[./Memories of the Heart

The wind swept through the hair of the man on the bow of the ship, sitting happily on the lions head, the top most spike between his crossed legs, one arm gripping the top of the yellow spike, the other pressed against the straw hat upon his head. The blissful smile that crossed his face showed his thoughts, he had no cares, a strange thing for a man worth three hundred million BelI, and even as an enemy of the world, there was nothing that could dampen the spirits of this man. As the salty smell of the ocean filled his nose, he allowed his breathing to even out, the excitement of the upcoming adventure. He wanted it to be bigger than the last, which would be hard to top, saving an entire nation and visiting a land where prehistoric times still existed, and two giants battling each other, all of those things were pretty exhausting, even just to think about. Then there was the CP9, the most incredible battle yet, Rob Lucci, even if he was an asshole, was fun to fight, for the first time in his life, that fight was something he did not think he could win, if it had not been for Usopp, he may have not been able to survive.

However, time and time again, he had pulled through, which only meant there were more adventures, greater ones ahead of him. A large grin grew across his face, how far would he have to go before he was recognized as the king of the pirates? It seemed as though every adventure was growing in madness, and each time, a new friend was recognized. Chopper was the doctor, a very strange beast, but that just made the rubber man like him all the more, he was a talking reindeer, how much cooler could a nakama be? Well, the fact that it could do some crazy stuff with his devil fruit powers, and his incredibly strange nature, it made him an excellent companion to have on his journey. As captain, he was really the one who decided who got to join the ship, and he could not resist letting the reindeer join, plus, he had probably saved a lot of lives just being with the crew. Wondering what brought on the thoughts about the reindeer, Luffy realized that he was currently listening to the high pitched screaming of said nakama. Like a noise in the real world interrupting a dream, Choppers screams had changed the thoughts of the captain, and now he could not remember what he had been thinking about.

"Oh well!"

He turned, the massive grin on his face, stretching his features absurdly, but it was the smile that everyone on board was familiar with. The raven haired future king of the pirates grinned as he looked over his crew. Zoro was, as usual sleeping, his body placed in an awkward position, but he seemed happy, not even the loud screeching of the doctor could wake him. His first mate, and most trusted companion, sure, Sanji was also a great fighter, but Zoro had been with him since he began, they had suffered together on the high seas, lost in the ocean, at least until Luffy was captured by the bird. Shame he had never even gotten to eat it. The swordsman was without his swords for the moment, they were elsewhere, somewhere that the captain had no knowledge of, but that was not unusual for when they were on the Thousand Sunny for long periods of time. He was certainly comfortable leaving his safety in the hands of everyone else, even the cook. Although, the man was incredible, even without his swords, he could easily handle most opponents. He was certainly someone that the raven haired teen was glad to have brought aboard. Hell, the guy was only a year older than himself.

"Someone get a doctor!"

The familiar scream rang out, and Luffy finally cared enough to discover what the rage was all about, even though this seemed to be another one of those things that the small animal overreacted about. Rolling onto his back on the head of the lion, he placed his hands just above his shoulders, and launched himself upwards, sailing through the air and landing onto the deck, one hand clamped onto his hat to make sure it would not escape. The grin was still perched on his face, Robin looked up from her book to take a quick look at him, her dark eyes assessing his body, no real emotion on her face, and he could tell that the smile on her face was false, it was not in her onyx eyes. Still, he did not judge her, she was a real part of the team. However, her gaze did make him a little uncomfortable, as he could tell she was not looking at his face, her eyes seemed to be fixed on his torso, which was weird, he had not eaten for a while, so he could not have spilled any food on his chest again. Looking down, he looked at his own body, the rubbery skin was clear of any blemishes, sure, a few scars dotted the surface, but other than that, nothing interesting for her to look at. Although maybe it was because he was not wearing a shirt? Oh well, this was his ship, he could go naked if he felt like it, although Nami had certainly not approved last time.

