Day 31: Breakfast

[tsunagari]

And then he was back in his room again. Sai frowned at the ceiling momentarily, but was soon sitting up. He was back in the Landel's uniform again, which really saved him the trouble of having to change, didn't it

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[misterprince]

It felt like Sanji's world had been flipped upside-down. In a very literal sense. He might have been nearing consciousness again, hanging limply (and in a rather undignified manner!) from Zoro's arm, but now he was on his back and staring up an an all-too-familiar ceiling.

Shit. Not again.

Sitting up caused the pirate to let out a groan of pain, and he'd soon fallen back down. Prying tired eyes open, he could see the top edge of the bandages wrapped all across his middle and shoulder. He could feel them on his leg, too. Right. That monstrous, yet terribly beautiful, woman-thing had attacked them. And Nami was okay, wasn't she?

The feverish feeling brought along by that woman's presence hadn't entirely gone away, and when his nurse arrived to help him to the cafeteria he only managed to pay enough attention to tell him that no he wouldn't be needing a wheelchair and could wobble walk just fine on his own.

Just looking at the breakfast offered caused him to feel slightly nauseous, so he accepted only a glass of apple juice before finding a seat and slumping down until he was in the most comfortable position he could manage. This involved stealing a nearby chair to prop his injured leg on.

He was sure he looked magnificently pathetic.

[waiting on MisaMisa!]

[kirasonlyone]

The explosion Light had been bracing himself for did indeed come but it was already early the next morning when Misa shot up in bed, yelling excitedly and completely intending to engulf Light in pure, relieved love with her bossom. To say she'd been irritable when she realized that Light wasn't actually there gave insight to what kind of nerves (re-enforced steel, harder than concrete) her nurse had.

But she'd managed to keep him safe that night anyway, right? Hopefully. It was all Misa could do not to worry her head off as she was led to the cafeteria.

Not exactly vegetarian herself but unable to keep from disapproving at the fatty choice of breakfast being served, Misa got a bowl of fruit salad and a glass of milk to go with it.

When Light hadn't appeared by the time she finished choosing breakfast, Misa quickly remembered her assigned mission. She was going to have to make friends wasn't she? And learn how to use the knife...

Right! She could do this! Time to make Light proud!

After a serious look around to see who was the most likely candidate for either one of her two objectives, Misa found a simple looking blond man sitting alone. He looked injured, which meant he'd been in some kind of fight (or accident), which also meant he was probably tired and susceptible to easy conversation. And, possibly, experienced in battle. (Was that the right way to say it? Oooh, this felt like some kind of manga!)

The man was kind of sad looking, though, and Misa wouldn’t have felt so hard pressed to show some kindness even if she didn’t need anything from him.

"Hi!" She flashed Sanji a bright smile and pointed at the seat on his 'less occupied' side. "Can Misa-Misa sit there?"

[misterprince]

The chef had been staring blearily at his glass of juice when Misa arrived, but her voice caused him to look up quickly enough that his head hurt afterwards. What an adorable and bouncy young woman! Sanji gave her a crooked smile immediately, somewhat dreamy and dazed looking. "Misa-Misa-chan can sit wherever she likes!"

If she was here because he looked like he needed comforting, then he was going to start worrying less about how lame he appeared. Imagine that! Women coming up to him all on their own. And it wasn't as though he was faking it, either. That was out of the question. All the same, he might as well take advantage of things while he could.

Now if only this fever would die down so he could think more clearly.

[kirasonlyone]

Oooh... that was an enthusiastic response.

"Heehee, thank you!" His sudden familiarity with her name didn't bother her, as she was used to fans and their fondness for nicknames. She found it kind of cute, actually. He looked like the fawning type and that just made it easier for her to get close to him.

Misa set her breakfast down but instead of immediately taking her seat, she first bowed to Sanji politely and greeted, "My name is Amane Misa! Nice to meet you!"

Then she took her seat and cutely tilted her head to the side.

[misterprince]

Bowing! Sanji squirmed a little in his seat, wanting to return the gesture but not wanting to risk falling over and thus looking even more ridiculous. Instead he simply inclined his head politely, grinning. "I'm Sanji! And the pleasure is all mine!"

Normally he might have attempted to regale her with some fine speech about her beauty, but it was just so difficult to focus and he might end up saying something ridiculous. It was infuriating! Weren't the nurses doing their job? He usually got over injuries so much better than this.

"To what to I owe the honor of such a cute visitor?"

