One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ A Chance Encounter With Chocolate Cake ❯ Default Chapter ( One-Shot )

A Chance Encounter With Chocolate Cake

Authors Foreword:

This is just a little one-shot focusing on something I though would be adorable. Apparently Sanji met up with Zeff 9 years ago, while Arlong didn't invade Nami's village until 8 years ago. So there would have been time for Sanji and Nami to have met as children, if however briefly. That is what got me going on this fic idea. Don't get too caught up with the specifics, this is simply a thought that wouldn't leave me alone. I hope you enjoy it.

Eight and a half years ago, the floating restaurant known as the Baratie came sailing into port at Kokoyashi village. For one purpose: to buy tangerines from a woman known as Bellemere.

Zeff wore his usual scowl as he surveyed the approaching port. It was a small village, about as normal as you could find in East Blue. Utterly boring, but nevertheless contained something he needed. He had heard of fine quality tangerines that grew here, and would have nothing less than the best in his restaurant. And so he had dragged his restaurant and his entire regiment of cooks to this little no-nothing village in order to keep his food high quality.

Standing behind Zeff was his ever-present shadow, a young boy called Sanji. Or as the rest of the cooks called him, the brat. Ever since Zeff had saved the boy from death and starvation, he had tailed him almost constantly. Of course the boy was too stubborn to admit this, but he did it all the same. Oddly enough, Zeff didn't really mind. Sanji reminded him of himself as a kid, and it was amusing to have him around to abuse from time to time. Not that there weren't downsides . . ..

Sanji looked at the port with mild dislike and asked Zeff, " Why are we coming to this stupid little village? I thought you were trying to attract prominent customers."

Zeff's scowl deepened. "It's exactly because of that that we came here. The best tangerines are supposed to grow here, so we came for them."

Sanji looked at his mentor in disbelief. "Tangerines?! We came all the way here for some stupid tangerines? Why couldn't you just get them somewhere else? Anyplace would have been fine. Then we wouldn't have had to travel all the way out here."

Zeff took this opportunity to whack the kid over the head with his peg leg. "Baka Chibi-Nasu! When you're feeding your customers you feed them the best food you can get! Never settle for mediocre when you can have the best! Just for that I'm gonna drag you to the tangerine farm along with me."

Sanji rubbed his head and glared at him. "Awww, why? I wanted to stay here and watch Patti and Carne cook some new dishes."

Zeff snorted. "You need to see what fine quality means. Now quit yapping and tell the rest of the crew to prepare to dock. Then we're heading to the tangerine farm."

Sanji grumbled under his breath but stopped when Zeff spared him a piercing glare. "If you don't quit complaining I'll shut you up permanently. You need to get out more anyway."

Sanji looked sullen. "Why? I should be in the kitchen learning how to cook, not out pretending to like people."

"Keep up that attitude and you'll never make it as a chef. And you never know, you might meet some interesting people."

Sanji snorted as he turned his back to go find the rest of the crew. "I doubt it . . .."

At the tangerine farm on the edge of Kokoyashi village, the proprietor Bellemere and her adopted daughters were preparing their finest for the ship that was sailing into port.

Nami looked at her foster mother while helping her separate tangerines into boxes. "Why are we giving them the best tangerines? I thought we were gonna eat them or sell them to the town market."

Bellemere took a drag on her cigarette and looked at Nami fondly. "Because this is a classy restaurant, Nami. They'll pay top dollar for the best tangerines, and we want to make sure we deliver them."

Nami didn't look convinced. "I heard that the ship is staffed by a bunch of ex-pirates. It can't be that classy."

"Why Nami, where on earth did you hear that?" Bellemere asked in surprise.

"I heard Gen-san talking about it."

"You mean you were eavesdropping again?" Belemere said with a hint of a scowl.

"Maybe." Nami didn't meet her eyes and instead bent her head down pretending to be industrious with sorting the tangerines. She shared a conspiratory glance with her sister Nojiko and stifled a giggle. She dumped the last of the tangerines into a box then put on her most innocent smile and asked, "May I go out now? I want to go see this famous floating restaurant."

Bellemere sighed in resignation and replied, "Very well. Just don't go on board the ship and don't steal anything."

Nami smiled her best little girl smile and discretely crossed her fingers behind her back. "Haaiiiiii."

Zeff with Sanji in tow left the ship to face a large group of representatives from the village. The man in charge was a man covered in scars named Gen. Zeff hadn't expected to meet a man like this in a small village, but then again, he was used to seeing surprising things while out at sea.