He was about to question the tall raven haired archaeologist, but he was struck from the side by a rather harassed looking Chopper, followed by the always hysterical sniper, and finally, and enraged cook. The tangle of limbs and laughter and shouting brought a small giggle to the female stretched on her deck chair, which instantly changed the thoughts of the cook, who pulled himself from the pile and kneeled next to the female. His face was that of pure adoration, and he held her one slender hand between his own, calloused, fire hardened hands. The smile on his face, and endless source of amusement to the woman, and an endless source of irritation to the next person to arrive in front of the growing carnival. The sea cook was struck from behind by a booted foot, which was worn on the feet of another slender female, this one however, with a face of rage. It seemed that something had one wrong, and Luffy was suddenly aware of why Chopper had called for a doctor. It seemed as though all three of the males had blood leaking from their noses, probably because Nami had beaten them up or something, she sure was scary.

"All of you! Perverts! I don't now why I put up with you"

To make sure they understood her words, she beat the pile of limbs a few times with her strange weapon, making sure to create a little electric shock with each blow, shocking them all, bar Luffy, who sat under the pile of them, one finger in his nose, a uninterested look on his face. Nami had reached a level of rage that she seemed to be unable to form words any longer, and was happy just to beat the life out of the pile. After minutes of the beating, she finally decided it was enough, and let out a loud angry grunt, then turned, storming back into the cabins behind, leaving Sanju, Chopper and Usopp to groan in the pile they lay in, and Robin to laugh quietly behind her book. Although it would not occur to their captain, it was pretty easy for the archaeologist to figure out, it seemed that the trio had been spying on their rather voluptuous navigator, and she had responded in kind. The very thought of the ever so innocent reindeer performing such a deed brought a slight smile to her lips, after all, he was childish in ways that even their captain could not reach, as he at least, had been caught staring at a pair of breasts more than once. More than once, she thought with a coy smile, it had been her own.

Grumbling, Sanji stood, brushing himself off, muttering something about how Usopps crazy machinations would never work, and next time he would ask Franky for a hidden camera. However, he was soon distracted once more by the female in front of him, and all thoughts of spying on his wondrous Nami vanished from his head as he fawned over the wise woman. Chopper tugged on the leg of Sanji, distracting him from his adoring coos long enough to tell him that he was hungry. This plea was seconded by Luffy, who loudly objected having to wait any longer for meat. Usopp also agreed, but he was kicked in the side of the head, satisfying the need of the cook to kick something, but since Chopper was so cute, and luffy would not be affected by them, the sniper was the only one he could garner any satisfaction from. As he turned back to Robin to swoon some more, she smiled politely, agreeing with the thoughts of food, and with her questioning, he agreed to make the greatest meal he had ever made, anything to make his Robin-Chwan happy. With that, the blond disappeared into the kitchen of the Thousand Sunny, a spring in his step and love in his head, swooning over the fact he could be on the same planet with his Robin and Nami loves.

Life aboard the ship was not any different than any other day, things were peaceful, things were exactly how the captain enjoyed everything. Where had he been going in the beginning before he had been tackled? Ah, he could not remember, but whatever, this was his ship, he could do whatever and go wherever he felt like! His grin grew ever so slightly as he looked up to the sky, he felt like going flying, and with the capabilities that Franky had installed into the ship, he knew he could achieve that dream. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled out, since he did not feel like searching for the ship maker, His voice easily reached the entirety of the ship, and he soon heard the cyborg rattling, coming out from the grass that his captain stood on. The rubbery jaw hit the round, amazed at something so cool, he did not know Franky was a plant too! That was too much, but after yelling it out, and listening to the archaeologist question whether or not the cyber could photo… Photosensitive? Something, and the punch he got from the metal man, he was finally ready to order his first order of the day.

"Franky! Lets go flying!"

The grin on the face of Cutty Flam was enough to tell Luffy that his order had been accepted. And within moments, the Thousand Sunny had undergone the necessary transformations, the back opening up to allow the large air cannon full view of the ocean behind, and the newly installed winged protrusions of the lion ship to e extended. Everyone held on tight, and the excited captain held onto the figurehead, his chin perched upon the top of the lion, moments before the air cannon exploded, sending the ship off into the sky, their course was uncharted, but they would find their way around someway, after all, they had plenty of those Log Pose thingies that Nami liked so much. Onwards to adventure.