Dark, cramped, loud… three words that sum up the entire existence of the two young men somehow crammed into a single barrel. Both snored loudly, lost in their perspective dream-world. That is until the barrel jolts rather violently, and the red-head among the two begins to come around. "Hnnh? What the...?" mumbles the red-head, opening his eyes… and finding himself face to face with someone's jean-covered ass. "Luffy… your ass is in my face, brother. Please, move." A loud snore is his response, and for a moment he's half-tempted to simply go back to sleeping.
After all, there isn't much else to do while bobbing about on the ocean in a barrel… which is not exactly how he imagined the first leg of their journey going. He pauses, however, when he notices that their barrel is no longer bobbing but stationary. "Luffy. Luffy, time to get up. I think we've—" The barrel begins to roll, slowly but surely and the red-head has to brace himself to stop from squishing against Luffy… but his deeply asleep friend can't do that. "First it's bobbing, now it's rolling… Well, at least we're not bouncing." Muffled voices reach his ears over the sound of snoring, and moments later the barrel is lifted, and set back down. "Oh, gimme a break."
He moves one hand, fumbling in the darkness and eventually finding Luffy's face. "Oi, oi, rise and shine, Luffy." A few firm slaps halt the snoring for a brief moment before he begins snoring again. "Oi! Wake up!" A firm slap wakes him, and he surges straight up without warning...
*Smash!*
The top of the barrel is pulverized without warning, and a young man surges straight up hitting a man in the chin and knocking him out cold. "Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh! I SLEEP GREAAAT!" bellows Luffy, moments before taking stock of his surroundings. "Huh?" Three grown men and a pink-headed boy with glasses… not much of interest or to be worried about really.
"C'mon, be a little quieter after waking up, huh?" asks the red-head popping up just enough to hang his elbows over the edge of the barrel and recline against it.
"How'd you sleep, Haru?"
"Pretty good… until your ass ended up in my face, at least." Luffy ignores the comment, choosing instead to step out of the barrel and making it unbalanced for Haru. As a result it immediately starts to tilt. Haru glances briefly over his shoulder at the floor which is beginning to grow closer and then sighs heavily. "Naturally." It falls back and slams loudly against the floor with the young pirate. "Owie." Haru looks up at Luffy, who is standing by the pink haired kid and sighs a bit. "Little help, Lu—"
"Hey, I'm starving, ya got any food?" Haru sighs again and slowly crawls out of the barrel to lie on his back. The pirates continue their ranting, much to the annoyance of the Luffy, and Haru but it isn't until they raise their weapons that the two actually pay them any mind. Haru might have interfered if he thought there was even the tiniest chance one of them would actually connect with Luffy, but when both weapons were destroyed by a single blow from his closest friend he could only chuckle.
Thoroughly intimidated by the display, the two gather up the unconscious third and scramble out. "Little help?"
"Huh?" Luffy looks down at Haru, still lying on the floor and then chuckles. "Are you still lying down there, Haru? You're gonna catch a cold if ya sleep there, ya know!" Luffy helps him to his feet and then suddenly goes ram-rod straight, before looking around, sniffing wildly. "I smell… FOOD!" His eyes lock on a door across the kitchen and he heads for it without hesitation.. .or hindrance by the young boy clinging to his arm...
"... So, basically, our ship got swallowed up by that whirlpool, Coby," Haru finishes, a crisp snap following his final bite into the apple. He drops the core into the small pile by his feet, at the base of the crate he's sitting on. "I don't think I left anything out, did I, Luffy?" Coby follows his line of sight to Luffy, busy stuffing his face with apples from the crate, two at a time.
"Man, these things are great!" exclaims Luffy, pausing in his eating only to toss another back to Haru, who catches it with ease. "Hey, Coby, are there any boats on board?"
"I… I think so," replies Coby. "I don't… how does someone survive something like that..."
"We had just enough time to cram ourselves in that barrel you found us in," Haru tells him, biting a huge chunk out of the apple. "Honestly, we got lucky… plain and simple." He turns to look at Luffy's back. "But next time we might not be so lucky, which is why I said we needed to find ourselves a navigator, Cap'n."
"Aah, we'll find one, don't worry!" retorts Luffy. "But I'm curious… those pirates from earlier, you're not one of 'em, are you? It didn't look like you were getting along with them." Coby is silent for a few moments before beginning his explanation, telling the two what had happened and how. When he's finished Haru is left slowly shaking his head in disgust, staring intently at his now half-eaten apple.
