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It's been a while since Sanji actually had fear poke its ugly head up in his chest and start pulling at his ribs. When the waves from the Krieg Pirates' ship start hitting into the Baratie at a force that's never touched this restaurant before, he feels it crawl up inside him, laughing through its sharp teeth.
He slips off the table into a stumble and grabs onto the column for balance, eyes scanning the room as his colleagues all shuffle and trip over one another. The Baratie jerks one way and then heaves the other, and Sanji plants himself into a solid stance to balance his weight, shifting it from one leg to the other. "Zeff!" he calls over, but Zeff is already shouting orders at the rest of the crew to haul anchor.
Instead, Sanji's eyes find the chore boy, Luffy, who's flailing his arms in a windmill motion to try to stay upright. Above him on the staircase, his two crew members grip onto the railing to keep from tumbling down.
All in all, it's a disaster. Tables upend, patrons shriek and grab onto one another caught in the fray, and from the kitchens, Sanji can hear crashing and clattering of trays, plates, and more. His focus pulls back up when he sees Luffy's swordsman - Zoro, he faintly recalls - leap over the banister of the staircase and land heavily down on the main floor of the dining room. He immediately takes off through the door with Luffy, the two of them sprinting out to the outer deck. It's only a few seconds later that there's another flash as their remaining crew member runs out after them.
Before he can watch further, he feels the back of his suit jacket get tugged up forcefully, collar pressing against his throat as he's hauled backwards.
"We gotta get these people on the safeboats!" Zeff yells at him over the chaos. "Round up two others to help you." He gives Sanji another shove and then starts walking off, gripping tables for balance as the Baratie continues to lurch back and forth.
Sanji stares after him, wanting to ask where he's going, but he knows there's no use. He was given an order, so he'll follow it. He grabs the two nearest people and drags them back into the kitchen, stepping between broken plates and whatever other debris covers the floor. "I need you two to reel in the safety boats. We've got twenty-seven patrons in the dining room and I need you two to get them all into the boats and away from here." He shoves open the back door to the back deck.
"Got it," one of them says, jogging off to the side and waving the other to join him.
Sanji watches them for just another moment and then heads back out to the dining room. He orders another cook to start leading the patrons through the kitchen out to the back deck and then he slips through the crowd toward the front deck.
The waves have calmed now from whatever had been going down, which is making it far easier to manage walking around the ship. Outside, the deck is soaked, still dripping from where the waves sprayed up and crashed down. Zeff is out here now with a few of the others - including Luffy and his crew. They're all staring out at the water, and Sanji steps to the side to look over Luffy's shoulder out at sea.
There are the sinking remains of Don Krieg's massive flagship, cut to pieces around them, and in the center of it all is a small boat with a tall mast and one man seated in the middle staring directly back at the Baratie.
"Who is that?" he asks.
Usopp turns to him, eyes wide and round. "Hawk-Eye Mihawk," he whispers. "He's the one who destroyed the ship apparently."
"Who?" His gaze shifts up just past Usopp to where Zoro has climbed up onto the middle rung of the railing, looking like he's ready to leap off into the water if it weren't for the abject shock on his face. There's a drop of sweat already beading its way down his neck and his knuckles are practically white where they grip the railing. "What's his deal?" he asks.
"That's his rival," Luffy says quietly, barely glancing over his shoulder at him.
"Rival?" Sanji looks back out at the man in the water. "Him? The one who destroyed the ship?"
"Mhm."
Sanji stares at Zoro, wondering what the hell he could possibly think he could do against that man. He doesn't know much about Zoro, to be fair, but from what he has seen, all he really does is grunt out single syllable words and guzzle down ale like he gets paid for it.
"What are you doing?" Zeff calls, yanking him backward. "Didn't I tell you to get the patrons out of here?"
"Patty and the others are taking care of them out of the back deck. I came out here to head to the bar, but--"
"Then get to the bar!" He gives Sanji another shove before he turns away and heads back into the dining room to bark more orders.
"You need help?" Luffy asks. Before Sanji can offer, Luffy nods at his crewmember. "Usopp, go with him."
