Disclaimer : I do not own One Piece or RWBY.
Rebirth of the Straw Hat
Chapter 36
Ruby's group decided to take a break as they sat on the bench after their shopping spree. Ruby and Weiss sighed in content as their sore feet can be at ease. Yang plopped herself down with dull eyes and an aura of gloom hanging over her. Zoro's eye twitched as he laid down the backpack he was lugging around along with a few carrying bags from their extra trips.
There just had to be other places to go to after retrieving all of the necessities. He lost count on the number of clothing stores Weiss insisted on going to.
"Phew, what a day..." Ruby said offhandedly as she stretched her arms.
"You're telling me. My legs are exhausted from all that walking." Weiss commented.
"You two didn't carry anything, I don't wanna hear it." Zoro mumbled in a disgruntled tone. They had no right to complain about being tired when they didn't do any lifting.
"Then you suffer with me." Yang voice came out with little emotion. The swordsman spared her a glance. Okay, maybe he's not doing the worst out of the four.
Looking past her, he sees teams JNPR and CFVY heading their way. When he spotted Yatsu, he noticed that he's in the same state as him. The big guy is being used to carry all of the women's purchases like some pack mule. His gaze switched to Jaune, who looked as dead as Yang.
'What happened to him?' he wondered with a sweatdrop.
The red and white pair soon noticed the two teams when Nora's backpack was making noises with each move she makes.
"Hey you guys!" Ruby called out to them. The others returned their greeting as Jaune plopped down next to Yang.
"Hey, Yang. How was your day?" Jaune asked with no enthusiasm found in his voice.
"Hell..." she answered.
"You too, huh?" he said, earning questioning looks from Ruby's group.
"What's wrong with him?" Ruby asked in concern. Ren sighed while Nora suppressed a giggle from the events that lead to Jaune's gloomy demeanor.
"He was being hit on when we went to a clothing store, which is when we ran into Coco's team." Ren replied, getting wide eyed looks.
"Wait, seriously!? Someone actually tried to flirt with him!?" the heiress tone was that of complete disbelief.
No one had missed at what she implied as their half-lidded gazes fell upon her. Seeing it as very rude, Ruby smacked her partner in the back of the head.
"Hey!" the white haired girl whined.
"Leave him alone. There's no need to kick him when he's down." Ruby scolded her.
"But wasn't he always trying to flirt with girls back in Beacon?" Zoro piped in. Even though the flirting reminds him of Sanji, Jaune at least knows when it's a bit much. Granted, he's still aiming for Weiss, so he's still as stubborn.
"I never said it was a girl." Ren added.
"O-oh..." Ruby was too shocked for words.
"I never thought we'd ever meet a transvestite." Nora said offhandedly, shocking them even more. Zoro raised a brow at the girl, wondering if that might've been one of the okama that serve under Ivankov.
Ruby and Weiss turned their attention to the blonde leader as they now understand why he's like this.
"On the bright side, there's someone out there that thinks your cute." Coco attempted to cheer him up, only to get bopped in the head by Pyrrha and Velvet.
"You're not helping!" the two yelled at her.
"What about Yang?" Fox spoke up. He could feel a similar depression from the girl compared to Jaune.
Weiss and Zoro turned their eyes to Ruby, who smiled with innocence and a halo hanging above her head.
"I don't want to talk about it." they said in unison, earning sweatdrops from the others.
"I'm going to assume it has to do something with Luffy and Blake." Velvet guessed, seeing as the two aren't here.
"Yup! She set the two up on a date without their consent. She even provided some spending cash to help them along. Isn't she the sweetest?" Ruby praised with a cheery tone. She wraps her arms around her sister's neck from behind the bench, but got no response from Yang.
"...Mhm." the blonde nodded.
"That doesn't explain her downtrodden look." Yatsu said with a sweatdrop.
"Just let it go. Ero-Blonde will bounce back at some point. More importantly..." Zoro waved off any concerns for Yang before turning to the backpack Nora was carrying.
"What are you carrying?" he inquired as he pointed at the item.
"Oh, nothing. Just some parts." the bubbly girl replied. Everyone stood in thought as they gave her dull eyes.
"...It's for making an oven, isn't it?" the sisters and Zoro guessed, earning a pout from the hammer wielder. The others felt stupid for not thinking that.
This is a glutton they're talking about. Luffy constantly complained about having to go to Beacon's kitchen just to cook. Thanks to Franky, he could just use scrap and make one for himself.
"No fair! How did you guess?" she wondered, a little bummed that it's no longer a surprise.
