Chapter 75

Commitment

"Amy…"

While steering his little sailboat, Liam glanced worriedly at the young waitress. Her cheeks were streaked with traces of the tears she had shed. He felt completely helpless. The coasts of the All Blue were now in sight and the scientist hoped that Lily had received his message.

That same morning, Amy had offered her jewelry at the Basterl market in his company as they had become accustomed to doing since a few weeks. The young girl began to be known and her creations attracted more and more people. Amy had gained autonomy and confidence and Liam had left her alone to run the stall for a few hours while he went to the university. When he had returned though, he had found the young girl crying, her stall trashed and jewelry trampled on the ground. In disbelief, he had rushed to ask for an explanation and between sobs, he had ended up understanding that a horde of women had torn apart her display without her knowing why.

At that moment, the two cheesemaker brothers from the island had appeared, also returning from the market, and Adrien had immediately figured out what had happened. He had told them that the Basterl market was renowned in the region and the storekeepers who had the chance to sell their products over there didn't want to lose an ounce of power against other merchants, making life impossible for the newcomers with some success. The group of women who had attacked Amy were well-known jewelry designers in town who couldn't stand competition.

The three men had collected the bracelets, rings and other pearls that could be saved and Liam had been heartbroken to see that the furies had set about destroying everything they could before leaving poor Amy to her fate. Their friends had accompanied them to the port and the scientist had quickly set sail after trying to contact Lily to inform her of their arrival. He was well aware that the young girl needed to be comforted and he wasn't in the best position to do it despite the fact that their relationship had become very friendly over the course of time spent together.

"I-I learned to defend myself and yet, when I needed to, I-I couldn't do anything," Amy stammered as Liam maneuvered to lead them towards the beach.

"It wouldn't have changed anything,' he pointed out to her while jumping into the water to pull their small boat onto the sand. "There were far too many of them and who knows what they would have done if you had resisted…"

"Amy?" The young girl immediately raised her head towards the worried voice that had called her from the shore and her eyes brimmed with tears again when she discovered the man who had just arrived on the beach.

"Sanji…" Amy jumped out of the boat to rush into the cook's arms before bursting into tears when the blond hugged her back.

"Is everything okay?" He whispered, gently stroking her hair, "What happened?"

"It-It's.. It's… Th-Th-They h-have…"

Unable to find words, Amy buried her face into his chest and Sanji looked around for an explanation as Liam joined them. "Lily told me there was a problem in Basterl but she can't be here; they'll be at sea for several more hours," he told him to explain his presence.

"Rivals destroyed her jewelry and stall while I was away," the scientist said guiltily. "I just went to the university to give my article but when I came back, everything had been trashed…" In his arms, Amy shook like a leaf and Sanji tightened his grip around her. "Why did they do such a thing?" He hissed, trying to remain calm so as not to worry his protégée any further.

"Aaron and Adrien told us that the Basterl market works almost like a mafia," Liam sighed. "They don't like successful newbies; it makes them lose money."

"And nobody said anything?!"

"The authorities don't seem too mindful," the dark-haired man agreed.

"This is unacceptable; we mustn't stop there!" He then gently pushed Amy away so he could observe her carefully. "Did they hurt you? Did they threaten you?"

"They-They said that… if-if I came back, they-they-they'd make sure that no-no one would ever buy my j-jewelry again. And-And that my jewelry w-was…" A fit of tears shook Amy again and the blond ran a hand through her long auburn hair to try to comfort her, his jaw clenched. "They said my jewelry was ugly and that I… dis-discredited their market…"

The cook's eyes flashed but he tried not to show it and he hugged his waitress to reassure her. "You know it's not true; they would have never tried to scare you if that was true…" He took a deep breath to control his anger and met Liam's sad gaze on them. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry, Amy."

She slowly approved, taking refuge a little more against her protector to find some safety and after a few minutes, her tears subsided. In his arms, nothing could happen to her…

"I think we're on time…"

At the end of the afternoon, Usopp sifted through his notes for the umpteenth time, checking that he had not forgotten anything. He had made the reservations for the various activities of Luffy's bachelor party. The alterations for the groom's suit were finished. Chopper was taking care of the last decoration purchases with Robin and Nami. Brook was reviewing his music selection. Franky had finished painting the room that would welcome them. Malek and Sanji had decided on the final list of the menu that they would serve on the day of the ceremony and the sniper himself had developed a defense strategy with Liam and Zoro. Nojiko and Vivi would arrive in two days and then everything would be ready: Usopp was very proud to have achieved this result.

"Usopp, you coming? Your fishing rod is ready!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming…"

The gunner absently followed the straw hat boy onto the deck of the Sunny. Luffy had grabbed their fishing rods as soon as his friend had confirmed that they could take a few hours of rest. The captain enthusiastically headed towards the edge and suddenly pointed out something offshore.

"Oh, it's shiny! What is it?!"

Usopp looked up from his papers before shaking his head. "Catfish. Malek saw a bunch of them last night and Sanji said they come from Vorgo regularly. Their scales reflect the sun's rays."

