One Piece: The Deadly

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky, and most of the crew was busy or lounging around. Kikidori, inspired by Zoro's habit of napping wherever he pleased, decided to take a nap of his own. He found a shady spot on the deck, lay down with his hands behind his head, and drifted off to sleep.

Nearby, Zoro snored softly, arms crossed over his chest, sword resting beside him. Kikidori thought napping like this made him seem even cooler.

Peace reigned over the ship until…

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Luffy's loud wail shattered the silence, startling everyone awake.

Kikidori's eyes flew open, and he sat up groggily. "What the heck was that?"

Luffy's cries echoed across the deck, and Kikidori got up, rubbing his eyes. He followed the sound to the dining area, where he found Robin and Sanji standing over a sobbing Luffy.

"What happened?" Kikidori asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Sanji exhaled a long puff of smoke, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "Apparently, Captain Idiot here has suffered a tragedy."

Robin, ever composed, sipped her tea and looked at Luffy with a calm but amused expression. "It's quite the catastrophe, isn't it?"

Kikidori turned to Luffy, who was sitting on the floor, clutching a half-eaten piece of meat and bawling his eyes out. "What happened, Luffy?"

Luffy sniffled, his eyes red and watery. "A f-fly… landed on my meat!"

For a moment, there was silence. Kikidori stared at Luffy, his mouth slightly open, while Sanji groaned and slapped a hand to his face.

Robin chuckled softly. "A true tragedy indeed."

Kikidori blinked, trying to process what he'd just heard. "You're crying… over a fly?"

"It's not just any meat!" Luffy said, his voice cracking with emotion. "It's *my* meat!"

Sanji waved a hand dismissively. "Captain, just eat it. A fly landing on it isn't the end of the world."

"No way!" Luffy said, clutching the meat tighter. "It's ruined!"

Kikidori sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose the way Zoro always did when frustrated. "Just don't eat the part the fly landed on. Problem solved."

Luffy froze, blinking as if a light bulb had just gone off in his head. "Huh… That's a good idea!"

Sanji rolled his eyes. "Gee, it's almost like that's common sense."

Luffy grinned, tearing off the section where the fly had landed and tossing it aside. "Thanks, Kikidori! You're pretty smart!"

"Yeah, sure," Kikidori said, already walking back toward his quarters.

As he climbed into bed, he couldn't help but shake his head. "A fly… on his meat… Seriously, what kind of captain is he?"

But even as he drifted back to sleep, a small smile crept onto Kikidori's face. Life on the Thousand Sunny was never dull, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

End of Chapter 10