Here's a Christmas One-Shot for all of you...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And thanks for all of the support you've given me throughout the past few months. I really appreciate it, and I hope all you guys get what you want for Christmas. ;D
I really hope you like this! I've worked hard on it, and I think I've done really well. If you could...for a Christmas present, maybe, could you review and tell me what you think? Please? Thanks!
Enjoy! ;)
Luffy rolled over and fell off the bed, landing with a thump on the wooden floorboards. He jolted awake.
"Where am I?" he wondered aloud, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes.
"Uh…on the Glory Spirit, baka," Nami said.
"Oh. Well, that's good. I thought I was in some magical world where I actually got what I wanted for Christmas." He yawned and lay back on the floor. "Goodnight."
"WAKE UP!" Nami yelled, waving her arms.
"Gosh, calm down. I'm tired. And maybe a little hungry."
Zoro stepped forward. "It's Christmas, Luffy."
There was a moment of silence, then…
"SERIOUSLY?!" Luffy jumped up from the floor. Only then did he notice that his whole crew was crammed in his little room, awaiting his awakening. And then he noticed that the only thing he was wearing was a pair of red and green boxers. But he didn't care.
"Let's go open presents!" he commanded.
The whole crew trooped out of his room and into the frigid air. Luffy frowned. It hadn't snowed for Christmas for three years. It made him depressed. And what made him doubly depressed was that he hadn't gotten the thing he wanted for Christmas during those years either. He had wanted it for what seemed like forever. And yet, Santa had never brought it for him.
Granted, it was a little big, but Santa's sleigh had to be big enough to carry it. It had to carry toys for every kid in the world. Really. It made him a little angry.
But Luffy knew he had to push aside his anger. It was Christmas, after all. He needed to get into the spirit. Maybe this year he would get what he wanted. He rubbed his hands together with anticipation of what the next few minutes would bring. Well, that and it was something like 20 degrees outside. Maybe he should have put some clothes on.
Nami opened the door into the meeting room, which had been transformed into a Christmas paradise. It was decorated with tons of tinsel and mistletoe, and there was a giant tree that Zoro and Chopper had cut down at the last island. The tree was decorated with garland and a few ornaments. Robin had donated a couple pairs of her earrings to use. Franky had even fashioned a string of lights from glass and wire. It was great.
There was a gasp as everyone took in the view. There was at least twenty presents under the tree, if not more. But Luffy knew with a single glance that what he really wanted wasn't there. He sighed, dejected.
Zoro noticed his captain's sour mood and gave him a smack on the back. "Don't let it get you down. It took me five years to get my replacement weapon." He patted his nunchucks, which hung from his haramaki just like his swords used to.
Luffy nodded and stood straighter. Zoro was right. He would eventually get what he wanted. He looked out the window. Well, maybe. The sky seemed determined to defy his wishes.
Luffy turned his attention back to his crew. They were feverishly opening their presents, eyes alight with joy, or in Usopp's case, disgust.
He soon found out the reason for Usopp's disgusted look. He pulled out some pink pajamas from the wrapping.
Luffy laughed. Then he dove under the tree to find some gifts with his name on them.
Zoro sat up from reaching under the tree. The present he was holding was the exact shape and size to be a new music player. He tore off the wrapping and gazed down at his new gadget. Finally. Now he wouldn't have to listen to Usopp sing to him while he worked out. He shook his head and grinned a little. Boy, would that be a relief.
Speaking of Usopp…Zoro looked over at him. He was a lot happier than he had been earlier. Usopp pulled a new slingshot out of the box and took aim at a target on the wall. With a twang, the pebble flew out of the sling and smacked right into the center of the target.
"Yes!" Usopp shouted. "It's perfect!"
Luffy returned from his expedition under the tree with three presents in colorful wrapping. All of them had Luffy written in cursive. He had a happy glow about his features, his barely contained excitement almost bubbling over.
He tore off the wrappings in record time and gasped. Inside was a short sword, complete with an L emblazoned on it, a music player similar to Zoro's, and a new captain's vest.
Luffy's eyes widened when he saw the vest. He took it out of the wrapping and threw it on. Zoro had to say, it looked amazing on him. It was a deep purple and had gold trim. On the back was their Jolly Roger, the Straw Hat.
"I love it!" he exclaimed. "What do you think, guys?" he twirled around like a model, getting laughs from the crew.
"It's great!" Nami said, having gotten over her earlier anger. "Maybe there's some matching shorts somewhere…she pulled a package from behind her. "…maybe these?"
Luffy snatched the package from her and tore it open. Sure enough, there was a pair of matching purple shorts inside. He put these on as well, stuck his new sword in his belt and then placed his straw hat carefully upon his head.
