A/N: I'm sorry for the late update… life struck… yeah… I'm sorry for the confusion about the last chapter. I thought that since Luffy is a Grand Line 'small fry' who disappeared for a few years, his bounty would be long forgotten, so the fight with the marines would probably be very similar to cannon, because Luffy's too hyper to use haki like most would.
He hated birds.
Dangling pathetically from the monstrous flying creature's beak, Luffy decided that birds were evil.
Sure, they were tasty, but they were EVIL!
And no matter what Ace and Sabo told him, it really wasn't his fault! If he was hungry the bird should have let him eat it... why would the bird eat him? He wasn't tasty! He should know, he accidentally ate himself once.
That had been gross. Meat was so much yummier! Real meat, not person-meat, because nobody liked person-meat. Whoever liked person-meat obviously never tasted real meat! But, that wasn't the issue. He was supposed to beat up this stupid bird.
"Let me go!" He yelled, squirming about when he realized his puches were futile.
The bird was NOT LETTING GO!
"Fine!" Luffy pouted, and released a little bit of his haki. His voice lowered in a way that he only really used when Thatch gave him a plate of food without meat and only vegetables. "Let me go."
The bird's eyes widened and it's beak opened, sending Luffy hurtling down towards the ground as the bird's eyes rolled back into it's head before it's unconscious form fluttered down to earth.
As he landed on a house (and went through it, causing a Luffy shaped hole through the roof and the 'ground' until he was in the basement), Luffy quickly stood up, quickly recovering. "Where am I?" He wondered out loud as he stepped out of the crater that had mysteriously appeared when he had landed.
Just as he found his way out of the house, an orange haired girl collided with him. "Hey, watch where you're going you—!" Her insults died on her lips as she stared at him blankly, then at the house he'd just come out of. Confusion spread across her features. "Why are you still here?" She demanded. "Shouldn't you be with the others?"
"What others?" He asked blankly, tuning out the vague sounds of shouting and footsteps in the distance. "I just got here."
Her expression smoothed out into one of neutrality and her wide eyes became as distant as his family. "I see." She said, her voice unreadable. As she peered at him in an expression bordering on curiosity, the sound of footsteps and shouts drew even closer.
"There you are!" A triumphant yet weary shout sounded out as a few men appeared, grinning at the orange haired girl. She pursed her lips together, eyes narrowing to a glare, before a falsely bright smile lit her features as she pressed something small… a coin? …into Luffy's hands.
"Here you go, boss!" She said cheerily. "I'm leaving these guys to you, alright?"
"Huh?" Luffy looked around curiously. Who on earth was she talking to? Oh, one of these guys must have been her boss! Which guys were she leaving to her boss, then? Deciding that the girl's boss must have been a mystery person, Luffy turned to the new arrivals, who were, weirdly enough, glaring at him.
"Oh no, she's gone!" One of the goons shouted worriedly. "What are we going to do now?"
"No need to worry." One of his partners replied, a dark grin of maniacal glee taking over his lips. "We've got her boss right here, and he's outnumbered. We can take him."
For some reason, laughing loudly, they charged at Luffy, which was really confusing because, didn't they just say they were going to fight the girl's boss? "You want to fight?" Luffy asked blankly, tilting his head to the side.
"That's right!" One of the men declared, swinging a sword clumsily at a spot a few meters from where Luffy was. "Though we might stop attacking you if you return what you stole from us, and offer you some mercy!" Luffy quickly took him out with a kick to the head.
"What stuff?" He asked curiously. "I didn't steal anything." He turned to the others. "Did you steal anything?" He asked. "This guy's mad at you, if you stole something."
"No, we stole nothing!" They growled at him. "You stole it from us!"
For a moment Luffy merely stared at them with wide eyes filled with curiously in an attempt to understand what they were saying. Finally he cried in amazement, "Whaaaat!? I stole something!?"
One of the goons decided that he'd rather surrender than have to continue fighting this idiot (who was strangely enough beating everyone up) and face-walled, effectively knocking himself out. Luffy burst into laughter when he saw that. These guys were so funny!
"Do you want to join my crew?" He asked as he crouched down, poking the cheek of the man who had face walled. The man was silent, as he should have been because he had just put his skull against a concrete wall and had a major concussion. "Do ya wanna, do ya wanna, do ya wanna?" He pouted when silence answered him. "Hey, why aren't you talking to me?"
Picking himself up from the ground, one of Luffy's 'opponents' (not the comatose man who Luffy was poking, but one behind him) brought his sword high above his head, and screamed, "Don't ignore us, you little piece of—"
He was interrupted when a fist sent him hurtling into a random house. "Sneak attacks are sooo not fair." Luffy whined. "That's a cowardly way. Only weak people do that." He stared at the fallen forms of the poor, pitiful members of whatever organization or crew they were part of. "Why can't you be strong?" He demanded.
Huffing in annoyance when nobody answered him, Luffy stormed off, cheeks puffed out in a pout. Jeez, if they weren't strong, why would they want to fight with him anyways?
Suddenly, as he stormed onwards, Luffy couldn't help but feel a little homesick. And not just the fights. He wanted his brothers to be here, and to be proud of him.
Well, all he had to do was keep going until he got to New World, right? Haha—no problem!
After all, he was going to become the King of the Pirates! …As soon as he found Zoro, that was.
0o0o0o0o0
Cautiously swiping blood from his cheek, he fought back a grimace. "I'm sick of this." He said conversationally to his companion. "Why do we have to keep killing people?"
