LOG ENTRY #034: Leaving Alabasta - On To The Next Adventure!

For crying out loud, why exactly did I have to get stuck with log duty? Don't get me wrong, I'm all too happy to do anything that Nami-swan should ask of me, anything at all! It's just that I've never really been much of a writer. I would much rather be in the kitchen, preparing something delicious for her and Robin-chan to drink...ah, how lucky I am to be on a pirate crew with two of the loveliest ladies on the grand line! "Mellorine" just doesn't begin to describe how beautiful and wonderful they are! I count myself lucky to be able to bask in their presence! I'm sure that the wonderful and mysterious Robin-chwan will fit in quite well here and I look forward to getting to know her better! To think that such a woman would come aboard and insist upon joining us! I hope this is a sign that many more wonderful ladies will be joining us in the future! What a shame it is that Vivi-chan couldn't come along with us as well, but I can understand her situation! Ah, doing what I love most while surrounded by beautiful women all day, what a dream come true!

Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! If you're reading this, I hope I haven't made you blush too much! Although I'd be happy if I did! Such a cute sight that would be! Please don't be jealous of each other, okay? I adore both of you equally!

Anyway...ah, but Vivi-chan, how we all miss her! It's been lonely without her. It was just wonderful to have her along with us for a while, such an inspiring beauty! Once we'd beaten that shitty bastard, Crocodile, it almost looked as though Vivi-chan might be coming along with us for good! It breaks my heart to say that in the end, she chose to remain in Alabasta and help her father to rebuild the city. What a good-hearted young lady she is! I miss cooking for her...she was always so polite and thankful...now it's back to cooking for a bunch of rude, obnoxious cretins without so much as a "thank you, Sanji!" or "That was a delicious dinner, Sanji!" It's my role here aboard the Going Merry, of course, and cooking is my passion, but it wouldn't kill these bozos to let a little gratitude slip every now and then!

Don't mind my ranting, Nami-swan! it's a bit past time for my cigarette break and I tend to get a little cranky, plus that idiot Marimo kept mouthing off about how stupid it is to be sad about not having Vivi-chwan on board anymore. Isn't he just an impolite barbarian?! At this rate he'll never get a woman to notice him! I don't feel sorry for him at all!

Ah, I digress. We escaped the marines successfully and haven't stopped sailing since, but now that our idiot Captain is whining about the meat shortage, we've been keeping a close eye out for the nearest port. Jeez, he's completely useless when he's hungry! I guess it's fine though, some of us are running low on supplies anyway.

Well, I hear the screeching of a gaggle of idiots from outside along with the angelic, melodious lilt of a beautiful woman's passionate fury, so that must mean we're getting close. I hope you enjoyed reading this log entry as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you, Nami-swan! I'm coming to help you right now! Your prince is on his way! 3 xoxo

CHAPTER 1: Land of Noodles

The Going Merry was anchored at the bustling port of Soba. The docks were swarming with activity, men and women climbing up and down the gangways to unload their freight. Most of their cargo seemed to be luxury exports from the stark black and red markings on the crates and barrels.

Nami suspected a few of them might be smugglers from the shady looks and nervous steps some of them were exhibiting as well and her lips turned up in a knowing smirk. She turned her head to survey their scenery and noted that this was just one of the many dozens upon dozens of docks that lined the wide blue bay.

Further in the distance, the navigator could make out a quaint looking town that had a cobblestone road running through it. There were many brightly colored rooftops, some of them with smoking chimneys and the most delicious smell of meat and spices wafted by mixed with the smell of sea spray. Further inland she could see the cobblestone road leading up to a large white building in the center of the island surrounded by what looked like an enormously tall black fence. The town seemed to be built around this building, though there was a wide berth between the building and the rest of the town.

Luffy could hardly contain his excitement as he ran past her and literally leapt from the ship like a human-sized rubber ball. "SOOOOOOO EXCITEEEEEEEEEEED!"

Nami gave him a reprimanding glare as she prepared to bark her instructions. She didn't want the group to get separated for long periods of time and end up in some kind of crazy adventure that would last a week or longer. They had a goal here and they certainly weren't going to realize it by goofing off. They were here strictly to stock up on their supplies, maybe have a little fun on land and then be on their way.

"Okay, remember," she began, eyes narrowing in the direction of the bouncing Strawhat, "NO DAWDLING, I'm looking at you Luffy!"

He jutted his lower lip out. "But I'm the Captain…"

She ignored him and continued, "I think the group of us should stay together so no one gets lost," she stared at Zoro, "and so that our cook isn't off by himself forever doing who knows what!"

Chopper tugged on Nami's arm, looking up at her with hopeful eyes. "Nami, Nami! Can we go to the bookstore?"

"Of course! Just don't spend too much money..."

Nami breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that Robin had volunteered to stay behind with Merry. Usopp made the historian promise three times she would guard Merry with her life before he was satisfied and they could finally start out.

