Disclaimer: If you think I actually own One Piece… you've got serious problems in the head.
Summary: Sabo was saved by Dragon when the tenryuubito, Saint Jalmack, shot his boat. He, Ace, and Luffy went out to the sea together at age 17/14. What would happen to our beloved Straw Hats if they had a captain who had experienced Grand Line once already?
Warnings: slight OOCness, language, bad gay jokes, some violence.
Pairing: nothing permanent between main characters, start reviewing if you want something bad (but no LuNa).
A/N: I got a small confession to make. I have no real plan for the story I just swing it.
Question: this chapter may have a bit too dirty language, but do you think it's enough to bump it from T to M?
Posted: 24.08.11
Luffy, Sabo, and Nami had sailed for one day before something noteworthy happened. Luffy had made a comment that annoyed Nami so she bonked him upside the head. The next thing Nami knew she was hanging upside down from the mast, rope digging into her flesh uncomfortably.
"Hey, what the hell…?" She screamed, but silenced when she noticed the dangerous look on Luffy's face.
"Nami." He started and Nami gulped, he didn't sound happy. "I'm a relatively easygoing guy. I don't mind if people scream at me or call me names. I usually laugh it off. However, what I can not stand is someone hurting my friends… and I also can not accept blatant disrespect from my nakama. What kind of captain would I be if I let the people I care about abuse me and therefore completely loose respect?"
Luffy took a breath.
"I won't do anything if you have an impressive reason to strike me. Which you did not just a moment ago. I'm afraid I need to punish you for this." He finished, and he really did not look happy to do this.
"You didn't seem to mind a few days ago." Nami said, remembering the times she hit him on the head.
"I was not your captain back then." Luffy said simply. "You're going to hang there until your nose starts to bleed."
Nami accepted her punishment in silence, the atmosphere tense. Nami didn't like being punished, but at least this assured her Luffy was actually captain material, despite being so silly and easygoing most of the time.
It had been about four days since the incident and the atmosphere had finally reverted to normal.
"Look! Cruise ship!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
Nami wasn't surprised. Despite his carelessness and selective naivety her captain was damn good at spotting ships from afar. Sabo said it's because Luffy liked how the ocean looked and spent a good portion of his time admiring it.
"I'm guessing you want to eat again, cap'n?" Nami ventured.
"Yep, and it's about time I start looking for a ship more actively too. What do you think about this one?" He replied.
Nami shook her head.
"It's slow, difficult to maneuver in, doesn't have a cannon… shall I continue?"
Luffy scratched his head sheepishly.
"Shame. I kind of like how it looks. Though it is a bit… bulky for my tastes."
The three secretly stowed away. The men headed straight to the food pantry, but Nami decided she wanted to enjoy the party. It wasn't much about the dancing; she just wanted to pickpocket the jewelry from richer guests.
They were all enjoying their stay on the ship when, as luck would have it, it was ambushed by a pirate ship. Nami grinned gleefully. More treasure for her and her captain! She went into position to sneak into the enemy pirate ship once the majority of the other pirate crew was looting this cruise ship. Sabo and Luffy would get her if she were to get in over her head, which was unlikely. But man was it nice to have backup!
Luffy and Sabo were eating in the pantry when they hear a careful voice call out from beyond the door.
"Helloo? Is someone here?"
The brothers looked at each other. Was it another foodnapper? No official worker would act so timid.
"No one's here. Oh thank god." It continued. "There's a lot of barrels here…"
The brothers shrugged, and continued eating, letting the nervous owner of the voice do whatever it wanted. If it wanted some free grog then who were they to stop him? They continued pigging out until they heard new voices next door.
"Hey you coward-boy! Whacha doin' here? Hidin' and doing nothin' again?" A decidedly rougher voice than before barked.
"N-n-n-no! O-of course not! I-I was just rolling this barrel of alcohol…" The owned of the timid voice squeaked.
There was laughing heard.
"We'll help ya lighten yer load." The rough-voice man said.
"We're a bit thirsty here." A second guy said.
"Mm? Are there bullies outside?" Luffy asked while munching on an apple.
"Sounds like it. And it sounds like they actually might be pirates. I wonder when this ship fell under siege." Sabo mused out loud.
"Ooh! Do you think they have a good ship?" Luffy asked, suddenly excited. Sabo only shrugged.
"You've pretty much dismissed every ship we've come across since there's always something you don't like about them."
"Think I'll like this one? I'm feeling lucky today! Let's go check it out!"
Not waiting for Sabo's answer Luffy kicked the door open to witness a man smashing a water barrel open.
"The shit? S' only water! Coby, you tricked us!" A fat man with a blue and white striped shirt and bandana protested.
"Huh? Who's this lil' punk?" A man with a boring tattoo over his eye asked when he noticed Luffy.
"Hello!" Luffy said cheerfully and raised his hand in greeting. "You guys are pirates, right?"
"Who the hell are you?" The three bully thugs yelled.
"Ah, sorry. My name's Luffy. Nice to meet you." Luffy said while tipping his hat.
Apparently that offended the men as they each pointed something sharp (probably cutlasses, but they were so poor quality Luffy was reluctant to call them that) at him.
"Stop tryin' to screw with us, lil' man! Doncha know we're pirates?" The eye-tattoo guy said.
Hadn't Luffy just asked that?
"Cool! That means you've got a ship, right?" Luffy said with a wide grin, completely ignorant to the fact that he was making the men pissed off.
"Stop crewin with us! DIE!"
The next thing that happened was a complete mystery to the four underlings of Alvida's pirates, but the end result: the blades were cut cleanly in half and propelled into the ceiling.
"What're you attacking me all of a sudden?" Luffy asked, honestly confused.
The three men looked ready to piss themselves, crouching on the floor and clutching broken sword handles.
"W-w-who the hell are you?" One of them asked.
There was chuckling from behind the creepy powerful teen.
"Didn't he introduce himself already? He said his name is Luffy."
The three thugs screamed and made a run for it.
"What's with them?" Luffy asked, still quite confused by their reaction. He hadn't done anything scary, right?
"Wh-what just happened?" A pink-haired boy asked from where he was sitting on the floor.
"Who knows?" Sabo answered Luffy's question, content to ignore the small bespectacled boy. Until he gasped.
