Straw for the Heart

Chapter 1: Contest Says, "Let's Go Out!"

Today was a beautiful day. The sky was bright and the buildings seemed happy to acknowledge my great fortune. The city was surrounded with large buildings and billboards that proclaimed the product that was trying to be pushed forward. Living in that industry, I couldn't help but feel like a mother pushing forward her successful children. I was proud to say that every person that I discovered was steadily rising in the industry, whether they were a model or an entertainer. But my greatest achievement was my first discovery as a reporter. They were the start of my dying career as a writer.

The largest building in the juncture of the city had a large screen, displaying my crowning achievement. Before a sky blue screen displayed in large red-rimmed, yellow Celtic letters were the words "Straw Hats". My pride welled up inside my chest, as the screen faded to a live video of a toned raven haired man with a straw hat atop his head, singing passionately into a microphone underneath a spotlight. The scar beneath his right eye gave him a devilish glow. The founder and lead singer, Monkey D. Luffy. The Straw Hats.

The yellow straw hat with the red band atop a skull with a scar beneath its right eye was the trademark of their band; they were using a jolly roger as their band logo. I discovered them by chance. I was barely twenty-one, out of college with a degree in journalism and was lucky enough to get the job at the company I adored. But as a beginner reporter of the Piece News, I was given average work. Anything that was considered to be the current fad was given to my superiors, leaving me with the scraps. That day, I was assigned to interview an old rock bad from the seventies, The Emperors. My job was simple, to interview the lead singer, Whitebeard, and his band and comment on the concert. I ran into Whitebeard before the concert could begin. He was a sweet elderly gentleman with a black bandana covering his head and his rather large white mustache. He was fit for someone his age and that was what kept him as popular as he always was. Before I could ask any actual interview questions, the concert had begun to start.

That's when I met Monkey D. Luffy. He looked like a normal teenager, dressed in a red vest and cutoff jeans with a yellow sash that hung around his waist. His straw hat was what drew my attention. He wore the piece of clothing as if it was attached to his head. I didn't know him till after the concert but somehow he seemed to know me. Luffy then gave me a smile that seemed to say, 'You'll enjoy the concert.' I didn't understand immediately and that's when I remembered there was an opening band before The Emperors. I watched the kid jump on stage and his dark eyes made contact with my brown eyes. The tempo started slowly and that was when I heard the sweet litany of his song. I was baffled by the voice I heard from the kid. His voice was sweet yet sultry with a hint of sorrow. Luffy was able to express so much emotion in his voice that even the amateurish playing of his band mates couldn't damper the passion one felt in his song.

I was astounded and amazed. It had been their first concert from what Whitebeard had told me during the interview. He was happy to talk about his grandchild rather than himself and that was the hook I planned to use when I wrote my article about The Straw Hats. At first, my editor objected severely, chastising me for having made the article that focused on a 'nobody band'. However, when the senior editor read my piece, I was given my chance. That article about The Straw Hats boosted my career and opened many opportunities for me as a writer. It was flattering but I always considered myself the discovery and the discovered. It wasn't just coincidence that two nobodies were able to make each other famous. It was luck and fate.

I felt a slight tug on my elbow. "Excuse me, are you Kay Kollins? The one who wrote the latest article on The Straw Hats?"

It was a teenager. Three years had passed since I first wrote the article. The Straw Hats were steadily becoming more and more popular towards not only teens but young adults. Even their musicians had grown in talent and Monkey D. Luffy had become a notable name.

"Yes, that's me."

"Wow, that's amazing!" The teen's eyes twinkled as she held up my latest article about the Straw Hats. "You're so lucky! There were so many people dying to win that contest, including me! I can't believe that you and those other two women were able to win dates with members of The Straw Hats!"

The kid was cute; I couldn't help patting her head. It wasn't just luck though. I filled out twenty different forms at four different locations at two separate stands each place. I also had to pull strings to allow myself to have so many forms to be considered. Being a reporter was both wonderful and a hassle. The Straw Hats were the children I watched over since the start. It was only fitting that I continue my report with a history of not only the band but the members as well. That's the reason I entered the contest.

"Yes. I am exceptionally lucky when it comes to The Straw Hats."

The girl ran back towards her group of girl friends who squealed when the girl returned. I never understood the need to make that sound.

I had done research on the other winners. The other two were normal college girls in their early twenties. Each girl was given the option of choosing whom of The Straw Hats they would go on a date with. From the girls' profiles, it was obvious who would choose which member. We were all supposed to meet here in the town square where we would be picked up to be escorted to the location in which the winners would go on a date with the member they chose.

"Hello? You're Kay Kollins, right? The other contest winner? Sorry I wasn't sure since the company told me to wait outside the town square in front of the Metro Building. I was told that Kay Kollins would be here so I thought that would help me to figure out where I was supposed to be. But I'm still not so sure."