"Sure," he says immediately, turning to Sanji. "Lead the way."
Sanji glances at Luffy with a silent thank you and then leads the guy off toward the bar. He only glances back once in time to watch Zoro slowly lower himself from the railing, muscles still tense and eyes set on Hawk-Eye. Luffy reaches a hand out to him, but Sanji rounds the corner before he can catch the rest of their interaction.
The bar deck isn't much better than the dining room. Now that the waves have calmed, everyone's able to stand and are righting the barstools and tables. Sanji jogs over to the bar where their bartender, Messi, is wiping a towel across the bar to mop up the spilled drinks. "We've gotta get these people out of here," he says.
"What the hell is going on?" Messi asks, eyes wide.
"Battle between pirates, I think."
"And it made that much of a mess?"
"I wasn't really out here observing, just get these people on the fucking boats."
"Oh, watch it, kid. I'm twice your age."
"Then move twice as fast." Sanji whips around, Usopp spinning and jogging a bit to follow him. "Everyone, please remain calm!" he calls out to the patrons. "We've come across a bit of an incident, but we are going to get you all safely off this boat and contact the coast guard to guide you to the nearest island. All your food and drink will be covered for the evening. We apologize for the inconvenience." He turns to Usopp and beckons for him to follow him back around to the deck.
"I thought we were helping get them off?" Usopp asks.
"We are," Sanji says, not bothering to look back at him. "Our job doesn't involve leading them to the boats."
"So what are we doing?"
Sanji only spares half a glance over to where Luffy and Zoro are talking in low voices, two others standing around them trying to dry themselves off. He leads Usopp back into the dining room, trying to remind himself that their crew and their drama is none of his business. It's pirates like them that got the Baratie into this mess in the first place, isn't it?
Sanji leads Usopp through the dining room and into the kitchen, holding the door open for him, and then kicks aside any of the dishes that have fallen to the floor. He shrugs his jacket off and rolls up his sleeves. "Wash your hands."
"What?"
"Hands." He looks pointedly at the small sink at the wall and then washes his own hands in the main sink. "What would you say? About twenty people in the bar area?"
"Uh, yeah? Yeah, probably?"
"Great. Twenty-seven from the dining room. Let's call it an even fifty."
"Sure, fifty, yeah." Usopp shakes the water off his hands and joins Sanji at the center island. "What are we...?"
Sanji sets a large wooden cutting block down on the island and unsheathes a large chopping knife from the rack behind him. He sets it on the tray, points to Usopp and then to the knife. "You're chopping."
"I-- What?"
Sanji yanks open the large refrigerator and pulls out an array of vegetables, spilling them down on the counter in front of Usopp.
"Uh, hang on. I've never--"
"They don't need to be perfect. Just chop. These can all be served raw so when they're chopped, start dropping them in these boxes." He sets five large boxes on the counter in front of him.
"What-- How thick?"
"Doesn't matter. Chop and separate."
"Right. O-okay."
Sanji spins back and takes out three large packs of a basic cod. He sets the fryers on and gets to descaling swiftly.
"Are--? What is this for?" Usopp asks over the sound of uneven chops.
"We're sending fifty people out on lifeboats. Who's to say how long it will take them to reach the nearest island?" He finishes the first fish and immediately drops it into the fryer, unbothered by the oil splatters. His skin has long since become numb to burns.
"Oh. That's... That's nice of you to think about that."
"Just basic survival needs," Sanji mumbles back, half-way done with the second fish already. "What's the deal with your swordsman?"
"Hm?"
He's not really sure why he even asked, but the question sort of slipped out before he could stop it. He clears his throat and flips the fish around. "Why's he so worked up over this Hawk guy?"
"Oh. I'm not really sure. I don't know much about it, but from what I could sort out, he has some promise to himself that he has to become this great swordsman. And I think to do that, he has to fight this guy."
Sanji's movements falter just slightly before he gets back on track. "He's gonna try to fight the guy who just took out a fleet of fifty ships and then chased down the flagship?"
"I guess so."
