Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alpha, Beta and Omega. These 3 sub-genders are what comprise the world's population. It is a deciding factor that determines the world's hierarchy of who will be at the top or bottom. The normal age range for many to present their true sub-genders is between 10-16 but there have been few who either presented earlier or later than the expected range though it varies for each individual.

—Being an Alpha automatically means you're heading to the top no matter how little or no effort put in. Most might find it biased or unfair but that is how this world currently works.

The majority of Alphas are males but there are female Alphas as well, though they aren't as common as males. Alphas are characterized to be strong, fierce and commanding, that is why they are considered the leaders of the community with the majority of the Alphas working in the World Government.

Alphas are mostly independent but there are some who seek to find a pack of their own. Alphas experience regular rut periods though it varies between different individuals. Some might experience it monthly while some have it yearly. Scientists have found that the difference is due to an Alpha's sexual drive. The more active an Alpha is, the interval for his/her rut period will be shorter.

During an Alpha's rut period, an Alpha needs to be alone in a place they are comfortable in to pass their rut. Although some Alphas would rather find an outlet for their rut, most Alphas would rather spend it alone until they finally find a mate to spend their whole lives with.

Alphas can only find their fated partner in the Omega group and though there had been reports of Alpha-Beta couples, it has never been confirmed that they have indeed formed a bond in one another.

*For more information about Mates and mate bonds, go to page—

•

—Betas takes up the majority of the population with around 80% of the world population being Betas. Both females and males alike are found in the Beta group and they are considered the working class of the community. Betas like to crowd together with other betas because they feel most comfortable when they're with their fellow comrades.

Betas can only mate with other betas and though it has been mentioned of Betas finding Alpha mates before, it has never been proven true.

•

—The Omegas, also known as the Reproducers. Females only. They are considered the weakest of the 3 sub-genders and many look down upon them for their role in society. Characterized to be meek and submissive, Omegas do not have a high ranking in society and are considered to be the 'Nanny' with their job being to raise the next generation of children for the government. Omegas do not have proper jobs and are required to work on more domestic chores such as housework or babysitting.

Omegas have a regular period where they undergo their heats.

During this period, an Omega will secrete a strong pheromone that serves to attract any available unmated Alphas around them. This scent would alert those around the Omega that this Omega is ready for reproducing.

Unfortunately, the hormones that the Omega secretes would drive an unmated Alpha crazy due to their instincts and incidents that happen due to loss of control.

Due to this, the government has issued a law to protect Omegas from these sorts of incidents happening and even came up with a type of medicine to help both Alphas and Omegas control their hormones.

Suppressors are created to aid the Omegas through their heat. As the name states, it suppresses the hormones in the body to stop the heat from taking place. Though it was found that long-term use will bring harm to the body and overdosing it might result in death. Scientists are continuing their research on Heats as we speak in order to find a safer method for Omegas to live with their heats.

However, suppressors are not 100% reliable and sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances, an Omega would experience their heat unexpectedly without any warning. The government suggests that the safest method for an Omega is to find an Alpha who would be willing to provide protection and never go out alone.

Even though measures were made, reports show that it did not stop illegal acts from taking place on the Omegas and every year, hundreds of reports are being made of Omega abuse and more were never brought to light. What's worse, some organizations have taken to kidnapping Omegas for human trafficking.

With the ratio of Alphas to Omegas being low as it is, Omegas are starting to become an endangered species and the government is struggling to prevent the continuous decline of Omegas in order to protect the balance of the hierarchy.

The Government has advised that all Omegas carry suppressors at all times and always travel in pairs to avoid any incidents. But such measurements were still not enough to deal with the ongoing crisis against Omega abuse.

Further disciplinary measures are being considered by the World Government and are being carried out as we speak.

•

—Note: On page **, the author referred to Omegas as Females only. However, there were reports made that male Omegas do exist. It's rare with the ratio of female Omegas to Male Omegas being 50:1.

With Omegas steadily being reduced to a small population due to the illegal acts of trafficking and other inhumane acts, the Omega population has gone down over the years and the Government has proven to be powerless to prevent the decline.

With the revelation of male Omegas, the government and the world have been going into a frenzy into obtaining these rare Male Omegas. The government wants to protect these rare endangered species while others have more questionable motives.

Many are calling these rare omegas by this title: "Lapis"  due to how rare they are. The biology of Male Omegas is a mystery but it is discovered that they—like their female counterparts—are able to reproduce. Due to this discovery, scientists and aristocrats from all over the world are paying high amounts to obtain these 'Jewels'.

If anyone has any information on Male omegas, please write in to *****

•

Breaking news!

A Male Omega has been reported to have been sighted somewhere in the North Blue.

This has been the first Male Omega to be found in the past 15 years with the first also being discovered in the North Blue.

An anonymous source revealed that the male omega is just a child and no other information is found about this supposed child.  However, just the evidence of another male omega has made everyone eager to head out to the North seas in search of this omega child. Bounties are being made as we speak and there are even a high amount of rewards put out for the retrieval of the male omega.

Here is the list of rewards—

•

Sanji tore the book apart with his hands and threw it into the stove fire. He knew he shouldn't do that to his precious stove and it wasn't even his book to begin with. He had found it stuck under the piles of trash lying about the Merry and took it on a whim when he saw the title. The book could have belonged to Usopp or the two lovely ladies but right now he didn't seem to care.

The words he read in the book made him so pissed off! He regretted not looking at the author's name before burning it just so he could give that fucker a piece of his mind if he ever came across him one day.

Jewel? Hah! Do those idiots out there think that putting a fancy name makes it justifiable to slavery or demeaning his entire existence?

So what if he's one of those Male Omegas that the book speaks of? He was not some damn prize to be won or taken.

Sometimes he really hated his life. Being born into a family of assassins was bad enough but being born as an omega? He felt like the universe just wants him to suffer.

Before he read the book, he already knew that the world viewed male omegas differently. Specifically, there were groups that think of male omegas like precious jewels, made to be locked up and protected, and then there were the bastards who think that male omegas were sluts made to be used like toys and broken.

Sanji despises both groups and would rather spend his life as he wishes. That includes finding the All Blue and maybe—if he's lucky enough—find his fated pair in the near future.

Yes, Sanji's a bit of a daydreamer who sincerely believes in the legend about fated pairs. That each omega has a fated alpha partner out there waiting for them. Once the fated pairs meet, a bond will be created between the two. Legend has it that the bond is sacred and nothing—not even death—would tear the bond apart. It was considered a legend because almost no one had the luck to meet their fated partner and although there may be some who did, there was never enough evidence to prove that the bond was real. Only the pair would know but who would ever think to use such a sacred bond for science?

And considering it came from a legend, who’s to say the story wasn’t exaggerated.

That didn't stop Sanji from dreaming about it though. He truly hoped that that fateful day would come soon, preferably before his untimely death.

Zeff; his adoptive beta father, had sent him out on a journey to find the All Blue for both his sake and Sanji's. Sanji knows that the old geezer did this for another reason, and that was to get Sanji out of East Blue before certain people start sniffing.

He could've hidden the fact that he was an omega back when he was still a kid, but now that he's almost an adult, his hormones were stronger and it was only a matter of time people started noticing how different he smells.

Even scent suppressors and blockers have its limits to what it can do and overdosing it would be plain stupid. (Sanji knew of course—he's the idiot who tried it and suffered the consequences of overdosing.)

He decided to add body spray to further hide his scent and even took up smoking in order to mask his scent with smoke. Though the latter ended up as a habit, much to Zeff's dismay.

Luffy's epic entrance to the Baratie back then had just helped to move things along for the better. Zeff seemed to trust the boy to take care of Sanji, although Sanji would argue that he didn't need to be taken care of.

So thus began his journey on a ship that has a sheep for a head and 4 other crewmates in tow.

Like him, all of them have crazy dreams of their own but what was craziest was the Strawhat boy's dream of wanting to become the pirate king.

At first, he thought the boy was mad but after seeing what he can do, Sanji quickly changed his mind about this boy and was willing to follow him as one of his crew. Sanji guessed that must be what the other members of the crew saw in Luffy as well, otherwise, how could one boy gather a bunch of misfits with different sub-genders like them to sail together for days—even months—in a small ship.

Though an Alpha, Luffy never once used his authoritative voice to command any of his crewmates. He whines and pouts, and what's most surprising was that he never acted like how a proper alpha would act which for Sanji, was both a relief and a blessing to have found a friend like him.

Still, that made lying to him all the harder as he felt guilty every time he has to hide the fact that he's an omega by pretending to be an alpha. Though he didn't straight up say that he's an alpha when asked, he didn't deny it either and just let people assume he was one. He knew how to act like one, courtesy of his bastard family he ran away from—minus all the abusive behavior of course. He would never stoop to their level of flaunting his strength on those who didn't deserve it.

He knew Luffy wouldn't care if he was an Alpha, Beta or Omega, but every time he wanted to admit the truth, the churning fear inside of him made him freeze and it became unbearable to even speak. He would always end up backing out and scurrying away like a coward.

He really hated himself for that.

Speaking of Alphas, there's another in the crew named Zoro.

Sanji has never liked that man but he does respect his contributions to the crew. In Sanji's eyes, Zoro was very much how a typical alpha would be; fierce, fully packed with muscles, piercing gaze that seems to shoot right through him and really, really rude.

Every time he opens his mouth, the damn moss-head would find some sort of thing to start an argument with him. He would insult him every moment he got and even dared insult his cooking even as he scoffs it down his throat.

Just the sight of that grass-head makes his blood boil in irritation and every conversation with him just ends up in a fight.

It just made him remember just how much he hates Alphas(with the exception of Luffy) and he tries to stay away from him as much as possible, only interacting during mealtimes.

There was only so much of the Moss-head he could take.

Next, there's the sweet Nami-san who Sanji immediately swoons over the moment he met her. He knows what she is then; an omega. But female omegas were not as rare as male ones. Still, it was nice to know that he's not the only omega in the group even if they do not know.

Even though she's an Omega, she's fierce and strong; able to keep the uncontrollable Luffy and the idiot Swordsman under her thumb and keep the crew on course to their destination.

Brilliant and beautiful, Sanji could not help but admire her for embracing her Omega and did not let it dictate her life. Sanji also took note that the crew did not treat her any differently despite their sub-genders. It gave Sanji a little relief but it did not extinguish the deep-rooted fear in him of others finding out his true nature. Still, it made him a little jealous and he hated himself for feeling that way towards the lovely Nami-san.

The only Beta on the crew was Usopp who Sanji originally thought was a fellow Omega like him by the way he acted and frankly was a little disappointed when he found out Usopp was in fact a beta.

Betas were common among their kind so there's not much to say about that.

The only thing interesting about Usopp that made Sanji's hackles rise when he heard it, was that Usopp has already found his mate who is this sweet girl by the name of Kaya.

She's also a beta like Usopp and the two have been friends since young. Usopp had left with them in order to see the world and promised to become a better man when he came back to her. Sanji can't help but respect the man for that resolve as much as he was jealous of him for finding love.

As they continued their journey ahead, they managed to recruit another two more members, though the means to do it was quite questionable.

There's a unique little reindeer who ate the Human-Human fruit and ended up not quite human but not quite a reindeer too. Chopper is a special being who didn't have a sub-gender because he was originally a reindeer but that was what made Sanji comfortable around him since he didn't have to worry about these bothersome dynamics. Not to mention Chopper is young and fun to tease. Though he was the youngest in the crew, he is exceptional in the medical field and knows all sorts of cures for many diseases. Sanji lost count of how many times Chopper had saved them with his medical knowledge and even aided him in his cooking because he wanted to make sure everyone was getting their required nutrition.   

Next was someone Sanji has the most absolute pleasure to meet. Nico Robin was someone he felt he and she were alike. She's an alpha. One of those special female Alphas that came from a hailed line of Ohara that was annihilated by the World Government for knowing too much forbidden knowledge. She too like him, was on the run from people who wanted her because of her knowledge and it was Luffy who rescued her and brought her along on their journey. Sanji had gained even more respect for his captain for being so magnanimous towards someone in trouble and was glad Robin came to stay as one of them on the Merry.

The World Government was comprised mostly of Alphas and Sanji has no love for how their organisation carries out its missions. Not because he is a pirate, no, but because the World Government only knew how to throw their power around, oppressing the weak and powerless while enriching themselves with power and glory just to satisfy their egos. He knew not everyone in the Government is like that, but the higher-ups were all corrupted in Sanji's opinion. How else were they able to put out such a high bounty to capture Male Omegas if they stated all they wanted was to 'protect' them.

Such bullshit!

He had already been sold out once and that's not an experience he'd like to revisit.

Those bastards that he used to call family had sold him out to the Charlotte family as a way to tie their families together. His time there had not been pleasant and these memories have haunted him ever since he escaped from them years ago, right before the day of the wedding. Not to mention the scars they had inflicted upon him—both mentally and physically—have not faded and it hurts to even look at his reflection without wanting to break it. He couldn't risk explaining to Nami how another one of the bathroom mirrors broke again without making her suspicious.

He wasn't sure whether those bastards would be looking for him. But one thing he's sure about was that he'd rather slit his own throat than be drag back to that nightmare again. He wasn't sure his sanity could withstand another night in that hellhole. Surely death would be better than being used as a slave to other's needs.

He sighed and tried to shook all these troublesome thoughts from his head. It wasn't the first time having these thoughts and it certainly wouldn't be the last. These thoughts helped him stay on his toes. If he ever caught wind of any rumors about them coming for him, he'd planned to run away as fast as he could. Yes, half of it was because he was afraid but the real reason was that he didn't want these idiots traveling with him to get caught up in the fight for an omega.

It wasn't worth it and truthfully, it was stupid and definitely not worth Luffy's time. He is going to be the King of Pirates. Luffy shouldn't have to waste his time fighting in a battle for a useless Omega like him.

No. As soon as they come for him, Sanji was prepared to run and lead them far away from the Merry.

A yell from a distance made him look out the window of the galley and see his idiot smiling captain running at full speed towards the ship.

Sanji walked out of the galley to have a better view and saw that his other crewmates had also come out to the deck to see what's the commotion about.

"Guuuuuyyysss!!!" Luffy yelled from the distance, waving his hands like a madman.

Behind him was a mob of angry villagers with pitchforks and pipes in hand. Not only that, the Marines were also mixed in the crowd with deadly guns and swords at the ready.

His captain ran in front of the angry group, laughing loudly like he was enjoying this—which he probably was.

He sighed and lit up a cigarette in his mouth, tapping his shoe against the floor to make sure it's secured.

Just another day as a Strawhat Pirate.

Kicking ass and taking names.

Zoro wonders why that idiot Cook always wears so much cologne. He's like a walking stink bomb. It's strange for them to even wear any bodysprays in the first place because of their sensitive noses.

But being the shitty Cook, he has to go be different and go against every custom he thought Alphas wouldn't do.

For instance, cooking was something mostly Betas and Omegas do. Alphas like them can't cook because of their extremely sensitive nose that made them unable to work with spices or anything that interferes with their nose.

Still, Zoro doesn't call Sanji out for being different because their whole crew was made up of weirdos with Luffy being the weirdest of them all. Zoro can sense that Luffy is a strong Alpha and through his fights, Zoro can tell not only was Luffy's strong, he also has a compassionate heart so big that Zoro could never understand. Zoro truly admires that about Luffy and thus chose to follow this fellow Alpha even though Alphas tend to be independent.

Well, that just made Zoro weird too, a perfect trait in order to fit in with these bunch of misfits.

Zoro does enjoy being alone on most days but nowadays, he finds himself starting to appreciate how being in a pack feels like. He didn't hate it despite all the noise and a certain annoying pest around him much to his surprise. He found himself enjoying the company, the play-fights and even the food.

Yes, the food made by that shit-Cook was something he had never tasted before in his life. It assaulted his tastebuds in the most pleasurable way and made mealtimes so much more enjoyable. Not to mention the occasional booze the Cook would bring out for him to share as they sit on the deck in comfortable silence.

The Cook was someone Zoro could never quite figure out. He thought he was a coward for not taking a stand to fight for his ambitions but he showed Zoro he could really fight when the situation called for it. He surprised Zoro once again when he took down the tough-looking fishman singlehandedly with his mesmerizing kick-ass style and again he was captivated when the Cook outsmarted the Warlord Crocodile—who was a powerful well-known Alpha—and overpowered all the alligators in the room to free them.

Appearance can really be deceiving because Zoro was surprised again and again by what the Cook can do with that matchstick body of his and he was definitely impressed.

That doesn't mean the Cook was any less annoying though. Every day—from morning to night—they'll somehow find something to argue about no matter how small it was. There was no heat to their arguments, only annoyance and maybe a tint of satisfaction for being able to rile each other up.

It was a competition between the two and Zoro was enjoying every minute of it despite often feeling the need to pull his hair out when talking to him. The spars between them were both thrilling and entertaining. It kept him energized and also served as his training. He never thought the prissy Cook could become someone like a rival to him.

He thought back to his childhood friend Kuina. She was an Omega but that did not stop her from dreaming big. Her father was a Beta who taught in the dojo so she learned from a young age at the art of Kendo.

However, females back then were looked down upon on and to make things worse, she was also an Omega which puts her right at the bottom of the hierarchy. The situation on Omegas now was a little better than before but the prejudice was still out there.

That didn't stop Kuina from working her hardest to achieve that dream; the dream to become the world's #1 greatest Swords-woman. It has never been done before and she wanted to be the first to do it. She wanted to show the world that females have power too, let alone an Omega.

She never did care about being an Omega and took her suppressors every day to put off her heats though she still experienced pain from the side-effects of the pills from time to time. But she silently bore all the pain she had to undergo as an Omega.

However, she did have an issue with being born a female.

Many times she admitted quietly to Zoro that she was disappointed to be born a girl and how she admired Zoro for being a boy. Boys have bigger muscles she would say. No matter how much she works, she'll never compete with a male despite the same efforts put in.

Still despite her insecurities, Zoro had never once defeated her in a one-on-one battle. She was Zoro's rival and friend and Zoro made sure she always knew that.

Male or female, Alpha or Omega, it doesn't matter to Zoro as long as you have the skills to prove yourself. Not just in terms of strength, but in terms of willpower too.

It devastated Zoro when she passed but that didn't stop Zoro from taking her dream with him and heading out to the seas for the both of them. He took her white sword with him as well as her will in order to show the world that her dream was something possible and that their names will reach all over the world as the 'Greatest'.

Funny how he found someone out there who gave him the same feeling as Kuina did. He loves their silly bouts and their bickers but sometimes during their fights he could see that there was something dark and heavy behind those blue eyes of his that carried much pain and insecurities about oneself.

Just like Kuina...

He always thought.

But Sanji was nothing like Kuina. The most obvious fact was that he's a male and an Alpha at that. Everything Kuina wanted to be but never could. It made Zoro bothered to know someone as strong as Sanji could carry so much baggage on his thin shoulders and carry it alone.

Still, there's nothing Zoro could do to help him. He was sure the Cook wouldn't even want his help even if he offered. And that fact was what drove Zoro mad; the helplessness at being unable to do anything. Just like with Kuina.

Zoro sighed as he heard the boisterous laughter of his captain in the distance. The others heard it too and came out onto the deck to see what's the commotion about.

Groaning as he saw the horde of angry people chasing his captain, he got himself ready with his katana unsheathed and hop off the ship.

He heard Nami screaming at him not to aggravate the villagers and marines any further but he ignored her. It's been a while since he got to fight and this would be a warm-up for him.

Seconds later, someone landed next to him and he knew without looking that it was the shit Cook here to steal his fun.

"You can go back to the Merry curly-brows, I've got this covered." He smirked.

"No way. You may get lost on your way there and never find your way back." He shot back while casually puffing away on his cancer stick.

"It's a straight path!" Zoro rolled his eyes. He could see Luffy running towards them in the distance. It was only a short run between them and Luffy, who in the world could get lost in that short distance? The shit Cook was underestimating him!

Sanji didn't bother replying to him and started running towards their captain with Zoro following behind. They reached the crowd where Luffy had stopped running, settling for kicking ass instead and the two joined in on the fight. Working in sync, the two fought their way to the center towards their captain.

"Hey Cap'n, what did you do now?"

"Zoorroooooo.....I didn't do anything!" Luffy whined and punched a marine in the face. The force of it sent the poor marine flying into the others behind him, toppling them over like a bunch of dominoes.

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" Sanji muttered and kicked a marine's sword away from his hands followed by another powerful kick to the marine's chest. He crumpled and went down quickly.

"Honest! I was trying to find some meat in town and happened to find some lying around so I ate it!"

"That's called stealing you idiot!" Sanji swirled around and kicked his fool of a captain in the head and Zoro could only grin at his captain's foolishness.

"But it was just lying around! There was no one there!" Luffy protested.

Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly in exasperation.

Why in the world did I even join this guy?

That was a question he found himself asking quite often. Though it was a rhetorical one since he knew the reason deep down but sometimes his captain keeps making him regret his life choices. One look at Zoro's expression told him he was thinking the same thing.

"C'mon guys! Let's not waste any more time here! There's an adventure just waiting to be found on the next island!"

Luffy exclaimed before looping both arms around Sanji's and Zoro's waist.

The two looked at each other in horror, realizing what's about to happen and were powerless to stop it from happening.

"Shit. Not agaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

Zoro didn't even finish his sentence before finding himself airborne with only the wind in his ears and seconds later he felt the drop making his stomach churn uncomfortably.

He hit the deck with a loud thump and saw that the Cook suffered the same fate as him.

"Yahoo!! Set sail!!!!" Luffy yelled. A chorus of "Aye!" resounded around the ship before the vessel began moving. Zoro hoped that there would be enough time for him to take a long nap before the next island.

He really needs it.

Chapter Text

A week has passed since the last island and the Strawhats have been sailing on the seas with no land in sight. Zoro was napping on the deck, far away from the galley but found that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't drift off at all. There was something in the air that was constantly bugging him and he couldn't understand why he was so annoyed by it.

All he knows that it was coming from the Cook and he didn't quite dislike it. In fact, he found his body gravitating towards it and that fact horrified him.

It made him sound like he was attracted to the shit Cook or something which he was definitely not!

No way!

The Cook must've spilled something on himself or maybe he changed his cologne. Maybe that's why he smelled so good to Zoro's nose. Yeah, it definitely wasn't because of the Cook himself.

After changing locations for the nth time of the day, Zoro walked out from the men's bunk where he'd been hiding. He had spent the majority of the time avoiding the Cook and even found excuses to eat his breakfast outside the galley where the Cook's scent was the strongest.

The Cook had only given him a weird look but didn't question it which Zoro was thankful for. He wasn't sure what excuse to give for this situation right now.

There was only Robin and Usopp on deck right now and he decided to ask the question that was heavily on his mind to the Sharpshooter.

"Hey, doesn't the Cook smell particularly weird today?" Zoro tried to sound casual. He didn't want anyone to think he had any interest in the Cook.

"What do you mean? He smells the same as always to me." Usopp tilted his head in confusion.

"No. I mean that smell that he always has, doesn't it smell stronger? Like, it's everywhere." Zoro waved a hand frustratingly in the air as though to wave away the smell.

"Huh...I don't smell anything different though. He has his cologne on as usual and he still smells like cigarettes to me. Maybe it's something only you alphas could pick up?" Usopp suggested. "Maybe you should go ask the other Alphas about it? Like Robin?" He gestured to the dark-haired woman who was sitting under the shade of an umbrella reading.

"Hmm. Maybe I should. Thanks Usopp." Zoro gave a halfhearted wave and proceeded to go find his captain. He really didn't want to speak to Robin unless necessary because something about her just gives Zoro the chills. It's like she knows everything just by looking at you and that does not sit well with Zoro at all.

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted, hoping to call out his captain instead of going to find him. It'll be faster that way instead of him going to find the Strawhat.

"Yeah Zoro?!!" Luffy's voice came muffled from the storage room and Zoro made his way there, wondering why on earth Luffy was there at this time.

When Zoro opened the door, he almost gagged at the overwhelming smell that had filled the room.

"What the hell Luffy?! What did you do here?" He covered his nose with a hand and tried to breathe through his mouth but the smell was too powerful.

It wasn't a pungent smell at all, in fact, it was the opposite. To Zoro, it was sweet—too sickeningly sweet; like rock sugar or caramel candy. There was also a spicy scent mixed into it which reminded Zoro of a certain someone but that shouldn't be possible because that idiot spends his whole time in the kitchen and Zoro would've seen him if he out strolling about. But he also knew that it definitely didn't belong to Luffy.

"I spilled something so I'm trying to air it out." Luffy explained and started fanning the area with a blanket.

"What the hell did you spill to cause such a stench?!"

"Ah...." Luffy opened his mouth but stuttered. "My....My....My MEAT!" He yelled but Zoro could tell he was obviously lying. Luffy's eyes were darting all over the place and who in the world would believe such a stupid answer?

Still, Luffy seemed to be stubborn on this and Zoro decided to just leave it.

"Whatever....Let's just quickly air out the room. I can't stand it."

"Right!" Luffy's face lit up immediately, glad that Zoro didn't question him any further.

There was a few moments of silence as they worked to air out the room through the door before Zoro remembered why he sought out Luffy in the first place.

"Hey Luffy, notice any change in the Shit-Cook lately?"

"Sanji? No. He's the same as ever! Why did you ask Zoro?" Luffy tilted his head in question but Zoro could feel his captain's steady eyes focused on him. Like he was worried about what Zoro was going to say.

"Nothin' much. Thought the Cook smelled different lately but it could be just me." Zoro shrugged and paid close attention to Luffy's expression.

There was a flash of concern in Luffy's eyes but it was gone right as it came, leaving Zoro to wonder if he was imagining it or not.

"He smells the same to me. Your nose must be broken Zoro." Luffy laughed and Zoro was annoyed that his sense of smell was being insulted, especially by his captain.

Seeing that Luffy was of no help at all and that the smell in the room—though lessened—was affecting him greatly, he decided to leave the room and made his way down to the anchor room. There shouldn't be anyone there at this moment, so maybe he'd find his peace and quiet there.

After minutes of wandering around the ship, he finally made his way to the anchor room and was relieved to see it empty. Maybe he could take a nap here without anyone—or smells—to annoy him.

He plopped himself down onto the bench and took in a nice, relaxing deep breath.

Good. It smells normal. He thought gratefully. His nose has been assaulted by so many strong smells today that he felt numb.

He was almost about to drift off to sleep when the door opened.

A tuft of blond hair stuck out but it was the smell that made Zoro's eyes pop open first. It was so aromatic and strong that it made Zoro choke.

Sweet and spicy filled the room and he couldn't help but close his eyes and let a groan (or is it a moan?) that slipped out from his lips.

"Why the fuck are you here?" The Cook snaps when he saw Zoro there.

"That's my line crap-Cook." Zoro muttered.

"Whatever. I need you to get out."

Gladly. Zoro thought. His mind was getting so muddled by the Cook's scent that he couldn't think he could handle it anymore. It was doing strange things to his body and he didn't like it when he's not in control of himself.

However, he found himself reacting the same way he always does.

