Chapter 2: The Guy and the Best Friend

Disclaimer: WOOT! I have readers! w I so happy. :huggles Sanji plushie: ok, I don't own One Piece! And my new best friend, and fellow authoress

Anime Creature

owns Kit. Now Kit is Jasmines best friend. And I am still looking for detailed characters to put into my story! I wouldn't mind a guy along with a girl. ;; more competition for Sanji. But I'd like someone to come up with a girl who is friends with Jasmine, yet falls for Sanji! Nice twist, ne? I owe that to an idea inspired by AnimeCrazyK-chan . she gave me no bios though, so I am not using her characters! I said specifics ppl! Lol. Ok, on with the fic!

A girl with hazel-gold eyes and fiery red hair was sitting on the coast, reading her newest book quietly. She knew she shouldn't be on this side of the island, but when she and Jasmine had come out here, things had been fine. She didn't know why all the older adults were so afraid. She had on black boots and black pants, topped off with a deep forest green top that brought out her eyes. Even though usually those eyes were cast down from her shyness. Just then a rustle was heard in the brush and forest behind the coastline to her back, and she turned around to see a huge…THING coming at her. She took this as her cue to run.

Sanji was once again cooking miscellaneous food for Luffy, Ussop, Zoro, and Nami on the infamous Merry Go. He breathed deeply to smell the food and its tantalizing scent. He smiled. He amazed himself at how good he was.

"And another masterpiece is created…" he said smugly, as Luffy's meat dinner was nearing completion. Luffy seemed to sense this as his signature laugh could be heard and he burst through the kitchen door, only to find Sanji just standing over the stove, waiting for everything to finish up. Luffy stood by him in silence for a second, okay, HALF a second, then he cringed and couldn't take it anymore.

"Sanjiiiiiiii! I'm HUNGRY!" Luffy complained, opening the oven and reaching for his meat. Sanji slapped his hand away.

"You'll burn your hands and your mouth that way Luffy" he said simply with a stern glance. Luffy continued his whining though, and reached for it again, Sanji not stopping him if only to teach Luffy a lesson.

"OW wow wow wow wow! That hurts!" Luffy cried out, juggling the meat from one hand to the other. Sanji let his head throw back and laughed.

"I told you! Now, let it cool, or you'll- -" Sanji started, but was interrupted by a fierce blowing sound and cries of pain. Looking over, the cook sighed. Luffy had stuffed it all in his rubbery mouth and was burning himself…again.

"I TOLD you to let it cool Luffy…" Sanji sighed, "You destroyed the perfection of the masterpiece. I didn't get to lay it out nicely."

"Hey. I heard Luffy's screaming. Does that mean dinners ready?" a calm and bored voice said. Luffy and Sanji looked to the door to see Zoro, his swords slung on his hip and his bandanna stuffed in his pocket. Nami, whom was carrying tangerines from the trees on the top deck, and Ussop, who had his slingshot laying lazily in his hand, followed him slowly. Once they saw the scene and Luffy waving his hands over his tongue to help the burn, they burst out laughing as Zoro just smiled and shook his head.

Sanji laid out lunch on the table and everyone dug in while Sanji watched and ate a plain and small meal. Nami looked out the window at the island beach they were swiftly approaching and her eyes grew serious and she swallowed the food in her mouth.

"If we land on that beach, it might cause problems for our ship when we want to leave…" she warned. Ussop and Luffy just scoffed at her observations as Sanji and Zoro nodded silently.

"It won't be any problem Nami! There is nothing that could possibly go wrong on this side of the- -" Ussop started, but was interrupted by a mighty growl, or screech, or cross between the two and a girls scream. Ussop immediately paled. "On second thought…let's go to the other side…maybe they don't have…whatever that is over there…"

"Coward. Someone screamed. We have to go help that person. What if it was you out there being chased by god knows what, and no one came to help you?" Zoro snapped, unsheathing his ivory handled sword.

"I'd slay the beast like a cunning warrior of the sea of course!" Ussop lied with a false confidence. The group rolled their eyes in unison, except for Luffy, whom was stifling laughter. Ussop decided to ignore it and they went out on deck as the ship pounded onto the beach and landed. Nami looked over the edge and sighed.

"We'll NEVER get out of this now! We're beached! We'll need help just getting out to the other side to dock!" Nami complained, leaning on the railing. Zoro nodded and Sanji pointed to the forest that was shaking slightly.

"I think that may be out monster…" he said wearily. They'd been fighting a lot lately, but with the crew of the Merry Go, a fight was never turned down. Except by their cowardly sharpshooter (I.E. Ussop).

What came out was a gigantic spider chasing a girl with long fiery red hair and she was wearing forest green and black. A book was flying beside her in her hand and her hazel eyes looked like she was gonna cry. Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy jumped over the edge and landed gracefully on the wet sand, except Luffy. He kind of fell on his bum.

Zoro drew his swords and Sanji unbuttoned the top of his blazer and put his game face on. The two looked at each other and nodded solemnly as Nami and Ussop climbed down on a rope ladder. They waited until the two crew members got down, then cornered Ussop.

