It all sounded pretty good. Well at least the part where I get to hang out in a little quiet town for three and a half weeks with enough spare time to work on my weapons and… just, uh, monitor and relay messages back and forth between Robin and the Sunny. Yeah. That's not that hard. Well despite the fact that I'll be right smack in the middle of a marine town full of marines! That's got me a little anxious… Okay, a lot of anxious, but I-I can h-handle it. I mean I got the skills. Yeah, I'm probably the only member of this crew, well besides Robin maybe… and maybe Nami—nah, scratch that. She'd start robbin' everyone blind and then there'd be an uproar or something. Nah, I'm one in the very small percentage of this ship that can actually keep a low profile. I'll just keep my head down and keep myself distracted and all will be good. As long as I don't break cover, I'll be fine.

Nami had just finished going over the plan again, making sure that absolutely everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing, though we all know the real reason it took her so long to wrap up the meeting was because Luffy kept interrupting and asking questions. It's not that hard to figure out, really. We've reached a small hang-up on our journey through the New World. Okay, maybe small isn't the right word, but—Ugh…

We got this map on our last stop—now how we got it is its own story right there—Anyway, it's to an island that's not connected to the log pose because it's too far away from any of the closest islands near it—it's right on the edge of the Calm Belt even—and the maps a treasure map. Robin's assured everybody that it's legit so we're going for it. But we don't know how to find it 'cause we don't have a positive heading. That's until we reached the next island on the log pose. Now here's where things get complicated. There's a marine check point here and not just a normal one either. They've got this wall that spans as far as the eye can see. According to what we heard from people on the island, it's supposedly still under construction, but it spans the entire length of the Grand Line—from Calm Belt to Calm Belt—freaky, huh?

But the gate only opens once a month and only ships that get marine clearance can get through. Now, I'd like to beg the question about how other pirates have managed to get across, but it seems that nobody wants to hear it right now 'cause they're all in their strategic battle planning modes and don't want to listen to the brilliant Captain Usopp's observations. Though at the same time I wonder why Robin hasn't brought it up either.

Uh, anyway Nami's got this plan worked out where she and most of the crew sail along this man made sea wall out to the Calm Belt, using it like tethering rope, and then sail along the Calm Belt until they reach the island with the treasure on it. Meanwhile, Robin's gonna sneak inside the marine base undercover and sabotage the gate so we can get through. Thing is, both projects are going to take a lot time and that's too long to go without hearing from Robin, so Franky and I offered up our newest invention. It's a modified version of your household den den mushi that we've tricked out with some camera dials. It runs on a different frequency so the marines can't intercept our messages. The only catch is the equipment to use it is, well, uh, kinda bulky. I haven't had the time to size it down, okay? So I made a smaller one that can transmit over a shorter distance and gave it to Robin and kinda ended up volunteering myself to stay on the island and work as the middle man. I get her messages and then radio them back to the crew on the Sunny and vice a versa. That way if something happens, everybody will know about it.

Yeah, it's a pretty good plan… If Sanji didn't have to throw a fit about Robin going into the marine base all by herself…

"Why must the lovely Robin-chwan go in to such a dangerous place all by herself? You can't send a lady into a marine base like this without any kind of backup?" Sanji looks pretty upset about it, but he always gets like this whenever it involves Nami or Robin. It's normal, I know that, but—agh, uh, never mind.

Nami rubs her palm down the length of her face. "Sanji," she sighs as she says his name, "that's what Usopp's for."

I squeaked involuntarily and try to cover it up with a cough before bumbling over the word, "W-wha-a-t?!" This is the first I've heard of this. Wasn't I just the relay boy?

"You expect that coward to be any help if Robin-chan gets in trouble," Sanji yells back before realizing that he's yelling at Nami and backtracks a bit. "I mean, your plans are brilliant as always Nami-swan, no one calculates strategies quite like you, but I'm still worried about what could happen to Robin-chan when we're all so far away and can't come to assist her."

If I wasn't still stuck on the fact that—a) I'm Robin's back up?! and b) Sanji'd just taken a verbal kick at me—I'd be rolling my eyes at him. If anyone on this ship is capable of handling themselves in any given situation, it's Robin and Sanji's completely blowing this out of proportion, even for him. As luck has it, Zoro's arguing my point that Sanji's being stupid for me, which is escalating into a mini-brawl in the galley which Luffy is half attempting to join—still smiling—if not for Franky holding him back.

Nami's rubbing her face again and sighing in exasperation, but I can feel her eyes on me, peeking from between her fingers. She's got this sympathetic thing going and it's all because she's been prying.