"I was here first. You get out."

The Cook shot Zoro a hateful glare but Zoro caught a glimpse of anxiety in them. The Cook opened his mouth to say something before snapping it shut quickly and grimaced. What was strange to Zoro was that the moment Sanji did that, there was a surge of pheromones flooding the room that made Zoro dizzy. For a moment he knew he had blackened out because the next thing he knew, he was staring into the Cook's large, frightful eyes as Zoro pinned him to the ground.

"Crap! Shit! Sorry!" Zoro spluttered as he quickly scrambled away from the dazed Cook.

He had backed all the way till his back hit the wall and he had himself stay there until he was sure of his own control. He had no idea what had come over him. One minute he was just sitting there and the next he was about to lose himself to his instincts because of the Cook.

The Cook.... He glanced over to where the Cook sat. He had quickly gotten up when Zoro backed away but hadn't moved an inch since then and Zoro was starting to worry. The scent of the sweet-spicy smell in the room has turned to a sickening fear-filled odor and the one producing it was sitting deathly still on the floor.

Zoro was so ashamed of himself for not controlling his instincts but he had to argue that it was also the Cook's fault for flaunting his stupid scent everywhere. What sort of Alpha is he anyway to not take his suppressors during his rut?

Well, that was what Zoro assumed was the case. Otherwise what was wrong with the Cook's scent? Or was his nose the problem?

Either way, he'd fucked up.

Luffy will punch him for letting this happen when he's supposed to protect his crew instead of frightening them.

"Oi Cook." He tried to shake him out of whatever he was in while making sure he himself stayed away in case he messes up again. "You alright there?"

No response. But Zoro saw a flinch in the Cook's shoulders and the smell of fear in the room thickened.

The smell was starting to get to Zoro too but Zoro steeled himself against it and made himself focus on the objective at hand.

He slowly inched his way towards the immobile blond. As he got closer, his ears picked up the incoherent mumbles from the blond and also the quickening of his breaths.

Oh shit. Zoro recognizes the signs of a panic attack when he sees one. The problem was, he has no idea what to do when it happens.

"Oi...Co—Sanji."

He tried again, hoping that the Cook would at least react to his name being called. But again, there was no response from the man.

Shitshitshit..... Zoro chanted in his head and tried to think of what to do next. Going to Chopper would be the most logical thing to do but that means he would have to get past the Cook who was blocking the door. He didn't know how the Cook would react to him but he guesses he didn't have any choice now.

Moving to the door as swiftly as he could was a bad idea because it accidentally triggered something in Sanji and the poor soul let out a mournful cry of distress before collapsing onto his knees with his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

Zoro winced in remorse but hurried to get Chopper before the blond could hurt himself in any way. Luckily for him, Chopper was on his way to him having heard the cry just seconds ago.

"Move Zoro!" Chopper yelled as he barreled past him and rushed to Sanji's side. The blond didn't react negatively to Chopper's presence and instead leaned towards him. Zoro's ears caught the small whimpering sounds of distress and Chopper leaned in closer to him, slowly tilting Sanji's head towards his neck where his scent was stronger. Sanji took in a deep breath and visibly calmed down.

All the while, Zoro stood at the door; body stiff and still as he observed the scene. He didn't understand what was going on but he found himself feeling concerned for his rival.

Chopper continued to whisper soft reassurance to the blond until his tremors stopped but even then he didn't let go of him. Soon after, Sanji's eyes drooped close and Chopper let out a small sigh of relief.

"What the hell happened?" Zoro whispered, afraid to wake the Cook after what just happened.

"Panic attack. Luckily it was a small one otherwise I might have to dose him like last time."

Last time?

Zoro noticed a small syringe poking out from the doctor's bag and wondered how Chopper knew beforehand about the Cook's situation but Chopper answered that question for him.

"This is not the first time it happened. So I'm always prepared just in case. I'm glad I didn't have to use it though."

That was news to Zoro. He had no idea one of his crewmates was dealing with something like this.

"Do you know what triggered it?" Chopper stared at him with big curious eyes and Zoro was a little embarrassed to admit that he was the cause of it.

"I think I did...." He admitted shamefully.

Something in Chopper's eyes flashed and he was instantly alert and up.

"Tell me what happened." The stern look on the reindeer's furry face didn't suit him at all and Zoro felt himself sweat under the intense gaze.

He told the doctor everything that happened, from the start to the finish without leaving anything out. He didn't know why he was being so compliant but he didn't think hiding anything would do him any good now.

"Hm." Chopper nodded his head when Zoro finished but said nothing else. After a moment of silence, Chopper looked up to Zoro with a thin smile.

"Don't worry Zoro. It's not your fault. It seems that it was the stress in Sanji that had triggered his attack." Chopper assured.

"Stress?"

"Yeah. He has not been sleeping well lately and coupled with some other things made all the stress pile up. I'm going to watch over him for the night so leave him to me."

Zoro nodded mutely and slowly backed out of the room. As he climbed the stairs up to the deck, his mind was still stuck below, trying to process everything that happened.

Stress? really?

Zoro found it hard to believe that the Cook could have a panic attack due to stress. There were many times the crew was in a stressful situation such as a life-threatening situation and yet nothing like this happened. Instead, the Cook was always cool and collected, helping the crew with solutions to get them out of their predicament.

Zoro could tell that Chopper wasn't telling him the whole story but he chalks it up to patient confidentiality. Still, he couldn't help but worry at why the Cook was acting like that towards him.

And that scent of his.

He had never smelled anything so intense before. It clouded his mind and even made him lose to his instincts. Zoro had never once lost control like that before. As a Swordsman, self-control is a must and he prides himself on that.

But now?

As much as he chided himself for that slip, he also blamed the Cook for placing him in this situation. He should've known better to make a mistake like that when an Alpha experiences his rut.

He might not fully understand the biology of these things because he had never experienced a rut before. He didn't think it was strange that he didn't have it because he was sure Luffy also didn't have to go through any rut period but he did know that Alphas often have a rutting period whereas Omegas have a regular heat period as taught by his childhood rival.

Robin seemed to experienced it before but he knew better than to ask about these sensitive issues. He didn't want to die early.

That brings him to the question, does the rut makes you produce such a sweet smelling scent to others? Or was it just him?

He guessed he just has to ask Chopper about it but how was he supposed to bring it up? He can't just go like: 'Hey, I was wondering if experiencing a rut could make one's scent smell like sweet honey and tangy spices.'

Yeah, Chopper would just cry and give him some pills for his head or something.

I guess it's better if I don't mention the scent.... He decided. He should just casually ask about ruts and somehow slowly—causally—gravitate towards the Cook. That wouldn't be too weird for him right?

Urgh.... He groaned out loud and pressed a hand to his face. Why was this happening to him? Why was he thinking about ruts and stupid biology that he never bothered to care about before?

It's all the damn Cook's fault.

That's it. He made up his mind. He's going to go to the Cook as soon as he sees him and get some answers out from him. It would be easier going straight to the source instead of beating around the bush. As much as he didn't want to stress the Cook out even more, the Cook owes him answers for messing with his head with his damn aromatic scent!

It was obvious the Cook was hiding something. Zoro didn't care about secrets, he sure as hell doesn't have any but he knew his crewmates all have one or two they like to keep.

Whatever. It was their business anyway and Zoro couldn't care less if it doesn't get in the way of their journey towards their dreams. But the thing with Cook was a different matter entirely. The strange scent the Cook emits that keeps fucking him in the head was annoying. And if the Cook was keeping something about this a secret, then he deserves the right to know.

The scent was ruining his concentration and making him lose his mind. This can't go on for long otherwise he was sure to make a mistake and one mistake may cost him his life—or any of his crew mates' life.

He needed to talk to the Cook as soon as possible and find a way to get rid of the scent clinging to the Cook.

Otherwise, he fears he'll not only lose his mind but also something that he never thought would be possible— his heart.

Chapter Text

"Sanji....You know you can tell me anything right?" Chopper chided in a motherly tone.

Sanji just granted in response and didn't say anything. He really didn't want to talk right now, especially not after the whole freak out episode that Zoro and Chopper both witnessed. It was caused by a few factors actually and one of which was something Sanji rather not say. Actually, he would rather not say anything because it all leads back to his past.

And his past will lead to the secret he's been hiding for too damn long for certain reasons.

Still, lying to his nakama was never something he enjoyed and it hurts him deeply to do so. So the next best thing was to keep his silence, hoping that Chopper would take the hint that he didn't want to talk about it.

A cowardly move, but it was all he could think of.

Chopper noticed that and gave him a worried look.

"Sanji? You okay? Are you still...." Chopper trailed off, not knowing the right word to say.

Still what? Sanji wondered what Chopper was intending to say.

Still having nightmares about my childhood? Still having panic attacks just because someone pin me down? Still mess up in the head?

Okay, that last one was a little bit too much but Sanji couldn't help himself for thinking so bitterly. As the doctor, Chopper has the rights to know all about the crew's health and that includes mental health as well. Chopper knew a little of Sanji's childhood based on the little bits of information Sanji was willing to divulge at a time. Chopper knew Sanji had a hard childhood and that it caused him to develop trauma in the form of nightmares and anxiety.

Chopper also knew about his attacks because he just so happened to have one just as the doctor walked in once and Chopper severely reprimanded him about keeping it from him. The reindeer had wanted to try some counseling but Sanji was quick to reject that idea.

He wasn't sick. He didn't need that kind of help. Plus, it'll just be a waste of time on him anyway. He had learned to live with sleepless nights and fear haunting him every now and then so it wasn't so much of a big deal to him.

Chopper didn't look convinced at all but let it slide. Counseling only works best if the patient is willing he said.

But now he was wondering if Chopper was right about him? Maybe he should get help?

The last person he'd want to have known about his attacks was Zoro and now he knows due to Sanji being an stubborn idiot.

It wasn't just because Zoro pinned him down that he started panicking. It was because at that moment when Zoro pinned him down, the first thing Sanji saw was his bastard brother's face—Yonji—overlapping with Zoro's. After that, his whole mind went blank and instincts took over.

He knew he shouldn't move. Not even an inch because Yonji would beat him if he even showed any resistance in front of him. And he always laughed as he did it just to watch Sanji squirm in his hold. At first, Sanji did everything he could to wrench himself out of his grasp but he was just an ordinary boy whereas his brothers were all enhanced and stronger than him by twofold. There was nothing he could have done to escape, much less defend himself against the abuse his brothers love to dish out.

Soon, he learned to just take it silently because resisting only got him more beatings and more pain. He still his body as much as he could and let his brothers do whatever they want to him just to satisfy their disgusting hobbies.

Then the time came when he presented. He hope to God he was a beta. He didn't want to be an alpha lest he turns out like his bastard brothers but fate was screwing with him for presenting him as an Omega—a male Omega.

That's when the abuse got worse.

Hell worse.

Years of abuse had made his body obedient and even after learning to fight and defend himself through Zeff's teachings, he still couldn't prevent his instincts from making his body freeze whenever a strong Alpha male scent breeze past him or even when someone approached him from behind.

His attacks didn't happened much back at the Baratie and each time it did, Zeff was quick to to snap Sanji back to reality with his voice and somehow the Omega in him knew that he was safe with the Beta. Zeff was a stronghold for him whenever he felt like drowning in his fears during his earlier years and has continued to be his anchor even till this day.

After he left with the Strawhats, he had managed to keep all Alphas away from him—minus those of his crew—and had been mindful of his heat periods. Even during battles, he was always mindful not to let any Alphas too close to him, using his long legs to kick the shit out of them before they enter his personal space. It was also lucky for him that the marines out patrolling the seas consist of mostly Betas with the top officials being the Alphas. On occasions that they do meet an Alpha, it was Luffy who takes them on as his captain's always aiming for the boss, trusting Sanji and the others to clean up the rest. He didn't mind that at all though, he has the duty to protect the rest of his comrades so that Luffy can go beat up the boss without any worries. Plus, he trusts that Zoro will be there to support him.

That means he didn't have to come into contact with Alphas much, much to his relief.

Although there are 2 alpha males in the crew, one being Luffy who couldn't even be considered a proper Alpha by how he acts and also strangely doesn't give off any Alpha pheromones. Even Chopper was unable to explain that but just chalk it up to Luffy being Luffy.

However, Zoro was a totally different case.

Zoro was by far, the most stereotypical alpha male Sanji has ever met—at least on the surface level. Big, muscular and full of attitude. Thinking that he own the world and he can take anything just by going straight at it without any use of his brains. Rude and has the mannerisms of a neantherdal.

Everything about the green headed idiot makes Sanji mad.

Why does it have to be green?! Of all colors, why does it have to resemble something of that bastard?!

Sanji hated how he saw Yonji in Zoro. He knew Zoro was nothing like his brother. Zoro may be an idiot, but he still has a heart to care for his crew mates and has an aspiring ambition to aim for. Whereas his brothers were nothing but a failed by-product of Judge's quest to build an army of obedient soldiers.

No heart. No soul. He wouldn't even consider them humans.

That's why Sanji hated himself for even comparing the two.

"Sanji....."

Chopper's voice snapped Sanji out of his thoughts and he focused his attention on the little doctor.

"You know you can't keep doing this...."

"I know."

"No! You don't! I—"

"Chopper." Sanji calmly cut him off, his eyes locked firmly onto Chopper's. "Trust me. I do know."

Chopper stared at Sanji for a few moments before sighing. "I want to help you...." He said almost in a whisper.

"I know you do. And thank you for that. But I can't let you bear this burden of mine."

Chopper opened his mouth but Sanji knew what he was going to say before the words even left his mouth.

"Any of you."

The look on Sanji's face was determined and Chopper found that he could say nothing else to convince this stubborn man to change his mind. He could only nod in defeat.

Seeing this discussion was over, Sanji stood to leave but once he was at the door, Chopper stopped him.

"But if you happen to have another attack, then no matter what, you have to come tell me about it." Chopper insisted in a firm tone. If Sanji's not going to let him help with his problems, at least he should inform his doctor about it. At least then, Chopper would be aware of it and possibly lighten his burden. It's all he could do for this stubborn man as of now.

"Sure. You're the only one I can tell anyway." He chuckled humorlessly and gave a tired smile before exiting the infirmary.

As the door closes, Chopper stared forlornly at the back of this broken man and tears welled up in his eyes again.

"Liar."

The night air felt cool and refreshing against Sanji's skin. He breathed in a lungful of air and slowly exhaled it out, taking in the sight of the night sky high above the Merry.

The waves were calm and peaceful; gently brushing against the hull of the Merry and making smoothing noises that Sanji came to love. Growing up on the Baratie, it was always so chaotic in the day and the only time he would ever get any peace and quiet was during the night. He loves the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the hull of the ship, the cooling salty air and even the inky blackness of the seas that makes you feel as though you're the only one on this Earth.

It's smoothing and Sanji really needed the peace and quiet right now.

Too bad he won't get it.

"Oi."

He sighed softly and resisted the urge to snap back. He was too tired for this.

"What." His voice was low and flat, he really didn't want to face Zoro right now.

"What did Chopper say?"

Is Zoro worried about me?

This thought came to his mind but he was too tired to further contemplate on it, simply dismissing it as Zoro being bored or something, that's why he's asking.

"Nothin' much. The usual, more rest and sleep."

"Don't lie to me Cook. I know it has something to do with your attack. What triggered it?"

You. Your scent. Your entire existence.

But Sanji could never say that. First of all, it would make him sound weak. He was pretending to be an Alpha to everyone's eyes so the fact that an Alpha was afraid of another Alpha's scent was something laughable. It would also mean that Sanji's beneath Zoro and that was something Sanji would never live down.

Second of all, that would make everyone start to question the root of his fears against Alphas. And he would rather die than let his past be unveiled to his nakamas.

Zoro and the rest must never know. And if the day comes where his past come to light, he'd have to leave the Strawhats. Knowing the Strawhats, they'd accept him no matter what which gives him a greater reason not to drag them down with him and his burdens.

"Well?"

Sanji blinked slowly as he came back from being lost in his thoughts and found Zoro staring at him impatiently.

Oh yeah. Still have to deal with him first.

Sanji didn't want to have to lie to his nakama. And yes, even if it's Zoro. Taking out a cigarette and lighting it swiftly, he took one grateful huff of it and felt his nerves loosen a little. Just what he needed right now.

"Your ugly mug caused it. Now get away from me before I faint again." He waved his hands dismissively.

Zoro's scent was getting thicker and Sanji felt his Omega side rising to respond to the angry Alpha.

Don't. He gritted his teeth in frustration. You're in control, not the Omega. He reminded himself repeatedly and fought to get his instincts in check. The cigarette smoke was doing a great job of masking the traces of Omega scent that leaked out despite his struggles. 

He could still feel Zoro's anger in the air and he decided to take a quick retreat before things accelerated beyond his control. He was not in the mood to fight especially not after an attack.

His emotions were high and his thoughts were all over the place. He needed some time to compose himself and recover before he accidentally do something he'd regret.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going."

He made a quick retreat back into the galley, the whole while feeling Zoro's burning gaze on his back but the man did nothing to stop him much to his relief. The moment he reached the galley, he immediately slammed the door shut, huffing out a breath of relief but at the same time feeling somewhat ashamed of his actions.

He felt so much like a coward for running away. If he didn't have so much to hide, then he wouldn't be feeling so guilty about everything.

His very existence was tiring but that's how he had decided to live, no matter how hard it gets.

Heaving a tired sigh, he clapped his cheeks hard till it stings and decided to stop in his self-wallowing.

Time for dinner. He thought and many variety of meal plan ideas came into his mind as easy as breathing.

Dinner plans decided, he moved with ease to prepare the ingredients and got to work.

Moments later, everything was prepared and set up.

"Dinner's ready!!" He yelled out the door and was answered with a chorus of cheers.

Stepping back to his kitchen, he prepared for the entrance of his captain and sure enough, Luffy was the first to burst through the doors with a yell.

"Sanji!!! Food!!"

"Sit down and wait for everyone you idiot rubber!" He kicked his captain in the head and kicked him again to his seat. Soon, the rest of his crew mates came trickling in one by one.

"Wow! Amazing as usual Sanji-kun!" Nami hummed happily with a spoon in her mouth as she relished the taste.

"Mmfff! Mmmm! Mwfff!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full idiot!"

"I'm so glad we can eat like this everyday!" Usopp sighed to himself. "Things were so bad before you came along. Nami's cooking is edible but she kept charging us for every meal and Luffy kept complaining about my cooking..."

"That's cause there's not enough meat!"

"Hey! There's only so much dishes I know with meat in it! Veggies are good too!"

Sanji watched with a light smile at the two argue about food while the rest laughed at the ridiculous conversation between them.

He was so glad to be able to cook for these people. Cooking for the people who treated him as one of them despite the differences between them. It matters not to them where you came from or what background you have. Luffy and the rest treated him as one of them—a Strawhat.

They were considered more than friends, almost like a family and that fact made Sanji all warm inside when he thought of it. Funny how he found people who he almost considers family out here in the least likely place with no blood-relations at all. The ones he does have blood ties with were all the lowest of scums that he will never consider calling them family and right now, he found himself wishing he could settle down with the Strawhats and spend each day just like this. 

However, Sanji was not naive. Running will only get you so far. His past will catch up to him one day. That bastard Judge will come for him and he will not stop till he gets what he wants.

But Sanji will leave these thoughts for another day if only to indulge himself in this illusion a day longer.

Watching them eat his food while they talked and laughed made him glow with pride. The smiles on their faces were a result of his cooking and that was enough praise for him.

He would stay here till he could no longer and spend his every moment using his skills to make his crew happy. It was the only thing he could think of and the only thing he wanted to do for the crew. Cooking is his life and his life will forever belong to the Strawhats even if he has to leave them one day.

Oh. Better write this down too. Can't trust these idiots to remember which sauce goes in what. He thought and made a mental reminder to write this down in his notebook where he stored all his recipes in. This will help them when he's not around so at least they won't starve immediately. He'd made enough contingency plans for his crew to follow after his absence so that they'll at least be alright for the first few months which would be enough time to find a new Cook as his replacement. As much as he hates thinking about someone else taking over his place in his kitchen and his crew, it would be selfish of him to hold back his crew just for him. Every one of the members in the crew has big dreams and he has no right to ask them to hold back their journey for him.

Once dinner was done and the table cleared, Sanji started on the dishes, declining any help from the others as he actually appreciated the alone time it gives him after the rowdy meal. Alone with his thoughts, he started going through all the same plans, something he'd always do to keep himself on his toes. 

Looking down on the numerous plates he still has to wash, he felt the same old conflicting feelings that always arise every time he thought of the future. He hated feeling like this all the time--fearing for a future he'll never know. It's useless to think about it right now however, that doesn't stop his mind from conjuring up his fears. That's why he needed the distraction; the need to do something and keep himself busy all the time. With the plates done, he glanced at the clock to see it was already midnight. 

He had volunteered to be on watch tonight since he didn't think he'd get any sleep tonight considering what happened earlier. Chopper protested but Sanji was firm about his decision. Besides, he needed to start on his breakfast plans anyway.

Taking out his recipe for his notebook, he began to write down the ideas he had throughout the day and experiments he wants to try out when he obtain the correct ingredients. It was fun and exciting with all the ideas that came pouring forth and soon, he had already filled three pages of the book with his scribbles. Closing it with a satisfied smile, he decided to relax a little by staring out through the porthole at the dark waters below.

Anything related to cooking and food came to him as easy as breathing. It was fun and intriguing every single time he came up with something new. Even more so when his crew loves the creations he makes. It was rewarding and it was his life passion.

Now, if only everything was as easy as this, then he wouldn't have had such a hard time thinking about what to do next.

Chapter Text

Why oh why did this have to happen?

Everything seemed to be going so well on their journey despite all the bloodshed and towns they accidentally destroyed. Their journey towards the New World was challenging but they were all prepared to face anything in their way and claim victory.

They even picked up some new comrades along the way, increasing their numbers to nine.

There's the eccentric cyborg; Franky as their shipwright and he made them a wonderful ship called Sunny to carry on their travels after their poor comrade Merry's demise. The happy-go-lucky Alpha was a little weird in Sanji's opinion but then again that's the selling point of the Strawhats. You don't get to be normal and survive sailing with Luffy. However, what Sanji does have issues with was that with the addition of another Alpha, the number of Alphas in this crew has made it a little tad uncomfortable for Sanji's liking. It was only made bearable because like the rest of misfits in this crew, Franky doesn't behave like an Alpha and would enjoy fooling around with the younger members or tinker around with useless gadgets for fun along with Usopp.

It made Sanji significantly relaxed around him but his Omega instincts was still making him a little tense beside the big man.

To Sanji's annoyance, this weirdo seemed to have shown interest in the crew's lovely Robin and likewise, Robin also seemed to be amused by the cyborg.

Then there's the out-of-this-world creature who was supposedly a Beta but it didn't matter now that he's dead. Brook was a pirate when he was alive but due of his Devil Fruit, he had been granted a second chance in life. However, everything would be great if his soul didn't happen to get lost and spent years getting back to his body before it turned into a pile of bones.

Brook always has a cheery tone and loved making these lame skull jokes which everyone either enjoys (Luffy, Usopp and Chopper) or ignores (Nami, Zoro and him). Sanji enjoys his time with the skeleton when he doesn't start making a fool of himself because he would play his favorite songs on his precious violin or would sit down with a cup of tea in hand as they enjoyed each other's company in silence. Listening to Brook's playing always calms him and smooth his worries and he never thought he would enjoy music this much as he never had the luxury of sitting down to listen to it.

Their journey took them to unimaginable places filled with corpses, warlords, mermaids, things he'd never thought he'd experience. Despite all the bloody battles they underwent, they always came out as victors and he was damn proud of his captain every single time he witness Luffy deal the final blow to the enemy leader.

He thought he'd grown stronger during the two years apart, but Luffy always seemed to be a step ahead of them despite his personality towards...well, everything. It was fine of course, this just makes him more motivated to get stronger for both his dreams and for the crew.

The damn Swordsman had also grown stronger during the two years and even managed to loose an eye for his efforts.

Sanji was tempted to ask how that happened but he knew it wasn't his business. After that embarrassing incident, he knew that the two of them weren't on best terms though he knew Zoro would still work with him if needed.

He knew the heat suppressors weren't 100% reliable, but who knew it would hit him that hard especially in front of the number one person he didn't want to show his weakness to. He didn't know his scent was all over the place until Chopper quietly whispered to him and after that he'd been too embarrassed to show his face around Zoro for at least a week.

Luckily for him, Zoro was also too busy being angry at him for bushing him off that day so they were both avoiding one another.

Not long after, things slowly went back to normal and though he knew Zoro was never going to let the matter go, he was fine with him never bringing it up again.

Thus, their adventure goes on but he took extra precautionary care to prepare for his unexpected heats if it ever acts up again.

Now, as they sailed towards their next destination, he was busy serving the ladies desserts when the attack came without warning. A large cannonball—the size of a wrecking ball—came flying from out of nowhere and destroyed a large portion of Sunny's deck. The impact from the cannonball rocked the whole ship which resulted in Brook falling overboard as he was standing too close to the edge.

Sanji wasted no time and quickly did a running dive down into the waters to save the hammer. He had no doubt in mind that the others would take care of the attackers while he perform the rescue.

However, what he didn't expect was who the attackers were.

The bastard Germa was here.

Pink and green greeted them, along with someone he didn't recognize who was riding on a sheep-like creature. Tens of soldiers wearing the identical uniforms were on deck, fighting with his crew while his siblings did nothing but watch with that familiar smirk on their faces.

Why the hell are they here?!

Red hot anger flared up inside of him and he barely held himself back from rushing in like an idiot. Brook was unconscious and he needed to get his friend safe before anything else.

He used Sky Walk to get himself out of the waters with the limp skeleton draped over him and quietly maneuvered to the back of the Sunny. Gently, he set Brook down in the shadows to hide him away from enemy eyes before carefully stepping out to take stock of the situation.

The crew seemed to be doing well against the mindless soldiers but Sanji knew it won't be enough. Not when those two monsters behind were there waiting to strike.

Many bubbling questions were forming inside his mind along with a lot of repressed emotions but he forced it all aside and kept his eyes trained on the monster on deck.

Yonji.

Yonji seemed to noticed Sanji's burning gaze at him and turned to meet him with his usual annoying smirk.

"Ah! There you are Sanji. I thought you'd have ran away by now. Who would've thought you were stupid enough to come out for us. That's no fun."

Sanji gritted his teeth so hard as he tried not to let Yonji's taunts affect him. However, his body wouldn't listen. His body remembers what had been done and trembled when Yonji started to speak. He griped his hands into a fist so tight that his fingernails pierced through his skin.

Sanji hated how he couldn't control the rising fear inside of him against this bastard but years of torture had conditioned his body to respond to fear. Yonji's voice had haunted him even long after he had escaped their clutches and even then, he had never managed to forget that soulless voice full of contempt.

"Why are you here Yonji?"

He tried to sound like his usual self but it sounded weak to his own ears, or maybe it was the blood roaring through his ears that made everything sound weird.

