Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters!
Into the Sunset
written by: Leiyoi
Based on the 14th ending in the One Piece anime. Inspired by its music!
A flock of seagulls glided over a small caravel with a jolly roger wearing a straw hat, sailing smoothly over the waves. They watched the people on board silently, flying past the ship in a flurry of white.
"Luffy! Wear your jacket!" Nami shouted, throwing a jacket, which had their straw hat and crossbones symbol sewn delicately on the back, down at the black haired boy. "It looks like we're arriving at an autumn island. It's going to be chilly!"
"Island! Island! Island!" Luffy quickly slid into the jacket and stared out at the land mass coming in sight. He jumped around in excitement. "How does it look, Usopp?"
A long nosed boy peeked out from the crow's nest, holding a pair of binoculars in front of his eyes. "Eh…it looks kind of rocky…!"
"Is there a town there?" Nami called up to him. Usopp nodded and started to climb down the mast.
"Yeah, it's small but it looks pretty peaceful!"
The orange haired girl smiled happily. Maybe I'll finally have time to shop!
A blonde haired man stepped out, tossing a piece of meat to Luffy and handing Chopper and Usopp a lunchbox (he threw a lunchbox at the sleeping swordsman). "That's your lunch, so don't eat it all now." He glared warningly at the black haired boy who looked as if he were going to shove the entire piece of meat into his mouth. Luffy stopped and stuffed the piece of meat into his pockets, pouting at Sanji.
Zoro sat up yawning and blinked at his surroundings. "Is it morning?"
"We're arriving at an island, idiot!" Nami, Usopp, and Sanji shouted at the green haired swordsman. "It's the afternoon!"
Zoro scratched his head and noticed the lunchbox sitting in his lap. Hm…If the love cook is making lunch for us then… He smirked and rested his back against the railing again. I get to sleep more on Merry. Suddenly, he felt someone's eyes on him and the green haired man turned to stare in the direction of the person watching him. He was met with two large and expectant eyes, shining in delight. Zoro twitched at the look his captain was giving him. Shit, I should've known Luffy would want to go exploring…
"Zorooooo! Let's go explore!"
"No." The green haired swordsman shut his eyes and frowned. Zoro could almost see the boy's crest fallen face still facing him.
"But it's an island! How can you not want to explore it?"
"I'd rather sleep."
"You can go sleep on the island! Just come with me, Zorooooo…"
The green haired man gritted his teeth angrily, trying to shut out the boy's voice.
"Zoroooo…" The swordsman could feel Luffy's fingers coming closer to poke him incessantly. Zoro groaned and his eyes snapped open, quickly swatting away the boy's hands.
"All right! Dammit, why can't you just let me sleep?!" He mumbled and rolled his shoulders, stretching out the stiff muscles. Luffy jumped up and started to dance around happily again.
"Yay! Island! Island!"
"We're coming closer!" Chopper smiled in excitement, peering through the railing of the Going Merry. Usopp squinted his eyes at the island.
"It looks like there's some kind of castle up there or something…" The long nosed boy shivered. "Eh…I think I'll stay on Merry…uh…there's still some repairs I need to make."
Robin smiled and stared at the castle on the island in interest. "I think I'll go today."
Chopper glanced at the dark haired woman and tugged on her black pants. "Can I come, too?"
The woman smiled at the blue nosed reindeer. "Of course, you can."
"We'll all meet back here at sundown, okay?" She nodded when everyone didn't seem to disagree with her. "All right, we're close now. Get ready to lower the anchor and raise the sails!" Nami shouted at the crew members.
"Ou!"
The Going Merry sailed close to the island and the black haired boy with a straw hat leapt out quickly before anyone could stop him. Luffy laughed happily, running up and down the shore in excitement. Suddenly, something caught his eye and the boy sped over to investigate.
Zoro dropped the anchor and watched it hit the sand below the water heavily. He smirked and patted his hands clean before checking where his captain had run off to. The green haired swordsman found Luffy crouching over something. One of Zoro's eyebrows raised in curiosity. He leapt off of the Going Merry and jogged over to the boy.
"What are you doing, Luffy?"
"Oh, Zoro! Look what I found!"
