yell, sensing that this was a losing battle.
“Hey! Get off of me! What are you doing?!” He struggled as much as he could. Sanji turned his head towards the village, the direction he had been walking in. He was too far away to be heard, especially with the party going on, causing him to lose hope that someone would come to his rescue.
To prevent him from yelling, the first attacker grabbed his hair and raised his head, only to slam it down onto the dirt over and over again until Sanji wouldn’t dare open his eyes because of the blood trickling down over them. A finger dragged over his forehead, sending a shiver down his spine. He cracked open an eye just barely to see the person putting the finger in their mouth, licking up all the blood he had swiped up.
A chill went down his spine. Who were these people? So lost in confusion and hurt, he didn’t notice his ankles being tied together. The second person got a bag ready, most likely to put over his head, and he felt a knife against his neck before he saw it.
“Say anything and I’ll cut out your voicebox.” Their voice was gritty, Sanji noted.
He snapped his mouth shut, although he sent a fierce look instead. The person huffed, “Knock him out.”
Sanji didn’t get a word of protest in before a hand tangled itself in his hair again and slammed his head down much harder than before. He was out in an instant.
. Back at the party, Nami kept checking the time every five seconds. She sighed, before looking at the path that led out of the village. “Sanji sure is taking his time. Do you think he decided to stay on the ship for a bit?”
Usopp laughed. “Maybe he got caught up feeding Robin and Chopper. You know how he gets. We’ve been eating here all night and he grilled some extra for us. He’s probably just making sure they get just as much to eat.”
“I don’t know…” Nami frowned. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Franky joined in with Usopp. “Cook-bro knows his way back, he’s probably checking our food storage!”
Zoro spoke up from where he had been leaning against one of the houses, a mug of beer in his hand. “I agree with the witch on this. Cook wouldn’t be gone longer from unattended food and Luffy longer than he needed to.”
The crew all turned towards the captain in question, who was having a meat-eating contest with one of the villagers. It was kind of scary that he was losing. “Luffy,” Nami called, “Should we go after Sanji? He’s been gone for so long.”
Luffy gulped down a large bite. He smiled. “Sanji is strong! He’ll be okay!”
Nami pouted. “But the longer he’s gone, the longer you go without meat. He didn’t cook everything yet…”
Luffy froze, taking time to process the situation. He stood up, dusting off his pants. “We must find Sanji.” He said seriously. The rest of the crew sighed at his predictableness. “Nami, Zoro, go to the ship. Come back with him.”
Zoro put down his mug. “Aye aye captain.” Nami and him walked along the beaten path out of the village. Nami grabbed onto Zoro’s arm to keep him on track.
While they were making their way back to the ship, something shiny caught Nami’s eyes. She curiously went over to it and picked it up, only for her blood to go cold. Zoro noticed her stiffness and called out to her.
“What is it?”
Nami slowly raised Sanji’s gold lighter, the one he proudly said Zeff had given to him as a gift. He treasured it greatly and wouldn’t go anywhere without it, everyone knew that. Without words, the two took off running towards the Thousand Sunny. They weren’t too far. Nami kept the lighter tight in her fist. Maybe he dropped it on his way over, he did have two plates in his hands after all, she thought. The two of them wasted no time in jumping into the deck. Zoro stayed back while Nami burst into the galley. Her face lit up when she saw Robin and Chopper sitting at the bar, both talking with empty plates in front of them.
“Robin! Chopper! I’m glad you both are okay! Where’s Sanji-kun?”
Chopper looked confused while Robin answered. “He was here a while ago to give us the plates then left. Did he not return to the village?”
Nami shook her head while Zoro entered the galley himself. “No, Sanji never came back. We were hoping he was still here but…”
Chopper worriedly looked towards the door. “Maybe he met one of the villagers?”
Zoro shifted his weight, hand playing along the hilt of his sword. “Chopper, do you remember how many villagers there were?”
“I think there are only 11 of them.”
