I know the time skip disproves any "left side of Sanji's face" theories, but I can still dream, right? Besides, I still hold onto the hope that there's significance in the fact that Sanji hides half his face, whichever half that may be…

Usopp snuck towards Sanji's hammock, holding his breath so as not to wake the sleeping cook.

The sniper was on a mission. A mission to discover the secret he was certain the cook was hiding.

While the rest of the crew seemed pointedly uninterested in whatever Sanji was hiding behind his conspicuous bangs, Usopp was sure there was a good story hidden there.

"The Great Captain Usopp will find out!" Usopp thought to himself. "As long as Sanji doesn't kill the Great Captain Usopp…"

Still holding his breath and moving as slowly as possible, Usopp leaned over the cook and reached, reached, reeeaaached towards those blonde bangs…

The moment Usopp's fingers brushed Sanji's hair, the cook's hand shot up and closed with a viper's grip around Usopp's wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sanji growled, his visible eye still closed.

Usopp whimpered. He was going to die.

"I… I wasn't trying to look at the left side of your face!" he yelped, then wanted to smack himself for being such an idiot.

Sanji's eye opened and he glared up at the sniper with a look full of fire. Usopp whimpered again.

"I'm sorry Kaya!" he silently wailed. "I'm going to die here! I'll never get a chance to come back and tell you all about my adven-"

Sanji dropped Usopp's arm, and the sniper squeezed his eyes shut, his legs shaking uncontrollably, sure his time had come…

"You could have just asked."

Usopp's eyes snapped open and he stared down at Sanji, wide-eyed.

"Wha…" he croaked. His throat had gone dry in his panic.

"I said, you could have just asked," Sanji repeatedly irritably.

The cook didn't say anything more, and Usopp hesitantly reached towards his face. When he was fairly sure this wasn't a trick and the cook wasn't about to murder him, Usopp gently brushed aside the golden bangs. His breath caught in his throat at what was hidden underneath.

Sanji cringed at Usopp's reaction, but was mildly impressed that the cowardly sniper didn't pull away altogether.

"W-what happened to you?" Usopp asked softly, staring.

Several ugly gashes cut across the left side of the cook's face, scarred over but still very obvious. One particularly nasty scar cut straight across Sanji's left eye. The eye itself had a white line down the middle of the pupil. It was unfocused, clearly blind.

Sanji gently pushed away Usopp's hand, letting his hair fall back over his face. He hung his head, not meeting Usopp's eyes as he began to speak.

"I was working in the kitchen on a ship -not the Baratie, another ship before that- and the head cook… he was an ugly crap-head."

Sanji snarled that last part, reaching into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes.

"The crappy old man kept telling me how pretty I was. At first it seemed like compliment. Then it got creepy."

Sanji lit his cigarette and took a deep drag.

"What did he do to you?" Usopp whispered.

The sniper felt sick as his imagination raced ahead of Sanji's story.

"He pulled me out into the hall one night, after everyone had gone to sleep. The ugly crap-cook told me it wasn't fair that someone could be so pretty. 'So I'm gonna fix that,' he said."

Sanji's voice was venomous and angry as he took another long drag on his cigarette.

"He… he pulled out a knife. And…"

"And made you ugly?" Usopp asked, then slapped a hand over his mouth when he realized what he'd said.

Sanji let out a bark of bitter laughter.

"Yeah. Made half my face ugly."

For a moment, Usopp stared silently down at the angry cook. Then he plopped down next to Sanji, making the hammock sway.

"Hey," Sanji protested.

Usopp reached down and, quickly, before Sanji could push him away, moved the bangs aside once more.

"H-hey!" Sanji protested again.

His voice trailed off as Usopp's thumb gently rubbed the largest scar, brushing the cook's eyelid.

"I don't think he made you ugly," the sniper said softly. "I think he made you… more interesting."

Sanji snorted bitterly and pulled away from the sniper's touch. He turned his head, looking away to hide the small blush that spread across his fair skin. He felt inexplicably relieved.

Usopp lay back, shoving Sanji a bit to make room.

"I mean, you and Zoro are so lucky!" he said. "I wish I had cool scars! To show that I'm a real warrior."

Lying side by side in the narrow hammock, it was hard to kick Usopp, but Sanji managed to smash his heel into the sniper's shin.

"Ow!" Usopp complained. "What was that for?"

"Thanks," Sanji said softly.

"What?"

"Thanks. I think I needed to tell someone about that."

"Why not Nami or Robin?" Usopp suggested. "Girls like tragic stories like that. In fact-"

Sanji kicked Usopp's shin again.

"Ow!"

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this! Especially the girls!"

"About you eye, you mean?"

"Yeah. And about… this," Sanji added, waving his hands vaguely to indicated himself and the sniper.

"Ooohhh…" Usopp mumbled, blushing, as he realized just how close he was to the cook. Their heads, their arms, their legs were touching…

"Do you want me to leave? Or…"

"No," Sanji interrupted. "It's okay. I guess."

He took another drag from his cigarette and looked away from the sniper again.

Usopp shifted slightly, getting more comfortable, and smiled.

He'd been right. There was a good story hidden behind those golden bangs.

Of course, the Great Captain Usopp was always right.