Bandit- (grins) Finally, I updated my other story so I could finish this chapter. (cackles) BDAR LIVES!
Ed- Why the hell are you in this fandom?
Bandit- Get lost Ed, you don't belong here. (snaps fingers)
Ed- (confused) Wha?-- (is suddenly sent flying)
Zoro- Heh. Pipsqueak.
Bandit- SHHHH! Don't let him hear you, idiot!
Ed- WHO YOU CALLIN' A--
Bandit- (sighs) Just read the fic.
Disclaimer- If I owned OP, I'd be in Japan right now on vacation. Sadly, I'm still stuck in Iowa….
(AN)- Another fight, but it's not Zoro vs. Luffy… (grins) Let's see Zoro strut his stuff for our favorite captain…
Zoro didn't really hate people… well, except Sanji, but that man was a stupid fuck. That was far from the point.
But Luffy… Never had he met someone to be such a contradiction to everything Zoro expected. The skinny boy could actually fight and really injure the shit out of someone, he had a black hole for a stomach and still looked like a stick, he'd convinced himself that Zoro was nothing but a pansy, and to top it all off…
He managed to have Zoro owe Sanji a favor.
That alone made Zoro want to throw the kid out of his car and drive over the body until investigators couldn't identify it.
The damn cook had certainly taken advantage of the situation, graciously offering to pay for the meal as if he normally did this type of thing all the time. All he asked was for a itsy, bitsy thing in return.
Naturally, Zoro would normally refuse such an offer; this was the Love Cook, after all. There had to be a alternative motive, no matter how sweet the deal looked. Only the fact that he'd be forced to clean the entire BARATIE for a fight he didn't even start swayed his better judgment… and the fact he wanted to get back to class so he could cut Luffy into micro-sized pieces. But that self-satisfied smirk Sanji wore when Zoro agreed…
Zoro clutched the wheel tighter, feeling his temper rise and rebel.
When they got back to the dojo, Zoro was gonna put the fear of God into Luffy.
And as a bonus for himself, he'd happily stab Sanji in the throat later that night.
'Damn you kid! I'm gonna shove all three of my swords up your ass! See who you think is weak then! All the damn trouble you caused me!'
"Neh, Zoro?"
"What?" the man grounded out, hands twitching for his swords.
"I didn't know you were allowed to go above sixty when the speed thingy says twenty-five," Luffy stated innocently, awe written in his face. "Wow, I'm gonna have to tell my brother he was right all along."
Zoro's eyes darted around, only now just noticing how houses were flying by in a blur. "Oh shit!" How the hell had that happened? Slamming on the brakes, he braced himself as his car squealed to a slower speed, Luffy whooping and hollering next to him.
"Yeah, let's do it again!"
'What a crazy kid,' he thought, not bothering to give Luffy the 'Are you really that dumb?' stare. He already knew the answer to that. Plus, Zoro was just glad no cops had seen him… The last thing he needed now was a…
A loud, shrill noise met his ears, mocking him as he pulled over to the side of the road.
"Cool! The cops!" Luffy jumped up and down in his seat, grinning at Zoro.
"Luffy, that's not cool!" the swordsman snapped.
If Luffy replied Zoro didn't hear him, too busy praying the motorcycle would drive past and leave him be. But life decided to be a real bitch today, and the vehicle winded to a halt behind them. Zoro repressed the urge to bang his head on the steering wheel. He only hoped this would be over soon so he could leave and take his aggression out on Luffy. The boy had no idea what was coming to him.
A man climbed off his motorcycle, slim and tall with a one sword hanging off his hip. Any hope of this being over soon was crushed as the man took off his helmet, smirk visible even from the side mirror. Zoro recognized the policeman. 'Oh hell no…'
"Well, is this not an honor? Roronoa Zoro…" The name slid between the thin, chapped lips, grating on Zoro's nerves. "I must say, I didn't think my day could get any better, but behold! I get to see your smiling face."