Completely ignoring everything the navigator just told him, Luffy whooped with delight and took off at a run for the nearby vendor stalls. "WHOO HOOOOOOOO! I SEE A MEAT VENDOR!"

Usopp's eyes widened and he immediately began running after the captain, shouting, "LUFFY, WAIT!" His tone indicated that he only wished to keep Luffy out of trouble, but the rest of the crew knew better than to be fooled by that.

The curly browed cook yelled after them, "O,I OI, you shitty bastards! DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID! Jeez, it looks like I'm doing the shopping by myself!" He sighed and shook his head, thinking that perhaps it was better this way after all. He didn't need a repeat of the last time they'd gone shopping together... Shaking those horrible flashbacks from his mind, Sanji stuffed the shopping list into his back pocket and started off toward the market.

Past the docks, the ground began to decline and Luffy ran faster and faster, gaining momentum, his hat flew off of his head, held in place only by a small white string and he pumped his arms with the pure joy of running, Usopp not too far behind.

Nami's hand slapped loudly against her forehead as she called for her crewmates in vain, "LUFFY! USOPP!"

Directly in the out of control Luffy's path, a young man with a large red headband wrapped around his head was wheeling a wooden cart filled to the brim with dozens of bottles of alcohol, blissfully unaware of the coming danger as he whistled, his geta shoes clopping along the cobblestones and kicking up small clouds of the dust that rested between the cracks.

Usopp was still straining to keep up with his Captain. "OI, I SAID WAIT!"

Luffy's grin disappeared as his jaw dropped open at what was going to be an oncoming disaster. He could see the young man and the cart in front of him clearly now but there was no way he could stop in time. He plowed his heels into the cobblestone path, trying to lessen the blow, leaving two long lines trailing behind him, but it was too late. He crashed headlong into the young man upsetting the cart of alcohol, bottles flying into the air.

The young man bounced off of Luffy, his back hitting the ground. He quickly recovered, sitting up with a hand to his forehead and watching in horror as a dozen or more bottles bounced directly off of Luffy's head.

The boy could only stare with his eyes wide as saucers and mouth open as Luffy remained unscathed from this beating. He pointed a long finger at him, opening and closing his mouth.

Usopp screeched, "LUFFY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" and made small panicky gestures while the rest of the crew ran over towards the wreck.

Still a bit dazed, the young man stood up and dusted himself off and extended a hand to the rubber man. "Um...are you alright?"

Luffy grabbed the offered help and immediately jumped up with a laugh. "Of course!"

Which was only momentary, for within the next few seconds a furious cook had come running back after having heard the commotion, launching himself at Luffy and kicking him in the head. "You shitty rubber bastard, causing trouble already!"

With a scream of pain Luffy went sailing into a nearby meat stand.

The young man's jaw dropped again. "Wh-wh-WHAT…?"

Zoro meanwhile had been inching closer and closer to the bottles of booze, a thirsty look in his eyes. "I don't think anyone would mind if I took one…" He looked both ways before starting to shove a bottle into his stomach band, but Nami cleanly whacked it out of his hand first.

There was a joyful scream of "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" as Luffy began to shove everything in the vicinity into his mouth.

Usopp groaned, holding a hand to his head. "GAAHHH WHAT A DISASTER, we're going to get kicked out for sure!" His expression quickly turned to a pout. "And I wanted to eat..."

The young man in the red headband was still staring in shock at Luffy. "He's...ok...isn't he?"

Nami sighed. "I'll go pay the meat vendor, YOU MORONS HELP CLEAN UP THIS MESS!"

"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji crooned, before catching the eye of the startled stranger who was still staring at Luffy as if trying to decide whether or not to take the captain to see a doctor. Sanji lit a cigarette, looking completely unconcerned. "Don't worry about him. He's fine, he's just an idiot. There's no cure for that."

The group that Nami left behind then dropped to the ground and began picking up the bottles. A moment later the young man let out a groan. "OH GEEZ, I have to hurry and get this back to the tavern!"

With Nami distracted, Zoro thought he'd try again to get his very own bottle of booze, hell he was a pirate right? But the young man noticed.

"Errr...that's kinda mine?"

Zoro grunted as he reluctantly put the bottle back. "I'm so thirsty I could die…" His eyes began to glaze over.

"Well I run a tavern with my Pops, so if you guys want to come by after we pick this up, I'll give you free drinks!"

Nami returned then, pulling Luffy by the ear and scolding him. "What did I tell you about running?!"

"Not to do it."

"So why did you do it?"

"I'M THE CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!"

The young man perked up at the sound of this. "Oh? What trade line are you guys from?"

Usopp jumped in quickly with an explanation. "AH! We're pirates! AND I'M the Captain!"

"USOPP!" Luffy smacked the sniper, who nearly toppled over from the force of the playful blow. "YOU KNOW I'M THE CAPTAIN!"

