So this is my first real R27 fic, as well as my first plunge into a multi-chapter story, since I normally do drabbles. I hope you guys enjoy it!
Okay, so in case any of you guys don't watch One Piece, the Grand Line is the current/largest ocean in the world of One Piece. Unlike the four normal seas - North Blue, South Blue, West Blue and East Blue - it is an extremely dangerous and hard place to survive in, but is also where all the fun stuff happens. They call it the "Pirate's Graveyard".
Beli is the currency in One Piece.
If you want to know more, or are confused about something, PM me or you can Google it. If I get something wrong, let me know so I can fix it :)
Disclaimer: I don't think I even own the plot. At least not yet O.o
Warnings: Possibly OOC, swearing, Fem!Viper, FonxViper, TYL!Lambo.
Chapter 1: Bounties and Promises
Espresso is a lovely thing. He didn't normally use the word 'lovely' to describe things, but irritation, fatigue and the damp permeating his suit had severely damaged his vocabulary. That's where espresso came in. The glorious bitterness of his favourite drink was poetry in the making- no other substance could rekindle his mind and give him the stamina to put out his untouchable front after the rough week he had experienced. Unfortunately, his espresso had run out a few days ago and was probably the main instigator of the deadly aura that surrounded him as he stalked down the street. Luckily, he could finally make out the outline of his favourite eatery, The Monkey's Eye.
The bar's creepy sign of Horus's Eye painted over a monkey swung wildly in the rain as he entered the warm interior. Despite being in a slum area, the furnishings of the bar were top class, though the atmosphere was somewhat cold even with a sizeable crowd and a burning hearth.
Ignoring the customers who had turned at his entry, he pulled off his dripping outer coat as he sat down at the sleek counter to order. "One espresso and tell your wife to get here before I kill her."
"Nice to see you too, Reborn. How was your mission?" the bartender asked with a smile as he turned to make the drink.
"If I'm asking for your wife, how do you think it went, Fon?"
"My, aren't you in a bad mood?" the long-haired man chuckled as he placed the steaming drink in front of his friend. He received a sour look for his troubles, but he expected little else. Reborn was insufferable when he was suffering from caffeine withdrawal.
"You had better be paying for that drink, Reborn," came a voice as a slim woman approached with new orders. "Six beers for table 3," she monotonously informed her husband before turning her hooded face to Reborn.
"After the shit you put my through, Viper, it should be on the house," Reborn groused as he raised the cup to his lips. The rising steam brushed against his handsome visage and disappeared alongside his signature curly sideburns.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"All the more proof that you're a shitty informant."
"It's not my job to know every detail of your life."
"Aren't information brokers supposed to know everything?"
"Only what sells."
"And information about the world's best bounty hunter doesn't sell?"
"No amount of money in this world could be enough to make me keep track of your life."
"Then you're a shitty businesswoman as well."
"Now now, ladies, put the claws away," Fon joked as he passed over the order Viper had asked for. Reborn glared at him as he finally took a sip of the cooling dark liquid.
As it touched his tongue, his mind blanked and his eyes closed. Heavenly was the only way to describe the way heat pooled in his stomach as he finally received his addiction after days of abstinence.
"When you're done orgasming over your drink, I would like my cut of the payment."
"Bite me, bitch."
"Reborn," Fon's warning tone came with a hint of ice and the bounty hunter reluctantly subsided with his attack on the purple- haired female seated next to him.
"Make him another," she ordered her husband, before demanding her payment again.
The next fifteen minutes consisted of Reborn explaining to her why she didn't deserve a single beli, beginning with her information about his target being woefully inaccurate and ending with the fact that the pirate with the biggest bounty in the crew he had gone after had been dead for a month.
"But you got the rest of his crew, right?" When he answered affirmatively, she held out her hand expectantly. "Then you still have to pay the 10%."
"Were you even listening to me?"
"You were whining. I don't care. Pay up."
Reborn slammed the cash onto the counter before glaring at his former martial artist friend who was trying to contain his laughter. "I don't know how the two of you are married."
"There's a sentiment we both can agree on," Viper muttered as she counted the bills she had received.
"You know you love me, Viper," Fon kissed her cheek but was ignored in favour of the money. "Don't be so cold!"
While she snarled at him for distracting her, their friend glanced up at the bounty posters set against the wall. Underneath the glaring Wanted Dead or Alive captions, the numbers he picked out were too low for his taste.
"There's some new bounties that just came in that you might be interested in," Viper said over her shoulder as she stood to attend to her customers. "It's for those newbies, the Sky Lion Crew. Looks like they've managed to get theirs up significantly despite not having entered the Grand Line yet."
Reborn hummed thoughtfully around his fourth drink as Fon placed the posters in front of him. After seeing the 250 000 beli offered on just one, his attention was caught.
"Calm Storm" Yamamoto Takeshi - 190 000.
"Smoking Bomb" Gokudera Hayato - 170 000.
"Extreme Boxer" Sasagawa Ryohei - 150 000
"Steel-Singing" Chrome - 100 000.
"Grenade Boy" Lambo - 90 000
And finally, their captain: "Sky Lion" Sawada Tsunayoshi - 250 000.
That brought their total to 950 000 beli, unusually high for such a small crew that hadn't even made it to the Grand Line.
"How did they manage it?" Reborn asked as he examined the posters more closely. "They look like kids! Hell, their captain looks like a wimp!"
He gestured towards the picture of the Sky Lion, who was depicted rubbing his neck with a nervous smile on his face and his arm in a sling. One could just barely see the tattoo on his hand that gave him and his crew their nickname.
"If you want all the details you will have to ask Viper," Fon said as he polished a glass meticulously, "but have you ever heard of the Helora Institute?"
