Chapter 40

The rest of the soul

Luffy didn't need to wake up the captain of the Heart Pirates since the latter opened his eyes after about thirty minutes. Chopper took the opportunity to check his injuries and then informed him of the care he had given to his crew. This time, Law felt better and he was able to get up. He immediately went towards his men to reassure them as much as to inquire about their condition himself.

While his crew members were delighted to find him, the surgeon spotted the shell of his submarine floating behind the Sunny and his crew explained that the cyborg had offered to repair it as soon as they reached land. Law was dubious about this possibility but he was happy to know that he wouldn't need to find a way back to this infernal island to tow his ship. Besides, if the Straw Hat Pirate's crew wanted to make his job easier, he wasn't going to stop them.

A few minutes later, Nami appeared on deck and waved to gather everyone. Obviously, they had arrived at their destination and the two crews quickly crowded around her. For his part, Law leaned over the railing to try to see something.

"Are you sure of the course?" He asked her. He couldn't see anything.

"Yes. I took your coordinates at the time of the incident and based on the currents and local weather, I calculated that he must have drifted within this area."

"Let's start looking immediately," the surgeon decided.

"We can take the Shark Submerge," Franky suggested.

"I'll take care of the seabed," Jinbei offered.

"I can also run from one end of the area to the other to see if I spot him!" Brook offered in turn.

"There's an island over there," Penguin noticed from the other side of the railing.

"A tropical island," the navigator said. "The sea is warm around here."

"It's an uninhabited land, we were planning to go offshore to the east," Law told them.

"Maybe he went there?" Luffy said.

"It makes sense to go towards the island," Zoro agreed.

"No doubt, but it's a little far from the initial course," the redhead pointed out.

"Besides, he might be hurt," Chopper grimaced.

"It can't hurt to check; I can take the mini-Merry," Sanji suggested.

"It'll be hard reaching it because of the cross-currents," the navigator said. "The best is to stay on the Sunny to get past the area at least."

"Someone will need to take stock and redirect research if necessary," Robin chimed in.

"Good idea, let's make teams!" Shachi rejoiced.

"Alright. Here's how we can do it," Nami decided. "Jinbei and Brook will be the team searching directly at sea as well as Franky and Law in the Shark Submerge. The rest of us will head to the island. Sanji-kun will take the Mini-Merry with Chopper, Usopp and Luffy to explore the island. Two more people can take the Waver to go around and search the shore," she added towards the Heart crew. "Zoro, you'll stay at the crow's nest. We mustn't neglect what we could see up high. Robin will centralize all your progress and I'll take care of the helm so that I can go from one point to another as needed," she concluded while everyone nodded.

"Here we go!" Luffy shouted with joy.

To the delight of the Heart Pirates, they didn't take long to find their first mate. Shachi and Penguin discovered him close to the beach on one of the slopes of the island which they were driving around on Nami's Waver. The bear looked tired and his orange jumpsuit was torn, but he was still standing and soon fell into the arms of his friends. A few minutes later, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Luffy met them and the little reindeer quickly examined him, making sure that no serious injuries were visible.

The news then reached the Sunny thanks to Penguin's mini Den-Den Mushi and Robin hurried to relay the message to the others. That's how Brook saw a mouth appear on the bones of his hand while Jinbei discovered one on his arm when he returned to the surface. Franky and Law were informed by Den-Den Mushi directly in the Shark Submerge and by the time the Straw Hat's ship docked, the captain of the Heart Pirates had jumped onto the sand.

Seeing him, Bepo pounced on the surgeon, his face streaming with tears.

"Captain! Captain! I was so scared!" His first mate squeezed him with all his strength between his arms and Law winced in spite of himself. "I was so scared for the Captain!" The bear repeated, "When Blackbeard launched his attack on him, I tried to protect him but I fell into the water! I'm sorry, Captain!"

"Your attitude was incredibly stupid," the doctor pointed out coldly, and the bear froze. "I could have easily warded off this attack and we wouldn't be here today."

