Story Compilation with Unlikely Friendship Theme

A year ago, it was a tiring day for all inhabitants of Melbourne. A
blonde Asian looking girl rushed across the street without looking
right or left to get her Samoyed.

‘Beeeeeeep!’

Mia’s body froze as she was a statue. She hesitated for a moment
while processing what had happened in a wink of an eye.

“Girl! Are you blind?!” Mia was admonished by a teenage girl in a
scooter.

She did a double take when she realized she was stuck in the
middle of a two-lane road. Without further hesitation, she ran
quickly across the road to get her dog. However, she lost it.

In the evening, Mia told her father about her loss with watery
eyes. She shared everything except the fact of her near-death
experience. Actually, that was her first time being out alone
without bodyguards, so of course her mishap must not reach her
father's ears or else, she will never get her freedom.

Mary took a heavy breath as she set foot in the convenience
store. She was going to buy some groceries since it had been two
days since she and her siblings were eating proper meals. After
grabbing some eggs and the cheapest bread in the store, she
exited the store. Suddenly, a pair of black marble eyes looked at
her.

“Auww, what a cute dog! Where is your owner?” she mumbled
while looking around.

Because of its pitiful eyes, Mary decided to bring the dog home.

Upon reaching her house, Mary called her little brothers and
sisters out to show that angelic dog. It became riot and chaotic
with the exciting shouts from her siblings.

“Wah! A dog. I love dogs!”

One of her sisters shouted loudly that made her ears numb.

Because of the loud noise, the curious Mia threw her head
through the window. She spotted a familiar figure that she missed
badly.

“Louie! Where have you been? I am searching for you everywhere!”

After the loud remarks, all members of Mary's family looked up to
search for the source of the exclamation. Both Mary and Mia made
eye-contact. They were freezing, trying to remember the face of
each other.

“The scooter girl!”

“The blind girl!”

They both shrieked hysterically. As fast as lighting, Mia went
outside and ran towards Mary’s house. She hugged Louie, her
Samoyed dog.

“I miss you so much my little baby!”.

Mary was astonished by the crazy coincidence.

“What a small world. You’re this dog owner.”

She tried to offer Mia a hand shake. Mia was reluctant as Mia
thought Mary had kidnapped Louie. Looking at Mary's unfriendly
reaction, Mia told her what happened when she found that dog.
Mia was shocked and apologised to Mary. With a red face, she
also apologised to her for abruptly crossing the road that caused
an incident between them.

Mia told her that the reason why she was a little clumsy was
because this was a new experience for her to see and explore the
world since she was blind before. Mary was startled. As Mary was
reflecting on her rude behaviour, Mia thanked Mary and
promised to do anything at Mary’s request since she was debt by
Mary twice.

Mary refused all the materialistic offers, instead she wanted them
to be friends. Then, after the heart-warming confession, they
learned about each other’s problems and overcame it together.
They accepted each other's flaws and have been friends until
now.

THE END

the
truth
untold

SYAHIRAH MOHD NAZRI

Every step of the way seems so meaningless. A tiring and miserable day for
Rory, a 16-year-old girl who lost her sister and her only best friend after an
accident. She wants to scream at the top of her lungs but the only one that
comes out is only her tears. She could not stop crying from the moment she
knew about her sister’s death up until the funeral. As for now, she just wants
to be alone and one thought that comes to her head is if she jumps off the
roof right now, will anyone know that she killed herself for the sake of being
with her beloved sister.

"You should stop thinking about that"

A mysterious sound comes from the back of the huge funnel and Rory, who
was standing at the edge of the ledge, almost slips off it. She slowly turns
around and gets back to a bigger and safer area.

"You should not scare people like that" Rory is protective of herself not
knowing who that person really is.

"What were you thinking standing there then?"
"I'm not trying to jump off it or anything, I'm just looking"
The man chuckles. "Whatever you say"

The next day, Rory comes back to the roof, and while she was looking
around, "What are you looking for?" A hoarse voice came from her back.
She's shocked and could not balance herself, she could feel that her body
almost touches the ground but gravity is not yet her best friend. A strong
pull made Rory's body to get on her feet again.