"Hurry and run away! When they come back with their comrades you'll be killed for sure!" He panicked.
"Even so, I wonder what their ship looks like." Luffy said and grinned at the boy, making him freak out even more.
"How can you take it so easy? H-hey, don't go that way!" He launched himself to the doorway in an attempt to block the two men's pathway.
Luffy looked at him before a thought occurred to him.
"Hey Sabo, what about Nami?"
"She's a very stealthy thief, don't worry about her. I bet she's on the pirate ship right now, stealing all their loot." He said nonchalantly. Luffy laughed uproariously.
"That sounds like Nami-chan alright. Well, lets get some final munching before seeing how's she doing and checking out the ship, okay?"
"You're still not full yet?"
Luffy sent Sabo a look that said 'are you kidding me?'. Sabo laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, dumb question." He stated.
The brothers turned around and returned to the pantry.
"You hungry too?" Luffy asked the pink haired boy before entering.
Once inside the small youth muttered to himself. "They might not find us here…" He then looked at the carefree brothers. "M-my name is Coby. You are Luffy-san, right?"
Luffy swallowed the food in his mouth. "Yep, and this is my older brother Sabo." He said cheerfully and bit into another piece.
Sabo stood up and gave Coby a bow, tipping his hat off. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Coby-kun."
Coby blushed at the courteous greeting. He hadn't run into polite people in too long.
"A-a. I-It's nice to meet you too."
The elder brother sat down again and continued eating as well, albeit with more manners than his younger brother.
"That was amazing what you did back there. How did you do that?" Coby inquired.
"These are pretty damn good. Here have some as well." Luffy threw Coby an apple which he caught clumsily.
"You're so nice, but you're having a pretty bad luck. This ship is being attacked by Alvida-sama right now." He said nervously.
The brothers shrugged it off as if it were nothing.
"Say Coby, are you a pirate as well?" Sabo, who was usually silent, asked.
A pained look crossed the small pink haired boy's face. He told the brothers his tale of accidentally getting aboard a boat that went to a pirate ship.
"I've been working as a slave for two years for Alvida-sama. If it hadn't been for my navigating skills they would've killed me already." He finished sadly.
"You're a freaking moron." Luffy said with a laugh only to be bonked in the head by Sabo.
"Be nice, Lu." He chastised, but Coby got the feeling he didn't really mean it, if Luffy's grin was anything to go by. But then again, that grin kind of seemed like a permanent feature on the youth.
"You could just run away." Luffy said as if it were the simplest thing ever.
Coby freaked out and started shaking his head rapidly, all the while babbling how impossible it was and how Alvida would kill him.
"Oh, you're a coward. I really hate people like you!" Luffy said in a happy-go-lucky way while laughing.
Sabo hit Luffy on the head again, this time a little harder, as he had started to pity with the tiny youth. Coby only smiled sadly.
"You're right, Luffy-san. If only I had the courage there's something I'd like to do." He muttered timidly.
"Hmm?" Luffy stopped eating to pay more attention, but something else suddenly occurred to Coby.
"O-oh! Luffy-san. Why were you eating here? Aren't guests supposed to dine and party upstairs?"
Luffy laughed out loud.
"I'm not riding here with a ticket, I'm just stowing away eating their food before going my own way again. I'm going to be the King of Pirates!" He declared confidently.
Coby's mouth fell open.
"P-P-P-Pirate King! Does that mean Luffy-san is a pirate?" He shouted in total surprise.
"Totally!"
"A-and Sabo-san too?"
Sabo only smiled and nodded.
"You're crewmates?"
The brothers shook their head.
"Nope, I'm just chaperoning Luffy to Grand Line until I can reunite with my old crew." Sabo said.
"Up until now I only have one nakama- a navigator. We're trying to find a ship- which reminds me… You had a pirate ship, right? Huh?"
Luffy's smile dropped and turned into confusion when he noticed that Coby's expression was completely frozen. Luffy leaned closer and shook his hand in front of Coby's unresponsive face. He looked at Sabo for answers, but he was busy stuffing his mouth with his fist to keep from laughing out loud. Suddenly Coby recovered from his stupor.
"Pirate King is someone who has everything in the world! Wealth, fame, and power all united in one person! It means you're going after One Piece!" He freaked.
"Yup." Luffy said cheerfully.
"All the strongest pirates in the world are after One Piece!" And Coby continued freaking out.
"Yup. And me too." Luffy giggled to himself, Sabo had more trouble holding back from laughing uproariously.
"It's impossible, absolutely impossible to stand on top in this great pirate era! It's impossible, not po-"
Coby was bonked in the head, this time by both brothers.
"Why'd you guys hit me?" He whined.
"Just because." Luffy answered.
"It's not a matter of possible or impossible, Coby-kun." Sabo said gently.
"Huh?"
"I'm doing it because I want to." Luffy said. "I decided I will become the King of Pirates. I don't care if I die doing it."
Sabo observed how Luffy's words made a huge impact on Coby.
"Well then, I think we should go check up on Nami-chan. I want to see the pirate ship too!" Luffy said and started to walk away.
Luffy and Sabo were walking out of the pantry when Coby jumped up and shouted at them.
"Do you think I can become a marine?"
The brothers turned around.
"Marine?" They both echoed at the same time.
"Yes! It has been my dream to catch bad guys ever since I was a little kid!" Coby shouted. "Can I do it?" He asked quite desperately.
Luffy shrugged. "How would I know?" He said and Sabo nodded in agreement.
Coby shook his head enthusiastically.
"No! I'm going to do it! I'm going to stop working as a slave to Alvida-sama… No I will catch Alvida!"
As soon as he had declared that the roof gave in and on huge lady fell through.
"Who are you going to catch! Eh, Coby?" The obese woman screeched at the shaking boy.
After staring down the terrified boy she turned her gaze at Luffy and Sabo and snorted.
"You kiddies are not the pirate hunter Zoro." Alvida said, quite emboldened by not confronting the legendary East Blue monster bounty hunter.
"Zoro?" Luffy cocked his head, never having heard of the person. "Who's Zoro, Sabo?"
"Don't know. He must've become famous only after we left this sea." Sabo answered.
"Coby! Who's the most beautiful woman in the ocean?" Alvida had turned her attention back to Coby.
