Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You can’t do this!” She cried beautifully, her hands clutching at his shirt. Well, it was originally a shirt, a classy blue shirt, that he really liked. But now, the blood had tainted it so much it wasn’t recognizable.

He put one hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry Nami-san, we have to do everything we can and it might even work better this way-“

“YOU DON’T KNOW THAT!”

She was shaking, her eyes wide open in desperation and the tears falling without restrain. While he was taken aback by her outburst, he tried not to show it. They didn’t have time. The walls and the ground were trembling, shouts of their enemies echoing and soon, even with the effort of their nakama, they were going to enter the room and stop them. They couldn’t afford that.

“Nami-san, it’s okay, we’re going to be…” He didn’t finish his sentence. She looked at her hand becoming more and more inconsistent. She was still afraid, her tears were still falling but then, she looked at him with resolution.

“Remember. Luffy forbade it! You can’t go against Captain’s orders!” She was vanishing fast before his eyes. There was no way he could catch her anymore and her voice became an echo. “You can’t-“

She was gone. His heart broke, again. It happened, again. He hadn’t been able to do anything to stop it. But he could still save her, save them. He will not mourn. He didn’t have time and, if everything went right, there wouldn’t need time.

He took a deep breath when Franky suddenly threw at him the can. “She’s gone?”

He nodded, ignored the curse under Franky’s breath, and looked at the new Raid Suit. It wasn’t black anymore but blue and in the place of the “3” was the Straw Hats skull. Their symbol. His family.

“I did my best. I still don’t know how the Lineage Factor works so it’ll only work for you.”

“Thanks.”

Franky seemed to hesitate a second before speaking. “It will… stop the bleeding too. But it won’t…”

“I know.” He interrupted him. He knew the cyborg was only being nice but he didn’t want his kindness. He could only think about what was ahead of them and how to fix everything. They could do it. They had to. There was no other choice.

Franky didn’t mind and went back to the machine which Usopp was still working on, giving a helping hand.

The ground was still shaking and the shouts were closer now. He could even sense the marimo’s Haki and feel the cold that Brook sprayed all around him while fighting.

He didn’t hesitate a second, put the Raid Suit and felt… changing. It didn’t hurt, and since he was in pain moments ago it was a welcome change, but it felt weird. His mind calmed and processed easily the changes. He knew his body was strong and hard, his eyes could see more acutely, all of his senses were sharper even without using his Haki. There was no feeling of right or wrong, it just was. He was almost not afraid, but it wasn’t true. He had just a self-control of his feelings that he never knew he had. He was relieved by that fact. He was stronger and still had his humanity. That was all he needed.

Usopp got out of the kind of submarine and stopped one second to watch him. He didn’t say what he was thinking, they didn’t have time, so he just turned to Franky. “It’s as good as it can be.”

“For me too.” Franky put one last hammer blow on the machine and retreated to watch his work.

“Fran-Franky!” Usopp pointed his finger at the cyborg who was irremediably smaller than before.

In fact, he was exactly the same as when they first met him. Franky cursed loudly. Another change. It was still minor but for their plan, it could be catastrophic.

“Let’s hurry.”

They both turned to him, Usopp still a bit shocked, but then agreed and jumped in the machine. He followed them, his black cape draped around him in the small cockpit.

A door exploded behind them and a well-known swordsman flew next to them. It was time.

“GO! NOW!” He shouted.

They didn’t need to be told twice. Soldiers were already in the lab and even in his state, Roronoa Zoro wouldn’t go down against these small fries but they had to hurry. Usopp pushed three boutons while Franky turned a crank as fast as he could. A portal opened in front of the machine and it swallowed them all.

They were gone. No matter what now, everything rested in the hands of those three.

Zoro clenched his jaw harder on Wado Ichimonji and ran to the soldiers. His job wasn’t over. And until it wasn’t done, he couldn’t die.

Not again.

Chapter Text

The colors were psychedelic and spiraled, or were they? All his senses were upside down, there was not a thing that was correct and all he was capable of thinking was that his body wasn’t normal, because the sensation of how wrong it was didn’t seem to be really bothering him. Then, Usopp screamed and his body turned into light before it evaporated. Franky screamed too and now, he could feel it, the pain, this incommensurable pain. It was like his limbs were aging while his face softened, then it was the other way around and everything didn’t make any sense anymore.

The pain was so intense and beyond all he ever experimented that he was sure, he was going to die. They were all going to die and everything they wanted to save and protect would be gone, forever. He couldn’t let it happen, he had to live, no matter what, and save them all. He had to.

A brilliant light blinded him and he lost consciousness before he knew it.

He woke up abruptly on the grass, the sun shining brightly above him. It was over. He still felt sore everywhere but he was alive. His head hurt like a bitch and seeing odd colors in place of normal ones was not the best but hey, he survived!

He sat slowly and looked around him. His feet were still in the machine, one side completely torn, while half of his body was out in the open air. Franky was… well. He was here. He wasn’t alive and it was probably the only thing that Sanji would let himself guess.

Time travel. It wasn’t really the first time they heard of it since they helped Momonosuke reclaim his home after his mother send him and his samurai 20 years into the future. But she used a Devil Fruit. That was so different, so safe, compared to what they just did.

In reality, he was the oddity. He survived a trip that no living being should have survived. Franky and Usopp thought that, if they were all protected inside the machine, they wouldn’t suffer the consequences of the trip. And in fact, they weren’t wrong. The machine was intact, mostly.

They had another theory, something Sanji really didn’t like. Even if the machine worked, there was no telling what would happen after their landing. It was possible that surviving the trip wasn’t enough and getting out of the machine would kill them. The theory was lost to Sanji but the solution was simple. They had to build something to protect them even outside the machine. A cyborg like Franky was by definition the perfect solution. He made iron suits for the others to wear but for Sanji, there was no need. A modified Raid Suit was all he needed. It would certainly alter his body permanently but not his mind, having all the strength without the weakness.

And now, he looked at it. The black cape had the flag of the Straw Hats inked on it. The suit in itself was still black but his boots lost the thrusters, looking like his favorite pair of shoes. He had a black mask to cover the lower half of his face but he could take it off if he wanted. The sunglasses were a pale blue and larger than the original. They had another purpose than shielding his eyes but right now, he was grateful they were there.

The last thing was his hair. They didn’t spike at least but they were all black and he hated it.

He looked at Franky and refrained a wave of sadness. Usopp didn’t survive the trip and, if Franky hadn’t changed back to his earlier years, he would have lived. It meant his own body was totally different from an ordinary human and he felt it. The skin of his face was like stretched and even if moving was easy, there was a stillness in his limbs that felt alien.

It was the price to pay for time travel. And there was no turning back.

He lifted his hand to press at the side of the sunglasses and immediately the data were displayed before his eyes. The date and place were the most important and he sighed with relief. He had time. He was at the right place.

He got out of the machine and walked a bit. He needed air. He felt all his sorrow and normally, he would cry and scream and become totally mad. He should express the turmoil of his emotions, not stay calm like that. He should be more upset. And he was. He just wasn’t able to show it. Maybe he was in shock, and that was true, he just watched his nakama die in front of his eyes after all, but that wasn’t all. The new Raid Suit was the problem. It was like it dampened all his emotions.

He was so hurt yet couldn’t cry. His respiration was even, just a little faster than normal, and that was all.

He sat on the grass and thought that it was a moment like this one when he would smoke an entire pack of cigarettes. That was the worst because he realized that he didn’t want to smoke. The need wasn’t there.

It took him half an hour to really calm down. At least, that was what he was telling himself. He couldn’t mope any longer. He wasn’t important anymore. He needed to bury his pain. Maybe it was a blessing since the Raid Suit allowed him to feel without going mad. He would be able to achieve his mission more easily.

He took the time to bury Franky, what was left of him anyway. The machine was huge and heavy, but a few kicks destroyed it enough so he could bury the debris. No need to let people find a time machine, no matter how useless it was right now.

Sanji then departed. He had time but time was priceless and he really didn’t want to miss his timing so he flew fast in the sky.

First thing first in his to-do list: save the marimo.

Chapter Text

Waiting for the worst to happen was really not something he liked. But he didn’t really know what was going to happen. The theory of time travel was exactly like Luffy said: a mysterious thing. There was no other way to describe it.

Nami-san tried to find a logic explanation to this all but there was none. The world and themselves changed, sometimes abruptly like when she disappeared before his eyes, sometimes gradually, like when the body of Franky reversed to his body from 2 years ago, and sometimes, they didn’t even remember there was a change, like when they all was wondering who was this skeleton on their ship. Even Brook didn’t know what he was doing here.

They still remembered a lot, in fact, they were the most affected by the changes in the past so they could immediately see when something was wrong. It was a bit random but they mostly remembered their first past.

That was why Sanji was out there, in the past, to preserve it like he remembered. He didn’t know what was going to happen. He just knew one thing. That it was the first time the past was altered. Irremediably and horribly.

But even if he didn’t know what was going to happen, someone else knew. That was why his sunglasses were so important. They put in all the data they could, their memories and their lack of memories, the natural causes of obvious consequences, all to prevent the said causes. They all had these data with them at all time just to not forget, no matter what, and Franky had incorporated them to his Raid Suit almost immediately when they decided Sanji would need it.

Thanks to all these information, he knew that the first major incident against his nakama would happen soon, where he was, and concerned particularly the marimo.

If he wasn’t tired, and stressed, and afraid for everyone, he would have let a little chuckle escape him just at the thought of saving the swordman’s ass. But of course, there was another issue.

There was no telling him what would happen if he was discovered. Sure, his nakama would not attack him for no reason, and he was here to save them so they wouldn’t have a reason, but the consequences of revealing the existence of time travel would be like falling in a rabbit hole. That and… well. He may be alive but everyone wasn’t. Or it was worse and death would have been better. And he really didn’t want to break this kind of news, especially when he was here to prevent them from happening.

Still, his Raid Suit would prevent them to recognize him immediately. Except his past self, or Torao, or any fan of comics from North Blue, nobody would make a connection between him and the Vinsmoke, Germa and the Raid Suit. Plus, he was able to turn invisible. He was fast. There was no way he would betray himself easily.

He sighed heavily. There was one thing he should do to be sure that his identity stayed hidden but he lacked the will. His cape proudly displayed the emblem of the Straw Hats. He was proud to be part of Luffy’s crew and he already promised to never leave them again. Erasing Luffy’s flag was the clever thing to do but he wasn’t going to do it. His invisibility and stealth would have to do.

A window popped up in front of him and showed a radio signal. 

He heard the scream of a woman and sprinted towards her. It had begun. He knew this voice, it was Nami-san. He clocked himself, feeling infinitely more tired than before. Maybe the suit was already at his limits? He hoped not.

He jumped high and finally saw what was happening. A machine as big as the Merry was coming out of the water, two blades at the front, ready to attack Usopp, Nami-san and Vivi-chan. One marimo was already running towards them, all blades out, and jumped in between the robot and his nakama.

Sanji didn’t need to use his Observation Haki to know for sure that it was the reason this moron would be severely injured. It was a time before he could cut a ship in two, hell, he couldn’t even cut steel yet!

