7. Rising to battle (1/2)

it took a while for me to write this chapter, mostly because of the action scenes. this chapter is 16 pages, and could probably have been divided in two, but then i don't think it would have been good... well, enjoy.

at first, sanji didn't know what to think. he had almost completely forgotten about krieg's existence, and hadn't even thought about the pirate in years. the last thing he had heard about the so-called 'king of east blue' was when the news of a large fleet of pirate ships entering the grand line (and almost clogging up the entrance to reverse mountain while they were at it) had been all over the front page of nami's newspaper. now it seemed like krieg was back.

there was a loud, nervous murmur rising in the restaurant, and sanji realized that he would have to do something to prevent panic from

eaking out among the guests. he got up from his chair and cast a glance at his nakama. nami and robin were both looking towards the two noisy chefs by the kitchen-doors, but zoro held his gaze locked on sanji with a challenge written all over his face. any other day, sanji would have accepted the challenge without hesitation, but not this time.

"i'll handle this," he muttered, tapping the ash off his cigarette and sticking it in the corner of his mouth. "the sagatie is my treasure and my responsibility. i'll protect her if i so have to do it alone."

"sanji-kun…" nami started, but sanji was already walking away from the table and out into the middle of the dining hall. as he looked out through the open doors, he could see a large battleship headed directly towards the restaurant and sighed. sanji suddenly felt certain that there was no way the day could get any worse.

"ladies and gentlemen," he said seriously, raising his hands to get the guests' attention. "i want to ask all of you to please calm down. there are pirates headed this way, and i don't think that they're here for our homemade eggrolls. therefore, i would suggest that you leave the restaurant immediately. you can return once the restaurant is out of harm's way."

the guests started moving from their tables, grabbing their coats and purses. suddenly, a shriek was heard from one of the tables as a woman stood up, her face almost the same white color as the tablecloth. several guests jumped and turned around to see what was going on.

"my children!" the woman cried out. "my children aren't back yet!"

three other women also started to scream about their children not being back yet. sanji barely kept himself from flipping one of the tables upside-down just to make everyone shut up. there was no time for anyone to panic. the chef growled and took one step forward, happy to find his guests calming down a little as he did so.

"the kids are fine!" he said in a loud, calm voice. "they are with two of my friends, who will protect them with their lives. now, i urge you to return to your ships and leave the restaurant before the pirates comes to close."

"my ladies," he added in a softer tone and turned to the women who looked back at him with tear-filled eyes, seemingly on the verge of hysteria. he was actually feeling a bit sorry for them, considering that usopp and chopper were the only people standing between the children and a clan of bloodthirsty pirates. "if you wish to stay and wait for your children to be returned to you, my staff and i are going to do everything in our power to make sure that nothing happens to you."

the women, who had gathered with their husbands in a small group around a table nodded with appreciation. sanji turned away, glancing at pati and carne, who were still standing in the open doors to the kitchen and waiting for orders.

"boys, are you ready to protect the ship?" sanji asked with a smirk, knowing that both pati and carne had been longing for a good

awl. "go get all the chefs who are willing to fight. the waiters too, if they have the guts."

"aye!"

the two older chefs turned around and disappeared into the kitchen, while sanji tried to think of some way of keeping the pirates from entering the restaurant. the fins were already out, but until the guests had moved their ships, there was no chance of using the terrace as a battleground. they would all be easy targets.

when sanji followed the last guests out through the entrance, he glanced quickly at his nakama, who were sitting by themselves at their table, apparently deep in conversation. the head chef sighed, pulled his attention away from the pirates and aimed it at the battleship, which was slowly approaching the restaurant. to his great relief, the guests' ships were swiftly setting their sails and one by one, they left the restaurant.

for one moment, sanji almost expected the large pirate ship to change its course and turn after the escaping guests, but it didn't. the battleship kept a steady course, headed directly towards the sagatie. then he knew that his restaurant was the main dish on the pirate clan's dinner table.

he could hear his chefs getting ready to fight inside the restaurant, and sighed. luffy wasn't there to kick krieg's sorry ass into another ocean this time. it was up to sanji to make sure his treasure was safe. he couldn't help but feel his stomach twist uncomfortably as he walked out onto the outer fin, watching the last guests quickly leave the restaurant.

