Chapter one
In the once peaceful Embargo Island, the villagers lived happily in their quiet and peaceful lives. The men worked in the village, the women stayed in their homes or sometimes bought food for their houses, and the children ran around the village playing. It was like that until the pirates came to the island... The pirates that came were none other than Alvida and her followers. They raided the village in search for treasure and more men to follow her, but sadly, they didn't find anything of interest. The villagers were frightened, so frightened that they gave up a child so that they could leave without destroying the village. The child's name was Isabella Merchanzi. This is her story after 10 years of being taken away...
Near an uncharted island, a ship floated there as the soothing wind blew. A woman swabbed (if that's the correct term) the ship with her finger, finding a single particle of dust. "Why is there dust on my bulwark?" asked the woman.
"A thousand pardons, Lady Alvida! I-I thought I'd cleaned every inch of this ship...!" said one of the sailors. "I'll clean everything all over again! Please-!"
"Please what...?" asked the woman known as Alvida as she eyed at the sailor.
"Please, not the Iron Mace! I-I don't wanna die!"
With only swift move the woman hit the sailor knocking him out. She then turned to a pink-haired boy who was next to her.
"Koby! Who is the fairest throughout all the seas?" Alvida asked the boy.
The little boy now known as Koby just fidgeted nervously before answering her question, "Ahem... Heh heh... Why you are... Lady Alvida! No one compares to you!"
"Correct! Which is why I will not tolerate anything dirty! The ship I sail in must be as clean and beautiful as I am. Understand?" Alvida then had a menacing look on her face. "Remember Koby, were it not for your vast knowledge of the seas, I would feed you to the sharks! But don't push your luck!"
"Y-Yes... That's very kind of you."
"Other than that, you're worthless! Here, shine my shoes!"
"Y-Yes Lady Alvida! Right away!"
"I don't want to see even one speck of dust on this ship!"
"Aye aye!" said the sailors.
Finally turning back to Koby, Alvida kicked the small boy out of cruelness. "That's enough! You're pathetic!" the woman yelled at him.
Koby just stood up with a nervous smile on his face as she quickly apologized to her. "Heh heh heh... Sorry..."
"If you've got time to grovel, then you've got time to scrub the toilet!"
"Heh heh... Yes, milady! Right away..." he said rubbing the back of his head.
Isabella was just watching the obese woman with such a bored look on her face as she lay on the floor. It had already been 10 years since she was given up by the villagers so that Alvida and her pitiless followers wouldn't destroy Embargo Village after not finding anything of interest. Being the other girl of the ship, she had to be trained by the sailors so she could fight. Alvida would get furious at them for making her learn since she told her that girls like Isabella shouldn't even fight. Unfortunately for Alvida, Isabella developed a tomboyish behavior, meaning no skirts, no revealing clothes, and definitely not looking like a girl. With her short dark brown hair, her light purple eyes, and her baggy clothing, she could've been easily mistaken as a boy. She didn't mind it though. For her, it meant that her opponents wouldn't go easy on her, making her love the challenge. In the many times she'd battle someone, after the fight, she'd let them know that she was a girl, making them feel ashamed. "Give the guys a break. It's already torture enough for them to be answering your question." she said with a small yawn escaping her lips.
Alvida looked at the girl whom she almost considered a daughter with a scowl. "Watch your tongue, young lady! You know perfectly well what I'm capable of!"
Isabella just shrugged and closed your eyes to continue your daily nap. "Whatever you say. It's not like I'm scared of you anyway. Which I'm really not."
"Koby! Get me some more rum from the storage house!" Alvida yelled at Koby.
Koby just looked down as he walked off the ship and toward the storage house. He looked like he was going to cry. Isabella sighed as she got up and followed Koby so she could help him. Before arriving, they had found a barrel adrift on the beach. Thinking that it was a barrel full of rum, Isabella and Koby decided to roll it to the storage room.
"What's that? Did a barrel of rum wash up on the beach?" a sailor asked.
"No, we decided to go to a freezing island to get the barrel. Of course we found it on the beach!" Isabella said in a sarcastic, yet annoyed kind of way.
"Y-Yeah, and it's not empty. I wasn't sure what to do with it..." Koby responded after Isabella.
"Well I know what to do with it. Let's drink it up!"
"But if the captain finds out, she'll have our heads!"