It's been kind of my well-kept secret that Nami's invited herself to be part of and nobody besides the two of us—Hmm.. and possibly Robin 'cause she gives me those knowing looks every once in a while too—that I've got unrequited feelings for our ship's chef. Argh, I feel like such a masochist sometimes, falling complete nose-over-heels in love with the deadly love-cook that loves all women and seemingly despises all homosexuals and okama. Not that I've got anything to do with the latter… or even the former to be honest. It's just… Sanji. Besides my long standing crush that I once had for Kaya that lasted for so long and the occasional cute girls we meet, he's the only person that's made my heart beat like it's trying to shatter my rib cage or twist like it's tied to a rotating propeller. Sometimes I'd like to take a step back and yell at myself for a while for getting me into this heart wrenching situation.

It started back a while ago, maybe even back when we first met him at that sea restaurant, the Baratie; back when he first came up to our table and started swooning over Nami. He was really sharp looking—confident—and if he wasn't noodling over some girl, he actually looked really cool.

Back then I was admiring him, I think. You know, like an idol or something. He was strong and able to stand next to our captain and Zoro, who are monsters disguised at men, as an equal—something that I thought no other man could do. And he still seemed to be normal! He actually seemed to have common sense like the rest of world—again, when not in the presence of girls—but that was still more then I could say for Luffy who would tell you anything you wanted to know at the drop of a hat and Zoro who got lost just trying to find the toilet on the ship for our first few weeks together.

I don't know when those feelings started turning into something else, but I finally realized it during our trip to Skypiea when I, uh, mistakenly thought that Sanji died after the creepy god-guy shocked him with lightning. It was a completely understandable mistake given the panic stricken state I was in, not to mention we were in the presence of a tyrannical would-be god. But the moment that Nami corrected me and I heard his heart beat under my ear I felt something more than just relief. I didn't get time to think about it then, I had to protect Sanji and Nami, but later when I actually got time to sit down and ponder about it… Well, I don't need to tell you again what I discovered, do I?

Anyway, there's been a whole lot that's happened since then, and even I'm surprised to admit that my feelings haven't gone away—I mean with the way that Sanji treats me most of the time that masochist theory is starting to sound pretty plausible. Actually what freaks me out is that they've gotten even worse. Back when the crew was split up for two years, which was almost half a year ago now, I told myself that when we got back together things were going to be different. I was training just like the rest of them, they were going through a lot of changes. Sanji might not even be the same person anymore.

And when I saw him again, he had changed, a lot. So did my feelings. The damn things got stronger. And I've been coping with it. I am pretty good at wiggling my way out of sticky situations and I've managed to keep this little crush completely under wraps. Nobody's been the wiser… 'cept a certain nosey red head that's apparently known about this since before Sabaody and keeps trying to meddle.

I keep telling her I'm fine with the way things are. The moment I let the fact that I L-l..Lovv—…um, really like Sanji loose, he really will hate me. Right now we have a decent relationship. He slips me snacks and I trade him scandalous images that I've drawn of Nami and Robin in anything from swim suits to bunny girl costumes. It's a win-win situation. I get snacks and some extra time to talk to him in which he compliments my artistic skill to my heart's content and he gets… more material to jerk off to…

Which brings us back to our current moment in time where this thought propels me to slam my head against the table we're sitting at, mashing my nose, but my ego hurts more than that. It goes unnoticed because most of the crew is trying to stop the fight that's gone a bit further than a brawl. The only ones who might have noticed are the female members; I am not so sure that I care whether they notice or not since they both seem to be in the know. It seems they've both been watching me, which if anything does bother me 'cause if anyone notices them paying me extra attention, especially Sanji, there are going to be a lot more questions asked besides Luffy's.

Nami finally looks away from me and goes to stop the fight—her way… When I see the way that Nami beats him up, I start wondering who's the real masochist on our ship, me or him?

After everyone's calmed down and sitting back at the table, Sanji's still saying that Robin needs to have someone—besides "worthless" me and ouch that hurts—to stay behind to help her. Nami's tired of hearing it and I can just tell from the look on her face. She finally seems to relent.

"Fine than. If it will make you feel better; Robin, Usopp, and Sanji will stay behind on the island—"

""What!?""

I clap my hands over my mouth before I can say anymore—everyone's kind of curious why my outburst was even louder than Sanji's, especially Sanji, who's eyeing me funny—but Nami keeps it rolling, never missing a beat, and saving my bacon again by continuing unfazed which brings everyone's attention back to her.

"—have sufficient backup until the rest of us get back." She glances at me with a smile that she thinks makes her look cute, but just makes my knees start shaking under the table and a shiver run down my spine. If this is her idea of somehow deepening the bond between me and the cook that's staring at her with big pink hearts for eyes, she can keep it to herself. I don't need it.