Hello everyone! Thank you for clicking on this story and checking it out! If you haven't already figured, this is a One Piece OC fanfiction! I've been planning to write this story for ages and I finally got around to it and honestly, I'm having so much fun writing it!
There will a bit more of an author's not at the end of the chapter, but for now, I hope you enjoy the beginning of this story!
The Misadventures of Nora
Chapter 1
Dying Is Not Fun
You know those scenes that you always see in the movies, the ones where the main character has been having an awful day and they say 'at least it can't get any worse' only for it to get worse immediately after? Well that was exactly how Nora's day had gone. Except it didn't just start raining on her or anything, no that was far to cliche for her. Instead, she had ended up dying.
Yes. Dying. Now you may be wondering how? Well to understand that, we'd have to go back to the start of the day. Before the whole dying thing had happened.
It had been just like any typical day for her. She had woken up and done her normal morning routine; showering, getting dressed, makeup, hair and basically everything you would expect an eighteen year old university student to do before class. It truly had started out as a normal day. It was when she had walked into her classroom that her day had started to take a turn for a worse.
Someone had taken her seat.
Now to some, that may not sound like a major incident, but to anyone who had been in the schooling, they would know. Once you'd sat in a seat for more than a week it was yours. Perhaps if it she had only been sitting in that seat for two weeks at most, she would have been able to understand. But no, she had been sitting in that seat for almost a whole year. Yes a year. Someone had taken decided to take her seat when the year was almost over.
Nora was not impressed.
In an attempt to avoid any conflict, she had begrudgingly made her way over to a new seat. Next week she'd just have to get there a bit earlier and reclaim the seat. One lesson wouldn't be so bad is what she had thought but of course in true protagonist style, it had been. The girl she had sat next to would not shut up. Getting a degree in Crime Scene Investigations was hard enough without some girl yapping in her ear about her breaking up with her boyfriend.
Once the class had finally ended, she decided that she didn't hate the guy who stole her seat as much as she did when she had first seen him. She understood now.
After that, her day had actually been going pretty well that is, until lunch happened. Now normally, lunch was Nora's favourite part of the day. It was a brief moment of peace where she could enjoy some food, relax and just forget about her life's stress. She had expected her lunch that day to be just like the other days. Only it didn't. And no, she didn't do the cliche walk into the 'popular girl' and get covered in food thing.
Instead, she had punched a teacher.
Perhaps in any other situation that sentence may have made her sound like a violent 'I don't care' sort of person, but that wasn't the case. She actually did care. What had happened was that she had accidently punched her teacher. In the face. While screeching. Now how did this occur? How did she manage to accidentally punch a teacher in the face while screaming?
Well it was actually quite simple. She had been sitting at a table, earphones drowning out the world as she enjoyed her pasta when she had felt an unnaturally cold hand touch her. So, like any normal person would, she let out a screech and swung her arm backwards. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been the most normal thing to do but she had stayed up until 3 AM the night before watching creepy videos on YouTube.
She wasn't going to take any chances.
The incident had been embarrassing to say the least and while her teacher had been understanding of the fact that it was an accident, he definitely hadn't been happy. After that event, she had come to terms with the fact that she was having a bad day. She had spent the rest of her day on campus moping around and doing her best to tune out the rumours of a girl supposedly punching a teacher. When her last lecture of the day had finally ended, she had all but sprinted off of the campus. She'd only been having a bad day since she had arrived on campus so she had assumed once she left, things would begin to pick up.
Unfortunately it didn't.
Not wanting to head home, as usual, Nora had decided to go for a wander around the nearby park and try to write for a while. It was a lovely place full of beautiful flowers and birds chirping and was truly one of the only places she hadn't come to hate in the city she had spent her life in. Once she had reached the park she wondered around for a while, admiring the beauty of it all, before stopping in her favourite part.
It was a small lake, maybe even small enough to be considered a pond, surrounded by trees and wild flowers. The area felt so secluded that when sitting there and writing, she almost felt like she had gone to another world and left the dreadful city behind. She always found herself coming back to that spot. Whether it was to think, write, read or even just sit and stare at the beautiful surroundings, she found herself constantly stopping by.
Deciding against plugging in her earphones, the day's earlier events still haunting her, Nora sat down, leaning against a tree trunk before taking out her journal and pen. She began to write about her day in the journal, including everything from waking up in the morning to finding herself in front of the lake once again. Writing in a journal, recording all the bits of her a day, was a habit that she had picked up when she was younger after having to watch her grandmother suffer through dementia.
The thought of one day forgetting everything terrified her. Whether it was good or bad memories, she wanted to keep them all. They were a part of who she was. In fear of this, she had turned to journal writing which had then led to her growing a passion for all sorts of writing.
After discovering her passion for writing, her dream soon followed. She hoped to someday write a great adventure story. Perhaps something like Lord of the Rings or Percy Jackson & the Olympians or maybe even something like One Piece. Whether it was fiction or nonfiction, she didn't care. She just hoped that one day she would be able to write a story that she was truly proud of.
When she had taken a break from her writing and looked up, she realised that it was beginning to get late. It was finally time for her to return home.
