A/N: Hi everyone. Here is a brief index of the OC's before reading in case you didn't read the main story.
Rose: A girl who came to the One Piece world from our world through the power of an interdimensional comet. (Storyline in my other fic The Comet Wish.) Everyone in the Straw Hat crew knows of this. She became the Straw Hats Astronomer and was set on the path by her parents who died when she was ten from a home invasion. She possesses the Wind Wind fruit and used it to save Ace who is travelling with them in the New World. She is also currently dating Luffy.
She's a skinny girl with brown hair slightly shorter than shoulder length along with bangs, pale skin, freckles, and purple eyes. She has a vertical scar on her stomach from when Aokiji stabbed her during Marineford. She normally wears a dark blue long sleeve shirt, long dark purple jacket, black gloves, black pants, dark blue sneakers and a half red half black crystal necklace.
Zira: A brown falcon with golden eyes who ate the Sound Sound fruit. She has the ability to copy the voices of anyone she hears. Before meeting Rose she was experimented on by Dr. Vegapunk to receive human intelligence in hopes of becoming a spy but she ran away.
I hope you enjoy my Christmas special. I got the idea from my friend suntan140. If any of you have any gift suggestions for Luffy besides meat I'm willing to listen. Happy Holidays :)
It is the night of December 13th on the Thousand Sunny in the New World and Ace along with most of the Straw Hats are resting while Rose is up at the crow's nest for night watch. To help herself stay awake for the night she began strumming her acoustic guitar in between patrolling the horizon. After looking out into the horizon and making sure there was no one out there she rakes a hand through her brown bangs while thinking up the next song to play.
"Ok, what to play next? Hmm, it can't hurt to practice a Christmas song. Hmm…" She looks around in thought then freezes.
(I haven't played that song in a while… As long as the others don't hear it then I guess it's fine.) She looks around to make sure she's alone then happily plays the "Miser Brothers Song" from a Year Without a Santa Claus.
I'm Mister White Christmas
I'm Mister Snow
I'm Mister Icicle
I'm Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser,
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much!
He's Mister White Christmas
He's Mister Snow
He's Mister Icicle
He's Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser,
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
He's too much!
I never want to know a day
That's over forty degrees
I'd rather have it thirty,
Twenty, then Five, then let it freeze!
(brrrrrrrrrrr!)
He's Mister White Christmas
He's Mister Snow
He's Mister Icicle
He's Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser,
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch,
I'm too much.
I'm Mister Green Christmas
I'm Mister Sun
I'm Mister Heat Blister
I'm Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser,
What ever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I'm too much!
He's Mister Green Christmas
He's Mister Sun
He's Mister Heat Blister
He's Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser,
What ever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
He's too much!
I never want to know a day
That's under sixty degrees
I'd rather have it eighty,
Ninety, one hundred degrees!
Oh, some like it hot, but I like it
REALLY hot! Hee hee!
He's Mister Green Christmas
He's Mister Sun
He's Mister Heat Blister
He's Mister Hundred and One
They call me Heat Miser,
What ever I touch
Starts to melt in my clutch
I'm too much!
Too much!
She giggles at the end of the song until she hears someone else laughing and turns to the hatch to see Luffy laughing as he climbs into the crow's nest.
Her face goes red from embarrassment at realizing he heard the song. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Since the start."
"Oh crap, I thought the intercom was off!" She rushes to see that the intercom was never on causing Luffy to laugh.
"Shishishi! Relax, you didn't wake me up. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd check up on you."
She widens her purple eyes at this before putting the guitar down. "Really? You ok?"
He nods. "Yup, just too excited about Christmas to sleep."
She blinks in surprise before giggling causing him to look at her in confusion. "What's so funny?"
She keeps giggling before explaining. "I was expecting that to happen about a week from the holiday." (Hahaha, this takes me back.)
He widens his eyes in surprise before grinning as he takes a seat on the couch. "So there's a Christmas at your world too?"
"Yup, and there was no one who loved it there more than my mom. As soon as December came that's all my dad and I would ever hear from her. That song you just heard was from a Christmas story the three of us used to sing along to whenever we watched the show."
He tilts his head in confusion. "That was a Christmas song? That's weird."
She holds back from laughing as she gets back to looking out at the horizon for any ships. "Trust me; there are plenty of weirder ones than that in New York."
"Can you sing me one?"
