Luffy is unbothered by Buggy's demands that they leave, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully when Buggy glowers at her hat again. She hands the tube containing the map to Usopp and places her hands on her hips. "You know Shanks, don't you?"

Zoro raises an eyebrow when Buggy glowers at Luffy, "Shanks? The captain of the crew the Usopp's dad is on?"

"Red-Haired Shanks, yeah." She glances over her shoulder briefly at him to answer his question before turning back to Buggy. She has an uncharacteristically sombre expression on her face, "You obviously don't like him; I'm just curious why."

"We were apprentice pirates on the same crew, and our friendship ended after our captain was executed."

Luffy's eyes dart to Red's face and the tightness around his eyes. Looking more closely at him, she realizes just how familiar he looks. Bright red hair, sharp elegant nose and stubborn chin. Her brow furrows. Given how much Red looks like Shanks, Luffy is willing to bet that the end of their friendship had come after some amount of sex.

What Luffy knows about Shanks, and she supposes that isn't very much, is that he loves women. A total flirt to any woman he set his eyes on. She had seen it with Makino.

Shameless, drunken flirting whenever Makino was near him.

There was a lot of drunken flirting.

Shanks had also never struck her as the type to settle down with one woman, no matter who that woman was.

Luffy doesn't want to jump to any conclusions…out loud, at least and tilts her head, settling on asking, "Is Shanks as much of a manwhore as he seems like he is?"

Buggy snorts, "Oh, yes."

Luffy hums, rocking back on her heels, meeting Red's gaze, "He's your father."

Red nods, "Although I've never met him."

"Ah, sperm donor."

Red snorts in amusement, and Buggy chokes, "Excuse me?!"

"Sperm donor," Luffy repeats without hesitation, "It's what my mom calls my bio dad because that's all he ever contributed to raising me."

"That's…accurate," Buggy decides on. Looking closely at Luffy, she sighs, "When did you meet Shanks?"

"When I was, like, sevenish."

"And he gave you his hat?"

"Yeah," Luffy pulls it off her head and rotates it in her hands. "He said I could give it back to him the next time we met. I told him I would be the Queen of the Pirates by then," She falls silent for a moment, finger finding a small tear in the brim, "I think he felt bad. First, I accidentally ate a Devil Fruit they'd found, and then I ended up getting kidnapped by a mountain bandit with a grudge, and Shanks ended up losing an arm to the king of the coast saving me."

A frown flashes across Buggy's face, "You accidentally ate a Devil Fruit? They didn't have it locked up or something?"

Luffy wants to laugh, but it catches in her throat. Crocodile had clung to that fact when she'd learned it, too. How does a seven-year-old get a hold of devil fruit? It hadn't been put away. The Red-Haired Pirates had had it sitting in an unlocked chest sitting on one of the tables in Party's Bar. Something that valuable should have been locked away, why was it so easy for you to get it?

And that was the million beri question.

One that Luffy honestly didn't know the answer to.

Luckily for her, she had never been the type to dwell. She's happy to leave the overthinking to others.

–

"So, what do you think?" Luffy leans around the sheet of black canvas she's holding up, grinning at her two crewmates. On the fabric, she'd painted the new emblem for their crew, one she'd always pictured in her mind whenever she thought of her future as a pirate captain. A grinning jolly roger, adorned with her signature yellow straw hat, a band of red wrapped around it. She glances at the lopsided painting and then at Zoro and Usopp to gauge their reactions. Zoro hunches forward, his arms crossed and his fingers tapping against his forearms.

He squints at his captain's attempt at a Jolly Roger, shooting a furtive glance at Luffy's eager, grinning face. "Uh…" He hates to burst her bubble, but they can't fly that on their main mast.

Usopp hums beside him, nudging Zoro with her elbow. "It's kind of really…not good, Luffy."

"Aww!" Luffy snickers, flipping it around so she can examine it once more. "Okay, fine, I'm no artist, but you can see what I'm going for, can't you?" She waggles the fabric.

Usopp puts her hand on her chin, eyes tracing over the emblem. "I think so." She squints, nodding her head once. "Leave it to me." Her words are confident, and Zoro huffs his amusement.

