Here comes chapter two! Have you guys already guessed what the surprise was? :D
Ah, nothing compares to a young pirate's vigor! Such admirable tenacity! Every meal is a feast, as long as Sanji gets to prepare it. A party, as long as his nakama enjoys the food. A battlefield, as long as their captain is there.
"Taste anything different?" Nobody heard him. "It's the special Aqua Laguna salt I gathered from town!" A barrage of clanks from plates and silverware were responded to him.
As a proud man that he is, normally he'd feel insulted if he gets no compliment for his food. But seeing as how everyone was savoring this new taste, he let it pass. After all, Zoro openly asking for seconds was a huge stroke in his ego. Hah, even that bastard likes it.
As he watched everyone fill themselves, he can't help but recall the events that had happened earlier in town. He smiled to himself, remembering the discovery he made about the salt and the reputable old man; then he secretly made a sour face when he remembered something horrible, but he lightened up again when he thought about his surprise for his darling Zoro.
He didn't know he had some money in his back pocket; with all the partying and keeping up to par with the seemingly never-ending arrival of guests, the cook lost track of how much he was spending for ingredients (or where he was keeping his money for that matter). Ridiculous as it sounds, that party left them nearly broke. Sure, the first thing that came to his mind was he needed to return the money to his precious Nami-swan but then again, if he did just that the Sea Witch might hit him hard for spending that much and charge him an interest that he can only pay if he traded their swordsman and Sogeking to the Marines.
Sanji thought it would be better to leave things as it is. After all, it's a rare luxury for the Mugiwaras (save Nami, of course) to have their OWN pocket money. He figured he could buy himself those limited edition porn magazines he always drooled about when Zoro was being crabby.
Since he was politely rejected by his two boobacious crewmates to a date, Sanji had no choice but to go shopping for provisions with Chimney and Gonbe. The kids were running about and glaring at any interesting thing they saw. Well, anything looked interesting to these kids anyway. The cat-who-pretty-darn-looks-like-a-rabbit's nose twitched when they neared a store that gives off a pleasant and rather feminine scent. At least that's how it seemed to humans. They led the cook pulling their cart to the said store.
"Smells like ladies!" His nostrils widened, puffing a line of heart-shaped smoke.
"Cook-niichan," Chimney tugged Puffing Sanji's sleeve. "Let's go in! In!" Heck, it doesn't take much for the girl to convince him whenever ladies are involved.
The pig-tailed girl had already went in and ogled on the products in the first isle. What exactly does this shop sell for it to have such an alluring scent?
He was still standing a few strides from the shop door, but since it was left open by Chimney, he was able to observe what's inside. From there, he could see three female shoppers whose backs ware facing the door, and a nearly bald, chubby male shopkeeper who was happily entertaining Chimney. The first lady had red hair curled in voluminous waves. The second had a long, waist-length black hair with a few silver strands. The third had her auburn hair in a braid falling just beneath her shoulders. They were comparing the products they each held and gave silent giggles while engaging in a hearty banter. For the first time this day, he didn't feel disappointed for not being able to take Nami and Robin for a date. Three for the price of two! Oh how his heart fluttered! Though it wasn't intentional and even out of reflex, perhaps, he made a manly squeal that caught the ladies' attention. The ladies slowly turned to look at him, then he made an ero-wiggle dash to attack them with his flirtatious (though zero percent success rate so far) pick-up lines.
"Mellorine! Here I come, my beauties! Let me be your knigh-aaaaAAAaa!" Sanji dropped his cigarette, his heart missing a few beats. "T-t-there're three…"
"Oi little girl, is that flabbergasted man your friend?" The shopkeeper pointed to the writhing cook. "And did his soul come out of his mouth just now?" He just had to whisper that in disbelief.
Chimney's mouth also hung open from shock; she didn't hear what the man had said.
…
"K-K-K-KOKORO-BAASAN?" Both Sanji and Chimney couldn't believe their eyes! The three ladies look EXACTLY like her!
"Heehee, young'uns these days. They all go for the 'mature' types!" The black-haired Kokoro look-alike flicked her eyelashes to the depressed cook.
"Brighten up a little, honey." The curly red Kokoro petted his thin, little beard; good thing for her the blond was so shocked that he didn't offer any struggle. "Aren't you a cutie, teehee!"
The braided auburn Kokoro offered to help Sanji straighten up. She gently lifted his right arm, almost tracing his tender muscles under the cottony fabric.
The contact pulled him back from the bliss of a mental shutdown, err, to his senses. "Ah! W-where are my manners…" In all honesty, he wanted to bolt away from the place that instant but being the gentleman that he is, he couldn't just leave in the middle of a conversation with a lady no matter how they looked. "I was just a little surprised that you ladies resemble someone I know." You gotta be kiddin' me, that was the biggest surprise of my life!
