Rainbow Tears

Selene watched. Her heart sank a little in her chest at how much Sanji was flirting with the birthday girl, the girl who was suppose to be her friend. She tried not to be jealous since no one really knew of her crush on the young blonde haired cook. Still, unable to handle it anymore, she slipped out of her chair and headed out to the deck. Crossing her arms over the railing she stared out at the horizon, watching a few ships pass by and some fish jumping up to catch bugs. She was unaware of how much time had passed but soon his presence appeared beside her.

"What are you doing out here?" Sanji asked.

"Just getting a bit of fresh air," Selene replied. "It was getting a little stuffy in there."

"Mind if I join you?" Sanji asked.

"It's your ship." Selene shrugged. She started out at the sea for a while before glancing over at him. With him on her right side she was unable to see his face.

Then, sensing her stare, he looked at her. "What?"

Selene blinked slowly before reaching for his hair. Pausing, she locked eyes with him. When he showed no sighs of protesting, she raked her fingers through his hair, pushing it aside to reveal the left side of his face. She smiled. He still had both eyes. And his left eyebrow was curly as well. Only the curl was near his nose. "You really are funny, Funny Eyebrow Sanji."

"Maybe so," Sanji said. "Now that you've seen my elusive left eye and eyebrow, how about I tell you how I ended up in this place?"

"You mean your family?"

Sanji twitched.

"I mean-"

"I know what you meant. And, yes, it's about them."

Selene smiled. "I would love to hear about them. If you want to tell me."

Sanji took a breath. Releasing it, he told her everything about his past.

Selene stretched out her body before relaxing back against her lawn chair. The sun was bright and warm so the two female pirates decided to get some sun while they had the chance. And she had been invited. It was such a nice day. She was glad to just relax for a while. Or at least rest enough with Chopper fussing over her. The small doctor had barely left her side since having discovered her secret. She wondered if anyone else had noticed. She glanced around at the crew. Brook was busy playing a tune on his violin, Luffy and Usopp were fishing, Franky and Zoro were just relaxing as much as the women were, and Sanji had disappeared into the kitchen a few minutes ago. As far as she could tell no one noticed a change in their doctor. She was glad for that.

"How you feeling?" Chopper whispered to her for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Just fine," Selene said. "You don't have to ask me that all the time."

"Sorry," Chopper said. "I'm just worried."

"And that's sweet but unnecessary," Selene said. "It won't change anything.

"Right." Chopper nodded.

"This is such a nice day!" Nami said while stretching out.

"Yes. It is." Robin turned to the next page of her book.

"Are we there yet?" Luffy asked.

"Shut up. Of course we're not," Nami said.

"This would be more exciting if the fish were biting," Usopp said.

"We need to go on an adventure," Luffy said.

"We are on an adventure," Sanji said exiting from the kitchen.

Selene looked up at him. Her heart raced. He looked so good in his black suit. It made him look like a butler with the tray of drinks in his hand. Then with the way he treated women he probably had that in mind or his subconscious did.

"Yeah. But it's boring," Luffy said looking over his shoulder.

"It'll get exciting soon enough," Sanji said before bowing to the women. "Hello, my darlings. I whipped up a special drink just for you."

"Thanks." Nami took a glass.

"Thank you." Robin took hers.

"And for you." Sanji held the last glass to Selene.

"Thanks, Sanji." Selene took the pink drink. Strawberry danced over her tongue when she took a sip. "This is amazing."

"And it's full of nutrients," Sanji said. "A good drink to boost the immune system."

Selene swallowed down a flinch. She forced herself to relax and remember he was all about keep the crew healthy.

"Very thoughtful of you," Robin said.

"Huh?" Sanji blinked.

"What is it, Sanji?" Selene asked when he stared at her.

"You have odd red spots all over your face," Sanji said reaching for her cheek.

"Oh, that." She pulled away from him. "It's nothing to worry about. It's just a skin condition I have." She waited for him to reply but he only continued to stare at her. "Really, Sanji. It'll go away soon."

