Luffy whined, nursing a few more bumps on the head than he thought he deserved, grumbling and trying to ignore the laughing head on his belt. Buggy didn't make it easier, tearing up from laughing too hard.
They had left him on Merry, Nami dragging Zoro to help haul their loot from their stolen ship; Robin informed him that she had to feed her turtle and order it to return to Alabasta with the news that they were on their way.
Merry was coordinating with other staff members from Kaya's mansion to stock the fridges of the Going Merry, and Luffy was bored out of his mind. Buggy finally stopped cackling, sniffling before snorting again and fighting another burst of laughter.
"Y-you really got your ass handed to you by that flashy lass, eh?"
Luffy grumbled and looked away. "Didn't hurt."
Buggy chuckled more, shaking his head somehow. "Ya gotta grab her hands when she tries to do that, y'hear? Women love that."
Luffy glared down to the head "...you giving me lady advice?"
"Duh," the clown snorted, "you need it."
Luffy's head cocked to one side, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Have you even been with a woman, Big Nose?"
Buggy flinched, looking away and breaking eye contact. "O-of course I have!"
Luffy squinted at him before bursting into laughter.
Buggy grumbled in a language no human would understand, causing his captain to laugh even harder.
After taking a breath, Luffy shook his hands in an effort to calm down before snorting and flicking Buggy's nose with a finger. "Maidenless."
"wHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, YOU FLASHY BASTARD!?"
It was the dawn of the next day by the time the Strawhats were ready to set sail. Kaya, desperately wishing to see them off, had asked Merry to help her out of the house.
Luffy on the other hand was sitting on the railing with confusion on his face. "...where is he?"
Nami heaved a sigh, gently punching him on the shoulder. "You mean Usopp? You never told him to meet us, idiot. What if he's somewhere else?"
Luffy turned and blinked at her. "Oh yeah, this place has more than one dock."
Buggy grumbled an 'idiot' from his spot on his belt, still not over yesterday's exchange.
"Ah well." Zoro shrugged, relaxing against the wall of the kitchen with a yawn. "There are plenty more islands and people out there."
Nami frowned at that, before wilting with a sigh. "Maybe we can circle the island first?"
Luffy sighed, leaning back on the railing, hooking his legs around the bars to not fall backwards as he looked back at his crew. Zoro was already snoring on the wall heading to the kitchen, Robin was smiling at him from her spot by the table and chair on the deck, her hands on the book she had been reading, and Nami looked back at him with sadness in her eyes.
Buggy whistled. "You've got core strength up the wazoo, huh Monkey?"
Luffy didn't respond, sitting up and reclaiming his perch stubbornly. "We're not going anywhere yet, I know he's gonna come."
Nami sighed, leaning against the railing next to him. "You don't need to get pouty, captain."
He leaned his shoulder against hers silently.
"Everything ok?" Merry called from the ground, helping Kaya stand up by lending her his shoulder. "Is there something wrong with the Going Merr-"
"Guys! Wait up!"
All eyes turned to the top of the hill, catching a glimpse of Usopp carrying an obscenely large bag, running down the slope before tripping on his own feet and starting to roll down it.
Garbled shrieks escaped his mouth, begging anybody to stop him.
Luffy jumped down to the ground, opening up his arms to catch him, a trail of hands appearing between the two men and gently grabbing onto Usopp to slow him down, until the man finally crashed into Luffy with a wheeze, supported by the young captain's hug. "Usopp, you're here!"
Usopp wheezed, his eyes still spinning for a second before he shook off his dizziness, grabbing onto Luffy's arms. "Yeah! I couldn't miss this chance to say goodbye!"
Luffy's head tilted to one side.
"A-and I hope we will see each other in the sea!"
Luffy's head tilted at a 90-degree angle, his hat almost falling off his head. "Eh?"
Usopp finally looked up at him and flustered. "I-I'm sure you wouldn't wanna see me after I-"
Buggy laughed from Luffy's belt. "Long Nose, just get on the damn boat!"
Usopp blinked, looking down at the head, then to Luffy, then to Nami, who was looking down with a smirk that just screamed 'what are we gonna do with you?'
The young sniper looked back at Luffy. "Eh?"
"We're crewmates already, aren't we?" the captain asked, blinking down at him owlishly. "What were you gonna sail off on your own for?"
"E-eh?"
Kaya laughed weakly from the side, a blush on her face, Merry shaking his head. "Honestly, you are so clueless sometimes."
