Thank you for your patience everyone. I have no idea why, but I had some serious writers block while writing this chapter. Every time I got a new favorite though I made myself sit down and write a bit more, even if it took me a half hour to get one paragraph down. Sheesh.
Anyway, welcome to the Baratie everyone! We get to meet Sanji and encounter a bit of a jealous Zoro which will only get worse and worse until Luffy figures out a way to calm him down. Can't wait to get to that part!
Thank you for all your fantastic reviews. You all make me so happy. I always feel so terrible that it takes me so long to write these chapters. I want to give you a new one every day!
BIG shout-out to Shirani-chan! You are so awesome! Your review made me cry! I hope you like this chapter!
A big thanks to PlasmaCode17, Rina, AmazedLove, VampireFreak4Eterity, Jadecraze, ZoLuFanGirl98, michirugin99, ZabuzasGirl, Kitsunegirl90, Kittkatty, KarouUchiha, and my anonymous guests.
I know my annoyed guest will never read this but I just have to say that his angry review actually made me start laughing in the middle of my lit class. I was amused.
Again, thank you all for your patience and I hope you like the chapter!
One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda! (Otherwise, ZoLu would be canon)
The Sea Restaurant Baratie! Enter Sanji!
The restaurant was nothing like what any of them imagined it would be. It looked almost like a ship in the shape of a fish but at the same time it was a large three story building. The fish head and tail were as tall as the first floor and two large main sails jutted up from it. In the center was a smaller second and third floor, making the entire building look like a giant three-tiered cake.
"Our destination, the floating restaurant, Baratie!" Johnny swept his arm out to encompass the entire restaurant floating directly in front of them, grinning as he watched the wide-eyed expression that crossed the faces of the raven-haired girl and the long-nosed teen. Even the orange haired navigator looked slightly impressed but Zoro just shook his head, appearing unimpressed with the building.
'It's kinda tacky, actually,' He thought, scratching at his hair distractedly.
"What do you guys think?" The bounty hunter asked, crossing his arms over his chest and raising one eyebrow curiously.
"It's a giant fish!" Luffy cheered, laughing and clapping her hands together excitedly. "That is so cool!"
"Isn't it amazing?"
"It's very impressive," Nami acquiesced, not wanting to appear excited but you could see the curious glint in her eyes.
"This is the most awesome place ever!" Usopp stated, pumping a fist in the air.
Behind them Yoasku had finally awoken and was slowly making his way up the ladder and onto the main deck, wondering what all the shouting was about. When he saw his partner gesturing towards the large restaurant he began to drool, looking forward to getting some decent food in his stomach. He let the hatch drop closed behind him and made his way up towards the front deck, giving Zoro a reassuring nod when the swordsman looked at him curiously.
Yosaku's eyes slid to the right and he froze when another ship entered his field of vision. He would recognize that blue and white paint anywhere and he paled.
"W-what?! Why's there a marine ship way out here?"
Luffy turned, tilting her head curiously as she caught sight of the ship as well. It wasn't a warship, in fact, it looked to be no bigger than the Going Merry and they could see no soldiers on deck.
"It didn't come all this way just to attack us, did it Luffy?" Usopp asked, starting to look a little worried.
"I have a feeling this is going to be trouble," Zoro bit out, the hand he had rested against the railing curling into a fist. 'Shit. I shouldn't have left my swords in the galley.' His frown deepened and he unconsciously scooted a little closer to his captain.
"Just out of the blue?" Nami crossed her arms over her chest, not missing the way Zoro moved to cover Luffy and she sighed.
Behind her, Johnny nudged Yosaku and both began to quietly sneak back towards the storage room, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed by whatever marine soldiers were on the small ship. They made it to the door right as a marine emerged on deck and began to scan the ship.
"I've never seen your pirate mark before." The marine commented absently. He wore a white pinstripe suit with black buttons and a blue shirt underneath. His hair was a pale shade of pink, much lighter than Coby's pink hair and a large scar started under his right eye and moved vertically down towards his jaw. He had one hand in his pocket and placed the other lightly on the railing of the marine ship, appearing unconcerned with the sight of the pirate ship in front of him, and the straw-hats could see that he had a pair of brass knuckles with screws at the end on his hand.
"I'm the Marine Lieutenant, Iron Fist Fullbody!" He called, lifting his hand from the railing and curling it into a fist in front of him. "Hey, who's your captain? Show yourself and state your name!"
Luffy stepped forward calmly, resting all her weight on one foot and popping out her hip so she could rest one hand on it. "I'm the captain, my name is..."
She was interrupted when Usopp stormed forward and struck a pose, practically shouting at the marine ship. "I'm Captain Usopp, the Brave Warrior of the Sea! My name strikes fear into the hearts of all men just from the mere mention of-..." Luffy smacked the long-nosed teen upside the head, one eyebrow twitching in annoyance.
"I told you Usopp!" She hissed, pinching his cheek. "I'm the captain and you're the sniper. Now hush!"
Sighing, she turned back to the marine, leaving Usopp to rub at his stinging cheek. "As I was saying, my name is Monkey D. Luffyko and I'm the captain of this ship. Our pirate mark was just made yesterday!"
Usopp scooted a bit away from Luffy in an attempt to avoid the pinch he knew was coming and pointed at his chest. "I was the one who made the pirate mark!"
Luffy turned and pouted at the curly-haired teen. "Usopp!" She whined. Before she could stretch out to pinch him again a large fist collided with the back of his head and he turned to stare up at Zoro, who was giving him a pointed look.
"Cut it out." He muttered, watching as Usopp rubbed at the bump on his head in annoyance.
"Is that so?" Fullbody smirked, giving Luffy a very obvious once over, his eyes sliding up and down her body. When he had first asked who the captain was, he hadn't expected a girl. Most of the pirates that he had dealt with were middle-aged men. The occasional female captain that he ran into mostly looked like that Alvida. He shivered slightly in remembrance of the last time that he had run into the female pirate. This girl though, she was cute; more than cute, she was hot. He took a moment to appreciate how her button-up tank fit her, emphasizing her slim waist and generous chest, before his eyes slid down to her long, tan legs and the gracious length of her denim shorts. Now this was a pirate that he wouldn't mind chasing after.
