Chapter five

Sanji awoke the next morning and looked out the window like he usually did his heart sank as his hopes were not there Sanji had dreamt of his Nakama again he missed them terribly even the shitty Marimo head was missed slightly Sanji actually missed arguing with him he got up and changed into the set of clothes that Tom had left for him Sanji buttoned the black shirt and put on the red tie and pants at least it was similar to what he usually wore he walked out and jumped a bit as Dracule stood leaning on the wall outside of his door
"That's not creepy at all" Sanji said sarcastically Mihawk Narrowed his eyes a little causing the cook to be quiet
"Why are you here?" Dracule asked

Sanji was confused so Dracule upon seeing this continued further with his question

"You're a pirate yet your Nakama is nowhere to be seen are you spying on me for that swordsman?" he asked

Sanji could feel the protective older brother thing and realized what else the pirate lord could be thinking and shook his head quickly then explained the story to him when he finished Dracule seemed to understand and sighed a little bit then Sanji suddenly had a bit of alarm

"You aren't going to report me to the marines are you?" Sanji asked him cautiously

Dracule sighed but shook his head Sanji didn't understand how this made it different after all Dracule soon saw Sanji was once again puzzled and shook his head a little bit with a chuckle
"You aren't too bright are you? My sister and her friends have made this place a safe haven for pirates if I were to rat it out she'd be arrested and she'd probably kill me for it before the marines arrived" Dracule said

Sanji was surprised all these rumors of Dracule Mihawk the world's greatest swordsman being just some blood thirsty creep didn't seem to be so true after all although that could easily be mistaken by the fact that A: his sword was a giant cross and B: he rode around in a coffin with a bunch of creepy candles everywhere and just down right looked kind of like a vampire or some odd movie monster.
"But if you hurt my sister in any shape way of form I will drag you out of here, torture you till your last dying breath and then turn you over to the marines"
Then again Sanji could also have been wrong.

Sanji now a little freaked out slowly stepped around Mihawk and hurried downstairs so that he could help out for the day the place was busy that morning Annie was actually in a waitresses outfit this time white button up shirt and black skirt instead of her usual tube top and skinny jeans Sanji looked to Tom who was quickly seating people for some form of explanation but Tom was too busy trying to get some guy to stop yelling at him so of course the cook had to look to the vampire again

"There's a pirate crew headed here and they always give Annie and the gang trouble so they want to make sure that this time the crew doesn't completely destroy the tavern" Dracule explained

Now Sanji understood he nodded before going in the back to grab an apron but the cook stopped him
"No you have to go upstairs" The cook said Sanji was rather puzzled this seemed to be the start of one hell of a confusing day.

"Why do I have to go upstairs?"
"The crew knows you from what we've heard" Susan said walking by with a stack of dirty dishes

"They're going to mess with the bar while he's here?" Sanji said pointing to Dracule who put his hat on
"Sadly I have to leave for a meeting on another island I was only here for the night but should be back in a week when I come back they'll be gone and besides Annie is convinced that they can handle it as long as they are careful with what they do and what they say" Dracule said

By the tone in his voice Sanji could tell that this probably was not the case meaning that Sanji should not just go upstairs but hopefully stay out of sight in case something went wrong and they needed his help with something. Sanji stayed in the kitchen and started to do the dishes so that he could still pay attention to what was going on outside it was about half an hour before the restaurant cleared out the group began to get ready for their soon to arrive guests all this time and Sanji had not once been told to leave the kitchen or who this crew was.

However, as if to answer Sanji's question the door suddenly was kicked open and Sanji heard a voice he hadn't heard in a long time and he didn't like it at all
"MAKE WAY FOR THE GOLDEN LION PIRATES!"
(Note: you will only know Shiki if you have seen strong world THE BEST OF THE ONE PIECE MOVIES!)

Luffy sighed they were back out at sea by now and this was not a good day it seemed something was wrong Luffy could just feel it in his gut but he didn't know what was wrong so it was a little weird, suddenly Luffy got the idea and shot up from the spot on the deck that he was laying on
"SANJI IS IN TROUBLE!" he suddenly shouted causing the entire crew to jump a mile and look at their captain in utter confusion

