A/N:Well, school has officially started, which means updates on this won't be happening as much. I guess I should have started it earlier . . . but anyways, please wish me luck, and hopefully I'll have enough time and energy to devote to this story while dealing with my first year at college!
Something to note: this chapter was especially awkward for me to write. I'm not sure why-but if you find that the sentences don't flow as smoothly, I apologize in advance. I did some heavy editting, but it just wouldn't turn out the way I wanted it to . . . please give me feedback and what you think.
And now, onwards with the story! Finally, Perona gets to meet our favorite main characters!
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Chapter 4: Princess' Vacation
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—3 years later—
"You want to go eat at the restaurant Baratie, so you'll hitch a ride on the marine battleship leaving tomorrow?" Smoker's eyes twitched. He glared down at the audacious girl in front of him.
She had one hand on her hip, the other on a folded red parasol, and a red shawl tied over her shirt with ribbons. Matching pink stockings and black boots finished off Perona's fashion statement. To anyone else, this might have been cute enough to elicit a nice comment or two, but to Smoker, these simply spelled more trouble coming along.
"Might I remind you," he all but growled, "that you just arrived in town today. Did you come to Loguetown just to get a free ride on one of our ships?"
"Precisely," came the flippant reply. "I found out that lieutenant Fullbody's ship is headed for the most famous restaurant in the East Blue. So, I'll simply get on that ship. I don't see what the problem is at all." Perona tossed her head and gave a knowing smirk, which Smoker had never appreciated. It managed to grate on his nerves every time, even after three years of her absence.
"Look here, brat. You have your own ship, you have your own map. Why on earth are you trying to get on a marine ship? Marine ships aren't passenger ships, you got that?!" he slammed his hand down on the desk, causing a stack of papers to flutter and fall over. "I don't know how you got wind of Fullbody's route, but you will pay for a regular passenger ship like every other law-abiding citizen out there. Don't think that the marines are your lackeys to do your every bidding at will!"
"Oh, really? Horohorohorohoro, I thought they were."
"You . . . !"
Perona crossed her arms and sent Smoker a contemptuous look. "How impolite. Are you saying that a lady such as myself should be forced to sail my own boat during my vacation? Or that I should pay a boat fare when there sits a perfectly good marine ship just 5 docks away from that grubby little passenger ship? After all the years I've slaved over my sewing machine to salvage the beauty of the marine's female population! Judging by the thousands of thank-you postcards your marine soldiers mail me every day, I certainly feel I have the right to ask for a simple boat ride. Besides, who do you think repairs all the rips and tears in Tashigi's outfits every time she gets into a fight, hm?"
"What? Thank-you postcards? . . . Those idiots! And anyway, we pay you for your services! At double the price from 3 years ago!"
"I'll expose your horrifyingly embarrassing past of Captain Hina and a chestnut tree!"
" . . . !" Smoker's face turned bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment Perona couldn't tell. Better if it was from both. She gave him a victorious smirk. "Well?"
Silence.
". . . fine. But don't expect that threat to work the next time, you hear!?" Perona waved it off as Smoker sputtered in her face. Really, this man would always be uncouth. He had not an inkling on how to treat a lady. She turned briskly and exited the office, but not before calling out just as the door snapped shut: "So . . . first kiss, eh? Smoker and Hina sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N—"
"Y%**&#O* %*~#U*%&**!"
"Horohorohorohoro!" Perona laughed as she swept down the hallway.
Predictably, there was no one around. Not many people liked to be near the volatile marine captain's office, and besides, his office was the only one on the floor. So, she didn't have to worry about anybody seeing her feet hovering two inches off the carpet as she flew past the paintings on the walls.
These days, hovering in the air felt much more comfortable for her, rather than walking along the ground. It felt wonderful to fly around with all her Hollows, spinning somersaults and cartwheels mid-air. It remained one of the only enjoyments she allowed herself to indulge in. She got to her destinations faster, too. Of course, she always made sure nobody accidentally stumbled across her airborne excursions . . . almost always.
