(Author's Note: I am a painfully slow updater. School isn't helping at all, so please don't hate me if it takes awhile for a new chapter! If it makes up for anything, this is the longest chapter I've ever written! Yay!)
"Oh yeah!" Luffy called down excitedly, "Shanks did have a little sister, didn't he!?"
With a glare that could kill a man Nikette yelled, "Luffy, I'm gonna kick your ass!" She stood up on the railing of the ship and was about to jump up to Luffy's balcony, but she was stopped by Sanji resting a hand on her shoulder.
"He's not worth it," the Sous Chef said, "If we break anything else the old geezer might kill us."
Sanji's laid-back attitude and cool demeanor had Luffy staring at him in complete admiration. "Hey!" he called down, "You should join my crew! You can be my chef!"
"Crew? So you're a pirate, huh?" Sanji asked, his skepticism clearly annoying Luffy.
"Yeah I am!" Luffy snapped in return, "I'm the captain, too! And my crew needs a chef and I pick you."
"And what if I say no?" the blonde snapped.
"You won't!" Nikette added in.
"What do you mean 'I won't'?"
"I mean," Nikette started slowly, "I want you to join his crew, so that I can join his crew. I'd be so happy if I could join his crew, and you want me to be happy right?" Her voice was light and pleasant, but the deadly look in her eyes told Sanji he might be murdered if he continued to say "no".
Sighing heavily while praying he wouldn't get murdered, Sanji told her, "Nee-san, I'm not joining some pirate crew. And Baratie needs all the waitresses she can get."
"You want to join my crew?" Luffy exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring Sanji, "Then I can add a chef and Shanks' sister to my crew!"
"I'm not joining your crew!" Sanji snapped, "And neither is Nikette!"
"No!" Luffy replied simply.
"What?!" the increasingly infuriated chef snapped.
"I refuse you refusal." As he said that, the rubber captain jumped down from the balcony he sat on and landed beside Nikette. He folded his arms across his chest, attempting to look completely serious.
"Well I don't care. I'm not joining you!"
"Like hell you're not!" Nikette pulled back her fist, but before she could smack Sanji, she was distracted by a man saying, "Excuse me for interrupting."
The pirate who had been kicked out of the Baratie before, who then had been given food by Sanji and Nikette, spoke up now, worried Nikette might actually kill Sanji, "My name is Ghin, I'm a member of the Krieg Pirates. Straw Hat, you said you were a pirate too. What's your goal?"
"My goal?" Luffy smiled ear-to-ear, "I'm gonna go to the Grand Line, find One Piece and be King of the Pirates!"
This statement seemed to shock Ghin immensely, "If you don't have a cook yet, your crew must not be very big."
"Nope," Luffy replied, failing to see Ghin's shock, "These two make six members."
"Don't include us!" Sanji growled, earning him a slap in the back of the head form Nikette.
Ghin was thought silently for a moment before continuing, "I don't hate you, so let me warn you about something." Luffy, who had just started laughing at Nikette and Sanji, quickly turned his attention back to Ghin. "You're still too young. Don't give your life away by going to the Grand Line. There's a reason it's called the Pirate Graveyard. There are plenty of other seas to sail, don't go to the Grand Line."
"Do you know a lot about the Grand Line?" Luffy asked, extraordinarily interested in what Ghin would say.
A shadow covered Ghin's eyes and he shivered despite the warm day. He clutched his head and shuddered, "No, I don't know a thing. We were there for seven days but…"
Taking pity on the poor man, Nikette hopped down from where she sat on the ship's railing and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. You don't have to say anymore," she told him in a soothing voice.
He nodded, but then stood up. "I should be going," he said.
"Do you have a ship?" Sanji asked.
"Right over there," Ghin replied, pointing to a cluster of customers' ships. One of which, the one Ghin entered, was flying a Marine flag. Smiling, Nikette realized he had stolen the ship from the Marines who had captured him.
After readying the ship for sailing, Ghin called back, "Remember my warning, Kid!"
"Okay, but I'm going to the Grand Line anyway!" Luffy called back.
Shaking his but chuckling too, Ghin replied, "Well, I don't have the right to stop you." Turning to Sanji and Nikette, he said, "Thanks for the food! I owe you two my life!"
"Don't worry about it! Just make sure you keep yourself alive!" Nikette responded with a warm smile and friendly laugh.
