Chapter Text
Vivi pressed a cloth to Nami’s brow as she slept fitfully beneath her hands, “We’re going to have to find a doctor for Nami. Fast. She’s getting worse.”
She spoke to an audience of Sanji and Ussop, since Luffy and Zoro were out manning the ship (not their best idea, but it would have to make do. Nami needed them.)
Sanji’s face was much more pensive than usual. His heart eyes were gone as his gaze rested on Nami, “I might be able to whip up something to boost her immune system, but it won’t be a cure. She needs a medical professional.”
Ussop scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “Maybe I can—“ he straightened up, “I mean…Captain Ussop’s on it! You know, I was once an expert navigator that even learned how to navigate my ship through the sky! On one of my adventures, I healed someone on their deathbed with nothing but toad oil and a fork!”
He continued babbling, but Vivi had learned when to block it out, “I’ll try to get her to eat,” she promised, “She’ll just have to hold out until then.”
Luffy poked his hat into the doorframe, “I’m telling you! I can help!”
“Luffy, save it for punching stuff and captain-ing,” Sanji ordered, “Why aren’t you on deck?”
Luffy frowned, “The deck’s boring! I’m worried about Nami.”
“We all are,” Vivi assured the captain, “We’ll just have to find a doctor.”
Luffy made a face, getting genuinely frustrated now, “I’m telling you! I can help!” He stepped closer to Nami, “See!”
“Luffy—“ Ussop protested, but his voice faltered as something changed in Luffy’s demeanor.
Luffy strode forward toward with unprecedented swagger. He tugged the rag out of Vivi’s hand and set it back in the bucket before patting Nami’s head dry, with his sleeve, “Definite fever. Approximately 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Does the patient report any other symptoms? Rashes, pain, vomiting, difficulty swallowing?”
Luffy’s eyes were hard and cold. His voice had lowered into a more mature version of his usual voice, settling into a deep tone that rumbled deep in his throat. It was devoid of his usual cheer, instead replaced with a harsh snippiness and a slight accent Vivi couldn’t place.
Vivi’s jaw dropped, but she quickly shut it. They’d talk about this—whatever this was—later, “She does have a rash. Some sort of bug bite on her midriff.”
Luffy lifted Nami’s shirt just enough to inspect the wound, “Do you have a sample of the specimen? Is there a record of which island she got bitten on?”
Vivi frowned, “Luffy? You were there.”
Luffy blinked and his face contorted for a second before the persona returned. Luffy shrugged, “Pretend I wasn’t.”
“Um… Little Garden?”
He nodded and asked a few more questions, grabbing one of Nami’s pens and writing down observations in a language Vivi had never seen before.
“I’d prefer to consult one of my textbooks to confirm, but I’m about 90% sure the patient has 6-day fever. It doesn’t have a good prognosis, and when left untreated, the patient usually dies within six days, hence the name,” Luffy reported, “The average pirate ship won’t have the ingredients necessary to cure it, but there are some things you can do to extend the time until you get to a proper doctor. Normally I could handle it with my devil fruit, but…” he frowned, gritting his teeth.
Luffy shook his head and ripped his piece of paper in half. He held it out to Sanji, “These ingredients are known to help counteract this kind of toxin. Whip up something with these ingredients in small amounts. Big emphasis on the salt. It helps the body retain hydration and provides electrolytes.”
He turned to Vivi, “With a fever this high, hydration is key. If we have ice cubes, putting them under the tongue can help. When she’s an awake, I want her chugging water. Otherwise, continue what you’re doing.”
He turned to Ussop, “Now, where are we? Close to Little Garden I assume?”
“Uh… super competent Luffy? Are you sure you can’t just…” Ussop made a motion, “Competent it?”
Luffy shook his head in disagreement, “No, I—they—me“ He shook his head like a dog. Then, he stretched his jaw and clapped his cheeks, “GAH Ussop! You can’t ask about another skill while I’m borrowing! I’m better at navigation than them anyway! That’s what they were trying to say!” Luffy scolded, as if he hadn’t just been possessed by some medical professional.
Ussop grabbed Luffy’s hand and lifted it, inspecting his body, “Are you our Luffy? Are you okay?” He held a hand to Luffy’s forehead, “Are you catching Nami’s fever?”
“Uh…” Luffy frowned, “Did I say whether it was contagious? Or wait—did I write anything down?”
Vivi was still reeling, but her body moved to hand over the notes.
Ussop frowned at the text over Luffy’s shoulder, “You can read that? What language is that?”
Luffy’s eyes squinted at the paper, but he took the time to mutter, “Northern, I think? I don’t remember. I made Shank’s doctor teach me the basics since they usually write notes when I borrow their skill.”
