Cheers to Smoochynose, Khrystaline, N Harmonic, of Serendip, bibliophile030, Sea Rover Tactician, Zelga Lim Li, Naron Daylane, Reign of Rayne, Lily Noir, Hahukum Konn, Kokos, dwarfprince, avaiaal, Trainer Azurite, JustHopeForHope, Ms . McClue, Yana5, xXxAnimexLoverxXx, chickeyd, angelrider13, Jade, Kiddiluna, Fancyunicorn, N Harmonic [again on 08/30/15], Talon of soaring Eagle, BlackGryphon101, Friendly reader, Rin-s666, TheFLO, Destrark, Nala1220, and bronze andromeda shun!
Y'all are really blowing me away with your response!
Again, too lazy to do a line play-by-play, and most especially a fight play-by-play. So some parts are very similar, and some I skip altogether. Let me know what you think.
Also, I have like NO time to be on this website, so I'm really dipping in and out, no time to read or respond to PMs, sorry. I'll try and keep my updates regular though. :)
Thanks to the wonderful breather, and best wishes to HadenXCharm who is bushed at the moment.
Chapter 9: Follow the Sun
Zoro meets Luffy in the courtyard of a navy base. His first impression of the skinny boy is bad because all he feels is dismissal, and in the future he'll find out how totally, utterly, completely wrong he was. In fact, it may be the wrongest he'll ever be in his life. That doesn't matter at the moment. What does is the idiot with a bursting smile who's approaching the deadly pirate hunter.
The kid then doubles his stupidity when he not only glibly tells a pirate hunter that he's a pirate, but actually asks him to join his crew. The terrified looking pink-haired kid has the right idea, trying to tell the idiot to run away, and to stop trying to get a pirate hunter to join his crew. The moron in the straw hat just grins while effectively batting away the scared boy's attempts to grab his hand.
"You have to, though," he says, in such an assured way that Zoro blinks.
"Why the hell should I, kid?"
"Because I'm going to be King of the Pirates, and I need the best swordsman on my crew."
And Zoro wonders how the hell the kid knew about his goal to be the best in the world. Because it's not just his goal, but his promise to Kuina . . . It will happen one day, but right now he has a lot on the line. He's trying to both save that little girl's life and his own honor, and some weird kid isn't going to make him break his word just because he guessed that Zoro might want to make a name for himself one day. Besides, any idiot who thinks he can be King of the Pirates has more than a few screws loose.
"That dude, the annoying one with the stupid hair, he's not going to keep his promise," straw hat boy comments off handedly, as though reading his thoughts.
"What the hell do you know about it?" Zoro grits out.
"Only that he's a dishonorable guy. Why d'you expect him to keep his word?"
Fair point. The daddy's boy with the stupid hair seemed plenty disingenuous. But Zoro doesn't see why he should trust this runt over him.
"I'm not just going to leave because a stranger says he's a liar."
The kid tilts his head.
"I'm Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy. And you're Zoro. I don't see why we're strangers."
"I just met you, you idiot! We're still strangers."
"Seriously Luffy, let's get out of here!" the other boy with glasses pleads.
"Nope. Not until he agrees to become my crewmember."
"You'll be waiting forever, kid. Now go away."
"No."
Zoro opens his mouth to cuss the kid off when he spots motion from the periphery. Looking over he sees the small figure of the little girl from the shop closing in. She clutches something tightly to her chest.
"Hi!" she greets, smile wide. "I made you some rice balls."
She extends her hands and he sees two lumpy rice balls. Shit. Zoro's touched. He actually is, but this little girl is going to end up very dead if that annoying daddy's boy gets wind of this—
And speak of the devil, the pansy is walking towards him. Predictably, two marine footman flank him on either side, guns on full display.
"Roronoa Zoro." The daddy's boy grins. "You're doing well."
Zoro can't help the growl that escapes his lips. Oh how he'd love to beat the ever loving shit out of this guy.
"What do you want?" he says instead.
"Just checking to see how my favorite prisoner is doing. You are pretty popular today, aren't you?"
Dread settles in Zoro's stomach as he realizes that the little shop girl is still here, and he can't do anything if the fucker decides to harm her. From the side, the idiot and his pink haired friend watch on, the former seeming mildly uninterested, the latter growing ever more anxious.
"Ooh, rice balls!" With a quick swipe of the hand, the daddy's boy snags one of the rice balls and starts chewing it. Seconds later he spits it out.
"They're sweet! How disgusting!"
"They aren't for you!" the shop girl shouts back.
"Such insolence!" pansy boy accuses. He then digs out a small rolled up piece of paper which he spreads out and reads with great delight.
"Any persons found helping a criminal shall hence be executed. Daddy signed this into law just this morning." He turns and points towards one of the navy officers. "You! Throw this little girl over the wall."
"B-but sir—"
"Are you questioning me?! I'll be sure to tell my father what happened today," he threatens.
"N-no, sorry Sir, there's no need for that." He approaches the little girl only to be stopped by a firm hand on his forearm.
"No."
Idiot boy has just placed himself in the middle of a mess and Zoro has no doubt it won't end well. But Zoro is grateful he's doing something, because Zoro's weak, and hungry, and he can only strain against the rope binding him to the cross.
"Fuck," he utters under his breath, because he's so pathetic. Looking back up, he sees the straw hat kid staring down the daddy's boy, and then he feels something settling in the air. A pressure that builds along the edge of his skin, setting his hair on end. It's a ghost of a sensation, and yet it's almost overwhelming. Whatever it is, it seems to be coming from the thin boy with the straw hat— Luffy.
Zoro's eyes dart to the daddy's boy. From the arrogant look on his face, it seems like Zoro is the only one who notices. Maybe it's because of his swordsman training, or just pure instincts, but he knows now to be wary of this person.
