Dammit, it happened again. I tried to hold out for as long as I could, but the plot bunnies got to me after months. I actually like this more than my other stories, though, so maybe it won't crash and burn. Hopefully. Maybe. Comments would be appreciated.
Obvious disclaimer is obvious.
Prologue
She wanted to change. She wanted to become someone who, deep inside, would never be her. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be honest and loyal. Naïve and brave. Energetic and cheerful. She wanted to be a completely different person.
She wanted to have great friends who would risk their lives for her and hers for theirs. Friends who could read her like an open book, friends who she could fight with and have fun with and go on adventures with, and no matter what happened at the end of the day, they would laugh.
She wanted a family she was close to, family whom she could confide in for help and problems that she wouldn't be able to talk about with her friends - family that could tuck her in at night and tell her stories; family that she could talk to, family that would want to protect her with all their might. And she would want to protect them too.
She wanted to be honest with herself. She wanted to feel like she didn't have to hide herself in the world – a world that judged you for everything you did. She wanted to face the future with her head held high and her back straight. She wanted to love what she had and not envy for what she didn't need.
She wanted to be all of these things to be true and more. But things had a weird way of granting your wishes.
Monkey D. Luffy was incredibly selfish and at that same time incredibly selfless. He was inhumanly strong, and guarded his nakama with a passion as bright as the sun. He didn't care if he had to fight the entire world itself – if that meant protecting his friends, he would do it without a second thought.
He was so naïve, yet so wise. Most of the time he acted like a toddler, other times he was as fierce as a lion. He ate an ungodly amount of food in a single day – enough to make a regular person explode – and conversed with marines like they were just another person in a crowd; he judged people on the simplest things and sometimes didn't judge them at all. If you gave him meat, you were his new best friend.
His family and friends cherished him, even though he was a bit tiring to be around. They could never imagine a world without him, and he couldn't imagine a world without them. To him being alone equaled a fate worse than death, but he would undoubtedly, in the end, move forward.
He aspired to be Pirate King just like millions of others. It could takes years or days or months, but he had an unyielding belief that he could do it despite the fierce competition on the Grand Line and the daunting forces that were the World Government and the Navy. Even his own grandfather disapproved of his dreams, but they loved each other all the same.
He had that same faith in his nakama that they would someday fulfill their own dreams, and he would be with them every step of the way. They would stand beside him even in the darkest of days, even in great moments of despair and hopelessness.
As captain, his crew's lives were on his head. But he relied on them as heavily as they relied on him, and he saved them from their loneliness and strife. The moment each of them joined him, they understood what it meant to be nakama, and strived to support and care for each other.
He saved countless lives and ruined thousands of others, yet all of it was for the people he respected. It didn't matter if you were a marine or a pirate or a bounty hunter; if you had a dream you were chasing after, you were his equal. After all, he was chasing a nearly impossible dream; how could yours be any different?
He rose from the weakest of the four Blues and became a world famous rookie, one of the Eleven Supernovas, and a part of the Worst Generation. He infiltrated and escaped Impel Down and became a huge figure in the Battle of Marineford just to save his brother.
He shook the world for the brother he wanted to protect, the nakama he wanted to be with, and the dream he wanted to fulfill.
Even though he was barely an adult and still acted like a child, you couldn't help but love him and laugh with him and respect him, because he was the man who would become the Pirate King. He was the man who bore the hat of Gol D. Roger.
She didn't want to be Monkey D. Luffy. She didn't want to be him.
Rather, she supposed, she didn't want to be her. Because whether she liked it or not, the day she popped out of the Darkness-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named and someone declared, "It's a girl!" she became Monkey D. Luffy, daughter of the Revolutionary Dragon, surrogate sister of Portgas D. Ace, granddaughter of Garp the Fist, and future female captain of the Straw Hat Pirates.
She wasn't sure if she would be able to do everything he had done – be a leader, save two countries, declare war against the government – because she had been weak, diffident, cowardly, and a follower. The simple pressures in life had depressed her and pushed her towards the bottom, where all she could do was look up as she threw around a smile and laughed with the people around her until it all ended.
But everything would happen in years; she had time. Surely by then she would have changed. Surely by then she would be strong.
Because things had a weird way of granting wishes. She would change, or everything would go to hell.
Monkey D. Garp loved his grandchildren.
It was a simple fact. Luffy was his flesh-and-blood grandchild. Ace was his adopted grandkid, the former son of the Pirate King. That little blond boy (to be honest, he kinda just popped out of nowhere) was their surrogate brother, so he became his grandkid too. He might scare the living daylights out of them every time he comes to visit – they had to become a strong marine one day after all – but it was all so that they could survive in this "Great Pirate Era" that had emerged after Roger's death.