Zoro growled loudly, his steel-colored eyes almost black with rage and his hand clenching at the railing so tightly that it cracked under the pressure. The look on the marine's face easily betrayed what the pink-haired man was thinking and Zoro felt the urge to grab Luffy and shove the small girl behind him.
'I need to keep her locked up in the men's cabin or get her some sort of large, baggy shirt that says "Back the fuck off!" on it. This is ridiculous!' He thought, sick of all of the men that had been eying Luffy lately.
Nami heard Zoro's growl but didn't bother to turn her head to look at the swordsman that she knew was giving off an aura of death. Usopp, though, had turned at the noise and his eyes widened when he took in the look on pure fury on the green-haired swordsman's face. He began to carefully take a few steps to the side as Zoro continued to growl, not wanting to be anywhere within the line of fire.
Lieutenant Fullbody though, either didn't sense the aura of malice directed at him or didn't care because after a few more seconds of ogling Luffy he began to sweep the rest of the ship with his eyes.
"I've seen those two before." He muttered, eyes narrowing as his gaze slid to where Johnny and Yosaku were hiding behind the open storage door.
"I thought you guys claimed to be pirate hunters?" He scoffed, smirking at them. "Congrats, it looks like you finally caught yourselves some." His words were condescending and Johnny pushed himself out from behind the door, both bounty hunters gritting their teeth in anger at his words.
"What did you say?" Yosaku hissed, joining his partner on deck.
"This is too good." Fullbody began to chuckle softly as a young woman stepped up next to him. She was very pretty, with long and wavy blonde hair pulled up in a clip and brown eyes. She wore a floor-length, maroon colored sleeveless dress and the Straw-hats watched quietly as she placed a hand on Fullbody's arm and drew the man's attention away from them.
Zoro had to fight back the urge to smirk when he saw the woman. With a lady like that, that marine would have no choice but to stay away from his captain. The woman would keep him in his place and Zoro wouldn't be forced to kill him for looking at Luffy.
'Still...' Zoro stepped forward a bit more until he was standing just behind Luffy. 'No harm in being careful.'
"Let's go darling. We're going to be late for our reservation," The woman purred, sweeping a loose strand of hair over one ear and pushing out her chest slightly so that her cleavage was more visible.
"Of course."
"Hold on!" Johnny protested, digging through a pocket on the inside of his jacket. "Do you think small time bounty hunters would go after guys like these?!" Appearing to have finally found what he was looking for, Johnny pulled his hand out of his jacket, clutching a stack of papers in his fist. He threw the stack at the marine lieutenant who had begun to walk away, scattering dozens of wanted posters across the deck of the Going Merry. Nami glanced down at them and one caught her eye.
'Arlong... Wanted dead or alive. 20,000,000.' Her eyes narrowed slightly and a flash of anger crossed her face but no one took notice because Fullbody was glancing their way again. His eyes swept over Luffy again, the marine also taking notice of Nami standing only a few feet away from the raven-haired girl before he turned to look at his date.
"Moodie, darling. Why don't you head back inside for a bit and have another glass of wine while I deal with these pirates."
"Are you sure, dear? What if they try to hurt you?" Moodie glared at the men on the Going Merry as if they were the bad guys before letting Fullbody take her hand and give her a reassuring kiss on the cheek.
"I'm not a Marine Lieutenant for nothing, Moodie. Everything will be fine." After giving her hand a gentle squeeze he lightly pushed her towards the door. Once the woman was out of sight, Fullbody straightened his suit and turned back to the Going Merry, grinning at Luffy and Nami.
"I apologize for my earlier behavior, ladies," he purred, giving Nami and Luffy a shallow bow and attempting to smile charmingly. Nami wrinkled her nose slightly, a frown coming to her face at the look that the marine was giving her. It was a look she had been given by many men and yet it still gave her goosebumps every time.
"I had no idea that two such beautiful ladies existed in this world. Your beauty is wasted on a pirate ship such as this." Fullbody turned his gaze to Luffy who was watching him with an almost confused expression on her face and grinned. "So, little angel, how about you ditch that tiny piece of driftwood and I'll show you how good a ride on a real ship is." He put special emphasis on the words ride and ship, his smile turning somewhat lecherous as he leered at the raven-haired girl. Usopp winced slightly at Fullbody's words, disgusted by how forward the marine was being and also a little worried about what he knew was coming. His eyes slid to Nami, who had dropped her head into one hand and was shaking it in disbelief. Usopp just sighed, counting down silently in his head and looking back at the marine with a pitying expression.
'Three... two... one...'
Zoro snarled, the sound loud in the sudden silence that Fullbody's words had caused. The marine's eyes flicked up to the green-haired man standing behind the she-pirate, the look on the swordsman's face one of pure fury. Neither Usopp nor Nami moved an inch at the sound, having been expecting it the moment Fullbody finished talking but the bounty hunting duo had not expected the angry sound. They jumped slightly in shock, turning their heads to glance at Zoro with matching expressions of disbelief. They had never seen Big Bro Zoro this angry before and they glanced at each other before a small smirk came to Johnny's face.
Luffy turned her head as well, her brow furrowing. 'That was Zoro. Why would he...? Is he ok?' Her heart-rate had sped up at the sound and she placed one hand against her chest, her frown deepening. 'My heart is pounding. I'm not getting sick like Yosaku, am I?'
"Zo-...?" She opened her mouth to ask her first-mate if he was ok when when two large arms suddenly wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her back. She felt Zoro squeeze her against his chest for a second before her swordsman was suddenly pushing her behind him.
"You..." He snarled, glaring darkly at the marine lieutenant in front of him.
'I am going to rip him to pieces. How dare he talk to Luffy like that. I am sick of these guys hitting on my captain!'
Before he could say anything else Luffy latched onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and draping one arm across his neck before she pointed at the marine from her makeshift perch. She could still feel the phantom sensation of Zoro's arms on her and it bothered her slightly. She had never had anything like that happen to her before, not even with Ace and Sabo. So why did it happen with her first-mate?