"Never mind, shoot this man first," pansy boy says with a wave of his hand. One of the navy men reluctantly pulls his gun to his shoulder, looking as apologetic as he dares.
Zoro waits to see a hint of the power he felt before in the dark haired boy, but nothing appears. Instead, he hears the click of a trigger and traces the path of the bullet straight into the guy's chest. When the path continues on through Luffy's chest, dragging several feet out, Zoro's eyes widen in shock. The bullet then go flying the other direction, grazing the face of pansy boy, who screams in shock.
"What the hell are you kid?" Zoro asks.
"I'm made of rubber," Luffy says, stretching his face into a stupid, exaggerated expression to make the shop girl laugh.
"A Devil's Fruit user!" pansy boy accuses.
"Yeah."
"You almost killed me!"
"Oh. I guess."
"Do you know who my father is? He's Axe-hand Morgan!" pansy boy exclaims.
Luffy stares uninterestedly. "So?"
"He'll kill you when he finds out how you're treating me!"
"Go get him then," Luffy says.
Zoro coughs on nothing, and he hears the navy men and the pink haired boy spluttering in horror. What kind of idiot—
"I will!" With a sniff, pansy boy goes marching towards the fortress, marine footmen following nervously behind. Now it's just him, pink haired boy, Luffy, and the little shop girl.
"You should get out of here," Zoro says softly to the shop girl. He doesn't know exactly what will happen next, but he doesn't want her nearby in case something goes wrong.
She looks about to protest when Luffy grins widely.
"Don't worry. I got it covered." His voice exudes such confidence that Zoro finds himself almost believing. It sufficiently convinces the shop girl who nods before running back to town.
"What are you going to do, Luffy? Axe-hand Morgan is one of the strongest men on the East Blue!" pink-haired kid asks anxiously.
"And?"
"He'll kill you!"
"Will not."
"You're an idiot," Zoro grits out.
"Whad'ya say, feel like taking out the bully in town?" Luffy asks, smile on his face.
Zoro sighs. What has he got to lose? His deal with pansy boy is well and truly fucked, if it was ever a fair vow in the first place, so he may as well go out fighting. Maybe he'll get an opportunity to punch pansy boy's face in.
"Alright," he agrees, and Luffy grins widely in response.
"I don't know why you bother though, another corrupt officer will take Morgan's place."
"Mmm not all marines are evil, right Coby?" Luffy nudges the pink haired boy who's staring back with a flush of admiration on his face.
Zoro rolls his eyes. "Just get me down." No way he's going to face Axe-hand while tied up.
"Alright, you untie him, and I'll get his swords." Luffy nods before darting towards the fortress.
"Oh, that's smart. I guess they wouldn't leave your swords on you, huh?" Coby says, arms buried in knots.
"How will he know where they are?"
"He'll probably just look for an armory or something," Coby replies distractedly.
Zoro sighs. This wasn't exactly how he planned the day to go when he woke from his restless sleep this morning. It's a perfectly fucked up mess. As he hears a clamor rising from the fortress he knows it's gotten even more fucked up in the last thirty seconds.
As the last knot comes untied, a figure slingshots from the building, landing in front of him. It's Luffy. In one hand he holds the unconscious form of pansy boy, and in the other he has all three of Zoro's swords.
"Here," Luffy says, carelessly throwing all three swords towards Zoro, who catches them with ease.
At the feel of their sheathes against his palm, a tenseness he never realized existed relaxes, and even as an intimidating figure arrives on the horizon, Zoro knows he'll make it out of this alive.
"Whew, that was a good meal," Zoro says leaning back and placing a hand on his stomach. All he wants to do is go take a nap somewhere, but the strange rubber guy from before is sitting across from him, and Zoro's curiosity won't rest. Away from the battle, he's back to the spacey smiley boy Zoro first met, no hint of that ineffable power that saturated the very air around them. Seeing him eat and laugh makes him seem . . . well, not exactly normal (he's beginning to figure out that Luffy doesn't really do normal), but something like it.
"So where are you off to now, Luffy?" Zoro asks.
"I thought we could sort of head north for a while. I don't have a navigator yet, but—"
"Wait, wait, what's with the 'we?' I never said I'd join," Zoro corrects.
"Didn't you already agree?"
"No!" he shouts angrily.
"Oh. Well do you want to be a member of my crew?"
And Zoro stands there in that moment, feeling an inexplicable weight in his words. The seriousness and heaviness is annoying. So to hell with it.
"Why not. Sure, I'll join your crew."
A large laugh builds in Luffy's chest, filling the room with its merry ring. And Zoro smiles in response. It seems like he'll be living a little more unusually than before for at least a little while.
"So how many members are there in your crew?"
Zoro sighs as he looks up at the bright sea sun. It's been two weeks since he's joined Luffy's crew (if it can be called that), and he's starting to wonder how exactly this arrangement is going to work out in the long term. Two men can only float around the sea aimlessly for so long. How Luffy has even made it so far without a navigator amazes Zoro. He asks, but the other man just waves his concern off.
"It'll work out, don't worry."
—or so Luffy keeps saying. Zoro wishes he had his captain's assuredness. He has no reason yet to doubt Luffy though, so through the waves and uncertainty, Zoro sails.
Luffy is cloud watching, pretending it's him and Ace back on Goa, just tracing the white lines of the sky like they used to and coming up with the most fantastic food from the cloud shapes. A shadow interrupts his game, and as he squints up, a wide smirk spreads over his face.
"Luffy, why are you smirking," Zoro asks cautiously.
Last time Luffy tried to get the bird, he had almost been eaten.
