Hey. I'm early this time, I guess I'm just excited to get into more story stuff. Also, this is a lighter chapter in mood for the most part (sorta?)- especially the end! I'm excited.
But first a few thanks. To the best betas ever, breather and HadenXCharm, I offer eternal gratitude.
And a ton of thanks to you awesome reviewers: funmom, Mirthil Lace, guest (07/24/15), Spellcaster Hikaru, skywright, kushina namikaze 14, bibliophile030, TerraFria, lany-chan, Dr. Blueneck, Kiddiluna [2], and WaMiLo. Each review means a lot to me.
I especially appreciate you repeat offenders!
Chapter 4: Baby, You're a Rich Man
"Is that everything?" Ace calls up to his twelve year old brother, shielding the sun with his hand. The small boat he and Luffy built is already going to be a tight fit between the two of them, let alone with all the supplies the two are taking. They (Ace) tried to pack wisely, choosing money over extra food to fill the gaps in the ship. Despite that, Ace knows that the modest amount of money they pilfered from the aristocrats in Goa won't be enough to carry them all the way to the West Blue. Ace will focus on that later. There are more pressing concerns.
"I think that's everything!" Luffy calls, snapping Ace from his thoughts. "That is, unless you think we can add some more meat."
"Not without sinking the ship," Ace teases. "Come on now, little brother, we have a lot to do before Jiji gets back."
Luffy cringes at the mere mention of their grandfather before jumping down onto their ship. Ace smiles lightly before he kicks them off of the shore and onto the clear waters of the East Blue.
If Garp finds out that they left the island, they'll both be suffering concussions from the Fist of Love, and maybe even a trip to a nearby Marine base so Garp can monitor them.
Ace shudders. His fear of his grandfather has only increased since they began training with him. Every few months since that agreement four years ago, Garp would stay for two-week long visits that were nothing but complete and utter hell. Ace remembers thinking when he was younger that his Grandfather's idea of toughening them up (beatings) was harsh, but now that he's actually receiving legitimate training from the old man he realizes exactly how wrong he really had been. Garp's lessons did not run Ace and Luffy into the ground; no, the old man's lessons ran them into the Earth's core.
After determining the extent of both Luffy's and Ace's strength, Garp immediately began training them as though they were Marines of that caliber. Marines, who were most decidedly not two prepubescent boys. Now, Ace is almost sixteen and Luffy is on the cusp of teenagedom and their grandfather's lessons have scaled in difficulty to match their ageing. The brothers are barely able to survive the two weeks of constant mock fights, (both with each other and Garp,) surprise sleep-attacks, rigorous sets of physical conditioning, and crash courses on Haki that never stop being crash courses even five years later. Not to mention the constant abuse from the misleadingly named "Fist of Love." Halfway through every second week both Ace and Luffy begin questioning their actual chance of surviving. Every time though, they pull through— sometimes by the skin of their teeth.
With the increased understanding of Garp's monstrous capabilities that the training has granted them, Ace and Luffy know that attracting their grandfather's attention on their errand excursion might actually mean the end of the world as they know it. Low-key and Luffy aren't usually used in the same sentence without a negative in place, but Ace hopes that they can coast below the radar for the two and a half months it will take them to finish their errands. If all goes according to plan, they will be back on the island before Garp ever notices they were gone. The duo left a vaguely threatening note at the bandits' hideout that Dadan will likely lose hours of sleep and some of her hair over— if Garp ever learns that she had let the two of them escape to the sea, there will be no mercy. Ace knows she's counting on their promised return. Ace certainly hopes to keep their word.
After their island shrinks in the distance, becoming no more than a small dot on the horizon, Ace turns to his brother.
"So where are we headed first, Luffy?" Ace asks.
"I want to save some of my crew members," Luffy says decisively. "So we'll have to go to Cocoyashi and Syrup Village first. Uhhm, I don't know what's the closest."
"Cocoyashi is the closest to our current location," Ace informs him, smiling at his brother's absentmindedness. He unrolls the map before he gets the compass and lies it on the ship to check the heading. "Who are we saving?"
"Nami," Luffy says. "There's this super evil fish-guy that's taken over her village!"
"A fishman?" Ace replies. "I think I remember you telling me about this. Arlong, right? And Hachi was on his crew?"
"Yeah, we'll probably run into him." Luffy grins excitedly before the expression halts. "Although I guess we'll probably have to beat him up. I almost forgot that he wasn't a cool guy yet."
