Hiding the Truth (One Piece)

Chapter 31 - Meet Keimi and a Walking Talking... STARFISH?!

Several days had passed since our little midnight talk, and things couldn't be any better between myself and the crew, having decided to put the whole situation behind us. Nami and I were discussing our current travel status with Franky listening in at the helm, Robin was seated a little ways away, calmly drinking tea with Chopper crushing some herbs in a small clay bowl beside her. Luffy and Usopp were off doing God knows what with Brook and our resident swordsman could be seen lifting monstrous amounts of weights nearby as part of his daily training.

"We should be there soon, considering the Log Pose seems to be stabilising" I nodded at the information Nami provided, before turning up to the sky, weary of the small cloud formation that seemed to be developing overhead. It could be a simple shower or a sweeping monsoon, on the Grand Line, anything could be possible. 

"If the weather stays like this, than we might be able to get there by midday" I turned to Nami, who was busy relaying the news to Franky in case he'd missed anything during our conversation. Walking to the kitchen in hopes of getting a soothing drink, I stepped into Sanji's domain to see him preparing what I'd guessed to be the crew's lunch.

"Hey Lana, sorry but you'll have to wait a few more minutes. I'm not quite done with lunch" I waved him off, heading to the fridge.

"I only wanted a drink, but considering we haven't heard anything from Luffy in a while, I'm guessing you can take your time" I smiled, rummaging through the contents of a worryingly empty fridge. Noticing the lack of both food and drinks, I closed the fridge door with a sigh, leaning against it in frustration. "Luffy's been through here again, hasn't he?" Sanji huffed with annoyance, slamming his kitchen knife onto the countertop, clearly the knowledge was news to him.

"He's been through there again?!" Sanji roared, turning to arm himself with a frying pan, already preparing himself for the manhunt for our captain. Whilst the disappointment with my findings were enough to instil anger at our stupid captain, I could only chuckle with amusement from the side lines at Sanji's rampage, imaginary flames burning around him. The deck door slamming open pulled my attention from the raging cook, a nonchalant Zoro walking in without a shirt. It was clear he had just finished his strenuous workout, but the fact that he decided to parade around shirtless was no short of a wonderful distraction. 

"What's going on?" Zoro muttered with little energy, settling onto the floor for a rest. Why he didn't sit on the available seats scattered throughout the galley was a mystery, but I decided to leave him to his antics, knowing it wouldn't be worth the hassle to question him. 

"Luffy decided to boycott us of food again. I was only hoping for a nice, cold drink" I mumbled towards the end of my sentence, looking longingly to the barren fridge.

"I'm sorry Lana, I guess we'll have to wait until Fishman Island" Realising the distance still left between us and our intended destination, Sanji's words were of little comfort. I risked another look, checking through the cabinets in hopes of finding a bottle of something non-alcoholic. At this point, I was on my knees looking through the smallest cupboards. Whilst the idea that a drink would be found in the small crevice was hard to believe, I couldn't help but check. Just in case. 

I heard chuckling from behind me, and I looked up to be met with Zoro snickering down at me. He had walked over from his perch to watch my fruitless search, knowing I would come up empty handed. 

"Want a drink?" He offered his Saki bottle with a small shake, the liquid sloshing about within the bottle. I turned to throw him a frown, knowing he knew of my aversion to the drink.

"How long have you known me?" I questioned with my head once again in the cupboard, reaching into the depths in hopes of finding something.