"Luffy how can you possibly know that?"
"I've got a bad feeling that something is wrong and sense everything is okay here it has to be something with Sanji so that means he's alive!" Luffy suddenly shouted with a huge grin the crew knew by now never to judge Luffy's intuition for 90% of the time it was correct this fact brought new hope, but also new fear to the pirate crew of the chef
"Alright if you've got a bad feeling then Sanji has to be on an island near us" Nami said before she hurried downstairs and grabbed a map she then quickly came back up and spread it out on the table Robin holding it open a small smile on her face the first smile she had given in weeks.
"Alright so we have three more islands near us one of which has a huge marine base, one of which Pirates flock too and the third is a very crime infested area the marines can barely control it and the only reason they haven't buster called the place is because it is under protection of some big name in the marine world" Nami said

"Alright so also judging by the way the tide dragged us the most dangerous area is out" Nami said crossing out the last island she had named in red pen

"That leaves two more islands for us to search we are closest to this one here the pirate place" nami said circling it
"We won't be there for a few days though if weather permit it and that is if Franky does a coop de burst on top of it by the time we get there Sanji might either be way in over his head or we may have to fear the worst" Nami said still trying to figure this out but Luffy was already ahead of her now grabbing a bunch of cola and shoving it in Franky's arm
"Do a Coop de burst in the direction of the island Nami circled, Nami set the coordinates so that we can get there we've gotta go save Sanji!" Luffy shouted cheerfully the entire crew cheered and got to work on what they needed to so that they could set off to find their missing Nakama!

Sanji was now trying to hide in the pantry hoping that the Golden lion crew didn't see him he now regretted his decision to stay down stairs after being told to go back upstairs unfortunately now it was too late for Shiki and his crew now sat outside the kitchen drinking to their hearts content Sanji couldn't help but notice the disgusted looks on Terry and Susan's faces as they walked in and out of the kitchen Sanji knew that Annie was out in the room ready to take care of anything that could happen if the crew decided to get way to out of hand for the tavern to handle the cook opened the pantry and jumped upon seeing Sanji

"I thought I told you to go back upstairs?"
"You really thought with all the secrecy I was going to listen?" Sanji asked him the cook sighed and shook his head before going and grabbing Susan and Terry he whispered to them and the two girls hurried to Sanji

"You need to get upstairs"
"How do I get up there without them seeing me?" Sanji asked the two girls began to think Sanji could practically see the wheels in their heads turning Terry began to play with her curly brown hair as she also thought and leaned on the wall then they heard Annie call for them Sanji could tell something was wrong with that and the three hurried Sanji peeked out through the order window one of the pirates that was with Shiki had Tom in a head lock and two had Annie held back Sanji felt his blood boil upon seeing the scene as Shiki sat there and laughed Susan and Terry hurried out
"Alright you have three seconds to let both of them go or I hurt all of you" Susan threatened suddenly pulling a handgun out of her apron this actually sure enough what surprised him more was when Terry pulled a stick of dynamite out of her back pocket Shiki merely laughed

"Aww ladies you wouldn't do that when we have these two? Besides you risk missing us and hitting them" Shiki said with a devious laugh Sanji looked to the cook who was also watching and shrugged he couldn't do anything and had warned Sanji that things always got bad when they came around here. Sanji sighed seeing that he'd have to blow his cover for this but anything was worth helping out his new friends he threw the apron he was wearing down and hurried out

"Shiki!" he shouted getting the captains attention just so he could kick him in the face sending the captain flying across the room out of pure shock the pirates released Annie and Tom and turned on the gentleman chef
"THAT IS NOT HOW YOU TREAT A GROUP OF LADIES!" Sanji shouted he didn't care what they did to Tom, he should be able to fend for himself but as for the women that was a totally different Story Annie hurried behind the bar clearly looking for something Sanji ignored it before glaring at Shiki as he stood up and glared a sudden look of realization hitting his face and he scowled, his eyes filled with hate as he recognized the cook

