Chapter Text
“Something strange’s going on with the water up ahead..”
Nami’s voice came out as a hum.
Sanji had just finished cleaning up after breakfast—He walked out to replace the towel and begin the laundry. She was staring out at toward the figurehead, Luffy and Usopp just barely halting in their goofing off to listen and take notice as well.
This odd feeling, one that comes from a life of growing up at sea, was tickling the back of his neck again. It was no wonder their lovely navigator would pick up on something being wrong.
And as always, she was on the dot with these things. Everyone on the crew learned long ago to always stop and listen whenever she mentioned even the slightest worry with regard to the winds and the changes in the air—Preparing, just in case, if something turned out to be trouble.
”..Are we approaching an island?” Their helmsman asked, insightful—Nami furrowed her brows, “Maybe..?”
Without even having to ask, Robin’s devil fruit powers pulled out a map from their room—She handed it to Sanji, who brought it to their navigator the rest of the way wordlessly.
She thanked them quickly, looking quickly at it—Scanning the sealine ahead, and looking back at it.
“..I guess, for the Grandline..? This.. is actually..? fairly normal..”
The map was rolled back up reverently, and she gave a quick nod, looking back toward Jinbe and the rest of the crew.
“We may just be headin’ up to an island. Not on the map, yet, too!”
Luffy laughed brightly, throwing his arms in the air. “Strange water island!”
Nami whacked him on the head with the rolled up map.
”Remember, we gotta be careful. We don’t know much about this place. How they feel about pirates, humans, devil fruit users—All that.” She scolded, “So you guys—“
She pointed a finger towards their crew.. and she went silent, deflating.
”..Nevermind.”
Robin and Brook let out laughs.
Their archeologist shaking her head fondly, “Everyone, just try their best.”
“Yay!!”
That feeling keeps itching at him every now and then.
It came accompanied with a sense of dread pooling in his stomach as they slowly approached the new island—Dread is familiar, but..
He curses when he reaches the last cigarette in his box.
Sanji’ll have to check up on the different stashes he’s hidden around the ship again.
No matter how often—and how strongly—He feels these things.. It never gets easier dealing with them. He can keep pushing it down or to the side, but they’re persistent pests.
He lights his last cigarette swiftly after placing it between his lips, glancing out to the sea’s horizon line.
..It’ll be fine.
They’ve taken down a god, warlords, and liberated Wano.
Hell, Luffy’d even faced against the “Big Scary Bad” that had haunted Sanji’s every waking moment and still ran straight ahead towards anything that posed danger.
The cook quickly shook his head, heading back into the kitchen. He has work to do. Especially if he knows his crew—his captain— well enough. Food and snacks ready to eat on the go. Perfect for adventuring.
He has work to do. Especially if he can hope to make up for the delay on Wano. The trouble near the end of Zou—And the shitshow of Wholecake.
They’ll be fine. He just has to work.
He can do that, at the very least.
A mental checklist being altered and edited with the new addition of coming across an island soon—Finishing the laundry pushed back a little later, depending on if he’s expected to go off the ship too, Breakfast prep and taking stock of their supplies during then if not—Perhaps he can do a deep clean of the boy’s bunk if he stays on board—? However, that’d depend on who’s also keeping watch with him.
Zoro’d get all pissy about that.. Brook—Weird about it.
The dishes would need to be done after he finished up with the lunch boxes. Not to mention dinner prep.
Who needs to dwell on a feeling of anxious dread and fear if they can just throw themselves into their work?
Usopp gets it. Keeping busy helps.
..Maybe he should bring down some refreshments to the guys in their workshops. Usopp handles new islands worse than he does.
“How interesting..” Robin hums.
“Sanji, Sanji!!! Look!” Luffy pointed excitably towards the coast they approached much sooner than expected. “It’s all fishy and stuff!!!”
”Yeah..”
The cook raised a brow, he was working with Usopp to store some of the food he prepared for packing.
It was.. a fairly simple looking island. Lush forests, long and gradual coasts.. any notice of civilization seemed hidden behind the trees and ranges of hills.
But there was this elaborate structure circling around part of it. Not exactly a wall or a gate..
A marble-looking structure, almost a crystalline blue. Tall pillars between each section, ropes and fabrics draped and rings of more material and connecting from one pillar to the next. Staircases alternated with docks between two of those pillars—What was odd about the staircases, was that they just led deeper into the sea.
Sculptures and carvings of scales, statues, and tridents alternated on the thinner blocked out parts between the two pillars between a dock and a staircase. These, particularly, caught Robin’s interest.
Some of the docks held ships of varying quality—From one elaborate yacht-like cruise ships, to a simple wooden paddle boat.
..What startled Sanji, was the words written on one of the fabrics draped between a particular staircase’s pillars. This one was in the middle of the structure, flanked by two different docking areas, and stuck out with matching aged blue railings. The other staircases did not have those rails.
“Perhaps we.. dock here, then?” Franky raised a brow, “Left or right, gang?”
”Seriously can’t just decide that on the basis of..” Usopp grumbled, trailing off with his eyebrow twitching.
The closer they got, they noticed more people at the right dock, sailors working with their boats—There were none at the left.
When the men closer to land noticed them, one of them waved their arms up, as the other pointed to the left dock.
So, to the left they went. “Thanks bros!!!” Franky called out, grinning with a thumbs up.
Luffy laughed, ready to fling himself over to the dockworkers—But Nami gripped the back of his shirt tightly before he could even try. “Nuhuh.”
Their fierce, scary captain pouted petulantly.