The two old men shared piercing stares before Gen finally relented and held out his hand in greeting. "Welcome to Kokoyashi village, Honor Zeff. We got your message that you were seeking tangerines."

Zeff ignored Sanji's soft snort and replied, "Yes, I had heard they are of fine quality here. Can you direct me to the farm?"

Gen gave him a curt nod and started to turn around, when he spotted Sanji standing sullenly behind Zeff. "And who is this?"

Zeff didn't even bother to look at Sanji as he said, "My apprentice. He's accompanying me to see the tangerines. He's kind of a brat, so just ignore him."

Gen chuckled. "Oh, we've got our share of brats in this village. You don't need to worry about him. The tangerine farm is this way."

The two men walked nonchalantly, but Sanji was seething inwardly. First he had to accompany Zeff on this stupid errand (not like he didn't mind having an excuse to be with Zeff) but now was getting insulted right and left again. Maybe the cooks would be better after all. At least they gave him a little acknowledgement.

Sanji was still brooding when they reached the tangerine farm. In fact, he was so caught up with his thoughts that he didn't notice a little red-haired girl dart past him.

Nami glanced at the men quickly before speeding off towards the restaurant. Gen-san was there, that was good. The old man with him looked a little scary, especially with that peg leg. And even more strange was that a blonde boy about her age was with them. Well, whatever. It didn't really matter to her as long as he was away from his ship and she could get onto it. And Bellemere could handle them, no problem.

When Nami reached the port she had to admit that the floating was restaurant was impressive. It was huge, for one, and did indeed look classy. But Nami knew better than to judge a book by its cover. She had to get inside to see what the chefs were like. She wasn't going to let Bellemere's tangerines go to just any place. And maybe there was some interesting stuff in there ripe for the stealing. . . .

Nami waited until nobody was looking, then raced up the gangplank and hid behind a barrel. Now all she had to do was wait until somebody opened the door so she could dart in and give the place a thorough inspection.

Sanji was thoroughly and utterly bored. Zeff and the tangerine lady were taking forever haggling over the tangerines. They didn't even look that good. He had started to say so, but Zeff had stopped him short with a quick stomp on his foot. There wasn't anything interesting to see either. The place was small and common, and the lady's daughter was pointedly ignoring them.

Zeff and the lady's squabbling had reached a boiling point, but didn't show any sign of stopping. That did it. He was going back to the ship. Maybe he could have some fun annoying Patti and Carne. There wasn't anything better to do.

The adults were squabbling so loudly that Sanji didn't even bother to try and be stealthy. He simply walked to the door, opened it, and left. Only Nojiko noticed him, and she didn't say anything. None of the adults noticed until Gen saw the open door.

"Hey, I think your apprentice has left us."

Zeff glanced quickly at the door and snorted. "So he has. He's got to work on his attention span more. Don't worry about him, he'll just head back to the ship."

Bellemere raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? My girls have run off on me once or twice before when they were mad."

Zeff shook his head. "Nah. That boy may be annoying, but he's devoted to me. He won't leave. It'll take something huge to get him to leave me and the restaurant."

Bellemere hid a small smile and bent over the price list again. "Is that so . . .."

Nami was getting annoyed. She had been sitting there for an hour and not one chef or cook had come out of the restaurant and opened the door for her. They must have been staying put under their captain's orders. She was considering giving up when she saw the blonde boy from before come stomping up the gangplank and yanked the door open. Her chance!

Nami darted in behind Sanji and hid behind a potted plant that was conveniently next to the door. Peeking through the leaves she surveyed the place. The inside was just as classy as the outside. But what of the kitchen and the cooks themselves? She watched the blonde boy walk to the back and open a door that exposed the kitchen. A kitchen full of some of the scariest cooks she had ever seen. Ex-pirates, the lot of them. As she suspected. They didn't seem to behave like first-rate chefs either. They were currently giving the blonde boy hell for leaving behind the old man and not looking at the tangerines. Well, she had to agree with them. Bellemere's tangerines were wonderful, where did this boy get off on not bothering to see the deal through?

A loud rumble in her stomach cut off her thoughts. She froze and cursed inwardly with swears she learned from Gen-san. Damn, of all the times to be hungry. And the smells coming from the kitchen weren't helping. They might not be classy chefs, but their food sure smelled good. Luckily for her they were all leaving to go to the second level, leaving the boy behind apparently to take care of the dishes.

