*(Y/n)'s P.O.V.*
The streets and bystanders passed by my vision in a blur. Even while carrying me, Luffy was surprisingly fast. Did he take track and field in school or something?
"U-um, Luffy." I spoke up as the straw hat boy rounded another street corner.
"Yeah?" I heard him answer.
"I was just wondering... Where are you taking me?" I asked.
His brown eyes glanced down at me and gave me a toothy grin,"I told you already, I'm taking you to meet my brothers, Ace and Sabo!"
I hummed, "Your brothers, huh?"
I wondered if they were anything like Luffy? If so, may all the gods in the world help us!
Then I spotted a familiar mailbox and I furrowed my brow as Luffy passed it.
"Luffy? Haven't we been this way before?"
"Maybe."
"You... do know where your brothers are right now, don't you? You're not wandering around hoping to just run into them, right?"
Silence.
"You really have no idea where we're going, do you?"
"Nope, not a clue!" He admits, still as carefree as ever.
"Luffy, stop for a minute so we can figure this out!" I say, tugging at Luffy's shirt.
He complies and slows to a stop, though he still refused to put me down.
"Okay, so you have absolutely no idea where your brothers could be right now?" I questioned.
"Nope. I ditched them so I could find you 'cause they didn't want me to. I wanted to find Sanji so he could make me some food, too."
I tilted my head in confusion, "Why wouldn't they want you meeting me?"
Luffy frowned slightly and shook his head, "I dunno. I think they just wanted to be unfair to me and meet you first."
"Hm... Well, maybe if we retrace your steps and go back to the place where you might have lost them, we'll find them." I suggested.
'The sooner I can meet Luffy's brothers, the sooner I'll be able to get back to the bakery.'
"Hey, that makes sense." Luffy nodded and suddenly nuzzled the top of my head, making me blush again.
"You're pretty smart! I should have you around all the time!" He said before taking off running again, his comment making me cover my face with my hands to hide my flustered expression.
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
As soon as we left town, Luffy and I found ourselves on a dirt road surrounded by tropical trees and lush vegetation.
There were beautiful flowers everywhere and every bird I spotted could have been mistaken for a small rainbow given how colorful they were.
'This place is gorgeous~! I should try to convince Noire to go on a nature hike with me.' I thought as Luffy carried us further down the wide trail.
"Luffy, are we getting close to where you last saw your brothers?" I asked.
"Yup! I think I lost 'em near the crossroads up ahead." He answered with a nod.
As he said that, I looked in front of me towards the mentioned crossroads. It wasn't too far up ahead, but it would still take a minute or so to get there.
After noting the distance, I suddenly spotted two figures emerge from the obstructing jungle and approach the crossroads from the left fork in the road.
'Oh, those are the first people I've seen on this road so far. I wonder where they're headed.' I hummed.
Luffy seemed to notice the figures too because he stopped in his tracks and grinned in their direction.
"Hey, there they are! We finally found 'em! Shishishi~!" He said with his unique, yet contagious, giggle.
I looked back and forth between Luffy and the distant figures, "Wait, those are your brothers over there?"
"Yeah!" Luffy confirmed with a nod before he slowly took in a deep breath, his torso feeling like it was expanding far more than it probably should have.
"OI! SABO! ACE!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, making me cover my ears to block the sound and the two figures to snap their heads in our direction.
"LOOK! I FOUND THE HUMAN!" He continued to shout with a grin before he started sprinting towards them with me in his arms.
*3rd P.O.V.*
The man in the light blue dress shirt, dark blue vest, and white cravat adjusted the goggles on his head as he walked alongside his brother. The freckled man wore a plain short-sleeved orange shirt that was left open to show his muscled torso, a pair of black cargo shorts, and his signature red-beaded necklace. The blond man was quite annoyed at the moment and frowned at the freckled man beside him, who was keeping his head on a swivel in search for their younger brother.
"Dammit, Ace, I told you Luffy wouldn't have gone down to East Dock." The blonde man sighed with a slow shake of his head.
"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not psychic!" The freckled man complained, being just as annoyed as the blond.
"Besides, you were the one who broadcasted that the new humans have arrived! If you just kept it to yourself, then this wouldn't have happened!" He pointed out.
He glared sharply at Ace, "Are you seriously trying to pin this on me?! He would have found out anyway! And what was I supposed to do: Not say a word and let it be a surprise?! Then we all get caught because the humans saw you or Luffy in your true forms because you didn't know!"
Ace went to mumble incoherently, before sighing deeply.
"Look, let's just forget about it, okay? I'm getting more mad just talking about it!" He groaned, before dragging his knuckles down his cheeks in agitation.
"You'd better keep a cool head; We wouldn't want you losing your temper and exploding." The blond grumbled under his breath.
It would be quite unfortunate if Ace were to lose his temper here--he might just destroy the entire forest. And that was attention that they didn't need with humans somewhere on the island.
"Yeah, you're right..." Ace nodded softly, before turning to the blond.
"Speaking of the humans, did you get the chance to see what they looked like?" He asked him.
He shook his head, "No, I wasn't able to get a better look with Luffy hanging all over me. Then we had to chase him so I didn't get the chance. However... I know there were two of them for sure..."
"Just two? This has to be the lowest number we've ever gotten!" He complained, going to pout, before smirking mischievously.
"Say, Sabo... what do you say we have the humans to ourselves, heh?" He elbowed the blond.