Sanji tosses the second fish into the fryer. "Seems impulsive."
"He kind of is, I guess. But I don't think that's what this is about."
"And Luffy's just going to let him fight this guy?"
"I guess so."
Sanji looks over his shoulder at him. "Isn't that basically just throwing a crewmember out to be killed?"
Usopp looks up at him as he tosses the most uneven carrot Sanji's ever seen in his life into a box. "I don't know if that's what's happening. He might not fight him."
Sanji turns back to the fish to keep descaling. "Cut narrower if you can. You'll get more out of the vegetables to give them more food to share."
The two of them haul the five boxes down between the two of them. Sanji takes three of them to the back deck for the three boats out there and then they drop the other two off at the bar just as they're finishing up loading the two boats.
Sanji leads Usopp back toward the deck, but slows when he sees one of the wet guys shove his hands into Zoro's chest. Zoro doesn't react, he just stares impassively back down at him. "What's going on there?" he asks Usopp.
"No idea." Usopp brushes past him as he walks forward.
Sanji, for some reason, follows him over. There's no sign of Luffy from what he can tell.
"--shitty idea, man!"
"What's happening?" Usopp asks, glancing between the two of them.
"Could you tell him he's being an idiot?" the wet sunglasses guy says, gesturing at Zoro.
"Where's Luffy?" Usopp asks.
"Inside," Zoro says. His gaze shifts and finds Sanji. "He's looking for you."
"Me? Why?"
"Didn't ask."
Sanji holds his gaze for another moment before he takes a step back. He debates whether or not it's worth warning Zoro he probably can't take someone who can take out a pirate fleet, but he reminds himself it's none of his business, and heads back inside in search of Luffy.
Sanji rounds the corner, eyes scanning for the red shirt and straw hat. He doesn't have to look long before he hears his name called from across the room. He finally spots him and runs over. "You were looking for me?"
"Do you have an extra boat?"
Sanji frowns at him, shaking his head. "No, I don't... I don't know. There might be one extra out by the bar area--"
"How big is it?"
"Enough for ten if you press in close. Do you guys need to leave?"
"Nami left. I need you to take Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku and head out to get her."
"What?" Sanji snaps back at him.
"I'm gonna wait here with Zoro to--"
"Stop. Stop. What are you doing?"
Luffy stares up at him like he's confused why he's interrupting him. "Zoro wants to fight this hawk guy. I'm going to stay back and wait for him, but Nami left--"
"Chore Boy, listen to me, I don't know what you think is happening here, but I'm not leaving the Baratie. I have to stay here and help Zeff defend this place."
"I need you to help me--"
"I'm not part of your crew," he spits back, anger flaring beneath his skin. "Order one of your other guys to do it. I don't report to you. Maybe you should tell your swordsman that this is probably a death wish and he should forget it and then you can all go do what you need to. And why do you need our boat? Don't you have your own ship?"
"Zoro has to fight him," he says again. "It's his goal."
"What the fuck do I care about that?" Sanji asks. "I don't even know why I'm still here listening to this. You go take care of whatever you need to do, I need to find Zeff."
"Sanji," Luffy says, voice hard.
"What?"
"We need your help."
Sanji stares back at him. He doesn't know why he's got this sort of pull inside of him to actually help them. Maybe it's just the fact that he doesn't like not being able to help people, so when someone asks for it, he does what he can. But he knows there's no reason he needs to get involved with these guys.
Still, he flicks his gaze out toward the deck as he hears boots stomping across it. "They're here."
"Krieg's guys?"
"Yup," he says, unnecessarily.
Krieg leads about ten to fifteen of his men soaking wet through the front door of the Baratie. "We're taking over this joint," Krieg announces, voice gruff and far more smug than it needs to be. "Thanks for clearing those people out for us."
"You're not taking over anything," Zeff says, hobbling out from the back kitchen. "I told you already Krieg, you need to go and take whatever fight with Mihawk away with you."
"Mihawk?" Krieg laughs. "Oh, we're done with him. It seems there's someone else who's caught his eye."
