Ch 13 Johnny & Yosaku

The Going Merry floats through the sea. The whole crew on the deck. Luffy holds up a flag with a horribly drawn jolly roger on it.

Luffy: " It's finished!! Luffy's pirate flag!!!"

Luffy: " Ha ha ha! I already had the emblem thought up!"

Zoro: " Uh..... emblem?"

Usopp: " This guy's a little low on design sense."

Nami: " Hmm... or is it avant garde?"

Zoro: " A pirate flag ought to inspire terror. And this is pretty scary."

Alex: " I thought it might turn out like this if you made it, so I took a look at your emblem and made my own." He walks into the captain's quarters, and walks back out with a flag, the flag's design being a much better version of Luffy's. The jolly roger wearing a straw hat.

Nami: " Good! I like it!"

Luffy: " That's great! Let's paint it on the sail, too!"

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Later, after the crew had put the emblem on the ship's flag.

Luffy: " There! It's complete!! Our pirate ship, the Going Merry, is ready!!!"

Alex, Zoro, Usopp, and Nami rest on the deck, while Luffy heads over to the cannon.

Usopp: " Phew! I'm beat!"

A loud 'boom!' rings out, startling Alex, Zoro, Usopp, and Nami. The four look over and notice Luffy, who just fired the cannon.

Alex: " What are you firing at?!"

Luffy: " That rock, it's cannon practice." He states, pointing at a large rock in the distance, Luffy having missed it.

Luffy: " But this thing doesn't shoot right."

Usopp: " That's silly. Let me try." He walks over to Luffy.

Luffy: " Hit that rock."

Usopp: " Okay."

Usopp: " Judging from your first shot..." He adjusts the cannon's angle.

Usopp: " This should do it." He fires off the cannon, hitting the large rock dead on, breaking it in half.

Alex: " Damn, you hit it first try. You're one hell of a marksman, Usopp."

Usopp: " I hit it on my first try?!"

Alex: " You didn't even know if you could hit it?! Then why the hell were you boasting!?"

Usopp: " See?! Didn't I tell you? I always him what I aim at. If you're impressed, just call me captain."

Alex: " Your still on that?"

Luffy: " No, I'll call you, our sharpshooter!"

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Later, in the ship's kitchen.

Usopp: " Okay, you can be captain... for now. But if you ever show cowardice... I'll take over in a heartbeat."

Luffy: " No, Alex will."

Usopp: " Huh?!"

Alex: " Me and Luffy had this discussion on the way to recruit Zoro, a while back. We came to the agreement that should anything ever happen to Luffy, I'd take over as acting captain, until he was better."

Luffy: " I've been thinking! There's still one position we need to fill before we reach the Grand Line."

Nami: " This galley has all the equipment. I'll do it, for a price."

Alex: " Is there anything you won't do for money?"

Nami: " Nope."

Zoro: " Good, that skill's essential on a long voyage."

Luffy: " Then it's agreed!"

Alex: " I suppose so."

Luffy: " A pirate ship must have..... a musician!"

Alex: " I should've known....." He sighs, face palming.

Usopp: " Are you nuts?"

Nami: " I thought you were going to say something smart for once!!"

Zoro: " This is piracy, not a pleasure cruise!"

Luffy: " Pirates have to sing, don't they?!"

???: " Come out and fight, dogs!!! I'll murder the lot of you!!!!"

Luffy and Alex rush out the door and see a man with a sword aboard their ship. The man kicks a bunch of barrels.

Luffy: " Hey!! Who are you?!"

Alex: " The hell are you doing?!"

???: " What's it to you who I am?!" He yells, charging forward, taking a slash at Luffy. Luffy jumps out of the way and the man destroys the railing with his sword.

???: " I've claimed the bounty on the world's most infamous pirates. How dare you nobodies try to kill my partner?!!" He takes another slash at Luffy.

Luffy: " Partner?! Who? Where?" He leaps over the man, grabs him by the head while in mid air and flips the man over his head and slams him onto the deck.

???: " A hair's breadth from death....."

