Thank you, thank you, thank you for your awesome reviews and patience! Finals kicked my ass this semester! Now that I'm off though I am free until August so I'll have more time to write.
Chapter 20! OMG, i can't believe I've hit 20 chapters. Insane. Here's to many more chapters!
I don't know why but the Baratie is giving me a lot of trouble when it comes to writing. There are so many characters and so many things going on but I'm looking forward to Mihawk and Don Krieg and then we get to go to Arlong.
Thank you all for your fantastic reviews! I feel like this chapter isn't good enough for you guys because of how awesome you are but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
A big thanks and shout-out to Shirani-chan, ZoLuFanGirl98, KarouUchiha, Jadecraze, Kitsunegirl90, StariChanx, VampireFreak4Eterity, CosmosAngel, Rina, Kittkatty, Fairu Elsanna, and to all my anonymous reviewers. You all make me so happy! I want to do an awesome job for you all.
Thank you for your ideas and criticism as well. You give me all new ideas and help me to make this better!
Parts of the conversations between characters have been adapted from the work of Pen-woman and ChemGirl.
One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda! (Otherwise, ZoLu would be canon)
Unwelcome Customer! Sanji's Food and Ghin's Debt!
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Luffy shifted on Zoro's shoulder, resting her chin against her open hand, her elbow digging into the swordsman's back and providing her with a perch. She tuned out the conversation between Zoro and Sanji, not all that interested in them when something interesting seemed to be happening at the entrance.
"This restaurant sure is lively," She giggled, watching as a marine stumbled into the restaurant, blood dripping down his face from under his hat.
"Lieutenant Fullbody!" He yelled, catching the attention of the injured marine lieutenant who had been watching the various confrontations going on in the restaurant. "He's escaped! The pirate Kreig! The pirate Kreig's man has escaped!"
"What?!" Fullbody yelled, pushing himself to his feet and storming up to the injured marine. "That's ridiculous!"
"We've already lost seven men!"
"Impossible! When we picked him up three days ago, he was about to starve to death! We haven't fed him anything since then, have we?" Fullbody glared at his subordinate, as if doubting that his orders had been followed to the letter.
Around him, the various customers of the Baratie began to whisper amongst themselves, their eyes wide with panic.
"The d-dreaded Don Kreig pirates?!" One woman whispered, covering her mouth in horror.
"Isn't he supposedly the most powerful pirate of the East Blue?" Another muttered.
Luffy's eyes darted around the restaurant, silently listening to the various conversations being held as people digested the marine's words. She was slightly confused. The raven-haired girl had never heard of this Don Kreig guy but it seemed like he was kind of a big deal out here.
"I'm really sorry sir. I-..."
A gunshot rang out through the restaurant causing many people to jump in surprise as the injured marine pitched forward revealing a shadowed figure standing behind him. The newcomer held a smoking gun in one hand and was staring down at the marine he had shot with an unimpressed expression on his face.
"Zoro." Luffy muttered quietly, her eyes focused on the newcomer.
"Sure, Lu." Zoro gave Luffy a small pat on her back before allowing the raven-haired girl to slide off of his shoulder and back onto her feet, his own gaze moving to the shadowed figure with the gun.
The customers near the door began to back away, scared of the man that was supposedly one of the dreaded Don Kreig pirates. Chef Zeff, Sanji, and the other cooks didn't appear to be frightened of the man at their door, in fact, most of them looked as if they were merely curious as to what would happen next.
"Another customer has arrived." Patty muttered, his tone unimpressed.
Zeff just scoffed. "He'd better not cause anymore trouble in my restaurant."
"So he's a pirate, huh." Luffy giggled softly, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Fullbody began to shake, eyes wide as he stared at the pirate that was mere feet in front of him. He took a few steps back as the man began to walk towards him but the pirate just passed him, not even giving the marine lieutenant a second glance.
Now that he was completely in the restaurant Sanji was able to get a good look at the man. Even though his clothes were clean, the man looked no better than a walking corpse. His face was sunken and pale with dark circles under both eyes. He didn't appear to have bathed in days and there was blood caked on the side of his face. The newcomer made his way slowly towards an empty table before dropping heavily into one of the chairs and resting his feet on the tabletop.
"I don't care what it is..." He muttered quietly, appearing as if he was seconds away from unconsciousness. "Just bring me some food. This is a restaurant, isn't it?"
Immediately, Patty was at the man's side, prepared to take his order. "Welcome, you damn bastard." Most of the customers flinched back at Patty's insulting words, worried that the Krieg pirate would be offended and lash out at them. The man just scoffed, appearing unfazed by the odd treatment.
"I'll only say it once more, so listen up. Bring me some food."
Fullbody frowned, watching the two interact with a tense expression on his face. "He's gonna kill that cook." He muttered, slightly annoyed.
"Of course, right away," Patty said, rubbing his shaved head as he grinned down at the pirate. "But if I may be so bold to inquire, how do you intend to pay for your meal?" As soon as the words left Patty's mouth the man had his gun out again and was pointing it at Patty's forehead.
"Will a bullet be enough?" he said, his tone dark.
"So I take it that you don't have any money then." Patty's smile instantly disappeared and he glared at the man, not even seeming to notice the gun pressing into his forehead. Before anyone could blink, the cook lifted his arms up and slammed his fisted hands down onto the man's back. The force of his attack was so strong that it even broke the chair that the pirate was sitting on.
"What?!" Fullbody's eyes widened in shock, having not expected the cook to fight back. Even though that blond waiter had attacked him, the marine had mistakenly thought that the other employees were more civilized.
"Why that damn Patty," Zeff growled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the cook, irritated. "He broke another one of my chairs.
Luffy whistled as she pushed up the brim of her hat, an impressed expression on her face. "Whoa, what power!" Near her, Sanji silently took another drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out with a sigh as he watched Patty continue to talk.