Nami disapproved. "Luffy! You don't have to hit him that hard..." Then she cast an apologetic look at the young man. "I'm really sorry about this..."

Meanwhile, Usopp had thrown himself onto the ground, clutching his head where Luffy had hit him and dramatically wailing, "I'm sorry everyone! Water my plants for me... I'm...I'M DEAD..." Then he hung his tongue out of his mouth as if that would show that he was dead for certain.

The young man cried out in horror, "OH MY GOD! Hey, hey! You aren't really dead are you?! Usopp?!"

On the ground Usopp cracked an eye open. "It's CAPTAIN Usopp! I mean-I'm deeeaaadddd..."

Sanji was not amused and he toed the sniper as he was still lying on the ground. "Oi, just get up already."

The young man helped Usopp up. "You guys are really pirates?"

"That's right! I'm the Captain like I said!"

Luffy frowned. "NO WAY! I'M THE CAPTAIN!"

The young man looked over at Nami. "I actually think SHE might be the captain..."

Nami chuckled. "I'm the navigator," she explained. "The one with the hat on, LUFFY, is the Captain...sorry, Usopp."

Zoro, unfazed by Usopp's little display, was still picking up the bottles of alcohol, stacking them neatly back into the cart and admiring them with a longing look in his eyes. "Mmmm this is some good high class stuff!"

"OF COURSE!" The young man piped up, his eyes lighting up with pleasure. "We of The Jade Bangle serve the finest quality of alcohol and beverages, with the finest music to go along with it!" He grinned, "I'm Toshi, by the way, nice to meet you all!" followed by a sweeping theatrical bow.

Luffy grinned, already in place to tout his ambition per tradition. "I'm Luffy, and I'm going to be king of the pirates!"

"The pirate king?!" Toshi asked in awe. "That's awesome! I'll have my Pops get your picture for the wall so when you become pirate king we can say we knew you before!"

"SOUNDS GOOD! I'm full of meat now! Mmmm…OH! This is Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji! THEY'RE MY CREW! I have two more members, Chopper and Robin, but Chopper's at the bookstore and Robin is guarding our ship right now!"

"Sweet! Follow me you guys, I'm sure my Pops will be happy to see some good pirates. Just don't tell him I'm giving you free drinks, ok?"

Nami got a twinkle in her eye at the word 'free', beli signs appearing as she grinned, thinking of all the money she would be saving because of Toshi's generosity. "Free is good!"

Sanji stamped out the remainder of his cigarette. "I could certainly go for a drink right about now." The rest of the group nodded in agreement as Luffy laughed cheerfully.

Toshi grinned. "Great! Then follow me!"

He led them through the bustling town to a district with many bars, but none of them were as green as the one they stopped in front of titled in bold green letters 'The Jade Bangle' inside a large green circle that was a perfect enlarged replica of the particular bracelet from which its name was derived.

Toshi burst through the green door, ringing a small bell on his way in, cupping his hands around his mouth as he shouted, "POPS! LO MEIN! I brought CUSTOMERS!"

A short man with pin straight black hair and eyes so small you could barely make out their color looked up from behind the bar where he was cleaning out a tankard. His middle-aged face lit up. "YOU BRING IN YOUNG PEOPLE? WE NOT SEE THAT VERY OFTEN ANYMORE!"

Luffy followed close behind Toshi, swinging his head around to get a good look. "SHISHISHI, nice place!"

Toshi leaned over the bar and whispered something to Lo Mein. The 'Pops' that he'd called for was nowhere to be seen…yet.

"Got it! I give free drinks to young people but not tell Roshi! Hohoho, you so sneaky Toshi-kun!"

Sanji chuckled and slapped Toshi on the back. "Hah! I think I like this guy!" He grinned as he took a seat on one of the wooden stools bolted to the ground around the bar.

Toshi grinned back. "Drink all you want! And I'll personally provide you with some good entertainment!"

Lo Mein's grin turned into a scowl as he ordered Toshi, "FIRST YOU PUT UP BOTTLES!"

"But there's sooo mannnyyy," Toshi whined. "Can't Pops do it?"

The short man shook his head. "Do now before uncle get here!"

"Okay, geez." Toshi frowned and then the next second he hopped over the bar.

A deep booming voice resounded from the next room, "TOSHI MY BOY, how'd everything go?"

Toshi grinned and yelled back, "FINE POPS! I got all the alcohol...mostly…"

Toshi's father, Koshi Roshi, entered the room carrying a tray of plates and glasses from the steam cleaner and gently placed them down behind the counter. He was a middle aged man, just a few inches taller than Toshi, with silver hair slicked straight back and landing on the nape of his neck. The outfit he wore was almost identical to Toshi's, minus the headband. His blue eyes lit up as he noticed the crowd that had gathered in the bar.

"OH! You brought customers!"

