One Piece: Sea Devil Sanji

On the ocean waters of the East blue a loud scream ripped through the calm night inside the floating restaurant, Baratie.

Zeff, the head chef and owner, woke up with a start. He swiftly put on a jacket to protect himself from the cold and hurried to the source of the screaming.

He run down the corridor outside his room and without stopping he kicked down the door of the adjacent room.

The first thing he saw was Sanji writhing on the hard floor, holding his sides wimpering a silent scream.

"Hey, kid! What's wrong?! Are you alright?!" Zef tried to flip him over on his back to check him up but when he touched his shoulder he felt his hand getting burned "Ow, ow, what the hell!!"

He looked at his hand and found it burning red. He looked back at Sanji and once he got a better look at him, he found his body releasing vapor and looked Red as a tomato. The wooden floor beneath him was starting to catch fire due to the huge amount of heat he was emitting.

"I've never seen such a weird sickness in my long life" seeing Sanji in such a state, Zeff was beginning to freak out not knowing what to do. He took several calming breaths then looked around the room. He grabbed several bed sheets, wrapped them around Sanji then picked him up "I may not know what is happening to him but I need to cool him down"

When he exited the room he was met with two of the restaurant staff Patty and Carne who also woke up from the loud screaming.

"Go bring as much ice from the freezer as you can carry and hurry back to the shower room" he ordered them without explaining the situation.

"Ay sir" seeing the urgency on his face the duo didn't question his orders and hurried to accomplish their task.

Zeff quickly reached the shower room. He laid Sanji inside the tub after removing his clothes.

Patty and Carne came not long after carrying bags of ice.

"Hurry and pile them up on top of him" he got out of the way and gave them the order.

The two worked fast and filled the tub with ice leaving only his head sticking out.

Zeff edged closer and put the back of his hand on Sanji's forehead "He is still burning hot. Carne go cantact the doctor. Tell him to hurry his a.s.s up it's urgent"

Carne nodded and run out.

"For now I hope the ice would bring his temperature down"

"Execuse me sir, what's wrong with Sanji. Last I saw him in the evening he was completely fine" after a moment of silence Patty couldn't help but ask what's on his mind.

"... I don't know. All I could tell is he is suffering from a strong fever. If you could even call that a fever" he said at the end gesturing at the huge amount of steam floating from the tub.

"Are you telling me Sanji's is sick?!" Patty was baffled "But Sanji never gets sick!"

"I know..." he c.a.r.e.s.sed the boy's hair "He always had a strong constitution since he was younger. Whatever is happening to him now must be serious"

Not long after Carne came back "I just talked to the doctor. He said he will arrive at the earliest in the morning"

"Good. Now go bring more bags of ice. This batch is not going to last for long" the ice was melting fast filling the tub with water.

Through the night Sanji would sometines wake up with bloodshot eyes screaming his lungs out then he will pass out while murmuring gibberish. Other times he will be sleeping peacefull then start foaming in the mouth and shaking uncontrollably. It was a tiring night for the old man and the two cooks watching over Sanji.

Just before sunrise the doctor arrived. He fed Sanji a calming draught and ushered them ouside the shower room for him to inspect his body from head to toe.

Half an hour later the doctor came out "I am sorry to inform you Mr Zeff but this is the first case of its kind I have ever encountered so I am stumped on how to treat him"

"So is the kid going to be ok or not"

"I honestly don't know. I am actually surprised he is still alive from the amount of heat he exuding. For now keep him covered in ice that should help bring down his temperature. His body is releasing alot of vapor so you should feed him as much fluids as you can. Beyond that I am afraid I can't help him further but to give you some calming draught to keep him asleep through his ordeal"

Zeff took the medicine from the doctor and thanked him for his efforts. He escorted him outside the restaurant where a boat was waiting for them.

"I am sorry I couldn't help you further" the doctor said as he boarded the boat and waved goodbye "Contact me whenever there is a change in the patient's condition"

"I definetly will" Zeff waved back.

Sanji's condition persisted for the next three days straight till the evening of the fouth day, his complexion began to turn back from looking like a cooked lobster and slowly receded to his normal look.

On the fifth he stopped discharging vapor and his temperature started to fall down. Seeing his condition began to stabilize Zeff deemed it appropriete to move him back to his bed.