'I'll ask Nami about it later.' She thought, shrugging it off. She didn't have time to think on it right now. Right now, she had words for the pink-haired marine weirdo and she wasn't going to sit quietly while he talked bad about her ship. First though, she had a question.
"Hey. What do you mean small? Isn't your ship the same size as ours? Are you a moron?" Luffy appeared genuinely curious, the marine's perverse intentions passing right over her head. Fullbody appeared gobsmacked, not able to decide if the she-pirate was making fun of him or if she really hadn't caught the invitation in his words. Luffy didn't pause to give him time to answer though, she just continued to talk, a frown coming to her face as she remembered what else the man had said.
'He called Merry driftwood!'
"And don't insult Merry, stupid marine! Idiot!" She added, sticking out her tongue at Fullbody and using the hand not latched onto Zoro's neck to pull down one eyelid in a childish gesture.
Fullbody froze, having not expected such an outburst from the small she-pirate and even her crewmates seemed somewhat surprised. Zoro was standing, partially crouched and ready to attack, an almost confused expression on his face as if he wasn't sure what to do after Luffy's words. A small snort of amusement from Usopp broke him out of his stupor and Nami quickly joined in, both of them giggling at the matching look of shock on Fullbody's face. Really though, Nami had seen this coming. Being around Luffy as long as she had, she knew how the girl was likely to react to a marine hitting on her.
The orange-haired girl rolled her eyes. 'I wonder if big, bad Zoro is going to start acting like this with every guy that hits on Luffy. I think that the male population of East Blue is going to get a lot smaller if this keeps up.' A small smile came to her face. 'It does make good blackmail material though.'
Zoro let out a soft, almost self-deprecating chuckle, his captain's words finally sinking in. Luffy never failed to amaze him with her naivety and childishness. It really did work in his favor though. It meant that anybody that tried to get with his captain would have a hell of a time. It would also give him enough time to show them that his captain was off-limits. Sighing, Zoro brought one hand up to rub at the almost permanent crease in his forehead, the other moving to poke Luffy in the side and forcing a squeak of surprise from the she-pirate, a sort of childish revenge for all of the emotional ups and downs he had been going through lately.
"You're going to be the death of me, Captain." He muttered quietly, not really realizing that he had said the words out loud until Luffy began to giggle and pull lightly at the earrings in his left ear.
"Why was Zoro growling? Zoro scared me. Are you angry? What happened? I'm hungry. Should we get food? Is that why you're angry? I'd be angry without food too. Can we go to the restaurant now?"
Luffy continued to babble, still hanging off of Zoro and causing the swordsman to laugh, both of them completely ignoring Fullbody and causing the pink haired man to grow angrier and angrier as time went by.
She had rejected him. Not only that but she had called him a moron. HIM! Marine Lieutenant 'Iron Fist' Fullbody!
No one insulted him! NO ONE! On top of that, she was ignoring him for some crappy, wannabe bounty hunter.
"SINK IT !" he yelled to a solder standing watch nearby. "SINK THAT CRAPPY PIRATE SHIP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA!" With one last glare directed at Luffy and her grinning crewmates he turned and stormed back towards the door, intending to collect his date and get some food.
Johnny and Yosaku were fuming, sparks almost shooting from their eyes as they glared daggers at the retreating marine lieutenant.
"He simply ignored us!" Johnny hissed, throwing his arms forward in a loose gesture towards the marine ship.
"We'll get him back later!" Yosaku muttered, clapping his partner on the back. His eyes however, weren't focused on the marine ship but rather the green-haired former bounty hunter at the bow of the Going Merry. He hadn't been around when Johnny had come to his conclusion about the relationship between Big Bro Zoro and the small she-pirate but his partner had told him about it later that evening while they were resting. At first, he hadn't believed Johnny but now...
'Damn, he wasn't kidding. Big Bro Zoro really is acting like he's in love with Luffy.' He bit back a chuckle at that thought. Yosaku had thought that Zoro would be the last of them to fall in love, if he ever did. The green-haired swordsman was so focused on his goal he never noticed anything else, much to the constant amusement of Johnny and him. 'Seems I owe Johnny an apology.'
Nami, not really worried about what the marines intended to do, calmly made her way over to the scattered pile of wanted posters in front of Johnny and Yosaku. Luffy and Zoro could probably handle whatever the marines threw at them anyway.
"What's... all this?" She asked, kneeling down to get a better look at the scraps of paper.
"Those are all people with bounties on their heads, Big sis Nami." Johnny answered glancing down at the navigator. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, remembering just as the words left him that the orange-haired girl hated being called Big sis. He held his breath for a few seconds, waiting for her to start yelling at him but when Nami didn't look up from the wanted poster she had picked up he continued to talk.
"It means that if we get 'em, we'd get the money offered on their wanted poster."
"It's a good way to earn a living, isn't it Big sis?" Yosaku added, throwing his arm around Johnny's shoulder and grinning, both of them looking pleased with their chosen line of work.
Johnny slapped a hand over Yosaku's mouth. "Don't call her big sis." He muttered quietly. "She got mad last time I did it and she's scary."
Nami just continued to stare at the poster in her hands, her shoulders beginning to shake and her eyes shadowed under her hair. Her fingers clutched tightly at the paper and she crumpled it slightly, holding it against her chest as she took a few deep breaths. The person on the poster was obviously someone very close to the navigator but neither bounty hunter could figure out if the wanted pirate was a friend... or an enemy.
"This is bad! They're aiming right at us!" Usopp's shout drew everyone's attention back to the marine ship, which was preparing to fire a cannon-ball straight at the main deck. Within seconds the shot was ready and the marines quickly fired the cannon, the loud sound echoing around the two ships.
"Leave it to me!" Luffy whooped, jumping off of Zoro's back and onto the ship's railing, wrapping her legs around one of the vertical posts.
"Gum Gum..." She grinned happily, stretching her arms out to the side and latching onto the main mast with one and Merry's figurehead with the other.
