PLEASE READ! I promise this is important.
I'll make this quick because I don't usually like to put actual author's notes at the beginning of chapters but I just have two things that I want all of you to actually read!
1. I have something planned to happen in this story but I'm wanting a bit of a second opinion on it and how it should happen. If you're okay with spoilers and want to help me out with your opinions, PM me (or leave a review telling me and I'll PM you) so we can talk.
2. After reading some of Tsume Yuki's stories (an absolutely amazing One Piece author that I'm sure you all know), I found her Tumblr dedicated to her writing and realised just how fun it seemed to have an easier way to interact with you all and post pictures and previews or answer some questions. So basically, would you like me make a Tumblr for my fanfic writing. It'd be kinda like Tsume Yuki's so check hers out if you don't get what I mean (the url is tsume-yuki)
Now that I'm done boring you, go on and enjoy the chapter! :)
The Misadventures of Nora
Chapter 10
Mouthing Off… Again
"Well that was intense." Nora murmured as Sanji stormed off. She knew it wouldn't be long before he returned though.
"He really is interesting." Luffy said, adjusting his apron. "He's a good chef for us!"
"Didn't he just refuse though?" Usopp said with a shake of his head. "I don't think he wants to be a pirate."
"Well Nora keeps refusing but she's still here." Zoro pointed out as he took a sip of his drink.
"You've literally been kidnapping me!" She yelled, pointing an accusing finger towards him. "I was going to stay in Syrup Village and you carried me off!"
"We couldn't leave you behind though!" Luffy protested, laughing at her anger. "You're on my crew!"
Before she was given the chance to reply, Sanji swirled in out of nowhere with two cups of fresh fruit, along with some wine. Bracing herself for the flirting and heart eyes that she knew was coming, Nora leant back in her seat and let out a sigh.
"Forgive me for that ruckus just now." Sanji spoke, placing the delicious looking fruit and wine in front of her and Nami. "As an apology please enjoy this fruit macedonia and this glass of Grand Marnier."
Grand Marnier… She was pretty sure that was a drink back in her world and if she remembered correctly, she had hated it. She never really was one for alcoholic drinks, except for the fruity ones that is. Although she didn't particularly enjoy wines and champagne, she could stomach them after having to do so at all the dinner parties and galas her father had dragged her to.
"It looks delicious…" Nora murmured, her mouth practically watering.
"Hey! What about us?!" Usopp said, eyeing up the fruit and wine with a glare towards the cook. "This is gender discrimination! I'll sue, you love crazy cook!"
"I don't think you'd be able to afford to sue him." She said with a small laugh. Turning away from the now arguing Usopp and Sanji, she took a spoonful of the fruit and let out a contempt sigh. "This is amazing."
"You gonna drink that?" Zoro said, pointing towards her untouched wine.
"Nope. You can have it." She said with a shake of her head, pushing the glass towards him. She then turned to face Nami, frowning at the ruckus Usopp and Sanji were making. "Can you shut them up?"
"I suppose I could." Nami responded. Nora let out a groan when she could practically see the beri signs forming in her eyes. "It'll be added onto your bill though."
"My bill…?" She responded, a sinking feeling appearing in her stomach. She did not like where this was going.
"From the clothes." Nami explained, an innocent smile on her face. "You're at ten thousand beri so far!"
"Ten thousand?!" Nora screeched, practically jumping out of her seat. "I gave you back the two thousand berri that I didn't spend!"
"It's the interest for not having paid me back yet."
"You're evil. A demon."
At least she's shutting them up… She thought with a pout on her face, watching as Nami talked with Sanji. I just hope it doesn't add too much to my 'bill'.
"Then the food shall be free of charge for you two ladies!" Sanji yelled, spinning in a circle with a love-struck look before he turned to Usopp with a glare. "You're paying though."
As she watched him walk away, stopping briefly to greet some other female customers, she shook her head with a frown. He really was too easily manipulated by women. He was kind though.
"Stop frowning." Nami said, flicking her forehead lightly. "I got both of us free food."
"Judging his interactions with the other female guests, I don't think that would have been that hard." Nora replied with a flat look towards the navigator, her exasperation evident. Nami simply winked in response.
"You're a real witch, aren't you?" Zoro said, staring at Nami with a frown and gritted teeth. She couldn't help but agree with the swordsman.
Later that evening, they returned to the Merry with their stomachs full of delicious food. By they, Nora meant everyone minus Luffy who had been hard at work all day.
"Do you think we'll actually be stuck here for a year?" Usopp asked with a sigh, sitting on the deck. "I don't want to have to see that cook everyday for a whole year."
