"Captain Jack—"

"Come on, kid. You saved me 'n my crew – least I can do is offer a nice meal."

The last thing Brynlee expected was for them to stop by the Baratie, of all places. From the information she'd gathered, she knew the sea restaurant had only opened about seven months ago, but they'd already begun building a solid reputation as the best restaurant in the East Blue.

(They'd let Mister Jason's body go with a nice funeral at sea, and Captain Jack and the rest of his crew had sworn secrecy regarding Brynlee's existence and whereabouts – and now here they were, barely a few days away from their destination, and in what was sure to become one of the best restaurants in the world.)

They stepped inside, Brynlee swaddled in her dirty cloak so her wings wouldn't draw attention, and they were quickly shown a small table in the back. Many of the more esteemed guests shot them mildly disgusted looks – they both probably needed a bath, honestly – but they ignored them and settled down.

"Welcome to the Baratie, where the food is mediocre and the service sucks. What can I get… for you…"

Huh. Didn't think I'd be meeting Sanji this early on.

A little boy, thin and frail and even smaller than her, but it was him – the swirly eyebrows were a dead giveaway. He seemed just as surprised to see her, though whether it was because of her unusual appearance, because she was a fellow kid, or simply because she was a girl, she couldn't really say.

Sanji cleared his throat, straightening his back a little. "As- as I was saying, welcome. What can I get for you on this fine day, ma'am?"

Mister Jack muffled a snort. Brynlee shot him a glare, then looked back at Sanji, and offered him a smile.

"Hi! Do you guys have smoothies?"

"Kid, get yourself a proper meal," instructed Mister Jack. "They don't have smoothies, anyway. We'll take two lamb chops with sides of asparagus and potatoes. And I'll have some cheap rhum, too. Juice for the girl."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

Sanji spared her another smile before quickly walking away. Brynlee couldn't help but smile a bit. He was a cute kid. Hopefully they'd get along as adults when they all eventually joined Luffy's crew.

A couple of minutes later, Sanji returned with their meals – as well as a little extra.

"A smoothie!" she gasped.

"On the house," offered Sanji, blushing a bit. "Strawberries, mangoes, orange juice, avocadoes, milk, sugar, pomegranates, and bananas. I hope you like it—eh?"

Brynlee slammed the empty glass on the table, grinning broadly. "It was so good! It's the best thing ever! Whoever made this is a genius!"

Sanji's blush only deepened, if possible. "Glad- glad you liked it…"

"You made this?" Brynlee knew Sanji was a miracle worker when it came to food, but she didn't think he could be this good when he was so young still. "That's awesome! I'm Brynlee, by the way. What's your name?"

"I'm Sanji!" He puffed out his chest a bit. "And I'm the best cook in this restaurant—ack!"

Brynlee flinched as Sanji was hit over the head with a metal paddle, Chef Zeff now standing behind him, a vein pulsing on his forehead—wait.

That's a woman, isn't it?

"You brat! Stop harassing our customers and get back to work!"

"Aah? I was serving them, damn hag!"

It really was a woman, and it really was Chef Zeff. The shaggy blond hair tied in a braid, the over-the-top chef hat, and the wooden leg. For one reason or the other, the Zeff from her memories was entirely different from the one now standing before her.

Well, I can freak out later – I gotta try and help Sanji out!

"It- it's true! Sanji made a smoothie for me, it was really good!"

This was the wrong thing to say. Brynlee had forgotten how Zeff felt about Sanji making food off-menu. The woman's glare only grew fiercer, though her narrowed eyes were now locked onto Brynlee, the anger leaving place to a smidge of curiosity.

Fuck, I forgot Zeff had gone to the Grand Line. How far did he—she, get? She might know what I am by just looking at the markings on my face…

"Smoothie? Is that so?"

"I- I'd never tried one before, so I'm really glad Sanji made it for me," she said, hoping to win over the chef's sympathy. "It tasted great! You should definitely add it to the menu!"

"… I see." Zeff suddenly grabbed Sanji's head and bowed, forcing him to do the same. "Apologies for the disturbance. Do enjoy your meal, cherished customers! Eggplant, get back to work, now. And you better show me that recipe for the smoothie later."

"Y- yes, ma'am."

[FEAT UPDATE]

Silver Tongue

Level: 2/20

+ 1 bonus (Will of D.)

Sanji shot the Chef a terrified look as she walked away, before turning to Brynlee again, clearly in awe. Brynlee was only mildly surprised – Zeff obviously knew what she was if her reaction to Brynlee's statement was anything to go by.

Pity, that is.

Well at least I managed to level up – that's pretty neat.

"How did you do that?" he whispered, almost reverently. "Well, no matter! From here on out, I swear I'll make you all the smoothies you want whenever you come by! On the house!"

Surprised, Brynlee then smiled again. "Awesome! I'm looking forward to it, Sanji."

Trying to establish a proper timeline for before-cannon (AKA everyone's childhood) isn't easy, though I tried to be as accurate as possible. I've established that since Sanji was casted out by his father when he was 8, Sanji would currently be 10 years old (so a year older than Brynlee).

And if any detail seems not to stick or appears a little out of place... Well, I did mention system errors in the summary xD