Disclaimer in Chapter One
Warning: Canon-typical flashbacks and abuse scenes.
Notes: After how I left off last chapter, I had to create an entire backstory for Coby to explain his motives and why they changed because the only thing in canon we have for him is "I got on the wrong boat." Literally. That's it. With the way he keeps showing up, I wouldn't be surprised if we get a longer backstory in canon. If so, a good portion of this chapter would be jossed but, eh, we're already in AU territory with this story.
This chapter is also a bit shorter than I'd like as I'm aiming to put out at least ten thousand words once a month for this monster, with my aimed for date being the fifteenth. However, real life in the form of a new job and this story in the form of where it wanted the chapter to end were both against me.
Thanks to JED1 and The Patient One for looking this chapter over!
Chapter Two - In Which There Is Kidnapping and An Extortion Ring
Some things change. Time is a current and, at the same time, a still pool. Dipping a finger in can cause ripples that clash and collide, yet some things still stay the same despite the ripples as the current of time rushes forward. A pirate ship attacks a pleasure cruise about the same time a boy made of rubber decides to brave a whirlpool in a barrel. Said rubber boy ends up beating the pirates after the barrel is rescued and he absconds in a dinghy with the pirates' pink-haired cabin boy. Said cabin boy manages to get them both to the closest Marine Base in the East Blue, namely Shells Town. Then havoc ensues and the Marines left standing salute the leaving pirates before punishing themselves for saluting.
But some things are different. Very different.
xXx
"I want to join Migo!"
xXx
For Coby, everything started with a rumor.
Coby had grown up in a small village. Tiny, really, with only three houses and Coby had lived in one all on his own for as long as he could remember. Most people preferred to live in the town just over the hill it was named after.
According to the two elderly couples who lived in the other two houses, his father had been a Marine who had died in the line of duty before ever finding out his mother was pregnant. His mother had apparently always been a frail thing and she'd never recovered from the shock of losing her husband. Coby had been a toddler when she'd passed on.
The old folks had doted on him in his parents' stead as much as they were able and Coby had gotten used to a system where everyone shared everything. As he'd gotten older, so had the elderly couples and Coby had started heading into Hill Town early in the morning to jump on one of the several communal fishing boats and catching fish for a few hours, enough to put meat on everyone's table and hopefully a few extra to sell in the town's market in the afternoon. He'd also learned to abhor pickpockets and thieves as their sticky hands often deprived the people of Coby's home of small necessities. A part of him dreamed of being like the father he'd never known, of becoming a Marine and strong enough to stop all crime in its tracks. A Marine like Sora in the comics that ran in the newspaper. A foolish dream, he knew, but one he clung to all the same. Until the rumors started in Hill Town.
"Did you hear? Someone prevented a corrupt king from taking his throne after his predecessor died."
"No, that's not it at all. The king already on the throne was corrupt and he got replaced."
"Well, I heard they got rid of the monarchy entirely and someone calling themselves Migo was responsible."
"Did you hear? Supposedly it was a government-sponsored massacre!"
"Where did you hear that?"
"It's in the paper! Some journalist says they got the information from Migo."
"Did you hear? The World Government sent a group of assassins to murder all the guests at a wedding because they didn't want the families involved to join forces and Migo stopped them!"
"What? Really?!"
On and on it went. It was all the buzz. Migo did this and Migo did that. Except no one seemed to know who or what Migo was.
Coby discovered the name meant 'friend' or 'the stalk that supports the rice' depending on what dialect was used but nothing about the recent use of the name when he perused the Hill Town library. Asking the average citizen on the streets of the town who they thought Migo was got Coby a range of answers.
"It has to be someone with a vendetta against the World Government."
"I heard it was the name of a secret government task force aimed at eliminating corruption."
"Don't you know anything? Migo doesn't exist."
It left Coby in a bit of a quandary but also more than a little curious. He had more luck with the local newsstand and started scouring any newspaper he could get his hands on for information to solve this mystery and took especial delight when he managed to get his hands on a handful of papers from the Grand Line instead of just the local East Blue one. Those newspapers did a lot to help quell the doubts that had formed thanks to the naysayers. Migo did exist. Or, at least, the people in the Grand Line seemed to believe so.
As far as Coby could tell, it started with a note that always contained a warning and was signed by Migo. From there, things could go one of two ways. If the person who received the note publicly admitted to their misdeeds and started to make amends for them, nothing more would happen. If the warning was ignored or otherwise disregarded, the pranks would start.
The pranks varied but they were always designed to catch attention. Someone might be able to hide the fact they got a missive from Migo. It was harder to hide the fact they were wandering around a market with a note pinned to their back announcing how much their outfit cost and that the money had come out of the fund to build a new hospital, such as happened to one corrupt politician. The politician didn't even notice the paper on their back until far too late for him to hide it and ended up jailed for his abuse of office. On the stand of his trial, he admitted he had never saw, heard, or felt it being placed, nor did anyone else. The way witnesses talked about it, one moment the paper wasn't there and the next it was.
That wasn't all. One man, head of crime on a small island, responded to Migo's missive by locking himself in his heavily-guarded room all day and night, the room's one key kept on his person. The next morning, despite the door remaining locked and no one disturbing any traps or guards, the man woke up with the word 'Slaver' clearly marked on his forehead. A few more days of writing appearing on his body any time he slept sent the paranoid man outside into the waiting arms of the local Marines, who took great interest in the ghost supposedly drawing on the man in addition to what those words said.
