The girl opened her eyes that matched the sky. On the horizon, a ship approached. She slinked into the dark tropical forest after sliding off her perch on a rock.
"Milord, a ship approaches," she spoke quietly to the dark figure on a stone
throne. A thundering response swirled by her ears, the air around it crying out in fear.
"What symbol on the Jolly Roger? Do they have a bounty?"
The girl before him stood fearless and kept her face blank though she was trying hard not to smile.
"You've told me to report any sightings of a ship. It was too far to see." The man on the throne jumped up at her teasing words. A snake hiss reverberated around and the girl immediately tensed up and stepped back. The throne man smirked at her fear.
"Return to your post. Bring the intruders to me."
The girl stiffly bowed and whispered, "As you wish, my lord and master."
A black haired boy barreled off his ship, clearly the captain. The Jolly Roger on the ship had his signature hat upon a black flag of skulls and crossbones.
"ADVENTURE!" He yelled loudly, his crew mates no longer flinching at the sheer volume of his voice. A woman with orange hair sighed at him yet didn't bother to warn him as he bounded deep into the forest. Knowing him, he'd get lost. She sent a blond-haired man in a suit after her captain.
He happily obeyed as he twirled into the forest, calling out "Luffy!"
The brown haired girl watching them from the shadows assumed that was the captain's name. She flipped through a small bounty book for East Blue bounties. The island was the second to last stop to Loguetown - obviously this crew was from East Blue. She stopped when she saw the straw hat in a picture.
"Straw Hat Luffy. Bounty thirty million." She muttered to herself. She glanced through the rest of the book before closing it and slipping it into her backpack. She froze when a green haired man peeked from the rails and looked right at her. The girl could breathe again once his eyes wandered along elsewhere. With her brown hair trailing behind her, she walked into the dark forest lively with sounds of animals.
"Oi, Luffy! Where the hell are we going, huh?!" The cook asked his captain. The straw hat boy chuckled and turned to his crewmate with shining eyes.
"Meat!" was his only answer as he spun back around and continued walking. Sanji sighed and followed his captain's supposedly trusty nose that was guiding him to some magical meat deep in the forest.
"Who are you people?" A voice demanded to know. Straight ahead was a short thin girl with shoulder-length chocolate brown hair with eyes like the sky. Sanji wanted to swoon, but she looked a little too young for him. He was stuck in an awkward situation with himself, while she just looked angry.
"Oh, hi!" Luffy greeted in his loud voice. She blinked at his seemingly rude self. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" He claimed. She blinked again, surprised. Not many people were bold enough to aim so high. "Oh, and this is my cook, Sanji!"
The girl nodded in greeting. "You seem like an idiot." Luffy burst out laughing while Sanji lit a cigarette.
"You have no idea," he groaned. "By the way, you haven't told us your name." He mentioned. The girl sighed.
"My name is Lucy," she said. Sanji felt something off and his eyebrows furrowed. Why would she lie about her name? Luffy didn't sense anything strange and cheered a greeting. He was so loud. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Explain the reason for your presence."
Luffy grinned wide. "Meat! Adventure!" The blonde haired man sighed.
"My captain is a meat for brains idiot. His favorite things are adventures and meat. I'm assuming that was obvious." The brown haired girl smiled in relief.
"We have food back in our village. If you bring the rest of your crew, we can serve you a feast."
"BANQUET!" The straw hat boy yelled happily. The girl giggled. The blonde haired man narrowed his eyes in suspicion but shrugged it off. Perhaps it was the island custom to offer a celebratory feast for peaceful travelers. Sanji sighed and told Luffy they would have to go back for Nami, Zoro, and Ussop. Luffy looked down in sadness as he trudged back with his cook.
"I'll let my village know we have guests. I'll come to your ship once I've told them." The girl smiled. She disappeared into the foliage of the forest. As Sanji led his excited captain back to the Merry, he couldn't help but be curious as to how she knew where their ship was. Maybe this whole time she was watching them.
"They'll be coming here soon," she said. Her face was blank.
