A/N: 20 Years at Sea event over on Tumblr, Day 14: Mysteries (cross-posted).


Mysteries

To the Marines, StrawHat Monkey D Luffy was one big mystery. Not many people knew anything about his history or how he managed to put together such a small but powerful crew, even before he gained any kind of reputation.

He just seemed to pop out of no-where, with a crew of five, one of whom had a reputation as a bounty hunter, and took out all the powerful bounties in the East Blue. Almost as if he was attempting to build himself a reputation as strong by taking on all the pirates with the biggest reputations in his home sea. A pirate that seemed to target other pirates, not something that was unheard of but was unusual if there hadn't been any territory or previously known grudge between crews.

But what most Marines, or anyone for that matter, didn't know was that the first real fight that StrawHat had lead his crew into had been against Marines. (Of course, there hadn't actually been a crew until after the fight had actually started, but no-one who had witnessed the moment liked to think too hard on that.)

Coby knew though. (He also knew that the fight had started purely because of Marine corruption.) He knew that Luffy obviously came from somewhere, and trained by someone before he set off to sea, (though this was a little less of a mystery to him after meeting Monkey D Garp). He knew that the first known appearance of Pirate Luffy was him jumping out of a barrel he had used to escape a whirlpool and the first known fight as a pirate had been against Iron-Mace Alvida (for him and his freedom).

(Coby also knew that Luffy was a rubber-headed idiot that couldn't tell north from left.)

Coby knew that Luffy was the best friend anyone could ask for, if a little strange in his thinking, and he didn't know how he had gained the other three crew members but he had witness the recruitment of the first that maybe told him all he need to know about them. He had been there when he first met the man that had been spoken of in whispers all through the East Blue as a demon pirate hunter and vicious swordsman. The older man who had cared nothing for his reputation, only his honour, convictions and swordsmanship.

(Coby still didn't know how Luffy had been able to tell how Zoro was a good guy, that was one mystery that still remained to him.)

He knew from watching the rubberman in the time they had been together that he wouldn't have gotten involved in the fights he had without a reason. Someone or something to spark his fighting spirit. Luffy wasn't a bad person, just a fighter who took his friends and convictions seriously (though he took very little else seriously).

Coby knew he had the answers to many of his fellow Marines questions as to the mysteries of StrawHat Luffy if they should ever ask, though he dare not speak up without the question (he was aware of the different kinds of justice that split the Marines). But he also had so many more to add to the list.

(How did he know that one of the terrors of East Blue pirates was a "good guy"? How did he know the guy he had basically blackmailed into his crew would be willing to jump in to help save them as soon as he set him free? How did Luffy know that Zoro would take care of Morgan behind him while he took care of the gun to Coby's head?)