I. "Nothing's like home"
It was another beautiful day on the Thousand Sunny. The weather was perfect for the navigation and a clear, blue sky looked upon the Strawhats. Each crew member was busy with their usual occupation: Zoro was sleeping on the deck, enjoying the soft wind breeze; Chopper and Usopp admired Franky, who nonchalantly showed off the fairly new adjustments of the ship and the multiple functions of the endless buttons on his iron body; Robin was in her room, reading some ancient book in an equally old language; Nami was studying the log pose; and Brook was playing a sweet tune, a perfect accompaniment to all of the pirate's tasks.
However, the established harmony lasted less than it took you, dear reader, to read this through.
What was that shiny thing falling from the sky? It wasn't the sun, nor a big bird: Luffy.
"And don't you dare enter MY kitchen again without MY permission!" roared the cook, his leg still in midair from the high-kick who just sent his captain flying.
Luffy stood up and showed his enraged companion a broad smile, the kind of smile who could either mean that he understood everything or nothing at all.
Mostly, it was the second choice.
"Sanji, is it dinner time yet?"
"WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE LUNCH!", the cook screamed back in exasperation.
A door came open and Nico Robin got between the two of them. Reading was out of question anyway, with all the ruckus out there.
"Talking about lunch.. It's about time, isn't it?", she asked, looking at Sanji with a soft smile.
"YES! ABSOLUTELY MY DEAREST! YOU SHALL HAVE THE GLORIOUS MEAL YOU DESERVE!" - and with that the cook dismissed himself and rushed to the kitchen.
"Thanks Robin", Luffy grinned, "if it ain't you or Nami, it's basically impossible to get him something done, y'know"
Robin thought that it wasn't true. The cook was a womanizer, but he took pride in his kitchen and he managed it well. It was just Luffy who was hungry at all times. But she decided to not object and to nod instead. That was the kind of woman Robin was: conciliatory.
Nami was the opposite. The redhead was wild and free, just like the wind. Hot-blooded, her scream was the loudest when it came to scolding the childish behavior of her crew mates - or charging them with taxes.
Ironically, the iron will of one of the strongest and bravest swordsmen in the world turned into the same rubber Luffy was made of when it came to her.
Not because, among all the other crew members, Roronoa Zoro was the most indebted of them all, or because she was the expert in avoiding the problem he always unexplainably found himself to deal with - getting lost - but because not being able to repay Nami consequently made you her slave. Or worse, got her mad. The apocalypse sounded like something survivable in comparison to a furious Nami racing towards you.
He never said it out loud, but the swordsman thought that she was the main reason they needed a doctor on board.
"Table's ready!", Sanji said. He knew he didn't need to shout, nor to repeat himself, when it came down to food.
Not even five minutes later everybody was gathering around the table.
"My stomach is mumbling since forever - if I had a stomach! Yohoho!"
"C'mon Franky can't you do something about those cannons on your arms? You're taking up too much space!"
"They're a part of me y'know! It's like me telling you to move your nose out of the way cause I can't reach the dishes!"
"My nose has nothing to do with this! Plus it's a great nose, and it's 100% human flesh! What abou-"
"Guys... I'm smaller than you.. Can you make some room for me?"
"Nami-swan, my beloved princess, would you like some more water? ... Yes Robin, I'm coming!"
"CAN I HAVE MORE?"
This was the usual chaos which occurred 2 times a day, lunch and dinner. In the morning everyone had different schedules and they didn't eat together.
Thank God, Zoro thought.
But if everything till now proceeded in the absolute normality, it was about to change drastically.
It all started with a giant bird flying on the ship. Precisely, on the table.
The Pirates stopped the ruckus and stared with quiet surprise at the volatile. Even Luffy stopped eating, but he refused to let the hold of the giant piece of meat in his hands, the meat sauce dripping from his mouth.
The bird continued undisturbed to look at each of them, almost as if trying to find something. Or someone.
His search came to an end when he literally threw himself in the arms of Chopper, who fell from the chair, crushed from its weight.
It was Luffy who freed the doctor, holding the bird up high and saying, in a dead serious voice "Can you cook this?", obviously talking to Sanji.
Before Nami could start shouting at the captain for not having anything in that rubber head of his other than food, Robin intervened.
"Isn't that a package?"
"Probably the bird brought it here" Chopper said as he opened it, since there was his own name written on it.
Everyone looked with genuine curiosity and stepped closer to Chopper, who blushed at the content of the mysterious package.
"What is it Chopper?", asked Franky.
"It's a present", he mumbled shyly, showing everyone the little glass-ball. When he shook it, little snowflakes came down on the mini sculpture of a reindeer and a man hugging each other in front of a small house.
"Nothing's like home, duh?", Zoro said, remembering the scenario of the doctor's homeland.