Luffy wriggles with her full body in a fluid little dance, cheering loudly, "Yeah, yeah!" Usopp ambles over to the box of painting supplies she'd brought with her from home, perusing her choices while Zoro snags another rectangle of black fabric from the stack for her to work her magic on. They stretch the blank flag out on the deck, weigh it down on all four corners, and Usopp gets to work.

Luffy watches excitedly as the emblem comes together under Usopp's skilled hands. Stark white for the bones and skull. Switching to a golden yellow for the hat, glancing up at Luffy once or twice with a shrewd eye to ensure she gets the shape right and switching again to a bright, candy red for the band of material around the base of the hat.

Zoro wanders back over to them when he notices they are almost done, whistling and nodding when he sees it. "Very nice."

Luffy laughs her agreement at her swordsman's stoic approval, hugging Usopp around the neck once the smaller girl puts the red-coated paintbrush back. "It's perfect, Usopp. We gotta put it on the mainsail, too."

When they're finished, the black emblem is bold against the creamy beige of the sail. Luffy tilts her head back to take it in, the grin never leaving her face. Her hat falls from her head, caught around her neck by the drawstring. A warm feeling blossoms in her chest, and she breathes a soft, almost reverent "Finally."

Neither of her crew hears her, both in different parts of the ship, but she doesn't need them to.

"Four years after Sabo and three after Ace, but I'm on my way." Her ears twitch when she picks up the low rumble of Zoro's voice from the storage room where he's taking through the hatch into the small room Luffy and Usopp had claimed as theirs for the time being. Usopp's answering words are harder to pick up, but she sounds amused.

Still staring raptly up at the freshly painted emblem, a thought tickles the back of her mind, and her eyes narrow as she tries to pull it to the forefront. There was something she was supposed to do. But what was it?

Crossing her arms, her fingers drum out an erratic rhythm, and she closes her eyes.

"Oh!" With a jolt, Luffy remembers and scurries to join Zoro in the storage room.

He glances at her, Usopp's small hand tucked in his as he helps her up the steep, narrow stairs, "What's up?"

"We need to pick up a Den Den Mushi from the first city we stop in," Luffy explains.

Usopp looks at her curiously, not noticing when Zoro keeps hold of her hand, almost chest to belly with him in the small space, "Okay, but why?"

"Because I promised my Dad that I'd check in at least once a week after I got my hands on one."

"You're dad? I thought you didn't know your dad?"

"I don't know my bio dad, but I definitely know my dad."

"Details, Luffy."

"Fine, my stepdad, since you insist on me being specific."

"I do. I do insist on you being specific."

"Boo. Boo, Zoro."

Snorting, Usopp interrupts, "We should be able to get a Den Den Mushi in Loguetown. But it's not gonna be cheap."

"We could find another bounty," Zoro offers.

"Blah, boring," Luffy purses her lips, hand flapping dismissively, "I may as well just send a letter to my mom and ask for some money."

Zoro's eyebrows arch sarcastically, "Is she gonna send debt collectors after us if we don't pay her back?"

"Nah, I'll call it my allowance so she knows she won't get anything back," Luffy snickers.

"If you say so."

"Do we have writing stuff?"

Usopp nods at the hatch, "Yeah, in the desk."

"Cool. I'll write a letter and send it with the next News Coo that swings by."

–

Usopp's sitting up in the crow's nest, her pencil tracing over the paper, when the cannon fires. She jerks and then scowls down at her drawing, marred by a dark slash of black graphite. She drops the sketchpad onto the wood beside her and goes up onto her knees to see what's going on. Luffy's standing next to one of the cannons on the foredeck, a befuddled look on her face. "I missed."

Usopp climbs down the rigging, bare toes gripping the ropes, and lands lightly on the deck, "What are you doing, Luffy?"

"Trying out the cannon." Luffy twists her back unnaturally, pouting at Usopp. "I think it's wonky; it flew right over that rock." She gestures at the rock jutting from the ocean fifty meters away from the starboard side of the ship.

