Just a little heads up, I have changed Heather's voice to be like Anastasia Muñoz (English VA of Minerva Orlando from Fairy Tail)
With that said, It's time to start the Baratie Arc! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Same as the previous chapters.
Chapter 12: The Sea Restaurant, Baratie
Now the crew have gotten inside the lounge. Nami is writing something on table with Snowy sitting on her lap, Zoro is sleeping by the fridge, and Seth, Luffy, and Usopp are sitting with Nami with Hoopa floating near Seth.
"You know guys. I was thinking..." Luffy said, gaining the attention of others except Zoro. "There's one other position that we have to fill before going to the Grand Line."
"You have a point there." Seth said. "The kitchen here looks really nice. It'll be a real shame if we didn't use it."
"Hey, I thought you're the cook here, Seth." Luffy said.
"I didn't say that, you moron." Seth said. "And besides, I only cook on rare occasions."
"In that case, let me do the cooking." Nami said as Luffy and Seth turns to her just before she smirks. "... If you pay me, that is."
"Yeah no." Seth said with a disapproving look. "We need to find someone who doesn't try to charge us."
"And while we're at it, that someone has to be willing to sail with pirates." Hoopa added.
"Yeah. No decent pirate ship should set sail without one." Luffy said as he raises one his finger. "A musician."
"Seriously...?" Seth said with a sweatdrop. "Why would you think of a musician of all people?"
"Because pirates likes to sing obviously!" Luffy said, earning a bonk in the head by Seth.
"Don't tell me what I know!" Seth angrily said with blank, angry eyes and shark teeth. He then turns to normal expression. "Didn't cross your mind that pirates can't do anything with an empty stomach."
"Oh yeah, you're right!" Luffy said as he widen his eyes at the revelation as everyone but Zoro facepalm.
'Some captain he is...' They thought with sweatdrops. Just before Luffy say anything else, they hear the sound of someone wrecking some barrels outside.
"Come out! You filthy pirates!" A voice, belonged to a man shouted as Nami instantly returns Snowy to her pokeball, in order to avoid harm for the Fox Pokémon.
"I wonder who that is?" Seth commented. "And judging from the tone of his voice, he doesn't seem look happy."
"I'm gonna go check." Luffy said as he gets up from the chair and then exits the lounge.
Once he leave the lounge, Luffy see a man wearing a black sunglasses and a blue hoodie. In his hand is a sword that looks rectangular.
"Hey! Who the hell are you!?" Luffy said as he sees the damage the man caused.
"Shut up! Who am I means nothing! Ya stinkin' pirate!" The man shouted as he proceeds to cut Luffy, only for the latter to dodge and the former ends up cut the railing.
From the lounge, the three humans plus Hoopa are watching from the window. The sound of the man of the man cutting the railing wakes up.
"*yawn* Hey, what's going on?" Zoro asked as he wakes up.
"Some guy suddenly appeared on our ship, wanting to kill us." Seth answered after he turned towards Zoro.
"Is that so?" Zoro said as he scratches the back of his head. "How many are there?"
"Uh... one." Nami answered.
"He's either real confident or real stupid if he got board on our ship all by himself." Hoopa commented.
"Let Luffy handle him." Zoro said with his arms behind his head.
On the outside, Luffy is still fighting the man.
"Over the years, I've lost count all the pirate heads we've taken!" The guy said as he points his sword towards Luffy. "And now, you guys think you can kill my partner!?" He goes for a downward slash with Luffy dodges it.
Zoro then turn towards the window, seems to recognize the man's voice.
"Wait... I know that voice." Zoro muttered.
""Partner"? What do you mean?" Luffy asked. "Look, I don't really get what you're trying to say, just stop wrecking our ship!" He shouted as he throws the man, sending him crash onto a wall near a door that leads to the storage.
"Lost... by a hair." The man said as he falls to the floor.
"Who is this guy?" Luffy asked as Zoro comes out of the lounge.
"Johnny... Tell me that isn't you." Zoro said, making the man named Johnny raises his head at the sight of hearing his name.
"Huh? Who's saying my name like they think they know me!?" Johnny said before he notices Zoro. Then, he gets up quickly while still looking at the latter. "Big Bro Zoro!?"
"Johnny, it is you!" Zoro said with slightly surprised tone.
"What are you doing here, Big Bro?" Johnny asked.
"Where's Yosaku? Isn't he with you?" Zoro asked.
"What's going on?" Luffy asked.
From outside, Seth, Usopp, Hoopa, and Nami are watching from the window as they see Johnny going to the write fetch something... or rather someone.
"Hey look! Zoro seems to know the guy." Usopp pointed out.
"The guy could be one of Zoro's old colleagues from his bounty hunter days." Seth commented.
"What's going on here?" Nami asked.
With Zoro, he was lead by Johnny to see Yosaku, Johnny's companion. As Zoro looks towards Johnny's ship, he sees the man named Yosaku, lying on cloth. The man wears a red fighting headgear and a green hoodie. Underneath the hoodie is a black shirt, a yellow shorts with black stripes, and short boots. The most serious sight is there's bandages wrapped around his body and he seems to be bleeding.
"He's been sick!" Johnny said as he and Zoro decides to bring him to the decks of the Going Merry.
After that, everyone but Nami and Snowy are staring at Yosaku, who is purple as he breathes heavily.
"Up until a few days ago, he was healthy and full of life." Johnny explained. "And now, he keeps fainting and getting really pale! I have no idea what's causing it! His teeth have been falling out and his old wound had opened up and started bleeding?! He's just got worse and worse I didn't know what to do!" Johnny explained further. "So I thought maybe we just have rest on a little island, but then a cannon ball suddenly came flying from this ship!"
(Flashback)
Johnny had his ship resting behind the very same reef that Hoopa spotted.
"This should do it." Johnny said. "I hope there's nothing go wrong-" As he said that, the cannon ball that Usopp fired hit the reef, shocking Johnny.
(Flashback end)
Luffy and Usopp jaw dropped as they realized that they're responsible for it.
"Oh crap. We didn't know..." Seth muttered as he facepalms.
"We're sorry!" Luffy and Usopp said in unison as they bow in forgiveness.
"Yeah... Sorry isn't enough." Johnny said as two of them have their mouths open as they realize the possibility of Yosaku might be dying.
Nami comes down to the from the stairs, which Seth sees her.
"I can't believe they don't know what's wrong with him. Idiots." Nami said.
"I think I know what's going on." Seth said as he folds his arms. "I read a book once about some illnesses that can be found while venturing through the sea. And if I'm correct, you should check his tongue."
"Yeah." Nami replied.
"I think you're onto something, Seth." Hoopa said as Nami go towards Yosaku and kneels down. She then check his eyes to make sure that he's still alive, then begin to pull his tongue. That offends Johnny as he grabs Nami by the arm.
"Stop it! Whatever you're doing, stop! Your mocking his death!" Johnny said. "Damn you—"
Then, Seth bonks his head, leaving a bump where he hit.
"Calm down. Nami knows what she's doing." Seth said. "And besides, your friend here isn't quite dead."
"You mean he's still alive!?" Johnny asked with tears in eyes as he sprays Seth's face with his saliva while talking.
"Dude. Say it don't spray it." Seth said as he turns to Luffy and Usopp. "You two! Help me find some limes from the storage! We should have a stock of them here!"
Nami then turns to Luffy and Usopp.