She tentatively peeked out from behind the plant, then made her way stealthily across the room to the kitchen. When she peeked in she was rewarded to see the blonde boy bent over his task of washing dishes, wearing a very angry scowl. On the table behind him was a very succulent looking chocolate cake. She gulped. The cake was the only food out in the open, but it was also directly behind the blonde boy. True, the boy did seem to be really distracted, but it really was a close proximity. Then again, the cake looked delicious and she was very, very hungry. She felt her stomach twist, and she gulped again. Do or die time.

She tiptoed across the kitchen, keeping her eyes on the boy to make sure he didn't turn around. When she reached the table she bit back an urge to drool. The cake was even more delicious looking close-up. Gingerly she reached her hands out and grabbed the edges of the platter. Holding her breath, she started to lift the cake up and away from the table. But she had miscalculated. The cake was a lot heavier than it looked. Her hands trembled and she quickly put the cake back down before she dropped it. Unfortunately, the shaking had caused the serving knife to fall off the plate and onto the floor with a clatter!

Nami froze. But luck wasn't with her this time. The boy had heard. He spun around quickly to see a red-haired girl with her hands on the cake platter. His surprise at seeing the cake thief added to his overall bad mood, and he exploded.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!? WHAT ARE YOU DONG HERE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT CAKE!!"

Nami cringed. She hadn't expected that big a reaction to come from a boy her age. But considering how pissed off he looked before, she supposed she should have expected it. "Umm, nothing. I just wanted some cake."

"You think that gives you the right to go stealing it?" the boy asked indignantly.

Nami shook her head and looked at her feet sorrowfully. "I was just really hungry . . . . .."

Sanji looked at her and heard her stomach rumble loudly. Damn it. She was sad, and now she was hungry. And Sanji knew far too well how it felt to be hungry. He sighed and took two plates and forks from the cupboards and set them next to the cake. He picked up the serving knife and wiped if off.

"C'mon, don't be sad. Look, we'll have cake together, okay?"

Nami looked up quickly and stared at the boy. He looked sincerely sorry, and was offering her cake. She grinned. Maybe luck was with her today after all. "Mmkay . . .."

Sanji cut them both generous slices and the two of them sat at the huge kitchen table and ate. Nami was surprised. The cake was supremely delicious, something she hadn't expected from the uncouth cooks she saw before. She said so to the boy.

Sanji just smirked and said, "They might not look classy, but they're skilled. The old geezer wouldn't hire them if they weren't. He wanted to give ex-pirates who were serious about cooking a place to work."

Nami thought this over as she chewed. There really was more to this place than it appeared. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad place for Bellemere's tangerines. She then looked at the boy more closely, noting that half of his face was covered with his hair and that his one visible eyebrow was curled at the end. She giggled.

Sanji looked at the girl in surprise and asked, "What?"

She pointed at him and said, "Your eyebrow is curly. That's funny."

He scowled at her and snapped, "Leave me alone. I get enough grief about my eyebrow."

She couldn't leave it alone, it was too funny. "Where did you get it from? Did your parents have curly eyebrows or something?"

Sanji went quiet suddenly, then said, "I don't know. I'm an orphan. I don't remember what my parents look like."

Nami immediately felt sorry and stared at her plate. "I don't know who my parents are either. Bellemere found me and Nojiko and adopted us." She and Sanji were both quiet for a moment, and then Nami decided to break the ice.

"But it doesn't matter. I think your eyebrow is cute," she said smiling her cutest smile.

Sanji was a bit taken aback. "Cute?"

"Yeah. I've never seen curly eyebrows before. It's really cute."

Sanji just stared at her, then stared down at his plate in hopes of hiding the fact that he was blushing. But he couldn't. Nami just giggled more.

Unfortunately Patti, who barged into the kitchen looking for Sanji, only to find him and another unexpected guest, broke the moment. "Hey! What gives?"

Sanji just stared rebelliously at Patti and said, "She came in here and she was hungry, so I gave her food. Isn't that what cooks are supposed to do?"

"Hmph! She's got money right?" Patti asked imperiously.

Sanji looked at the girl, but she shook her head. "I spent all my allowance already."

"Then that's stealing!" Patti cried as he reached over to grab Nami and throw her out of the restaurant. But Sanji jumped in front of his way and blocked him off from Nami.

"I gave her the cake so it's not stealing! Leave her alone!" he yelled, trying to look tough.

Patti snorted. "Oho! So what, you gotta girlfriend now?"

Sanji fought down a blush yelled back, "She's not my girlfriend! She was hungry and I fed her! That's all!"

