Well, after receiving several different comments about characterization and whatnot, I decided to revamp this oneshot. Although, after going through the old version, I decided I couldn't really stand it and restarted from scratch. So here's hoping that this version is to your liking. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

The manor containing the masquerade ball could be described as nothing less than grandiose. The high vaulted ceiling of the main ballroom was adorned with vividly colored banners and the entire room was set ablaze by a combination of thousands of candles held by golden chandeliers and a series of strategically placed mirrors. The countless side parlors were decorated in a myriad of ways, consistent only in their use of fine materials, and outside there was a large courtyard surrounded by a maze of hedges, all of which were lit with twinkling lights.

On one side of the grand ballroom was a row of booths and tables raised up on a platform where people ate and drank merrily. The other borders of the room were taken up by people mingling and the orchestra, whose members sat rigidly upright and played formal, but enjoyable, music. The majority of the floor space had been consumed by people dancing to the live music. Seemingly wealthy partygoers were everywhere. The manor was practically dripping with women wearing fine dresses and even finer jewelry and men in expensive suits, potentially hiding large wallets within their pockets. All of these people were, of course, wearing masks while enjoying the atmosphere and the scintillating thought that the person they were speaking to may not actually be who they thought it was. Of course, all of this merry-making made them perfectly at ease. No one would expect to suddenly lose their wallet or a piece of nice jewelry…

With a firm shake of her head, Nami dispelled any ideas she had of looting the masquerade. She needed to focus; there was an entire month of chores at stake here.

Upon arriving on this little, but apparently well off, island, the Strawhat Pirates had discovered that a masquerade was being held for anyone who wished to come. While some of the pirates were ready and willing to go on the spot, others required a little more motivation. As a result, the Masquerade Game was born. The Strawhats made a deal that everyone would go to the ball separately, so that no one could find out who was who on the way there. After that, the goal was to find as many of their crewmates as possible without letting someone else find you first. The last pirate standing would have their chores done for them by the rest of the crew for an entire month. Not a bad prize by any means. The crew had even been serious enough about their game to create a set of rules for it:

Rules for the Masquerade Game
1) To get someone out, you must go up to them and say their name.
2) Once you are out, you must take your mask off.
3) If you are out, you cannot get someone else out.
4) The last one wearing a mask wins the game.

With a slight frown on her lips, Nami smoothed her backless maroon dress impatiently. Glancing at the ornate clock on the wall for the fifth time that evening, she decided that the entire crew had most likely arrived.

Which meant: let the game begin.

Nami scanned and scrutinized every face in the crowded hall from her spot near the top of the grand staircase. Almost immediately she spotted a familiar head of green hair. Perfect: her favorite indebted swordsman. Nami smiled to herself and didn't waste any time in rushing down the stairs and approaching the man, leaning casually against the wall beside him when she did.

Zoro stood stiffly with his arms crossed and his eyes closed behind his plain black mask. His lips were curved downward in a tight frown, furthering the message that he really didn't want to be there, let alone in a black monkeysuit forced onto him by a certain swirly browed chef. For a long time, the swordsman didn't acknowledge Nami's presence. It wasn't until the redhead's patience had run dry and she was about to yell at him that he spoke.

"I'm not going to ask you to dance if that's what you want," He said gruffly, still not opening his eyes.

A sly smile fixed itself on Nami's face as she replied, "Actually, Zoro, I was hoping to collect some of the money you owe me."

Zoro went rigid for a second before he whipped around to face Nami, eyes bulging in surprise.

"You…" He hissed, narrowing his eyes at the smug looking woman.

"Rules are rules, Zoro," Nami teased, "You lose."

With a huff of aggravation, Zoro pulled off his mask, grumbling something about "damn women" and their "tricks."

Apparently Zoro's mutterings hadn't been as quiet as he had thought because they caught the attention of a large man who was passing by. The man stopped and looked at the two inquisitively before speaking in a voice much too high for one of his size.

"Damn woman? Nami?"

The red haired woman blinked in confusion for a second before she recognized the reindeer doctor in his human form. Once she did, she tore her decorated mask off to unleash all of her fury on her purple tailcoat-clad nakama.

"Chopper! You just made me lose, damn it!" She screeched.

