"𝓘𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓘'𝓶 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾. 𝓑𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰, 𝓼𝓸 𝔀𝓱𝔂 𝓬𝓪𝓷'𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓼𝓮𝓮? 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓶𝓮."

***

Despite being such a flowery establishment, that didn't mean that it didn't have its downsides. From what Artemisia could tell, there was quite a bit of pirates in the restaurant. With this many pirates, anything was bound to happen. And it did. A verbal fight started up in the dining room between two men. One man had pink hair while the other had curly orange hair. It wasn't too hard to see that they were both pirates.

You'd think they were fighting about something important or dramatic. That's what Artemisia thought. This was proven to not be the case when the curly orange-haired man spoke first, "I am saying, this here is my table. Close to the kitchen so I can smell the beef."

It was definitely something that puzzled her. Artemisia found herself slightly lowering her menu to stare at the man with a look of confusion on her face, "Is that really their most important problem?" Must be one of the more well-off pirates. The ones that could swim in gold. Only they would complain about something so trivial.

In a true pirate fashion, the pink-haired man didn't relent, "Maybe you ought to try a table outside. Right now, the only thing I can smell is you." Artemisia snorted and covered her mouth. Nami quickly elbowed her in the side to get her to stop. The last thing that wanted was for one of the pirates to start trying to fight with them.

That wasn't expected to happen. The orange-haired pirate looked really to jump across the table at the pink-haired one. He instead opted to flip the plates over and off the table. A man with blond hair walked over when hearing the commotion, "Now, now, gentlemen," He wore a suit with a striped shirt underneath. The pink-haired man stood up, ready to fight the other pirate. The blond man stared at them with a smile, "You know the rules here. We don't waste food," At the mention of food, Artemisia finally noticed the plate of rolls in his hand, "And there is no fighting at Baratie."

"No," The orange-haired man said. He turned his attention back to the pink one, "This ain't gonna be a fight. I'm just going to kill him." Artemisia nodded to herself. That sounded like a fair assumption to her.

The pink-haired man didn't seem to think so, "Like to see you try."

The blond man, most likely a waiter, broke into their argument before it could get even more out of hand, "And I'd like to pour you each a glass of Ithürzburger Stein. On the house." Artemisia hoped that guy got a raise. If she was in his position, she wouldn't lost it on both of them already. Axel always said that she needed to learn to not blow everything out of proportion every once in a while. Artemisia would rather die.

That was an idea that the orange-haired man liked. He turned to the waiter, "Okay, I'll have that drink," He focused back on his opponent, "After he apologizes for his bad manners."

"Over my dead body."

And he took that literally. The pink-haired man took out his gun. Upon seeing the weapon, the other pirate went to grab his sword. What happened next surprised Artemisia greatly. The waiter lifted his leg and kicked the gun out of the pink-haired man's hand. He kicked the orange-haired man's and spin-kicked him across the face. He placed his hands on the table and spun so he could kick the pink-haired man back down onto the floor, throwing one last kick for good measure.

All Artemisia could say was, "Damn. He really showed them." He had some moves for a waiter.

"Good fighter." Luffy turned to Usopp.

Like nothing had even happened, the waiter picked up the plate of rolls he left on the table. Sighing, he forced a smile on his face as he addressed the customers, "No cause for alarm, folks. Please enjoy your meals," Artemisia was surprised to see him walk up to their table and place the rolls down. She'll make sure not to make him angry. "Hi, welcome to our shitty restaurant," Without even wasting a second, Luffy grabbed the plate and started scarfing down the rolls. Artemisia scrunched her face in slight disgust at the sight. "Where the only thing worse than the ambiance is the food. My name is Sanji. What can I get for you?"

With his mouth full, Luffy responded, "One of everything, please."

"Any drinks?" The waiter, Sanji, inquired. He looked like he would rather be anywhere else than serving them. "One of our signature cocktails to help you choke down your meal?"

A chuckle escaped Artemisia, "Can tell that you really like this job."

"Giving us the hard sell, huh?" Nami added. She had her elbow resting on the back of the seat. Artemisia didn't want to brag, but Nami's arm that was on her side was slightly touching her own. In her eyes, that's the biggest win there could ever be. Now all she needed was to convince her to get with her and they were set.

The situation seemed to change. Sanji turned to the two women with a smirk on his face, "Apologies, madams, I didn't see you two there. Would you both care for an apéritif to start?" Both girls noticed the change in attitude. Artemisia shrunk slightly under the gaze, shifting nervously. It had been a while since she was last hit on by a man. It was just as uncomfortable as she remembered it. "We have several rare Micqueot vintages in stock. Or perhaps you ladies would like a glass of Umeshu?" His smirk turned into a smile. "You know, something sweet," He winked, "For someone sweet."

