Mass x Acceleration

By Dixxy Mouri

Chapter Fourteen: Turnover

Four years earlier . . .

There had been a girl on the Baratie who kept smiling and winking at him.

Sanji was a little flustered by her and smiled shyly back. She was pretty and becoming something of a regular. Patty was annoyed because she only seemed to order soda or a small salad and in his mind she was taking up valuable table space that could have gone to a customer who'd either gorge himself on appetizers and desserts or fork over the big dough for something expensive.

Sanji didn't care – a customer was a customer . . . and this one made him feel light headed.

He waited on her a few times and tried to flirt with her – she'd giggle and half ignore him, leaving him confused and wondering if he'd done something wrong. But she kept coming back, pretending that she wasn't eyeing him. The only thing he'd gathered was that she went by Tanya, but a name was only so much to go on. Sanji was confused and frustrated – did she like him or not?

Zeff advised him to ignore her. Sanji advised him to shut the fuck up.

One day, Tanya got up after paying for her meal but didn't head to the exit. She waited until her eyes met his, grinned, and gestured for him to follow her down the hall. Intrigued and young and thinking he was in love, Sanji found a way to disappear and followed her, grinning like a fool and thinking he must have finally said or done something right.

Sanji's eyes snapped open and he sat up, confused by his surroundings. It took him a moment for the dream to evaporate completely, and he found his grip back on reality. He was in his apartment on Apple Island, it was three o'clock in the morning, and Nami was sleeping soundly next to him. He leaned forward, rubbing his temples. What could have brought that on?

Although it certainly counted as a dream, it was more like a memory. Those things had actually happened to him – there really had been a Tanya, he and Zeff really had argued about her, and she really had enticed him down the hallway one day during his shift. He tried not to think about her anymore if he could manage it, and had been mostly successful for a while now.

Sanji slid back down, thinking that he must have seen or heard or smelled something that reminded him of Tanya, even after all this time had passed. He'd read about it somewhere before, this theory that a person's subconscious picks up on things without the person ever realizing it. Maybe someone was wearing the same perfume she liked or had a similar laugh or something, and only a small part of him had noticed.

He put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Tanya was a source of painful memories for him. Unlike the first girl who'd kissed him or the girl who'd told him he couldn't sing (which, apparently, wasn't true), he really thought he was in love with her. Oh, he certainly liked the other two girls well enough, but there was nothing really there. Tanya, he'd thought, meant something.

That was why she was the one he'd lost his virginity to.

Sanji swallowed and tried to think about something, anything else to get her off his mind. Even four years later, after he'd had many more partners and lovers . . . no, he needed to think about anything else. But it was the wee hours of the morning and he was fighting the urge to go back to sleep – he needed to distract himself first, or risk going back to that dream.

He turned his head and saw Nami. None of his stirrings had awoken her – that was good, she needed her rest. She looked so much better – healthier, happier – than she had in a long time. But there was still so far they both needed to go. With Gala's blessing, they'd recently started getting up extra early (ugh, another reason he needed to hurry up and go back to sleep) to jog around the island – it was time to start thinking about getting back into (literal) fighting shape, but for the moment this was a good start. They'd build up their endurance a little bit at a time, then start actual training again.

Which means we should probably start using our Devil Fruit abilities. Sanji groaned a little. For the most part, no one on the island knew they were ability users and they'd agreed that it should stay that way. By some small miracle their fruits hadn't acted up since Tesla's visit, and as far as anyone aside from Gala and Mac knew, they were just normal people who'd ended up in a bad situation and needed a place to lay low for a while. For the moment, they were content to not use their powers.

But that wouldn't work forever.

Without That Man's medications and restraints, Sanji was starting to notice instincts and urges to use his powers that, with all of the trauma and mess surrounding what they'd been going through before, he was either unaware of or simply wasn't having. If he needed something outside of his normal reach, he was discovering urges to use his Paramecia skill. Sometimes during their morning jogs, he had the urge to switch forms because his half-and-half form was probably much faster than his regular human body.