Sabo lifted a brow, "What exactly are you suggesting we do with them?"
"I am suggesting that we keep the goodies all to ourselves! Why should we have to share with the others?" He grinned.
"Ace, you know we can't do that. We would get in a lot of trouble with the CP's--It just wouldn't be worth it." He sighed before continuing, "Besides, even though there's only two of them this time, one of them is the best quality we've seen since... well, ever. We'd never hear the end of it."
"Really? Huh... that just makes me even more eager for the full moon then." He chuckled, just smiling at the thought.
Sabo smirked, "I thought you didn't care for that stuff?"
"I do when it's our ticket out of here! This soul might be the one to do it, Sabo!" He chirped excitedly.
"Maybe... But we can't be sure until the full moon." He replied before looking further down the road towards the crossroads.
"Next, we take the right fork to the New District--Like I suggested the first time."
"Okay, fine, have it your way." Ace shrugged.
"I'm sure Luffy will be there. I just hope he hasn't done anything too rash yet..." Sabo mumbled, honestly worried about what their brother might have done by now.
"Oh, I don't know about that. With Luffy, that doesn't seem possible," The freckled man snickered.
Sabo frowned at Ace, "That's not funny, Ace! What if he actually found one of the humans and is alone with them?!"
"Eh, I highly doubt he'd be alone with them. Everybody knows how reckless Luffy can be; there's no way they'd let him just be alone with the humans!"
"OI! SABO! ACE!"
Sabo snapped his head in the direction he heard the all-too-familiar voice come from.
Just down the road towards New District was Luffy and in his arms was... a woman?
"Ace... That woman Luffy's carrying... Do you recognize her...?" Sabo asked slowly.
Ace went pale at the sight. "...I'm afraid I don't... damn that Luffy...."
"LOOK! I FOUND THE HUMAN!" Luffy continued to shout before he started running towards them.
Sabo's jaw dropped before he glared at Ace, "I'm sorry, Ace, but what was that you were saying about there being no way that he would be alone with the humans?!"
Ace glared back at him.
"H-hey, I could be optimistic, alright?! It's very hard to not underestimate Luffy's stupidity!" He barked, before going to fake a smile at Luffy.
"Silly Luffy, you don't call women you just met that! It's degrading!" He tried to play off as Luffy approached the two with the girl in tow, "Call her by her name, instead!"
Sabo then paled and began to sweat as he noticed something that he truly wishes he didn't...
"Ace!" Sabo hissed urgently through gritted teeth, firmly elbowing his brother in the ribs.
"What?" He whispered back, before also noticing it.
'...Why does this always happen to us?...' The freckled man groaned internally.
"Please tell me that thing behind Luffy isn't what I think it is...!" Sabo muttered as he stared at the long black tail wagging happily behind the straw hat boy without a care in the world.
The only consolation was that it didn't seem like the (h/c)-haired human girl noticed it. But that wouldn't last for long. They needed to intervene now!
Ace was the first to react and raced down the road towards Luffy, Sabo right at his heels.
When Ace reached Luffy, he lunged forward and grabbed the human woman, immediately pulling her from the straw hat boy's arms.
Sabo rushed past them in a hurry, unintentionally tripping Ace as he was stepping backwards from Luffy which cause both Ace and the woman to fall onto the ground.
Sabo grabbed onto Luffy's furry tail and kept it pinned and hidden behind Luffy's back.
"Luffy! Your tail's out! Put! It! Away! Now!" Sabo hissed urgently to his younger brother with a stern glare.
Luffy blinked for a moment before he finally seemed to notice what Sabo was talking about.
"Oh~. I didn't notice." Luffy replied.
"Yeah, I figured you didn't." Sabo sighed.
In the meantime, (Y/n) was dazed from the impact of her's and Ace's fall onto the ground. She lifted her head to find herself straddling Ace's waist and was nose to nose with him as she pressed her hands against his chest.
She stared into the man's brown eyes and took the time to admire how handsome he was--especially with all those freckles dotting his cheekbones.
"... Cute freckles..." She found herself mumbling before she realized exactly how provocative the situation was.
"O-oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" (Y/n) stammered, leaning away from Ace's face as her cheeks become rosy-red with a fierce blush.
Ace was stunned for a minute, before breaking out in a mad blush. His first instinct was to get her off of him to put an end to this awkwardness, but he couldn't risk her seeing Luffy's tail.
So, he instead went to rub a calming hand on her back.
"I-it's fine... Are you hurt?" He asked her, while taking the time to admire how beautiful this new human actually was.
'She is even cuter when she's embarrassed.'
Ace went to internally slap himself.
'W-what the hell are you even thinking?! Get yourself together, and make sure she doesn't see Luffy's tail!' He reminded himself.
(Y/n) shook her head wildly, "N-no, I'm fine! I sh-should be asking y-you if you're okay. You're th-the one who took the w-worst of the fall!"
She hated how badly she was stuttering in front of this handsome man, but she couldn't help it--especially since she was literally sitting on top of him and he wouldn't seem to let her get up.
"No, it's alright, I have dealt with far worse," He assured her, before charming her with a smile.
"But, what was that about me having cute freckles~?"
(Y/n) turned bright red all the way to the shells of her ears, feeling like she was about to spontaneously combust!
"I-I'm sorry! I wish I could lie about it and say I didn't mean it, but... " Her voice softened as she shyly averted her gaze, "But I... I do think your freckles are really cute..."
