A/N: I've decided not to use honorifics, because it's easier not to, except with Sanji because things like Nami-swan must exist. It's too much a part of his character to remove it, in my opinion.

Furthermore, I'm going to be using a mixture of (traditional) Japanese and Western etiquette practices because Western etiquette has more pronounced gender distinctions, which works better for the themes that I'm trying to portray in this story.

[12 Years Ago; Luffy, age 7; Lavi, age 6]

Red-haired Shanks sipped at his mug of beer heartily as he watched his crew joke around with each other. The sound of the bar doors swinging open caught his attention and he turned to see Luffy holding onto the wrist of a a girl who was slightly smaller than him. Shanks immediately noticed their resemblance and realized that she must have been the sister that Luffy had told him about. Shanks put his beer mug aside and looked at her questioningly as she stomped her way toward him with a look of fury on her face. Luffy, on the other hand, was struggling to pull her back, away from her destination, but miserably failing. She stopped abruptly in front of Shanks, stomped her left foot down hard on the floor, and pointed an accusatory finger at Shanks.

"You!" She shouted at him with a glare. "Fix my brother!"

"What?" Asked Shanks, unsure about what the girl was going on about.

"Lavi," whined Luffy. "There's nothing wrong with me!" Lavi grabbed onto Luffy's nose, without even turning around to face him, and pulled it forward. Everyone in the bar watched his nose stretch for a moment before she let it go. It bounced back to his face with a resounding snap.

"Ow!" Shouted Luffy, finally pulling his hand away from his sister. He placed both of his hands over his nose as he rubbed it.

"Shut up," said Lavi, not removing her eyes from Shanks'. "That didn't hurt you."

"Ah," said Shanks thoughtfully. "I can't fix him because he's not broken."

"Normal people aren't supposed to stretch! Fix him or I'll beat you up!" Lavi threatened. Shanks chuckled at the little girl's exuberance.

"You can't beat up Shanks!" Shouted Luffy. "Shanks is really strong!"

"I'm strong too! And I can beat up anyone that messes with my big brother!" She exclaimed as she balled her small hands into fists.

"Woah, woah," said Shanks. "Relax. There will be no beating up here." Lavi huffed and relaxed her hands when she caught Makino sending the girl a chastising look. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from the red-haired pirate.

"I thought the older sibling was supposed to be the protective one," joked Shanks which only elicited a growl from the girl. Shanks put his hands up as if to show her that he wasn't a threat.

"Oh, don't mind her," said Makino tensely. "She's always picking fights. She doesn't mean any harm."

"How does someone who picks fights all the time not mean any harm?" Asked Yasopp as he lounged about on a chair.

"Lavi only fights bad guys like people who are mean to me," defended Luffy as he moved to stand next to his sister rather than behind her. "So that makes her a good guy!" Lavi puffed up her cheeks as she blushed at Luffy's comment. Shanks chuckled at the pair before moving to squat down in front of Lavi. Lavi deflated her cheeks as she turned to look at him with an angry look back on her face.

"Your brother ate a devil fruit," explained Shanks, "which is what's given him the ability to stretch. Of course, it also prevents him from being able to ever swim again."

"How is my brother supposed to be a pirate now if he can't swim?!" Shouted Lavi angrily.

"Hey. It wasn't my fault. He opened the chest it was in and ate it without my permission." Lavi aimed a punch at Shanks, which he easily dodged.

"Don't put the blame on him! Who leaves something that dangerous just lying around?!"

"She does have a point there," said Ben. Shanks sighed.

"How old are you?" He asked her.

"Six!" She exclaimed.

"You're too smart for a six-year-old," he told her.

"You're just mad I was right!" she said with a grin and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're a bit of a brat," he told her causing her to scowl.

"And you look like a tomato," she retorted.

"Lavi!" Whined Luffy. "You can't say that to Shanks!"

"I can say whatever I want to Tomato-head," she said, her scowl turning into a smug smirk.

"Definitely a brat," muttered Shanks.

[Present; Luffy, 19; Lavi, 18]

Lavi was seated on top of one of the buildings of Fishman Island next to where the ship that belonged to the Straw-Hat Pirates was anchored. She entertained herself by blowing bubbles from the gum that she was chewing, only to let them pop right after, and watching the black flag with their jolly roger, flailing in the wind.