Nami watched the captain and first mate standing on the shore together. She smiled and studied the mountain on the island. The town should be close by…it'll be a good opportunity to pick up some information about how long it will take for the Log Pose to set. She grinned mischievously. And to shop, of course!
Robin jumped off of the side of the ship and waited for the little reindeer to leap off. She smiled as the doctor hopped off of the side, landing softly on the sandy beach.
"We'll be going first." The dark haired woman called out and started walking off towards the castle. Chopper followed after Robin eagerly, his eyes shining in delight. I wonder if I'll have an adventure?! The blue nosed reindeer thought excitedly.
Nami waved to them and then turned to the blonde haired cook smiling at her goofily. The orange haired woman smirked.
"Sanji-kun?"
"Hai, Nami-swan?!" The man clasped his hands together in anticipation.
"Would you like to escort me to town? I have some business I want to take care of."
"Of course, Nami-swaaaan!" Sanji floated into the air, following after her off the boat. Usopp waved at them.
"Have fun!" He smiled and picked up his hammer to nail a wooden board to his beloved ship. As he was nailing the board down, his hand slipped accidentally and hit his thumb. Usopp stared at his situation for a moment. Then, with a cry he tossed the hammer away and held onto his swelling thumb in pain.
"Iteeeeeeei!" He screamed, blowing at the finger to numb the pain. He heard something land heavily at the top of the mast, in the crow's nest. The long nosed boy blinked, momentarily forgetting his pain. Was that my hammer? He blinked again and started to walk towards the mast. Usopp looked up just in time to see a nest full of birds shoot into the watch tower.
"What was that? Flying bird nests?!" His eyes bulged in surprise. The boy quickly climbed up the mast and peered into the crow's nest. A light blue bird stared back at him and an annoyed tick seemed to go off in the bird's head. Usopp stared at it in surprise.
"A bird…?" He gulped as the blue bird shot him a look of death. The long nosed boy suddenly heard a peep from under the large bird and three white chicks popped out from under the blue bird. They chirped at him curiously. Usopp shrank back as the mother bird seemed to grow more aggressive, pointing her beak at him dangerously. "Eh…I think I'll be going…" He smiled nervously and started to climb back down the mast. It was at that moment that the long nosed boy spotted his hammer lying close to the bird's nest. This can't be happening…! Usopp stared at the hammer in shock. The boy willed the tool to disappear and reappear somewhere else on deck but…no such luck.
The light blue bird stared at him suspiciously, as if it were telling him, "Why the hell are you still here?!" Usopp gulped again and decided to try and reach for the hammer. Maybe if I'm sneaky enough, the bird won't notice! He smirked and concentrated on stretching for his tool. Slowly…slowly…that's right…the bird won't notice a thing if I keep going like this…
Then, an orange beak snapped at his hand, pecking it painfully. Usopp's hand stopped abruptly. Damn bird! He stared in irritation at the mother bird and stretched for his hammer again. The bird pecked again, harder than the last one. Usopp winced and was about to shoot a glare at the bird when he felt something clamp down on his head angrily. The long nosed boy gasped in shock, realizing that the large bird had a beak large enough to bite his head.
"AH! Let me go, dammit! What are you doing, stupid bird?!" Usopp flailed his arms, trying to push the ferocious bird away.
Luffy and Zoro sat on the beach, watching the long nosed boy struggle with the bird. The black haired boy laughed and pointed towards the ship.
"Did you see that, Zoro?" Luffy laughed loudly, holding onto his stomach for support. "That bird is kicking Usopp's ass!"
Zoro smirked, not denying that the sight was quite amusing. He shook his head and chuckled. "That was a mean thing to do, Luffy."
"Well, that bird bit me!" The black haired boy frowned. "So I had to throw it away from me! I didn't know it would land on Merry!"
The green haired man smiled and roughly shook the straw hat on his captain's head, causing the hat to tousle the boy's hair and tilt to the side. "Whatever. You wanted to explore, right? I'm sure Usopp can handle himself."
Luffy giggled and fixed his hat back into its rightful position. "Yeah! And we've got lunch to eat, too!" The two males walked towards the rocky mountain standing before them.
Robin climbed over another large rock, making her way towards the castle. The woman paused and turned to look back. She couldn't hear the blue nosed reindeer's footsteps behind her anymore.