Yonji must've heard it too because his smirk grew even wider and the scent of dougebag coming from him grew stronger. Sanji knew he purposely did that because he knew what effect it'd have on Sanji. As expected, his own body stiffened at the scent and a small involuntary whimper escaped from his throat.

He swallowed back any other sounds in his throat and gritted his teeth even harder, as though it would help him get his control he so desperately needed.

The battle around him on Sunny's deck was still ongoing and Sanji knew he had to go aid his crew but he couldn't turn his attention away from the monster before him. Everything around him was tuned out and he forced himself to take a calming breath.

He wasn't the weak Omega that he once was back then. The weak boy who was abused by his biological family and then sold to another for political use. He had no say in his future and could only go along with those with higher power.

But now everything's different. He was stronger now, both mentally and physically. He wasn't about to be bested by his Omega instincts or his fear of his brothers.

He had the Strawhats with him and he knew no matter what, Luffy and the gang will be standing behind him to fight.

Though he never wanted his past to be found out like this, he supposed he had no choice now but to deal this situation now and worry about everything later.

"Sanji!"

He heard Luffy yell his name and turned slightly just in time to see the boy punch his way through a wall of soldiers to get to him. Yonji just stood there silently and Sanji didn't like the look on his face.

"Sanji! I'm glad you're alright! Where's Brook?"

"He's fine. He's safe." He quickly assured and smiled at the boy's concern. He felt his body relaxed a little at Luffy's scent surrounding him and it surprised him that Luffy was doing that—whether consciously or subconsciously.

"I see."

Sanji snapped his head up and glared at the bastard. He really didn't like the tone in Yonji's voice and he especially didn't like the look in his eyes.

"So, you're into men now huh?"

Sanji stilled in place at the insinuations and hoped to god that Luffy wouldn't understand a word they were saying but he knew Luffy wasn't as stupid as he seemed.

"You have a cute fiancé at home and here you are cheating on her. I guess all Omegas are just sluts just waiting to get laid. Hah!" Yonji continued on his insults but Sanji wasn't listening anymore.

Yonji has said the word. And Luffy was right here. As much as he was infuriated by Yonji's words, he was more worried about what Luffy might think of him now that he knows.

He slowly turned his gaze onto Luffy, trepidation filling him with every inch but he found himself staring at Luffy's wide back.

"Shut up. You don't know anything about Sanji so don't talk about him like that."

Luffy's voice was low and filled with warning. The brim of his hat casted a shadow around his eyes, making him look dangerous and Sanji knew from Luffy's demeanor, that his captain was pissed off.

Yonji looked confused for a moment but his face quickly went back to his usual cocky expression.

"On the contrary, I do know him very well. I'm his brother, didn't he tell you? Oh wait, I bet he didn't tell you anything about himself. He's probably too ashamed to do so given that he's so useless that even father got tired of him. But father is generous enough to give this failure a chance to contribute to the Germa Kingdom. It's because of him that we're now in a strong alliance with one of the four Yonkos; Big Mom!"

Yonji seemed to enjoy hearing himself talk because he could see how much his revelations was affecting Sanji. He could see his brother's face get paler with every word and he enjoyed seeing that look of agony and panic grow in his eyes.

The battle around them was slowly dying down as one by one the Strawhats gravitated towards their captain and their distressed crew mate while keeping an eye on the enemies.

The Germa soldiers were not attacking anymore, most likely due to Reiju giving out orders to halt. Yonji didn't know why his sister would do that but he was having too much fun with his brother's agony to be bothered with whatever Reiju's planning.

"This little weasel is engaged to one of Big Mom's daughters but instead of doing what our father wanted, he dares run away on his wedding day and got himself a bounty on his head! Do you know how angry father was when he found out? He thought you'd have died out at sea, saving us from hunting you down but instead, you became a filthy pirate, disgracing the pride of Germa's name!"

There was so many things Sanji wanted to say to that. Like how he never wanted to be associated with the Germa, how he never wanted to get married and how much he loath the Germa. But he couldn't get himself to speak up at all.

His whole body was trembling in rage, so much so, that he felt as though his body would ignite into flames right this instant. He needed to get himself to move and silently willed his body to fight against his overwhelming emotions weighing down on him.

"On top of being a useless failure, he had to be presented as a Om—"

The last word was cut off from Yonji as Sanji's foot slammed into Yonji's mouth, taking him unawares and the force of it threw him all the way into the sea below. Sanji straighten up, his body still filled with adrenaline, leaving him shaking and breathing heavily.

He couldn't let that secret out to them. Luffy might have heard it the first time but now—with all the crew gathered around him—he wasn't taking the chance of letting Yonji spill it.

No one must know and even if they did, he'd be the one to tell them from his lips rather than his bastard brother.

He heard someone whistle and looked over his head just in time to see a pink-haired woman jumped over from a large snail-shaped ship that he didn't even noticed till it was right beside them.

"Impressive. Who'd have known that the little weak crybaby would be so strong today?"

Reiju smiled sweetly at his brother but Sanji knew she wasn't one to be underestimated. She was as deceptive as all his siblings and no matter what she had done to help him in the past wouldn't matter because she's still Germa's soldier first and foremost.

"Reiju. Why the fuck are you here?"

He didn't care that his sister was a woman, he couldn't bring himself to act his gentleman self in front of her.

"To watch the fool. Father entrusted me this mission to bring you back specifically. He wanted you back to have a little talk and this fool wanted to tag along otherwise I wouldn't have brought him. I ordered the Germa soldiers to stop so I suggest you and your friends here do the same. I just want to talk." She smiled her usual sweet smile that has deceived countless men and even women from thinking this sweet lady could do no harm. But Sanji knew how well she could kill even with a sweet smile on her face.

He noticed that Reiju was right when she said the soldiers has retreated and lined up at the edge of the Germa's ship; ready to attack but far away to not be a threat. The Strawhats—some battered and bruised but none too badly hurt—had now gathered behind him. Usopp, Franky and Chopper has confused expressions, while Nami and Robin were wary of the new stranger onboard. Zoro has a accusatory expression and he was glaring at Sanji the whole time, as though this attack was all Sanji's fault.

In a way, it was and Sanji knew this would not had happen if he wasn't here. Germa came for him so he was the one to blame for all the pain he caused.

He was glad Brook was looking fine, a little out of it from the sea but otherwise seemed unharmed.

Glad that all his crew was alright and accounted for, he took a deep breath before turning to look right at Reiju. As much as he wanted to tell her sister to fuck off, he knew they'll not leave without him, even if they had to murder every one here, they will do it-- and they'll do it without any remorse. So telling her off would just be childish of him and he just had to trust that his sister really only wanted to talk and no one would get hurt because of him.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Reiju was about to speak when out of the corner of Sanji's eyes, a flash of steel cane flashing and he brought up his foot to meet it. He noticed from the corner of his eye that the rest of the Strawhats had moved to aid him but he could handle himself against this one opponent.

This man was small and the weird thing was, he was riding on a large sheep. He met Sanji's gaze with a predatory one and backed up to do another attack.

"Wait Tablet."

The tiny man halted but glared back at Reiju.

"It's better to just take him in unconscious. Talk is useless."

Sanji agreed silently in his head with what this person—Tablet as Reiju called him—said. Talk was pointless, he wanted them gone from his sight.

Reiju shook her head slightly. "I don't want to cause further casualties if I can help it and Father wants him to return presentable. You're only here to act as a representative so I suggest you stay out of Germa matters."

Reiju's tone was cold and Tablet gave a resigned sigh.

"Your ship, your rules." He grumbled and sheathed his weapon behind his back. Still riding on his large sheep, he walked it beside Reiju to face them. "But we better not waste any more time. Mama hates waiting."

Reiju didn't reply to that and instead stared at Sanji with eyes that seemed different than her usual cold ones. Sadness and maybe sympathy seemed to flash across her eyes before disappearing and her gaze was once more emotionless.

"Sanji." Reiju began but not before another interruption came in a form of a green hair idiot (not Zoro this time.).

"How dare you put a dent to my face you failure!"

Yonji flew out from the sea all dripping wet but before he could initiate an attack, Reiju flew to meet him with a kick, sending him away onto the Germa ship.

As much as it was satisfying to see Yonji get hit like that, Sanji wasn't all to happy to have Reiju help him fight off Yonji. He would welcome the battle to prove once and for all, that he's stronger than his idiot brother but then, this was neither the time nor place to do that.

Reiju turned back to them, expression still the same and continued her conversation as though she didn't just drop-kick her own brother to death.

"Father wants you to return with us right now. He's willing to forgive you for running away all those years ago if you quietly return to us and take your place as Germa's prince. Father and Big Mom has renewed their relationship once more with peace offerings after what happened but Big Mom insists on having her precious Om—ahem—son-in-law back otherwise there'll be no alliance."

Sanji only partly heard what Reiju said, mostly because he couldn't hear anything else over the loud roaring of the blood in his ears and the anger raging inside of him.

They want him back?!

They had the nerve to force him to come back after everything they've done to him? Who in the right mind would want to willingly return to that hellhole that served as his prison and his family as his torturers.

Although it was not said, Sanji knew there was something deeper behind all this. They allowed him to roam free after his escape for years and all of the sudden they were taking all these effort to get him back.

Why?

He knew male omegas were a rarity but he didn't think it was worth the effort just for him. There should be other male omegas out there besides him. Why can't Big Mom go bug them to join her fucked up family?

As soon as the thought came, he felt a little ashamed for even having that thought. He understood how difficult it was being different from others. He wouldn't wished it on anyone else ever, knowing how painful it was getting through these complicated emotions of trying to accept one self or even having others accept who you are. Sanji could do neither of these and was nowhere close to acceptance. He would never wish this to happen on anyone, not even his enemies.

He was vaguely aware that the conversation had continued even without him. Luffy was yelling something at Reiju and the others was backing him up by chiming in a few protest.

Zoro was silent. But Sanji saw that his hand was tight on the hilt of his swords and his eyes were focused on the enemies before him. Any signs of danger—even the smallest signs—Zoro would draw out his swords to cut down those who would harm his captain.

Robin was also another quiet observer but Sanji noticed that she gaze was on him rather than those intruders in front. She looked concerned and Sanji's inner gentleman so badly wanted to smooth her worries but he found that he couldn't say a thing. So he settled for a smile. It was strained but he hoped it would reassure his lovely flower that he was fine.

Yes. He was fine. He repeated that a few times in his head and took in a deep breath to recompose himself.

He won't let something like this get him down.

"Stop."

He didn't know how he got his voice to sound strong but he was glad that his body was cooperating with his mind to stand firm. Everyone's attention was on him but he did not wither under their gazes especially under Zoro's accusatory glare.

"I'm not returning with you. Not now, not ever. So you're going to leave here empty-handed and go back to that bastard and tell him that I want nothing to do with him or his fucking Germa kingdom and if you or any of the those emotionless assholes ever show themselves in front of me ever again, I will personally put an end to your miserable life—to hell with blood-relations."

He said it all in on breath and at the end of it, he was struggling to regulate his breathing and trying to stop his body from shaking. On the one hand, he felt a weight being lifted from his chest at spitting out these hateful words that he longed to say at these bastards. It also didn't have anything to do with the fact that he caught Zoro smirking at the end of his speech.

Nope, not at all.

On the other hand, he rage burning inside of him wasn't so easily extinguished.

He shouldn't have to be explaining all these to them! Why the hell can't they just leave him be? Why couldn't they pretend that he was dead and leave him to live his own life?

Because those Germa bastards were all low-lives that's why.

They see Sanji as an asset; something to use and benefit from. Big Mom wants him for something Sanji didn't want to know and his bastard of a father wants him to use as a peace offering to greater power. He has no say in this (as usual) but he sure wasn't going to quietly go through with what they want without a fight.

He could feel his crew mate's gaze on him after his outburst but most of them were worried ones. One pair of eyes in particular made his heart lighten just a little when he felt Zoro's glare soften into one of approval.

"I see." Reiju finally spoke up after a long silence. "That's regrettable."

Regrettable? REGRETTABLE?!

Sanji wanted to scream at her face for how nonchalant she was acting.

Was that really all she could say to him?

Sanji didn't know what he expect from her but it was definitely not this.

Whatever this is...

"Told you talk was useless. What're going to do now Germa princess?"

Tablet spoke up with a sneer from beside Reiju and Sanji noticed the man getting ready to pull out his sword.

Reiju held onto Sanji's gaze for a moment before sighing. "I suppose it was naive of me to think talking might solve anything." She paused, contemplating on something before continuing. "Alright Tablet. We do this your way."

Right after Reiju gave her permission, Tablet immediately rushed forward with his sword unsheathed. His eyes were wild and he had a delighted smile on his face as he charged his target.

Taken by surprise by the sudden attack(and also the unexpected speed of the weird sheep), Sanji was not able to strike back and prepared to defend himself against the smaller man. However, it was not needed when he found himself staring at the back of his green-haired Swordsman.

Zoro anticipated the attack and moved accordingly to block it for his crew mate. Sanji could only gawk in surprise at Zoro. He never thought the man would ever—for any reason at all—jump in front of an enemy to protect him.

Zoro's scent drifted to him and in an instant he felt warmth surround him. It was so assuring and so different from his captain's comforting scent.

It also triggered something deep within him.

Something that made his nether regions damp.

Something that tugged at his chest and made his breath hitch.

Something warm that curled around his heart and settle there. 

Damnit! Why here?! Why now?!

This is not the time for this sort of thing! He cursed in his mind and he curse whatever Gods there were out there for fucking him like this.

What great timing it was to have found his fated mate at this sort of situation.

It was so messed up just like everything else in his life.

He should've known of course. There were little telltale signs here and there that Sanji never did like thinking too deeply about. Like how he always manages to find Zoro whenever he's off in his lost adventure or like how he could always smell the green sweaty idiot no matter where he is. He reasoned it was because the neanderthal was too smelly from his insane workout exercises but he was sure no one else could smell him this strongly besides him. He never did confirm it with the others of course, he was afraid of the truth and rather stay in the dark about his speculations.

However, right now he was almost a hundred percent sure that Zoro was his mate. He just wondered if that idiot knew about it too.

He didn't have time to ponder about it any further as the atmosphere around them returned to a bloodthirsty one. The Germa soldiers were on the attack again and more were firing their cannons at the Sunny. Yonji hopped down onto the Sunny next to Reiju with a delighted smirk on his face as he faced Sanji.

"Should've done this from the start sis." He grumbled but Reiju didn't respond, her eyes still locked onto Sanji's with a look that Sanji's couldn't discern.

"Stop hurting my Sunny you bastards!" Franky yelled as he hurried to the wheel to steer his ship away from harm. Robin quickly activated their Devil Fruit powers to repel the cannonballs and redirect them back to the sender along with Usopp while Chopper and Brook fought the Germa soldiers on the Sunny.

Zoro was still in a deadly showdown with Tablet. Their swords clashing against one another's, making sparks fly. Throughout the battle though, Luffy didn't move one step from where he was, his gaze still firmly on Reiju as though daring her to try to take Sanji from him. Nami seemed to quickly grasped the situation and she got ready her staff as she shifted closer towards Sanji much to his delight. He adores her as a friend and her presence beside him was comforting.

The battle around them raged and Sanji knew he had to get himself moving to help his crew mates yet he couldn't turn away from his siblings.

He berated himself in his mind to move but suddenly the scent coming from Yonji made his freeze and drop to his knees. He let out a small growl that somehow turned into a whine and glared at the bastard. He knew Yonji was doing this purposely to torture him. Yonji knew how much effect his scent had on him since it was integrated into his very being ever since they found out he was a dud. And it became worse when they found out he was an Omega because their Alpha scent made his Omega side cower. Another reason why he hated being an omega. Primal instincts always made him useless no matter how strong he got.

Sanji was so glad he took his scent suppressors this morning before the attack. He couldn't imagine the horror of having his Omega pheromones floating all over the place due to his distress. It's like an conditioned response, one that he thought would never again experience because he thought his days with the Germa were over.

Still, he refused to lose to his instincts and fought with it to shake the fear off. He wrapped both arms around his trembling body, desperately trying to work his mind to distract his mind from the scent. It seemed to work a little and he found himself shaking less but still couldn't move much. He knew he could not fight, not when Yonji kept flaunting his putrid scent everywhere and he was starting to feel sick from it.

Memories from long ago came slowly flittering out as the scent triggered his mind but he quickly shoved it back in using all the mental exercises he taught himself over the years. It would take a lot out of him to do so but it beats having an attack right in front of everybody, especially during a fight with the Germa.

However, it seemed like he doesn't have to go through it on his own when a blanket of warmness draped over him and he found himself surrounded by the scent of oranges and hay. Nami had kneeled down next to him and was leaning close to him so that her scent was strong to him. Luffy was still standing in front of him protectively but he had taken off his precious straw-hat and had placed it gently on Sanji's head.

Sanji knew how much the hat means to Luffy and knew Luffy only did that for his Nakamas that really needed it.

It was comforting. And very, very assuring.

The putrid scent of Yonji quickly faded away and all he could smell was his nakama beside him. That in itself was all Sanji needed to push away the oncoming attack and reel his fear in, crushing it under his shoes.

He took Nami's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze which she returned. He could see that Yonji's Alpha scent was affecting her too but she held strong when she met Sanji's eyes and gave him a firm nod.

Everything will be alright. It seemed to say and Sanji almost would've believed it 100 percent if not for his understanding of how far his bastard family would go to in order to get what they want. If they want Sanji, then they will get him, one way or another. Even if it means killing someone tonight.

Millions scenarios flew through his mind and it all seemed to end badly with either him or his crew mates ending up injured or worse. It's not that he didn't trust in his crew mates' strength. No, he trust their strength as much as he trusts how far they were willing to go for him.

But he also understood full well the Germa's military strength and his siblings prowess.

No matter how the fight goes, it will definitely not end well for them.

Think Sanji! Think! He berated himself in his head. Just what the hell could he do in this situation?

His crew mates were barely taking control of deflecting the cannon fire around around them, Zoro was lock in battle with Tablet with the both of them seemingly evenly matched and two of his genetically enhanced siblings were right in front of him, ready to engage in battle. He bets he would be able to take on Yonji in a one-on-one fight but he didn't trust the slimeball to use dirty tricks like paralyzing him with his scent again. Reiju was another unknown factor to this hopeless situation. Sanji knew what her sister's capable of and he knew she won't stop to help him even if he pleaded—not this time.

"Time's up little brother. Nothing personal but father's not going to give up until you're brought back." His sister said and the next thing Sanji saw was Luffy's back in front of him and the smell of blood.

Reiju had charged forward at Sanji knowing his captain would take the hit for him. The poison she used was toxic and extremely corrosive to the flesh. She purposely kept the poison to the bear minimum, only enough to immobilize but not kill.

Luffy let out a grunt as blood flowed from his arm which he used to block the hit. He could feel the poison quickly spreading throughout his arm, making his body sluggish and heavy. The skin where Reiju touched was bleeding heavily with no signs of stopping and the surrounding skin was black and purple. Definitely not good.

However, that was not enough to bring him down. Luffy stood tall even as the poison steadily spreads inside of him and proceeded to rush at Reiju.

"You can't have Sanji!" He yelled as he cocked back an arm for a punch.

Sanji could only sit there like a fool as the fight quickly unfolds before him.

Zoro's loud grunt reached his ears and he whipped his head just in time to see Zoro's blood flying through the air as Tablet managed to slash his blade down his shoulder. Tablet grinned menacingly as he took the opportunity to rushed forward for another hit but Zoro was quick to recover and bought up his blade for a counter.

No. Sanji thought, shaking his head but can't tear his eyes away from the blood flowing down Zoro's shoulder and onto his chest, staining his stupid hamaraki.

No, this can't go on. He doesn't want to see anymore bloodshed. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt over him. He wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth getting his crew mates' blood spilled over.

He needed this to stop.

Right this very instant.

Everyone was fighting. Everyone was getting hurt. Everyone was in this situation because of him.

All because of the fucking Germa.

The Germas were here for Sanji, so they'll leave the Strawhats alone once they achieve their objective.

As reluctant as he's was to go with them, he doesn't see any other way for this to end without serious bloodshed—or worse, in someone's death.

"Luffy!" Nami's anguish cry snapped him out of his thoughts and he saw Luffy struggling to stay on his feet. There was blood trickling down from his mouth now and the discoloration of his arm has spread to his chest. He knew that Luffy had some immunity towards poison from past experiences that he didn't want to ask about but he also knew that Reiju's poison was no small joke.

"You shouldn't move so much when there's poison inside don't you know? It makes the poison spreads quicker." Reiju stated calmly.

Luffy did not heed her words and went in for another hit only for Reiju to dodge the attack.

Sanji knew Reiju could've land a hit Luffy if she wanted to but she didn't because she didn't need to. She only need to wait for the poison in Luffy's system to spread enough till it immobile him and then Reiju can go in for the kill. She was just playing with her victim like she always does.

Sanji can't bear to see this go on any longer. He knows what he had to do.

"Enough."

With one word, the battle around them halted and everything was still.

All eyes were on Sanji but Sanji's gaze was only on Reiju's.

"Enough." He repeated once more, his voice tired but strong. "I'll go with you so stop this right now Reiju."

A chorus of protest (and insults from a certain Swordsman) rang out from his crew mates as he knew would but he forced all his focus on the danger before him and tried not to think of anything else.

"So?" He prompted, wanting to quickly get this over with.

Reiju hummed in amusement while Yonji just looked smug as usual.

"Should've done that from the start and save us the time." Tablet grumbled from where he was; still locked in combat with the Swordsman.

"Alright." Reiju finally said and gestured with her hand for the Germa to stop their attacks.

Once Sanji took a look around to see his crew mates all alive and standing, he proceeded to walk over towards the two even when every part of him screamed at him not to.

Reiju turned to go but not before Sanji stopped her. "Oi. What about the poison?"

"Oh don't worry. The dose I gave him isn't enough to kill. It's a simple poison which I'm sure your lovely doctor should be able to cure."

Sanji looked back to Luffy and found that Chopper was already beside him, his medical bag opened and ready to relieve his captain of the poison. He trust that his crew will be able to take care of one another even if he's not there. As for meals, he guess that'd have to look for another Cook, someone who could handle Luffy's insane appetite, be able to protect the weaker members of the crew and support the future Pirate King's ambitions until he comes back.

If he comes back.

No one came to stop him as he followed Reiju back onto the Germa ship. With Luffy being immobilized by the poison and Zoro hindered by his injuries and Tablet, the rest of the crew knew it would be meaningless to lunch another attack especially when Sanji has made up his mind to go.

"Cook!"

Sanji resisted a sigh and ignored the angry yell.

"Damnit Cook! What the hell are you thinking?!"

Sanji continued his walk towards the Germa ship, trying to ignore all the desperate cries from his crew mates as he struggled to keep his resolve strong.

Each step was an agony and his body trembled at the effort it took to move. He didn't want this. He didn't want any of this. But Germa has never gave a shit about what he wants. They only know how to take even resorting to despicable means and methods. And right now they were threatening all of Sanji's love ones; his crew, his life, his family. Sanji would not risk their lives for something like this. They have places to go, dreams to fulfill and by no means have any time to waste on scums like the Germa.

Thinking of that made his resolve firm again and his footsteps steady.

It's not over. He told himself. I'll be back, one way or another.

It's a little promise he made to himself. It's not the end. He'll find a way to escape the Germa and find his way back to his family when the storm blows over. It might take months or even years, but he'll make sure he comes back. After all, he'd done it once before as a helpless kid so he should be able to do it again now that he;s stronger. There were still many things left undone, words left unsaid and feelings left unexplored here.

But that'll all be possible if he survive this day—if they all survive today.

He was almost to the ship when a Alpha cry froze him in his steps. The cry was so sorrowful and lonely that it made his breath hitch. And worse of all, he recognized that voice.

He of all people shouldn't be making that sort of cry, especially when it was over someone like him. But before he could do anything, something slammed into him with such force and he was pinned to the ground with a familiar weight over him.

He'd had flown into another panic if not for the familiarity of the situation and because it was Zoro; his mate. However, his body's conditioned response was to stiffen, mind slowly blanking out.

Zoro was yelling something at him; mouth moving furiously but the words did not register in Sanji's mind. It was like a cloud had covered his thought process, making everything fuzzy and unclear.

Zoro's scent had filled his nostrils and Sanji could tell him being angry was an understatement. Alpha pheromones were radiating from the man like an oven that Sanji felt choked on it. It was almost suffocating if not for the fact that his two bastard siblings were behind him and Zoro's scent—despite being furious at him—was a comforting smell to his nerves. He felt his Omega side react to the Alphas around him and lifted his head a little to bare his neck in a show of submission. As much as he hated this, he could not help his instincts as an Omega not matter how much he fought it.

It was only a moment but so many conflict of emotions flashed across Zoro's eyes and the Alpha quickly backed off. Sanji quickly got up to his feet when he realized what he was doing and casually brush himself off, acting as though nothing has happened.

He desperately wanted Zoro to say something, to laugh it off and say that he's not acting like how an Alpha should. But Zoro just stood there as though he'd been burned.

It's over. He knows.

A small voice whispered in him and he felt his heart sink at the sight of Zoro's expression.

But....there's nothing to be over when there's nothing happening between us from the start. He reasoned but it didn't help the pain in his chest.

He can't do this anymore. At least, not right now.

He can't face Zoro. Can't face his mate. Can't face his crew mates and his captain.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and forced his stiff feet to continue walking, never turning back once for he fears he may break down if he did.

He'll not be regretting this choice.

He will not.

Yet he feels his heart shatter into pieces with every step he took and his body betraying his resolve.

He reached where Reiju waits, the others already on board the snail. Reiju gave him a sympathetic look which Sanji ignored and walked passed her.

"Not going to say goodbye?" She asked softly. The gentle tone doesn't suit her and it grated on Sanji's nerves that his sister could still use this kind of tone with him and yet her actions are the complete opposite.

"No."

There's nothing to say. Saying goodbye would mean that he's leaving forever and Sanji had silently swore to himself that he's coming back to matter what. Despite the fact that the crew most probably knew his secret by now, he still owe it to them to at least explain himself to them.

Whatever happens after that would be his captain's decision. He owes Luffy that much for everything he's done for him.

With a short jump, he and Reiju landed onto the Germa ship and Reiju shouted an order for them to set sail.

Sanji did not turn around.

Not till the ship was far away from the Sunny did Sanji finally let a sob broke out from his lips and by then, there was no stopping the dam that broke within him. He didn't care who was around to see him break down. Didn't care if his bastard siblings were there to laugh at him.

He needed this.

"I'm sorry." He choked out. He didn't know who he was apologizing to; whether to his captain, his crew or to his mate. Maybe to them all. But he knows that a simple apology would not suffice.

No. Nothing in the world would make up for what he'd done.

Nothing except maybe his death.

Chapter Text

Damn that fucking Cook! Always trying to be some sort of self-sacrificing martyr and always neglecting his own well-being!

However, most of Zoro's anger was directed at himself for being weak. He was weak and the result of that had made them lose their Cook.