One of the crew's members was on board: Cyborg Franky, who, even though he looked much different from the picture on his wanted poster, she could still recognize. She had considered making her appearance to him—she was certainly more than excited to find out what kind of cool stuff he could do with that cyborg body of his—but decided that it was best to pop up when her brother was there.

She looked down at her sneakers as she thought about him—how much has he changed, she wondered.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a mass of voices coming her way. She looked toward the source and saw a large crowd walking in the direction of the ship. She had a feeling that whatever was causing such a large crowd had to be related to her brother.

As the crowd grew closer, she spotted a familiar straw hat. She let her signature grin cross her face as she stood up. Three years, she thought. She was finally going to see her brother again after three long years. She stood up and stretched her arms upwards. She scanned the crowd as they neared and noted each of the Straw-Hat crew members as they came into view; she looked at her brother last. She was glad to see that he seemed happy, but she couldn't ignore the scar on his abdomen—she knew that it was from Marineford.

Once Lavi deemed that Luffy was close enough, she leaped forward, successfully landing on top of her brother, knocking him down in the process. Within a split second, a sword was being swung at her shoulder, but the edge of the blade was met with armament haki rather than skin.

"Eh?" Said Luffy in confusion as he looked up at his sister. "Lavi?"

"You know this girl, Luffy?" Zoro asked him as he pulled his sword back.

"Yeah," Luffy replied as Lavi got off him and stood up. Zoro eyed her suspiciously as he sheathed his sword, only to be met by Lavi sticking her tongue out at him mockingly. The swordsman's eye twitched in annoyance. Before anyone could say anything else, Lavi turned back to Luffy and started admonishing him.

"You idiot!" She shouted at him. "Do not just disappear like that for two years—TWO YEARS—without telling me where the hell you are going!" She reached out and grabbed his nose; she pulled it forward a few inches before letting it go causing it to snap against his face.

"Ow," whined Luffy, rubbing his nose. "I didn't think that you'd mind." Lavi's eye twitched at her brother's stupidity.

"You knew that I would be setting sail and that I was planning to find you when I did!" Luffy set his lips into a pout.

"I'm sorry, Lavi." Lavi sighed.

"You are such a troublesome brother, you know that?"

"Ehh? Brother?!" Shouted the crowd collectively. Lavi turned to the crowd with a small, polite smile.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Monkey D. Laveer, but please call me Lavi," she said with a short bow. "Thank you for taking care of my big brother and accepting me into your crew."

"W-w-what?!" Nami sputtered out.

"B-b-brother?!" Added Usopp.

"Oi, we never accepted you into the crew," Zoro pointed out.

Lavi ignored the comments as a blond man came spinning toward her. She popped her gum as he stopped right next to her and kneeled down on one knee. He grabbed onto her right hand.

"I am honored to meet a lady such as yourself," he said. Lavi's left eye twitched at his words. He stood up but kept her hand in his. "Though I can't understand how such a lady could be related to—."

He stopped as she grabbed onto his tie and pulled his face down so that it was level with hers. Her eyes bore into his as she popped her gum again. He felt his heart start to race at the proximity. He noticed that she smelled sweet—like sugar.

"Do not call me a lady," she growled at him. "I am not." She pushed him back as she let go of his tie, creating a distance between the two of them. Sanji stared back at her with wide eyes, unsure of how to respond.

"Amazing," said Zoro. "She was able to make the idiot cook shut up for once. Maybe she's not so bad."

Sanji ignored the swordsman's words, though. He was too focused on the black-haired girl before him. This was a first for him. He was used to women often getting mad at him for his advances. But this girl, Lavi, didn't seemed to be bothered by the flirtation itself, but rather by his choice of words. He pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips before lighting it. His curiosity had been piqued.

While Sanji was lost in his thoughts, the rest of the crew found themselves reacting to the newfound information as the Fishman crowd behind them talked amongst themselves.

"It seems like there's still a lot we don't know about our captain," said Robin with an amused smile.

"They do have that same grin," said Usopp with a hand on his chin as if he were deeply considering something.

"I wonder how much they're alike," said Chopper with a tilt of his head.