"Because it's Luffy!" everyone shouted as if it was obvious.
Fox perked up as he felt the black haired duo's presence, turning to where they're coming from.
"Speak of the Devil Fruit eater, and he shall appear." Fox remarked, gaining their attention.
They followed his gaze and saw the two walking side by side. Each were holding a book in one arm, but that wasn't what shocked RWY.
They couldn't hear what Luffy was talking about so animatedly, but whatever it is has Blake giggling. She rarely lets out any kind of laughter.
He just brings so much more out of Blake.
'Godammit, Yang. Stop thinking about your suffering and look at what you got out of it.' Yang scolded herself as she comically cried at the scene. Seeing the two look more closer revived her from her depression, just like Zoro said.
For what it's worth, she'll endure any kind of hell in order to hook them up. Her body was literally set ablaze as her resolve rekindled.
"Oh dear, she's really hyped now." Velvet sweatdropped as Yang burned in passionate flames.
"Told you she'll bounce back." Zoro rolled his eyes at the woman. Her behavior portrays her semblance very well. She gets knocked down, but she'll come back stronger than before.
Luffy seems to have noticed the large group as he turned to them and waved. Blake's teammates gave her a curious look as the hidden faunus wore a smile.
"What did you do to get her giggling, Lufes?" Yang inquired with a smirk.
"I was telling her about that high-pitched stone man." Luffy responded, showing a wide grin at the memory. Zoro snorted at the person mentioned. Heads rolled at the swordsman. There was actually something that Zoro found funny.
"That soprano-voiced dumbass?" Zoro grinned in amusement, earning a nod from his captain. The others snorted at the point of reference. That's a higher pitch than Ruby.
"Apparently, he's also bigger than Yatsu." Blake added, holding back on her laughter. She couldn't tell what she was giggling at more. Either the thought of a big guy with a high-pitched voice, or Luffy's miserable attempt a moment ago to mimic the guy.
The group tried to put the two together, but the closest they could imagine was Yatsu with Ruby's voice. They roared with laughter soon after, even though the conclusion they came up with was a tamed version of the truth. Even Jaune was roped in as he forgot his depression for hilarity.
"I-I think we'll die laughing if we saw the actual thing." Yang commented as she attempted to calm down before she deprived herself of air.
"Pfft! He'll kill people by talking at that rate!" Nora put in her two cents.
"D-Don't say something so dark, you two!" Pyrrha chided them as the laughing died down.
Before she could forget, Blake dug into her wallet and pulled out the lien Yang 'loaned'.
"Huh?" her partner raised a brow at the money.
"I'm returning the money you loaned me. We never really used it to begin with." Blake explained. The only thing she ever bought over her time with her crush was the bowl of noodles with tuna. Everything else were on the house due to generosity.
"Uh, right... thanks." Yang said as she took her money back, getting a confused look from her partner. She'd rather leave the memories of her torment behind. It didn't help that the story Ruby woven together was the same thing that Blake concluded. Zoro and Weiss are the only ones other than herself that know the truth.
Meanwhile, Luffy held up the backpack he lent to Nora and felt the weight. He grinned in approval as he trusted Nora to do him a favor by visiting the scrapyard. His wish for a personal oven will finally become reality. Buying the parts or the appliance itself would've been a hassle on someone's wallet, so he opted to just make one with used parts.
"Yay! I knew you could do it, especially with Pyrrha." Luffy praised Nora before giving the bag back to her.
The bubbly girl may be strong, but having a semblance that controls metal simplified the process.
"I can't tell if you pinned your hopes on Nora or Pyrrha." Ren sweatdropped.
"Then again, that Paulie guy was kind enough to help. He at least knew what the parts looked like." Jaune added. Without that blonde haired guy, they would be stuck trying to figure out if they got the right parts or not. They're huntsmen, not mechanics.
"Paulie?" the two former pirates had thoughtful looks at the name, finding it familiar for some reason. The others looked at each other in surprise. If the name was making them think, then Paulie could've been an incarnate.
"Is he someone from your old world?" Velvet asked.
"Hmm... I have no clue." the two said in unison with a shrug. The three teams slumped at their answer, but shelved the topic away for later. It's not like they can remember every single incarnate, so there's still a chance that the guy was from the old world. They'll have to refer to one of Luffy's crew members through the memory bonds.
The large group divided into two, with RWBY and the pirate duo heading towards the docks while the rest head back to Beacon. The black haired duo left their two books in one of the backpack's pouches. Even with the added weight, Zoro doesn't look so bothered. He refuses to complain because it would be the same as admitting defeat to Yang by proving he can't handle the weight.