Luffy looked quizzically over his shoulder. "Does he know you, Zoro?" It didn't seem possible. "You're not really smiling…" In fact, he was kinda grinding his teeth together in a painful way. The policeman must've confused the swordsman for someone else.
"Luffy, just let me do the talking," Zoro ordered stiffly. "And yes, I know that dickhead."
Strutting over, the tall male grinned nastily, long hair gracefully covering the left eye and blade sheathed on his hip. "I doubt I need to inform you that you were doing at least forty over the speed limit. License, please."
"It just had to be you, didn't it?" Zoro sneered, not bothering to show a shred of courtesy. "You were probably tailing me." He whipped out his license, watching the man grab it without looking. "Just give me my ticket and fuck off."
"You should so a bit more respect, swordsman." The word was spit at Zoro, full of contempt. "I think you're in no position to be giving out orders."
Zoro bit back any snide remark that tried to escape; fighting with Kabaji wouldn't help his predicament. (1) So he kept his silence, icy glare set firmly in front of him. He failed to notice the intent look Luffy was giving him.
"Oh? Giving in already? I'm very disappointed." Kabaji had no intention of letting Zoro off the hook that easy; he would milk this opportunity for all its worth. "Well, I think a ticket of…" He pretended to think hard, before taking out a pad and pen and jotting something down. "Hmmm… how about two hundred?"
"WHAT?" Zoro screeched. "TWO HUNDRED FUCKIN' DOLLARS?"
"Must I repeat myself? Yes, I said two hundred dollars, only now it's two hundred fifty. Please lower your voice; it hurts my delicate ears."
"Hey, that's not fair," Luffy spoke up, forgetting Zoro's earlier command. "You can't do that." Well, actually he didn't quite understand what the policeman had done wrong, but it pissed Zoro off, so it was probably a bad thing.
Kabaji's eyes narrowed slightly. "And I think I shall add on another fifty for the brat."
In response, Zoro's eyes mimicked the policeman's. "You keep the kid out of this, you manipulative fuck. He had nothing to do with this."
"You're really annoying. Leave us alone, or we'll kick your ass," Luffy piped in, then caught Zoro's firm stare. "Oops! Sorry…"
"Another fifty."
As the cost of the ticket rose, so did Zoro's anger. He wasn't sure how long he could hold out now. Kabaji was begging for a fist in the face, which the swordsman wouldn't mind providing him with. 'Deep breaths, deep breaths.' Maybe if he kept quiet, the bastard would tire of his game and leave them be. 'Yeah, tried that once and look what happened…'
Kabaji could see the resolve shining in the green haired man's eyes, but he refused to back off. He wanted to see Zoro's anger and get back at the man for shaming him. The very remembrance of what happened a year ago made his blood boil, his throat ache with hate… He wanted Zoro to lose control, to attack. Then he would happily break the man down to his rightful place: Below him. "You. Boy." He addressed Luffy as he put his pad and pen away. "Get out of the car and put your hands behind your back."
Both men in the car stared in shock. "What?" Luffy gave the man an odd look. "Why should I?"
"If you don't, I'll use force." The sword swayed, as if agreeing.
"Touch him and I'll kill you," Zoro threatened, his hands tightening on the steering wheel again. The fire in his eyes flashed and burned with malice. "I know your game, and I promise to raise hell if you get him involved."
The tall man sneered, leaning casually against the side of Zoro's car. "You have no choice in the matter. He insulted me and threatened a policeman. I'll have to take him in."
"I THREATENED YOU!"
"I'm not going with you," Luffy said. A frown started to form on his face. "You're just a coward."
Kabaji lightly put his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Get out of the car." Luffy's choice of words stung more than the boy knew. No one called him a coward and got away with it…
With sudden speed, the door Kabaji leaned against shot out and roughly pushed the man away. He stumbled from the force, hand now tightening on his weapon. "Ho ho! What have we here?"
Zoro stood, head bent and fists gripped tightly. His menacing aura pulsed with suppressed fury, and even Kabaji had to force his heart to keep steady. "Don't you dare touch my student," he whispered, the promise of pain drenched in every word. "If you wanna pick on someone, you'll deal with me."