First one to arrive other than I. "I'm Kay Kollins, don't worry." I remember her from her profile. Her short curly brown hair touched her shoulders lightly and that was a dead give-away to who she was. Her lavender eyes seemed to give her a naïve tinge. She looked exactly like the photo in the profile. She was dressed in a soft orange sundress with small white flowers. The dress complimented her slight tan and accentuated her curves. Her pair of red flats nervously tapped on the pavement. No jewelry and only a handbag. She was definitely ready to tackle this date head-on. "You look cute."

Her cheeks pinked. "Well yes," she muttered nervously. She would choose to date Luffy from what her profile said. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said bowing slightly. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Emi." She held out a manicured hand with orange nails. They matched her clothes.

I already knew. But that didn't keep me from smiling and shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."

In a rush came the next girl. She doubled over tired yet her attired looked clean and cute. Also another girl that was ready to take this date seriously. "I'm not late, am I," she asked in short gasps.

"No, you're on time." She had long black hair that settled onto the small of her back with bangs parted to the right, porcelain skin, and warm brown eyes. She fit the profile information regarding her rather well. She wasn't a large girl, but she wasn't tiny either. Well-proportioned would be the best word that could describe her. She was dressed in a dark purple camisole with a long sea green cardigan with a belt around her waist on top and dark leggings on bottom. The wedge she wore was an emerald green color with a matching manicure and pedicure but it was a somewhat daring height even for me in my age.

She stood up straight, breathing a sigh of relief. My inferiority complex came out. I read in the profiles that the girls both had ample bosoms, and I thought it wouldn't bother me. But seeing them and reading them made me look at my breasts in a dejected manner. I thought I had gotten over this problem in high school but looking at these young women made me feel like being tan and slender with normal sized breasts was a bad thing. In fact, seeing the girls dressed so cutely made my attire seem rather old. I loved green so I wore my favorite green sleeveless shirtdress with a pair of green shorts with a grey flower pattern. Even my shoes seemed inferior; they were just a pair of dark green slip-ons. I didn't have a manicure and though I loved green I was less than willing to dye my hair that color so it was just my long black hair down with trimmed bangs over my forehead. As cliché as it could get for a reporter, I had glasses that I customarily wore over my amber eyes because contacts were bothersome. But who could blame me? They hurt like hell sometimes and putting them in was easier than taking them out.

But all inferiority aside the girls seemed to be decent people.

"I'm going on the date with Sanji!" She announced the statement in a cheery voice that could barely contain her excitement. "It's going to be so wonderful! I hope he has as much fun on our date as I plan to!" Her profile also said she was obsessed with Sanji, somewhat. You could almost see the hearts in her eyes as she continued to tell us about how she hoped the date would go.

"That sounds nice, uh…"

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" She laughed. "My name is Sakiko. It's so nice to meet you both!" Before I could even try to shake her hand, I was enveloped in a large embrace that seemed to have dragged both myself and Emi into Sakiko's arms. "I'm so glad that you girls seem like nice people!"

"Yeah," I mumbled, muffled by her embrace. "Well," I carefully pulled away from the embrace. "My name is Kay Kollins. This here is Emi."

"Kay Kollins?" Sakiko grasped my hands immediately as she got closer to my person, "The Kay Kollins? The one who wrote that in depth article about the bass guitarist Sanji? How, though Sanji can be somewhat of a ladies man, he is still the protégé of the greatest chef in North Blue, Zeff!" Sakiko gave a light breathy sigh at the recollection. "Such a sexy man yet abandoned as a child and left to be raised by Zeff! If I had met him I would have hugged him so tightly and shown him the love and affection a child like him would need!" she hugged herself in example, giving out a lighthearted sigh. "Oh, the sad past of Sanji! All he needs is loads of loving!"

I could feel myself mentally vomit as Sakiko continued to chatter about Sanji. Her devotion was touching but also somewhat disturbing. When I had interviewed Sanji, the first thing he had done was hit on me. Flattering, however, Sanji was a notorious lover of women. It took much of me deceptively dodging his advances to get to the point where I was able to get into a solid backstory of the man. Sanji had a rough lifestyle growing up. Abandoned at a young age, he had to fend for himself for years. When Zeff had found Sanji, the boy was violent towards him and tried to kill the man on numerous occasions, even severing the man's right leg in a violent fit. Zeff's relentless kindness and care for Sanji changed the boy. He was soon integrated into Zeff's family and entered middle school late. That's where he met Luffy. After that, everything was uphill for him. He came out of something bad and now he's even famous. How Sanji ended up a lover of women was something that didn't seem like a serious answer but none-the-less I published the piece.

