Chapter 3: Getting Ready for the Orange Province

A/N: Hello there again! :D Here's a new chapter for you guys. (Since I feel very charitable so two chapters in one day!) Not much I want to say… except that I finally have a plot for the story now! Yay! At first I was going to make it up along the way but what ever, having a plot makes it better. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT OWN One Piece. It is almost my birthday and I really wish that I can own One Piece for a present but nope, it's never gonna happen :/

Warnings: None, unless you don't like mystery.

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The crowing of a rooster nearby signaled the start of a new day. This particular rooster also woke up a rather weary Sanji. As he blinked slowly he glanced around-to the best of his ability- because he was still in the arms of two very good-looking men. Confused, because his tired brain didn't seem to want to update him on why he was in bed with two men and not some beautiful women, he untangled himself from their arms and sat up, jolting awake Ace.

"Mmmm," groaned Ace as he saw the confused look on Sanji's face he worriedly asked, "What's wrong?" Sanji ignored this and just continued looking confused at where he was.

What the hell am I doing in bed with someone? Two men no less. He glanced at Ace and Zoro in distaste at this. Well, at least they're hot.

After a few more moments of silence in which Sanji's brain finally caught up with him he answered Ace's question "Nothing's wrong. My brain was just a bit slow that's all."
Confused at this very vague answer, Ace shrugged and got out of bed. Sanji followed suit and climbed out of bed only to be stopped by a hand that was grabbing a fistful of his shirt. Sanji, annoyed at being stopped, turned around to yell at whoever dared to stop him but paused when he saw it was Zoro. Zoro, who was still asleep while grabbing a fistful of his shirt was such a cute sight that he decided to let him off easy.

Hmmm thought Sanji seems I forgot to untangle myself from one little Marimo… He seems so cute sleeping like that. Smiling at the sight, he sighed and pried the fist from his clothes and proceeded to pat the Marimo to wake him up, though he didn't want to destroy such a peaceful scene; they had a job to do and the faster they get it done, the better. He stood up and got ready to go.

Zoro groaned, annoyed that someone was trying to wake him up. "Stop that you shitty bastard…or I'll cut your arms off…" with this said he dozed off to sleep again snoring loudly.

Pissed off now that the Marimo had dared to threaten him he raised his leg and was just about to smash the dumbass's brains in when he was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," Ace said softly so as to not disturb the still sleeping Marimo. "How about we just leave him to sleep? I bet he is very tired from all that action yesterday so just leave him be."
Sanji contemplated this and nodded in agreement. "Sure, I needed to go shopping for supplies for our trip anyways. You can be my pack mule instead of that moss for brains." Satisfied that he now had an objective he went to the bathroom and returned with a bag. He paused as if to reach for the door but stopped and seemed to think of something. He set the bag down on the floor and turned to Ace. "I think that we should change our clothes into something less…conspicuous." As if to emphasize his point he pointed to Ace's royal red robes and to his own weird combination of assassin pants and button down shirt.

"Oh." chuckled Ace. "I didn't even realize I fell asleep in this. Don't worry; I have a change of clothes. I have pants underneath so I'll just wear that."
Nodding in agreement to this idea Sanji was just about to reach for his own change of clothes when he thought a bit about what Ace said, realizing there was a minor flaw he was forgetting. "Wait, pants? Only? Don't you have anything else? If you want you can borrow one of my shirts. Unless you have your own…?" Sanji trailed off as Ace stripped down to nothing but a pair of black shorts with a brown leather belt.

Chuckling yet again, Ace faced Sanji and said "I don't need anything else, besides I feel that I would be less suspicious dressed like this since people can easily recognize me. Nobody would suspect that a lord would dress half naked. I will also put on this hat." He produced a hat from his pile of robes on the floor and put it on. The hat was like a cowboy hat and was a red color with red beads around the core, there was also two blue smiley faces in the front. All in all it was one of the most awkward and weird hats Sanji has ever seen.

Realizing Ace's logic actually made sense Sanji grabbed a pair of black pants to go with his black suit with tie from the bathroom and proceeded to change into them. After he was done with that, Sanji grabbed his bag on the floor put his bag of belli in it and headed out, with Ace at his heels and Zoro still snoring on the bed.

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At the city square…

As Sanji and Ace walked around the market bustling with activity, they heard cries of 'Cheap affordable items! Come buy them here!' and other sorts of business advertisements.

Sanji went from one stall selling food products to the next; haggling with the sellers for food and other things they needed for their journey.

Ace observed silently with a smile on his face and dutifully helped Sanji carry all the things that he bought. Amused at the mass amount of fresh produce he carried, he questioned Sanji "Why do we need this much fresh items? We're going on a long journey right? This food will not last long on the roads."

