Greetings fellow readers and writers! This is my fifth volume of my Kingdom Hearts series, and I hope you like it! Okay, this one brings Sora and the gang to the realm of One Piece, one of the best anime ever created!
This fic takes place between episodes 44 and 45 of One Piece, while for Sora and the gang it's immediately after they left Dream Valley in my last fic. Oh, I'm using the FUNimation version of One Piece, not the 4Kids version, which was sort of okay, but like everything else those creeps get their claws into, they ruined the dialog and cut out all the really good parts. All those who think 4Kids should curl up and die, give me a shout out!
The only thing I own in this fic are original characters and a few types of Heartless that I've created. The rest belong to their respective owners, so don't sue me, I'm just trying to tell a good story. And now, without further delay, the show beings!
'Wealth, fame, power. Gold Rodger, the King of the Pirates, had this and everything else the world had to offer, and his dying words drove countless souls to the sea…
"You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you just have to find it!"
'These words lured men to the Grand Line, in pursuit of dreams greater than they ever dared to imagine! This is the time known as The Great Pirate Era!'
Kingdom Hearts: Beyond the Door to Light
Volume 5: Legend of the Straw Hat Crew
By AndrewK9000
Chapter 1: Encounter with Luffy
Sora hurried back to the side alley where he, Kairi, Riku, Donald, Goofy and Aiden had arrived in this watery world. Having just rescued the Little Ponies from the upper-level demon Tirnac, and then sealed Dream Valley's Keyhole, Sora and his friends fully expected to go through the portal King Mickey sent them and finally return to Disney Castle.
Instead they had arrived in an island village, one full of clearly happy people. Sora and his friends decided to scout around and find out all they could learn about this new world they've come upon.
A million things went through Sora's mind as he reached the side alley a bit early before the others were supposed to get there. Most on his mind was how to get his friends and himself home. By now Sora's parents, as well as Kairi's and Riku's would we worried sick. Sure, they knew that their children were Keyblade Wielders, and that they would have to go on dangerous missions sometimes. But they were way overdue to be home by now, and Sora knew each minute away from home would only increase their parents anxiety.
Just then Riku, Donald, Goofy and Aiden reached the alley. Kairi showed up after them, having taken another street when she and Sora were looking together, promising ot meet back with the others.
"We're in a world that's has a lot of water and islands," said Sora, "we're on one of them."
"There are four major oceans," said Kairi, "North Blue, East Blue, South Blue and West Blue."
"There's also an area of the ocean called The Grand Line," said Riku, "a sea and a chain of islands full of wild weather and weird sea creatures. The creatures on the normal oceans aren't what we'd call normal either."
"That's nothing to what I learned," said Aiden, "I heard that somewhere in The Grand Line is huge treasure trove, big enough to make whoever finds it rich beyond their wildest dreams."
"I also heard of this treasure," said Riku, "it was hidden by one of the most wealthiest, famous and powerful pirates the world had ever known. He died saying that whoever can find the treasure can have it. There's thousands of pirate crews sailing the oceans, all of them hoping to find the treasure."
"You think we'll run into these pirates?" Kairi asked.
"We've faced pirates before," said Goofy.
"We can handle them!" said Donald.
"I don't think so," said Sora, "the pirates in this world, from what I heard, they're nothing like Captain Hook, or Barbosa. Some of them are pretty weird, weirder than Jack Sparrow, sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow."
"I also heard that some pirates here have strange powers," said Riku, "like the kind you'd read in a manga."
"You think they'll be a problem for us?" Aiden asked.
Just then several screams rang out in the air.
"I think trouble has found us regardless," said Riku as he, Sora, Kairi and Aiden summoned their Keyblades, while Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons.
Our heroes ran out to the main street to find that the village was being attacked by Heartless. Sora and the others could see dozens of Pirate and Air Pirate-type Heartless, along with the occasional Neo Shadow and Large Body.
"It never ends, does it?" said Aiden, "oh well," he put his Keyblade away long enough to press his wrists, "alright then, let's do this!"
Our heroes ran forward to help the villagers and destroy the attacking Heartless.
Sora and Kairi had just helped a woman and two children to the safety of a side alley, and were just about to attack a group of Pirates, when Sora saw a lumbering Large Body running towards them.
But before he or Kairi could do anything, the Large Body was destroyed. Something punched it in the back hard enough to destroy it, something that turned out to be a human fist that was attacked to something long an flesh colored, something that turned out to be a very long arm.
