midnightscar17: When? Soon enough, soon enough. The exact time? Not gonna tell you. Sorry my friend, you'll just have to wait and find out for yourself.
Tonlor: I really am glad you and everyone else reading seems to be enjoying it so much. As for the new crewmates, I'll give you one last hint, this one almost as vague as the first. One of them is male, the other is female. There, no more hints after that one though. XP Anyway, it's good that you and a few others like the Usopp and Kaya stuff, though I'm sorry to say you won't be seeing too much of it from here on out, seeing as he's set out with Luffy and all.
F-ckthesystem125: Hey there, missed you last chapter. As for you not knowing what's going on, you really have no idea, mwahahahaha! Like my evil laughter? XD
Now then, onto the next chapter. Please read, enjoy and review.
It had been about a day since the four had left Syrup village, Luffy's and Zoro's wounds were all but forgotten, no longer even wearing bandages, only having changed into spare sets of clothes that looked exactly the same as the outfits they wore the day before. Where they had gotten copies of the same outfit and where they kept them was a mystery all it's own. Usopp on the other hand, had packed a bunch of brown overalls in that green backpack of his, so it was clear how he was wearing the same outfit from before without any of the slash marks that had been ripped into it being present. He still wore bandages unlike the other two guys, though they were under his overalls, so only the ones wrapped around his shoulder could be seen. Finally, Nami had actually changed her outfit, now wearing a pink short sleeved shirt with white trim and the initials WB, though the b was lowercase while the w was capital. She wouldn't say what the letters stood for. Besides that, she now sported short brown boots and wore the same skirt from before.
It had only been hours since their latest misadventure on what was known as treasure island, where they met a strange little man stuck in a box named Gaimon, who had been protecting the supposed treasure the island held, as well as all the bizarre animals that he had befriended there in the twenty years he had been there. He had gotten separated from his friends, getting stuck in the box that was now a permanent part of his body, and had been left behind. Once he realized that the four weren't after the treasure or the animals, he warmed up to them quickly. After they got to know each other, the four had decided to help the strange man, helping him get to the treasure he had sought after for the past two decades. Only...the chests this treasure was supposed to reside in had been completely empty.
Gaimon had been upset, but not shocked, as for the longest time, he had known they would be empty, he had felt it for years. Nevertheless, he was very grateful to the four teens, thanking them for not only helping him clear that up, but also to see that all the animals he had befriended were his true treasure. Which is why he declined their offer to come with them, to get off that island, as he wanted to stay there and protect the animals from poachers who would love to get their hands on them. So, they said their goodbyes and departed.
As of now, Luffy sat out on deck, painting what was to be there pirate flag, while Zoro napped a few feet away, Nami sitting in a beach chair, relaxing as she read a book and tried to block out the presence of the other two, despite being out on deck with them. Usopp was soon out on the deck as well, carrying a box full of cannonballs toward the cannon he had rolled outside. He put them down beside it, letting out a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding, causing Zoro to crack one eye open and to look up at what was going on in doing so.
That's when the three teens had their attention caught by their captain, as he proclaimed, "Hey guys look, I finally finished our pirate flag." He smiled as he brandished it to them, presenting a disfigured and distorted skull and crossbones with a straw hat on top.
"Uh...Luffy, is that really going to be our pirate mark? I mean, it certainly is scary, that's for sure, but it looks like a child drew it." Zoro pointed out, getting off the floor and onto his feet as he did.
"Yeah, nice work nimrod." Nami commented harshly, scoffing as she did, earning herself a glare from Zoro, and a slightly confused look from Usopp.
"Luffy, you should have told me. I could have had that thing done an hour ago. Here, let me do it." Usopp said, after having turned his attention back to Luffy, moving over to the straw hat teen as he took ahold of the brush and grabbed another piece of black cloth.
And in a matter of minutes, he had a perfect straw hat jolly roger drawn up, well painted up, presenting it to the others with pride. "So, whatcha think?"
Luffy clapped excitedly for a few moments, congratulating Usopp as he did. "That is so cool, great job Usopp!"
"It is really good." Zoro agreed, a smirk crossing his face.
Nami didn't comment.
"Okay, now paint that on the sail too Usopp!" Luffy ordered happily.
"Right away Captain!" Usopp replied.
Twenty minutes later and it was done, Usopp coming back down to the deck, panting a bit from getting it done as fast as he could. "There, done."
"Oh yeah! Our ship is finally complete, we have a flag and everything!" The raven haired teen exclaimed almost giddily.
"Nice work Usopp." Zoro complimented.
"Thanks." Usopp said in response, before looking back over at the cannon he had wheeled out. "Oh, I almost forgot." He made his way over to the metal construct and loaded it up with one of the cannonballs. "I was going to get some target practice in, before I got caught up in painting that is." He looked back at his captain then, "Care to join me?" He asked.
"Sure!" Luffy said, before coming over to the cannon as well. "Ooh, I wanna go first!" He stated to his long nosed friend.
"Go right ahead."
Since he didn't seem to mind, Luffy took aim and fired, missing his target, a rock formation in the distance, by a good ten to fifteen feet of distance. "That was way off the mark." He remarked, despite it being his own shot. "Alright, your turn Usopp."
"Now, let me show you how an expert does it." The marksman said cockily.
"Just what are you two idiots up to?" Nami asked, sounding quite annoyed as she did.
"Cannon firing practice." Luffy answered simply.
Readjusting the aim and lighting the fuse, after Luffy had loaded another cannonball into it of course, Usopp waited until it went off and the dark ball went flying. And, showing that he had a right to be cocky about his marksman skills, the cannonball hit the rock formation dead on, breaking it in half, the top half falling into the ocean along with the large metal ball. "Awesome! You hit that thing on the first try! I knew I was right to make you our marksman!"
"Impressed?" Usopp asked somewhat arrogantly.
"You bet! Your twice as good as you were back when we first met!" Luffy said, praising his friend.
"Not bad, not bad at all." Zoro admitted.
