Okay, let's try this again. Enjoy!


Leum stood still. Before him was a ravenous, unstoppable monster. One that would devour all in its path and wreak untold havoc in order to get what it desired. One false move on his part, and he would find himself lost forever.

"Well, Leum?" Nami asked, her smile making a mockery of kindness, as it promised him pain and destruction. "Are you going to tell me what I want to know?"

Leum cocked his head in mild puzzlement. Not too much, of course. Sudden movement might trigger an attack. "Is there any particular reason why you're acting like this?"

Nami laughed, and the echoes of maniacal villains across the ages resounded in her voice. "Oh, you know, considering that there is no navigational device that can find a sunken island, and our guide is a senile old lizard, I just supposed that our brand-new resident medium could point us in the right direction." Nami paused to look around her, ignoring how every other person on the ship scurried out of her line of sight.

"But, what do you know? It's been an hour, and we're still sailing aimlessly through the ocean, while an entire fleet of Marines are right on our tail." Nami giggled, and it was the single most disturbing thing that Leum had ever heard. "Do you get what I'm trying to say, dear Leum?"

Leum sighed. He would never understand women. No man ever had or ever would, not fully. It was one of the fundamental truths of history. "Did it ever occur to you to just ask me?"

A Haki-coated dress shoe crashed down with 'moderate' force on Leum's head. "Don't talk with such impudence to Nami-san!" Sanji then proceeded to smoke hearts and wiggle for his redheaded nakama, who was pinching the bridge of her nose in a failing attempt to ward off a headache.

The crew had all gathered at the back of the boat after losing sight of the Marines. Most of the time had been spent catching Gin up to date on Ryuuji and Lost Island. Zoro was currently napping, while everyone else was watching the ongoing spectacle. Luffy was wondering why he felt a tad odd when Sanji was fawning over Nami (he put it down to a stomachache), while Usopp and Apis watched in mute embarrassment.

Leum's head dissolved into ectoplasm, reforming without the bump that Sanji's leg had delivered, acting as if nothing had happened. "To answer your question, Nami-san, I have learned of an ancient island, frequented by the Sennenryu, which has been hidden by some force, in the general vicinity of Gunkan Island. Whether or not it is Lost Island, however, is up for debate."

Apis spoke up. "What are you talking about? Of course it's Lost Island; what else could it be!" Apis rushed to the deck, looking down at the dozing Ryuuji, still on his cart as it was dragged behind the Going Merry. "You hear that, Ryuuji! We know where Lost Island is! It won't be too long now, okay?" The sight of her childlike happiness and enthusiasm softened everyone there, with Luffy grinning like a loon.

Nami sighed. "Okay, okay. Leum, how do we reach this island?"

The albino answered without any hesitation or smirking. "I need a map of the area around Gunkan Island. Then, I'll need a little space." Both were given within minutes.

Leum spread the map across the floor of the deck, before sitting down with crossed legs. He pulled out a crystal pendant from his robes, creating confusion among the crew. "Uh, Leum? Why are you playing with your fortuneteller toys at a time like this?" Usopp froze as Leum turned to face him. Those eyes would definitely take some getting used to.

"I told you all that I used the soothsayer paraphernalia in order to make some cash when I needed it. I never said that they didn't work." Leum closed his eyes and bowed his head, a crease of concentration forming as he hung the pendant from his hand over the map, giving it plenty of slack.

"Just as wood rots and fires die down, spirits fade with time. The exact rate depends on the strength of the person's spirit, as well as several other factors such as location and the time of death. After a certain length of time, however, every spirit dissolves into the ether. The only reason I even know about the Void Century is because the kings and rulers of that era were some of the more resilient spirits in history." The pendant had begun to swing, even though Leum was keeping his hand as still as possible.

"Even when they disappear, though, spirits and ghosts can still influence the world around them. It can be something as simple as a 'vibe' or as drastic as a chronic weather condition. Their knowledge lingers in much the same way." The crew now had their eyes glued to the spinning pendant, which seemed to be moving completely independently of Leum's hand.

"Those fortunetellers that aren't complete frauds have some talent in tapping into that knowledge in order to best predict what will come next. With my particular talents, I can access the ether much more than all but the most prodigious seer, even if it must be through tools." The pendant was spiraling now, slowly honing in on a single point on the map.

"Therefore, I am fairly confident that the island we are looking for will be located…" The pendant suddenly fell to touch the map, the sharpened tip actually penetrating the paper and the wood beneath. "… Here"

Nami studied the spot, before shouting orders to the crew. "Everyone, get to your positions. Our bearing is 12 degrees east by northeast! We're on our way to Lost Island."

"WAHOO!" came the enthusiastic reply from Luffy, Apis, and Usopp. Gin merely kicked Zoro awake while Sanji practically floated to the tiller in the galley.

They were on their way.


The way was scary.

Currently a third of the crew was catatonic in shock, half was confused yet calm, while the captain himself had a look of childish rapture on his face.

They had been making steady progress to the location marked by Leum's scrying, the crew absorbed in relaxed work. Sanji and Zoro and had been steadily making their way through the dishes (with Sanji apparently not trusting Zoro to not drop each one without a warning), Usopp and Nami had been fondly watching Apis converse with Ryuuji, Gin had been leaning against the deck and keeping an eye on the Marines following them at a fair distance, while Luffy just stared at the sea while sitting on his Special Seat, Leum lying prone on the railing next to him.

Then a smudge had appeared right in front of the ship. There was no other way to describe it. Like the curious child he really was, Luffy reached out a foot to touch the odd apparition… that had rippled into a perfect reflection of the Going Merry!

"So that's how it worked. A quasi-substantial spirit-based veil. I'd wondered," Leum had muttered to himself, looking utterly unconcerned with the impossibility staring him in the face.

"Oi, Nami, isn't this cool? Come look at this!" Luffy had turned to face the crow's nest, wanting to share this fun new thing with Nami first… which provided a whole lot of psychological cues to those who paid any attention.

"I-I'm already looking at it," Nami had stuttered, frozen stiff in disbelief, while Usopp did his best imitation of "Wax Sculpture of a Boy who Shat Himself in Fear".

Then they had started to move into the reflection!

"Look! I'm here… now I'm not… here… not… Na—" Luffy had said haphazardly, sticking his head in and out of the intangible wall the ship was breaching, until he was swallowed up completely. Leum followed soon after. Nami had time for one scream before she and Usopp vanished. By the time Gin or Apis turned around, or Zoro and Sanji left the kitchen, the entire ship had already entered.

"Hm. I wondered why Nami-swan had screamed. It's just gotten cloudy." Sanji lit a cigarette while Zoro stood next to him in similar, if silent, confusion.