She nods as she makes sure there is no one else out on the ocean then grabs the guitar. "Sure, any requests?"
He shakes his head as he relaxes in his seat on the couch. "Whatever you wanna sing is fine with me."
She nods as she looks at the guitar in thought. (Hmm, which song? Since he's in the Christmas spirit a Christmas song should work. Nami said that we're reaching an island tomorrow, so he should be getting some sleep… I know just the one!)
A smile spreads on her pale freckled face as she warms up. "I haven't played this one in a while, so I apologize in advance for being a little rusty."
He chuckles before shaking his head. "I don't care as long as you're the one playing it."
She nods as she softly strums the guitar to the opening of "When Christmas comes to Town" from the Polar Express.
La, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la,
I'm wishing on a star
And trying to believe
That even though it's far
He'll find me Christmas Eve
I guess that Santa's busy
Cause he's never come around
I think of him
When Christmas Comes to Town
The best time of the year
When everyone comes home
With all this Christmas cheer
It's hard to be alone
Putting up the Christmas tree
With friends who come around
It's so much fun
When Christmas Comes to Town
Luffy softly smiles at the song that she's playing while she's ignoring everything around her then he accidentally starts yawning at the soft melody.
Presents for the children
Wrapped in red and green
All the things I've heard about
But never really seen
No one will be sleeping on
The night of Christmas Eve
Hoping Santa's on his way
When Santa's sleigh bells ring
I listen all around
The herald angels sing
I never hear a sound
She softly plays the last verse when she sees Luffy's eyelids getting heavier and gently smiles at him.
When all the dreams of children
Once lost will all be found
That's all I want
When Christmas Comes to Town
That's all I want
When Christmas Comes to Town
She stops playing to the sound of Luffy's snoring then sees that he fell asleep while sitting up. She softly grins at the sight as she puts down the guitar before gently laying her sleeping boyfriend down on the couch and covering his body with a blanket.
She gently kisses his forehead before looking out at the horizon. (Knew that song would do the trick. So, I'll be spending Christmas with the crew this year huh?)
She sits down next to Luffy before grinning at the thought. (Compared to the ones with my foster family, anything we do together will be awesome.)
She grins in excitement for the upcoming holiday as she continues her night watch duties for the rest of the night.
The next day everyone was enjoying their usually loud breakfast when Nami stood up.
"Ok guys, I know Christmas is around the corner. What do you guys think of doing a Secret Santa for the gift exchange?"
Everyone looks at her in thought for a moment before grinning.
"I think that's a great idea Nami." Robin says.
Luffy tilts his head in confusion. "What's a Secret Santa?"
Ace turns to him. "A Secret Santa is when- *snore*" His narcolepsy kicked in causing him to fall asleep.
Rose pushes his body back so he doesn't land on his food then turns to Luffy. "It's sort of a game where you pick someone's name at random and you're responsible for that person's Christmas gift."
Luffy nods. "That sounds good to me."
Zira nods as the talking falcon takes the bite of the last of her food. "I can't wait!"
Sanji looks at Nami with hearts in his eyes. "I'll give you the best gift as your Santa Nami-swaan!"
Zoro groans. "They're chosen at random pervy cook…" (She just wants to do it to save money. Fine by me, as long as I don't get the cook.)
Franky grins as he presses his arms together. "AOW! I'm sure this holiday will be SUPER!"
Ace wakes up to Franky's yelling and nods along with the others causing Nami to smile as she shows them a green bucket and 12 pieces of paper. "Great, I just need you guys to write your names on these pieces of paper and hand them back to me."
The crew nods as they take a piece of paper.
Chopper helps Zira write on her name while Nami walks over to Robin and starts whispering to her.
Rose quirks an eyebrow at their behavior as she finishes writing down her name. (What are they up to? *Sigh* I guess it doesn't matter. Not like they can do anything too crazy with a bucket and some pieces of paper.)
Nami collects the pieces of paper from everyone, places it in the bucket then hands it to Robin. "Will you do the honors Robin?"
She nods as she shakes up the bucket then picks a piece of paper and nods. "Your turn Nami."
She nods as she picks a piece of paper then smirks as she passes it to Rose. "You're up Rose. Remember, you can't tell the person that you're their secret Santa. Also guys, no looking at it until you leave here."
Rose nods as she reaches her hand inside but freezes when she felt a piece of paper being pushed into her hand.
