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RUMBLE!	By : TreeStar Category: +M to R > One Piece Views: 7990 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
RUMbLE!

13

Failure to Launch

~ **~ * *~ *~~** ~** ~

Upon entering the kitchen, Luffy was hit with the rather odd smell of delicious food and something metallic that he couldn�t quite place. It wasn�t something he�d smelled since becoming small, of that much Luffy was certain.

He began to bop around in Zoro�s hand, looking for the source, until his eyes fell on the Weird Thing in the corner.

OOO! What was that? It was something new! It looked similar to a barbeque pit, only smaller. A bit of a roundish-flatish thing was propped on three metal bars in a triangle that supported it a little off the ground. The lid was closed right now so he couldn�t see inside.

With a disparaging face at the thought of having to wait to explore it, he turned back to his table full of nakama. Apparently there was some weird tension going on here. Usopp looked hurt, like he had been mistreated unfairly or something, and Zoro was talking heatedly with Sanji. Because of this Chopper looked nervous while Robin tried to distract him with shop talk. Nami was looking from Zoro to Sanji and back, bored with the whole thing.

But the tiny troublemaker wasn�t actually listening to any of the words being tossed around until he heard his name. �What?� Luffy took his eyes from his friends at the table to look up at Zoro in question.

Zoro shook his head. �Don�t worry about it,� he frowned without taking his eyes off Sanji�s back. The cook was still wearing that cut up suit, and apparently hadn�t noticed it yet.

Luffy felt really guilty about that. Even though he hadn�t actually done anything wrong, it had been done for him, and he didn�t want Zoro to get into trouble for it. Still, someone was going to take the fall for it eventually, and with Sanji�s temperament being what it was without nicotine and Zoro being the only one who could currently defend himself against that, Luffy wasn�t sure what he could do to help.

He wished he could do something to make what Zoro did okay, but the destruction of personal property was a crime that Luffy considered inexcusable on his ship. It just wasn�t something that nakama should be purposefully doing to each other, and he knew it wouldn�t be able to go unpunished. A captain couldn�t play favorites. Not even for his first mate, no matter how close they were.

But Zoro had done it for him, to make his special little bed in his boshi. How could he punish that? If only he could make Sanji understand how much better his bed made him feel when it seemed like things kept getting worse.

Zoro slumped onto the bench, his eyebrow twitching in irritation. Probably about getting the third degree for walking in the door 45 seconds later than Sanji had wanted him to or something. Sanji�s really unbalanced right now, Luffy thought to himself as Zoro plonked him onto his yellow placemat, which was all his and he loved. That in mind, it was surprising to Luffy that no one had mentioned the holes in the purple suit yet, even though they had all seen it. If they�d asked about it in passing before this, Sanji would have assumed that they couldn�t have had anything to do with it. Didn�t they realize that by not saying anything, they had made themselves a party to it?

But then maybe it would be better that way. With blame divided among them, Zoro wouldn�t get into as much trouble on his own, because otherwise there would be a fight that none of them were really ready to deal with right now. Least of all Luffy, which was again a total disgrace as far as the captain was concerned. But then, who was he kidding? Everyone knew that there was only one person on this ship who would take liberties of that sort with Sanji.

�--ong, Luffy?� Usopp was asking.

Luffy looked up again, �What?� he repeated.

Now Zoro looked worried about him. �Can you hear us okay?�

I�ve made them all worried now. Luffy smiled big and nodded, �I can hear you. I�m not going deaf or anything, don�t worry.�

�Then what�s wrong?� Usopp asked again.

Luffy shrugged, �Just thinkin�.�

For some reason this answer made everyone raise an eyebrow. Luffy didn�t get it, but food was suddenly in front of him and he paid them no mind. �FOOD! Thanks, Sanji!� he declared before shoving six green beans into his mouth so his cheeks bulged around his head. �Dis iv vire goor angi!� he declared as bits of vegetable flecked out of his mouth.

�Luffy take it easy,� Nami tried to be as gentle as she could in her reprimand.