"I'm sorry!" Chopper wailed, turning on his heels and running away to safety, leaving a seething Nami and an exasperated Zoro in his wake.

Chopper didn't stop running until he ran into someone in one of the side chambers, knocking them both to the ground. The reindeer only continued to wail, not noticing that he was on top of someone until he heard his name.

"Oi, oi, Chopper, what's wrong?"

Upon recognizing the voice, the reindeer jumped up in relief and exclaimed, "Usopp! Nami's really scary when she's angry! She yelled at me because I got her out and—wait a second, I'm out now too, aren't I?"

"Uh, yeah, you are," Usopp said slowly, taken aback by the sudden change of subject.

"And now you are too, Usopp,"

The teasing voice came from right beside the dark haired boy's ear, causing him to shout briefly as he jumped away from the source of the voice and into Chopper's arms, sending them both hurtling to the floor once again. Once Usopp was sure he wasn't still at risk for a heart attack, he scrutinized the unknown person. It was a girl in a long, midnight blue dress with her curly black hair tied up and an impish smile on her lips. Usopp wasn't sure who it was until he spotted the violet irises peering at him from through the mask.

"Damn it, Emi, you nearly scared me to death," He sighed, sitting up beside Chopper and sliding his forest green mask up so it rested on top of his head.

"Sorry, couldn't pass up the opportunity," Emi replied, shrugging and grinning shamelessly as she offered her hand to help the pair up. Her grin became a smirk when she noticed a figure pass the doorway behind Usopp and Chopper. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I just found my next target."

Before either of her nakama could reply, Emi lifted up her the skirt of her dress and bolted through the door, disappearing around the corner. Once she was gone, Usopp and Chopper looked at each other for a moment before shrugging at her behavior and going to see which of their crewmates were out. Or maybe to get some food…

The side corridor Emi entered was dimly lit. The light from the main hall barely illuminated half of the hallway. It was too dark to distinguish many of her surroundings and she barely had enough time to spot the figure she was following before it disappeared into the shadows at the end of the hall. She made her way to where she last saw it and frowned. Where the hell did he go?

A familiar snicker reached Emi's ears and she whirled around to see a familiar figure bathed in the flickering light of a nearby candle. It was a boy with scruffy black hair who was only slightly taller than Emi. He wore black pants with a red dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and a loosely fastened tie. The edge of a scar peeked out from under one side of the boy's simple white mask and a wide grin was spread across the uncovered part of his face.

Emi couldn't help but smile to herself. If the disheveled appearance didn't give him away, his face-splitting grin certainly did. There was no way this could be anyone but Luffy.

"I've been looking for you," She told him, "Is our secret game still on?"

"Shishishi… yep!"

Without another word, Luffy took Emi by the hand and lead her back into the main ballroom.

Sanji shoved his hands into the pockets of his black suit and scanned the masked faces around him, letting out a frustrated sigh when his search turned up empty. Three hours had passed and yet he still couldn't find his precious Nami-san. Robin-chan and Emi-chan were nowhere to be found either.

As his eyes continued to scan the multitude of elegantly dressed people, Sanji grew even more frustrated. Suddenly he caught sight of an extremely tall, slim man with an afro standing closely on his right. The man was holding the hand of a lady in pink in one of his own gloved hands and saying something that clearly made the lady uncomfortable. His chivalrous instincts kicking in, Sanji readjusted his black tie and drew closer.

"My dear, may I have the honor of seeing your panties?"

The sentence barely made it out of the man's mouth before he was promptly kicked in the back of the head.

"Brooke!" Sanji seethed, his eyes aflame with rage, "How dare you treat a beautiful lady like that?! They deserve the utmost care and respect."

Brooke laughed lightheartedly and pulled off his bright orange, full-face mask. Neither of them noticed the feminine gasp of shock nor the owner of said voice running away quickly.

"Yohohoho, I guess you found me," Brooke said, unfazed by the blonde chef's anger.

"Damn straight I did!" Sanji shouted, itching to kick the skeleton again, "But what the hell made you think you could say that to a pretty woman? This is how you treat a lady."

Sanji turned to face the lady with hearts in his eyes only to be met with an empty space.

"Eh? Where'd she go?"