"Ussop…be a distraction. If you don't, I'll hurt you and make you eat rotten food for the next month or until you get scurvy!" Sanji barked. Ussop was about to protest, but Zoro was glaring dangerously at him. He whimpered slightly, but nodded.

"HEY BIG UGLY SPIDER! OVER HERE! YOU DON'T WANT THAT UGLY GIRL DO YOU? COME OVER AND GET A PIECE OF ME STUPID SPIDER!" Ussop called, his hands shaking as he shot a bullet at it with his slingshot. The bullet hit its mark and hit the spider right between a set of eyes. This obviously didn't make it happy, as it roared and began to chase Ussop, who was more than happy to run.

"Zoro! Come in from the left, Sanji the right, and Luffy…just go in fists flying as usual!" Nami ordered. They nodded and obeyed.

Sanji kicked like a madman and took out four of the spider's legs, as Zoro hacked off the other side of legs. And Luffy, true to his style, went in with his arm stretching back a long distance and a goofy smile in anticipation on his face. His signature laugh was heard as the girl ran past him and collapsed and he let his arm fly with a battle cry.

"GUM GUM PISTOL!" he screamed, and the legless spider went flying and made a huge SPLASH! noise as it fell into the ocean, and evidently drowned as it had no legs to swim back up. Luffy then turned his attention to the girl who was panting on the beach, her hands still firmly wrapped around the book, which he now noticed was a home-made book of letters. She was shaking violently and tears brimmed her tightly shut eyes as she gasped for breath. She looked up to see his hand extended with a smile.

"T-thank you…usually I fight without fear but…spiders scare me SO badly…" she said with a honey tone in her voice. She was a very sweet girl and very sincere with her thanks.

"No problem! That was fun! We like to beat up things! I'm Luffy! Who are you? I'm gonna be the next Pirate King!" he said confidently with a huge smile, his straw hat lifting in the breeze and blowing across the beach and she laughed as he ran after it and ran back with a smile when he caught it.

"I'm Kit. I'm from the village on the other side of this island. So, welcome to Tasuki Island! I can take you to the town if you want! Oddly enough, our town likes pirates! And we hate the marines, ESPECIALLY me though! They're so mean! They pick on the weak and defenseless! And they've tried NUMEROUS times to catch my best friend, Jasmine's, father! But they never caught him!" Kit said with a smile as the others came over.

"I'm Nami."

"I am the mighty Ussop! Warrior of the Seas!" Ussop said proudly. She laughed.

"Yeah…that's why you were crying Bloody Mary while that spider was chasing you, right?" Kit laughed. They all laughed and nodded. Ussop just sulked. Sanji stuck out his hand.

"I'm Sanji, pleasure to meet a pretty girl such as yourself miss," he said sweetly, and kissed her hand, making her blush.

"Uh…yeah," she stammered. Zoro hit his head and muscled into view.

"I'm Zoro."

"NO WAY! RORANOAH ZORO! YOU'RE MY IDOL! I LOVE THE WAY YOU USE YOUR SWORDS! I USE SWORDS TOO! Oh, but they're at home…I probally should have brought them…or at least my gun…" Kit gushed, first hurriedly in a fan frenzy, and then calmly and thoughtfully. He smiled a bit and nodded.

"You said you could lead us to town. Can we get started? Will it take too long?" Nami asked. Kit shook her head and led the way, and their chatter was a bit on the idle side.

"About ten minutes tops. So let's go! I wonder if Jasmine's home yet…she went out looking for her dad…her and her dad are mainly why we all like pirates so much! Her dad was a famous pirate that sailed the Grand Line for a whole YEAR! And she went out looking for him a few months ago!" Kit mused. Sanji's ears pricked at the familiar descriptions and name.

"You said this is Tasuki Island, right? Is this Jasmine girls dad named Zeff?" Sanji asked inquisitively. Kit nodded with a smile. For some reason, these people set her at ease. They seemed to be so much like her friend Jasmine. Especially Sanji.

"Yeah! You know him? The infamous Red Shoes Zeff!" Kit chirped. He gasped as they came to the village after their conversing.

The village was just as quaint and welcoming as Zeff had always described to him as a child. When Sanji had asked about his home, that is. Zeff said it had a homey feel to it, even to complete strangers and everyone was welcome and accepted there. Even pirates could be at ease, because people would hide pirates in their houses when the marines came, and often the villagers drove the marines off.

"It's…just like Zeff said it would be…Tasuki Village…" Sanji whispered as Kit led the way down the main street, waving to people and saying hi.

"Hey Fauna! Hi Masaki! Hi Serenity! Hey Kanna, how's your baby?" Kit chatted as she passed various people. Everyone seemed to smile and wave at the Merry Go crew as well. A little boy even came up to them, a wooden sword in his hand and smiled.

"You're pirates, aren't cha? Welcome to Tasuki Village! Haven for Pirates and Bandits alike!" the child smiled happily and Nami and Ussop smiled in return at his cuteness as he ran off to his mother.

