Chapter 10: A Slight Detour
Luffy chuckled in excitement. He was giddy and couldn't stop rocking back and forth while sitting on the railing with his legs crossed. He was patiently waiting for Sanji to come out of his restaurant to join him and Robin on a brand new adventure. He couldn't wait to set sail towards Sabaody and find Zoro. However, for now, he was very excited to be sailing with Sanji again.
Robin could only smile at Luffy, happy another former member of their crew was going to join them. She to waited by the railing, anticipating the cook to come out of the door at any moment.
After a few more minutes, the person they were waiting for came out from within the restaurant. He wore his ordinary suit that both were used to and was followed right behind by Pudding. Sanji took a deep breath and observed the large marine ship that he will be boarding and smiled to himself.
'It's been so long...' He thought and placed his bag full of his stuff and clothing to turn and see Pudding face to face. "Pudding-chan...I..." She tilted her head slightly, wondering what he was trying to say.
"Sanji-san?"
"Sorry...I know I have been taking so long and you've been patient with me..." Pudding wasn't sure where he was going with this. She stayed silent and waited for him to finish. "...I'm heading off for a bit, so take care of the restaurant and the old man...and when I get back...I'll finally give you my answer." He gave her the warmest smile she ever seen on his lips. Her eyes widened and face became red at what he was insinuating with his words.
"I...I..." Pudding didn't know what to say but steam was shooting out of her ears at the possible idea she had in her head. She tried to say something, but no words came out, so Sanji did something that shook her core. He leaned forward and kissed her. Pudding's entire body became hot and red at the kiss. It wasn't their first kiss as they've been together for a long time, but this one was by far so different. There was something behind it that Pudding only felt one other time and that was their first ever kiss seven years ago.
It was a strong kiss, one with so much feelings being driven by Sanji into it. It made her knees feel weak and was only able to stand up because of the hold Sanji had on her shoulders.
"Oh my, hehehehe~" Robin couldn't help but giggle at how far Sanji has come and was happy he found someone he could fully express himself with. Did she miss his old self? At times she did, but she had to admit that that it did become a little too much. However, now she did not mind the person he is now. She looked over to Luffy and tried to gauge his expression and what he was thinking.
He was smiling. He was looking at the two and simply smiling. She didn't know exactly what to think, but seeing Luffy smile made her own widen as well. She then looked past Luffy and saw Hibari staring at the scene herself with her hands on her cheeks and face flush at the sight of affection. She couldn't help but giggle at her and how pure she was.
"Shi shishi!" Luffy suddenly chuckled.
"Hmm? What is it, Luffy?" Robin curiously asked.
"I'm glad Sanji is happy! After all that stuff that happened with Pudding, I'm glad they're happy together, Shi shishishi!" Luffy explained with a wide grin. Robin smiled. While she wasn't there during that part of their adventure, she heard the tale of what happened from Nami...including the fight Luffy and Sanji had. She promised to keep it a secret from the others, but was glad everything worked out in the end.
"K-K-K-Kiss...he's kissing her...urghhh..." Both turned to Hibari who was muttering to herself.
"Hm? You want a kiss too?" Luffy suddenly asked, surprising both woman, but with different reactions.
"W-W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, YOU IDIOT!?" Hibari screamed at him as her entire body was completely red.
"What? You were saying something about kissing..." Luffy pouted, not understanding her outburst.
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WANT ONE...I mean...with K-Koby-san m-maybe...I MEAN NO, WHAT ARE YOU MAKING ME SAY!?" She shouted and quickly ran off from embarrassment.
"What the hell is her deal?" Luffy pouted, looking at her retreating back.
"Well, it's a little unusual to ask a question like that, Luffy." Robin clarified. She knew Luffy enough to know that he probably didn't mean too much behind the question. However, her curiosity was raised. She wasn't too surprised that Luffy knew what a kiss was. After all, he must have seen people kissing before. It still caught her off guard just a little bit.