"Oh? Did you lose another one, Sanji? You should let me have a go at her next time. The ladies can't resist my charm, OW!"

Sanji and Brooke turned around and were met by a tall, excessively muscled man. Despite the mask, the blue hair and tropical print shirt under the man's barely fitting suit jacket gave him away.

"Oi, oi, don't go questioning my skills with the ladies, Franky," Sanji snapped, pulling his cobalt blue mask off roughly and sending the shipwright a glare.

"Whatever you say, Sanji," Franky replied, laughing heartily and turning to walk away.

"Oh? You're leaving?" Brooke inquired curiously.

"Yeah, I wanna see how many of the others I can find before they find me," Franky answered over his shoulder before slipping between two clumps of people.

After a few minutes of searching, Franky decided to get out of the crowd in the hopes of getting a better view. Working his way out of the throng, Franky found himself beside the group of tables and booths raised up on a platform which brought the people sitting there to his eye level. Turning away from said booths, he scanned the heads of the masked dancers in front of him. Coming up dry, he placed his hands on his hips and frowned.

"Where could they all be? I wonder if anyone found Zoro or Nami yet," He said, thinking aloud.

"I believe Nami-san found him towards the very beginning. Chopper-san found her shortly after. Anyone else you were looking for, Franky-san?"

Taken aback, the blue haired cyborg whirled around, coming face to face with a tanned, black haired woman. He scrutinized the slyly smiling face that was partially hidden by a simple, violet mask for a moment before realization dawned on him.

"Robin. I should've known," Franky said, shaking his head at himself while removing his black mask that bore a striking resemblance to his usual sunglasses. "What're you doin' in there?" He asked, scratching his head and pointing to the booth Robin was seated in, surrounded by a large group of laughing, but unfamiliar people.

The smile on Robin's masked face grew a little as she replied, "Who would think to look for someone who should be alone among a large group of people? Besides, they are quite hospitable."

As if to prove her point, the group burst into loud laughter. One woman eagerly asked Robin what she thought of the joke while the man on her right offered her more wine. To the careless observer, it would seem as if Robin had known the people her entire life.

"Well they seem pretty friendly," Franking commented, crossing his arms and grinning a bit. "So who's left in the game?"

Robin paused for a minute, swirling the wine in her glass around in thought. "I believe that only Luffy-san, Emi-san, and I are still in the running."

"Eh? No one's found Luffy yet? I thought he'd be the first to go," Franky mused, lifting an eyebrow.

"Unless he and Emi-san are working together," Robin surmised with a sly smile on her lips.

Franky frowned a little and cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't that seem like cheating to you?" He asked.

"We didn't make any rules against it. Besides, I think it makes the game a bit more exciting," Robin replied, a mischievous glint in her dark eyes.

"If you say so," Franky told her, shrugging his large shoulders, "I'll leave you to it then. Good luck."

With that and a short wave, Franky wandered off into the crowd in search of his other crewmates. Robin watched him disappear before skimming the faces of the masquerade guests. When she spotted a young looking couple near the glass doors, another sly smile appeared on her lips. The game had just gotten more exciting.

Luffy wove through the crowd of fancy-looking people with Emi in tow. He wasn't entirely sure where he was supposed to go, so they were moving rather aimlessly. He didn't care though; he was having fun. All of the masks made it hard to recognize people. It was like one big mystery party.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Luffy's sleeve, yanking him in the opposite direction. He gave a brief shout of protest before noticing that it was Emi who was holding his sleeve. As she began to lead him a different way, he asked, "Oi, why are we going this way?"

Without stopping, Emi glanced at Luffy, past him, and back again. "Zoro and Nami are heading this way," She told him, keeping her voice low.

A large grin appeared on Luffy's face. "Really? Let's go find them!"

"We can't! The point of the game is to hide from everyone else, remember?" Emi reminded him, resisting the urge to facepalm and hoping that Zoro and Nami didn't hear Luffy's outburst.

Luffy stared at her blankly for a moment before his face lit up. "Oh yeah! I remember now!"

Emi couldn't help but smile at his response. Tugging on his sleeve again, she said, "Exactly. So how about we go hide outside for a while? We can keep playing our secret game that way."