"Heh heh." Usopp chuckled, rubbing the bottom of his nose with his index finger, soaking up the praise as he did, enjoying it immensely.
While he was indeed impressed with Usopp's marksmanship, Luffy couldn't help it as his eyes wandered to Nami, and his mind was filled with thoughts of her, his attention becoming solely focused on said orange haired girl. He walked away from Usopp and Zoro then, as the former began talking about how he was the best shot on his whole island, and perhaps the best shot in the East Blue and that he had experience beyond his years.
Luffy came to where Nami sat, coming up from behind her and resting his head over her chair and on her shoulder, catching her attention immediately by doing so, a sad look on his face. The look took her by surprise, and without thinking about it, she asked, "Luffy, what's wrong?" No bite to her tone, her concern showing through.
"Your hair." He responded simply, hiding the elation he felt at the fact that she wasn't being nasty with him at that moment.
"M-my hair?" She asked, confused.
"It's not long anymore, you cut it. Why? You looked really cute with long hair." He stated bluntly, beginning to pout as he did, playing with a few strands of her hair all the while.
She was baffled by that simplistic statement, rendered speechless for a few moments, before she realized she was slipping and needed to cover her slip up, and quickly. Her mood visibly shifted, as her face took on a look of anger and irritation, the tone of her voice reflecting the same feelings, as she said, "You have got to be kidding me! That's what you're over here pouting about!? My fricking hair!? Just what is wrong with that head of yours!? And why are you so close!? More importantly, why are you touching me!? Get your hands off of me!" She shouted, before socking him hard in the face, knocking him back off the chair and flat out onto the deck, catching the other two guys attention as well.
Zoro had a deep scowl set into his face as this happened, his anger rising, wanting to give that witch a taste of her own medicine.
Usopp on the other hand, was confused as all hell. "This is the girl Luffy always talked about? She certainly doesn't act like it. I mean, how could he be in love with her if she treats him like this all the time?" He couldn't help but wonder to himself.
Nami saw that the other two were staring at her after what she had done, and barked at them, "What!? Got something to say!?"
When it looked like Usopp was actually going to speak up, Zoro stopped him, shaking his head as he did. "Don't, Captain's orders."
Usopp bit his tongue at that, wanting so bad to say something to the orange haired teen, but not wanting to disobey an order from his best friend, his captain.
Luffy simply lie on the floor, not making any move to get up after being knocked to the ground. He felt no pain, and there was no mark left where she hit him, proving she hadn't hit him as hard as she could. And while her words hurt him deeply, so deeply that he had to fight back tears, the fact that she hadn't left a mark on his face, or caused him any pain, proved she didn't mean it. Just as he had thought, she was lying. She may not love him...but she didn't hate him, not like she said she did, otherwise she would have hit him a lot harder than that.
His smile had fallen away, but regardless, he got to his feet, gazing at the back of Nami's head for several seconds after getting up, before turning to the other two. His eyes met theirs, but no words were spoken. He simply stared at them for several moments, before turning and walking away, heading into the dining room as he did, Zoro and Usopp following after him shortly afterwards.
With those three gone, Nami let out a sad sigh, as she did her best to fight back tears. "I hate having to say those kinds of things to him, I hate it so much."
She stood then, closing her book as she did, before folding up her chair and then heading down into the cabin, going for the girl's room as she did.
Not even ten minutes later, Luffy and Usopp came rushing out onto deck, as the sound of things being smashed reached their ears. "Get out here ya damn pirates!"
The two immediately saw the cause of the noise, a man had boarded their ship, and had kicked a couple of barrels into each other, smashing them in the process.
This man was of average height, had tanned skin, a black kanji tattoo on the left side of his face and short black hair. As for what he wore, some sun glasses, a dark purple shirt with a blue hoodie over it, a pair of grey pants and light black boots. He was also brandishing a sword, looking quite angry as he did so.
"Hey, what the hell? Who are you?" Luffy asked, as Usopp eyed the man, wondering if they had another fight on their hands.
"You think you guys can just kill my partner and get away with it!? Because I won't let you!" He cried, leaping forward, raising his blade and bringing it back down for a downward slash.
Seeing as he was aiming for Luffy, who was on the next level of the ship, one having to take stairs to get up to the dining room, he would also hit the railing that was supposed to keep people from falling down onto the deck. Aware that if he allowed the man to finish his attack, he'd cause damage to the ship, Luffy acted, doing so by throwing his fist forward, it stretching to reach the man, where it hit him in the chest and sent him flying back into the mast, causing it to shake a bit from the impact. "Don't you go wrecking my ship! I just got it!" He shouted.
The man hit the mast, yelping in pain as he did, before groaning as he fell face first onto the deck, the impact somehow not breaking his sunglasses. "I lost...by a hair." He moaned, his face still against the floor as he did.
Zoro walked out of the dining room then, leaving his swords behind as he did. Upon seeing this man, face down on the deck, he said, "Huh, what are you doing here Johnny?"
The man turned over onto his back then, looking up from his lying position to see the green haired teen, as he had recognized his voice and wanted to see if it was really him, and it was. "What, Big Bro, it's you." He got to his knees, before getting to his feet, as his surprise became clear. "Why are you on a pirate ship? What's going on around here?" He questioned.
"Hey relax, you know exactly why I'm on this ship."
The blank look he received in return from the man, whose name was Johnny apparently, told the swordsman that he had no idea what he was talking about.
"Are you telling me you forgot what I told you?" Zoro questioned in return. It quickly became obvious the man had, so the eighteen year old explained to him why he was on the ship. "Didn't I once tell you and Yosaku about the boy I called captain? About the promise he and I made, to become the best together, as pirates?"
Despite wearing his sunglasses, you could tell the man's eyes widened considerably at those words. "You mean the guy you pledged your loyalty to is the captain of this ship?"
He received a nod from the green haired teen at that.
Johnny quickly took a look around then, until his eyes caught sight of the same person who had just put him on his ass, his eyes managing to widen even further as he realized who the straw hat pirate was. "You mean that's Luffy?" He asked, pointing at the raven haired teen as he did.
