Author's Notes: Just a heads up, I added something to the end of Chapter 5, nothing major, but I thought of something nice to do when Luffy meets his crew. You can go check it out, but it's not needed for this chapter. Enjoy the chapter and thank you again for reading my work!

Chapter 7: Onward to Luffy Gorge

"Do you have all that, Gabi-chan?" Robin asked the younger woman with a smile. The glasses wearing woman nodded as she looked up from the pieces of paper that held instructions and hopes from Robin in rebuilding the library.

"Yes! You can count on me, Robin-san. When you return, the library will look as good as new and even better than ever before." Robin giggled at her enthusiasm.

"Fantastic. Just don't go too overboard with some of the stuff. The main goal is to make sure the books are protected." Gabi nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." Robin giggled and thanked the girl for her help as she prepared to set sail once again with her Captain.

"ROOOOBBIIIINN!" The two woman turned their heads up towards the railing of the battle ship and saw Luffy waving his hands at his crew mate. "Koby says we're all set to sail!"

Robin giggled at her Captain's excitement. She turned to Gabi and gave her a warm smile. "Well, I guess I will take my leave. Thank you again."

"No problem, Robin-san. I know how much you must have missed sailing with your Captain so enjoy yourself. I'll take care of things here." Robin nodded and gave Gabi a warm hug. They embraced and when they pulled away, Robin took a look at the crowd around them. They were all patrons of the library who were grateful for Robin and everything she did. They all gave her words of encouragement and good luck as she was setting off to travel once more.

Luffy observed it all with a big smile on his face. He was incredibly happy to have reunited with one of his friends and crew mates. However, what made him happier was seeing the love and fondness the people were showing Robin. It made him ecstatic that people really cared about her, after what she had to go through.

Deep down, he had the fear of his crew unable to rejoin him on adventures. After all, he was gone for seven years. They must have had built new lives. He was ready to accept the thought they couldn't travel with him. However, he was happy that at least one of them was going to join him.

Next stop was Sabaody. Apparently Zoro was spotted near there, which meant that he was going to reunite with his first ever crew member. He had every right to be as excited as he was.

Robin said her goodbyes and gave one last look at the library she built and the giant tree behind it. She smiled fondly before heading towards the ramp and up onto the battleship.

She turned over to Luffy. "I'm ready to set sail, Captain!" She smiled.

"Yosh! Let's set sail!" Luffy cheered with a fist in the air.

"Did you forget whose ship this is…?" both Strawhats turned to Hibari who eyed Luffy.

"Ah…right…Koby! Lets sail!" Luffy yelled instead.

"Would you stop that!?" Hibari screamed at him as Robin chuckled.

"You really haven't changed, huh Luffy?" Her Captain grinned and chuckled along with her.

Hibari only sighed. "Seriously…"

"Now, now.. can't blame him for being excited." Koby told as he approached the group.

"Y-Yes…" Hibari stuttered.

"Yo, Koby! Come on, let's set sail already!" Koby chuckled.

"Right. Ah, but I must remind you that we are trying to keep your identity a secret, Luffy-san." Koby told him.

"Ah right…"

"Well, that explains the Marine Uniform on you, Luffy. Doesn't really suit you." Luffy nodded in agreement with Robin.

"Feels weird wearing one…" Luffy complained, earning a chuckle from her.

"Well, don't worry about it too much. We don't want to create any unnecessary commotion until we at least see Sabo-san." The Admiral told him.

"Shi shishishi! Can't wait to see the surprise look on Sabo's face." Koby and Robin chuckled.

"I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you. However, our next stop is Sabaody. Usually it would take days to get there, but since what happened and what you did, it takes only a day of travel by ship through Luffy's Gorge."

"Ah, that place named after me? Shi shishishi, it must be a cool place." Luffy felt his excitement rise.

"Hehehe~ I'm sure you'll love it. Speaking of which…" She turned to Koby. "…how much did you tell Luffy?" Robin asked.

"Not much, just a few key points. You'll probably be better at telling him about other stuff that happened in the past seven years, Robin-san." He replied with a sheepish smile.

"I see…I'll be happy too. What do you say, Luffy?" Luffy grinned.

"Oh, more stories and stuff? I can't wait to hear them!" Luffy's stomach then grumbled. "Ah, I'm hungry though."

