What's Not To Love

Chapter 9

The Story of Zeff is basically the same one told in One Piece with a few additions. 

Sanji took a quick glance at the girls. They looked confused but remained quiet.

"My parents were business people. They weren't rich or anything, but they were striving to create an empire of sorts. There weren't many people who were investing in businesses then, so it was hard for them. I wanted to help them in any way I could so they could be happy."

Blowing out smoke, Sanji continued his trip down memory lane.

"I had gotten a job on a boat called the Orbit when I turned 9. It was good money and it would help with my dream of finding the All Blue and being the best cook . I wasn't the head cook but I didn't expect to start as one. I knew that I had to earn it." Sanji hit the cigarette on the window sill to get rid of the ashes before continuing.

"Anyway, when I told my parents they were ecstatic. The Orbit was a ship where a lot of rich people went and I had just gotten them in. I was happy for them. After a few years however, the Orbit wanted to celebrate its success by cruising through the North Blue for a while. It was their way of getting more customers. My parents agreed on the condition that they could come along and the Boss agreed. The first few weeks went smoothly. We had met a lot of people and I had been able to create a few small dishes but then the Orbit was attacked."

Sanji closed his eyes and hummed. "I remember the night clearly. It was beginning to look stormy outside. I dropped what I was doing and ran on deck to see where my parents were. It was a disaster. There were pirates everywhere. I tried to ignore my fear of them though and kept searching. I didn't find them anywhere . And once I started to panic, I forgot about my surroundings." Opening his eyes, Sanji said "But then I bumped into him."

"Zeff the pirate." Sanji said, still in awe of the whole situation.

"He was a famous pirate." Robin added.

"Yes and very dangerous." Sanji said without turning towards them. "When I had bumped into him, I tried to run but the ship rocked hard so I fell overboard. In the next few seconds, more and more bodies fell in the water, both dead or alive, both belonging to either the pirates or the ship members. I realized that it was because of the storm"

Sighing, continued. "Honestly, I thought that I was going to die. I mean I had come to the point where I had already believed that my parents had died. A second later I passed out. When I woke up, I was on a giant rock with Zeff. No pirates or ship in sight. Zeff told me to take my portion of food and go on the other side of the giant rock to wait for a ship to pass. I put up a fight but I ended up doing what he said. After about a week, ii realized that Zeff kept the larger portion of food for himself and so I went and tried to steal some of it, only to find out that it was treasure. Not even a moment later, I found out that he had given up his leg to save me. I was forever in his debt. I decided to spend the rest of my life in debt to Zeff. To make him happy, I would become the best. I would be the best son he never had. I will represent Zeff in anything I do,"

Sanji turned to face the girls. "He didn't just save me. He taught me everything I know. He passed all his skills to me, from cooking to fighting to relationships."

Putting out his cigarette, Sanji stood up and spoke. "We spoke not too long ago and he said that I should start settling down. I don't know how he feels about the whole gay love stuff so I kept everything that's happened to myself."

"But he probably won't even care." Nami said, trying not to feel sympathetic towards the crew's cook. "You should have at least told him about the kids.

Sanji snorted and put his cigarette out. Standing up, Sanji said "Yeah and then say "The mothers a guy", yeah right".

Walking towards the door, Sanji motioned for the girls to follow. He knew that their time in the room would be over soon and he did not feel like talking to anyone at the moment. He barely wanted to speak to the girls but they are crewmates.

As Robin and Nami walked down the hall behind Sanji, they thought about the current predicament. First, Sanji ignores Zoro because of a conversation with his father. Then, he meets an old 'friend' on the island and gets drunk enough to have sex with her. Zoro sees the said cook kissing the old 'friend' and leaves while the girls deal with the problem. Lastly, Sanji makes things a little clearer but it doesn't exactly change anything.

Once the group gets outside, Robin speaks up. "So, what are you going to do with Zoro now?"

Sanji turned and looked at the girls. "I don't know." Looking up at the sky, Sanji tried to find the right words to say. "There's an island about a week and some days out. Zeff said that's where he's staying with some of the cooks. Something about helping an old friend out for a while."

Looking back at the girls, Sanji continued. "I'm guessing that we'll probably stop there to restock. So, in that time, I need to make things right with Zoro and...."

"And?" the girls urged Sanji to keep talking.

"AND... introduce Zeff to him and the kids. As my boyfriend, at the very least."

Turning around, Sanji started for the ship. He needed to do something to clear his mind so he was going to shower. Then, he was going to cook and clean. Hopefully, if he had some spare time, he could go looking for more things to cook before leaving.

Nami and Robin watched Sanji go. Once he was out of hearing, they turned and walked down the shopping district to buy some clothes. As they were walking, Nami started to speak.

"So, he wasn't trying to hurt Zoro?"

Robin stopped and eyed a dress in a window before speaking. "Apparently not. He was trying to be the ideal son is what it sounded like."

"But Zoro's not gonna be okay with that." Nami said as they walked into the dress store.

"Knowing him, he will make sure Sanji regrets what he did." Robin said picking up clothes. "We'll have to convince him just to hear Sanji out."

Nami sighed and turned away from the rack she was at to look at Robin. "I don't know what to do in this situation and it's not even my problem." Walking over to Robins rack, Nami said "Right now, you could say that we're all Zoro has to talk to but what if he feels like we're, you know, betraying him or something."

Robin stopped looking at the clothes for a moment and looked Nami in the eyes. "In order for him to get over Sanji, he has to understand him first." Turning back to the rack, Robin continued. "At least that's what I want to say. The only thing we can do is support him in any decision he makes and give him advice. He can't get mad at that."

Nami made a face but agreed. Turning towards the rack, Nami continued to think about the problem at hand. Zoro needed them so they would be there. But, he also needed Sanji and that's what they'll try to give him too. No matter what, Zoro needs to be happy.