Not All is Lost

Sanji gasped and sat up straight. The dream came again and again, every night. It was her. A woman he'd never met, but could see clearly in his mind's eye.

She's beautiful, ten times more so than any lady he's ever cooked for. Thick, dark brown hair outlines her flawless, olive face. Her brilliant green eyes sparkle with anticipation and ambition, but are clouded with sadness. Her thin lipped smile is too tight, almost giving away her true emotions.

It disappears as soon as it comes. There's no memories as to who she is or how he knew her. Maybe he never did. All he knew was the extreme sense of longing whenever he thought of her.

He shook his head. It was so confusing. It seemed as though a huge chunk of his life was missing, but there nonetheless. How he had become good friends with Marine Admiral Zoro and his wife Axel escaped him. He remembered the conversations he'd had with Hedge, the world famous doctor, but not when or where. He could rely on the ringleader of Baroque Works like a brother without the faintest idea why. A family of friends; fourteen people who he'd come to know and love with no explanation.

"Don't ask why, it just is," he told himself as he stood, dressed, and headed to the kitchen. Three beautiful ladies sat around a small table and sipped out of small, steaming teacups. They giggled and and whispered quietly to one another upon his entry.

The pink haired girl turned in her swivel chair to face Sanji with a light blush on her face. "We were thinking... Eggs Benedict?" She turned her head and the two others nodded in agreement.

"Of course, Rebbeca-chan," he smiled easily and turned to the fridge. Rebecca's blush deepened to a deep crimson as she turned back to gossiping with the other two girls. His heart beat faster. Serving lovely ladies was his specialty.

Then it nearly stopped. The sad green eyes stared at him from an unknown place.

"..Sanji-kun...?" Vivi questioned warily. Sanji looked down and realized he'd crushed two of the eggs in his hands with his sudden burst of emotion.

"Ah, not a problem, Miss. Jikan-jikan no san-juu byo!" A swirl of color encompassed him alone as the time turned back thirty seconds. He opened his eyes to find the girls conversing quietly and four intact eggs in his hands.

It was a useful power to have. He could remember buying the devil fruit from a poor street vendor in Water 7 along with a couple of lemons. However, the person who he bought it with was forgotten. It seemed to be blocked off, like a forbidden memory.

He still felt shaken. That strange woman... He usually only saw her in dreams, now she was haunting him during the day too? He rolled his shoulders and continued to the hollandaise as the water began to boil. The swirling water...

Waves crash all around him and he's being pulled beneath the surface only to awaken with a male form of Axel beside him. It would make sense that Axel had been his savior, if she wasn't deathly afraid of water.

His mind flashed to the green eyed woman again. Could she have been a fifteenth nakama in his strange family?

He shook the thought immediately. All of those friends were real people who he could remember clearly. Gunthar was running his own candy factory out near Sabody. Luffy was heading down the Grand Line in search of One Piece; Roa, following her own path. The girl of his dreams had never appeared anywhere on the planet for the past three years that he'd been dreaming of her. Was she even real?

"Sanji. Sanji! SANJI!!" Nami stood and pointed. The pot of water was over-boiling and spilling everywhere. "What's the matter with you today?" She fumed. Through her anger there was unmistakable worry and compassion.