He received another nod from Zoro then.
"Oh, are you a friend of Zoro's? Hi, my name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" He exclaimed cheerily, as he walked down onto the deck.
Johnny could only stare at the teenage pirate after what he said, in complete bafflement of how easily that statement had rolled off his tongue.
Zoro quickly caught Johnny's attention once more though, as he inquired three things, "Anyway, how'd you get on this ship? Is everything okay? And where's Yosaku?"
As Johnny proceeded to explain, leading his friend to the small boat he had that was hooked onto their ship as he did, Usopp slipped inside to tell Nami what was going on.
When the two came out onto the deck, they saw Luffy, Zoro and Johnny looking down at a man, that they assumed was this Yosaku two of them had been talking about, laid out on a blanket on deck.
He was of average build and height like his friend Johnny, and wore an outfit that consisted of a black shirt with a long green coat over it, plaid yellow shorts, revealing his unshaven legs, light black boots and, most peculiarly, red headgear. And while said red headgear would definitely attract attention, the two who had just come out onto the deck's attention was on the man himself, as he was in terrible shape. His skin was discolored, he was bleeding badly from his abdomen, the wound the substance was coming from wrapped in bandages, and was bleeding from his nose and the top of his head as well, wherever the blood was coming from was hidden by the the thing he wore on his head though. His eyes were also rolled back into his head, and were slightly bloodshot.
"He looks like he's in pretty rough shape." Luffy stated.
"What's wrong with him?" Zoro inquired, shocked by the man's state, and unsure of what was wrong.
"I don't know." Johnny answered, sounding helpless as he did. "Up until a few days ago, he was healthy and full of life. But now, he keeps fainting, and getting really pale, and I have no idea what's causing it!" He sounded like he was about to cry at that point.
"His teeth have been falling out and his old wound opened up and started bleeding. He just got worse and worse, I didn't know what to do!" Tears began to stream down his face then, not being able to hold them in anymore.
Nami had heard all she needed to and proceeded to head back inside the ship, to the storage room. As she did that, Usopp came over to Johnny's side, standing by Zoro and Luffy as he did.
"So, I thought that maybe we'd just rest on a little island, and that it might help him. But then...a cannon ball came flying from this ship!"
Both Luffy's and Usopp's jaws dropped a bit then, their eyes widening as they realized what they had done. Bowing slightly in apology, they said in unison, "We're very sorry."
"Sorry isn't good enough." Johnny bluntly put forth. "Isn't that right...partner!?" He asked of the sick and possibly dying man he was kneeling down next to, beginning to sob as he did.
Silence set in then, though was broken soon after. "Big Bro, give it to me straight...is he gonna die?" Johnny asked fearfully.
Zoro seemed uncertain at that question, a worried look taking place on his face.
That's when Nami returned to the deck, carrying a barrel of limes as she did, walking by her three fellow pirates, muttering while doing so, "You're all so dumb."
"Hey, watch it!" Zoro warned.
Nami didn't pay him any heed, as she knelt down next to Yosaku herself, placing the barrel by his head, and took a quick look at him. After she was sure she was right, she stood and took a step back, before saying, "Just as I thought, he's got scurvy."
"Scurvy?" Johnny questioned.
"Back up." She told Johnny and Zoro, who did as she said. "And you two, begin juicing those limes, and make sure as much of it makes it into his mouth as possible." She ordered of Luffy and Usopp, both of whom jumped to do as she said, wanting to help this guy.
"If we aren't too late, then after he gets enough of that lime juice, he'll be just fine in a few days." She said, giving the tanned man hope.
"What!? Really Big Sis? Really!? Thank you Big Sis!" He exclaimed happily, as he got a little too close to comfort, almost getting spit on her face.
She quickly shoved him away, saying as she did so, "Please, don't call me that, it sounds so dumb." She sighed then. "Besides, I'm not a magician. This used to be a hopeless disease that plagued sailors, and we just know how to deal with it now. Scurvy is caused by a simple deficiency of plant derived nutrients, like vitamin C. Back in the old days they couldn't carry fresh fruits and vegetables because they couldn't store them, we know better now."
"If a little is good, then a lot is better." Luffy said, as he and Usopp shoved and packed limes into Yosaku's mouth until they couldn't fit anymore in.
"You're so smart Nami." Luffy commented, turning to her and smiling as he did.
"No, you're all just morons. Every sailor should know about scurvy, the fact that none of you do just proves how stupid you are." She stated, a little more harshly than was needed.
Yosaku managed to spit out all the limes in his mouth, sitting up as he did, his face covered in lime juice. After wiping it off, he lept to his feet and began to dance with Johnny, both of them repeating, "Hurray Hurray!", over and over again.
"The nutrients cured me!" Yosaku proclaimed.
"Now you're all better!" Johnny proclaimed.
"Idiots, you can't heal that quickly!" Nami screamed, her infamous shark like teeth appearing once more.
The two came to a stop then, standing side by side, as they formally introduced themselves in a serious manner. "Allow us to introduce ourselves." They said in unison.
"My name is Johnny." Johnny said.
"And I'm Yosaku." Yosaku said.
"Together, we're the baddest pirate bounty hunting duo in the world." They spoke once more in unison.
"Big Bro Zoro there used to hunt bounties with us." Johnny explained, letting them know how the swordsman knew them.
"Glad to make your acquaintance." Yosaku stated.
"Small world. I never thought I'd see you guys again." Zoro said, walking forward and taking ahold of Johnny's hand as he did.
"So, I'm guessing that's the guy you told us about? The one you had planned on joining up with from the get go?" Yosaku inquired, gesturing to Luffy as he did.
"Yep, that's him." Zoro confirmed.
As Yosaku then put his hand forward, he stumbled, and proceeded to fall face first onto the deck, passing out as he did.
After putting Yosaku in the men's bedroom so he could rest, the four pirates and one bounty hunter convened in the dining room, Luffy having a snack while they were in there.
