Hi everyone :) Wow, I got so many reviews last chapter, that's amazing! Thanks so much people! :D

crimeson-plasma: That's so great to hear! :3 Thank you!

SniperKingSogeking0341: Well, sorry to say this but there's only Sanji and Chopper.

BlueWolf65: You think so? Thanks, it makes me happy to hear that! Yeah, the two brothers just know how to calm the other, they're such a perfect team ;) Sorry for the cliffhanger^^ Thank you! :)

crazzyredhead: Thanks :) You're about to find out in this chapter ;)

ichigo1508: Thank you! :)

I really appreciate every single review I got! Thanks again. Here you go, enjoy an extra long chapter :)

Special thanks to Silver Shadowbreeze, the beta of this story!

Disclaimer: One Piece doesn't belong to me.

YXYYXYXYXYXY

Chapter 7 – Housoku no Shima

Slowly, the three let go of each other, still sobbing quietly. Sanji quickly rubbed his red eyes, embarrassed to have cried. Luffy and Chopper, who didn't care that they were weeping like little kids, trembled lightly. It was sad on one hand, but on the other hand they all felt unbelievable happy. So happy that the fear deep inside them slowly vanished.

The fear each of them carried around like heavy stones in their stomachs ached terribly. There was nothing that could make the pain go away. It spread through the body like a virus, and its deadly and cold claws reached out to grip their hearts and never let go. That's what each of them had to go through the past hours, days and weeks.

It was their fear of being the only survivor, the last of the infamous Strawhat crew. When Sanji and Chopper looked up at the sky in another lonely night, thousands of kilometers away from each other without knowing of the other's existence, they would watch the stars. Those small lights, too far away to reach, made them feel so … so small. So unimportant. It felt horrible.

As soon as Sanji and Chopper and Luffy met again, they felt relieved and happy. In the blink of an eye, they were finally free of that fear; they now knew they still had nakama left.

Chopper continued to sob uncontrollably into his small hooves. The tears kept on floating down his fluffy cheeks, even after the warm hug. It wasn't that he was sad, but rather the reindeer couldn't believe it was true. He'd thought all of his precious nakama had died that day! And suddenly there's not only Sanji but Luffy also!

"You… I…" Chopper murmured. Luffy and Sanji didn't respond. There was no need for words. The three friends shared a moment of silent happiness in peace and calm.

"Ya damn idiot rubber…" Sanji grumbled but he wasn't angry at all, failing to get his emotions under control. "How could you just have run off into the New World without waiting for us? Dang! It was a bunch of trouble to find you and Ace," he added in a softer tone, looking at his captain.

Chopper smiled while letting the tears flow freely. Luffy really was alive, in flesh and blood he was standing before them. The reindeer and Sanji all of sudden felt the urge to hug him again but froze as Luffy began to talk.

"So… it's true… you're alive…" Luffy unconsciously whispered, eyes half-opened as he stared into the darkness around them. By now, the sun had set and the night had taken over, laying its dark blanket over the sky and engulfing the world in pitch black darkness.

This however caught the cook's and Chopper's attention, and their eyes narrowed slightly. There was something off… but neither the blond nor the reindeer could say what it was. From first glance at Luffy, everything seemed hunky-dory.

Sanji frowned a bit. No, he wasn't okay. When the cook took a closer look at Luffy, he realized what was wrong. He noticed how sweaty their captain looked. It was strange to see him that weak. But then, what had he expected? What should he have expected? Sanji wasn't sure, but he supposed that any normal human in Luffy's place would have already committed suicide or gone crazy. Sanji bit his lip at a thought. He didn't want to know how he himself looked like at the moment. Probably just as messy and pale as the others.

"What is it, Luffy?" He heard Chopper's trembling voice asking.

"He…" Luffy answered slowly and by the look in his glazed eyes, Sanji got the feeling that their captain was far, far away mentally. Slight worry began to build up inside him. He stepped forward to touch Luffy's shoulder.

"Are ya alright? What's the matter?" he asked carefully. Sanji wanted to touch Luffy's shoulder but hesitated, as if he was afraid he would break Luffy's fragile-looking body.

"He said that… there was still someone alive…" Luffy murmured before his eyes closed almost automatically and he collapsed. If it wasn't for the startled Sanji who caught him in mid-air, Luffy would have crashed onto the ground.

"Luffy!" Both Chopper and Sanji gasped.