I glanced at Emi, wondering how she reacted to Sakiko's adoration of Sanji. She looked confused. Emi had the look of a girl whose mind was blown by the amount of information that was thrust upon her. Kids…

I patted Sakiko on the head lightly. Infatuation wasn't bad. She was simply an avid fan. A black Mercedes limo pulled up in front of the street, bringing all attention towards the road. Out stepped a slim red-headed woman dressed in a blazer that accentuated her breasts with a pair of fitted jeans that barely covered the tan cross strapped heels she wore. The manager. I could recall interacting with her to set up the interviews I had done with Sanji and Brook.

"It's nice to meet you once again, Miss Nami."

"I swear that you show up more than I would like you to, Miss Kollins."

"Oh, you flatter me." I gave Nami a smile. "I give your band so much PR, yet you still treat me like I'm some sort of stranger. I feel hurt." I placed the back of my hand against my forehead in a dramatic gesture, earning a snicker from the hardheaded manager.

Nami glanced at Emi and Sakiko, sizing them up. She had that somewhat rude habit. "You two are Emi and Sakiko, I assume?"

"Yes!" Sakiko exclaimed enthusiastically. Emi's response was the same, only not as vibrant.

"All right," Nami said strolling to the passenger doorways in the rear and opening the door. "Get in. We'll take you to the destination of the dates."

Emi immediately raised her hand, a gesture that I had not seen in a long while. Nami acknowledged the hand, motioning for Emi to ask the question on her mind. "Where will this date of ours be held at? And are we really going to be allowed to go on the date with the band member that we requested on the form?"

Nami gave Emi a small smile. "You'll date who you asked. The destination is a small amusement park that we found."

Emi opened her mouth ready to ask more question and I intercepted, placing an arm around her shoulders. "Come now; let's go inside so you can spend as much time as you can with your date." Emi was a sweet girl; just she had this tendency to ask too many obvious questions.

"Yes, that does sound so much better than staying out here," Emi replied.

We all entered the limo in a flurry. My reasoning was that I wanted as much time on my 'date' as possible so that I could have a substantially acceptable interview. The girls, on the other hand, were innocently taking this date as an opportunity to be with the person they either admire or adore.

I heard a squeal from Sakiko as the door clicked shut. I winced at the close range of the sound. I could hear the surprise in her voice as she tried to coherently form words. I opened my eyes slowly to gaze at the seat across from us. Alone, there sat a well groomed blonde man dressed in a dark, double breasted suit with a soft orange pin-striped undershirt and a tan colored tie around the collar. His blonde hair was nearly the same length all around barely covering his ears and brushed neatly from his face to cover his right eye. The slight stubble above his lip and the dark goatee contrasted with his fair skin, giving the man a scruffy yet rugged look. I sighed at the sight of the curl at the inner end of his dark brows. This man was Sanji, the bass guitarist of The Straw Hats.

Sanji had a sultry look in his blue eyes as he gazed at the women before him. He crossed his long legs, and gingerly pulled out a cigarette and placed it in the right corner of his lips; he didn't light it. "So many lovely ladies before me," he said with a satisfied smile. "I recall meeting you once before, Kay. It's lovely to meet you again." Sanji reached to try to kiss my hand but I tactically avoided the gesture. He was a terrible flirt. For a notorious lover of women, Sanji needed to learn smoother pick-up lines. "So these other two lovely women are contest winners?"

Sakiko nodded her head enthusiastically, her eyes staring at Sanji in adoration. "My name is Sakiko!"

"My name's Emi."

Sanji inhaled deeply, a look of contentment in his eyes. "Oh, such lovely women! If only I could take you all out on the date so that we could all enjoy the evening together!"

Emi gave a small chuckle as she kindly dismissed the offer Sanji laid out. I just gave him a flat out denial. He was just too much sometimes. He made talking to him a rather difficult task to accomplish.

"So, how come you're here Sanji? I would have expected the others to be here as well."

"Well," he began casually, "initially, all of us were supposed to meet our respective dates at the amusement park; however, I wanted to formally welcome all of you beautiful ladies, in case your dates do not initially show you the proper treatment ladies such as yourselves deserve." He winked at each of us; the only woman accepting the wink comfortably being Sakiko.

I coughed into my hand at the gesture. Emi gave an awkward smile. "Our respective dates," Emi pointed towards herself and me, "are going to meet us in front of the park?"

Sanji laughed at the query, his face lighting up in mirth. "Miss Emi, I assure you that you will be met by your date once we arrive and you both will enter the park together." Sanji's gaze shifted to Sakiko. She fidgeted under his scrutiny. "You're the woman I'm going to be spending the day with?" Sakiko gave a shy yet enthusiastic nod. Sanji gazed over Sakiko's person, showing appreciation at her figure. He smiled brightly at Sakiko. "I see that I get to have a date with one of the loveliest women here. No offense to either of you."

