Yo, I'm not dead, just really busy. I will be uploading a couple of stories i have had on my computer for a while now, and will be updating "From Shadow" later this week hopefully. But anywho, i have had this story on my mind for some time now and finally decided to type it up and share it with you guys...so enjoy.
One Piece doesn't belong to me...probably never will.
"Immortality doesn't just mean living a long time."
Ch. 1
Out to Sea
Luffy looked himself over in the mirror and took notice that he didn't quite look like a person who was about to embark on a life of piracy, no, he looked more like a gentleman; dressed in an immaculate black suit, red buttoned shirt, black and silver striped tie, his black dress shoes had no traces or specks of dirt.
He wasn't going to be like all those other pirates who pillaged and plundered, brutes at best and scum at worst; they were the literal bottom of the barrel in society. And he wanted nothing to do with them. Piracy to him meant something entirely different; it meant freedom to do as he pleased when he pleased wherever he pleased. That and adventures with discoveries and treasures waiting for him to find them, a boring quiet life isn't what he wants, to leave a mark in history to have his name echo around the world to not die in silence in some small corner of the world. No, he really wasn't going to be like any of them.
Finishing up he decided it was time to leave, everything was packed and on his ship, all that was left was to lock things up, this was his home for the past 13 years it had sentimental value.
Walking out he had a brief moment of reminiscence.
OPUOPUOPUOPU
Flashback…13 years ago.
"Why are we here Grandpa?" an innocent, well as innocent as a seven year old could be, Luffy asked as he was being dragged behind his grandfather.
"I need to get back to Marine HQ…."he paused for a brief moment, "And you need more training" at this Luffy paled, training usually meant 'hell' for him. "I'm going to be leaving you here for a while…" Luffy interrupted by making a run for it. He didn't get very far before he was slammed into the ground.
"You're fast but still not fast enough Luffy" he didn't get a response, 'Guess I overdid it' he thought to himself, but with Luffy you could never be too careful. He sighed and slapped his grandson awake.
Knowing that escape was futile Luffy followed obediently and began to ask questions.
"Where are we exactly?" Luffy asked as he looked around, they had rowed to an island that seemed uninhabited all he had seen was vegetation, plants and trees; basically all green.
"Dawn Island" was his grandfather's response.
"Dawn Island, as in the Goa Kingdoms main island…why here?" Luffy asked a bit surprised.
"There are a people here who owe me" his grandfather said as he began to move at a faster pace, Luffy easily keeping up with his speed. Hearing this Luffy could only gulp in trepidation, training plus staying with people who owed his grandfather meant double hell. 'Training, all for the sake of becoming a great marine like him' Luffy could only stare at his grandfather's back, in just this past year he had been tossed in a forest with nothing but the clothes on his back for a month, it was survival training, after that it was studying hand to hand combat with a man who was a friend of his grandfather, after that he was dumped into a ravine, more survival training, he made it out in three weeks, following that he was taken to a dojo to study swordsmanship, next he was given a small raft and left stranded in the calm belt…he really didn't want to think about his grandfathers 'training' anymore. Those unpleasant memories where better left forgotten.
His grandfather slowed in a clearing, at the other end was a hut? house? dwelling? That belonged to his next teacher.
They walked in silence, Luffy really didn't have anything to say and his grandfather looked lost in thought. Luffy came up behind him and could only stare at the strange place. It was the knocking on the door that disrupted the silence, he could easily hear the noise coming from inside, and the people didn't sound too intelligent.
"STOP THAT! WHOEVER YOU ARE, DO YOU WANT TO GET KILLED!…." The person who said it was a rather large, disproportional woman with curly orange hair.
"It's me" his grandfather replied not even fazed by their so called threat.
"G-Gar…Mr. Garp!"At her yell two others came from behind a sheet that was hung by the entrance, a short man with a turban and a larger man with what appeared to be rooster like hair; mohawk and goatee. Their surprise, or was it fear, was evident in their faces at seeing 'him' there.
