Chapter 5

In the back of my memory

At nightfall, the entire pirate crew of the Straw Hat entered an imposing rustic inn a little away from the port in which several customers were already chatting happily. The island was quite isolated and the inhabitants seemed inclined to meet among themselves in open and festive places, probably as much to bring their community together as to offer hospitality in the best possible conditions to their few tourists. That's why the place Franky and Brook had selected was obviously as much a restaurant and a bar as a place of entertainment.

As everyone looked around for a table large enough to accommodate them all, Luffy noticed the modest stage in the center of the establishment and his eyes lit up. "We can party!"

"The owner confirmed that local groups appear on stage every evening," His musician said.

"Awesome!" His captain got enthused as the navigator dragged him to sit down, "I can't wait for it to start!"

"Probably soon," The cyborg noted, glancing at the clock above the bar.

Choosing to settle around a long wooden table against one of the walls, Franky, Chopper, Nami and Robin sat on the bench while Usopp settled into a chair. "Are you sure the Sunny is safe?" He asked the redhead as Zoro sprawled on the seat to his left.

"We moved her to the other side of the port, she's less visible," The young woman answered at the same time as the skeleton sat down in front of her.

"Besides, we ain't far. If there's a problem, we can be there in a sec," Franky pointed out in front of him.

The sniper nodded, reassured, while his captain grabbed his cutlery at the end of the table to ask for food and on his right, Sanji leaned over the menu to help him choose. At the other end of the table, Jinbei sat down heavily in his chair, surprising his closest crewmates.

"You okay? You look wiped out," The cyborg noted.

The Fish-Man blinked before sighing deeply. "I had no idea… keeping the Captain out of harm's way really meant," He admitted. "It is not only about ensuring his physical safety but also that of the whole crew so that he doesn't reveal our presence actually…"

"Was it that hard?" Chopper asked sympathetically.

"Well, after I caught up with him at the port, he wanted to have a snack and I thought that was a pretty good idea. I even imagined it'd be a great way for him to stay calm but it didn't go as I hoped…"

"He fought with the customers?" Usopp grimaced.

"No, he devoured all the reserves of the little shop he had entered and since he was still hungry, he started making bets to get other people's plates. Before I understood what was happening, he had jumped into the harbor water to get a medallion that a man had promised him in exchange for his share of rice."

"Typical of him," The sniper sighed.

"I went to get him and I thought it had served as a lesson but he immediately made another bet in which he had to dance in front of the barracks of the Marines for ten minutes no matter what. I tried to talk to him but he totally ignored me…"

Jinbei looked really confused and the cyborg tried to reassure him. "It's normal that you still lack experience with Luffy," He pointed out. "It's better to knock him out in these cases, it's the easiest way."

"We should have warned you," Chopper felt guilty.

"We've all been there, you get used to it," Usopp said in turn.

Their new friend nodded, aware of what he still needed to learn about daily life among the Straw Hat pirates. "I should have known," He agreed, "His attitude during fights is an unequivocal sign." He then looked at their leader who loudly encouraged the first musicians taking their place on the stage. Totally excited, he was about to get on the table when one of Robin's hands held him back gently so that he didn't smash everything that was already on it.

"Dealing with Luffy's recklessness is a full mission," The gunner who had grabbed the drinks menu approved. "But I think you did well so we should celebrate!" He then suggested cheerfully.

"Good idea!" The little reindeer rejoiced.

"I hope they have cola!" The cyborg exclaimed. "I feel super good!"

The party was in full swing in the inn and part of the crew was wiggling on the improvised dance floor in the center of the room to the raging rhythm of the drums and strings of a particularly exalted group. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper tried to imitate the gestures of the guitarist whose fingers flew above his instrument while Franky swayed alongside their personal musician and the other customers whose glasses clashed between two chords.

At the table among the leftovers of their meal, the others chatted more calmly despite the laughter and noisy conversations around them. "The Log-Pose on this island will reload by tomorrow morning," Nami informed them, "There are several islands within days of each other after this one and I'm still hesitant about what to do next."

"Choosing more distant destinations would allow us to minimize the risk of hostile encounters, but in case of unforeseen circumstances at sea, we would quickly run out of resources. Conversely, nearby islands would guarantee our reserves but would also increase the risk of crossing paths with the Marine," Robin agreed.

"There is no way to predict the state of the sea whatever our route," Jinbei chimed in. "We'll need to be ready for any eventuality."

