Bold= An emphasized word in someone's sentence
Italic= Someone's thoughts
(Bold Italic)= Author's notes
The Calm Before The Storm
"Set sail, everyone!" Luffy shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's time for a new adventure!"
"Right!" The crew cheerfully responded.
Just leaving a fun, peace loving island in the New World, the Straw Hat Pirates set sail in a great mood. Everyone was doing their own thing on the ship. Nami was busy navigating, Franky was planning new designs for the ship, Usopp, Luffy and Chopper were having fun fishing for sea creatures, Zoro was doing some intense training, Robin was enjoying a nice book, Sanji was testing out a new dish, and Brook was singing a song.
"Hey Usopp!" Luffy shouted, getting Usopp's attention.
"Hmm?" Usopp turned to face Luffy, which ended up making him burst out laughing. Turning his head around, Usopp was immediately met face to face with Luffy doing his usual gag of putting straws (A/N: I think they're straws?) in his nostrils with the other end stretching the inside of his mouth.
Usopp was laughing so hard, he didn't notice himself throw his fishing rod in the air, causing it to land on Chopper's head. A little bit puzzled about the fishing rod hitting his head, Chopper turned around to face Luffy and Usopp, which resulted in him to roar in laughter as well.
This doesn't ever get old!, Usopp thought, laughing so much that his stomach started to hurt.
"You guys are as immature as ever." Nami told them, but they didn't mind it though because they loved to laugh together and despite the way Nami told them that, when they looked up at her face, they could see her smiling happily at them.
After hearing Nami talk, Luffy suddenly remembered something. He quickly took out the straws and ran up to Nami, leaving Usopp and Chopper rolling over their backs, still laughing.
"Hey Nami." Luffy called.
"Yeah?" Nami answered, looking up from her log pose that was fit for the New World. Little did she know that the next few words that came from Luffy's mouth were ones that she's been dreading for a long time now.
"It's my turn." He grinned.
Starting to feel panic start to overcome the calm she just had, Nami did the only thing she could think of at the moment; pretend she didn't hear and look away.
"Nami." Luffy pouted, "You promised."
Sighing, Nami slowly held out her arm to reveal her log pose to Luffy, silently crying on the inside. Without a moment's hesitation, Luffy found the destination that caught his eye and started jumping up and down in excitement, shouting "Let's go there!" while pointing at the needle that was shaking the most violently.
Slowly Nami opened her eyes that she had closed. Despite the fact that she was already anticipating which needle Luffy was pointing at, she couldn't stop the look of horror that instantly crossed her face.
"Please Luffy, not there! Anywhere but there!" She begged.
"Nope." Luffy said firmly, "That mystery place looks too interesting to pass up."
"But out of all the places we've been to in the New World, this one is shaking the most! I've never seen a needle shake this badly since... Never!"
"That's what makes it so interesting!" He grinned. If Nami's look of horror could have gotten anymore terrified, it just did.
"Alright everyone!" Luffy shouted to his crew, "Get ready for an adventure! And it's gonna be an interesting one too!" He added, causing everyone to be more aware of the danger they knew they were in for.
"An interesting adventure? I have goose bumps already, though I don't have any skin to get goose bumps with! Yohohoho!" Brook joked.
"That sounds SUPER!" Franky shouted, giving his signature pose.
"By your definition of interesting... Oh no!" Usopp cried, holding his face in his hands with the same look on his face that Nami had.
"Sounds like fun." Zoro and Robin both said calmly.
Sanji took a puff of his cigarette before he got hearts in his eyes and shouted "Don't worry Nami, Robin, I'll protect you two with my life!"
"If anyone gets hurt, I'll be sure to treat you!" Chopper added cheerfully.
"I don't wanna die!" Nami cried along with Usopp in a corner.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed.
With that said, the crew was prepared (or in some cases, not prepared at all) for whatever was thrown at them.
Walking in slow, sluggish steps to the aquarium where everyone was having lunch, Nami didn't think there could be any words scarier than the ones she was going to tell her crew.
