A/N: Domo.
Chopper sat on the ship's railing, quietly watching Drum, still glowing gently in the night, shrink in the distance. Behind him, his new companions laughed freely in celebration. Since eating his Devil Fruit, Doctor and Doctorine had been the only people Chopper interacted with. He couldn't remember doing a lot of celebrating in his life.
A hand fell on his shoulder. Chopper looked back and found Usopp grinning at him.
"Yo, Chopper," he said. "Gonna sit here all night? C'mon, this party's for you!"
The young reindeer hopped down from his perch. Usopp cleared his throat and stomped his boot a couple times.
"This," he said, spreading out his arms. "Is the Going Merry, the greatest caravel in the world! Nay, in history!" Usopp leaned in, looking serious. "She's our home out here. As she protects us from the sea and the elements, so we must protect her. Never forget that."
Chopper stared, eyes wide. He'd been embraced by a sense of comfort immediately on boarding Merry, but he'd had no idea the ship was so awesome. He nodded, doing his best to show that he understood the gravitas of his new responsibility.
Usopp broke out into another grin and ushered him toward the lower deck where the others had gathered.
"Hey, you morons, have a little tact!" Nami said, scolding the other boys. She gestured to a blue-haired girl and a huge duck they'd pulled out of the water before they left.
"That's princess Vivi," Usopp said, pointing at the girl. "And her duck, Carue. We're escorting them home to Alabasta."
Chopper looked between Vivi and Usopp. He wondered how often princesses were found on pirate ships. Everyone else seemed pretty casual about the arrangement.
Clearly, he had a lot to learn.
"Carue!" Vivi said, huddling and hugging the duck. "Why were you in the water?"
"Q-quack." Carue croaked out.
"Um," Chopper said, looking from the duck to Usopp. "He says someone called Zoro jumped in the water and didn't come back up, so he dove in after him."
Nami walloped the man with green hair on the head.
"So it's your fault!"
"Zoro's our swordsman," Usopp said. "Rarely as scary as he looks."
"Tony-kun," Vivi said. "You can understand Carue?"
"Uh-huh," Chopper nodded. "I'm a reindeer first, so I can talk to any animal. I had to learn human language."
"Chopper," Nami said with a wide smile. "That's amazing! A doctor who can talk to animals–that'll be incredibly useful!"
Chopper's face turned hot, and he averted eye contact.
"Stupid," he said. He definitely didn't grin or dance. "Being praised won't make me happy! Stupid asshole~!"
"He looks pretty happy." Luffy said flatly.
"Nami-san," Sanji said. "What's this about a doctor?"
Apparently, Chopper hadn't been recruited for his medical expertise.
"You didn't know?" Nami asked, side-eying Luffy and Sanji. "Then why were you so keen on him in the first place?"
"He's a reindeer Zoan monster with seven transformations." Luffy said.
Chopper blinked. Twice. He was floored by his new captain's admission. He glanced back at Usopp, who just shot back a knowing grin. Chopper had a life's worth of experience being ostracized as a monster; he had zero experience being praised for it.
"Told ya." Usopp murmured.
"Emergency food supply." Sanji said.
Chopper balked, eyeing the cook warily.
"Don't worry," Usopp said with a wave of his hand. "Vague threats are one of the ways Sanji shows affection."
"That was vague?"
"Coming from Sanji? Absolutely."
Chopper gulped and retreated a little closer to the sniper. He wasn't afraid! He just had to prove he was worth more as a doctor than as a meal.
'Doctor…'
"AAAH!"
"What's wrong?" Usopp asked.
"My bag!" Chopper shouted. He scrubbed his hooves against his head. "We were in such a hurry leaving, I–! All my medical tools are in there!"
"This isn't it?" Nami asked, producing his backpack from somewhere. "It was already in the sleigh, so I brought it."
"Huh?"
Doctorine must've known–even before Chopper did–that he'd go with them.
"She took good care of you, huh?" Nami asked knowingly.
"Mm." Chopper nodded, quietly hugging his satchel.
Close by, the boys were howling with laughter, watching Luffy parade up and down the ship with chopsticks jammed in his nose and mouth.
"Hey!" Nami barked. "We're having a moment here!"
Chopper blinked; he'd shoved them one end of the chopsticks into his nostrils and propped the other ends on his lower lip. It felt kind of uncomfortable, and he couldn't see his face–was he doing it right?
"You don't need to copy him!"
"He can do whatever he wants," Usopp said proudly. "He's a pirate now!"
Zoro and Sanji broke into an argument; Carue fled from an overeager Luffy trying to share the booze; Vivi ran around trying to stop him; and Usopp caterwauled from his perch on the mast.
Chopper laughed. He'd never set foot on a ship before, let alone left the island–and he'd become a pirate!
"This is the most fun I've ever had!"
Nami smiled.
"To Chopper, our new nakama!" Usopp declared.
"KANPAI!"
