Men, Women, Babies, & Pirates

"So you were once a, um, real person with skin and organs and everything?" Siria asked. Self consciousness washed over her. She really had no idea how to form her question. It seemed that no matter how it was phrased it was going to be insulting. As she spoke she lifted her weights to her shoulders. "Sorry."

"Why, yes, I was. Or I did have skin and flesh and all that," Brook said unfazed by her question. "And it's all right. I would be sure how to ask a question like that either. It's been such a long time since I've had skin and stuff. I'm rather use to this form by now."

"Do you ever miss it?" she asked. Her question brought back the past week and a half that she had been training her body and her ability to be open with the crew. Each day she had spent with a single crewmember, asking them questions about them and their past. She was surprised to find with each passing day it was coming easier and easier for her to talk to them. Though she had moments like now when she wasn't sure of herself. And she still had moments of flinching in expectation of being shocked. It made her wonder if she would get use to this and never flinch again.

"I do occasionally miss having a real body. But this one does allow me to do things that I never could before." Brook pulled out a cloth from his pocket and started to wipe down his violin.

"Like what?" Siria eyed his bones.

"Like running on the water," Brook said. "Since I'm nothing but bones I'm very light."

"You can run on water? How is that possible when you're a devil fruit user?" Worry encased her. It showed her that she was growing fond of those around her. She didn't want anyone of them to get hurt. And the ocean could hurt devil fruit users. That was one of many lessons she had already had with Robin.

"I suppose it's because no water actually gets on me. It's only on the bottom of my shoes." Brook lifted a foot and shook it at her.

"I see. And you've always been a musician?" Her eyes fell upon the violin again.

"I have. I've been playing many instruments since I was a kid. The violin is my favorite out of them all." The sun shimmered on the violin's now glossy frame. "Do you have any interest in playing an instrument?"

"I don't know. I never really thought about it considering." Siria looked to the scars on her arms. "Though I do have memories of my former mistress playing an instrument called a harp. It made a very beautiful sound."

"Indeed." Brook nodded. "Harps are very beautiful. Would you like to learn how to play the violin?"

Siria started. She wasn't expecting him to ask her something like that.

"I could teach you. You might like it."

Siria started to glance around for Sanji but stopped herself. Making decisions was becoming easier for her. This was one she could make on her own. "And it's okay if I end up not liking it?"

"Of course it is." Brook laughed. "You're about to take a break anyway. Why don't I show you how to play a few notes?"

"Um. Sure." Siria nodded. Finishing her repetition she placed her weights down on the deck.

Brook brought the violin up to his chin and showed her how to hold it. "It can be a bit trick to hold at first. Just tuck it under your chin like this. Hold your other arm out like this, careful to not bump your hand against the violin."

Siria nodded.

"You try." Brook handed over the violin.

Siria found out really quick that he was right. Getting the correct hold on the violin was trick. A few minutes of practicing, and Brook helping her she finally got it.

"Very good. Now add pressure to the bow, but not too much, and pull it over the strings," Brook instructed.

Siria did. A rough, scratchy sound came from the violin. She cringed.

"Not a bad try. Though you put too much pressure on it. Try again," Brook said.

Siria gave it a few more tries before getting the correct smooth sound to come out of it. She exhaled; relieved she had finally done it. "That was hard."

"Indeed." Brook nodded. Next he showed her finger placements.

Siria spend about twenty minutes working on getting her fingers in the correct places. A few times she got the correct smooth note to sing from the instrument.

"Hey, hey." Zoro walked over to them. He wiped a towel over the sweat dripping down his cheek from his own training above them in the crow's nest. "You're supposed to be training."

"I'm sorry." Siria handed Brook his violin back. "I was. I only took a break for Brook to show me how to play his violin."

"It was my fault." Brook placed his boney hand to his chest. "Please, do not blame her."

"It's fine. Rest is a part of training too. All right then time to get back to work. "Let's work on the war hammer for a while." Zoro tilted his head to the war hammer lying on the deck.

