Disclaimer; No I don't own anything.
This is a One Piece fanfic that may possibly turn into a yaoi fic.
Edit; 10/06/11
Chapter 1 (They Call Him Straw Hat Luffy)
On a remote island in the East Blue a ship was beached on shore next to a collection of flimsy cabins. The ship was a horrid, bright thing. It's hull had been painted a florescent pink with darker hearts evenly spaced across the top. The figurehead was a duck, obnoxiously sticking out of the front like a battering ram. It had three masts with square sails, also adorned with hearts, and a Jolly Roger flying from the top of the center mast. The flag was a typical Jolly Roger only with the skull turned on it's side, a heart creating an empty black space in the center of the skull.
"Miss Love Duck" belonged to the notorious "Iron Mace" Alvida. She was a beastly, broad-shouldered woman as wide as she was tall, dressed in a plaid shirt and short pants with a dark overcoat and a cowboy hat. Rumpled waves of black hair puffed out from the bottom of the hat clinging to her face. Her eyes were hard and small and too close together while her painted lips stretched too far to each side making her cheeks jut out. Gaudy rings were worn around every finger on both manly hands. Hands that always carried a spiked club almost as disturbing as it's owner.
Alvida stalked the decks of her immaculate ship under the cautious eyes of her crew. She daintily swiped a finger across the railing and the men tensed as she scrutinized the thick appendage.
"Why is there so much dust?" she said. Her voice carried like a death sentence over the frightened men. She glared from the corner of her eye at one in particular and he panicked.
"S-sorry about that Alvida-sama! I thought I'd already cleaned the whole deck! I-I'l clean it again, so please don't...!" the man begged.
"Don't do what?"
"Please don't hit me with your bludgeon! I don't want to dieeee!" His pleas ended when her club bashed into his face sending him sprawling onto the deck, his blood coloring the wood red.
"Coby! What's the most beautiful thing of all the seas?" she asked one of her crew. The boy was hunched over shivering and he turned to Alvida with wide terrified eyes. His face was rounded with baby fat and his body soft and short. He had limp, pink hair cut in a bowl shape and round glasses that nearly overtook his face. He was sweating and smiling up at the woman nervously.
"That'd be you, Alvida-sama! Eh hehehe." he said.
"That's right! And that's why I absolutely hate dirty things! So I don't want the slightest bit of dust on my ship! Do you hear me?" she said. "I only let you live this long because you know more about navigation than the others."
"Y-yes ma'am. Thank you very much." He was kneeling at her feet like a dog fearfully watching her as she loomed over him.
"But other than that you're totally useless! Now clean my shoes!" she said as she stomped on the cowering boy a few times.
He quickly pulled out a rag to do as ordered. "Y-yes right away ma'am!"
All around him men were cleaning the ship frantically under the beady eyes of their Captain. All except one.
"Ano, Alvida-sama. Someone still needs to inventory the storage shed." The young man who spoke was casually leaning against the deck railing. He was of an average height with a lean, whipcord body and long legs decked in loose pants tucked into short boots. His velvet skin was smoothed over an androgynous face with a straight nose. Heavy lidded eyes, a pale blue with a dark outer ring like an explosion of white lightning against a night sky, leisurely gazed at the woman. They were almost obscured by a soft fall of straight black hair that was mostly swept to one side. A lazy grin decorated his face. From beneath the collar of his dark green shirt peeked out a burst of pale skin that reached up to his left ear. The skin was stretched and delicate looking and stood out sharply against his tan. A scar. Around his waist was a black belt.
"M-manny!" Coby had never been happier to see someone in his life. Alvida on the other hand had turned sour eyes onto her new target.
"You do it you useless idiot!"
"Mah, mah. Alvida-sama. I don't know how. You usually have Coby-san do it." Manny said. He grinned apologetically. It wasn't a lie of course. Coby usually did inventory the supplies but that had only started when Manny came to be on Alvida's ship. Manny hadn't had the heart to ignore the abuse rained down on the pathetic boy's life as Alvida's navigator. It had been easy to trick Alvida into getting Coby to do inventory of their supplies every week. It kept him out of Alvida's way for hours. Manny would usually find little things like that that he could get Alvida to make Coby do that would send him away for a while.
