Destined for Flames (One Piece Fanfic)

The Ice-Man Cometh!

"You really made me worry back there!! You! You!"

"Usopp, stop it you baka!" I scold, slapping his hand away from repeatedly poking Luffy's injured face. He nurses his "wounded" finger, whimpering as he looks down at our comatose captain. He collapsed not long after being declared the winner of the final round, and Chopper had Zoro bring him off the ship and down to level ground so he could work on him.

He looks like a mummy, with his entire chest bandaged, his forehead wrapped up. Chopper placed a pad of gauze on his cheek with medical tape, making me remember that he patched up Zoro and Sanji not too long ago. It's scary how battle-scarred these three became in the space of a few hours.

"I was scared too," Nami admits, eyes flicking worriedly to Luffy. "All that talk about the afro making him strong..."

"Nami-swan, the afro does make you strong!" Sanji insists, smoke curling away from him, drifting into my face. I swipe it away, swallowing a cough. "What made him strong," I choke out, cursing the damn smoking habits of a certain pervert, "was his desire to keep all of us safe. Not some cheap gimmick"

Sanji still looks unconvinced, so I just sigh and shake my head. "They're all bakas, " I mutter under my breath.

"Ah! He woke up!"

I pull my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around legs, dropping my chin onto my knees. I smile faintly as he looks around frantically, worry and confusion etched onto his face. "Huh! The game?? What happened to the fight?! Didn't I win? Was a dreaming?!" he demands, eyes searching all our faces.

"Relax. You won," Zoro tells him, and he flops back onto the grass, releasing a long, drawn-out sigh. He's totally exhausted, and rightly so. I have never seen someone take such a beating and continue on, all for the sake of their nakamas. It makes me incredibly proud to be a Straw Hat.

"That's good," he breathes, a happy-go-lucky smile lighting up his tired face. Nami only smiles softly, while Chopper gushes like normal.

"I wasn't worried for a second," Usopp informs us.

"My ass," Sanji grumbles.

"I thought about it," Zoro says, making me turn to him curiously. "If I left this ship, I'd have no point in being a pirate anymore."

A sly grin pulls at my lips as I look up at him. "Admit it Swordsman, you love us! That's why you couldn't ever leave!" I chirp, causing his brows to furrow as he scowls down at me. He doesn't respond, though I get the feeling he wants to snap at me. My grin widens, taking this all as a "You're absolutely right Raya! I love this crew more than Sanji loves bikini-clad women!" Yes, that's exactly what's going on in Zoro's head right now....

"Hey. Straw Hat!" 

"Eh?" I look away from my suddenly battle-ready crew and spot Foxy making his way over to us, a large portion of his crew following after in concern.

"It's all because of you that I've lost my perfect record," he says. "Not bad. Brother." I blink as he reaches out a hand, which Luffy grasps, before changing demeanor and trying to flip my captain over his shoudler. Too bad for him, Luffy's arm only stretches, and he remains seated on the ground as though nothing happened.

"Idiot," I snicker, not bothering to hide my obviously mocking tone.

"Fine!" Foxy snaps, stalking towards his own crew. "Let's just get this over with. What do you want?!"

"That's right! The last part of the game still needs deciding!! The winner, Captain Straw Hat, gets to take a new crew member!! They seem to be looking for a carpenter!"