. . . Well, she couldn't be careful all the time. It was a vigilance that took practice.
And to her credit, she'd certainly made a lot of progress over the last three years.
During her travels around the world, she had made a point to try to master her ghost abilities, just in case. A lady can never be too careful, after all.
Now, to her utter delight, spirit projection was a thing of the past. She could walk through walls, fly around, and even become transparent at will without ever leaving her physical body behind, though she couldn't turn completely invisible like her Hollows had learned to do.
But she would get there. Eventually. She just needed more practice.
"Hm?" one of her Negative Hollows suddenly appeared right in front of her, waving its blunt arms in the air frantically. She stared at it for a second, then abruptly dropped onto the floor right as Ensign Tashigi ran around the corner at the end of the hallway.
"Perona-san! I heard you just arrived in town!"
The Hollow vanished into Perona in an instant, and she walked nonchalantly over to Tashigi and gave her a once-over.
Red jacket with nicely stitched cuffs, check.
Cute pink T-shirt of Perona's own design, for comfortable movement, check.
As per Tashigi's personal request, a pair of black jeans specially designed for strenuous outdoor activities, check. Perona had taken the liberty to add a touch of dark red stripes on the pair, just because she couldn't stand the plainness of it.
After a few moments of tense silence, Perona finally gave an approving nod. "You've certainly come a long way from you horrible fashion tastes, Tashigi. You were wasting that pretty face of yours before, you know?"
Tashigi blushed at this. Coming from Perona, this was quite a compliment. "Ah, w-well . . ."
Perona leaned forward and tut-tutted her in a childish manner, giving her a smile. "Well, I'll be on vacation for a few days, so be sure not to rip up those jeans while I'm unavailable, got it? Honestly, don't get yourself into so much trouble all the time."
"Eh? You're leaving so soon? But you just got here . . . some of the lower-ranking soldiers have been wanting to meet you. They say they want to thank you personally for the work you've done . . ."
Perona waved her off. "I only came back so I could get myself a leisurely ride to the Baratie. I don't intend to work on anything in the next few days, so you had better not get yourself roughed up too much, alright?"
Though it was faint, the hint of worry in Perona's voice made Tashigi smile. This person's words were never honest, but always kind. In an odd way, Perona's way of speaking resembled Captain Smoker's—they both sounded spiteful, but underneath, they had kind intentions. She still remembered Perona's words in her shop three years ago—they were something of an inspiration for Tashigi nowadays.
"Of course, Perona-san, I'll be careful. I hope you have a nice vacation. But didn't you already have a boat?"
"I told you, it's vacation. Do you honestly think I can relax in my boat when my workshop is in there? No matter how cute and adorable and absolutely amazing my personal boat is, I'll be leaving it down at the harbor for a week so I can take a proper rest. Away from my sewing machine."
Tashigi recalled Perona's boat—painted pink and black all over, with a very pink and very elaborate design on the sails reading "Princess Brands."
Yes, Perhaps leaving it behind would be good for Perona. Maybe get a bit of blue or green into her system for a change.
"I see," Tashigi nodded. "Ah, by any chance, have you seen Captain Smoker?"
Perona smirked. "He's in his office, brooding over his pathetic love life."
"H-huh?" Tashigi blinked, not understanding.
"Never mind," Perona said as she lightly trotted past her, giving her a final "see you in a few days" before disappearing around the corner.
For the rest of the week, she would take no orders.
No jobs.
Not even a request for a princess-themed costume party could get her to give up her well-deserved vacation.
As Perona went off humming to herself, Tashigi watched her go, wondering just how Perona managed to fluster the immovable Smoker-san so much. Tashigi had seen Perona blackmail Smoker quite a few times back in the past, and she could only guess where Perona had found out so much about the marine captain.