"Doctor-san?"
"Over here!" She heard the voice of the reindeer call from a field of tall grass near the stone she was standing on. Robin stepped down carefully and made her way towards the blue nosed reindeer. Chopper was sitting next to a seagull lying in the grass. Its wing seemed to be bleeding but it was still moving.
"Robin, I think I'm going to stay here for a while." Robin heard the reindeer say.
The dark haired woman smiled and nodded in understanding. Then, without another word, Robin walked off to find the castle that was coming closer in sight. Chopper's eyes hardened and he nodded confidently, pulling out a roll of bandages. He examined the bloody wing with a trained eye and quickly took out a bottle of sterilized water to wash off the blood. The blue nosed reindeer gently studied the wing and then sighed in relief.
"It's not a bad injury. Just a scrape." Chopper smiled reassuringly at the seagull lying in the grass who was staring back at him with deep red eyes. It squeaked desperately and the blue nosed reindeer nodded. "Don't worry. I'll fix you up really quick and then you can go back to your family and friends. Hold still for a moment." The reindeer cleaned out the wound and pulled out a small piece of jagged rock embedded in the wing. He cleaned the wound out again and quickly wrapped the wing with the roll of bandages. "Okay! How do you feel?"
Chopper watched the seagull stare at him with its red eyes before it stood up shakily on its feet and tested its injured wing. The seagull stared at him again and flapped his wings quickly, taking off into the sky. The blue nosed reindeer watched the seagull fly up in awe. It called to him gratefully and then circled down towards the ocean, enjoying its freedom of flight again. Chopper smiled and laughed happily.
"Anytime!"
Robin checked behind her again and found the injured seagull sailing across the waves happily. She smiled and continued to climb towards the old looking castle on the mountain. Something flapped past her ear and she blinked in surprise, watching a small black bat soar by. It circled around her carefully and she tilted her head, noticing the old castle right in front of her. Robin smiled mysteriously and jogged towards the building, inspecting it carefully.
"How interesting…" The dark haired woman's eyes shone with delight and she passed a hand over the stones making the castle, wondering what history it held in its depths.
"Sanji!" Nami waved for the blonde haired cook to come. "Help me with this bag, will you?"
"Anything for you, Nami-swan!" He bounced over and gracefully took the bag of clothes. The blonde haired man sighed wearily, puffing out a trail of smoke from his mouth. They had been going from clothes shop to clothes shop for half of the day already. Not that I can complain. Sanji thought to himself, remembering the beautiful clothes the orange haired girl had tried on and shown him. His eyes curved in delight and his lips curled up in a smug grin. Nami-san is so beautiful!
"So, the Log Pose will probably set in a few hours?"
"That's right, miss." The owner of the clothes shop nodded, smiling.
"Thank you!" Nami smiled and walked towards Sanji. "All right, how about we get some more food. Are we running out?"
The blond haired man smiled. "I'm so glad Nami-san cares about me so much!"
The orange haired woman rolled her eyes in irritation. "Do we need more food?"
"Probably." Sanji's face turned thoughtful and his eyes glanced off at the sky. "We have enough for five more days if we can get Luffy to eat like a normal person…"
Nami giggled. "That'll never happen."
Sanji smiled, happy to have made the orange haired woman laugh. "Yeah, so with that idiot's appetite, we have only enough food to last us all two days."
The orange haired girl frowned. "Then, we'll have to stock up on food here. But, we might find a large fish…" She turned to stare pointedly at the cook. "So only buy what you need, all right? I don't want to waste all of the money on feeding Luffy!"
"Hai, Nami-swaan!" Sanji's eyes turned to hearts and he twirled after her towards the marketplace like a little tornado.
"Oi, Luffy! Where are you?" Zoro climbed up the mountain after his captain. Sometimes I really doubt that the boy's a human. He thought in annoyance, trying to get a good footing on the shaky rocks around him. He must be a monkey… "Luffy! Where are you?!" Zoro climbed up the mountain after his captain. He thought in annoyance, trying to get a good footing on the shaky rocks around him.
"Zoro! Come up here! Quick!" The green haired swordsman heard his captain yell from the top of the mountain. "It's amazing up here!"