Internally panicking, Ace went to gently guide her look back to him.
"Is that so? Well, I won't hold anything back then, either...!You're cute too~." He chuckled huskily to her.
'Th-that look! Th-that v-voice! Those w-words! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' (Y/n) screamed internally before she hid her face in her hands to avoid further interaction with this cute freckled man.
"S-stop that! I-I can't accept compliments like that! This is too embarrassing for me!" She protested, trying to pull herself away from Ace.
Luckily enough, Sabo finally managed to get Luffy to put his tail away, giving Ace no reason to continue holding (Y/n) in place on top of him.
On that note, Ace happily allowed her to pull herself away from him, before sighing to himself.
'Good work, Sabo!...'
(Y/n) practically dove off of Ace and stumbled to her feet, still hiding her blushing face in her hands.
"What in the world was THAT all about?!" She demanded, her voice coming out muffled as she kept her back to the men.
Sabo chuckled softly and took a step forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"I'm very sorry about both of my brothers' behavior, miss. They can be a bit difficult to deal with even on the best of days." Sabo apologized, Luffy pouting at the comment.
(Y/n) slowly peeked back at the blond through parted fingers as Sabo bowed to her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. My name is Sabo." He introduced as he took one of (Y/n)'s hands and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles, an act which pulled a squeak from her.
'Why?! Why are there so many cute and charming men on this island?! I haven't gotten this much attention from boys... EVER!' The (h/c)-haired girl thought as her (e/c) eyes widened.
At seeing Sabo pull one of his classic tricks, Ace felt something in his chest stir... a feeling that he didn't like at all.
He got up from the ground and went to casually push Sabo to the side to ease this odd feeling.
"And I'm Ace." He smiled, before lending out his hand to her.
Sabo glared at Ace after he was shoved out of the way, though the freckled man either didn't notice or didn't care. (Y/n) blinked before gently taking his outstretched hand, noting how it was very warm like Sabo's was but was more calloused. Though she didn't know that for sure as Sabo was wearing gloves.
"It's very nice to meet you, Ace." (Y/n) replied as she shook his hand and looked to both him and Sabo.
"My name is (Y/n)!" She introduced herself with a polite nod of her head and a soft smile.
Sabo couldn't help but admire her smile. It just seemed to make everything around them so much brighter, though that very well could have been his imagination.
The goggle-wearing blond then slowly reached over and slapped Ace upside the head.
Ace yelped at the slap, before glaring at the blond. "Oi, what the hell was that for?!" He growled, while rubbing his head.
"Ace, isn't there something you should say to (Y/n) after acting the way you did?" Sabo asked, "You took lessons about manners as a kid. Put them to use."
Sabo had the faintest smirk on his lips, but it was easily missed by Luffy and (Y/n).
Ace had a few choice words to say to Sabo, but kept them to himself as he shifted his attention back to the (h/c)-haired woman in front of them.
"I apologize deeply for acting the way I did, what with grabbing you from Luffy and all, but he could be reckless at the best of times, and I didn't want him accidentally hurting you!" He tried to explain, before bowing to her.
"Oh, that's okay. I understand. Just... um... t-try not to do something like that again, okay?" (Y/n) replied, offering Ace a smile as she gently patted his shoulder.
"Yeah, Ace! Stop being so clumsy or you might almost drown in a bowl of soup again~! Shishishi~!" Luffy said from the sidelines with a laugh.
Sabo snickered behind his hand at Luffy's comment and (Y/n) looked at Ace with wide eyes.
"D-did you really almost drown in a bowl of soup before?" She asked, more out of concern than anything else.
Who could be so careless for something as outlandish as that to happen to them, after all?
Ace went to simply glare at Luffy.
"Oi, shut up!" He barked, before going to try and wave it off.
"He's exaggerating! Anyways, welcome to the island!" He smiled, trying to quickly change the subject.
"You only wish he was exaggerating." Sabo muttered with a small smirk.
"Yeah, and then there was that one time that you fell asleep while flying and ended up falling headfirst into the watermelon patch and got a watermelon stuck to your head and needed our help to get it off. But we couldn't get to you before the farmer got really mad and started chasing you around the farm with the whole watermelon still stuck on your head!" Luffy explained between giggles with a grin.
"Flying...?" (Y/n) repeated with a furrowed brow.
"Oh! Oh! There was also that other time that you got your tail stuck--" Luffy was immediately cut off by a punch delivered to the top of his head, courtesy of Ace.
"S-shut your big fat mouth, Luffy! You are going to expose us all if you keep flapping your stupid lips!" Ace growled to him, before shaking him violently.
"Expose you for what?" (Y/n) asked, leaning in closer to Ace and Luffy.
Luffy opened his mouth, about to speak when Sabo rushed over and clapped his hand over his mouth.
"Nothing, don't worry about what these two say. They're morons for the most part." Sabo said with a nervous smile, passing a sharp glare to both of his brothers.
"So, you're new to the island, right?" The blond man asks, quickly trying to change the subject.
(Y/n) nods, "Yeah, I just moved here today with my friend, Noire."
"Oh, really? And why did you decide to move to an out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere island like this?" He further questioned.
"Well, it was actually kind of strange. One day, we just happened across an advertisement for a school here that was well known for their cooking program. So, I got my friend to come here with me so we could attend the same college." (Y/n) explained.
"My dream is to be a baker, you see. I wanna make all kinds of different pastries and make people happy while doing it~!" She informed, smiling as she started to become excited just by talking about her passion.