Bepo's big eyes welled up with tears again and his captain couldn't help but sigh.

"You were lucky to drift here and be found so quickly, Bepo," he continued more gently. "What would we have done if you had encountered a Sea King or an enemy crew?"

"I knew the Captain would make it!" The bear sniffed against his coat, "I knew the Captain would come get me!"

The surgeon patted him on the back. "How did you get through?" He asked him then. "You look exhausted," he noted again, looking at his tense face.

"I let the current carry me for a while but to get here I had to swim and the currents are strong. Besides, the water got hot and I don't like hot water," he grimaced. "I assumed that there might be something to eat on the island but this was not the case. There are only big brown bears and they're very unfriendly!" He lamented.

"Did you fight a brown bear?" Shachi exclaimed.

"He didn't wanna share his honey nor his food!" Bepo was indignant, "Even though I told him that we were like distant cousins, he wouldn't listen!"

"Did you win?" Chopper asked, impressed, and the Mink nodded. "The problem is that brown bears eat meat while I eat fish. In the end, I didn't eat much…"

"We don't have a submarine anymore, so we'll have to fend for ourselves for at least a few more days," Law told him while his first mate's face fell. "We got stranded on an island struck by lightning constantly and the Polar Tang almost broke in two."

"How-How did you get away?!" The bear panicked, turning to his crewmates.

"Straw-Hat was sailing offshore, he saw us," Penguin answered.

"Law didn't wanna leave before finding the coordinates where you had fallen and he almost drowned," Shachi added.

"Captain!" The bear exclaimed, suddenly noticing Law's multiple wounds barely covered by numerous bandages. "The Captain shouldn't do that, he must worry about his own life!"

"Don't be ridiculous, we weren't going to let you die," the surgeon retorted and his first mate cried his eyes out. "Thank you, Straw Hat! Thank you for saving the Captain!"

A few steps away, Luffy laughed. "You're welcome, bear! I promised Torao we'd find you anyway!"

Bepo hugged his captain again, infinitely grateful, and this time, Law pushed him away so he could breathe. As the navigator came to his senses, he looked at the Polar Tang half-submerged.

"How are we gonna set sail, Captain?"

"No worries, I'll do some basic repairs so that it lasts until the next landfall!" Franky assured while giving him a thumbs up.

"Let's party for now!" Luffy roared.

"With food?" Bepo asked hopefully.

"Of course!" The Straw-Hat captain shouted, "A party without food ain't a party!"

"I'd really like to eat butter and honey cookies," the polar bear admitted. "It's usually my comfort food…"

"We have honey but we're a little short of butter," Sanji grimaced. "It's a quickly perishable food and they didn't have any to sell on the island of this King who believed he was invincible."

"Oh."

"Wait, I think I have an idea!" The blond turned to the little reindeer next to him, "We bought them several jars of full cream, right?"

"Yeah, you took around ten because you wanted to make sauces and pastries they showed us," the doctor remembered.

"Perfect! Give me a few minutes and I'll make some butter to make these cookies!"

"You're gonna make butter?!" His captain marveled, "It's awesome!"

"I'd like to see that," Usopp added, interested.

"Me too!" Penguin and Franky got enthused.

At these words, the cook stared at them before a smile spread across his face. "It's pretty simple; I'll show you."

A cry of admiration arose when small pieces of butter suddenly materialized in the mixing bowl that the blond had been whipping tirelessly for several minutes. Sanji had settled on the deck of the Sunny and the two entire crews had followed him. And although some stayed more aloof than others, everyone observed with curiosity the manufacturing of this seemingly simple and essential ingredient.

"Butter!" The straw hat boy pointed out immediately.

"It's starting to look like it but it's not quite right yet."

Quickly, a liquid formed in the mixing bowl and Usopp approached a little, puzzled. "Is that water?" He wondered.

"No, it's buttermilk," the cook explained. "It's also called whey. This is because the fat has thickened and separated from the water that remains in the cream from whipping." He then grabbed a small container that he had brought along with his other utensils to slide it out of the mixing bowl before putting it aside. "It can be used for many dishes but since the goal is to make cakes, we'll use it to dip them in."

