Happy Winter everyone! This is a new chapter for a new year. Thank you for your patience.

2/28/17

Chapter 4: Marimo and the Little Moon

Location: Crescend Major
Time: Early Afternoon
Current Year

*Poke**Poke*

"Hello mister. You alive?" *Poke*Poke*

… *Poke*Poke*

"Time to wake up ~" *Poke*Poke*Poke*Poke*Poke*Poke*Poke*

Zoro swatted away the offending hand that had been poking him. With a groan, he cracked open his one eye and found an idiotic, bright, smiling face drastically breaching his personal space.

"Wow, you only have one eye Anyways thanks for waking up, grass-head! I thought you were dead!" the young girl giggled and sat back so that Zoro could sit up.

Zoro took a minute to take in his surroundings. He was sitting on a ruined wall of Brook's home city. He remembered his crew had gotten lost as usual and he had spent a great deal of time searching for them but he couldn't find them. Zoro had decided to take a nap and then go looking for them again. He looked back at the girl who was straddling his legs.

She was young, probably no more than ten. She had long orange hair that was tied back loosely by a red ribbon but two shorts tuffs of hair framed her face. She had three moles on her face, one under each of her brown eyes and the last was just above her left eyebrow. She wore a pink shirt, brown overalls and boots. She had a grin that was creepily similar Luffy's.

Zoro coughed. "Well… get off." He said and gentle pushed the girl off of him. The girl complied and slid down off the wall. Zoro stood up, making sure his swords were secured to his side.

"Your swords are really cool. Which is your dominate hand? But why do you have three? Is one a spare? Do you break your swords a lot? Or do you actually fight with three swords? Where would you carry your third one? Two in one hand or maybe in your elbow, if you put it in your mouth I think you would break your teeth…"

"Can you shut your mouth for minute?" Zoro asked and the girl instantly quieted down.

No one else was around them but if this kid was here then maybe there were still inhabitants alive on the island and maybe some of Brook's old nakama. If there were inhabitants then there was a town and if there was a town, there would be a bar and that meant booze, and Zoro was thirsty.

"Hey kid…"

"My name's Sonny! Call me Sunny!" the girl exclaimed. Zoro stared at the girl, was it just some strange coincidence that the girl had a name that resembled the Strawhat ship? Zoro decided not to dwell on complicated thoughts.

"Where's the town? I need a drink." Zoro asked.

Sonny pointed down the hill towards Crescend Minor. "Over there, on the other side of Crescend Minor."

"Thanks." Zoro replied and walked away not even looking back to see if the girl was following. He mainly used the stairs to travel around the ruins. Though it was old and abandon, the roads in the city were good enough to travel on. Zoro guessed he would have to find his crew before he headed over to the town but there was a chance that everyone ended up in the town and Zoro decided that the latter was the more convenient choice. At least ten minutes passed and Zoro was not happy that he wasn't getting anywhere closer to the lake. The little brat must have given him wrong directions.

"~Wrong way~" Sonny sang.

Zoro froze mid step and looked up, Sonny was sitting in an overgrown tree that had pushed its way through the cracks of the stone.

"Are you following me?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sonny shook her head. "Not really you've already circled this area before."

"What do you mean circled?" Zoro demanded.

"I mean you've gone around in circle, grass-head."

A vein pulsed on Zoro's head at the nickname. "Don't call me that."

"You're lost, grass head."

"You're directions were too vague!"

"You walked in the opposite direction that I told you. And I said on Crescend Minor but you're still here on Crescend Major! Either you don't know your directions or you're a dumb grass-head," Sonny shot back.

Zoro frowned at the little girl. He really had no comeback now so he switched subjects. "Grass-head is not my name." he growled.

"Then what's your name?" Sonny asked.

"Roronoa Zoro."

"Cool name, so Roronoa Zoro, I have a deal for you!" Sonny declared and pointed both her hands at the swordsman like he had just won some sort of prize. "I will guide you to the town!"

Zoro didn't react right away and instead he just asked. "What's the catch?"

Sonny just shrugged, "Usually belis. I'm a tour guide, one of the few actually registered to tour people around Crescend Major." She replied.

"A bit young to be a tour guide,"

"I'm old enough." Sonny defended and held out a card that had been in her pocket. "This is my license, proof!"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You're an actual tour guide. I don't need one."

"Yes, you do. Crescend Major is off limits to the public because it's a hazard. You could get arrested if you're not with a certified tour guide or authority." Sonny countered.