�Did you hear that?!� Sanji was in an immediate outrage, �Your manners are disgusting! Be polite in front of a lady! I can�t believe that you made her have to-�

�Back off him, Dartface,� Zoro interrupted.

As Sanji turned his wrath on Zoro, Nami attempted to halt proceedings. �Zoro, Sanji-kun?�

�Hai Nami-swan?� Sanji was hearts. Zoro was poison.

Nami sighed internally and put on her sweetest smile, and addressed Sanji further. �Luffy�s fine. He just really knows how he enjoys his food is all.�

Sanji looked disappointed that he couldn�t ream anyone out. �But Nami-san, his behavior in front of a distinguished lady such as yourself cannot be excu-�

�It is really gooood food, Sanji-kun.� Nami emphasized enticingly without even looking up to see if her words would be effective.

�Ah, Mellorine!� As Sanji wiggled like a noodle and steam came out of his nose, Luffy, who�d been watching the entertainment while eating, got an idea.

It wasn�t a really great idea, but it would work, if only he could get the other two that he needed for it to work to agree to do it. Luffy didn�t really like it, because it was out of his area of expertise, Sanji would love it. And sometimes as a captain of pirates, one has to make decisions on a broader scale for the greater good. In this case, to prevent Sanji from going on a nicotine-deprived/rage-induced friendship mutiny from select people that needed his alliance right now because his suit was ruined.

He would bring it up as soon as he got the chance. For now, he finished his green beans and turned to look back at the neat barbeque pit in the corner. �What�s that for?�

Usopp puffed with pride. �That�s my new invention that will help me with my ammo! I call it the Usopp Star Creator exclamation point! It has aided me through some of the greatest trials of my unsurpassed heroic career!�

�You�ve already taken it into battle? How did it aid you?� Chopper asked in anticipated amazement at the same time Luffy said, �You invented something new?�

Usopp went from filled with pride and expectant praise to completely deflated. �Oi, Luffy! I told you guys all about it yesterday! Don�t tell me you forgot?�

Zoro smiled, �Don�t take it personally, Usopp. He�s just Luffy.�

Luffy pouted. What did that mean?

Robin looked at his face and laughed. Luffy smiled at her. Robin was so much fun when she laughed!

He turned back to smile at Zoro, only to find him glaring at Robin. That was strange. But then sometimes Zoro was strange. But still, Luffy didn�t like Zoro looking so� lethal. He looked like someone had entered his space and interrupted his nap or something. Or like he'd just caught Robin drinking the last of his personal osake stash. Which was ridiculous because Robin didn't really like osake, and Zoro hadn't been sleeping at all.

�Zoro!� he cheered. Zoro didn�t look at him, he was still looking at Robin. This wouldn�t do at all. Luffy got up and hopped across the placemat to him.

Zoro, who didn�t realize he had been staring rather pointedly at the archaeologist, was abruptly pulled out of it by a sudden pressure landing on his thigh and scrambling to hug itself to his tummy like a very small monkey. He looked down to see his captain clinging to him with a questioning look on his face. �Zoro?�

The swordsman looked at him blankly for a moment, trying to figure out what was up. Then he smiled a little. His captain was such an attention scrambler. �What�s up, little monkey?�

Luffy smiled. �I�m not a little monkey�� he said, hoping to get Zoro to play with him some more.

Zoro raised and eyebrow. �Yes you are.� He ruffled the black hair with one finger.

Luffy swatted it away and laughed, but relaxed to sag down into Zoro�s hand when it was offered. His swordsman was smiling at him again. Good. That was how it should be.

Sanji watched the activities of the two. He was in a cranky mood (not that it was HIS fault), but he could appreciate that his sick captain seemed to be happy again. He was a still disbelieving at Zoro for ditching the smallest boy in the first place, but it was over now. No need to drag it out. Zoro seemed to have learned his lesson, and both were cliquing again like they should be. Well, not quite, but until they recognized their feelings, which would happen in its own time, this would do nicely.