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Perona took a good long look at the lieutenant standing in front of her. He stood tall and lean, with a cocky angle to his chin that Perona disliked immediately. Recognizing him for what he was, Perona cocked her own chin in a similar manner, effectively looking down her nose at him. She failed to realize that the sight of the large teddy bear hanging from her arm ruined her haughty pose.
"I'll be on this ship until we reach the Baratie. Let's hope we don't see each other," she introduced herself.
Fullbody's eyes narrowed, and Perona saw a deep, angry mark appeared on his forehead. This man had an even shorter temper than Smoker. "Brat, you've got a lot of nerve talking that way to the one in charge of this ship. Why don't you start by greeting me properly, and apologizing for your rudeness?"
At this, Perona turned a poignant glare on him. "Don't you dare order me around! And don't call me a brat, either, old man!"
"Why you little . . . !" Fullbody's face turned a light shade of purple. He opened his mouth, just about ready to give the order to throw her overboard, when Perona's voice froze him in his tracks.
"Horohorohorohoro, you had better watch your mouth with me . . . wouldn't want this lady here to know of a certain Amy-san, now, would you?"
The girl gave a meaningful smirk at Fullbody's date.
At this, Fullbody blanched and stared at Perona in newfound horror. How did this little brat know about Amy? He'd never even met this girl before, and she was threatening to spill the beans about his last affair to his current one!
The lady-san in question, who stood beside Fullbody in a beautiful evening gown, looked at Perona curiously, then at Fullbody. "Amy-san . . . ? What is that girl talking about, Fullbody?"
"N-nothing, dear!" Fullbody gasped nervously, eyeing Perona with something akin to terror. "Amy is . . . my little sister, and she may not . . . uh . . . take kindly to us going to such a famous restaurant without . . . her. Hahahaha."
He mentally congratulated himself on his quick thinking, but couldn't stop himself from glancing at Perona furiously. How dare that girl . . . !
"Be nice to me, lieutenant . . . horohorohorohoro . . ." Perona simply strode into the cabins, leaving Fullbody strangely diconcerted by the hollow sound of her voice. As he led his current date towards her cabin on the other side of the ship, he forced his mind away from the unpleasant brat, promising himself to make this trip as short as possible.
The sooner he got away from that girl, the better.
Inside her very own cabin, which Perona had secured through Smoker's generous (begrudging) orders, she let loose a couple of her Negative Hollows and chortled happily. They laughed with her, smiling their same silly smiles as they crowded around her in affection. "Good job, boys! That lieutenant had better learn not to leave his diary lying around on his desk like that!"
Her secret to knowing everyone's secrets was simple—if she sent a team of her Hollows out, there was nothing they couldn't find out. For Smoker's blackmailing material, Perona had kept an invisible Hollow near him during her stay here 3 years ago, eavesdropping on his conversation over the den den mushi with Hina. As for Fullbody, with the diary open on his desk to a very convenient page about dinner with Amy-san last week, it had been as easy as slipping through walls.
Now, Perona settled comfortably on her hammock, looking forward to a few days of peace and quiet on board a ship where no one would bother her . . . that is, unless they wished to have their life secrets hung over their heads.
"You know," Perona remarked, "I don't like that Fullbody's attitude."
Her Hollows stared at her for a moment, then began a frenzied dance through the air. The excitement was palpable. Their mistress had a plan in mind.
"I'll make him regret that cocky attitude of his . . ."
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3 days later, the lookout spotted the Baratie restaurant floating proudly in the middle of the sea, and Perona came up on deck to take a look at the most famous dining place in the East Blue.
"A girl needs to eat a fancy dinner once in a while," she told herself as she watched the fish-like structure loom closer. With the marine ship's speed, the journey didn't take that long, but any normal ship would have taken at least a week. Hence Perona's insistence for a marine ship rather than a normal passenger's ship.
As an added bonus, marine ships weren't likely to be attacked by pirates.