He nodded and started to walk out of the ship and back towards the village. Nami furrowed her brows. “Hey! Where are you going?”
“The villagers were involved, right? If they’re all there, we gather them up and ask them questions, simple.”
Nami sighed. She left with Zoro after a quick wave goodbye to Robin and Chopper, paired with a promise that they’d find Sanji. She kept the swordsman on track and they made their way back to the party in no time. Calen was still lingering by the grill. Zoro silently counted the number of people while Nami approached Calen.
“Hey Calen, are you having fun?”
The man smiled. Nami winced at the smell of his breath. “Yeah! We’re going to be full for a long time with all this meat!” He took a bite of the cut on his plate. Nami felt sick when she realized it was raw.
“The village here is so small, is this really everyone?”
Calen looked around, then nodded. “Yup, this is everyone. We’ve always been pretty small. Like family, you know?”
He took another bite of the meat, missing the look Nami sent to Zoro. Zoro in return held up 9 fingers; there were two people missing. They both scanned the village once more before reporting to Luffy, who was still eating meat, but was sending glances towards the grill every so often. He smiled once he saw the two of them.
“Yo! Did you bring back Sanji?”
Nami solemnly shook her head. “Luffy… we think something happened. There are two villagers gone. They… lied to us about it too. There’s definitely something wrong here.”
Luffy put down his place and grew serious. “Who?”
She gestured towards Calen, who Luffy wasted no time in approaching. He grabbed Calen by the collar and yelled, “What did you do with Sanji?”
Calen raised his hands in defense. “I don't know what you mean!”
Lana, who was also nearby, stepped in. “Let go of him!”
Unwaveringly, Luffy kept his grip on Calen's shirt. He looked the man in the eyes. “Sanji wouldn’t leave us randomly so what did you do with him?”
Calen bit his lip. “I… can’t tell you.”
Another villager approached them. “Monkey D. Luffy, I’d appreciate it if you stepped away from my friend. I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for your friend’s disappearance.” The light from the fire bounced off of his pale skin, giving him an almost sinister look paired with the mess around his mouth from the meat.
Nami frowned deeply. “Like hell there is!” Zoro made sure everyone could see him reaching for his swords. Usopp tucked a hand into his bag and walked a couple paces away. The tension increased immensely. Even the villagers started to get into defensive positions.
Usopp couldn’t help but point out something the others seemed to have missed. He loaded up his slingshot. “How did you know Luffy’s full name?”
Everyone focused on the man, who looked to be in shock. “I… He told me so.”
Luffy narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t.”
As if his words were a call to battle, the Strawhats sprung into action. As there weren’t many of the villagers, and lots of them were still eating, it was easy to defeat them and get them pinned to the ground. Franky took the chance to get them all together and wrap some rope around them all. They left out one person, to question of course, and they had unanimously picked Calen, who was shaking out of fear after witnessing their collective strength.
Zoro stepped forward, putting a sword right up against Calen’s throat. With just a tad more pressure, blood would be drawn, and his swords were feeling pretty thirsty.
“Where’s Sanji?”
. Sanji woke up to his head pounding, kind of like that one time he had two full bottles of alcohol and no one had stopped him. His memories slowly answered the most immediate questions--Where was he? Was his crew okay?--and also directed him to the position he was in.
He was laying down on his stomach. His arms were still tied behind his back, but they were better secured there. His legs were splayed out behind him and one was oddly raised above the ground a bit, instead resting on something soft. The shoe and sock of that foot had been taken off, and the cool air made him realize that his pants had been cut off just above the knee. The other side remained unaffected, but Sanji doubted it would last that way for long. Perhaps the most demanding restraint was the rope around his neck that was tied to a hook on the ground, preventing him from raising his head. He had originally thought his mouth felt cottony due to his head injury, but once more senses came back to him, he realized it was actually something shoved in his mouth and tied there.