She couldn't stop the laugh that escaped at that statement. Watching the friendships between the Straw Hats develop really was entertaining. He had no idea what was coming.
"I think he's fine." Nami said with a smile, happily skipping onto the deck.
"You're only saying that because you're eating free!" Usopp yelled out, still angry about having to pay. "I can't afford to eat here for the next year!"
"We won't stay here for a year." Nora cut in, sympathetically patting his shoulder. "I'm sure Luffy will figure out someway to repay the debt quickly."
"Yeah and however he does that is going to cause more trouble for us." Zoro said with a laugh. "He better hurry up and figure it out though."
She couldn't agree more, she needed to get to land again. She was so sick of being at sea and in a constant state of mild nausea. It was awful. She never would have thought she would wish for a pirate attack to hurry up but right now, that was all she wanted.
Two days later, Nora sat in the Baratie, alone at a table taking small sips from a delicious hot chocolate that Sanji had prepared for her. It had seemed that that was all she had been drinking recently. The moment he had caught word that she liked them, he was waltzing over to her with a hot chocolate in hand whenever she stepped into the restaurant.
"Is the drink to your satisfaction Nora-chwan?" Sanji asked, elegantly sliding into the seat across from her.
"It's amazing as always." She replied, sending a smile to the chef. "Thank you Sanji."
Over the past few days, her and the chef had actually managed to have a few decent conversations, much to her surprise. There was still over the top flirting but she had come to realise if she just brushed it off, they could actually talk about things and got on quite well. It was somewhat a relief to her that she didn't have to have him constantly walking around with hearts in his eyes.
"You seem a bit distracted though." He said from across from her, capturing her attention. "I was worried you were sad."
"I'm not sad." She said, smiling gratefully at his concern. "I'd just like to get back onto solid ground soon. I'm not the best at being on the sea."
"Then I will steal a ship and row us to the nearest island!" Sanji proclaimed, the hearts once again in his eyes. "We can run away and live a romantic life!"
"And let someone else become the next head chef?" Nora asked, knowing exactly how to break him from his womanising moods. She watched in amusement as his mood quickly soured. "Zeff would probably love that."
Zeff was another person on the Baratie that she had surprisingly had some conversations with. She wasn't sure what to think of their interactions if she was being honest. It was nothing over the top like her interactions with Sanji, it was moreso quick 'hellos' and nods of acknowledgement. Every Time it happened, she'd notice his eyes flicker down to her necklace briefly, a small frown appearing on his face. She choose to simply brush it off. It was a strange looking necklace after all. She'd noticed some other customers eyeing it down as well over the past few days.
Nora's attention was snapped away from her thoughts when the sound of a glass shattering echoed through the restaurant.
Is it finally time? She wondered, glancing around the restaurant and noticing the terrified looks on the other customers.
"It's Don Kreig's flag!" One of the restaurant goers yelled, confirming her thoughts.
At this yell of terror, all hell broke loose. Everyone, from the customers, the chefs and even Sanji was clearly worried. Nora knew she should have been running in fear or screaming in horror but instead she was simply leaning back in her chair with a smile on her face.
It's finally time! She silently celebrated, doing her best to conceal her grin to avoid looking like an insane person. I'm going to be on dry land soon! I'm going to be free of the evil known as sailing!
"Talk about a huge ship!" Luffy said, wandering over to them with a smile. "Gin must've come here to repay his debt to you!"
"Somehow I don't think that's the case…" Sanji said, standing from his seat. "But it is strange..."
Getting up from her seat she walked over to one of the windows to get a proper look at the ship and when she did see it, she felt her jaw drop. She had known it was going to be destroyed but to see it in a state as bad as this was truly horrifying. It was yet another reminder of how terrifyingly strong some of the people in this world were. She was becoming increasingly worried for Zoro. He would soon be going up against the same man that had done this.
"To turn a gigantic galleon of that size into that sad state… That's no work of humans." Sanji said around a lit cigarette. "They must have been caught up in some natural disaster."
As Nora stared at the sorry state of the once grand ship, she felt as though a 'natural disaster' was a very valid way of describing Dracule Mihawk.
When she suddenly heard loud gasps coming from around the restaurant, she turned and looked towards the doorway to see that Don Krieg had finally made his appearance. His beaten and starved appearance along with the fact that he was being supported by Gin made him seem a lot less intimidating than people seemed to think he was.
"Sorry for intruding… but could I have some water… and food?" He rasped out, unhealthy sounding pants escaping his mouth. "If it's money you want, I've got plenty."
"He looks a bit worse for wear." She noted, glancing over his worn appearance.