That was the start of a tentative friendship, but even though he'd known the older boy for almost a year now, he barely knew him. Manny was a mystery that skillfully dodged and weaved away from questions he didn't want to answer. Coby could be easily nudged by the dark-haired man into hour long rambles before he'd even realize that he'd been manipulated and by then they were well away from the original topic. Then again Coby was easily manipulable.
"Fine!" Alvida yelled kicking Coby toward the ramp. "Go do inventory you wimp!"
"T-t-thanks, Manny!" he whispered as he darted past Manny to do as told, glancing back to see Alvida threatening Manny with the club.
"Ano, Alvida-sama."
"What!" She said pausing in her rant.
Manny held up his hands in placation before pointing to the pirate bleeding all over the deck.
"You know if he stays that way the blood will stain the wood and then you'll have to replace the whole deck." His plan worked when Alvida went into a rage against the rest of the crew for letting something like that happen to her precious ship.
"I will not tolerate ANYTHING dirty! The ship I sail in must be as pristine and beautiful as I am!"
A while later Manny was repairing one of the sails when he heard the shout from shore. The yell came from the general vicinity of the storage shed. He watched as Alvida stormed over to a shed. The storage shed.
"Mah." Manny mumbled.
He skillfully hopped down from the rigging to make sure she didn't do Coby too much damage.
"That's right! Just now Coby brought a strange guy!"
"What? Could it be someone who's trying to catch me and get a reward? Coby! That brat dares to betray me?" Alvida raged.
Manny grinned at the sight he came upon. The shed was only rubble now with three of Alvida's crew strewn around looking battered. Alvida herself seemed to be working herself up to another ridiculous idea.
"Could it be him? That famous..."
"Nonsense! I heard that he's still being held captive at the marine's prison!" The three men stood around speculating only adding fuel to Alvida's paranoia.
"If he's the real thing, he must have escaped by now. That notoriously evil Roronoa Zolo!" Alvida said.
Manny worried his bottom lip as he watched Alvida lead her crew into the forest to hunt down Coby and the mysterious man. He waited a moment before running off toward Coby's hiding place. The boy had told Manny his plan to build a boat and escape from Alvida when he could muster up the guts to. He was close to the location when he heard a voice yell.
"Are you telling me that you're looking for the 'World's Greatest Treasure'" Coby's voice pierced through the trees. "THE ONE PIECE! You wanna die or something? All the pirates in the world are looking for that treasure!" He sweat dropped before speeding up. Coby was practically broadcasting his location to the whole island with his yelling.
He arrived just in time to see a black haired boy in a straw hat hit Coby on the head. The two younger boys turned to stare at him as he emerged from the foliage his lips stretched into a lazy grin but his body loose and his hands ready at his sides.
"Mah, Straw Hat-san." he drawled coming closer, "Why are you hitting Coby-san?"
The black haired boy shoved his fist out in front of him giving Coby mild glare. "Because I can't stand him!" he said with a resounding but childish sense of finality. The boy was about as intimidating as a ruffled was about Manny's height with scruffy, short, black hair and brown eyes. He wore a red vest and blue shorts with sandals. A straw hat sat perched on his head with a red band around the base. It was slightly worn and old but very well cared for.
A bump formed on Coby's head from where the other boy had hit him but Coby just sat back up and mumbled that he was used to it.
"I'm not afraid of dying!" The other boy suddenly said grabbing hold of his straw hat. Manny and Coby both gave the boy confused looks at the odd statement until he continued. "And that's why I won't mind dying for it."
'Such conviction...' Manny thought eyeing the other boy in a new light as he gazed at his hat with determination. image of a giant grey-haired man with terrible burn scars over his arms came to Manny's mind but he squashed the feelings that rose with it. His mouth went dry and his throat constricted anyway.
