Chapter 11

Who loses wins

Sanji put the plates of pizza down in front of his friends and they threw themselves on it enthusiastically. The blond didn't have much else to do than bring the green salad he had prepared as an accompaniment then.

The crew had just left a small island on which they had stopped for a few hours and at the beginning of the afternoon, the Sunny was already heading for her next destination. On the island, Luffy hadn't wandered far before the enticing smell of wood-fired pizzas led him straight to the street vendor who was preparing them on-site in a large stone oven. Immediately, his crewmates had approved his initiative as lunch was approaching and they had left with about thirty of them to satisfy everyone's appetite.

For his part, Sanji had been a little disappointed to find that the few dishes he could offer his friends had just been replaced in favor of another cuisine, but he had to admit that these pizzas were delicious while he bit into a piece of melting cheese.

Not far from him, Luffy grabbed a game box he casually placed in the middle of the table while he wolfed down a huge slice of ham and mushroom pizza. "Let's play the Top Ten! I pick teams!"

Usopp groaned and moved his plate as the straw hat boy was already emptying the contents of the game haphazardly among the glasses. "We already played it yesterday and the day before yesterday, Luffy," He sighed.

"But it's so cool!" His captain affirmed.

"If nothing else, it's efficient and it keeps him busy," Nami remarked. She had chosen a slice of pizza with summer vegetables.

"Don't mess up the game board, we just bought it," Franky grumbled. He was devouring his pineapple pizza while watching the straw hat boy bring his fingers covered in tomato sauce close to the box.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy quickly wiped his hands on his napkin after swallowing another portion of pizza and seeing him get the cards out with excitement, Robin smiled. "It's a fun game," She agreed.

"Awesome! Robin's on my team!" Luffy pushed the little reindeer sitting next to the archaeologist to take his place and the doctor almost choked on his mouthful while the captain brought his plate closer with his elastic hand launched at full speed. "Come on, come on!" He ordered his crewmates.

"If there's nothing at stake, I don't see the point," Nami declined, helping herself to the salad.

"How about we bet our chores?" The cyborg suggested.

"Yes, the losers will share the tasks of the winners!" Brook agreed happily.

"Hmm, good idea. Sanji-kun, Usopp, Jinbei, Franky, you're on my team," The redhead decided, waving to her crewmates to join her. "I'm counting on you; I could do without being on watch in this cold…"

"I am your humble servant, Nami-san!" The blond immediately complied.

"Brook, Zoro, Chopper, you're with me!" The musician and the little reindeer quickly took their plates to join the captain on the other side of the table while Zoro dragged himself limply towards the indicated seat.

"Let's start," The navigator continued, pointing to the theme cards turned over on the table. "Usopp is our Cap'ten."

The sniper swallowed his bite of olive pizza, grabbed the first theme card and glanced at it. Robin then distributed a number card to his teammates who checked them before planting their eyes in that of their Cap'ten, attentive despite their full mouths.

"Okay, here's the theme: don't push grandma into the nettles but you can push her into… From very mean to very nice." Usopp quickly looked at his number card then. "You can push her into the mud," He began to help his friends.

Nami spoke up. "You can push her into the ocean!"

"You can push her into a super soft mattress!" Franky exclaimed.

"You can push her into a giant running blender," Sanji continued.

"You can push her into despair."

The Fish-Man raised an eyebrow in front of the questioning gaze of his four crewmates at his answer and Usopp bit his lower lip, undecided. "Okay so I had number 4… I'd say Nami had number 3, Sanji had number 1, Franky had number 5, and Jinbei… number 2?" His friends turned over their cards and the navigator was delighted: the sniper had guessed the order of the answers perfectly.

"Despair wasn't easy to classify," Usopp muttered, helping himself to a slice of four-cheese pizza.

"It was nonsense," The redhead approved, "Desperation isn't so bad!"

"It's a significant psychological threat," The Fish-Man protested.

"It's our turn!" Luffy grabbed a slice of pizza and a theme card then offered a big smile to his teammates who took note of their respective numbers. "Very bad trip: you wake up the day after a party and find out what you did the day before… From just tipsy to seriously drunk." He then grabbed his number card and started screaming. "I danced all night on the Sunny and it was awesome!"

"I threw up on the deck," Chopper sighed.

"I tried to strangle my crewmates during their sleep," Robin answered.

"I played my best songs to entertain my crewmates!" Brook rejoiced.

