One Piece – Halfway Broken

Summary: Recovering from the chaos...

Chapter 79: Shore Leave

Luffy was a lucky, lucky man, and he knew it. He wasn’t at all sure why or how Robin and Nami had conspired to rope Vivi into their little outing to a rapidly reviving town on Alabasta called Yuba. Luffy had known a little about it from his original life’s memories, but that hadn’t prepared him at all to see what had become of the town in the months since Alabasta had begun reviving. The town had originally been intended as a trade hub that would connect several critical locations in Western Alabasta. With the revival of the economy and the rapid redevelopment of Elumalu as a defensive military base covering the mouth of the Sandora River, the Yuba Oasis had been re-dug and a certain sort of industry had moved in.

Specifically, the sort of industry that would interest both soldiers and traveling merchants.

Numerous inns of various levels of opulence and a sprawling open-air market were the most obvious businesses, but not the true attractions. Desert-style steam baths where water was poured over hot rocks to produce a sauna-like effect that was quite enjoyable in the cold of desert nights, an open-air theater where music and plays were performed in the evenings, and houses of pleasure that were nestled quietly between the many inns.

It wasn’t quite the sort of ‘city of sin’ that Crocodile had turned Rainbase into. If it had been, it would have been unlikely that Robin and Nami could have managed to get Vivi to visit. As it was, they’d somehow convinced, cajoled, or bullied the Princess into ‘taking a break’ with a visit to the ‘Oasis Resort Town.’ As for their reasons for doing so…those had become obvious only once the two older women had pulled the recently-turned-seventeen Vivi into a clothing shop and come out in ‘local attire.’

Specifically, what Luffy mentally identified as ‘belly dancer’ outfits.

What might have been considered scandalous on many other islands was, in fact, a legitimate local fashion for the desert regions of Alabasta. Something that doubtlessly contributed to Robin and Nami having managed to actually get a slightly flushed Vivi into it. The fact that there were other women in the crowds dressed similarly did not, however, diminish the fact that the outfits were absolutely devastating to any male with a pulse on all three of the girls. They not only showed a lot of skin, but did so in a way that just so happened to emphasize the subtle muscle all three of them had developed through training…as well as the natural ‘assets’ that all three of them possessed.

Vivi might be the least gifted of the three up top, but even she was very much more than a handful, and the outfit just so happened to highlight the fact that she arguably had the nicest rear of the three women. Not that Nami or Robin were remotely lacking in that area, but Vivi had possessed a dancer’s long legs and well toned everything before even starting training with them. Her natural build and preferred combat style simply lent itself to developing the right muscles to turn her rear into something artisans would beg to carve into marble even if she wasn’t also a princess.

The fact that Luffy was being accompanied by all three of the gorgeous girls, dressed like that, was generating some murderous stares from the males in town. He may or may not have practiced precise uses of Conqueror’s Haki, targeting any male that tried to approach the three girls with him. If he did, one could be sure that it was, obviously, merely good practice for his control over his least-commonly-utilized form of Haki. Rayliegh had hinted that Conqueror’s was critical for a few of the more useful abilities he wanted to train Luffy in, after all. So clearly he needed to practice.

“Oh! Look! There’s a showing of Prince Ali at the theater tonight! It’s one of Alabasta’s classic master pieces. We should definitely attend!”

Vivi was still a little flushed, probably from Nami and Robin continuing to steer her into Luffy. He wasn’t oblivious to her having a bit of a crush on him. Though he was curious just when and how Nami and Robin had decided to seemingly encourage it, given that Robin herself hadn’t even properly joined them yet. He was far from protesting their conspiracy, whatever it was, and couldn’t help but egg things on just a little bit himself. Adopting a teasing tone, he responded to her suggestion with one of the few tidbits he knew about the play in question.