There was a moment of silence as the girls processed what happened. Nami was the first to reply, "Something wrong with your eye?" She blinked slowly, trying to find out what made him change so quickly. Artemisia could easily answer the question.

Unfortunately for her, Sanji answered first, "Just blinded by your beauty."

Jealousy. Something that Artemisia didn't have much experience with but was now. She could feel herself gritting her teeth and shifted a bite more, "Yeah, okay. Uh..."

Someone decided to be their saving grace. Zoro cleared his throat to get the waiter's attention, "Waiter," Artemisia sighed in relief about the fact that the attention was no longer on her and Nami. Still, there was this persistent feeling of wanting to pummel this guy eating away at her from the inside. "Can I get a beer and something for my friends?"

"Two beers," Usopp's voice was different. It made Artemisia turn to him with a look. Was he trying to make himself seem mysterious and dangerous? "I usually have three, but-"

He was cut off. Luffy raised his hand and chimed in, "And a milk."

Still, Sanji had not taken his eyes off the two girls. Artemisia could feel the feeling of wanting to hit him become bigger and bigger. Sanji didn't seem to notice this, "Three beers and a milk. And, uh, for the ladies?"

"Water," Nami replied.

"Still, sparkling, mineral? With ice or without? Cubed or crushed?"

The barrage of questions seemed to annoy Nami, "Regular water in a regular glass. Thanks."

With Nami having ordered, Sanji turned his attention to Artemisia. The smug smirk was still on his face but he said nothing. Trying her best to not do something to get them kicked out, Artemisia grinned and bore it, "I'll take the most expensive alcohol you got. I need it." Not only because of the feelings of jealousy she was experiencing but also to forget what a trainwreck going up against the Marines was.

"Ice or no ice? Regular straw, bendy, no straw?" Sanji came at her with a similar barrage of questions. She understood why Nami didn't like it at all. It kind of felt like she was being hounded in order to get something back. One of the many reasons she could not ever be with a man. They only thought about themselves.

"No ice... And a bendy straw." But she was sure as hell going to take advantage of it if it was going to get her something she wanted. She just needed to keep the fact that she liked girls only away from him.

"Right away." Sanji walked away to get the crew their drinks.

That's when it started. Artemisia's worst nightmare. Usopp made an, "Ah," noise as he stared at the two girls. Both of them saw the boys staring at them. Artemisia was choosing to ignore it, not wanting to have it turn into something bigger than it was. Nami chose to confront them instead, "What?"

Zoro's answer was immediate, "Nothing," The girls looked over at him. He had his arms crossed over his chest. There was a moment of slight hesitation before he started, "Madam. Forgive my rude behavior, madam," Nami looked done with him. Zoro gave her a pointed look, "Would madam prefer her water in a crystal glass, or would a golden bowl be more madam's style?"

"Oh, stop it." Artemisia broke in.

That was a bad idea as he now turned his attention onto her, "Sorry, madam. Would you like that alcohol to be freshly poured from our finest stock?" He looked to the side and smirked.

On the other hand, Usopp grinned at them, stating, "Nami and Artemisia's got a boyfriend."

The statement made all the men laugh. Nami shook her head, but there was still the smallest hint of a smile, "You guys are the worst." She tried her best to hide it but didn't do as good of a job as she had hoped. Everyone could see the smile that was on her face.

It was something Artemisia loved to see... Usually. She was too focused on the unsettled feeling that she was feeling at the words Usopp said. Artemisia was on the edge of her chair as she shook her head at Usopp with worried eyes, "No, we don't. No, she doesn't. Nami doesn't have a boyfriend," Her head whipped around so she could look at Nami, "Tell them you don't have a boyfriend. You don't like him." God, she hated feeling like this.

"Calm down, Misi," Nami didn't seem too surprised by the outburst Artemisia was having, "You look desperate."

And Artemisia didn't mind it. She was desperate. She could be desperate. She would always be desperate when it came to Nami, "Just tell them you don't have a boyfriend." It was at this point that it came across as Artemisia begging her. Nami chose to ignore it, chalking it up as one of her usual jokes or schemes. Artemisia wishes it was only that.

The whole thing had started out as a joke. She couldn't deny that she did find Nami attractive. She imagined that it would be nice to have something with her. But she never actually tried to actively purse something. But now it's changed. It was something different. Artemisia was starting to really like her. She would go as far as to even say that she-

The group received their drinks and food. Artemisia took to chugging down the alcohol she was given. She needed to forget everything about the waiter. While Artemisia was focused on her drink, the others were eating their food. Luffy was eating like a wild animal that had been starved for weeks before finally being fed.

After a while, Usopp spoke, "I can't eat another bite," he was staring at the piece of food that was on the end of his fork, "But it's so good." He popped it into his mouth. Artemisia had taken a bit of her dish every once in a while. She had to admit, it was good food. She hadn't had good food like that in a while.