"It'd be annoying if I had to fight pirates while on vacation." Yup, Perona gave a self-satisfied nod, and held up Kumashi in her arms for him to get a better look over the railing. "There it is, Kumashi! Even though you can't eat, I'll eat enough for us both, ok?"
Nod.
She hummed happily to herself. Not even the sight of Fullbody's sneering face appearing on deck could dampen her mood. It had been ages since she had gotten a taste of first-class cuisine.
"Sir, it's a pirate ship to port!"
"Hm?"
Fullbody, as well as everyone else on deck, looked to the left at the lookout's unexpected shout. Sure enough, there stood a pirate ship, proudly displaying a skull with crossbones. Curiously, the skull sported a straw hat on its head.
Perona narrowed her eyes. And just when she'd decided that marine ships made good pirate repellent, too. If these pirates tried to raid the restaurant or something, she would make sure they got a full dose of haunting aboard their ship.
But more importantly.
'What a cute little jolly roger,' Perona thought, pleased. Nothing like those bloodthirsty-looking designs that seem to be so popular these days. A straw hat? A bit on the bland side, but she could appreciate the simplicity of the design.
Of course, Perona's own designer brand totally outclassed it, but still. For a flag on a pirate ship, she could applaud the effort.
"I've never seen that pirate flag before," Fullbody remarked to his soldiers. "Hey, who's the captain of that ship?"
At this, a boy came forward, waving his hands.
"Me! I'm Luffy," he yelled out confidently. "We made our pirate flag two days ago."
A girl with orange hair shouted at him about not saying unnecessary things, while another boy boasted about having painted the flag himself. Perona couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. It sounded unlady-like, but really, that boy, Luffy's face looked just like one of her stuffed animal's expressions—clueless but cuddly. Perona decided she'd model her next stuffed animal after this Luffy.
"Oy, I recognize you two. Aren't you those bounty hunters who only go after small fry?" Fullbody continued, pointing out the two men crouching below the railings. Fullbody sneered. "What, did you get captured?"
Perona sniffed disdainfully at the lieutenant's display of bravado. This man, all talk and no skills to back it up. Even after Fullbody beat up the bounty hunters Johnny and Yosaku, Perona made a point to laugh at him.
"Horohorohorohoro, you're one to talk, Fullbody. And just who is the marine lieutenant who only goes after small fry?" Perona twirled her parasol, smirking at Fullbody who had turned his evil eye to her. "Or shall I go over the list your past achievements and see what comes up?"
The rage on Fullbody's face flared up, and despite Perona's threats, he made a swing at her with his iron knuckles. Of course, Perona dodged it with a flick of her ankles.
Having a ghost body made you lighter than air when you needed to be.
Giving her hair a toss, she continued in a no-nonsense voice.
"The highest bounty pirate you've ever caught was, what. 6 million beli? That isn't even worth a good bounty hunter's job. I wonder how you made it all the way to your rank with that pathetic record. The marine standards have certainly fallen over the past few years."
"You . . . little brat!" Fullbody made to charge at her again, but at that moment, his current girlfriend decided to appear on deck and ask, "Fullbody, can we go in now? I've been looking forward to this trip all week."
Fullbody looked back at her and grunted, forcing a gentle smile on his face that made Perona frown distastefully. She had thought Smoker had no class but . . . this man was just barbaric. Look at that face. It made her want to puke.
Not wanting to deal with him any longer than necessary, Perona jumped off the railings to land softly onto the deck of the Baratie. She gave a parting glance to the pirate ship next to them. They were all looking at her, as if not quite sure what to make of her, but she quickly dismissed them from her mind.
"Time to eat, Kumashi!" she said happily as she stepped into the restaurant.
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No sooner had she sat down a table when a loud "boom!" came from above, rattling the entire ship.
"What? Is it a pirate attack?"
"Hey, I did see a pirate ship outside!"
"But there's a marine ship out there, too! Surely they'll defend this ship for us?"
