Title: What's To Come
A/N: Pre-Skypiea but vague spoilers for post-Enies Lobby.
Summary: A little glimpse at the future.
It was a small island, almost not worth a mention. There were no inhabitants; civilisation didn't thrive. There was nothing but lots of vegetation and a tree. A really big tree. Huge, actually. So huge that Luffy had decided to make it his personal playground.
Nami's voice rang out in agitation. "Luffy get down from there."
Laughter, that only Luffy could produce, carried across the empty field but still managed to bounce its way back and reverberate through the plate life. He wrapped his rubbery arms around the trunk and gave the tree a big hug. "I really like this tree."
Leaves seemed to shake in enjoyment at the sound of his voice and the branches appeared to reach down and embrace the grinning boy. Others of the small crew watched with mild amusement and relaxed as if they didn't have a care in the world, a feeling of contentment sweeping them up in a gentle lull.
Usopp, however, was staring at Merry. Eyebrows furrowed in thought and an odd feeling of sadness working its way up his spine.
Robin was managing to draw some small attention from her nakama with her hmm-ing and ahh-ing. She stood staring at the tree, her hand on the thick base. A tiny smile, edged with sadness tugged at her mouth as realisation descended upon her.
Nami's voice rolled along the ground, the echo of it drawn to the dominating tree. "Guys, the log pose is set. Time to go."
Luffy hung upside down from a branch and was bouncing in time to his laughter. At Nami's words, his legs unravelled and he dropped face first to the ground. Muffled exclamations fell on deaf ears as he struggled to pull himself free. When is head popped up and sprang back into place, the normally cheerful countenance was replaced with a pout.
"Buuutttt Nammmiiii…"
"There's no reason for us to stay, Luffy. There's nothing here."
Luffy knew that look. She wasn't going to change her mind and he knew there was no point in arguing. So rather than getting hit – because it really hurt – he stood and ordered the return to Merry.
A sudden rush of wind and the crew found themselves being pushed faster to their ship, spurring them on to new adventures. Nami scowled at the unpredictable suddenness and wondered why she hadn't known it was coming.
When they boarded and raised anchor, Luffy lunged himself to the figurehead and plonked himself on his special seat. As his fingers dug into familiar notches, he was overcome with a feeling of finality that disappeared just as fast as it had arrived.
As Merry pushed on to their next destination, it was with a speed and excitement that rivalled Luffy on one of his more insane days. A slight thread of worry worked its way in his mind and knew there was one person who could ease his thoughts.
"Robin?"
She came up so softly behind him that if he hadn't sensed her, he would have wondered where she had come from.
"The tree?" Simple question that asked for a simple answer.
She looked out at the vast ocean and believed that, even if she was vague in her response, her captain would still understand on some level.
"It's called an Adam Tree, Senchou-san."
Merry seemed to sigh in both happiness and apology and Luffy took it for what it was. More adventures to come and more nakama to meet.