“It’s Northern,” Sanji confirmed, “Although the phrasing is a little weird. They must speak a dialect I don’t know.”
Ussop squeaked, “Wait, what? Since when do you speak Northern? Sanji? Samji! Don’t ignore me—”
Luffy talking in the third person wasn’t uncommon, but usually Luffy used his name when doing that. The gender neutral pronoun was strange. Not that this whole thing wasn’t strange. And Borrowing a skill? What did that mean?
Vivi wrung out the rag to replace it on Nami’s head before something clicked, “You said you were borrowing a skill. Is it your soulmate’s?”
Luffy looked up from the paper with his characteristic wide smile, “Yeah! Ace likes to joke that neither my soulmate nor I would have survived long enough to meet each other if we couldn’t borrow skills!” He rubbed his hat sheepishly, “They’re really bad with people. And listening. And instincts. I’m bad with medical stuff and thinking. We keep each other alive!”
That… was a really powerful soul bond. Most soul bonds were like… drawings show up on each other’s skin. Vivi’s let her play cards with her soulmate. Borrowing skills—especially something like Luffy’s Charisma or his soulmate’s medical knowledge—was incredibly useful. Yet, even soulbonds had limits.
“But you can only use one skill at a time?” Vivi asked, “Is that why it broke when Ussop asked you about Navigation?”
Luffy nodded, “Yeah! And when my soulmate borrows my skills, I can’t use them until they give it back, so it’s always a little risky. We’ve gotten good at asking for permission though!”
It was a weird soulbond that had a lot of potential, but everything about Luffy was weird and powerful. She didn’t know the crew’s soulbonds, but she doubted all of them were as insanely overpowered as their captain.
Soulbonds had a way of looking at a pair of soulmates and asking, “what do you need most?” Vivi’s dad liked to hypothesize why her soulbond was what it was. He said it was to remind her to take a break and have some fun. Igaram said that sometimes ruling could be lonely, so her bond let her connect to her soulmate whenever she needed a friend.
An adventurous, accident-prone person like Luffy needing access to medical attention made a lot of sense. And if Luffy’s soulmate borrowed his social skills, did that mean his soulmate was shy? Luffy would be cute with a soft-spoken, introvertive soulmate! She couldn’t wait to tell Nami!
…But Nami had to get better first.
***
Bepo blinked. His captain had faltered in his step for a second before sighing and rubbing a hand down his face.
He didn’t think he’d done anything to deserve it, but he asked anyway, “What’s wrong, Captain?”
“Somebody’s being a goddamn idiot. As usual.”
***
The Going Merry’s crew didn’t have time to address Luffy’s latest quirk until after Drum. The crew sat at the table as Sanji piled dish after dish in front of them. Nami and Vivi sat shoulder to shoulder, smiling and relieved at Nami’s health. Zoro was out getting Chopper settled (the reindeer had already become very attached to the man). Luffy was drooling at the sight of Sanji’s cooking.
Ussop, on the other hand, had nothing to do at the moment, so he decided to spark some conversation, “Hey, Luffy, how does your soulbond work? You freaked us out there for a second?”
Nami frowned, “Luffy’s soulbond?”
Sanji shuddered at the reminder, nearly spilling Vivi’s drink in the process, “God, don’t remind me. I’ve never been so confused in my life.”
Vivi jumped at the opportunity to fill Nami in, and Nami’s eyes widened, “That’s a really weird bond, Luffy.”
Luffy frowned, like he had never thought about it, “I dunno. It’s just our bond,” he took a bite out of his meat and continued speaking so the crew got a full view of his partially-chewed food, “Wha’bout it?”
“How does it work?” Ussop pressed. He had his own guesses—and Vivi had shared her with Nami—but he wanted more information.
“I…” Luffy’s face contorted into an expression only a rubber man could make, “I think ‘oh man, my soulmate could do this!’ and then I tap on their shoulder and ask if I can borrow something. They usually let me borrow it unless they’re using it.”
Nami seemed interested in that, “you can touch your soulmate?”
Luffy laughed, “Silly Nami! Of course I can’t!”
Her eye twitched.
Ah, it was metaphorical, Ussop realized. He let Nami sit in her anger and continued his questioning, “So what skill did you borrow to help Nami? I’d say something with medicine, but even the way you moved changed. Is there a limit to what you can borrow?”
Luffy chewed his food thoughtfully for a second, “Yeah, I’ve been told that before, but I can’t remember anything that happens when I borrow. For Nami, I borrowed diagnosis. Makino says that when I borrow one skill, I actually borrow a lot of them,” he explained, “For some reason, my soulmate thinks walking a certain way helps with diagnosis, so I walk that way too.”
That was a lot to process. Ussop didn’t even know Luffy could say diagnosis.
Sanji put down the last plate with a nod, “That makes sense. I suppose if I had that bond and my soulmate borrowed my cooking skills, they might also pick up some customer service skills since they go hand in hand at the restaurant. You’re able to borrow all the skills your soulmate thinks you’ll need to make sure the task is done right.”
Luffy snapped, “Right! But if I’m already borrowing one skill, I can’t borrow another. That’s why I broke out of it when Ussop asked me to do something else. I only asked for the doctor skills, not the other stuff! I’d have to ask again, and it’s hard to borrow a lot of things in one day.”
There was a lull, and Vivi decided to ask another question that had been on her mind, “So your soulmate’s a doctor?” She wondered, “Have you met?”
Luffy shook his head, “No, but he’s a really good one! He helped Sabo when he got really sick once.”
Ussop didn’t recognize the name, but let it slide, “That’s a really useful soulbond,” he agreed, and Luffy beamed.
Then the straw hat’s nightly dinner free-for-all began. Sanji was ever vigilant to make sure everyone got enough, and his fight against Luffy’s rubbery arms was valiant. Between the mad dash for food and the heavenliness of Sanji’s cooking, silence fell over the crew.
When everyone slowed down, Ussop spotted the opportunity to show off and took it. He stood up and placed his foot on the bench dramatically, posing for his story: “My soulbond with Kaya is common, but it let me know I’d become a pirate!” He announced with his usual flare, “A soulbond is whatever you need most, and I have the ability to send letters to her instantly! No matter the material! No matter the distance! Once we figured it out, it was obvious I’d become a brave traveler and—“
Sanji’s foot whacked him in the head, “Ussop! Sit down and eat your food!”
Ussop stuck his tongue out, “You’re no fun.”
“Actually, Sanji,” Nami put down her fork, “I’m surprised we don’t know what your soulbond is. You seem like the type to shout it to the heavens, you know?”
Sanji faltered. For a moment, he looked like a child caught red-handed. Then he waved his hand dismissively, “Oh, my soulmate and I don’t leave our bond open. It’s emotion-based, so as lovely as my soulmate must be, a little privacy never hurt anyone, you know? It can be a lot.”
That… was weird, right? The usual hearts in Sanji’s eyes looked more like tear drops than declarations of love and passion. Ussop looked around the table for back up, which he received. Not even Luffy seemed to buy Sanji’s story, but Luffy cared more about eating meat at the moment, so it couldn’t be too bad. After all, the captain had a sixth sense for this kind of stuff sometimes.
Nami frowned, “Sanji…”
Sanji looked at his audience’s skepticism and sighed, “I uh… I embarrassed myself as a kid. We all know what I’m like.“
“You get embarrassed?” Ussop blurted without thinking. He’s seen Sanji do so many cringey things…
How Sanji managed to kick him over the table without disturbing any of the food was beyond Ussop. A true testament to his skill, “That’s rich coming from you!”
“Hey!”
They bickered for a moment, going back and forth. At some point, Zoro and Chopper came in. With their arrival, Sanji gave Ussop a withering glare and returned to his food.
Zoro raised an eyebrow at the commotion, “How’d Ussop piss off the cook?”
Ussop opened his mouth to begin a seat-gripping tale of his bravery, but Vivi beat him to it.
“We’re talking about soulbonds,” Vivi explained, sending the two of them a look, “Since Luffy’s soulbond was able to help Nami, maybe it’s a good idea to get to know everyone else’s.”
Zoro nodded, “That makes sense. I closed mine off cuz it got annoying, so I don’t use it.“
Chopper’s face lit up, “I’ve read about Soulbonds, but Doctor and Doctorine never really talked about them! I think they’re so cool!” he enthused, “Zoro! How does yours work?”
Zoro didn’t seem thrilled to answer his question, but it seems that even he had a weak spot for the little guy. He huffed, “I’ve got one of those ones where we each get different things.”
Chopper cocked his head, “Different? How do you mean?”
“You know how Luffy and his soulmate can borrow from each other?” Zoro recalled. Chopper nodded, “Most of the time, soulmates have similar problems and their soulbond solves the same problem.”
“Like how Kaya and I can write to each other, because we both have the problem of wanting to talk to each other when we’re apart,” Ussop added helpfully.
Zoro pointed at Ussop, “Right, that. Sometimes, soulmates get different bonds for different issues. Like me.”
“Oh. So why did you close yours?” Nami wondered.