Nami, as he understood it, was undergoing similar feelings. Thankfully she wasn't succumbing to the violent tendencies that some carnivorous Zoan ability users had (and he'd avoided them as well – didn't foxes eat meat, too?), but he'd seen her walk through a closed door once or twice. She'd always stop and look horrified, like she'd done something wrong, and then not want to talk for a few minutes. Once, he'd caught her playing catch with herself on the couch, and the ball in questions was a ball of yarn (suggesting that perhaps tigers weren't so different from their domesticated cousins).

Furthermore, the plan was to, eventually, rejoin Luffy and the others. It would be wildly unfair of them to avoid using their abilities whenever the crew got in trouble. Their captain had lost two swimmers – there needed to be something to make up for that, be it Sanji using one Marine to beat other Marines with or Nami clawing her way through enemy pirate crews.

But even with instincts and urges kicking it, it was still a little unsettling to use those powers – any of them – because it was all a constant reminder of what had happened to them. Some days he could still taste the Devil Fruit That Man's goons had practically forced down his throat, and nothing he did could get the taste off his tongue but time and another distraction. It made him feel cold, and he realized that his powers actually scared him a little.

It was something they were going to need to learn to move past.

Nami shifted a little in her sleep, muttering that Luffy and Usopp needed to stop acting like idiots because "that" was not a toy. Sanji had no idea what "that" was but knowing the two she was dreaming about, it really could have been anything. He smiled a little – at least one of them wasn't having a hard time with dreaming and sleeping.

Sanji turned onto his side and slowly slid next to her to put an arm around her. Nami didn't notice in the least, whining to Robin that she was surrounded by morons. He closed his eyes – he wondered how long it would be before she started chiding him for getting into another fight with Zoro or beating Brook for trying to steal panties from the women's room (again). Those were the kinds of dreams he wished he had.

The cook yawned and smiled – thoughts of the crew they both missed lulled him back to peaceful slumber.

The following afternoon, once he'd dropped off Wendy and Sundae from an afternoon of babysitting them (which had been an easy one because Mr. Pinova had the next volume of Sapphire Witch adventures in stock), Sanji started the long walk to Braeburn's forge for his first practice as a member of what was currently just "the band".

At first, Sanji assumed they would be using the old name they'd had with the previous singer, but Braeburn had told him that, after some discussion, they thought a new name would be a good way to give them a fresh start and further distance themselves from her. It made Sanji curious – just how bad was this woman, anyways? He had yet to cross paths with Deltana so he really didn't know.

The snow was completely gone now that April had arrived and brought spring weather with it. The fields on either side of the dirt path leading to the forge were dotted with wildflowers, and Sanji toyed with picking a bouqet for Nami on his way back – even if there wasn't anything between them it was still a nice gesture and might bring a little more cheer to their apartment.

Sanji hadn't been to the forge since that snowy night he'd gotten lost, but before long he came upon it and meandered his way to the front door of the attached residence. He knocked, waited, and soon heard footsteps headed his way. He stepped back when Braeburn opened the door, the blacksmith looking a little tired but happy to see him.

"You okay?" asked Sanji.

"Big order came in this afternoon – I've got a wrought iron fence to make. Yippee."

Sanji laughed. "Can't contain your excitement?"

"For making over fifty yards of fencing in two weeks all by myself?"

The cook winced. "I take it that's a lot for that amount of time?"

Braeburn sighed and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll figure something out, or put my foot down on the timing because yeah, fifty yards in two weeks is brutal. But don't worry about that – Darryl and Jimmy are setting up in the practice room." Sanji nodded – he could hear something that sort of sounded like a guitar being played, but the notes seemed a little off. Once he arrived in the practice room, he saw Darryl was fiddling with the knobs at the end of his guitar and Jimmy was gathering the pieces of his drum kit.

"Okay, let's get setup finished – Sanji's here and we should do some warm ups."

Darryl nodded and smiled while Jimmy smacked the symbols on his kit.