(They didn't…) Rose looks to Robin who's giggling at the reaction while her hands are crossed under the table causing her to take the paper that was pushed into her hand then place it in her pocket.
She passes the bucket over to Luffy. "Your turn Luffy." (I can't believe Robin and Nami rigged the system. Not that I'm complaining though.)
Rose chuckles while Luffy grins as he grabs the paper and opens the sheet.
Nami twitches an eyebrow in irritation. "You're not supposed to look yet Luffy!"
Luffy chuckles as he happily smiles while placing the paper in his pocket. "My bad, I got too excited."
The others sweat drop at his actions but let it go because they can all guess who's name was on that piece of paper.
After everyone received a slip of paper Nami took the bucket back. "Alright, we have until Christmas to get it done. While we're restocking on the island we can work on deciding on our next course too."
Everyone nods as they start leaving the dining room. Rose flies up to the observatory above the crow's nest with Zira following her through the open window.
"So who did you get Rose?" Zira asks as the falcon makes herself comfortable on the chair.
Rose takes the piece of paper from her pocket then grins when she sees Luffy's name poorly written on the sheet. "Hehe, I knew it. Robin and Nami rigged it so that I got Luffy. I'm pretty impressed."
Zira chuckles as she lets go of the sheet of paper from her talons. "Those two are pretty crafty. Can you unfold the paper for me?"
She nods as she unfolds the paper for her falcon friend and shows the paper to her. "Looks like I got Usopp. Any ideas about what I can do for him?"
"Hmm, I think he needs new parts for his slingshot or maybe a new pair of goggles."
She nods. "That's a good idea. What about you?"
Rose freezes before sighing and sitting down on her desk chair. "I honestly have no idea what I'm gonna do…"
Zira chuckles as that. "Relax, worst case scenario you can give him some meat."
"Not happening!"
She chuckles as that. "Ok, when we reach town we can go think up some ideas."
She nods when she looks out the window to see the ship approaching the winter island and gets her long dark purple jacket and black gloves on. "Looks like we're here. Let's go."
Zira nods as she flies out the window first with Rose following then lands on the deck where the crew has finished docking the ship. They rest of the crew wore the winter clothes they used on Punk Hazard while Ace was wearing the black jacket and hat he wore from Drum Island.
Franky stayed behind to guard the ship while the rest of the crew went out to the snow covered town.
Sanji went off on his own to restock on the food supply with Brook and Ace while Zoro wandered off on his own, and the girls went shopping together leaving Luffy, Usopp and Chopper to wander around town as a group.
Zira landed on Roses shoulder to rest while the girls wandered around the streets of the town where the shopkeepers are starting to decorate the windows of their shops with various wreathes and lights.
Rose looks around the streets curiously. "Wow, this town is pretty excited for the holiday."
Robin giggles before nodding. "It's a good holiday to get excited for."
Nami smirks as she turns to Rose. "So Rose, who do you get to give a gift to?"
Rose chuckles. "I got Luffy, thanks for rigging it by the way."
"No problem. Any idea what to get him?"
She slowly shakes her head. "I have no idea… Who did you and Robin get?"
"I got Sanji." Nami says while Robin looks at her sheet.
"It looks like I got Chopper. With his birthday on Christmas Eve maybe I should get two."
Rose smiles at the idea. "I think that's nice."
Zira nods in agreement. "What do you think Nami?"
The red head strokes her chin in thought. "That's a good idea Robin. We can also get Sanji to make a cake for him too for the Christmas Eve party."
The other girls nod as Nami leads them to the first clothing shop they see. "Now that we know who we need to focus on let's get started."
She walks in while Rose and Zira sweat drop.
"Is she shopping for herself first?" Zira asks.
Robin giggles at Nami's behavior as she starts walking in. "Let's go with it. We'll make sure to focus on the guys along the way."
Both girls nod as they follow Robin inside.
Luffy, Usopp and Chopper are sitting down on a park bench trying to figure out their course of action.
"So what do you guys want to do first?" Chopper asks.
Usopp tilts his head in thought. "To be honest, I don't mind exploring the town a bit. It might help us come up with some ideas for Christmas."
Chopper and Luffy eagerly nod as they get up and search the town.
"What did you guys do for the holiday as kids?" Chopper asks as they walk around.