Tablet was a strong opponent—despite that ridiculous sheep he was riding on. It took all Zoro had to keep up with his attacks and even then, it was a close battle.

He had made a stupid mistake of getting distracted by the Cook's distressed whine when that green head bastard released his own putrid scent that had his hackles rising and Tablet took the opportunity to slice his shoulder. It wasn't a big deal for Zoro, he had it worse. But the damn blood loss would cause some trouble if he didn't stop the bleeding soon.

Things were not looking good for them but as if Zoro would just give up the fight.

Which was exactly what the fucking Cook did.

Zoro can't believe that the Cook of all people would do that.

Didn't he trust in his crew mates? Didn't he trust in everyone's power?

Didn't he trust in him?

It hurts.

He didn't understand why but it hurts. Like someone took a sword into his chest. It frustrated him so much that he didn't know why it hurts but he definitely knows it's the Cook's fault.

He tried to channel all his frustrations into anger and yelled at the Cook to get his head straight all while keeping a close eye on the sheep riding midget. But the Cook just brushed off his words like they were nothing and continued way towards the Germa.

Away from them.

Away from him.

Something tugged in his chest and he let out a loud roar of fury that only an Alpha could and charged.

Tablet appeared within his vision but he plodded on, ramming him over, eyes firmly locked onto the Cook's. He saw the Cook's eyes widen for a second before he had him pinned to the ground and trapped by his weight.

"So you're just going to leave us? Is that it? You aren't even going to fight?" The words rushed out of his mouth barely coherent with how much anger there was boiling in him.

The Cook didn't answer and Zoro could feel his body shaking. What had the Cook so afraid? If anything, he was the one afraid of losing the Cook!

Wait a minute.

He, afraid?

He didn't know what that thought that came across his mind was about so he shoved it to the back of his mind, focusing on the now.

He realized he was still gripping the Cook's shoulders tightly and forced himself to loosen his fingers a little, reeling in his pheromones at the same time. However, what the Cook did made him jump off the Cook and back away a few steps.

The Cook had his neck bared for him.

But why? The Cook's an Alpha, why was he acting like this?

Acting like...like....

The thought flashed through his mind and he quickly shook his head to dismiss it.

That's ridiculous.

The Cook has always been an Alpha; strong, witty, full of power. He always has a strong drive to protect the weaker members of the crew, an important trait that only the most respectable Alphas carry. The Cook has never backed down from any challenges that came his way and even welcomed it, facing it head-on with a cocky grin. The Cook; the women-loving idiot, the foul mouth bastard—his rival.

An Omega?

He almost wanted to laugh out loud at the thought of it.

But wouldn't that be good for you?

A small traitorous thought fluttered across his mind, making him pause.

What the hell! No!

No way did he ever think of being together with the damn Cook! He can't stand the damn Cook at all! He wasn't even friends with the Cook much less lovers. Hell, he's only his fellow nakama. If anything, maybe his rival. But the Cook was nothing more than that to him.

At least, it was supposed to be that way.

He watched in stun silence as the Cook slowly got to his feet and brushed himself off as though nothing happened and that made his anger flare again.

Fine. If that's what the Cook wants, he can fucking leave with his goddamn family of freaks.

His indignation must've shown in his eyes because the Cook flinched when he met Zoro's gaze and he quickly turned away. Then the Cook walked.

He walked, with his own two legs—the same legs he used to fight as a Strawhat and now he's walking away from them.

Not once did he look back—despite all the pleas made from the others—his face taut and his eyes focused on the Germa bastards. The pink haired chick said something too low for Zoro to hear but he saw her face soften for a moment.

Whatever. All the Germa are still douchebags in his books. Yes, that includes that damn Cook.

As the Germa's ship slowly sailed away, Zoro walked up to where his captain was lying still on the ground, eyes never leaving the ship in case they decided to attack again. Chopper was by Luffy's side, working hard on getting the antidote ready even as tears kept flowing from his eyes.

"Zoro." His captain called, voice deadly calm despite the situation. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"He wouldn't let me." Zoro answered tiredly but even as the words rolled off his tongue, it all just felt like a pathetic excuse for his failure. He saw the resolve in the damn Cook's eyes and the understanding. This wasn't a battle they could win, not without some sacrifice. And the Cook selfishly decided he will be the sacrifice to save the rest of them.

Zoro understood what the idiot was trying to do. But that didn’t mean he approved of it.

It was like Thriller Bark all over again! Except this time, he was the one being saved.

Damnit!

Frustration boiled within him till he had to lash out at something. A red haze covered his vision and he didn't know what he'd done until he felt a gentle hoof rest against his arm. He let Chopper tug him around and onto the ground.

He hadn't even realized that most of his crew mates had gone from the deck and only the Alphas plus Chopper were left.

"Nami and the others are downstairs." Robin provided seeing the question on his face.

Shit. He forgot that Nami is an Omega. For all the time she bossed him and all the other members of the crew around, you'd think she's an Alpha. He must've accidentally released his Alpha pheromones when he was in a frenzy and triggered her Omega flight instincts. The others must be trying to calm her down right now. He'd have to apologize for that later when he calmed down.

Speaking of Omegas.....

"Did you know?"

He didn't look at his captain but the question was directed at him.

"Would it matter if I did?"

Luffy's voice was strangely sober and serious unlike his usual self.

"Yes it does!" Zoro exploded and even though it was his captain he was speaking to, he can't help but feel anger for keeping this from him. They are nakama for god's sake! This was too damn important to be kept secret from the crew.

"It's not my place to say." Luffy—as calm as ever—said.

Zoro calmed a little at Luffy's words and felt ashamed that he yelled at his captain. It wasn't Luffy's fault. It was all the damn Cook's.

Yes. Everything had gone to a mess because of him. His fucking family, his damn self-sacrificing ego and his damn aromatic scent.

Wait.

Zoro took a moment to sniff the air around him and found that it was still filled with the Cook's scent. It was all around him, as though his nose could only pick out on that scent and that scent alone.

It both grated and smooth his nerves at the same time which does not make any sense at all but Zoro didn't know any other way to describe this weird sensation. He wanted to hate the Cook for everything that happened, he wanted to say good riddance to him.

"Are you mad that he kept secrets from you or was it because of something else?" Luffy spoke softly, cutting through Zoro's confusing thoughts.

Was there something else?

He didn't understand why he was feeling so much anger in him. He didn't understand the overwhelming emotions whirling inside of him was due to or why he felt as though he got stabbed in the heart. The sword wound he got from Tablet didn't hurt that much anymore because the pain didn't compare to the phantom pain in his chest.

He felt suffocated; as though there was not enough breath in his lungs no matter how many deep breaths he took. His body felt heavy and it wasn't due to his injuries.

"I....." He started but can't seem to find an answer for that. "I....don't know." He admitted truthfully to his captain.

There were seconds of silence between them but Zoro felt as though it was minutes before Luffy finally broke the silence.

"We'll get him back Zoro. No matter what." Luffy promised, patting him on the shoulder before walking below deck to where Nami supposedly was.

Zoro has full faith in Luffy's words. He trusted in his captain's promise and once again was glad that he chose to follow a man like him.

Luffy has never let them down before so he wholeheartedly believe in his captain's promise that Sanji will be back and when he does, Zoro was sure to give him a hell of a fight for his stupid act. And maybe then, these annoying emotions in him would go away and he would never have to face them again.

Zoro let out an exhausted sigh and decided that he wasn't going to let this set him back from his dreams. He started walking towards the Crow's Nest, set on doubling his usual workout schedule since his old one was obviously not enough.

"Zoro!"

A shout made Zoro curse under his breath but he did not turn around. He already knew who it was. He should've acted faster so Chopper wouldn't have the time to stop him.

Reluctantly he turned around just in time to see Chopper’s disapproving expression directed at him.

"I told you a million times! No lifting!" Chopper screeched. "You're injured! You should be resting!"

"Yeah yeah...." Zoro waved a dismissive hand and sighed. He heard this lecture so many times already. He didn’t have time to be slacking, he needed to get stronger. Strong enough to cut down all who stands in his way, starting with the damn sheep riding bastard.

He let Chopper lecture him for a good whole minute before giving him a half-hearted promise to not exert himself and quickly retreated to the Crow's nest for some peace and quiet.

His whole being was in turmoil and he needed some alone time in order to sort it all out.

Sitting down cross-legged in the middle of the small room, he assumed his meditative posture and started on some easy breathing exercise to calm his mind.

He had done this a million times but yet somehow this time was not as easy as he thought no matter how hard he tried to ease his thoughts.

He snapped his eyes open with a frustrated growl and decided to do his usual workouts despite Chopper's warnings. He knew his body's limits better than anyone so he's sure it will be fine.

Shit.

He can't concentrate at all. His body knows his usual routine but his mind was not in it at all. After losing count for the third time, he decided it was a waste of time to go on and headed down for a drink.

For a moment, he could almost believe that everything was the same as it was before as he walked into the kitchen. He slammed opened the door and strolled in, half-expecting a foot to his chest for being so loud and feeling a wave of emptiness wash over him at the sight of an empty kitchen without the Cook.

He never thought about this before until now. How much he enjoyed the Cook's presence around him; whether they were pissing each other off or just hanging out for a drink. He had to admit that the Cook has certainly made his life aboard the Sunny much more interesting.

And now that he's gone, Zoro could feel how much his absence greatly affected him.

It shouldn't though. He was sure if any one of his other crew left willingly like the Cook did, he wouldn't be so distraught over it. Sure, he would be sad to see them go but he would also respect their decisions to leave. The Cook however, was a completely different matter entirely.

Everything about him just has to be that complicated doesn't it?

Footsteps sounded behind him and he knew who it was before she opened her mouth.

"We're having a meeting at the aquarium. Robin wants to tell us something." She said in her usual tone.

Zoro almost wanted to dismiss her with his usual grant but thought better.

"Sorry." He muttered.

"What?"

He knew she heard him the first time and was just doing this to annoy him but still, he went with it. It was his fault after all.

"For losing control. For scaring you...." He truly felt ashamed of his actions. He prides himself for having strong self-control but it seems that he always loses it whenever it has something to do with the Cook. First there's the incident with the Cook's pheromones and next was when the Cook left.

How does the Cook always screw with him even in his absence?!

"I don't want your apology." Nami huffed. "But if you're really sorry then give me your money." Zoro turned around to find her smirking and he rolled his eyes.

Typical. It always comes back to money.

Exasperated as he was, he wouldn't want her any other way—weird as it sounds.

"I'm broke. You took all my money you witch."

"Well, you just have to find another way to repay me then." She was quick to retort, as though she already knew what Zoro was going to say. "Maybe through some manual labor."

That he can do. He has been doing most of the manual work on the ship anyways, even going with the Cook and being his mule for his groceries.

"What? You want me to clean your room again?" He sighed. This was not the first time Nami had asked something like this from him and it definitely wouldn't be the last.

"The last time you did that, you messed up all my maps. No way am I going to let your clumsy ass anywhere near my delicate maps again." She scowled. "No. I want you to do everything in your power to get Sanji-kun back."

Zoro stilled. He never expected something like this from her. He knew that they each cared a lot for one another's well-being but for her to request this to him, was definitely unusual.

"Of course. That's what we're going to do. Luffy's working on it right now." Zoro said, recalling his conversation with his captain. His captain has a plan and he trusted in his captain to fulfill his promises.

"No. I want you to promise that you'll do whatever it takes to bring that idiot back to us. No. Matter. What." She implied each word with a jab of her finger to his chest and her eyes were locked onto his in a stern glare.

"Okay...I will." He slowly said. He was unsure of what was going through the Navigator's mind but he was sure she was serious about what she said.

He just wasn't sure why she said that to him of all people.

"Good." She smiled—a relieved smile and not one of her sly ones like when she got Zoro to agree on one of her schemes. It truly confused Zoro but he quickly dismissed it. If he took all of Nami's words to heart every time she does something weird, he'll never be able to sleep well.

She wasn't done though. She seemed hesitant until Zoro asked her to spit it out.

"He knew this would happen."

"Huh?"

"Sanji-kun had always known this day would come. He had prepared for it."

At Zoro's confused gaze, Nami continued to explain.

"Usopp found some notebooks in the galley belonging to Sanji. We thought it was his recipe books that he always writes in but it turns out it was notes on how the kitchen works and reminders on our personal diets...He had at least 3 books filled up with instructions on all of our individual favorites and how to cook them with small notes all over..."

What. The. Hell.

The Cook knew this was going to happen and he didn't tell any of them?! He had endangered every one of them by withholding this information and not warning them of this threat.

What the hell was he thinking!

And leaving them with this stupid help books! Did he think it was enough to be forgiven! Did he think it was enough? Zoro doesn't want no fucking books, he wanted the Cook right here by his side on the Sunny.

Nami seemed to notice the Alpha's anger but didn't flinch, seemingly used to Zoro's temper. She knew Sanji's actions had affected the Alpha immensely even if the said Alpha in question was still in denial about it.

"Hey!" She snapped her fingers in front of Zoro to make him focus on her and once he did she continued. "I didn't tell you that just so you can go on your Alpha tantrum again!"

Suddenly reminded of the first time he made his pheromones lose control, he quickly reeled back his anger with a deep breath.

"S'ry.." he mumbled.

"I can't forgive Sanji-kun either but think about why he had to do it okay? At least hear him out before you start a fight. Can you promise me that?"

Zoro just grunted in reluctance. He guessed he did want to hear the Cook out for his reasons, it would at least give the Cook a chance to explain himself. But he was still going to give him a good punch in the face though. He deserves that at the very least.

Seeing that Zoro was calmer than before Nami guessed the idiot had thought it through. She didn't want to defend Sanji or anything but he should be allowed to explain his side of the story before they pass judgement. Nami knew what it's like to play the devil and pretend to be someone you’re not just to protect the ones you love.

Sanji left in order to protect them from the ruthlessness of those so-called siblings of his and there was nothing they could do at that time. She understood, but that doesn't mean she wasn't frustrated at Sanji's kindness or at her own weakness.

No matter. No use dwelling on about it when it's in the past. Right now they're planning to take back Sanji and she's determined to do her part. She knew the same determination was in everyone as well, including Zoro even as he cursed the Cook repeatedly.

"Come on. Everyone's waiting for us." She gestured for him to follow before walking out the door.

Zoro followed but paused before going out the door. Looking back at the dark, empty galley once more, he found that he didn't feel as bleak as he felt before.

The anger was still there—it'll always be until they get the idiot back—but there was also something akin to hope.

"Wait for me Cook. I'm going to drag your sorry ass back and then punch you in the face when you return."

He didn't know why but he needed to say it out loud. Silence was his only reply but he felt his resolve strengthen. Grinning to himself, he turned to close the door, knowing the next time he opened it, the Cook will be on the other side of it.

Chapter Text

Zoro followed Nami to the aquarium where he found that everyone else was already gathered and waiting for him.

Brook was tuning his violin on the couch, Franky and Usopp were fiddling with some contraption in the corner with Luffy hovering excitedly over them. Robin and Chopper were going through some books by the shelf and from the looks of the numerous books on the floor, they have been at it for a while now.

"Geez Zoro. Did you get lost again?" Luffy bounced over and laughed in his face. It was a little strange to see Luffy without his trademark Strawhat. It was like a part of him and also the insignia for their crew’s name. Zoro knew where it was right now but he didn’t want to think too much into it, knowing Luffy let it stay with the Cook as a promise to take him and the hat back one day. He didn’t understand how Luffy could let go of something so precious like his treasure but then again, it’s just like Luffy to do something like this so no one mention his misplaced hat, knowing one day it’ll be returned to it’s rightful owner.

Zoro grumbled something incoherent under his breath, pressing a hand to Luffy’s face and pushing it away from him before walking towards the most sane person in the crew that had called them here in the first place.

"So? What did you find?"

Robin looked up from her book with that smile on her face that means she found something interesting.

"A lot actually. As I was telling the rest before you and Nami got here, I went through some old history books and found some interesting stories about a certain kingdom in North Blue."

"North Blue?" Zoro's eyebrow raised.

"Yes. I believed that Sanji once mentioned that he was born in North Blue so I started my search from there and found some very intriguing news."

"During the Jaya incident he mentioned it remember? We didn't think much about it then." Nami added.

Huh. He'd always thought the Cook was born in East Blue, the same as them.

"Wait, then how in the world did he travel from the North to the East?!" Zoro exclaimed. He wasn't great at geography, but he knew enough that the four great seas were divided by a wall that was by no means easy to cross. Hell, they had a hard time crossing the Grandline but to imagine the Cook making the journey across a wall when he was just a child? The Cook must've a hard time in his childhood.

"Yes. It must've been a great journey. It's no small feat to travel across from one region to another." Brook spoke up from the couch, still absentmindedly tuning his violin.

"Whoa! Sanji-bro must've an thrilling childhood!" Franky exclaimed.

Thrilling....Right....

Zoro thought back to how the green-haired bastard treated him. How the Cook cowered under his putrid scent, the fear in his eyes and the trembling of his body when the Cook first laid eyes on the man.

Zoro thought back to how that same fear was turned on him that night when he first witnessed the Cook's panic attack.

Oh...

He didn't know how he felt to be compared to that bastard but the Cook must've known he'll never intentionally harm one of his crew. Sure they bicker and fight all the time, but they both know it was never serious. They never leave any permanent injuries on one another, never hurt the other without reason and definitely use the other's weakness as a means to win.

"Well—" Robin's voice cut through his thoughts and he snapped his attention back to her.

"Sanji's family—the Vinsmoke—has a great impact on history in the North Blue and by no means was it a positive one."

Everyone's attention was now turned solely on the Archaeologist, waiting to know what she had found.

"The Vinsmoke is a family of underworld mercenaries. They were royalty and former rulers of North Blue before their fall. But back—about 300 years ago, they were known for their military might, able to conquer the entire North Blue and with it, earning the privileges of royalty. Even after losing their territory, they are still quite active in their work—underground work and has an impressive connections with the Underworld. I’ve heard small rumors of them during my time back with Mr 0 that they’re rutheless and skilled in what they do.” Robin was silent after that, giving the crew time to digest the information.    

"Sanji's not an assassin!" Luffy suddenly hopped to his feet in anger.

"Bullshit!"

Numerous protests cried out in anger over the new revelation of Sanji's family but Zoro could only remain in silence as he thought it over.

The Cook an assassin? Hah! That's preposterous! The Cook's too much of a softie to be able to even kill someone in cold blood.

He'd seen him spare Marines that had been after his life and had witnessed his kindness numerous times as he gave out food to those starving even though he could've left them.

Just look at that bastard Gin!

The Cook never turned a blind eye to those in need and helped them whenever he could. He'd seen the Cook give and give without receiving anything in return and yet, the Cook seemed satisfied with it. The Cook always seemed to light up the room wherever he goes and though Zoro was reluctant to admit this, he enjoyed his little sparring sessions with the Cook and even the peaceful ones where they sat in silence, drinking sake under the night skies with only the ocean waves in their ears.

How can someone so foolish and warm be associated with those cold-hearted bastards? It was unthinkable to even associate the Cook with them, much less think that the Cook would ever join them.

During the time he was engrossed in his thoughts, the others had managed to calm down and let Robin continue with her explanation.

"From what the lady said about our Cook. It seems that Sanji is being used as a peace treaty of sorts. He is to be married to one of Big Mom's children in order to tie the two families together. A political marriage to put it simply."

She waited a moment for the information to sink in before continuing.

"However, the marriage was not carried out because it seems like our Cook disappeared and the whole wedding ended up in a mess." She held up an old newspaper article with big, bold letters on the headline.

Marriage Ends In Absolute Embarrassment! Groom Stood Up At The Altar!

"Wait...." Nami spoke up after a moment of silence, confusion on her face. "How old was Sanji-kun then?"

Everyone gasped, realizing what that meant.

"I believe he was around 10, maybe 11 when the marriage was announced..." Robin sighed. This knowledge did not sit well with her at all and she could only imagine how well her crew would take it.

As expected, they did not take it well at all.

"What the hell...." Nami growled out.

"That's messed up..." Franky muttered, face as dark as the others.

"Sanji...." Usopp looked pale with tears glistening in his eyes.

Chopper could hardly follow the conversation from the start but he knew what this meant. He knew there were bad humans in the world but he never knew there were humans who would even use their own child as a means to obtain power. Chopper felt a strange ball of warmth churning inside of him. He'd been angry before, angry at Luffy for always hurting himself, angry at Sanji for referring to him as an emergency food supply. But these were all small bouts of anger that fizzled out quickly.

But this....

This was different. It was new and Chopper didn't quite hate it. He believed it was the same for the rest of his crew by the look of indignation on their faces.

"Continue Robin." Luffy said, his tone dark and his expression was entirely unlike his usual sunny demeanor that the crew was used to seeing. Without his trademark hat on his head, his clear indignation was clear for everyone to see.

Robin obliges, going through what information she gathered.

"As anyone would’ve guessed, Big Mom was not pleased at all and went on a rampage that destroyed two cities and killed many innocents.  Many blamed it on the Vinsmokes and from then on, their name has been tarnished and scoffed upon in the underworld. After the failed marriage, they spent their time hiding and slowly building up their forces. The Vinsmokes leader—Vinsmoke Judge—is a scientist, one that specializes in genetics and using his knowledge, he managed to build up an army of clones that are programmed to obey any orders without question.

"A perfect obedient army that'll listen to your every command huh. If that Judge guy wasn't such a super villain, I'd totally love to be his super friend!" Franky said.

"Well, brilliant or not, he's still a scumbag who used his own son for political purposes. If I ever see him, I'd sock him in the face and then steal all his fortune!" Nami huffed.

"Not only did Vinsmoke Judge find a way to clone artificial soldiers, he had also created many technological gadgets for combat. I believe you saw what those siblings were wearing?"

"Those tacky capes and shoes?" Nami wrinkled her nose. She thought the Germa has bad taste in fashion to be able to wear those fluttery capes and prance around like it was nothing. Not to mention their taste in colors...

"Yes. Those are also something Judge made for combat. The capes are both fire and bulletproof, able to protect the user from projectiles and the shoes have a booster in them to allow the user to fly and run at high speeds. All of these inventions has aided the Germa in winning countless wars and overtook many region in the North Blue."

The group was quiet for a moment, letting the fact that they were going to go against a crazed technological warlord sink into them. Not technically a Warlord, but still a crazy, power-hungry war monster.

"So what?" Luffy's voice broke through the silence and through every individual's thoughts. "We are still going to take Sanji back from them."

"Damn right." Zoro grinned. Who cares if they've these technological thingies? It just means that they're weak. Weak enough that they rely on technology to aid them in a fight. Zoro only needed to rely on his swords and muscles. His swords are a part of him and it was only through extensive hard work that he managed to get to where he is today.

The Cook was the same too. Not relying on pretty machines for his fights. The Cook only relied on his body to fight. Using his long legs to kick the life out of his enemies and only using his precious hands to support himself as he fights.

The way the Cook fights was not extravagant or even mildly entertaining in Zoro's opinion. Just about anyone could execute those fancy somersaults and backflips; however, there was just something about the Cook that made Zoro take a second glance and from then on, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tear his eyes away from that form.

The Cook fights in a way that is both elegant and captivating. The way his spine curves in almost impossible angles and the way he acts all dignified when he's kicking the shit out of some poor soul.

And that brought him back to his earlier thoughts.

The damn Cook should've fought with them instead of giving up damnit!

"There is also something else I've found...." Robin's voice broke through his thoughts but she trailed off in her sentence, seeming unsure before her usual smile came in place. "But it has nothing to do with this right now." She concluded, mostly to herself rather than to them.

"Alright crew!" Luffy exclaimed, bringing everyone's attention to him. "We're going to go get Sanji back from those Grammar bastards!"

"It's Germa Luffy!" Nami corrected with a slap on her face.

"Who cares what they're called, they're gonna be dead soon anyway." Zoro grinned to himself. It was a silent promise to himself that he'll make the Germa pay for what they'd done to their crew. They've taken away what's theirs and the Strawhats will be coming to take their Cook back plus some interest.

"But what about the soldiers?! They have hundreds of them! How are we going to face that!" Nami continued. "We're facing a whole kingdom Luffy ,we can't expect to always go at it like we always do. We need a plan."

Luffy nodded reluctantly and frowned, probably overheating his brain by thinking.

"If I may Captain?" Robin stood up to walk over to him.

Zoro decided that all was in good hands now, especially if the two women were in charge. He trust them to make sure that they have a plan to get the Cook back safety with all members intact. So Zoro walked out of the door silently and out to the cool, night air.

Somehow, he found himself in front of the galley door without any intentions of stealing booze especially since there's no one around to stop him now. Frowning at the door, he wondered why he kept finding his way without any thought as though he was pulled here by some force.

His legs took him here because....

Because of what?

Zoro doesn't know why, but his chest started hurting again. A small ache that won't go away no matter how much he massaged it. He slowly let out a sigh and then inhaled a large breath, feeling his body relax a little when the familiar scent of smoke and spices coming from the galley filled his being .

He didn't want to question why it made him feel this way, (He was so tired of having so many unanswered questions.) he just knew it made the ache go away for a while and that's all he wanted right now.

Everything was under control now. Nami and Robin will work out a plan to get the Cook back, they'll get back on their route towards their dreams again and make their way towards Raftel. Simple.

However, if it's that simple, why was it that this constant nagging in the back of Zoro's mind kept telling him it was not.

Chapter Text

It's been two weeks since the Cook was taken and Zoro was about to blow his top. He understands why they had to wait. He understands the plan perfectly but it still grates on his nerves to stand here doing nothing while the Cook was somewhere over on some stupid cake island about to get married.

Notices have been posted on the news by some guy named Morgan who stated that the lost prince of Germa has been rescued from his kidnapping by some low-life pirates and was to be married to one of Charlotte children, though it has not been revealed which child would be wed.

They were all furious when they read the paper. So that's how they're going to cover up the Cook's absence. Kidnapping?

If anything, they were the ones who kidnapped the Cook. The Cook was obviously reluctant to go with them until they threatened him.

But ultimately, it was the Cook's final decision that pissed him off because he gave up and went along quietly. Of course Zoro knew how difficult it must've been for the Cook but it still didn't stop the deep ache in him when he thought back on it. It felt like a betrayal. A betrayal to the crew, to their captain and to him.

He'd always put the crew's well-being as his first and utmost priority but the Cook's actions made him so confused with himself and that made him even more frustrated. His mind knew full well the extent of the Cook's actions' has affected the crew but his heart kept defending that idiot which does not sit well with Zoro at all.

How can you want someone to stay by your side while trying not to murder them every time they open their mouth?

It has always been complicated with them but this just makes it a whole new level of complications.

It felt like a love-hate relationship with them. Not that Zoro loves the Cook or anything. Eww. It was just a phrase.

So after a week of training himself non-stop like a madman, he was ready to explode with all the pent up stress in him. He longed to find a certain someone to spar with but it was because of that certain someone that he is in this predicament in the first place.

Damn Cook!

"Zoro-ya."

