Epilogue

One Piece © Oda

Blizzard and Mel © Me

Warning: OOCness ahead.

Another day on the Thousand Sunny. The breeze and waves were calm, and there was not one trouble for the Straw Hat Pirates, who were now safely housed in their beloved ship.

However, things weren't always what they appeared.

It had been a week since the Straw Hats had left Mel at her home to continue their own voyage. As days came and went, the crew immediately noticed a change in their captain.

For one thing, Luffy wasn't very lively at the party they had on the night Mel left to celebrate his victory against Jones. He didn't even want to sing Binks's Brew with Brook.

He didn't want to go fishing with Chopper and Usopp.

He wouldn't play fetch with Blizzard, either.

Worst of all, every mealtime, when Sanji came to get him to eat…he said he wasn't hungry.

Not even for the smallest morsel of meat!

All he did was just…lie in bed, moping.

This really brought worry among the crew. This is the most depressed he's been since that fight he was with Usopp. So, they attempted to cheer him up.

Food, songs, a game, anything, but nothing seemed to get through to him.

It was obvious that he really missed Mel.

Truth be told, everyone did, but Luffy seemed to be the one who missed her the most. After all, out of all them, he and the half-pint were the closest.

It was only until the 7th day of the week that Sanji felt like he had had enough.

He wasn't going to let his idiot captain skip meals just because he was being a damn Gloomy Gus.

Sanji stomped towards the men's quarters and kicked the door off its hinges, much to Franky's horror.

"Hey!" Franky shouted. "What the hell are you doing, Bro Cook?"

Sanji entered the men's quarters with a scowl, searching the bunk beds until he found Luffy, lying in Usopp's bunk, of all places, under the covers.

"Alright, Luffy, get up!" Sanji growled as he grabbed the blankets and pulled them off of his captain. "It's lunchtime, and I'm NOT letting you starve like this! You haven't eaten in a week, now get up and come eat, already!"

"No thanks, Sanji," said Luffy in a solemn voice.

Sanji knitted his eyebrow.

"Damn you," he cursed before he grabbed by his vest collar and pulled him so that the boy's face would meet his. "You listen to me, Gloomy Gus! You're eating if I have to shove the down your gullet!"

"Sanji!"

Sanji looked upon seeing Nami, her hands on her hips and an angry frown upon her face.

"Put him down," she growled.

Sanji reluctantly obeyed and set Luffy back down on the bed.

"Let me handle this," said Nami. "This requires a woman's touch."

With that, Nami approached Luffy, sat down next to him, and gently pulled her captain onto her lap.

"Oh, Luffy," she said, comfortingly, as she combed her fingers through his mop of black hair. "You poor baby. You really miss Mel, don't you?"

Luffy heaved a sigh.

"Nothing gets passed you, huh, Nami?" asked Luffy.

"Nope," Nami answered. "Luffy…we miss Mel, too. Believe me, but you can't just lie around and mope about it. You also can't expect to solve your problem by not eating anything. You're really worrying us, you know?"

"I'm sorry," Luffy apologized. "It's…it's just…she was like a little sister to me. I knew I'd miss her…but I didn't think I'd miss her this much. I mean…I practically loved her."

"We all loved her," Nami said. "But if she were here, right now, she'd probably want you to move on with your life."

"My tummy hurts," Luffy said, out-of-the-blue.

Nami simply smiled and said, "That'll go away…in time. I'll leave you alone for a little while longer."

And so, Nami left Luffy to be alone, again. Sanji followed after, taking a drag of his cigarette and letting out a small puff of smoke as he did.

Outside, the rest of the Straw Hats had gathered.

"So?" Usopp asked.

Nami shook her head.

"No luck," he said. "It looks like he's really depressed."

"So there's really no way to cheer him up?" Franky asked.

"How frightfully upsetting," said Brook.

"Nami?" Chopper asked. "Is Luffy ever gonna feel better? I'm worried about him."

Blizzard whined, brushing his head up against Nami's hand. Nami's reply was to gently scratch his ears.

"We're all worried," Nami began, "but…I think the only we can do…is hope that Luffy gets over this."

"But what if he never does?" Sanji questioned.

"If he stays the way he is," Robin started, "then he may either die of a broken heart or of starvation."

"Duck," mumbled Zoro, although not loud for everyone to hear.