"I guess the choice will be up to Luffy," The navigator noted. "Let's just hope he doesn't decide solely on the peril that awaits us on our way… Were you able to stock up enough, Sanji-kun?" She then inquired, turning to the cook.

"Absolutely, Nami-san, we brought back plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables! On the other hand, there weren't many possibilities with meat…"

"We saw several shops with Robin downtown but the prices were high, these foodstuffs are rare here," The redhead remembered with a sigh. "Hopefully the next island will provide us with more."

"Did you find any newspapers?" Zoro suddenly asked the girls.

"Kaido's fall is all over the headlines," Nami answered, "There's not much room for anything else right now."

"It's all hypotheses and conjectures," Robin agreed, "It is difficult to determine the reality from the rumor under these circumstances. Furthermore, we know that the World Government frequently asks newspapers to falsify certain information."

"It's hard to keep track," The navigator admitted, "All we can do is take maximum precautions while waiting to recover our strength and be ready to face an unforeseen attack, large or small."

Zoro nodded and chugged the rest of his beer while not far from him, Sanji nervously tapped his fingers on the edge of the table. "Maybe we should review our possibilities of increasing our supply before leaving, Nami-san," He suggested with hesitation. "We need to be sure to last long enough."

"I know it's a risky bet but we can't afford to spend it all at once," She reminded him. "If we lost our supply for one reason or another, we'd have no way of stocking up on the next island."

"I understand…"

"We'll probably have the opportunity to fish," Robin added, "Even if the weather isn't always in our favor, we should be able to manage as we always have."

"You're right, Robin-chan!"

At these words, Nami grabbed her drink and took a long sip of her cocktail, reveling in its smooth, sweet taste. "Let's just take advantage of this stopover to relax as much as we can," She suggested to her friends, "The next few weeks are likely to be at least as difficult as the previous ones, so we must rejoice over any lull."

Everyone nodded and they grabbed their own drinks to clink glasses once more. And if Sanji was a little less enthusiastic than his crewmates to raise his own, no one noticed.

Over the hours, the dancers came back to sit down for a new round of drinks for some and a hearty snack for Luffy. Around the crew, the atmosphere was still just as pleasant and warm, but the laughter was more discreet and the conversations less deafening than at the start of the evening. In fact, a single singer soon came to replace the group on stage and he began to play softer music, attentive to the changes in the room.

"By the way, Nami, did you call Tra-guy?"

Stunned, his friends turned to their captain who was chewing his chicken leg noisily at the end of the table while staring at his navigator. She raised an eyebrow. "Are you in a hurry to know how much time you have left before my ingenious plan stops you from moving?" She asked him, smirking.

The straw hat boy shook his head and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "No, that's not it. But since he didn't say where he was going, I don't know where he is now," He replied, diving his hand into the plate of fries in front of him before biting into them.

"And that's not good news for you?" Usopp pointed out cautiously. "If we can't reach him, you continue to be free to do whatever you want, don't you?"

"Yeah, but if I don't know where he is, I don't know when I'm gonna see him either," Luffy said, stuffing new fries in his mouth, "I wish he was here tonight, he'd have loved this party!"

"Oh yeah, it's super here!" Franky exclaimed. "The music and the company are great, there's no better place to have fun!"

"I don't know the tastes of this dear Trafalgar Law as regards music but well, if he's not highly selective, there's no reason he doesn't appreciate it!" Brook got enthused in turn.

"I can't imagine him in such an environment," Jinbei said doubtfully.

"I don't see him showing up to dance or party," Zoro agreed, "He doesn't seem to like that kind of stuff."

"Same," Sanji said, unconvinced. "He seems like a rather awkward guy."

"I don't think he'd feel very comfortable here," Chopper added as Usopp winced when thinking about the former Warlord on the dance floor.

"It could be an original experience," Robin considered for her part, amused.

"He must come immediately!" Luffy suddenly decided. "Nami, find him!"

The young woman grabbed her drink, bored. "You're so in love it's stupid," She finally said with a shrug. "But if that's what you want, I'll tell you when I locate him."

"Cool!"

Without paying any further attention to the straw hat boy, the navigator resumed her conversation with Robin while everyone gradually lost interest in the subject. Brook nevertheless soon sat up in his chair, clearly delighted. "I haven't heard this melody for years! What an admirable interpretation!"

"Never heard of it," Zoro quickly noted before turning away to grab his beer.

"I think it reminds me of something," Sanji mumbled for his part, unsure.

"Isn't this a children's song?" Jinbei inquired, frowning.

