On his favorite spot on the whole ship, the wooden sheep's head at the prow, Luffy sat cross-legged and stared down at the water below. Idly playing with a small piece of wood he had found earlier, he watched a school of seasnakes ride on the swirling waves close to the ship's prow without much interest. He was feeling a lot better than before, and he had almost completely forgotten what it felt like to be sick. The only thing about him that wasn't good was the gnawing feeling in his stomach as it demanded food. Luffy hoped that Sanji would have dinner ready soon; he had missed at least eighteen meals because he had been sick, and he had to catch up with that as soon as possible. Patting his bandaged stomach and feeling the wound beneath the cloth give a light throb for each pat, he thought of trying something he remembered that Usopp had called te-le-pa-ty. Apparently, it would allow him to tell Sanji to hurry up with the food without having to walk all the way to the kitchen. But he couldn't remember what Usopp had said when he explained how to perform the te-le-pa-ty, and decided to wait until he could ask his marksman to explain it to him again.

The afternoon sun was starting to burn his bare shoulders, and he wondered where his vest could have disappeared to as he rubbed the back of his neck. Thinking back, he thought he remembered Usopp telling him about clothes that just one day decided to go out on adventures, and he hoped that his vest would return from its adventure soon... And bring his hat with it.

Grasping at his black hair as a gust of wind rushed past him, Luffy was once again painfully reminded of his lost hat. He shut his eyes firmly as Shanks' face appeared in his mind, and he could hear the pirate's voice in his head, telling him to return the hat once he became the King of Pirates. Clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles turned white, he was jerked from the depressing thoughts by the sharp stinging pain in his palm when the small piece of wood he was holding pierced through the skin in his hand. Staring down at his aching hand, he didn't ease the pressure against the splinter, but slammed his fist into the side of the figure-head. The thought of having lost his most prized possession was unbearable, but the thought of having failed to fulfill the promise he had made to Shanks was even worse.

He couldn't quite understand a feeling that rushed over him from time to time. Frowning, he thought about it. It wasn't hunger - that feeling belonged in his stomach; it wasn't happiness, because he wasn't feeling happy at all; it wasn't worry and he definitely wasn't sleepy. Then the memory of Zoro telling him that they weren't returning to get Vivi came to his mind, and the strange feeling flared up again.

He knew that punching Zoro for telling him that they wouldn't go back to Alabasta hadn't been fair, but he also knew that if anyone would understand not to take such a thing personally, that would be Zoro. Because Zoro was Zoro, and Zoro understood such things. Still, he hadn't been able to keep himself from blaming his swordsman for everything that was bothering him at the moment when all his frustration and grief of leaving his nakama behind was transformed into pure desperation and helplessness.

Luffy didn't like to feel helpless. Being helpless led to having other people fight for you, and if someone else was fighting your battles, that meant that if they were hurt or even killed, it wasn't only for you, but because of you and your helplessness. Luffy wouldn't let anyone else lose an arm because he was helpless.

Slowly opening the hand in which he held the small, pointy piece of wood, he looked at the small wound in his palm and the blood covering the wooden splinter. His eyes narrowing, he held out his hands over the water below and dropped the bloody piece of wood – a simple sacrifice – into the waves. The ocean could have his blood, but it would never take his nakama as long as he still hade one breath of air in his lungs.

He could hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs behind him, and turned around just in time to see Zoro put down a large table on the deck. The swordsman looked up, his eyes meeting Luffy's. He walked up to the prow where he leaned against the railing and looked out over the ocean ahead of them.

"Dinner should be ready soon," he said indifferently, as if he didn't have anything else to say.

Luffy watched the green-haired man carefully, feeling the black hole in his stomach howl for food. He nodded and leaned forward, his elbows resting against his crossed legs. Food would make him feel so much better. He could feel Zoro look at him, and turned his head towards the swordsman.

"You're not mad at me anymore," Zoro stated, raising an eyebrow in a gesture of feigned doubt. Still, he looked like he was prepared to dodge an eventual punch. Luffy smiled faintly, feeling that the swordsman was right. He wasn't feeling angry at all. It was like the ocean had taken all his anger when it received his blood.

"No," Luffy's hand moved to his head out of habit as a strong wind blew past him. When he remembered that there was no hat that could be swept off his head, he let his hand fall back to his lap. "No, not anymore. Alabasta is too far away now, isn't it?"

"I guess so."

It was a calmly stated answer, but in the corner of his eye, Luffy could see Zoro shake his head lightly in a more sincere reply. The captain grinned for the first time that day, and started to get up from his sitting position on the figure-head, a tingly feeling rushing through the sleeping muscles in his legs when he moved. No, Alabasta wasn't too far away. Vivi was always with them, no matter how far away from Alabasta the caravel ever headed. Because they were nakama, and that would never change.