While Luffy explained in his childlike way what had happened to the other two members of the Monster Trio, Nami was attempting to rationalize what had just happened. "It must have been a mirage! I've read about them. When warm and cold water meet, the distortion can bend the light into odd images!"

"Close, but no Beri," Leum said, suddenly in the crow's nest instead of down on deck. Usopp and Nami were by now so used to this that they barely twitched. "It's actually an example of what I was talking about earlier, about lingering spiritual influence. Whatever society existed on the island we're headed towards felt they had to protect something. They continue to do this from the grave with the veil we just passed…"

As sudden as flipping a switch, rain started falling down in solid sheets. Lightning and thunder began to flash and rumble respectively across the sky.

"…And this hurricane-level thunderstorm," Leum finished, utterly unfazed by the water falling so thick that he just might drown standing upright.

The crew exploded into action.

"Take in the sails! Hard to starboard! Aim for the eye!" Nami was in full navigator-mode, more in touch with the weather than her own skin at the moment. The males of the crew rushed to follow her orders. Nami gazed into the storm, almost as if staring it down, trying to anticipate it's next move.

"Leum! Can you talk the spirits into lightening up?" Usopp was all but shouting to make his voice heard over the wind as he tied up the main sail. Leum, who was doing the same thing at the other, shook his head, still as cool as a cucumber.

"Even if the storm was still being consciously controlled by ghosts, I am not a Paramecia-type. I know a lot of my powers push the line, but my ability is essentially turning myself into a ghost. I just have a whole lot of fringe benefits that most Logia-types don't have. I can hear ghosts, but they can't hear me. Apis is making a break for Ryuuji, by the way."

Leum had one of those peculiar voice that can always be clearly heard, even in the middle of a storm. So Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, and Gin knew to turn in worry/annoyance… only to find Luffy already chasing after the overly dedicated girl. It really was a godsend, his sudden grasp of the Color of Observation. Having not one, but two psychics on a ship that attracted a lot of trouble (see cannonballs, lightning bolts, foes with paranormal abilities, etc.) made life so much easier.

There was a good deal of Not-Luffy present as Apis found herself caught and restrained by rubber arms. After all, the girl was complicating a struggle for survival against the very real threat of the storm.

"Let me go! Ryuuji needs me!" The girl was kicking and screaming and generally making a big fuss of herself. It was annoying, and disruptive.

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Luffy brought up a little less Haki than he had used against Coby and let it out. Apis stiffened and fainted. Given both the lesser size of the blast and Apis's considerably stronger will, she'd be out for barely an hour. Still, Luffy felt bad that he'd used it. There must be more of his personal shoulder demon in charge than he'd thought. He'd need to work on his barriers again. Maybe at the same time he taught Usopp to make his own.

Luffy snapped out of his daydreaming as one of Apis's fears were realized. The ropes holding Ryuuji's cart to the boat were coming undone. Reflexively, Luffy grabbed each rope and infused it with Haki, or the Color of Armament, rather.

One of the bad things about rubber: it stretches even when you don't want it to. No matter how hard Luffy tensed his arms, they still stretched as both the immense tide and Ryuuji's considerable mass pulled against him.

Suddenly Nami was there.

"Nami! What are you doing?" Luffy yelled, much more worried about his lone female nakama being near the edge of the ship during a storm than he would be about any other. Of course, there was also the issue of the crew being left headless in the middle of a storm. Oddly, Luffy felt the second concern wasn't nearly as important as the first.

"I saw you were in trouble! Leum knows the way to the island and Usopp knows the ship better than I do anyway! Now shut up and keep that grip!" Nami didn't pause to see if her captain listened to her, rushing forward to retie the knots. Of course, given that she was wearing high-heels, was debatably the weakest member of the crew (Usopp was a real toss-up, and Leum had yet to be tested), and was near the edge of a small ship in a massive storm, Luffy was good and worried.

That eventually faded as Luffy watched her make swift, confident work of the knots. He was reminded that she had sailed on her own for almost ten years before they had first met. As time went by and Nami began double-checking her work, Luffy noted other details. The way her hair fell around her face like a fiery halo. The flash of triumph in her eyes as she saw how firm the knots were holding. The way her clothes clung to her body in the rain.

When Nami turned to look at him, he stared right into her eyes. She stared back. The two stood there for a time, not noticing how the rain was letting up. Luffy's eyes had never been so intense, and Nami's eyes in turn were burning with a thousand different emotions that he couldn't even begin to name.

Luffy let go of the ropes just as Nami stepped forward, determination in every line of her face. Luffy wasn't sure what he was about to do, but he found he was strangely eager for it to happen. There was only an inch's difference in their heights, so Nami barely had to tilt her head to give him a solid, lingering peck on the lips.

Luffy's eyes widened and his breath flared, filling his nose with the scent of Nami: oranges and old paper. Her lips were soft, and warm, and made his insides feel funny. A very good kind of funny. He wanted more.

She pulled back, looked him straight in the eye, and said "We'll talk later." The she walked away, leaving behind a bewildered captain, an unconscious girl, and a smirking ghost.


The Straw-Hats were steadily dragging the recumbent Ryuuji up the incredibly steep slope of the island to the building at the top, the natural suspect for a Dragon's Nest. Leum had disappeared almost as soon as they'd weighed anchor. Usopp was grumbling about how Nami and Apis didn't have to do any work. Sanji told him to shut up and then exclaimed how he would gladly perform this labor of love for Nami. Luffy, oddly silent the entire time, 'blinked' at Sanji without seeming to think about it. The cook shut up, but stared at his captain in confusion. Zoro and Gin just pushed.

Nami sighed, trying to ignore the rollercoaster her emotions were currently riding. She'd kissed Luffy on a whim, fueled by long-repressed desire and adrenaline. It wasn't that she regretted the kiss; she didn't. It was most definitely worth it. But she now owed Luffy an explanation, which could only be answered with a confession, and she wasn't sure how to do that. Sanji made it look so easy, but that wasn't the same. She had to say something that let Luffy know what she felt was real, that she meant it wholeheartedly, and that she would really like it if he returned the same.

Apis just held her head, complaining about a headache.

Eventually, the crew reached the apex of the island, but not before investigating the ruins of a town that seemed to really love Sennenryu. The door of the mausoleum-esque building was emblazoned with a geometric rendering of a Sennenryu. A small indent was in the seemingly impassable door, shaped exactly like the claw handing around Apis's neck.

"I can do this," she whispered to herself, before walking forward, fully determined to open the door and lead the way to the Dragon's Nest and Ryuuji's salvation.

"I wouldn't bother," Leum said, walking out the door and scaring ten years out of Apis. "There's nothing but a big stairway, leading to a place we will soon be reaching anyway."

