"If the King of Pirates would have had a child, should it live?"
Edge Town, Kingdom of Goa, Dawn Island. Someone would say that in Goa Kingdom is a big, beautiful town without even one rubbish. Some would agree, someone would not. The opinions differ, depending on what someone's heard, seen or lived through. East Blue is considered the weakest of all seas and with it comes, naturally, lower crime rate, less forces and fights, less damage, less ruins. Seems logical, right? No, not at all.
In fact, the truth isn't as bright as everyone thinks. Maybe all streets of the capital are clean, maybe all trash cans are empty, but the biggest town on Dawn Island is just full of trashes. Those scumbags are walking. Those trashes are living. Those trashes are the ones who call themselves gods and think of themselves oh so highly, disrespecting people's free will and the idea of equality. They're empowered by money and when it runs out – they're out as well.
Nobles. Snobbish, greedy, lickerish, wroth nobles. But they aren't the only egotistical people. (Many are selfish, but sometimes is better to be like that than to sacrifice everything and live a purposeless life, meaningless and devoid of everything someone cared for.)
In the Edge Town are located many gangs, thugs, even wannabe pirates who are propelling the black market, making prohibited transactions, trading the gold and other valuable minerals, and even keeping slaves in the underground tunnels and halls. Many don't know about their activity, many don't consider this option, because this town is the cleanest town in the entire East Blue! Who would have thought that there is something like that?
Exactly. Just few realize this: hiding in a plain sight sometimes proves to be the easiest option.
All the garbage is kept outside the town, in the Gray Terminal, which could effortlessly form a small island. Poorer ones live here with families, in small mud huts, built of found wood, metal and nails, sometimes even with moist, hardened dirt. In order to survive, people adapted to this environment, to rubbish mountains. Treachery and thievery are on the agenda. Inhabitants of this place have no choice, anyways. Either this, living in the forest (where are monstrously big animals, man-eating plants and mountain bandits) or death. Having an own place within the town's walls is worth a fortune (more than their lives) and everyone from Gray Terminal is aware of that fact.
They have chosen long ago, what they are going to do, trying to not get killed – living from one hour to another, doing their best to stay alive.
Just like everyone.
Small, black-haired boy makes his way down the not-so-oddly clean street of the Edge Town. His face is expressionless and plain, yet decorated by two scars; one of them, the black one with stitches, rests right under his left eye and the second being white line as it is, starts from the space between his collarbones, passing along the neck, and ending above his right eyebrow, slightly curling up.
It's ragged and nasty.
Judging by his height, some strangers would say that he is five, at most six years old. An old straw hat with red ribbon tied around it is hanging off of his neck. The child's clothes, simple red T-shirt and black shorts, are torn up and covered in dirt.
Those who didn't see him would say that it's impossible for a five-year-old boy to be so calm, cold and all alone in this dangerous district, with those scars of his and those somewhat empty black eyes. Only they showed that he felt something—something. But this boy, they concluded, judging from the presence alone, must have come from the woods or the Gray Terminal. How otherwise they would explain those two, different-colored marks on his small and thin, underdeveloped body?
His steps were small and slow, but he carried himself with caution and flow. He was flowing, like the river nearby. Like the blowing, hopeless wind, lit campfire, moving grass, animals out there in the forest.
Like nature.
He was mysterious.
Unnatural. If unnatural, then bad. This boy, in their eyes, was nothing but a wild, foolish person, who kept coming every now and then, led by that dangerous force, instinct. So, inhabitants of the Edge Town, seeing no other way, call the guards from the First Gate to keep an eye for this dirty child. Everyone pushed away the thought of him being something more than just a nuisance for the townspeople; after all, he is spoiling the clean look of the metropolis.
Not alerted by the heads sticking out of the windows, curious glances and cold glares, boy is still walking down the street, until he spots a group of not-so-friendly looking thugs. They are dressed in a similar way, in gray or dark brown clothes and everyone smells like trash they are. Boy stops for a while, as if contemplating something and then, making a decision, walks next to them. Conversation of five men is interrupted by the childish, quiet voice, not belonging to any of the gang's pals. They are turning around in order to see the intruder, but spot only a mere child, toddler. His black eyes are deep; in fact, one of them can't help but stare right into the child's pupils. All five consider for some time the question that shortly came out of the youngling's mouth, only to laugh into his face, their expressions changing and twisting.
"Are you serious? A demon like that freakin' Pirate King couldn't have loved!"
"Gahahahah, you are funny, brat! I would be impossible for that scum's child to lead a normal live. It father is a real devil, so that monster blood would be in genes! It wouldn't exist!"
"Good thing that pirate trash is dead for almost eight years. People like him shouldn't live with us, 'cause he was the worst of the lowest scums."
And Luffy, because that's his name, isn't listening anymore. Shadow of his straw hat hides his wide, angry eyes, as he is turning around and walking away again. He has asked already hundred people and almost everyone said the same thing: "It shouldn't be born."
He wants an answer.
He wants something more than laughs, joyous tears, but it clearly comes to him that he won't have something more. Because once feared, respected and the strongest man in the world, known as Monkey D. Dragon, the King of Pirates, now is only a joke, past long sealed away in the darkest corners of everyone's minds, someone to laugh about.
