A/N: This chapter doesn't have a lot in the way of progression, but it has a few interesting things thrown in, so hopefully you enjoy. Took awhile to write and it isn't my favorite, but I think it's adequate at the bare minimum.
Compounded Rubber
Chapter 7.
Silver Doesn't Always Shine
"Hmm... we need a chef."
Those present looked at Luffy.
Laya's stomach grumbled.
"Glutton." Nami snarked. The girl grinned and chuckled.
"I suppose it would be nice," Kaya chimed in, "having someone around that knows how to make proper meals for everyone. Nami's cooking is wonderful and all, but I'd rather not put that on her for longer than necessary."
"Thank you, Kaya."
"Sure thing!"
"Where will we get one though?" Usopp asked from Kaya's side. "I mean, we're in the middle of the ocean. Do we just go to the nearest island and ask for the first chef we see to join?"
Luffy shook his head. "No. We need a special chef."
"Special chef?" The sniper parroted.
Laya perked up. "Oooh, you mean like a pirate chef?"
Luffy blinked, looked at his counterpart, then laughed. "Exactly! We need a pirate chef!"
"Right, because those are a thing you can just find and recruit." Nami snipped. "This is the real world, you two. 'Pirate chefs' and the like don't exist."
Her captain chuckled. "Nami, Nami, Nami." He chided with a shake of his head. The ginger scowled. "You still have so much to learn. Of course pirate chefs exist! Who do you think cooks for pirate crews? Duh. And I know exactly where to find them."
"Is that right?"
"Yep!"
"Where?"
"..."
The woman sighed as the others looked on, amused. "You have no idea, do you? Of course not."
"Do too!" He cried indignantly. Luffy's arms crossed and his lips pursed. "I just don't know how to get there from here."
"Then it still doesn't HELP! Geez... Do you at least know the name of this so-called 'pirate chef' location?"
"Hmm? Yeah, sure. It's called the Baratie."
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Tomoe looked around the ship as they sailed towards the nearest island, according to the ginger girly. Since no one had any idea where this "Baratie" might be located, other than that it was in the East Blue (very helpful), they had decided as a group to head to the closest island in the hopes some information on the floating restaurant could be obtained.
Currently, only herself, the two captains, and Usopp was present. The last two members of their group had retreated inside for reasons that didn't concern the swordswoman.
From the looks of things, or at least what she could make out through half-lidded eyes, the captain pair where working on a flag for the crew. Her eyes opened further.
Yeah... wasn't going well.
Seemed like all the strength in the world couldn't keep you from sucking ass at art.
Oh, the long-nosed one had taken over... and, yes, that was much better. Tomoe sighed in relief. Sailing under that original attempt... quite possibly could have been the most challenging experience of her life.
As soon as Usopp was finished and presented his product, Luffy and Laya both cheered with praise and satisfaction. Immediately calls for the missing crew members rang out. Her own pretense of sleep was ruined when Laya called for her to come over.
She sighed and stood.
Still, there was a part of her that had to admit, it was a nice feeling to see the flag being raised for the first time. The birth of a crew.
A crew with potential.
A crew that could take her to heights never imagined.
It was the birth of something great. She could feel it in her bones.
A soft chittering filled her ears, and she paused, blinking. Tomoe looked right. Tomoe looked left. Tomoe shrugged.
The verdette made her way back over to the railing and made herself comfortable. Everything else could wait. Right now, sleep.
A question from Luffy had her eyes snapping right back open, staring the man down.
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Luffy snickered to himself. He wondered when she would notice.
Or anyone else for that matter.
Personally, he welcomed their new crewmate. It was already funny as hell, and he had a feeling that "little" situation would only get better.
For now though... "Hey Tomoe, don't we have a bigger ship now?"
He knew he had his friend's attention as she locked eyes with him.
"Do you mean...?"
He nodded. "There's no reason to wait now. You can handle it, and I want to make sure you all are strong enough for what's to come."
"Eh?" Laya said, jumping onto her brother's back. "Watcha talkin' about? Are you helping Tomoe get stronger, Luffy? Can I join?"
"Shishishi! Yep. I'm going to explain how I'm so strong. And everyone else is welcome to join. Actually I want you all to."
The girl's eyes practically sparkled with eagerness.
Soon enough the whole crew was sitting or standing around the deck, attention being given to Luffy.
"This better be good, Luffy. I was working on something important." Nami griped, foot tapping impatiently.
Kaya turned to her in a placating gesture. "Come now, Nami. I'm sure Luffy wouldn't-" The heiress paused at the hard stare she received. A blush spread across her cheeks and she turned back around. "Never mind." She mumbled.