"Don't worry about him, Luffy. I'll take care of the crew. Why don't you just focus on Arlong?" Ace suggests as he adjusts the sails a little to catch the breeze. "After that we'll head to Syrup village before catching Reverse Mountain."
"Okay," Luffy agrees, mind already on the battle. He shakes himself a little.
"Ace, are you certain that you don't want to make any stops to find anyone?" Luffy asks, leaning his head back to stare Ace in the eyes.
Ace shakes his head and sits across his brother before replying, "I'm sure. Most of them are either on Oyaji's crew, or they will soon be. I can't do anything to help them that's better than that." He glances at his brother. "But just finding their way onto your crew isn't good enough for you though, is it?"
"No." Luffy's lips thin.
"Messing around with their lives like this . . . you know that there's a big chance that they probably won't join your crew, right?"
Luffy nods solemnly. "I know, but some of them don't deserve to be in those situations."
"Nami?" Ace raises an eyebrow.
Luffy exhales. "Yeah. It's already too late to save her mom. At the very least we can get Arlong away from her and her sister and the town before he does any more damage."
"What are you gonna do about a navigator, little brother?" Ace asks lightly.
Luffy smiles, effectively smothering the worry that hovers in the back of his eyes. "I know it'll work out. This is what I want to do." His resolve hardens and Ace knows there's nothing for it.
Ace shakes his head and smiles. "Okay." He has a feeling that his little brother will be alright in the end. He often is.
Nami's legs itch furiously from the leaves of the bushes where she's currently hiding. She resists the urge to scratch them, refusing to be distracted as she continues surveying the set-up before her. Released from Arlong for the day, Nami had been slinking around and pilfering the pockets of those she knew could handle the money loss, when she spies a small boat tied to the docks.
Visitors are rare, more often than not dissuaded from venturing in by the sight of Arlong's flag blowing proudly in the wind, so Nami is more than a little surprised to find the small sloop. It's possible that whoever they are missed seeing Arlong's flag. If that's the case, then they need to get out of town immediately before the fishman catch them—
Nami shakes her head violently. She can't afford to be concerned about some unfortunate strangers. She has much bigger things to worry about— like whether or not the visitors have any money she can steal. Nami has been scouting the area for about half an hour now, partially because she's waiting to see if anyone will come back, and partially from her own hesitance. Pickpocketing is one thing, but robbing a ship is on a whole new level. This will be her first time attempting something like this. It's natural she's a little anxious, she tells herself over and over again as she tries to build up her courage.
Summoning the face of her sister, Nami pushes through the bushes before she can second-guess herself any more. She has already prepared a strategy in case they return— she's just a curious little girl, who only wants to see their ship up and treasure up close, assuming that they have any. Adults tend to eat that sort of stuff up . . . at least human adults do anyways. She brushes off the distracting thoughts as she stealthily approaches the vessel. Glancing around the empty pier for any witnesses, she finally steps carefully up to the boat.
Nami expects to see some kind of protection over their stuff —locked cupboards, padlocked chests, secret compartments— instead, she's treated to an incredible sight. Not only did the strangers have treasure, but it's on full display! The floor of their sloop is covered in apple cores, bones, and most importantly, Berri! Sure the trash is gross, and the bills are crumpled up, but Nami is delighted, though wary.
The set-up seems too good to be true and Nami carefully nudges some of the money, expecting something to happen, but nothing does. She then wastes no time in gathering as many bills as she can. She tosses the gross trash out of the way without even blinking an eye as she carefully scavenges each and every bill. She quickly tucks them into her pockets, into each shoe and sock, and in the band of her small training bra. Making sure that everything is reasonably secure, Nami flees the scene and darts back to the bushes where she had first hidden. She takes a break to catch her breath and still her heart that was pounding the entire time. She did it. She really did it! Relief and a small bit of pride sweeps through her system. She's another couple thousand Berri closer to saving her town.
Eager to deposit the money, she makes a beeline towards her and Nojiko's home. She doesn't get very far through the town when she notices how empty it is. She frowns. It's odd for the streets to be so empty during late afternoon when most people are finally getting off of work. She's suddenly distracted by the sheets of paper that are blowing in the street. Four or five tumble towards her, coasting on the wind. She bends over and picks up one near her feet curiously, then freezes. In her hand she holds a map— but it isn't any map. It's a map that she herself drew.
Before she can try and make sense of anything, Nojiko comes running down the street.