The cook wondered not for the first time since this started, how much Luffy was aware of. Luffy was Zoro�s world, everyone knew that much. Even Zoro, no matter how he tried to ignore it. Everything from the way the swordsman�s steady hands had shaken so badly when Luffy had first shrunk out of his view, to the way he had tucked their captain in so tenderly the night before testified to Zoro�s feelings.

But with Luffy, every single thing he had done or said had proclaimed his need for the one holding him now, and Sanji still wasn�t sure if Luffy understood what that meant. The little pirate was just so innocent.

Which was a crazy thing to think, Sanji realized. Luffy had killed, his blood was red, and sometimes he understood life and the human heart better than anyone in the world. ...So how was he still so pure? Maybe it was that he hadn�t let any of the hard times change him. He maintained his child-like innocence despite it all because he had no regrets to weigh down his spirit and ruin his naivety. So much so, that simply being near Luffy made it easy for someone to forget their own bad times and move on in life. Even Robin-chan was healing, and she�d had the hardest life imaginable. So was Nami-san.

Luffy made everything clean again, and never saw a soul as anything other than light, no matter how dark it may have been at one point. This is why Sanji understood why Zoro -pirate hunter and slayer of hundreds- felt for Luffy as he did. Luffy accepted him without question when all others feared him. And still Zoro had the blackest, bloodiest record of anyone on board, and still Luffy adored him.

Everyone on this ship loved Luffy. Of that there was no question in Sanji�s mind. But none of them would ever see him in the same way Zoro did. Where other pirates had seen a demon, Luffy had seen his best friend.

Sanji looked to where Luffy was rolling back and forth in said demon�s palm, drumming his feet on Zoro�s tummy and making them all smile despite themselves. The cook smiled and looked back to his own food. Their captain was truly one of a kind.

A one of a kind menace that had just spit his pea pod out of his mouth! �Luffy! You did NOT just do that!� Sanji spoke in a louder than normal voice as Luffy wisely jumped for cover with an �uh-oh� into the nearest available lap: Nami�s

�Then why are you shouting about it?� Zoro commented idly, as Nami raised her hand over her captain to buffer the noise level.

Sanji turned to him, �Shut up, Marimo!�

�Sanji-kun, what did we go over earlier? Not everyone around you is out to irritate you on purpose. Calm down please.� Nami commanded, obviously reviewing what she�d talked to him about while Luffy had been in his check-up.

�I�m sorry Sanji,� Luffy called out from under the table. �I didn�t mean to. It�s good food! It just wasn�t good to me right now�� He felt guilty. He had the best cook in the world! He hated not being able to eat all of his food.

Sanji lowered himself to sit back down again, nodding. �Sorry, captain. I was out of line.�

Crap, he�d done it again. He hadn�t meant to get testy with Luffy. He just couldn�t abide the waste of food! Sanji should have realized that it might be difficult for Luffy to take the taste conflict between the seeds and the pods in his unshelled peas. He�d just been so pissed about Usopp crowding the kitchen that he hadn�t thought about it.

Don�t blame Usopp, he admonished himself disgustedly. I just can�t think clearly is all. He wanted to be strong about this. Really, he did. He didn�t want to be seen as weak, but damn it all, he hadn�t even gotten a �last one�!

He closed his eyes. �Damn, I need a smoke,� he whispered to himself.

�...Would it make you sick?�

Sanji opened his eyes to see Luffy standing on the table in front of him. Zoro was watching Sanji like a hawk.

Sanji looked back down again and smiled a little, �It�s okay, Luffy. The first days are the hardest, is all. I can�t make you sick.�

Luffy looked at him guiltily. He was quickly seeing through Sanji that being in Rumble wasn�t just his cross to bear, or even just his and Zoro�s. It was effecting Sanji almost as badly as the captain and first mate. Even Chopper had been looking sad for the last couple days because Luffy had discovered a condition he couldn�t fix.

And Usopp was used to playing games with Luffy everyday! Now that extreme outside play was out of the question, everyone knew that Usopp had been trying to think of harmless quiet activities they could do together so that they wouldn�t miss out of quality time. Usopp really needed that quality nakama time. Completely a lover and in no way a fighter, that was the way he stayed happy, and Luffy knew he was Usopp�s best friend. Which was why he had been determined to stay awake and play with Usopp as normally as he could the day before.

