CHAPTER 1

"LUFFY'S BIG CATCH"

A pair of seagulls swooped low through the clear azure sky, skimming a few feet above the pristine cerulean sea. The midday sun shone brightly, its powerful yet soothing rays falling down upon everything moving through the dangerous waters of the fabled Grand Line. A muffled squawk echoed in the air as a pelican gently glided towards the small caravel, flapping its wings as it paused in midair before dropping down upon the wooden railings at the stern of the ship. Puzzled, it cocked its head at the grinning face staring back at it from beneath the yellow straw hat.

"Oi, Sanji. Can we eat him?"

The bird's eyes widened, and it started moving back.

"Baka!"

A soft feminine fist rapped the young man on the top of his head. Rubbing the fresh bump on his head, the lanky boy stood and removed his precious hat, scratching the mop of black hair beneath it.

"You think he's too skinny?"

The orange-haired young women sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Luffy, he's a delivery bird. How are we supposed to get the newspaper if you eat him?"

The slender girl walked up to the anxious bird and retrieved a folded up paper from the bag around its neck. She deposited a few beri and turned away when the pelican rustled its wings and cawed. She glanced back and angrily gave it a few more beri.

"They keep raising the prices, I'm not gonna buy it anymore," she threatened.

The delivery bird ignored her warnings, though, flapping its wings and heading back into the crystal clear sky.

"You always say that," the long-nosed boy sitting cross-legged on the ground commented. "It's not like we don't have the money now."

"That's not the point," the girl replied, pointing a finger at him. "It's the principal of paying so much for a lousy newspaper."

His eyes steeped in concentration, the long-nosed young man carefully continued his work experimenting with the collection of dials in his bag.

"Then don't buy it," he suggested.

"We probably missed a lot while we were up there. How else am I supposed to catch up?"

"Nami-san!"

Hearts glazed over his eyes, the blonde-headed cook coolly slid beside his orange-haired goddess. He gazed longingly up into the sky, taking a small drag on the cigarette between his fingers.

"On a day as beautiful as this, it is only fitting a flower such as yourself is kept cool and refreshed. Your drink."

"Thank you, Sanji-kun."

"Sanji!" the dark-haired boy smiled as he hopped to his feet. "It's lunchtime, right?"

The cook's lone visible eye scowled at their carefree captain.

"You just ate breakfast two hours ago," he said flatly. "And we're out of meat, anyway."

"Ah…" he replied frowning. "Can't we get some more?"

"Not until we reach the next island," Sanji answered.

"I see…Nami, when do we reach the next island?" Luffy quickly called.

Leaning casually against the rail, the navigator glanced at the Log Pose on her wrist.

"We're still on course," Nami said without looking up from the paper's headline. "We reach it whenever we reach it."

Hearing this, Luffy plopped sadly to the deck, his head glumly resting on his knees.

"Oi, Luffy," Usopp said, finishing up his work. "You could always try to catch something."

In a flash, the boy was on his feet and eagerly grinning from ear to ear.

"Yosh! Let's go, Usopp." Luffy laughed as he grabbed his arm and dragged him down into the cabin.

In his haste, Luffy kicked over Usopp's knapsack, releasing several pachinko, which rolled silently towards the snoring swordsman napping in the corner. Hands behind his head, Zoro ignored the commotions around him, content to sleep the day away.

Maneuvering down the set of stairs to the small table set up beside the mast, Sanji bowed as he carefully lowered the tray in his hand and slid the remaining glass onto the table in front of the beautiful woman sitting quietly.

"Robin-chan, a royal beverage for fit for a stunning queen such as yourself."

"Thank you, Cook-san," she smiled sweetly, turning back to her book.

As he spun to head back inside to the kitchen, Usopp, Luffy, and a dazed Chopper burst from the door, knocking Sanji to the deck. With poles and a pair of buckets in their hands they raced to the side of the ship.