Usopp grins as he pounds his chest with pride. "My village would have a Christmas festival every year and we'd feast together with one of the sea kings that I caught just for the holiday. I would always hold the title of Fisher King for catching the largest fish anyone has ever seen."
Chopper and Luffy would look at him with stars in their eyes and spoke simultaneously. "That sounds awesome!"
Usopp nods before turning to Chopper. "What about you Chopper? Your birthday's on Christmas Eve isn't it?"
He snaps out of his excitement before nodding. "Yea, Doctorine doesn't care much for holidays, but I'd always wake up to a present and a cupcake on my desk on Christmas Eve. She said it was Santa doing his job early for my birthday. I hope he still finds me this year."
Usopp grins before patting his head. "I'm sure he will Chopper. What about your Christmas Luffy?"
"Ace and I would have a hunting contest every year and give each other gifts. We would also spar against each other until we were too exhausted to move."
Both pirates sweat drop at this.
"Why am I not surprised?" Usopp asks.
Chopper sighs before looking at the various shops that already have their windows decorated with wreaths and a Christmas tree set up at the center of town. "Looks like the town is getting ready for the excitement too. While we're here do you guys want to get the present shopping done?"
Usopp nods. "Good idea, who did you get Chopper?"
He looks at his paper. "It looks like I got Zira, any ideas?"
Usopp scratches his head in thought. "Maybe a scarf can work for her."
Chopper nods. "That's a good idea. Who did you get Usopp?"
He looks at his sheet then grins. "Looks like I got the easiest one with Zoro. He'll be happy with some sword polish or maybe some sake. Any idea what you're getting Rose Luffy?"
Luffy widens his eyes in shock. "How did you know I got Rose?!"
"Please, it was obvious when you were smiling at the paper. So, what are you thinking?"
Luffy sighs in frustration. "I have no idea…"
Usopp nods as he pats his captain on the back. "Not to worry Luffy. Captain Usopp is here to help. First we should list out some of the things she loves."
Luffy nods as he counts things out with his fingers. "Stars, fighting, the supernatural, stories, her folks, the crew, adventures…" His face starts going red from thinking so hard causing Chopper to go into heavy point to shake him.
"Take it easy Luffy! We can figure it out in town."
Luffy nods as he recovers and they walk through the various stores in town. After hours of exploring the town Usopp and Chopper managed to get what they needed, but Luffy was still conflicted with what to get Rose.
Usopp strokes his chin in thought. "You know Luffy, I think Rose will be happy with a book on folklore."
Luffy tilts his head in confusion. "What's 'pork lure'?"
Chopper shakes his head. "It's 'folklore'! It means stories on supernatural creatures and mythical places."
Luffy widens his eyes at the idea before grinning. "Great idea!" He ran ahead to a bookstore while Chopper and Usopp sweat drop at his behavior.
"He worried himself this whole time for nothing…" Usopp says causing Chopper to nod.
"Guess that shows how much he wants to make Rose happy."
Usopp chuckles before nodding as they try to catch up to their captain.
Luffy runs to the bookstore but freezes when he sees Rose and the girls looking around.
(Crap! I don't want Rose seeing me get it! Maybe I can hide and see which one she likes.) He sneaks in the store and hides behind the bookshelf that Rose is looking over which is filled with various astronomy, supernatural, and fantasy novels.
She smiles with stars in her eyes as she keeps a shopping bag in place on her arm while taking out a book on the supernatural and scans over the cover. (The Lives and Homes of Legends huh? That's a pretty cool title. Still, it's hard to pick just one book out of this pile let alone a supernatural or astronomy book…)
She skims through the pages of the book when a short old woman who owns the place walks up to her.
"This isn't a library you know!"
She jolts before closing the book. "I'm sorry about that. It's just hard to pick only one book from your collection."
She nods in understanding as she looks at the hard covered red book that Rose is holding. "You're into the supernatural too huh? You know, I've been to a few places that are in that book back when I was your age and exploring the world."
The brunette widens her eyes at this before handing her the book with determination in her eyes. "Really?! Which ones?"
The old woman chuckles at the freckled girl's enthusiasm before taking the book and skimming through the pages then stops at an island. "Here's a place called Temporal Island. For 1 year in every 20 years this island appears in the New World not too far from here actually."
Rose looks over the section on the mountainous island curiously. "What happens to it during the other 19 years?"
