I'm sorry for the late update guys. To put bluntly: Shit happens. Also, I've been doing DeviantArt a lot more now-a-days…kind of fallen out of fanfiction. So, if you ever wonder where I am, or what I'm doing, or if you just wanna chat or something, either go there (PhantomRed17 is the name) or go to Tumblr and shot me a message. But don't think I've forgotten about finishing this, and the Oneshots, and the sequel! It's just going to take a lot longer than I anticipated for me to get back into the swing of things. Apologies.

And for those who have stuck around this long, I really thank you. I know I'm not the most…dependable when it comes to updating frequently. But I thank you for trusting me thus far, and sticking around for this long. It really means a lot to me. And please enjoy this chapter.

Zetsumei turned in her half-awake state, having full intention of returning to sleep, but was unable to because of the strange emptiness beside her. She reached out a hand towards her partner, but felt nothing. Zetsumei slowly opened her eyes and found that the reason for this was because Sanji was slipping on his shoes.

"What are you doing?" Zetsumei asked, holding back a chuckle. The look on his face made her believe he had just been caught red-handed.

"I was just about to go fix breakfast," Sanji answered in a low whisper. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I was trying not to—"

"It's fine," Zetsumei interrupted. She smiled, sitting up for the time being. "Are you sure you can't stay a bit longer?"

Sanji's expression soured. If he didn't have a responsibility to the others for feeding them, and if he didn't fear Luffy burning down the Sunny, he would have gotten back under the sheets with Zetsumei and slept until afternoon. But he couldn't, which disappointed him.

Zetsumei laughed, knowing exactly what Sanji was thinking.

"I understand," Zetsumei said. "You have your responsibility. But we still have our day out today, right?"

"Of course," Sanji answered with a bright smile. "I'm all yours today, Princess. And nothing will get in the way of that!" He leaned down and kissed Zetsumei on the cheek. Though he was reluctant, Sanji turned and headed towards the door.

"Ah, Sanji!" Zetsumei yelled, getting the chef to stop.

"Yes, Zetsumei~?" he sung, turning back to her with a large grin on his face.

Zetsumei felt the weight grow in her chest once again. She wasn't able to say it. All she managed was, "Can you and I talk after breakfast? I...have something that I need to say."

"Of course," the chef sung again. "I'll always make time for my sweet~!" After running back and giving Zetsumei another kiss, he left the room to get to the kitchen. Zetsumei had never seen him act so cheerful before, which only made what she needed to tell him ten times worse.

After showering and getting dressed into a pair of cut-off shorts with an orange and yellow patterned flannel, Zetsumei entered the dining area to find all her friends gathered around the table. As per usual, Luffy was chowing down the meal with speed, tending to send some food onto the table from his mouth, as the others gathered around and ate at their own pace while conversing with each other. Usopp, Chopper, Brook, and Franky were all laughing with each other; Robin and Nami were having a calm discussion with each other, even over the yelling; and Zoro was arguing with Sanji who was still by the stove. Everyone seemed to quiet down and stop for a moment when they heard the door shut.

"Good morning, everyone," Zetsumei said with a smile. She walked up to the table and took the empty chair beside Chopper near the end of the table.

"Morning," everyone chimed before returning to eat.

"Did you sleep well last night, Zetsumei?" Chopper asked, turning his head to the marine.

"It was good," Zetsumei replied with another smile.

"I bet so," Nami said. Zetsumei looked the navigator's way to find the young woman smiling mischievously, as if she knew something the others didn't, which was very likely.

Pretending she didn't know anything, and most likely to rile the others, Robin asked, "Where were you last night? Your bed was empty this morning."

Zetsumei opened her mouth to answer, but Luffy spoke before she could.

"You too?" the young captain said with a scowl. "Sanji was gone last night too. Did you two go out without telling us?"

"Whether we did or not is none of your business, Luffy!" Sanji said from the kitchen. "You don't need to know everything we do."

"L-Luffy," Usopp said with a nervous chuckle and a blush on his cheeks, "I don't think we need to butt into this..."

"They spent the night together in the Aquarium Bar," Zoro said as he continued to eat. The others who had pried into the conversation all turned to him. Many seemed shocked that he knew this.

"Really?" Brook asked, perking his head.