"Hopefully not that much," said Nami with a sigh. "There's no way I can handle two Luffys at once."

"Yohoho. But wouldn't that mean twice the adventure?" Brook questioned. "My bones are shaking in anticipation!"

"That's not how that works at all," Usopp pointed out.

"Wait, Usopp! Think about it," started Franky, who had left the ship and joined the rest of his crew. "If she's anything like Luffy, we'll have no problem completing Pirates Docking 6 even if Luffy isn't around!" Usopp and Chopper gasped at the realization.

"You're right," the two said as they nodded in agreement as Robin shook her head disapprovingly in the background.

"Oi, Luffy," said Zoro. "Anymore siblings that might pop up out of nowhere?" Luffy made a face as if he were in thought.

"Nope," he answered after a moment with a grin.

"Well, we should get going, guys!" Shouted Nami, prompting everyone to bid their farewells to the fishmen.

[Some time later; on the Thousand Sunny, back at sea level]

"I bet you have all kinds of cool weapons in your body, right?" Lavi asked Franky with sparkling eyes. Franky grinned at the girl.

"Of course," he told her. "I've got all kinds of super things." He revealed to her the cannon that was hidden in his arm and watched her gasp in amazement.

"That. Is. So. Cool," she said, emphasizing each word. Then he revealed to her how each of his fingers were like guns, able to fire bullets, and how he housed missiles in both of his shoulders, which only made her excitement grow. Franky's face grew serious before speaking his next words.

"Now, press down on my nose for three seconds," he said. Lavi gave him a curious expression, but, nonetheless, did as he asked.

She jumped back when the three seconds passed, and his hair started to change. She stared at him blankly for a few seconds as she processed the added feature to his body, but once she had, she broke out into a grin.

"That is definitely the best one that you have shown me," she told her. Franky grinned.

"You're making me feel extra super today," he said as he struck his signature pose. Lavi giggled at the action.

"Oh my god," Nami started in the background. "She really is like Luffy."

Lavi, satisfied with what she had learned about the cyborg, walked toward Chopper who shuffled nervously when she sat down in front of him.

"I heard you like cotton candy," she said. Chopper nodded hesitantly. Lavi gave him a smile and dug into her messenger bag. She pulled out two packages and handed one to Chopper. He read the label and lit up when he saw that it said, 'Cotton Candy'. He looked back to her to see that she had already opened her and was busy munching on the cotton candy.

"Thank you!" Chopper shouted excitedly, all nervousness now gone.

"Anything for a fellow cotton candy lover, Doctor Chopper."

"Idiot! Calling me doctor won't make me happy!" He said with a smile on his face.

"Lavi," whined Luffy, rolling on the floor toward her. "Do you have one for me?" Lavi rolled her eyes and pulled out a third one for her brother. "Yipee!" He shouted as he grabbed at it. He sat up next to her. "You're the best sister I have!"

"I am the only sister you have," she said. Luffy opened the package of cotton candy and ate it in one bite.

"You are going to get a stomachache," Lavi told him. Luffy ignored her forewarning and stood up, pulling her with him.

"Hey, I am not done with my cotton candy!" She exclaimed as he pulled her somewhere.

"Okay," he said and grabbed the cotton candy out of her hand, eating it in one bite causing Lavi's jaw to drop. "Now it's done," he said with a grin.

"I know three years is a long time, but there is no way that you have forgotten rule number one." Luffy's eyes widened as memories rushed back into his mind. He let go of her wrist and took a step back. "You better run, Luffy," she said in a dark voice. Luffy didn't hesitate to follow her advice. She ran after him, running all around the ship as Luffy used his devil fruit powers to his advantage.

"I knew it," cried Nami as she watched the two knock things over as they ran across the deck. "It's going to be like having two Luffys on board." Tears fell down her face.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Robin assured her. "She's already shown us that she can be more well-mannered than him."

Nami calmed herself down and looked back at the two siblings in time to see Lavi tackle Luffy down to the ground. Luffy stretched his arm out and grabbed onto one of the railings of the ship. He tried to pull himself forward and away from his sister's grasp, but her hold on him prevented him from doing so. The two rolled around on the deck as Luffy kept trying to escape.

