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Guest: they're not lovers but they have been. Clearly feelings are still around but lost in the confusion of the situation. It'll get clearer throughout the chapters!

Chapter 24

Love is a hurricane

"Meat skewers?! Where?!"

"On Corsio Island, not far from the entrance to the New World. We haven't eaten such good skewers since."

"Sanji's skewers are the juiciest and it's the best meat!"

"I'm not saying they aren't good, Straw Hat. I'm just saying that the ones from Corsio have a unique taste; they grill them over a wood fire or something like that. All the crew agreed, even the captain."

Luffy tilted his head as one of the men from the other pirate crew, Shachi, continued cleaning the hull of the submarine not far from him. On the one hand, he was disappointed to have missed an island offering such delicious skewers but on the other hand, he took for granted a certain truth.

"You've never tasted Sanji's skewers; you can't know if they're really the best!" His interlocutor shrugged, obliged to agree.

Shortly before lunchtime, the straw hat boy had once again turned up on the beach, running out of entertainment on his own ship. Their party the night before had ended at the first light of dawn and after a well-deserved lazy morning, most of the Heart Pirates had decided to walk around the island to clear their minds. Appreciating the calm of the place thanks to the intervention of the Straw Hat Pirates before, their captain himself had decided to enjoy it and only a few men had remained to watch the submarine. Shachi was one of them and with two other crewmates, they were asked to clean up the metal walls corroded by the permanent contact with sea water.

That's how Shachi had ended up making conversation with the other pirate who had settled down on the sand a few steps away. Indeed, Luffy had wanted to help him first, but he had exerted too much force and it had sunk part of the hull when he had rubbed the right side. Shachi had hastened to withdraw all the products at his disposal and he just hoped that his captain wasn't going to dismember him upon discovering the damage now…

"You should all come to the Sunny to eat some tonight, you'll see!" Luffy continued, examining the grains of sand in his hand.

"Sounds like a pretty good idea," Shachi muttered, "That'd make up for the fact that you devoured all our supplies yesterday despite the quantity we had brought back…"

"Awesome! I'm gonna tell Sanji to make lots of skewers!" The young man exclaimed, jumping up and clearly delighted.

"Law still needs to agree."

"I'm counting on you! See you tonight!"

The surgeon of death's pirate didn't have time to protest when Luffy made off again, completely ignoring him. With a sigh, Shachi went back to work. After all, if the Straw Hat cook was cooking a feast and no one showed up, he would only have to blame his own captain…

"Are you serious?!"

"Come on, Sanji, it's been ages since you made those skewers!"

The blond ran a hand over his face. While the crew was finishing lunch in the Sunny's galley, Luffy had told his friends that he had not only invited all the Heart Pirates to dinner that evening, but that his cook needed to specifically make skewers to impress them.

As the straw hat boy shoved several buns into his mouth hungrily, Sanji crossed his arms over his chest. "First of all, it hasn't been ages, it's barely been a month. You ate them when you had your special meal!"

"Oh yeah, right!" Luffy remembered while swallowing a huge sausage in one bite. "All right, make skewers again!" He insisted, a huge smile on his face.

"Luffy, that's not the problem," his cook got annoyed. "You know I never refuse to prepare what you want but now… Seriously, you forgot or something? I can't cook anymore!"

At these words, his captain paused to stare at him and around them, some of their friends cleared their throats.

"Don't ask such things right now, it's not easy for Sanji," Usopp pointed out to Luffy, pouring himself a glass of water.

"As soon as Sanji-kun recovered, you'll have your skewers," Nami approved next to him.

"Maybe we can make something else for tonight," Franky suggested while emptying his bottle of cola.

"There are still many games from Kurta we can show them," Chopper added.

"Besides, music will be there," Brook assured him, a cup of tea in hand.

"But I wanted Torao and the others to taste them because they're the best!" The straw hat boy pouted.

