HEY 8D!

Juuuuust to be sure, here's the name of the author that has a story posted about the Straw Hats going to the modern world.

JackJackJackie2.

Inspiration is a wonderful thing, I tell you.

Thank you for your support C:! *Wiggles*

"Oh…hey, mom…and dad."

Ivy's parents stood at the door, dumbstruck. Her dad's hair was as wild and brown as hers, but his glare interrupted Sanji's observation. The mother looked young to have a daughter Ivy's age, in Sanji's opinion, and looked more confused than angry. She walked towards the cook, who had a little dab of the soup on his chin. As she got closer, her eyes grew in size, giving Sanji an uneasy feeling.

"Holly mother of nature…" she whispered, now squinting. She grabbed Sanji by the shoulders and turned him around to make sure she scanned every inch of his body. Leaning forward, she stared right into his eyes.

"Sanji…?" she said at last. Ivy raised her eyebrows and let out a confused "Ehh?!"

"Mom, you know him?" Ivy asked, as muddled as ever. Her mom nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, I do! I might've been legally an adult when this show began, but I was a full-pledged One Piece fan," her mom explained, now laughing. She gave Sanji a rather harsh slap on his back. "Though, when you started getting into your teenage years, things kinda went crazy, and I haven't watched that show since."

"Why did I not know of this…?" Ivy whispered to herself. Laughing nervously, she gave her mother an apologetic glance. "But uhm…mom. He's real. Aren't you…I don't know, surprised?"

"Well, heck yeah, I'm surprised!" she said, now poking Sanji's eyebrow repetitively, making him back away in irritation. "I'm actually fully convinced I'm dreaming right now, sweetie."

"Trust me, you are not," Ivy groaned. The father cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention. He gently took off his coat before walking towards Sanji, who hadn't said a word since their arrival.

"Get out," the father said, plain and simple. Sanji cocked an eyebrow skeptically. Ivy gulped quietly as she reached out towards her father's arm.

"Dad, I uh…" she began, but paused as she thought how ridiculous it was that she was about to defend a boy she met a couple of hours ago.

Her father waited patiently for her defense, but the look in his eyes told her she was better off not trying. Slowly, she pulled her hand back and refused to look at the cook that had kindly cooked her very favorite dish. With a small sigh, she clumsily threw the wooden spoon into the sink.

"Sir, madam," Sanji broke the silence with a charming smile. "I'm sorry for intruding. You see, this may be hard to believe, but according to your daughter, I'm an anime character. I'll only be here for a week or so."

"Oh, my," Ivy's mother whispered, her expression showing she genuinely believed that she was dreaming. Ivy whined quietly. Her dad was definitely not going to believe him. In fact, he was so mad that Sanji was "mocking" him that he ended up snapping.

"Get out!" he yelled. Ivy gave Sanji a hurried pat on his back, leading him out of the kitchen. She told him to wait before dashing up the stairs. Sanji awkwardly stood by the door, making sure he didn't do anything else to get her in trouble. Once she returned, a big bag was in her hand, which she sheepishly tried hiding. Sanji stepped out of the door, Ivy following closely behind

"Ivy, you are not going out with him," her father commanded with a clench of his fist.

"Let me at least get him a cab," she demanded. He was about to protest when her mom interfered, saving them. With that, Ivy and Sanji made their way out the gate. The cook wasn't quite sure why her dad was so angry, since all they were doing were eating. On the other hand, if they'd been caught kissing…

Sanji wiggled.

"I'm sorry, Sanji," Ivy said, interrupting the cook's line of…well…imaginations, "Really."

"Nothing to worry about, Ivy-chan. Trust me when I say I've gone through much worse," he reassured her with a laugh. She gave him a half-hearted smile before opening the bag and taking out a sweatshirt, a pair of old sunglasses, and a winter hat.

"I was in a hurry, couldn't get you anything better," she apologized, handing the clothes over to him. When he finished dressing and ending up looking like a complete idiot, she led him away from her house and towards the main street.

"There's a cheap hotel not very far from here. You could stay there for the time being," she told him. "Oh, right…do you need money for that?"

"Ah, no, I've got that covered."

He hoped.

Ivy nodded, but her mind seemed to be wondering off. As they approached the main street, she noticed Sanji slowly walk away from her, as he was being attracted by a group of girls not very far from where they were standing.

"Sanji! Dammit…" Ivy gasped, grabbing him by his collar before she lost track of him. Giving the hopeless cook a glare, she pointed towards the moving objects on the street.

"These things are called cars," she explained, trying to make him snap out of his love-state. "They take you to places. And the yellow cars with the word Taxi printed on them can take you wherever you want, but you need to pay. Now…when you see one, just wave your hand and they'll stop to get you. Understand?"

"Haai!" he confirmed, recovered. Sanji was quick to catch a glimpse of one coming, and enthusiastically waved his hand.

