I own neither One Piece or Jojo, the idea for this story is entirely my own.
Chapter 3 The Baratie
It's been three days since they left Syrup Village on the Going Merry, and Noriaki feels oddly at ease about it.
The sun was shining, the wind was warm, and he and Usopp were officially pirates. He was glad Luffy had decided to invite Usopp to join the crew as well, he knew Usopp was equally thrilled about it. His friend wanted to become a brave warrior of the sea more than anything in the world... even if his father had left him and his mother years back to pursue the pirate life, Ussop still held at least his dream in high regard – he wanted to achieve the same thing more than anything.
As for Noriaki? Well... he was really happy to have steady companionship again. And something about Luffy's goofy smile and openness... he thinks he won't regret it.
There wasn't enough space below decks for separate bedrooms, but there were three proper rooms aboard the Merry: the Captain's quarters, the first mate's quarters, and a guest room. Nami had given him the guest room since his paints and easels would require desks and drawers to be secured, before warning him to not expect this kind of generosity from her on a regular basis. Noriaki was happy to convert that room into his art room, and it would be nice to retreat in here if he was going to have nightmares.
No need for them to worry about him...
Among other features, the Merry had a boy's barracks and a girl's barracks, a kitchen, a lounge area, and plenty of room on deck. It was surprisingly roomy, for a ship that wasn't a proper cruise liner. It was nice, and since he was pretty used to sharing a room with others, he was happy to sleep in the barracks with Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp. To him, it wasn't a big deal.
Kaya had gifted Noriaki a large set of paints and canvases to see him off. His heart had squeezed so intensely; he couldn't put his gratitude towards her into words, despite his best attempts. I'll send her something in thanks at the next port, he decided.
Noriaki adjusts his paint set slightly before dipping his brush into the red mix. The gentle rocking of the ship made painting a bit of an adventure but he's adjusting to it. Since it's so quiet, everyone's doing their own thing. Zoro's taking a nap, Nami's reading, Usopp is fiddling with his slingshot and Luffy's… Noriaki's not sure what Luffy's doing. Looking around the boxes they'd brought aboard before departing? Maybe he's checking supplies?
Noriaki focuses on his painting and hopes that doing so isn't a mistake. Suddenly, it feels too quiet.
"Luffy?" Noriaki calls out, trying not to sound too wary. It might not be fair. "It's not like you to be so quiet."
"I'm just checking out our new cannon," Luffy says brightly, his voice floating down from the upper deck. "I think I just found the cannonballs."
"Be careful with them!" Noriaki calls back.
He does not want to get blown up, thank you very much. Not when he's at the most cheerful he's been in a year. It's the happiest he's felt prior to his death, after all.
He twists in his chair to try and see what's Luffy's doing. Oh, thank goodness Usopp is with him... the two of them were hovering around the canon, with Luffy excitedly looking all over it like a child who had just gotten some tank models for Christmas. Thankfully Ussop stopped him from trying to shoot it himself.
"Do you know how to shoot a cannon, Usopp?" Luffy asks, brightening.
"He's never done it before but perhaps his aim will carry over," Noriaki answers before Usopp can. Knowing Ussop, he'd make up a crazy story... and with how Luffy seemed to accept everything said to him at face value, the captain might well swallow it. Best be a little careful with that!
"Nori!" Usopp squawks, sounding a little offended.
"What?" Noriaki asks, knowing full well what kind of nonsense Usopp would have concocted for their Captain.
The other teen pouts at him and Noriaki tries not to chuckle at his expense. He likes listening to Ussop's stories, really, but he has a tendency to extremely exaggerate things. "His aim is good, though," he added, not wanting to put Ussop down.
"The best!" Usopp says proudly, instantly recovering at the compliment.
"If you want to do target practice, there's a reef nearby that you can shoot at," Nami says, not glancing up from her book.
Noriaki glances at her in surprise. "There is?"
"According to the map, the reef is just to the west of here, that rock over there is part of it," she says, quickly glancing at the map by her chair.
Turning in that direction, Noriaki does spot the pillar of stone and earth sticking out above the waves. Frankly, it looked a little like the picture of those mushroom clouds when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki... oh, that was a little dark. Can it not just look like a mushroom? He thought to himself.
His morbid spiralling thoughts aside, Noriaki was certain Usopp could make the shot.
"Oh, I can definitely hit that," Usopp says casually.
He gets to his feet and goes to load the cannon up with Luffy cheering him on. Noriaki just smiles and goes back to his painting. At least it'll keep their energetic captain occupied for a little.
He'd gotten pretty far into his painting before realizing that his unconscious mind had made Luffy into his muse. The smile on the anime-esque character he'd drawn as the heroic figure mid attack on a vampiric monster, the hat he was wearing, and the childlike confidence he radiated... he hadn't drawn Luffy straight up, but it was pretty close.
"Oh," Noriaki whispered to himself.
The realization strikes his harder than he'd anticipated. Until now, his muse had been Jotaro.
He had to set his paintbrush down for a second. When had his muse changed from Jotaro to Luffy? Luffy… he's energetic and has a magnetism to him, but they've only just met and been sailing together for a few days. They still barely know each other.
Noriaki supposes, that thinking about it that way… he agreed to join his crew and enter a criminal lifestyle – not that he expected Luffy to do more than seriously inconvenience an average innocent civilian – even though they'd just met. And technically, he'd barely known Jotaro when he joined him to save his mother. Maybe that was why his muse changed. Before Luffy, it was Jotaro. And before he met Jotaro, his muse had been his loneliness.
Luffy didn't inspire… quite the same feeling in him that Jotaro did but… Luffy did inspire emotions with intensity that few he met had ever matched. They are different than the ones for Jotaro, a combination of platonic feelings and deep gratitude. Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised that those feelings are guiding his paintbrush now.
The sound of the cannon firing snaps Noriaki out of his thoughts. Good lord, that's loud! He thought, his heart jumping. It kind of reminded him of the gunshot like sounds that Star Platinum caused when he unleashed a flurry of blows on an enemy.
"What's all that noise?" Zoro groused, sitting upright and glowering at the sky. The cannon firing must have woken him up from his nap.
"That was Usopp and Luffy testing the ship's cannon," Noriaki explains with a slightly apologetic tone. What a noise to wake up to.
"So we're not under attack," Zoro says, looking like he's about to go back to sleep.
Noriaki opens his mouth to respond but gets cut off by an unexpected voice.
"Damn you, you rotten pirates!"
Noriaki looks up from his painting, he didn't think anyone was in the area and then he vaults right out of his chair when a man in a blue jacket and a sword in one hand surges over Merry's railing, looking thoroughly pissed off. Zoro squints a little.
