Chopper hummed a merry tune while mixing a rumble ball. Even though he only needed them for one transformation, he felt comfortable having some on hand.

Usopp stepped in with a smirk on his face.

"Oi, Chopper."

"Hey there, Usopp."

Usopp chuckled. "I have a bit of gossip I'd like to share with you."

"Oh really? What?"

"Hee hee! It's about our dear captain-kun. He's-"

Luffy punched him against the table, breaking it. "YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TELL ANYBODY!"

"AIEEEK!"

Nami, meanwhile, was pacing across the lawn.

"Let's see... He really wants me to try, however, I'm not so desperate as to beg him to notice me. What do I do?" She looked up and smiled to see Luffy dragging Usopp out of Chopper's office with at least seven bumps on his head. Nami rushed up to Luffy and grabbed his arm.

"AH!"

"Hey, sensho-sama! What're you up to?"

"Uhh..." He pulled away. "Usopp and I are going to the aquiarium, see ya."

"Cool! Can I come?"

"N-no! W-we're gonna be talking about guy stuff! Giant chicken thighs, robots, y-you're not interested in that! Aha ha..." He ran away, holding his breath.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Luffy-kun, why are you running from your love?"

"She's not my love! I'm not staying in love, this feeling will be gone soon."

"Heh heh, it's not that simple. You can't run from your feelings, Luffy. Why are you tryng to run from them anyway?"

"... I can't fall in love. I'm going to be the Pirate King! Falling in love before I did that is a sin. I want to rule the sea with you guys, not as any of you as my lovers, but as my family, with Robin and Franky as our parents. And if I ever did get married... what would happen to me? What would happen to my wife? Would we ever have kids? If so, what would happen to them? It'd be too much pressure. I can't fall in love... I'm too terrified and too busy to."

"..." Usopp punched him against the glass. "YOU'RE FIGHTING OFF LITERALLY THE ENTIRE WORLD AND BEING IN LOVE SCARES YOU!? MAN UP!"

"NO!"

"Well, try as you might, you won't escape love."

Luffy shuddered. "I will! I'll escape! I-I just have to avoid her-"

Nami stepped in. "I brought you boys some snacks!" Luffy's mouth dropped open with fear.

"It seems she's not gonna let you."

"Uh, I'm not hungry. Enjoy, Usopp," Luffy said quickly as he left.

Nami tossed the plate at Usopp's head. "No! Senpai, you will notice me!"

"NAMI-SWAAAA-"

"Oi, Franky! Could you do me a favor!?"

"... She ignored me again..."

...

Nami popped up in front of Luffy.

"Hi!"

"AH! N-Nami, you have got to stop-"

"Come with me! I wanna show you something!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him down under the deck.

"Wh-what?"

Nami grabbed a pair of curtains. "You can't swim," she said, "so I decided to show you the beauty of the underwater sea."

She ripped the curtains off, revealing the most beautiful thing Luffy had ever seen.

The sea was a light blue, and the coral came in every color one could think of. The pearls in the open clams sparkled in the lit water, and the fish came in all size and color, blending perfectly with the ocean.

Luffy's eyes widened in astonishment, and he smiled in awe. He looked up at Nami and blushed.

The pearls were shining behind her, making her glow. The coral behind her was perfectly placed as if forming a robe. And the bubbles seemed to form a crown. She looked at him and they locked eyes.

She smiled and took his hands.

"Wanna stay a while longer...?"

"... Nope!" Luffy rushed out in the blink of an eye.

Nami looked down and sighed. What was she doing wrong?

Luffy was hugging Franky by the waste.

"Franky, help me...!"

"Huh...?"

Robin sprouted her hands and held Luffy up to her face.

"What's wrong with you? You've been acting rather paranoid lately."

"I'm the victim of a violent crime! Franky, I need you to build me a sanctuary! Please build me a sanctuary! Bwah haaa!"

"... Uhh..."

"What're you talking about?"

Usopp snickered. "Victim of l-" Luffy punched him off the ship.

Robin noticed Luffy's face was red when Nami burst onto the deck. "Hey~"

Luffy seemed as if he might have a heart attack as his face got redder. Robin placed a hand on his chest and found his heart was beating like a rabbit. She chuckled.

"Franky! Start working on that sanctuary!"

"Alright, alright."

Nami skipped over to Luffy. "You're building a sanctuary? Mind if I watch?"

"Uhhh... U-Usopp fell overboard! Nami, go help him!"

"Huh!?" Nami ran and dived over deck. "USOPP!"

By the time she brought him back up to the boat, Luffy was already gone. She smacked Usopp on the head.

"Baka! You made me miss my shot with sensho-sama! Why are you always relying on the damsel in distress to save you!?"

"G-gomenasai..."

"That's 1,000 belis for this! Grr!"

The two were soon covered by the shadow of a rather large ship.

...

Franky banged away at the construction of the sanctuary.

"Please! Please Franky, finish quickly! Please please please, hurry up!"

"You can't rush art! And what do you need a sanctuary for?"

"Um-"

"EEEEYAAAAAAAAH!"

Luffy was saved by the cries of Usopp and Nami. He and everyone else (Zoro was asleep) rushed out on deck to see what the matter was.

It was a large and rather intimidating ship with a hell load of passengers on board. Nami lightly screamed and hugged Luffy, who turned red and tossed her off.

"Oi!" a large man called. "You're the Mugiwara no Kaizoukuden, right!?"

"Did the flag not make it obvious?"

"We're the Ginorga Bean Pirates! We're here to form an allowance with you guys!"

So some of the crew (not all of them could fit on the ship) were on the Thousand Sunny talking with the Straw Hats. The Captain's name was Slither.

"So what do you want with my crew?" Luffy asked.

"There's a certain Navy Soldier I wanna see dead. So I propose we team up to kill him."

"Yosh," Luffy said with a nod, "it's a deal."

"Okay," Nami cheered as she stepped in, making Luffy jump with fear. "I'll start the corse right now!"

"A-alright," Luffy said quickly. "You do that." He left.

"Wow," Slither said, "what a beautiful woman you are."

"Oh uh, th-thank you..."

"Would you like to hang out with me sometime...?"

Nami thought maybe she could use this to get Luffy jealous.

"Alright!"

She stepped out of the room with him.

"Hey, Luffy, Slither-kun and I are going out!"

"Oh-"

"EHHH!? Nami-san, you're cheating on me!?"

Nami punched him in the gut.

"Is that alright with you, Luffy?"

Luffy felt a bit angry. He really didn't want her to go, but this could be his chance to get rid of his feeling.

"A-as long as he's kind to you, it's fine with me. Let me know if he does anything bad to you, I'll help ya."

"Nami-san, don't go!"

Nami kicked him away.

"Thanks..."

She slowly walked back into the room. Well, since Luffy obviously wasn't interested, she might as well give Slither a shot.