The only other sign someone had been in the room was a single slip of paper with a symbol on it, the same symbol that had been on the bottom of the list of crimes pinned to the politician's back. It consisted of a single eye surrounded by three hands placed fingertip to wrist, palms facing inward, in a downward-pointing triangle. People were calling it the Sign of Migo and the meaning of the symbol was clear.
'I'm watching you.'
Those few stories Coby managed to glean from the news fascinated him. Here was someone like Sora who fought corruption, except they were real! What's more, they didn't go after just pirates but people who abused their power and hurt people. It was exactly the type of person Coby wanted to be and his daydreams now often included him fighting alongside Sora in a Marine uniform while leaving behind little slips of paper bearing the Sign of Migo.
Those newspapers also did a bit more than inform Coby about Migo. Coby noticed the Grand Line version of the paper was different from the East Blue one. Things considered to be rumor in the East Blue were treated as fact and things the people of the East Blue knew to be fact were omitted or ignored entirely. Things like Devil Fruits being a reality or reading that an epidemic was continuing on because of lack of medicine when everyone in the East Blue knew that the Gecko Islands were running such a high surplus on medicine that it was causing it to go down in price all across the East Blue. People were dying because no one who needed it knew to ask about the surplus nor did those who have said surplus know anyone needed it.
That information prompted Coby to send a missive to the newspaper. What he got back from the newspaper's editor was alarming.
'Look, whoever you are, I respect you for trying to do what is right. But keep what you know to yourself. I've had journalists disappear for less and they're actually allowed to know some of the things you've managed to stumble across. Keep your head down or you might disappear too.'
Disappearing journalists? That made Coby go back and look at who had written the articles that mentioned Migo. He felt sick when he realized that none of the journalists who mentioned Migo in the East Blue paper ever mentioned Migo again. Some never had their byline in the paper again. Of course, Coby reasoned, that might be because they were transferred over to whoever wrote the Grand Line paper or fired or something but, considering the note he'd gotten from the editor, not even Coby was naive enough to actually believe that.
Finding that out, finding out how the World Government controlled the flow of information and that people could be hurt or even die because of it put a large dent in Coby's faith in the World Government and removed a lot of the shine from the Marines that served it. Still, he clung stubbornly to his dream of being a Marine because they did take out bad guys like pirates and such and Coby still idolized Sora. At least, he did until one fateful day...
xXx
"What happened?" Mitsu-oba asked as she dabbed at Coby's split lip with a wet cloth.
"I told you the kids in Hill Town don't like me," he replied evasively. The children of Hill Town often wandered about the woods between the village and Hill Town and more than one had expressed jealousy at Coby living right by the people who made such delicious sweets.
"Oh? And what did you do?"
"I- you-! Ugh. I said I wanted to be a Marine like my father. Some kids asked where he was and I told them he was dead. They laughed and said, 'Good! The only good Marine is a dead one.' And I... kind of... yelled at them for that," Coby admitted, embarrassed. Mitsu-oba sighed as she applied some salve to his lips.
"Did you raise your hand against them?"
"No, Mitsu-oba. But I really wanted to."
"Good. Nothing's worth destroying your integrity over. Hitting them wouldn't have changed their minds. And whatever people tell you, your father was a good man. Don't forget that. Now go see if Sashimono needs any help, all right? It'll keep you out of trouble, you scamp," Mitsu-oba replied, tweaking Coby's nose. Coby wrinkled his nose in protest but scurried away for Sashimono-jii's workshop as Mitsu-oba cleaned up the first aid kit and went to help Nouko-oba with the watering.
Sashimono-jii took one look at Coby's split lip and shook his head even as he handed over a broom. It was silent for a bit as man and boy got to work.
"Why do you stay?" Sashimono-jii asked as he sanded down the table he had just built.
"Why do you keep making furniture?" Coby countered as he swept up curls of wood shavings. Sashimono-jii paused before he went back to his slow and steady sanding.
"When I was your age, this was my dream. Making beautiful furniture that everyone would want. I'm lucky enough to have lived my dream and it seems a shame to give it up now just because I'm old. You, on the other hand, are not here because you dream of taking care of a bunch of old farts but because you see it as your duty to us."
"I don't think Panya-san or the Aunties would like being called old farts, Sashimono-jii. Besides, you and Panya-san and Nouko-oba and Mitsu-oba raised me," Coby replied, broom still brushing the floor at an even pace.
"Aye, we did. Not bad for an old man and three old ladies, huh? But don't think we haven't seen you pouring over those newspapers. That we haven't noticed the way you cheer when someone bad gets taken down and the way you hate bullies and thieves. Or all the fights you seem to lose. This place is far too small for you and your dreams. Hill Town too. You're going to be something amazing one day. I just know it."
Coby flushed but didn't say anything. Just went about his chores helping the people who had raised him.
The Aunties, as Coby called them, lived together, just as Sashimono-jii and Panya-san did. Nouko-oba was in charge of the garden, which was an impressively large patch filled with fruit trees and vegetables and flowers woven together in a way that looked random but actually deterred pests and made sure complimentary plants were next to each other. Mitsu-oba's carefully tended beehives ensured everything was pollinated as well as providing them with honey and wax for candles she dipped herself. A good part of the honey ended up in Panya-san's baked goods, another part into salves Mitsu-oba made herself, and any cleared wood went to Sashimono-jii to shape as he willed. Between the food they grew, the flowers, the honey and wax and products made from them, the baked goods, the handmade furniture, and Coby's own fishing, they lived well and even often had things to sell at the Hill Town market for the things they couldn't make or grow. In fact, Coby often wondered why they never seemed to have enough money. This was the day he found out why.