"Sorry Pirate, but our policy is to only serve paying customers," Patty hissed, sliding a hand up his arm as if he was pushing up invisible sleeves. "If you can't pay up, you can't eat." All around the restaurant people began to cheer the chef on, encouraging him. The only ones who remained silent were the members of the Straw-Hats, Chef Zeff, and Sanji.
Luffy's expression was unreadable but her eyes said that she was disappointed in the way that everyone was acting. The man was just hungry and they were cheering on a man who wanted to starve him.
From his spot on the ground the man's stomach let out a loud growl. His face contorted in pain and he clutched at it with one shaky hand.
"Oh, I can hear your stomach is grumbling from here, you filthy pirate," Patty stated, his tone taunting.
"That was a fart, you jackass, just bring me something to eat, now!" The man continued to shake, looking weaker than when he had first stumbled through the door.
"YOU'RE NO CUSTOMER! WE'RE NOT GIVING YOU ANYTHING, SO BEAT IT!"
Sanji turned away from the scene in front of him and silently made his way to the kitchen. His departure was only noticed by Zeff and Luffy, who tilted her head in a curious manner.
'What is he doing?' She wondered, taking a step towards the kitchen. Zeff just smirked as he watched Sanji pull out a knife and start to work. His child would never change.
Luffy's gaze was drawn away from Sanji's work to where Patty had started kicking the downed pirate. The worn out man was too weak to do anything other than lie there and do his best to curl into a smaller target.
Fullbody had had enough. "I can't take it anymore..." He muttered, taking slow steps backwards and praying that no one would notice him as he made his way towards the main door. "I don't want anything to do with this kind of restaurant!" Fullbody grasped the handle of the door and took one last look around the restaurant floor.
'I-I'll never come here again!'
Once Patty was finally satisfied and certain that the pirate would give him no more trouble he turned back to the other customers of the restaurant and smiled.
"Alright, everybody!" He called, grabbing the edges of his apron and doing a small curtsy. "Please, continue with your meal."
As people began to return to what they had been doing before the noisy interruption Patty grabbed the collar of the pirate's jacket and threw him over his shoulder as if he was a sack of potatoes. He carried him through the back rooms and past the kitchen before stepping outside onto the back porch and tossing the unconscious man onto the wooden floor.
"Please get lost." His words were polite and he dusted his hands together before reentering the restaurant, leaving the injured man sprawled on the ship's lower deck.
"Damn him... how dare he..." The man weakly forced himself to curl onto his side before flipping on to his stomach and struggling to push himself up onto his hands and knees. "I wouldn't normally let anyone get away with that crap..."
From the second level of the restaurant Luffy watched as the man tried and failed to force himself to his knees, her head pillowed in the arms resting against the railing. After another minute of watching the guy mutter to himself and struggle to stand up, Luffy finally spoke up.
"Hey, you're starving, aren't you?"
The man froze, shocked at the sound of the raven-haired girl's voice before he turned his head slightly and glared up at her.
"S-shut up..." He muttered quietly, the words shaky. "I'm not the least bit hungry."
Luffy tilted her head curiously, seemingly confused by the man's words, before her gaze was drawn to movement on the man's left. A small smile came to her face when she saw Sanji step out onto the deck, a large tray of food held in his hands. The she-pirate silently watched as the blond chef set down the tray in front of the injured pirate, muffling a small giggle when she saw the man's head shoot up so he could stare at the food in shock. The food looked amazing, steamed rice mixed with shrimp, clam, and different kinds of fish. Steam floated from the plate and Luffy breathed in deeply, her mouth watering at the delicious smells coming from the food.
'So yummy!'
The man's eyes slid to the side after a second of staring at the food and narrowed as he watched Sanji settle himself down onto the ground, the blond man leaning back against the railing. The blond chef ignored the glare sent his way and took a large drag of his cigarette, eyes focused on the blue sky above him.
"Eat it." He finally said, still not looking at the injured pirate.
The man sniffed at the food before grinding his teeth together and clenching his hands into fists. "Shut up! Go away!" He yelled, his body shaking as he forced himself to turn away from the food. "This is worse. I won't accept charity. Take it away!"
"Don't be so tough, just eat it already." Sanji sighed, dropping his gaze from the sky so he could stare at the pale teal walls of the restaurant. "I don't care what they say in there. To me, any hungry person's a customer."
The man still refused to look at the food. "I... I can't pay for it."
Sanji sighed again, finally looking over at the injured man and then down to the plate of food. "The vast ocean can be very cruel," he began, his tone quiet, his eyes returning to the ocean. "It's awful to not have any food or water. It's almost a death sentence... it's so hard to survive..."
Sanji fell silent and took another drag of his cigarette, taking his time letting the smoke out again. "I understand starving people more than anyone." He finally said. His gaze was unfocused, as if he wasn't actually there but instead was reliving a memory from his past. The injured pirate wanted to ignore what the blond chef was saying but the heartfelt feeling behind Sanji's words caused him to shake. Finally, he turned his head to catch Sanji's gaze, the blond man smiling slightly when he realized he had the other man's attention.
"You can die for your pride if you want... But if you eat and survive, won't that give you the opportunity to fight for something truly worth having in the future?"
The man gasped, his eyes widening as Sanji's words echoed through his head. His chest clenched tightly as he felt the immense weight lift from his body, understanding what the blond chef was trying to tell him. He gulped loudly before forcing himself into a sitting position and grabbing the plate of food. He brought it close to his face with one hand and grabbed the spoon sticking out of the rice with the other before beginning to chow down.
He shoveled bite after bite into his mouth, not even pausing to swallow and causing his cheeks to swell with food. Tears poured from his eyes as he ate, mixing with the food on the plate and after a minute he stopped eating and pressed the heel of one hand against his eyes in an effort to stop crying.
"This is delicious," He sniffled, still holding the plate of food close to his face. "I'm sorry... I just... I thought I was going to die. Thank you... thank you..." He continued to mumble thanks to Sanji through his sniffling and crying and the blond chef grinned brightly as he watched the man return to the food.