"Well, congratulations!" Franky chimed with a hearty laugh, getting Robin to chuckle from beside him. Zetsumei, however, wasn't too happy with the implication. Luckily, it went in one ear and out the other for many of the others gathered.

"You guys had a sleepover?" Luffy questioned with a tilt of his head. He scowled again and looked to the chef in the kitchen. "Hey, Sanji, if you and Soumei had a sleepover, you should have told the rest of us! We could have joined."

"Not a chance," the chef snarled towards Luffy. "The whole point was that you guys weren't around!"

"They wanted to be by themselves, Luffy," Usopp explained.

"Exactly," Zetsumei mumbled, taking a drink of her tea. No one had listened to her.

"How did you know they were together last night, Zoro?" Chopper asked, looking to the swordsman.

"I overheard them talking about it," the swordsman answered calmly.

"You eavesdropped on us?!" Sanji shouted, exiting the kitchen and returning to the table. Zetsumei rested a hand on Sanji's arm, keeping him from going for Zoro to start a fight.

"You two deserved some time with each other," Robin said with a smile. "You haven't gotten much of a chance to."

"That's right," Franky said. "With Zets's constant checkups, and Sanji always running off to work, you two never got the time for a getaway."

"What was with all those checkups anyway?" Usopp asked curiously, turning his head to Chopper and the former marine beside him.

Chopper frowned, scrunching his eyebrows. He looked to Zetsumei, but she looked uninterested in the conversation completely. They deserved an answer though, Chopper thought. Chopper opened his mouth to give them just that, but Zetsumei spoke before he could as if she had been paying attention the whole time.

"Just making sure everything is alright," Zetsumei said monotonously. She stood to her feet, and piled her empty dishes together, taking them to the kitchen sink without explaining further.

"I would have done that, Zetsumei," Sanji said, turning his head towards the former marine. She was acting a bit strangely that morning, he noticed.

"It's alright," the former marine replied with a small smile over her shoulder. "It's the least I can do for such a wonderful meal again." As expected, the chef fell into swooning mode, completely ignoring the strange behavior Zetsumei was showing. Zetsumei ignored it, as did many of the others, and headed towards the door to leave. But Zetsumei only managed to get her hand onto the handle before someone stopped her.

"Where are you going, Zetsu?" Usopp asked, shooting her a confused look. "You just got here, and you're already leaving?"

"Yeah," Nami said in agreement. "We've hardly seen you. Stay a bit longer, would ya?"

"Zetsumei…" Chopper said softly, a scowl and frown on his face. He was going to ask for the former marine to stay as well, hoping that maybe she would tell everyone the big news while she was there, but Zoro interrupted before Chopper could say anything further.

"If she wants to go just let her," Zoro said with a scoff, not even bothering to lift his head.

Zetsumei glanced towards the swordsman, but soon looked back to the others watching her, and put a smile up for them.

"I have some things that need to be done before tomorrow," she said. "I'll just talk with you all later, alright?" Zetsumei then left without another word, and before anyone else could say anything to her.

Chopper sighed and turned back to his breakfast. But he soon found himself unable to finish when his stomach began turning in knots. It grew worse as the discussion circling around the table progressed further.

"I guess Zets is really looking forward to leaving tomorrow," Franky said with a shrug before turning back to the table.

"Yeah," Usopp chuckled. "She's been cooped-up on this island for a couple of weeks."

Luffy scowled in confusion, mouth stuffed full of food as he spoke. "What are you guys talking about?"

"We're just saying how much Zetsu must be looking forward to leaving tomorrow," Usopp answered.

"Don't tell me you forgot, Luffy?" Nami said.

"I didn't forget," Luffy countered, swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Zets is probably looking forward to us leaving more than you are, Luffy," Franky added with a chuckle.

Luffy seemed genuinely confused. "But Soumei's not coming with us."

Everyone seemed to fall silent, shocked by this news. Sanji was the one most surprised by this news. And just like Usopp, he didn't take it seriously.

Usopp laughed. "Come on, Luffy, don't joke with us like that."

"He's not joking."

Everyone looked to the door to see Zetsumei standing there, hands in her pockets as if she had been there this whole time. She smiled wearily at them and said with a shrug, "I left my book behind, so I came to get it when I overheard everyone."

"What do you mean he's not joking?" Usopp asked with a confused scowl.