“Oh? Isn’t that the one about a dashing young foreign prince that builds a harem to unite the different tribes into one family? Starting with a Desert Princess, if I recall? That does sound like an excellent way to spend the evening. Though, with those outfits, we might have to huddle together a bit for warmth after the sun goes down…”

Vivi lit up with a fascinating blush that went all the way down her cleavage, trying to stutter alternative ideas, even as Robin and Nami got in on the act by insisted the play was obviously the best choice! Trying not to laugh and enjoying the warmth the sight caused to bloom in his chest, Luffy once again thought to himself that he was, indeed, a very lucky man!

… … …

Luffy watched in satisfaction as Perona, Brook, and even Yamato goggled at the beauty of the Crystal City. With the three of them having only joined the crew after they’d returned to the ‘Blue Sea,’ this was their first ever excursion to Wind’s Home. While they’d had time off to relax on Asuka Island, each of them had possessed their own distractions at the time. Brook in Laboon and considering what he wanted to do, Perona in dealing with the death of the closest thing she had to a father figure, and Yamato gleefully glorying in having a sparring partner that could mostly keep up with her in the form of Luffy.

Having realized this, he had suggested this visit to the spectacular city in the clouds as a destination for them to purely relax. Wind’s Home was an extremely friendly port for anyone related to the Strawhat crew, given what they’d done for the city. Even more so that Skypiea and Alabasta, where there were at least some reasons for mixed feelings among the populace. Add in the breathtaking beauty of the city, all the more polished now that their economy was starting to fully recover with a decent level of regular trade open to them again, and it was an ideal spot for their newest crewmembers to simply relax and play tourist.

“Come on, you three. There’s some really cool and crazy things you can find in the markets here. Not to mention the Crystal Baths, so long as you’re careful which ones of those you use, given that all three of you are Devil Fruit users.”

Jaws still dropping at the sights as Luffy led them through the city, the trio really did look like proper tourists. Not a bad result for people who were quite used to the oddities of the Grand Line. Not to mention that Sanji, Nojiko, and Hina had also come along to stock up on the some of the genuinely delicious foods unique to the Sky Islands. Something that would give the whole crew a treat of sorts when they returned to the ship…

… … …

“Kaya, I’m not entirely sure that Mad Science is an appropriate use of vacation time.”

Said mad scientist only glanced at Luffy for a moment, before clearly dismissing his observation.

“Nonsense. Recreational creation of adorable animal species is clearly a completely reasonable and worthwhile occupation. Just because I prefer to make my recreational activities a degree of educational does not make them any less stress relieving.”

Luffy stared. Chopper stared. Usopp stared, though his stare was admittedly focused somewhat lower on Kaya’s body where her tight pants were doing nice things to his girlfriend’s backside.

“Kaya, giving entire herds of reindeer blue noses in retaliation for past crimes of exiling Chopper isn’t quite what I’d call ‘Recreational Creation of Adorable Animals.’ Nor was your attempts to hybrid Hiking Bears with Kung-Fu Dugongs to make a ‘more efficient and intelligent animal defender.’ Though, admittedly, the resulting species does seem to be getting on incredibly well with the local defense forces, with quite a few of them being oddly enthusiastic about joining up for their military…”

Chopper made a lightly strangled noise, even as Kaya turned from where she was studying a Lapahn who she’d somehow cowed into being docile despite their normally aggressive nature. Part of Luffy was quite regretting that Vivi apparently remembered the Sakura Kingdom well enough to open an Air Door here.

“Nonsense! Obviously, Chopper proves the superiority of Blue Nose Reindeer kind, and the new Kung-Fu Pandas are both adorable and a fine addition to the local defense of the Sakura Kingdom! I even took entirely volunteers for the Kung-Fu Panda Project, as you well know. Not to mention I reversed it for those that didn’t enjoy the alteration! So my experiments are ethically sound and entirely positive. Now, hush while I study this Lapahn’s anatomy and determine if its muscular and hormone adaptations are a good fit for enhancing Usopp’s leg muscles and sex drive.”

