Hey! This is a new story and I just want to say, I'm sorry if there is any grammar errors, english is not my first language.
Enjoy!
Swimming Lessons
It was a normal day on the Thousand Sunny, or at least as regular as its inhabitants could be. They were going about their duties. I don't think I have to describe what they were doing if you're familiar with this abnormal crew; you know it all too well. But for those who don't: Luffy, with the help of Usopp and Chopper, were annoying the hell out of the rest of the crew. Sanji was in the galley, pouring a delicious juice for his two mermaids, Nami and Robin, who were sunbathing on the deck. Brook was composing a new song while Franky was building a new "super" invention. And Zoro was napping on the floor, no surprise there.
Then, Chopper, who was hiding from Usopp for a game of hide-and-seek, saw a patch of land in the horizon.
"I see an island!"
As fast as if Sanji had just shout lunch time, everyone ran on deck. They've been at sea for a few weeks already, and even though they loved the Sunny, they needed some dry land.
In a few hours, they managed to land on the island. What were their surprises when they saw many people, especially families or couples, wearing only a bathing suit, laughing in the street. They seemed like they were having a good time, and if some people saw the Jolly Roger with the straw-hat on it, they didn't seem to be worried.
The town was neat and tidy. The houses were made of dry mud, painted in white, while the doors and the shutters were a deep blue, the color of the ocean. There was pavement under their feet and a blazing sun above their heads. But thanks to a gentle wind, the weather was bearable. There were many shops and restaurants. They could hear laughter and joy everywhere. The world's misery and vice weren't anywhere on this island.
"Where are we?" asked Usopp.
Zoro shrugged, "I don't know, but I don't think the villagers are afraid of pirates here."
Nami stopped in front of the group and gave her orders, "Listen everyone, first we need to supply and then maybe we'll go around the island. But for now, Sanji and Usopp, you go…"
The navigator was suddenly interrupted by a someone arriving, "Welcome to the island of paradise! We are happy to invite you to our hotel. You are our guests and will be treated like one."
The host of the Straw-hat crew was little and large. He had a large moustache that hid his big smile and was wearing, like every other citizen of the island, a Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks.
"Oh my GAWD! It's awesome! Nami, can we go? Please, please, please, please!" Luffy was jumping around the redhead, pleading like a little child would do to his parents.
Of course, the boy's excitement could be understood. They weren't treated as guests on every island they went. Sometimes, pirates were tolerated, but they weren't welcomed by the city's mayor.
Nami sighed. Her captain was asking her, but her answer wasn't needed. If Luffy wanted to go, they had no other choice to do so because he was the captain and they couldn't disobey him.
"Fine Luffy, we are going."
While the teenager was rejoicing, Usopp disagreed, "Wait! There could be something fishy!"
Everyone looked at him, astounded. "Fishy?" asked Brook for more information.
"Well yeah! Isn't it weird that someone we don't even know invites us, pirates, like that? Like that's no big deal? They could be bounty hunters! Or worse! They could be cannibals and come into our bedrooms at night so they can eat us alive!"
Chopper was trembling in fear behind Zoro's legs, "Ca-… Ca-… Cannibals?!"
"Come on Usopp, you're just making things up, as always," said Sanji while dragging the liar by the collar. The rest of the crew followed him, guided by their host.
"I'm Jung, the town's mayor. You must have made a long journey; the closest island is at 2 weeks of boat from here. But don't worry, now you've arrived, you can rest as long as you want. I can see some of you already began to relax," their host said, gesturing toward Franky. For once, the cyborg's sense of fashion was normal. Much to the shipwright's pleasure.
After only a few minutes march, they arrived in front of a gigantic building. Like the rest of the houses, it was white but it had some details in gold painting. Above the door, in capital letters, was written in gold "EDEN".
"This is the resort of Eden! You can find everything in here: hot springs, pools, beaches, restaurants, massage room, bedrooms! We have over a hundred members of the staff, ready for your every command."
The entire pirate crew was subjugated. There was only one sentence in their minds: This is heaven! The captain was the first to react and ran off. Probably toward the restaurants. The rest of the crew walked slower, enjoying their time.
"In one way, Long-nose-kun is right. How come you are inviting us here even though we are pirates? Although you don't seem scared of us. Even as simple visitors, you shouldn't welcome us like that." Robin was the first to talk since they first entered the resort. They were all busy admiring the place instead of talking.
"Robin-chwan is always so right!" said Sanji, heart in his only visible eye.
"Well you see, we don't have many new people coming. As I told you before, this island is very far from the rest; we have to be self-sufficient. So, when there are visitors, we are very happy and we treat them with respect so they can get back or talk about us around them. We made a resort to lure people," explained the mayor. He had stars in his eyes, like he was hoping for something.
They nodded, understanding his problem. "We will do what we can," said Nami with a big smile. She was overjoyed by this because it meant they could have some holidays without paying.