"Oh, man, you said it." Zoro opened his beer.

"I'm not gonna be hungry for a week." Nami had her head tilted back, resting on the back of the booth.

"This is the best food I have ever had," Artemisia took a sip of her drink, "This drink isn't too bad either." It was definitely working its magic. It hadn't made her blackout drunk yet but she was hoping she would get to that point eventually.

Everyone else was full but Luffy was a bottomless pit, "Should we order dessert?"

Holding up his drink, Zoro replied, "I already got mine." Artemisia did the same.

Humming, Luffy placed down his meat. He had a look on his face like he just realized something, "That reminds me," He pointed at Zoro before hitting the table lightly, "We should do a toast. Come on. Grab your glasses," Everyone did so except for Nami. Artemisia cast a look at Luffy, wondering where he was going with this toast. "To the best crew sailing on the sea and to our victory! Yeah!"

The loud cheering made everyone turn to them. Luffy chuckled, unaware of the stares. If he was aware then he simply didn't care about them. That had to be one of the admirable things about him. He never cared about what others thought. Despite this, Artemisia spoke her mind on the topic of discussion, "Victory? Victory when? Victory how?"

"No, I'm sorry. What victory exactly?" Nami agreed.

"Against the Marines," Luffy replied. "Our very first battle and we crushed them." He took a drink of his milk. The words made Artemisia do a double take. He really couldn't be serious, right? Surely he was joking?

This was Luffy. She had to ask to make sure, "Is that really what you think happened?"

"Of course," He insisted. "We really showed them."

Once again, how could he be serious? Nami seemed to be thinking the same thing. She shook her head and tried to explain it to him, "I don't know how many naval battles you guys have been a part of-"

"Two dozen, at least." Usopp cut in.

"With how you fumbled with those cannonballs, I sincerely doubt it," Artemisia stated. Usopp looked offended by this. Artemisia only responded with a shrug and took another drink from her drink. Sometimes people need to be humbled. That was her motto.

Despite the cut-ins, Nami continued, "But that was a disaster. We were unprepared, uncoordinated. By all rights, we should be at the bottom of the sea." They were just lucky that there was fog that they could escape into. If it wasn't there, it would've been a one-way ticket to a prison cell or an executioner stand. Either way, it was not something that Artemisia wanted to have the pleasure of experiencing.

"We're not though," Usopp said. "Luffy saved us." A smile grew on Luffy's face.

"There is no getting through to them." Artemisia took a sip of her drink.

She deemed it a lost cause. Nami was only disturbed by what she was hearing, "Are we really going to ignore the elephant in the room right now?" Luffy tilted his head in confusion. Knowing him, Artemisia wondered if he thought for a moment there was an actual elephant in the room. She didn't take him as the kind to easily understand expressions. "You didn't think to mention that your grandfather was a Marine? And not just any Marine, a vice-admiral! I mean," Nami gestured to the Zoro, Artemisia, and Usopp, "I don't know about you three. I didn't sign up for that."

"I didn't know that would happen," Artemisia added her two cents in. "Sure, I knew Marines but not a vice-admiral." Getting into a run-in with the Marines was to be expected when you were a pirate. Sometimes you get people like Axe-Hand Morgan. But the Vice Admiral of the Marines was not something that low pirates like them would experience on a regular basis.

On the other hand, Zoro seemed to have a different idea of the situation, "You raided a Marine base. Of course that'll make you a target."

"If I stole the map, no one would've known I was there, as opposed to wrecking a base commander's office." Nami defended herself.

"Your bill, sir." Sanji, seemingly coming out of nowhere, placed the bill down on the table.

Holding his finger up to tell Nami to give him a moment, Luffy went to grab the bill. He took the pen that was lying there and signed the receipt before holding it back to him. All Artemisia could do was look at him with an, "Are you serious?" look while Luffy grinned at the waiter, "Thank you, my good man."

Holding up the receipt, Sanji had a grin of his own, "No, sir. Thank you." He walked away.

A sigh came from Artemisia as she sank into her seat, "He looked a little too happy about that."

Luffy turned his attention back to Nami, "I'm not saying it's good that the Marines are on our tail, but we showed them that they can't just roll over us," He tapped his pointer finger on the table, "This crew," The tap turned into him lightly hitting the table, "Our crew, can handle anything." For once, no one said anything about them not being a crew. Usopp leaned back in his seat and took a drink of his beer.

This moment was then ruined by a cook coming out of the kitchen with a piece of small paper in his hand. He wore one of those tall chef hats. His mustache was long and braided into two separate braids. Judging by the look on his face, he was definitely not happy... And Artemisia had an idea why. Her assumption was solidified when he called out, "Who the hell is Monkey D. Luffy?"