Chopper lay in his new hammock later that night, wide awake despite the hour. Snoring bunkmates and gentle waves were a marked contrast to what he was used to; the nights on Drum were fairly quiet save for persistent winds and the occasional pattering footfalls of creatures in the snow. He wasn't afraid–men of the sea weren't afraid of anything–his mind just refused to settle down.
As a child, he'd been kicked out of the herd for his nose, only allowed to live apart, never as a part.
In his hammock, steady breathing surrounded him on all sides; a constant reminder that, for the first time, he had people. Humans who called him nakama.
A herd of his own. Or, given how many predators were on board, pack sounded more appropriate.
He had a pack.
Chopper stifled a delighted giggle.
"?"
Not quite quietly enough, though.
Usopp, coming down the stairs with his boots in one hand, crept near-silently up beside Chopper's bed.
"Oi," he whispered. "You still awake?"
Usopp leaned on the edge of his hammock; Chopper naturally rolled toward him to fill the dip.
He nodded; he didn't see any point denying it.
"What's up?"
Chopper tapped his hooves together, letting his eyes rove over the room before he answered.
"The air smells different."
Usopp tilted his head. Chopper wondered how best to explain it; being an animal first, he had a sensitive nose that left him keenly aware of changes in his environment. He'd never experienced any climate or ecosystem than Drum's. The tension of his sudden departure, while not unpleasant, was slow to fully uncoil.
"Hm," Usopp hummed, a surprisingly understanding sound from a human. "Say, have you heard of the great pirate Woonan's treasure?"
Chopper blinked and shook his head. Usopp leaned in closer.
"He was one of the most fearsome figures to travel the seas, and his treasure among the most coveted."
The sniper grinned conspiratorially.
"And we found it."
Chopper barely restrained an exclamation of awe.
"Where? How? What was it?"
Usopp put a finger to his lips.
"Follow me to the galley, my good doctor," he said, stepping back. "And I shall tell you the tale."
Chopper all but leapt out of his hammock, tailing the sniper up the stairs. Usopp began his narration in low tones to avoiding disturbing the rest of the ship.
"Our crew was only four strong back then, and we'd been suffering poor morale for days, wanting for any food…"
"No sudden moves, you two," Usopp murmured out the side of his mouth. "He can smell fear."
Sitting beside him on Merry's railing, both Chopper and Carue beaded a cold sweat. Behind them, on the main deck, Sanji stared down a seated, decidedly uncomfortable Luffy.
"I carefully stocked our pantry with enough food to last until Alabasta," Sanji said, glaring at the boy captain. "How did it all vanish in one night?"
Luffy's eyes shifted all around the ship, looking anywhere except at the cook. He squirmed where he sat, shifted his shoulders back and forth, and held his crossed ankles in his hands. He generally looked like he'd be more comfortable doing anything else.
Put frankly, he sucked at playing innocent.
"I dunno." Luffy muttered through pursed lips.
Sanji grabbed Luffy's face and leaned down.
"Oi, look at me when I'm talking to you."
Luffy only redoubled his efforts to avoid eye contact. Sanji clicked his tongue and grumbled a moment.
"Hey," he said in a suddenly lighter tone. "You've got something on the corner of your mouth."
"Crap!" Luffy blurted out, scrubbing at his face. "Leftovers!"
"SHITTY RUBBER!"
Thwam!
'The sound of rubber impacting wood should really be less startling.'
Usopp chose to focus on that thought instead of impending pain.
Munch. Munch.
"Shh!" Usopp hissed at Carue.
"Hey guys," Sanji said, strolling over to where the three of them sat, each holding a fishing pole. "How's it going?"
"Great," Usopp said without missing a step. "Don't worry, Sanji–we shan't be going hungry tonight!"
Chopper nodded vigorously beside him. Usopp risked a backward glance. The cook's smile looked calm enough. The sniper had the benefit of experience, though, which told him otherwise.
'Abort!'
"Run!" Usopp said, swinging his legs up and ducking out of harm's way.
"Kuh!"
Neither Chopper nor Carue reacted in time. Sanji clapped their shoulders and cracked their heads together.
"Tengu!" Sanji shouted. "Sit still and take your punishment like a man!"
As the oldest crew member on the ship–via technicality, natch–Usopp responded appropriately.
"I don't wanna!"
He narrowly ducked under a kick and fled toward the stern with Sanji in hot pursuit. He zipped around the mizen mast, dancing on his toes and circling to keep Sanji at a distance.
"Look," Usopp said, halfway pleading. "Luffy got up in the middle of the night for a kitchen raid. Chopper and I were already awake, so…" He trailed off. Sanji only glared harder at him. "What was I supposed to do, stop him?"
Usopp expressed solely through tone just how ludicrous he found that idea.
"Yes!" Sanji snapped, unsympathetic.
The cook cut straight across to get at him. The sniper dove beneath a vicious roundhouse and scrambled back to his feet. He ran back down to the deck and hopped over a sprawled out, napping Zoro.
With his sights on the marksman, Sanji trampled over the sleeping swordsman, twisting his heel for another kick.
"Hngh!"
Zoro grunted into wakefulness, immediately cranky.
"You wanna die, cook?!" Zoro barked, shooting to his feet with two swords already in hand.