He froze in the middle of his thousandth sit-ups and cursed under his breath. He didn't even hear the man come in until he was behind him.

It wasn't that he didn't hate the sleep deprived man named Trafalgar Law—no. He quite likes the Heart pirate despite him being an Alpha but that fact didn't affect him much because the man is quiet and respectfully gives Zoro his space whenever he was on the Sunny.

In the few days they've been introduced, Zoro felt that Law could very well fit in as a Strawhat if he wasn't the captain of his own crew. Anyone who has the capacity to put up with Luffy and go along with his captain's whims was considered impressive in Zoro's books. Even after traveling with Luffy for so long, he still often questions his own sanity for agreeing to go along with this maniac. Though of course, Zoro never once regretted his choices but still had to question it for the sake of staying sane.

However, the tattooed Alpha was already a captain of his own crew called the Heart Pirates and had already made himself infamous in the New World. How Luffy met Law and why Law had quickly come when Luffy asked, Zoro didn't know or would ask because it was his captain's business.

What was his business though, was how the Alpha kept staring after his captain and despite being annoyed with Luffy (who doesn't?), there's an occasional tilt of his lips that could almost resemble a smile—almost.

Zoro didn't think Law would bring harm to his captain despite the constant threats when Luffy does something stupid, so he left the doctor alone with his captain to plan things out. He would do his job and prepare for the battle ahead.

He hadn't really talked to Law alone outside of meetings or during mealtimes so he didn't know why the Alpha would come looking for him.

He grunted to acknowledge that he heard him without turning.

"Nami-ya wants everyone to gather on deck. It seems the plan has been finalized."

Finally! Zoro sighed and quickly got up to grab his towel. After swiftly wiping himself down, he noticed the Alpha was still standing there.

"What?" His message was delivered so why's he still here?

"Your friend demanded that I bring you there, lest you get lost as usual." Law gritted out.

As much as it annoys him to hear his directional sense being insulted, the fact that Law here was carrying out that witch's orders was satisfying. Despite being an Omega, Nami can somehow make others listen to her. Alpha, Beta or Omega, all would find themselves obeying her commands if she so wishes it.

He knew it annoyed other Alphas to have Omegas bossing them around but it seemed that Law was being a good sport about it and taking it in with gritted teeth. Still, the sight of it made Zoro grin, feeling proud of his crew member for standing her ground despite the numerous Alphas gathering near the Sunny.

Luffy pulled some strings and somehow got a few of his 'friends' out there to come help him. Well, Luffy calls them friends but some beg to differ and Zoro would have to keep a watch out for those people. Luffy says he trusts all of them but it was Zoro's job to be skeptical about everyone and everything in order to be alert for any dangers that might harm his crew.

The ones that had answered to Luffy's calls were the Kuja pirates (how in the world did Luffy manage that?!), the Heart Pirates and some strange crew that seemed to be made up of a bunch of fanboys. Their leader is a man named Bartolomeo—a Beta—and he and his men (interestingly all Betas too) immediately teared up upon seeing Luffy's face. His ship was weird—unique in Franky's words—as the outer railings resembled Luffy's arms and it even had a Luffy head!

Zoro was a hundred percent sure the Beta meant his captain no harm so he made sure he stayed far away from the weirdo lest he start bawling his eyes out at him, which he already did during the first meeting.

The Kuja pirates on the other hand, was a different story. That Alpha lady kept trying to pick a fight with him just because she heard he was Luffy's second. Ranks doesn't mean anything to Zoro but apparently it does to the Alpha because she kept coming after Zoro with insults and death threats. However, she obviously doesn't have any ill intentions towards Luffy considering how much she swoons over him so Zoro would let the threats slide and stay far away from her eyes. She was essential to the plan in order to get the Cook back after all.

All three of the other crews' leaders and their second-in-command were gathering on deck when Zoro came up from the hatch. Nami was at a table with her maps out and frowning at it intensely. She seemed to be focused on her task but Zoro could see the tension on her shoulders from how she kept clenching and unclenching her hands. It could be due to the number of Alphas on board or it could be due to the stress, either way, Zoro knew this was not enough to get her down.

"Alright! I think I found a route to get to the island without detection." Nami announced and all eyes were on her. The atmosphere in the air turned serious and everyone was waiting for the plan to move. Nami, however, did not even flinch at the Alphas’ gazes and proceeded to explain the sea currents and how they would use it to their advantage to get to Whole Cake Island faster.

Zoro was only half-listening to the specifics while sweeping his eyes out at their surroundings. So many people of different sub-genders, from different origins and from different backgrounds but all came together for one person. Watching his captain sitting there next to Law with a silly expression as he tried—keyword: Tried—to understand Nami's plan, was entertaining. Just how in the world did this person do it? Zoro was always grateful that he met Luffy and came to follow under this fool of a captain.

He wondered if he had rejected Luffy's invitation to join him back at Shells Town, where would he be today? He wouldn't have met Usopp, Chopper, Nami, Robin, Franky and Brook. Most of all, he wouldn't have met the Cook.

He wouldn't have found the perfect rival for him to spar with. He wouldn't have found a drinking partner to enjoy the stars with. He wouldn't have found a friend he never thought he deserved in this lonely path to the top.

But meeting the Cook has changed everything. It was weird now that he thought about it—how much the Cook has impacted his life and how much he meant to him now that he's gone but here he was, having these thoughts.

"Oi Zoro!!!" Luffy's face popped right in front of him, startling him back from his thoughts. "Meeting's over! We're going to have a party now!"

"Why in the world are we having a party when we're about to go into battle with a Yonko?!" Zoro growled.

"Because we need to!" Luffy pouted. "How else are we going to have the strength to fight if we don't eat!"

His captain got a point but it was still ridiculous to have a party during times like this.

"It's because of times like this that we need to have a party—a meat party!" Luffy exclaimed, surprising Zoro once again. He forgot how well his captain can read thoughts. "We can't go into a fight all stiff like this! Relax a little, eat some meat!"

"Who's going to cook it?"

Luffy paused for a moment, seemingly forgetting that their chef wasn't here to comply with his meat party. "Usopp will. Though he always burns the meat but I'll bear with it until Sanji comes back! Then I'll ask Sanji to throw another meat party!"

Zoro pities Usopp for having to do this as he's the second person next to the Cook who could dish up a decent meal without either it being:
A: magically transformed into mash
B: charge a shitload of money
C: experimented on, 
or D, without it being too extremely sweet for his liking. (Sorry Chopper...)

He never knew the importance of having a proper meal diet until the Cook came along and changed all their diets without them realizing it and now that he's gone for 2 weeks, he could already feel the effects of his body not functioning at its full capacity because of insufficient nutrients. He didn't think he cared much about food at first but now he's starting to see what the Cook was rumbling about during the times where he'd talk about cooking to Zoro.

"Sure. That'll teach the Cook not to run off like that again and leave his captain here to starve." He muttered.

"Zoro..." The shift in his captain's tone made Zoro look at him and Luffy had a small pout on his face. "You're not still mad at him are you?"

Zoro just grunted in answer. He wasn't sure if he was still mad or not but the Cook at least deserves a punch to the gut when he sees him.

"Well, I know you won't be mad at him once you eat Sanji's cooking again!" Luffy grinned brightly and Zoro scoffed.

Yeah right. Food or not, the Cook's not going to get off this that easily. Zoro didn't know what he's going to do right now but he didn't think whatever's happening between him and the Cook was not so easily resolved.

"Don't be mad anymore okay? Imma going to tell Usopp about the party now!" Luffy bounced off to find the Beta and from the loud exasperated groan resounding around the Sunny, Usopp was most likely going to have a hard time fulfilling his captain's orders. The Cook better pay Usopp back for all the trouble he caused for his absence.

Zoro noticed Luffy bouncing back with an excited smile on his face before jumping high up in the air with a whoop.

"Guys! We're going to have a Meat party!"

Several different responses were heard. There were cheers from Bartolomeo and his crew. There was excited chatter heard from the Kuja and Hancock was staring starry-eyed at Luffy. Then there were the groans, mostly from the Strawhats and the loudest from the captain of the Heart Pirates.

"Why in the world would he think to have a party at this crucial moment?" The Alpha growled out to no one in particular.

"Shishishi~ because that's how we Strawhats do things."

The horrified, despairing expression of the Captain had just made Zoro's day a whole lot better.

Chapter Text

Everyone was quiet as they neared their destination. Even from where they anchored their ships, they could still see the large cake that towered over the island. Literally naming the island Whole Cake Island.

They anchored far away to avoid detection from the underwater transmitters as they waited for the recon team to report back to them. Brook and Chopper had taken the submarine shark to scout out the area while Law and his team, along with Franky worked to disable the transmitters so that they could get across.

It was so close now and Zoro could feel the ache in his chest lighten just a little but still there. He still didn't know what all this meant but he was sure the answer will be found once the Cook is back with them. It pains him to wait but he knew that the others were all working hard in order to make this work so he could only grit his teeth and bear with it until the signal is given.

"Everyone." Robin called for everyone's attention and Zoro saw in her hand an envelope.

"I just heard back from one of the men on the island. The wedding is going to take place 3 days from now and the groom in question is this man." Robin held out a picture of an intimidating man with his sharp teeth protruding out of his mouth and slanted eyes. Zoro immediately didn't like the man.

That man doesn't deserve to have the Cook!

Wait...He paused. It sounds as though he was jealous of the guy.

"How and when did you even get someone inside the island?" Usopp asked though he was almost afraid of getting the answer from the mysterious raven lady.

"I have my ways." Was all Robin said with a soft chuckle before resuming her report. "This man is Big Mom's top general, one of the Three Sweet Commanders and second son; Charlotte Katakuri. He is known to be a Devil Fruit user but as of right now, we are unsure what his powers are. However, it is suspected that he has the power to see into the future."

Several gasps came on cue before Robin continued and not long after she was interrupted by another round of exclamations.

"1,057,000,000 BELI?!!!"

"That's like...like...." Chopper tried to count with his hooves but not having any luck with that while the others were too shocked by this revelation.

"Shishishi...I would love to have a fight with him." Luffy laughed while the others stared dumbfoundedly at his bold statement.

"Luffy! Are you crazy! He's over a billion! A BILLION!!" Nami cried and wacked Luffy over the head.

"I agree with Nami!" Usopp hurriedly raised a hand. "We should avoid him entirely!"

Zoro didn't agree though. He was the same as Luffy, but with completely different reasons for wanting to fight the man.

The Cook should have someone worthy of his strength to stand beside him.

This stray thought slipped through his mind and again, he was horrified to have such thoughts for the Cook.

I'm not jealous....

"Zoro, why do you look like you swallowed a lemon?" Usopp called him out of his thoughts and he found everyone staring at him strangely.

He frowned and tried to pretend he was listening to Robin's report but he knew he wasn't convincing anyone when both women had sly smiles on their faces.

He cleared his throat loudly before asking about their strategy.

Robin smiled gently at him and gave him a summarized version of her report because she knew he wasn't listening and this made Zoro's ears red.

Turns out, all of Big Mom's subordinates will be present for the wedding along with some high profile representatives coming from all over the seas. Big Mom has invited all the big shots in order to strengthen their relationships for her own benefits and it would be terrifying to know that the majority of these big shots came from the Underworld but right now, this doesn't mean anything to the Strawhats as long as they can get their crew mate back to them. 

Everyone was quiet in their own thoughts after Robin concluded her report. Things don't seem good for them if the number two of the enemy was the groom and would constantly be next to Sanji like a guard. They would have to cause a distraction to lure Katakuri away from Sanji and hope it would be enough to do a swift rescue mission before escaping safely away from the island with everyone. It doesn't seem realistic, but for once, Nami was willing to bet on the strength of everyone aiding them to succeed in this mission.

“Would it be possible to conduct a stealth mission to Sanji’s room before the wedding day and rescue him before anyone discovers he’s missing?” Robin asked Nami who was staring at the map with intense focus in order to find which route would be best to enter the island unseen and undetected.

"It might be possible but very risky." Nami muttered, still not looking up from the map. 

"Alright, let's try that then." Robin suggested and looked to the group. "I suggest going in a small group, not more than 5 people.”

“I’m going.” Zoro immediately spoke up.

“Zoro...” Nami sighed exasperatingly. “You’re not exactly stealth material...”

“I’m. Going.” Zoro said, punctuating each word with a force of finality, leaving no words for argument.

Before Nami could open her mouth and get a word out, Robin gestured to her to calm down.

“It’s alright Nami.” Robin looked at the Navigator with a knowing smile. “Zoro will definitely not run off on his own and get lost right?”

Zoro had nothing to respond to that and looked away with a frown. He was just glad that he got to go. Nothing would stop him from getting to his Cook and he rather take the initiative than to sit around and wait in the ship.

“Fine.” Nami bit out, resigned over his stubborn crew mate. “I’ll be staying here to coordinate with the others but I would prefer to have Franky to stay on the Sunny just in case we come under attack.” She looked to Franky who gave here a thumbs up in agreement and she smiled back in thanks. “So who else is going?”

“ME!!” Luffy yelled with both hands up in the air and Nami immediately smacked him on the head on reflex.

"We know! We can't stop you anyway." She huffed. "Who else besides the two idiots? We definitely can't trust them not to cause trouble on a stealth mission...."

"I shall be going as well." Robin announced. "I heard that Big Mom has a piece of the poneglyph on her island. This may be a good opportunity to steal a copy of it since we're heading there anyway."

"Are you crazy? You went to steal from a Yonko?!" Usopp screeched. "It's bad enough we have to go face a Yonko but you want to steal from her?"

"It's not stealing. I'll just be creating a copy of it." Robin said simply with a sly smile and Usopp couldn't say anything else but despaired over their impending doom at the hands of the Yonko.

"I think I can help in the search for Sanji-san and the poneglyph with my ghostly abilities." Brook proposed and both Robin and Nami agreed.

"I want to go as well. I want to make sure his health is alright." Chopper spoke up with sadness in his big doe eyes. There was also something else Chopper wanted to check with Sanji but he didn't say because it was something Sanji didn't want to let anyone know.

Nami didn't ask the reason but just nodded her head. "So Zoro, Luffy, Robin, Brook and Chopper. That's 5. I think that's a reasonable number for this mission. Franky, Usopp and I will keep an eye out from here and I'll contact you through the Den Den Mushi for any new developments." Nami planned out before quickly dismissing everyone to their respective locations.

Robin went to gather some materials needed for copying the poneglyph while Brook was tuning his violin for the possible battles ahead. Zoro sat on Sunny's deck and took out his swords for maintenance, he'd make sure to cut down anyone who stands in his way to the Cook and he needed his trusty swords to be in its peak condition. Instead of heading to the Sunny's kitchen, Luffy went onto Law's ship -- the Polar Tang --  to raid their kitchen instead, prompting Law's crew to yell at him and complain tearfully to their Captain over their food supply. As for Chopper, he went to the infirmary to pack his bag with enough medications he might need for later. Call it his animal instincts or whatever, but he had a bad feeling he might need it for whatever condition they find Sanji in. He just hoped that he wouldn't need it but it never hurts to be prepared.

When they're done, they meet on the Polar Tang as it was the only ship that can stealthy pass through the underwater sensors and bring the group towards Whole Cake Island. The Shark submarine was too small for the 5 of them to travel in and it was decided that Law was going with them to aid in infiltrating onto the island.

The trip towards Whole Cake Island was quiet and filled with tension as everyone kept their senses sharp and alert for any signs that they may have been detected.

With Law's guidance and his Navigator's aid, they managed to navigate their way through the waters and finally reached the shores of Whole Cake Island without detection. Law got the submarine as close to the island's edge as possible and turned to address the others.

"Alright. This is as close as I can get without being detected. Let's get on with this." He said with exasperation in his tone.

"You're the best Traffy! Thanks!" Luffy yelled and jumped onto Law, wrapping his rubbery arms all around him.

"Fuck! Get off me!" Law exclaimed but Zoro could see the tint of redness on his cheeks as he tried half-heartedly to pry Luffy's arms off of him.

After Luffy got off of Law, Law used his Devil fruit ability to send them up onto the island, leaving Bepo to stay with the submarine. Law himself will not be going with them however as he'll remain near the shores to bring them back to the submarine and be on standby just in case they needed him to return to the rest of the crew if something happened.

Right before they set off on their rescue mission, Zoro caught Luffy running back to Law and giving him one last big hug before quickly catching up to them once more. With his keen eyes, he didn't miss the softness of Law's eyes as they followed Luffy's figure before he forced himself to tear away and hide himself somewhere to wait for them.

With Robin leading the way, they started off the journey towards the Sweet city -- the capital of Whole Cake Island. It was fortunate for them to not encounter any guards along the way which was a relief for the group but a disappointment to Zoro who felt that their security was lacking in so many ways considering their reputation. Guess they thought no one would be so stupid to attack a Yonko in her home. 

Though, it might be easy to get in because of Robin's information of their security network that allowed Nami to plan out a secure route for them to infiltrate safely without encountering anyone. However, once in, they would have to find Sanji on their own without any help because as amazing as Robin is, she couldn't manage to get her hands on the information of the Whole Cake Chateau’s interior and would have to rely on Chopper’s nose to find their Cook.

They stuck to the shadows once they got closer to the residential area of Sweet City and though Robin and maybe Zoro could fit in as one of the residents here, it was impossible for Brook, Chopper and definitely Luffy to do so without drawing attention to them. Thus they decided to proceed slowly despite Zoro's growing agitation.

Zoro could feel the tugging feeling in his chest growing stronger and stronger with every step he took towards the island. It was faint at first when he was on the submarine, but now he could feel the insistent tugging in his chest as though something was pulling his heartstrings towards the person he was desperately seeking.

He knew without a doubt that following this feeling will lead him to the Cook. And he didn't question why he was feeling this way nor did he miss the stares he got when he mentioned vaguely which direction the Cook might be.

The trip towards the castle was quiet and filled with wariness as everyone kept their senses sharp and alert for any signs that they may have been detected.

He didn't care though and planned not to waste any time at all on his mission to rescue the Cook from this sham marriage. As soon as they entered the castle – a little too easy in Zoro's opinion – he was overwhelmed for a second over the scent that barreled over his nose and almost stumbled over his foot. That scent was unmistakably the Cook's and it was all over the place. He glanced over to the group to see if they smelled it but their reaction told him they did too, but not as strong as he did. There was also something off about the Cook's scent but none of them spoke of it. That'll be another thing to think about once they got the Cook and are far away from this hellhole.

He was still too occupied with the scent and was only vaguely paying attention to Robin's instructions that they should split up in order to accomplish their own tasks but nodded his head when asked, he trusts Robin to know what to do after all. He would only need to focus on his own task and find the damn Cook. As Brook, Robin and Luffy split off to go find the poneglyph and maybe some treasure for Nami, he and Chopper went the other way towards some hallway to begin their search. Brook will be acting as their scout for both parties with his Devil fruit abilities which will help speed up their search hopefully.

Zoro leads Chopper through hallways after hallways, through all sorts of different twists and turns at different corridors and kicking down doors after doors in his search for the Cook. He could feel himself slowly growing more and more frantic after he kicked open what seemed like the 100th door in his search and felt his frustration flare.

Why the hell does this place have so many rooms?! And why are there no signs in this goddamn place!

He curled his fingers into a tight fist and tried to calm himself before he started a fight with the next soldier they came across. So far they have been stealthily avoiding all the guards and keeping as silent as they could while they dash around the place looking for the blond.

It was truly like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Except the haystack was a hellhole made of sweets and housed a monster in a dress.

Zoro had about had it with the stealth part and just wanted to use his swords and slice through the walls until he reached his goal—wherever his goal lies.

He felt a gentle hove pat his hand and looked down to see Chopper's big, doe eyes staring worriedly at him.

"Zoro, calm down. We’ll find him.” 

Zoro didn’t want to let his hopes up but he desperately wanted to believe in Chopper’s words so he just nodded silently and took a calming breath. 

Chopper took the lead in his walk-point after that while Zoro followed behind, watching his friend’s back. He took another breath in and froze when something pleasantly sweet drifted across his nose—sweet and spicy, like a blend of spices he’d enjoy. At the same time, Chopper also paused in his steps and tilted his head high, sniffing the air for something that he caught.

They were close now. Zoro knew for sure and his heart rate sped up in anticipation. Zoro ran ahead now with Chopper running behind, both now having caught Sanji’s scent and ran straight towards a huge door with a large number 3 on it.

Zoro wasted no time at all and kicked open the door, having no patience for stealth or keeping quiet.

The occupant in the room yelped in shock at the door slamming open but did not attack, instead, the weird-looking person cowered behind the bed and pointed a trembling spear at them.

“W-W-Who a-are you people, nasu!” He stammered badly as he shook in place.

Zoro felt his heart plummet when he did not see any sign of the Cook in the room. This was definitely the Cook’s room since his scent was heavy here, telling him he spent a considerable time in it. The sweet scent of spices was also present here and Zoro took a breath in to soak it in, stilling when he caught the scent of something else. Ignoring the cowering guard still hiding, he stomped over to the bed and flipped over the mattress in one move. Underneath the mattress, was Luffy’s straw hat; a little flattened, but otherwise still in good condition. Zoro could smell both Luffy and Sanji’s scent on it, indicating that the Cook had worn the hat throughout his trip here and only recently took it off to hide it.

Meanwhile as Zoro stared at the straw-hat, Chopper had tried to calm the eggplant-like guard and coax him into talking to them. He deemed the guard harmless and seemed gullible enough to fool. Chopper didn’t like to lie or was good at it so he avoided it and chose to stick to the truth.

“We’re looking for Sanji. Do you know where he is now?”

“Sanji-san nasu?” The eggplant guard was confused but still told them the information that they needed. “His father had summoned him nasu. He's probably at the upper floors right now nasu." The eggplant guy continued to stammer and shake as he talked.

Having gotten the information that he needs, Zoro did not want to stay in this brightly, coloured room any longer than he needed. It annoyed him that this room was filled with the Cook's scent because that did not sit well with him at all. The Cook did not belong here. This brightly, flowered room was nothing compared to how the Sunny is. This was not where they should be and he can't wait to get the Cook back to their Sunny where he belongs.

Clutching the straw-hat to his chest, he vowed to make sure the Cook gets it so that he can properly return it to its rightful owner by his own hands. It was only right of him after all since Luffy had entrusted it to the Cook in the first place. He tucked the hat safely in his hamaraki before quickly leaving the room without a word, trusting Chopper to follow as he stalked down the hallways, following his heart this time instead of his nose.

It did cross his mind that the guard from before might tell, but that just means he'll have to hurry and get the Cook back before that. Besides, he was sure the whole crew knew that almost none of them were competent enough to go through a mission without screwing things up. They were just waiting for one of them — they all knew it'd be Luffy — to cause some sort of chaos that'll lead the whole army of Big Mom and Germa to come for their heads, leading to a fight for their lives.

But what's new?

They had undergone many fights and bloody battles against major warlords or angry tyrants, each time always scraping by by the skin of their teeth and now here they were, stronger than before (but none the wiser in Zoro and Luffy's case.).

So putting the guard out of his mind, he proceeded to follow the pull of his heart towards the upper floors where he found that security was heavier but still didn't pose a problem for the two of them. Between the sharpness of his blades and Chopper's kung-fu skills, they made short work of the guards and left a trail of unconscious bodies lying in the hallway.

A sudden loud explosion came from somewhere far below them and both Zoro and Chopper shared a look of amusement knowing the only person who would've caused it would be Luffy. Their suspicions were further confirmed when they heard the yells of their captain's signature gomu-gomu move.

Zoro knew they weren't being discreet anymore with all the guards rushing at them but knowing they weren't the only one who cannot follow plans made him smirk in satisfaction.

Although they were faced with their share of guards coming at them, they were grateful that Luffy was causing a good distraction so that the majority of the guards were focused on him and not aware that there were others in the castle.

That was proven true when they rushed up another flight of stairs to the next level and saw no guards in sight. Chopper lifted his nose to sniff the air and confirmed that there was no one close to them but still they threaded with caution just in case this was all a trap to lower their guard.

The pull in his chest was getting stronger now till he felt suffocated. Though it may also be because of the scent filling up the entire floor that made him stumble on his feet. The sweet smell was so strong that he almost choked but it was not unpleasant and it did weird things to his stomach. With such a strong scent, he wondered if Chopper was affected by it and took a glance at him. Chopper ran alongside him, nose still in the air sniffing about and by that indication, he doesn’t seem affected by it at all.

They ran down the next hallway and halted when they heard voices at the end of it. Signaling to Chopper, they proceeded down the hallway slowly and their senses alert.

“-asting my time looking after your useless ass. As if anyone would want a pathetic waste of space.”

Zoro frowned at the choice of words said but froze when another voice yelled out.

“Well, you’re welcome to fuck off to do whatever you sick fucks do and leave me the hell alone!”

Cook...

The Cook was right here! He’d found him!

His inner Alpha wanted to howl out in victory and the strange longing in his chest disappeared the moment he found him. He took all the self-control he had to stop himself from rushing in and snatching the Cook away, and instead stalked towards the voice with Chopper quiet by his side.

“No way. Father gave me an order and I’m forced to carry it out whether I like it or not. What a pain...”  The other voice grumbled.

There was only silence for a moment and Zoro held his breath, feeling dread growing inside him at the knowledge that the Cook was alone in a room with some stranger.

“Oi! What--!”

Zoro abandoned being quiet and rushed up to the door at the sound of the Cook’s shout.

“Still, I can’t believe you smell so good for a good-for-nothing. Let m—”

Zoro wasted no time and slashed through the door. He took one sweep around the room and quickly landed on the Cook on the bed. His Alpha roared at the sight of the other Alpha who hovered over the Cook, one of his grimy hands supporting his weight while the other was firmly placed onto the Cook’s slim neck.

“Who the f--”

Zoro didn’t bother letting this blue-haired stranger finish his sentence before smashing the back of his swords into the Alpha’s side with all his might, flinging the Alpha away from the Cook and into the wall.

Without wasting any time at all, he turned to assess the Cook and was further enraged when he saw the bright red handprint imprinted onto the Cook’s pale neck. The Cook was staring right back at him with wide eyes, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes that Zoro was here.

Zoro couldn’t speak, at least not without losing some control over his raging Alpha wanting to lunge at the fallen bastard who was starting to get up.

“Sanji!”

Zoro was thankful that Chopper was with him because he as much as he wanted to run to the Cook right now, he also didn’t want to turn away from the stranger who now stood to his full height and it irked Zoro so much to see his first hit didn’t knock the bastard out or at least incapacitate him. He vaguely heard Chopper fussing over the Cook while the idiot gave out useless reassurances to calm the reindeer.

“Well well...” The bastard drawled and Zoro felt the strong urge to punch the man in his very punchable face. “I can’t believe there are idiots here who would be stupid enough to do this. Hah!”

“Shut up Niji...” The Cook mumbled behind him but Zoro’s eyes stayed on the smirking bastard.

“Seems like everyone wants a piece of your Omega ass.” Niji sneered and Zoro could not stand letting this bastard insult the Cook any further. His inner Alpha roared and he lunged forward, swords at the ready. He wasn’t even aware that he had unsheathed Wado and she settled firmly in his mouth with her two brothers in Zoro’s steady hands.