"No one knows. Some say, it sinks to the ocean while others say that it ascends into the air or vanishes to the underworld. The real quality of the island though is what's in the mountains of this place. You see, if you make it through this land's dangers and reach deep inside the caverns you will be able to see your dead loved ones."
Luffy widens his eyes at this as he overhears her and watches through the cracks in the bookshelf while Rose looks at her in shock.
"Are you serious?! Wait, what's the price for seeing them?"
The shopkeeper chuckles at her cautious behavior before shaking her head. "Not to worry child, there are no repercussions after you make it there. I went there myself to see my dead husband and I made it back just fine. If this counts as something I guess the only thing is that you can only see them for a limited amount of time. Once the time is up they have to return or else they vanish. Also, you have to face the island's dangers to get off the island."
Rose blinks in surprise before looking at the book happily. "That still sounds amazing. What kind of dangers are on the island?"
She chuckles as she closes the book. "Sorry, but you have to buy the book to learn more. Besides, where's the fun if I tell you all the excitement? If this is the year it shows up then a log pose can take you there. I believe this is the year that it comes up again, but don't take my word for it. My memory's not what it used to be. If I wasn't so old and frail now I'd try to go there to see Thomas again."
Rose nods as she scans over the book for the price. "I don't blame you." (If it's that dangerous then maybe it's best not to ask the others to go. If this isn't the year it shows up then I'd just bring everyone's hopes up for nothing… Still, it's nice to imagine that I could see my parents again.)
Rose grins as she hands the owner the book. "Would it be alright if you put the book on hold until I come back later? I don't have enough on me at the moment."
She nods as she grins up at her. "That's not an issue. You thinking of going?"
She shakes her head with a soft grin. "It's nice to think about, but I don't want to risk dragging my friends on a wild goose chase."
She nods in understanding. "That's fair, I'll do my best to make sure no one buys it before you come back."
"Hey Rose, come on! We're leaving!"
Rose jolts to Zira's voice then looks out the aisle to her right to see the others waiting at the door for her with various shopping bags in their hands.
"I'll be there in a second." Rose grins at the owner and bows her head. "It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you for holding the book for me. I promise to be back soon. By the way, I'm Rose."
The old woman grins as she sees Rose out of the store. "Name's Stella, the pleasure was all mine. If you want to talk more about legendary places before leaving you know where to find me."
She nods before joining the others as they leave the shop.
"You seemed to be having fun back there Rose." Robin says.
She nods as they start heading back to the ship. "She was telling me about one of the places she travelled to. It seemed really cool." She looks down at her shopping bag nervously.
"You guys think Luffy will like this?"
Nami giggles at her nervousness. "Trust me, anything you give him will make him happy. Let's get back to the ship before he and the others get back."
The others nod as they leave town while Usopp and Chopper were hiding behind the corner of the store.
"What happened to Luffy?" Chopper asks causing Usopp look at the door to the store.
"I think he managed to hide from them. Come on!" He walks into the store followed by the reindeer to see Luffy at the desk talking to the owner.
"Please! I really need the book!" Luffy whines causing Stella to run her tan hand through her white hair in frustration.
"I don't know what I can tell you. That nice freckled girl already put it on hold and I don't have any other copies."
Usopp and Chopper walk up to Luffy.
"What happened Luffy?" Usopp asks.
"Rose placed a book on hold about an island that lets you to see dead people and I'm trying to get it."
Chopper and Usopp shiver at that.
"She wants a book about an island that lets you see dead people?!" Chopper asks causing Luffy to nod.
Stella sighs. "It holds more myths than just the one on the island and-" She cuts herself off then quirks an eyebrow. "Wait, you mean you want to get that book for the girl that just left?!"
"Yea, it's her Christmas present."
She blinks in surprise before face palming. "You should have told me that sooner you idiot! As long as you pay for it then it's no problem."
He eagerly nods as he hands her the money causing her to place the book in a bag for him. "You know, you guys seem pretty strong to me. I recommend trying to go to that island. She seemed like she wanted to go, but didn't want to bother you guys."
Luffy chuckles as he keeps the bag in his hand. "That's what I was planning. Can you not tell her that I got this?"
She nods. "Not a problem. You three should get going before she comes back."
The three guys nod as they leave the store.
Usopp turns to Luffy nervously. "Y-you weren't serious when you said that we were going to that island were you?! Not that I'm scared or anything."
Chopper looks at them nervously. "I am though! Why would Rose want to go to an island with zombies?! Didn't we see enough of them at Thriller Bark?"