"Oh, quit your whining." With a huff, his companion stooped down, and placed her key gingerly into the key's hole, turning it and smiling proudly when it clicked. "First shot!" She cheered, twirling around. "You're not Ace, so stop acting so stupid, Sabo."
"I'm not acting stupid!" Sabo responded defiantly, sticking out his tongue with a scowl.
Smiling with a slightly exasperated laugh, Koala picked up a battered blue top hat and pressed it onto Sabo's head, pushing it down to the bridge of his nose. "Of course you aren't." She agreed, but her teasing voice was obviously sarcastic.
Cheeks puffing up slightly as he pushed the brim of his top hat up, Sabo skipped slightly beside her, half hopping with each step. "I happen to have a conscience, so sue me!" The blond grumbled.
"Are you sure you want that?" Koala asked, raising an eyebrow as she bent down, unlocking one of the dungeon's cells, her nose wrinkling in disgust as a small, dead eyed child raised his head to stare at her. "I could make you very, very poor." She unlocked the child's slave collar and tossed it away, glaring at it when it harmlessly exploded.
"We're outlaws, so if you manage to get a court hearing without it being a pretense to arrest us, I'd willingly hand the cash over without needing to get sued." Sabo picked up the child, bouncing it up and down slightly, before asking him what his name was.
"O-Oki." The child sniffed, his small hands tightly gripping Sabo's shirt. "Are you here to save us, nii-chan?"
Sabo's expression softened. "Yeah." He agreed, something settling firmly in the back of his throat. "You're free now." A guilty expression crossed his features as the boy burst into tears, thin arms wrapping tightly around his throat. "Alright, alright." He conceded defeat at Koala's smug expression. "I can understand why we kill people like him. I just—" His nose wrinkled. "Getting blood on my hands feels wrong."
"Well, deal with it." Koala unlocked another cell, expression falling when she realized she was too late and found only a burnt corpse inside. "If you're too squeamish for this job, then don't do it."
Guiltily casting a glance at the sobbing little boy he was carrying, Sabo nodded. "Yeah." Was all he could say as Koala unlocked another cell, a small gasp of amazement escaping her lips. "What is it?" Quickening his pace slightly, Sabo peered at the cell that Koala was looking in, letting a twin gasp escape. "No way!" He exclaimed, eyes wide in surprise.
The dark haired girl inside of the cell raised her head, dark eyes burning into them. "Who are you?" She demanded with eerie calm, seeming all too composed for a slave despite the metal collar wrapped around her throat. "…What's happened to the noble?"
Smart. Perceptive, too. Everything they had expected her to be, some part of Sabo thought dazedly. He stared at her blankly even as Koala rushed forwards, thankfully remembering what he had forgotten, fumbling slightly with the key slightly before freeing the slave.
But it was strange, as well. If this noble had taken her as a slave, then the World Government should've taken her in and arrested her instead—they couldn't possibly have been so foolish as to believe they were safe with her in the possession of a lower Noble, and Armaken was too lowly to be able to overrule the Government's decisions. Sabo's stomach lurched as he realized she must have been illegally attained somehow.
"I'm Sabo." He found his voice saying, though he wasn't sure if it really was him speaking, because he still felt slightly dazed. "And the one who just unlocked your collar is Koala. We're part of the Revolutionary Army." As she opened her mouth the thank him, he hurried on. "Also, there's no need to introduce yourself to us… we've been trying to recruit you for the Revolutionary Army for ages." He shifted the boy in his arms as he held out a hand, his earnest gaze meeting her distrustful one. "It's nice to meet you, Nico Robin-san."
0o0o0o0o0
Ace stared, in stunned amazement, the offer that had just been presented to him baffling. Why would this be offered to him—him who, was so weak and irresponsible? "…I don't know if I can do it." He managed to choke out. "I—I'm not worthy!"
The giant stood, impassive, all 14 of his commanders on either of his side as his crew stood solemnly on the deck. They all faced the casket before them with grim sorrow even as something inside of Ace screamed No! This can't be happening!
"Charlie was a good man." Oyaji's voice was the same as always, but his words hurt. "He did a lot for us during his life. As the 2nd division commander, he bore a huge responsibility but he was proud to bear it."
Oyaji's voice wasn't wavering. But his eyes were wide, and he blinked rapidly. The commanders all were struggling to have a straight face, Rakuya (who was a wimp despite appearances) having long since lost it.
The second division had dissolved, all openly crying though some were staring blankly at the casket, eyes lost and in denial. Ace forced the tears back, despite the fact that his eyes burned and his heart was cracking.
" He loved this ship. He loved his family. And I'm sure that he would have loved to know that every single one of you loved him so much—but I know he would have also wanted us to keep going on with our lives, not stopping time because of our grief."
Oyaji paused as the soft sound of crying became louder and louder as more men began to give in to their tears.
"I've seen many sons away." He admitted. "Charlie was proud—he lived a long, proud life. Dying to protect someone else is the best way to go down that we can have. He went down in honor, glory and for his family. It's one of the biggest honors any of us can have."
Ace lost it. He couldn't bear this anymore. Not when Charlie had died to protect him.
"Not worthy of what?" Oyaji's voice was soft, almost amused.
Everyone was staring at him. "This!" He cried, frustrated how he couldn't say it.
"I don't know." Marco chuckled. "I think you'd be one of the best 2nd division commanders out there, Ace."
A/N: Sorry for the late update and short chapter. Um, in terms of plot? I don't know what I'm doing, honestly… I'm going on whims. I don't know what's happening. What will the ripples make? I'm freaking out. I'm hopeless!