At least he's not lugging around oven parts like Nora.
"Oh yeah! We met the old geezer, Makino, and Rayleigh!" Luffy exclaimed as they walked down the streets. The two sisters turned to him in surprise while Weiss and Zoro raised a brow.
"You gotta be kidding me! We missed out on meeting your teacher and bartender!?" Yang exclaimed in frustration.
"He could always just draw what they looks like." Weiss rolled her eyes.
"But it's not the same as meeting them in person!" Ruby rebuked as she got up in her partner's face.
"So which old geezer is it?" Zoro ignored the banter as he mentions the unknown person. One would be surprised by how many badass old guys there were in their old world. Even more astonishing when you consider what they were capable of in their prime.
"The guy that owned the sea restaurant where you fought Mihawk the first time." Luffy clarified. The mere mention of the greatest swordsman in Remnant got Weiss' attention.
On the other hand, Yang winced as she recalled Luffy telling them about Zoro's fight with the Warlord. She can't help but wonder if it was by some twist of fate that Zoro got a similar scar on his chest like the one Mihawk gave him.
"Was it true that he sliced a galleon in two!?" Ruby inquired with starry eyes, remembering something entirely different. The black and white duo started to pale at the imagery. A ship of that magnitude... cut in half by a sword. What was the standard in their world?
"As if you didn't believe Luffy when he told you. But yes, he did." Zoro confirmed with a huff.
"Shishishi. He even tried to cut my head off, but he missed and cut the huge wall of ice behind me." Luffy added to the number of Mihawk's feats before laughing. It may have been scary back then, but now he could just laugh it off.
"That's not something to laugh about!" Weiss and Blake comically shouted.
Before they knew it, they saw the docks not too far from them. Decorations for the upcoming Vytal Festival were underway, to which the heiress made note of as she admired the planning it took. None of what she said interested the others since it all sounded so boring as Yang puts it.
"Remind me why we're going to the docks. The whole place reeks of fish. At least Blake doesn't mind it." Ruby said as she pinched her nose shut.
"Ruby, I like to eat fish. The smell is a different story." Blake corrected her leader.
"While the stench will take some getting used to, we're here to welcome our guests from Vacuo. I feel it is our duty to-" Weiss was about to enter a grandiose speech before Yang cuts in.
"Scope out the competition and see what they're packing for the tournament." Yang finished for the heiress with a cheeky grin.
"You have no proof of that!" Weiss quickly denied, leading everyone to believe Yang's statement.
"Ehh! You're going to cheat, Weiss!?" Luffy looked shocked at the thought. He never pegged her for the type to resort to such low measures.
"Cheating is an ugly word, Luffy. I call it reconnaissance." Weiss argued matter-of-factly.
"She's not even denying her intentions anymore." Zoro said with a sweatdrop.
Luffy could only pout at her for using such a big word. It doesn't change the fact that it's technically cheating. Where's the fun in fighting an opponent you know everything about? He can understand if it was the difference between living or dying, but this is a tournament they're talking about. No threats to a person's life, just a competition to enjoy.
While everyone looked at the ship unloading its passengers, Luffy stared off towards the sea in nostalgia. It was the home to all pirates that sailed the seas. Looking out to the horizon reminds him of his previous life when he was aboard the Going Merry or Sunny. He'll miss being a pirate, but now he has a new adventure to look forward to.
"Woah." Ruby broke him out of his trance when she spotted a store that was broken into. Yellow tape barred the way with two cops standing near the entrance as they were investigating the scene. Glass was shattered and the inside looked like a tornado came through.
"Hmm... looks like a robbery." Luffy pointed out the obvious as they approached the store.
"Really? I never would've guessed, Luffy." Weiss had nothing but sarcasm for him.
"Huh? But you're supposed to be the smartest one out of the group." Luffy argued, not understanding the sarcasm. The heiress felt her eye twitch at his stupidity as the rest of the girls giggled.
"You got that right kid. This is the second one this week. Same thing as before, just the Dust was stolen." one of the officers joined in after hearing the boys deduction.
"You mean they had no interest in anything else?" Zoro raised a brow at the robber's handiwork, getting nods from the police.
This was a bit of relief for the Beacon students. That also means that Buggy and his crew are still behind bars, so it has to be someone else.
"So who do you think would need this much Dust? An army?" the other officer joked.
"Maybe the White Fang?" the first officer added his two cents, earning an eye roll from Weiss.
Of course it would be them. They've always had something against the Schnees and they know stealing Dust from their company would enrage her father.