"Hm...I see...I don't get why, but if you say so." Luffy decided to just let it be. Robin did have a question to ask him, but she didn't know if it was too personal or not. She decided to ask anyway.
"Luffy...have you ever kissed anyone?" Luffy calmly turned to her and hummed.
"Nope, don't think so. Never really thought about it." Luffy admitted. "Ah, but I did hear from Chopper that Sanji's sister did save my life once by putter her lips on mine...does that count?"
Robin remembered this from when Nami told her about the events at Whole Cake Island. She remembered Nami was blushing when she told the story, but didn't think too much about it. Her lips parted, ready to give him an answer to his question, but someone else beat her to it.
"Oi...Luffy...what did you say?" Both turned to see Sanji just below them, his eyes covered by his bangs. After breaking the kiss between himself and Pudding and promising her that he'll return as soon a she could, he made his way towards the ship when he heard Luffy's answer to Robin's question. He was halfway up the ramp when he froze in his place. Pudding was at the end of the ramp, looking shocked, overhearing his response as well.
"Oh, Sanji! You ready to go!?" Luffy grinned excitedly, unaware of the seething aura he was giving off.
"Oh my..." Robin chuckled a bit as she placed a hand on her cheek.
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU KISSED MY SISTER!?" Luffy's eyes widened at the anger Sanji was displaying.
"W-Wait a minute Sanji! I didn't kiss her! I actually don't even know you count it as that!" Luffy waved his hands to try and settle him down, but his response made the blonde cook angrier.
"WHAT!? YOU KISSED MY SISTER AND YOU'RE SAYING IT DIDN'T EVEN MATTER AT ALL!?" Sanji was blazing hot now as fire erupted from his body.
"What!? No, I didn't say that at all!" Luffy shouted back, standing up onto his feet. "Besides she was the one who kissed me and sucked..."
Luffy didn't get to finish as the moment Sanji heard the word 'sucked' and erupted. "YOU'RE DEAD!"
"W-Wait, Sanji...ahhhhh..." Luffy ran away as Sanji chased after him and both began running around the ship, causing destruction everywhere.
Robin only chuckled at the two before turning to look down at Pudding. She gave her a smile. "Don't worry...I'll make sure Sanji behaves."
Pudding looked up at the older woman and understood what she meant. "I'll be counting on you." Both woman smiled at each other as they came to an understanding that Robin would not let Sanji act his old ways with any girls he meets while they travel.
"Do the same for me." Zeff arrived, his peg leg hitting against the wooden dock.
"Of course."
"YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME SANJI!" Luffy's voice rang out as more destruction was heard happening in the ship.
"YOU DAMN RIGHT I AM!"
~OP~
"CPR? Why didn't you just say so?" Sanji asked Luffy as the three Strawhats were in Koby's office all sitting nearby his desk. Sanji lit a cigarette as he puffed out some smoke as he looked over at the very bruised Luffy.
"I'm sworry..." Luffy replied through his bruises.
"Hehehehe~ Well, I'm glad the confusion was cleared up before Luffy ended up dead." Robin chuckled at her dark humor.
"Yeah...sorry about that, Captain." Luffy groaned from the pain, but soon enough, the bruises disappeared, returning him to normal. "So, we heading straight to Sabaody now?" Sanji asked Robin.
"Yes. Koby-san said we should be there in a day or so, though he did offer another stop if Luffy wants to go before Sabaody." Robin informed the two.
"Really? Where?" Luffy asked, getting excited.
"Fishman Island." She answered.
"REALLY!? That would be awesome! Let's go there!" Luffy immediately decided.
"Fishman Island, huh. That would mean we might see Jinbe...if hes there..." Sanji commented.
"REALLY!? JINBE! I WANNA SEE HIM!" Luffy excitedly exclaimed, wanting to see the older whale shark fishman.
"Well, we don't know if he'll be there." Robin informed him.
"Huh? Why?" Luffy asked.
"Jinbe became a very popular Diplomat." She answered and Luffy looked at her confused.