Perona looked up from her task of setting up Kumashi upright on the table, and noticed the captain of that straw hat pirate crew getting dragged upstairs by a few burly cooks. Oh my. Had it really been the pirates who had shot at the restaurant? For some reason, that boy didn't seem like the bad type.
Perhaps because he resembled Perona's stuffed monkey doll so much, but yes, he didn't look very evil.
Discreetly, Perona sent two of her Hollows out, one to where the straw hat boy was headed and the other outside, to find out what had happened.
"Hmm…but why should I care?" Perona wondered aloud.
Kumashi glanced up at her, then whispered, "cute."
"Hm . . . I suppose. Horohorohorohoro," she leaned back in her chair. The boy—his choice of vest and jeans horrified her, but Perona had a weakness for cute things, and she hadn't seen a boy who had looked and acted so cute in a while.
She would definitely make another monkey doll modeled after him one day.
Maybe even give him some fashion tips, if she felt generous.
While she pondered on her future project, she received feedback from her Hollows about what had happened. eavesdropping on the pirate crew's conversation, she couldn't help but give another contemptuous look at Fullbody, who had just entered the restaurant with his lady at his side. So the whole ruckus was that man's fault after all.
He walked in as if he owned the place, and seemed to revel in the admiring glances being thrown his way by the other customers. Perona just smirked.
"Let's see you fall to pieces."
"Hold on, waiter!" Fullbody called out as he stared at the wine glass in his hand. "this depth of taste…this hint of burgandy orange…this scent of honey-soaked grapes….it's…Itelzbuilgerstein. Am I right, waiter?"
The crowds murmured expectantly, and so did the lady sitting across from him.
"Dead wrong, sir," replied the waiter, in such a deadpan voice that Perona had to stiffle the chortle of laughter that threatened to break out from her. "And I'm Sanji, the assistant head chef here. All the waiters ran away yesterday."
"Horohorohorohoro . . ." Perona chuckled at the mortified expression on Fullbody's face. And she wasn't the only one. Even his lady friend giggled lightly as they clinked their glasses together.
Just this morning, Perona had overheard him pre-ordering the wine on his den den mushi. Realizing his plans to try and impress the lady, Perona had taken certain liberties, and with the help of a Possession Hollow, she'd completely changed the wine order right after Fullbody left.
Nobody called Perona a brat and got away with it unscathed.
Observing Fullbody's table for a while, Perona decided she had better things to do now then look at that unpleasant man's face. She promptly shut him out of her mind. She didn't even turn around when the assistant chef beat Fullbody into a bloody pulp, nor did she blink an eye when the head chef, who came crashing down through the ceiling, kicked the guy out through the doors.
But she did turn around when one of her Hollows—the one stationed outside—informed her that the pirate Fullbody had managed to capture just after getting out of Loguetown had escaped and was heading towards the restaurant.
That sounded like trouble. Perona frowned as a marine burst through the door with the news, only to be shot and killed on the spot by a man behind him. People gave a gasp and began screaming, but the intruder gave no mind as he walked in and sat at an empty table, which happened to be right next to the one Perona was sitting at.
"Hm," Perona sniffed disdainfully and edged away. The man reeked of blood and dirt, and he had a horrible expression on his face that made Perona have a strong urge to purify her eyes by burying them in piles of cute stuffed animals. Didn't that Fullbody have the sense to at least feed and clothe his prisoners properly?
. . . Of course not. He was a barbaric man, after all. Look, even now, instead of thinking about recapturing the pirate, Fullbody was scrabbling out the door, leaving the innocent customers and chefs at the pirate's mercy.
"Welcome, customer," one of the burlier chefs came over to the pirate, rubbing his hands together. "What would you like today?"
". . . anything. Just get me something to eat."
"Excuse me, customer, but . . . do you have any money to pay for your meal?"
There was a click of a gun, and more horrified gasps filled the air as the pirate aimed his pistol at the chef's head. "Do you take lead?"
