Information spread pretty instantly here, so it was no surprise that Sanji heard about the Okama Queen's arrival before she had even disembarked her ship. The thought of finally having someone in charge he could explain his grievances to (such as forced adherence to the okama way) and ask for help returning to his nakama from was enough to have him violently break away from his stalker fashion police and run to find this queen.
Long blond hair billowed behind him, the new blue baby doll dress whipped against his legs and stripped blue tights. He almost tripped a few times on his high black leather pumps as an occasional crack in cobblestone yanked the sole or heel off balance. This was his one chance to potentially get off this shitty island and baring that, at least into his own clothes again!
Along the way he broke a heel and cursed as he scooped down to claim the broken pump and continued with a limped uneven run. For some reason a parade seemed to have broken out now and it was hard to get to even see the Queen now. He pushed his way through the rapidly growing crowd till he stumbled out into the street in front of his target, heaving breaths and still clutching his broken shoe.
There he/she was. Large tight curls, ridiculous outfit, over done make up, and the shitty telltale crown .
He took a moment to straighten and pull a cigarette from between fake cleavage while the Queen watched him curiously.
He began his onslaught just as he had rehearsed it in his head. Lighting the cigarette and blowing out the smoke in the most masculine way possible.
"Oi...Shitty Okama Queen....I have a bone to pick with you..."
The Queens eyes narrowed and Sanji felt like maybe he had erred in taking such a direct approach as she yelled.
"Don't call me shitty!"
"Well it's shitty to think you can just force someone to be okama on your say so...I'm a man damn it!! I want to be a man!" He stood his ground.
"For such a pretty girl like yourself to say she wants to be a man so strongly, with such rudeness...it is easy to see how far in denial she is. You poor dear, I'll give you what nature couldn't not."
"Excuse me?" He looked around in confusion. What the hell was the queen talking about?
"Yes, you'd like some large breasts right?"
"Breasts?" Sanji drooled a little at the thought of those precious orbs of fleshy bounce that felt like he hadn't seen in so long.
The Queen was lunging toward him suddenly.
"EMPORIO..." She began.
"Sanji....MEAT!" At the interruption both the Okama Queen and currently cross-dressed, smoking cook froze and looked back in slow-motion toward the familiar voice.
"LUFFY?!" Sanji spotted his captain wrapped in bandages and held one of the okama's arms behind the Queen.
"Strawboy finally woke up? Huh? You know him?"
Sanji was already by Luffy's side and frowning. He didn't seem to be entirely there...
"LUFFY! What happened? Did they do this to you?" He looked around at the crowd pissed.
"Sanji? They dressed you up frilly too? You still have your kintama right?" He groaned and clutched his stomach. "Hungry..." Luffy passed out in his arms and Sanji found himself panicked and shaking him.
"LUFFY! OI! WHAT HAPPENED!? LUFFY!! LUFFY!!" He turned to the queen. "I need a kitchen now, damn it! And someone better explain what happened to my captain!"
Thirty minutes later in the kitchen of the palace Sanji had to sit down while his second roast cooked away in the oven. Only Iva (the Queen), her companion Inazuma, and Luffy were with him now awaiting his reaction after relating the story. Well the later was shoving food in his mouth in unconscious oblivion.
"So that's what happened." He looked to Luffy sadly. The hurt scowl looked all wrong on his face while eating. "Ace." He flicked at the unlit cigarette in his fingers in annoyance and sighed heavily as he considered his own feelings of loss. Then again as he considered how horrible it had to be for Luffy. He accidentally snapped the cigarette. "I should have been there."
Luffy choked on a chicken leg and Sanji stood up so quickly he almost got dizzy. The captain swallowed it, coughed and looked right at the Okama Queen with renewed determination.
"Iva-chan! Can you take another ten and make me stronger?" He clutched his fists and practically growled. "I'm too weak like this...I'm sick of not being able to protect anyone! First my nakama! Then my brother! How can I let all my important people get taken!!?"
Sanji began to move toward him but Inazuma held him back.
"Strawboy...! That was to heal you...to take your chance of survival to something other than zero..."
"What are they talking about? What ten?" Sanji asked. Inazuma leaned in and whispered back to him.
"To heal him, she injected some miracle recovery hormones...but the price is ten years chopped from his life."
"What!!??" Sanji felt his throat constrict around the word. Luffy had almost died and had ten years cut off just to survive...and was asking to give more?!
"But you can do it right?! Take however many years you need! Take them!"
"Yes...there is a vay....but..."
Sanji planted the one functional heel into Inazuma's foot.
That did three things. One it caused that heel to break off and now he was left with rather stylish flats. Two, it caused the victim of his foot stomp to scream. Three, it made everyone in the room turn and face the cook, blue dress, make up, flowing blond locks and all. The hell he cared about that now.
He stomped over to stand directly between Iva and his captain.
"What makes you think I'll stand by for one shitty minute and let you axe your lifespan in front of me?! And for all the stupid ass reasons!"
"Sanji?!" A flood of emotions crossed Luffy's face, shock first as obviously he had forgotten his cook was here, loving relief was next, and then anger as he caught up to what was being said. "Stupid?!"
"That's right..." He got right into his captain's face. "STUPID."
"I couldn't protect anyone! You guys! Ace! I couldn't save him...I could save any of them!!"
"Who didn't you protect? Who didn't you save? The crew? Take a good look shitty captain...I'm here and in one piece. Are you telling me you and I survived but no one else did?" Sanji grabbed Luffy by the vest and hauled him off the table to scream even louder in his face. "Are you telling me they died? That Zoro wouldn't take care of himself without you? That your nakama are THAT weak that they would die? That they NEED your protection to live?!"
"N-No!"
"And Ace!! From how I heard it you DID save him idiot!! You gave him his life and he decided he was going to turn right around and risk it to save yours!"
"He shouldn't have! It wasn't his place too! If I had been stronger...!"
Sanji growled and shook Luffy like rag doll.
"Then be pissed at your brother if you want but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. Any of the crew Luffy! We love you damn it! That's why you risked your life to save Ace right!?" Sanji had to keep himself from adding that the swordsman already had made such a sacrifice. No need to complicate the issue or upset his captain further.
"But if I was stronger....Sanji...!" Luffy almost whined. Sanji sighed and loosened his grip and pulled him into a strong hug.
"Then train everyday with the shitty swordsman, get stronger....it's cheating this way Luffy. Cheating and unfair to those who want to be with you until the end. Don't you remember what you said to me at the Baratie? Ace saved your life...don't repay him by trading in on yours! I want to cook for you until you are a shitty old man!"
Luffy was hugging him back. There might have been a sob but he wasn't going to point it out...it sounded like the idiot finally understood.
"You'll let me, right? Luffy?"
A ding from the stove signaled the roast was done.
"Yeah Sanji." A sniff. "I want to eat your food forever. It's the only reason I'd let you go right now. Hungry..."
The cook smiled at that and squeezed him once more a bit more affectionately.
"Don't worry, with my cooking it'd definitely be worth it."
Luffy grinned a little as he pulled himself away from the blond.
"Thanks Sanji."
Iva and Inazuma smiled at the cook...it was obvious that thanks wasn't for the food.