"He looks like he's starving." Luffy said, nodding along with her comment.
"Wonder what happened…" Sanji said with furrowed brows.
"I'd say it has something to do with the person that destroyed that ship…" Nora said, paling at the thought.
"Person…?" Luffy asked, turning to her in confusion, making her eyes widen slightly.
"I meant thing." She quickly said. She let out a sigh of relief when Krieg collapsed to the floor and took Luffy's attention away from her and her words.
"I'm begging you! Please give him some food and water!" Gin yelled out, a look of desperation on his face as he crouched besides his fallen captain. "Please save my captain! He'll die at this rate!"
As Nora watched the scenes play out in front of her, she realised that the world was truly a strange place. Nothing was simple and there was no such thing as good and evil. On one hand there was Patty and the chefs along with the guests calling for the man's hunger to be used to their advantage, to arrest the fearsome pirate and on the other hand there was Gin begging for his captains life to be saved. In this situation, who was the evil one? Which side was being immoral? She couldn't decide because she could look at this situation from both perspectives. Being scared of the pirate captain and his crew was completely reasonable, he was an outlaw who went around causing trouble but then she pictured Luffy being in that situation. If she didn't know him, if she saw him as only the wanted criminal from the newspapers that he would soon become, would she want him to starve? She didn't know. Despite being corrupt and awful, if it were Fullbody in this situation everyone would be jumping to feed him because he was a marine.
That one quote that she recalled Doflamingo saying when she had watched the Marineford arc, about the winners becoming justice was beginning to make more and more sense to her. It didn't matter who the person was, instead people looked at what side they were from. She knew that Don Krieg was evil but if Luffy, someone who was good was in this exact situation, he would have received the same treatment. People didn't look at the individual. Even with all of these thoughts in her mind and the knowledge of what Krieg would do when he was fed, she couldn't decide which side was right.
This is hurting my head to think about… She thought with a sigh. The concept of and good and evil is weird.
"Hey move it Patty!" Sanji yelled, sending Patty flying with a kick. Walking over towards Gin, he handed him a plate of food and some drink. "Here Gin, give this to him."
As Don Krieg kneeled there, desperately shovelling the food into his face with tears in his eyes, Nora decided that Sanji's course of action had been the right thing to do. Despite being an awful person, she could see the true relief on his face as he ate the food so desperately. Sanji was one of the few people that could truly decide the right path in this situation.
As one of the outraged chefs began to yell at Sanji to take back the food, listing all of the horrible things that Don Krieg had done, she retook her seat and prepared herself for the long day she was about to have. It would probably be in her best interests to stay inside the restaurant when the fights started but she did want to see Hawk Eyes… She'd just have to make a decision when the time came.
When Sanji was sent flying across the room by an attack from Don Krieg, she winced slightly. Saying that that would have hurt would be an understatement. From besides her, Luffy let out a gasp of shock as he watched Sanji skid across the floor.
"Nice restaurant you've got here." The infamous Don Krieg spoke, now full of energy and holding back a protesting Gin. "I'll take it."
"And so the real show begins." Nora muttered as silence swept across the room. "Should I run away? Or do I stay and watch"
Almost as if a switch was suddenly flicked on, the guests all sprinted from the restaurant in horror, jumping onto one of the boats that had been docked just outside the doors. Part of her wanted to follow them and get to some nice solid land but she figured she was this far in that she might as well see it all through. Plus she didn't want to end up on some awful island.
"Hey Gin!" Luffy yelled out with clenched fists. "Are you alright?"
"You all good Sanji?" She asked, crouching down to the chef who was rubbing his shoulder. "That looked pretty painful."
"I'm fine Nora-chan." He replied, the situation to tense for him to go into his womanising mode.
"My ship's all worn out so I've been wanting a new one." Don Krieg said, standing tall with a glare on his face. "Once my business is done with you, I'll have you get off this ship."
"What a charming one this guy is." Nora muttered with a shake of her head as he began to tell them about the men on his ship and ordering that they were given food. "I'd say he's worse than Fullbody."
"I'm ordering you and nobody disobeys my orders." He ground out when some of the chefs protested against his demands, knowing full well that they would be attacked if they were to do as he said.
"Sanji, you bastard! It's because of you that we're in this-" Patty turned to scold him, only to see the younger chef walking off. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"
"To the kitchen." Sanji said, keeping his back turned. "To prepare enough food for one hundred people."
"He would make a good chef for your crew." She said to Luffy, a small smile coming onto her face as Sanji continued to stand tall despite the other chefs pointing guns at him. "You should definitely take him with you."