"Zoro, you don't have y--"
"Shut up, Luffy!" Zoro snapped, and the boy fell silent. "He's not taking you in. If he touches you I'll beat the shit out of him, police be damned."
Kabaji grinned. This was exactly what he wanted. "You know what I want, Roronoa. I think you owe me a rematch." The blade slid out of its sheath and the tip leveled with Zoro's head. "You are, after all, a cheater." He didn't care he was about to fight in a residential area; he just wanted Zoro to fail.
Before Zoro could say anything, Luffy spoke out of turn again. "Zoro would never cheat. He beat you because you are weak."
The boy's comment made Zoro pause. 'He's defending me?' he thought incredulously. Not ten minutes ago the boy had called him weak. "Luffy?…"
"Shut up, you idiot boy," Kabaji snapped. "How would you know? You never saw our fight."
Luffy ignored the comment and kept talking. "I bet Zoro could beat you in five minutes," he announced, looking Kabaji up and down. "You don't look very strong." He grinned and laughed at him, making Kabaji's face turn red.
"Why you little…"
"Heh, let's put your theory to the test, Luffy." Zoro readied himself, trying to ignore the fact he was once again going into a fight with no weapons. And to make things worse, it was Kabaji, a man who didn't mind cheating to win. "But I think I can beat him in three." Yeah, three was really stretching it; five minutes would have been tough, but Luffy's sudden confidence in his abilities was a huge boost.
Luffy laughed again, Zoro's comment amusing him. "Yeah, I bet you could! Five minutes is too long!"
"I don't see what you think is so funny," Kabaji sneered, and he too got ready for battle. "The man doesn't even have his swords."
Zoro and Luffy both spoke at the same time:
"I don't need my swords to beat you."
"He doesn't need his swords to beat you!"
A grin fell on the swordsman's lips despite his attempt to hide it, and he ignored the sudden warmth in his stomach.
"Hmph. Fine, you can just tell everyone you lost because you were weaponless," Kabaji taunted.
"Or they'll say how I won, despite having no swords," Zoro countered, and he took great pleasure in watching the taller man's smile grow strained. (2)
"Yeah, go kick his ass, Zoro!" Luffy whooped, and Zoro turned his head a little to give the boy a cocky grin. No way he was losing now. He couldn't let Luffy think he was a wimp, after all.
The Baratie was cleaned in exactly an hour and two seconds.
Most of the chefs seriously considered signing a petition to fire Sanji.
Did the chef give a damn? Not in the least. If he had to lose his paycheck, the rest of them might as well follow suit. Besides, not his fault Zeff had one mean internal clock.
If there was a regret in his body, it was that many of the pretty waitresses were forced to suffer life without two week's pay. It hurt his soul to know he'd caused women pain… It would require a bit more sweet talking to slide back in their good graces. Not that he was worried, of course… He was a ladies man.
All in all, everyone's livid glares bounced right off him without so much as a second glance. 'Please… it's not like your all gonna die,' he thought dryly.
"Pati, if you don't refrain from glaring at me, I'll have to send you back to the medical room for another appointment," Sanji warned, cigarette flickering in his mouth.
"Ya don't scare me, Sanji," the huge man boomed. He visibly backed up, though. "Ya cost everyone here two weeks worth of pay! Don't ya have any regrets?"
Sanji lifted his gaze up to the ceiling and quirked his mouth in thought. "At the moment? No, not really… well, I didn't mean to get all those lovely waitresses in trouble," he sighed. "But there was nothing I could do at that moment in time… I'll make it up to them, somehow…" Maybe he could treat them all to a dinner prepared by himself…Hmm, roasted duck with a tangy orange dipping sauce, one of his specialties…
Pati blubbered in anger. "What about the rest of us?"
Sanji leveled his stare to him. "What about you?" He almost snickered when Pati turned purple.
"Just leave it, Pati. He's a fuckin' ass."
