Author's notes: I was thinking about the parallels between Zoro and Sanji the other day and wondered if Sanji had a childhood friend who sort of shared his background in the culinary arts. After all, Zoro had Kuina. Then I remembered Carmen from the anime and wanted to explore that. I'm not sure but in the anime I think she saw Sanji on board the Orbit, but I tweaked it here that she saw him on the Baratie. It's not a romance, and I don't intend it to be seen as a romance, but feel free to do so if you wish. (smile)

Incidentally, this is the fic I promised, in which Sanji is relatively pain-free and reasonably happy. Heh. (grin)

Disclaimer: One Piece and all characters mentioned are created by Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter One

Teacher said her old friend had opened a restaurant, a restaurant in the sea. She said she wanted to visit him and I could come along if I liked.

I was delighted. "A restaurant in the sea! What fun!" And Teacher laughed.

We went by a small boat to the restaurant.

"The Ba-ra-tie." I read out aloud, frowning. I thought the fish head and tail on either sides of the ship looked ridiculous and said so. Teacher smiled and shushed me with a merry twinkle in her eye but she did not disagree. Then she took my hand and asked for a table.

"So, what do you think of the food here?" Teacher asked once we finished our meal.

"Not bad." I imitated the ladylike way Teacher dabbed at her lips with her napkin, trying to sound adult. "But I make a much better cheesecake."

"Carmen…" She scolded, with a light chuckle.

When the waiter came by with our tea, she asked to see the boss. He left with a nod and returned with a reply.

"Mister Zeff is busy at the moment but he said you could wait in his office if Madam wishes."

"Yes, thank you, that would be fine." Teacher turned to me. "Will you be alright here by yourself, Carmen? Don't wander off okay?"

After they left, I slipped off my chair and went exploring, looking out of the windows to the sea and checking what was behind closed doors. After all, Teacher never said where 'here' was, so I wasn't exactly 'wandering off', I reasoned.

The restaurant was bustling with activity and I viewed everything with interest as I roamed. Familiar sounds of clanking pots and sizzling food cooked over roaring fires drew me to a pair of double doors. It was the kitchen.

"Why haven't you taken the garbage out yet?" A loud angry voice boomed suddenly. "Slacking off again, little eggplant?"

I peered curiously around the door into the kitchen. There was a young boy, probably a year or two older than me although with his slight build, he could be my age. A shock of blonde hair fell over his face and over one of his bright blue eyes. From the way he was dressed, I guess he must be an apprentice cook or something.

He was standing with his hands fisted by his side, his whole body rigid with anger.

"I haven't, you shitty old man!"

"I won't stand sloppy work in my kitchen!" The man who had shouted at the boy was easily the most intimidating man I had ever seen in my short little life. He was tall and the chef's hat he wore nearly reached the ceiling, making him seem even taller. His arms were thick and muscular. He loomed over the boy, his impossibly long braided moustache twitched as he pressed his lips together angrily.

Without warning, he lashed out with a powerful kick.

My hands flew up to muffle my startled gasp but I could not turn my eyes away from the scene. I watched in horror as the boy cried out, the force of the blow sent him skidding across half the length of the kitchen. The other cooks sniggered.

Half-dazed with shock, I wasn't aware the man had moved and was now walking towards the door where I stood. Suddenly, he was towering over me, his deep-set eyes sharp and stern as he glared at me.

My eyes fell fully on his peg leg. I shrank back, swallowing down my small scream but a suppressed squeak still escaped.

Somehow, the sight of the missing leg terrified me more than the display of violence I just saw.

I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. All I could hear was the deafening thumping of my heart.

Backing away blindly, I hardly cared where I was going in my haste to get as far away from the scary man as I could. Faster and faster I went, too frightened to realize he was already out of sight. Bumping into walls and crashing into furniture, I almost broke out into a run.

And then, I was outside.

Panting to catch my breath, I looked up at the sunny skies above and back at the swinging door I had stumbled through. I was on the aft-deck.

I heaved a deep sigh of relief as I tried to calm myself. I've escaped, I've escaped, I've escaped…

The creak of the door opening made me jump. But it was only the blonde boy from the kitchen, dragging a huge garbage bag behind him.

He blinked owlish at me. "Hey, what are you doing here? Customers aren't allowed out back."

"Well," I took a deep breath and said in my most grown-up voice. "My teacher is a friend of your boss so I'm not really a customer."

He frowned and considered what I had said for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

Dragging the garbage to a trash can almost as tall as we were, he stood on tiptoes to push the trash into the bin. Turning around to see that I was still watching him, he wiped his hands awkwardly on his apron.

"Erm…well, hi, I'm Sanji." He smiled.

I was amazed at how a smile could transform his face. Gone was the sullen look and he seemed almost friendly and well…nice.

We could be friends.

I smiled in return. "I'm Carmen." Then, noticing the bruises on his arms, I added in concern. "Are you alright? I mean I saw…I…he…"

"Ah…that old shithead?" He shook his head dismissively and rubbed absently at the bruises. "S'okay. It's not bad. Besides, I'm used to it already."

But I was horrified. "You mean he hits you like this all the time?" I was suddenly filled with indignation. "Look, you don't have to stay here. You can live with me and Teacher!" I beamed at my own cleverness.

He made a strange expression caught between a smile and a grimace. "No, I can't."

