A/N : For my friends Maybelle and Laureeza-I've finally done it. A One Piece fanfic. Now quit bugging me about it. :D Set after the Thriller Bark Arc and in between of the Spa Island adventure, the strawhats stumble into a new adventure when they rescue a little girl drifting out in the middle of nowhere. However, their helping her leads to all kinds of danger, drama and adventure which is meant to make them stronger and test their friend and whatever else. LOL. I love OP and hope that this fic is up to standard. Apologies if any of them are OOC.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, that entire bit of genius is 100% Eiichiro Oda. I only lay claim to my original plot used here and my own characters.
"Nami-swan, Robin-chwan!" Sanji sang out as he twirled merrily down to the lawn on the Thousand Sunny, balancing a tray bearing two delicious smoothies for the lovely ladies resting on the lounge chairs.
"Thank you, Cook-san." Robin took hers with a smile.
Nami stretched slowly like a cat, choosing to favor the cook with an even glance for once. "Thank you, Sanji-kun." She took a slurp of the fruity concoction and an expression of bliss filtered over her face as she tossed her short hair. That felt good. It was the perfect touch to the relaxing moment she'd desperately needed.
Thriller Bark had not been the kind of thrills she'd wanted—relaxing under the sun was almost making up for it—almost. She was glad to have that chapter closed and done with. Hopefully the next adventures wouldn't be so harrowing. She shuddered at the thought of her almost marriage and brightened slightly at the memory of Lola.
Sanji disappeared to the kitchen, returning a moment later with the large platter of refreshments for the rest of the crew. He knew he didn't have to call, because the moment he stepped on deck, the captain and his fellow crew members were already sitting in a line, drooling as they awaited his next culinary expression.
Keeping them in check with a poised eyebrow, Sanji set the tray on top of a picnic blanket, stepping back just in time as the eager hands attacked the food. He watched them stuffing their faces amidst happy exclamations and that was enough for him as he strolled back to where the ladies lounged.
"Oi, oi, don't hog it all, Luffy!" Usopp whined, but he didn't stop stuffing his mouth either as Chopper tried to reach around them to help himself as well. Sanji's snacks were disappearing quickly as Brook and Franky emerged from the lower deck, discussing something between themselves.
"Ohh, snacks?" Brook was beside them in a moment, also messily stuffing his face.
Sanji deliberately ignored them now as he lit a cigarette and took a long, slow drag. He didn't feel like bashing any manners into the living skeleton. Personally, it was a bit relieving to see them back to normal in terms of their recent adventures on Thriller Bark. Franky strolled over to join in the fray when Zoro's shout from the crow's nest drew their attention.
"Eh?" Luffy perked up at the sound of Zoro's voice through the loudspeaker. He was at the portside within a half-second. "Oooh." He peered out into the sea of blue.
"It's a…barrel?" Usopp adjusted his goggles, squinting. "No…a marker?" He turned to Luffy in puzzlement.
"Another barrel?" Chopper squeaked, trying to get a look in as well.
"Leave it alone, Luffy." Nami sighed, sitting up. "The last time we touched a barrel-" Her gaze flitted to Brook. Then again, it was Luffy she was talking to. "Sanji-kun?"
"Hai, Nami-swan!" He was at her side in a moment.
"Don't let Luffy-" She began.
"It's not a barrel." Usopp said, a moment later. "It's a…floating…thing-"
"Ah, a mystery thing?" Luffy stared at Usopp in amazement.
"Water marker." Franky supplied, joining them. "Used 'em at Water Seven to measure out portions of water to test things." He frowned. "What's one of-oi, there's another!" He leaned forward. "And another—is, there's a lot of them—whoa!"
And there was another. And another, and another.
Stretched out, spanning to the right and then to the left, a large section of the beautiful blue waters were sectioned off with floating, brightly colored cone-shaped markers. Usopp was sweating bullets as he read out a warning plaque strung between two markers. "D-danger. E-enter a-at y-your o-own r-r-risk." He stammered. Chopper choked from beside him.
"Enter what?" Sanji growled as the ship glided past the markers, pulling lightly on the cords connecting them. His sharp eyes caught sight of several large, uneven blobs rising from the water with the new tension of the cords between the markers. His eyes grew wide. "Sea king…?" The cigarette nearly fell from his open mouth. He'd never seen anything like that before.