"Nami! There you are!" her sister exclaims as she closes the gap between them.
"Nojiko. What's going on?"
"It's Arlong," Nojiko pants, red in the face and out of breath.
Nami will remember her sister's next words with perfect clarity for the rest of her life.
"Someone beat him. Arlong's dead."
Nami thought her breathing was hard before this, but it's nothing compared to the rapid beating now and the blood that rushes to her ears. Her first instinct is denial.
"No. No way." She shakes her head.
"Nami. I'm serious! These two strangers appeared out of nowhere. One of them took on Arlong's entire crew by himself!" Nojiko gestures frantically in the air. "The other one fought Arlong head on. They broke a lot of the buildings, including the one that used to be your map-making room. Your maps are flying all over the town!"
It's— it's all too much. Nami can't understand everything that her sister's saying, and she's expecting to wake up any second now. When she doesn't, she grabs her sister's arm.
"I want to see it," Nami demands. Nojiko looks at her sister for a moment before they run towards Arlong's park together.
The first thing that Nami notices upon arrival is the large crowd that gathered to witness the truth for themselves. The second is the unsettled dust and the rubble that covers everything. The complex is utterly destroyed. Giant jagged holes cover what's left of Arlong's park and all of the nearby buildings. Most of the structures are barely standing. She wanders towards the place where her unwilling workroom had one been. Maps pour out from every crack of the rubble, blowing in the breeze. By her foot she spots something shiny— her quill pen. As she picks it up, she realizes that it's only the nib— because it's been snapped in half. It would never, could never be used again. Nojiko hovers silently at her side, but Nami can barely sense her, so wrapped up in her own thoughts.
Can it actually be real? Can she wake up tomorrow and still find this building destroyed, still find her quill pen shattered? Can she do that? Please?
Tears begin falling down Nami's face, unbidden, followed by choked sobs. "Is it really over?" she dares to ask.
Nojiko's smile is soft. "Yeah, I think it really is."
Nami collapses right in the middle of the street. The bills she hastily tucked into her pockets, shoes, and bra slip out and Nami grabs them by the handfuls and rips them up. It's over. She doesn't have to steal, she doesn't have to make charts— she's free. The feeling is so strange to her after all the years in captivity that she almost doesn't know what to do with it. Her heart hasn't been this light since before Bellemere died— it suddenly hits Nami that her adoptive mother's death has finally been avenged.
"N-Nojiko," Nami blubbers. "I'm so happy. I'm so happy."
"Me too."Nojiko smiles gently, and extends her hands to her sister. Nami shakily pulls herself up, the quill pen still tight in her grip.
The thickest part of the crowd surrounds the hole in the ground where Arlong's motionless body rests. Nami and Nojiko carefully nudge their way through the crowd. The sight isn't a pleasant one. Arlong's blood is splattered all over the place, his signature nose has been snapped off, and his chest has been pounded open. Despite Nami's loathing for her captor, the sight of his carcass makes her queasy. She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths.
"It's incredible, isn't it?" a man nearby murmurs.
"I never thought the day would come," a woman replies.
"Where is the hero?"
Nami's eyes snap open at the question and she stares at the nearby pair unabashedly.
"Long gone, the two hightailed it out of here as quickly as they came in. The most shocking thing of all though was their age," the woman's tone turns conspiratorial.
"What do you mean?" the man asks.
"I mean that the boy that beat Arlong couldn't have been older than thirteen."
Nami's mouth falls open and she feels her sister startle next to her.
"Seriously?!" she blurts. That would make him almost the same age as Nami!
The two adults look mildly reproachful at the eavesdropping but upon seeing who it is their harsh expressions smooth out.
"It's true, I saw it with my own eyes," the woman answers. "He was a young thing wearing this big straw hat with a red ribbon. I could have sworn I'd seen it somewhere before . . ."
"Which way did they go?!" Nami demands frantically.
The woman goes on slowly. "Well, it looked like they were heading towards the pier but I can't say for certain, but—"
Nami dashes away from the crowd, running back from where she came. She hears Nojiko apologizing and thanking the couple behind her but it all fades out from the thundering sound of her heart beat pounding in her ears.
By the time she reaches the dock, it's too late. The ship has already begun disappearing into the horizon, much too far for her to call out to. She pants and gasps desperately as everything begins sinking in.
She is free. Her sister is free. Her town is free. Everything has happened all at once and she fears her heart will explode.
