AN: Due to the flow of the story, I couldn't find a good break for the chapter at my usual page count. So instead, please enjoy this extra long chapter :)

Previous chapter:

"Easy, this is Sanji. He's going to be our cook." Luffy replied between laughs. Sanji was a little taken aback by the laughter of the crew. Sure, this swordswoman was a bit rough around the edges, but she was still quite beautiful. It seemed like there was something he wasn't getting. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and he looked over to see Nami's grinning face.

"That angel… might have a pretty face, but he's definitely a guy." She replied, removing her hand to try and stifle her laughter more.

The cigarette dropped from Sanji's mouth onto the floor. Zoro was a man? He squinted his eyes at Zoro's face. Sure, Zoro was wearing quite the glare and seemed to be snarling at him, but… Sanji's eyes wandered lower and he was rewarded with a kick in the face from the lady-pretending-to-be-a-man herself.

"What's that? You switching sides eh, eggplant?" Called a gruff voice from behind. The head chef, Zeff, was watching the incident with an amused look oh his face.

"Like hell I am! I was just… argh… look at him! He's too pretty!" Sanji argued, gesturing towards Zoro as he picked himself up off the ground, looking uncomfortable.

"You.. think Zoro is pretty..?" Usopp could barely manage to say, he was laughing so hard. Sanji's face turned red from embarrassment.

"Try living with him a bit and your opinion will quickly change when you see him pick at his toenails." Nami replied, rolling her eyes. Sanji grimaced at that and gave Zoro one last look. Zoro was glaring daggers at him and cracking her knuckles while Luffy kept his arms around hers just in case she tried to attack him again.

"Must've been a trick of the light..." Sanji muttered, running his hand through his hair and turning away from Zoro. As if to save his manhood, he quickly turned his attention to another lady customer and headed in her direction. He was cut off though when the head chef blocked his way.

"You should take the boy's offer. You're always causing a mess around here, flirting with all the customers and serving shit meals." Zeff told the cook.

"The hell you just say? You insulting my cooking old man?!" Sanji snarled back, grabbing the chef's collar. Zeff grabbed Sanji's arm and easily twisted it before kicking him halfway across the room, crashing into the Straw hat's table. Luffy let go of Zoro and held out his hand to help Sanji up. Sanji pushed himself up and brushed himself off, ignoring his boss. He looked at Luffy's hand and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the back of the restaurant.

The other straw-hat pirates exchanged glances.

"Well... that was delicious! Sanji got my bill, right? Great! Bye!" Nami quickly waved and dashed out of the room, leaving a stunned Zoro and Usopp. They moved to follow her, but a rather large cook stepped in front of them.

"Here's your bill, sirs." The cook said, handing over the paper. Zoro looked at Usopp. Usopp gulped.

Two days passed of Zoro, Usopp and Luffy all working off their various types of debts. Each one had been kicked out of the kitchen over the course of the past two days. Luffy was kicked out for breaking every dish and eating the food. Usopp was kicked out for not shutting his mouth and Zoro was kicked out for throwing knifes.

Sanji interacted with the straw hats on a regular basis. He talked to the others when needed, but surprisingly ended up spending most of his breaks talking with Luffy about the open sea. Though he was still vehemently against leaving the restaurant.

The early afternoon found them in the dining room of the restaurant completing their various tasks. Usopp was taking orders, Zoro was scrubbing the floors, and Luffy was not touching anything or speaking to anyone. This, surprisingly, was the hardest task, and Luffy was still being scolded regularly by the chefs.

Sanji did find himself staring a time or two at the swordsman. Now that he saw her in action, scrubbing the floors or sprawling out in random places to take naps, he didn't know what had made him think she was a girl before. She was crude, lazy and had a near permanent scowl on her face.

But… she enjoyed his food. Sanji relished whipping up unique things for the pirates to try at every meal. They were always grateful, and it was one of the rare times he was able to see Zoro grin broadly. Similar to Luffy, when food was on its way, there was a shiver of anticipation that went through her. He found himself putting in his best effort for those meals, even if it meant taking time out of his break.

Of course, as soon as the food was set down though, they all turned into savage monsters and Sanji had to pull his arms back quickly in fear of losing a limb.

"Oi, slow down. You're supposed to taste food, not inhale it." Sanji remarked as he sat at the table with Nami and the others.

