Chapter 15: Brooks story

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with any legal rights to one piece in any form, I do not own one piece or any part of the merchandising, gaming, manga, anime, characters, or anything of the sort. Oda owns it, I am simply a fan that wrote this for my own amusement as well as for the amusement of my friends. No money was made from this in any way, shape, or form. Please do not sue me as I do not have any money anyway. The only things that I own from this fic are my own original characters. I also do not own any of the Final Fantasy stuff, so please don't so me for using them in this either. Once again, I don't have any money, so please don't sue me.

Summery: This is the Zoro version of part 2 of my fanfic 'My Life In One Piece'. Read that first before you read this.

Pairing: Zoro/Kaede Rating: Currently it's only T, but I may very well change it to M at a later time. Warnings: I'm crazy, so you can pretty much expect anything.

To the people who keep giving me corrections, THANK YOU! I am always happy to fix my past mistakes, and I will be fixing chapter 14 when I can, thanks to your help! :D

By the way, I've started Let's Playing Minecraft as well:

Youtube com user TrinityGamer

Anyway, on with the show!

'thoughts'

"Words"

(inner Kaede)

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"Brook?! What the heck are you doing here?!" I shouted in surprise, mouth hanging open and eyes practically popping out of my head as I stared at him.

Ok, how did this happen? I refuse to believe that something I changed in the past year (has it been a year? I don't remember) could have ever caused Brook to somehow get out of the Florian Triangle! I mean, how would he even know to join up with the strawhats, and how could I have possibly caused his shadow to get out of the zombie? I mean, I know the butterfly effect says things can eventually change to the extreme, but that's kind of pushing it?

Wait, shadow?

…

He does have his shadow right?

"Yohohohoho! How? Why, that would be all thanks to your lovely father! Yohohoho!" Brook shouted in joyful tone, throwing his arms up and spinning around on one leg. "He freed me from that aweful place and brought me-"

I didn't hear the rest of brooks statement, because it was in that moment that I suddenly realized that the ship had gone deathly quite outside. I couldn't hear Luffy, Ussop, Lucian, or Chopper shouting. I couldn't hear Sanji in the kitchen, Zoro snoring, or the clanking of Nichi's weights as she continued to work out. I couldn't even hear Nami writing in her book or Robin… doing whatever it was Robin did. I couldn't even hear Choco or Lil, and I could always, somehow, hear those two. The only sounds that could be heard were the creaking of the ship, the lapping of the water against the ship, the waves, and the wind.

As soon as I noticed the silence coming from outside, it disappeared, being replaced instantaneously by the sounds of shouting, running, someone tripping over a crate, and finally cawing and hissing as the crew all clambered as fast as they could get down the stares.

"Kaede-sweet! Don't worry! Your beloved Sanji-kun is here to save you!"

"Shut it Ero-cook! She doesn't need you making the situation worse!"

"I'll pound who ever you are into the ground if you hurt her!"

"Touch one hair on her head and your dead whoev-"

…

"It's a talking skeleton! Cool!"

"A skeleton?!"

"Ah! A monster! Run for your lives!"

"Ah! Monster!"

Great, it seems the three ring circus has come to town, or at least to the men's room.

Turning around, I sighed in exasperation. The whole crew, it seemed, had come to my 'rescue', having heard my initial shout of surprise as well as, of course, Brook's own laughter, which, admittedly, could be quite creepy some times in the anime.

Well, at least, I THINK they were coming to 'save' me. However, what I saw when I turned around, made me sweat drop a little. If this was how they planned to saves someone in the future, then I'm going to have to have a long talk with all of them.

Zoro and Sanji (who you would think would be to busy trying to 'save the girl') were both half locked in a fight, half staring in shock. Zoro had the flat sides of two of his swords against the soul of one of Sanji's feet, which had clearly been in the process of trying to kick him in the head just a moment before. How the two of them had managed to get down the stairs like that is beyond me, but apparently, they had somehow managed to do just that.

Behind them, or rather cowering behind Zoro in fear , were both Chopper and Ussop, which only Ussop's hair and Chopper's back side showing. I could see the two of them shaking, and every now and then one of them would peek out from behind the moss haired swordsman, causing more of them to be seen for a short while.