The girl had only been with the crew for less than two days, but she already was well aware of her captains' penchant for senseless fun and games.
Still...
"Quiet girly." Tomoe ordered sternly. "Unless you don't want to know what it means to have a captain from the Grand Line."
Nami's jaw snapped shut mid rebuttal.
The next half-hour was something that could only be described as world changing to the group of East Blue natives.
Akuma no Mi
Rokushiki
Haki.
It was almost too much. To think that monsters existed in the world that could use all of the things shown to them. Each person there remembered all too clearly the way Tomoe's best swings would just bounce off Luffy's skin or be avoided completely while the man's eyes were closed.
And let's not forget the flying. That was just... there was no words for them.
Oh, and how about the mythical fruits that not only weren't mythical, but almost as common as normal fruit in the Grand Line and got batshit crazy in the powers department.
Turning into rubber? Positively tame. Apparently.
This was the world they were trying to enter? They had been blind. Each of them.
But then, they had a man here that wanted to change that. He had just removed the blindfold, and now he was determined to grant them the ability to fight back properly – to prepare them for the hell that awaited any who dared to defy the strongest of the oceans and challenge the hierarchy of the world itself.
In his own words, it would be hell. He wouldn't pull his punches just because they were his crew – no, it was because they were his crew that he wouldn't. They wouldn't learn fast enough otherwise. He'd had a full year to master the basics under a skilled teacher. Their crew would be far into the Grand Line by then.
Whoever wanted to learn would need to do so quickly, and that could only come with hardship and sacrifice.
"I'm not good at teaching, and I have no idea how you'll take to everything I try to teach you; but as long as you want to learn, I'll do my best." He told them. And they believed – every word.
They were a small crew, barely born. Yet here stood this man- no, this titan in human form, that had brought them together and was not just willing, but fully committed to seeing them grow strong, for their own sake.
"Count me in." Tomoe declared. No one was surprised that she was the first.
"Me too! This is gonna be awesome!" Laya, of course, was right behind her.
Usopp gulped. His jaw worked open and shut for a moment, before-
"And I as well." Kaya stood, to the slight shock of Usopp and Nami beside her. "I wish to be stronger, no matter what it takes."
"Shishishi! Sure."
"Oh for the love of...fine! Count me in as well!" Nami declared as she stood.
The captain grinned. All eyes turned to their final member.
Usopp started to sweat, lips suddenly dry. Nearly half a minute passed before he couldn't take it anymore and flung his arms up. "Alright, alright! I'll do it." He jumped to his feet, and took a pose. "So what if it might kill me? I'll beat this so-called 'training from hell' in my sleep! Hahahahaha!"
"Then why are your legs shaking?"
Sure enough, the teen's lower half was practically vibrating, thoroughly betraying Usopp.
"Gah! Legs, you traitors! And you don't have to point it out, Tomoe, you jerk!"
The woman shrugged.
"It's alright, Usopp-kun." Kaya comforted from his side. "I know you'll brave the captain's training just fine. We're all in this together, after all."
Like a leaking faucet, the tension drained out of him. The peaceful look Kaya was giving him wasn't something he could fight against, nor was the gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Nah, he's still going to die."
"Hey! What the hell, Nami!?"
"Nami..."
The ginger smirked and shrugged. "Say Luffy, when are we doing this training anyway? I have things I want to get done, and I'd rather not have you interrupting me to do this at random times of the day."
The captain thought for a minute. He hadn't given the when much thought. Hell, he'd barely given the how much thought.
He knew that he wanted to teach them all at the same time though, at least at first. So they had to make sure to do it sometime when they all were awake and had time away from personal responsibilities.
Eventually, he made his decision. "Mandatory crew training will be an hour before midday. One hour for haki training, and one hour for rokushiki training. Outside of that, you all will be responsible for getting stronger on your own. I'll train with anyone that wants it for as long as they want. We start tomorrow."
That seemed to satisfy the others and everyone went their separate ways, ruminating on the things they had heard.
"Maannn~" Laya hummed from his shoulder. "This is gonna be so much fun! I can't wait until I get super strong and kick Ace's ass. He's gonna be so shocked!"
"Shishishi! Wanna start now?"
Laya's eyes lit up and she practically leaped from his back in excitement. "Can we?!"
"Sure! Just need to get something first..." Luffy looked around. "Hey Nami! Do we have any poles or pipes?"
Laya blinked, head tilted. "Why do we need one of those?"
Later that evening, cries and moans of pain rang through the ship.
Much sooner than expected, the rest of the crew found themselves doubting their new commitment.