"Good." The man grinned. "Thank you for your hard work, Lia."
"Anything for you, 'my lord.'" She replied with barely hidden disgust.
"What? A feast?!" Nami exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Luffy laughed. "I bet they have some delicious meat!"
Sanji swirled on his feet at his orange haired angel. "Nami-swan~ a feast awaits your majestic beauty!"
The crew was chatting excitedly when the girl 'Lucy' approached the ship with a smile. Luffy leapt to her and shook her hands excitedly and she laughed. He released her and spun around. "Meat, meat, meat!" He called. Lucy giggled and beckoned them to follow her through the woods. As they went deeper, Ussop asked how far her village was. She simply turned around and smiled as the trees parted to a huge clearing. There were small huts made of wood all around, but the village seemed deserted. Lucy ignored the curious stares of the Straw Hats and approached the giant house in the center. The building was out of place from the rest of the village. There were wrought iron fences and four stories built of brick. The gate opened without touch as did the red double doors into the house. Lucy straightened her relaxed walk and her smile dropped. When they entered, the doors slammed shut behind them. Lucy climbed the stairs.
"U-uh, L-l-Lucy... The d-d-doors..." Nami and Ussop whined from the bottom of the stairs. Zoro had remained by the doors glaring suspiciously while Sanji slouched near Nami protectively. Luffy's face had darkened with his hat placed on his head seriously. Lucy reached the top of the stairs and looked back.
"Sorry, 'Straw Hat.' It's nothing personal." The girl said. A man descended down the stairs slowly. A snake hissed from his shoulder and a black gloved hand rested on the girls head. She stiffened as the fear rolled off in waves.
"Good work, Lia. You're my favorite for a reason," the man spoke. His words were sickly sweet with a poisonous undertone.
"Anything for you, 'my lord.'" She forced out through gritted teeth.
"'Straw Hat' the highest bounty in East Blue. It will be a pleasure to collect that money." The man stepped into light and Lia looked away in disgust at the man who single handedly ruined her life.
"Wait," Luffy began confused. "You said your name was Lucy. He says it's Lia. So what the hell is your name? Is it a mystery name?"
Lia, despite her better judgement, burst out laughing. "My name is Fuu Lia. I'm seventeen, and a member of the Andalora Pirates." The man sharply looked at Lia with a glare and she fled up the stairs.
The man continued his slow descent and his smile returned. "I am the captain of the Andalora Pirates. Sweet Lia is my first mate. While we rebuild our ship from the wreck we got into, we're staking out this island. I made Lia my first mate when I arrived here - I could see the strength in her when I saw her. I placed a snake inside her that will shred her insides if she disobeys me. She didn't believe me until I slaughtered her family. The rest of this pathetic village is building a grand vessel suitable for me, Andalora Kai."
During his monologue, Zoro looked bored, Sanji kept asking Nami if she was unharmed from the snake man, and Luffy looked like he couldn't care whilst Nami and Ussop were scared shitless. Nami felt bad for this girl. She could see the similarities in their stories.
"You're a bastard, aren't ya." Luffy said simply. It wasn't a question. "So I'll just beat you up."
Kai grinned. "Lia!" He called. The girl appeared on the stairs. "Straw Hat is begging for a fight. Give him one." Lia looked at the rubber man and sighed. She jumped off the railing and opened the doors, then the gates.
"My lord will be angry if we ruin his house," she said blankly.
"I don't wanna fight you! I wanna fight Kai-bastard!" He yelled. Lia lifted her hand and a strong gust of wind threw Luffy out of the mansion.
"To even touch my lord, you must fight me first." She scowled.
"You don't even wanna fight," he muttered from his sprawled position on the ground. He sat up and looked at her. She smiled at him.
"I know. But I have to. He'd kill the villagers if I don't obey him."
He stared at her. "You could just beat him up."
She giggled. "Then he'd kill me. Otherwise, I would." Luffy stood up.
"I decided! Lia, I want you to join my nakama!"
