A.N.: Hi, this is the teaser to a story I've been working on for over a year now. It'll be sort of long and while I haven't completely finished it yet, I do know what's going to happen, so suggestions, while appreciated, probably won't be used. This is basically a "what if" story, one my brain came up with while thinking about the end of the series and what might happen afterwards. Not what I think will happen, but a possibility, I guess. If this is what Oda decided to do with it, I'd probably be disappointed. Anyway, it's something I needed to write, I guess, and if anyone else gets anything out of it, then that's a bonus. Comments and critiques are encouraged (provided they're constructive; "you suck" really doesn't help me, I need to know why, so be specific), and thanks for reading. Rating for swearing (it's Sanji, how could there not be swearing?), some mature themes later on, and generally being slightly more morose and less cheerful than the actual series. Sorry in advance.
"Over the bridge we go
Looking for love"
– "New Age"
Velvet Underground
The tiny island of Cocoyashi had sat for years, undiscovered by most of the rest of the world in the western part of East Blue. It had taken a now legendary fight to garner the notice of the pirate-watchers who came in droves to see the place where Arlong had fallen to an unknown upstart. They had come for the novelty, but they came back for the warm breeze, the white sand, and the friendly locals. When that young upstart had somehow managed to claim the title of Pirate King, a title previously left unfilled in the wake of the great Gol D Roger, it seemed that the tourist business had picked up almost overnight. This tiny island, once caught in the grip of evil, its inhabitants barely scraping by, was now a thriving seat of overpriced shops, fine dining, and screaming toddlers with sunburnt parents. Gosa Village harbored the most tourists, having been destroyed not long before the man who would be Pirate King had come, and still showed some of its scars in the historical district. No one payed as much attention to the tiny village of Cocoyashi, only a few miles away, which was how the residents seemed to want it anyway. Gosa was where the action had happened and was within easy walking distance from the ruins of Arlong Park.
Besides, Gosa had bar none the best restaurant on the island. There were rumors that the owners had been pirates under the infamous Luffy, but no one really believed it; what would two ex-pirates be doing running a restaurant in a place like that? No, it was just something to titillate the kids and keep them from acting up too much at the table. Behave yourself or the pirates will get you, their parents would say, hiding smiles behind their menus. The real draw was the dish selection– dishes from all over the world, some places most people had never even heard of, but they were all first-rate faire. No pirate could possibly cook like that, it was ludicrous. Of course, if anyone had expressed that thought to one of the wait staff, it would have earned them an incredulous look; if they'd felt that man's foot connect to their head, they might have been forced to rethink their assessment. Normal people couldn't kick like that. Of course, of the two owners it was better by far to take the kick from their head chef than to face the woman. She was scarier than any pirate they could think of but she ran a good restaurant and when all was said and done, most of them wouldn't dream of working anywhere else.