There were large chunks of meat, still dripping redness into the ocean and sliding forward along the cord as the Thousand Sunny plowed onward. Pieces of meat that could only have come from the giant sea kings themselves. Someone or something had managed to capture enough of them to use in the grisly marker-rope that was stretched out before them.
"Meat?" Luffy perked up, his eyes sparkled at once. "Sanji-!"
"You just had a snack, Luffy." Sanji retorted. He didn't mind serving up some of the meat, except for there was something very strange about the fact that there were giant shanks of meat strung up in the ocean just waiting for someone to sail by. It had to be a trap.
"Robin?" Nami looked to the archaeologist with a nervous expression. "Ever heard of…?" She gestured towards the strange sight as the Thousand Sunny continued on.
"No, Navigator-san." Robin's brow furrowed into a neat bow. "I have never seen nor heard of something like this, perhaps we should drop anchor and-"
"Luffy?" Nami called, but was on her feet in a moment, barking orders at them to adjust the sails and drop anchor. She didn't need to wait to hear what he said when someone was obviously wrong enough to make Robin suggest they drop anchor. Nami didn't like that at all. Something about the way the cords were straining was beginning to put a whole new layer of stress on her tiny moment of relaxation just moments before.
By the time they'd brought the Thousand Sunny to a reluctant halt, Zoro called down from the mast and Usopp readjusted his goggles to see what the fuss was all about. He was soon chattering and stuffing his fingers in his mouth before the curious stars of his fellow crewmates brought him back to his senses.
"Na, Usopp." Luffy danced excitedly from one foot to the other. "What is it? Zoro?" He called up. "I don't see anything." He rocketed to his perch atop the Sunny's lion figurehead. "Ehhh—Nami?"
"A girl." Sanji said, hearts popping into his eyes as he squinted again. His mellorine radar could pick that up a hundred miles away.
A darkened blob was floating out in the middle of the marker-sectioned waters, bobbing up and down on the waves. There was nothing else to be seen, except for the fact that the markers went so far away into the distance that there wasn't a portion seen for safe passage.
"It's a girl." Usopp confirmed as they drifted closer, not quite stopping just yet. "She's…tied…to a piece of wood?" He blinked. That didn't sound right at all, but when he double-checked, Zoro dropped down beside him.
"A pillar." He grunted. "She's tied to some kind of floating stake on a raft."
"Steak?" Luffy frowned.
"Not that kind, Luffy." Usopp admonished. He craned his neck. "Her mouth's stuffed with something. She's trying to get free. She's all chained up and-" The words tumbled from Usopp's mouth as he drew back. The chattering and stammering was repeated as a large shadow loomed overhead. "Sea King!" He shrieked.
The other members turned in time to leap into action. The giant sea king bearing down towards their ship was taken care of by Zoro and Brook.
"Sea Kings." Robin corrected. "Diez fleurs!" On the second sea king hurtling towards the Thousand Sunny, hands appeared, tugging the flopping fins over the giant eyes. She only needed to distract it, knowing the others would take care of it.
Sanji leapt into the air, finishing it off with a single blow to the head. He smirked, knowing the marimo would be stewing slightly over the fact that he hadn't been able to best him on that.
"The anchor isn't catching." Nami peered into the darkened water. They'd dropped anchor, but they were still drifting as if they hadn't even tried to slow down at all. A shiver ran through her as a flickering image appeared on the blue surface and then faded away. "C-chopper?" She turned to the reindeer beside her. "Did you see that?"
"See what?" The little reindeer peered down into the blue water. He inched closer to the navigator. He didn't have to see to know that something was wrong.
"There's more of them? Look out, bro!" Franky sucked in a breath. "Fresh fire!"
And so the ship was in uproar.
By the time things were sorted out again, several more sea kings littered the water's surface and the Thousand Sunny had drifted so far in between the markers, that the cord had cut and there was no sight to the other end at hand.
There was also a new development as they approached the floating stake and Sanji leapt out to land lightly on the wooden raft. The girl chained to the post was no more than possibly ten years of age. Her hair was red and twisted into tight ringlets that were plastered to her neck with sweat. Her wide blue eyes were fixed imploringly on the curly-browed cook as she strained against the restraints.