"Let this be a lesson to you." Nami said to the other four, referring to Yosaku and his condition.
Zoro sighed at that. "Yeah, this is the kind of trouble you run into when you choose a life on the sea."
"Which means when we're at sea, we really gotta think about how we can get the right amount of nutrients with very little food." Usopp put forth.
"It's absolutely necessary that someone on this ship knows how to do that." Nami added. "In other words, you guys need a cook. Otherwise you'll end up with scurvy in no time."
"A cook huh?" Luffy asked, as he finished off the loaf of bread he had been eating.
Usopp was quick to agree with that. "That's a good idea, we should definitely get a cook. And if we do get a cook, it means we'll be able to have yummy food even when we're out at sea."
"A cook? I know just the place." Johnny said, interrupting them.
Before he could go any further with what he was going to say however, Luffy cut him off, saying this as he did, "Nope, I already have us a cook. And I won't accept anyone else but him for the position."
"Huh? What do you mean you already have us a cook?" The long nosed teen questioned.
"And why did you wait until now to tell us about him?" Nami asked.
Zoro was quiet, though his attention was focused solely on Luffy, also wanting to know what he was talking about.
"I mean just that, I've already found our cook. And it just kinda slipped my mind is all. I had planned on picking him up right before we left for the Grand Line, but I guess we can pick him up now." He stated simply.
"When and where did you even meet this guy?" The orange haired girl inquired.
"Well, you guys remember how Gramps took me on that tour of the East Blue?"
Nami, Usopp and Zoro all nodded their heads at that.
"That was when I met him."
The straw hat teen then proceeded to tell them the story...
Twenty Seven Months Ago...
Day One
"Oh, is that so? I see..., alright, I'll be there as soon as possible." Garp hung up then, placing the speaker back on the receiver of the transponder snail he was using, the thing going off with an audible 'Click'.
The grey haired marine sighed then. "Damn that son of mine. Just what the hell is he doing back here in the East Blue?" He wondered to himself. "More importantly, why now? I finally get a month off to spend with my grandson, and this happens!?" He thought bitterly.
Sighing for the second time, he walked out of his cabin, coming out onto the deck of the small marine vessel, where he saw his grandson leaning against the railing, looking out at the ocean.
Seeing him, he had to fight the urge to sigh for a third time, thinking to himself as he did, "I only have a week left before I have to return to Marine Headquarters, and most of it's gonna be spent dealing with Dragon showing back up here in the East Blue. And now I have to find somewhere for Luffy to stay until I get this cleared up. If I leave him alone on island though, he's bound to get into trouble and, more than likely, recruit someone else into that damn crew he's so set on forming. And it'd take too long to get him back to Dawn Island. So where can I drop him off at, where he'll be safe and won't be able to fill any other kids heads with that pirate nonsense of his?"
Garp thought this over for several long moments, before he came to a decision. "That's it, that's where I'll take him. And perhaps that damn bastard can drill some sensibility into Luffy's head while he's there."
So, the decision made, the man known as the fist made his presence known to his grandchild. "Luffy."
Turning his head to look at his grandfather, the fourteen year old asked, "Yeah Gramps?"
"I'm afraid our little voyage is at it's end. The next stop we make will be our last, and once we're done there it'll be time to head back to Fusha."
"Wait, really!? Awesome!" He said excitedly, turning to face the vice admiral as he did.
"What was that!?" The aging man shouted. "That eager to be rid of your old grandpa are you!?" He cocked his fist back then.
"Crap!" Was all that Luffy could say, before he was clobbered by the large man.
Luffy had a sour look on his face as his grandfather stepped off the marine vessel, the teenager following after, onto the floating establishment they had just dropped anchor at. "Damn geezer, always hitting me." He grumbled to himself.
"What was that?" Garp questioned.
"Nothing!" Luffy said hurriedly, not wanting to get hit again.
The much older man simply nodded at that, before turning his attention back to the front door of the floating place. As he did, Luffy finally took in his surroundings, realizing how cool it was. "This place is just floating in the middle of the ocean...what is it anyway?" The curious kid asked his violent guardian.
"This is the floating restaurant Baratie, it's owned by-"
Garp didn't even get to finish his sentence, Luffy dashing inside the place as soon as the word restaurant left his mouth.
"So cool!" Luffy exclaimed, now inside the establishment, looking around at everything, gaining the attention of all the customers as he did.
He didn't pay the eyes of the men and women any mind, in spite of the fact that they all looked like a rough bunch, pirates most likely, as he began shooting from one table to another, drooling over all the delicious looking food as he did.
During the middle of one of his runs from table to table, he ended up running into someone larger than he was, stumbling back after slamming into him. "Oh, I didn't see you there, my bad." He said, before actually looking at the person.
His eyes were soon on the person though anyway, said person being an older looking man with blonde hair, though most of it was hidden by his much longer than average chef's hat. Two things that quickly stuck out were that he had a long braided mustache, with a large tuft of blonde hair growing from his chin, and a peg leg, the leg substitute replacing his right one. As for what he wore, a white chefs uniform with an apron to match, a pair of black pants, a black work boot on his left foot and a blue ascot.
"Just what do you think you're doing slobbering all over my customers food boy?" The man asked evenly.
"Uh..." He looked around once more then, to see that he had indeed left a considerable amount of drool on every table he had visited. Looking back at the man, he smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head not covered by his hat as he did, while offering, "I'm sorry. I'm just really hungry."
"Is that so?" He questioned in response to the teen's statement.
The raven haired fourteen year old's stomach growled real loud then, backing up his words in doing so. "Yeah."
Before the man could say anything further to that, his, as well as the whole restaurant's attention, was called to the entrance, as Garp threw the doors open. "Hey Zeff!"
The blonde man scowled at the sight of the vice admiral, though it was a light one, it was a scowl nevertheless. "What is it Garp?" He asked straight up, knowing that the best and easiest, not to mention the fastest, way to deal with the marine hero was to be blunt, and get to the root of whatever he was there for, which was why he didn't mention he was disturbing everyone's meal.