Usopp waves her hand at Luffy, and her captain steps aside, smothering a smug grin beneath her hand. She observes Usopp adjust the cannon's trajectory. "If your shot went high, then this should do it." She lights the fuse, and both girls cover their ears. Zoro stomps up the stairs behind them, a grouchy look on his face, recoiling backwards when the cannon fires. He watches the rock shatter under the blast. Luffy jumps several times, shrieking with laughter.

"Nice shot, Usopp!" She bounces backward into Zoro, who grips her waist and puts her on the ground. Usopp's surprised that the hit actually landed.

"Can we stop playing with cannons now?" Zoro grumbles, and Usopp passes him an apologetic smile.

Luffy huffs but agrees by packing away the remaining fuses and keg of gunpowder. She grabs them and heads for the stairs back down to the cannon deck and anchor room. But she pauses, one foot on the stairs. She lifts her head, inhaling deeply. "Do you guys smell that?"

Zoro lifts his head, sniffing, shrugging when he can't smell anything above the pervasive salty scent of the ocean. "No."

"Food…Roasting meat, grilled fish," Another deep inhale, "Steamed vegetables. Chocolate…cake, maybe, with a raspberry filling." Luffy hurries down the steps to put away the cannon supplies. She doesn't bother with the stairs coming back; just latches onto the railing and propels herself back onto the foredeck. She sniffs the air again, her eyes closed. Usopp watches, fascinated by her captain's hunger-driven sense of smell.

'How to navigate, bonus lesson; use your nose.' She keeps the thought to herself but can't help the titter that escapes. Zoro glances at her, raising an eyebrow, but she waves him off.

Luffy's eyes pop open. She faces the port side of the ship and points, "That way."

Zoro sighs, nodding and heading for the rudder control.

–

"I'm shocked that you somehow managed to lead us to a restaurant in the middle of the ocean." Zoro mostly sounds like he doesn't believe there was actually a restaurant in the middle of the ocean.

"My nose never lies," Tapping the side of the feature in question, Luffy drops the gangplank onto the dock of the Baratie, an ocean-going restaurant. There weren't any islands in sight, and by Usopp's best guess, they were close to Loguetown, the island that lay nearest to the entrance of the Reverse Mountian. She grins back at her crewmates, "At least not about food. C'mon, I'm hungry."

"When aren't you?" Usopp grouses fondly, following Luffy down the plank of wood. She waits for Zoro at the bottom. The swordsman places a hand on her back, urging her to walk in front.

"Her epithet will end up being 'Bottomless-Pit Luffy' or something by the time she gets her first bounty," Zoro jokes, shoving his hands into his pockets, smirking a little when Usopp laughs and Luffy shoots him a heatless glare.

She is about to respond, holding open the door for Usopp when someone inside notices they've entered. Blinking her confusion, Luffy watches as the handsome blond in a finely tailored suit practically dances across the dining room to her. "Oh, glorious Sun Maiden! My heart weeps with joy to know you decided to grace this lowly place with your radiance!" The blond's eyes are lovestruck when he looks at her, and Luffy smiles awkwardly, unsure what is happening.

His eyes shift from her to petite Usopp, and another wave of whatever it is seems to overcome him. Usopp wonders how he manages to basically make hearts with his eyes. "Another! A delicate, earthbound angel!" He grips one of Luffy's hands and one of Usopp's, fawning over them and peppering kisses across their knuckles. "Beautiful girls! Let this poor, humble chef feed you! Free of charge, of course. It is my honour and pleasure to do so!"

He pauses, glancing up at Zoro, his expression suddenly passive. He adds reluctantly, "You can pay double, moss-head." Zoro sneers, glaring at the chef.

Usopp blushes, tugging her hand out of his grasp and stepping back. At the feeling of Zoro's chest at her back, she relaxes minutely. She lifts her hands to her burning cheeks, utterly embarrassed.

"You're funny!" Luffy, unlike her sharpshooter, finds his behaviour hilarious. She grins, and the blond swoons under the full force of her smile, scooping up her other hand.

"I am a simple chef, but I can also be a jester for your amusement, sweet sun maiden." He croons, his mouth against her knuckles.

"Nah, that's cool. I'll take you up on your offer of food, though."