Luffy shakes his head. "The island isn't about zombies. I overheard the old lady talking about it and she said that when you reach the caves you can see your dead loved ones again."
Usopp and Chopper widen their eyes at this before stopping and looking down in guilt.
Chopper shuffles his feet nervously. "Sorry, I didn't know. If that's the case I want to go there too." (If it's true then maybe I can see Dr. Hiruluk again…)
Usopp nods as he starts smiling. "Leave it to Captain Usopp to bring us to the spot!"
"Bring you guys to what spot?"
All three guys jump in shock and turn to see Rose standing behind them with a curious look on her face.
Luffy quickly hides the bag behind his back while Chopper and Usopp run in front of him nervously while waving their arms frantically.
"T-the spot in the woods!" Chopper says causing Usopp to quickly nod.
"Y-yea, we heard of a great spot in the woods where we can have the snowball fight of all snowball fights!"
Rose blinks in surprise before chuckling. "Sounds like fun. Mind if I join you guys later? I just need to go get a book."
Chopper nods. "T-that's fine, we're heading to the ship first anyway so we'll wait for you there."
"Thanks-"
She cuts herself off when she notices Luffy's silence. "You ok Luffy? You're usually super excited about snowball fights."
He looks at her nervously while Chopper gets into heavy point and feeling his forehead. "He might be having a fever! I'll check him out at the ship!"
Luffy looks at him in confusion as he pushes his hand away from him. "What are you talking about Chopper? I'm- Whoa!" Chopper lifts him over his shoulder while hiding the bag and making a run for it to the ship with Usopp close behind.
Usopp waves Rose off. "DON'T FOLLOW US I'M SURE LUFFY'S FINE! WE'LL CATCH YOU LATER ROSE!"
She sweat drops at the fleeing trio before giggling. "Hahaha, was all of that just to hide the bag behind Luffy's back? Oh well, if we're really going to have a snowball fight I should get the book quickly."
She heads to the bookstore and immediately walks up to Stella. "Hey Stella, I got the money for the book."
(Wow, that was quick. She must be pretty excited…) Stella rubs the back of her head before politely bowing to her. "I'm sorry, the book was already sold…"
She widens her eyes in shock. "Huh?!"
"Yea, some rich guy came in and paid double of what I was offering. I just couldn't refuse…"
Rose sighs in disappointment. "I see, I understand…"
She turns to leave when the old woman grabs her hand and leads her back to the aisle they were talking in. "Hold on, don't go! To make it up to you how about I give you a book on me?"
Rose blinks in surprise before grinning. "Really?! Even an astronomy book?"
She nods. "Of course, I can give you a few recommendations if you want?"
She eagerly nods as Stella shows her the large collection of books.
Ace and the crew look at the grinning captain in shock after he explained where he wanted to go.
Nami sighs as she steps up. "Let me get this straight Luffy, you want us to try to go to an island that might not be there and apparently can let us see our dead loved ones?"
Luffy nods as Robin reads about the island from the book he bought. "It seems pretty interesting. It says here that in the heart of the cave lies a portal to the afterlife. While the living can't go through it the dead can come out only if called out by their loved ones. If they stay in this realm for too long they fade out of existence so they need to stay close to the portal to get back."
Brook widens his eye holes at this. "My, how scary. As long as only the people we want to come here then I guess it's ok."
Sanji nods. "I'm for it, but why didn't you wait until Rose was here to tell us?"
"He wants to surprise her with it." Usopp says.
Ace quirks an eyebrow at this. "Are you sure about going through with taking Rose there Luffy?"
Zoro nods. "Ace has a point. What if there's some separate afterlife for the people in her world? She might be disappointed if her folks don't show up."
Luffy frowns at that. "You know, I never really thought about that. I still think we should try though."
Franky nods. "We don't know for sure if Freckles' folks won't show and it would be great for us to see the people we miss."
Nami nods as she looks at the log pose. "The old lady said that the log pose can lead us there right? We still have to wait a few days here until the log pose is ready. We'll get everything we need for the holiday here then try to find the place."
The others nod in agreement while Rose walks over to the ship. "Hey guys!"
The others jolt as Franky takes the book from Robin and hides it in his stomach fridge just before Rose flies onto the deck.
Rose quirks an eyebrow at their behavior. "You guys ok?"
