Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Author's Note: It has been a long time! Well for me anyway. I hope you are all doing well. Thank you for your posts. I also just want us to take a moment to remember all of those who fought in the war. I can't believe it has been 70 years since D-Day. If not for all those brave people I probably wouldn't exist today…and so for that I am grateful.

First Impressions

Chapter 7

Hachi leant back in his seat and tried to avoid the gaze of the straw hat captain and the reindeer who studied him longingly. The young man's comment had made him feel ill at ease and he could tell from the guy's facial expression that no good would come from this.

"Hey Usopp, do you have one of those whistles that will make Hachi blow up into a balloon?" Luffy asked. Hachi started to sweat, a little worried about where this was going.

"Why would you want him to be a balloon?" the mermaid princess asked, a little bemused and also a little concerned. She assumed that the young pirates meant no harm by it, but could also sense fear coming from one of her loyal subjects.

"To see if he can fly" the captain announced.

"Don't be stupid Luffy!"

Hachi was suddenly relieved to hear the voice of their navigator scolding the man beside him. Luffy was very close to examining his tentacles and trying to find a hole!

"What?!" the straw hat complained.

"The monsters in Skypiea were made of air. Hachi is a blue sea fish man, you can't blow him up!" the red head explained with a hint of irritation in her voice. Sometimes it was hard work being with such idiots.

Luffy and Chopper's expressions changed slightly to disappointment as realisation kicked in.

"Hachi I must apologise for his stupidity." Sanji spoke up, trying to reassure the man. "You see, the only way to make it back to blue sea unharmed was floating. There was an octopus that acted like an air balloon and helped get us down safely…once we landed it shrunk back to normal size."

Hachi nodded a little and pretended he understood but was still a little dubious. After all, when Luffy and Sanji first met their doctor they saw him as a food supply. He wasn't any different.

"So is this when you headed towards Water Seven?" Franky asked keen to get to the point where he makes an entrance.

"No" Robin announced, filling the cyborg with disappointment. He sighed as it looked like he would have to wait some more. But if it meant listening to her voice he supposed he could live with it.

"Upon landing on the ocean surface we were immediately hit by a large wave of sea monkeys. We witnessed a large vessel head our way with no sail and barely any crew" She continued.

"Yeah that was pretty hard to see" Usopp pitched in, "They had lost all hope"

"To think that we could have been in a position like that if things went differently" They all looked at the raven haired female. Trust her to always think of the most morbid of events.

"What happened?" Franky asked, a little curious.

Robin looked at each of her younger crew members and caught the gaze of their navigator. Nami smiled and nodded her approval for her friend to continue with the story telling. "Well, we ended up docking at an interesting island. It was plain to look at from a distance, but full of extra ordinary creatures that were very long."

"Oooh! That was a fun island!" Luffy cut in, recalling his exploration with Usopp and Chopper.

"Those animals were quite something" Usopp nodded with a hand placed under his chin as he recalled the memory.

"That's when we met Sherry and the old man!" Chopper exclaimed, excited.

"Who is Sherry?" Camie asked.

"She was a giraffe!" Luffy announced. Usopp slapped the back of his captain's head.

"Idiot, she was a horse. Her neck was long as were her legs. But she was a devoted animal. She waited for many years for her owner, even when the rest of the villagers had left." Usopp explained. "Turned out he was stuck on some giant bamboo sticks and couldn't get himself down. That is until our captain here kicked them and broke them, thinking it was some kind of enemy"

"Luckily the fall didn't kill him" Chopper added in for emphasis. Luffy was oblivious to the looks of concern he now gained.

"While these three were getting up to no good, we had a visit from the Foxy Pirates" Sanji announced.

"I have heard of them before" Hachi spoke up, glad to have recognised something for a change. "Aren't they the ones who go around challenging other crews to compete in some game?" the straw hat crew nodded.

Robin replied; "That is correct, although there is more to it than that. He makes up rules and then uses any means necessary to break them to win his games. There were 3 main rounds we had to compete in. We almost lost Chopper as a crew member."

