Life on the Sunny
Serena opened her eyes to the swaying of her room. She stared at the wooden wall before realizing it wasn't the color the walls in her room should be. With a panicked gasp she shot up in bed, knowing Azalea was going to be extremely upset that she wasn't home. The door swung open, revealing an orange haired woman. She jumped at the unexpected intrusion.
"Sorry, Serena," Nami said. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Serena took a couple slow breaths. "It's okay. I just forgot where I was for a moment. What time is it?"
"Almost ten o'clock." Nami walked into the room and over to her closet.
"Ten o'clock." Serena ran her hand through her messy hair. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept in. She had no idea why she slept in. "It doesn't make any sense."
"What doesn't make sense?"
Serena looked up to see that Nami was now standing by the bed, staring down at her. "Oh, I just mean that I don't sleep in. I'm usually up with the sun or before it rises."
"I see," Nami said. "Well, you just seemed extremely tired. So we let you sleep. Though Luffy has been a pain. He wanted to wake you up."
Serena nodded, unsure of what she should say to that.
"We managed to distract him with fishing," Nami said. "He, Usopp, and Chopper are still doing that now."
"Sorry that he caused you so much trouble," Serena said.
"Don't worry about it." Nami waved her hand and walked towards the door. "We're use to Luffy. But you might want to hurry up and get dress before Luffy comes running in here. Don't want him to see you naked while you're changing." She winked before disappearing through the door.
Serena tilted her head. It wasn't an easy concept to think about. Luffy coming in here when she was changing her clothes? She wondered how she would react. Never before had she thought about a boy seeing her naked. Of course the only one she's ever lived with was her uncle, excluding the time she lived with her dad and crew. And he was gone most of the time. But when he was home he never came up to her bedroom. Actually, no one except for Mari came to her room. Still, Luffy seeing her naked didn't bother her, at least in thought. The only way she'd know for sure was to have him see her that way. It wouldn't happen though. Or she didn't think it would.
Standing up she stripped off her borrow night clothes and pulled on another pair of shorts and tank top from Nami's side of the closet. Sunlight poured over her when she opened the door, causing her to close her eyes before they could adjust to them. After a few seconds she was able to see again. The crew was spread across the deck like they were yesterday. Franky appeared to be the only one missing.
"Hey! Rena!" Luffy waved from the railing where he was sitting like Nami said. "You're finally awake! Why did you sleep so long?!"
"Beats me." Serena walked down the stairs. "I guess I was just tired."
"How could you be tired when you were at a wedding yesterday?" Usopp asked.
"Well, it's not like I'm always at weddings." Serena crossed her arms. "I do have chores I had to do. And quite a lot of them. I had to clean the house, work in the gardens, clean the stables, and even cook when my aunt gave the staff time off."
"Oh?" Zoro grinned. "Maybe you should work like that here. We don't want you to get bored."
"I'll help where I can," Serena said. "But I refuse to be a slave."
"Why would you say that?" Sanji asked.
"Oh, well, I didn't mean anything by it." Serena stretched out her body. The sun warmed her skin. She had meant for it to come off as a joke but clearly that didn't happen. She looked at the blonde haired man. He was just staring at her, studying her. "What?"
"Nothing." Taking a puff of his cigarette he turned away from her. "Since you didn't have breakfast I'll make you a snack to hold you over until lunch."
"Don't worry about it," Serena said. "I don't want to put you out. If I get hungry I can make my own snack."
"I wouldn't think of it," Sanji said, tossing her a light frown over his shoulder. "It's my kitchen. I'm the cook so I'll do it."
"So basically you don't want me in your kitchen," Serena said.
"That's not what I said," Sanji said.
"Looks like you upset her," Zoro said.
"Shut up!" Sanji snapped.
"I'm not upset at all. And I'm not hungry anyway." Serena headed for the bathroom.
"It's no trouble, Serena," Robin said, lowering her book to her lap. "Sanji cooks for us all the time."
"Yeah." Nami nodded. "He was going to make us a snack anyway. It's no trouble for him to make one more."