"Anything for you, sun maiden." He seats them at a table near a large fireplace, empty in the heat of the afternoon, pulling Luffy's chair out for her. When he goes to do the same for Usopp, Zoro glowers at him and shoves him away from her. Usopp doesn't notice, smiling sweetly at Zoro when he pulls her chair from the table. Huffing, Sanji straightens his coat and composes himself before leaning back over the table, charming smile in place and aimed at both girls. "You shall want for nothing while I, Sanji, sous chef of the Baratie, am serving you."

"You might end up regretting that in an hour," Zoro chuckles, ignoring the kick Luffy aims at his shin beneath the table.

To his credit, Sanji takes Luffy's order in stride, not faltering when she rattles off a list of food that would, under normal circumstances, feed ten people easily. Zoro and Usopp's orders are downright modest in comparison. Sanji promenades away from their table, pausing to fill the glasses of two other customers, crooning at a different table full of giggling women.

Usopp props her elbows on the table and rests her chin in her hands, staring after Sanji with wide eyes. "He is…something else."

"Trouble," Zoro mutters, adjusting his position in the chair, angling his swords so that he could still draw them if he had to. His eyes trace over Usopp's face, irritated to see she's still flushed, two high spots of colour on her cheeks. She catches his eye and, once again, shoots him that sweet smile.

His heart gives a stuttering thud in his chest.

Luffy leans back in her chair, stretching her arms, glancing around the dining room curiously. Most of the customers appeared to be civilians, with at least one or two tables occupied by what might have been pirates.

While they wait for their food, another party arrives. A man and a woman. The woman is beautiful, with perfectly coifed blonde hair, wearing a long glamorous dress. The man is undoubtedly a marine. Handsome, albeit scarred, with perfect pink hair. Luffy makes notes of the iron knuckles he wears on both hands. She nods to him, and both Usopp and Zoro chance glances at him. Usopp gestures to the window next to the door that the Marine and his date had entered, on the opposite side of the restaurant from where they'd come in.

Anchored at the restaurant's dock was the looming shadow of a Navy battleship. Zoro makes a thoughtful noise, and Usopp frowns at the devilish look he and Luffy exchange.

Pointing at the far wall next to the entrance of the kitchen. A set of rules is posted. Rule number one was, 'Start shit, get tossed out on your ass.' "Neither of you start any trouble," Usopp says adamantly, and they agree unenthusiastically. Luffy is going to argue that it would have been easy to get away with, but she sees Sanji making his way across the dining room, at least three more cooks following him, each laden with several plates.

"Food time." Sanji's energy skyrockets when she grins in his direction. Placing the first of many plates before her.

"For you, Sun Maiden of my Heart! And for you, Little Angel!" Zoro's food is placed on the table by one of the other cooks, who is rolling his eyes at Sanji's antics.

"It looks amazing, Sanji." Luffy leans her elbow on the table, smiling at Sanji sweetly. "Did you make all of it?"

"Mm, of course," He leans down, face to face with the dark-haired girl in the straw hat. He is malleable putty in Luffy's hands. And she knows it, dragging her index finger along the underside of Sanji's jaw. Zoro watches her face shift deliberately; eyes half-lidded, smile promising secrets, head tilted just so and in a very measured move, places her hand at the neck of her shirt, fingering trailing over the visible, soft skin of one of her breasts. He hides a smirk in his glass. Sanji's gaze drops to her ample chest, swallowing visibly, eyes following the trail of her finger.

Usopp, carefully picking through her plate and extracting mushrooms, shifts her eyes between the two. Her eyebrows are up near her hairline, wondering what Luffy is after.

"Our crew doesn't have a cook, and I think you'd be a great fit," Her foot darts out quickly to slam into Zoro's shin as soon as she sees him opening his mouth to protest out of the corner of her eye. "What do you say? Come along with us?"

Sanji wails, not noticing Luffy's surprised jump, and grabs her hand from where she'd been holding his chin. "If only this were another life, at another time, Sweet Maiden of the Sun!"

"You know, you can just call me Luffy."

"I'm afraid, sweet Luffy, that I must stay here. I owe a debt, one that I could never hope to repay." He collapses to his knees, still clutching to her hand, despondent. "Forgive me?"