He couldn’t dwell on it for the moment so he just jumped higher before launching a strong kick from above. The robot caved in and broke in half, the front of the body completely buried in the ground. The girls and Usopp screamed, terrified, while the swordsman looked totally lost.

“Good Job, Zoro! Exactly as I predicted!” The knees of the sharpshooter were immensely shaking for a voice so assured.

It was time to go. The robot was completely destroyed and nobody saw him. The marimo was still wondering what just happened but it wasn’t really important.

Sanji: 1. Robots: 0.

Round One over. Off to the next.

Chapter Text

Travelling to Alabasta was surprisingly easy. It was probably all the problems Luffy attracted that slowed them down so much the first time around. It helped that he had a digitized Log Pose on him and the beautiful Nami-san’s map to guide him. He just needed a little boat and if the weather was really bad, he still could fly away with his Sky Walk. He didn’t want to use it too often, having noticed in his first sort-of fight that the more he used the suit, the more it tired him.

It didn’t forget that it was the Raid Suit that kept him alive, even now. No one knew the real consequences of time travel for humans but it was probably not good. He didn’t feel pain, at least for the moment, but the strain on his body was not to dismiss. It has been a few days since he arrived in the past and he discovered three things.

He was boneless tired. Sleeping helped a bit but he couldn’t afford to spend his time to sleep since he had to get as fast as he could to his next place and time to protect his nakama.

He was always hungry. It was probably a good thing, it meant he was still alive. But even if he was the best coq he knew on Grand Line, he wasn’t successful to satisfy his own hunger just once. And like sleeping, he couldn’t just eat all day.

The third thing was more disturbing. He felt like his organs moved sometimes. It didn’t hurt but it wasn’t normal at all. He creeped him a lot. Fortunately, the exhaustion and hunger were two good distractions but he was still worried. The Raid Suit wasn’t the cause of this… irregularity. And it was possible that in terms, it would lead to something more awful than just discomfort.

When he arrived to Alabasta, Luffy and the others weren’t supposed to be here in at least a week. His next saving was supposed to happen just after the end of the war. He had time. A lot of time. Time to recess, and regret, and calm himself down with the strange ability the Raid Suit gave him.

He told himself it wasn’t that bad. He was alone now but he was going to fix everything, for them. He was beyond saving, he knew that. But what he was doing now would prevent them to suffer what had been done to them. It wasn’t right. What he remembered was. He was just putting them all on the right path of their lives and they wouldn’t even know but it was for the best.

Sanji knew he was thinking like theses bastards who thought they were gods but he didn’t care. He just wanted to save his nakama no matter what. And, in fact, he had to think this way, because it was really something that happened to all of them, on purpose. Everything and everyone who were related to them were affected by all of the changes they knew was decided beforehand with only one goal: to destroy them.

When the crew found out about this truth, it was already too late. Things had already turned out for the worst and their ultimate plan was this time travel rescue.

“What a fucking shit!” Sanji exhaled the smoke of his cigarette because, even if he didn’t need to, or didn’t have the want to, he was probably going to die a horrible death and he wanted to do something that he was used to.

Since he had time, he decided to visit a bit more Vivi-chan’s country. They really just ran in all directions the first time around and he remembered that he wasn’t in a mood to do sightseeing. From the first day he realized that he still wasn’t in the mood with all the problems the country was still facing.

Then, he took the time to find a way to cover the Straw Hats on his cape because it really wasn’t smart to wander around like this just before all hell broke loose. Smoker and the marines would be there, Crocodile would be soon on the lookout and he definitely didn’t want to stay invisible forever. Plus, it was tiring. He would need the ability while fighting so he had to preserve his strengths.

He tried to sew a piece of fabric over the emblem but of course, the Raid Suit was impossible to pierce with a simple needle. He decided to paint it black and even covered, he still could see it but it was way more inconspicuous than before. He felt also a bit relieved because he could remove the paint if he wanted to.

The days passed slowly. When the war began, Sanji was mad at himself because he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t help Vivi-chan and had to let people get killed uselessly in front of his eyes. But the reasonable part of him knew this was how it was supposed to be, and the Raid Suit had dampened his emotions enough that he could hear it. He didn’t like it one bit. But it was also a rite of passage for their crew. The marimo would finally be able to cut steel. Nami-san would gain the confidence to become a real and strong fighter. The bond between Usopp and Chopper would grow stronger. His own fight was not easy either.

Ah, maybe Luffy could have been faster at beating this Crocodile. But it was his fight and he well knew not to involve himself in one of his Captain’s fights.

The sight of the Shichibukai in the sky didn’t lose its appeal. Sanji looked at it and smiled softly. It was soon his turn to fight.

The palace was easy to sneak in but Sanji wasn’t surprised. His Haki helped him to bypass any guard there was in the garden, totally covered by sand, and he jumped to the roof, just above the window where all his nakama were resting.

It still didn’t have the memories of the incident but he knew the consequences. If he didn’t do anything, Vivi-chan would die and Luffy… It would become one of the major setbacks for the crew. Something that was beyond repair, no matter what Luffy would say or do to try to reassure them.

The hours of the night were pure torture. He was beginning to hate waiting. He couldn’t do anything, not really, until something happened. And if he wasn’t fast enough…

He forced himself to concentrate, letting his Haki quietly watch all the area for something suspicious. Finally, at dawn, a window popped up. Another radio wave, like last time.

He didn’t have time to think of this strange coincidence when he heard something coming from the ground. The palace shook like during an earthquake and the floor of the sandy garden opened wide.

The robot was a huge centipede with blades in place of its insect legs and its mouth was a gaping hole filled with spinning blades. A fucking killing machine, so big the palace was beginning to crack when it started to climb the wall.

He didn’t let it approach any closer to the windows and kicked the head so hard he felt his own organs shift under the shock. The sensation disturbed him a lot and he landed awkwardly on the sand. Much to his horror, the robot-insect didn’t let go of the wall and even destabilized as it was, it was still climbing with its blade-legs. Then he saw the familiar green-haired man jumping from the window and literally pushing the robot with his katana and his pure strength.

That was bad. That was really really bad. This robot shouldn’t be this strong. Or maybe it was him who was weaker? He didn’t have time to think about it. The robot had to go, like, yesterday.

The sun was shining over the mess the centipede had created in the garden and the marimo who was struggling to not be cut in thousands of pieces. He dashed to the left and bumped to Sanji who had just cloaked himself moments ago, because of course when he didn’t want to be noticed he had to be discovered the worse way possible.

The marimo was lying down in front of the giant not friendly robot-insect, the perfect easy prey for all the haters of crew members of the Straw Hats. Sanji jumped between the swordsman and the robot and put his leg up at the same time the centipede attacked.

“Crap!” His leg was in the mouth, the spinning blades trying without success to tear apart his limb. Thanks to the Raid Suit and his Haki, he didn’t have a scratch. But he had to let go of his invisibility, it tired him too much and now the marimo was looking straight at him.

The centipede was not pleased to be unable to eat his new prey and lifted his upper body, Sanji’s leg still in his mouth. With one swift movement, he kicked the robot and dented the metal, enough for him to escape. He landed next to the swordsman who looked at him like he was an extraterrestrial being.

“Who are you?”

He didn’t answer. Then his leg gave up and he fell on his ass. His body was impossible to predict and he was sure that the fight would have been easier if he was in his normal state. He tried to assess his strengths when the robot just jumped at them. The marimo, his three katana in perfect position, stopped the robot in his momentum and the force of the shock blew sand all around them. Great, he was protected by the marimo now. That was just his day.

The noise of the fight was enough to bring more people in the garden and Sanji thought that was it. He was already out of luck because he clearly saw Chopper and Luffy looking at them. The marimo was struggling, his feet slipping slowly on the unstable ground and the blade-legs were getting dangerously closer to him than before.

Finally, he saw himself in the corner of his eyes and he had to be fast and use everything he had before everything went to shit more than it already was.

He let himself feel all his emotions at once, counteracting the dampener of the Raid Suit, and his leg caught on fire. He got up, kicked the marimo with the leg not in fire, since he was totally on the way and it wouldn’t kill him anyway, and made him collide with his younger self. Like this, it killed two birds in one stone.

In a few seconds, he flew to the sky, hardened his inflamed leg and kicked the strongest of his kicks. The robot burned and melted and it was finally over.

“SO COOL!” Luffy was ecstatic.

Time to go.

Sanji ignored his fatigue and now the dull pain in his body, because of course now he would feel pain, and ran as fast as he could. Fortunately, he was still way faster than anyone of his crew. He escaped just in time but that was such a mess. They saw him. And he wasn’t as strong as he thought. His body was deteriorating with time, probably faster when he fought, and that was why he was weaker now than he was at his arrival.

He was out of breath, hungry, and sometimes a wave of mild pain shot through his body. And everything was worth it. Vivi-chan was alive and Luffy was whole again. He could continue. He had to. There was no other way. That was the path he chose.

Even if it meant disobeying his Captain.

Chapter Text

After Alabasta, it became obvious that a signal was sent just before an attack. Sanji already knew who it was and their goal, now he could hypothesize the how. There were two possibilities. The signals and the robots came from the future or the robots were already in place and the signals woke them up when they were needed. Except he remembered how the time machine had been torn when he landed. The memory of the body of Franky flashed before him but he quickly chased it away.

The first robot was an old one, nothing like some of the more advanced robots he had to fight in the future. The second one was made of steel or something weaker because he was able to dent it easily. The second hypothesis was probably the right one. The fact that these kinds of robots were everywhere in the world was disturbing but it was probably the reason the robots weren’t really strong. They were still dangerous enough for his crew so he had to be careful.

The next place the crew would be in danger was odd. As always, he had no memories of what happened but the data were clear. The next problem would be at Skypiea. Apart from the fact that Sky Islands were well hidden from the rest of the world, there was the huge concern about how anyone would know of the whereabouts of the Straw Hats crew.

It wasn’t impossible to trace them all, even before they were famous. And since their enemy was part of the World Government, it was even more possible. But how did they manage to put a robot on a Sky Island? Was it there all along? Did they send a signal before he himself traveled in the past so it could travel and attack at the right moment?

He pondered about it while his little boat crossed the sea to Jaya Island. He still didn’t know how he was going to go to Skypiea either. He couldn’t board the Merry clandestinely, the poor boat was too small for him to hide, the journey in itself was chaotic at best and the risk of being discovered was too high.

He could try to climb the Knock-Up stream at the same time as the crew but he didn’t have a real boat, he didn’t know how to modify it to fly it in the sky nor did he have the talent to make it fly like their beautiful navigator.

There was one last solution but he wasn’t sure if it really was a good idea.

He discarded it in a corner of his mind and thought of another way to fight the robot without having to actually climb all the way up. It was a bit strange that the robot would already be on the Sky Islands. 400 years had passed since Skypiea had been launched in the sky. And that was for the more recent island. Robots from over 400 years could exist but they wouldn’t be really strong against Luffy, the swordsman and his past self. Even Chopper and Usopp would be able to take it down, not without fear, but still.