The strangers and the small boat— it's them. She stole from them. Nami almost lets out a slightly hysterical laugh. She stole from her village's saviors. These saviors who are apparently around Nami's age.
Nami knows that she should want to make amends for her theft, but all she really wants is to thank to boy with the straw hat. She wants to bow before him and tell him just how much he did for her— how he saved her. She owes him more than just her life, she owes him her freedom.
Her eyes become determined.
Nojiko finally catches up, panting and completely exhausted from running all over the town.
"Were you too late to thank them?" Nojiko asks after a few moments.
"Yes, but not really." Nami will thank him, one day. For now though, there was only one thing in the world Nami wanted to do.
Turning her eyes from the speck on the horizon, she faces her sister and smiles brightly. "Mikan. I want to eat some mikan."
Nojiko nods her head, tears finally slipping down her face.
The two siblings walk towards their house and the mikan trees hand in hand, enjoying the remaining hours of what has to be the best day of their lives since their mother died.
Out in the ocean, another pair of siblings are also together, spent, but happy.
"We did it." Luffy still hasn't stopped grinning even though Cocoyashi has long since shrunk into the distance. His light blue button up vest and gray shorts are covered with dust and small splatters of blood. His brother didn't make the fight with Arlong easy, despite that he could have ended it within fifteen minutes with his Haki and undeniable edge of surprise. He didn't though. Ace's little brother drew it out, knocking the fishman into the buildings and generally making a mess of the park. Apparently one of the buildings Luffy smashed was where his navigator, Nami, was forced to make maps. His brother had admittedly gone a little crazy. Ace couldn't claim he was much better though— he needed to learn how to control his strength a little more. It didn't help that the battle with Arlong and his crew was the first real fight either of them had been in in five years. Sparring, no matter how intense, just isn't the same. After effectively destroying the first mate, Ace let the majority of Arlong's crew (including Hachi) go with a threatening speech and a bit of Haki to ensure they never come back. Arlong though, had been beyond what Luffy was willing to forgive. Hopefully taking out one of the big powers of the East Blue won't come back to bite them later on . . .
It's hard to be worried though when he sees the satisfied look on his brother's face.
"You did it," Ace confirms ruffling Luffy's hair. He pauses before asking, "Are you sure you're okay with not seeing her?"
Luffy hums in contentment. "Yeah, I'm sure. She's probably really happy now. That's enough."
Ace isn't entirely sure he believes his brother, but there is no arguing with Luffy once he sets his mind on something. Besides, it's too late to turn back anyways. Ace sighs instead of voicing any of his concerns and changes the subject to more pressing matters. "Don't get me wrong, I am happy, but I just wish she hadn't robbed us blind."
Luffy laughs. "That's just Nami. She always does that."
"Well where are we going to get the funds for our food, huh?"
Luffy brushes his brother's concern off. "It'll work out."
The older shakes his head with a sigh. "So, where to now?"
"Syrup village!" Luffy crows. Ace pulls out their map— thankfully it was left undisturbed during the robbery— and begins examining it.
"What catastrophe are we averting there?" Ace asks offhandedly as he positions the compass.
"Well, that's where Usopp is. There's this evil butler guy who hid for years as an innocent old man, but he was actually Black Gerbil, a super bad pirate who had no respect for his nakama!" Luffy declares crossly.
"Black gerbil? Ace asks with a raised brow.
"It might've been something else." Luffy scratches his head. "Hamster? Rat? Hmmm, I don't remember."
"So what happened exactly?"
"Me, Zoro, and Nami went there and helped Usopp beat the Black Gerbil guy into the dirt. He was a lady's butler and he plotted to take over when she was really weak. Usopp totally stood his ground! It was totally awesome and—"
Ace raises a hand to cut his brother off. "Wait, wait, wait. This all happened when you went to his village, right?"
"Yep."
"But until you got there everything was fine?" Ace questions.
"Yeah," Luffy chirps.
"So why do we need to go there?"
"To get rid of him!" Luffy exclaims like it's obvious.
"Luffy, we already lost one week. If we want to get everything done, and get back before Jiji finds out we're gone, we have to make sure we only do the stuff that's absolutely essential."
"Saving Usopp's village is essential!" Luffy protests.
Ace shakes his head firmly. "If nothing too bad happens before you go there then there isn't a reason for us to visit."
Luffy frowns for a few moments before saying, "Okay fine."