Luffy wasted no time in bounding up to the man and announcing, "I'm Luffy and I'm going to be KING OF THE PIRATES! SHISHISHI."

Nami shook her head and looked up at Lo Mein who was starting to make drinks. "Give that one only milk…"

He nodded. "Okay miss, and what you have?"

Luffy whipped his head around to whine, "I WANTED BEER!"

Her teeth appeared to morph into daggers. "ONLY MILK FOR YOU LUFFY, OTHERWISE YOU'LL CAUSE A SCENE!"

Roshi chuckled putting a hand to his chin. "The pirate king! That's some high ambition you've got there!"

"OF COURSE! I'm going to kick everyone's asses who get in my way, find One Piece and then become pirate king! DEFINITELY!" and with that declaration he took a large gulp of the milk that Lo Mein had set before him, leaving a milk mustache when he pulled the cup back. "SHISHISHI…"

Usopp cracked up laughing at him while he sipped his beer.

Luffy frowned. "HOW COME USOPP GETS BEER?!"

Usopp slammed his glass down. "BECAUSE I DON'T RAMPAGE THROUGH TOWN WHEN I'VE HAD A FEW!"

Zoro smirked as he finished off his third beer. "Hell, Luffy does that when he's sober."

Toshi grinned at the group of them and turned his attention to Sanji, who was leaning over the bar. He'd been watching with interest as Toshi deftly tossed all the bottles of alcohol from the market neatly into place. "Well, what'll you have, blondie?" Toshi smirked at the cook.

Sanji rolled his eye. "We were introduced, weren't we? It's Sanji!" He glanced over at his Captain, slightly annoyed that Luffy was running around and touching everything. "I'll take the best you have, on the rocks."

"Well then, you don't know much about alcohol then do you?" He pulled a silver flask from the lining of his red jacket and took a quick swig. "The best won't ever come on the rocks…" Toshi spun on his heel and reached for a bottle at the bottom of the cooler behind the bar, then brought out a corkscrew, using it to quickly burst the bottle of top shelf champagne open and into a flute that he'd grabbed with his free hand and tossed onto the bar.

Sanji tried not to look impressed. "Ch, I might have to forgive that little slight if you keep serving me this high-class stuff." He smirked as he took a sip.

Luffy's lower lip jutted out, having been denied alcohol and Toshi couldn't help but notice. He waved Luffy over with a sly grin and presented him with a strawberry wine cooler that had a long curling 'crazy' straw in the neck.

"This'll give you some alcohol but won't overload you since I guess you're somewhat of an infamous lightweight from the way that Nami girl is acting."

"SHISHISHI, thanks! And I have no idea what Nami's talking about! I'm gonna be king of the pirates, I can handle anything!" He held his glass up for a second as if to admire the pinkish liquid then started drinking merrily from the straw.

Usopp found himself fascinated by all the memorabilia adorning the green walls of the Jade Bangle. "Wow, check out all this stuff!" He grinned at Roshi. "You have some cool wall hangings, old man!"

Roshi grinned. "Thanks son, I am a bit of a collector..." He trailed off momentarily but then cleared his throat loudly. "You might take notice of the one of my wife..."

Usopp looked up to where he pointed a large painting mounted above an equally large fireplace, admiring how well crafted it was and noting how serious Roshi sounded when he mentioned it. "It's a great painting! So that's your wife? But...is she not here?"

"She died when Toshi was born...it's just been us all these...well almost 20 years now," he answered wistfully. "Heh...we think about her every day."

Toshi looked up at the picture and smiled. "I've heard that Mom was a pretty awesome lady."

Usopp bowed his head. "Sorry to hear that, old man...I lost my mother when I was young, so...It's tough, but we were lucky to have them when we did, right?"

Roshi nodded to the young man. "We certainly were…and I'm sorry for your loss as well."

There was a pause in the conversation where everything seemed to fall silent for a few seconds. Roshi opened his mouth to say something else to fill the silence when there was the loud sound of a straw sucking up the last remnants of a glass.

Luffy laughed, feeling slightly tipsy from just that one wine cooler as he finished off the last drop. "TOSHI! GIMME MORE!"

Toshi couldn't help but grin at such a lightweight. "Well I think you might be at your limit, sir."

Nami rolled her eyes. "I told you so…"

Toshi ignored her. "Well, you wanna see something cool, Pirate King?"

"Ehhh? OF COURSE!" He leaned forward eagerly.

"Whoa, you might want to back up a little bit there…" Toshi quickly spread several cups, shakers, and bottles of alcohol across the bar and began deftly tossing and flipping them in the air, spinning them over his hands, catching them and pouring out perfect amounts of alcohol, "We call this 'flair bartending,'" he said with a wink.

Lo Mein shook his head. "He like to show off..."