It would mean that the robot was already on his way or would be send from a nearby location. Sanji would be lucky if it came from Jaya Island but he doubted that. There were other islands or boats in the area and he knew that some of these robots could swim in the waters of Grand Line like any other Sea Monster. It was a risk but waiting for a signal and catching the robot before it went to Skypiea was the best course of action for his body.

There was still a chance there was already a robot on the Sky Islands. If it was the case, he just had to use his last resort. He hoped he would not have to use it.

-

Time wasn’t flying fast since he arrived at Jaya. He tried to stay out of trouble, eat and sleep as much as he could, and read over and over the data. He tried to decipher the origin of the two radio signals he received with no luck. It was certainly not a good thing but he was so bored. He had nothing to do except recessing all his memories and mistakes. Seeing the last expression of Nami-san. Hearing the scream of Usopp and Franky just before they died. To feel his own blood soaking his shirt.

He tried to chase them away but they kept coming back. It was probably because he had lived them. He remembered other things but they happened to him in the past, and his nakama told him different memories that happened at the same time that he had totally forgotten. It felt wrong to think about theses rewritten memories, like he knew they were fake.

He tried to think of happy memories and there were a lot actually. Even while some things were changing, they were together and moments of joy appeared easily. The first time they met Brook, well, the second time they first met him, Luffy accepted him immediately and Brook’s music was truly welcomed at this time of uncertainty and doubt. Having a skeleton on board wasn’t the most surprising thing in this world. After all, time travel was real.

The Straw Hats crew finally arrived at Jaya Island with all the energy their crew had in store, and Sanji wasn’t worried. His nakama had still to go up in the sky so there was still time for any robot to fly, or jump, or do something, anything, to go after them. There was no way it would be already up there, waiting for them to sail on the Sea Clouds to attack them, right?

No signal and the Merry was already in the center of the whirlpool. The Knock-Up Stream was almost ready. Sanji was hiding in one of the big ships of their allies, two monkeys that he totally forgot because they were monkeys, obviously, but he still remembered Montblanc, so they were probably friends with the old man. He saw a boat, a raft really, sailing towards the Merry. Was his memory at fault or he totally occulted this information when it happened because he really didn’t remember that raft. When the Knock-Up stream started and created a giant geyser, the little boat was totally destroyed while the two big ships swayed violently against the big wave of the sea and he watched as his nakama flew away from him.

That was the worst possible thing to happen. No signal meant no robot. And now that his nakama were going to the sky, he had to follow them. He couldn’t let them fight for themselves against a threat they didn’t even know existed just because he didn’t want to use his last resort. It was too late for that.

He took a deep breath and used his Sky Walk, ignoring the surprised shouts behind him. He needed all his strengths if he wanted to do this, so no invisibility. One foot after the other, he went closer to the giant geyser, always higher. He knew he was close enough when he felt the force of the wind under his feet. That was the moment he chose to jump vertically.

He was flying really fast, only giving a little push from his foot when he sensed himself slowing down. He didn’t think it would be this easy. It was surprisingly fun!

He could see the Going Merry far away from him and going further away but it was okay. There was still no signal and the wind was strong. He took a stronger step just to not lose sight of his nakama and because he could. He was flying to the Sky Islands on foot! He loved it and probably for the first time since he traveled to the past, he smiled happily.

Of course, the joy had to be cut short when he entered the cloud. The water from the Sea Cloud was freezing and he became almost blind. The pressure was strong and it almost crushed him but he knew by experience it wouldn’t.

He used his Haki to feel where the Merry was just to be sure that he was going to the right direction. His sunglasses showed him the kilometers he still needed to cross and it was a lot. His legs were strong and he knew how to preserve his strength and his breath, so he wasn’t really worried. He had time since there was no signal to the robot to attack. He was more concerned about how he was going to fight. He couldn’t afford to lose but the journey to Skypiea was certainly going to be a huge strain on his body.

“We’ll see.” He thought while giving a new strong kick. The Merry was so much further now that even with his Haki, he struggled to know her position. He didn’t want to totally lose the presence of his nakama but he knew they were faster than him and that he would never be able to catch up with them.

When he lost their presence, he felt a bit lost at first before rapidly calming himself down. He let the artificial calm of the Raid Suit take over because he should just concentrate on going up and not be sad for a stupid reason like loneliness. There still was a long way so it was for the best.

There was still one kilometer before he could claim he flew all the way up from the ground to the Sky Islands when a window popped up in front of his eyes with the new radio wave.

He was furious. Not only he wasn’t ready but he couldn’t see anything in the fog of the cloud. He only knew that Luffy would be hurt and they would lose Merry. Even if he was fast enough to pull through the cloud, he still had to find the ship and Luffy, their Captain being always difficult to find.

He clenched his teeth, dreaming of his favorite cigarettes, and sped up to the surface. He looked for his nakama with his Haki on full display, not caring at all if it was wise or not, and tried to locate the robot but it was more difficult since it wasn’t a living being. Finally, he sensed humans, but not his nakama. He was close. At 100 meters from the 10 000 meters mark of the Sky Islands, he felt him. The marimo.

He swam towards him, still blinded by the cloud, when he hit something, hard. He lost his focus and fell downwards head first.

“What was that?” He touched his face and there, it was a dent. His body was dented all over.

He turned around while his body took back his normal form, swimming as fast as he could. He hadn’t seen it in the cloud and just rammed into it at full speed but this was it, the robot. One powerful kick later and he was above the Sea Cloud, at last.

The first thing he saw was obviously a green swordsman fighting against a flying robot. He had to be involved in a rescue that didn’t involve him, obviously. Sure, Sanji probably had tackled the robot towards the marimo by accident but really, what were the odds that the robot would attack him instead of his initial target?

Or maybe there was no target assigned and Sanji had already changed the past and put the marimo in danger. Great. He hated time travel theories.

He put his thoughts aside and targeted the head of the giant bird metallic with his heel when the robot turned abruptly and dodged him at the last second.

“Shit!” His target gone, his heel totally destroyed the ground and one big crack was visible up to the cliff. He had to be careful here. This land was precious to these people and he couldn’t just smash everything like nothing mattered.

“What the-? You again!”

“Yes yes, me again.” He couldn’t really help it, the marimo always had a knack for pissing him of. He refrained to be loud since he was supposed to not be here but well, he was starting to care less and less about that.

“Do you know something about this thing?”

And this mosshead had to ask. It was obvious, because even if he was an idiot, he had to fight against three robots already and during two times, he had seen him flying to his rescue.

Thankfully, the bird-robot attacked them. The marimo just had the time to throw himself on the side while Sanji didn’t bulge. If he wanted to fight seriously without destroying the ground, he had to fight in the sky. So, first thing first, since the robot could fly…

He ran so fast that he almost saw time slowing down and with a perfect kick against the belly of the robot, the fake bird flew away and without grace. His eyes landed on his foot and he winced. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Your foot!”

“Thank you marimo, like I didn’t already notice.” He carefully didn’t say.

The journey of 10 000 meters had really taken its toll on his body. The foot he had used to kick the robot was bent in an odd angle but without pain, he was only realizing it now. He simply took his leg and an ugly noise who would have freaked him in the past was heard in the jungle. Now his foot was correctly aligned with his leg and the marimo’s expression was priceless.

The robot above them screamed like it wasn’t happy to be ignored. Sanji was gladly going to kick its robot ass since it asked for it.

“Hey, after I kicked this bird ass, we need to talk!” And the marimo put his final blade between his teeth.

Sanji chose to not reply because he wasn’t supposed to be here. He jumped high enough until he was in front of the bird and kicked it. The bird dodged, as expected, and took the full blow of the powerful kick from his other foot, at the joint of its neck. He heard a familiar sound and his foot wasn’t at the right angle, again. But at least the bird was going in the right direction, the Sea Clouds.

He quickly put his foot back in place and followed the bird which was still kicking and living, as far as a robot could live. It had lost its speed and had difficulties to stay in the air. He easily kicked it again and again, and this time he was careful to not bent his own feet. The bird tried everything, dodging, attacking, fleeing to the trees with no success. It was already trapped. Sanji targeted the same place on its neck over and over until he felt the first sign of a crack. Then, he let his fury free and set himself on fire. He jumped higher and spun on himself, the flames engulfing his whole body. He let himself fall and kicked as strong as his Haki would allow him, the flame burning the metal and finally, the neck snapped and the robot fell into the Sea Clouds. It sank fast and it would soon fall from 10 000 meters into the sea under them.

Sanji landed at the edge of the cliff. He was tired. And hungry. And his body hurt all over. He was able to not bent his foot with his last attack and the flames had felt good. But it was time for him to leave.

He looked at the marimo who had a stupid expression on his face, as always. He tried not to smile.

“You still have a job to do.”

And just like that, he let himself fall.

Chapter Text

He understood something after his fight on Skypiea. The Raid Suit was becoming a hindrance. It also was the only thing keeping him alive right now.

While fighting, the Raid Suit was like a suit too small for him. His Haki wasn’t as strong as he would like it to be and he couldn’t produce flames easily. His emotions were dampened somehow and maybe it was the reason all along for his lack of strength. And each time he used his invisibility or when he felt the calm coming from the Raid Suit, his fatigue and his hunger would spike abruptly.

That wasn’t all. He could lower the influence of the Raid Suit on himself, kind of, to allow him to use his flames and his Haki with more efficiency. In doing so, an insidious pain would crawl under his skin and spread throughout his body.

He had to make a choice. Being tired and hungry was a huge problem while feeling a dull pain permanently wasn’t. So, he chose to lower the influence of the Raid Suit at all time just a bit and slept and ate the same amount as a certain swordsman and captain combined. It was still a lot but it was better than before.

Now, for the time being, he was supposed to do nothing. Since he had successfully protected his nakama the three times they were attacked, the past had been reestablished as he remembered, at least until the next attack.

He was really supposed to do nothing, sit and watch the events unfold like they were supposed to happen the first time. He didn’t have to involve himself, nor hide his presence while protecting his nakama. He really had nothing else to do but wait and prepare for his next course of action.

Except he just couldn’t do nothing. He knew very well that it was a bad idea, he should trust his nakama and let them fight their fight on their own. He only had to rectify the past which has been changed because of his future. Except he was Sanji, a member of the Straw Hats crew, no matter what past, present or future he was coming from, and he couldn’t just let Robin-chan suffer without helping her.

He told himself it was to make sure the past was on the right track, that he couldn’t just cross his fingers that no problem would appear and let the past be twisted irremediably.

Enies Lobby was, in fact, not the worst change in their past, even if it still was horrible, but it was a turning point in their life and their journey the first time, therefore it was devastating for their future when it changed. He thought about it, because the first time, they were truly lucky to pull through against all odds. Now, he understood why they failed to succeed after suffering three surprise attacks from the enemy’s robots. They were sent to hurt Luffy the most, and the mosshead too, both mentally and physically, which would result in failure to save their nakama from the World Government.

In the future, his future, the one he wanted to erase, Robin-chan had vanished in front of their eyes without a word. It was eerie how the future fixed itself without any logic. She had been there, eating and smiling one second, and gone the next. No memories helped them to exactly know what happened to her but the old newspapers in Nami-san’s room told them the horrible truth. She had been captured at Enies Lobby and was still in the clutch of the World Government two years later.

