Chapter 22
Of Jungles and Ice Cream
"Sigh..."
Eli was lying on the deck of the Merry, lazily gazing at the fluffy clouds. Usopp was sitting next to her, preparing different kinds of ammo for his slingshot. Vivi, Nami, and Sanji were inside, probably worrying, mapping, and cooking/flirting. Sitting on his favorite seat, Luffy was looking out at the horizon while singing a song about meat. Eli could guess from his heavy panting that Zoro was training on the upper deck. She lazily turned her head to look at Ace taking a nap on the deck.
Overall, it was a slow day.
She sighed again, heavily. "This is so boring..."
"Don't you have anything to write in your book ?" Usopp asked, his eyes focused on his meticulous preparations.
"Nope..." Eli sat up. "Let me help you... Please."
After about fifteen minutes, they had already made enough ammo to take over the world and were now missing the ingredients for more. Eli leaned back on the mast with her hands behind her head.
"And now what ?"
As she looked at the still-sleeping Ace, an idea popped into her mind. After all, she had yet to take her revenge....
"We could always fish..." Usopp suggested, trailing off. "Eli... what's with the evil eyes ?"
"My dear Usopp, do you happen to have a marker, pretty please ?" she asked eagerly with a mischievous glint in her green eyes.
The boy searched through his large bag and handed a black marker to the girl.
"Here you go." He looked at her curiously. "What do you want to do with that ?"
Eli, Usopp and Luffy were trying to fish when...
"What the HELL ?!"
They covered their mouths to refrain themselves from laughing. Hearing heavy footsteps behind them, they swung around stiffly trying to keep straight faces.
Usopp pointed a shaky finger toward the freckled man. "Look, it's a man..."
Eli did the same. "... no, it's a cat !"
"NO !" the three pirates yelled in unison, raising their hands to their cheeks.
"It's... FLAME BOY !!!!"
Right after their little act, the three pranksters couldn't hold it anymore; they burst into laughter, rolling on the deck.
Ace was frowning at them with his arms crossed. He had cat whiskers drawn on his cheeks and 'FLAME BOY' written on his bare chest in a fancy writing.
"You've been practicing, I see..." Flame Boy sighed deeply.
The trio couldn't say a word; they were laughing so hard that they had to hold their stomachs because of the pain.
"Oi, what's going on here ?" Zoro asked. When his eyes fell on Ace, he ended up in the same state as his fellow crewmates.
"You look sooooo stupid, Ace !" Luffy managed to say before convulsing again.
"Got your revenge, Twig ?" Ace asked, rolling his eyes.
Eli wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Not quite yet, Flame Boy... VIVI, NAMI, SANJI ! COME OVER HERE !!"
A few days later, the Strawhat Pirates finally arrived at Little Garden. They slowly sailed up a large river to enter the island. On the shore was a thick jungle with huge tropical trees and plants.
"How come it has such a cute name ?" Sanji wondered. "It's not little at all."
As loud growls were heard coming from the jungle, Nami and Usopp began to freak out. "This is not a normal forest !"
Eli wondered if that's what Miss All Sunday meant by saying Little Garden was a very dangerous place.
On the contrary, Luffy was as excited as can be. "I smell adventure," he said with a wide grin on his face. For the boy, any new island smelled like adventure. In fact, any new thing did.
"You know what, Luffy... I think I smell it, too," Eli told him, grinning and high-fiving the boy.
"Sanji ! Prepare a pirates' lunch box !" he demanded cheerfully. What Luffy meant by pirates' lunch box mainly consisted of meat and... more meat. Naming it a 'Luffy lunch box' would actually have been more accurate.
Right after they docked, Sanji gave Luffy his pirate lunch box, and Vivi decided to join the boy for his adventurous expedition in the mysterious jungle. Eli was glad to see that the princess was trying to enjoy herself, and being with Luffy would sure help her do just that.
"Let's goooo !" Luffy yelled happily, throwing an arm in the air, before disappearing in the thick jungle with a smiling Vivi.
Zoro cracked his neck. "I'm bored. I think I will go and take a walk, too." He jumped off the ship and started walking toward the jungle.
"Wait, Zoro !" Sanji called out. "Can you hunt some animals, too ? There' no food left."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Well, since you can't do it, I guess I'll hunt something for you," he said coolly.
Sanji lit a cigarette before looking at the swordsman scornfully. "Are you saying that you can hunt bigger animals than me ?"
"Here they go..." Eli and Nami rolled their eyes.
Somehow, the two young men couldn't put up with each other. It was probably because of their huge egos. Eli looked at Ace who seemed to be amused by their rivalrous relationship. The girl wondered why wasn't he playing the same game. More mature maybe ? ...Nahh.
"Okay then... I'll challenge you, shitty swordsman !"
Zoro sneered. "Damn right !"
"Ace ! Eli ! Stay with us please !" Nami and Usopp begged while gripping the two pirates by their clothes. They were obviously scared by the strange jungle, and the loud animal screams that were heard from the distance didn't help easing their fears.
Being the reliable man he was, Ace agreed. For Eli, however, the perspective of waiting on the ship doing nothing, like she had done for the past five days, wasn't really appealing. Plus, Ace was more than enough to act as bodyguard for the two cowards.
"Sanji, wait !" she yelled before running back and forth between her room and the deck to pick her book up.
"What is it, my dear Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked, hearts in eyes.
"Can I come with you ?" Eli asked smiling.
"But of course !" he said heartily, opening his arms. "It will be a pleasure !"
Eli chuckled and waved the scaredy-cats goodbye. "Have fun !" She stuck the tip of her tongue out playfully.