Sanji hears Luffy hiss Zoro's name behind him. Luffy brushes past him to head to the deck, but Sanji grabs the back of his shirt and yanks him back. "This way. You'll never get past Krieg."
"Yes I will," Luffy grits out, trying to pull out of Sanji's hold.
"Just listen to me. If you need to get to Zoro, Krieg's gonna at least hold you up." He drags him back toward the kitchen, ignoring Zeff's confused look. He pulls Luffy through the kitchen and then out onto the back deck.
"This is the opposite direction!" Luffy insists, trying to head back into the kitchen.
"Would you think?" Sanji snaps, yanking him alongside him again. "You take the trash out this door, don't you? Where the hell do you think it leads?"
Luffy shuffles his feet a bit before he's able to get them underneath him and then falls into step next to Sanji. "This leads to the front deck?"
"Yes."
Luffy starts running.
"Jesus, you--!" Sanji growls out under his breath and then takes off running after him. They round the corner and he skids to a stop. Ahead of them, Zoro stands with his shoulders set back, staring across the water at Mihawk, who's still sitting casually in his boat, staring back.
"Luffy!" sunglasses guy says, running back to him.
"Johnny, what's going on?"
"You've gotta stop him, man. This is insane! He's trying to take him on one-on-one!"
"What is he, an idiot?" Sanji murmurs. "You guys should get out of here."
"Pull Yosaku and Usopp over here," Luffy says.
"What--?" The guy, Johnny, lunges forward and tugs the other two back toward them.
"Oh good, you're here," Usopp says, eyes wide with fear. "I didn't know what to do. He just started calling out to him saying they had to fight."
"Zoro challenged Mihawk? Officially?" Sanji asks, shifting his gaze over to Zoro.
"Yeah. I don't know if Mihawk's accepting yet. They've just kind of been staring at each other. Kinda freaky, honestly."
"Usopp," Luffy says quietly, eyes set on Zoro. "Take Johnny and Yosaku and go get Nami."
"What?"
Luffy finally tears his gaze back and sets it on Usopp. "We have to find her. She could be in trouble. Sanji has an extra boat--"
"We have ours still," Johnny says quickly. "It wasn't destroyed."
"Even better," Luffy nods. "Take it and follow her. Do you know where she went?"
"We know the direction," Yosaku says. "We could probably head that way and maybe catch a glimpse of her. We gotta go now though before she gets far."
"Go."
"Luffy," Usopp says, voice shaking, "uh, are you sure we all shouldn't just--"
"Usopp."
Usopp swallows down hard, but gives him a swift nod. "Got it."
"I'm staying here with Zoro. When we're done, we'll come find you."
"How?"
"Sanji's going to lend us his boat." He looks up at Sanji now.
Sanji stares back at him for a moment and then, for some reason, gives him a tight nod.
"Okay," Usopp says. "Be quick."
"I'm sure it won't take long," Luffy says, eyes falling on Zoro.
"One way or another," Johnny grits out. "Luffy, man, I'm begging you. Don't let him do this--"
"Go get Nami."
Usopp grabs Johnny's arm and leads him off down the dock without another word, Yosaku jogging after them. Johnny calls out to Zoro, but Zoro doesn't turn around. He just calls something else down to Mihawk in whatever conversation they're having across the distance.
Sanji looks sideways at Luffy, who's watching the interaction with something hard set in his gaze. "You sure this is the right move?"
"They're my crew. Nami's off on her own and Zoro won't budge. What other move is there?"
"To budge him."
"I told you he won't."
"Aren't you his captain? Can't you just make him?"
Luffy shakes his head. "This is something he has to do. I'm not going to stand in the way of that."
"Then--!" Sanji looks out toward Zoro and back at Luffy. "Then what about the girl, Nami? Shouldn't you be going to get her if she's your crewmate too?"
"Usopp is going to get her. Were you not listening to us just now?" he asks, tilting his head.
"I just don't get why you'll let him do this selfish thing when you should all be out finding her."
"It's not selfish. It'd be selfish if we all stopped him from achieving his dream."
"His dream?"