Is that a trick question? Sabo mused to himself.
Coby was about to answer when he was interrupted by Luffy.
"Who's this fat lady?" He asked while pointing a finger at Alvida.
Sabo watched, fascinated, how many veins popped visible on the woman's face. With an enraged roar Alvida swung her club at Luffy, who avoided the ridiculously slow mace easily. He jumped in front of Coby and grabbed his hand. Then he jumped out on the deck via the hole in the roof Alvida had made before. Sabo followed his brother.
Alvida followed them too, in a much slower pace, but once she had pulled herself up her crew had already been beaten. Her mouth fell wide open.
Coby had witnessed an extraordinary sight: Luffy-san's arm had stretched.
"Luffy-san, what are you?" He asked the teen, not knowing how to word himself more politely.
"He's eaten a Devil's Fruit, the gomu-gomu no mi. He's a rubber man." Sabo explained. The completely horrified/fascinated/disbelieving/awestruck expressions on peoples' faces when they hear that never cease to amuse him.
"The Devil's Fruit, is it?" Alvida said, expressionless.
Coby freaked and took refuge behind Luffy.
"Yep." Luffy replied and stretched his mouth to the side to demonstrate.
"I see. I've heard rumors, but I never thought they actually existed. You also have some moves. Are you a bounty hunter?" She asked, actually seeming a bit intimidating… if she hadn't been so pathetically weak.
"Nope. A pirate." Luffy replied.
"A pirate. Just the two of you?"
Luffy nodded. Sabo didn't feel like correcting Alvida. It gave Nami a bit more security for now. Alvida's face stretched into an ugly grin.
"I guess that makes us enemies, then."
"Captain!" A feminine voice shouted.
Luffy turned his head to the side and his mouth fell open.
"What… the… hell… is that thing?" He shouted. "It looks like the monster of übercute barfed all over that… floating thing!"
Sabo found Luffy's description of the pirate vessel quite accurate.
"Cap-tain!" The voice called again, a bit more impatient.
Luffy blinked.
"Oh, Nami-chan! I didn't see you there amidst all that pink monstrosity. How's the loot?" He shouted once he spotted his navigator with a huge bag over her shoulder.
"Awesome! I'd say it's about 6 to 7 million in total." Nami replied cheerfully.
"Y-you… YOU LITTLE WORMS!" Alvida screamed her rage.
She turned her gaze at Luffy.
"I'll give you one chance to go easy on you. Tell me, who is the fairest one in the entire ocean?" She said with an ugly leer.
Seriously, is that a trick question? Sabo mused to himself awkwardly.
"Alvida is the number one shittiest lady of them all!" Coby, brave cowardly little Coby, screamed with all his might, with tears streaming down his face.
Luffy glanced at Coby in mild surprise before laughing uproariously.
Alvida, already angered before, finally completely lost it and swung her iron club at Coby with all her might. However Luffy stepped in her path and blocked her blow with his body. Coby gasped, thinking Luffy was done for, until he heard him laughing.
"I'm made from rubber. Blunt damage is generally useless against me."
Then Luffy punched her so hard he sent her flying for several miles. He then turned towards the pink monster ship.
"Nami-chan, grab ahold of the treasure tightly!" He shouted at his navigator.
Nami nodded, understanding what her captain was planning on doing and clutched the bag tightly and also closed her eyes tight. She had assumed correctly when she felt Luffy's hands on her waist and the winds blowing moments later. Luffy had pulled her away from Alvida's ship.
"Hmm, this thing is a little heavy. Do you think we may need an extra dinghy?" Luffy asked when he assessed the weight of the bag.
Sabo grabbed the bag and lifted it up.
"I think so, yes. Especially if we are going to find even more treasure and no real seaworthy ship." He said matter-of-factly.
Luffy turned his gaze at the pirates who were aboard the pink… thing.
"Oi, give us another dinghy." He said bluntly and all the pirates nodded enthusiastically, not daring to utter even half a protest.
Then three cannonballs exploded on the water near their ships. Marines to the rescue!
"Whooaah! Well, alrighty, this is our cue to go."
Luffy said and unloaded the bag on his smallish sailboat. Sabo, Luffy and Nami went as well.
"Na? You're not coming, Coby?" He asked in mild confusion as he looked up where the pink-haired boy was still on the cruise ship.
"Huh?" Coby asked, surprised.
"I thought you said you wanted to become a marine. Get on, we'll give you a ride to the nearest marine base island. As these marines here are more likely to arrest you than recruit you."
Coby's eyes were filled with tears of happiness.
They had gotten away from the marine vessels without a hitch since they were distracted by the 'bigger' prey. It was then that Coby asked Luffy a question.
"U-um, Luffy-san, if One Piece is your goal, then that means you're going to Grand Line, right?" He asked timidly.
"Yup."
"It's also called the graveyard of pirates." He said in a scared tone.
"Really?" Luffy asked, honestly surprised.
"Oi, Sabo, did you know Grand Line's called the graveyard of pirates around these parts?"
Sabo, who was on the bigger boat, blinked before grinning.
"Yeah, but I haven't heard it called that for a loooong time."
"Three years, right?" Luffy guessed.
"Yep. Though considering we've called it 'home' for the past three years, it's not all that surprising." Sabo snickered.
"HOME!" Coby faceplanted.
"I know what the Grand Line's like, that's why I also know I need a strong crew. By the way, Coby, that pirate hunter guy, what kind of a person is he?" Luffy asked carefreely.
"You mean Zoro? I heard he was captured by the marines." Coby, not realizing Luffy's intention, answered freely.
"Huh? Why? Pirate hunters aren't outlaws." Luffy was confused. "But I guess he's pretty weak then, if he got caught in East Blue by a bunch of marines."
"No way! He's a terrifying beast!" Coby freaked.
"I can second that, captain. It's said he's the strongest guy in East Blue." Nami shouted from the bigger boat. "Do you want to make him our nakama?" She asked.
"Maybe. I need to see what kind of person he is first." Luffy said with a wide grin.
"Luffy-san is reckless again." Coby sweatdropped.
"He might be a pretty decent guy." Luffy debated.
"He was caught because he's a bad guy." Coby protested.