Zoro shrugged. "How was I supposed to know?"

"The town warns all travelers when they first arrive." Sonny pointed out.

"We didn't come through the town." Zoro stated bluntly.

Sonny cocked her head in curiosity. "How did you get here then? Did you climb over the mountain?"

"No, we came through a pass that led to the lake." Zoro replied.

Sonny blinked. "I didn't think you could do that."

"Why not?"

"Because the tides always too low for ships to pass through, not even a row boat can get through nowadays." Sonny revealed.

Zoro frowned at the tidbit of information. It sounded like the tide was usually too low for ships to pass through but they were able to get the Sunny through. Zoro wondered if the Sunny getting through was just a fluke and the water only rose that high once in a very long time. How would they get the Sunny out of the lake? A Coup de Burst might work.

"You came on the pirate ship in the lake, right?" Sonny asked, her carefree tone suddenly dropping into something more somber.

"Yeah, so?"

"We don't like pirates." Sonny stated. Trying to glare at Zoro but it came out more as a cute pout.

Zoro rolled his eye. "We're not here to do any crap, one of our nakama used to live here so we're here for his sake."

"Oh." Sonny tilted her head the other way. "Okay then, still if a guard catches you here without anyone like me you would get in trouble and so would your nakama, including the one that wanted to be here."

Zoro contemplated Sonny's words for a minute. "You really are a little witch, brat."

Sonny just smiled. "Hehe!"

"Still I don't have any beli to pay you." Zoro said, grumbling under his breath, he thought about the sea witch who did have the money he owned. Damn Nami and her ridiculous debt that she had over him.

"It's okay, I don't want you money. You're probably way into debt anyways." Sonny said cheerfully.

"Oi,"

"I want to ride on your shoulders! I'm really tired, I spent the whole morning climbing all over the city. My legs don't want to move anymore." Sonny admitted sheepishly.

Zoro let out a long, irritated, pensive noise from the back at of his throat, expressing his dislike of the idea. Finally, Zoro let out a defeated sigh.

"Fine,"

"YAY!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Sonny made her way down the tree she was in. Zoro half-heartedly wondered how she got up so high if she was so tired. He didn't have a lot of time to think because one of Sonny's legs gave out beneath her as she stepped down on a limb. Her balance was thrown off and she tumbled off the tree with a yelp, plunging straight towards the ground. Cursing under his breath, Zoro strode forward and easily caught Sonny before her back hit the stone. The girl's face was bright crimson.

"Guess you're pretty tired if you can't even climb down a tree without falling." Zoro taunted, Sonny's blush deepened.

"That was embarrassing, please don't tell Alto." She murmured.

Zoro shook his head. "How the hell could I tell Alto if I don't know him?" he asked, shifting Sonny in his arms so that he could place her on his shoulders. Sonny happily tangled her hands into his hair.

"It's so green… like grass but it's really soft, not like grass." Sonny commented.

"Oi, enough about my hair," Zoro grumbled while his ears burned slightly. He wasn't embarrassed by the brat's comments about his hair but he was glad that Sanji was not around to see this, nor anyone who knows him for that matter.

"So how do we get to a bar?" the swordsman demanded.

"Go left." Sonny instructed. Zoro prominently turned right. Sonny tugged on his hair.

"Oi, I'm not a damn horse."

Sonny grinned, "You really don't know your right from your left! Other way, grass-head!"

"It's Zoro, brat."

"And that's Sunny to you!"

Zoro followed as Sonny had instructed, turned the other way, and walked down a set of stairs. For a little bit, Sonny was quiet, only talking to give Zoro instructions or tell him to go the other way. Zoro was quite happy that the bundle of energy had calmed down.

"So you're a swordsman." Sonny said offhandedly.

Zoro had hoped that she would have stayed silent, "Yeah."

"So you cut things."

"Yeah,"

"Like other swordsmen or devils?" Sonny asked.

Zoro frowned inquisitively at her choice of opponents, "Yeah."

"Can you cut boats and steel?"

"Yeah,"

"Do you ever help in the kitchen?"

Zoro gritted his teeth. "No, I would never help that pervert cook in the damn kitchen of his." He growled.

Sonny's eyes widened with glee, "Pervert?"

Zoro titled his head back a bit to look at Sonny. "Why are you excited about perverts?" he asked. It was possible she was into that kind of thing, even though she was really young.