Sanji smiled too and said, "Come back anytime."
Nikette and Luffy started waving good-bye, but they were interrupted by a loud, angry voice yelling, "What's going on out here?"
"Aww damn, it's the old man," Nikette muttered, not at all happy to see Head Chef Zeff.
"Get going, Ghin," Sanji said.
Ducking his head, Ghin apologized, "I'm sorry, Nikette, Sanji. You guys will probably get yelled at or fired because of me."
Smiling mischievously, Sanji picked up the plate and glass from Ghin's meal and threw them into the ocean. "Now there's no proof, so we can't get in trouble!" Nikette started laughing so hard she almost fell off the ship. Luffy and Sanji had to scramble to catch her, but almost ended up dropping her in their rush to help. The whole scene just made her laugh harder, and even managed to get a chuckle out of Ghin.
"Thank you for everything!" he called as his ship sailed off. Nikette managed to calm herself just long enough to wave to him, earning a wave in return. Unfortunately, her merriment was cut short when Zeff yelled, "You three get back to work!"
Sanji, Nikette, and Luffy ran back inside the Baraite, though Sanji had to drag Luffy. They went to the kitchen were Nikette and Sanji were both handed dozens of plates and told to which tables they were supposed to go. In a matter of minutes, Nikette had managed to deliver every meal, take every new customer's orders, and kept a friendly, relaxed smile through all of it even though she would have loved to beat several customers senseless.
She glanced around the restaurant to make sure everyone was taken care off before heading back towards the kitchen, intent on downing a bottle of wine. But as soon as she got to the door of the kitchen, she was greeted by every single chef yelling, "Get out of here and help Nikette!"
One look at the dangerous gleam of the chefs' knives was enough to send Luffy barreling into Nikette. "What the hell is going on?!" she snapped as she grabbed Luffy and threw him into the wall beside her. "Who says I need any help?" she asked, her anger now directed on one of Baratie's tops chefs and her usually close friend, Carne.
"We can't deal with the idiot anymore! You're busy and you know him so you take care of him!" Carne replied, his anger matching Nikette's.
"Like hell I'm dealing with him! And I don't need help! Everything's taken care of, I just wanted to get some wine!" While saying that, Nikette walked to a cupboard behind beside the kitchen filled with all the wine the Baratie stored. She grabbed a cheaper bottle and drank half of it in a few gulps.
"How in the hell did you manage to handle all those customers so quickly?" Carne asked.
"I don't know, I just did," Nikette replied, her anger from before almost completely washed away by her wine.
"Damn, you must be the greatest waitress in history or something," another chef said. He was relatively new so Nikette didn't know his name, but he had a strange mix of complete terror and utter astonishment written across his face that had her laughing boisterously.
"No, not at all," she told him, still laughing merrily, "The greatest waitress wouldn't need a bottle of wine every ten minutes!"
"Speaking of which," Carne started quietly, "Get out of here before you drink us dry again!" he finished, shouting at the top of his lungs.
Nikette ran from the cupboard, though not before grabbing a second bottle, and through the kitchen, chugging the rest both bottles before Carne could take her precious wine. On her way through the kitchen though, she saw her reflection in a silver pot handing over a stove. She stopped suddenly, causing Carne to fly past her and into a pot of boiling soup.
"My hair's down!" Nikette gasped. She quickly began weaving a small braid on the left side of her head while continually dodging Carne's sloppy attempts to smack her over the head with the ladle from the soup. Once down with the first braid, Nikette started weaving a second braid on the other side of her head as she ran out of the kitchen. She stopped running when she was halfway down the stairs and looked over everyone eating in the Baratie. Taking the two braids in her hair, she wrapped them around the rest of her hair and tied them into a knot. She heard loud footsteps behind her and turned to see Carne running towards her, now holding a silver platter presumably with the intent of beating her to death with it.
Instead of bothering to fight the infuriated chef off, Nikette simply ducked. Carne tumbled over her and fell down the rest of the stairs. She walked gracefully beside him and grabbed the platter, using it like a mirror. Her reflection made her frown though. "I was really hoping this would look better," she muttered, tracing one of her braids, "Oh well, it's good enough." She threw the platter behind her and smiled when she heard it land on Carne.
