As the Straw Hat's journey continued, a rolling fog came in, necessitating Rosa to to absorb a lamp, making her entire glow luminescent while Gottfried started sounding the foghorn.
"You people came prepared for everything," Robin noted.
"Everyone to your stations!" Usopp called out. "Marine ships off the fore!"
"Oh for heaven's sake!" Double-D complained.
"The fog's so dense they might not spot our flag. We may be able to slip by without notice." Zoro noted.
"If we're lucky, that is," Kuina added.
As the Merry silently passed by, one young boy happened to notice the sails with the Straw Hats' logo and was so shocked he wound up falling overboard. Luckily, Sanji and Robin noticed him and Robin was able to save him using herFlower-Flower Fruitto create additional arms on the Marine ship and catch the lad. However, this meant the Merry sailed on with the boy aboard right past the Marine fleet.
-OP-
The boy woke up in the Merry's cabin thanks to Chopper's smelling salts.
"W-Where am I?"
"You're on our ship," Luna said.
"You nearly took a tumble into the sea. Luckily, we saw you so we helped you out." Fuu added.
The boy then realized he was on the pirate ship he saw.
"Stay back! You guys are planning an attack against the Marines, aren't you!?"
"From a caravel?" Luffy asked.
"You don't keep up with the times, do you?" Draco said. "We're the Straw Hats. And we're not like other pirates."
Sanji came over with a bowl of soup, Noire also having her specially-brewed hot cocoa on hand well.
"Here, eat up."
"I don't need your help. Not from pirates."
"Stubborn, aren't you?" Noire noted.
"It's not poisoned. I don't disrespect food like that. After all, I am a chef." Sanji said. "After that fall you had, you need something in your stomach to settle down."
The boy looked at the soup and was completely shocked.
"I've never seen consomme so clear like this."
Now curious, he gave the soup a small try and instantly found it delicious. The crew smiled as he quickly finished the soup with a smile on his face. He also greatly enjoyed Noire's hot cocoa.
"That was great. I didn't know a pirate crew would have such fantastic cooks. I'm Tajio, a probationary cook for the Marines."
Sanji smiled. "My name's Sanji. I'm the chef on this ship."
"And I'm Noire, his sous chef."
"What's such a fantastic cook doing on such a run-down ship like this?" Tajio asked.
"Hey! My girlfriend had this made for us!" Usopp said. "It was crafted in our hometown of Syrup Village!"
"POYO!" Kirby snapped
"It's alright, Usopp." Kaya gently said.
"So, Tajio, why were you hanging on the edge of that ship?" Sonson asked.
"There was an accident in the galley. I wound up spilling the curry the crew was having for lunch. And the head chef demanded I remake it to make up for the accident." Taijo explained.
"Can't say I blame him. The worst thing you can do out at sea is waste food." Sanji said. "And trust me, I learned that the hard way."
"I kept trying to remake it over and over, but it never turned out right. I only started as a probationary cook six months ago. That's not long enough to learn anything." Taijo said. "All I do is wash dishes and peel ingredients every day. I haven't even made any food yet! Worse, the captains of the fleet all have a tradition of getting together once a week to have curry for lunch. And this week my ship was supposed to host. There's no way my curry would be good enough for those big shots."
"I have heard the curry the Marines cook is famous. Each ship's chook competes for the top recipe, with each one having their own distinct flavor." Robin noted.
"If you can't learn anything in six months, your only option is to go back and apologize to your chef again," Noire said.
"If I do that, he'll kick me off the ship!" Tajio pointed out. "Which means... It'll be harder for me to look for the All Blue."
Sanji and Noire were both surprised to hear him say that.
"Oh? So you're searching for the legendary sea, are you?"
"Yeah, I figure if I serve on a naval warship, there's a good chance I'll go there. So I can't afford to be kicked off."
The crew all looked at Sanji and Noire knowingly. After all, their shared dream was to find the All Blue, meaning they and Tajio had something in common.
"Well, we should do something to get Tajio back to his ship," Luffy noted as she stretched out her arms to create a makeshift mooring line to the fleet.
"We'll have until this afternoon when the fog clears," Nami said.
"Plenty of time," Sanji said as he, Noire, and Taijo held onto Luffy as she snapped over to the Marine ship.
"Don't get yourselves caught now!" Eddy called out.
Luffy hid inside a longboat's tarp while Sanji, Noire, and Tajio headed for the galley.
"Talk about expensive equipment. Just what I'd expect from a Marine vessel. And all in good condition as well." Noire said as she looked around
Tajio showed Sanji and Noire the cooking pot with what was left of the spilled curry.
"You know, I used to be a cook at a maritime restaurant. But the owner never really taught me anything. He just had me do the dishes." Sanji said. "When I told him how much I hated it, he said I only really needed to do chores for a year. To do more than just my hardest, and there was a reason he let me into his kitchen. You understand?"
Tajio realized something. "You mean... Chef had me in here to steal his cooking skills?"
"Cooking isn't something that can be taught, only learned."
Encouraged by this, Tajio decided to try again. As he did, Sanji decided to take a whiff of the curry.
"I think I recognize this aroma. They use a ready-made curry powder with freshly made garam masala added in."
Tajio must have realized this as well, as he quickly got out fresh spices and started working with them.
-OP-
Meanwhile, some of the soldiers were patrolling above.
"Man, this fog won't lift for a while. Did you hear that fog horn earlier? I think a ship passed us." One soldier said
"I saw it, just a small caravel. Nothing to concern the captain with." Another soldier said. "Though I'm surprised a caravel is sailing out in the Grand Line like that."
"Well, at least it came somewhat prepared."