Packing up her belongings and placing them into her bag, Nora left the park and prepared herself to return to the hell that she called home. She took her usual route back home, the one that took the longest, and weaved through the busy streets. Realising that it was getting darker, she picked up her speed in order to avoid the lecture that she just knew would be waiting for her.
It was when she was less than two blocks away from her home that it had happened.
She had been crossing the road when she had heard a deafening screech of tires and honking horns coming from around the corner. Having lived in the city long enough to realise that it was probably a drunk driver, Nora quickly ran to the other side of the road, not wanting to be anywhere near the car that was getting closer by the second. She had managed to make it to the other side before the car had coming swerving around the corner, only that hadn't been enough to get her out of the definitely drunk drivers way. The car had veered off of the road and onto to sidewalk, heading straight for her.
Before she had the chance to dive out of the way, the car had collided with her and everything had gone black just as the searing pain had travelled through her body.
And that was how she had died.
Her one wish was that she passed out before the pain had hit her because it had hurt. She doubted she'd ever feel something as painful as that again. If she had somehow managed to survive that, it would leave a nasty scar. Speaking of which, would that scar be on her body in heaven or perhaps her next life? Were those even a real thing or would she just cease to exist?
At least her outfit has been cute is she ended up being stuck in that for the rest of her afterlife. Although perhaps not practical if she ended up in the fiery depths of hell… Then again, she'd be hot even if she wasn't wearing a jacket.
It was then that her eyes began to flutter open, confusing her. Had she not died? Or was reincarnation actually a thing? She hadn't experienced the sensation of giving birth, something she was eternally thankful for, and she hadn't floated around in darkness with a mysterious voice talking to her either. It had just felt like she had passed out or something. So she really hadn't died?
Those thoughts flew out the window when she noticed she was on a beach. She could feel the warm sand against her palms and make out the soft crashing of waves. Either someone had been playing a prank on her or she was going to spend eternity on a beach. Sure that didn't sound to bad in theory but an eternity of having sand in your pants was not the sort of life (or was it afterlife?) that Nora wanted to live. She really hoped this was just her mind being drugged up with painkillers. She always had been more of an indoors sort of person.
As she there on the warm sand, she decided that whether or not she was dead or majorly drugged up, she might as well go and take a look around. Laying around wasn't going to answer any of her questions and it certainly wouldn't achieve anything. Hopefully it wasn't just a beach. Maybe they'd have some creepy sort of ghost town. If she was drugged up, that was probably something she'd manage to come up with. Maybe she'd be lucky and the ghost town would have some food…
Getting up off of the sand she turned around only to see a town almost directly in front of her. Not only was there a town, but there was people as well! Maybe she really was still alive!
The fact that the town looked vaguely familiar also helped to reignite her faith of being alive. Perhaps she had been taken to some sort of retreat in an attempt to help her recover from the awful injuries she was certain she would have received from getting hit by that car. The town in question was located on, from what she could see, a round island and on that island was dirt roads and two story buildings everywhere. From her spot on the beach, she could just make out the bustling movements of people as they went about their daily lives. The most eye catching part of the town had to be the giant building in the centre labeled 'Marine.' It stood taller than any other building and she almost felt as if the building was glaring down at her, just waiting for her to make a mistake.
Wait! What? Nora froze up, her eyes bugging out as she realised just why this town looked so familiar. Marines?!
This town, it was from One Piece! This was the island where Luffy and Zoro first met!
This realisation made Nora's brain run on overdrive, trying to explain how and why she was here. There was no way that she had somehow died and 'magically' ended up in One Piece. Her life wasn't a fanfiction. This just could not be possible. She was definitely having some sort of drug induced dream right now. But then again, everything seem so detailed… She had never been one to lucid dream before so the fact that she was controlling her movements made her feel as though it wasn't a dream, that this was real.
But if it wasn't a dream, how could she explain ending up in an alternative universe? That sort of thing didn't just happen!
With all these thoughts and theories still racing through her head, she stopped staring at the Marine base with that dumb look on her face and slapped her cheeks with her hands. She needed to get herself together. Having a mental breakdown on the beach wasn't going to solve anything, she decided. With a self assured nod to herself, she began the short walk towards the town. Standing around on the beach wouldn't get her any answers. She'd need to go into the town and figure out what the hell was going on. As she walked down the dirt roads, a stroke of determination running through her blood, she saw a dock. She couldn't help but get her hopes up as she walked past it, noting the small rowboat that had been secured by ropes.
Could it be that she had managed to end up on the island at the same time as Luffy, Coby and Zoro? If this all was real, being able to just see them would surely be a sight to see. But then again, it was a dock, she really shouldn't get her hopes up. Of course there would be boats docked there.
As she made her way further into the town, she began to see more and more people and she began to feel more and more out of place. Looking around the streets, she couldn't help but feel her outfit was a bit out of place. Skinny jeans and cargo jackets really didn't fit the theme that the island had going but she supposed she'd stand out more if she decided to go around in her birthday suit. Just seeing the people of the town, moving around and going about their daily lives, everything about the town began to seem so real.