"This... this food is delicious. I've never had such a good meal in my whole life."
Sanji chuckled, his whole face lighting up at the compliment. "Damn straight it is!" He exclaimed.
From the second floor, Luffy watched the two men interact, a large smile on her own face. "Well now," She giggled. "I've just found a good cook for my ship!"
She leaned forward over the railing, kicking her feet out behind her in a childish manner as she called down to the injured pirate. "Hey! Aren't you lucky? If he hadn't given you something to eat, it'd be all over for you by now."
Leaning forward more, Luffy braced her whole weight on her hands and flipped up into a handstand before allowing herself to fall forward off the railing and onto the first floor, making sure to land on her feet.
The pirate just watched her curiously, not sure who the raven-haired girl was while Sanji tensed, his eyes becoming hearts. Not noticing Sanji's change, Luffy turned to him and put a hand on her hip before holding out the other one to the blond chef.
"Hey, Mr. Cook, care to join us? I'm gathering crew-mates and you could be the chef on our pirate ship!"
Sanji quickly moved until he was kneeling in front of Luffy and took one of her hands between his. "Such an angel! An angel such as you wants a man such as me beside her?! I will make you food filled with my love, oh angel!"
Luffy blinked a few times and tilted her head, confused by Sanji's outburst, before she finally giggled. "You're silly."
Sanji swooned at Luffy's laugh, placing a delicate kiss on the back of the girl's hand. "My angel's laugh is so beautiful!"
"Hey girly." The injured pirate finally said, dragging the raven-haired girl's attention away from the odd chef in front of her. "What you said... you're a pirate?"
"Yup!" Luffy pulled her hand out of Sanji's grasp and moved so she could sit on top of the railing near the other man.
Sanji grumbled slightly before setting himself down on the ground between Luffy and the other pirate and looking up at the girl. "A pirate, angel? Why did you attack the restaurant, dear one? You must have had a reason."
"That was an accident!" Luffy exclaimed, puffing her cheeks out and pouting. "That stupid marine guy attacked first! We were just defending ourselves."
"Aaahhhh~! My angel is so cute when she pouts!" Sanji swooned, hearts returning to his eyes. After another few seconds of swooning, Sanji returned to normal and took a drag of his cigarette before looking back up at Luffy.
"You should try not to damage this restaurant anymore though, angel. The head chef here was once a chef on a notorious pirate ship. I would hate to see you get hurt."
Luffy's eyes widened and a grin came to her face before she looked back at the door to the restaurant. "Heh? So that old man was a pirate?" She looked semi impressed, her mind flashing back to her argument with the middle-aged chef.
"Yeah, for that old fart, this restaurant is worth more than any treasure." Sanji's tone was soft, his gaze unfocused as he thought about his mentor. "Not just him. All the cooks who work here were once fierce pirates as well. It's why a lot of pirates and criminals come to the restaurant."
Luffy laughed, raising one hand to rest on the brim of her hat. "This place is lively! You probably never have a dull moment."
Sanji began to swoon next to Luffy, hearts returning to his eyes. "Aww, is my angel-chan worried about me?! Don't you fret, I'm used to things here and I can handle anything if it's for you, raven goddess!"
Luffy made a face as she watched Sanji dance around her. "You're funny."
"Anyway... Recently, most of the people only come to watch the cooks and pirates brawl. But thanks to that, it scares away all of the part-time waiters."
Next to him, Luffy was balanced on the railing, clapping the soles of her feet together as she listened to Sanji talk. "Ah," She finally said. "That explains it. No wonder the old man wants me to work here for a whole year."
"Aahhh~ A year with my beautiful angel-chan?! This is a dream come true!" Sanji held his hands together and stared up at the she-pirate happily.
"Oh! I never told you!" Luffy exclaimed, slamming one fist into her open palm. "My name is Monkey D. Luffyko. So are you gonna join my pirate crew or what?"
"How cruel..." Sanji whined. "I would love to sail with you Luffyko-chan, but alas I cannot. I have a duty to this restaurant that I cannot abandon."
"No!" Luffy leaned forward until she was staring at Sanji upside down, her face inches from the blond chef and a frustrated look in her eyes. "I refuse!"
"Wha-... a-about what?"
Luffy flipped back up until she was once again sitting cross-legged on the railing, her hands on her hips. "I refuse your refusal. You're a good cook so you need to come with me and be a pirate!"
Sanji sighed, sweat-dropping and flapping his hand in Luffy's direction. "Uummm... Luffyko-chan... I'm terribly sorry but I can't leave here. I have a very important reason."
"So, what's this reason of yours?" Luffy crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head, watching the blond chef curiously.
"Ah, Luffyko-chan..." Sanji fidgeted slightly from his place on the ground as he struggled to come up with an answer. "I... It's a personal reason."
Luffy sighed and nodded slightly. "Well, I guess I can understand that. I won't push you,." Then she pouted slightly. "But you're gonna have to tell me eventually you know."
Sanji smiled softly, silently thanking Luffy for her understanding on the matter.
"Sorry to interrupt, but..."
"Oh, are you finished?" Luffy turned her head and stared down at the injured pirate, watching as he set the plate that had held the food and the silverware down at his side. The plate was completely clean, not a single crumb still remained and the man wiped at his mouth with the back of his had as he nodded to answer Luffy's question.
"Yeah, thank you again." He nodded his head respectfully to Sanji before looking back at Luffy. "I'm a member of the Kreig pirates. The name's Gin. Luffyko, you're a pirate too. What's your goal?"
Luffy's face lit up and she laughed. "I'm looking for the One Piece! After I get a cook, I'm headed for the Grand Line."
Gin paled, his eyes widening in shock at the raven-haired girl's excited appearance. How could anyone be looking forward to going to the Grand Line, to the pirate's graveyard? And she was young too.
Gin's gaze narrowed. 'You're still looking for a cook... your crew must be quite small." He stated, watching the so-called she-pirate carefully.