That won't happen to him this time. This time he'll get his revenge.
"What are you doing Luffy?" the swordsman asks suspiciously. The mischievous look in his captain's eyes does not bode well for him. Luffy ignores him, instead placing his hat on a nearby barrel and cracks his knuckles.
The young rubber man winds his arm around the top of the mast and angles his body towards the bird.
"Oi, Luffy! Luf—"
Zoro's words are cut off by the whistling of air around Luffy's ears as he shoots to his target.
He pulls his arm back, ready to lay the smack down—
Only for the massive beak to jut forward suddenly, snapping up his head. Were he not rubber, he'd likely be decapitated. As it is, he's left dangling in the air, neck bobbing awkwardly as the bird flaps its wings.
"NOT AGAIN!"
"YOU IDIOT!" the swordsman curses.
"HELP ME ZORO!"
The bird begins heading towards the town. Luffy unhappily lets it go its course. If he hits it, then he'll likely find himself in the sea. Well, it didn't hurt too much the first go around, and this time is no different, though it's a little irritating. At least he'll make good time into the town.
He glances down at the houses and the sight make his throat catch. A familiar orange head is running towards him. He smacks the bird and falls from its grasp, just barely missing the girl as he dismounts.
He turns and stares at her.
"Go get them boss!" she cries before running away.
And it's her, it's Nami. She's here, and wearing the same clothes, and smelling of mikan, and Luffy is momentarily swept away by memories of a different life.
That's when one of the pirate's attacks him with a sideways slash of a sword. After jumping over the movement, Luffy lowers his leg forcefully over the guy's head before moving onto his stunned companion and knocking him out with one punch. Luffy's mind is on other things, other people. He looks towards the roofs, where he can practically feel her.
She feels his eyes pierce through the roof where she's watching things. Nami ducks and contemplates running, though seeing how quickly he'd dealt with those guys, she has a feeling that if he wanted to, he could knock her out in a second. He doesn't though. He's just watching. There's no question that this guy is strong though. Perhaps he sees something about her he . . . likes. If so, then she can manipulate him. He doesn't look too smart anyways. Taking a chance, she hops off the rooftops, landing lightly on her feet.
"Thanks for saving me!" she starts, placing a charming, coy expression on her face. "I would have been in trouble if you hadn't been there to save me."
He keeps staring at her with a serious look on his face as she approaches. She shifts uncomfortably, waiting for him to say something. When he doesn't, she loses her patience.
"What?!" she demands defensively.
Suddenly a wide grin spreads over his face, banishing the solemnity that was there before.
"Nothin,' I was just wondering what you were doing being chased by evil guys. Were you playing tag?"
She giggles nervously. "Is this guy for real?"
Aloud she only replies, "Not really. They were after me because I look like an easy target. I really owe you."
"It was nothing," he dismisses easily. She wonders why he bothered helping her, but isn't going to look a horse in the mouth.
"I was wondering, since you're so strong, if you wouldn't mind helping me a little more."
She bends a little to expose her chest to him at a better angle.
His stare is perfectly vacant and she grins inwardly. He's exactly where she wants him.
Then a loud rumble fills the area.
"Mmm, sorry, I'm really hungry. Were you saying something?"
Nami barely resists facepalming. Gritting her teeth, she manages to keep her expression mild.
"After beating up those guys you must be hungry. Why don't you come back to my place? I'll make you a sandwich," she offers. It's also a perfect excuse to get off the streets and away from Buggy's men.
"Food!" He smiles.
Definitely a simple one. She sighs inwardly.
This will be a long day for her, she can already tell.
Nami stares with disgust as her newest acquaintance – Luffy, he told her enthusiastically – puts away ten sandwiches like it's nothing. It's more than a little off-putting, but she keeps her face mild and reminds herself to be nice to this guy. He's going to help her get Buggy's map to the Grand Line, after all.
"So what were you doing? If you weren't playing tag?"
He's nosy, but Nami reminds herself that being kind will get her everywhere with this one. That and food, apparently.
"They were after my money. You know how pirates are."
He nods, smiling again before asking, "Why did you steal all that money, huh?"
She starts coughing on absolutely nothing at the blunt question. So maybe he wasn't as simple as she thought he was . . .
Cutting her losses, she loses her overly pleasant expression and leans back in her chair before answering honestly. "I'm collecting money."
"Why? You don't owe someone do you?"
What a rude guy! She grits her teeth.
"No, I'm doing it for personal reasons."
His face lights right up with so much pure delight it makes her shift away.
"What are they?"
"I'm looking for someone," she says vaguely.
"I see." He hums to himself for a moment before a wide excited grin overtakes his face. "You should join my pirate crew!"
"Why on earth would I do that?!" Pirates aren't the worst scum to walk the earth, but they certainly aren't the best either. Her first encounter with pirates was frankly a little scarring. Arlong left a sour note in the word pirate for a very long time. In her extensive travels, she's met good and bad pirates. She'll wager this guy fits in the former category.
"If you do then we can take you lotsa places so you can find the person you're looking for. And me and my first mate are super strong so we can protect you and stuff if you become our nakama."
She blanches as he throws the word 'nakama' around. She didn't intend to become anyone's 'comrade' but she considers his proposal seriously. This could be very beneficial. This guy might be able to take her different places, for free it looks like. He's also pretty strong. While she can generally fund her way anywhere she wants to go, protection is a different matter, especially consistent protection. It's not like she's weak or anything. Nami thinks she can handle herself pretty well; but this is the East Blue, the weakest of all the seas. If she wants to go to Grand Line, Nami will need a lot of help. She knows better to trust anything blindly, but something about the guy is so unassuming that she finds herself nodding.