Eyes looked at the little doctor. Chopper shivered at the memory of the event. "Foxy was a cheat!" he argued, "and he shot Sherry for no reason!"

"Sounds like a jerk" Franky spoke up, he could hear the concern in the doctor's voice and anger in his body language as he recalled past events.

"I guess it was for that reason that Luffy stupidly accepted the challenge then?" the red head asked when she heard about Sherry, already knowing the answer.

"Hey, I wasn't to know what it was all about!" Luffy tried to defend himself.

"Well, we were lucky that in the end we won the Davy Back Fight or else we could have lost our friends" Robin continued to explain to their new friends what the competition entailed, the rules and their wins and losses. Franky and Brook sat there and listened carefully. Both older men couldn't help but smile at the way Robin told the tale. They would have probably liked to have taken part themselves. It was interesting to hear how well Nami traversed the sea, but for them to be cheated at the end. As well as the team work that the swordsman and cook seemed to have, despite the fact that usually they are at each others throats. When it came to Robin detailing the plan their navigator had suggested about taking the captain and gaining an automatic win on the third round, everyone looked at her with judgemental gazes.

"WHAT?" she snapped, causing them to look at anything but her. She crossed her arms and gave an 'hmph', "It was a perfectly logical plan and would have meant a straight win! They had been playing dirty all along, so why couldn't we?!"

"Nami-san I would have agreed with you if I were there" Brook sung, trying to win a point with the attractive female.

"I can see your logic Nami-sis, but I have to agree that doing that would have made you all as bad as them" the blue haired man announced.

"Well you weren't there and didn't have the fear of losing your friends!" she bit back. They realised quickly to not talk about it any more so as not to upset her further. Clearly it was a sour point and not one of her proudest moments.

Zoro studied Nami and recalled how he had told her back then that she had brought the name calling onto herself. He had been right, and he wouldn't take it back, but seeing it from another perspective he could understand her logic. At that time they hadn't come across an enemy they couldn't defeat. They had just beaten 'God' himself so these punks would have been easy enough. However, no one could have been prepared for how crafty Foxy was or for the fact that they almost lost. Luffy had managed to defeat the man at the end, and although he had complete faith in his captain even he had been concerned that he might lose at one point. So, he could understand how Nami felt. His thoughts suddenly turned to the fight between Luffy and the Silver Fox. "Hey Luffy, I still don't get it, why the hell did you decide to wear an afro?" he asked.

Luffy looked at Usopp and grinned, they both announced in unison, "because it was cool" (Luffy), "It made him stronger" (Usopp). Brook combed his hair and nodded in agreement as the cyborg suddenly changed his crop into an afro himself, announcing how SUPER it was. Zoro suddenly wished he hadn't asked.

Nami sighed at their speeches, "As if a change of hair style can make you stronger. Stupid" she mumbled.

"Party pooper!" Luffy grumbled, but was ignored. Zoro was relieved he was not the only one to think that the whole notion was ridiculous. He was surprised that even Sanji was in agreement with them. He shook his head in dismay.

"Um Robin-san, what happened to Foxy, Sherry and the old man?" Camie asked sweetly.

Robin turned her attention on the girl near her and ignored the commotion behind them as the men competed on who had the best afro. She felt sorry for the mermaid princess as they tried to drag her view and opinion into it. "Well, in the end Luffy chose to take their pirate flag, replacing it with another sail so they could get home"

"That was kind of him" Camie smiled. He really was thoughtful even if he appeared to be a little stupid at times.

"Well the only other option was to take the crew and we didn't want them travelling with us" the archaeologist continued. Camie nodded in understanding. He didn't sound like the best of people to be friends with.

"As for Sherry and the old man…Chopper helped to heal her and they went to find their people" the raven head finished.

"But how could they get to the other part of the island?" Camie asked, recalling their previous description of the island. She suddenly regretted asking as she saw the expression on the older woman's face change. It was hard to describe but her eyes became shaded some how and she gripped the glass in her hand tighter as she recalled something that was clearly a little uncomfortable for her.

