Please read summary and disclaimer in first chapter. Thank you!
Chapter 4
Sanji stood in the kitchen with his pink apron tied around his waist. The fabric fit a little tighter in the chest area than usual, but that wasn't reason for the frustrated expression on the cook's new face. As much as he loved and praised Nami-san's body, it was really pissing him off how inexperienced it was at cooking. Breakfast was taking forever to make just because he couldn't do anything with his hands. Those soft delicate hands that Sanji had dreamt of doing so many different things to his own body were having difficulty chopping vegetables, stirring eggs, and dealing with the heat from the stove. He let out a sigh, blowing strands of orange-red hair out of his face as he attempted to slice ham.
God I need a cigarette. Although the cook wasn't going through any of the usual cravings, he wanted one just to be able to relax. He knew that Nami-san would probably kill him the moment one was brought to his lips though, so he refrained. It wouldn't be as enjoyable in her body anyway, considering that she didn't smoke. A smile crept upon his lips and he gave a small laugh at a sudden thought. "I wonder how that dumbass is dealing with the cravings," he commented, Nami-san's melodic voice forming the words.
.o.o.o.o
Thump, thump, thumpNami lay in the lawn chair, letting the sun warm her. Despite the current ordeal the crew was dealing with, the weather was perfect. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
Thump, thump, thumpShe couldn't understand why she was so tired. She had just woke up maybe an hour or two ago.
Thump, thump, thumpThe swordsman's body was extremely drowsy though. With the weather being as perfect as it was, Nami would've fallen asleep within minutes.
Thump, thump, thumpIf it weren't for the noise, that is.
"Zoro… If you keep pacing the deck like that, I'm going to start charging you for each lap," Nami lectured her crewmate with his own voice. The first mate was walking back and forth like a madman behind her chair.
"I can't help it!" Zoro replied frantically. His hands shook uncontrollably and the one visible curly eyebrow twitched. "What the hell is wrong with this stupid cook? I can't sit still. I'm all jittery and I can't breathe!" The swordsman kneeled beside the lawn chair where his own body was attempting to sleep. "I can't breathe, Nami!" he cried.
Robin looked up from her book and watched the interaction with intense interest. She knew the situation must be bad when swordsman-san was crying helplessly. "Maybe you need nicotine," she spoke calmly. The archeologist marked her page and closed the book. It was too difficult to read with marksman-san's long nose obstructing her view. "Cook-san is usually on his fourth or fifth cigarette by now," she explained, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm not smoking any damn cigarettes just to please the shit cook's body," Zoro stubbornly replied. He wasn't the type of man to willingly give in to what his body wanted. That was how he was able to go past the breaking point in battles. No way in hell would he let Sanji's body be different.
"Well, it's either that or put up with the withdrawal," Nami replied with her eyes closed. She didn't want to sleep, but Zoro's heavy body seemed to have a mind of its own. Sanji's body was probably the same.
The first mate was about to scream in frustration when he was cut off. "Don't worry about it, Zoro," Robin's voice carried an unusually gentle, caring tone. Chopper sat in the form of the archeologist next to his small table where he was grinding medicines. The pink fuzzy top hat looked a little silly resting on top of the black silk hair. "Here, I made this for you." A row of hands sprouted up from the deck and passed a bandage to the now blond swordsman.
"Huh? What's this?" Zoro took the small square of gauze in his hands.
"Just put it on the upper arm," the doctor instructed. His crewmate rolled up a sleeve and complied, letting out a long sigh. "It's a nicotine patch," Chopper explained. "As much as I would like Sanji to quit smoking, it would be difficult for anyone to stop immediately. So instead of having to smoke cigarettes, you can use these."
"How long will it last?" the swordsman asked, seeming as back to normal as he could be.
"4 hours," the doctor replied. "I'll give you another one at that time."
"Doctor-san," Robin spoke now that the explanation was finished. "How did you know how to use my Hana-Hana powers?" She looked to her own body with curiosity.
"O-h! It was nothing!" Chopper blushed, giving the archeologist a girlish appearance. "It's almost the same as when I change forms in my own body." He went back to grinding medicines. "I'm sure that's how Luffy was able to change forms in my body earlier," he added.
"He-y!" Nami seemed to suddenly wake-up. She looked to the raven-haired woman the doctor had become. "Luffy changed forms in your body?" she asked with a yawn.
"Yeah," Zoro spoke as he languidly sat on the deck. His long legs were spread out in front of him and his swords lay beside him. "That's how he was able to bust through the emergency exit," he explained.
"Interesting," Robin commented, putting a finger to the side of her long nose in thought.