"Alright, I'll join your crew, but only temporarily," Nami warns.
"Sure, sure!" Luffy nods eagerly.
"Now that I'm your nakama, you should do me a favor, captain." She bats her eyelashes. "Get rid of the guy that's after me, your nakama."
"Okay!" he chirps.
"Okay?" She's taken aback. "Don't you at least want to know who it is?"
"Mmmm, nope. I can beat 'em."
She finds that in the face of his confidence she can't doubt him.
An hour later, as Luffy absolutely lays the smackdown on Buggy and his men, Nami is overwhelmed with relief that she didn't go through with her secondary plan to tie him up and deliver him to Buggy. She bet on the right horse this time. She grins widely. Maybe being this guy's crewmate wouldn't be so bad. He'll be able to get her places, and beat people up for her too!
Her delight doubles when Zoro the Pirate Hunter appears, turning out to be none other than Luffy's first mate! She has a feeling the rest of his crew are just as strong, wherever they are. Considering how disorganized the captain is, their absence isn't completely surprising.
Luffy pauses mid-punch, holding Buggy's bruised head in one hand, and the clown's torso beneath one sandaled foot.
"What do you want me to do with him, Nami?" he asks.
So perfectly obedient! She covers her glee with a smooth façade.
"I need a map. It's probably on his person."
Luffy blinks before kneeling down besides the torso, and digging through the pockets until he holds up a scroll.
"This it?"
She dashes forward and snatches the paper, pouring over it eagerly. It's just what she needs! A map of the Grand Line! Laughter does escape her lips this time, pouring out in giggles. What a perfect day!
"What is it?" the pirate hunter asks.
She doesn't mind sharing. "It's a map of the Grand Line!"
"So that means you can take us there, right?" Luffy asks excitedly. At her nod, he smiles wider. "Awesome!"
So he's interested in going to the Grand Line? Better and better. She'll be able to take advantage of him and his strength for even longer.
Her mood is slightly soured when she realizes that he and Zoro are the only members of the crew right now, and their 'ship' is a dinghy, smaller than hers. Luffy quickly assures her that they'll get a ship soon (she doesn't see how, considering how much he eats, they must blow through money like it's nothing). The money won't be coming from her stash though. She makes Luffy promise her she can keep her own horde separate. He agrees easily, seeming uninterested in treasure on the whole.
"Oi, Luffy, you forgot this," Zoro says, grabbing something from their dinghy, and throwing it to their captain.
Nami blinks and Luffy's holding a yellow and red straw hat in his hands, grinning widely.
"Thanks Zoro!" He places it on his head.
And Nami can't process it. Because no way— it can't be. But she does some mental math, and he's the right age, and the hat is so distinctive— and then there's his strength— could it be? Only one way to find out.
"It was you! Three years ago, it was you in Cocoyashi!" Nami exclaims, pointing towards him.
Luffy's body goes rigid and when he turns to look at her, his face is indecipherable. Her breath catches at the undeniable proof from his reaction.
"How do you know about that?"
"Everyone was talking about the boy with the straw hat," she manages, dazed by the confirmation.
"Oh." He seems oddly disappointed by something she doesn't fully understand. Luffy shrugs a little.
"Yeah that was me."
And no, he doesn't seem to understand what his actions mean, so she clutches the front of his shirt desperately and pushes the words out.
"You saved my life. You saved my village."
"I did." He nods.
"Why did you do that?"
"Arlong hurt someone I cared about. A nakama. No one gets away with hurting my nakama."
Nami feels stunned that she is now included in that category.
"Well, no matter why you did it, thank you." And the words leave her in an exhale, because she's been waiting years to say them. "I've been looking for you all over the seas. I can't believe I found you."
And she looks at him now with reverence, because she found him, she found him. And he saved her again.
"Why were you looking for me?" He tilts his head.
"To thank you."
"Oh . . ." There's a short pause. "Okay then. You're welcome."
"I'm so glad I found you," she utters honestly.
"Me too!" he chirps, grinning right back.
"What's going on?" Zoro finally asks, utterly lost.
"And here's where I keep all the treasure I've found." Stolen, liberated, collected, whatever the case may be. Nami has a veritable horde here. She's showing him the inside of her sloop while Zoro catches up on sleep on their dinghy. She has nothing against spending one-on-one time with the savior of her town.
"We can use this room as the treasury for the crew if you want," she offers. Nami doesn't need the money now. Her reason for collecting it is standing on her ship as she speaks, and it's still hard to tear her eyes away from him.
"I thought you wanted to keep the money separate?" Luffy asks, confused.
Nami winces at the memory of how she treated Luffy prior to her realization. Hopefully he doesn't think too badly of her.
"That was before I knew— well . . ."
He blinks as she trails off and Nami feels incredibly stupid all of a sudden. She can barely form a sentence with him here.
"Why're you acting so weird?" Luffy finally asks, point blank.
Nami sighs before sitting on one of the barrels.
"I don't know if you realize how much what you did means to me. You saved me. Before you arrived, Arlong— well, he sort of forced me into service with his crew. He k-killed my adoptive mother, and basically made life a living hell." She shivers from the memory.
"Nami . . ."
"But then you came." Her hands steady. "And I was suddenly free. It means a lot to me. Thank you."
"I already said it was fine," Luffy says, frowning lightly. "You don't have to give me your money and stuff."
"Consider it a thank you gift."
"But don't you need it to find that guy?"
Nami blinks before a small laugh escapes her throat. He really has no idea how much he means to her, does he?
"I already found him."
"You did! When! Who was he?!"
"I found him today when he fell from the sky, and saved me from some thugs." She smiles coyly.
There's a long moment of pause before Luffy starts violently and exclaims,
"Was I the one you were looking for?!"
