SUPER MEGA EDIT!

This story was written when I was only on episode 72 of the anime and before I knew anything about Chopper. To be honest, now that I'm completely caught up on One Piece I'm a little embarrassed about this story since it was written so long ago and when I was naive about how to write good fanfics. But I don't like taking fics down because I feel that's not fair to those who do like the story, so up it will stay. I will try and fix a few things so I don't want to kill myself after looking over this, but please understand the quality of this to what I write now rather sucks.

But if you still want to read, please enjoy!

Akira sighed, gazing out over the ocean with a fishing rod in one hand while her head rested against the other. She had been pretty successful so far this morning, having caught four fish already. After living in Sakouli village for nine years, Akira had found it best to find her own food and not rely on the grace of the villagers.

Suddenly she spotted something in the distance. Squinting, she discovered that it was a ship, and a pirate one at that. The flag was unlike any she had ever seen. As it came closer, it was apparent that the flag was the standard skull and crossbones, but on top of it was—a straw hat? And the skull was smiling! Akira snorted. What kind of pirates flew under a flag like that?

As she stood there, Akira wondered if she should warn the villagers that pirates were coming. Would they even believe me? They would probably run from her presence or scream at her before she could even get the first word out. With a grunt she stood up and folded her arms, deciding that she would make that decision after she saw how tough they were. If these pirates weren't much trouble, then she would take care of them herself before they even entered the village.

The strange ship sailed closer and closer until Akira could see the people on board.

"Oi! Do you think you could help us?" a loud and strained, yet nonetheless enthusiastic voice called out.

Akira gasped as the boat docked and the people on board came down a rope ladder. All five of them looked within an inch from death. Their clothes were tattered, singed, and all were covered in bloody gashes that slowly dripped blood onto the earth. She could tell they had all been in a dangerous fight and was amazed that they were capable of walking.

The only female crew member looked better off than everyone else, and was supporting a long nosed fellow and a blonde man (who appeared to be enjoying himself despite his injuries). A few feet to their left was a man who carried three swords and swayed as he walked. Akira could tell that he had refused any help from the female and was trying to walk by himself.

However, her main attention was drawn to the young boy in front of them, who wore a straw hat just like the flag on their ship.

"Is there a doctor around here?" he asked cheerfully, as if the current state of himself and his crew was perfectly ordinary. "Oh, and a yakiniku store?" Akira's eyes opened wide as she recognized the boy.

"Follow me! Quickly! We can't let any of the villagers see you!" Akira shrieked, waving them after her.

The five pirates frowned. "What do you mean?" the boy asked in confusion, scratching his head.

"Once they see you, they'll try to capture you, Monkey D. Luffy!" Luffy and the others gasped.

"So you know who we are," the swordsman stated threateningly, partially drawing his sword. "If you—uggg!"

"Stop it!" Akira warned as the man doubled over from the strain. She turned to Luffy and stared him straight in the eye.

"Yes, I know who you are, but I'm not going to turn you in. If you come with me, I will tend to your wounds and hide you from the villagers," she informed him, trying to keep her voice level down and convince him of her sincerity.

"Okay," Luffy smiled.

"What do you mean, okay?" the swordsman growled, wincing as he spoke. "How can we trust—"

He was interrupted by a swift punch to his chest, knocking him out. Everyone gasped as Akira put his arm around her shoulder and began to drag him along. "What a troublesome guy," she muttered.

"I know that you are pirates, but I also know that you help others, so I will protect you. Even if I wanted to turn you in, it would be all too easy, seeing what condition you're in," Akira announced nudging her head towards the man she supported.

"But, why are you being kind to us?" the female asked.

"I'll explain it to you later!" Akira sighed impatiently. "All that matters now is getting your wounds treated! Follow me."

Everyone glanced at Luffy, who in turn studied Akira's face, then grinned. "All right! Let's go!"

Zoro hissed as Akira washed his wounds.

"Sorry, but these need to be cleaned to prevent infection," the girl explained apologetically.

"I still haven't had the chance to thank you for earlier," the swordsman groaned.

Akira snorted. "It was the only way to get you to follow me. I could tell you weren't going to listen, and you would have ended up hurting yourself more, Zoro."

"So, why are you helping us?" Luffy asked, rocking back and forth on a wooden chair. He and Nami were the first to be helped, having the more easily treatable wounds and sat at Akira's table, covered in bandages. Zoro was lying on Akira's cot, with Sanji and Usopp resting against the wall, waiting to be tended to.

