Chapter 4 – The Straw Hats in Trouble
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The wave hit, and Vivi went flying off the ship.
"NOOOO, VIVI-CHAN!" Sanji screamed.
Nami and Usopp were simply speechless, both in shock at what they just witnessed.
Once again, Luffy is the one who took action. He pounced to the opening in the portside railing. The others ran up to him.
"Wait, if you fall in-!"
"I don't care!" Luffy said. "Just try to make sure I don't fall in, okay?"
He looked down over the railing. The water was extremely violent. It was impossible to spot Vivi. Suddenly, he saw her head. "HELP, SOMEONE, PLEASE!" Her head was submerged by a bunch of waves.
Luffy stretched his arms down into the water. He couldn't grab Vivi. At that moment, a big wave chose a really bad time to hit the starboard side of the ship.
Luffy fell.
Nami and Sanji grabbed his feet. They started pulling. Usopp got in front of them, grabbed both legs, and started pulling as hard as he could. The three slipped and slid on the soaked deck, but they didn't let go.
Luffy's head kept going in and out of the water. It was very hard for him to breathe. He could have easily stretched his way back up to the deck, but he had to find Vivi. He couldn't let her mission be ruined. She had to restore peace to her island, and Luffy would see to it that she succeeded. Another large wave hit the port side... right where Luffy was hanging. Nami, Sanji, and Usopp were able to stay standing, and Luffy was okay. In the wave's wake, Luffy saw Vivi's head break the surface again. She quickly gasped for air before she was submerged again.
However, Luffy kept his sight on his target and stretched out his arms. He felt something solid and he wrapped his arms around it.
Sure enough, it was Vivi. She clung onto Luffy for dear life.
The others slipped a little. Luffy's entire torso was submerged, bringing Vivi down with him. Luffy struggled to get his head above the surface. He yelled up, "Here I come!" and with that, he pulled him and Vivi up with his legs.
They collapsed onto the floor of the deck, still clinging on to each other tightly, completely out of breath.
The moment didn't last long. Luffy slowly got up and coughed up some water. Then, a bolt of lightning hit Nami's mini tangerine orchard. It was destroyed.
"NO!" she cried.
Luffy looked behind him. "Oh, no! The metal thingy must've fallen off in the water! Sorry, Nami..."
Suddenly, it stopped raining. The wind died down. In just a few minutes, only a few clouds were left in the sky. The Grand Line's climate once again made a dramatic change.
The storm was over.
However, their problems weren't. Zoro came running onto the deck. He was sweating and completely out of breath. Nami frowned. (What's he so worn out from?)
"Guys! We've taken on too much water! Come down and take a look if you want to, but we better find a place to stop, and quick!"
Everyone rushed down below, except Vivi. She still hadn't gotten up. Luffy stopped and walked back to her. Not knowing what else to do, he picked her up and rushed down to meet the others with her in his arms.
The water in the bottom part of the ship was waist-high, and still rising.
"There was nothing I could do," said Zoro. "I was busy pushing the ship to prevent it from capsizing. Every time I felt the ship tilt to one side, I would push it the opposite direction."
Nami couldn't believe her ears. "You mean... you're the reason we didn't capsize? All by yourself?"
Zoro shrugged. "Yeah," he replied nonchalantly. He grinned. "After all, I am the great Zoro."
Nami stuck her tongue out at him. She turned to the others. "Let's go take a look at our options." The crew rushed back onto the deck.
Nami looked at the Eternal Pose pointing to Arabasta. "Well, we're way off course from Arabasta..."
"Hey, I found an island!" Usopp called.
"Already?" said Sanji. "That was quick..." He took the binoculars and looked in the direction Usopp was pointing. The cook slowly shook his head. "You know what? We must be the luckiest bastards in the world... There is an island there."
Nami grinned. She looked at Luffy, who was still holding Vivi. She put his soaked straw hat on his head and said, "Luffy, take her to the girls' bedroom, okay? Make sure she's okay. I have to stay up here and do my job."
Sanji's eyes were hearts. "Ah, Nami-san, my dear, you're so smart and responsible! You're the smartest- and most beautiful- navigator in the world!" Nami nodded. "Thanks, Sanji-kun." She looked at Usopp and Zoro. "You two go down and steer the ship hard to port. I'll make sure we stay on course..."
Luffy carried Vivi to her and Nami's room. He placed her on the bed. He looked at her for a few moments, not knowing what he should do. He decided to just leave and let her rest. He turned around. Right when he was about to walk out, he heard her cough. He turned back around and walked to the bedside.
Vivi sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and coughed up some water. Luffy sat beside her and patted her back to help her cough it all out. All it really did was make her back sore, but she didn't care. She stopped coughing and smiled at Luffy. He stopped patting her back.
"So," said Luffy, "you're all right... right?" He grinned.
She smiled back. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to you." She hugged him. "You saved my life again, you know. I don't know how to thank you!"
He chuckled and hugged her back. "Heh, no need to thank me. What else was I supposed to do? You still gotta save your island, right? We can't let anything stop you from getting there!"
She broke the hug and looked into his eyes. "Luffy... what would I ever do without you? You really care about my kingdom's well-being, don't you?"
He gave another huge grin. "Of course! A huge civil war like that would be awful! Fighting's cool and all, but not when it's not needed, and not when so many innocent people could get hurt."
Vivi was actually a bit surprised at how much of the impending crisis Luffy understood. She smiled again and raised her hand to his face. She stroked it.
"Luffy... you're the best, you know that?"
Luffy didn't respond. She felt him tense up. (Is he nervous?) she thought. (I guess... now is the time to find out...) She leaned her face closer to his...
Their lips connected in a gentle kiss. However, Luffy still didn't respond. Like the rest of his body, his lips were completely stiff. Vivi turned her face away from him, suddenly very embarrassed.
(He... doesn't want this at all. Maybe he's still traumatized from the storm? Nah, he doesn't get scared like that...)
The very awkward moment was thankfully interrupted by Usopp calling Luffy's name. He wordlessly got up and started to leave. Vivi got up to follow.
"No," said Luffy suddenly without turning to look at her. "You need to stay and rest."
He left and closed the door behind him. Vivi, a little shocked at what just happened, slowly sat on the bed. She tried her hardest to stop it, but she dissolved into tears...
Kinda sad, huh? Well, anyway, I think I am gonna tie in Chopper's introduction here. The crew does go onto a different island before Arabasta to find a doctor anyway, right? I am very close to the episode in which he is introduced, so when I see it, I will update more. Okay? Until then... enjoy life! I guess...