"Yeah, you were." And if Nami's eyes are a little watery with joy, she won't hold it against herself. He seems unsettled by her behavior so she wipes the wetness away and smiles brightly.
"I was the reason you were gathering money and stuff?"
"Yeah. Now I don't really need it, you know? So it can be the crew's funds, if you want."
Luffy shakes his head violently. "The money's yours. I would never separate you from your money."
She blinks at his strange response. "Okay?"
"Do you have a dream?" Luffy asks suddenly.
"Well, it was to find you, but now . . ." Huh. She hasn't really thought about what to do now. She wants to keep travelling with him and help him out however she can. But beyond that . . .
"You don't have a dream?" he asks, and there's more weight in his voice than she feels should be. Nami suddenly, inexplicably feels like she's let him down somehow.
"I— well I guess I want to help you navigate the Grand Line. You need someone to do that, right?"
Luffy shakes his head before grabbing her shoulders and staring in her eyes determinedly.
"We're going to find you a new dream, alright Nami?"
And his intensity is so pointed that she lets out a little laugh. Why is he so concerned about her life goals? How can he care so much about her when he just met her, and his impression can't have been a good one. It's nice though, so nice.
"Okay, whatever you want, Captain."
She doesn't think any dream could beat out this one.
Usopp, their most recent addition, proves to be a jack of many trades. Nami won't admit it aloud, but his variety is rather impressive. From art to loading cannons, he has all of it down. He's much better at drawing than Luffy is, which is good, because now they have a proper ship and a proper flag.
Luffy's even more delighted than Usopp, who glows under Luffy's attention and compliments.
"We can be the Mugiwara pirates!" Luffy exclaims with delight.
"That isn't very threatening," Usopp says uncertainly.
Luffy blinks. "Why would we want to be threatening?"
"Because we're pirates, scourge of the sea, terror of the waters, beware?" Zoro chips in from his place against the mast.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind." Zoro rolls his eyes, making Nami laugh.
In some ways, Nami's expectations for the boy with the straw hat have been completely shot down. And in others, he's better than she could have ever imagined.
He isn't the serious, stoically powerful figure she dreamt up in her childhood.
No, Luffy is bright and charismatic. His smile illuminates the surroundings wherever they are (and since joining Luffy's crew she has found herself in some odd and gross situations). Nami never thought she'd be a member of anyone's crew, but Luffy isn't anyone, so she supposes it's alright. He is incredibly stupid at times though, which makes her want to hit him— not that she ever does. She couldn't bear to physically harm him the way she does other idiotic men. Luffy means so much to her already, and he endears himself further every day. It took her a while to actually relax enough around him to insult him (whenever she does he looks inordinately pleased which is just odd. She wonders if he has a masochistic streak), but now it's almost unnatural how at ease she is with him— with all of their slowly growing crew. Nami's never been so close to so many people. It's nice, though it was definitely awkward at first. But so, so worth it. She's slid into a slot that was made for her, for no other reason than that Luffy has the power to bend the world around them. He makes belonging. And she's never belonged anywhere more.
"The Mugiwara pirates," she murmurs to herself before smiling. It's just as unassuming and peculiar as the person it's coined after. "I like it."
Luffy grins. "See, Nami agrees! It's an awesome name! We'll be the best, most awesomest pirates on the sea!"
"Awesomest isn't a word," Zoro corrects lazily. Luffy continues, unfazed.
"We'll collect four more nakama and together we'll have the most freedom in the world!"
And Nami's mind blanks, because for the first time she understands what Luffy's dream to be Pirate King means— freedom, and that sounds right. After her stint as Arlong's crewmate, she knows the value of the word, and yes, there's nothing else she wants more than to be the freest. As ever, it's Luffy who embodies the sentiment. Her dream now is to make him the freest man in the world. Nothing else seems adequate.
Usopp squirms uncomfortably in his cot. Trying to sleep somewhere other than his comfortable, familiar bed at home is taking some getting used to – he's been on the ship for three days and he's barely slept at all. It seems like no matter how much he twists and turns he can't find the best position in this new cot. Zoro lets out a small growl from somewhere in the dark, and Usopp's body stills out of self-preservation. The swordsman has no issue groggily rising from his own cot to hiss threatening things into the sniper's ears for being so fidgety. Usopp shudders at the memory, and tries to keep his shifting to a minimum volume.
Inwardly he grumbles. Luffy isn't a window rattler, but it would be a lie to call him a restful sleeper. From muttering to even laughing in his sleep at times, Luffy never seems to slow down. In fact, Luffy seems to be uttering something right now! Zoro never gets mad at Luffy for being a loud sleeper.
Usopp exhales softly and does his best to find the elusive beast that is sleep on a swaying ship. If only Luffy would pipe down, because he's getting pretty loud—
"No! No! Please don't!"
Usopp jerks up at Luffy's cry.
"Shit." Zoro's already out of his cot. In the moonlight, Usopp can see the swordsman kneeling next to Luffy's cot shaking the teen awake. Curious, Usopp stands and goes towards his new captain.
"— so much blood, Zoro," Luffy says to his first mate, voice actually trembling. It makes Usopp pause, because Luffy's a strong guy. Not as strong as the great Usopp-sama, but he was pretty damn close. When the Black Cat pirates attacked the island, Luffy was a one-man wrecking ball. When Captain Kuro appeared, Usopp let Luffy try his hand at beating him, all while overseeing the fight. Kuro got his ass kicked. That's the only way Usopp can think to put it. And he wonders where the hell this teenager came from that grows such strong people, but the thought is a frightening one, so he tucks it away. The recollection of it now only serves to make Luffy's trembling silhouette more discordant.