Making sure that he had a firm grip on the surface of the sheep's head with his toes, Luffy stood up on the figure-head, his eyes aimed at the clouds above the ship. Still grinning, he took a deep breath and raised his arms towards the sky. He could feel his spirit rising again and as he thought of all the adventure that lay before him, the sadness of having to leave Vivi behind vanished from his mind.

"I'm gonna be the King of Pirates!" he shouted, and turning around towards the rest of the ship, he added in the same breath: "Sanji! I'm hungry!"

Behind Luffy, Zoro started to laugh at the captain, feeling so relieved that his friend wasn't trapped inside the mists of his fever anymore and didn't bother to put up his usual cold façade. Luffy looked down at Zoro with his arms still raised above his head, blinked and joined in the laughter without really knowing why he was laughing. Down on the main deck, Usopp turned his eyes from the new fishing rod he was making and looked up towards the prow, smiling happily when his mind registered that Luffy was back to normal again. The door to the storage was opened and Chopper poked his head out from the room, at first wondering if the scream he had heard meant that someone needed medical attention. Then he also noticed Luffy standing on the figure-head and he took a few bouncing steps out on the main deck, giggling cheerfully. Above the doctor's head, the door to the lounge was opened and Sanji appeared, carrying large covered trays with food in both hands and on top of his head. He glared at the captain, who was still standing on the figure-head with his arms raised towards the sky, but couldn't quite keep the smile off his face.

"Do you have to be so noisy? Dinner is ready!" he snapped, carefully shutting the door behind him with his foot. Then he turned his glare towards the green-haired swordsman, who was standing next to the figure-head. "Hey, shithead, didn't I tell you to set the table at the stern? And you still haven't brought the chairs!"

"Get them yourself!" Zoro yelled back. "I'm not your damn slave!"

But then he sighed and walked towards the stairs to the main deck, smiling lightly as he heard Luffy start to chant something about meat from on top of the figure-head. Walking down the stairs and over the main deck, Zoro headed back into the storage to see if he could find the extra chairs and something to cover the bloodstained surface of the table.

Sanji also made his way down to the main deck, balancing the trays with great expertise as the boat was rocked by a large wave crashing into the starboard side. He bowed lightly and smiled happily when Robin complimented on how wonderful the food smelled as she walked down the stairs behind him.

"Dinner will be served as soon as the table is set, Robin-chan," he said softly, making a sweeping gesture with his left arm towards the prow as he let her walk down the stairs before him. "If you would do me the honor of trying my newest dish, my undying love and gratitude will forever be devoted to you…"

There was a loud crash coming from the storage below and everyone turned their attention towards the open door, from which a thin mist of dust was rolling out over the deck. A moment later, Zoro emerged from the storage, balancing two piles of chairs stacked on top of each other in his hands. Draped over one of his shoulders was one of the spare sails. The swordsman looked around over the deck until he spotted Usopp. Nodding towards the marksman, he

"You may want to check on your workshop, Usopp," he said calmly, nodding his head in the direction of the storage. "If you can find it under all the barrels…"

Making a horrified face, Usopp jumped to his feet and hurried over to the storage where he gave up an equally horrified scream. The next thing anyone knew, he stormed out from the storage room, cursing at Zoro for burying his precious tools under at least a ton of barrels. Zoro watched the furious marksman march past him towards the prow with his eyebrows raised. Sanji groaned where he was standing in the middle of the stairs. Looking down at Zoro, he smirked teasingly.

"There he is, the only person who can successfully create a landslide in a storage room where everything is securely tied down."

Zoro glared at Sanji as he passed by the stairs, almost tripping over Chopper as the little doctor pattered around his feet, trying to make sure that the swordsman hadn't been injured in any way. Sanji just raised an eyebrow and kept on smirking as he walked down the rest of the stairs and followed Chopper and Zoro up towards the prow.

At first, Sanji raised his leg to defend the food from Luffy out of pure reflex, but then his mind registered that the captain actually had made a leap for the covered tray in his right hand. Then he put a little bit more force behind the kick than he first had intended. The side of his bare left foot hit Luffy straight in the face, and the seventeen-year-old was thrown back against the deck. As Sanji waited for Zoro to cover the table with the sail and put out the chairs, he put his foot back on the floor and watched the captain get up from the deck. Luffy brushed some dust off his blue shorts while grinning widely as if nothing had happened and grabbed one of the chairs to sit down by the table. Sitting cross-legged on the chair, he watched Zoro place out the chairs with great interest and laughed as Usopp started arguing with the swordsman about his crushed workshop.