"All right then," Sanji said. He walked away.

Selene fiddled with her straw. She expected the rest of the crew to say something but no one spoke up.

"Hey! I see an island!" Franky said forty-five minutes later.

Robin and Nami stood up. They went up to their room and came back a few minutes later, both changed out of their bathing suits.

The anchor dropped. They landed on the island and headed into the town with Luffy in the front of them all. Suddenly, small eruptions sounded off around the pirates. They blocked their mouths and coughed but it did nothing to help them. Several clicks then sounded out in the smoke.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Franky asked.

"I can't see!" Luffy said.

"We're going to die!" Usopp said.

"Where did all this smoke come from?" Zoro asked.

Figures moved around in the smoke.

"Hey! I can't find my baton!" Nami said.

"What?! My swords are missing too!" Zoro said.

Selene's heart raced. She jumped and dashed around in the smoke knowing it would be stupid to stand still. It was impossible for her to see what was happening to her friends but she knew it wasn't good, especially when the devil fruit users started complaining about being tired.

"What's happening?! I'm losing my strength," Luffy said before a thump happened.

"My energy is draining as well," Brook said.

"Me too," Chopper added. Two more thumps indicated they had fallen as well.

"They have put sea prism stone chains on us," Robin said.

"They put something on me as well," Nami said.

Selene bolted to her right. Finally she got to the edge of the smoke. She continued to run. She had to get away. Hopefully she had gotten away before anyone noticed. She slipped into the forest. Placing her hand on a tree, she paused to catch her breath.

"No! I don't want to die!" Usopp shouted.

Selene's heart jolted. Looking around the trees she found the ninjas had captures the majority of the Straw Hats. Sanji was so far the only one who was still free as the rest of the smoke floated away from them. The rest of the Straw Hats had been bound by chains and some ninjas had their kunai pointing at their necks. Breathing heavy, she leaned against the tree and watched. She had to leave. But she had to save her friends. Pain shot through her body. Her knees buckled underneath her. "No…I can't…"

Pushing herself to her feet, she turned and walked away. Her heart took several painful throbs. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Guilt hammered into her. She hated to leave them behind but she had to. The pirates would be fine. They wouldn't be hurt or killed. She was the one who had to get out of there. So she walked away from them.

Sanji leaped up into the air, kicking his feet at the ninjas and missing every single time. "Crap! This isn't working. They're too fast!"

"What the heck?!" Zoro demanded. "What are these chains made of?! And who took my swords?!"

"If Zoro can't even break them then they must be sea prism stone too," Franky said.

"That makes sense," Nami said. "It's pretty clear they don't want us interfering with their mission of getting Selene's necklace. But who are they?"

"I don't care who you are! You're not going to lay a hand on Selene or her necklace!" Sanji snapped. "I wont allow it!"

"It's not her necklace we want," an oddly familiar female voice said.

"What? Your voice sounds familiar. Who are…?" Sanji skidded to a stop and started at the two ninjas.

"It's been a while. Hasn't it, Sanji?" the woman said while pulling off her mask. Her long white hair flowed down over her shoulders, her sky blue eyes shimmering in the light.

"What?! Selene?! What are you doing there?!" Luffy asked. "You're a ninja?! How did you get changed so fast?!"

"Don't be stupid!" Usopp shouted. "That's not Selene!"

"Indeed." The other ninja pulled his mask off revealing the same hair, cut short, and eyes.

"What?! Now Selene's a man?!" Luffy asked.

"Stop being so stupid!" Usopp, Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and Franky shouted.

"No, neither of us are Selene," the man said. "We are related though."

"They're triplets," Sanji said pulling his cigarette from his mouth.

"So you knew about them?" Robin asked.

"Of course I did," Sanji said. "They came to the Baratie with Selene. So it's also been a while since I've seen them. The woman is called Sierra. And the man's name is Sage."

