DESPERATION

( I have finally figure out my direction, but, now I have a new problem. Pushing forward is important, but I wonder...if this is going too slow? Maybe, I should do a time skip, or should I simply let things flow in the direction it's currently going?)

As the Sea-rabbit is knocked back into the sea...it spits something out ...as the shadow of it twirls in the air. A smile was on the face of Brook as he seems to recognize it, and moves instantly to intercept what turns out to be a mermaid falling to earth. The starfish would simply be allowed to bounce off the ship's deck, while the bone man is lay out flat by her downward crash. Though whether or not that was a much softer landing than the deck of the ship was debatable as she gets up rubbing her elbows and her stomach gently. Afterall, landing on a pile of bones doesn't come back as a nice experience, and the moment she looks into face of her rescuer gives her a frightening experience to accompany it. Even without legs, the mermaid manages to clear the area between him and the next living body in seconds as Franky smiles faintly as she hugs him. A blush was on his face as she stutters about the bone man, and Brook's happy face doesn't change as he laughs heartily.

Afterall, considering he is just bones, you can't really cut him deep.

Thus, the crew found itself on the tail of a new adventure, but one that they will have to managed without their chef.

/

"Sanji."

The name curls off of the blonde hair man's lips as he tries to adjust himself to being called that. The name itself had simply come from his medical chart. The head doctor didn't want to make his situation anymore difficult due than necessary, and since everyone else was use to calling him that. It only made sense not to change anything. He told himself as he tried to reason out his practicing with the false name, it wasn't like he had to forget another name to take this one, but, that he didn't want to have someone call him a million times before he recognize they were speaking to him.

He sighed openly.

What to do now?

He would tug on his shirt lightly to try and pull out the single wrinkle that was resistant to every attempt to wipe it's existence from his clothing. The young blonde walked the hallways alone. He was no longer dress in the wears of the infirm or sick, but was deck in the clothing of the Marines. It wasn't so hard to find something his size, afterall, Doctor Death, had been collecting clothing from those that had been passing on for years. Though it did make his skin crawl to think someone who had died had once wore this garment.

He had to resist scratching himself at the thought.

Can he continue without his memories?

He would adjust the sack on his back a bit so that it wasn't pressing so much on his right shoulder. He had been found medically fit, but, he was still going to be sore and had been instructed to take things easy. The wounds on his body had been severe from their estimation, and thus, they were shocked he was up and moving like he had. It made the Head Doctor feel better, because he wasn't there by accident. He was just ...how had the man put it ...a monster. Normal people didn't just wake up from those sort of injuries, and since, he was so energetic ...they hadn't found chores to be too taxing for him.

That made him smirk.

He is strong.

This place didn't have a support staff, so the Doctor had to do everything themselves ..from the laundry to cooking. Thus, an extra pair of hands were never turned down, and a strict rule was enforced here. If you are well enough to complain, then you are strong enough to help out. It was a sort of therapy for those that had lost limbs to find there was still things they could do, and gave a sort of goal to those that were still in their beds. A hope that they could still find a place in the world. It was actually funny, as some of them talked about their home lives as Sanji worked at freeing their dirty bedding how much hope your past can give you. Thus, he understood why they looked at him with pity when they found out he didn't have any. Afterall, he couldn't hope to keep his disability a secret if he wanted to cure it. These soldiers were from ever place and walk of life in the Marines, so surely he had to have met one of them some where. He only needed to be present and ask.

Today had been without luck, but this place is big, and there was always tomorrow.

He can still walk forward.

He would reach the laundry mat as he places the clothing down on the table, and was then instructed by a one eye and one leg man there to go to the kitchen. The man rested heavily on his crutch and was sweating profusely, but the smile that grace his lips at completing such a task. It was infectious in it's own way, especially considering he was from the east blue and his family worked in a paper mill. That meant, he could continue to work there, so, for him ..this wasn't the end. It was just a change in his life as he equated laundry with peeling and drying the papers after they had been pulped and thin into sheets back at home.

He still had a place in the world.

Though he was less than what Sanji was in term of body, he was more in terms of him in purpose. This alone made him better off, and all Sanji could do was hope to find someone tomorrow who knew him. Though if he couldn't ...if all his searching here was in vain, he was healthy, he was strong, and he could make himself another future and start his past here. He could create new hope ..as he arrived to the empty kitchen and piles of dishes and sighed again. It was almost a analogy of his situation. He could wash all the dishes, his situation wasn't the end of the world, but once he was done ...even if he went out and found a new life for himself ...would he truly be satisfied ...did it make him happy? The man's face at the laundry mat flash to him. A man with a purpose ...he wanted one too ...as he set to work.

He didn't need a past to remember how to do this.

But, he had no clue ...where to go.

/

Things were definitely becoming much more interesting indeed. Especially when the mermaid Caimie mention food as their reward for saving them. Takoyaki, was the reward exactly and that should have only inspired Luffy. Though with Sanji gone ..he wasn't the only one drooling over the prospect of it as three sets of eyes would lock on her. The Starfish that was her companion was completely forgotten in that moment as Chopper licked his chops, Usopp started to tell stories about it, and Zoro stared at her with an intensity that he normally reserved for his swords. Though the moment that he notice someone watching his attention he would turn away as Nami snorts.

"My cooking wasn't so bad."

She would replies gruffly as Robin chuckles a bit.

"Your food was wonderful Navigator-san, but it's the matter of how much you charge for the meal afterwards. And considering that everyone agreed to rotation."

The two women didn't have to say anything further as they thought about the food of doom they had been experiencing up to this point. The rubbery pancakes from Franky ...those things literally would expand like Luffy with the right amount of force. Chopper's salad that somehow managed to taste like medicine. Usopp's over spice soup ...Nami's tongue still burned at the thought of it. Zoro's ...well ...it was true he was bad at directions, but no one knew that extended to following written ones as well. Add a mushroom here, somehow turned into him adding vinegar, or a dash of pepper turned into a flood of salt, and considering he was suppose to be frying bacon and eggs. Well, Zoro was officially ban from the kitchen after the first time he tried to do breakfast. Then there was Brook who because he was just bones ..meant that he could taste good food, but he couldn't taste his own cooking somehow. Luffy wasn't even a choice, he would eat anything not tied down in the kitchen. Thus, that meant that only twice had the crew had a decent meal ...Robin's sandwiches. That was the best she knew how to do in the kitchen, and after Brook's attempts ...everyone needed something solid they could keep down. Then Nami's 100 beli meal which had everyone cringing the next time that she would cook even though it was edible. It was for these reasons that the crew was so enthusiastic about their change in menu. Neither women could blame them ...as Caimie talked about needed the help of another person to create them, and quickly her conversation had taken a darker change. The voice over the den den snail made something chime in the back of Nami's mind at the sound of the voice.

She would dismiss it at the moment as she saw the fire in the eyes of the crew.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for the Fish Riders that stood between them and a decent meal.