"It's a kind of nursery rhyme although it is originally from a tale telling the story of an island north of the Grand Line," The musician affirmed.

"I don't know it either, but it's super beautiful!" Franky got enthused.

"This version is very sweet," Usopp confirmed as the notes flew majestically in the room to better envelop the audience.

"It makes me sleepy," Chopper observed, yawning.

The song ended a few moments later and soft applause rose while the artist began another ballad at an equally slow tempo. "This performer seems to know the songs of the region," Robin noted as the locals were singing along.

"I don't know this works but it must be a widely known lullaby around here," Brook agreed.

"It's nice but we can't party with this kind of song!" Luffy noticed while licking his fingers, his snack finally finished.

"You're wrong, it's precisely the kind of song you'd enjoy if Law was among us," Nami sneered.

"No way! I prefer when songs are catchy!" His captain kept on.

"Yeah, well, we'll talk about it when we see him," The young woman retorted, raising her glass to her lips.

At that moment, the melody changed again and this time, the skeleton completely marveled. "What an extraordinary repertoire! I only heard this song once, a very long time ago, but it was immediately etched on my memory! I don't know if it's a love song or a real lullaby but the lyrics are absolutely sublime either way!" Curious, the crew paused to listen attentively to the sweet and bitter chords of the composition accentuated by the melancholy voice of the singer.

Quickly, however, the sniper's attention was drawn by the cook's attitude in front of him and he frowned. "Sanji?" The sniper's voice sounded surprised and his friends turned their heads towards the blond, who couldn't hide the sudden pallor of his face or the force with which he suddenly gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white. "Is everything all right?" Chopper asked, putting his little paw on his thigh.

At his touch, the cook jumped violently and his crewmates recoiled in surprise when he suddenly got up.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked him, stunned.

"I, uh, it-it's okay. I'm sorry, I just… need some fresh air."

Without further explanation, the blond walked toward the exit and his friends shared a look before their attention converged on the stage where the young singer was still chiming out his guitar notes quietly. Whatever the cook had felt seconds earlier, they were sure his reaction had something to do with that song.

Sanji finally heard the inn door close behind him and he sighed in relief, immediately leaning all his weight against the adjacent wall. As he tried to take deep breaths thanks to the cold stone behind his back, he noticed that his hands were shaking and he shoved them roughly into his pocket to stop them. His breathing became heavy and he felt his eyes brimming with tears. Clenching his jaw, he forced himself to exhale slowly in an attempt to regain control of his movements and emotions.

Stupid, he was stupid. Because of his overreaction, everyone had witnessed his discomfort and would be sure to ask him questions when he returned and that was the last thing he wanted. The blond was perfectly furious with himself and his nails sank into the palms of his hands cruelly as if to better punish him. Then forcing himself to relax, he felt his pack of cigarettes in the bottom of his right pocket and grabbed it immediately to light one.

The first breath did him a world of good and when the nicotine got into his lungs, calm finally settled over him. He then looked up at the night sky studded with stars and a few misty white clouds.

He had been taken by surprise. How could he have known a melody locked deep down in his memory would come flooding back precisely on a lost island in the middle of the Grand Line to remind him of some of the most painful hours of his past? For all these years, he had erased it without ever completely forgetting it.

As Sanji contemplated the celestial vault among the wisps of smoke which flew around him, his left hand suddenly touched another object in his pocket and the cook froze in spite of himself when recognizing it. He refused to look down and forced himself to finish his cigarette despite his stiff gestures, his fingers unable to help but trace the contours of the smooth surface against his skin. In the end, he took a deep breath and threw away his cigarette butt when he took the road that would take him back to downtown.

Walking quietly and his hands buried again in his pockets, he looked calm. The blond's gaze belied his false nonchalance though and his eyes were fixed on the road in front of him. Sanji quickly plunged into the city and never allowed himself to even glance toward the inn where his friends were still partying.

His decision was made. He knew this was his best chance to erase that awful feeling of vulnerability that had plagued him earlier and he picked up the pace without realizing it. He wouldn't be long and then he could reunite with his crewmates and pretend he had felt dizzy for a moment. After all, the explanation was plausible, he hadn't stopped for a second since their return to the Sunny.

Determined to put an end to it, Sanji closed his hand entirely around the object of his torments this time. In a few moments, it would be the object of his deliverance.

The song that triggered Sanji is real and you'll know what it is later in the story.

Now is the time for hypotheses…

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a Happy New Year!