Alright, a new update! For those of you that said you wanted to see Hazel fight, here you are! Originally, I had it so that she was out of this entire fight, but I decided to change it (which is why the last update was two weeks late). But now I'm satisfied, and now you'll get to see what happens next!

Thanks to: Juliedoo, Steampunk splatter21, CallmeEevee, TheRealEvanSG, Ryan.w123, kage kitsune 14, and that one anonymous reviewer! I love reading your reviews, and I love getting feedback!

And (imagine I'm saying this affectionately), thanks to Skitzykat101, my little brat of a sister that keeps helping me out with this! Thanks to her, I was able to plan out a bunch of new story arcs, the first of which you'll see right after the Arlong Arc. So much love and kudos to her! :)

And enough with the rambling on my part, I suppose. Onwards!


Chapter 6

Water poured off of the platforms as they rose out of the ocean, and several pirates panicked at the sight of it, floundering in the water as they tried to get away.

"AGGHHH!"

"WHAT'S THAT?!"

"IT'S A PLATFORM, YOU IDIOTS!"

"YEAH, IT CAME FROM BELOW!"

"COOOOOOOL!" someone screamed from the destroyed ship. I'll give you three guesses as to who it was (and the first two don't count).

The cooks and I all stepped forward to defend against the first wave of pirates, who readied themselves to attack when they rose out of the ocean.

"Just what the hell can a couple of measly cooks do against us pirates?!" shouted one in encouragement as he led the charge, before his face met my foot.

"Don't you dare look down on us cooks of the sea!" shouted Breve, wielding his giant knife, and I ducked under a sword swing from another pirate, my heart thudding as adrenaline began to course through my veins. I shoved a foot out, forcing the pirate to stumble, and punched him as hard as I could in the face, grinning in satisfaction while he crumpled under the blow.

An explosion sounded off to where Krieg was, and I turned just in time to see Krieg holding off the mini fish head ship with ease, as Patty and Carne panicked and attempted to pedal faster.

"I ain't got time to play around with the likes of you!" Krieg bellowed, and flung the fish head out of the water.

I watched its flight for one glorious moment while Sanji muttered, "All talk and no substance…useless bastards."

"CRAP! WE'RE GONNA CRASH INTO THE RESTAURANT!" Patty screamed as he and Carne tried to right themselves, but with a powerful leap, Sanji jumped into the air, spun, and slammed a roundhouse kick into the flying fish boat's side. It careened under the blow, and crash-landed into the middle of the deck.

"He kicked it?!" Don Krieg growled, surprised, and Sanji landed gracefully back onto the deck with a cocky smirk.

"Heh," he snorted, straightening, and I grunted in complaint as I wiped dust and splinters off of my shoulders.

"What strength!" a pirate gasped as the cooks picked themselves back up from the first round of pirates.

"He kicked away that weird-ass ship!"

"That kicking technique!" Krieg growled in recognition, and Luffy laughed, a wide grin splayed across his face.

"Not bad!"

"SAAAAANNNNNJIIIIII!" roared our favorite violent chef, bursting out from underneath the floorboards of the deck with Carne following. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL YOUR ALLIES?!"

There was a pause as Sanji glanced over to the pair. He looked them over for a brief second, before turning back to face the pirates.

"Yeah."

I choked on my spit, laughing and coughing as Patty shrieked, "DID YOUR BRAINS BECOME BOILED INTO STEW, YOU ASSHOLE?!"

"YOU ALMOST LOST TWO POWERFUL FIGHTERS, YOU SPAGHETTI-HEAD!" snarled Carne with righteous indignation.

"Powerful?" I rasped with a snort, still trying to get over my impromptu coughing fit. "Come on, Patty! I took you out earlier with one kick!"

"She's right," a voice interrupted as boots clunked down onto the deck. "Powerful? Ha! Even if you hold weapons, a cook's still a cook! So why doncha scram back into some other kitchen on land?"

I glanced at the new group of pirates that crawled onto the deck, bored as they posed dramatically in an attempt to be threatening. These guys…I hate to admit it, but they were weaker than I'd thought they be. Why on earth was I nervous earlier?

"Don't compare us to other pirates you've crossed before!" declared one that seemed to be the self-confirmed leader of the motley group. "We're pirates of Don Krieg, the ruler of East Blue!"

"Shit…" groaned Breve, picking himself up and wiping a trickle of blood from his face. "These guys are strong."

"They're nothing like the other pirates that we've been able to beat before!" agreed Soufflé, glaring at the group of pirates as he made no move to pick himself up off the deck.

I gawked at them. Seriously?!

Patty seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Are you gonna let them beat you that easily?!"

"And you call yourselves fightin' cooks?!" agreed Carne, shaking a fist at them.

"So what if you're fighting cooks?" laughed a pirate. "We fight for a living! So just quietly hand this boat over to us!"

"Ten years since I've been a cook!" growled Patty as he and Carne faced the horde. "And three hundred restaurants I've gone to! In every single one of 'em, I'd get into fights and fail to be hired! Those days were rough!"

"After searching and searching, we finally came to this restaurant," Carne muttered, brandishing a gigantic knife. "Here, whether it be fighting or cooking, we can do it as much as we want!"

"There ain't another place as good as this shop!" Patty shouted, swinging his giant fork.

"As if we'd hand it over to you pirate scum!" Carne added as he jumped into the fray.

I'll admit (reluctantly), those two were actually pretty impressive against the pirates. They took the pirates down one by one, and I watched in surprise as they swung their weapons, blood flying as they moved in tandem amidst frantic shouts and pained cries.

Thunk! Thunk!

"What the hell are you guys doing?" asked a new voice, and I tilted my head in confusion at the sight of a giant…marble? No, it wasn't a marble. It was a round guy with a lot of round shields, even shields on his hands. He looked a lot like a marble, though, and honestly, it looked kind of retarded.

"Hmm? Who's this guy?" demanded Carne.

He and Patty turned to face this newcomer, but they never had a chance to defend themselves. With a solid crack, they were sent crashing down into the deck as the man slammed one of the shields on his hands into their heads.

"Hahahaha! Behold!" he announced, posing and displaying his many shields. "My invincible iron wall!"

"Pearl!" Krieg's men shouted in relief, and I pointed at him as I looked at Sanji.

"Who's this idiot?" I asked quietly.

Apparently, I wasn't being as quiet as I thought as I was, because all of Krieg's men, including the new guy, face-planted into the deck.

