9. Now, Where Did Our Navigator Go?
Story Start: Baratie
I had Luffy sat down at a table while I worked on rubbing burn cream into his forearms and hands. I had already made sure to remove any and all splinters in his limbs and cleaned his wounds with iodine. All that was left after I finished with the cream was to wrap them in bandages so that way they didn't get infected as they healed.
As I worked on my captain's injuries, most of the chefs were securing the remaining Krieg pirates who to a man had surrendered. It was a rather sad group, numbering only seventeen out of a previous hundred. Gin made eighteen, but considering he had been KO'd rather than surrendered I wasn't counting him. Krieg made nineteen if you were counting him and the chefs were particularly vindictive in wrapping his comatose ass in so much chain and rope that he looked like he was in a cocoon. The chefs had even stuffed his mouth with quite a few dirty dishrags then wrapped tape around his head ten times. If that man managed to get out of all of that without help then Houdini should take lessons from him.
I had just finished wrapping Luffy's right hand (with the fingers individually wrapped) and was moving up to his forearm when Luffy asked "Hey Matt, what do you think about Gin?"
I paused for a moment and looked up from my work. Luffy was doing that freaky owl thing where his head was turned all the way to the back so that he could see out of the open kitchen door where the man was seated on the fin, once more awake but keeping his head bent, not trying to get out of his bindings at all. From here the man looked contemplative of all things.
Turning my gaze back to Luffy, I said "You're not seriously thinking about actually offering him a spot on the crew are you Captain?"
Luffy turned his head back the right way it was supposed to be facing as he shrugged and said "Don't know, still thinking about it. So? What do you think about him?"
I flicked my eyes towards Gin then looked back at Luffy's arm as I began wrapping it again. As I worked, I said "Well, he's loyal. He apparently never gave up the Krieg Pirates' location even after being the Marines' prisoner for three days, even as he was being starved to death. And he immediately went back to them once he escaped in order to bring them back here in order to save them from starvation. And he's honorable as well, if he really did ask Krieg to not attack the Baratie. It's just too bad Krieg doesn't have enough honor in his body to even do what he promised to his own Officer."
Tying the bandage on Luffy's forearm off, I began working on his left hand and after a few moments of thought said "In the end, the decision to offer him a spot on the crew is yours Captain. But if you want my honest opinion, I think that if you give him a chance that he could be a good addition. But we also have to remember that we'll be going to the Grand Line at some point, and he might not be willing to go back there any time soon, if ever."
Luffy hummed at my words, turning to look back out the door again. When I finished wrapping up his left arm, he hopped off the table and walked to the stairs leading up to the kitchen, claiming to be hungry. I let a scoff at that. Pulling out my phone, I looked at the time and scoffed again. It was barely nine thirty, and we had had breakfast before the Krieg Pirates' ship had shown up.
Shaking my head as I put my phone back in my pocket, I began packing up the first aid kid I had been using. But when I closed it with a snap I didn't bring it back to where I had gotten it from. Instead, I carried it out to the fin and made my way to where Gin was.
As I stopped in front of him, Gin looked up and asked "Come to gloat?"
"Hardly." I said as I knelt down beside him and set the first aid kit down. Reaching forward, I pushed Gin's pant leg up to expose the bite wound I had given him and continued "I'm here to make sure this doesn't get infected. Honestly, I don't even know why I bit you like this, I could have just as easily used my knife here. Guess it was just a case of in the moment action and animal instinct combining."
As I spoke, I cleaned out the puncture marks with Iodine, Gin taking it stoically without even twitching as the disinfectant touched his open wounds. I taped small gauze pads over each of the wounds then wrapped his leg in a couple of layers of bandage wrap.
As I worked, Gin just stared at me in silence. When I had finished wrapping his leg I pulled his pant leg down and then cocked my head as I turned my gaze to his eyes. A few moments later, Gin frowned and asked grumpily "What?"
"Just checking to make sure there's no sign of your brain being damaged by oxygen deprivation. I did drop you with a sleeper hold after all. Your eyes look clear though, and you seem cognizant enough." I stated.