Luffy nodded vigorously in response, and the pair made their way to the set of glass doors that lined the far side of the room. On their way out, Emi grabbed a couple of drinks and Luffy snatched an entire tray of food, both laughing sneakily as they did so.

Within a matter of minutes, the two had cleared the crammed ballroom and were seated on the ledge of a white stone fountain. The fountain resided at the far end of a cobblestone courtyard, which was surrounded by an assortment of flowers and hedges, providing them with an area that was secluded from the main ballroom. Strings of lights and colorful lanterns hung above their heads, casting just enough light on the pair and their surroundings.

While Luffy devoured the tray of food, Emi took the time to kick off her devilish heels. If it had been up to her, she would've worn something much more sensible—and much less painful. But, Nami had insisted, and the temperamental navigator had a way of getting what she wanted.

Glancing over at Luffy, Emi noticed he was choking—albeit quite comically—on the last of the hors d'oeuvres. Stifling a chuckle at his typical behavior, Emi thumped him on the back a couple of times, helping him swallow all of the food. When he did, Luffy breathed a large sigh of relief. Looking over to his nakama, he grinned and said, "Thanks, Emi. I'm glad we're playing this secret game together."

The raven-haired girl couldn't help but grin back at her captain. It was kind of funny: their "secret game" was actually just a strategy to win the Masquerade Game. They would stick together, making sure not to call each other by name, and keep an eye out for anyone else to avoid getting caught. At the end of the night, they'd, hypothetically, be the only ones left in the game. Of course, Luffy wouldn't have been interested in a plan or strategy, so she had to come up with a better way to present it to him. Thus, the secret game was born. And as far as Emi could tell, it was working out so far. They seemed to be some of the only people left in the game.

The fact that she got to spend more time with Luffy didn't hurt either.

Emi handed Luffy one of the glasses of champagne she had snatched and held the other one up. "Me too," She said, grin never faltering, "Cheers to our secret game!"

"Cheers!" Luffy exclaimed enthusiastically, bumping his glass with Emi's. Unfortunately, the delicate glasses couldn't handle Luffy's excitement and shattered into dozens of pieces.

The shards of glass clattered to the floor and the champagne, without a container, splashed onto the surface of the fountain and seeped into the pair's clothes. Luffy and Emi blinked at the newly created mess and then at each other before bursting into unabashed laughter.

It took several minutes before the pair was able to stop laughing, and even then, they were still reveling in the comedy of the situation. However, in their silence, they could hear music from the ballroom drifting softly into the courtyard. Emi swayed in time with the music absentmindedly.

"Oi, do you know how to dance?" Luffy asked suddenly.

"Hm, I know enough to get by. Why?" She replied, looking at her captain curiously.

"Would you teach me?" Luffy asked eagerly, leaning towards her.

Emi's face lit up as she answered, "Sure!"

Emi stood up and walked to a more open area of the courtyard, being careful to avoid stepping on any broken glass. Luffy followed her enthusiastically, a big smile on his face.

"So what do we do first?" Luffy asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Emi's smile stretched a little more. She couldn't help but find his enthusiasm contagious.

"Well, first you have to be in the right position. All you have to do is hold one hand like this," Emi took one of Luffy's hands and held it aloft before continuing, "And then put the other one on my waist."

To emphasize her point, Emi guided Luffy's other hand to her waist before resting her free hand on his shoulder. Luffy held on to her more firmly than she had been expecting. That combined with the heat from his hands caused a shiver to run up Emi's spine. Luffy noticed this and blinked at his nakama questioningly.

"Are you cold?" He asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

Emi opened her mouth to tell him that that wasn't the case, but before she could force the words out, Luffy tugged her closer. Their bodies were nearly touching and the raven haired girl tried desperately to fight the blush that was burning at her cheeks. Didn't he know what he was doing to her?

Of course not, this was Luffy, for Roger's sake.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you warm," Luffy said innocently, that ever-present grin still on his face.

Emi couldn't help but be touched by his genuine concern. He really did want to take care of his nakama.

As she went on to teach Luffy some steps, his brow furrowed in concentration and his tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, doing his best not to tread on Emi's bare feet. Soon enough, Emi decided he had gotten the basics down and taught Luffy how to do a couple of turns.