Zoro brought down both swords in a downward arc and was met with a blinding light. He squinted his eyes a little to see and saw his swords hovering above a blue barrier in front of Niji. The barrier was bright and sparked menacingly as small tingles danced up Zoro’s arms and he started feeling a little numb.

“Oh? You want to fight me?” Niji sounded amused and delighted, irking Zoro more.

With a forceful push, Zoro jumped back, leaving a distance between them as he assessed the weird blue lightning dancing around Niji.

“Zoro!” The Cook called and again, Zoro had to resist the urge to turn his head. “Your swords are useless against Niji’s suit!”

Yeah right. There’s nothing his swords can’t cut through and he’s confident in his abilities to take down this bastard.

“Zoro!” The Cook urged him once more.

“Shut up and watch me Cook.”

Chapter Text

"Shut up and watch me Cook."

Sanji was speechless at the sight of Zoro appearing before him right as Niji had attacked him. He was stunned when Zoro knocked Niji off his feet and a distance away from him. He watched as Zoro pulled his bandanna off his shoulder and tied it to his head before taking his stance.

"Chopper, get the Cook out of here."

What?! He's not going to leave Zoro to fight this alone! This was his fight and Zoro wasn't going to treat him like some damsel in distress, while Zoro goes off alone to fight his battles for him. He was annoyed that Zoro would even think he'd go along with it quietly.

"I'm not leav--"

"NOW Chopper!"

Chopper reacted quickly, turning into his human form and bodily carried Sanji away from the room, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack, ignoring the angry yells and protest that he gave. Still, Chopper felt guilty for his rough manhandling because he knew Sanji was hurt somewhere from the faint scent of blood he could detect but could not pinpoint but he was determined to get his friend out of here no matter what.

Under the hold of Chopper's tight grip, Sanji had no choice but to give in and let Chopper take him away from the fight but even as they went further away from the room, he couldn't keep his eyes away from the direction where the sound of a fierce fight was breaking out from.

"Sorry Sanji." Chopper sounded apologetic but he wasn't slowing down his steps and Sanji could only grunt in response. He was still angry of course, but he'd never direct his anger on Chopper who was only doing what Zoro told him to do and take him out of harm's way — even if it frustrated him to no end.

Still though, now that he had the time to think about it from the comfort of Chopper's reassuring hold, he couldn't believe his eyes even though it just happened.

Zoro was here.

Not only that, it seemed that his whole crew was. They were here to take him back — to take him home.

When he left that day, he was prepared to return to a life of hell. He was prepared to suffer and maybe perhaps even die. That was until he was brought before Big Mom and Judge and was delivered a fate worse than death.

An arranged political marriage.

And that's not the worse part, if it was only that, he might have been prepared to suck it up and play the obedient omega to his partner. He wouldn't like it but it was better than Big Mom's threat of killing the Strawhats.

No. The worse — and even dehumanizing — part was that he was required to produce as many children to be raised as heirs to the Big Mom empire. He was supposed to be wed to a lovely lady named Pudding but there was a last minute change when Judge made an input that a lady like Pudding was too good for a lowly Omega like Sanji. Judge seriously needed to keep his fat mouth shut because he did the exact same thing years ago that he’s trying to do right now. Sanji had managed to escape that arranged marriage with the help out someone and a shit ton of luck. Though he’s not sure whether his luck would allow him to do the same trick twice nor would that particular person would be so willing to risk their life to help him once more.

Judge had also raised the concern that Sanji might overpower Pudding in order to escape and Sanji scoffed at the notion that he'll ever harm a lady for any reason. These idiots truly don't know him at all which he didn't care about but he didn't like being kept under surveillance 24/7 like a prisoner. Granted, he was one but he still doesn't like to be watched.

Big Mom's second-in-command had stepped up to volunteer his place in order to protect his sister and Big Mom immediately agreed. Saying something about his powerful genes would contribute to producing high quality offspring.

Disgusting!

Sanji would've spat in her face but would rather not be vaporized on the spot. He wasn't some machine to be used for making babies!

He didn't even want children!

(Well, maybe in the future with that special someone but that's very unlikely ever going to happen to him right now.)

But his hands are tied (literally with the golden cuffs) and there's nothing he could say or do in this situation. It was like he was back in that dungeon once again. Where shadows lurked in every corner of the dark cell and he had only his depressing thoughts for company. Only now, the difference was the cell was an enormous cake tower and the shadows were the fake smiles of the people surrounding him.

Everyone greeted him with smiles as 'Sanji-sama' or 'Prince Sanji' but Sanji could tell that none of their smiles were genuine, it was only there for politics. He wasn't even a prince or anyone of importance. He was only here as a sacrificial pawn; placed here under the mercy of Judge and forced into a marriage of convenience.

The only worth he has right now is his title of an Omega — a title that he despises with all of his being. But right now could be the only thing keeping him alive as all they want is an Omega to produce strong offsprings.

That's all.

It doesn't have to be Sanji, it could've been anyone who is an Omega and it wouldn't have mattered. Sanji was worthless as a person if he wasn't an Omega.

And it wasn't just his dark thoughts talking, Judge and Big Mom had repeatedly reminded him of his place multiple times, as well as his bastard siblings.

Speaking of them, they hadn't tried much to disturb him after the initial meeting of seeing each other since his escape. It could be because they were warned by Judge not to disturb the Commander's soon-to-be Omega or it could be because of his overwhelming scent that was coming from him.

After his suppressors ran out, they weren't going to provide him any and would rather he stay true to his stupid sub-gender, instead of hiding it. What's more, as a side-effect of hiding his scent for years, the moment the suppressors wore off, his natural scent came flooding out like a tsunami after being suppressed for so long.

That, and coupled with his emotional distress, had the whole floor of the tower filled with his sickly sweet Omega scent. It got so bad that many soldiers who were stationed on that floor —and many floors above and below his — had fainted from it being too overwhelming and some even had to be restrained because they had lost their sense of reasoning to their alpha instincts. Even the betas were not totally unaffected by his scent and had to be moved.

Only his marriage partner (yuck!) and his so-called family could visit him but he rather they didn't. He would rather be alone than to see either of their ugly faces and if he could, would kick that smug face of Yonji in once more. The only positive side about this – if you could call it that – was the surprising pleasant company of the eggplant soldier that was stationed to watch over him. Somehow, even though he was a lowly beta, Sanji’s scent didn’t affect him at all and thus was the only one beside his family who could stay near him. As much as Sanji wanted to be left alone, he found that having the eggplant as company was not so bad. Gullible and naïve, but at least he wasn’t someone Sanji had to put up a guard in front of.

Still, it was humiliating to have his scent drifting everywhere and what's more, projecting how distressed he was right now. It's hard to put on a brave front when your scent gives everything away. He should be an expert at concealing his emotions from others but right now he was just too exhausted to even try. He was like a rubber stretched too tight and he felt like snapping at any moment.

The only thing that kept him sane was his captain's straw-hat which heavily carried the smell of home and Luffy on it. He kept wearing it during his journey here and only removed it when he noticed Judge and the others giving odd looks at the signature hat and decided it's better to hide it for now before they get any ideas to take it away from him.

Oh shit the straw-hat!

"Wait Chopper!" He shouted and tied to hop off of Chopper but Chopper's arms stayed firm.

"I'm sorry Sanji! I can't let you go back!" Chopper protested.

"But Luffy's hat! I left it there!"

"Zoro's got it! It's safe!"

At Chopper's words, he quickly stopped struggling and Chopper continued his mad dash towards who-knows-where.

Luffy's precious hat was with Zoro?

He didn't know it got into Zoro's hands but he was glad that it did. It'll be safe with Zoro.

Chopper ran down the flight of stairs, fighting those foot soldiers who stood in his way with ease all the while with Sanji draped over his shoulder. There weren't many and considering the majority of the kingdom's soldiers were all preoccupied with the other riot going on at the other end of the castle.

"Chopper! Let me down! I can fight!" Sanji protested once more.

Chopper would've said no but with the increasing number of soldiers coming at them, Chopper had no choice but to let Sanji down in order to have both his hands free to fight more efficiently.

"Alright. But you better not overdo it!"

Chopper transformed into his kung-fu point immediately after letting Sanji down and made quick work of the remaining enemies in blocking their path.

Even though it had been some time since Sanji was allowed to stretch his legs and kick some ass, his footwork stayed true and he fought like a hurricane sweeping everything in his way, bringing down soldiers left and right with ease. There were multiple times where his body protested and ached badly due to his lingering injuries — courtesy of his bastard brothers — but he pushed it away and focused on doing what he does best — kicking the crap out of these weaklings.

He briefly wondered where all of Big Mom's commanders and his shitty brothers were but quickly shoved it out of his mind and focused on the fight here. He was following Chopper's lead but based on the path the reindeer was taking, he assumed they were heading to the first floor of the castle, towards the left side where it was closest to the sea.

The sounds of a fight were everywhere and even as they burst out of the castle, there were still signs of a battle ongoing. They continued on fighting and running, swiftly making their way towards the edge of the island and Sanji noticed that they were also heading towards another battlefield but this time the combatants were ones he was familiar with.

The two of them halted at a large clearing that was completely destroyed and flattened by the fierce fight that broke out between Luffy — of course it'd be Luffy — and someone he recognized but had never met.

He knew who Katakuri was; the description of him was enough to know that it belonged to Big Mom's second son and top general. He and Sanji had never met even though they were to be wed and Sanji thought it was a good thing he didn't bother with Sanji before but at the same time, annoyed to think that it might be beneath him to visit a lowly Omega like himself.

And now that Sanji got a glimpse of him, he was relieved that the man didn't visit him before because Katakuri looked damn intimidating and Sanji wasn't even the person facing him in what looked like a death match.

No one could get between the two and the area surrounding them was filled with fallen soldiers that Luffy had most likely destroyed before Katakuri got here.

Luffy looked like he had taken a hard beating with all that blood over his face and knuckles but yet he still stood tall in the face of the commander. Katakuri was huge compared to Luffy but somehow Luffy didn't seem small while he faced his opponent with fierce determination and a deadly aura surrounding him.

They both seemed to be locked in a showdown that neither one was willing to give in and no one in the surrounding area would dare disturb the two if they value their lives.

As much as Sanji wanted to run to his captain's side, he knew he would only get in the way and he believed full-heartedly that Luffy will beat this giant down to the ground. All he could do to aid his captain was to ensure that no one disturb their match and that meant kicking the shit out of the remaining idiots who thought they might get a shot at his captain or his crew.

A scuffle caught his attention and he swerved his head towards a group who seemed to be surrounding one - no - make that two of his crewmates.

Brook's head was visible from where he stood, towering over his enemies and piercing them with his ice-cold cane sword. He hit fast - never missing his strikes - and mowing through the foot soldiers with swift moves, leaving the enemies with no chance of even touching him. However, as Brook fought, he never seemed to move too far away from his position and a brief movement let Sanji catch the long, beautiful flowing black hair from none other than the crew’s archaeologist.

Robin’s arms were crossed over her chest as she proceeded to use her Devil Fruit abilities to snap the soldiers’ back, neck or any vulnerable spot she could get her hands on with Brook protecting her from unexpected attacks. The two worked well as a team and though Sanji desperately wanted to aid the lovely Robin in handling these low-lives who didn't deserve to even lay a hand on her, much less come close to the goddess. He trusts the two to clear the rest of the lackeys while he and Chopper cleared the other side so that their Captain won’t get interrupted in his fight.

The fight seemed to drag on forever as the number of foot soldiers kept coming even after Sanji and the rest continued their fervent attacks and soon, there wasn’t an empty spot on the ground where it wasn’t covered by lame chess pieces that were once Big Mom’s soldiers. The chess soldiers were easy targets but that was not the only enemies they were dealing with.

Sanji swiftly ducked an attack aimed at his head and followed up with a fierce kick to the attacker’s face, smashing it inwards and leaving blood flowing down his large nose. He was pretty sure that that was one of Big Mom’s many many children based on the similarity of that ugly face of his, but couldn't be bothered to care about it right now. Mixed in with the chess soldiers were some of Big Mom’s numerous children and they were all out for his blood -- as though this was all somehow his fault for resulting in this chaos. Well, it somewhat was, but he’s not about to think about how much trouble his crew and everyone involved was in right now.

Focusing on his surroundings, he could hear the distant rumble of the vicious fight that was still ongoing, though it was somewhat further than before. He guessed that the fight between Luffy and Katakuri has brought them further towards the outskirts of the town, towards the sea. He was half worried for his captain but at the same time, had faith that his captain will prevail in his fight, so he forced himself to focus on his own fight and his crewmates around him. Everyone seemed to be tiring after the long, dragged on battle that doesn’t seem to end due to the constant reinforcements that kept on coming like an never-ending wave, but Sanji wasn’t about to give up. He still had so much pent up anger burning within him at what he was forced to go through by these power-hungry bastards. He wasn’t stupid enough to go after Big Mom, so these weaklings would have to do for now to appease his frustrations.

Sanji was just about to perform a jump-kick onto someone’s face when, all of the sudden, something came flying out full speed - bringing along debris and dust - and landed near where he stood. When the dust cloud settled, Sanji caught the sight of the bright electric blue hair in front of him and realised that it was Niji lying there - bruised and battered - at his feet. Bewilderment filled him as well as relief from seeing one of his tormentors defeated on the ground but he wondered who in the world could beat Niji to a pulp like that.

His question was answered when a familiar, comforting scent came towards him and he saw Zoro with all his 3 swords out and looking damn pissed as hell. He had a cut on his arm that was bleeding but didn't seem serious, a few scorch marks over his skin and a few bruises on his face but otherwise he seemed fine, just furious like a raging bull. Niji must’ve done or said something stupid to get Zoro railed up like that because Sanji knew that Zoro enjoyed a good fight against strong enemies. The stronger they are, the better because Zoro enjoyed the challenge.

However, Zoro was definitely not enjoying his fight at all. More like, he’s about to lose to his Alpha urges and start rampaging through everything and everyone. Zoro’s eyes were wild and his entire being seemed to be almost lost in a mad frenzy. His grip on his swords were so tight, that Sanji could see his veins popping out and his jaw was biting down on his precious white sword so hard that Sanji worried his sword might crack.

There was a moment of stillness where everyone stood frozen at the sudden newcomer before it was quickly broken by some of Big Mom’s children who started to recklessly charge towards Zoro in excitement.

“Look! It’s Roronoa Zoro! Let’s get him!”

“Yeah!!”

A hoard of chess soldiers and Big Mom's children rushed towards Zoro, who stood there so still that Sanji worried for a moment that there was something wrong with him. But before anyone could touch him, Zoro moved.

In a blink of an eye, the soldiers were down and a rush of air had thrown some of Big Mom’s children into the air and off to the sides. Some clutched their stomach in pain, knowing for sure that it was going to bruise badly the next day. But little did they know, they were considered the lucky ones. The ones in Zoro’s direct line of attack had their front sliced open and blood run down the open wounds, pouring down onto the already blood-stained floor.

It was a bloody fight. One that Sanji has never seen Zoro fight before. Sure, their battles they fought in were mostly bloody and messy, with what their life as pirates are but this was another level of brutality that Sanji has never witnessed Zoro behave in.

It was like he was fighting like an animal. An animal who has lost all sense of reasoning and was only acting on his instincts and rage alone.

Oh…

Sanji finally realised what was happening to Zoro.

He’s blinded by his Alpha rage.

And all Sanji could think about was how everything was going to get real messy real fast.

Chapter Text

Sanji watched in fascinated horror as Zoro slashed down one enemy after another in blind rage without any remorse or amusement like he usually does when met with challenging enemies. He watched as Zoro did not use any restraint or hold himself back from using his full force to cut his enemies down and continued on plowing forth any enemies that were unfortunate to be in his path.

Something must’ve happened in his fight with Niji that caused his inner Alpha to lash out and result in him losing control of his rage. Sanji knew it must’ve been something big because the Zoro that Sanji knew would never easily succumb to his animal side with a few insults. That idiot Niji must’ve said something stupid that triggered Zoro’s wrath. Niji did have a tendency to stick his foot into his mouth.

But what was it that had Zoro so indignant that he gave into his rage and lost control?

For once, Sanji was a little glad that he wasn’t an Alpha. He didn’t want to find himself at risk of always having to control the violent urges of his instincts otherwise you’ll turn into a mindless, homicidal machine. It was frightening. And he really didn’t want to witness someone so prideful like Zoro transforming into a mindless animal that could only kill those in his path without a shred of emotion or any care for those he killed.

He didn’t want to see this side of Zoro at all. 

Soon enough, Big Mom’s forces dwindled quickly and it became easy for Sanji to kick his way towards Robin and Brook in order to regroup. Chopper had also fought his way through towards them and had a worried expression while glancing at Zoro’s demeanor.

“It’s dangerous for him to stay like that. He’ll keep this up even if his body breaks down and even then, he’ll continue to damage his body till it can’t handle anymore!” Chopper looked so distraught and almost in tears. Being the doctor in the crew with the majority of their crew members being Alphas, Chopper had to study a lot on Alphas and their behaviors; specifically, what to do when an Alpha loses themselves to their rage. It was a common trait for all Alphas and although he could say that all the Alphas in the Strawhat crew were all exceptional at self control, one couldn’t be too unprepared for such a situation happening.

He was so glad that he came prepared right now. He thought he had seen signs on Zoro that told him his control was slipping when they were sneaking around the castle. Little signs like growling under his breath without meaning to, the twitch of his head and his scent kept changing in intensity. But he thought Zoro was just worried for Sanji and being in enemy territory didn’t help. Chopper wished he had listened to his instincts and maybe said something to Zoro back then but now he could only try to mitigate the situation and stop Zoro from further harming himself in his rage.

There are two methods to stop a raging Alpha and that is to either get a higher ranked Alpha to forcefully subdue him which was not ideal in this situation or let Zoro continue to rage until his body breaks down which was definitely something Chopper was trying to avoid. It would be best if they could get Luffy to stop Zoro but their captain was currently occupied right now.

Though Chopper knew there was another way to stop a rampaging Alpha from their rage, it was only a speculation and hardly any evidence to prove it would work. Chopper didn’t want to send Sanji out there with a possibility that he may get injured by Zoro or worse…

The group was startled when Zoro rushed into another group of soldiers, cutting them apart with ease before plowing forward towards more enemies. They could see that Zoro’s wounds were getting aggravated by his ferocious movements, causing more blood to pour forth from them. At this rate, he was going to run out of blood before the enemies ran out of reinforcements to send.

Chopper forced himself to tear his eyes away from the horrifying sight, choosing to focus on a solution instead. If he was right, Sanji may be the only person here besides Luffy that can calm the Alpha down but in order to do so, it may cost his comrade his pride and maybe, the secret that he had been keeping from all of them for so long. But Chopper didn’t want to see Zoro continue to hurt himself in his blind rage and he was sure Sanji would do whatever it takes to stop Zoro from hurting himself.

Decision made, Chopper hurriedly tugged onto Sanji’s sleeve, prompting him to look down at the reindeer.

“Sanji, you need to stop Zoro.” He said firmly, his big doe eyes begging Sanji to listen to his words.

“How Chopper? I don’t think anyone could even get close to him without being sliced into pieces.” Sanji looked both worried and frustrated at the same time but Chopper was glad that Sanji wasn’t trying to fight him on this because what he’s about to say next might cause the blond to flip.

“Not you.”

Sanji stared quizzically at Chopper, puzzled by his words and Chopper hurried to explain.

“Zoro will never hurt you. His Alpha instincts won’t let him. You’ll be able to calm him down and stop his rage.” Chopper didn’t want to bring up the reason behind his claims because he knew it’ll only further stress out the blond and he was already asking so much of him. Sanji kept it a secret for a reason and though Chopper could not understand the reason why, he wasn’t about to bring it up right now. There’ll be a time for that after they’re back home on Sunny and safe on the wide ocean currents.

Something akin to fear flashed across Sanji’s eyes for a split second before his eyes hardened into something Chopper was more familiar with - determination.

“Are you absolutely sure Chopper?” He asked, his voice soft but firm.

“Yes. He won’t hurt you, ever.” Chopper replied, his voice equally firm with absolute certainty. He wouldn’t send his friend to get hurt like that.

“Alright.” Sanji said with a nod and turned to the other two who were keeping a lookout for anyone foolish enough to attack them and shared an understanding look.

“I’ll need to get close to that idiot first.”

“I’ll cut open a path for you. Yohohoho!” Brook brandished his sword cane with a delighted laugh.

“And we’ll make sure nobody gets close.” Robin crossed her arms and got ready for another fight while Chopper got into his kung-fu point once more.

“Let’s do this.”

Without a word, the four of them rushed out to the shrinking crowd surrounding Zoro, kicking and slashing their way through to ensure that Sanji has a path towards the Swordsman.

“Zoro!” Sanji yelled as he kicked another one of Big Mom’s children in the ugly face and took pleasure in it.

Looks like I won’t be invited to the next wedding.

“Answer me you stupid algae!” He yelled once more when Zoro didn’t give him a response but he noticed a slight change in his posture. With another roundhouse kick to get the enemies in front of him out of his sight, he finally managed to get near Zoro and for a moment, he hesitated getting any closer.

Zoro was not just scary -- he was terrifying.

He fought like a demon he was nicknamed after and his whole demeanor was intimidating -- especially when he used Asura -- it was as though he was some sort of War god descending onto the battlefield just to wreak havoc among the mortals.

But Zoro was not doing this on his own free will. He’s blinded by his rage and Sanji knew Zoro would feel ashamed letting himself lose control like this. It’ll be worse if Zoro accidentally hurt one of them in his rampage. He’ll never forgive himself if that happened and Sanji will damn well make sure it doesn’t. He won’t let it and that means he won’t let himself get hurt by Zoro’s hands. Besides, Chopper was sure that Zoro won’t, though omitting the reason behind it.

Does Chopper know that Zoro was Sanji’s mate?

No. That’s not possible because he'd just found out about it himself just weeks ago and Chopper couldn’t possibly know that he was an Omega. Sanji decided he’ll ponder about this later when things weren’t so chaotic, especially not when tensions are high and death might be around the corner. 

Fighting down his own Omega instincts, he swallowed the whine building up in his throat and took in a breath to steel himself. He was now within arm’s length of Zoro and he tried not to think of how close it would be if the man decided to drive a sword towards him and he wouldn’t have time to avoid it at this distance. But then he noticed Zoro’s nose twitching and his posture grew more and more relaxed as he relaxed the grip of his swords. Sanji knew his scent was all around the area due to him not being on suppressions but he tried not to let that affect him. After a few more moments of sniffing, Zoro turned his body towards Sanji, as though just noticing him standing so close to him. Before Sanji knew it, there was a clatter of metal against the concrete floor as Zoro released his grip on all three swords and leaped at him. All Sanji could think about as Zoro pounced on him, was how much Zoro was going to curse himself for treating his precious swords in such a manner before his brain finally registered how Zoro was hovering over him as he laid on the ground.

Immediately, his Omega instincts screamed at him to submit and he couldn’t resist tilting his head a little to bare his neck. All of his life, he swore to himself that he’d never let anyone mark him without his consent and definitely not because of his Omega instincts telling him to. But now on the ground, he felt ashamed of giving in to his Omega and he wasn’t going to just let Zoro do whatever he wants. Mate or no mate, that algae wasn’t going to take him without a fight. 

Letting out a growl, he met Zoro’s wild eyes with equal ferocity and let him know he was not going to take this behaviour from him, not when he’s not in the right mind. There was a reason he managed to fool everyone that he was an Alpha for years and now Zoro will have to learn that he’s not just any old stereotypical Omega.

The uncharacteristic growl from the Omega lying below him must have startled the Alpha so badly that Zoro’s whole body froze and he tilted his head to the head, as though the Alpha was in thought. This was a good sign because it showed that the Alpha was shaking off the rage engulfing his mind and was now slowly regaining his sanity.

“Get….the fuck off of me right now Zoro.” Sanji said it slowly, punctuating each word with such authority and force that only an Alpha could use. His eyes never leaving Zoro’s as he said it and even though Zoro’s alpha side didn’t like being ordered around, he also couldn’t resist disobeying the command because it was Sanji who said it. And some part of Zoro’s mind that was slowly coming back to him told him that he could never hurt Sanji, especially not when Sanji’s scent had a trace of fear in them and it was him that had caused that fear.

No. That won’t do. Zoro’s mind whispered. By now he was gaining back clarity and his thoughts were more of words than of rage and bloodthirsty growls.

Sanji watched as Zoro blinked his eyes repeatedly as he shook the last haze away from his mind and sighed when Zoro looked down at him with a clear gaze that held confusion. Sanji knew just how difficult it was for Alphas who had just gone through an episode like that would be. He had seen it during his days working at the Baratie and learned to handle it well as his foster father taught him but the aftermath of it wasn’t pretty.

He was just glad he managed to get through to that idiot before the algae burned himself out and collapsed from either the burnout or the loss of blood - whichever comes first. Still, Zoro’s rampage did last a while and as evidenced, there were multitudes of cuts all over his body and blood oozing from these wounds. By itself, these little wounds wouldn’t cause any problems but together, Zoro was losing blood quickly from it.

Realising that Zoro was still over him, he reached up a hand and pushed hard at the algae’s chest, prompting a low grunt from him as he fell back on his ass. That small movement was enough to get Zoro moving again and he glared up at Sanji in annoyance.

“What the hell Cook?”

Yup. The idiot’s back.

Sanji rolled his eyes as he walked away from the pissed off Zoro but couldn’t help the small smile that graced his lips.

Chapter Text

Once Zoro was back to his usual self, Sanji and the group decided to make a hasty retreat into an abandoned house during all the chaos because it was unwise to stay and fight. Not when Big Mom has neverending reinforcements.

Once inside, they took a moment to breathe and hope that no one walked by their hiding place. There was a tense moment of silence before they all took a collective sigh and decided this would be a good time to rest and plan their next step.

Chopper quickly got to patching up Zoro’s wounds with his ever ready medical supplies while nagging at him at the same time. Zoro took all of his words with a dismissive grunt and let the reindeer cry over him before softly reassuring the doctor he’s fine. Chopper did a swift clean-up of his wounds, prioritizing on the more severe ones first. As much as Chopper wanted to do a full check-up of Zoro’s numerous wounds, there was just no time for that in the middle of a battlefield and he knew everyone was waiting for him to finish the bandaging before setting off again.

Robin was suggesting they head out through the alleyways to quickly get to the shore without being spotted before Chopper spoke up.

“What about Luffy?” Chopper asked tearfully as he finished the last bandage around Zoro’s arm. There was still much to be bandaged and some stitching required for some wounds, but that would be for later when they were finally back on Sunny. It hurt Chopper to see his crew mates wounded and not do anything about it. And it hurts more to think they would have to leave someone behind with the possibility of them being injured beyond help while he was right there.