Usopp turned to watch, obviously impressed. "Wow, you've got some pretty good moves Toshi!" He said as Toshi slid one of the freshly made drinks to him. He immediately brought the glass to his lips and tipped it back, gulping down the smooth beverage before setting it down with a contented sigh. "I have to say, you really know how to mix up some good drinks!"

Zoro growled, feeling neglected. "Oi! As long as you are giving out drinks…"

"Hold your horses, Mister Green." Toshi quickly whipped up another drink for the swordsman and turned to Usopp. "I was born behind a bar, what can I say?" He smiled with a tiny shrug and pulled out a green cloth from his pants pocket and quickly wiped the bar. "I also take tips, in case you were wondering."

Sanji sipped his beverage idly, chuckling at the banter between the two. "Don't get too drunk, long nose, we don't need both you and Luffy running around like lunatics."

The aforementioned Luffy was staring at the drinks Toshi was passing out with sparkly eyes. "AWESOOOOOME! I WANT ONE OF THOSE DRINKS!"

Zoro downed his in one gulp. "You couldn't handle it, Captain."

Usopp scoffed and waved his hand in Sanji's general direction. "Yeah, of course! You worry too much Sanji, I have the tolerance of a viking!"

"Ohh? I hadn't imagined that vikings would get drunk after two cocktails."

"GAH, shut up!"

Toshi began mixing another drink. "Oh yeah that's why you're here isn't it? I can show you where to get the best deals if you want."

Nami's eyes suddenly lit up with beli signs. "DEALS? I like to save money..."

Luffy held out his hands, opening and closing them as Toshi handed him a freshly mixed drink with another crazy straw in it. "OOOOH…" He slurped it loudly.

Nami clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "I don't think he can handle much more."

"Don't worry, that one was a virgin, I've seen his type before."

Sanji turned his attention to Toshi. "That would be kind of you, barkeep. I've got a long grocery list that I need to attend to."

"My pleasure blondie, have another drink?"

"Of course! Keep it coming!"

Toshi took another sip from his flask that kept appearing and disappearing throughout and between mixing drinks. "I like the harder stuff myself, but how about some margaritas? That's the perfect party drink! Pops! Bring out the chips and salsa!"

"I'll see if we have any...HAH, I'm just kidding, of course we do. Salsa Verde, kinda goes with our theme here."

"And then, you should sing for us..."

"Oh no, you don't wanna hear my scratchy old voice." Roshi waved a hand dismissively.

Usopp piped up, "Really? Can he sing?" He slapped the counter, all the alcohol beginning to take effect. "We'd love to hear it old man! C'mon!"

"He's only THE BEST!" said Toshi.

"No no...it's just a part-time hobby," Roshi protested, puffing on his pipe as he laid out salsa and chips on the bar.

Luffy's face lit up. "MUSIC? OOOH SING, SING, SING!"

"MARGARITAS!" Nami shouted as Toshi began pouring them out for everyone. "It's been so long since I had one!"

Once he was finished pouring, Toshi drained the rest of the alcohol from the pitcher and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Come on Pops!"

"Well, alright, but you should accompany with your harmonica." He smirked.

Usopp grinned into his margarita. "Stopping here was a great idea! This is just what we all needed after leaving Alabasta..."

Sanji immediately began to pout. "Don't remind me! Vivi-chwan..."

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Ugh, Not this again! I told you all you should have kidnapped her!"

" Zoro!" Nami admonished with a dirty look. "I miss her as much as anyone...maybe more...but it was her choice you know."

Sanji sighed wistfully. "Such a benevolent young woman..." His cigarette began puffing out heart-shaped smoke.

Toshi quirked an eyebrow at him while mixing another batch of margarita mix just for himself, then proceeded to drink the whole thing straight from the pitcher once again. "Mmm..."

"Don't worry," Luffy added, "she's doing what she wanted! We'll always be nakama and we're going to see her again! CHEERS! To Vivi and to our new friends!"

Usopp grinned. "Yeah! A toast! To new adventures...and new friends!"

Roshi shook his head in amusement then thrust his glass into the air. "A TOAST!"

The rest of the crew were quick to follow with their own glasses and Toshi had to quickly pull out his flask, having already finished his personal pitcher of margaritas, as they all clinked their drinks together.

After a few more swigs from the silver flask, Toshi threw it behind him and started pushing his father onto the stage that was the centerpiece of the building. "Come on Pops, I won't let you get out of this! You promised to sing for us!"

Nami snorted in amusement at Toshi, noticing his drinking habits. "You drink more than Zoro!"

"I didn't even think that was possible!" Usopp added.

Roshi sighed in faux exasperation. "I can't stop the boy, he nearly drinks me out of house and home on a daily basis!"

"I make up for it though! The customers love me!"

"Well, you ARE the heir of this establishment, my boy!"

A somber grin crossed Toshi's face. "Yeah…how could I forget…?" His hand snaked back inside his jacket to grab another flask and he quickly downed the entire thing.