Snapping her mouth shut from where she had been gaping at him, Luffy nods, "Of course."

Sanji pulls himself to his feet, kissing Luffy's hand once more. "Please, eat before your food gets cold. I'll come by to check on you in a while." He twirls away, apparently on cloud nine. Luffy hums, digging into her food.

Zoro scowls at her, sliding his plate over to Usopp so she can slide the mushrooms she doesn't want onto it. "You can't be serious? Him?"

Luffy swallows, "He's funny." She squints after Sanji, "But we'll see."

She's shovelling another spoonful of food into her mouth when an in-uniform Marine bursts into the dining room. "Lieutenant Fullbody! The prisoner, that Krieg Pirate–" The young man is cut off when the blast of gun shatters the peaceful air, and he falls forward in a spray of blood. The lieutenant, Fullbody, shoves himself to his feet, using the table he and his lady friend had been sitting at as leverage. The cocky playboy act he'd been affecting falling away to reveal the competent officer beneath, snarling, "Where are all my Marines?"

Twirling her gun, a pirate steps over the body of the fallen Marine, a sly smile curling her mouth, "Dead or dying by now."

She had short, spiky dark hair, dark circles beneath her eyes, and a striped sweatband on her forehead. She was frighteningly thin, like it had been weeks since she'd last had anything to eat. Fullbody apologizes briefly to his date, paying the pirate no mind as he hurries past her to crouch beside the fallen Marine, feeling for his pulse.

He seems to find one, letting out the breath he had been holding. Fullbody scoops the young man up in his arms, unconcerned by the blood soaking into his nice suit. He glowers at the pirate, "I'll be back for you, Gin; don't doubt that for a moment."

"Can't wait," She drawls, head tilted as she watches him carry his Marine out, stride long.

Luffy watches Sanji as the chef places the bottle of wine he'd been holding carefully atop a nearby table. Gin grabs a seat at an empty table, pistol still clutched in her hand as she kicks her feet up. She meets Sanji's blue eyes with a smirk, "I'm a customer. Aren't you going to serve me?"

Sanji's eyes trace the gaunt hollowness of her cheeks and the line of his protruding collarbone, the stretched-out neck of her oversized t-shirt hanging lopsidedly off one shoulder. Sanji's eyes tighten, curly eyebrows drawing together.

Another cook appears, stopping beside Sanji. Comically shaped, with a large, shaven head and thick forearms, he frowns at Gin.

"You got money?"

"Patty–"

Patty ignores Sanji, strolling over to the table Gin is sitting at, asking her in an exaggerated customer service voice, "Do you have money to pay for a meal?"

Gin looks up at him, "Nope."

"Then you ain't a customer," Patty says simply, clasping his hands together as Gin's bland expression shifts to anger, "And I sure don't feel bad about doing this." Patty grabs Gin by the scruff of her neck like a kitten and drags her to the door, tossing her through uncaringly.

While the rest of the customers begin cheering for Patty, Luffy notes, with no small amount of interest, that Sanji is gone, so she clears her fourth plate and stands up quickly. "I'll be back in a bit, don't touch my food." Usopp nods, taking a sip from her glass of juice. Zoro throws Luffy an annoyed look, knowing what she's up to.

Luffy tracks Sanji down to one of the side balconies of the restaurant. She grins, finding him sitting on the floor across from Gin, one knee up, his other leg stretched out in front of him, a cigarette held between his index and middle finger, blue eyes closed. He has a soft, almost serene smile on his face.

Luffy can understand why. Gin is scarfing down a plateful of rice and curry, tears streaming down her face like she was eating ambrosia. As though she'd never eaten anything better in her life. And maybe she hadn't, certainly not recently.

Luffy considered Gin's skeletal appearance. The exhaustion hidden in her eyes, the faint tremble in her limbs and her sallow, unhealthy complexion. It had obviously been weeks since she'd had anything to eat.

It spoke a lot about Sanji's character that he would feed a starving woman even when she could not pay.

Yup.

No questions about it: Luffy wasn't leaving the Baratie unless Sanji was sailing with her.

