Daughter of the Sea (One Piece Live Action)

Episode 7 THE CHEF AND THE (FISH)GIRL

A/N: Wow, wow! Thank you all for your reviews, I have so much fun reading them and getting to see your reactions on certain things. Now, THIS chapter. Oh my... It's barely a glimpse for what's to come, but good things take their time to develop, so let me know what you get from it. Enjoy.

"This is an old seaman's trick. The fish skin helps staunch the wounds and heals the flesh a lot faster." Zeff explained while applying it to the open skin of the man's body laying over the table unconscious.

"Is he gonna be okay?" The boy with the headscarf asked severely. Sanji tried keeping a neutral expression as he aided the old man in the whole healing process.

"Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. He's lost a lot of blood." Zeff told them, "It might be too late for him."

"But it might not be." Luffy said with a frown.

"He's got one foot in each world right now, caught between life and death... You have to find a way to keep him tethered to our worlds. Talk to him. Tell him stories. Sing him sea shanties for all I care. He may not reply, but at least he'll now his crew is still with him." They all stared down at the pale man, looking more and more like a corpse.

"Someone should go looking for Coral." The ginger woman muttered.

"Yeah, someone should." Luffy nodded, his eyes not moving.

"Yeah, someone should..." Usopp replied.

Zeff met Sanji's eyes. It was obvious, in their state none were in their right minds for the task. They were in shock, frozen statues, unwilling to take their eyes off or a foot away from him, surrounding their fallen mate. Sanji uncrossed his arms and nodded once, before he left in search.

The girl wasn't hard to find. From what he'd heard she'd ran away at the sight of the consequences of that final blow. He visited the docks when he needed to unwind, so he thought maybe he would find her there. Indeed, she was kneeling too close to the edge when he found her, harshly rubbing her hands in the sea water.

"You alright?" He asked delicately, walking as if approaching a wild animal. Not a wild one, a wounded one. She turned back around in a sudden act of trying to look composed, but never stopped washing her hands, Sanji observed.

"That looks like it could burn." He commented. Her hands were red and considering the sea salt... She ignored him. "I was looking for you."

"P-please, just go." She snapped, with an almost begging tone, but this time she was purposely avoiding his face. Sanji observed her actions with a concerned, analytic stare, before taking a deep breath, placing his hands inside his pockets, and acting casual:

"It's about your mate Zoro." He droned, "Come, let's go-"

"Is he..." Her voice was frightened but weak.

"No." He pursed his lips. It shouldn't be him delivering these sorts of news when he barely knew the girl. "But he's in a delicate state. Come see-"

"I-I-I-I can't..." She shook her head and looked up at him with her eyes filled with tears, even when she was smiling, trying as hard as him to act everything was alright. "I-I-I c-can't see h-him right now."

"Why not?" He frowned.

"I don't want to." She was blunt as she looked away. His frowned deepened even more, but it was clear she needed a moment when she grasped her hands by the edge of the docks and looked into the water, breathing.

Sanji remained standing next to her until she was ready. It took a while, two cigarettes later in fact, and he wasn't exactly a quick smoker.

During that time, he allowed himself to observe her from behind. Instead of the simple white dress he'd seen her in the day before, she was wearing a blue gown, its color mirroring the sky on a clear day. If she weren't kneeling on the docks, he could've easily mistaken her for some of the wealthy folks that frequented their restaurant. But they held the countenance of people settled for life, some an arrogance he had to overlook if he didn't want Zeff to put him to mop the floors after purposefully spilling their drinks on them. Coral of the Sea, on the other hand...