“Thank you for your help”
“No need, I just feel sorry for the ants that are lining up” while showing the
line of ants.



Rory is annoyed, he left the guy alone.
“Wait, don’t you dare go near that ledge again,” said the man.
“Mind your own business.” Rory replies while ignoring the man’s instructions
and walks heading the ledge.

The man follows Rory to avoid anything bad from happening.
“Don’t you have any better thing to do? Why are you following me?” Rory
starts to feel uncomfortable with the man’s existence.
“I have better thing to do when you stop acting like this.”
“What act?”
“You, jumping off this ledge.”

“I’m still sane, I won’t jump this ledge.”
not when you are here, Rory continues her
sentences in her head.
“That’s good then, but why did you need to stand
on the ledge last night?”

“Should I answer that? Can you just give me some space?”
“Okay then.” The man replied while acting to lock his mouth.
But not even a minute later,
“My name is James.”
“Hello James.”
“You don’t want to introduce yourself?”
“If I do so, will you keep quiet?”
James shaking his head while crossing his heart, “I promise I’ll keep quiet”
“Well, I’m Rory”
“That’s a good name, is it a short form for something?”
“You said you’ll keep quiet after knowing my name?”
Few minutes pass by, Rory starts to feel calm.
“It’s a short form for Lorelai, it is after my grandmother and my mother’s
name.”
“Oh, that’s a cool name. So Rory, why didn't I see you before? Did you just
move in or something?”

"No, I will be moving out this weekend."
"That's too bad, I thought we could be friends."

“Why do you want to be friends with me?
You don’t even know me, not even my family name?”

“Tell me then”

Rory sees that James is eager to know her.
"Let us do this then, tell me a secret that you never told anyone before"
"Okay, a few days ago, I saw a girl crossing the road, trying to kill herself"
"Wait, is that even true?"
"Can you see that shining thing at that corner?" James asks while pointing at
one corner on the road."
"That was the car's window. I was there and I was too stunned to do anything.
That was the first time that horrible thing happened right in front of me"
“That was my sister” Rory replied and James was unable to reply.
"Our family doesn't know that my sister is suffering from anxiety and
depression that makes her take her life." Rory continues while trying to hide
that she's crying.
"Just cry, no need to hide it" while trying to pull Rory in his arms.
Rory doesn't know why she feels calm when she's with James and she
continues crying in his arm.
"Thank you" Rory said while trying to pull her head away from James' chest.
"No worries, I know that people are comfortable when they start crying in
front of the other person."
"I guess so," Rory replies while trying to show a smile.
"I think we are friends now then?"
"We are." Rory replies.
They exchange their number and promise each other they will keep in
contact.

My Pal

By: Wan Nur Adilah

Sitting on a bench near the breathtaking lake view with a blast
of wind, I stared at a face I used to rivet my eyes on since we
were 20 years old. His hair was black as charcoal, with his
brown deep-set eyes, and his little dimple near his mouth,
lurking a smile towards me. I wondered if he was the one I used
to call my dearest friend, the one who has always been by my
side since our college life. Little do I know our encounter as a
friend would bring us closer than we think we could be. It was
nostalgic and unbelievable that we managed to go through all
the obstacles to be where we are now, holding each other’s
hand. We decided to sit near the riverbank until we eventually
reminisced about our good old days twenty years ago.

Out of a sudden, we reminisced about the time when we started
being friends and it was still unbelievable to me. It all started
when I came back from Japan, as I lived in Japan since I was 15
years old. Living in a well-known descent allows me to achieve
almost everything I desire. Whether it is to study abroad or to
own luxurious things, my life has always been unchallenging
and splendour. Not to mention my circle of friends, they all
come from the same social status. My family has always
emphasized for me to be friends with people who shared the
same social status as us.

Coming back to Malaysia after a while, it feels the same even
after years. The mixture of local food smells at the street stall,
the sound of the monorail above my head, the bright lights of
the twin tower approaching the sky, that I could not feel in the
innermost part of Japan. I am relieved to be given another
chance to breathe the air of my homeland.