For each of them to do what they wanted, they went on separate ways. Franky decided to join Luffy in the restaurants to get some cola. The girls wanted to get massages and Sanji followed them close behind, while Usopp, Zoro, Brook and Chopper went to the pool. Here, the devil fruit users could swim with no problem for it wasn't sea water.
When they arrived at the exterior pool, the four of them were greeted by a magnificent landscape. The beach with white sand, blue sky, clear water and palm trees everywhere. But the best of it all was there was practically no one on the beach. The pirates had it all for themselves. The pool was just by the beach, between the hotel and the sea. It was the same length as an Olympic one and had a shallow and a deep part.
Chopper and Usopp were the first to react and they began to run around, screaming like crazy and throwing sand at each other. Brook followed them soon after but Zoro was much more contained. They all jumped in the water and began splashing water all around.
Well, all but one. Chopper was on the side, watching the water with a wary expression.
When the others saw him, they were surprised. "What's wrong, Chopper-san?" asked Brook.
The little doctor began trembling. Why? They didn't know. Maybe because of the pressure his friends' looks gave him. "I… I don't know how to swim…"
At first, the boys were a little surprised. Then it became clear. It had been a long time since their little friend had eaten the devil fruit, preventing him from swimming. Even before that, he was a reindeer and was not used to swim.
The three men looked at each other before Zoro took a decision. He walked toward Chopper, lifted him and put him on his broad shoulders. The eyes of the doctor widened, just like those of Usopp and Brook (though he has no eyes).
"I don't think this little thing is going to stop you." The swordsman wanted to comfort the reindeer with his words, but also to encourage him. Water wasn't going to defeat a devil fruit user for the first time. Chopper had to fight his foes until the end, and he will do it by learning how to swim. But we all know Zoro had not his way with words.
The green haired man carried his load to the shallower part of the pool where even the doctor could stand with no problems. He put him there and stood before him. The musician and the sniper stayed behind, intrigued by what was doing the first mate.
"Swimming isn't very difficult. The body floats by itself, you just have to concentrate and then move."
He picked the little reindeer and made him float flat on his back. He made sure to keep a hand beneath his nakama just to steady him. Chopper was a little afraid at first, but he trusted Zoro more than anyone and he knew the swordsman wasn't going to let him drown just like that. Then came the amazement. He actually stood on water. It was the first time he did anything like this. Any animal could float, it was instinct. But he had never done it before because most of the rivers in Drum Kingdom were frozen.
"It works! I really am floating!" He couldn't help but exclaim his surprise. Of course, as a doctor, he had read in some books that anybody could float on water, but he had always been perplex about that.
Then the green haired pirate turned him to make him float on his stomach, but kept the head of the little one out of water. "Now move your legs. It's like a bicycle: there's less chance to fall if you're on the move. And like the bicycle, you never forget how to swim once you know how."
"I never learned how to ride a bicycle…" said Chopper before doing what his new teacher told him.
"Yeah well… When you'll learn how to ride a bicycle, you'll remember it's the same as swimming." Zoro looked embarrassed but tried not to.
The doctor kept moving his legs but he didn't move because the swordsman was still holding him.
"Now keep doing it while you move your arms in a circle. When you're really swimming, take your breath on the side, each time one of your arm is up."
The reindeer did what he was told. At first, he had a little difficulty in coordinating his movements, but he succeeded after some time. When he began to swim right, Zoro let him go without warning. Chopper moved forward until he realized he was alone. He began to panic, flayed his arms in alarm and, because he stopped swimming, he began to drown.
The three others pirates saw this and ran after their nakama as fast as they could although the water slowed them down. But the swordsman was the closest so he arrived first. He dived under water and carried the little reindeer back to the surface.
The little guy was okay because he hadn't been in the water for long. When he was out of the pool, he sobbed and soon began to cry. Brook and Usopp, who had been following close behind, tried to comfort him but Chopper didn't seem to hear them.
"I'm sorry Zoro! I failed!" he said between sobs.
The said man furrowed his brows and raised his hand. Instantly, the devil fruit user backed away, used to people mistreating him. But instead of hitting him, the green haired man petted him on his head with a small smile. For a minute, the doctor was angry at himself. He knew his nakamas will never hurt him, even less Zoro, the man he considered as his guardian or his big brother. So there was no way he would hit him.
"Don't worry; you're not supposed to succeed the first time. But I don't care about that; you got me pretty scared back there. I'm just glad you're okay." The swordsman words were soothing and gentle but Zoro tried to look as he always was, neutral and blank. A last tear escaped Chopper's eye before he crushed himself in his friend's strong arms.
"We'll continue the lesson another day, okay?" said the first mate while carrying the reindeer. The little one only nodded while the four of them came back in the resort to meet with the rest of the crew.