Gin didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?" he asked, the mildest bit of stubborn distrust coloring his tone, as he took a step towards the albino.

The earth seemed to vibrate, before collapsing beneath their feet. Everyone screamed falling down, except, of course, for Leum. When the dust of their landing finally dissipated, even Ryuuji was awake. The crew one and all glared at Leum, who seemed to mock them with his controlled descent in ectoplasmic form.

"WHY… didn't you warn us?" Nami was just the teensiest bit unstable at the moment, and the demon hanging in her shadow seemed particularly bloodthirsty this time.

The capacity of transforming oneself into their own ghost must result in the death of all self-preservation instincts. Leum showed no signs of fear as he answered. "Simple, my dear, miserly Nami. In the time it would have taken to warn you of this chamber's existence and how fragile the mortar was, you would already have fallen. I decided to save my breath and settle for a mildly ominous statement. They are much more fun when you're a spirit."

Nami hung her head, reminded herself that she had voted for Leum joining the crew, and turned her attention to her surroundings, her fellow Straw-Hats following her example.

It was impressive. You could fit a few good-sized buildings into the dome they found themselves in. Apart from some holes due to the recent collapse of the ceiling, the mural that covered the entirety of the domed ceiling was as clear and bright as the day it had first been painted. It was just a load of pretty pictures to Apis and most of the males, but both Leum and Nami could recognize the clear message in the paintings.

"So, are we getting Nami's logic or Leum's fact this time? You two should work out turns if this keeps up," Gin said, stretching out his back. It was an honest question. Both were equally reliable.

"Nami's explaining," Luffy and Sanji said in perfect sync. The two paused before looking at each other. The characteristic easy-going-ness was absent from Luffy's eye as the two males assessed one another, as two predators meet each other in the wild.

Common sense and resignation to inevitability convinced Sanji to back off first, covering both eyes with his hair while lighting a cig. He expertly blew a heart from smoke in Nami's direction, before dispersing it with his hand.

Message received, Luffy relaxed his 'hackles' and turned to face Nami, who for all her skill in reading people seemed unaware of the exchange.

Zoro, Gin, and Usopp, however, saw it loud and clear. All three immediately resolved that in the very near future, there would be an official list of rules regarding 'private time' on board the ship. It would most likely be ignored, but it was the principle of the thing.

Nami launched into her lecture as easily as breathing. "This mural obviously depicts the Lost Civilization that Apis's ancestors were a part of. We are there, on the island with the dome on top." She indicated the picture in question, which showed an island with devout people dressed like Apis bowing to passing Sennenryu. "However, the Sennenryu are flying away from here… to that island." Nami shifted her finger to point at an island that looked like a battleship.

Leum didn't bother to say "I told you so", and no one felt the need to mention it.

Sogeking made a surprise appearance. "Yosh! Now we know our true destination! We must brave that great hill once more to reach the ship, and reach the actual Dragon's Nest back on Gunkan Island! Apis must have missed someplace when she searched!"

Apis couldn't handle the thought of being wrong, and ran to Ryuuji. "Ryuuji! Please remember! This place has to be the Dragon's Nest! Please, look around and tell us!"

The dragon raised its head, looking at the ceiling with slightly more interest than its usual catatonic state. It's eyes widened, and Apis gasped. She turned to face them, defeat in every line of her face. "Ryuuji remembered. The Dragon's Nest really is on Gunkan. I must have missed it…"

"Don't sweat it, Apis-chan," Sanji said automatically. "It wasn't that big a deal, coming out here. Now we can go back and take a closer look for the Dragon's Nest. Ryuuji will be better in no time, promise." His grin was enough to mollify her.

The first road block naturally appeared right then and there.

"My thanks for revealing the location of the island. However, I'll be taking those Ryuukotsu you have right there." The crew looked up at the hole where they'd fallen through. The blatantly homosexual mercenary was back.

"Didn't this guy learn anything the last time?" Zoro asked, annoyed. The guy's boasting about his winds being comparable to the Meitou had lit a fire under his swordsman's pride.

"Still, this could be a problem," Usopp muttered, internally weeping tears at his slip in control. He was now officially doomed to have Luffy as a shrink. Poor, unfortunate soul. "Those winds of his can hit all of us, and we don't have a lot of room to move."

Luffy decided to fix that problem.

Screaming like a caveman, shimmering with Haki, Luffy charged forward with all his strength to hit… the wall. The ten-story, rock hard, thicker than thick… wall. All hail the wall.

Luffy fell down on his ass, clutching his hat, staring with bewilderment at the wall. "That was weird. I thought for sure I could break it."

"Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi, oi," his crew muttered, even the most experienced members short-circuiting at this display of stupidity.

Then… the wall right next to where Luffy hit collapsed.

"Result alright, result alright," Luffy proclaimed.

"A way out," Leum said, his standard serene attitude replaced with shock.

"We should be used to this by now, we really should," Sanji muttered, sucking his cigarette down to the filter.

Usopp and Gin both had identical gaping jaws. The latter was reminded again just who had beaten Don Krieg. The former was again trying and failing to reconcile that monstrous strength with that tiny frame. Apis and Ryuuji had both momentarily blanked out.

Nami… hid a nosebleed. 'Why' should be obvious.

Erik the Whirlwind recovered from his surprise, jumped down and was just about to unleash a wind scythe when he suddenly had to dodge a sword slash. Zoro was facing him, already in full Santouryu form. "Everyone, get going! I'll deal with this guy."

Snapping back to reality, the crew piled onto Ryuuji's cart while Luffy and Sanji worked to propel it towards the new exit.

Erik frowned upon seeing his goal begin to disappear. He turned to face his opponent. "I don't know what trick you used earlier, but it won't help you now! Kama Kama no Kamaitachi (Sickle Whirlwind)!" So saying, Erik slashed his fingers, blasting a sickle of wind towards Zoro.

The first mate rolled his eyes before imbuing his katana with Haki. Feeling the need to be politically correct, Zoro held his swords in a guard position and growled "Color of Armaments: Tate (Shield)."

The blade of air bounced right off of an invisible barrier about an inch in front of Zoro's blades. At Erik's panicked expression, Zoro grinned sadistically. "Devil's Fruits don't work on Straw-Hats. You're going to die now."

Zoro dashed forward, but Erik expertly dodged. If there was one thing a mercenary could do, it was save his own skin. "Our fight will continue later!" he screamed, before running after the cart.

Said cart having cleared the room… to land on a giant root. Hundreds of feet off the ground.

"I-it's amazing how we always m-managed to stay safe," Usopp cried, hanging onto Ryuuji for dear life.

"YOU CALL THIS SAFE?" Nami yelled, crouched down behind Ryuuji where the wind wasn't quite as terrifying.

The cart eventually made its way back to solid ground, where it began to pick up even more speed.