"Sanji's food is the best! You should eat," Luffy said. "You haven't eaten anything since last night."
"Okay." Serena nodded before entering into the bathroom. After using the facilities she splashed some water on her face then stared at herself in the mirror. Her chest was still filled with frustration from her little confrontation with Sanji. She exhaled. "Just relax. Everything is fine. He doesn't know anything. He couldn't know anything. And you don't have to get along with them all. It's normal some people won't like you."
With a firm nod she left the bathroom.
"Serena!" Nami waved to her. "Come sit with us!"
Serena walked over to the two female pirates and sat down. She smiled when her eyes lock with Luffy's. When the young man went back to his fishing she turned to the women.
"So how was your first night here?" Nami asked.
"Did you sleep well?" Robin added.
"It was fine. And I did." Serena nodded. "Again, sorry I slept for so long. It shouldn't happen again."
"Don't worry about it," Nami said. "We all have our sleeping patterns."
"I know. And it might have just been because it was my first night back on a ship," Serena said. "Since I was born on a ship I'm use to the swaying of one. And I suppose the smells lulled me to sleep too."
"So you were born on Red Hair's ship?" Robin closed her book.
"I sure was," Serena said. "Mom didn't want to leave the ship much once she got use to Dad."
"Sounds like they didn't always get along," Nami said.
"From the stories I remember, Mom often thought Dad was a immature goofball with the inability to think things through. But she eventually fell for his childish, laid back nature. She really loved how devoted he was to his friends." Serena rested her elbows on the table and placed her chin in her hands.
"Well, from what we've seen so far," Zoro said, "you don't seem to take after your dad with your personality."
"I've been told I get my personality from my mom and my looks from my dad," Serena said. "Well, I have been told they both were very determined and stubborn. So I think I'm more of a mix of them."
"I think single children often resemble both their parents equally," Nami said. "But that's not always the case. I suppose it doesn't really matter. You're your own personal after all."
"You're right." Serena smiled.
"This is so boring!" Luffy then said.
"Looks like the fish just don't want to bite today," Chopper said.
"We haven't caught a single fish all day," Usopp said.
"We need to go on an adventure," Luffy said.
"Well, the log pose is still in position," Nami said looking at her wrist. "All we can do is wait until we get there."
"That's no fun. Hey!" Luffy jumped off the railing and ran over to the door in the floor that led to the soldier dock system. "Franky! I want to take Rena out on the shark submerge now."
"Just give me a little more time." Franky's head popped out of the little hole. "I'm performing some maintenance on the shark submerge. Once that's done we can take her out for a test ride. It should be ready to go after lunch."
Serena watched the shipwright, wondering how his massive body managed to get into such a small hole.
"Ah." Luffy's shoulders slumped. "I want to go now."
"We can wait, Lalu," Serena said. "The sub isn't going anywhere."
"Okay." Luffy walked over to the table. Lifting her into his arms, he sat down in her chair before placing her on his lap.
Serena shifted when the pirates gave them confused looks.
"It's ready," Sanji announced as he came out of the kitchen with a tray of parfaits in hand. "Delicious tangerine parfaits."
"Thank you, Sanji," Nami said as the cook passed the parfaits out.
Serena mumbled her own thanks before taking a bite. A burst of tangy orange flavor erupted on her tongue. She bit back a hum of delight. It wasn't surprising how good it was with how good Sanji's sandwiches were. He was by far a better cook than the ones back at the mansion. And despite how often Luffy told them they ran out of food she could tell that Sanji kept this crew well fed.
"So Luffy told us you've decided to take up fighting." Usopp said.
"I have to if I'm going to keep up with you all," Serena said. "I know the seas are dangerous."
"Any idea of what type of fighter you'd like to be?" Nami asked.
"Not really." Serena tapped her spoon on her lips. "I know it'll take a while to build up enough physical strength to fight people out here on the sea. So I think it might best to work on a long range weapon while I'm building up some fighting skills."
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Nami said.