"The hell?"

"Doctor! Doctor! Doc-oh wait, I'm the doctor!" Chopper immediately went into his doctor mode and ordered Sanji to lay Luffy onto the ground. There he quickly checked their unconscious captain.

"Oh my God! What on earth-?" Another voice came from behind and took the two aback. Their heads shot around in shock only to see Ace standing in front of them.

"Ace?"

"Eh?" came the intelligent answer. "W-what… aren't you two members of Luffy's crew? I thought…" Ace was at a loss for words as his jaw hit the ground. Weren't those two the doctor and the cook of the Strawhat crew? Weren't they killed on Sabaody Archipelago? What was going on?

The fire fist couldn't think anymore as he stared at Luffy's unonscioius body on the ground. "Luffy! What happened?" he demanded.

"N-no time for explanations! Luffy has a fever, we have to get him into bed now!" Chopper's order brought Sanji and Ace back to reality.

"Right!" The two of them said in unison and within a few minutes Luffy was carried back to the Sunny inside the infirmary.

The Thousand Sunny soon left the small island and continued to sail straight forward. Ace had told them they'd reach another, bigger island soon, maybe the next day.

-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-

Not too long after they left the island:

"How is he?" Ace asked with a slightly trembling voice, unable to hide his worry.

The blonde cook noticed and inwardly shook his head. Ace was the big bro, it was natural he was concerned for Luffy's health. Sanji understood that he wanted to appear strong- he was one of the Whitebeard pirates, after all. But wasn't that a rather silly reason? Whatever, Sanji thought, focusing on Chopper.

The furry doctor had just come out of the infirmary, softly closing the door behind him. He looked up to see Sanji and Ace waiting before him with brows knitted together in worry and slight confusion.

"Chopper?" Ace bit his lip, preparing for the worst although he, deep inside his mind, knew Luffy would never die that easily. He was pretty stubborn after all, but Ace's worry covered all logical thoughts without him realizing.

The little reindeer smiled gently at the other two, giggling slightly. Sanji and Ace weren't prepared for that. They had thought Chopper would be sad, sobbing, shouting, weeping or something like that… but giggling? That came rather unexpected.

"What's with that worried looks? Luffy's fine, he's just a small fever and is really exhausted. It looks as if he hasn't had a proper sleep for the past few days. But I gave him a sleeping pill so that he'll have a good rest."

"And when will he wake up?" Sanji wanted to know.

"Well, I guess Luffy will be up within the next day. You know him, he never can stand still let alone lay for more than three hours, right?" Chopper said, smile still present.

Sanji suddenly thought how mature Chopper looked and acted. Wow, their little reindeer doctor had changed quite a bit.

"Phew, thank god…" Ace whispered, running a hand through his black hair. Then he shook his head and 'tched'. "Typical for him. That little dimwit! Why didn't he tell me he didn't feel well? Really, he's got nothing better to do than making me worry all the time!"

The other two snickered at that comment. They knew that all too well. Yeah, that's so much Luffy- always causing trouble. It was like a law of nature.

"Well, why don't we go into the kitchen? I can make you a nice hot chocolate- you all look pretty tired," Sanji offered.

"Hot chocolate? Hm, that would be nice indeed." Ace smiled as he imagined of a cup of the sweet liquid he loved so much. Chopper quickly agreed, so the three went into the kitchen and Sanji made three cups of hot chocolate. Thanking Sanji, Ace sat down at the kitchen table and took a few gulps. Chopper and the cook copied his actions. It really tasted great.

"So…. you two survived the massacre?" Ace asked to break the silence without noticing how rough that sounded. The other two cringed at the word massacre but didn't say anything. Sanji nodded, tightening the grip on his cup of hot chocolate.

He would like to avoid that subject as much as he could, but Ace wanted, needed answers. Sanji couldn't really blame Luffy's brother for that curiosity- or was it concern for Luffy? Because Ace wanted to hide behind a mask, trying to forget about Luffy's collapsing? Sanji knew Ace probably must be worried as hell.

"I… I thought I was the only one left… it was scary… so scary…" a soft whisper left the little doctor's mouth but the other two heard it. A depressed silence settled in the kitchen. Sanji's cigarette was stuck between his fingers and he didn't bother taking a drag. Ace stared at the table were his elbows were resting and Chopper looked at his own shivering hooves as if to make sure everything was real. It was a bizarre sight but they couldn't care less.