While observing the people around her, Nora realised that perhaps she wasn't reacting to this situation in the most normal way. Truthfully, she should be hoping that she hadn't died and this was all a dream, but she wasn't. She knew better. She had felt that car hit her and she knew there was no way she could of survived that. The sharp sting of pain that had rattled through her whole body when she bad hit was enough proof of that. She would have been able to figure that out even without nearly two years spent working towards getting her Crime Scene Investigations degree. You didn't need to have studied the aftermath, to have been to the sight, of drunk driving crashes to know that a head on collision at that speed would have killed her. The human body was capable of surviving a lot of things but unfortunately, in her case, she didn't believe it would be able to survive that accident.
She did, however, have to admit that the whole One Piece world thing was a bit odd. Maybe she'd end up figuring that out on a later date. Maybe she had just somehow ended up in the right place at the right time. Even if the chances were one in a million, she just may have ended up being that one. Too lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the approaching person until it was too late and they had bumped into each other.
"Ah!' The person said, letting out a yelp. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine. I should've been paying attention!" Nora replied, frantically waving her arms in apology as she quickly turned around to face the boy. When she was facing him, she felt her eyes grow wide in pure shock.
There, standing directly in front of her was Coby and Luffy. Yes, the Coby that would one day go onto to be a strong and kind Marines and Luffy, the man would one day become the Pirate King. They were actually there, right in front of her. She had somehow managed to end up on the island, at the same time as them and as if that wasn't enough, she had managed to bump into them.
"Hey!" Luffy suddenly asked, snapping her out of her shock, his signature grin spreading widely across his face. "Can you lead us to the marine base?"
"...The marine base?" She finally managed to speak after a few moments of silence, her mind practically going haywire because there was no way this was possible!
"The streets are way too confusing here and I really want to go see Pirate Hunter Zoro!" He explained, looking around the winding streets with deflating shoulders. "We keep getting lost."
"I actually only just got here today. Sorry..." She finally replied after she discovered that blinking repeatedly didn't make the duo vanish from her sights. She had been going to leave it at that but something had urged her to continue, to go along with them for a bit longer, just to see if all of this really was real. "But this Pirate Hunter sounds kinda interesting, mind if I tag along?"
"He does doesn't he!" Luffy said, nodding so enthusiastically that his hat almost fell off. "If he's a good guy, I'm gonna have him join my crew!"
"He's not a good guy!" Coby said as he all but shook in fear, causing her to smile slightly. "He's a monster!"
"A pirate hunter who's a monster?" She said with a laugh, shaking her head slightly. As she ran slightly to keep up with the pair, she turned to look at Luffy, doing her best not to freak out like the hardcore One Piece fan that she truly was. "You said crew. Are you a pirate?"
"Yeah!" Luffy said as he nodded his head excitedly, the straw hat almost falling off. "One day I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
The people around them on the streets flinched at the boys loud remark and jumped away from the trio, the notion of pirates scaring them. Nora on the other hand had a completely different reaction to his statement. She almost felt as if she had just been blown away. Reading it was one things, hearing it while watching the anime was another but actually being there, in person was a whole other story. She could practically see the adventures he would soon go on flashing through his mind. It would truly be a true adventure, one that deep down, just like any person who had grown up being a fan of One Piece, she wished she could be a part of. To sail the seas as a fearless outlaw all while writing the adventure book of her dreams. It sounded surreal.
But she knew that that wouldn't happen. She wasn't naive. She simply wouldn't even have the option to join. She didn't have any of the skills Luffy needed and even if she had, there was already people waiting to take those spots. And on top of all of that, there was the fact that she really didn't have any experience in combat or self defence: she'd end up dying before they even made it to the Grand Line!
"The Pirate King, huh?" She mused aloud, shaking away her thoughts. "That will take you on one hell of an adventure."
"How can you be so calm after hearing that?" Coby all but screeched as he turned to point an accusing finger at her, his eyes bugging out in shock.
"Well if he says he's going to he will." Nora replied, turning to the short boy, scratching at the side of her head with a smile. To keep the conversation going with the two that she could only ever dream of meeting, she brought up a topic she knew they would understand. "I want to write the most amazing story one day. It's always been a silly dream of mine"
"A story?" Luffy asked, his eyes suddenly growing wide with childlike wonder. "Join my crew!"
"...Huh?" She replied her face falling slack as her brain seemingly stopped functioning. When she took in what he had said, she all but yelled out her response. "I can't be a pirate! I'm nowhere near strong enough for that. I don't want to go to sea and die!"
"But you said become the Pirate King would be an adventure." Luffy whined, looking at her with the promise of adventure shining in his eyes. "And besides, I'm strong enough to protect my crew."
As she looked and him and thought about it, the adventures and the friends she would be able to make, she wanted to accept. To just forget about everything else, about not being strong enough or fitting into the crew, and just saying yes. To forget that she already knew the story, how things went and just pretend that maybe she was meant to sail with them. If she were to agree, she'd experience so many things, from the adventures she'd seen, but untold ones as well. It truly would be the adventure of a lifetime.
But she couldn't say yes.
"Sorry but I'm really not fit to be a pirate." She replied as she smiled at the pair. She knew it was the right choice. "I don't really have any skills that you'd need and I don't have any experience when it comes to sailing.'"
She had been preparing herself to have to turn him down a few more times before he accepted that she wouldn't join his crew but before this happened, Coby alerted them to their arrival at the marine base.