Zoro pulled himself up the last stone and was surprised to find that the top of the mountain was similar to a large plateau with a few jagged rocks sticking up around the middle. The swordsman smirked. It wasn't a bad place to sleep.
"Look, Zoro!" Luffy's voice came from his right and he found the boy standing close to the edge of the mountain. Too close for comfort…
"Luffy, get away from the edge." Zoro walked briskly over and pulled the boy away. "What if you fall? There's a lot of sharp rocks down there!"
Luffy merely shrugged. "I won't fall. But, look Zoro!" The boy pointed incessantly off into the distance. The green haired man grumbled and turned to look. Then he froze in awe. The view was just amazing. They were high enough that you couldn't see the bottom of the mountain clearly. Instead, a wide ocean spread out from all sides, sparkling merrily at them. Zoro smirked and walked towards the rocks in the middle of the mountain, deciding that Luffy was right. A nap on the mountain would indeed be a nice thing to do. The swordsman was about to sit down on a comfortable patch of ground when he heard his captain's voice call back to him.
"Zorooo! Do you think it's lunch time yet?"
The green haired man groaned. "Yeah, Luffy. It's lunch time." He heard the boy let out a whoop of joy and the unmistakable noise of meat being pulled out from a pocket. Zoro sighed in peace and started to sit down again. But this time, he was interrupted by something unexpected. Something soft hit his head and land behind him with a pwif! The swordsman blinked and turned around, discovering a black and white bird, rolling on its back idly. Zoro stared at it curiously and crossed his arms, inspecting the bird with a raised eyebrow. It rolled on its back for a while before pushing itself up to stare back at the green haired swordsman. Zoro frowned. A penguin? In the mountains? And before he could finish that thought, a whole group of penguins climbed over the rocks, completely surrounding him. The man watched them stare at him curiously and he stared back in bewilderment. But Zoro soon realized that they were not actually staring at him straight in the eyes. Instead, they seemed to be watching something on his head, as if they were observing a UFO flying in from above. Zoro furrowed his eyebrows in thought. What the hell are they staring at? And then it hit him. They were staring at his hair!
"Beee…." They started to make a strange noise as they stared intently at the green hair growing on the man's head. Zoro was about to shoo them away in annoyance when he felt something crawl up his leg. He almost jerked away in surprise but he noticed two penguins trying to climb up him. The swordsman stood as still as possible, observing them cautiously. He heard laughter from nearby. His captain's laughter.
"Zoro! It looks like those birds really like you!"
Zoro scowled and shut his eyes, trying to ignore Luffy's laughter and the two penguins that were making their way up his thighs. Soon, they had made their way to his shoulder and one jumped riskily onto his head. A bead of sweat started dripping down the swordsman's face. He's not gonna poop on my head, is he?
Zoro grit his teeth patiently and felt the other penguin make its way onto his face. It climbed up onto his eyebrow and used it as a foothold to push its way up to the green hair. The first penguin jumped off of Zoro's head, allowing the second penguin to have its own fun in the short green hair. Luffy's laughter seemed to escalate and the swordsman frowned. At least the penguins finally stopped climbing. He opened his eyes and watched his captain smiling at him, a wide grin plastered on his face. Zoro snorted. He always has that stupid look on his face. But the green haired man couldn't help but smile himself. I have a penguin on my head, for god's sake…
Zoro sighed and grabbed the penguin on his head, setting it down next to the other penguins. But once he had gotten low enough, all the penguins seemed to want to sit on his green hair as well. The black and white birds jumped at him simultaneously, causing the swordsman to topple over and into the ground with birds attached to him. He grumbled in frustration, trying to brush them away.
Luffy chuckled and then turned to stare out at the view again. He sighed happily and held up the piece of meat Sanji had given him. The boy was about to take a bite when suddenly, he felt something perch on his shoulder. The black haired boy blinked and turned, half expecting a penguin there. But his eyes widened in awe as he found a brown eagle clutching onto his shoulder with black talons. Woah…! He smiled and turned to look at the view again. I get to see this great view with Zoro and have an eagle perch on my shoulder! And I have meat to go with everything! Maybe I should get everyone else up here for a party tonight? Suddenly, the golden-eyed eagle made a grab for his piece of meat! His eyes immediately narrowed.