Luffy only had a small fever and was resting, fast asleep. Maybe it was the stress, the exhaustion and the pressure from the past days that caused this. Ace thought about what the little reindeer doctor had told them. The fire fist felt bad for not noticing his brother being sick. How could Luffy have hidden that from him? Damn, the little rubber idiot sure could be a great actor, Ace thought again. It wasn't the first time he realized that Luffy was hiding his feelings and it was getting on his nerves. He would have to talk to his younger brother after he woke up.

"Okay, just to make things clearer… Luffy was sent to Amazon Lily, then he broke into Impel Down, broke out again, rescued you at the battlefield, and then…" Sanji began, trying to find out what happened without bringing up painful memories.

" …Gramps died saving me and Luffy. If he didn't, we'd be…" the fire user paused, trying to get his emotions under control.

The other two hesitated a bit, then Chopper began. "G-Garp died? I'm sorry…"

Ace smiled faintly. "Luffy and me have been training on a small island at Grand Line for a few weeks, not too far away from Amazon Lily. We returned to Sabaody Archipelago and went straight for Fishman Island, entered the New World and finally, on this last island, found you two." he ended his story and waited for Sanji or Chopper to speak.

The little doctor inhaled deeply. "We-well, I was sent to an island where I could improve my knowledge about medicine a bit… I learned hard even though I thought Luffy was de-dead… I don't know why, maybe it was instinct…?

"A-after I read in the newspaper what happened to him and you, I-I quickly left that island and followed you… on Sabaody I met Sanji and we somehow fought our way through these oceans up until this island… I-I am so glad you and Luffy are okay!"

A few soft sobs followed and Sanji gently rubbed Chopper's head. Sanji didn't know why, but all of sudden Luffy's voice popped up inside his head and repeated: "H-he said… that there was still someone alive…" Luffy had said that before he collapsed back at the small island. Who'd said that? Had Luffy just talked rubbish in his fever? Sanji decided to ask Luffy later.

"All I can say is that I landed on an island, just like Chopper, fled from that island (and its weird inhabitants that shall not be mentioned ever again) and landed here in the New World," Sanji said, inhaling the burning smoke of his cigarette. He had had enough of talking already. He was tired, hungry and confused.

All Sanji wanted to do was go to bed and have a nice and long sleep. Waking up tomorrow and realizing it's not just a dream but reality… yeah, that would be perfect.

Ace seemed to notice and chuckled, the atmosphere lightening slightly. He stood up while saying, "I think we're all tired and need to grab a few winks. Let's go to bed, alright? We can discuss the other stuff tomorrow." A loud and long yawn followed, emphasizing everyone's was exhaustion.

No one argued with that, and soon all the lights on Sunny were out. Ace threw himself into Luffy's hammock where he promptly fell asleep (falling asleep in a foreign place had never been a problem for Ace, he could sleep anywhere), and Sanji was dazing off in his own hammock. Chopper was laying in the bed in the infirmary, tightly cuddled to the snoring Luffy. The small reindeer rubbed his blue nose on his captain's cheek as he fell asleep next to the boy.

Chopper didn't want to get separated from him and Sanji ever again. He wanted to make sure Luffy would be still there the next day.

In the middle of the night when it was pitch black, Ace woke up. He couldn't get back to sleep, so he decided to check up on Luffy. The straw hat boy's snores could be heard through the door as Ace stood in front of the sick room.

As he quietly entered the infirmary and lit a small light, he had to smile. If he wasn't a tough guy then he would have thought this sight was really cute. Well, who was he kidding? It was cute!

The little reindeer doctor was cuddled up beside Luffy's face, his blue nose slightly touching the teen's cheek. Chopper looked almost like a little kitten who was searching for warmth, sleeping beside its owner. To his surprise, Ace found Sanji snoring in a chair, forehead on the nightstand beside Luffy's bed. The cigarette had fallen out of his half-open mouth and was rolling around on the floor.

Ace chuckled. His little brother's nakama sure were fantastic friends. Ace knew together with these guys, Luffy would get the best protection he could have asked for. They genuinely cared for the rubber boy from the bottom of their hearts. To know Luffy's nakama would always keep a close eye on their little troublemaker set Ace's always worrying mind at ease, at least a little bit.

Ace silently went back to the men's cabin and found sleep as soon as his back touched the hammock.

