Chapter Two

Nami and Sanji had eventually let a very confused Luffy go, and even encouraged him to finish off the stolen food. Based on the look of suspicion sent their way it was obvious Luffy had no idea what was going on. Sanji, for one, intended to keep it that way.

So while Nami kept Luffy busy, Sanji had first woken Robin and the pair had called for Brook to join them before heading into the men's quarters. Now awake, all eyes were on him, and one eye in particular looked ready to kill.

"You'd better have a really good reason for this," Zoro snapped.

Shitty swordsman. Sanji worried his bottom lip, wondering how he could share the news without causing a stampede to the galley. He needed to ease them into it. Warn them that rushing in to see it for themselves was the last thing they should do when Luffy had no idea he's been dead for four weeks.

"Luffy!" Robin gasped wide-eyed.

Sanji mentally kicked himself as Robin rushed past him and out the door. He should have told her on the walk over. How'd he forget that she would do what was second nature to her and check things out on her own?

There was a moment of shared confusion between Zoro, Chopper, Usopp, Franky and Brook, but it was brief and before Sanji could stop them they were on Robin's heels.

Sanji's frown lifted into a grin. There was no helping it. Even if he'd managed to explain everything he doubted he'd be able to stop them. The important thing was that he was back. No. They were back.

"Ow!" Luffy complained blocking the next punch to his head. In truth, Nami was definitely pulling her punches, but the reaction was second nature to him.

"Do you know what you put us through!?" Nami ignored his protest, "do you have any idea what it's been like?"

Before Luffy could answer, he was pulled into a tight embrace and Nami was in tears again. "I'm so happy you're OK though!"

"I can't tell if you're happy or pissed off! Can't you just pick one?"

But he didn't think Nami heard him. She was squeezing him so hard that he'd surely have a few broken ribs if he hadn't been a rubber man. Having no clue at all what to do -in large part because he had absolutely no idea what he'd done wrong in the first place- Luffy tried his best to comfort her.

"There, there," he said, patting her head in his best impression of motherly comfort. It was the wrong thing to do because angry Nami was back in an instant.

"It's not a joke, Luffy!" She scolded, pushing him back so she could glare at him. Luffy's mind was racing, trying to connect the dots to figure out what he was missing here. He felt a headache coming on and was quickly getting annoyed with the whole situation. Still, his annoyance was a mere shadow of his concern.

"I know," he said quietly, causing Nami to calm down enough to listen. "You and Sanji are both really upset, so I know it's not a joke. But I won't know what I did wrong until you tell me."

Nami bit her lip, her eyes searching his for something. "You really don't remember?"

Luffy shook his head. Dread was starting to tighten his chest. "Is… everyone OK? No one got hurt, right?"

Nami gave a humorless chuckle and shook her head, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. " Idiot," she scoffed, but a small smile pulled at her lips. "No. No, everyone's OK now."

When Robin pushed open the galley door, she was prepared for some kind of trick. An illusion, perhaps. Something an enemy concocted to cause confusion before attacking. But as soon as Luffy's eyes met her own, she knew in her heart that this was no trick. Somehow, through powers she'd never assume to understand, he was alive. There was no room for caution, not even a small place in her survivor's mind that told her to be careful.

She stopped herself from running but just barely. When her arms wrapped Luffy in a hug and she felt his warmth, his opacity, she didn't fight the stinging in her eyes. When he'd died she'd lost herself. A shadow crept into her heart and grew roots there, spreading and worming deeper and deeper. She loved all of her friends dearly. Her family. But the one person who smoothed out all their rough edges was taken from them, and the unity that seemed infallible before was becoming strained.

But he was back now. Impossible as it had seemed this morning the mirror had worked. She'd have questions later- many, many questions- but for now she let the relief wash over her. When Luffy finally returned the hug she couldn't hold back a titter of laughter. She released him and took a step back and sure enough, just as she knew they would, the rest of the crew crowded in.