We've already made it there? She thought, glancing up with furrowed eyebrows. I could have sworn it would be further away…
Realising that Luffy had managed to distract her for the majority of the trek to the base, she stared up at the building, in both awe and excitement. The building was even more imposing up close, it's form casting an icy shadow over the town. Perhaps she would have been more intimidated and against going any closer but the fact that Zoro was just on the other side of this wall seemed to outweigh her instincts. She was going to witness the very first meeting between the captain of the soon to be infamous Straw Hats and his first mate. This was certainly going to be something she'd remember for the rest of her life (Or was it afterlife? She was yet to decide on that one).
"It looks so big up close!" Luffy exclaimed, voicing her earlier thoughts as they stood in front of the gates. "Go on in Coby!"
She felt a small smile come onto her face at the interaction. Seeing how kindhearted and caring Luffy was to others had always been one of her favourite things about the boy. She wished she had had someone like him in her life, someone who would stick by her no matter what happened. Perhaps that would have made things better.
"B-But I haven't mentally prepared myself yet…" Coby protested, his nerves being obvious by the look on his face. "And those people were scared when they heard the captain's na- Luffy! What're you doing?!"
"I'd assume he's looking for the so called beast." Nora said smiling gently as she glanced over at Coby. "I wonder if he's really on the other side…"
"Of course he won't be!" Coby replied to her with a shake of his head before turning to glance up at Luffy who had decided to head to the fence to try and look over it. "You won't find him just by peeking over the fence. He's probably deep within the bowels of the prison."
"Oh yeah?" Luffy said as he began to run to get a better look, having caught a breif glance of a figure on the other side. "Maybe it's Zoro!"
Not wanting to miss her chance to witness the scene in front of her, Nora ignored Coby's terrified exclamation and ran after Luffy, dragging the terrified boy behind her. The three of them perched over the top of the wall and stared into the courtyard below. Luffy was smiling like an idiot, Coby was shaking and doing his best to hide all while she looked on with an excited smile on her face. Then there was Roronoa Zoro, tied in the middle of the courtyard below, looking absolutely terrifying. Something she personally found to be quite remarkable considering the fact that it had been a long time since he'd eaten.
Suddenly, Coby's eyes widened and he fell from the wall, a look of absolute terror on his face. She couldn't really blame him. Zoro was regarded as a fearsome man in the East Blue and the intimidating aura surrounding him helped to prove why.
"You all good?" She asked, glancing down at the now pale boy, nodding happily when she noticed no broken bones. It had been quite the fall but of course, this was a manga so it made sense that he was fine.
While Coby began to freak out over the fact that it was really Zoro, Nora stared at the swordsman, bound to cross. It was really quite the site to be seen. He looked so threatening but then in reality he just wasn't. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't see him as terrifying. The comical scenes she had seen over the years playing through her head. As she thought about his horrible sense of direction, she couldn't help but let out a little laugh.
That was when all thoughts of him not being terrifying went out the window. The glare he sent in her direction sent shivers down her spine and she could say without a doubt that it was one of the scariest glares she had ever been on the receiving end of.
"So that's him. Hmm..." Luffy said, now looking back over at his future crew member. "I could just untie those ropes and set him free."
"You could. But if he's terrifying as they say he could probably do it on his own." Nora spoke from besides him. Shaking of the shivers from Zoro's glare, she continued. "Maybe he doesn't want to be freed."
"Doesn't want to be freed…?" Luffy mumbled quietly, tilting his head to the side in confusion, ignoring the terrified shouts of Coby.
"Hey kid. Come over here and untie me." The man himself finally spoke, looking up with a smirk on has face. "I've been here for nine days and I can't take it anymore."
"Hey!" Luffy said with a confused look coming onto his face. "He's smiling."
"He's really not looking to good." Nora said, staring at the blood that was dripping down his chin, wincing at the pain he would be feeling. "Not eating for that long should have killed him."
"H-He's talking to us!" Coby stuttered out, once again using the wall as a sort of shield. "I told you he was a beast! Only beasts can survive that long without eating!"
Well, she couldn't really disagree with that statement.
"I'll make it worth your while." Zoro said, beginning to bargain with them, making an offer to catch someone with a bounty on their head. Perhaps if Luffy had met Nami already, they would be taking him up on that offer.
"D-Don't do it Luffy!" Coby yelled at Luffy. "As soon as you untie him, he'll kill us and get away. I just know it."
"I don't think that's possible after not eating for nine days." She contemplated aloud. Despite him being strong, the effects that that would have on his body should make it impossible for him to even move properly. And then there was the matter of the blood dripping down his chin. "Especially if it looks like he's got internal bleeding."
Well that would be the case if he were a normal person. Nora thought with a small smile on her face, shaking off those thoughts. This world is completely different and none of the normal facts really apply.
"He won't kill us." Luffy spoke with a confident smile on his face. "He couldn't. I wouldn't let him."
It was then that the swordsman looked up with a glare even more terrifying than the one that she'd received minutes before. She felt another chill run down her spine at the terrifying look. He really wasn't a normal person… It was as she was fretting over how terrifyingly strong he really was that a ladder was placed along the wall besides her. Catching both Luffy and Coby's attention, they watched on in confusion at the sight of the young girl.
