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Chapter 80

Carefully

Once more, Sanji looked at the countless dishes selected for his captain's wedding in a few days. Around him, the kitchen of the All Blue was quiet at this early morning time and only Zeff had started to simmer his preparations for the upcoming service. For his part, the blond had taken the time to check the menu of the day before getting down to checking what he had planned for the ceremony in order to be sure not to forget anything. Given the insane list spread out before his eyes, it would be easy to omit an ingredient that was yet essential and he reread the entirety of his two sheets of paper to review everything he needed.

"The salmon heart marinated in beetroot and its wasabi tarama won't be a problem, Lily planned her fishing accordingly and I got everything I need…" The blond validated the dish as well as the next one, the sea bass ceviche with pears and yuzu coulis. Yet when he got to the third one, he frowned and circled a word on his paper.

"I gotta check the quantities for the duck foie gras opera glazed with green tomatoes; that rubber face is likely to raid it," he muttered. "Luckily we re-ordered duck breast to accompany the chicken supreme in the end," he added, then underlining the name of another dish. Sanji continued his enumeration, focused, while a few steps away, Zeff was adding vegetables to his pot. "Have you planned the menu for that day?" The old cook suddenly growled from his workstation. "Because let's not forget that you got a restaurant to run too."

"I started thinking about it," the blond replied without taking his eyes off his list, "There's still a few things to sort out and it'll be fine."

"There'll only be three of us to manage the service and the kitchen," Zeff reminded him again. "I hope you're well aware of that."

"Whose fault is it, old wreck." His former student grumbled as he checked off a new dish, "I offered to close that night but you refused. As if All Blue didn't have enough fame to take a day off now…"

Busy scribbling on his sheet, Sanji didn't see his mentor turn to him, his eyebrows furrowed. Faced with his silence, the blond ended up raising his head and glancing questioningly at him. "What? I'm telling you I'm gonna plan the menu so relax! I'll do something simple and with Malek, we'll anticipate so that you have as few things as possible to do. That make you happy?"

The old cook shook his head. "You're not ready to run a restaurant."

Stunned, Sanji lowered his list. "Are you fucking serious? What do you think I've been doing for two years?!"

"You know pretty much how to cook and keep inventories, but you suck at training your chefs and even worse at managing a team. Malek is much better at that," Zeff replied without blinking.

The blond's eyes widened even more, definitively abandoning his papers on the worktop. "You're one to talk! You never really trained me and your cheap cooks, they fought among themselves to know who would serve or cook on the Baratie!"

"Yeah, well, I always gave them a chance when they were ready. Even you. You'd have stayed doing dishes all your life otherwise." The young cook's anger turned to incomprehension and Zeff pointed to Elio and Sam's workstations on his left. "They've been going all out for weeks to select their ingredients and follow your menus. Every time you're away, they manage to keep up. You think they're gonna do this forever without getting any benefit from it?"

Faced with the blond's embarrassed look, Zeff shook his head again. "I figured as much. You didn't even see the way they look at you when you finally deign to show up here…"

"I've been pretty busy," his former student muttered.

"What about them? They run your restaurant while you have a good time with your friends, you brat."

"I don't spend my time having fun! Yesterday was exceptional, it was Luffy's bachelor party!" Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose before checking the cooking of his pie crusts. Because they were nicely browned, he grabbed the oven mitts and opened the oven. "Of course I'm less here, I gotta supervise this ceremony," he reminded him again.

"Yeah, by the way, who's gonna pay for all this stuff?" His mentor grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl. "You've planned so much food you could feed the entire World Government."

"It's the wedding of Nami-san and the future Pirate King, we can't do things by halves. Especially with Luffy's appetite, you've seen what he devours at each meal…" Sanji put his pie crusts on the worktops and pricked them lightly with a fork. "The vast majority of the costs are paid by the crew, not to mention that Lily and Liam insisted on participating too," he added, testing their resistance.

"Just like you," the old cook pointed out, finally turning away to resume cutting the vegetables. "I'll have you know, you're gonna spend most of your savings."

"Are you spying on me or what?" His former protégé grunted, annoyed.

"I have to because of your idiotic behavior."