"Maybe we're not getting paid enough." the second complained.
"Huh? What about Girly Man?" Luffy included himself into the conversation.
"Girly Man?" everyone looked at him like he grew another head. Ruby groaned at her cousin for keeping that nickname.
"He means Torchwick. Seriously, why do you call him that?" Ruby wondered. The cops seem to take it in stride before getting back to work, but took the assumption under consideration. They still haven't caught the guy yet after all.
"Cuz I felt like it!" Luffy answered with a goofy grin, earning sighs from them.
In other words, it was just on a whim.
"Either way, they're on the right track if they're accusing the White Fang." Weiss said. This didn't sit well with Blake as the amber eyed girl frowned at the heiress.
"And what do you mean by that?" she asked with a slight edge in her tone.
"I mean that they're degenerates who only know how to steal and kill." Weiss stood strong in her opinion.
"They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake defended. Ruby and Yang stood awkwardly as the tension rose between the two while the former pirates stared on with passive expressions.
"Don't humans do the same thing though?" the duo pointed out to Weiss in unison with a tilted head.
"Wha-, you do realize you're supporting a group that made it a goal to wiping out humanity, right!?" she asked the three incredulously. The two pirates gave her a dull look as their question was unanswered.
"We never said we're supporting them." Zoro argued with crossed arms. The destruction of four encampments should be evidence enough, and Luffy made his opinion very clear to them.
Said boy was looking at Blake, confused by her defense. She dreamed of having humans and Faunus coexisting, but she's defending the group that are making her goal that much harder to reach. Shouldn't the White Fang be her enemies?
"Luffy~!"
His train of thought was put on hold by a woman's voice. His eyes went wide as he recognizes its owner.
Everyone looked around for the source until they saw something that made their jaws hit the concrete. The only ones unaffected were the two pirates and Ruby.
A beautiful woman in a purple dress and heels made her way to the fifteen year old and openly embraced him, her enormous rack pressed against his back. While Luffy didn't react to the gorgeous woman hugging him, Blake felt all the alarms go off in her head.
The woman was tall and with what Yang could describe as the perfect bod. A bountiful chest, narrow hips, slender legs, she has it all. She has long black hair that reaches past her waist with strands framing the sides of her face and earrings that resemble snakes.
'What cup size is she!?" Yang and Weiss wondered as they stared at the pillows buried into his back. They were by far the largest they've ever seen. The two wondered why nearly all the girls in Luffy's world have to have a bigger bust than Yang. The heiress felt her jealousy burn after realizing she's the smallest among the five women present.
How can a fifteen year old beat her, anyway!?
Things caught up to the woman before she quickly broke out of the embrace with a bashful look.
'How embarrassing! To do something like that once I see him! I couldn't help but wrap him in my arms after not seeing him for so long.' the woman swooned.
A day never went by where Hancock's thoughts were on a topic other than Luffy. Perhaps she'll listen to the offer that was proposed to her if it meant staying near Luffy. She was going to personally decline it outright, but now it's time to reconsider.
"Hahaha! I missed you too, Hancock." Luffy said. The former Warlord nearly fainted at hearing him say her name right again. She lost count on how many times that happened, but it'll never get old.
"She's like a schoolgirl with a crush." Blake muttered with a sweatdrop, getting a nod from Zoro.
"She's also one of the Warlords like Mihawk and Jimbei." he informed. Blake turned to him in shock at the news. Jimbei was a Warlord before joining Luffy!? This bashful woman is also one!? She can only believe the former since he helped Luffy during the war.
Hancock soon sets her sights on team RWBY, switching between shy to emotionless.
"Who are these girls?" Hancock demanded an answer. Ruby flinched at the hostility in her tone while Weiss and Yang snapped out of their daze.
What was her deal?
"I'm surprised you don't know a Schnee when you see one. Coincidentally, I've heard a bit about the famed Kuja family." Weiss stated. As soon as she heard the name Hancock, Kuja came into her mind since this woman is head of the family.
A family that hails from Mistral that comprise only of women. They live by the motto that strength is beauty, which explains why some members live the double life between model and huntress. It was said that Hancock had a peculiar distrust in men for some reason, as well as a dislike for small animals.
"I see that our beauty precedes us. However, I never bothered to learn more about the family behind the Dust business." Hancock stated coldly as she towered over Weiss. The heiress gritted her teeth at the offensive remark as it sounded like all she learned is that they distribute Dust. She didn't give two shits about their history or their appearance.
It made her feel insignificant to the woman.
