Chapter 9
A week went by and like Sanji said, Lucci got off the triail easily, and were back to work.
"Wow Usopp!" Luffy said as he looked at the wall, which had detailed ocean life. "It looks so real!"
"Well… since the Baratie is well known for its seafood dishes, I figured why not feel like you're in the ocean." Usopp explained as he worked on the other wall.
"It's perfect for the restaurant." Said a man, no taller than Luffy with a chef's outfit a tall chef's hat, his moustache is braided.
"Hey Redleg-san!" Luffy said.
"Hello Monkey-san. Is your furry friend well?"
"Hai! It just grazed him is all!"
The man laughed. "That's good to know! I keep hearing good things about that monster dog of yours."
"Oi, oi…" Luffy said when Sanji came in.
"Whoa…" Sanji said. "Now that's realistic art."
Usopp blushed as he tried to focus on the other wall. "T-Thanks…"
Sanji looked at the artist at work, the hand that held the brush with professional hold.
Then Nami came in with a muscular man in a contractor's clothing, blue hair, and star tattoos on his forearms.
"Everyone, this is Franky, the contractor I was telling you about. Franky, this is a small part of the workers and my boss here."
"I'm Luffy!"
"Sanji."
"I'm Usopp the greatest."
"Oi, oi…" Sanji said in a slight teasing matter.
"I'm Redleg, the head chef here."
"Nice meeting all of you." Franky said with a smile.
"What happened to your nose?" Luffy asked, which was received with a whack at the back of the head.
"That's a rude question!"
Franky just laughed it off. "Oh! I busted my nose up really good so I have to build myself this nose."
"You build it!"
"Yep! I do more than contract work, but it pays the bills."
"Sugoui!"
"Is that your dog out there?"
"Yeah! He's Zoro!"
"Nice dog. Any idea of the breed?"
"He's one of a kind."
Franky laughed. "Well that sums it up!"
Luffy laughed. "I like this guy!"
"Bet you do." Some of them said in unison as Nami showed Franky the spot where he was going to be busy for awhile.
"Okay!" Said Redleg. "We also have an important critic so air out this room and let's make this place presentable!
"Aye!" Said the three males as they went out to work.
Later that evening, a dark violet car parked in front of the restaurant, which alerted Zoro as he smelled some kind of perfume, very faint but still musty, like antiques.
Then a woman, tall, light tan that gave off enough glow, dark black hair that was straight and a bit past her shoulders, and light, stunning blue eyes. And having an hourglass body was also a nice touch, with her red wine wrap around silk dress.
'Wow… Love cook is going to be a complete idiot when he sees her.' Zoro thought, not really interested in things like this.
She went up and extended her hand out to him, which he bowed his head in his way of welcoming a customer. "What a wonderful gentleman." She said as the little puppy Chopper looked up in curiosity. "And is this your apprentice?"
'May as well be.' He thought as Chopper was sitting still like him, but still a bit eager to move.
She went into the restaurant, and Sanji was hosting, and of course he went bananas over the woman.
"My, my! I don't believe I've seen you around before."
She giggled. "Yes… I heard that this is the best restaurant in this city."
"You've heard right! But then, everyone has a preference."
"Very true." She said as she followed the host to her seat.
"Here you are madam!"
"Thank you." She said as she took her seat and Sanji pushed her seat in.
"You're server should be here any minute." He said as he walked away, loathing that he wasn't going to be able to serve her tonight, like the last twenty some young women. But as he glanced at Usopp, still at work in the painting, he couldn't help but feel balanced by the long nosed teen.
The woman looked at the menu while having a mental note of what she has noticed.
"Hi!" Luffy said as he came up to the table. "I'm Luffy, and welcome to the Baratie!"
She smiled. "Hello, I'm Robin."
"Robin, that's a nice name."
"Thank you. Your name is nice too."
"Thanks, and you've met Zoro, Chopper and Sanji."
"The two dogs and the host."
"Yep!"
"The large one is very unusual, but quite trained."
"That's Zoro, he's my dog and I think he's more human than a dog."
She giggled. "Indeed." She looked to see the paintings on the two walls. "Are you doing some remodeling?"
"Well, the walls are going to be painted by Usopp, he actually works here as the janitor. And we're going to have another room built by Franky."
"Oh, so you're quite busy."
"I guess. We're expecting a critic sometime ago, so you could say the pressure is there."
She smiled as she ordered a drink and the evening's specials.
While she waited, she opened a book she brought with her and looked to see a small notepad and pen. She wrote down notes of the service, atmosphere, how the customers are like, and how well they were being treated.
That's when a loud crash was heard, making the room silent.
