Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters. But Ivy is mine. You know, the person going "I, I, me".
-.- ^-^ -.-
Chapter One
Sabaody Archipelago is huge. It'd be nice if it shrank down a little- a good sense of direction is something I don't believe I've ever heard of. A good sense for getting lost, yes.
Which grove am I even in?
I poke my head around trees until I spy the number 18 posted on one of the trees.
Crap, isn't 1-27 the supposed "lawless" zone? Or was it 29?
Well, it's not like it matters. The person I'm looking for probably isn't going to be here, and I don't plan on being captured and sold off as a slave- after the little skirmish that left a gash in my left arm, I've been staying well out of sight. I don't have any bandages left to stop the bleeding.
As I wander off, looking for the bright yellow submarine that's probably going to be very difficult to get on, especially if he doesn't remember me, I think about why I'm here. A nine-year old promise. For me, it means almost the world. He may not even remember it.
Eh whatever. I guess I should just be thankful that I made it here at the same time as the Heart Pirates, and that they're famous enough that talk going around town tells me that they're here. I know he's a part of them. There's actually a lot of powerful pirates around right now. Eleven.
I continue walking. I should probably get out of the lawless area, I don't think the ship will be here, and I don't plan on meeting the crew face-to-face just yet and asking to join. As a short girl, I don't come off as much (I've learned that the hard way trying to board merchant ships to even get this far) and I don't want to cause a commotion in front of people trying to join a pirate crew. If I were to wait in front of their ship, though, I might be able to wheedle something out of the Heart Pirates' captain. If they're anxious to depart. Maybe luck will be on my side today.
This area's pretty quiet. There goes a World Noble on his slave. He's kind of fat. The noble, not the slave. It seems that in the end, blood gives power to everyone, just in different ways. My blood helps me fight. Their blood keeps them "above" everybody else.
Wait, I just passed a number.
I walk backwards to check where I've ended up. Hopefully, I'm out of the lawless zo-
Nope, lady luck doesn't like me at all, because I'm in Grove 1. Fantastic.
I sigh. I have a bad sense of direction and back luck. I always pick the exact wrong direction. Don't they have maps around here? Maps are a very useful invention, as long as they aren't too complicated.
Ah, there's the Human Auctioning House. From what I've heard, they sell all sorts of creatures so I wonder why they call it "human"?
I poke my head in, spot a polar bear and a fuzzy white cap beside it, and swiftly back out.
Nope, not going there. Like I said, I'll try to avoid a confrontation with the pirate crew I'd like to join until we're in private.
-.- ^-^ -.-
Half an hour later, I've finally found the right ship. Submarine. Same thing. It's name was related to magnets, I think. Polar?
Ha, polar bears. I remember the wanted posters for the Heart Pirates. Bepo.
Okay, that was random. I do that a lot. Probably why I switch topics so much during a conversation, now that I think about it.
I sit down by a tree near the ship. There aren't too many people around, so I don't bother pretending that I'm here for some specific sort of reason that has nothing to do with the Heart Pirates. And then I wait.
It doesn't take long.
I hear the Heart Pirates before I see them, and I instinctively pull my black cap lower. Fear gnaws at my stomach. What if he doesn't recognize me? What if he no longer cares?
Doesn't matter, I remind myself. Because I'm not here for me, I'm here because I once promised him that as soon as I was free, I'd join him and stay by his side. I never said forever, because that's impossible, but as best as I could, I'd support him. And so even if he no longer remembers, even if he'll never remember, even if he has no idea who the hell I am, I'm going to join the Heart Pirates. There is really only one thing left I live for, and this is it. Maybe someday that'll change, when I finally find a place in this world. But in the meantime, this promise is all I have, and I'm keeping it.
I can still hear them approaching. Second doubts fill my head. If I run now I can still escape.
I stop that line of thought right there and force myself not to chicken out. This may be my last chance to catch up to the Heart Pirates with the methods I consider within my reach. I doubt any merchant ships are willing to take me into the New World. And yes, I reached the end of Paradise by doing odd jobs on merchant ships for little pay.
I jerk myself out of my thoughts. There's no more time to worry anymore, because the Heart Pirates have come, all twenty...
Huh. Twenty-one now, they've got a huge new member.
"Captain, there's someone up front!"
Very observant person there.
Ah, wait, they might think I'm an enemy. I hold up my hands in surrender, to show I don't have weapons. Well, I do, tied to my arms and hidden by my baggy hoodie, but they don't have to know that.
"Who are you?" the Heart Pirate captain asks. The Surgeon of Death, Trafalgar Law. He isn't very nice about the questioning, but I do look pretty suspicious. Which is why I didn't bother approaching them in front of a lot of eye witnesses.
Might as well get straight to the point. "Can I join your crew?"
I sound stupid. Well, whatever, it's out there now, can't take it back anymore.
"Whaa?" the guy with the hat the reads PENGUIN asks. I wonder if he's hard of hearing.
"Why?" a few others ask, sounding a little too shocked. I don't really know any of them, just the famous ones (Bepo, their captain) and the one I promised.
Although judging by the lack of reaction from the person I made the promise with, I doubt he remembers. My stomach curls into itself. I remind myself that it doesn't matter.
"I-" I begin, wondering what to say that'll convince their captain to let me join (he's probably the one who'll make the decision, anyway).
There's a loud explosion.
Law curses.
No, Trafalgar. San. Cuz I don't know him well, not really. Ten years, and you'd think this language would come easier to me by now.
"We don't have time for this," Trafalgar-san growls. God, that sounds weird. I'll just call him Trafalgar Law, and then if he lets me join I'll think of something else. It'll probably be "Captain", judging from the limited conversation I've heard so far between him and his crew.
"What do we do with her then, Captain?" the polar bear asks.
He glances at me. Sizing me up, I guess, figuring out how much of a threat I am. Smart, and it makes me glad for my appearance at times like this, but someone as smart as him may be weary of even that.
"Leave her-" he's beginning to say, much to my detriment. I'm not that weak, but I'm not sure I'll be powerful enough to force my way onto their ship, and that's not something I want to happen anyway.
"Let's take her! If she wants to join, she won't harm us," Bepo says.
I am suddenly immensely grateful for the existence of naive polar bears.
Trafalgar Law stares at his crew mate, probably about to point out the flaw in the bear's logic.
"Let's just see what she wants," the PENGUIN one says. "We can just dump her off if she bothers us. Or Captain can take care of her."
Well they're a pleasant bunch.
Trafalgar Law is scowling. He's probably thinking something along the lines of what-if-she's-a-spy (from what I've heard he's now powerful enough that what-if-she's-strong-but-not-well-known shouldn't cross his mind), but there's another explosion just then. He must deem whatever's causing them a bigger threat than the suspicious me, because he relents.
"Fine, get on," he says.
Yes! I cheer inwardly as I crowd on with the other twenty-one Heart Pirates. I'm halfway there. Now, if only I could convince Trafalgar Law to keep me as a member of his crew...
-.- ^-^ -.-
A/N: Hi. Sorry if it's bad, this is my first fanfiction. I might not follow the original storyline perfectly cuz I have bad memory and am too lazy to refresh it half the time. And cuz I forgot or get confused about a lot of details.