"Diplo-what?" He never heard that word before.
"Diplomat. Someone who involves himself in politics, in Jinbe's case, he is going all over the world trying to grow the relationship between other races and Fishman." Robin explained, though she worried that it might have been a little too complicated discussion for Luffy to understand.
"Hmmm, don't really get it, but Jinbe is accomplishing his dream, right?" Robin giggled and nodded.
"Essentially, yes." Luffy chuckled.
"Shi shishishishi! I'm happy for Jinbe! Hopefully we can see him! Let's go to fishman island! We can see everyone else and if Jinbe is there, that would be amazing!" Luffy declared as the other two smiled and nodded.
"I'll let Koby-san know." Robin crossed her arms and created a body double that popped out from under the floor where Koby was, earning a scream from Hibari that was heard by the Strawhats.
"Oh, by the way, Luffy." Sanji spoke as Luffy turned to him. "Fishman Island is no longer under the sea." Luffy's eyes widened,
"Wait, really?" Sanji nodded.
"Yep, after what happened seven years ago, Fishman Island got destroyed, but they made a new Fishman Island on the surface." Luffy's eyes widened. "Though, I guess there is a city underwater as well. Under the island is an underwater city as well that is connected to the surface city. The current Palace is in that underwater part of the island."
"That sounds amazing! I want to get there now!" Robin opened her eyes and lowered her arms as she smiled at her Captain.
"Well, we should be there by sunset so it'll be a perfect stopping place to rest before we get to Sabaody. Koby-san agreed so that's our next destination." Luffy grinned widely and raised his arms.
"This is gonna be fun!"
~OP~
A few hours later, with the sun setting in the horizon, the large New Marine Battleship was approaching the new Fishmen Island. Luffy was already at the front of the ship, gazing at the marvel of the new home of the Fishmen and Mermaids. He looked down briefly to see a couple of Mermaids swimming alongside the ship, with some waving up at him with wide smiles. His eyes were full of wonder as the new Fishmen Island glowed with the majestic colors of the sunset.
"Woah!" Luffy was simply stunned. The surface part of the island was fairly large. Coral reef looking landscapes arched and made up most of the land. There was a large palace like tower at the far end of the island that towered over the rest. Buildings were on parts of the coral reef structures and what surprised Luffy the most were the trees that also surrounded parts of the island. He was then reminded of the promise he made with the Princess of Fishmen Island and wondered if she was able to go on the walk.
He believed she did and believed that his crew were the ones who fulfilled that promise. While he was a bit disappointed he couldn't keep his promise, he couldn't blame her. If his crew was able to do it, then he was okay with it.
"Beautiful, right?" Robin commented as she placed a hand behind her hair to keep it from going over her face. Sanji was beside her and looked at the island with a smile. It's been a while since either of them traveled to Fishmen Island so this was going to be fun for them as well.
"Yeah...I can't wait to go and explore it!" Luffy grinned.
"Just don't make a ruckus." Hibari approached the group. "Remember, you're supposed to keep your identity a secret." Hibari told him and crossed her arms.
"Ehhh...that's boring..." Luffy whined.
"I don't care! Koby-san told you this, remember!" Luffy pouted. "Don't give me that face!"
"Luffy not causing a ruckus? That's almost impossible, Hibari-chan." Sanji commented.
"Then keep him on a leash or something. Aren't you his crewmates!?" She countered as Robin and Sanji looked at each other before chuckling. "What's so funny?"
"Hehehehe~ Try as much as we can, once Luffy gets excited, its hard to keep him in check." Robin told her. "But that's just how he is."
"Sounds stressful." The two only agreed.
"In any case, we should probably go visit the King and Shirahoshi-chan the moment we arrive." Sanji suggested.
"Ee, it's been a while since we saw them. What do you say, Luffy?" They turned to look at their Captain, only to find him missing.
"What!? Where did he go!?" Hibari searched frantically for him.