"You could have told us they were ninjas!" Usopp said.

"That was one thing I didn't know about them," Sanji said. "Let my friends go. I know you don't really want to hurt us."

"I'm afraid we can't do that," Sierra said.

"We have our reasons," Sage said. "And they are none of your business. You've already delayed us enough in our mission of retrieving our sister."

"I don't care what you're reasons are," Sanji said. "It's clear that Selene doesn't want to return home to you. I'm not going to let you take her."

"You have no say in the matter, Sanji," Sierra said.

"I do," Sanji said. "She's my friend. And I promised her we would take her to see the rainbow tear."

"Sanji, she's dying," Sierra said.

"What?" Sanji's heart raced. There was no way that could possibly be true. "You're…you're lying."

"We're not," Sierra said.

"You're lying!" Sanji swiped his hand through the air. "She would have told me if she was!"

"Sanji, listen to us," Sage said.

"No!" Sanji said.

"They're not lying," Chopper said.

"What?" Sanji looked down at the reindeer.

"I noticed the symptoms a few days ago," Chopper said. "I know you've noticed them as well. She's tired a lot. Her bones always hurt her. She sweats a lot, especially at night. And those red dots you've seen on her face is a symptom as well."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Sanji grabbed Chopper, pulling the doctor to his face.

"I couldn't. She made me promise." Tears came to his eyes. "I wanted to. I told her if she got worse I was going to tell you."

"That's no excuse! I had a right to know!" Sanji said.

"Sanji, this isn't Chopper's fault," Nami said. "Stop blaming him."

"I know." Sanji sighed and dropped Chopper back to the ground.

"What's wrong with her?" Brook asked.

"She has leukemia," Chopper said fixing his hat. "It's a cancer of the blood. And there's no cure for it. So she's going to die. Probably soon."

The Straw Hats gasped.

"What?!" Luffy said.

"I guess that would explain why she was so resistant on staying on the ship," Robin said.

"Yeah." Nami nodded. "It makes sense now."

"But she's always so happy," Brook said.

"She was faking it," Franky said. "She has to be so sad right now."

"That's why we're trying to get her back home," Sage said. "She's sick and needs to be taken care of. Our parents are really worried about her. So we came out to find her."

"We thank you for taking care of her up until now," Sierra said. "But it's over. We're capturing her and taking her home."

"No," Sanji said.

"Sanji?" Nami said.

"You're not taking her," Sanji said. "She has a dream. And she's going to fulfill that dream."

"She can't do that. Don't you understand? She's dying," Sierra said.

"No! Can't you understand?! This is a dream of hers!" Sanji screamed. "And this is her only chance to achieve that dream! I won't let anyone interfere with that!"

"Sorry. But we can't let you interfere with our mission," Sage said. "We promised our parents we would bring her home."

"You're not taking her!" Sanji lifted his leg, ready to fight. "And I'll take you all down to make that happen!"

"Just hold on," Zoro said. "I hate to admit it but the cook has a point. This is Selene's life. And if she doesn't want to waste it behind some walls then she has the right to chose that."

"She's not thinking clearly," Sierra said.

"No, you're not thinking clearly," Sanji said putting his leg down. "Think about her. This is the only chance when she can do something she really wants to do."

"You're only saying that because you're in love with her," Sage said.

"Wh-what? I am not!" Sanji said his cheeks flushed.

"You've been that way for many years," Sage said. "Both you and Selene have had feelings for each other. You two were just too dumb to do anything about it." He nodded. The ninjas moved their kunai closer to the pirates' necks.

"No! Don't kill me!" Usopp said.

"We don't want to hurt you," Sierra said.

"But we will to get our sister back," Sage said.

"No, don't hurt my crew," Sanji said. "I'll bring her back for you."

"Sanji! You can't! They'll take her home! She'll never get to reach her dream!" Luffy said.

"I won't let them take her home. I'm only bring her back so you'll be freed," Sanji said turning from them all. "And so they can talk. Once they see how much this means to Selene they won't take her home."

