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One of the first thing Jinbei did after the celebratory party of his recruitment on Thousand Sunny, was approach the ship's doctor.
Chopper, still full and warm for the meal, immediately leaped to his feet, shocked to find him there. “ Are you sick, Jinbei?! Are you hurt?” he squeaked. “ Wait a moment! I need my books!”
Jinbei raised his hands to placate the little doctor. “ I am well. I simply felt it would be wise as the newest crew member to receive a medical checkup from the ship's doctor.”
Chopper blinked once, twice, before breaking out into giggles. “ You are so nice, Jinbei! No one else has done that before!”
As unusual and eccentric as the other Straw Hat pirates were, Jinbei did not doubt that.
And so, he patiently allowed Chopper to ask him questions and assess him. It was strange, having to explain the differences and similarities of his body in comparison to a human or a reindeer or a robot. Having known Aladin for so many years made Jinbei forget that he was as unaccustomed to another doctor as Chopper was to him.
Chopper winced at the faded scars across his knuckles and chest and those over his arms and legs. And it was then that Jinbei was acutely aware of how young his new doctor was, compared to his previous one. Aladin was no stranger to the ugly and cruel extent people could commit and hardly shuddered at such injuries.
It would be inevitable on this journey that he would sustain wounds, minor and serious, but Jinbei vowed to keep it to a minimal as to not distress Chopper too much.
~.~.~
The next one to visit was Sanji.
It was an easy matter, finding the cook in the early hours of the morning, being one of the few in the crew to wake up first to prepare for the day.
“ You better not eat as much as Luffy,” Sanji said, in lieu of a greeting.
What do I need to do to keep you alive and healthy, was what Jinbei heard.
“ The portions needed to sustain me are certainly not as much as the captain's,” Jinbei said instead.
Sanji humphed and began asking about any allergies, dietary restrictions or personal preferences. Under insults and coarse words, of course. Jinbei had endured worse verbal offences before in his lifetime and the cook, for all his gruff attitude, would rather swallow his cigarettes than make a truly insensitive remark about Jinbei's heritage and status as the lone Fishman of the crew.
“ Should marine life be excluded?” Sanji abruptly asked.
It took Jinbei a moment to understand. “ As a whale-shark Fishman, I do consume fish and cephalopods and crustaceans,” he explained. “ There is no need to restrict or deny the others of it.”
“ Tch. I was only concerned about Nami-san and Robin-chan,” Sanji huffed.
“ Regardless, thank you for your concern,” he sincerely said.
Sanji muttered under his breath but he still prepared one of Jinbei's favourite dishes of shrimp and fried rice later for lunch.
~.~.~
Jinbei was slightly surprised to find Franky hammering and pulling apart the kitchen table on Sunny's front lawn.
“ Yo Jinbei!” the shipwright greeted. “ Come here! I want to take your measurements.”
“ My ... measurements?”
“ Gotta find out how much longer I gotta make this!” Franky grinned. “ Same with the bedroom. Best to expand it a bit.”
The kitchen table had been enough to commode most of the crew, though Franky and Sanji opted to sit or stand at the counter. During his first meal, Jinbei found himself also at the counter, which conveniently also happened to be wide enough to accommodate for his and Franky's size.
The men's quarters was also noticeably cramped and unsuited for Jinbei who had not yet received a bed. He assured Luffy he was fine with sleeping on the couch in the meanwhile but Luffy, with a heart as large as his stomach, catapulted onto Jinbei's chest and fell asleep there quickly.
It was not uncomfortable but it did keep him separated from the rest of the crew whom Jinbei would have liked to interact with more.
He was touched that Franky would go to such lengths. “ Thank you.”
“ No problem, little bro!”
“ Ahh, about that,” Jinbei coughed, not sure whether he should feel embarrassed or amused. “ I believe I am older than you.”
“ What?!”
~.~.~
It was a beautiful sunny morning and the waves were calm today when Jinbei decided to go swimming. It had been a long time since Jinbei had swam without a sense of urgency or drive pushing him forward. When he was younger and more carefree, he enjoyed long lazy hours floating and drifting carelessly. Born to the waters that never failed to be unpredictable, the ocean had beckoned him to her and as one of her children, Jinbei always listened to her.
Feeling it would be polite to inform at least one crew member of his intentions, Jinbei spotted Usopp, who was just exiting from the men's quarters. “ I will be going out for a swim,” he called over to the sharpshooter. “ I won't be travelling far. I'll be back by breakfast.”
From the way Usopp looked briefly confused, it must be strange for a crew mate of his to simply jump over Sunny's side and swim away whenever they chose to. “ I wish I could swim like you,” Usopp sighed enviously.
He immediately backtracked upon seeing Jinbei's bemused expression. “ Not – not that I'm not a good swimmer or anything like that – you have to be, with this crew, there's like four hammers – Zoro and Sanji usually does the saving – it's just that I haven't swam in like ages – ”
“ Would you like me to teach you?” Jinbei asked not unkindly.
It took another five minutes to reassure Usopp it was not any trouble and another ten minutes for Usopp to grab his swim wear.
Even those in Jinbei's old crew might have laughed at the inelegantly human way Usopp moved his arms and legs and how he spluttered when he couldn't hold his breath any longer than two minutes. The Sun Pirates were unmatched when it came to swimming and fighting in the water and there was never a question or a doubt there were any poor swimmers.