Humming to herself, Nikette pleasantly sauntered away to check up on all the Baraite's customers. However, her enjoyment from the victory over Carne didn't last long. After stopping to chat with a few people, she head Luffy shout, "Why do you guys get to sit around eating delicious food?! Don't you think that's unfair?!"
Nikette excused herself politely before heading over to see what the problem was. She found the rubber chore-boy glaring daggers at a girl she knew Sanji should avoid, a man with an unbelievably long nose, and a young man she had to admit was remarkably handsome, although he did look somewhat like a Marimo.
"Unfair?" the Marimo said, making it obvious he was mocking Luffy, but at the same time Nikette noticed her chore-boy drop something into the man's drink, "I guess it is unfair," the man continued, stopping to pick up his drink. The girl and Long-Nose snickered quietly, but started laughing hysterically once the man shoved the glass into Luffy's face while yelling, "that you don't get to try some of the food yourself!"
Luffy started gagging and trying to punch the Marimo. Nikette was confused, but she liked seeing someone abusing Luffy, so she started laughing along with the others. "I'm not going to ask what just happened," she said between chuckles, "I really don't what to know." She suddenly remembered Luffy saying he had a crew.
He said he had four members, she thought, so if he was counting himself then there three could be…
"Hey, you guys aren't part of this idiot's crew, are you?" she asked the girl and Long-Nose.
"Yeah, he's our captain," the girl said, no sounding too thrilled by the fact, "I'm Nami, by the way."
"And I'm the Great Cap—" the Long-Nosed guy started, but he was interrupted by Nami grabbing him by the nose to shut him up.
"He's Usopp," she muttered angrily
"I'm Nikette," the waitress said with a laugh, "So who's the guy mauling Luffy?"
"That's Zoro. How do you—" Nami started, about to ask how Nikette knew Luffy, but she was interrupted by Nikette asked, "Wait, Roronoa Zoro? The Pirate Hunter?"
Nami glared but answered, "Yeah, that's him."
"Hmm, you'd think more people would say he looks like a marimo," Nikette muttered before running to Zoro and Luffy just in time to save the latter from what might have been a horrible death. "So how in the hell does the great Pirate Hunter Zoro get himself as a member of some pirate crew?" she asked mockingly.
"What?" the Marimo snapped, "How do you know who I am?"
Nikette was about to answer, explaining that her position as a waitress enabled her to hear all sorts of rumors and legends, but she was interrupted before she could even begin.
Sanji less-than-gracefully pranced over to Nami. He kneeled before her, pulled out a rose and said, "Oh dear ocean, thank you this treasure you have shared from your depths. Ah yes, my love, I can't bare this hardship of loving you from afar, it is too difficult. I am now prepared to sail to the ends of the Earth as pirate if it means someone of your rare beauty will be by my side! To be together, sailing the seas, but how tragic, a great obstacle blocks our way!"
"And that great obstacle would be me, right?" Head Chef Zeff said. He and Sanji then began another raging argument over whether or not Sanji would leave Baratie. Nikette had seen this argument many times, and wasn't surprised when it ended with the old man throwing Sanji into a table, the Straw Hats' table to be precise, but she was surprised to see Zoro, Nami, and Usopp had managed to take their dishes off the table in time. And the bowl Zoro had on his head, as well as the sight of Zeff beating up Sanji, had her bent over laughing.
"Umm, should you have stopped them?" Usopp asked Nikette timidly.
"Nah, this happens all the time," she responded when she calmed down.
The fight ended with Zeff once again insisting Sanji get the hell of the ship, so Luffy took that as an opportunity to say, "See, the old man said it was alright! You can join my crew!"
"Would you knock it the hell off already!" Sanji snapped in return. Fortunately for Luffy, he then focused on Nami. He picked up the table he'd recently fallen on and grabbed a perfectly untouched (much to his displeasure) Fruit Macedonia and a bottle of fine Gran Mane wine from an empty table nearby.
"I'm so terribly sorry for the mess, My Fair Lady. As an apology please accept this delicious Fruit Macedonia and magnificent Gran Mane wine," the love-struck cook told Nami.
"Hey, what about us?!" Usopp snapped.
"Think hot tea should be enough for you," Sanji replied, handing him a steaming cup of tea.
"You want to fight?" Usopp asked, almost sounding menacing, "Kick his ass, Zoro!"
"You kick his ass," the marimo replied, sipping his tea contentedly.
