Chapter 5 - Exploring the Town

Chapter 5



“WE'RE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Luffy's voice boomed through the ship like a siren, waking all who heard it. Katherine and Jasmine jumped up from there beds and looked around. Nami was also awakened, and Robin wasn't in the room.

“WHY'D YOU WAKE ME UP, YOU FREAKIN' IDIOT??”

Zoros' voice could be heard, just as loud, making Jasmine and Katherine giggle.

“NOW YOU WOKE US ALL UP, ZORO!” Usopp's voice screamed.

“WELL, LIVE WITH IT!” Zoro's voice roared

“WHY ARE WE YELLING?!” Patrick's F voice suddenly yelled.

“I LIKE TO YELL!” Patrick D's voice added.

“EVERYONE JUST BE QUIET!” Usopp's voice screamed.

“DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE!” Sanji's voice yelled from somewhere else in the ship.

“BUT IT'S FUN!” Luffy's voice yelled.

“PINK IS A COLOUR!” Patrick D screamed.

“WE'RE ALL AWAKE NOW, SO SHUT UP!” Phillip's voice boomed, loudest of all. Then there was silence.

Laughing, Katherine and Jasmine walked up on deck, and went to the goat-headed front of the ship. The ship had arrived at a nice harbor, where many other boats were docked up.

“Wow. It's busy here.” Patrick F observed, climbing up with Patrick D.

“Um… will they let pirates dock?” Jasmine asked.

“If we have money, of course.” Robin said.

“Oi! Nami! Do we have money?!” Zoro yelled down under deck.

“If I pay, you owe me!” Nami's voice yelled back up.

“What are you talking about? You're the money-keeper.” Luffy blinked, as Nami came up.

“Why do we trust our money with a thief?” Zoro sighed.

“Pretty stupid.” Usopp agreed, and Nami smiled.

“Don't worry; I'll give you money if you need it.” She said smiling. “So, does anyone need it? I'm taking some to take the girls clothes shopping.”

“I'm getting Katherine new glasses.” Usopp said. “And Chopper and I are going to… browse around.”

“I'll go with you!” Phillip said, as Nami handed Usopp some money.

“I won't need any, thank you.” Robin smiled.

“I'm going to go look for some new swords, and I'll need to borrow Jasmine from you, Nami.” Zoro said, and Jasmine blinked up. “She's the only one without a weapon.”

“None of the girls need a weapon while I'm here to protect them!” Sanji grinned.

“Yes, we all know how great you are… Prince.” Zoro smirked.

“YOU SHUT UP!” Sanji yelled suddenly.

“Isn't that a compliment?” Patrick F asked.

“Not from Zoro, it isn't.” Usopp sighed.

“I could use some money… I'm gonna look at fishing stuff.” Patrick D said.

“And me! I want money!” Luffy said, raising his hand like a schoolboy.

“Then who'll watch the ship?” Nami asked.

“I can... I guess...” Patrick F shrugged.

“YAY!! You're awesome!” Luffy cheered, patting him on the back. “I'll take turns with you! I hafta watch my ship, too!”

“Alright, then.” Satisfied, Nami finished passing out the money, and the crew headed for the town.



**



Jasmine followed Zoro through the busy streets. Patrick D walked next to her, looking quickly in every window they passed. She wasn't sure about how she felt about getting a weapon. She never really saw the need for one, but maybe she should have one now, being a pirate and all.

“In here.” Zoro said suddenly, pushing a door open as Jasmine and Patrick followed him in.

The store definitely seemed to be a weapon store. Swords and spears and knives and just about everything else was on display somewhere. Patrick quickly jumped towards some long spears on the wall.

“Wonder if they have any good swords here…” Zoro said, most likely talking to himself as he walked away, looking for service.

Jasmine looked around at the walls, wondering what she should get. There were lots of weapons, many she recognized, and many more she didn't. She decided quickly that she didn't want anything big or heavy. She spotted some knives on a shelf, and quickly picked then up. They were small, thin, and light. Jasmine decided that they were good enough, and not wanting to waste any time here, walked off to find Zoro.

The store was pretty big, and she couldn't find him immediately. She saw Patrick, still looking at spears.

“Patrick, those aren't fishing spears, you know.” Jasmine said, looking at the long, thick, decorated spears.

“Seriously? … then they suck.” Patrick spat, turning away.

“Wow. You make no sense.” Jasmine said, giggling at his sudden change of attitude.

“Bah. I need not make sense to you, knife-user.” He said, eyeing the knives Jasmine was holding.

“… What's wrong with them?” Jasmine asked, looking down.

“You can't fish with them.” Patrick replied simply.

“Of course.” Jasmine sighed, and they both went off to look for Zoro. They found him at the front desk, which was located at the very back of the store, talking to an old man.