Even Nami was� acting more in control of her temper. Which was actually a nice change, except that this crew needed someone to act as the nagger so that work got done and the boys didn�t all act like Neanderthals. Robin was hard for even Luffy to read�

No one was testier than Sanji because of this, though. And despite what Sanji had said on that second morning, Luffy wasn�t dense enough to assume that he had nothing to do with Sanji�s sudden need to quit.

�I remember what you said, but if your quitting had anything to do with me, then it�s okay to smoke. I won�t mind. As long as it won�t make you sick.�

Behind him, Luffy could hear both Zoro and Chopper take a breath as if to say something in argument, but Sanji beat them both to it. �I�m fine. You should be worried about you right now. Besides, I�ve heard it gets easier.�

�When?�

Sanji shrugged, �I don�t know.�

Luffy nodded after a moment.

�In the meantime,� Sanji finished, �If I get testy, I�m sorry. I don�t mean to.�

Luffy smiled at him. �I know.� And turned to walk back to his placemat. No one but Zoro was paying attention to Luffy once the exchange was over because Usopp started talking exuberantly, so no one but Zoro saw that the type understanding expression Luffy had given Sanji wasn�t the type understanding one he wore now.

Zoro finished his lunch, watching Luffy smile and play throughout the meal again. When the meal finished, Luffy ran over to Nami. �Are you all done?�

Nami rose and stretched, �Yep. It was good, Sanji-kun. Thank you.�

�Your words bring unknowable joy to my heart, my beloved!� Sanji answered.

As Luffy watched Nami go, Zoro had the impression that he wanted to follow her. But once she was out of sight, he turned to Usopp�s Star Creator instead.

Zoro smirked in amusement as Luffy took two steps to the edge like he wanted to rocket over to it, and then take two steps back after judging the distance that would take him from all of his nakama.

He hated it, but he still had no confidence without us nearby. Then he�d step forward again... and then back. He did this four times before turning to Zoro and pointing at the Weird Thing. �Can we go over there?�

Usopp answered energetically before Zoro could open his mouth. �Sure!� he declared, picking Luffy up unexpectedly and dashing over to plonk themselves both next to the Creator about three feet apart.

As soon as Luffy was on the ground, he froze. After a minute, he began to slowly spin around, eyes taking in everything. He looked scared, and as soon as Zoro had sat against the wall -having risen when Usopp absconded with his captain- he darted over to Zoro stumbling over his own feet in his hurry. Zoro helped him climb up his thigh, whereupon the palm-sized boy grabbed hold of Zoro�s shirt and pressed his face into it.

�Luffy...� Zoro murmured. Only Sanji and Usopp were in the room anymore, but they were both watching the interaction play out.

Zoro shot them both a glance. Usopp pretended to suddenly be very interested in this contraption. Sanji kept watching.

Luffy took a few deep breaths and pushed himself away enough to look over at what Usopp was doing again. He swallowed and asked, �What�s inside of it?�

Usopp smiled and answered as if he hadn�t just seen what he�d seen. �A bunch of little cups that hold my glass balls.� He hesitated here for a moment, and then: �Do you wanna see?�

Zoro hoped Usopp was joking considering what he�d just seen, but the sniper continued, �I can bring the lid down and show you.� He reached up and detached the lid even as he spoke. It took a little work, but he finished and laid it next to Zoro, tilting it so that Luffy could see easily without having to move.

Luffy smiled when he saw it, nerves taking a backseat. Wow! The inner side of the lid was all flat and black and full of pits half as big as he was.

Usopp grinned at Luffy�s impressed expression. �The little cups get super hot, and melt the rubber stoppers into the holes in the stars when they�re full.�

�It melts rubber?� Luffy asked, amazed.

�So you shouldn�t get close to it,� Zoro spelled out.