Luffy had already lost his arms at that moment but he didn’t care and just wanted Robin-chan back. But the thing wasn’t easy and they had already decided on a plan to destroy the time machine to not be harmed more than they already were. Franky had still his theory about changing the past, again, so everything would go back to normal. At that moment, this plan was probably their last hope to fix everything that changed them, the world and every person they encountered during their journey.

Luffy was, by all means, not pleased by the idea. Maybe he knew that, even if they rectified the past, it wouldn’t change anything for them. It was too late for that. What wasn’t too late was to save their nakama and Sanji agreed. In fact, everyone agreed. They separated themselves in two groups: one to rescue Robin-chan and the other to find the time machine. The second group was free to use it if they wanted to and if they could, but ultimately, they had to destroy it as well as all the blueprints and data that were directly or indirectly related to time travel.

He was, obviously, in the first group. He really didn’t know how everything went from bad to absolutely the worst but since their past was catching up to them repeatedly, he should have known. When Luffy got captured while Robin-chan was still imprisoned, there was nothing else they could do anymore except accept reality and give up.

Usopp was surprisingly the only one who never gave up on the idea of changing the past. He and Franky worked on their own time machine without even sleeping, saying that it was absolutely going to work. They knew it was probably a one-way trip and Luffy wouldn’t want them to risk everything on this slim chance of what-if but it gave them hope of a better future at least.

Sanji couldn’t help himself but think that Luffy’s instinct about all this shit of time travel was right, in some way. It was clear he was stranded here until he died and that he would never be able to live as himself anymore. And he would never know if his presence actually saved his nakama in the future or if it was just impossible and he just created a new timeline.

He never regretted his choice however. He couldn’t and he shouldn’t. He was doing this for his nakama and for himself after all. Seeing them happy, whole and safe, was all he ever wanted now.

Maybe it was because he had regained the full scale of his emotions that he wanted to help them get Robin-chan back, or maybe he didn’t want his nakama to fail. Nonetheless, he decided he would be part of this rescue, and damned the consequences!

It was stupid. He should have known that nothing would go to plan when he laid his eyes on the train and the dinosaurs pulling it up. And since when dinosaurs needed sunglasses? At night? Whatever…

He just wanted to clandestinely jump on the roof of the mini-train and wait for his nakama to scatter before even thinking about participating to anything.

He admitted, he totally forgot the big bad storm Aqua Laguna. To his credit, he didn’t have to worry about it since the first time he was already on the first train when it started and the only thing that mattered at this moment was to get Robin-chan back from the agents of the CP9.

Still, being find out almost immediately by every person in the mini-train because he didn’t have a good grip on the metal and made a dent on the roof with his foot just to secure himself was stupid.

The back door opened and a guy looked at him like he was a really strange specimen. Sanji sighed. Well, at least his past self wasn’t here to recognize him.

“What are you doing up there? Are you with the others?” Paulie shouted at him.

“I need a ride.” He had to shout in response because of the storm. To say the guy was surprised was an understatement. He finally turned to talk to someone inside when Luffy’s head popped up and he smiled broadly.

“It’s him! It’s him! It’s the superhero!”

Sanji heard all kind of reactions from the inside and sighed again. Right, the Raid Suit was like a dream came true for his Captain.

He jumped on the railing then inside the wagon when the shipwright let him pass. Everyone was looking at him, some people more enthusiastic than others but it was fine. Probably.

The Sanji they all knew didn’t look like him so he was safe for now. His hair was different and even his curly eyebrows weren’t like his past self. His mask and sunglasses covered his whole face. The Raid Suit was also unknown to them and it was the best cover he had since he came back to the past.

Luffy was loud and a bit too close to him, looking at the Raid Suit. “So cool! Are you here to beat the villains with us?”

“Wait Luffy, if he’s here it means that we’re going to be attacked by a robot soon.” The marimo had finally figured it out. Too bad it wasn’t the case this time.

“Don’t worry, I really just need a ride.”

“A ride?” The beautiful Nami-san eyed him as if he was suspicious.

“Look, look, Nami!” Luffy jumped in place, excited, showing to everyone the Straw Hats flag on his cape that the bad weather had revealed, the rain having washed away the old black paint. He had totally forgotten this detail while making his plan apparently.

“Why is it here?” His Captain had totally the right to ask because it was a good question.

He said the first thing that popped in his head. “I’m… a fan.”

Luffy was like a little boy who had just been told he could have every toy in the toys shop, or maybe all the meat in the fridge that he usually couldn’t eat while at sea. His joy spread to Chopper and he saw the lovely red-haired goddess sigh. Sanji felt a bit too crowded and self-conscious by all this sudden attention.

“If it’s okay with you, I’m just going to stay on the roof until we arrive.” He opened the door but the mosshead followed him outside under the rain.

“Hey. You still haven’t told us what you were doing here.”

Technically, he could tell the truth. He really wanted to help them save Robin-chan after all. But revealing too much was still taking a risk and he couldn’t afford it.

“Every time you appeared you helped us. Why?”

“Probably just to have the pleasure of saving your ass.” Sanji smiled under his mask but fled without waiting on the roof. The swordsman stayed there a few moments before retreating inside the warm and dry wagon.

He settled as comfortable as he could on the roof of a moving train under a storm, worried that his small interactions with his nakama would change the future too much.

He worried for nothing because soon after, his nakama were too busy to cut a wagon in half and send their enemies in the raging sea to care about him. He hoped that, when his past self and Usopp, no Sogeking, would join them, they still would forget about him.

He was lucky in the sense that his nakama had really other things to do than watch him or talk to him because when they all arrived to Enies Lobby, they did exactly what he remembered and his nakama ran towards the biggest building.

The battle at the train station was fierce but their allies were as strong as he remembered. He joined them, kicking some poor marines who thought he was an easy target. He couldn’t involve himself too much or the World Government would associate him to the crew and how would he remain unknown if he had a wanted poster with his face? That was why he stayed behind and preserved his strength.

When the flag at the top of the tower burned, he mentally noted that a few hours had already passed. He knew that time was at the essence now more than ever to save Robin-chan so he looked at his nakama. They were all there, on the top of the building, a bit bruised but nothing to worry about.

He still could join them, he was at the train station but he was fast and could turn invisible, if necessary, but he hesitated. Why did he come here exactly? Why did he risk to be discovered just to do nothing in the end?

He waited, worried and unsure of the next course of action he should take. Fatigue, hunger and pain clung at him like old friends and made him doubt. Everything was going well, exactly like in his memories but what if? What if a small change he made previously had provoked a series of events that would prevent his nakama to save Robin-chan?

He stayed alert, his Haki discreetly covering the entire warzone and beyond. He followed his nakama with this method and saw what he feared the most.

Chopper, Franky and their foe were at the edge of the huge hole that the reindeer in his giant form created earlier, almost in the water. He turned invisible immediately, ignored the pain that he still felt even when he let the influence of the Raid Suit take over, and flew as fast as he could.

Far away, he saw the huge mouth of the CP9 agent and the closer he was, the more he heard him never stop talking. Franky had his hair down and an unconscious Chopper at his side. They were all wet and Sanji didn’t need to be a genius to deduce that Franky just saved Chopper from drowning.

He jumped higher but stayed invisible and it was probably just luck but the timing of his kick matched exactly the punch of Franky. The CP9 agent didn’t have a chance, coughed up the key and fell back into the waters.

“Thanks bro!” Franky gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Sanji nodded to him in answer. It seemed that he couldn’t use his invisibility anymore.

“Hey, let’s join the others and-“

“Sorry, I can’t. Good luck.” Sanji fled to the train station, kicking more marines on the way. He cursed himself. He wasn’t needed here. He wasn’t supposed to be here but he came anyway. Even if he knew that everything would be fine without him, that his nakama didn’t need him, he still decided to come, for nothing.

It hurt. And he wasn’t referencing about his deteriorating physical state. Knowing he wasn’t needed, that he was not wanted by anyone who mattered, hurt. Suddenly, the loneliness suffocated him. He never felt such a raw emotion in his life and he lost his breath for a second. The battle raged around him but he didn’t care.

Everything he did until now was to save his nakama. It didn’t matter if he felt lonely, or sad, he had to stay focus and do his job. It was for them and their future, it wasn’t for himself. He was good at not being selfish, so why could he not shake this longing?

He watched all around him as his allies, his nakama’s allies, were fighting with their life on the line and it shook him to his core. True, he wasn’t supposed to be here and he wasn’t supposed to do anything. He shouldn’t expose himself and risk changing the past but in reality, he already revealed himself enough now that he was allowed to be considered as an ally. He was fighting for his nakama, always had, but he simply realized that he couldn’t be with them anymore. He should only fight in the shadows and die alone after his mission, unknown to all.

Or he could just say fuck it all and do whatever he wanted. Be selfish, even just a little bit.

A new resolve burning inside him, he chose to fight with all his might, right now, just because. Helping their allies stand their ground would help Luffy and his nakama, even if they didn’t see him do it. He already made sure that one of the potential keys to uncuff Robin-chan was in the hands of Franky. He trusted them all to do what he knew they could do and even more. Luffy had always been the one to exceed expectations after all. So he stopped worrying about what he should and what he should not do and started thinking about what made him a true member of the Straw Hats crew. There were people who needed his help and that was exactly what he would do.

He smiled, kicking three more soldiers in one swift move, finally able to breath normally. The first time, their allies had managed to hold off the soldiers and to flee with the mini-train. This time around, he was going to protect them and do whatever he could to make sure everything went exactly the same or better, no more no less.

When the retreat sounded and they all departed, he was truly proud to see no one had been left behind. Some people were mildly injured but he managed to hold off the worst of their enemy and allowed everyone to board the train in time and leave. He himself took the same place on the roof as last time while his nakama were still fighting against the marines on the other side of the fort. He knew them and he knew they were going to be okay. He had sensed Merry coming to their rescue a while back and now, even years after the event, he still was amazed by the tenacity of the little boat that faced a storm and an armada just so she could help her fellow nakama.

Sanji smiled, one cigar between his lips generously offered by Paulie. The future wasn’t set in stone and everything could still go wrong but it felt good to do something he truly thought was the good thing to do just for the sake of it. His mission wasn’t over yet and he was still alone but he felt better now that he was since… since they all found out that their past had changed, probably. Since then, nothing had felt right. But now, surrounded by old friends and allies who were all happy to go home alive, he couldn’t help but smile and enjoy the happiness he had successfully protected.

Chapter Text

Upon his return to Water Seven, Paulie let him have a new boat since his crashed against the docks the night of the storm and he rapidly took off to his next destination. There was something he wanted to try, something that was probably unnecessary but since Enies Lobby, he couldn’t just stay on the sidelines anymore and watch his nakama suffer.

Finding Thriller Bark would be difficult because it was actually a giant boat which could sail wherever it wanted and it was well hidden in the fog. The Log Pose wasn’t going to be able to lock itself on it either since the land wasn’t from Grand Line. The last thing, and it was the best he had, was all the indications from Nami-san’s maps.

Even without all her expert knowledge, he tried to read the ocean currents and took advantage of the wind until it dropped. He was almost happy when he entered the fog even if he knew it was far from over yet.