“Ready?” He asked, and they both nodded. Jasmine handed him her knives.

“Are these good?” She asked.

“Sure why not?” Zoro said without much care, taking them and putting them on the counter. “How much?”

“Ahh, these are excellent Sais. Good choice, good choice.” The old man said, smiling at Jasmine.

“I'll pay 20 berries.” Zoro said.

“But- But these are worth at least 50!” The man exclaimed.

“20.”

“40.”

“20.”

“30.”

“20.”

“25, and that's as low as I go.” The old man said stubbornly.

“Alright. Sorry, Jasmine, looks like they stay.” Zoro said, turning around.

“Wait!” The old man yelled. “Fine, fine. 20 berries. But I'm practically giving them to you.” He sighed, and Zoro gave him the money, and quickly left the store.

“What a crappy store.” Zoro mumbled once they left, handing Jasmine her Sais. “No decent swords at all.”

“There were tons of swords.” Patrick blinked.

“No decent swords. They were all old and in poor condition and used.” Zoro said, rather flatly.

“So… shall we get something to eat?” Zoro suggested, and Patrick and Jasmine nodded. “Good. We'll find somewhere to have brunch.”

Only after they'd taken a few more steps, a voice filled the street.

“Roronoa Zoro!”

Zoro's shoulders stiffened, and he slowly turned around. Patrick and Jasmine did as well, both raising an eyebrow.

A line of marines stood across the street, and many of the civilians had fled to the side of the road. In front of the marines stood a young woman, holding a sword out in front of her.

“We meet again, Roronoa Zoro!” She called, moving her glasses up on top of her head. “I'm afraid that we never finished our fight!”

“Why can't you just leave me alone?” Zoro called back.

“Not until I have your swords!” She yelled back.

“Why can't you stop… looking like that?!” Zoro yelled, causing Jasmine blink, and making the woman look from angry to furious.

“How dare you insult me again?!” She yelled.

“Let's go.” Zoro said quickly, grabbing Jasmine's arm and running down the street as quickly as he could. Patrick, however, had quickly grabbed a flower from a window display, and was kneeling in front of the girl, holding up the flower.

`Oh love,

I am but a log

Drifting down the river of love

Going down a waterfall,

I am not afraid

Knowing that you will be where the river ends.'

When Patrick finished reciting his poem, all the marines were staring at him, and, though the girl took his flower, she was absolutely lost for words.

“Sergeant Tashigi, we need to go…” One of the marines managed to say.

“Oh… yes. Of course.” She looked back at Patrick. “Um… it was very nice to meet you…”

“Patrick.” Patrick said.

“Patrick.” Tashigi repeated, and smiled a bit as she followed the marines away, leaving Patrick kneeling on the ground, a big stupid grin plastered on his face.



**



At this time, Nami, Sanji, and Katherine were out clothes shopping. Or, in other words, Nami was trying on outfits as Sanji complimented her.

“How's this?”

“Oh~~~~, wonderful!”

“And this?”

“It looks fantastic!”

“How about this?”

“Oh, it's so cute on you!”

“And this one?”

“Gorgeous!”

“Alright! I'll take them all!” Nami said with a big smile, dropping a pile of clothes on the counter. “Katherine, what have you got?”

“Um… nothing?” Katherine replied, walking over to Sanji and Nami, empty handed.

“You didn't find anything you liked?” Nami asked, surprised.

“Well, I did, but nothing really good…” Katherine explained.

“Katherine, you don't have any clothes! You don't have time to be picky! Geez! I'll just pick stuff for you.” Nami sighed, walking away.

“Don't worry. Nami has good taste in clothes.” Sanji said, patting her on the shoulder.

“But she doesn't own anything that goes down past her bellybutton.” Katherine pointed out.

“So? What's wrong with that?” Sanji asked, blinking at her.

Katherine sighed. “Man, you're hopeless, Sanji.”

“What? Why?” Sanji asked, hurt, and Katherine laughed. Nami came back to them, holding a large pile of clothes.

“Alright, these are what I found for you and Jasmine.” Nami said, putting the pile on top of her pile.

“Isn't she going to try them on?” Sanji asked.

“No, they don't have any clothes anyway. We can't take the risk that she doesn't like something.” Nami winked at Katherine, who frowned. “Aw, don't sulk. It's for your own good.”

Katherine sighed again, and Nami paid for the clothes.



**



Usopp, Chopper, and Phillip walked down another street, looking around. Usopp lead the way, holding the small bag with Katherine's new glasses. Chopper was in his reindeer form, which looked like a normal reindeer, with a blue nose and pink hat. Phillip sat on Choppers back, looking around.

“So, where are we going now?” Phillip asked, smiling as he looked around the busy street.