"OOOIII! BASTARD!" he called out.

Ivy's jaw was close to falling off her face. People around them gave them disapproving looks and were silently mumbling between themselves, which caused Ivy to hide her face behind Sanji, ashamed.

"You IDIOT!" she snapped quietly, refusing to look up. The taxi driver poked his head out of the car.

"Go to hell!" he barked at Sanji before driving away, leaving a flustered cook and a ridiculously embarrassed girl behind. Sanji huffed irritably.

"That shithead," he said, almost as loud as he'd called out to him. Ivy could barely contain it. Quickly, she grabbed Sanji by his wrist and, head lowered, walked away from the scene. Normally, the cook would've gone crazy since; after all, a pretty girl was dragging him away forcefully. But this time, his concern about her behavior surprisingly outweighed his delight.

"Um…Sanji," she finally said once they'd gone far enough. She looked at him in an almost pleading way. "Leave this to me, alright?"

Sanji furrowed his eyebrows before nodding. She knew better, after all.

They walked up and down the sidewalk, waiting patiently for a cab to appear. Sanji observed Ivy, who was busy scanning the cars. Something about her was definitely different, and for some undetermined reason he didn't feel the urge to…well, look at her cleavage.

Sanji shook his head, utterly confused. How could it be? He always wanted to look at women's cleavage…

He placed the back of his hand on his forehead to check his fever. Nah, he was fine. But gee, that was a first for him…

"San-ji?" Ivy called out, waving her hands in front of his face. "Helllooo?"

Sanji snapped out of his thoughts and looked over at her with a questioning gaze.

"I got us a cab while you were out of it," she explained, pointing at a yellow car. She gestured for him to follow her. "I'm gonna come with you and show you the way to the hotel."

The taxi driver gave Sanji a wary look before driving off. As soon as they were comfortably seated, Ivy scooted towards the window, which gave Sanji the wrong idea. Maybe he really did make her uncomfortable by his lovey-dovey behav-

WHY AM I SO CONCERNED?!

Exasperated, Sanji took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The driver seemed to be annoyed by that, but once he got a glare from the cook, he turned his attention back to the road again, deciding it was a better idea to tolerate it. As the awkwardness of the silence increased, Ivy finally decided to speak.

"So tell me, Sanji," she requested. "What are your friends like?"

"Nakama," Sanji corrected with a smile. Ivy seemed a bit confused. "They're my nakama."

"Is there a difference?"

The cook nodded. "Nakama are…more than friends. You would do more for them than for your friends."

Ivy mused, shifting slightly closer to Sanji, eager to hear more. "Tell me about them!"

Sanji smiled.

"Well, to start with, Luffy is our captain. He's a complete idiot," he began, fixing his hat so he could have a better look at Ivy.

Ivy smiled uncertainly. "An idiot, huh?"

"Yeah. But he's one hell of a captain," Sanji explained with a chuckle. "He has this weird obsession for meat, food in general, and picking his nose."

Ivy, a both disgusted and amused look on her face, began to laugh. The more Sanji talked about them, the more excited he got. Perhaps he only showed his love or caring for the ladies of the crew on the outside, but truthfully he cared deeply about each of them.

A-ha. Even the shitty Marimo.

Sort of.

"Wait, so your nakama is also your rival?" she asked, shaking her head. "For real?"

"Haha, yep, pretty much. And then there's Nami and Robin…" he said, his voice turning strangely serious. Ivy listened closely. The cook, who was now staring out the window in an overly-dramatic manner, gave his cigarette a flick.

Ivy's eyes widened. "SHIT! ARE YOU OKAY?"

A line of blood was trickling down his nose. Though it seemed like something serious, his expression showed otherwise. He was suppressing ridiculous giggles, and Ivy could've sworn the smoke that escaped his mouth had swirled into the shape of a heart. She wasn't sure what to think of the situation, but was quick to lean forward in her seat and grab a tissue box from beside the driver.

"Hey!" the driver snapped, looking back. "That'll cost ya!"

Ivy shot him a glower before taking out massive amounts of tissues and pushing them onto Sanji's face, making him cough from the close-call of suffocating. They'd finally arrived in front of the hotel, and were practically thrown out of the cab. With a laugh, they slammed the door of the taxi after giving the driver what they owed.

"Well, here it is," Ivy announced, pointing at a small, yet homely-looking building. "It's not fancy or anything, but it's cheap and rather comfortable."

Sanji clasped his hands together sensationally; however he felt slightly downhearted that Ivy was no longer going to be accompanying him. Ivy, who was now smiling at the cook, had a look of disappointment in her eyes as well. Although, that could've been Sanji's imagination.

After all, has he ever encountered a girl that he'd met the same day, who genuinely wanted his company?

The answer is no. That would also be a first.

...