"What the…!" said both Sora and Kairi.
The long arm retracted and became a normal arm that belonged to an 18 year old boy that stood several yards away. He wore a red-sleeveless shirt and blue denim shorts and sandals. He wore a straw hat with a red band. He had black hair and friendly black eyes. A long scar was below the left eye.
The boy ran up to Sora and Kairi, "hey, you two okay?"
"We're fine," said a confused Sora.
"We could have handled that Heartless," said Kairi, "but thanks for the help."
"No problem," said the boy as he smiled widely, "these things, they're called Heartless?"
"Yeah," said Sora. He then abruptly asked, "who…what are you?"
The boy smiled and laughed heartily, "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, but you can call me Luffy. Everybody does!"
"Luffy?" a confused Sora asked.
"Yep!" said the boy, Luffy, "and I'm going to be King of the pirates!"
"That's an ambitious goal," said Riku as he walked up to them, apparently the area was clear of Heartless for the moment.
"It's been my dream for as long as I can remember," said Luffy, "but it's one that I know will come true!" He then looked to the side and saw a Neo Shadow skulking towards them, "'scuse me for a second," he then reared back, his right arm stretching behind him several yards with his hand balled up into a fist.
"Gum-Gum Pistol!" shouted Luffy as he brought his fist forward rapidly. The increased length of his arm gave his punch an incredibly devastating striking power as the fist struck and destroyed the Neo Shadow.
"What's up with these things?" Luffy asked as his arm returned to normal, "I keep killing them, but more and more keep coming."
"It's a long story," said a shocked and amazed Riku.
"How'd you do that with your arm?" Kairi asked.
"Oh, that's easy," said Luffy as he smiled. He then grabbed part of his face and stretched it out, "I'm a rubber man!" He then let go of his face and it snapped back to normal.
"I've seen more crazy stuff than I could ever dream of since I started this journey," said Aiden as he, Donald and Goofy came running up, "but what that guy just did takes the cake." Donald and Goofy then nodded in agreement.
"Which part?" Riku asked, "the arm stretching or the face stretching?"
"Both I guess," said Aiden.
"How'd he get like that?" Goofy asked.
"I ate the Gum-Gum fruit," said Luffy, "hey, you two guys are weird."
"No weirder than you," said an annoyed Donald as he crossed his arms, "and there's no such thing as a Gum-Gum fruit!"
"Oh yes there is," said a deep male voice. Sora and the others saw a tall man in his mid 20's wearing a white shirt, black pants and a wide green belt. He and a black cloth tied around his hair to keep the sweat out of his eyes. Tucked into the belt was a katana sword with a white handle in a white sheath, while his hands held two cutlasses, obviously liberated from Pirate-type Heartless.
"I've seen the effects of Devil Fruits," said the swordsman, "Luffy is one of the more normal ones."
"How crazy can they get?" Riku asked.
"This one guy could take his body apart and put himself back together," said Luffy, "he couldn't be hurt by swords or anything sharp, but I kicked his ass anyway. Oh, this is my first mate, Zoro."
"Roranoa Zoro actually," said the swordsman. He then saw several Pirate-types charging at him, "these things are worse than rats." he held the two cutlasses in one hand and used the other to draw his white handled sword and gripped it in his teeth.
"That cannot be hygienic," said Aiden.
"I clean my blades regularly," said Roranoa Zoro, or just Zoro, speaking in a slightly muffled tone around the sword handle in his mouth, "and brush my teeth, now if you'll excuse me," he faced the oncoming Heartless.
"What kind of style is that?" Riku asked.
"It's Santōryū," said a cheerful, female voice, "or Three Swords Style," Sora and the others saw a tall girl, about 18, with short orange hair, large friendly eyes and a rather sensuous figure. She wore a blue and white shirt with an orange skirt and high-healed sandals. On her right shoulder was a blue tattoo of a pinwheel, while the top spoke of the pinwheel had a shape that resembled a tangerine. She carried a long wood staff.
Sora and the others then shifted their gaze back to Zoro whom was calmly facing the encroaching Pirate-types. Several cutlass wielding Heartless advanced from the front and side.
Zoro held his two cutlasses up so they formed an X across his chest, while his white sword was held right behind them. Just as the surrounding Heartless were about to attack, Zoro attacked first, charging at the enemy faster than they could react
"Three Swords Style!" said Zoro as he struck, slashing diagonally down with the two cutlasses, then delivering a horizontal strike with the white sword, "Oni Giri!"