There are voices speaking around him, but his head is pounding too loud for him to pay attention to what they’re saying. Nevertheless, he thinks he knows what they’re talking about when he feels something cool and flat touch his ankle. Oh god, he remembers, he was surrounded by meat-eaters who had confessed to eating it raw. He hadn’t considered human flesh on his list of meats at all, and he cursed himself for not considering it earlier. Now, he guesses, he pays the consequences.
He knows what’s coming so Sanji’s mind drifts to Sunny's kitchen. He imagines himself standing in front of the cutting board, a large knife in his hand and a scaler in the other. There is a large fish in front of him, and he was ready to prepare it, cook it, and serve it. He starts by first removing the scales on the fish. Usually he would do this in the sink underwater, as to not cause as much of a mess, but he’s done it on a cutting board before. The scales come off easily.
He’s thrown out of his imagination when what feels like a razor drags along his leg from the ankle to behind his knee. It’s disorienting, so Sanji dives back into his mind to ignore it. Torture, he decides, they were going to torture him and then eat him whole. There’s so much blood dripping from his head he can't think rationally anymore.
Distantly, he feels the knife the cannibals have dig into his heel. His mindspace keeps along with reality; he imagines making a grip at the end of a fish in order to slide the knife through it to remove the skin. They waste no time in turning the angle of the knife and dragging it through his flesh.
He feels sick. He can hear himself screaming, but he doesn’t remember when he started to scream. Was it when the knife dug into his heel? Or only when they started to skin him? He can’t remember. Sanji’s head flops to the side. He can’t struggle, he can’t escape. In the position he’s in, he can’t even kick a leg up to save his life.
All he can do is close his eyes in pain before there’s a loud crash coming from in front of him.
The rope around his neck doesn’t allow him to look up, so he keeps his head down. The knife that was being used to slice into him falls to the ground, he hears. It’s, in fact, the only thing he hears before he passes out.
The second they see Sanji is out cold, the crew quickly finished the fight and got Sanji back to the ship instead of asking the village for more information. Chopper had been forewarned via Franky calling the ship’s Den Den Mushi, so they transferred him to the medbay, and let their reindeer doctor do his work.
Chopper started at the limp body in front of him and shivered. The attempted flaying had taken a small, but clean layer of skin off of the back of Sanji’s leg. He started with hooking Sanji up to IVs and such to prevent him from going into shock and then administered several shots, antibiotics, and topical remedies. There was more blood coming from the wound than Chopper could deal with, so he set up a blood bag. Infections were hard to avoid with the skin being removed, but Chopper dealt with it all the best he could, thankful they had gotten there in time before worse could be done.
When the reindeer exited the infirmary, the crew was standing around the galley. For once there was no one with an appetite.
“Will he be okay, Chopper?” Usopp couldn’t help but ask.
Chopper sighed, then nodded. “He’ll be fine. I treated his head injury, his leg, and the rope burns… It’ll take a while for him to heal completely.”
Without speaking it aloud, they knew that meant Robin and Usopp would be taking over kitchen duty. Sanji, although he may get angry when he finds out, was in no condition to enter the kitchen. His leg had to heal completely, Chopper’d insist, otherwise he had too high of a risk for an infection.
The crew dispersed once they received the news. Chopper, secretly, worried about mental trauma. He looked at the counter. Upon it sat a mug with a packet of cocoa powder, along with a note with what appeared to be scribbles upon it, but was rather a recipe with Chopper’s own name at the top. His heart clenched. Sanji was strong, he knew this, but every person has a breaking point and his kindness had been taken advantage of far too many times.
They could really only wait until Sanji woke up to decide.
. Two days passed of Sanji floating in between unconsciousness and a hazy level of consciousness, but he never was fully awake until more than 48 hours had passed. When he did wake up, he immediately sat up, much to the protest of Chopper, who happened to be in the medbay grinding up some dried herbs.
“Sanji! Lay back down!”
The cook was disoriented, confused, but tension leaked out of him at the sight of the small reindeer. “Wh… What happ’n..?”
