11- What Cannon Practice Does To Us

"Why are you on a pirate ship like this?!" Johnny shouted to Zoro.

"Is something wrong?" Zoro asked again. "Why isn't Yosaku with you?!"

"Well..." He trailed off. "A cannon was shot at the rock we were on and he's not doing too good!" He ran off to the side of the ship. I followed and saw a boat attached to ours with a man inside it. He really didn't look good! That's what our cannon did? I feel bad now...

He had a horribly wrapped bandage wrapped around his midsection and blood was oozing through. He also wore a black tank top, yellow checkered shorts, a green cloak, and brown leather boots.

"Yosaku is..." Johnny was in tears. Zoro placed his hand on his friends shoulder in a comforting motion. We brought him up onto the deck.

"I think he's sick." I said.

"He's sick?" He questioned. "Although, he was full of life up until a few days ago, now he keeps getting paler and then fainting!" Johnny was trying to hold back his tears. "I have no idea what's causing this..."

I looked up to see Nami walking down the stairs. "In the end," He continued. "His teeth fell out and his old wound opened up and started bleeding. I don't know what to do anymore! So, we were on a rocky island letting him rest quietly. But then, a cannonball came flying from this ship..." He was trying so hard not to cry.

Luffy and Usopp had their mouths hanging wide open in shock and regret. They stood up straight. "We're sorry!" They said in unison.

"Sorry doesn't cut it..." Johnny said sadly. The two idiots paled. "Isn't that right, partner? Big Bro..." He addressed Zoro. "Is he going to die?" Zoro didn't know how to answer. It was written all over his face as he stared at the pair.

"Are you all stupid?" Nami asked, finally done taking her sweet time getting here.

"What did you say?!" Zoro exclaimed. Nami ignored him and got down next to Yosaku and pulled out his tongue and opened his eyelid. She then began to tug on his tongue.

Johnny lost it. "What're you doing?!" He grasped Nami's arm in two different places.

"Ouch!" She cried.

He began screaming at her, spit flying out of his mouth and onto her face. "If you mock my partner's death, you'll pay for it-" She easily shut him up by placing a hand over his face. Luffy and Usopp were in tears and snotting all over themselves.

"Luffy, Usopp. Remember we have limes in the storage?" They didn't move. "Are you listening?! Bring them here. Now!" They recoiled from her sharp tone and ran for the storage room, fighting to get through the door first. Because of their stupidity, they ended up crashing into the storage room floor.

They came back with a crate of limes. "Now, cut open the limes half way and squeeze them into his mouth." They did so. Nami looked at Yosaku sadly then lowered her head. "It's scurvy."

"Scurvy?" Johnny asked.

I snorted. "Even with being on an island all my life, I know what scurvy is. Scurvy is a disease that occurs when a person lacks the essential vitamins when out at sea, since they could be without food for days or weeks."

"If we weren't too late," Nami added. "He should be fine within a couple days."

Johnny grabbed our arms happily. "R-really, Big Sisters?!"

"YUCK!" I cried as I backed away. "Say it, don't spray it! Ugh!" I began to wipe off as much of the spit as possible. Then I heard a scream of terror. "What?!" I was instantly alert. Then I noticed he was staring at me. I felt my head. "Right... No hat..." He saw my ears.

"What are you?!" He was hiding behind Zoro.

I rolled my eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I'm a Neko." I held out my hand. "Mira." He stared at my had and carefully took ahold of it.

"Johnny." He still wasn't too sure of me.

I snickered. "Don't worry. I don't bite; much." He screamed and retreated behind Zoro again. I laughed at him. "Ah~, I love messing with people." Suddenly, I heard someone choking and sputtering. I turned just in time to see Yosaku spit out the limes stuffed in his mouth and sit up, the color back in his face.

I fell to the ground laughing my ass off when both Johnny and Yosaku began to dance in a circle, arm linked, shouting "Yay!" over and over at the top of their lungs. "All those nutrients revived me!" Yosaku cheered. The four were staring at them while I just laughed to my hearts content.

That all stopped when Nami shouted to the two of them. "There's no way you can recover that quickly!" She then rounded on me. "And stop laughing at their stupidity!" I stood and cleared my throat.