"So you finally woke up?" Sanji commented, adding a quick "Never mind" when the captain looked up at him with confusion written all over his face, pointing out that he had already been awake for a long time.

Once Zoro finished placing out the chairs, Sanji had already started putting down the bowls and plates on the table while he kept an eye on Luffy. But the captain didn't try to get to the food a second time. Instead, he had moved his chair to sit next to Zoro by the head of the table and was trying to make the swordsman tell him how they got out from the Marine base. The swordsman refused and advised Luffy to ask Usopp instead, in hope of getting rid of the noisy captain. From his place to Zoro's right, Usopp swiftly agreed to tell Luffy the whole story after dinner. However, that didn't stop Luffy from continuously ask Zoro to tell him about the adventure he had missed out on, causing Zoro to look more and more annoyed as time passed.

The swordsman looked like he was trying to determine if decapitating the rubber pirate with a table knife was possible when Sanji finally declared that dinner was served and pointed out the larger bowl in which he had put Luffy's food. Laughing happily, Luffy called out "Let's eat!" and grabbed the large bowl of strange looking meat in front of him. For a moment, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Chopper just watched their captain eat at his usual speed, happy to see him back to normal again. Then they realized that they would have to be quick if they were going to manage to get some food before it was all gone and started to fill their plates. Sanji was offering Robin a specially prepared plate when Luffy stopped inhaling his food long enough to look around the table.

"Where's Nami?" he asked, his eyes dropping to his plate again.

"She's sleeping," Chopper and Sanji said in unison. They glanced at each other and continued, still in unison:

"Nami-san said that she wasn't feeling too well, so…"

"She had sustained severe damage to the muscles in her left foot and leg, so I made medicine that…"

Luffy watched the doctor and the cook, clearly confused as he tried to listen to both explanations at the same time.

"She's sleeping to get better," Zoro translated and reached over the table to get more rice.

"Oh."

Luffy nodded once and continued eating, causing half of Usopp and Zoro's meals to vanish in the process. By the time Usopp and Zoro noticed that their food was gone, Luffy had already left the table. The captain jumped over the rail to the main deck, shouting "It was delicious!" as he ran across the deck towards the lounge. A slight argument followed as Zoro and Usopp both reached for the same bowl of fried seasnake at the same time to fill their plates again. Sanji just sighed and sat down by the table next to Luffy's empty seat, the thought of the mushroom stew he had prepared for the next day keeping most of his irritation towards the marksman at bay. He was so used to being annoyed with Zoro, so he didn't pay that feeling a second thought as he ducked to avoid a bowl of rice that was thrown across the deck. It was the thought of food going to waste that made him angry.

"Clean that up," he ordered, his glare aimed at Zoro, who shrugged as he held the bowl of seasnake meat as far away from Usopp as possible. The marksman was on the edge of his seat, trying to get Zoro to hand over the food while obviously trying to keep himself from laughing about the whole situation.

"Why bother?" Zoro asked. "When Luffy comes back, he'll take care of it."

Sanji sighed once more, raised his hands in defeat and reached for some rice and vegetables. Zoro had a point; no food was ever wasted when Luffy was around. To his right, Chopper was watching the feuding swordsman and sniper with wide eyes. He didn't seem to be completely sure if they were just fooling around or if the fight was real.

Across the table from Sanji, Robin smiled softly as she looked at the fighting boys. The pirate clan she had joined was really noisy at times, but the crew sure did have a certain charm. Even if they did show affection towards one another in their own ways, it was clear that the captain was the glue that ultimately kept them all together – the way their spirits had risen since the captain had awakened was proof for that. It was a very good clan.

- e - e -

When Nami woke up, she couldn't understand why the feeling of being back in Cocoyashi Village still lingered in her mind, even after she had stopped dreaming. Slowly lifting her head from the table, her shoulders aching from the uncomfortable position she had been sleeping in, she blinked as the first thing she saw was a pair of bare ankles crossed over the table in front of her. Her mind suddenly registered the sweet scent of mandarins and she closed her eyes.

"Luffy… You're not eating one of my mandarins, are you?"

"Mmmm…. No," came the cheerful reply, the captain's voice literally dripping with mandarin-juice. "Are you better now?"

"What?" Nami frowned and looked up at Luffy, who was sitting cross-legged on the table, surrounded by wrinkled maps and a small mound of mandarin peel to his right. Not only was he eating one of her mandarins; he had been eating at least ten while she was still sleeping, and there was still one fruit lying on the table in front of him.