"I think that's Johnny," he says.
"Who?" Noriaki asks, caught completely by surprise. Aren't they under attack?!
"He's a bounty hunter I used to work with before I started taking jobs on my own." Zoro responded, craning his neck a little. He didn't seem fazed in the slightest, which helped calm the redhead's surprised anxiety. "He also has a partner, Yosaku but I don't see him."
"What's he mad about then?"
As if making fun of him for asking, Johnny charges Luffy and Usopp, swinging his sword violently as he tried to cut them down.
That got Zoro on his feet faster than a blink. "Them apparently. Johnny!"
He runs for the stairs and Noriaki scrambles to join him. He summons Hierophant silently, having him wrap tentacles around Luffy and Usopp's waist and pulls them away from the angry swordsman.
"Whoa!" Luffy squawks, immediately pawing at Hierophant's phantom limbs. He makes a fascinated noise when his hand brushed against something semi-invsible, completely ignoring the furious and desperate bounty hunter going after them.
"Nori, please tell me that's you," Usopp cries in squeaky-voiced terror. He could slightly see Hierophant, but not as clearly as Luffy or Zoro apparently could – either that or the surprise had gotten to him.
"Yes, it's me!" Noriaki says, speed walking over to them as Zoro cuts off the angry Johnny from his targets. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Usopp says, flailing in the direction of the ship's on board weapon. "We fired the cannon, which destroyed the rock and then this guy comes out of nowhere!
"Was there a chance anyone was on that rock before you fired?" Nami deadpans, taking up the rear. Noriaki connected the relevant dots in his mind at that and groaned.
"I didn't see anyone!" Usopp insisted, despite the 'uh oh' wide-eyes he was making.
"Did you use the telescope to check?" Noriaki asks with a deep sigh.
He could see the moment of realization passing through both his and Luffy's expressions. The redhead could almost hear Jotaro muttering 'yare yare' .
"We never checked…" Usopp says in a small voice. Luffy meekly bowed his head and mumbled a sheepish apology.
Noriaki valiantly resists the urge to facepalm. Hierophant does it for him.
"Big bro Zoro?" Johnny asks, sounding less angry and more surprised now. A familiar face appearing must have snapped him out of his blind attack.
"Yeah," Zoro says calmly, pushing the other man's sword aside. "The hell are you doing out here? Where's Yosaku?"
Johnny immediately starts blubbering, his antagonism now gone. Noriaki sets Usopp and Luffy down and heads down the stairs to see what's actually going on.
According to Johnny, Yosaku had been sick for a few weeks and they'd stopped by that rock to get out of the sun and rest for a bit when Usopp's shot destroyed it. They'd been behind the rock so there would have been no way for them to have been spotted, even with the telescope. It was an honest accident, but Noriaki was very glad neither of them had been directly hit by the shot... though he can't imagine it did much good for Yosaku's condition.
Noriaki tries to examine the man when Johnny brings him on board but he isn't sure what to make of his symptoms. He looks really bad, though... the guy whimpered in pain whenever he so much as twitched, causing the redhead to wince in sympathy.
"Let me see him," Nami says matter of factly, appearing at his right shoulder.
She sounded confident, which gives him hope that they can figure this out. "Yeah, go ahead," Noriaki says, getting to his feet and moving away.
Nami kneels down and looks Yosaku over. Her brow furrows, and she turned to Johnny with a serious expression.
"You said his symptoms were fainting, pale skin, teeth falling out and his scar re-opened and started bleeding again?" Nami asks.
Upon receiving an affirmative nod, Nami's expression becomes extremely exasperated.
"He's got scurvy, idiot!" She shouts at Johnny. "Oi, you two! Go get some of those limes from the kitchen, now!" She orders to Luffy and Usopp.
"Scurvy… That's the vitamin C deficiency, right?" Noriaki asks, vaguely remembering hearing the word before. Had it been before the Crusaders left Hong Kong?
"Yes," Nami says, her tone indicating that she's glad to not be the only one who knows about the disease. Then she pivoted towards Luffy and Ussop, giving them a burning glare. "What are you two staring at?! Limes! Now!"
"R-Right!" Luffy and Usopp babble in unison, before they practically fall over each other in their rush to the kitchen.
Nami rolls her eyes and Noriaki suddenly remembers where he heard of scurvy. Mister Joestar had told him about it when Jotaro had complained about all the fruit juice he'd packed… His heart twinges a little. No, no… stay in the present. He doesn't want to get lost in those memories.
Thankfully, Luffy's pounding footsteps pull him back to the present. Their captain bursts onto the deck with limes in both hands, breathless. "Here they are!" Luffy declares.
Nami makes a pleased sound and takes the limes before she cuts them in half and starts squeezing the juice into Yosaku's mouth.
"There we go," she says. "Keep doing that until all the juice is out of these limes, you two."
She glances up and Johnny and her expression softens ever so slightly.
"Hopefully we got to him in time, but if we did, he should recover fully in a few days."
Johnny starts blubbering again, calling her "Big Sis Nami" and tries to hug her. Only Nami's fierce glare returning and her yelling at him about not knowing about scurvy and how to prevent it stop him. Barely. Once all the limes have their juice squeezed out does Nami turn back to Yosaku.
"Lets get him comfortable; the less he's moved around, the better," she tells the boys. "Even just getting jostled will cause him pain right now.
"Right," Noriaki responds decisively. "We'll carry him inside; he can rest on my bed until he's better. I'll grab his feet and you take his shoulders?"
"Yeah." Nami nods, then snapped her fingers at the green-haired swordsman. "Zoro, come lend a hand; the less we shake him, the better."
"Where do you need me?" Zoro asks. His voice is softer than usual, showing a hint of gentleness under his stoicism.
"Help me with his shoulders," Nami responded. The way her eyes softened, she had noticed the shift in his demeanor too.
Zoro nods and joins her. Together, they lift Yosaku as carefully as possible. "Hopefully being able to lie down on a bed means he won't get rocked too badly by the waves," Nami says with a degree of authority. "When we reach corners, turn when I tell you to."
"Right," Noriaki says with a nod.
They carefully move Yusaku from the deck into the Merry's interior, then into Noriaki's room, Johnny hovering anxiously the whole way. Noriaki swears that a little colour is already coming back to the guy's face when they put him to bed.
How is that possible? So fast..!
"He's already starting to get a bit of colour back, I think that's a good sign," Noraki says as he puts a towel over Yosuku's forehead.
"Very good," Nami said, sounding pleased. "But he needs to rest for a while."
"I'm just surprised at how quickly this is happening."
Nami hummed thoughtfully. "Some people have faster response times than others, even just on a general basis." She said.
"I guess, but clearing up already..." Noriaki trails off, then stopped himself with a shake of his head. "But then again, what do I know about recovery times? I got out of the hospital in less than a week after I almost had my eyes slashed out last year."
That gets an immediate reaction.
"WHAT?!" Everyone yells
Noriaki stumbles a step backward, shocked. Which was just as well; Luffy rockets onto the upper deck and tackles him in a hug and looks up at his face; his eyes widen a little when he sees the thin scaring across Noriaki's eyes. Noriaki frantically pinwheels his arms in an effort to avoid falling flat on his back, flustered.
"Who did this?" The ravenette asked, an unusually serious expression on his face. It was the same face he'd made when going after Kuro, actually.
"It doesn't matter, he's dead now," Noriaki mumbles, taken aback.
"He slashed your eyes!" Luffy protested loudly, his fingers tightening on Noriaki's shoulders. "That matters to me. I mean, the scars look cool but…!"
"He's dead, Luffy, I promise." Noriaki says hurriedly, his heart thumping at how quickly the other boy had gotten defensive of him. "He killed himself before Jotaro could get to him."
"Who's Jotaro?" Zoro asked.
"He… He was my best friend."
Noriaki shakes his head and gently disentangles himself from Luffy. Usopp comes over next and stares at Noriaki's face for about a minute. "How did I not notice these before?" He asks, sounding a little shocked.
"Probably because they're thin and a little faded." Noriaki says with as much gentle dismissiveness as he could pack into the words. I don't really want to talk about it... "And because when we first met, you were… a little preoccupied with the hole in my stomach."
Usopp turns mildly green at the reminder. "Yeah," he says. "Fair enough."
"My vision's fine; don't worry about me."
Noriaki smiles reassuringly at his friends. Zoro, however, gives him a look he can't quite read. It's different from his usual stoicism – what did it mean?
"In any case," Noriaki says quickly, wanting to change the subject. "Let's prepare a little light food for our guests here."
He smiles and trots off to the kitchen and wills his heart to relax. He didn't mean to reveal the thing about his eyes, it just slipped out. Food. Focus on the food, he tells himself as he enters the kitchen.
Rice, clear broth, and if he can find any, more citrus for Yosaku. He'll make something a bit more filling for the others. Humming, Noriaki gets to work. He's not his grandmother or his mother by any stretch of the imagination, but he's not bad. He could take care of the crew's meals for the foreseeable future.
This crew of theirs might need more than that for the long-term though. A proper cook. Though Noriaki hasn't the foggiest idea where they'd find one. It's not like they can advertise their need for a cook in any port, after all.
"Hey. I'll help you make lunch."
Noriaki blinks at Nami's voice. She must have followed him into the kitchen to help out. The orange-haired girl is giving him a sympathetic stare, but she doesn't ask any more questions about his eyes, and he wouldn't be opposed to some help.
"Oh, thanks Nami," he says.
He and Nami have been doing the majority of the cooking since their departure from Syrup Village. They used to trade off who did the cooking, but Nami had quickly decided that they ought to cook together since Noriaki had an early warning system/trap for Luffy in Hierophant to keep him from stealing food. A persistent concern.
"No problem," she says as she walks in, quickly heading over to the stove and turns it on to start making the soup for Yosaku.
They work in companionable silence for a few minutes before Nami finally can't contain her curiosity. "Who'd you run into who found your existence offensive enough to attack you?" She asks. "You're easily one of the most easygoing guys I've met."
"It was a cheap shot from a guy named N'Doul. I wasn't even the target, I just happened to be in the way," Noriaki says a bit ruefully. "The other guy, N'Doul's boss, is a different story. I used to work for him...not voluntarily, mind you, but he didn't really care about my consent in the matter. Thanks to meeting some good people, I managed to get out."
His first ever friends, the people who'd brightened up his life and gave it meaning. "And then I joined the group trying to take him down. Him trying to kill me was supposedly reluctant on his part," Noriaki snorts. "He still did it anyway."
Nami's hands still completely for half a second.
"Oh? That sounds frightening," she says, her tone light but there's something else there.
"It was," Noriaki admits, because as brave as he'd been during the confrontation, he could still remember the fear from when he'd first encountered that damn vampire. "The night he first attacked me and forced me into working for him was and remains the most terrifying moment of my life."
"He was a pirate, wasn't he?" Nami asks, she starts to chop some fruit a little aggressively. "I don't know where Luffy got his ideas of what pirates are from, but the rest of them aren't like him. Anyone I would know?"
"No. And he wasn't a pirate either. His name was Dio, and he was evil incarnate. I'm not exaggerating when I say that – that's how he would refer to himself."
"Seriously?" Nami asks, wrinkling her nose.
"Yeah," Noriaki nods sourly. "Until I met him, I never believed anyone could be truly evil, but he was evil. There's no other way to put it. He had no sense of kindness or empathy for others and the list of people he'd murdered is a pretty long one."
Nami's demeanour shifts subtly but noticeably. Noriaki can't help but wonder about it. "I'm sorry. That must have been terrifying." She states with quiet sympathy. "Are you shot of that guy now or is he still looking for you?"
"I'm not sure," Noriaki answers honestly. He doesn't know for sure what happened after Dio punched a hole in him and he woke up here... "I think he's dead now, but even if he's not… he can't get to me anymore."
I hope, Noriaki thinks to himself.
"Hey," Nami gently bumps his shoulder, smiling when he looks at her. "Sorry to bring the mood down. I'm just trying to learn a little more about this guy who's agreed to join our crew of weird, desperate souls, but I don't want to open a pit of bad memories. How about you tell me how you learned how to paint?"
Noriaki felt his mood lift immediately – almost like magic. "It's okay, don't worry." He told her. "My great uncle was the one who taught me. He actually taught himself how to draw when he was a few years younger than me. He's really good at it, and he was always really patient when teaching me. He taught me everything I know."
Nami smiles and keeps asking him questions about painting as they work on the food. Once everything's plated up, Noriaki sticks his head out of the kitchen.
"Lunch is ready!" He calls and smirks when Luffy cheers loudly. "The magic word."
"Food!" A voice Noriaki recognizes as Johnny's and the other must be Yosaku's can be heard just under Luffy's cheering.
"Looks like Yosaku is awake," Noriaki says, seriously impressed. That was a fast recovery for someone who'd had scurvey for a few weeks...!
Good. Very good. A moment later, the others come stampeding into the kitchen, with Zoro bringing up the rear. Yosaku still looked pretty pale, but not like he's on death's door anymore. What a relief.
"Please, sit down," Noriaki says, quickly pulling out a chair for Yosaku. "I hope you all enjoy."
"You're a good cook, Nori," Luffy says with his mouth full.
"Thanks…" Noriaki says. "But I can only make simple meals like this. If we're going to travel deeper into the ocean and by extent, the Grand Line, we'll need a dedicated cook. Especially if we need to ration our food between ports." Rationing was something sailors always had to reckon with, no matter what era it was. Noriaki doubts its different here. "I'm not sure how to do that myself. And preserving food that can go bad isn't something I know how to do either."
"And unless you guys want to have a few rounds of scurvy yourselves, we need a whole lot more vitamin c in our diets. So we need a proper cook," Nami says decisively.
"Yeah… but where are we going to find one?" Usopp asks, his expression blank.
"I know where you might be able to find a good one," Johnny piped up, one hand in the air like he was waiting to be called on by the teacher. .
"Oh! Really?" Luffy asks enthusiastically. .
"Yeah. You guys ever hear of the sea restaurant Baratie?"
Noriaki can only shake his head. He can't say he has since his arrival. Nami also shrugs, which surprises him. She comes across as quite well traveled, moreso than anyone aside from Zoro.
"I haven't heard of it," Usopp says while Zoro shakes his head.
"Well, the food's pretty good and they've got some good cooks," Johnny explains. "The guys there are really rough and tumble too; half the fun of going there is watching the fights that break out between them and uppity customers. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. And it's a seafaring restaurant too, so the cooks know how to handle being at sea."
"Seafaring?" Noriaki asks, blinking rapidly.
"Yep, it's a floating restaurant. And the fights between pirates and the cooks, the marines and the cooks and well… the cooks and the cooks makes for some prime entertainment too," Johnny says.
"Oooooh… that sounds so cool…!" Luffy says and it's clear to Noriaki that his Captain has made up his mind about where they're going next. "I want to go!"
"It couldn't hurt," Noriaki mused. "I admit, I'm curious to see what this place looks like." A floating restaurant – one way out at sea, not just on stilts along a port...
"I don't see a reason why we can't have a look. And I would like to eat something without having to wash dishes afterwards," Nami says.
"So let's go!" Luffy says.
"Set a course!" Johnny declares. "North by Northeast!"
The crew quickly finishes their meal and scatters to start moving the ship. Nami takes the helm while Usopp takes command of the rudder, leaving Noriaki and Zoro to work on unfurling the sails. He's still learning how to do this. Nami has been patient with him when he's at the helm or working the rudder but he's never worked the sails yet.
"Hold the ropes like this," Zoro says.
Noriaki quickly glances at Zoro's hands and adjusts his grip. The ropes aren't too rough, but it takes some strength to move them. Noriaki glances at Zoro to watch him work. He does his best to copy what he's doing, but sometimes he just likes to watch Zoro for the sake of watching him. He's… very distracting. It was probably his arms that distracted him the most, if Noriaki's honest. He's muscled like a Greek statue. He wasn't as bulky as Jotaro, but he was still quite strong.
'I have a type, don't I…' Noriaki thinks to himself as he glances at Zoro again. Strong, brave, muscular, competent, stoic, deep voice… yeah, he has a type. Noriaki flushes a little and shakes his head, focusing on the sails. He has a job to do, this was not the time to be getting distracted.
They made good progress across the day. It's slower than the sea travel that was in the world he knew, but that didn't mean it was boring. They always had to be at least a little alert seeing as they needed to be on the lookout for Marines and other pirates. Noriaki glances over at the bow of the ship, the sheep figurehead. Luffy is sitting there, one hand on his hat and obviously excited. Once the sails are tied down, Noriaki walks over to the railing.
"Everything okay, Luffy?" he asks.
His captain flashes him a bright grin. It seemed to be his default expression, yet there's a warm sincerity to every smile that Noriaki isn't sure he's seen in another person before."Yeah! It's so beautiful out today, isn't it?" Luffy asks.
"Yeah, it sure it. Nice and warm, we've got a good wind. It's perfect."
He looks up at the blue sky. It really was beautiful here. Noriaki decides to resume his painting as they sail onward. He gets lost in the motions of his work and loses track of time for a while before he's brought out of his focus by Zoro asking:
"Are we getting close, Johnny?"
"Yeah. I'd say we're about five, ten minutes out," Johnny says.
"I can already smell food," Luffy says, likely vibrating with excitement and ready to jump off the ship at any second..
"Really?" Noriaki asks, looking up from his work. Thankfully he only had a few paints out, so he could clean up quickly.
"Yeah. And it smells good. Let's go, let's go!"
"We're almost there, Luffy," Noriaki says.
The loud ringing of bells makes him jump. A lighthouse? They're not anywhere near land.
"Oh crap, it's a Marine ship," Johnny says, answering Noriaki's question. "What's it doing all the way out here?"
Noriaki's head whips to his left. Pulling up right alongside them is a massive Marine ship. Luffy makes a surprised sound and hops onto the deck and runs to the railing. Noriaki quickly runs to join him, adrenaline surging through his nerves.
Somehow, he hadn't thought about the Marines until this very moment. He's hyper aware of his new status as a pirate and the jolly roger on the sail. This had… being on the opposite side of the law is a new feeling for him. He hopes he'll get used to it. Zoro puts one hand on the hilt of his white sword. Noriaki quickly summons Hierophant, unsure if he'll need to use him but figures it would be better to be safe than sorry.
"Darling, is that a pirate ship?" The woman on the deck asks. "The deck is so bare."
While her tone is slightly haughty, it's also slightly curious. She might well be a sheltered socalite who isn't used to encountering the blue collar world. The man in a Marine uniform standing next to her winds an arm around her neck, however, scoffs with visible contempt.
He has pink hair. Noriaki squints but he can't tell it it's dyed or natural. He also has a nasty looking scar on one cheek and what looks like brass knuckles permanently imbedded in his hands. Oh boy... Stand Users had a tendency to look flamboyant in one way or another, and that instinct was ringing a bell in the back of his head in the moment.
"Hmph… a pack of ruffians and street rats chasing after Roger's myth, no doubt," he says and Noriaki decides he already doesn't like him. "Pay them no mind, dear."
He whistles sharply and… were those cannons moving? Yes. Noriaki realizes. Yes, they were.
"Oh fuck this," Noriaki mutters and gives his Stand a firm direction.
Hierophant trills and unleashes a storm as the first cannon fires. Noriaki strikes the attack precisely, causing it to explode – and quickly detonates the other cannonballs with Hierophant's emeralds as a follow up. Johnny and Yosaku both stare with their mouths hanging open.
"Rude much?" Noriaki asks the slack-jawked Marine Captain with what could best be described as polite annoyance. "We may be flying the skull and crossbones, but he had no plans to attack you. We're here to get lunch."
"They're Marines," Zoro says with distaste, still ready to draw his swords at a moment's notice. "They'll attack any pirate ship they come across."
"Jerks!" Luffy shouts, shaking his fists at the guy.
"You said it. We didn't do anything, and they still shot at us first," Noriaki says, his pulse racing.
The woman begins to look a little uncomfortable and glances uncertainly at her date. Sensing her potential displeasure doesn't improve the man's mood, clearly – the pink-haired Marine looks like he's about to explode and he whistles sharply again.
"My turn!" Luffy shouts, jumping up onto the railing. "Now Gum-Gum… Slingshot!"
Noriaki ducks instinctively when the cannons fire again. He watches, almost in slow motion as Luffy loses his grip on the figurehead when the cannonball hits him and watches in horror as the cannonball deviates from its trajectory and instead crashes into the roof of the restaurant they'd been steadily approaching for the last few minutes.
Mister Joestar and Luffy would have gotten along great.
"Ah… Ah…" Nami whimpers.
"Oops," Luffy says, tilting his head to the side.
"Oops? Oops?!" Nami shrieks, rounding on Luffy. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?!" She moves to grab him by the throat, causing him to yelp and run around on the deck trying to escape from her.
"Oh dear…" Noriaki says weakly.
"We don't have the money to foot that repair bill!" Nami yells as she pursues her idiot captain. "Maybe if all those emeralds hadn't fallen into the ocean, then maybe we would have been able to pay for it!"
That snaps the redhead out of his budding anxiety; right, maybe I can salvage this. "Let me worry about that," Noriaki intervenes quickly.
He'd discovered a few days ago that, somehow, Hierophant was dropping, real, actual emeralds in the wake of his attacks. That had never happened back home, never! He'd only found out about it when Nami had picked up a massive armful and asked if she could keep them.
Her eyes had been burning with hope, looking at him like he'd hung the moon and the stars. Especially after he said she could keep them. Noriaki had asked if she was in debt, but Nami had quickly shut down the question and pointedly avoided the subject when he attempted to raise it again.
…Well, hopefully he can pay off whatever terrifying repair bull they just wracked up. He hopes the emeralds will do some good, he doesn't think what little money he has will cover much.
Nevertheless, the Merry moves forward to the Baratie. And what a sight it made… his hands were itching for his paints once again, despite how hungry he was.
"It's shaped like a fish!" Luffy exclaims, pointing at the front end of the ship.
"It's huge…" Noriaki murmurs. "Is that a lighthouse on top?!"
"I think so," Usopp confirms, squinting a little. "I mean, it would make sense to keep ships from crashing into it on dark or foggy nights."
"Whoa…" Amazing... the whole ship was amazing. We don't have anything like this back home, Noriaki thinks as he took in the gorgeous construction.
"So cool…" Luffy says.
The Baratie is beautiful. Noriaki can't find another word for it. He's struck with the urge to paint it. He glances longingly at his paint set. Perhaps later. Once the repairs have been dealt with.
"Uh oh," Usopp says as the Merry pulls up to the docks in front of the Baratie.
"What is it?" Noriaki asks.
Ussop nervously points towards the building proper "There are a couple of cooks at the front door. And they do not look happy."
Noriaki follows his gaze and utters a tired groan. Sure enough, there are a whole bunch of guys in chef's gear there, and none of them look happy. "Think we can find a way to shift the blame onto the Marines? It was their cannonball that went into the roof," Noriaki asks, just to make sure.
"Well, if you can talk fast, it better be now," Nami says with an edge of despair.
The redhead nods sagely. "I'll give it my best shot. If not, I'll just dump a bunch on emeralds at their feet."
Sucking in a breath, he puts on his most charming smile and hops off the ship and walks over. The chefs cease approaching as he comes close to them, possibly assuming he was the captain. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. How can I help you?" Noriaki asks
"You mind explaining why you shot a cannonball into our roof?" One of the cooks asked menacingly.
Noriaki held his hands up apologetically. "I do apologize for the damage to your roof, but for the record it was the Marines who fired on us for being a, quote, eyesore. We were merely defending ourselves, which unfortunately was the cause of that stray shot," he gives them his best polite smile. "Do you have an idea what the cost would be to repair the roof? I do have money on me, and I do know how to do some minor repairs."
The three cooks are both staring at him, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Judging his sincerity. Noriaki waits patiently, a part of him understanding their wariness. I should probably show them something so they don't assume I'm talking out of my ass... The redhead quickly reaches into his pocket and pulls out an emerald the size of a tangerine. The cooks' eyes go very wide at the sight of it.
"Perhaps I could speak with the manager?" Noriaki prompts. I can get us out of this. I can definitely do this. Mr Joestar even said I'm too charming for my own good.
"This way," the second cook says after a second of thought, lowing the ladle he'd been brandishing threateningly. Pleased, Noriaki tosses a smile over his shoulder at his crew before walking inside.
A collective sigh of relief washed across the Merry's deck. "Nori's saved us!" Luffy cheers.
"How did he do that?" Nami asks, a little dumbfounded.
"Nori's charming, what can I say," Usopp says with a shrug.
Zoro thinks about that little smile on the redhead's face. Bright, satisfied and a bit smug. It was different that the ones Noriaki had flashed before. It brings mischief to his face, makes him much more animated. He'd never seen it before. It excited him.
Noriaki is lead up a flight of stair to the room at got damaged. A quick glance inside has him already considering the prices of materials and labor. And worrying about how long they might have to stay here to square things away... It's pretty clear that Luffy likes to stay moving. He'll have to see what he can negotiate.
"You got the captain?!" An angry male voice demands from just down the hall.
"I think so?" The first cook says. "He's the one who came off the ship and was willing to discuss footing the repair bill.
"I'm the painter, technically," Noriaki says, stepping fully into the room and wincing at the damage. Oh, that was a pretty sizable hole in the roof. Yup. Dammit Luffy... "But I'm also allowed to help handle the treasury, sir."
The man pivots to look at him. If the redhead hadn't met Jotaro before, he'd think that the head chef was a pretty intimidating man – he's muscled, tanned from the sun and sea, and built like a truck. He's a tall man with a startlingly tall chef's hat on his head, long, long blonde braids for a moustache, and an honest to God peg leg. Noriaki stares at it and swallows nervously.
"I sincerely hope whatever caused that was not us," He requested.
"No," the man deadpans, fixing Noriaki with an unimpressed look. "This is an old wound. Rather unlike the hole you've put in my restaurant."
"Okay. Good. I was worried grievous bodily harm had been committed." Noriaki holds out the emerald to the old man, who takes it and examines it very carefully. "Here; we might have been in a squabble with a Marine ship, but I can at least try to compensate you for your troubles."