"Is there a specific weapon you wish to use?" Brook asked.
Serena glanced at the skeleton. "I'm not sure."
"A bow and arrow might work for you, especially since you have armament haki." Usopp said. "You can coat the arrows in your haki and make them stronger."
"That's an idea," Serena said. "Though I don't have money to buy them."
"No problem." Usopp winked and pointed at himself with his thumb. "I can help with that."
"You can make them?" Serena asked.
"Of course I can." Usopp nodded. He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and started scribbling in it. "I made Nami's staff after all. And you'll want something that suits you. Something light weight and collapsible so it won't get in the way."
"I never would have thought of that," Serena said.
"Usopp's great," Luffy said. "He'll have you a weapon made in no time at all."
"I'd really appreciate it," Serena said. "I don't have any building skills, but if there's anything I can do to help you…"
"Don't worry about it." Usopp waved his hand in dismissal before glaring at Nami. "As long as you pay me later for the supplies."
"What?" Nami blinked.
"I will." Serena nodded. "I promise as soon as payday comes, or however it is you handle the money here, I'll pay you."
"We divide up the treasure equally," Nami said. "And I give the boneheads of the crew an allowance so they don't over spend."
"I see," Serena said. "Good to know."
…
"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Luffy cheered. Lunch had just ended for them and he was ready to take Serena out in the mini sub.
"How can he always have so much energy?" Nami asked as they all filed out of the kitchen.
Serena paused. Turning back to Sanji she wondered if she should offer to help clean things up. He was still at the sink washing the dishes. She turned away when she remembered their minor confrontation. She should give him his space for now. Once he became more use to her being around she'd offer her help then.
"Must be all that meat he eats," Usopp said.
"Just get him out of here so we can have some peace for a while," Zoro said. "Is the shark submerge ready?"
"Just a few more minutes of tinkering and she'll be ready to go," Franky said before disappearing below deck.
Serena sat down on the mast bench; listening to Brook play his violin while Luffy fell asleep on the deck at her feet. She smiled down at him. "Sometimes I get jealous with how easily he can fall asleep."
"I know the feeling," Usopp said.
"You? You fall asleep just as fast as he does," Nami said.
"I do not," Usopp said.
"You do too," Nami said. "Sometimes you two are like twins."
"She's right," Zoro said leaning back against the Sunny, hands behind his head.
"Don't even start, Zoro," Nami said. "You sleep all the time."
"What ever." Zoro dug his finger in his ear.
Serena sat quietly; watching as the Straw Hats started arguing who slept the most. It was cute and amusing to her. The sight made diluted memories of her dad's crew fighting. These people were clearly family. She knew Luffy called them his friends, but the bond was there. It also made her wonder how her relationship was going to really be with them, if she got to stay with them for a while and if she allowed herself to opening up to them about her life on Hydra. Her smile faded a bit. Hopefully she had given them enough about her life on Hydra they wouldn't ask anymore about it.
"She's ready!" Franky then announced.
"Yeah!" Luffy jumped up from the deck, instantly awake from his nap.
"That was quick nap." Serena stared at her friend. "I guess something's really do never change."
"You can count on Luffy for that," Nami said.
"Let's go!" Luffy grabbed Serena's wrist and pulled her off the bench. Once again she was pulled into his arms before he jumped up and into the hole leading to the soldier dock system. He sat her down.
"You sure know how to get to places quickly," Serena said.
Luffy grinned.
"Let's get going," Franky said. "I want to see how she handles now."
Serena followed Luffy as he scrambled up the shark submarine and into the mini water vessel. Reaching the floor of the mini sub she looked around. She didn't have a clue what she as looking at with all the unfamiliar buttons and switches.
"Come sit here, Rena," Luffy said.
Serena turned to find him patting one of the seats in the front. She sat down. Luffy sat behind her while Franky sat in the seat beside her.
"And here we go!" Franky said while tapping and flipping buttons and switches.