"Het! D-Don't go down there!" Coby managed to say, his face paling in fear. "It's dangerous!"
But of course, the girl, whose name Nora couldn't remember for the life of her, ignored his warning and hopped over the fence, heading towards the swordsman. She had to commend the girl for her bravery, when she was that age, there was no way she would have had the courage to approach someone so intimidating. Even now she was sitting back with shivers running down her spine everytime he so much as glared in her direction.
"What do you want?" Zoro questioned, confusion evident in his tone as he stared down at the girl who was now stood in front of him. "Get lost! Do you want to get killed?"
"I made these rice balls for you! I thought you might need some food!" The young girl said as she held them out with a smile, all while remarkably ignoring the harsh glare. "It's the first time I've ever made rice balls. I hope you like them!"
As she watched Zoro do his best to refuse them, she smiled slightly. Even though she saw him as quite the intimidating person, seeing him do so much to protect people he didn't even know made her happy. What didn't make her happy, however, was that the annoying, pre character development version of Helmeppo would be making an appearance soon.
"Roronoa Zoro!"
And there he was, looking like the smug, spoiled brat that he was.
"You shouldn't pick on little girls." Helmeppo spoke as he walked into the courtyard, two marines following behind him. "I'll tell my father on you."
Looks like we've got a Draco Malfoy on our hands. Nora thought with a small snort. Does that make Luffy the Harry Potter of this series?
"Who's that weirdo?" Luffy questioned, the three of them still watching on from their spot hanging over the wall. Truthfully, Nora's arms were beginning to get tired. She didn't have the strength to hold herself up for this long.
"He must be some high ranking naval officer." Coby said, letting out a breath of relief. "Now that little girl will be safe."
"Him? A high ranking naval officer?" She spoke with a scowl forming on her lips. "I doubt it. If anything she's in more danger."
"But he's a marine!" Coby said, looking at her with a frown of denial. "The marines are the good people."
She didn't have the heart to reply and crush his dreams of the marines being the true justice in this world so instead, she turned back to watch the events that were taking place in the courtyard below them.
"Well if it isn't the idiot son living off his daddy's wealth." Zoro said, sending another glare towards the blonde. Silently, she cheered him on for his statement because she couldn't agree more with him.
"Did you just call me an idiot?" Helmeppo said, glaring back at the swordsman. Nora had the urge to yell out a 'you bet he did!' but figured it would be best for her to stay quiet. "A man in your position should guard his tongue… or he could lose it!"
It was then that the frown on her face deepened. Helmeppo just snatched one of the rice balls from the little girl, showing just how cruel he was. As Nora glared daggers his way, he took a bite of it before spitting it out, a look of pure disgust on his face. As annoyed as she was at him, his face when he spat it out was absolutely hilarious. Seeing him suffer, even slightly, lifted her mood ever so slightly. It felt as if he was getting a small bit back of what he deserved for treating the townspeople so horribly. Her joy dissipated when he threw the other rice balls on the ground and began stomping on them though. She really did hate how Helmeppo was at this stage in the story. His character development just couldn't come soon enough.
"You were right… How evil." Coby said to her as he watched on his horror, the reality of the situation dawning on him. "That little girl worked really hard to make those rice balls!"
"Not everyone connected to the marines is a good person." She replied with a sad shake of her head as she thought of all the other horrible marines. "Being in a position of power can often lead to people abusing that power."
As they continued to watch on, Nora couldn't help but want to jump over and punch the idiot son, as Zoro had called him. She knew she couldn't though. There were things that needed to happen and if she were to interfere, it just wouldn't be right. There was a set storyline that needed to be followed and she couldn't allow herself to change any of that. Perhaps she was already interfering too much by just being here… She was brought out of her thoughts when Luffy fell from the wall as he caught the young girl.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Luffy climbing back over the the fence, no doubt to go and have a talk with his future first mate. Turning away from them, she made her way down to the ground and headed over towards Coby and the young girl.
"Are you okay?" Coby asked the girl as he checked her over for any injuries. "What a bad man…"
Joining him in checking over her for any obvious injuries, she scanned her body with a worried frown. Luffy was rubber so that would get rid of most of the impact but she had been thrown quite hard: there was still the chance that she may have been hurt. The marine who had grabbed her had had a tight grip on her as well… After checking her over she found nothing and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't a fan of young children getting hurt. She simply couldn't bear to see it.
"I can't see any injuries but tell me if it hurts anywhere." She said as she ruffled the girl's hair with a gentle smile. She then turned to look up behind her, just in time to see Luffy climbing over the fence. "Did you have a good chat?"
"He's a good guy." Luffy said with a nod as he adjusted his straw hat before sending a big smile at her. "The three of us are gonna make a great crew!"
"I told you I wasn't going to join your crew. I'm not suited to being a pirate." She replied with a shake of her, coming to realise that turning him down was going to be a lot more effort than she originally thought. "I don't think you even know my name. Or anything about me for that matter"
"I already know your dream! You just need to tell me your name." Luffy said with the grin still on his face. "Then you can join my crew!"
"Well then, I guess I just won't tell you my name." She replied, sticking her tongue out at the now protesting boy, a small laugh escaping past her lips. He really was such a kind person. "We should probably get out of here for now."