Both Sanji and Pati turned to look at the speaker, and both men took steps back. Well, this certainly was a surprise…
"Hey, liar. You're supposed to be on my side," Sanji quipped, trying to swing Usopp's mood around. Sure, Usopp regularly got annoyed with him, but if looks could kill the cook would be using Pati as a shield right now.
The long nosed teen glared in unhidden anger before turning around and stomping off, muttering death threats at Sanji.
"Hey! Usopp!" The blonde quickly left Pati in favor of his agitated friend. 'What the hell is his problem?' "Mind slowing down?"
Usopp didn't bother with a reply and walked faster.
Up to a jog now, Sanji kept in pace with the teen until he finally intercepted Usopp before he could reach the kitchens. "Gonna tell me why you're suddenly PMSing?" he asked, and immediately regretted his lack of finesse.
A bright, red glow hit Usopp's cheeks and his eye twitched. Even Sanji admitted to himself that had been pretty tactless. "Oh, fuck off," he snapped, not bothering to meet Sanji's eyes. "It's not like you'd care anyway."
"Well, I can't care if you keep moping," Sanji pried. "I've never seen you look so nasty. What did I do?"
An explosion threatened to burst for Usopp's mouth. The cook had nerve, Usopp would give him that. "You just made everyone, including me, lose some valuable money. We don't work here out of the goodness of our hearts, dumbass. We like to get paid, which is becoming increasingly hard with you around." With each sentence, he poked Sanji harshly in the chest while the other man stood there and took it with annoyed acceptance.
Sanji grunted and billowed smoke out of his mouth. "You act like it's all my fault. Zoro started it."
"You hit him first!" Usopp shouted. "He didn't even have his swords!"
"He was dumb enough to come in here. Face it, the shithead asked for it."
"All he did was treat one of his students to lunch!"
"He did it to piss me off," Sanji replied coolly. "And guess what? He did a damn good job of it."
Sighing to himself, Usopp gave up the argument to stare at a wall. "Never mind… just forget it…" Fighting with Sanji was like trying to explain physics to an egotistical frog. "Go flirt with someone or something…" He waved a hand in a random direction, hoping the chef would take the hint. Right now he didn't want to be near the blonde. "I'm sure Becci would appreciate you company." The effort to make his tone neutral failed miserably.
Sanji's mouth thinned into a line, and without a word he turned to leave as Usopp had requested. "I'm sure Becci will be better company than you. Thanks for the advice." If the long nosed man wanted to be that way, fine. No skin off his teeth. He didn't give a damn. 'Stupid long nosed bastard…'
Unlike himself, Sanji did know how to keep his voice expressionless, and that stung Usopp more than if the tone had been scathing. 'He really doesn't care…' He always knew the man could be a bit on the cruel side, but geeze…
Trying to ignore the burn in his gut, Usopp watched Sanji go off in search of the waitress. Maybe he'd deserved it; Sanji sometimes had odd ways of showing his emotions, but he hadn't be trying to make Usopp feel worse. Probably just his way of saying sorry: by being an all out pain in the ass. 'I… I should apologize…' Funny, it was Sanji's fault and here he wa--
The thought was only half-finished when laughter met his ears. Usopp's eyes focused away from his thoughts and back to reality just in time to see Sanji and Becci walk off to the kitchens, the man flirting shamelessly and acting as if nothing had happened.
Usopp straightened his shoulders and turned the other direction. He spied Pati talking with some waiters on break, no doubt speaking of murdering Sanji. The thought momentarily numbed his depression, and he walked over to join them, smile firmly in place. 'Forget it. If he doesn't care, neither do I.'
It was a shame Usopp could lie to everyone but himself.
Zoro gasped and threw his head back.
'Damn that burned! Can't he watch where he pushes that thing?'
"This a match, idiot! You can go to jail for killing me!" Zoro yelled, narrowly missing another blow from Kabaji's sword. His left side was starting to bleed from the new cut, but it wasn't nearly bad enough to warrant Zoro's attention.
"Heh, there are no witnesses besides the boy, and who would believe him?" Kabaji grinned, and Zoro wasn't sure if he was joking or not. Either way, it brought him no comfort.