"Well, if he's anywhere...probably that thing over there that's flying towards Fishmen Island." Sanji pointed towards the island in front of them. Hibari narrowed her eyes and saw a small figure flying towards the island and recognized it immediately as it being Luffy himself.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" She screamed in pure agony as Luffy's crew mates only chuckled at their Captain's antics.
~OP~
Luffy laughed as he rocketed himself from the ship towards the island. He reached one of the taller coral reef structures and stretched his arm, wrapping around it before landing his feet against the side of it. He raised his head and stared in wonder at the beautiful surface city of the New Fishmen Island.
It was bustling with Fishmen and Mermaids as long canals allowed some of the mermaids to swim across the city and towards other parts of the island. It was full of so many different variants of fishmen and mermaids, but what he also saw were humans. Humans of different races alongside the Fishmen. They were smiling, being happy and conversing with one another. There were also different races as well. He saw minks, members of the longleg tribe and even a Giant. His eyes widened as the Giant was helping someone move some construction materials for a couple of fishmen construction workers.
"Sugoi! This place is so amazing." He watched some of the fishmen and mermaids swim across the water canals that worked like highways helping them reach different places across the city and wished he could try it. However, he was a devil fruit user, so he wasn't able to and the thought made him pout in disappointment.
"Ladies and Gentleman!" Luffy perked his head up and searched for the voice, only to find out it was someones voice speaking through a Den Den Mushi loudspeaker. "MAKE WAY FOR THE PRINCE OF JOKELA KINGDOM!"
"Ooooh...what's that!?" Luffy asked as he saw a giant carriage heading towards the large palace building across the other end of the city.
There were large group surrounding the carriage of what looked like guards of this prince. Luffy was curious about what was happening and let his curiosity get to him as he stretched his arm to get a closer look. He swung through the city, grabbing the edges of the canals, buildings and other coral reef structures until he landed on the roof of the large building that the carriage stopped in front of.
He looked down to see someone come out of the carriage and it was someone who looked incredibly gaudy. A lot of jewelry, fancy clothing, fairly tall, blue hair, a pointy chin and smug expression. He also had a mustache that extended on each side into a swirl. He had a crown on his head embedded with jewelry and a cross shaped top with gemstones in the shape of the four suites. Heart, Club, Spade and Diamond.
Luffy took one look at him and found him to be weird and the aura around him reminded him similar to other royalty he never liked. However, he stopped caring about the Prince when the next person to exit the carriage was a tall, blue whale shark.
A very familiar, Blue Whale Shark.
His eyes widened when he noticed who it was. It was the former helmsman of his crew. Someone who saved his life and made him get through the tragedy of Ace's death.
"JIN-"
"Is everything ready for the assassination of the Mermaid Princess?" Luffy's ears perked up at that. He looked around. There was no one near him, at least from where he was. He looked down and noticed a couple of strange individuals with hoods in an alley way, just far enough from the crowd, but were still able to keep their eyes on the prince.. Luffy furrowed his eyebrows at them.
He looked back over to where Jinbe was. He was talking with that prince guy. He desperately wanted to go and give Jinbe the biggest hug he could give the larger fishmen. He clenched his fists and remembered what Koby told him.
We need to keep your identity a secret, at least until we see Sabo-san...
Luffy hated that rule when he was this close to seeing an old crew mate of his, but his attention was now on the hooded individuals who wanted to kill Shirahoshi.
"Yes, as long as that Prince does what he needs to do and get close to the Mermaid Princess, then that would be the moment he swoop in and kill her."
Luffy's eyes widened when he heard this. His face scrunched into a glare and was getting ready to go and launch himself at the hooded men, but before he could, the men were already on the move and entered the large building through a back end.
"Jinbe...Shirahoshi..." Luffy needed to stop them. He looked back over to where Jinbe used to be and saw he, the prince and his guards entered the building themselves. He clenched his fists and started looking for a way in. He then saw a window that was left open and entered it. When he was inside, he realized something important...he had no idea where he was going.
END