EPISODE 05 : EAT AT BARATIE !
( sanji, world class flirt )
THE NOW 5-MEMBER crew of straw hat pirates sat around in their new ship lounge, doing nothing other than waiting to get to their next destination.
anjali was fast asleep, as always, her head resting against zoro's ahoulder. he softly played with her hair, ignoring the bickering going on between the rest of the crew.
usopp's loud yell of 'guys!" startled the copper haired woman awake, and she pushed herself off of the bounty hunter with a yawn.
"why are you yelling so early in the morning?" she muttered.
"it's half past noon." nami corrected, and the crew collectively chuckled.
"i made us a new jolly roger for the ship!" their sharpshooter continued, unfurling a flag of a weird-looking skeleton wearing a brown bandana. in the. background was a green slingshot.
"ta-da!" the ship was silent. "i know, i know. my flair for design often leaves people speechless."
luffy bunched up usopp's version of a jolly roger and patted his shoulder. "i already drew our flag."
"okay, but this one is so much better."
"neither of the flags are gonna scare anyone away." zoro said boredly.
"this time, imma have to agree." anjali raised a lazy hand, still half asleep.
"okay, but the jolly roger is supposed to reflect the captain." usopp wrapped the flag around his body like a cape.
"i'm the captain. we're the straw hat crew." luffy argued.
usopp ignored him, striking a pose. "they call me captain usopp."
"i'm the captain. me, captain. me." luffy pointed to himself. the other man was not paying the slightest attention.
"the captain is the one that gets the ship and knows the most about the ship."
"i am —"
the bickering men get interrupted by anjali, who begins to laugh at their stupidity. her loud laughs mingle in with nami's, and later on zoro begins to chuckle as well.
luffy smiles. "you see? this is what it's all about! from now on, it's all gonna be smooth sailing."
just as the words left his mouth, the sound of a cannon firing nearby rocked the ship. anjali gave the straw hat captain a deadpanned look.
"you were saying?"
another cannon fired, and this time the ship shook. everybody rushed to get on deck, luffy holding up a small spyglass.
his eyes widened, lowering the spyglass as he saw the marine ship closing in on the going merry.
"grandpa?" he said aloud.
the crew's jaws dropped.
"grandpa?!"
LUFFY, BELIEVE IT or not, was the grandson of the vice-admiral of the marines, which was why they were currently up against a ship three times the size of the going merry, with at least ten times the amount of manpower.
"this information would've been nice to know before you recruited us!" anjali yelled as everybody ducked, a large cannonball splintering through the ship's railing.
she had to admit though, the dog figurehead on the front of the marine shit was pretty killer.
"by order of the marines, lower your sails and submit to my authority!" the magnified voice of the vice-admiral sounded through the gunpowder-heavy air.
"never!" luffy yelled, chest heaving.
the marine grabbed a cannonball and hurled it towards the going merry.
luffy began expanding, his stomach growing until he was as round as a ball and five times his normal size. the cannonball landed directly on his stomach, and like a trampoline, bounced back at breakneck speed towards the marine ship.
their sail went down, and the straw hats cheered.
"wow, luff! that was awesome!" anjali cheered, tackling the man in a victory hug.
usopp joined in, and the three began jumping around in a circle cheering.
"nami, get us out of here." luffy ordered, a bright smile on his face.
"on it." she nodded. "let's disappear."
directing the ship, nami navigated them towards the fog, effectively hiding from the standstill marines.
"how's the ship look?" nami asked as zoro and anjali approached.
"broken railing." the green haired man answered. "minor damage."
"a few dents here and there, but nothing we can't fix up." anjali added. "it could've been a lot worse."
"could've been better." nami grumbled.
"can't see the marines anymore." usopp joined the conversation.
"you can't see anything in this soup." nami shot back.
anjali's mouth watered. "i could go for some soup right now. or anything, really."
"what we need is a place to lay low." nami ignored anjali, already having to deal with one always-hungry pirate. "wait out any reinforcements they send after us. my charts are useless in this fog."
"what did luffy say?" zoro asked suddenly.
"he's up on the bow." usopp supplied. "hasn't said anything since we hightailed it."
"well, somebody needs to talk to him. about this and that other thing." nami said.
"what other thing?"
"oh, gee, i wonder." the orange haired woman said sarcastically. "the vice-admiral-of-the-marines-is-my-grandfather thing."
"oh, that." usopp shrugged. "yeah, i don't really know the guy that well."
"doesn't seem like a big deal." zoro added.
"i think so too. he'll bring it up when he's ready." anjali said.
"you're his first mate, talk to him." nami said to zoro, who blandly glanced between her and the bow where luffy was.