And he was right. He got lost in the fog, unable to be sure of the right way anymore. He was lost, like Brook before him. With his Haki, he couldn’t sense anything, even the fish didn’t like this part of the ocean and were making themselves scarce.

Time passed, too fast for Sanji. He couldn’t do anything, not really, apart trying to find his way again. The date was displayed on his sunglasses, inexorably approaching the time limit he had fixed for himself.

He wasn’t sure himself what was supposed to happen, his memories were a mix of what happened the first time and what had been changed. It was weird and he wasn’t the only one who had this kind of memories among his nakama. The events of Thriller Bark should naturally unfold exactly like the events in Enies Lobby since he restored the events of the past like it should be but he wanted to be sure.

It was the charming Robin-chan who had the idea to tell each other their memories to pinpoint exactly what went wrong, when and where. He was one of the more reliable when it was related to the beginning of their journey, he even remembered all the tales that Usopp never stopped narrating about a sweet girl on his island. Thriller Bark was a terrible mess but he still remembered Sabaody and the crew’s separation. Then he clearly remembered everything wrong according to the others but it was probably for the best. The past he remembered wasn’t great anyway.

At that time, Brook had already lost his memories of the crew and they all concluded they just never met while sailing to Thriller Bark. It was the logical explanation. From there, they tried to find other logical explanations for the change they already noticed.

The physical changes were the easiest to see and the more disturbing because they often still had all the memories of before the change but couldn’t ignore the consequences. When Luffy lost both of his arms, it took them a lot of time to actually process the information. It wasn’t his only notable change. He didn’t have the scar on his chest either.

It could mean a lot of things and that was when they discovered the old newspapers in Nami-san’s map room. She normally didn’t keep them all, only those that meant something for the crew and their friends oversea, but overnight she found herself under several stacks of newspapers. Thanks to them, or rather unfortunately, they found out the truth about the loss limbs of their captain and… the death of Vivi-chan.

Sanji would never forget the cries of the navigator and how somber Luffy became. There was nothing they could do since it had already happened, during an event they didn’t remember nonetheless.

Jinbei’s presence was a welcomed reassurance. The Fishman kept his cool no matter what and was there to comfort the crew even if he didn’t exactly know what they all suddenly lost. The music of Brook soothed a bit of their sorrow but nobody was in the mood to read anymore sad news that could explain all the changes.

He drank a lot that night, sharing at least four or five bottles with the mosshead and Usopp until he blacked out at dawn.

The swordsman had dreams. Strange dreams that felt real. He didn’t say anything until it was too late. That was one of the weirdest side-effects of time travel but still. The marimo should have said something.

He dreamed of his death. But not only that, he dreamed of his resurrection. Chopper then started to act a bit odd around him and after a while, the reindeer confessed that he was persuaded that their friend was dead.

In a few days, the swordsman’s body changed. First, even with the sunburn, his skin began to become paler. His grip on his left hand wasn’t as strong as before, sometimes he couldn’t even move his whole arm. A scar on his shoulder was visible and grew bigger over time. Their little doctor had to intervened at some point and tried to fix the damage. It seemed to work for a while until the swordsman couldn’t move his arm at all.

He wasn’t the only one to be subject of changes but since he was supposed to be dead, everyone was more on edge when it concerned him.

It was frankly disturbing to see him stay almost unfazed by what was happening to his body. He kept up his training everyday while the crew looked in turn for clues in the newspapers. Robin-chan had already compiled some data and she was the first one to even think about time travel.

It was making a lot of sense except time travel didn’t work like that, supposedly. With the Devil Fruit, it was meant to send someone or something into the future, not change the past. But on Grand Line, everything supposed to be wasn’t always what it really was.

She then added that they were probably targeted. The biggest changes were all about them. Vivi-chan’s death, Brook’s lost memories, Luffy’s arms, Zoro’s state… they had all the newspapers to prove it. Everything was related to the Straw Hats crew. There was no telling what the rest of the world knew and what kind of world they all were in now. If there was even someone else than them who noticed that something had changed.  

The clever Robin-chan was right, of course she was. They unfortunately pissed off someone who could mess with time and they didn’t even know if it was because of what they did in the past or would do in the future. The clues piled up more and more and pointed to the World Government. It was most likely their biggest and most powerful enemy at the moment and if one person could probably build a time machine, it would be Doctor Vegapunk.

At night, just before Robin-chan disappeared from the ship, the mosshead woke everyone up with his cries of pain. Both of his arms weren’t his anymore. The left one became robotic and in place of his right arm was one of his katana. Sanji didn’t know the ins and outs but there was clearly a system to put it on and take it off if necessary. Clever and disturbing.

He, Franky and the multiple hands of Robin-chan helped hold Zoro down while Chopper was doing all he could to ease the pain of their nakama. The mosshead finally passed out, he was taken to the infirmary and they managed to look more closely at him.

Franky recognized one of his own design. The robotic hand had been painted a metallic gray and was as precise as his own. The metal used was unique too, light but very sturdy. Sanji had to stop him to touch the arm and asked about the katana. The cyborg had no clue of the one who made it but it wasn’t as well done as his. The katana could be sheathed and freed from the metallic part tied on the upper arm. It was probably not pleasant and painful but knowing the mosshead, it was probably the best solution he had found on his own.

Chopper was worried by his state. They helped him take off both of the metallic arm and the metallic fastener to let him see the real damage on his body. It seemed it wasn’t as bad as he expected but Chopper still took his time to clean the stumps. Franky left after taking some measurements on the right arm. If he had been able to make him one hand, he could make him another one.

Their sleepy swordsman opened his eyes to discover the pair of new arms he had to use now. His reaction was as predicted. He was still a bit shaken yet he held his precious katana in his new hands and the tremors stopped. Sanji never truly understood how he was able to stay so much in control but at this moment, he was glad for it.

They all gathered in the kitchen to eat their breakfast and the day became almost normal. They had finally made some discovery that would help them find the culprit of their recent hardship so they could beat them up. They made a feast out of nowhere because it was good news and it meant they could do something more than just worry for the worst.

They couldn’t even end the day on a good note because it was the last time they saw Robin-chan.

When he thought back to that day, Sanji had this dread feeling that everything they did up to this day was for nothing. He wasn’t the only one who felt it and that night, he stayed with Nami-san in the kitchen. It was way after they all decided of both of their plans and everyone had gone to bed to sleep a little, or to try at least.

“Do you think she knew?” The beautiful navigator was holding her cup in her hands and hadn’t touched her drink since he gave it to her. “Do you think she dreamed she was in that awful place, that we failed her?”

“I don’t think she ever believed we failed her.” He sat next to her.

“But now we do. And if she forgets everything between the moment when we saved her and now…” She couldn’t say more.

He took her in his arms and for once, she let him hold her. She pressed her face against his shoulder and he felt her hands grab at his clothes with all her strength, shaking. She didn’t even cry. He, on the other hand, tightened his hug and sobbed silently. They stayed in each other arms until the sun set and they had to prepare themselves to fight their way through not one, but two strongholds of the World Government.

Even now stranded in the past and lost at sea, he still thought it was the best plan they could have cooked up in such desperate times. It could have worked if all the changes from the past hadn’t sped up as if they were out of time. As if someone knew they had to be stopped at this very moment.

Despite everything, he was there and happy to screw up the plans of their enemies. Until now, he was successful in that at least.

He cursed at himself when the countdown reached the time limit. Being lost at sea for a long time now, he wasn’t really surprised that he hadn’t made it in time but he remained hopeful that he still could arrive before the worst happened.

His feet touched the wooden dock and he ran. He had already felt multiple explosions from miles away and the fog had cleared for a few minutes already, finally helping him to find his way and fly rapidly to Thriller Bark. His Haki in full display taught him that his nakama were already in bad shape, especially a certain swordsman.

He just had the time to see him sink his hands in a big red paw and scream. The Shichibukai Bartholomew Kuma was here too. The marimo was howling with pain and didn’t stop. Sanji didn’t know what to do, there was absolutely nothing he could do right now. What he absolutely wanted to stop was happening right in front of his eyes.

He bit his lip hard until he felt blood in his mouth. He was furious with Kuma but mostly with himself since he hadn’t been fast enough to prevent any of this. He forced himself to ignore the screams of his nakama and stood in front of the giant Shichibukai.

“Who are you? You’re not part of the Straw Hats crew.”

Sanji ignored his question and took a deep breath. There was something else he could still manage.

“I have a message for Doctor Vegapunk.”

Kuma didn’t move, presumably waiting for him to continue.

“The project 4116 has to be stopped or it’s going to cost you your life and everything you worked for.”

The cyborg didn’t react at the information. Sanji couldn’t even try to guess what he was thinking right now and was ready to fight at any moment. He threw one last bluff. “I have to say… Bartholomew Kuma, History won’t forget you.”

The sentence was odd enough for the cyborg to finally react. The grip on his bible tightened even subtly but Sanji saw it. “I’m not going to fight you or stop you. But I’d like to stay here and you’re going to let me or we’re going to have a problem. So, are we good?”

He said it in a casual way but he was still not sure if it was going to work. But Kuma didn’t do or say anything and finally left. More like disappeared into thin air thanks to his Paw-Paw fruit but it was all the same in the end.

Sanji didn’t relax however and winced because of the screams of the swordsman not far from him. His voice was hoarse already and blood was pouring from him at an alarming state. Sanji ran to him, unable to do anything than watch him suffer. Now that Kuma had been dealt with, he could attend to his friend.

Sanji had never seen him express his pain so freely in front of anyone, always burying it away from prying eyes like it didn’t really matter. Even dying, Roronoa Zoro wouldn’t cry or let a sound betray him. But now, here, his suffering was so great that Sanji didn’t know if he was still aware of his surroundings.

The voice became groans and he realized he couldn’t help him except by being there and looking after him. He put his hand on the bloody shoulder, hoping the gesture would make him feel less like he was alone. His body was shaking a lot and his eyes were rolling in their sockets. He had crossed his arms as if to keep his own body from collapsing and his feet were firmly planted in the ground. The idiot, even at death’s door, wouldn’t let himself fall no matter what.

A particularly violent jolt of pain made him moan and wobble towards Sanji. He caught him immediately and used his own body to hold him upright. The marimo didn’t seem to notice, too lost in his own agony, but he leaned his forehead against Sanji’s shoulder and whimpered.

Distraught, all Sanji could do was stroke his hair and whisper in his ear his prayer.

“Please don’t die, please don’t die, please don’t die…” He bit his lip, trying not to cry himself because of his uselessness.

Memories flashed before him. They were a mix between wrong and right. He remembered finding the swordsman alive and asking him what the hell happened only to be answered with a fucking “nothing, got it?”. And he remembered finding him dead, in the same position but without arms and half of his face unrecognizable.

He really had hoped that neither would become a possibility, even if he had to fight two Shichibukai at the same time and screw up the future. But he had arrived too late and now he just had to pray that the marimo could survive this. All the odds were on his side thanks to Sanji’s efforts but he was still worried that everything would be for nothing.