Luffy groaned, not having wanted to know that last bit, even as Usopp froze stiff and blushed so hard that he might shatter like a cartoon character if you tapped him. Chopper reacted more calmly to that statement, his own medical interest peaking as he started to ask Kaya what she was looking for and at exactly, offering his own advice from having treated injured Lapahns in the past…

… … …

“AH! Glorious air! Captain, I appreciate my new abilities, but I don’t think I’m suited to being a full-time submersible! You made me to glide over the waves with ease, not sink under them!”

There was no hint of actual reprimand in Dis’s voice. Yet the way her dryad-form was basking in the sunlight as the Adam wood ‘ceiling’ peeled away made Luffy note that there might be something more than mere preference at work in that statement. She was part plant now, in a way, and plants required sunlight. The week under the sea it had taken them to reach their current location had apparently been fine. Longer, he was abruptly unsure about the possible effects of.

“Not to mention it was seriously annoying to navigate underwater, Luffy. The trick we worked out with using multiple Eternal Poses to get a decent directional fix even underwater worked, but only to an extent. Even I can’t pin down our location in more than general terms right now. Though part of that is how completely shit charts and maps of the Grand Line are in general.”

Nami’s tone was more legitimately annoyed than Dis’s had been, but Luffy didn’t blame her for that. She’d been doing an incredible job building an actual map of their route so far, but their little undersea jaunt meant she only had a very loose idea where they were at this point. It was, in fact, why they’d surfaced so soon. By their best estimates, they were still at least a day shy of the Calm Belt, but the absolute last thing they wanted to do was run straight into giant seakings underwater. Particularly when half their crew had distinct issues with swimming.

Thankfully, Nojiko was there to defend him from his girlfriend.

“Look at this this way, sis. Regardless of where we end up along the Calm Belt, when you cross over, you’ll be able to compare it to your charts of the East Blue. Meaning you’ll have one point where you can make the charts match up firmly.”

Nami blinked, ran that through her brain, and immediately perked up.

“Ohhh! You’re right! Hey, if we do this a few more times, when we know what islands are nearby in the Grand Line…”

Nami trailed off and then drifted toward the pilot house and the station she had set up there for her chart-making. Luffy grinned and shot Nojiko a thumbs up, with his quartermaster simply rolling her eyes back at him. Turning back to the rest of the crew, he addressed them.

“Alright, everyone. Since Nami is distracted, Dis and I will work on getting us moving. Kuina, we need someone on watch for signs we’re about to hit the Calm Belt. Get a rotation set up. Everyone else? Get to work on the training! You’ve all had your chances in the last few days to visit various islands for shore leave. Time to get back to the grind of getting stronger!”

Luffy nodded, pleased with the ragged chorus of ‘ayes’ he got back, and headed back into the ship to get them moving. It wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit more time with Dis, either, given that they’d all been making trips off the ship semi-regularly since diving undersea. That didn’t seem to bother Dis, since there had always been at least a few people around. But he wouldn’t want her to think her Captain was neglecting her…

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A/N 1: This chapters isn't QUITE between-arcs-filler. It does some more set up for a few things. Like starting to nudge Vivi gently into the relationship dynamic. As well as simply giving some 'screen time' to a few characters that haven't gotten as much of it. Kaya is, honestly, turning out to be quite entertaining to write. She's a bizarre mix of non-violent healer, quiet badass, and mad scientist...

A/N 2: Once per release, I remind people that...I have a Page! Nothing I write, fanfiction wise, is ever permanently paywalled. That said, I do have Early Access chapters. There is, in fact, currently another 14,000 words of One Piece - Halfway Broken in Early Access (Chapters 80-83). Also, of course, you also get access to my other Early Access chapters for my other stories. There is typically around 45-65k words of various works in early access at any one time. I always appreciate any support, since it helps me free up more writing time...but most of all I hope you just enjoy the stories!