The jungle was thick and its hot and humid climate was quite draining, but Eli was glad to spend some time with Sanji. Ever since they had joined the crew, they hardly had any chances to hang out alone like when they were working at the Baratie.
The pair was casually strolling through the jungle when...
"Hey, what was that ?" Eli asked, looking in the direction of rustling leaves. She saw a large shadow behind a bunch of trees.
Sanji stepped before her chivalrously, stretching his arms out in a protective stance. "Don't worry, Elisabeth; I'll protect you."
The girl wasn't really worrying, but she didn't contradict the young man as the sound of rustling leaves seemed to approach them rapidly.
"What the hell ?" Eli gawked.
The pair was facing a... dinosaur ? Yep, no mistake possible; it was really a dinosaur in the flesh. Eli had seen some pictures of the dreadful beasts in history books.
But they're supposed to be extinct... she thought.
The girl didn't have time to ponder the mystery of the encounter as the wild beast rushed toward them with its huge mouth wide open.
What a toothy beast, Eli thought, jumping away right before it snapped its mighty jaw on her.
Sanji scowled at the dino, jumped, and kicked it in the neck. "COLLIER SHOT !" The mighty kick must have crushed its windpipe since the beast crashed down on the spot.
Eli clapped her hands cheerily. "Nice." She smiled.
The girl sat on a nearby stump, searching through her bag until she produced her book and pen. She then started sketching the beast and its proud hunter.
"I can't believe it," Eli said happily. "It really is a dinosaur ! The Grand Line is really something else."
Sanji smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "And even better than that, All Blue is somewhere in this sea. I'm sure of it."
Eli raised her head from her book and looked at the cook. Whenever he talked about his dream of All Blue, he had this childish glint in his eye. It was heartwarming.
"You're cute, Sanji," Eli said warmly.
It didn't even take a split second for the flirty side of the young man to get the upper hand. "Not as cute as you, Elisabeth chérie !" he said with heart-shaped eyes.
"I can't believe you !" Eli said, frowning at the young man. "I thought you were a reasonable man, Sanji !"
"You're the one who's being unreasonable, Elisabeth." Sanji said. "It breaks my heart to contradict you, but I can't let you go on."
The pair was next to the Merry, sitting on the huge dinosaur. They were having a heated argument while waiting for their crewmates to return.
Eli stood up, towering over the young man. "Listen ! Did you even try ?"
Sanji huffed looking away. "I don't have to. I know I'm right."
"You're so old-fashioned..." The girl rolled her eyes.
"I am not. It is called a classic."
"Vanilla ice cream is NOT a classic. It's boring and uncreative !"
"Mint and chocolate chips is not creative; it's the invention of a sick mind !"
"RAH ! I don't want to talk to you anymore !" Eli folded her arms angrily and turned her back on him before sitting back down. She scowled and mumbled unintelligible pouty sounds.
"Hey... What about cookie dough ?"
After about twenty long minutes of waiting, the two pirates started to worry about their crewmates.
"What if something happened to Nami or Vivi ?" Sanji said anxiously.
"Right... because our four other friends' safety doesn't matter since they don't have boobs, right ?" Eli said in a mocking tone.
Sanji stood up briskly. "My precious damoiselles need my help. I'll go find them !"
Eli rolled her eyes. Sometimes, the young man's chivalrous behavior was just annoying. She picked up her bag and quickly followed the love-cook through the jungle.
After a few minutes, they came face to face with a belligerent saber-toothed cat.
"Oh, he's so cute !" Eli exclaimed with sparkly eyes. "Kitty kitty kitty," she babbled, scratching the beast's chin.
Apparently, the animal didn't like to be petted since it instantly tried to bite off the girl's intrusive hand. Eli giggled easily evading the attack. "Look ! He wanna play !" she said happily.
"Be careful, Elisabeth !"
The chase went on for a couple of minutes until the tired animal finally gave up. Now that the beast was meek as a lamb, the pair mounted it. It was the best way to stroll through a jungle in their opinion.
Eli lay on the cat's fur. "So soft..." she whispered, rubbing her cheek on the animal's head while completely oblivious of the fear she inspired in the animal. The girl liked animals but somehow not vice versa, yet she didn't seem to be aware of that, and was happily enjoying the furry ride.
"What's this ?" Sanji asked.
"Huh ?" Eli raised her head sluggishly, yawned, and rubbed her eyes.
While strolling randomly in the jungle, they had come to a strange structure. It looked like a small house. It was square and bright white... and quite hard to miss in the middle of such a wild jungle.
When the pair got off the saber-toothed cat, the animal buzzed off without further ado.
"Is that... wax ?" Eli asked, examining the strange white matter.
"I think so, too." Sanji grabbed the door knob. "After you, mademoiselle," he said with a charming smile.
"Thank you." Eli took half a step toward the door and stopped. "Wait, what if it's a trap ?"
"You're right ! I should go first."
"... Not very gentlemanly for a guy to go first, though." Eli bit her bottom lip.
Sanji twitched, obviously facing an unsolvable dilemma. The mischievous girl chuckled inwardly, entering the house and leaving the young man and his double bind behind.
"Sanji, come in," she called out.
"Yes, Elisabeth !"
to be continued
Betaed by Iwin Ulose.
Guess who's my favorite Strawhat ? :)
Thanks for your heartwarming reviews ! They keep me going.
Didn't know ducks tend to steal stuff, poor Shibo26 !
Don't worry ThexWhitexPhoenix, Eli's brain is perfectly fine.
I gave you compliments to my beta Tropicall. And poor Sanji having these 'moments' only with guys :/
Thank you kaaayyytteee !