Robin chuckled warmly. "Maybe it'll be better to tell you over some food."

"Shi shishishi! Yeah! Koby! Food!" Luffy exclaimed loudly.

"Oi! Don't just…" Hibari was going to scold him, but was stopped by Koby.

"Its alright, Hibari. I'm sure the two of them have a lot to catch up on." He turned to the two. "You can stay in my quarters for now. I have some stuff to take care of. If you need anything else, just ask Hibari."

"Huh!? Why me!?" Hibari asked in surprise.

"Please." He offered a warm smile to which she felt her cheeks get warm and red.

"O-Okay…"

~OP~

Robin giggled to herself as she watched Luffy devour food after food, just like he did during their sea faring days. It brought her so much warmth and nostalgia. It truly was great to see Luffy back and being his usual self.

"How in the world are you able to eat so much?" Hibari questioned as she the trio sat around Koby's desk. Luffy in the center, Robin to his right and Hibari across from him. She protested against Luffy sitting in Koby's seat, but Koby told her he didn't mind and left before she could protest. 'Honestly…you're too nice sometimes Koby…but I guess that's why I…' Hibari shook her heads from those thoughts. This wasn't the time to think about that.

"Luffy…here you go…" Hibari looked up and her eyes widened and her cheeks turned red as Robin took a fork, that Luffy didn't bother to use, and was basically trying to feed Luffy. Luffy turned and grinned as he leaned towards the piece of meat on the fork and chomped down on it. He gleefully chow down on the food as Robin chuckled.

"Thwanks…Robwin…" Luffy muttered with food in his mouth.

"Anytime." She replied with a wide smile on her face.

"W-What was that!?" Hibari suddenly screamed, standing up from her seat. The two turned to her and tilted their heads to the side in confusion.

"What is what?" Robin asked with a sly smile.

"Y-You were feeding him!" Hibari exclaimed.

"Hmm...is something wrong with that..." Robin picked up another piece of meat with her fork and fed it to Luffy. He chomped down on it in glee and chew his food. Robin was amused by the bashful look on Hibari's face.

"I...well...I thought that...you know...does that mean...you two...are a thing...?" Robin's eyes slightly widened at her question, but gave her a sly smirk. Hibari gulped at the seductive expression on the older woman's face.

"Oh...does it look like that...who knows...maybe we are..." Robin narrowed her eyes at Hibari before looking over at Luffy. The former captain of the Straw Hat Pirates was oblivious to the topic of the conversation as he continued to stuff his face.

"W-What!? N-No way..." The naïve and pure girl couldn't believe what she was hearing. She never imagined the two of them to be intimate with each other. It made her feel awkward for being there, but also jealous of their relationship.

"Hehehehe~ I'm kidding."

"Huh?" Hibari blinked at her and felt her face get red from embarrassment.

"Luffy and I aren't a couple, hehehe~. We're just really good friends. Besides, doing this is fun." She chuckled as she fed Luffy again.

"Yummy! Thwanks, Robin!" Luffy chuckled as he ate.

"N-No way..." Hibari felt so embarrassed from her poor assumption. She was acting like a teenager when she was a grown adult. She hid her face in her hands to hide from their gazes. "Urggghhh...I feel so stupid..."

"No need to be hard on yourself. It's perfectly normal to make that assumption." Robin told her.

"R-Really?" Hibari asked softly, looking up at her.

"Luffy is someone important to me. He gave me a home and allowed me to meet people who I cherish so much. He also allowed me to live my dream and the dream of the people of Ohara. I owe so much to him." She said while looking fondly at her captain.

"Shi shishishi! No problem, Robin!" He told her and went back to eating. Robin could only chuckle.

"I-I see..." The lieutenant

"However, I wouldn't say I never thought about it once." Robin confessed.

"H-Huh!? R-Really!?" The young new marine girl gasped at the revelation. "W-Wait, should you really be saying this in front of him?"

Robin chuckled. "It's all in the past, I don't carry any feelings like that anymore. Besides, I'm afraid of the competition."

"Huh?" Hibari blinked in confusion.

"Competition? There's a competition? Where? Is it a fun?" Luffy ears perked up at the mention of a competition.