"What does buttermilk taste like?" Nami asked him.

"Kind of sour."

"There's quite a bit," Penguin noted as the liquid flowed to the bottom of the bowl again.

"You have to extract as much as possible so that the butter is solid."

"I never dipped my cookies before eating them," Bepo chimed in, excited.

"It's gonna taste so good!" The straw hat boy rejoiced next to him.

Two minutes later, the blond placed the almost formed butter in a cloth to squeeze it and buttermilk escaped again. He poured it into the appropriate container then placed the lump in a small plate.

"You can also rinse and wash it to extract even more but that'll be enough. The cream is top quality."

"It's not as complicated as I thought," Brook noted.

"I thought you needed this kind of large device to squeeze it," Jean Bart approved.

"A butter churn? It's not essential even if it's convenient," the cook replied.

"Can we mold it at this point?" Robin asked.

"Absolutely, Robin-chan, and now is also the time to add fleur de sel, seaweed or spices to flavor it but for the use I plan, we don't need it."

Sanji got up to bring his new ingredients to the galley to make the butter and honey cookies but when he saw Bepo and Luffy's tongues hanging out, he paused. "Franky, can you go get me the bread and a knife?"

"Right now, bro!"

The cyborg returned quickly and the cook cut small pieces of bread to which he added a knob of fresh butter. "Try it. It's a unique flavor depending on the cream."

The girls helped themselves first then the rest of the two crews up to Law, Zoro and Jinbei who had stood a little aside.

"It really is delicious," the navigator said, licking her lips.

"This had nothing to do with the butter we buy in town, Captain!" Shachi agreed, turning to him. "We need to learn how to make some!"

"I'll leave it to you then," the surgeon replied while finishing his mouthful.

"It'd have been best to serve it with hot bread fresh from the oven," the cook admitted. "In this way, the aromas complement each other wonderfully. The crunchy crust melts the butter and it soaks into the softness of the crumb!"

"I want that, Sanji!" His captain yelled.

"I'll stock up on flour in the next call," he promised him.

"Woohoo!"

"Captain, we'll need to plan to stop with the Straw Hats!" His navigator implored him when hearing these words.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great!" Luffy rejoiced and gave Bepo a high five.

Law sighed behind them and the blond smiled as he took back his lump of butter and the remaining bread. "The cookies will be ready by this evening."

"Still not sleepy, cook?"

Sanji looked up at the swordsman who had just entered before shaking his head. Sitting at the Sunny's galley table, he had been leafing through his recipe book for quite a while now.

The evening had been a real success, between the wood fire crackling on the beach, everyone's stories, the food in abundance and the music which had flowed at the same rhythm as the alcohol to celebrate the return of the Heart Pirates' navigator. The long-awaited butter and honey cookies had been the highlight of the party and Sanji had enjoyed the general good mood among his crewmates. He had eaten and drank among them and even though he hadn't danced as he had happily done before, he had enjoyed the festivities and fun.

Yet when the laughter had died down and the firsts of them had begun to snore on the beach, Sanji had chosen to slip away. He had cleared away the remains of the meal before sitting down, his cookbook in hand. Despite the peaceful atmosphere, he didn't feel comfortable enough to fall asleep with the two crews and risk waking them up when he had another nightmare. He had thought about going to the men's quarters but the fact that it was empty had strangely bothered him and he had given up. The place where he felt best remained his galley and it felt good. A few days earlier, he had feared this place but it was clear now that his habits were gradually coming back.

"Not really, so I was looking at what I could serve tomorrow with our food stock. There's a lot of us."

"I guess you're right." The swordsman yawned.

"Has Luffy got enough? When I left, he was dancing and stuffing himself with the last of the cookies at the same time."

"Everyone is asleep except Torao. Luffy collapsed on his bear. I was at the crow's nest and when I walked by, I saw him looking at them funny. I wonder if he's jealous."

