-Going Merry-

It was the dead of night when something woke the crew up. Arms that tapped, poked, prodded, or shoved everyone that had been sleeping. Groggy eyes opened wide in surprise, and startled shouts were muffled by a hand that drifted gently over their mouths. Once the crew had had a chance to look around them, the hands pointed the way to the deck. Then, with a musical sound and a puff of flower petals, the arms disappeared.

It seemed as though Robin wanted them to see something.

The night was crystal clear without a single cloud, and every bit of its blackness was stuffed full to bursting with stars. As the Straw-Hats- Naruto and Sasuke included- stepped out into the cool night air, they saw those stars paint for them. The sky was alive with fire in every color of the rainbow that stretched and shimmered about as they watched. The pigments danced, twisting around each other in a brilliant light-show.

As a group, the crew seemed the lose their breath, puffs of air showing up in the chill. Chopper was the first to make a noise, squealing with delight.

"It's the aurora! The aurora hibernis! I haven't seen it since I left home!"

"This is amazing!" said Nami, "I've read about this in my books, but I've never…"

Usopp's jaw dropped. "What is this?! What causes it?"

Sanji flicked his lighter on to light one of his ever-present cigarettes, then looked dismally at the shadows his light was casting about him. With a click, he flicked the lighter closed, and put his cigarette away.

Zoro just stood alone, watching the sky silently with his arms crossed as the lights reflected in his eyes.

Sasuke's mouth hung open in an amused smile, a silent chuckle escaping his lips.

Naruto's grin reached his ears. "I've never seen anything like this in my life! You say these happen at your home island, little guy? I might have to visit sometime."

"Okay!" said Chopper, "Doctorine said that I had to ask permission to bring home girls, but boys were always fine with her!"

Throughout all of this, Luffy had just stared at it all, an expression of wonder on his face. Then he stretched, grabbing onto the top spar of the ship above the main sail. With one hand stretched out to the top of the mast for balance he steadied himself up there, watching all of the lightshow from just that little bit closer to the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Robin's voice from beside him. "It happens sometimes around Winter islands. We must be passing one by." When Luffy turned to look, he saw her tucked away inside the crow's nest. She sat there above it all with a blanket, a cooling mug of tea, a couple of books, and an enigmatic smile.

"Robin!" called Nami from below, "You woke us up for this? Thank you!"

Robin didn't move, except to smile a bit wider. A single arm sprouted from the mast below, waving her acknowledgement.

A return to sleep was on no one's agenda for now. At Usopp's suggestion, an official crew campfire meeting was called to order - at least until Sanji reminded him that wood and pitch were extremely flammable, at which point all the blankets were retrieved from the beds and storage instead.

Sanji prepared hot, spiced beverages that warmed them in other suspicious ways as well. Luffy called for music, then when no one volunteered he began whining about their lack of a musician. The ship rocked gently along in the waters and they all simply talked, sitting together under the glowing night sky. The night went on and on, and Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help themselves. They felt at home.

"See, this is what a pirate's life should be all about!" said Usopp, spirits bolstered by the general cheer as well as the drink, "Don't you think so? Hey, Naruto - Sasuke! How are you liking being pirates for a change?"

"Honestly? Pretty nice," said Naruto.

"We're not really pirates, though," said Sasuke.

"You think not? You might as well be," said Sanji, pointing a finger in their direction, "You're spending all your day on a ship, hanging out with wanted criminals. If you're waiting for us to go raid a port for rum or go keelhaul some poor bastard, then sure, you're out of luck, but out here that definition's pretty wide."

"You're both pirates," agreed Luffy, "I knew it from the moment I saw you."

"Luffy, that doesn't make sense," said Nami, bundled up in the corner alongside the ever-fuzzy Chopper, "They said they hadn't been on a sailing ship at all until ours came along. How could they have been pirates?"

"Nami, this and that are two completely different things. They're off on an adventure just like the rest of us," said Luffy.

Nami sighed, but she didn't press the issue.

Naruto laughed. "Okay, so, Sasuke and me, we've been trying to figure out why you're all out here, you know? We were waiting for the other shoe to drop. So, an adventure? What's the deal with you guys?"

"That's right!" shouted Usopp, raising one hand to the glowing sky, "It's all about the dream! You've got to have a dream if you want to be on-board - That's the rules!"

"A dream?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes! Mine is to become a great warrior of the sea! My legend grows larger with each retelling!"

Sasuke shook his head at the sniper's drunkenness. A smile on his face, he asked, "Is that true for each of you?"

"In the order we joined!" called Luffy, "I'm going to become the Pirate King! I'll be as great as Gold Roger! Zoro!"

"Greatest swordsman in the world. It's that or nothing."

Usopp glanced at Nami, who hesitated before continuing the chain, "I'm making the first truly accurate map of the ocean."

"Greatest sniper in the world!" shouted Usopp.

"I'm gonna find All Blue, a sea that holds all the fish and ingredients in the world," said Sanji. "Of course, preparing it all for lovely ladies is crucial as well."