"It has to be a joke, right?" Nami asked with a weak laugh. "You wouldn't leave after all this, right?"

Zetsumei looked to everyone before her eyes rested on Sanji, who stood near the counter. He seemed to be the most confused out of everyone present, which wasn't much of a surprise. It pained her to see, and it pained her that she couldn't reassure him this was all just a bad joke.

"What Luffy said is true," Zetsumei said once again. "When the Sunny leaves port tomorrow, I won't be on it."

"Why?" Brook asked.

Sanji had been the one who wanted to ask why, but he found himself not able to speak. He could only listen.

Zetsumei stepped towards the table. "Because I need to." Zetsumei looked down to her feet momentarily before continuing. "I'm sure you've all noticed that my health has not been the best these past couple of days. The reason for that is because…" She took a deep breath, finding this to be a lot harder to say, especially with the blonde staring at her carefully from across the room. "Because the mine's poison has yet to leave my system. The antidote Belduke gave me did very little to help." Seeing the grim faces around the table, Zetsumei felt the need to explain further. "Belduke has begun working on another. It's just…it won't be done by the time you leave tomorrow."

"So…" Nami mumbled. "You're going to be alright…?"

Zetsumei nodded her head. "I should be."

This didn't reassure anyone.

"Then why can't we stay and wait?" Sanji asked, finally finding his voice again. He became hopeful. "We can just leave after you're better. It's not like a couple of more days are going to kill us."

"And if it's not a couple of days?" Zoro interrupted. "It could be weeks, months, even years. You're just going to put off all that we've worked for just in the hopes that she'll be able to sail with us again? That's stupid."

Sanji felt a bit angry at this, and snapped, speaking in the heat of the moment. "I don't care how long it would be! I hear that the woman I love is still infected with a deadly poison, and you're just telling me that I'm supposed to leave her behind. I'm not doing that! If you want to leave then go right ahead, but I'm not going if it means leaving her behind!"

"Sanji!" Chopper yelled, looking to the chef. "What about your dream of seeing the All-Blue?"

"I would give—" Sanji's words cut off abruptly when he felt a sharp sting against his left cheek. It took him a moment to realize that Zetsumei had slapped him. He put a hand to his cheek and turned to the former marine, heart sinking further down at her next words, and the dark glare placed on her face.

"If you finish that sentence," she said through her teeth, narrowing her eyes darkly, "I will never forgive you…" Zetsumei knew the words hurt; hell, they hurt for her to say. But she knew that if the chef had continued, he would have regretted it, and that was something she would never want.

Zetsumei lowered her hand, forming a fist at her side as her gaze softened and she turned away.

"I want you all to leave me behind," she said gently. She turned her head towards the others at the table. "As much fun as sailing with all of you would be, and as much as I would like to stay with you… I can't. I'm needed here. And that's what I want."

"You're saying you want to stay here?" Robin asked with a curious tilt of her head.

Zetsumei gave a weak smile. "Somewhere within me there's still a Marine. And as a Marine, I have a responsibility to uphold my duty: to help people who need it, just like the people here. I want to help people who are, and were, just like me and the people here in the hopes that one day I would be able to see an era of peace, where people could stop living in fear. And" —her smile left her face— "I can't accomplish this as long as I stay."

Everyone fell into a deep silence. No one could find anything to say. Though they were happy Zetsumei found something she truly wanted to accomplish, they all wished it didn't mean leaving the crew, and Sanji wished it didn't mean she would leave his side.

Robin was the first to break the silence, sending the former marine one of her main bright smiles.

"It's an admirable goal," the archaeologist said in understanding.

"We wish you the best of luck, Zetsumei-san," Brook followed, tears flowing off his face.

The others, who couldn't voice their opinions in fear of breaking into tears, all nodded their heads in agreement.

Zetsumei smiled, and nodded her head in appreciation. She looked back over her shoulder to Sanji, who remained looking at the floor with a sullen look. Zetsumei frowned, and opened her mouth to speak, but Luffy spoke ahead of her.

"Hey, Sanji," the young captain chirped, "can I have some more pancakes?"

"Luffy!" Nami scolded in a whisper. "Don't—"

"Yeah," Sanji answered unexpectedly, making everyone turn their head. "I can make you some more. It'll be a few minutes." As he turned to head back to his post, he met eyes with Zetsumei, but felt unable to keep contact. His gaze lowered to the floor as he returned to the confines of the kitchen.