After a few weeks of staying here, I am still as lonely as a crow
in a strange country because being far away from home for
such a long time affected my circle of friends. I have yet to
make new friends since I came back from Japan. My introverted
inner self thinks it is totally okay to completely depend on
myself without having anyone’s company. The days after I
came back from Japan passed by normally until one day I
realized this loneliness might bring negative effects on me. I
was at a loss thinking about how I can make friends because of
my timid personality.

One day I was seated in the library that was quiet as a wasp in
one’s nose, my eyes wandered around the stacks of books until
my gaze stopped at a brown coloured book titled The Scent of
Japan. I went to grab the book and turned out it was written in
Japanese which would not be a problem for me to comprehend.

Subconsciously after a few minutes of reading the book, I wrote
something on the book which I was not supposed to because
the book belongs to the library. I read what I wrote on the
last page of the book.

“I am sand, tossed by the tide, friendless”.

Then I quickly went to place the book where I took it to ensure
no one realize that I scribbled on the library’s book. I brought
myself out of the library and straight away went back home.
The next day, my instinct brought me to the library again,
reaching out to the book I scribbled on yesterday. I was
stupefied to see
another writing under my scribble.

“I can be the walls to prevent the high tides”, someone replied
to my scribble.

I wrote back, “Who are you?”, as I was so eager to find who
wrote it, the situation repeats again and again for a few months
until I found the one who always replied back to me in the book.

In the interim, I was conscious of my feelings that developed
during our chatter through the book. It was because the person
who wrote back to me managed to bring me comfort and
companionship. My extreme curiosity made me spend most of
my valuable time in the library, hoping to see with my own eyes
the one who has been replying to my scribble. I was awestruck
seeing someone I did not expect to see, writing in the book. One
definite thing I knew about him was the fact that we came from
very opposite social statuses because he actually lives across
from my house. My parents used to talk about his family a lot,
reminding me not to end up living in poverty-stricken and
misery like them. My heart was shattered into pieces now that I
knew who he is and things were going to be much more
burdensome. Despite that, I was as braved as steel went to
approach him.

“Newt, were you the one who has been replying to me?”, I asked
him.

He instantaneously nodded. I grabbed his hand and we walked
out of the library to talk.

After a few minutes of talking and explaining things, I learned
that he has been paying attention to me since the first day I
went to college and that he was fond of me. Each day that
passed after that made me think a lot of what should be the
next step I take. Shortly after, I decided to accept his feelings
without telling my parents as they would be outraged knowing
who I opted to spend my life with. It was not long after my
parents found out about this.

Three years after seeing each other, the news reached my
parents resulting in me crying a river of tears and the decision to
call off this relationship. Nevertheless, Newt reassured me that
we could make this blameless relationship work. With his
actions and words of affirmation to express his love and
affection towards me, my parents were dumbstruck to see the
extent of Newt’s love towards me, without social status or
financial issues becoming one of the hindrances to our
relationship. My parents agreed to acknowledge Newt as my
partner as they saw the pure bliss on my face whenever I was
with Newt.

I was and still am walking on air, with my favourite person
whose heart is like gold besides me. What happened twenty
years ago brought to my awareness that social class,
personality traits, income and education should not be one of
the millions of impediments in building companionship with
other people. On the contrary, the differences each person has
can be the reason to complement and be each other’s perfect
match whether as friends or partners.

The End

Platonically in Love

by: Nur Syamimi Amalin

Have you ever heard about a story of two different people with different
personalities? It is called unlikely friendship. It can be between a girl and
a boy or the same gender. For this story
it is about a boy called Amir and a girl called Aqilah. Both of them went
to the same school and ended up in the same class. They have been
classmates for a while back in primary school. Now, they are in the same
high school. Interesting fact, Amir is an introvert who barely talk and
have friends while Aqilah is the opposite. However, who would have
thought both of the opposite personality would be best friends in the
end.

