I am sorry my fellow One Piece lovers… I have been tremendously busy. Plus I have been going to many different places. So I will give you the next chapter without fail! Here you go! Also I wrote two LONG chapters while I was gone…this one and the next.

Me: I do not own One Piece…So stop annoying me with it!

Chapter 6: Just the Beginning

The Next Day

After breakfast Zolo went to train, Sanji was cleaning up the kitchen, Nami was helping him out, Robin was just walking around the ship, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were goofing around, Minnie was drawing, and Trace was looking for her.

Everybody was doing something. After Sanji and Nami finished cleaning they sat down to talk a bit without any disturbances from the others. Kuna was sleeping next to Minnie.

Trace was looking for Minnie everywhere. The only place he didn't look was in the crow's nest.

"Minnie! Are you up there!" Trace call up at the crow's nest.

"Yes Trace, I am here! You can come up if you want!" Minnie called back.

Trace climbed up until he reached the top.

"What are you doing?" Trace asked Minnie as he sat down next to her.

"Drawing…" Minnie said without lifting her head up to look at him.

"Can I see?"

"Sure…" She looked up at him and handed the sketchpad without hesitation.

Trace flipped through all of her pictures. Each one had a unique look that made it great. He stopped at the last one. The one she was working on. He starred at it. The picture held all the Straw Hat crew, Minnie, Kuna, and Trace. The picture was completely finished yet. So it still looked a bit rough. Like a sketch should look. But it still showed each person's uniqueness in it.

"Is this my little bro and his crew?" Trace asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah…I just wanted to draw all my new friends that I had made," Minnie said back.

"This picture is…"

Minnie waited for his comment on the drawing.

"This picture is awesome! All of your drawings are great Minnie! But this one is my favorite. It captures everyone's personality. And I think out of everyone's yours is one of the best," Trace said with a smile.

Minnie blushed. She was never complimented like that!

"Thanks Trace…" Minnie said softly as she twiddled with her fingers as she tried her best to hide her blushing face.

Meanwhile, down on the deck of the ship…

"Hey, where are Kuna, Minnie, and Trace?" Zolo asked aloud.

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper shrugged an I-don't-know.

"Well…I saw Trace climb up into the crow's nest. He was also snooping around for Minnie," Robin said as she popped out.

"What do you think they're doing?" Usopp asked as he scratched his head.

"Maybe…they having a little private conversation," Nami said as she and Sanji got out of the kitchen and jumped into the conversation.

"Yeah," Sanji said in agreement.

"So…what were you two talking about?" Robin asked slyly.

"Nothing you should know about," Nami said back to her.

"Well sorry. I was just asking," Robin said back as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, who's going to go up and check if they are both up there?" Chopper asked everyone.

"I will go up and check!" Luffy said as he had his hands in the air and jumped up and down like a little kid.

"Okay, but I am coming with you Luffy," Zolo said as he went beside him.

'If I don't go with him he might act like his usual way and probably get hurt,' Zolo thought as he sweat-dropped.

Luffy was climbing up the ladder first and Zolo was right behind. When they got close to the top they could hear talking. Both Zolo and Luffy poked their heads up to see what was happening. Kuna was now awake and on Trace's lap and Trace and Minie were talking to each other.

"Aww…come on Trace you don't really mean that," Minnie said as she looked away from Trace.

"I do! I mean every word! You have a great art talent and personality. Why would I kid around about that?" Trace asked Minnie.

"Well, I am just not used to getting compliments like that from a boy. That's all," Minnie said as she began to blush a bit.

Kuna mewed in agreement. As long as she had been with Minnie she came to understand boys thought of her as one of them. Since she liked to play with the boys. In different sports and stuff. She would get compliments on her drawings. But not like the ones Trace was giving her.

Trace then took her hands, which made her look into Trace's dark eyes.

"Trust me, if you go out with a guy. He would be really lucky,"

"Thanks Trace, you are really nice and cool,"

Luffy was fuming. He was really angry with his older brother for even getting that close to Minnie and talking to her like she was his. Zolo noticed this and smirked. He finally knew why Luffy had been acting strangely. Because he liked Minnie. Maybe even loved her! He just had to help Luffy out. Before he kills his brother.

I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I worked really hard on it. PLEASE REVIEW!