Thank You For The Music
By Yukirei (a.k.a. Cosmiko Ling)

Warning: none
Pairing: none
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. One Piece belongs to Oda Eiichiro-sensei. This is a non-profit fanfiction written by a fan, for the enjoyment of other fans.
Summary: The Straw Hats play a game of musical chairs for a grand(?) prize.
A/N: As promised at the end of my previous drabble, a light-hearted ficlet this time! Originally inspired by the topic Music at LiveJournal community, onepieceyaoi100.

Chopper was the first to be ousted.

Watching how he wailed in dismay when Luffy told him matter-of-factly that he was out, Zoro almost wanted to stand up and offer him his seat.

Almost. It was a brutal game after all.

The second had been Robin. Calmly, she removed a chair from the ring and carried it to the side, where her book awaited.

"Robin-chan, would you like my place!" Sanji offered sincerely, upset that he hadn't noticed earlier that she was without a seat.

Robin turned her head, giving the younger boy a slight smile over her shoulder. "It's alright, Cook-san. Thank you."

The music began once more and the remaining players started moving.

Luffy capered with ever-changing dance steps.

Usopp moved mostly his arms to the music, dancing cautiously and scurrying past gaps where he wasn't in front of a chair.

Zoro strode calmly.

Nami bobbed casually to the beat; Sanji twirled behind her in a flurry of hearts.

The music stopped.

A mad rush for chairs.

As the dust began to settle, a voice spoke suavely, "It would be my pleasure to offer you my seat, Nami-san."

The third person out was Sanji.

Fourth was Zoro.

With one empty chair remaining, Nami stated coolly, "Your interest is about to increase by 2 percent..."

Zoro scowled but refused to back down.

"3 percent..."

"Witch!"

"4 percent..."

"A gentleman doesn't fight with a lady for a chair."

"'Tis none of your business, love cook!"

Nami gracefully took her seat as Zoro stormed towards Sanji.

"She-devil!" Zoro declared upon discovering what happened, and then returned his attention to fighting the cook.

Nami's luck unfortunately didn't persist in the next round as she failed to match the agility of the younger boys.

Finally, it had reached the last battle for the prize.

To avoid practically sitting on the sole remaining chair while the music played, Nami ordered that the boys put a one-metre distance between themselves and the chair.

Luffy and Usopp exchanged fearsome glares as they circled the chair.

"My 8000 men will get you if I lose!" Usopp threatened.

The music stopped.

Usopp sprung forth.

But found the chair pulled away from under his (long) nose.

Luffy's arms snapped back to their original length. He easily sat on the chair now in front of him, laughing heartily.

Nami closed the pretty, gold-plated musical box that they had found and handed it to her captain reluctantly - such a pity, it would have fetched a sweet price at the marketplace.

Luffy blinked at her.

"Aren't we playing for that?" Luffy pointed at the bag of groceries on the table where the musical box had been placed. He appeared extremely disappointed.

Nami landed a punch on her captain's head. "No, idiot!"

Date written: 15 October 2006

Feedback is most welcome.