Starvation Diary #2

Summary: Sanji's worst nightmare comes true, but this time the Straw Hats won't let their nakama bear it alone. Sanji/Everyone nakamaship. Sanji's POV. Set post-Impel Down, in the New World.

Warnings: Er...Sanji's mouth? [There will be LOTS of swearing in this story, just to let you know, so please don't read if you don't like that kind of thing. Thank you.]

Spoilers: This takes place post-Impel Down, so may contain spoilers for Thriller Bark/Sabaody Archipelago/Impel Down arcs eventually.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, etc.

Chapter 1: Day One

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

I stare at the contents of the barrel, and a hollow pit of dread forms in my stomach. This can't be happening. This is not fucking happening.

I dash over to the next barrel and rip its lid open. The same rotting smell. My heart begins to pound, and I open the other three barrels we got from the last island. A hand reaches up from my stomach and closes around my heart, and I suddenly find it hard to breathe. The strength leaves my body and I slump down to the floor of the hold, burying my head in my hands.

I'm suddenly eleven again, back on that accursed rock, the gnawing feeling of hunger consuming my every waking thought. I'm too weak to move, and I know I'm going to die there. There is no ship on the horizon coming to save us. No hope.

But this time the feeling of hopelessness is mixed with something else. Something worse.

Guilt.

Why didn't I collect more food back on that last island? Cure more meat? Check that the fruit was okay? If only Chopper hadn't rushed us away from that abandoned village...but then I dismiss the thought. It's not Chopper's fault. I'm the cook. I'm in charge of the food supply.

Which means I've failed my crew.

I've failed Luffy.

"Shit geezer, what do I do now?" I whisper.

I almost jump when I hear his voice boom back at me, even if it's my own head talking. "Nobody's dead yet. You worry too much, little eggplant. Now get back to work." I can almost feel the accompanying kick in the pants.

Shit geezer, always telling me not to worry. I guess I used to overreact a lot whenever I saw food getting wasted. To me, wasted food meant that someone would starve to death.

I guess I still overreact sometimes.

I look around the hold. Maybe it's not so bad. These barrels have to be written off, but we still have the cured meats from the last island, and we have some provisions left over from one before.

The question is, how long can I make these stretch?

The New World really is a whole new world, completely different from the first half of the Grand Line. It feels empty...like a graveyard, I guess. The Pirates' Graveyard. The islands are further apart than before - we've travelled a whole month between islands (real fun entertaining Luffy on that voyage) - and we go ages without seeing other ships. With nobody at the abandoned village to tell us how far it is to the next island, how long this leg will last is anybody's guess.

I glance over the stores again and make a quick mental calculation. There are nine of us on board. Luffy eats enough for five, but he can suffer with three helpings. That makes eleven mouths to feed.

Two weeks. I can make this stretch two weeks. And who knows what will happen in two weeks? We may make landfall in three days, for all I know. Nobody's dead yet. This is just a new challenge for me, as a cook of the sea.

But...what if it takes longer than two weeks till the next island, like that one time? I wish we didn't have so many crew members. If it were just the five of us who entered the Grand Line...oh, but then we wouldn't have Robin-chan on board. Scratch that thought.

But there's an idea. There's nine of us on board, but not all of us have to eat. One less mouth may make the difference between life and death.

I reach down and tighten my belt. If I'd known that pork broth was the last thing I'd eat till the next island, I'd have savoured it more.

Too bad. It's my own fault.

So long as I can keep the others fed...

So long as I can do my duty as the Sunny's cook...

I'll do anything.

Even starve.

Day one.

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone who helped me decide to continue with the 1st person POV format, in particular to dandy for her advice on making Sanji properly foul-mouthed.