One usual day during class, the teacher asks the students to be in pair
for the pair work. A lot of students are looking at Aqilah as she is smart
and outspoken. Therefore, it is easy to work with her. However, the
teacher already has a list of which students will be in pair together.
Fortunately, both Amir and Aqilah got in pair for the pair work. Everyone
was disappointed at first but finally accepting the fact they won’t have
full marks for the project. While everyone was discussing about the
project in two, Aqilah and Amir sit together but not too close as it is
awkward for them as they have never spoken to each other before. So,
Aqilah tried breaking the ice by talking to him but he didn’t reply. Then,
while they are discussing, she asks for his opinion and he did reply this
time but wasn’t looking at her and avoided her gaze. She felt it was
weird. Well, she pretends to not see it and continued to discuss about
the project until the class ends.

After school is over, Aqilah tried to find and talk to Amir. Nevertheless,
he immediately rides his bike quickly to go home without looking back.
She was dumbfounded. She decided to just let it go and wait for her
brother to pick her up. When on her way back home, she was surprised to
see Amir’s bike. It turns out, they are neighbors. She asked her brother
about the neighbor in front of their house and he only said they are
‘nice’. She thought it was weird and felt like he was being sarcastic.
Then, she decided to find out more about him by watching him to get a
chance to talk.

In the evening, Aqilah went to take a walk in the park. Then, she saw
Amir was sitting on the bench. She quickly rushed to him and he was
surprised that she was looking for him. She sat beside him to talk about
why he acted the way he is right now. Amir sighed and told her slowly
about his problems with his personality and his inability to make friends.
She listens to him attentively and decided to help him to be more
outspoken without forcing him too much. He felt relieved hearing that
and agrees with her. After a few hours, they talked freely with each other
and they are surprised that they actually had a lot in common than
expected. They went home before it got dark.

A few months has passed, both Aqilah and Amir
have been close than ever. They spend time
together in class, studying together and do things
together. During their friendship, Aqilah encourage
Amir to socialize more with other students to gain
more friends and it works. Now, they already
graduated but still close as ever. Even though
Amir has gained some new friends, he
appreciates, prioritize and loves Aqilah the most
as his best friend because she helps him gain the
confidence he never thought he would be able to.

THE END

YOUR
SECRET'S
SAFE WITH

ME

By: Nurul Auni Nadhirah

Ryle was not like the others. He was so special that I
could not barely take my mind off him. I need to
protect his secret so that he feels safe in this world. It
is true that every human is different. There are all
sorts of races in this world that people dont know
about, and the perfect example is Ryle.

“Hi, I’m Amy. Let’s be friends”. That is how I started to
take interest in him. He never replied to
my friendly, warm approach. But, that makes me
want to try harder and harder, until he finally
decides to talk to me. Everyday, I'll walk to his seat
to wish him good morning. I’ll ask him about
homework, what food he brought for lunch, what he
did at home but you got to believe me that he never
replied to one of my questions. He would stare down
at his hand, and do his work. Sometimes he would
give me a barely noticeable smile. That might be
because he felt at fault for never replying to me, I
guessed. At least that was what I wanted to believe.

All the time, he was quiet, not a very active student in
the class. Due to that reason he did not have any
friends. In my eyes he was like a timid, fearful cat,
that was fiercely independent and hard to catch up
on. I might have been the only one who ever tried to
approach him. There were also, always bad rumours
surrounding him. Others said that he is weird, that we
would stare at you like a predators’ look on their prey.
There was a time when he became the topic of the
day because his quick reflexes had smacked down
the class president when he just tried to wake him up.
From day forward, people started to avoid him. I felt
guilty somehow. Maybe he was just so shocked by
the class president’s action but nobody understood.

One day during recess I heard a loud bang. “Aghh!”. That was
Ryle’s voice. I knew it because I have heard his voice a couple

of times when he talked with the teachers. I ran to the
voice. I saw him being pushed to the door and then down on
the floor by a group of male students. If i did not help him at
that time, I would feel ashamed as I was there watching the
incident. So I shouted. “What are you guys doing, I’ll call the

teacher”. The group looked at me then escaped from the
place. I walk slowly to Ryle. His elbow is injured with blood.