Ace knows he isn't happy, but Luffy understands what he's saying at least. "Is there anything else you need to do in the East Blue?"
"No," Luffy says. "I dunno where Zoro is, and Sanji's still working on this awesome floating restaurant. They're both okay for now. Besides, I don't think Sanji would listen to anything I said if I didn't have Nami with me anyways." He punctuates the statement with a broad, fond smile and Ace jut chuckles and shakes his head.
"Well, the Mera Mera fruit is in the West Blue, so let's head there next. That was supposed to be one of the last stops, but this is good actually. We can keep ahead of schedule. After that we should probably go to the Grand Line to do our shopping and . . . you know, I think that might be it." He laughs a little in surprise.
"It seemed like we had so much to do when we were plotting everything out," Luffy muses aloud.
"Well, getting to the West Blue ought to be enough of an adventure. This ship won't be able to handle the Reverse Mountain."
Ace really has no clue about how they're going to get there exactly. They have to somehow navigate through the South Blue to get there first, which meant passing the Red Line. The sloop is nowhere near sturdy enough to survive the trip up Reverse Mountain to even reach the South Blue . . . Not to mention that it certainly isn't fast enough to get them all the way there and then back before Jiji returns— ahead of schedule or not.
The wisest course of action is to attack some other pirate ships as they go. They'll need the supplies and ships if they want to sail through all the Blues, but they'll have to find a way without drawing attention to themselves. Ace shudders to think what would happen if Garp catches wind of the pair sailing around, let alone what other more powerful crews might do unless they make themselves less noticeable
"Ooh, Ace! Look, look!" Luffy snaps him out of his thoughts. His eyes widen as he takes in the visage of the large ship that was steadily sailing several dozen meters or so away. Neither had really noticed its approach, so caught up in their conversation. Ace's practiced eye scans the structure, eying the craftsmanship. It has to be a galleon, doesn't it?
"They probably have money and food, right?" Luffy asks, drooling slightly. Ace grins. His brother is certainly predictable.
"Probably. And hey, Luffy, that ship looks like it could survive Reverse Mountain."
"Oooh!" Luffy crows excitably.
Before Ace can say another word, a cannon ball clips the side of their small sloop.
"That was a warning shot. If you value your lives, you may want to gather any money you have!" a voice calls over the water.
Ace looks up, eyes shaded by his orange cowboy hat as he examines the distant figure of the man that addressed the two. He finds a pair of males standing forward on the ship. On one of the men's head there is perched a large black hat with a purple plume sticking out of it letting Ace know that he's most likely the captain. Beside him there's a man who's rather stocky, with curly orange hair. Probably the first mate then, Ace figures. Behind both men there are roughly forty-to-fifty crewmembers.
"You can surrender now," Luffy calls out in suggestion. His words are greeted by a hearty chorus of laughter.
"You must be either joking or insane!" One man calls back.
Well, the captain doesn't look weak exactly, so perhaps he and Luffy won't have to completely hold back their strength. His little brother is smiling widely at the enemy ship and his excitement is contagious. Ace grins with him.
"Let's go Luffy!"
"Right!" Luffy wraps his arm around the mast of their ship and creates a crude slingshot to launch the older boy across to the ship. Cries of shock and horror greet Ace's unexpected descent into the center of their ranks.
Ace resituates his orange cowboy hat on his head before glancing around at the ship speculatively. He's satisfied to know that his initial observations are spot on. He stands in front of a little more than forty pirates in addition to the first mate and captain. All of them are torn between staring at him or his very stretchy brother.
"Ah, hello."
"What the hell?!" A few pirates panic and pull the trigger of their guns. Ace reflexively hardens his body, deflecting the bullets. Most of them embed themselves harmlessly in the wood of the ship, but a few lodge into the bodies of unfortunate bystanders.
"Sorry, I didn't really mean to do that." Ace scratches his head. It doesn't look like anyone's seriously harmed, and he's happy to see that the wounded are quickly moved away. It seems they care about each other a little bit at least.
"His arm's black!"
"Unnatural child!"
"Is it a Devil Fruit?!"
Ace scoffs inwardly. Pirates that only sail on the Blue Seas really have no clue about what's out there. He's saved from answering by the explosive arrival of his little brother who lands a little away from Ace. More shrieks of terror come from the crew when Luffy's arm rescinds. Their young age, he figures, hurts more than helps in this case. Then there's Luffy's clothes which are still a tad bloody . . .
