Luffy's Nosebleed
The day had been going by so fast, unlike those treacherous days full of torture, and all from the desert's irregular weather. The days were hotter than hell itself! And the nights could easily be compared to any number of winter islands' winters. However, ever since everything- from Crocodile's manipulative grasp on Alabasta and everyone who lived in it, to the revolutionary army and its pointless battles and riots- had been resolved, the past three days, the strawhats lived securely in the palace.
Everyone had found ways to keep themselves busy: Chopper made remedies for Luffy while Vivi looked over his unconscious body, Zoro overly exerted his still injured self by training, much to Chopper's dismay, Usopp and Sanji had momentarily left the castle to do some chores out in the square, as well as looking over the town's recovery of all the destruction, and lastly, Nami rummaged through Cobra's library, helping herself to a large array of navigational tomes that would surely keep her busy on slow days.
Everyone appreciated the silence, even with Luffy present, so when he finally woke up, they realized they should have cherished the three serene days more. Of course, Luffy being Luffy, the only thing he could think about after receiving his hat back was food.
The sun was beginning to set on the now peaceful island and everyone could feel their hunger levels rising. Like every feast with the straw hats, it was lively, and for a royal dining room, it was especially indecorous. It wasn't until the end where Luffy and Chopper, filled with food, stood on the table and did their familiar chopstick dance that the once disgusted guards laughed and cheered them on with supportive claps.
Though it took some time, when they all calmed, Cobra had proposed the idea of a bath to wash off many days worth of sand, sweat, and any remaining blood that remained on them. Though Luffy and Zoro seemed indifferent, Nami happily accepted the offer. Afterall, she had been day dreaming of a nice relaxing wash since day one of their expedition.
They were all led through some unfamiliar halls by their guides and inhabitants, Cobra and Vivi. Both the princess and navigator soon parted with the rest of the guys to head to their own private section.
Before entering the washroom, they all compliantly removed their clothes, bearing their naked bodies to the others, with the exception of a small towel
Without waiting for the others, Usopp and Luffy ran ahead.
The area was wide and humongous. With the exception of some concrete pillars, the only thing to occupy the floor space was a concrete tower. There were three layers to said structure. The first was a tall platform where four solid gold lions resided, each inanimate feline spat a waterfall of fresh steaming water out from its mouth, the water pouring into the pit directly below it, making for a shallow bath. The second layer had skinny columns that supported the third and pinal tower. It was the smallest of the three, seeing how they became smaller in size the higher they went up. Though there was no tall pillar decorated with cold bands or solid golden lions, just an empty surface.
"Whoa!" Luffy shouted as his wide eyes stared at the lion.
"This is the palace's proud main bath" Cobra established to them all, though he figured only the five other patient people standing in the larger than needed double doorway were listening. "We normally use this only during the rainy season."
"Amazing! This is gorgeous! Gorgeous!" Usopp shrilly complimented as he flapped his towel up and down "I'll be the first to go in!" Usopp challenged and bolted ahead, though not before Luffy caught up.
"No, I'll be the first!" Luffy retorted. Though when they both ran in sync, side by side, their heels slipped on the marble floor that was moistened from the stray drops of water and the perspiration from the steam. They fell flat on their heads and slid across the ground like a bar of soap. They based the back of the heads on the outer wall of the bath, though all that did was send them gliding in another direction.
"Are you guys enjoying that?" Sanji deadpanned as a drop of sweat fell down his head.
"Well, I really enjoyed the dinner." Cobra started out of the blue. He had safely made it in the bath with no troubles, though as soon as they recovered from slipping over the floor on their heads, they immediately headed back for the bath, and safely made it inside. "Because of the current situation, I thought we'd keep it simple, but it seems that anything you guys get involved with would become a party." He said with a satisfied smile, enjoying the sounds of Luffy and Usopp's jovial yells as they splashed one another with the water.
"Oi, Zoro, look at this!" Luffy called out to the swordsman who was scrubbing Chopper's fur. "We can train here!"
"Training! Training!" Usopp mocked. Zoro finally turned his head only to see them both standing under the cascade of water, their hands pressed together as if they were meditating.
"What kind of training is that?!" Zoro asked, inwardly beating himself up for even acknowledging them, especially after Usopp used his deriding voice.
Sanji, deep in thought, spotted Igaram by the side of the bath and approached him. He couldn't hide the smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth. He nudged Igaram's side with his elbow, attracting his attention.