"Oi, watch it," Sanji exclaimed, nearly losing the cigarette from his lips.

An hour later, things had grown silent on the Going Merry as it drifted along the gentle ocean currents. Zoro still lay napping in the somewhat shaded corner of the stern, his snoring apparently light enough not to distract Robin, who sat comfortably on a folding chair, her nose again in the thick history book. Lounging on the long deck chair at the front of the ship, Nami flipped through her newspaper as she kicked her sandals off, while the four remaining Straw Hat pirates sat silently along the railing at the starboard side of the ship. Each one had a long fishing pole in his hand, and a bucket filled with wiggling earthworms sat between them. An old net was lying on the deck behind them, waiting to be filled with their catch. Unfortunately, none of them had managed to get even a bite.

"Does it always take this long?" Chopper asked quietly.

"Of course!" Usopp said, raising his head high. "In waters around the world, all fish fear the name of the great Captain Usopp. Why, the mere mention of my name sends their quivering bodies to the deepest depths, where only the worthiest are called upon to be caught by the fearless and brave Captain—"

"Oh, a bite!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Ah, you see…even now the sea has given in, sending me an offering to appease the great fisherman, Usopp the—"

"Ah, I'll grab the net," Chopper cried.

Usopp continued his monologue as Sanji and Chopper eagerly awaited Luffy to reel in his prize. As the captain reared back and yanked his shoulders, his line and the object hooked on the other end flew onto the deck behind him. All four of them looked with wide eyes, before their faces dropped in sadness. A broken wooden plank had gotten tangled in his line.

"Where's the fish?" Luffy asked innocently.

"That is your fish," Sanji sighed. "Let's try again…"

The quartet reset their fishing lines and quickly cast them out into the depths. Disappointed at his last attempt, Luffy stood and stretched his arm out as far as he could behind him, extending his hand several hundred feet beyond the other side of the ship. Swiftly, he snapped his arm forwards, tossing the line twice as far as any of the others.

Time seemed to crawl by. Chopper and Usopp struggled to avoid dozing off, while Sanji found himself lost in his daydreams again. Luffy calmly sat looking out towards his line, reaching a hand into the bucket beside him and munching on the occasional handful of worms. He calmly began glancing around the ship, taking in the relaxing atmosphere aboard the boat, when he felt his pole begin to bend. Startled, he leapt to his feet, standing on the rail as he pulled back. The unexpected movement of their captain made Usopp and Chopper fall back onto the deck. Sanji, angrily awoken from his fantasy, stared at the three of them before noticing Luffy struggling.

"Ah, Luffy…hang on."

"I hope it's not another piece of junk," Usopp murmured as he slowly sat up.

Chopper stood and peered anxiously above the wooden railing.

"Ooohh, it's really big," Luffy smiled. "I can tell. Sanji, be ready to catch it."

"Hmph, just make sure not to let it get away," the cook scoffed.

Hearing the commotion below, Nami grudgingly rose from her seat and looked briefly down at Luffy balancing carefully on the top of the railing, the others grasping his feet and legs to keep him from falling overboard.

"You guys…" she muttered with annoyance before raising her voice. "Could you keep it down?"

"Ah, Nami," Luffy chuckled. "You're just in time to see our lunch."

Folding her arms across her skimpy red tank top, she looked on with amusement as the four strained to pull in whatever it was they had caught. With a loud oomph, Luffy jerked his body back. His momentum was too great, and he tumbled back to the deck, hitting his backside against the mast. Beneath him, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper stumbled back as well, though their eyes instantly locked onto the object soaring up through the air and landing hard on the deck. The loud crash created by Luffy's catch awakened Zoro, who jumped up as if a battle was about to begin. Robin nonchalantly looked up from her page before resuming her reading.

"Are you guys okay?" Nami called, walking down the stairs.

She froze as she noticed the figure sprawled on the deck before her.

"Eh—"

Luffy rose to his feet and dusted off his hat before he noticed Nami staring. He wondered over beside her as Sanji and the others also managed to get back up. The four of them joined Nami in staring at their catch.