"Yeah." Luffy said, nodding with a small smile. "He'll be the perfect chef!"
Having seen all of this before, Nora turned to stare wistfully out the window. It wasn't that she didn't want to watch or that it was boring, it just felt odd to her. Seeing these scenes that she had watched and read just didn't feel right. No matter how long she spent with them, she doubted she would get used to it. It was like she was constantly experiencing déjà vu.
Jumping at the sound of a cannon going off, she whipped her head around to see Patty firing a hand held cannon towards Don Krieg. Everyone watched on in shock as it collided with him, thinking that the attack had been successful, but she knew better. If attacks like that took down the villains in One Piece, it would have nowhere near as many chapters or episodes.
"Whoa!" Luffy said with a gasp as the pirates reappeared in the doorway, his golden armour visible. "His bodies gold and shiny!"
"That's his armour Luffy." Nora said with a laughed, patting his head fondly. Despite always feeling somewhat out of place, she could always count on him to cheer her up with his comments.
When the chefs charged towards the captain, she took a step to stand behind Luffy and avoid the bullets that Krieg began to fire at them, flinching at the sound of the gun. That was another part of this world she wasn't too fond of. The violence all seemed so real. As much as she loved seeing Luffy punch the villains, she wasn't too fond of guns and blood.
"I should've stayed on the ship today." She groaned, watching as the chefs fell to the ground in pain. "Maybe it's not to late for me to sneak out…"
"You would've have been safer there." She suddenly heard Zeff say as he walked past her with a bag of food, ignoring the shouts of the chefs. "But your skin wont thicken if you stay hiding."
"Well the skin doesn't do anything if you're dead." She muttered, watching as he dumped the bag in front of Krieg.
"There's enough food here for a hundred people." He told the pirate with a glare. "So hurry up and bring it to your men!"
Watching Don Krieg's face carefully, she watched as it paled when he heard the name Zeff. People's knowledge of the older pirates, especially from what she'd seen in the East Blue, was quite strange. There were some people who seemed to know all the tales and then there were those that didn't even believe that the Pirate King had been real. Would people see Luffy that way some day? Would he be no more than a legend?
"That's only if they still have any fighting spirit left at all…" Zeff said to his chefs that yelled about how he and his men would attack the Baratie. "Isn't that right, defeated warriors of the Grand Line?"
"Grand Line?" Luffy gasped from besides her.
"Looks like he wasn't strong enough for the Grand Line." She mused. "What a terrifying ocean."
"You're Red Leg Zeff!" Don Krieg suddenly exclaimed, now snapped from his shock.
As he went into a rant about his history as a pirate, she watched on sadly as Sanji's face fell at the mention of his missing leg.
"Red Leg Zeff, you're a man who once braved the waters of the Devil's Hideout, the Grand Line itself. Not only that, you returned without injury!" Krieg shouted out, making her frown. She could practically see the idea forming in his head. "You must've kept a log during your time in the Grand Line! So what I'm getting at is hand over that log to me!"
"Cool!" Luffy said, turning to Zeff excitedly. "You've been the to Grand Line, old man?"
"Red Leg Zeff is such a cool epithet…" Nora murmured as Zeff denied the order from Krieg.
"Then I'll just steal it from you! It's true that I cam back defeated from the Grand Line, but even so, I'm still the mighty Don Krieg!" He yelled in anger, clenching his fist. "That ocean shrouded by darkness, the mention of which alone causes weak men to tremble in their boots. I had enough power to conquer the sea! Enough man power! Enough ammunition! The only thing I lacked was information!"
"I doubt information would stop you from getting cut down by one man." Nora spoke, no longer being able to hold her tongue in the presence of someone so irritating. As his and Gin's heads whipped around to face her, she continued with a small sigh. "You're in denial. That guy was too much for you. Reading about someone else's experiences wouldn't have saved you. You can't predict what will happen in the Grand Line and who you'll meet. It doesn't work like that."
"You…" Krieg ground out, his teeth clenching. "How do you know about that?"
"There are few things, or should I say people?, that can cut a galleon so cleanly." She replied, doing her best to hide her fear. "Your refusal to accept the truth doesn't hide it."
"Say what you want but I simply did not know enough!" He bellowed at her, causing her to flinch. "That is why I'll steal the travel log and this ship!"
When the chefs once again began to protest against his demands, he immediately yelled for silence and began another one of his irritating monologues. With the directions it was going in, Nora had a pretty good idea that Luffy would soon interrupt.
"Once I obtain Zeff's travel log, I'll reassemble my pirate fleet and find the One Piece to become the greatest pirate of this era." He spoke.