"I'm not an idiot! I'm the invincible iron wall!" declared the new guy, picking himself up and waving his shields. One of them was stained in blood, and I grit my teeth at the sight of Carne and Patty's blood decorating it. "You won't be standing after my lethal punch! They just got a good taste of my special 'Pearl Present'!"

"Hey look! This guy's got a damn fine knife on him!" laughed a pirate gleefully, snatching it from Patty's apron. "Heh heh, don't mind if I do! This should cut better than my knife!"

As he rose from Patty's body, a meaty hand shot up and gripped the blade, blood dripping down Patty's arm as the pirate tried to tug it free.

"Hey, let go!" he cried, but Patty didn't listen. Instead, he gripped it tighter and tighter. "Let go of your damn knife! Just die already!"

"Hazel," Sanji said dangerously, and I looked up to see a murderous expression cross his face. "Move."

I shifted to the side, and in an instant, Sanji was slamming his foot into the pirate's chest with as much strength as he could muster, knocking the knife right out of his hands as the pirate coughed up blood from the blow.

I cheered enthusiastically as the pirate was sent flying out over the deck, and grinned even more when I saw him fall onto a couple more of his crewmates before slamming against Pearl. The large man didn't move an inch, and instead scoffed at the display. "Hmph."

"W-wha…?" the kicked pirate gasped, and Sanji easily caught the falling kitchen knife by its handle.

"No matter how many times I see it, his kicks are amazing," muttered Boccaccio to another cook in awe.

"A kitchen knife is the soul of a cook," Sanji warned. "It's not something an amateur like you should even think of touching."

"S-Sanji?" gasped Patty, staring up at the blond in surprise, and Sanji handed it back.

"Here," he said shortly. "Now make sure you kick the bucket for good this time. I'll handle the rest."

I snorted. "Not without me," I warned.

He gave me an exasperated glance. "Hazel, why don't you just wait inside?" he asked, and I pouted at him stubbornly.

"No way! You're hogging all the good parts!" I argued, stepping to his side. "I can easily take them too!"

"'Easily take them'?" a pirate repeated. "My ass! You're just a cook and a brat! You think you can take us all on?" The pirates let out another roar and charged at us, but Sanji and I both let out identical smirks before disappearing.

"What the - URK!" a pirate gurgled as Sanji planted his hands onto the floor and kicked out, spinning his body much like a pinwheel as he took down pirate after pirate.

I, on the other hand, wasn't as good as Sanji, so I settled for simple roundhouse kicks, front kicks, and side kicks, occasionally dodging a sword swing or bullet as I took the pirates down.

"Just a cook?" Sanji asked, insulted. "I'll kill you, scum. And don't you dare call Hazel-chan a brat!"

"Sanji-nii," I sighed, exasperated. "Now's not the time."

"Hah!" Pearl interrupted with disdain, swinging around his shields. "To beat up all of 'em using only your feet…you two strike me as a pair of lazy pieces of trash…or is that your policy?"

"Well, not for me," I admitted. "Sanji-nii has been teaching me, but I'm not a cook, so I don't really care to use my hands or not."

Sanji smirked at Pearl. "True," he said to the pirate. "Normally, it wouldn't be that big of an issue like Hazel-chan here, but a cook's hands are his life. I can't risk fighting with them. But don't worry," he assured the large, round man. "My feet'll be more than enough to take you down."

"You take me down?" asked Pearl incredulously, as if the idea was ludicrous. "I'm afraid that just ain't happening! In the last sixty-one fights I've been in, I've won them all without even so much as a scratch on me! You may protect your hands in a fight, but I fight while protecting my entire body! I've never even lost a single drop of blood in all the fights I've been in. Not one, single drop. That's proof of my invincible strength! That's why they call me the Krieg Pirates' 'Iron Shield Pear!" A sleazy smirk spread across his face, and he tacked on, "And my iron defense has got quite the fashion sense."

I wasn't impressed. At all.

"You're an idiot," I told him bluntly, and Pearl glowered at me.

"You're just jealous of my style," he sniffed, turning away from me, and I shook my head as a shudder ran down my spine.

"Sanji-nii, if I ever get the same fashion sense as him, please kill me," I said to the blond, and he smirked.

"Request denied. I might kick you a bit, though," he teased, and I huffed a laugh.

"Alright, that's enough talk for now," Sanji said, bending one knee and lifting his leg. "I'd like to see you try to fight us without getting hurt!" He thrust his lifted leg upwards, straightening it out into a devastating kick, but it was blocked by Pearl's shield. I raced around Sanji as he held Pearl in place, and tried to punch Pearl in the side. However, he just sneered and blocked my fist with another shield, and I hissed and hopped back.

"Shit, that hurts!" I mumbled as I shook out my hand. My knuckles throbbed from the hit, and Pearl leered at us.

"I can even withstand a direct blast from a battleship cannon!" Pearl bragged, blocking me as I attempted a roundhouse kick. "No matter the attack, I'm impenetrabl -!"

"ACK!"

A blur of red and blue flew from the sky with a startled shout, and Luffy collided into the back of Pearl's head, causing Pearl's face to meet the back of the shield blocking Sanji's attack.

Sanji and I drew back as Luffy picked himself, dusting off his pants and sighing, "Whew, that was close!" he said brightly. "Glad I didn't fall into the ocean!"

I looked at Pearl warily. The man hadn't moved since Luffy hit him, and he was staring at the shield his face hit, completely still as his eyes grew bigger and bigger. A thin line of red trickled from his nose, and he touched it, pulling his hand away to stare blankly at the crimson dotting his fingers.

"Shit," Krieg swore, pausing in the middle of advancing on Luffy, and the pirates around us seemed to share his sentiment.

"IT'S BLOOD!" one screamed. "OH SHIT!"

"…Blood?" Pearl gasped, still staring at the blood on his hands, and the pirates hastily tried to comfort the round man.

"Pearl, it's fine!"

"It's just a little nosebleed! Everyone gets those! You haven't really been hurt at all!" a pirate explained desperately.

"So just calm down, Pearl!"

I scrunched up my face in disgust as Pearl began to sweat, and he trembled. "My…iron wall was broken through! These guys are dangerous!"

"What the hell's up with him?" Sanji asked, unconcerned, and Luffy picked his nose.

"It's just a little nosebleed," he agreed, pulling his finger out and flicking the booger out in an unknown direction.

"PEARL!" Krieg's shout snapped out like a whip, and Pearl straightened hastily as Krieg called, "Stop it! There's no need to go wild over a damn nosebleed! This ain't the jungle!"

There was a brief silence, and I tensed as Pearl poured something all over himself, and then flicked a match.

"DANGER!" he screamed, just as he burst into flames.