"Okay." Siria nodded. She reached for her hammer. On Zoro's instructions she started swinging it as if she were trying to hammer in a nail. Fifteen swings in her muscles started tensing to pain and exhaustion. It made her wonder if she would ever get the hang of this thing.

"Relax your mind," Zoro said. "Don't think about what you haven't accomplished yet. It'll only make you tense up and make mistakes. This is a process. It's a slow one but you have improved."

"Right." Siria nodded. She thought about her progress until Luffy's voice broke through her concentration.

"So cool! It's another pirate ship!" Luffy said.

"Are they going to attack us?" Usopp ran up to the helm.

"It looks like they're having ship trouble." Franky looked through his binoculars.

"Is it possible it's a trick to get people to stop?" Chopper asked.

"I doubt it," Franky said. "There's a large hole in the side of the ship. And there's wood fragments floating in the water."

"What about the navy?" Chopper asked. "Were they attacked?"

"If the navy attacked them they wouldn't have just left the pirates behind," Nami said.

"Good point." Chopper nodded.

"Let's see if they need help! Usopp, pull us over to the island!" Luffy yelled.

"We're going to stop?" Siria asked. "Is that safe?"

"That's Luffy for you." Sanji walked over to them. "Whether it's safe for not depends on who the pirates are."

"I don't recognize the Jolly Roger." Nami picked up her own binoculars and looked through it. "It looks like a silver hawk."

"I've never heard of them either," Zoro said.

"And a couple of the pirates are waving to us. It looks like they want us to come over," Nami said.

"Do you think we really should?" Chopper asked.

"They might want to kill us," Robin said.

"Don't talk like that!" Usopp said.

"Come on! Let's check it out!" Luffy said.

"Aye, Captain!" Usopp grabbed the helm with a sigh. The ship turned and headed for the small island the ship was docked at.

Siria stepped closer to Sanji.

"It's fine. Just relax," Sanji told her. "We won't let anything happen to you."

Siria nodded. She stayed close to him as the ship slowed to a stop.

"Hey!" Luffy called out. "You okay!"

"Yeah," a young man called back. "I'm glad you guys stopped. I wasn't sure you were going to since we're pirates too."

"Looks like you've got a problem with your ship." Franky eyed the damage.

"Yeah. There's a sea king near by," the man said. "He-"

Before the man could finish a large wave rocked the ship. A sea king cow lifted from the ocean with a roar.

"Oh," Sanji said. "It's a sea cow."

"So huge! Let's eat it!" Luffy said.

"That's the one who rammed us," the man said. "We're lucky it didn't-"

"Gum Gum Rocket!" Luffy shot himself into the air. "Gum Gum Pistol!"

The jaws of the pirates on the ground dropped open when the sea cow dropped to the water. "He killed the thing with one hit?!"

"Guess we're having sea cow for dinner," Sanji said.

Siria blinked. "Luffy's really strong, isn't he?"
"Yeah." Sanji nodded.

Luffy stood on the body of the sea cow. He waved and laughed. "Hey! Sanji! I got dinner!"

"I noticed!" Sanji called back.

…

Siria sat near the fire that the other crew had going. The wood snapped and crackled under the hot blaze. Sanji was working on preparing the sea cow while the other pirates told them how they ended up here.

"And we pulled to this island," Raney, the captain of the other ship and the one who spoke first to them, said. "I'm surprised we didn't sink out there. We were lucky to be close enough to the island."

"You were lucky." Franky walked back up to them from checking out the damaged ship. "The whole is huge. And from the size of the sea cow I'm surprised you didn't sink."

"We managed to avoid a head on collision," Raney said. "I think that's why we survived."

"Well, thanks for warning us about it," Nami said.

"Sure thing. Though with how your captain handled it our warning was unnecessary." Raney chuckled.

"No worries." Luffy laughed. "Now we have a great meal! And Franky can fix your ship!"

"No, that's not necessary." Raney waved his hands.

"Why not? Do you have a shipwright of your own?" Luffy asked.

"Well, we did," Raney said. "But he was killed in our last fight with the navy. We were going to look for another once we got to the next island."