"So no money, huh?"
Crash!
Even Perona jumped in surprise when the chef crushed the pirate's head into the table, much to everyone's astonishment . . . except his fellow chefs.
"No money . . . no food," growled the chef as he made to beat down on the man a couple more times.
"Hold it."
Perona got out of her seat and walked over to the fallen pirate. The big chef looked up at her questioningly, and asked, "What is it, customer?"
As she got closer and bent down next to the pirate's head, she crinkled her nose in obvious distaste. "You reek."
The pirate just glared at her, obviously too weak to move. "Your face is absolutely horrifying to look at. And these clothes! Must pirates all walk around wearing ragged pieces of cloth all the time?"
"What…do you want?" he wheezed out, his death glare still in place.
Perona got up and dug out 1,000 beli from her purse, tossing it into the hands of the surprised chef. "Take that money and go cook something for this guy. I absolutely can't stand a piece of filth like this lying around here and messing up my meals. As for you!" she turned furiously onto the pirate in question, who was looking at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Come with me, before I burn all your clothes off and toss you into the ocean for the good of the beauty of this world!"
She grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him out, making sure to call out over her shoulder, "I expect a full course meal to be ready by the time I come back. What's a first-class restaurant good for, anyways?"
As the doors swung shut behind her, a few moments of silence reigned in the room.
"Well, then, I'll go prepare a full-course meal," declared Sanji as he moved to enter the kitchen. But before he could do so, Patty blocked his way and poked a finger in his chest.
"Oh no you don't, Sanji. That there is a pirate, and what's worse, he's part of Don Krieg's crew! You ain't risking this whole restaurant by feeding the likes of him!"
"But you already received the money," Sanji pointed out, indicating the coins in Patty's hands.
"Sure, I'll prepare a meal. For the jellyfish hair lady," Patty grinned wolfishly, "But no pirate is gonna ruin the business on this ship!"
"It's a chef's job to feed someone who's hungry, pirate or no!" Sanji shouted.
"Feeding that pirate'll bring nothing but bad news! Sanji, you'll really risk this restaurant for the sake of a pirate?"
"He's not a pirate," Sanji growled, "He's a hungry customer. And he's even paid in advance. There's no reason why we shouldn't feed him."
Patty stood firmly in front of the kitchen doors, scowling darkly. "Make one move to cook something for that pirate and I'll throw you overboard."
"Just try it, crap-cook!"
"Enough!" the head chef, Zeff, roared out. "Patty, go take the other customer's orders. Sanji, get in the kitchen and make those orders. Everyone back to your posts!"
"But geezer. I need to cook that guy's . . . !"
"I said," Zeff glared at Sanji, "back to your posts."
Sanji jerked back, something akin to rage in his face, before storming into the kitchen and slamming the doors behind him. Luffy looked at the doors, then paused to make sure no one was paying attention before slipping out of the restaurant.
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"And . . . there! Even an ugly man like you can bring out something better with the right touch. Horohorohorohoro!" Perona laughed, looking up and down her latest masterpiece. She'd grabbed her luggage just before Fullbody sailed off, proceeding to give the weakened pirate a good dunk and scrub in the ocean water before stripping off his jacket and shirt to replace them with the ones in her luggage.
"You had better count your lucky stars that I brought a few unisex designs with me for this trip."
Gin, rather bewildered and too out of breath to protest, just stood there under Perona's critical eye. His headband had been redesigned—she'd done a quick few stitches on it to make the stripes look like blue dragons flying across his forehead. He now sported a blue shirt with water drop insignias stitched in carefully placed swirls, topped with a jean jacket that she had designed for the marines. He looked almost like a different person, scrubbed and clean and dressed to match the latest fashion. Perona gave another nod of approval. Her skills in this area were unmatched in all the four Blues.
She didn't seem to realize that she had just broken her pledge not to do any work for the next week. Kumashi, sitting against the railing off to the side, discreetly shook his head.