there were three ships still moored to the left side of the terrace, two small boats that probably belonged to two of the three families still inside the restaurant, and usopp's jigsaw puzzle. sanji looked at the ships for a moment, hoping that they wouldn't be in the way of the battle if one should be necessary. however, sanji was pretty sure that there would be a battle, no matter what he did to prevent it.

as he reached the middle of the fin, he stopped and watched the battleship gliding up next to the restaurant. the waves made by the large ship caused the restaurant to rock, but sanji hardly noticed. his eyes locked on the middle-aged man in a

onze-colored armor standing by the railing next to the figurehead. krieg was grinning down at him – a cold, ruthless grin that sent cold chills down sanji's spine.

"well, well," krieg called down as the ship came to a stop and the anchor was lowered. "so the rumors were true after all. i heard that zeff's little waiter boy had opened a restaurant after the old man croaked."

"you can just pack up and leave, krieg," sanji called back, his jaw clenched tightly. "you're not welcome at my restaurant."

krieg gave up a loud, hoarse laugh.

"i couldn't care less about your measly little boat, boy," he barked, once again grinning coldly. "i've sailed through the grand line with this unsinkable battleship. one little restaurant isn't more than a grain of sand at the bottom of the sea."

"is that so?" sanji replied calmly, smirking lightly. since krieg had failed to mention one piece, the chef suspected that the pirate had never reached that far through the grand line. however, krieg didn't seem to be aware that sanji also had been through the grand line – more than once. "so you managed to stay there longer than a week? i'm impressed."

krieg suddenly looked very smug. he spread out his arms, while his grin grew wider.

"i must say that the grand line was difficult to sail," he confessed with feigned modesty. "all my new ships were destroyed during our journey, except for this ship. but now i've realized that you don't need a fleet, but a strong crew to be successful. so i've gathered a strong crew of 200 men, and together, we conquered the grand line."

"con–freaking-gratulations," sanji muttered, once again aware that krieg had left one piece out of his

agging. "now go away, shithead, you're keeping my guests from finishing their meal."

the smile on krieg's face vanished, and he glared down at sanji.

"i don't think so, boy! because i've been searching for this restaurant to get my revenge and destroy it! gin! pearl!"

two men appeared next to krieg, and sanji's eyes narrowed as he recognized them. krieg pointed at the restaurant and one of the men jumped down onto the fin in front of sanji. he wore a short white jacket with a red dragon-design on the sleeves; dusty white pants and a black shirt. a striped headband shaded his deep-set eyes as he looked directly at sanji.

"we meet again, sanji-san," he said, making no effort to hide the weapons in his hands. the weapons looked like the ones he had been only moments from killing sanji with years earlier, but sanji had a feeling that so was not the case. gin had probably got himself new, stronger weapons over times.

"so it would seem, gin," sanji replied, puffing out a thin mist of smoke. "i see you survived the poison."

"i did," gin said with a light nod. "but i won't fail don krieg this time. i spared your life last time because your kindness made me weak. but that won't happen again. i've trained for this moment."

"i figured as much." sanji stuck his hands into his pockets and leaned back where he was standing, ready for any movement from his opponent.

there was a sudden noise coming from the restaurant, and sanji glanced over his shoulder, spotting all his chefs and waiters storming out of the restaurant, carrying huge forks and knives in their hands. at the same time, he could hear the faint rustle of clothes next to him and threw himself to the side. the heavy metalsphere at the end of gin's weapon crashed into the wooden floor where sanji had been standing just as the chef's feet left the ground.

curling up as he hit the floor, sanji tumbled over and rolled back up on his feet again, cursing at himself for not paying attention to his opponent. by the sound of one of his chefs calling his name, he turned around and jumped back just in time to dodge another of gin's forceful attacks.

shit, he thought as he landed on the deck, almost slipping backwards on the moist floor as he faced his opponent. he's a lot stronger than last time, and a lot faster.

biting into the end of his cigarette, the chef couldn't hold back a smirk.

then again, so am i…

"owner!" one of the chefs cried out. "leave him to us, we'll handle him!"