My eyes bugged at the sight, and Sanji and I leaped away to a safer distance. "HOLY SHIT!"

"FIRE?!" several of the cooks said shrilly in surprise, and the pirates all began to panic hardcore.

"Crap! He's doing that thing he learned to do while growing up in the jungle!"

"Back in the jungle full of wild beasts, every time Pearl felt that he was in danger, he lit himself on fire!"

"WHAT?!" snapped Gnocchi as Pearl began to flail his shields around, looking like a gigantic marble flambé.

"It's his defense tactic against beasts?!"

"DON'T YOU DARE GET CLOSE TO ME!" Pearl shouted raggedly, reaching up towards the heavens with his burning shields. "FIRE PEARL'S DAITOKIKUTEN!"

My eyes widened in alarm when several little shields flew out at us, and Sanji swore as he jumped back. Luffy back-flipped away, grimacing and muttering, "Hot!"

I, on the other hand, ended up getting hit by one of the little fires, and I shouted aloud in a panic as my sleeve caught on fire.

"HAZEL!" Sanji bellowed frantically, skidding out of Pearl's range, but I ignored him and instead dove into the sea water nearby.

Instantly, the flame was doused, and I resurfaced, spluttering.

"I'm fine!" I called, clambering back onto the deck and stomping out a few of the fires. "Sanji-nii, I'm fine!"

I looked around. It seemed like I wasn't the only one hit by Pearl's attack. Several pirates were screaming and running around like headless chickens as they tried to put their fires out.

"PLEASE STOP, PEARL!" one shouted desperately, and Zeff scowled. He hadn't moved an inch since the fight began, and he folded his arms.

"The ship's gonna catch on fire!" he snapped, and a few of the cooks jolted into action, rushing about in order to put the deck out.

"BURN!" shrieked Pearl, looking quite demented as his eyes rolled in fear. "WITH MY FLAME SHIELD, MY IRON WALL IS NOW EVEN MORE INVINCIBLE!"

"That damn idiot," Krieg growled from his position on the ruined ship. "Is he trying to burn down the very ship we're trying to steal into cinders?"

I jumped back when Luffy raced past me, his ass on fire, and my breath hitched as my foot slipped against the edge of the deck. I cursed Luffy as I tumbled back into the water. "DAMN YOU LUFF-GGURG!"

Luffy didn't seem to pay attention at all, continuing to run around as the fire from Pearl's attack spread, and I began to count the ways I could maim the rubber teen as I hauled myself back onto the burning deck.

"Shit! Fire in the front and the ocean to the back!" a pirate yelled. "We've got no place to run too!"

"Screw that!" another pirate snapped, making an awkward dive into the ocean as his pant legs caught on fire. "It's too hot! I can't take it anymore!"

"Jump into the sea!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Pearl laughed insanely, still swinging his shields around and creating more flames. "CAN'T GET NEAR ME, CAN YOU?!"

"That bastard!" Sanji hissed, and my eyes widened as he raced through the flames towards the crazy pirate.

"SANJI-NII!" I shrieked, rushing after him, and Patty pushed himself up onto his knees.

"Sanji, you dumbass!" he bellowed. "You'll get burnt to a crisp!"

"Patty, stay back!"

Sanji glanced at me, gave me a fleeting grin, and jumped up into a graceful arc, easily flipping in the air as he hollered, "DON'T YOU DARE BURN THIS RESTAURANT DOWN!" When one of his feet pointed upwards, he twisted and kicked down, using gravity as a way to kick with more power.

However, Pearl reached up and blocked Sanji with one of the shields on his hand. But as Sanji began to fall back to the deck, he nodded at me, and suddenly, I knew what I had to do.

I gulped and took a deep breath to prepare myself, and then…vanished.

Well, not really. But I did begin to run through the flames as fast as I could, my hair and tail streaming behind me like a pair of banners as I ran. I jumped through some of the flames, and rolled upon landing to put out any unwanted fires on my body before continuing towards Pearl.

He didn't notice my approach at all; he was too busy demanding, "H-How could you attack me, the fire Pearl, that wild beasts won't even approach -?!" I raced around to Pearl's back as Sanji lit a cigarette using the flames dancing around us.

"Idiot," he said with a smirk. "How could a chef even cook if he was afraid of fire?"

And at that moment, I slammed my foot upwards, kicking Pearl firmly in the balls.

He let out a strangled, girlish squeal, his hands flying towards his crotch as he fell to his knees, and I went to stand by Sanji, both of us looking down at the marble-man.

And I'll have to admit, we looked kick-ass.

"D-damn you!" Pearl gasped out, looking a little green before he threw a weak punch at us. "Y-you bastards -! Fire pearl present!"

I ducked back out of the way as Sanji hand-sprung forward, yanking his body back and kicking Pearl firmly in the face.

"AHH! THEY GOT HIM!" a pirate shouted from the ocean as I absently moved out of the way of the flames. "They both slipped past Pearl's iron wall!"

The force of Sanji's kick sent Pearl crashing into the ground, sprawled out on his back, and Sanji grinned savagely as he flipped and landed on his feet next to me.

"Who are these guys?! They're serious trouble!"

"M-MY FACE!" Pearl screamed, tears and blood pouring down as he clutched at a broken nose. He began to clang his shields together and screamed, like a broken alarm, "DANGER! THEY'RE TOO DANGEROUS! MORE FIRE! MORE FIRE PEARLS!"

"AGGGHH!" Soufflé yelped as the bullets headed straight to Zeff, who was still standing at the entrance of the restaurant. "He's planning to burn down the restaurant!"

"This place is gone if the fires spread to the kitchen!"

"Owner, run away!" Breve shouted desperately, straining to push himself upright, but Zeff just rolled his eyes.

And with a quick flick of his peg leg, all the mini cannonballs extinguished, clunking harmlessly against the walls of the restaurant.

"W-what?" stammered Gnocchi in shock, and Zeff shrugged.

"I may have lost one leg, but this much is nothing I can't handle," he scoffed dismissively, and the cooks began to grin.

"That's incredible sir!" Boccaccio exclaimed.

"He put out the fire with the wind blast created from his kick!" enthused Romaine with a beam on his face.

"Holy crap! Maybe Red-Leg Zeff's still got it!" the pirates gawked and gasped.

"Old man, that was amazing!" Luffy called from the edge of the Baratie's porch, grinning from ear to ear.