Picking up on her friend's anxiety Nami spoke her name, "Robin?"

Robin looked up and shared a faint smile with Nami. Silent communication helped them to understand that the former was okay and had moved on and the latter didn't need to take over. Nodding slightly Robin placed her glass on the table and took a deep breathe to prepare herself mentally. She then began to explain her side of the story. After a quick scold from Nami to listen, everyone remained silent.

Franky listened with a frown on his face as he heard Robin's background story once again. He knew that at the time he met them no one was fully aware of her background, but hearing it first before the rest of the tale made sense, especially as they didn't want to put their friend in a bad light. This tale gave them insight into why Robin would act the way she did later on and why she tried to risk her own life to save theirs.

Up until now, listening to all of the straw hats back ground stories had brought Shirahoshi to the verge of tears, but the two most powerful stories that really caused her heart to melt were those of the female straw hat crew members. As Robin described her childhood growing up in exclusion due to her powers, her desperate attempts to becoming an archaeologist, her meeting with the giant and her mother, along with the destruction of her entire home, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She didn't know what to make of the man called Aokiji. For him to have helped the old man and his horse across the ocean and to have saved Robin as a child it seemed that he was a kind person, but when the story started to unfold at how he tried to make the straw hats abandon her and tried to destroy her once and for all, she was aghast.

When Robin finished an awkward silence filled the room out of respect.

"How did you get away from him?" Brook asked. The ice user sounded incredibly powerful, so their escape must have been through sheer luck.

Nami studied her friend and reached out a hand, placing it on top of hers to indicate that she would take over. Robin smiled and appreciated the offer. Leaning back in her seat Nami started to explain their encounter with the ice admiral, how he defeated their three strongest members in one move and froze Robin in an embrace. If not for Luffy's quick reflexes their friend would have instantly been smashed into tiny shards of ice. Thankfully Usopp and Chopper acted quickly, despite their usual frozen stances when fear kicked in, they responded and immediately started to thaw their friend. It was at this point that Luffy decided he wanted to fight the admiral on his own.

"I see" Brook finally understood as Nami explained the latter.

Shirahoshi and Camie looked at each other, they didn't understand. "I don't get it…if Luffy fought one on one and was turned to ice…" Camie started, a little concerned and confused.

"Camie-san, there is an unwritten rule that when men fight one on one that to continue to fight with anyone else would be breaking a promise. Even if Luffy lost, Robin was safe." Brook explained.

"But why didn't he break Luffy into pieces?" the mermaid asked, as it was clear this could have easily happened.

"Knowing Aokiji, he probably wanted to use it as a vital lesson" Robin explained. "He could easily defeat any one of us if he wished to, but he doesn't use his power mindlessly." It was interesting to listen to the woman talk about the man that had tried to kill her. She sounded like she almost had some respect for him.

"It was hard work thawing you guys" Chopper announced, "I was really worried".

"It's a good job you have such a great doctor on board" Hachi commented.

Chopper instinctively turned and scolded the octopus, "shut up, that doesn't make me happy you idiot"

Hachi had been around the crew long enough to know that the little reindeer struggled to take praise well. Everyone smiled at his little wiggle.

Turning his gaze from their doctor the cyborg studied their archaeologist for a moment. She was laughing and seemed more relaxed, like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. He couldn't help but wish at that moment that he had known her when they were younger. He was a bit older than her but he would have looked out for her and suspected they would have been good friends. Robin had not gone into detail about her journeys and encounters before meeting the straw hats, but he suspected that they were not good memories. In fact he was certain she was used and abused and didn't blame her at all for closing her heart off and desperately pushing all hope away.

He could feel his fists clenching and he had to bite back the urge to put his arm around her to reassure her. It was bad enough that he choked on his tears that he forced back while she was talking. Instead he reached out for a glass of wine and filled her glass. His heart started to pound in his ears when she smiled back at him with gratitude.