"You heard that, cook? Captain's asking for skewers so you're gonna make some," Zoro suddenly chimed in from the back of his chair, his arms crossed.

The crew instantly turned in his direction and Nami glared at him from across the table. "Who asked you? Go back to sleep and let us handle it or I'll increase your debt by ten thousand percent," she seriously threatened him.

The swordsman ignored her, his eyes fixed on the blond who was staring back and frowning.

"It's just skewers, it's no big deal," Zoro resumed nonchalantly. "And if you need help, you'll say so. Right?"

Sanji's eyes widened before he gritted his teeth in front of the knowing glance of the swordsman. He was trapped. He quickly turned away to hide his embarrassment then. "Fine. Luffy, I'll make your skewers…"

"Awesome!"

"Uh, are you sure?" Usopp asked, glancing anxiously at his two crewmates.

"You're a fucking jerk," the redhead hissed at their first mate, her gaze hard.

"I, no… That's fine, I'm… It's all right, Nami-san," the blond tried to say, definitely nervous.

"I'm sure it'll be very good, Sanji," the little reindeer encouraged him while finishing his plate.

"You can count on my help," Jinbei offered him.

"Also mine," the archaeologist approved, "Feel free to ask us as soon as you wish."

"Thank you so much, Robin-chan, but the mosshead's gonna do it since it means that much to him."

"What a great idea!" Brook exclaimed, amused.

"Yes, it's the least he can do," Nami growled.

"I take care of making the biggest fire for the best of barbecues!" Franky concluded with enthusiasm.

"Hey, Luffy!"

Sat down on the deck with the cyborg and the sniper to build the barbecue promised for the evening, the straw hat boy turned his head towards the pier, intrigued. Yet as soon as he recognized the person to whom that voice belonged, a broad smile lit up his face and he jumped down from his ship.

"Margaret!" The young woman smiled back at him while part of the crew on deck, namely Nami, Usopp, Franky and Brook, leaned over the rail to observe them. "It's so cool to see you! What are you doing here?!" Their captain asked her.

"I'm on a mission for the Snake Princess," she proudly replied, showing her animal wrapped around her neck, "We're passing on this island because of a scam by some men against the Kujas," she then told him, pointing to the three other women at her side who greeted Luffy excitedly, delighted to see him again.

"Some guys here ripped you off?" The straw hat boy was surprised.

"They did, a few weeks ago. We did business after meeting them on our way back from the Reverie but they betrayed us and never delivered the goods."

"Don't worry, we've already taken care of them!" Franky intervened from the railing, raising his thumbs up in victory.

"Oh. Are these your crewmembers?" Margaret asked.

The Straw Hat Pirate captain turned to the Sunny and nodded to his friends, a huge smile on his lips. "Yeah, I found them!"

"We never doubted it," the warrior assured him as the other women also agreed, "It's nice to meet you!" She then added for the four crewmembers above them.

"Are you from Amazon Lily?" Usopp inquired as they waved back.

"We are! We accompany the Snake Princess on all her travels!"

"How lucky to have spent two years in the company of these mysterious women," Brook sighed blissfully.

"You helped him a lot, you're super!" The cyborg thanks them.

"We've never had so much fun!" One of the pirates remembered with a laugh.

"We never had a party like that!" Another woman agreed.

"About these guys from the island, we took care of them when we arrived!" Luffy told them.

"Really? Oh, the Pirate Empress will be delighted!" Margaret rejoiced. "She wants us to get back to Amazon Lily as soon as possible."

"She's here?" Nami wondered.

"Yes, the Princess is very careful about enforcing agreements she makes, whether with pirates or simple inhabitants. The Kujas' reputation is at stake."

"It can't be easy since the Warlord system was abolished," Usopp grimaced.

"More than ever, we must defend Amazon Lily," the young woman approved.

"Why don't you come tonight?!" The straw hat boy suddenly offered them, his eyes shining with excitement. "Sanji's making skewers!"

"I don't think we can linger, unfortunately," Margaret sighed, "But I'll pass your invitation on to the Princess." She then waved her hands at the rest of the crew to say goodbye before looking back at their captain. "Don't forget that you promised to come see us again with your friends," she reminded him. "We're waiting for you!"

"You can count on me!"

Inside the galley, Sanji stared at the pounds of meat he'd taken out for dinner, his hands clenched on the edge of his worktop. "Look what you've done, mosshead. What am I supposed to do now?"

Still sitting in his chair, the man shrugged. "I ain't no cook," he pointed out.

At these words, the blond turned to glare at him. "No kidding! That's why I told you I couldn't do it!"

"It's meat, it can't be that hard," the swordsman growled. "You just have to put herbs or a sauce on it and you'll be fine. Luffy won't even know the difference."

"Luffy's a black hole when it comes to food but he also has a particularly developed taste and he expects something specific. If the meat doesn't taste the same as usual, he'll know right away!"

"You better get on with it then."

"I just told you that I can't!"

Zoro frowned at the blond's breath which was increasing. He then pushed back his chair to stand in front of him. "You asked me to help you and that's what I'm doing," he reminded him.

"That's not helping me, you're just forcing me to cook!"

"What do you want me to do then?!"

"I don't know, that's for you to figure out!"

The swordsman clenched his jaw in frustration before his gaze was once again drawn to the massive amount of meat behind his crewmate. "You're a cook so you have to cook," he repeated.

Facing him, Sanji sighed. "I don't know how to do it, mosshead," he finally admitted, glancing apprehensively at his ingredients, "It's like… I forgot everything."

Zoro observed the worktop for a while before walking past the blond to approach it. He seized a knife randomly and cut the first piece he grabbed with a clumsy gesture. Behind him, Sanji gasped. "What are you doing, mosshead? Stop butchering the meat! You haven't even washed your hands!"

Without a word, the swordsman put down his knife and washed his hands. He then picked it up and cut into the tender flesh which quickly broke off. He cut three pieces of unequal size before Sanji leaned towards him.

"It's carnage," the cook grimaced while contemplating his work. "If you used another knife, that'd be better…"

In doing so, he handed another knife to the fencer who seized it silently. The blond then instructed him on how to hold the meat and his knife in order to create nice pieces that would also fit on skewers.

At the end of the first pound, the cook moved instinctively behind the fencer's back and put his right hand on his to help him adjust his grip so that the last pieces were as harmonious as the previous ones. A second later, the contact of their skins made Sanji aware of his gesture and he felt himself blushing. The swordsman didn't move and the blond tried to move away but Zoro's fingers gently imprisoned his own and he froze.

The cook held his breath and when Zoro released him, his hand shook but he didn't back down. The swordsman picked up his knife and Sanji's fingers closed slowly on Zoro's hand to accompany his movement. The two crewmates didn't say a word during the whole time the rest of the meat was being cut.

"Luffy, it's really you! How happy I am!"

The straw hat boy looked up as the Snake Princess jumped onto the deck of his ship. Around him, his entire crew widened their eyes in surprise, the snack their cook had just brought them in hand.

"Hey, Hancock!"

At the sound of her name in the mouth of her beloved and despite his face smeared with chocolate, the Pirate Empress couldn't help but feel the ground giving way under her feet and she barely caught herself on the railing so as not to faint.

"Wow, I didn't have time to see her when we left Sabaody but she's super gorgeous!" Franky exclaimed just a few steps from his captain as he forgot about his own slice of cake sprinkled with cola.

"I am completely speechless!" Brook gushed, captivated.

"The rumors are true," Usopp stammered, his throat dry.

"She's even more impressive up close," Chopper realized.

"The Snake Princess is a former Warlord, her strength is well established," Jinbei confirmed.

"She's really beautiful," Nami noted, flustered.

"The most beautiful woman in the world," Robin approved.

"She's just a chick," Zoro muttered.

Finally noticing their presence alongside the one who monopolized all her thoughts, the Snake Princess eyed them one by one, her gaze becoming particularly cold when she noticed the two girls of the crew.

"Hey, Sanji, are you okay?" His captain suddenly asked as he finished licking his fingers.

"Sanji!" The doctor became worried when he saw the cook turn to stone even though the Pirate Empress hadn't yet looked at him.

"Seriously," the swordsman growled, rolling his eyes.

"It was to be expected, it already happened the last time," the redhead sighed when the blond turned entirely into stone with heart-shaped eyes and his tray still in his hand.

Usopp approached his friend to pat him anxiously. "He's not gonna stay like this forever, is he?"

"It's the power of the Snake Princess," Jinbei explained, observing the woman who only had eyes for the straw hat boy.

"The power of the Love-Love Fruit is nothing short of astounding," Robin confirmed, "A simple look is enough to paralyze the most determined of men."

"What an exceptional woman!" The musician got enthused, "Despite my long life, I never thought I'd get the chance to once again lay my eyes on-"

Turning around, Hancock suddenly straightened up and positioned both hands in front of her to form a heart. "Love-Love Beam!" A pink beam hit the entire crew and the skeleton was instantly petrified. Not far from him, Franky and Usopp were also bewitched while Nami slowly blinked. "She's so… irresistible…"

The Empress wiggled her long jet-black hair and the three crew members turned to stone in turn. For her part, Robin tried to turn away to escape her while Zoro frowned and Jinbei gazed at her stoically. Next to them, Chopper ran from one to the other of his friends, distraught.

"What are you doing? Stop turning them into stones!" The straw hat boy reproached the princess.

"You can never be too careful," the young woman tried to explain. She then sighed deeply, which finished turning the archaeologist into stone. "I have to protect my people and I can't take any risks…"

With these words, she approached the swordsman and looked straight at him. "I am a poor, defenseless woman," she lamented, biting her lip. "I no longer have my title of Warlord and I desperately need a tall, strong man to protect me…"

Facing her, Zoro crossed his arms over his chest. "Defenseless, yeah right."

"They're my friends!" The straw hat boy insisted, annoyed.

The Snake Princess fluttered her eyelashes a little more in front of the closed face of the swordsman who didn't flinch. Desperate, she ended up turning to Luffy, her eyes full of tears. "How do you explain that he's not on his knees in front of me?! He's not normal!"

"Zoro's perfectly normal!" The little reindeer intervened, unhappy with the way his crewmates were treated.

The Pirate Empress stared at the doctor who couldn't help lowering his eyes and then at the Fish-Man who was still watching her. Furious, she ended up glaring at them all.

"Jinbei, you helped Luffy at Marineford so I'm doing you a favor. And you, you're obviously an animal, you couldn't stand on your feet if you weren't," she added while glaring at the little reindeer. "But you…" She turned her attention back to the swordsman and pointed her finger to his chest, causing him to cringe. "You have no excuse! No man can stand up to me, and no woman either! It's a fact! I'm the most beautiful woman in the world!"

He shrugged, pulling away to free himself. "I'm not interested in women, that must be why."

Zoro turned away and the Snake Princess looked him up and down, completely shocked. "It doesn't matter!" She finally choked out. "The Love-Love Fruit triggers waves of desire and lust in every human being that its owner can manipulate at will! No one can resist it!"

"Must be because it's you then," the swordsman concluded in front of the scandalized face of the Pirate Empress.

"Hancock, release them," Luffy insisted, pulling on her sleeve. "Sanji needs to cook dinner; I promised Torao he'd taste his skewers…"

She turned her attention back to the straw hat boy and in front of his sulky face, she immediately forgot the affront she had just suffered to melt with adoration. "As you wish, Luffy, I trust you…"

The Kuja Princess was about to free the petrified crew when at that moment, the voice of the surgeon of death sounded from the pier. "Straw-Hat-ya, I heard you offered Shachi to provide us with food but-"

"Torao!"