Gin blinked at that but didn't say anything else. Shaking my head, I stood up with the first aid kit and looked for any other injuries among our prisoners that could prove life threatening if they weren't treated properly. Most of them just needed a quick cleaning and bandage wrap for their wounds but I did have to set one poor guy's wrist. Going by the tread mark that was still pressed onto his skin, it looked like Sanji had done it, probably to keep him from firing a gun.
Once I was finished, I entered the restaurant again only to see Zeff sitting at one of the tables near the entrance. As I walked in, he said "Not many pirates would treat their enemies after defeating them."
I shrugged and said "I don't really have anything better to do right now. Besides, I've seen pictures of what happens if infection has a chance to settle in. They weren't exactly pretty."
Zeff hummed at that but didn't say anything else so I just shrugged again and went to put away the first aid kit.
Once I had the kit put away, I went outside via the other door and switched to my were-lemur form to hop up to the roof then continued into Zaboomafoo as I climbed up the flag pole. Sitting on the top, I looked out into the ocean with a sigh and said "Well, that was the hurry up stage, now we're in the waiting stage again."
Hopefully it didn't take long for the others to bring Nami back, I suddenly had a bad case of wander lust for some reason. That and my Switch had been on the Merry when Nami stole the ship. I'd just have to settle for the Sudoku and Mahjong apps on my phone for gaming entertainment until I got it back...
Twenty minutes after I climbed the flag pole my ears twitched as I heard my Captain's voice and I looked away from the horizon and down towards the railing of the Baratie's second level. Sanji was leaning against the railing while Luffy was sitting on it cross legged facing Sanji. The cook had an energetic look in his eyes as he explained his dream to find the All Blue.
I wasn't the only one watching the discussion either, Zeff was now on the third floor and looking down as well. A feeling of content rolled off of him in waves to my Observation Haki but there was also a kind of fond sadness as well, as if he had come to a realization of something that he had been both hoping and dreading in equal measure.
After a couple of minutes of listening to the pair below him, Zeff turned and looked upwards. Our gazes met for a few moments, just a couple of seconds really, and then he walked away to enter the interior of his ship. I watched him go back inside then shook my head, turning my gaze back out to the ocean, looking for any sign of sails on the horizon.
Time Skip: Lunch Time
After I was called down for lunch, I got into a discussion with two of the cooks on how to make chef's hats out of duck tape while taking bites out of a plate of ravioli. Apparently the two had seen me wearing the Stetson I had made out of the material yesterday and were interested in how I had made it. They had tried to make a chef hat themselves but it kept sagging inwards too much. I was just describing the proper way to make the cylinder stay stiff using the 'plug' that would be the top of their hats when Luffy and Sanji entered the room. Immediately, my two conversation buddies stiffened, they, and every other chef's emotions hardening to determination.
I frowned and traded a confused glance with Luffy who had picked up on the chef's emotions with his own Observation Haki. My Captain shrugged at me even as Sanji asked "Hey, where are we sitting?"
One of the more bulky chefs said "We didn't save a seat for you."
The Chef next to him snickered and said "Eat on the floor, the floor."
"No seat?" Sanji asked in confusion, going on "How can that be? This is a restaurant for crying out loud!"
I gave the two chefs I was talking to a weird look and leaned in to quietly ask "Didn't you guys count how many chairs you needed before you took the rest upstairs?"
One of the two winked at me while the other put a finger to their lips. Thankfully, we were at the end of the table opposite the door so Sanji didn't notice. Leaning back with a sigh, I thought 'So that's how they're going to play it eh? I swear, damn Tsunderes the lot of them!'
As Sanji and Luffy grabbed plates and dished up their own meals, the two chefs started up our earlier conversation again, asking for a clarification on how thick the plug of the hat needed to be. I gave a soft sigh but went along with it.
A minute after Sanji and Luffy had sat on the floor to begin eating, Patty gave a surreptitious look around. When some of the chefs gave him tiny nods, he pushed his empty plate away and pulled a bowl of soup towards himself, most of the chefs doing the same. Picking up a spoon, Patty took a spoon full of soup, took the barest moment to apparently enjoy the taste before he swallowed and slammed his spoon down on the table, standing up as he yelled out "Hey! Who in the world made the soup this morning?"
Sanji lifted his arm up with a smile said "It's Me! Me! Pretty good eh?! Today's is even more exceptional than usual."