"I'm the fastest thing alive right now!" Gin screamed hysterically, his feet kept off the ground by sheer velocity. Like Apis, his only tether to the cart was a tight grip on Ryuuji's hair.

"Is that supposed to impress somebody?" Sanji asked testily, his iron-strong legs braced against the wind.

Leum floated along beside them, managing to look as if he flew at supersonic speeds every day. "I feel the need to point out that we're moving so fast that your guardians are unable to keep up, so don't expect any divine intervention of accidents until we slow down."

"SHUT UP!" every Straw-Hat besides the captain screamed, the force of their collective Haki blasting Leum into the far distance, complete with Twinkling Star™.

"This is fast," Luffy said, grinning like a loon and utterly unaware of any danger.

"Guys! What about Zoro? That man back there had the Devil's Fruit! There's no way he can win!" Apis yelled.

"Don't worry about it," they all said, their previous fear suddenly absent. Apis could only cock her head and sigh… before freaking out again.

"Luffy! There's a building ahead!"

Luffy crouched and put a hand on the cart. "No problem! Majestic Comet!" In an instant, the entirety of the cart was encased in Haki, which grated against the rushing air and gave the actual appearance of a comet's tail behind them. They barreled through the building as if it weren't even there. It collapsed behind them.

Behind them, Erik was playing every dirty trick in the book to keep his distance from Zoro. Sneak attacks, slashed tree branches, dust in the eye, you name it. Alas, it couldn't continue.

Zoro landed right in front of Erik, who seemed very panicky. A demonic gleam in his eye, Zoro stalked towards his prey.

"Luffy, there's another ledge ahead," Apis moaned, sounding hopeless.

"Can't we just charge through like before?" the rubber boy asked, honestly confused.

"We can't! This is the same wall we climbed on the way up! If we go over the edge, there's no way we'll survive!" Nami's whole life was flashing before her eyes. She found her biggest regret to be that she had never had that talk with Luffy. She would die unrequited. She hung her head.

"Can't Leum fly us?" Luffy asked, a mild bit of fear now present in his expression. His nakama, one in particular, was in trouble.

"I could no more make you all ghosts than Smoker could make you guys smoke. My powers apply only to myself." Leum had already caught up with them, unconcerned as always.

Just as they reached the edge, one of the front wheels collapsed. The cart took an abrupt ninety-degree turn left, only to hit the wall of the zigzag ramp shortly afterwards. Bouncing back, the sped backwards before the process was repeated. In a minute, they had reached the bottom, at a much more reasonable speed.

"I can't believe… we made it," Gin panted, looking like he'd aged ten years. It wasn't that big a difference from his normal looks honestly.

"It's not over yet." Leum's tone was perfectly conversational.

Before the crew could question him, the cart hit a protruding rock near the shore. The cart stopped, but the Straw-Hats held true to inertia, landing in the surf.

Luffy hopped off. "Well, that was interesting. Everyone, set sail!"

"I can't take this anymore," Nami whined, knee-deep in the waves.

"Shit head," Sanji growled, his eyes shaded.

"When Zoro kills him, I'm helping," Usopp gurgled, given that his head was stuck underwater while his feet hung in the air.

Zoro knocked aside another desperate slash of cutting wind. This was pathetic. The guy was utterly defenseless without his power. Zoro was just about to cut out the kiddy games and kill the guy when he felt a hand grab his collar.

"Oh, Zooorrroooo!" Luffy yelled, his childish yell sounding very ominous.

"Luffy, I'm beginning to see a pattern here," Zoro muttered, breaking out in a cold sweat. Before Erik could do more than glare incredulously, Zoro was yanked back to the Going Merry via stretched out arm.

Once the dust cleared, Luffy looked over his first mate. "You okay, Zoro?"

An invisible force lashed out, launching the unsuspecting Luffy into the kitchen, where a very satisfying crash resounded.

"I've been waiting to do that since the Baratie," Zoro muttered, getting up and sheathing his katana. The entire crew, even Leum, nodded in complete, emphatic understanding.

The Going Merry made its way back to Gunkan Island, the return trip much less traumatizing than the first, with barely a thunderclap from the dark curtain above them. Once they breached the 'veil', as Leum termed it (scaring the Marines to death in the process), they made swift progress back to Apis's hometown.

The girl was still rather despondent at the thought of having missed the Dragon's Nest. Nami noticed and decided to cheer her up.

"Relax, Apis. Leum will take a closer look this time, and we'll find the Dragon's Nest easy. Ryuuji will be better in no time!" Apis grinned up at the navigator, sorrow forgotten.

Sanji's brow furrowed, his eyes focused on the distance. "Nami-swan… I'm not sure it's going to be that simple."

Everyone turned to face the sea, and gasped.

A truly massive ship, easily five times the size of the Going Merry, was in the water ahead. Even as they watched, a countless number of ships appeared from behind the flagship like the opening of a fan. Within moments, the Going Merry was surrounded on all sides. Iron chains the width of a man's arm hung between each ship, capturing the Straw-Hat crew in an inescapable net as the flagship hung beyond the edge like a noble regarding a caged slave.

"That's just not fair," said Gin, the former first mate of a fifty-ship fleet.

"How do they even have that many?" Usopp screamed, fully freaking out.

"Hmm, this might prove interesting," Leum commented, calmly sipping a steaming cup of tea.

"Where did you even get that?" Sanji muttered, staring incredulously at the magically appearing tea.

"Leum, if you aren't drinking that to read the leaves at the bottom, I will end you. Are we clear?" Nami's expression was a distinct combination horror and fury.

"As the air," Leum replied.

Apis stayed silent, staring with dread at the '8' painted on the mast of the flagship.

"This is nothing, everybody. Our only goal is getting Ryuuji to the Nest so he can get better. As long as we do that, we win." Luffy and Not-Luffy were once more cooperating, transforming the captain into a cold, fearless warrior. Apis gaped, and the rest of the crew grew solemn.

"What can we even do? We're trapped!" Apis stared at the crew, confused as to how they were all so suddenly unafraid.

"We hop over, kick them off their ships, cut the chains, and go through the break. That's the only way," Usopp said, mouth tight. "Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Gin. You guys are our best fighters. You go."

"Not a bad idea," Zoro said, a twinge of anticipation quickening his blood.

Nami dashed to the tiller, her sudden energy breaking the still atmosphere. "We have to survive first! I'll try to get us close, but you guys have to keep an eye out for cannonballs! They're about to start firing!"

Right on cue, every ship in the net started firing on the Going Merry. The little ship started demonstrating just why a caravel was considered the most maneuverable ship there was. The Straw-Hats seemed to dance through the explosions as shots missed the ship to explode in the water.