"I got a favor to ask ya." He stated bluntly, coming to a stop in front of the man as he did.
"A favor?"
"Yeah. I'm out with my grandson on a tour of the East Blue, but I just got an urgent call from a marine base nearby, and I need to get over there quickly, so I can't drop him off back home."
"And?"
"And, I need you to take care of him until I finish with this business of mine."
"Wait, you mean I'm gonna be staying with this old guy?" Luffy interjected.
The man, apparently known as Zeff, looked back at the fourteen year old then, taking his appearance in, before turning his head back to Garp. "So that's your grandson huh, makes sense. I see the resemblance, plus he's just as blunt as you are. I'm betting that's not all you have in common either."
Garp chuckled at that. "Come on Zeff, it's not like I can take him with me. Besides, I was hoping you could drill some sense into that head of his."
The blonde man quirked an eyebrow at that, intrigued.
"I've been trying to shape him into a great marine, but he's got it in his head that he wants to be King of the Pirates, and won't change his mind about it no matter what I do."
"Hey!" Luffy yelled. "I will become King of the Pirates! It's my dream, and I won't let anyone stand in the way of it, not even you Gramps!" He proclaimed loudly, causing all of the patrons to begin laughing at him, just as loudly.
A scowl crossed the rubber boy's face then, as he looked around at all the people, his anger and irritation clear. "Hey, stop laughing!" They didn't even bother to act like they cared, continuing to laugh at him. "All of you, shut up! I'll become King of the Pirates for sure, just you watch!" He stated as if it was fact.
"Don't go around spouting that crap boy!" Garp shouted, slamming his fist down onto the top of Luffy's head and ramming him into the floor, causing him to yelp in pain as he did.
He was quick to jump back up, not deterred in the slightest by the bruise forming under his hat. "It's not crap, it's the truth! I will be the Pirate King one day, that's a promise!"
Despite the fact that all his customers began to laugh even harder at the boy, Zeff couldn't help the grin that crossed his face. "This boy...he's something else, I can already tell." That grin of his widened further, as, out the corner of his eye, he saw that a certain blonde haired teen was in the room, having been there since just before Luffy said he'd be the Pirate King the first time.
Garp, in spite of the urge to viciously assault all the ruffians for laughing at his grandson, did not even bother to say anything to stop the laughter. This was because he hoped, even though he knew it would do no good, that it would somehow help the teen realize becoming a pirate was a bad idea.
"I already like the kid." Zeff stated to no one in particular. "Sure, I'll take care of him for a few days." He finally told Garp, agreeing to do him this favor.
"Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get going." He turned and walked towards the exit then, looking back to say only this, "Do what you can Zeff, please.", before proceeding to exit the restaurant.
Zeff knew what he was asking of him, he was asking him to convince the boy to give up on becoming a pirate. However, he had no intention of doing so. He did intend to put him through the ringer though, to make sure he had what it took to become a pirate of great caliber. And if during that process, he managed to make him reluctant to become one, because of how hard it was, then so be it.
"Sanji!" The blonde teen known as Sanji came to Zeff's side after he called his name, "Yeah, what is it?" He said without even coming close to dropping the lit cigarrette in his mouth.
"Take that kid over there and get some food in his belly. Then show him the ropes, he's going to be working with us for the next few days, so he'll need to know how things work around here."
Sanji looked over at said kid, the raven haired fourteen year old currently about to engage in a fist fight with several men, one of them being twice his size and width, though that didn't seem to intimidate him in the slightest. He sighed then, "Alright geezer."
Following his boss's orders, he went up the the straw hat teen, and proceeded to drag him away from the group of men, taking him into the back.
Luffy had protested at first, seeing as he was being dragged away from a fight, but the moment he was sat down and a plate of food was put in front of him, he shut up and began to eat. He finished the plate quickly, before asking for another helping. "Seconds please!"
The blonde teen turned back to look at the straw hat kid then, surprised by how fast he had finished his food and was ready for another plate. As he did, Luffy finally took in his appearance.
He was a few inches taller, had somewhat short blonde hair, which was brushed over his left eye, blocking it from sight completely, leaving only his right one visible. And, most noticeably, the eyebrow of his that could be seen was swirled. As for what he wore, a short sleeve black shirt and some jeans, a white apron over that, as well as a pair of black work shoes.
By the time he had taken what his fellow teen was wearing in, he had taken his plate, filled it up and gave it back to him again. "There ya go."
The second plate was cleaned off faster than the first, Luffy asking for thirds right after finishing the food off.
"Are you even tasting the food?" He asked Luffy. "Of course I am!" He responded.
Shrugging his shoulders, the blonde took the plate and prepared to give his fellow teen another helping. "You must be really hungry." He remarked.
"Oh, can you get me fourths and fifths while you're at it please?" The rubber teen added to his previous request for food.
Sanji turned back to look at him then, quirking his swirled brow as he did, looking somewhat comical because of it, wondering to himself how much this kid could really eat, while taking his cigarette out and exhaling all the smoke he had taken in.
Shaking his head, he put the cigarette back in his mouth and got to fulfilling Luffy's request, soon bringing him three more plates in addition to the one from before with another helping added to it. "Eat up."
He didn't need any encouragement, for as soon as the dishware touched the table, he dug in. Halfway through the first plate however, he suddenly stopped, a good chunk of food still in his mouth as he did.
Seeing this, Sanji's eyes widened slightly, as he thought to himself, "Does he not like my food?", the teen having given him food he had cooked himself this time, rather than what some of the other chefs had.
Luffy's eyes were real wide, as, his mouth still full of food, he said, "This food is the best I've ever had!"
In spite of himself, Sanji couldn't help but let a large, almost shit eating grin cross his face at that. "You really like my cooking huh?"
Luffy nodded his head vigorously, before digging in once more with gusto.
After swallowing several mouthfuls of food, he spoke up once again, "You must be the greatest cook ever!"
