Foreword: This one took forever, and the result is still rather confusing. I tried to make a little progress in their relationships, but there still doesn't seem to be much. While I tried to put this down into words, I didn't actually put much thought in it, so the whole thing just moves on as my thoughts move. Which is quite scary.

Author's Note: There's actually some connection with the former chapter! Which means that this is, in fact, a chaptered fan fiction. Though each chapter is really too short to be called a worthy chapter.

Other Notes: (And eight this time!)

er - Even if you do find out, you'll have to get here. Unless you happen to live in the same country I do. And the whole thing is confusing - whether or not it's me that's confused or Sanji is for you to decide.

The Plushie Bandit - Yay for angst! ...Not quite long lasting though. And I already replied to your question, but I'll post the answer here as well if other's didn't get it - Luffy did say that. Anything in quotation marks are things people said, unless they're in parenthesis.

tea - Sorry for the slow update, but it's here.

Yuki Koshiba - Thanks for the compliment!

Hiei's-Kitsune- lover: Not sure what to say (Sorry...), but I guess it's the same as above. Sorry for the slow update, and thanks for the compliment. I'm getting boring...

Deraka - Don't worry about bad English, I'm Taiwanese myself so my English isn't that good. And I couldn't see any big mistake in your review, so I don't think your English is bad in any way. And I like the title as well! (Since I was the one that came up with it...)

I - I guess it is rather jaring. But since it's already there...(-Is too lazy to go and fix it.-)

cassi.hiruru - I do feel special now! And I'm glad you like this pairing.

Step by Step: Step Five

Dark blue remained in my eyes, salty taste lingering still. I shut my eyes tightly, wishing that it'll go away.

He almost died. Almost, so close.

I realized that I was being ludicrous. It's over now, isn't it? He's safe, I'm fine, the ocean surface is finally calm, the enemy's gone, we've rejoined with the others...

But it had been so close. Too close.

How could we have been so stupid? His body is weak against water, haven't we proved that fact more than once? And yet, when he went after the enemy in a storm, none of us stopped him. We just watched him go, only to find him gone minutes later.

And the fact that his opponent is gone with him isn't relieving at all.

I had no idea how he managed to defeat that monstrous thing. Then again, I never knew how he defeats opponents who look so much stronger. It's not like I don't trust him - I know he'll beat anyone who tries to harm us. It's merely the fact that I don't know how.

I guess the fact that he did is all that mattered in my mind.

Plus the fact that he's still alive.

When we realized that he was gone, we panicked. There was shouting ("Where did he go? It's raining!", "I can't see him!") and arguing ("You should have kept an eye on him!", "Why didn't you stop him?"), but we didn't know what to do during a storm.

But when his (or perhaps Red Hair Shanks'?) straw hat is seen drifting, I dived down into the dark ocean - the weather wasn't something I needed to worry about then - and tried to see through the murky waters.

His dark hair, half-floating while his body dropped down.

His face, looking so blank it's frightening.

And it hadn't been because of his outrageous luck, I would never have saved him.

He would have died.

It's not the first time his life is in danger, of course. But it's the first time I know there's no chance of him surviving without help and has seen him fighting only to lose sight of it. This shouldn't have affected me this much, but damn Luffy and his facial expressions - I haven't answered him yet, and I'm not allowing him to just go and disappear.

("Why won't you look at me?")

I sighed yet again for the god-know-what-time today, trying to remember the details of the last time we spoke.

("-look at me.")

I realized that my mind was a complete mess, and couldn't recall when it became a mess. My thoughts should be my own, but they're unsorted, random jumbles of confusion.

There are chanced I've never considered, thoughts I never dared to explore now being dug up.

Somewhere in the background, I could hear his laugh, and the shouts as Nami-san hits him for making them (us) worry. Then there was talking, too far away for me to hear clearly, but I wonder if they'll tell Luffy I was the one who saved him.

Then again, even if they don't, the fact that I'm soaked should make it perfectly clear.

"Sanji-!"

I turned around in surprise, not expecting him to call my name, or making any contact with me.

"Thanks for saving me! And I'm hungry!"

I smiled a little, for the fact that he said thanks and asked for food in the same sentence. He's probably the only person in this world who would do that, and god, I -

- I what?

Standing up, I walked towards the kitchen. Wondering at the same time how Luffy could treat love with such ease, when I, the self-proclaimed love cook, kept stumbling and falling.

Then again, his carefree attitude was never childishness.