"Besides, I think I can do it. Although it could get pretty tough." he continued, casually placing his hat back on his head. Manny looked over to Coby to find tears in the smaller boy's eyes.
'I've never thought of that...' Coby thought.
"...Will I also... be able to accomplish my dream...! If... I'm willing to die..."
Coby's voice was shaky and cracked but it looked like a revelation had spread fire through the boy's veins. Manny could tell Coby had finally figured it out. What Straw Hat-san had probably known before he even began his journey.
"Will I be able to become a Marine?" Coby finished gazing with hope up at the other boy.
"A Marine?" Luffy said.
"Luffy-san, I know it means that we'll be enemies! But joining the marines and catching bad guys... HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY DREAM!" Coby had stood up now his fists clenched. His eyebrows were drawn together and his eyes fierce as he shared his dream with this boy he barely knew.
Manny watched as the scared and timid boy he'd known on Alvida's ship fanned the spark of hope he'd been given by a boy in a straw hat and tried to gather his courage and conviction.
"I have to at least try! I'd rather die trying to get out of here and join the marines, than stay here and be caretaker my entire life! And then Alvida-sama... I'll be able to arrest someone like Alvida!" Manny felt a tingling along his spine and he tensed.
"Who did you say you're going to arrest, Coby?" Alvida burst from the trees and smashed Coby's rickety boat with her mace. Coby screamed. The straw hat boy didn't even flinch.
She yelled looming menacingly over the tiny kid. Manny slid his right leg back in case he needed to interfere. He'd held back before because he'd been able to divert Alvida's attention elsewhere in the past but he could tell this time would be different.
"Do think you can escape from me!" she asked as her crew gathered behind her before turning her attention to the other boy. "Is that who you hired to capture me? He doesn't seem to be Roronoa Zolo. And you've betrayed me too Manny. Anyway, before you die, I'm gonna ask you... What's the most beautiful thing in the sea, Coby?" The black-haired boy gave Alvida a blank look before turning to Coby and Manny pointing his finger at the woman.
"Who's this fat, old hag?" Jaws dropped and eyes bulged as everyone starred at the black haired boy in shock. It only took a moment before Manny doubled over and burst into gut-wrenching laughter bringing attention to himself.
"That kid...!"
"He dares to...!"
The crew began sweating bullets as Alvida's jaw snapped shut and her face turned a blistering red.. Coby jumped at the black-haired boy and grabbed his shoulders eyes wide and body sweating.
"Luffy-san! Quick, repeat after me! In all the seas, this lady is the most..." Coby began before a strange look overtook him and he remembered Luffy's words. "The...THE UGLIEST DAMNED BITCH!" Manny almost chocked on his own spit at the words coming from the usually timid boy. It seemed the black haired boy had an even bigger impact on his little friend than he had thought. The boy in question just gave him a huge grin and shoved Coby behind him.
"Well said, Coby! Now get behind me!"
"Lu..Luffy-san!"
"Both of you..." Alvida brought her mace back gritting her teeth, her fury at the insolent and unrepentant boy building, before bringing it down onto the boy's head. "HAVE TO DIE!"
Manny stared wide-eyed as the kid just grinned up at Alvida, taking the weight of the mace as though she'd swung a pillow down onto his head and not the iron mace that had crushed many men.
"It's useless against me because my body is rubber. Heh." he said. He watched as Alvida's eyes bulged, her pupils tiny pin pricks as horror made her sweat.
"Im..that's impossible! My mace!" she cried.
"No way!" Her crew shouted in a similar state of mind. The boy stretched his arm out behind him as far as his rubbery body would let him and slammed his fist into Alvida's face.
"Rubber Pistol!"
Alvida fell back unconscious while her crew cried out around her.
"His arm... his arm extended!"
"Captain! Alvida-sama was beaten! By that monster!"
The boy turned his formidable glare onto the crew. The ruffled monkey Manny had thought of before had turned into an angry gorilla.
"Give Coby a dinghy! He wants to join the marines! So stay outta his way!" he said. Manny watched on, his lips twisting into a grin as the crew rushed to fulfill the boy's demand.