“Luffy will be fine. He’ll win and meet us back at the ship.” Zoro easily replied, his tone full of confidence for their captain without a trace of doubt. Hearing Zoro say that cheered Chopper up and the reindeer nodded his head in agreement.

“That’s right! Luffy always wins his battles!”

“Damn straight.” Zoro smiled down at the little doctor and ruffled his head fondly, ignoring the looks his crew mates were giving.

“So I assume you have an escape plan right? Towards the shore?” Sanji asked carefully from where he stood, a good distance away from the group as he stared through the blinds of the window trying to keep a look-out for anyone coming their way. He was still feeling ashamed of his actions for giving up and going with the enemy. After all, it was his fault that the Strawhat crew was in this mess right now and he couldn’t help the churning guilt inside of him.

But the rest of the crew – except Zoro – didn’t care about that now that they got Sanji back with them. Robin and Brook took turns explaining that Law had a submarine waiting for them at the edge of the island and said man was their look out and coordinator with the other group they have waiting outside of Big Mom’s underwater transmitters’ range.

“The Kuja pirates!?” Sanji exclaimed when he heard it. He also heard about some pirates called the Barto club or something but that was all insignificant when he heard that the Kuja’s captain was also here. It was said that the captain was so gorgeous that she could turn men into stone just by her beauty alone. How on earth did Luffy get a heavenly lady like Boa Hancock to join up in targeting a Yonko?

What if she’s here because of him?!

Sanji didn’t mind one bit if a stunning lady like her was here to rescue him. Hell, he’d die from his nose bleed just to be next to her bewitching beauty.

He didn’t know how long he stood there with a daze look on his face as his imagination went wild, but he came to his senses when he heard a low growl aimed at him.

Snapping out of his daydream, he noticed it was Zoro who was growling at him and the others looked just as shocked about this as he did.

“Are you going feral again?” He mocked but in his mind he really didn’t want to go through another situation like that again. It’s one thing when it happens to some stranger back at the Baratie, but it’s another thing when you have to witness your crew mate - who you somewhat consider a friend -  flip out like that.

“What! NO!” Zoro snapped, indignant but settled when he realised what was coming out from his throat. The growl stopped immediately but everyone could see Zoro was both unsettled and embarrassed by the lack of control. Sanji decided not to tease him for that because he knew how difficult it was to reel back your self-control after losing it. Plus, the whole ‘in enemy territory’ situation wasn’t helping his calmness one bit.

"Here." Zoro suddenly took something out from his haramaki and shoved it into Sanji's hands. "Luffy entrusted this to you so you should be the one to keep it safe."

Sanji felt the rough texture of the hat under his fingers and breathed a breath of relief at seeing the strawhat in one piece. He knew Zoro had it from what Chopper said, but seeing it in person has helped ease the anxiety of losing it. He ran a hand across the brim of the hat before placing it on his head like what Luffy did for him before and let a soft smile spread across his face when the hat reminded him of his captain and his promise. Just from the strawhat alone, he felt warm and secure, knowing that his captain was near and would not give up on him. Even after everything he did and all the hurt he brought to the crew. Even when he had given up on himself, his captain had and will never give up on him.

It was completely different from the warmth that he felt with Zeff and the other cooks back at the Baratie. It was so much more and he felt blessed to find a captain like Luffy and to sail under his flag as part of his crew - his family.

Not just Luffy.

He looked up to see the others in the room was looking at him with soft smiles on their faces too and when they saw him looking, their faces turned even brighter with relief, bringing him assurance that they held no blame for him at all. No negative feelings for everything that he had brought upon them.

Well, everyone except for Zoro.

But Zoro has always been different and hard to understand his thought process so Sanji was just going to ignore the ugly ape. Although, the said ape did come all this way for him.

“Thanks.” Sanji forced himself to look the man in the eye. It was the least he could do to show his appreciation. Zoro’s expression was one of surprise, as though he couldn’t believe Sanji would thank him for this.

Sanji was a little insulted that the Swordsman would think so low of him.

I’m a gentleman! I know when to swallow my pride and show appreciation! He wanted to huff.

“Y-You’re welcome…” Zoro mumbled, eyes shifting to anywhere but him.

There was a moment of awkward silence before it was broken by Robin who pleasantly informed them of their next step to escape. They have to wait for a signal from the same informant that Robin got her information of Whole Cake island from before they could escape to the shores.

“Can this informant be trusted?” Zoro - the ever skeptical one - questioned but Robin just did one of her secretive smirks and said with full confidence that they can trust him. As she said that, she turned her gaze towards Sanji and smiled softly.

“It’s someone Cook-san knows very well.”

Sanji didn’t think he knew anyone who was crazy enough to infiltrate a Yonko’s territory and spy on them. At least, he thinks he doesn’t know and those that he do know were right beside him. Other than the Strawhats, who else would be insane enough to do that? And for him!  

Before Sanji could ask Robin who it was, Brook spoke up.

“What’s the signal?”

“Oh. We’ll know when it comes.” Robin answered vaguely and no sooner she said it, a loud explosion resounded across the island and the ground shook violently beneath their feet.

The group rushed to gather at the window just in time to watch as the cake tower in the middle of the island started to collapse. It was falling towards the opposite side of them so most of the chaos would be at the other side where the tower fell, giving them precious moments to escape towards their submarine.

“That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?” Brook laughed but took the opportunity to follow the others out into the alleyway where they navigate their way towards the edge of the island, away from all the noise and chaos.

"What the hell did they do?!" Sanji exclaimed as they all tried to keep their footing while running as the ground continued to tremble beneath them.

"He set explosives all around the tower." Robin casually replied with approval in her tone.

"What!" Chopper, Sanji and Zoro could only stare dumbfounded at how normal Robin made bombing a whole building sound.

"It's effective." She reasoned and the others had no argument about that.

There was no one obstructing their path and they quickly made it out of the town without any issues. Leaving behind the gloomy wrecked town and into brighter lighting near the shores, all the Strawhats started to unconsciously quicken their steps, knowing that freedom was soon within their sights.

Sanji followed after the team, positioning himself at the rear with Zoro slightly in front. He could see the Swordsman occasionally casting glances back at him and if he wasn't so occupied with his thoughts, it'd have ticked him off and sent him on a long due shouting session with the moss head.

Something was nagging at him as he ran and right as the group neared their destination, Sanji halted in his steps, frozen in realization.

The others slowed to a stop when they realized Sanji was not with them and turned to look at the distraught looking man, worry in Chopper's face and concern expression in both Robin and Brook's.

Only Zoro was oblivious to the distress of Sanji's being and got annoyed when they all stopped.

“What’s wrong Cook?” Zoro frowned. “Hurry your ass up!”

“I can’t...” Sanji muttered, suddenly remembering the deadly contraption encircling his wrists and the dangers it presented. He had almost forgotten that it was there since there was too much going on before but now he remembered why he’d been a prisoner in the first place.

“Save your bullshit for later.” Zoro snaps, not understanding why the Cook was being so difficult and wanting to lead them both to safety all the same.

“I can’t leave the island.” Sanji repeated, this time with more force and frustration leaked into his tone. Zoro now saw the desperation and a trace of fear in his eyes but he still didn’t understand the reason behind that fear. He vaguely registered that the others were behind him but he paid no attention to them at the moment because all his focus was on the distressed Cook before him and his instincts screamed at him to do something to ease that look off of the Cook’s face.

Sanji was staring hard at his hands and Zoro was puzzled because he could see there was nothing wrong with it. He knew how much the Cook values his hands more than any part of his body because of his profession and his life passion as a chef. So his first thought was that maybe the Cook hurt his hands and was distressed because of it. From where he stood, he could see the small cuts and bruises that covered parts of Sanji’s body but none of his precious hands. But when he looked closer, his eyes caught something shiny that glinted and he moved his attention to the gold cuffs that were encircled around the Cook’s wrist. He didn’t remember seeing it before but then again, he wasn’t paying attention to what the Cook accessorized himself with. Still, he didn’t think the Cook would wear something so bland like that.

That means it must be put on by someone else without his consent.

Cuff him up like some dog and threatened him to act like an obedient prisoner at the cost of his hands - his life’s passion.

Rage almost took over Zoro again and he took a deep breath to control himself. He didn’t want something so shameful like that to happen again. What he needs now was to get everyone to safety and that starts with understanding why the Cook was refusing to move.

He walked over to the Cook and took both his hands, pulling it towards him, wanting to inspect the cuffs with a closer look. The Cook was startled by his actions but when he got over it, he quickly pulled his hands away and Zoro felt burned by the touch of his hands on his for just that moment.

Fighting down the urge to snap at the Cook once more, he decided to try another approach, one where his Alpha instincts were urging him to. With a tone unlike his usual ones, he softly asked, his inner Alpha almost begging for an answer to ease this person’s pain.

“Does it hurt?”

He had to know if the golden cuffs around his wrist was causing the Cook pain and if it was, then he’ll find a way to destroy it as fast as possible. Escaping the island would have to wait because this takes priority.

The Cook must be really out of it to not notice the concern in Zoro’s tone because he didn’t comment but answered him normally.

“No. It’s an explosive device to ensure that I stay within the island. Anywhere outside of it and the cuffs will explode…”

--taking away my hands with it.

The unsaid horror filled Zoro with so much hate that he growled out loud.

HOW DARE THEY!!

How dare they threaten the Cook’s hands! How dare they ever think to take something so sacred and use it as leverage against the Cook, knowing that there was no way he’d be able to break free from that threat. It’d be like threatening to break Wado if he doesn’t comply. Though, Zoro would just beat the bones off of the person before they even have a chance to carry out that threat. Still, knowing the reason behind why the Cook had willingly gone through with the wedding instead of fighting his way out, made the betrayed feeling he held when the Cook had willingly left them ease a little.

The Cook was still an idiot for going with them in the first place, that’s for sure. But he saw the deep fear and anxiety the Cook holds whenever any of his shitty family was within sight. There’s for sure a complicated story behind that fear, one that Zoro didn’t need to know but for sure wants to get rid of.

The Cook shouldn’t fear anyone. Hell, they face warlords and monsters that are way over their size, and yet the Cook always face them down with a smirk. Like it was a challenge and not something to be bothered about. It assured the weaker members of the crew and it even assured Zoro to have someone watching his back (even if he’ll NEVER admit it).

The Cook should leave those unnecessary fears behind and Zoro would be damn sure that he’ll be there to push him through it. It wasn’t like he was helping his rival - no, not at all - but it’d be beneficial for the crew if the Cook gets his shit together.

(And if it makes Zoro's inner Alpha happy at the prospect that the Cook is happy, then that's another win.)

Zoro noticed that the blond had backed away a little when Zoro had growled out loud, a cautious look on his face just in case Zoro was to flip out again. Zoro rolled his eyes at that even as his heart stinged a little at that look.

The Cook should never have to be fearful or weary of him.

"Zoro..."

Chopper had put a hoof on top of Zoro’s hand and stared at him with those big doe eyes of his, pleading for him to calm down before he hurt himself again.

He wanted to scoff at his crew mate’s worry because Chopper was being a worrywort. He’s sure that he got himself in control and wasn’t going to start going crazy again.

Though, he couldn’t be absolutely sure when it comes to anything related to Love-Cook...

He clutched at Sanji’s hands tightly even if he felt the Cook flinch at the force of it. He wasn’t going to let go of these hands in case the Cook has any more stupid ideas of staying on these god-forsaken island and leave them again.

Hell no!

He was going to drag the Cook back by force if he had to and though he wasn’t sure how to resolve the issue of the exploding cuffs, he has absolute confidence that Luffy or any of their smarter crew mates would find a solution to the problem. The idiot Cook didn’t have to handle everything by himself, not when everyone’s here to carry the weight with him. If only he could make the fool see that.

“Come on…” He said with uncharacteristic softness to his tone and saw how much it startled the Cook. He even got some weird glances from the others but he tried not to mind and focus on the road ahead to home as he walked and pulled the Cook along behind him.

The Cook started protesting at first with loud squawks and curses but Zoro’s grip held firm in Sanji’s as he continued on without a word. Soon, he noticed the other fell quietly into step with him so that he wasn’t pulling the Cook along and the rest of the crew followed. Zoro noticed that the three were positioned in a defense guard around the two of them and his heart swelled at how proud he was of his crew mates. One quick glance at Sanji showed that the Cook had noticed this too and his expression was one of fondness and love, though there was also a flash of pain behind those dark eyes of his that Zoro was sure was self-deprecation.

The need to wipe that pain in the Cook was great and Zoro found himself giving a gentle squeeze to his hand to reassure him that things will be fine; that they are the Strawhats and they always make it out of the most complicated situations alive with everyone.

What he did not expect was for Sanji to return the gesture and Zoro immediately understood the meaning behind that same gesture but it was not for assurance. Somehow, Zoro knew what Sanji was trying to convey his gratitude without words.

Something in him swelled up with pride at having calmed Sanji down and his chest warmed at the simple gesture exchanged between them. As always, no words were needed and yet they both understood each other’s intentions without even the need to open their mouths.

Their walk towards the shore was a quiet one and thankfully, they were not met with any enemies. It seemed like Robin’s secret spy’s distraction had worked wonders and by the time Big Mom and her children recover, they would hopefully be miles away by then. As much as Zoro loves a good fight against Big Mom, even he knew there are greater matters at hand right now. Fighting would have to wait, at least until these stupid cuffs are off and the Cook wasn’t going to go taking off again.

They walked to where Law was supposed to be hiding to take them back to the submarine but found no one there.

“Where did that guy go off to!” Zoro growled impatiently.

“I’m here Zoro-ya.”

A curse was about to escape his mouth at how startled he was at having Law’s voice so close to his ear but he snapped his mouth shut before it could escape. He made sure his face was showing how unamused he was before turning to face him and that’s when he noticed a ragged, worn out Luffy on the ground who looked too happy despite his bandaged appearance.

“Luffy!” Chopper cried and ran at him with his medical bag at the ready. “What happened?”

Luffy laughed all too happily in answer, prompting an exasperated smile from both Robin and Zoro before answering.

“I kicked Katakuri’s butt!”

Zoro had almost forgotten who Katakuri was but was reminded when he remembered who the Cook’s marriage partner was supposed to be and all too soon, he wished he never remembered.

“You won against Katakuri?!” The Cook yelled in surprise, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“What? You didn’t believe Luffy would win?” Zoro was almost insulted at the Cook’s doubt for their captain’s abilities and was about to say something unpleasant before Sanji spoke.

“No...Not when it’s Luffy.” Sanji had that fond look at Luffy and though Zoro was pleased that the Cook never doubted their captain’s strength, he found himself wishing that the Cook turned his gaze onto him.

He quickly shook that weird thought out of his head though and forced himself to focus on Chopper’s examination of Luffy’s wounds. The bandages wrapped around him must be from Law who is also a doctor but he’d feel better if he got a confirmation from his own crew doctor.

“How’s he Chopper?”

“Lot’s of injuries but he'll be fine.” Chopper said in a rather exasperated tone, as if he spent all that time worrying for nothing because Luffy seemed all too happy to be in the care of the heart surgeon.

“Here ya go Captain.” Sanji pressed the signature hat back onto Luffy’s head, finally returning it back to its rightful owner. 

“Shishishi~ Thanks!” Luffy smiled widely before jumping up eagerly to face the group. “Let’s go home!”

At that proclamation, Zoro could see Sanji’s guilt creep up his eyes as his face fell.

“About that Luffy --” Zoro started but was quickly cut off.

“I can’t.” Sanji looked down, ashamed of facing his captain and held out his hands.

Zoro watched Luffy’s attention go to the cuffs encircled around Sanji’s wrist and frowned, seemingly not understanding.

“These cuffs are made to function just like the Bomb collars.” Law observed and suddenly the air around them got tense as Luffy’s anger made everyone draw in a breath.

As quickly as it came, it went and Luffy’s voice was taut when he observed the cuffs with a heated glare. “Can you get it off?”

“Big Mom has the key but…” Sanji trailed off, he was not going to ask his crew mates to go running into a Yonko just to get him free. They had already done too much and got this far, he was not going to risk their lives any further just to get a key for him.

“I could use Room to cut it off?” Law suggested and Sanji visibly blanched. Zoro would too if someone offered to cut off his hands - his hands that he needs to handle his precious swords. He knew how important Sanji’s hands are to him just like how his swords are to him, if not more.

Sanji’s the Strawhats’ chef and his hands are everything to him. Not just for fighting but also for the stuff he makes. Despite Zoro’s constant denial to compliment the food Sanji’s cooks, there’s no denying the skills Sanji has and how much love he puts into his creations for the pleasure of the crew. Zoro would always see the delight on his face when Sanji cooks and the subtle smiles he tries to hide whenever anyone praises his creations - except for the ladies of course, he’d never hid the pervert side of him no matter how many barrels the Witch threw at his head.

He’d never want the Cook to lose that part of himself and he would never allow someone to cause the Cook distress.

Allies or not, he wasn’t so trusting of the Heart Surgeon to let him use his Devil Fruit ability on something so important to him.

Zoro was about to protest when his captain stopped him with a look.

“No.” Luffy stepped up towards Sanji and took hold of his hands. Zoro noticed how the tension in the Cook immediately lessened by his shoulders and knew how reassured he was by his captain’s side. A part of Zoro’s Alpha side was grumbling a little at how it was not him but seeing how his captain held the Cook’s hands so gently, as though it was the most precious thing, made his Alpha settle.

He trusts Luffy – wholeheartedly with all his life and knew the Cook felt the same as him.

So when Luffy tightened his grip on his hands, he had to force himself to hold still and let Luffy do whatever he had to do.

The air pressure was slowly getting heavy around them and the intensity got more oppressing by the second. Still, Sanji held himself still and did not move, for fear of breaking Luffy’s concentration.

The crew had seen the former First Mate of Gol D. Roger's crew; Silvers Rayleigh perform this move before back at Sabaody Archipelago on Camie’s Bomb collar. He didn’t know when and how Luffy picked up on this skill but he wasn’t going to question it, not when Luffy was the one performing it.

Sanji didn’t dare lift his head for fear of seeing the horrors if Luffy didn’t get the cuff off correctly or if Big Mom simply decided to trigger it but the fear was overwhelming and he felt like he couldn’t breathe right.

The air continued to shift around him but his attention was not there anymore. All he could feel was how heavy his body felt, how his breath came in stutters and how everything in his head was jumbled. His throat felt clogged and he couldn’t stop the high pitch whines from his throat that announced his distress to everyone. That noise made him cringe in embarrassment and sent him another image - another memory - of when his so-called father and brothers would beat him up for even making that sound. Laughed at him for being a whiny little baby.

He didn’t want to make this sound anymore, but his throat wouldn’t obey him.

His mind kept going back to his image of his hands being chopped off. Another stronger image of the cuff going off flashed through his mind and it was then that he found himself being unable to breathe.

Zoro quickly noticed something was wrong with the Cook when the scent in the air suddenly got strange and his inner Alpha was unsettled. Luffy had performed it perfectly and the cuff had been removed from the Cook’s wrists. But the Cook didn’t seem aware of it. His head was still lowered and eyes wide but unseeing and Zoro knew something was definitely wrong.

The Cook’s breaths were fast and uneven, as though there was not enough air to breathe. Luffy was trying to get Sanji’s attention but it didn’t seem to be working and the Cook was too out of it.

Then came the noises.

High pitch sounds came from the Cook that Zoro had never heard him make before.

And why would he?

It was the sound that only Omegas made when they were distressed. A call for help and comfort from the Omega’s family or their chosen Alpha.

The Cook wasn’t an Omega…

Zoro’s Alpha gave him a loud howl of disapproval at how strongly displeased it was at Zoro’s incompetence and Zoro had to reel his Alpha in for a second before he accidentally do something stupid again.

No. The Cook can’t be an Omega. He’s always been an Alpha for all the time Zoro knew him. From the day they met at the Baratie, there had been nothing about him that resembled the behaviour of an Omega.

The Cook was strong, willful, defiant and took no shit from anyone. Nothing about him was anything like an Omega.

But then again, Nami doesn’t act anything like a stereotypical Omega with all the screaming and scheming she does to rob the whole world blind. Still, she does produce a scent that Zoro’s Alpha recognised as an Omega and she does have her heats from time to time.

(Though Zoro would never talk about that to her because he learned the hard way how sensitive that woman is about her private life. Not that Zoro cares…)

But still…

Zoro didn’t know what to think right now but his Alpha side of him was urging him to move and do something about the distressed Omega right in front of him.

Luffy was still trying to calm Sanji down but it wasn’t working and if Zoro felt a little prick of satisfaction in him, then he was sure to keep it concealed. Luffy then allowed Zoro to take over and now hung back a distance with the others, giving Zoro and also Sanji space to themselves.

Zoro took Sanji by the elbows and slowly lowered him down to the ground seeing how the Cook’s legs trembled. Even between the whines and stuttered breaths, never once did Zoro thought Sanji looked weak or broken, just exhausted. And that’s to be expected from everything that has been going on. The Cook has been holding on strong for so long that it was amazing how much willpower that lanky body of his holds. Of course, Zoro already knew first hand of the Cook’s strength but seeing it once again in person had filled him with awe and so much admiration for the rival he has acknowledged and respected. It wasn’t just him who had acknowledged the Cook, but his Alpha side too had somehow urged Zoro to always seek out Sanji’s presence even though the Sunny was only this big and he knew they were safe at sea. Maybe a deeper part of him knew something Zoro didn’t?

Even as Zoro lay his hands on both sides of the Cook’s cheeks, he felt something warm rushed through his body and the scent of sweet honey and spices became so strong around him that all he could smell was that.

That scent was Sanji’s.

And how in the world did he not realise that until now?

Refocusing on the trembling body in front of him, he pushed all those questions in his head for later and tried to catch the Cook’s eyes with his. Sanji’s eyes were unfocused. He was still breathing hard, his breaths uneven and broken, leaving him on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Breathe Cook.” Zoro didn’t mean to make it sound like a command but it did and Sanji’s body was immediately obeying it. He knew if the Cook was more aware, he would’ve been firing swears at him and kicking him to high heaven, but right now Sanji seemed too exhausted to be putting up a fight, even against his own instincts.

It didn’t matter though, because soon Sanji’s breathing was slowly getting back to a steady rate and his upper body sagged in exhaustion.

There was a moment of stillness before Sanji suddenly tensed and Zoro knew that was when the Cook had finally regained his clarity of thought. Now the Cook was trying to squirm his way out from Zoro’s hands, his eyes looking everywhere but at him. Based on the color of the Cook’s cheeks, Zoro could tell he was embarrassed for that display and he wanted to scoff at how ridiculous it was because Zoro would never look down on a crew mate’s pain - only at their strength they’ve shown to get this far.

(It didn’t help that Zoro thought that the Cook looked cute with that blush…)

Zoro wasn’t releasing his hold on Sanji’s cheeks even as he tried to peel his hands off of him, making himself get worked up once again, forgetting to regulate his breathing.

"Cook. Calm down. Breathe with me."

This time, Zoro did not state that as a command but more of a plea to Sanji for him to calm down and come back to him.

And it worked, seeing how the Cook's breathing was slowing down once more.

"That's it. Breathe."

With Zoro's constant steady encouragement, Sanji calmed and instead of feeling the same embarrassment from before, he was more overwhelmed by the unusual behavior Zoro was exhibiting towards him.

Finally, the Cook raised his head up hesitantly and when his eyes met Zoro’s, he sucked in a breath of air as though someone had kicked his chest hard and now it was his turn to have a hard time regulating his breaths.

Something stirred in him once again and he didn’t understand why this kept happening to him whenever he was near the Cook. But somehow, he didn’t mind it…

“Ya alright?”

Relief flowed through Zoro when the Cook nodded his head and Zoro’s inner Alpha howled in victory, leaving Zoro feeling satisfied inside.

He helped the Cook up to his feet wordlessly but before he could open his mouth to say something, Luffy came rushing in as his patience seemed to have run out and had to butt in, ruining Zoro’s moment.

“Sanji!” Luffy didn’t pounce on the Cook but stayed closed and laid a comforting arm around the Cook’s shoulders. “You okay to move now?”

“Y-Yeah...Thanks for waiting Luffy…” The Cook’s voice was still a little wobbly and weak-sounding but his eyes had lost that glazed look he had before.

“Then let’s go!”

Chapter Text

That was embarrassing…

This line kept repeating in Sanji’s mind as he got into the submarine with the others. Law was with Luffy, helping him into the submarine without jarring his injuries even though there was no need to.

Sanji thought back to how he lost control of his breathing and ended up in a panic attack. How he found himself calming down and breathing in sync with Zoro's breaths, and how gentle Zoro was with him. It was so unlike Zoro to be so soft and patient with him that it was a  little strange. He thought the Swordsman would be scoffing at his weakness, at how he couldn't even control his own body to do something as simple as breathing.

He really hated being like this.

It was like being a kid again and having panic attacks at any given time. Literally every day of his miserable life in the Germa has been a constant battle for survival. It wasn't just bad that he was born an Omega, but he had to live with the persistent anxiety running through his body and the cold sneers his family always gave.

That, and the physical and mental abuse they inflicted.

He managed to keep it under wraps for a long time after he got out of that hellhole but every now and then, something would trigger his senses and his body would start his fight-or-flight mode (it's flight the majority of the time.).

He has no time to think about his anxiety during his time with the Strawhats because between kicking ass and cooking for his captain who has a bottomless hole for a stomach, his brain barely had time to wander about his failures and fears.

So to have an attack trigger right now must've been a surprise for his crew and a major embarrassment for him.

And Zoro just had to be right there to see it....

He wondered what his rival would think of him now.

Even as they climbed down the ladder into the submarine, he kept stealing glances at the Swordsman to gauge his reaction.

Was he laughing at him?

No, the moss-head would never be so cruel like that.

Would Zoro think he's weak for having a breakdown?

No. Zoro would never look down on a person's pain like that, he wasn’t the sort of person who would do that.

He kept debating against himself the whole way, even as the submarine cautiously steered away from the island and onto safer waters.

Everyone was on high alert in case Big Mom decided to retaliate and send her armies onto them but so far the waters had been calm. Still, no one was letting down their guard.

Well, no one except for Luffy.

His captain was whooping with joy as he recounted his battle with the general. There were hardly any coherent words heard because Luffy was mostly using sounds and actions to describe the fight but nevertheless, Chopper’s attention was still captured by their captain’s brilliant performance.

As the submarine continued to move on with only Luffy’s chatter to fill in the empty space in the air, Sanji felt a stare directed at him.

Turning around, he met Zoro's gaze with a frown, wondering why the hell was the moss-head staring at him.

“What.” He snapped when it seemed that Zoro was not going to say anything.

Zoro did not give him a verbal answer but only grunted and walked out of the small area they were resting in, into another room away from him.

This infuriated Sanji for some reason and he was not going to let that ape go without an explanation for his behavior. He was about to get up after Zoro when he felt a hand on his shoulder, halting him.

“Sanji-san.” The ever polite Robin called gently to him. “Perhaps you should give him some time to himself first.”

He wasn’t about to dismiss the lovely Robin-chan’s words (even if it’s about the stupid moss) so he smiled and thanked her with overflowing praises.