"I couldn't sleep because everyone was screaming," Zoro grumbled.

The captain took a moment to think then. "Chopper, card number 1. Brook, card number 5. Robin, card number 4. Zoro, card number 3. I had card number 2!" His friends flipped over their cards and Luffy jumped for joy under the stunned gaze of the opposing team.

"How did you guess that?" Usopp asked, flabbergasted.

"It didn't make any sense," The cook agreed suspiciously.

"No, it's easy! Chopper can't take alcohol and Robin would have said she strangled someone if she had the card number 5! Zoro could have been drinking all night if he had the card number 5 but he was just annoyed because he couldn't sleep. Afterwards, I guessed Brook's as I had card number 2!"

His friends shared another look before Nami grabbed a theme card, annoyed. "Come on, let's focus, messing up isn't an option. Here's the theme: Admiral Akainu, if you don't give me this secret code, I will… Complete from the small threat to the big threat. For my part, I'll send him to spend ten years in Impel Down as a prisoner, that'll teach him!"

"I'm gonna blow his fucking head off and make confetti with the rest of his body!" Franky roared, biting into his slice of pizza angrily.

"I'm gonna plunge him into a huge frozen lake," Usopp decided.

"I'm gonna ask him to change his look," Sanji said.

"I'll definitely start crying," Jinbei added.

"Hmm…" The navigator carefully considered the answers of her friends, focused. "It's not easy but I'd say Franky has card number 5 and Jinbei has card number 1." As they nodded, she bit her lip. "Akainu's look is indeed dreadful but it's not a big threat and plunging him into a frozen lake won't do much to him either… Okay, card number 2 for Sanji-kun and card number 3 for Usopp. I had card number 4."

"Well done, Nami-san!" The young woman smiled victoriously in front of the numbered cards of her crewmates and she pushed the theme cards towards Zoro. The swordsman sighed and wiped his hands briefly before picking one up.

"Toilet paper is out of stock next stopover. What do you buy as a replacement? From less effective to most effective." Usopp and Franky were already shaking with laughter and the fencer paused after looking at his number card. "I'd take tree leaves."

"I'd buy mint tissues!" Chopper chimed in.

"I'd take Nami's drawing paper!" Luffy exclaimed.

"How dare you?!" The navigator got indignant and she rose abruptly, outraged.

"I'd choose a bidet!" Brook crooned, carefully cutting a portion of his anchovy pizza.

"I'd take a scalpel," The archaeologist finished.

Everyone then turned to Zoro who looked back at them, annoyed. He shoved a huge slice of ground meat pizza into his mouth to help him think. "Fuck if I know," He mumbled, trying to swallow his slice without making a mess, "Chopper, you're a doctor. Your thing with mint tissues makes sense, doesn't it?" Since no one answered so as not to influence the game, he sighed again. "Brook card number 5. Luffy, card number 2. Robin, card number 3. Chopper, card number 4 and I got card number 1."

"Zoro, mint tissues are very irritating for this part of the body!" Chopper protested, showing him his card number 2 in shock.

"Nami's drawing paper is all grainy, that'd work great!" Luffy pointed out to him in turn, showing his card number 4 while the navigator almost fainted.

"Robin, you really had card number 3?!" Usopp exclaimed upon discovering it.

"Yes, I had. This object is precise enough and easy enough to use to be suitable for this problem," Her friend replied.

"You can't afford to get things wrong," The cyborg sneered.

"Even if it's effective, it's risky," Jinbei agreed.

"Only three points for you," Sanji pointed out to them, moving their chips.

With a smirk, Franky grabbed the deck of cards and twirled the first one in front of his eyes as the blond offered more slices of pizza. "You're in a typical creperie. What do you garnish your crepe with? From worst flavor to best flavor!"

Sanji cheerfully grabbed the laundry basket and filled the washing machine drum before adding the washing powder and starting the program. His team had lost the Top Ten but he was secretly glad to have more chores to take care of although Nami's crestfallen face was enough to make him regret his thoughts. To compensate, he had offered to do her part and the navigator had been happy to give him the cleaning of the deck and especially her watch.

On this occasion, Zoro hadn't failed to snort disdainfully when he saw him whirling with happiness and Sanji had suddenly frozen. He had wondered if the swordsman despised his usual attitude towards women or if he had understood that the cook was also using the event for his own benefit. Anyway, he had ended up shrugging and started clearing the table.