"It will," said Nami as a depressed atmosphere settled around her. "It will be terrible."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to eat my sweets without my permission?!" Lavi shouted at Luffy as she stretched out his cheeks.

"Ih shawy, Lawi," he said.

"Sorry will not make more cotton candy magically appear!" She hit him on the top of the head.

"Ow," he whined. She froze as she saw blue cotton candy on a cone appear right in front of her face. She gasped and a grin spread across her face. She looked up to see where the cotton candy had magically appeared from and saw that it was Sanji that was offering it to her. She gladly accepted the sweet.

"Thank you, Mr. Sanji!" She said politely. She stood up off Luffy and took a bite out of the cotton candy.

"Anything for you, Lavi-chwan~" Sanji gushed.

"You got lucky this time, Luffy," Lavi told him before walking away. Luffy sighed in relief.

Sanji pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and held it between his fingers as he watched Lavi walk toward Usopp and Chopper. He couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from her for longer than a few moments; not just because he found her beautiful, but because he was afraid that he would miss something important—some small detail that would give him some insight into what kind of person she was.

Lavi sat down next to Chopper, who was sitting across from Usopp, immensely enjoying her freshly made cotton candy—so much better than the store bought one that she was eating before, she noted—when Robin walked up to her.

"Excuse me," she started, causing Lavi to look up at the tall woman. "If you don't mind me asking, weren't you the first mate of the Bonney pirates?" Lavi swallowed a mouthful of cotton candy.

"Yes," she said. "But it was only meant to be until I finally found Luffy. That was the deal I made with Bonney when I joined her crew." Robin hummed thoughtfully.

"Lavi," Luffy whined, dragging himself toward his sister. "Do you have a bounty?" He pulled himself up and sat across from Lavi, next to Usopp. Lavi pulled out a wanted poster from her messenger bag and handed it to Usopp. Luffy leaned over to look at it.

"Eh?" Shouted Usopp. "120,000,000 beri?! That's the same as Zoro!" Lavi licked her lips as she finished her cotton candy.

"I was the first mate of a supernova," Lavi explained with a shrug.

"According to the news," started Robin, "you also seem to cause a lot of property damage wherever you go."

"Not my fault," she told Robin. Luffy laughed.

"Lavi always used to break things when we were little," he told everyone.

"Did not," argued Lavi.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did—"

"Stop it!" Shouted Nami as she punched them both on top of the head.

"Ow," they both whined at the same time. The rest of the crew found themselves crowding around Usopp to get a look at the wanted poster. The picture caught a frontal view of her—she had a lollipop in her hand and a huge grin on her face.

"Ah~," swooned Sanji. "Lavi-chwan looks so beautiful."

"It kinda reminds me of Luffy's wanted poster though," Franky pointed out.

"It's actually scary how alike the two of them are," said Zoro. Sanji sent a kick at the swordsman who blocked it with his sword. Zoro's eye twitched as he glared at the cook.

"Don't insult a woman like that. Lavi-chwan is too delicate to be scary~."

"Ah," began Brook. "May I ask why you are called 'Iron Fist' Lavi?" Lavi averted her eyes from everyone and laughed uncomfortably.

"I guess you could say that I have got a bit of a strong arm," Lavi explained while scratching her cheek. Luffy nodded.

"Lavi punches really hard," he added as he hit his left palm with his right fist. "Gramps always says that she gets her strength from him." The crewmembers' eyes widened save for Robin, Sanji and Brook, who had no eyes to widen.

Sanji noticed that at the mention of 'Gramps', she had slightly flinched. It didn't seem like the others had noticed, but they were not watching her as closely as he was.

"So, does that mean you've got some monster strength then or something?" Questioned Zoro. Just as he finished the question, he found a foot heading toward his head (again). He swiftly pulled out one of his swords (again) causing said foot to hit against the weapon rather than his face.

"The hell is your problem, you curly browed bastard?" Zoro growled out as his sword and Sanji's foot pushed against each other.

"Don't refer to a lady as monstrous, you—," started Sanji, but he was cut off by a punch to the head which left him dazed for a few moments.

"I thought I told you not to call me a lady!" She growled out with a vicious look in her eyes.