"This is so cool! It looks like the stone I gave to Nami and now she wears it as a necklace!"

"Oh, yeah. What she did with it is quite pretty and it was so unexpected that I almost thought she was gonna-

Usopp froze suddenly, feeling his eyes bulge. His papers slipped from his grasp and they flew onto the ship's grass. Luffy glanced at him questioningly. "What's wrong? You've very pale," he pointed out.

His sniper looked up with frightened eyes at his captain who stared back. "I-I forgot… Oh, god, how could I forget that…"

"What?" The straw hat boy wondered, his eyes wide. Usopp placed both hands on his friend's shoulders, breathing short.

"The wedding ring!" He admitted, completely distraught, "I forgot the wedding ring… My God, we're screwed," he continued, falling to his knees and suddenly overwhelmed. "How are we gonna find a ring that pleases Nami enough in such a short time?! I can't even call Robin and she won't be back until tonight…"

Luffy looked at the gunner with curiosity. "A ring?"

The sniper dropped his head to the ground in despair. "I can't believe it. We paid attention to every little detail and we were so close… Why, why didn't I think of the wedding ring…" Usopp shrank and Luffy put down his fishing rod to crouch down and pat his back.

"We can go get one now," he kindly suggested in response to his dismay.

"Do you have any idea of the importance of this ring?" The sniper sniffed against the wood of the Sunny, "This is the ring that will symbolize the rest of your life together and your commitment to each other. You cannot choose it lightly and you have to find it, order it, have it adjusted to the right size… All this in less than a few days! I bet Nami found yours weeks ago! How could I forget…" He felt guilty again.

As the sniper moped, Luffy frowned. "Nami has to like this ring, right?"

"Yeah, Nami has to like it," Usopp repeated in a flat voice. "It's the most important thing of the whole wedding…"

"I know exactly what she wants then!"

Usopp lifted his head from the ground to look at his captain. He couldn't believe it. "You know what Nami would like? You have an idea to buy her a ring, really?"

"Yeah, come on!"

Without waiting for his answer, Luffy grabbed his friend before starting to run towards the beach.

"She's here!"

The straw hat boy pounced on Amy who had sat down next to Liam at a table on the deserted terrace of the All Blue. "I need one of your rings!" Luffy immediately said, stopping in front of the young girl who flinched.

"Wh-What?"

Usopp pushed his captain away to explain their request more precisely, catching his breath at the same time. "Luffy would like to take a look at your rings if you don't mind. More specifically, we're looking for a wedding ring… Wouldn't you happen to have that among the jewelry you make?" He tried hopefully.

"You haven't found the wedding ring yet?" Liam asked, his eyes wide.

The sniper let out a long sigh in front of the scientist's amazement. "I just remembered," he admitted, ashamed. The young man didn't comment but he stared at the girl next to him before biting his lips. "I don't know if you'll find anything in Amy's collection…"

"I saw her jewelry last time and they were cool. Nami said she liked them too so that's what I want!" The captain decreed.

"It's because she doesn't really have jewelry anymore." Liam tried to dissuade him again.

"You have to make some then!" The straw hat boy insisted, "A ring with a huge pearl! You can do that?" He asked the young girl who looked down. "Usopp said it's really important!"

"I don't make jewelry anymore," she admitted then.

"Really? Since when?" The sniper wanted to know, surprised. Amy shrugged, embarrassed, and Usopp looked at Liam questioningly. The man sighed, "There was an incident this morning at the Basterl market. Amy was attacked and threatened so that she wouldn't come and sell her jewelry there. They don't like competition…"

"You kidding?" Usopp exclaimed, stunned. "They're ready to traumatize a young girl so as not to lose a few berries?! This is unbelievable!"

"They're not the bravest people in the world," a voice agreed behind them. Malek had opened the back door of the All Blue and gave a magnificent cocktail to the tearful girl. "Your favorite drink: a non-alcoholic pina colada!"

"Th-Thank you." Amy grabbed her straw to take a long sip of her drink, her eyes fixed on the table, and the cook shook his head as he observed her. "Some people have no consideration for others; it's sad."

"Sanji must be furious," Usopp said.

"That's an understatement," his crewmate agreed.

At these words, the blond pushed the back door of the restaurant, a large plate of cookies in his hand and a cigarette at the corner of his lips. "These bastards are gonna have to deal with me; they'll pay for it shortly," he growled in a muffled voice after giving his plate to his protégée. Luffy immediately grabbed several of them and Sanji decided to let him. After all, he had made more than enough.

"People's greed knows no bounds," Usopp sighed.

"Forget the whole thing, my dear." The blond reassured her when he saw the young girl slowly grab one of the cookies she usually loved so much, "Trust me, they'll regret picking on you."

He crouched down to be at her height while she bit into her cookie.

"I don't want you to work for tonight's shift. Elio and Sam can cover for you and Lily told me she'll be home early enough to help us. I want you to stay with Liam and get some rest, okay?" He said, making sure the scientist shared his opinion. "You'll stay at his place until Lily joins you and I'll prepare a menu just for the two of you."