The urge to march after Zoro was still there but he brushed it aside forcefully.

Who cares about that idiot Alpha?!

Just because Zoro showed a little compassion and empathy towards him doesn't make him any less of an annoyance to Sanji. That man was still infuriating and disgusting and annoying and...and...

He ran out of insults in his head which was a surprise to him because on any given day, he could come up with endless insults for the neatherdeal but now, he found that he couldn't.

Not when the aftertouch of Zoro's hands on his made his insides warm and the gentle tone that he never used on anyone except Chopper, made his heart flutter.

There must be something insanely wrong with him for his brain to conjure up such a compliment for the Alpha.

Not to mention the foreign feelings that kept making his head spin whenever he thinks of Zoro.

Yeah. Something was definitely wrong with him and even though he was pretty sure of the reason, he really wasn't ready to open that can of worms yet.

The trip back to the Sunny was least to say, uneventful, but in a good way.

He thought Big Mom and her children would already be up in arms and right on their tail, chasing them with cold fury in their eyes for ruining their celebration. Not that Sanji felt sorry for them. The only thing that Sanji felt bad for was that he missed the opportunity to see Judge's expression when the whole tower came falling onto them. The Tower had fallen and destroyed most of the island's structures so he could only hope that it had fallen in the direction of the Germa's quarters.

Fortunately, the submarine sailed on peacefully and everyone on board was taking their time to unwind after the tense battle and preparing themselves for what lies ahead.

Sanji's hands ache to do something; to grab a knife or a wok, to feel the sizzling heat of the stove or the scent of spices in the air.

Wait....

Sanji jolted upright at the thought of scents. Ever since he was brought to Whole Cake Island, he has not been on any suppressants because those people wanted him to remain 'untainted' without any medication in his system. All for the sake of increasing the chances of having purebred children.

Just thinking about that made Sanji want to pull his hair out so he pushed that thought away and concentrated on the now.

He was sure his scent was still emitting out of him uncontrollably due to the sudden stop of suppressants in his system, resulting in an imbalance of his pheromones or something. He was never quite sure of the biology behind it but all he knows was that he stinks right now.

Was that why Zoro moved away from him?

He suspected Zoro was his 'ahem' and thus his scent would be stronger to him but did he really couldn't stand his scent that much until he had to leave the room?

All of a sudden, Sanji was feeling very very conscious of himself and warily took a quick sweep around the room at its occupants.

Luffy was draped over Law, chattering non-stop into the surgeon's ear but Law didn't seem too perturbed by Luffy. Instead, his expression seemed more fond with a tint of grimace, probably due to Luffy speaking directly into his ear. The two looked like they're off in their own world and didn't seem affected by Sanji's scent which was a big relief to the blond. Luffy would be fine, but he wasn't sure how his Omega scent might affect Law.

Robin was sitting in the corner with a book in hand and a few more on the floor around her. Sanji would be willing to bet that those books were stolen from Big Mom's place which he didn't know when she would've found the time to do that but it was impressive nonetheless.

As expected from the lovely Robin-Chan.

She seemed absorbed in her reading and doesn't look to be affected either so that's another big relief for Sanji. He would be so damn embarrassed to show his face around the beautiful Robin-chan if she commented about his scent being thrown everywhere as though he was in heat.

He would be so mortified.

Next was Brook who was snoring a storm away on the floor with a snot bubble flying from his nose. He didn't even want to question how a living skeleton could produce a snot bubble, or where even did the snot come from in the first place. There were just some things you don't question when it comes to Devil-fruit powers and the absurdity of it.

Leaving Brook to continue on his beauty nap, he turned to the last member in the room, he was taken aback to see Chopper looking back at him with obvious worry in his eyes. But what really caught him off-guard was the two tissues stuffed into Chopper's nostrils.

Guess he should've remembered that Chopper is a literal animal with a highly sensitive nose. Of course he would be affected.

The guilt must've shown on his face because Chopper immediately gave him a bright reassuring smile.

"You alright Sanji? Are you injured anywhere?" Chopper opened his mouth to continue but stopped himself from overwhelming the blond with questions.

Sanji appreciated that. He wasn't sure he was up to having a heart-to-heart conversation with the others just yet. If he really has to speak to someone, it'll be - much to his dismay - the idiot Marimo.

There were too many things unsaid, unexplained between them. He owed it to the Swordsman for an explanation. Maybe it won't excuse his actions, but he should at least give Zoro his reasons for walking away. He didn't mean to hurt the crew but knew he did so nonetheless.

Nothing he did or say would absolve him of the wrong he did to the Strawhats, even if Luffy already seemed to have forgiven him for everything and was ready to welcome him back with open arms.

He doesn't deserve such acceptance from Luffy, or kindness from Chopper. Or even the understanding from Robin and Brook.

He doesn't deserve any of it.

Zoro was the only one who seemed to be holding on to his anger of him abandoning the crew - as he should.

Strangely, that fact assured him because it was something he predicted, and that gave him a sense of stability that things between them had not changed. He did wrong to the crew, and Zoro would hold him accountable for that treason.

It was ironic that the person he butt heads with the most would also be someone who he felt most comfortable with out of everyone in the crew.

He knew Luffy and the rest are kind and understanding of his circumstances. But that does not erase the actions he'd done consciously that had hurt them. If they would not hold him accountable to that then what was he to do with the stabbing guilt whenever he sees Luffy's wounds or the battle-weary expressions on his crew mates' faces.

He was so into his thoughts that he had forgotten Chopper's inquiries but was shook out of it when Chopper laid his hove on his lap in concern.

The reindeer's touch was light but he felt the heavyweight of his presence all the same. Chopper was trying to convey that he is here. He is here and will be willing to listen to Sanji if Sanji needs someone to talk to or even just stay.

Chopper's presence was comforting and the warmness of his thick-furred body felt pleasant against Sanji's skin. There were no words shared between the two and the comfortable silence in the room stretched on until a beeping sound came from the head of the submarine where Law was.

"We're almost out of Big Mom's territory." Law announced and was met with a loud whoop from Luffy.

"Finally!" Luffy cheered and just like that, the whole room was affected by his joy and everyone smiled along with him. Even Sanji felt a small weight lifted from his chest at the sight of his captain's wide infectious grin.

And then his captain turned to him with an even wider grin that no normal human could've, stretched and pounced on him with his whole body.

"Sanji!!!" Luffy yelled directly into his ear and if he wasn't struggling with the weight of his captain on him, he would've drop-kicked the rubber into the wall. "I'm starving! When we get back, I want a whole plate of meat!!"

That simple request was worth so much to Sanji. It was as though Big Mom never happened. As though he was back in Sunny and Sanji only has feeding his crew and his gluttonous captain as his main concern. Everything was simple then and he never wanted it to change.

Luffy was showing him that nothing did in fact change despite the whole fiasco with his shitbag family and a Yonko threatening them. Luffy was just glad that he was back and the past didn't matter to him at all, despite him being the most beaten up among them due to his fight with the top commander of Big Mom's army.

Sanji didn't know how to respond to Luffy's eager expression staring expectantly at him but he owed it to his captain for all he has done for him. And the only way he knew how to do that was something so simple and something he had been doing all along - cooking.

It's so simple but Sanji would never feel that it's enough. Still, he knew that's what Luffy wanted and he couldn't deny his captain of that.

"Alright." He almost couldn't make his throat work due to his emotions threatening to overwhelm him. "Just get off before I kick you into the ocean."

Luffy laughed his signature laugh but untangled himself off of Sanji and proceeded to pounce on Law next, resulting in a loud 'oof' before the man started yelling at Luffy.

Sanji then spends the next stretch of sailing in silence with his own thoughts. They were almost out of Big Mom's territory and closer to home. His earlier worries were back to haunt him and he had no idea how he was going to face the rest of his crew.

More importantly, he didn't know how he was going to face their navigator.

He'd brought trouble to the crew and ended up putting the precious Nami in danger. He'd caused her to be scared and worried for the rest of the crew's safety. He wouldn't blame her if she hated Sanji now for everything that he'd brought upon the Strawhats.

As much as it pains Sanji, he must at least return to give an explanation to the crew, they deserve that from him. And if they decided that Sanji was too much of a burden to keep around, then he would accept their decision.

Even if Luffy wants him, he didn't want any of his crewmates being uncomfortable around him and he definitely didn't want his crew to get hurt because of him. Or in this case - further injured due to him.

Before he knew it, the submarine had started to resurface and the guys got ready to head to the deck for some fresh air after hours of being cooped up in the metal box.

Sanji stayed at the back as they walked up to the deck of the submarine and winced as the bright sunlight assaulted his eyes after being in the dark for too long.

It was nice.

He had almost forgotten what the sun feels like after being smoldered in the dark for too long. It reminded him of the time when he'd just escaped the clutches of his family and into the open world. How beautiful everything was in his eyes and how warm freedom was to his skin.

Back then, he swore to himself to never let his freedom get taken away again.

But guess fate has its ways of screwing with him.

"Oi. Quit daydreaming and move it already."

A gruff voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he turned his head to meet the hard stare of Zoro's eyes on him before the man averted his gaze away from meeting his eyes.

It was too soon for that confrontation. However, a small voice in Sanji whispered that he would've preferred it if it never happened at all. If everything would be forgotten and back to the way it was.

Sanji sighed inwardly to himself at that thought, hating his own cowardice at trying to run away from doing what must be done.

"Oi."

He noticed Zoro's shoulders tense up but the man kept his body still as he continued glaring at Sanji and he could see the apprehension in it.

Just say something! He mentally scolded himself when he found no words coming out of his mouth. Now he just seemed like a fool for standing there with his mouth agape.

A few seconds passed with the both of them standing there as the tension in the air got heavier.

"Say....Do you know the term 'Mates'?" He had no idea what prompted him to say that when it was not even something that was on his mind and he cursed him loudly for starting the conversation with that.

Zoro seemed to be taken aback by the weird conversation starter and could only stare in puzzlement. After a few seconds of more awkward silence, he finally found his voice to give an answer.

"Um...." Zoro ran a hand through his hair just to have something to do with his hands and answered. "I...er..heard it from somewhere before....I think."

"Well..." Sanji licked his lips and thought of what to say next.

I think you and I might be mates.

Yeah. He wonders how that would turn out. Zoro might murder him and throw his body overboard or he might show mercy just throw him overboard. Worse, Zoro might throw himself overboard!

He knew Zoro was never the romantic type. He didn't care about finding himself a partner, much less a mate to spend his life with. Zoro has great ambitions, goals, and a difficult dream to fulfill for his deceased friend. Zoro doesn't need a mate to distract him or drag him down.

Zoro doesn't need him.

Urgh... Sanji wished his damn family had never found him and he could pretend he was still an Alpha to Zoro. It would be deceiving to everyone in the crew but it was also to protect them from him. At least, this was the excuse he'd always tell himself when faced with the truth of his continuous lies.

He needed to stop this right now.

He needed to stop running away from his crew. And that means he needed to stop running away from the fact that Zoro is his mate.

Even if it means that his mate might hate him for the rest of their lives and he might have to leave in order to hide all over again. The Baratie would be a good place to go while he plans things out and Zeff might even let him back as a Sous chef. He might have to —

STOP!!

He wasn't going to run away and he wasn't going to return to Zeff until he fulfilled both their dreams of finding the All Blue. He owes that man too much to even think of running back to him like a frightened child whenever something goes wrong.

He can handle it.

Besides, it's just Zoro. He's not going to run away from the Moss-head.

"Well what." Zoro snapped, breaking him out of his thoughts. Though his tone sounded impatient, Sanji could see that Zoro was tense and on guard for what Sanji was about to say next.

Maybe there's a part of the idiot that knows it too. He hoped. Maybe then, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise and Zoro wouldn't outright reject him.

"Well...." Here goes nothing and he braced himself to say the words he can never take back. "I —"

“....Do you know the term 'Mates'?”

Zoro knew what was coming and some part of him was delighted that it was while a small part of him wished he had more time to brace himself. But there was never any ‘good’ time to discuss matters like this wasn’t there? Not when they’re pirates; living a life filled with danger and enemies at every turn.

Stop stalling! Your mate is upset!

A part of him that he recognised as his inner Alpha growling at him to get his act together and appease his distressed mate.

Mate!

Zoro couldn't believe there would be a day where he would have someone to call his mate. He always scoffed it off whenever Kuina spoke to him about it, figuring mates are for lovesick fools who needed someone there to hold their hands and make googly eyes at one another, wasting their time away when they could be training. Kunia nagged at him for saying that and told him one day he would find himself to be the foolish one for saying that.

Boy did he feel like a fool right now.

And Kuina wasn’t even here to witness and laugh at his foolishness…

"Well what." He didn't mean to snap, but it came out that way due to his own distress at being put in this awkward situation. 

How was he supposed to deal with this?!

Another growl resounded in his mind and he stopped zoning out long enough to notice the sweet smell of a distressed Omega in front of him. It must be taking the Cook a lot of effort to try to speak with him and even though he too wanted to avoid this, he could at least try to make it easier for the Cook.

So when the Cook was struggling to gather his courage for the words that would change both their lives, he decided to take the initiative and say it before he lost his nerve.

"I know."

The Cook whipped his head up so fast that he almost had whiplash at how fast his neck snapped up to look Zoro in the eye at the two words he just spewed.

"What." The Cook’s words were almost a whisper because Zoro just confirmed what he feared the most.

"I know, idiot." Zoro could not look the Cook in the eye and he was pretty sure he was fidgeting uncomfortably at the dead-eye stare the Cook was directing at him.

But he didn’t think it was an unpleasant experience for him -- just uncomfortable. It was something he'd never done before — never to anyone and definitely not to someone he'd thought to be his rival.

The whole situation was weird and out of his depth. Give him an army of Marines to fight any day instead of having to talk out his feelings with the most unexpected person in his life.

What's even weirder, was that his mind didn't reject that thought outright. The Alpha in him knew and reassured Zoro in his decision. Zoro also knew —somewhat deep deep down in him — that the Cook was the one for him.

If he must have a mate, he'd choose Sanji out of everyone in the world.

He thought it was impossible before due to both of them being Alphas and all, but looks like that's not a problem now that he knows the truth.

He didn't need to ask Sanji his reasons for his actions; it was self-explanatory from what he'd seen. He was still pissed off about the idiot leaving him though. Whatever that idiot thought then, it doesn't excuse his behavior for leaving them —for leaving him.

Shit...now he knows why he was feeling so annoyed with the Cook back then. Zoro was already feeling something for him and his Alpha was definitely not happy at all at his Omega leaving with his enemies.

He was already stuck with the Cook as his mate from way back then and it only took him a war with a Yonko to figure it out.

Idiot.

His inner Alpha scoffed and he agreed with it.

From the expression on the Cook's face, it looked like he was about to pass out from the shock. And Zoro would've laughed at his expression if not for the fact for the distressing Omega pheromones still radiating out from the Cook.

"Hey..." he started and immediately faltered when he found he didn't have the words to say.

How do you console someone in a situation like this?

The Cook has been hiding his identity for so long and suddenly, everything was revealed, plus he even got a mate with the person he least expected.

Do something idiot!

The surge of irritation at himself from within him gave him the courage to step forward and take the Cook in his arms in a firm hug.

He knew he wasn't the best person to give hugs — he never gave anyone one before and was only given one by Kuina as a tease and one by Koshiro when he was grieving for Kuina. But he knew the comfort a hug can bring a person and he wanted the Cook to calm down.

He felt the Cook stiffened against him but he wasn't pushing him away which was a good sign that the Cook won't bash his head later on in revenge.

Unconsciously, he made his scent stronger as a way to reassure the Cook that he was here by his side. He didn't know how much it would help but he felt the Cook's body relax against him and his scent got calmer.

They stayed like this for a while longer before it was broken up by the Cook.

It's too bad. He thought. I was starting to like having him so close.

He quickly shook that thought away, feeling a tad embarrassed for thinking of mushy stuff like that.

Urgh. This mate stuff is giving me a headache.

The Cook's head was facing down, most likely just as embarrassed as him for letting himself look weak in front of Zoro or some other dumb thought the Cook likes to burrow himself in.

"Um...You feelin' better?" His hands itched to hold the Cook close to him again but he stopped himself by awkwardly brushing a hand through his hair in an attempt to prevent the situation from getting anymore embarrassing for the both of them.

It took a moment for the Cook to reply but Zoro was not expecting one so it did surprise him when the Cook looked up and met his eyes.

"Y-Yeah." The Cook's eyes were red but there were no tears present. However, while there was confusion and uncertainty before in the Cook's eyes, now it was filled with gratefulness and relief in them. Somehow, that made him preen in satisfaction at the job well done for relieving his mate's pain.

The Cook seemed to have something to ask and Zoro waited with a surprising amount of patience that he didn't know he had for the Cook to get his words out.

"How...When— when did you...."

Zoro knew what the Cook was asking.

How did Zoro know the Cook was his mate? And when did he realize it?

Zoro didn't exactly know the answers to that because it happened so suddenly that before he knew it, he had a mate.

Maybe it was something he always knew deep inside. It was in the way he always felt comfortable around the Cook, the way he always enjoyed the Cook's company. The way each and every fight with the Cook meant something to him and fighting alongside him felt like an honor.

Every encounter with the Cook was special and it was nothing compared to his moments with the rest of the crew — not even Luffy was close to it.

Zoro couldn't find an answer to what the Cook wanted as he was never good with words, he'd rather show it through his actions and it would take time.

The Cook looked up at him, still trying to formulate his thoughts but then a shout came from the front of the submarine and any conversation would have to wait for later.

He was sure the Cook wasn't about to let this drop even if the Cook wasn't sure what to ask and both were uncomfortable about having this particular conversation.

The submarine soon reached its destination where the rest of the crew and their allies were on standby for any followers that might have trailed them.

Many cheers resounded but the loudest were the cries from the weird-looking ship that had Luffy's face for the ship head. Their captain was bawling non-stop into his sleeves and the rest of his crew was just as bad.

As they neared their ship Sunny, Zoro could not resist a small smile at the sight of their beautiful ship that he considered home. Taking a small peek at the Cook, he could see the wet shine in his eyes and his fists were clenched tight.

Zoro won't assume he knew what the Cook was going through right now but he knew talking to the Cook at this moment would only backfire, so he left him alone to sort out his feelings even though he felt bad for not doing more.

Nami, Franky and Usopp were on the deck to welcome them back and he noticed an additional person standing at the back.

That person looked familiar but Zoro couldn't remember where he had seen him before. He didn't have a bad memory, he just didn't bother remembering people's faces if they didn't interest him. This person must be important enough that his crew would let him on Sunny.

But it looked like the Cook knew who this mystery person was.

"Why's he here?" The Cook's voice was soft and in disbelief. The question was not directed at anyone but Robin was the one who answered him seeing as she has all the answers for everything.

"Gin here was our spy." She explained with that usual smile on her face. "He was the one that helped with our escape by creating a diversion for us."

"You mean he was the one who set off the explosive that toppled the Tower?!" Chopper exclaimed and all eyes went to the man Zoro thought he would never see again. Especially not after that fight with his boss.

"I may have gone overboard with the explosives." Gin grinned sheepishly.

"But why?" The Cook's voice was still filled with disbelief, as though he would never have thought to have people who would run to help if he was ever in trouble.

Seeing his family circumstances, he guessed that's what exactly the Cook thought.

Gin's eyes were filled with gratitude and determination that made him seem like a different guy. He didn't have a great impression of Gin when he last saw him but it wasn't a surprise a man like him would change so much. Luffy always has a special kind of aura around him that makes everyone gravitate towards him. The kind that spelled protection and comfort just by being in his presence because that's how Luffy is and that's what drew —not just him — everyone on the crew to want to help Luffy become the Pirate King even though they all have individualistic dreams of their own.

But the Cook has his own special brand of aura of his own that made people want to be in his presence. Like Luffy, the Cook gives off an assuring presence and the comfort of knowing you'll never be fighting on your own if the Cook was there.

It was evidenced through the actions the Cook did, like protecting Usopp from being struck by lightning-head's attack by kicking him out of the way. Or protecting the sick Nami from an avalanche at the cost of his own well-being.

Or even the stupid stunt of attempting to take Zoro's place in front of a freaking Warlord.

The Cook is so selfless that it made Zoro wish that the Cook would be more selfish for his own good. Watching him get hurt over and over again was bad for Zoro's health and it made him so annoyed every time the Cook does something stupid and injures himself.

Of course, he could say the same for himself but he wasn't the one who has no self-perseverance.

"Sanji-san, you helped me when no one would. And now I would like to return the favor." Gin spoke earnestly. "Besides, how many would have the honor of stealing from a Yonko?"

That got a smile from the Cook and as happy Zoro was for seeing the Cook smile, he was equally upset at who the smile was directed at.

"Sanji-bro!!!" Franky bulldozed his way to the front and swept the Cook up in a bear-crushing hug and Zoro hated the way he felt a growl building up in his throat.

"Sanji! I'm so glad you're back!" Usopp joined in the hug with tears in his eyes and Zoro couldn't stop the growl from escaping.

Everyone froze on the spot and Zoro felt shame crawl up his cheeks. Franky slowly let go of the Cook and backed away with Usopp doing the same.

"Well, it's about time." Nami scoffed and Robin gave a soft chuckle beside her.

Zoro didn't understand what she meant by that but he was going to make sure he controlled himself more and stop embarrassing himself in front of the crew.

"Sanji! I'm hungry!! Make me food!!"

Luffy came bouncing in, helpfully making a distraction and getting the attention off of him.

"Alright alright. I promised after all." The Cook gave a soft smile before heading towards the kitchen where he paused for a moment at the door before tentatively pushing it open and stepping in.

Luffy followed after and Zoro was tempted to follow too but was immediately stopped by Nami.

"Give him time with Luffy." She said with a stern gaze. "He needs it."

Zoro knew Luffy was definitely the person who can help the stubborn Cook with whatever he’s going through, but a part of him argued that it should be him by his mate’s side cheering him up.

He shook his head hard to clear himself of that selfish thought and swore inside his mind that this mate business was seriously messing him up.

Everyone had dispersed to do their own task, there was still much to do even after getting the Cook back and maybe even a possible war to fight with a Yonko. He was eager to test his skills against a Yonko and the prospect of fighting a challenging enemy thrills him. But he wasn’t going to put the crew’s life on the line for that.

He understood that things had to be planned, contingency plans had to be made and a strategy of attack needed to be organised with all their allies in order for their percentage of victory to increase. Zoro wasn’t stupid and he could be patient if he wants to. Besides, this was a good time to rest their bodies after their long journey and he was sure the Cook needed the rest most out of the rest of them. Especially with everything he went through.

Since he was no help to the planning at all, he opted to find a place where he could nap but found himself staying rooted outside the kitchen listening to the sounds of Luffy excitedly shouting something and the soft baritone of the Cook’s voice answering his captain. The Cook was in good hands now and nothing will happen with Luffy. So why was it that Zoro can’t find it in him to move away?

It was annoying how his body was betraying him and frustrating to know that he didn’t really hate it all that much.

He was worried. Worried that the Cook might not be as alright as he thought or just putting up a front. In the end, he found himself pacing around the kitchen door, with a huge frown on his face. It was a good thing too because he was the first to spot something in the distance before a shout was heard from another ship.

“Enemies approaching from the port bow! There seems to be multiple heading this direction!”

There was a flurry of activity from all about the ships, their members all knowing their individual tasks and getting to it. The door he was standing in front of, suddenly slammed open and Luffy emerged with a serious expression that matched how dire this situation was. The Cook came out behind Luffy a second later with determination in his eyes except Zoro could see a tint of nervousness behind it. He met the Cook’s eyes, trying to see if he was ready to face this. But looks like it was unneeded because the Cook’s eyes hardened with resolve and he raised his head in confidence, looking like the usual kick-ass Cook he’s been before all of this.

Looks like he didn’t need to worry then. He should’ve known that the partner that was destined for him would not be so weak that he’d stay down for long after being knocked down. He returned the Cook’s look with a smirk, knowing the Cook would read it as a challenge and rile up his competitive spirit.

And it did.

He could see the Cook’s eyes fire up at the challenge and the annoyed frown on the Cook’s face was so familiar that his heart soared at seeing it once more. There were no words passed between them because there was no need to. They understand what was at stake and what needed to be done and they will do it in order to protect everyone. Zoro knew that the ‘everyone’ in the Cook’s head would not include himself but that’s okay, because Zoro would do that for him. Not that the Cook needed to be protected because he was fully capable of doing that himself but seriously, the Cook has no sense of preservation for his own life in him.

The ships were slowly getting closer and Zoro could Big Mom’s army on deck. Big Mom herself was not present and although Zoro was a little disappointed at the loss of opportunity to challenge a Yonko, he also hoped that the Yonko had been crushed by her ridiculous cake tower. There were also no signs of the big dude that Luffy fought which was good news for them.

Their side was all prepared now with their own little army standing by strategically on different ships. They were all spread out to balance their strengths and weaknesses as planned by Nami and Usopp, with all the long ranged attackers safely in the Nest or on high grounds, and the devil fruit users close to the center of the deck. They even have Law’s submarine ready in case of retreating, not that Zoro would even consider that but -- again, that’s the reason why Zoro was not involved in the planning.

They are ready, ready for whatever the enemy throws at them and Zoro could feel the thrill of the fight starting to course through his body. If Big Mom thinks he could take what belonged to the Strawhats -- to Zoro -- well, Big Mom will have to think twice before she messes with their crew ever again.

The Cook stands beside him and he felt reassured to have his partner by his side once again. There were still so many things unsaid and so many explanations put on hold but at least he has the Cook right here beside him now. Whatever’s to be said would have to be left to the future him.

“Do you think everyone will be fine?”

The Cook’s voice was but a whisper but he still heard it. He should be insulted that the Cook was questioning the crews’ ability but he understood the Cook’s fear after the small glimpse he saw back at the Tower. Still, he had to scoff at that question because the answer should be clear.

Zoro wasn’t embarrassed at all when he grabbed a hold of the Cook’s hand with his, giving him a tight reassuring squeeze before quickly letting go before anyone saw. He felt the Cook’s surprise and shock when he did and ignored the bewildered stare at him as Zoro stood there pretending nothing happened.

There was no time for anything else to be said as the army approached but Zoro could see the Cook’s body language shift to a more confident one and he stood so close to Zoro that their arms brushed each other occasionally when the ship rocked.

It was nice and Zoro was more than ever determined to win this fight. Nothing was going to separate him from the Cook again. He might not know if this was him talking or the mate thing taking a hold of him, and to tell the truth, Zoro didn’t care. He accepted that the Cook is his mate without questions and although the confusion was to be expected, there was never once any denial or rejection to it.

He just knew the Cook was the one.

So for now, he’ll focus on winning this fight and being able to live another day with his crew. There won’t be a future if he died anyway and he was definitely not dying today or tomorrow for that matter. Neither is the shit-Cook and he’s going to make sure of that.

So right now all they have to do is win this and return to their daily adventures, sailing towards their dreams.

Now, that’s a great plan.