Luffy: " What the heck was all that about?"

The others come out of the kitchen, and Zoro recognizes the man.

Zoro: " Huh? Well, I'll be. It's Johnny!"

Johnny: " Huh... Z-Zoro!! My brother!!!" He states, standing up.

Zoro: " What's going on? Where's Yosaku?"

Johnny: " That's just it!!"

Alex: " You know this guy, Zoro?"

Zoro: " Yeah, he's an old friend of mine."

Johnny: " Listen to me!! Yosaku is dying!!!"

With the help of the Strawhat crew, Johhny brings the ill Yosaku on board the Going Merry.

Johnny: " He was fit as a fiddle until a few days ago. Then he went pale and started passing!! I don't know what's wrong!"

Johnny: " His teeth are falling out, and he's bleeding from old scars. I don't know what to do, so I went to get some rest and think on that rock."

Johnny: " Then one of you shot a cannonball at me!!!"

Alex: " This is why you don't shoot the cannon at random rocks, you idiot!!!" He yells at Usopp and Luffy.

Luffy & Usopp: " Forgive us!"

Johnny: " That's history. Forget it. What good are apologies anyway?"

Johnny: " Our reputation has grown. Pirates fear the names of Johnny and Yosaku. He's my trusted partner...we've hunted pirates together for years!!!! My brother's gonna.... is he gonna die?"

Alex: " He'll be fine, he just needs some limes. Luffy! Usopp! Go get some limes from the galley! Squeeze some and bring me the juice!"

Luffy & Usopp: " O-okay!!" They run to the ship's galley.

Johnny: " Limes?" He asks, as Luffy and Usopp return with a container of lime juice, they begin pouring it down Yosaku's throat.

Alex: " It's scurvy. There, with luck, he should be fine in a couple of days."

Johnny: " Really, brother!?"

Alex: " A generation ago, scurvy was the bane of sailors. But it's simply caused by poor nutrition. Fruits and vegetables rot on long voyages."

Luffy: " Wow! You're like a doctor."

Usopp: " I always knew you were brilliant."

Alex: " You fucking idiots!! Everyone who sails should know these things!!"

Yosaku: " Saved by lime juice!!!" He cheers, jumping to his feet.

Johnny: " Good job, brother!!!!"

Alex: " The hell are you doing?! You still need to recover!!"

Johnny: " Introduction time. I'm Johnny!!!"

Yosaku: " And I'm Yosaku!! We're brother Zoro's old bounty hunting partners!!!"

Yosaku: " Pleased to meet you!!"

Yosaku: " I don't know how to thank all of you. I was sure I was a goner."

Johnny: " I still can't believe it. Pirate hunter Zoro is a pirate!!"

Yosaku suddenly spews blood from his mouth and falls to the ground.

Johnny: " Woah! Yosaku!!"

Zoro: " Lie down and rest!!"

Nami: " Learn anything?"

Zoro: " A long voyage on the high seas is fraught with hidden dangers."

Usopp: " Those guys would be dead if we hadn't come along."

Alex: " Luffy and Usopp are idiots."

Zoro: " We already knew that."

Usopp: " Hey!!!"

Alex: " We still need a cook."

Nami: " He's right. It's an absolute necessity!"

Luffy: " Okay! We'll look for a sea cook! What good is a ship without decent grub?"

Johnny: " Brother, brother!"

Zoro: " Speak, Johnny."

Johnny: " If you need a cook, I know where to find one. But whether he'll join up with you is another matter."

Luffy: " An ocean going restaurant?!"

Johnny: " It's two or three days' sailing from here. But be careful. It's near the Grand Line. Some rough customers frequent that place."

Johnny: " Brother, they say even that Hawk-eye you were hunting goes there."

Johnny: " I'll guide you there, if you want."

Alex: " Don't worry, I know how to get there. Baratie, right?"

Johnny: " Yeah, how did you know?"

Alex: " I know the guy who owns it."

Alex helms the ship, heading North, to Baratie, the ocean going restaurant.