"So what happened after that?" Camie asked, stretching her tail a little to make herself more comfortable.

"Well I guess that's when we hit the rail way tracks in the ocean and met Chimnie, Kokoro and Gonbe" Nami explained.

"Hey wasn't that when that giant frog tried to kill himself?" Usopp asked.

Luffy nodded his head with his arms crossed while rocking back and forth in his seat, "Yokozuna was a good frog" he concluded.

"Funny, wasn't until you learnt about his story that you decided not to eat him" Sanji spat, lighting another cigarette. Luffy didn't eat things he respected but he usually didn't wait to find out either.

Franky looked over at their captain and cook. That comment was not even funny to him. The frog had been a good friend to his master, Tom, and to him. He could sympathise with the beast and knew all too well how desperate you could feel. Yokojina wanted to get strong so he could defeat the train and the men who were responsible for Tom's death.

"I wonder how Chimnie and Kokoro are doing?" Chopper wondered out loud.

"To think that she was a mer..m…" Usopp spoke up, but was quickly cut off by a plate being thrown in the direction of his head. He ducked and cowered under the table, raising his head slowly to glare at the culprit.

"Don't remind me!" Sanji spat, looking over at the princess and Camie for reassurance. He didn't want to remember that old woman as a mermaid. She was not the type of half human half fish like beauty he had imagined. He glared at the swordsman momentarily and became envious of the man's ability to block things out. Upon meeting Camie the moss head had stated it was the first time he had seen a mermaid, Usopp and Sanji couldn't believe his ability to wipe things from his mind.

"Anyway" Nami interjected, "Kokoro pointed us in the direction of Water 7. We split up and Luffy, myself and Usopp went to visit the ship wrights of the town to try to fix the Merry." Nami's description caused some saddened looks on the straw hat members faces. A sullen, heavy and dark cloud seemed to loom around them. Nami swallowed the lump that threatened to rise in her throat and gave a little cough. She proceeded to explain to their friends their encounter with the shipwright known as Paulie, Franky's own brother in arms and Iceberg. She described the beauty of the city so well that everyone was captivated. When she got to the fact about the hidden identity of CP9, their assessment of Merry, the framing of Luffy and the assault on Usopp, everyone turned their attention on Franky. Finally it was his turn.

Franky made a guttural sound in his throat, adjusted his position slightly and proceeded to tell the group about his first encounter with the straw hat pirates. "My men were just looking out for our family. It's a struggle to make ends meet with scraps from wreckages. To get the good stuff you need money but money isn't always easy to come by. We heard that there were a bunch of pirates in town and several people reported at having seen them with bags full of golden objects. It was too good to be true off course, so I sent my men out to see what they could get. They managed to steal two of their cases, but Usopp caught some of them." He looked over at the sharp shooter full of remorse. He didn't like the fact that his family were responsible for so many injuries to the guy but he didn't know at the time that these were good people. He had assumed that they were scum, like most pirates, and couldn't be trusted. Man how he was proved wrong.

Usopp nodded in acknowledgment of the older man's feelings. Unlike the others the young sniper had formed a close bond with the Ship Wright during their times together. It was possibly because of the man's openness to hear Usopp out about the Merry and his way of helping him to understand and accept the inevitable. After joining forces they had continued to design and create a multitude of inventions and Usopp had learnt a lot from him. Franky was also always amazed by the young man's imagination and saw him as an apprentice of sorts. To think they had been enemies at first and Usopp had hated him for stealing the very thing that he had believed was the answer to their problems. His encounter with Franky and his men only fed into his sorrow further and contributed to his decisions later on. A decision he would later regret.

Franky patted the young sniper on the back as a sign of an apology before continuing his tale. "Usopp was out numbered and had no chance against my guys although it left the rest of you in a pretty bad mood." He recalled how Luffy, Zoro and Sanji had turned up at his home and wiped out his men in anger, bringing the building down with them.

"No one hurts my friends" Luffy stated.