The sub hummed to life. With some clicks and the sound of rolling wood, a door opened in front of them. Franky launched the sub. They went out a few feet before lowering into the water. Serena's eyes lit up upon seeing all of the sea life swimming by them. "Amazing!"
"First time going under the sea, huh?" Franky asked.
"It sure is," Serena said. "I mean I've swam in the sea before but this is completely breath taking. It's definitely different from using goggles to see. I love it."
Franky laughed. "Well, if you like it so much then I'll teach you how to drive the sub."
"Really?" Serena looked at him, wide eyes.
"Of course." Franky smiled at her. "You're part of our crew. So why not?"
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered. "Rena's going to pilot the sub!"
"Okay, okay," Serena said. "Calm down, Lalu. Let's get started."
"All right then," Franky said before going over the controls of the miniature submarine.
Serena followed his instructions carefully. Once he had explained what everything did, she took over the controls.
"There you go," Franky said. "Now you've got it. You're a natural."
"Well, it's a little easier than I thought it would be," Serena said as she guided the sub through the water. She was careful. Though she thought it was uncalled for. Out here in the wide-open ocean there wasn't much for her to hit. After a couple hours they headed back to the ship. She docked the sub and they exited. "That was amazing! Thanks for teaching me how to drive the sub."
"No worries. We'll get in some more training later," Franky said. "And who knows? You might become an expert."
"Maybe." Serena shrugged.
"You want to train now?" Luffy asked.
"Sure." Serena nodded.
"Let's go then." Luffy grabbed the ladder and started climbing up. He opened the door. Bangs of a hammer on something greeted them.
Serena followed after him. Upon the deck she found the noise was coming from Usopp. Unfinished arrows were scattered around him on the deck.
"So how did it go?" Nami asked.
"Did you have fun?" Chopper added.
"It went great," Serena said. "I had lots of fun. Franky showed me how to drive the sub."
"We're going to train now," Luffy said.
The Straw Hats paused. Robin lifted her eyes from her book. Their eyes widened in shock as they looked to Luffy then to Serena.
"What's wrong?" Serena asked.
"You're going to train with Luffy?" Zoro asked. "Do you have any idea the kind of fighter he is?"
"Of course," Serena said. "I've trained with him before. Well, sort of. We did it when we were kids."
"Things are different now," Nami said. "Luffy's a lot stronger than he was back then."
"It'll be fine!" Luffy smiled and put his arm around Serena's shoulders. "She's my girlfriend after all. I'm not going to hurt her. Right, Rena?"
"Yeah." Serena nodded. "Let's get started."
"Chopper, you better stand by," Usopp said. "Serena might need your doctoring skills."
"I'm ready!" Chopper nodded firmly while holding his medical bag.
Serena rolled her eyes at them but smiled. As Luffy took his stance she turned to take her own. She paused when she saw moment above her. Looking up she found Sanji had his arms crossed over the railing. His eyes were intense and focused on her, but his expression was unreadable. She swallowed. Turning away from him she readied herself for a fight.
Luffy charged forward and threw a punch at her with striking speed despite the fact he was holding back his full power.
Serena felt something take over her body. She knew exactly what she was supposed to do. Her body jerked to her right, easily avoiding Luffy's punch as it flew past her head.
"Not bad, Rena," Luffy said pulling his fist back. "You dodged that easily."
Serena smiled.
"I'm going to throw this one a little faster. Be ready." Luffy threw another punch at her.
Once more she dodged his punch easily despite the increase of power behind the punch. That time she was sure that her body remembered the details that her dad and her crew had taught her about fighting when she was a kid. Though she had no idea how that was actually possible.
"Looks like you might have remembered some things your dad taught you after all," Luffy said.
"So it looks like it," Serena said. She rushed towards him, throwing punches. He easily blocked her attempts at landing a punch on him with a flick of his wrists. She knew he would easily stop her. And that was fine. This was just practice to see what she could do and to get stronger. In time she would get up to his level and really be able to go head to head with him.
"Keep your shoulders tight against your sides," Luffy instructed as she continued her assault on him. "You're holding them out a bit too far."