"You'll be stranded out here," Usopp said. "You need your ship fixed."

"Franky can fix it. Right?" Luffy looked at Franky.

"Sure thing. I'll fix it up super good." Franky nodded.

Siria looked between the pirates. They were supposed to be enemies but Luffy was going to let his own shipwright help this enemy crew. "I don't understand."

"What's that?" Sanji asked.

"Why is the captain letting Franky fix the ship? They're opposing pirate crews," Siria said.

"That's true. But it doesn't really mean we're enemies," Sanji said. "We have friends all over the place. Some are even pirates that we were enemies with. This is nothing new."

"Oh." Siria continued to watch the event unfold in front of her. When Raney caught her gaze he smiled. She lowered her gaze from his. Before long the mix of hammers and sizzling sea cow meat mingled in with the chatter of the two pirate crews. Movement caught from the corner of her eyes caused her to look up. Raney had moved closer to her.

"Hey. You seem rather quiet," Raney said. "Very different from the majority of your crew."

"Oh, um, yeah." Siria nodded.

"So what's your name? I don't believe I caught it." Raney smiled.

"Siria." Siria glanced at Sanji. He was watching them closely.

"Siria? That's a pretty name," Raney said.

"Sanji gave it to me," Siria said.

"Huh?" Raney's eyes filled with confusion.

"Her former name didn't suit her," Sanji said. "So I changed it."

"That's odd. It's not normal for crewmates to change someone's name," Raney said. "Why did you-"

"Sea cow's ready!" Sanji cut the man off.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered. The two crews immediately lined up to get their meals.

"Here you go." Sanji made Siria a plate and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Sanji." Siria took it.

"Looks like you get special treatment from the cook," Raney said.

"Special treatment? No. Not really." Siria looked back at Sanji.

"I give all ladies special treatment since I was born to serve them." Sanji handed Robin and Nami their plates. They said their thanks. "Eat in good health, my lovely ladies!"

They ate. Luffy of course ate the most of the sea cow.

Siria remained near the fire while Sanji washed the dishes. Flicking her eyes to her left she found that Raney was watching her. An uneasy feeling settled into her chest. To push it aside she started asking questions, "So why did you decide to become a pirate?"

"I like adventure. And nothing spells adventure like being a pirate," Raney said. "How about you?"
Siria opened her mouth to answer him. She was going to tell him the truth but something inside of her screamed at her to keep it quiet. "I kind of fell into it by accident."

"Are you saying you don't have bonds to your crew?" Raney's eyes shimmered.

"Bonds?" Siria asked.

"Have you officially joined the Straw Hat crew?"

Siria stared at him. She wasn't sure. All she knew was they were her friends. Her eyes drifted to the Straw Hat pirates. Was she officially a pirate of the Straw Hat crew? She had called Luffy the captain but did that really mean she was a crewmate? Did the crew calling her their friend and crewmate really make her one of the crew? She wasn't sure. She never put much thought into being a pirate. She did, after all, fall into the life by accident.

"You know." Raney slid closer to her.

Siria tensed at his closeness. Her eyes fell to the ground when she saw movement. His hand was only a couple inches from her thigh. She wondered why he placed it there when his other hand was on his lap.

"If you wanted you could join my crew," Raney said.

"Join your crew?" Siria looked at his face. Something odd was in his eyes. Something she couldn't place.

"Yeah." Raney nodded.

Her eyes dropped back down to his hand when it moved again. His finger lifted up and brushed against her leg. Uncomfortableness tightened in her chest. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" Raney asked.

"Don't touch me. I don't like it." Siria shifted away from him.

"Come on. It wasn't that bad, was it?" Raney followed her. "I'm only trying to-" Before his could finish a black blur shot between them. He blinked to find it was a leg. "What the heck?"

Sanji grabbed the front of Raney's shirt. "Don't you ever touch her again!"

"Calm down," Raney said. "I was only trying to-"

"I know exactly what you were trying to do." Sanji eyes burned with rage. "And if you ever come close to touching her again you will suffer a painful beating. I will break every bone in your body."