Sanji's grin managed to widen a little further then. "Well, I don't like to toot my own horn, but I-"
The blonde teen received a strong kick to the side of the head then, which knocked the cigarette out of his mouth and sent him flying into Luffy from the force of it, colliding with his fellow teen and knocking him over in his chair, the two sliding back and ramming their heads into the wall, the momentum finally dissipating as they did.
"OW! What the hell was that for you damn shitty geezer!?" Sanji questioned heatedly, a lump forming at the top of his head from hitting the wall and a bruise present on the side of his head where he had been kicked, as he climbed to his feet. Luffy climbed to his as well, luckily having swallowed the food that had been in his mouth before being hit with the body of the blonde, so that no choking occurred.
"Don't get cocky, you're not that good of a cook." Zeff stated bluntly and just a tad harshly, stomping on the lit cigarette as he did, grinding his foot into it, so as to put it out.
"Screw you!" Sanji shot back.
Ignoring his protege, Zeff moved close to the two boys and dropped a large stack of dishes into their arms, that they only now realized he had been holding.
"Wh-what is all this?" Luffy questioned.
"Your grandfather asked me to take care of you. However, that doesn't mean I have to do it for free. No, I'm going to make you work for your food and board."
"What!?" Luffy asked somewhat incredulously.
"You heard me. Starting now, you'll work here until your grandfather comes back. And in return, you'll receive hot food and a warm bed. Now get to work brats!" He barked at them, turning to leave the kitchen, stopping at the door before turning back around, speaking as he did, "And just what are you doing in those clothes brat? Where's your uniform?"
"It's all torn up from that incident yesterday, you should know, you did it ya damn geezer." His apprentice shot back at him.
Zeff hmphed at that, "Well then, I'll just have to get the both of you uniforms then." With that, he finally left.
Luffy could only pout, as he and Sanji took the dishes to the sink and began to wash them. "Man, stupid Grandpa and his stupid tour." The rubber kid grumbled to himself
"So, I didn't catch your name." Sanji said, catching the dark haired fourteen year old's attention.
"My name's Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy. What's yours?"
"Sanji, just Sanji."
Luffy nodded his head at that, before continuing to help wash dishes in silence.
This silence lasted for about a minute, before Luffy broke away and quickly scarfed down what food was left on the table he had been sitting at, bringing the plates they had been on to the sink afterwards. Though Sanji was the one to break the silence. "Your dream is to become the Pirate King huh?"
"Yep, sure is." He answered back simply.
"That's a fool's dream though, isn't it? I mean, Pirate King, how are you supposed to accomplish that? It's foolish."
"No matter how foolish it might be, or how many people tell me I can't do it, or how much Gramps disapproves and hits me for it, I will become the King of the Pirates! It's my dream and I will reach it, or I'll die trying!" He stated proudly and with confidence.
That got Sanji to go quiet for a few moments, unsure of how to respond to such confidence. Finally, he settled on something. "Speaking of your grandfather, does he hit you like that every time you talk about your dream or becoming a pirate in general?"
"Gramps? Nah, he hits me a lot more than that. He just hits harder when I talk about wanting to be a pirate, or becoming one, or my dream of being Pirate King." He replied casually.
"Geez, he sounds as bad as Zeff." The blonde thought to himself
"So why don't you stop?"
"Huh?" Luffy questioned, unsure of what was being asked of him
"So why don't you stop? Stop saying those kinds of things I mean. Just tell him you want to be a marine or something. Anything to get him to lay off a little right?"
The straw hat teen shook his head at that. "No way. Becoming King of the Pirates is my dream, I won't lie about it or deny it. I've said it to Gramps face on more than one occasion. And I'll continue to do so. I don't know why to be honest, it's just that...it's part of who I am, ya know? And I don't want to hide part of who I am."
"I understand." Sanji replied.
Silence reigned once more then, before eventually, the blonde broke it once more.
"You know, I honestly have no room to talk about your dream. My dream is just as foolish as yours is after all."
"Your dream? What is it?" Luffy inquired.
Sanji's face lit up, as he asked, "Have you ever heard of the All Blue?"
Day Two
Luffy was fidgeting, as the white and blue uniform Zeff had him wearing was not only uncomfortable to the teen, but also reminded him somewhat of the standard marine uniform, which he didn't want to wear in a million years. "This thing is itchy." He complained to his fellow teen, as he began to scratch himself.
Sanji chuckled at that, "Yeah, well, you get used to it." He found this funny because just a few hour earlier, Zeff had kicked their asses around like nobodies business, and not once did he complain about that, as it was supposedly training, but once he got put in the uniform he became quite whiny, as this wasn't the first complaint he had about the outfit. Having already said it was too tight, looked kind of dumb, and smelled funny.
The two were currently gathering plates of food, preparing to take them out to some customers. Luffy, having been shown how to do it properly by Sanji, plus the lessons Bellemere taught him reminding him to be extra careful, managed to carry a platter with several plates on it without dropping it, though the whole thing did wobble from time to time. Nothing got dropped however, and that was all that mattered.
After the two took the plates out and served them to the appropriate customers, they returned to the back, to the kitchen more specifically, as they waited for their next orders, Sanji lighting up a cigarette as they did.
As they stood and waited, Luffy began to fidget once more, this time out of nervousness rather than uncomfortableness. Sanji noticed this of course, the fidgeting at least, and said, "I know you don't like the uniform, but you gotta suck it up. You'll be wearing it for awhile."
"It's not that." Luffy told him.
"Then what is it?"
"Sanji...we're friends now right?" He asked hesitantly.
"Yeah...why?" He asked in return, wondering what he was getting nervous over.
"Well, I've got something to show you that might make you not want to be my friend anymore." The black haired kid stated, all the children that had rejected and scorned him coming to mind, as well as Usopp's reaction to when he first found out as well.
The fifteen year old's visible brow quirked at that. "What are you talking about?"
"I...I ate a devil fruit when I was little, and now..." He fish hooked his cheek and stretched it out farther than humanly possible, saying as he did so, "...I'm a rubber man." He let his skin snap back into place then, going quiet as he did.