"That idiot Pearl's more trouble than he's worth!" growled Krieg, catching all of our attention as he pulled back, grasping something behind his back. "Before that fire spreads to the rest of the restaurant, I'LL SINK THOSE FINS!" And with a mighty lunge, he swung a heavy spiked ball on a chain over his head, right towards where Sanji, Pearl, and I were standing.

"Sanji! Hazel! Watch out!" Breve screamed, and was smacked by Gnocchi for his efforts.

"Idiot! It's no good! They're surrounded by flames!"

Sanji and I were frozen at the sight of the large, spiked ball swinging towards us, but a movement to our side swiftly yanked our attention away.

"Hot!" Luffy cried as he jumped through the flames like a crazy person, and Sanji nearly dropped his cigarette as Luffy threw his arms back. "GOMU GOMU NO…BAZOOKA!"

And with a mighty thrust, he slammed both of his palms into the side of the spiked ball. My eyes bugged out at the sight, and I watched, flabbergasted, as Luffy threw the ball back to where it came from. Krieg's eyes widened, and he skipped to the side just as the spiked ball slammed into the broken mast next to him. The mast splintered under the force, and began to fall as Luffy landed on his feet.

There was a long moment as Sanji and I stared at Luffy, unable to form words after the crazy feat of strength we witnessed, and Luffy began to smack his back.

"HOOOOT!" he screeched, hastily trying to put the flames that caught onto his vest out. "HOT! HOT! HOT!"

Before my mouth was able to gargle a 'thank you' for the rubber teen, a creak caught our attention, and my eyes widened when I realized that the falling mast was headed straight towards us.

My heart thudding wildly, I threw myself to the side, narrowly dodging the broken mast as it crashed down. I rolled upon landing, and easily hopped back up to my feet, whirling around to stare at the mast.

I blinked, and straightened at the sight of a tottering Pearl, his head almost smashed into his neck. Apparently, he didn't get out of the way in time.

"PEARL!" several pirates shouted, and cautiously, I approached the swaying man. Hesitantly, I reached out, and poked his side.

CRASH!

I blinked, and then grinned when Pearl tilted over and collapsed against the mast, clearly out cold.

"What's up with this dude?" Sanji asked, completely misreading the situation. I noticed that he had lost his cigarette in the middle of all the action, but he didn't seem inclined to light another.

"Are you joking?!" I demanded, gawking at the blond cook in disbelief. How could he not see the fact that Pearl had been hit by the mast?! I mean, the mast was broken where Pearl had been standing.

"Maybe he's mentally ill," Luffy commented idiotically, and I slapped my forehead.

"ARE YOU BOTH MORONS?!"

Sanji gently cuffed the back of my head. "Don't call your older brother a moron," he scolded, and I pouted insolently before sticking my tongue out at him.

Suddenly, someone screamed a warning in the background, and Sanji, Luffy, and I whirled around to see Zeff thrown to the floor. There was a creaking of wood before Zeff's peg leg was snapped off, and Gin said, "Please stop fighting, Sanj, Hazel." He placed his foot on Zeff's back, pinning the head chef to the floor as he absently twirled Zeff's broken peg-leg in one hand. The other hand, however, was holding a gun, aimed straight at Zeff's head. "I don't want to end up killing you."

"GEEZER!" I shrieked, frightened for the old man. Despite the man's gruff nature and appearance, I was actually very fond of the man.

"GIN!" Luffy exclaimed through gritted teeth, and Sanji had frozen where he was standing.

"Gin, you…!"

"No matter how great a man he might have been in the past, he's just another cook that I can easily kill at gunpoint now," Gin explained calmly as he stared at Sanji and I through sunken eyes.

"That bastard!" Patty hissed, still struggling to push himself upright, but his legs wouldn't support his weight. "He broke Owner Zeff's leg!"

"Son of a bitch!" Carne swore. "Sir! Hang in there!"

"That's it!" Luffy declared, stretching out his shoulder as he made to attack Gin. "I'm gonna send him flying!"

"Wait," Sanji ordered, holding out a hand to calm Luffy as he stared at Gin. "Let's see what he has to say first."

"You want to save this man, don't you?" Gin asked levelly, his eyes still fixed on us. "Then leave this ship!"

"AS IF!" I shouted, giving Gin the middle finger as Sanji sighed at my un-ladylike behavior.

"H-Hazel, you idiot!" Breve shouted in horror. "Don't provoke him any more or Owner Zeff'll be -!"

"Old man, you're pathetic," interrupted Sanji with a taunt, giving Zeff and exaggerated eye-roll. "That's the kind of example you set when the other cooks are trying to fight?"

"Hmph," Zeff grumbled, glaring at Sanji despite the gun in his face. "I don't need to hear that from a little eggplant like you."

I swallowed. Zeff usually only called Sanji that when he was really pissed off, or when the situation was really serious, like now. The last time he had called Sanji that was when Sanji had been taken hostage by a small group of pirates demanding food last year, before Zeff promptly kicked their asses.

Sanji's chest swelled, and he shouted angrily, "WHO'RE YOU CALLING A LITTLE EGGPLANT, YOU DAMN GEEZER?! YOU CAN'T TREAT ME AS A KID FOREVER!"

"Sanji, you idiot!" I heard Dosa the baker yelp. "Now's not the time!"

"You're not trying to get Owner Zeff killed, are ya?!" demanded Gnocchi.

"Gin," Sanji said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, "Take your gun, and point it at me."

My eyes widened, and I hissed. "Like hell!"

"Are you stupid?" Luffy asked bluntly. "You'll die instead!"

"Whatever," Sanji growled, and the cooks began shouting up a storm.

"W-What're you saying?!"

"SANJI!"

Gin, on the other hand, looked startled, and his grip on the gun faltered as he stared at the blond. "Sanji…! But why?!"

"If you want to die so badly," groaned a voice from behind us, "then I'll kill you nice and easily!"

I whirled around, and cursed at the sight of Pearl rising to his feet. He still wasn't down?!

"I never imagined, even in my dreams, that I, Iron Wall Pearl, would be given a broken nose in a single fight," he gasped, glaring at Luffy, Sanji, and I. He winced when he touched his broken nose, and breathed heavily through his mouth. "I see now how dangerous you guys are. Now, don't move if you don't want that old man's head to be blown off!"

My eyes widened as Pearl reared back, clearly aiming for Sanji, and I hastily glanced back. Gin hadn't moved from his position, but he was staring at Sanji in worry. But Sanji couldn't do anything to get out of the way because Zeff was still under gunpoint.

I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to do this, but it seemed like this was probably the only way to freak Gin out enough to move his gun away. And it would be protecting Sanji!