She watched as Chopper, who hadn't slept a single night un-plagued by night terrors, didn't hesitate a second before throwing himself into Luffy's arms. She smiled at Usopp and Franky's unrestrained tears and the look of absolute joy that lit up Zoro's face in a way she'd never seen before. Brook still hadn't moved from his place in the doorway, but Robin knew he was drinking in the scene. He needed time to reassure himself it wasn't just a dream. She understood.

Her eyes met Nami's-who didn't seem too keen on leaving Luffy's side despite the group hug that was threatening to knock her over- and Robin silently thanked her. Nami didn't give up, even though accepting death was the most reasonable thing to do. In most cases, the only option. Nami seemed to get the message and offered a teary smile.

Luffy had fallen asleep against Zoro's shoulder and eventually slid down until he was sprawled across the man's lap.

The rest of the Straw Hat pirates were wide awake, just beginning to come down from the high of their excitement. They'd yet to leave the galley and were sitting in a strange looking cluster on the floor. At the center of the cluster was the formerly deceased Monkey D. Luffy, who was snoring softly and every so often broke the heavy silence with a quiet, indiscernible mumble.

The night had been a mess of tears and laughter, drinking and food. It didn't matter that the fridge was now truly bare or that the last bottle of sake was bone dry. They'd stop for supplies tomorrow and they'd throw a real party. A feast, Sanji had said. And Brook had promised to write a new song just for the occasion, and Nami had offered extra funds to replenish the alcohol supply.

Zoro hadn't had anything to offer besides his services as a human pillow. Luffy never needed an invitation to settle against him anyway. The invitation was always there, unspoken but understood.

He knew Luffy was out cold, would probably stay this way until his stomach woke him up, and so it seemed like the right time to start the conversation they all knew was coming.

"We need to get our story straight," he said, breaking the silence and drawing everyone's eyes off the sleeping boy on his lap.

"Our story?" Chopper asked.

"Luffy-san has no memory of his death, " Brook spoke softly, "speaking from experience, I do not think that's a bad thing."

"I wish we could forget, too, " Usopp sighed. Zoro understood, but he didn't agree. The cook spoke up before he could voice his opinion, however.

"We can't let ourselves forget what happened. This is a second chance to get things right. None of us want to live this again, right?"

The pained looks from the rest of the crew said enough. They all lived through a special kind of Hell these last weeks, and no amount of alcohol or celebrating would erase the experience. Grief wasn't something you could just turn off with the flick of a switch. Not when you'd dug the grave yourself.

In the end an agreement was made. When Luffy came to find out the rumor of his untimely death, as they were sure he would, they would downplay the event. Luffy had been hurt in a scuffle with Blackbeard. He was assumed dead and reported as such. Chopper saved him, but Luffy woke with no memory of the entire incident.

Lying felt wrong. He knew they all felt that way. Chopper had teared up at the part about saving Luffy's life, guilt washing over his face. It was a lie. Luffy was gone before they got to him and there was nothing Chopper could have done. They'd told him so endlessly since that day, but the words fell on deaf ears.

Robin and Brook were both vocal supporters of the plan, though. Zoro wondered how much their own experiences played into it. They knew how memories could haunt a person. If they could spare Luffy from further harm, physical or mental, they would.

Satisfied that the crew seemed to be on the same page, Zoro voiced his next concern. "We don't know why Blackbeard targeted us in the first place, but we can't fall for the same trick twice. We stick in groups, no one leaves the ship alone. We keep doing night watch in pairs. Most importantly, Luffy doesn't leave our sight."

There were nods and sounds of affirmation all around.

It hadn't taken the death of one of their own for the Straw Hat pirates to realize they were more than just a crew. They were family. Luffy had collected them, hand picked them, pulled them into his world.

He'd built his home in each of their hearts.

And this time they'd let nothing stand in their way from protecting him.