"B-baking?!" Sabo perks up at the mention of her wanting to make a lot of delicious food and couldn't help but imagine the kinds of things she could potentially make, almost making him drool.
"Yeah! I'm a pretty good cook too, but Noire has more passion for normal food than I do. I prefer breads and pastries. But I can still make a pretty good pot roast, if I do say so myself~!" The (h/c)-haired girl gushed, loving the current topic of food.
"Man would I love to try out that pot roast!" Ace chimed in, drooling at the very thought of such delicious food.
'She's cute AND can cook~! W-wait, it shouldn't matter that's she cute!' He scolded himself, before sighing softly.
"MEAT! I want some!" Luffy declared with stars in his eyes, actually drooling a little at the thought of it and turned to his brothers.
"(Y/n) really is a good cook! She made me a cake and it was great!" He said.
'W-well, it wasn't specifically for you...' She thought to herself before Sabo took her hands in his and leaned closer to her, making her blush.
"(Y/n), would you mind sharing some of your food with me whenever you get the chance?" He asked.
"I-it would be a pleasure to! I love cooking for other people." (Y/n) replied with a smile as Sabo returned it with a grin.
"I look forward to it!" He said, passing a smug smile to Ace and Luffy.
Ace looked on the verge of popping a vein in anger, before he simply went to slide into the conversation.
"Would it be too much trouble to ask the same of a beautiful woman like you?" He questioned her with another of his charming smiles.
Her face turned bright red at the compliment and began to stutter uncontrollably.
Luffy suddenly shoved past Ace and looked at (Y/n) with wide and pleading puppy-dog eyes.
"(Y/n)... Meat~... Can you make me some too? Please~?" He begged softly, making her heart feel like it was melting.
"O-okay. I'll make some food for you guys too when I get the chance." She replied, causing Luffy to immediately cheer and celebrate.
"YAY! MEAT~!" He sang, bouncing around with excitement.
Ace went to shoot him a harsh look for pushing him aside, before noticing something peculiar about (Y/n).
"Hey, (Y/n)... I can't help but notice you're wearing an apron. How did you come to meet Luffy, and why are you wearing an apron?" He questioned her, wondering why she would be wearing such a thing when she just arrived on the island.
"I've been wondering about that as well, actually." Sabo hummed, head tilted as he looked at the (e/c)-eyed woman with curiosity.
(Y/n) looked down at herself and realized that she was indeed still wearing the apron she borrowed.
She quickly untied the back and pulled it off before carefully folding it up and holding it to her chest.
"R-right! I almost completely forgot! Hehe, it's kind of a long story..."
"We don't mind. It's not like we're on a tight schedule right now." Sabo encouraged her to go ahead and share.
"W-well..."
(Y/n) then proceeded to tell Ace and Sabo the story of how she met Luffy, how Sanji had led her to the bakery, and then explained that Luffy suddenly picked her up and ran away with her so she could meet the two of them.
By the end of the story, both Ace and Sabo were glaring at Luffy with a stern look on their faces.
"Please, don't get too mad at him. I wasn't hurt, no harm was done, and I'm not upset about it. I got to meet two new friends, right?" (Y/n) asked Ace and Sabo in an effort to save Luffy from the beating of a lifetime.
Sabo smiled at the kind words, honestly happy that she would actually stick up for his little brother like that.
"Still, he should have been more mindful of you and your friend." Sabo said with a sigh before bowing to her.
"I apologize for our brother's reckless behavior. If we had kept a better eye on him, he wouldn't have caused so much trouble." He said before offering (Y/n) a smile, "If you'd like, we could make it up to you by escorting you back to the bakery. And, if you wish, we could also walk you and your friend back home."
(Y/n) became flustered by the generous offer, "Oh, no, I couldn't ask you to do that for me. I already said it wasn't that big of a deal!"
"Please accept our offer, (Y/n). It's only fair if we do that much as an apology for his improper behavior." Ace told her while holding her hands gently.
She blushed in response and averted her gaze to look anywhere except for Ace and his cute freckles.
"U-um... O-okay, if you insist..." She stuttered.
Sabo abruptly pulled (Y/n) from Ace's hold and offered his arm to her with a bright smile, "Well, shall we go then?"
(Y/n)'s face turned a brighter shade of red before she shyly took his arm and turned her (e/c) gaze to the ground, unconsciously holding the apron closer to her chest.
Sabo didn't hesitate to start leading her back down the dirt road towards New District. Making sure (Y/n) didn't notice, Sabo looked behind them at his brothers and pulled down one of his lower eyelids with a finger while sticking his tongue out at them.
Luffy frowned deeply and crossed his arms over his chest, "I feel like punching him now..."
Ace nodded in agreement with him. "Yeah... he's been acting like a jackass ever since he saw her..."
"OI! WAIT FOR US!" Luffy called out as he took off in hot pursuit of Sabo and (Y/n).
"YEAH!" Ace shouted, also running after the two.
*Meanwhile*
*At the Bakery*
Sanji was grumbling to himself as he was furiously pacing back and forth in the middle of the bakery, silently cursing out a certain straw hat wearing boy.
'W-why did he have to do that, that bonehead?! Ugh, now I'm having a personal dilemma! Do I save the (h/c)-haired beauty from him, or do I save the raven with-a-bit of purple-haired beauty from this monster? Damn you, Luffy!' He cursed in his mind, going to aggressively smoke to calm his nerves.
