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The cage, all he can remember is the cage.
His brothers threw bugs at him, shoved them into his cage, forcing him to eat the poor creatures. They laugh at him, the runt of the family. He's worthless, useless, a disappointment to the Vinsmoke family. The only saving grace he had was his mother. All the food he made, no matter the quality, she would eat like it's a five-star meal. She was the grip he had on reality, until life slipped away from her. His breath becomes labored, huffing and puffing. His throat filled with unspoken goodbyes.
Sanji squirms in his bed, his head filled with creepy crawlers and cold metal bars. He squeezes his eyes shut, hoping the visions would go away.
His brothers point and laugh, "You're really crying over her?" "Grow up! People die!". The triplets lambast him with kicks, laughing as his sobs fill the room, bouncing off the walls. He felt so nauseous, he can't keep the bugs down. He needs to vomit, but he can't. Bile fills his throat, choking on his own mucus.
The ear-piercing scream of "No!" wakes Sanji up. His breath staggers, reeling from his nightmare. He sucks in air desperately like he's being drowned. He looks down at his sheets, seeing that his hands are entangled in his sheets, grabbing on them for dear life. He huffs out a sigh "Just another nightmare" he mutters under his breath. He rolls out of bed, after deciding that getting some fresh air will help him get his mind off his past. Sanji pushes past the kitchen, going past the woks and the baking tins, towards the backdoor deck. The smell of the ocean air calms him. Sanji tries to steady his heartbeat, taking deep and long breaths. The moon gleams brighter than usual, complementing the stars below it. The creak of the floorboards catches Sanji's attention. He flips around to see Zeff walking towards him. "Heard yew screaming from the other side of the ship." Zeff commented, he isn't mad per say, just tired.
Sanji has been having frequent nightmares recently, and it wakes up Zeff every time. And every time it happens, Sanji pretends it never happened. Zeff isn't one to prod into someone's personal life, but with his protégé waking up with a whimper or an all-out scream for help nearly every day...
He can't help being at least a little bit curious.
"O-oh... I'm sorry..." Sanji apologized "I didn't mean to wake you up.". Zeff lets out a sigh and leans on the railing on the deck, he glances over to Sanji and asks "So, what's giving yew those nightmares, eh?". Sanji tenses up. Zeff usually doesn't ask questions, especially confrontational ones. "B-bugs..." Sanji answered, it was a half-truth. there were bugs in his nightmares, but it isn't their faults. "Really? It can't just be bugs, lad." Zeff joked, letting out a laugh to cut the tension. Sanji grips the rails, like he's afraid it'll leave if he wasn't holding it. "There was the cage, it feels like it hangs over me" Sanji takes a violent gulp of air "Like it's threating me...", Sanji's breath becomes quick and desperate, he pulls back from the railing, throwing his head into his hands. He shakes like a leaf in the wind, leaving Zeff concerned. "Hey, baby eggplant, what're you talking about?" Zeff asks, putting his hand on Sanji's shoulder. Sanji flinches away from Zeff's touch, taking his hands away from his eyes to defend himself, showing his baby blue eyes to be filled with tears. "Please don't hurt me!" he yells out. Zeff backs away from his protégé's shaking body, hoping that he'll calm down if he gives him some space. Sanji's tears spilled over his cheeks, he staggers back, leading to him falling back and landing on his back. Zeff looks down at him, a sputtering crying mess. Zeff doesn't have any real experience with calming people down, but it doesn't mean he can't try. "Breathe, Sanji, breathe." Zeff whispered, keeping his volume low so he doesn't scare him. Zeff stretches his hand gently. With bleary eyes, Sanji grips onto Zeff's hand, pulling himself up. "Breathe with me." Zeff says "Close yer eyes and breathe, in and out.". Sanji sniffles and squeezes his eyes shut. He breathes in slowly, the ocean air filling his lungs. It reminds him of the Baratie, it reminds him of the All-Blue. Visions of his hopes and dreams flash by his closed eyes. And out... all the stress he'd been keeping in since waking up seeps out of him. Sanji opens his eyes, staring at Zeff with bleary eyes. "Did yew calm down enough ta talk?" Zeff asked. Taking a deep breath, Sanji responds "Yeah.."
Zeff leans back on the railing, staring out at the sea. "If yew don't wanna talk about it, I'll buzz off." Zeff said "but I'm worried 'bout yew.". Sanji looks up at his mentor and lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I keep having nightmares about my family. About the cage, about all the bugs my brothers forced me to eat.". Instead of crying, Sanji's face crinkled up into one of anger. "I was the runt of the family; but at least I wasn't a heartless monster like my brothers!" Sanji squeaks out. Zeff looked at Sanji with wide eyes, his childhood wasn't the greatest, but he wasn't locked up in a cage. "What the hell..." Zeff mutters under his breath "Where were yer folks during this?". Sanji's hands curled into fists, "My dad didn't want me around because I wasn't like my brothers.". His father's words ring in his mind. Don't tell people we're related, you're an embarrassment to this family...
Zeff stares at Sanji, clearly in shock. What is he supposed to do about this? He doesn't have any experience in comforting people, especially comforting traumatized kids...
He pulls Sanji into a hug, ruffling up his hair with his free arm. "Well, yer here now. Far away from those bastards, and Davy Jones knows that I'll never let that happen to yew again." Sanji looks up at Zeff with a hopeful gleam in his eyes "I got yer back, Baby Eggplant." Zeff lets out a belly laugh as Sanji snuggles into Zeff's coat. "I'll keep yew safe, we'll keep yew safe." Zeff says to the boy nestled in his chest. Sanji laughs between sniffles "I don't need you to protect me, crap-geezer!"