"A month ago, two men came into our village," Akira explained as she finished up with Zoro's chest wound. She paused for a minute then sighed.

"I'm gonna have to stitch up your chest to stop the bleeding."

"WHAT?" Zoro hated getting stitches. He still remembered when the doctor from Nami's village patched him up after the whole Aralong incident. That had HURT!

"Don't worry," Akira assured him, patting his head. "I'll go get Kasumi-sama for an anesthetic; that's one thing I don't own."

"No, some sake would do just fine," Zoro grinned, leaning back into the pillow. Akira laughed.

"I'll get some of that too, if you'd like." She turned to Sanji and Usopp. "Before I get her, let me see if you two need anything else." As she kneeled down next to Sanji and carefully examined the burn wounds on his arm, his eyes lit up and Akira could have sworn there were hearts in them.

"Akira-chaaaan!" he proclaimed loudly and romantically. She squealed and fell back off her knees, backing away from him. "What a beautiful sight! You are so lovely when you—"

Everyone stared as Sanji passed out from the pain of his injuries, the love struck smile still pasted on his face. Instinctively Akira caught him before he face planted and gingerly laid him on the floor and continued inspecting his wounds, wrapping them in bandages and medicine.

"Is he . . . all right?" Akira asked, turning to the other members of the crew.

"Tch—don't worry, he's always like that," Nami smirked. "It comes in handy sometimes. So, who came to your village?" Nami questioned, eager to find out the rest of the story.

"I believe their names were . . . Johnny and Yosaku."

"Really? Guess those fools are all right after all." Zoro smiled.

"What did they say? What did they say?" Luffy asked, a large grin plastered on his face. Akira chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm; it was almost catchy.

"They came into our village for some rest and supplies. I met them at the harbor and invited them to my house for dinner since they were pirate hunters. They told me many stories about their adventures and how they captured pirates, but then they told me one that was so unbelievable that at first I didn't believe it."

"You can't be serious—mere kids my age defeated Captain Morgan, Don Krieg, and Arlong? What are you trying to pull?"

"It's the truth, Akira-aniki!" Johnny protested.

"We saw it with our own eyes!" Yosaku added, taking a large swig from his sake.

"Really, and who did this?" Akira asked skeptically, raising her eyebrows at their tale and gleeful intoxification.

"The great Straw Hat crew!" both bounty hunters proclaimed sluggishly, the sake beginning to take affect.

"Their captain is Monkey D. Luffy—"

"The one who has a 30 million beli bounty on his head?" the girl yelled in amazement.

"Yeah, that's the one! There's also Nami-san, Usopp-aniki, Cook-aniki, and Zoro-aniki."

"Roronoa Zoro?" Akira was amazed at how impressive the crew was, but she still had her doubts. "Even so, how could a single crew of five have the largest bounty ever on their heads?"

"They all have incredibly special powers, unlike anyone I've ever seen before . . . . ."

"Then they explained how you went around helping the Baratie restaurant and Cocoyashi village, but only accepted food and supplies, so I could tell that you weren't any ordinary pirates," Akira explained. She moved onto attending to Usopp's wounds.

"Shortly after, the Marines came and settled on this island, and those two had to go," she continued with a scowl. "The Marines are permanently stationed here, saying that they are after you, Luffy, and wanted to achieve the bounty. Their logic was that sooner or later they would run into you. However, they have just gotten lazy, living off the rest of the villagers, and threatening to burn the town if they don't give into their demands."

"Thankfully, my house is so out of the way, they don't bother with it. Not like I have much to offer them anyway, just my apple orchard."

Nami perked up. "Really? I grew up with an orange orchard. Can I see it later?" Akira nodded.

"Right now I'll go fetch Kasumi-sama, as well as some dinner. Bye!" Their hostess ran out the door, yelling over her shoulder as she left, "And make sure Zoro doesn't move a muscle or else the clotting will stop!"

"Okay! I understand." Luffy saluted as they all watched Akira's retreating form. The captain grinned and jumped onto the frame of the bed Zoro was lying on, accidentally slamming the swordsman's feet against the wood.

Zoro bit his lip and did his best not to scream or move as bead of perspiration ran down his head. Luffy frowned and stretched his neck so his face was an inch from Zoro's.

"Oi, are you okay?" The green-haired man growled.

"Of course I'm not!" I swear, I'm really going to kill him someday!

So, what do you think? Thanks for reading!