"This is real," the old man says, tapping the surface." Where'd you find one this big?"
"Wait, that thing's real?!" The second cook shouts, stunned. "I thought it was glass!"
Noriaki tries not to smile but he's honestly glad for the distraction because he has no damn clue about how to explain the emerald's provenance aside from saying that he robbed an emerald mine.
"I've been a pirate longer than you three have been alive!" The old man snaps, rolling his eyes. "I know what a real emerald looks like!"
"I have some more, if that won't cover it," Noriaki offers after a moment. "I can also do some smaller repairs on my own. I've never fixed a roof before, but I've done a bit of woodwork, helping my father around the house." He squares his shoulders and waits for the verdict.
The head chef eyeballs him for a long moment, considering. Then the anger seems to mostly go out of him and he huffed, pleased. "Well, I was planning on having you work for me without pay for a year to cover the cost, but this should cover most of it," he waves the emerald at Noriaki.
Noriaki tries not to obviously slump in relief. Dodged that bullet!
"I will need a waiter to work the dining room for a week while I get this sorted, however," the old man followed up promptly. "No pay, but your meals will be covered."
Ow. Well, it wasn't a big deal, was it? They probably need a little time to convince one of these chefs to come aboard as their cook, after all. "Alright, I can do that," Noriaki says without complaint, bowing. "Thank you, sir…?"
"Zeff. Chef Zeff." The man said briskly. "Now what to I call you, brat?"
"Kakyoin Noriaki, sir." The redhead responds. "I'm here with my crew, the Straw Hats."
"Well then Kakyoin, let's get you downstairs and taking orders."
Noriaki nods and hopes that Luffy hasn't knocked anything over while waiting for him. He walks back down the stairwell and looks around the Baratie floor properly. It's fairly busy but it's not completely swamped, a perfect medium for a restaurant. Which was good. He finds Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Usopp all sitting around a table not far from the spiral staircase. They haven't ordered anything yet; they must have been waiting for him. Suppose he ought to break the news that he'll be here a while.
"Hey guys," he says, walking over to the table. "I've got some good news."
"We don't have to pay for repairs?" Nami asks.
"That's mostly handled," Noriaki says, and she relaxed immediately – practically slumping on the table. It concerns him a little bit, but maybe she's just glad they won't be running out of here chased by debt collectors as well as Marines. "But I've promised to work the tables for a few days to cover some of the damages; I hope that's alright, Captain."
"How long do you need to work here?" Luffy asks. As Noriaki expected, he looked a little crestfallen, but wasn't whining about it."
"A week." The redhead clarified.
Luffy pouted for a split second before his sunny smile came back. "That's okay! You really saved us paying them."
"You're really okay with this?" Zoro asked, arching an eyebrow."
"I mean, there's not much we can do about that, is there?" Luffy pointed out, shrugging. "I did blow a hole in their roof. And it's just a week. That's only five days."
'A week is seven days, Luffy,' Noriaki thinks tiredly to himself. Nami pinches the bridge of her nose. Usopp goes to do the same before he freezes.
"Uh oh. Nori, there's a blonde guy heading this way," he says.
"And…?" Noriaki asks warily, despite knowing exactly where this is going.
Ussop gives him an incredulous look. "And? Nori, you know how blondes get around you! They get creepy. And touchy. And that last one tried kidnapping you."
Noriaki twitches at the reminder of the blonde brat that had showed up in Syrup Village for a few days. Why me? "I haven't forgotten, Usopp," Noriaki says calmly. "But I'm going to be a waiter, meaning I'm most likely going to be serving blondes; don't make it sound like I'm hexed." I really hope I'm not hexed!
Now both of Zoro's eyebrows had migrated upwards.
"And I took care of that guy," Noriaki continues, oblivious to this. "Besides, this is a restaurant; I think I'll get by. Don't worry to much about me."
"So, you must be the new waiter," a male voice says, likely the person Usopp spotted.
Noriaki pivots and faces the new voice. He's a young guy, not far from his age if his eyes aren't deceiving him. He's tall, dressed in an elegant black suit and buckled shoes, his blonde hair is smooth and half covers one of his light blue eyes. His eyebrow is the most striking feature about him, Noriaki's never seen one curl that widely.
"Ah yes, that would be me," Noriaki smiles at him. "Kakyoin Noriaki, it's nice to meet you. I wasn't keeping you waiting too long, I hope. I'm sorry, I just wanted to inform my crew about what was going on."
The blonde gently waves him off. "Oh no, it's fine. Zeff kicked me out of the kitchen and told me to show you the ropes," the man says.
He then… takes one of Noriaki's hands and delicately kisses the back of it. Noriaki blinks, violet eyes widening. "Um…?" He can feel his cheeks burning. Ohmygoodness... oh my goodness... that was a very chivalric gesture.
This has never happened before. Wait. He's… being flirted with…? He's being flirted with in a non creepy way?
"It's a pleasure to meet you." The blonde says in a very friendly voice. "My name is Sanji, I hope to be graced with your presence for a long time… this way, please."
"O-Okay…"
Sanji winks at him and leads him towards the kitchen. Zoro scowls at the blonde's retreating back. He did not like that display.
"Tch… Keep an eye on that one," Zoro says darkly.
"Will do!" Usopp says very seriously.
"Why?" Nami asks, bemused. What were they so worried about? That guy's clearly just a wannabe prince charming. "He seems harmless."
"Fawning flirts like that can read basic politeness as an invitation, and that's our crewmate," Zoro says, a sharp edge to his voice. .
"And honestly, Nori's luck when it comes to blondes, and really anyone with eyes, hasn't always been good," Usopp adds with a sigh, causing Luffy to look at him with surprise. "He's charming, sweet, genuinely kind and polite, not to mention good looking, so people will flirt with him like crazy and they have interpreted his politeness as interest and sometimes they go too far."
"What do you mean?" Nami looked caught off guard.
Ussop waves a hand vaguely. "He has a rather unique appearance, that red hair and violet eyes; I don't like guys that way and even I think he's pretty." He pointed out. "Most of the time when Noriaki realizes someone's flirting with him, he turns them down politely, and most of the time, people take it well." The budding sniper shudders. "But some people, most of them tend to be blonde for some reason, get pretty insistent with him whenever he turns them down. Like they'll actually double down on him."
Nami growls in immediate understanding.
"Yeah," Usopp nods. "He hates it as much as I do. And I've seen how uncomfortable he gets, sometimes I swear he's even a little scared."
Zoro's eyes sharpen. He did not like learning about that either.