Oni Giri= Demon Slash
The three strikes from his swords sliced up the attacking Heartless, destroying them in puffs of black smoke and releasing small crystal hearts into the air.
"Wow!" said an impressed Sora, "that was so cool!"
"I know!" said Luffy eagerly, "that's why he's part of my crew, 'cause only the best can find One Piece!"
"You're looking for that treasure we've heard about?" Kairi asked.
"Among other things," said the girl with orange hair as she used her staff to smash a Pirate-type into the ground, then kicked it in the head, then bashed it in the head with her staff, destroying the offending Heartless. "Oh, my name's Nami."
"Nice to meet you," said Kairi. She then swatted at a leaping Shadow, destroying it.
"How come some of those things spit out crystals when they die and others don't?" Luffy asked.
"It's a long story," said Riku as he stabbed an attacking Soldier, destroying it, "There's a lot of long stories going around today."
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to tell them when we have a chance to breathe!" said Aiden as he blocked a slash from a Pirate-type, then struck back and destroyed it, while Donald blasted several Shadows with a Thunder spell and Goofy threw his shield at the back of a Large Body.
Aiden was about to attack another Pirate-type when it was struck in the head by a slingshot bullet, destroying it.
Aiden looked up at the sound of someone laughing from the roof of a nearby house. He saw a boy, about 18, wearing brown overalls and brown boots. His long curly black hair was tied down by a yellow bandana. His crowning feature was his long, needle-like nose. He carried a yellow side bag and had a slingshot in his hand
"Another fantastic shot made by the brave and indestructible Captain Usopp!" shouted the boy with the slingshot as he climbed down from the roof and ran up to Luffy, "and one of my personal best if I may say so myself."
"Dream on, Usopp," said a male voice. Sora and the others saw a tall boy about 19 or so, wearing a black dress jacket and trousers over a blue shirt. He had short blond hair. An unlit cigarette sat in the corner of his mouth, "you were hiding up there like you always do to avoid a fight. Where as me," he then jumped up and delivered a devastating kick to a diving Wyvern, destroying it, "I'm always ready," he landed on the street, then saw Kairi.
Sora would later swear that the blond boy's eyes became like pink hearts, "oh! And who is this enchanting lady!" he ran up to Kairi and bowed like a gentleman, "Sanji, gourmet chef extraordinaire at your service."
"Oh give it a rest, lover boy," said an annoyed Nami.
"Anything you say, Nami dearest!" said an overly adoring Sanji.
"These are your friends?" Riku asked Luffy.
"Yep," said Luffy, "the best crew a pirate can have!"
"I've got to say," said Aiden, "this is the most motley crew I've ever seen."
"Wait till you see our ship," said Zoro.
Just then there was the sound of a building collapsing, followed by more screaming people.
"Now what?" Nami asked.
"Probably a strong Heartless," said Riku.
"We'd better find it before it hurts anyone," said Kairi, "or worse."
"How worse can it be?" a slightly nervous Usopp asked.
"If they don't kill you outright," said Aiden, "then they turn you into one of them."
"Alright!" exclaimed Luffy as he smiled eagerly, "what are we waiting for!" with that he ran off towards the source of the commotion.
"Wait for us, you blockhead!" shouted Zoro. With that he, Nami, Sanji and a reluctant Usopp, ran after Luffy.
"Either that guy," said Riku as he, Sora and the others also ran after Luffy, "is incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid."
"Maybe he's both," said Goofy.
"You would know," muttered Donald.
They caught up with Zoro and the others, "just how crazy is Luffy?" Kairi asked.
"Crazy enough to get us out of some really sticky situations," said Nami.
"He's also gotten us into some of those situations," said Zoro, "then again, some of us are equally guilty."
"That was a one time thing," said Usopp.
"Don't look at me," said Sanji, "I was just going about my life when Luffy crashed through the roof."
"And all I was looking for was a map of The Grand Line," said Nami, "that and a little extra cash to line my pockets."
"You were looking for treasure," said Zoro, "plain and simple."
"And they say I'm a liar," said Usopp.
"That's no way to speak of my one true love!" shouted Sanji. Nami responded by smacking him on the back of the head.
They then caught of with Luffy who was looking at a pair of Zip Slashers as they demolished another house.