"Yosh! I did it!" Luffy shouted excitedly after he finished twirling his partner around.

"Yeah, you did. You're not half bad at this, actually," Emi replied, flashing him a big smile. Luffy's grin only grew at her words.

The two continued talking and soon their dancing slowed until they were only swaying thoughtlessly to the music. Blissfully unaware of their surroundings, neither Emi nor Luffy noticed the pinkish-white flower petals wafting through the air around them, nor the slight itch that had materialized on the center of their backs. They did, however, notice the sudden force exerted on the back of their heads, driving their faces together rather roughly.

A sharp gasp left Emi's lips, but was muffled by Luffy's. The unexpected lip-lock was awkward and slightly uncomfortable, but the overall concept was not lost on Emi. She was kissing her captain! Unintentionally, yes, but still!

The two were forced to stay that way until the pressure on their heads disappeared. Once it did, the two broke apart abruptly, both of them taking a step back. In their shock, Luffy and Emi blurted each other's names simultaneously, sharing wildly confused gazes. Slowly, their alarm began to subside, and Emi took a step closer to Luffy, reaching for his mask. "We both said our names at the same time. I guess that means we both lose," Emi muttered in explanation before gently lifting Luffy's mask off of his head. Luffy quickly did the same to Emi, dislodging a few of her black curls as he did so.

Emi could feel the deep blush burning on her face as Luffy's eyes bored into hers. This was awfully embarrassing, she decided. What was she supposed to do now? Luffy hadn't said anything since it happened. His face was completely blank. What was he thinking?

"What did you think of that, Luffy?" She found herself asking. Emi mentally kicked herself for letting that slip.

Luffy's expression became thoughtful as his brow furrowed in concentration. "Eh? Well, it felt a little weird and it was a really big surprise!" Emi's heart sank a little at his usual, innocently cheerful tone, "But can we do it again?"

It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did, Emi's eyes bulged and her mouth hung open in shock. "I… but… what?!" She spluttered, at a loss for words.

"Can we do it again?" Luffy repeated openly, leaning closer to her.

Emi struggled to form an answer that Luffy would understand. "You're only supposed to do that with someone you really like, Luffy. And I mean really like; as more than just nakama even."

"Okay!" Luffy nodded enthusiastically, not backing away an inch.

Emi blinked at her captain's reaction… or lack thereof. Unsure if he really comprehended what she said, she decided to pry a little further.

"You're saying you want to kiss me again, right?" She asked.

"Yeah," Luffy stated bluntly, not a hint of bashfulness crossing his features, unlike Emi, whose blush only intensified.

"Because you really like me?" Emi continued slowly.

"Uh-huh."

"And there's no one else you want to do this to?"

"Nope."

Pursing her lips in thought, Emi stared determinedly at Luffy as she mulled over his answers. Suddenly, it all clicked into place and she had to fight the overwhelming urge to facepalm.

"Why didn't you just say something before? I love you too, idiot," Emi told him, a smile appearing on her face.

A brief laugh escaped Luffy's mouth as he returned her smile. But before he could ask his question yet again, Emi grabbed a hold of the young captain by his shirt and pulled him in for another kiss. Luffy responded enthusiastically, pulling her closer and trying to fight the enormous grin that wanted to form on his face.

Once again, the couple was too lost in each other to notice the flower petals floating through the air.

When Robin opened her eyes again, she saw the crowded main ballroom of the masquerade rather than the sparsely populated courtyard outside. Taking one last sip of her wine, she found it nearly impossible to fight the cunning smile that graced her lips. This game had paid off even more than she had expected it to. Not only had she successfully rid herself of chores for the next month, but she had also done quite well at playing matchmaker for her oblivious captain and the crewmate that had been not-so-subtly fawning over him for the past several weeks. All it took was one little push.

Bidding her companions for the evening goodbye, Robin set off to find her nakama and inform them that the Masquerade Game was over. And possibly to drop some not-so-delicate hints as to what Luffy and Emi had been up to the entire evening…

Well, there you have it: the completely rewritten version of The Masquerade Game. What'd you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Did you like it better than the old version?

Reviews and thoughts are always appreciated; requests are pretty negotiable,
~Decadent Decay (formerly Seeking Fireflies)