The others nod when Chopper speaks up. "You still want to have a snowball fight?"
She nods as she shows them the astronomy book she got from town. "Sure, I just need to go put this book away. You feel better from that 'fever' Luffy?"
Luffy quickly nods causing her to giggle. "Great, I'll be right back." She flies up to her observatory to put the book away while the others get back to talking.
"Please don't tell Rose." Luffy says causing the others to chuckle.
"Relax, we won't tell her." Zoro says while Franky takes the book out of his stomach.
"You'd better hide this before Freckles sees it."
Luffy eagerly nods as he takes the book and runs inside.
Ace loses his grin as soon as Luffy closed the door then turns to the others with a serious look on his face. "So what should we do if Roses folks don't show at this place?"
Some of the others lose their smile when Zira steps up. "If that's the case we'll just be there for her the way she's been there for us."
The others nod in agreement as Rose lands on the deck causing them to jolt.
Rose looks at the others in confusion. "Ok seriously, what's with you guys?" (I get the trio being nervous back in town, but what's with everyone now?)
Usopp quickly shakes his head. "You snuck up on us when we were deciding who was gonna play or not."
Rose sweat drops at the lie. (I doubt that was it… Fine, whatever. I'll find out later.) She sighs before smirking. "Alright then, who am I destroying?"
Franky cracks his knuckles while smirking. "What makes you think you're destroying anyone today Freckles?"
Ace nods while smirking. "That's right, the only one getting destroyed is you."
Rose nods. "Bring it on."
Luffy runs out with a toothy grin then scoops Rose up in his arms and jumps off the ship. "Anyone who wants to play follow me!"
Roses cheeks heat up as she tries to get out of the embrace but Luffy doesn't let her. "Luffy, put me down!"
"Nope!" He chuckles as he runs ahead with the blushing brunette in his arms while the others laugh at the cute display and Usopp, Chopper, Ace, and Franky follow them from behind into the woods.
Zoro stretches as he starts yawning then walks to the mast to get to the crow's nest. "I'm gonna take a nap."
Brook nods as he gets his guitar. "I'll head to the music room to practice."
"Can I join you Brook?" Zira asks causing him to nod.
"But of course Zira-san. Having an audience always brings joy to my heart. Or it would if I had a heart. Yohohoho!" The two pirates head inside while Sanji blows a puff of smoke from his cigarette before turning to the girls.
"You guys think it's ok to not tell Rose-chan about the island?"
Nami stares out at the woods they went to softly for a moment before sighing. "Since Luffy overheard Rose sounding interested in the island then I guess it's ok."
Robin nods. "In any case, finding out whether the legend is true or not can make things rather interesting. As long as no one here calls forth any evil demons it should be alright."
Nami sweat drops at that while Sanji love tornadoes to the kitchen. "You're so beautiful when you say morbid stuff Robin-chwan! I'll go make you two some drinks to warm up right away!"
He closes the door behind him while Nami sighs. "Why did I expect our Christmas to be normal?"
Robin giggles at that. "We shouldn't expect anything less from our captain. For now, we should be excited at the chance to see our loved ones again."
Nami nods in agreement as she smiles at the thought of seeing Bellemere again before walking inside with Robin to get Sanji's refreshments.
As soon as Luffy reaches a clearing where over a foot of untouched snow covers the landscape he gently puts Rose down while the other 4 catch up to them.
Usopp and Chopper catches their breathes while Franky steps up. "So how do we pick our teams for this SUPER snowball fight?"
Rose tilts her head in thought. "Good question…"
Luffy looks at them in confusion. "I thought the teams were already put together."
The others look at him in confusion but realize he's right when Chopper, Rose and Luffy were grouped together while Usopp, Franky and Ace are in another group.
Ace nods. "That works for me."
Usopp crosses his arms over his chest. "Ok, here are the rules! We can use your powers to attack, but no using your powers to block meaning no wind or fire barriers Ace and Rose! You also can't make them go through you!" He points to the two freckled logia users causing them to nod.
Usopp nods as he continues. "Getting hit by one snowball makes you out and have to leave the battlefield. The last one standing is the king or queen of the snow!"
The others nod as the two groups go to their separate sides of the clearing to create their snow forts. Luffy piles up about 5 feet of snow then Rose and Chopper work together to make the pile sturdy enough to protect them while Luffy starts making a pile of snowballs. Usopp and Franky work together to design large and well designed snow fort while Ace works on making over 100 snowballs.