They both passed by the boat Luffy was hiding in without noticing her.
"I wonder how Sanji and Noire doing. Hope they don't take too long."
"You know I hear the probationary cook Tajio is making lunch today," the second soldier said.
The first soldier hummed. "I wonder what he'll be feeding us. Hope he picked up a lot from the chef."
-OP-
Sanji and Noire watched over Tajio as he went to brown the beef.
'I've heard of this technique;It's a type of beef curry where the beef's juices are sealed within the beef itself before adding it to the curry. But this recipe is different."Sanji thought to himself.
"Judging from the taste, the beef is used to flavor the curry, meaning the meat's juice should be dissolved in the broth. Looks like this kid just messed it up from the start."Noire thought, continuing what Sanji was thinking.
Sanji cleared his throat to get Tajio's attention before he could start browning the beef.
"You shouldn't rush through cooking, kid."
Tajio then remembered how the chef was preparing the curry earlier. He set down the beef and started to season it using cracked black pepper, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and a small dollop of yogurt.
Sanji nodded in approval."Now he's starting to get it."
The two chefs smiled as Tajio successfully prepared the rest of the ingredients correctly, but noticed something wrong as Tajio lit the stove to saute the onions. Sanji bent over and lit his cigarette on the flames.
"Why the heck are you smoking where I'm preparing food?!" Tajio called out.
"Looks like I singed my hair," Sanji noted. "I'll need to step out to fix this."
"Can you handle this on your own from here, kid?" Noire asked as she stepped out as well.
After the two left, Tajio realized that he was going wrong again.
"He was warning me about the heat level..."
He turned up the stove to a high heat, constantly moving the onions to avoid scorching them. Then once the onions started to go soft, he turned the heat down low to simmer them slowly and gently until golden-brown. Now learning, Tajio started trying to recall everything he heard regarding how the chef made the curry.
"Almost finished. There was one last ingredient..."
He took some of the apples and shredded them into the curry to dissolve. Once finished, he tried the final product.
"Yes! This is it!"
Outside the galley, Sanji and Noire smiled.
"Looks like the kid figured it out. There's no more need to hang around."
They snuck over to where Luffy was, and the three of them shot back to the Merry.
-OP-
Later, the captains of the fleet all met for lunch, no one the wiser that any intruders had boarded. They started to dig into the curry, and found they couldn't stop eating it. Several even asked for seconds.
The chef smiled at Tajio. "Make sure to clean up in the kitchen when you're finished. And... Good job."
Tajio smiled and nodded. He remembered the last thing he heard Sanji say before he left.
"You know, I too believe the All Blue is out there."
-OP-
That evening, the two chefs of the fleet, after cleaning their kitchen, reminisced about Tajio as they watched the moon ans stars shimmer off the ocean.
"Today was kind of fun." Sanji mused.
"Yeah. Reminds me of when we first snuck into the VIP dining room." Noire mused. "Zeff was so proud and mad at us."
"At me, you mean." Sanji smriked, remembering the peg leg bonks he'd received. "Still, it was fun; a nice look at what was to come."
"And look at us now." Noire smiled. "We're pirates sailing the seas, we've saved countries and fought warlords…And all because of you."
Sanji looked over in confusion.
"What do you mean? You wanted to leave..."
"Not that!" Noire groaned. "I mean…sort of yeah, but…."
She smiled sadly.
"Do you remember how we first met?"
Sanji did.
"Do you remember what you made for me?"
Sanji did.
"And do you know why I stick around?"
"…To keep me alive for the old man and because we joined the craziest fleet of all time?"
"That….and because…."
Noire suddenly lost her voice. Still, she steeled herself, took a breath and before Sanji could ask what was wrong?
She kissed him right on the cheek. It was short, sweet and chaste; but it said all that needed to be said.
"Goodnight, Sanji."
And with that, she made her way to her room, a coyness in her steps.
Sanji touched where he had been kissed. He then smiled warmly and lit up a cigarette,
"I really am an idiot, aren't ?"
"A little, yeah."
Sanji almost choked on his smoke, spying Luffy in the crow's nest looking down.
"If it makes you feel any better?" The captain said. "I don't always get Nami, either. But, I kind of like that. Again, that might not make sense…"
"It does." Sanji smiled, finishing his smoke. "…Thanks Luffy."
"…You know? Sis, Draco and I could roast some meat for breakfast tomorrow." Luffy suggested. "In case…you and Noire…you know?"
Sanji paused and reflected; he apprtiated Luffy's gesture; Noire was definitely giving him cues….and the fleet was still pretty rich, so they could afford a botched meal or two. But he would have to clean up later….
With a chuckle and a nod, Sanji bowed to Luffy and then headed to Noire's room, which he gently knocked on.
"Come in."
The Chef entered and was greeted by the sight of his sous-chef, clad in a night gown that showed off her flawless, cocoa skin. Her hair was loose and messy and her smirk was knowing…but she also gulped.
Sanji gulped too, as he realized: This was real. This was happening!
He took off his jacket and followed Noire's instruction to sit on her bed as she joined him, laid him down. They cuddled, looked into each other's eyes…..
And by the sun rose the next day? While Sanji's appritation for and protectiveness of lovely women never vanished His heart was full.
Knightmare Lord A/N:
Nothing much for this chapter, just a little Sanji and Noire focused. We might set up some other scenes to give the various members of the Straw Hats more focus since there are so many of them to go around and there are only more to come later.
What about you, Mrotrax?
Mrotrax A/N:
A nice Sanji/Noir chapter! They're among my favorite pairs in this story and I look forward to where we go from here!
Keep safe, warm and happy until next time!