Sanji's eyes were wide at seeing this, shocked into silence, having heard of devil fruits but never actually seeing someone who had eaten one. Hell, he didn't even believe in them before, until Zeff set him straight that is.
"Will...will you still be my friend?"
That questioned managed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in, as he lifted his left leg, before bringing it down and bonking his fellow teen on the head, his hat in his room, not wanting it to get damaged or dirty as he worked in the kitchen.
It was a light bonk, so as Sanji put his leg back down, all Luffy did was touch where he had been hit and asked, "Why'd you do that?"
"Stupid, something like that's not going to change the fact that we're friends."
"Really?" The rubber teen asked hopefully.
"Really."
A large smile broke out onto Luffy's face then, "Thanks Sanji."
He smiled in return then, "No problem." He sighed then. "Now, let's get back to work."
Day Three
Sanji's nerves were wearing thin, as Luffy bounced around the kitchen, trying to get his hands on any food he possibly could, swiping anything he could off of customers plates before they were taken out to them. And seeing as how Zeff was busy, it fell to the swirly browed blonde to get him to stop, at which he had tried several times to no avail already.
"Luffy, just cut it out already would you!?" He finally shouted at the younger teen.
It had the desired effect, as he quickly came to a stop, his attention on his older friend rather than all the food being carried about. "What'd I do?" He asked obliviously.
"Ugh!" The blonde groaned.
"Hey Sanji, Luffy, get out there and take customers orders already!" A chef said, passing them as he did so, going to make another dish.
Sighing, Sanji got Luffy to follow him out to the front, so they could do just that. "Come on Luffy."
Once out there, they waited on table after table together, taking orders, clearing dishes off and bringing food to everyone. Half an hour into this though, they noticed a table they had cleared earlier now had new customers sitting at it, and when Sanji realized it was a table of pretty teen girls, all of whom appeared around his age or slightly older, hearts filled his eyes. "Ah, beautiful mademoiselles!" He shot over to their table so fast it took them a second to notice him, as he said, "How may I take you lovely ladies orders?", his voice going up an octave or so as he did.
They giggled at his antics, and began to tell him what they all wanted.
Luffy was left wondering why he had just been ditched. "It's just a bunch of girls, what's the big deal?" He asked aloud to no one in particular.
Nevertheless, he let the blonde be, going on to help a few tables by himself as his friend flirted for a few minutes, before finally getting them their food. And as he brought it out and set it down, the aroma of it reached Luffy's nose, the dark haired teen making sure to get a good whiff of it as it did, allowing him to realize it was food Sanji had made himself.
The fourteen year old began to drool, as it smelled so good, and looked even tastier than the dishes Sanji had served him before. He just couldn't help himself and rushed to the table, intent on devouring all edible things that rest on it. Just as he got there and was about leap forward and dig in, Sanji delivered a strong kick right to his face, knocking him back several feet and causing him to slam into a table and nearly knock it over, ending up hitting it and then rolling off of it.
Quick to get back to his feet, he yelled at his friend, "What was that for!?"
"I won't allow any harm to come to lady." Sanji stated simply.
"I wasn't going to harm anyone! I just wanted the food!" Luffy told him.
"I won't allow anyone to steal food from a lady either."
"But I'm so hungry!" Luffy whined.
"You're always hungry!" The blonde snapped.
The whole restaurant's attention was on the two as they bickered, but said bickering quickly came to a stop, as one of the girls Sanji had been serving spoke up, "Hey handsome, don't worry, we're fine, as is our food. Now stop wasting time with that loser and hang out with us."
"Okay!" He said excitedly, hearts in his eyes once more, as he whirled to face them, moving almost like a noodle as he did.
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Luffy shouted, to which Sanji did just that, ignored him in favor of the ladies.
This served to anger and irritate the rubber teen, "This guy..."
That's when a man, soaked to the bone and panting, stumbled through the door into the establishment. "Pl-please, ne-need f-foo...fo-food." He managed to get out, before collapsing face first onto the floor, his exhaustion clear.
Obviously all eyes were on him, including Sanji's, the hearts gone from said orbs.
Before anyone could say or do anything, Sanji moved, beginning to head to the back, completely ignoring the girl who asked him to stay, as she did so once more. "Hey handsome, don't go, stay here with us." Even with the help of the other girls, they still couldn't get the blonde to come back over to them, as he headed into the back and into the kitchen.
He came back out a few minutes later with a plate full of food and a glass of water, bringing them to the man, who had been put outside by some of the other chefs, which allowed him to eat the food made for him without everyone's eyes being on him. Luffy followed after.
The man dug in with the fork the blonde gave him the moment it was in his hand, scarfing down the whole plate rather quickly, proving he was starving like hell, gulping down the water afterward. Once he was finished, he looked up at the swirly browed teen with tears in his eyes, sitting down with his back against the wall forcing him to look up, "I'm s-sorry, but I don't have any money. I was shipwrecked and ended up-"
Sanji cut the man off, gesturing with his hand to stop, saying as he did so, "You don't have to tell me. I know how hard it is out on the sea without any food or water. As far as I'm concerned, if anyone's hungry they're a customer and are to be fed, money or no. So don't worry about the bill."
The man's tears began to fall then, as he got to his knees and then went to all fours, as he thanked him profusely, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! I thought I was going to die!"
"No problem." He said simply, before turning back to head inside.
He was stopped by Luffy however, the fourteen year old having seen the whole thing. "Sanji."
"Yeah?"
"Join my crew!" He smiled real big as he said this.
Day Four
"Nope."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pleeeeeaaaasssseee?"
"I said no."
"Pretty pretty please?"
"How many times do I have to tell you no!?" Sanji snapped. "I said no when you first asked me yesterday, I've said no every time after that and will continue to say no, which means, in case you haven't figured it out yet, I will not be joining your crew, understand!?"
Luffy pouted at that, "But why!?" He whined. "Why won't you join my crew?"
