"BOOM!" went their vacation
written by A. E. Stover
this version is not edited

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Originally written for the One Piece drabble community at LiveJournal, with the prompt of "explosions" in mind.

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"BOOM!" WENT THEIR VACATION


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As soon as the Thousand Sunny anchored and nestled atop the golden shores of Emerald Island, the crew went their separate ways.

Luffy and Usopp were the first to leap out, chasing after a tiny dumpling-stealing pelican deep into the island's jungle. Nami, upon learning of the island's titular rare gem, set out to search for it with Zoro and Chopper in tow. Sanji and Brook settled themselves in the kitchen; leeks and carrots chopped down to the beat of a quick waltz. Robin carefully combed through the ship's stock in Nami's notepad, marking down what they would need to replenish and what they hardly used now, while Franky tinkered with old solar panels on the sun-streamed deck of the Sunny.

As Nami was diligent in keeping records up-to-date, Robin found that there was hardly much work to be done and closed the notebook. No sooner had she done so, a white china cup with what looked like a spherical tea bag was presented before her with a flourish.

"A beautiful flower, for a beautiful lady," said Sanji, as he carefully poured boiled water into the cup. The spherical tea bag swelled up at the bottom of the cup, pointed green leaves opening and moving to let a tiny pink flower bloom from inside. "And a cup of blooming jasmine tea, as you requested."

Robin smiled, taking the cup when it was offered. "Thank you, cook-san." The scent of jasmine was strong; it filled the air pleasingly. She touched the cup to her lips and, after a moment, took a careful sip and let the flavor sit on her tongue. "It's wonderful."

Sanji pirouetted in place and grinned lovingly. "Anything for you, Robin-chwan~!"

"Oi! Sanji!" Franky's gravelly voice shattered Sanji's flirty mood. "Grab me three bottles of cola, would you?"

"Do I look like your waiter?" Sanji snapped. "Get it yourself!"

Franky spared not a glance behind him as he answered. "You got Brook something too - It's only fair, cook-bro!"

"Brook! I told you that wasn't for you!"

From the railing on the deck above, Brook lifted his own cup of blooming jasmine tea. "Ah? I must have heard incorrectly when you said it was for someone special..." Brook paused, and then continued in a softer voice. "But then again... I have no ears to begin with. Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!"

"I'll boil your bones with mackeral and white fish for our next seaman's stew if you don't stay away from those!"

Robin smiled into her cup. Then the cup of tea jostled and splashed onto her lap; the deck was rocking with waves that had suddenly risen to the shoreline, and Robin had to angle the hot tea away from her.

"What the-!"

Robin turned in time to see the flash of a tall wave leaving half the ship's deck awash with seawater. A clatter sounded on deck unlike the sound of crashing water, and all four pirates zero-ed in on a mysterious item now rolling innocuously to and fro on deck.

It was a barrel.

A black barrel, to be precise, tied down with thick rope and stinking strongly of barnacles and old hemp. A white seal was plastered over one end of the barrel, looking fairly new. Against better judgment, the pirates on board righted the item and gathered together a good distance away from the barrel to deliberate.

"This is a familiar situation," Sanji stated dryly.

"I can feel an ominous feeling in my bones!" Brook exclaimed. "All two hundred and six of them! Ah, but I may have lost a tooth or two over the years so it might actually be two-hundred and four now…"

Robin hummed in agreement. "Yes... There's a strange aura coming from the barrel."

"Shall we toss it overboard?" Franky asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Toss what overboard?"

"Oh, you're back already, Luffy-?"

All four turned to where they had last placed the barrel.

Luffy picked at the seal plastered on the top of the barrel with a fingernail. "What's this barrel doing here?"

"DON'T OPEN IT!"

"...Hah?" Luffy made a questioning noise as he knocked on the lid of the barrel.

The barrel popped open and a stream of dark purple energy crackled into the sky with thundering force.

And then;

"You shitty piece of rubber! What did we tell you not to do?"

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