“Actually, I need to buy some parts for my newest invention.” Usopp replied, looking around.

“What's your new invention?” Chopper asked, interested.

“Nope, it's a secret.” Usopp grinned. “Can't tell ya `til it's done!”

“Aww, you're mean.” Chopper frowned.

“Oh my God! Look at that freak show!” A loud voice suddenly said. Phillip turned his head to see a man staring at the three of them. Many other people walking down the street had turned to see what the man was yelling about, and were now looking at the three companions.

“By god. A demented reindeer, a midget, and Pinocchio.” The man continued, seeing he had an audience. A few people laughed with the man. Usopp's shoulders had begun to shake in silent anger. Chopper simply looked sad. Phillip blinked and looked at his upset friends. Unacceptable. Turning his head slowly, he glared coldly at the man.

“Watch out for that lamp post.” He said, and the man blinked, looking around.

“W-What lamp post?” He asked, looking around.

A noise could suddenly be heard from above them. Everyone looked up, and saw a lamp post falling from the sky. The man was too surprised to move, and the lamp post fell directly on top of him.

“That lamp post.” Phillip said, grinning.

“Someone get the marines!” Somebody yelled.

“Back to the ship!” Usopp yelled, jumping onto Choppers back as well, as Chopper started running.

“Phillip, why'd you do that?” Usopp yelled over the wind in they're ears.

“He deserved it!” Phillip yelled back. “No one can insult us like that and get away with it!”

Usopp would have replied, but the rushing wind in their ears was too loud to hear any more.



**



Patrick D finally caught up with Zoro and Jasmine, who were eating at an outdoor café. He walked over and sat down at their table, as Zoro looked up from his empty plate.

“Oh, there you are. You should have got here earlier; we already paid.” Zoro said. “We were just about to leave.”

“What?” Patrick stared at him, then looked down at Zoro's empty plate and Jasmine's untouched omelete. “Jasmine didn't even touch her food!”

Jasmine pushed it towards Patrick. “Go ahead. I'm not hungry.”

“Don't mind if I do.” Patrick grinned, finishing it in about three seconds.

Jasmine laughed, and then suddenly paused, staring forward.

“Huh?” Patrick looked behind him. “What'cha looking at?”

“What's wrong?” Zoro asked, quickly sitting up, alert.

Jasmine put both her hands on her head. “Crap.” She muttered, then jumped up. “It's nothing. I'm fine. Bye!” She said quickly, running off.

“…” Patrick and Zoro blinked at each other.

“… That was strange.” Zoro said, looking in the direction Jasmine ran.

“I never heard Jasmine say `crap' before.” Patrick blinked.

At that moment, Sanji suddenly appeared running towards them.

“We gotta go! There're marines in the city!” He said urgently, skidding to a halt in front of them.

“We know.” Zoro replied.

“Yeah, but now Phillip got them angry.” Sanji snapped.

“Oh.” Zoro replied, standing up. “What about Jasmine?”

“What? Where is she?” Sanji asked, looking around.

“She just ran away.” Patrick replied.

“Oh, God. Go to the ship, I'll go find her.” Sanji said, sprinting away.

Zoro and Patrick obeyed without thinking, running as fast as they could back to the dock. When they found the ship, everyone else was already on it.

“Where's Sanji? And Jasmine?” Nami asked, looking at them.

“Sanji's looking for her.” Zoro replied.

“Oh, great. Phip, what did you DO?” Patrick F asked.

“Just… squished a guy with a lamp post…” Phillip said innocently.

“Why, in the name of all that is holy, would you do that?” Katherine asked him.

“He insulted us.” Phillip replied.

“Okay. Now that that's settled-” Luffy was cut off by Nami's screaming.

“What do you mean, it's settled?! He could have killed someone! He probably DID kill that guy!” Nami screamed.

“Did not.” Phillip pouted.

“Pull up the anchor, Luffy! We're coming!” Sanji's voice suddenly came from far away.

“Good! They're here!” Luffy smiled, as he, Zoro, Usopp, and the Patricks pulled up the anchor.

The ship started to pull out of the dock before the crew saw Sanji sprinting down the dock, carrying Jasmine.

“Somebody had better catch her!” He yelled, throwing Jasmine onto the ship. Screaming the whole way, Jasmine flew on the ship, bounced off Usopp, and was caught by Zoro. Sanji ran to the very end of the dock before jumping, almost flying, and landing safely on the ship.

The crew looked back at the town, and doubted anyone had noticed them leave.



Author's Note: Patrick D's poem was indeed inspired by Sanji's poem for Robin in the One Piece comic. This was requested by Patrick, since he loved the poem so much. I did change to poem a bit, and I hope that no harm was done in my borrowing it.

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