Chapter 42: Celebration and Departure

I'll have you all know that, due to popular demand, I managed to add a 1,000-word bathhouse scene to this chapter in the span of 48 hours, and this chapter was already pretty long for my usual lengths. I hope you all are satisfied with it; I've never written anything like it before, so I hope it's good.

Chapter 42:

Celebration and Departure

The Straw Hats "mysteriously dissappeared" within the hour after the end of the rebellion, and none of the citizens could or would tell the marines where they were. The marines knew that the pirates were in the castle, but there wasn't enough proof for them to force their way into the royal family's home. All of the members whose faces weren't known were tasked with buying supplies in town, leaving Zoro, Gin, and Coby (just in case after his stunt in Nanohana) with nothing to really do. Those three occupied their time through training, much to Chopper's dismay for the former two. Also, despite their disagreements, Amy was forced to admit that Usopp was a half-decent inventor after Nami showed off her Clima-Tact and approached him for assistance.

"You want me to do what?" the sniper asked.

"I'm asking you to install a propeller in my parasol," Amy responded. "It would help me control my flight when I'm weightless and I'll need all the help I can get." Answering her pleas with no small amount of bragging, Usopp deconstructed Amy's beloved sunbrella and installed three small rudders on the tip that were connected to a button on the handle via wires. When the button was pressed, the rudders spun up a breeze just strong enough to pull Amy through the air. The harder the button was pressed, the faster the rudders spun and the faster she could go.

Luffy slept for two and a half days. He woke up at six in the morning, his girlfriend sleeping by his bedside with his hat on her head. A smile stretched across Luffy's face at the sight until a growl came from his stomach, waking her. Nami stirred, brown eyes opening to meet with her captain's.

"Hi, Nami," Luffy smiled. The girl leaned up, hugging her boyfriend.

"Morning, Luffy. How do you feel?"

"Hungry." Nami laughed, waking several of the other crewmembers in the beds around them.

"Captain Luffy!" Coby called happily, running over from his bed a dozen feet away. Chopper followed him closely. "Captain Luffy! You're awake!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Amy sassed with a yawn.

"There's another captain in here?" Luffy asked, his cluelessness inciting laughter from his crew.

That day, every meal was a feast. The pirates and Vivi ate and laughed happily, Luffy stealing food from the plates of everyone sans Nami. Zoro and Sanji yelled at each other, Coby tried to talk to Grace while ignoring the glare he could feel from Amy, and Luffy told the stories of their adventures to the king.

After dinner, as the plates were being carried away from the dinner table, Igaram gave the Straw Hats some very big news. New bounties were out, and they included several familiar faces and many new numbers.

"Straw Hat" Luffy- 100,000,000 Beris

"Pirate Hunter" Zoro- 60,000,000 Beris

"Man-Demon" Gin- 30,000,000 Beris

"Tri-Horn" Coby- 10,000,000 Beris

The pictures for Luffy, Zoro, and Gin remained the same, but Coby's was brand new. Coby's wanted poster had two pictures, one of Coby and Zoro talking (with Usopp in the background looking at stuff on sale), and the other of Coby in his Hybrid Mode with Tashigi's broken Shigure at his feet. The first was from Louge Town while the second had been taken in Nanohana.

"This is awesome!" Luffy yelled. "I reached 100 million!"

"Heh," Zoro smirked, reading the words on his and Coby's posters. "They finally said that Coby's my student. Maybe having a pupal wanted at such a young age and for that much will boost my reputation."

"And I finally broke double digits," Gin added, eyeing the new number beneath his picture. "My last bounty might have been somewhat impressive for the East Blue, but now I'm worth more than my old boss ever was."

"I guess this means I can never be a marine now," Coby sighed, a forlorn look on his face. "I mean, I gave that up a while ago, but there was always that spark of hope. Still, we saved a country; why are we wanted now?"