Luffy laughed and marveled over the lid some more as Usopp scooted back, pulling the bottom part of the Creator with him. He turned to Sanji, �Is it okay if I paint it now?�

Sanji took a seat on the bench and nodded. �Yeah, I just wanted you to wait before. The galley�s yours for the rest of the afternoon. ...Sorry about earlier.�

Usopp smiled his forgiveness and popped the top off a quart of bright blue paint. �Me too. Okay, Luffy! Want help me paint the Super Great Usopp Star Creator?�

�Yeah!� Luffy cheered, running down Zoro�s leg to stand on his shoe, closer to the Creator.

�I notice it�s name keeps getting bigger each time you say it,� Zoro commented.

Usopp humphed in his general direction and put the paint can on some pre-spread newspapers that were all over the floor before reaching for his brush. This finally had Luffy sliding off of Zoro�s shoe to participate.

�Luffy shouldn�t be in here with the paint.� Sanji spoke up, seeing that no one else was going to speak up about his involvement.

�What? Why not?� the two youngest boys asked together.

Zoro brought his hand to his forehead in memory. �Aaahhh hell. That�s right, Chopper said you can�t close to strong-smelling materials buddy. Paint is pretty strong.�

Luffy didn�t like hearing this. �But it�s not bad now! I�ll be fine! If it gets worse, I�ll tell you okay? Promise.�

Sanji and Zoro looked skeptically at each other. Luffy looked back and forth between them. �I just want to watch! I won�t get dirty. I�ve decided, and since I�m the captain I�m right.�

Sanji snickered. �Usually, sure. But Luffy, you don�t have the best track record at self preservation. That�s why we�re here to watch out for you.�

�I�m ALWAYS the captain!� Luffy said, as if they�d forgotten.

He�s still afraid of that� In that case, Zoro knew the perfect thing to do. �We know who�s in charge here, Sencho. It�s always going to be you. But what�s more important than any chain of command, is that we�re your family, too. Don�t forget that.�

Luffy seemed surprised by this weird accusation, aside from the fact that Zoro was the ultimate order of power guy. �I�d NEVER forget that! You guys having to remind ME that you�re my family is almost as stupid as-�

�You needing to remind us that you�re the captain of this ship?� Sanji asked.

Luffy stopped short� and after a moment his frown dissolved into a smile. �Right.�

The other three smiled as well. Sanji spoke, �Then -as your family- you know that we only want you to be happy and healthy. We�re not trying to make you miserable, or undermine your authority. We need you healthy, captain. And ready to enjoy a good fight.�

Luffy laughed, �Kay! �But can�t I stay this once? It�s boring other places.� Usopp was nodding beside him for the same thing.

The older two looked at the boys. They looked so excited. Like yesterday when they had played with the cloud clay. �...alright, you can watch,� Zoro conceded after a few more seconds of consideration. �But if you start to feel weird at all, you tell me.�

Sanji nodded his agreement.

Luffy�s and Usopp�s grins shined. �OKAY!� And with that the smaller one was over by the creator that was about 9 inches from Zoro�s foot.

Seeing that the lid was still over by Zoro, and would be the easiest part to paint, Usopp decided to put it off until last, and flipped the Creator upside down so that the legs were sticking up in the air. He got his paintbrush blue and started painting the bottom part, avoiding the arms for now.

Luffy watched with interest. For a while. But eventually it became boring for him. If only it were being painted red. Red was the best color. Even if he couldn�t help, it would be so amazing looking if it were red.

�Why aren�t you painting it red, Usopp?�

�Because I wanted it blue,� the sniper answered simply.

�But red is such a great color!� Luffy insisted.

�So is blue.�

Luffy pouted a little. Red was better. It was the color that he insisted on always wearing on himself somewhere. He even had red underwear when he wasn�t shrunken! Of course, these thoughts only served to remind him how he had worn nothing on his lower half at all for days. It actually felt really nice to be free and hanging, but it got awfully cold down there sometimes...

Realizing that his train of thought had diverted, Luffy tried to remember what he had been talking about five seconds ago. When nothing but wind blew between his ears, however, he decided that it was okay to talk about something else.