Nami sat back. "Hmm…it's missing something…" she grabbed a scope sitting on the table and handed it to him. "Look through this."
Luffy obeyed.
"Hahaha! It looks perfect!"
"I'll take a picture!" Robin said, and pulled out her new camera. "Hmm…how do you do this…?"
Sanji chuckled. "I'll do it for you, Robin-chan!" He grabbed the camera and pointed it at Luffy before pressing the red button on top. "Here you go."
Robin looked at the picture as it auto-printed and laughed. She shook it to make it develop faster. Then she tacked it to the wall.
Zoro looked at the picture and burst out laughing. Luffy had stuck his tongue out at the camera right before Sanji had taken the picture without anyone noticing.
"Luffy!" Nami shouted, laughing.
"What?" He looked at her with wide eyes.
They stared at each other for a second before Luffy started laughing. He let out a snort that got everyone else laughing too.
Once everyone had calmed down, Sanji spoke up. "How about some breakfast?"
"Yes!" Luffy exclaimed. "FOOD!"
Zoro laughed and slapped his captain on the back. "You're one of a kind."
Luffy stuck his tongue out at his green-haired assistant. "Thanks. I know." Then he ran off after Sanji to get some food.
Zoro shook his head and followed the rest of the crew into the galley.
Luffy, of course, was already seated at the table, demanding that Sanji tell him what he had made for breakfast.
"Please just tell me, Sanji!" He whined.
"No, Luffy. You can wait the two minutes it takes for me to heat it up." Sanji took two plates from the fridge and placed them in the microwave.
Luffy stretched his neck high, trying to see what was on the plates. But the microwave door closed before he could get a good look.
Sanji smirked.
Luffy waited tensely for the two minutes to be up. When the microwave dinged, he was practically salivating on the tablecloth.
He looked down. Okay, he was literally salivating on the tablecloth.
Sanji took the plates out of the mini-oven and set them in the center of the table. Then, with a flourish, he removed the lids.
Luffy's eyes popped out of his head and the rest of the crew gasped. Lying on the plate were eighteen steaming cinnamon rolls lightly drizzled with vanilla icing.
Luffy reached out and snatched two of them before Sanji had the chance to stop him. He tossed them up in the air and gracefully caught them in his mouth.
Sanji shook his head and grinned a little. "Alright, dig in." He sat down and took his two rolls.
As he chewed, Luffy's good mood began to dissipate. From where he was sitting, he had a perfect view of the sky. And there wasn't a single snowflake in sight.
What made his mood plummet even more was that he hadn't gotten a present from Zoro. He thought that was a little odd, because Zoro always got him something. There hadn't been a single year since he'd met him that Zoro hadn't pulled through and bought him something amazing.
But, granted, this year was different. Zoro had been forced to surrender in almost every fight he had taken part in.
There had been tons of times in the past five years that Luffy had wished with all his heart that the dreadful event of December 31 had never happened. It was on that night that Zoro had torn a bunch of tendons in his shoulder, rendering it useless in a fight.
It was New Years' Eve, and, naturally, he had been drinking. Everyone had. But Zoro had drunk a little more than he should have. Even Robin, who normally stayed sober, had had a little more than her limit. It was almost midnight when the worst thing occurred.
Everyone was standing out on the main deck, waiting for the fireworks that would inevitably be fired from one of the far off islands, when thirty marines dropped down on them from above. They had been lying in wait in the watch tower.
Now, if everyone hadn't been boozed up, the marines would've been taken care of in a matter of minutes, and the celebrations would have continued like nothing had ever happened. But, considering all of their senses were muddled from the alcohol, it was a disaster.
Zoro, being the fighter that he was, jumped in front of everyone else and took on the first few marines while the rest of the crew got their bearings. He dispatched the first few marines without any problem and moved on to another small group that was taunting Chopper.
Right when he was about to slice a couple marines' heads off, a big marine jumped him from behind and yanked his right arm behind his back. He kept pulling until Zoro yelled, then pulled harder until his elbow was perpendicular to his spine.
Zoro howled and fell to his knees, all of his swords clattering onto the deck.
Luffy finally realized what was going on and knew if he didn't stop the marine soon, it would be too late. But, he had problems of his own. There were five marines clustered around him with swords.
He had to give Chopper credit, because if it weren't for him Zoro may have lost the use of his right arm forever. He threw off the marines crowding him and rushed over to Zoro, dodging attacks the whole way.
When he reached Zoro, he fought off the big marine and kicked him over the side of the ship.
Zoro's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed, falling face-first onto the deck.
Chopper tore the shirt off Zoro's back and examined his shoulder. He frowned and bit his lip worriedly.
