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It had been several months since the Straw Hat crew had reached Laugh Tale, the last island, and their captain had been crowned King. With a crown of straw on his head and the wind at his back, Monkey D. Luffy had taken the world by storm, completely abolishing the established order. The notions of Good and Evil, of Justice , were nothing in the face of the boy who had become King.
Being so close to the Red Line, so close to Laboon and yet so far away, separated by an impassable mountain several kilometers high had been unbearable. A few nights, Brook had even managed to convince himself that he could hear his friend singing if he listened. It had only been the sound of the waves and the whisper of the wind, but somehow it had comforted him. So Brook sang with Laboon.
But now he was closer to Twin Cape than he had been in decades. In a few days, he would see his old friend again who had been waiting for him for far too long. It would have been a wonderful coincidence that their reunion fell on his birthday but they still had a few days of travel left before reaching their destination. No matter, Brook had been patient and had waited years, that was not what was going to ruin this special moment.
At least that's what Brook thought.
When he woke up on the morning of his birthday, Brook was amazed to see the sandy shores and giant cacti characteristic of Whiskey Peak. The sky was blueand clear, revealing the Red Line on the horizon, its unmistakable red and titanic mass in the middle of the ocean. Brook rubbed the eyes that he didn't have (yohohoho, skull joke) still thinking he was dreaming, but no. The Red Line was well within sight, Laboon was close at hand.
“Yo,” Franky-san greeted as Brook approached the bow of the ship, his step even lighter and perkier than usual. “Happy birthday Brook!”
“Thank you very much,” replied Brook, tipping his hat in Franky-san's direction. “May I ask how did we get to Whiskey Peak so quickly while we were still in Drum yesterday?”
“Oh, it's Luffy-bro's super idea, he absolutely wanted us to arrive at Cape Twins today for your birthday. So Nami-sis manipulated the updrafts to increase our speed and I used our last reserves of cola. We should arrive at our destination in a few hours!”
“I am very touched, thank you very much,” said Brook, moved. “What music do you think our comrades would like to wake up to?”
“Any of your music will please them, as long as it comes from you,” Franky-san replied honestly, sliding his tinted glasses over his nose to protect himself from the rays of the sun rising over the horizon. “Maybe not hard-rock though.”
“Yes, I seem to remember that our dear navigator does not appreciate being roughly awakened,” Brook laughed softly. “Especially when we have her beloved Queen on board.”
“Maybe she'll give you a pass for your birthday,” Franky suggested.
“I highly doubt it,” Brook replied. “Nami-san is rather fierce, and that's why we love her.”
Luffy-san's selfishness, Zoro-san's poor sense of direction, Nami-san's temper, Usopp-san's tendency to lie, Sanji-san's inability to fight against a woman, Chopper-san's naivety, Robin-san's dark humor, Franky-san's habit of not wearing pants and Jinbei-san's stubbornness, all these character traits would have put off more than one person. They would have tried to make them change, to transform them into people they were not.
But they fit so well with Brook's social ineptitude, his habit of consistently saying the wrong thing at the wrong time after years of talking only to himself.
Each of them were individually brilliant, flames of hope and beauty lighting up the dark night, but together they were the most beautiful and heartfelt melody Brook had ever heard. A unique symphony in the world that Brook had the honor of play every day.
It was this tune that Brook played to wake up his nakama in beauty (and gently, because he still wanted to live). A mMusic that matched perfectly with the sound of the waves on the hull, the clanging of Sanji-san's pots in the kitchen, Luffy-san's regular snoring, the rustling of Robin-san's turning pages, the quiet whistling of Franky-san and the metallic vibrations of Zoro-san's sword strikes in the air.
When they woke up, Chopper-san's hooves against the wooden deck, the thud of Usopp-san's falling from his hammock, the brush in Nami-san's hair, the clinking of Vivi-san's jewelry and the dripping of water falling to the ground after Jinbei-san's morning swim, would harmonize naturally with the rest of the music.
“Breakfast is ready!” Sanji-san shouted as doors opened all over the Sunny.
Brook suspended his final note in the air for a few moments and closed his eyes for a moment to appreciate its purity. Franky-san applauded enthusiastically and Brook bowed to greet his audience, his violin in one hand and the bow in the other.
“Would you do me the honor?” Brook asked, offering Franky his arm with a look towards the kitchen.
“With great pleasure my friend,” replied Franky-san, following in his footsteps.
In the kitchen, Brook sat in the center of the table under Sanji-san's direction, and a small pointy party hat was placed on his head by Usopp-san. He was almost lost in the mass of his hair, but the spirit was there. Nami-san placed a cup of his favorite tea in front of him and didn't scold him too harshly when he asked if he could see her panties as a birthday present. A bump as big as his hat still appeared on his head when he made the same request to Vivi-san.
