Love Run I Sanji

Chapter 1

A strange delivery through the ocean

It was a slow day on the open sea. The waves leaped lazily against the side of the 'Going Merry', carrying the ship forward. A light breeze occasionally blew into the sail painted with a giant skull wearing a straw hat. The inspiration behind the design lay on top of the figurehead shaped like a lamb, his own signature straw hat pulled deep into his face to shield his eyes from the morning sun. He was already itching for a new adventure despite having defined Arlong and the fishmen pirates not even a week prior. The rest of his crew was a little less enthusiastic, with everyone doing their own thing in silence. Who knew when they would have the chance to just enjoy themselves again? Being a pirate meant trouble around every corner and behind every new wave. Especially if you travel under a captain like Luffy - they all learned that within minutes of meeting him.

As expected, even on such a beautiful day, something peculiar came their way.

"Hey, everyone!" Luffy yelled out of the blue, "There is something in the water!"

He jumped up with too much energy and excitement, pointing to the east of them. Alarmed Usopp dropped the hammer he was working with onto his foot, causing him to yell even louder. Zoro cracked open one eye from where he was sleeping against the railing, closing it again after assessing that they weren't in imidate danger. Only to receive a hard kick to his left side.

"What the hell, cook?" he asked the corporate as he got to his feet.

"The captain called for everyone. That sadly includes you," Sanji said a little too smug. He leaned over the railing to catch whatever Luffy tried to point out. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips.

"'Cause more people starring is absolutely going to help," Zoro complained.

Before the fight between the two could escalate, Nami chimed in: "It's a small boat." She had been smart enough to grab a spyglass, which she now handed to Ussop after he limped up to the others.

"I don't see anyone on it," he said after a while.

Luffy jumped down from his post: "I wanna see too!"

"According to the maps, there should be an island not too far from here," Nami pointed out, "The boat might be coming from there. Still, it's strange that it drifted this far out onto the ocean." Her pointy finger taped against her cheek in thought. "The currents surrounding the island could be more powerful to drive a small boat away from it faster. We'd need to be careful if that's the case."

Next to her Sanji swooned, hanging off every word of her lips. Even if it was questionable if he was actually listening to her, for all the rest of the crew knew, he could be easily distracted by her beauty.

"You are so smart, Nami," he praised, which earned him a dry laugh from Zoro.

"You've got something to say, Mosshead?" Sanji instantly dropped any pretense of niceness.

"I want to know what's on that boat," Luffy interrupted, uncaring for the squabble that was about to start between two of his crewmates.

Ussop shrugged: "As I said, it's most likely empty. Are you even listening to me?"

"Maybe, but I still wanna see." There was no persuading Luffy to ignore the small boat, no matter what the others tried.

So, a few minutes thereafter the Going Merry found itself next to the boat, which assumably couldn't hold more than one or two people, making its appearance out on the ocean even more bizarre. All five members of the strawhat-pirates leaned over the railing to get a better glimpse of whatever it might or might not contain. Zoro's hand flew to to back of Luffy's vest, holding him in place before their overenthusiastic captain could accidentally fall over the railing (it had happened before).