A silent shadow whisked by and a flash of blue was proof that Zoro had joined them as the chains holding the girl captive fell to the base of the makeshift raft. She tore at the gag on her mouth, pushing away Sanji's helpful hands. There was a muffled squeak of pain as she gasped in a breath, redness showing in her eyes and face as she threw herself towards them both. "Get down!"
The shift in the weight distribution was enough to take them down with her and they landed in an awkwardly sprawled heap, a tangle of arms, legs and curly red hair. She scrambled to her feet, pulling away from their fighting hands and nearly toppled into the water until a stack of hands sprouted off of the raft to hold her in place.
"Diez fleurs!" Robin smiled from the deck, steadying the girl.
"Get off of me you stupid marimo!" Zoro tried to stand on the bobbing raft.
Sanji grunted. "You're the one who's-"
"Thank you for saving me, but please get back on your boat and get out of here quickly!" The girl begged, pulling Sanji away from Zoro and planting herself between the two bickering fellows. "You have to hurry!" She tried to push Sanji towards the edge of the raft only to be caught by her head under Zoro's large hand. "You have to get out of here before he comes-"
"Hey." He scowled "What kind of a-"
"Get down!" She shrieked again, diving to the floor of the raft as something streaked overhead. "This is bad. This is very bad." The raft pitched from side to side and the occupants went sprawling once more.
A sudden darkness began to spread over the sky and the girl began to tremble from her curled up position on the wooden raft. Her hands were over her ears and she was shaking her head until the raft bobbed uncertainly and she tried to sit up.
"What was that?" Zoro was on his feet at once, the rocking sea movements already memorized in his head. He drew his swords, tensing.
"That's why you have to get out of here—eeep!" The girl squeaked as she turned and saw the Thousand Sunny about to descend on them.
In the moment she closed her eyes, both men leapt, with Sanji being the one to grab the girl as Zoro sliced something behind them. They landed on desk as the others were dashing about. The anchor was taken in and the sails readjusted.
"Franky." Nami shouted. "Can we use a-"
"Whee!" Luffy bounced energetically on the figurehead, one hand on his straw hat and the other recoiling from the last gomu-gomu pistol he'd just thrown. This was one adventure he hadn't seen coming at all. The tiny raft below was pushed to the side in newly cut and slashed pieces as the Thousand Sunny pitched forward.
"Something's wrong." Nami called up to him. "Luffy, can you see anything?"
"Na, Nami." He grunted. "Something's coming though. Zoro, Sanji?"
The two took up their usual flanking positions beside their captain. The figure approaching was spewing blackness behind them in their ever-swift approach. They could now see the other side of the markers and just as they were within sight, the markers themselves began to rise up out of the water.
"It's a net!" Robin was the first to react. "Navigator-san, now is a-"
"Franky!" Nami screamed.
Franky was already below deck, prepping for the necessary getaway. "Coup de burst!"
The Thousand Sunny flew up and over the giant net, landing hard in the open water. There were rips and tears in the sails as they flew past the darkened figure that screeched in rage and tried to snatch them out of the air. It howled in fury as the net was fully retracted, filled to bursting with sea kings dead and alive.
Usopp shuddered, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle as one shaking hand adjusted his sniper goggles. He could make out a figure of a man with dark hair and dark…wings? His knees began to knock together. He'd never seen anything like that before.
"Chopper?" Nami sagged against the railing, her attention shifting to the little doctor trying to examine the unconscious little girl.
"She's unconscious, but breathing." He said, efficiently moving over her in his brisk, professional way, his doctor's satchel on the deck. "We can move her."
"I would prefer that you didn't." The voice came from the opposite railing and standing in a shroud of black, a tall, skinny man frowned disapprovingly at the pirate crew before him. "Actually, I would prefer if you gave her back, after all, she is my sacrifice and not yours. I'll have you know I went to a great deal of trouble to acquire her and I simply can't overlook your kidnapping such a valuable ingredient."
Usopp yelped, scrambling backwards away from the newcomer.
"Ingredient?" Sanji tensed from his position to the left of the deck railing.
