You were sailing for almost a month and you've run out of food. If it weren't for your fast metabolism, you wouldn't be suffering from starvation right now. You wanted to try hunting underwater but you're too weak to move so you're gonna die a painful death.
You were about to give up when you saw something just up ahead. A weird-looking ship but you don't care bc you're too hungry to bother. Once reached there, you stumbled to the doors and opened them. Your eyes are starting to get heavy. You couldn't hear anything cuz you listened to a long beep in your ears as your vision turned black.
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Zeff's POV
"Owner Zeff!! You need to come down here!!"
"What is it??" I grumbled. What is it now?? Did another rude customer come in?? Ugh, why did that crap kid have to be sick at this time?? I walked down the stairs to find a woman lying down on the floor. My eyes widened and asked one of the chefs what happened.
"What the hell happened??"
"A woman just came inside the restaurant and then she just collapsed. What should we do with her??"
"Carry her upstairs and prepare the food for her. She seems to be starving"
Seeing that the woman is tall as hell. She needed 2 or 3 chefs to carry her upstairs.
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Your POV
You woke up and found yourself on the bed which gave you a sense of Deja Vu.
"So you're awake??" You turned to see an old man with a long chef's hat and a braided mustache.
"Who are you and where am I??" you asked.
"Is that how you thanked someone who saved your life??" you raised a brow.
He sighed. "My chefs saw you collapsed on the floor the moment you came into my restaurant. Now eat, you seemed to be starving"
You looked to the side to see food. You grabbed it without hesitation and ate. You looked up to the chef and said, "Btw you might need to make more food cuz I have a fast metabolism so I digest food very quickly"
After eating so many plates of food, you are finally whole.
"Sorry about that, sir. I have not eaten food for almost a month and because of my fast metabolism, I ran out of food. So may I ask where am I??" you asked.
"You're at the Baratie restaurant, a floating restaurant near the Grand Line. I'm the owner of this restaurant, Zeff" he replied.
[The Grand Line?? That's great. At least now I can ask him about it but I have to repay him for the food] You don't like owing people.
"Sir, thank you for the food. I wanted to repay you for the food" You did a bow while sitting on the bed.
"There's no need to repay. This is for free and you can leave this " Zeff waved it off and stood up to leave then one of the chefs rushed into the room.
"Owner Zeff!! There's trouble!!"
"Tch, what is it now??" Zeff turned to him. "It's Sanji!! His fever's getting worse!!"
"WHAT?!" Zeff said as he rushed out of the room.
You stood up and asked the chef if you can follow. He allowed and you went after Zeff. In one of the rooms, you found Zeff right next to a blond-haired boy with his right eye and his eyebrows forming a spiral on different ends covered on one side, laying on the bed panting and sweating with his face red.
"Where is the doctor?? Isn't he here yet?!" Zeff asked.
"Unfortunately no. The doctor is currently with the patient and it might take him days to get here!!
"Tch!! What's taking them so long?!" Zeff snapped.
"Uhm, is it okay for me to take a look at him??" you asked as the chefs turned to you.
"You?? Do you know any medical knowledge??" Zeff asked.
"I know mostly about acupuncture so I think it might help the kid" you replied as Zeff narrowed his eyes at you to see any trace of lies. There is none so he stood up and let you look at the blond boy. You checked his pulse on his wrist and luckily found no inconsistencies in his body. It was just a high fever. You reached for your acupuncture needle in your pocket and started poking the correct pressure points. Once done, you put back your acupuncture needle into your pocket and checked on the blond boy. His nerves had started to calm down and his face is back to normal.
You turned to Zeff, telling him that boy is okay now. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and was glad that he was getting better.
"He just needs to get plenty of rest and some cold towel on his forehead to get the heat out," you said.
Zeff nodded and said, "Thanks for that, lass"
"Guess we're even then" you smirked. Zeff chuckled. "Yea, consider that even"
"Say, is it okay if I work here for a while?? I wanted to learn more about cooking and I also wanted to ask you something about the Grand Line," you asked.
Zeff raised a brow. "You're going to the Grand Line??" he asked.