Long minutes became long hours when the swordsman finally stopped screaming. The blood was still spilling onto the ground but it was over. His hair wasn’t green anymore yet he was standing on his own, still conscious only by the sheer force of his will. Sanji was there, not far from him, ready to catch him if he fell suddenly.

Bloodshot eyes stared at him when he spoke.

“Don’t tell them. Nothing happened…, got it?”

Sanji nodded just in time before the other collapsed against him. He put the arm, an arm made of flesh and blood, a lot of blood actually, but at least it was not metallic, on his shoulder and helped him get through the debris from the previous fight. They successfully reached the place where the crew was slowly coming back to their senses. The first one to be fully awake was his younger self who shot himself on his feet but stilled when he saw them. His face showed how torn he was between running to them and demanding answers from both of them.

His younger self finally ran to them and put the other arm of the mosshead on his shoulder. It was only at that the moment that the marimo let himself fall unconscious, like if he was relieved to be in the hands of a real nakama. Sanji ignored the sting in his heart. It was normal for the marimo to trust more his younger self than a strange superhero coming out of nowhere.

“You…” His younger self seemed to struggle to find his words. They didn’t have the time to talk to each other when the crew saw them and everything became a bit chaotic.

The marimo’s state wasn’t a joke and since Luffy was totally fine, Sanji couldn’t escape this time. He didn’t want to either. He wanted to make sure the marimo was safe and that he would be all right.

He was a bit overwhelmed by all the questions of his nakama but he tried to answer the best he could without betraying himself or his promise to the mosshead, so not much. He noticed that his younger self stayed silent all this time and watched him intensely like he was a puzzle he had to piece together.

Chopper was a bit frantic mere meters away and it was a welcome, kind of, distraction for all of them. Everyone had other things to think at the moment than interrogate the mysterious superhero.

Sanji didn’t stray too far from them but stayed away anyway. Some people he didn’t know thought he was with the Straw Hats crew and thanked him. He just nodded because, even if he didn’t help them this time, he had in the past, so it was probably okay not to just accept their thanks.

The music started inside the castle, what was left of it anyway, and the party began. He should have left hours ago but he still didn’t want to. He had failed this time because he was too late. He still had one task ahead and he absolutely couldn’t miss his timing. He had been seen by every one of his nakama, even his own younger self, and time didn’t collapse or anything, so he was, probably, free to do whatever he wanted now. And he wanted to stay with them just a little longer. It was selfish, he knew it, and he didn’t care.

He was tired and hungry so when someone sat next to him and handed him not so delicately a plate full of food, he smiled a little. It was weird to be taken care by his own self.

His younger self lit a cigarette and breathed in the beloved poison while he himself took down his mask and began to eat.

“When everyone spoke about the superhero who came and went just to save the marimo from giant robots, I wasn’t expecting this.”

Sanji almost choked on his food. He only replied when his breathing returned to normal.

“It’s not my fault if this idiot is always on the way!”

His younger self grinned softly but his grim face returned fast.

“Who are you, really?”

Sanji swallowed while his younger self looked at him seriously. He sighed heavily and put his empty plate down on the ground.

“You know who I am.”

“No, I don’t or I wouldn’t ask!”

“Look at me. Really look. And look at what I’m wearing.”

For a moment, his younger self stayed quiet and watched him closely. It wasn’t pleasant but Sanji stayed still.

“You’re… you’re with them?” He finally asked with a scared voice he didn’t know he had himself.

Sanji showed him the Straw Hats emblem on his cape and pointed at it ostensibly with his finger.

“I’m with the Straw Hats, through and through.”

His younger self just frowned more deeply, lost.

“I’m you. From the future.”

The curly eyebrow of his younger self rose to his hairline and he lost his cigarette.

“Wh- It’s impossible!”

“You’ve seen the impossible before.”

“Yes, no… but it’s…” The confusion was crystal clear on his younger self’s face.

“It is true. I can tell you things we’ve been through and don’t ever want to talk about but I’m like you, I really don’t want to talk about it.”

His younger self didn’t say anything for a moment but his eyes never left him one second.

“You’re… different. You’re way too different. You’re not even blond anymore!”

“I know.”

“And your eyebrow... What happened?”

“I won’t tell you. It’s not important anyway.”

“It’s not? Really?” His younger self was becoming more restless.

“No, it’s not. It doesn’t matter because I’m just a possibility, not a certainty.”

His younger self pinched his lips and visibly refrained from speaking what was on his mind. Probably something like “Why would you come here exactly?” and they both knew what would push them to go to such extremes. Sanji chose to save his younger self from more struggles.

“I’m the only one you will never become. I made sure of it.”

“By saving the marimo from giant robots…?” His younger self was still a bit tense but his anger was receding.

“No! Seriously, I didn’t come from the future just to save him!” And shit! He closed his big mouth before spilling everything.

His younger self smoked for a moment without saying anything but he never stopped looking at him.

“What are you going to do from now on?”

He hesitated but since they were talking about his plans and not the future, he allowed himself to answer him.

“There’s still one more thing I need to take care of. It’s probably for the best if I simply join you.”

“Luffy won’t be against it but…” His younger self rubbed his hair exactly like when he did it while nervous. It was a bit strange seeing it from this point of view.

“Don’t you need to stay away or something because of time travel’s shit?”

“I’m speaking to you and told you the truth but nothing happened so my guess is that it really doesn’t matter now. But keep it to yourself just in case.”

“Okay…” He took a pause. “Just one thing. About the marimo…”

“He’ll be fine. I wanted to prevent this from happening but he won’t die easily and… well. Maybe it’s for the best.”

“It’s for the best he almost died?” His younger self was truly surprised.

“He’s alive.”

The breath of his younger self stopped. “He wasn’t supposed to?”

Sanji winced, realizing his mistake too late.

“Don’t worry about this. He’s alive and well, roughly. By coming here, I was trying to make his life easier that’s all.”

“But he could have died. Apparently, you talked to Bartholomew Kuma and he left without a fight. Did you say something to him so he wouldn’t finish him or-“

“Stop right there. Don’t go into too much theories, believe me, it’s such a shitty mess it’ll just earn you a big headache. What is really important is what’s real and what you want to do next.”

“But then, why are you here? Aren’t you here to prevent things from happening?”

Sanji clenched his teeth. Then exhaled loudly. “I can’t tell you. It’s just best if you don’t know.”

“It won’t happen to you anyway.” He carefully kept for himself. His younger self was far from pleased but on this point, he would not yield. He didn’t want to tell him all the things he already prevented, things that shouldn’t even exist in their past.

“Then, one more thing.”

Sanji saw a playful spark in his eyes.

“Will Nami-san and Robin-chan become even more beautiful than now?”

A chuckle escaped him and he answered with a smile on his lips. “You have no idea.”

Chapter Text

Being part of the crew once more was easy. Luffy was beyond pleased and asked him to shoot laser for some reason, something he couldn’t do much to his captain’s disappointment, but other than that, everything went naturally. The swordsman was still comatose and the others weren’t as surprised to see him that he would like to but that was okay. His younger self wasn’t as comfortable as he wanted to seem and it was something he expected because nobody could accept easily that time travel existed and that their own future self was in front of them. Even if his younger self avoided him, he was in fact taking the news pretty well.

He tried not to speak a lot and just watched from a corner his nakama living and breathing and being fine. This was his reward for all his efforts and he was reveling in it.

After their departure, he tensed, not really sure of what to expect, but his worries were unfounded. His nakama, and now he was allowed to think of them as his for real, accepted him quite easily even if they asked questions from time to time. Like when Franky asked what his cape was made of because he never saw anything like that before. Or when Nami-san asked if he was going to keep his superhero suit all the time and never take a bath.

He thought this last one was the hardest to answer since he couldn’t, in fact, take off the Raid Suit. Yet, it was immediately followed by a question from Robin-chan impossible for him to answer.

“What do we call you, Superhero-san? I’m sure you have a name.”

Sanji saw his younger self tense behind the two lovely lady and all eyes were on him.

“My name?”

He thought about the last time he had to make up a name for himself and how everyone hated his “O-Soba Mask”. He swallowed slowly. He should have thought about it before.

“I can’t tell my real name since it’s my secret identity.” He saw stars in Luffy, Usopp, Franky and Chopper’s eyes, so it was probably a good thing.

“But you can call me, huh… Hero-Man. That’s right, Hero-Man at your service! The number one fan of the Straw Hats crew!”

Cheers came from his most ingenuous nakama while Robin-chan smiled and Nami-san sighed. His younger self sighed too, with more relief than frustration.

The day passed slowly. The mosshead was sleeping and Chopper stayed by his side most of the time. Nami-san was estimating the value of the treasure they had stolen with berry in her beautiful eyes. Everyone was still aching from their injuries except Luffy who was full of energy. Their captain still played and talked with his crew, listened to Brook’s music and ate a lot of meat prepared by the cook of the Sunny. Hero-Man wasn’t left alone either and even if Sanji didn’t really know how to entertain his captain, Luffy didn’t mind and instead wanted to play hero with him.

Sanji indulged him only because there was nothing that could stop Luffy from playing with his nakama. He found himself laughing at his captain’s antics, a sheet on his shoulders and fist raised to the sky.

At the end of the day, his younger self served dinner and he was truly famished. He ate as much as Luffy who didn’t want to lose his place as the number one of the biggest eaters of the crew and everyone was astonished by the number of plates they devoured all on their own. His younger self was probably the more baffled by all this since he didn’t expect his future self to eat this much.

The joy on the Sunny was contagious and Sanji was truly happy. After all this time alone, he enjoyed his meal fully and wasn’t shy to laugh among his nakama. He stopped thinking about the future and his mission and a weight he always ignored was lifted from his shoulders.

After dinner, he stayed in the kitchen with his younger self who was cleaning dishes. They shared the end of a bottle of wine in companionable silence while smoking.

“You eat a lot.”

Sanji smiled at the comment. “I sleep a lot too.”

“Is this what it means to be old?” His younger self dared to tease him.

“It has nothing to do with being old.” He let the smoke escape his lips, waiting for his younger self to figure the reason by himself.

“It’s because of… the time travel?” He whispered the last part.

“Yeah, sort of. The suit is tiring too.”

“Then take it off. I’m sure we can find another disguise to keep your identity safe.”

“I can’t.”

His younger self didn’t speak for a minute and Sanji could see him think really hard.

“I want to ask why you can’t take it off but I’m afraid of the answer.”

“You should.”

“Stop with this cool attitude, you’re not fooling me!” His younger self raised his voice with anger and Sanji couldn’t help himself and tried to shush him with a gesture of his hand.

“I respect your silence about the future and all because I know you, I know myself, and if you can’t tell me much it’s probably for the best, but don’t act like you’re okay with what you’re going through!”

“I…” Sanji shut his mouth, at loss of words. His expression darkened and he glared at his younger self who never faltered. Finally, he stood up and left the kitchen.

He wasn’t fleeing. He just didn’t want to talk anymore. His younger self didn’t have a point, not at all. What did he know seriously? Even if he was him, he didn’t have to be so imbued with himself!

“What am I doing?” He thought bitterly.

