One Piece (Love Story) [Part Two]

Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty Seven [Rewritten]

-Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven-

Music soon filled the air once more as people danced and clapped, happily smiling as they joyfully laughed. I only hummed along to the tune, resting my elbow on the table as I propped my head up with the palm of my hand. Ignoring the painful growls my stomach released every now and then as it silently begged for food.

"Hey, what's the problem, Brook? Why'd you stop jamming?" Franky asked when the music suddenly stopped.

"Keep going! I put chopsticks in my nose for this!" Chopper childishly huffed, causing me to chuckle.

"Give me a moment, please" Brook softly laughed as he removed the bandages that were wrapped around his skull. "Huh, let's see..." he hummed, popping his head wide open before he began digging around inside.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Usopp and Sanji jumped as Luffy and I started to sparkle in wonderment. Even in my worried state, I still couldn't help but be amazed by what the skeleton was able to do with his bony body.

"I'll be back..." I mumbled to the sleeping swordsman, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head before I stood and curiously wandered over towards the group and skeleton hanging around the piano, wanting a closer look at whatever it was he was looking for in that head of his.

"This is a Tone Dial, I purchased it from a merchant years ago" Brook explained as he sat the shell he had pulled from his head down on top of the piano. "You see...when I meet Laboon again, I want to play this for him. So it's something I always keep in my heart" I smiled the minute I heard the whale's name, silently remembering our first meeting with him back when we entered the Grand Line and had been eaten by him. "Though all things considered, you might say it's in my head as well" the skeleton joked, causing me to chuckle.

"So do you have something special recorded on it?" Usopp asked.

"Yes, a song" Brook nodded. "It's the last song performed by my former crew—although they're all gone now, we wanted to leave a message to Laboon to let him know we were merry 'til the bitter end" he explained. "May I play it for you now?" he asked.

"Oh! Yeah, do it!" Luffy grinned. "If Laboon will like it, I bet I will too!"

"Alright" and with that, Brook pressed down on the apex of the dial, allowing a beautiful melody to spew forth and echo throughout the room.

"Huh? If this is the song you're playing, we can all sing along!" Lola brightened as she and her men started to cheer. It was interesting to discover that the pink-haired woman was the one whose shadow was in the zombie warthog Nami and I had made friends with. With a small smile, I wandered back over to my seat beside Zoro—sitting down as I lightly sang alongside everyone else while watching as they began to dance and clap their hands once more. I softly chuckled as the song came to an end, the men now whining as they begged for the skeleton to keep playing.

"He certainly has a beautiful voice" I smiled, casting a glance towards Brook as he once more began to chat with the men around him.

"Indeed" Robin chuckled in agreement before casting a glance over to me when my stomach suddenly released another growl. "Have you had anything to eat?" she asked, lightly frowning at the thought that I hadn't yet eaten. I didn't blame seeing how I tended to eat quite a bit like our captain—maybe not an absurd amount, but usually more than what the other women on the crew tended to eat.

"No, I'd rather wait 'til Mr. Sleepyhead here wakes up" I shook my head before blinking when she suddenly sat her plate down in front of me.

"I got more food than I could handle, so eat something—I'm sure Zoro wouldn't be pleased to hear you haven't eaten anything. Besides, you're still recovering from your injuries as well" she reminded me. "You need to take care of yourself."