"Disgraceful," remarks Haru simply.
"E-Eh? What is?" Coby questions him.
"This lady, this 'CAPTAIN' Alvida, I mean. Any Captain worth the name wouldn't treat his crew like that. Pirate or not. Luffy—" An apple sails towards him and he snatches it from the air again. "Thanks."
"But you know, you're awfully dumb, kid!" Luffy taunts him, laughing at his misfortune.
"C'mon, you don't have to pile on, too, ya know."
"If ya don't like it then you should just run away." Coby shakes his head violently, quickly announcing that he would be too afraid of Captain Alvida finding him to do something like that. "A coward and a wimp, too. Man, I really can't stand guys like you."
"Luffy, he's a little kid."
"N-No, it's fine," Coby tells him, offering a small smile. "He's right. I wish I had the courage you two have… ah! I haven't even asked, but where were the two of you headed?"
"The Grand Line!" proudly exclaimed Luffy, only to receive a half-eaten apple to the forehead with little effect.
"Like Hell!" Haru retorts with a growl. "I think this little incident has proved that I was right from the beginning! We need a navigator before we go ANYWHERE!"
"The G-Grand Line?! What are you heading there for?!" screeching Coby, staring at the two as if they've lost their minds.
"I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!" bellows Luffy two loud enough to rattle the hull of the ship. If it were possible, the two were sure that Coby's jaw would have struck the floor but it only takes a moment for him to recover, and quick enough to quickly begin to tell them it is impossible. While Haru is content to sit and listen, Luffy quickly silences him with a punch to the top of the head.
"Why'd you hit me...?"
"Why do ya think? Insulting someone's dream is an easy way to earn a beating, ya know."
"He's just a kid, Luffy," Haru tells him. "Even so… I do agree. If you aren't brave enough to have a dream of your own then you shouldn't mock someone else's, kid." Haru hops down off of the crate and sighs a bit as he rolls his shoulders. "Well… I'm stuffed, if you're ready we could try finding a boat."
"Mm! Let's go find ourselves a boat, Haru!" The two start towards the door calmly, sandals scraping and geta clacking on the wooden floor.
"A dream," mutters Coby, causing the two to pause. "I… I do have a dream. If I'm prepared to die for it… do you think I could do it too?"
"Definitely, kid," replies Haru without hesitation.
"Then… I'll do it! I'll definitely do it! I'll join the Navy, because that's my dream!" The two blink in surprise, watching silently as the boy goes on a rant… which climaxes with the entrance of a rather large woman through the ceiling of the pantry, nearly resulting in Coby being crushed.
"Who are you going to catch, Coby?!" demands a fat woman, staring at the small boy. Luffy gives her a once over before looking at Haru and pointing in her direction.
"Oi, Haru, who's the big fat lady?" Luffy asks his partner, receiving a shrug of his shoulders in response. Without warning the fat woman raises a huge iron club, and the two scatter in opposite directions to avoid her blow.
"Can't fight here, Luffy!" exclaims Haru, snagging Coby by the back of his shirt and leaping straight up with Luffy to deck above with ease. Haru sets Coby down the moment he lands and looks at the startled crew scattered across the deck. Behind them Alvida somehow manages to climb out of the hole onto the deck. "Hate to say it but… I think we're sandwiched here."
"Guess we'll just have to beat up everyone then, huh?"
"Good plan. Simple, and easy to remember. But… I'll take care of the small-fry if ya don't mind. You can handle the Captain, Cap'n." Luffy grins from ear to ear in response, and reaches up to adjust his straw hat.
"Alright, then. Have fun." Haru nods, raising his hand to crack his knuckles loudly. Without warning, one of them rushes forward and Haru simply turns his shoulder, avoiding the man's saber. "Gryphon's Sway!" The red-head drives his knee into the man's gut hard enough to lift him off his feet, and he finishes it by driving his elbow into the man's back with enough force to send him crashing through the deck of the ship into the hold below. He weaves through the group of pirates, sending them sprawling to the deck with ease. It isn't really much of a fight… more like he's delivering a beating to the many crewmen. Everything is—
"Gum Gum Pistol!" Haru looks sharply in Luffy's direction just in time to weave backwards, avoiding the large body of Alvida as she sails by courtesy of Luffy's punch. Haru watches her disappear into the distance, and whistles softly in appreciation.
"Good hit..."
"Hey! Give Coby a boat right now! He wants to join the Navy!" bellows Luffy, glaring at the men as if daring them to defy him…