"Wow!" exclaimed a really eager and excited Luffy, "those things are so cool!"
"They're also very deadly!" said Sora. From his memories of Roxas, Sora knew that it would take a lot of effort to bring down even just one of the twin-bladed armored Heartless.
"No problem!" said Luffy. He reared back for another elastic punch, "Gum-Gum Pistol!" he punched the nearest Zip Slasher, but Luffy's fist just bounced off the armor.
"What the…?" said Luffy. He ran headlong at the Zip Slasher, only to be thrown back as it unleashed it's spin and thrust combination attack. Luffy then jumped out of the way of the other Zip Slasher as it tried to slice his head off.
"Wait until they get dizzy!" said Sora, "then hit them with everything you got!"
"Easily done!" said Sanji. He ran towards one of the Zip Slashers, but his forward approach was only a feint to lure the armored Heartless to spin and thrust, leaving it disoriented.
Sanji then delivered a hard kick to the neck of the Zip Slasher, "Collier!" knocking it to the ground.
Collier= Neck Meat
The other Zip Slasher then tried to stab Sanji. He dodged it and then kicked it in the shoulder, forcing it to the ground, "Épaule!"
Épaule=Shoulder Meat
Riku then stabbed one of the disabled Zip Slashers, destroying it, while Aiden transmuted the ground underneath the other, causing spikes to impale the armored Heartless and destroying it.
"How'd you do that?" Nami asked.
"I'm an Alchemist," said Aiden.
"He changed the ground into something else," said Kairi as she stabbed an approaching Soldier.
"We're not your normal heroes," said Sora as he blocked an attacking Neo Shadow, then counterattacked and destroyed it.
"I'll say," said Luffy, "those are some cool swords! Where can I get one?"
"You can't just buy a Keyblade," said Riku, "you have to be chosen to wield one."
"Who does the choosing?" Zoro asked as he examined his 'borrowed' cutlasses. Both blades liberated from The Heartless were severely chipped and cracked, effectively ending their uses as weapons. He tossed them aside, "I have got to get some proper swords."
"I'm sure there's a blacksmith in town," said Kairi, "once things settle down here, you might just find what you're looking for."
"We went to the blacksmith as soon as we got here," said Zoro as he used his white sword, now in his right hand, with a sanitized handle, to duel and destroy a pair of Pirate-types. "What I wanted wasn't there," He picked up their dropped cutlasses, but then tossed them away. "And these things don't have what I need either."
Just then another Zip Slasher appeared behind them.
"Oh no you don't!" said Luffy. He stretched both arms out, twisting them around each other like a double coil. His hands then grabbed the Zip Slasher. "You're all mine!"
Luffy then turned around and lifted his extended arms over his shoulder, bringing the captured Heartless them, "Gum-Gum Mallet!" and sent the Zip Slasher crashing into the ground, destroying it.
"Are there any more of those things!" a now shaking Usopp asked.
The only sounds Sora and the others could hear were the cries of the wounded and frightened running of people trying to help those in need.
"It's over," said Riku, "for now."
"But now comes the hard part," said Kairi, "the aftermath." She ran towards the nearest wounded, using her Healing magic to help, while Sora and Donald also cast Healing spells. Riku, Aiden and Goofy helped rescue those trapped in collapsed buildings.
Sora then noticed Luffy and his friends helping those in need as well, though there was little the ragtag pirates could do for the injured.
"We're definitely going to need a doctor for the crew," said Zoro, "we won't last ten days in The Grand Line without one."
"So you guys really going to The Grand Line," said Sora as he Healed an injured man, then moved onto the next patient.
"That's where One Piece is," said Usopp, "Luffy is hell-bent on finding it, and where he goes, I'm going."
"And on the way," said Nami, "we're going to make our dreams come true."
"But first thing's first," said Luffy, "we're gonna find whoever's responsible for this," he indicated the destroyed buildings of the village, as well as all the wounded and traumatized people.
"You're talking about locating the source of the Heartless in this world," said Riku, "as well as defeating whomever or whatever is controlling them."
"Wait a second," said Sanji, "Luffy, you want to fight more of those things? Those Heartless?"
"Are you out of your freaking mind!" exclaimed Usopp, "they'll kill us!"
"They're not so tough," said Luffy, "and someone has to pay. It ain't right for innocent people to suffer like this."
