Unrecognizable Feelings
Yes... I know... IM SORRY FORGIVE ME! *throws myself onto the ground
I'm late and I couldn't be more so (well I could have NEVER uploaded it, but I wouldn't let myself do that...)
Love you guys though~!
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. It's all Oda's. He's the genius, not me. However, I DO own Dahlia and her friends (not the Straw Hats). Thank you! Come again!
Chapter 2:
What the-!?
Colors danced into a field of flowers. A man stood with his back to her. He turned around and held out a camellia. She gasped. Sanji-san?!
Dahlia woke slowly, she wished she could have slept longer, as well as remember her dream, but she couldn't go back to sleep. She lay in bed and listened as someone entered the kitchen. Wondering who could be up so early, she crept up her ladder and cracked open the trapdoor. It was Sanji.
Fully clothed, he rolled up his sleeves and pulled out four pans. Then he walked to the fridge and pulled out a bowl full of recently bought eggs. Dahlia quietly opened the door and climbed out, closing the square hole behind her. She walked up to the counter while he dug through cabinets for mixing bowls, seasoning, and beaters. He cracked the eggs into the mixing bowls one at a time and began beating them. She stood and watched while he added seasonings and cooked them.
While they cooked, he started making rice and oats, slicing fruit, and squeezing juice. Preparing breakfast for everyone, he continued to slip around the kitchen. He grabbed two pans full of food and spun around to set them on the counter. He jumped when he saw her, who was also surprised, and a bit drowsy; she stared at him.
"Dahlia-san!" He set them down and smiled at her.
"Good morning." she answered, and smiled back.
He lit up, "Good morning~! Ah... but how long have you been standing there?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Since you first came in. Not very long."
His eyes widened. "S-since I first came in?!" He glanced at the window. "It's been at least an hour!"
Raising her eyebrows, she said, "Really?" She paused and grabbed her chin. "It doesn't seem like it. … Oh well!" She grinned.
Caught off guard, Sanji stared at her. When she noticed he wasn't looking away, she blushed and stuttered, "W-what?"
He blinked and made a throaty noise. "It's nothing..." He turned around and resumed his work.
"Well... Do you need any help?" she asked.
He answered without turning around. "No. It's alright, Dahlia-san."
"Are you sure?" She leaned a little to the side to try and see his face.
"...Yes."
"Okay... I'll just go wake up the others then..." She left the room, still attempting to look at him, but failing.
When she left, Sanji but both his hands on the counter and leaned over it. Then, he lifted one hand to his mouth. His face was hot, and quickly changing to red. His heart beat erratically in his chest.
"Wh...what is this? Is this... LOVE?!" He giggled and twirled until his friends entered the room. "Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Dahlia-san! I love you all! And I've got your breakfast right here!" He served the ladies first, then everyone else.
After breakfast, the crew scattered about the ship. Sanji went outside to pick a few tangerines after doing the dishes. Dahlia went to explore a little more since she still hadn't seen a few of the Thousand Sunny's rooms. First, she opened a door that read "Usopp Factory".
"So what do you do in here?" She asked after sitting down to watch Usopp arrange tools, many of which she had never seen before. "Did you make those?" She pointed to the tools.
"Yep," Usopp said with a satisfied grin, "I make weapons, mostly. I made one for Nami but I usually make them for myself. See?" He held up his kabuto and a handful of pachinko.
She stared at the weapon and Usopp in awe. "Wow! That's amazing!"
He rubbed his nose, "Yeah, I'd better be, if I'm gonna be a brave warrior of the sea!" He grinned.
"Wow! Really?!"
He snickered.
Usopp bragged about this and that, and told Dahlia a few of his old tall tales. When they were finished, she stood up to leave.
"I'm going to check out the rest of the ship! Thanks a lot Usopp, I had fun talking with you! Please share more stories with me again sometime!"
"Hee hee! No problem!" He gave her a thumbs-up.
Dahlia gave him a bow and returned to Sunny's deck. Next, she checked out Franky's Workshop.
"Woah, there is so much stuff in here!" She walked inside; Franky turned around at the sound of her voice and grinned.