Sanji had made a decision a few days earlier and he intended to stick to it. He was going to get out of the trap he had fallen into and if Zoro was unable to understand that he was trying to respect his own request concerning the cohesion of the crew, it didn't matter. Sanji had the need to keep busy, so what? Everyone had their own way of managing the long crossing hours in normal times and no one was complaining. He needed to feel useful, what did it matter? Who would find a way to blame him? Helping his crewmates at sea or total strangers on dry land was the same thing and if that was the price to pay for finding inner calm, Sanji thought it wasn't that high.

Plus his friends seemed to make it easier for him, unconsciously or not. For example, during their last stopover, Chopper had offered to accompany him to stock up on medicine and they had spent the morning wandering among long rows of plants. The little reindeer had explained each property of those he had selected and his enthusiasm had captivated the cook who hadn't seen the time pass. In the same way, Usopp and Franky regularly came to ask him about one of their inventions to experiment with or help them in their manufacture. Not to mention Luffy and his new fad when he tested with his crew all the games they had bought on Kurta island.

All these attentions allowed him to pass the time without moping too much at the idea of not being able to cook as much as he would like and these last days had been a little less painful. The evening remained the most difficult time when everyone went to bed though. The silence that fell on the Sunny at this moment was indeed more often heavy than soothing. His nights were often restless and sleep eluded him regularly. However, once again, Sanji found that this inconvenience wasn't so troublesome and he forgot his dark circles and tired eyes the next morning when serving the best of breakfasts to his crewmates who were always delighted to taste his dishes.

Satisfied, Sanji glanced at the bathroom to check that he hadn't forgotten anything. He then put away the basket before a small alarm went off on the side of the dryer. He went there quietly and opened the machine before taking several towels and washcloths out. The weather being rainy and cool, hanging the laundry outside was out of the question and he quickly shook the items to prevent them from wrinkling before folding them.

In the middle of the towels, the Raid Suit came off quickly and Sanji had no hesitation when he carefully put it away in its box at the bottom of his pocket. As he had decided a few days earlier, helping people in need didn't hurt anyone and if the name of his family could support him for once, he wasn't going to deprive himself.

"This is absolutely adorable!" Brook exclaimed.

Five days had passed since their last stopover, and the Straw Hat Pirate's crew had stopped at Morto, a small spring island known for its flower crops throughout the New World. Around them, everything was covered with multicolored flowers from one end to the other, whether in the streets of the city, on every balcony or storefront, or even among the fields that stretched out of sight. The landscape gave an impression of softness in addition to enchanting panoramas.

"There really are all kinds," Jinbei commented, gazing at the port where they had just docked.

"They're so beautiful!" Chopper confirmed, examining an armful of poppies in a huge planter marking the entrance to the city. "The locals must be experts to provide such care to such a large number of different flowers!"

"They sell seeds," Nami noted, pointing to an advertisement pasted on a wall, "Could that be interesting?"

"We could renew or even strengthen those on the Sunny by creating hybrid forms," Robin suggested.

"It can also be used for my projectiles," Usopp said, "Depending on the type of flowers, some have rare specificities I can combine."

"With such a variety, they surely have a lot of honeys," The cook added.

"There are probably beehives around here," Franky agreed.

"I love honey!" The little reindeer rejoiced.

"We're gonna visit the bees, yahoo!" The captain got enthused, drunk with joy.

"Go see the bees if you like, personally I prefer to settle for flowers," Nami chimed in. "With Luffy around, I don't wanna end up stung by a bee…"

"I can't be stung, so I'll go and discover the wonders that the bees of the island must produce!" The musician laughed.

"Same for me, I'm super strong!" Franky said while striking a pose.

"I'm curious to discover their honeys," Sanji admitted.

"For my part, I'm more interested in the blooms," Robin said.

"So am I, even if the idea of tasting all these honeys would have been nice," The sniper decided after hesitating.

"I like flowers as much as honey!" Chopper exclaimed, still undecided.

"I don't care about both," The swordsman grumbled in his corner, "I'll stay at the port."

"If you don't mind, I'll join you," Jinbei offered.

Zoro shrugged back and Nami nodded. "Okay, we'll split up and meet at the end of the afternoon to decide what's next. By then, I'll get information about the charging time of the Trilog-Pose." The young woman then turned to the blond at her side. "Sanji-kun, can you stock up or do you prefer that I take care of it with Robin? The nursery isn't far compared with the beehives," She noted thanks to her map.