"She'll never find out!"
"We're the only ones here. Just Koby, Izzy and the three of us know about it."
"I guess you're right."
"Hey! I don't want anything to do with that barrel of rum of yours, so leave me out of it." Isabella said with an annoyed tone in her voice as she crossed her arms, watching the three idiotic sailors licking their lips as they imagine the taste of rum.
The sailor then turned to Koby with a menacing look. "And you ain't seen nothin', right Koby?"
"Right! I-I ain't seen nothin'! Heh heh heh... Please don't kill me..." Koby stuttered, but whispered the last part as a way of trying to save himself.
Isabella just sighed and shook her head in embarrassment as she watched her crewmates turn their attention once again to the barrel of rum. Suddenly the top of the barrel broke, showing a guy who looked just about Isabella's age yawning happily. You just blinked at the boy while the others just freaked out over the boy who came out of the barrel of 'rum'.
"That was a great nap!" yelled the happy boy. "Hmm... Looks like I survived somehow. I got so dizzy I thought I was gonna barf!" The boy just laughed, but stopped as he then looked around the place. "Who are you guys?"
"Who the hell are you!" asked the still freaked out sailors. "What were you doing in there!"
Isabella only gave a small glance to the ship before jumping out of the Iron Mace's way, completely destroying the storage house, making everyone fly away, except Isabella.
"Back to work, you scurvy dogs!" yelled Alvida with an aggressive anger.
Only sighing, she decided to search for Koby and the boy before going back to the ship.
"Man, today just keeps getting weirder and weirder." Isabella mumbled to herself.
Ignoring the screams of Alvida as she yelled at her lazy crew members, Isabella continued on her way to the forest to find the two boys. She found them at a nearby clearing and just sat down under a tree that was near Koby.
"Um... Are you okay? Are you hurt?" asked Koby looking worried over the boy in the barrel. After getting knocked so much you must be-"
The just started laughing at Koby's concern. "I'm fine, just a little surprised is all. My name's Luffy! Where am I?"
"This island is the hideout of Iron Mace Alvida, the lady pirate. I'm Koby, her cabin boy." he replied, relieved that Luffy was alright.
"And I'm Isabella, but you can call me Izzy if you want. I'm Alvida's head strategist." she said crossing her arms.
"I see... Well, none of that really matters to me." Luffy said as he got out of the barrel.
Koby and Isabella only sweat dropped at his blunt answer. "Oh..."
"You wouldn't happen to have a dinghy, would you? Mine got sucked into a giant whirlpool."
"You got sucked into a giant whirlpool!" Koby asked looking shocked.
"Yeah, it caught me by surprise."
"I'm surprised you managed to survive that." Isabella mused.
"Yeah ...But if it's a dinghy you want, I have one... sorta..." Koby agreed then made Luffy and Isabella follow him.
Koby showed Luffy a badly built dinghy that looked like if you were to set foot on it while it was floating on the water, it would immediately sink.
"What's this! A coffin?" Luffy asked as he stared at the small boat.
"That's the first thought that came into my mind when I first saw it." Isabella said sweat dropping.
"I built it myself. It took me two years..." Koby said with a sense of accomplishment.
"Two years! And you don't want it?"
"...I really don't need it anymore. I built it to escape from this place... ...but I don't have the courage to try it. I guess it's my fate to be a cabin boy for the rest of my life. But I once had a different dream."
"You still on to that?" Isabella asked tilting her head to the side a bit.
"Why don't you just escape?" Luffy asked bluntly.
"N-No way! Just thinking abut what Alvida would to me if she caught me makes my bladder weak... I just can't risk it..." Koby responded almost as if freaking out. "I'll never forget that fateful day... I just wanted to go fishing... ...and I boarded a pirate ship by mistake. That was two years ago. In exchange for my life, I've been working as their cabin boy."
"Oh, I remember that time... You looked so frightened like a lost puppy.." Isabella chuckled as she remembered.
"You're kinda clumsy and dumb. And you're gutless too. You really are worthless." Luffy said laughing a bit.
"Harsh.." Isabella sweat dropped.
"You don't have to be that frank... But you're right. I don't have the guts to float around at sea in a barrel like you... Luffy why did you go to sea anyway?"
"Well, ya see... I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!" Luffy replied with a smirk.