Practice ended a few hours later, and Sanji's head was swimming with new information. There was a lot more to this than he thought, and he was feeling a little overwhelmed during the walk back to his apartment. At least I know Nami-san will be awake when I get back – I might need to talk to her about all this.

First, he learned that he was going to need to learn to read sheet music – a thought that had never crossed his mind. Braeburn was giving him an hour's worth of lessons every night, but promised that for their first several performances they would stick to songs he already knew to make the process a little easier. But where he stood that night? He might as well try to read ponyglyphs.

Second, even though the band acknowledged that he had some natural talent, he still needed training. Part of it was to make him sound better, but Jimmy warned that trying to hit difficult notes without proper training could actually hurt him. Thankfully, voice training was going easier than music reading – he could match the notes Braeburn played for him easily and he suspected that maybe his hearing was helping him out a lot.

But the third part . . .

Jimmy and Darryl demonstrated the point well enough, but the mention of "make up" nearly sent him running. Sanji did NOT wear makeup – if he thought that Zoro would make fun of him for having a bad singing voice, there was no way in hell he'd be able to get away with prancing around on stage in eye shadow and lipstick.

Braeburn explained that stage make up served a different purpose than what girls wore to go out on a date. Darryl, wearing no makeup, stood at the far end of the practice room while Jimmy shone some bright lights on him. When asked how well he could make out the details of the guitarist's face, Sanji admitted he couldn't – he could tell who it was just fine, but his face was all one color, much lighter than his normal complexion, and he sort of looked like a ghost or a store mannequin.

They repeated the experiment about fifteen minutes later, this time after Darryl had put on makeup, and Sanji immediately saw the point. For one, he could make out the details of the guitarist's face much better, and he wasn't completely washed out by the lights. More importantly, it really didn't look like he was wearing anything.

Until Darryl walked over. It was thick, garish, and possibly weighed two pounds. Braeburn said it was okay to laugh, and Sanji couldn't help but crack a smile. Darryl pulled him into a hug and patted his back. Jimmy offered the idea that they could stick some sunglasses on their newest member to lessen the amount they'd need to apply, and that was something Sanji couldn't turn down.

Most of their first practice together, however, was very casual, picking out songs everyone could follow along with and running through them. Braeburn had arranged everyone in an inward-facing circle so they could see each other, and put a microphone stand in front of Sanji so he could practice figuring out what to do with one. That was the only part he was even remotely comfortable with – from his perspective they sounded good and it was actually kind of fun.

But the books Braeburn leant him on everything he was supposed to learn felt heavy. Not because either volume was thick (quite the opposite – both were rather slim), but because the contents within were a bit intimidating. Maybe he could get Nami to help him study – most of his education had been hands on in the kitchen, but all of Nami's skills in navigation and cartography had been self-taught from books.

Sanji reached the edge of town. Things were a little different in the evening, with many of the shops closed but most of the eating establishments still open. He saw groups of friends walking around and laughing together, and a few couples holding hands and chatting quietly so no one else could hear. The street lamps gave everything a golden glow, making the walk much more pleasant.

A familiar barking sound could be heard not too far off, and Sanji soon saw Cobbler barreling towards him. "Hey, boy!" he called out. The dog barked in excitement, getting up on his hind legs to greet Sanji was several sloppy licks, causing the cook to drop his books. "Hey, get down! Cobbler, knock it off!"

Someone whistled, and Cobbler whined as he got down and turned to Mac, who was limping over on his cane. "Hello, Sanji – it's been a while since I've seen you around," the mayor greeted. Cobbler returned to his master's side while Sanji gathered up the dropped books. "I'm sorry about Cobbler – you know how he gets."

"It's not a problem, Mac," he said, straightening himself up. "How are you?"

"I'm fine – Cobbler and I just went to see my mother for dinner after work. And you?"

"Just coming back from Braeburn's," he said. "Nami convinced me to audition for his band."

Mac gave him an amused smile. "And you got in?"