"Hey, Miss! Need somethin'?"
She folded her hands behind her back. "No. I just wanted to see what you were up to."
"Hm...Well, check this out!" He gestured to a shape hidden under a large brown cloth.
"What is it?
"It's a super weapon I'm in the process of making. No one has seen it though, so don't tell anyone. I'll reveal it to the others later."
"Oh, okay!"
He explained to her what his main job on the ship was like, and showed her the Mini-Merry.
"What's the 'Merry'?" she asked curiously.
"She's an old friend. If you ask the others, they can explain. Brook and I joined after they lost her.
"Okay..." Dahlia gave him a confused look. "I'm going to finish looking around, if that's fine."
"Go ahead!" Franky posed for her. She giggled, waved, and left.
On deck once again, there was only one place left unseen: the crow's nest. She'd have to climb, and being in high places was not her forte. Well, I'll never find out if I don't at least try.
She took one step at a time, carefully tracking her own movements up each one. Dahlia made sure to never look down, and eventually made it to the top. She shakily lifted the hatch and climbed in. Sighing in relief, she stood up and looked around. There were large windows spaced evenly above a long couch that hugged the curved wall which formed the room. Weight racks held extremely large weights on one side, and she spotted the green-haired swordsman on the other. He was lazily lifting a 500 pound dumbbell with one arm, and staring out to sea. Not sure if she wanted to disturb him, she bit her lip and tip-toed closer.
"There somethin' you need?", he asked, without turning his gaze.
She jumped. "H-how did you...?"
He turned to look at her."Well, first, I heard you open the door. Then I hear you breathing unevenly over there, as if you were scared to death. It's pretty quiet up here, you know."
Lips slightly parted, she blinked. Then in realization, she became embarrassed and said, "H-Hahahaha... Yeah, I'm terrified of being in high places, is all." She looked at her toes.
"Yet, you came up here anyway?" He stopped lifting.
She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well normally, when people are afraid of something, they stay away from it. You came up here even though you hate heights."
Her face flushed. "W-well. I just wanted to see this room. The others said this is where you are most of the time, too, so I wanted to see where you spent your time; I'm sorry if I seem nosy. Once you get up here, though, it isn't really so bad."
"I see." Zoro returned his gaze to the sea.
Dahlia waited for him to say something else, but he remained silent. She thought it best to leave him in peace. She bowed and thanked him for letting her visit.
"Yeah."
She started for the exit, freezing halfway there.
"Too scared to climb back down?" He called out from behind her.
The red-head laughed nervously. "I think I can manage...somehow. It's fine."
Ignoring her, Zoro walked around and pulled up the hatch.
"How about I go first, in case you fall ?"
"N-n-no it's okay, I can-"
The swordsman guided her to the edge by her hand. "Come on."
She was red-faced until she looked down. She immediately regretted it and all color drained from her face. She screamed and threw herself backwards.
"La, la, la~! Making beautiful dishes for even more beautiful ladies! Ah, pure bliss!" Sanji spun around in the kitchen, making the women gelatinous snacks, decorated with various cubes of fruit and vegetables. He was delighted, wondering what kind of angelic faces they'd make when they tried his new recipe. The cook was even more excited to discover what Miss Dahlia liked the best, besides watermelon.
This happiness disappeared in less than a second, when he heard a scream. Not only a scream, but a woman's scream: Dahlia's scream. Faster than lightening, he spun on his heels and sprinted outside. Frantically searching for her location, he noticed that the door to the crow's nest was open. That stupid marimo!
Sanji darted up to the swordsman's training room. Once he poked his head inside, he froze, as did what lay before him.
Zoro caught her wrists in attempt to keep her from falling, but to no avail. He was pulled down and landed right on top of her. A bit dazed, they slowly realized something. If in the slight chance that anyone walked in, of course, they would assume he was taking advantage of her. As if fate were playing with them, immediately afterwards an even worse situation arrived – impossibly fast it would seem. The unfortunate pair froze in the presence of Sanji, who's expression became deadlier by the second.