"That's a good idea." Coby agreed with a nod. "Let's leave before that guy comes back."
"Really?" The young girl whose name Nora had learned was Rika, exclaimed. They were currently sat outside, back on the streets, listening to Luffy's story of what had happened when he went and talked to Zoro.
"Yeah he ate it all up!" Luffy affirmed with an enthusiastic nod.
"I'm so glad!" Rika said with a grin rivalling Luffy's. Seeing her in high spirits despite the earlier events made Nora smile. She was a brave little girl.
"Could that guy really be as bad as everyone says?" Coby asked with a disbelieving look on his face. It seemed that he was beginning to understand that the ideas of justice he had been taught wasn't necessarily true. She was glad to see that he was learning.
"He seemed pretty nice if you ask me." She said with a small smile on her face. "Although that glare of his was absolutely terrifying…"
"He's not a bad guy!" Rika yelled out in protest. "Everybody in town is afraid of him but he hasn't done anything wrong!"
She then explained what had happened and how Zoro had ended up tied up in the courtyard as they listened along intently. She told them about Helmeppo's dogs that had been running around the town causing trouble for everyone and how he had saved her from them, once again, reigniting her spark of hatred for the corrupt system that many marines in power seemed to fall under. She couldn't stand the fact that an organisation that claimed to protect people allowed for so many corrupt things to happen: it just wasn't right. She hoped that one day, the marines would be run my marines with a true sense of justice: marines such as Coby or Smoker.
"That's why Zoro's in prison!" Luffy said as he suddenly stood up, the new information filling in the gaps of what he knew. "He hurt that guys dogs to protect you?"
"That makes sense." Coby said after Rika confirmed Luffy's statement, the realisation hitting him. "Zoro's really scary but he only goes after people with a price on their heads and he wouldn't get thrown into prison for that."
"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad ones!" The little girl said as sat back down on the steps. "They put people to death for no reason at all! Everyone's afraid of them!"
A truly corrupt system. Nora sighed, leaning back against the steps. I wonder if the revolutionaries will be able to solve it…
It was then that the previously mentioned son decided to make his appearance, once again using his father's name to get what he wanted. She hates it, she really did, The people along the streets were all bowing their heads, her mind showing flashes of the the that would play out on Sabaody, the scenes of those rats known as the Celestial Dragons. This did nothing to ease the dislike she felt towards the current Helmeppo. It was yet another reminder of how cruel the world could be, no matter which world she was.
"Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zoro? We're going to hold a public execution for him in three days!" Helmeppo spoke as he paraded past the bowing townspeople, that irritating air of smugness surrounding him. "We'll make an example of him! I can hardly wait!"
"Three days?" Luffy asked, stepping forward, as the townspeople all gasped. "But… you made a promise to him?"
"One that he had no intentions of keeping." Nora muttered, causing Rika and Coby to glance at her, concerned looks coming onto her faces. "If you ask me, this guy's the real monster on this island."
As she continued to watch, she began to think about what it was that happened next in an attempt to stop herself from recklessly interfering in her anger. While she was a huge fan of One Piece, it had been a long time since she'd read or seen the first few arcs. Thinking back as far as she could her eyes suddenly widened and a smirk spread across her lips. Things were about to get good and she had no doubt that what was going to happen would ease her anger. It was time for one of Luffy's famous punches. If only she had a camera with her to capture the moment…
Wait! Nora thought as she quickly grabbed her bag that had somehow managed to come with her, rummaging through it frantically. I had my polaroid with me…
She wasn't quite sure how it had managed to come with her when she'd died but she didn't take the time to question it. Everything about her being here didn't make sense so what was the point in fretting over a camera? If she was going to be living in the world of One Piece, she'd need to learn to accept things like this. With that in mind, she was able to get the instant camera out of her bag just in time. Positioning the camera, she watched in giddy excitement as Luffy stepped forward, a glare on his face. As he began to swing his arm backwards, she placed her finger on the button, readying herself to catch this glorious moment in a picture: a picture she would treasure forever. As Luffy's fist connected with his face, she pressed the button and all but prayed that she'd managed to get a good photo.
As Coby tried to calm down a furious Luffy and stop him from causing anymore trouble, Nora took the film into her hand and waited for it to develop. She would probably never see Luffy once he left the island with Zoro so she truly hoped that at the very least she had gotten a good photo. A little bit of proof that this had all been real. When it finally developed, a grin came onto her face. It was a perfect photo. She had managed to capture the exact moment that Luffy's fist collided with his face, the pain clear as day on Helmeppo's face. She'd be able to look at this whenever she was feeling down and her mood would instantly skyrocket.
"Coby, I've made my decision!" Luffy said as he gritted his teeth. "I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew!"
"Nice punch Luffy." She said with a laugh as Coby was still holding him back and Helmeppo was whining on the ground. The only responce she got was an almost exasperated look from Coby. "I even got a picture of it."
"I'm Captain Morgan's beloved son!" He yelled out before Luffy could reply to her. "I'm telling daddy on you!"
"Don't run crying to papa." Luffy said as he glared at him. "Face me like a man!"