"I-I'm Ruby, and this is Yang. We're his cousins. And these are his friends, Weiss and Blake. Oh, and you may have heard of Zoro from Luffy." the redhead took charge of introducing her team along with the swordsman, albeit with a shy expression. She couldn't tell if it was out of intimidation, admiring her beauty, or both.
Hancock was internally relieved to hear that they were just friends and family. She thought the four would be part of some harem. But just in case, she'll have to keep an eye on them despite how sincere the girl is.
"I see. I am Boa Hancock, head of the Kujas and beloved wife to Luffy." Hancock gave a proper introduction, although the last bit wasn't true. The white and black duo choked on air as they heard the second bit. Zoro and Ruby sighed as they know that it's all in her head. Yang tightened her hands into fists as she stares at the threat to her shipping.
Right, how could she forget about the one woman that is dead set on making him her husband. She'll have to protect Blake from her should she believe her partner is pining for him too.
They weren't the only ones to hear the wife bit as all of the bystanders turned to Hancock with wide eyes.
'Wife!' Weiss and Blake exclaimed in their mind. Weiss couldn't believe someone was crazy enough to marry him. Blake, on the other hand, was crushed at the thought of him being taken. The two turned to Luffy to see his dull gaze.
"I never married you." he deadpanned, causing their shock to vanish in an instant. So it was nothing but a delusion from the woman.
"Then will you-"
"No." Luffy rejected her would-be proposal. Hancock didn't take the rejection too hard as that was the usual answer, but the bystanders stood in shock as a guy just turned down the most beautiful woman in their eyes without any second thoughts.
"Are you insane!" all the men exclaimed with bugged out eyes. Luffy looked around to take in the sight of the men's expressions.
"What's wrong with everyone? Why are they being weird?" Luffy remained befuddled by their reactions.
"They do know how much older she is compared to Luffy, right?" Zoro muttered with a sweatdrop. Back in their old world, they were apart by twelve years. Hancock doesn't seem to care about that age difference if she's still persistent with her marriage proposals.
Before Luffy could ask what brought the former Snake Princess to Vale, there was commotion coming from the docks. He dropped the question in favor of his curiosity as he ran back to the docks with Zoro and RWBY in tow.
"Something is going on over there. I'm sure we'll meet again, Hancock. See ya." Luffy waved at the woman, who was in her own daydream about what he implied by saying that.
"You sure she's a Warlord?" Weiss asked for assurance. With how Hancock was switching between emotionless to a shy girl because of Luffy, she couldn't really take her seriously.
"Yeah. She's even has Conqueror's Haki like me." Luffy added. Surprise was written on the girls' faces.
"You never told us that!" Ruby yelled.
"I didn't? Well I never seen her use it, but she does." Luffy said as he cupped his chin.
"You rarely use it yourself." Blake pointed out. She only witnessed the effects of that Haki type twice. One during initiation and the other against team CRDL.
Yang kept quiet as her thoughts remained on Hancock's behavior towards them. She hardly acknowledged their presence except when someone was speaking to her. That cost some points in her book.
The group reach the railing to see a guy avoiding capture from the cops.
The young man stood a little shorter than Zoro with blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, and a tanned muscular physique. He wears a loose-collared white jacket left open to reveal his chest, red wrist bracers over black fingerless gloves, blue cargo pants held up by a white belt, and sneakers in black and yellow. He also has a black chord with a round pendant around his neck and a chain in the right belt loop.
'Is that a monkey tail?' Zoro observed as the now revealed monkey faunus kept running.
"Get back here you no good stowaway!" one of the pursuers ordered. He only laughed at the order before hopping up to a lamppost and hung upside down while peeling a banana.
"Can you really call me that if I never got caught? An awesome stowaway doesn't get captured!" the monkey faunus rebutted with a smug grin.
"He has a point." the former pirates agreed in unison.
"Don't take his side! He's breaking the law!" Weiss reprimanded. The captain and first mate deadpanned at the heiress, causing her to consider who she's talking to.
Right, they broke the law before too.
One of the cops tried to throw a rock at the hanging boy, but he tilted his head to dodge it. He dropped the banana peel on the offender's face before leaping off his perch. Dashing up the steps, he rounded the corner and ran past the group, but not before giving Blake a wink.
The hidden faunus was taken by surprise by the small gesture. It's not everyday that you get targeted for flirting.
Luffy was the only other person to catch the wink and quirked a brow at the action.
"Why did he wink?" he muttered to himself in confusion. Was he trying to use winking as an attack like Ivankov?
Blake was shocked to know someone else noticed the exchange. Out of all people, he had to be that one.