And there it is. She let out a small laugh as Luffy stepped forward, a fist clenched with a frown on his face.
"Hold it right there!" He yelled, pointing a finger towards Krieg. "The one who'll become the Pirate King is me!"
"I agree." Nora said, nodding as the chefs began to freak out while Zeff watched on in interest.
From the corner of her eye, Nora saw a sudden spark of green that caught her attention. Turning in the direction with a grin, she sent a small wave to Zoro and Usopp who were seated at a table not to far away, watching Luffy in amusement. While all the attention was away from her, she quietly made her way over to the table and took a seat between the two.
"Interesting show, isn't it?" She said, laughing at the shocked looks on the faces of all the chefs. "Luffy always manages to make things interesting."
"That's one way of putting it." Zoro said, smirking at her. "But are you one to talk?"
"Yeah!" Usopp said with an accusing nod. "You were mouthing off one of the most fearsome pirates of the East Blue before!"
"Luffy's worse though." She said, a statement to which neither of them could disagree with.
"He's gonna get us killed before we make it to the Grand Line. If I was capt-" Usopp agreed, his nose pointed in the air, letting out a yelp when Nora flicked his forehead. "Hey! What was that for?!"
"Be quiet." She said, pointing to Luffy and Don Krieg. "It looks like something interesting is going to happen.
"Hey! Stand back down kid!" Patty yelled in alarm, having no idea what Luffy was actually capable of. "You'll be killed!"
"I'm not standing down!" Luffy said with a grin. "Especially on this point!"
"Of course he wouldn't stand down." Zoro muttered with a grin. She could see the pride in his captain on his face.
"Did you say something, little brat?" Krieg spoke with a scowl on his face, glaring at Luffy. "I'll be nice enough to let your comment just now slide."
"It's fine. You don't have to let it slide." Luffy said, making Nora internally cheer him on. "I was only stating the truth."
"This ain't a game." He said looking him dead in the eye.
"Of course." Luffy said, nodding along.
As Nora focused on the scene in front of her, Zoro and Usopp continued to discuss the prospects of dying if they were to go to the Grand Line.
"Did you hear that just now? Even Krieg couldn't make it there!" Usopp shouted, drawing the attention of the shell-shocked chefs. "I won't say anything bad so let's just give up on going to a place like that!"
"Just keep your mouth shut." Zoro said, shaking his head slightly.
"To late to back out now." Nora said, placing her arm around his shoulder in mock sympathy. "That's the life of a pirate."
"You planning to rumble, Luffy." Zoro spoke, as cool and collected as always, his sword draped over his shoulder with a smirk on his face. "Need a hand?"
"Oh, hey Zoro, Usopp. I was wondering where you suddenly disappeared to Nora." He said, turning to face them. "No it's fine. You can just stay sitting."
"Are those your crew mates?" Krieg spoke, a mocking laugh escaping his lips. "A rather small bunch, aren't they?"
"What are you talking about?" Luffy said with a frown. "I've got two others!"
"Hey, you just counted me in, didn't you?" Sanji said with an exasperated look.
"I'm not on his crew." Nora added quickly before letting out a defeated sigh. "And of course no one's listening."
"Don't joke with me punk! Even my fleet of fifty ships and five thousand pirates were utterly decimated by that devilish sea in just seven days." Krieg yelled, making Nora snort. It wasn't the sea; it was one of the seas warlords. "It was because we lacked information!"
"Did you hear that just now?" Usopp cried out with tears streaming down his face, pounding his fist on the table. "Fifty ships gone! In just a single week!"
"Fifty divided by seven is seven point one four." Nora said, mentally doing the calculations. "That means he was losing fourteen point two percent of his fleet each day. That's pretty scary."
"Heh, sounds interesting." Zoro said while Usopp whimpered at her input.
Walking over to pick up the bag of food, it seemed that Don Krieg would finally be going back to his ship. He left them with a warning to Luffy to stop 'bluffing' and an extension for when he would take the ship. With one final warning that he would kill anyone who was still on the ship when he returned, he walked out the door with the food slung over his shoulder.
"He's finally gone!" Nora said, letting out a huff as she stretched in her chair. "Man that guy was irritating."
"You know, I really thought we'd walk in and see you shaking in your seat at the sight of the East Blue's most fearsome pirate." Zoro said, turning in his chair to face. "Instead you were sat there mouthing him off."
"For someone who claims they aren't a pirate you always end up acting like one." Usopp said, nodding along in agreement to Zoro's statement.