His younger self was right, obviously. He was acting like it wasn’t a big deal to not be able to live without the Raid Suit, but it was. Every part of his body hurt and even breathing was hard sometimes. It was only his will who maintained him upright all day and he was afraid his condition would become so bad that he wouldn’t be able to fight the last threat against his nakama.

He leaned on the rail and finished his smoke, gazing at the sea. He didn’t have much time left, it was a certitude. Maybe this was the real reason for him being here, to enjoy being surrounded by his friends, his family as much as possible. He wanted it to last as long as possible.

He didn’t want to die. He wanted to find All Blue and make a lot of memories along the way.

He threw his cigarette in the waters, upset. He couldn’t waste his time to whine about what he couldn’t have anymore. It was too late for that and there was nothing to do to escape his fate. At least, he was protecting his nakama.

He spent his night tossing and turning in his hammock despite his fatigue and finally found sleep at the first light of the sun. He slept in for the majority of the day, left alone by everyone so he could catch up on his sleep, thanks to his younger self apparently.

They avoided each other for a few days. Then the marimo woke up and was allowed to walk around the deck under heavy supervision, doctor’s orders. Of course, the mosshead wasn’t pleased at all and as the worst patient ever, he tried to lift his monstruous weight once. Sanji and his younger self had to catch him and the weight at the same time. With just one look, they agreed to put their silly disagreement aside.

The mosshead looked at them, surprise visible on the part of his face that wasn’t covered by bandages. His younger self carried half of the swordsman while Sanji carried the weight with his foot.

“What are you doing here?” The mosshead got out of the grip from his younger self and stood on his own, although he wasn’t as stable as he wanted.

“Calm down marimo. He’s part of the crew now.” His younger self chose to add and Sanji felt pleased at these words.

“Huh.” The marimo examined him from head to toe then relaxed, almost satisfied. Sanji felt like being appraised by the marimo who was thinking him worthy enough to be accepted as part of the crew. It was infuriating but he kept his cool because he was more mature and the marimo wasn’t in his best condition to stand a kick in his ugly face.

“I’ll beat the next robot that comes.”

“As if.” Sanji didn’t resist the teasing and left the marimo in the hands of his younger self. Chopper showed himself on the deck and started to yell at his worst patient.

“Zoro! I told you to take it easy! If I see you training again, I’ll tie you to your bed until you’re fully recovered and I don’t care how long!”

Sanji heard a few protests but overall, Chopper wasn’t in the mood to listen to them.

In the afternoon a few days later, he went to the kitchen and brushed the wood of the worktop with his hand.

“If you want, we can cook dinner together.” He wasn’t expecting to be discovered and he started at the sound of the voice of his younger self. He swiftly hid his hand under his cape.

His younger self looked at him, relaxed. Sanji couldn’t hide how much he loved to cook for his friends, especially from his younger self.

“I…” Sanji looked down and clenched his fist. “Sorry.”

He fled under the surprised eyes of his younger self. He was relieved that he wasn’t followed. The sun blinded him for a second and a sudden nausea seized him by the throat. He repressed it and took a deep breath before jumping at the top of the crow’s nest. He sat there, not sure himself if he was okay. The taste of blood in his mouth wasn’t reassuring and he felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Something moved and it was unpleasant at best. He forced himself to breath evenly and tried to forget the pain.

Saying that Sanji was surprised to see his older self fleeing the kitchen was an understatement. This was his domain of predilection and it always would be. He was certain of it. Cooking was a source of comfort for him and his nakama, there was no way he wouldn’t enjoy it anymore in the future.

The blond stood in his kitchen, expecting to see his older self coming back but he never did. That was so strange. More than strange, it was concerning. Frowning, he lit one cigarette and smoke a few minutes before beginning to cook dinner.

Sanji had accepted time travel rather quickly. It was still odd but he couldn’t help himself and believe. He was sure his older self wore the Raid Suit of the Germa’s Kingdom but it was so different from the one his f… the one the Vinsmoke wore that he sensed there was more to the story than what he could simply guess.

The Straw Hat on the black cape was reassuring at least, and the way his older self had insisted on being on the side of his nakama no matter what ultimately silenced his doubts. His older self’s appearance felt off, with his black hair on the right side of his face and the curly eyebrow in the wrong way, but his older self seemed alright so maybe it was just a disguise.

Their conversation played again in his head and he couldn’t refrain the bad feeling that everything was not fine. His older self talked about one last thing he needed to do, but what next? Not knowing how he was able to travel through time bothered him since the cook didn’t appreciate being left in the dark, even if he knew it was probably for the best.

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently and Sanji just had the time to catch the pot before it fell. He turned off the stove and put the pot in the fridge while Sunny was still under attack. When he finally left the kitchen, most of his nakama were already on the grass, ready to protect their ship and to counterattack. His eyes saw his older self flying in the sky and giving strong kicks to the giant shark that was attacking them.

Luffy didn’t stay out of the fight and even the marimo launched his long-range attack. The idiot was still injured and it was obvious he wasn’t ready to fight against a giant robot. This one was tough enough to not even dent while Luffy punched it and his older self kicked it. This was bad because the shark was too close to the Sunny and it seemed indestructible.

He ran and kicked the nose of the shark to divert it from eating the bow of the ship. He felt the flames from his older self before he saw them and it was almost mesmerizing. His whole body had been set on fire and the intensity of the flames was more powerful than anything he could even dream to create.

His older self was fast too and when he disappeared, he reappeared only when he struck a flaming kick on the side of the shark robot. It melted right where it had been kicked and his older self managed to push it away from the Sunny, enough to be kicked, punched or slashed while it also stopped it from being a threat to their ship.

His older self used his flames as a part of his own body and Sanji watched, a bit jealous, as his flames created a large gash on the side of the robot. His older self kicked one more time but then the shark evaded him and his tail slapped his older self hard enough to make him fly and crash on the grass, his fall only stopped by the rails that almost broke at the impact.

Sanji saw the flames go out and Chopper rushed at his side, still panicking but he knew he would come around. His older self was going to be okay and he resumed to kick this giant shark. It was fast, strong and clever, much more than a real shark or a simple robot. Franky punched it with all he had but the shark just plunged to escape the attack. As of now, the only person who succeeded to land a real hit on it was his older self.

Sanji glanced over his shoulder and cursed. His older self seemed to be more injured than he initially thought.

“Sanji!” Chopper called him over.

When he approached, he saw his older self cough up blood. Chopper wasn’t panicking anymore but his eyes were too serious for Sanji. This wasn’t good.

“You… you need to destroy the cores. There is still two left inside of this shitty robot.” Blood escaped his lips but his older self ignored it. “You won’t be able to do it without… cough… without this.”

His left hand moved but it never rose higher than a few centimeters. The gesture was clear enough though. His older self wanted him to wear the Raid Suit. No way!

“Put your pride and your fear aside and just wear the damned suit!” His older self knew him too much to his taste. Sanji was about to refuse categorically when his older self coughed so hard that his body jerked and the cape that was enveloping him revealed his right arm. Or more exactly, its absence.

Chopper looked at him, pleading. “I can’t help him if he’s still wearing his superhero suit. I don’t know what it is made of but I can’t examine him like this.”

Sanji’s eyes never left the empty sleeve of his future self. In the future, in his future, he was going to…

“We don’t have much time! Just take it, would you?”

He crouched next to his older self and was met with the greatest determination he had ever seen in his life in the eyes of his future self. Sanji’s hand reached the belt where he knew the button was to take off the Raid Suit. He still hesitated.

“What happens to you if you take it off?”

His older self smiled bitterly. “Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to? Just take it!”

But Sanji didn’t move. He wanted to be sure. “Are you going to die?”

Chopper was listening to them and paled when he began to understand how important the suit was for their new nakama.

His older self was clearly in pain, blood at the corner of his lips and his body shaking. His hair wasn’t as black as before, a few strands of hair having become blond like his. “The suit is the only thing who kept me alive all this time. But it’s not enough anymore. I will die with or without it so take it. Take it and protect our nakama…”

His older self couldn’t resist to cough more blood and Sanji took his decision. He knew exactly why his older self was doing all this, risking his life, dying even. It was all to protect their nakama.

He pushed the button on the belt and retrieved the Raid Suit now in the form of a can. The Straw Hat emblem was on it. He stood up and left his older self in Chopper’s hands without a look back. If he wanted to fulfill the last wish of the dying man, he couldn’t be distracted by his own fear instilled by his memories from his childhood. He couldn’t look to his older self either, fearing what he might see, what he could become.

When Sanji put the Raid Suit on, he didn’t feel much difference. His hair was still blond and even if he couldn’t see it, he was pretty sure his eyebrows were still the same. It fit him perfectly in a way he couldn’t describe. Then he ran.

He ran so fast, this was exhilarating. He jumped and he was in the air, several meters above the shark robot. He didn’t really anticipate it but he immediately took advantage of it. He saw the gash that his older self had made a few minutes earlier and there were two orange stones shining inside. A third was shattered and he guessed this was the one his older self had already destroyed.

He concentrated to ignite his leg and he was almost disappointed that it was the same as usual. The suit probably couldn’t boost his flames like it did with his body but that was enough. It meant he could still improve his skill in the future.

He destroyed the two cores in a few kicks and the shark robot stopped moving. It began to smoke and sank slowly before it completely disappeared under water.

Sanji landed on the grass, greeted by Luffy and the others before a tearing cry startled them.

“SANJI-KUN!” Nami-san dropped his Climat Tact and rushed to his older self. Chopper was busy trying to save him but the tears in his eyes showed how hopeless he was feeling. Luffy was the next one to scream and ran until he was next his older self.

There was something awful to see himself sprawled bloody all over on the grass of the Sunny. His older self wasn’t as old as he thought, probably just a few years older than him but not more. He was wearing one of his favorite shirts, the blue one, even if with all the blood it wasn’t blue anymore. The right arm was missing, still bleeding, as if the injury had just been done.

“SANJI! What happened?” Luffy was yelling without touching, afraid to make it worse. It was time for Sanji to reveal the truth, he couldn’t just stand by anymore and let his nakama think he was badly hurt. Even if he technically was.

“I’m here Luffy.” He walked up to his captain and took off the mask and the sunglasses so he could recognize him better.

Everyone was shocked by the reveal and Luffy was beyond lost. When Sanji’s older self coughed, Luffy looked down and he touched a strand of blond hair as if he wanted to be sure it was real.

“Lu…ffy?” The blue eyes of his older self were still bright and looked like they shined even more when he met those of his captain.

“I’m here. I’m here… Sanji?”

His older self smiled. “It’s me, Captain.”

Sanji saw Chopper stop to treat his older self and step back. He had bandaged the arm and there was an IV connected to his other arm with an etiquette on the bag that said MORPHINE. The eyes of the others kept going back and forth between him and the one who looked exactly like him except for Luffy who never took his eyes off his older self.

“What happened?” The voice of his captain was soft, almost inaudible.

Only then the blue eyes of his older self filled with tears and his smile dropped. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry… for disobeying you…”

“I forgive you. I always forgive my nakama, you know that?”

Sanji looked away for a moment, unable to watch this and knowing he couldn’t leave either. He caught the swordsman watching him. That was when he heard his voice, except his lips weren’t moving.