The words on the banner became clearer as they prepared to dock. Written in another language—Sanji furrowed his brows.
Usopp raised his, elbowing the cook lightly. “Somethin’ up?”
”..No.” Sanji quickly shook his head. “It’s just.. a little weird. That’s all. Probably only ‘cus it’s new to us. Yeah?”
“..Yeah, sure, man! Yeah..”
Sanji patted the sniper’s shoulder with a huff. Then he called out to the rest, “So, what’s the plan?”
Nami bit the nail of her thumb, grumbling. Something about possible docking fees. This place seemed like they would,
”They look like the expensive types..” She placed her hands on her hips, “Luffy, Robin, Jinbe and I’ll go further inland, ask around. Franky, Chopper, maybe Brook and maybe Zoro should stay by the ship just incase. Sanji, Usopp—?”
”I’m good staying on board too—!”
”Usopp.” Nami shot a pointed look the sniper’s way.
And she huffed fondly at Sanji as he swooned dramatically, “We’ll go wherever you need us, dear Nami!”
“For now, stick around this dock. Keep an eye out for us from here.”
Both Sanji and Usopp nodded firmly.
Along with Brook and Franky, they said, “Yes ma’am!”
There’s something about having all this.. energy around a whole different island they’ve never come across before that’s proving great for distracting Sanji from his spiraling thoughts.
A less positive energy, but one that’s welcomed. He’s grown too familiar with the grating guilt swirling constantly in his stomach that he’s almost forgotten what it was like to goof off a bit with the rest of the crew—To discover something new, and explore, and watch his crew enjoy themselves or grow excited and be passionate about what they love—To welcome their happiness and let it warm the coldest crevices of his bones, alone.
The dock they’re at is pretty big for how many docks the island has. It’s spacious, almost reminding him of one of the Baratie’s..
He keeps an eye out, as Nami said to. Watching ahead as the four of their crew talk to the folk further inland. The men at the dock to the right continued their work, other people having come to meet with the crew.
Robin seemed genuinely intrigued by the island and its architecture so far. Seeing the sparkle in her eyes as something catches her interest is always a sight to behold and a pleasure to bear witness to—Especially when she smiles, almost forgetting that she’s around strangers—
She’s someone who’d learned a long time ago that smiling for strangers was a weapon. A calm, controlled smirk—A weapon against them. A genuine, sweet one filled with pure, unadulterated joy? A.. weapon towards her.
It’s.. heartwarming. Being able to see her grow comfortable and confident with and in their crew—To feel safe enough to be able to let that happen after so long..
Brook scares Sanji by slowly leaning into his peripheral vision out of nowhere.
He jolts, and sends a kick right upwards into the damned skeleton’s chin, knocking the skeleton off his feet and flying into the air—eventually falling backwards with a cry.
He almost falls off the dock——And Sanji quickly dives forward to keep him from touching the ocean’s surface, pulling him back onto the wooden surface by his coat.
“Shitty—Fuck! The fuck are you doing?!”
”I’m sorry Sanji!! Please don’t hurt me!” The musician wails, dramatically waving his clasped hands before him. “I merely wished to see what was on your mind!!”
”Unlike you, some of us don’t have hollow skulls!”
”Did you—“
”What?”
”Just..”
”Spit it out!”
”Make a skull joke?!!”
”…SHUT UP—” Sanji proceeds to try kicking Brook back into the sea, “SHITTY SKELETON!”
Franky laughs, pulling the almost completely drenched bag of bones back onto the dry surface. The cook stomps away, disguising a huffed out laugh with cigarette smoke.
The little exchange garnered attention from the half of the crew further inland back toward the dock.
..Oops. So much for keeping an eye on things and not dragging any unnecessary attention toward themselves.
The subtle twinge of guilt at disobeying Nami only gets flicked in and added to the insurmountable pile.
He hums noncommittally as he and Usopp notice the crew motioning toward them—And then waving them to come over.
Brook raises a brow —Like he actually has any— And lets his voice boom out enough to ask, “All of us?”
Luffy yells back, “YE—ACK!!”
And is cut off by Nami pinching his cheek.
Franky stays aboard, and with Usopp’s desperately protests against walking toward the mainland just yet— Zoro rolls his eyes, hopping down from the Sunny and walking up in Usopp’s stead as the sniper waves the rest off dramatically from the deck.
The prickling feeling still keeps crawling up his spine. It.. Stutters, when he realizes he’s glad Zoro’s also coming with—Which is stupid, because why would he be? Stupid Moss’d probably get them lost or get lost, and cause the entire island to go on a manhunt for a pea-brained marimo.
..Zoro’s uncanny ability to understand and work with Sanji with minimal words has always been a steady secure.. thing, he never really wanted to process nor had he truly realized the value of. Zoro always met him at his level, oft times accidentally escalating things—But the two could handle tense situations and the possible threats to their crew well together.
It.. eases something in Sanji. Knowing—One look, and Zoro’d understand, either confirm and strike, or shake his head and reassure nothing’s wrong —At least not so far.
That’s not to say Sanji doubts the rest of their crew’s abilities to notice things and stand guard—They’re all incredible in their own rights and are extremely capable.. There’s just—Zoro protects them. Zoro’s whole deal is ensuring their safety.
And, if Sanji can help it—He’d rather not have his crew constantly worried, distrustful, and looking over their shoulders all the time.
Sanji can handle that paranoia for them. They don’t have to dampen their experiences with it when they don’t need to nordeserve to be subjected to that.
Zoro’ll ensure their safety and protect them. Sanji can handle ensuring that they at least somewhat enjoy their time.