The two girls sat next to Jinbei-san who was reading the newspaper, occasionally circling articles that might be of interest to the different members of their crew. He handed part of the newspaper to Zoro-san who had just arrived in the kitchen with a towel on his head. Zoro-san grunted, which meant thank you in his vocabulary, before wishing Brook a happy birthday.
As she walked behind him to sit down, Robin-san kissed his cheekbone, which would have made Brook blush if he had skin. Luffy-san, very enthusiastic, decided to imitate her.
“Happy birthday Brook!” Luffy-san shouted, extremely close to his ear. “Did you see? We're going to see Laboon today!”
“Indeed, it’s a wonderful surprise. Thank you Captain.”
“Shishishi, that’s normal,” Luffy laughed. “Brook waited to see Laboon for so long.”
Luffy-san, who seemed to have decided that Brook would make a perfectly suitable seat, stretched out an arm to steal a piece of toast from Usopp-san's plate. He helped himself to everyone's plates, only avoiding Vivi-san's plate when Nami-san tried to jab his hand with her fork. He did Brook the same favor and let him eat without having to protect his breakfast “‘cause it’s your birthday.”
“I can't wait to see Laboon,” said Luffy-san once full, “and the Flower-Guy.”
“I can't wait to meet Crocus-san,” Chopper-san intervened. “He is very well known in the industry, the doctor to the Pirate King!”
“You too are the Pirate King's doctor,” Robin-san pointed out to him.
“Oh yes it's true!” Chopper-san exclaimed. “But don't think that makes me happy, you idiot.”
Chopper-san began his little embarrassed dance on the table and Brook was about to take out his violin to accompany him when he heard a forgotten song, a harmony that he had never managed to fill despite all these years.
“Laboon!” Brook exclaimed as he rushed out of the kitchen, breakfast and morning concert forgotten. “Wait for me Laboon, I’m coming!”
There was less than a kilometer between him and Laboon and yet the distance seemed as impassable as from the Florian Triangle, as from the other side of the Red Line. Laboon had grown so big, almost as big as Reverse Mountain, scars marking his body.
“Laboon!” Brook shouted, waving his arms to get the whale's attention. “I missed you!”
For the first time in over fifty years, Laboon left his post as watchman at the Twin Capes and rushed towards the Thousand Sunny, the honestly terrifying emblem of the Straw Hat Pirates still intact on its forehead. Brook couldn't wait any longer. He jumped off the deck, running so fast across the water that he didn't even sink. Brook met Laboon halfway and crashed into his forehead, his arms extended as far as possible to give his friend a hug.
“Laboooon! I'm sorry it took me so long to get back. But I'm here !”
Laboon swallowed Brook whole.
His screams of terror echoed off the walls of Laboon's belly, Brook fell through a hand-painted sky, cloud by cloud, and landed in front of a lounge chair where a man was reading the newspaper.
“What are you doing here?” Crocus-san asked with an intensity Brook didn't know he had.
“Crocus-san, it’s me–”
“It's been a long time, my friend,” Crocus-san cut him off without worrying about his answer. “I'm glad you're not dead.”
As usual, his crew was never far behind him and the Thousand Sunny landed a few minutes after him, creating a wave of gastric juice that sprayed Brook and Crocus-san.
“Why?” lamented Nami-san, curled up on the deck of the ship. “Why do we keep getting eaten by big fish?”
“I'm too cute to be digested,” added Usopp-san.
“Flower-Guy!” Luffy-san shouted as he catapulted himself towards Brook and Crocus-san.
Brook caught his captain at the last minute, before he fell into the gastric juices. “Thank you Brook. Okay, now how do we get out of here?”
“It’s your fault we’re here!” Nami-san shouted from the ship, held back by Usopp-san and Chopper-san. “You're the one who insisted we get eaten for “old times sake”!”
“It was funny, huh?” smiled Luffy-san, barely aware that only the distance which separated him from Nami-san allowed him to stay alive.
“Follow me,” Crocus-san sighed . “I imagine you want to greet Laboon properly.”
“Thank you Flower-Guy,” said Luffy-san bowing, his manners always coming out when Brook wasn't expecting it.
Crocus expertly guided them outside and the Straw Hat Pirates settled on the shores of Twin Cape. They greeted all of Laboon in turn, or introduced themselves to him for the first time, but Luffy-san was the only one who was able to give him a real hug by stretching his arms long enough to go around the gigantic whale twice.