Rose smirks as she and Chopper finish building the fort then starts making her own pile of snow arsenal. (Oh, this is gonna be so fun!)
Usopp, Ace and Franky nod to each other as they finish getting everything ready then look out at the other fort.
"YOU GUYS SUPER READY?!" Franky yells causing the others to nod over their fort.
"LET'S GO!" Luffy yells as he and Chopper start throwing snowballs like there's no tomorrow causing the other team to duck behind the fort while loading Franky's left arm with a bunch of snowballs.
"Are you sure your circuits can handle this Franky?" Ace asks as he grabs a few snowballs of his own.
"Just watch Fire Fist!" He risks the snowball barrage as he opens his left arm to reveal his machinegun filled with snowballs. "Weapons left!"
"AAAH!" Rose, Luffy and Chopper duck behind the fort but it starts crumbling due to the impact.
"Shit!" Rose grabs a few snowballs and chucks them at the other team with her wind but only damages the fort while the team dodges Franky's attack.
Usopp starts laughing as he loads a few snowballs with his slingshot. "I hope you guys are enjoying Captain Usopp's strategy! Prepare to-" He was cut off with a snowball in the face courtesy of Chopper.
Usopp grumbles in frustration as he gets out of the way and watches as the Luffy's team dodges Franky's barrage while trying to fight back.
"Nice shot doc!" Rose says as she keeps throwing snowballs at the fort to weaken their defenses while dodging Franky and Ace's arsenal.
Chopper nods as he goes into arm point to chuck more snowballs when Franky landed his last shot at Chopper's stomach.
"Aww…" The reindeer left the battlefield to join Usopp.
Ace was covering for Franky as he was reloading while Rose was working on creating more snowballs with Luffy was covering her and throwing the last of his snowballs and getting hit in the face by Ace.
"Really Ace?" Luffy pouts as he walks to the side while Franky and Ace were finishing reloading.
"I hope you're ready for a snowstorm Rose!" Ace says while Rose chuckles darkly causing them to turn to her.
"If I have to be ready for a snowstorm then I hope you guys are ready for a blizzard." She points up causing the two pirates to slowly look up and drop their snowballs in shock to see her use her wind to hold at least 30 snowballs right above their heads.
As both guys realize that they're screwed Franky turns to Ace while extending a hand out to him. "It's been an honor fighting alongside you bro."
Ace shakes his hand while keeping his eyes on the snow. "Likewise…"
Rose chucks the flying snowballs at them as they start dodging until she finally lands her snowballs at their heads and knocks them down.
Usopp sweat drops at the barrage before turning to Chopper. "Thanks for sparing me that."
Chopper nods. "No problem. I'm just glad she was on my team."
Luffy laughs at how the fight ended. "Shishishi. Way to go Rose!"
She giggles at how the fight ended then showed the others the peace sign. "Looks like I'm the snow queen! You guys wanna fight again?"
They quickly shake their heads causing her to chuckle. "Ok then, what do you guys want to do?"
Luffy steps up. "I wanna play in the snow some more."
Rose nods along with Usopp and Chopper while Franky and Ace turn around to leave.
"I got some stuff to work on back on the ship so I'm heading back." Franky says while Ace nods.
"I'm going to head back to the ship too."
The others nod as they begin to play the day away by starting to make some snow men.
Rose looks at the trio curiously while working on her snow man. (It looks like they're back to normal, but I still think the crew's up to something… Why am I the only one being shut out from-)
She snaps out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of lips on hers causing Rose to widen her eyes in shock as Luffy pulls back with a toothy grin.
"Shishishi, if you're gonna space out like that then you're gonna get kissed."
She blinks in surprise while her cheeks start going red before she chuckles then kisses his cheek. "Fair enough."
Chopper and Usopp chuckle causing Rose to start making a few snowballs before turning to them with a death glare. "You two have something you want to share with us?"
The two pirates quickly shake their heads before going back to their snow men causing Luffy to chuckle as he takes her hand and leads her to his snowman. "Come help me out with my snowman."
She nods as she takes her hand back and starts gathering up the surrounding snow. (Maybe I'm over thinking things… Still, to be safe I'll keep an eye on them.)
She nods to herself as she and the others play the day away while quietly wondering what the crew has in store for her.
TO BE CONTINUED