But Jinbei was patient as he instructed Usopp the proper techniques, straightening out his limbs and correcting his posture. Jinbei was proud to say that Usopp would become a fine swimmer, enough to rival a Fishman.
~.~.~
Jinbei could tell that Nami was becoming more and more exasperated and reaching the limits of her patience.
It was only her, him, Luffy and Usopp present and negotiations were not going well with another pirate crew who was currently involved with their same predicament of being trapped on the island's mountains but they refused to see reason and remained on opposing sides. Luffy was firm and unyielding with his demands, as childish and inane as they were, though Jinbei had expected no less of Luffy.
Usopp was hastily trying to change Luffy's mind to no avail. Nami repeatedly stepped in to mediate, including threatening them with her fists, but neither Luffy or the other pirate crew paid her attention. Time was running out and innocent lives, including those of their own crew mates, could be placed at risk.
“ You all wish to get out of here alive, correct?” Jinbei finally interrupted, one hand on Luffy's shoulder and the other hand to deflect the punch aimed at his captain's face. “ What is more important, your lives or a fight? You can fight to your heart's content after we get out.”
Slowly, Luffy and the other pirate captain lowered their fists, resorting to glares and gritted teeth.
It wasn't until they made it out of the suffocating caves and after Luffy soundly trounced the other pirate captain for insulting the other Straw Hats one too many times that Nami tackled Jinbei into a hug.
“ You're a life saver, Jinbei!” she gushed, arms tight around his middle.
He was not expecting that. “ I hardly did anything,” he managed to say, a dull flush against his skin.
“ But you did! If it wasn't for you, who knows how long we would have been there? And chances are, Luffy and that guy would have fought and brought the entire mountain down on our heads!”
Nami beamed up at him.
He owed her a life debt, after what Arlong had done to her and her village. If he could make up for every tear and pain Nami endured, Jinbei would do it. He would do it a thousand times over.
~.~.~
Luffy, Franky and Brooke were singing – at least, Franky and Brooke were; Luffy was completely off-tune and warbling nonsensical words. Usopp and Chopper were dancing ludicrously. Nami was clapping and Sanji was cheering. Zoro was sipping his beer with a smile and Robin was laughing.
Which left Jinbei sitting alone as he watched the festivities.
At times like these, he wasn't too sure where he would fit into the crew. While he was counted among the older crew members, he did not possess the energy and fervour as Franky and Brooke did. He did not carry the ease that Zoro and Robin did, content to simply observe and sit away but still remained included within the crew.
Not that it was unpleasant. He enjoyed watching the crew's antics, as silly and absurd as it was. Even with the Sun Pirates, it had been a long time since Jinbei allowed himself to shed the weight of responsibility that rested on his shoulders and simply just be.
“ Jinbei~!” He blinked to see Luffy's upper half of his body wrap around him several times over. Before, he would have been unnerved by the intimacy but by now, Jinbei was used to how affectionate Luffy could be. “ Come join us!”
He didn't get a chance to even decline the offer because Luffy's body snapped backwards, dragging him forward and rocketing them both bodily into Zoro, Usopp and Franky simultaneously.
“ What the hell, Luffy?!”
“ Ahh! My back!”
“ Not super at all!”
Luffy was laughing.
Jinbei struggled to sit up without falling over due to the tangled mess of limbs. “ That hurt, you brat!” he growled.
“ Shishishi, you told me that before.” Luffy's smile was bright and warm.
He was surprised that Luffy remembered. “ As I recall, you bit my arm that time,” Jinbei retorted. That arm twitched.
“ Ehh? Luffy bit Jinbei?” Chopper gasped in alarm.
“ I know your stomach knows no bounds, but did you have to try to eat Jinbei?” Usopp lectured.
“ Wasn't trying to!”
“ Hmph. I'll have you know I had teeth marks that lasted for days after.”
“ Oh no! Luffy became a cannibal!” Brooke shrieked.
“ Jinbei is a Fishman,” Zoro reminded.
“ Although Fishmen are a humanoid species. Luffy's act could be considered cannibalism,” Robin serenely mused, to the horror of the others.
“ Really Luffy, trying to eat poor Jinbei like that,” Nami scolded. “ What he had to put up with you while we were not there.”
“ That's why Jinbei is the best!” Luffy proclaimed.
A curl of warmth settled in Jinbei's stomach. Luffy was easily awed and his compliments were freely given, his admiration of his crew never ending and constantly growing. Still, to hear such praise from the man who Jinbei would follow to the ends of the world and beyond was heartening.
“ Though Jinbei tasted like sweat and seawater. Gross!”
This time, he managed to wiggle out one arm free and knuckled Luffy hard in the head, knocking him sideways into Usopp who then accidentally smacked Zoro and Franky in the face.
Impossibly, Luffy managed to laugh harder, even as Zoro, Usopp and Franky joined Jinbei in returning the favour to their captain and it soon dissolved into a childish fight of yanking on Luffy's mouth, grabbing Usopp's nose, tripping Zoro's feet, elbowing Franky's arms and kicking Jinbei's sides.
Somewhere in the distance, Nami was sighing and Robin was chuckling. “ What a delightful party,” Robin was saying.
But in spite of it all, Jinbei was grinning.
It was never a dull moment with his new crew.