"That's—"

"Whoa—"

"Ooohh!"

"Eh, what's all the noise?" Zoro started, before he saw them all looking down.

The six Straw Hat pirates were speechless as they studied the man that lay unconscious on their deck. The tattered sleeveless white shirt and royal blue pants covering his tanned body were soaked and torn in several places, including where Luffy's hook had apparently snagged around his belt. His disheveled brown hair lay matted to his youthful face, concealing his closed eyes. They looked at one another, unsure of what to do. Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Zoro and Chopper glanced at their captain, looking for a sign.

"Where's my fish?!" Luffy exclaimed.

Several minutes later, after the others had consoled their captain on yet another wasted catch, the crew of the Going Merry gathered together to quickly figure out what to do with their unexpected guest. While Zoro and Usopp argued in favor of tossing him back overboard, Chopper instinctively began examining the young man. After a quick estimation of his condition, the young reindeer directed the others to help him.

"Oi, you sure about this, Chopper?" Zoro asked as he bent over.

"He's still alive. As ship's doctor it's my responsibility to help injured people on board," Chopper replied.

"Whatever you say," Zoro sighed, clutching the man around his waist and hoisting his limp body over his shoulder.

"Ah, be careful!" Chopper warned. "He's got several burns on his arm and shoulder and we don't know how injured he is internally."

"Right, I got it," Zoro nodded, moving towards the lower cabin and pushing open the door.

"Zoro!"

Startled, the swordsman turned. A loud thud echoed from the doorway as the stranger's head bounced off of the doorframe.

"What did I just say?!" Chopper exclaimed as he rushed forward to examine the large knot forming on the side of the man's head.

"Oi, Zoro!" Luffy shouted again. "Are you sure you don't see any fish on him?"

"Enough with the fish," Nami snapped, smacking her carefree captain on the back of his head and knocking off his hat.

"What was that for?" Luffy yelled, catching his precious straw hat before the sea breeze carried it away.

Amidst the back and forth banter between Luffy and Nami, Chopper again lectured Zoro on being more careful with his patient. When both pairs had finished, the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates watched Zoro follow Chopper into the cabin, closing the door behind him. A brief silence followed, until Luffy slowly retrieved his fishing pole and returned to his place atop the railing along the side of the ship.

"This isn't really the time to be fishing," Nami scolded. "What do we do about that guy?"

"Chopper will fix him up," Luffy answered without turning around.

"She means after that," Usopp explained, folding his arms across his overalls. "We don't know anything about who he is…what if he's an enemy? Or a thief or bounty hunter or even a deadly assassin sent after our heads?"

"Then I'll kick his ass," Luffy answered, casting his line into the water.

Nami sighed, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "But we don't know where he came from or even if he's alone. Have you thought that maybe—"

"Nami-san," Sanji interrupted. "Luffy's right. Let Chopper do his work. If that guy wakes up and intends to do anything to harm you or Robin-chan, I'll personally filet his ass."

"What about the rest of us?" Usopp frowned.

"You idiots are on your own," Sanji replied, taking out a cigarette from his jacket.

Nami shook her head and glanced up at the other female on board. She met Robin's eyes for a moment.

"Oooohh, another bite!"

As their captain nearly fell overboard again, Sanji and Usopp quickly jumped forward and grabbed hold of Luffy's legs. The two struggled to hold on, as Luffy stood nearly horizontal, trying to reel in whatever he'd caught. Sighing with frustration, Nami moved past the three, heading up the stairs to the small deck at the stern. She eyed the dark-haired woman, who was still sitting comfortably in her chair with her nose buried in her book. Robin had stayed quiet throughout the brief discussion.

"What do you think, Robin?" Nami asked.

"About what?"

"About the guy Luffy caught," Nami responded.

Robin smiled, folding her book. "Whatever the captain says is fine with me."