I sucked in a deep breath, before racing over to Sanji's side as Pearl shouted, "ULTRA NATURAL PEARL PRESENT!"

And before Sanji could react, I shoved him out of the way, and took the blow to my body.

'Son of a bitch!'

I could feel bones breaking under the pressure of the blow, and my vision darkened as my body was lifted up off the ground. For a brief second, I experienced the wonderful sensation of flight…before it was ruined by the nearby wall of the restaurant. I almost blacked out on impact; the pain was too great, and why the hell did I do this again…?

"HAZEL!" Sanji bellowed in horror, and I slid down the wall, coughing up blood as my entire body throbbed with pain. Oh, right. For Sanji.

"S-shit," I coughed, spitting out the blood welling up in my mouth. My arms trembled as I tried to push myself up, but a sharp, piercing pain in my side caused my arms to give out.

"HAZEL! ARE YOU OKAY?!" shouted Luffy from the side, but I ignored him when Sanji kicked Luffy in the side.

"OF COURSE SHE'S NOT!" he shouted, his eyes fixed frantically on me. I groggily met his gaze, and was surprised by the sheer amount of fear that Sanji displayed.

Then, slowly, I dragged my attention over to Gin, and smirked.

It seemed like my plan had worked, no matter how badly it hurt. Gin looked rattled, his face pale as his gun hand shook.

"You…!" I heard Luffy snarl, but Sanji grabbed him.

"Don't lay a finger on him, errand boy!" he shouted, white-faced and furious, and Luffy glared back at him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU DODGE THAT?!" he demanded furiously, but before Sanji could answer, I spoke up.

"B-because the geezer's held at g-gunpoint by him," I gasped, struggling to push myself up again, and almost immediately, Sanji was at my side, running his hands over my back. I groaned aloud in pain as his fingers brushed my ribs, and gingerly, he lifted me up and settled me against the wall.

"Don't you dare do that again," Sanji threatened, and I gave him a weak smile as blood dribbled down my chin.

"N-no promises," I replied.

Sanji's forehead creased, and he stroked my hair before straightening, murderous intent lining his body.

"Gin, you cheap son of a bitch," he snarled venomously. "There's no way I can accept your conditions now!"

"Why not?" Gin spluttered, still shaken. I could see his eyes still darting over to me as he spoke to Sanji, and he seemed to grow paler ad paler with each glance. "It's simple! Just leave this ship and you can spare everyone's lives! All you have to do is leave…!"

"This ship is the Geezer's treasure!" Sanji snapped, turning to face Gin. "And you're the reason why Hazel is suffering right now!"

Gin's eyes widened, and he looked down with guilt.

"Sanji!" I heard someone gasp, but my brain wasn't connecting the voice to anyone I knew for some reason. Actually, everything right now was kind of scrambled.

"I thought Sanji hated the owner," said another, and I saw Sanji's fists clench.

"I took everything away from that damn geezer," he admitted slowly, and from the confused looks that everyone was giving him, they didn't seem to get it.

But I got it. I understood.

'A hand fell, and I felt myself scrambling to grab the hand, the panic of not being able to get a proper grip on it increasing as the hand dangled back, a trail of bright crimson snaking down the hand to drip onto my face…'

I knew, without a doubt, that the person that died in that single memory had been protecting me. It had been my fault that he died. And I never told anybody, never told anybody of the guilt that plagued my dreams for months after the memory. It was the only memory that I remembered from before the Baratie, and it haunted me for days before I came to terms with it.

But the guilt never went away. Because it was all my fault.

"I took his strength! His dreams!" Sanji continued hoarsely, as tears began to drip down his face. "I DON'T WANT HIM TO LOSE ANYTHING ELSE!"

"Damn eggplant," Zeff muttered in annoyance. "Now's not the time to ramble about ancient history."

"SHUT UP!" Sanji shouted hoarsely. "AND I TOLD YOU NOT TO TREAT ME AS A DAMN KID ANYMORE!"

"SANJI, WATCH OUT!"

The shout rang in my ears before I heard a voice roar, "PEARL CLOSE!"

There was a choked grunt, and all I saw was red. Dark, bloody red.

"NO! SANJI!" I screamed as Sanji crumbled to the ground, his face bleeding. Somehow, my body found the strength to move, and I flew at Pearl with deadly intent. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM, YOU BASTARD!"

And with adrenaline coursing through my veins, I fell into a handspring and propelled myself forward, slamming both of my feet into the bastard's face and slamming him down into the ground.

"HAZEL!" I twisted around to look at Gin, and despite the fact that he looked extremely hurt and guilty, he bellowed, "DON'T YOU TAKE ANOTHER STEP, OR I'LL BLOW HIS HEAD OFF!"

I faltered, my hand flying up to grip my broken ribs as the pain slowly set back in.

"THIS IS DIRTY, GIN!" Luffy hollered furiously. He still hadn't moved from his spot, but he was glaring at Gin with promises of pain.

"THIS IS HOW WE FIGHT!" Gin shouted in reply. "THIS IS THEIR FAULT ANYWAYS! ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS HAND OVER THE SHIP TO US AND IT'D BE ALL OVER!"

"PEARL…UPPERCUT!" A crushing blow struck my face, and I toppled over as pain swamped through me.

"HAZEL!" the cooks shouted in fear, and Sanji struggled to push himself upright.

"I can't let them get hurt!" he gasped frantically, but he was then slammed into the ground thanks to a body-slam from Pearl.

"PEARL PRESENT!"

"S-Sanji!" I gasped weakly, unable to do much now as I lay sprawled on the deck.

"Took everything away from the owner…?" a cook murmured. "What'd Sanji mean by that?"

"JUST WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, SANJI?! WHAT'S MAKING YOU FIGHT SO HARD FOR THIS?!" Boccaccio bellowed.

Slowly, Sanji picked himself up, and mumbled to Zeff, defeated, "…You ate your own leg and gave me all of the food…you saved my life."

"Sanji!" Luffy gasped, and my heart ached just imagining the amount of pain that Sanji had to go through, all the pain that he was still going through.

"He can still talk after taking my Pearl Present?" Pearl demanded in annoyance, and with a slight grunt, Sanji forced himself back onto his feet.

"Hazel," he murmured, and I perked up at the sound of my name. Slowly, I looked over at Sanji, and he grinned at me, his mouth and nose still gushing blood. "Can you stand?"

I stared at him, before a grin spread across my own face. "…Yeah," I said, and Sanji helped me up when my arms couldn't.

"They stood back up!" someone exclaimed in hushed admiration, and Sanji and I both firmed our stances in front of Pearl.