The three minutes were past and done with, along with five minutes and most likely ten. To his shame, he'd spent those minutes trying to find a weak point in the other swordsman's style. He had to grudgingly admit that Kabaji had practiced quite a bit since their last match; not enough to worry Zoro when he had his three swords, but as stated before, he didn't have said weapons.
The short answer: Zoro was getting his ass kicked to high heaven.
And to make it more embarrassing, Luffy was watching, no doubt cementing his belief that his sensei was a weakling. He couldn't meet the boy's eyes, almost afraid of the judgment he'd find there. The boy had been shockingly quiet for most of the match, but Zoro could feel the eyes on his back, watching every move he made. So he kept his gaze on Kabaji and waited for the man to strike again.
"You look tired, Roronoa. Want to take a quick breather?" The man's taunt cut through Zoro's ears and the beast within roared with fury.
"I'm just fine, but if you want to take a break, be my guest," the green haired swordsman growled back. 'Damn it, how the hell could I forget them!' Even if he had just one of his swords, the fight would be over in seconds. His body ached from all the fighting he'd done that day, and even his pride sorely admitted he couldn't hold out for much longer.
Kabaji smirked and got ready for another attack. "This one I call, Mystery Mist Trick!" With a whirl of his sword, dust from the road and air rose up and created a circular tunnel of mist, blocking Zoro's view of his opponent. "What is wrong, Roronoa Zoro? Can you not find me?" The rich voice laughed out as if from all sides.
"What? You have to hide behind your old circus tricks?" Zoro backed away, eyes watering from the dust but waiting for any hint of movement. He felt the grass under his feet, now just realizing where they were. "Good thing most people are at work…" A house loomed close to him, and he kept his back near it. At least Kabaji couldn't attack from the back…
The metallic sound of metal cutting through air hit him, and he ducked low to the ground. All he could do was let instinct take over and make a guess where Kabaji was as he struck out to the left with his fist. It connected with flesh and bone.
"Shit!" Kabaji stumbled back, his 'mystery mist' dispersing. "How did you know where I was?"
"I didn't," Zoro replied easily. It could be seen that Kabaji now had a nice limp to his step, curtesy of Zoro's punch to the shin. It leveled the playing field nicely. "But maybe next time I'll miss. Care to try again?" Confidence returned, and Zoro gave his enemy a nasty grin.
The swordsman growled in response but made no move to attack. That one hit Zoro got in seriously screwed up his plans; the other man would use the sudden lack of speed to his advantage. Kabaji wasn't stupid. There was no way he would win now, and the promise of another defeat at the hands of Zoro tore his insides to pieces.
"Mystery Mist Trick!" More dust flew up, and Zoro grunted in surprise. He hadn't expected Kabaji to take his offer seriously. 'If he wants to try again, he's welcome to.' It would end the fight sooner.
Zoro waited for an attack, not bothering to put up any defense. His ears and eyes were the only defense he needed for this match. "Wait for it…" he whispered to himself, hoping the sound of his voice would alert Kabaji of his presence.
Nothing happened.
By the time the dust cleared, Zoro realized Kabaji's plan. "WHY THAT STUPID SHIT!"
"Oh Zoro, where'd he go?" Luffy spoke for the first time in seven minutes, that long with silence impressive for him. "He's gone." The boy looked around in confusion. "Did he actually leave? What a coward!"
Zoro hummed in agreement, letting his body relax. His mind buzzed with anger, not happy that the prey had gotten away, especially when victory had been in sight. "He knew he'd lose, so he ran…" Zoro smirked to himself, ego coming back with a vengeance. "Maybe now he'll realize he lost last time for a reason." He began to walk back over to his car, eager to get back to his class.
Luffy smiled and got ready to reply when movement caught his eye. "Wait Zoro!"
"DIVING STAB!"
He was falling too fast for Zoro to dodge. Kabaji was gonna hit him dead on. Zoro stood still as stone, not even turning around to see Kabaji fly down after leaping from the roof of the house.