"It's not like the Marines are going to admit that a pirate crew did their job better than they could," Usopp answered. "They'll probably say something about how we were helping Crocodile until they threw a wrench into our plan and we turned on the Warlord."

"Besides," Amy put in, "only Pinky and Luffy really earned their new bounties; Zoro and Gin had bounties before that rose because they're on Luffy's crew."

"Right now, I don't care how much you're worth, Luffy," Nami stated. "After sleeping for almost three days and then eating enough to feed an Island Whale, you need a bath."

"You're welcome to use the royal bathhouse," King Cobra offered, standing. "Shall I lead the way?" The pirates nodded and stood, following the king.

"Wow!" the male pirates gawked, their eyes dancing over the embellished interior of the royal bathhouse. The entire inside, from the walls and floor to the ceiling itself, was made of pure marble. The stones were each hand-cut and fitted together like a puzzle piece, a mural of various dessert animals with a jackal and a falcon watching over them carved into the ceiling. Along a far wall was a stylized golden dragon from who's mouth flowed a fountain of clear water that created a constant background splashing.

"It is impressive, isn't it?" King Cobra boasted. "My grandfather commissioned it 80-some years ago. Alabasta had been attacked by an enormous pirate crew that stole everything that they could get their hands on and didn't have to feed. My grandfather wanted to help the people since the royal coffers were untouched, but he knew he couldn't just give the people the money; they wouldn't want pity and the other countries would see it as weak, so he commissioned a bathhouse of the best materials at the highest prices he could find. Then he commissioned the murals from artists across Alabasta. That bathhouse is what you see before you." The king turned, wishing to see the awed faces of the male Straw Hats, but the only one looking at him was Coby, who had yet to get further into the water than mid-thigh.

"That was a nice story, Your Majesty," the boy commented. "I enjoyed it, at least." He glanced around the room, locating the others he could see. Luffy and Usopp had started a towel war upon exiting the changing room, whipping each other with the ends of their towels, but the two had since teamed up to attack Gin who was chasing them around the exterior of the water and cursing them out. Zoro was already submerged up to his chest, helping a slumped Chopper by rubbing shampoo into his fur. The doctor could have either been drowsy or dizzy from the heat or simply weak from the water, but Coby couldn't tell though all the steam. He could just make out Sanji and Igaram near the far wall of the bath. From the whispers he managed to catch, Sanji was trying to peek on the girls below and Igaram was trying to stop him.

"I really don't get the layout of the bathhouse," Coby admitted. "I can understand having two layers, but why are the girls on the lower floor?"

"Oh, that?" Cobra questioned. "My grandfather was an unrepentant pervert."

Coby sighed, wishing he had been surprised by the answer. Twin splashes of water rose on Coby's right, a blubbering Luffy and Usopp flailing as they rose for air. I seemed that Gin caught them.

"Dammit, Gin!" Usopp yelled. "We were just messing around!"

"Shut up!" the man snapped. "That hurt, you morons!"

"Shut up, you idiots!" Sanji ordered from his place beside the wall dividing the upper and lower tiers, an unconscious Igaram on the floor beside him. Unfortunately for him, this attracted the attention of the captain and sniper.

"What are you doing, Sanji?" Luffy questioned, heading towards the perverted cook with Usopp hot on his heels. Sanji's answer was too low for Coby to hear over the sound of running water.

"I think your cook has the right idea!" King Cobra quietly exclaimed, also making his way to the dividing wall. Coby sighed as Gin passed to join the throng of males as well and turned back to his teacher and the reindeer. However, before he could make his way over, Zoro glanced up and seemed to decide it would be as great a time as any to start another round of his favorite pastime: fighting with the cook.

"Oi!" he yelled, setting Chopper to the side where the reindeer started washing the soap out of his coat. "What do you think you're doing, Shit Chef?!"