Usopp sniffed harshly, misty-eyed as he took a step back from Luffy before jumping towards the rope ladder Nami had kicked down. "I'll be the captain!"
Luffy rushed onto the ship with a boisterous laugh. "No way, I'm the captain !"
Glass mugs clattered, all pirates toasting for the new crewmate and the new ship. Everyone laughed and started chatting softly, Luffy roaring in laughter as Buggy coughed, ale leaking from his nose as he messed up drinking from the bottle they had lent him. Nami rolled her eyes and got up to grab a straw for the poor head.
"So, Captain." Robin smiled, walking next to Luffy as the man chuckled, watching Usopp try to balance his empty mug on his nose, managing to catch it when it fell off.
His attention quickly shifted to her, smiling and tapping her glass with his own. "What's up, Robin?"
"Are we heading to Reverse Mountain?" she hummed, taking a small sip from her drink. "We've got a ship that can survive the journey now."
Usopp shivered. " Survive ?"
Luffy laughed, patting her on the shoulder. "We need a musician before that!"
That actually threw Robin off-kilter, the woman blinking with a tilt of her head left to right. "A musician?"
"Yeah!" he cheered, before pausing and blinking "Wait, no- Buggy can you sing?"
"I've got no lungs to sing with, Jackass!"
"Then we still need a musician!" Luffy clarified, laughing with fists on his hips.
"...I'm curious about your logic, Luffy." Robin declared a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Is a musician that important for you to enter the Grand Line?"
"A musician is the heart of the crew!" he cheered, hopping to his feet. Robin didn't miss the longing Luffy had in his eyes. Part of her wanted to ask if there was something more he wasn't saying, but that look was loud enough for the assassin. "What is a pirate ship without some shanties?" he asked to turn the question back on her, the look in his eyes fading.
"...I suppose you've got me there, Luffy-san." Robin murmured with a soft smile. "However, this ship isn't quite a pirate ship yet, is it?"
Luffy hummed, turning to face the woman before smiling. "You're right! I almost forgot in the excitement!"
Usopp broke into a cold sweat at the implications. "L-Luffy, what are you going to do?"
Buggy grumbled. "I swear if you try to juggle me again, I'll bite your fingers."
The captain grinned, hopping onto the galley level with a single bound, almost crashing into Nami as she came out with the straw in her hands. The navigator grasped her chest and let out a quiet gasp at the close call, blushing deeply.
"What's gotten into him?" She mumbled, walking over and shoving the straw into a mug, placing the more accessible drink in reach of Buggy's mouth.
"He's just excited, I think," Robin offered with a kind smile. "How long have you known him?"
"A day." Usopp responded, the two women looking at him with gentle tilts of their heads.
"...getting close to a week now, I think?" Nami admitted with a huff, tapping her chin and placing an arm under her bust. Something about being around Luffy just made the time fly by.
"Oh?" Robin murmured, interested. "I thought you'd known him for longer. Fascinating."
"Feels like that, honestly" Nami mused softly, looking back to the door their captain had disappeared into.
Zoro yawned, waking up from his nap and remembering his mug was empty. "Anyone want more ale?"
The three on the lower deck glanced up at the swordsman by the door to the kitchen, Robin still swirling her drink.
Usopp scratched his chin "...do we have enough booze to keep drinking like this?"
"We'll handle i—" Zoro's sentence got cut off as the door to the kitchen slammed into him. His body was hurled against the railings, head hitting the hardwood paneling and knocking him out.
All three looked in various states of shock, Buggy only bursting into laughter at the slapstick, Luffy seemingly not aware of the punishment he had given Zoro as he pulled out his greatest masterpiece, proudly holding up their new Jolly Roger. "Look guys! I finished it!"
The jolly roger consisted of a crudely drawn lopsided circle had the hits of a smile scribbled on it, and an even more messily drawn yellow circle on top, looking vaguely like a hat.
"Quite avant-garde, huh?" Robin mumbled, before bursting out into a small fit of giggles.
Usopp pointed between the door and his fallen comrade, mouth babbling but unable to form words.
Nami's head swiveled, mouth still hanging open as she glanced at the crime of a flag design. "B-but Zoro?"
"Oh yeah! Zoro! Check it out sleepy-head!" Luffy cheered, closing the door with his foot and shaking the flag a bit. "What do you think? I've had this idea for the last eight years!"