Zoro grunted, “Mostly. My soulmate’s the emotional type. There’s a name for his kind of bond. Something with emotional support?”
“A validation bond, maybe?” Vivi supplied.
Zoro nodded, “Yeah. I think we’re just soulmates by elimination, since they’re kinda weak last I checked. They were always sad as a kid. I had to talk them out of killing themself a lot, but I got used to it. Then, when I was like 8, they stopped being sad all the time and it was weird. It kept throwing off my meditation, so when they went some time without talking to me, I just closed it off.”
Ussop’s stomach turned cold. That… that didn’t sound good. He knew Zoro was oblivious, but surely he couldn’t be that bad!
Nami slammed her hands on the table, “You cut off a suicidal kid who was being abused! Are they still alive?”
Zoro grabbed a plate and gave her a look, “Uh… yeah? And who said anything about abuse?”
“Zoro. What child wants to kill themself?!” Nami demanded, practically breathing fire from her rage.
Luffy looked at her, the food in his cheeks making him look like a hamster, “Is that not normal? Sabo and I stopped Ace from killing himself all the time as a kids.”
Sanji nodded, “Surely it’s not unheard of.”
Ussop looked between Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji, practically choking. He knew everyone on the ship was a weirdo. A lot of them were depressed at some time or another, and that’s part of what made them so close. This, though?
“No! That is very much not normal!” Ussop choked, “That's very bad!”
“Huh,” Luffy tapped his chin, “That’s good. It was kinda scary sometimes.”
Vivi, being the goddess she was, saved the conversation, “Well, Zoro said he waited until his soulmate was happy before doing anything. He probably managed to find a safe place and didn’t need him anymore,” she reasoned.
Zoro frowned, getting a bit defensive, “Hey, they shut me out, too. They’re alive, and if they really needed me I think they could probably break through it. But my soulmate would respect that I have my own life.”
That’s fair, but… Ussop shook his head, “Maybe avoid calling them weak for being abused? Especially as a kid. That stuff is complicated, and not every kid comes out of the womb holding a sword.”
Zoro tsk’d as he reached for the sake, “I’ll call it how I see it. Maybe they’ve gotten stronger since then. I’m sure I’ll find out one day.”
Ussop was kind of surprised Sanji wasn’t making a comment, but when he looked over at his seat, the man had vanished. Huh. Ussop made a mental note to check on him later.
“If your soulmate has a validation bond, what’s your bond then?” Vivi wondered. She seemed really in soulbonds, but Ussop could respect that she had a hobby.
“It’s also got a name,” Zoro turned to Nami, “What’s the thing we’re following called? It’s something like that.”
“The thing we’re—“ Nami paused, “do you mean a log pose?”
“No. The one to Vivi’s place. That thing. The pose part is right.”
“An eternal pose?” Nami asked, “Zoro, do you have a navigational soulbond? And you still manage to get lost?”
“Eh? I don’t use it! It’s closed off!” Zoro protested.
“Well obviously! Does the Grand Line mess it up like a compass, or does it stay accurate despite the interference?” Nami’s gaze intensified, “Zoro. If you have a fully functional compass and you’re holding out on me…”
Zoro threw his hands up in the air, “Fine! Whatever. We can test it out tomorrow. How’s that?”
Nami grinned and preened in her seat, very happy with herself.
“What about you Vivi?” Ussop asked, turning the attention to the princess, “You seem to know a lot about soulbonds.”
Vivi blushed, “Ah, I suppose it’s my turn now,” she agreed, “Mine is… peculiar. Everyone has their own theory why it is what it is, but I suppose we can’t know for sure until I meet my soulmate,” she brushed her hair behind her ears, “For whatever reason, my soulmate and I can play cards together. It’s similar to Luffy’s where you have to ask permission, and—“ she yelped, “Nami?”
Nami stood up so fast she nearly knocked the bench over. She stumbled over it so fast she had to use her hands to steady herself. Already panting, she held up a finger, “Give me one second!” And then tore off.
Nami slammed the door behind her, and her footprints were followed by many loud thuds.
Vivi gave Ussop a look, like do you know what’s going on?
Ussop raised his hands in surrender.
Another uncharacteristic thud drew Vivi’s attention away and their eyes settled on the door eagerly.
Nami burst through the door, holding… a deck of cards? Was she going to make Vivi demonstrate?
Ussop looked at Vivi who looked like she’d seen a ghost.
“Are these,” Nami panted, pushing her hair out of her face with one hand, “Are these familiar?”
Vivi nodded vigorously.
“Wait…” Ussop looked at Nami. Then Vivi. Then Nami. Then Vivi again, “WAIT!”