"Sorry."

"AH!!!" I looked at Yosaku. "Cat ears!" He then suddenly paled and fell to the ground, in the same shape he was in just a few minutes ago. We put him in the hospital ward and let him rest. It was night time now as we all gathered in the dining room.

"This is a lesson." Nami said.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "There are pitfalls like this when you travel on the sea for a long time..."

"Which means," Usopp added. "We have to consider the distribution of nutrients using limited kinds of foods."

Nami wrote something down in her book. "When we think about it carefully, it's a necessary ability."

Luffy bit into some bread. "A necessary ability, huh?" He said around food. "Okay then! A seafaring cook!" He exclaimed.

"What?" We all questioned his thinking ability.

Luffy stood and placed his hands on the table. "Let's go find a seafaring cook!"

"Aha!" Usopp cried. "Then we'll be able to eat yummy food even on the ship!"

"Luffy," I sighed. "There's no way we're going to find one in the middle of the ocean."

"Actually, there is." Johnny piped up.

"Eh?"

"If you're looking for a cook like that," Johnny continued. "There's a perfect place for that."

"All right!" Luffy cheered right in his face. "Where is it?!"

"But this place is close to the Grande Line, and..." Oh boy, I don't like where this is going.  He stood up from leaning against the railing and walked in front of Zoro. "You hear rumors about the hawk-eye man you're looking for."

Zoro gripped his white katana closer and smirked.

"We'll head," Johnny pointed dramatically. "North-north east!"

"Yes!" Nami said.

"All right!" Usopp chimed in.

Zoro chuckled low in his throat and Luffy grinned like an idiot.

I yawned. "Let me know when we get there." Everyone dead panned. "What?"