After he finished sweeping Sashimono-jii's shop, Coby went to check in on the ladies. The Aunties insisted they had the watering well in hand for the garden and Panya-san just pushed a little honey cake in Coby's mouth as she demanded he go outside and play. It wasn't a market day, there was no reason to take anything to sell. As for buying things, well, he had the pocket change the old folks insisted on giving him.
"If you don't have anything for me to do, I think I'll head to Hill Town. See if there's any new newspapers. Do you need me to pick up anything for you?"
"Not today, sweet. Make sure my husband and your Aunties don't need anything and then go on, okay? And try not to get into any more fights," Panya-san replied as she dusted rice flour from her hands.
A quick ask around revealed no one wanted or needed anything, although Nouko-oba pressed a few extra beris on him to 'go buy some sweets'. Coby thanked her and went to his house to fetch his own stash of money from where he'd hidden it in a secret compartment under a loose floorboard Sashimono-jii had fashioned for him ages ago. The wood had warped slightly over the years and it took some effort to yank the board out. A little too much effort as Coby ended up flying backwards into his stack of loose newspapers with a yelp, sending paper into the air in a sort of explosion.
Once everything settled, Coby sat up, loose pages of newspaper falling off of him, and sighed. Going to town was going to have to wait until he got everything back into order again and, considering the paper scattered everywhere, wasn't likely to happen at all today. Oh well. It wasn't like anyone was expecting him to bring something back or needed his help right now. So Coby hid the money on his person with the rest, put the floorboard back, rolled up his metaphorical sleeves, and set to work figuring out which page went to what paper and putting them all back in chronological order.
Coby quickly became absorbed in his work and missed the noise from outside that started up when he was halfway done. He didn't, however, miss Mitsu-oba bursting into the house, looking frantic, only for her to freeze in horror.
"No. No, no, no! You're supposed to be in Hill Town right now!"
"Mitsu-oba? What is it? What's wrong?" Coby asked, feeling frightened.
"You're not supposed to be here," she moaned and then there was a large and intimidating figure standing behind her, filling the doorway and backlit so it was impossible to see any features.
"Oh? Who's this?" a masculine voice hissed.
"H-he's my nephew! He just came to visit and help me get my house in order, as you can see!" Mitsu-oba lied. It made Coby give her a confused and wary look. He wasn't actually related to any of the older folks, even if they had raised him, and Mitsu-oba and Nouko-oba had been living together for ages and were rather proud of that fact. Why would she lie about that?
"Ah. Then you don't mind paying for him as well while he's here, do you?" the man replied before reaching out and snagging Coby by the arm.
"H-hey!" Coby cried as he was dragged unceremoniously out of his home. He felt a ray of hope when he saw a bunch of men in the basic Marine uniform, all white shirts and blue pants and neckerchiefs. He twisted to give the man holding him a look only to feel his stomach drop somewhere below his toes when he realized the man holding him was wearing the coat of a Marine officer.
"Lieutenant Itachi, sir!" several of the Marines called out, standing at attention and saluting. Lieutenant Itachi tossed Coby forward so that he landed hard on the ground.
"Ow," Coby whimpered as he debated whether or not to move. He did turn his head enough to catch sight of the old folks looking horrified.
"I found a mouse creeping about. Make sure the old folks pay for his protection as well. It would be a shame if something happened to the brat. ฿50,000 should be sufficient."
Coby hadn't thought his stomach could sink any further. He didn't have nearly that much squirreled away and the likelihood the elders did was slim.
"B-but we don't have that much!" Nouko-oba protested, confirming Coby's suspicions.
"Oh? Even after we were so nice and gave you that discount because you're so old?" Lieutenant Itachi replied. "Most people pay twice what you do. As is, you've only paid enough to cover two adults, not four adults and a child. That is, if you still don't want your discount."
"No! We... we want it! We just don't have enough to pay for all five of us," Sashimono-jii insisted before offering, "But I'm an old man. My share can go to cover the boy."
"Now, now. I'm not unreasonable. You've paid enough for four out of five. Whoever that fifth is doesn't matter to me. But don't be surprised if they have an... accident before the month is over. Come on, boys. We're done here."
"Yes, sir!"
Coby watched the Marines fall into step behind their leader and leave with a blank look even as the old folks gathered round him protectively.
"Oh, sweet. Are you all right?" Nouko-oba inquired once the Marines were gone.
"I... I don't understand," Coby said. "I thought taxes were supposed to pay for the Marines, not..."
"It's extortion, is what it is," Panya-san sniffed.
"They've been demanding payment from us and Hill Town once a month for the past year-and-a-half," Sashimono-jii explained.
"We've only managed to pay because they offered us a 'discount' and they didn't know you were here. You were usually in the woods or out fishing. And I'd claimed Nouko-chan and I were widows and that your house was mine. I was coming in to hide the pictures of you and your parents," Mitsu-oba added.
"B-but they're supposed to protect us! Not... This is why the kids in Hill Town hate Marines, isn't it?" Coby realized.
"And once you become one, you'll clean up bastards like these ones. I have no doubt about it," Sashimono-jii insisted.