Sonny shook her head. "Crescent Luna has a really famous swordsman who was really perverted; they even say he corrupted the most well-mannered person in this whole community."

"Is he strong?" Zoro asked, a grin breaking out on his face. He wondered how strong this swordsman was.

Sonny nodded vigorously. "Yeah, he was a beast. But he's dead now." Sonny said with a frown. Zoro scowled. The promise of a good fight was gone. "But all the Royal Guards are trained with swords and I know a few. If you want a fight I bet I can taunt Guston into one." Sonny offered.

Zoro's feral grin broke out again, "Sounds good, brat."

"Sunny."

"…..*sigh* Sunny."

~~BINK~*~SAKE~~

Location: Crescend Minor's town, small park
Time: Afternoon
Current Year

"Where on earth could they be?" Brook asked aloud. The skeleton had found himself in a small rest area, decorated with flowers and a small fountain. There was an only a small group of kids in the near vicinity.

He had no luck in finding his missing nakama and he was beginning to worry. While he knew his island was big on hospitality, the locals were quite bitter towards pirates. With the town smack dab in the middle of the old training grounds, Brook was more lost than ever. He noticed there was influence from the old architect from the city that had been transferred to the town but the streets were a completely different style. Brook was sure that he had passed several stores multiple times already. With the town here, Brook hoped that maybe someone he knew was still alive but how in the world was he supposed to find long lost friends if he couldn't keep track of his nakama?

"Brook!"

Brook turned at the call of his name and saw a flash of orange making its way towards him.

"Ah! Miss Nami! It's so lovely to see you again, may I see your panties?" he asked.

"Hell no!" Nami shouted and punched Brook in the temple causing the skeleton to crumble.

"Yohoho! I felt that all the way to my bones. But I don't have any flesh so there is nothing in the way!" Brook laughed.

Sanji did his noodle dance over to Nami.

"Nami-swan you're so cute when you are angry!" he complimented before glaring at Brook, "Not the appropriate time, don't ya think? And where are the other three? I need to kick our shitty captain in the head for leaving us behind."

Brook stood up and brushed some dirt off his sleeve.

"I'm afraid I do not know."

"You lost them?" Nami accused.

"On the contrary, they ran off without me while I was taking everything in." Brook replied and pointed to his empty sockets, "Though I don't have any eyes."

"There's a loose monkey… I'm surprised this town's still standing." Sanji remarked.

Nami sighed. "Great, three more people to find."

Brook opened his mouth as if he just remembered something. "Where are Miss Robin and Franky? Weren't they with you?" he asked.

Sanji and Nami shared a look.

Sanji blew out a breath of smoke. "Well you see…"

~~BINK~*~SAKE~~

Location: Kisum, Crescent Major
Time: Late Morning
Current Year

"Gum Gum no Rocket!" Luffy shouted as he sent himself and three other of his crew members flying into the air.

Everyone left in the plaza (besides Robin) ran to the edge with gapping mouths to watch their nakama scream in terror as they flew over Soniaee Lake. Luffy's laughs could be heard over his nakama's shrieks. The laughter and screams only stopped when the four pirates disappeared near the top of the forest of Crescend Minor. Though breaking of branches, rattling of leaves and several hard thuds could be heard.

Sanji blew out a puff of smoke. "What an idiot."

"What did you expect? I'm surprised Luffy was still and quiet for this long." Nami sighed.

"That was a super entrance." Franky laughed.

Robin merely smiled. "He is our captain."

Franky intertwined his fingers so that he could stretch his muscles. "Well I guess it's our turn." He bowed and held out his hand. "Miss Robin would you entreat me?" he asked with a little teasing tone, mimicking a gentleman.

Robin smiled. "Sadly, I must decline." She said but after seeing Franky's crushed expression she expanded on her rejection. "I want to stay around the ruins a bit longer. I'll head over once I'm done exploring." She explained.

Though disappointed, Franky nodded. "We'll see you over there." He stepped up onto the wall and squatted a bit. "Cooouup de vent!" with a large fart, Franky shot up into the sky.

"Do you think he'll make it?" Nami asked, slightly disgusted.

"If he falls into the lake, I'm not helping him out." Sanji stated.

"If he were to fall from that height, I'm sure the impact with the water would put him into shock." Robin said.

"I still won't fish him out."