The captain isn't going to stand by in stupor forever though.
"Don't panic men! The tricks may look fancy, but—"
Before any of the other pirates can even blink, Ace darts forward and smacks the captain over the head lightly, effectively knocking him out.
Stunned silence meets his action and all of the pirates, who are already more than a little freaked out by Luffy's bizarre elasticity and his own display of Haki, immediately backpeddle as far away as they can get from the pair. A few pirates even dive off the ship in their panic. All the while, Ace calmly ties up the captain. After he's done, he pitches the captain to the small sloop he and his brother arrived in (which is drifting about fifty meters away). Ace doesn't hear a splash, so he figures the captain is probably fine.
"W-what do you want?" The orange haired pirate from before asks, stepping forward slightly. "All of our treasure is below decks. We don't have that much, only about ten thousand Berri, but it's yours if you want it."
"Oh, no thank you. We aren't here for treasure," Ace replies.
There's a long pause.
"Then may I ask what you are here for?"
"My little brother and I are on a trip of sorts," Ace informs his captive audience. "We have a few errands to run in the West Blue, and we're going to take this ship to get there."
Exclamations of disbelief sound from the other men who look incredulous and frightened at the same time.
"It takes at least forty people to sail a Galleon," the orange haired man says, and it seems he understands what's going on.
"That's why you all will be sailing with us," Ace says with a winning smile.
"You can't expect us to willingly go along with this," the other man replies, more heatedly now. "We're not going to follow orders from two little kids!"
Ace almost wants to say that they aren't kids, but he thinks they all look frightened enough already.
"I have a proposal I'd like to present," Ace begins formally before pausing. "Before that though, might I ask whom I'm addressing?"
"My name is William Johnson." The orange haired man— Johnson, then turns and gestures to the other men behind him. "We are the Purple Feather pirates."
"Ooooh, cause of the hat," Luffy remarks as he observes the hat that fell from the captain's head onto the deck before his unexpected flight. Johnson moves forward and collects it, eyeing Luffy untrustingly.
"I see. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is—" Ace pauses, considering using fake names since they're trying to avoid attention, but as he looks at his brother who has already grown bored of the discussion and is exploring the ship (much to the shock of the other pirates), he knows that there's no point. Luffy will just forget moments after Ace tells him. Even if he doesn't, Luffy will break their cover eventually just from sheer thoughtlessness. He sighs a little inwardly before finishing his sentence, "Ace. Call me Ace. That's my little brother, Luffy." He gestures to his brother who is now climbing up one of the three main masts with his bare hands.
"I see . . ." Johnson comments for lack of anything better to say.
"Now then, back to my proposal. Luffy and I are going to have to do a lot of sailing through the oceans to complete our errands. Neither one of us particularly cares about treasure. We're going to have to make stops on uninhabited islands and we'll probably get attacked by a few ships— not to mention the Marines . . ." Ace shakes his head and returns to the matter at hand. "We are willing to give you guys all the treasure we come across if you agree to sail with us. After we're done you all can keep the ship too."
"All the treasure?" Johnson echoes in disbelief. "And the ship too?!"
"You're kidding!" a Purple Feather pirate calls from the back, and many others make sounds of agreement.
"No, really," Ace assures them. "We couldn't care less."
Johnson gives Ace a shrewd look. "There has to be a catch."
The teenager pauses and thinks for a moment before replying. "Well, Luffy and I will need a portion for food of course."
The pirate crew stares at him.
"That's it? Money for food? You have got to be kidding," another pirate shouts from the side.
"No, I'm serious."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously." Ace looks at them deadpan.
"Are you—"
"Look, if you can't agree to our terms, you can join your captain on the sloop."
Every pair of eyes dart from the distant unconscious form of their captain on the small dinghy, then back to Ace's smiling face before they quickly agree to the teen's terms.
"Great!" Ace exclaims grinning even wider, before he addresses the orange haired man. "You're the first mate, right?"
Johnson starts. "Aye. That I am."
"Well then, you'll stay that way. Please take care of my brother and I," Ace says with a slight bow, and all of the pirates mutely stare at his perfect manners.
"Uhh, us as well?" Johnson replies uncertainly.
"Good. Now, which one of you is the navigator?" Ace calls, looking around at the congregation of pirates expectantly. A short wiry brunet man reluctantly steps forward.
"Can we rely on you to guide us safely, . . ." Ace trails off expectantly.