"You can't be-" Sierra started.

"Fine," Sage said cutting his sister off. "For now your friends are safe. If you can bring her back then we'll release your friends."

Sanji nodded. "Chopper, can you pick up her scent?"

Chopper sniffed the air. "Yeah. She went that way. Through the forest."

"Right. I promise I'll bring her back." Sanji ran towards the forest.

"Will he be able to find her?" Sierra asked.

"Sanji will be fine," Nami said.

"Yeah. Sanji won't let Selene get away," Luffy said.

"Most likely she hasn't gotten very far," Chopper said.

"You don't know our sister," Sage said. "She's a ninja too. One of the best in our clan."

"What?!" the Straw Hats screamed. "Selene's a ninja too?!"

"Of course," Sage said. "Just about everyone in our family is. Though not many know about it outside of our family."

"Does Sanji know?" Nami asked.

"It's possible that he figured it out. Selene was all the time sneaking around the Baratie," Sage said. "Though we're forbidden to admit it to anyone."

Selene huffed. Her body screamed in pain, begging her to stop, as she pushed through the bushes around her. She knew she should go back and help her friends. But how could she? If she went back her siblings wouldn't let her go. Summoning her devil fruit power, she shifted into her dove form. Taking off was the right decision. Sanji was with the Straw Hats. Her siblings knew they were friends. They wouldn't do anything to hurt him. She flapped her wings, lifting off the ground a few feet. Pain shot through her body. She clasped to the ground. Slowly the pain started to subside but wouldn't leave completely. Footsteps came near her. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as he knelt down beside her. His smoke and scent filled her nose. She exhaled slowly, wishing he would go away and leave her alone.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked.

"I couldn't," Selene said. Tears forced out of her closed eyelids.

"Why?"

"Because…" Selene trembled. "Because I…"

"Selene, you don't have…you didn't have to be afraid of telling me." Sanji placed his hands on her and helped her sit up.

Selene winced.

"Sorry," Sanji said.

"It's not your fault," Selene said. "I'm the one who's…"

"I know. They told us," Sanji said.

"I'm sorry," Selene said avoiding his eyes. "I wanted to tell you but I was too afraid."

Sanji sighed.

"You hate me," Selene said.

"Don't be stupid," Sanji said. "I could never hate you. In fact I…" He tilted her chin and pressed his lips to hers.

Selene's eyes widened. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Sanji was actually kissing her. His breath was tainted with smoke but she didn't care. Closing her eyes, she kissed him back. Reaching up she snaked her hand around his neck before fiddling with his hair. He pulled away first. Their breaths mixed together. "Sanji."

"We have to go back," Sanji whispered. "You have to talk to them."

Sighing, she said, "Okay."

"I won't let them take you back home. Not until you've reached your goal," Sanji said standing up with her in his arms. "I promise. They won't take you away. You just rest and trust me."

"Thank you." Selene rested her head on his shoulder. "Sanji."

Sanji turned and headed back to where their friends were. He walked slow and steady. Mostly it was to keep from hurting her, but also because he didn't want her getting to her family too soon. Still they got there to quickly for his taste anyway. Stepping out of the woods, he paused and knitted his eyebrows. The ninjas gave back their weapons and moved away from the pirates.

"I thought I was going to die," Usopp said falling forward against his hands.

"Selene!" Chopper ran over to her and Sanji. "Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?"
"My body does hurt but I'm fine," Selene said.

"We should get you back to the Sunny," Chopper said. "You need to lye down."

"Yeah." Selene nodded.

"You're not going anywhere until we talk," Sage said with a snap of his fingers. The ninjas responded and surrounded the pirates.

"Enough," Selene said. "If you hurt my friends I'll never forgive you."

"Selene," Sage said. "We're only doing this for you. You need to come home."

"I need to go through with this," Selene said. "I've spent enough time being locked up in that house, Sage. There's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"What about our parents? They're worried about you," Sage said.