Patty wiped at his mouth as he said "I could hardly swallow this piece of crap! It's only fit for pigs!" Turning, he made a few spitting motions and sounds.
Sanji's smiling expression went straight to pissed off as he stood up and asked "Oi, you never tasted 'human' food before, crappy cook?"
"Hmph! You're turning this awful cooking into an art form." Patty said with a sneer, making a thumbs down as he continued "I'm about to puke." He added another three theatrical spitting motions at the end.
Walking forward deliberately with hands in his pockets, Sanji said "Excuse me, but I'm very confident with what I made today. Is something wrong with your tongue?"
Carne spooned up some of the soup and put it into his mouth then wiped his mouth with a napkin cloth. His expression remained stoic even as both Luffy and I caught a faint burst of enjoyment with our Observation Haki. A moment later after he finished wiping his mouth though, he exaggeratedly stuck out his tongue and said "It's disgusting!"
Carne slammed his spoon onto the table. That opened the flood gates as every chef there took a sip then slapped their spoon onto the table they were sitting at deriding it as unfit to eat and glaring at Sanji who just kept getting angrier and angrier.
"I can't take this at all!"
"Right, everyone?!"
"cough How can we eat this?!"
"This soup is super horrible!"
"We can't drink up this crap!"
"This is just awful. Can somebody get me some water?"
Lines of fury spreading over his forehead like a many feathered peacock's tail, Sanji shouted "What're you bastards up to?!"
Patty crossed his arms and declared "You're just a phony chef assistant. You've just been around for a while, that's all."
"We're tired of your violent behavior!" another chef said, some of the other chefs nodding.
Another declared "It tastes so bad, we just had to say it aloud."
"What did you SAY?!" Sanji asked, looking like he was about two seconds from kicking someone.
Zeff took a spoonful of his soup and then stated calmly "We're cooks of the sea." When everyone looked towards him, he continued "We can't afford to waste even a single drop of soup."
Everyone watched as he quickly worked through the bowl, going so far as too angle it so that way he could spoon up the very last bit of it. One last swallow. Then, he stood up, picked up the bowl and threw it onto the ground causing it to shatter.
Sanji paled as the bowl shattered and all of the other chefs went "OWNER?!" Their shock was VERY real, sounding to my Observation Haki like the scratch of a needle being dragged across a record it had previously been playing.
"Old man?!" Sanji asked in shocked anger.
Luffy and I traded another glance before looking on. I mentally huffed at how Luffy was STILL eating, and with just his hands rather than using his utensils at that, an octopus tentacle sticking out of his mouth as he watched on like this was one of those dinner and a show establishments that I'd been to a couple of times at Myrtle Beach back home.
Rubbing at his mouth, Zeff asked "What's up with this disgusting soup of yours? Do you intend to shut this restaurant down or something?"
I winced at the words of Sanji's mentor, watching as Sanji stepped up close to Zeff like one would watch an inevitable train wreck. Grabbing his uniform with both hands, Sanji demanded "Stop Kidding around, old fart! Tell me what makes your soup and mine any different! Tell me!"
"Between mine and yours?" Zeff asked with a glare. The next moment, he freaking PUNCHED Sanji in the face as he yelled out "Don't be so conceited!"
Jaws dropped among the chefs as one of them said "The boss didn't kick him, but punched him!"
With fist kept clenched in front of him, Zeff declared "You're a hundred years too young to compare to me, lil' eggplant! For I am the man who has cooked on all of the seas, all over the world."
Sanji glared up at Zeff for a few moments before he bolted up to his feet and out the door with a shouted "Damnit!"
I listened to the sound of Sanji running away before I shook my head and said softly to myself "Geeze, talk about going for right where it hurts..."
At the same time, Luffy drank a bowl of soup like it was a cup of water then let out a sigh of content. As he filled up the bowl with more soup using a ladle he said "This soup's great!"
"I know so." Zeff stated. When Luffy looked back at him in confusion he continued "Sanji's cooking is revered by everyone here."
The chefs next to Zeff stated their agreement:
"It doesn't taste bad at all."
"Yeah, it's well made."
"Man, that was scary, he seemed pretty mad."
"Yeah, he really was."
Luffy just kept ladling soup into his bowl as he listened. Then the complete manner less dumbass stuck the last ladle of soup straight into his mouth making me introduce my face to my palm with a groan of "Damnit Luffy!"
