LW: So here we are, Sanji's turn for stupid things to happen in the name of becoming New World ready. Are you ready?
Drop in the Ocean - Reversal Rebirth! Man I feel just like a LADY!
Kamabaka kingdom
"Make me a woman!"
Ivankov blinks, while Inazuma nearly drops his wine glass "Oh my. I mean I do get the occasional requests after people learn about my fruit, but this is quite the surprise Mr Cook" he chuckles as he looks down at the kneeling blond, his tone may have been strong, but the shaking of his clenched fists betrayed his nerves "So, want to give me a reason for me to transition you Sanji-boy, despite what you may think, I don't do these things on a whim"
"I figured, there would be less ugly crossdressers outside if you did" Sanji mutters before pulling himself to his feet "You already know I need to get stronger in the next 2 years, enough to be able to handle the New World alongside the rest of my crew. My biggest weakness is honestly, women. I thought that spending my 2 years as one might help me work on that issue, make them I don't know, more kickable if I look at them from an inside perspective. I'm not explaining myself very well"
"No, I think I understand. Is it that you can't or won't harm a female, cook?" Iva asks curiously
Sanji grimaces "I want to say won't… but I think after all these years it's a lot closer to can't, it's basically an automatic response at this point" he sighs deeply "So, can you help me?"
"Oh help will be a lot more extensive than this, but I suppose we all have to start somewhere! Emporio Estrogen" Iva cackles as he strikes Sanji in centre mass with his needle fingers, then steps back as the hormones do their work warping, contorting and expanding the blond's body as it switches from male to female "You ok there candy?" the okama coos, watching as the cook waves them off and stumbles out of the throne room
"Should we go after her?" Inazuma asks
"In time, let's give her a few minutes to reorientate herself and clear her head, those hormones usually have at least some physiological aspects to them" Iva sighs, fluffing his afro as Caroline pops his head in asking if the sweetie is ok as they shoved past her in a rush of heat and flame 'What did you do to that boy Judge, you heartless bastard?'
Out, out, out, she needed to get away from this, things felt off, her insides didn't fit herself and were fighting against everything, finally collapsing near the pond Sanji had previously found one of the residents
'Never forget, you're already perfect to me, my sweet little boy' a melancholic voice whispers like a faded song
"Mom" the blond mutters, before reaching down to splash water on their face…. Only to pause as a very familiar, and yet unexpected face stares back at them "No, that can't be…" she gasps, before the image fades due to tears forming ripples "Damn it!" she shouts trying to get the image out of her head "It's the hormones, they're messing with my head" she growls before finally checking out her new body. Her chest now sported what she would guess were M cups, large but firm and perky, and with a head turn and brush aside of her now mid-back length hair she could see her ass had swollen to the size of bowling balls, with the thigh growth to handle them.
"Oh, hello there, I didn't know there were women on Kamabakka" a familiar voice greets, the blond snaps from her inner thoughts and scowls
"Fuck off Ballerina I'm not in the mood" she sneers at Bentham who pouts and crosses her arms
"How rude, you could have just asked me to leave" he huffs, then stops "Wait a minute, cook?"
She sighs "Yeah, it's me, or a version of me"
"One you seem to be breaking in quite nicely, mostly by not cracking your skull using a high-speed technique less than 5 minutes after completely redistributing your weight. Speaking of, how does it feel and would you prefer we call you Sanji, candy, or something else?" the Okama Queen asks, having caught up to them with Inazuma
She looks longingly at the water, before letting the impulse guide her choices "Sora. That's my name while I look like this" the newly named Sora decides, feeling it would be the best way to live up to her mother's legacy and memory, especially now she looks like a dead ringer for the women in question.