"You dummy! Don't feed anyone but the customers with money!" Patti leaned forward to grab both of them, but was interrupted by Zeff who barged into the kitchen.

Zeff surveyed the scene for a moment, taking into consideration that Sanji was shielding a girl from Patti, and that there was a half-eaten cake on the table and two plates with crumbs on it. Hmm.

He grabbed Patti roughly by the back of the shirt and yanked him back, then stood in front of Sanji with his hands on his hips. "Well, Chibi-Nasu? What's the explanation?"

Sanji gulped and said, "She came in here because she was hungry, but didn't have any money. So I fed her!"

Nami, who had been watching the whole scene with bated breath, noted that he didn't mention that she had tried to steal the food first. This boy was a lot nicer than he looked.

Zeff merely eyed his pupil coolly, then said, "Fine. We'll consider the portion you gave her as your dessert for the next week. Alright?"

Sanji opened his mouth to retort, but cut it off when he saw the look in Zeff's eyes. He looked down at the floor and muttered, "Fine . . .."

Zeff snorted and ignored Patti, who was having convulsions behind him. In any case, your little girlfriend belongs to the woman whom I bought tangerines from today and she's looking for her. So scram, kid."

Nami needed no further urging. She slipped past the two men, shot Sanji a grateful glance, and ran out of the restaurant before the word "stole" could be uttered.

After observing Sanji for a few more seconds, Zeff turned to Patti. "Quit spazzing out and go get the crew ready to sail. I've got the tangerines, so we're heading out."

Patti spluttered a few more times, then grunted and slammed the door behind him. Zeff turned back to Sanji, who was now looking up at him with his usual sullen expression. He sighed and said, "You do realize you're never going to hear the end of this, right?"

Nami and Bellemere were walking back to the tangerine grove, conversing about the day's events and the big sale.

"Yeah, I saw the ship. I even saw the inside of it. It was really cool," Nami was explaining to her foster mother.

Bellemere frowned and said, "I thought I told you not to board that ship. What if it sailed away with you on it?"

Nami ignored that and continued. "There I met a boy who gave me chocolate cake. It was really good, even though it was made by a bunch of nasty ex-pirates."

"A boy? You mean that blonde boy Honor Zeff had with him earlier?" Nami nodded.

Bellermere chuckled. "Sullen little thing, wasn't he? He left before we could finish haggling over the tangerines. Not that I blame him, there wasn't anything for him to do."

Nami looked up suddenly and said, "He's not sullen! He's really nice! He gave me cake even though I didn't have any money!"

Bellemere blinked in surprise then smiled. "My mistake then. He really was a nice boy. To give you food without being able to pay for it."

Nami ginned back at her. "Yep! Really, really nice!"

Sanji sat on the deck that night watching the stars sullenly. As expected, he had received a number of talking-tos, and far too much teasing about his "little girlfriend". Zeff walked up behind him and stared at the stars for a while before saying, "Next time you bring a girlfriend on board, give me a little warning, okay?"

Sanji scowled and snapped, "She's not my girlfriend. I hate girls."

Zeff chuckled, knowing it wasn't true, and said, "You may change your tune about that in a few years."

Sanji just scowled more and muttered, "I doubt it . . .."

And so the Baratie sailed away from Kokoyashi village, neither child realizing they hadn't bothered to learn each other's names . . ..

Eight and a half years later . . ..

Sanji looked up at the commotion coming from the other end of the room. Their newly recruited zatsuyo was making a ruckus with the guests at a table. Apparently they were his friends.

"Man, what a racket . . . . .Huh?" Sanji stiffened suddenly. Sitting at the table was an extremely pretty girl with familiar short red hair. Sanji sifted through his memory trying to remember what it was that made it so familiar. Ah, hell with it. She was beautiful.

"Ohhhh, great sea! Thank you for bestowing this exquisite gift upon this unworthy one! Ahhh, love! Can there be anything more divine than the one before me!?"

Luffy and company stared at him with blank faces, wondering what the hell he was going on about. Nami just looked at him, holding the rose he had given her. He looked familiar to her as well, but she wasn't sure. Then she decided it was nothing, since the blonde boy from her past wasn't nearly this goofy. Still, his eyebrow was very familiar and very cute . . ..

Owari.

Liner notes:

Baka = idiot/stupid

Chibi-Nasu = little eggplant. Zeff's petname for Sanji.

Hai = yes/okay

Zatsuyo = ragboy. The position Luffy was forced to take on the Baratie.