"Language!" Panya-san scolded, whapping her husband's shoulder.
"Yes, dear."
"Anyway, he can't stay," Panya-san continued. Coby and the Aunties protested.
"What?"
"Why would you say that, Panya-chan?!"
"But I don't want to go!"
"She's right," Sashimono-jii interrupted. "Since we didn't properly purchase 'protection', those awful wolves in sheep's clothing will be sending pirates our way. Best to get everyone safely away before then. We'll pack bags and head for that old cave in the hill."
"The one we used to play in as children?" Mitsu-oba asked.
"That's the one. In the morning, we'll move enough stuff there to hide for a month and we can hide there as soon as we see a glimpse of the pirates they'll send our way. If they destroy our homes, so be it. We can rebuild a house and regrow a garden. What we can't get back is each other."
"Right."
"Come on, girls. Like these two men know how to pack."
"We'll get everything ready so we can leave right away in the morning!"
"R-right," Coby agreed nervously. If he were honest, he felt so scared. But at least he'd be with the old folks. Panya-san and the Aunties were a whirlwind once they got going and Coby soon found himself fed, bathed, and tucked in, a full travel pack ready to go come morning and a promise of breakfast on Panya-san's lips as she closed the door behind them, leaving Coby alone in his home once more.
He didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep, yet Coby found himself jerking awake some time in the middle of the night. Something was wrong. It was too hot, it was hard to breathe, and the room was brighter than it should be. A glance at his window showed it was lit up a hellish red.
Coby shot out of bed and into his waiting clothes, grabbing his pack as a sort of afterthought as he rushed out of his home and into a nightmare. The garden was burning and the flames would soon reach the houses.
"Aunties! Panya-san! Sashimono-jii!" Coby yelled out in panic, skirting around the fire as he ran towards the closest house in hopes of waking the Aunties and getting them safely out of their home. Something smashed him to the ground before he got far, however.
"Trying to run away, eh? Looks like we got here right in time," a man stated from above Coby, his foot grinding Coby into the dirt even as he dragged the pack from Coby's grip.
"Get off! Help!" Coby shrieked.
"Shut up."
Then something hit Coby in the head hard enough to knock him out.
xXx
Coby woke up with a headache and an ocean breeze blowing steadily in his face even as it made the sails above rustle and billow and the ropes holding them creak. In the distance, someone was yelling about the compass being broken. Coby blinked blearily up at the sails before realization - and panic - set in. Judging by the position of the sun, it was mid-morning and they were heading north-west.
"Whaah!" he wailed even as he managed to sit up in spite of the ropes wrapped around his middle. Once he was somewhat upright, he sat panting even as he looked around.
"Oh. He's alive. Captain!"
"Keep us sailing south, you bastards! Eh? The runt made it? Good. We might be able to make something ransoming him after all," a woman replied even as heavy thumping footsteps made Coby turn to look. She was the largest woman he had ever seen and was as wide as she was tall, which was impressive considering she towered over Coby. The equally massive mace she toted around looked almost normal in comparison to her. Coby let out a whine at the sight of her, having seen her wanted poster in the newspapers.
"Eh? What was that? Speak up," the woman demanded harshly.
"Y-you're Iron Mace Alvida."
"That's right! Boys! Who's the fairest in all the seas?"
"You are, Alvida-sama!" came the chorused call.
Coby blinked. A moment later, his breath was driven out of him as Alvida's foot connected with his solar plexus.
"I didn't hear you, runt! Let's try this again. Who's the fairest in all the seas?"
Gasping desperately for air, Coby managed a whispered, "You... are."
"Louder," Alvida demanded, kicking him in the face this time before swinging her mace off of her shoulder and letting it hover threateningly.
"You are. You are! YOU ARE!" Coby replied, panicked, accidentally spitting blood as he did.
"That's right. And stop getting your blood all over my deck."
"Yes, ma'am," Coby squeaked in agreement.
"Now, how much do you think folks would pay to get you back?"
"Um... I thought I was here because they couldn't pay?" Coby answered, pressing the tips of his forefingers together nervously. They definitely wouldn't be able to now. Assuming they'd lived, the garden that was their main source of income was gone. Alvida growled.
"Figures. Those damn Marines are getting too greedy. If we didn't get a share of the spoils... And here I was hoping the reason they had us attack was politically motivated. Not often they ask us to spirit someone away in the middle of the night."
"Wait, what? You-you work with the Marines? But how is that even possible?" Coby wondered before cringing away as Alvida glared at him.
"Hmph. Pathetic, aren't you? I should just kill you. One less mouth to feed."
"Please, don't! I... I can be useful, I promise!" Coby begged even as tears started to fill his eyes.
"Oh? It better be worth my time, runt."
"I-I... Y-You...," Coby stammered even as he tried to latch on to something. He could fish. He was decent at selling fish. He knew things. Wait! He knew things!
"You're going north-west," Coby blurted out.
"WHAT?!" Alvida raged, coming so close to Coby that he fell back with a terrified cry. "IF THIS IS SOME SORT OF TRICK-"
"It's not! I promise! I had to get around in a fishing boat without a compass all the time and I learned how to tell which direction is which by where the sun is! This far north in the East Blue, the sun is always slightly south, even at midday. We're heading north-west," Coby insisted, knowing his life depended on it.
Alvida looked thoughtful. Then she snapped her fingers and pointed at one of her men who was nearby.