"Yeah. We've got five, counting him." Luffy replied, pointing one finger over at Sanji.
"Luffyko-chan, I thought we already discussed this." Sanji sighed, his words completely ignored as Gin continued to talk.
"Look, you seem like a good girl, if a bit naïve, so let me give you a piece of advice. You'd better not go to the Grand Line. That is a place you want to avoid." Gin stressed his words, wanting to convey how awful the Grand Line was. "You're still young. There's no need to rush. The Grand Line is only a small part of the world's vast oceans. If you really wanna be a pirate, there are many less intimidating places." When he finished, he watched Luffy's face, hoping that he had convinced the raven-haired girl.
"Oh, I see." Luffy finally said, her smile still on her face. "So Gin, do you know anything about the Grand Line? Have you been there?"
"No, I don't know anything about it..." Gin's words were quiet, barely audible and he brought one shaking hand to cover his eyes as he began to tremble all over. "I don't understand anything about it... nothing at all... that's why it's so scary."
After a few seconds of silence Sanji snorted, taking another drag of his cigarette. "Are you really one of the dreaded Krieg's men? I didn't think he'd hire such chickens."
"Kreig?" Luffy asked, tilting her head. "They were saying that name inside. Is he a pirate?"
"Yeah, he's supposedly the greatest pirate int the whole East Blue," Sanji said turning to face Luffy. "He has a total of 50 pirate ships under his helm. They say he's a monster who has never been beaten."
Inside the kitchens, the chefs were discussing the same thing. Carne, one of the top chefs behind Sanji and Patty had been telling the others of how fierce-some Don Krieg was said to be.
"So what if he's a monster?" Patty snorted, pouring a few drops of cooking sherry into one of the frying pans as he listened to the other man talk.
"He's got more than 5000 people under his command though," Carne continued talking, having finished chopping the large turnip in front of him. The man glanced down at the large knife in his hands worriedly. "What if that guy tells Don Krieg what happened here earlier? It's be like an elephant stepping on an ant. He'd blow this whole restaurant to smithereens."
Patty stormed over to his fellow chef and glared down at the smaller brunette. "So you mean, I should have let him eat for free, or some nonsense like that?! How's that fair to the other guests?" Carne turned to watch as Patty took a large swig of the sherry before jabbing a finger at his own chest. "That's bring disgrace on the Baratie name! And it'd also bring shame to all us 'warrior chefs'!"
All the chefs around them began to listen in to the argument. They didn't completely stop their work but allowed themselves to watch the confrontation out of the corner of their eyes.
"How many pirates do you think we've beaten up 'til now?" Patty continued, almost shouting down at Carne. "If you're so scared, then you're better off quitting."
"What did ye say?" Carne snarled back. "Your attitude's the reason why we lost all of our waiters! Patty! It's your fault we're so understaffed!"
"Well, they were all cowards. We didn't need 'em anyway."
By this point, the other chefs had completely given up on working and were instead all crowded around the two shouting men. Carne began to roll up his sleeves to the sounds of the other chefs cheering them on.
"Come on!"
"Kick his ass. Fight!"
"Hey, you morons!" Everyone froze at the sound of Head Chef Zeff's voice, turning to face the man with matching winces and shocked looks. "Get back to work!"
"Right away, owner!" Quicker than appeared possible, all of the chefs turned around and went back to their work. Even Patty and Carne stopped fighting at Zeff's command. Zeff just shook his head in disbelief.
"Geez... loud morons."
Gin stepped over the railing and onto the small rowboat that Sanji had given him before turning back to untie the rope that kept it tied to the Baratie.
"Well, later then." Gin said, grinning at both Sanji and Luffy. He opened his mouth to remind Luffy of his warning but she just shook her head and giggled.
"I'm still going to the Grand Line."
"Yeah, do what you want." Gin sighed. "We're strangers, so I've got no right to stop you. I just thought that I should warn you." Luffy just chuckled and Gin smiled back as well before turning his gaze to Sanji.
"Oh, and Sanji... thank you very much. You saved my life. That fried rice of yours was delicious, the best cooking I've ever tasted! I hope I can come back and have some more sometime." Gin finished his statement with a smile and Sanji smirked back at him, his happiness at the compliment easily seen on his face.
"Anytime! I'll have a seat waiting for you."
"Waitress... Sanji!" Zeff's voice echoed down from the second floor and Luffy flinched slightly before turning to look at the middle-aged man resting against the railing on the second floor. "so here you are!" Zeff's eyes slid to the empty plate and cup sitting on the deck as Sanji turned to fully face the head chef.
"Get going, Gin." He said after a few seconds of staring up at Zeff.
Gin slapped a hand gently against his forehead and looked down at the floor of the boat in shame. He didn't want his rescuer to get in trouble because he had helped him. "I'm sorry. You're gonna get in trouble for letting me eat for free." Gin felt terrible but Sanji just snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." Luffy watched from her perch on the railing as Sanji slowly made his way over to the dirty dishes before he picked them up and tossed them off the deck and into the ocean.
Gin stared at the spot where the dishes had vanished, shocked, before he turned to look up at Sanji again.
"They don't have any proof now, do they? So there's no reason for me to get yelled at." Sanji just continued to grin, his happy smile causing Gin to start tearing up. No one had ever done something so kind for him before, and he sniffled slightly as he stared at Sanji. A man he barely knew had saved his life and risked his job to help him and he couldn't be more grateful.
Luffy watched their interaction with a soft smile on her face. She knew there was a reason she had liked the blond chef so much. Sanji really was a good person.
Gin released the sails and allowed the boat to start drifting away from the Baratie.
"Don't get caught again, Gin." Sanji chuckled, waving to the departing man.
Gin just dropped to his knees and bowed his head forward in a show of gratitude. "Thank you, Sanji. I won't forget this..."
