A/N: I am sorry for the slight delay in updating this... standard disclaimer applies, I don't own anything other than my imagination on this story. Thank you for the reviews and fave's... they make my day.
Only Chopper, Nami, and Law heard what Luffy had said. And they all looked at Brook as he made his way to them.
"Good Afternoon." He spoke very eloquently, "Shall we begin our reflections? Wait, where are my manners? You would think that I would remember," he faced Luffy, "Allow me to introduce myself, Yohoho…"
"Brook…" the name was whispered in Luffy's mind moments before the man actually spoke.
"I… I…" Luffy stammered, "Can I leave?"
The man tilted his head, and said; "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Uh… no…" Luffy truthfully said.
"Then you must stay, I insist, I may look like a skeleton, but you won't find anyone more friendly than me." He looked at Nami and Vivi and added, "Right ladies?"
Nami just shrugged her shoulders while Vivi laughed softly into her cupped hand, blushing slightly at the way he stared at her.
All Luffy could realize was that somehow Brook knew that Luffy had called him a skeleton, well he had to know by what he had said.
"Pervert…" Sanji mumbled only loud enough for the few around him to hear.
"Look who's calling the kettle black." Zoro dryly said.
Still feeling uncomfortable, Luffy slowly backed away, bumping into a solid firm chest. "Oops, sorry." He said to Zoro.
Moss green eyes gave Luffy a glance while nodding his head.
Now this teen was someone that inspired confidence within Luffy and gave the younger teen a reason to stay. Nothing would frighten him, Luffy thought, not even a man who somehow looked like a skeleton from a dream, and somehow Luffy had known the name of him.
Zoro was nodding off within five minutes of Brook starting to play the violin. Others were paying rapt attention to the music, Luffy included, when the soft snores alerted Luffy that the teen sitting on the bench next to him had fallen asleep. Something else bothered Luffy; he couldn't put his finger on it though, so he just shrugged it off.
As soon as the song ended, Brook looked at all the faces and said, "Okay, now everyone can either draw or write down your personal reflections while Iceburg-sama confers with each of you in turn. So when your name is called go to his office."
"Where is his office?" Luffy asked, "And who is this icy guy?"
Brook smiled at Luffy and pointed to the door he had previously used to join them, "Right through that door is his office, and Iceburg is the head therapist. Back in the old days when this used to be called Water Seven, he and Franky grew up here, with Tom in charge back then. Now that Tom is retired, they had to sell it for the medical bills that were piling up from his cancer treatments."
"Is that when the government took it over?" Sanji asked.
Brook nodded his head and stepped back up on the stage, while a pretty blond lady called them back to see Iceberg, one by one. Each little interview lasted no more than ten minutes, and soon Luffy found himself following the lady through the door and making his way to a chair in front of a desk.
"Hello Luffy," a blue haired man said from behind the desk. "You can call me Iceburg, everyone does. Now how is your first day going?"
"I guess okay," Luffy said, while swinging his legs back and forth.
"Don't be nervous or shy with me. I won't bite you."
Luffy looked away from him and glanced at the blond sitting next to the door writing on a piece of paper.
"Ah… Yes, Kalifa just might bite you if you get too close to her."
It had been said to put Luffy at ease, it only made him wonder just what kind of person the woman was, he noticed that as she was being talked about by her boss, she just calmly sat there and occasionally scooted her glasses back up her nose.
"Well never mind my secretary," Iceburg said, forcing Luffy to look back at him with his words. "Did you dream last night?"
"Yeah."
"Would you like to share your dream with me?"
"I don't remember much of it now, all I know is it had a skeleton and he was tortured in front of me." It was true, the later in the day it got, the less he remembered about the dream.
"Well, I think you should start a dream journal," the immaculately dressed man was saying as he pulled out a notebook and handed it to Luffy. "Here you can use this, that way when you wake up from one of your dreams, you can write it down in here. I think if you do this, we can analyze them and they will start to fade away."