-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-

An hour earlier:

Luffy opened his eyes and shot up, blinking into the darkness. He'd heard someone entering the infirmary.

"Luffy? You awake?"

Luffy inhaled deeply, sighing. It was Sanji. Why was he so tense anyways? And… Chopper was here too? Luffy noticed the small reindeer lying beside his head, still asleep. Luffy found it sweet that he came to sleep with him. He really liked the fluffy doctor a lot.

"Yes." Luffy responded, waiting for his cook to explain himself.

Sanji slowly groped around in the black room as he couldn't see anything and carefully neared Luffy's bed. It was still night and Ace was fast asleep in the men's cabin.

"How are you feeling? Need anything?" Sanji murmured.

Luffy grinned into the darkness before answering, "I'm better, thanks. Sorry to have you guys worried." he said out of an old habit. Sanji grunted as he acknowledged Luffy's apology.

"I wanted to ask you something." Sanji began, changing the subject. Luffy could hear Sanji breathing in the darkness as he came nearer. Suddenly the blond teen hit a chair close to Luffy's bed and stopped.

"Ah, there it is." he murmured to himself before he sat down. "Well, before you collapsed out there in the woods, you whispered something strange."

Luffy listened closely, trying to remember. "Eh? I did?" The seventeen-year-old knew he fainted back then but he talked to them before…? "What did I say?" Now Luffy was whispering not to wake Chopper up, and Sanji also lowered his voice.

"If I recall correctly, you said something like 'He said there was still someone alive' or something. What did you mean by that? Who said that?" Sanji wanted to know. It wasn't that important but it had been bothering him the whole evening.

A short pause followed and Sanji realized Luffy was deep in. Then Luffy spoke up again. "Uhm… yeah I know what you mean. Well, do you remember that… bear guy who sent you all away…?"

How could they forget about Kuma and the other marine who did this to them? How could they forget about that day? There was no way they could.

Sanji gulped. "Go on." he only said.

"W-well… he sent everyone of you away, even though they all, except for you and Chopper, were d-dead…" Now it was Luffy's turn to gulp. Sanji suddenly regretted asking that question and bringing unpleasent memories back, but now it was too late. Luffy continued.

"I-I do know now why he did this… Kuma once was part of my father's army and maybe still is and that's why he maybe didn't want to let the marines have my… our nakama… Ivankov told me."

Sanji bit his lip at the mention of that name. Ivankov, that stupid guy who had helped Luffy. Actually he should be grateful to him, but oh well. "I see."

"Yeah… well, before he sent me away he said 'Don't give it up, mugiwara. Two of your members are still breathing.' Back then I didn't get his message, but my subconscious mind somehow must have registered it…" Luffy explained, scratching his chin.

To say Sanji was impressed was an understatement. For once, Luffy appeared like an old wise man the way he talked! Since when did Luffy know such big words? Oh well, never mind. He shouldn't wonder about the mystery called 'Luffy'. Many people went to the dogs after trying to solve that mystery, so why should he bother to understand him?

"I get it… and in your fever you remembered what he told you all of sudden… weird." Sanji said to himself. So Luffy had been the last one to be sent away? It must have been horrible to see every single one of his nakama vanish. Now that he thought about it, Luffy actually was the only one of the three strawhats who witnessed everyone being shot. Sanji clenched his fists. He shouldn't think about those depressing memories anymore. If Luffy wanted to talk, he would, right? He shouldn't worry about it. He was too tired anyways.

"Man, I'm exhausted… we better go to sleep now." Sanji suggested groggily.

"Yeah I guess…" Luffy said, then yawned. He really was very tired.

-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-

The next morning, Ace wasn't that surprised to see Luffy already up and having a lively discussion with Sanji. Ace smiled at that, knowing that his little brother had never been sick for long. Luffy seemed so happy that Ace couldn't bring himself to enter the kitchen. The twenty-year-old feared he would destroy the light atmosphere, so instead he went to the mast and sat down, staring into the gray sky.

Ace couldn't help but let a huge grin creep into his face. Two of Luffy's nakama were actually alive! That helped Ace a lot. Luffy would heal much quicker with their support. Ace sighed softly as he observed how Chopper shyly entered the kitchen and joined the conversation.