"Black Leg Sanji chef of the straw hat pirates what are you doing here?"
"That's my business isn't it?" Sanji asked him he suddenly was hit from behind with a chair not realizing that Shiki had used his powers to throw it at him which knocked the cook over
"Sanji!" Terry gasped before hurrying to the cook's side she glared at Shiki
"That was a dirty move!" she shouted Shiki glared approaching the two but Annie suddenly stood in his way her eyes filled with a hate fueled Anger as two swords were strapped to her back a handle in each hand as she now stared at Shiki
"Get out of my bar" she said every word dripping with venom Shiki stared for a moment before merely laughing
"Look Shiki, you can mess with me all you want but you ever hurt my friends I will destroy you" Annie threatened the two of them glared at each other green hawk like eyes stared into cold, dark brown ones as both refused to break the hold on the other it was then that Shiki turned to his crew
"Let's go we'll come back another day" Shiki said his men were surprised so were the staff of the tavern Annie didn't understand either until Shiki grabbed her and threw her into the wall which just about knocked her out from the sheer force of the throw
"Annie!" Susan gasped hurrying to her friends side Sanji also hurried before glaring at Shiki who just stared at Annie
"You know you could just end this Ann, we've been through it before"
"over my dead body" Annie managed to get out Shiki rolled his eyes before leaving announcing that he would be back and with that he and his crew were gone
"Annie are you alright?" Sanji asked her Annie stabbed her two swords into the ground Sanji couldn't help but notice that they had three points one giant spike in the middle that counted as the blade and two smaller ones that were closer to the handles the blades were white as freshly fallen snow but the hilts were black with gold that wrapped around them Sanji couldn't say that he was surprised she fought with swords but that was not the point he didn't understand his ADD all of a sudden possibly because of the fact that he was still slightly feverish so this might have also affected his attention span and also his fighting style it wasn't good for him to be fighting while he was sick any way
Annie laughed a little bit with a sweet smile
"Yeah I'm fine don't worry about me"
"I'm getting the doctor" Tom said before hurrying out of the Tavern Sanji helped Annie to her feet already seeing that she couldn't balance he sensed a possible concussion also this thought made him realize exactly how often h, Luffy and Zoro got sent to Chopper's doctor's office for injuries during battle and training sessions but again he brushed it off, he helped Annie upstairs and into her room helping her to lay down on the bed Annie started to chuckle a little bit which once again puzzled the cook
"What's so funny?"
"The fact that I was the one taking care of you for so long and now suddenly you're taking care of me" Annie said with a bit of a laugh Sanji thought about it for a while then realized it was kind of funny, the sudden turn in events between the two Sanji let out a small laugh himself before sitting down in a chair
"Yeah but you're not sick and separated from your Nakama" Sanji said

Annie noticed the sad tone he took when he added the last part she placed a gentle hand on his and couldn't help but smile a little in a comforting way
"They'll find you and if they don't I'll go with you to find them I promise" Annie said
Sanji couldn't help but smile at her she had been so kind to him everyone here had been kind to him he couldn't help but have the thought in the back of his head nag him that on top of him being home sick for the "thousand Sunny" when he left he'd probably be homesick for the "bear claw" the door opened and Susan came in with a cold cloth and a bowl of water placing it on Annie's head in hopes it would also help the swelling go down on her head right afterwards the doctor came in with Tom and examined Annie's head when he finished he suggested her not moving unless she had to for the rest of the day no concussion thankfully so she would be fine. Sanji was relieved to hear that and couldn't help but smile at it when the doctor shooed all others out of the room Sanji stood to leave but Annie grabbed his shirt
"Aw come on don't leave I'll die of boredom up here by myself" Annie said with a cute, childish pout Sanji couldn't help but be reminded of Luffy and laugh a little bit as he sat down he could wait a while longer for his Nakama but he still hoped that they came soon

the next day

Annie awoke the next morning to the sun shining brightly in her eyes she couldn't help but smile again and laugh at the turn in events Sanji sat in the chair next to her bed and was fast asleep as well Annie recalled this scene being the other way around only a few weeks ago with Sanji laying in the bed and Annie being the one asleep in the chair in front of him Annie stood up deciding it would be nice if she did something for the cook she got up and went downstairs wanting to get a surprise for Sanji thinking he had truly earned it

Sanji awoke about two hours after Annie and saw she was missing he stood up instantly worrying before heading downstairs no one was in the tavern which caused the chef to worry he then thought he heard something out back and hurried back there only to have confetti thrown on him and to see a giant banner that hung saying "welcome!" in the kitchen as everyone shouted "SURPRISE"

the cook was confused then he saw Annie smiling at him
"What's all this?" Sanji asked
"We all decided that well you're now part of our Nakama sense you can't find yours" Tom said his arm around his sister's shoulders Sanji was puzzled
"the way you stood up for Annie and us was great Sanji and we all wanted to thank you plus you've been such a big help" Susan said Sanji was honestly touched by the offer but he felt bad at the same time he couldn't forget the straw hats they were his family too
"I really am touched but I have to get back to my Nakama" Sanji said the people smiled still and Annie hugged him
"We know that stupid" Annie said laughing a little bit "but you know just in case they can't find you or you can't find them we figured you've got a back up plan you know?" Annie said to him Sanji smiled and hugged her
"As long as you're here we will always be your Nakama" Annie told him