"How does getting annoyed by annoying people make me like a pirate?" She huffed out, choosing to ignore the arguments that had suddenly broken out between the chefs. "Plus that guy isn't even scary! Luffy could kick his ass."
"Silence you numbskulls!" Zeff suddenly yelled at his chefs, putting a halt to their conversation. "Have any of you ever been hungry enough to die…? Do any of you know just how terrifying and painful it is, to be stuck in this ocean, deprived of food and water?"
Nora knew that she didn't and neither did any of the chefs. It seemed that Zeff, Sanji and Gin were the only ones who knew that feeling. She had never felt that way, felt the emptiness in her stomach. She had, after all, grown up in a family that could easily provide food. Although the context was different, it was a reminder to her of how differently she had grown up to many people in both her world and this world.
"If you've got time to be crying over spilt milk," Zeff spoke, standing tall. "Then just leave this place using the back door."
"They all look motivated." She noted, watching as the chefs all prepared to fight. From the corner of her eye, she could see Sanji and Gin talking.
"They're some scary chefs." Usopp said with a gulp.
"Hey! What do you think about him?" Luffy asked, walking over to them and taking a seat on the table. "Pretty good right?"
"Who cares about him!" Usopp said frantically jumping from his seat. "If we don't get out of here soon…"
"Calm down." Zoro said, leaning back in his chair. "Our enemies are wounded pirates."
"Yeah." Nora nodded in agreement with a laugh. "You took on Captain Kuro so you can take on a hundred or so wounded pirates!"
"That's right! And besides, I have to fight with that guy. If he truly is strong than he and I are going to butt heads eventually anyways!" Luffy said with his all to familiar grin. It was alarming how used to them she was getting. "Oh that's right! Gin. You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line. But didn't you guys go there?"
"What I don't know is the truth… I just can't believe it… I just don't know if those seven days we spent in the Grand Line were real or just a nightmare." Gin explained, trembling on the ground in fear. "I'm still wrestling with it in my mind. He just appeared all of a sudden. To think, all fifty ships were destroyed by a single man!"
At this statement, once again, all hell broke loose around the restaurant. Shocked shouts and cried were coming from everyone. Even Zoro had sat forward with a uneasy look on his face. Nora simply sat and observed the reactions to the information she already knew.
Observing was something she found herself doing quite often in this world and truthfully, she didn't like it. She was conflicted though. She usually liked to be involved in things, doing things, saying things, yet in this world, doing or saying the wrong thing could get her killed! She'd already died once and she'd rather a few more decades pass before she did it again. She wasn't ignorant. She was weak, she'd been thinking about that the whole time but recently her boredom was getting the better of her. From Fullbody to Krieg, she'd broken from her role as an observer so she didn't feel so isolated. That was why she needed to break away from the Straw Hats. She couldn't live her life watching them, knowing what was coming. Just like in her previous life, she was unable to hold her tongue when she needed to and sooner or later, someone would punish her for that.
She could only be thankful that her father wasn't in this world.
"So Nora just wasn't going on about nonsense?" Usopp finally managed to get out with a gulp, drawing her attention from her thoughts. When she caught the look on Zoro's face, she realised that Gin must have mention Mihawk.
"Like I said, a ship doesn't just get naturally sliced." She said, shaking her head. Suddenly getting up from her seat, the irritation of being an observer finally getting the better of her she called out to Zeff. "Do you mind if I use the kitchen?"
"This ship is about to be attacked and you want to use the kitchen?" The chef responded, his eyebrows rising. "Well do whatever you want."
"Thank you." She said, happily walking off and ignoring the incredulous looks being sent her way.
Walking up the spiralled stairs in the centre of the room, she brainstormed what she would actually do in the kitchen. She didn't want to spend to long in there because much as she was bored of being an observer, there was no way in hell she was going to miss seeing Mihawk make his arrival and Luffy send the finishing blow to Krieg. Perhaps she could try and make a hot chocolate…
Yes, that's what I'll do. She thought with a deciding nod, stepping into the kitchen. I can drink it while I watch everything happen. Although it probably won't taste as good as Sanji's…
Glancing around the empty kitchen, she let out a small whistle of appreciation. Saying that it was impressive would be an understatement. She had expected it to be much smaller and cramped but it was a massive kitchen. She supposed the bustling chefs shown in the anime and manga hadn't given a full view into the sheer size of the room.
Step one is to find a cup. She decided, glancing around at the multitude of cupboards and draws with a frown. Something that's going to be easier said than done…
Walking over to the cupboard closest to her, she decided to work from left to right. Opening up the first door, she was greeted with the site of plates, the second cupboard, more plates, and the third cupboard, even more plates. Letting out a groan of frustration, she opened up the forth one and, you guessed it, saw plates. Accepting that she was going to need to go through every cupboard, she did just that. Finally, when she opened the final cupboard, she was greeted with the site of the mugs.