By the end of a week since he fell *sick*, Sanji finally opened his eyes. He was met by a very familiar ceiling. He tried to sit up in the bed but his body felt as if filled with lead. He slowly forced himself to move and finally managed to sit in the edge of the bed.

'Ugh... My throat is sore' he tried to speak but couldn't find his voice 'I need a cup of water'

He looked at the nightstand by his bed and spotted a water bottle and a cup. He filled himself a cup and gulped it all down "Haaahh! Much better"

After quenching his thirst he looked himself over. First thing he noticed was he was not missing a leg and hand anymore. His body lacked the muscle mass and the many scars he acc.u.mulated throughout the years.

"I can't believe I succeeded. I am actually back ten years in the past" he looked around and found his room exacly as he remembred it when he was still living in the Baratie.

In his past life after he became the World Goverment's worst enemy, they went after anybody that had any connection to him. They sent some CP9 agents to the Baratie and killed everyone onboard even unsuspecting customers as revenge for his crimes against them. So he never again expected to see his former home again.

Once the realisation hit him that he was truely in the past, he couldn't help himself but start crying "I did it. *snif* I did it. *snif* Nami. *snif* Robin. *snif* Everyone..."

He continued balling his eyes out until he felt his grumbling stomach. He dried his eyes with the back of his hands and looked out at the window "It should be around 3 AM. The old geezer and the rest should still be sleeping for another two hours before waking up for work. I should help myself for some food in the kitchen"

He groggily stood up from his bed and sniffed himself "Ugh! I smell like a dead fish. I should shower before going anywhere"

An hour later Sanji was wearing a yellow stripped shirt and a black tie underneath one of his signature black suits. A polished pair of black boots adorned his feet. His blond hair was smooth and parted above his right eye covering his left one like he used to when he was little.

He looked at his reflection on a full length mirror in his room and nodded "Much better. Now I can go fix myself something to eat"

Following his memory of the place he traveled down to the ground level and entered the kitchen. He took out the ingredients he needed from the freezer and placed them on the counter "I am still feeling a bit weak so some Hormone Soup with Sea Pork should rejuvenate my energy and strength"

Sometime later, a tantalizing aroma began to spead out of the kitchen spreading to the rest of the floating restaurant.

Slowly the residents of the Baratie began to wake up and gather around the kitchen door one by one watching Sanji prepare breakfast, wondering what kind of heavenly food he is cooking up.

After tasting the soup, making sure it was to his standards, he turned off the stove and served himself a bowl and sat at the table reserved for the chefs. He looked at the drooling spectators waiting at the door "What are you standing there for, shit-heads? Breakfast is ready, it's not going to wait for you the whole shitty day"

They were startled out their trance when he called them out. They ignored his foul mouth as they were used to him and awkwardly coughed in their fists to hide their embarass.e.m.e.nt. They orderly entered the kitchen and helped themselves for some soup.

"Are you feeling alright Sanji? You gave us a big scare the past week" asked Patty as he joined him on his table accompanied by Carne.

"Yeah, even owner Zeff was very worried for you. I never saw him that distressed before" added Carne.

"What are you talking about?" Sanji was bewildered by their questions "I don't remember doing anything to give you worry this past week"

Patty shared a look with Carne "So you don't remember anything? Actually, nevermind that actually makes sense, you were mostly out of it these past few days"

Sanji raised his eyebrow at Patty signaling him to elaborate more. So he told him of what happened the past week and how he narrowly escaped death.

"No wonder I woke up feeling sore allover" he looked at the duo accross from him and he could see them still worrying for him "I am feeling better this morning so don't worry, I will be back to 100% in no time"

"That's good to hear" Patty smiled in relief and patted his shoulder "It's good to have you back"

"Yeah, the restaurant felt dull without you strutting about flirting with the customers. So it's good seeing you up and healthy again. But you have to take it easy for the next few days and have the doctor pay a visit to make sure everything is ok"

Sanji nodded and started eating "Enough about me and start eating your food. It tastes better when it still hot"

Feeling refreshed when he finished his meal he washed his bowl and felt the need for a smoke. Heading outside to the terrace he watched to goofy smiles on the staff after eating his food. He couldn't helf feeling satisfied. It always brightened his day when he knew his food was appreciated.