"The top-secret World Government facility in West Blue?"
"That's the one, although it's not so top-secret anymore. Actually, it doesn't even exist anymore."
Reborn stared at his friend as if he had grown another head. "Are you telling me that these brats took down the most heavily guarded research lab outside of the Grand Line all on their own?"
"So they say. Apparently, the girl - is her name Chrome? - was one of the specimens there and she joined their crew after they destroyed the place."
"So they were conducting human experimentation there? Scientists have no shame," Reborn growled.
"I think we both have personal experience of that fact," Fon smiled, but it came across strained.
"Still, that doesn't explain why they would attack the Institute. There's no way their initial goal was to get the girl."
"No one is sure yet," Viper answered before Fon could, appearing again with empty glasses in her hand. "However, some are saying that the town that Helora was based in was suffering for a long time and the Sky Lion attacked because he was disgusted by the plight of the people there."
"Highly improbable," Reborn scoffed and finished off his drink. "People don't do things without reward, least of all pirates."
The couple looked at him long and hard before Fon softly said, "You, of all people, should know that's not true."
Reborn's heart clenched as those words opened a never-healed wound, but he refused to let it show. "How old are they?" he asked, and the two allowed him to steer the topic away from the turbulent ground.
"I believe the youngest is Lambo, who is about 16. Chrome's age is unconfirmed, but the rest are all about 19."
Reborn considered that. "They're quite young."
"I've known of younger..." Again an award silence reigned before Fon cut in.
"They aren't that young. There's only 8 years difference between you and them, Reborn."
"Physically, yes," was the short reply as Reborn gathered his things. "Do you mind if I take these?" He indicated towards the posters.
Viper shrugged. "Might as well. No point in putting them up if you're taking the job."
"Are you leaving already?" Fon asked. "You only just got back."
"I'll rest for a day, mother hen. And if you can, find some more info about them, Viper. Accurate info," he added darkly, glaring at her with the last of his previous anger.
She waved him away dismissively and he walked off into the rain.
"I'm surprised you didn't pester him about his tab," Fon commented lightly as she slipped behind the bar keep.
"He'll pay it when he gets back from his next mission," the small woman replied before resting against him.
She always said that, but Fon never called her out on it. The tab was an unspoken promise between the three, despite both Reborn and Viper hating unpaid debts.
At least with that bill between them, they knew Reborn would come back to them and not disappear as the others had.
"I still can't believe your bounty is higher than mine!"
"I have such an extreme nickname - The Extreme Boxer! It makes me happy to the extreme!"
"My bounty is the lowest..."
"C-Cheer up, Lambo, bounties aren't everything!"
"It must have been because I ran out of ammo in the last fight! That's bullshit!"
"Gokudera, I don't think it really matters whether Yamamoto has a slightly bigger bounty than you."
"But Jyuudaime!"
"Maa maa, Gokudera, I didn't mean for it to happen."
"You son of a bitch, I bet you did! You want to be the Jyuudaime's first mate, don't you?!"
Tsuna sighed as chaos erupted in the galley once again. He would have preferred Chrome's first official meal onboard to have been more normal, but the arrival of the newspaper and the subsequent news of their new bounties had ruined it. He morosely bit into his pancake and sighed again.
"What's wrong, Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked worriedly. "Do you not like it? I made it just how you normally want it."
"The pancakes taste wonderful," he assured his cook. "I'm just... worried about the new bounties." Because it wasn't as if he could just say that they were being too rowdy for his early morning taste. "If we draw too much attention to ourselves, the Marines will be on our tails all the time. You guys would get hurt..."
His crew members responded with warm, wide smiles.
"Don't worry about us, Jyuudaime. We can handle ourselves."
"No matter what happens, we will be right beside you to the extreme!"
"Yare yare, you think such troublesome things. The Great Lambo did not leave his island to be coddled by you, Tsuna."
"I'm not very strong b-but I want to help you no matter what, Boss!"
"As long as it's to help out my buddies, I can take anything. So don't worry, Tsuna!"
Tsuna was overcome with emotion and hid his face in his hands. "You guys!"
Screw their noise and wildness. He wouldn't trade his crew for anything in the world.
"We're almost at the Grand Line!" Gokudera called out excitedly as the crew rushed around the deck, trying to control their ship through the storm. "Oi, what the hell are you doing, baseball idiot?"
Tsuna looked up from tying the last rope to the mast to see Yamamoto placing a barrel of wine in the middle of their deck.
"I thought it would be nice to celebrate before we try to get to the other side!" the swordsman yelled to be heard over the shrieking wind.
Their navigator scowled as he made his way over. "We can't get drunk before the crossing! Are you mad?"
"Not that kind of celebration!" the raven-haired teen responded enthusiastically. "It's an old tradition! You say what your dream is and then everyone smashes the barrel together!"
"That's such a waste of good wine!" Lambo was horrified, even though he was technically too young to drink.
"I think it's a good idea!" Tsuna piped up and the others turned to stare at their short captain.
"If Jyuudaime says so, then..." Gokudera mumbled.
"I'll go first!" Yamamoto placed his foot on the rim of the casket. "I want to become a great swordsman that can always protect his friends!"
"I want to become the best boxer in the world, TO THE EXTREME!"
Lambo hesitantly put his foot on the barrel. "I want to become a brave man of the sea!"
"I want to become the best first mate in the world!" Gokudera offered up, before lending a hand to Chrome to steady herself on.
"I want to explore everything the world has to offer!" she said, struggling to be heard over the noise.
"I want to protect my friends and travel over every sea!" Tsuna finished, feeling his resolution burn brighter at the declaration.
"TO THE GRAND LINE!" they cried, and shattered the crate into pieces.