"Heh, I'm kinda starting to like you," Zoro told her with a half-grin.

"Hmm?" Lavi turned back to look at Zoro while Sanji rubbed his head—now, Sanji was used to being hit, especially on the head; that was inevitable with a woman like Nami around, but this was different. Because when Nami did it, it didn't really harm him; no, he had been through far worse. But this one—it actually, really fuckinghurt.

'She gets her strength from Garp, huh?' Sanji thought as he stepped back and away from the crew who were half conversing, half arguing, half joking—the usual. He pulled out a new cigarette out of the pack that he kept in his pocket, watching his crew, watching her, as he lit it.

"What do you mean you do not like chocolate?!" She shouted at Zoro. "How is that even possible?!"

"It's too sweet," he replied. Lavi gasped dramatically.

"How dare you, Mr. Kusamochi!" Zoro's eye twitched at the name. *

"What the hell did you just call me?!" He roared.

"I accept your challenge to fight, Mr. Kusamochi!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips and puffing her chest out.

"I didn't challenge you!" He retorted.

"I'm sure everyone else here can vouch for me that you have!" She said confidently, which was met by a chorus of "no's".

Sanji couldn't help the smile that formed on his face at the interaction—she fit in perfectly.

Lavi hesitantly walked toward the kitchen—or what she believed was the kitchen based off Luffy's verbal 'tour'; since the crew had finally settled back into some sort of normalcy, Lavi decided to use the time to go check out what would be, she assumed, one of her favorite rooms on the ship.

She entered as quietly as she could, softly shutting the door behind her. Her nose wrinkled as she entered the room, not liking much the smell of spices that filled it.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sanji," she said softly as she walked toward him. She stopped before she entered what would be considered the actual kitchen area, as opposed to the dining area. Sanji, who had been in the middle of preparing dinner, turned around at the sound of her voice with a surprised look on his face. She waited patiently for him to say something before speaking again; his shock caused him to take a few seconds to register her words.

"Lavi-chwan~," he called to her, quickly switching to his sing-song voice. "Are you hungry? Dinner will be ready in a few more minutes." Lavi gave him a reserved smile as she shook her head slightly.

"Sorry, but I am actually not very hungry, Mr. Sanji," she told him softly. "I actually wanted to make a request."

"Anything for a lovely woman like you," he said, making sure to avoid the word 'lady'. He turned some of his attention back to the cooking food and told her, "Ask away~".

"Would you allow me to use your kitchen? —not now, but at some other time." Sanji raised his visible eyebrow at her, turning to face her while continuing to move around the vegetables on the pan as he sauteed them. He hadn't expected that.

"You can use it whenever you want. I'd be honored to have your presence grace this kitchen." Her eyes lit up at his words and her smile grew.

"Really?" She asked. "Thank you!" She slightly bounced on her feet and opened her mouth to say something else, but before any words left her, she closed it back up and stilled herself. She looked down at the floor briefly and let out a breath.

It was like she was reigning herself in, thought Sanji. He lowered the fire of the stove and stepped back from the stove slightly. Pulling out a cigarette, and lighting it, he continued to watch her as a slight pout settled on her lips. It was strange, thought Sanji. She had just been running around and shouting without a care, but it seemed like now she was trying her hardest not to do that.

'Why?' Sanji thought. 'She looks like she's trying not to say the wrong thing. And it can't be because of me; she had no trouble scolding me earlier.'

"May I have a look around?" She asked him.

"Of course," he told her. With that, she stepped forward, hesitantly, into the kitchen and looked around at all the equipment that it contained. The way she looked at the kitchen made Sanji's breath catch in his throat—because it wasn't the way that Luffy looked at it (drooling, mostly) nor the way that even Nami did (with a hint of apathy). It was like the way that he looked at it—like it wasn't just a kitchen; like it was a sanctum; a place of inspiration and wonder. Sanji's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by his captain shouting on the deck.

"Chopper!" Luffy wailed. "My stomach hurts!" The cook heard Lavi sigh beside him.

"He never listens to me," she said while shaking her head.

* Kusamochi (lit. "grass mochi") is a seasonal Japanese sweet made from mochi and Japanese mugwort leaves or Jersey Cudwood.