"It's true what they say, beauty is pain… but really, do you have any idea where Noriaki came from?" Nami asks. "It's not often that I can't place an accent, but I've never heard his before."
"No, I really don't," Usopp says honestly. "He's never really said where he came from, and I get the sense he doesn't like to talk about."
"Does it matter?" Luffy asks, brow furrowing. "He's here with us now!"
"You're not even a little curious about where he's from?" Nami asks, a little exasperated.
Her captain just shook his head definitively. "Nope," Luffy responds, popping the p. "He'll tell us if he wants to. And if he doesn't, he shouldn't have to."
Nami sigh and picks up the menu again. She's still playing her conversation with Noriaki through her head. Her stomach rolled over once the more she thinks on it. There was something almost… familiar about what little details he'd given her. Trying to parse details out of it only left her thinking about a saw-blade nose. But Noriaki had said that whoever he worked for wasn't a pirate, and she's never heard of anyone going around calling themselves Dio. And most powerful pirates had bounties too.
Noriaki had described his former employer as evil incarnate. How big could that bounty possible be for someone with that moniker? Anything higher than thirty thousand beri would exceed anything that Nami had ever encountered. She'd actually be impressed if this guys' bounty was bigger than Arlong's. Sure, Noriaki said Dio wasn't a pirate, but that didn't mean he wasn't a criminal of some kind. Bandits got bounties too, after all.
Bandits, pirates, they were all the same to her. Still, she got the feeling Noriaki wasn't telling her everything. Well… she might not see him again after she goes to save Cocoyashi… so maybe she shouldn't be spending so much energy trying to figure the weird guy out…
A part of her might miss him, though. He's a decent guy... she hasn't met a lot of people like that since she was eight.
Nami forces herself to actually read the menu before she starts getting emotional. And to try and avoid having her mind drift back to darker thoughts.
Zoro stares in the direction of the kitchen. He's seen Noriaki darting in and out a few times, sometimes with a notebook in one hand and other times carrying a loaded tray. And always, always followed by that blonde waiter. Yeah, the guy was explaining the job to him and helping him get used to it. Still…Why does he need to be touching Noriaki all the time?
The redhead doesn't seem bothered by it, but it… irked the swordsman in a way he couldn't explain. It shouldn't bother him at all and yet for some bizarre reason, it was. He just couldn't get away from the thought.
Noriaki had been confused for a girl before. It came with the territory of having a fairly androgynous appearance. However, normally it didn't take people long to catch onto the fact that he was a guy. Sanji… still hasn't quite figured it out, he's still flirting with him.
Is his voice really that feminine?! He didn't think so. Sure, his voice isn't as deep as Jotaro's, but it's masculine, right? This definitely isn't making him self conscious. Definitely. His cheeks flare a deeper pink.
"Thank you, Sanji-san, I think I can take it from here," Noriaki says.
"Are you sure?" Sanji asks.
"Yes. If I run into trouble, I'll come find you.
"Alright. I'm here if you need me."
He gives Noriaki a coy smile and saunters off. Noriaki releases a careful breath. He should probably take his crew's order now. Rolling one shoulder, he head off to his friends.
The day goes rather well. Until that Marine made a fuss. Noriaki hadn't noticed the man, having been paying more attention to his work. Things had been going relatively smoothly until Sanji approached the table with the Marine officer and his date. The officer, who Noriaki recognizes as the same one who fired at them making a fuss about a fly in the soup. Sanji, doesn't seem bothered at all and Noriaki cringes at the look on the Marine's face.
"Oh dear…" He murmurs.
He quickly finishes the order he's taking and figures he should probably keep an eye on this. Aaaaand food has just been dumped on the floor. That was fast!
Crap. The Marine is how getting up in Sanji's face but Sanji's just ignoring him. He's laser focused on the spilled soup. So much wasted food. The Marine doesn't see the kick coming, it happens so fast. Noriaki almost doesn't see it happen either, but he does hear the four blows as they land and the Marine hits the ground with a thud.
"I don't care what you say to me, but never waste food in my presence, understand?" Sanji asks darkly.
It was clear to Noriaki that wasting food was a very sore spot for Sanji and Noriaki remembers his grandmother's stories having to ration during and after the war to understand why. Food was precious, and yet not many people truly appreciated that fact.
"Hey! Hey!" One of the cooks, Patty, Noriaki remembers, shouts. "What are you doing with a paying customer, Sanji?!"
"He wasted the soup we made," Sanji says plainly. "I'm just teaching him that we don't do that here."
Noriaki watches the exchange uneasily, ready for the situation to deteriorate. He starts heading over there when the front doors of the restaurant burst open and a Marine grunt shout:
"Lieutenant Fullbody! The prisoner escaped from the brig!"
"What?" The fallen officer, Fullbody shouts. "Impossible! We haven't fed him in three days!"
That immediately gets Noriaki attention, a hot spike of rage courses through him. What?! Ooooh, that just makes him angry. Prisoner or not, he's still a person. You don't just starve someone because they're in custody!
The crack of a gunshot silences the room. The Marine collapses in pain, revealing a gaunt, shivering man in a blue snakeskin jacket and pants, holding a smoking pistol. He would cut a fearsome profile if it wasn't obvious that he was starved, weak and barely standing. Starvation had clearly taken its toll and likely dehydration, too. Noriaki wouldn't count on the Marines being decent enough to give the man water, either. The man was probably weak enough for Noriaki to take down with minor assistance from Hierophant, aside from getting the gun out of his hands.
Noriaki's heart squeezes with utter pity. With a soft whistle, he summons Hierophant.
"I don't care what it is," the man says, his voice soft as a whisper but ragged from thirst. "But someone get me something to eat. Now."
Hierophant slithers up to him and grabs onto his hand at the wrist, gently prying the weapon out his shaking fingers. Noriaki walks over to him, directing his Stand to support the man with his tentacles so he wouldn't collapse.
"Sir, I'm afraid we can't have weapons on the premises," Noriaki says gently but firmly. "Let's step outside, I'll see if I can buy you something to eat. And get you some water too." He could feel everyone in the restaurant staring at him like he'd sprouted wings, but he honestly couldn't care less. "I doubt that klootzak met een ezelgezicht of a Marine kept you hydrated either."
"L-Let go… what-what is this?" The man demands as he tries to struggle in Hierophant's grip, but even if the Stand wasn't far more powerful than him, he had no strength left to fight.
"It's nothing to worry about," Noriaki says quietly. "Now, lets get you outside and I'll get you some water and then some food."
The man tries to protest, so Noriaki gently but firmly guides him outside while strangling the desire to run back inside and beat Fullbody's face in. Sanji vanishes into the kitchen at the same time, while the watching crown murmurs amongst themselves. Sanji's brain is mostly stuck on what the green and silver serpentine thing at Noriaki's side, that Noriaki seemed to be able to control, was.