"Luffy, Luffy, it's fine," Zoro says, voice softer than Usopp has ever heard it. It even seems like the swordsman is rubbing circles on their captain's back if the shadows aren't playing tricks on him.
"I still see it," Luffy utters dazedly. "You forget about how much blood people have in their bodies, sometimes, Zoro. It's a lot. It's so much."
"Luffy—" Zoro exhales
Luffy continues on, ignoring his first mate. "I feel like I'm gonna drown sometimes."
A chill runs over Usopp's body.
"There's no blood here, Luffy." Zoro's voice is firm now. "We're all safe on the boat. You, me, Usopp, and Nami. Tomorrow we're going to find a chef, remember?"
"Yeah . . . he's waiting for us, isn't he?" Luffy asks.
"Definitely. The faster you go to sleep, the sooner you'll meet him."
"Mmmm," Luffy hums. After shifting for a moment, the air is filled with deep breathing and light snoring. Zoro stands from his crouch, and turns his eyes to Usopp. The sniper can feel the gaze, despite the darkness of the room. Without a word, Zoro walks past Usopp, tugging his elbow. The sniper dutifully follows the first mate out of the cabin, shutting the door softly behind him. Zoro leads them to the kitchen. As Usopp sits down at their table, Zoro heads to the cupboards.
"What do you want?" he asks gruffly.
"Hot chocolate," slips past his lips before Usopp can even think about it.
He regrets it immediately, because he's a man of the sea now, a brave warrior, and brave warriors don't run for hot chocolate after a tough night. Before he can scramble and cover up his mistake, Zoro sets the kettle on the burner. The swordsman then goes to the cabinets and digs around for a few moments before finding some whiskey.
The room is filled with awkward silence that leaves Usopp sweating from nervousness. Finally, the water boils, and Zoro taps some hot chocolate mix into a mug and pours the water in before the kettle begins to scream. He places the cup in front of Usopp before sitting across from him, whiskey bottle in hand. He doesn't get a glass for himself, but Usopp didn't expect him to. Zoro avoids getting a glass for booze whenever possible— fewer dishes, he cites whenever Nami gets on him about that.
Usopp looks down at his steaming brown drink and then up at Zoro. He expects a smirk or some kind of judgment for his drink choice, but Zoro appears perfectly neutral. In fact, he doesn't even seem to be looking at Usopp. Instead his gaze is trained out the window.
It suddenly hits Usopp how practiced every bit of this is. Zoro's calm speech and soothing gestures are tailored to calming Luffy down.
"So." Usopp clears his throat. "Does this happen often then?"
Zoro rolls his shoulders. "It depends on what you mean by often. I've only known Luffy for a handful of months now. I'd say it happens once or twice a week. Is that often, do you think?"
Usopp coughs on his hot chocolate scalding his hands. He lets out a moan of pain, but bites down the end of it at Zoro's piercing stare.
"I, um, don't really know." Admittedly, Usopp doesn't have too many nightmares, and the ones he does have usually involve forgetting his pants, not drowning in blood.
"Me neither. He's been doing better recently. In fact, this was one of his milder episodes."
Usopp's mouth falls open. Trembling and rambling on about disturbing things is mild? Usopp doesn't want to know what serious is!
"The first night he had one it scared the shit out of me. We'd only been travelling together for four days, and I suddenly had to deal with that." The first mate nods towards the door before running a hand through his green hair. "I didn't know what to think."
Zoro's being unexpectedly candid. Usopp wonders if it's a sign of how much Luffy's uncharacteristic behavior gets under his skin, or a sign of the alcohol percentage of the whiskey.
"If I'm ever on watch and that happens, just talk to Luffy. Tell him everything's fine, and start talking about tomorrow. That's the fastest way to get him to calm down." Zoro's eyes narrow. "Whatever you do, don't freak out, and especially don't tell Nami."
Usopp nods for lack of anything better to respond with. He feels like he's being briefed for a mission. Hopefully it's one he won't ever have to take on. Because Usopp doesn't think he's strong enough to face that strange version of his new captain. Usopp crosses his fingers and hopes their next crewmember is a man, a strong one to lift the burden from Usopp's shoulders. A thought strikes him and he looks up at Zoro cautiously.
"Do you know why he has them so often?" Usopp asks tentatively.
Zoro sighs. "No. He hasn't said a word on the subject. Wouldn't expect him to. He's too busy adventuring to talk about whatever the hell happened to him. Besides, it's his own business." The warning is clear, but Usopp never had any intention of asking to begin with. Luffy can keep his blood soaked thoughts to himself!
"I do know that something happened to him. Something bad." Zoro takes a long drink. "That's why I can't tell if they're often. Because it all depends on what kind of demons Luffy's hiding in the closet. In my opinion though, it's gotta be some really fucked up shit to make Luffy that messed up."
Usopp doesn't disagree. As he's lying back down in his cot and the room is soaked in hush, Usopp will silently admit to himself that Luffy is the strongest person he's ever met. Anything that makes him tremble is out of Usopp's league.
Sometimes, their captain will just hold a piece of paper in his hand and stare at it. The small piece of paper moves around on his hand, and Nami thought at first that the wind was pushing it. She realizes eventually that it has nothing to do with the wind at all, and everything to do with the mysterious paper.
Nami asks Luffy on one calm day when he, Zoro, and Usopp are fishing. He looks up at her, hand reaching for the ribbon on his hat where the paper is stored. He pulls it out and all of them stare at it with fascination as it's gently tugged by an invisible force across Luffy's palm. Usopp, who has never seen it before, oohs and ahhs.
She asks him what it's for, and her captain smiles.
"It's so I can always find home."