"You look like you're doing well" his grandfather was being polite, meaning he was going to ask them to do something.
"Give me a break! Please, you gotta have mercy on me! They're 7 now!" the woman replied.
"Oh…that's good, how are they?" his grandfather laughed without missing a beat.
"It's not funny! We can't handle them anymore! You have to take them!" the smaller of the two males said coming out from behind the woman, he was, oddly enough, holding a dictionary.
His grandfather completely ignored him and looked down at Luffy, "that aside, you're going to be looking after him too" he said motioning towards Luffy who was staring blankly at them.
"Eh…EEEHHHHHHHHHHH!" the three looked completely flabbergasted. "Another one!" the three yelled again this time falling back.
Again he ignored them, "Oi, Luffy say hello".
"Hello, I'm Luffy a pleasure to meet you" Luffy said with a curt nod. On the floor the three simply stared at him in silence, a few minutes passed with no one saying anything. The three couldn't believe what they had just heard, the brat was polite, the complete opposite of 'them'.
"Luffy, this is Curly Dadan, the leader of this troupe of mountain bandits" he pointed towards the woman. Who copied Luffy's nod and replied "hello" if he was going to be civil then so was she, plus something about the kid unnerved her. She now took notice of his attire, black cargo shorts red sneakers and a white shirt with a large black circle that had a white skull that was greatly detailed but what caught her attention were the skull's horns. 'It looks like a monster, no that's not it, maybe a demon hmmmm…a devil' she couldn't help but stare, it was eerie but she couldn't deny that it actually complimented the kid, it made him look intimidating. His jet black hair wasn't as messy for someone his age, it was long but not overly so and did wonders for his face. His eyes, a deep dark onyx, were steeled with determination, something she had never seen in a kid, they reminded her of Garp when he was younger.
She was brought out of her mussing when the second of the two men stepped out from behind her, the larger one, "Who is he?"
"He's my grandson." Garp replied with a hint of pride in his voice.
"Oh, he's your grandson" the three smiled and looked at Luffy…..then it hit them. They looked at the kid then at Garp, back at the kid, back at Garp…"What!"
"Your grandson!", "You have a kid out there!", "Another one!" the three didn't know what to say, they had all assumed he wasn't a family man being who he was and what he had done.
The three then went to kneel before Garp, "We can't, or more like we won't do it" they had resolve.
"Alright then, here are your options; you go to jail for the rest of your lives or you look after him. There are many crimes you've committed that I've overlooked." He had an imposing feel about him, it wouldn't be long before Dadan agreed and they all knew it.
Luffy on the other hand had been quiet the entire time after he introduced himself. 'What the hell am I supposed to do here, these 'mountain bandits' don't look like much' Luffy began to look around. The forest was huge, well they were on a mountain, he could train without bothering anyone, he could go all out. His train of thought was interrupted when he felt a presence come from the forest.
His grandfather glanced down at Luffy and saw him glance back toward the forest.
Luffy on instinct moved, something was thrown towards him, it missed, he kicked a pebble into his left hand and flicked it in the direction where the 'something' was thrown.
"OW!" it was a child's yelp.
"Ace" Garp turned to greet a boy wearing brown shorts and red muscle shirt.
"Ace, your back where's…" the larger of the two men was cut off by Ace who raced towards Luffy with a metal pole, to the surprise of everyone present, Luffy blocked his swipe with his bare hand, what shocked the bandits though was how fast he moved. In seconds he had disarmed Ace and countered.
A high kick to the face stopped centimeters from making contact, he had felt the wind slap his cheek. Ace had, in those few seconds, felt fear from a boy that looked the same age. Garp immediately hit Luffy over the head leaving a bruise. "What the hell was that for?!" Luffy yelled as he held his sore head.
"You know why" Garp yelled back.
"I was well within your stupid rules, he attacked first both times!"