"We're not handing over this restaurant," I announced with quiet determination. My whole body hurt, hell, my face hurt, but this was important to Sanji, and therefore, important to me. Not only that, but I was fond of the restaurant. I'd rather defend it than let pirates get their shitty hands all over it.

"And we won't let you kill the damn geezer, either," Sanji agreed, wiping away the blood that coated his chin. "He's a geezer who gave up everything for the sake of one little brat." He drew a deep breath, and then declared loudly, "IF I CAN'T EVEN PUT MY LIFE AT RISK TO SAVE HIM, THEN I CAN NEVER REPAY MY DEBT TO HIM!"


"…Repay his debt?"

"Sanji! Hazel! Don't do any more unnecessary things! I'm not so old and feeble enough that I need to be rescued by a little monkey and eggplant!"

Okay, that monkey comment just pissed me off.

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK, GEEZER!" I hollered indignantly, despite the pain in my ribs, and Sanji placed a calming hand on my shoulder.

"If you hadn't given up your leg for my sake, then these guys wouldn't be able to push you around!" Sanji said quietly.

"…Hazel's barely standing," a cook whispered to another.

"So owner Zeff gave up his leg to save Sanji?"

"Then the reason why he's stayed here all along must've been to repay his debt to Owner Zeff!" realized Patty, staring at Sanji with newfound respect.

"Never would've imagined that two people who argue all the time would share such a deep relationship," wondered Carne.

"Why…" We glanced back at Gin, who was staring at us with worry and fear. "Why do you both still stand up?!"

"HAHAHAHA!" Pearl laughed maniacally. "STILL HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH OF MY PEARL PRESENT?! YOU AIN'T GOT A CHANCE OF WINNING!"

"Go screw yourself," I growled, wiping as much blood as I could off of my face. "You got a few cheap shots, but you're not getting any more!"

"It doesn't matter!" Pearl declared with a leer at me. "All that matters in this world is if you lose, then you're a loser! There's no other way about it! It doesn't matter if you take hostages! It doesn't matter if you take cheap shots! The last man standing is the victor! Isn't that right, Don Krieg?" he called over his shoulder, and Krieg smirked.

"Exactly."

"Right Gin?" laughed Pearl, but when Gin didn't answer, Pearl snorted. "Right. Guess it's not even necessary to ask. You are the one holding him at hostage after all." He turned back to face us, and added, "In any case, you'll lose without even laying a finger on us in the end. So why do you still stand?! You'll only be beaten to a bloody pulp if you do!"

Sanji then grinned stubbornly despite the blood trickling down his chin. "I want to preserve this restaurant, even if it's just one second longer."

"And what Sanji-nii wants, I want," I declared quietly.

"ARRGH!" Patty groaned in frustration. "Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Zeff huffed a laugh. "Damn brats."

Pearl whistled. "Hah! Well, well! Ain't that a flashy last stand! But the time to close up this restaurant is now at hand! From now on, it'll be a pirate ship! DOUBLY-CERTAIN PEARL…PRESENT!"

And with a sickening thud, Pearl crashed a shield into Sanji's face, sending the blond cook tumbling head over heels and into the railing. He slumped down with a grunt, and I gritted my teeth as Pearl turned to me amidst shouts of, "SANJI!"

"Shit! The fire's spreading!" Breve yelped as he accidentally burned his arm.

"The restaurant is going to burn down for sure this time!" exclaimed Gnocchi, and the pirates began to toss water up from where they were floating.

"H-hey! We gotta put out this fire or there'll be no point in taking over this ship!"

"I'm tryin', but the fire's too big!"

"PEARL SLAM!" The shout caught me off guard, and I let out a choked scream as the shield on Pearl's hand swung into my stomach. But before I could fly off, he seized my tail and yanked me back for a terrible haymaker to the face.

I crumbled under the blow, and my vision darkened as I heard alarmed shouts from those watching on the sidelines.

Pearl laughed in delight. "HAHA! FEEL FREE TO FIGHT BACK IF YOU WANT! THAT IS, AS LONG AS YOU DON'T MIND LETTING THE OLD MAN DIE!"

I blearily opened my eyes as Pearl moved to stomp on me, but another shout interrupted him.

"AARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Luffy kicked his foot into the sky with all his might, and I watched dazedly as it shot up into the sky, the limb stretching and stretching and stretching…

"STOP, YOU IDIOT!" Sanji shouted fearfully. "DON'T ATTACK HIM!"

"What's he planning?!"

"What the hell?"!

"GOMU GOMU NO…AXE!"

And the fins exploded into smithereens.

There wasn't much I could do, but my entire body jarred from the force of the explosion as people shouted and dove away in a panic. The deck my body was resting on tilted dangerously, and I let out a weak cry for help as I felt my body slipping towards the water. If I landed in it, I'd be a goner. There was no way I could swim in my condition.

And with agonizing slowness, my body slipped into the water.

I choked as I accidentally inhaled water, and I began to panic as water filled my lungs. But no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't move my limbs.

'Swim, damn it! SWIM!'

Hands seized me roughly beneath my shoulders, and I spluttered and sprayed water when my head broke the surface.

"Don't worry, I gotcha," a familiar voice soothed, and my head rolled back to stare at a face I didn't expect to see.

"K-Kalbi?" I gasped, and Kalbi nodded with a grin.

"Of course!" he affirmed brightly. "Just because I'm a hemophiliac doesn't mean I can't help out!"

I sagged weakly against him and let him support my weight. "Thanks. Sorry I can't do anything else."

He just grinned and ruffled my dripping hair. "It's okay. You fought hard, and that's what counts."


"That little brat," Krieg growled as he steadied himself on the deck of his old ship. "Gin!" he shouted. "Just blow that damn geezer's head off!"

I watched as Gin faltered. "B-but -!" he stammered, and I could see the doubt flickering in his eyes as he struggled against the order.

"Hey," Luffy said, in a tone of dawning realization. "I haven't laid a single finger on you guys at all. All I did was break the fins."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, ERRAND BOY?!" Sanji raged, picking himself up from the rubble. "ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!"

"Yup!" Luffy agreed before he turned to face the Baratie, a thoughtful expression crossing his face before he announced, "I'll sink this ship."

My jaw dropped.

"WHAT?!"

"WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?!" the cooks and pirates roared in tandem.

"OH HELL NO!" Patty shrieked, his face red with fury as the other cooks voiced their disagreements, loudly.

"THIS SHIP IS OURS!" the pirates screeched indignantly. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

"LUFFY!" I screamed despite my ribs hurting like a bitch. "I'LL KICK YOUR ASS IF YOU DO!"

"GIN!" Krieg shouted, spit flying in panic as he ordered, "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! KILL ZEFF ALREADY!"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Sanji hollered, seizing Luffy by the back of the teen's vest, and Luffy just blinked in reply. "JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR IN THIS RESTAURANT?!"

"But if the ship's destroyed, their plans will be ruined," Luffy pointed out obliviously.

"AND OURS TOO!" I raged. Honestly, if I had been feeling any better, I'd had gone up there and kicked his ass all the way to the Grand Line for even suggesting such a thing!

Kalbi, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and began to tow me to the remaining pieces of the deck, helping me up before hoisting himself out.

"Do you have any idea what this restaurant means to me? Or the gravity of my debt?!" Sanji snarled, but Luffy slapped his hand away.

"So you're planning to die for this restaurant? What're you, stupid?"

"WHAT?!"

Luffy grabbed the front of Sanji's jacket, and bellowed, "YOU WON'T BE REPAYING ANY DEBT BY DYING!"

Shock crossed Sanji's face as I stared at Luffy in surprise. That…was actually a valid point. "Holy shit."

Luffy glared at Sanji, and said through gritted teeth, "That's not what he saved you for! To throw away your life and die like this after being saved…That's what a weakling does!"

"Well, it's not like you know of a better way out of this mess!" Sanji argued back, the shock quickly morphing into anger as he grabbed Luffy's vest again.

They glared at each other for a brief moment, before a new voice interrupted.

"Now, now, stop this fighting, you two," cajoled Pearl with a stupid grin on his shitty face. "It's just your bad fortune to have gone up against the Krieg pirates. You picked the wrong enemies. There's nothing you can do against us! As long as we have a hostage, that is! I'll burn you to death with my fire pearls!"

He rushed at Luffy and Sanji, and they prepared themselves for an attack…

…That never came?

One moment, Pearl was running towards Luffy and Sanji, and the next, Gin was flying past him with weighted tonfas bared. He landed past Pearl with nary a sound, but Pearl…Pearl's shield exploded into a million pieces.

"GIN?!"

"Sorry Pearl, but I need you to get out of my way for a little while," Gin said coolly as Pearl collapsed, blood coming out of his mouth.

"W-why…Gin?" he gasped before he slumped over, finally unconscious.

"GIN!" a pirate shouted. "WHY DID YOU ATTACK PEARL?!"

"GIN!" Don Krieg looked more furious than I had ever seen him. "YOU DARE BETRAY ME?!"

"My apologies, Don Krieg," Gin apologized, before he turned to face Sanji and Luffy. "But please, allow me to put an end to our saviors with my own two hands."

"That's messed up," Kalbi muttered. "It doesn't even make sense!"

"There, see?" Luffy laughed. "My decoy strategy worked! Things worked out pretty well, don't you think?"

"SHUT UP, YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed at Luffy, not buying it for a second.

"YOUR STRATEGY WAS TO DESTROY THIS SHIP!" Sanji agreed angrily.

"Have you lost your mind, Fleet Battle Commander Gin?" Krieg demanded with a thunderous scowl.

Gin shook his head in denial, before addressing Sanji. "Sanji, I wanted you and Hazel to leave this ship without getting hurt, but it seems like it didn't turn out that way."

"No shit," Sanji agreed, pulling out a cigarette and easily lighting it.

"So then the least I could do is kill you and Hazel myself," Gin rationalized. "At least, that's the solution I arrived at."

"Huh. Well, thank you," Sanji replied as my jaw dropped. No way in hell was I letting that bastard kill me! And what kind of messed up logic was that?! And Sanji seemed to be BUYING it?! "Now, kindly eat shit and die."

"You too, Strawhat," Gin added, glancing at Luffy with an apathetic expression. "It would've been best for you to leave with your crewmates earlier."

"Hm?" Luffy perked up, before he said, "Nah, it's not as if I could ever be beaten by weaklings like you."

Silence reigned as everyone processed Luffy's statement, and I choked out a laugh as all the pirates began to thrash in the water with silent indignation before they exploded.

"HE JUST CALLED US WEAKLINGS AND TOLD OUR COMMANDER OFF!"

"WE'RE THE KRIEG PIRATES, THE STRONGEST PIRATE CREW IN ALL OF EAST BLUE!"

Luffy looked over at the pirates, and asked, bluntly, "Weren't you guys just the biggest pirate crew?"

The pirates all toppled back into the ocean in shock, and I couldn't take it anymore.

I began to howl with laughter, crying with pain and laughing my ass off at the same time. "STOP IT!" I gasped, tears streaming down my face as my ribs hurt from laughing. "IT HURTS!"

Sanji smirked, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Right on target, huh?" he asked in amusement, and Luffy shrugged.

"Guess I was right."

"You idiot!" howled Breve from the water. "Don't provoke them any more!"

"You're still up against Don Krieg!"

"His strength's the real thing!"

"That dimwit!" Patty squeaked from next to Carne and Zeff by the entrance, and Zeff picked himself up with a chuckle.

"THAT'S IT!" The pirates began to leap out of the water, swinging weapons with wild cries. "LET'S KILL THEM OURSELVES!"

"STEP BACK, ALL OF YOU!" They skidded to a halt at Krieg's command, and began to protest.

"D-Don Krieg…"

"But they -!"

"A person who gets angry just for being called weak is indirectly admitting that he's weak," Krieg pointed out. He had been watching the entire fight from the broken deck, but now he was lounging against a raised part as he smirked at his crew. "The final result is what decides who's strong and who's not. I'm still standing here, so don't you start whining for nothing."

The pirates all looked at their leader with stars in their eyes, and they saluted. "Yes Don!"

"Of course, Don!"

"Talk about leadership," Patty spat in disgust, and Carne shrugged.

"His title 'Don' as the fleet admiral of fifty ships isn't just for show, I guess," he commented.

"You there, brat." Krieg's voice lashed out, and Luffy looked over at Krieg with a blank expression. "Who do you think is more fit to become the pirate king? You or me?"

I thought Luffy would debate a little before answering, but he just said, "Me." Not even with the slightest bit of hesitation! He just folded his arms and stood there, like he was stating a fact!

'That idiot…'

"Hey!" Patty shouted from the entrance. "Don't egg him on any further?"

"Why?" Oh god. He honestly looked confused. Was Luffy mentally ill or something?!

Krieg growled angrily, before he rose to his feet. "Alright, move it men. It's time to teach that dreamer brat over there the true meaning of strength!"

