Call me Ash. I was named so because of my ash-colored hair and eyes. I'd like to say that I'm first mate to the greatest captain who ever lived, but there isn't much competition when you're the only crew he has. Not a pirate captain, of course, but he is hunting one. His name is Hiro, but pronounced 'hero'. If he's a hero, though, Neptune save us.
Let me start from the beginning of the tale. It was a windy morning when his small ship blew into Tristram's harbor in the West Blue. We ran a small town, with my father owning the only inn and me running the place while he was out for the week; my mother was long dead, I was an only child, and my father never talked of his past; he had even taken my mother's name upon their marriage, and I didn't know his original name.
So I was in the inn, at the time around eighteen years of age; I was strong and tall, but my eyes unnerved people; there were plenty of rumors of me being a corpse or some nonsense. I wore my light vest and pants, with no hat and my hair long. Deckard C. Ash, innkeeper. How glorious.
Well, there was quite a commotion when a traveler visited our little town. When the traveler has Devil Fruit powers and stirs up a commotion by asking around for one of the most infamous pirates on the sea, there isn't a hearing ear in Tristram that hasn't heard of him by the time he breaks the beach.
"Where is Monkey D. Luffy?!" he was yelling. "The Pirate Prince?!"
Well, I was already out to the shore, and hearing this new epithet for Luffy was a bit unusual. Pirate Prince? I though Luffy was aiming for King of the Pirates… not that I admired him or anything, but he was a bit of a celebrity.
There was already a crowd around him, and he then demonstrated his Devil Fruit power.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!" he yelled before inhaling enough air to stretch out and push back the crowd.
'Gum-Gum?' I though to myself. 'Isn't the Gum-Gum fruit Luffy's?'
In due course he got to my inn and got a room. Before he left, though, I decided to grill him.
"So why are you after Luffy?" I asked.
"Personal reasons. Also, I'm a pirate hunter; he's like the motherlode to us."
"What's up with this 'Pirate Prince' business?
"His new epithet. He has apparently divined the location of the One Piece, though even he isn't reckless enough to go after it; after five years on the sea, he's apparently gained some sense."
"Five years? Has it been that long?"
"Yes. Five years ago was his first encounter with Buggy the Clown, when his bounty was placed on him. The World Government thinks he's around twenty-three now."
It was then that the first explosion happened. Hiro, whose name I knew only from his signature for his room, was out the door instantly.
"Pirates!" someone yelled.
Well, well. When an apparently big-time pirate hunter comes to town, so do people who hate him. Another explosion sounded.
I peered out the door to see the pirate ship… and it was one of Buggy the Clown's, a Devil Fruit-wielding pirate who has been active in our area recently; this one was one of his grunts'. Apparently he could be a big-time pirate, but after some alleged time in Impel Down (alleged because nobody could escape), he didn't want another major run-in with the world government.
Well, one of the explosions had damaged Hiro's boat. And there is one thing that you do NOT, under any circumstances, do to a Devil Fruit user, and that is get rid of his boat. Nothing good ever comes of it.
Hiro was in the street now, angry. He yelled some incomprehensible words and flung his arm towards the pirate ship, putting a hole in its hull. Another Gum-Gum punch, apparently.
However, what happened next was a surprise. Hiro yelled something that sounded like 'Bone-Bone Spear', and a white streak shot from his right arm into the hull, making another hole. This was repeated until the ship was sunk; the crew appeared to be too panicked about what seemed to be Luffy and another, new Devil Fruit user attacking them to continue firing. Hiro ran down to the wreckage, and soon it was blazing, even though it was sinking into the ocean; I didn't want to know how he could do that. I was curious about his multiple Devil Fruit powers, though. That was suppose to be impossible.
And I knew how to find out.
***
Author's Note: I might not continue this past the first few chapters unless I get some feedback. And Hiro has only eaten one Devil Fruit, so don't worry about that. Please review?