"S-Sanji-san!" Dahlia was abruptly consumed with worry for the swordsman. The cook's face was contorted with rage and seemed as if the wrong words would send him off on a marimo killing spree. Even Zoro was shocked by how furious he looked.
The cook spoke slowly to control his voice, "What exactly were you planning to do, Zoro?"
Zoro jumped: Sanji rarely called the swordsman by his real name, and when he did, he was serious. He released his grip on Dahlia, and raised his hands up.
"H-hey, it's not what you think, okay? Just...calm down."
"CALM DOWN!? YOU STUPID MARIMO, HOW CAN I CALM DOWN!?" He lunged at Zoro and tried to strangle him. They flew back and wrestled on the floor near the wall.
In the meantime, Dahlia's eyes brimmed with tears. "Wait! Please don't fight! You two are friends!"
Soon after, Nami entered saying, "What's up? I heard you guys screaming." She noticed Dahlia near tears and asked, "What's wrong?"
"They're fighting and I don't know what to do!"
Zoro punched Sanji in the face, "Idiot, love-cook! I told you nothing happened! It was just an accident!"
Sanji kicked Zoro in the ribs, "Even so, you were laying on Dahlia-san! Even barely touching her is reason enough to kick your ass, stupid moss-head!"
The navigator sighed and said, " Don't worry about it too much. This is completely normal."
"What?" she sniffed.
Smiling, Nami replied, "Yep! I wish it wasn't true, but it is. These morons are always finding things to fight about. Although, I have to admit, Sanji-kun does look angrier than usual. What happened here?" She glanced around the room, perplexed.
"Well..." Dahlia began, "I think it was my fault. You see, without thinking, I came up here to see the room, and Zoro-san was here, so we held a short conversation. I'm terribly afraid of heights, so I was reluctant to go back down, but Zoro-san offered to help me." At this, Nami raised an eyebrow and threw Zoro a look. "Unfortunately, I panicked and fell backwards. In his attempt to catch me, however, he fell as well. It ended up as an even more awkward situation when Sanji-san came in..."
Nami snickered and mumbled, "It's almost like they're fighting over a girl."
"Sorry, I didn't catch that?"
"Nothing." She put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "If you want to stop their fighting, you can try my method. Watch."
The orange-haired woman walked to the still struggling men, held up her fists, and punched them both in the back of the head. Dahlia winced as she did it two more times and yelled at them for acting like that in front of Dahlia. She grabbed their ears and whispered menacingly into them. One grimaced, and the other swooned. Then Nami grabbed their bruised bodies and shoved them forward.
"Go on." She growled.
Sanji got on one knee and grabbed the red-head's hand. "I'm sorry for upsetting you, my sweet cherry." He finished by giving her hand a kiss, making her pink face turn red.
"No, I..." She wanted to tell them, but was too embarrassed at the moment.
After Sanji stood up, he stepped back to let the next man take his turn. No one moved or said anything until Nami became tired of waiting and slapped the back of Zoro's head.
"Ouch...! Crazy woman.." He mumbled, rubbing the new sore spot on his head. Stepping forward, the swordsman turned his eyes away and said, "Sorry..."
Dahlia gave them both sad smiles and bowed. "No. I'm sorry. It's actually my fault." She turned to the cook. "I accidentally pulled him down. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."
"Dahlia-swaaannn~!" He spun in circles.
She turned to Zoro. "I'm sorry for burdening you. If I hadn't come up without planning ahead, this wouldn't have happened."
"Yeah – Ow! Nami!" He fumed at Nami, who was pretending to be innocent. "Whatever. I'm gonna take a nap." He headed for the door.
"Don't think I won't be watching you, moss-head."
Zoro growled at him.
"But Sanji-san," Dahlia retorted, "I told you this was my mistake!"
"Maybe. But I'm not going to let it happen again."
They glared at each other until Nami announced, "I'm going to work on my maps now, so don't fight anymore! Dahlia, you can do whatever you want, and if you need anything, feel free to ask anyone you want. Zoro, I'll tell Usopp that it's his turn to look out."
Zoro and Dahlia nodded. Nami suggested that she let Sanji carry her down as another form of apology, and she could do something for Zoro later, if she thought it necessary. Dahlia agreed, which made Sanji very excited and Dahlia very embarrassed.
