Well, this chapter was ready sooner than I thought, and I decided to get it up rather than wait because not much happened in the first chapter. c:

Chapter 2 – The Ghost Ship

Luffy drifted slowly back to consciousness, fighting off the pull of sleep. He had been having an interesting dream; it had been something to do with ships and the sea. What had woken him? A muffled thump drew his attention to the door to his room; it was slowly opening, and he could hear whispers and shuffling footsteps coming from the other side. Luffy watched with interest. It couldn't be Nami – she usually just barged in, and if she had been trying to be sneaky, he'd never have heard a thing. And even if Brook had arrived by now, he surely wouldn't be creeping around like that – when the cheerful musician entered a room, you usually found out about it very quickly.

The door creaked open a little further, and a long nose poked around the corner, followed by a pair of eyes. The eyes moved back and forth, quickly taking in the room before homing in on the bed, then flicking up to its occupant. As the eyes met Luffy's now very wide-awake ones, the intruder gave a small yelp and disappeared from sight, followed shortly by twin thuds of bodies hitting the floor.

"Ouch!" hissed a quiet voice.

"Sorry!" came the whispered reply. "You didn't warn me you were going to jump back like that!"

"I told you to stay back until I gave the all clear! I didn't expect him to be awake!"

"He's awake?" squeaked the second voice.

"Hey, you guys," Luffy said. "You know I can hear you, right? Just come in already."

A heartbeat of silence, then two boys shuffled guiltily into the room. The long-nosed boy appeared close to Luffy's age, with a mess of curly black hair. The other had a mop of fluffy brown hair and looked a few years younger. They stood close together, gazes darting up to Luffy before dropping down to the floor.

Luffy grinned. "Hi, I'm Luffy!" he said. "I just moved in today."

"Y-yeah, we know," the older boy said. "Everyone's been in an uproar all week getting everything ready for you."

"Really?" Luffy said excitedly. "I can't wait to see it all! What's this place like?"

The boys seemed to be relaxing; clearly Luffy's cheerfulness was catching. "There's all kinds of stuff! Lots of rooms to play hide-and-seek in, secret passages, a big library with all kinds of books— " The black-haired boy was building up steam as he went; it took over a minute to list what he considered the most important aspects of the house, and he was about to move on to the grounds when the smaller boy tugged at his sleeve and spoke up.

"U-um, shouldn't we introduce ourselves? It's probably kind of weird for him, having us in his room when he doesn't even know our names…"

The long-nosed boy rubbed at the back of his head. "Ah…right! Sorry, Luffy-sama!"

Luffy frowned. "You don't need to call me that," he said. "Just Luffy is fine."

"…Right," the boy said, starting to smile a little. "A-anyway, my name's Usopp. I know everything about this estate. My dad does all the carpentry and repairs and tends the grounds, but the truth is, this place would fall to pieces if I weren't here to run things!" He had stepped closer to the bed as he spoke, and the last few words were said in a confidential tone that implied Luffy was being entrusted with a great secret.

"Yes, yes," the younger boy said, pushing Usopp to the side and approaching the bed himself. "You shouldn't believe everything Usopp tells you…though it's true he does know lots about the island and the mansion and stuff. U-um, I'm Tony. My grandma runs a pharmacy in the village. I'm going to be a doctor someday!"

"That's awesome!" Luffy said. "I bet you'll be great! Maybe you'll help me get better, too!" Tony blushed and squirmed, mumbling. He seemed pleased by the compliment, though Luffy felt sure he'd heard an insult somewhere among the muttered words. Luffy stared for a second, then broke into a soft chuckle.

"A-are you…very sick?" Usopp asked.

Luffy shrugged. "I guess. I get tired a lot, and I've been ill on and off ever since I was a baby. They don't let me outside much, either." His gaze hardened. "But that's gonna change. I'm going to get stronger, and someday, I'll go and see the world. Every bit of it."

"All right!" Usopp cried out, startling Luffy from his thoughts. "I, the great Usopp, will assist you in this goal! With me to help you, you can't possibly fail!"

"I'll help you too, Luffy!" Tony leaned forward onto the bed. "I'll become the best doctor in the world and make you stronger than anyone, I promise!"

Luffy's answering grin was the biggest he'd ever given. "Good! That's settled, then. Come on, Usopp, tell me more about this island. Do you have adventures here? Is there lots of cool stuff to explore?"

Usopp smiled broadly. "Of course there is! This is the best place in the world for adventures!"

The two boys settled themselves at the foot of Luffy's bed, and regaled him with stories of life on the island. Swimming, fishing, hiking through forests and into caves hidden behind waterfalls – each new tale sent his excitement soaring to new heights, and Luffy couldn't wait to see it all for himself.

"—and then, of course, there are all the local legends!" Usopp said, after at least an hour of adventuring exploits.

Luffy's eyes lit up. "Legends?"

"Yeah! This place is swarming with them! There's a spring up on the mountain that's supposed to flow with wine instead of water at midnight once a month. But which night it is changes every time, so it's hard to catch. And if you stand on the north shore of the island after a storm, you can hear a woman's voice."

"It's supposed to tell you the future," Tony said, "but no one can understand the words."

"Even this estate has a few wonders of its own!" Usopp declared proudly.