"I- I want to become a doctor that can cure any illness," stammered Chopper.

There was silence for a moment.

"Hey, Robin!" shouted Luffy, "What about you?"

More silence greeted them as they looked expectantly up at the crow's nest. Finally-

"I can't say I have one, really," responded Robin, from up above.

Usopp expressed his slightly inebriated disbelief by accidentally spilling some of his drink on himself. "Whaddaya mean you don't have one? Everyone's got one, right? What about those big stones you were looking at? You know, archaeology?"

A long pause. "That never really was a dream, as I think you all would call it. It was just the only thing I had left. Though, I suppose it's funny you should mention Gold Roger, Luffy. He wrote a message in the golden bell back on Jaya. Wherever that bell came from up in the sky, he visited there as well."

"Eh?!" shouted Luffy, easily distracted by her change of subject, "Gold Roger?! What did it say?"

"It said, 'I have come so far, and I will carry this passage with me to the farthest ends of the world.' It seems as though he could read the Poneglyphs as well. It's a strange thing, don't you think?"

"But, what about your dream?" asked Chopper, up into the starry night.

No one could see Robin as she sat above them all. "It's alright, Mr. Doctor," she said, "Not everyone is driven by such things." There was another pause. "Though, I do wonder about our newer recruits?"

"What, us?" asked Naruto. "Heh, well, I guess mine's easy, if you wanna call it that. I'm gonna be the Hokage of Konoha someday, just like my father. That's kind of like the leader, or the strongest ninja in the village. As for Sasuke…"

"Yeah, I don't really have a dream either," Sasuke interjected.

"No!" cried Usopp, "No more chickening out! You have to say it!"

Slowly, Naruto began laughing. It grew louder and louder in the silent night until he was clutching his sides and falling over himself.

"What is it now, Naruto?" asked Sasuke, fearing the worst.

"You're right! He's just an embarrassed chicken! Oh man!" Naruto continued wheezing.

"Well, okay, now I have to know," muttered Nami, "If dressing like a girl doesn't do it, then what's going to embarrass our little mister cool-guy over here?"

Naruto struggled to calm down. "Okay, okay, so, when our three-person team formed, back when we were, like, twelve, our teacher tried the same thing, you know? Like, 'What is your dream for the future?'"

"Oh no… Please don't bring this up..." winced Sasuke.

"And he goes-" now Naruto put on a serious face, dropping into his best impression of his friend's more careful speech patterns, "'I don't have a dream for the future. But my ambition is to kill a certain man…'" Suddenly, Naruto's face split and he resumed cackling.

Sasuke had his face in his hands. "Oh, hell… kill me now… I was such a child..."

For some reason, this set the whole crew off. Even Robin could be heard laughing from up above.

"He was just trying to show off in front of the new girl, too!" laughed Naruto, "He thought he was so cool!"

"Okay, yeah, that's great. Thanks, Naruto."

Nami wiped a tear from her eyes, grinning as she spoke, "Yeah, I could tell he's a big showoff. No surprises there after he was putting the moves on me back at Jaya."

As Sanji's face darkened, Sasuke's eyes shot open. "Whoa! That wasn't me 'putting the moves on you,' I was just-"

"Watch yourself," interrupted Sanji, "Foot up ass. Fuzzy slippers. Remember that."

Sasuke just groaned and shook his head. After things calmed down again, Naruto gave an ultimatum. "Come on, man, you have to give them something, or else I'll keep digging this stuff up."

"You know I have even more dirt on you, right?" said Sasuke with mortified exasperation.

"Yeah, but the difference is that I'm shameless. Come on, you know I'm right."

Sasuke sighed. After a moment, he came to a conclusion. "Well, if it will put this to rest, then I guess there is something. I kind of always wanted to see the world. My brother and I talked about it, before he died."

"Your brother died?" asked Chopper, "How did it happen?"

"My family was killed when I was very young. We used to be part of a big clan, but almost every one of us was killed on the same night. My brother died fighting off the attackers. The man we saw on your ship the night we met was their leader. That's who I was talking about wanting to kill."

"That's terrible!" said the young reindeer. In the night, the others watched Sasuke with greater or lesser degrees of sympathy.

"My brother was a great ninja. Well-known and extremely powerful. A genius - That's what they called him. I looked up to him so much, but in the end this eye is all I have left of him." Sasuke pointed to his left eye.

"Whoa, what?" asked Usopp, "You took his eye?"

"He gave it to me. It's kind of like a weapon that he passed down to me to replace one I lost that night."

"Huh," remarked Zoro. "Hell of a way to remember someone. But I kept my friend's sword after they died, so I guess it's not too weird."

"What?" asked Nami, "No, first of all, that's very weird, and second of all you never told us that before!"

"Pretty sure I did," said Zoro.

"No! You didn't!"

"Whatever."