"You . . . why are you doing this?" Gin managed to question. His vision was starting to blur—hunger gnawed at his consciousness. "You even paid for the food . . ."
Perona looked at him.
He hadn't groveled and wept like some lesser men might have done in his situation back in the restaurant. It took a lot of guts to keep one's pride when food and hunger was at stake, and Perona respected someone who could hold his head up even in desperate situations.
Not like he would ever hear Perona say this out loud.
"Your scratchy voice annoys me. Be quiet," she retorted sharply before turning her head away.
Gin looked at her, and was about to say something more, when Sanji came around the corner with a tray of food in his hands. "Here, one full-course meal served, as per your orders, my lady."
He made an elaborate bow to Perona before handing the food over to Gin, who stared at the steaming mountains of rice and soup for a moment before snatching it away. As the man gobbled the food up, he began crying tears, mumbling about it being the most delicious food he'd ever eaten.
"It's good, eh?" Sanji smiled warmly as he watched the man eat, before turning his attention fully on Perona with an entranced smile in his eyes. "And you, my sweetest angel, your warm heart has melted my own, dear lady! May I have the honor of knowing your name, beautiful?"
Perona leaned back as Sanji leaned forward, not sure what kind of disease this man had been afflicted with. How was he able to dance around like that and still keep his eyes fixed on her the whole time? "Get away from me, creep!"
She whacked him solidly across the chest with her umbrella, and he crumpled in a heap, his eyes still twirling in love.
By now, Gin had finished up his meal and glanced down at the cook, asking in a quiet voice, "I doubt they let you actually cook this all for me, even if the girl paid for the food. Are you sure you won't get in trouble for this, cook?"
Sanji glanced up and straightened himself, lighting up a cigarette. He took a few moments to breath in the smoke, and then replied, "if a man's hungry, a chef's got to feed him. That's my job. And my lovely lady," here he turned to Perona and presented her with a few coins in an exaggerated motion, "your kind heart has been payment enough for this man's meals. Please, take this back and my own heart with it!"
"Hmm . . ." so that burly man wouldn't cook even for money? What kind of restaurant was this, anyway? Perona sniffed disdainfully and turned her nose away from the offered coins.
"I paid for the food and you made the food. There's no reason for me to get my money back. What am I, a beggar?"
Sanji blinked, before exploding into a storm of praises about her generosity and kindness and beauty . . .
Just as Perona made ready to give him another whack, a playful voice from above interrupted them.
"Na, I've found you. My sea cook!"
All three of them looked up to see a smiling boy in a straw hat. Hm? The pirate captain from before. What was he doing here?
The boy jumped down from his perch on the upper railings and stood smiling at Sanji and Perona.
Perona stared at him for a few moments, then realized something with a start.
They were standing on deck.
In the open.
In the sun.
Deftly opening her parasol with a snap, she gently placed it on her shoulder. If this conversation looked to turn longer, she preferred to be in the shade.
Luffy blinked at the appearance of the umbrella, before turning to Sanji and asking, "Hey, you should come be the cook on my ship."
"Wait, what?" Sanji gave Luffy an incredulous look. "A pirate ship?"
The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! I'm gonna be king of the pirates, and my crew needs a cook. You'll be our sea cook!"
"I refuse. I have my own reasons for staying in this restaurant."
"No! I refuse!"
". . . huh?"
Luffy declared, "I refuse your refusal! I've decided you're gonna be our cook."
"Hey, wait . . . don't go deciding that on your own. At least listen to me."
"Ok, I'm listening."
". . . It's personal."
"Hey! You just told me to listen to you!"
Perona glanced back and forth in this argument, and finally gave a laugh. "Horohorohoro, what a ridiculous conversation. Straw hat boy, you'll need to do better than that if you're trying to recruit people."
"Eh? Like how?"