"Our competition is getting away." Yang pointed out in a dry tone.
"Quick! We must catch- I mean observe him!" Weiss ordered.
Everyone nodded before Luffy sped off in the stowaway's direction. Hearing the jingle from Zoro's backpack filled Yang with dread. There was Dust inside and all the jostling could make the volatile substance go boom along with the ammo!
"Zoro, slow down! You're carrying a bag full of fireworks in there!" the blonde warned. Zoro glanced back at the backpack and cursed under his breath before slowing down till there wasn't much noise.
He's thankful for the warning, but now he can't catch up to the group.
Luffy went around the corner and spotted the monkey faunus down the block. He stretched his arms out and got a grip on the sidewalk.
"I got you now, Winking Guy! Gomu Gomu no Rocket!" He yelled out with a confident grin before launching himself.
"Winking Guy?" he turned to the voice in confusion for the nickname. Seeing the human bullet heading towards him brought out a comical scream.
An orange haired girl walked out of the alleyway between the two, unaware of what's going on.
"Ahhh! Get out of the way!" Luffy comically yelled, unable to stop himself from crashing into her.
"Hmm? Salu-" the girl couldn't finish her greeting as Luffy slammed head first into her gut, knocking her off her feet and flying past the stowaway.
"Oooh... that's gotta hurt." he winced at the impact before he jumped up to the rooftops and escaped. Ruby and the others arrived at the scene too late, but caught sight of the girl sitting on Luffy.
Now that they got a closer look, they could see her freckles, bright green eyes, and curly orange hair that comes down to her chin. A pink bow rests on the back of her head. Her outfit consists of gray feminine overalls over a blouse in a lighter shade of gray and a black collar to match her stockings. Green lines could be seen on her collar and overalls.
"No! He got away!" Weiss whined, not paying the girl any mind. Muffled noises came from Luffy as he flailed around before pushing the orange haired girl off of him.
"Geez, you're heavy!" Luffy bluntly commented as he patted himself off. For some reason, she has enough weight to squish his head against the concrete.
Yang popped him on the noggin for the insensitive remark.
"Sorry about that. He can be a jerk without trying to." Yang apologized in his stead.
"Why don't you worry about how she shrugged off one of his Rockets." Zoro muttered, noticing how she's in no pain after a head on collision. The girl in question got back up and gave a genuine smile.
"Oh, I'm alright. My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you." she reassured them before she greeted them. They quirked a brow at her joyful demeanor, wondering if she's truly alright after the crash.
"Hehe, sorry about running into you. I'm Luffy." the former captain intoduced himself.
"My name's Ruby."
"I'm Weiss.
"Blake.
"Roronoa Zoro.
"Are you sure you didn't hit the ground too hard?" Yang broke the name chain, earning a pout from Luffy.
Whose the rude one now?
"O-oh, I'm Yang."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny repeated herself.
"You already said that." Zoro deadpanned. The girl blinked a few times until she registered that his statement is true.
"...So I did. Anyway, I was just taking in the sights before the Vytal Festival. I can't wait to fight in the tournament." Penny cheered, eager for the event. The group looked at her in bewilderment as she mentioned the tournament.
"You're fighting in the tournament?" Yang said in an incredulous tone.
"I am combat ready." the odd girl emphasized her statement with a salute.
"Forgive me, but you don't look the part." Weiss said.
"This coming from someone that wears a dress." Blake quipped. The red and white duo turned to her and pointed at her with a sharp look.
"It's a combat skirt!" the two corrected in unison, earning a sweatdrop from the offender.
Luffy chuckled at the thought of peculiar fighters. He and Zoro had their fair share of odd opponents, Pica being one of them. This is just making the wait much more agonizing. Weiss perked up as she almost forgot what they were doing before running into Penny.
"Wait a second, did you happen to see where that riffraff went?" Weiss inquired. Blake clenched her fists in anger for the heiress' wording. She says it like he was some lowlife.
"Who?" Penny tilted her head at the lack of detail.
"The filthy monkey faunus from the boat!" Weiss' words were the last straw for the amber eyed girl.
"Stop it!" Blake's outburst startled the others as she fumed at the heiress. Just like that, their argument from earlier came back with renewed vigor.
Luffy wanted to intervene and stop this stupid argument, but Zoro held out his hand to stop him. He looked up to him to see the swordsman's gaze fall on Ruby, who is just standing beside Yang doing nothing. She has the authority to keep her teammates in line, yet she's letting this play out. However, this is going to cause a rift between the two if she does nothing. Her face shows some uncertainty as she doesn't know what to do.
