8 years later~
You returned to East Blue to visit some old friends and for a promise you kept. It has been 8 years. Time flies quickly and now you're 26 years old. It felt like it was yesterday. You even met some interesting individuals on the Grand Line.
You were on your way to the Baratie restaurant to meet old man Zeff and eat your fill before you go to now known as Arlong Park. It disgusted you that such an asshole is still reigning over the island you once visited. You even found out that the Marine branch that is nearest to it is taking bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to his actions. Just thinking about it makes your blood boil and decided to take its toll.
You docked behind a small island to rest and caught some fish to eat. You saw two men on a small boat that is also resting. One of them seems to be sick as he is laying on the floor with no color.
You were about to call out to them to help but then a cannonball suddenly crashed into the rock you docked behind. The rocks fell crashing and you jumped into the water to save yourself. Your boat was destroyed and sank into the ocean along with all your money and supplies.
Your eye twitched and irk marks appeared on your forehead, shaking in anger. Who the fuck fires a cannonball at random rocks?? It is most likely a rookie pirate crew who did this.
You swam to the side of the rocky island when you see a pirate ship with a funny-looking figurehead. You wanted to give them a good beating but you don't have time to deal with that now. You shift to your tiger shark form and swam to the Baratie restaurant at full speed.
Luckily you trained your tail like an extra muscle so you managed to reach there without any problems.
When you reached the restaurant, you jumped to the deck and shift back to your human form. You walked through the entrance casually with your feathered hat and goggles. You were wearing a face mask of a different face due to avoid getting caught by the Marines but that is a story for another time.
Everyone looked at you with fear. You could hear the whispers and murmurs around you as you sat down on your chair waiting for your order. As much as you want to meet Zeff, you cant meet him looking like this.
"Hey, isn't that....??"
"Yea..."
"That hat...that sword and the spear..."
"That's the Phantom Thief, Arsene!! She is very well known to steal riches from officials and pirates for the poor and expose their corruptedness with pieces of evidence and testimonies of the people who suffered"
(I'm honestly not sure if this suits her cuz I like Arsene Lupin. I just can't find a female name opposite of it)
"I heard that she defeated them to the point that they became paralyzed"
"What should we do?? We even saw her face"
"Are you dumb?? That might not be her real face. Don't forget that she's a master of disguise and good at hiding in plain sight. How do you think the Marines haven't caught her yet??"
"True...I heard she even fought the Admirals. They even sent the marine hero, Garp to capture her but she always manages to get away. She was an escape artist"
You scoffed. Why did you have to have a male name?? At least get a better epithet!! The Marines are starting to lose touch with naming people...
You ignored the whispers as the waiter came in. You looked up to see a familiar face and your eyes widened at him. It was Sanji!! Good thing he didn't recognize you as he had never seen you before you could meet or else your cover is blown. What happened next actually surprised you. He knelt with one leg and held a flower in your face.
"Oh, ocean~ Thank you for delivering this beautiful pearl through the doors of this restaurant~" he flirts looking up at you to reveal his eyes turning into hearts and a blush staining his cheeks.
You didn't expect that he would become like this around women after 8 years. You chuckled and takes the flower to put it behind her ear as you took off your hat.
"Merci, Monsieur"
"Tout pour toi, ma belle~"
You chuckled at how cute this is. You were so used to being flirted with that you didn't expect sincere words of compliments on top of it. You took off the flower as you slowly took off your face mask, revealing your h/c hair and your dark red eyes. All the patrons blushed as they noticed you. Some even recognized you as the waitress who served here before. They were shocked that you revealed yourself here in this restaurant.
"My, my. You're such a charmer, Sanji. I'm glad that you've grown into a healthy, strong man" You smiled as you head patted Sanji. His eyes widened and asked, "Are you the waitress from 8 years ago?? The one I've been trying to spot over a few months back then??"
"That she is"
Sanji snapped out of his daze and groaned. "Ugh, stupid geezer. It's your fault that I didn't get to see this vision of beauty back then"
"It was fun while it lasted, you damn brat" Zeff snickers. You lean back over the back of the chair to look at Zeff.
"It is nice to see that you're still alive and kicking old man" you grinned.
"And it is nice to see that you're still alive from your journey in the Grand Line" Zeff chuckled. "Let's talk more upstairs" You nodded as you follow after him.