She surprises both of them by dropping down next to Sanji with a soft thud. Sanji chokes and starts coughing on smoke. "Luffy, what're you doing here?"

She sits beside him, her legs crossed, gripping her ankles. Meeting Sanji's eyes, she grins. "So, you can talk to women normally. That's good; the over-the-top Romeo shtick would get old fast." She rocks backward, snickering. "I've decided."

Sanji, eyes wide, exchanges a quick look with Gin, where she's polishing off the last of her meal, "Decided what?"

"That I'm not leaving the Baratie until you agree to come sail the Grand Line with me as my cook," Luffy says nonchalantly, blinking at him.

Sanji has to admire her forthrightness.

Gaping at her, Gin sputters out, "The Grand Line? You should forget it, kid." She places her plate carefully on the deck, dark eyes taking on a haunted look, "That place…they call it the Pirate Graveyard for a reason."

Luffy's answering smile is lopsided, "I know. That doesn't excite you?"

Gin shakes her head. "Don Krieg had fifty ships and five thousand men when we sailed into the Grand Line. We were hit by a storm on our third day out and lost half the fleet. Then the rest of our ships started sinking when some monster, one of those Shichibukai bastards, decided he was bored. He chased us out of the Grand Line, and we've been drifting with no food for weeks."

"A Shichibukai?" Sanji asks, noting the way Luffy ducks her head, smiling impishly.

Gin notices as well, cocking one eyebrow, answering Sanji's question, "One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Pirates who have sold themselves to the World Government in exchange for immunity from arrest, their bounties frozen, and certain protections for their crews and families." Sanji has the distinct impression that Gin isn't saying anything Luffy isn't well aware of. "They're all monsters. They're allowed to go after whatever pirate crews they want, do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't interfere with the World Government or the Navy. All they have to do in exchange is answer any calls to fight, especially if any of the Yonko start making noise in the New World."

"Which Shichibukai was it?" Luffy asks, her smile wiped from her face when she looks back up.

"Don't know their names. Just remember his eyes. Piercing, like a hawk's." She sneers, "Like I said, forget it. A kid like you, with a handful of crew members, wouldn't get far."

Luffy stares at Gin briefly, smirking lightly, "I'm gonna be Queen of the Pirates. I would never make it very far if someone else's failure was enough to scare me." The words are blunt, and Gin is almost impressed by her gumption. Luffy holds Gin's studying gaze for a long moment before she turns her attention back to Sanji. "So, what do you say?"

He looks very much like he desperately wants to say yes. But he grimaces, grabbing Luffy's hands off of her ankles and clutching them to her chest dramatically, "I'm a fool to say it, but no."

"Boo." Luffy pouts at him. "I refuse."

"You refuse?" Sanji blinks, really not expecting her response to be what it is.

"I refuse your refusal," She huffs, pulling her hands out of his and crossing her arms petulantly.

Sanji smiles at her, telling her, "Maybe, one day, I'll meet you on the Grand Line. You ever heard of the All Blue?"

From above, Red-Shoes Zeff watches Sanji explain the theory of the All Blue to his rapt audience of two. Zeff smiles, chin in his hand. Still lights up like the sun whenever he talks about it. Damn baby eggplant.

His eyes shift to the girl in red, with her unruly black hair and large, dark eyes. Crocodile wasn't kidding when she said her oldest girl is a force of nature. He'd been able to catch a glimpse of her near-flawless seduction of his sous chef and been immediately reminded of the girl's mother.

Lady Crocodile, not unlike her daughter, was also a force of nature. Maybe even more so, given her years of experience. My boy doesn't stand a chance.

–

They wave Gin off, and Sanji, with a mischievous grin, tosses the evidence of feeding her into the water. Luffy remembers she has food and races back to the dining room.

Sanji doesn't expect it when, not even an hour later, Gin returns. She's propping up the formidable form of what can only be Don Krieg himself, his arm slung across her shoulders. The Baratie is eclipsed in the shadow of the Krieg Pirates flagship.