"no!" sanji yelled, keeping his eyes on gin, who were coming at him again with one of his heavy weapons spinning in his left hand. "i'll handle this one, you need to-"

a strike from gin's weapon, which was only a hair's-

eadth from taking sanji's right arm off by the shoulder, interrupted him. quickly stepping to the side while he swung his right leg upwards, sanji buried his foot in his opponent's stomach and sent him flying back over the terrace with a satisfied grin.

"- to make sure that the rest of his crew doesn't sneak up on the restaurant," he finished once he put his foot back on the wooden floor, once again glancing over his shoulder at his chefs. "you got that, pati? carne?"

he didn't wait for a reply, but set off running towards gin, who didn't seem to have fully regained his balance yet. sanji had a feeling that he wouldn't win the battle by playing defensively. no, he would have to trust in his chefs' ability to keep the restaurant safe, and do everything in his power to defeat first gin and then krieg himself if he had to.

leaping forward, sanji turned around in midair, aiming a sweeping kick at the side of gin's neck. his eyes widened as gin dodged, and before he got the chance to recover from his failed attack, he saw the large metalsphere coming towards him in the corner of his eye. he heard a horrified cry from the direction of the restaurant just as he felt his lower ribs

eaking from the force of the sphere colliding with his right side. with a painful gasp for air, he was thrown to the floor; feeling almost as if gin's weapon had tore a large hole in his stomach.

he was suddenly aware of a roaring sound of cheers coming from the large battleship. lifting his head, he caught a glimpse of a large number of cheering men standing by the railing of the battleship. the next moment, a whistling sound caught his attention and he rolled to the side, raising his arms to shield his face from a spray of wooden splinters as gin's weapon buried itself deep in the terrace floor.

growling, sanji pressed the palms of his hands firmly against the wooden surface and let his legs sweep in a wide semicircle, causing gin to lose his balance as the chef's feet slammed into the pirate's ankles. swiftly, sanji put down his left foot on the floor for balance and slammed his right leg over gin's chest. the sounds of bones creaking were heard loud and clear as the pirate's eyes widened slightly.

as he pulled back from his opponent, sanji could hear a roar, similar to the one coming from the pirate ship only a moment earlier, but this time, it came from the restaurant, where the chefs were cheering wildly. but he didn't take his eyes from gin, who was lying sprawled on the floor in front of where the chef was sitting. he had a feeling that the battle was far from over, but he couldn't seem to get up from the floor.

he didn't see gin's hand move towards his weapon before it was too late. he saw the pirate lash out for him, but didn't get the time to dodge. the metal sphere crashed into the side of his head, and he was flung to the side, the grinding sound of

oken pieces of bones moving against each other roaring in his ears. sanji landed hard on the floor and rolled to the side, still not sure if his head was still attached to his shoulders or not even if he was aware that he had lost his cigarette.

the faint swishing sound of gin spinning his weapon reached the chef's ears, and he caught himself wishing that gin would just get it over with and kill him already. that made him angry. who was he to give up that easily?

sanji. that's who he was. he was the head chef of the floating restaurant sagatie, and the man who had fought countless battles side by side with the king of pirates and his crew. one shitty little bastard of a pirate wasn't going to get the best of him.

standing up slowly, he looked directly at gin and lifted one hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. he tried to hide the pain in his ribs and the side of his head. the injuries were nothing compared to what he had lived through before, and he was certain that he could take at least ten more hits before it would even slow him down.

"is that all you've got?" he asked with a lightly hoarse voice. his whole face felt like it was crumbling to pieces when he moved his jaw. "that didn't even tickle, you shitty bastard."

gin frowned and lashed out for him again, but this time, sanji was ready. letting his weapon sweep horizontally through the air, gin aimed directly at sanji's chest, but the chef jumped into the air out of the pirate's reach. twisting his body in the air, sanji slammed the hard heel of his right foot between gin's shoulder blades. as his left foot touched the floor, he spun around, sending gin flying backwards across the terrace towards the moored meri go with a well-aimed kick to the chest.

sanji raced after him, leaping high in the air and once again twisting his body to the point where his

oken ribs protested loudly. his eyes met gin's during the short moment before both his feet hit the pirate straight in the back and drove him through the wooden floor and into the water below. panting lightly, sanji dragged himself away from the hole in the floor and let his body relax for a moment. he just needed to catch his

eath… just a little.