"Well, you heard Seth! Help him brings them now!" Nami ordered as Seth, Luffy, and Usopp run off to the storage. But Luffy and Usopp got stuck on the door since they're are trying to enter the storage at the same time, causing them to crash through the room.
"It would be nice if you enter the storage one by one..." Seth muttered as he enters the storage to help the other two to find the limes.
Luckily, it doesn't take them long to find the limes as they immediately brings them back. Seth and Luffy start squeezing them over Yosaku's face.
"There we go..." Seth said as he look towards Johnny. "Guess I was right. You're friend here got himself a scurvy."
"Scurvy?" Johnny said as Hoopa places his hand to his palm.
"Oh! You mean that! I heard about it." Hoopa said. "You're supposed to use limes to treat it."
"And if we weren't too late, he'll be just fine in a few days." Nami added.
"Really, Big Sis?" Johnny yelled, while also getting spits on Nami's face. "Really thank you, Big Sis!"
"Please don't call me that. It sounds dumb." Nami answered as she pushes him away.
Johnny then go towards Seth.
"You knew what he had too!" Johnny said, getting his face wet by Johnny's saliva... again. "Thank you, Big Bro!"
"Didn't I tell you to not to spit at me!?" Seth said. "And for future references, don't call me that. It sounds so dumb if an adult like you call me that."
Hearing this particular tidbit, Usopp is now standing besides Zoro.
"Hey, Zoro." Usopp called out Zoro's name quietly.
"Yeah?" Zoro asked.
"I think I see a resemblance between Seth and Nami. Tell me; are they actually a couple?" Usopp asked.
"Dunno." Zoro said.
"I was a fool to ask..." Ussop replied with a disappointing tone. It's fortunate that neither Seth or Nami hear him, otherwise he's going to get pounded to oblivion. Seth begin to explain about scurvy.
"From what I've read, scurvy is caused by a lack of Vitamin C." Seth explained. "It used to be a hopeless disease that plagued sailors."
"Seth's right." Nami said as Luffy starts shoving some limes towards Yosaku's throat. "But now, we know how to deal with it." She said as she turns to Seth. "I'm surprised that you knew."
"Well, there's a time that I have to go somewhere by sea." Seth replied. "And as I said before, I took the liberty to learn about potential disease that can be found in the sea." He said as Nami turns away from him.
"To continue where Seth left off, the reason why scurvy is a plague because of how people couldn't carry fresh fruits and vegetables back in the old days." Nami explained. "Fortunately, we now know better."
"You're smart." Luffy said to Nami. "You're like a doctor."
"How about that? I was right." Usopp added. "She is as smart as Seth."
"Like the smartest person in the world." Luffy added as he and Usopp's remarks about Nami makes her angry.
"YOU GUYS ARE JUST MORONS!" Nami yelled at them with blank, angry eyes and sharkteeth . "EVERY SAILOR SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SCURVY!"
Then suddenly, Yosaku spits up all the limes that Luffy shoved to his throat before getting back up, feeling all better.
"HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY!" Both Johnny and Yosaku cheered as they do a happy dance while continuing to say the exact same words.
"IT CURED ME!" Yosaku cheerfully shouted.
"NOW YOU'RE ALL BETTER!" Johnny cheerfully added.
"YOU CAN'T HEAL THAT QUICKLY!" Nami yelled, again with the blank, angry eyes and shark teeth as the two men stop dancing and face the others.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves..." Johnny and Yosaku said, ready to introduce themselves.
"My name is Johnny." Johnny said.
"And I'm Yosaku." Yosaku said.
"Together we're the baddest pirate bounty hunting duo in the world." The two of them said in unison.
'Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing? I couldn't really tell...' Seth thought as he sweatdrops.
"Big Bro Zoro there used to be one of us." Johnny said.
"Glad to make your acquaintance." Yosaku finished as Zoro moves towards them.
"Small world, huh?" Zoro said. "Never thought I'd see you guys again."
"Well, if you think you're surprised..." Johnny said.
"We never thought that the "Pirate Hunter" Zoro became a pirate himself." Yosaku once again finished Johnny's sentence.
"Tell me about it." Zoro said as he places his towards them.
"Big Bro." Johnny said as he takes Zoro's hand. Yosaku is just about to do same... only to fall over because he's still got scurvy.
"Whoops. Forgot to mention that he needs to rest after taking the medicine." Seth said as he scratches the back of his head.
"That would be really helpful if you tell it sooner." Hoopa remarked. "Or you just that forgetful."
"Why you little!" Seth angrily shouted as he returns to choking Hoopa. Luffy and Usopp simply laughs at the scene while Nami just facepalms. Zoro is seeing it like its nothing new to him while Johnny just jaw drops at the scene.
'Is that some sort of a genie?' Johnny thought before Seth stops choking Hoopa and asks Zoro to help him carry Yosaku to a room where he can rest in a bed.
Several hours has passed after putting Yosaku to bed, everyone is now in the lounge, including Snowy as she sitting on Nami's lap. Why? Nami called the Fox Pokémon out, shocking Johnny about a fox coming out lf a ball. Seth then explains to Johnny about Pokémon and him being from another world, which it ends with latter to promise to keep the knowledge to himself... and to Yosaku.
"Let this be a lesson..." Nami said.
"Yeah. This is kinda the stuff you run into when you choose a life on the sea." Zoro added.
"Which means that when we're at sea, we really gotta think how we can get the right amount of nutrients with very little food." Usopp suggested as he turns to Seth. "Speaking of which, what kind of food that Pokémon eats, Seth?"
"Berries, people foods, and of course, Pokémon Food." Seth answered. "But don't worry, I'll take care of the Pokémon, so relax."
"Guess that's one problem out of the way." Usopp said. "Now we need to figure out how to keep ourselves well-fed and healthy."
"Is is really necessary?" Luffy said as he stuffs a piece of bread to his mouth. Then he realizes something before smiling. "Of course! That was what I about to say! The ship needs a cook!"
"I'm in! Good idea!" Usopp said as he supports Luffy's idea. "We'll have yummy food even when we're out at sea!"
"That's right! You got it!" Luffy said with a smile on his face.
"Having a cook would be very beneficial." Hoopa said as he folds his arms.
"A cook, huh?" Johnny said as he smiles. "I know just the place and the food is totally going to blow your mind." He suggested.
"If it's very delicious, then that's an idea I don't mind backing up." Seth said as he agree on Luffy's idea.
"But consider yourselves warned..." Johnny said with a serious tone. "This place is close to Grand Line..." He said as he move closer towards Zoro as he is about to whisper something on his ears. "... And I've heard a lot of rumors that a certain hawk-eyed man your looking for is there."
Zoro then wrapped one of his hands around his favorite sword, the Wado Ichimonji as he grins.
"Set a course!" Johnny said. "Towards Northeast!"
'Yes!' Nami thought with a smile.
'Awesome!' Usopp thought with a grin.
'I can't wait to taste the food there!' Seth thought as he grins like Luffy, Zoro, Hoopa, as well as Snowy who is also happy.
(Several hours later)
They managed to arrived at the sea restaurant, Baratie by noon.
"Here it is! The Sea Restaurant, Baratie!" Johnny presented the restaurant towards them (minus Snowy as she is returned to her pokeball) as they look at the place with amazement. Baratie is a floating restaurant with a fish head in the front, followed by its name.
"So, whaddya think?" Johnny asked them.
"Wow, it's a big fish!" Luffy said as he drools at the sight of fish head.