The girls laughed in disbelief, ignoring Ussop. Nami handed the deck over and Vivi dug through it, looking for a specific card. Then, she found it, “The ace of hearts! It even has the crayon mark from when we were trying to make up our own language! And the ink stains on the back!”
Luffy was actually so surprised he stopped eating, “Whoa! You two are soulmates!
That’s so cool!”
“Yeah,” Vivi agreed softly, looking up at Nami, “I can’t believe…”
Nami laughed, her smile brighter than Luffy’s.
Luffy slammed his hands against the table and stood up, “Alright everyone! We’re moving outside! Let’s let them have the room while we have a picnic! Sanji—“ he looked around the room, coming to the realization Ussop did earlier, “Ussop! Zoro! Chopper! Let’s go!”
Ussop couldn’t wait to tell Kaya about this.
***
Leaving Vivi behind was hard. Everyone silently agreed to let Nami have her space as she hid in the girl’s cabin. Ussop had needed time to adjust after separating from Kaya. He of all the strawhats knew she needed it.
Nico Robin—Ms. All Sunday, of all people to going the group—unfortunately did not know what was happening. She was observant, thankfully, and stayed out on the deck until nightfall (under Zoro’s supervision) before she started to ask questions.
“Is there a reason Ms. Navigator is not with us?” She asked finally as Sanji began to dish out dinner.
“Um…” Ussop looked to his crewmates, unsure how much he should say. As easily Luffy accepted Robin, he was still a little nervous around the woman who tried to kill him.
“Oh. Vivi’s her soulmate, so she’s sad she had to stay behind,” Luffy explained without any hesitation, casually revealing what could be a national secret to a former terrorist, “She’ll be okay in a few days though.”
“Ah,” Robin’s face was sympathetic, “Should I find another place to sleep then?”
Luffy waved his hand, “No, they’re probably just playing cards. That’s their soul bond. As long as you don’t disrupt it you’ll be fine.”
Alright then. Just casually dish out who the Princess of Alabasta’s soulmate is. Too late to back out now, “Luffy’s got good instincts for this stuff. He’s probably right,” Ussop admitted, “So don’t worry too much.”
Then, he added, “Actually, we asked this question too late last time. Some of us have some more-or-less useful soulbonds. Especially Luffy. I know we’re strangers, but we’re going to be crewmates. Would you mind sharing yours?”
“Oh?” She asked, fingering her glass, “Useful how?”
“Zoro’s is supposed to act as a compass in a pinch, but either he’s so terrible with directions it doesn’t work or the Grand Line messed with it,” Sanji explained, “And Luffy can sometimes become a terrifying doctor.”
Luffy pouted, “I don’t only borrow their medical knowledge. I’ve borrowed their sword knowledge while talking to Zoro to see how long I could get him to stay in a conversation!”
“Your soulmate is a doctor and knows that much about swords?” Ussop asked, surprised, “What the fuck kind of soulmate do you have?”
Luffy grinned, “A cool one!”
“Mine is… random,” Robin admitted, “We can share fun facts with each other. I suppose we must both enjoy learning. The occasional impersonal question as well. Sometimes it’s something like…If you stack three sandwiches on top of each other, is it a sandwich sandwich, or is it one sandwich?”
Luffy tapped his chin thoughtfully, “Just a taller sandwich, I think,” he mused, “Sanji! You’re the chef! What do you think?”
“A sandwich is, colloquially, two similar objects with something different in between. If we’re talking sandwiches made with flat slices of bread, that’s one thing. If the sandwich in the center is different than the other two, that would be a sandwich sandwich. If it’s the same, then it’s a stack of sandwiches. However, if the bread is made out of buns or something similar which clearly have a top or bottom, then the sandwich is defined by the tops and the bottoms.”
Zoro stared at him, bewildered, “Did you just have that ready to go?”
Sanji blushed.
Zoro seemed to accept that answer and turned his attention back to Robin,, “Weren’t you the world’s most wanted kid?” He pushed, “I’ve seen your bounty. You’re telling me that what life decided you needed most were sandwiches questions?”
Nico Robin’s smile was small and hesitant, “Sometimes the facts are about how to destroy a warship in a single blow,” she admitted, “but don’t underestimate the power of entertainment and the importance of keeping your mind sharp. It’s a fun way to pass the time without lowering your guard.”
***
Bonus:
Nico Robin held her hands up in a guard, ready to activate her devil fruit, “Mr. Shipwright, I have a question for you: approximately how many newtons of force does it take to crush a single testicle beyond repair?”
Franky swallowed. Whelp. That’s one way to meet your soulmate. And why was the answer actually coming across their bond? How did she know the answer to that?