Chopper passed Sanji a glass of water, which the latter took gratefully. Meanwhile, Chopper started to talk. “We found out the villagers kidnapped you and we got you out of there. Stay calm, you have some bad injuries…”
Sanji furrowed his brows. “I don’t feel anythin’.”
“Because you’re hooked up to painkillers, idiot!”
“Ah, can you take me off of them?”
“Why would I take you off painkillers?! You’re in pain!”
Sanji blinked heavily. “Oh yeah. They make me tired though and I need to get up and cook.”
Chopper sighed. “Sanji… As your doctor I am taking away your ability to go into the kitchen and cook. You need to heal more first!”
“I’ll heal while I’m in the kitchen, Chopper, don’t worry.”
“You’re heavily medicated right now! If you try to stand up, you won’t be able to walk straight.”
For a second, Chopper is worried Sanji would take that as a challenge, but instead the chef relaxes back in bed. With him, Chopper also loses the tension in his shoulders.
“Once you’re all better you can cook, but not now.”
Sanji looks over at Chopper. “How long, doc?”
Chopper looked back down at his medical herbs and said, “I’d estimate two weeks.”
“On a change of thought, I think getting up and cooking something will help me heal.” Sanji said, once again pushing himself up and swinging one of his legs off the bed.
Chopper transformed into his heavy point to keep the chef down. “Sanji! No!”
“Chopper-”
Sanji stops talking when he looks down and examines the leg he had swung off the bed. The bottom half of it was covered in bandages and he couldn’t feel a thing. He was really quiet for a minute before sighing and hooking his hands underneath his knee to drag his leg back up onto the bed.
“So that wasn’t all a dream, huh.”
Chopper looks at Sanji’s leg as well. “No. They were going to skin you alive and eat you. We got there right when you passed out.”
The cook remained quiet while Chopper busied himself with checking Sanji’s wounds. He watched the reindeer write things downs and note some things aloud. Sanji realizes something he should’ve caught onto before (he blames his head injury).
“Wait, Chopper, did we leave the island?”
“Yes.” Chopper answers, looking confused. “We left not long after we rescued you.”
Sanji forces himself to sit up straighter and looks the reindeer right in the eyes. “Did we leave any meat behind for them?”
Chopper blinks a couple times. “No, I don't think so. Why would we?”
“They… They won’t have enough food to last them… It’s possible another ship won’t come by and they’ll starve again.” Sanji said, his eyes looking at a distance beyond Chopper, focusing on something else playing in his mind.
“Sanji, they ate other humans! They were going to murder you!”
“That doesn’t matter, Chopper they’re going to starve! We should’ve left them enough to last them for a bit!”
“That doesn’t matter?! Sanji what are you talking about?”
“How could you have left them all to starve there?!”
“How could we feed murderers?!”
Before either of them can exchange more words, Luffy bursts into the medbay, smiling brighter than the sun. “Sanji! You’re awake!”
The rubber man jumps onto the bed, laying across Sanji’s legs. “Are you going to be back in the kitchen? No one’s made me any meat since we left.”
“No one’s made you any?” Sanji furrows his brows. He turns towards Chopper. “Can you get me a crutch? I need to go to the kitchen.”
Chopper shook his head. “No, I can’t let you cook today. Standing for too long would put too much stress on your leg.”
Luffy hums. “Can he come out on deck then? Nami said the weather is going to be warm again and it's nice out.”
“Maybe… but he can’t go into the kitchen yet okay?”
“Okay!” Luffy rushes over and grabs a pair of crutches which he gives to Sanji. “Let’s go!”
Sanji gives a small smile and swings his legs back out of bed. Carefully, he uses the crutches to support his weight as he tries to keep his leg off the ground as much as possible. Luffy laughs and leads them out of the medbay and onto the deck, where most of the crew is either relaxing, talking, or, in the case of Zoro, exercising. At his appearance, they all sit up in surprise. “Sanji!”
