Hungry For Justice: A Hero For Lvneel: A One Piece Fanfic

Chapter Eight: Retaking What Was Lost

Chopper screamed the next morning.

"S-Sanji's gone!" he wailed, searching around every nook and cranny of the tiny home, as if the cook could be hiding.

The crew was having breakfast, courtesy of Paris, although the crew protested the offer. Food was scarce as it already was, until Luffy broke the conflict and swallowed a croissant whole, which earned him a punch from Nami.

"How could you think of eating after hearing what we heard last night?!" she had yelled at him.

Currently, the captain was frowning at the news, and continued to sip on his herbal tea, to savour every drop. Besides, his navigator wouldn't let him have another cup.

Usopp was concerned. "You don't think he..." Fear struck both into their eyes. "No! He isn't supposed to move around like that!" panicked the doctor.

That night seemed to elapse for an eternity, and it had shaken the Straw Hats. The story of Cosette Pâquerette and her kingdom of Lvneel disturbed them all. What rattled even more was Sanji's reaction. He had remained calm and focused as Miss Ciseaux told the story, but his eyes had such intensity and his hands gripped tightly on the bed sheets, unhinging. Every now and then, his gaze would linger onto an old stuffed bear that had lain beside him. Thinking back, the toy must have been Jean. A gift from the crown princess to the child of her maid. Both of them were dead.

No one, not even the princess' closest companion, knew the father. Paris speculated that it could possibly be a traveler to Lvneel, since no one else in the kingdom had such golden hair. Paris was unable to recite the contents of Cosette's last letter, for she had broken into uncontrollable sobs, and she was joined by Franky. Nami, Brook, Chopper, and Usopp silently let tears fall, while Luffy and Robin listened, feeling hollow. Only Zoro had not shown any exterior emotion or reaction, though he did stiffly walk out of the room after Paris had finished.

Everyone discreetly exited after him. Paris mournfully stared at the lone cook, and quickly gave Sanji a tight squeeze on his shoulder, as if trying to grab on her last life preserver. Chopper quietly coaxed Sanji to lie back down, and tucked his friend in. The last thing he saw before blowing out the candle was Sanji gazing at the ceiling. He had clutched the small bear, close to his heart.

Robin closed her book, the one she must have got at the library yesterday. "I think we should look for him...it would be unwise to get involved in other events in his circumstances," she stated.

Everyone waited to see who would volunteer first.

"I'll go looking for him."

He grunted at their confused expressions. The swordsman and the cook were known for being highly competitive. Besides, it was usually them looking for Zoro, not the other way around. He did not exactly have a working internal GPS...nor had the capability of following map directions. He stiffly added, "It's not like I'm doing it for Swirly-sama, it's for the captain."

To prove his point, he called to Luffy. "I'm going to save our cook now before he does something stupid."

Luffy choked on Franky's stolen herbal tea in response. "Sanji's in danger?" he managed to hack out.

Nami grabbed the cup out of his hands, "Yes! And he is going to get into trouble in his condition!" she yelled.

Luffy thought about it. "Okay, we'll meet up with you if something happens. Someone should join you too..."

Brook, who had thanked his host for the meal, carried his violin and proceeded to walk beside Zoro. "Yo ho ho! I'll help too, after all, two swordsmen are better than one!" he enthusiastically volunteered. The musician was trying to keep everyone's spirits up to lighten the mood.