Proof Read Version -Thx to SpiderMonkeyCatchwan-
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Eiichiro Oda-sensei still owns One Piece, Hail Oda...~~ \(^o^\)
CURSED or BLESSED [5] : Day Off -part one-
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Sanji strolled his way to the train station, puffing on his cigarette in and out leisurely. The blond chef was in a good mood and he was smiling dumbly. He just couldn't hold that smile back.
He looked casually stunning in his blue washed-out three quarter-sleeved T-shirt, combined with a dark hoodie vest with white line along the zipper and sleeves, and his bottom hugged perfectly by a pair of slim dark jeans, displaying his perfect long sturdy legs. He completed the look with a pair of dark penny loafer shoes. To top it off, he had styled his blond mane a bit, slicking it back up his right side with styling gel.
He chewed on his cigarette, ignoring those jealous glaring men and noisy squealing girls. The blond shoved one hand into his jeans pocket while the other swung freely. He hummed and was almost – just almost – bouncing while he walked. Damn his over-excitement! It had been like what... eighty... ninety? Or might be even a hundred years ago since he had a chance to hang out with friends. Friends who were willing to accept Sanji for whoever – or whatever – he was, and he did hope this time, his instinct was right. Well, he was willing to risk it this one last time.
When he arrived at the train station, he stopped at the trash bin nearby. Being a considerate gentleman that he was, he stubbed out his cigarette before stepping into the station. He pulled out a train card he had borrowed from 'his' Carina-san and entered the gate after tapping the card. After waiting for several minutes, the train arrived, and he got in and immediately went straight to the last right seat in the middle. It was just ten in the morning on a Wednesday; people were either in their office or commuting around to go to a meeting or doing some errands. Either way, the train was not that crowded. By the time he reached the fifth station of Katorea, the train became suddenly packed with young adults and teenagers. Sanji frowned.
[Isn't this a school day? So why there were lot of students going out at time like this?]
He heard some squeals and giggly laughs from them. He simply ignored them and fished out his phone from the pocket vest. He tapped the WhatsApp messenger icon and opened one of his chats with Luffy.
[Baratie Restaurant – Sambas Station; East Blue. Be sure to come at 11.00! We are waiting for you! \^0^/]
[Sure, I'll be there. I can't wait to see this Maki-chan you're always talking about.]
[You'll love her! She is nice and beautiful! And her cooking is also great! But Sabo makes better desserts!]
[Sabo?]
[My brother. Shishishi! ^.= You'll meet the others too. Oh, also Zoro! =D He misses you.]
[That dog?! You're kiddin!]
[I'm not! He is the one who-]
The blond's focus was suddenly disturbed by a shadow passing by in front of him. He looked up and saw an old lady walking slowly with her cane towards the railing near the door. Sanji glanced around just to see that most of the people were chit-chatting among themselves while some were pretending to be asleep.
[Really… people these days…] he thought.
He stood up, reached over to gently tap on the old lady's shoulder and jerked his thumb to his ex-seat when she turned around.
"Obaa-san*1, why don't you sit here?" the blond said sweetly. The old lady was confused at first, but then she nodded when she understood. His chivalry had no boundaries indeed.
"Thank you, son."
"My pleasure, Obaa-san. No worries."
"You're so kind. I'm sure your girl must be a very lucky one," the old lady gave him a knowing smile. Sanji cringed at those words, remembering what happened in his whole life. Full of despair, full of shattered dreams, full of betrayal. He bore scars which couldn't be healed.
"I hope so," replied the chef with a heavy sigh.
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, no… not at all. There's nothing wrong." He forced a smile.
"But you had this sad face just now."
"Ahh… Do I? I'm sorry, I shouldn't give that kind of face to a nice lady like you." He smiled again, and the old lady smiled back.
"You really are an interesting one. I pray that your life will be blessed."
"Oh why, thank you so much, Obaa-san. And I pray the same for you too," Sanji replied sincerely.
Suddenly, the speaker announced they were reaching the seventh station of Little Garden.
"Well then, Obaa-san, I have to go. It's a pleasure to meet you," said the blond, waving a goodbye, and the old lady reciprocated the gesture. He exited the train, and moved to the other platform to be on his way to Whiskey Peak before reaching Sambas Station.
Sanji reached Sambas at ten forty, exactly as he predicted before. He might need about fifteen minutes to look around the area; he had never been here before, well at least after fifty years or more. Or maybe, he could just call the noirette to pick him up at the station. He thought for a while, then decided to choose the first option. Strolling around the area wouldn't hurt, right? Besides, he still had a lot of time to search around. And so, he did.
To his surprise, the restaurant was fairly easy to spot. He just needed ten minutes before he came upon the huge grand restaurant. The wall was made up of warm golden colored stone bricks, with big glassy windows for the sun to shine through. Too bad he couldn't peek inside because it was closed off by big dark golden curtains.
In the far left, he saw a wooden staircase going up to the second floor. He frowned when he noticed the wall upstairs made of wood and the color was slightly different from the wall below. The second floor has a slightly lighter, golden pine color. He didn't miss several pots of red cosmos flowers, and some hanging pots of Nippon Oxeye Daisies; they combined perfectly with red and yellow and white color, adding a warmth feeling of a restaurant.
The vibe radiated from the restaurant was screaming beautiful, warmth, elegant and classy, all in the same time. It was his first time enjoying such a view and this feeling inside him, a feeling of someone greeting him with such warm welcome, he felt so comfortable.
"SAANJII!" came the vibrant voice. Sanji knew perfectly who it was. The blond quickly tilted his head up to the second floor. There, the young noirette was waving and laughing brightly at him, leaning on the solid wooden railing decorated with some beautiful vines.
"Yoo~ Here I come!" The chef smiled and waved back at him.
"You're early! I thought you'll be late."
"Guess you're wrong then." Luffy laughed, his smile never faltered. "Come on up! The café is open." He beckoned to the blond. Sanji blinked.
"Café? You said it's a restaurant?" he asked while climbing the stairs.
"Yeah, below. Upstairs is a café. We open half day-half day."
"You what?"
"Shishishishi~~ That's a terrific idea, right? Maki-chan, Sabo and Usopp were the ones who suggested it." Sanji eventually reached Luffy who was standing in front of a nice cozy looking café.
"I see why you like him so much, Luffy. He's cool," praised a new voice coming from behind.
"I agree. I love his style!" squealed another.
"Shishishishi~~ I told you, you'll like him, right?"
"Hello there. I'm Sabo, Luffy's big brother. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Makino. Their legal guardian. It's a pleasure to meet y- Ehh?"
"What a beautiful name, Makino-swhaan~~..." Sanji had suddenly knelt down and brought Makino's hand into his and placed a kiss on top of the confused woman's hand. "It suits you perfectly. The pleasure is all mine to meet such a magnificent beauty as you are."
"SHISHISHISHISHI! You're such an interesting one, Sanji!" laughed the youngster, seeing his guardian in such confusion.
"He is strange, Luffy! Not interesting." Another voice joined in seconds later, it was Usopp who was showing up, the green head tailing him. Suddenly there was a sweet smell tickling Sanji's nose.
"Such a womanizer," huffed the green head. Sanji's mood meter jumped up a bar. Who was this dick head anyway?
"Hello, I'm the mightiest Usopp, but you can call me Usopp by the way," said the curly head, offering his hand. Sanji stood up and shook his hand.
"Sanji. Nice to meet you."
Then the blond fixed his gaze to the green head who was standing still. Ah, he couldn't miss those three golden earrings on his left ear.
"Oi…" Usopp poked the man. He jolted, making the earrings jingle a bit but remained apathetic.
"I'm Sanji. And you are?" Sanji offered him a hand.
"Roronoa." The green head answered curtly, returning the gesture.
Though his face was sulking and somewhat dark, surprisingly his big calloused hand was warm and fit perfectly around the blond's. And there was the earlier smell again tickling the chef's nostrils, something sweet and comfortable kind of smell. Sanji felt something stir inside him. There was something with this green head, but Sanji couldn't point out what was bothering him. Sanji stared him dumbly.
"What are you looking at, guru-guru*2?"
"Wh–What?!" the blond jerked when he called him. Wait, what? What did he call him?
"What did you call me?" the blond mood meter jumped again.
"It's your fault for dozing off like that in the middle of the day."
"I am not dozing off!"
"Then you must be an idiot."
"Why you…-" Sanji became pissed.
[Who's this dick?! He's fuckin annoying.] Sanji grumbled.
This jerk boldly played with his temper and, and he wasn't one to lose control that easily.
[But, this particular moss head, wait what? Haha! HA! That's a nice name. Moss head. So, eh? Where were we?] thought Sanji.
"Come inside, Sanji. Makino is making you a refreshing juice. I hope you like sweet stuff," called Sabo, gesturing the blond to follow him. Sanji snapped out from his thoughts and looked towards the source of the voice. He nodded and then followed Sabo, walking past both the long nose man and the green head. And his nose caught that sweet smell – again.
[What is this smell? They do have a nice room spray.] he thought, looking around to see a nice cozy café, covered in cheery wooden color and wooden material all over the place.
The tables and chairs complemented each other, a simple vase on the table adorned with a few white and yellow daisies in it, making the atmosphere absolutely pleasant. He saw several calligraphy and simple paintings. And there was this one particular painting that caught his attention. A cute little brown puppy was hugging a cute little golden kitten. Speaking of which…
"Oh Luffy."
"Yeah?"
"Where is Zoro?" He asked without tearing his gaze away from the sweet simple painting.
"Eh? He is rig-"
"WAWAWAWAAAAAA! I FORGOT ABOUT THE DISH IN THE OVEN!" Usopp suddenly shouted like mad and ran into the café and disappeared behind a dark colored walnut door. That made the blond turn his head and stare blankly to the disappearing man's antics.
"What's with him?"
"Ah… usual thing. Ahahaha..." laughed Sabo awkwardly. "Anyway, how come you know Zoro?" continued Sabo.
"I met him together with Luffy. That arrogant dog. Where is he?"
"Ah, you see... He is with our friend, Brook. They are taking a walk."
"Sanji, Sabo. C'mon in!" called Makino from inside. "Luffy! Z- Roro-chan! Usopp is calling you."
"Coming! Come, Sanji," said Sabo.
"Oh? I wonder what's happening…?" Luffy tilted his head. The green head didn't answer, he just dragged the younger noirette by his shoulder,
"Sanji, Sabo will accompany you for a while. We'll be back in a minute!" shouted Luffy before they disappeared behind the same door as Usopp did earlier.
"Uh sure," replied the blond.
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"The fuck Luffy! We talked about this already! Don't let him know Zoro and Roronoa are the same person!" shouted Usopp.
"Ah! I forget. Sorry."
"You're not sorry at all!" hissed Usopp slapping the youth's head. Luffy just laughed as usual.
"Now what?" Zoro sighed. Usopp also sighed. He took out his phone and called the dusty blond head. d in the other building.
"Yea?" came the answer from the other end of the line.
"What should we do now?"
"Hmm… Let me see. I'll send you a message later. We have a guest here." A slight pause and he continued, "Okay, thanks. Bye!" And the connection was terminated. Usopp frowned but a few seconds later his phone rang out a notification sound. He checked his WhatsApp and found a message from Sabo.
[Later after Brook comes, tell Zoro to change to his dog form.]
Without a word, Usopp showed his phone to the werewolf.
"Great! Now I am the one who has to do this sort of thing," grumbled Zoro, ruffling his green mane.
"Shishishi! Isnt it nice? You can train to control your focus better."
"Shut up, baka!" growled the beast, pissed.
"Now hurry back, or that blond will suspect other things," said Usopp, moving away from his spot, the other two following him; one still groaning while the other was still grinning as he grabbed a glass of chocolate mousse along the way.
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"So, did you manage to save your dish?" asked the blond once he saw the long nose come in to join them.
"Ah? Eh...? Yeah. Yeap! Saved! Hehehehe!"
"Well, that's good."
"Nee Sanji, you have to eat this... It's personally made by Sabo." Luffy trotted towards Sanji, bringing a chocolate mousse on his hand. Then he put it on the table. Sanji smiled and took the spoon. After he tasted it, his eyes lit up as if he was shining.
"Wow! This is nice! I love the sweetness but at the same time it's bitter."
Suddenly Roronoa showed up, bringing him a glass of red wine.
[Ah, that sweet smell again…] thought the blond, while eyeing the man's gracious movement.
He put the glass beside the blond with such deftness, and left in silence. Sanji frowned seeing the green head.
"What's with him?"
"Nothing. He's always agitated," shrugged Sabo.
"I heard that!" growled Roronoa.
"Ahahah~~ still don't care!" teased the dusty blond head.
"Kheeh..."
"Moss head, you should smile a little. You work as a waiter, right?" suggested Sanji, offering him a smile.
"'Moss head' you called me?"
"Is there anyone else with such hair?"
"AHAHAHAHA! MOSS HEAD AHAHAHAHA!" laughed Luffy, banging the table hard.
"You sure have guts, Sanji!" added Usopp, joining in, as did Sabo and Makino, leaving the green head blushing in rage.
"Bastards!" He spat out before he left.
"Uh... He's not angry, is he?"
"It's okay. We tease him sometimes. But that was good! Moss head! Ahahaha!" laughed Sabo, wiping his falling tears. Sanji smiled. It sure was nice to tease someone once in a while.
An hour later, Makino went out and came back with Roronoa with tray full of lunch dishes.
"Meshiii!" wailed the noirette with shining eyes.
"Oh gosh Luffy! Calm down, will you?" sighed his big brother.
"Oh, you know him," cringed the long nose.
"It's grilled salmon with olive butter," chimed Makino, "I hope you enjoy it, everybody!" she added.
The older noirette and Roronoa started to serve the dishes on the table and everybody were humming appreciatively when the appetizing aroma intruded their nostrils – plus another sweet ambrosial smell for Sanji.
"Hey… I'm wondering, are you guys using some room spray or something?" asked the blond who couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"What room spray?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Not using anything," Sabo replied.
"What's wrong?" asked Luffy.
"I keep getting this sweet pleasant smell all around. Not that it bothers me. In fact, I actually love it. Is this gardenia? Where do you buy this?."
"Well, too bad but we're not using anything," answered Roronoa bluntly.
"Yeap! Besides it will be bad for Z–… Roro if we're using any!" added the boyish youngster. Wait, that sounded weird…? Sabo glanced around, nobody seemed to notice anything, Makino was still smiling, Usopp was drooling on his food, Roronoa was moving towards his seat, … wait what?
"So, why is it bad for the moss head? He has allergies or something?" asked the blond, casually bringing up his wine glass to his mouth.
The bomb was ticking, everybody froze – except for Sanji. And Luffy, of course. Seconds after their brain started to work, Makino frowned and bit her lower lip, Roronoa stayed still - color drained from his face, Usopp and Sabo's jaws were hanging open, while Luffy was still munching on his food.
* HnO HnO HnO HnOHnO – To be Continued –HnO HnOHnO HnO HnO *
*1 Old lady
*2 Curly-cue
Oh, how I love to make Luffy as an idiot troublemaker. He was so naïve and cute at the same time. But, he wasn't that idiot, I was sure I give you some hint inside right~? ;P
And so how was it? Good bad? Haha~ please do review so, I could do others better.
Jyaa~ 'till next time ^_^/
HnO