One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter Forty Seven [Rewritten]

"I mean, they're already after us, so why not borrow some horses?" I asked.

"Not to worry, look ahead" Sanji suddenly pointed.

"Is that a...giant crab?" I owlishly blinked as I watched a rather large crab come rushing toward us. Chopper could just barely be seen sitting on top of it, holding the reins as if he was riding it like you would a horse or a camel.

"Hey, guys, hop on!" the reindeer loudly called out to us.

"Ah! A crab!" Usopp screamed in fright the second he spotted the large crustacean.

"Chopper?" Nami questioned.

"That's a Moving Crab!" Vivi quickly identified.

"Yummy" Luffy licked his lips as already I could hear his stomach start to growl in hunger just from the sight of the crab. "Whoa—awesome! I can't believe my eyes! I bet it's delicious!" he grinned.

"Is there anything out there that you won't eat?" I sweat dropped.

"Doubt it..." the others grumbled in response.

"All aboard!" Chopper cheerfully chirped.

"We get to ride it!" Luffy excitedly shouted as he suddenly stretched his arms upwards and tightly wrapped them around one of the crab's eyes. "Nice to meet you" he greeted, widely smiling as he dangled from the crab's eye.

"Is it just me or does its face look kind of shady?" Nami warily asked as she looked up at the giant crustacean that peered down at us with a wide smile.

"It's just you" I said. "I think he looks kind of cute in his own weird way—he's just a silly little guy is all" I smiled.

"Little?" Nami sweat dropped.

"Who cares?" Sanji dismissively waved. "At least we have a ride" he said, climbing aboard the crab's lower claw with the rest of us quick to follow.

"Say hello, he's Eyelash's friend" Chopper said as we were lifted onto the crab's head.

"That's cool, though I didn't know crabs and camels could be friends" I smiled with the tilt of my head.

"Yeah, Eyelash has lots of friends in this area because it's his hometown—he was born and raised here" Chopper nodded. "He's nice, but kind of pervy" he said.

"Really now?" I questioned in amusement. "I think I might know someone else just like that..." I hummed, holding back a laugh the second I was pulled down into Zoro's lap as the swordsman narrowed his eyes—staring me down as if daring me to just finish that train of thought.

"Go on, tell us who this someone else is" he threatened, face drawing closer to mine as I shrunk away.

"Would you accept Sanji as the answer?" I asked through sealed lips as my shoulders started to shake with barely contained laughter. He was silent for a minute before huffing out a silent laugh as he nodded, looking quite content with my answer as he finally drew back. Sighing in relief, I giggled as I comfortably leaned back against his chest while his arms loosely wrapped around my waist. "What are you smiling about?" I asked the moment I saw the wide smile spread across Nami's face.

"Oh, nothing" she giggled as I childishly stuck my tongue out at her.

"I can't believe that you found one" Vivi said, looking and sounding almost impressed as she examined the crab. "Moving Crabs are always submerged under the sand, so it's nearly impossible to spot one" she explained.

"Judging by its size, I say this guy's pretty fast" Zoro grinned, now resting his chin right atop my head.

"Okay, time to move out" Chopper nodded. "Hang on everyone—here we go" he snapped the reins in his hoofs, causing the crab to start moving at a relatively decent pace. A relatively peaceful silence soon settled between us all, one that didn't last very long before being disrupted by Vivi's startled scream in surprise as a familiar golden hook hooked itself around her waist and started to drag her backward.

"Chopper! Stop the crab!" Zoro shouted, moving me and jumping to a stand. Doing as he was told. Chopper pulled on the reins as the crab came to a screeching halt, knocking a few of us off balance in the process.

"It's him!" Luffy growled, instantly stretching his arms toward Vivi so that he could switch her out with himself. Once he had gotten her free, he tossed her back towards us with Zoro being the one to safely catch her.

"Hey, Luffy!" the swordsman shouted as he sat Vivi, leaving Nami and me to quickly check on her and make sure that she was alright.

"That damn idiot!" Sanji growled.

"Luffy, no!" Vivi cried out.

"You guys go on ahead! Don't worry about me!" Luffy shouted back. "Make sure you deliver Vivi home, safe and sound—you have to promise me! Good luck, you guys!"

"Idiot..." Zoro grumbled with a frown. "Hey, let's go, Chopper! Just keep going to Alubarna" he ordered the reindeer, turning away from the captain.

"Right, okay" Chopper nodded, already on the verge of tears as he loudly sniffed. "Let's go, crab" he snapped the reins once again and got the crab moving.

"Hey, hold on!" Usopp frowned. "Wait, Zoro, that's cold—stop the crab! You're not going to leave him behind, are you?!" he frantically asked. "I can't believe you'd do something like this! Well, if Luffy's gone then you better protect me, dammit!" he cried.

"We got to go back!" Vivi suddenly demanded.

"It's alright, Vivi, he'll be fine" Nami assured the princess as I rested a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, this is Luffy we're talking about" I nodded.

"You have to trust us on this, okay? I certainly feel sorry for the other guy" Nami suddenly smiled. "Luffy shows no mercy to his prey and there's not a single person he's gone after that was able to walk away."

"Crocodile will fail, Luffy will win—it's that simple" Zoro calmly yet firmly stated. "The moment the Rebel Army started running, this land's final hour was set. When the Royal Army and Rebel Army meet, this country—the Kingdom of Alabasta—will be gone forever" he said. "If you truly are the one and only hope for preventing that tragedy, then you must survive no matter what. So, from this moment on, what happens to Luffy or any of us isn't the least bit important" he told the princess.

"He's right, you're far more important than any of us" I nodded in agreement. "You're the only one that can really stop all this, no one's going to listen to a bunch of pirates—these people will only have open ears for their princess" I said.

"But..." Vivi whispered with a frown.

"Vivi, this is a fight that you and you alone started—you're the one who bravely left this land years ago and made the decision to stand up against a corrupted and evil organization" Sanji reminded her.