"We're here." She announced as if speaking at a funeral.
"Yosh!" shouted Luffy, who quickly vacuum sucked all the food on the table with his mouth before anyone could touch a single thing.
"Hey!" complained Usopp.
"It doesn't matter anyway." laughed Franky, "I'm feeling SUPER this week, so let's go!"
"Yohoho! Can't complain there!" agreed Brook.
"Then let's go already!" Luffy shouted, but he was already out the door, running outside the ship.
"Whoa! There's mysterious white stuff everywhere!" shouted Luffy, "I can't see a single thing!"
"That's called mist, moron." Sanji said, walking up beside him to get a better view.
"But he is right." Robin noted, coming out from the ship with the rest of the crew. "With that thick mist along with those dark storm clouds up there, that makes it look like it could rain any second," She pointed at the sky, "It's near impossible to see."
"Oh Robin, you're so smart!" shouted Sanji.
"Idiot cook, anyone could have notice that." Zoro said, walking up to get a better look.
"What did you say, marimo?!" Sanji sneered.
"You wanna fight?!" Zoro demanded.
"Knock it off you two!" Nami yelled, punching them both in the head, "Still, I have a bad feeling about this..."
One by one, the Straw Hats lined up next to each other to get a good view of the island they had arrived at.
"This place gives me the creeps!" Nami shivered.
"There could be treasure." Robin considered.
"Let's go." Nami instantly said.
"Her eyes turned to belly!" shouted Usopp and Chopper.
"I know that it's easy to get lost on this island... But do we really have to hold onto this rope and walk in a line like we're children?!" cried Usopp, tightly gripping the rope in his right hand.
"You should be more polite," yelled Sanji, "This was Robin's idea, you know?! You could hurt her feelings!"
"I merely said that we should stick close together... This is just... too embarrassing..." Robin said darkly.
"I think this is SUPER!" Franky yelled cheerfully, raising his arms to do his signature pose, which caused everyone else to raise their right arm too, or in Chopper's case, be lifted up into the air.
"Hey! Watch it!" yelled Zoro.
"Yohohoho! This is so fun!" laughed Brook.
"What's so-" Zoro started to say, but was cut off by Luffy's laughter.
Everyone was caught off guard by his cheerful laughter. His laugh rang throughout the whole island in a loud, childish like way. By now, his laughter was so infectious that it got the whole Straw Hat crew laughing for no apparent reason.
"Yohohoho! This is why it's so fun! The way we can all laugh and be so cheerful in such a dark and depressing island!" Brook cheered.
"Yeah," Chopper agreed, "It's such a great feeling to be able to laugh together like this!" His sentence was met with a lot of agreements.
"It's like there's no one here! It's so boring!" shouted Luffy, after quite some time of walking.
"Wait!" Usopp shouted, "There's something coming!"
"Wow, Usopp! You're right, I see something coming! You have such good eyes!" Chopper cried.
"Of course I do!" bragged Usopp, "I'm not the best sniper in the world for nothing! You know, my good eyes once saved someone's life. Someone aimed a gun at a King's chest, and then I shouted "Watch out!" and pushed him aside, taking the bullet myself!"
"Wow, really?! You're so amazing, Usopp!" shouted Chopper.
"Back to the matter at hand..." Nami said, rolling her eyes.
"Instead of charging ahead to see who that is, we should hide and wait for them to show themselves." suggested Robin.
Seconds later, everyone was hiding behind their own tree or bush, waiting for the person to come. What they didn't expect though, was a little puppy strolling in, sniffing the ground at his feet.
"Guys, it's okay! It's just a dog!" Luffy shouted, running up to the puppy to get a better look.
"Wait! Luffy, you idiot!" shouted Sanji.
"He looks so harmless!" Luffy laughed. When the puppy finally noticed him, he let out an excited bark. In response, Luffy held out his left hand and said "Yo!" with a big smile on his face.
After a short pause, the dog sniffed his hand and then emitted a low growl.