"I expect that from Zoro, but not you..." Nami groaned. I just shrugged and headed to my room.

~~~

I startled awake at the sound of an explosion. "What the hell is going on?!" I leaped from my bed and ran up the stairs to the main deck. I was able to witness a Navy ship sailing off and Luffy against the figurehead like he went "SPLAT!" and a cannonball hit a restaurant. I put the pieces together and concluded that Luffy angered some Marines.

"Ow..." Luffy mumbled.

I placed my hand to my head and shook it. "What did he do this time?" Soon, people from the restaurant came to our ship on a row boat. I hid as they interrogated us.

"Who shot that cannonball?!" One shouted.

Luffy got up and grabbed his hat. "I did. Sorry."

"You're coming with us!" They seized Luffy and dragged him back to the restaurant. Once they were gone, I came out from my hiding place and stood beside Nami.

"That idiot, always telling the truth." I said.

"Well said." She agreed. "Let's just wait and see what happens." She got up from her spot on the deck and walked up to the railing as we docked. I had a feeling we were gonna wait a long time.

I read the name of the restaurant. "Baratie, interesting name..."

*~*~*

An hour passed and we resorted to leaning over the railing as the pirate hunter duo repaired the damages. "What's taking Luffy so long...?" Usopp whined.

"Yeah..." Nami said.

"Did he get left off easy?" I asked aloud.

"Maybe they'll make him do chores for a month or so..." Usopp hoped.

"He should've made it the Navy's fault instead of being hopelessly honest." Nami stated.

"Agreed." I sighed and slid down onto my belly. "The sea is too far away for me to snatch a fish..." I whined as my stomach growled. "The smell of food in there is making me hungry..."

"Me too..." Nami said.

"Me three..." Usopp added his two sense. Suddenly, there was more smoke and a loud bang from where the ball had struck.

"Sounds like it's going well..." I said sarcastically.

"Tap, tap..." I glanced over at the pair. "Tap!" They clapped hands and started to jump around like idiots again. I sighed, tired of their dance already. It was funny the first time, but now, it's like an everyday thing.

"I wanna go in..." I huffed. "There's no way I can handle being out here anymore with those two." I turned to Zoro. "How did you survive with them?"

"Carefully." Was all he said. I hope he isn't mad at me anymore. I got up and sat beside him.

"I'm sorry I touched your katanas without your permission." I said softly. "I know how much your white one means to you, so that's why I used your black one." I pulled my knees to my chest. "Please don't be mad at me."

He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it's alright." He said. I looked into his eyes. "As long as we're cool, I'm good."

"Heh," I sighed. "I guess we are cool, then."

"Pst!" We looked over to Nami. "Let's go!" We snuck past Johnny and Yosaku and took their boat so we could get inside the restaurant. "We need to see what's taking Luffy so long. Plus, I'm famished!"

"Yes!" I cheered. "Food!" Then my face fell. "Ack! My ears!"

"Eh?" They said, confused.

I tried to cover them. "I can't have people seeing me like this!" I spotted Zoro's bandana. I pointed at it. "Zoro..."

"What?"

"May I borrow that?"

"What?" He looked at it. "This?"

I folded my hands. "Please!"

He sighed and untied it before handing it to me. "Here,"

"Thank you!" I flattened my ears and tied the bandana over my head. I curled in my tail and turned. "How do I look?"

"Good," Nami said as we docked and tied our little boat to the foot deck. We got out and went to find someone. I spotted a blond waiter walking around in a neat, black suit.

"Excuse me!" I called out. He looked over his shoulder at us. "We need to know about our friend who was taken in. Could you tell us what happened?"

He turned and I saw hearts in his eyes. "Anything for you!" Oh boy... He led us to a table and told us that Luffy was now a Chore Boy and had to do chores for a year. We laughed at Luffy

"Way to go, idiot." I said as I stared at the food placed in front of me. "Eh? But I didn't order-"

"Please," He knelt beside me. "Please eat it."

I sweat dropped. "Okay...?" I picked up my fork and placed a bite in my mouth. I almost purred. "It's delicious! Fresh catfish simmered to perfection over a mild spice with a hint of vinegar! Am I right?"

He was drooling slightly. "Yes... Absolutely right..." He left and came back with more food for us. Soon, the entire table was covered in plated foods.

"Waiter!" Someone called out. I glanced over and saw the one who did. He was wearing a white, neat suit and had pink hair. Blondie stopped. He turned to the table the man was sitting at and calmly walked toward him.

"Didn't I tell you I'm not a waiter?" He asked the man. He glanced back and forth between the man and his female companion. "But my, how beautiful you are!" He exclaimed. Pervert alert! "Say miss, would you like to have some wine with me over there?"

I tuned him out and focused on our group. "Who's Blondie talking to?"

"Lieutenant Fullbody." Nami said. "He's the Marines Commanding officer. He tried to sink us. That's why we're here."

"Ah." I picked up a glass of wine that was in front of me. I stiffened as the taste touched my tongue.

"Mira?" Usopp waved a hand in front of my face.

Slowly, I brought the glass back down. There is no way a wine could taste so good. "Passion fruit wine."

"Eh?"

"This wine is tart, yet bright with a wonderful after taste that compliments any food." I whispered. "It's unlike anything I've ever tasted. I feel like I'm watching a sunset on a beach out in the middle of no where." Tears came to my eyes. "It's glorious." I sipped more of the clear, cream colored liquid.