His three travel companion's only shook their heads at Coby's naivety and black-white view of world. He'll learn.
"Whoo! We're finally in a marine base situated town." Luffy shouted cheerfully as his feet touched the ground.
"So, whacha guys wanna do?" He turned to his travel companions.
"I am not going to even bother suggesting anything since our first stop will be a restaurant anyway." Nami said and Sabo burst out laughing.
"As the saying goes, the only one in the crew that's allowed to be selfish is the captain."
"Damn straight we're eating first." Luffy declared. "But afterwards you're free to do what you want while I assess Zoro."
Passersby near him jumped away and freaked out.
"Huh? That's pretty strange." Nami mentioned.
"That only proves to show he's an evil guy." Coby reasoned.
"Restaurant!" Luffy shouted suddenly and pointed as he spotted the dining settlement.
"I have a craving for a tiramisu." Nami said as they walked in the building.
Some time later when the four were full… Well, Nami and Coby were; Luffy and Sabo were just having a 'snack'.
"Mm, the food here's great! Anyway, I wonder if Zoro is being kept in that marine base."
And people, once again, jumped in fright and freaked out.
"Looks like that name's taboo here." Sabo mentioned in interest.
The three paid their bill and walked out of the restaurant.
"Anyway, let's head towards the marine building. Coby wants to become a marine, right?"
"A-ah! L-Luffy-san, I'm not ready yet!" Coby smiled. "I heard that a captain Morgan is in charge of this base." He said a bit dreamily… until people jumped in fright and freaked out.
Luffy burst out laughing.
"What an interesting town."
"I'd say it's a weird one." Nami commented.
"I find it quite amusing." Sabo added.
Coby looked worried.
"I can understand Zoro, but why would people be afraid of a captain? This is so worrisome." He said.
"Dunno. Maybe people do it for the fun of it." Luffy suggested.
"I doubt it." Coby said, not amused.
"Maybe he did something really evil." Sabo said.
"That's not possible!" Coby yelled, even less amused.
They arrived before the marine building. It was pretty ugly up close, but Coby was looking at it like one would a firstborn son.
"Ne, Nami, are ya tagging along with us?" Luffy asked.
"You're going in there?" Nami replied, only mildly surprised.
"Duh, I want to find Zoro."
Nami shrugged.
"Nah, I think I wanna go shopping. I saw there were some cute and cheap clothes on sale in town."
"Okay." Luffy said and took a glance at Coby.
Then he took a step closer to Nami to whisper in her ear so that Coby couldn't hear him.
"Don't take too long with that. Whether or not we're having Zoro join us I'm going to make a scene in this base so you can sneak in and steal some treasure and see if you stumble upon some interesting data."
Nami nodded and gave an okay.
"I'll see you later then, captain."
"Bye." Luffy called and launched himself on the gate to peek over it.
"Miss Nami, be careful out there. Keep in mind your face has recently made the bounty list." Sabo warned Nami.
Nami was momentarily depressed at the mention of a bounty, but cheered up instantly when she thought about shopping. Plus having two unrivaled powerhouses to watch her back she felt quite safe even if she were to get caught.
"I wonder where that monster is~?" Luffy singsonged as he peeked over the wall.
Sabo shook his head and Coby sweatdropped.
"They wouldn't keep him in a place like this, Luffy-san. He's probably in an isolated cell or dungeon or something." Coby said and Sabo agreed with him.
"Nope. There's someone there." Luffy said and ran along the wall to where he could get the closest look of the dreaded bounty hunter.
"Huh?" Both Sabo and Coby said, surprised.
They followed Luffy and peeked over the fence.
"So, is that him?" Luffy asked, still grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"It's not possi-" Coby started but his words died in his mouth. His eyes widened and he started shaking.
"That black bandana, green haramaki, and intimidating aura… there's no doubt. That's Roronoa Zoro."
"Those ropes seem pretty easy to break." Luffy mused out loud.
"They do." Sabo agreed.
"Are you out of your damn minds! If you do that he'll kill you and go rampage on this town." Coby wailed.
"It's okay, we're strong." Luffy grinned.
Coby felt like banging his head against a hard surface.
"Hey you…" They heard o voice and turned towards Roronoa.
"He's speaking…" Coby squeaked.
"You're annoying. Get lost." He said gruffly.
"He sounds like he hasn't had much to drink for some time." Sabo commented aloofly as Coby fell down the wall in fright.
Coby was surprised when a ladder was placed against the wall and a little girl climbed up. She looked at Sabo, Luffy and Coby and 'sssh'ed them. Then she surveyed the grounds that Zoro was tied at and, after convincing that there was no immediate danger, jumped down the wall and ran towards the tied up man.
"Ah! No! Don't go there, it's dangerous!" Coby fretted, but the girl paid him no mind. "Luffy-san, please stop her! It's dangerous, she'll be killed!" He sobbed.
"Do it yourself, Coby." Luffy said to shut him up.
Actually Luffy and Sabo were fascinated at what the little girl would do, so they observed silently.
"What are you doing here, shorty?" Zoro asked, but not unkindly.
"Are you hungry, oniisan? I made you some onigiri." She chirped happily.
"You'll be killed if you stay here. Get lost." Zoro replied.
"But you haven't eaten anything. Here, it's was my first time, but I made it with all my heart." She said with a cute smile.
"I'm not hungry. Hurry and go home." Zoro replied, a bit more urgently.
"But…" The girl protested weakly.
"I don't want it. Go away."
At that moment a gate into the open training yard (where Zoro was being held) opened and a weird buy wearing a tacky purple garb walked in pompously.
"Such a mean man you are, Roronoa Zoro. You really shouldn't be picking on little girls." He twittered.
Back on the wall Luffy was staring at the guy bug-eyed.
"Okay, I understand you can't help genetics and get a butt on your chin, but what is up with that freaky bowl cut?" He mused out loud.
"I find his lack of fashion sense disturbing." Sabo agreed.
"Oh thank god, someone important from the marine's showed up. That little girl will be safe now." Coby sighed in relief.
Luffy and Sabo glanced at their incredibly green friend. How could anyone be relieved by the appearance of that guy? He practically oozed pompousness.
Zoro looked at the obviously spoiled rotten brat and snorted.
"If it isn't the captain's bastard son." He said sarcastically.