'But... as stupid as he is, he wouldn't hurt her on purpose, so there's that...' He thought, before turning to look at the giant who owned this bakery.
'Him, however? I am not quite sure... so I'll stay here,' He nodded before turning to Noire, who was busy making goo-goo eyes at Katakuri.
"You look really strong... I bet you could bench press a bus!" She flirted, before batting her eyes in a very feminine manner that was completely unlike her.
If (Y/n) were here, she would be wondering where the heck her friend Noire went off to.
"... I see..." Katakuri replied, not really knowing how to respond to that.
He didn't even really know for sure what a "bus" even was, but if he could guess it was probably something heavy as the way she said it made it sound like a compliment.
His thoughts wandered back to the (h/c)-haired girl and wondered if she would be coming back soon. He wanted to discuss her schedule with her as soon as possible before he had to update it for the next week. Her baking skills were impressive and it would be a shame if he had to delay her work for another whole week since she wouldn't be around for long...
Sanji couldn't help but feel on-edge the longer he stayed in the same room as Katakuri. He needed to at least try to get Noire to leave with him and maybe take her to Baratie.
"M-mellorine, you mentioned that you can cook, right? Well, how about I take you to a place perfect for you? I know they will hire you on the spot!" He suggested to her, as her attention was still focused on Katakuri.
"When (Y/n) comes back. I am glad for the offer, though!" She simply replied, before smiling at Katakuri.
She then went to move closer to the tall man, before giggling.
"You have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen in a man!" She complimented, before going to bat her eyes once again.
Katakuri glanced at her before turning his gaze away once more, "... Thank you."
He tried to ignore Noire's compliments and buried his face further into his scarf. He wasn't used to this kind of positive attention, especially from pretty women and, quite frankly, he didn't know how to deal with it.
"You also have a really attractive voice; you're utter perfection~." She winked at him, as Sanji felt like dying on the inside at seeing her do such a thing to Katakuri of all people, and not to him!
It was a real hit to his self-esteem.
Sanji slowly moved himself to the corner of the room and curled himself up into a ball, a dark aura of depression forming around him.
"B-but... Noire-swan~... What about me...?" He whimpered softly.
Noire didn't quite hear his whimpers of sorrow, however, as she continued to flirt with Katakuri.
"And I love that tattoo of yours... It's the same color as your hair; very pretty~!" She smiled at the tall giant, as Sanji started to wonder what the hell she saw in a weirdo like Katakuri.
The bell above the bakery door sounded as Sabo walked in through the front doors with (Y/n) on his arm, followed closely by Ace and Luffy.
The (h/c)-haired woman looked over at Sanji and furrowed her brow.
"Um, Noire? What's wrong with Sanji? He looks... depressed." (Y/n) observed as she glanced between the ball of negative energy on the floor and her best friend.
Noire blinked at her best friend, before looking at Sanji.
"Hmm... I don't know..." She shrugged before eyeing Katakuri again, "All I know is that your new boss is one handsome fellow~!"
She gave a thumbs up before sighing happily at the colossal man.
'What a weird girl...', Thought Ace and Luffy in unison.
"Poor Sanji..." (Y/n) said softly before calling out to him, "Sanji, are you okay?"
The curly-browed chef perked up instantly and dove for (Y/n) with hearts in his eyes, "I am now that you're back, my sweet (Y/n)-chwan~!"
At the last second, Sabo casually pulled (Y/n) to the side, making Sanji miss and crash into both Ace and Luffy which sent them all to the floor.
"Ow! Sanji, get off!" Luffy protested as he struggled beneath Ace and the once again depressed chef.
"I-I can't stand you right now, Sabo!" Ace growled, before pushing Sanji off of him and Luffy, before getting up from the ground.
He was being too familiar recently with the ground for his liking.
"I appreciate the help, Sabo, but that was a little mean of you." (Y/n) said to the gentleman beside her, who simply chuckled.
"Sorry, it was just out of reflex."
"Y-you jackass!" Sanji cursed at Sabo, glaring sharply at him, while Noire was staring at the scene with concern.
"Does that guy usually do that?..." She questioned Katakuri, as Ace went to approach his blond brother.
"How about a simple apology, huh?!" He barked, while Luffy was also nodding.
"Yeah!"
Sabo nodded, "I'm sorry that you weren't quick enough to dodge too."
That was enough to set the hothead off, who went to sucker punch his arm.
"I'm getting really tired of your attitude, Sabo!"
Luffy immediately went to separate the two as Noire continued to watch in bafflement.
"Uh, (Y/n), you might not want to associate yourself with these guys... They seem to have a few screws loose." She sweated.
(Y/n) could only think to laugh nervously and smiled at her friend, "They're different, but not bad different. They're actually really nice and they offered to walk us back home."
That just caused Noire to sweat more.
"I-is that so?... (Y/n), come over here." She told her, before going to grab her arm, and drag her to a corner of the store.
"These guys are absolutely bonkers! There's no way in hell I am going to allow them to take us back to the place we'll be staying at! What if they try and do something crazy?" She questioned her before pointing at the brothers.
"If that guy's temper is that short, imagine if he gets a crush on you, and you reject him! What do you think he's gonna do?" She asked, truly concerned over their safety.
"I mean it, Noire! They're super nice! And Ace's temper isn't that short... I don't think. And he's been nothing but nice to me." (Y/n) replied before she blushed slightly, "And... he called me cute... and beautiful..."