"That doesn't matter"
"The hell it doesn't"
"Watch your tone and language brat" and Garp hit him again.
"Stop hitting me" it wasn't whining if you are on the ground with two large lumps on your head.
Their back and forth banter was observed by those around them with only silence.
Luffy stood and was basically back to normal, Ace looked at Garp and then stared at Luffy, with what kind of gaze was anyone's guess.
"Luffy this is Ace, he's a few months older than you" Garp walked to Ace and was going to place a hand on the boy's shoulder before Ace moved and went past the two.
Dadan and the other took that as Garp deciding that Luffy would be staying in their care, they didn't dare say anything now.
"That's all from me. I'll stop by when I have time. And Luffy, you better not dawdle in your training, when I come back I will test you" Garp looked at the bandits one more time before walking to Luffy, ruffling his hair was his goodbye.
Luffy could only watch him walk away. Turning back he saw that only the woman, Dadan, was outside.
Dadan stayed silent as Garp left. Looking at Luffy she saw him smile a warm smile, she didn't know the reason but it made her smile as well.
"Guess I can finally do what I want, now what to do first" Luffy thought to himself with a good natured smile as he saw someone else walking out of the forest.
Flashback End.
OPUOPUOPUOPU
Luffy, while reminiscing, had managed to walk a ways into Windmill Village. The vendors greeted him as he walked by, their patrons doing the same, he was well known here for various reasons both nefarious and otherwise.
He made his way over to Partys bar, wanting to get the next part done as quickly as possible. Once inside he noticed the few early risers eating and chatting about nothing in particular, they had all stopped what they had been doing to look up at the one who had entered and once they saw who it was went back to their conversations, albeit with grins plastered on their faces.
Luffy let out a heavy sigh and made his way into the back toward the stairs that lead to the second floor and the home of two of his friends. Knocking twice he opened the door only to see 'her' standing there ever imposing, tapping one foot, her arms crossed across her chest, eyes locked on his with a deadly gaze to them.
"Hello Dor…Mrs. Keith" he bowed politely. Doris Keith, owner of Partys bar was a woman you didn't want to mess with, yes she was kind but piss her off and 'hell hath no fury'. She stood at an impressive six feet two, short brown hair, light hazel eyes, had a figure most mothers had, which was best not to mention at all if you knew what was good for you. She stood there in blue jeans grey shirt and yellow apron bearing down on him with only a stare.
She didn't reply nor did she acknowledge his greeting. He kept his ground and patiently waited for her to make the first move. The sounds of footsteps coming from deeper inside the home made her move, taking a step forward she yanked him to her which moved them into the living room area.
Standing at almost the same height she hugged him awkwardly to her. It was a kind gesture but this particular time it wasn't; to on lookers it looked sweet, to Luffy it was excruciatingly painful. She was strong, stronger than any normal human, and she was crushing him in her arms. "Do you know why I'm doing this?" she said in a sweet whisper against his ear, he nodded, "You know what will happen to you if something happens to them?" again he nodded, "Good" she finished by letting him go but keeping him at arm's length.
This woman had instilled the fear of a 'god' in him as soon as they met, his grandfather had nothing on her, this woman was evil incarnate to anyone who messed with her daughters. Luffy stood there frozen until he felt her hands on his cheeks, she looked at him with a warm smile and brought his forehead down to meet her lips, "Be safe", was all she said before she turned to the two others that were in the room.
He let out an inaudible sigh and turned to look at the two who would be joining him. On the left stood Makino, his longtime friend who had cunningly managed to get him to agree to let her join. Six years older than he, she stood at a respectable five foot five, amber brown eyes that shined with a playfulness he loved, hair as dark as his own tied into a high ponytail, she wore a white long skirt that reached her knees, black knee length leather boots and a red frilled shirt with short sleeves that had a low cut neck line revealing her ample bust, it was best not to look there while 'she' was in the room. Her hourglass figure was the envy of many, even now in that simple style she looked stunning, sensing his eyes on her she gave him a warm smile.