his ears caught a sound coming from under the terrace, but before his

ain had the chance to process the information, the floor right in front of him shattered from a forceful strike by gin's weapon. sanji pushed himself backwards into a handstand and let the movement lift him off the floor just as the metalsphere tore through the planks where he had been sitting. landing on his feet and ignoring the pain racing through his chest, he turned around just in time to see gin rise from the water, the determination in his eyes as vivid as before.

persistent little shit, isn't he? sanji thought, feeling the

oken bones in his face grind against each other as he clenched his jaw. he hoped that chopper had learnt how to treat such injuries, or he would have yet another reason to hide half his face behind his hair.

he bent over backwards when gin swung his weapon horizontally towards him, the metal ball

ushing lightly against the buttons of his blue shirt. planting his hands on the floor, he quickly

ought his legs up, feeling a weight as his feet connected with gin's body. by the time he remembered that the pirate still could move his arms, it was already too late.

gin let his weapon slam in to sanji's left side with full force, causing the chef to twirl around in the air for a short moment before the pirate let his second weapon fall. the metal sphere hit sanji straight in the chest, and he was slammed into the wooden floor below without making a sound.

gasping for air, sanji had to force his body to stop twitching violently. that last hit felt like it had completely crushed his ribcage, and, he was slightly worried that he was going to see a deep cavity in his chest as he lifted his head from the floor. fortunately for him, so was not the case. but as he looked up, he saw a large shadow coming right for his head and rolled away. his body protested wildly against the sudden movement, but sanji didn't care. once he had rolled away from harm's way and ended up on his back in the floor, he looked up again, only to face the same ominous shadow move towards him once again.

with most of his torso screaming at him to stop, sanji curled up until his knees almost touched his forehead. he put his hands against the floor and pushed his aching body up into another handstand just as he unfolded his legs and placed all his strength behind the kick to gin's head. after he felt his feet connect with his opponent's face, sanji heard two heavy thumps as gin dropped his weapons to the floor, followed by another, softer noise as gin landed on the floor a few meters away.

pushing away from the floor, sanji managed to land on his feet in time to see his opponent slowly get up to his feet. the chef looked down at the metal clubs lying by his feet and turned his eyes towards gin. he pulled back his left leg with a tired roar and sent the weapons flying through the air. sinking down on his knees, he saw the clubs hit gin in the forehead and straight in the chest,

inging the pirate to the floor with a short, guttural grunt.

if he gets up again, i'm done for… he thought bitterly, eyeing the fallen pirate warily as he leaned slightly forward while crossing his arms over his chest and his aching ribs. his body was trembling with every painful

eath he took, and he was sure that he was going to do more damage to himself than to gin if he were to continue the battle. but gin didn't move again. he was lying on the floor with his weapons by his side,

eathing in a shallow and jerking manner.

seeing one of his strongest men being defeated, krieg gave up a loud roar, shortly accompanied by a chorus of voices. as sanji looked up, he saw krieg's pirates leaping down from the railing down onto the terrace. his eyes widened as he realized that he could hardly move without causing white-hot pain to rush through his body. then, a voice was heard from the restaurant, followed by a loud cheering.

"now it's our turn! show them the true force of the fighting chefs!"

"yeaaaaah!"

sanji couldn't remember if he had ever been so happy to hear pati's annoying voice in his life. he forced himself to get up from the floor just as the chefs and pirates clashed around him, feeling the smell of blood as pati and carne rushed through the crowd of pirates while slashing wildly with their large knives. finding his balance, sanji leaned back a little as his vision wavered in and out of focus while he watched the battle in a dreamlike state.

the chef's mind was instantly pulled out of its haze as he heard the distinct sound of the cock of a gun being pulled right next to his ear. cursing himself for being so careless, sanji expected to feel the bullet penetrate his head at any moment. but it never came. instead, a very familiar, nasal voice was heard over the noise of the battle.

"bet your life on it."

sanji turned around, blinking as he saw usopp standing next to him, aiming a slim pistol at the pirate who had threatened to blow the chef's

ains out only a moment earlier. the pirate glanced nervously at the long-nosed marksman, who smirked before he continued to speak to the pirate with the same threatening voice.