"Gomen! Gomen!" Franky said as he popped in, covered in dust and having his tools around his waist. "Didn't mean to scare anyone, just that I accidently knocked over a pail of nails."
"Thanks for letting us know Franky!" Luffy said.
Franky waved to the teen as he half turned to return back to work, only to notice the woman sitting by herself, staring at him.
At first he wasn't sure to go over to talk to her or to go back to work, but decided that she probably wouldn't be interested in a contractor, and went back to the half finished room.
Robin, upon seeing the man come out of the drapes that were covering the soon to be room, couldn't tear her eyes away from the strong upper body and the baggy attire. She didn't get a good look until he half turned and noticed her. He was slightly unusual for her liking, but then she always liked the unusual things in the world.
"Robin-san…"
She looked to see the young man, Luffy, carrying a tray with her order. "Oh, thank you."
"No problem, but then it's the chefs you should thank, they did all the work."
She giggled. She liked the teen's honesty and carefree nature, it made everything feel lighter. Then she thought of a question. "This Franky… How long will he be working here?"
"Just until the room is done."
"Would you mind asking him how long that would be?"
"Sure." He said as he went to the draped entrance.
She tasted the food and deemed it wonderfully delicious when the teen came back.
"Franky said that he just needs to put some wiring in the walls, plaster the walls and work with the floors and ceiling. He also said that the whole thing would be done by tomorrow afternoon."
"That's really fast, even for a contractor."
"I guess he has special skills that beats the others."
"I guess so…" She flipped through her book and found a card. "Would you mind giving him this? I have a job for him when he is done with this one."
"Okay!" He said as he went back. "Oi! Franky!"
"What is it Bro?"
"She wanted me to give you her card. She said she has a job for you when you're done here."
"Really? Damn…" He said as he grabbed the card. "Must be impressed by the speed."
"She did say that you're faster than the regular guys."
Franky chuckled. "Tell her thanks and ask her if there's a certain date I should come over and oversee what I'm working with."
"Okay…" Luffy said as he ran out. 'What am I? A carrier pigeon?' He thought as he went up to Robin. 'Oh well, its kinda fun.' He smiled as she looked up. "He said to tell you thanks and wanted to know if there's a time he should look at what you wanted to be worked on."
"The moment he has time after this one."
"Okay." He said as he ran back to Franky. "She said as soon as you finish this!"
"That soon? Okay, tell her it's a date."
"Huh? You're going to date her?"
"No! No! I meant that I'll be there."
"Then why not say that?"
"Just go."
"Okay." Luffy went back to Robin. "He'll be there."
"Thank you Luffy, sorry for the trouble."
"Nah! It's no trouble. It was actually fun!"
She giggled as he went to another table and let her be to finish.
After closing
"Damn!" Sanji said as he gathered the table cloths, Luffy and Zoro went back to the apartment with Chopper. "That critic is really good at keeping his identity!"
"Why do you think the critic is a he?"
"Because the women were far too beautiful to be critics."
Usopp rolled his eyes. "What is it with you and women?"
"Huh?"
"I understand a guy likes girls, but you express it a lot. What is it about them that you go all… lovey-dovey… burst of bliss… kind of thing."
"Didn't you like girls?" Sanji asked.
"Yeah, but not in the way you do."
"What do I do?"
"You flirt with three girls then you do the same for the next group of girls. Most guys would be attracted to one or two girls, but they would usually keep quiet about it, or be bold and talk to them."
"What's wrong with my approach?"
"Is there any one girl that you truly like? And not because they're beautiful or they look good."
Sanji stayed silent as the artistic teen continued to paint.
"Though then again, who am I to question your way to talk to women?" Usopp said, taking the silence as that he may have hurt the chef, which he became friends with since the end of his first day. "Heck! For all I know! You could just be one of the guys who actually has the balls to talk to women and actually not say something stupid! I mean, when I hear you talk to them, they always seemed to enjoy having you around, because not only are you easy to look and talk to, you say the things they needed to hear. Unlike most guys, which all it takes is one stupid word and they're in hot water!" He laughed and wondered if the other was actually there, listening.
"Oi… Sanjji…?" He started to turn, only to feel a hand on his shoulder, then another on his waist. "S-Sanji…?"
"You're right… It's easy for me to talk to women because I know exactly what they want to hear… But… I don't know what to say to someone I may truly like."
Usopp could feel the breath on his bare neck as he stared straight into nothing on the wall, and he was sure that he was trembling.
Sanji knew he was risking by doing this, so when he saw the other trembling, he backed off and quickly gathered the clothes to get to the wash, leaving the teen to look at him in confused stupor.