To her right stood Monet who as a few inches taller than Makino, lime green hair reaching down as far as her lower back, thick reading glasses atop her head, her light yellow brown eyes lit up as they met his, at five foot eight she wore a dark blue spaghetti strap dress that hugged her curvaceous figure that reached down to just mid-thigh showcasing her beautifully toned long legs, again it was best not to look at the moment, white slip-ons completed her outfit.
The two were quickly drawn into a hug which they returned with equal if not greater warmth. He could tell that 'she' was speaking to them low enough so that he wouldn't hear, he didn't dare try eavesdropping.
She hadn't said much, she complemented their outfits, even if they revealed more than they should, she told them to be careful and to take care of him, and to call once a week. "I'm going to miss you two" she sighed when the two gave her a look, "Yes, yes, I'll miss him as well" with one last hug the three separated, reluctantly.
"Everything's on the ship?" Monet asked as she stepped to his left taking his arm and holding on to it.
"Yes, all that's left is us" Luffy replied as Makino went to his right and did the same.
"Then let's get going!" Makino was excited she had only left the village never the island and now she was leaving to go on an adventure not only with her sister but with Luffy as well.
Luffy looked at Doris one more time locking gazes, she smiled wishing him luck, he smiled back then turned to head out.
Downstairs the patrons rushed back to their seats as fast as they could hoping to not get caught eavesdropping by the bars owner or Luffy. They had hoped to hear a fight between the two; the man was literally taking her daughters out to sea as pirates. If that didn't instigate a fight they didn't know what did.
Luffy with Makino on his right and Monet on his left came down to see that the patrons were flushed, it was really easy to read them, so he smiled as he walked by.
Doris on the other hand glared at them making them wince and cringe at her stare. She soon followed after the three, followed by those inside.
OPUOPUOPUOPU
Out at the docks a lone ship eased up and down with the gentle waves, it was a small ship but had served as his main ship for years, a caravel with a white horned sheep at its front.
Luffy came out from inside having already prepared everything beforehand, he had lowered the sails and was preparing to leave when he looked back and saw the entire village, well those who were up anyways, gathered at the shore waving and hollering. At the front on the helm he smiled, he pumped a fist into the air and waited for their silence. "I will turn this world on its head, no corner shall go untouched….glory to the bold, now forward unto uncharted waters!" a sudden gust of wind hit the sails and lurched the ship forward.
Monet and Makino rushed out and headed towards the back to wave goodbye to their mother and the rest of the townsfolk, who were in an uproar thanks to Luffy's speech, he always did have a knack for that sort of thing.
After a short while their little village was merely a speck in the horizon, the two sighed and went to join Luffy at the front. "Your orders Captain?" the two said at the same time playfully, he only smiled back.
The townsfolk dispersed one by one as the ship went farther and farther out to sea until they could no longer see it. Most showed up because they hadn't actually believed that that boy would go out to see like he said he would all those years ago, most were just all talk.
Little by little they went until only two remained.
"So that brat really did set out to be a pirate, and you're okay with him taking your two girls with him?" Mayor Woop Slap said next to her. "I couldn't stop them even if I tried" she said fondly. "The boy told them of his dream and they wholeheartedly want to see him achieve it firsthand".
"Is it really just a dream or Destiney" the Mayor said cryptically..
"History will remember him" Doris said softly to the Mayor who looked at her confused, "because he will write it" the smile that shaped her lips was infectious for the briefest of moments as the Mayor joined her thoughts but all too soon it was over, "That brat will bring nothing but trouble for us." Doris turned to walk back to her bar, "Oh, of that I'm certain". She said as she knew all too well what kind of man 'he' was.
Reviews welcome, Flames ignored.
This will be a harem story...yippee right!, I'm not confident in Lemons so those will be added much later in the story once i convince a certain someone to help.
Other than that, hope you liked it.