A large gust of cold icy wind blew passed them. Robin had to use her hands to keep her skirt down much to Sanji's disappointment. The wind blew out over the lake and crashed right into Franky. Robin, Sanji, and Nami watch in shock and horror as the wind pushed the cyborg over the rest of the distance. The wind had pushed Franky off course so that he landed way to the right of his original path of travel.

"That was some monster wind." Sanji said.

Nami rubbed her bare arms to warm herself. "And that was frigg'in cold. Where did that wind even come from? An island with this climate shouldn't have such freezing winds."

"Another quirk about this mysterious island," Robin said. "Now I really want to divulge into this island's history." She turned and walked deeper into the ruins and out of sight of Nami and Sanji.

~~BINK~*~SAKE~~

Location: Crescent Minor's town
Time: Afternoon
Current Year

"Then I sky-walked Nami-swan over here," Sanji concluded. He drifted off into lala land when he remembered Nami's wondrous breast bouncing against his chest every time he stepped. Blood dribbled out of his nostril.

Nami placed her hands on her hips. "In truth, we're back at square one. We have no idea where Franky or those other idiots are."

"Yes, that is a problem. This is a tourist festival so maybe they have a missing person center." Brook offered.

"Yeah, but what would we tell them? Missing person, meat loving pirate who calls himself Monkey D Luffy, aims to be King of the Pirates, accompanied by a reindeer doctor and a cowardly sniper. Wanted Dead or Alive?"

"Yes, I guess that wouldn't go over well."

"That's why you leave the thinking to me."

"We could always follow the sounds of screams and explosions." Sanji said. "Even if this is a festival, Luffy will get into trouble sooner or later."

"True."

A young boy ran up to the three pirates and without hesitation, hid behind Nami's legs.

"Hey!"

"Please let me hide." The boy asked. He looked up at Nami with pleading eye. "Just act natural." Nami frowned but didn't kick the boy away.

Brook glanced over to where the boy had come from. He had run into the small park from the street. A teenager in royal guard garb strode into view. His white hair made him stick out like a sore thumb. Brook was surprised at the sight of the teen. Even back in his day and during the war, most lads became part of the Royal Guard when they were in their late teens.

Another thing that disturbed Brook was how the teen held himself. The teenager didn't slouch nor have an indifferent posture that most young people most have. Instead this teen stood straight and walked strongly and purposefully. He kept his head up and gave wary looks around. Brook knew the look of distrust and professionalism, this boy was a solider. Once the white haired teen passed, the boy came out from hiding behind Nami.

The boy scowled in the direction the teen went before looking up at Nami with a bright smiling face. "Thanks Miss! That was a close call."

"Um, may I intrude to why you were being pursued by a Royal Guard?" Brook asked.

"Because Mr. Perfect is a spoil sport that's why," the boy stated.

"So you go running to strangers to fix your problems? That's pretty stupid, kid." Sanji pointed out.

"Only a coward would say something like that." The boy rebuffed. A vein popped on Sanji's head.

"How. does. that. make. any. sense?" he gritted out and raised a leg to kick the boy.

"AH! The mean man's going to hurt me!" The boy exclaimed and jumped into Nami's awaiting arms.

"Sanji," Nami scolded. The chef sighed and put down his leg.

"Sorry Nami sweetie." Sanji grumbled, he would have been cooing over his dear Nami if the little boy wasn't there, rubbing his damn head in between Nami's deep and wondrous valley. The boy shot Sanji and smug and mocking look. Sanji gripped his shaking fists.

"I'm going to kill that brat."

Brook watched the boy snuggled into Nami's breast. Sanji, on the other hand, began to catch on fire from his flames of rage.

"That young boy is certainly lucky." Brook remarked softly so Nami wouldn't hear.

"This is perfect! Who wants to light the match?" A child's voice asked. Brook turned to look at the small group of kids that had been clustered near the back of the park when Brook had first arrived. Brook's eyes caught sight of a firework and he hastily walked over to the group, leaving his nakama behind.

The young boy finally stopped hugging Nami and stepped back from the two pirates, smiling brightly.

"See Sanji, he's harmless." Nami pointed out.

Sanji couldn't help but glare daggers at the innocent smiling boy. "Yes Nami-swan."

"Sorry if I've been rude." The boy apologized suddenly and held out a small box. "Peace?"

Sanji blink in surprise before he accepted the gift. "Yeah… I guess so…. What is is?"

"A delicacy here on Crescent Luna," The boy explained.