"Okay…"

In the end, the cook stood up before clenching his teeth around his cigarette. "Tomorrow morning, I'll go with you to Basterl and we'll settle this matter," he concluded, fixing his gaze on Liam who nodded in return.

A sound of pots smashing to the floor was heard from the restaurant at the same time and Sanji rolled his eyes. "We gotta go back. These two, I don't know what possessed me when I hired them," he muttered, referring to his kitchen boys. "Sometimes it's like they have two left feet…" As Malek smiled and headed towards the kitchen, Sanji followed suit and nodded to his friends. "Don't forget, Amy, I'll come see you later."

The two men disappeared inside and Usopp offered a sympathetic smile to the young waitress who was staring expectantly at the door. "You can count on Sanji; he won't let you down. He's the best at defending those he cares about."

"I know, I like him a lot," she confided in a breath, taking back her barely eaten cookie. "He has done a lot for me since I got here…"

Usopp smiled again when hearing these words and Luffy grabbed the last cookie from the plate placed in front of the young girl. "So, when are you making your new jewelry?" He asked her, his mouth full, "We need it quickly, you know!"

His sniper elbowed him in the ribs, outraged. "She just told you she doesn't do it anymore; she got attacked! You got mud in your ears or something?" He got annoyed.

"So what?"

Usopp rolled his eyes and Liam tried to take over. "Amy needs a little time to process the events, it's better if you look for a wedding ring for Nami on Vorgo or on the surrounding islands. I could take you there if you want."

"Nope. I want Amy's." Luffy crossed his arms on his chest stubbornly and the young girl looked shyly at him. "I'm sorry but I never made a wedding ring and my jewelry wasn't that pretty anyway…"

"You shouldn't believe what they told you," Liam chastised her gently. "They only wanted to scare and discourage you."

Amy shrugged, her eyes downcast. "I think I made a mistake when I thought I was any good at it," she murmured. "They were right when they said my jewelry was superficial; I never bothered to really look into alloys and paints to highlight it… I just had fun and I should have learned all these techniques but I don't have time… I have no chance of breaking through in jewelry creations…"

Above her, Usopp and Liam exchanged an apologetic look but for his part, Luffy frowned. "Sanji won't always be there, you know."

Amy looked up at him, clearly surprised. "What do you mean?"

"One day, he won't be here and you'll have to take care of yourself."

The girl's eyes widened in fear. "Is-Is he gonna leave All Blue?"

The straw hat boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, he'll do what he wants."

"Luffy, don't scare her," Usopp chimed in, "She's already had a hard day, don't-

"No one will be here to protect you, you'll have to do it on your own," he continued, ignoring his friend.

"But…" Amy's eyes focused on the pirate captain, distraught. "But I don't know how to defend myself… I thought I could but-

"You spent two years with Sanji, didn't you learn anything?"

Amy's eyes filled with tears at these words. "I-I did but I… There were so many of them and-

"Sanji would never have given up on his dream." Silence fell abruptly on the terrace and Luffy continued to stare at the young girl in front of him. "If you wanna thank Sanji for what he did for you, you gotta stop relying on him. You gotta fight for your dream otherwise everything he has done will have been for nothing."

Petrified, Amy swallowed and two tears silently rolled down her cheeks as she kept her eyes fixed on the darkened face of the straw hat boy.

"If you think you don't need to fight for what you want, you're totally wrong," he said. "You gotta commit and give everything you have. You gotta keep going no matter what and if you don't have the strength to do so, that means your dream is worthless and Sanji would never have accepted that. So if you really like him, you gotta stop crying and you gotta keep making your jewelry."

With these words, Luffy pulled his straw hat on his head and turned around towards the Sunny, leaving the place without looking back. Usopp and Liam caught their breaths and glanced at Amy. She was visibly in shock. The sniper shared a look with Liam before rushing to join his captain and the scientist slowly turned towards the young girl who was still perfectly still.

"Amy, don't take what he said the wrong way… Luffy's a very direct person but he also has a big heart. He only wants the best for his friends."

When hearing him, she finally seemed to come to her senses and ran a trembling hand over her wet cheeks to wipe them. "Do you… Do you know about Sanji's dream, Liam?" She asked him. The young man raised an eyebrow before nodding, "Yes, I do. He wanted to find the All Blue."

"He told me that too but he didn't tell me why. Do you know why?"

"It's because Sanji wants to be the best cook in the world."

Amy looked at the scientist for a moment. "Do you think he's ever gotten discouraged?"

"I don't know but what I know is that he had many opportunities to doubt and he never gave up."

"Really?"

Liam nodded then decided to sit next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Did you know he met Zeff when the ship he was sailing on sank?"

Amy shook her head while leaning against him and the scientist smiled as he remembered the stories the blond had told him. "He was only eight years old and they both almost died. Yet their dream of finding the ocean where we are today was so strong that they promised to open a restaurant on the East Blue if they survived and that's what they did. It's all the way over there, on the Baratie, that Zeff taught him everything…"

Are we ever ready to grow up? Amy's lucky, Luffy's the best to help people in this regard.

Next chapter, we welcome our two special guests on the All Blue!