"Apis, it isn't safe. Get below decks," Sanji said, trying to usher the passenger away.

The girl broke away. "I can't leave Ryuuji like this!" So saying, she dashed to the back of the boat and hopped nimbly to the makeshift raft, huddling close to Ryuuji's head.

The crew had no time to get her back, as the fire continued to get more concentrated as they neared the Marines.

"Luffy! Cannonball!" Nami screamed, sensing the presence of the attack.

"I see it!" he shouted back, already in place. "Gomu Gomu no Fuusen (Rubber Balloon)!" The cannonball impacted the suddenly much rounder Luffy, bouncing right back to where it came from.

The display of unnatural abilities seemed to anger the giant ship (really, three main masts was a little much). A siren started to whine as the single biggest cannon anyone had ever seen started to aim at the Going Merry. All the other ships stopped firing as what had to be the biggest overcompensation in the Marines' fleet prepared to blast the Straw-Hats to pieces.

Nami had come out on deck once the fire stopped. She bent over the railing to yell at her male nakama. "Guys, you have to think of a way to stop that!"

"Can I bounce it back?" Luffy asked it as a serious question, his face hard. He was staring at the cannon as if daring it to fire.

"Neither of you have anything to worry about," Leum said, regarding the dregs at the bottom of his teacup with the intensity Nami would regard a twenty-carat diamond. "Sogeking has it covered."

"Reap the consequences of your foolishness, ignoble Marines! Face the punishment of daring to face against the holy king of all marksmen, the great Sogeking!" With that friendly proclamation, Usopp's inner Napoleon fired one of the Going Merry's cannons. The ball flew through the air to land dead center inside the giant cannon. The explosion of smoke let them know that it had hit.

"Did I do that?" Usopp asked, a bit disoriented.

"It was probably a lucky shot," Zoro said.

"Yeah, luck," Sanji repeated.

"It wasn't that big a deal," Gin shrugged.

Apis stared in shock at the crew from her perch within Ryuuji's wings. 'How can they act like this is nothing?' she asked herself, dumbstruck.

Nami took charge of the situation. "This is the perfect time for the plan. Go over while they're distracted and do your thing. From there, we can get back to Gunkan and work from there." The redhead turned to face Leum. "Any insights we should know about?"

Leum faced her, his eyes opaque. As opposed to his usual nonchalance, he seemed very agitated. He spoke to her as if he were only half there. "Let the villain do as he pleases. The Elder shall resolve all. His sacrifice will not be in vain. And the skies shall sing once more." He shook his head and turned his eyes back to the tealeaves. "Things will be fine, Nami. Just don't panic, and we'll all walk away smiling."

Nami felt a twinge of worry at the albino's odd behavior, but she sighed and decided to just let him be.

Luffy was regarding Ryuuji, his face unreadable. "We'll get you there. Protect Apis," he said finally, before turning to face the ship just to the right of the flagship. He glanced to make sure the boarding party was ready before throwing his arm back. "Gomu Gomu no Hashiwatashi (Rubber Crossing Bridge)," he said, throwing his arm forward to catch the ship. As Zoro, Sanji, and Gin ran across his arm, he turned to face Ryuuji once more. Something was exchanged before Luffy himself flew off towards the ship.

At the other end, the heavy-hitters were regarding the chains. "Solid iron," Zoro assessed, gripping one of his katana.

"Sure you can cut that?" Sanji asked, already knowing the answer.

"I can cut anything," the swordsman said.

Gin whistled, his eyes on the flagship. "Damn, how any man could even get that fat is beyond me."

He was right. Sitting on a palanquin and glaring with beady eyes was the fattest person on the planet. His cheeks were the size of soccer balls, there was more blubber in his stomach than the average whale's, and his arms and legs looked like they had been stuck on to the massive torso the same way a snowman has twigs stuck in for arms. As if to reassure that the ball of lard was indeed a Marine, the seagull of the Marines was tattooed on his belly.

"All hands kill them! Don't let them interfere or I'll have you all exiled!" His voice was quite nasal and heavy, and there was obvious spittle flying from his mouth.

Immediately, every Marine on the ship the Straw-Hats were invading was on deck, swords out.

"I like taking the right half," Luffy said, clenching his hands into fists.

"Works for me," Sanji said, bending his knees slightly.

"What does that leave me, exactly?" Gin asked, his tonfa now in his hands.

Two seconds later, the Straw-Hat Pirates were knocking down the Marines like they were made of paper. Zoro, deciding to challenge himself, got into his stance and focused without drawing on his Haki. A few seconds later, he sliced right through the chain in a single movement. Grinning, he moved on to the other three.

"Kill them! Don't let them cut the chains!" the fat man screamed. With a cry of "For Commodore Nelson!", the Marines on the other boats started to run over the chains to get to the crew and fight. They went down. Hard.

"Gomu Gomu no Pachinko!" Luffy screamed, taking his feet off the ground and propelling the hundred-some Marines trapped in the cage of his arms off the ship.

Sanji ran right through the Marines, his legs a whirlwind of kicks that knocked every man hit out cold.

Gin spun his right tonfa extra hard and threw it at a group of Marines. After going through them like a blunt buzz saw, the thing returned to his hand like a boomerang. "God, I love this job!" the man yelled, going nuts with his distinctive weapons.

In this time Zoro had cut through two more of the four chains. Just as he was about to reach the last, however, the water around the Going Merry seemed to explode.

Apis peeked out from behind Ryuuji, to find herself face to face with Erik.

"Ah! It's the gay guy! The one who ate the okama fruit!" she screamed and pointed.

"Not okama, Kama Kama," the mercenary snarled. "And I'll be taking this Sennenryu of yours."

"Oi, you! Leave Ryuuji alone! There's no way we'll let you have him," Nami screamed. She'd anticipated the blast and had recovered faster than Usopp, who was right behind her. Leum appeared right next to her, looking, of all things, impatient.

Usopp was covertly aiming his slingshot at the man when Leum grabbed his hand. At the marksman's incredulous glance, the albino simply shook his head.

Erik saw the whole exchange and seemed to become even more self-confidant. "You're companion is wise. That last Kamaitachi missed on purpose. Interfere in any way, and I will shred this ship to pieces."

'As if you could,' Nami thought to herself, keeping silent. Though every cell in her body screamed to blast this creep into the ocean, her rational mind was focused on Leum's mysterious warning from earlier. Swallowing her voice, she forced herself to say put.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked, genuine worry coloring his voice.

"It would seem that the guy is holding Apis and the ship hostage to get Ryuuji," Gin commented, his eyes focused on the ship.

Growling, Luffy cocked his fist, which Zoro caught. "Baka, you can't punch him. He'll just destroy the ship and kill everyone."