"Yeah," he says easily. "To become the world's greatest swordsman. To do that, he has to fight this guy apparently. So, I'm going to stand at his side and support him. And when he wins, we'll go meet up with Usopp and Nami."
Sanji stares at him. "When he wins," he repeats. "Didn't you just see what this guy did to that ship--?" He cuts himself off when Luffy starts walking forward.
"What happened?" Luffy calls out.
Zoro walks over, hand resting on the hilts of his swords. He spares Sanji a single, curious glance, but otherwise focuses back on Luffy. He just nods.
"He agreed?" Luffy asks.
"He's going to dock now."
"Are you crazy?" Sanji says, stepping just slightly in front of Luffy. If he's not gonna stop him, Sanji can't just stand by and watch someone get themselves killed on his dock. "He took out fifty ships."
Zoro stares back at him. "I'm not a ship."
"What--? You're one guy. How the hell do you expect to take him on?"
"He's also just one guy."
"He's--!" Sanji doesn't really know what else to say to that, because in all honesty he doesn't know much about the Mihawk person. But he remembers how Zeff sounded when he spoke about him, and he trusts Zeff's knowledge of the sea more than anything else he can trust. "You're putting your friends at risk by doing this." Behind him, Luffy says his name quietly, but he barrels on. "Your captain won't stop you, but I have no problem kicking you off this dock. What you're doing is stupid."
Zoro takes a step forward to him. "I don't remember asking your opinion, waiter."
"I'm a chef," he grits out. "And I don't need to be asked for my opinion if it's the smartest one in the room."
"Zoro," Luffy says gently, a hand lightly gripping his arm.
Zoro takes a step back, but his eyes don't leave Sanji's. "This doesn't concern you. So get back in your little restaurant, and leave us to it."
"It concerns me when it's happening on my dock."
"Your dock? Or Zeff's?"
"Certainly not yours either way."
"Then why don't you tell him that?" He tilts his head in the direction of the sea where Mihawk's small boat approaches.
"You know Usopp and your other friends went off on their own to go get Nami and they don't have you or your captain to back them up because you're too busy trying to prove something."
"I'm gonna ask you one more time how this has anything to do with you."
Sanji steps forward, even as Luffy urges Zoro back another step. "Because your captain asked me to join the crew. And I want to make sure he knows that when I say no, this is exactly the reason why. You are the reason why."
"Well, then, at least I've done something right."
"Enough," Luffy says, voice hard despite keeping his volume low. "Zoro, you need to focus. Mihawk's going to dock any minute." He looks up then at Sanji. "Krieg is in the dining room. I'll come help you."
Sanji looks down at him, confused. "Why would you help me?"
"Because I'm here."
"You're not gonna help him?" he looks pointedly at Zoro.
"I can't help with his fight. But I can help you and Zeff and this restaurant."
Sanji stares at him, unsure why he'd want to help after Sanji just made it clear once again that he has no interest in joining their crew when this is all done, but he nods. "Okay. Fine. It's probably best you don't stand around to watch this idiot get himself killed."
"When I'm done with him," Zoro says, "I'm coming after you next."
"I won't hold my breath." He steps around Zoro, shoving a cigarette between his teeth and watching as Mihawk ties his boat to the dock. He turns to look over his shoulder for Luffy, but pauses while he watches them.
Luffy's hand tightens just a bit on Zoro's arm, enough for his fingers to press into the muscle there, and he says something quietly up to him. Zoro nods down at him once and then Luffy smiles something soft yet determined.
Sanji pulls his gaze away when Luffy starts walking over, unsure if he was supposed to catch the exchange. When Luffy reaches him they fall in step together and head toward the door. "Are you sure he's gonna be alright?"
"Yes."
Sanji looks sideways at him, unsure if he should try to talk Luffy down to reality again. He chances one more glance over his shoulder at Zoro, but Zoro's just staring out at Mihawk now, who's finally stepped up onto the deck and meets his gaze.
Sanji's shoulders tense, but he turns away from them and enters the dining room instead, trying not to think about that possibly being the last time he'll see the guy alive.