Further up the stairs, and seemingly just as terrified of Brook, was Nami and Lucian. The two of them seemed to be trying to back their way up the stairs and out of the room as quietly as possible, though from the way they were both starting to move closer to Nichi, I could be wrong. They could simply be planning to pull a Chopper/Ussop on everyone and hide behind the strong woman.

As for Nichi her self, she was just standing there with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open. Beyond that, she was actually doing pretty good for a 'rescuer', seeing as she, at least, was the only one still in a fighting stance, unlike everyone else.

Zoro and Sanji don't count, seeing as they were both aiming to fight with each other rather than my 'kidnapper'.

Even further up the stairs, standing just behind them, were Robin, Choco, and Lil. All three of whome were staring at Brook in surprise. Now, while I get why Robin and Choco were surprised, seeing as they weren't exactly all in the know about Brook, Lil baffled me a bit. She always seemed to get surprised about stuff that she clearly already knew about, and I could never really figure out why. I mean, she did already know of his existence, right? So why was she so surprised at seeing him?

…

Oh, yeah, he's not supposed to be here yet. Duh.

As for luffy, the last member of this nut-house, he was actually at the front of the line, laying in a pile at the bottom of the stairs, having tripped and fallen down in his haste.

"Yohohoho! It is so nice to meet you all!" Brook, shouted, raising his arms into the air in greating. "I am brook, and it is simply wonderful to finally see you all face to face, though I'm sorry to say, I don't actually have a face. Skull joke! Yohohohoho!"

Ah, his first skull joke with the crew! That's so cute!

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Half an hour later, everyone was sitting in the dining room, which, again, was starting to get way to small for all of us. It had taken me a while, but I finally managed to get everyone calmed down enough to put away the feet, swords, staff, slingshot. claws and beak so that we could figure out how Brook was even there to begin with. I only managed it after explaining to everyone that brook was supposed to be a crewmember we were going to be getting later, as well as accidentally letting it slip that we were actually supposed to get another crewmember before him.

After that little slip up, Luffy started asking if the next one would be a musician, which, of course, lead to brook beginning his own explanation.

"Musician? Yohohoho! Why, that is supposed to be me, of course! If, that is, you are still willing to have me on your crew?" the Afro-skeleton asked, peering at Luffy with his hollow sockets.

Luffy's reply was, as always, short and very simplistic: "Chihihi. Ok."

Everyone's reactions… well, they were exactly what you would have expected as well.

"What?! Luffy?! Are you crazy! We can't have a skeleton on the ship! What if he's haunted?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Ah! Ghosts!"

Zoro, Lucian, and Nami were all to busy hanging their heads in defeat. They knew this was going to happen before I had even mentioned that Brook would have been a member further down the road. As soon as Luffy saw Brook, the three of them knew that we were all stuck with the skeletal musician.

They were also sending me glairs out of the corners of their eyes every few seconds, clearly blaming me for this whole thing.

Nichi and Robin seemed to be ok with this, though I had a feeling Nichi was going to be cornering me later to find out just why I didn't mention Brook to them before.

Oops. Sometimes she can be a little… well… let's just say that one of the things I've come to learn about her while traveling together is that she really doesn't seem to like surprises.

Unless, of course, she's in on the surprise to begin with.

"Well," I finally said, getting everyone's attention. "while I'm glad to finally meet you in person, I really need to ask, how did you get out of the Florien Triangle? Did you manage to get your shadow? And you mentioned my dad, what did he have to do with all of this?"

Ok, so the last part was a stupid question. It was obvious that dad had a lot to do with this. Obviously, if he met dad, then it was probably him that saved Brook.

"Yeah, I would kind of like to know that too." Lil said, turning her wide-lamp like eyes towards the skeleton man. "I mean, from what I understand, you were fighting to get your shadow back for a long time, and were trapped in the Florian Triangle even longer. How did you get out? Did Hawky man save you?"

I snorted at that.

Hawky man?

Oh, if only my father could hear that. Ha.

"Yeah, how did you manage to get here anyway? I mean, if you were in the Florian Triangle, I thought I heard that was a lot deeper into the Grandline then we are now. That's not exactly an easy trip." Nichi commented, looking at our new musician with interest.

"Yeah, and how did you become… well…" Ussop added, gesturing at Brooks bony figure.

"Yohohoho. You mean, how did I become a skeleton?" he replied as Sanji set food down in front of us all.