Both Sanji and Luffy watched until the small boat was nothing more than a mere dot on the horizon. Luffy smiled again before turning to grin happily at Sanji. It was official now, she was going to make sure that Sanji was the chef on her ship. When Sanji noticed that Luffy was smiling at him he began to dance around her, hearts in his eyes as he spouted out compliments on the beauty of Luffy's smile and her overall angelic appearance. Luffy just blinked in confusion and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong with Sanji when Zeff yelled down at the both of them.
"Sanji, get back to work now! Waitress, follow me!" With those words, Zeff turned on his heel and reentered the restaurant, leaving Sanji and Luffy staring after him.
The blond chef just sighed and put out his cigarette on the railing. "Come on Luffyko-chan, we should probably get going before the old man has a stroke or something."
Sanji led Luffy up the stairs to Zeff's room, the same place that she had been brought earlier, before giving her a kiss on the hand and leaving her so he could get back to his own work. But not before he had picked a fight with the old man in an effort to 'defend the innocence of the angelic maiden', or something like that. He had held his own against the head chef and Luffy was happy to see that her new crew-mate was not only a good chef, but was strong too.
'Strong... strong... strong... Hmm... I wonder what Zoro's doing right now?' Luffy allowed herself to get swept away in her own thoughts as she waited for Zeff to return with whatever item he said he had to get. She hadn't seen Zoro or the others since Gin had first arrived and she was curious if they were still in the restaurant or if they had gone back to Merry.
'I wonder why-...' Luffy was pulled back to the present when Zeff stormed into the room, a large white box held in his hands. Zeff had originally been planning for the girl to just do things around the kitchen such as cleaning and restocking but he had to admit that his little eggplant was right about one thing. This Luffy girl really was pretty. Maybe he could use that to get better tips out of the male clientele.
"Here." With a grin, he shoved the box into Luffy's arms, causing the girl to stumble back slightly before she stared down at the object curiously.
Was it a gift? She didn't know why the old chef was giving her things but Luffy wasn't going to complain. Excited, she lifted the lid off the box and yanked out a few sheets of tissue paper before staring down at the revealed item with a look of frustration.
Clothing. And not just any clothing, it looked like a dress. 'Ugh, this is as bad as when Makino kept trying to dress me up. Why would this old geezer give me a dress? Why not meat or something cool?'
She gave Zeff a sullen look, a pout on her face. "Why are you giving me clothes?" She said the word as if it was one of the most vile things in the world
"It's your uniform. You're going to work here so you need a Baratie uniform."
Luffy's eyes narrowed as she scanned the item again before she glared up at Zeff. "Is it a dress?" Luffy hated dresses. Never again would she wear one. Not after all the teasing her brothers had given her after Makino forced her into that god-awful pink one.
Zeff raised an eyebrow at the girl's angry tone. Didn't women like wearing dresses or receiving clothing? "No, its a skirt, blouse, and shoes."
"Are you sure?" The girl asked seriously.
Zeff threw his hands up in exasperation and let out an annoyed huff. "Yes, I'm bloody sure. Now put the damn thing on and get to work!"
The anger on Luffy's face immediately vanished and she grinned. "Ok." As long as it was anything other than a dress she was fine. She set the box on a chair and began to quickly unbutton her shirt. Luffy had reached the last one when an indignant shout of 'STOP' caused her to freeze. She tilted her head at Zeff who was staring at her, red-faced and flustered, a confused look on her own face.
"What?" She asked, honestly confused by the chef's reaction. "You told me to put it on."
The chef growled at the oblivious girl. Surely no one could be this naïve and stupid. "Wait until I leave at least. Great seas lass, have you no shame?"
Luffy blinked." Shame? What's that? Is it good?"
Zeff racked a hand over his face and let out a defeated sigh. "Just put on the uniform." He said tiredly.
Grumbling under his breath, he exited the room, allowing the door to slam behind him. He was honestly getting too old for things like this.
Nami slammed her glass to the table with no small amount of force, causing Usopp, who had been wolfing down some pasta, to jump and choke.
Ignoring the choking sharpshooter, the fiery orangette shot a furious glare at the third person at the table.
"Will you stop!?" She snapped, her eyes attempting to burn holes into the green-haired swordsman's face. "You're annoying the crap out of me."
Zoro, who had been absentmindedly tapping at the table with his fingers for the past few minutes, scowled at the orangette but relented. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on the legs of his chair, a sullen look on his face.
"I haven't seen Luffy since they tossed that guy outside," He growled, reaching over and slapping a rapidity turning blue Usopp on the back. "Our first priority should be finding her, not eating lunch." His eyes swept the dining room once again and narrowed when he noticed the blond chef moving between the tables.
Nami followed Zoro's gaze before rolling her eyes. Honestly, for someone with a reputation for being a cold demon, Zoro could be such an overprotective pansy.
"I'm sure Luffy's fine." Nami eventually said, her tone dismissive as she handed Usopp a glass of water. "Although, you keep up this possessive streak and even our scatter-brained captain is going to catch on to your not-so-subtle feelings."
Zoro narrowed his eyes the nonchalant navigator. "Can you blame me? I take my eyes off her for a second and she gets into trouble."
Nami opened her mouth, but then closed it. No, when it came to Luffy she really couldn't blame the swordsman. Since the navigator had joined the crew, Luffy had seemed to get into more trouble than what appeared to be physically possible for a girl her size. Who knew how bad it was before she had joined them.
Usopp wiped the last few tears from his eyes and coughed a little, still struggling to get air into his lungs. "Still going a bit overboard there." He pointed out, waving his fork in the swordsman's direction. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that Luffy was naïve and as oblivious as a child, the green-haired first mate wouldn't be getting away with all of the crap he had been pulling for the past few days.
Zoro just shrugged, waving off their concern, however any further conversation was halted by a small commotion coming from the other side of the dining room.
The long-nosed teen cast a wary glance to where a series of exclamations were sounding. He really hoped it wasn't another incident like earlier. He preferred to eat his food in stress-free conditions, that and he really didn't want to choke again.