[kirasonlyone]

"Misa-Misa just thought you could use some company." She answered with a quick hair-tuck and an easy, sincere smile. That was a non-emasculating way of saying she felt sorry for the poor sick looking guy sitting all alone but, really, Misa was good at not insulting people unless she really wanted to. And this guy called her cute! Hee. So easy. ♥

Misa skewered a piece of fruit, biting into it as she thought of how to phrase her next question. Although maybe she didn't have to be careful. Using just a single name was naturally odd unless you were some kind of model. But then Sanji did look...

"So your name's just Sanji?" She asked, cheerfully.

[misterprince]

"Just Sanji, yes." The smile on the chef's face might have been permanent. "If you wanted, you could call me Sanji the Black Leg, but just Sanji will do." Or Darling, he added mentally. He'd respond to that too.

"And that's so nice of you! Coming to sit with a poor injured sap like me." Even if the only reason she'd visited him was because he was in such a sorry shape. "Are you the only one here from your world?" Just say you're all by yourself and lonely. Sanji will take care of everything.

He attempted to sit up straighter, but the effort made him dizzy. Wincing, he decided simply remaining still for now was his best option.

[kirasonlyone]

Misa almost didn't realize what Sanji was talking about. "Oh!" She shook her head. "No. Misa-Misa's Light is here... somewhere." He still hadn't arrived and Misa was starting to get really worried. What had happened to Light? He was alright wasn't he? He was... but she...

No, no, she had to focus. Light was more than capable of taking care of himself. And it was still pretty early... maybe he was just finishing something in his room. Or sleeping. Lots of people slept in. Misa kept the worry off her face with a pout and another bite of fruit.

"Why Black Leg, though?" She asked with another smile and tilt of her head. Misa then pointed at Sanji and good-naturedly teased, "That sounds like a pirate nickname! Don't tell me Sanji-san's a pirate."

With a little laugh she'd long cultivated to look as charming as possible, the actress tried to get back to what she'd initially been planning to do. Question, get to know, make friends and connections...

"But how did Sanji-san get so injured?" Her worry was evident in her voice but there was just enough for a convincing act. She still didn't really know Sanji very well, after all. "Doesn't he also have people from his world with him?"

[misterprince]

Her 'light?' Sanji frowned a bit. Was that what she called her friends? He could be a pet name, though he didn't think anyone had come along to the Institute with their pets. Hopefully it wasn't a name for a boyfriend? Calling someone her light. That just wouldn't be fair. As out of it as he was, the fact that Light was also the name of his current roommate completely slipped his mind.

He was about to ask her to explain better, but then she distracted him with questions about his title. "It is a pirate nickname!" he answered with another grin. "And I am a pirate! Does that surprise you?" Pirates seemed to be less common in other worlds than they were in his own, so it wouldn't come as a surprise if she was.

"And I do have other friends here. Other pirate friends." It probably wasn't necessary to point out that connection, but it mattered to him. "We just got attacked last night. That's how this happened. Big crazy woman. Claws and such. You know the type."

[kirasonlyone]

"Ehhhh! Really?" The surprise on her face was genuine and Misa clasped her hands together, accidentally dropping her fork. It landed back in the fruit salad but it didn't look like she would have noticed even if it had done otherwise. "It does, a bit. Misa-Misa's never met a real pirate before! Unless you count the ones that get their music illegally..." Did those count? Eehhh. "Does Sanji-san loot and pillage villages or know someone with an eye patch and a wooden peg-leg or a hook for a hand? Do you have a parrot on your ship?" Really, those were the first things that came to mind when Misa thought of pirates and since Sanji himself didn't have any of the above mentioned physical attributes (maybe the eye patch was under his hair...?) she immediately assumed that someone he knew did.

But maybe she was going a little off-tangent. His nickname was curious, as was the fact that he didn't seem to have a last name. She had to wonder how one was supposed to kill someone without a complete name (not that she wanted Sanji dead, but it was something she'd never really stopped to think about before and morbid curiosity was strong). Maybe just the face was enough, but you never really knew about these things unless you were Light.

"Oh! Um, Misa-Misa's sorry." The flow of words stopped quickly and Misa put a hand on her lips bashfully. "Is she asking too many questions?"

Resolving to somehow get the conversation back to his injuries and fighting skills, Misa decided that establishing good communication was more important for now. She needed to stick to the mission! Light was counting on her!

[misterprince]

Sanji just grinned and nodded some more. "Yep!" Though he didn't understand her comment about getting music illegally. How did one steal music? It wasn't really a tangible thing. Unless it was trapped in one of the dials from Skypiea... but he had to keep reminding himself not to compare his world to others. There must simply be a way to steal music where she came from.