Sanji looked up from the cabbage he was inspecting and turned to Ace to answer his question, "It is true that it will be a long journey but I refuse to eat any random food we catch or find on our way there. I am a chef and I must make sure that every one of us is getting our nutrients during the journey." with this said Sanji returned to inspecting more vegetables he deemed they needed for their adventure.

Meanwhile, Ace was barely containing his delight at this piece of information that he had managed to pry from the cook (even though he didn't intend to). He's a chef? This is great…the prey I have set my eyes on is not only a good fighter that can hold his own in a battle, sexy and hot, but also knows cooking? It's good to know that I still have an excellent sense of taste in lovers… Ace was snapped out of his musing when Sanji seemed to have finished his haggling and bought several heads of cabbage, handing them to Ace.

Sanji, satisfied at the amount of food he bought, turned to Ace. "Come on, let's go back. I bet that Marimo should be awake now and now that I have the ingredients I'll cook you two a breakfast you will never forget."

Ace practically jumped up and down in excitement at this proposal and followed Sanji back to their Inn with a big grin on his face and a small puddle of drool trailing behind him.

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"We're back!" Sanji called out as he opened the door to his room and walked in with Ace trailing behind him with a heavy load of produce.

Zoro was still lying on the bed and he grunted in greeting.

"It's like all you know how to say is grunts…" mumbled Sanji as he gestured to Ace to put the grocery on the ground next to the bed. "By the way, Marimo, what do you want to eat? I can cook anything, you name it, I make it."

Yawning, Zoro sat up and got off the bed, and answered in a sleepy tone "It doesn't really matter to me. Besides, anything YOU make can't taste good."

Ace, who had been standing by Sanji the whole time glared at Zoro and said "Hey, watch what you say, I know that Sanji is an excellent cook and I haven't even tasted his cooking yet."

Sanji ignored this exchange and reached into the grocery bag to grab a few choice items out. "I don't have the energy to argue right now. I'm still very stressed and tired over our new mission so will you two just stop it?"

Zoro seemed taken aback by his comment and said, "What do you mean 'our' mission? I don't remember agreeing to help you on your mission." he crossed his arms and looked at Sanji "When did you decide for ME what to do?"

Sanji just looked at Zoro and said "Well, you don't have to go if you don't want to; it's your own choice. No one is here to force you. I myself have no choice and I need all the help I can get."

Though I would like him to come along… mused Sanji

Ace joined into the conversation this time by commenting "That's one thing I don't understand. You keep saying that you 'don't have a choice' but you do, don't you? Does the scar you showed us last night have anything to do with it?"

Sanji sighed, well, he thought, I had to tell them sooner or later…

"I owe a debt to Robin's-the women who was here last night- master. The scar was from a very long time ago when I was about 6. At that time I didn't know how to defend myself with my kicks unlike now. As you may have already guessed from my blue eyes and blond hair, I am from the blue province(A province where the people either have blue eyes, blond hair, or both. They were greatly discriminated against because people from other provinces believed those facial features to be qualities of a devil.) and we are greatly discriminated against. For me it was not much difference; especially since I have both blue eyes and blond hair, I was picked on the most." He took on a look of slight fear as he remembered that night…that horrible night… "It was any normal day for me…I was walking home from school when these kidnappers (Sanji shuddered when he said this) knocked me out and took me. Our people are greatly sought after in the slave industries because of our beauty and I, am not an exception to this horror. They took me and traveled about a mile from the outskirts of the blue province when he saved me. Even though he was younger than me he rescued me when he commanded his guards to save me. I am forever thankful to him for this and I owe him a great debt for saving me from a life of servitude. Anything he commands me of, I will do. Even murdering is acceptable for me." Sanji stopped his story at this and paused to catch his breath. "So you see why I can't disobey him? I must repay him." I don't have to tell them everything, Sanji thought, just the main things so that they will understand. The aftermath of my kidnapping…I will tell them later in the future. Satisfied at this thought he turned to look at Ace and Zoro.

Zoro and Ace was silent after this and they both seemed sad after hearing Sanji's story.

"So…" Sanji said, to break the awkward silence. "Who's up for some sausage and omelets?"

The two men looked at him and softly smiled, they nodded and Sanji went out to borrow the Inn's kitchen while they stood there absorbing the new information about the blond.

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After a very good nutritious breakfast (Though Zoro refused to admit that it was while Ace drowned Sanji in compliments), Sanji, Zoro, and Ace, gathered their things and set out for Orange Province about a weeks worth of traveling by foot from where they were. But depending on the weather it can take longer…

TBC

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that! And if you did then please let me know by reviewing ^_^! Thank you for reading! I am very happy writing stories for people to read so thank you very much! \*_*/ I will also be writing previews in the A/Ns from now on!

Preview: The three boys have arrived at Orange province! But the first thing that greets them is a very angry mob. Who framed them for robbing every house in the Orange Province when they only just arrived? And who is the orange-haired woman? Is she the empress of the province or the queen of thieves? Tune in to find out!