Kit led them to a house and knocked at the door as a troop of men in chef uniforms were walking to the same house. A girl with long blonde hair and clear blue eyes opened the door and she smiled and hugged Kit.

"KIT! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! OH! Hey Carne, Hey Patty! The hotel part of the house can be reached through here, come on in! did you get all the supplies Daddy asked for?" she smiled at the two cooks who were in awe at Sanji's appearance.

"Uh huh…" they could only murmur. Sanji smiled and lit a cigarette.

"Hey Crap Cookers."

"AYE! Shut yer trap Eggplant Head!" Patty yelled. He acted as if Sanji had never left.

"Don't call me Eggplant Head anymore! I grew out of that the second I left Baratie!" Sanji yelled angrily. The girl gasped and smiled as the chefs all went in behind her and went to their rooms to talk.

"YOU'RE SANJI! Dad's told me so much about you! I'm Jasmine! And if you don't want to be called Eggplant Head, I'll call you Fru Fru!" Jasmine laughed.

He whipped on her and glared, then noticed her looks. She was a bit taller than her friend, whom he guessed was about 5' 3'. And her long blonde hair bounced when she laughed. She had on a white tank top and jeans and he looked at the ground and his face was stained pink as he glared at the ground, furious that he'd let a girl get the best of him.

"Whatever…" he grumbled. Suddenly, he was hit on the back of the head sharply.

"Mind your manners to my Flower…Fru Fru. That's a pretty good nickname. I think you'll be called that from now on Sanji!" Zeff laughed heartily. Jasmine beamed as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"This is Luffy, or Chore Boy, and his friends that helped save Baratie Jasmine," he explained with a proud air to his voice. She nodded and led them in with a smile. They sat around the table and Sanji tried to make dinner once the sun began to set, only to be stopped abruptly by a stern kick to the head.

"Get away from MY kitchen! I'M making dinner! You're the guests here!" Jasmine said with a cold stare. Her gaze sent Sanji into a slight fit of minor shivers, and he nodded, sitting down and shakily smoking another cigarette.

'What is it about her that throws me off so much?' he thought. Staring off into space. He could hear her humming as she cooked over all of the chatting and catching up of Zeff, Carne, and Patty with his fellow crew mates.

Closing his eyes he listened to her sing lightly. Her voice seemed to float from the very breeze itself.

"When you walk away,

You don't hear me say

Pleeeeeeeease, oh baby, don't go.

Simple and clean is the way you're making me feel tonight.

It's hard to

let it go

Hooooooold me, what ever lies beyond

this morning,

Is a little later onnnnnnnnn

Simple and clean is the way you make me feel,

You're so hard to, so hard to, so hard to let goooooooo.

Please don't go…"

He sighed happily. Content for once. Her voice had a calming effect on him, even though no one else heard, or so he thought.

Zeff had also heard his little girl singing. It almost brought a tear to his eye, as that was the song her mother always sang when he went off on another voyage. Then the conversation distracted him from his sad thoughts. He wouldn't allow himself to mourn for his wife. He had to be strong for Jasmine. He only hoped Sanji wouldn't fall for her. He just couldn't.

Zeff knew all too well the dangers of showing you cared for someone on the seas. Love was a crippling weakness. He had been driven out of the Grand Line for fear of his family being slaughtered by one of his many enemies that had heard of his family on the small island. Love could shatter you on the seas. He didn't want that for the two of them. But he shrugged off the idea with a smile and shake of the head when Nami asked for something and Sanji happily obliged with stars in his eyes.

Jasmine noticed this too. And a small tug at her heart caused her to stop cooking momentarily. What was that feeling that made her want to punch out Nami? She'd only met them a while ago. But she seemed to know Sanji like an old friend from her fathers descriptions. She shook her head of these thoughts and smiled as she served dinner. Getting a stern look from Sanji. He suddenly grabbed her wrist and smiled.

"Tommrow, I get to cook, deal?" he said with a warm smile with a cigarette hanging out of one side of his mouth. She nodded. For some reason his smile and commanding yet gentle voice could make her do anything, or so she thought. It was strange and forign to her senses. But she locked away the feelings and thought of them no more. They wouldn't come into play anyways she figured.

But she was devastatingly wrong.

Anime Creature

An: WOOT! Chapter 2 is now up! Oh, I love this story! Mad props for my friend ,

who so graciously gave Kit to me! w I am honored to have her on the ABR cast! Now next chap will have another fight scene, and I will bring Lutinent Fullbody back from the Sanji escapades. He will try to flush out the island…for the millionth time. But he will be sadly mistaken and beaten up VERY good by Kit and Jasmine! And perhaps a new person and friend of theirs if anyone will give me a new person! Thankx for reading, and please review! I love you all! And so does my plushie Sanji. :plush waves while smoking: later and keep reading! I will update sometime…soon. Or near, or whatever! whenever my creative spark is most fuled by new reviews. So yeah, laters!