Chapter Text
"Emi."
"Emi!"
"EMI!"
Purple eyes opened sleepily as Carne bellowed her name. She grumbled and snuggled further into her blanket. She was having such a good dream! Emi was having a tea party with her transponder snail plush, and they were discussing the appropriate tactics to bugging Patty and Carne. The comfort of her blanket lulled the five year old into dreamland as someone opened her door. A large shadow crept over the snoozing child, and Emi's eyes popped open in surprise. She let out a yelp when she felt her body being lifted into the air, and her arms and legs flailed.
"Carne! Put me down!" Emi yelled, and the chef shook his head.
"Nope! I called you many times. It's time for you to get up" the chef said as he held onto the back of her pyjama shirt and pants.
Emi squirmed in his grasp, but Carne held on tightly. She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as the chef carried the five year old out of her room. Emi let out a grumble as the pair walked out to the railing that looked down to the restaurant, and Carne put the five year old down.
"Now don't go getting into trouble" he said, and Emi stuck her tongue out as he turned his back to her.
Carne walked into the kitchen; the sounds of clanking pots and pans reaching her ears. Emi grumbled under her breath and leaned her arms on the railing. Her purple eyes gazed out one of the windows and saw dark clouds starting to roll in. Her stomach rolled in anxious anticipation as lighting flickered underneath the dark clouds. Emi hated storms out at sea. The storms were loud and frightening, and she was sure one day a storm would cause the Baratie to sink. She always hid under the blanket in her jii's bed, and despite his grouching Zeff always allowed the girl to huddle against him. Emi pushed off against the railing and walked around the restaurant to find her jii. Thunder rumbled close by, and Emi flinched. She quickened her steps, and she began to tremble as the thunder rumbled again, closer this time. Where was her jii? Anxious fingers clutched the bottom of her pyjama top as she searched everywhere. Emi could see the sky was completely dark by now from one of the windows, and the sea waves began to push aggressively against the Baratie. The boat began rocking slightly as the waves pushed and pulled against it.
"Jii-jii, where are you?" Emi murmured to herself as she continued searching.
A particularly loud thunder clap caused the child to freeze in fear, eyes wide. Emi gulped and continued her search with a frantic pace. A thought popped into her head, and Emi let out an 'oh!'. Maybe her jii-jii was outside on the deck! He went outside sometimes when it got stormy. A triumphant smile spread across her face as Emi raced to one of the doors that led to the deck. She pushed through them and frowned: no jii here. The wind tugged at her hair and clothes as Emi walked across the deck. The ship rocked violently to the side, and Emi fell to the ground. Rain began to fall heavily, and soon the five year old was soaked to the bone. Emi struggled to her feet, and a particular hard wave crashed against the Baratie, sending Emi flying to the side. Another wave crashed into the Baratie, sending water over the Baratie. The water caught Emi in its grasp, and Emi found herself being washed over the railing. She let out a scream as she plunged into the cold ocean, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the water.
Emi let out a gasp at the frigid water, and sucked in a lung full of water. Her head popped up above the waves, and she coughed as another massive wave plunged over her head. Emi was sent deep down into the black water, the currents sending her small body tumbling. Her lungs burned for air as Emi struggled to coordinate herself in the black depths. She didn't know which way was up!
'Papa...jii-jii' she thought before her mind went black.
Her limp body was towed by the ocean currents away from the Baratie as the storm raged on. Inside the restaurant, the chefs were unaware that the small child had been washed overboard. The waves crashed against the sides of the Baratie, and Patty and Carne continued to argue. After a couple minutes, the chefs slowed to a stop. It was clear that no customers would be coming today in this weather and they all sat down, enjoying their rest as the storm raged outside.
"Oi, where's Emi?" one of the chefs asked suddenly, looking around.
It was common to see the child running around the kitchen, but this time there was no five year old.
"I thought she was with Carne" Patty said.
"I left her outside her room. Besides, she's probably with Head Chef" Carne answered.
"No one was with me" Zeff groused suddenly from the kitchen doors.
The other chefs froze as thunder rumbled loudly above their heads. Zeff gazed out the window and his eyes narrowed.
"Patty, check her bedroom. All you other chefs check every nook and corner" Zeff said, and the chefs scrambled to check.
There was a tone of urgency in the older man's voice, and everyone felt it as they searched for the five year old.
"Head Chef Zeff! Over here!" a cry came from outside.
Everyone gathered outside on deck despite the howling wind and rain to see a part of the railing had become damaged. Zeff's eyes narrowed as he digested what seemed to have happened.
"Did Emi get washed overboard?!" Party exclaimed, and Zeff nodded.
Everyone cried out in shock and fear as waves crashed against the Baratie.
"Head Chef, what are we going to do?" one of the chefs said with tears in his eyes.
Zeff was quiet for a moment, eyes searching the violent waters.
"We search after the storm has passed. It's not safe right now. Emi will be alright 'till then" he said gruffly before walking back inside.
The other chefs slowly followed him, tears streaming down some faces at the thought of the unknown fate of the five year old. Zeff went into his bedroom and untied his chef jacket. His eyes gazed around the room and landed on a small drawing on top of the dresser. The paper held three stick figures crudely drawn in red and purple crayons. Emi had drawn herself with Zeff and Sanji together, and presented it to the elderly man quite proudly. Zeff gazed at the picture before heaving a sigh. Deep inside, he was troubled at the loss of the five year old. She couldn't swim, and who knew where the ocean had carried her.
~~~~~~~~
Some miles away, a large pelican eyed something in the shallows of the water. The large bird swooped down and skimmed the water with its large beak and collected its prize. The beady eyes widened at the size of its load: it was the biggest fish ever! Too big for this pelican to swallow whole. It'd have to fly to its nest to break it up into smaller pieces. With a flap of its mighty wings, the pelican took to the sky, its mind set on delivering this big fish to its chicks. The pelican set its course to one of the many islands in the New World, not realizing that the big fish it picked up was in fact a five year old child.