"Hm . . ." Perona glanced at Sanji and then at the boy, who stared at her with expectation. "Horohorohorohoro, not telling!"
At this, the boy gave a disappointed shout. "Ehhhh!? Why not?"
"Figure it out yourself, horohoro! You're a captain, aren't you?" Perona skipped around the deck, humming to herself as the boy fell into a confused silence.
At that moment, the pirate Gin chose to speak up. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but, my name is Gin, and I work in the Krieg pirates. You said you're a pirate, right . . . ?"
"Shishishi, my name's Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet you!"
Gin nodded. "Right, you just said that you want to be the king of the pirates? Does that mean you're aiming for one piece?"
"That's right!" Luffy nodded, eyes sparkling. Ohh. Perona leaned in. That's a really nice sparkle. If she could incorporate it into her stuffed animals somehow, it would definitely enhance their cuteness . . . really, this boy inspired her like few others were able to do. If only she could get him into a pair of nicer jeans . . .
"Listen, kid," Gin continued. "You're still young, so I'm warning you now. Don't go to the Grand Line. You'll end up wasting your life! It's a dangerous place!"
Sanji looked up at this. "Oh, so you've been to the Grand Line, Gin?"
"Yes . . ." Gin seemed to recall something, and shuddered darkly. "But I don't know anything about that place."
"But you just said . . ."
"That place. It's a nightmare. All fifty ships of our armada were cut down by only one man!"
"Ehhh!?" Luffy jumped up, shocked. "Only one man took down 50 ships?"
Gin nodded. "That's the kind of place it is. Never, ever go to that place. It's a pirate's graveyard!"
"Hmph, you guys were just weak."
At Perona's voice, the men turned to her in surprise. Gin, especially, seemed furious at her statement.
"What was that?"
"There are plenty of pirates who get along just fine in the Grand Line. Either you guys were ridiculously weak, or the guy you ran into was just strong. Either way, tough luck."
"You . . . !" Gin looked about ready to murder Perona right there, but then seemed to remember that the food in his belly came thanks to her and Sanji. He glanced at the empty plates in front of him, and sighed. "Yes. Actually, though it kills me to admit it, you may be right. We were weak. So perhaps it isn't my place to say anything. But still, I can say for sure that it isn't a good idea to go there when you don't even have a ship's cook."
"I do have one," Luffy replied matter-of-factly, "he's right here."
"Don't include me on your own!" Sanji yelled back.
There was a bit more scuffling between Luffy and Sanji, but the conversation resolved with Gin boarding a borrowed boat from Sanji to head off back to his crew. Gin gave a bow of thanks to both Perona and Sanji before sailing off, and Sanji threw the plates leftover into the ocean just as the head chef came stomping onto the deck.
"Brat-cook! Chore boy! Back to work, now!" he roared out before stomping back in. Perona couldn't help but smirk. That old guy wasn't very honest . . . he had been standing there nearly the whole time. She didn't know about that burly cook who had wanted to beat Gin up, but these cooks . . . they didn't seem as uncouth as she first thought they were.
"Hey, you. What's your name?"
Perona looked up to see Luffy staring back at her. She picked up Kumashi from where he sat as she replied, "I'm Perona. You're Luffy, correct?"
He nodded and gave her a big smile. "Yup! Shishishi, I'm Monkey D. Luffy. You . . ."
"Chore-boy!" a thunderous chorus rang from the kitchen, and the temporary chore boy jumped a foot in the air. He gave a cheerful laugh and said, "Well, I better be going. See you!" before running off to his duties. It may have been Perona's imagination that she heard a crash, bang, boom, and the sound of expensive porcelain dishes shattering all along a tiled floor as soon as Luffy disappeared through the double doors.
"It certainly is noisy in there."
And at that moment, it occurred to her that she had no ride back to Loguetown, since Fullbody already left with the ship.
She let out a dejected sigh. Maybe the Baratie offered boat rides for their customers.
A/N: I don't know anything about wine.