Still bent over his task, Sanji rolled his eyes while placing his pastry cream on the still-warm pie crusts. "Relax, old man, I'm only participating to help them buy food. Everything else, I'm reinvesting it in the restaurant like I've always done." He then shook his head and added his pears. "I can't believe you really think I'd neglect the All Blue," he mumbled as he carefully positioned his fruit, "I ain't stupid…"

"That's debatable. You haven't touched the ground since they came back."

Sanji paused to stare at the old cook's back. "Of course I'm happy they're here; they're my crew!"

"Look, you're part of it again now," Zeff noted as he mixed the contents of his pot.

The blond felt his cheeks flush in spite of himself at these words and he grabbed other pieces of pear. "I'll talk to Elio and Sam," he finally said.

Zeff grabbed the ladle to spread the broth on the fish he had left marinating since the day before. "A word of advice, don't just talk to them. Take action." Sanji didn't answer and kept his eyes fixed on his future pear tarts. He didn't want to dwell on this subject any longer.

The lunch service had just ended and Sanji hurriedly headed towards the Sunny. He wasn't sure if he had ordered enough blinis for the tarama and sea urchin chive bites and it also seemed that Luffy had emptied his stock of filet mignon that the blond wanted to roast with curry and raisins at the buffet. All these elements of uncertainty had made him anxious during the service and he had spent it trying to remember if he still had this or that ingredient. He needed to take stock of the remaining food with Malek in order to adjust his last orders. With the wedding date approaching, the blond had to admit that he felt the stress rising given the importance of the event. Cooking would be by far the most relaxing in all this because he couldn't make a mistake regarding the quantities.

As he walked on the deck to reach the galley, he saw Zoro staring at his swords that he had precisely placed against the railing in front of him. He was visibly alone and the cook slowed down his pace without thinking. The sight of his companion reminded him that the day before, when this mirror had fallen on him during their paintball game, the swordsman had managed to deflect the block that was threatening him. Immediately, his mind had wanted to see it as a sign of the swordsman's progress in his mastery of Haki. Unfortunately, he had not been able to ask him for confirmation on the spot and then, he had been caught up like his crewmates in the afternoon and then the evening, just as eventful.

Sanji stopped a few steps away from the swordsman who was focused on his exercise before glancing towards the galley. He could go see Malek later, the young man would be around at snack time anyway. At this moment, his curiosity was too strong and he changed the trajectory of his walk to head towards his companion. He was determined to ask him if he had noticed any progress regarding his communication with his blades. Not daring to interrupt Zoro's concentration though, Sanji grabbed a cigarette and lit it to enjoy the sunny sky.

He observed the landscape of the island and noticed that the clouds were quickly gathering again. Autumn had definitely set in and the temperatures were getting cooler but he sincerely hoped that the weather would be on their side for at least a few hours on the day of the ceremony.

In the distance on the beach, he thought he could make out Luffy, Usopp and Amy deep in conversation and the cook took a drag on his cigarette, puzzled. It was the second time he had caught these three together and his curiosity was piqued now: as soon as he had the opportunity, he would ask Amy for explanations.

Sanji finally turned his attention back to the swordsman and watched him absentmindedly as he blew his smoke into the sky. Zoro seemed calmer since he had been able to put into words what he was experiencing and the cook could not deny that he felt deeply relieved. Of course, he had always believed in his crewmate but he was also aware of the difficulty Zoro was facing so he had not wanted to rule out the hypothesis that the swordsman would need some time before putting his thoughts in order. Indeed, the task that awaited him was immense and the blond had no way of helping him to overcome this last step. This situation was quite frustrating but he had decided that he could try to guide Zoro if necessary. After all, he had learned a lot about Haki thanks to his research at Vorgo's library.

"What do you want?"

Sanji smiled around his cigarette butt. Zoro's impatient voice was a delight to his ears. How long had it been since the swordsman had used that tone to speak to him?

"I want Luffy to stop raiding my stock of food for his wedding as I cook them."

Zoro stared at him, surprised, and Sanji rolled his eyes in amusement. He then nodded at the three swords not far from their owner. "Any progress?"

The swordsman scowled. "Not really."