"But if we didn't pull this off, he'd never leave, that stupid brat!" Zeff declared.
I decided to refrain from telling the chefs that I could sense that the man they were talking about was right outside, instead watching with a slight frown as Zeff continued "Hey Kid! You mentioned that you needed a cook on your ship, right? I'm not trying to force you or anything, but that lil' eggplant of ours, care to take him with you? To the Grand Line." At Luffy's quiet noise of interest, he explained "The Grand Line is what he's always dreamed about."
Patty picked up the conversation then as he said "You see, the boss is a real troublemaker."
Carne grinned and pointed at Patty as he said "I was worried for a sec with your crappy acting."
Patty laughed for a moment before he said with a flat look "Not to mention yours."
A moment later, the chefs were all calling for more helpings of soup and I shook my head as one of them procured a new ladle from somewhere and began dishing more soup out into the bowls.
When everyone had a bowl of soup again, (and I have no clue HOW they managed to all drink their soup without me noticing before) Zeff asked "So how about it kid?"
"No." Luffy stated flatly.
As all of the chefs made rather amusing faces, I blinked in confusion. Ever since our first day here, Luffy had been adamant that Sanji would be our chef, so why?
"Didn't you say you need a cook on your ship? Or do you not like the guy?" Zeff questioned.
Luffy dunked a dumpling into his soup as he said "It's nothing like that. I want to take him with me, but he said that he wanted to stay here as a cook. I can't take him along even if you guys insist."
'Okay, now I KNOW Luffy doesn't like what they just pulled.' I thought in amusement. After all, I had heard how he had 'refused Sanji's refusal'.
Zeff played with his mustache, hand pulling both strands downwards only to release them to spring upwards then pulling them again a few times in thought as he asked "So you're saying that you can't do anything about it unless he says "yes"?"
"That's right." Luffy said before holding up his plate and said "Seconds please!"
I snorted at that (he had already HAD seconds) while Zeff looked up, still playing with his mustache strands and mused "Yeah, that's obviously best. But that peculiar kid, would he just admit that he wants to go?"
"Not a chance. He's a stubborn son of a gun." One of the chefs denied with sharp shake of his head.
Huffing out in amusement, I said "Yeah well, like everyone else that works here he's a Tsundere so what do you expect?"
"WHAT'D YOU CALL US?!" All of the chefs barring Zeff yelled at me with shark teeth, the head chef looking reluctantly amused. It seemed that at least HE was willing to admit to what he was. Luffy just let out a laugh even as he moved to fill up his plate himself.
Before the chefs could give me the pounding they thought I deserved for my remark, my Observation Haki pinged as a familiar signature entered my range and I said "Captain, Yosaku's inbound!"
Luffy perked up and actually put down his plate, quickly moving to join me as I powerwalked to the door. Thankfully it opened inwards so instead of shoving Sanji he just fell back in surprise from where he was resting against the door. I reached down and hoisted him up to his feet even as Luffy stepped around and hopped onto the railing, hand over eyes even as he reached out with his more limited in range Observation Haki trying to find him.
We were expecting a boat of some kind. What we got instead was a shark fin rapidly moving towards the ship.
"What the hell?" I asked in confusion, hand going up over my shoulder and gripping the handle of my Battlescout in preparation of drawing it. But instead I flinched back as the shark (which turned out to have black and white stripes and for some reason, a horizontal tail) jumped upwards in an explosion of water, Yosaku grimly hanging onto its dorsal fin with one hand and the front left fin in the other. He let go at the peak of the shark's arc and fell towards the restaurant. He would have face planted on the deck if Luffy and I didn't catch him between us. Yosaku sucked in deep breathes as he swore quietly to himself "Never again!"
"Yosaku! What happened? Did you find Nami?! And why are you the only one here?" Luffy asked, hopping off the railing and letting his stretched arms return to normal.
"And what in the world possessed you to use a shark as submarine?" I asked the, in my mind at least, far more important question as it pertained to the current moment.
I unfortunately didn't get an answer as Yosaku kept his gaze on Luffy as he said "We didn't catch up with her. But from the direction she was headed, we roughly knew her destination."