Suddenly, a cat’s ears pop out from his head. I flinched, I
rubbed my eyes a few times. He looked at me then

ran away to the rooftop. I sat on the floor, still could not
believe my eyes. I followed his steps to

the rooftop and later saw him cover his head with his red
square handkerchief.

I moved my feet slowly towards him. “Pheww, that was
a close call” I said. Try to appear calm and composed.
“Are you okay? Let me treat your wound”. I added. I
know for sure that the last place he would go would be
the infirmary room so I offered to treat his wound
myself. “Are you not scared of me?”. That was the first
time he ever answered me. “No, I don’t. Don’t worry,
nobody saw you except me”. I grabbed his hands and
said with reassurance, “don't worry your secret's safe
with me”.



Anthropomorphs. That was what people labelled them
as far as I knew. Humans with animal characteristics are
one such race that also exist in this complex unique
world. There are many different kinds of anthros,
ranging from common species like dogs and cats. They
only make up a small minority of the population and
take special care to hide their animal characteristics.
And that was all the information I collected from him.
We became friends after the incident. He started to
open up to me little by little.

Now that I know him, I got to understand his behaviour. It
was true all along that he was not like how the rumours
are. For him, his cat traits did not appear unless he became
severely ill or he pulled it out himself. So, it was not too
hard living in human society but when their secrets are
discovered, it is better to run away. As the summer went by,
school started as usual, we moved to another grade. Just
as I thought that we were getting along with each other, he

was not there anymore. Our homeroom teacher told
us that Ryle has moved to another town. I was not surprised
as I thought it was the best for him. Maybe I was not trusty

enough to make him stay. I just hoped he was fine
whenever he goes. There is only one thing i wanted him to
know and that would be his secret is safe with me, now and

forever.



The End

TWO

SHARING

SOULS

BY: NUR IZZATUL AIN BINTI MOHD JUPRI

Zizi is my best buddy, and we both enjoy singing and playing
instruments. The similarities end there, but our variances go
on and on. Zizi is a lively and sociable person who is always
surrounded by numerous friends, but I am a cold and
introverted girl with few friends.
After the unexpected run-in, we become unlikely friends who
bond like sisters. It's strange how the most unlikely
encounters can lead to the most meaningful friendships. In
other words, Amri ripped parts of us away and we shared
ours, like two sharing souls.

***



With a cup of bitter coffee in our hands and phoney smiles on
our faces, we sat across from each other, locked in place.
The night was quiet. Even a slight ruffle in the leaves could be
heard clearly.

“So. you’re Zizi from Class 3, the one who destroys my
relationship with Amri. I knew there was something he was
hiding from me. Thanks to you, our 2 years relationship was
destroyed in a split of time. “
Heart-breaking. Devastating. I never thought I’d get cheated
on after all these years of loving each other.
Zizi blurted out, “You’re Zenita from Class 2, right? First of all,
excuse me? I’m also a victim here. Amri and I have been in a
relationship for quite a long time too.”
“So, you’re saying that we share the same boyfriend all this
time, huh? What’s so special about you than I am? I’m way
better than you. Besides, I can play musical instruments too. “
I said to her.
“Aha. Don’t you ever look down on me. I can play instruments
too. I can even write song lyrics. I bet you can’t do that. No
matter what, we both still got played at the end of the day.”
she said.
With that, we both burst into crying.

“So. you’re Zizi from Class 3, the one who destroys my
relationship with Amri. I knew there was something he was
hiding from me. Thanks to you, our 2 years relationship was
destroyed in a split of time. “
Heart-breaking. Devastating. I never thought I’d get cheated
on after all these years of loving each other.
Zizi blurted out, “You’re Zenita from Class 2, right? First of all,
excuse me? I’m also a victim here. Amri and I have been in a
relationship for quite a long time too.”
“So, you’re saying that we share the same boyfriend all this
time, huh? What’s so special about you than I am? I’m way
better than you. Besides, I can play musical instruments too. “
I said to her.
“Aha. Don’t you ever look down on me. I can play instruments
too. I can even write song lyrics. I bet you can’t do that. No
matter what, we both still got played at the end of the day.”
she said.
With that, we both burst into crying.