Before he could say anything, Artemisia quickly raised forward and reached across the table to grab Luffy's hand which was about to go up. Luffy turned to her and she looked him directly in the eyes, "Don't say anything."

"It'll be fine, Misi," He smiled at her. She sighed and let him go, sitting back down. She told him. Luffy raised his glass of milk and looked around the structure that was behind his part of the booth, "Here." Poor Luffy, poor boy. Such an innocent little fool. He will surely be missed. But if asked, Artemisia had no idea who he was.

With the confirmation, the cook walked over to their table with a look of anger on his face, "You seem to be confused about the rules of the house," Luffy is confused about all rules but go off. Luffy sipped his milk, looking completely unbothered by the man. "But Baratie doesn't offer credit. You eat, you pay."

Sitting down his milk, Luffy grinned up at the cook, "I think you're confused," And this is where everything starts going downhill. Nami was watching him with her arms crossed. Anyone could tell that she wanted to strangle him. "The meal has already been paid for. I just haven't given you the money yet."

Might as well try. Artemisia leaned toward Nami and whispered so only the two of them could hear, "I say that we just slip out the backdoor while we still can."

"Tempting offer that I might just take."

The cook didn't look like he understood what Luffy was trying to get at, "Yeah, and how's that?"

"You can add it to my treasure tab." Was Luffy's response.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" The cook asked.

"I may not look like a big deal yet," Luffy started. Artemisia wanted more than anything to tell him to shut up. But he had already dug his hole too deep. He made his bed and now he would be forced to sleep in it. "But you're talking with the future King of the Pirates. And as soon as I find the One Piece, I'm gonna come back here, pay this bill in full, and with interest."

Chuckling, the cook responded, "I got a better idea." The cook grabbed Luffy by the front of his shirt. The group watched as the cook dragged their captain away, back into the kitchen. Who knows what would happen to him now?

"I doubt we'll ever see him again," Artemisia raised her glass in the direction Luffy disappeared in, "Nice knowing ya." She drank whatever was left of her beverage.

Nami leaned her head back against the chair once more, "I need a drink."

"Yeah. Now you're talking," Zoro agreed, drinking his beer. Time passed and none of them had seen Luffy again. They could only guess he was being put to work to pay off the debt he was now in. The group decided to move to the bar which was outside in the fish's mouth. It was now dark outside. They were sitting at a table while dance music played. Usopp was drinking from several straws in a huge decorative cup. Nami was looking down at her drink with her head in the clouds. There were two empty cups and one full one on the table in front of Zoro. Meanwhile, Artemisia was on her fourth or fifth drink. Zoro stared at Usopp and Artemisia with a pointed look, "Pace yourselves."

"I'll do what I like," Artemisia spoke between sips.

Looking down at his drink, Usopp replied, "I don't even think there's liquor in this. It tastes just like candy." He laughed and drank even more of it.

"Last time I said that, I woke up face down under a table," Zoro told him. He turned his attention to Nami who was still looking at her glass. Noticing this, he spoke to her directly, "That glass have gold on the bottom or what?" Nami looked up, humming. "You haven't stopped staring at it."

There was a moment of silence before Nami finally asked them, "You seriously don't think what Luffy did is messed up?" Oh, no, it definitely was. No one was denying that. There should be some mention of something like that.

The question made Zoro stare into his own drink, "Yeah. He should've told us."

"I agree," Artemisia spoke up. Her words were a little slurred as she spoke, the alcohol finally kicking in, "It's not like it's something you would forget mentioning. "Hey, you want to be part of my crew? By the way, my grandfather is the freaking vice-admiral of the Marines,"" She drank the rest of her drink. "I need another." Usopp was still sipping on his own.

"In case you didn't notice, we've been making enemies everywhere we go," Zoro stated. "Psycho clowns, killer butlers. What's a vice-admiral gonna do to us?" Artemisia could think of many things. Many, many things, and none of them were great.

Shaking her head, Nami insisted, "No, you don't get it," She glanced at Usopp and then Artemisia, "I can't get caught. Not when I'm so close..."

The statement made the other three lock eyes. This was the first time they had heard about something like this. Nami didn't finish what she was saying so Artemisia took it upon herself to ask about it, "Close to what?"

The response was one she expected to hear, "Nothing," Artemisia sighed and leaned back into the booth seat. Nami placed her drink down, "Uh, who's ready for another drink? My treat."

Two of them (Artemisia and Usopp) nodded. Artemisia was still staring at Nami with a skeptical glance but she didn't say anything else. Meanwhile, Zoro hummed, "My favorite kind of drink." Nami stood and headed to the bar, leaving the other three to think about what she was trying to say a moment ago.

~~~

You guys are going to hate and love the next chapter 😃.