The stabbing blow went straight through his side and Zoro yelled in pain while Luffy hollered in outrage.
"You attacked from behind! Only a coward fights like that!"
Kabaji smirked nastily at the boy. "If it allows a win, who cares if it's cowardly. I fight to win." He pulled on the hilt of his sword to dislodge it from Zoro's side. "It's his fault he assumed I was done fighting."
His neck snapped backward from the punch, his front teeth immediately uprooted and hitting the back of his throat. Blood gushed out of his screaming mouth, and he let go of his sword for one moment to clutch his bruised mouth.
"And you shouldn't assume a blow like that would finish me," Zoro hissed. He stood tall, barely acknowledging the sword sticking out of his side.
From the car Luffy was going nuts, whooping and hollering in Zoro's honor. To say he was impressed would be the understatement of the year.
"You rock, Zoro! Kick his ass!" the boy cheered in abandon.
Zoro looked back and met Luffy's eyes, a smirk glowing in them. "I'll wrap this up so we can leave." He pulled the sword out, only wincing slightly, and threw the bloody weapon on the ground. More red liquid poured out, but Zoro didn't care. He'd worry about the wound later.
"Hey, why are you not using the sword?" Luffy asked. Zoro finally had a weapon, so why not use it?
Zoro felt a grin slide back on his face. "Remember? We said I didn't need a sword to defeat him."
Luffy remembered himself saying that, and nodded. 'Zoro's so cool,' he commented silently, any thoughts of him being weak out the door for good. A silly smile lit up his face. 'And he's my sensei!'
Kabaji whimpered at the man and started to run for it, but his limp slowed him down too much. By the time Zoro caught him, he would've begged for mercy if blood didn't keep interrupting his speech. It wouldn't have made a difference. As far as Zoro was concerned, Kabaji was long overdue for an ass whoopin'.
Sanji scanned the restaurant, noticing that business was finally starting to pick up. That was all well and dandy, but now he wouldn't be able to talk to Usopp alone… not that the younger man was willing to talk to him at the moment.
Cursing mentally, he bit on the filter of his cigarette and reached for another stick of cancer-filled goodness. All he wanted was to find Usopp and apologize so things could get back to normal.
It was odd; the Baratie reminded Sanji most of a gossiping high school. A person you'd never seen in your life could walk up, look you dead in the eye and recite your name, age, the number and names of friends and enemies, and all the people you've dated in the past six years.
So far ten people, mostly female, had chided him roughly for hurting Usopp's feelings and demanded he march back to apologize.
'What, do they think we're dating or something?' The thought momentarily stunned his brain, and Sanji felt his curled eyebrows twitch in disgust and annoyance. That better not be what people were thinking. He'd drop kick the first person to conceive the thought.
"If you scowl any harder your face will stick like that," Usopp commented dryly from beside him, watching the other man closely.
Sanji wasn't able to keep the slightly startled noise from vibrating through his throat. "Where the hell did you come from?" He whirled around to face the waiter. "And where the hell have you been? I've looked all over this damn restaurant."
Usopp shrugged, his entire stance cool and collected. It didn't suit him in Sanji's opinion. "Don't know why you'd care."
Curled eyebrows twitched again. "If it means anything to you, I'm here to apologize."
"For what?"
Sanji faltered for a second. What was he apologizing for? 'Oh yeah, his feelings.' "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." His lips quirked at his save, fairly sure this would be over with soon. Usopp never stayed angry for long, no matter what.
"What makes you think you hurt my feelings?" Usopp asked, a look of mock surprise on his face, and any hopes of forgiveness were effectively crushed. "I mean, I'm a guy. My feelings are worth shit as far as your concerned." Sanji flinched, partly because Usopp actually spoke the truth, and partly because he now could see just how angry Usopp really was.
"Hey, just a mi--"
"You're not the least bit sorry. I'm sure the women just saddled you into apologizing. You're doing this for them, not me. So just shut up and don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I forgive you and my wounded feelings won't have to be on your conscience, if you even have one." With that, he turned stiffly and stomped off, definitely more angry than last time.