And so, lifted by pure happiness, Sanji floated through the air and onto the deck with the young female captain in his arms. Luffy and Robin, who were on deck at the time, watched in awe as he landed safely, and set the girl on her feet. Luffy waved his arms in excitement and Robin sat on the Sunny's railing.
"Two idiots..." Zoro murmured to himself, while going off to find a nice quiet spot on the other side of the ship.
"Sanji!" Luffy exclaimed, "How did you do that!?"
"How indeed..." Robin commented, eyes large.
"The power of... love!" The blonde chef tucked a hand in his pocket and blew cigarette smoke from his mouth.
As Luffy shouted praises and comments, Usopp and Nami walked over. Nami continued into her map room, but Usopp wanted in on the conversation, and Luffy wanted to fill him in. Robin turned her eyes to the new girl. Her cheeks were still a tad pink, but she felt more comfortable now that she was on the grassy deck, instead of high up in the crow's nest. She moved towards the figure head and stared up at the clouds.
Strange, Robin thought, Sanji has never been propelled by 'love' to float through the air...but I supposed if it is Sanji...
Robin turned her gaze back to the others, who were dispersing. When Luffy had followed the musical sounds Brook was making, to the back of the ship, and Usopp had climbed through the hatch of the crow's nest, Sanji looked as if he was going to return to the kitchen. Instead, he paused at the door. He stood there for a little over a minute.
What is he...? thought Robin.
A weak wind picked up. Robin watched as Sanji slowly turned to stare at the young red-head. Her wavy hair swayed lightly in the sea breeze, and whenever she found a cloud with an interesting shaped, her eyes brightened and her lips curved up. When her neck grew tired, she took a few more steps forward and lay down on her back. Sanji finally, but almost reluctantly, entered the galley.
Robin thought to follow him after waiting a minute longer. She wanted to have a little chat with Cook-san. He was about ready to make lunch preparations when the archaeologist slid through the door and up to the counter. She sat on a stool and folded her legs, leaning her cheek into her palm and smiling. With a wave of her hand, an arm sprouted on Sanji's back and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around surprised and expecting to see someone closer, but relaxed when he saw who it was.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Robin-chan?" He cleaned fruits with a towel as they spoke.
Nico Robin replied, "Why yes, Cook-san, there is. Can you tell me what your thoughts were when you were bringing Miss Dahlia to the deck? I am merely curious."
He raised his eyebrows, "Yes...?"
"You seemed happier than usual, while embracing her."
Sanji stared at her.
"You know, I saw you watching her before you came in here just a moment ago."
He continued to stare.
"Are you getting any of this, Cook-san?" She crossed her arms on the counter. She was almost beginning to wonder if Luffy's personality were rubbing off on him.
He blinked twice. "A-ah, yes. Although, I don't know what you are implying..." He trailed off, completely confused as to why Robin was bringing this up at all.
"It's only been twenty-four hours or so, but sometimes, all it takes is a day." She beamed at him with hopeful eyes.
After more – slightly annoying- silence, Sanji finally got the picture. Unfortunately, he wasn't on the same channel as Robin.
"I got it!" He snapped his fingers. "I think I understand now!"
Robin smiled patiently.
"Robin-chan, could it be...!?" His eyes were replaced by hearts, "You're jealous!? Robin-chan, if you wanted me to carry you, too, you only need to say so-"
Crack.
Sanji fell to the floor unconscious, and Nico Robin slid right back out the door.
Author's End Note:
SO MUCH BLUSHING!
Well, I hope you liked it! ;D
I intended on making this longer, but I figured since I couldn't think of anything anyway, that there was no point in making you (or me) wait longer for this to be released! … I hope it didn't end too abruptly for you, but THATS LIFE! MUAHAHAHAHA! .. ahem..
Try not to forget, I don't mind criticism, but its okay if you dont give me any becuaase you know how PERFECT I AM! AHAHAHAHAHA!
See you next time! I hope I don't take as long on chapter three, eheheh.. which is what YOU should be saying! (if you like it, that is)
Thank you! :D