"Sorry, but until I see proof that they aren't insane, they will not be taking us anywhere!" She firmly told her and gestured towards Katakuri with a blush.
"If anybody is going to take us home, it should be him! He actually has a sensible mind!" She grinned and waved at him.
Katakuri immediately averted his gaze from the dark-clothed woman, suddenly finding the wall much more interesting to him.
"Oh, that's right!" (Y/n) chirped as she rushed over to Katakuri and held out the neatly folded apron out for him to take.
"Thank you so much for letting me borrow this, boss!" She said as she encouraged him to take the apron, which he did with some reluctance.
"Now, um, about my schedule: When can I start?! I want to start baking as soon as possible, if that's okay!" She asked him eagerly, with a smile.
"... You can start next week... Your shift starts at 5 in the morning..." Katakuri answered softly, trying not to meet her wide and bright innocent gaze.
"Really? Great! I'll see you then! If I can, I'll try to stop by before then so I can meet my new coworkers and see if I can adjust to the equipment early--as long as that's okay with you, boss?"
"... Katakuri..."
"Hm? What was that?"
"You don't have to call me "boss". Just call me Katakuri. And... you may do as you wish."
"Alrighty then! It's a pleasure to be working with you, Katakuri!" She grinned at him, making Katakuri bury his face deeper into his scarf.
(Y/n) turned and walked back towards Ace, Sabo, and Luffy who were still arguing amongst each other as Sanji remained depressed on the floor.
"Alright, Noire, let's go home~!" (Y/n) called to her friend.
Noire was determined to stand her ground.
"I'm not going with those three guys..." She huffed before turning to Katakuri.
"Besides, I got to tell your boss something first! And Sanji here wanted to show me a place where I could work at!" She told her as she approached the giant.
"My friend may be a much more talented baker than me, but I know that I can make a mean souffle!" She grinned at him as Ace and Luffy went to stop and stare at the strange girl once again.
"Why is she looking that way towards him...? I-it's so weird!" Ace commented as Luffy nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, she does that towards the guys she has a crush on." (Y/n) told them with a nod, though she made sure that Noire couldn't hear.
Luffy didn't quite get what she meant, but Ace understood.
"No offense to your friend, but her taste is very odd..." He murmured while Noire softly swayed her body in glee.
"In fact, I am going to make one for you tomorrow!" The raven-haired girl chirped at the giant.
"I-I see... That's very kind of you..." Katakuri stammered softly, trying not to look at her.
"Aw, I dunno about that. I think he's handsome~." (Y/n) said before she turned to Sanji.
"I'm trusting you to get Noire home safe, Sanji!" She called to him and, though she didn't get a very enthusiastic response from the depressed chef, she knew that he would take care of her.
"Well, let's go." (Y/n) said to the trio of brothers as she strode past them and walked out the doors.
"... She thinks he's handsome...?" Sabo said after a moment, saying the last word with a hint of disgust, though he didn't know quite why.
Regardless, he quickly followed (Y/n) out the doors and had her take his arm again, not really minding that he just left Ace and Luffy behind again.
And once again, the two other brothers went to glare at the blond, before quickly following after him.
"Oi, I want to hold (Y/n)'s hand!" Luffy complained, while Ace agreed.
"Yeah! Let us have a turn walking with her!"
"...D-did she just leave me...?" Noire questioned, before sighing.
"Ugh, I bet she likes those three stooges. If they hurt her though, then it's the mace to the eyes!" She hissed with a huff.
"You carry a mace on you...?" Katakuri questioned with a raised brow.
She quickly turned back to him with a happy nod.
"Mhmm! I don't have big muscles like you, and I can't fight at all, so the next best thing is mace!" She chirped before proudly showing off her treasured can.
Katakuri blinked at the sight of the can.
"... That's not a mace... That's a small can..."
Noire looked at him with confusion, "What do you mean? This is mace! I'd test it to show you, but I don't want to burn your pretty eyes."
Katakuri blinked away his confusion and once again averted his gaze, "... I see... I wouldn't want a mace in the eyes."
'Just agree, Katakuri. Even if she thinks a tiny can is a mace, just agree...' He thought to himself.
"You bet you wouldn't! And by the way, it's rare to see guys who own bakery shops! What's your specialty, mochi?" She joked with a giggle as she looked towards Sanji, feeling a little sorry for him.
"... Hey, blond guy. Cheer up." She awkwardly muttered.
"... Sanji... my name is Sanji..." The way he said it made him sound even more defeated and sad as the dark cloud around him seemed to become even darker.
"Curly chef. Don't get your tears on my floors or I will make you mop it up." Katakuri growled at the saddened chef.
"Yes, sir..." Sanji sniffled, not wanting to make him mad no matter how much he didn't like him.
"Why're so upset? Is it because of (Y/n)?" Noire questioned before turning to Katakuri.
"...Can I get two of the best sweets in the house?" She asked him politely.
Katakuri's answer was immediate, "No discounts. Not even for friends of coworkers."
"No problem." Noire simply replied as she fished for her wallet that was in her back pocket.
Sanji was suddenly by Noire's side with a look of determination on his face, all traces of depression gone.
"Katakuri, the lady wants sweets! I'll buy them for her!" He declared, holding up a few bills towards the towering man.
'This is my chance to make Noire-swan like me too~!' Sanji thought, hearts appearing in his eyes.