"Pachinko!" The cannon-ball slammed into her stomach, her body barely missing Zoro as the swordsman stepped to the side and stretching her across the ship and over the other edge. Her hat slipped off her head from the momentum and Zoro quickly grabbed it so it wouldn't get blown away, his eyes wide as he watched Luffy stretch. Sometimes he forgot that Luffy's entire body was rubber and that she could take hits like this without even blinking an eye.
As Luffy reached the peak of her stretch, the cannon-ball's momentum having been slowed down by her body, the hand on Merry's figurehead slipped which caused her to twist slightly, changing the trajectory of her rebound.
She shrieked as she shot forward, the cannon-ball leaving the makeshift sling she had created with her body and launching straight towards the restaurant while she slammed into the figurehead. The crew watched as the cannon-ball arched up and straight into the roof of the third floor, the loud crashing sound and subsequent black smoke causing them all to wince. Luffy slid back off of the wooden figurehead, wincing slightly when she dropped onto the deck, her hands moving to rub at her stomach soothingly. That had hurt a bit.
"You ok, Captain?" Zoro asked, kneeling next to Luffy and placing her hat carefully back on her head, grinning when her hands shot up to grip at the brim.
"Yeah," Luffy sighed, slowly rising to her feet and dusting herself off. "My hand slipped." A pout came to her face and Zoro chuckled slightly before flicking the girl's nose.
"No worries Lu, it was an accident. You protected Merry at least." Luffy grinned as she batted Zoro's hand away from her face, nodding her head after a few seconds.
"Yeah. Stupid marines." She turned to look at the restaurant, a thoughtful frown appearing on her face. "Still, I should go apologize."
As soon as Luffy entered the restaurant she was grabbed by two of the chefs and led upstairs, both of them muttering about how she had hit the head-Chef's room. They exited the main restaurant and led her up a flight of stairs in the back and around to the third floor balcony.
"Head-Chef Zeff! We found the culprit!" One of them shouted, pushing the wooden door open and shoving Luffy forward and into the bedroom.
Her eyes quickly swept the room, finally settling on the middle-aged man sitting on the bed in front of her. He wore the standard white outfit of the cooks in the restaurant, brown pants, and a blue sash wrapped around his neck. Luffy's eyes traveled up to his face, taking in the blonde goatee and impressive mustache. It was braided and stuck straight out from his face, each side almost 12 inches in length. He had a large bulbous nose and small eyes but what caught Luffy's attention was the growing patch of red underneath the cap of his very tall chef's hat.
"I'm very sorry." Luffy bowed to the chef, a pout on her face. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone, her hand had slipped but still, it was her fault. As she stared at the ground her eyes zeroed in on the wooden peg-leg where the man's right foot should be.
"Woah! A peg leg!" She shrieked, her eyes widening with shock. She leaned closer, holding out a finger as if she was about to poke it. "I didn't do that right?"
"NO, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Zeff swung the wooden peg at Luffy, forcing her to pull back her hand as the middle aged man glared at her.
"Well, that's good then." Luffy giggled happily, a small sigh of relief breaking free. "It's cool old man. All you need is an eyepatch now!"
Zeff's eyebrow twitched slightly, fighting back the urge to yell at the girl again and instead directed his glare to the chefs who had brought her in, almost daring them to say anything.
"This happened a long time ago," Zeff began, untucking his white cooking shirt and revealing the purple and orange striped undershirt beneath. "However, I'm still injured! Medical bills and repair charges for the ship are going to be expensive." He loosened the blue neckerchief as he continued to talk, watching Luffy calmly as the girl crossed her arms over her chest and settled all her weight onto one leg, he head tilted curiously. When he finished, Zeff leaned back against the headboard of the bed, letting out a small sigh of contentment.
"I won't ask you to cut me any slack," Luffy finally said, straightening up and tipping her hat back. "But... I'm kinda broke. I've got nothing."
Zeff was a little surprised at the honesty and the sincere look in the girl's dark brown eyes and he smirked. This girl might actually be a little more interesting than the normal pirates that came through here.
"For a pirate, you're pretty honest lass. That's unfortunate." Zeff sat back up again, trapping the fingers of one hand against his thigh lightly. "If you've got no money, you'll have to work the expenses off."
"Ok, I can do that!" Luffy said, grinning brightly.
"I'll go easy on you since you're a girl but you'll have to work here, unpaid, for one year."
Luffy was nodding along with his words but froze after a second, sweat beginning to drip down her face. 'I couldn't have heard him right.' She thought, hoping that was the case.
"Wait a minute?!" She yelled, waving her hands in front of her. "Back up. One year?! A WHOLE YEAR?!"
Outside the restaurant, the rest of the Straw-Hats had decided to wait for Luffy on the ship. Johnny and Yosaku were were fixing the railing that Johnny had cut through when he first got on the ship and listening to the others talk.
"What is taking Luffy so long?" Zoro muttered, lying back against the railing on the bow of the ship, his fingers tapping an impatient rhythm on his knee. He had wanted to go with her, but his carefree captain had insisted that she would be ok by herself. He hated waiting like this though. It wasn't even her fault in the first place and she was taking the fucking blame for it. If he saw that asshole fist guy again he would knock him out.
"I don't know," Nami sighed, sitting up near the figurehead with Usopp. Her eyes moved to look at the hole that the cannonball had made in the roof before they dropped back to the front door.
"With that much damage, they'll probably make her work here for at least a month." Usopp shook his head, rubbing at his forehead with one hand. His words caused Zoro to growl slightly and the swordsman glared at the long-nosed teen in annoyance.
Johnny finished hammering the last piece of the railing into position and nudged Yosaku before both made their way towards the rest of the group.
"Is Big Bro worried that someone might steal Big Sis Luffyko away?" Johnny asked, grinning slightly and taking a seat on the opposite side of the bow from the glaring swordsman.
"W-WHA-...!?" Zoro sputtered, turning to look at a grinning Johnny, his eyes wide.