"Seriously?" The blond wondered, "Do you think he's giving in?"

"Not sure. He was pulling such a long face it's hard to say."

Sanji nodded. "No matter what he says now, he was afraid for Bepo. Maybe he wanted to be with him."

"Maybe," the fencer admitted. Zoro stretched and the blond glanced out the window. "You still have a few hours before the sun rises. There's no real need to keep watch, but just in case, I'll stay awake anyway," the blond offered. "Did you want something?"

"A bottle would be nice," the swordsman muttered, cracking his neck. "I wanted to clean Enma but this sword fights back."

"Oh, you still need to focus on your Haki?" The cook asked him as he got up to go to his pantry. "Enma has a mind of its own," Zoro answered while he automatically placed his hand on the sword's hilt.

"This blade is like a stubborn child." His crewmate laughed, handing him a bottle, and Zoro shrugged before taking a swig of his drink. Sanji had settled back around the table to study his book and he took the opportunity to observe him.

"You're making progress, cook."

"You… You think so?"

"Yeah. When you made butter, you were in your element. Everyone was hanging on your every move and you seemed to be having fun."

"Oh. It's true." Sanji relaxed at these words and a genuine smile lit up his face. "Making butter is banal but it's a basic part of cooking and taste and smell are not necessary, only the right gesture and the final texture count. Everything was natural, I didn't need to concentrate and I felt good."

"It showed and it's been a long time."

The cook nodded, embarrassed without knowing why.

"I thought you'd find sleep more easily then," the swordsman continued.

"Um, maybe but… I don't know, I don't wanna wake up screaming with everyone around. Law's crew is nice but I don't feel like falling asleep peacefully with them. It'll be better tomorrow…"

"Sleep with me."

The blond turned his head so quickly towards his crewmate that he heard the bones in his neck crack. Facing him, Zoro stared at him for a moment before running a hand through his hair, embarrassed.

"I mean, come to the crow's nest with me, maybe you can sleep. The view is beautiful up there. The moon is full and it's reflecting off the sea. I thought it might help you."

Sanji remained still for several seconds before gently closing his book. "Okay. Why not…"

"You were right, mosshead. It's beautiful."

On the other side of the room, Zoro grunted as he took a seat on the bench, his swords resting against the wall not far from him. In a few moments, there was no doubt that he would fall asleep. For his part, Sanji kept his eyes fixed beyond the large bay windows which gave him the impression of overlooking the sea right in front of him. The wind was light and the moon's rays reflected powerfully off the calm waters of the Grand Line, illuminating the ocean with a serene aura.

Soon, no more noise was heard and the blond felt his eyelids grow heavy. The Sunny rocked him slowly and behind his back, he heard the fencer's light snoring. The cook absentmindedly followed the moving waves below with his gaze. He could have sworn he didn't need to sleep a few minutes ago but the fact was that sleep was catching up with him. Was it because of the peaceful and hypnotic landscape he observed? Or was it due to the presence of the swordsman a few steps away? Zoro's offer hadn't failed to make his heart beat faster a little earlier and the emotion was still present in him, enveloping him pleasantly.

Knowing that the swordsman was by his side when he had slipped into sleep had already made him feel better on the last island. Sanji might be exhausted for weeks and wanted to sleep, but he felt all the more vulnerable in these moments. Because he dreaded the nightmares and the even harsher day that would await him when he woke up. Of course, Zoro couldn't protect him from it but he had promised not to move away and the cook knew he wouldn't break his word. Sanji trusted his crewmate and no matter what happened, he was sure that Zoro would intervene, whether to protect their friends if necessary or to continue to look at him without judgment if Sanji woke up trembling in fear.

The blond closed his eyes and leaned against the bay window, instinctively tightening his arms around himself. He wasn't in the best position and his back would probably hurt the next morning, but he didn't think about moving.

At that moment, he was warm and he felt safe. He didn't ask for more.

I can totally imagine Luffy and Bepo being as thick as thieves!