Sanji stared at him in turn, surprised. "I thought you had figured something out after what happened at the paintball."

"I thought so too, but it must have been a stroke of luck because no matter how hard I concentrate, it doesn't work." The fencer stood up, suddenly annoyed, and Sanji cautiously followed him with his eyes as he took a few steps. "I tried to use Robin's technique and I felt like it was effective, but I can't reproduce the results," the swordsman finally added.

Zoro closed his eyes to breathe and calm down while the cook was still watching him. "Robin-chan's technique?"

The swordsman nodded slowly, his eyes still closed. "She told me that Haki is a perception of the environment as a whole so if I can unlock it on something else, I could use it to direct it precisely towards my swords."

"Very interesting," the blond approved. "As one would expect from Robin-chan…"

The swordsman sighed before losing himself in the gloomy contemplation of the deck and after a few minutes of total silence, Sanji frowned. "You better not start getting discouraged again," he told him firmly. "It'll work, you just need to keep trying."

Zoro frowned in turn. "I'm not getting discouraged, idiot."

"Really?" The blond insisted, doubtful. "Why the long face then?"

"I'm not pulling a long face." The swordsman mumbled, "I wasn't thinking about that, just… about something else."

Zoro turned around to head towards the railing, visibly embarrassed, and the cook followed him with his eyes, puzzled. In the end, the swordsman turned fully towards him again and Sanji looked at him questioningly while Zoro ran a nervous hand in his hair.

"It's just… I haven't thanked you for what you did for me and my swords," he admitted, glancing at his treasures. "It means a lot and I guess you know that but… Anyway, I wanted to tell you."

Sanji felt a grin stretch his lips at these words. "Oh. Please, I'm listening then."

Destabilized, Zoro stared back at him. "I just did," he pointed out suspiciously.

"No, not really. You just told me you didn't thank me, that's all."

The swordsman frowned as he probably replayed the thread of their conversation in his head and Sanji continued to observe him, definitely amused. In the end, he saw Zoro frown more.

"Thanks…"

"Thanks who?"

"Shut up, asshole," his companion hissed, his cheeks red.

This time, Sanji burst out laughing. "Okay, okay, relax, Greenie. Seriously…" The blond shook his head and put out his cigarette in the ashtray near the mast, still smiling, "You know you don't need to thank me. We're crewmates, right? And that's what crewmates do: they support each other no matter what."

When the cook looked up again, he came across Zoro's sharp eye. The man examined him carefully and Sanji was surprised for a second by his intensity. The swordsman then nodded slowly before looking away.

"Yeah… Crewmates."

The blond was suddenly at a loss for words. The atmosphere had changed abruptly without him really understanding the reason and he took out a new cigarette to keep himself busy. "Well, I gotta see Malek to find out what Luffy left in the pantry. Work hard in the meantime, I'll come check your results," he added casually as he walked away.

"Just take care of your fucking food, cook," the swordsman growled as he sat back down in front of his swords.

Sanji smiled at Zoro's grumpy look and without realizing it, he relaxed again. His energy came back and he quickly climbed the stairs that would lead him to the galley.

"Wow, Amy, it's beautiful!"

On the beach, Usopp looked at the stone the girl was holding, breathless. In the palm of her hand, a diamond shined brightly.

"It's so pretty!" Luffy exclaimed at her side, delighted.

"Actually, it's a diamond that I recut. The purest I could find." Amy gave the stone to the sniper so he could examine it further and he turned it between his fingers to contemplate its reflections before weighing it.

"This is pretty heavy," he said. "If she falls into the water, Nami will sink like a stone!"

"Eighteen carats," Amy confirmed, "I spent everything you gave me." Usopp nodded while Luffy took the diamond from his hands to try to see through it by sticking his eye to it.

"Well, at least she'll be happy… What about the ring?" The gunner suddenly got worried, "Was it sold with it?"

"No, but I took this." The young girl took a white gold ring out of her pocket and Usopp quickly retrieved the diamond from the hands of the future groom who was now having fun throwing it in the air to better catch it. "I hesitated with rose gold but in the end, I chose the white gold one. I could mount seven stones on each side, small diamonds," Amy said while showing them a bag containing the stones. "It seems to me that it looks more elegant and that keeps the luxurious touch that Nami likes."