"Sanji?" Siria asked.

Sanji shoved Raney down to the ground. Without a word he pulled Siria into his arms and dashed for the ship. With a single jump he landed on the deck.

Siria could feel his muscle tense from beneath their clothes. "Sanji? Why did you bring me to the ship?"

"Because it's my job as your big brother to keep you safe from the sleazy men who wish to taint your virtue," Sanji said, all but growled.

Siria studied the fire in his eyes. "Taint your virtue? What do you mean by that?"

Sanji closed his eyes and drew in a breath. He slowly let it out while placing her on her feet. For a moment he stared into her eyes then said, "You don't know about men and women do you?"

"Well, I know they're different from each other," Siria said. Her eyes looked from his flat chest to her rounded one. "I can see that."

"Let me put it another way." Sanji shoved his hands into his pockets. "Did your former master ever tell you where babies came from?"

"Babies? No." Siria shook her head. "He only told me to never let a boy touch me. I guess he meant like Raney did down on the island. It didn't feel right."

"I see. That's good. And you were right to move away from him." Sanji tapped the toe of his shoe on the deck. This is just great. Should I explain the difference to her or should I let Robin or Nami handle that?

"Is something wrong?" Siria tilted her head. "You're upset."

"I am because of how that jerk treated you," Sanji said. "No man should ever touch you like that. Not unless you want him to." He sighed. He should tell her now since they were around other men who clearly wanted to get close to her. And there would be more men to come. "We need to have a talk."

"About what?" Siria asked.

"About men and women. Let's go to the infirmary so we can have some privacy."

Siria followed him to the infirmary.

Sanji turned on the light then grabbed a book from the bookshelf and sat down in Chopper's chair. He waved to the bed. "Sit."

Siria sat down on the bed, hands placed on her lap.

"Okay. Here goes." Sanji flipped open the book to a diagram of a man and a woman's body. He showed it to her, letting her take in the differences of their bodies. When she looked up at him he then started to explain to her the difference between a man and a woman and where babies came from. He made sure to emphasis to never let a man touch her unless she wanted it to happen. After he was done he sat back and watched her absorb the information he gave her.

"Oh. I see. Making a baby doesn't sound like much fun," Siria said.

"I assure you it is," Sanji said. "It will be intimidating at first, mostly for the woman since their first time can hurt."

Siria nodded. "You mentioned that during the lesson. But the pain doesn't last long."

"For some. It varies from woman to woman," Sanji said.

"So is that why you act so goofy towards Robin and Nami? You want to have sex with them?" Siria asked.

Sanji chuckled. "While I do love them I don't want to have sex with them. I will always love and respect women. But I will never treat one like Raney did. It's wrong what he did. I'd prefer if you stayed away from him."

Siria nodded. "I understand. I do have a question though. It's kind of about you."

"What is it?"

"Are you going to act that way around all the guys who talk to me?"

"Only if they try to touch you inappropriately," Sanji said. "I'm also going to tell the crew what he tried to do. So they'll keep an eye on you too if at some point we're not together."

"Thank you, Sanji," Siria said. "I know I cause problems for you but I'm thankful you're teaching me this stuff."

"Don't think anything of it." Sanji patted her head. "I care about you. I'm going to make sure you're fix to handle the world."

Siria smiled. Her smile quickly faded when Raney's words about her being a Straw Hat pirate came back to her. "Am I really a Straw Hat pirate?"
"Hm? Of course you are. Why do you ask?"

"It was something Raney said. I think he wanted me to join his crew because he thought I wasn't a real member of this crew," Siria said.

"Do you think you're not a real member of our crew?" Sanji tilted his head.

"I'm not sure. I'm still new to all of this. And I never really said I would join. I literally fell into all of this," Siria said. "And I have no reason to become a pirate. You all had reasons for becoming pirates. And you have something to offer the crew."

"Well, you don't necessarily have to have a reason to become a pirate," Sanji said. "While I want to find the All Blue I didn't plan on becoming a pirate to do it. Nami never had any intentions to become a pirate. You know…not many of our crew actually had plans to become pirates here. Most of us fell into it as well."