Instead of facing Luffy like a man, Helmeppo was carried away by his two marin escorts and he shouted back taunts and insults, something that made her roll her eyes. He really was a pathetic little rat. The townspeople around them gasped in horror at the his words. She wasn't quite sure why though… He'd just called Luffy a booger-face. What was he, twelve? The gasps from the townspeople only increased when she lifted her fist and stuck up her middle finger to Helmeppo. Was it childish? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely. The look on his face had been so offended and horrified that Nora was now bent at the waist, giggles pushing through her lips as she tried to catch her breath.
"He's not worth hitting." Said a now calm Luffy as he patted down his straw hat, his mood having done a full flip now that Helmeppo was out of sight.
"You were great big brother!" Rika said with an excited grin. "I feel a lot better now!"
"Then I wished I'd given him a few more whacks for you." Luffy replied with a grin.
"Not to worry." Nora said, her voice still breathless from her laughter with the film in her hands. "I managed to get a picture of it."
"You can write and take photos?!" Luffy said in awe as he turned to her with that same grin on his face. "Just tell me your name and join my crew!"
"Not happening." She replied, once again sticking her tongue out at the pirate.
"Rika!" A voice yelled suddenly, one that she assumed belonged to Rika's mother. "Get over here!"
As the young girl walked over to her mother with a frown, the trio watched them. They had a short conversation which ended with Rika glancing back sadly at Luffy. No doubt the worried mother telling her daughter to come inside and away from any danger. This was confirmed as the small family entered their home. Nora waved along with Luffy while Coby was fretting in the back. Once the door closed, Coby finally snapped under the pressure of the situation and yelled out in terror.
"They won't let you get away with this!" He spoke, pointing an accusing finger towards Luffy. "And Captain Morgan has the whole navy behind him!"
"I don't know about the whole navy." Nora said as she thought of how unlikeable the marine was. "He doesn't seem to be very friendly…"
"Yeah whatever I need to talk to Zoro." Luffy said, brushing off Coby's worries and making his way back towards the marine base. He then suddenly stopped and turned to her. "I'm going to have both of you join my crew!"
"You still don't know my name though." She replied with a role of her eyes as she tucked the photo she had taken into the folds of her journal, another item that had thankfully survived the trip "It's a no."
Even as she said this, deep down, she still wished that it could have been a yes.
The three of them began their walk back towards the naval base, the real trouble waiting just around the corner. Nora would be lying if she said she wasn't excited to see Morgan be defeated yet as they walked, she wasn't really given much of a chance to bask in that excitement. That was because what should have been a rather short walk was dragged into a long walk. In reality, it hadn't taken that long but Luffy's constant nagging of her to join his crew and tell him her name made it feel like an eternity. She was beginning to regret using the 'not knowing my name' excuse for not joining his crew. She really should have been a bit more creative.
When they had finally made it, the constant questioning came to a stop as Luffy had once again jumped the fence and gone to speak with Zoro. Coby and Nora waited on the other side. Well for now at least. No matter how much she told herself to not get involved, she couldn't bring herself to sit still and just watch on.
"Coby." Nora said, some time since they'd seen Luffy run off into the base. "I'm going to go talk to Pirate Hunter Zoro."
"What?!" Coby all but screeched as she began to climb over the wall, attempting to hold her back. "You shouldn't do that!"
"I'm interested in talking to the guy who's probably going to be Luffy's first mate." She said as broke free of his grip and heaved herself up to sit on the wall. "I'll be quick."
Jumping down, she winced slightly at the pain that shot through ankles. She probably should have thought to be more gentle… The fact the she couldn't just effortlessly climb over a wall was even more proof as to to why she couldn't accept Luffy's offer. She just didn't have the strength for the life of a pirate. No matter how tempting it was. The thud of her rather ungraceful landing had alerted Zoro of her presence, making him glance up at her with one of his chill-inducing glares.
"You're with that kid aren't you?" He spoke as she made her way over to him. "If you're trying to convince me join then it won't work."
"Well actually I'm not with him." She replied, now standing directly in front of him, looking at his weakened form in concern. "I only met him today."
"Then why are you here?" He asked, now looking suspicious.
"To see what sort of person Luffy is going to have join his crew." She replied with a smile on her face. "He seems to think you're pretty interesting so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come and say hello!"
"I'm not becoming a damn pirate!" Zoro yelled out as he glared at her. She almost felt sympathetic for him, having found herself in a similar predicament. "Why does no one get that?!"
Before she had the chance to reply though, they heard a pained scream coming from the roof. If she remembered correctly, that was Morgan cutting one of his men for refusing to kill Rika. She would have assumed it to be Helmeppo complaining about Luffy but it sounded far too deep to be his scream. As she was staring up at the rood, she began to to see a statue rise. To think that government money was being used to fund the something as ridiculous as a giant statue of someone. She was glad that Luffy would soon break it.
"I get the feeling things are going to interesting soon." She said as she watched Luffy stretch his arm and haul himself to the roof, a grin spreading across her face. "Very interesting."
It was then that the statue she had seen rising only moment before was yanked back down by a certain pirate wearing a straw hat. While she couldn't see it break, she definitely knew from the echoing sound that could be heard across the courtyard. Picturing Morgan's reaction to this made her laugh slightly. She almost wished she'd managed to get a photo of that as well.