"Oi! Get your own meat! This is mine, stupid bird!" Luffy tried to pull the piece of meat away angrily. Eagle or not, no one was taking Luffy's meat! He pulled harder at the meat, trying to get the eagle to let go. But, the bird wasn't relenting. The black haired boy growled. "Fine! If I can't get it back then I'll just eat it all before you can!" His mouth opened wide and came down upon the piece of meat, chewing and pulling away at the same time. The bird pulled back harder and managed to rip off a piece. Luffy stared at the brown eagle in horror and its golden eyes seemed to twinkle mischievously. It beat its wings strongly and hopped off of Luffy's shoulder, flying off of the mountain with a piece of torn meat in its beak. The black haired boy meant to jump off after the bird but a laugh from the center of the mountain cut him off. Luffy turned to stare at his first mate in annoyance. Zoro merely laughed harder, tears almost forming at the corners of his eyes at the absurdity of everything that had happened so far. The penguins surrounding him stared at him curiously. Luffy stomped over and glared at the swordsman.
"Stop laughing, Zoro! The stupid bird took my meat!" He frowned as Zoro's laughter only grew louder, almost falling over with amusement. But the frown quickly disappeared to be replaced with a grin and the boy sat down next to his first mate, laughing loudly and pointing at the penguins surrounding them. The black and white birds merely looked at each other and stared back at the two males laughing their heads off.
"Nami-san is so wonderful when she rides on a bike!" Sanji shouted passionately at the orange haired girl riding on a pinkish red bicycle a few feet away from him. He was running quickly after her, with a few white plastic bags in his hands. The blonde haired cook's eyes turned to hearts as he almost saw the girl's skirt flip up but the skirt stayed just so that it covered her underwear. Ah, Nami-san is such a tease… he sighed, staring at the skirt intently.
The orange haired girl, oblivious to what the cook running behind her was thinking, smiled happily, pedaling down the canal towards the Going Merry. She laughed as the wind blew at her orange hair, tickling her face. Thank goodness I found this bike. Or else, we'd have to walk all the way back to the ship! She sighed happily, enjoying the wind brushing past her face. Suddenly, a flock of seagulls flew past her at a speed she didn't know birds could fly at. She watched in awe as the white gulls raced past, followed by an injured seagull, skimming the water. What happened to that one? She blinked in curiosity. But the injured gull quickly pumped its wings and it soared into the air, following after the flock of seagulls. Nami smiled in wonder, watching the injured seagull fly alongside its family members and friends. A warm feeling crept along the inside of her body and she stared at the sun. Almost sundown. The orange haired girl grinned and pedaled faster towards her home.
"Come on, Sanji-kun! It's time to get back to Merry."
"Hai, Nami-swaan!" He leapt into the air a few times, still able to catch up to her somehow. Nami smiled. We're coming back home!
Robin and Chopper finally reached the Going Merry again. The sun was just starting to disappear at the horizon and the ocean was blanketed with dark blue and golden streaks, bouncing off to welcome them back. Chopper smiled and ran towards the ship.
"We're back, Merry! Usopp!" The little reindeer jumped up and a hand appeared from the side of the ship to help him up and over the railing of the ship. Robin smiled, climbing up the ladder that she let down herself.
"Usopp! What happened to you?!" The dark haired woman heard Chopper shout in shock. She peered over the top of the railing and found the long nosed sharpshooter lying on the deck, panting.
"Just…chucked…the bird…away…!" Robin could hear Usopp breathe out in triumph and hold up a hammer in the air vigorously. She smiled. It seemed like he had won an important battle of some sort.
Chopper looked over Usopp carefully. "You look like you got pecked by a bird…What happened?"
Usopp sat up straight and grinned, sporting a confident pose. "I just defeated the Great Phoenix of the Sea!"
The blue nosed reindeer's eyes widened. "What's that?! You said you chucked a bird away?"
"Yes…" The long nosed boy closed his eyes dramatically. "The Great Phoenix of the Sea is a ferocious bird who is birthed from the ocean and eats ships to grow. It was trying to eat Merry so of course, I couldn't let that happen! So I…"
Robin chuckled and watched the sun sink further under the horizon. Everyone should be coming back soon…
"Oi! Robin! We're back!"
"Robin-chaaan!"