Isabella couldn't help, but smile at his answer. 'So he wants wants to be king of the pirates huh? I'd like to see that happen.'
"King of the Pirates! But... You'd have to make the whole world kneel to you! Wealth, fame, power- You'd have to achieve it all!"
"So that means you're going after Gold Roger's lost treasure, One Piece?"
"Do you want to die! Every pirate in the world is after it!"
"And so am I."
"But the odds against you are astronomical! It's impossible! You want to be the King of the Pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy! It'll never happen!"
Getting slightly annoyed by his outbursts, Luffy punched him in the head to make him shut up.
"Hey! W-Why'd you hit me!"
"You were hysterical."
"You didn't have to hit him that hard."
"It's ok, I'm used to it. Heh heh heh..."
"I'm not afraid to die, Koby! I've set myself to become the King of the Pirates... and if I die trying... then at least I tried."
Isabella just chuckled a bit. 'You got to admire Luffy's determination. No one has that determination when they set themselves to try to get One Piece' she thought.
"Y-You're not even afraid to die!"
"Koby, that's the one rule of being a pirate. 'You can't be afraid to die.' If you were, then what's the point in being a pirate." Isabella said before zoning off from their conversation, now staring at the clouds. For once she felt at peace while looking at the clouds, when the peaceful atmosphere suddenly disappeared as she saw Alvida swing her Iron Mace, smashing his dinghy.
"Who are you going to capture, runt!" she asked angrily. "You little sneak! Did you really think you could escape from me!" Turning her attention to Isabella with the same scowl look on her face. "And you, Isabella! What are you doing here! You're supposed to be on the ship away from trouble!"
"Yeah, I'll be a good little girl and stay on the ship. Like that'll ever happen.", she scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
Her attention then changes to Luffy, looking at him up and down. "Is that the bounty hunter you hired? Well, he certainly isn't Roronoa Zoro... So I'll give you one chance to repent... Who is the fairest throughout all the seas? Answer me!"
"Heh heh heh... Lady Alvida you-"
"Who's that tough-looking old biddy?" Luffy asked as he pointed at Alvida.
Isabella busted out laughing at what he called her while the others looked shocked. "Oh my god, I haven't heard an insult like that in a very long while!"
Koby suddenly gripped Luffy's shoulders and shook him wildly. "Luffy! Take it back! Throughout all of the seas, Lady Alvida is..." Somehow this made him hesitate for a bit. "Lady Alvida is..." Remembering what Luffy told him earlier, he took out the courage he never knew he had and said, "Lady Alvida is the ugliest old hag of all!"
Everything just went quiet, all anyone could hear was the sound of the wind until Luffy and Isabella started snickering before busting out laughing.
"Oh no! I'm dying! I can't breathe!" she said holding her sides.
"Good for you Koby" Luffy said as he got him out of the way.
"It doesn't make a difference! You're both going to die!", and with a swing of her Iron Mace, she struck Luffy, but everyone was shocked to find that he didn't even budge.
"That didn't hurt. 'Cause I'm made of rubber." Luffy smirked.
"Impossible! No one survives the Iron Mace!"
Everyone got even more shocked once they saw Luffy prepare himself.
"Gum Gum.."
"What the-?"
"Pistol!"
With that attack, Luffy punched Alvida to the ground with such a great force. Everyone was still shocked to find Alvida on the ground, even Isabella was shocked.
"Give Koby a dinghy! He's going to join the Navy."
"Y-Yessir..."
Koby was starting to cry and Isabella just smiled at Luffy. The crew got them a dinghy with a sail that was big enough for 3 or more people. Isabella just stood there as she watched them off when suddenly she saw Luffy stand up on the boat from far away.
"Hey, Izzy! Want to come with us!"
Isabella just blinked then looked at her crew. They somehow knew that it was best for her to go with him since with him she could maybe become stronger.
"Sure! Why not!" she replied.
All of a sudden his arm stretched out, wrapping it around her waist and with a sudden jerk she was sent flying to where their dinghy. She closed her eyes so that the wind wouldn't bother her when she suddenly landed on top of Luffy. They both only blinked, but Isabella blushed getting off him quickly.
"Um... Thanks.." she said looking away in embarrassment.
Luffy just stared at her, and feeling his eyes boring into her head, she looked at him. "What?"
"Are you a girl?"