"Ah! I can move now!" Luffy is shaking as he struggles to his feet in order to dash away.

"Straw Hat got free from the effects of the beam first!" Itomimizu shouts.

"It's useless, you won't get away!" Foxy laughs, and a moment later his fist connects with Luffy's face. Then as Luffy is flying through the air, Foxy jumps off his glider and aims it right for Luffy.

"Luffy! Incoming!" Chopper and Usopp scream.

"Take that as my farewell gift!"

As the explosion rocks the air, Itomimizu opens his mouth. "Game over! Perfect hit! There is no way he could've survived!"

"No, no, no, no," the word is spilling out of me, and I can't stop it.

"Luffy!" Chopper is in absolute disbelief.

"Isn't that going a little too far!?" Nami exclaims.

The smoke lingers, and we all wait with bated breath at what we are going to see when it clears. Foxy is not holding back with his laughter, but I know he's not going to be that way for long. Especially considering the Luffy that I've known my entire life.

"H...he...he stood back up again!" Itomimizu is in complete shock as the smoke dissipates enough for us to see that Luffy is indeed still on his feet.

"I'm..." Luffy's voice is even more ragged than before. "Going to win! Gum-Gum!"

"Rush!" Foxy breaks in.

"Gum-Gum Gatling Gun!"

The fists of both are flying so fast that we lose sight of them amongst all the debris and dust that is being kicked up.

"Amazing!" Itomimizu calls out. "The fight is so fierce even this late in the game! The fighters have entered a pummeling rage!"

"Go Luffy!" Usopp cheers in the accent I'll never get used to. "Smash him up good!"

"Smash!" Chopper shouts.

"Teach him a lesson he'll never forget, Luffy!" I scream.

"Not stopping!' Itomimizu calls out. "They don't seem to be stopping anytime soon!"

"Such power!" Foxy's voice somehow emerges out of the chaos. "How can this dying man have so much strength left!"

Luffy's battle cry as he pushes through it all sends shivers down my spine.

"This is...Noro-Noro Bee-!"

The fighting comes to an abrupt stop. Their fists stuck together in the last punch they both threw. Neither of them moving an inch, and the silence could blow us all away.

"What happened?" Usopp asks.

"They're not moving," Nami breathes out.

Luffy is the one to fall to a knee, but there's something strange about the way Foxy isn't moving at all.

"D...down!" Itomimizu blurts out. "Straw Hat is down—No wait! That's not right! Straw Hat is still moving! What the hell happened!?"

"Damn...you..." Foxy's voice is slow, just like when he slowed down Luffy.

"How did Luffy deflect his beam?" I ask, and a second later that answer is revealed as something falls out of Luffy's glove.

"A mirror!" Itomimizu shouts. "Straw hat had a piece of mirror in his hand!"

"It got stuck in my afro," Luffy explains as he slowly stands back up, "When I was in your mirror room..."

"You...little...shit..." Foxy finally gets out.

"Gum-Gum!" Luffy flings his arm up and then starts spinning it as fast as he can in the state that he's in. "Flail!" His fist connects with the middle of Foxy's face. Then he turns and starts walking for the figurehead.

"Eight more seconds," Zoro says.

"Too long," I grip onto Zoro's arm.

"Is this the end!?" Itomimizu cries.

"Seven," Sanji says.

"Six," Robin smiles.

"Five!" Usopp jumps out of his seat, turning to face the crowd. "What are you staring at!? Count with me! Four!"

Now everyone is counting along with him. Some not as loud as others, and not all sure why they are counting, but we are all counting down.

"Three! Two! One! Zero!"

Luffy has made it to the center of the figurehead where we can all see the winner of this arduous battle. The second the countdown ends, he raises his hands to the sky and lets out the loudest shout of exhilaration, "YEAH!"

"That's our captain!" I feel all kinds of energy bursting within me, and I rush down to pick up Chopper in the excitement. "That's the man that I love to follow no matter where he leads!"

"Me too!" Chopper laughs.

"Alright!" Nami and Usopp jump around.

