A Demon on the Sunny
Summary: I was on the Merry a few years ago, so why not come on the Sunny as well? Will I have grown up at all? The answer is hell no (although I have gotten tons better at writing)! Sanjixme fluff! Woo!
Disclaimer: I still don't own One Piece. I keep asking for the rights, but Oda is stubborn.
Chapter 2: Point the bow to the sky!
As the hours passed (my loophole doesn't work very fast), I helped Sanji with lunch. I made my famous Chicken and Rice soup and Peanut Butter Monkey Bread for dessert.
"When did you learn to cook?" Sanji asked as he diced the freshly cooked chicken and added it to the boiling pot of broth.
I added flour and milk to a bowl and stirred it until it was smooth. When that was done, I added it to the soup and stirred it as it came to a boil. The milk combined with the flour made sure the soup was a nice thick consistency. "I just threw this together one night when I was hungry. I originally wanted to make a chicken and potato soup, but we were out of potatoes, so I looked up recipes for chicken soup and came across this recipe. I love it! I also love to cook. I have you to thank for that, actually."
"Me?" Sanji asked. I smiled, offering him a spoonful. "This is wonderful, Kerri-chwan!
"That makes me so happy!" I said. "I'm glad you like it. I saw you cooking on One Piece and you looked so happy! Since then, I've loved cooking because it makes me really happy too. I need some happiness in my life. These last few years have been rough."
"You'll always have me and the crew." Sanji hugged me. I smiled. Over the past seven years, I'd been dealing with severe depression, an eating disorder, and other things. One Piece had always been there for me. Whenever I felt like the whole world was going to explode around me, I could pop in a One Piece DVD and forget about my troubles for a few hours before reluctantly returning to the real world.
I held onto Sanji for a bit longer and then found my smile again. "Okay, enough sad shit. Let's go call everyone for lunch. While they're eating, I can put the Monkey Bread in the oven."
"Aye, aye, Kerri-chan!" Sanji said and ran outside to inform the crew lunch was ready. I took a few seconds to marvel at the new spacious kitchen of the Sunny. It was so much bigger than the one on the Merry. It was clear Sanji took pride in running it. He was such a master in the kitchen. It was hard to believe he was letting me cook here. Me being a girl probably had 99% to do with it, but, still, I felt honored.
"It looks great!" Luffy said as he gum-gum rocketed in, landing in a chair. I remembered what Sanji had said about serving the ladies first. It was his number one rule. Luffy must've known this, but that didn't stop him from sneaking a glance around and trying to grab the ladle. Sanji sent him in the wall with a swift kick.
"Nami, Robin, or Kerri haven't sat down yet!" He sighed. "You'll never learn, will you?"
"But I'm the captain!" Luffy complained weakly, slumped over the table like he was minutes away from starvation. I chuckled.
"Oh, shut up, you'll live. Besides, it's my kitchen." Sanji said. I added salt and pepper to the soup, stirred it, and sat down. True to his word, Sanji served Nami, Robin, and me first. Despite this, Luffy was done with his first bowl in minutes.
"This is amazing, Kerri!" Luffy exclaimed. The rest of the crew had similar things to say.
"Maybe we can replace Shitty Eyebrow, after all." Zoro said, drinking the last of his soup.
I glared at him. "You even think of replacing Sanji, and I will give 'The List' to every Sanji fangirl there is!" For those who don't know, The List is my list of ways to annoy Zoro I came up with a long time ago. Currently there are 166 ways to annoy him. I haven't added to it in a while because apparently I'm an adult and am required to actually do things beside come up with ways to annoy a fictional green-haired swordsman.
He froze. He clearly remembered The List. "You wouldn't dare."
I turned deadly serious. "Do not mess with my Sanji-kun. There's no telling what I might do."
Zoro flinched. Usopp hid under the table. Chopper pulled his hat over his eyes.
Luffy laughed. "Guys, don't worry. It'll be okay. Kerri would never actually hurt us."
I grinned. "Of course not,"
The timer dinged on the oven a few minutes after everyone was done eating and Sanji pulled out dessert. In no time flat, plates were drifting off the table on a river of Luffy drool. Robin sprouted hands to catch them as they fell off the edge. "Luffy, you idiot! That's disgusting! Show some damn manners! Robin, thank you, my dear!" Sanji flipped the bunt pan onto a plate and served us each a piece. "It looks delicious!"
"Tastes great!" Luff replied, stuffing it all in his mouth at once.
Sanji sighed. "You didn't even look at what you're stuffing in your face, did you?"
"It all comes out the same!" Luffy replied.
I laughed. "That sounds familiar."
Half an hour later, I was helping Sanji wash dishes when Nami poked her head in the door. "Sanji, you'll want to get dishes done soon and tie everything down. We're reaching the Knock-up Stream. Funny, how we didn't a South bird this time." I grinned.
"Thank you for the heads-up, Nami, sweet!" Sanji said as he sped up his dish-washing with the speed of love. I chuckled at his willingness to make Nami happy. Most of the time, I saw Nami as someone who used and took Sanji for granted, but there were, albeit very few, times where I could see she truly cared for Sanji. Sanji deserved all the happiness in the world. Nami made him happy. That was all the proof I needed to see Nami was right for him.
I helped Sanji tie all the cupboards shut so the dishes and food would stay inside. I ran outside to the deck to see what was happening. The sky was dark and cold. The rain was coming down in buckets so thick I could barely see, but then I heard the rumbling. It was the Knock-up Stream!
"Woohoo! I can't wait!" I shouted into the wind. Nami barked out orders and the crew moved seamlessly, working together like a well-oiled machine. I helped Usopp and Chopper tie down the storage on deck. I felt the ship rise into the air, carried up on the pillar of water. My heart raced as excitement zinged up and down my spine.
"This is so exciting. My heart is racing! Although I suppose I don't have a heart anymore! YOHOHOHOHO!" Brook laughed.
"Hang on tight!" Sanji said as his arm encircled my waist. His other hand was firmly gripping the railing. He grinned at me. "Having fun?"
"Yes! This is amazing!" I replied, taking a deep breath. Sanji held me tighter. It felt like forever and my lungs felt as though they would burst before we finally broke the surface of the clouds.
Sanji coughed. "You okay?"
"Yea, that was fun despite almost drowning! I never thought you could drown in the clouds!" The smile wouldn't leave my face. Sanji smiled and went to check on Nami and Robin. I saw Chopper, Brook, and Luffy passed out on deck and thought they deserved more attention than Nami and Robin at the moment. They seemed fine, though Robin looked a little shaky.
"That was awesome!" Luffy shouted, having made a split second recovery. I chuckled.
"Did I die again?" Brook asked.
"That was SUPER!" Franky said, striking a pose.
Looking around, I saw we were surrounded by white, fluffy clouds. The air was thin, but I assumed I'd get used to it like Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy had done quickly after facing Wyper.
Then I heard it. The golden bell of Shandora.
Author's note: Woo! I loved the Skypeia arc and can't wait to try out Sanji's stew before gold-hunting! Please review!