"Yea, I just need to get prepared before I leave. I'm well aware of how dangerous it could be and it was called the Pirates' Graveyard" you replied.
"What's the reason for going there, lass?? You after One Piece??" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"What, no way. I'm not interested in finding that. Won't that make me a pirate if I did??" you retorted.
Then Zeff started to burst out laughing and his voice booms across the room. "So you don't want to be a pirate"
"You got that right. I have no intention of being one. With Marines on my back is not even ideal for me" you said.
"Fine, I'll let you work here and tell you information about the Grand Line. We needed waiters since they always jump ship so don't even think about slacking off" he replied.
You stood up and bowed in respect to Zeff. "I'll be in your care!!"
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Over the next few months, things were chaotic. You were serving the customers as the waitress and learned new dishes and cooking techniques from other chefs. The blond boy got better and wanted to help out. Zeff thought of something funny and wanted you to avoid the blond boy now known as Sanji for a little while. He will throw in your meals if you avoid him for a bit. Considering that you're a woman, he wanted to see Sanji sweat when the new waitress is seen by everyone but him. Pretty harsh but funny at the same time so you decided to play along.
And here you are, hiding press flat against the wall waiting for the kid to pass you by walking through the doorway of the kitchen level. You took a small peek at him and noticed that he was looking for something...or someone. You just don't know what.
Once he's finally out of sight, you quickly left your hiding spot and ran downstairs to the dining area with a tray of food for the customers. With your tall stature, it is hard to avoid him. You were very popular with the customers.
Ever since you started working here, many customers became enchanted by you. Let it be a man or a woman. With your deep and elegant voice, they became flustered. Adding that with your dark red eyes staring right through their souls as if they were underneath a spell. Many told others that the waitress's beauty cannot be compared with other women they met which made the newcomers curious and so the restaurant became so packed.
You placed the ordered food and beverages on the table while hiding behind it.
"Enjoy your orders," you said as you gave them a small smile to look professional. The man and the date flushed at you as you got up and leave, seeing that Sanji is gone now.
You walked past the tables as the customers all looked at you with their faces red. You turned to see them staring at you in a daze. You smiled at them and they were about to faint from their chairs.
After the whole day of playing hide and seek, you lay on your bed exhausted from all the running and hiding.
"Damn...I'm so tired. All that running and hiding is making me exhausted. Well, at least I learned more about cooking. Even old man Zeff decided to teach me some of his kicks. Wonder what caused him to decide that" You looked up at the ceiling as you thought in a daze.
You made a promise with Nami recently that once you're strong enough, you will save her and the entire village.
You snapped out of your daze when you heard the doors creaking. Behind the door is Zeff.
"So did I pass, old man??" you asked as you got up into a sitting position.
Zeff scoffed and replied, "Yea, you successfully avoided Sanji for the past few months and it was hilarious that he was making a fool of himself there. He's been looking for you when he first heard of the new waitress as well as the one who healed him"
You raised a brow and chuckled.
"About the Grand Line, you need a log pose since compasses are useless there. There are multiple ways to enter but they're all dangerous to get through. You also need a map of the Grand Line. I don't have it with me so you're on your own" he said.
"What about the log pose?? How do I get one??" you asked. He shrugged and you looked at him deadpan.
"Eh, you'll figure it out somehow"
Yeah right. As if it was that simple...
"Anyways, it was nice meeting you, old man. I learned a lot. Tell Sanji we'll meet again" You opened the window and were about to jump over it.
"Oi!! What's your name?!" Zeff shouted.
You smirked. "It's (First Name)!!" you replied and then you jumped down to the deck to get to your boat. You set your sail and sailed to the Grand Line.
Meanwhile, Sanji came a little too late and ranted to Zeff that he couldn't get to meet his savior and new waitress as Zeff was snickering and told him that he was too slow.
Author's note: We're finally done with (First Name)'s journey of East Blue!! Now we can finally time skip to the start of the original One Piece!! I wanted to drag this a little longer but it will ruin the surprises I have prepared so be prepared!! ^^