"Right." Serena nodded. She pulled in her elbows. Instantly her punches got better and stronger.
"That's it," Luffy said. "Now add in some kicks."
Serena nodded again. She threw a couple more punches at him before kicking up at his shoulder.
Luffy grabbed her ankle. With a quick jerk, he flipped her body through the air.
Air left Serena's lungs when she collided with the deck.
"Ack! Sorry, Rena," Luffy said. "I didn't mean to toss you that hard."
"It's fine, Lalu." Serena stood up. "Don't worry about it. Let's keep going."
"You got it." Luffy nodded and took his stance again.
Serena started again. During a session of her kicks and punches Luffy finally started throwing some back at her instead of just blocking them. A few times he got close to hitting her, but she managed to just barely dodge them.
"Not bad," Zoro said.
"I guess we shouldn't be surprised," Brook said. "She does have the blood of an emperor flowing through her veins."
"She must have inherited Red Hair Shanks fighting abilities," Nami said. "I wonder how powerful she'll become."
Luffy and Serena paused.
"Rena will be come strong," Luffy said. "She'll be as strong as her dad."
"It's possible but also not possible," Robin said.
"What do you mean?" Chopper asked.
"Men typically have an advantage over women since men are physically stronger," Robin said. "And her dad, if I recall correctly, has conquers haki. It all really depends on how smart a person is and how they utilize their abilities."
"I see," Chopper said. "That makes sense."
"It doesn't matter to me." Serena shrugged. "I only want to get strong enough to help keep Lalu safe. And you all as well, of course. I know how much Luffy cares about you all."
"You're going to be fine," Zoro said. "But that doesn't mean you need to slack off on training. And to help you I'm going to let you use my weights. The lighter ones I still have around here. You need to build up your body strength."
"Thanks, Zoro," Serena said.
"Don't take me yet." Zoro's lips curled into a slightly malicious grin. "You're going to work harder than you ever have in your entire life."
"Wonderful." Serena's eyes dropped down to Zoro's chest. He was by far the most muscular of the crew, and probably of every man she had ever seen. Suddenly her confidence plummeted.
Zoro laughed. "Don't worry. I won't work you into the ground. I know you're an amateur. You're no where near my level."
"How kind of you." Serena smirked.
"We can all help train you," Usopp said. "Once I get your bow and arrows done I'll be the best to help you learn how to use them."
"Thanks, everyone," Serena said.
"Let's get back to it," Luffy said. "You have a long ways to go yet."
Serena nodded. They started sparring once again. A couple hours later they took a break, got some water, and then Luffy started training her again. They worked their way around the deck as they traded punches and kicks. Just before Sanji called that dinner was ready they had stopped for the day. She laid on the deck, panting hard from her work out. "Man…that was tough. I think I'm going to be very sore tomorrow."
"You should take a hot bath later to relax your muscles," Chopper said. He walked over to her. His eyes ran over the bandages on her arms. "I should change those after dinner. After your bath would be better."
"Sure thing, Chopper." Serena pushed herself up.
"Let's eat," Sanji said.
"Food! I'm starving!" Luffy jumped up then offered Serena his hand.
Serena gladly took it. She stood up and followed him to the kitchen. This time she was sure to sit down in her own chair on his left side. She was so hungry, but she ate slowly.
"Who's on guard duty tonight?" Franky asked in the middle of dinner.
"I am," Robin said.
"Me too," Brook added.
Serena blinked in confusion for a moment before remembering they needed people up at night to make sure no other pirates or navy snuck up on them. "So when should I start standing guard at night?"
Everyone paused. No one answered right away.
"I would be best if you got stronger before standing guard at night," Sanji said.
Serena twisted her lips to the side. That wasn't the answer she was expecting.
"Why not?" Nami asked. "She's part of our crew now. Don't you trust her to have our backs?"
"This has nothing to do with trust, Nami," Sanji said. "It's just she has no experience doing that. Sometimes an attack can happen so quickly that experienced fighters are caught off guard. She should work up to being on guard duty."