As much as the captain still wants to help, he knows that Zoro has the better sense in leadership. This is something Ruby needs to learn on her own. As the two began to leave, Yang noticed their movements.
"Where are you going!?" she yelled, hoping they were going to do something about this.
"Back to Beacon. I want to get this off my back, Luffy wants to make that oven, and Perona is still waiting for us. We're not going to wait for those two to stop bickering." Zoro reasoned, jerking a thumb to the two. They're so busy with their argument that they didn't register the pirates' leaving.
"See ya later, Penny!" Luffy waved at the girl. She returned the gesture with as much energy as he had.
Penny can't help but wonder if this was what having a friend is like.
By the time the shattered moon loomed over Beacon, the pirate duo were carefully lifting the oven Luffy manufactured. It was such a pain in the ass when they had to go up some stairs to reach their floor. Especially Zoro since it felt like he did nothing but lift stuff all day. Luffy grabbed on one end while his first mate had the other and was walking backwards.
Perona was beside the two as she listened to Luffy recount the events of the trip.
"You sure have a knack for running into incarnates. Who would've thought that Rayleigh became an author, or that Hancock was here?" the ghost girl commented.
"Shishishi, I know right! I still need to try reading that book he gave me." Luffy reminded himself, to which Zoro shot him a disbelieving look around the oven. His captain is actually going to read a book of his own volition?
Snapping out of his stupor, the green haired man recalled Luffy telling him about Blake's faunus heritage. Luffy felt no harm in telling him since Blake had mentioned how he knew before him.
"So Blake willingly showed you that she's a faunus?" Zoro wondered, earning a nod from Luffy. Perona doesn't seem to care about this revelation as she just floated around with a bored expression.
She left a ghost in RWBY's dorm room to see how things are going. Unfortunately, the two never stopped bickering.
"Yeah, she has cat ears under that bow. It looks really cool!" Luffy grinned, but he soon frowned as he remembered her argument with Weiss.
"I don't get it, though. She wants to bring humans and faunus together, but she's supporting the White Fang. They're not doing anything that could help with that, so shouldn't they be her enemies?" Luffy asked in confusion. Zoro hummed as he tried to connect the dots and give the captain an answer. His look turned serious at the conclusion he came up with.
"Luffy, she's defending them because she had previous ties to them. It should've been obvious." Zoro shared his thoughts. Perona perked up as her ghost heard an outburst from Blake that made the room go silent.
"What do you mean?" Luffy inquired, not understanding where Zoro was getting at.
"Idiot, I mean that-oof!" Zoro was cut off by something colliding into his backside with a yelp. The two scrambled to get their bearings on the oven before they looked to see what ran into Zoro.
"Blake?" Luffy recognized the girl that fell to the floor. Hearing her name caused her breath to hitch.
She can't bear to face anyone right now. Not after she blurted out her involvement with the White Fang to her teammates. She quickly got back up and ran past the three without saying a word. She didn't get far as ghosts cluttered the escape route she aimed for.
"If you think you can run off without explaining things to us, you got another thing coming." Perona warned, having heard everything.
Blake backed away from the Negative Hollows in fear of what they do. Feeling cornered, she just wants to shrink away and be as small as possible. Footsteps were soon heard, scaring her even more.
The rest of her team caught up to her moments later. Weiss was glaring daggers at Blake while being held back by Yang and Ruby. The two pirates were unable to do much with the oven in their arms, so they tried to get to their room before coming back. There wasn't much space to move around when the appliance took up half the hallway.
"Perona, keep them in place until we get back." Zoro ordered. Not having to be told twice, the pink haired girl brought the entire hall on lockdown with more ghosts. No one was getting in or out of this until things simmered down. She can't let the few friends she has made tear each other apart.
It didn't take too long for Luffy to bring out his scroll and open the door with one hand. After lowering the oven to the floor, the two left the dorm to see the team not move an inch. Neither did the heiress' gaze for that matter.
"So who's gonna start?" Zoro waited for someone to speak up with crossed arms.
"I can start off by revealing that she's a member of the White Fang!" Weiss sneered. Blake didn't say anything to retort as she curled herself into a ball with her legs pulled close to her face.
Luffy's eyes went wide for a brief moment before they settled on Blake. He could understand her previous loyalties to them, but it still baffles him that she defends the people in the way of her dream to this day.
"I just came to that conclusion not too long ago. The question still stands if she is with them or if she left the fold." Zoro stated. He's not picking sides, but he will point out the possibilities. That is unless Blake gets out of her funk and explain everything in detail, but that doesn't seem to be happening. Luffy knelt down to Blake's level and proceeded to stare at her.