I could care less about Sanji finding me lovely and Emi looked like she hadn't listened to a word Sanji had said to Sakiko. I couldn't help but snicker at that.

Sakiko's cheeks pinked at the compliment and she brought her hands to her cheeks as if to cover them. "Not to worry, my dear Sakiko, I shall make the evening a wonderful romantic day for us." Sakiko practically swooned. I practically gagged.

When the limo stopped I breathed a sigh of relief. I'm sure that Sakiko enjoyed much of the flirting that Sanji was giving and I suppose if I was an avid fan of him I would have as well; however, my devotion is to the band not just a single member. The door swung open and each person filed out of the vehicle to greet Nami. She smiled at us. "Are you ready to start your dates?"

Before any of the girls could answer Nami, two men approached our group.

The first was easily identifiable by the dark hair and his straw hat. Dressed in his usual red vest and cutoff jeans that was customary to his appearance, Luffy strolled towards our group with the other man. He gave a wave and an aloof smile to everyone as he held a half-eaten pretzel in one hand and a corndog stick in the other. Luffy was as carefree as ever, wearing his usually attire and flip-flops even on a date. I envied that kind of mindset.

Next to Luffy was a tall man with a square jaw, a small square metal nose, and a cleft chin. He was dressed in a colorful Hawaiian shirt that he left open to expose his muscular physique and show a large golden chain hanging around his neck. Lying at the base of a tall bright blue mullet sat a pair of small lensed triangular shades which he adjusted with his hands. That brought attention to callouses on his large hands and the large size of his forearms, each tattooed with a large blue star underneath a thin lining of arm hair. I expected to see him in his trademark speedo but I suppose that the park forced his to at least wear a pair of dark swimming trunks and sandals. I could recall Franky quite well. He was very unique in his own way. All I knew about him was that he had been in cute a few accidents and even before the accidents he enjoyed wearing few pieces of clothing. At the concerts Franky performed with The Straw Hats, his lower half always consisted of only a dark blue speedo. Sometimes he would alternate with red; seeing Franky in shorts was just something strange.

"Luffy…?"

Emi said his name slowly as if it was something she could barely comprehend.

"Yeah?" Luffy answered to his name. Emi seemed unsure of whether to speak there though. So, she hesitated and shook her head.

"Okay," Nami began with a clap of her hands, gathering the group's attention. "I believe that everyone knows who their respective dates would be. But just in case," she motioned towards Sakiko, taking her hand and leading her towards Sanji's side, "Miss Sakiko and Sanji is a pair." Nami walked towards Emi, gradually leading the woman towards Luffy. "Miss Emi and Luffy is a pair." Nami glanced at me then at Franky; she heaved an exhausted sigh. She pointed an annoyed finger at my direction. "Do you know how hard it was to get Franky to put on those swimming trunks just so that the amusement park would allow him to enter? You had better be grateful, Miss Kollins."

I couldn't help but smile at the fact that she went through so much trouble to get my date ready for me when all I was planning to do was just simply interview him. "Of course I'm grateful. I thank you for the amount of effort you put into readying him."

Nami was about to retort when Franky and Luffy burst out into raucous laughter. Teasing Nami was something enjoyable. "Well," I grabbed Franky's large hand, "might as well get our date started." The large man was still chuckling but complied towards the continuation of the day.

Each respective couple left onto their date, each going a different direction as to not hinder the others day.

Emi and Luffy strolled casually to the cotton candy stand, Emi walking behind Luffy thoughtfully. She couldn't decide whether or not it was something right or wrong, but there was something more familiar about Luffy than simple his face. He was well-recognized by many so Emi couldn't stop the uneasy feelings she felt with him.

"I love amusement parks," Luffy exclaimed as they reached the stand. "My brother used to take me here on my birthdays with my friends."

That's when it clicked. Emi's eyes widened and her head shot up. She closed the gap between her and Luffy. "Was it a pirate themed park called Scurvy Land?"

"Yeah," Luffy offered casually. "You've been there?"

At his casual answer, Emi backed off, taking a step back. "One quick question," she said, her voice low. Emi's head was spinning and her memories kept running through her head in a rush. Luffy nodded his head, waiting for the question. "What's your brother's name?"

"Ace."

Emi stared at Luffy, her heart wrenching as she recalled so many memories. Emi knew why Luffy was so familiar now. Why being with him felt too normal. He was the person she knew growing up. Luffy was her childhood friend that she was always with; and he was the person she had been looking for since he disappeared in their second year of middle school. Luffy was her childhood friend; the one she fell in love with only for him to disappear.

xxx

a/n: Hello, readers. My name is Killeance. I'm a new author so please take care of me.

Please read and review. Constructive criticism is appreciated.