A/N: ZareEraz here! I have another rapid update for you so enjoy! :3

(Updated October 2024)

Chapter 3: Moving House

"Oh wow! Zoro look at this!" Luffy was running all over their new ship, the Going Merry, leaping up onto the railings and swinging himself up into the sails to see it all.

"Yeah, Luffy. I see." Zoro was looking over the ship as it left Syrup Village behind them. His meager pile of belongings was at his feet. So were Luffy's because the boy couldn't be bothered with putting them somewhere else when he had a ship to moon over. They didn't have much, but while they'd been together, each of them had picked up a few things here and there. For his part, Zoro had a few changes of clothes and equipment to care for his swords, but other than that, he didn't have a lot. Luffy had one other shirt, one other pair of shorts, half of a pair of sandals, and a few "cool" things that he'd found on various islands. Out of all of them, Usopp had the most stuff, but Nami wasn't too far behind. It was a good thing the ship was big enough to hold all of it.

"I told you we'd get an awesome ship, didn't I? This is so cool!" The rubber man's eyes sparkled as he shot over to the figurehead and plopped right down between the Merry's horns. "This is the captain's spot!" he shouted.

"Then it shall be my spot!" a rather annoying voice shouted back, striking a pose with his foot on the railing outside the kitchen. "For I am Captain Usopp!"

"No! Usopp I'm the captain!" Luffy snapped back, glaring at their new friend.

"You'd better get over that fast, Usopp," Zoro sighed, rubbing his neck. "Luffy's more persistent than you are."

"Whatever," Usopp huffed, playing it cool. "Well, I'm going to go get the best bed!"

"No, you're not! The best and only bed is mine!" Nami shouted from her newly claimed room. "The three of you get the hammocks and there will be no arguing!" Usopp quailed under her fury and decided that that battle was not worth fighting.

"Whatever you say," he mumbled meekly, sweat running down his face. "Then, I'm going to get the best hammock! The one on the top!" Usopp shot down into the ship, heading for the boy's quarters.

"No! I'm on the top!" Luffy shouted, jumping off his spot and running down the stairs at breakneck speed after the known liar. His hat came flying off his head but the rubber man stretched his arm back and caught it before it hit the ground and dragged it along with him. Usopp laughed manically and disappeared into the Merry with Luffy close behind.

Zoro rolled his eyes at Luffy's choice of words but then realized that he hadn't picked out a hammock either and that he was quickly losing his chance to sleep near Luffy! He neglected to acknowledge that he tended to sleep everywhere at any time and that Luffy would also frequently sleep near him from anywhere on the deck. Now that the deck was bigger, the two of them had a lot more places to sleep, but that still didn't mean that he shouldn't fight for a hammock next to his captains. That was unacceptable!

"Crap!" Zoro shot off down into the ship as well, hot on the heels of his captain and their new crewmate. "Get back here you two!" All of a sudden the deck was quiet, a nice change from the usual ruckus that Nami had come to expect from her companions. However, the quiet was quickly interrupted by fighting downstairs, muffled by the Merry's walls but loud enough that she knew that those boys were getting into trouble. However, Zoro's behavior was a little odd; he didn't normally participate in petty fights unless he was dragged into them.

"What got into him?" Nami said to herself, after watching the odd swordsman dash after the others. She thought about it for a minute, also remembering how Zoro had seemed a little prickly around her in the beginning when she'd joined him and Luffy. Then it dawned on her, and the woman smiled knowingly. "Oh, I see. How silly of you Zoro." She giggled to herself and went back to making sure they were on course.

To be Continued...

A/N: And there you go! See you all later! :3