Nami and Usopp burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs as they watched Zoro struggle to come up with some sort of response. Honestly, neither pirate was that surprised. Zoro was anything but subtle when it came to Luffy and Nami wiped at one eye before nudging the long-nosed teen next to her.
"Oh lord, Usopp. They've only been here for two days and they've figured it out."
"It's so sad, isn't it?" Usopp agreed, giving Zoro a pitying look.
Zoro turned to glare at both of them, his face a bright red, wishing once again that he had grabbed his swords from the bunk room. "SHUT UP! Both of you!" He snarled, hands clenching into fists against the wooden floorboards.
Yosaku slid closer to Usopp, a teasing grin on his face and his gaze trained on the fuming swordsman. The former bounty hunter looked close to snapping and Yosaku wondered how much more he could tease him before Zoro tried to strangle him. "So..." He began, eyes twinkling. "You guys know more than us. You've been around them longer so you hafta have some stories. Has Big Sis Luffy figured it out yet? Come on, share the good stuff!"
"Well," Usopp began, a glint coming to his eyes. "I haven't been here as long as Nami but there was this one time when-"
A large black boot collided with Usopp's forehead and all eyes turned to stare at a panting Zoro. The green-haired swordsman was on his feet, arm outstretched from when he had thrown his shoe, a dark look in his eyes and his face a bright red. The color stretched across his cheeks and down his neck, even the tips of his ears were red and his eyes darted between the four people across from him, his expression that of a cornered animal.
Nami just rolled her eyes and glanced over at the two laughing bounty hunters. "To answer your last question, surprisingly, Luffy hasn't figured it out yet. Though I have no idea how she could have missed something like that." She swept an arm in Zoro's general direction, indicating the swordsman's flustered frame. "That girl though..." Her face twisted into a mask of annoyance.
"Instead of telling the workers that it was the Marine's fault like she should have, she opens her big mouth and says that she's the one who hurled the cannonball at them." Usopp sat up, a red mark in the center of his forehead and the sniper sighed before nodding in agreement.
"Luffy's too honest for her own good."
Zoro let out a sigh as well, settling down somewhat and silently agreeing with them. This would have been prevented if she had just told them it was the marines, which it was.
'But,' He thought, a faint smile quirking his lips. 'She wouldn't be Luffy if she didn't act like this so I guess I can't complain too much.'
Inside the restaurant, Iron Fist Fullbody and his date Moodie had been given a window table with a beautiful view of the ocean and were having the time of their lives. They had just received their first course, a delicious looking clear broth and individual loaves of bread. A waiter slowly approached their table, dressed in an elegant black suit, gold buttons down the front, and a blue striped dress shirt with a matching black tie. He had golden blond hair parted on the right side so that it hung over the left part of his face, obscuring one eye. The one eye that was visible was a startling ocean blue color that rested beneath a thin eyebrow with an odd swirl at the end. He approached the table, a cigarette between his lips and a bottle of wine in his hands and carefully began to pour both Moodie and Fullbody a glass of the pale pink wine.
All around them, other diners of the restaurant were staring and whispering amongst themselves.
"Hey, isn't that guy over there Lieutenant Fullbody?" One man asked his date quietly.
"He's a lieutenant of the marines."
"Oh, he's so handsome and noble!" One woman squeezed.
Both Fullbody and Moodie carefully lifted their glasses, clinking them together in a toast as Moodie smiled at the man sitting across from her.
"You're amazing," She murmured. "Everyone's looking at you."
"Not true," Fullbody countered charmingly. "They're all admiring your beauty."
Both smiled as they brought the wine glasses to their lips, Fullbody taking a long drink of the pink wine. His eyes widened slightly after a second and he pulled back to look at the now half-full glass in awe.
"This is exquisite!" He praised, causing the blond waiter to smile, his cigarette arching up at the movement of his lips. He opened his mouth to speak when Fullbody raised a hand, indicating that he wanted silence, the marine lieutenant still examining the wine curiously. The waiter's smile dropped slightly and he watched silently as Fullbody began to speak.
"T-this taste..." The pink-haired man muttered, bringing the glass up to his nose and taking a deep whiff of the wine, trying to identify the smell.
"This fragrance..." The customers all around him watched Fullbody curiously, wondering where the marine was going with his statements. "It's the fragrance of Mitqueo City, in the north. A bit sour, a bit spicy, and plenty of body. This wine is... Wurzburger Stein!" He said it with such confidence and enthusiasm that the other patrons began to murmur amongst themselves, obviously impressed. The waiter slammed the half-full wine bottle on the table, his eyebrow twitching in slight annoyance.
Fullbody though, didn't seem to catch the mood that the waiter had descended into and instead turned and fixed him with a too-innocent look. "Tell me Waiter, am I right?" He asked, false curiosity dripping from his lips.
"Sorry, but it's not... Sir." The blond man replied, lips twitching with concealed amusement. Calmly, he grabbed Fullbody's wrist, causing the marine to cringe, before placing a spoon carefully in his hand and wrapping the man's fingers around the silverware.
"Your soup's getting cold." The waiter continued, letting Fullbody's wrist drop from his grip. "Please enjoy it while it's still hot."
With that, he turned and began to walk away from the table, leaving Fullbody staring blankly after him, his hand still raised in the air. As he neared the center circular stairs the blond waiter turned back slightly.
"By the way, I'm the Assistant Head Chef, Sanji." Then he continued walking, not sparing another glance back at the shocked marine lieutenant. "All the waiters ran away after what happened yesterday."
Moodie laughed softly, stifling her giggles by taking another sip of her wine, however she was unable to hide the quirk of her lips around the glass that showed that she found the whole situation amusing.
Fullbody had never feel so humiliated in his life, he let the arm holding the spoon drop and gritted his teeth. He could here the snickers and mutterings of the people around him and it was infuriating.
"Don't laugh at him!"
"But... the look on his face!"
After another few seconds of silence, Moodie cleared her throat, holding the half-full glass of wine in front of her and staring at it curiously.
"Do you know a lot... about wine?" She asked, the words almost joking, as if attempting to lighten the mood. However, the words just embarrassed him even more and he glanced up at the woman sitting across from him, forcing his expression into one of calm indifference.