"Mhm. Thanks kid," Sanji opened up the box. Inside was a black hairy spider the size of an adult's hand. Sanji stared into the eight beady eyes looking at him for no more than a millisecond before he threw the box into the air with a yelp. The box hit the ground and the spider scurried away.

"That was huge!" Nami squeaked.

"DAMN BRAT!" Sanji growled but he found that the boy was gone from Nami side. In fact the boy was at the entrance to the park, waving at them.

"Bye Miss! Thanks for the help! Bye Idioto Curly!" The boy shouted and ran off.

"Get your ass back here! I'm going to butcher you!" Sanji roared.

"Hold it Sanji, if you go running off then we'll be even more split up. Let's stick with Brook." Nami said. "Brook, where was the last…" she trailed off when she realized that Brook was not with them.

"Brook!"

Where the kids were clustered, there was a firework that was sticking out of the ground. One of the older boys was trying to light the fuse with a match but he wasn't having a lot of luck.

"Um, excuse me." Brook said as he made it to the group.

"Wow, you have a really cool mask, Mister." One kid said.

"A bit blank…mm… If you want, we could color it." One girl offered.

"Yohoho, I might take you up on that offer, but first," He turned to one of the smaller girls. "Miss, your foot is tangled in the rope. If you launched the rocket then you would go flying with it." Brook pointed out. The girl looked down, true enough, the rope attached to the rocket was looped around her bright red shoes.

"Oh." She hurriedly untangled herself. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Brook replied. "Are you sure you shoulder be launching the firework here? They are quite dangerous." Brook asked.

"Mr. Moustache lets us do it all the time." The other older boy said.

"But is he usually with you?" Brook countered. The kids went quiet. Some murmured incomprehensive things and the rest looked at their shoes. "I see, though I have no eyes. Yohohoho! Skull Joke!"

The kids giggled.

"Brook! Come on! We need to find Luffy and the others." Nami called, clearly impatient.

"But of course, Miss Nami! I'll be right over!" Brook called, standing up from his crouch position.

"I got it!" The boy with the match stated with triumph as the fuse sparked and shortened every following second. "Take cover!"

The kids scrambled away from the rocket to get to safety. Brook made to follow them but felt a tug at his foot. He looked down and found the coil of rope wrapped around his leg. He glanced over to Nami and Sanji.

"Oh dearrrrrrrrrrRRRR!" The heat blasted from the bottom of the firework, launching it into the sky and taking the very light skeleton with it.

"YOHOHOHOHO!" Brook screamed until he was out of sight.

Nami slapped her hand over her face. "Not again."

"Come on Nami, if we hurry, we should be able to find him." Sanji stated and the two pirates sprinted out of the park leaving the stunned kids behind.

"That…. was…. cool." The match boy admitted.

~~BINK~*~SAKE~~

Location: Crescent Minor's town
Time: Afternoon
Current Year

Luffy let out a long and miserable groan from the throat.

"Oh please, man up a bit." Granny scolded, she was walking right beside him, her cane clacking the ground every other step.

"But this is so booooring." Luffy said, lifting up the multiple bags of groceries he had in his hand to emphasize his point. Usopp walked beside him carry multiple bags as well and Chopper was on Granny's side, carrying a bag of meat so Luffy couldn't get it.

"You have no right to complain while under Granny Law." Granny rebuffed.

"Evil,"

"That was uncalled for. You broke the law, you were caught, and now you get punished. Simple." Granny replied.

Chopper glanced off to the side and saw a rectangular column of seastone sticking out of the ground like Granny's seastone except this one had a house built around the stone.

"Excuse me Granny."

"Yes dear?"

"I've noticed other seastones like yours and you've seemed to have built the town around them so they wouldn't have to be moved. Why is that?" Chopper asked.

"Back then we really didn't have the money or the tools to remove the seastone so the town was just built to accommodate the pillars."

"So the seastone was always here?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, they've been part of our geography as long as anyone can remember." Granny replied.

"You don't say."

Granny nodded. "Also nobody wanted to disturb the restless spirits." She added.

Usopped choked on his own spit. "G..gg..Ghosts, the story's true?"

"So you've heard the story? Of course it's true. A bloody battle was fought here during the last war. Many lost their lives and it is said that the souls of the tormented dead remained even after the battle. The lost soldiers march aimlessly through to wind, freezing the living as they pass. It is said that on the nights when the moon is stained red by blood, the army of the dead while pass through the veil and kill all in their wake."