"I'm glad you've calmed down Miss cook, you look beautiful in your new dress just like we said you would" Elizabeth coos as she combs out Sora's hair
"Well of course I have, do you have any idea how much your makeup clashed with each other and your hair our first meeting? Like Tiffany here, blue hair with forest green eyeshadow, baby girl, even if I liked all of this, I'd have issues. The thing people forget about being a professional chef, is people eat with their eyes as much as their mouths, you have to make the meal look good enough to eat, so they will actually try to eat it" Sora says with a slight eye roll, gently applying just the right amount of blush to Tiffany's peachy cheeks
"Even so, you're taking to this much faster than I expected Cook" Bentham laughs, braiding the long, jet black beard of the okama in front of him "By the sound of things you pulled a complete 180"
"It's the hormones" the bearded man laughs "Iva's fruit does seem to alter the mind as well as the body, just on a much less severe level, but any of us who get the jab feel it" he explains
"Hm, I was wondering about that, most of the guys here at least try to look like women, even just in dresses, but you, um…"
"Trevor" the man grunts
"See, exactly my point, you're acting like a mostly normal guy even having a normal bloke name, how did you end up here!" Sora asks with a tired sigh
"Well, Trevor suits me better than Gertrude ever did, so I'm here simply because I know the queers will accept me for me, even after Queen Iva worked her magic" Trevor explains, examining his braided beard in the mirror and hugging Bentham for a job well done
Sora blinks "Ah, so you're like the inverse of me, explains how you knew about what the hormone treatments felt like" she muses "Well as long as you're happy here that's good enough for me, though if you can fight I'd love a spar as Ballerina is a little too same-y for me at the moment" she half teases so the okama would squeal and try to attack her, which she ducks with ease
"No problem, I'd love to see your black leg go against my family's Gentle Fist. Should be fun" Trevor laughs, eager for a friendly spar with the pretty cook
"Iva" Sora says after another fight against one of the 99 Newkama Kenpo masters "While this is working, and I do feel I'm getting stronger…. But I still feel like I wouldn't be able to fight women the same way I fight men. Is there anyway I can fight women without actually hurting them?" she asks, wringing her hands as she does so
"Oh Candy, I think I know exactly who can help with that. Caesar is a master of their personal style, the aptly named Stringmaster of Kamabakka. They live mostly on the other side of the island, mostly due to preferring to simply live a simple life though they do visit and interact with the others from time to time, so not a true hermit" Iva cackles "I'm sure they will have a lot to teach you, so long as you're willing to learn"
"Of course!" Sora shouts, eyes inflamed with passion and determination
A little later
"Wow, when he said out of the way he wasn't kidding" Sora mutters as she finally manages to find the cosy-looking house deep in the forest "Kind of a nice place though, homie" she chuckles, before knocking on the door "This is Caesar's place right, I'm Sor…"
"I know who you are candy, Iva called ahead, said I might just have a potential student to teach the art of the strings to" a strong, though oddly androgynous voice calls from inside the home "I'll be right out"
Sora steps back as the door opens and the newkama exits the building, thick pumps and fishnet stocking around muscular legs and strong glutes, a jet black miniskirt and crop top, long, luscious black hair to mid back…. And the thickest, manliest moustache Sora had even seen, thinking that Roger and Whitebeard would look at Ceasar and go "Nice Stash Sista ;)"
"So, you're that pirate that washed up a few months back, you're kinda cute but I don't see what everyone's fussing over" Caesar shrugs "Anyway, you've come to me, to learn the art of Shibari, as well as my combat style the way of the ropes I take it?"
Sora blinks then nods sharply "That's right, I'm here to learn a way to incapacitate a female opponent without harming them, or minimally so" she explains, standing to attention
Caesar chuckles, rubbing his chin "You might at least have the will to use my skills, but 1st we need to see if your body can handle it" he says, reaching behind him before flicking his hands forward, ropes ensnaring Sora but also catching very specific, strategic areas, just before tightening….
"Uhh….ahhhhh!"
"Is she ok?" Bon asks hovering nervously
"I'm sure she will, little Sora's a fighter, it'll take more than a 3 hour orgasm to take her out" Iva laughs, Ceaser watching with a look of approval as the blond sits up and ruffles her hair "So, did you find what you were looking for Candy?"
"That… Was PERFECT!" Sora screams a star where her eye should be as her grin nearly reaches her ears "If I could learn how to do something even close to that I could incapacitate any woman without causing them even a lick of pain. Thank you Iva! Teach me Sensei, I'll do whatever it takes to learn these techniques" she begs, shaking in anticipation
" I do love the enthusiasm Missy, let's get to training!" Caesar cackles loudly
"Now according to Iva, this was recommended by several of your crewmates, and I'm more than happy to help you facilitate, provided you are willing to open up to me" a calm voice says as Sora reclines in the chair, her uncovered eye flicking left to one of the most feminine women she's seen on this damn island, if it was literally anywhere else she'd actually believe her to be one.