Leaning on the railing he lit a cigarette and watched the sunrise.

He heard someone descend from the flight of stairs outside the kitchen and from the hard sound of wood hitting wood he knew it was from the wooden leg of Zeff.

He looked over his shoulder and found his surrogate father figure stop next to him "Good morning old geezer. I heard you were worried sick for me"

"Heh! Don't make me laugh kid. As if I would worry about a little eggplant like you" he may have said that but Sanji could still see the haggard look on his face from the past few days.

"Anyway, I am fine now" he took a puff on his cigarette and exhaled "As if I would let myself be done in by some little fever"

"I thought so too... Nevertheless you are not allowed to return to work for the next week until you are in the clear and that's final so no~" Sanji cut him off "Ok" "argui~Eh?! What?"

"I said ok old geezer. Is your age getting the better of your hearing or something"

"Nothing. It's just I am bit surprised. You always refused to take a day off from work since we opend the restaurant. I find it difficult to believe that you just accepted the week off without being the stubborn brat I know you for"

"Maybe I just felt like taking a rest once in a while"

"..."

"What?"

"Now you are starting to worry me kid. You never take rests. You are like a working bee that is high on sugar. You have always been the first to rise in the morning and the last to go to bed... Are you sure you are feeling alright?" he put his hand on Sanji's forehead to see if he still had a fever.

Sanji knew he was being out of character for his 16 years old self but that's natural as his mind is actually that of a his m.a.t.u.r.er 26 years old self.

He took one last drag of his cigarette and flicked it in the ocean below "I am perfectly fine old man. But there is something else I want to talk to you about"

Zeff raised his eyebrow and retracted his hand "And what would that be?" he was genuinely curious. Sanji wasn' the type to ask for anything unless it was to learn a new recipy or cooking technique. But this seemed like something else.

"Do you remember what my dream is?"

"To find the All Blue"

"Yeah... There is no nice way to say it but I figured if I wanted to achieve my dream I would have to leave the Baratie sooner rather than later. So I decided that after I finished recuperating I would be leaving for at least two and a half years before coming back" he looked Zeff right in his eyes to convey his resolve and nothing will change his mind on the matter.

Zeff was surprised. Reflexively he was going to forbid him from leaving as he thought he still wasn't ready. But seeing his ocean blue eyes he decided otherwise. What he saw was a war veteran who went through many life and death situations and still came up on top. The hardened eyes that belonged to someone who went through hell and came back but still has the will to fight for what he deemed worthy. He doesn't know what changed in him after his ordeal but he hopes it's for the better. So he gave his consent and wordlessly nodded his head.

Zeff smiled down at Sanji "And here I thought I would have to kick you out myself a couple of years later for you to follow your dream. I guess even a little eggplant like you could still give me surprises"

"You still haven't seen nothing old man" Sanji smiled back "You better go prepare for work. It won't be long before the first customers came by"

"Allright, I'll be going so take it easy and try to conserve your strength"

For the next week Sanji spent it relaxing around the restaurant. Sometimes he would cook some meals to cure his boredom but doing nothing major.

He got a backpack and filled it with some spare clothes and survival necessities. He told Zeff he was going to go chase after his dream, he didn't actually lie as what he is planning will help him in his future endeavors, but he actually planned to put himself on a grueling training regime for the whole time on an island somewhere in the East Blue. For a sixteen years old he was considered strong for his age but he knew he was far too weak to face the dangers to come. He has to get strong and fast.

He acquired some maps and after browsing through them he selected an isolated island called Oahu. The island is known for its harsh humid environment. It is said, it's impossible for a normal human being to live on that island as it's like living underwater.

You could actually drown and die if you stayed long enough on the the island. In addition if you wandered deeper inside you would feel an increasing pressure that said could crush a body as if it was ten thousand meters underwater in the center of the island. Nothing lives on the island except some monsters called Night Marchers — the name alone is enough to scare the shit out of you. Legend has it that they're the spirits of ancient warriors who walk the forest carrying torches.

He decided it was an adequate place for what he has in mind.

The news of him leaving somehow spread to all the staff members and on his last night they threw him a giant party wishing him good luck in his journey.

Early the next morning he bid everyone a tearful goodbye and boarded the ship that always deliver the weekly supplies heading for the nearest island.