"I'll kick his ass," Nikette said. She grabbed Sanji by his collar and started dragging him towards the kitchen.
"Wait!" Nami called, stopping Nikette just long enough for Sanji to break free of her grasp.
He kneeled beside Nami and asked, "Yes, My Love?"
Nami put on her best puppy-dog eyes and patted Sanji's cheek, "This food is so delicious," she started while Nikette face-palmed, realizing yet another woman was going to walk out without paying because of Sanji, "But all of this food is just so expensive."
"That's alright, you don't have to pay," he replied, his voice filled with pure love for Nami. But then he turned to glare at Usopp, "But you guys still have to pay."
"You pervert!" Usopp snapped.
"Can I kick his ass know?" Nikette asked impatiently. She grabbed the love-struck cook again and this time managed to get him at least far enough away form Nami for him to become entranced over two women who had just walked in and were waiting to be seated.
Nikette was about to seriously start hurting the cook, but she noticed Luffy was eating pleasantly with his crew and directed her anger onto him instead. "Get back to work!" she yelled at him, smacking him over the head as she did so.
"Hey that hurt!" he cried.
"No it didn't, idiot, you're made of rubber," the furious waitress replied as she drug Luffy away from his laughing crew.
"Wait," Usopp said, "How does she know he's made of rubber?" He looked to Zoro and Nami for an answer, but neither had heard him.
Two days passed by quietly. Well, quiet by Baratie's standards. No pirates came, with the exception of the Straw Hats, but even then only Nami ever stayed for long. The others couldn't afford to pay for the food.
Nikette had managed to put up with Luffy at first, but soon enough she was ready to through him into the East Blue, well aware of a Devil Fruit user's weakness. Before she could do so, however, she heard a glass crash into the floor.
Thinking it must have been caused by Sanji being an idiot since her fingers were wrapped around Luffy's neck, Nikette released the chore-boy and turned towards the sound. But Sanji was nowhere to be scene.
A shattered glass sat in a puddle of wine at the feet of a woman staring out to sea in horror. Murmurs traveled throughout the ship, and faintly Nikette heard, "Don Krieg…" She ran toward the woman and looked out the window.
"Is that really Krieg?" she heard a man say. A think fog had rolled over the sea, but Nikette could make out a tattered pirate flag in the distance. Though it was ripped, there was clearly a skull flanked by two hourglasses.
"Yeah, that's him," Nikette said, "That's his flag, no doubt."
"Hey! Wasn't Ghin a member of Krieg's crew? Maybe he came back to thank us!" Luffy said cheerfully.
Sanji walked up behind him and said, "I highly doubt that's it."
"Let's just stay calm," Nikette said, "If a fight starts, Baratie will be the one to get hurt."
"But look at that ship," Luffy said when the monstrous galleon reached the restaurant, "It's all broken."
"Still, be ready for anything," Nikette finished. She turned away from the window and headed towards the kitchen. She came back with three bottles of wine, one unopened, one half gone, and the other finished off.
The front doors of the Baratie were thrown open, revealing a large, barely conscious man being held up by Ghin. As the walked in all the guests ran to the walls of the ship, attempting to get as far away as possible.
Nikette tensed, ready for a fight, while Sanji stood tall beside her. Both were used to pirates coming to fight and both were ready to do whatever was necessary to defend the ship. However what happened next was not at all what they expected.
"Could you get me some food, or at least a glass of water. I'll pay as much as you want," the giant man begged.
"Is that pathetic looking man really Krieg?" Sanji asked.
"He looks starved to death," Nikette commented.
Suddenly, Krieg leaned forward and fell to the ground. "Please give me some food," he muttered as he fell.
"Someone please help him! He'll die if he goes any longer without something to eat!" Ghin pleaded. But not a single person moved. All of the chefs had left the kitchen when to commotion about Krieg had begun, and not one of them started to head back. Instead, Patty began laughing at how lucky the Baratie was. He called out, asking anyone to contact the marines. Ghin again begged for anything, but Patty just laughed.
Sanji looked around at the scene, then tapped Nikette's shoulder, "Want to come?" he asked quietly. She nodded, unable to watch Krieg suffer any longer, and followed him into the kitchen. They put together a massive plate of sautéed fish and rice. Nikette drank the rest of her second bottle of wine, but left the third unopened, preferring to give it to Krieg.
When they returned to the dining room Patty was still mocking the fallen captain, so Sanji kicked his face, sending him flying into a wall. The Sous Chef set the plate beside Krieg as Nikette left her bottle of wine.
"Sanji, Nikette!" Ghin said, looking up at the two with intense gratitude in his eyes.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Krieg cried as he started gulping down the rice and wine. Nikette smiled, happy to help someone so obviously in need, but the other chefs were behind her yelling, begging her and Sanji to take the food back. Carne started going on a rant about how Krieg was the craftiest pirate in the East Blue, and that he would do anything to fool his way through a difficult situation. As Sanji and Nikette were distracted by Carne's tale, Krieg had stood and slammed his arm into Sanji's neck.
Sanji flew across the dining room, crashing into a table as he landed. Nikette ran to him yelling, "Nii-sama!" She kneeled beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder to help him sit up.
"What's the meaning of this, Captain?" Ghin started shouted, "I took you here because you promised you wouldn't hurt the chefs! Those two are responsible for saving my life!" Ghin's outburst was met by Krieg grabbing the smaller man's shoulder so tightly Ghin cried out in pain and then throwing him to the floor where he lay still.
"Ghin!" Luffy called out in angry concern.
"So, this is what you really wanted," Sanji said through clenched teeth.
Krieg simply scanned the restaurant. Finally he said, "I like this place. I'm taking it.
"See, I told you," Carne hissed quietly. A few of the customers heard him though, and seemed to escape from a trance they had been under. First a few, then the rest fled screaming from the Baratie onto their own ships and sailed away.
"My ship is worn out, and I need a new one," Krieg started, "You chefs are going to prepare enough food to feed the hundred men I have left, then you're all going to get the hell out."
"Yeah, and what happens when we do?" Carne said angrily, "Your men get their strength back and we get out asses kicked. We're not going to make a single dish for you!" A few chefs cheered Carne on, but Nikette, Sanji, and Luffy just watched quietly.
"You don't seem to understand," Krieg replied, "That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. Anyone who dares to refuse will pay with their life!"
"I'm sorry Sanji, I'm sorry Nikette!" Ghin said, "I never wanted any of this to happen!"
"Dammit, Sanji, this is all your fault!" Patty snapped. But Sanji ignored him. He stood up and started to walk back towards the kitchen to prepare the hundred meals. Before he stood though, he whispered softly to Nikette, telling her not to follow him this time. He knew making those meals would bring consequences from both the Krieg pirates and the Baratie's chefs, and he didn't want Nikette getting involved in that any more than she already was.
He headed for the kitchen, but was stopped by Patty and the other chefs. They circled around him, each and every one holding a gun aimed at his head. Nikette watched in horror, but she knew if she tried to help she more than likely only make things worse. (See Note 1 at bottom)
"We won't let you make anymore foolish decisions, Sanji," one chef said.
But the Sous Chef just smirked. He spread out his arms and said, "What are you waiting for? Go ahead and shoot me. I know what kind of people these guys are, but frankly I don't care. They're hungry, so I'll feed them. As a chef, it's my duty to feed those who need to eat. What's so wrong with that?"
Everyone stared in silence for a few moments. Many were impressed by Sanji's speech, though few would admit it. Among those few was Luffy, who had now thoroughly convinced himself only Sanji could be his crew's cook. Unfortunately, Patty was not at all impressed by the chef's speech. He walked up behind Sanji and slammed his fist into the back of the blonde's head. As soon as he was down two other chefs ran to grab ahold of his arms so he couldn't move anymore.
By now Nikette was on her feet and ran in front of Patty. "You didn't have to go that far!" she snapped at him. But he just pushed past her and headed for a cupboard underneath the spiral staircase in the center of the room. He pulled out something big and wrapped in cloth.
He started to explain who the Baratie was regularly assaulted by pirates. With a flourish, he unwrapped a cannon decorated to look like a shrimp. He fired the cannon at Krieg and the blast emitted from it exploded when it crashed into Krieg's massive body. A heavy cloud of dust rose up, completely concealing Krieg.
"Looks like I broke the door, Gramps might get mad at me," Patty laughed.
"I wouldn't worry. You were protecting the ship," Carne replied.
"What are you going to do with the rest of his crew," Sanji asked.
"Filet 'em and sauté 'em," Patty replied. He laughed again, as did a few other cooks.