Nami was about to make a comment on the flasks when Toshi reached inside his jacket again and brought out a harmonica, blowing a single note on it to set the tune. He stared expectantly at his father, who was looking a bit sheepish onstage, still smoking his pipe.

Toshi blew the note again, louder and more insistent.

"OH ALRIGHT!" Roshi cleared his throat and begin singing in a rich baritone an old song about love and how a person under its spell might feel. He thought about his wife as he sang it, thinking of the very first time he'd hopped upon this stage with her beside him, playing piano and encouraging him with her beautiful smile. It truly had been a magical time for the Koshis before the specter of his wife's family ties began to hang over them…

Usopp and Luffy were drumming on the bar top excitedly, both with faces slightly pink from all the alcohol.

With a final belting note and his arms spread wide, Roshi ended the song, nearly lost in the moment. But he soon came back to down earth, his eyes becoming clear once more, receiving the praise from his audience and he bowed to them.

Toshi whistled loudly and turned to them. "Didn't I tell you he was awesome?"

Roshi hopped down from the stage, lighting his pipe again with a contented sigh.

Usopp was still clapping enthusiastically. "You were right! That was really great, old man!"

Luffy's eyes turned to stars. "AWESOOOOME! You know, I'm looking for a musician!"

Nami whacked him over the head, her fist bouncing right off with a loud 'BOING'.

Roshi laughed heartily between puffs. "Ohohohoho no, no, thanks for the invitation but for an old man like me my place is here. Yep me and my boy here...this pub is our life! Isn't that right, Lo Mein?"

Lo Mein nodded in agreement. "OH YAH, IT THEIR LIFE!"

Roshi looked up suddenly. "Say you kids gonna be in town for awhile? It's Toshi's birthday tomorrow."

Toshi's face colored and he rubbed the back of his head. "Pooooooops..."

Usopp leaned forward in interest. "Oh yeah? It's your birthday?"

Toshi ducked his head slightly. "Yeah, I'm turning 20..."

A dark look crossed Roshi's face as Toshi said this, and Nami wondered if anyone else had seen it as she continued to sip her margarita. Toshi certainly seemed blissfully unaware.

The bell on the front door began chiming as some new patrons entered.

"WELCOME!" Shouted Lo Mein with a wave at the newcomers.

Toshi looked up just then and his face broke into a large grin. "UNCLES!" he shouted and ran over to greet the two men.

"Hey Toshi! I heard the last strains of that song, so sorry we missed it, Roshi!" Piped up the first man as he hugged Toshi. He was a rather rotund fellow who wore a red suit with orange bowtie and had a shock of flaming red hair. His disposition was sunny and his cheeks were rosy.

Roshi greeted him with a bitter tone, "Yes well, maybe next time...won't you have a drink?"

The second man seemed to be his polar opposite. He was tall and thin in a green striped suit with long straight dark green hair. His face bore a serious look, all business, and he could only awkwardly return Toshi's hug. "No," he answered, "we just have something to discuss with you..."

"Oooh Uncle Penne, Uncle Farfalle, are you planning me a surprise birthday party?!" Toshi piped up.

Farfalle laughed, putting his hands over his round belly. "Ohhh no, no, sorry Toshi, your party won't be a surprise, but we'll still have one! WITH CAKE, SO MUCH CAKE!" His eyes began to sparkle with the promise of the sugary delight.

Penne ignored Toshi, his eyes narrowing with a pointed look at Roshi. "We have a little business to attend to with your father if you don't mind..."

"Of course not! I'm just hanging out with my new friends!"

Farfalle was delighted to hear this news. "Aww you made new friends, that's so great!" He grinned and patted Toshi on the shoulder.

"We're about to go out shopping in a little bit!"

Roshi nodded. "Be careful, Toshi my boy!"

Luffy grinned at him. "Don't worry old man, I'm REALLY strong!"

Usopp chimed in, "Yeah! He just beat up Crocodile you know! The Shichibukai, Crocodile, that is! It was probably in the paper by now! I mean, he couldn't have done it without me, I probably did about ninety percent of the work after all!" Usopp laughed haughtily at that, not realizing that nobody was paying attention to him anymore.

"Ho ho ho...alright then..." The older man said skeptically, only having half listened to what the sniper was saying as the presence of the two new men seemed to distract him. He nodded to Luffy and then disappeared into the back room, Penne and Farfalle following close behind.

Nami drummed her fingers on the countertop. "Something seems...off...about them..."

Usopp gave Nami a sidelong glance as they watched the men disappear into the back. "Yeah...didn't it seem like he wasn't looking forward to talking with them?"

