Reiju couldn't help but to laugh out loud when Zeff, Sanji's one and only true father as far as she was concerned, came marching back out of the kitchen and made a beeline for her.
"Those curly eyebrows…" Zeff studied her face closely. "You're my boy's sister, aren'tcha?"
"I'm Sanji's sister, yes," Reiju delighted in the fact that she could say that again, after so many years. "I see that he takes after you, seeing that you completely missed me after you spotted that fish."
"Heh," Zeff scratched his cheek in some strange mix of embarrassment and pride. "In fairness, it's a good lookin' fish."
Reiju laughed again. "This is the first time I've lost out to a fish in the looks department, but I'll forgive you for not having eyes."
"We'll see how you feel after I've cooked it," Zeff harrumphed, then turned tail and ran away. At least, that's how it looked to her.
It was long after that the appetizers started coming out.
When Cherry had ordered the entire menu, Reiju knew it'd be a lot of food. She didn't expect it to be this much food. Just how big was the damned menu, that they were already bringing out several different dishes just for appetizers?
Is that a cheese, artichoke, and lobster dip?!
She'd heard legends, but she never knew it was real!
She reached over the table in a display of unladylike behavior that would have given Judge an aneurysm, directly serving herself a small plate of tortilla chips with the dip.
The first bite was ambrosia. It was so delectably decadent that she almost outright moaned. Although, if the rest of the food was going to be like this, maybe it would be a pointless endeavor to resist.
…
"You really know how to put it away, huh?" Cherry commented.
"Like you're one to talk!" Nami kicked the other woman beneath the table.
"My enhancements aren't as thorough as my brothers, but I've still got a pretty good metabolism. That said, I might have overdone it a little bit," Reiju was slouched, slouched, in her seat as she fought off a food induced coma. "It's nice that I don't need to watch my waistline for the modeling gigs anymore, though."
Those damned photoshoots were the bane of her existence. Her enhancements didn't even let her put on too much weight, but that bastard, Judge, still never let her have her fill come dinner time. All for the sake of fundraising for his budget.
"Where's desert?" Reiju asked, suddenly feeling like she could squeeze a few extra thousands of calories in.
"Zeff hasn't even brought the fish I gave him out yet," Cherry pointed out.
"For good reason," Zeff said, pushing his way out of the kitchen with a cart. On the cart was an assortment of cakes, pies, icecreams, and any desert you could imagine. Right in the center of the cart on top, was a covered dish. "I've brought both."
Cherry's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Her paranoia was well founded, because not a moment after Zeff said that, he uncovered the centerpiece and revealed… something odd.
"Is that sushi covered in chocolate?" Nami squeaked.
"Mm," Zeff nodded like that was a perfectly normal thing to make. "Caramel too, among other things. Bon appetit."
With that, he went back to his kitchen, leaving them to stare at this culinary abomination.
Cherry didn't stare for long, using her chopsticks to grab one covered in dark chocolate and half a strawberry on top. Reiju and Nami watched her in mute horror.
"Hmmm…" Cherry hummed. She wasn't gagging, so that was a good sign.
"Well?" Reiju asked.
"What do you mean 'Well?'?! There's no way it's good! It's fish covered in chocolate!" Nami reacted.
"I think I'll let you decide on your own," Cherry said enigmatically. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Reiju nodded and reached for one of the caramels.
"You can't be serious…" Nami looked from her to the fishy desert. "Ugh, don't let anyone say I'm a picky eater!"
Reiju and Nami placed their choices in their mouths at once, then chewed.
It was delightful, and Reiju hated it.
"Why…?" Nami looked like she was about to cry. "It tastes like fish coated in white chocolate. Why is it good?"
Reiju concurred with her confusion. There was something so wrong about it, unnatural even, but the flavors somehow just clicked together, like they were always meant to be eaten this way.
Reiju wanted to leave it at that. However, the other flavors were right there, within her reach. A siren's call demanding that she know what they tasted like, to experience something that contradicted her understanding of cuisine.
She couldn't resist, nor could the other two. There was no pigging out here, like with the meal that came before. They each had exactly one of each of the flavors that Zeff left them with, and nothing more.
"I feel like I can never look at sushi the same way ever again," Nami had a thousand yard stare.
"It'll feel like something's missing," Reiju nodded, understanding her meaning. "But you'll know in your hearts of hearts that it would be disgusting, except for this particular fish."
"I bet Luffy would still eat it," Cherry said, drawing snickers from Reiju and Nami.
"Luffy will eat anything that even vaguely resembles food," Nami agreed.
"We still have all this other desert waiting for us," Cherry pointed out.
"Damn straight," Reiju sat up straight with a small amount of effort. "Leave the rest of the fish for Sanji. He can choke on it for subjecting us to this."
For all that they complained about Zeff's use of the fish, it was impossible to deny that it was delicious. Just in a way that made them never want to have it again, for that path leads to madness.
Just as they were washing the aftertaste away with more traditional desserts, the doors of the Baratie were thrown open in dramatic fashion.
"Red-Leg Zeff!" a group of well armed men and a few women barged inside as a man at the forefront announced his presence. "I've come to claim your bounty!"
There weren't too many guests here, but there were a few handfuls, scattered around the restaurant. Some ducked for cover and others laughed quietly to themselves at the audacity of the man.
The lead bounty hunter's eye twitched, but he seemed intent on pretending that he didn't hear anything.
It wasn't Zeff who came out of the kitchen to confront him, but rather Patty and another chef called Carne. Patty addressed him, "Dear customers, is there a problem? Surely we can resolve this over a tasty meal?"
"No can do, Patty," the man shook his head, and Patty frowned. "Just bring out the old man."
"Do I know you?" Patty asked, a bit unsure.
"No, but I know you!" The man's smile was obnoxiously fake. "I did my research before coming here, you see."
"Did you, now?" Patty smiled again, his a bit more genuine, but his tone contained a malicious lilt.
"Yep!" the bounty hunter answered.
Patty took a swing at him with his big meaty right hook. It struck the bounty hunter dead on, but he barely budged an inch.
The bounty hunter whistled with mock praise. "You're pretty strong, huh? My turn."
There was a flash of movement, dozens of quick jabs striking Patty with painful accuracy. The bigger man toppled over with a groan of pain.
"You want some too, Carne?" the bounty hunter smirked. "If not, bring out the old man, and we'll be on our way."