"Why didn't you bring her back then?" Luffy asked in confusion.
Yosaku looked away and said "Well, about that..." Looking back while raising his left pointer finger, he explained "Where we calculated, it'd be a dangerous place. Anyways, we need your help. So please, come with me!"
"Yosh! I don't really get it...but I get it! Let's go!" Luffy said with a firm nod.
'But he didn't tell us a damn thing!' I mentally complained.
Before I could actually GET questions though, Sanji lit up a cigarette and said "Wait." When the three of us and all of the chefs looked his way, he continued "All of us hold onto foolish dreams. I'm gonna do this for my own dream, for All Blue."
"Sanji?" Luffy asked, excited hope in his eyes.
Sanji nodded once and said "As you wanted, I shall come with you. On this 'Road to the Pirate King', allow me to take up the position of cook aboard your ship." Now smirking, Sanji asked "You got a problem with that?"
Luffy gained a megawatt grin and through his arms up as he said "YEEEEEESSSS! Great!"
Yosaku just about matched his grin as he asked "Isn't this great Big Bro Luffy?!"
Luffy laughed and the pair grabbed each other's arms, dancing in a circle as they said together "Yay! Yay! We got our cook!"
'What's this 'we' part?' I mentally asked myself with a raised eyebrow. Neither Luffy nor either of the Bounty Hunter Duo had ever brought up the pair joining the crew full time. I just assumed that as soon as this business with Nami running off was dealt with we would split ways. I mean, they WERE bounty hunters after all... (Zoro didn't count in that argument, Luffy apparently held his swords for ransom to make him join)
Sanji smirked at the pair before turning to face the chefs and said "So, that's it people. I gave you a lot of trouble didn't I?"
Patty was standing side on with crossed arms and a glare on his face as he made a spitting sound and said "Man, you piss me off! I wanted to throw you out of here myself, but now things turn out to be easy."
Sanji's expression went slightly flat as he said "Well, I'm sorry...that's what you get for putting on such an appalling performance."
"What, you knew?!" Patty asked with wide eyes.
"You couldn't be any more transparent. You're all morons." Sanji said drolly.
'And yet it fooled you completely. Or are we to believe that that WASN'T you running out of the dining room about three seconds away from crying in anger?' I thought with rolled eyes.
"So you guys really all want me outta here, eh? Eh, Old Fart?" Sanji continued.
Patty clenched his fist and demanded "What's with that foul mouth of yours?!"
Zeff put a hand on Patty's chest making him pause as the head chef said "That's right, you lil' eggplant. I hate kids! I regret every passing day that I let you live, ungrateful kid."
Sanji's eyes narrowed as he said "That's just nice, old fart. Now you can sit back and relax for the rest of your life."
I rolled my eyes again and said "I swear, Tsunderes, the lot of you."
"WHAT WAS THAT YOU PUNK!" All of the chefs including both Sanji AND Zeff this time shouted at me with shark teeth. Luffy let out one of his signature laughs while Yosaku gained a sweat drop.
I grinned and taunted "Aaaaw, what's wrong? Not feeling manly enough to admit that you guys actually like and are going to miss each other when he leaves?"
"PREPARE TO BE BARBEQUE!" Sanji roared as he swung a kick at me. A kick which I stopped cold as I shifted my legs into lemur mode and intercepted it, cheating with some Armament Haki on my shin under my pant leg to prevent Sanji from doing more than giving me a bruise .
Smirking at Sanji, I said "I'm just calling it like I see it." The next moment, I was Zaboomafoo, shifting in a way that put me on Sanji's leg before I leapt off his leg to land on Luffy's left shoulder who let out a laugh even as he unconsciously reached up to scratch at my ears.
Sanji growled, hands actually coming up in the classical strangling gesture. Impressively enough, he managed to get his anger under control and he said "We'll take my personal ship to catch up with the rest of our crew Captain. I just need to collect my things and I'll be ready to leave."
Luffy nodded and adopting a serious look said "That's fine, I have something else I need to do before we leave anyways."
Sanji nodded back and we proceeded to split up. Luffy immediately leapt up the levels of the Baratie then back down to the damaged fin where the Krieg Pirates were being kept, one of the chefs keeping an eye on them from his chair just outside the dining room entrance, a small table with empty dishes showing that he had been brought lunch earlier. He gave us a quick glance when we dropped down beside him but otherwise didn't react.
