Chapter Text
Sanji leaned over the railing on the Baratie’s aft deck, taking a slow drag of his cigarette. He had stolen a pack from one of the new captive choreboys and he hadn’t felt bad about it, because the bastard had tried to skip out on paying. He had almost succeeded in dumping the entire bill on his poor, unsuspecting companion. The girl had been brought to tears by this, and before she had even finished explaining what had happened to her waiter, Zeff had beaten Sanji to the punch and had caught the scammer trying to sneak out the back. The jerk had been put to work in the kitchen with Patty and the others to try and make up for the amount he avoided paying, but the beating the guy had received from Zeff was for making the girl cry.
The wind blew coldly from a nearby island’s weather formation and a few snowflakes floated by delicately. Sanji didn’t mind the chill or the snow. He had seen his fair share of weather from the portholes of ship holds during his escape from the North Blue. He had initially been surprised that snow was cold, but it had grown on him. Watching the snow fall down reminded him both of stars and icing sugar, both whimsical and sweet.
He took another drag of his cigarette, watching the smoke trail off into the darkness. He thought about what the weather was like over the Grand Line right now, and if it differed from the calm seas and clear night he was currently witnessing. The light from the restaurant windows faintly illuminated the deck behind him as Sanji stared out across the water, watching the light twinkle as the water lapped up against the wood. The faint sense of longing he felt was slowly overtaken by an overwhelming sense of guilt. He winced, before putting out his cigarette in the ashtray next to him with a flourish. He turned back towards the restaurant, already anticipating the yelling from Zeff about how much he was slacking off, but he stopped in his tracks before he reached the door.
He had barely noticed him standing in the darkness, in the back corner hidden by shadows, but there was a man standing there, leaning against the wall. His face was almost completely concealed, but his golden earrings and sword glinted ever-so-slightly in the darkness. The boat shifted with the waves and the light shone on the man just enough that Sanji could now see that the stranger had pale green hair and apparently not just one but three swords sticking out of his haramaki. Sanji tried to process the presence of this mysterious stranger and grew angry. He hadn’t noticed this man at all during the dinner service, and this was the access deck for paying customers. He would have felt some sympathy if this was a poor, starving stowaway, but it was obvious that nothing was wrong with this guy. So what was he doing here in the middle of the damn night?
“Oi,” Sanji mumbled grumpily to himself, clearing his throat. “What the hell are you doing here?” The stranger turned slightly to look at Sanji before looking back to the water. Sanji couldn’t believe this guy. He stomped over, waving his hand in front of the guy’s face.
“Excuse me? Were you raised by wolves or something!? Usually it’s polite to answer someone!” He raised his voice but the guy leaned forwards, shushing him assertively with an intense expression on his face. Sanji gasped incredulously, instantly raising his leg and swinging his foot around to kick the guy right in his dumb looking face. His foot ended up colliding with the scabbard of one of the guy’s swords as he reflexively defended against Sanji’s kick. They stood there at a stalemate for a few seconds before the man sighed and gestured over the railing with his head.
Sanji lowered his leg and peered over the ledge onto the lower deck, curiosity getting the better of him. A sleazy looking man was on the lower deck near the ships, smoking a cigar. He recognized the man, some smuggler with a sizable bounty on his head. Sanji had worked on the seas long enough to tell when someone was bad news, and this guy was clearly up to no good, but he wasn’t actively causing any problems. While he did kick up a bit of fuss earlier during dinner service, it had been nothing out of the ordinary. People came in all the time trying to intimidate their wait staff, not knowing how the Baratie ran, but usually they settled down once things were made clear. Or when they were done getting their asses kicked. Sanji became confused.
“What about this guy?” Sanji hissed, taking care not to disturb the customers just inside the windows. “And what does that have to do with you being in a customers-only area!?”
“I was at the bar,” The man said with a slightly husky voice. Sanji frowned.
“I’m after him.” A light went off in Sanji’s head.
“So you’re a bounty hunter,” Sanji scoffed. “You know you’ll get your ass kicked if you try and-”
“If I try and kill him here? I know.” It was the man’s turn to scoff. “You can’t fight or do anything on this shitty, god-forsaken boat unless you want to bring attention to yourself,” Sanji felt his eyebrows furrow. This man was getting on his nerves but at the same time, he was jealous. Jealous that this man had a life of freedom, where he could go anywhere and do anything, where he could go chase his dreams, whatever they were. This man probably wasn’t burdened with the obligation to repay a debt that could never be repaid. No matter how hard Sanji worked, nothing less than giving Zeff his life in return would be enough. Sanji clicked his tongue, feeling spiteful.
“That guy must be quite a small fry if someone like you thinks he can catch him.” The man laughed, a low, bemused chuckle that made Sanji grit his teeth. He swung another kick at him, but the man just swiftly moved out of the way.
“How would you know?” He smirked, making his way down the deck. “Have you ever gone out and experienced the world? I’m strong enough to get guys like that in my sleep, what about you?”
“Asshole,” Sanji muttered, trailing after him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the suspicious man on the deck below was heading in the same direction. The man untied a small sailboat and gave it a push, hopping on and making his way towards the tiller. Sanji was sure he could take him on in his sleep as well, and an intrusive thought pushed its way into his brain. Maybe he could join this stranger, and set out to sea… maybe he could go try and find the All Blue? Sanji frowned again, guilt filling his chest. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes, quickly lighting another one.
“What’s with the stupid expression?” The stranger said, interrupting his thoughts. “You look pathetic.”
“Excuse me?” Sanji spat, but the stranger just stared.
“If it hurts your brain to think about whatever dumb shit you’re thinking about, maybe you do something about it instead of just standing there,” The man turned and vaulted off of the railing, launching himself onto the sleazy man’s departing boat, leaving Sanji standing there, speechless in more ways than one. The sleazy man was looking back at the Baratie when the stranger landed silently at the front of the boat, out of the sleazy man’s sight. He watched the boat rock gently with the man’s landing, creating ripples in the water. The reflection of the moon warped with the waves and the wind blew again. The cold sent a shiver down Sanji’s back, but he couldn’t move. Instead he watched the man enter the boat’s cabin with a small, sarcastic wave, disappearing from sight.
“What the fuck?” Sanji mumbled again, pissed and dumbfounded beyond belief. Despite his rage, it took him another thirty minutes to move from where he was standing. The sailboat had long since disappeared into the darkness by the time he reentered the Baratie. Sanji was flabbergasted. He barely even registered Zeff’s kick in the back when he finally returned to the kitchen.