"What the hell what that?" Zoro asked, now alert as he looked for the source of the noise.
"That was your future captain."
Before Zoro had the chance to yell at her about how he wasn't going to be a pirate, Coby jumped over the wall and made his way over to them. An angry yet determined look on his face. It seemed that he'd finally managed to form his own sense of justice. She watched as he managed to muster all of his courage and stand directly in front of Zoro, making eye contact with the terribly intimidating man.
"That idiot went into the fortress." Zoro said to him was a blank stare, although she could see he was beginning to get irritated at all of the drama that was surrounding him.
"What?! Luffy went into the fortress?!" Coby yelled out at Zoro's statement, looking towards her for confirmation. When she nodded, he began to fret even more. "Why is he so reckless?"
"Yeah I've noticed. Who is he anyway? And who is she?" Zoro replied, sending a glare in her direction. Coby chose to ignore his questions and walked forward, beginning to untie the ropes, making Zoro frown. "Hey! Now you're being reckless. If you catch you freeing me they'll kill you!"
"They imprisoned you unfairly! I can't stand to see the navy act improperly." Coby replied through gritted teeth, still working at the ropes. Those words brought a smile to her face: he truly was a part of the new generation of marines that would hopefully set the world on a better course. "I'm going to become a proper sailor! Just like she's going to write the best adventure book and Luffy's going to become King of the Pirates!"
"Hey now. That's just a silly dream of mine." Nora spoke, letting out an embarrassed laugh, glancing downwards. "But you're right about yourself and Luffy."
"What? King of the Pirates?" Zoro said with a truly shocked look on his face. "Does he know what that means?"
"I was shocked when he first told me too." Coby replied as he let out a nervous laugh. "But he'll succeed or die trying! That's how he is."
"That's definitely true." She said with a nod, thinking of the adventures that Luffy and his crew would soon face.
It was then that the sound of a gun going off made her jump, the sound leaving behind ringing in her ears. Upon seeing Coby fall to the floor she quickly rushed over, worry filling her body. She knew he would be alright -he had to be alright- but she'd just seen him get shot! He was in pain, so it was only natural for a person to worry. From the corner of her eye she say Zoro glaring in the direction that the shot had been fired from.
"I've been shot!" Coby yelled out in pain with tears leaking from his eyes. "Blood! I'm bleeding!"
"Oi." Nora said in an attempt to get his attention, knowing that his movements wouldn't help the pain. "Calm down. You're gonna be fine."
"I'm gonna die!" Was his response, although he did stop wriggling around as much.
"Good. You're alive." Zoro said as he let out a breath of relief. "Now get out of here. They're on their way down."
"But I haven't untied you." Coby managed to get out through his pain as she helped him sit up slightly.
As the pair began to talk, Nora decided that she could at least stop Coby from bleeding so much. She'd need to apply pressure to the wound to do that. Grabbing a scarf from her bag, she got to work. She tied it tightly around his arm, doing her best to stop the bleeding and ignored his pained yelp: it would hurt more now but he'd be thankful for it in the long run. She propped him up into more of a sitting position as he told Zoro about how his execution was planned to happen in three days and that he wasn't going to be freed like he was originally promised.
"He saved my life! I won't ask you to become a pirate but…" Coby began, now supporting his own weight. "Luffy's really strong and so are you! On top of that, she has such a good understanding of this world! If you all team up… You can escape from here! Please help him!"
Before either her or Zoro was given a chance to respond, they were surrounded by marines pointing guns at them, something that made her very nervous. They had suddenly swarmed from all directions with their weapons pointed directly at them. She knew Coby and Zoro would be fine but what about her? She wasn't part of this story. If anything her death would be some good character development for the rest of them! She'd already died once, was she going to die again within a few hours?
"Surround the fortress! If that rascal in the straw hat escapes, you'll all be sorry!" Captain Morgan said, making his appearance in the courtyard, looking absolutely terrifying. "You four aren't simple outlaws are you? You're trying to other throw me!"
Why am I being included in this?!
"Roronoa Zoro! Peasants and pirates may tremble at your name but you're no match for the great one!" Morgan spoke as he scowled at them. "You may be a barracuda but I'm a great white shark! Take aim!"
She was going to die. In less than twenty-four hours, she was going to die for a second time.
Well there you have it! The very first chapter of this story! I originally was going to have basically the whole Shell Island arc as one chapter but it was getting too long so I decided to split it into two chapters instead.
There are a few things I want to address before going onto the next chapter of this story.
Number one is that everything may seem a bit quick but that's how I wanted it to be. I didn't want to write a story where the OC's whole life was revealed in the first chapter of the book. I personally don't enjoy books that drag on the first few chapters of the book.
The second thing relates to Nora's involvement so far. If it seems as if she is more of an observer at the moment, that's because for now, she is. I have done this purposely. I don't want to rush my character into suddenly being best friends with Luffy and joining without a second thought. She is a normal girl from our world so it wouldn't make sense for her to suddenly be this badass pirate.
And finally, there will be a link to my deviantart account that I have recently made! I'll be posting pictures of Nora soon so look out for that!
That all I have to say for now! Please follow/favourite/review! I'll see you all next time :)