As he tried to think of what that something else was, he looked up at the legs on the Creator that were poking up into the air, which made them arms. They were really neat. Luffy wondered what it would be like to stand on one. They were a little slanted at the top, but that was okay. It just meant he shouldn�t try to shoot to it from where he was on the floor.

His eyes fell on the cables that strung each of the legs together in about the middle of them, forming a triangle. He could grab that first and then reach for the end of one of the arms once he had his balance on the cable. Yeah! That was a great idea!

Suddenly really wanting to try his plan out, Luffy swung his hands out to grab the cable. They did, but then several things happened that no one in the room could have expected:

Luffy�s hands had lost their straight aim that he�d started them with, grabbing hold of the cable loosely in one hand and firmly with the other.

Before he could correct, his body followed his hands launching at some unknown target that was off-trajectory. Then his hands suddenly weren�t strong enough to support the pull of his weight, and gave out, making his flight fall short of it�s goal.

Having no time to idly wonder why he suddenly had no control over the aim applied or strength exerted into his stretched limbs, Luffy just managed to realize that something felt weird in his arms before he fell into the paint quart.

~ **~ * *~ *~~** ~** ~

Zoro had no clue what the hell happened. One second Luffy was bopping around the Star Creator, the next second he had missiled himself into the paint quart with a splash that had gotten blue splatters all over Usopp�s coveralls. The second after that Zoro�s own hands were bathed in blue as he scooped the troublesome wannabe meteor out of the paint.

�What the hell are you doing?� he demanded. He was a little startled, and being pissed was sure to follow soon.

Luffy was almost totally covered from mid-chest down. Thanks to Zoro�s excellent reaction speed, there were still patches of white here and there where the pain hadn�t gotten to the more crinkled lower half of the hanky.

The room waited a few seconds for Luffy to get his wits about him and supply an explanation. When it didn�t come even though Luffy seemed to be okay, albeit shaken, Sanji tried another approach. �What were you trying to do? You promised not to be reckless, Luffy.�

After a few more seconds of waiting, Zoro was the first to notice that Luffy�s behavior was off. Luffy had sat up in his hand, obviously dazed and confused. He put his hands to his chest for a moment, as if coaxing it to do something. And then that confusion had changed slowly into a look realization, and then fear.

Sanji walked closer as Luffy�s shoulders began to heave just a little, and he began to make a spinning circular motion with his hands going from his throat down his chest over and over, as if trying to unlock the part of his body that was prohibiting him from speaking.

No, not speaking...

Zoro and Sanji�s eyes widened in recognition of Luffy�s motions.

�Why don�t you say something?� Usopp asked, not having realized that something was wrong.

�He can�t.� Zoro answered, getting up.

�What do you mean?� Usopp asked as Zoro shoved past him to the sink.

�He�s not breathing.� Sanji answered, turning on the faucet before Zoro had even reached it. He seemed so calm that he had to be panicking.

Not wasting time being gentle, Zoro shoved his hands under the water, drenching Luffy from top to bottom. Luffy�s limbs spasmed and flailed in the water, clawing his own chest and trying desperately to get a breath of oxygen in.

As Zoro ran his hands back and forth under the rushing water, blue paint washed from his captain to disappear down the drain. His hands were shaking, but he forced his mind clear as he had so many times before by knowing that someone�s life was in jeopardy and he couldn�t afford to lose his cool.

Luffy�s chest was on fire. As he tried desperately to get his lungs to inflate, they began to ache with the strain of constriction. Luffy thought the air was becoming visible for a moment, because little spots started to float around him.

But as the water ran over him to wash off what paint it could, the attack lost it�s control of him, and when Luffy�s air ways suddenly opened and he took several gulps of the sweet air around him. The closer his mouth was to the water, the easier it was to breathe.

Zoro didn�t stop moving Luffy around under the water even as the boy leaned forward into the stream where the air was richest. After a minute, when Luffy fell limp in his palm from the extended exposure to the warm water, Zoro still didn�t take him out.

Finally, seeing that the attack was over and that any more contact with the rush of fluid pounding against Luffy�s body would soon be doing more harm than good, Sanji reached across Zoro�s arms to turn the faucet off.