Toshi shrugged. "My Pops has never gotten along that well with my uncles, but they've been pretty good to me! Especially Uncle Farfalle, we always played together when I was younger. We drank together too even though he definitely can't hold his alcohol as well as me! He's been one of my closest friends my whole life, really…got me that goldfish for my birthday that I thought would like to try some alcohol…and then he attended Sergeant Guppy's funeral with me after that disaster…heh…" Toshi grinned sheepishly. "You see, my dad never really let me play with the other kids…he pulled me out of school at a pretty young age actually…" Toshi tapped a finger to his chin. "It was kinda weird, but having my Uncles around to help take care of me really made up for it…"

"I guess some people just can't get along!" said Usopp.

Nami frowned. "I don't know...it seemed like...ah, well, never mind." She decided not to say anything else, not wanting to offend Toshi.

Sanji lit a fresh cigarette, his brow furrowed in thought. He'd caught that weird vibe as well. "Yeah...but we shouldn't be interfering with other peoples' business." He smiled at Nami. "I'm sure it's nothing, Nami-san!"

Toshi slammed down now empty bottle of vodka he managed to drink between talking, "Ahhhhhhhhh! Well, who's ready to go shopping?"

Sanji stood up, his bar stool scraping against the floor. "We're ready whenever you are."

Usopp stumbled a bit, at first, then regained his equilibrium. "Gah! Those margaritas were stronger than I thought!" he laughed.

" ZORO!" Luffy shouted. "The door's over here!"

"Shut up!" The swordsman crossed his arms and started walking towards their voices. "I don't need people telling me where to go!"

Toshi smirked in amusement. "Not too bright, that one... Well come on! Stick close to me or you'll all get lost, this town is huge!"

"You heard the man, you drunken bastards!" Sanji admonished. "Don't go running off and doing stupid shit while we're here!"

"SHISHISHISHI Just make sure you get a lot of MEAT!"

Toshi laughed and pulled out another flask. "Alright you guys, this way!" He began leading them down in a winding path towards the market.

Luffy jogged up beside Toshi. "Can I have a sip of that?"

Toshi nearly choked on his booze. "PFFFFFF, well maybe later Pirate King, when you're a little older." He winked and patted his shoulder as the group approached a book vendor with many shelves of texts on display.

Luffy began jumping up and down, waving his arms as he spotted the crew's smallest member, who was still perusing the merchandise. "YAY! CHOPPER!"

"Who's this little guy?!" Toshi asked as Chopper immediately perked up and rejoined the group, his backpack bulging slightly with books he'd purchased.

Chopper answered the captain's call. "OH! LUFFY!" he cried and hugged onto him.

Toshi was stunned momentarily. "HOLY HELL DID YOUR PET JUST TALK?!" His eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Chopper jumped in fear and hid behind Luffy, facing the wrong direction peering warily at Toshi. "OI! I'm NOT a PET!"

Toshi could only grin at him. "Then why do I wanna pet you?! You're so friggin' CUTE!"

"OI!" The reindeer blushed and jumped away, waving his arms in a little dance. "That doesn't make me happy at all! Bastard!"

Usopp laughed as he explained, "This is Tony Tony Chopper, he ate a devil fruit that made him able to take on human characteristics!"

"So what is he? A raccoon?"

"I'm a REINDEER!"

"SHISHISHISHI we're going to have the do the chopsticks dance later! Chopper's the best at it!"

"That's SO cool, you're crew is pretty amazing, Luffy!"

Toshi took a drink from yet another flask he pulled out of his jacket. He looked back at Chopper then sheepishly asked the little guy, "Can I...can I hug you?"

"Huh?! I, ah...I suppose!"

Toshi's face split into a wide grin. "OH THANK YOU!" He latched onto Chopper, hugging him, "My Pops never let me have a pet after Sergeant Guppy died, or even stuffed animals. When I was younger he always said, 'That's not manly, son!' but you're just so cute!"

Chopper hugged Toshi back, still blushing happily from all the attention. "That's still not making me happy at all, jerk!"

Sanji lit up yet another cigarette. "Ah, Chopper's also our doctor!"

"Oh really? Damn you are the coolest, Chopper! Do you drink, little guy?"

Chopper opened his mouth to answer but only a gurgle came out as he collapsed in Toshi's arms, a happy smile adorning his fuzzy face.

"Whoa!" said Usopp. "He just fainted from praise!"

"GAH!" Toshi yelped, pulling out another flask and holding it under Chopper's nose, hoping the smell would rouse him.

Chopper's eyes flew open. "PHEW!" He clamped his hoof over his blue nose. "Dat's stwong…"

Sanji began glancing around the marketplace, taking in all the shops and sights as well as the smells of delicious foods cooking. He spotting a shop selling meat and began to wander towards it.

"RACE YOU THERE!" Luffy yelled as he rushed ahead of Sanji.

Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. "I already had to pay one meat vendor..."