"Bastard? Don't get cocky!" He said in with a pathetic sense of superiority.
The fashion disaster turned to look at the little girl.
"Oh, doesn't that onigiri look delicious." He said snootily and plucked one of the two rice balls from her.
The girl protested but was soon overridden by bowl-head's hacking.
"Bleeergh! Disgusting! Onigiri needs salt not sugar you little twit!" He screamed.
The girl pouted.
"But I thought they would taste better sweet."
Bowl-head grabbed the other onigiri the girl made and stamped it under his foot, all the while berating the sobbing girl for her stupidity.
Coby was shocked, unable to comprehend that a marine would do such a cruel thing.
"Don't cry, little girlie, I'm sure the ants will enjoy this now. Don't you know that my dad declared that anyone who helps the criminal will be charged with death penalty? If you were an adult you'd be executed."
Luffy and Sabo comprehended the situation immediately. Classic case of nepotism. Actually worse than that, considering the bowl-head didn't even seem to be part of the marines.
Luffy frowned when bowl-head gave an order to throw the girl over the fence. His frown deepened even more when he threatened the reluctant marine soldier to 'tell on him' like a bratty kindergartener if the order wasn't carried out. Luffy took a deep breath and concentrated on his ambition. With a slight nudge of haoshoku haki the bowl-head and his two unwilling lackeys were knocked out cold.
Sabo realized exactly what happened but everyone else was confused.
Luffy jumped over the fence and neared Zoro, Sabo chose to stay by the fence, and so did Coby.
"What a douchebag! Y'know, I've never liked people who make a habit out of taking a joyride on someone else's accomplishments. They're just the worst." He said after reaching them.
"You're still here?" Zoro stated rather than asked.
"Hmm, yes I'm too busy browsing to leave."
"Browsing?" Zoro blinked at the odd guy.
Luffy turned to look at the little girl.
"Hey shorty, did you feel a sort of chill run down your spine before this douche ball passed out?" Ha asked as he pointed at bowl-head.
The girl blinked in confusion but shook her head negative.
"You sure?" Luffy asked, just to make sure.
"I'm sure." She nodded.
"What about you, bounty hunter, did you feel a chill or something similar?" Luffy turned to Zoro.
"Eh? Should I have?" He replied gruffly.
Luffy threw his arms in the air and whooped in happy triumph.
"Hear that, Sabo? It's the first time I completely controlled my haoshoku haki perfectly!" Luffy cheered happily.
"Congratulations Lu." Sabo shouted from the wall.
"What a weird guy." Zoro mumbled to himself.
That brought Luffy's attention back at him.
"Are you sure you're strong? Being publicly humiliated like that?" He asked, his tone not at all mocking despite his words.
"Mind your own damn business!" Zoro growled, his mood already soured from hunger and Helmeppo. "You should beat it before this spoiled brat wakes up and goes running to daddy." He nodded his chin at the passed out blonde idiot, who had finally stopped frothing from his mouth. Luffy blatantly ignored his warning.
"I'm looking for people to join my pirate crew." He said out of the blue.
Zoro raised an eyebrow.
"Pirate? You want me to give up my life to become a crook?"
Luffy shrugged.
"I haven't made up my mind yet. You've got a pretty bad reputation, though hardly ever are rumors among civilians accurate. They like to put marines on pedestals and paint pirates, and often bounty hunters, as devils. It's really funny how black-and-white they like to see the world" He giggled to himself.
"So what's your plan if you do decide on me? Set me free and force me to join?" He asked and gave a dangerous smile.
"Dunno. Maybe. I still haven't made up my mind." Luffy shrugged and turned tail. "Guess I'll see ya later, maybe." He grinned and waved.
"Wait!" Zoro called out before Luffy could leave.
"Hmm?" The straw hatted boy turned around.
"Before you go, could you give that to me?" Zoro pointed his chin towards the squished mud/rice ball.
Luffy picked it up with a mildly disgusted face while Rika's face started to show stars of happiness (yes, she was still there, just quietly).
"You want to eat it? It has more dirt than actual food in it." He said with a pouty face. Food shouldn't be wasted like that! That's sacrilege!
"Just shut up and give it to me!" Zoro shouted and opened his mouth wide.
Luffy shrugged and shoved the former food in the bounty hunter's mouth. He chewed, swallowed and then coughed at all the dirt.
"Told ya." Luffy said, grinning.
"It was delicious. Thanks for the food."
Rika looked like she was going to pass out from happiness.
"I'm glad you liked it oniisan!"
Suddenly Luffy pushed down Zoro's haramaki and pulled up his shirt. The swordsman's face went pink.
"What the hell are you doing?" He yelled.
"I'm checking out your abs." Luffy replied bluntly and Zoro went from pink to red.
Sabo hit his forehead with his palm. Of course his selectively naïve baby brother wouldn't get the double meaning of his words.
"You idiot! Cut that out!" Zoro yelled, now extremely embarrassed and oddly self-conscious.
"You haven't eaten in awhile, right? I'm just checking to see how many fat reserves you have left and estimate your level of atrophy." Luffy touched his hand to Zoro's stomach. "Don't want you to be useless if you do join me."
Zoro wizened up and kicked the younger boy away.
"You moron, that's embarrassing!" He yelled.
"Well, these dudes here should wake up soon, so I guess we'll see ya later. Hehehe, y'know I think I'm really starting to want you in my crew." Luffy said before leaving the training field with Rika, leaving the swordsman tied up and blushing.
Luffy, Zoro, Coby and Rika walked back to town.
"I don't get it." Coby said. "Is Zoro really an evil demon like everybody says he is?"
"No!" Rika protested. "Oniisan's a nice person. He got arrested because he killed Helmeppo's pet wolf when it was about to attack me. Helmeppo let it run wild in the town. Helmeppo made a deal with Zoro-niisan. He promised if he could survive one month he will let him go, but he punches and kicks him…" Rika started tearing up in sorrow. "The only bad guys are Morgans, but you'll get executed if you disobey. Everybody's terrified of them."
At that moment Helmeppo walked down the street, and the people let him have a wide berth and bowed their heads low as he walked by. Luffy's breath hitched in his throat- this scene was too familiar.