Sanji could only stand there, feeling like the biggest ass in the world. This in itself was strange; sure, Usopp and he had their share of arguments, but this was the first time he felt like he'd actually done something stupid. It didn't settle right in the blonde's mind.
'Damn it.' Well, in his own defense, Usopp was seriously acting like an angsting female. Fights between him and Zoro were far from uncommon, and the damage could've been so much worse. Only a few broken tables and some dents in the walls? Phfft, big fuckin' whoop…
But facts were facts; he had screwed up big time, so he better fix it before the Baratie closed.
"Oi. He better appreciate that fact we're best friends," Sanji mumbled darkly, making his way after the departing teen. "This is the last time I do this."
Usopp hung his head as he left Sanji standing there, spirits low. 'Maybe I went overboard…' That had been one hell of a tongue thrashing; Usopp was sort of proud he could go off like that. The only thing was things between him and Sanji weren't any better. He'd been planning on telling Sanji to forget the whole thing, but the fact Sanji was only apologizing so he could get back in good graces with the female population pissed Usopp off.
"Maybe I should just forget it…" This was Sanji, after all. It was like some divine law written in heaven that the chef should be disgustingly polite to women, half-decent to most men, and outright rude to anyone who pissed him off. Just the way the world worked, so why was he complaining so much? 'Get over it, Usopp.'
"Hey Usopp!" Becci appeared in his line of vision, waving and pointing to a nearby table filled with quite a bit of people. "We've got some orders for ya! Get your ass over there!"
Usopp held up his hand to show he'd heard, putting on a smile. No time to worry about that blonde. He had work to do.
"Actually, could you get someone else to do it?"
Usopp visibly jumped and came embarrassingly close to screeching when Sanji's voice yelled directly next to his left ear. "What the fuck were you doing right behind me!" He turned and got ready to smack the man. "You almost gave me a fuckin' heart attack, you ass!"
Sanji raised an eyebrow and his blue eye glittered, daring Usopp to strike him.
Usopp quickly put his hand down.
"Becci, would you be gracious enough to let me borrow Usopp for a while!" Sanji called, grinning at the woman who only shook her head in exasperation. "I need to talk to him just for a quick second!"
"I don't wanna talk to you, bastard…" Usopp said sourly, pouting when Sanji ignored the comment.
The woman sighed and gave a 'be my guest' hand gesture. "Just don't keep him long! I need help with some of these tables!" she called out in reply.
"Of course not, my beautiful Becci! This will take a quick second!" Sanji grabbed the other man before he could inch away. "Come on, long nose."
Usopp, to his credit, struggled most of the way as Sanji led him straight to the kitchens. "Sanji, if you haven't guessed, the last person I want to see right now is you!"
"Deal with it," Sanji said bluntly. "You're not working until this is straightened out."
Usopp gulped at the determination in Sanji's voice. This would not end well...
Once again, many of the Baratie chefs had the displeasure of seeing Sanji drag Usopp to the back of the kitchens for a second time.
"Either Sanji has a kicking fetish or Usopp's a frickin' masochist," one commented while flipping the rice. The others hummed in total agreement.
(1) Yeah, I put him in there. And yes, you spell it with a K. There is no 'C' in the Japanese language… at least not that I know of...
(2) Yeah, I stole that from the manga… I can't remember if it was in the subbed version or not… XD
Hope everyone was in character. I do believe I made Usopp too much of an angsty female at the end, but I haven't had much experience writing him, so I hope everyone forgives me. ;p
And I was gonna keep going, but it's so much more fun to know you'll be looking forward to the next chapter! ;p No shout out this time, I'm just too tired. And for all you people reading but not reviewing, shame on you! (waggles finger at you) I don't feel the love, people! Make my ego grow and give me a review. I don't care if it's one word! Anything is appreciated!
Just what does Sanji have in store for the brave Usopp? And when will Zoro and Luffy have their fight? Tune in next time for the next exciting episode of Murphy's Law!