But he could only blink as she started rattling off questions. "I've known a couple pirates like that, yeah. The shitty geezer back at the restaurant I used to work at had a peg leg, and Crocodile had a hook for a hand..." He didn't bother to go into further detail about either, giving the questions some more thought. "Can't say I know anyone with a parrot, though there was that one guy with the pigeon..." He grinned again. "But no, our crew's got much bigger goals than looting and pillaging. Pirates that have to prey on the weak are pretty weak themselves, don't you think?"

He simply waved her off as she apologized. "No, no. Ask as many questions as you like?" Though he put a hand to his head and shut his eyes for a moment as a wave of dizziness came over him briefly. The grin was weaker when it passed, but still there all the same. "Did I mention I was a chef?"

[kirasonlyone]

"Wow..." Misa felt strangely humbled by the realization that her stereotypes were, indeed, being adhered to. The one thing she chose not to mention was that the pirates she'd just described were more-or-less of the fictional kind but Light had already warned her about that anyway. Though she'd believed his warning word for word, it was still strange getting evidence that someone was from a world where people (or was that crocodiles?) could actually walk around with a hook for a hand.

"Mhm! Sanji-san's right!" Nodding her fervent agreement with a clench of both fists, Misa's lips tightened with thought. "Only weak people pick on the weak." Which was pretty hypothetical, if not slightly skewed thinking for someone who did her best to adhere to Justice. She figured that the morally weak were forever burdening society, or something like that. A prime example would be people who skulked about the streets and murdered other people just for money. The world could be so dirty sometimes.

When Sanji closed his eyes, Misa took that moment to watch him carefully. He seemed nice and was perhaps, judging from his previous statements, a 'good' pirate. Pirates were supposedly evil and mean, but Sanji really didn't seem like the type...

"A chef! Really?" Her tone was less rushed now, but that was just because she was trying not to knock him out with too many questions. No matter what he'd just said, he didn't look too good, and it would be neither pleasant nor productive for either of them if he was too incapacitated to answer properly. "Wow! You must be really tough, if you're both a pirate and a chef!"

[misterprince]

"Even pirates have to eat," Sanji pointed out. "And it just so happens my crew has a large appetite. Not that there would have been a better choice for a cook on their ship if they didn't." He had no trouble boasting at the moment, open as his thoughts were.

He would have been more upset, had he not been so out of it, about how there was a young attractive woman hanging off his every word and he didn't currently have the ability to handle the situation as he should.

"So how're you," he croaked out instead. "I had a shitty night, but I'm betting yours went better?"

[kirasonlyone]

"Sanji-san sounds like a really great chef!" Misa nodded, a somewhat serious expression on her face. "It's too bad Misa-Misa won't be able to try any of your food here."

She turned back to her fruit and looked up just in time to catch Light's smile when he entered. She waved enthusiastically only a moment before he sat down with someone and pouted a little when it was clear that he wasn't going to come over and sit next to her. Thinking it would be rude of her not to explain the action to Sanji (whom she was supposed to be conversing with, after all), Misa discreetly pointed Light out. "That's Misa-Misa's Light over there! Are any of Sanji-san's crewmates here right now?" She glanced around the cafeteria curiously, as if she could actually recognize pirates just by looking.

Another bite of fruit. Something watery and full of juice that trickled down her fork by accident. "Mmm, to be honest Sanji-san, Misa-Misa spent the night in her room. Her Light told her to stay in because she doesn't know how to fight and it's safer there..." Clasping her hands on her lap and looking shame-faced, Misa tilted her head to the side and huffed. "But Misa-Misa doesn't really want to do that again. She wants to be useful."

[misterprince]

"I really wish the staff would let me cook for everyone at least once. I owe at least one other person a good meal." Sanji rubbed at his face, feeling flushed. He knew it would be best for him if he stopped talking and rested for a while, but Misa-Misa was such pleasant company.

And then she mentioned her 'light' again, pointing across the room at someone. Someone male. So it was a pet name for a boyfriend? Sanji nearly scowled, but then - wasn't that his roommate? And his roommate's name was... The chef groaned, slouching further in his seat. "Misa-Misa-chan's Light is my roommate," he muttered a bit dejectedly. "Apparently he's a very lucky man."

Glancing around the room revealed a couple of Sanji's crewmates, but he didn't point them out right away. "Yeah, they're here. And it really is better for you to stay in your room at night. At least he cares for your safety."

[kirasonlyone]

"Oh! Light's roommate! M65 right? Misa-Misa hopes the two of you get along! She's very lucky to have Light. He's her knight in shining armor, you know!" She was about to natter on, ask him a few more questions about Light's general health and well-being, when she realized that doing so would be a bit mean of her. The chef looked pretty sick.

"Ummm... maybe Sanji-san should rest a bit?" Slowly, she extended a hand and put it on Sanji's forehead. She was no nurse, but she'd always been good at taking care of things when it counted.