“I thought he loved me. He was my sunshine in the rain.”
“Me too. I was ready to face any circumstances with him. But
he went behind my back to cheat on me.”
We were both deceived by his masculine face, shapely body,
and beautiful voice. Little did we know, his deception and
betrayal were veiled beneath the glitz of his false character.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head.
“Wait, I don’t think he is worth sparing. Enough of this crying!
It's time for us to put him in his right place” I said.
“Then, what should we do?” Her eyes lighted up.
“The school concert is upcoming soon, right? You’re good at
writing lyrics and I can sing. Well, I have a plan.”
Zizi listened intently, with her hand gripping the back of her
neck.
With a grin, I said, “How about you and I compose a song
together? I’m good at notes and you’re really good at lyrics,
let’s make him regret messing with us.”
I’m not sure if this counts as revenge because I didn't seek it
out but perhaps, it may be counted as some type of satisfying
payback.

****

Days passed by and we met again a few weeks later at a music
club. Somehow, Zizi and I were able to transform our feelings
into lyrics, and we ended up writing a song about it.

We made a vow,
For better or for worse,
I can’t believe you let me down,

But it’s okay,
I’d rather be alone than be cheated anyway.

Since you've been gone,
I kept thinking bout how I could never live alone,

But then I think of how you did me so wrong,
And so I keep my head high

And save myself for someone who's worthy so much more.
So just go and don’t turn around.

Cause you’re not welcome anymore
Thanks to you,

Now I get what I want.
I’m gonna make it anyway.

And as time flies by, our days were filled up with notes, chords,
and lyrics, not only to prepare us for the concert, but also for
the idea of letting him go. For good.

*****
When it comes to that day, guess who was sitting in the front
row of the audience.
Yes, it’s Amri.
As we practiced before, we sang and pour our hearts into the
performance. The majority of the audience gave us a
standing ovation for our great performance. Not only that, I
can't describe how great it was to witness the look on Amri's
face when we sang on the stage. He turned red
as a strawberry. I guess that's when he realised what he was
truly missing out on. We were satisfied, our heart's content
with the whole process.
“Who would have thought we’d be best friends? Fate sure is a
sneaky thing huh? “
Zizi couldn't agree anymore with those words and her smile
joined the happiness of our two heart’s togetherness.

Fromto aBeNsotibeody

A story about unlikely friendship

By
Sareena Zakaria

Rachel is like a flower surrounded by bugs. She
only befriends upper class and good looking
people. She has a step sister named Maria. She
hates Maria extremously till she wishes to
resurrect and kill her a thousand times. Despite
being treated like trash for being a mistress's
daughter, Maria made several attempts to mend
their relationship due to her thirst for sister
affection.

One day, Rachel brought her friends home. Rachel
went to her room to have a quick shower when she
heard a splash. "It is scorching today! It must be
refreshing!" Amy screamed and the others
laughed. They knew Maria could not swim. Rachel
stepped outside and saw Maria was struggling in
the water. She cried for help but no one cared.

Rachel dived immediately, gave CPR, and luckily
Maria regained consciousness. Rachel turned
around and yelled, “ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY?!” “It’s
just a joke. Why are you overreacting?” Amy
sneered. Rachel’s face glowed red. “You almost
killed her! And you think it’s a joke?!” Rachel
bellowed. She shook her head in disbelief and
stomped off.

At school, Rachel’s friends gave Rachel her
favourite strawberry frappe to reconcile and left.
Maria came from behind and asked, “Can I have a
sip? I want it but I cannot afford to buy one.”
Rachel rolled her eyes yet gave it. Maria had a
quick sip but it looks like she was forced. She
handed it back. “No, I don’t like to share a drink
with you,” Rachel grumbled and left.

Maria

At home, Maria was not seen anywhere. Rachel
asked the head housemaid, “Where is Maria? She
should not be slacking off. Call her.” The head
housemaid explained, “Maria does not look well
Miss Rachel. So we let her rest for the day.”
Rachel went to Maria's room in the basement and
saw her lay unconscious in the corridor. She ran to
Maria and shouted for help.