"You. Take the runt and chain him up by the helm. Tell Norstead we've got a living replacement for his damn broken compass. And swab this deck! It needs to be as clean and beautiful as I am!"
Coby spent that first trip chained by his ankle to the helm, answering to the best of his ability as to what direction they were going any time he was asked. They barely fed and watered him and Coby didn't dare fight back. So he was as surprised as her crew when Alvida ordered his chains removed for the second trip.
"I don't mean anything bad, Captain, but why?" Alvida's helmsman inquired. Alvida snorted.
"Where's the runt going to run off to? But with a bit more movement, he can actually be useful for more than pointing out which way we're going. Besides, he's rank and everything on this ship should be spic and span, even its prisoners."
She had a point, Coby realized as he was unchained and led away to wash up. He was too scared to steal a boat and if he did, where would he go? Even if someone was still there at home, he'd just bring trouble. Then again, if he got away, he could report Alvida and that awful Lieutenant Itachi. He'd long ago memorized the location of every Marine base in the East Blue and he was the only one who actually knew which way they were going (and wasn't that sad?)
Plan in mind, Coby played the meek and terrified cabin boy to a T, mostly because it was true. But he surreptitiously started building a raft on the tiny island Alvida had claimed as her own, wishing he'd paid closer attention to Sashimono-jii's building skills as he did, and subtly plotting courses that put Alvida's ship as close to Marine bases as he dared.
Coby quickly found out his knowledge was valuable to Alvida, enough to keep him alive. It meant he could sleep peacefully at night knowing no one would murder him in his sleep, but it also meant a closer eye was kept on him to insure he neither ran off nor was 'stolen' by a rival crew. His raft-building suffered as he didn't have nearly enough leeway to sneak away as often and, when he did manage to find time, he was often forced to replace parts that had rotted or been damaged due to neglect. He couldn't exactly put it some place safe from storms, after all.
The day a Marine ship appeared, Coby felt a frisson of hope before it was buried under the realization that his plan had a major flaw. Now that he wasn't tied up, it looked like he was part of the crew and if the Marines took umbrage at pirates being in their waters, they'd sink Coby along with everyone else on board Alvida's ship, the Miss Love Duck.
To Coby's surprise, the Marine ship didn't attack even as it moved to intercept and Alvida ordered them to meet the advancing galleon. Soon they were sailing side-by-side.
"Ahoy there! Permission for our Captain and a small entourage to board?"
"Permission granted," Alvida replied.
Thus Coby found himself witness to Iron Mace Alvida acting as hostess to a small group of Marines led by a man taller and broader than Alvida herself, although most of his weight appeared to be muscles and not fat.
"Captain Nezumi sends his regards as does Lieutenant Itachi. Both spoke highly of your work, Lady Alvida. I was hoping you would be open to working with me as well."
"Did either of them tell you my going rate?" Alvida inquired. The man in charge nodded and gestured for his subordinate to step forward. Said subordinate brought up the case he was carrying and opened it to reveal it was full of gem-encrusted jewelry before setting it on the table for Alvida's perusal. Alvida looked over the contents with a discerning eye before nodding and sitting back, relaxing slightly, which was the sign for her men to stand down. Hidden weapons were surreptitiously slipped back into their sheaths and holders.
"What do you need?" Alvida demanded.
"Gilly Island's about ready to cave into our demands but it's not quite there yet. We want you to be the blow that cracks her wide open."
"That area's under Kasasagi's protection," Alvida pointed out with a frown as she leaned forward. A few hidden weapons once again slipped out of sheathes.
"Oh, I've already visited Old Magpie. Gave him enough shinies to turn his head the other way. Whuhuhu!" the visiting captain assured her with a rather nerve-wracking laugh.
Coby's nails bit into his palms, he was clenching his fists so tight, as he watched Alvida accept the deal. So many Marine officers were involved in this awful farce, either as instigators or by willing to be bribed. When the captain turned to leave, the dam broke.
"How could you? Those people trust you!" he yelled. He barely saw the man whip around before he was backhanded into a wall.
"Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?" the Marine captain barked as Alvida's crew laughed. The Marines who had come over with their captain didn't even look back, just continued on the way back to their ship. They weren't going to help him.
"Well?" the captain demanded before smashing Coby's face down against the deck and stepping on Coby's head, grinding him down for a moment before letting him up. Coby carefully moved into a kneeling position, eyes downcast as he watched drops of his own blood splash against the deck. Alvida would make him mop it up soon.
"No one," he whispered.
"That's what I thought," the man hissed before turning away and giving Alvida a disturbingly charming smile. "Really, Lady Alvida, I don't know why you even have that on board."
"Believe me, the moment he stops being useful, I plan on killing him myself," Alvida replied airily as she saw the man off.
"Good riddance. May your business always be profitable, my dear lady." Then he swept into a bow and kissed her hand, making Alvida blush and her men have to hide their gagging. Coby just shivered, more horrified by being dismissed as an it by this man to be as disconcerted in the man's taste in women.
"Are all Marines corrupt?" Coby muttered as he watched their ship sail away while he mopped his blood off the deck. He cringed when he heard Alvida snort, realizing she'd heard him.