"Thank you, it's not easy for me to talk about this shit" she sighs deeply, Stephanie nods and pulls out a notepad
"Well, the best place to start is usually your childhood or family, especially if it has anything to do with your issues fighting and at times interacting with women. Do you think you can do this, Miss Sora?"
"I can try" Sora says, shutting her eyes and breathing deeply "My family, it was one in name only. Mother was the bright light in a sea of darkness, Father never even tried to hide how much of a failure and disappointment I was to him, never living up to the standards my brothers or even my sister set before me. I, I was just a normal kid in a world of superhumans, and they made sure I never forgot it"
"The geezer, he took me in after that, this little brat, and helped me truly learn to cook on his level. I don't even remember if I ever told him, but he's the father I wished for all those years living under Judge's fist, sure he was gruff and had high standards, but he wasn't cruel, you could see he cared about the food and that I was pushing myself to actually meet the levels he knew I was capable of" Sora chuckles "Actually, I do remember, I called him Pops, just before I left with Luffy and the others. If he could see me now….." she pauses, twirling a cigarette between her fingers
"If he could see you now, what Miss Sora?" Stephaine asks, wondering what had her patient freeze up
"Would he accept me, like this?" Sora mutters, wrapping her arms around her torso "Would he abandon me like Judge, would he be disappointed, disgusted, or would he just kick me in the back of the head and tell me to get back in the kitchen because we have people to feed?"
" After everything we've discussed the last few months, I have a few things to say. For one, given everything that happened in your developmental years it's understandable that you incorrectly associate females with good things, lucky you don't automatically do the reverse when it comes to men or things could be even worse. Secondly, your chivalry, while a grand treasure and astonishing you've managed to keep it strong, is also a double-edged sword. To women, you can appear to be disrespecting them and potentially looking down on them and their strength and being condescending to them. Not everyone woman is a delicate little flower in need of a white knight to come and rescue them, some women kick ass, maybe even harder than you can" Stephanie explains, Sora wincing as she can see how things could look that way from her actions as a man, especially as she has context from a few of the islanders, and Bon the first few weeks, being quite concerned and overprotective of her like she was made of glass "I will add though, that learning Shibari so you can still fight women despite your issues actually inflicting pain on them is nothing short of incredible!" she adds, chuckling as Sora actually blushes at the praise
"What can I say, I just kind of clicked for me, plus given I use the ropes to restrain without injury, I'm not breaking my own vow to not fight with my hands as a cook" Sora says with a half smile, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear
"You asked for it. Diable Jambe!" Sora screams both of her legs igniting before leaping at and kicking Caroline right in the face "Collier Strike"
"Oh, you have gotten better there Candy" the newkama 2nd in command coughs as she pats down the flames in their hair "But that doesn't mean you will get to win that easily. Newkama Kenpo: Awakening of the Inner Maiden!" Carline begins but as she jabs forward, jet black ropes ensnare and constrict their arms, at which point Sora leaps forward, catching her hands and while in a handstand position, slams both feet into the top of the redhead's skull, with a call of "Concassé"
"And that makes 99, you did it cook!" Bon cheers, reaching out to hug the blond, before getting a knee to the balls, which actually amused the audience a little as she walks out of the arena
"Good job Sora, that's all of them, you're officially a Newkama Kenpo Master, and an expert of Attack Cuisine" Iva laughs, grinning widely as Sora bows, both to the Okama Queen as well as Caesar
"I will use your techniques to ensure my captain reaches Laughtale, on my honour as a cook, and a Shibari mistress" Sora announces, a wide grin on her face, one more step closer to reunion, and her TRUE family. Though a small part of her was able to admit that the Kamabakka residents did kind of grow on her, they were weirdos but they wore their hearts on their sleeves and were overall nice people.
TBC
LW: And we're done! Next week is either Artemis or 3D2Y, then we wrap up the last few things so we can move onto Book 2