So what if they screamed every time he brought out his Fist of Love? He was disciplining them. He couldn't let the kids run around with the idea that they would be pirates one day, so they needed some sense knocked into their heads before they were killed by some weakling out on the sea. They were going to be marines one day, so they couldn't run off and start fights with the government. Grandfather knows best, after all.
He ignored the fact that they were the only family he had left, and he didn't want them to leave one way or the other somehow. His wife had died years ago, and he had stopped mourning as soon as he laid eyes on the cute, cuddly baby that was Dragon. But then that cute, cuddly baby of a son grew up and ran off to create and lead the Revolutionary Army (while somehow getting it on with a girl and out popped out Luffy). Then somehow a new cute and cuddly baby was dumped into his care, a baby boy that belonged to his rival (he had no idea when that guy got it on, but whatever) and he had an orphaned, newborn child that was relying on him for survival. Three years later he discovered that somehow his previously cute and cuddly son had got it on with a girl via the form of another newborn baby, so he had to learn to protect Luffy, too.
When he visited Luffy in Foosha Village after leaving the kid in Makino's care for a few months, he came back to discover that Red-Haired Shanks had poisoned his grandchild's mind. So he took Luffy to Dadan's place, far away from pirate-inspiring… well, pirates, and introduced Luffy to Ace.
Then a few years later after he had dumped Luffy at Dadan's place (seriously, what was with all of the dumping these days?) and came back to train his grandchildren, there was that random blond kid who declared that he wanted to be a pirate too, so he was unconditionally his new grandkid (not that he lasted long – no, he wasn't crying! Shut up!).
He worried about his grandchildren, but he worried about Luffy the most. Not Ace, the unknown son of Roger, who hated anyone other than his friends and family with a passion. He was worried about his granddaughter, who, when she thought no one was looking, had an unnaturally weary and old look on her face as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders – or it could be the aftermath of his training sessions, but he went with the idea that something was wrong with her.
The first time he brought it up, she tilted her head in confusion (a motion that suddenly seemed too unreal) and asked what he was talking about. So he left her alone and hoped Ace and Sabo – yes, he did know the kid's name – would be able to help her somehow. Unlike him, they spent nearly every hour of every day with her, so they would figure something out or distract her from whatever was bothering her.
But no matter what made Luffy sad, when he learned the cause of her problems he would punch the ever-living daylights outta the guy. Because family was family, and he would always love his grandchildren.
Never mind the fact that he couldn't help but fawn over her cuteness ever since she learned how to make the puppy-dog face.
If you couldn't tell, this is an self-insert as a female Monkey D. Luffy. I tried to make Luffy's previous life as ambiguous as I could (given that I based it a little bit off me), so I won't make references to her specifics about her previous life very often. I also tried to make Garp's part a little funny, because I couldn't help it (he's just so silly sometimes).
Unlike my other stories, I do have somewhat of a plan, outline thing for this story. It's mostly going to feature this new Luffy's perspective as she starts to change and become who she truly wants to be (which isn't canon!Luffy, exactly), so expect Luffy to be OOC (which is kind of a given, seeing as how it's an SI as Luffy...). For me, it's often easier to write based on how inspired I am, so the chapters about Luffy's early years will probably come quicker than the actual canon events. In fact, as I'm typing this right now, I've already written up part of the next chapter. Basically, don't expect updates in an orderly fashion.
I'm not sure if there's going to be pairings, but don't count on it (I've always liked the idea of Fem!LuffyxZoro, but I'm not good at romance, so it's very, VERY unlikely).
However, like my other stories, there is a high chance that if I find myself unable to come up with more ideas (or find myself hating how I've written it) I won't continue it (it is my story after, all). As I've already said, I would really appreciate comments, perhaps even suggestions (especially for when canon starts).
Concerning Japanese phrases, I dislike it when authors use it in their stories and expect you to understand it. So I will only use them when absolutely necessary and I will always tell you what they mean in my author's notes. If I happen to forget so, please tell me (same goes with spelling, grammar errors, plot holes, etc.).
I'm not expecting this to get a lot of attention; it's mainly my muse forcing me to post this, after all. Reviews would encourage me, though. I'll shut up now, this is getting too long. Jesus I'm shaking in anxiety.
Cover image belongs to mitch0o on zerochan.
Nakama: A powerful word for friend or comrade. Frequently used in shonen anime & manga.