As Luffy made a bee line for Gin, I hopped off and shifted into human form, feeling like this conversation was too important to be Zaboomafoo for.
Gin looked up at us as we approached and asked gruffly "What do you want?"
Luffy frowned at the tone but when he squatted in front of Gin, he said "I want you to join my crew."
Gin blinked, an incredulous look on his face as he asked "Are you crazy? I led my Captain back to this restaurant and he immediately stated his intention to attack the chefs here. Besides, you're going to the Grand Line, and I'm NEVER going back there."
"Just because you brought your Captain here doesn't mean that it's your fault the restaurant was attacked Gin. That was all your Captain's fault." Luffy pointed out like he thought Gin was an idiot for thinking such. He then crossed his arms and said "And are you really going to let fear of a place keep you from adventure?"
Gin glared and said "That 'place' is nothing more but a nightmare, a hell that no one should ever dare enter."
"Only if you don't go in with all of the basic facts. There are dozens if not hundreds of islands with successful civilizations living there. You just need to be able to roll with the punches." I stated crossing my own arms.
Luffy gave a firm nod and said "I think you can make it Gin, and you seem trustworthy to me, so I want you to come with us." He then cocked his head and asked "The question is, do YOU think you can make it if you know what's needed to go there." He then shrugged and said "Of course, if you don't come with us, then you'll just be going with everyone else here when the Marines come. Although, you did manage to escape them once before, maybe you'll get lucky a second time."
'Oh that's evil.' I thought to myself. That said, Luffy wasn't exactly wrong. The Marines had already been called after all.
Gin gaped at Luffy and said "That's blackmail!"
Luffy cocked his head in confusion and said "What do you mean? I'm speaking to you, not sending you a letter."
'I can't tell if he's honestly that clueless or just messing with the guy.' I thought in amusement.
All of the other conscious Krieg Pirates were muffling complaints behind their gags during this entire discussion, most likely about how only Gin was getting this 'offer'. Not that they could do anything about it, the chefs may not have been as 'thorough' in securing them as their captain but they still wouldn't be able to get out of their bindings on their own, especially since their fingers were taped together by a layer of tape. Luffy didn't pay any of them mind, just staring at Gin. I thought that was a bit cold hearted of him but then again I wouldn't have even offered Gin this chance so I didn't really have a moral leg to stand on now did I? (Then again, they WERE trying to kill us a few hours ago...)
Gin stared wide eyed at Luffy for a few more moments, mouth moving up and down without saying anything. A moment later, he shook his head and muttered lowly enough that I only caught it thanks to my Zoan granted enhanced hearing "And here I thought this kid was one of those idiotically nice pirates, he's just as much a devil as the rest of us."
My lips turned upwards at that as Gin said louder "Alright, I still think you're insane for wanting to go to that hell hole, but if it's between joining you or being taken into Marine custody again, I'll take my chances with you guys."
Luffy gained a megawatt grin and said "Glad to have you with us!"
'So glad I apparently knew enough about this guy to be WILLING to join rather than be 'convinced' to.' I thought with a sweat drop at the back of my head. Seriously, Luffy was a great guy but a saint he sure as hell was NOT.
Shaking my head from that thought, I quickly moved to untie Gin. As I did so, I said "Remind me next time we're at an island with a proper clothing store to buy you a new head band."
Gin twitched at my words, then twitched again when he finally saw just what had been used to secure his limbs. He gave me an evil look but didn't say anything, simply taking the two strips of headband muttering about now needing to find a needle and thread. After reclaiming his cannonball tipped tonfas, he followed me and Luffy off of the fin.
The chef on guard duty didn't exactly look happy about us releasing one of the men who had attacked his home. He didn't say anything though, just giving Gin a glare as the man walked past.
A few moments later, we rejoined Yosaku who was looking over Sanji's personal boat, one that was just the slightest bit longer than the Bounty Hunter Duo's own ship, and with a REAL kitchen in its cabin to boot. Looking inside, Luffy got it into his head that he needed to make sure that there was plenty of food for the trip and took off to get supplies from the Baratie's stores. I let out a huff at that even as I made sure that Sanji's boat had a proper First Aid kit.