"They'll always worry until I die. It's what parents do," Selene said. "If you insist on trying to force me back home then I will fight you myself."

"Selene," Sanji said.

"It's fine," Selene said. "Even like I am now I can still fight them. And I will win."

"Of course you'll win." Luffy punched his palm. "And we'll back you up."

"Sage. Sierra." Selene looked at them both. "How could you of all people not know how much this means to me? This is something I've always wanted to do. And this is the only chance I'll be able to do it. You two will keep on living. You two will keep chasing your dreams. Mine are ending soon. Please. I don't want to fight you."

Sierra and Sage looked at each other. Several minutes past before they finally turned back to the other. Sage said, "All right. But we are coming with you. No arguing."

"That's up to the captain to decide," Selene said. "It's his ship and crew."

"What do you say, Luffy?" Sanji asked.

"Sure." Luffy nodded. "It's fine with me."

"What about them?" Nami looked at the ninjas.

"They'll follow us on our ship," Sage said.

"Then let's set sail!" Luffy cheered.

"Let's get Selene back to the ship," Chopper said. "She needs to rest now."

"Right." Sanji nodded.

The two groups headed for the harbor. Loading up on their ships they headed out to sea once more. While the rest of the crew dealt with the ship, Sanji carried Selene back to Chopper's office.

"Lay her down," Chopper said.

"Here you go." Sanji laid her down and stood back up.

"Let me check you over then I'll let you sleep," Chopper said.

Selene nodded. Her eyes remained on Sanji while Chopper gave her a quick check up. Before long the little doctor rushed out of the room. She said, "You don't have to stay with me."

"Well, I am." Sanji sat down on the bed. "So deal with it."

Selene sat up. Cupping his face, she pulled him towards her. "I notice that you haven't lit up another cigarette yet."

"I'm not going to do that," Sanji said.

"Why? You love those things," Selene said.

"And their bad for you to be around," Sanji said. "So from now on I'm not going to smoke."

Selene's heart raced. He was serious. He wasn't going to lit up another cigarette, at least while she was still on the crew. Smiling she pulled him closer to her. "Good."

Sanji closed his eyes before she pressed her lips to his.

Selene slipped her tongue through his lips, tasting every inch of his smoky mouth before pulling back for some fresh air. "Lay with me."

Sanji nodded. He waited for her to lay down before laying down beside her. While she slept he ran his fingers through her hair, thinking about all the time he wasted in not telling her how he felt sooner.

A couple hours later Selene woke to find Sanji still watching her. "Don't tell me you were watching me this whole time."

"Of course I was," Sanji said. "How could I not watch the most beautiful woman in the world sleep?"

Selene flushed. "You're such a flirt."

"Sorry I haven't flirted with you more," Sanji said. "I'm not sure why I flirted with all those other women so much."

"I think maybe you couldn't handle how you really felt about me," Selene said. "So you hide it by flirting with every woman you saw. And I just clammed up."

"You think so?" Sanji asked.

"It's possible," Selene said.

"Well, my flirting is only for you from now on," Sanji said.

"You're so sweet," Selene said. "But you will flirt with other women soon enough when I'm gone."

"Don't talk like," Sanji said.

"It's the truth," Selene said. "And I want you to know that I want you to find someone that you really love and be happy with her."

Sanji gritted his teeth.

"Promise me, Sanji," Selene said cupping his face. "Promise me that if you find someone you'll give her a chance."

Sanji sighed. "Okay, Selene. I promise I'll give her a chance, but that's it."

Selene nodded. "Good enough."

"Are you hungry?" Sanji asked.

"A little bit," Selene said. "And I'm coming with you."

"You should stay here and rest," Sanji said.

"Sanji." Selene frowned. "Don't start acting like my parents now. I feel a lot better after napping. Either I come with you or you'll have to physically force me to stay here."

"Okay, okay." Sanji stood up and offered her his hand. "Just stay with me then. If you get tired I'll bring you right back here."