Everyone was now looking at Brook with interest, waiting for an explanation of some kind.

Bad move. Luffy's going to eat all their food if they just sit there.

Luckily, Lil, Choco, and I were already digging in, not willing to let Luffy scarf our meals, even to listen to Brooks story.

Seeing the three of us eating, everyone took their cues and started on their meals as well. No one wanted Luffy to eat everything on their plates when they weren't looking. After a few minutes, Brook broke the silence, taking only a second to wipe the food off of his face.

Sanji grimaced at the mess..

"Ah, well, it all began a long time ago." He began. "You see, several decades ago, I ate a Devil fruit: the Yomi Yomi no Mi to be exact."

"The Yomi Yomi no Mi?" Nami asked curiously.

"Yes, though it did nothing for me during my first life, with the exception of taking away my ability to swim, it did grant me something in death. You see, unlike most other Devil fruits, the Yomi Yomi no Mi doesn't actually activate it's powers until after the person who eats it dies. However, upon that person's death, they are granted a second life. Instead of going to the after life, their spirit turns around and re-enters our relm. Once that happens, they must then find their Body."

"find their body? You mean you don't just pop back into it?" Nichi asked, intrigued by the idea.

"No, you must find it yourself. I however, had a bit of a problem." He replied, shaking his head at the memory of what he had to go through to get his body back.

"A problem, like what?" Luffy prompted.

"Well, , eh, this is hard for me to say." Brook began. "You see, before I died, I had originally been a pirate, sailing the grand line with my friends and crew."

"A pirate?"

"Yes, I was known as 'The Humming Swordsman Brook', captain of the Rumbar pirates!" he said dramatically. "As our name would suggest, we were a pirate crew of musicians. Everyone on the crew could sing or play an instrument. It was our tie to each other. However, our ties were, sadly, severed when we entered into the Florian triangle."

"Florien Triangle?" Nami asked.

Though both Nichi and I had mentioned it, I could tell that she wasn't quite satisfied with what little information the two of us had given her.

Oops.

"Yes, it is a place, deep within the Grandline, that very few people have survived. The fog there is so thick, that it is nearly impossible to see anything in front of your ship. It has become known as the true pirate grave yard as so many ships have sunk within it. It is said that once you enter the Florien triangle, you are destined to never leave again. And it is this that led to my crews fate." He replied, starting to really get into his story telling. "We had been traveling through the foggy depths of the triangle for quite some time, when another ship came across our own. The ensuing battle was long and hard, but in the end, we had won, but at a price. The enemy had used some form of poison on us, causing everyone in the crew to fall, one by one.

"Before everyone was gone, in our last moments of life, we use a unique top of sea-shell, one found only in a hidden sea, to record our last performance. This performance, unlike our others, was an apology, or sorts. One that was meant to be given to a good friend of ours, for not being able to return to him. I would play it for you, however, thanks to Kaede's father, Lord Mihawk, I am proud to say it has already been delivered him."

"Delivered?" Nami asked curiously.

"You mean you gave to Laboon already? How? Does that mean you have already seen him, or did dad take it for you?" I asked excitedly.

Seriously, one of the saddest things about the series had been the story of Laboon and the Rumbar pirates oath. If they had managed to meet up, it would be the close of one sad story, and hopefully, one with a happy ending.

"Wait, Laboon?!" the crew who knew of the whale and his reason for bashing his head against the mountain shouted.

"Wait, you're part of that crew? I get it now! Crocus had said you had all simply abandoned him, but you didn't did you? You guys actually died?" Nami asked in comprehension.

"Yes, and not only that, but my second life didn't exactly help the way it was originally supposed to. You see, the Yomi Yomi no Mi actually allows the user to return to their body as their body is, it does not turn them into a skeleton on death, as I am." He continued. "My current state is do to the fact that I could not find my body fast enough, thanks to the fog that covers the Florien triangle. It was so think, I couldn't even see my own nose, though then again, I have no nose! Yohohoho! Skull Joke!"

Ok, the jokes are going to get old, real fast.

"Anyway, do to the fog being so thick, it took me a single year to find my body, and when I did, it was as you see me now, nothing but hair and bones! That was not all, either. For once I got my body back, I still could not make my way out of the Florien triangle; the log pose my crew had used before, had been shattered! Then, some time ago, disaster struck! I was attacked by one of the Shichibukai, one of the Seven pirate warlord!"