"A little..." He muttered, lips twitching into a forced smile. "But it seems my sense of taste isn't working today."
'Hey, what the hell's going on here?' Fullbody's mind was racing and his face was hot with anger. His teeth ground together as humiliation burned in his chest.
'I'm certain that I told the owner that I wanted a specific wine to be served when I made the reservation.' Fullbody had concocted this scheme in an effort to impress his date with his 'knowledge' and class but the plan had backfired. His eyes slid to the blond waiter currently climbing the center staircase and his gaze narrowed. Fullbody would make sure that the waiter who had made a fool out of him would pay, he wouldn't allow this humiliation to pass unchecked.
On the third floor, Luffy moved to stand in front of the head chef, one hand on her hip and the other held in front of her, index finger raised.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Zeff scoffed, raising one eyebrow at the determined look on the she-pirate's face.
"One week!" Luffy said, voice strong, leaving no room for argument. "I can only work for one week."
"What did you say?" Zeff was almost amused by the raven-haired girl in front of him. She was very honest and forward at least, it was a refreshing change from many of the people he dealt with. Luffy sighed in annoyance, a pout coming to her face before she lifted another finger.
"Fine then! Two weeks."
"Hey now! You ruined the restaurant, and seriously injured the Head Chef!" Zeff countered, exasperated. He leaned his head forward, smacking Luffy on the head with his tall chef's hat. "Do you think you can make up for that in just two weeks? One or two weeks of unpaid work won't cut it!"
Luffy tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful expression crossing her face before she smiled. "Then how about three weeks?"
"Hell No! DIDN'T YOU HEAR A WORD I JUST SAID!" Was this girl serious? Zeff couldn't believe how simple she was. Couldn't she get it through her head that no matter how many fingers she added he wouldn't accept anything less than a year.
"NO." Luffy's voice was quiet but the single word echoed through the room. It pulled Zeff from his thoughts and he watched the girl closely as she removed the worn straw-hat from her head and stared down at it. "I don't think you understand, I've been waiting for ten years to become a pirate. I can't afford to waste another year stuck in this restaurant." Her eyes were shadowed but a small smile came to her face as she stared down at the hat before she looked up at the head chef.
"Yosh! I've made up my mind!" She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed Zeff with a serious look. "I'll work here for one week to earn your forgiveness and that's it. No more." Zeff smirked softly.
'This girl... I haven't seen conviction like this in years. She may just turn out to be something else.'
"Are you really in that much of a hurry?" Zeff asked, standing up from his spot on the bed and making his way towards the raven-haired girl, his smirk melting into a serious expression. "Then allow me to offer you an alternative solution."
Zeff kicked his peg leg out, slapping one of Luffy's shins roughly and causing the girl to flinch slightly.
"Instead of a year, you can give me one of your legs instead."
"No way!" Luffy scoffed, waving a hand dismissively in front of her face. "Are you insane? I need both of my legs, old man!"
"Hn, stubborn brat."
Fullbody continued to stare at the clear broth in front of him, his mind racing. He couldn't shake the intense desire he felt to make the blond waiter bastard pay. As he stared down at the soup he noticed a small bug skittering on the floor around his feet. Seeing it gave Fullbody a very wicked idea that he could use to disgrace that blond moron and ruin the restaurant's reputation at the same time. As the bug skittered under the table he stepped on it with his foot, the sound causing his date to glance up at him in confusion. He just smiled reassuringly until she returned to her food and then he glanced down again, moving his foot to stare at the partially squished bug underneath before grinning.
"Waiter! Hey, Waiter!" He called, getting the attention of the assistant head Chef that had been wandering around the dining area. At his yell everyone stopped and turned to stare at the marine lieutenant, even his date paused mid-spoonful and looked at Fullbody curiously. On the other side of the restaurant, Sanji froze mid-step and turned towards the corner of the restaurant where Fullbody sat with his date before making his way slowly over to them.
"Didn't I tell you that I'm not a waiter?" he said coolly, tone slightly annoyed. He rested one arm against the table and glared over at Fullbody before turning his gaze to Moodie.
"But you've certainly got good taste when it comes to your company." He flashed the blonde woman a charming smile, his tone suave before placing his hand delicately over hers.
"How about it, Miss? Would you care to ditch this guy and have some wine with me?" His voice and manners were far more charming than Fullbody's had ever been and Moodie blushed slightly. She opened her mouth to reply when Fullbody slammed his metal plated fist onto the table, ruining the moment.
"Hey!" Fullbody growled, pointing down at his bowl. "Does this restaurant serve bug soup to its customers?"
"Bugs?" Sanji's gaze returned to Fullbody and he glanced down at the soup, eyes zeroing in on the small bug floating in the center of the bowl.
"Then what is this bug in my soup?!"
'That should do the trick,' Fullbody thought, grinning smugly.
Sanji froze for a second before smirking softly. "I'm very sorry, sir But, I don't know either!" Fullbody glanced up at Sanji in shock, not expecting that reaction from the blond man.
"I'm not much of an expert on bugs," Sanji continued, still smirking, his cigarette hanging between his lips. "But it looks like it's doing the backstroke."
His words were obviously meant to be teasing and Fullbody's eyes widened slightly as the people around him began to laugh, some of them muffling the sounds behind their hands. Even Moodie was giggling, one hand pressed delicately against her mouth.
Fullbody's plan had backfired once again, but instead of feeling humiliated like he had last time, this time he was completely and utterly furious. His hand clenched into a fist against the table, his steel knuckles flashing, as if sensing the man's wrath.
"DON'T YOU DARE MOCK ME, WAAAIIIITEEERRRRRR!" Fullbody stood up suddenly, bringing his clenched fist up and slamming it down into the table, breaking it completely in two. As the table broke, the plates, silverware, and food were all tossed into the air. The plates broke as they hit the ground and the silverware bounced, making a clanging sound as it landed. Food littered the floor, completely ruined and now inedible.