"How lovely!" Nami said as Yosaku comes out to the deck and immediately sees Baratie. Speaking of Nami, her clothes have changed besides her orange skirt. She now wears a pink shirt with the letters "W" and a lowercase "B" in the center in a circle in white. The shirt has white liners and two lines along the sleeves. And she also wears brown high-heeled boots.
"I'd never imagined there could be a restaurant that is really located on the middle of the ocean." Seth commented. "I wonder if it's a five-star restaurant?"
"I guess this world has it own charms." Hoopa added.
"This is the coolest place ever!" Usopp said as Yosaku drools just like Luffy.
But happiness doesn't last long as they hear a ship honking the horn coming up from the side of Merry. They turn to it find out that it's a Marine ship.
"The Marines!?" Usopp exclaimed.
"Oh crap. Just when I thought this day would be one without fighting the Marines." Seth muttered.
"Hey, Luffy... They're not gonna start firing at us, are they?" Usopp said before asking.
"Just my luck. Of course the Marines would show up." Zoro said as Johnny proceeds to go to where Yosaku is, so he can hide with him.
From the Marine ship is a man with a pink hair, but has dark brown eyebrows. He wears a white pinstripes suit with a light blue shirt beneath it and wears what appears to be a brass knuckles on his hands. He also has a scar on his right cheek.
"Huh? Haven't seen that pirate flag before..." The man wondered aloud as he notices most of everyone in the Going Merry. "I am "Iron-Fist" Fullbody, but you can just call me sir!" The man named Fullbody said. "You there! Who's the captain? Identify yourself!"
"My name is Luffy!" Luffy said as steps forward.
"My name is Usopp, got it!" Usopp chimed in as he tries to get himself notice by the Marine.
"We only made our flag the day before yesterday!" Luffy said.
"That's right, Marine!" Usopp said. "And I drew it!"
"Is that so?" Fullbody asked with a smirk. Then, he notices Johnny and Yosaku from the side the Going Merry. "Hey, you two! Right there! I've seen you both before. You're that bounty hunter duo that goes after the small fish, right?"
"Yeah well we..." Johnny said, sweating along with his buddy.
"It's... complicated." Yosaku added.
"So, you've finally been caught by pirates." Fullbody said.
"That's..." Johnny said, but he's too nervous to finish the sentence.
"Ain't that a laugh of the century." Fullbody said as a beautiful, blonde woman in a red dress appears before him as she grabs him by the arm.
"Hey, c'mon baby. Let's get going." The woman said to him.
"Sure." Fullbody said as he turns around ans proceeds to move towards the restaurant.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Johnny yelled as he pulls out a stack of wanted posters from his coat. "You think small time bounty hunters would go after these guys?" He asked as he throw the posters into the air with all the scattered papers falling to the deck, only for the Marine to ignore him.
Nami look over the poster as Fullbody stops in place.
"They're an eyesore..." Fullbody said to his underlings with a thumbs up. "Sink them!" He ordered as he turns the thumbs up to a thumbs down.
"Sir!" Two of his underlings said as they salute.
"He ignored us." Johnny said.
"Next time we see him he better have a little more respect for us." Yosaku added.
"Hmm?" Nami said as walks up to the scattered wanted posters on the deck and take a knee to pick one up. "What're these things?"
"Well those are all wanted pirates." Johnny said. "Big Sis Nami..." He then covered his mouth as he see her holding one poster in particular.
"In other words..." Johnny begin after he clear his throat. "If we defeat them, we get the reward money."
"Pretty lucrative business, huh?" Yosaku said as he had his mouth covered by his partner. Nami then crumbled the poster in her hands and begin shaking.
'No way... They too?' Nami thought as Seth notices her sudden change of behavior as he walk towards her.
"Yo, Nami. Are you okay?" Seth said before asking as he make his way towards her with Hoopa. "You're not looking so good..." He said as he takes the poster off her hands and see the content.
"Now let's see what makes you worked up about... Oh my." Seth said as he finally realizes who's in the wanted poster... It's Arlong, one of his targets on his hit list.
"Hey, Seth. Isn't he on one of those wanted posters I showed you the other day?" Hoopa asked.
"Seems like it." Seth said. Seeing Arlong makes the Pokémon Trainer's blood boils with excitement. "Yup. Can't wait to have a throwdown with him~!"
"No..." Nami said as she snatches the wanted poster off of Seth's hands and rips them apart. "You won't." She said that part quietly.
"Whoa now! What's your deal, Nami? You're looking pissed than usual." Seth asked as he really worries about her sudden hostility towards him. He then put two things together as he realizes what she's angry about and decides to ask her about it.. "Is there some connections with you and Arlong-"
And without warning, Nami slaps him... no, she outright smacks him with her staff so hard across his cheeks that he falls down to the side.
"Hey, Nami!" Zoro said as he witness the whole thing along with Johnny and Yosaku.
"Ow..." Seth said as he rubs his cheeks. He then turns to Nami with an angry expression. "What the hell, Nami!? Why you go hitting me all of a sudden!?"
"Yeah, Big Sis Nami. Are you gonna apologize to him?" Johnny asked.
"It's none of your business..." Nami said with venoms in her words as she turns away from them.
"Seth, you alright?" Hoopa asked.
"Never better. It's been awhile since I last got hit by a girl." Seth said as he gets up as he faces Nami. "I won't ask about your relationship with Arlong. But at least, tell me about what's troubling you, Nami?"
"Troubling me?" Nami repeated as she faces Seth with a glare. "Nothing... but the less you know, the better."
"Are you expecting me to buy that bullshit?" Seth asked again. Just before Nami could say more, Usopp speaks up.
"Hey, you guys. Look!" Usopp said as points out that the Marines are seriously trying to sink them. "They're pointing that cannon right at us!"
This breaks Seth out of his problems with Nami as he turn towards the cannon. "I'll do it-"
"No, Let me do it!" Luffy shouted.
"Okay, you'll do it." Seth replied.
"Gum Gum..." Luffy said as he stretches his arms before grabbing the mast and figurehead of the ship, taking the cannonball with it and stretches his body back. "Slingshot!"
The ugly part is that Luffy lets go one of his hands, causing him to turn away and flung himself to Merry's figurehead... with the cannonball flying forward to the Baratie as it destroys top part of the restaurant.
"Welp. Nice knowing you, Luffy." Seth said as the said rubber boy only has blank eyes and tears with mouth wide open as he knows that he "screws the pooch".
(In a room, located at the top of Baratie)
An elderly, blonde man with a peg leg groans in pain as he collapse on the floor. Then, the door to his room opens as three men in chef's uniforms enters the room to check up on the elderly man.
"Sir!" One cook said.
"Are you alright, Head Chef Zeff?" The second one asked.
"Sir! Are you okay?" The third one asked as they help the elderly man named Zeff to lift him to his bed. Surely enough, it doesn't take him long to regain consciousness as he faces them.
"Head Chef, are you sure you're okay?" The first cook asked.
"No! Nothing is okay!" Zeff said as he stomps the floor with his peg leg, slightly terrifying them. "Never mind! Just get back to the restaurant already!" He ordered them as he grabs his chef hat, who is surprisingly tall.
"But... but sir! Aren't you... I mean..." The other cook said before he is interrupted by Zeff.