“I said I was sorry,” Vivi-san apologized, bowing deeply to Laboon.
Unfortunately for Vivi-san, Island Whales had long memories and even more stubborn grudges. Laboon would never forget, let alone forgive, Vivi for trying to kill him and eat him a few years ago. Even Crocus-san looked at the Queen of Alabasta with a scowl. Robin-san patted Vivi-san's back comfortingly.
“Yosh, are you ready for our rematch?” Luffy-san asked while rolling up his sleeves, after everyone had finished catching up.
Laboon agreed enthusiastically and the smile Luffy-san gave him in return was feral. He activated his Gear 2 and lunged at Laboon, who sent him flying with a headbutt. Luffy-san crashed into the Red Line, cracks several meters long forming in the red rock. Laboon was happy and was more playing with Luffy-san and the waves than fighting. But that was normal, Brook's captain understood people better than they knew themselves. He attracted them to himself with natural ease, as the Sun attracted the planets of the solar system to him.
Brook and Laboon were no exception.
“You have become stronger!” Luffy-san exclaimed. “But I am even stronger!”
Luffy-san activated his Conqueror’s Haki and Brook let himself be lulled by his magnetic aura. He had nothing to fear from his captain and neither did Laboon. Because if Emperors like Kaido or Big Mom had ruled through fear, the King ruled through respect. In reality, he didn't ruled at all. Laboon bowed to Luffy-san, gently rubbing his head against Luffy-san who was laughing out loud.
“It's time to party!” Luffy-san declared. “Sanji, meat!”
“Aye aye Captain,” said Sanji-san, finishing his cigarette, an amused smile on his lips.
No one protested the fact that it was only ten o'clock in the morning and a barbecue was set up next to the lighthouse and Zoro-san rolled three barrels of sake out of the cellar. He sat down with Jinbei-san and Crocus-san on deck chairs and started drinking. Franky-san built a slide that went from the lighthouse to the sea in record time, under the amazed eyes of Usopp-san and Chopper-san. Usopp-san took a float-covered Chopper-san on his lap and they went down the slide, laughing. Sanji-san took care of the barbecue, occasionally preventing Luffy-san from eating still raw meat. Vivi-san and Nami-san slipped away for a moment and everyone gave them the grace to believe their flimsy excuse.
“Brook, I have something for you,” Robin-san said, a carefully wrapped gift in her hands.
Surprised, Brook gently took the package from Robin-san and removed the wrapping paper. Inside was a thick black leather album. Brook opened the first page and held back a sob when he saw a photo of his old crew with Laboon, fifty years earlier. The memory of that day came back to him, it was Crocus-san who had taken this photo, the day before they left for the Grand Line.
Brook turned the pages one by one, barely daring to breathe. Each sheet was covered with photos, bounty posters or newspaper articles, all relating to the Rumbar Pirates. Brook closed the album and held it to his heart, tears in his eyes.
“Thank you Robin-san, from the bottom of my heart. This means more to me than you can imagine.”
“It's only natural, Brook,” Robin-san said , placing her hand on Brook's shoulder. “That's what friends are for.”
Brook hugged Robin-san and she put her arms around Brook's waist. As usual, she let Brook separate their embrace, giving him as much affection and space as he needed. What wonderful friends he had.
“I think it's time for a song,” Brook said, taking out the Audio-Dial that he had kept for over fifty years from his pocket. “What do you say, Laboon?”
Laboon, despite his imposing size, rejoiced and dove into the water. The waves created came to the shore, soaking Sanji-san to the bone. This had the merit of attracting the attention of the rest of the crew who gathered around Brook.
“I'll keep this safe,” said Robin-san, retrieving the album to prevent it from getting damaged.
“I dedicate this song to Yorki, the captain who made me fall in love with the sea and to Monkey D. Luffy, the captain who saved me from the darkness. Luffy-san, Zoro-san, Nami-san, Usopp-san, Sanji-san, Chopper-san, Robin-san, Franky-san, Jinbei-san, Vivi-san, my second life would have been very sad without you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart that I no longer have, yohohoho.”
His crew returned his smile, all pressed shoulder to shoulder to listen to Brook sing. Brook activated the Dial, letting his old crew join the new in their reunion with Laboon. He had done it, he had kept their promise to Laboon.
The words came out of his mouth as easily as he breathed. One by one, his nakama joined him, their voices harmonizing perfectly, as if they were always meant to be heard together. Laboon joined him last, his song hauntingly beautiful. A tear ran down Brook's cheek as he let himself be swayed by the music.
Yohohoho, yohohoho, yohohoho, yohohoho