They all come over and surround him. Sanji's smile widens as Robin sets down a chair for him. “How are you feeling, cook-san?”
“I’m doing fine, thank you Robin-chan! You need not worry about feeding these monsters anymore, I’ll be back in the kitchen tomorrow.”
“As long as you’re feeling okay,” she responds.
Sanji turns his attention out to the scenery and can’t help but lose his smile when he sees the open sea instead of any land. “We really left then…? Luffy… Did you… did you leave them any food?”
Luffy smiles and puts a hand on his hat. “Mhm! Zoro and I left some right before we left!”
While Luffy looks happy, Zoro looks the opposite. He put his weights down in favor of a cup of water. The swordsman looks right at Sanji without wavering.
“You see something interesting, marimo?” Sanjji asks, annoyed by the staring.
Zoro grunts. “You need to stop bein’ so kind to those that are going to hurt you, ero-cook.”
Sanji’s confusion grows. “What did you just say?”
“I said you need to stop feeding every starving person you meet, dumbass.”
“Wh.. Why would I?! That’s not something you get to decide, marimo.”
Zoro angrily puts his glass of water down on one of the small tables out on the deck. “No, it is. Because you said you were going to cook for those people, they took that as your permission to eat your body! Who knows what kind of people you’ll feed next? Maybe the next batch will actually get the job done!”
Sanji feels himself getting angrier and angrier with each word Zoro says. “I won’t stop, no matter what I won’t leave someone who is starving.” He clenches his fist, why is everyone having issues with his principals today?
Close to enraged, Zoro clenches his fists. “If you don’t lose that attitude, cook, I won’t eat anything you give me.”
“What?!” Sanji starts to push himself to get up out of the chair, but Nami’s voice stops him before he can accomplish his goal.
“Stop it, the both of you! Sanji-kun, you just got out of the infirmary! This isn’t time for fighting!”
Sanji sinks back down into his chair, immediately following Nami’s words, while Zoro notices and storms off to continue his training.
The time passed quickly and the crew had forgotten about much of the tension that had been created earlier. The mood was good; Sanji was alive and well (mostly) and they all were happy that the chef would be back in the kitchen the next time the sun rose. That night they were all together again, getting ready to eat soup that Robin had thrown together. Sanji had praised her profusely before insisting that she sit down instead of serve them, but she politely declined and gave a bowl of soup for him to pass to Zoro.
Sanji grabbed the bowl carefully and put it on the table before Zoro. The swordsman looked down at it before standing up and leaving the galley before anyone could stop him. Sanji was shocked. He furrowed his brows and reached for his crutch to get up. “What’s that shitty swordsman doing…?”
Chopper puts a hoof on Sanji’s shoulder. “Sanji, you should stay sitting down. I saw him eat a big lunch, maybe he just isn’t hungry like the rest of us.”
The chef frowned, knowing Zoro would most definitely be hungry at this time, but let it pass. He turned his attention back to the table and listened to the crew as they told him all that had happened in the past two days, including the time Franky had spilled a bunch of water and slipped on it all in the same second. They laughed, even though all of them felt the absence of a certain green-headed swordsman at the table.
. The next morning, Sanji was able to get up on his own, even though he most definitely wasn’t allowed to. He snuck past the others quietly. He stared at the ladder going up to the deck and sighed as he tucked his crutches underneath his arm and grabbed the ladder. Sanji tried to keep as much pressure off of his leg as possible, but he couldn’t avoid wincing as he made his way up. Chopper had been the one to help him down, he was going to be furious when he saw Sanji had made his way out. He decided that was a post-breakfast problem and pushed himself up to the deck. Getting back up to his feet and reaching the crutches he had thrown onto the deck was a struggle, but he eventually made it.