"I'm doing what every true man should!" Sanji hollered back. "I'm showing my appreciation of the female form!" The cook gained a thoughtful expression. "You've never done that, though. Could it be that you're..." He trailed off, waiting for Zoro to catch on to his meaning. He wasn't disappointed as, only half a second later, the green-haired man bolted to his feet with a scowl. Coby's teacher stomped toward the smirking blond, his footsteps causing the water to splash. Coby sighed, again, and moved to help Chopper before picking up the doctor and making his way to the two arguing men in order to play mediator. All of the men were trying to lean over the wall with various forms of success, Zoro really only doing so to try to prove some sort of point to the chef. Coby's gut twisted. a sign that his Zoan instincts were trying to warn him of oncoming disaster.

"What are you all doing?" Chopper asked innocently.

"Research," Gin answered with a whisper, not turning around. Spurned on under the delusion that he was going to learn something new, Chopper jumped off of Coby's shoulder to look over the wall with the rest of the group.

"Zoro-sensei..." Coby tried, hoping the man would catch his warning. He didn't.

"Perverts!" Vivi's voice roared over the wall. Coby dove backwards without hesitation.

"HAPPINESS PUNCH!"

On the other side of the wall, a minute earlier

"I still can't believe we did it," Vivi admitted, her hands rubbing soap over Nami's back. Grace and Amy were seated beside them, the older helping the younger. "I mean," she continued, "after my argument with Luffy, I didn't think that I'd be able to actually stop the armies from fighting."

"If we'd had any fewer people, I don't think we could have," Amy stated, brushing a comb through her sister's hair. "Admittedly, I might have known more about Croc's plans than most of the organization, but even I didn't think he had infiltrators in both armies."

"Too complicated," Grace yawned. "Too much thinking."

"It's over now, anyway," Nami waved off. "There's no need to worry about the 'what-if's."

"I'm doing what a man should!" Sanji's voice declared from somewhere above. "I'm showing my appreciation of the female form!"

"Please don't tell me," Amy growled.

"They wouldn't!" Vivi denied, shocked.

"They are," Grace responded with another yawn. "Shame is too much work, though."

"You're underage!" Amy yelled. "At least have some shame!" The haze that seemed to hang in the air from the steam began to dissipate, revealing the shadows of almost every male perched on the dividing wall.

"Perverts!" Vivi yelled, clutching her towel close. Amy scowled and shoved Grace behind her, but noted that Coby was not among those on the wall. In fact, he was the only one not there.

"Alright," Nami sighed, standing up with her towel loosely held around her form. "I'm warning you all, though. This'll cost each of you 10 million Beris each. Except for you, Luffy." She winked as the captain and opened her towel. "HAPPINESS PUNCH!"

The dividing wall exploded into red as blood gushed from the noses of all male viewers sans Chopper, but none moreso than Luffy. While most of the men simply fell off the wall, the raven-haired teen was rocketed upwards to the point where he struck the ceiling with enough force to put a Luffy-sized crater in the mural, the imprint placed in the claws of the over-watching falcon.

"Nami!" Vivi gasped.

"Kyahahaha!" Amy laughed. "Look at how far Luffy went! Kyahahaha!"

"I don't get it," Chopper blinked. "What's so interesting about the female anatomy?"

"I'll tell you when you're older," Zoro moaned from behind the wall. "Damn Sea Witch."

"I tried to warn you." Coby shook his head. "Now, how are we going to get Captain Luffy down from the ceiling?" There was a drip-drip sownd from somewhere behind the men, but Coby was the only one to turn. A small circle of red was spreading directly under the imprint of the captain. "And I think we should hurry," Coby added. "Captain Luffy might bleed out at this rate."

"Damn Sea Witch," Zoro repeated.

"Damn lucky bastard," Sanji sighed angrily.

"Hey, Nami!" Amy laughed. "I think you might have killed him! Kyahahaha!"