Robin chuckled. "I guess there is one...though it's one you cant participate in per say."

"Huh? Booo...that sucks..." He pouted in disappointment.

"Huh? Wait a minute, you're saying there's multiple people who like him like that?" She exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry, I just...I'm just surprised..." She apologized realizing how insensitive her question came off as. Luffy only simply tilted his head, not sure why she was apologizing for.

"Hehehehe~ Luffy has his charms. If you know him long enough you'll notice them as well." Robin replied to her. "It never surprised me he'll be sought after...thought it would be quite a challenge for them."

"I-I see..." Hibari stared at Luffy who continued eating. 'I still can't see it...though...that doctor did seem to be interested in him...' She turned back to Robin. "Like who?"

Robin hummed. "Don't think it's my place to say. Especially with him here. Though, I do know one that isn't shy about hiding her feelings. After all, she asked him to marry her the first time I met her."

"W-WHAT!? MARRIAGE!?" Hibari couldn't believe what she was hearing. Someone wanted to marry him? Not that there was anything wrong with marrying him, she just couldn't believe someone was brave enough to outright ask someone to marry them.

"Marriage? Oh, you mean Hancock? Oh, I wonder how she is doing, Shi shishishi! We should stop by sometime." Luffy chuckled as he remembered the tall Empress of Amazon Lily.

"WHAT!? H-Hold up! Wait! The Empress? Really?" Hibari was stunned by this revelation. However, when she thought back to the war seven years ago, she did notice how the most beautiful woman in the world acted in front of him.

"Hehehehe~ We were shocked too. Never expected our captain to charm her." Robin chuckled.

"She always asks me that whenever I see her. It gets annoying sometimes. By the way, how is she?" He asked curiously.

"She's still technically the leader of Amazon Lily. However, she doesn't do much sea faring these days`. Though, a lot of people report that she barely comes out of her castle anymore. Been this way for seven years." Robin answered.

"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked, munching on a meat stick.

"Some are calling it a severe case of love sickness...I guess she couldn't handle your death well." Robin answered, eyeing her captain to see his reaction to the news.

"Huh? I see..." Luffy had mixed emotions. He was grateful for everything Hancock did, but to hole herself up in her castle was a weird thing to do because he died. He understood her feelings for him, maybe not completely, but her asking him constantly to marry him told him enough. He wanted her to continue living her life without worrying about whether he was alive or not. "I don't like her doing that." He blurted out.

"Oh?" Robin was slightly surprised by his response.

"W-W-W-Wait...does that mean you..." Hibari felt her heart beat against her chest.

"I won't marry her." Luffy bluntly said.

"H-Huh? W-What?" Hibari was shocked. She always heard about how beautiful Hancock was and when she first saw her, she was stunned at how beautiful she was. To think she wanted to marry Luffy was shocking. What was more shocking was how the man of her interest was not showing any interest in her.

"Hancock always asks to marry me and I keep telling her no. It gets annoying, but I know she's a good person. I just don't want to marry her." He replied and took another bite.

"S-So...you don't feel the same way?" Robin eyed her captain as she waited for Luffy's response to the Lieutenant's question.

"Feel the same way what?" He asked, tilting his head.

Hibari groaned. "I meant, do you like her? Like...love...?" She blushed.

"Love?" Luffy asked as he stared at her. The two felt their heart beats rise, wondering how Luffy of all people would respond. "...like how you love Koby?"

Hibari jumped from her seat and felt a huge blush show up on her face. Robin couldn't help the laugh escape from her mouth. Luffy truly never ceased to amaze how blunt he was.

"W-W-W-W-W-WHAT!? I-I...I-I DON'T...I...W-WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME THAT!?" She stuttered from the sudden embarrassing question.

"Hm? Did I ask something weird? I'm confused..." He looked over at Robin for help.

"The hearts of a maiden can be a very delicate one. You said nothing wrong, but bluntly asking someone if they love another person can be embarrassing. That being said..." Robin eyed Hibari. "...Admiral Koby-san...huh?" She smirked at her and it only made Hibari blush harder.

"N-No...I...wait! This isn't about me! I was asking you if you loved Hancock!" She tried to avoid talking about her infatuation with the pink haired Admiral. Luffy tilted his head.