Maybe he should let them talk. It was his brother's crew after all. They probably had some private things to talk about or shared memories of the other nakama who… Ace couldn't even think about it. He didn't really know those people, but they meant the world to his little brother.

"-So you two are still searching for-?" Chopper stated but was cut off in mid-sentence by Luffy himself, who was a bit agitated by the recent events and nodded furiously.

"Yes, of course! But now Ace wants to support me to become the Pirate King, not Whitebeard anymore since the old guy… well, died on the battlefield. I'm gonna find One Piece! And Blackbeard of course, we will beat him." Luffy grinned self-confidently but Sanji and Chopper didn't miss the disgust Luffy's slight glare held for Blackbeard.

A short pause followed after the young strawhat boy had murmured "…and we will beat Akainu." They didn't need to ask why Akainu should be beaten, they'd already read about the incident at Marineford. Akainu, the man who had killed Garp the Hero as he protected his grandchildren. A horrible and creepy magma guy with enormous power. But neither Sanji nor Chopper had the slightest doubt the two D. brothers would succeed.

"Ace and me have formed an own crew, the D. brothers!" Luffy all of sudden said proudly but just as soon as those words left his lips he regretted saying that. He went silent in an instant. The seventeen-year-old looked into two almost crestfallen faces. Luffy dropped his head, staring at the ground instead.

His two crewmates looked really hurt, and Luffy really didn't mean to hurt his friends. They probably must feel just as miserable as I do, how can I say that to them? he thought to himself, biting his bottom lip in regret. The way he said he and Ace were a new crew made it sound as if Luffy didn't need Sanji and Chopper anymore.

The silence pressed down onto his shoulders like a weight and treated to crush him forcefully, so he quickly tried to break it first.

"Well – er… I-I'm really happy to have met the two of you here…" he said a bit nervously and gulped as there was no reaction on his friends' faces. He had no idea of what he should say now, and as Luffy opened his mouth to apologize, no words came out.

It was weird but Luffy was at a loss of words. So instead of continuing the conversation about their futures, Luffy made a huge mistake. One he would regret later. The young man just stood up, a hard look on his face, went out of the kitchen and shut the door loudly, making the other two flinch at the slam. Then Chopper and Sanji were left alone in the room which suddenly seemed so cold and repellent.

They silently exchanged looks but none of them dared to say a word.

Ace blinked at the noise and saw Luffy passing him wordlessly. Frowning at this odd behavior, the big brother jumped up and followed the younger to the figure's head where Luffy sat down. The young man stared to the ocean and watched a bunch of fishes swimming by.

"Say, what's the matter? You seem a bit … gloomy all of sudden." Ace reached out to lay a hand upon the younger one's shoulder but Luffy's hard voice made him flinch back.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," He said in the coldest tone Ace'd ever heard from Luffy, and added, "I'm just being an ass."

"Do I have to understand that?" Ace blinked as he asked that, not sure of what to think of Luffy's weird statement. "What the heck were you talking about in the kitchen?"

"I told them about our new formed crew. The D. brothers."

"So what? What's wrong with that?"

"I made it sound as if our crew was better than my old one! I-" Luffy snapped but didn't finish. Instead he shut his eyes and grabbed his head, shaking it roughly. Ace eyes grew bigger and at once he knew what was going on.

'It must be another flashback' shot through his head. Not wasting a second he shot forward and hugged the shivering Luffy close to his chest, murmuring something into his ear only for Luffy to understand.

"The two of them really share a strong bond." Chopper commented silently as he and Sanji watched the scene, standing in front of the opened kitchen door. The blonde agreed quietly and lit another cigarette, throwing the old one into the ocean.

He and Chopper knew Luffy hadn't meant it. They knew Luffy needed them, both of them, more than ever and would never let any of them go, even if they wanted to leave. They knew Luffy was hurt and only wanted everyone around him to be happy. They knew what kind of state Luffy was in. But they could only guess what was going on inside Luffy's mind.

No one really knew what Luffy was feeling deep inside. He didn't want anyone to know, because that would mean the people he loved would only worry more about him. Luffy didn't want that. He only wanted Ace, Sanji and Chopper to smile, even if that meant he himself couldn't truly smile.

Luffy shook a bit more and Ace felt something wet on his shoulder and sighed. Luffy wasn't in a good shape he had to admit. Maybe they left the safe island back on good old Grand Line too fast. Maybe he shouldn't have taken Luffy out to the New World so quickly. But now it was too late.