A being, once a living legend turned to sound like a clown, scum, exactly like Montblanc Noland, man from North Blue fairytales. It progressed so quickly. No one noticed.
Luffy is a seven-year-old (even if he doesn't look like boys his age, can you understand why?) orphan without a surname. His dad has been long dead before he was born. His mother passed away during giving birth to him and his grandfather, "The Insane" Garp, visits him once every two years, which gives now two visits, not counting the time when his grandpa dumped him to the mountain bandits, from all things that were available, to take care of him. That shitty geezer thought he was doing a good thing and Luffy absolutely understands, but it's hard to live with a band of misfits, for God's sake, bandits, who are acting like they all were just freed from a zoo.
They had no preservation and manners at all. Their meals resembled hunts and their place was covered in holes.
But Luffy understands that it's for his safety and contemplates what he was told; who would have thought that one and only son of the Pirate King would live on the top of the highest mountain in the Goa Kingdom, so close to his father's hometown? Raised supposedly with the blackmailed bandits who had no room to refuse?
Again, no one would have thought.
Even so, Luffy can't help but ask.
Ask. Ask.
Question after question.
Is his existence a good thing? Should he have been born? What the world would say about his life? Could he exist in peace?
Maybe World Government is already doing something in his direction? Maybe they are looking for him and planning his execution? Maybe… maybe shitty gramps decided to tell them?
No, Luffy shakes his head and changes the way his thought are going. That stupid old man wouldn't betray me, would he?
Even if his grandfather is the worst family he has, he loves his gramps, although he wouldn't admit it and will never show it, hidden under the cold mask. Family is something irreplaceable and Luffy knows it very well. Garp don't come often (and when he comes he is really irritating) but they are still blood related. And Luffy isn't making a fuss about it.
But he can't help but ask. Is it a good thing that he was born?
"Put me down, gramps!" Ah, what a nice day. Sounds of birds' chirping is heard in the air, as Ace is wrenching in walking Garp's grip, till the elder man loses his patience, finally seeing bandit's small cottage, and lets Ace fall on the green, softly swaying grass of Goa. Vice-admiral turns to his adoptive grandson and laughs audibly, slowly making his way to the wooden doors. Ten-year-old boy groans loudly and pouts, trying to be mad at that stupid grandpa of his.
One minute he is laughing with Makino, next he is lifted from his chair and already a kilometer away from his small home. Gramps dragged him to some kind of house in the middle of the nowhere! How he is going to go back to the Fushia Village if the forest is full of dangerous animals and monsters?
It will take him ages! What about the village? What about Makino and Woop Slap? They will thought that he is kidnapped (because he kind of is kidnapped, but who cares), gone! Not coming back!
It was not funny at all.
Mr. Big-Moustache left recently as well, seeding in Ace's heart a nostalgic feeling whenever he decided to look at the blue sea or bandana he was given. He already misses everyone, though he knew it was coming. Pirates can be a risky force, always on the lookout for adventures and new experiences.
It was bound to happen.
Not really seeing the other options, Ace follows Garp, meanwhile looking around. The trees are big, full of light green leaves, and the dew is still on the grass, shining with the help of the sun which is trying to break through the trees' crown.
It's a nice clearing, Ace analyses. Maybe that small, wooden house is close to collapsing and that laundry hanging in the background isn't encouraging, because it's all dirty and crumpled, but it's nice here. Nice enough for someone to live in rather calm place, surrounded by the sound of nature and large monste-, ehm, he means animals. Yes, animals.
Still, Ace thinks it's a good spot until he sees a big, ugly woman opening the door. Foreign person starts a conversation with Garp, which contains a lot of swearing, shouting and fear, he supposes. However, boy's attention span is shorter than his hair, so next thing his gaze does is trying to analyze everything, from one thing to the next thing. First, he is chasing off a little, but beautiful, red butterfly; next, he finds himself directly in the front of that weird woman. Or is it a man with long, ginger hair? Ace honestly doesn't know.
"Hiya, old hag!" he finally decides to greet the person, who is still standing in the door's frame. Apparently, it wasn't the best thing to say, and it's confirmed by the redness on Dadan's face. "Why are you red? Have you a fever, are you sick or somethin'?"
The mountain bandits' leader is about to retort and teach that rude boy a lesson, but Garp stops her with a meaningful look.
Then, he hits Ace on the head.
Hard.
Black-haired boy yelps, desperately clutching his hands to a new bruise between his hair. Marine Hero only grins widely and bents down to the sitting grandson's height.
"Listen, Ace! That damn pirates infected your mind, so you will be living here now, with Dadan and the others." Ignoring the younger's stare, Garp straights himself and coughs a little to gain bandit's attention. His chest is puffed. "Dadan, take care of him. And anyway, where is Luffy? Isn't he supposed to be around?" he asks, but woman only shivers as if remembering something and then shrugs her shoulders.
"That devilish, lil' monster can be anywhere, you know. It's hard to track him down, 'cause it's like lookin' for a monkey in the middle of the jungle!" …Garp sweat-drops slightly, when realization hits the speaker. "Oh, right. Monkey. Jungle. Never mind that."