"Are you a chef?" Luffy hopped down from the figurehead to stand boldly on the grassy deck. "Do you-"
"And messing up my net, even after I posted signs for-no, young man, I am not a chef, I am a-" The man stopped, a smirk slowly creeping over his features. He sniffed, appreciatively. "Ah, devil fruit users. How delightful. It is rare to find so many in the middle of the sea. What a wonderful development."
"What were you making?" Luffy wanted to know. He was still seeing the giant net and wondering what kind of dish used so much meat. "Sanji, can you-"
"Not what I was making, but what I'm about to make. I'm not a chef." The man snorted. "But you are in the way, I cannot complete my work with such insolent interruptions of-" His gaze flickered towards the fluttering flag. "Pirates, eh? I guess that means you won't be missed if I use you to-"
"Z-zoro, it's him!" Usopp babbled, finally finding his voice as he tugged on Zoro's pant leg.
"Huh?" The green-headed swordsman looked at him in confusion and resisting the urge to kick away the skinny hands clinging to his leg.
"That thing we flew past, that tried to knock us out of the air, it's him."
"I don't know what you're talking about." The man said, smoothly. "But as soon as you return my daughter, we won't trouble you anymore."
Usopp's eyes narrowed, his fear suddenly forgotten. "That's a lie!" He said, boldly. "She isn't your-"
He moved. There was a blur of grey-black that streaked from the railing towards the girl. Sanji, Zoro and Luffy reacted in the split-seconds in between. They were painfully aware of the moment when the man reached the girl first, only to be thwarted by Robin's hands sprouting up to grab his neck. An agonized scream was wrenched out of his mouth before he twisted sharply and a spark of black-red energy caused the hands to dissolve in a sudden swirl of sakura.
The strange man was subjected to the attack of those closest. One stinging punch from Luffy, a skull-crushing kick from Sanji, a vital organ-strike from Zoro's three-sword style and a flaming ball from Usopp. The others were about to press inward when the stranger exploded outward.
The fire provided by Usopp consumed him entirely—but without the slightest negative effect. Instead, from the midst of the burning flames, he spoke with a heavier, grated voice. "How dare you? Do you petty humans know who I am?" He roared. "I'll make you pay for-"
Luffy's fist connected with the side of his face, knocking him to a sprawl on the other end of the deck. Nami swirled her clima-tact and called out "Rain tempo!" The water droplets dowsed the fire, saving the grass and the wooden railing.
"Look out!" Franky dodged to the left as a slender black spear thudded into the ground where Luffy had stood just moments before. In rapid succession a volley of black spears embedded themselves in the grass-covered deck.
"If you're going to be this way." The man snarled. "I'll make you pay for this." He clambered up on the railing, heaving and panting. "You're all going to pay for this." His beady eyes flickered with the same glimpse of red-black energy. "Every single one of you! Acklon-Malvean-Olith!" The chant was finished as Zoro and Sanji descended upon him.
In the moments where they kicked him off the ship, a peculiar thing happened.
There was a puff of smoke, a yellow puff and a green puff respectively, before two small, six-inch miniature versions of the two lay before them.
That's when pandemonium really settled in.
"Sanji! Zoro!" Luffy was beside them in a minute, trying to grab hold of them as the miniatures suddenly dived away from his incoming hands.
"Luffy-wait!" Sanji yelled as loudly as he could, dodging to the side. Things were too big, too loud and too…confusing. The last thing he wanted was to be squashed by eager rubber hands.
"Luffy!" Chopper was beside them. "Sanji, Zoro! Someone call a doctor!" Chopper shrieked, running in a circle around them.
The cook and swordsman exchanged a glance before settling down on the grass.
Chopper stopped running. "Oh wait, that's me." He swallowed hard. "Now, um, let's see."
"Robin?" Nami waved her hands in front of the archaeologist's face. "Robin, what's going on? Talk to me!"
"Long-nose?" Franky and Brook stood over Usopp's trembling form. "hey bro, what's-"
"Oh my, yohohoho." Brook trilled, nervously. "I think we-"
"Chopper, Robin's not moving!" Nami's fear-filled voice drew their attention as she cast a glance towards Franky and the others. "And neither is Usopp!"
~*~*~*~My first OP fic. *gulp* Please review and let me know what you think. I'm open to suggestions, critiques, whatever. ^_^ ~*~*~*~