"It's a lost cause, Sanji-kun. When food is in front of them, they can't concentrate on anything else." Nami replied, with Usopp nodding along with her. He had pulled his food close to his body, guarding it as he ate. Sanji sighed happily and flashed her a smile.

"Oh, lovely Nami-san~ You are a beauty among beasts. It tears at my heart to think that you must suffer being surrounded by these brutes…" He cooed, refilling her free drink. He then turned back towards the so-called brutes. He eyed Luffy for a moment, then pictured Luffy biting his hand off if he tried anything. His eyes then landed on a certain swordsman.

"Oi, moss head, didn't anyone teach you manners?" Sanji asked, reaching over and snatching the woman's plate and pulling it away. Zoro swallowed the food in her mouth and narrowed her eyes at the cook.

"I was eating that." She said, capturing the cook's gaze.

"No, you were shoveling it down your gullet." Sanji replied blandly.

"Why do you care how I eat food?" She asked, snatching at the plate. Sanji leaned his chair back, holding the plate out of her reach.

"Who made this food? Oh right, it was me! Show some respect! At least taste it first!"

"I did taste it, curly brow! It's delicious, there, happy? Geez why you trying to fish for compliments?" Zoro sneered back, reaching across him to snatch the plate.

Nami saw her chance. She lightly kicked the back legs of Sanji's chair. Still a bit stunned that Zoro admitted to the food being good, Sanji wasn't paying attention and fell back with Zoro falling forward from the momentum as well.

Zoro was an experienced fighter, however. Not to be tricked with a simple prank, she caught herself easily, rolling and landing in a crouch beside the cook. Sanji stared up at her, a bit dazed at what had just happened. He quickly realized that his head didn't hit the floor with an expected loud thunk, but instead hit something soft. Zoro sighed and removed her hand from the back of his head, shaking it out as she stood up.

"Heh, figured it would be heavier than that. Must not be anything inside." She smirked down at the cook. Did she just protect his head? No wait, she just insulted him. Sanji jumped to his feet and as quick as lightning, slammed his foot into the wall beside her.

"What's that meathead? Are you insulting my intelligence when you probably couldn't even distinguish between sea salt and table salt?" Sanji retorted, lighting a new cigarette and placing it in his mouth.

"Uhh.. I don't think anyone could normally do that…" Usopp added helpfully from his seat at the table. He was promptly ignored.

Zoro looked down at the smoking impression beside her that Sanji's foot had left and she raised an appraising eyebrow. It seemed this man wasn't exactly an ordinary cook.

"Remove your foot before I remove it for you, dartbrows." Zoro shot back, her hand now resting on the grip of one of her swords.

"Go ahead and try, pretty boy."

Zoro pulled his sword out of its sheath right as Sanji pulled his foot back to get some momentum. Immediately, both were punched in the head as Nami snuck up behind them.

"Cool it, morons."

It was at the moment that that the door slammed open with a loud crack. All attention went towards the door as a large man stumbled in, being held up by his subordinate. Gasps filled the room as everyone recognized the notorious pirate, Don Krieg.

His subordinate tried to hold him up, but the pirate collapsed, his body weak from lack of food.

"Please, we will pay you anything! We need food!"

Zoro's pirate hunting instincts kicked in and she had her sword out in a moment, taking a step forward towards the pirates. Sanji's hand shot out in front of her, blocking her path. The other cooks had taken notice though and were all brandishing their own weapons. Luffy crossed his arms, observing the situation.

"Nobody move." Sanji commanded. The other cooks scowled at him, holding their weapons steady. Zoro glanced at her captain for a moment then lowered her sword. Sanji looked behind the two starving pirates, out the door.

"Please, our crew is starving! Several have already died." The subordinate begged, prostrating himself before them.

"Enough for a hundred okay?" Sanji asked the starving duo as he started towards the kitchens. The cooks around him became startled and several moved their weapons to aim at the sous chef.

"What the hell Sanji?"

"He's Don Krieg!"

"They're weak, it's the best time to attack!"

"Always knew you were shit, but this takes the cake!"

"Guess you really are becoming a pirate, back stabber!"

Sanji paused as the insults were hurled at him from his co-workers. His hands were gripped into fists and he suddenly slammed his foot down onto the wooden floor and a loud crack rang out through the restaurant.