Foxy's body is floating right out of the zone to the dismay of his crew. "Wait! That's our Boss flying!"

"Boss is sent soaring in the sky!" Itomimizu cries.

"That's Luffy's Game-ending Punch, suckers!" I stick my tongue out at the Foxy pirates.

"Boss!"

There's too much excitement flowing through all our bodies, but I force myself to keep my eyes on Foxy as he is on a straight path to the raging ocean below. Right out of the playing area. The splash is the most satisfying sound after all the bullshit we've been through today.

"The point of landing is outside the battlefield!" Itomimizu announces. "For the fateful battle of the third round of this Davy Back Fight, The captain verses captain round, our boss, Foxy, has tragically fallen after nine-hundred-twenty straight wins. The winner of this round is..."

"I won't let you have any of my friends, even if I die!" Luffy uses the last of his strength to shout this to the world.

"Straw Hat Luffy!"

"That was beautiful, Luffy!" Chopper bursts out of grasp to dance around.

"Let's hear it for our captain!" I point to the crowd.

"Luffy!" Nami and Usopp shout as one, along with many of the Foxy pirates.

Zoro has a big grin on his face, Sanji is trying to kiss Nami, and Robin has a sweet smile on her face.

"Our boss...lost!?" someone shouts.

"Don't just stand there! Go save boss!" another guy shouts.

"Foxy Pirates verses Straw Hat Pirates," Itomimizu speaks back up, probably intending to wrap this whole thing up. "Under the three-coin rule, for this Davy Back Fight, is now over!"

"Someone needs to get that boy over here so we can treat those wounds," Nami orders as she keeps Sanji at arm's length. "I'm surprised he's still standing."

"I'll get him," Zoro says, starting to walk off. "Be ready when I get back, Chopper."

"Oh yeah, I'm the doctor," Chopper giggles.

"I'm going to give that boy so many kisses once I get my hands on him," I hum, placing a hand on top of my head to feel the straw hat beneath my fingers.

+~*~*~*~*~*~+

"You did an amazing job, Chopper," I praise, running my hand through Luffy's hair. His straw hat still safely on my head. "You worked really quickly, too. I've only ever dealt with patching up small scrapes and such, so it was cool to watch you."

"Thank you," Chopper flashes a smile.

"I've never seen you pace like that when Luffy was hurt," Nami chuckles. "And you've seen him in some pretty bad shape after fights."

"Nothing was quite like this though," Zoro says. "We've looked Death in the eyes before, but this was something else."

"He's always said that he's not afraid of dying," I add. "He'd give his life for his friends if it meant they could keep chasing their dreams. Now I've witnessed that more than once, and it makes me love him even more. Even if wondering about his death makes my heart wobble."

"He's lucky to have such a darling love him like you do, Akari," Sanji takes a drag of his cigarette.

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual," Robin softly smiles.

"Well, Luffy is a really lucky guy," I giggle.

"I don't care how lucky he is, you really had me worried back there!" Usopp crouches right by Luffy's head and aggressively pokes his face. "You! You!"

"You're poking too hard!" Chopper holds up a hand. "Are you trying to kill our captain!?"

"He didn't mean to worry any of us, but he had to do whatever he could to win," I slap Usopp's hand.

"I was scared too," Nami takes a seat in the grass, keeping her knees pulled up to her chest. "All that talk about the afro making you strong," she shakes her head.

"Nami, the afro does make you strong!" Sanji also crouches down.

Luffy lets out a tiny groan before his eyes slightly open.

"He woke up!" Usopp blurts out.

It takes a moment for Luffy's brain to catch up with the last thing he remembers, and then he is shooting up to a sitting position as his eyes are wide open. "The game! What happened to the fight!? Didn't I win!? Was I dreaming!?"

"Relax, you won," Zoro grins.

Luffy flops back into the grass with the biggest smile on his face. "That's good."

"Now I can finally do what I said I was going to when you won," I gently cup Luffy's face, leaning down to press kisses all over. I deliberately avoid his lips, feeling my heart swell with how big his smile is. The redness on his cheeks is probably not a blush, but the redness on mine definitely is.