Helmeppo laughed obnoxiously. "Who dares raise their heads? I'll tell my dad!" He declared almost as pompously as a tenryuubito would.
Luffy's brow twitched and Sabo had to grab his arm to remind him to calm down.
"Do you want to be like that Roronoa Zoro? I'm going to publicly execute him in three days to set an example."
Luffy stepped into Helmeppo's path. The bowl-head was about to protest, but was cut in by Luffy before he could.
"Didn't you say you'll release him after one month of imprisonment?" He asked emotionlessly.
"Whaaaat? I was only joking with him. Only an idiot would've bought that! Ha ha!" He laughed, satisfied in self-achievement.
"So you're either a sissy, a scumbag, or both." Luffy concluded.
A vein popped on Helmeppo's forehead. "What did you say?"
Luffy shrugged. "The only people who go back on their deals are sissies and or scumbags. And I only deal with them one way."
Luffy gave a friendly smile before punching Helmeppo in the face, knocking out a few teeth and probably bruising his cheekbone.
Coby freaked out.
"Sabo, go find Nami and say that it's time."
Sabo nodded and disappeared, looking for Nami with the help of kenbunshoku haki. Luffy turned to Coby and smiled, all traces of anger he showed before vanished.
"I've made up my mind now. I'm going to make Zoro my nakama."
With that Luffy hightailed towards the marine training grounds where the swordsman was strung up. Helmeppo cradled the place where Luffy hit him, and called after him before the young pirate captain was out of hearing range.
"Y-you hit me!" He screamed, not believing this could happen. "I-I'm marine captain Morgan's son! I'll tell him about this!" He wailed with tears in his eyes.
"I'd tell you to fight your own battles, but that would be a waste of air. Trash like you is not even worth beating up." Luffy said with a bored tone.
"You'll regret this! You'll get a death sentence for certain! BASTARD!" Helmeppo wailed as his two marine 'escorts' half dragged half carried him away.
Rika cheered on Luffy until her mother came to take her away, afraid that her daughter might get a death penalty as well.
Back on the training field Zoro was having a nap, which he awoke from abruptly only to find the embarrassing guy in front of him again.
"You have way too much free time." He commented.
"Yo!" Luffy greeted with a grin. "I've made up my mind; I'll have you as my nakama." He declared. "By the way, my name is Luffy."
"Piss off. I have no intention of joining you. I have my own ambitions." Zoro said and his eyebrow twitched in irritation.
Luffy stood a bit too close to Zoro's comfort, and he was painfully reminded of the embarrassing ordeal this guy put him through a while ago.
"What is your dream, Roronoa Zoro?" Luffy asked, gazing straight into the swordsman's eyes.
Maybe it was the use of his full name, but it made Zoro grin a bloodthirsty badass grin.
"To be the best swordsman in the world."
"Ho?" Luffy grinned even wider, if that was possible. "In that case, I'm your best bet." His grin took a demonic glint "And that's not even taking into consideration that Helmeppo's planning to execute you in three days."
"What!" Zoro exclaimed in surprise. "He promised me…"
"He's trash with shitty upbringing, spoiled rotten little shit. You can't expect people like him to keep their promises. Actually, it's easier to just assume they'll break them."
Zoro's fist clenched.
"So… I heard you're a swordsman. Where's your katana?" Luffy asked out of the blue.
"That shitty son took them. It's something I treasure most in this world, other than my life." Zoro replied.
Luffy grinned.
"Perfect! I'll go get it right now, so if you want it back you'll have to join me. Though, if you don't you'll be executed anyway."
"THAT'S DIRTY, YOU SON OF A DEVIL!" Zoro screamed, but Luffy was already gone.
"Is he planning on sneaking into the marine base alone?" Zoro mused to himself.
A few moments later the pink headed kid who freaked out at the sight of him ran over and tried to undo his ropes.
"Please run away, Zoro-san." He pleaded when the ropes weren't even close to untied.
"You'll be killed if you're caught doing that, kid." Zoro sighed.
"I can't watch these marines any longer." He replied with a soft, but determined voice. "I want to be a good marine."
Zoro looked at the determined kid.
"I heard rumors that they'll execute me." Zoro ventured, wanting to see his reaction.
The kid didn't stop trying to untie him, but he did nod.
"Helmeppo never intended to keep his promise. That's why Luffy-san got mad and punched him when he heard it."
Zoro was surprised to hear that.
"That kid punched that brat?" He asked.
"That is why Luffy-san is being chased by the marines. I'm not asking you to become a pirate, but please help him." Coby pleaded.
Suddenly a gunshot rang out and caught Coby in the shoulder. A moment later they were interrupted by Morgan.
"Hold it right there!" The corrupt marine captain commanded. "By the treason you have committed against me, you will be both executed right now!"
A few minutes earlier with Luffy.
Luffy was contemplating the best way he could get Zoro's sword. He should probably find that blond twit and ask (read: beat) him to show where they are, but he doesn't know where he is either.
"Come to think of it. Military quarters should be heavily bustling with soldiers, but this place looks bloody deserted. This is so creepy. You'd never have a situation like this in Grand Line."
Luffy looked left, right, up and down the marine base. Up? There was some movement on the roof.
"Looks like there's somebody there at the very least. Maybe they know where Zoro's swords are… or that pothelmet head."
Luffy used his elastic hands to launch himself in the air and to the roof. When he was there he saw the marine soldiers trying to pull up a big statue.
"Whoo! That is one butt-ugly statue!" Luffy exclaimed.
Suddenly there was a large shadow over him. Luffy turned around and saw the live version of the same statue. He sweatdropped.
"Hehehe, nice statue?" He grinned sheepishly at the pissed off tall marine.
"Dad! That's the same guy that punched me!" A familiar voice shouted.
Luffy turned his head and saw the blonde moron he had been seeking.
"Hey idiot! Long time no see. You're just the shithead I've been searching for!" Luffy declared happily, grabbed the marine captain's son, and hightailed off the roof.
"So! Tell me, fucktard, where are you keeping Zoro's sword?"
Luffy kept on running and dragging Helmeppo along the ground until he cracked.
"I'll tell! Just please stop dragging me!" He wailed.
Luffy stopped still.
"Goody. So where?"
"I-inside my room. We just passed it a moment ago."