Honestly, with first dealing with Yosaku's scurvy, then Luffy's arms, then the surviving Krieg pirates' injuries, I was beginning to feel like a rent a doctor for the crew. I mean, I had even instructed Usopp on how to treat Zoro after the idiot was pulled out of the water when Mihawk sliced him from hip to shoulder, not to mention that stab wound literally over the heart...
Huffing at that thought, I muttered to myself "Definitely need to get a proper doctor on the crew with how danger prone its members are."
Shaking that thought from my head, I closed the First Aid kit and put it back in its place in one of the cabinets before I exited the cabin. Ten minutes later, Luffy was back with a bag about half as tall as he was and easily wider. I shook my head at that even as I helped a few of the chefs to walk Sanji's ship from where it was tied to the side of the Baratie to its undamaged fin in order to allow all of the chefs to stand outside to watch us leave.
Fifteen minutes after we were in position though Sanji still hadn't come out of the Baratie's interior and Yosaku said "Cook bro's rather slow, isn't he?"
"Un." Luffy said in agreement.
Gin remained silent, just leaning against the cabin with crossed arms, an action I imitated.
A few moments later, Sanji finally showed up at the door, a bag over his right shoulder and a case held in his left hand. Other than a raised eyebrow, he didn't react to the sight of Gin on his boat, clearly joining us for this trip. Instead he began to stoically walk down the lane the chefs made on the way to his ship. Well, all of the normal chefs at any rate...
As he took the first few steps, Patty and Carne leapt from the second deck railing with their giant utensil weapons.
"This is the fury I've accumulated for years!" Patty yelled out.
"Prepare yourself Sanji!" Carne shouted.
Without missing a beat, Sanji dropped the bag and case to the ground, back flipped to his hands between the pair, and when they hit the deck spun to slam his feet into his now former coworkers, hitting Patty in the mouth and Carne in the back of his head. As the pair laid there with comedic anime smoke trails coming off their heads, one of the regular chefs squatted by them and said "You can never beat him."
Sanji reclaimed his belongings and continued his walk, remaining stoic, as did all of the chefs who continued to silently watch him walk past. Reaching his ship at the edge of the fin, he said "Let's go."
"You sure? No goodbyes?" Luffy asked.
"Nah." Sanji said with a brief smile.
But as he moved to board the ship, Zeff called out from where he was leaning against the railing on the third level "Sanji!" Sanji paused as Zeff continued "Don't catch a cold now!"
I watched the stoic look disappear on Sanji's face, visible eye tearing up. Luffy smiled while I let out a smirk. Even Gin's lips twitched upwards.
A few moments later, both eyes were leaking tears and he spun around as he shouted "OWNER ZEFF!" Now bowing with face to deck, he continued "All this time, I owe you a hell of a lot! What you've done for me, I shall NEVER forget!"
Zeff remained stoic for a few brief moments, but as Sanji continued to cry in his prostrated position, I could see the glimmer of tears begin forming in his eyes. Tears which were imitated by the rest of the chefs even as Carne pounded a fist into the fin and Patty threw his arms up as he shouted "You damn bastard!" As Sanji looked up, he continued "I'm going to miss you, I'm gonna miss you damnit!"
"Gonna miss you alright!" Carne said in agreement.
Up on the third level, Zeff wiped at the tears of his eyes with a grin even as he said "You morons! Men should just leave without saying a word."
'He was, until you opened your big mouth.' I thought to myself, though I didn't say anything, choosing to not ruin the moment.
Once Sanji was aboard, still crying his eyes out, Luffy threw up his arms and shouted "Let's go!"
As we unfurled the ship's sail and got under way, Sanji waved his arms crying out "'Til we meet again, you freakin' bastards!"
As the chefs said goodbyes of the same profanitic nature, I shook my head and thought 'Tsunderes, the lot of them.' (I was beginning to sound like a broken record, even to myself.) I then turned my gaze to the horizon and my expression turned serious. We had not only the rest of the boys of our crew to catch up to but a Navigator to find as well.
END
Author's Notes: Not much to say here, just informing you guys that there is a new poll for whether Johnny and Yosaku should join any of the Straw Hat crews of my stories. Go take a few moments to vote for your opinion on that on my profile page.