"You maggots! Do you want to see me angry!?" Zeff shouted, terrifying his cooks once again. "Feeding the customers is the cook's job." He said as he puts on his chef hat while also bleeding from the head, but not life threatening. "What are you trying to do..." Zeff continues to talk as he touches his moustache as he move his hand down. Said moustache is long and braided as they're tied with a light blue ribbon. "Put me out of business!?" He asked as the moustache goes back to their original place.
Then, another pair of cooks enter the room, dragging Luffy by his shirt.
"This is the guy!" One of the cooks that dragged Luffy said.
"He's the one responsible for all this!" The other cook added as Luffy sees Zeff.
"Sir, I'm very sorry!" Luffy apologized as he bows down towards the head chef. He then notices the peg leg as he brings to a wrong conclusion. "AHHHH! YOUR LEG!"
"Idiot!" Zeff shouted as he steps on Luffy with his left foot. "Don't worry, you didn't do this to my leg."
"Oh, I see. That's good to know." Luffy casually said as Zeff kicks him away.
"But I'm all banged up. The medical fees and the repair charges for the ship are gonna cost you" Zeff said as he leans on to his bed.
"I won't ask you to cut me some slack..." Luffy said as he stands up, facing away from Zeff. "But I'm flat broke!" He said as he turns to him.
"Well, you're direct, aren't you?" Zeff asked as he smiles. "And since you have no money, then you have no choice but to work."
"Fine." Luffy said with a smile. "I wanna make it right."
"Then you'll work. Unpayed for a whole year." Zeff said.
"Right! I'll work unpayed for a whole year!" Luffy repeated before he realizes what he just said.
"I'll let you off the hook with that." Zeff said.
"Wait a sec! Did you just say a year!? Like, a whole year!?" Luffy asked as he's sweating like crazy.
"That's exactly what I said." Zeff answered.
(With the others)
The others are waiting for Luffy on the Merry, with Johnny and Yosaku fixing a railing.
"What's taking Luffy so long?" Usopp wondered aloud.
"Yeah." Nami replied
"They'll make him work without pay for like a whole month." Usopp said.
"Or worse, a whole year." Hoopa added.
"He should've just said it was the Marines' fault instead of being so freaking honest." Nami said.
"Well, I wish you're be more honest." Seth mocked Nami. "Oh wait, I forgot! You can't!"
"What is that supposed to mean!?" Nami exclaimed as she turns to Seth with a glare.
"For starters, I think today you're unusually aggressive ever since you saw what's on that one wanted poster." Seth explained. "And when I ask your relationship to you-know-who, you frickin' smack me!"
"Well, had you asked that, I would've settled it by telling you to shut up!" Nami retorted.
"See, this is what I mean! You shut someone down where they could be a help to you! Aren't friends suppose to helping each other!?" Seth retorted as Nami is so infuriated that she's about to say what she shouldn't has.
"Like you're one to talk! You suddenly got angry when Captain Kuro said something! And let's be honest here, you're not so different than me!" Nami said.
"You want me to be honest!? Fine! I CAN BE HONEST! I HAVE TRUST ISSUES WITH WOMEN! EVER SINCE THAT BITCH OF A SISTER RUINED ME!" Seth snapped as Nami widen his eyes along with everyone else in shock. Seth realizes what he said as he also taken aback.
"Seth..." Nami said as she really didn't see this side of Seth.
"I'm... sorry. That was uncalled for." Seth said as he turns away from Nami. "Just... forget what you heard, okay? You said it yourself, the less you know the better." He said as he changes to his Splash Plate form, which shocks to Usopp and the duo that the form resembles a fishmen.
"Now that's certainly something." Zoro commented. On both of the revelation and Seth's Splash Plate form.
"I'm not going to wait any longer." Seth said. "If you want to follow me to the restaurant, then you're welcome." He said as he jumps towards the sea before making his way towards the Baratie with Hoopa joining him.
'I... didn't mean for that to happen.' Nami thought. 'I was only trying to lay him off of my problem, but I ended up calling out his problem instead.' She continued to think as she feels guilty about it.
(With Luffy)
"You wreck my restaurant and seriously injure the Head Chef! That's a serious offense!" Zeff said and as he leans his head down to bonk Luffy on the head with his tall chef hat. After telling the cooks left, Luffy is constantly trying to negotiate with Zeff, but as you can see, no dice. "You can't just settle that up one or two weeks of un-payed work. That's ridiculous."
"You win! I'll work for three weeks!" Luffy offered as Zeff narrows his eyes. He then begin to spin himself with one hand before kicking Luffy with his peg leg, knocking the rubber boy down.
"Three weeks, you say? Well that won't cut it!" Zeff said as he stands himself up from the bed. "Just accept the fact that you're going to work for a whole year, you stubborn brat."
"No deal!" Luffy said with a serious look. "I've waited 10 long years to become a pirate. So, I'm not gonna waste another year stuck in this restaurant!"
Zeff sees the fire in his eyes as he stares on with curiosity.
"Listen, I'm gonna get you to let me off the hook in a week." Luffy said. "That's my decision!"
"Well, if you value time so much..." Zeff said as he begin to walk towards Luffy. "There's an easier way to pay off your debt, brat..." He said as he jabs one of Luffy's legs with his peg leg, causing him to squirm in pain. "But it's gonna cost you your leg." He further explained as he brandishes a knife with zigzagged edge.
"That's pricey." Luffy replied as he doesn't losing one of his legs.
"Good, then I got your attention." Zeff said as he smiles.
(With Zoro and co.)
Zoro, Usopp, and Nami are making their way to the restaurant using Johnny and Yosaku's ship. The duo volunteers to stay behind to take after the Merry.
"You know, I don't really care about Seth's past or whatever hell of a life you went through..." Zoro said sternly to Nami. "But you should really apologize for forcing him to confess like that."
"I know." Nami replied.
"And I'm not asking you to get along with him. At least show him some respect." Zoro added.
"Yeah..." Nami said as she deep in thought. 'For some reason... it hurts my heart when I yelled to him. Maybe I shouldn't get angry at him in the first place.'
(Inside the Baratie)
"You know, that was very sneaky of you. Bribing that cook to allow me to dine in here." Hoopa said as he floating near Seth, who sitting in a table (not literally on the table, mind you) for four people. What happened here exactly?
(Flashback)
After Seth (in his Splash Plate form) climbed up to a spot near the entrance, he immediately changed back to normal before going in. Fortunately by that time, he's cooled off after the argument.
As he opens the door, he sees that the restaurant is like a five-star restaurant that he knows back in Hoenn.
"This is certainly fancy. For a restaurant on the sea." Seth commented. "I wonder how many funds they spent on for making this..."
"Agreed. Humans do some rather interesting things." Hoopa added.
"Hey you!" They turn and see a man with beefy forearms calling them, but mostly calling Seth. Physical features aside, He wears a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with yellow buttons on both sides, and light blue on the end of the sleeves. He has knee-length shorts that are the same color as his shirt, along with brown shoes. He also wears a white apron, a pink ascot, an earring in his right ear, and a white rope tied around his head. And he has two heart tattoos on his left arm.
"Yo. Is there something I can help you?" Seth said.
"Yes you can help me! By making... whatever that thing out!" The muscular man said. "We have a "No Pets Allowed" policy here!"
"Human, I'm more than just a mere pet." Hoopa said. "I can-"
"Let me handle this." Seth stopped Hoopa as he steps to the Mischief Pokémon's defense. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind?" He said as he opens up his bag in order to find something. Fortunately, it doesn't take him long as he pulls out a Big Nugget. "Like say... this elusive object I liked to call a Big Nugget?" He said with a mischievous smile.