"Deal." Selene nodded. Taking his hand she stood up and left with him.

"Ah! Come on! Just show me some of your techniques!" Luffy said as they drew closer to the deck.

"No! Now leave us alone!" Sage said.

Reaching the deck they found Luffy was chasing Sage and Sierra around the Sunny.

"What's wrong with you?!" Sierra asked.

"Looks like your siblings have finally seen how Luffy really is," Sanji said.

"Yeah." Selene nodded. "Let's let him bother them for a while. Consider it revenge for trying to force me back home."

"Sounds good to me." Sanji smiled and led her to the kitchen before anyone noticed they were there. Inside he led her to the bar then started cooking.

She sat quietly watching him and listening to the ruckus outside.

"Land! I see land!" Luffy called from the figurehead.

"Really?" Usopp asked as he, Chopper, and Nami ran up to the helm.

"Yeah! There it is!" Luffy pointed to the island. "It that the place we're looking for?"

Selene reached into her shirt and pulled out her necklace. The tear was glowing. A beam shot out to the island. "Yeah, that's it."

"It looks like any other island we've see so far," Franky said. "You sure this is the place?"

"It is." Selene nodded. "The temple we're looking for will be underground. All we have to do now is find the door."

"What does the door look like?" Brook asked.

"I'm not sure," Selene said.

"The door is suppose to be hidden," Sierra said. "It's not supposed to be easy to find."

"The legend says that the door should be somewhere in the middle of the island," Sage said.

"Then let's get going!" Luffy shouted before jumped onto the island.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Usopp shouted.

Franky tossed the rope ladder over the side. They all descended down the ladder and started heading inland.

"Are we there yet?" Luffy said. "It feels like we have been walking for hours."

"We have been walking for hours, you idiot," Nami said.

"We should be getting close," Sierra said.

"How are you doing, Selene?" Sanji asked.

"A little tired," Selene said.

"Hop on." Sanji knelt down in front of her. "I'll carry you. And no arguing."

"I wouldn't think of it." Selene smiled and hopped onto his back. With her secure in place they started walking again. Finally, after another hour they reached the center of the island. And found nothing.

"What the heck?" Usopp asked.

"It's just an open field," Zoro said.

"So the door's not here then?" Chopper asked.

"It's here," Selene said. "If we can't see it then it's hiding in plan sight."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Nami asked.

"The door must be in the ground," Robin said. "Let's spread out and look."

They went in different directions, moving the grass around in search of the door.

"Hey! I think I found something!" Brook waved. Everyone rushed over to find he found a button. "Shall I press it?"

"Yes." Selene nodded.

Brook pressed it. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then the ground started shaking.

"What's going on?!" Usopp asked.

"We're all going to die!" Chopper ran around.

Part of the ground shifted. It lifted up, revealing a set of stairs. The group went down them. Tears, identical to the one Selene wore lit up on the walls as they went down.

"Wow. They're so pretty," Nami said. "I wonder who put them there."

They reached the end of the stairs and found themselves staring at a maze. With a glance at each other they started through the maze.

"You stay between us," Nami said to the swordsman.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Zoro asked.

"Just stay between us," Usopp said.

They continued walking through the maze.

"Geez," Usopp said looking at all the spider webs and cobwebs on the wall and the spiders that inhabited them. "This place is extremely creepy. Why would anyone put a maze down here?"

"It's like a back gorge," Robin said looking at some human remains. "I wonder how many people have died in here."

"Don't talk like that!" Usopp shouted.

"This is so boring," Luffy said before jumping up on the wall.

"What are you doing up there?" Sage asked.

"He's being Luffy," Sanji said.

"Hey! I can see the way out!" Luffy said. "Let's just jump to it!"

"Might as well," Zoro said. He jumped up onto the wall with the others soon following. They all jumped to the exit and entered into a large square room.

"Nothing's here," Franky said looking around.

"We thought that same thing about the door," Brook said.