"The Marines? Ha! For someone so smart, you're really stupid, aren't you? Don't you know? You probably thought they'd rescue you instead of killing you for being my cabin boy. Well, I've got news for you runt. Most of the Marines are corrupt bastards running the East Blue as part of a Marine-run extortion racket. You want to get anywhere, you've got to work with them. There's a few holdouts, of course, but it's only a matter of time before they're brought to heel. And I plan on staying far away from them until they do. Not that it's hard.
"No, it's the bounty hunters that are the real ones to watch out for. The ones good enough we can't just take out won't be bribed for less than what their quarry's head is worth. They probably won't kill you but it's not worth their time to help you, either. Well, except for the Demons of the East. I've heard they can't be bribed and they'll mow down the whole crew to get to the head with the bounty. And they don't do it for the money, either, or they'd be turning in more live bounties. Sick bastards are in it for the thrill. You see them, you might as well roll over and die because you're already dead anyway."
"Oh," Coby quietly replied. Was no one actually doing any good in the world? Wait. Migo was. Coby still read things in the papers he managed to sneak, things about corruption revealed and people stepping up to do something about it. He wanted nothing to do with the Marines taking over the East Blue island by island but Migo? Was still something to aspire to. And so Coby's dream shifted.
Then, one day, a barrel was found floating in the ocean and nothing would ever be the same for Coby again.
xXx
"I'm hungry!" Luffy complained. Zoro grunted in agreement.
"If you'd bothered to properly restock first," Kuina muttered but didn't finish her sentence before sighing as her own stomach audibly grumbled. Damn it all, she and Zoro just got out of a starvation situation. They didn't need a second one, especially so rapidly on the heels of the first.
"How soon until we reach somewhere?" she asked Coby.
"Well, uh, we'll reach Orange Town by tonight if the wind stays in our favor. We should be able to get supplies: food, water, navigation equipment, maybe even a larger boat there," Coby answered.
There was silence for a moment but silence would never last long with the Strawhat Pirates.
"You know, if you're going to travel with us, you need to be a lot stronger," Zoro pointed out with a look at Coby.
"Yes, I know," Coby agreed, looking more than a little sheepish.
"Good. I'm going to teach you speed and he's going to teach you strength," Kuina replied, pointing a thumb at Zoro, "and since there's not a lot of room, he's going to start with basic exercises and I'm going to start with dodge-training."
Coby took in the evil grins sported by the Demons of the East Blue and gulped.
"Wh- what do I have to do?" Coby asked anyway.
"Easy. Zoro's going to give you exercises to build up your core, what little you can do in this little boat and, while you're doing them, you're going to be dodging me."
"Um, what? OW!"
"You didn't dodge," Kuina pointed out, waving the fist she'd just hit Coby with. Coby yelped and training began. It didn't last long.
"I'm exhausted," Coby moaned in the bottom of the dinghy, "And bruised."
"Already? That wasn't even a warm up," Kuina muttered even as Zoro went, "Tch."
"Shishishi! You really are a wimp!" Luffy crowed.
"Oi! Don't say that!" Coby demanded, bolting upright so he could smack the back of Luffy's head.
"Oh? You're up? Guess we can get back to training," Zoro suggested with a smirk. Coby paled and whimpered.
"Hey, guys! There's a bird! Meat!"
Not having quite enough experience with Luffy's impetuousness, neither Zoro nor Kuina reacted in time to prevent Luffy from stretching his arms up to grab the bird. Coby was starting to get an inkling, but wasn't in a position to actually stop Luffy. Thus, none of the three moved in time to prevent Luffy from slingshotting himself up into the air and grabbing the bird. And unfortunately, the bird proved to be much bigger than expected and grabbed Luffy instead of him grabbing it.
"Ah! Let go of me, you stupid bird!"
Then the bird took off. Back on the boat, the remaining three occupants blinked and stared.
"Did we seriously just lose our captain?" Kuina wondered.
"Ah! Island gulls are known to eat meat! Luffy's going to be eaten!" Coby cried.
"How did that idiot become—" Zoro started before abruptly stopping, sharing looks with Kuina. Coby might have missed them if he hadn't spent two years watching for every blow coming his way. As it was, he wondered what their hesitation was about.
Zoro threw an oar at Kuina, who caught it easily, as he said, "We better get going if we want to catch up to him."
"Right," Kuina agreed before adding, "Oi, Shrimp, make sure we're heading in the right direction. And hold on to something. We're about to go fast."
"What? WAH!"
Never before had a boat in the East Blue gone so fast. Then again, no boat in the East Blue had ever had two people skilled in their own version of Soru rowing before.
xXx
Darn it! Luffy flailed wildly, trying to get his head out of the grip of the massive bird's beak. He was supposed to be eating the bird, not the other way around! In his struggle, he started stretching, hoping to catch the bird and wrestle it the ground. He did manage to punch it - right in the eye. The bird opened its mouth to let out a pained squawk and Luffy plummeted. Luffy stretched, trying to grab the bird, but it shifted away, letting Luffy fall.
"You stupid bird!" Luffy yelled at it as he made his way swiftly down to the town below. The street did not appreciate his landing, buckling and groaning in protest even as a cloud of dust and debris went flying.
"What was that?"
"What happened?"
"Is everyone all right?"
"A person! I saw a person fall!"
"Eh? Was it a suicide?"
"Where did he fall from?"
"Wow. That was a long way," Luffy stated as he stood up and brushed himself off, making sure to check his hat was in one piece on his head as he did.
"EH?! HE"S STILL ALIVE?!"
"What is he?"
"Hey, kid, you all right?"
"Who are you?"