That night, after the whole bathhouse debacle blew over, the Straw Hats gave Vivi a choice. She could stay in Alabasta and remain a princess, or she could leave with them for the pirate's life. The blunette didn't have an answer; she didn't know which life she wanted. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She knew she wanted to go with them and sail on the seas again, but could she abandon her country and her duties as a princess to do so? They agreed to meet her on the easternmost coast of Alabasta at noon the following day. There, she would have an answer for them.

The crew of ten snuck out of the town that night after a call from Bon Clay who informed him that he had commandeered the Going Merry to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Marines. With the help of the Super Sonic Duck Squadron and Eyelash, the pirates were able to make it out of Alubarna and to the Going Merry by daybreak. There, Bon Clay properly met Amy and Grace and both pirate crews set sail.

Soon, they were set upon by Black Cage Hina, a Marine Captain known for surrounding pirate ships and shooting them with long, sharpened iron rods rather than cannonballs. Bon Clay and his crew valiantly sacrificed themselves to give the Straw Hats time to escape, the flamboyant Okama declaring that "if we are to fall, let it be on the sea; the flower of friendship is singing!"

"Bon Clay!" Luffy cried as the Straw Hats sailed away. "We'll never forget you!"

Despite the damages, the Merry was able to outrun the other Marine ships that came for it. The pirates made their way to the meeting point and waited. Noon came, then 12:30, 1:00, 1:30. The clock was nearing two when six Marine ships rounded the coast.

"Warships!" Usopp called from the crow's nest. "Six of them!"

"Come on, Luffy," Sanji muttered, taking a drag on his cigarette. "It's obvious she's not coming."

"No," Luffy denied. "She'll be here. I know it."

"We can't stay, Don," Gin urged. "The Marines are here." There was a crackling sound before Vivi's voice drifted through the air.

"Hello, everyone," she greeted, her words echoing throughout the kingdom. "No doubt those of you in Alubarna are wondering why I'm not there right now, but that doesn't matter. I've been gone for several years, as you all know, and I've learned many things about the world. Sometimes those you trust are the least trustworthy, and sometimes the only ones you can trust are the ones no one else will. I made many friends during my absence, and they will always hold a place in my heart." The Straw Hats finally found the princess who was dressed in a flowing, white gown. She and Carue were standing on the coast, a transponder snail on the duck's head. Tears glistened from Vivi's cheeks, sparking in the afternoon sun.

"I wish that I could travel with them like I did before," she continued. "They're some of the craziest people you would ever meet, and they're also some of the most fun-loving, They were the reason I made it back in time. And they were the reason I never gave up. Even when I'd lost hope, they pulled through for me, and I can't thank them enough for that.

"What truly happened in Alubarna will never make it into the history books. I know that. And those that were there know that, but it doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say is: thank you. Thank you all. I want to go with you, to sail the seas like we did before. But I can't. Not yet. There's too much that I need to do here. I only ask, if we meet again, even if it's years from now, will you still call me your friend?" There was a pause, it seemed like Vivi was waiting for a response. Luffy opened his mouth to call out to her, to tell her that she'd always be their friend, but Sanji clamped a hand over his face.

"We can't say anything," Nami whispered, turning Luffy and herself away from the coast. "The Marines are too close. We can't show that we have a connection."

Pulling Sanji's hand off, Luffy reasoned, "Then how about this?" Yanking the bandages off of his left arm, the captain thrust his arm upward, revealing the X-shaped marking hidden underneath. One by one, the rest of the crew followed in his example, backs to the shore and X's out. A fresh wave of tears flowed from Vivi's eyes as she and Carue revealed their own black X's and sent them into the air above their heads. Cannonballs rained water upon the pirates as they hit the sea around the ship.

The Marines were firing at them, but the Straw Hats didn't move a muscle. They stood stock still, left hands up. Wind caught the sails and began pulling the ship away from Alabasta, the waves moving the ship ever-so-slightly as if the ship itself was dodging. Just as the ship was moving out of sight, the Alabastian princess lifted the microphone for the transponder snail to her lips.

"Thank you!"