But there merriment was cut short when Nikette yelled, "He's not dead! Everyone get down!" She ran at Sanji and ripped him out of the other chefs' arms just in time to avoid the onslaught of bullets the fired at the chefs while Krieg shouted, "Was that supposed to be a joke?!"
When the bullets stopped Nikette sat up and looked around, praying no one had been killed. Many chef's were groaning and bloody, but no one was dead.
Krieg's rant continued, "Don't you ever try and fight against me again! I am invincible! With my strong arms, iron body, and diamond fists no one can defy me! When I order you to bring me food, you will bring me food! If any of you try to resist again—"
"Here," Head Chef Zeff said, throwing a large sack in front of Krieg, "This is roughly enough food to feed one hundred men." Krieg looked surprised to see Zeff, but the other Baratie chefs were yelling angrily for him to take the food back. Zeff quieted them all by saying Krieg's men had most likely been defeated by the Grand Line.
"You…you're Red Leg Zeff," Krieg finally managed to say.
"So what if I am," Zeff replied.
"You sailed all across the Grand Line. You must have kept a journal of your adventures. If I could get my hands on that, I'd have absolutely no trouble sailing the Grand Line once again myself," Krieg replied arrogantly.
"I won't hand over that journal. It's the pride of not only myself, but also the men I sailed with. That's not something I'd ever hand over to a man like you," Zeff replied sternly.
"Then I'll just have to take it by force!" He laughed again and fired off another round of bullets at the Baratie chefs. "One I have that journal and this ship, I can head back to the Grand Line, find the One Piece and be King of the Pirates!"
"Not wait just a minute!" Luffy snapped angrily, "I'm going to be the one to be King of the Pirates!"
"Luffy stop, do you want to get killed?" Nikette called.
"A brat like you is going to be King of the Pirates?" Krieg asked, "That better not be a joke 'cause it sure as hell isn't funny."
"It's not a joke. I'm completely serious," Luffy replied proudly. Krieg looked down at him with a glare even more intense than one of Nikette's. Most of the chefs thought Krieg would kill the kid for certain, but still Luffy stood his ground.
"Hey Luffy, looks like you about to start a fight. Want some help?" Nikette was shocked to see Zoro and Usopp sitting at a table not far from her. Usopp stood with his legs shaking in fear, but Zoro appeared to be completely relaxed sitting in his chair holding his Wado Ichimonji over his shoulder..
"Oh you're still here? No, I don't need any help," Luffy replied.
Deep laughter filled the room. "Is this your crew? They're just a bunch of kids!" mocked Krieg.
"That's not all! I have three more!" Luffy called back.
"Stop counting Nee-chan and me!" Sanji snapped.
"Stop goofing around, kid!" Krieg shouted, "My crew of over five thousand men was wiped out in only seven days on the Grand Line!"
Murmurs of surprise came from the chefs. Usopp whined in fear, but Zoro only grew more excited for the journey to come.
"Listen up now!" Krieg started, "I'm going to give all of you the chance to run away. I'm going to go feed my men, and if any of you are still around when I get back, consider yourself dead. I just want that journal and this ship. You've been warned." With that said, Krieg grabbed the sack of food and left the room.
In the silence the followed Nikette could hear Ghin muttering, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." At the risk of getting shunned by every chef other than Sanji and Zeff, she walked over to the crouching man and put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright, Ghin. I know this wasn't your fault," she told him.
"But, if I hadn't taken him here none of this would have happened," he replied.
"She's right," Zeff added in, "You had no intention of bringing him here to harm us. You're not to blame for this."
"You're defending her?" a few chefs yelled, "It's hers and Sanji's faults we're in this mess! Why are you defending them?!"
"Quiet you fools!" Zeff yelled, silencing everyone, "Not a single one of you knows what it means to go hungry because of the sea." Patty and the others looked at Zeff in confusion, but Sanji just remained where he sat on the floor and lit another cigarette. "Right now, I don't have time to talk about the past. If you want to stay, prepare to fight. Otherwise, get your asses out."
Every single chef grabbed giant forks and knives, prepared to the death in order to protect the ship in the honor of the man in which they held great respect. Nikette too stood and pulled at the obi-like ribbon tied around her waist. She let it fall to the floor, revealing two long knives tied to the small of her back. (See note 2!)
She pulled out one knife and pointed it at towards the door, "Gramps, you know I'll do anything to protect this ship."
