Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece; Eiichiro Oda is the genius behind it all.
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a/n:
: mutters : My plot bunnies are going to kill me one day...
Anyway, since the said plunnies are on a spree and have decided to molest my mind, I decided to make something out of that and see where that gets me.
Warning: Weirdness ahoy!
And constructive criticism is welcome...God knows there will be some... : deadpans :
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I. -Instinct-
-by Alena S. Anigor
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Sometimes she was wondering how he knew.
She would stand in front of the railing, on the upper deck, with her hands resting on the wooden rail and with her eyes gazing thoughtfully into the distance of the wide blue.
And she would wonder.
Her eyes would travel down to look at the sleeping swordsman on the deck, his arms clutching Wadou Ichimonji protectively, as well as his other two swords...She remembered he still owed her money for them...But she would confront him about that someday...
Maroon orbs would gaze then at the relaxed figure of Nico Robin, sitting cozily in her chair on the deck, blue eyes skimming over one of her books, shielded behind dark sunglasses, her cocktail shimmering in the glass on a small table beside her.
She would rather hear than see Usopp and Sanji bickering over some insignificant thing, (probably food) while the small reindeer would try to calm them down, standing timidly between them, wearing a panicky expression. The argument would soon end with a swift kick of the cook to the sniper's head who would usually either end up down on the floor with swirling eyes or would leave demonstratively with a pout.
And then...then there was the captain.
She knew almost instinctively where to look for him; her neck would crane a bit and her eyes would search the ram-headed figure in the front, catching a glimpse of his red shirt, his unruly black mane and his famous straw hat that was making the whole known as Monkey D. Luffy.
Her expression would soften for just a bit, as she would observe the nonchalant way he was sitting on the ram's head, one of his hands on his knee, the other one keeping his straw hat firmly from getting blown away by the wind.
He was so naïve, so childish, so innocent at times that she couldn't help but wonder how on earth he would become Pirate King with that kind of attitude.
She believed all pirates were bastards, living only to plunder, destroy and kill. After all, she had a right to think so because she was talking from personal experience.
But then she met him and got to know him and things had changed.
She would never forget all those fights, battles, crises he had gone through, just to free her village, to free her from clutches of Arlong, just to welcome her onboard again as his crewmember. As his navigator.
She could remember the way he fought for Syrup Village and against Captain Kuro...just to help Usopp and have him on his ship...How he helped Sanji fight Don Krieg, inviting him afterwards to join his crew.
And let's not forget Chopper and Nico Robin, the woman who was a partner of the notorious Sir Crocodile, and someone she would never even help, let alone trust enough to save her life like he had...
For a while, it didn't make any sense to her, but then she had started to understand.
It was like he knew exactly whom he wanted by his side...
He could've taken any other guy as a swordsman...but he wanted Zoro, the young man with the three swords technique that could slash through any enemy and a knack for falling asleep on top of the mountain if he felt like it.
He could've hired any other sharpshooter onboard if he wanted...but he chose Usopp, the long-nose who was good at shooting and telling all kinds of stories, but would start to cry for his life every time they would collide with someone who either wanted to kill them for the bounty or simply get them out of their way.
He could've taken any other cook to make him meals and serve him on the ship, but he took Sanji in, who would kick and scream at him for eating everything from off the table and who would flirt with every female he would encounter.
And there were so many good doctors in the world he could've hired, but he asked Chopper to come with him and be the ship's doc.
She doubted they really needed a historian onboard, but nonetheless, he offered Nico Robin a spot on his ship and a place in his crew, because he believed in her.
And he could've taken any other girl or boy to be his navigator...but he didn't want anyone else except her. Her who had betrayed him, hogged his ship away and left without a trace...and still, he sought her out and saved her from the nightmare she was forced to call life.
Why her? Why them out of all people in the world? Did he know something they didn't? Was that the reason why he chose them? Or it was because of some weird, inane reason his brain had come up with just for the heck of it?
Because, she had to admit that with all their differences and similarities, they were a great team...they were his nakama, they have become his family.
It was them he chose to accompany him in his search for One Piece. It was them he chose to go on a great adventure with him, laugh with him, bicker with him and fight with him...and maybe, join him on the throne when he would become Pirate King someday and take his place in the world's history.
How did he know?
"Instinct," he said simply and smiled at her.