"So," continued Sasuke, "My eyes are both mine and my brother's. It's a bit silly, but it kind of makes me feel like everything I see with them is for both of us, you know? Of course, the world is a lot bigger than I thought it was... That reminds me- I've heard the name Gold Roger passed around just now. Are you talking about Gol D. Roger?"

"How do you know that name?" asked Sanji.

"My brother… sort of left me a message where he talked to me about a man with that name. Apparently Roger visited our country when my brother was very young, and he got to meet him."

"What?!" exclaimed Luffy, "Your brother met Gold Roger?! And you have his eye! So that eye saw Gold Roger!"

"Luffy, calm down," said Nami, "Yes, he was the most famous man in the world. He was executed by the World Government a number of years back, but not before he set the world on fire with talk of his legendary treasure trove that he left in some unknown location." She pointed at Luffy, "That's what made this oddball set out to sea and start collecting all of us."

Luffy nodded with excitement.

Despite the upbeat tone, Sasuke couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. "Oh, so he's dead, then… My brother, Itachi, said that Roger had invited him to join the crew when he grew up. Said that he'd make a great pirate one day, if he wanted to be. From the message Itachi left me, I think my brother hoped that I'd…" Sasuke glanced over to Naruto. He'd almost said 'join up with him in his place.' "Well- that I'd get a chance to meet him myself some day."

"That's fine!" exclaimed Luffy, "I'm aiming to become King of the Pirates, and I'll be the next Gold Roger! Being part of this crew's the next best thing!"

Sasuke laughed, surprising himself. "Hah! No, I… I don't think that will work. We don't get much freedom as ninja, and I'm already part of a team." He looked to Naruto.

"Yeah," said Naruto, "As ninja, we have a lot of restrictions that we're kind of bending pretty far right now to be out here. Usually, going pretty much anywhere outside of our country could get us killed."

"For an Uchiha like myself, it's even worse. There are plenty of people who'd kill me to take my eyes. Not to mention all the people in my village who'd sooner kill me than look at me. I have to admit; this trip out here has been amazing. No one even knows me."

"Wait, people don't like you in your village?" asked Usopp, still rather drunk, "But you've got such a lovable personality!" He burst into a fit of laughter.

Sasuke chuckled, his smile bitter. "No, my clan was killed because people thought we were going to betray them. I'm one of the very last survivors of a cursed bloodline."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, filled only with the creaking of wood and the gentle sounds of the waves, then Robin surprised them all by speaking from up above. "That must have been difficult. No family, no safety… Where would you be, I wonder, if it weren't for your friends?"

"Robin," chided Nami, "Don't be so morbid all the time."

"No, it's alright," said Sasuke, "I'm grateful for Naruto and Sakura. Without them I don't know where I'd be. Dead, or lost to hatred, or worse. Or maybe I would have run away from the village." He glanced at Naruto again as he said this.

"Yeah, well, we both made the best of what we had, you know?" said Naruto, before he perked up. "Speaking of leaving the village, I was having the weirdest dream while I was sleeping just now. You'd run off, Sasuke, so Sakura and I were trying to find you. So we got this special beetle from whatshisname, you know, the bug guy? Anyway, the beetle could track you by your scent. So we got some of your stuff to give to it, but right before it started sniffing around I ended up farting on it, so it just flew around stuck to my butt the whole time. That's when I woke up."

Usopp and Luffy both laughed out loud at this, but Sasuke just looked vaguely disturbed by the story. Naruto continued talking. "Anyway," he said, "the point is that we're family, even when we're not together, and even if we both lost our first families."

"Well, you're in good company here, I guess," said Nami. "I think most of us here have grown up alone in some way."

There was nodding all around the circle and a chorus of agreement. After a moment, Nami frowned and started looking around at everyone. "Wait- I said 'most of us' but did anyone here actually have a normal home-life? I know about Usopp, Sasuke, and Chopper, but what about the rest of you?"

Sanji shook his head. "Kitchen rat since I was six years old, then I started working for the shitty old man."

"Don't look at me," said Naruto, "My parents died the day I was born."

"No parents," said Zoro, "Didn't need 'em."

"I have a brother," said Luffy.

"You have a brother?!" exclaimed Naruto and Sasuke.

"No, we're not doing that gag right now," interrupted Nami. "Robin? What about you?"

"I suppose I'm in the same situation as all of you," she said.

"Every one of us, huh?" mused Nami. "Guess that might explain why we're all so odd. Maybe that's why everyone on this ship starts to feel like family after a while."

"To friends and family!" called Usopp, raising his glass, "And to the Merry as our home!"

Everyone seemed willing to drink to this. As the night moved on, they slowly passed out of the winter area. The cool air began to warm and the night's lights began to fade. Bit by bit, the crew either moved back to bed or simply passed out where they were laying. Robin was the last to sleep, secretly smiling, but filled with a nameless worry that refused to leave her.

A:N: This chapter's setting inspired by One Piece Ending #9.

Down-time over. For those keeping track, the Log Pose's next scheduled stop is Long Ring Long Land island. Surely I wouldn't make you read through the Davy Back Fight.