"Then what do you suggest?" Serena started down the table at Sanji.
"Stand guard for a few hours when our stronger fighters are on duty," Sanji said.
"So when you, Zoro, and Luffy are on duty I can be too," Serena said.
"Like I said, it has nothing to do with trust," Sanji said.
"I never said it didn't." Serena frowned. She was starting to have second guesses of ever being friends with this guy. She felt like she was going through some kind of test of trust with the cook but quickly reminded herself that trust and respect are earned not given.
"Uh, it's a good idea," Nami said. "We can rearrange it so Zoro and Luffy are on duty tomorrow night. That way she can start getting some experience."
"Fine." Sanji stabbed his fork into his food.
The atmosphere shifted to a tense one after that. The only one who didn't seem to notice was Luffy. The captain continued to dig into his food. Serena sighed. She wished she was more like Luffy in the moment. Forcing her mind off Sanji she focused on eating and listening to the Straw Hats talk rather than speak herself.
"I think I'm going to take a bath now if that's all right," Serena said as they walked out of the kitchen.
"We're not going to train more?" Luffy asked.
"Not tonight," Serena said. "I don't want to over do it or anything."
"All right then," Luffy said.
"I'll see you in a while, Lalu." Serena waved to him before heading up to the women's quarters to get her clothes. After that she headed towards the washroom. Reaching the ladder in the library she placed her hand on it and paused. Her mind swam around Sanji and his hostility towards her. She had no idea what to do with him. Would it be all right just to leave things as they were? Should she confront him about it? Should she speak to the others about it?
She shook her head and climbed up the ladder. Placing her clothes on the vanity, she turned on the knobs to the tub. Reaching her desired temperature, she plugged the drain to allow the tub to fill up. Steam lifted into the air as she disrobed. Turned her back to the mirror she lifted her hair and looked at her scar the best she could. From what she could tell it was healing just fine. Though she should have brought some salve with her. She would have if she had only known, had only thought to keep some with her. If anything happened to her back she would have to tell the doctor about it or risk getting an infection.
"Don't worry about that now. Nothing bad will happen," Serena told herself. "If we are involved in a fight you know Lalu won't let you get hurt. Just relax and enjoy your bath."
She crawled into the water. The heat rushed her skin, pushing her thoughts of Sanji and her back from her mind. She allowed herself to enjoy a good soak before pushing through with her bath. Climbing out of the water she dried off, dressed, drained the tub, and then left the room. The cool air felt good on her hot skin as she stepped back outside. Her body was aching a bit from her training but she felt good despite that.
The Straw Hats were once again scattered around the deck when she found them. This time she decided to sit down on the deck with Luffy. As she did he laid his head on her lap. She smiled when he gave her a goofy grin. And once again the crew gave the two strange looks. She didn't care. It felt good to have Luffy this close to her. Her fingers soon found their way into his hair. Working her digits through his scalp he eventually fell asleep on her lap. Her heart skittered as she watched him sleep.
"He's so comfortable with you," Usopp said.
Serena nodded before looking at him. "Is that odd?"
"A bit," Usopp said while he continued to work on her weapon. "He's not the type to fall asleep on someone's lap. I guess you two really bonded despite not being close. You know, Luffy never had really said how you two were able to speak to each other through your minds."
"I've been wondering about that as well." Brook leaned closer. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know either," Serena said.
"You don't know?" Robin asked.
"I don't." Serena shook her head. "We've just always been able to do it. That's odd. You'd think something so abnormal like that I'd be able to remember how and why we can do it." She laughed. "I guess we're just odd."
"I can believe that," Usopp said before focusing fully on his task.
Serena hummed. With her fingers still running through Luffy's hair she thought about her bond to Luffy. She tried to remember exactly when she and he started to be able to speak to each other through their minds. Nothing came to her. All she had on that was a black spot inside of her memories. Her eyebrows kneaded in slight confusion. There had to be some memory about it somewhere inside of her head. So where was it?