"Hey Lu… is it okay now?" Ace asked, head leaning on Luffy's black mop. Now both of them were sitting on the figurehead, with Luffy on Ace's lap.

A soft nod was the answer but that didn't satisfy Ace. "We're on Thousand Sunny, remember? Sanji and Chopper are here, right?" Luffy nodded again, this time Ace could feel a slight hesitation in the nod.

"That's a great thing, isn't it? You have two of your dearest nakama back. It is a good thing, right?" Ace said again, wanting Luffy to answer in words. Ace wasn't sure whether Luffy understood his situation fully.

"Yes, it is amazing."

"Are you happy?" Luffy began to hesitate again. Ace wondered what was going on in his little brother's mind but didn't want to continue asking questions.

"… I'm not sure. I know there are still people around me who care about me." Luffy inhaled deeply as if speaking was the most difficult thing in the world. "And I do care about them. A lot. But I'm confused as heck, and I don't know why, but… there's a small feeling inside me that causes me to worry… I don't know what it is…" Luffy drifted off.

Ace didn't answer or bother to ask new questions. He was about to find out what was giving his brother such a hard time and nodded to himself as he finally got it. "I get the picture." he said more to himself than to Luffy.

But Luffy hadn't even caught it, too lost in his own thoughts. Ace decided he should talk about that with the other two. Maybe it would be better to let Luffy rest a little more.

-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-

"So he practically wants to get rid of Chopper and me because he fears he will lose us again?" Sanji repeated, not believing his ears. Ace nodded. "Not really 'getting rid of you', he would rather want to put you on the safest unoccupied island he can find and come back after he becomes Pirate King."

Sanji ignored that. "You are telling me that Luffy doubts himself?" Another nod. Sanji was losing his patience.

"What. The. Fuck?" A vein popped up on Sanji's forehead.

"S-Sanji, calm down… that doesn't bring us anywhere…" The small doctor tried to calm the cook a bit and looked up to him in a silent plea not to lose it now.

Sanji snuffled angrily and sat down again, glaring at Ace. He didn't even know why he was mad at Luffy's older brother. Sanji sighed, apologizing for snapping at him.

"Naa, it's alright. I understand how you must feel." Ace reassured, smiling gently. Sanji smiled back. Ace wore the same smile as Luffy, but, Sanji had to admit, Luffy's smile was much more powerful. Still it had a calming effect on the cook.

"I understand why Luffy adores you so much." Sanji suddenly said and caused Ace to wonder about that statement. "Ehm… you really know how to take care of him, I mean. We saw how you helped him earlier as he was thinking about… bad memories. You did a fine job calming him." The nineteen-year-old had no idea why he was telling Ace this, but it couldn't have been easy for the young man, so a little support was appropriate.

Ace nodded, smile back present on his face. "Thanks."

"Uh… I don't want to interrupt anything really, but what are we going to do now?" Chopper innocently piped up. Ace and Sanji blushed a bit at Chopper's word choice, realizing how awkward they must have looked, smiling at each other like that.

But Ace didn't let himself get thrown for a loop that easily. He cleared his throat, went back into his worried-older-brother mode and erased that embarrassing incident between him and Sanji from his memory. "That I would like to hear from you, that's why I told you this." Ace said.

"It isn't easy…" Sanji agreed, nibbling on his cigarette. The cook didn't even notice the cigarette wasn't smoking anymore.

The trio continued to think in silence, everyone of them was at a loss.

Then Ace groaned and rubbed his temples. "Okay, let's analyze the problem differently. First, what do we know?"

Sanji and Chopper groggily looked up and sat there unmoving for a second. Ace was so much different from Luffy, the way he talked, acted. Ace actually used his brain! He planned and thought about what to do next, not like the hot-headed moron called Luffy who just did what he thought was right, not thinking about his actions.

The two quickly pushed these thoughts aside. Luffy may be a baka sometimes, but no one could tell them their captain was stupid, because he wasn't. The seventeen-year-old often appeared planless and unsystematic but he could be pretty clever and wily even if he himself didn't know that. That's Luffy for you.

Seeing the other two deep in thought, the oldest of the three harrumphed loudly. Soon all attention was on him. Satisfied, Ace continued.

"Well, we know that Luffy's scared of losing you, as silly as it may sound. And we also know that he apparently doesn't feel strong enough to be able to protect you." The other two nodded silently.