"I'll drink to that" Zoro raised his tankard and everyone else followed suit, clinking glass and downing the fluid.

Nami studied Usopp for a while; she saw the saddened expression on his face as he tried to hide it behind his mug. He knew what was coming up next and she knew he wasn't particularly proud of that moment either. Having been the one to find him in the street, battered and bruised, she had hated whoever was responsible for that. To think that they were now friends with the leader of the group that was the cause for them to almost break apart. Usopp was devastated at the time. He had never felt so weak and helpless. On top of that the news about Merry hit him hard. She was not just a friend but a gift from a precious person to him. Thinking about it now, if she had lost her tangerine trees, Luffy his hat or Zoro his sword, they would probably be full of remorse too.

That day Usopp had taken things personally and had acted on his emotions. He was hurt and angry but once he had opened his mouth there was no turning back. To save face and his own pride he had to go ahead and follow through his words with actions otherwise it would have been all for nothing. Fighting with Luffy was the hardest thing they had ever been through. As best friends and as a crew. Nami couldn't bear to watch it and couldn't understand the whole ordeal in the first place, yet Zoro was right. She hated the fact he was right, but if Usopp bad mouthed the captain and Luffy just allowed him to, then where was the respect? Without respect Luffy wouldn't be able to lead the group successfully. A true man has to take responsibility for his actions. A true man can also admit when he is in the wrong and move on. It was a hard lesson for Usopp to learn but it was one he would never forget.

"So what happened next?" Shirahoshi asked.

"Well Luffy and the others had left by the time I returned. You can imagine my surprise and anger to find the people important to me in a bad way. Off course I wanted to seek revenge for this. I found their ship but only Usopp was on board. I took them as hostages" Franky announced.

"Yes, well, I…" Usopp started to explain nervously his part of the tale but Luffy cut him off.

"We went on a hunt to find Robin and that's when CP9 acted and shot Iceberg, trying to frame me" their captain announced. Usopp looked up at his friend and caught the wink and grin from his captain. Luffy was basically hinting to the others to not bring up issues from the past that were no longer relevant. What was done is done and they were to look forward. Usopp sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye. His friend was too kind.

Having picked up on the hint the others nodded in agreement and smiled. They all knew what happened, even Brook, who had been told by Usopp himself one night, but there was no need for everyone in the world to know. The man in question choked on his own drink as the cyborg slapped him on the back again and Luffy stretched an arm around his shoulders.

Shirahoshi and Camie were oblivious to the hidden message that seemed to be shared with the crew but Hachi had realised something was amiss. However, the octopus also didn't dare to pry. He too had things from his past that he regretted. He glanced over at the red head and watched her as she laughed with the others. He couldn't help but recall the number of times she had tricked him and his fellow fish men in the past. She was smart but also a desperate child. Looking back, if Camie had been in a position similar to Nami he would have charged in there to protect her too. He didn't blame the straw hats, and was grateful for their actions. After all, if not for them he wouldn't have the freedom he has now nor be able to see that not all humans were bad people.

Sanji and Robin continued to explain to the group the events at Water 7 with regard to CP9 and Puffing Tom. Franky pitched in with regard to his own capture with the Sniper King. At this point Luffy and Chopper started to sing the Sniper's song along with Usopp, the former still oblivious to the latter's identity. Well, if they knew they didn't let on.

"After Iceberg told me the truth about Robin I realised that she was only trying to protect us" Nami continued, "I have to say I was really relieved" she looked over at her female friend. Robin returned her smile, "I knew that if everyone knew the truth we would be able to fight and get her back." She concluded.

Sanji suddenly pitched in, "Nothing can beat the power of love" he sung. His comment was received by several grunts and a few laughs, with Luffy in particular finding it amusing. As Sanji continued to describe his rescue for love (him jumping on Puffing Tom and leaving a love note plastered all over a wall for Nami) the others started to drift off slightly.

"Perhaps we should break for the evening?" The swordsman suggested, noting how tired everyone was from talking so much through the day.