Gradually, the rest of the crew finished off the marines and half staggered, half walked over to where Zoro lay.
Luffy pushed through them all and crouched next to his swordsman's side. He looked up at Chopper.
"Will he be okay?" he asked.
Chopper fidgeted. "I don't know," he murmured.
Luffy's eyes widened and he looked down at his best friend. There were tears in his eyes.
Carefully, Chopper moved Zoro's right arm and rolled him over so he was facing the sky. Unnoticed by them all, Zoro had regained consciousness.
"…ow…" he muttered.
"ZORO!" Luffy exclaimed.
Zoro opened his eyes and stared around at them all. "I…at least I'm sober now…"
Everyone chuckled nervously, not sure if it was meant as a joke or not.
Right at that moment, the fireworks went off. They seemed to be mocking the Straw Hat crew, saying that there was still good in the world when their swordsman lay wounded, and possibly would never fight again.
Chopper motioned to Luffy. "Bring him inside. I need to operate as soon as possible so I might be able to save his arm."
A week later, Zoro still couldn't move his arm. The crew was constantly alert, listening for any sound of unrest from the infirmary that might mean Zoro was in trouble.
After three weeks of not being able to move his arm, Zoro was getting a little restless, to say the least. It got so bad, in fact, that Nami agreed to veer off course and head to a nearby island that specialized in medicine.
At the island, Zoro went through three surgeries. After recovering from them, he had regained limited use of his arm. The doctors at the island said that if he exercised it lightly for a few months, he may be able to fight again. However, they said he wouldn't be able to use a sword with his right arm, saying that it put too much stress on the mended tendons. They suggested shurikens or nunchucks.
Using individual weapons was Usopp's specialty, so he went with nunchucks. But they were so expensive that it took him five years to save up enough money to buy a nice set. In the meantime, he fought using Ittoryu with his left hand. At least he was left handed. He bought the nunchucks on his birthday five years later.
Luffy had had an extreme attitude change since then. He had become more responsible, less like a little kid. He thought things through, especially if Zoro was involved, which he usually was. He became more serious, and joked less often. Being a captain had taken its toll on him.
Luffy blinked as he awakened from his flashback. The crew was staring at him worriedly. Then he realized he was crying.
He rubbed his eyes, embarrassed, and looked away.
Zoro took a deep breath. "You were thinking about what happened, weren't you?" he asked.
Luffy nodded and buried his head in his hands.
Zoro sighed. "It's okay, Luffy." He reached across the table and patted the boy's head with his right hand. "I can fight now."
Luffy sniffled. "B-but not the way you used t-to."
Zoro smiled. "It's okay, Luffy. Just believe that."
Luffy looked up at his friend with tear-stained eyes. "I wish that were true."
"It is true, Luffy."
Luffy rubbed his eyes. "I thought…I thought you were getting depressed, since you…you didn't buy me a Christmas present…"
Zoro chuckled. "No, I'm not depressed. And who said I didn't get you a Christmas present?"
Luffy's eyes cleared. "What?"
Zoro smiled wide. "I think it's time we brought some joy back into your life." He stood. "Come on, guys."
Luffy stood.
"Uh uh," Zoro teased, holding up his bandana. "Get over here."
Luffy grinned and stepped over to Zoro. He felt his heart leap as he tied the strip of black cloth around his head.
"Now, guys. Go get it ready." There was a loud shuffling noise as everyone stood and exited the galley, except for Zoro.
Luffy trembled in anticipation. "What is it?"
Zoro grinned again. For some reason the smile just wouldn't leave his lips. "You'll see."
A minute later there was a whistle from out on the deck.
"Alright, Luffy. You ready?" His seemingly eternal smile got larger as the boy nodded vigorously. Some of his old self was showing through.
Luffy jumped when Zoro laid a hand on his shoulder.
Zoro guided him out onto the deck before spinning him around ten times to make sure he had no idea where he was. Then he guided him a few steps in one direction, then a few more a different way.
He stopped. "Ready?" Zoro asked, his hand hovering above Luffy's blindfold.
Luffy nodded. "Yeah!"
With a flourish, Zoro whipped off the blindfold, treating him to a view of the thing he had wanted for three years.
Luffy's eyes lit up and a tear welled up in the corner of his eye. He whirled around and grabbed Zoro in a bear hug. "Thank you," he murmured.
Zoro's smile widened even further, if that was possible. "Merry Christmas, Luffy." He hugged the boy back just as hard, enduring and enjoying the pain it gave his shoulder.
Sitting there in all its glory, next to the pool, was a brand-new water slide. Luffy had wanted one of these for years.
And to make things even better, as Luffy hugged Zoro, fluffy white snowflakes began gently descending from the sky.