Ace sighed. "So… we need to address the problem by the root, and need to show Luffy his own strength?" He half asked, half stated.

"Well, err… yes." Sanji said, scratching the mini beard on his chin. Somehow, this sounded weird and just wrong. They all knew that Luffy brimmed over with confidence and reliance, so… to make it short and simple: their plan seemed silly.

"Poor Luffy," Chopper murmured, not liking the idea of Luffy being scared. But he could understand his captain's feelings; he must be feeling even worse than he was.

"Guys, all we need to do is cheer Luffy up a bit and wait until the next fight. He'll kick someone's strong ass and will be happy again. It's simple." Ace said, grinning. All his little brother needed was a little push and everything would be fine.

Chopper and Sanji agreed with that. Maybe it wasn't that hard after all.

Meanwhile, Luffy rolled his eyes. He sat with his back leaning against the kitchen door on the ground and crossed his arms. "Those three baka. I'm not deaf or anything. I could hear them talking about me from the lion's head." Luffy grumbled to himself, clearly pissed at the fact Ace had found out about his secret fear. But his brother wasn't completely right.

Because Luffy wasn't scared not to be strong enough to protect his friends. The strawhat boy knew he had become enormously strong, so strong he needed to release all the power built up inside him soon or he would explode!

No, his problem was that he feared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That was his biggest fear. What if he was fighting some freaky guy somewhere while his nakama needed him elsewhere?

What if he didn't know Sanji and Chopper were in danger while not being with them? Or what if he was helping Chopper while Sanji needed support too or the other way round?

He couldn't split up into two fighting machines after all! So what should he do? The others wouldn't understand, would they? They'd probably shake their heads at him.

An annoyed sounding sigh escaped his throat and he stood up, launching himself over to the Sunny's head. Ace and the others better not know he had listened to their conversation.

As Luffy sat down and stared at the vast sea in front of him, he noticed something in the distance. Narrowing his eyes, the strawhat boy realized what it was and turned around immediately, shouting:

"Guys! An island! Land ho!"

-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-X-Y-

"Housoku no Shima?" (1)

"Yeah, that's the name of the island."

Luffy frowned at that."Why? Is there a marine base?" he asked.

"There's no marine base on it, don't worry. Otherwise we would try to avoid it," Ace answered. "But actually, I've been wondering about that name too."

"Robin would have a clever explanation to that," Luffy commented sadly, earning a whack over the head by Sanji.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"You know you deserve it, so just shut up." Sanji grumbled back. He hated it when Luffy reminded him of sad memories, especially at a time like that.

"Damnit Sanji, be nice to him!" Ace hissed like a cat. "Remember what we discussed before?"

Sanji quickly nodded upon seeing the dangerous glow in Ace's eyes. The cook made a note to himself: Never hit Luffy, shout at him or be impolite to him as long as Ace is near enough to punish you for it!

The three men had already landed and ordered Chopper to stay at the ship, just in case. Luffy had protested, not feeling right with leaving one precious nakama back but they could persuade him to leave Chopper alone. The little doctor himself had said it was fine and smiled and waved at them, but still Luffy didn't feel comfortable. But maybe he was just worrying for nothing.

Now they went along the beach in search for a city to restock their supplies. The island wasn't that huge, but it was large enough not to see the other side of it. There were rocks and plants and many trees to be seen- here were even a few deer. It seemed peaceful.

But Luffy, Sanji and Ace were clueless that it wasn't as peaceful as it seemed to be there. They didn't know what was happening at the other side of the island. But soon they would find out why the island was called 'Housoku no Shima'.

A few kilometers away, there was a big town with lots of habitants. They seemed happy but if you took a closer look you would notice they weren't happy at all, but in fact… scared. Scared of a guy who was playing with his power, doing as he pleased. He'd just returned from war and seemed even more insane than before.

The man's name was Donquixote Doflamingo.

YXYXYXYXYXYXY

(1) Housoku no Shima means Law Island. Well I was thinking about a name for this island. So I randomly opened the Japanese dictionary and chose the most fitting word I could find on that page: And that was housoku.

Well, here I go again… sorry for ANOTHER cliffhanger! Well, it's getting really exciting, right? I'll try and update as quick as possible.

That was the longest chapter so far, I hope you had fun reading! Please don't forget to review, they're always greatly appreciated!

Until next time :)