"I don't take orders from you!" Sanji spat, hurt at being cut off.

"Cut it in!" Nami snapped, rubbing her temples and yawning. "Zoro is right, it is late and we all need some rest. We can continue this trip down memory lane tomorrow."

Sanji sulked but soon had hearts popping out from his head as he decided that Nami was angelic when she yawned. Zoro gritted his teeth, that guy was such a moron at times.

"I will ask my men to ensure your rooms are laid out for you" the princess spoke up. She called to a guard and gave him a message; he nodded and bowed then disappeared. Shirahoshi turned to look at her other new friends, the mermaid, star fish and octopus, "you will be staying in the palace with us tonight as well won't you?" she asked sweetly.

"Your highness we couldn't possibly…" the starfish spoke up trying to be noble about the whole thing.

"I would love to!" Camie jumped up in excitement.

"If her majesty wishes it" Hachi bowed in acceptance. The starfish had a bead of sweat fall from his brow and proceeded to lecture the straw hats about being on their best behaviour. Well off course he was ignored as the group made their way through the palace and into the guest quarters.

"pssst"

Brook thought he heard a fly buzz by him and turned his head slightly to find nothing was there.

"Psst" the sound came again and seemed a little closer; he swatted a boney hand by his ear.

"Are you deaf old man?!" the voice of the cook hissed as he grabbed the musician and pulled him to one side. Brook seemed surprised at the rough behaviour of his young friend although when he saw the red flush in the man's cheeks and hearts in his eyes he understood something was plotting in the man's head.

"What is it Sanji-san?" the older man asked.

Sanji watched as their friends continued to walk down the corridor ahead of them. He leant near Brook and whispered, "I heard Nami and the others talking…the women will all be sharing a bath together!" he announced.

It took a moment for the news to dawn on the skeleton and he suddenly realised what the young man was getting at.

Usopp caught up with the swordsman and watched the pair of perverts whisper mysteriously between themselves as they joined the back of the group. "What do you think they are up to?" he asked.

Zoro didn't even bother to glance their way and grunted, "Best not to try to see what is in the minds of idiots like that" he answered.

"You're probably right" the sniper acknowledged, although it wouldn't take much to try to guess. He looked ahead instead and watched as the cyborg and archaeologist walked side by side in front of them with Nami, Chopper and Luffy up ahead. It seemed like Nami was scolding Luffy for something and turned to Robin for her support. Usopp noticed the cyborg glancing down at the raven haired woman when she wasn't looking and turning away when she looked up at him. At first he didn't think much off it, but it wasn't the first time that day he had noticed such behaviour.

"Um Zoro" he asked, gaining the older man's attention once more.

"Hmm" was all the reply he got.

"Do…do you think Franky has been acting strange lately?" he asked.

Zoro looked ahead at the cyborg and shrugged, "he made more adaptations to his body…maybe he did a few too many" he suggested.

"I don't mean like that…I mean like his behaviour…" Usopp was careful to not get the others attention and lowered the tone of his voice.

"Seems like the same idiot to me" the swordsman muttered back, really not seeing the bigger picture or reading the meaning behind Usopp's words. The sharpshooter sighed, he might as well be trying to suck eggs.

"I guess he seems to be looking at Robin more than usual" Zoro finally noted. The actual attention to detail almost caused Usopp to collapse in shock. "Though I guess reminiscing about the past can do that to you" he continued, barely aware he said the latter out loud. Usopp studied the expression on his friends face and followed his gaze to that of their navigator and back again. Usopp frowned slightly as he was lost in his own thoughts for a second. It looked like Franky wasn't the only one that wasn't acting like his usual self lately.

….

A/N: Wow, it has taken what seems like forever and a day to finally get this chapter finished and posted!

I just want to say thank you for being patient with me and for continuing to read, even if most of it is a recap on material you already know! I am hoping to break from recapping in the next chapter and bring some interaction between characters into it. To think after Water 7 there is still so much to go through! Anyway, let me know what you think and until next time take care!

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