Chapter Text
In New World, the Strawhat pirates sailed across the sea, planning to meet with their friends in Wano. The soft beats of the ocean waves brushed against the hull of the Thousand Sunny. Its captain, Monkey. D Luffy rested peacefully on the head of the ship. He lifted his straw hat off his face to stare at the dark blue waters.
“Oi! Luffy, lunch is ready!” Sanji called out.
Not wasting another second, the young captain jumped onto the deck towards the blonde man. The grass cushioned his feet as Luffy launched himself up the stairs and into the kitchen. “Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat!” Luffy chanted in a cheerful tune as he plopped down on the wooden chair. Generally, the cook wouldn’t allow Luffy into the kitchen after making a mess, this would apply to blowing it up. However, Sanji couldn’t find it in him to lift a foot toward his captain, he’d done enough of that. So he’d let Franky deal with Luffy’s consequences.
Now that Luffy was seated at the table it was a battle to make sure their rubber captain didn’t steal their food. Nami, the navigator, always reminds Luffy of the consequences of stealing from her, setting her apart from others. Don’t believe her? Ask Luffy about the time he got strung upside down on the crow's nest. This was not the same for the rest of the crew. Out of the four crew members, only one of them wasn’t prepared for the young man's antics. The poor bunny mink was left defenseless against the bottomless pit that was Luffy.
“LUFFY! STOP THAT- YOU HAVE YOUR OWN FOOD!” Carrot hollered angrily. The mink tried grabbing his rubbery hands but failed due to the latter’s newfound observation haki. Yes, his fight with Katakuri, a sweet general of the Big Mom pirates, had left Luffy beaten up but also left him with a humongous appetite. Stretching his mouth to inhuman lengths, Luffy stuffed his mouth with food from his plate and food he took from his crewmates. The musician wasn’t as bothered by this as Chopper or Sanji, he didn’t need to eat but enjoyed the taste of food. Brook picked up his plate and handed it to Luffy. Letting out a small thank you before going back to eating.
“Luffy, come to me if you’re still hungry,” Sanji stated, putting a bowl of curry in front of Brook. “It is quite alright Sanji-san,” said the skeleton, “If I had to be deprived of your cooking any longer I’d be nothing but bones! Oh- But I’m already bones! YO HO HO HO HO!” laughing at his own joke. “Kay Sanji,” Luffy replied stuffing another piece of meat in his mouth.
Once everyone had finished stuffing themselves, the straw hats were left to their own activities. Sanji stayed in the kitchen with Brook to clean, Nami sunbathed in the deck with Chopper reading some medicine books, leaving Luffy to sit on top of Sunny’s head. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the captain had become bored and craving another adventure.
They were on their way to Wano to meet up with their friends. According to Nami that wouldn’t happen for a few weeks, and that’s without making any stops to the islands for supplies. Luffy knew that there would be times similar to this where he’d be bored but that didn’t make it any better. He was well aware of his decision when the crew separated and stood by it, and was glad they got Sanji back from Big Mom, he’d just wished something interesting would happen.
Like a genie, there was a powerful surge that consumed the ship. Everyone was immediately on high alert, Sanji and Brook came out of the kitchen and took a battle stance. The sky started to turn dark as the sea became fierce like a wild beast, sending huge waves into the Thousand Sunny. A loud eerie noise collided against Luffy’s ears a surging pain entering his head, it was similar to what happened in Zou but more painful.
Slipping off Sunny’s head, Luffy stumbled near the helm like a drunken man, his precious straw hat hanging down his back. It was like pins and needles were being stabbed into his brain, causing an itch that tempted Luffy to tear his head open to scratch his brain. Clawing at his head and pulling his hair he fell to his knees and let out a gut-wrenching scream that pierced the howling winds.
" LUFFY!” yelled his friends running up the stairs to his side. “Luffy! What’s wrong?” Chopper cried worryingly, trying to pull the young captain's hands away from his head. Emphasis on tried. Luffy did not answer the reindeer and groaned in pain, still clawing and pulling his hair. “Stop doing that!” Sanji bellowed, grabbing Luffy’s hands and holding them in place.
“What’s wrong with him?” Carrot cried with tears forming in her eyes. “Chopper-san is he hurt?” Brook questioned, helping Sanji somewhat restrain Luffy from further causing himself harm. “I-I don’t know! His wounds are perfectly fine and there aren’t any visible injuries,” the reindeer explained, “There could be some internal injuries so I’ll need to-” his sentence was caught off when a massive wave crashed into the ship causing it to tilt.
The pirates were thrown all over the deck like ragdolls, aside from Sanji holding both Nami and Carrot. “Garchu Sanji!” Carrot cried while clinging to the blonde man. “Yeah, thanks Sanji,” Nami followed. In a high-pitched tone, Sanji swooned, “You’re welcome ladies! It is my pleasure to serve you~” Yes, the cook of the Strawhat pirates played favorites and wasn’t afraid to show it.
“US GUYS DESERVE SOME PROTECTION TOO YA’ KNOW!” Brook beckoned, waving his bony fist in the air.
Chopper frantically looked around the deck, panic and fear draining the color from his face. Lightning danced across the sky with the roaring sounds of thunder shaking the ocean waves. Nami glanced at the sea before shielding her eyes from the blinding light the lightning produced. The redhead looked at her log post with a confused and somewhat frustrated expression, ‘What the heck! Where’d that storm come from? We couldn’t have reached Wano already!’ she thought intently.
“LUFFY FELL OVERBOARD!” Chopper’s cries echoed through the storm's deafening roars.
Despite the crashing sounds of ocean waves beating into the wood and the hollowing winds, the world went silent. It wasn’t the kind of silence at night or the one that came with sleep, no, it was as if there was a void. This didn’t bring peace or comfort.
Without a moment's notice, Sanji had thrown off his black double-breasted suit and tie before diving into the raging sea. Chopper attempted to jump in to help but was held back by Brook who reminded him that he lacked any ability to swim. Even so, out of the three people who didn’t have devil fruits, only one of them was capable of retrieving Luffy.
‘Damn it! Of all the times Jinbei couldn’t be here…’ Nami thought grimly. Not that she’d actually blame the Fishman for such poor timing. They would just have to trust Sanji for the time being, not like he wasn’t trustworthy; despite some recent events. Even so, there was a sickening feeling in her stomach that didn’t feel right to her.
Let’s hope it’s just the anxiety…