Zoro shook his head, looking up at the flag. "Ugh… Pirate flags should instill fear, and that sure does…"
"He ignored getting hit by the door!" Usopp screamed, slapping the empty air, Nami sighing with a hand on her forehead. Robin laughed a little harder.
"I think it needs work. And a try from someone with more finesse than a Monkey," Buggy barked, trying to act cool after almost rolling over from laughing too hard.
"Great idea! You draw then!" Luffy offered, gesturing at the table in the kitchen.
Buggy blinked.
The entire crew blinked.
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh my God , Luffy."
Usopp, thankfully, stepped up with some brushes he pulled from his bag. "I got this! Another captain Usopp masterpiece, coming up!"
Buggy scoffed. "I'll let you know, I'm a great artist too!"
Nami slapped the air. "You're a head !"
Buggy managed to see-saw his head side to side and look away from her with a scowl. "Art needs no hands!"
"He's right, Nami-san." Robin offered, gently patting the other woman on the shoulder. "You can see art right there."
She gestured at Buggy with her free hand.
Nami chuckled, shaking her head "he does look like a modern art piece, with the face tattoos and all, doesn't he?"
Buggy sniffled, looking at Luffy with pleading eyes. "C-captain, they're bullying me!"
"Oh, stop it you two" Luffy mumbled with a wide smile on his lips, earning a roll from Nami's eyes and a louder laugh from Robin.
"I've drawn on walls for yeeeeears back in the village, I'm quite good at it!" Usopp took that moment to re-enter the scene, proudly waving a much cleaner flag. "Look at our new symbol!"
Luffy squinted at the black flag, a skull with a long nose looking to the side, a slingshot replacing one of the bones that crossed over on the back.
"That's not our symbol." Nami, Zoro, and Luffy said at the same time, looking slightly disappointed.
"I know, I knoow," Usopp said, shaking his hand with a cheeky smile. "But this is!"
He raised his hands up with the flag held tight, flicking it down with a quick fluid motion.
Then he pulled the flag open again, the Usopp Roger switched with a better-executed version of the one Luffy had drawn. "Ta-dah~"
The crew blinked before they all started to clap quietly, before throwing in a few genuine cheers and whoops.
Luffy beamed looked at the flag, a skull wearing a straw hat with a wide grin smiling back at him. "That's it! Great Job Usopp!" He gripped his hat, his smile getting even wider. "Can ya paint that on the sail too?"
"...come again?"
"You know?" Usopp panted, laying back on the deck, paintbrush still in hand. "That wasn't so hard."
"Only cause Robin could help!" Nami grumbled, rubbing her temples, still amazed that they managed to do all of that painting while still manning the Merry. "We should've done that before we left the port, didn't you think painting the sail while sailing would be hard, Luffy?"
No response came from the monster of a captain.
"Luffy?" Nami repeated, a little more fearful as she looked around. "oh—oh god, did he fall overboard? He can't swim!"
Robin hummed, turning the page in her book slowly. "He would've drowned by now, maybe we'll see his skeleton wash ashore on the next island."
Nami and Usopp paled, Zoro snapping awake with a snort and a yawn, scratching his head. "What are you so worried about?"
Nami was on the man in an instant, shaking him back and forth. "Zoro you gotta jump in and save Luffy!"
"Save me from what?"
All eyes turned to the captain, who was lugging a cannon under his arm onto the upper decks, Buggy on his belt looking vaguely smug.
Nami blushed a violent red, slamming Zoro into the wall. "Y-you are-"
"Me?" he mumbled, pointing at himself. "What about me?"
One bump on his head, and a laughing decapitated head later, Luffy was fiddling with the cannon he had lugged from below, aiming at the rocky outcropping on the distance.
"A little more to the left," Buggy suggested. "Honestly would've been better to shoot from the lower decks."
"But then how would I arc my shots?" Luffy grumbled, lighting the fuse. "Besides, I like the wind in my hair."
The ship shook as the cannonball shot forth, the ball missing the outcropping by a good twenty meters. Robin shrugged, Zoro didn't even stir from his nap.
Nami opened the door leading to the kitchen, panic in her eyes for a second before they landed on Luffy, panic fading into an annoyed blush before she slammed the door shut with a huff.
"If you let me finish ." Buggy grumbled, using his stump to shake around and tap into Luffy's thigh. "It's better to have the cannon bounce on the surface of the sea like a pebble on the waves! It'll be like a laser beam!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"What are you doing?" Usopp chirped, leaning in from behind the mast.