"Wow…"
"Looking good!"
Nami blinked when a wolf whistle cut through the air. The orangette had never been in any sort of fight that started out with sounds like that and, curious, she turned to look over at the crowd of people on the opposite side of the dining area.
"Aww, she's sooo adorable. I want to hug her!" A woman shrieked. Zoro raised a brow and shared a look with Nami. For some reason, he had this odd feeling that whatever was going on had something to do with his captain. The swordsman craned his neck as well in an attempt to see what was going on but the circular staircase in the center of the restaurant blocked both of their views.
On the other side of the room Luffy was having the most bizarre experience of her life. She had changed into the uniform thing that the old chef had given her and then he had told her to go back to the dining area and pick up dirty dishes. Luffy had thought that she might be able to steal some leftover food off of some of the plates. But now that she was down there, it looked like that wasn't gonna happen. She pouted slightly and a woman near her let out a dreamy 'awwww.'
All of the women were looking at her and whispering, some of them giving her looks like the ones Makino used to give her when the green-haired woman tried to get her into dresses and other girly clothes. Luffy was currently doing her best to avoid those women. The head chef had already forced her into a skirt, which Luffy had now determined was almost as bad as a dress, and she had no desire to be dragged into trying on more clothes.
On the other end of the spectrum, the guys were acting even weirder. In the raven-haired girl's opinion, they were all looking at her like they were hungry, which was confusing her. If they were hungry, why weren't they eating? There was perfectly good meat on the plates in front of them but they just kept staring at her. As Luffy passed by one table, she snatched an uneaten steak off of one of the plates and quickly ate it whole, licking her fingers as she continued to move past the tables.
"Hey Miss, I'm done!" Came a shout from a table near her. A brown haired man was waving his arm in the air and beckoning Luffy over to him when another man interrupted him.
"You're not done! There's still food on your plate," The second man yelled, glaring at the brunette before turning to smile sweetly at Luffy. "Miss, just ignore him. I, on the other hand, am most definitely done." He swept a hand out to gesture at his cleaned plate and the first man glared.
"You ass! If I say I'm done, I'm done!"
"You still have vegetables on your plate!"
"I hate peas and carrots."
"Then why the hell did you order them, you stupid shi-" The rest of his sentence was cut off as the brunette tackled the second man to the ground.
Luffy watched the two grapple on the floor her gaze interested before her attention was grabbed by a bluenette waving her over.
"Oi, I'm actually done over here."
"So am I !"
"I actually want to order, so I'm more important!"
"You son of a- what the hell does that mean!"
"You're so cute! Would you like to be my new daughter?"
"MOM!"
More than a little disturbed, Luffy hurried away from what she had now deemed the crazy side of the restaurant, never once looking back.
Nami felt her eye twitch as yet another fight, or at least a very small scuffle, broke out on the other side of the room. She was very confused, and more than a little annoyed by the noise, and was silently wondering what had turned such a calm and fancy looking restaurant into a crazy cafeteria.
"Do you think it's another pirate?" Usopp asked warily, giving the food in front of him a longing glance before shaking himself roughly. He would not eat until he was sure there would be no more surprises. He didn't need to start choking again, and have Zoro break his back in the swordsman's attempt to help him. Seriously, that man was a monster and hit like a bull.
"I doubt it." Zoro murmured his eye narrowed in confusion. His sharp ears had picked up the entire conversation, but for the life of him he did not know what to make of it.
That is until about a second later-
Zoro gaped.
Usopp choked, air this time.
Nami squealed. Actually squealed.
There was their captain, their Luffy, hurrying across the room towards them with a disturbed look on her face. But that wasn't what caught their attention; no, it was more of what their captain was wearing that caught their eyes.
Luffy, who had heard Nami's squeal, turned to where her nakama were siting, all three of them staring at her in a semi daze. Her freaked out expression melted away into one of happiness before it turned to shock and then finally settled on anger.
She stomped over to their table, her hands balled into fists at her sides and her cheeks puffed out as she glared at them fiercely.
"I can't believe you jerks are eating without me!" She snapped, eying the food with a hungry expression. Her stomach growled slightly and she let her pout deepen.
Luffy's shout seemed to knock her crew from their daze and the she-Captain gasped as she was suddenly caught in a vice hug between two of her crew-mates.
"YOU'RE SOOO CUTE!"Usopp and Nami squealed in unison. Poor Luffy could only blink in shock as both hugged her tightly, her own gaze going to Zoro, as if asking her first-mate what was going on. Around the rest of the restaurant, the other diners who had vied for Luffy's attention shot jealous glares at Usopp and Nami.
After another few seconds, Nami finally drew away from the raven-haired girl, pulling Usopp with her so she could get a better look at the she-pirate's outfit. Nami's eyes swept up and down Luffy's frame as she clapped her hands together and brought them up to her mouth, a bright grin on her face.
"Oh, you are so adorable looking!" she gushed.
The clothing that Luffy wore was a classic waitress outfit of white and blue. The top was a short sleeve, button up white shirt with a lace collar and a pale blue neckerchief tied at the throat. The sleeves were pressed and rolled up, the edges lined with navy blue. The skirt was a matching pale blue color lined with navy blue and puffed out before stopping just a bit past mid thigh. The outfit had come with a matching blue cap but Luffy had refused to wear it. Instead, her iconic straw hat was on her head but Nami was happy to say that the out of place item didn't detract from the raven-haired girl's cuteness but actually accented it. Finally, a white lace apron was draped over the outfit and tied around Luffy's waist with a navy blue ribbon, the Baratie's jolly roger embroidered on the front. Nami's eyes did one final sweep of the outfit before she finally noticed the she-pirate's choice of footwear.
"Luffy!" Nami cried, dismayed. "Don't you have anything better to wear than those ratty old sandals? Didn't he give you any shoes?"
"They were evil," Luffy stated, crossing her arms over her chest and puffing out her cheeks angrily. "They hurt my feet and I couldn't run. My sandals are comfy."