The other customers of the restaurant were shocked to see the famous Lieutenant Fullbody lose his temper and they watched the scene unfold in front of them, slight fear and worry in their eyes. Moodie had been forced to her feet with Fullbody's attack and had backed away from the broken remains of the table slightly, her hands covering her mouth in shock.
Sanji knelt down in front of the spilled broth, his fingers dancing lightly over the clear liquid and skirting the broken pieces of china. His expression was one of sadness and slight disgust, his eyes shadowed by his hair.
"If you'd just pick the bug out, it would've been edible." He muttered quietly. "I spent three full days and nights making this soup." Sanji's tone was full of anger and spite but it was still quiet, as if he would start yelling if he spoke any louder.
To make it worse, Fullbody lifted one of his feet and slammed it down onto Sanji's hand, digging his heel on the man's knuckles and sneering down at the blond cook.
"Should you have such an arrogant tone towards your customers?"
Sanji didn't reply and his expression never changed, his eyes still shadowed by his hair.
"I'm the customer!" Fullbody continued, voice raising into a shout. "A customer who paid you money!"
Moodie grabbed onto his arm, having finally regained her senses and wanting to stop the marine's inflamed behavior.
"Stop it, Fullbody-san!" She begged.
"Shut up!" Fullbody roughly yanked his arm out of her hold, an angry snarl on his face. His harsh movements caused Moodie to stumble back and she tripped over her feet, landing hard on her butt.
"Fullbody-san?!" Moodie's voice wavered slightly, confused and hurt by the marine lieutenant's words.
"Can money... truly satisfy your hunger?" Sanji's voice was quiet, barely audible as he continued to stare down at the ground.
"What?" Fullbody asked, not sure if he had heard the blond man correctly.
"I said..." Sanji finally raised his head, his blue eyes fixing Fullbody with a glare that was filled with more rage than the marine had ever seen directed at him. "Can money fill your stomach?"
Moving too fast for anyone to follow his movements, Sanji jumped back and then flipped himself forward onto his hands. He transitioned into a handstand and began to spin, his legs spreading out and slamming into Fullbody with the force of a cannon. One foot slammed into his face, splitting his lip immediately and turning his cheek an ugly shade of reddish-purple.
The marine lieutenant crashed to the ground, struggling to take a single breath but he continued to glare at Sanji. With a snarl, Fullbody forced himself to his feet and charged Sanji, bringing his steel fist back. He would wipe that smug smirk off of that blond asshole's face.
He was mere inches from Sanji when the cook's foot suddenly slammed into his chin, Sanji kicking his leg straight up until he appeared to be doing a standing split. Fullbody's eyes rolled back into his head, blood dripping from his mouth, and appearing to be completely unconscious. He started to fall backwards but was stopped when Sanji grabbed the front of his uniform, yanking the marine lieutenant forward and grabbing him by the neck before lifting him up until his feet couldn't touch the ground.
This was the scene that awaited Zoro, Nami, and Usopp as they entered the Baratie. The customers were all in shock and even the cooks who had heard the noise and come to investigate were surprised.
"Sanji!" One of them yelled, his tone frusterated.
"Assistant Head Chef!"
Zoro rested an arm on the katanas at his waist, scanning the silent dining room for signs of a yellow straw hat. When he determined that Luffy wasn't there he returned his eyes to the blond chef.
"Is this a fight or something?" He muttered, the question intended for no one in particular.
Blood continued to drip from Fullbody's lips, mixing with the soup on the floor and Sanji glared up at the half-awake man darkle, his cigarette clutched tightly between his lips.
"Don't ever…waste food around me again" He threatened, his tone harsh.
"At sea…if you ever provoke your cook, you're signing your own death warrant. Remember that well." His tone appeared calm but the words were filled with venom and Fullbody gulped.
Zoro, Nami, and Usopp were slightly impressed with the blond cook. To have taken down a marine lieutenant without sustaining a single injury was a remarkable feat.
A shout drew everyone's attention to the back of the restaurant where a large, heavily muscled man stood, his eyes trained on the confrontation between Sanji and Fullbody. The newcomer wore a dark blue chef's outfit with a white apron wrapped around his waist and a pink handkerchief around his neck. The man's head was shaved and he had triangle shaped black stubble on his chin. Overall, he looked like a gangster or some sort of prison parolee, not the type of person that typically worked at a highly praised restaurant.
"Damn it! You're at it again, Sanji?!" He yelled, pointing at the blond cook with an annoyed expression on his face. "What're you doing to our customer? Isn't that guy a marine lieutenant?"
Sanji glanced away from Lieutenant Fullbody and fixed the man with an unimpressed look, not relinquishing his hold on the injured man. "Gotta problem, you crappy cook? What makes you think you can talk to me like that, Patty?"
"A crappy cook like you has no right to call me crappy!" Patty yelled back, slowly walking towards Sanji and grinding his teeth together. "To a restaurant, customers are everything!Beating up our valuable customers, what're you thinking?"
He got right up in Sanji's face, but the blond man didn't even bat an eye. He just turned his gaze back to the marine still held in his grasp and scoffed. "Customer or not, it's no different. This guy not only ruined our dishes, he also insulted its chef!" His jaw clenched and his glare deepened before he casually opened his hand and let Fullbody drop to his knees on the ground. Sanji was so angry he didn't want to even touch the marine any more and he grimaced in disgust.
"That's why I thought I should teach him a lesson."
Zoro scoffed and leaned back against the open doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. "What kind of restaurant is this?"
"D-do you treat all your customers this way?" Fullbody panted, sitting back on his ass in an effort to catch his breath. "How do you even stay in business?"
Neither Sanji nor Patty were paying any attention to Fullbody's ramblings, both focused on staring the other person down and the pink-haired man snarled before shouting.
"I'll destroy it!" His shout drew everyone's attention and they all turned to stare back at the gasping man. "I'll destroy your precious little restaurant. I'll take this entire place down! I'll contact my superiors right now!" With every word Fullbody spoke, Sanji's anger grew until he was seething, his face twisted into a look of pure fury.