The former Warlord paused when discovering the Pirate Empress alongside the other captain who had leaned over to see him. Luffy soon jumped down to join him and the young woman followed. The surgeon put a hand on his nodachi while carefully watching the Snake Princess, ready to fight. He had noticed that some of the Straw Hat crew had been turned into statues on deck but that didn't seem to worry their captain who gave him his biggest smile.

"You came early, that's great! We can start the party now! Where's your crew?!"

"Trafalgar Law," the Kuja heiress greeted him coldly.

"Boa Hancock."

Between the two, Luffy gazed at them in surprise before another smile lit up his face. "Oh yeah, you know each other! We can party together tonight!"

At these words, Law glanced at him as his hand left the hilt of his nodachi. "Speaking of which, I don't think it's a good idea. We already spent enough time together."

"Torao, you need to taste these skewers!" The straw hat boy whined, thoroughly put out. "They're the best!"

"I don't doubt it, but I'm not interested."

"How dare you refuse an invitation to have dinner with Luffy?!" The Pirate Princess suddenly snapped, surprising the Heart captain as well as the three crewmates of the Straw Hat captain who watched the scene from the deck. "Do you even know how much food means to him? It's a great honor to be invited to share his meal, it's even a privilege!"

As Law stared at her, eyes wide, Luffy fell at his feet. "Please, Torao, I wanna eat these skewers so badly and I know they'll taste better if you're here! Everything's always better when you're with me…"

This time, both the Snake Princess and the surgeon of death turned toward the straw hat boy before the Pirate Empress glared at the former Warlord, livid. "I knew you were a deceitful man the moment you offered to treat Luffy at Marineford, but I trusted you and I entrusted his life to you!" The young woman roared. "Aren't you ashamed to stab us like this?! I won't let you distract him from his goal and I won't let you distract him from me!"

Before the surgeon could even react, Hancock grabbed a bow-heart created from a kiss and a petrifying arrow pierced him through. In shock, and as he slowly turned into a statue, the captain of the Heart Pirates brutally grabbed his nodachi to stick the blade into his thigh. The pain had the desired effect and diverted his mind, the stone crumbling around him until he was free from its grip. The face covered with sweat, the doctor then brought out a room and tried to slice the young woman who deflected his blow just as his sword spurted blood on her left arm.

Without wasting a moment, Law pointed his nodachi at the Snake Princess who had kissed her index finger before aiming at her opponent, ready to retaliate.

"Hey, stop that! What are you doing?!" Luffy violently pushed the two pirates away with the power of his elastic arms and they winced when they got up from the ground a few seconds later.

"This man is dangerous, Luffy," the Empress growled, glaring at her enemy, "He betrayed us, let me take care of him."

"You're totally insane, Boa Hancock," the surgeon hissed as he slowly got back on his feet.

"Stop fighting! Hancock, Torao is my friend, he won't hurt us! Torao, Hancock isn't crazy, she helped me a lot!"

In front of the furious gaze of the straw hat boy, the Princess was the first to give in. "Since you insist, Luffy," she sighed, making her weapon disappear. "But please be careful…"

Facing her, Law also put away his nodachi before groaning in pain. "I knew I shouldn't have come…"

"I'll help you," Chopper offered after running up to him.

The surgeon sighed heavily but agreed to follow the other doctor to his infirmary and Luffy shook his head in confusion. "You two are weird," he said to the Snake Princess. "Just when we were gonna have fun…"

"Forgive me," the young woman sincerely apologized. "I don't doubt your ability to defend yourself but I can't stand the idea of letting any harm come to you…"

The pirate stared at her for a moment before shrugging. "Torao is tough, he'll get over it quickly. Then we'll all party together! But first, don't forget to free my crew!" He reminded her, offering her his best smile.

"Oh, Luffy! Anything you want!"

Did you guess who it was about thanks to the title?

I hope you had fun either way, it was nice to write something other than angst and pain even though the chapter is no less important!