Katakuri took the money and retrieved two donuts for Noire, holding them out for her in carefully folded sheets of wax paper.
Noire went to happily take them as she shot a precious smile Sanji's way.
"Thanks for paying, Sanji, it's quite appreciated! I think I'll make two souffles.." She grinned brightly before also thanking Katakuri.
Sanji began dancing around the bakery, swooning as he sang about getting a chance to taste a souffle made by Noire.
"Mellorine~! Mellorine~!"
Katakuri's eye twitched as the behavior began to annoy him.
"Get him out of here before I throw him out." He growled as he glared at the oblivious Sanji.
Noire nodded before trying to calm the eccentric blond, all while taking a bite out of her donut which caused her to hum in bliss.
"Heavenly donut, by the way." She complimented him as she dragged Sanji out of the store.
"What's up with you?" She questioned him seriously.
"Nothing but a glimpse of heaven~!" Sanji swooned, loving that he finally had a chance to receive the attention of a beautiful lady.
"...Uh-huh... You're an odd one, you know that?" She blinked before taking another bite out of her donut, moaning at the taste.
"So good~..." She hummed in delight before going to hand him the other donut.
"You gotta try this!"
"Of course, Noire-swan~!" Sanji cooed as he gingerly took the donut and ate it.
While he didn't like Katakuri whatsoever, he had to admit that he and his family knew what they were doing when it came to food.
"By the way, Noire-swan, did you want me to take you to the Baratie now? I'm sure the old man would like to meet you." Sanji asked the raven-haired girl.
"Sure." She nodded, turning to get one last look of Katakuri to flash him a thumbs up.
Katakuri hid himself completely within his scarf in response as Sanji led her down the street.
"Baratie is a bit of a walk from here since it's close to the border of the New District and the East District. But it's not that bad." Sanji explained as he took her down the winding streets until they reached a wide dirt road that extended through the jungle.
"...There aren't any bugs that can give me deadly diseases in this jungle, are there...?" She asked hesitantly while finishing up her donut.
"Of course not. And if anything tries to touch you I'll crush it under my heel!" Sanji declared, suddenly seeming to be in attack mode as he looked around with a glare.
"Your heel? Why not your hands?" She asked him, sweating a bit.
Sanji then gently took Noire's hands and gently kissed her knuckles.
"Noire-swan, a chef's hands are their most important tools. That's why they must be taken care of. As long as we have our hands, we have everything we need. So, for any dirty work like dealing with insignificant bugs or scum who can't appreciate food or respect the chefs who prepared it, just use your feet because that's what they deserve." Sanji explained as he looked into Noire's eyes.
Noire couldn't help but blush madly at his beautiful words, her eyes going to sparkle like jewels, as she gasped softly.
"I... never thought about it like that..." She murmured.
"I can't take credit for those words; it was the old man who taught that to me." Sanji said as he fished a cigarette out of his blazer and pulled out a lighter.
"...Is that so...?" She softly mumbled, twiddling her thumbs.
"I... still think it's beautiful how you follow such a sentiment. Most of the chefs I've met are quite vulgar, or just work for a paycheck." She explained, smiling softly at him.
"Heh, well then I think you'll like working at Baratie. The cooks fight a lot and most of the customers come just to watch the conflict, but if there's one thing we all care about there, it's food. If someone comes in hungry, they're a customer." Sanji smiled as he lit his cigarette and took a puff from it.
Noire couldn't help but smile ear-to-ear at his words as she played with a strand of her hair.
"You know, I thought you were quite the odd ball at first but now you strike me as someone great." She complimented while softly swaying.
The smoke from Sanji's cigarette suddenly became heart-shaped as hearts appeared in his eyes.
"I'm so glad to hear you say so, Noire-swan~!" He swooned, starting to spin happily.
She went to giggle at his antics.
"Alright, lover boy, you lead the way to Baratie!" She chirped, going to take his arm.
"Yes, ma'am~!" He cooed, happily leading her down the road to the Baratie.
*Meanwhile*
*At (Y/n) & Noire's Home*
When (Y/n) arrived with the three brothers, she unlocked her front door and turned to them.
"Thank you so much for taking me home~!" (Y/n) said with a smile, feeling truly grateful for their kindness.
"It's our pleasure." Ace grinned, while Luffy was also all smiles.
"It's really nice to have you here on Grand Isle, (Y/n)!" He chirped to her with a chuckle, "Can't wait to eat more of your food!"
"I'll be glad to share my food." (Y/n) said as she turned and opened the door.
Before she stepped inside, she hesitated and turned back to the boys and rushed over to them, giving them each a hug.
"Have a safe trip home!" She called to them, her face bright red from her actions as she rushed into the house and slammed the door.
The boys were shocked at the sudden hug, before they all went to break out with bright smiles.
"She hugged us! She hugged us!" Luffy celebrated, before fist pumping the air.
"She hugged me first~." Sabo smirked.
"Nuh-uh, she hugged me first!" Luffy complained, while Ace frowned deeply.
"No, she hugged me first!" He argued.
"Why do you care, Ace? You've never shown any interest in being around humans before." Sabo questioned as he turned to walk down the street.
"I care because... I just do, alright?! Do I have to explain why I breathe too?" He shook his head before also walking as Luffy jogged to catch up to them.
"Oi, stop leaving me behind!"