"when you point a gun at someone, you put your own life on the line. so, what's it going to be?"

the pirate dropped the gun onto the floor, looking completely dumbfounded. sanji

ought his right leg straight up in the air, sending the coward flying into the sea before he turned to usopp. the marksman was tucking the pistol in the holster on his right hip with a pleased grin on his face.

"that was some speech," sanji said slowly, not really in the mood to give any compliments.

"well, i didn't come up with it. i just repeated what someone said to me once…" he confessed, still grinning. "i heard some noise out here, so i told chopper-- watch out!"

groaning, sanji spun around, driving another cowardly pirate's head into the wooden floor. his strength seemed to be returning, even though he had fought just to keep himself standing only moments earlier. as he looked up, he was terrified to notice that a group of pirates had managed to get past his chefs and they were on their way towards the unguarded restaurant. those bastards were not going to destroy his treasure!

"no!"

he was about to start running after the pirates when a blur of black and green appeared in the doorway, rushing through the group of attackers. zoro finished his attack and nodded once at sanji with a challenging look on his face as the pirates fell to the ground with weak cries of pain and the splatter of blood.

behind the swordsman, by the entrance to the restaurant, nami leaned against the doorframe with her old bo staff in her hands.

"don't worry, sanji-kun!" she called out to him. sanji suddenly experienced an indescribable happiness flowing through his whole being. "robin is taking care of the guests, and we'll guard the restaurant. we'll make sure that they're safe. you're not alone, you know!"

sanji smiled, even if the whole left side of his face hurt as he did so. the part of his mind that was aware of the damage gin's attack must have made to his face was happy that his hair was hiding that half of it. but he chose to ignore that, at least for the moment. nami was right, he wasn't alone, and he should have known better than to doubt that his nakama would aid him if he needed it.

taking the opportunity to catch his

eath, sanji turned to watch the battle between the chefs and the pirates. it seemed as if the pirates were outnumbering the chefs with at least five to one, but pati, carne and a few of the other chefs were holding their own pretty well. some of the pirates paused as they spotted zoro standing in front of the pile of their fallen crewmates, making them easy targets for the battling chefs.

"lolonoa zoro!" someone cried. "it's the pirate hunter!"

"lolonoa zoro?" krieg's voice rumbled over the other voices, casting a light echo between the ships.

sanji looked up towards the battleship, where krieg was leaning against the railing with an interested look on his face. zoro also looked up towards the armored man, smirking lightly.

"pirate hunter, eh? that's a name i haven't heard in a while." the swordsman took the white-hilted katana from his mouth and looked questioningly up at krieg. "what do you want, old man?"

"i take it as you haven't come for my head, then," krieg chuckled cockily.

"not really, no," zoro shrugged, but kept his swords raised in front of him. sanji and usopp both let their eyes move between zoro and krieg, wondering which man would lose his temper first.

"maybe you haven't heard of the bounty placed on my head," krieg said, still chuckling.

sanji rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket for a new cigarette. the sounds of the battle between the chefs and pirates were growing fainter around him, save for the occasional gunshot and the cries of pain that sometimes echoed over the water. it was definitely not the same thing to just stand by and watch other people fight.

"oh, i have," zoro replied, not without a tone of irritation in his voice. "400 million belli, right? then you're not even worth my time."

"what's that supposed to mean?"

zoro snorted and cast a glance at sanji, who shook his head lightly and gestured for usopp to keep his mouth shut. the marksman looked like he was about to protest, but one glare from sanji made him stay quiet. there was no need to tell krieg about their journey through the grand line if the man actually didn't know about it. the swordsman nodded.

"why should i tell you?" he asked, turning back to krieg. "it's not my fault if you're not reading the newspaper once in a while."

krieg wasn't grinning anymore. he turned to the side, looking out over his ship while he waved his fist in the air.

"boys!" he called out. "

ing out the secret weapon! pearl, go down there and take care of the fleas. don't disappoint me."

a large shadow landed hard on the far end of the fin, causing most of the battling chefs and pirates to lose their balance. sanji, usopp and zoro swayed lightly from the violent rocking of the ship, but managed to stay standing. all three of them looked towards the newly arrived enemy with mild interest, even if sanji could sense that the marksman to his right was shivering lightly. pearl was standing in the middle of the crowd of chefs and pirates and looked around while he slammed two round shields together. he seemed to be a bit surprised that the battle had paused so suddenly.