Night and Day
A Post-Piracy Sanji Side Story
By Aoikami Sarah
Chapter Six - The Looney Gen Band
Note: Based not-so-loosely on the Crazy Ken Band which rocks my socks.-aks
The second stage at the Sea Note only seated about 500. The Looney Gen Band played at 7:30 and 10:30 every night with a well-tuned performance of what they called "Rock N' Lounge" music. Both shows were usually packed and one had to arrive very early to get a good table close to the stage. Tonight, before the 10:30 show, some patrons grumbled that one of the smaller tables directly in front was roped off with a 'reserved' sign on it.
The band's leader Mokuhana Gen paced back and forth in the green room. Seven other band members all seemed to twitch with nervous energy, more so than for an average performance. They were dressed for the show in an array of strange styles, some with top hats and tails, some with fishnet and leather, some with sequins and silk. The eighth member arrived and all heads turned his way.
"Is he here yet?" Gen asked in his growling smoker's voice.
"Not yet, boss."
"Damn it! This tension is killing me!" he cried and smoothed back his greased-down black hair again. He wore large sunglasses and a white suit. His hands were adorned with large, gaudy rings. He tapped a wing-tip shoe rapidly before pacing again. "It's like Aniki is trying to make me crazy!"
"It's ok, boss. He'll come! The letter's got to be real!" his pair of girl singers reassured him in unison.
Gen pulled a crumpled, dirty piece of paper out of his pristine white suit and read the large, simple words again. "Guys. Heard you're in a band. Coming to check it out 15th May. Better be Super! F." Gen cracked his neck. "Well. You heard the man. Let's do this."
The rest of the Looney Gen Band cheered in agreement and took their places. As the curtain went up, each member felt their hearts skip a beat. Seated in the front row was a large man wearing nothing but a Hawaiian print shirt and Speedos. He had his massive arms folded across his chest and a pair of sunglasses perched on top of a tall, blue pompadour. They resisted the urge to shout 'Aniki!' at the top of their lungs. Instead, as they began to play the introduction for the first song in the set, Gen grasped his microphone and stared at his former superior. "This set is for Franky," he said quickly and began to sing. Franky grinned and nodded his approval.
V.F.W no Jackie ou yuushuu na mekanyaa
Gangster! Drugster! and Beach Rider!
Rokujuuyon nen no Inpara kai wait a minute sold out shock!
Nanajuuni nen no Ribiera kai wait a minute sold out shock!
Gojuuroku nen no Beruea kai wait a minute sold out shock!
Rokujuugo nen no Masutangu wait a minute ... for sale!
- Yokoyama Ken, 2005
About halfway through the show, Franky had consumed many colas and his vocal enthusiasm was wearing on the crowd. A group of bouncers hovered at the entrance, waiting for an excuse to eject the rowdy patron, but because he wasn't intoxicated, they could do nothing but watch. Soon enough, the show was over and the band milled around in the greenroom waiting for Franky to arrive. When he did, he threw the door open with a bang and cried out a tearful greeting to his friends. It was very loud in the little room for a long time before they composed themselves and went to the bar to talk.
Despite it being very late, there were still a few patrons hanging around the mostly staff-only Nautilus. They found a table near the bar and the nine of them gathered around to tell stories and catch up on what was going on with the rest of the Franky Family.
"Ah, that's so good to hear," Gen commented when he heard that Zambai had taken a job with Galley-La. "I mean, years ago I wouldn't have believed you if you told me that, but that's just great."
"Aniki, how did you escape Enies Lobby?" Kiwi, who was seated on Franky's right leg asked. Her sister Mozu, seated on the right, nodded.
"Ah, well first of all if the Stawhats hadn't busted up the place I woulda never gotten outta there," he said. To his left, Opus the bartender's ears perked up. "But it was this weird little old man who busted me out. I dunno where he came from but all he asked in return was I help him save Nico Robin."
"She was executed, I heard," Gen said.
"Nah, you kiddin'? I saved her. I owed this little guy. He showed me where she was being taken an' I clobbered the guys who were taking her away." He took a swig from a pitcher of cola. "Then he lets her outta the cuffs and allasudden this little guy stabs her with a needle and she goes down! I was like woah! Whaddayadoin'! He said it just knocked her out so he could stash her somewhere and he'd come back and save her later when the coast was clear."
"So she's alive?"
"I guess so. Never saw her again, though. Shame 'specially since that Strawhat kid was executed. If I'd been there I woulda busted him out, too. Good kid. Damn shame."
They all nodded and had a moment of silence before going back to their regaling. Opus made himself look busy cleaning glasses but made a mental note to tell his friend the chef about his former nakama.
More to come…