"Huh?" was all Luffy said before the dog transformed himself into a scarier and intimidating form than the cute little puppy that was there seconds before.
His fur turned a deep shade of purple with glowing red eyes and longer, sharper fangs.
"This doesn't look good." Zoro said, rushing in along with the rest of the Straw Hats with his swords at the ready.
But by the time they were by Luffy's side, the dog had already bitten the hand he had held out and ran off.
"Oww! Damn it, that hurt!" cried Luffy.
"Luffy! Are you okay? Let me see your hand, I'll treat it!" Chopper demanded, quickly looking over his hand to see if he had been infected with anything.
"What was that thing?!" Nami shouted worriedly.
"Whatever it was, it scared the Speedo off of me!" Franky shouted.
Sanji shivered, "That's one perverted image I don't want to see... again."
"You really think I'm perverted? Oh stop it!" Franky smiled his perverted smile.
"So how's Luffy?" asked Usopp.
"I don't see any signs that he's been poisoned," Chopper said, wrapping Luffy's hand with bandages from his bag, "And it doesn't look infected, but Luffy, you should have a thorough check up when we get back to the ship."
"But I feel fine now!" He complained, "It just hurts a little..."
"If you feel fine, we should keep going to see if there's anyone here." Zoro proposed.
"Yes, I agree." said Brook.
"Alright, but don't put too much pressure on your hand, Luffy." Chopper worried.
"Shhh!" Nami shushed, "I hear crying..."
Quietly signaling her crew to follow her, Nami led them to the noise she heard. As they got closer, the crying got louder and louder. When they finally found the source of the crying, they were surprised to find a single boy who looked no more than seven, sitting on the ground bawling his eyes out.
The crew cautiously walked towards him due to the fact of what happened to Luffy only moments before. When they reached a distance not too far, but not too close to the boy, they stopped there and silently watched.
Getting impatient with the boy, Zoro shouted at him, "What's wrong with you, kid?!"
"Zoro!" Nami scolded.
The boy slowly raised his head up to look at them and then blinked as if waking up from a dream.
"Who are you people?" He asked, backing away quickly.
Nami quickly put on a calm, happy face and said "I'm Nami and this is Zoro, Usopp, Brook, Franky, Robin, Sanji, Chopper and our Captain Luffy." She said, pointing to each of their faces when she said their names.
"Captain?" The boy asked, "Are you guys pirates?"
"Yep," Franky said, "You got a problem with that, kid?"
"Franky!" Nami scolded.
"Not at all! I love pirates!" The boy beamed.
Nami smiled at him. Feeling satisfied that the boy was getting more comfortable talking to them, Nami asked him the question she's been wondering. "Why were you crying?"
The boy sniffed a little before saying "I'm all alone."
"All alone?" Luffy frowned, "Why are you all alone, um...?"
"Riku, my name's Riku." He said.
"Riku... That's a wonderful name!" Nami smiled.
"Okay, Riku, so why are you all alone?" repeated Luffy.
"Because there's no one here." He said simply.
"That does make you all alone." Usopp whispered to Brook who nodded in agreement.
Feeling worried, Robin asked "Why are you the only one here? Isn't there anyone else on this island? Any family? Friends?"
"No." Riku sniffed, "I don't know where they all are. I'm the only one on this island." He sounded like he was on the verge of tears.
"That's crazy!" Chopper shouted, "How can you-"
"Let's not push him anymore." Nami said, seeing the upset face the boy had, "How would you like to come with us for now?" She offered, "You can stay with us until we find a nice place for you to call home."
Zoro frowned, "That's not a good idea-"
"Nami, you're so amazing when you're kind! It makes me fall in love with you all over again!" shouted Sanji with hearts popping out of his eyes.
"There's no harm in it, Zoro." Nami said, completely ignoring Sanji.
"You're also amazing when you act so cold hearted!" cried Sanji, who was about to throw his arms around Nami, but she easily sidestepped it.