Nami blinks and Zoro raises an eyebrow. Their captain has not spoken about home the entire time they've been together, which is going on four months now. Then again, neither she nor Zoro speak of home at all either. Usopp is the only one who ever speaks about his past life, and he talks enough for all of them combined (Nami rarely pays it any mind. Who knows if any of it is true anyways).
Still, her captain has never struck her as being homesick. His constant staring at the paper certainly implies that he's at least thinking about it a lot.
"Oh!" Usopp exclaims, pointing at the paper which is suddenly moving in a different direction than before.
Nami frowns. She hasn't changed course. She even checks her compass to be absolutely certain.
"Does your island move or something?" she asks.
"Huh? No. That would be stupid," Luffy replies.
"Then why is the paper moving?"
"Why would it be staying still?" Luffy tilts his head, genuinely curious.
She gives a frustrated sigh. "Never mind."
"Okay!" With one last soft smile towards the paper, it's tucked away into the ribbon of his hat once more. Nami will understand him one day. Maybe, anyways.
Steam rises from the skillet as lemon slices, bay leaves, wine, and water join the scallops in the pan. Sizzling sounds fill the air, set against a chorus of knives hitting wooden cutting boards. With one hand the sous-chef sets out four clamshells face up, and with the other he sautés the skillet. Once done, he dishes out two scallops in each of the shells before topping it off with a thin sauce.
Sanji exhales a breath as the dish comes together, all the elements working harmoniously to create the perfect bite—
"Any minute now."
Sanji lifts his narrowed eyes and lays them flatly on Pattie, who's impatiently waiting to take the dish out. Pattie's never understood what a dish means, but that isn't all his fault, so Sanji just steps away from the food and waves his hand.
"Don't drop the plates," he says.
Pattie glares, but takes the food away.
Sanji wishes that he could take the dish out himself, but it's been busy, and things are only now slowing down. He's only had one cigarette today, a fact that gnaws greatly at him by this point. He pats his pockets and feels the familiar square of his cigarettes.
"Hey."
Sanji will never admit it, but he jumps about three feet in the air. He whips around and sees a teen with black hair and matching eyes that look especially vacant kneeling on the other side of the counter. Drool is spilling out of his mouth, and his attention wanders from dish to dish to the uncooked meat and then back to Sanji in a cycle.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" Sanji frowns.
"Will you make me something to eat?" the teen asks.
"Go out and order something." How did the kid even get in here to begin with?
"I want you to make it," he whines.
"Do I know you?" Sanji asks.
"No yet. I'm Luffy." The teen nods.
"If you don't know me then why do you want me to make it?"
"You're the best, aren't you?" Luffy asks, as though it's obvious. Which it is, but Sanji wonders how this kid knows.
"Yes. Yes I am," the sous-chef acknowledges.
"I'm hungry . . ." Luffy whines again.
Sanji stares at the figure fidgeting on the floor, then sighs when he hears a stomach growl loudly.
"Sit still, will you." And the teen seems to automatically know that Sanji's given in because a wide smile spreads over his face.
"'Kay," he sings.
Sanji reaches for a pan and places it on the still flaming burner. A slab of meat is thrown on and begins searing. Wine joins it next, followed by salt and pepper, and a house seasoning he made this morning. Something simple for the simpleminded teen, Sanji thinks. He starts boiling water and tosses some bowtie noodles in when the water's ready. He begins the sauce in a saucepan while flipping the meat. After fifteen minutes, Sanji pulls the noodles off the burner and strains the pot. He starts chopping the meat into bite sized chunks before adding them to the thickened brown sauce that simmers in a small saucepan. The noodles go on a large plate, and the brown sauce is quickly poured over with a ladle. After cleaning the corners of the dish with a nearby rag, Sanji pushes the dish towards the hungry teen.
"Beef stroganoff," he announces.
"Thanks!" The teen grins before digging in enthusiastically. Sanji is grossed out by the lack of manners Luffy displays, but the teen very clearly enjoys the food so Sanji figures that makes up for it. Pattie enters the kitchen and stares curiously at Luffy. Sanji shrugs. He doesn't understand it either. Mostly he doesn't understand why he didn't just throw the teen out of the kitchen when he first found him, but whatever. He's never been able to turn away someone so blatantly hungry.
"You should join my crew," Luffy says through a mouthful of meat.
Sanji stares at the dark haired teen for a few moments before deadpanning. "No."
"We're going to the Grand Line," Luffy tempts— at least that's what it seems like he's doing. Sanji's heard enough stories to know that the vast majority of those waters are too dangerous for most men. He wonder why the hell that information is supposed to convince him.
"So?" the sous-chef asks.
"So there's this place called the All Blue—"
And that was about the last thing Sanji was expecting to hear.
"What do you know about the All Blue?!" he blurts out.
"Just that it exists, and there's a ton of fish there," Luffy says with a shrug.
"Every fish is there," Sanji corrects automatically. It would be a refreshing change to be meeting someone who also believes in Sanji's dream, were said person not clearly crazy.
"Exactly! Come with me and get there," Luffy says.
"What makes you think that you're going to find it?" Sanji asks.
"Nami is the best navigator in the world."
Sanji doesn't know who that is, but even the best navigators struggle in the Grand Line.
"And?"
"And we have the map of the Grand Line."
Sanji has access to Zeff's journals, but that doesn't arm him to face such troubled waters.
"And?" he asks.
"And I'm going to be King of the Pirates."
Sanji pauses in his inhale. Because Luffy speaks the words like a promise, like how Sanji pushes the legitimacy of the All Blue. And he wants to believe this teen, because before him has manifested all his hopes and dreams as a child, things he still hasn't let go of yet, though he probably should have a long time ago. It's too . . . good, and Sanji finds himself pulling away.