Zoro brought his hands higher to get a good look at the Blue Wonder. Yeah, he was still blue. It wasn�t coating him as it had been, but Luffy�s hanky and string would never be the same again, that was for sure. The skin of Luffy�s bottom half that they could see was tinted pale blue now, but his feet were brighter than that because of all their crevices. Zoro could see a little in his hair where the splash had come up around him in places. But one of his hands and a top stripe of his hanky were still clean, even after the water should have bled everything together.

�Usopp, is that paint toxic?� the swordsman asked urgently.

The sound of scrambling came, and then Usopp�s voice, still from across the room, �Ummm� No! No, it�s okay.�

And as Luffy relaxed on his back until his strength came back, he gave the hovering pair a smile to show them he felt better. His chest was heaving hard.

Zoro sighed. Sanji smiled despite himself, �Honestly...�

�Is he gonna be okay?� Usopp called quietly. There was nothing like a good near-death experience to get everyone speaking softly while they were panicked instead of screaming in fear.

Sanji looked over at him, smile still in place. �Yeah. What are you still doing over there?�

�I didn�t want to get in the way,� Usopp admitted in a moment of honesty.

Now Zoro turned from the sink and walked over to sit at the table, smiling to the long nosed boy on the way. �Thanks, Usopp. You can come over now.�

Usopp pushed himself up and trodded over to them.

Luffy was still trying to catch his breath. He lay splayed open in Zoro�s hand, giving his lungs ample room to work. His chest burned with each inhalation. His eyes were closed and his face pale. He was exhausted. For the next two minutes, this was how he stayed. No one else spoke until he finally rubbed his eyes, and then held his hands away to look at them in shock for a moment.

�Yeah,� Zoro confirmed, �One�s white and one�s blue. You okay?�

�Hmm.� Luffy noised in concern before sitting up a little. His lack of response had them all wondering if he�d even heard Zoro. Then his eyes fell on his clothes. �AAAHHHHH! I�m all BLUE!!�

With this burst of energy, most of the tension left the room. It seemed Luffy was back and he was going to be fine.

Sanji scoffed. �What do you expect when you fly into a pail of paint?�

Now Luffy�s surprise changed from being about his appearance to Sanji�s words. �I fell in the paint pool? But I wasn�t trying to get anywhere near the paint pool. My hands slipped. I was trying to get to the top of the arms on Usopp�s mystery thing...�

Usopp noted his terminology with a laugh of relief. �It would be a pool to you, wouldn�t it? And my Thing is NOT Mysterious, thank you very much.�

Zoro set the boy on the table and watched him curiously look at his hands. He was starting to get the feeling that their difference in color wasn�t what had Luffy so concerned anymore, and possibly never had been.

Usopp headed for the door. �I�m going to get the others. They�ve gotta see this!� He dashed out the door and they could hear him bellowing the news like a town crier all the way across the ship.

Luffy however, felt like his energy had been sapped once his initial surprise had passed. He found himself catching his breath again. His chest was starting to ache now, like he�d been running for two days. He had yet to stand on his own, and his legs felt too weak to support him stably now.

It wasn�t like the weakness of being in the ocean; it felt more like he hadn�t eaten in days, his energy was just on �E� with the gas light on. But he had the feeling that food would make the problem worse; it wouldn�t bring his strength. He stomach felt just the slightest bit off, and it was getting worse.

The attack was over, but there was still something wrong� He couldn�t pin it to a point yet, but something was still affecting him.

�You scared the shit out of us, Luffy, you know that?� Sanji reminded. �You said that you would stay out of the paint if you stayed. Now we know how well that goes over.�

�What�s that mean?� Luffy asked.

Before either of the older two had a chance to answer, Usopp burst triumphantly back into the galley with Chopper and Nami right behind him, and Robin tagging along a few seconds later.

All the new pairs of eyes looked incredulously at Luffy, and pandemonium broke out.

~ **~ * *~ *~~** ~** ~
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RUMBLE!