"I need to research the effects of kisses on wounds," Chopper muses.

"Akari, you angel," Nami hums.

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

"My ass you weren't," Sanji grumbles.

"I thought about it, and if I left this ship, there would be no point in me being a pirate anymore," Zoro scoffs.

Robin lets out a soft giggle.

"You're too cute, dumpling," Luffy grabs my face to stop my kissing ministrations. "You're missing the most important place though." His lips connect with mine before I can respond. Luffy has always been protective of his friends, but it is clear that a switch has been flipped ever since I was taken from and then returned to the crew.

"Boss! You should be resting!" Porche's voice ends our kiss and reminds all of us that there are some final Davy Back Fight issues to deal with.

"You looked really good during that fight, captain," I whisper, pulling my hands away from his face. "The handsomest captain I've ever seen. Usopp told me that you wanted to ditch your vest when deciding on your outfit."

"I had to show off the skull and crossbones Usopp painted on my chest, and it would have just gotten in the way," he isn't whispering, but he has lowered his voice. "Plus, I may have wanted to show off my muscles to you. All this fighting since we set sail really has helped."

"I've noticed, trust me," I press one last kiss to his lips before sitting up and looking over to where Foxy is gingerly making his way over to us with bandages all over his body.

Luffy's hands release my face and his arms flop back down into the grass.

"Hey, Straw Hat!" Foxy shouts as he steps up to Luffy. "It is all because of you that I've lost my perfect record...Not bad, brother." He holds out his hand for a civil handshake as his crew mumble for their boss.

Usopp jumps into the strangest fighting stance with his hands up and his knees bent; Zoro has a hand on his swords as he narrows his eyes at the Foxy pirates; Sanji has his hands in his pockets as he stares back at the notorious cheaters.

Luffy sits up, turning to face the man he was willing to fight to the death not that long ago. His hand snatching his straw hat off my head and placing it back on his. Without a single word, he reaches out and shakes Foxy's hand.

"I didn't expect you to be this honorable," I taunt.

Porche and Hamburg's laughter that they can barely keep in makes me wish I could take back that statement the second it came out of my mouth.

"Eat this! Overhead Throw of Vengeance!" Foxy tries to throw Luffy over his shoulder but ends up just slamming his head into the ground as Luffy's arm stretches.

"Idiot," Zoro and I say as one.

Foxy dusts himself off, letting the anger take over on his face. "Fine! Let's just get this over with! What do you want!?"

"That's right!" Itomimizu's voice rushes out of the speakers. "The last part of the game still needs deciding! The winner, Captain Straw hat, gets to take a new crewmember! They seem to be looking for a shipwright!"

"They really know a lot about us," Luffy reaches over to grab my hand, interlacing our fingers easily.

"In that case, will they take the leader of our fifty-men mechanic team, Sonie? Or will they pick the battle-ready mechanic, Donovan? Or! The downright sexy shipwright, Gina-chan?"

Hamburg has his hand over his mouth as he tries to hold back laughter, Foxy is glaring over at us as he grinds his teeth, and Porche has her cheeks puffed out in a pout.

"Only the captain can decide who to pick! Now please decide."

Without missing a beat, Luffy gives his answer as he pulls the two of us to our feet. "I choose your Jolly Roger."

"What!?" all of the Foxy pirates exclaim.

"Hey, Luffy!" Sanji screams at the boy. "Think again! Isn't sexy Gina-chan a lot better than their lousy flag? You won't get another chance like this!"

"If we had fought for something like that, it wouldn't be worth it," Luffy tugs me into his side.

"Besides, we don't know if those mentioned shipwrights are any good," I add.

Nami lets out a deep breath as she places a hand over her heart. "I don't think I would have been able to accept one of them to our crew."

"You're...evil!" Foxy blurts out. "You didn't even give it a thought, and you want to rob us of our pride!?"

"I don't want your sail," Luffy clarifies. "Just the Jolly Roger. Otherwise you won't be able to leave, right?"

"How thoughtful, but our symbol is on our sail too!" a Foxy pirate shouts. "We won't be able to use that!"