"Luffy-san..." Coby said. His face was a picture of awe and tears streamed down his face. He was finally free.
When it was time to sail off, Manny walked Coby to the dinghy the crew had provided for him. It was a small single-masted boat that wouldn't really take the two very far but Manny supposed just getting off this island would be a blessing for Coby. He watched as the two prepared to set off, both with mile wide grins taking up residence on their faces.
"What are you gonna do now, Manny?" The pink haired boy questioned. He was genuinely curious where his first friend would go since he could no longer sail with Alvida. Manny gave him a lazy grin and leaned back, his thumbs hooked into his belt.
"Dunno. Guess I'll have to find another crew to take me where I wanna go... I wish you luck in the Marines though, Coby. Your dream is within your grasp, you just have to reach out, take hold and never let go. No matter how bumpy the ride gets, ya hear?" Manny said. Coby began sniffling again at his friends encouraging words. He wished he didn't have to say goodbye.
"Oi, come with us."
Manny and Coby turned in surprise, looking at the boy in the straw hat with wide eyes. Manny hadn't thought he'd been listening the way he'd been bouncing around the little dingy throughout the exchange, like an overly excited puppy, but the boy just gave him a goofy grin as he held out his hand to Manny.
"I like you! So come with us." He said as though it was as simple as taking his hand and getting onto the boat.
After a moment, Manny gave a chuckle before grasping the hand. He supposed it really was that easy. Besides, he was back to square one anyway so he might as well see where the carefree boy took him.
"Manny Isley, at your service."
"Monkey D. Luffy!" The boy said with a grin. "I'm gonna be the King of Pirates!"
A while after they set off onto the bright blue sea the silence was broken by Manny.
"Ano, you ate the Gomu Gomu fruit, Luffy-san?"
Luffy just grinned at him. He was perched atop the curved and extended bow of the boat his legs crossed. For a person who'd eaten one of the devil's fruit, one would think he would avoid putting himself in such a precarious position but he didn't even appear to care for the deep, deadly sea waiting to swallow him whole just beneath him. Manny wondered if it was stupidity or confidence that gave Luffy so little concern for his own safety.
"That's amazing!" Coby said. "But... Luffy-san, If you're looking for "One Piece"...um... That means you have to enter the "Grand Line," right..?" He was sitting timidly on the bench with his back hunched over and his hands clasped on his knees. Tense and jittery like that, he looked ready to bolt at any second.
"Yep!" Manny grinned at the simple answer.
"That place is known as the pirates' graveyard." Manny said lounging behind Coby, near the mast.
"Yea," Luffy began, glancing over his shoulder at Manny. "That's why I need a strong crew. And one of them is being held captive at the place you're going."
Coby looked confused for a moment. "You mean...Roronoa Zolo?"
"If he's a good guy, I'll let him join my crew!"
"Whaaat? You're dreaming again!" Coby yelled trying to dissuade Luffy. "You can't! He's like a demonic beast!"
"A demonic beast, huh?"
"Isn't he a 'pirate' hunter?" Manny asked. "I don't think he'd turn sides so easily."
"He's a scary person, Luffy-san!"
"We can't be sure about that yet." Luffy said calmly turning back to the sea.
"It'll never work! Rumor says he's like a blood thirsty hound. He wanders the sea and hunts down fugitives! He's a monster in the form of a man." Coby said. The description sounded more like a horror story churned from an exuberant rumor mill than actual fact. The man was probably only about half as frightening.
"Oh yea?"
"So let's drop the idea of recruiting him!" Coby said hysterically waving his hands about.
"I haven't decided whether I'll invite him to join my crew or not. If he's a good guy, then I'll-"
"He's in prison because he's BAD!" Coby interrupted.
I'm editing this story because I didn't like the way it turned out. The others will be revised too and new chapters added but I don't know how long it'll take. I'm a full time college student and a almost full time worker so I don't have as much time as I'd like to write. Sorry!
I like criticism! Please review!