"There's no helping him," Usopp deadpanned.

oOo

As the day went on Toshi showed the Strawhats where to get all the best deals on the goods they needed. Nami nearly hugged him once she saw how much money they'd saved. All too soon, the sun was starting to sink into the ocean and Toshi walked with them back to the Merry, wanting to see what kind of awesome ship the future King of the Pirates had before they had to sail off again for their next adventure.

"You guys got enough stuff?"

Nami didn't hear him, her head being somewhere else, thinking of something she'd seen earlier in the market. Something strange…

Sanji carried two large sacks of food. "Well, this is sure to last us about...a week." He snorted as he started up Merry's rope ladder with his bounty.

Usopp jumped back down from the deck of the ship, having finished helping Sanji. "It was great of you to show us around town, Toshi!"

"Do you really have to go now...?"

Sanji jumped down beside him and Usopp and lit a new cigarette. "It's probably best if we do. You and your father have been kind to us, but we are wanted pirates and after what happened in Alabasta, we should probably be careful for now..."

Toshi's face fell. "Oh..."

Luffy bounced over to Toshi. "Ehhh? What's wrong?! You seemed pretty happy in your bar and you were SO COOL!"

Nami took this opportunity to pull Usopp aside. "Something's weird... I don't know if you noticed but we were being followed..."

Usopp lowered his voice. "What...? Now that you mention it...I did get a strange feeling like that..."

"And those guys, the 'uncles' who came in the bar earlier," Nami continued, "I think they have something to do with it. Something tells me this town isn't everything it seems..."

Usopp nodded. "I definitely get some creepy vibes from that Penne guy...the more I think about it, the more I wonder if Toshi is really safe in a place like this. His dad seems to be keeping something big to himself... I know it's not our business, but it's been bothering me too."

"I can't help but notice that the crowd seemed to thin as we went by or settled in any one place. I don't think it was because of Luffy..."

"You heard the whispering too, didn't you?"

"I did...what...what should we do? Something's about to go down...I wonder if Luffy realizes it?"

Usopp cast a glance at Luffy who seemed to be involved in a discussion with Toshi. "I doubt it. We should call a meeting about this. I don't feel right just leaving things like this..."

Meanwhile Luffy was still trying to coax a smile out of the bartender. "COME ON, don't be sad, Toshi! You even gave me booze! SHISHISHI, you're alright in my books, even if I don't read!" Luffy bounced with delight.

Toshi finally grinned at Luffy's banter, giving him a half shove. "Awwww, well it's just...my Pops has kept me in a box so to speak, to be honest I don't really have any friends... He always told me I'm special and I don't need to be around other people. I'm always safely behind the bar, tending it, making drinks, entertaining but...I don't really KNOW anyone..."

Luffy nodded. "Well WE'RE friends now, aren't we?" He grinned.

"Yeah, of course...I just..." He looked behind Luffy at Merry, staring longingly. "He expects me to take over the bar...and he's always ranted on about how it's my place, my destiny...well what about what I want?"

"Shishi...so you have a dream, then?"

"Well, my dream is for my freedom...there's something else I can tell he's been hiding from me..."

Luffy grinned. "That's a great dream! That's why I want to be the pirate king! The Pirate King has the most freedom in the world!" He stretched his arms out.

Toshi couldn't help but admire his spirit and resolve. "You're amazing, Luffy...I wish I could be like you..."

Luffy clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You can. There's always a choice. It's your life right? You should be free to live it however you want to!"

Toshi grinned at this. "There's something I've been wanting to ask my Pops about actually... Hey, you know, tomorrow is my birthday. It's a turning point in my life. I think I'm going to tell my Pops I'm not going to take over the tavern."

"SHISHISHI that's the spirit!"

Toshi's voice lowered. "Luffy...would you...stay? Just...just one more day. It'd really mean a lot to me if you would be there..."

Luffy didn't hesitate even for a second. "Of COURSE I will!"

Toshi's face lit up. "THANK YOU!" He impulsively hugged Luffy, holding back tears. "Nobody ever...inspired me before. It's...I don't even know how to describe it... I feel like I'm changing into a whole new man..."

Luffy hugged him back then turned around and yelled to the rest of his nakama. "EVERYONE! WE'RE STAYING ANOTHER DAY FOR TOSHI'S BIRTHDAY!"

END NOTES: In the true tradition of One Piece and Oda-sensei you will find some crazy names in this story arc! To shed some light on this, here is a 'Noodle Names Key' with explanations and pronunciations! It will continue to be updated the arc continues. Please note that Toshi's birthday is January 1st.

NOODLE NAMES KEY (most of these via wiki/List_of_pasta)

Soba - 'soh-bah': thin Japanese buckwheat noodles. Soba called Toshi Koshi Soba (get it? get it?) are traditionally eaten on New Years eve in Japan.

Lo Mein - 'low-main': A Chinese dish with wheat flour noodles.

Penne - 'pen-ay': a type of pasta with cylinder shaped pieces.

Farfalle - 'far-fal-lay': bow-tie shaped pasta.