.....

Rachel sat beside Maria’s bed. “She had food
poisoning and fainted due to extreme diarrhoea.
However, did she consume any product containing
strawberries?” Rachel recalled what the doctor
said. Suddenly, Maria opened her eyes. “Are you
okay?” Rachel asked. “Yes, I’m okay,” Maria
answered with a weak voice. “Doctor said you had
food poisoning. What did you eat?” asked Rachel.
“Erm, I’m not sure. Maybe, I accidentally ate
expired food from the store,” Maria answered
while avoiding eye contact. “You’re lying. You are
aware of your minor

allergy towards strawberry but you drink it. Why?”
Rachel dropped the bomb. Maria looked down and
stayed silent. “Maria!” Rachel insisted. “I saw your
friends put suspicious powder in your drink. I know
you wouldn’t have it if I drank first,” Maria
explained. “You could just tell me at that
moment,” Rachel said. “How? I’m just a nobody to
you,” Maria sighed. Rachel suddenly hugged Maria
and cried. Maria made her realise which one is the
diamond. True friends would not try to hurt or
bring you down. Instead, they care for you more
than themselves.



something
only they

know

By Dalili

It has been a week since they have sailed after their short break
at Thriller Bark. The kitchen situated on the right wing of the
ship was lively like every other morning, heaps of stacked
playwood were seen at the corner of the pantry. Sanji looked
over at the untidy mess Usop had left, giving an ugly impression
to his usual everyday well tidied-up kitchen. Being bothered
enough with cooking, he instead puffs out smoke from the
remaining cigarettes that hang loosely on the corner of his lips.
His hands holding a kitchen knife delicately slicing through
carrots and potatoes, humming soft tunes.



Not long after, the quiet mornin
g the blonde was having soon
ended as he catches upon soft creaks of the wooden floor right
outside the pantry, just as he heard, footsteps approaching soon
barging into the kitchen, the round like wooden door of the
pantry opens up, bright noon light pours into the dining area,
bright as Sanji squints his eyes adjusting to the bright light.
"It must be Captain Luffy", he thought, "I can bribe him with food
so he'd clean up the mess Usop left"; snickering mischievously
but as he turns his body around to call out the younger. He was
surprised when his eyes laid upon someone else, it was their
swordsman, none other than Roronoa Zoro. Like the waves
below them that rise and fall, Sanji's heart sank as soon as he
looked into the other's eyes. His waist up to his elbow was
bandaged neatly, by the look of it, Sanji can tell it was the work
of their doctor, Chopper. But what had caused the wound, what
had happened that very day, only the both of them knew, and
they plan to keep it that way.

The kitchen went dead quiet again, only the constant bubbling
from the pot could be heard filling up the small area, but the
aromatic smell? has seeped into the dining area not far away,
decorating the room, it was Sanji’s charm, after all, gifted and
growing up in a family full of
cooks, and now being scouted as part of the Straw Hats Crew
as an excellent cook, but the one thing that the famous
Vinsmoke Sanji was not very good at, was confronting his
crewmate, Zoro.

The worst part is, he doesn’t even feel bad about such thoughts
now, he relishes them. He packs them away into a neat little box
and tucks them straight into his heart. It’s enough, he thinks.
Pretending is enough. Their differences and constant fights on
every adventure they went through, was as much as every sea
they have sailed and every island they have stopped by, every
argument and strains of voice they both emit. It was just how
they were together.
[ A Week Ago]
He was reminded again of that one unforgettable evening that they
both had encountered Kuma, one of the seven Warlords of The
Sea, the crew was captured and was not given much of an option
to live, one only proposal Kuma gave them was that they gave one
crew member away to him as a sacrifice. Zoro did not think much,
threw his swords away and walked in front of Sanji, gesturing that
he chose himself. Sanji baffled by Zoro’s decision pushes him
away and screams
“Are you stupid? Do you have any idea who we are fighting
against? Idiot moss ball!“ A frequent insult that Sanji would use to
mock Zoro’s green hair.