"fine." he said after a few seconds of contemplation, disappearing from within the thick fog once he got a few feet to far away.
after a few short seconds the bounty hunter was back, hands in his pockets.
"wow, that was quick." anjali looked at zoro, who shrugged.
"there wasn't much to say." the green haired man said with an air of indifference.
luffy jumped up, his mood not sour in the slightest. his nose was pointed to the air like a dog sniffing for food on the kitchen counter.
"you guys smell that?" he asked?
"the fog?" anjali asked, raising her brows in concern, "no, it's scentless."
"not that." he waved her away, taking a few deep sniffs. "smells like butter. soy sauce."
he began doing turns, trying to get each scent. "and meat."
usopp joined him. "i can't smell anything."
"don't sweat it. luffy's a food detector. that's the only time he knows how to actually navigate." anjali patted the man's back, grinning.
her stomach grumbled slightly. if luffy said there was food, then she was planning on having a feast when they reached that so-called place.
THE GOING MERRY was out of the fog in world-record timing, lead by luffy's nose and nami's navigation, they reached a small floating restaurant.
anjali's mouth practically watered as the scent the straw hat pirate had been describing wafted into her nose, heavenly aromas of fish and meat and butter and garlic and — well, anything her mind could think of all in one place.
the floating restaurant was in the shape of a fish with a giant gaping mouth, the words 'BARATIE' illuminating in a bright red above the doors. shops of all sizes were docked by the restaurant, which was filled with guests and hearty chatter.
anjali had never seen so many people in one place, having lived a life of solidarity per her chief, also known as her master's, orders.
anjali and luffy were the first to board the ship-restaurant, curious eyes scanning the inside with interest. they had changed at lightning speed in order to get there before everyone else.
the host who greeted them at the door was a fishman. anjali recognized the distinct features of the fishmen from her readings, although this one seemed more scrawny and smaller than they were usually described.
"welcome to baratie. how can i help you?" his voice was soft, hints of an accent floating throughout his tone.
"hi!" luffy greeted. "where do we eat?"
"do you have a reservation, sir?"
"do we need one?" luffy replied.
"we're very full today. i could put you on the waiting list. it's three weeks out."
usopp stepped up, for some reason sporting an wearing less clothes than what he had previously been wearing. anjali didn't know why there was a captain's hat on his head when he wasn't the captain.
"maybe you want to check your book again. you wouldn't wanna turn down the future king of the pirates, would'ya?
anjali slapped a hand to her face. now there was another one who didn't know how to act like a civil person around others.
the fishman looked at them oddly. "and who is that, sir?"
"monkey d. luffy!" the straw hat proclaimed. usopp nodded along, easing an eyebrow. "perhaps you've heard of him?"
the fishman gave a deep sigh, struggling to keep the smile on his face. "well in that case, we'll find a table."
his after statement of "in three weeks." went unnoticed by the two men, who cheered and began their descent into the main seating area.
nami and anjali shared a look, each digging through their pockets for a bit of berry and sneakily handed it to the waiter.
"you'll have to excuse them." nami sighed. "they're idiots."
the fishman's smile grew more genuine as he pocketed the money. "of course. right this way, ladies."
"works every time." nami snickered, and she and anjali shared a high five.
"i think nami's thief tendencies are rubbing off on you, pearl." zoro grumbled as he joined the two women in catching up with luffy and usopp.
"please," anjali scoffed. "i've been bribing people since i was a kid. especially when i needed someone to distract the chief so me and kuina could sneak out."
at the mention of their old friend, zoro's hand grazed the white blade slightly.
"less chatting, more walking." nami urged, upping her pace before she lost sight of the two troublemakers in the crew and the waiter leading them.
he sat them in a circular booth-like table, the velvety seats forming a 'c' to look outwards into the main room. luffy took a seat at the farthest edge on the left, then usopp, nami, and anjali followed.
it took zoro a few embarrassingly long minutes to fit into his seat, adjusting the swords he refused to remove in order to only just barely sit down at the edge.
anjali, with a lot of space to spare, scooted over closer to him in order to be evenly seated between zoro and nami.
"here are your menus. your waiter will be with you shortly." and with that, the host disappeared to go seat other oncoming guests.
anjali made herself comfortable as she waited. her attention was drawn over by a squabble between who she assumed were pirates, and the blonde man with a basket of bread rolls in his hand silencing them with his kicks.
"wow." anjali said as she watched him. "he's good."
zoro scoffed, crossing his arms. "not that good."
the blonde approached them and placed the basket on their table.
"hi, welcome to our shitty restaurant where the only thing worse than the ambience is the food. my name is sanji. what can i get for you?" he said in a deadened tone.