I really should have just started from this end. She thought as she placed the cup down onto the stainless steel workbench. Now it's time for step two: finding the milk.
This step was much easier than the first; she simply had to step into the industrial sized fridge that was in the corner of the room. It had been cold in there and she absolutely terrified that she was going to get locked in there but much to her relief; she was able to find the milk with no problem.
Now it's step three, heating the milk. Glancing around the kitchen, she didn't see a microwave, not that she was surprised. Guess I'm using the stove then…
Walking over to one of the cupboards she was able to easily locate one of the pans, having looked into every cupboard already on her search for a mug. Placing it onto the stoves element, she crouched down in an attempt to figure out how the hell she was supposed to turn the thing on. Once again, it seemed she was in luck. Turning the nob to hot and flicking for the spark, she let out a satisfied nod as the stove fired to life. Pouring the right amount of milk into pot, she moved onto the next step.
I need to find some sugar and cocoa to add to that while it's heating. She planned out in her head, going to one of the cupboards she had seen the said items stored in earlier. I don't know how much so I guess I'll just have to wing it.
With that in mind, she poured roughly what she imagined a hot chocolate would need before she began to stir it. Now, all she had to do was wait until it warmed and combined. She wouldn't waste her time with the whipped cream and marshmallows that Sanji's hot chocolates always had, after all, Mihawk would be arriving soon.
While she waited for her hot chocolate to heat, she let her thoughts wonder. It wasn't often that she was given a peaceful moment to think about everything so she might as well take it. But then again, she supposed it wouldn't do much, she didn't know what to think of this situation. Deciding to start with what had led to her, being there on the Baratie, making her hot chocolate, she reflected on her death. Dying was strange. It wasn't like in the stories she had read. She knew it had happened, she hadn't floated in the darkness and talked to a voice, she had simply blacked out. That scared her. There had been nothing until she woke up on that beach.
That was the second thing she hadn't really given herself the chance to think about. She was in a world that was supposed to be fictional. She was with the protagonists of that world, going along with them for a small part of that journey? How had that happened? Was it all some strange post-death dream? No… It all felt to real, and besides, she doubted she would be able to remember the exact words the characters, well people, said. So if not that, what was it? In a world full of devil fruits, she supposed it wouldn't be that ridiculous to assume that by some luck, someone else's devil fruit had transported her here. Although the chances the correct situation and variables all falling perfectly into to place was unlikely, there was still a chance.
Then there was her third problem. What was she going to do in this world? As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had about as much knowledge and skill about living as a normal citizen in this world as she did about being a pirate. The small glimpses she had seen through One Piece didn't show the reality of this world and what everyday life would be like. If she wanted to go on and make a life on one of the islands, she'd need to get a job to provide for herself, something she wasn't confident she could do. She wasn't trained in any of the skills that she would need for island life. On Nami's island, she would have to try and work her way into someone else's family business or take up fishing, neither of which sounded like things she could do. That means she'd need an alternative, but what alternative was there? The skills she had weren't needed on that island, or for any of the islands in the East Blue now that she looked back on it.
She had been studying Crime Scene Investigation's! The islands of the East Blue didn't need someone to come to a crime scene and collect evidence: if there were any crimes, it was almost always pirates who proudly admitted to being the culprits! There was also no way in hell she would consider working for the marines. Even if she eventually gave up and did do that, it wouldn't get her far. The technology of this world was simply too different and the skills she had wouldn't be effective.
She really was stuck between and rock and a hard place. As things were, she didn't have a place in this world. She could try to weasel her way into one of the already existing spots but could she do that? She didn't know the answer to that.
"Well, at least my hot chocolate is looking ready." She spoke out loud to herself, needing to clear the air of her thoughts. "I guess I'll go watch the pirates fight now."
Giving the drink one more stir in the pot, she gave a nod of approval, satisfied that everything had successfully dissolved and mixed. Turning the stove off, Nora carefully poured the hot mixture into the mug. She contemplated cleaning her dishes but when she thought about the mess that the restaurant would soon be in, she decided they wouldn't mind needing to wash one extra pot. With that in mind, she picked up her mug of hot chocolate and made her way to exit the kitchen and walk down the spiral stairs.
As she walked down the stairs, she took her first sip of the drink, letting out a hum of approval when she realised it actually tasted quite good. Nowhere near as good as Sanji's but a hot chocolate was a hot chocolate.