Luffy nodded… before putting his foot on the railing. "So I'll kick it."

"Why am I letting this moron have Nami-swan again?" Sanji muttered, watching as Zoro slapped Luffy upside the head.

"Because if you get in his way you'll wind up in a coma? Or maybe because she's actually attracted to him?" Gin offered, not taking his eyes off the ship he was supposed to guard.

Seeing that Erik was now in possession of Ryuuji, the fat Commodore spoke up. "Ah, Erik, you've completed your mission! Now bring that Sennenryu over here!"

The mercenary looked with disgust at his employer. "No, I think I'll keep it for myself."

The man's eyes bulged, and the cliché of a mustache he had went rigid in surprise. "What? But I gave you lots of money to bring me the Ryuukotsu!"

"You did indeed give me a little pocket change. But I was never in this for you. All I needed from you was the Marine's information network. Now that I have the prize, I'll keep the Ryuukotsu for myself. I'll be invincible." Erik grinned quite smugly at that last part.

Nelson ground his teeth so hard even Luffy heard it, before flying into a rage proportionate to his size. "ALL HANDS FIRE ON THE TRAITOR! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE SENNENRYU ANYMORE! I CAN STILL GET ITS RYUUKOTSU EVEN IF THEY'RE SHATTERED! FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

"Leave Ryuuji alone!" Luffy screamed as he punched the next two ships in the line into rubble. His nakama were in turn destroying the cannons of nearby ships.

Apis screamed as the explosions started, before turning to face Erik. "Just leave Ryuuji alone! He never did anything to you! Leave him be!" She flew at the man, kicking and screaming, only to be caught around the neck.

"You be silent, little brat, or I'll slice you up," the man growled, before screaming as Apis bit down hard on the hand he'd used to grip her jaw. He threw her violently to the floor of the rowboat he was on, unaware of what it would bring.

Leum was leaning hard over the railing, his eyes glued to the distant raft. "Here it come," he whispered in almost worshipful awe, alerting Nami and Usopp to something happening.

Erik grumbled about teeth marks, not noticing as he was steadily becoming covered in shadow. He looked up only when the three Marines he'd commandeered screamed and jumped ship. Confused, he turned around, only to have a heart attack.

Ryuuji was standing up. He looked a lot like some overgrown bird, with the green plumage of his body darkening to purple beneath his wings and clearing to white around his belly. His jaws suddenly looked much more menacing, and he was glaring at Erik with the closest thing to anger that his facial muscles could produce. With a single swipe of his wings, he threw Erik, screaming, into the ocean.

Then he threw his head back and roared.

It was a terrible sound, an unearthly sound. It echoed and rumbled in unusual ways, sounding like metal being torn to pieces from the bottom of a long, damp pipe. And it was loud.

"Make him stop!" the Commodore cried, sounding like a small child.

"My ears!" Usopp yelled, as Nami whimpered next to him. Leum made no such movement, a look of rapture on his face.

"Ryuuji roared out," Luffy said simply, two fingers stuck in his ears.

At last the roar ended, and Ryuuji ducked his head to regard the awakening Apis.

The girl looked up at Ryuuji in wonder, before jumping up and hugging his neck. "Ryuuji! You're moving again! I'm so happy!" She laughed joyously, filling the air with the sound of a child's happiness. She pulled back to look Ryuuji in the eye, only to cock her head before her face seemed to explode with glee. "Ryuuji! You mean it?"

In response, Ryuuji began to flap his wings. As he steadily gained altitude, Apis yelling encouragement, he made for a truly amazing sight.

"The past is not so dead as we pretend it to be," Leum said, his face almost as happy as Apis's. Nami made no comment, respecting Leum's joy and letting him have his moment. Usopp just stared in awe.

Nelson's oily voice pierced the air. "Fire, fire now! Do not let it escape! What are you waiting for, fire!" With that, cannonballs began to fly at Ryuuji, where more than a few impacted.

Apis's expression transformed to one of horror. "Ryuuji, fly away! Escape!" The dragon paid no attention to her, turning to face Nelson's flagship. He began to fly forward, seemingly unaware of the explosions that ravaged his body as he flew.

Nelson squealed in terror, before yelling at his own crew to start firing. Before they could manage, a crushing pressure encompassed his ship as Luffy roared in wordless rage. Surprisingly, no one passed out.

Luffy wanted to break something. No, he wanted to kill something. He was consumed with rage as he watched helplessly as Ryuuji got battered out of the sky. Why couldn't he do anything? Because of the message Ryuuji was sending right at him. He never got more than impressions from the dragon, never real words, but they were clear all the same to the boy captain. And the message Ryuuji was sending as he made his suicidal path was clear: Keep. Out.

He went surprisingly far, but eventually Ryuuji crashed into the water. As Nelson roared in triumph and Apis cried in sadness, Luffy launched himself at the dying dragon. He landed right on his broad back, and went straight to the dragon's head to look him in the eye.

Luffy didn't bother questioning. He simply stared deep into the eyes of the creature that had seen a millennium come and go. Information seemed to flow telepathically between them. After a minute, Luffy sighed and nodded his head. "I understand, Ryuuji. I'll tell her what happened." Seeing he was understood, Ryuuji raised his head and roared one last time.

Apis kept crying as Usopp slowly dragged her back onto the ship. She only quieted when Leum tapped her on the forehead. She looked up into that death-pale face, which had a perverse joy in it, given the situation. Just as the girl was about to scream at him for daring to be happy, he silenced her with three simple words: "What's he saying?"

The girl paused, before a pensive look filled his face. "Return," she said, her voice toneless. "Return, my brothers, to the land of death and rebirth." She paused, before her head shot up to the sky. "There's no way," she whispered, shocked.

Nelson was about to send out ships to collect the Ryuukotsu when an odd sound caught his ear. "Huh?" he said intelligently, before looking up and breaking out into the widest, most hideous smile on the face of the planet.

Sennenryu. Hundreds of Sennenryu were flying in formation right above their heads, almost blocking the sky with their wings. All of them centered around the spot where Ryuuji had finally collapsed and started to sink.

"This is beautiful! All the Ryuukotsu I could want! Adjust the cannons! Shoot them out of the sky!" the evil Marine commanded, his eyes glazed as he thought of a life of eternal youth.

His little fantasy was broken as Not-Luffy took the stage fully for the first time the Straw-Hat crew had ever seen.

"HOW DARE YOU TREAT THEM LIKE THAT? THEY'RE FLESH AND BLOOD, NOT BONES FOR YOU TO HARVEST!" A virtual explosion of power spread out over the ocean, with Straw Hat Luffy at its epicenter. Waves appeared out of nowhere as winds blew and the air seemed to drop twenty degrees. Every living person there, Straw-Hat or Marine, was suddenly choking on the feeling of floating weightless in a sea of nothing as some giant, incomprehensible being of limitless power scrutinized them.

