I have to be honest with all of you... I was disappointed last chapter. I kind of expected at least five little reviews, but I only got 2, one of which was from a guest. I hope I'll have a bit more this time, because this challenge is truly that; a challenge. It's not easy, and I'm trying to keep things interesting by coming up with more original things, or at least what I hope is original, but when I get so few come-backs about it, it's really not helping. You can't imagine how psyched-up I get when I do get some... So I'd really like for you to let me know what you think of what I'm writing.

I'll remind all of you that I accept any kind of review, from a simple "I liked it" to a novel of compliments, from a flame to a nuclear bomb. Though I must admit the ones I prefer are constructive criticism ;P But, yeah, any come back is highly appreciated!

So this is the 17th Theme, and I'm proud to tell you all that I finally came up with an idea for the 20th Theme, the one I was struggling on. If you want to help me in some way of another, you can visit the first chapter and rapidly read the list over!

That morning, Brook was up before anyone else. All of the other men were still snoring and some of them dreaming of meat or adventures. Before he slipped out of the hammock-filled room, the skeleton stared at each sleeping faces, and at that moment he saw his old crew's members in that same scene. It was so long ago... He ignored the hurt in his heart and exited the men sleeping quarters.

Outside, the sun wasn't up yet, although a part of the sky was starting to become clearer. The other part was dark and stars littered black decor. The tall undead lift his eye-sockets to Sunny's crownest, where he guessed Zoro was as usual taking a nap. Or maybe drinking booze. As was his habit, Brook took out his violin. It was wake-up time! Surely the black handkerchief song would wake the crew like it did with his now dead friends. Maybe everything would be the same...

But then, he thought, maybe they won't appreciate this. Maybe they won't want me anymore because I'll act on my own. They seemed like true kind people, for sure, but maybe he would just annoy them if he did that. Instead, he put the instrument back in his case. Now might not be the right time...

As the first rays of sun warmed the ship, the two women marched out of their quarters at almost the same time. The orange-haired girl – Nami, he remembered – headed to the ship's railings and silently watched the rising sun, while the blue-eyed woman strolled to him, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Would you care for a cup of coffee?" She asked him, almost in a murmur as if scared to wake the world.

"It would be my pleasure," Brook answered, wondering why she was being so silent. She headed to the kitchen and came back mere minutes later with two cups in hands. They spent a long moment in silence, sipping on their coffee with nothing important to say. Even when their beverage was done, they moved not.

A little over an hour had passed when the reindeer finally emerged from the men sleeping quarters. He had his hat firmly placed on his furry head and seemed to be ready for the day. Still, when he met their gaze, he only offered a small smile before heading toward his doctor office. Brook couldn't help but wonder... Why did they all seem so depressed? Well, maybe they were tired. After all, they did exited Thriller Bark only a day ago...

Franky came not too long after that. He went to the kitchen to get his cola bottle before joining Nami at the railings. Neither talked for a while, then slowly they started a simple conversation in whispers.

The next one to get up was Usopp. He still had his bed hair and he walked over to Brook and Robin in a slump. He let himself fall in a nearby chair, not bothering with stifling his yawn. His brown eyes focused on the woman, who had her nose in a complicated-looking book, then shifted to the skeleton. He blinked a few times, as if trying to remember the purpose of his presence there, before shrugging and letting his head fall on the table.

Brook still wondered why everyone was acting this way, when they were so loud and excited the first time he saw them. It looked almost... abnormal, and different. He was used to see the captain awake long before he himself was. And he was used to wake the others with a loud party-like song. And he was used to the cooks preparing meals as soon as one of them got up. It was kind of like a routine. They would wake up at the same time, do whatever they felt like doing and headed to the kitchen to eat their breakfast whenever they were hungry. It seemed like things didn't work this way around here. It seemed their cook wasn't even awake yet, and that everyone woke whenever they felt like it. It was weird in a way to see them all silent and not doing any kind of activity beside being silent. No one even entered the kitchen yet, aside to get themselves something to drink. Honestly, he was kind of getting hungry...

Suddenly, Usopp's head shot up, his eyes wide like he had realized something.

"I remember now!" He whispered. Why so silent? "Luffy's still asleep," he added, as if that's what he had wanted to say ever since he had woken up.

"It would seem so," Robin replied in a low tone, while continuing reading.

"He wasn't snoring," the sharpshooter added.

"Oh?" This ripped her attention off her book, her blue eyes settling on the brown ones. She arched her eyebrows in a silent question. Brook couldn't read it. Usopp gasp as he understood then smiled and got up. He disappeared behind the kitchen door.

Not too long later, the blond cook burst out of the kitchen (When had he headed there? Then Brook remembered he didn't see him in the men sleeping quarters that morning) with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"BREAKFAST!" He yelled, his cancer stick magically staying in place between his teeth. The reaction was instantaneous.

"FOOOOOOOOD!" And the pirate captain leaped out of the room he was sleeping in, heading straight to the kitchen. As soon as he was out, the whole ship was brought to life, just like when Brook had met them all. Usopp laughed out loud at his friend's antics, Nami yelled at him to keep the ship intact and stop doing stupidities, Zoro jumped down the crownest, ignoring his injuries, resulting in Chopper scolding him for being reckless and to listen to the doctor's orders, Robin, as usual, simply shook her head, and Sanji went to swoon over the girls. Franky made his appearance known a second later, exclaiming how SUPER hungry he was. Brook stood on the side, a bit confused with all that was happening all of the sudden, but each second that passed made it more difficult to retain the laugh building up in his throat. Finally...

"Yohohohoho!" He let himself go, enjoying the wild day the Strawhats promised him without using words.

Seriously, this crew was so much different from his old one, it was almost unbelievable they were all pirates after the same treasure. He had thought that maybe everything would be the same... Now he knew that, with this new crew, nothing will be the same. He had thought that it would take some time for him the get used to a new family, to new friends...

However, now he knew that this was not the case. After all, the Strawhat Pirates' convention was simply about being yourself and enjoying the silence before a certain captain made everything loud for hours without ends.

I know, it's not the best, but it's my best for the time being. So you guessed it, I want REVIEWS! PLEASE!

Thank you all for reading!