"What the heck… How much did you pay for that?!" Usopp exclaimed.

The waitress shook her head. "Stones alone are sold for a lower price than stones mounted directly on the ring. I have quite a bit of money set aside now anyway. Sanji has been giving me more and more since the All Blue became successful and I eat there almost all the time. I spend almost nothing actually."

"It's still more than generous of you," the sniper noted as he handed her back the diamond.

"It's my gift for your wedding," she explained as she turned to the captain of the Straw Hat crew. "For Nami for choosing me as her bridesmaid and for you for pushing me not to give up creating jewelry. You were right about that, it's what I love and I'd have been miserable not to do it."

Luffy grinned at these words. "Of course! They're the prettiest!"

The girl smiled back. "This wedding ring is the first piece of jewelry I haven't made with pearls, and working with diamonds has already allowed me to learn new techniques. I have a lot to discover."

"So you went back to Basterl," Usopp said.

"At first, I didn't feel very comfortable and Liam stayed with me," the waitress admitted. "Sanji would have liked to come too but I knew I had to do that without him this time."

"How did he take it?"

"Well… Not too bad. Initially, I was afraid of hurting him but really, I think he understood. At least, I hope so…"

"Sanji tends to be slightly protective," the sniper approved with a grimace. "And even more so when it comes to women…" He then shook his head before pointing at the diamonds again. "So, did those furies come back to pick a fight with you?" He asked her, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, but Liam wasn't far and I was ready," Amy replied. "I tried not to let myself be impressed and I think it worked because they hardly come anymore. And then, Aaron and Adrien come by from time to time to check that everything's okay, so I feel safe. I'm not completely comfortable yet," she admitted.

"You serious? You were brave!" The sniper pointed out, "Few people would have had the guts to come back and face them!"

"You think so?" The young girl asked hopefully. "I mean, I knew Luffy was right and I didn't want to disappoint Sanji but I'm always afraid of not knowing how to do it sometimes…"

"Trust me, boldness is an art," the young man assured her firmly. "Not everyone is born totally devoid of a sense of survival!" He added, watching his captain suddenly bury his head in the sand to imitate a burrowing crab.

"I'm not yet entirely sure that I'll become a great jewelry designer, but… I'd like to," she admitted.

"And that's already a good start." He reassured her again, "You know, at first, I didn't really have a goal either, but when I embarked on the Merry with all these monsters with excessive ambitions, I began to believe that it might be possible for me too. Being surrounded by people with dreams, each more amazing than the last, makes you wanna surpass yourself! Some people need to gain self-confidence to allow themselves to believe."

Amy's eyes lit up at these words. "That's exactly my case!" She realized as Luffy pulled his head out of the sand to catch his breath, his face red. "Oh, it's exactly like Sanji told me!" She then added excitedly, "He knew that if I talked to you and Luffy, I'd find my dream!"

"Sanji said that?" Usopp was surprised.

"Yes! He said that Luffy pushed the people he met to realize their dreams and that you had found your own by joining him on his ship when you were still unsure of yourself! That you had chosen to believe him!"

"Usopp is the best!" Luffy confirmed while tapping his head to make the sand come out of his other ear. "The greatest sniper with Sniper King and the bravest!"

At his side, his friend blush, flattered. "Hum-hum, it is true that my fame precedes me and that the oceans sing my name to the depths of the Grand Line," he then boasted, proud as a peacock. "It reminds me of that time when I saved two giants from Elbaf locked in a huge prison on a desert island… Their guard was over 98 feet tall! Fortunately, I was able to free them and put them in a safe place, the poor things only had a few minutes left to live when I found them…"

"98 feet tall?!" Amy exclaimed, astonished.

"How'd you get them free, Usopp?!" Luffy wanted to know, just as impressed. "They must have been huge!"

"Well, it's a long story but since we have time, I'll tell you all about it…"

The wedding is coming and we need a small scene about Luffy and Nami. There'll also be something intense for Zoro and Sanji.

Next chapter title is: Unbreakable.