"If you're thinking about bribing me, then you're wasting your—Whaaaat!?" The man said before he was shock at a certain item that Seth currently holds. "Is this what I think it is!?"
"That depends if you think what I have is a rare form of gold that worths thousands of berris." Seth said as he cleared his throat. "So, what were you saying again?"
And just like that, the man personality turns a 180 as he had a friendlier expression.
"Sorry about my rude behavior from before, but what I meant to say is that your "friend" here is welcome." He said with a smile Seth gives him the Big Nugget. "Hello and welcome, you damn crooks! My name is Patty and how may I help you?"
"We would like to dine in please. With a table of four people, if you will." Seth replied.
"You got it! Now follow me, damn crook!" The man named Patty said.
'Is that really an insult or something else?' Seth pondered as Patty lead him and Hoopa to a table with chairs for 4 people. Seth then sit into one chair.
"You would like to order now?" Patty asked.
"Later. I'm waiting for my friends. They're on their way here." Seth answered.
"I see. If you need anything, just ask okay?" Patty said as he went to the bathroom.
(Flashback end)
"Still though, the fact that you still have a Big Nugget on you is beyond me." Hoopa said.
"Let's just say that I have connections back in Hoenn. I know a lot of people." Seth replied.
"That's certainly helpful for-" Hoopa said before he is cut off by a familiar voice.
"WAITER! HEY! Get over here!" The two of them turns to the source as they notices Fullbody, who now is angrier than the last time they met.
"Look at that! It's that Marine from before." Seth said as he and Hoopa see a slim man in a suit, who was passing by stops walking before he go towards a table where Fullbody is currently sitting. He seems to be older than Seth is. The man has blonde hair which he keeps his bangs brushed over the left side of his face, covering his left eye. He wears a black, double-breasted suit with golden buttons and a black tie together with a blue pinstripes, long-sleeved, buttoned shirt. And he has black shoes. The most unique part of him that he has a right eyebrow that spirals at the outer end.
"I believe I already told you that I'm not a waiter." The man calmly said to Fullbody as the latter turns to the woman that Fullbody brought. "What an irresistible beauty you are." He said to her as He grabs ahold of her hand. "My lady, would you care to have a glass of wine with me?"
'Did he seriously flirts with her?' Seth pondered with a sweat drop.
Seeing that the man ignores him, Fullbody slams his fist to the table, earning the blonde man's attention.
"Hey! What is this!? Is Bug soup on the menu today or did you make it just for me?" Fullbody said with an annoyed look while pointing out an insect on his plate of the soup.
"Bug soup?" The blonde man repeated.
"That's right! What is this bug doing there, waiter?" Fullbody said as the blonde man look towards the soup with the former forming a smug smile. 'This is certainly going to ruin the restaurant's reputation!' He thought. It appears that he's responsible for putting the bug on the soup, so he can spite the blonde man.
Unfortunately, that little ploy didn't work.
"Sorry, sir. Don't know really. Looks like he's floating." The blonde man replied, turning Fullbody's expression from smug to angry. It's as if the blonde man knows what is Fullbody trying to pull. "Then again, it kinda look like it's drowning, but it's hard to say for sure."
This makes the customers including the woman to laugh at Fullbody, even Seth and Hoopa is chuckling at his own expense.
"That guy knows how to make people angry with words alone." Seth commented as he continues to chuckle.
"You can probably do it with Taunt, Seth." Hoopa added.
Being humiliated in the public once again, Fullbody forms the hand with the brass knuckle on it to a fist before raising it. "DON'T YOU MESS WITH ME! WAITER!" He snapped as he destroys the table along with the plates and the glasses (not the one you wear on your head), causing everyone to stop laughing.
The blonde man simply kneels down as he places his hands on the soup. "You could've eaten it if you just take the bug out." He said as he has shadow covers his right eye. His voice is still calm, but the tone now is... very dangerous. "It took three whole days of hard cooking to prepare that soup for you and you wasted it."
"I have a feeling that something is about to go down." Seth said as he and Hoopa sees Fullbody stepping on the blonde man's hand, the one that latter is touching the soup with.
"Can't you see that you're biting off more than you can chew!?" Fullbody angrily said. "I'm the customer here! Do you understand me!? I'm paying you!"
"Stop this, you two! Please!" The woman begged, but none of them listen to her.
"Shut up!" Fullbody yelled to her as she shove her away, causing her to fall on the floor.
"Can your money... truly satisfy your hunger?" The blonde man asked with a dangerous tone.
"What?" Fullbody asked, not really hears the question.
"I'm asking... Can it satisfy your hunger!?" The blonde man asked as he do a headstand before beating up the arrogant Marine with his legs...
"I wonder what's going on in there?" Usopp as he just finished tying the small ship to the restaurant.
"Beats me. Prolly a fight or something." Zoro answered as he opens the door to the restaurant. He sees the customers with a surprised and fearful looks on their face as they see where the fight took place. "Well, what do you know. I was right. There was a fight." He said as Usopp and Nami sees the blonde man lifting Fullbody by the chin only with one hand as the latter is bleeding.
"The guy's certainly fights like a Hitmonlee." Seth said, impressed about the blonde man as he sees some cooks coming down to see what happened.
"Oh no. Sanji's at it again!" One cook commented as he and his fellow cooks sees the man named Sanji. This also causes the woman that Fullbody dated with to run away.
"Don't ever... waste food around me again!" Sanji said angrily, but managed to keep his calm voice. "At sea, if you ever provoke your cook, you're signing your own death warrant. Remember that!"
"Damn it, Sanji! Not again!" Patty said as he appears before Sanji.
"Oh look, it's that guy with the bulky forearms. Hmm?" Seth said as he notices Zoro, Usopp, and Nami. "Hey! Over here!" He waved his hand as they make their way towards him. It doesn't take him long for them to arrive at the table.
"Have you been waiting for this long?" Usopp asked as he and the others take a seat.
"Yeah, but I'm not bored with it." Seth replied as they see a scene between Sanji and Patty.
"What the hell do you think your doing with that customer!?" Patty exclaimed. "Don't you know that he's a Marine Lieutenant!?"
"You're a terrible cook. What makes you think you can talk me like that?" Sanji remarked while staring at Patty.
"A crappy cook like you is calling me bad!?" Patty exclaimed as he come towards Sanji. "Restaurants can't exist without their customers. They're our lifeblood, so we don't want to hurt them the way you seem to keep doing."
"But he deserved it." Sanji replied. "He didn't treat the food or me with respect and he insulted all the cooks!" He explained as he drops Fullbody to the ground. "So I simply taught him a lesson."
'Yeah... he's no ordinary cook if he handles like that.' Seth thought as he continues to watch the scene unfold.
"You're gonna regret this... All of you!" Fullbody threatened Sanji and the cooks here. "No restaurant should treat they're customers like this! I'll shut you down. Do you understand me!? I will shut this entire place down!"
"Looks like someone's a sore loser." Seth muttered.
"Couldn't say it better myself." Hoopa added.
"Maybe I should just finish you off now before that can happen." Sanji retorted as he tries to march towards Fullbody... emphasis on "try" because he is stopped by the other cooks.
"Sous Chef Sanji, stop!" One cook said.
"Don't make it worse than it already is!" The other cook added.
"Arrogant assholes like you who think they're such big shots, thinking they can push anybody around really piss me off!" Sanji said while still being restrained by the other cooks. "Not so high and mighty now, aren't ya!?"