"Of course you can! Teacher is a great cook. We have this restaurant by the coast so you won't miss the sea and she can teach us both to cook! Won't that be fun?"

"I can't." He said a bit more forcefully, looking pained.

"Why not?"

"I said no!" He exploded angrily but immediately looked ashamed of his outburst. Walking over to the edge, he sat down letting his legs dangle off the back of the ship. "I'm sorry." His voice was quiet and almost sad. "But I can't. Please don't ask me why."

I sighed and sat down beside him. "Okay."

We were silent for a while, listening to the gentle lap of the ocean against the hull far below our dangling feet.

"So," I began again. "Are you going to be here on this restaurant ship forever?"

He stared at me, genuinely startled at the idea. "Of course not!" He gazed out at the sea again, but this time there was a light in his eyes. "I want to go look for the All Blue. You know, the cool place where all the oceans in the world meet?"

He grinned excitedly, the light in his blue eyes shinning brighter than ever. "Imagine that! There will be all kinds of fish there and you'll be able to find any ingredient your heart desires." He gestured enthusiastically with his hands to emphasize his point, looking positively giddy with delight.

"When I'm ready…when I'm done with…done with what I have to do here, I'll go." He nodded with fierce determination. "I'll go find the All Blue."

I burst out laughing. "The All Blue? But that's fake! Teacher used to tell it to me as a bedtime story!" Try as I might, I could not stop giggling. "Don't be silly, Sanji."

"It's true!" He frowned in annoyance, getting angry. "Well, what's your dream then?" He asked a little peevishly. "What do you want to do when you grow up?"

I fought back a chuckle, hiccupping a little, before answering. "I'm going to be the best chef in the world!" I said proudly.

He rolled his eyes. "Che! The best? That's stupid. What do you do after you become the best? Worry someone will come by, defeat you and snatch the title away?"

My hands curled into fists. "It's not stupid!" I shouted angrily. "You take that back right now!"

"I will not! Being the best is stuuupiiiid!"

"It's not!"

"Is too."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Shut up!"

"No you shut up!"

With a huff, we crossed our arms in unison and turned our backs on each other, seething with anger. But after a moment, my anger faded. I stole a glance in his direction only to catch him doing the same and we both turned away immediately.

Then he sighed. "Hey look, I'm sorry I called your dream stupid." He bit his lip and grumbled just the tiniest bit. "But you started it."

I turned to face him and saw that his sincerity to make peace. Fine, if he could be a gentleman, I could be gracious too. Besides, it was true that I started it.

"It's alright. And I'm sorry I laughed about the All Blue too."

"We're both chasing 'stupid' dreams, aren't we?" He grinned. "Friends?"

"Yeah, friends."

Then, Teacher's voice called. "There you are Carmen! I've been looking all over for you."

We jumped to our feet as she swung the door open and came onto the deck. She shook an admonishing finger at me then turned to Sanji, bending down so that her face was level with his.

"And you must be Sanji. Zeff told me so much about you." She smiled kindly. "My, aren't you a handsome young man! Have you been trying to spirit my Carmen away?" She teased, putting out a hand to ruffle his blonde hair.

Sanji winced and ducked his head, clearly unused to such displays of affection from adults. But he shook his head and answered respectfully. "No ma'am."

She laughed and straightened. "Carmen, this is Zeff, the owner of the restaurant. He's the old friend I told you about."

I stared. It was the scary old man!

Zeff didn't smile but acknowledged me with a brief nod.

I gulped, my terror returning in a rush. Edging closer to Teacher, I cowered a little behind her.

"What's wrong, Carmen?" When I did not reply, she sighed and took my hand, squeezing reassuringly.

"Children." She smiled apologetically at Zeff. "Well, we must be off now."

They shook hands solemnly.

I turned to Sanji and imitated the grown-ups by sticking out my hand. But he surprised me with a hug. "Come visit again soon, okay?" He said softly.

I nodded, realizing he must be very lonely stuck with the scary old man and with no other children on board to play with.

Standing at the stern of our small boat, I waved goodbye as we sailed away from the Baratie.

"So, did you have a good time, Carmen?" Teacher asked.

"Yes, but…" I turned and met her eyes. "Teacher? Can Sanji come live with us?" I asked suddenly.

"Why? Did he say he wanted to?"

"No…" I said slowly. "But…but..."

"But Mister Zeff hits him! I saw it with my own eyes." I finally blurted out. "He hates him! We can't leave Sanji with him."

"Oh, sweetheart." Teacher laughed and drew me onto her lap. "Different people show affection in different ways." She nodded and continued thoughtfully. "Zeff has led a rough life before this. It's just not his way to show he cares with hugs or kisses like I can with you."

"But I can tell you that Zeff loves Sanji very much, even if it doesn't seem that way to you right now." She gave my nose a light tap with her finger. "So don't you go worrying your pretty little head about it."

"But…but…" I frowned, shaking my head, not understanding what Teacher meant.

She sighed and smiled, resting a hand comfortingly on my head. "Don't worry, Carmen. Someday, when you're older, you'll understand."

Grown-ups sure are strange. I wasn't sure I'll understand even if I'm older but I nodded anyway and turned my gaze back towards the restaurant.

The Baratie was really far away now but if I squint hard enough, I imagined I could still see a speck of golden sunshine glinting off Sanji's hair.