"It's the duty of a cook to feed those who are hungry. I don't give a shit whether they are a pirate or the freakin' king of Atlantis." Sanji announced. Zoro was watching the cook carefully now. His body was trembling, but just slightly. She wondered whether it was from anger or something else entirely. She looked back over at the famished pirates at the entrance. They had no strength left in them. She felt ashamed drawing her sword, and quickly sheathed it. There was no honor defeating a dying opponent.

The tense atmosphere was broke, however, as head chef Zeff stepped out of the kitchen with a large bag of food and dropped it in front of the pirates. His employees looked shocked and started questioning his judgement, but with more shock than anger.

"If any of you knew the pain of starvation like this kid does, you'd act the same." Zeff told them, watching as the pirated snatched the food and headed back to their ship quickly. Everyone's eyes moved towards Sanji. He looked away from them, ignoring their questioning stares. He found himself glancing in the straw-hat pirates' direction.

"Perfect, can't have a cook that would let any of us starve." Luffy said, walking over and patting Sanji's shoulder.

Then suddenly the outer wall exploded in a flurry of boards and splinters.

The starving pirates had eaten remarkably quickly and had returned with their crew, and swords. The cooks turned annoyed looks at the sous and head chef.

"Biting the hand that fed you eh?" Sanji asked, stalking towards the invading pirates. Zoro drew her sword once again and Luffy readied himself.

"Thanks for the food, we'll be taking your—" Don Krieg started, but was cut off by a kick to the face.

"So, you guys can fight right? Oi, sword freak, that swords not just for decoration is it?" The cook asked, looking over his shoulder at the others. Zoro scoffed and dashed forward, knocking two more pirates back into the sea.

"Usopp! Protect Nami and prepare the ship!" Luffy called to his friend who was currently hiding behind a table. Luffy then pounced on Don Krieg, pushing him out onto the deck.

"Yes sir!" Usopp saluted his captain and ran out of the building, dodging pirates here and there. The restaurant cooks joined in and the fight commenced.

Zoro found herself back to back with the sous chef as they fought. They found themselves quite in sync with one another as they guarded one another's backs. Their backs touched a couple times during the fight and Zoro was surprised as the assurance it gave her. She'd never really fought along side of anyone before.

She was getting lost in the fight when they suddenly heard screams coming from outside. They both turned to look at the other, their faces surprisingly close, before they both dashed out onto the deck.

Everyone had stopped fighting and was watching transfixed as Don Kreig's pirate ship was sinking down into the sea, having been cut right in half.

"What could've done that kind of damage…" Sanji muttered, shocked.

"Mihawk…." Zoro replied, her eyes wide. There, in a small boat next to the restaurant, was a man with a broad hat, hawk-like eyes, and a massive sword on his back.

"You know that guy?" Sanji asked, an unconscious shiver went down his spine.

"He's the strongest swordsman in the world." She replied, giving a grim smile. She jumped across the debris and landed in front of the famous swordsman, challenging him. She pulled out her third sword and placed it in her mouth before raising one sword and pointing it towards her opponent.

"I challenge you to a duel." She told the man, crouching down into a stance.

"You're not a very smart man, are you? This challenge will be your death." Mihawk replied, pulling out a small dagger to fight with. Insulted, Zoro dashed towards the swordsman, swiping her swords towards his chest and neck. She stumbled back though, as the man stopped her easily with his tiny blade.

"Hey, you should pay attention to your opponent." Don Krieg called from the restaurant deck, aiming a punch at Luffy's face. Luffy didn't even glance at the man as he grabbed his cheeks, squishing them and shushing him.

"Shhhh it's getting good.." Luffy said, watching the fight between swordsmen.

Zoro trembled as she couldn't move her swords even an inch. She had never been so incredibly over powered before. No, this can't be happening. What have I been training all this time before? How can he be so incredibly strong? I made a promise. I can't lose here.

Drawing all the strength she had, Zoro jerked her swords back and slashed once again at the man.

A flash of pain.

Warm blood slowly welled up around the small dagger that had been pushed into Zoro's chest, next to her heart.

Sanji's body was moving on its own and before he realized it, he had already crossed over towards the two swordsmen. His movements were halted however, as Zoro held up her hand, signaling him to stop. Sanji cursed under his breath but stayed back and hovered on the outskirts of the fight.

"Why aren't you stepping back?" Mihawk asked, eyeing the swordsman as her blood flowed over his fingertips.