"Yeah – just coming home from my first practice with the band." He held out the books. "I have some natural talent but no training, so I have some studying to do – I need to learn to read music and control my voice better." He laughed nervously and decided to change the subject. "How's your mom doing? Did everything go well?"

Mac nodded. "Indeed. She's been out of commission for a couple of months now but should be up and around soon enough." Sanji nodded – he and Nami had yet to meet the mayor's mother, but had heard a little about her. They hadn't met her yet (mostly due to her illness and their recovery preventing any sort of practical meeting), but it was good to hear she was doing well. "She's interested in meeting the two of you sometime. She knows . . . some of your story and wants to make sure you're properly fattening up."

"Nami's at her old weight and I'm only about five pounds away now, but if she wants to feed us I won't say no – maybe we can swap recipes," Sanji suggested. Mac nodded and Cobbler started to sniff Sanji's shoes. The cook knelt down to pat the dog more properly and was greeted with a bark and another lick. "Hey!"

"So when is your big debut performance?" Mac asked with a smile.

"Not until May – because it's technically a 'new' band the guys think we need time before a big public performance," said Sanji. "Maybe something small with just a few people we're close to for practice, but we're not exactly ready for the Cider Mug yet." He gave Cobbler one final scratch and straightened himself up. "I'm not even sure the guys want to use the old band name anymore."

The mayor rolled his eyes. "I suppose that makes sense – things with their older singer ended poorly, as I'm sure you've been made aware by now, and if they want to distance themselves from her, I can't say I blame them. Deltana has a very lovely voice, but unfortunately she's got a rather ugly attitude towards life," said Mac.

"I heard she puked on you."

"And as long as you don't vomit on me we should remain on good terms," Mac said with a smile.

"I'll do my best," said Sanji. "Anyways, I should get going. It was nice seeing you, though." He gave the mayor a friendly hug good bye and promised to try and visit more often. Mac gave him a pat on the back and wished him well on his way, Cobbler trying to follow Sanji back to the apartment. The dog whimpered as the distance between he and Sanji grew – he frowned a bit, but it couldn't be helped.

Nami examined the books Braeburn had given him. "These are kid's books," she said.

"Wait, seriously? He gave me CHILDREN'S books?" Sanji asked. He hadn't looked at the books in depth, but soon realized she was right. There were brightly colored pictures of animals and clowns pointing to the different scales and notes, and the cook felt a little offended. "Oh come on! I know I'm a beginner but this is ridiculous!"

"You read kid's books all the time."

"To CHILDREN," said Sanji. He sighed. "Braeburn . . . why . . ."

"Maybe it's all the island has," said Nami, closing the book on reading music notation and patting Sanji's shoulder. The two of them were sitting in the living room over tea and cookies when the discovery had been made. "Remember, trade here is iffy. Or, if there are books for teaching adults music, maybe they aren't very well written."

Sanji grunted. "Maybe."

"Or it's possible that he gave you the kid's book on purpose," said Nami. "Ria told me that whenever someone asks for recommendations on books teaching people how to sew or knit or crochet, she tells them to get a kid's version if possible." The navigator crossed her legs and smiled. "The adult books don't have as many diagrams and don't go into as much detail – kid's books will have more detailed diagrams and go over every step as simply as possible."

"What the hell is crochet?" asked Sanji.

"It's like knitting, but with a tool about as long as a spoon with a little hook on the end."

Sanji grumbled, but seemed to be warming up to Nami's logic behind the children's books. Considering how close Ria and Braeburn were (although the exact nature of their relationship still was unclear), it might make sense that they'd share some philosophies. "So he isn't doing this because he thinks I'm stupid?"

"Probably not, no," said Nami. "And if he does I'll punch him."

"Braeburn's a lot bigger than you, Nami-san – I think he's even bigger than Moss head."

Nami laughed. "Calm down and do your homework."

Sanji stuck his tongue out at her. "Yes, Mommy."

The second day of practice went better. Sanji could understand the meaning of the lines and spaces on the staff and had a vague understanding of what musical notes indicated. However, it wasn't enough for him to be able to learn a song without hearing the musical accompaniment. ". . . well, small steps," said Braeburn.