"Testing the cannons!" Luffy answered, already going through the process of reloading the hunk of metal. "Trying to hit those rocks!"
Usopp blinked, rubbed his nose, and looked down at the machine of war. He licked his lips slowly.
"Can I try?"
Luffy smirked and stepped away, gesturing at the cannon. "If you're gonna be our Lying Sniper, let's see your skills!"
"Haha, Luffy that won't transfer like that!" Usopp denied, adjusting the cannon and using his thumb as an ironsight, licking his finger and measuring the wind before lighting the fuse. "I've never touched a cannon before, there is no way I can hit it on my first try!"
The cannon boomed, and the rocks shattered.
Luffy whistled, clapping with a laugh, Usopp slowly turning around with snot running down his nose and eyes almost jutting out of his skull.
Buggy guffawed, whistling. "Yer a natural!"
Nami slammed the door open again, stamping over and grabbing Luffy by the ear, shooting a look at Usopp before grabbing him by the hair. She dragged both of them to the galley, grumbling under her breath.
Robin watched the turn of events with a slow, curious blink before returning to her book, ignoring the sounds of a scuffle going on in the kitchen.
She didn't ignore the screaming man climbing aboard, brandishing a large sword. "I won't let some no-name nobodies kill my bro!"
The undercover assassin blinked, glancing at the scrawny man in sunglasses who raised his sword threateningly, aiming to slash at the barrels on the deck.
She sighed, hands sprouting from his back and gripping him by the joints, locking the arm in place before he could damage anything. "I would rather you not cause trouble today."
The man paused his struggling, looking at the arms on his body, than the woman leaning against the table.
"Please don't kill me."
Robin smiled sadly. "I won't."
"Johnny?"
The tension broke as Zoro woke up with a yawn, rubbing his eyes and glancing at the unwelcome visitor on the Merry. "Where is Yosaku?"
"Ah! Big bro! Help me!"
Robin ignored the man and let her hands wilt off his body, looking up at the swordsman. "you know him?"
"Bountyhunting buddies," Zoro grumbled, waving his hand. "They helped me out with finding new prey when I first got out to the sea"
Robin nodded with a slight smile. "I see."
Nami finally left the kitchen, Usopp dragging himself out the door behind her while Luffy grumbled, rubbing the new bump on the back of his head. "What's that sound?"
"Ah! More pirates!" Johnny exclaimed, raising his blade.
Luffy appeared in front of him, a chitinous black arm grabbing onto the hilt of the blade while staring into the man's soul with eyes gleaming with a dangerous glint. "Why are you on my ship?"
"C-cause you-" Whatever he was going to say died in his throat as the bounty hunter let go of his blade and fell into a dogeza on the ground. "I'm sorry, please don't send me to hell."
Luffy blinked, looking at the blade left in his hands, then on the man on the floor. "...was I that scary?"
"Terrifiying." Usopp wheezed from the ground, Buggy mumbling an agreement. Robin only smiled serenely at him, and Zoro shrugged.
Nami huffed with her fists on the sides of her hips. "That's what he gets for sneaking aboard and trying to swing that blade around!"
"W-well you guys shot at us! Yonsaku is already dying and you go blow up the rocks we were camping on!" The man protested, managing to get some of his spine back after realizing he wasn't in immediate danger.
"Yonsaku is dying?" Zoro asked, ignoring everything else. "What's wrong!?"
"I don't know!" Johnny shot back, angrily punching the planks. "His teeth are almost falling out, and all of his old scars opened back up!"
Luffy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's scurvy." Both he and Buggy said at the same time.
Robin and Nami blinked, both looking at Luffy.
"I'm surprised you know what that is…" the older woman mumbled, resting her head on her hand.
"Same here- Usopp can you grab some limes from the galley and squeeze em?" Nami ordered, glancing back at their captain. "Zoro, you help him too."
The two Strawhats moved, Usopp finally standing up with a wobble, Zoro lending him a hand as they headed to the kitchen, Johnny looking between the two then back at Luffy.
Luffy looked back, placing the blade against the railing and smiling with a gesture of his head toward the rocks "Bring your friend onboard, we'll help him out."
Tears leaked from under the sunglasses and Johnny thanked him and jumped off the railings and into the sea.