"She left them..." Luffy boldly claimed. All eyes were on him at his assumption. A faint glimmer of hope sparked within the girl as she looked over her knees to meet Luffy's gaze.
'No matter what the world thinks, I'll protect you so you don't have to be scared.'
That's right, she still had Luffy to support her. He stayed true to his word.
Seeing tears trickle down her face makes the pirate captain want to punch whoever is responsible for bringing her tears.
"What makes you believe that? She could be a spy for all we know." Weiss reasoned. She was left in confusion when she heard Luffy chuckling as if he was mocking her for seeing the obvious answer that she couldn't.
"Because she's too nice of a person to stay with them." Luffy replied with a smile. Blake has always strived to do what's right. She would've been driven mad if she stayed to their violent ways.
"I'm with Luffy on this. Seriously, I doubt she would harm an innocent life like you say they do." Yang sided with her cousin. She turned to her sister to see if she agrees as well. However, Ruby remained silent.
"Ruby?" Yang was starting to worry about how she's feeling about this.
"...I'm fine with you being in the White Fang. I'm fine with you being a faunus. But... I was hurt when you tried to run away without giving us a chance." Ruby said as she tried to keep herself under control.
Blake adopted a look of shame and guilt as she just realized the effect her actions had. Running away has only proven the lack of faith she had. She just assumed the worst case scenario without giving them the chance to show their reaction. Out of all people to hurt, it had to be the one that's kind to a fault.
"I'm really sorry." Blake softly muttered, too ashamed to face her leader.
Seeing as Blake was taken care of, Ruby turned to the heiress who averted her eyes from everyone with crossed arms.
"We won't need the ghosts anymore, Perona." Ruby assured, sounding emotionally drained. Blake has lost all will to flee while Weiss doesn't seem interested in catching the former White Fang member.
Hesitant at first, Perona looked between the black and white duo. Zoro gave her a nod to gesture that it's alright, trusting the girl's judgement. Perona complied as the ghosts dispersed, the hallway no longer cluttered by the spectral beings.
"Weiss... I know that you can't let go of this grudge, but you could at least work your way to accept her. You lived with the fact that we're next door neighbors to pirates. This shouldn't be too much harder." Ruby said.
Her partner made no immediate response for several seconds before she let out a sigh. Ruby won't be satisfied unless she made another compromise. The only difference is that now she has to work with someone who was once on the enemy's side.
This is another step to being a better teammate.
"I'll try. Don't expect it to happen over night." Weiss relented with no guarantees.
"That's all I could ask for. I'm sure Blake understands that, too." Ruby gave a small smile. Off to the side, Zoro wore a small smirk upon seeing the whole situation being mended.
"Does this satisfy you?" Yang caught his attention. The former Pirate Hunter wiped the smirk off his face in favor of his usual stoic expression.
"It'll do. Weiss is reminded of her position and Blake has been sent on a guilt trip for crossing boundaries that a subordinate shouldn't cross. Ruby is still too soft, though." Zoro mentally graded the young leader.
"But maybe it's for the best. As long as we don't have a fight like the one between Luffy and Usopp." Yang said.
"I suppose... Maybe I can finally sleep." Zoro yawned before heading to the dorm for the night.
"Come on, Ruby. Some cuddling should do some good." Perona lead the petite into the dorm.
"You look eager." Weiss commented as she joined them along with Yang. Perona flinched at the accusation.
"S-She's the one that likes to cuddle." Perona defended herself.
"Yeah, as long as she can breathe in the middle of the 'valleys'." Yang teased, emphasizing her point by poking the ghost girl's chest. Her dear little sister is living every guy's dream.
Perona's flabbergasted reaction brought a small smile to Ruby.
The hall was empty with the exception of the black haired duo.
"Neh, Blake." Luffy called out to her as she pulled herself to her feet.
"Hm?"
"I know I told you that I'd protect you, and I always will. But I can't protect you from yourself." Luffy said. Blake quirked a brow at the weird statement.
"What are you trying to say?" she inquired in confusion.
"I want you to stop lying to yourself. You knew the answer from the start, but you keep avoiding it." Luffy continued to confuse her.
He soon headed for his room, leaving Blake to ponder on his words.
'Why does he have to be so confusing right now?' she thought in exasperation before joing the others in slumber.
End of Chapter
This canon divergence was difficult to write. I hope it turned out alright for you guys.
Please leave reviews for feedback.