"Seriously?" Usopp squeaked.

Granny eyed them carefully, "Yes, when the cold wind blows through Crescent Luna, it harkens the approach of the army of ghosts."

"Again, creepy,"

"Look at that!" Luffy shouted gleefully, pointing to a stage where people had crowded around. There was an announcer man in a flamboyant suit on the stage along with about a dozen musicians.

"That's the Kingly Musician Contest. The contestants will each play a song and the announcer will judge by the crowd's cheer. Whoever had the loudest cheers will be the winner."

"What's the prize? Is it meat?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"No, the winner gets to dine with our King. It's a way for small time musicians to get their name out there and gain favor from our King." Granny said.

"King? I didn't think you had a king." Usopp remarked.

"Yes, we are small but we do need some form of government and we've always had a monarchy." Granny explained.

"I want to listen to the music!" Luffy stated and ran off to join the crowd.

"Luffy! We're under Granny Law!" Chopper shouted.

"It's alright dear, these contest usually have decent music." Granny said.

"Just decent?" Usopp asked.

Granny shrugged. "I'm a little spoiled when it comes to music."

"You are hard to please." The sniper deadpanned.

Granny, Chopper, and Usopp joined the young pirate captain in the crowd. Green fireworks exploded in the sky above them. The announcer brought the microphone to his lips and shouted into it.

"And there's the signal, folks! The Kingly Musical Contest will begin riiiight now! Now remember the winner of this contest will get the chance to meet a great King Morgant! Contestant Number 1, show us what you got!"

The announcer pointed to the first contestant who prominently picked up a trumpet and began to play for the crowd. The music was good, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp cheered with the crowd at the ones they approved of which ended up being all the musicians that played.

Apparently this was a highly regarded contest so the people that entered had to be good or be turned down by the crowd which would be an embarrassment. Usopp wondered how the announcer would decide the victor since Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs cheering for each musician. Once the last contestant had finished playing, the announcer step forward again with a huge smile on his face.

"What a great crop this year! But the crowd has decided from their musical hearts! It was a close call but the winner of this Kingly Musical Contest is…." the announcer paused to allow a drum roll to rumble out.

"Contest Number-!"

A bright red firework exploded in the sky, the crackling sparks roared over the announcer's voice but mixed in with the sound of the explosion was a very familiar scream.

"YOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Chopper squinted his eyes, trying to pin point the owner of the voice. "Brook?"

Luffy looked around. "Brook? Where?!" he asked excitedly.

"There!" Usopp shouted.

A black dot appeared amongst the red sparks from the firework. It was falling towards them, still screaming with his "yohohos." It was painfully obvious to the Strawhat pirates that it was their musician falling from such high heights and they knew the landing was going to hurt. And it did hurt, Brook crashed right into the center of the contest platform, breaking through the stage and creating a huge dust cloud.

The whole crowd winched in sympathy at the landing but now they stood with abated breaths to see if the skeleton would come out from the hole he had made. Brook did emerge, covered in soot and looking a bit dazzled. He rested his head against the stage's wood.

"Yohoho…. I believe that fall would have ruptured all of my internal organs if I had any. Yohoho!"

Brook pulled himself out of the hole with relative easy. He realized that he was standing in front of a huge crowd that was staring at him with bug eyes. Brook looked behind him, the announcer and the musicians were equally stunned. Brook knew that the adults in the crowd understood that he was not a man in a costume but a living skeleton. The fear that reeked off their aura stunk like wet dog fur. Brook deep a deep breath, he was used to this reaction, he could handle it.

"….. Good morning everyone!" he greeted cheerfully. "Or is it the afternoon now? I'm afraid to say that I don't know the time."

"Well…." The announcer remarked, his mouth hanging open slightly before he recomposed himself. "This certainly is a surprise!" the man sauntered up to the skeleton and leaned against him. The man's weight surprised Brook and he would have toppled over if he didn't widen his stance.

"Did you know you just interrupted the Kingly Musician Contest?" the announcer asked with a huge grin.

"Why no, I've never heard of such a contest but I am sorry, I…"

The announcer gasped, cutting Brook's apology short. "You've never heard of it!? What kind of answer is that?! Tell me, skeleton dude, are you a musician?"

"Yes, I am."

"And you still don't know what the KMC is!? Have you been living under a rock!?" the announcer asked.

Brook gritted his teeth. "No, I have not." He managed to say with a slightly steady tone.