Suddenly, the ceiling above comes crashing down with Luffy and Zeff coming down from it.
"There he is." Seth pointed out as everyone follow suit. "And judging from the looks of it, I'd say that he got his ass handed to him by that old man."
"So that's why he hasn't come out ever since." Zoro commented.
"My ceiling! This is all your fault, you brat! I'll make sure to put this in your tab!" Zeff said, oblivious to the fact that he's the who caused it.
"How is this my fault!?" Luffy exclaimed. "You're the one who attacked me!"
"Boss! Can you stop messing around and start giving us a hand!? Sanji went crazy again!" One of the cooks that is holding Sanji reported as Zeff turns to the said person.
"Hey, Sanji!" Zeff said, walking over to the three chefs holding Sanji. "Don't tell me you went on a rampage in here again!? You idiot!"
"Put a cork in it, old man!" Sanji retorted.
"Now you're ordering me around!?" Zeff exclaimed. "You wanna sink my restaurant to the bottom of the sea, you punk!?" He said as he kicks Sanji in face with his peg leg.
Fullbody just looks at the scene with a smug grin. But Zeff knew at a glance that he's the one who provoked Sanji. Plus, Zeff kinda heard Fullbody when he said that he's going to shut down Baratie.
"You too! Get your ungrateful ass out of my restaurant!" Zeff said as he kicks Fullbody in the face with the former's peg leg, causing to stumble a few steps back in response of being kicked.
'What kinda restaurant is this...!?' Fullbody thought in shock as he slowly gets up. 'The boss's like gangster! It's almost as if... if... this were a pirate ship!'
"How can you deny our motto to "treat the customer as king"!?" Patty yelled at Sanji.
"The only "kingly" customers are the ones who stomach that slope you call food." Sanji retorted.
"What did you say to me!? You womanizing scumbag!" Patty yelled back.
"That's it!" Zeff yelled. "If you two wanna fight, you'll keep it in the kitchen! You understand me!?"
'Are all of these idiots really cooks!?' Fullbody thought with disbelief.
Just as things start to calm down, a Marine appears on the entrance of Baratie... and from looks of it, he's critically injured.
"Lieutenant... Liutenant Fullbody!" The Marine said. "We've... We've got trouble!"
"Wow. This restaurant is crazy." Luffy commented.
"Sir, he's escaped! Pirate Krieg's henchman attacked us and vanished!"
"What!?" Fullbody exclaimed.
"Well, sir... we already lost seven of our men... we still couldn't find out about a lead of finding Krieg!" The Marine further explained.
"Impossible! When we picked him up three days ago, he was on a verge of starving to death!" Fullbody answered. "We haven't fed him anything, so where does his strength comes from!?"
The crew, including Seth and Hoopa, hears about how the Krieg Pirates is the most fearsome pirate crew in the East Blue. To Seth, he just shrugs it as if the crew is no big deal.
"This Krieg guy's nothing compared to the big ones in the Grand Line." Seth commented.
"How can you be so sure about that, Seth?" Usopp asked him. "Aren't you at least afraid of him!?"
"Why would I be afraid of some guy who thinks he's the strongest in this part of the sea?" Seth said. "You may know this, but the East Blue is considered the weakest of all the four main seas. So as far as I'm concerned, small time pirates who think they're some kinda big shots aren't worth my time."
Hearing this makes Zoro tenses up while wraps around his Wado Ichimonji.
'If that's true... then what are my chances of defeating him?' Zoro thought as he shrugs off. 'No, I have to try... There's no way I'm going to lose him.'
"I'm sorry, I-" Just before he could finish, someone shot the Marine from behind, causing him to fall forward to the floor. Fortunately, he isn't dead.
Then, there's a black haired man standing behind the fallen Marine officer. He wears an open gray jacket with a red sea-serpent design on each side with a green shirt underneath, gray pants matching with his jacket, a gray headband with blue stripes design, and two spherical earrings on each ear. And he is currently holding a flinlock gun on his hand.
Seeing what the man just did, some of the customers ran away while others stay away from him as far as possible.
"It would seems that we have a new customer, sir." Patty said to Zeff as the man goes towards an empty table.
"If we're to mind his manners, then don't start any trouble on my ship." Zeff warned Patty.
"A pirate, huh?" Luffy as he smiles.
The man walked with his free hand in his pocket and take a seat at the empty table and places his foot on the table.
"I don't care what it is, just bring me something to eat." The man demanded as Patty have arrived at his table. "C'mon, this is a restaurant."
"Hello and welcome, you damn crook!" Patty said with the grin he practiced at the restroom as a pair of customers gasped at his way of saying hello.
The man is clearly not amused at Patty's behavior.
"I'm just gonna say this one more time... Just bring me something to eat! And make it quick!" The man demanded further.
"Of course, right away! But might I be so bold to inquire how you're paying for your meal?" Patty asked, still with the grin on his face.
Having fed up of Patty's behavior, the man responds by pointing the gun at the former's forehead. Probably a bad idea threatening a man that has beefy forearms with a gun.
"Will a bullet be enough...?" The man asked as Patty is clearly pissed off.
"So, you don't have any money, then!?" Patty asked rhetorically as he smashes the man down with both of his arms to the floor, which thr former also smash the chair that the man was sitting on.
Some of the customers, including Fullbody, are surprised at Patty's strength.
"That dumbass Patty broke another chair." Zeff commented. And judging from his reaction, this isn't the first time that Patty broke a chair while beating someone up.
"Whoa. What power." Luffy commented.
"Sorry, pirate. But our policy is to only serve paying customers!" Patty said angrily as some of the customers and the cooks begin to cheer him up.
"Kick his ass, Patty!" One cook cheered. "Show him that we cooks don't screw around!"
'Something tells me that a fight like this always happened in this restaurant.' Seth pondered. 'Then again, after seeing that Sanji guy beat up that arrogant Marine, I wouldn't be surprised.'
"This is a little a bit too far.' Hoopa thought as he remember some words on how people and Pokémon alike avoided him like a plague a long time ago.
"You're not welcome here, you monster!"
"There's no place for an arrogant Pokémon like you! In fact, I'm not even sure if you're really a Pokémon!"
"NO ONE WANTS YOU HERE, SO BEAT IT!"
'Huh... It has been a long time since I last heard those words.' Hoopa pondered as he continues to watch the scene unfolds.
Then, the man manages to get up from the floor as his stomach growls in hunger.
"Aww. I can hear your stomach grumbling from here, pirate." Patty taunted as the man turns to him.
"That was a fart, you jerk." The man said, trying to play it cool. "Now listen, get me... something... eat now."
"WE'RE NOT GETTING YOU ANYTHING, SO BEAT IT!" Patty as he prepares to beat the man up. Unbeknownst to him, Hoopa is fed up with this.
'I've seen enough. Time for a mythical intervention!' Hoopa though as he immediately uses Psychic on Patty, causing the cook to stop in place just before he beats up the man.
"The hell!? I can't move!" Patty said as he tries to struggle from Psychic, but it proves to be useless. Of course, the customers, including Fullbody, are surprised at this.
"Is that..., genie-thing the one behind this!?" One customer exclaimed.
"He just stopped that cook without lifting a finger!" The other customer pointed out.
"I never seen anything like that before!" The third customer said.
Usopp and Luffy see Hoopa in awe, Zoro simply smiles at the Mischief Pokémon, Nami is visibly shocked, and Seth is intrigued. Sanji is so shocked that he drops the cigarette on his mouth while Zeff look towards Hoopa with a curious look.
'Wow. I never seen this side of that little trickster.' Seth thought.
"You...! You did this!?" Patty asked as his eyes are facing towards Hoopa.
"Yeah, I did." Hoopa answered. "Anyway, don't you think that's enough? I think he got the message across."
"It's none of your business! Or you wanted me to kick you out too!?" Patty asked. "When I get out of this... whatever the hell this is, you're dead meat!"
"You should mind your tongue to me, human... Or you might lose a leg." Hoopa said as he beginning clenches one of his arms to a fist, causing Patty to squirm in extreme pain as he feels that the leg he's about to use about come off on itself. Nothing that he ever experienced.
'That genie is crazy! He might be as strong as the Admirals!' Fullbody thought as he is now afraid of both the cooks in the Baratie and Hoopa. 'I better get out of here! I want nothing to do with this restaurant again!' He said as he crawls away to the entrance before waking up his remaining subordinate. Then, they crawl out from the restaurant with their lives.
"That genie sure knows what he was doing." Sanji commented.
"Leave that guy to me, I can take care of him." Hoopa said. "But if you insist on beating him up, you can kiss that leg of yours goodbye. Understand?"
"Okay Okay! I got it! Just let me go!" Patty yelled in pain as Hoopa deactivates the Psychic on him, causing him to kneel down as he rubs the legs that Hoopa try to tears off.
Hoopa then grabs the man by the collar before summoning a portal, shocking almost everyone. Customers and cooks alike.
"How can he do that!?" One customer exclaimed.
"That genie is in a whole new level!" The other customer said as Hoopa begin to move towards the portal with the man in tow. Just when he's right near the portal, Hoopa stops.
"Oh, and one more thing..." Hoopa said as he turns to Patty. "Try to kick my friends out, and I'll make sure it's not just you're leg that comes off. I can tear off your head from your neck just as easily. Understand?"
"Y-Yes sir! I understand completely, Mr. Genie sir!" Patty said in a militaristic manner, out of fear.
"Good." Hoopa said as he gets close to Sanji before whispering about something as the latter widen his eyes. Then, Hoopa steps into the portal with the man before said portal disappears.
Everyone that isn't the crew and Zeff can only have their jaws dropped and eye pop as they still in shock before they continue to do... whatever they were doing in the first place.
Sanji then snaps out of his shock before he returns to his normal expression with him putting a cigarette on his mouth before lights it up with his lighter.
"Well, there's only one thing to do..." Sanji muttered as he walks back to the kitchen to prepare a meal, which Zeff watches him from a far...
(With Hoopa)
"You... don't have to that for me..." The man said to Hoopa as his stomach is grumbling. They're somewhere outside of the restaurant, with the man resting on a railing.
"Who says I'm doing it for you?" Hoopa said. "Let me clarify this, human; I'm doing what anyone would do."
"Don't bother lying...!" The man said. "You only say that out of the pity!"
"No, he's telling the truth." They look up and see Luffy, who is above them.
"Yeah, what he said." Hoopa added as the door behind the two open, revealing Sanji who is carrying two plates of seafood fried rice.
"This one's for you." Sanji said as he hands ond plate to Hoopa. "I may not what you really are, but that was really entertaining, seeing you put that meathead of a cook in his place."
"Oh okay. Thank you." Hoopa said as he grabs the plate off of Sanji's hand before starting to eat it. "Oh my! This is delicious!" Hoopa said as he starts eating with excitement.
"Here." Sanji said as he put the tray with plate on it near the man as well as a glass of water. He then rests on the railing as well.
"Take it and leave me alone." The man said. "I won't accept your charity. It doesn't matter if I'm in a bad shape, just take this stuff away now..." He said, still refuses to eat.
"Just stop whining and eat it already. I don't give a rat's ass about how they say about you." Sanji replied. "To me, if anyone's hungry, they're a customer."
"Sorry, but I'm not your customer..." The man stubbornly said as his stomach grumbling again. Sanji blows some smoke from the cigarette before looking up.
"It's amazing how beautiful and cruel these oceans can be... It's almost a death sentence for you to lose your food and water around here..." Sanji said. "... How difficult it is to survive. I know how it means to go hungry because of the sea more than anyone. You can die from your pride if you want..." The Sous Chef said as he turns to the man. "But listen, if you eat and survive, won't that give you the opportunity to fight for your pride truly worth having now and the future?"
These words make the man widen his eyes as he realizes what Sanji is saying is right. After several seconds of contemplating, he grabs the plate before eating the dish as if his life is depends on it, with tears on his eyes as well.
"I'm sorry..." The man said as he stops eating for a moment to apologize. "I'm sorry... Thank you so much! I thought I was over! I thought I was truly going to die!" He said as he resumes eating the food with his heart's content.
"Took you long enough to mellow out..." Hoopa said with his usual grin as he just finishes his food.
"This food... is delicious!" The man said. "I've never eaten food this good before!"
Sanji response with a satisfied grin. "Of course it is."
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Luffy laughed before talking again. "I think I just found my cook!" He said as he move his head closer to the other three. "You're lucky he gave you food! You weren't looking so good there!" Luffy said before laughing again. "I thought you're a goner!"
'Huh... Now I see why Seth is so impressed at him.' Hoopa thought about Luffy. 'You may not be the smartest human I have met, but you're definitely one of the most unique ones.'
"So, listen Mr. Cook, why don't you leave this boat and join my crew!" Luffy said, catching both Sanji and the man off-guard. "I could use a cook like you on my pirate ship."
"Huh?" Both Sanji and the man said.
"Straightforward as always, I see." Hoopa commented. "But I won't have it any other way."
(With Seth and co.)
"Oh man! This spaghetti taste so good!" Seth said as he was eating a carbonara spaghetti. "I can never make something this good."
"Maybe you can, Seth... someday." Usopp said as he was eating his food along with the others.
As more foods coming to their table, Hoopa comes out from a portal he just created before said portal disappears.
"Hey, guys. Did I miss something?" Hoopa asked.
"Not significant." Seth answered. "So, how's Luffy?"
"He's trying to convince that Sanji human to join the crew, but..." Hoopa said.
"He refused right?" Seth asked.
"Yup. Then Luffy retorted by saying he "refuse his refusal" or something like that." Hoopa said.
"That's certainly what Luffy would say." Zoro said. "The guy can be really persistent."
"He did kinda blackmail you, so I don't blame you." Seth said.
"He was cheating, that's all." Zoro replied as Seth turns to Hoopa. "Have you eaten something yet? The food is so good!"
"I already ate, Seth." Hoopa said. "It was delightful."
"Okay then..." Seth said as he sees a certain someone in an apron. "Oh, look who's here."
"Chore boy!" Nami said as Luffy turns to them.
"What are you doing here!?" Luffy asked. Why is here instead of the kitchen? Let's see; he broke some plates when he was supposed to wash them. He took a bite on food that wasn't his, ruining said food. Then to top it all off, he accidentally touched a heated pan, causing him to run around in the kitchen while breaking some more plates or other stuff. It ends with Patty ordering him to go take some orders for the customers in the dining room.
"We heard that you had to work here for a whole year." Usopp said with a smile.
"And while you do the hard work, we get to sit back and relax since we're going to be here for awhile." Seth asked.
"Is it okay if we redraw the flag for our ship?" Zoro asked with a smirk on his face.
Luffy comes down to his five friends and notices the amount of food they had on their table.
"You're eating all this delicious food without me!?" Luffy exclaimed. "What kinda crew are you!?
"A crew with an idiotic captain that is." Seth said.
"I should've a let you handle that cannonball." Luffy said.
"But you didn't. So that's on you, Chore Boy!" Seth playfully teased as Luffy put a booger on his drink without noticing.
"Oh boy, this is gonna be so good." Usopp said as he, Hoopa, and Nami begin snickering to themselves with Zoro smirking. They know how this will play out.
"The food is something I never tasted before." Seth said as he raise his glass to his lips.
But little does Luffy know, he knew that Luffy put his booger on his drink. 'If you think I'd fall for this, then get ready for what's coming...!' He thought.
"You know, Luffy. I feel bad for you, man. I really am. So..." Without warning, Seth grabs Luffy before making his captain to drink said glass. "HAVE A NICE AND REFRESHING DRINK! HA HA HA HA!"
Luffy falls to the floor gagging as Nami, Hoopa, and Usopp are laughing their asses off (though Hoopa doesn't have a butt in this forme), even Zoro, who is stoic all the time, was joining in the laughter.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT, SETH!" Luffy shouted as he is squirming on the ground.
"That's my line, you rubberbrained idiot!" Seth retorted. "Didn't anyone taught you not to put gross things in foods and beverages!?"
Everyone was disturbed and are watching them because they were loud. From the side, Sanji was pouring a woman a drink. Her date was irritated towards Sanji, mainly because he was flirting with her.
"Aren't they quaint." Sanji commmented. "I wonder if that's the rest of his crew." But one person in particular caught in his crosshairs of love... and that person is Nami, who is still laughing at the scene "Finish pouring it yourself." He said as he give the wine to woman's date.
With a blink of an eye, he suddenly appears at the crew's table with a rose in hand as he kneels down to Nami.
"Oh dear ocean. Thank you for this treasure you have shared from your depths." Sanji said.
Nami leans back a little. She didn't even see him coming.
"Oh yes, my love!" Sanji said and then he turns and grips his face. "I can't bare this hardship of loving you from afar it is too difficult!"
"Oh boy, here we go again..." Seth sarcastically said as he rolls his eyes away.
"I am now prepared to sail to ends of the earth as a pirate if it means sailing with someone of your rare beauty!" Sanji turned around with his one visible eye now being a heart.
Luffy just had an awkward smile on his face, Zoro looked annoyed at the Sanji's personality. Hoopa just stare at Sanji indifferently. And Seth...? He feels pissed off for some reason.
"I bet that he's one of those people who takes a girl for the face value rather than her personality..." Seth muttered. "Can somebody shut him up?"
As if his prayer was answered, Nami's sole pokeball opens by itself, surprising Sanji as well as the some of the customers as Snowy appears.
"Snowy!?" Nami exclaimed.
"What the...?" Sanji said.
"Stay away from Nami, you creepy man!" Snowy said as she uses Freeze-Dry to attack Sanji, freezing him in the process.
"Did that just happen!?" One customer exclaimed.
"First that strange genie, now a snow fox who can literally freeze anything. What are these things!?" The other customer said.
"Now that's better." Seth said.
"Hey, Chore boy!" Patty called Luffy as the former comes down to check up on him. "Did you done taking orders yet or wha...?" He said before noticing Sanji in ice. Seeing him in the state makes Patty bursts in laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha! That's for beating the customers, you asshole!" Patty said as he turns to the upper level of the restaurant. "Hey, guys! Guess who got himself frozen?"
As he said that, several cooks including the one that Patty picked a fight with comes down to see Sanji's sorry state and joining the laughter.
"I may not encourage those idiots to laugh at him, but I suppose seeing that stubborn brat on ice brings some laughter in me." Zeff said as he can't help but to laugh a little at this. Once he returns to normal, he then turns to the other cooks.
"As for you idiots, get back to work!" Zeff ordered.
"Yes, boss!" The cooks including Patty said as they immediately return to the kitchen. After that, Sanji soon thaws out from the ice.
"That was cold..." Sanji said as he turns to Snowy. "What was that for, you damn fox!?"
"You were bothering Nami!" Snowy said. "Can't you see that Nami and Seth are together?"
"You what!?" Sanji exclaimed.
Since they were drinking, both Seth and Nami do a spit take at those words.
"Snowy! Where did you get that idea!?" Nami exclaimed as she was blushing.
"Yeah! And we're not like that!" Seth added.
"Wait, you two are not together?" Snowy asked with curiosity.
"Of course not!" Seth and Nami said before they realize that they were saying at the same time before turning away from each other awkwardly.
"You know, Sanji..." Sanji then turns to Zeff, who is talking to him.
"The old geezer." Sanji groaned.
"This is an opportunity you don't want to pass up." Zeff suggested. "Why not join them and become a pirate? I have no need to keep you here at my restaurant."
Hearing these words made Sanji riled up as he gritted his teeth at Zeff. You would be angry too if someone deliberately asked you to leave and telling them in the face that they're not needed.
(Somewhere, ?)
A seagull fly towards an island. Inside the island, there's a galleon type pirate ship with a panther figurehead in the front.
Inside the ship, more specifically, in the captain's quarters, there's the man that Sanji fed. He's facing to a silhouette figure, who is sitting on a throne.
"I see..." The figure with a man's voice said. "This cook saved your life and you're able to return here to us..." He said. "Is that what you're saying, Ghin?"
"Yes..." The man named Ghin answered. "I had no idea that the main ship is in this condition, Don Krieg." He said as he turns to the figure named Don Krieg. "No idea."
"So, what now?" Don Krieg asked.
"Now I believe I'll take you to the Sea Restaurant, Baratie." Ghin suggested as he smiles on. Whatever they were planning, it's never going to be good.
To be continued...
Next...
S: Let me convince that old man. We're not going anywhere if these keeps up.
DK: Yes, that was delicious. I feel alive again!
P: You see!? Look what've you brought to this restaurant, you stupid bastard!
S: Damn that Nami! Why would she leave now of all-Gack!
?: You may have quite the reputation in the East Blue, but that doesn't mean much to me. This sea is, by far, the weakest of the four.
Z: A wound on the back is the swordsman's shame.
S/H/L: Next time on A Star in the Ocean, Chapter 13: Betrayals
L: I'm going to be King of the Pirates!
Chapter 12's out! I gotta say, I had finished this on 1 AM so that's certainly something.
There's this another bit about Seth's past, but all shall be revealed soon.
And speaking of past, there's a little tidbit concerning Hoopa's past. I can't tell what it is... yet.
Review answer time:
-Coral the Leviathan: Yes, the part where Reina joins the crew draws ever closer. Well, ground types are immune to electricity, so that's really obvious.
-Gamelover41592: Thank you and I hope you keep supporting me.
-Insane Dominator: To be honest, it's just really a coincidence that Seth's artistic prowess are like your OC, Nic Pularis. And yeah, Monty certainly like Brock's Happiny. But I still need to look into those abilities.
About the Gorahn Pirates, you are right. They're bounty are higher than the one Reina usually fight. The Arc is still far, yes, but I know I can do it.
Just stay tuned about what surprises I have in store.
And speaking of surprises, there's going be something happen to Seth. What is it going to be? Stay tune on the next chapter!
Please leave a review and have a wonderful day/night!