Nami opened her mouth to argue but Usopp just waved a dismissive hand in her face. "Aw, just leave it. She still looks adorable."
Nami scowled at him. "I'm not saying she doesn't. I'm just saying that she would look better if she wore the shoes that actually go with the outfit." She tapped a finger against her lip thoughtfully. "I think I might have a good pair on the ship. Ooh, we really need to go shopping next island! You'd look so cute in some new clothes Luffy!"
Luffy just grumbled and looked away from the orangette as Nami continued to ramble. She was acting just like Makino used to. Why did people always want to dress her up? She liked the clothes she had now, they were comfy. Ugh, and clothes shopping? Count her out. Luffy was only interested in food shopping, anything else was just boring.
Eventually, Luffy's gaze slid to Zoro, who was still staring at her blankly. The raven-haired girl blinked a few times, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly.
'Why is Zoro staring? Do I have something on my face? I do feel kinda warm. Is he ok?' She tapped her fingers against her cheek, testing the temperature and hoping she wasn't getting sick. Luffy had never really been sick before but Ace had come down with the flu once and it hadn't looked like much fun. Her face felt warm but Luffy could swear that she felt fine so why was Zoro staring?
"Zorooooo~..." Luffy eventually whined, stepping up to her first mate and tugging on the edge of his sleeve." Make her stop!"
Luffy calling his name finally snapped the swordsman out of his daze, and his eyes darted up to Luffy's pouting face. His own cheeks darkened slightly before he turned to glare at the navigator, one arm moving to rest against Luffy's lower back and pulling the raven-haired girl closer.
"Oi, Nami. Quit being a pain. You're bugging Luffy."
The red-head snapped out of her shopping plans and glared at the swordsman, only to see that he was once again staring up at Luffy. The raven-haired girl was grinning down at her first mate but Nami could see the slight reddening of the girl's cheeks and it gave her an idea. It seemed Luffy wasn't as completely oblivious as they all thought, the raven-haired girl appeared to be developing a bit of a crush on her first-mate, and Nami had a feeling that all the girl needed was a jump-start of her own. The orangette's expression turned mischievous.
"Ne Zoro?" she purred, sharing a look with an equally mischievous Usopp. "What do you think of the captain's new attire?"
Zoro's head snapped over to his grinning crew-mates and his eyes narrowed as a dark flush began to spread across his face. They were up to something. He recognized that look on the navigator's face and it wasn't a good one. Hadn't they just gotten done telling him that he needed to tone it down? His gaze narrowed slightly, 'They're up to something.'
"Yeah, Zoro." Usopp snickered, quickly going along with Nami's unspoken plan. "Inquiring minds want to know."
Zoro shot him a look that clearly said, 'I could break your neck' but Usopp only smirked at him. He'd been hanging out with Nami too long. Dammit.
"Well, Zoro." Nami continued, trying to stifle her giggles at the look on the swordsman's face. The man looked like he was caught between a rock and a hard place and wasn't sure which was worse. "I'm sure Luffy wants to know what you think of her outfit."
For once, Luffy actually agreed with Nami. She didn't much care for the outfit but the way Zoro had stared at her made her a little self-conscious. Did her swordsman like it? Luffy wanted to change but if it meant that Zoro's cheeks would stay that reddish color that the she-pirate found adorable then she might keep wearing it. It was a new feeling and one that she wasn't quite sure what to do with. She gave Nami a slightly confused look, her expression darting between the older girl and her swordsman. Nami just smiled at the she-pirate and nodded before gesturing back to the floundering green-haired teen. The orangette would definitely need to have a talk with the she-pirate later. It seemed that Luffy had no idea that she was starting to fall for her swordsman.
"Uh..." Zoro eventually said, looking anywhere but at Luffy. "It's uh-" 'not cute. Swordsmen did not find things cute!' She did look adorable though. Zoro had thought that Luffy couldn't get any cuter than when she held her hat and smiled at him in her normal outfit but it appeared that he was mistaken. "It's, it's-"
"MY ANGEL!' The members of the Straw-Hat's, except for Zoro who just growled and tightened his hold on Luffy, jumped at the unexpected shout. Sanji danced his way over to their table and circled around Luffy before kneeling in front of the grinning she-pirate. "Absolutely gorgeous! The flowing white that compliments your innocence and the deep blue of your passion. You set my soul alight, angel!"
Both Nami and Usopp just stared at the blond chef blankly before Usopp began to laugh. Nami's lips twitched and she hid her grin in her glass of water.
"Hey Sanji, meet the rest of our crew. This is Zoro, Usopp-..."
Nami interrupted, slamming her glass down and stabbed her finger in Sanji's direction. "Wait, Luffy! Our?"
The raven-haired girl grinned and nodded her head happily. "Yeah, Sanji's going to join our crew and be our chef!"
"Sweet, you got a chef for us!" Usopp cheered, giving the she-pirate a thumbs up. "Nice one, Luffy!"
Before Luffy could respond to Usopp's compliment, Sanji stepped away from the raven-haired girl and flung himself onto the floor before Nami, holding a rose out to the orangette.
"OH! Beauty of beauties, could it be?!" He waxed, hearts appearing in his eyes. "Have my prayers led me to this fair goddess? A lady of such fiery loveliness and such explosive splendor. My dearest mellorine!" Nami raised a brow down at Sanji, not quite sure what was going on with the blond chef before the orangette turned to Luffy, who just shrugged, a grin on her face.
"Sanji does that a lot," She supplied helpfully.
Nami just let out a 'hmm' and turned back to where the kneeling chef was still spouting poetry. "Um..."
"As long as I can be with you, I'm prepared to walk across any path, be it the path of a pirate or a devil. But, oh such epic tragedy!" He cried, hiding his face in his hands after Nami eventually took the rose. " The obstacles between us are many and great! To think that I would be allowed to gaze upon your divine visage but be unable to grant your deepest wishes. Such torture!"