"Well this just doesn't sit right with me, what about you my beloved music lovers?" The announcer asked, the crowd replied with loud 'Nos' and 'Boos.' Even Luffy joined into the jeering.

"NO WAY!" Luffy shouted.

"Don't encourage them!" Usopp scolded.

Chopper looked around and noticed that their group was missing one, "Granny?"

"Well there you have it, the crowd has got it in for you skeleton dude so now how are we going to get them to not tear you apart?" the announcer asked.

"I do not know." Brook stated meekly.

"Are you going to let them walk all over you?!" The announcer demanded.

"I'd rather they not."

"Then what are you going to do!?"

Brook opened his mouth to speak but someone else beat him to it.

"Play us a song."

Brook looked down, Granny stood at the very front of the crowd. Her wooden cane was between her, resting her hands on the top.

"Play this island's song. You can do that?" Granny challenged. Brook was silent and stared at the old lady for a long moment.

"If I could acquire a violin," Brook finally requested.

The announcer slapped Brook on the back. "Atta boy! Contestant number 7, please surrender your violin for the skeleton dude!"

A haggard woman with piano teeth stepped forward and handed Brook a black and white violin. Brook thanked the woman and turned back to the crowd. Everyone was eyeing him carefully, wondering what he would do. His black eye sockets landed on the sharp gaze of the old lady in the front. She was waiting patiently to hear the song, and so he played.

He played several crescendos before playing out a softer, warmer melody. When the composer wrote the song, he must have been thinking of when the sun rose to the city, brightening the white stone and making a glorious and heavenly place, the decorum, the elegance of the people walking down the street, chattering away, the crisp air that breezed through the island and the fresh smell of the island's delicacies. The power and grace of the royal guard lined the top of the boulder cliff, the proud, noble men that didn't fear death, and the strength that vibrated from their aura.

Brook stopped at the end of the first part of the island's song. He knew that he shouldn't just play the second part so carelessly and Brook knew that the first part should be enough to appease the crowd. Judging by the crowd's silent and stunned expressions, Brook knew that he had played much more than just well enough. The announcer closed his gaping jaw, quickly recomposed himself and walked up to Brook.

"Now I've see a hushed crowd from bad music but never in my life have I seen such speechlessness from wicked good music! Congrats skeleton dude! Silence tells it all! You are the winner!" he shouted gleefully and clapped his hands loudly. The crowd followed his example and so did the reluctant musicians.

Brook stood silently on the platform allowing their praise to wash over him, he felt just a little emptier now but he hoped the old woman was content.

"YAY BROOK!" Luffy's voice shouted from above the crowd.

Brook's head shot up. "Taichou?" He could see Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp cheering the loudest, jumping up and down in the sea of people. "Taichou! My friends! When did you get here?!"

"We've been here the whole time, you baka!" Usopp shouted, clearly happy.

"That was beautiful!" Chopper stated.

Luffy gave a thumbs up. "You won us free food, great job!"

"Those your friends, skeleton dude?" The announcer asked.

Brook nodded. "You are correct."

The announcer grinned. "Then you should bring your friends to dine with the King! He would sure love extra company."

"You are too kind."

"Don't mention it," The announcer said and turned to the crowd. "That's all folks! Thank you for hearing out some awesome music today! And remember to head on over to the Red Plaza for an amazing, death-defying acrobatic performance by the Three Sisters!"

The crowd clapped and cheered in agreeance with the announcer. After the noise and excitement died down, the people dispersed. A few musicians congratulated Brook before leaving as well. The three strawhats scrambled up to their musician chattering happily and Brook noticed that Granny was still standing there at the edge of stage with a disappointed look.

"You didn't play the second part." Granny stated simply.

"Forgive me, but I believe that part was not made to be played at an event like this." Brook explained curtly.

"Brook!" Nami shouted as she and Sanji just arrived.

Luffy grinned. "Nami! Sanji! You guys just missed an awesome show!" he exclaimed before Sanji kicked him across the face.

"We've been looking for your sorry ass!" Sanji yelled.

"You can't just go flying away!" Nami remarked.

"Nami! Sanji! That's mean! It's a festival! We're supposed to have fun!" Chopper defended.

"Yes indeed! Miss Nami, for the occasion, may I see your panties?" Brook asked.

Nami punched him over the head. "NO!" she screeched before collected herself. "Do you remember the original reason why we came here!?" Nami asked.

Luffy's group was silent before looking at Brook.