"It does?" Luffy leaned forward. "What are they? Tell me!"

"Well," Usopp said, "there's the garden. It's full of pixies."

"Usopp—" began Tony.

"It is! And if you don't put out milk for them, they start stealing the vegetables!"

"But the maid's cats drink the milk! I've seen them doing it."

"O-obviously those were the pixies in disguise!"

"Are you sure?"

"I know what I'm talking about, Tony!"

Luffy looked eagerly at the two boys. "What else is there?"

"The forest," Usopp said seriously. "There are unicorns in it."

"Really? Real unicorns?"

"Absolutely! Tony here almost got gored by one a couple years back. If I hadn't been with him, he'd have been killed for sure!"

"All I saw was a tree branch," Tony said doubtfully, "And I hit a rock when you pushed me out of the way! My head was sore for weeks."

"Hah! You were clearly too busy staring at the branch to see the unicorn! It was really fast, you know!"

Luffy watched the exchange with amusement. Tony was probably right, but Usopp's version was much more exciting, and Luffy decided to believe, at least until he found out for himself.

Meanwhile, Usopp had let the subject of unicorns drop, and moved on to the next item of interest. "There's a staircase, third floor in the left wing, which always creaks horribly unless you walk it backwards."

"I thought your dad fixed that."

"Well," Usopp said, "he tried…" Luffy decided he'd have to test it out as soon as he was allowed out of his room.

"And then," Usopp said with the air of a showman gearing up for his big finale, "there's the ghost ship."

"Ghost ship?" Luffy asked, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"That one's real," Tony said quietly. "I saw it once, too."

"The bay at the south end of the mansion grounds is haunted," Usopp explained. "On misty nights, you can sometimes see the outline of a ship in the water. If you keep looking straight at it you can see a bit more, sometimes, but if you close your eyes or look away, it'll disappear in an instant!"

"So cool…" Luffy said. "What kind of ship is it?"

"No one knows for sure," Tony said, "but Usopp thinks it's a pirate ship."

"Really? Awesome! Why do you think it's a pirate ship, Usopp?"

"Because once, when I was really little, I saw the ship, and heard someone on board singing. It…sounded like a pirate song."

"You heard someone?"

"Yeah, I really did! I'd never lie about something as important as a ghost."

"And this ship, it only comes out at night?" Luffy asked.

"Misty nights," Usopp corrected. "Well, sometimes days, too, but mostly nights. It's always misty, though. I think it probably doesn't want to be spotted by just anyone." The boy puffed up his chest proudly. "Clearly, it knows the great Usopp is worthy of learning its secrets!"

Luffy could hardly believe his luck. He'd been on the island for only a few hours, and already he had a solid lead to what was sure to be an exciting adventure. In his own backyard, no less! "Right!" he said firmly. "I'm going to find the ship, get on board, and meet this mystery voice!"

"But Luffy," Tony said, "…it's a ghost ship. There might not be anything solid for you to get aboard on."

"And it doesn't let everyone see it," Usopp added. "I-I mean, not that it wouldn't show itself to you," he corrected himself hastily. "You're such a great guy, who wouldn't want to meet you? I'm sure it will! Definitely!"

Luffy laughed. Of course he would see the ship. He had a talent for getting people to like him; this mystery voice would be no exception. He opened his mouth to ask Usopp another question about the ship, but sharp footsteps suddenly sounded from the hall, and a moment later, the not-quite-closed door was flung open.

"What exactly," Nami growled, in a voice that promised doom to the unlucky souls who had provoked her wrath, "is going on here?"

Usopp gulped and started shaking; Tony fell right onto the floor, and tried to hide behind the bedpost, though it wasn't very effective as most of him was still sticking out. Luffy started to shrink back into the bed, then gathered his courage and sat up straighter. "My friends and I were talking," he said, staring at the nurse with a defiant frown. "They were telling me about the island."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later!" Nami snapped. "You only slept for a couple of hours; you need your rest after that long trip!" She swung around to glare at Luffy's visitors. "You two," she hissed. "Out. And don't let me catch you in here again without permission!"

Not needing any further encouragement, the boys scrambled to their feet and raced for the door. "See you later, Luffy!" called Usopp as he disappeared from sight.

Luffy gave a frustrated sigh as he leaned back into his pillows. "They weren't hurting me," he mumbled. "It was fun."

Nami's expression softened a little as she moved to a desk and began preparing the boy's medicine. "I know you want to have fun and play like everyone else, Luffy. And we're all going to do our best to make that happen for you here. But you have to take it slowly. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

"I know," Luffy said, shoulders slumping in resignation. "I'll be careful." He took the medicine from Nami and swallowed it quickly. "You can go," he said, already beginning to feel sleepy again. "I'll rest. Promise."

"You'd better!" Nami said sternly, then smiled. "You'll have your chance, Luffy." She leaned forward and poked his nose with a finger. "And remember, if you find any treasure, you have to tell me first." Nami filled Luffy's water glass, then headed for the door. "I'll be nearby if you need me," she said. "Sweet dreams." And then Luffy was alone again, eyes already sliding shut.

Hmm, I ended two chapters in a row with Luffy falling asleep. Oops. Didn't mean for things to work out that way, it just seemed like a good place to stop.

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