OGATA

[concasse]

will shitpost later

Comments

[snyaiper]

[Freezing up, eyes going wide for a second. What does he mean "another"???? How does he know!!! Surely he didn't see- No, no, surely he just means how all the knives on the bus got swiped. Calm down, Ogata. He takes a moment to run a hand over his hair.]

What are you, the camp chef now?
[All he knows Sanji as is the guy who thinks a tiger is a valid choice of pet.]

[concasse]

[-- Right speaking of tigers.

There's... gonna be a literal cub prancing about on uneven paws, still very young but greeting Ogata with a loud, bossy chuff before scampering over to Sanji]

Yeah, I am.

[Catching the knife and glancing over his shoulder. Ah. That bastard.]

So whaddya want?

[snyaiper]

[HECK. Ogata startles at the noises, his hand instinctively rising to the strap of the rifle now slung over his shoulder, but he doesn't actually pull it off. Just glowers at the animal.]

Is it really sanitary for you to have a wild animal in the kitchen?
[Is he saying this just because he's sour at being caught off guard? Maybe.]

[concasse]

I guarantee she's cleaner than a bunch of shitheads who were stuck on a bus for over a day.

[Spoken without missing a beat, though his eyes narrow in on that rifle. The fact that it stays on Ogata's shoulders is the only reason the chef keeps his mouth shut for now.

... And naturally, baby tiger does not give a damn about any of the proceedings. She doesn't even know what a gun entails. All she cares about is that "mom" is in front of a stove and that usually means food, and pats at his pant leg for attention.]

So are you eating or not?

[snyaiper]

....

[He just came to pilfer a snack from the fridge, because he is secretly low key obsessed with this new technology, but... well, he can't say he's not interested. Sniffing the air.]

What are you making?

[concasse]

Seafood stew.

[A simple, quick recipe that encases all the comforts of home for him, and he's already turned for the counter after giving Nami a gentle pat on her head]

It's a specialty of mine.

[... Everything is kinda a speciality of his, but. Eh. Details.]

[snyaiper]

[Ogata perks up, visibly, though he's clearly making an effort to not have it show in his voice.]

Oh?
[A pause, clearly playing it cool.]

I suppose if you're offering, I wouldn't mind some of that.

[concasse]

Good. Go sit down somewhere in the meantime.

[Still focused on the prep work, Sanji only makes a shooing motion behind him -- Ogata's visible interest will remain his secret for now]

-- And don't mind Nami if she sniffs at ya. She's used to humans.

[Well, so he says, but the tiger wants to EAT and so is going to completely ignore the other man until mama feeds her]

[snyaiper]

[He's more than willing to go sit somewhere else. He still doesn't trust the tiger, and she seems plenty focused on Sanji for now. So he just sits, and watches. He doesn't dislike tigers in theory. He's been called a wildcat as an insult. But he never really minded being compared to the efficient predators.

You can tell by looking at her paws how much bigger she's going to get. Ogata hasn't seen a tiger in real life before, but he knows how dangerous they can be. He can remember Kiroranke, with his birth name meaning tiger, telling them between puffs of his pipe around a campfire, of the superstition that killing a tiger will bring you bad luck.]

What are you going to do with her once she grows up?

[concasse]

Keep her, unless she wants to go free -- and in that case, I've no say in the matter.

[He speaks like he's treating her as a person instead of a pet, which... strange, and perhaps stupid. But Sanji has his unspoken reasons and doesn't seem phased by his own wording. He's already half-distracted while dicing up some of the seafood -- shrimp, calms, oysters and the like -- pushing them to the side as he begins to create the base for the soup]

She ain't really got a family besides me... and admittedly, my world's not equipped for tigers. It's why I made sure she had some intelligence. Give her the best chance for survival.

[snyaiper]

[He can smell the fish from here. Nice nice.]

What do you mean you "made sure"? Did you personally imbue her with that intelligence?
[He can't understand so much of this situation. The more he learns, the less it makes sense.]

[concasse]

Yeah.

[...

Sorry Ogata, the castle was a Time]

I'm too lazy to explain the particulars right now, but the place I was last at was like a... uh... a fucked-up fairy tale. We had to collect ink from three different factions, and since we all decided to use it for ourselves, we got to "write" whatever ending we wanted.

[Nodding to Nami]

I didn't wanna leave her behind in the castle, so I "wrote" her up a scenario where she's as smart as any human, and will stay with me and my crew until she decides she wants to leave.

[snyaiper]

[Hm. Ogata would have just written her out of existence, but sure, fine, most people wouldn't do that.]

At that rate, I'm shocked you didn't make her talk.
[Not that he's really complaining. He's glad the tiger doesn't have that ability.]

[concasse]

... Yeah, uh. I thought about it.

[Goddamn, getting called out by accident]

But a talking tiger seemed a little much -- plus I'm the only one who'd expect it, anyway. Everyone else would run for the hills or try to hunt her down.

[snyaiper]

They might anyway. I know some cultures think killing a tiger is bad luck, but I'm sure most others wouldn't have a problem with it.

[Regardless, he's not used to this much small talk, so;]
Are you almost done cooking?

[concasse]

Oi, show some patience. Cooking is a process, you know! I can't whip it up outta thin air.

[Sounding a lot gruffer than he actually looks, as his eyes remain focused on the work in front of him. The base is prepared -- now it's simmering and seasoning that come next]

But anyway... if anyone tries to hurt her, I'll snap their neck in half. So that'll solve that problem for a while.

[snyaiper]

Asirpa doesn't take this long when she cooks.
[HMPH.]

You don't look like the sort that would have that level of raw power.

[concasse]

[smiling w i d e l y as he suddenly turns his head]

Is that right, shithead? Feel up to a spar later?

[Please make his fuckin day.]

[snyaiper]

[He won't bc as a sniper he is not specialized in melee fight.]

No. I'm not some meathead that gets enjoyment out of that sort of thing.
[This is a lie, he just doesn't want to bc he would lose.]

[concasse]

No, I'd just clearly kick your ass.

[SANJI KNOWS HIS WORTH IN A BATTLE, and he gives Ogata a look of "hm, disappointing"--

Before turning back to the food that just needs to simmer]

Besides, in a place like this, not knowing how to defend yourself physically is gonna get your ass killed. Does your weapon even got any bullets in it?

[snyaiper]

[The way Ogata tenses slightly, eyes widening in muted alarm is all the answer he's giving to that question, so he's lucky Sanji isn't looking at him.]

I don't know why you think I'm going to answer that.
[Running a hand over his hair, calming.]

But I don't think it matters in the long run. If a bullet to the head doesn't stop someone, being able to throw a punch is irrelevant. And I don't miss.

[concasse]

[There is so much there Sanji is dying to rip into.

But he doesn't, because he agrees to a certain extent: this is irrelevant for now, and more or less the chef just speaking into the wind]

Oooo... you sound confident. Wonder if you can hold a candle to my sniper, though.

[snyaiper]

[Oh, he actually perks up at this.]

I wouldn't mind finding out. [Sounds fun.] I can't help but wonder what sort of chef has a sniper on retainer, though.

[concasse]

-- Ah, shit. Did I not mention...?

[Glancing over his shoulder again]

I'm a pirate chef. The sniper's the crew's gunman.

[snyaiper]

[BLINKS.]

You didn't. You were preoccupied trying to justify your animal companion, I think.
[Pirate chef... that's sure a thing, huh.]

I didn't know pirates even employed snipers.