He pulled out a gigantic shield, and all the pirates began to shriek hysterically.

"IT'S THE MH5!"

"Wha -! Don, wait!" Gin pleaded as all the cooks, including Sanji, Luffy, and I traded confused glances.

"If it's just a cannonball, I'll just bounce it back, you know," Luffy pointed out, like it was the most obvious thing the world.

"Please, Don, allow me to kill this man with my own ha -!" Gin began, but Krieg interrupted him.

"Whether you kill him or I do, the result is the same," Krieg snapped back. He held the giant shield out, aiming it over at Luffy. "You know that there's nothing I hate more than foolish, naïve things like 'honor' or 'compassion'," he told Luffy. "Listen well. This is a battle we're in. And in a battle, you fight to win. So all you have to do is win!"

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" I shouted, and Krieg glared at me.

"Don't forget that I promised to kill you, brat," he threatened, and he instead shifted his shield over to me as the front panel extended and revealed a miniature cannon. "Maybe I'll use a poison gas bomb to do it!"

"Poison gas?" Sanji yelped as my face paled, and Kalbi began to panic next to me.

"Oh god, this isn't good!"

"Don!" Gin begged, but Krieg ignored him.

"One whiff of this'll be enough to render your body immobile! This is strength!"

The cannon exploded, and I froze in fear as the cannon ball shot towards Kalbi and I. I could see the pirates around us putting on gas masks as the rest of the cooks dove into the water, but Kalbi couldn't move both of us out of the way in time.

"Hazel!" Sanji shouted desperately, running to my side, but Luffy just grinned.

"I'll just knock it down into the sea!" Luffy declared, before he ran towards me and towards the bomb.

"YOU IDIOT!" Sanji shouted, racing after him. "COME BACK!"

Luffy leapt into the air, and moved to kick it. "I ain't afraid of a little poison gas!"

"No, that's not it!" Gin gasped in realization, and when Luffy kicked it, it exploded into hundreds of little throwing stars. Several of them pierced Luffy's arms and legs, but several headed over into my direction.

"Hazel!" Kalbi gasped, and I tugged weakly on Kalbi's white uniform as he moved in front of me.

"No, don't!" I begged. "I can take it! KALBI, MOVE!"

However, my screaming was for nothing, because Sanji appeared before both of us and kicked away the stray stars.

"Bastard," he growled, meaning Krieg, and Kalbi and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Luffy collided back on the deck as the cooks made a commotion about the shrapnel bomb.

"Ow!" Luffy groaned, clutching at his wounds, and the pirates cheered in delight at their leader's accomplishment.

"HUH?" Luffy's eyes bugged as he took in the cuts all over his body. "WASN'T IT SUPPOSED TO BE A POISON GAS BOMB?!"

My jaw dropped in disbelief as Sanji bellowed, "A LITTLE SLOW ON THE UPTAKE, DON'T YOU THINK?!"

Krieg laughed. "A single poison gas bomb is enough to entirely wipe out a small town! As if I'd waste it to kill you two pieces of trash!"

"I see," Luffy declared solemnly, rising to his feet. "He got me good."

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU AGREEING WITH HIM, LUFFY?!" I shouted, before clutching at my ribs in pain. Owww. I guess I should stop yelling at the teen for his idiocy. It's not like my yelling was getting through to him.

"THIS IS WHAT A BATTLE IS! I'VE GOT MORE WAYS TO KILL YOU THAN I CAN COUNT!" Krieg boasted. "NOW I'LL ASK YOU AGAIN! WHICH ONE OF US DO YOU THINK IS MORE FIT TO BECOME THE PIRATE KING?!"

"Me!" Luffy answered like it was obvious, folding his arms. "It definitely can't be you!"

A vein in Krieg's forehead throbbed, and he ordered, "Gin! You're responsible for killing that cook and monkey brat! But I'll kill this brat myself!"

Gin bowed his head. "Understood, Don."

He and Sanji faced each other. "Sorry, Sanji," he apologized. "But you can't win against me."

"Hah," Sanji snorted, shoving his cigarette into his mouth. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

The two fighters faced each other as Krieg grumbled, "Damn brat. I'll demonstrate to you the might of the ruler of East Blue. You'll know soon enough that your strange power is meaningless before me."

"Keep talking," Luffy replied, straightening the hat on his head. "I'll send you flying either way."

I hung my head. "I give up. He's an idiot through and through."

Luffy cracked his knuckles. "I'll come on over there right now so just sit tight," he told Krieg, and Krieg laughed incredulously.

"So you're stupid enough to try and come over here again, are you?"

A flurry of movement to the side caught my attention, and I yelped, "Sanji! Watch out!"

"Here I come!" Gin announced, swinging his tonfas dangerously as he jumped towards Sanji. Sanji just watched him, his hands in his pockets as he stood there.

However, Sanji let out a startled curse when Gin shoved one of his tonfas into the deck and threw broken pieces of wood at the blond cook. "Whoa!" He jumped up, narrowly avoiding the attack, and thrust out his foot in a devastating front kick. "Damn you!"

Gin twisted and ducked under the blow, before smirking at Sanji. "Allow me to tell you my nickname," he said confidently. "It's 'the Demon'."

Gin swung a tonfa, and it slammed down onto Sanji's chest, sending the cook crashing down onto the deck. Gin sat down next to him, and held the tonfa down against Sanji's windpipe.

"I don't have a shred of sympathy for you anymore. So long." He began to swing the other tonfa above him, using momentum to gain more force behind his attack as he added, "At the very least, I'll kill you without leaving behind a disfigured corpse!"

I screamed when he swung down. "SANJI!" And before I could even process it, I raced forward, seizing the cigarette in Sanji's mouth and shoving the burning tip against Gin's face.

"AGH!" the pirate grunted, jerking back, and Sanji used that split second of distraction to push himself into a handstand and narrowly avoid Gin's killing blow.

He landed back down into a crouch as Gin pulled away, and I saw Sanji's arms flex as he pushed himself up into a backwards handspring, the heel of his foot slamming into Gin's chin.

The pirate reeled away, before his eyes landed on me. "Hazel," he growled, and before Sanji and I could move, he was before me.

My eyes widened, and the weighted end of his tonfa smashed into my head.

After that, I knew no more.


Not much of a cliffhanger, I know, but hopefully enough to tide ya'll over until next week! As always, review, send feedback, give criticism, whatever! I'm always looking for ways to improve this story, so if you have anything at all, then please, let me know!

Also, happy Chinese New Year's! (even though it's a few days late haha)

Posted and edited: 2/2/14, 5:52 PM