Luffy only nodded his head as he took the notebook, he was not too sure about it, yet he was willing to give it a try.
"I'll see you again tomorrow, okay Luffy?" the man indicated the door, "In about ten minutes you and the others can go eat. Have a nice evening."
Luffy left, carrying the notebook under his arm, out in the reflections room once more, he sat down next to Zoro; noticing the green haired teen was now awake.
"So you do swords huh?" Luffy asked the other teen.
Zoro looked at Luffy and nodded his head; he was not sure what to make of this young teen. Something within Zoro was drawn to him, as if Luffy was a bright star, and Zoro was a moth. He wanted to be near him, and it startled the young swordsman, he had never felt this intense about anyone before and he was not sure why he did now, or even what had caused this feeling.
As they all went to the cafeteria a few minutes later, Luffy walked between Zoro and Usopp. Usopp had forgiven him about his earlier flexibility, and was once more joking with the other teen.
While they ate, Luffy and Usopp became loud, arguing over a slice of apple pie. The cook, Zeff, nearly threw them both out without any pie. That was when the two decided that they would share it and each got another slice.
They all finished dinner and in twos or three's headed down to the common room. Luffy walking with just Usopp, he asked, "So what do we all do now?"
"Time for visitors." Usopp stated, "They can stay from six to seven. After that Iceberg sees the others that he didn't see earlier while the others watch TV or play lame ass games."
"Wanna play cards again?"
Usopp smiled, he had been acting when he had said lame ass games, for this was the best time of the day. "Sure."
They had barely started a new game of cards when the door was literally thrown open. In walked the most beautiful lady, she had a feather boa wrapped around her slender neck, and she looked around the room searching for someone. "Luffy sweetheart…" her voice seemed to scream into the silent room. All eyes except for Luffy's were trained on her lovely body.
"Ugh!" Luffy barely had time to catch his breath as he was pulled into her embrace; his head nestled between her ample bosom.
"Luffy-kun…" her voice purred into his ear, soft and loving, like a gentle caress. "I have missed you; I couldn't sleep last night without you coming to my bed."
"Hmph… Ungh…" Luffy's voice sounded like it was far off in the distance, being muffled as it was.
As it was, she was kissing him everywhere and all Luffy could do was laugh.
All eyes were on the loving reunion between the two, most of the people wondering how it was this teen managed to have a beautiful woman as a lover.
Zoro looked away, for some unknown reason, the thought of Luffy and this woman together bothered him. And when things bothered him like this, he left. So standing up, he headed out of the room, not wanting to watch as the woman; who obviously adored Luffy; smothered him with kisses and complaining about having to sleep alone.
Pulling free from her, Luffy said, "Boa! I have only been gone one day."
"I know, it's just so lonely though without you." She complained in a childish way. "Without my baby sleeping peacefully next to me."
"You never said you had an older woman for a girlfriend." Usopp said next to Luffy.
"Girlfriend!" Luffy nearly choked on the word, "She's my oldest sister."
Boa looked at Luffy and made a reproachful sound from her slender throat. "Oh Luffy, stop reminding me."
"It's true…" Luffy said as Boa led him to a sofa where they could have some privacy, still all the others watched them. All of them except for Koby and Helmeppo. To Luffy's amazement, they were sitting together on a recliner, Koby sitting on Helmeppo's lap while they were kissing one another.
"Now Luffy," Boa was saying, "I brought you a bento." She pulled out a large box from the folds of her dress, "I made it special just for you."
"Thanks Boa…" Luffy hugged her and started to eat the food she had prepared for him.
"This place is so dreary." She complained, "Why don't you come home with me now?"
"I need to get better." He said between mouthfuls of food.
"How can you get better in a place like this?" her tone was decisive as she added, "You can sneak out in my dress." She opened it up to reveal how much space it had for him to sneak out with her. He could just see it now, he would be cramped up in her dress, and sure enough, someone would catch them. Then they would really question the relationship he had with her.