"I… I feel like I will lose something important if I do…" She replied, "like I'd be admitting defeat... and I'd rather die."

"Such conviction… what's your name kid?" The swordsman asked, pulling the dagger out and replacing it in its sheath.

"Roronoa Zoro. The one who will be the world's greatest swordsman." She replied, lifting her swords once again. Mihawk nodded, drawing the large sword from his back.

It was over in less than a second. A large angry red wound was across Zoro's chest as she fell backwards onto the ship. He stepped over to her body on the ground. A smirk crossed his face.

"How interesting… " He knelt down next to her, lowering his voice. "I'll remember it, miss swordsman." Mihawk then stood and walked back towards his own boat.

"I'll be waiting for you." He continued as he unfurled his sails and started sailing away without even a glance back.

Sanji hurried over to Zoro who was barely conscious from the blood loss. She was pulling her haramaki over her wound with trembling hands.

"Oi moss- shit that's a lot of blood..." Sanji replied and looked around panicked.

"Mm'fine…" Zoro replied in a daze. She tried to push him away, succeeding in only leaving a red hand print on his suit. They were quickly joined by Luffy who hopped over, examining Zoro's form.

"You look terrible." Luffy replied with a frown, "Let's get you back to our ship." He looked around and suddenly realized it wasn't there anymore. Usopp was scrambling over towards them though.

"Captain! While we were fighting, Nami stole our ship!" He cried, gesturing to a dot off in the distance.

"Eh!?" Luffy's jaw dropped as he watched their newly acquired ship get further and further away.

"She double crossed us!" He exclaimed, pulling at his hair. Luffy grabbed Zoro under the arms and shoved her into Usopp's arms.

"Here, take Zoro and follow! I'll finish things here quickly and catch up." Luffy commanded. Usopp looked down at the passed-out swordsman in his arms.

"With Zoro? Shouldn't he get medical attention first? Also, we don't have a boat."

"It'll take more than that to get rid of Zoro. Nami's our navigator, we're going to get her back."

"You can... use one of our supply boats." Sanji added, not sure why he was helping them. "They should also have some basic first aid kits on board."

"Perfect!" Luffy then grabbed Usopp's shoulder. "I trust you."

Usopp's eyes started to water and he gave the captain a salute before slinging Zoro over his shoulder with a groan and heading for one of the supply boats. Luffy grinned over at the cook.

"You ready to finish this?" He inquired. Sanji was looking at the bloody hand print on his suit. He nodded.

"Let's kick some pirate ass."

After setting the course to follow the ship in front of them, Usopp found the first aid kit and sat down next to Zoro. He gulped and hesitantly reached out to touch the blood soaked haramaki. He let out a squeal when Zoro opened her eyes and grabbed his hand, stopping it.

"Z-zoro! You're awake! We need to clean and dress your wounds, so they don't get infected." Usopp explained, holding up some bandages and ointment.

"S'fine… I can do it." She replied, reaching over. The sniper shook his head.

"It's alright, I'll do it. You can barely move…" he tried to pull his hand away from Zoro's, but she gripped it tighter making Usopp yelp.

"I'll do it."

"Look, I know you're stupidly stubborn, but it will only take a second. And... if you want to cry its okay… this is a safe zone." Usopp cooed, misunderstanding the swordsman's expression. Zoro balked.

"I'm not going to cry! I just want to do it myself!" She exclaimed, letting go of his hand and trying to snatch the bandages.

"Tell me one good reason why!" Usopp responded, jumping back out of her reach. She stared at him, the wheels turning in her head.

"I… I'm shy…" She said dumbly.

"You're shy…" Usopp repeated, staring at her with a look of unbelief.

"Y-yes.. you see I uh… have… a third nipple…?" She replied. Usopp's jaw dropped.

"R-really!? Can I see it? Is it hairy? Where is it?" He scooted back over, intrigued.

"N-no! If anyone looks upon it, they will… turn to stone!" She said almost proudly.

Usopp accepted this without thought.

"Just when I thought you couldn't be stronger… Alright, let me know if you need any help. Maybe with my eyes closed…"

"It's fine! Really! Thanks!" Zoro replied quickly, pushing him away.

"Some people have all the luck…"

AN: Thank you for reading. As always, I appreciate any comments or criticisms. Thanks!