Ghin quickly stood and put a hand on her arm, "You can't fight him, Nikette, you won't win!"
"Sorry, Ghin, but I have to fight," Nikette replied with a smile, "Besides, Sanji's here to fight too. And if Zoro's half as good as the rumors say he is, Luffy must be much stronger."
"That's right!" Luffy chirped as Zoro asked why his name was said.
Ghin looked back and forth between Luffy and Nikette before pleading with Sanji to stop the others.
"I can't, Ghin," Sanji replied, "I swore a long time ago to give food to anyone who walks through those doors. But your captain has stolen from this restaurant, and he threatened everyone in it. I won't allow him to get away with that, and I'll kick down anyone who gets in my way, even you."
Ghin started at Sanji in disbelief, but the Nikette's look of determined rage confirmed what her adopted brother had said.
"Hey wait a minute, Ghin," Luffy said, "Didn't you say you didn't know a thing about the Grand Line? Krieg said you went there."
"We were there for seven days. But out entire fleet was whipped out by just one man," Ghin replied quietly.
"One man?!" most of the people in the room gasped.
"What do you mean?" Nikette asked softly.
"I don't know. We were lost in that storm, everyone was confused. All I can really remember is that man's eyes. They were just like a hawk's."
"'Hawk Eyes'" Zeff said.
"What?" Luffy asked.
"Based on that story, that man had to be Hawk Eye Mihawk, the world's greatest swordsman."
"The very man I'm looking for," Zoro said, "I defeat him, and I'll take the title of the world's strongest swordsman."
Nikette's attention snapped towards the young man. Stories and rumors about him drifted into the Baratie all the time, and she heard them all. She thought about everything she heard, and knew he was nowhere near strong enough to defeat Mihawk.
"You're absolutely insane!" she snapped, "There no way someone like you could defeat Mihawk!"
"Hey, watch what you say," Zoro replied angrily, "I'm going to defeat him and take the title of World's Greatest Swordsman. I made a promise, and it's my dream, so I'll do what ever it takes to reach that point. The only one allowed to call me insane is me!"
What he said seemed to have a profound affect on Nikette. She didn't even try to argue back, like she normally would, and instead just muttered, "Your dream…"
Sanji couldn't understand her sudden change, so he simply told Zoro he'd just die if he fought Mihawk, Nikette turned to him and glared furiously, but she didn't say a word.
Silence filled the room for what seemed like hours. No one was sure what to say, so Patty decided he'd start going on about how much trouble everyone was in. Fortunately for Nikette's temper, he was cut short by a massive crash coming from outside the Baratie.
Everyone ran out to the deck to see what had happened. Krieg's massive ship had been sliced cleanly in half and had begun to sink. Zeff ordered the chef's to pull up the anchor before the Baratie sunk as well. Nikette ignored this order though, and instead stared at the destroyed ship. She searched the sinking ruin for any sign of what had caused the destruction, but she was already guess what, or rather who had done it.
And she was right. Sailing through the wreckage was non other than Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk, sitting pleasantly in his coffin-shaped boat. The green flames of the candles adorned on his ship flickered slightly as a breeze blew past. Out of the corner of her eye, Nikette noticed Zoro had seen the man as well. Before she could even try to stop him, Zoro had raced forward to meet his rival.
(Author's Note: Next time- Zoro gets his ass kicked! Wait, that's a bad thing… strangely this is still one of my favorite fights of the series. (I don't understand why I like it...I actually kind of scare myself) We also get to meet Pearl and we can see just how much he irritates Nikette! (Hint, she really doesn't like Pearl)
Oh, and I need help! I had a great idea for Nikette's title (Like Luffy is "Straw Hat" or Sanji is "Black Leg") but then I changed her name to Nikette and it didn't sound right anymore... so now I need help! Ideas would be immensely appreciated! Review or PM me with ideas, it really doesn't matter, though reviews would be very nice too ;)
Story Note 1: In the anime, this scene is depicted with all the chefs holding giant knives and forks. In the manga, they have guns. For most of this I went of the manga, and I honestly like the scene a whole lot more in the manga too.
Story Note 2: An "obi" is the really big bow you wear around your waste if you're wearing a kimono (and you're a woman…or an okama ^_^ Yes, Mr. 2 is by far my favorite Baroque Works agent, and don't even get me started on Ivankov hahaha)