"Yes, baby steps," Sanji said with a hint of sarcasm.

Braeburn laughed. "Trust me – go with the kiddy books."

"The adult books are wastelands of lifeless despair and hopelessness," said Jimmy.

Darryl started to sigh in exasperation at Jimmy, but then nodded in agreement.

"Now, before we get into going over the songs we did yesterday, I thought we might want to have a discussion about the band name," said Braeburn, shuffling everyone from the practice room to his living room, where the seating was more comfortable. "Now, we COULD keep the old name, 'Core', but I think it'll be better to come up with something new."

"The Jimmy Grieves Project!"

"We turned it down the first time and we're turning it down again," Braeburn said shortly.

The drummer pouted. "Aww. I like that name."

"No. Darryl, any suggestions?" The guitarist retreated to the practice room. "Oh, right, paper. Take your time!" Darryl gave Braeburn a thumbs up as he disappeared down the hall. "Jimmy, any suggestions that don't boost your ego?" Jimmy continued to pout at Braeburn. "Okay, we'll give you a minute to get over yourself."

"PFFFFTTT!"

"Very mature. Sanji?"

Sanji shrugged. "I really don't know."

Jimmy laughed. "And you said my suggestion sucked."

"THAT WASN'T A SUGGESTION!"

Darryl returned with a pad of paper. He showed off his suggestion: BJDS.

Braeburn, Jimmy, and Sanji all stared blankly before Darryl shrugged and flipped to a clean page.

"Anybody hungry?" asked Jimmy. He stomach growled immediately after. "I'm hungry."

Darryl nodded, rubbing his stomach and looking forlornly towards the kitchen.

Sanji laughed and stood. "I brought some snacks this time. I made some apple turnovers – they just need to be warmed up and they'll be ready to eat." Jimmy and Darryl looked at Sanji in adoration as the cook started to move towards the kitchen. "I even brought some ice cream so we can have it a la mode. Braeburn, you in?"

Braeburn took on a thoughtful expression. "Turnover."

"Hmm?" asked Jimmy. "Yes. Turnovers. Food. Delicious."

The blacksmith shook his head, but his expression was lighting up. "No, no, I mean Turnover as a name for the band," said Braeburn. The other three paused. "Our band changed. We have a new vocalist. And a turnover is a change between hands . . . that could work as a band name. Because we turned over vocals from Deltana to Sanji."

"I thought a turnover was a delicious baked good," said Jimmy.

Sanji raised an eyebrow at the name. Does everything on this island need to be an apple reference? He sighed and turned, bumping into a tall floor lamp Braeburn owned. He backed away as he watched the lampshade shake and rattle from the movement, grabbing at the base to keep it from knocking over. He made sure it was steady before rejoining his band mates.

Darryl showed his approval for the name with a drawing of a smiley face.

Braeburn turned to Jimmy and Sanji. "How do you guys feel?"

Jimmy sighed. "All right, I suppose it's almost as good as the Jimmy Grieves Project."

Sanji thought about it. "Sure."

"Well, anything is better than 'I Really Don't Know'."

"I SAID THAT WASN'T A SUGGESTION!"

And with that, the band was renamed Turnover.

Author's Notes

So in high school I used to work in the knitting/yarn department of a local craft store and I took Ria's philosophy to heart (I believe this was something I picked up from one of the teachers who taught classes there) and pushed the children's "how to" books over the adult books every time because, well, seriously, compare an adult how-to book with one meant to younger readers. For BASIC skills you're much, MUCH better off getting a children's book, then moving onto adult books once you understand the basics.

"BJDs" is a common shorthand for "ball jointed dolls", which are very expensive, very realistic dolls popular amongst the anime con crowd (and I'm sure the non-anime con crowd as well). My best friend of over a decade is really into them right now – personally I'm not into it but I figured out that the first names of the members of the band do spell out that shorthand.

And yes I did make a TV Tropes references. You jelly? You jelly.

Dixxy