Sanji entered the kitchen slowly, trying to ignore the wet feeling on the back of his leg. He was already running a menu through his head, something along the lines of a potato hash with ham and a fresh toast bake (the latter of which would mainly be for Chopper, who would most likely be distracted by the treat so Sanji could get away with being in the kitchen for a while longer).
As usual, cooking came naturally. Most of the ingredients were easy to reach and he didn’t have to move around too much. A dash of spice there, a cut of ham there, a sprinkle of cinnamon over there, and Sanji had the dishes in the oven, ready to be served to his crew.
A problem arose when he needed to take the dishes out of the oven. He had already put more than recommended stress on his leg (and the recommended was none, but Sanji pretended not to know) and the dishes were heavy enough he would need to bend down. Unsure, Sanji put on the oven mitts and looked at the oven. Slowly he opened it, satisfied with the look of the food, but frustrated his injuries were stopping him from doing something so simple.
Just as he was about to attempt getting the bake out, a pair of hands, both appropriately dressed with purple oven mitts, appeared and took a hold of the dish. Sanji smiled and turned around.
“Robin-chwan!”
She smiled in response. “Good morning, cook-san. I’ll get this out for you. You should sit down.”
“No, no, don’t worry-”
“I already have my hands on it, cook-san. Please sit down.”
Sanji ultimately did as Robin said and sat down, watching her take the food out and set it on the table with ease. He was going to stand up and help set the table and serve the crew before a hand touched his shoulder and Robin smiled at him.
“The table is already set, cook-san. The crew can serve themselves. You should focus on getting better in the meantime.”
“Thank you Robin-chan! You are an angel!” Sanji responds. He turns back to the table, finding it indeed set, and relaxes in his chair a bit. The crew trickles in one by one, but quickly, as if they were all in a single file line following a scent trail straight to the kitchen. It’s obvious how excited they are to eat his cooking again after the couple of days he was out; Luffy’s drool would be enough to drown the ship if Nami hadn’t forced his jaw closed. Sanji feels a bit upset at the fact that there weren’t as many dishes on the table as usual, but the crew doesn’t take notice and they dig in right away.
Right before he was able to serve himself, Sanji looks at Zoro’s seat and frowns to find it empty. “Anyone know where Marimo is? He should be here to eat.”
Usopp nervously laughs and scratches the back of his head. “Well, he told me he wouldn’t be here and would be in the crows nest…”
Sanji furrows his brows. “Why.”
“Yo-You know he said he wouldn’t be anything you made….” Usopp’s words trail off once he sees Sanji’s furious expression.
The chef stands up, grabs the spoon and loads up the plate with food, before realizing he would have to climb a ladder to get to Zoro and he already knew how difficult that would be based on his morning activity. He shoved the plate towards Usopp, wrapping a fork in a napkin and throwing it on top. “Bring it to him, or else.”
Usopp quickly nods, grabs the plate and napkin, and zips out of the galley. Luffy’s hand creeps towards Usopp’s unattended plate before Sanji catches him and pokes the hand with an extra fork.
Satisfied that Zoro would be getting food, Sanji sits back down and finally gets food for himself. (it’s a miracle there is still some left, since Luffy is a black hole for food, but it seems the extra ham Sanji cooked is doing its job of keeping Luffy away from other plates.) He takes a couple bites, happy with the results of his cooking, and casually chats with his crew.
When Usopp came back into the galley, Sanji’s eyes focused immediately on the full plate in his hands.
“Usopp…”
“I tried? He wouldn’t take it and ignored me once he saw it and if I stayed any longer he would’ve cut me up with his swords please don’t kick me-”
Instead of kicking him, Sanji instead gets up and gently takes the plate from Usopp. A knot ties itself in his stomach when he looks down at the full plate. Usopp looks sad when he sees his expression, so Sanji blinks, steels himself, and sets the plate in front of Luffy, who eats it within two seconds.
No food wasted, he tells himself. Zoro will get hungry soon, especially with how much he exercises. No one will starve on this ship, he repeats in his head.