I looked up to see the people in the restaurant snickering at something. Did I say something? I glanced back over at the table with the lieutenant. Blondie was over there and he was talking to them. I guess what he said is what made people laugh. I shrugged and listened in.

"Don't mess with me!" Fullbody shouted as he jumped up from the table and smashed it. Silverware, cups, and bowls flew everywhere around him. Blondie knelt down and stared at the soup spilled on the ground.

"You could have eaten it if you took the bug out, couldn't you?" He asked. FullBody just stood there. "It took three days to cook this, skimming the scum..."

Fullbody brought his foot on Blondie's hand. "Aren't you acting too big for your britches?" He twisted his foot on Blondie's hand. "I'm a customer! I'm paying you!" He shouted.

"Please stop, Fullbody-san!" The woman cried, grabbing onto his arm. My eyes widened in shock when he shoved her to the ground. "Fullbody-san..."

"Can money satisfy your hunger?" Blondie asked in a threatening tone.

"What did you say?" Fullbody was confused by the question.

"I'm asking, 'Can it satisfy your hunger?' " He seemed really pissed as he lifted his head to meet his eyes. I nearly leaped out of my chair as he slipped his hand effortlessly from the foot and spun on his hands, landing a perfect kick to Fullbody in several places. The end result was Fullbody hanging limply from Blondie's grip as blood dripped into the soup. I was amazed at his performance.

"Sanji," I heard someone whisper above me. I looked up and saw a bunch of cooks on the stairs leading to the kitchen. "Sous Chef!" So, he's not a waiter?

"Don't waste food." Blondie, er, Sanji nearly growled. Half his face was covered by his hair and it caused a scary shadow. "At sea, provoking a cook is the same as committing suicide. Remember that." That last part felt like it was meant for the whole restaurant.

He earned a great level of respect from me.

"Ah! Our customer!" I turned to the side doors and saw a really weird looking man standing there in shock. "You again, Sanji! What're you doing to our customer?!" He walked forward with rage evident in his features. "Of all people, he's a Navy Lieutenant!"

"What is it, you damn cook?" Sanji ignored him and asked his own question in response. "Don't call my name as if I were your friend!"

"A damn cook has no right to call me a damn cook!" The weird man said as he stalked toward Sanji. "Restaurants can't exists without customers! Hurting our precious customer... What do you think you're doing?!"

"What's the big deal with customers?" Sanji asked in a cool manner. "He treated the food carelessly. On top of that, he insulted cooks." He let Fullbody go and he slumped to the floor. I just stared, wishing someone like Sanji could have been there for me. "So I taught him a lesson."

"What is with this restaurant?" Fullbody asked as he shook with pain. "No restaurant should treat its customers like this... I'll shut it down. I'll shut down this restaurant! I'll shut it down!" He shouted. Sanji looked extremely pissed. "I'll contact the government immediately and-"

"Then I better finish you off right here..." A chill found its way up my spine at Sanji's words.

"Eh?" Fullbody began to quiver with fear as Sanji calmly but coldly walked toward him, intending to strike him down.

The other chefs jumped into action and pulled Sanji to a stop. "Stop it, Sous Chef!" They cried.

"A stuck-up asshole like you who's too big for his britches just pisses me off!!"

"What're you doing?! If you keep at him, we'll be in big trouble! Stop it, Sanji!! Stop it!" They shouted at the same time. Sanji reached his hand out in a strangling motion.

"So you think you're a big shot, huh?!" Sanji shouted.

I picked up my glass and took a sip of my wine. Wait, where's my- aw... It's gone... Must have been really good that I had no clue I was drinking it. I need more wine. "Can I have some more wine?" I called out. No one answered.

"So you think you're a big shot?! Huh?!" Sanji continued to shout at Fullbody. Just then, there was a loud crash and two figures fell from the next floor up. I covered my mouth when I finally saw who it is. Luffy was being squished by a fat man with a peg leg. Is this the man he blew up with the cannon ball?

Everyone was wondering what had happened and I just ran my finger around the rim of the cup. Luffy always messes things up, so this is nothing new.

"Boy..." Luffy sighed. "That startled me."

"Owner!" One of the chefs cried. "What the heck are you doing?!"

"Oh, damnit!" The man looked up from where he fell. "The ceiling of my restaurant... It's your fault, you brat!" He screamed right in Luffy's face. Luffy just sat there and placed his hat on his head.

Then, "You broke it yourself!"

"What are you doing, Owner?!" One of the men trying to restrain Sanji ordered. "You can do that later!" The two were nose to nose. "Please stop, Sanji!" They both turned away and saw a struggling Sanji.

"I like this place." I said aloud as I placed another bite of food in my mouth. "Very interesting." but something told me that all was not going to be well in this little restaurant in the middle of the ocean.

"Hey, Sanji!" The owner called. Sanji stopped struggling. "Are you going on a rampage in the restaurant again, you idiot?!"

"Shut up, you damn geezer!" He retaliated with. He straightened up and turned half way to face the new person in the room.

"What'd you say?!" He shouted at the Sous chef. "Who do you think you're talking to?!" I had a feeling they've had this conversation many times. "Are you trying to shut down my business?! You brat!" He lifted his peg leg and kicked Sanji square in the face as if he had slapped him. Fullbody smirked. "And you too!" Kick. "Get out of here, already!" He went flying across the floor before he tried to stand.

This boat reminds me of a pirate ship. I wonder what the story behind it is...