To be honest with himself, he adored his sisters just as much as they adored him, the only problem was, they were a little overbearing at times. Mainly Boa.
She was the only sister that still stayed at home. She refused to move out as long as Luffy was still living there. When he had been born, she was the one that had taken care of him, she was the one that he ran to at night when terror filled him and a deep ache seemed to encompass his entire body.
"I don't want to leave here."
"What! Why not?"
"I need to get better." He said firmly. "I told you already, as long as I am having these dreams, I will stay here."
"What can they do for you that I cannot do?"
"Boa…" Luffy nearly pleaded, "It is something that I have to do. If not I think it will kill me."
She took him in her arms then and he could feel the tears slide from her smooth skin down on to his own skin. "I wish I could help you instead of these… these… these strangers."
"You do help me," Luffy said cheerfully, "You are always here when I need you, and you are allowing me to stay here so I can get better."
She gasped at his words, then she seemed to be deep in thought as she let him go, leaning back on the sofa, she said, "What will your father say when he finds out you are here?"
"He won't." Luffy said decisively, "The only way he can find out is if someone told him, please Boa, don't tell him."
"He might find out from these people."
"How?" Luffy quietly asked, "They would first need to know who he is and how to contact him."
She gasped and covered her mouth, "If they ever found out whom he is, they might kill you. This is a government facility after all."
"The people here are nice." He said defensively.
Boa looked around the room for the first time since her arrival practically. She noticed that everyone seemed to be staring at her and Luffy. If looks could turn someone into stone, then all the people in the room would be stone. "Pathetic," she mumbled, "They are not worthy of you."
Luffy shook his head, "I think they are. Come on Boa, why don't you meet them?"
"I did not come here to visit them; I came here to visit you. You think I will waist what little time I get with you talking with other people?" She looked shocked at the very notion.
"Fine," Luffy knew when to let something go that was beyond his control, and with Boa, most things were way beyond his control. "So how is everyone at home?"
"Marigold is upset with you, she called me this morning and told me to try to get you to come home, I swear, you would think that she was the oldest, talking about honor and what will the others think if they find out you are in an institution." All the while she was speaking; her hand was absently trailing through his unruly black hair, being one of the only people he allowed to take off his straw hat. "Sandersonia said that she would come with me once she found out if she could bring Bacura with her. Some rude woman told me that pets were not allowed, and most definitely not a full grown black panther, the woman was most assuredly rude. As it is Salome is out in my car, the poor thing."
"What about Marguerite?" Luffy asked about his sister that was only a year older than he was.
"She doesn't know you are here," Boa shook her head sadly, "I tried all morning while waiting in the lobby to call her and she wouldn't answer."
"You have been here since morning?" Luffy laughed, "Why?"
"You are my sweetheart, no way would I leave while you were here."
Luffy chuckled and said, "You do know that you are going to have to leave here fairly soon?"
A sad crestfallen look washed over her lovely face, "Don't torment me Luffy…"
Shock filled Luffy's face as a realization hit him, "You left Salome out in the car all day?"
The older woman looked mortified at his words, "You think I am heartless? We waited in the grass by the car till I was able to see you. He knows you are in here, and he wants to see you too."
"Maybe you could sneak him in tomorrow?" Luffy pleaded with her. "Please!"
"That is why I want you to come home with me now. If I try to sneak him in and somehow they find him, don't you think the government is looking for him? They would take him away from me, and you did get him for me."
Luffy was about to say something when the doors opened and Iceburg walked in. "Visiting time is over." He informed the room, even though the only visitor was Boa.
Boa hugged Luffy one final time before standing up, "Think about what I said, I will be back tomorrow, and if Marguerite wants to come with me, I will bring her."
"Oh yeah," Luffy's voice was somewhat muffled, "try to get ahold of Ace and let him know visiting hours; I don't think he was paying much attention last night when he brought me."
She kissed the top of his head and tried to drag him out the door with her, "I will." She said as Luffy untangled himself from her clutches.