"Looks like I've made it just in time." She mused as she came down to the lower level of the Baratie just in time to hear the sounds of the approaching pirates.
"I thought you'd gone to hide up in the kitchen." Zoro said with raised eyebrows when she came to a stop behind his chair.
"No. I just really wanted a hot chocolate." She explained, gesturing towards the mug. "It always calms me down."
"Hiding in the kitchen doesn't sound like such a bad idea…" Usopp muttered, a look of terror on his face as he attempted the shield himself by stooping down to the tables height. "Maybe it's not too late for me to go there."
"I wouldn't try it if I were you." Nora advised staring out through the doorway. She made sure to grip onto the back of Zoro's chair to steady herself in anticipation of what was soon to happen.
It was immediately after her statement that Don Krieg's ship was sliced into the pieces before their very eyes.
Despite having been expecting it, she still felt her draw drop at the site. It really was something else… To think that one day Zoro, to person right in front of her, would be able to do this with just as much ease as Mihawk had. That was truly amazing.
"Our ship was outside to!" Zoro cursed, jumping from his seat and sprinting out doors, Usopp and Luffy doing the same. "Nami, Usopp and Johnny are still inside!"
"It might be too late already!" Usopp cried out as he ran after them, panic painted across his features.
Following behind them at a slower pace, taking sips of her hot chocolate on the way, she smiled a small smile to herself. Usopp's goals was to one day become a brave warrior of the sea yet seeing him sprint off to check on his crewmates, despite having just seen a galleon get sliced up, she realised that perhaps he wasn't as far off from his goal as he thought.
When she made it out the doors and onto the deck, she glanced over to the Straw Hats, along with Johnny and Yosaku. The situation looked tense over there and it didn't feel right for her to intrude, especially when she wouldn't be able to understand how they felt about Nami's betrayal. What she knew changed the way she saw the situation so instead, she glanced around and saw Zeff, looking into the sea with a look of pure shock on his face.
"Looks like you were right, old man." She said, coming to a stop besides Zeff and staring out at the small ship that held a single man. "I bet you wish you hadn't been though."
"You don't seem shocked." He noted, not taking his eyes off of the small ship.
"That's because I'm not." She said, taking a small sip from her cup. She then let out a small laugh. "Although to think he really would appear in the East Blue of all the seas… It must be fate."
From behind them, the chefs began to snap out of their shock, making comments about whether or not he really was the one to sink Krieg's fleet and questioning as to where his weapon was. Once again, she was struck with how strange the spread of information in this world was. The 'Hawk-Eyed' man was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, someone you would expect people to recognise from newspapers or perhaps old bounty poster yet no one did. Did they assume that they were safe because they were in the most peaceful Blue, the East Blue? Or was it like this in all of the Blue's? Perhaps only people who sailed the Grand Line for long enough and those in the New World took the time to learn the faces of these infamous pirates. Either way, it was still odd to her.
"If you're looking for his weapon, then it's on his back." Zeff said, his face growing hard. Upon the shocked cries of his chefs, he continued speaking. "Yes, that 'Hawk-Eyed' man is a renowned swordsman. More renowned than any other swordsman in this world."
And my world as well. Nora silently added. He really is terrifyingly strong.
And that's the end of the chapter! I hope you all liked it and I'm so sorry that the update is a few days late! I'm not the best at updating on the same day of each week in case you haven't noticed.
But anyway, at the beginning of this chapter I wasn't really feeling this chapter but later on, I actually really like how it turned out? I feel like I was able to include so many of Nora's opinions and thoughts and give more of an insight into her character. She's just so fun to write so even though I may ramble on about her ideals and thoughts in some parts, I think they're important in regards to her personality.
On that note, there was actually quite a few things regarding her character in this chapter. Some of them I don't think you'll be able to pick up on because they're so small but once all the reveals are made, you'll go back and be like 'IT ALL MAKES SENSE!' Or at least I hope you will… We also get to see that she's sick of sitting around and watching, something I'm sick of as well tbh so perhaps next chapter we might see her boredom getting the better of her, maybe, maybe not…
As always, I want to thank everything single one of you who has reviewed, followed, favorited or read this story! It honestly means so much to me that you're all enjoying this story so far, even if it is a bit slow at this stage. I hope you'll all continue to stick with it because I've got some really exciting things planned (especially once they make it the Grand Line).
I'm already getting onto writing the next chapter because of how much I liked the ending of this one so the next update will (hopefully but who knows tbh) be soon! Don't forget to leave a review and also favourite/follow because like I said, it means the world to me! Bye :)