"Hah?" Sanji snarled, responding almost instinctively and turning his glare on the swordsman. "You still asleep, marimo?"
Zoro slashed. Sanji kicked. The air between them crackled and sparked.
And, before things escalated, Nami smashed.
"Quit it, you idiots."
Usopp let out a sigh, safely overlooked.
He cocked his head to one side, narrowly avoiding one of Nami's haymakers.
… Mostly overlooked.
"You've got to sleep sometime." Nami said in an ominous tone.
"Demonstrably false." Usopp retorted, though not with much confidence.
"Hey, Vivi," Luffy said, recovered. "What sorta guy is Crocodile, anyway?"
Vivi blinked, taken aback by the sudden question. She canted her head down, staring at the deck's floorboards before slowly looking back up.
"In Alabasta," she said, her tone excessively even. "He's considered a hero."
Half a beat passed in silence.
"Hero?" Nami parroted, blinking.
"No one at home knows that he leads Baroque Works," Vivi said. "The people only know he's a Shichibukai who repels any pirate attacks. Of course," Vivi's jaw twitched. "Nobody suspects him of causing every other issue plaguing the country."
"Shichibukai?" Chopper said in a curious tone.
Usopp addressed the question to give Vivi a moment.
"Seven insanely strong pirates who answer to the World Government."
In theory, anyway. In practice, powerful pirates possessed powerful personalities; thus, they were even less interested in following orders than most. The majority of them did just enough to maintain the hold on their bounties.
"That position wards away scrutiny, and allowed him to direct Baroque Works from Alabasta as Mr. 0." Vivi said. "He commands two thousand agents across the Grand Line; they're drawn in by a false promise of prominent positions in his utopia. But he's never relayed orders directly before."
She traded a significant look with each of them.
"If his operation's approaching the final stage," she said. "Then it means the remaining officer agents will be returning to Alabasta."
The air around the desert princess hung heavy.
"So," Luffy said. "I just gotta kick this Crocodile's ass, right?"
Vivi blinked again; her brow jumped up in surprise. She huffed, breaking into an involuntary, if small, smile. As ever, Luffy cut through tension without the slightest effort.
"Yes," she said. "There are a few other things, but the problems start and end with him."
Luffy grinned and pumped his fist in the air.
"Yosh! Full speed ahead to Alabasta!"
He ran up the stairs to Merry's bow, likely aiming for his Captain's Seat.
"Full speed!" Chopper declared, mimicking and racing after the captain.
"Getting into the country shouldn't be too hard if we're careful," Usopp mused aloud. "Crocodile thinks we're dead now."
Vivi nodded, looking a bit more at ease with every word.
"That's true," she said. She turned and smiled at Sanji. "Thank you, Sanji-san."
The cook grinned and dipped into an exaggerated bow.
"I am at your service, Vivi-chan."
"The only issue right now is what we're going to eat." Nami said, turning a glower onto Usopp.
The sniper shrank back.
"I said I was sorry." He muttered.
"No, you didn't, actually."
"Oh… Sorry."
"There're probably still a few non-perishables," Sanji said, scratching his head. "I can't make anything I'd call a meal out of that, though."
"AAAH!"
Chopper came screaming back down to the main deck, circling the mast in a panic.
"Tony-kun?" Vivi asked, alarmed.
"LUFFY GOT SNATCHED BY A GIANT SEAGULL!"
"What?!" Nami blurted, craning her neck to look skyward.
Usopp canted his head–he did hear the sound of his captain laughing overhead, now that he was listening.
"Oh, perfect timing." Sanji said casually, expression brighter.
"We've gotta do something!" Chopper yelled, still frantic. "Why are you guys just standing around?!"
"Did he say he wanted help?" Zoro asked.
"No," Chopper said, shaking his head. "He didn't."
"Just leave it alone, then."
"But"
"Chopper," Usopp said, coolly pointing upward. "Watch."
Luffy, whose head was still caught in the huge gull's beak, stretched out and twisted his arms around each other. He circled back and snatched the bird's head in his hands–the poor thing suddenly starting spinning wildly in midair as the tension of Luffy's arms gave way, and the rubber boy slammed it face first into Merry's floorboards.
Luffy himself landed with a heavy whump on both sandaled feet, grinning from ear to ear.
"Shishishishi! I caught lunch!"
"Ooh," Sanji said appraisingly, striding up to inspect the bird. "I can work with this."
"Not bad." Zoro said, trading a predatory grin with his captain.
"Luffy," Nami said, frowning. "You cannot eat all this in one sitting!"
"Sure, I can!"
"That wasn't a challenge!"
Usopp lazily brought up the rear and noticed Chopper gawking at the scene. The young doctor shivered and broke out into a grin with shining eyes.
"Pirates are awesome!"
Usopp laughed. He caught Vivi's eye; the desert princess, contrary to her countenance earlier, easily exchanged smiles with him.
The near future held its share of problems–Usopp knew for a fact they'd be out of food again inside of a day–but for the moment, the Straw Hats had nothing to worry about.