Of Ships and Thoughts

.

Luffy sat at the bow of the ship looking over the water. He fidgeted impatiently. He needed to

go.

He was sure this was the fastest way, but it was still so slow. The old fisherman agreed to take him to Conomi Islands in exchange for protection from pirates and help with the nets.

Luffy could usually talk people into what he needed, and this time it was really easy. The old man was captain of a deep-sea fishing vessel that was struggling to make quotas this season. They needed to get into deeper waters, but a Sea King had moved into the region and was a danger to crew and ship. It hadn 't taken much to convince the old man to let him join. The six other fishermen had been skeptical until Luffy had punched the Sea King and asked if the cook could make it for supper. Then they were happy to have the teenager onboard.

For some reason they decided they didn 't need help with the nets after all. Luffy wasn 't sure why. He thought it was much faster the way he did it. Instead he was asked to be lookout and keep an eye out for trouble. It was boring, and he needed to get to his special people. Luffy sighed loudly.

'One more day, boy. We are nearly there. You should be able to see the islands just after sunrise. You can get yourself to land before dinner. '

'Yosh! I can 't wait. I have things to do and people to find. '

XXXxxx

Brook sat on the side of the ship, peering into foggy water. It was truly a nightmare he couldn 't wake himself from. He screamed into the mist just to hear his own voice echo. His friends, companions, crew, had vanished into nothing.

Was it all a dream? The past years of living, adventuring, seeking fame and fortune and battling enemies. Standing beside the man who would be King. Was it all delusion?

He stood and leaned against a wall.

'45 degrees! ' he laughed with no audience to hear the desperation.

He attempted a more acute angle and slid to the ground. Laying on the gritty deck he sobbed. He called his soul from his body, proving with a skill he mastered in the time-that-wasn 't that it wasn 't all imagined. Shadowless and trapped he may be, but Brook was not mad.

Not yet.

He pulled back into himself and ran a finger over the wood, scratching at the salty surface. An idea was forming. A beginning of a thought. Brook hummed softly.

'Yohohoho yo ho-ho ho ' '

XXXxxx

Franky hummed softly as he worked.

This is gonna be SUPPPER!

He sketched and scaled. He would need to design something bigger. But not too much bigger. He would only have access to so much Adam wood. Their crew was small but full of

specialists.

Each would need a space to hone their craft. His heart ached at the memory of the beautiful

Thousand Sunny

. His beautiful dream ship. He leaned away from the work bench as he sobbed the manly tears she deserved.

No two ships could be built exactly the same. Just as he refused to rebuild the brave

Going Merry,

he could not, would not, attempt to recreate the

Sunny.

It would dishonor the memory of the old and impose a heavy burden on the new ship. Instead he started from scratch. He had made thousands of small adjustments to the

Sunny

and Usopp 's collaborative creations had expanded their arsenal as well. There was no reason not to include those designs from the outset. Not to mention all the Suuuuuper surprises be had in store for the crew.

Franky dreamed up a beauty of a ship. He made lists for each of his nakama and doodled details that would make each of them smile. He sketched and scrapped dozens of figure heads as he tried to imagine how to top the King of Beasts for their future King of Pirates. None of the lions he tried seemed right. It was too much like the

Sunny

.

He heard the rustle of clothes and quiet whispers as some of his crew peaked in on him. Franky didn 't mind an audience. He made it clear that this was his private thinking space and his bros respected that. As long as they kept their distance, they could totally check in on him. He had a lot of work to do getting the Franky Family settled here on Water 7 without him.

XXXxxx

Nami gathered her baskets of tangerines and looked over at the people gathered on her porch. Zoro was polishing a sword aggressively. It was strange to see the unfamiliar blade and even stranger to see him looking so slender and wiry. Nojiko was looking so hopeful with the treasure displayed in neat piles on the table and kitchen counters, sorted and organized to display for whoever would come and appraise or collect it. The bounty hunter duo were sharpening their blades and watching Zoro with worshipful gazes. Half the town was on her lawn.

When she announced that they were 800 thousand belli short of the total her sister had gone for a walk. Nami hadn 't thought much of it until neighbors began knocking. Neighbors bringing belli. A hundred here, two thousand there, each offering pressed into her hand with a thank you.

Looking over the treasure she had now, it was overwhelming. 100,002,150 belli by her best guess in coins, stacks of cash, gems, and treasure. Six years of thieving, a dozen bounties, and the life savings of her neighbors. She would get to tell Arlong she had the money. She would get to tell him that it was here. She swallowed.

'You should let us come with you. If something goes wrong ' ' Zoro spoke low, cautious of the positive atmosphere.

Her village was on the verge of celebration.

'You need to hide. Whatever happens, they will want to look at the treasure. Someone will have to come here. Weapons are not allowed in the village. '

'Nami ' '

'Just, just let this play out. We know how it 's going to go but ' '

'It could go worse. Last time he pulled a dirty trick, this time you actually have all the money. I 'd feel better about this if you- '

'Boat! ' someone called from the hill. 'Coming in fast! '

'Fishmen? '

'Hide! ' Nojiko called to the bounty hunters.

Zoro stood quickly but he was grinning.

'How does he do that? ' Zoro laughed. 'Lucky bastard! '

'Is it ' ' Nami started to smile looking hopeful.

'Luffy! '

Nami laughed, grabbed his hands, and spun them both in a circle. Zoro grumbled but allowed the manhandling, still grinning.

'What are you two going on about? ' Nojiko hollered.