"I absolutely refuse, Nami-san! I won't allow Robin-chan and you to carry the slightest load!" The cook exclaimed, completely scandalized at the idea.

"Don't worry, we'll take Zoro and Jinbei since they're not doing anything," She pointed out to him while shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh… Well, that's very sweet, my dove, but I prefer to take care of the shopping myself," He confessed after a moment of reflection.

"As you wish. You'd have had more time for yourself, that's all," The navigator concluded while folding up her map.

"If you're bored, I can find you lots of things to do," The swordsman called out to him, "You can carry my bottles or scrub the deck again, I think my reflection wasn't clear enough yesterday," He added defiantly.

At these words, Sanji abruptly turned around, his eyes shining with anger. "That's because you've got only one eye left, you moron. You'd even miss Mihawk if he passed within inches of your left profile!" He hissed back.

Zoro tensed up at the unexpected violence of the reply and he straightened up to stare at his crewmate. "Don't forget to learn to control yourself in your busy schedule then. It'll prevent you from collapsing and someone having to come to save you."

The fencer turned sharply on his heels in the direction of the city and his friends glanced at his figure striding away, surprised. They looked questioningly at the cook then and Sanji looked down, his jaw clenched. "Don't pay attention to this idiot. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

The blond turned away to head for the beehives and quickly, the crew separated according to the program they had chosen.

"The weather is nice."

The swordsman didn't answer and Jinbei gave up trying to make conversation. Not only was he not comfortable playing this game, but in addition, he had quickly understood that Zoro wasn't one of those who bothered trying to appear polite.

Sitting on the terrace of a small bar overlooking the waters of the port, the Fish-Man observed his beer for a moment before swirling it around in his glass and enjoying another sip.

From the first day they met, he had noted the tension between the first mate and the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates. Living among them had, however, enabled him to understand that their rivalry wasn't the only ingredient at work in their relationship. He was still far from being able to grasp all the nuances it implied though.

Of all his new crewmates, Zoro and Sanji probably had the most complex history. Jinbei had already noticed that the others evaded their interactions more often, as if they had accepted the idea that their logic would never be fully accessible. Jinbei had no problem doing the same but he remained curious, especially when this dynamic seemed even heavier than usual.

Since he was there during the events of Whole Cake Island, he had no trouble imagining the confusion that the blond could feel but what he didn't understand was why this situation created a surplus of electricity between the two men. Because even if their exchanges were almost non-existent, the slightest word seemed to awaken mountains of feelings and their eyes were never calm when they met.

"Do you think Sanji couldn't defend himself if he encountered an enemy?"

This time, the question brought him the full attention of the swordsman and Zoro stared at him openly. Jinbei held his gaze without blinking. He might not have been a long-time crewmate of theirs, but he knew full well the consequences that awaited a crew whose members no longer shared a minimum of trust. Even if the consideration remained between them, the differences opened the way for errors then to eternal regrets and he was well placed to know.

Zoro finally took his own drink and downed it. "I think the cook is out of line."

Jinbei nodded, unsurprised by his response. "Of course, I don't know him as well as you all do, but it seems to me that the rest of the crew don't judge him as harshly as you do."

"The cook is the king of hiding. A smile and a blink of an eye later, everyone has bought his scam."

"Nami didn't seem to be fooled," Jinbei pointed out.

"Nami talked because she was the only one who could tell him but now that he has learned how to hide the too visible signs, he wants us to believe he fixed the problem."

"And you don't believe it."

"I don't."

Zoro motioned the waiter to bring him another drink and when the man put it in front of him a few minutes later, Jinbei took his at the same time. "What makes you say that he's not being honest?" The fencer didn't answer and the Fish-Man frowned. "After everything that's happened, from my point of view, he's just trying to do his best," He pointed out then.

Zoro shook his head and took a sip of his new beer, staring at the blue waters that shone under the island sun. Around them, the air was fragrant and the wind gentle. "That's where you're wrong. If he were, I wouldn't have any complaints but all he's been doing since Nami told him not to cook too much, it's turning a blind eye. He's not doing his best."

Jinbei considered the swordsman's response for a moment before staring back at the shimmering sea a few feet away. Silence settled between the two crewmates for the rest of the afternoon.

Everyone has their assumptions, their vision of things, and everything will get mixed until it overflows!