"So where's the women's bath?" Sanji shamefully asked with no hint of embarrassment on his face.
His question was met with a strong hand slapping his elbow away. "Are you nuts?! Why would I tell you?! Vivi-sama's in there!" He yelled in exasperation, though Sanji's face never went unfazed.
"Don't be so stingy!" The chef casually slapped Igaram on the back.
"It's behind that wall!" Another voice called out. Everyone looked to Cobra who's finger pointed at the top of a wall that blended in perfectly with the others, the only difference was that it didn't quite reach the roof, leaving a few open feet between the top of the wall and the ceiling.
"King! You bastard!" Igaram improperly shouted, not caring about his role as king.
"Hey, old guy! You're not bad at all!" Usopp said with a smile as he cautiously stomped toward the wall, followed by Sanji who sprinted across the room.
"This feels good! I wonder if a ship with a big bath like this exists…" Nami said in awe, still not able to get over how marvelous of a bath it was. It was similar to the men's bath, the only difference though-besides the number of people- was the tower that resided in the middle. There was still a platform, though it only had two layers: the first was tall and spacious, allowing for four solid gold dragons to spill water that sprouted from their mouths into the pit that circled around it, allowing for the warm water to pour in. The second layer however was just a small concrete plate with a knobby structure atop it.
"I'm sure it does, since the sea is so vast." Vivi sighed in wonder. "We saw giants… we saw dinosaurs! We even saw cherry blossoms bloom in a winter land. There are more and more things in the sea that are beyond our imagination!" Vivi's smile grew bright as she reminisced, so much so that she almost missed Nami as she stared at her. At the sight of her brown eyes staring deep into her soul, she became embarrassed. "Well…" She tried explaining, before Nami closed her eyes, her smirk turning into a succouring grin.
"My turn" She happily said.
"Thank you" Vivi politely nodded.
"Hm?" Nami curiously hummed. When she opened her eyes, she noticed seven sets of eyes staring at them.
"Hey! What are you all doing?!" Vivi asked, flustered by the lustful ogles coming from Sanji and Lashes.
"Those idiots…" Nami groaned through her teeth. She deeply huffed at their inaptness. "It'll be 100,000 belis per person, okay?" She warned as she stood up from her low stool, lifting her towel over her shoulders so they couldn't get any peeks.
They all stared in curiosity.
"Happiness Punch!" Nami pertly exclaimed. Luffy's eyes trailed from her legs to her wide hips up to her slim waist and then to her bountiful chest. The sight of her bare body made his eyes widen, much like everyone else's. He felt all air leave his lungs in an instant, and his arms weakened to the point where they threatened to slip from the wall. His head started to become light and before he knew it, a stream of blood shot from his nose, throwing him off the wall.
When Luffy awakened from his lightheadedness and his fall, he found he was the only one, with the exception of Sanji, who was practically doing an unconscious headstand, who had landed in such a painful position.
He raised his legs that were positioned over his head and flipped them over so that he was laying on the ground, his spine finally able to relax. From there, jumping up back to his feet was simple. He looked over the fallen men. Streaks of blood dripped from all their noses, which made Luffy involuntarily swipe his finger underneath his own nose, collecting the blood that sent him flying. Off the wall.
"Did you see them?" Zoro tonelessly asked. When the others had been distracted, Zoro had at some point made himself comfortable in the bath, having not tried it out for himself because of Chopper's request.
"Yup!" Luffy flashed one of his smiles and gave a brief chuckle before running to the tub, having forgotten about his first attempt already. He still felt light headed, though he couldn't tell if it was from the impact of the fall and the pain he still felt on the back of his head or some other mystery sickness.
A/N: Okay, okay I know the scene at the end didn't happen either, but shut up. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and please R&R! Originally, I wasn't planning on writing this chapter, mostly because- in my opinion, at least- any physical attraction Luffy feels would definitely be toward more towards their face rather than body, so sorry if this chapter is so awkwardly written. Also, if you were looking forward to this chapter, then thank SweetAngel91 for the request.
Thank you for the review. Sorry that sometimes the LuNa is too subtle, I try to pick at the scrapes and accentuate them as best as I can, which can sometimes result in small amounts. Thanks for bringing this to my attention! Also, I'm glad you've been liking the slow burn from Luffy's perspective. I've been having a lot of fun writing from his POV.