Ace stares at Garp, expecting some kind of explanation (like, who that Luffy-boy is, why he thinks that pirates infected his mind and why, the heck, that Old Hag would cooperate with the old geezer), but nothing comes out of gramps' mouth. So, Ace is sitting here and waiting, while two adults are conversing.
Small, gray stone hits him, coming out of nothing, right into his bruise on the head. Ace yelps again, rubs the top of his head and turns around to see the attacker, but he sees no one. He couldn't pinpoint the exact side from which came that small, little thing. Grumbling under his breath, Ace stands up and gazes in the shadows, from where, he can swear, came that rock. When he hears someone's movement in the nearby bush, he tenses up and gets in his defensive pose, ready to attack just in case.
The rumbling is more and more louder, closer, and…
…and from the bush jumps out a little, ginger squirrel, which quickly leaves the clearing after grabbing a nut. Ace relaxes himself and exhales the air. He thought that was one of those monstrously big animals or his attacker, but that was only a little, stupid, but maybe cool squirrel. He drops his stance and again infiltrates the shadowed trees and bushes, only to be hit again.
This time, however, he spots his assaulter and what he sees isn't what he had expected to see behind the leaves.
A small boy with exactly the same hair color as him sits on the tree branch, having one leg crossed over another; he stares at older boy without betraying any emotions. His eyes are piercing him, and Ace feels really uncomfortable under that intimidating glare. The child holds a silver pipe, randomly spinning it, making invisible circles and eights.
It's hard for Ace to look away from that boy; he is scary, full of silent anger and emptiness. Ace can feel it.
Soon enough Garp turns around again and glances at Ace. He is confused, but his gaze leaps off of his adoptive grandson to the shadowy figure before his clueless expression turns into a wide teeth-showing grin.
"Luffy! My grandson, how have you been? C'mon down, let's talk for a moment!" he shouts to the young boy, who only stares at him, blinks once and jumps off the branch. Ace thinks that he is going to break his legs, but so-called Luffy lands perfectly in kneeling position and then slowly straighten himself up. Only now Ace notices a straw hat, tiger's body behind the boy and precisely two scars on younger boy's body; he shivers, thinking about what could have happened to him. Especially when that white line is looking so nasty, yet so similar to gramps' black scar with stitches.
The boy looks like he is flowing, carrying energy of nature inside of him, being the vessel of the true and beautiful world, the voice of the forest, the manifestation of such a scary foe.
Luffy starts walking towards the house, dragging along a body of a tiger. Big, striped tiger, Ace realizes. He passes by Garp, not even sparing his relative a glance. The Vice-admiral's face takes a grimly expression, like he is regretting something. Ace is surprised; old man never wears similar expression. Even though he sees him only once in a while, when he checks up on his home island.
"Luffy, oh c'mon…"
"Shut up, shitty geezer. I don't wanna talk to you," short boy answers, not slowing his pace. Luffy unceremoniously dumps dead animal's body next to Dadan's feet and stares at her with something, what Ace would normally call a "poker face". Dadan shakes her head slightly, maybe amused, maybe disappointed, but says nothing. Luffy's shoulders drop, like the invisible energy was leaving his body, and he walks into the house, closing the door.
Loudly.
"'M sorry, Garp. Something's changed in him and…" Dadan bits her lip, afraid of Garp's reaction. Is she doing a right thing telling him this? Or maybe should she leave it for herself? When she decides, the Marine Hero is visible sad, almost in tears. So, she decides to leave it anyway – Garp is too devastated right now to face something like that.
Ace eyes them, suspicious rising, but also says nothing. Seeing his gramps in this state isn't the best view, he can tell that much. After some time, Ace waves to Garp (in the form of a goodbye), walking into the house. He swears to himself to gain more information about that boy and help his "grandfather" and Luffy. What the heck is wrong with him and that attitude of his? Ace will find out, no matter what.
"You know, when you said that it's bad, I didn't think that it was that bad," Garp announces after Ace's sudden departure. He looked mildly interested and, lemme tell you – it's hard to catch Ace's interest these days. Something good may come out after all of this, maybe?
Dadan shifts uncomfortably, inhaling and exhaling the air. Stupid brat, putting her in the stress-prone situation like this. "Could you tell me what happened?"
"He didn't think that it's okay for him to live."
Dadan's words sinks deeply into marine's heart and mind. Of course, her words are only a mere declaration of war going through Luffy's head and mind, but she can't bring herself to tell him more, tell about his grandson's suffering, tell about the name Luffy made for himself, tell about everything wrong.
Garp is taken aback. His little, pesky grandson thinks that he shouldn't exist? This is something that confuses Garp and he does know why. World is unfair for Luffy, who even doesn't have a surname, due to the Garp's intervention. Had it be announced, Luffy wouldn't have had even the smallest chance to live normally. After all, Luffy is son of the Pirate King. The whole world would hate him, because of this.
It hits Garp like a lighting strike. His eyes widen dramatically.
Demon's spawn. That's what Luffy sees in himself.