It must be some sort of mirage, right? But the prisoner could feel it? Or something. He's not entirely sure. Ah, he'll worry about that once he's made a good plate of food. It needs to be gentle on the stomach that hasn't had food in a while but would provide energy and strength. He'll feed anyone who needs feeding, it's always been in his nature to do so.
Luffy notices this and sneakily follows after him. His curiosity has gotten the better of him. Meanwhile, Noriaki helps the man sit down on the dock. The other man shivers, looking at Noriaki with something between defiance and fear. It makes Noriaki's heart ache.
"What… what did you do to me?" The man asks, staring at Noriaki like he was expecting him to transform into a monster. .
"I won't hurt you," Noriaki says softly. "How long has it been since you ate?"
The guy shakes his head hard. "I don't need you pity…!"
Noriaki frowns. "It's not pity, it's basic decency. Something you haven't been treated with lately."
The man stares at him, making it clear that being treated gently is an alien concept to him. Noriaki's heart sinks a little. "You look gaunt," Noriaki prods. "It's been a few days, hasn't it?"
"…Three days," the man finally says.
Noriaki curses again. Murder is bad, Nori, even if that damn Marine deserves it! "That piece of shit… Ah, what would be good for an empty stomach…?"
He should go get him some water, at least. But can he afford to leave him here…? There's a crashing sound and Lieutenant Fullbody goes flying all the way to his boat. Noriaki blinks, impressed by the sheer violence of the impact.
"Well. He definitely earned that," Noriaki says nonchalantly before looking back the man. "I don't think I caught your name."
"Gin. It's Gin." Gin blinks blearily, unsure what to make of this. He had not been expecting his day to go like this.
"Wait one moment, Gin. I'll get you some water…"
"I've covered that, Noriaki. Don't worry."
Noriaki looks up to see that Sanji has come to join them. He's carrying a steaming plate of fried rice and a tall glass of water, his expression serious.
"Here," he says. "Eat up."
He places them in front of Gin and sits down next to them, pulling out a cigarette from one pocket.
"You mind?" He asks and Noriaki shakes his head.
Gin's stomach rumbles loudly. He wants to refuse out of pride… but Sanji's calm persona and statements about the sea's harshness break through his defenses. So, he starts eating. Noriaki's chest warms up at the sight.
"Thank you," Gin says. "It's so good… I thought I was going to die…!"
"That should help you get your strength back," Sanji says.
"You saved me…!" Gin shovels the food down joyfully.
"No one should starve. If anyone's hungry, I'll feed them," Sanji says seriously before grinning slightly. "It's damn good, isn't it?"
"Yesh," Gin says. "It's delicious."
"Shishishi… It looks like I found my cook!"
"Luffy?!"
All three of them look up to Luffy hanging over a railing above them. "Excuse me?" Sanji asks, bewildered.
"I'm looking for a cook for my ship!" Luffy says cheerfully. "And I think I just found him, what do you say cook, join my crew!"
"Oh my gosh…" Noriaki can feel his cheeks burning. This is just like what happened to him!
"I can't leave the old man to go gallivanting off into the ocean," Sanji says. "I must refuse."
"I refuse your refusal," Luffy counters nonchalantly.
"Luffy…" Noriaki says.
He could feel how flabbergasted he looks, Sanji's expression says everything, really. It's almost similar to the one he made when Luffy had asked him to be a part of his crew. "What?" Sanji asks, dumbfounded.
"I refuse your refusal," Luffy says plainly.
"That's not how that…!"
He looks at Noriaki, his eyes seemingly saying: 'he's your Captain, talk to him.' Noriaki gives him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry," he says. "He's just like that. He pulled something similar when he recruited me."
Sanji makes a strangled noise.
"I'm really sorry, but I don't think I can talk him out of his decision," Noriaki says.
Gin finishes his food and gives Luffy a bemused look. "You're a pirate crew, then?" He asks.
"Yep!" Luffy chirps. "We're going to the Grand Line to find the One Piece!"
All the blood drains out of Gin's face instantly. Noriaki notices the change in Gin's demeanor and gives him a concerned look. "Are you okay?" He asks.
"The Grand Line…" Gin says. "It's a graveyard. Kid, if you value your crew, take my advice… don't ever go there."
"Eh? Why?" Luffy asks.
Gin swallows hard, a haunted look coming into his eyes. Then he tells them what happened to his crew. What Noriaki hears gives him chills.
A fleet of over one hundred ships destroyed either by storms or by one man. One man? How is that even possible…? And he cut one of their ships in half. How was that even remotely possible? Maybe Gin was misremembering due to the obvious trauma he's experiencing… But there was also the chance he wasn't misremembering things. Noriaki knew from experience that Stands could be capable of anything. And there were, of course, those Devil Fruits Usopp told him about. Like the one Luffy ate.
Unease pools in his stomach as several 'what if' scenarios run through Noriaki's head at once. Is there a Devil Fruit that controls the weather? Or even the ocean itself? If Devil Fruits were as varied as Stands, then maybe it was possible. Noriaki turns and stares out across the water. He doesn't want to deal with another 'Dio Situation' where he has to go into battle against someone he has no clue what he can do power wise. Sanji and Luffy's back and forth fades away in his ears.
He closes his eyes, trying to focus on his breathing. He tells himself to stay calm even as the memory of his death plays through his head on a loop. Unconsciously, he puts a hand on his stomach where he still gets phantom pains.
Gin shifts beside him, getting to his feet. He's heading out now, likely going back to his crew.
"Thank you. I'll never forget your kindness…!" Gin says.
"You're welcome," Noriaki says. "Stay safe out there, okay?"
The pirate looks overwhelmed. It takes him a few minutes to find his voice before he says, "Thank you." And then he leaves.
"What a nice guy!" Luffy says before he notices the expression on Noriaki's face. "Nori? Are you okay?"
"Hm? Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Noriaki says, smiling tightly and gets to his feet. "I should… probably get back to work now."
He almost flees back into the restaurant, leaving the other two staring after him. He doesn't want to deal with their questions or whatever they might look at him with.
"What was…?" Sanji asks, looking in the direction Noriaki went with concern.
"I don't know," Luffy answers honestly. "It's funny. Nori was totally straight faced the whole time we were dealing with the fake butler, but for a second, he almost looked scared…"
"Fake butler?" Sanji asks.
"We had an adventure before coming here!" Luffy says, immediately brightening. "It all started when we came ashore at Syrup Village…"
He begins regaling his new cook with the story of their previous fight while Sanji just sits there and listens.