“Shut up curly brows! I know what I'm doing okay?” likewise does
the swordsman would insult the cook’s eyebrows.
Upon watching Zoro offer his life in exchange for the safety of
the other crewmates, Sanji walks over to Zoro asking what dying
would do for his ambition. “What about being the greatest
swordmaster? Is it really worth it?” he screams as he grabs the
other's collar, the blonde pushes him away and in turn, he offers
his own life instead of Zoro’s. Both Sanji and Zoro can barely
move, their body aching from the nonstop fighting they have had
earlier. Sanji tells Kuma to take his life already. He looks behind
at Zoro who was groaning in pain, reaching for him.
“Tell the others to have a nice journey” Sanji smiles “Guess you
have to find another cook then, idiot moss ball” before he could
face Kuma again, Sanji felt a sharp pain on his waist, as he
looked down Zoro had quickly knocked him with the back of his
sword, precisely hitting his wounds knocking out the blond. Right
before passing out, he grabs Zoro’s shoulder as his grips
weaken and slide down Zoro’s arm.
[ One Week Later ]
Sweat dampened her forehead, her bangs sticking to her face,
her usual braids were loose messy things, and the ends glowed a
faint marmalade. She could not spare anytime to get ready, once
the hospital phoned her about her crewmates, Nami ran straight
to the hospital, out of breath, her eyes parted, blearily glancing
around the large dim room with dark green walls and dark oak,
cracks of gold that spun together into the shapes of trees, large
windows which

were technically the balcony doors lay open, and stacks of
books and papers in the corner presumably the doctors. Nami’s
eyes then glanced down to her crewmates sleeping soundly on
the hospital bed, Zoro and Sanji, their skin pale with red purplish
bruises, her eyes travelled to their body, Sanji was bandaged
from waist to the right arm. Zoro on the other hand had it even
worse, fully bandaged, as if, there was not a single skin that
Kuma had left out the other day.This sent shivers down her
spine, Nami could not imagine how much pain both had to
endure.

“Nami? You look out of breath, are you unwell?” Robin asks as
she enters the room. She pulls Nami into a hug, in an attempt to
calm her down. Nami hugged her back, stealing glances at both
of them. “Not at all, just out of breath, I worry that they won’t
wake up, I fear that they’ve reached their limits” Nami exclaims as
tears trickle down her soft cheeks.
“What in the world were they thinking? Fighting someone so
powerful?” Nami cupped her cheeks in frustration, angered but
also saddened with what happened. “But still, I find it amusing
these two, of how both have completely opposite personalities
yet somehow deeply care about each other” Robin chuckles as
she hugs Nami tighter. “In a way, gives me hope that even the
most difficult of things can be beautiful if you put it together”
Robin smiles.

Nami’s eyes light up as she replies, “Remember when they would
fight over the simplest things, always at each other's throats since
they first met? But Sanji has risked his life to save Zoro on several
occasions and Zoro wouldn't hesitate to do but same for the cook,
best of crewmates,
don't you think?”
“We all are Nami, the best of crewmates, though we do not say it out
loud, deep down we do” Robin drags Nami to exit the room “ Let’s go
grab something to eat, don’t worry too much about them, they’ll wake
up soon” Robin shuts the door as it hums a soft creek.
[Back to present]
"you're early, how do you like your eggs?"; Sanji turned his body
away and hurriedly grab the eggs from the shelf. He could feel his
body react weirdly to the awkwardness. Truthfully, ever since they
have gotten past their fight with Kuma and had taken their leave
from the hospital. Not once did they have ever talked about it
again, they conversed every day yet never really sought any of it
out. So many questions but so few answers. But deep down, it is
true they disliked each other at the beginning. They fought and
quarrelled a lot, were annoyed by just each other's personalities.
But with time they grew closer and although they still do not agree
on many things, they care about each other, even if they would not
say that out loud. Till now, most were kept all by themselves. It is
just how they chose to settle it, for now.
Nevertheless, if a day like that, were ever to come by again, both of
them would never hesitate to protect what they care about the
most. But just how the story goes? Is something only they both
know.