Nami looked from the despairing cook back to her captain once again. "What is he talking about?" She whispered, bringing one hand up to cup her mouth.
"Well," Luffy sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I want him to be our chef but he says he can't join the crew. But-..."
"Good." The icy tone of Zoro's voice had all the occupants at the table turning towards him. Nami felt herself smirk as she guessed what must have pissed off the swordsman so bad. Sanji had already been on shaky ground with the swordsman after his stunt of catching Luffy earlier and his fawning was not helping his case.
The first-mate sipped at his glass of water, a dark scowl on his face as he tried to force himself to remain calm. Sanji, who had been snapped out his dreamy state, sent the green-head a glare as icy as Zoro's tone.
"You got a problem, marimo?" He sneered, his demeanor instantly returning to that of a thug who enjoyed fighting.
Zoro set his drink down with a 'cluck' and matched the cook's glare with one of his own.
"Yeah, we don't need an idiot messing up the dynamics of the crew." Sanji's visible eye narrowed.
"One apparently is enough."
Zoro's glare turned glacier and Usopp shivered as he felt the dark energy seeming to emanate from the swordsman. Not to be outdone, Sanji's glare also deepened and sparks began to clash in the space between the two men.
Luffy's eyes darted between the two men, watching their interaction curiously.
'Sanji and Zoro seem to be getting along. I'm glad!'
The raven-haired girl clapped her hands together happily before her gaze was drawn down to the plate of food in front of Zoro. Luffy grinned brightly at the sight of the steak and potatoes and, after taking one last glance at the glaring men and making sure that they were occupied, she plopped herself down on the swordsman's lap. Luffy's sudden movement instantly dispersed the tension that had been building around the table and all of the occupants turned to look at her with varying expressions of surprise.
"Geez, Lu!" Zoro hissed, flailing back slightly and glaring down at the raven-haired girl who was currently making herself comfortable in her makeshift seat.
"You guys were gonna eat without me," Luffy pouted, grabbing a fork and stabbing it into the piece of steak. Zoro's arms came up around her, one resting against Luffy's stomach so that the girl wouldn't fall off his lap, and the other moving to grab the fork from her.
"This is my food! Get your own, Lu." He snapped, fighting down the flush that was spreading across his face as his grip on the raven-haired girl tightened.
"Zoro~!"
"No!"
Luffy pouted up at her first-mate, and when the swordsman refused to budge she stuck out her tongue in retaliation.
Zoro's lips twitched in a small grin and he returned the childish gesture, causing Luffy to giggle, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
"Geez you two, get a room!"
Usopp's annoyed snort caused Zoro's head to whip towards the long-nosed teen, his shock causing his grip on the fork to loosen. Luffy quickly saw her opening and snatched the utensil back before taking a huge bite of the well-done steak.
"Wha-... Luffy!"
Nami began to laugh and Usopp quickly joined in, their giggles causing Zoro's scowl to deepen. His gaze slid to the blond chef, who was glaring at him slightly, and he grinned in triumph before turning his attention back to the raven-haired she-pirate in his lap. The idiot chef could flirt with his captain as long as he wanted, Luffy would still be Zoro's.
Nami sighed at the proud grin on the first-mate's face and noticed that the blond newcomer seemed to be getting annoyed.
'I'd better head this off. No need to start a fight in the restaurant.' She thought, frowning. 'Still, Luffy owes me for this.'
"Sanji, was it?" Nami's voice dragged the blonde chef back to the other girl at the table and he smiled brightly before kneeling back in front of her.
"Yes, my beautiful lady? I am honored and flattered that you remembered my name!" The blonde chef took Nami's hands in both of his and placed a kiss to the back of one. Nami fought the urge to roll her eyes as Sanji continued speaking. "Ah, what I would give to be able to follow you and attend to your every whim mellorine, but alas, a terrible obstacle stands in our way."
"And that obstacle would be me, right Sanji?" Zeff appeared behind Sanji, leaning against an empty chair at another table. His question informed Sanji and the straw-hats that he had been listening in to their conversation.
"Ah, its the geezer," Sanji muttered, glaring back at his mentor as he let Nami's hands drop back to her lap.
"This is a good opportunity for you, why you don't you join them and be a pirate already?" Zeff tilted his head slightly, watching Sanji with an almost curious look on his face. The blond opened his mouth to respond, a furious look on his face but before he could say anything the head chef continued.
"I have…no need to keep you here in my restaurant." The last words were quiet but clear and the Straw-Hats all looked up at the middle-aged man in shock, not quite sure why the head chef would say something like that to his second-in-command. While they were shocked, Sanji looked almost ready to kill.
Meanwhile, on an uninhabited island located not too far away from the Baratie, a run-down ship bobbed in the water, anchored between two rocks large enough to conceal it from view. Tied to the side of the ship was the small boat that Sanji had given to Gin. In a cave on the edge of the island rested the crew of the run-down ship and Gin knelt in front of an ornate chair where a shadowed man sat.
"I see, this cook saved your life, and that is how you are able to return here to us. Is that what you're saying, Gin?" The shadowed man asked, drumming his fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair.
"Y-yes, b-but…I had no idea that the main ship was in this condition, Don Krieg…so what shall we do now?" Gin's expression was troubled and he glanced around the shadowed cave worriedly.
"Now…I think we should go to this sea restaurant Baratie… After all, I feel quite famished." Then the man smirked darkly began to laugh, the sound echoing through the dark cave. From his kneeling position Gin stared at the dirt floor beneath him, guilt and shame written all over his face.
'Forgive me…Sanji.'
.
Whelp, that's another chapter down. I hope you guys liked it. I had so much trouble writing it but I think it came out ok. I hope I kept everyone in character and let me know if any of you have ideas or criticism. You really do help me so much with my writing.
Again, I hope you guys enjoyed and now that I don't have any classes til next semester I hope to have the next chapter up a little earlier!
Til next chapter!