"I guess that means I can't let you leave this place alive!" He snarled, walking purposefully towards the cowering Marine lieutenant. Before he could raise a leg to kick the man back down his arms and chest were grabbed by the various chefs who had left the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about.
"Stop it, Assistant Head Chef!"
"Let go of me! He started it!"
"Stop it! Stop fighting, Sanji!"
Sanji continued to struggle, fighting to break free of the men holding him back from pounding on Fullbody. To an outsider, it looked almost like a petty fight between kids but the furious look on Sanji's face told otherwise.
"Just who do you think you are?! Huh?!" The blond chef snarled, his expression promising swift retribution and a painful death if he managed to break free of the chefs holding him back. Fullbody's expression was one of pure terror and he was scrambling internally, trying to think of a way out of this situation.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the opposite side of the restaurant and a large chunk of the ceiling broke free and crashed to the ground. The commotion caused everyone to freeze and turn their heads in the direction of the crash, some eying the new hole in the ceiling. A groan came from the rubble and many of the chefs let out cries of surprise when they saw that Head Chef Zeff had fallen down along with the collapsed ceiling.
"Head Chef Zeff!" One cook yelled, quickly getting over his surprise. "W-what's going on?"
"Damn it," Zeff groaned, one hand moving to rub at the forming bruise on the back of his head. "You brat! Look what you did!" The chefs stared at him, wondering if the owner had hit his head harder than he thought when Zeff tilted his head back and glared up at the hole in the ceiling. "This is your fault!"
"Are you kidding?!" A voice yelled, causing the onlookers to follow Zeff's gaze to the ceiling where Luffy knelt, staring down through the hole into the main dining room. "How is this my fault?! You attacked me, you crazy old man!" Her tone was exasperated and she was staring down at the head-chef with a disbelieving expression on her face.
One of the cooks holding Sanji back turned his head. "What are you doing, Head Chef?! Leave her and help us stop Sanji! He's gone crazy again!"
Luffy scooted forward a bit farther, leaning down through the hole more so she could get a good look at the new speaker. What she didn't account for was that the ceiling was already unstable from the earlier break and a rather large crack had appeared underneath her. With another large crash the flooring beneath the she-pirate crumbled and she pitched forward with a shriek.
Zoro's gaze had been focused on Luffy from the moment he heard her yell at the middle-aged chef, glad that she seemed to have things mostly under control. Hopefully they would be able to get out of here soon. His eyes flicked over to the blond Chef, the others had called him Sanji, and Fullbody.
'That guy deserves the ass kicking he got. I'm only sorry that I wasn't the one who gave it to him,' He thought, one hand moving to grip the hilt of Wado tightly.
Suddenly, Luffy cried out and Zoro swung his gaze back to his captain, eyes widening when he saw her fall forward through the hole in the ceiling. Shoving past Usopp and Nami, the swordsman sprinted towards his captain, intending to catch her before she could hit the ground when a black blur shoved him out of the way. Zoro slid to a stop with a growl, eyes narrowing as he took in the sight of Sanji cradling his captain in his arms. Jealousy surged through his veins and his teeth gritted together, steel eyes flashing dangerously.
'That prissy blond moron better set Luffy down before I cut his arms off.' He snarled, but the only ones who seemed to hear it were Usopp and Nami. Both turned to each other with matching looks of exasperation and Usopp shook his head sadly before they turned back to watch the scene in front of them. Sanji slowly and carefully set Luffy on her feet, leaving one of his hands resting against her lower back.
The raven-haired girl let out a sigh of relief, one hand moving to rest on top of her hat. "Phew, That surprised me." She turned to her rescuer with a grin, noticing that it was the chef that the others had been holding back before. "Thanks! It's Sanji, right? I-..."
Luffy froze mid sentence when Sanji took a hold of both of her hands before dropping to one knee in front of her. Luffy could swear that the blond man had sparkles floating around his head as he stared up at her with stars in his eyes.
"Sanji's at it again," One cook muttered, shaking his head with a sigh.
"He always gets lovey-dovey when there's a pretty girl around." Another scoffed with a small chuckle.
"At least he's not trying to pound that marine guy into a pulp anymore."
"Beautiful goddess, my angel of beauty. I humbly thank you for gracing the Baratie with your intoxicating presence. I have no words to describe my feelings." He pressed a soft kiss to the back of one hand and opened his mouth to continue talking when Luffy was suddenly yanked backwards out of Sanji's hold and thrown over a hard shoulder. Zoro just snarled down at the still kneeling Sanji, hefting Luffy into a more comfortable position. One of his hands gripped Wado's sheathe until his knuckles turned white and he used his thumb to pop the blade up.
"Keep your hands off of MY captain," Zoro hissed, watching carefully as the blond man rose to his feet and took a lazy drag of his cigarette. 'She is MY captain. My Luffy!'
"Don't tell me what to do, asshole." Sanji snarled back.
Fullbody, having finally regained all of his senses just stared between the grumbling Patty and the glaring Sanji, completely confused. Everyone at this restaurant was crazy! These chefs acted like thugs, as if they were pirates on a pirate ship. What kind of restaurant was this?
His thoughts were interrupted when one of his men stumbled through the front door, breathing heavily. "Lieutenant Fullbody!" He yelled, panic in his voice. "We have a problem! He escaped! Don Kreig's right hand man! He attacked us and vanished."
"What?!"
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I loved having Johnny and Yosaku tease Zoro and getting Nami and Usopp to join in was a lot of fun. At the end of this chapter we are starting to see a bit of a possessive Zoro. He will definitely not appreciate Sanji fawning over Luffy. I'm so going to have Zeff dress Luffy up to be a waitress and we are going to see Nami and Usopp team up to mess with Zoro over the fact that he won't be able to stop staring at Luffy. Ah! I can't wait! We'll also have a few girls hitting on Zoro that will make Luffy slightly jealous, although she won't quite understand why she is annoyed just yet. I'm excited to start writing and I hope to have this chapter up sooner. Fingers crossed for no writers block. I hate when that happens.
Anyway, Thanks again for reading! You guys are awesome!
Til next chapter!