The dark haired woman turned around to smile at the orange haired girl and the blonde haired man appearing around the corner of the mountain. Nami had abandoned the bicycle and she sprinted over the sandy beach, waving her hand happily. They climbed up the rope ladder and the orange haired girl glanced around the deck.
"Where's Luffy and Zoro?" She blinked. Sanji left to store all of the bags in the kitchen and he left Nami's bag of clothes in front of her bedroom door.
Usopp and Chopper looked up and studied the deck. "Luffy and Zoro didn't come back yet?"
"The last time I saw them, they were sitting on the beach…" Usopp pointed towards a spot on the sandy shore. Nami frowned.
"They probably got lost." Sanji snorted, coming down the steps from Nami's room. He stared off into the distance. "Or maybe they got in trouble again."
"Those idiots better not have caused any trouble…" Nami grumbled and checked the Log Pose on her wrist. She smiled as the needle pointed away from the island. "At least the Log Pose is set. We can go as soon as Luffy and Zoro come."
They stood on the deck in silence, waiting for any sign of chaos because if there was trouble, Luffy and Zoro were probably involved in it. Nami tapped her foot impatiently, watching the sun slowly disappear. If they aren't here in ten seconds, they'll be getting one of the worst beatings in their lives. She thought in irritation.
"Oi! Everyone!" The crew heard their captain's voice shout from the mountain. Turning their faces up to look in the direction of the shout, they found Luffy and Zoro racing down the mountain hurriedly. "Set sail! Hurry!" The boy with a straw hat laughed while the green haired man running beside the boy turned to look behind him.
"Luffy, I think we need to run faster. They're catching up!"
Nami blinked and nodded to the rest of the crew members. "Get the anchor up and open the sails!" She stared suspiciously at the captain and first mate. If Luffy wants us to set sail that must mean that there's some trouble chasing after them…Is it marines? The orange haired girl squinted and spotted a horde of black and white birds stampeding after the two boys.
"PENGUINS?!" She screamed at them. "You're being chased by penguins?!"
Luffy laughed and grabbed a tree. Then, wrapping an arm around Zoro's middle, he pulled himself back, aiming at the Going Merry.
"Gomu gomu no…!"
"Wait, Luffy—!"
"ROCKET!"
The black haired boy and green haired swordsman shot through the air, landing in the ship safely. The penguins stopped by the edge of the shore, staring at the ship sadly.
"Bee! Bee!"
Chopper blinked at the penguins and then stared at Zoro and Luffy with a skeptic look. "Come back, Grass God? Straw God? What did you guys do to the penguins?"
The captain and first mate stared at Chopper in silence. Then, they turned to look at each other. The rest of the crew looked on as the two of them bursted into laughter, holding their stomachs and banging the deck of the ship with their palms.
Nami and Sanji shared a look. They're finally going nuts… They both thought together.
"They thought you were…a grass god!" Luffy laughed, slamming his palm against the deck of the ship. Zoro grinned and then chortled, clutching his stomach and pointing at Luffy.
"And they thought you were a straw one!" Their laughter faded away and they stared at each other, mirth still lingering in their eyes. Then, they burst into peals of laughter again.
"I don't understand what's so funny about being attacked by a horde of penguins…" Usopp stared at them. Nami and Sanji shook their heads while Robin merely laughed. Chopper blinked and looked up, smiling.
"Look guys! The sun went down!"
The straw hat crew turned their attention on the setting sun. A flock of seagulls flew overhead and circled their ship easily. Chopper spotted the injured seagull flying freely among his friends and family. The little reindeer smiled and waved at them.
"Bye bye! And have a great journey!"
The straw hat crew glanced at each other and then turned to their navigator.
"So, where are we going now?" Luffy grinned. Zoro laid back against the railing of the ship with a relaxed smile on his face. Usopp grinned, staring expectantly at Nami, and Chopper turned to look at Nami with shining eyes. Sanji smirked and lit himself another cigarette while Robin smiled and glanced at the orange haired woman patiently.
Nami smiled widely and pointed out in the direction of the setting sun. "Hard to starboard!"
END.
This didn't actually happen but I was just imagining what caused the scenes in the 14th ending and decided to write it out! I really like the music for the 14th ending, too. So, that also inspired me to write this story.