"Still you all have some goal you're reaching for." Siria rubbed her arm. "I don't. I have no reason, really, for sailing on a pirate ship. Or any ship for that matter."

"Are you saying you want to leave the crew?" Sanji's heart sank a little. He didn't want her to leave. But if she really wanted to he wasn't sure he could stop her. Though he didn't really believe she would leave. She had nowhere to go. She was still learning about herself and the world.

Siria glanced up at Sanji. His voice was sad. His eyes had lost their normal shine. She shook her head. "No! I don't want to leave you. I know I'm still getting to know you all but I know I want to stay with you."

Sanji smiled. Some of the light came back to his eyes. His heart warmed.

"I guess I'm just confused. I don't know anything about myself," Siria said.

"Well, someone's got to know something about you," Sanji said. "And if you want to find out about yourself then you need to find those people. You can do that by sailing the ocean with us."

"And you think I'll find something about myself?" Siria asked. Her heart started to race. It was a scary thought but she did want to know about herself.

"Well, I have to be honest and say there's also a chance we won't find anyone who can tell us where you came from," Sanji said.

Siria sighed. Her hopes dwindled. His hand reached over and rested on hers.

"But I promise I will do everything I can to help you search," Sanji said. "The world is big. Surely someone we meet will have heard of your powers."

Siria nodded, covering his hand with hers. "Thank you, Sanji."

"Any time," Sanji said. "And don't you dare think you're not a part of our crew. You are. And you always will be."

"Right." Siria nodded. "Thank you, Sanji."

"Anytime. Feel like going back to the island now?" Sanji asked.

"I guess so."

"Don't worry about Raney. I'll keep myself between you and him," Sanji said.

"Okay. Let's go back outside."

The two stood and left the room. Sanji picked her up once they got on the deck. He jumped back down to the island and walked her over to the fire. They sat down together and listened to the others chat. Sanji glared at Raney each time he looked in their direction. And when he got a chance Sanji told his crew about what Raney tried to do. Since then they all watched the man closely, all but for Luffy who didn't understand the exact meaning of Raney's trying to touch Siria. The naïve captain thought they were becoming friends.

A cool wind blew. Siria shivered and shifted closer to Sanji.

"I should take you back to the ship," Sanji said. "It's too cool out here for you to sleep tonight."

"Okay." Siria nodded. For the third time that day Sanji lifted her into his arms and carried her to the ship. They stayed there until the next morning. She yawned and sat up.

"How you feeling?" Sanji asked.

"Okay." Siria rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good to hear it," Sanji said. "Breakfast is ready."

"I'll be there soon." Siria climbed off the bed while he left the room. She dressed then made her way to the kitchen. The ship was empty which told her the others were still on the island. She entered into the kitchen. "The other's not going to come up here?"

"Raney's cook decided to cook breakfast for the crews this morning," Sanji said. "Since you're on a special diet I made our breakfast."

"Oh, thank you." Siria sat down at the table. "It's nice of you to go through such trouble. And I'm sorry."

Sanji chuckled. "You apologize way too much."

"I'm sorry." Siria locked eyes with Sanji for a moment before smiling.

Sanji sat out their breakfast. They ate in quiet. It was odd. Both were use to the noises of their crew. But Siria found it pleasant eating with just Sanji.

After cleaning up from breakfast they headed back outside. Both stood at the railing. Sanji said, "Hey, how's it going?"
Usopp looked up. "Franky's about done fixing the ship. Nami wants to get going as soon as it's done."

"All right." Sanji nodded.

Siria stood on the Sunny with Sanji. She watched as the crew scurried about the island before looking over at Franky. They were close enough she was able to watch him work on the ship. It was strange how easily he was able to fix the whole. Second by second the large hole closed up. Then the shipwright was done.

"Ow! Super!" Franky said.

"Thanks a lot." Raney shook the man's hand. "We own you one."

"No problem, brother." Franky grinned.