Luffy blinked a few times before bonking Helmeppo on the head.
"Why didn't you say so before?"
Helmeppo wailed and begged for mercy.
"Freeze! Don't move! Put your hands above your head!" Three marines had pointed muskets towards him.
Luffy looked at them and raised an eyebrow.
"But if I put my hands above my head I would be moving. Are you guys' idiots?"
Then he grabbed pot-head and placed him like a shield. It took Helmeppo a moment to take in the situation he was in exactly.
"Huh? WAAAAH! Don't shoot!" He wailed, in tears.
"Go ahead and shoot!" Luffy giggled and bowled right past the marines.
Finally they reached the room, which to Luffy seemed far too pink and flowery to belong at a male. Was this guy gay? Or just had the gayest fashion sense a straight guy could have?
"Here it is! Huh? There's three. Which belongs to Zoro?" Luffy asked Helmeppo, who he just noticed had passed out from fright. "Oh, whoops." Luffy grinned sheepishly. "Well, I guess I'll just have to take all three with me."
Suddenly Luffy's kenbunshoku picked up an injury from a friend. He gasped quietly and ran to the window. Coby had been shot! It wasn't too serious a wound, but it was still an injury.
Without a moment to waste Luffy grabbed the swords and launched himself through the window. He arrived not a moment too late as gunshots rang out and his body was pelted with bullet. Which, being rubber, he launched back easily.
And he laughed while doing it.
"Who the hell are you?" Zoro gasped.
Luffy turned towards the green haired man.
"I'm Luffy, the man who will become the next King of Pirates."
Zoro's mouth fell open, but before he could comment anything Luffy held out the swords.
"Here! Which one is yours?"
"All three. I'm a santoryu practitioner."
Luffy grinned.
"That's a rare style. I know a couple of nitoryu practitioners, but I think this is the first time I've actually met someone who fights with three swords. Well, anyway, become my nakama or marine chowder. Which do you choose?"
Zoro snorted in morbid amusement.
"You really are a devil spawn. Fine. I'd rather be a pirate than die in this place."
"Perfect. Here, Coby, hold Zoro's swords for a moment."
Coby, ignoring the pain from his shoulder, did as asked.
"Alrighty now. Hop!"
Luffy grabbed the wooden post Zoro was tied to and did a one-armed handstand on it. He then punched where the two logs connected to make a cross and completely shattered the wood. The marines and Luffy's allies' mouths fell open at the power play.
"Well now. Hurry up and get the ropes off."
With the wood shattered the ropes were limp, but still around Zoro's body.
"What the hell is he?" The marine soldiers gasped.
"He must be one of those devil fruit users." Morgan said. "Bullets are useless and he possesses superhuman strength." The corrupt marine took a lungful of air and screamed to better effect his order. "If guns don't work, use swords. Whatever happened, kill that straw hat brat!"
The soldiers did make a dash towards Luffy, but one 'clang' later all of their blades were stopped by three swords wielded by a single swordsman.
"One move… and I will kill you." Zoro said, for a moment truly resembling a demon.
"So… scary…" The soldiers weeped.
Zoro turned to look at his new captain, all the while still restraining the marines.
"After this event I will be an outlaw regardless what I do. I don't care what path I will walk on my way to the top, so I might as well give my allegiance to you. But remember this: if you stand in the way of me and my ambition, I will cut you down."
"Nice…" Luffy said, drawing out the 's' sound. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
Morgan had enough at that moment and roared for his underlings to execute them. Luffy told Zoro to duck, which he did, and Luffy used his stretching leg to knock all the men off their feet. When the soldiers sobbed that the enemy was too strong, especially since the blatant proof of Devil Fruit existence, Morgan ordered his own men to shoot themselves in the head.
"Wow, is that a corrupt marine, or what!" Luffy singsonged cheerfully.
"There's something seriously wrong with marines." Zoro commented.
"Ne, Zoro, do you want to have that marine captain or shall I?"
Zoro shrugged. "By all means, captain."
"By the way, can I borrow your bandana for a moment? I want to demonstrate something to you."
Zoro was confused, but did as his captain asked. Luffy tied the bandana over his eyes, thus blindfolding himself.
Luffy grinned and was gone the next instant. The next thing that happened: Morgan was knocked off his feet and coughing blood. He did recover quite fast, as he stood up and threw away his coat in a flashy movement for better mobility.
"A civilian with no rank is no match for me!" He roared, insulted and enraged. "I am Axe-Hand Morgan, captain of marine forces!"
Luffy tipped his hat. "I'm Luffy. Nice to meet you."
Morgan continued to try to cleave Luffy to pieces, but try as he might he couldn't land even half a blow to the boy, only getting a few but apparently powerful hits on himself. Zoro watched the match with interest. Being the owner of that headband he was aware that the visibility was next to none through that cloth. Luffy seemed to use his other senses to know where Morgan was and, dare he say it, actually predict what the man was going to do next.
Their 'duel' came to an end when Helmeppo took Coby as a hostage.
Luffy took off Zoro's bandana and looked on with an unreadable expression. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Using haki he knocked out the blond idiot son. When he opened his eyes he noticed Helmeppo passed out but also Coby on his knees and shaking. He pouted, as it seemed his control wasn't perfect this time. He looked behind himself to see the overgrown marine captain fall.
"Not too shabby, Zoro." He grinned.
"Not a problem, captain. But what was that chill?" He inquired and Luffy frowned.
"You felt that? Damnit!" He kicked the ground and sulked.
Zoro and Luffy turned towards the remaining marine. "Anyone who wants to arrest us can have a go." Zoro said, but the soldiers only threw their hats and weapons in the air in celebration of the fall of the tyrannical officer.
"Rejoicing that their leader has fallen. What is this world coming to?" Luffy wondered out loud.
Zoro collapsed.
"You okay, Zoro?" Luffy asked with slight worry.
"I'm starving." The swordsman replied making Luffy grin.
"That we can remedy." The would-be Pirate King declared and helped the new pirate to his feet.
"You want some more sugary onigiri?"
Zoro rolled his eyes.
Zoro and Luffy were in Rika's mother Ririka's diner, just finishing enjoying a really wonderful meal.
"Is that all you're going to eat, Zoro?" Luffy asked his brand new nakama.