"Pirate warlords?! You mean like Crocodile?!" Ussop, Nami, Chopper, and Lucian shouted in unison.

"Yes, one of the very same. In this case, however, it was one far worse than crocodile. I was attacked by non other than Gekko Moriah! Bettor known as the Shadow man!"

"Wait, Gekko Moriah?! But his bounty is 320 million beli, isn't it?!" Nami exclaimed in surprise. "That's 4 times Crocodiles bounty!"

Everyone was shocked at this.

"Yes, the very same man attacked me, and it was then that I found out about his Devil fruit power."

"Devil fruit power?" Chopper asked, completely enraptured in the story.

"Yes, you see, Gekko Moriah is called 'The shadow man' because of his devil fruit powers. He at the Kage kage no Mi, which grants him the ability to control, or even steal someone's shadow!"

"Wait, steal someone's shadow? How exactly could he do that? And what would he do with someone's shadow anyway?" Zoro asked, also getting into the story.

"That, my friend," Brook began again. "is the thing about devil fruits. That grant strange abilities that do not always allow for an explanation. As for what he does with them, that is simple, he reanimates the dead."

"WHAT?!"

"ZOMBIES?!"

"Yes, exactly. The ability to take a shadow and put it into the dead brings the dead back to life, but at a terrible cost for the person who's shadow was used. You see, once a person looses their shadow, they can never set foot within the light of the sun again, for if they do, they will burn to dust!"

"WHAT?!"

"So, you mean, you can't go out into the sun, like a vampire or something?" Sanji asked, his cigarette laying on the floor next to him, having dropped it in surprise.

"No," Brook said happily, surprising everyone with his sudden change in attitude. "Thanks to Kaede san's father, I CAN go into the sun now!"

"huh?"

"You're not making any sense, explain." Nami requested in confusion.

"Yeah, you just said you couldn't go into the sun without your shadow, now you're saying you can? That makes no sense. " Ussop said, crossing his arms and looking away, trying to give everyone a 'I'm cool and I already know what's going on' pose, and failing miserably.

"Ah, but you forget, I said 'thanks to Kaede san's father, I can go into the sun now'" He reminded them. "You see, Moriah's power has one big flaw, if you can get a piece of salt into the mouth of one of his Zombies, it will cause it to release the shadow, which will sever Moriah's power and return the shadow to it's rightful owner!"

"Oh, I get it, now! He went and got your shadow back for!" Nami explained in understanding as we all caught on to what must have happened.

Way to go dad.

Now, the only question, is why?

"Precisely! At the time, I was simply planning to hunt down Moriah's phantom island, 'Thriller Bark', fight the zombie with my shadow in it, get my shadow back, and leave. However, I never managed to find the island again, or at least not on my own. No matter what I did, I couldn't find Thriller Bark! Then, just a few days ago, that all changed! out of no where, Mihawk san found me, told me his daughter's birthday was coming up, and that I was to be the present!"

….

"WHAT?!" we all shouted, myself included.

"Yhohohoho. Yes, I was quite surprised myself, but he then explained what meant, as well as about her visions. He said that she had seen several people eventually joining the same crew as her, and becoming friends with her, and that I was one of them! He then told me how he had decided to collect both my self, and one other for this little adventure, though the other one is being a bit difficult to convince to join us, it seems. It's rather odd really. I mean, if this mysterious other crewmember was to join later, then why wouldn't he just join now?"

"Eh, what other one?" Ussop asked as everyone turned to look at me.

Just as the question existed his mouth, an explosion was heard outside.

Turning me head to look at the door, I realized that there was a good possibility that that was my dad's 'other gift'.

Sighing heavily, and preparing myself to meet the blue-haired cyborg, I got up and went out side, only to freeze when I saw what was there.

Well crap.

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To be continued

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Crew: What?!

Me: huh? What?

Nami: You updates again?!

Chopper: 2 times in 1 month?! AAAH! That's not possible!

Ussop: Aaaah! Imposter!

Lil: What did you do to my overly fluffy writer? I'll call my lawyers if you don't tell me!

Everyone else: Yeah, where is he?!

Me: -sweat drops- um, ok, I take it I should update more often, shouldn't I?

Crew: …