She's been working at the Baratie for one month now, and she still hasn't found a way to ask about it – about the first thing that had caught her eye the moment she'd stepped onto this restaurant on the sea.

Baratie is a charming restaurant, and though it's far from small, there never seems to be enough room to keep up with its booming popularity. It has dozens of sister restaurants all over East Blue, and even a few beginning to establish themselves in the other Blues. Many of the restaurants are huge, and the one she works at, the reason she worked herself to the bone in culinary school, the one you have to book reservations for more than months in advance, is the biggest of them all, so big it's a wonder it can even float.

It's their flagship store, the headquarters where the owner and head chef, Zeff, lives, and every one of its employees take pride in its elegance, it's beauty, it's peaceful atmosphere-

"AND DON'T LET ME SEE YOU AROUND HERE AGAIN, YOU MISERABLE SEA URCHIN!"

…whenever their assistant head chef isn't smacking people around, that is.

She sighs and shakes her head in exasperation. Just who does she think she's kidding?

Fights aren't exactly uncommon on Baratie, as there seems to be no shortage of pirates who underestimate the strength of chefs of the sea. The customers seem to enjoy watching the fights as well.

But of all the things that set Baratie apart, the one that mystifies her the most is the sheer number of wanted posters they have lying around. There are stacks of them for anyone to take with them if they want, and there's even a whole wall dedicated to them, all showing the same, infamous pirate crew.

The Strawhat Pirates.

The same ten faces, the same coy smiles and bone-chilling glares stare out from nearly a hundred wanted posters hung carefully from the walls.

Some of the posters are new, cut out of newspapers just a few weeks ago, when this outrageous little pirate crew claimed One Piece for themselves, and the title of Pirate King for their young captain. And others are already old enough to be yellowing at the corners. From Strawhat's and Roronoa's very first posters, to the one with the with the poorly drawn portrait of Blackleg, to the one of Tony Tony Chopper with the hilariously low bounty from before the marines had realized he was more than just a pet, every single one of the Strawhats' wanted posters over the years are there.

Each one has been carefully cut out and hung neatly on the wall in chronological order, almost like a timeline of their adventures, and observers can watch the captain and his crew grow in each of their pictures, right along with their bounties. And throughout it all, Strawhat Luffy smiles that same bright smile of his, a smile like he's never known hurt. There are a few other posters too, of allies of the Strawhats, of Luffy's older brothers, of his mentors, Shanks and Rayleigh. But these aren't given nearly the same amount of care and attention as those of Strawhat and his crew.

Head Chef Zeff's strange obsession doesn't stop there either – every one of Baratie's branch restaurants proudly flies the Strawhats' jolly roger, claiming themselves as a part of the pirate king's territory.

And normally, that would be enough to keep all but the most foolish of troublemakers away. But in the five years the Strawhats have been making news in the Grand Line (the last two of which they'd spent in the New World), they haven't once come back to East Blue, despite their captain and four others in their crew reportedly having been raised there. Baratie and her sister restaurants are the only ones in any of the Blues that fly the Strawhats' flag (though there are said to be quite a few islands in the Grand Line that are under their protection), and there are some that seem to be of the belief that the flags are a bluff.

Not that it matters.

Their chefs can easily chase away any pirates looking to cause some trouble.

"Aria!" someone suddenly snaps, startling her out of her thoughts.

The assistant head chef, Carne, is standing in front of her, hands on his hips and a formidable glare on his face.

"If you have time to be standing around daydreaming, get to work!" he snaps. "We're shorthanded enough as it is, and our special guests will be arriving any moment now!"

"Sorry, sir!" replies Aria, hurrying to do as told.

She'd almost forgotten about their special guests.

Nobody except Zeff seems to know who they are, just that they are of the utmost importance.

Several of their best tables, situated right next to the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the patio, have been reserved for the day, and the whole area looks absolutely enchanting. The table is awash in sunlight, filtering in through the gauzy curtains, and the view of the sparkling blue sea is breathtaking, as if mother nature herself is eager to please their special guests. The surrounding tables have been moved slightly away, to give the illusion of privacy, and all the dishes and cutlery have been polished to perfection.

Half the kitchen staff is busy tending to their customers, and the other half (including those who would normally have had the day off) are busy running around, making mountains of food for the special guests. More food than they could possibly eat, in Aria's humble opinion.

Not that she's going to say anything.

No one would listen to her anyway.

Aria and the other chefs have all asked, multiple times, who exactly their guests are, but every time they ask, Zeff just smiles secretively at them, saying it's a surprise.

Aria is in the middle of making sure everything is okay with the tables, that all the chairs are arranged just so, when it happens.

A sudden murmuring starts up among the guests, startled whispers of "Is it really him?" and "What on Earth is HE doing in East Blue?" and "Please tell me the rest of the crew isn't here!"

Whirling around, Aria is ready to call some of the other chefs for help if the newcomer gets violent, but all the air whooshes out of her as she sees who's standing there.

Standing just inside the entrance, tall and imposing despite his slim build, is a man Aria would recognize just about anywhere.

His silky blond hair and outrageously curly eyebrows, his confident smirk and immaculate black suit – she's seen it all before a million times.

Black Leg Sanji has come to Baratie.

SkyGem: And that's a wrap for this chapter! Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and please do leave a review and let me know what you thought! I'd really appreciate it! The next chapter should be out in a couple of days! And if you liked this fic, please check out the ASL brothers Marine AU I recently started as well!