"Sorry Brook, we kind of did forget." Usopp apologized.

"Sorry Brook."

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, what they said."

"Don't worry, it is hard for the mind to wrap around. Ah! But I don't have a brain! Yohohoho!"

"My, my, my," Granny said, getting everyone's attention. "In all my years, I have never heard the island's song played so beautifully besides one other man. I thought I would never hear the island's song played. An impossible challenge, but here you stand. A ghost from the past, with a ridiculous afro to top it all off,"

"Oi, Granny. What are ya saying?" Luffy asked.

Granny tilted her head to the sky and closed her eyes. "I never did finish my story, did I? About the lad with wicked thoughts,"

"You said he fell down a well and cracked his skull open. Doesn't his death mean the end of the story?" Usopp asked. Brook went still. He remembered this old tale.

"Now what kind of ending would that be? The boy made a full recovery but he learned his lesson. He no longer peeked under any young ladies' dresses." Granny opened her eyes and stared right at Brook. "Whenever he saw a lady he asked if he could see her panties."

The strawhats stared at the old lady. Brook's mouth dropped open while Luffy remained unfazed.

"Told you it sounded like Brook!" he said.

Brook just stared at the old granny standing down below him. She smiled gently.

"Good afternoon, Mister Brook."

Brook took a sharp breath in.

~~BINK~*~SAKE~~

Location: Kisum Crescent Minor
Time: Late Afternoon
~ 82 years ago

Young Brook rested on the grass. His mother, his whole world, was gone and he didn't know what he could do. The only thing eight year old Brook could think he could do now was cover his eyes. His eyes were only for his mother and no one else. He missed her so much so he would protect his father's eyes, his eyes, for her.

A finger brushed against his hair, moving them away from covering his eye lids. Instinctually, Brook's eyes flew wide open and he found a pair of bright brown eyes sparkling down at him.

"Wow your eyes are really pretty." The girl on top of him remarked. Brook quickly scrambled away from the girl and brushed his curls back over his eyes.

The girl frowned. "Why are you covering them? They're really pretty."

Brook looked away. "Go away please, young miss."

The girl shook her head and moved closer to Brook. "Don't wanna. You look sad! When you're sad you should play a song that will make you happy."

Brook shifted away. "I can't play anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't,"

"Can't's a bad word," The girl bopped Brook on the nose. "Don't say it. It will make the possible impossible. That's what daddy said." The girl smiled. "Play a song and you'll feel happy!"

Brook didn't reply.

"There you are!" A man stated and walked up to Brook and the little girl. "Brook, I'm glad to see you're alright. I've moved you things into our spare room."

Brook gave a shallow nodded which the man barely noticed.

"And you little missy, you know not to run off."

"Sorry daddy."

"So you've met Brook, were you polite and introduced yourself?" the man asked.

The girl's mouth dropped open, pronouncing a silent 'oh.' She brushed off her dress and, standing proudly, looked up at Brook.

"Good evening Mister Brook! My name's Luan! You can consider me your little sister!"

~~BINK~*~SAKE~~

Location: Crescent Minor's town
Time: Afternoon
Current Year

Brook could hear the little girl's voice echo in the back of his head. He stared at Granny.

"It really is you." He managed to say.

Granny smiled. "What have you gotten yourself into Brook? Where did all your skin go? Honestly." She shook her head. "And your hair's still there. Strong roots?"

Brook nodded. "Yes."

Granny laughed. "Of course he was right."

Brook chuckled. "He had a special intuition."

"Brook… do you know this lady?" Sanji asked.

Brook nodded and hopped off the stage so he could stand next to Granny. "Yes, this is Luan, I consider her my little sister…. she loves to exaggerate things." He added as an afterthought.

"I'm already acquainted with half of them." Granny added and waved her hand. "And I'm not that bad…." She trailed off. Tears glistened at the edge of her eyes. The strawhats panicked a bit, wondering why Luan was about to cry.

"The Rumbar pirates disappeared off the face of the world." She stated curtly, Brook cringed as she looked up at him.

"What in the four blues happened to you?"

A/N:

Now that I'm older I flip flop about my opinion of original characters in established cannon. I find that original characters often become a bit Mary Sue and I'm always worried if my characters become like that. For this story's case I kind of need original characters since we know little about Brook's childhood.

What do you think of Luan so far?

What do you think of young Brook?

I love hearing from all of you!

-DigitalGuardian