"Hmph," Nami mumbled, her attention turning to the trio of Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji tumbling back onto the deck as a giant blue finned fish flopped around behind them.

"Wooohooo!" Luffy and Usopp shouted.

An hour or so later, inside the cabin, Chopper sat busily at his worktable, pounding out some herbs onto a roll of bandages. Once the paste was completely covering the white cotton strips, he hopped off of his stool and hurried over beside the bed where the man had been resting. Squeezing past the rest of the crew that had gathered around the stranger, Chopper began wrapping the bandages over a fairly large and severe burn around the young man's shoulder. Once finished, Chopper piled a damp cloth atop the stranger's forehead and pulled a blanket up over his bare upper body. The doctor had discarded his sopping wet shirt and pants and tossed them at the foot of the bed.

"Yosh. I've done all I can do," Chopper announced to the others.

"So he's not going to die?" Luffy asked, studying the man's face.

"He should be fine," Chopper replied. "I treated the two most severe burns and also the bruise on his head from Zoro…but I still need to watch over him for a few hours."

"Good! Now we can relax, right?" Luffy grinned. "Sanji, cook my fish!"

"Wait a minute, Luffy," Nami said suddenly. "Shouldn't we talk about this? We can't leave Chopper alone with him…what if he wakes up?"

"Eh?" the reindeer gasped.

"Well we don't know anything about him," Usopp continued. "He could be a dangerous, bloodthirsty criminal that will try and strangle you as soon as you turn your back on him…"

"I-I'll be fine," Chopper stammered. "I…I-I'm strong too."

"I'll stay as well," Robin offered, sitting down on one of the wooden chairs.

"See. It'll be okay," Luffy chuckled. "Sanji, lunch!"

"I know, I know," the blonde cook sighed. "If anything does happen, Robin-chan, I'll be at your side immediately. My love is always-"

"We get it," Zoro groaned, pushing the now irate cook out the door.

"Come and get us as soon as he wakes up," Nami told them, raising her voice above the loud shouting of the two men outside. "I think we all would like to ask him some questions."

"Like about the fish," Luffy smiled.

"You," Nami sighed, grabbing his cheek and dragging him out the door. "Enough about your stupid fish."

As the cabin door slammed shut, Robin turned and grabbed a book from one of the nearby bookshelves. Flipping it open, she quickly became lost within its pages as she moved her chair near the door. Glancing at the woman with her back to him, Chopper moved closer to the bed and began observing their unconscious guest. He poked and prodded his patient for a few minutes, checking and rechecking the bandages around his wounds. After nearly half an hour of monitoring the man's condition, Chopper removed the cloth from his patient's forehead and squeezed out what little water was left in it. As the reindeer turned to rewet the rag, he suddenly noticed a hesitant pair of eyes staring at him. Several silent seconds passed as Chopper and the man lying before him eyed one another. Chopper's mouth opened to speak, trying to call out to Robin, but his trembling lower lip stopped any semblance of sound from coming out. Shifting slightly in the bed, the young man grimaced slightly as he turned towards the nervous doctor. Sliding his bandaged arm out from beneath the blanket, he stretched a hand out.

"Well we don't know anything about him…. He could be a dangerous, bloodthirsty criminal that will try and strangle you as soon as you turn your back on him…"

Usopp's warning suddenly entered the young reindeer's mind, and Chopper's eyes widened as panic flooded every muscle in his body.

'I saw it when I was treating him…how strong he looks,' Chopper thought to himself.

The man was obviously a fighter. And now his rough and calloused hand was reaching out towards him, like the cold hand of death ready to claim his soul. Chopper felt his body tense up with fear. The man's mouth cracked open, and slowly whispered the last words Chopper knew he would ever hear.

"…T-Thank-"

"AAAAAHHHHH!!"

Chopper screamed, running straight past Robin and out of the cabin.

"…You…" the man stumbled, his head collapsing back onto the bed in exhaustion.