"Okay. Thanks," she gives him a small smile and looks at the plate in front of her. "It smells amazing."

"Of course it does! It's Sanji's cooking!" Luffy puts his legs underneath him and tilts his head to the side. "Now hurry up and take your first bite! I'm starving!"

She turns to Luffy before she looks around at the table, "What's this about? You guys don't have to wait for me..."

"It's kind of a tradition," Nami laughs, folding her arms over her chest. "Every time there's a new member-er well, housemate, we have a feast. And the new person always gets to eat first."

  "I see," she picks up the fork next to her, feeling nervous because everyone's watching her. "Well... thank you."

The moment the food hit her tongue, the world seemed to fade away. A smile spreads across her face subconsciously, and her eyes close. She takes a deep breath, loosing herself in her thoughts.

"I suppose that means she likes it," Zoro puts down his feet, and the movement causes her eyes to snap open. "Though it's just food, so I don't really understand why we act like it's some big deal."

"Shut up!" Luffy slams his fist on the table. "Sanji's food is the best!"

  "Leave him alone, Luffy," Sanji stands up, turning his face away from them. "He's just dishonest about how he feels. Sometimes us men let our pride get in the way of our true feelings."

He starts to walk away, (Y/n) making sure there isn't any food in her mouth before speaking, "Wait, aren't you going to eat?"

"Later," he says without even turning back around to face her. "You enjoy your food first."

  She watches him leave the room, he exits to the balcony, striking a match and lighting a cigarette. She hears everyone else in the room pick up their utensils and start to eat. She notices someone is still staring at her, she turns to look at them.

  "He never eats with us," Robin gives her a smile. "He'll sit in here, but I believe he likes to see how his food brings other people joy rather than enjoy it himself. If you're worried about him, tell him that. He'll listen to you."

  She stands up, walking towards the sliding glass doors. She pulls it open and steps out, the rain still pouring down. He turns to look at her, his eyes slightly wide.

  "You shouldn't have come out here, Luffy's gonna eat all your food," he leans against the railing, breathing in the air deeply. "And you need to be strong and nutritious."

  "I'm good," she gives him a small smile, a little weak. "I'm more worried about you. You prepared this giant meal for me and everyone else, and you're not going to eat any of it? That doesn't really make much sense to me."

  "Well, I don't need to eat, you do," he flicks the cigarette in his hand and looks away again, staring at the street. "I can't have you starving to death on my watch. See, even the world is weeping at the thought of you dying because you didn't eat."

  "It just so happened to rain today," she rolls her eyes at how cheesy he's trying to be. "And don't get me wrong, I appreciate you doing this for me. But it just doesn't feel right. You don't even have to eat, you just have to be in there with me."

  He doesn't move, and for a few seconds they don't exchange words. She lets out a small sigh and leans against the railing like the blond. Her eyes follow his gaze, he's staring at the horizon. She can see her old town from here. Did he used to live there as well?

He turns around before he puts the cigarette in his mouth. He then places both hands on the concrete behind him and lifts himself onto the railing. He takes a deep breath and exhales the smoke. His hair sways slightly in the wind, but he smiles at her. There's something in the blue of his eyes that's causing her to feel as if he's forcing his smile.

"There really isn't any need to worry about me, (Y/n)," he lifts his chin up, smelling the rain in the air. "But there is something we need to discuss with you, and–"

There's a loud sound and the building shakes slightly, like a bomb went off. Then there's a voice she doesn't recognize, "Come out Straw Hat! It's payback time!"

  "Sorry, our conversation will have to wait until a little later," Sanji jumps off the railing, grabbing her shoulder and pushing her inside the doors just as a person comes within view. Everyone looks at him as they enter the room, most of them are on their feet already. "It's happening again."

He closes the door behind him before he kicks the chair Luffy is still seated in. "Quit eating! This is important!"

"But I'm not done!" Luffy whines before Nami pulls him out of his chair. "Nami! Let me eat!"

"Our base is being attacked, idiot! If we don't do something now and wait until you're done then we won't even be alive!" she glares at the man before she starts to shake him. "That's no way to introduce (Y/n) to this place!"

Luffy grabs her hands and Nami stops shaking him, "You're right. Don't worry, (Y/n)! We'll handle this!"

The (h/c)-haired woman just stands there as everyone files through the doors. Just what's happening here? She goes through the glass doors again, being careful as to not make any noise. Her breath catches in her throat as her mind tries to make sense of the scene in front of her.

  They're fighting with smiles on their faces. Well, most of them; Usopp looks pretty terrified. And Luffy's stretching. Must be a devil fruit. She leans against the glass. Nothing really makes sense to her. Why are they okay with this? They're acting like they're a gang or something.

  She puts her hand on the handle and goes back inside, closing the door behind her. There's a rush of warmth, as if the apartment is trying to remind her she's safe, so she falls to her knees. She sits there for a few minutes just pondering what's happening outside.

Ace and Sabo, they weren't involved in the fight. So what were they doing? Are they guarding her to make sure she doesn't leave? Are they going to kill her now that she knows their secrets?

She hears her name being called, so she turns around to see what's happening. Her eyes widen as she sees something flying towards her. She winches before she can hear glass breaking, then there's a stabbing pain in the pit of her stomach.

Her ears ring as she slowly opens her eyes, the balcony she was just on a few minutes ago is gone. Her body aches, she feels as if she has scratches everywhere. Her first reaction is to cough, and she can taste the iron in her blood. She stares at her hands, trying to calm herself, but she just coughs up more blood.

With shaking hands, she brings her hand to her stomach. She looks down when she feels her fingers touch a warm liquid. She covers her mouth, trying to calm her breathing. There's a piece of glass lodged in her stomach. Tears start to stream from her eyes as she grips the jagged piece and tries to pull it out. She knows that it would be better to leave it in, but fear is clouding her judgement.

She can't grip it right with her hand, it's only cutting her. So she switches to the other hand and sees if she has any better luck that way, and she does. But by the time she gets it out, both of her hands are covered in blood and cuts.

She hears the door open, and she looks over at the faces, Ace and Sabo. Sabo is the first one to reach her, and he smacks the glass from her hand. He's saying something to Ace, but she can't really hear him. She's suddenly very tired, and can't keep her eyes open.

"(Y/n), don't close you're eyes," Sabo shakes her slightly, trying to get her to look at him. "I'm here."

"About time," she gives him a small smile before she closes her eyes completely. Drifting into the darkness. "But I'm tired..."

_:('ཀ'」 ∠):