By the time lunch rolls around, Sanji was so confident that Zoro would be hungry and enter the kitchen that he makes a large batch of curry and even makes skewers on the side for Bottomless Pit Luffy so he wouldn’t be tempted to take more than he needed.
Zoro never came down. Sanji goes out on deck and looks up at the ladder.
He’s only stopped by Chopper, who insists on looking at his leg once he finally notices the bleeding from his stunt in the morning. His wrists were injured too, Chopper threatens, they still were decorated with rope burns and scrapes. Relatively they were minor, but still were injuries at the end of the day. He tried not to look down at them and think about it.
At dinner time, Sanji decides he will force himself to climb the ladder, no matter what Chopper says. All he needs is a distraction and he can bring a plate of leftovers, sandwiches, onigiri, something (maybe all of the above) and watch Zoro eat before he goes insane. A day without food usually wouldn’t be anything to blink twice at, but Sanji knows Zoro uses up energy faster than anyone else, except maybe Luffy, and he would feel the effects even after a day.
It turns out he doesn’t need to go through with his risky plan because while the rest of the crew is eating, Zoro comes down and enters the galley to get a drink (whether it’s water or booze, Sanji doesn’t really pay attention, he just focuses on the fact that he is here).
He’s fuming right away, predictably.
“Sit down and eat!” Sanji even goes through the effort of pulling out a chair and setting down a plate. His hands are shaking and he can’t tell if it’s because the painkillers are wearing off or if it’s because of his anger from someone directly and intentionally going against one of his core values as a chef of the sea.
Zoro shakes his head. “No.”
“Why then?! You can’t just be hungry forever!”
“I won’t eat until you promise not to worry about every starving person we come across.” He answers pointedly.
The crew watches their argument like they are in the audience of a table tennis match; their heads swivel back and forth, or for those who are further back, simply their eyes move.
Sanji is deeply upset at his core. He knew Zoro and him didn’t have the best relationship, but when he became a strawhat, he vowed that everyone on deck would be well fed, no matter what, even if the people on deck were enemies. Luffy agreed and things had been simple since. He didn’t understand why this was suddenly a problem now, when things had always been this way.
When it gets to the point that Zoro lifts the plate and threatens to throw it overboard and Sanji calls him a fake, Luffy intervenes.
“I wouldn’t have chosen Sanji if he wasn’t kind, and even though he needs help protecting himself, if he wasn’t this way, we wouldn’t have liked him, right Zoro?”
And Zoro presses his lips together because Luffy is right, as he always is.
“I know you just want to protect Sanji, but you can’t like this. Sit. Eat. Captain’s orders.”
Sanji sputters, but Luffy leaves no room for argument. “Sanji, you sit too.”
They can’t go against captain’s orders. They both sit down and eat.
The argument is over, but a lingering tension is in the air that always comes whenever the captain interferes (because they both know that they’ve said something that took it too far).
That night, Sanji smokes out on deck and Zoro finds him. Zoro crosses his arms and asks, “So why do you do it?”
“Do what marimo?”
“Cook for every person you see who's hungry.”
And Sanji exhales deeply, expelling the smoke from his lungs, and looks out onto the ocean.
“Because I know what it’s like, to starve, and it's not something I would ever want anyone else to suffer through.” Another puff of his cigarette and looks up. “Being alone without food and water is awful.”
Zoro hesitates, he understands how personal and fragile this topic is, before asking how many days and Sanji takes no time in responding. They don't have time to say anything else before Chopper storms out the galley door and yells at Sanji for smoking, but before the reindeer can drag him away, Zoro speaks up,
“I’ll eat your damn food again. But you have to promise me you’ll be safer, okay ero-cook?”
Sanji smiles, and that’s an answer enough. He’s tugged into the infirmary while Zoro enters the galley and finishes off his plate, licking it clean before it’s dropped into the sink to be washed. Somewhere, miles away now, a man leans down and licks stale blood off of stone. There really was no better food than Sanji’s.