At that moment, Luffy and Usopp came running full-speed towards their crew. The captain held his straw hat on his head with one hoof and a small stack of thick papers in the other. "Waa!" he screamed as he flew down the stairs. Usopp, still unaccustomed to the Gomu-Gomu body, awkwardly followed behind.
"What's that, Luffy?" Nami asked as the two crewmates approached.
"Signs," the little reindeer replied with a grin. He handed his navigator one.
Nami looked at the piece of cardboard. There was a large circle and a bunch of scribbles. She could almost make out a face. Where the hair would be was some orange streaks. A sweat drop formed. "Is this supposed to be me?" she muttered in a deep voice.
"Yeah," Luffy responded, giggling. He handed one to Robin and Chopper.
"I colored them," Usopp chimed in as he adjusted his own around his neck. The sharpshooter's sign was definitely the most colorful of the group's, with fireworks in the background and a beautiful frame drawn around the sides. "Aren't they great?"
"What do we need signs for?" Zoro questioned. He took the one with green scribbled all over it. That one had to be his.
"It's so we can tell who everyone is," the captain hung his own sign around his neck… upside down. "Hey, where's Sanji? Isn't breakfast done yet? I'm hu-ngry!" the reindeer whined as he held his growling stomach.
"Shit!" A stream of curses came from the kitchen along with a large crash. Everyone stared towards the galley in shock.
"Wow, Nami," Usopp spoke after a minute of silence. "I don't think I've ever heard you use such colorful vocabulary before." The navigator responded with a smack to the back of the rubber man's head. His neck stretched with the force, then snapped back into place.
.o.o.o.o
Minutes later, the door to the galley opened. Spread out on the floor was Sanji (in Nami's body), a tray, and several bowls… All were covered in oatmeal. Usopp mentally noted that the look on the cook's face was more frightening than one Nami would ever make with the same face. Of course, he didn't dare say this out loud.
The crew stared through the doorway at their cook, unsure as to what to say. Luffy finally broke the silence. "Sanji," the captain began seriously, "is breakfast done? I'm h-ungry!" His crew fell over.
The cook's face turned dark red. Nami interjected before he had the chance to blow up at their captain. "Sanji-kun," the navigator stepped into the room and walked towards her crewmate. "Are you alright?" she held out her hand and helped the cook up to his feet. "What happened?"
The rest of the crew came into the galley. Chopper and Robin started cleaning up the mess as Luffy jumped into his seat at the table. "I was placing the table, but I couldn't balance all the trays as usual," Sanji explained. "Breakfast is done. There just won't be any oatmeal."
"Aww. I had my heart set on oatmeal," Usopp whined as he sat down. This time Zoro smacked the back of the marksman's head, making his neck stretch forwards and snap back.
"Sorry Nami-san," Sanji spoke to the navigator. "Please take your seat. I'll be fine. I just need to take a quick shower and then…"
Nami froze as the words registered in her brain. "No, you're not!" she commanded, making the rest of the crew jump in surprise. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched their two crewmates.
"What?" Sanji asked in confusion.
"You're not taking a shower! Not in my body, you're not!" Nami yelled at him as she folded her muscular arms across her broad chest. Usopp made another mental note that Nami was much more frightening in the swordsman than she was normally… which may be the scariest thing in the world.
"But Nami-san, I need to wash this off. I'm not going to walk around all day with oatmeal and milk stuck to me," Sanji replied, attempting to keep his cool. As much as he loved the precious navigator, it was getting difficult to remember that it was her and not the shitty swordsman arguing with him.
"Well, there's no way in hell that I'm going to let you see my body naked that easily," Nami snapped at the cook. At the table, Zoro seemed to explode backwards in a nosebleed at the thought of the orange-red haired woman naked. Chopper ran after him, making a fuss over all the blood the swordsman was losing. Robin wondered if the doctor would be able to make a patch for the constant arousal the first mate would be experiencing as cook-san.
"What do you suggest I do?" Sanji questioned, folding his own arms across his well-endowed chest.
Nami thought for a moment. A small smirk crept upon her chiseled face and she responded, "I've got an idea."
Waa! I'm so sorry! This chapter took forever to write. I'm not sure how happy I am with it. It's getting difficult to write the characters in the different bodies because I don't want you to forget that they are in different bodies. At the same time, I don't want to be redundant with details. I hope I'm doing an ok job with it all. T.T
I also wanted to say thank you so much for the reviews. It's actually what keeps me going with this story. And although a good writer would probably not have to do this, I thought I would give you a chart to remind you who's who: (Character Body) Luffy Chopper, Zoro Sanji, Nami Zoro, Usopp Luffy, Sanji Nami, Chopper Robin, Robin Usopp. Well, that's all for now and I'm hoping to update the next chapter soon!