"What kind of pirate cares about innocent people?" Sora asked. Sure enough, Luffy wasn't anything like Hook, Barbossa, or Jack Sparrow, well, maybe a little like Jack, but not too much.
"I'm a pirate who knows what's right and what's wrong," said Luffy. He pointed to all the havoc caused in the recent Heartless attack, "this is wrong."
"It is wrong," said Zoro, "I don't know much about these Heartless, but I know enough to say that they are evil. If they can do this to just one village, then who knows what they can do to the rest of the world? Someone has to stop them."
"I agree that they have to be stopped," said Nami, "but is it really our fight? We fought them today because we were here. We could get into more trouble than it's worth."
"You're just saying that because there won't be any treasure for you to steal," said an annoyed Zoro.
"What can I say?" Nami asked, "Old habits die hard."
"Well if it's treasure you're after," said Sora, "Heartless drop all sorts of valuable items. The right buyer would pay a lot for this stuff."
"I'm going!" Nami said eagerly.
"I'll follow you anywhere, my darling Nami!" said Zanji as his eyes became like hearts again, earning him another smack from Nami.
"Well if they're going," said Zoro, "and if Luffy is going, then I'm going to. Someone has to be there to make sure he doesn't get himself killed."
"Not gonna happen," said Luffy, "I'll smash them all."
"Save some for me!" said Usopp in a bold tone, "I'll murder the lot of them!" but to Sora's eyes, Usopp's knees were banging against each other.
"You don't have to come," said Kairi, "if you're scared."
"What? Me, scared!" exclaimed Usopp, "I've slayed hundreds of monsters and thousands, millions of evil men! I've sunk tens of thousands of pirate ships and liberated countless captive innocence people! And all with one hand tied behind my back!"
"Then how could you use a slingshot?" Aiden asked.
"I aim and shoot with my teeth!" said Usopp.
"Yeah right," said an unconvinced Aiden, "hey, wait a second! Bullets don't work on Heartless, so how come you took out one with a slingshot?"
"That's a good question," said Riku.
"I think I may know the answer," said Kairi, "Usopp, while clearly a liar, is someone who puts his heart into his marksmanship, where as bullets for guns for the average soldier are mass produced by machines. I think when you put your heart into a weapon, one that you care a lot about, it makes it part of yourself, and therefore effective against The Heartless."
"That makes sense, I guess," said Nami.
"So what now?" Sanji asked as he pulled out from his pocket a lighter. He then lit his cigarette.
Aiden then made a disgusted face, "do you have to do that in front of me? Suck on that death stick? Those things are gonna kill you, you know!"
"I only have one or two a day," said Sanji as he took a drag then blew out a short puff of smoke, "I've never had more than that, and always outside. I learned early that ashes in the kitchen can lead to an unsatisfied customer."
"Well I'd be most appreciative if you didn't do that now," said an annoyed Aiden, "so, do you mind putting out that coffin nail?"
"Alright already," said Sanji as he flicked away the burning part of his cigarette and put it away once it had stopped smoldering, "what is your problem?"
"I don't like those things," said Aiden in a much calmer tone now that the cigarette was out of sight, "I just don't."
"What is Aiden's problem?" Kairi whispered to Sora and Riku, "he's never acted like this."
"Not that we know of," said Riku, "I have a feeling that there's far more to The Keyblade Alchemist than we've seen."
"I think you're right," said Sora. He then spoke so that everyone can hear him, "I think we should just focus on finding the source of The Heartless and saving this world."
"You're right," said Luffy, "then we can all go back to making our dreams come true," he held out his hand, "friends?"
"Friends," said Sora as he shook Luffy's hand.
"This is the start of a bountiful friendship," said Goofy.
"That's 'beautiful' ya big palooka!" said Donald.
To Be Continued...
Sora: Here we go again, off on another whirlwind adventure
Riku: But this time it's on the high seas
Kairi: Glad I took all those swimming lessons
Nami: You're gonna need them, especially if Luffy falls into the water
Aiden: What are you talking about?
Zoro: He can't swim
Donald: What kind of pirate can't swim?
Sanji: An extraordinary one
Usopp: Who are those creepy guys?
Sora: I'll be they're the ones controlling The Heartless in this world
Luffy: Well they'd better look out! 'Cause I'm coming for them!
Aiden: Heaven help us all
Luffy: Next chapter, 'Setting Sail Aboard The Going Merry.' I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!