__________________________________________________
"So, who would have thought that the phantom thief who is roaming around stealing riches from rich people is you, (First Name)??" Zeff said as he sat down.
"Please, old man. That much is just the tip of the iceberg of what I did. Although some rumors are bound to be exaggerated" you smirked.
"Why are you here??" he asked.
"At first I came here to eat but then my boat was destroyed thanks to some brats firing their cannonballs. All my money and supplies sank along with it so I'm almost broke right now" you replied, still angry that some rookie crew sank your boat.
"So is it fine if I work here again??" you asked shyly, rubbing the back of your neck.
Before Zeff could reply, you sensed something coming your way as you quickly ran to dodge out of the way, and then a cannonball crashed into the building. You were hiding behind a table to take cover.
You shouted to him, "Old man. You good??"
"You still think I'm okay??" he retorted. "Just go to the kitchen and start your work. I'll go deal with this" he waved it off.
You followed what he said and went to the bustling kitchen. You found the apron that you last placed when you helped out at the restaurant 8 years ago. Picking up the waist apron, you can see that it's still clean as the day you wore it, it is even ironed.
"Hey, who are you and what do you think you're doing with that??" a gruff voice shouts. You turn to see a familiar face, Carne.
"My, my. It's been a while since I last came here. I thought I was more memorable than that, Carne" you smirked.
"(F-F-First Name)?? Is that you??"
"Do you know any woman that could pull this off??" You answer your question as you tie the apron on. The chef let out a boisterous laugh.
"It is you. No other woman has that much spunk. Man, Patty's gonna have a field day when he hears you're back"
"You could say that but I won't be here for long. I'm gonna be working for this place again to earn some money cuz I lost them as my boat was destroyed"
"Sanji just went down to serve that Marine big shot. Here, take this to that table there" Carne told you. You held the delicious-looking soup and brought it to the table where Sanji is.
"Here is your soup, sir," you said as you placed the soup on the table. The Marine figure and his date turned up to look at you. His date's face flushed red while the Marine looks at you with lust.
Sanji turned to you with hearts in his eyes. "(First Name)-koi~ You don't have to do that!!"
You smiled down at him. "It's okay, Sanji. There is no need for you to bother with that. I can deal with this on my own" you replied.
You turned back to the Marine and his date and gave them a professional smile.
"You should eat up while it is still hot, sir" Then turned to leave when you felt a grasp on your wrist. You turned down to see it was the Marine.
"Why not just stay longer?? I heard rumors of a waitress whose beauty cannot be compared with most women from this restaurant. I thought they were exaggerated but looking at you now, I guess I should give them some credit" he smirked, looking at you with a disgusting lustful look.
The regular patrons started to have irked marks on their foreheads. They looked very pissed at the marine's words and were about to throw hands but they had to hold it in to not cause a ruckus so they could only watch.
Sanji was about to snap this guy's arm but you held a hand to stop him. You gave him a reassuring smile and turned back to the Marine.
"What makes you think you have the qualifications??" you asked.
He smirked and replied boastfully, "I'm a Marine Lieutenant so someone like you deserves something even more than being a waitress in this little restaurant"
You rest your cheek on one hand and sighed close-eyed. The Marine lieutenant narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"That's it?? I heard you're a big shot so I assumed you're from a higher position but it seems I got it wrong. You see, I have higher standards so what makes you think you have the qualifications??" you smiled close-eyed. He was frozen in shock at making a fool of himself.
You could hear the snickers of his date and the restaurant patrons or at least try not to in front of the authoritative figure as they nodded in agreement. With a beautiful woman like you, what makes them think they are worthy of you?? They could only admire you from a distance. Sanji nodded agreeing as well.
"Also sir, my name is Sanji, I'm the sous chef. All the waiters except (First Name) ran off as of yesterday" he said. You shrugged his hand off and went back to the kitchen. You went on to continue your work as usual.
Everything goes quiet as a certain loud-mouthed Marine shouts. "Waiter!! Hey!! Get over here!!"
What does he want now?? Doesn't he know when to quit?? You looked from the other side of the restaurant.
"I believe I've already told you I'm not a waiter" He looks down at the Marine but shifts his gaze to his date.