"Robin, please," said Nami. "Would you NOT say something morbid, for once?"

"Duck," Zoro said, a bit louder than before.

"What does a duck have to do with our conversation, Moss-head?" Sanji questioned, irritably.

"No, you dumb-ass!" Zoro barked. "'Duck', as in-"

"INCOMING! HEADS UP!" Franky shouted.

At that cry, the Straw Hats ducked down, just as a white blur came racing over them. When they raised their heads, they saw it was mail carrier bird.

"Well, that's odd," said Nami. "We rarely get mail."

"Now wait just a minute, Nami," said Usopp. "What if it's a booby trap?"

"Usopp, will you calm down?" asked Nami. "What harm could come out of some mail?"

The mail carrier bird pulled out an envelope from its bag, handing it to Nami.

"Thank you," she said.

AWWK! The mail carrier bird squawked before it flew off into the distance to deliver more mail at sea.

"What is it, Nami?" Chopper asked.

Nami flipped the envelope over, but then, she let out a gasp before a broad smile appeared and her eyes started to shimmer.

"This is it…!" she whispered before she turned to the others. "Guys, this is what we need!"

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

Nami didn't answer. Instead, she just ran back into the men's quarters and went up to Luffy.

"Luffy!" she called. "Luffy, look at this!"

Luffy peered over at his navigator.

"You just got a letter," Nami started, "from Mel!"

Luffy's eyes widened before he turned fully around to face Nami.

"From Mel?" he repeated. "Well, what does it say?"

"Oh, here," Nami said, opening the envelope and pulling out the letter from inside. "Let me read it, for you!"

Nami sat down in front of Luffy so that she could read Mel's letter.

This is what it said:

Dear Luffy,

Hi! It's me!

How are you doing?

I'm just fine, here at home, with my Mom.

Guess what? She's alive! The doctor managed to save her just in time!

I told my Mom all about you, Nami, and the others. She was kind of surprised, at first, but then she realized what great friends I made! Especially you.

I've got lots more new friends here at home. All the kids at my school think I'm cool, now, and they wanna hang out with me! Also, the bullies don't pick on me, anymore! I've got a lot more respect, now!

Thank you, so much, Luffy, for showing me what a pirate's life is really like. Someday, when I get older…I'm gonna be a pirate, too.

Your friend,

Mel.

Luffy sat on the bunk bed, hands in his lap, and a mixed emotion of happiness and surprise on his face.

He looked up at Nami, who smiled at him.

"Mel really said all that?" asked Luffy.

"Uh-huh," Nami replied. "All in black-and-white."

"Wow," Luffy said.

"You really inspired her, Luffy," Nami said.

"I did, huh?" Luffy asked, his broad grin beginning to return.

Boy, did Nami miss that grin.

"Hey, Nami," said Luffy. "I just realized something."

"Oh?" asked Nami. "And what would that be?"

A pause came.

RRRUUUUUUMMBLE! Luffy's stomach let out a huge roar.

"I realized I'm starving~!" he whined. "Is it still lunchtime?"

"Sure is," Nami said. "If you hurry, you can get to the food while it's still hot!"

Luffy didn't need to be told twice. He jumped up and ran out the doorway.

"Hey, Sanji!" he called out. "Food! I want food! Lots of meat!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Luffy, I hear ya!" Sanji called back, his irritated tone disguising his inner joy.

He's baaaaack! Nami thought in singsong.

With a giggle, she headed to the galley to eat lunch. As she did, she heard the sounds of Usopp, Chopper, Brook, Sanji, Zoro, and Franky shouting at Luffy to stop mooching off their plates.

"LUFFY, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"GIMME BACK MY SCALLOPS!"

"DAMN IT, LUFFY, KEEP YOUR CRAPPY RUBBER PAWS OFF MY PLATE!"

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVEN'T EATEN IN DAYS! STOP STEALING FROM PEOPLE'S PLATES!"

Nami walked up to the stairs, preparing to enter the galley, before she looked up to the vast, blue sky. She exhaled and smiled happily.

"Thank you," she said, "Melody."

With that being said, Nami headed to the galley to have her meal.

"Luffy!" she called. "You better remember to save me some food, mister!"

THE END

Well, that's all, folks!

Thanks to those who were patient enough to stick with this story!

Tomorrow, a new chapter of The Sabaody Arc will be up!

Until then, review, please!