"She's right." Robin added, "The most harm he can do is stab us in the back when we're asleep and then throw us to the sea monsters." Of course, saying this caused Usopp and Chopper to cry out in fear.
"Oh Robin, I love it when you're so dark and mysterious! Don't you ever think that I'd forget about you, my love!" Sanji exclaimed.
"Why don't you just shut up already?!" Zoro snapped.
"Why don't you say that again, marimo?" yelled Sanji, getting in Zoro's face.
"I really don't think he would do that, Robin." Nami said, ignoring the two boys, "He looks so harmless and scared, we can't just leave him here. What do you think, Luffy?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Luffy smiled and said "Sure! You can be our new nakama!"
"Great!" Nami smiled, "So what do you say?" she asked while bending down and holding out her hand to the little boy. "Do you want to be our nakama and come with us?"
Riku stared at the strange pirate crew that was before his eyes. A cyborg, a skeleton, two crewmates who seemed like they always fought with each other, a long nosed scaredy cat (sorry Usopp! Didn't know what else to call you...) , a talking, blue nosed reindeer that resembled a racoon, a girl who looked on the dark side of things, and a Captain who would trust strangers right away. The only one who seemed normal was the orange haired girl named Nami, but heck, what did he know? For all he knew, she could have had some greedy obsession over money... But still, this offer was just too good to refuse. On the other hand though, he couldn't help but wonder what he was getting himself into when he grabbed a hold of Nami's hand and said "Yes."
"Here's to a new nakama!" shouted Luffy, holding up a mug of sake.
"Hooray!" The crew cheered, holding up their own mugs. With his own juice filled mug, Riku stared in wonder at the pirate crew.
The Straw Hats have safely made it back to their ship, the Thousand Sunny, thanks to Riku who seemed to know his way around the island, and not so much thanks to Zoro who kept going the opposite directions Riku pointed them at. Now back on the Thousand Sunny and headed towards their next destination (which by the way, was the safest one according to the log pose), the crew celebrates a new nakama.
"Luffy, can I talk to you?" Chopper asked, pulling Luffy away from their crew and Riku, who were having fun laughing and talking.
"Awww, but I wanted to get Sanji to cook me some BBQ." He complained.
"Luffy, this is serious!" Chopper insisted, getting the full attention of Luffy now. "From the way Riku kept saying I don't know to all the questions we asked him when we walked back to the Sunny, I would say he has amnesia."
"Am- neez- a?" Luffy asked, giving a puzzled expression and tilting his head 180 degrees to the left.
"Amnesia." Chopper repeated, "It means he lost his memories from the past. And what makes it worse is that there was no one else on the island, and since he didn't seem to have any head injuries severe enough to cause amnesia, my best guess is that he experienced a large amount of shock that caused him this memory loss, or possibly worse, he witnessed something so traumatizing, that he forced himself to forget everything."
"Hmm..." Luffy thoughtfully rubbed his chin.
"Did you understand anything I just told you?" Chopper sighed.
"No. But I dohave a question."
"Really? What is it?" Chopper asked, excited that even though Luffy didn't understand, he was still curious about what he just explained.
"When did you get a new ear?" He asked, pointing at Chopper's shoulder, near the back.
"A new...?" Chopper wondered if Luffy was feeling alright.
"Oops, I've been found out." Robin giggled from a few feet away. Luffy and Chopper stared as she walked towards them.
"H-Have you been listening?" Chopper stuttered.
"Yes, the whole time." She answered truthfully.
"So, what do you think?" He asked curiously.
"Well, your theory sounds so accurate that I'd be surprised if you were wrong." She admitted, causing Chopper to start dancing happily while telling her to shut up. "If we want to know what really happened," Robin continued, "Perhaps we should try giving Riku the opposite effect of what forced himself to have amnesia in the first place."
"You mean..." Chopper paused, "Making him feel so happy that he'd somehow remember? Will that really work?"
"It doesn't hurt to try." Luffy said, but hesitated after he realized something. "But it's really none of our business. If he wants to forget about something bad, that's up to him to decide. We shouldn't force him to remember."
"That's true." Chopper said, suddenly feeling guilty for even thinking about it.
"However, we could actually be helping him." Robin said, carefully choosing her words.
"How so?" Chopper asked, curious at what Robin just said.
"We would be helping him to face his problems. It never helps to try to forget about them and run away. I should know." Chopper and Luffy couldn't help but agree to what she just said.
"So, how can we make him feel so happy that he'd remember what he wanted to forget so badly?" Chopper wondered.
Immediately, Brook's voice rang out above anyone else's.
"Yohoho! This wonderful occasion of welcoming a new nakama just touches my heart, not like I have a heart to touch though! Yohohoho! To fully welcome Riku on to the Sunny, I would like to sing Bink's Sake." He announced.
"I don't think that will be a problem." Robin smiled, answering Chopper's question while watching Riku's excited face.
"Bink's Sake!" Luffy shouted excitedly, "I love that song..." Feeling a slight dizziness, Luffy staggered to the side.
"Luffy! What's wrong?!" cried Chopper.
"Oh no, I hope you didn't get terribly sick when that dog like monster from the island bit you." Robin said worriedly, which caused Chopper to cry out in fear.
"I'm so sorry, Luffy! I got so occupied thinking about Riku, I completely forgot about your hand! You have to get it checked on immediately!" demanded Chopper.
"No, no, I'm fine." Luffy said, waving them off with his hand, "I want to listen to this song."
Everyone watched as Brook walked over to a piano that was conveniently just sitting there on the deck. He cleared his throat (not like he had a throat to clear! Yohohoho!) before playing the cheerful notes of the song.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Forgetting all the problems in the world, everyone's spirits were soon lifted up as high as the sky.
Going to deliver Bink's sake
Following the sea breeze
Riding on the waves
Far across the salty depths
The merry evening sun
Painting circles in the sky
As the birds sing
The crew happily sang along with such a joyful song.
Farewell to the harbour
To my old hometown
Lets all sing out with a Don
As the ship sets sail
Waves of gold and silver
Dissolve to salty spray
As we all set sail to
The ends of the sea
Riku watched in amazement at how happy everyone was just by singing this song.
Going to deliver Bink's sake
We are pirates
Sailing through the sea
The waves are our pillows
The ship, our roost
Flying the proud skull
On our flags and our sails
Zoro calmly crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he watched Franky chug down a bottle of coke.
Now comes a storm
Through the far-off sky
Now the waves are dancing
Beat upon the drums
If you lose your nerve
This breath could be your last
But if you just hold on
The morning sun will rise
Sanji twirled Nami around as she allowed him a dance. Smiling at her, Nami couldn't help but laugh at how much fun she was having.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Completely forgetting his troubles, Chopper danced along with Usopp, both of them with straws in their nostrils as they laughed at each other.
Going to deliver Bink's sake
Today and tomorrow
Our dreams through the night
Waving our goodbyes
We'll never meet again
But don't look so down
For at night the moon will rise
Robin stood there, smiling at her crew as she reminisced about all the times she's heard this wonderful song.
Going to deliver Bink's sake
Let's all sing it with a Don
A song of the waves
Doesn't matter who you are
Someday you'll just be bones
Never-ending, ever-wandering
Our funny traveling tale
Brook played the keys on the piano with all his heart, happy to be able to sing this song that brought him so many happy memories, with his crew.
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho
Luffy laughed along with all his nakama, proud to be the Captain of such an amazing crew. He had a smile on his face as the world got more and more dizzy to him. He collapsed on the wooded decks of the Thousand Sunny with a smile still on his face.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! (I've been working on it for quite some time now...) And for those of you crying in fear like Usopp and Chopper, no Luffy is not dead (thankfully!).
Oh, and the song lyrics I got from this website- lyrics/15971044/one-piece-binks-sake-japanese-and- english-version.
Review and let me know what you think of this story. Until next time, later!