"This is it," Selene said. "We just have to figure out how to get light in here."

Robin walked away from the group. She ran her hand over the wall until she found a spot that felt different. She pushed it. A beam of light suddenly shone in through a hole in the ceiling. "Interesting."

"How is that possible?! We have to be at least a mile under the ground," Usopp said.

Selene released herself from Sanji. Pulling her necklace off she walked over to the light and dangled the gem in front of it. A rainbow beam shot out and over the back wall. An ancient text lit up.

"Amazing!" Nami said. "Can anyone read it? Robin."

"I'm not familiar with this writing," Robin said running her eyes over the text.

"It says to take the orb and placed it on your ship," Sage said. "The orb will take you to your destination."

"Orb?" Brook asked before a secret door opened up in the middle of the text. Inside was a rainbow shining orb. "I guess that's it?"

Luffy grabbed it. "So let's get back to the ship then."

Once back at the ship, Luffy placed the orb down on the deck. It shifted like liquid before washing over the ship. Then, without warning, the ship started moving on it's own. "Yeah! We're moving!"

"And now we wait until we arrive at the mountain," Selene said.

Selene stared up at the ceiling, her mind spinning all over the place. Any time now they would be arriving at their destination. Any time now her body would finally give out on her. With sigh she sat up and carefully crawled off the bed so not to disturb Sanji. Sitting down at Chopper's deck she pulled out a blank piece of paper and started writing on it.

"Hey! The other ship is falling behind!" Usopp shouted. "How is that possible?"

"It's because of the winds around this part of the world. With the orb around us it doesn't affect this ship," Sage said. "I'm sure Selene told you of the story."

"Luffy! Toss this back to them!" Franky tossed Luffy a rope with a hook on the end.

"Got it!" Luffy grabbed it and ran to the back of the ship. He threw it to the other ship. The hook latched onto the ship and it kept pace with them.

"You didn't have to do that," Sierra said. "They would have just dropped anchor and waited for us."

"They can wait on the island," Luffy said.

"There it is," Selene said as she looked at the tall mountain in the distance.

"It's not as big as I thought it would be," Usopp said.

"Most of it has been worn away by the winds," Selene said. "Most likely this place won't be here in another few hundred years."

They pulled up to the island and dropped anchor then climbed off the ship. A huge gust of wind rushed by, knocking them all over.

"Dang! That wind is super strong!" Franky said. "How are we going to get up there?"

"This is so much fun!" Luffy stood back up and let the wind push him backwards.

"Ah! I'm going to get blow away!" Brook screamed his body went flying through the air.

"You're pathetic." Zoro grabbed the skeleton and slammed him to the ground. "Get back on the ship if you don't want to blow away."

"Thank you," Brook said. "I'll consider that."

"Franky, can you building something that will help us?" Nami asked as the wind died down.

"I'm not sure," Franky said. "I wouldn't even know where to start. That path up the mountain looks very narrow."

"Why can't we just use the orb?" Robin asked.

"It only works on ships," Selene said.

"Then how do we get up there?" Nami asked.

"One step at a time," Selene said heading for the mountain while the wind was slower. Inch by inch they made their way to the base of the mountain. She dropped to her knees, her whole body was one big spasm of pain.

"Selene, get on my back," Sanji said.

"Okay." Selene nodded and got on him again.

"This is so stupid!" Sage said over the howling winds.

"Keep going!" Selene said.

"Hey!" Luffy threw out his fits and grabbed hold of a boulder then held out his hand for everyone else. "Grab onto me! I'll pull us up there when the wind dies down again!"

Everyone grabbed onto each other and Luffy. The pirate captain waited until the wind died down before flinging them all forwards. It didn't work as well as he'd hoped. The wind was still too strong and some lost their grip. Luffy, Sanji, and Selene were the only ones to make it to the boulder. They waited several minutes for their group to catch up. Once again they started inching up the mountain path.