"Huh?" Luffy turned to take in the crowd, blinking before smiling and waving. "Hello! My name's Luffy and I'm a pirate."
"Pirate?"
"They've sent someone already?"
"Oh no!"
"We're not going to let you destroy our town!"
"Get him!"
And then the crowd very quickly turned into a mob.
xXx
Orange Town's port was oddly quiet when Zoro, Kuina, and Coby made landfall.
"This is where we were aiming to head for anyway," Coby informed the two swordsmen. "Hopefully the people here know where the island gulls nest so we can rescue Luffy-san!"
"If we can find someone," Zoro pointed out as they took in the deserted docks.
"Where is everybody?" Kuina wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe the island gulls ate them too."
"AH! Don't say that!" Coby demanded even as Kuina scoffed at Zoro's suggestion.
"Like their wingspan would fit between these buildings, dumbass."
"Tch," Zoro replied before moving away from the other two.
"Where you going?" Kuina demanded.
"To find our Captain," Zoro answered as he walked off. Kuina sighed as he went before turning to Coby.
"Well, he's going to be lost for the rest of the day. What say you and me go and find someone who might actually know something?"
"Um, right," Coby agreed uncertainly as the two of them headed in the opposite direction of Zoro. They didn't get far before the noise of a crowd reached them. Turning instinctively toward the sound, both Coby and Kuina went wide-eyed at the sight of a mob rapidly approaching, a laughing Luffy in the lead. When Luffy saw them, his smile somehow widened and he stretched his arms to latch onto a building behind them.
"Oh no," Kuina moaned at the realization that the arms were boxing her and Coby in. Coby squeaked as Luffy shot toward them as his arms snapped back to size. He bowled the two over so they folded over his shoulders as they flew down the street at an impressively decent speed, Coby shrieking all the way. They landed hard, Kuina groaning, Coby gasping in fear and pain, and Luffy still giggling like a naughty schoolchild.
"Tag! You're it!" Luffy announced cheerfully. A beat and then, "Oh, wait. They're it. We'd better run, you guys."
"Wait, what?"
"Wah!"
Coby somehow managed to keep wailing despite being, for all intents and purposes, dragged by an arm around his neck. Kuina was back on Luffy's shoulder, facepalming as she heard the crowd's shouting.
"That filthy pirate just took that kid and woman hostage!"
"That fiend!"
"Get him!"
"Captain, what did you do to make them chase you?" Kuina asked. Luffy looked thoughtful and turned red in the face, although it was hard to tell if the flush was due to thinking or running. Kuina was willing to bet on the former, however, as he'd seemed fine before being asked to think.
"Um... hm... Oh! I accidentally damaged their street pretty badly when I landed. They started chasing me after making sure I was okay. That was nice of them."
"Uh-huh," Kuina absently agreed as Coby stopped screaming and gave Luffy an incredulous look. "And how did they find out you're a pirate?" she added.
"I told them!" Luffy informed her with a wide grin.
"Right," she drawled before saying, "You might want to change your grip on the kid. He's starting to look a little blue.
"Huh? Oops! Sorry, Coby!" Luffy swung Coby up, accidentally shouldering the poor kid in the solar plexus as he put Coby up on his shoulder. Coby lay there like a sack of potatoes, gasping for air as tears and a 'why me' expression covered his face. After a few minutes, Kuina pointed left.
"Hey, Captain, go that way. We're docked over there."
"Okay!"
"Wait, what about Zoro?" Coby demanded. Kuina snorted.
"If he's not already there because he walked in a freaking circle, then we'll just sail to the other side of the island and pick him up there. With the way he gets lost, he's probably already there and waiting for us."
Luffy burst out laughing again, making Kuina privately wonder the same thing that Zoro had nearly voiced out loud in front of Coby: how the heck did this idiot become the Pirate King? Coby was shooting Kuina another of his incredulous looks and, if he kept it up, his face was going to get stuck that way one day. Then Luffy burst out onto the waterfront only to suddenly skid to a stop. Kuina and Coby twisted in order to look over their shoulders and see why he stopped. A group stood on the docks and more joined the mass from a ship flying a pirate flag.
"Well," the man in the lead said with a leer, "What do we have here? Look, boys! They came to greet us."
Raucous laughter followed that proclamation and many of the pirates on the dock started fingering their weapons with looks of anticipation.
"Listen up! We're the Bug Pirates and if you don't want your town razed to the ground, you'll bring us all of your money, food, and medicine," the leader announced, pointing a sword at Luffy even as he addressed the crowd that had stopped a good distance behind and were now watching with wary eyes.
"Eh? Buggy Pirates?" Luffy said, tilting his head. The opposing pirates sweat-dropped.
"Uh, no, that's someone else entirely. We're the Bug Pirates. You know. I'm Hornet because I sting, Gnat's annoying, Mosquito will bleed your wallet dry. Bug Pirates," the leader explained.
"Oh." Luffy tilted his head in the other direction and asked, "Why are you here?"
"What are you, stupid? You people didn't pay for 'protection' so the Marines won't lift a finger to stop us from taking whatever we want! And, unlike the Marines, we won't stop at a mere pittance either."
"Huh? Why would pirates work with Marines?" Luffy wondered, tilting his head in confusion. "I sure don't."
"Wait, you're a pirate?"
"He does look like he's kidnapping those two, Captain."
