Work Text:
Sanji isn't sure if his and Reiju's idea of sending Ichiji, Niji and Yonji to the Baratie after Judge mysteriously ended up at the bottom of the ocean, so they can learn how to be more human, had been a good one.
Which is why he's been sitting in the galley staring at this letter sent by Zeff for at least twenty minutes now.
He takes a last drag of his cigarette before putting it out on the ashtray in front of him, makes sure the door to the galley is closed and uses a small kitchen knife to cut the envelope in his hands open.
Hey eggplant, I know you have an inkling to do questionable things, but I'm not quite sure how to classify this.
When those three and that pink girl appeared on my door I didn't know what to make of it, just thought 'What the fuck, there're three more eggplants??' And just rolled with it when she told me both of you wanted me to teach them a few things on being decent human beings. That sister of yours is very persuasive and I figured if you're behind it as well then it should be ok, right?
Yeah.
Maybe.
I don't know what I was expecting, but those three fit right in, because you know, their main language is violence and so is ours, except on very different levels. They can be a bit excessive, so we're working on that and forcing them to tone it way down. Patty, Carne and I always make sure to hit them in the head or kick them while telling them to stay in line, it worked with you, so we have high hopes.
The red eggplant despises being around people, some bullshit about them being below him, but he's good with numbers, so he's taking care of our finances. He's saving us a lot of money and I don't know if it's because he's threatening our suppliers or if he's just that good at striking deals.
The green eggplant seemed mostly indifferent to people at first, but customers are scared of him and I caught him picking fights with them because of it one too many times. He makes a good bouncer, though.
The blue eggplant is by far the worst with people, but he showed a mild interest in cooking after walking around and claiming everything here is boring and stupid (I gave him a few extra thumps to the head for that, by the way). I let him into the kitchen under strict supervision, but so far, he's only managed to destroy half of it in frustration after failing to peel potatoes. Patty and Carne are keeping an even closer watch on him and the red eggplant made him pay for all of the repairs.
Your sister steps by sometimes to see how the three are doing and it's always an event when she does. Patrons love her, her presence is definitely something, but she killed a guy the other day for looking at her wrong. It hurt business for a while. She apologized for it on her next visit, but I'm not sure if she really meant it.
Everything considered, we're doing better than ever, your sister gave us one if their weird snail ships to expand the restaurant (I think it was her way of showing her apology had been real) and it's been attracting a lot of customers, all screaming about comics and superheroes. I have no idea what they're on about, but I'll take it.
Tell that strawhat boy he better be making sure you're taking care of yourself.
And you, don't forget to visit your old man sometimes, you ungrateful eggplant!
Sanji stares at the letter once more. Considers throwing his brothers to the bottom of the ocean too before thinking about what to reply to Zeff. Considers writing to Reiju to ask what the fuck is going on, is this how things are supposed to go? But reconsiders and realizes he's actually pleasantly surprised with what he read, it could've been so much worse.
He still feels unsure about this decision, but ultimately, with Judge out of the picture and Reiju overlooking everything, his heart rests a little easier.
And he ponders, after Luffy becomes the king of pirates a visit will definitely be long overdue.