"Get ready, boys! We're shipping out for the next island!" Raney called. His crew cheered.

"So you're not heading to the New World then?" Luffy asked.

"Afraid not," Raney said. "It's obvious after that last attack that we're nowhere near strong enough to handle the New World. We need to be able to handle sea kings better than we did. Plus, we need to find a new shipwright before we do anything else. But maybe one day we can meet again in the New World. We're still planning on going there. We're pirates after all. When we meet again we'll be sure to repay your kindness."

"Sure!" Luffy smiled. "That'll be great!"

Raney looked up at Siria.

Siria flinched. The man looked like he wanted to say something to her. She felt Sanji's presence move closer to her. Looking up at him she found him glaring down at Raney. Before she knew it the rest of the crew was on the Sunny and they were pulling away from the island. Relief washed through her now that they were moving away from Raney.

"Well, that was an interesting stop." Zoro sat down and leaned against the railing.

"He's lucky I didn't kill him," Sanji grumbled.

"At least we're back on track." Nami sat down at the table. "I'm ready to get to Fishman Island."

"Well, since we're sailing again do you want to continue with your lessons?" Robin asked.

"Sure." Siria nodded. She walked over to the table and sat down.

Robin pulled out her books and started Siria's lesson on math. She was working on her multiplication tables now. They were a bit harder than just adding and subtracting numbers. And each time she came upon a harder one she tapped her pencil on the table and studied the problem. The tapping stopped when the answer finally came to her mind. She scribbled it down.

"Hey! Siria! Why don't you take a break?" Sanji called.

"Huh?" Siria lifted up from papers. She found it was only herself and Robin on the deck now. It made her wonder how long she had been working. "Where'd everyone go?"
Robin only smiled in reply.

"I've made some snacks. So come on up to the kitchen."

Siria turned just in time to see Sanji disappear back into the kitchen. For some reason he closed the door part way. "Why did he close the door like that?"

"Let's go." Robin stood and headed for the stairs.

Confused, Siria followed her. She became even more confused when Robin paused at the kitchen door.

"Why don't you go in first?" she said.

"Um. Okay." Siria gave her a confused look before entering into the kitchen.

"Surprise!"

Siria jumped when everyone screamed at her. Pieces of colorful paper were thrown into the air. They littered down on to her shoulders, hair, and clothes. She blinked. Several types of food, including a cake in the center, were spread out on the table. "Uh…Sanji?" She looked to him. He was smiling just as brightly as everyone else. "What's going on?"

"I told the crew how you were feeling about your uncertainty on being on our crew," Sanji said.

"Oh."

"We decided to throw you a welcome party," Usopp said.

"But first Luffy has a question for you," Chopper said.

"A question?" Siria's eyes drew to the captain of the crew.

"I want your answer to whether or not you'll join my crew." Luffy grinned.

Siria looked at Sanji. His smile grew. His eyes sparkled in anticipation to her answer.

"So what do you say?" Chopper said. "Will you officially join us?"

Tears came to her eyes as a smile pulled over her lips. She nodded. "I will. I know I still have a lot to learn but I want to do it with you all. I want to be part of your crew."

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered. "We have another crewmate!"

The crew cheered and clapped.

Robin guided Siria to the table.

Sanji cut her a piece of cake.

Siria bit into it. The sweetness of the icing blasted over her tongue. It tasted better than she had ever imagined. "It's so good."

…

Siria stared up at the ceiling of her and Sanji's bedroom. Her mind was still on the party, which had lasted for hours. It had officially ending a few hours ago. Still there was one thing left she wanted to do. She rolled onto her side. "Sanji? Are you still awake?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Hm?" Sanji turned to her.

"For everything," Siria said. "You spoke with Luffy, right? About how I felt about the crew?"
"I guess I did." Sanji smiled. "But you know Luffy already accepted you as his friend and a crewmember. He's like that. He did it to all of us, even when we turned him down."

"He's funny," Siria said. "I'm glad he's our captain."

"Don't tell him I said this but I am too," Sanji said. He pulled her blanket up to her shoulders. "Sleep now."