Zetsumei wasn't the only one who knew the cook was putting up a front, but there was little she could do.

"Zetsumei?" Chopper called, getting the former marine's attention. The look on her face didn't go unnoticed by him.

Zetsumei looked back to Chopper, and smiled to ease his concern.

"I have some packing to do," Zetsumei said quietly, patting the young reindeer on the head. "I'll talk with you later, alright?" After grabbing the book she had left, Zetsumei turned her back to Chopper and left the kitchen before Chopper could even give a reply.

Zetsumei picked up another shirt from the drawer, and put it in the suitcase beside the others she had gathered. When hearing a knock on the door, Zetsumei turned her head to see Nami and Robin at the door. She smiled towards them.

"Do you need any help, Zetsumei?" Nami asked rather quietly. The navigator was trying her best to act like she usually did, but it was hard.

"I'm almost done," Zetsumei said, placing another shirt from the drawer into the suitcase. "A few more things, and I'm done." She looked back over her shoulder to the boxes sitting near the closet. "I was surprised, looking earlier, it seemed like so much more was around."

Robin stepped around the edge of the bed, taking a look around the room. There were empty spaces here and there. The dresser on one side at been cleaned out, and the closet has empty hangers, making gaps between the other clothes being hung.

"It looks a bit empty without all of your belongings," the woman said, taking a seat on the edge of Zetsumei's bed.

"It kind of makes this all a reality," Nami said with a weak chuckle. "It's a shame you're leaving, Zetsumei. It's gonna be hard keeping control over the guys when you're not around."

"I did very little to control them in the first place," Zetsumei chuckled. She lowered her head, dropping the white shirt from her hands. "But I suppose I feel the same..." She chuckled, taking a seat on the bed herself. "I've gotten quite used to being around here."

"You've become part of the crew," Robin said. "But this won't be the last time we see you, will it?"

"We wouldn't allow it," Nami said with a wink. Zetsumei couldn't help but laugh.

The mood quickly shifted, turning strained and thick. Nami and Robin darted their eyes to each other, and after a minute or two of silence, Nami decided to speak again.

"Don't you think you were a little too harsh with him?" she asked hesitantly.

Zetsumei raised her head, darting her eyes from Nami to Robin back to Nami. At first, she was confused about who Nami was talking about, but it clicked soon enough. She shifted her eyes away, looking somewhat guilty.

"I did him a favor," Zetsumei said rather harshly, standing back to her feet and turning back to her packing. She had that familiar 'strictness' attitude about her. "Had he continued, he would have regretted it."

"Zetsumei," Nami said angrily, "he reacted just how you would have expected him to after a bombshell like that!"

"I don't understand," Robin said in a moment of thought. "I assumed he would have been the first one out of all of us to know. Why didn't you tell him?"

Zetsumei was slow to answer.

"I was going to tell him yesterday," the former marine explained. "But I just…" She sighed, dropping her arms at her side. That 'marine' air about her was gone, leaving a sullen and broken woman behind. "I just couldn't… I couldn't take away that smile just yet..."

Nami and Robin shared a guilty glance.

"I get that it was for his own benefit," Nami said sternly. "And I'm sure he understands that too." She pointed a finger. "But you really hurt him, Zetsumei. He's torn up about this! You need to realize that you're not alone in anything anymore, and your decisions don't just affect you, but they affect him as well."

Zetsumei shifted her eyes to floor. She couldn't believe that she was being told off by someone so young. But she couldn't deny that Nami was right. She had really wrecked things.

"You should go talk to him," Robin suggested kindly. "I'm sure he wants to talk to you. And it may clear up some things if you both speak your minds."

"And apologize!" Nami said angrily, putting her hands on her hips. "Don't have this relationship go down the drain after all of our hard work!"

Zetsumei was confused, and was just about to complain that no one had anything to do with her decision about her relationship with the cook. But Robin interrupted.

"We'll finish up here for you," Robin said with a smile. "You should probably go before our cook does something drastic."

Zetsumei took a moment before finally agreeing that she needed to go and fix this situation. She left the room without anything more to say.

He could only remain affixed in his position, eyes staring blankly down at the wood floor with a cigarette hanging limply from his mouth. He didn't notice ash fall onto his clothes, and he didn't notice how short his cigarette had gotten. But that was probably because he didn't care.