"Because I owe a debt to the geezer that owns this place that will take a lifetime to repay. And I refuse to leave this place until that debt has been paid in full."
"But if you join my crew and come with me on my journey, then we can find the All Blue together! You won't have to wait until I get back and tell you what it was like, you'll be able to see it with your own eyes!"
"As tempting as that is, the answer's still no."
"B-b-bu-but-but-"
"No buts! I'm not leaving this place, end of discussion!" Sanji snapped once more, this time more heatedly.
Luffy's pout increased at that, "Hmph, you're just a big jerk." With that he turned away, though not bothering to move, the two in a cabin together so there was no one to bother them, just looking away from his fellow teen.
Sanji merely rolled his eyes, before taking his cigarette out of his mouth and putting it out in the ashtray on the dresser near their beds, lying down on his after doing so.
A long bout of silence passed between the two then, before Sanji finally asked, "So...this crew of yours, besides you, who's in it?"
Forgetting about the fact that he was angry with the blonde, the straw hat teen turned around to face him, a large cheesy smile crossing his face as he proceeded to tell him about who all had joined. "First there's Zoro, he's my first mate and swordsman. He's really cool and tough, and he dreams of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world! Then there's Nami, she's my navigator. She's really pretty and really smart too, and she dreams of drawing a map of the whole entire world!" To emphasize his point, he moved his arms out, gesturing to everything around him. "Finally there's Usopp, my marksman. He's really good at building stuff, almost as good as he is at sniping, he's a bit of a liar though. He dreams of meeting his dad and becoming a brave warrior of the sea!"
Seeing how excitedly he talked about them, Sanji couldn't help but want to meet them, a smile crossing his face. That's when he realized his fellow teen had said Nami and she, "Wait, you mean you got a pretty girl to join your crew?" He questioned disbelievingly.
"Huh?" Luffy was unsure of what his friend meant by that, and that was clear to said friend.
"You said a girl named Nami is a part of your crew, how did you get her to join?"
"What do you mean how did I get her to join?" Luffy asked, his confusion obvious.
Sighing at that, he dropped it. "Forget it."
Shrugging, Luffy simply said, "Okay."
The quiet returned then, as the straw hat teen climbed onto his bed, getting relaxed as he did.
"So...this Nami, what's she like?" Sanji suddenly asked.
"Nami?"
"Yeah, tell me about her."
"Okay!" The fourteen year old proceeded to do just that.
A few hours later and the two were out front, cleaning tables off. During the middle of one table in particular, their attention, as well as everyone else's in the restaurant, that only being the other cooks and fellow waiters since the lunch rush had just ended, was pulled to the front as Garp threw the doors open. "Luffy!"
Luffy sighed as his grandfather entered the establishment, "Looks like it's time to go." While he didn't enjoy the work, he did enjoy hanging out with Sanji, all the delicious food he got to eat, and the training he received from Zeff. And if he had to take food orders, clean dishes and clear tables to be able to enjoy those things, so be it.
"There you are Luffy." Garp remarked, as he came over to his grandson. "I've finished the marine business I got saddled with, we can go home now."
"Alright Gramps." Luffy said, not bothering to put up any fight since the old man was at least taking him back to Fusha this time.
As the fourteen year old went into the back, heading for his cabin to change out of his uniform and back into a regular set of clothes, Zeff came out into the front to talk to Garp, and Sanji followed after his friend.
Luffy was just slipping a pair of jean shorts on, when Sanji came into the room.
"Hey."
"Hey." Luffy repeated, as he grabbed a red shirt and slipped it on, before placing his hat back on his head, having taken it off earlier.
The sadness in the room coming off of Luffy was more than evident to the blonde, even if he wasn't crying.
"Looks like it's time for you to leave." Sanji said, stating the obvious.
"Yeah."
"Look, I know I said I wouldn't join your crew and I meant it, but we are still friends. So you should drop by sometime, it's always nice to hang out. And I'm certainly not going anywhere, so I'll be here. I'll even cook you up something special when you come back, alright?"
His attempt to cheer Luffy up worked to a degree, as he gave him a small smile, and said, "Okay."
The straw hat fourteen year old then hugged his swirley browed friend, as he said his farewell. "Goodbye Sanji."
He was somewhat caught off guard, and if it had been anyone else, he'd probably have kicked them upside the head, nevertheless though, he returned the hug. "Goodbye Luffy."
Luffy pulled away then, before leaving the room, exiting the Baratie altogether in a matter of moments, back on the small marine vessel and heading home shortly afterward.
"The guy sounds like a bit of an idiot." Nami stated bluntly.
"For once I have to agree with her, guy sounds like an idiot." Zoro agreed, though he felt a bit of gratitude to this Sanji guy for not turning Luffy away after finding out about his ability.
"He definitely sounds a bit unorthodox, but if he's really that good of a cook, then who cares?" Usopp put forth. That's when the long nosed teen brought something else up. "But, he said he doesn't want to join, so it doesn't really matter, right?"
Luffy shook his head at that. "No, he wants to join."
"But you said he said-"
"He said that because he feels indebted to old man Zeff, but he did want to join, I could tell." Luffy said, not leaving much room for argument.
Usopp thought about further protest, as it didn't sound to him like Sanji wanted to join, but then thought better of it, as Luffy would just keep on until he gave in anyway.
"Okay, then you guys have got yourselves a cook. Only one problem, do you even know how to get back to this Baratie?" Nami asked, sounding a bit snarky as she did.
Johnny cut in then, "Well, you guys might not know, but I do. I was actually going to suggest you go there to recruit your cook, but apparently you already did. So I'll just show you guys the way."
"You will? Thanks!" Luffy replied with a smile.
"Come on, I'll help you set the course." Nami said, as she stood and went outside with Johnny, taking Zoro and Usopp along as well so they could do what she needed them to, so that said course could be set.
"I hope you're finally ready to join the crew Sanji." Luffy though to himself, as he fixed his hat, stood and went outside with the others.
To Be Continued...