Foreword: I've planned for something important to happen in part four, and well - it did. Happen, I mean. Number four is quite an interesting number, don't you think? In the Chinese culture, it means 'death', an unlucky number. But in the Japanese culture, it could also mean something good. So I chose this part for the characters to finally interact. And while some may think that Luffy seemed out of character...well, perhaps, but this is how I picture him to be like in a situation like this.

Author's Note: This part is somewhat longer than usual, but the ending seemed rushed and not quite smooth. I had to ponder over a lot of things, and I'm not quite satisfied still. After this part, I probably won't be able to update for a while - not like people can actually tell, since I update slow anyway. So tell me what you think! I might be able to come up with part five faster then.

Other Notes: (I do realize it's another five.)

Griever5 - First reviewer for two chapters in a row? I think I've just glued myself to you - As for Sanji...well, soon, but not yet. I have yet to play around with him.

deruebersetzer - ...Sweet?

Liete - I love this pairing too! nod nod Even if it's rather rare, it's the best everV (Ignore me, I usually am rather excited when I talk about One Piece.)

cassi.hiruru - Um, yeah, glad you could be open minded. I don't really like the pairing you mentioned, but if you see how badly they're written in Chinese fanfics...you'll be scared too. Honestly. I can at least say my characters are both male.

mechafreak - And 'someone' did! Can't say anymore, I've already given away a lot of the plot...not that there is one. And thanks for reviewing to every single chapter!

Step by Step: Step Four

He walked up to me, when my attention was not on him and I was unaware.

"Sanji, why do you hate me?"

That alone - or perhaps plus to tone he used - caught me off guard.

"Why would you think so?"

Despite my surprise, I remained calm as I prepared the crew's dinner. I am, after all, the cook.

"You're hiding from me," he started, and I couldn't help but note that he noticed, "you're never around me, and-" that's not true. I'm always around, haven't you noticed that I'm always the one diving into the water for you? "-you won't look at me in the eyes."

My hands stopped moving.

You won't look at me in the eyes.

"I don't hate you," I muttered under my breath, trying to will him away, repeating silently in my mind for him to go and leave me alone and find someone else to bother and...

"Then why won't you look at me?"

It's burning. The food, I mean. But my hands won't listen to me.

"Luffy, I'm cooking. Stop bothering me." - go. It's full of the word. Why can't he understand it?

"Then look at me."

Look at me.

No.

Even with all this going on, I couldn't help but note that the food I was cooking is getting quite burnt, its sides already entirely black. If Luffy notices this - which he probably will, but pretend not to - he'd know that I'm pretending. And he won't give up.

I'll have to remake this all over again later.

"This is the kitchen, Luffy. My kitchen. And I want you out." I'm making it quite plain that I don't want to talk about this. I don't want to go deeper than I absolutely have to. I...

I know he loves me. It all started with that, didn't it? Maybe it was just a lie. Maybe the crew just wants us together, so they make me believe he loves me, and perhaps make him think that I love him.

Maybe it's all a set up.

Just a set up.

'Then he wouldn't have asked you why you hated him.'

- I don't!

Right then, I realized that my mind - which somehow chose to start working, just then - had destroyed my theory within split seconds.

'Damn you, Luffy,' I thought silently, trying to get his voice out of my mind. It shouldn't be this hard - nothing should be this hard - but even before I started I knew it was impossible to push away the voice inside my head.

There was more to Luffy than I thought.

He always seemed happy, and never seemed to have a single worry. If things doesn't suit him, he would whine, but he'd never sulk; if things go wrong - well, he beats the hell out of whoever caused it.

I had always made my conclusion about him with just that.

But there was also something else. When one of his crew mates feels down or upset, he always manages to say the right words; when something or someone caused a misunderstanding toward his crew, he would always manage to predict his friends correctly and prevent damage. In other words, Luffy could also read people perfectly.

And right now, I feel like an open book.

"Why won't you look at me?"

I said nothing. What could I say? I don't know, I have to, I...? Nothing, nothing I say would make sense.

Silence spread across the kitchen (my kitchen, damnit), accompanied by the occasional cackle of the fire. My hands had grown numb. I know I should do something - a cook's hands are a cook's life - but I couldn't move. Something in the air wouldn't let me move.

"Sanji-"

The silence broke, and I turned around

(turned around!)

and met his eyes.

As clear as the night sky that will certainly hang above the ship tonight.

"-I love you. Always have. Thought you should know."

And with that, he turned around and left, leaving me alone with the burnt smell, the closed door, and the memory of his expression.

(A face like that shouldn't look like that.)

I knew he loves me.

Now he knows that I know.