"Stop pretending to be nice!" another Foxy pirate shouts. "Just take everything!"

"Okay, okay, geez," Luffy's eyebrows furrow together. "I'll just erase the symbol for you. Then I'll give you a new one. That way you will be able to use your sail."

"Straw Hat...you're so nice," Foxy chokes out.

"That's what you think now, but wait until he actually paints your new symbol," I grimace.

"I can change back into my regular clothes on the way too," Luffy says. "Everyone wait here, it won't take me long." He lets go of my hand, heading off to the Foxy pirates' ship.

"They don't deserve it, but he should have let me draw them a new symbol," Usopp speaks up.

"I'm going to be honest, I don't think he realizes how bad his drawing actually is," I sigh.

"After all they did to try and cheat us out of wins, this is what they deserve," Nami says.

"I'd say that maybe Luffy's gotten better, but we all know that isn't true," Zoro says.

"What are you four talking about?" Sanji asks.

"You saw when Luffy put our Jolly Roger on Laboon," I look over at Sanji. "That didn't look bad just because he was painting on a scarred surface. He's never been good when it comes to art. He tried to draw our symbol when we first got the Going Merry, and it really looked like a little kid drew it."

Nami chuckles, "In some ways, Luffy is still a little kid at heart."

"It's a good thing I decided to join so that I could give us a recognizable Jolly Roger that a serious pirate crew would have," Usopp stands up a bit straighter, trying to puff out his chest a bit.

"Sure, whatever you say, Usopp," Zoro deadpans.

"I like our Jolly Roger," Chopper says. "And I'll always cherish the flag I used to claim as mine."

"The flag unites us, even if we all have different goals," Robin says.

"Okay, done!" Luffy's voice fills the air.

All of us look over to see the absolute disaster that Luffy has painted for the Foxy Pirates, and I'm not sure how I keep the laughter at bay. The new symbol is even worse than his attempt at the one he painted for our crew when we first set out on the Going Merry. He's clearly attempted to draw a fox head in front of the crossbones because he wrote 'fox' above the new symbol, but his hand is so unsteady that it doesn't really look like that. I'm sure that he tried his best.

"That's horrible!" every single member of the Foxy pirates falls to their knees in despair.

"They look so grateful, too," Luffy smiles as he lands back with us after flinging himself off Foxy's ship.

"No, we're not!"

I finally let out a small laugh, "Damn Luffy, it's a good think that you decided to become a pirate and not an artist."

"What do you mean?" he tilts his head as he looks at me. "I think I gave them a way better flag than what they had."

"It is definitely different than what they had," Usopp chuckles.

Two gunshots ring out just like when the game started, but these are to finally close out these damn games. All the booths and fanfare has already been put away.

"The winner...is the Straw Hat Crew!" Itomimizu declares. "The Davy Back Fight will now officially end!"

The giant paws of the Foxy pirate ship that has been trapping the Going Merry all this time finally retract back to the ship.

"Hooray!" Usopp starts dancing around. "The Going Merry is free again!"

"I can't believe we just spent the whole day doing that," I cross my arms as I watch Luffy (back in his red vest and jean shorts) run to collect the former flag of Foxy and his crew.

"We run into a lot of weirdos," Zoro says. "Too bad they stole you from being able to fight. I would have been okay fighting next to you."

"She would have stuck close to me, isn't that right, darling?" Sanji asks.

"I would have been running all over that field, that's for sure," I slightly grin.

"Hey! Straw Hat!" Foxy's voice echoes through the air as his ship starts to pull away from the shore.

"Hm?" Luffy frowns as he looks over at the ship. Their former flag rolled up and under one of his arms.

"I'll get you for this!"

"They never give up, do they?" Zoro cringes.

"I hope if we ever see them again, we don't agree to a Davy Back Fight, and just fight them outright," I shake my head.

"Let's go to the old man and the horse," Luffy turns to put Foxy and his crew behind him. He's tossed the flag over his shoulder, and his other arm circles around my waist to pull me into his side. "We have to show him what we did."

I wrap my arms