A gale knocked Usopp off his feet. He went flying backwards until Frank grabbed him and placed him back on the ground. "Thank you. I thought I was going to die."

"No problem, brother," Frank said.

Finally, after hours of fighting the wind they reached the top. The wind immediately stopped. Nami said, "This place is so weird. The wind blows everywhere but the top of this mountain?"

"Hey, it's starting to get cloudy," Luffy said.

"It's starting then," Selene said getting down from Sanji. Her body collapsed. She panted for air as her fever spike.

"Selene, you're burning up." Sanji placed his hand on her forehead. "You should have said something."

"It doesn't matter," Selene said. "We're here now. Just watch."

Sanji sat down behind her so she could lean against him.

The group turned their eyes up to the sky. They watched as the clouds and colors swirled together.

"What happening?!" Chopper asked.

The sun shone brightly, hitting the clouds. It started raining. Drops and drops of rain fell down upon them before changing into the same exact tear Selene wore. Multiple rainbows casted over the ground and their bodies. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper ran around the mountain, cheering happily.

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Nami said.

"Amazing," Robin said.

"It is. Selene, you did it. You finally can see it," Sanji said. When she didn't answer he looked down. Her eyes were closed. "Selene? Selene?!"

Everyone stopped and looked over at them.

"Selene, please!" Sanji begged. "Open your eyes!"

She didn't.

"Oh my gosh!" Chopper rushed over and checked her pulse.

"Is she okay, Chopper?" Luffy asked.

Chopper's head dropped. "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Luffy said. "She has to be okay! We're finally here!"

"Please, Straw Hat," Sage said.

Luffy looked at him and Sierra, both were crying.

"She's gone," Sierra said before dropping to the ground. "She's gone."

"No." Nami covered her mouth.

"Did she…did she at least get to see it?" Usopp asked.

No one answered.

Sanji hugged her to his chest. He whispered, "I'm so sorry, Selene. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," Sage said from their ship. He and Sierra looked over at the Straw Hats, only Sanji was missing. When they had gotten back to their ships, he went to the men's quarters while mumbling he wanted to be left alone. "Thank you for taking care of her."

"We are in your debt," Sierra said.

"No." Luffy shook his head. "We wanted to do this."

"Take good care of her now," Chopper said.

"We will," Sage said. "We're going to take her back home where she can have a proper burial."

"We would like to stay longer, but we really need to get going," Sierra said.

The Straw Hats waved as their new friends sailed way from them. Once they were out of sight they scattered about their own ship, unsure about what they were suppose to do now.

"Is Sanji going to be okay?" Chopper asked.

"He'll be fine," Nami said. "He just needs some time. We should give him his space for now."

"Okay." Chopper nodded and headed off for his office. Sighing, he sat down at his desk. "Huh? What's this?"

Chopper noticed some that didn't belong on his desk. It was placed between a couple books. Pulling it out he looked at it. It had Sanji's name on it. Rushing from his room he ran to the men's quarters. Sanji was still lying in his bed. "Uh, Sanji?"

"I said I wanted to be left alone," Sanji said.

"I know that," Chopper said. "But I found something in my office. It's got your name on it. I think it's from Selene."

"Selene?" Sanji jumped off the bed and snatched the letter from the doctor. He opened it. Tears gathered in his eyes to find Selene's necklace inside of it. He looked at the letter.

Sanji,

I know you're really hurting right now. And it's okay. You'll get over me before you know it. It'll take time but it will happen. Just keep living. I know I probably should have given you this in person, but I couldn't do it. I would have become such a blubbering mess. I want you to keep my necklace. And I want you to keep my flute. I already put that in your locker. I'm sure you'll find it at some point. Keep living and reach your dream. I'll be watching over you from now on. So try not to get into so much trouble.

P.S. I always have and always will love you.

See you again,

Selene

Tears poured down his face. Walking over to his locker he opened it, finding her flute right there. He picked it up. Holding the precious items to his chest, he dropped to the floor and cried.