"What an irresistible beauty you are" He charms as he places his hand over hers.
"My Lady, would you like to join me elsewhere for a glass of wine??" You can tell that his words have a double meaning behind them. Not only was he flirting with Marine's date, but he also mocked him further about you from earlier.
The Marine slams his hand on the table, drawing Sanji's attention away from the woman.
"Hey, what is this?? Is Bug soup on the menu or did you make it just for me??" And just like he said, there's a bug floating in the middle of his untouched soup. But when you served him the soup, there was nothing odd or abnormal in it.
Is he trying to sue the restaurant just because of me?? He deserves it but he went too far this time.
"Bug soup??" Sanji questions, looking genuinely confused.
"That's right. What's this bug doing there, waiter??" Is this guy insane??
Sanji doesn't deter one bit. "Sorry, sir. We don't know really. Looks like he's floating"
The Marine glares at the witty retort. "Then again, it kinda looks like he's drowning but it's hard to say for sure"
You suppress your laughter with your hands but it eventually bursts out softly.
Everyone including his date tries to hold back their laughter. The Marine is clawing the tablecloth, trying to put a curb to his anger but fails miserably. He raises his fist before...
"DON'T YOU MESS WITH ME, WAITER!!" He brings down his fist, splitting the table in half, and destroying the unfinished dishes of perfectly good food.
After the damage is done, Sanji kneels on the broken soup bowl with its contents spilled around it.
"You could have eaten it if you had just taken the bug out" He places his hand in the now-soiled liquid.
"It would have been wonderful. It took 3 full days of hard cooking that soup for you and you wasted it" the sous chef growls.
You turned your head as the Marine stomps on Sanji's hand. That's one thing to waste food at sea and purposely sabotaged a cook's food, but to bring harm to their most sacred tool, their hands are going too far. You knew how important it is to treasure and care for your hands as a chef yourself.
"Can't you see that you're biting off more than you can chew??" The Marine asks as he twists his foot on Sanji's hand. The young man remains silent, shadows covering his face.
"I'm the customer here. Do you understand me?! I'm paying you!!" he snarls.
"Stop it, Fullbody!!" his date tries to calm him down but he shoves her aside, knocking her to the ground.
The woman is frightened by the man's actions. You quickly approached the woman, picking her up bridal style and carrying her to an empty table away from this humiliating display.
"Are you alright, miss??" you asked. She blushes at being treated so eloquently and with respect unlike just a moment ago.
"Y-yes, I'm fine" she stuttered.
You smiled. "That's good to know. It'll be a shame to see a pretty face ruined by someone so ungentlemanly" you complimented.
Her blush darkens and you took out a dish you made yourself earlier in the kitchen that you were going to give to the lucky customer but it seems she needs it more than anyone. "Please have this new dessert, free of charge at the restaurant"
"Oh no. I simply couldn't impose"
"It's no trouble at all. It's an item I've been thinking of adding to the restaurant's menu. You're doing me a favor by trying it. Please, I insist"
"A-alright" she gives in.
"That's good. A pretty woman such as yourself deserves a nice treat. I'll be back shortly. Take your time, dearie" You winked as you smiled and she blushed.
"Can your money truly satisfy your hunger??" Sanji asks Fullbody in a threatening tone.
"What do you mean??" The Marine is confused by the question.
"I'm asking . . .Can it satisfy your hunger??" he lifts his head to meet Fullbody's eyes before slipping his hand from under his foot and spinning atop his hands landing perfect kicks, beating the Marine bloody.
The results are beaten and bloody Fullbody being gripped by the throat by a single hand from Sanji. Compared to the feared looks on the restaurant patrons' faces, yours was of awe and impression. So he's a skilled fighter. Must've learned those moves from Zeff.
The cooks from the upper floor are now on the staircase examining the situation. Judging by their expression, they don't seem particularly shocked by it but are still alarmed by the scene. It seems this kind of thing happens a lot.
"Hm, a fight" a voice sounds. You turn to see some familiar faces at the entrance of the restaurant taking in the scene.
"Don't ever waste food around me again. At sea, if you ever provoke your cook, you're signing your death warrant" Sanji growls. "Remember that"
Truer words have never been spoken. He seems like a man who knows the true value of a meal at sea.