Zetsumei rounded the corner, and stopped in her tracks at seeing the cook. Her eyes dropped sullenly, and her arms wrapped around her torso. It was much worse than she had originally imagined. She had broken him. And though she knew she needed to fix this, most of all she needed him to see reason.

Zetsumei exited her hiding place around the corner, and approached him.

Sanji jumped, startled when a hand touched his head, running fingers through his hair. He looked up just as Zetsumei got to her knees, sitting beside him and continuing to run her hand through his hair affectionately.

"Zetsumei…" he mumbled. Sanji tried showing his best smile towards her, but it ended up looking more like a wince then a smile. "Was there something you needed? A snack? Or a drink? I'd be happy to fix you—" He cut himself off when Zetsumei brushed her other hand against his cheek, fingers just ghosting over the skin. He wasn't expecting Zetsumei to suddenly pinch his cheek and pull it roughly.

"Ow, ow, ow!" the chef went, cigarette falling from his mouth. Zetsumei released him, his cheek snapping back. He looked back to Zetsumei, eyes watering as he tried rubbing the pain away from his newly red cheek. He was surprised to see her glaring at him.

"What was that for…?" he asked sullenly.

Zetsumei's brows scrunched further together.

"If you're going to smile at me, then actually mean it!" she snapped. "Otherwise, don't bother." Her eyes softened. "Don't put up a front in front of me."

At first, Sanji was surprised by Zetsumei. But slowly, a frown returned to the chef's face, and his eyes lowered to look to the ground. His hand dropped from his cheek, returning to lay in his lap.

"I'm sorry, Zetsumei," Sanji said.

Zetsumei gave a small sigh with a shake of her head. This wasn't going in the direction she wanted.

The silence fell between them once more. Looking to the chef, Zetsumei saw it was clear he wasn't going to say anything. He had no heart.

"That's why I didn't tell you."

Sanji raised his head once again, looking to the stoic marine beside him. Her expression was empty, but her words were somehow gentle and reassuring.

"That look on your face," Zetsumei clarified. "I didn't tell you because I knew that was the look you would give me." Zetsumei turned to her lap, fiddling with her hands. "I was a coward. I didn't have the heart to take away that smile. I figured if I waited a little longer...then maybe I could avoid it entirely. But..." She sighed. "I wouldn't blame you if you were angry…"

"I can't be angry with you, Zetsumei," Sanji said with a brief smile. "I understand… I would have most likely done the same, but… I just don't want to leave you knowing that something is still wrong."

"I know," Zetsumei said. "But you can't stay." Zetsumei smiled at the blonde. "You need to continue forward. Because seeing you accomplish your dream is the most important dream I have."

Sanji was surprised by Zetsumei's words, so surprised it drew him to tears.

Zetsumei chuckled, reaching out a hand to wipe his face. "I didn't mean to make you cry by saying that."

"But, Zetsumei," he mumbled. He hugged her tightly, surprising her. "It means so much to me that you say that! I swear I will accomplish my dream for you. And no matter how much time passes, every ounce of my heart will still belong to you! I love you so much!"

Zetsumei rolled her eyes, but despite that she still had a smile on her face. She doubted her feelings would ever change, even if their time apart was longer than expected.

"You're smothering me, Cherry Boy," Zetsumei said with a chuckle, patting his shoulder.

Sanji quickly pulled away, apologizing profusely for hurting her, but there was little harm done. Zetsumei was pleased to see him acting somewhat himself again.

"It's good to see you back to being yourself," Zetsumei told him with a loving smile. She stood to her feet, stretching before holding out a hand towards him. "Now, should we get our day properly started?"

Sanji scowled, confused. Zetsumei couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you telling me you forgot about all your hard work for today's date?" Zetsumei said.

"Are you sure you want to spend your last day on the Sunny with me, Zetsumei?" the blonde asked. "I wouldn't be mad if you wanted to spend it with everyone else."

"No," Zetsumei said, pulling the chef to his feet. She dusted off his suit and straightened his tie, smiling up at him. "This day belongs to you, and I would have it no other way."

Sanji couldn't help but smother her in hugs once again.

This chapter was a real pain in the ass to write. I did my best, so don't be so harsh, alright?