"Heh. No wonder he has a crowd following him. But what kind of pirate doesn't know about the ring? You'd have to be living under a rock not to know. You're a real idiot if you think you can make it in this sea without Marine-backing. If you're against them, they'll just take you out but, if you're with them, then even bounty hunters can become a mere annoyance. The prison's got a revolving door if you've got friends in the right places. Right, boys?"
"Aye!" roared the crew.
"Shit. They're part of that extortion ring Zoro and I kept running into," Kuina hissed low enough that only Luffy and Coby could hear her. "Zoro and I had to stop turning in live bounties because if we turned them in alive to the wrong Marines, they'd be back out on the sea within a week and aiming for our necks for 'inconveniencing' them."
"Alvida was part of the ring too. She was supposed to kill me because we couldn't pay the Marines but I was more useful to her alive, so she kidnapped me instead." Coby, unlike Kuina, didn't pitch his voice quite low enough to keep it from carrying entirely.
"Huh? Alvida? Wait. I've heard about you. You're Alvida's Compass, aren't you? I don't know how you got away from Alvida but you must really be worth something if this pirate kid's kidnapping you. Change in plan! We're taking the pink-haired kid in addition to every bit of loot we can find!"
"Aye, Captain!"
"As for you... the idiot with the scar! Hey! I'm talking to you! Quit ignoring me!"
Silent as a grave and his hat shadowing his eyes, Luffy carefully turned and gently set Kuina and Coby down before turning back towards Hornet and his crew and taking three steps forward so he was standing squarely between his crew and the Bug Pirates.
"Finally! You're an insubordinate lout, aren't you? But I'll be nice and let you join my crew, show you how real pirates work."
"Real pirates don't work with Marines, not like you are. The Pirate King doesn't obey anyone else," Luffy stated quietly. Hornet twitched before the Bug Pirates whooped with laughter.
"Pirate King?! You're an even bigger idiot than I thought and crazy to boot. If you're a pirate, you just need to join the ranks and you get food, money, medicine, and protection from the Marines. Doing it your way means taking out all the Marines in the East Blue just for a start!"
"Then I guess I'm taking out all the Marines in the East Blue," Luffy replied, "Right after I kick your ass for threatening Coby!"
"Heh. Ready, Bombardier?"
"Ready, Captain!" a man called from behind a cannon on the Bug Pirate's ship.
"Then light this place up!"
xXx
Once, in multiple timelines, a group of pirates called the Bug Pirates formed in the East Blue. Their captain, Hornet, was known by the epithet 'Stinger' because he was fast with his sword. Well, fast for the East Blue, that was. His signature move was to stab his opponent repeatedly at speed. Hornet's most impressive accomplishment as captain, however, was recruiting Bombardier 'Beetle' Fass by offering the man a place with a group that would let him detonate explosives with impunity instead of chasing him away as the islanders of his home had done.
Bombardier adored explosives and everything to do with them, including chemistry, bombs, cannons and other artillery and he wore his epithet with pride as it had been bombardier beetles that had inspired him in the first place. When it came to the strength and amount of damage each individual member of the Bug Pirates was capable of, Bombardier had every single other member of the crew beat by at least a mile, Captain Hornet included. Everyone on the crew knew this, just as they also knew Bombardier had absolutely no leadership abilities nor interest in leading anyone as it would eat into his time creating and detonating ever more powerful explosives.
This, however, did cause a bit of a problem as both their name and the type of damage they caused was extremely similar to the pirate crew known as the Buggy Pirates. In a different time, people kept attributing the Bug Pirates' actions to the Buggy pirates, much to the Bug Pirates' collective ire. Seeking acknowledgment and validation for himself and his crew, Hornet had in that timeline made the executive decision to set sail for the Grand Line, only for the Bug Pirates to end up being the very first crew caught by Captain 'White Hunter' Smoker in Loguetown.
In this time, the Bug Pirates had joined the East Blue Extortion Ring while the Buggy Pirates had not. This was a good deal for the Bug Pirates. In addition to much more regular access to money, food, and medicine, it also meant people had a reason to differentiate them from the Buggy Pirates. The end result was that the Bug Pirates were better known and feared than the Buggy Pirates in this timeline and they were just about to show why.
xXx
Back in a much quieter part of Orange Town, Zoro found himself glaring at a little dog that glared right back. He was certain he'd passed the dog and the pet store it was guarding five times now. It was also the only living thing he'd encountered thus far.
"Look, just point me in the right direction and I'll leave you the hell alone, okay?" Zoro said, flushing a little even as he was glad no one was around to see him asking for directions at all, much less from a mutt. A loud noise made him turn and frown and, when he glanced down at the dog, it was also looking in the same direction, ears perked up.
"Towards the noise, huh? Thanks." Then Zoro hurried off with a growing grin because it sounded like there was a fight in the making. Chances were, if his captain wasn't there, Fight Me was. Thus he did the type of crazy thing the Straw Hat Pirates would become known for; he ran towards the explosions.
xXx
Author's Notes: Sashimono-jii is named after sashimono-shi which is the Japanese name for furniture makers, Panya-san is named after pan'yasan which is Japanese for 'baker', Nouka is Japanese for 'farmer', which is what Nouko is named after, and one of the meanings of Mitsu is 'honey'.
Bombardier is named after the bombardier beetle, which actually explodes.
As for the Marines, Kasa-sa gi means 'magpie', Nezumi means 'rat', and Itachi, of course, means 'weasel'.
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