"You're one crazy kid," he says, feeling like he's somehow betrayed himself.
"Hmmmm." Luffy scratches his head.
"What now?"
"I'm trying to figure out how to get you to join my crew," Luffy says frankly.
Sanji snorts, and he can tell from behind that Pattie's chuckling.
"You can't."
"Ah!" Luffy snaps his fingers. "I have Nami!"
"Nami?"
"She's my navigator."
"So you said."
"Well, that's why you should join my crew."
"What?"
"Don't you like girls?"
Sanji grits his teeth as he hears Pattie collapsing into fits of laughter behind him.
"I don't know where you're getting your information from, but you're sorely misinformed if you think I'd leave my job for a woman, no matter how pretty."
Luffy lets out a sigh of disappointment.
"Now get out of this kitchen or I'll throw you out," Sanji says.
"Alright. See you later!" the teen crows before walking out the kitchen door.
"Hopefully not," Sanji mutters to himself.
Sadly, he's wrong, because Luffy makes a menace of himself for a week straight, appearing practically out of nowhere and badgering Sanji so much the cook actually lashes out physically against the teen. Every time, Luffy jumps or ducks out of the way of his powerful kicks, only irking Sanji further.
His crew has also been camping out like he has, claiming a table near the kitchen, making sure that Sanji passes by them every time he goes in and out. Luffy's crew matches his knack for annoying Sanji. First there's a rude swordsman who pisses Sanji off straight from the get-go with his dismissive attitude. Then there's a squirrelly guy with a long nose who lacks tact, rather like Luffy.
The only bright spot to their continued presence on the Baratie is Nami, who is incredibly beautiful. He enjoys the opportunity to lavish his attentions continually on such a pretty woman. She receives it kindly, accepting his drinks and the sweets he makes with love~. The only irritating part is how much attention she rains on her captain. Without him even asking, Nami will split every bit of sweet desert Sanji brings her with Luffy with only a single pleading glance from the captain. She acts somewhat gruffly with him at times, but Sanji knows adoration when he sees it, and he does see it. Nami's beautiful brown eyes seek Luffy out seemingly unconsciously. And it isn't fair that he has such a wonderful woman falling over him. Especially since he clearly doesn't notice the attentions, or return them. Sanji doesn't know what he did to get Nami to look at him that way, but it can't have been something that great.
Nami's misplaced love doesn't deter Sanji— instead he sees it as a challenge, to show her that she deserves more.
It seems like he'll have time to prove this to her, because Luffy refuses to leave, and Zeff won't let Sanji kick out a paying customer.
In fact when Sanji tells his father figure about the strange captain and his lofty goals, Zeff chuckles and says, "You should accept that kid's offer. He's the first person I've met who's as crazy as you are."
"Shut up you shitty geezer!" is Sanji's only reply to that.
Because he doesn't fit in with that odd ragtag group of people.
It's around the time he thinks that, when Jin appears on the Baratie's doorsteps.
Everything goes to hell after that.
Don Krieg, with his disgusting treatment of his crewmates and disrespect for food, pisses Sanji off beyond words. Sanji will die before conceding the Baratie to that bastard.
To make things more bizarre and complicated, Hawkeye Mihawk appears. One of the warlords of the Grand Line shows up on a single rowboat in the East Blue. Luffy's green haired crewmate proceeds to challenge the man who single-handedly sunk an armada.
Sanji stands by and watches the whole battle, short as it is. When Nami shudders and allows a few tears to escape her eyes, Sanji's there to wrap his suit jacket around her shoulders and comfort her.
To punctuate the insanity of it all, the green haired swordsman, split open from shoulder to opposite hip, proceeds to pledge himself to his captain, vowing to never lose again. The intensity of it all makes Sanji avert his eyes. After which, there's a tense conversation that happens between Luffy and Hawkeye that seems to take place via stares rather than words. Whatever Hawkeye gleans from Luffy, it draws up an unsettling smile on the warlord's face.
"I look forward to meeting you in the New World."
And with those words the powerhouse drifts away like a ghost across the waters. Nami shrugs off his jacket to go and help the damaged swordsman. Sanji watches the tightknit group operate, gravitating around each other, and distantly wonders what that's like. He turns away from it. He has more pressing matters to deal with— like Kreig.
The Baratie is armed to the teeth, cannons prepped, and every man in battle mode. Of the chefs, Sanji is the strongest aside from Zeff, so when Pearl appears and starts dealing damage to the ship, Sanji takes it upon himself to dispose of the guy. He takes more of a beating than he should have, because Sanji knows he's stronger than that, and he needs his strength for Krieg, who's in perfect shape.
He doesn't have to fight the man in the end, because Luffy places a hand on Sanji's shoulder and moves past, a promise in his eyes. Sanji can only watch the ensuing battle with wide eyes, because Luffy is indescribably strong, and as he beats Krieg up, he drills him with his words. And Luffy speaks about nakama with a weight to the word that Sanji never knew existed, and the fact Luffy's trying to get him to become one of his nakama suddenly hits Sanji. It's not a glib request, it's a vow.
So when Luffy falls in the water, Sanji finds himself dashing forward and diving into the sea without a second thought. Because he knows now that this person is precious.
Luffy coughs up the sea water weakly, but despite that, when he sees Sanji hovering above him nervously, a wide smile spreads over his face.
"Come find the All Blue," escapes his scratchy throat.
And Sanji finally utters,
"Okay."
.
.
.
Wasn't that hella productive?
Let me know what you thought about the snippets. :) Also Sanji is sort of my favorite character to have interact with Luffy, so expect more of his POV.
Best wishes, I've gotta run!
