THEY KNOW FEAR AGAIN.
There's the smell of something burning and setting her lungs ablaze, the taste of sea salt, and the cold water splashing against her skin. Drowning into the blue sea. It overwhelmed and swallowed her whole and for a moment, dea...
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CHAPTER TWO, are we friends?
The storm has passed.
Watching the thick, gray clouds float away and the sky turning from a dark mist into clear blues, Jie stood at the edge of the dock with her eyes trained into the distance. One step and she'd land back into the water. A dark night was approaching quickly. In the days that passed, Sanji always busied himself inside the Baratie kitchen and came by in the dead of night to drop off her meals. Even if she had been awake, Jie would hear his approaching footsteps and pretend to be asleep.
For what, she didn't know.
Avoiding someone and hiding away from her feelings were unusual. After all, the reason why she landed in that cramped fishing boat was her unrelenting determination to see the world and not rot inside a rural village. Jie knew it was silly, and at worst, a cowardly move. The butterflies swirling in her stomach, the flutter of her heart. A shy glance at him before turning away sharply once he caught her eye.
What feeling had Sanji conjured up?
He must be a evil, greedy being who wants to take everything for himself. Seeking her heart underneath the shell. Clawing at flesh and tearing apart everything before reaching the heart. Peeling away at what Jie set out to do, live a life without distractions, yet all it took was for someone to save her from the sea. It was only once. She's bound to leave soon...no matter how much fear crawled through the thought of going back home.
There was one thing she could do...
It was a rare sight to see the chef of the Baratie outside and bustling through the kitchen. The large man hobbled his way over towards the crates and some trashed boxes, organizing what ingredients he needed for the cooks and what wasn't enough for the rush of breakfast that morning. Seeing him do work that he could easily brush aside to employees was quite commendable, especially with his peg leg. Jie held in a sharp breath, watching the chef work and pondered if she should even try raising her voice to interrupt him.
"Um, good morning, Zeff."
Turning around, the chef looked like he was about to fume at whoever snuck into the back but quickly relaxed his hardened expression when seeing the familiar face. Zeff ordered the cooks to find a place for her to settle when Sanji found her and made sure she'd gotten a meal three times a day. Even if she didn't ask. Jie didn't know the man as well unlike the cooks but deep down, she knew he was a good person even if his countless arguments and angry yelling carried over from kitchen to the ship.
He was a little...terrifying when it came to cooking.