Luffy was transformed. Every muscle was taut as a bowstring, yet he remained completely still. His face was something Death would have nightmares about. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and filled with a bottomless rage. There was no mercy or caution or even sanity in those eyes. The world shook under the weight of Luffy's power, and he let it.

The Sennenryu seemed to freeze in midflight, before attacking every ship in Nelson's fleet as if possessed. Men could not even put up a fight as they were bitten in half or thrown into the suddenly tumultuous sea. Luffy himself simply waved a hand as if swatting a fly. The next moment, Nelson's flagship flew apart into a million pieces as if swiped by the fist of God. Nelson Royale, the most selfish man in East Blue, was crushed in an instant beneath the wreckage of his own ship.

Luffy didn't stop there. Maintaining just enough command of his destructive half to avoid his nakama, the Boy with Haki swept his arm in a line, gesturing at all of Nelson's fleet. Every ship but one collapsed just as violently, the Sennenryu flying through the ruins like demented flying monkeys.

Zoro, Sanji, and Gin all gaped, frozen with shock and even fear as they watched their captain demolish a fleet in seconds.

Nami knelt on the deck of the Going Merry, her arms held protectively around the whimpering Apis. She felt no fear as she stared at the blurred from of the man she loved. Her heart cried with sympathy and worry as she felt Luffy's pain at losing a nakama, however brief their time together, in every act of destruction. 'Luffy…'

Only when every man under Nelson Royale's command was claimed by the sea did Not-Luffy disappear. It was as sudden as flipping a switch, and all the more jarring for it. The ocean calmed, the sun seemed to brighten, and the flock of Sennenryu began to fly in a spiral, at a much more sedate pace, around the point where Ryuuji was now disappearing into the water.

Silent, Luffy reached out both of his arms; one to the lone Marine ship, the other to the Going Merry. He waited as his subdued nakama crossed back to their ship before letting himself be pulled over in kind.

The deck of the Going Merry was silent as the grave. Luffy couldn't bring himself to face his crewmates. All he could think about was how close they had come to destruction, a destruction by his own hand. He could barely remember what had just happened. There had been rage, and sorrow, and regret, and then the heartless words of Nelson Royale. From there, it was all a blur.

Surprisingly, Leum was the first to speak. "If you weren't absurdly powerful, captain, I wouldn't be here in the first place. A King is always a different man at war than at home. What you did, you did. Let's move on."

Luffy's words were dead, with a touch of the desperate. "How? How could I possibly look you all in the eye after what I did? I didn't even touch them, and they're gone. All those men, just in the wrong place, working for the wrong man… they're all gone." Tears pooled in Luffy's eyes, hidden by the brim of his hat, but every member of his crew heard them in his voice.

Luffy wallowed a few seconds longer, before soft arms enveloped him as warmth, safety, and acceptance washed over him like the tide. It took him a solid minute to realize that Nami was hugging him.

"The same way I can look at all of you after betraying you for Arlong. The same way Sanji and Usopp left behind all their friends. The same way Zoro can train with that scar on his chest or Gin can look after the ship. We're nakama, Luffy. Never forget that." Hidden from the crew, Nami's own tears leaked onto Luffy's vest.

Luffy slowly looked up, unconsciously cradling Nami's slender form to his. Zoro looked him straight in the eye before nodding, as Sanji smiled and Usopp gave a (shaky) thumbs-up. Gin chuckled to himself and patted the ship's planks, while Leum wordlessly shrugged and turned to face the sea.

Luffy sighed and buried his face in Nami's hair, crying with happiness now as he realized that, for all his power to kill and destroy, he was still accepted by his nakama.

Another person, as always, broke the moment.

"Who cares?" Apis said, her shoulders slumped and her face hopeless. Blood ran down from her lip as she clenched her teeth in frustrated despair. "Ryuuji's dead. He never saw the Dragon's Nest. We all failed."

Luffy slowly drew away from Nami, who seemed to let him go reluctantly. The Straw-Hat captain walked to Apis, before putting his hand on her shoulder. "We didn't fail. Ryuuji knew what he was doing. He'd already reached the Dragon's Nest."

As he spoke, the sea seemed to shake once more. This time, it was for reasons geological rather than spiritual. The water changed color from blue to green as land that had lain hidden for a thousand years beneath the sea rushed up to meet the sunlight. Within a few minutes, Gunkan Island tripled in size as wide field of stone, covered in the growth of the sea and odd stone structures, rose up. The Dragon's Nest had been found.

The Straw-Hats belatedly weighed anchor in the small pond they happened to find themselves in, before hopping down to the new land that surrounded them.

"This is the place the Sennenryu come to die," Luffy said, his voice solemn, but relaxed.

"Like the Elephant's Graveyard," Nami mused. "The name 'Sennenryu' has nothing to do with their lifespans. It's referring to how often they migrate. And these figures," she mused, looking at the distinctly dragon-esque formations around them. "These must be the skeletons of the dragons who died. They calcified at the bottom of the ocean."

"They sure seem to like it here," Sanji remarked, noting how all the Sennenryu were preening in the sunlight and eagerly looking around the new area.

Apis caught sight of something, and ran to it with all the speed she had. She hit water and was forced to stop, where she could do nothing but stare at Ryuuji's corpse, floating forlornly in the middle of a pond.

"Ryuuji, wake up. Please, wake up. We're at the Dragon's Nest. You were supposed to get better." Apis got more and more worked up as she spoke, until she was shouting. "You told me that when you found the Dragon's Nest, everything would be alright! But you lied! You lied, you lied, you lied!" She hung her head, helpless to stop her tears.

Luffy stepped forward. "Ryuuji didn't lie. He had to get to the Dragon's Nest. It's not just the place the Sennenryu die." A small, cracking sound pierced the air. The crew turned to see one of the odd, oblong stones littering the ground crack open, to reveal a baby Sennenryu. "It's where they go to be reborn."

Apis stared in wonder at the baby Sennenryu, which had yellow and lavender in its coat rather than dark green and purple. As others of its kind surrounded it, it seemed to squeak something at Apis. She closed her eyes, and threw her head back, wailing for the world to hear. It was a release of emotion, but not sadness.

The crew let her have her moment, witness to the rebirth of Ryuuji.

As they walked away, Usopp spoke up. "So, all those legends about the Ryuukotsu…"

"A dream within a dream," Nami said authoritatively.

"Apis's ancestors watched as the bones of the Sennenryu immortalized, and spread the tale of how dragons never die, how the elixir of eternity rested in their bones. Time distorted it into the legend of today," Leum added, an oddly satisfied look on his face as he walked through a place of ancient history.