"We should be saying that to you, Luffy. You wander off without us all the time." Sabo pointed out before looking back to Ace, "And we both know that my question is a lot more relevant than asking you why you breathe. You're just trying to dodge the question."
"You're right and I will because it's a stupid question!" He shot back as Luffy once again served as a buffer between the two.
"Oh, so what would you say if I said I wanted to keep (Y/n) all to myself?" Sabo asked Ace with a smirk.
Ace went to give him a smirk back.
"I would tell you the same thing you told me earlier!" He snickered as Luffy looked at them with confusion.
"What're you guys talkin' about?" Luffy questioned before a thought came to mind and he frowned.
"NO! I'VE DECIDED! (Y/N)'S GONNA COOK FOR ME!" He protested.
Sabo stared at Luffy blankly for a moment before turning back to Ace, "Don't forget, you're the one who suggested we keep the humans in the first place."
"I didn't forget, but it's also something you shouldn't forget either, since you told me that."
"I haven't forgotten, but..." Sabo trailed off and seemed to fall into deep thought, "... Something about her feels different. Something about her purity makes me want to keep her from the full moon..."
It probably sounded as stupid as it was, but Sabo just couldn't help it. That was how he felt. The thought of her going through the event on the full moon... It didn't sit right with him at all and he had never felt that way about any of the humans who came before.
"...I feel the same way," Luffy admitted, as Ace was now biting his lip.
'Sabo is right... Why do I care so much about some human...?' He questioned, not even certain on the answer himself.
Maybe it was along the lines of what Sabo just said?
"Regardless..." Sabo hummed as he gave a soft smile, "I think I'm gonna try to get to know her better."
"Me too!" Luffy grinned while Ace still felt conflicted.
"...Me three..."
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
(Y/n) stepped out of the bathroom dressed in her pajamas and fuzzy slippers while her hair still dripped from her shower. She was completely spent and ready for bed.
"First thing in the morning, I'm going grocery shopping." She told herself as she slipped into hers and Noire's bedroom and shuffled to her bed.
"Is there anything other than coffee that you want me to get?" (Y/n) asked Noire, who was still awake, as I kicked off my slippers and crawled into my bed.
"Yes. I need cream, eggs, butter, and milk for my souffle." Noire told me as she was busy cuddling with her pillow.
"I have no idea how you are going to be able to work undistracted, (Y/n), your boss is a hunk!" She chuckled, just blushing at the thought of him.
"He is handsome, but..." (Y/n) furrowed her brow as she buried her face into her own pillow, "I dunno. You know I'm not as good with those kinds of things, Noire. If I get distracted by anything, it's going to be the baked goods all around me."
Noire went to nod a bit.
"True, and that's probably for the best, anyways. I suggest you try and learn a couple of things from him too, because I tried one of his donuts and I am telling you that they're the best donuts I ever had! If you get to know a few of his sweet secrets, then when you open your own bakery, you'd be world-renowned!" She chirped to her.
"I don't really care if I'm world-renowned or not. I just wanna make people happy with my food." (Y/n) said before glancing at the balcony curtains, "I feel like having donuts now, though... I can just get ingredients to make some tomorrow."
"Okay, (Y/n), just feel free to make a batch for me and your boss! It always helps to keep the boss impressed." She pointed out, before going to lay down on her bed.
"You got it~. Good night, Noire~!" (Y/n) called out softly into the darkness of their room.
"Goodnight, (Y/n)." She called back, before going to sleep.
(Y/n) closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into her covers, attempting to clear her mind.
However, she found that she couldn't sleep.
She flipped over onto her stomach, rolled over to one side, and then the other but it was still no use.
It wasn't that the bed wasn't comfortable or because she wasn't tired--it was because she had a horrible sense of unease that tugged on her stomach and made her heart start to race as the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise.
It almost felt like... she was being watched.
She opened her eyes and looked once again at the locked french doors, but couldn't see anything in the darkness beyond the drapes.
Letting out a groan of frustration, the (h/c)-haired girl covered herself completely with her covers in an effort to escape the gaze and she closed her eyes and tried her best to fall asleep.
"...Guess you feel it too, huh?" Noire sleepily mumbled.
"Mmhm." Came the muffled whimper from under the (h/c)-haired girl's covers.
"Let me go set up some warding charms, then... we should feel more comfortable after that."
(Y/n) wasn't superstitious, but this time she would make an exception. Anything to make that strange feeling piercing through her go away!
After spending a few minutes setting up several charms Noire then went back to bed, "Feel better now? I set up every kind of charm I had that could get rid of this feeling of being watched."
Although the charms didn't completely erase the feeling, it was enough to put (Y/n)'s mind at ease as she slowly fell asleep under the warmth of her blankets.
"Damn that woman for setting up those infernal charms..."
.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
(Y/n) startled awake when she heard Noire's horrified scream.
"Noire?! What happened?! What's wrong?!" She shouted, looking around the room wildly as she stumbled out of bed in a daze.
"(Y-Y/n)..." Noire shakily mumbled while frozen on her bed, her phone in her hand.
She quickly rushed over to the raven-haired woman, concerned for her safety.
What could have happened?
"Did you get hurt? Have a bad dream? What is it? Speak to me, Noire!" (Y/n) said as she took her friend's shoulders and gently shook her.
Noire went to sputter incoherently for a few seconds before showing (Y/n) whatever was on her screen.
"(Y/n)... we have NO INTERNET AND NO SERVICE!"
...
...
...
"WHAT?!"