Sorry for the wait

Sorry for the wait. I've kinda been neglecting fanfics in order to read one piece. Now I be completely caught up!! On wit the fic! Warning: may cause extreme depression. (new warning for Sanji Fans, Ace Fans, Shanks Fans, and well, all Fans of One Piece)

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Bananadile

Chapter 4- Cure for Heartache

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Shanks chuckled at the odds of him meeting with his old friend. Last time he had seen Sanji, it was five years before. The cook had been the tender age of eighteen. How Luffy had managed to acquire such a crewmate was beyond him. Even he had failed at recruiting that hard-headed cook.

"Ow! Chopper!" Shanks looked to his right. He saw someone through the thick foliage. Shanks ducked under the fallen tree in front of him and made his way over to where the feminine voice had come through. About fifty feet farther up the spontaneous incline, there was an orange haired girl, and what looked like a small deer…that was walking upright? Probably a costume. As he approached them, he snapped a twig and the girl turned around. The deer hid behind her leg.

"Oh! Hello."

"Hello." Shanks noticed the deer pull on the girl's shorts. The girl leaned over and they conversed for a few seconds. She glanced up at him with a smile. But there wasn't something quite right about it. The smile looked like a cross from a devious smirk and a friendly grin. The small creature finished his, whatever it was, and the girl stood up again, arms crossed.

"So you're Shanks, the idol to our captain?"

"The one and only. Shanks 'Red-Haired' le Roux. And might I asked, who is your captain?"

"Oh, no one special, he has a scar under his left eye, where he stabbed himself to prove his toughness to you, he ate the Gomu Gomu no mi, and he's about sixteen now, and last you saw him, he was six or seven…Ring any bells?" She smirked. Shanks laughed heartily.

"Luffy?! Monkey D. Luffy is your captain?! How many crew members does he have? I know about Sanji, the cook and Demon Pirate Hunter Roranora Zoro, and also a man named Usopp…So you and this little deer-" The deer morphed into a humanized form, much larger than Shanks.

"I am not a deer!! I'm a reindeer!!" It bellowed.

"Wow! Alright. Fair enough. Reindeer it is then. And what might your name be, Mr. Reindeer?"

"Toni Toni Chopper." It said transforming back into its original form.

"Sorry we haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Nami, the Mugiwara navigator, and Chopper, our doctor."

"Very nice to meet you both. So far as your ranks go, I have, Luffy, the captain, Sanji, the chef, Roranora Zoro, swordsman, Nami, navigator, Chopper, doctor, and some man named Usopp. Correct?"

"Almost. And Usopp is our sniper, and as of a few hours ago we have a new crew member, who also happens to be Luffy's brother- Portgeis D. Ace." Shanks' jaw dropped at the name.

"ACE?! He's here too?! Well, now I'm really interested. Shall we go find them?"

"Yes, and to get a heading, I saw them go that way," Nami pointed to her right, "But at the time, we were about a mile behind where we are now, so, they should be…," She calculated, " Two miles away if we backtrack with a thirty-five degree favor to the right. And if I know them, they'll be resting so that'll be easier on us." Shanks could start seeing why she was the navigator, and also how a crew of eight made it this far into the Grandline. He nodded, and they disappeared in the trees.

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Luffy had passed out from the Monkeydile's poison, and Usopp and Ace were beginning to realize why they needed to hurry. Usopp, who knew how for his captain can go without passing out, winced in pain for Luffy's sake. Ace now carried Luffy on his back, and unfortunately for him, Luffy had started snoring. Ace had mumbled something unintelligible, and it sounded like "good thing you're cute", but Usopp wasn't sure. Soon the trio arrived at an edge of the island. It was about a hundred feet above sea level so the view was spectacular. Ace looked on in awe over the water, which was glowing a bright, evening orange, signaling the approach of dusk. Red skies at night is a sailor's delight, red skies in morning, sailor's take warning. He remembered the old rhyme Shanks had taught him and Luffy as kids. Ace grew sad when he recalled his deceased friend. Whitebeard had told him, upon recruiting him, that he had killed Shanks in a matter of months after he had left his home port for the last time. Actually, there was a bit of a hidden conflict with him and Luffy no one saw- Their idols were mortal enemies- Whitebeard for Ace and Shanks for Luffy. When Ace heard this he both respected Whitebeard even more, but hated him for killing his brother's idol. He had just shrugged the remark off and joined the Whitebeard pirates. But now, Ace hated Whitebeard. He couldn't care or think lesser of him. Ace, feeling guilty for ruining the beautiful view with his corrupt thoughts, shook them away. The past is past. Ace was tempted to wake Luffy so he could see the last seconds of the sunset, but he just smiled and shook his head. He watched as the last few drops of orange faded from the sea. A bright green flash illuminated the sky. Ace had once met an elderly old man who had seen one of these Green Flashes. It only happens in areas free of pollution in the air, like smoke, and only on a cloudless sunset. Ace had only seen three days that were cloudless in the entire three years he's been sailing. The once orange horizon was now a million shades of blue. He saw Usopp next to him and...he was crying…?

"S-S-So b-b-beautiful…" He stuttered. Ace smirked, spinning around toward the foliage again. "Emotional aren't you?" Usopp turned around, red-faced "Am not!" Ace laughed. He heard rustling in the bushes in front of him. In an instant his hands turned to white flame, ready for a fight. Chopper stumbled through the trees, closely followed by Nami, who also fell, and…the ghost of Shanks…? Or real? Ace, ignoring the other two, poked Shanks' arm. It was real. Ace dropped Luffy in shock. Though, Luffy still slept.

"WHAT THE….!! I'M SO CONFUSED!!

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Sanji hauled Zoro's unconscious carcass out of harm's (meaning the Bananadile's) way. It was the first time he had used his arms in aty least two months. Sanji cussed himself for his hands for such an insignificant cause. Why didn't he kick the lump over to the Going Merry soccerball-style? He wished he did, but with the Bananadile in pursuit, he didn't dare stop. Sanji looked up. The first thing he saw was his beaten and bloodied reflection. He focused on the surface. An orange eye with a black slit for a pupil- a Bananadile eye. He threw Zoro to the middle of the deck, and took advantage of the thing's head being within his leg's reach. He slammed his heel into the reptile's snout. The creature reared up in rage and pain. It slammed down and, in contrast to its size, struck like a snake and clamped onto Sanji's leg. He looked down to the bite. Everything below his knee, and his knee, were caught in the Bananadile's mouth. He grimaced in pain. Blood welled crazily from the wound. He felt his lip quiver and a barely audible whimper escaped. Sanji looked to Zoro, who was still unconscious and bleeding on the deck of the Going Merry. A tear streaked down his face and the Bananadile pulled him under.

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Thanks for reading! Remember R&R!!