Sanji doesn't hesitate to bring the wasting Krieg a meal, even as Patty and Carne beg him not to. Only to be told to shut up by the head chef. "You've never been starving before, have you?" Zeff grumbles, his gait hindered by a slight limp, his peg leg thumping rhythmically against the polished floor of the dining room.

Zeff scowls when Krieg finds his energy rather quickly, grasping Sanji by the face. The blond struggles as Krieg's eyes examine the interior of the ship, "Nice place. I'll take it. And meals for the men on my ship." Tossing Sanji aside, he points at the peg-legged head chef.

Gin grasps her captain's sleeve, "Don Krieg, you promised you wouldn't do this!"

Sanji lands on the Straw Hats' table, breaking through the wood. Empty plates shatter where they land against the floor. He groans in annoyance, pushing himself into a sitting position, glancing at the three pirates, boggling at the fact that Luffy was still eating, and both of her crewmates had grabbed food-filled plates before they'd fallen.

Luffy cleans off the plate she is holding, her arms snaking out to place it on a nearby table. Literally snaking out, Luffy not even leaning over to reach. She accepts the next plate from her swordsman.

"You okay, baby eggplant?" Zeff growls.

Lighting a cigarette, Sanji meets his adoptive father's steely gaze, "Fine, crap geezer."

"Then let's get to the kitchen. We've got–" He interrupts himself, looking at Don Krieg and Gin, "How many meals?"

Gin glances up at Krieg, hesitating, "One hundred."

Zeff nods, "A hundred meals to cook." Sanji stands, dusting himself off, following after Zeff.

Krieg smirks, shaking Gin's hand off his arm, his eyes landing on the Straw Hats. Leering, his eyes trace over the curves of Luffy's body. Up the smooth skin of her legs, the curve of her hips and ass against the seat of the chair, the dip of her waist and the swell of her chest.

"Well, well, well." He saunters to her side, and Luffy glances up when his shadow falls over her, a disinterested expression settling on her face. "Aren't you a fine little thing?" He leans over her, his hand on the back of her chair.

Luffy twists her mouth, blinking at him. "You're interrupting my meal, old guy."

Krieg sneers, grasping her arm and tugging her up.

Zoro grabs hold of Wado's hilt, shooting to his feet.

Usopp scoots behind Zoro, her hand twitching, itching to grab her slingshot.

Luffy looks down at the large, gloved hand wrapped around her bicep and sighs, dropping her weight and lifting her feet. She places her sandaled toes against Krieg's hips, the old guy raising his eye at the move. Using the strength of her thighs alone, she kicks out, and Krieg is sent flying, barely keeping his feet, skidding across the floor of the dining room. His eyes widen as he watches the girl land lightly on her feet.

Luffy drops back down onto her chair and gestures for Usopp to hand her the last plate. She hums happily, digs in, and brings her feet up to sit cross-legged on the chair.

Krieg twitches, irritated by Luffy's blasé attitude. He straightens up and takes a threatening step towards her. But the blond brat of a cook steps in his path before he can get any closer. Zeff drops a bundle at his feet, saying coolly, "A hundred meals."

Krieg sneers, grasping the knot of the bundle and hefts it over his shoulder. "We'll be back for your ship."

Zeff and Sanji snort simultaneously, the head chef saying, "You can try. We're sea cooks, boy. If you think you're the first asshole to try and hijack the Baratie, you're sorely mistaken."

Krieg stomps out of the restaurant, Gin on his heels. She shoots Sanji a brief, indecipherable look over her shoulder. Sanji blinks at her, and she turns away.

Carne frowns at Zeff, "You sure about this chef? Don Krieg is well known for his ruthlessness."

Zeff doesn't answer, and Sanji sneers at Carne, "Scared?"

"NO!"

"Then stop whining like a little bitch."

The cooks don't notice when their customers start to leave in droves—the dining room is empty in seconds. Zeff blinks when he realizes Crocodile's daughter and her two crewmates are still there. "Aren't you three leaving?"

Zoro heaves a sigh, glancing at Luffy. "Captain's orders."

Usopp smiles at the chef, "We're staying to lend you all a hand."

Luffy grins, "Because we want Sanji." Her crew stares at her, and she blinks at them. "What?"

"Trying being blunter, Luffy."