"Don't worry honey, we get that all the time." The red Kokoro placed her left index finger on her chin gesturing in a cute, thinking manner. (Well, she thought it was cute…) "I do sometimes get curious about who's this other beauty who looks like us…she seems pretty popular, teehee!"
If spine tingles can produce physical sound, Sanji's would've resonated up to Scrap Island.
"Gasp!" The auburn Kokoro's eyes glimmered with excitement. "Aren't you one of those brave pirates who saved Iceburg-san and challenged the World Government?"
"And you're also the one who cooked for that big party, eh?" The black Kokoro licked her lips like she still remembered how the food tasted.
He took a bow to flash his self-acknowledged handsomeness to the impressed ladies. "Oui, Mesdames." Those compliments made him get over from the shock, because if it didn't he'd have to smoke five sticks at once. "I hope you enjoyed yourselves during the feast."
"Oh yes we did, young lad! The food was great…" Her long black hair swayed when she clasped her hands and slightly raised her right foot backwards. "But we were so thrilled when we saw Franky-kun!"
Huh? We have here Kokoro-baasan triplets who happen to be fans of that Franky…could anything get weirder than this?"That's uhh, great!" He scratched his head for lack of anything better to say.
"So what brings you here?" The other lady flipped her red locks to flaunt its bounciness. The fact that sparkles appeared from the gesture was a mystery… "Are you looking for bath supplies?"
"Bath supplies?" His only visible swirly eyebrow raised in question.
He did vaguely remember seeing a few stuff from outside but he never thought that those were toiletries. The display window showcased interestingly shaped bottles which contained colorful liquids. One shaped like that of a ship with its cat-like figurehead being the cap and the other shaped like Califa in her kicking stance (the storeowner will pull it back though after Mayor Iceburg finds another secretary, and for some reason you still can't see her panties because her foot is blocking the 'view'). Oh, and in ornamented display cases, there were also soaps sculpted like flowers that rival the cook's fruit carving skills.
Wait, I saw that from outside and then- He quickly glanced back, which startled the ladies. He forgot about their shopping cart!
"Excuse me for a bit, ladies!" He rushed outside and he saw Gonbe guarding the cart, much to his relief. "Thank goodness you're there! But don't you want to go inside with Chimney?"
The animal made a sour face and shook his head rapidly, as if he was offered something…loathsome.
"Well, if that's okay with you." Sanji grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his side pocket and lit a stick. "We won't take long. Please look after our bags for a few more minutes, 'kay?"
"Nyaa!" He nodded with joy with his long ears flapping. Gonbe could breathe with ease for not having to put up with that store.
He went inside again once more, since toiletries are also a necessity for them. Ahh, I wonder if I can find something for Nami-swan and Robin-chwan!And again, he puffed heart-shaped smoke at the thought of his two darling crewmates. He passed the door when he saw Chimney peeping from the rack on the last row, gesturing him to come and take a look at the products.
He just noticed that every merchandise was sectioned by color or theme. The Kokoro triplets did not notice him pass by, since they went back to their earlier discussion.
"Cook-niichan, I saw swordsman-niichan's head on the rack!"
His visible eye squinted. Did he follow me all the way here? Or was it just that he was so stupid that he got lost again? "Huh? The marimo's here?"
"Yup! Lots of them!" The little girl grabbed his hand to lead him to the said swordsman head.
Sanji's mouth hung open, almost dropping the cigarette he was biting. "Pfft…" The cook coughed out some of his smoke. "Chimney, hahaha! This made my day!"
As she assured, there was a marimo the size of Zoro's head! Upon closer inspection, it was actually a spherical bottle covered in some soft green material to make it look like a ball of moss. Other interesting products are in juxtaposition with it: a green loofa sponge, a green shower cap, a smaller ball of marimo (another bottle of some liquid), a round green soap with a cute smiley engraved on it, and a rubber duckie with a green afro. It's a Marimo Bath Set!
Pleased that he could annoy the hell out of the swordsman with these, he immediately brought the set to the counter. It's cute...sort of. He at least remembered to get something for the girls: one rose-carved soap each.
He paid for the items with his extra cash, thanked the ladies for the chat (though he'll never mention this to anyone, EVER), and finally loaded his purchase in the cart.
"Niichan, I'm hungry. Let's go eat! Eat!" The pig-tailed girl once again tugged his sleeve. She grabbed the paw of her pet, but it wouldn't come closer to the cart anymore.
They made their way to this restaurant that Chimney suggested. As they left, Sanji didn't notice the three ladies chuckling like raging high schoolers, seemingly knowing what he doesn't.
Kokoro triplets FTW! I forgot to mention in Chapter One that reviews are very much encouraged, since this is my first and I'd love to know how you find this fic so far. Thanks in advance!
Season's Greetings from an army of marimos! See you in Chapter Three!