"I don't get it. I've been starving for over a week yet you still are able to eat more that me, and still be so damn scrawny." Zoro said while patting his satisfied belly.
"Well, all the people in my family are gluttons hereditarily, but the gomu-gomu no mi I ate help me stretch into huge proportions. Beside, this food is seriously delicious. Isn't that right, Coby?"
Coby looked sheepish.
"Eh, sorry. I helped myself a little as well." He apologized to the landlady.
She only smiled and said it was alright.
"So? How many shipmates do we have?" Zoro inquired. "I remember you saying you're recruiting. To become Pirate King you probably have a crew already."
Luffy shook his head.
"I've only just started. So far I just have a navigator aside from you and me."
Zoro blinked in surprise. "And a ship?"
Luffy shook his head.
"Going to let a proper one built in Water 7, where I will also recruit a shipwright if I don't find one here. However, since it's in Grand Line, going to have to steal another one to get there first. Although I would prefer to get one as a gift. It's better karma that way."
Zoro cocked his head before shrugging.
"Are you heading to Grand Line now?" Rika inquired from Luffy, eyes wide with innocence.
"Of course!" Luffy declared.
Which of course, made Coby start freaking out as usual. Rika blinked in surprise.
"Is Grand Line really that dangerous?" She asked cutely.
"Of course it is!" Coby exclaimed. "A long tome ago the Pirate King Gold Roger left his treasure, One Piece, in the Grand Line. Now pirates all over the world flock to that sea like a pack of vultures to a fresh corpse. It's a battlefield, also known as the Graveyard of Pirates."
Coby was hoping his story would make Zoro see sense and convince Luffy not to go. Rika's mother entered her two cents as well.
"I once heard from a customer that people who enter Grand Line never come back."
BANG
Luffy hit his head on the table.
"I really hate it…" He started depressively. "…when people mispronounce his name."
"Whose name?" Zoro asked from where he was lounging.
"It was Gol D. Roger, not Gold Roger! What was wrong with the world government, giving him that ridiculous nickname?" Luffy wailed dramatically.
"They were trying to silence the Will of D, most probably." A familiar voice said from the doorway.
Luffy's gloom dissipated instantly.
"Sabo! Where've you been? I got a new nakama too."
Sabo smiled.
"Miss Nami asked me to carry her shopping bags to our boats while she looked around the marine base. After that I thought she might appreciate my help more than you probably."
Nami walked in.
"Hey, Nami-chan. Did you find anything interesting?" Luffy inquired.
Nami shrugged.
"Just some, though not too much. I did find a message in a vault. Apparently Buggy the Clown has stolen a map to Grand Line from this town." Nami looked a little put out.
"Buggy?" Luffy echoed in surprise. "He's in East Blue?"
"You know him?" Nami asked, a bit surprised.
"Not personally. He's a friend of a friend like Arlong used to be. Do you know where he is?"
"I know the general direction of where he might be." Nami looked at Luffy with a suspecting glint in her eyes. "Why?"
"Just thought to stop by." Luffy shrugged until he remembered one thing he forgot to do.
"Oh yeah. Nami this is Zoro, our resident swordsman. Zoro this is Nami, our navigator."
Zoro nodded at Nami and Nami gave him a wave. Then Zoro turned to look at Sabo.
"That's Sabo. He's my brother and traveling with us until we get back to Grand Line."
Zoro nodded at the friendly looking male. Then something clicked.
"Back to Grand Line?"
Luffy grinned.
"Luffy only came back to East Blue to hand-pick his starting crewmembers. Lord knows how we all tried to talk him out of it." Sabo explained to the swordsman.
"I wanted to start fresh, and make a name for myself. And actually have a reason for my bounty."
A dark cloud of depression appeared out of nowhere above Luffy's head again. Zoro and Nami turned to look at Sabo for explanation. Sabo laughed a bit sheepishly.
"Three years ago Luffy, Ace and I started our journey as pirates. Ace is our eldest brother, and the most famous. While Ace and I gained a bit of fame and made a name for ourselves Luffy was just happy tagging along and not pulling attention to himself. He wanted to be unknown so he can make a big entrance when he would finally become a captain himself. However the World Government found out about his relation to Ace and I, so they put a bounty on his head just to spite us. They aren't aware of Luffy's true potential at all. They mostly think of him as a tag-along."
Zoro nodded in understanding.
"I see. What's his bounty anyway?"
Before Sabo could answer they were interrupted by a marine officer.
"Excuse me." He said to get everyone attention.
"Is it true that you guys are pirates?" He asked.
The cloud of depression above Luffy's head had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. He grinned and confirmed.
"We are very grateful that you saved us from Morgan's oppression. Unfortunately, now that we know that you are pirates, we are unable look the other way. Please leave this island immediately."
The officer's words were met with much booing. Apparently, despite being pirates, Luffy and Zoro had become quite popular after beating the stuffing out of Morgan. Luffy grinned widely, not taking offence in the least.
"Well, I guess we'll go now. But before we do, I'd like to have a piece of paper and something to write with."
Rika's mother, Ririka, did as the youthful pirate captain asked. Luffy sat behind a table and quickly wrote something down, then asked the letter to be sealed with wax. He gave the sealed letter to the marine.
"Give this to vice admiral Garp. And I'd rather you didn't open it, for your sake. He probably would not like that much."
Luffy ignored the look of utter surprise at the marine's face at hearing the legendary man's name.
"Uh, sure." He said hesitantly, not positive why a pirate would want to send a message to high-ranked marine officer in the first place.
"Aren't you with their group?" The officer asked Coby when Luffy was almost out of the door.
Coby stuttered a 'no'.
"Please wait. Is he telling the truth?"
Luffy turned around.
"I don't really know him. He's just a kid I barely met before, who wanted to become a marine, I think. Though the way he tried to help Zoro escape, before Zoro agreed to become my nakama, I'd say he doesn't like corrupt marines. See ya later! Or not."
Luffy waved goodbye and walked away with his friends.
Thank you for reading.
Honest opinions appreciated.
Brownie points to people who can guess Luffy's bounty. I can say it's slightly higher than his other 30 million. Cookie points who can guess what Luffy wrote to Garp. Not giving hints about that though.
Word count: 9223