"Samson," he replies hesitantly. "And yeah, I suppose. I wouldn't lead the ship I'm on into a storm." Samson pauses a moment before eyeing Ace with apprehension. "Where exactly are we going?"
"We're heading to the West Blue. We have to get through the South Blue first so we'll head there now. After we get to the West Blue we'll have to pass through the North Blue to get back to the East Blue. Once everything's done, we'll leave you all the ship and you can do what you like, and we'll part ways as unlikely friends. The whole thing shouldn't take longer than roughly two months."
The navigator's eyes bulge. "T-two months?!"
"That's why we needed a Galleon. A sloop couldn't make it in time," Ace says as he looks speculatively at the ship. "By the way, is this ship coated with Kairoseki?"
"Why? W-we're not planning on going to the Grand Line, are we?!" the navigator stutters.
"Only the outskirts to do a little shopping. Don't worry, we're not going anywhere close to the New World. We're not ready for that."
"Shopping . . . you're going to the Grand Line to do a little shopping," Samson murmurs, dazed.
"The ship is coated with Kairoseki. It'll weather the Calm Sea," Johnson says as he steps forward to let the navigator gather his wits.
"That makes this a lot easier. We'd probably have to find another ship if that wasn't the case." The dark haired teen lets out a long laugh and the whole crew stares at him and their first mate with exaggerated grief.
"You couldn't just lie to him?!" Samson demands, shaking Johnson who looks just as despairing.
"Actually, it might be easier to do our shopping first, and then cross the Calm Belt to get to the West Blue. That would mean we wouldn't have to go through the South Blue, which will save us some time I suppose . . ." Ace ponders aloud.
"We're heading to the Grand Line?" Samson asks. "Right now?! I don't know how to navigate that!"
"I'll give you a crash course, don't worry," Ace says, and his reassuring expression does absolutely nothing to soothe the anxiety spread among the pirates. Samson's face is pale as a sheet and he staggers back to the banister.
"Oh, and by the way," Ace begins, a sharper tone sneaking into his voice, "if any of you intend to hurt my brother while we're sleeping, or are tempted to push him off the boat at one point or another, know that I will not hold back." Ace allows a thread of his Conquerer's Haki to leak from his body. The effect is instant, and the vast majority of the crew either passes out or tenses their body to the point of painfulness. He releases the tension in the air, making some of them collapse in relief.
"Am I understood?"
"Sir, yes sir!" yelps the remaining conscious crewmembers, terrified.
"Excellent! Then this'll be a fine two months."
"Accceeeeee!" Luffy descends from the crow's nest and lands on his brother's back. "They have this huge telescope up there! It's the coolest thing ever! Where's the kitchen? Are you done negotiating? I'm hungry."
"Sure thing Luffy, we'll find the kitchen." Ace looks towards Johnson. "Where's the mess hall?"
The first mate just weakly points to a door at the front of the deck. Their new (temporary) crew look on at the young boy and teen with increasing incredulity.
Ace pauses and glances towards the conscious crew members that are still just staring at him and Luffy.
"Wake the other men up and set sail for the Red Line!" Ace commands, sending them scurrying. Luffy giggles in his ear as Ace hitches his little brother up higher and carries him piggy-back to the kitchen. By the end of the day, all of the crew members are crying a little on the inside when they watch how much the two brothers eat. Their stipend of food will probably take most of the treasure budget. The Purple Feather pirates were thoroughly and utterly swindled, and they all know it too.
.
.
.
I asked myself- what would Ace and Luffy do if they did go back in time? Training and getting over angst, obviously, but it struck me that they wouldn't be the type to keep on the island the whole time (especially since Nami was in an utterly shit situation). Things sort of snowballed from there- after I realized that they'd be out in the ocean, I considered what else they would do. I decided they would need to go to the Grand Line for stuff you'll see in the next chapter. Since there's no way in hell these boys are going to get a ship strong enough to weather Reverse Mountain and the Calm Belt from Goa (it would draw waay too much attention), I knew they'd have to get a galleon some other way. So here we are with the Purple Feather pirates. I'm not a fan of OCs, but they can be done right, though. For me, an OC works when they are there to support a main character. Samson, Johnson, and the Purple Feather pirates are here to facilitate Luffy and Ace's brotherly weirdness.
You'll know them in time, but Johnson is ginger and the first mate while Samson is brunet and the navigator. Yep. All you really need to know for the most part.
See you all next week.
Let me know what you think about my use of OCs.