Outrunning the Marines proved to be rather easy when Luffy decided to disregard Usopp's request of hanging on to the iron spears that had punctured the Merry during their flight from Black Cage Hina and threw them at the ships chasing them. The Warships were rendered useless in seconds, allowing the Straw Hats a clean getaway.

They sailed on for several hours before the feeling of Vivi's absence got to them. Well... most of them, anyway. Zoro, Amy, and Gin were unaffected by the depressing aura coming from their fellow crewmates.

"What is with you all?" Amy asked as the others moped along the ship's railing.

"We miss her!" Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Coby, and Grace wailed in perfect synchronization.

"If you wanted her to come along so badly," Zoro began, "then you should have just kidnapped her."

"You savage!' Copper cried.

"Monster," Nami spat.

"Moron," Sanji followed.

"Emotionless beast," Grace whined.

"Heartless demon," Coby put in.

"Three Sword Style," Luffy insulted.

"Luffy?" Usopp questioned. "'Three Sword Style' isn't an insult."

"Four Sword Style," Luffy amended.

"No, that's not how it works," Usopp explained. The 'Heartless Trio', as I will now refer to Zoro, Amy, and Gin, turned away from their sad and squabbling friends just before the door under said friends opened to allow a figure on deck.

"You better check to make sure all the holes are patched up," the woman commented. "It wouldn't do for the bathroom to flood."

"Already done," Zoro waved off before freezing. The Heartless Trio spun around, readying their weapons as the other seven members snapped out of their shock and tried to free themselves from the railing. The woman, who was dressed in a pair of simple jeans and a light green shirt that both belonged to Nami, ignored them. She walked over to a deck chair, book in hand, and sat down.

"Oh, she's gorgeous," Sanji swooned.

"Nico Robin," Coby growled in his Hybrid Mode, swords at the ready. "To what do we owe this... unexpected visit."

"To your captain," Nico Robin answered without missing a beat, opening her book.

"I never invited you," Luffy argued.

"No, you didn't," the woman nodded, eyes dancing across the pages of The Rainbow Mist, "but I'm not here by invitation. I came here because of what you did to me."

"Luffy!" Sanji roared angrily, grabbing his captain by the shirt and shaking him. "What the Hell did you do?!"

"I. Didn't. Do. Any. Thing. To. You!" Luffy denied through the shaking.

"You most certainly did," the former Ms. Allsunday replied suggestively. "I'm here to make sure you take responsibility for your actions."

"Luffy, you bastard!" While Sanji continued to shake his rubber captain, the rest of the crew stared at the woman in confusion.

"Um," Grace stuttered. "W-what did Luffy do to you?"

"He forced me to live," Nico Robin answered. Sanji's shaking stopped suddenly. The woman looked into the distance, seeing the sea, but not seeing it at the same time. She continued to speak. "Just when all I wanted was the sweet release of death, your captain would not let me have it. He dragged me out of that crumbling tomb, and now I'm here so he takes responsibility for that. I wish to join your crew."

The crew's reactions were mixed. The great majority were confused while Nami and Usopp were skeptical and Sanji very, very happy. The chef noodled into the kitchen to cook their newest member a delicious snack. Robin then proceeded to win over nearly every member of the crew, whether that was amusing them with her Devil Fruit powers (Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper), jewels (Nami), or a new hat (Grace had yet to replace the one she'd lost in Rainbase). Coby sheathed his swords and, while he didn't trust this woman yet, Luffy was the captain.

And according to their captain, the eleventh member of the Straw Hat Pirates was one Nico Robin.

End of Chapter 42

Well, it's official, Vivi will not be joining the crew. I know this is disappointing for many of you, but this has been written out for months and do you know how much of a hassle it would be to rewrite every chapter from this point onward? And the crew was already to the point where it's hard to make sure I have every member accounted for. I like Vivi as much as the next fan, but there are already so many stories out there where she does join. Anyways...

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods