A/N: Hello again!
Luffy has certainly dug himself in deep, and his time continues to run out as the Wedding preparations are beginning. How long can Luffy "go with the flow" before he has to make a big decision?
I do not own One Piece, It belongs to Eiichiro Oda
A little after noon the next day, Luffy and Sanji find themselves on a boat with Bege, Smoothie, and Smoothie's sister/fellow Longleg-Human hybrid Cinnamon, on course to Liqueur Island. Sanji pulls out his A-game with Smoothie and Cinnamon, but they deny his advances effortlessly, too easily to spare Sanji any dignity. He at least deserves some credit for his persistence if nothing else, still going strong even with Cinnamon berating him every time he fails to woo either if them. Meanwhile, Luffy and Bege are left to the sidelines, with neither having much to say to one another and siting in silence for quite some time. Out of nowhere, Bege starts whispering to Luffy,
"So, I hear you're looking for a way out of this marriage. I think I may be able to help with that." He says quietly. Luffy is certainly listening, but surprised to hear Bege of all people coming to his aid.
"How?" Luffy whispers back, curious. The smile on Bege's face is actually quite terrifying when paired with his response,
"Kill Big Mom." He says, calm and cool. Luffy had not considered that, namely because that was not really an option in his mind.
"What.?! But I don't wanna kill anyone.!" Luffy says back, trying to stay quiet. It was clear Luffy was not worried about being able to, at least. Confident in himself as always.
"C'mon, now. I've seen that Venom Venom ability of yours, even Big Mom herself couldn't take too much exposure to that stuff. You could kill her no problem, you know." Bege explains, still cool and only looking at Luffy out of his peripherals. Luffy knows that this is true, no one knows the destructive power of his ability better than him. Even so…
"I don't like to kill.! I always try to resolve things without taking it too far.!" He says.
"What about the Kid Pirates on their ship at the Tea Party? You drenched them in poison." Bege retorts. Luffy defends himself immediately,
"The poison can lose it's effect if it comes in contact with seawater soon enough, everyone who got hit by it landed in the water and should have recovered from it.! And besides, I always carry around tons of antidotes on the Poison Moon.! I would have been happy to give them to anyone who could have been in danger.!" He explains. Bege scoffs and rolls his eyes,
"Whatever kid, don't need your life story, here. But if you want results, I'll be waitin' to hear from ya." Bege says, then returns his attention to the sea and ends the conversation with Luffy. Luffy will not kill Big Mom, he will not kill anyone if he can possibly help it! If possible, he would like to fix this peacefully, and he does not want to abandon Gal-y! So much for Bege helping, Luffy really thought he had something useful, too.
When they arrive at Liqueur Island, Smoothie and Cinnamon lead the way to the tailor shop, then they leave the trio for now. They apparently have other things to take care of on the island while they are there, and figure the three will be just fine on their own, for at least a little while. A well-dressed, elderly man steps out from another room in the back and walks over to them.
"Why hello there, boys.! Welcome! Are you looking for a suit today?" He says in a bit of a raspy voice as he adjusts the small, circular glasses on his nose and wiggles his mustache a bit. Bege speaks up,
"The boy here is marrying the Minister of Butter in about a week. He's gonna need a tux, a classy one." He says, placing his hand on Luffy's shoulder.
"Ah, well aren't you a strapping young lad.! And congratulations.! Come with me, I'll have you fitted and work out the details right away, and we can have it ready for the special day in no time at all.!" The tailor says excitedly. Luffy starts walking with the tailor, but stops for a moment and says,
"Wait, I want Sanji to come with me." He says as he points to Sanji.
"Very well, then." He says with a chipper smile as Sanji now follows them into the fitting room. The tailor takes Luffy's measurements while Sanji lights up a cigarette. "Now, for a wedding tuxedo, it is tradition in this country for it to be white in color, but what color would like the accents on it to be?" The tailor asks. Luffy looks to Sanji, who answers the question for him,
"Same color as his sash." He answers cooly as he blows out smoke.
"And for the tux itself…" The tailor starts.
"Three gold button suit, cream jacket with golden accents and cufflinks, and a magenta jewel tie clip. He'll need the tie in a cream color too, he'll have it done as an ascot tie by the way, so it's gotta be a wide one. That's the look. Oh, and he'll need a a white cap to put on his straw hat, it's not like he's gonna take it off, even for this." Sanji says confidently before taking another drag and puffing out smoke confidently.
"My my, you really know how to capture the essence of a gentleman, young man.!" The tailor says, clearly impressed. Sanji blows out more smoke and smirks.
"I can get right on that, and I'll have the cobbler prepare a pair of matching shoes for the occasion if you let me measure your feet." He says. Luffy agrees, and the measurements are taken quickly. The tailor asks Luffy and Sanji a few more questions about the look, and then takes his leave to process the order.
"The suit and all accessories will be covered by Big Mom's Wedding Tab, that will include the shoes from next door. We'll have the whole thing delivered to the castle when it's ready. Thank you for your patronage, gentlemen." The tailor says. Luffy and Sanji nod in response.
"My, that has to be the quickest fitting I've ever done. In all the fifty years I have been doing this, I'll have you know." The tailor adds as he goes off to process the order. Luffy turns to walk out, but Sanji stops him, moving into Luffy's way and blocking the door. His eyes are covered by shadow as smoke lazily billows out of his mouth and from the cigarette in his hand.
"Sanji?" Luffy asks, wondering why his friend is stopping him.
"Listen here, Luffy. I know you're a carefree guy, and that's fine. You always come through when it matters, that's all that ever mattered, but let me tell you something…" Sanji starts, his eyes still shadowed. Luffy has a look to match Sanji's serious expression as he continues,
"…Marriage is a sacred institution, one that I take very seriously. I expect you to do the same, whether you go through with it or not. I won't fault if you do, and I won't fault you if you don't, but you will not lead Galette on, you understand? A maiden's heart is not to be toyed with, and I won't stand for it, even if it is you we're talking about here. You are either doing this, or you are not. There's no middle ground, so you better make your choice and stick with it, and you need to let Galette know either way as soon as you do. If you don't, I will personally knock your teeth out, get it?" Sanji says, finally letting Luffy see how serious he is in seeing his eyes. Luffy nods.
"Mm. I understand, Sanji. The last thing I want to do is give Gal-y any kind of runaround.!" Luffy says, just as serious and determined as Sanji. Sanji smirks.
"Good. I knew I could count on you, just like always." He says as he turns to open the door back to the waiting room, where Bege, Smoothie, and Cinnamon are waiting.
"That was fast." Smoothie says as the door opens.
"AH! My beauties! You're both simply radiant!" Sanji shouts out with hearts in his eyes as he flails his arms and legs about around them, immediately and completely undercutting the tension and seriousness he had set up by the conversation just seconds before. Luffy cannot help but laugh, Sanji was a funny guy sometimes. He was always a different person around women, but Luffy supposed he had a bit more insight into Sanji's point of view now, even if just a bit.
A/N: An ultimatum of sorts from an ally of all people! Decision time is closing in fast, and Luffy will need to make up his mind one way or another, so what will he do? Perhaps he will need some help figuring everything out? Find out next time! And don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!