Luffy blinked and shook his head in confusion. "Weirdo…" then he turned to the last two crewmates on the deck. "Anyway, I know a bunch about human bodies! I gotta!"
Nami blinked "...why?"
Luffy looked away. "Remember how I can turn into anything I've seen? I couldn't turn back to human when I first did that."
Buggy blinked, then burst out laughing. "You were stuck as a crab? Oh that's priceless! "
"It wasn't a crab…" Luffy grumbled, scratching his cheek.
Robin placed a hand on her cheek. "But still, Captain, I'm sure you had enough people to look at to turn back."
"Ah! Yeah about that." The young man suddenly seemed a little anxious, as he seemed to dwell on old memories. "I needed to look at their anatomy: bones and all."
"Wait…" Nami's face paled. "Y-you dissected a human to turn- I'm gonna be sick."
"What?" Luffy asked, genuinely shocked with a shake of his head. "Ew, no gross. Anatomy books work well enough."
Robin tapped the side of her head with a smile. "Ah, and I'm guessing that opened up a curiosity for the human anatomy?"
Luffy nodded with a cheeky smile. "Yeah, and animals too!"
Buggy hummed, as if chewing on what they'd been saying. "Wait so, you need to dissect animals to turn into em'?"
Nami dry-heaved, her hand clapping over her mouth. "N-no you bozo, just anatomical drawings are enough, didn't you listen?"
"Who you calling Bozo, brat? "
"Luffy."
Buggy screamed.
A few minutes later, Yosaku was dancing on the deck, energetic and happy about not dying before he shuddered and fell on his face, Johnny screaming in horror at the sight.
Nami facepalmed. "Told you it would take longer than that to get better, take it easy for a bit."
Yosaku groaned in affirmation, shakily raising a thumbs up before that too fell on the floor.
Johnny wept for his fallen comrade. Nami wasn't that invested, Buggy, Usopp, and Luffy were playing a game no one could comprehend. Surprisingly, even Robin was more interested in the game, watching that instead of reading her book.
Zoro looked back and forth between the two. "What the hell have you been eating, Johnny, why did he get scurvy of all things?"
"Just sandwiches man! We didn't have time to cook anything else!" The bounty hunter grumbled, sitting next to his friend. "How were we supposed to know we'd get scurvy!?"
"Hrm…" The crew almost jumped as they realized Luffy had suddenly appeared next to the two bounty hunters with his hand on his chin. "...guess it is important to have someone managing the food and cooking, eh?"
Nami wanted to punch him again, but he was making sense this time. "Duh? What were you planning? Cooking yourself?"
Luffy frowned and stuck out his tongue. "Not without an open campfire. But where would we find a cook that could keep up with us?"
Zoro grumbled, crossing his arms. "They don't need to keep up, why would a cook fight?"
Robin laughed. "You'd be surprised"
Usopp puffed his chest up, jamming a thumb against it. "I'll let you know, I've heard of cooks that fight using food out there!"
Nami grew angry at the concept. "We are not wasting money on food for food fights!"
"What about the Baratie?" Buggy offered, spitting out the cards from his mouth, managing to wiggle his head to face the captain. "They got real flashy fighting cooks up in there, though they might've moved from last I visited."
"Moved?" Luffy asked, jumping towards his decapitated crewmate and hanging off the rails towards him. "How does a restaurant move?"
"It's the floating Restaurant!" Johnny cheered, rising to his feet with excitement, grabbing a pile of papers stuffed in the inside pocket of his jacket. "I got the new location! They advertised it on yesterday's News coo!"
He pulled the newspaper out, a pile of pages falling out with it, scattering over the deck.
Nami grumbled about the mess, grabbing the paper off the man's hands and looking for the map Baratie would be shown in. "It's close to the Grand Line, huh?"
"Yeah!" Johnny faced Zoro with a grin. "You might see your target there!"
Zoro perked up at the thought, smirking sharply. "Oh?"
"Target?" Luffy wondered aloud, shrugging and bending over to pick up the mess on the deck, hands growing out of the floor to help him out. He turned and smiled at Robin, who waved in return. "Nami, can you guide us there?"
Their navigator hummed, looking around the vast sea and her compass. "Good thing I was mapping our route so far. Yeah, we should be a days sail away from it. Should we head there now, Captain?"
Luffy grinned wildly, raising his fists to the air with excitement, a page covered with bounties visible for all to see. "Let's head out!"
Nami's eyes landed on her captain, and her daydream ended.