“What the-?”

“Cook!”

He startled. The voice was coming from the sunglasses. He put them on and the voice was indeed that of his nakama.

“Marimo?” He whispered because he didn’t want to interrupt the goodbyes between his nakama and, well, himself from the future.

“Is it done?”

Sanji sensed the mosshead come closer to listen closely at the voice that came from the sunglasses.

“What? Who are you? Wait, no, don’t answer. You’re from the future, right?”

“I am.” The harsh tone left no room for doubt. “And you’re the Cook from the past.”

“Yes.” The silence on the other end of the line was oppressive.

“Is the Cook, not you but-“

“He’s alive.” Sanji didn’t need to be a genius to guess what this marimo from the future wanted to ask. “But not for long.”

He looked at his Captain and his nakama who were all around his older self. Luffy had put his hand under his head and talked gently to the dying man.

“I see…” Sanji and the young swordsman next to him heard him sigh. There was something else he obviously wanted to say because the silence stretched for a minute.

“Did he tell you why he was here? What he was supposed to do?”

“He only told me he had one last thing to do but… I think it was the giant shark robot we just took down.” Sanji replied and ostensibly ignored the pure look of anger his own marimo gave him.

“With the three cores? Shining orange stones?”

“Yes. I… I took care of them with the suit.”

“Good.” And it felt weird to be complimented by the marimo, even more one from the future.

“Do you want to talk to the other Cook?” Sanji really didn’t know how to phrase this sentence without it being weird.

“No.” The answer was sharp and Sanji knew when to drop a sensible subject.

He didn’t know what was the history between his older self and this older marimo but he had the feeling that there were other things those two were hiding. Something that probably concerned their entire crew they didn’t want to reveal even if it meant they couldn’t talk to each other forever.

“Tell him it’s done.” The voice of the older marimo was rougher but then Sanji didn’t hear anything anymore. A huge SIGNAL LOST was written all over the sunglasses so he took them off.

“I think the communication was cut off.” He said to the marimo next to him.

“Since when did you know? About all of this?” The accusatory tone wasn’t pleasant but it was expected.

“Only since the fiasco at Thriller Bark. He didn’t tell me much except he was me from the future.”

They both looked to Sanji’s older self who was struggling to breath but was still conscious and alive. Sanji stepped forward before a hand on his shoulder stopped him. The marimo passed by him then crouched next to his older self.

“I have a message from future me. “It’s done”, he said.”

Sadness showed immediately on his older self’s face before he smiled. He even chuckled but a cough interrupted him.

Nobody asked him to explain what was done because they knew he wouldn’t tell them. Even if they had more time, Sanji knew that his older self wouldn’t tell them a thing about the future.

The majority of his nakama was crying. Robin-chan, the marimo and himself weren’t but probably not for the same reason. He couldn’t really cry over himself. He wasn’t the one dying. His older self was part of the crew but it was difficult for him to really see him as anything else than a part of him.

And even if he didn’t know what his older self had to live to be in this horrible state at this exact moment, it was easy for him to guess why he came here and why he didn’t see any other way.

“Hey, Sanji.” Luffy stroke the blond hair softly, tears in his eyes.

His older self was losing focus and his breath was weak. “I’m sorry… Luffy.”

“Shh. It’s okay. I told you, I forgive you.”

Sanji’s older self was crying and shook his head with difficulty. “You… can’t. Not this…”

He tried to lift his hand and Luffy took it immediately in his free hand. “You knew… all along. You… were right.”

His body wasn’t even shivering anymore and his eyes wasn’t as bright as earlier. “I’m sorry I… disobeyed. I didn’t… want to. I don’t…”

Sanji froze, blood in his ears. He missed the moment his older self gave his last breath and the cries of his captain. He wavered but no one noticed. He had just realized why his older self was apologizing so much. He tried to pull himself together and felt cold all over, a thin layer of sweat covering his skin.

He looked at the body of his older self and focused on the missing arm. There was not a lot of things that Sanji could regret. He wanted to live a lot of adventures, admire beautiful ladies, cook the best meals for his nakama and find All Blue and he took full advantage of his life so as not to regret anything. He wanted to support his captain and his crew, through tides and storms. If his older self had lost his arm, he knew it wouldn’t stop him from living as he wished. It would be hard but with the help of his nakama, he would have overcome all the obstacles. It was something he was sure of with all his might.

The only thing he could regret… What kind of orders Luffy gave him… What his older self truly wanted, until the end…

His breathing quickened even when he tried to regain control. He felt a heavy sweat running down his face but did nothing to wipe it.

He wanted to live.

His older self seemed so confident and detached about his own well-being, everything was about his mission to protect their nakama, but in his last moments, he still wanted to live.

There were hands that sprouted discreetly to help him stay upright and it took him a lot of efforts to recognize the archeologist. He swallowed laboriously, his throat dry, then wiped the sweat off his forehead. He still felt light-headed and cold but took upon himself to get his shit together. He thanked sincerely the sweet Robin-chan who just nodded at him. She took back her hands only after making sure he wasn’t going to fall down head first.

The exchange went unnoticed as their nakama were still looking at his older self, crying without restrain. He felt a bit left out because they were crying his death, except he was still alive. Then Nami-san walked to him and hugged him tight and instantly he was surrounded by his nakama, with the exception of the marimo who still arbored a serious look and his captain who never let go of the hand he was holding. It was overwhelming but comforting and his breath finally settled in the middle of the warmth of his nakama’s arms.

Little by little, his nakama regained their composure, drying their tears and letting him go. Nami-san was the last one and she gave him a watery smile he returned. They finally all turned to their captain who hadn’t moved.

Sanji felt like his heart was about to burst at the sight. How could he be forgiven for breaking his captain’s heart that way? His older self had been apologizing profusely but that would never be enough. Even if he already forgave him, Sanji still felt pitiful because of his older self, because they were the same and they hurt their captain in the worst way possible.

He approached carefully Luffy and put his hand on his shoulder. His captain raised his head and his sad face broke even more Sanji’s heart.

“Sanji… I’m sorry.” The tears welled up from his eyes and he did nothing to wipe them off. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

Sanji then took him in his arms and let a few of his own tears fall silently. “You didn’t. I know because I’m still here, I always will. Luffy…” He freed himself from the embrace and looked right in the eyes of his Captain.

“He told me something. He said he was only a possibility, not a certainty. He came here to protect us, including me. He was me and I could be him but nothing is set in stone. And even if it was, I know you won’t let what happened to him happen to me. I believe in you. I trust you with my life. I trust all of you.” He looked at his nakama, letting his honesty show on his face and received multiple smiles.

“I trust you too.” Luffy rubbed his eyes with his free hand and stopped crying. “But promise me…” His eyes were determined and his voice didn’t falter anymore. “I don’t want you to become Hero-man.”

Sanji smiled and swore. “Yes, Captain.”

Luffy’s smile became huge and then, with a serious face he rarely showed, he turned to the body of Sanji’s older self. He squeezed the hand he was holding once and brushed lightly the blond hair. Solemnly, he placed his older self’s hand on his chest and Luffy’s hand rested a few moments on his forehead before he let him go ultimately.

Everyone slowly began to prepare for the funeral. Sanji took off the Raid Suit at last and stayed in the kitchen with Luffy. He cooked, thoughtful, preparing enough for a feast while his Captain examined the blue can.

When the raft prepared by Franky was ready and the body of his older self had been covered by a white sheet, they all gathered on the deck quietly. It was awkward because they were supposed to say their last goodbyes to a loved one except Sanji was still here.

He turned his back and felt his nakama watch him closely. When he reached the other side of the deck, he turned around, ignited his leg then run. He kicked the raft into the water while putting it entirely on fire. Brook’s violin played Bink’s sake and Sanji even smiled. His nakama imitated him and their mournful feeling was slowly becoming more tolerable.

“Let’s eat. I cooked enough for a feast tonight.”

“A feast!” Luffy yelled happily, a big smile on his face. “I want meat!”

“Aye aye Captain.” Sanji smiled to himself, feeling relieved by the contagious enthusiasm of his Captain. They ate and drank and laughed, because even if they lost someone precious, they all knew it was the best way to celebrate the memory of their friend. It was surrounded by all his friends that Sanji finally relaxed and stopped worrying about his future. Together, they were invincible. No obstacle was too much for them, he knew it.

“SANJIIIIII!” Luffy fell on top of him not so delicately but his cook forgave him as soon as he saw his Captain’s smile. “MEAT!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done plenty.” He was able to extract himself from the rubbery arms and went to the kitchen to bring more meat as requested.

When Luffy saw him, he jumped in front of him but didn’t gobble up the food instantly. “Shishishi! You’re the best, Sanji!” Then the food disappeared in the black hole he called Captain. Luffy put his arm on his shoulder and shouted to Brook to play another song.

They danced and enjoyed the feast all night long and it wasn’t until late at night that the crew finally settled on the deck to fall asleep all together.

He woke up first at the first light, or so he thought because when he stood the marimo decided to open his eyes. He was sitting against the mast like if he was watching over everyone. Sanji lit a cigarette and offered to sustain the swordsman. The mosshead yawned but rose from his spot and followed the cook in the kitchen.

The silence was natural and it was only after he drank a sip of tea that the marimo finally spoke.

“Do you think it’s really over?”

Sanji startled at the voice but recovered quickly.

“I think so.” He inhaled a big puff of smoke and added. “I hope so.”

The marimo watched him smoke for a few minutes, still groggy.

“We need to be stronger. Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark and now this. We never know what we’re going to face later but if our opponents come from the future, it’s going to become harder than we thought.”

Sanji stayed quiet, thoughtful. “He said he was the only possibility I would never become. That he made sure of it. I still don’t know what it means exactly.”

“He knew he had to die to save us.” Luffy’s voice was coming from behind and they both jumped in their seat by surprise. “He died so we could live. All of us.” His Captain stared at Sanji. He didn’t say it out loud but the blond finally understood. His older self died so he could live, with his nakama.

“What about the me from the future?”

The swordsman was now completely awake. Luffy wasn’t in the know about their conversation with the future marimo but as strange as he could be, their Captain seemed to have this strange faculty to always know how to react to the most mysterious things. He stayed quiet and listened to them.

“What do you think he did?” Sanji finished his cigarette but he took another one immediately. He really needed it for this.

“He did what he had to do, apparently. And if you…, the other Cook, had to die to save us, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t just stand by.”

They didn’t say anything else. They instinctively knew that if what happened in this future, the one Sanji’s older self prevented, was awful enough to make one of them choose death over letting it happen, the others weren’t probably in good conditions either. The older mosshead had probably his own suicidal mission to complete.

“Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

They both turned to their Captain who was smiling at them. “What’s done is done! And it doesn’t matter what could happen, only what we’re going to do now.”

“What’s really important is what’s real and what we want to do next.” Sanji remembered his older self saying it, and now he understood there were Luffy’s words all along.

“Shishishi! Exactly! And what I want now is meat! Sanji! I’m hungry!”

The cook stood laughing and the marimo smirked too. There was no telling what the future would bring but it didn’t matter, they were together and right now, he had the duty to feed his bottomless Captain.