"Zoro, Sanji and Chopper said that you were sleeping to get better." Luffy explained while peeling the last mandarin he had brought with him. "So are you better now?"

Groaning silently, Nami buried her head in her folded arms over the table. She was too tired to deal with Luffy's logic, even if she was very relieved to see him act like himself again. There was a numb feeling in her entire body, except for the dull, pulsating pain in her left leg and her right shoulder. Chopper was definitely going to get some feed-back about his new medicine, and somehow, Nami had the feeling that the doctor wasn't going to dance with joy when she got to give him a piece of her mind.

"Yeah, I'm all better now," she said, trying to keep her voice calm as she sat up straight. Leaning her elbows against the table, she pulled the letter she had been working on earlier towards her and reached for her quill and bottle of ink to continue writing. She could feel Luffy's eyes on her as she opened the bottle of ink and dipped the quill in the liquid.

"I'm writing a letter to Vivi," she said without looking up. "We can't go back to Alabasta, but we still have to let her know that we're safe. She's probably worried about us, don't you think?"

"Write that she has to come and go with us," Luffy said seriously, leaning forward to look at the letter upside-down. "Write that."

"I can't write that, Luffy," Nami looked up at the captain's serious face, feeling sorry to have to tell him the truth. She tried to choose her words carefully when she continued. "We can't force her to come with us. As a princess, she has a very important place in Alabasta and if she wants to stay there and see the country get rebuilt, then we should be happy for her."

Luffy looked at Nami and at the letter, not bothering – or maybe just unable – to conceal his disappointment as he understood what Nami was saying. Then his eyes brightened, and he tapped at the upper corner of the letter with his index finger.

"Then write that she'll always be our nakama," he ordered, tapping at the letter again for every syllable in his favorite word. Nami smiled and nodded, glad that Luffy was taking the issue so lightly. The memory of the captain punching Zoro earlier was still fresh.

"I'll write that, then," she said, letting the quill move over the paper. Luffy silently watched her writing, and when she took the quill from the paper, he looked very pleased.

"Read the letter to me," he asked, leaning back with his hands clasped around his crossed ankles.

Through the open door, the sounds of Sanji's and Zoro's angry voices shouting insults as they argued over who was going to take care of the dishes and Usopp and Chopper's cackling laughter drifted into the kitchen while Nami read the unfinished letter to the captain. Luffy listened with great interest, and when Nami finished reading, she looked at the raven-haired man in front of her, wondering if he had something more to add. Looking thoughtful for a moment, Luffy's eyes narrowed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Ask her if she found my hat," he said after a while, his hand grasping at his hair.

"I've already mentioned that you've lost the hat, Luffy. I don't think that…"

The pleading look in Luffy's eyes made the words die on her lips, and she sighed in defeat as she added the requested part to the letter. Then she read the newly added sentences to the captain, who made a thumbs-up and grinned widely.

"Perfect."

"Do you want to sign it?" Nami asked as she added a quick goodbye to the end of the letter. She turned the letter towards Luffy and handed the quill to him. Luffy took the pen happily and carefully wrote his name at the end of the letter. Then he gave the letter back to Nami and jumped down from the table.

"Let's get the others to sign it!" he said excitedly and bounced out through the door towards the prow where the rest of the crew was still sitting around the table. Nami scribbled down her own signature and a small note to the left below Luffy's name, put the cork in the bottle of ink and picked up the letter and the quill and got up from the table. She winced as she leaned her weight on her injured leg, but found that her body was still numb from the medicine and it helped to keep most of the pain to reach her conscious mind. On her way out from the lounge, she glanced at her log post and adjusted the tiller to get the ship back on its right course.

Outside, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. At the prow, Luffy stood on top of the dinner table, calling for Nami to hurry up with the letter so that the others could sign it as well. How he could be so energetic when he had recovered from such a high fever only hours earlier was something Nami couldn't understand. But she smiled and waved for the captain to calm down as she started walking down the stairs towards the main deck.

Everything was finally going back to normal again.


Whee! Only one chapter left now... -sniffles- Oh well,I'll just haveto come up with a new plot for a new story.

FieryKitsune - I don't like needles myself, but I just had to make Zoro show some of his bad-ass attitude that we all love.

Magus Black - Oh, that is so true. Why aim to become the best when you can aim to be the second best? I mean, it's not as much pressure to stayin second placeas it is to stay the best.

AstroKender - I think that chapter 13 was one of the easiest chapters to write, up to the end, which shows in the way I ended it.I'm glad to hear that you liked it.