The remaining morning, Sanji had spent preparing lunch for the same day. He had spontaneously chosen a rather elaborate dish that would occupy him for several hours.

The fact that it also allowed him to avoid the rest of the crew for a while suited him just fine.

He could hear them outside, laughing about something. The muted conversations were drowned out by the loud sound of his knife hitting the cutting board.

To his frustration, he had failed to cut the vegetables into fine pieces as he usually did. His movements were still mechanical, too forceful to achieve the delicate results he wanted.

The door swung open, and Sanji's gaze lifted hopefully, only to fall back grumpily to his hands.

He needed to stop yearning for Nami. It was evident that she would never feel more than friendship for him.

Zoro walked briskly through the kitchen, paying little attention to him. As much as Sanji disliked him, he was always amazed at how quietly the swordsman could move his body.

Even now, he only heard the creak of the door, indicating that Zoro had headed to the pantry. Another creak was heard as Zoro closed the door and returned with a bottle of sake in hand.

Sanji didn't look up as he walked past. He thought Zoro would disappear again, but instead, he stopped at a distance, observing the cook thoughtfully.

»What?«, Sanji snapped at him without lifting his head.

»If you keep handling the knives like that, we'll need to buy new kitchen utensils soon«, Zoro remarked. The roughly chopped vegetables and deep notches in the cutting board had not escaped his notice.

»And if you keep consuming so much sake, you'll die of liver failure before we ever reach Laugh Tale«, Sanji retorted irritably.

Zoro grunted without responding. Sanji heard a loud pop as he opened the bottle and, in the next moment, held it to his lips, drinking the alcohol directly from the bottle. Then he let the door slam shut loudly and disappeared.

Sanji shook his head slightly at his crewmate's foolishness before filling a pot with the chopped vegetables and setting the knife aside.

A glance into the pantry showed that the sake supply was slowly dwindling. This meant they would need to head to the next island soon before the supply ran out and the swordsman became even more unbearable than he already was.

With a sigh, Sanji gathered the spices he had been looking for and almost threw them away in shock a second later.

Nami stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching him curiously. Had he forced his thoughts so much in other directions that he hadn't noticed her presence?

He tried not to show anything, but he couldn't prevent his gaze from flickering briefly to her stomach.

»Nami-san«, he greeted her. His voice sounded strangely joyless, even to his own ears. »Do you need something?«

He returned to the kitchen counter to place the spices there, and from the corner of his eye, he saw her shake her head.

»No, I... I just wanted to thank you«, she replied. He heard the smile in her voice. How much he would love to see it... but his heart still ached terribly.

»For what?«, he asked, turning his back to her. Meanwhile, his fingers were mixing a spice blend for lunch.

»For this morning. Chopper said you caught me«, she explained.

Normally, he would have fallen to his knees before her, confessed his love, and said he would carry her to the ends of the earth if she wanted him to.

But that was the Sanji whose hopes of a possible relationship with her had not been entirely crushed.

The Sanji who now stood before her didn't even turn to look at her. »It's really not a big deal«, he replied.

Nami remained silent for a moment. He almost thought she would leave again when she opened her mouth again. »And... for breakfast. I wanted to thank you for that, too. It was delicious.«

Sanji mixed the spices into the pot with the vegetables and nodded slightly. »That's my job, isn't it?«

»... Yes?... I... I think so...?«, she mumbled, a bit taken aback by his dismissive attitude.

»Are you okay, Sanji-kun?«, she finally asked softly. Now her voice sounded concerned. Sanji held his breath for a moment.

»Shouldn't I be asking you that question, Nami-san?«, he countered.

»I'm fine«, she replied.

Sanji took a deep breath. The relief he felt could not be suppressed. »Me too.«

Nami still didn't move, but she didn't say anything more either.

Sanji was eager to look at her. He planted his hands on the countertop and stared iron-faced at the ingredients in the bowl before him. »Is there anything else, Nami-san?«

He heard the rustle of her clothing as she took a few steps. She moved away from him, and a part of him protested as she said »No, that's it.«

The door opened and closed again. When he finally turned around, she was gone. Only the oppressive feeling that had accompanied him since this morning remained.

Sanji was behaving strangely. Well... actually, compared to other people, he was behaving normally. But for Sanji, it was strange.

After the peculiar conversation in the kitchen, lunch followed, during which he didn't even look at her. While he had prepared special plates for Robin and her as usual, this time he hadn't incorporated his typical heart shapes. While everyone else engaged in conversation, he glared grumpily at his own food. Any attempt to speak to him resulted in very brief answers. It was as if someone had replaced her Sanji-kun with someone who was only a shell of him.

»Hey, earth to Nami. It's your turn» Usopp's voice interrupted her thoughts.

»Hm?«, she made, blinking at him inquiringly. In response, he waved a few playing cards in front of her face.

»If I had known you were so inattentive, I would have bet money on my victory«, he sighed.

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had forgotten she held cards in her hand too. Usopp had already finished his move and was waiting for her to continue.

»Sorry, but I could beat you in my sleep«, she replied with a grin and drew a card that made him draw two new ones.

Usopp cursed under his breath but complied with her command. Then he played a card on the stack.

»Did something happen with Sanji this morning?«, she asked him quietly, glancing at the kitchen door behind which the cook had once again taken refuge to prepare dinner.

»What, Sanji? No, why would you think that?«, Usopp replied, drawing another card because he didn't have a matching one in his hand to respond to her move.

»He's acting strange«, she said. »He's been holed up in the kitchen all day and hardly speaks. And... he didn't even look at me during lunch.«

Now Usopp furrowed his brow. Nami wasn't sure if her words or her last move unsettled him.

»Maybe he's in a bad mood or something. It happens«, he shrugged.

She almost rolled her eyes. »Can't you talk to him?«

»Me? Why me?«, Usopp replied loudly. »You're the one who's worried, not me!«

Nami bit her lip. »Please, Usopp.«

He sighed theatrically and played his last card. He had indeed won. »Fine. But only because you've already taken this defeat.«

Nami began to slowly gather the cards as Usopp made his way to the kitchen.

Less than two minutes later, she heard a loud »GET OUT« that had to come from Sanji, as Usopp ran panicked to the deck.

»No chance. Sorry, Nami«, he called before quickly putting as much distance as possible between himself and the cook.

Nami sighed.

What was wrong with him?