"Halt!" a very familiar voice shouted.

The crew swept around to see Erik, glaring at them with hatred. "I realize that we've had our differences, but we need not fight. I only ever wanted the Ryuukotsu. You can even share in my prize."

Nami stepped forward. "But all these bones have calcified. If they even had an elixir in the first place, it's long dried away."

"Ah, but you fail to notice all these living Ryuukotsu all around you." Erik swept a hand to regard the whole of the Nest. It was clear that he didn't even see the dragon, only the promise of immortality. "You," he said, addressing Luffy directly. "There is no man that does not fear Death. Help me, and you can live forever."

"Not interested," Luffy said immediately.

Erik stumbled, before yelling in sudden anger. "Liar! For those of us who've eaten the Devil's Fruits, we already have one foot in the grave. There is no way you aren't afraid to die!"

"Not interested," Luffy repeated, clenching his fists once more.

Zoro shook his head. "This isn't your normal kind of guy. As long as he accomplishes what he's set out to do, he'll die with a smile on his face."

Erik's face twisted in rage. "Then die, if you're so eager! Kama Kama no Kamaitachi!" In denial at his own powerlessness, the man launched another blade of wind at the crew.

Luffy was about to rush forward, when an arm barred his path. The captain turned to regard Leum.

In that brief second, Luffy got a good look at Leum's face. For the first time since he'd met him, Leum looked mad. No, he looked furious.

"Spirit Cyclone!" He yelled, his form shifting into the blue-white quasi-substance of ectoplasm. He started spinning like a top, faster than any human being could naturally move. He carried enough mass to stir the air, and suddenly there was a miny tornado blocking the wind blade's path. It was dissipated by its stronger cousin, at which point Leum stopped on a penny.

The boy glared at Erik, his eyes almost glowing red from within his ghostly face. "You would disregard the past. You would treat the avatars of a lost age as tools for your own gain. You would spit on antiquity, piss on what is sacred, destroy that which is irreplaceable." He flung his arms wide, his amulet winking in the sun with a macabre joy.

"You think you scare me?" Erik yelled, quite worked up. He sliced at the air again. This time, Leum let the gift of his crew do the talking for him. The blade vanished as it entered a cloud of Haki.

"Feel the weight of ages, and then you will know fear," the boy who was more spirit than flesh whispered. "Allow me to open your eyes. KON KON NO POSSESSION!" With that cry, Leum flew right at Erik. He went through Erik's body, and did not reappear.

The man jerked, before looking around in confusion. The Straw-Hats watched anxiously, wondering what their newest nakama would do next.

Erik jumped suddenly, screaming "What was that?" He did this repeatedly over the next minute, getting steadily more panicked. "WHY AM I SEEING THIS?" he shouted, gripping his head so hard he drew blood. It was horrifying, in a way. He fell to his knees, screaming "STOP, STOP, STOP!" He began to shake like he was having a seizure, choking on his own air. He flung himself at the ground and started convulsing. "No more, no more," he pleaded in a very small voice. He turned to face the sun, but didn't seem to see it. He continued to rock around for a few minutes, before he stopped breathing altogether.

Only then did Leum reappear, flowing up out of Erik's corpse as if out of water. He solidified, only to sway the moment he touched the ground.

Luffy was already there, helping his nakama to stand. Leum gave a breathless thanks as he tried to catch back his breath. Usopp, by far the most affected by the display, slowly walked forward with the rest of the crew. "What did you do?"

Leum gasped, before catching his breath. "I got inside him. Then I stopped trying to block out the past and let it in. I let myself hear every ghost within a mile of this place, and the whispers in the air, and the memories hidden in the ground. All of it, I let in. And he heard it too." He shivered. "It's not an experience most can survive. I have a lot of practice, but he didn't. He frightened himself to death. I'm not that much better. The past's a heavy burden."

Gin sighed, before getting under Leum's other shoulder to help him up. "Welcome to the crew. You're officially as stupid as the rest of us."


The crew were sailing away from Gunkan, their adventure ended and the next one calling. Apis had thanked them for all their hard work and told them how she intended for herself and her children and so on to guard the Dragon's Nest against men like Nelson Royale. As they left, the crew could have sworn that they heard her screaming at her grandfather than she didn't need another lesson.

Luffy was hanging out at the back of the boat, conspicuously not on his special seat. He seemed unaware that the whole of the crew was gravitating towards the front of the boat. He looked up as Nami walked up to him. He nodded at her before looking back out at the sea.

Nami leaned against the rail next to him, gathering her courage. "It's later," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

Luffy nodded, his face unreadable.

Gulping, Nami decided to risk it all. She started speaking before she could chicken out. "I like you Luffy. More than just as a nakama. I have ever since you risked your life to defend my freedom from Arlong, and maybe even before then. I like the way your eyes light up when you see something you think is cool. I like how dedicated you are to your dream and how much you take care of your 'treasure'. I like you for your loyalty, for your courage, I even like you for your carelessness sometimes."

Seeing no response, Nami started to say even more, things she had resolved to never say aloud. "I dream of what it will be like for you to hold me tight and kiss my hair and say how much you care about me. I picture what it'll be like when I bring you back home to Commi Island one day and I introduce you as my boyfriend. Back then, when you went crazy, I didn't even bother being afraid for myself. All I could think about was how much you were hurting, and I wanted to make it go away. I like you for how humble you are, too, for the reasons you keep all that power locked up instead of just throwing it around."

Looking down, unable to face him through the embarrassment, she managed four more words. "I love you, Luffy."

They stayed silent for a full minute. The whole time Nami was beating herself up in her head, calling herself stupid for saying such things, now their friendship was ruined, oh god she'd never be able to face him again by all that's holy she'd go into debt just for him to say something

A warm, strong hand gently clasped Nami's chin. Her face was slowly turned up to face Luffy, who was staring right into her eyes. Then he leaned forward and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her so tight that she was almost crushed into his chest.

Nami gasped, and his long, stretchy tongue invaded her mouth. She felt like she'd been set on fire as his overwhelming warmth, his strong taste of meat and the firmness of his body flooded her mind. Her hands circled around to clutch at his backside possessively, earning a groan of pleasure and drawing their bodies even tighter.

After a solid ten minutes of heavy making-out, Nami drew away, breathless and dizzy. Luffy, in a similar state, drew back his arms to cup Nami's face, making her look right at him, as if she needed any encouragement.

"Someday, you're going to be Pirate Queen. And I love you too, Nami."

Nami's heart soared, and she kissed him again.


Yay, the couple is official! For the record, I have just recently finally finalized my determination to be a writer, and the next update will come earlier than six months! Hope you enjoyed this! Ja ne!

P.S. Straw Hat = Luffy; Straw-Hat = Crew