"But I don't know what you mean by 'love' exactly. So that's why I wanted to know if you meant like how I love my brother or like how you love Koby."

"Stop saying that!" She yelled at him. "Why would I talk about familiar love anyway!?" Luffy groaned and pouted.

"I was just asking..." He told her. "Well, if you're not talking about that then my answer is no. That's why I keep telling her I don't want to marry her." He crossed his arms.

Hiabri sighed and sat back, feeling her entire body get hot from all the embarrassment she felt. "Geez...you really are going to give me a heart attack..." She told him and then eyed him. "The most beautiful woman in the world and you don't even want to marry her. I can't imagine any guy say no to her...except Koby-san of course...I mean no...I...damn it what are you making me say!?"

"Huh? I didn't do anything. Besides, I know she's pretty, but I don't care about that." Luffy replied, taking another piece of food.

"Oh?" Robin hummed, intrigued by his statement.

"You don't care?" Hibari asked.

"Of course not. I know when someone is pretty or beautiful. I don't care though. If I like them for who they are then I like them. Don't know about love though." Luffy answered honestly.

"So, you never felt love for anyone?" Hibari asked.

"N..." Luffy was ready to say no, but suddenly stopped himself. This made both woman look at him with slight surprise. He looked down at the food and stayed quiet.

'Why did he go quiet...?' Hibari wondered.

Robin's mind scrambled to all the possible people Luffy could have been thinking about. A few came to mind, but she couldn't honestly figure out who Luffy could be thinking about at this moment. She had a few reasons to give some more thought than others, but Luffy sometimes was complex in regard to his emotions and even she had a hard time figuring out what went through his mind. There was one she kept thinking back to, but she couldn't quite be sure if her assessment was right.

"I...I don't know..." He finally replied. He then went back to eating.

Hibari wanted to continue questioning him, but Robin stopped her, using her powers to place a hand to her shoulder. "Let's leave him be." She told her and Hibari sighed.

"Fine."

"So...how long have you liked Koby-san?" Robin gave her a teasing smile.

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT BACK TO THAT!" Robin chuckled.

"I'm just a curious person is all. Don't worry, we won't say anything to him." Hibari felt her face get red from their eyes on her and she looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"I...I..." She debated with herself whether to confess to her about her feelings for the Admiral. She fiddled with her fingers before releasing a deep sigh. "A long time ago, I...I had lost my stuff toy bear...don't laugh..." She glared over at Luffy who tilted his head in confusion. She pouted and then continued. "...that bear...it was very special to me...I...I lost it during a battle with pirates and I thought I lost it forever. However, Koby-san...he...he spent night and day trying to find it because he knew how precious it was to me. He got scolded by our superiors, but defended himself because he somehow knew how important it was to me. I...I don't know why he did it, but he managed to find it and returned it to me. It made me...happy. I guess since then..." She smiled softly at the memory.

"That was very sweet of him." Robin smiled softly at the young girl. "Ahhh...young love..."

Hibari blushed and turned her head away with a deep scarlet blush on her cheeks. "S-Shut up..."

Luffy stopped eating before chuckling. "Man, Koby is such a great guy, Shi shishishi."

"Right!" Hibari perked up and agreed with excitement. However, she realized how excited she got and blushed in embarrassment. "I mean...yeah he is..."

"Have you told him?" Robin asked.

"What!? O-Of course not...I mean...I...can't..." Hibari waved her hands in front of her.

"Why?" Luffy was the one to asked with his mouth filled with food.

"Because it's embarrassing and...and...he might not feel the same..." Hibari replied, her voice lowering with each passing word. She felt her heart slightly ache at the thought of Koby not returning her feelings.

"Hmm...that's dumb..." Luffy bluntly replied.

"What would you know!?" Hibari asked, slamming her hands on the table.

"Let's calm down now. Sorry about that, Hibari-chan. Luffy sometimes is very blunt about things. He didn't mean anything bad about it. However, I do agree with him a bit." Robin spoke up to calm the young girl down. "Sometimes its better to confess than live life wondering about 'what ifs'. Granted you should do it when you're ready, but it's better to tell him than wait too long and lose your chance." Robin explained to her.

"I know...I know...it's just...I'm afraid..." Hibari replied softly with her head down.

"Just do it." Luffy added.

"You're really insensitive...you know..." Hibari glared at him.

"Luffy...this is something she has to do when she is ready..." Robin told her Captain.

"Hmmm...I just don't get it. Be honest and say what you feel. That's what I always did." Luffy retorted.

"That's all fine and dandy, but you're the last person to understand how this makes me feel..." She narrowed her eyes at him with a frown.

"Hmmm...really?" Luffy tilted his head and looked at Robin.

"Well, she may be right on that. Love is a complicated feeling, Luffy. Like you mentioned before. You don't know if you ever felt that way. Unless you do feel that way about someone, you might be hesitant to just say it out loud." Robin explained to him, hoping he might understand somewhat.

"Hmmm..." Luffy hummed.

"Besides, I'm fine with the way things are now. As long as I'm standing by his side, then I'm happy. One day, I will tell Koby that I-"

"Tell me what?" Hibari jumped up to her feet in shock as she heard the voice of her crush. She slowly turned her head and saw Koby standing behind her with a puzzled look on his face. Robin and Luffy both felt the mood of the room change as the Admiral and his lieutenant stared at each other. Hibari's face became hot in complete embarrassment.

"W-Wha...h-how...when did you...get here...?" She stuttered with her eyes spinning.

"Hm? Just now. I heard someone slam something and came here to check if everything was okay. Ah, Hibari-san...your face is red, are you getting sick?" Hibari couldn't handle the emotions building up in her body and stormed out of the room with a loud scream. "Ah! Hibari-san!?"

"Oh my..." Robin chuckled.

Luffy observed the scene while munching on his food as he thought about what Robin said. Did he ever feel Love? Sure he knew when people were beautiful and he loved his brothers, friends, his Grandpa and to an extent his Dad, but they never really got to know each other close enough for him to be sure. He loved Makino like a big sister and he also had love for his crew who he had so many amazing adventures with. Was that the same? No. He knew it was different...but he wondered if he did ever feel that way.

Luffy didn't know, but he did feel something. When Hibari asked him if he ever felt that way, he always felt confident that his answer would be that he never did. However, something stopped him from saying no. Some...mystery feeling. He didn't understand it.

Robin silently eyed Luffy, wondering what he was thinking about. Even after coming back to them, he was still the same Luffy. Yet, she felt something about him that was different. She didn't know what it was yet, but she was intrigued on finding out.

Koby turned and sighed. He turned to the two left in the room. "What happened?" He asked them.

"Nothing." Robin answered before Luffy had a chance to respond. "Let's just say girls are complicated." Koby tilted his head in confusion, but decided to just accept her response.

"I see. We should be approaching the Gorge soon." He told them as Luffy felt excited.

"Really!? I can't wait to see it!" Luffy chuckled. To see something named after him was a form of excitement he never experienced before and it made him excited.

"Hehehe~ It truly is a magnificent sight to see for the first time." Robin chuckled, feeling the level of excitement exploding out of her captain.

"Shi shishishi!" Luffy laughed, bouncing in his seat.

"Admiral!" A Marine grunt stood in front of the door to Koby's office as he saluted at him. Koby quickly stood in front of Luffy to hide him from the grunt's sight.

"Yes."

"I've been sent to inform you that we need to restock our food supply." Koby sweat dropped at the news as Luffy continued to eat behind him.

"I-I see...hahahaha...well then...we should definitely find a place to restock." Robin was heard giggling behind him.

"Yes! We also have received word that we will be able to at Luffy's gorge." The grunt told him.

"Hm? How?" He asked him.

"The Chateau Blue is currently docked there."

"Ah, I see. Then let us stop there. Thank you. You may leave and close the door behind you." The grunt saluted and closed the door.

"Oh my...hehehehe~" Robin giggled as Luffy looked over at her.

"Hmm? What's this chata blue?" Luffy asked.

"It's a restaurant, Luffy-san." Koby answered.

"Restaurant?"

"Ee. Owned by someone you and I know very well." Robin added with a wide smile.

"Huh? Who?"

~OP~

"How long do you plan on making me wait?"

"If all you're gonna do is complain, then get out of here, old man!"

"I would if you ever serve me my damn food!"

"Shut up! You will eat when it's ready! This is my restaurant, not yours!"

"Then, hurry up! I'm not young anymore!"

"You were never young!"

"Is this how you treat your customers!?"

"You're one to talk!?"

"Please, calm down. The food will be here shortly."

"At least someone here knows how to be polite. By the way, when you two getting married?"

"M-M-M-Married!?"

"Would you stop that!?"

"Then hurry up and get married and get me my food!"

"I will filet you!"

"Try me!"

"S-Sanji-san...let's not damage the restaurant again."

The blond hair man turned toward the voice and gave her a sincere and warm smile before bashfully rubbing the back of his head. His beard was tied in a braid that went down about a foot in length. his bangs were longer and slightly wavy at the ends, while covering one side of his face. His swirly eyebrow was as swirly as always and wore a chef's robe and hat over his suit.

"Ah. You're right, sorry Pudding-chan." The light brown hair girl blushed before turning away to avoid looking at him. Her short, shoulder length hair bounced with her movements as she her bangs were combed to the side, showcasing her third eye. After years of being conscious about what people thought of her third eye, she was now proud of it. After all, the person she cared about the most called it beautiful and his opinion was the only one that mattered to her. She wore a full chef's uniform with a small chef's hat on top of her head.

"D-Don't look at me like that, S-S-S-Sanji-san!" She responded loudly with heart eyes but a angry look on her face.

Sanji only chuckled at her reaction. He then turned back to the older man.

"Your food will be here soon, just wait old man." He told him.

"Fine, but hurry up already." The old man crossed his arms and lightly tapped his peg leg.

"Stop doing that!" He shouted at him.

"Then hurry up!" Sanji growled and glared at his former mentor Zeff. Zeff looked the same as he always did, but it was clear that old age caught up to him real quickly, yet he still had so much energy for a man his age. He felt a headache coming on. He sighed before heading back to the kitchen, Pudding right behind him.

"S-Sanji-san? Are you-" Pudding asked as they entered the kitchen where cooks continued to cook people's food.

"I'm fine. He's just an old fart who got nothing better to do than complain." He responded with a smile to Pudding. Pudding blushed and turned her head away, but had a smile on her face. "Ah, right. Are the desserts almost ready for Table 4?"

"Yes! I just finished them and they were sent out." He smiled at her and nodded.

"Amazing as always, Pudding-chan." She couldn't hold it in and foamed at the mouth as her eyes turned to hearts.

'AHHHH! HE PRAISED ME AGAIN! HOW DARE HE!? I MEAN...AHHH...' She felt so happy at his praise.

"Head Chef!" Sanji turned his head to see one of his station chefs approach him. "We received word that a Marine Ship is heading towards us and require supplies. They have already paid in advance."

"Heh...well...get those supplies ready then. We can spend an extra day here to restock." He told him.

"Right! Oh and they left a special message directed towards you." Sanji raised his visible eyebrow.

"Message?"

"Yes, from a Nico Robin." Sanji's eyes widened and turned to hearts.

"A LOVE LETTER FROM ROBIN-CHWAN!" He quickly grabbed the letter to read it's contents. However, before he read a single letter, he felt an aura behind him and gulped as Pudding was pouting and glaring at him with her three eyes. He coughed to clear his throat as he retained his composure. "I mean...that's great to hear that Robin-chan sent me a message. It's been a while..." He then read through the one line.

Heading you way and bringing a very special gift for you, Sanji. Can't wait to see you.

Nico Robin

"Hm? Gift?" Sanji wondered. "A GIFT FROM ROBIN-CHWAN!" He celebrated only to clam down by the aura he felt from Pudding behind him.

"Ah, sorry Pudding-chan. Old habits...hehehe..." He chuckled.

"I know...I know...sorry..." Pudding calmed down and smiled at him. "I'm glad you get to see an old friend." She smiled, but Sanji could still feel an aura emitting from her, even if it was lesser in pressure.

"Y-Yeah..." He looked down at the message. 'Though...what could the gift be...and my reaction...? What is Robin-chwan up to...wait...Marine ship? None of this make sense...' He scratched his head trying to guess what this gift was. "Well, let's reserve a table and prepare a wonderful feast for our VIP guest!"

"YES CHEF!"

END