"one of everything please!" luffy ordered with a mouthful of bread.
"any drinks?" the man asked. "one of our signature cocktails to help you choke down your meal?"
"i guess he really doesn't want us buying the food." anjali shrugged, and nami agreed with a nod.
sanji's eyes drifted over to the two women, his frown turning into a small smirk. "apologies madams. didn't see you there. would you care for an apéritif to start? we have several rare micqueot vintages in stock."
"or perhaps you'd like a glass of umeshu?" his smile widened. "you know, something sweet for someone sweet."
he winked and anjali had to hold back a laugh when nami looked at him in disgust "something wrong with your eye?"
"just blinded by the beauty of the two of you." he replied, winking once more.
zoro cleared his throat loudly just as anjali turned to stifle a laugh.
"waiter, can i get a beer and something for my friends?"
"a glass of red wine for me. oh, and a shot of your strongest liquor please. need something to down that 'shitty meal' i'm about to be served." anjali said, repeating his words in a british accent.
he smiled, not at all affended by her teasing nature. zoro gripped the hilt of his swords, knuckles turning the same shade as the eggshell white katana.
"two beers for me." usopp added. "i usually have three, but —"
"— and a milk!" luffy added.
"three beers, red wine and a shot of our strongest liquor for madam, and a milk. and uh, for you, madam?"
he directed his gaze to nami.
"water." she replied curtly.
"still, sparkling, mineral? with ice or without? cubed or crushed?"
"regular water in a regular glass. thanks." anjali had never seen nami look so deeply disgusted.
"right away." sanji winked for the last time before leaving to bring their meals.
luffy and usopp turned to look at the two women, one who was oblivious and the other who looked about ready to go home.
"what?" nami snapped.
"nothing." zoro said. "madam."
his smile grew irritated as he continued. "forgive my rude behavior, madam. would madam prefer her water in a crystal glass, or would a golden bowl be more madam's style."
"guys don't tease nami. she looked about ready to kill that guy." anjali said, poking the tangerine haired woman on the shoulder with a grin.
"oh, apologies madam, i forgot madam is friends with this madam and loves to flirt with blonde, blue eyed waiters. perhaps madam would prefer to drink her red wine with him instead of her crew." he continued, jaw clenched.
usopp and luffy laughed, 'oohing."
"nami and anjali have a boyfriend." usopp said.
"quit it." anjali said, her face suddenly dropping into a frown as she stared at zoro. "what the hell's that supposed to mean?"
"ooh, you shouldn't have said that." luffy whispered to usopp. "zoro has a big fat crush on anjali."
"what, since when?" the sharpshooter whispered back.
nami leaned over with a snort. "since forever. it's kinda obvious."
zoro shrugged, not looking at her. "exactly what it sounds like. you were all over that waiter, giggling and flirting with him."
"you cannot be serious right now." anjali said, her mouth slightly open. "it's called being friendly. you should try it sometime."
"don't count on it." he replied coldly.
"what's up with you? why are you getting so weirdly angry and saying these mean things?" the copper haired woman asked, crossing her arms. "leave the crew to go drink with some guy i just met? have you gone insane?"
she didn't bother listening to the conversation happening between the rest of the crew in the background, all of who were placing bets on who would win the argument (anjali was currently the highest bet 3:0).
"i'm not weirdly angry." the green haired man said defensively.
"yes, you are."
"ok? i'm sorry, is that what you want to hear?" he said finally, throwing his hands slightly in exasperation.
"not really." anjali replied sourly. "an explanation would've been nice."
and she turned her back on the green haired man, talking only to nami, who kept sending signal glances towards the male, trying to get the two to just talk it out.
apparently that was something neither of them knew how to do.
⚔︎ AUTHOR'S NOTE !
woop woop still haven't lost my updating streak!!
my bf sanji has finally been introduced and he's already wrecking couples aw i love him!!
yall thought this was gonna be a cute chapter? wrong! buttt i live for jealous zoro and i need a full communication arc for the two of them to talk everything out and FINALLY start developing full feelings for each other (or at least anjali bc zoro is in loveeee)
a bit of this chapter was from the 4th episode but since the majority was for ep 5 i just put that as the ep
also had to take a few/add a few lines for anjali so the dialogue might not sound too smooth bc im kinda lazy 😣
someone told me that i was spelling zoro's surname (roronoa) wrong this whole time so if yall see me misspell it plsplsplss let me know so i don't make that mistake again!!
pls lmk if there are any mistakes in the spelling or anything so i can fix it !
also don't b afraid to vote or comment, i will probably (very likely) reply!!!!
happy reads!
─── ANNIE