"If Laya is being made to hurt, what chance do the rest of us have?" Was not an isolated thought that day.
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It was day three of having left the Gecko Islands. Day two of having agreed to and participated in Luffy's tor- training, that is.
Well, it was still morning, so they hadn't trained quite yet. But none of them was looking forward to it.
Every member of the crew, except Luffy, possessed bruises of some sort or another – mostly concentrated on the head, but no part of them was spared. Turns out they had been very correct to fear for their health after listening in to and watching their male captain attempt to whip his sister into shape by force.
He was harsh and efficient, just as promised.
And only one person seemed to be wholly invested in that fact.
Nami sighed in a mixture of exasperation and incredulity as she watched their resident verdette come back in for another round, swinging her swords with as much fervor and skill as Nami had ever seen.
It was all futile.
Luffy was a monster in the flesh, beyond the imagination of East Blue inhabitants like themselves. Every pass of Tomoe's blade was dodged with an almost lazy ease. Every swing of Luffy's pipe broke through Tomoe's guard like she hadn't bothered to block.
Not once had the swordswoman managed to land or block a strike against her captain. The pair had been going since sunrise – two hours previous.
"What really gets me is how in the hell, that girl can stand being the middle of all of that." Nami muttered. She was, of course, referring to the human shaped limpet that was clinging to Luffy's back, fast asleep. "She's not even conscious, for gods' sakes!"
"It is quite something." Kaya mused, walking up. "The amount of trust she puts in Luffy to keep her safe is very admirable. Though it is impressive his movement hasn't woken her."
"Maybe she's faking?" Usopp proposed. He had just come up from below deck in time to hear the tail end of Kaya's statement and take in the situation.
At that very moment, a comically large snot bubble blossomed from Laya's nose, floating in front of her face like some freakish balloon.
"Ah-forget I said anything."
"Honestly, how does a girl that cute become so...so..."
"Unrefined?" Kaya offered.
Nami huffed. "Yes!"
The heiress shrugged. "Who knows. I think it's kind of cute though, the way she lives so innocently. I never imagined pirates could be that way; but you all, you're different."
The resident navigator didn't comment, and attention turned back to the fight.
To the surprise of no one, Luffy eventually won, dropping an exhausted Tomoe to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
With the spectacle over, Usopp got Kaya's attention and directed his friend to the on-deck canon. "Wanna see if I'm as good a shot with that as I am with a sling?"
The girl agreed, though not before asking if he even knew how to operate a cannon in the first place.
"Hahahaha! But of course! I'm the great Captain Usopp, after all! No projectile weaponry is out of my command!"
Kaya merely giggled and allowed Usopp to lead her along as Nami rolled her eyes at the antics.
Honestly, those two.
The navigator looked to the sky, double checking their heading. "Looks like I need to adjust course a bit." With that, she went inside to man the helm.
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"That was better."
Tomoe huffed. "Didn't feel like it."
Her captain laughed. "Oh yeah, you haven't made any progress on Haki. I meant your fighting. You're more skilled than when we started."
"I suppose that's something." She grunted. Tomoe sat up and leaned against the railing. Soon enough her captain joined her.
Before anything could be said, a small brown blur raced for Tomoe and leaped at her head. She let it, just as she allowed the small forest creature to make itself comfortable once more in her mane of green.
"Silly thing." She murmured.
Luffy just laughed.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
BOOM!
The pair looked over at the other side of the ship, curious. There stood Usopp and Kaya, the latter of which was covering her ears, as they tested out the ships artillery. Their target? A giant rock jutting out of the ocean.
Being the marksmen that he was, Usopp hit the stone monolith with precision accuracy, blasting away a portion of the rock and shaking the rest of it.
"Bullseye! What'd I tell you, Kaya. No one surpasses Captain Usopp at target practice!"
A distinct sense of deja vu overcame Luffy as he watched Kaya stroke their sniper's ego. Why did this scene feel familiar? It was niggling at him and he didn't much like it.
The answer came to him soon enough as their ship was accosted by the battered and bruised form of a man dressed in a tattered jean-jacket and shades. He scaled the side of the ship at a snail's pace, clinging to any part of the railing that he could use for leverage.
"Hey, hey, who the heck are you!" Usopp yelled, stepping in front of Kaya and pulling the both of them back. The girl looked on in worry, though there was a conspicuous lack of fear.
The man answered with grunts and moans of effort as he continued up the ship. It wasn't until he was nearly over the railing that a second person appeared. He was a red-head with a head-plate and green jacket. He was unconscious and being carried by the first man.
"Wait a second..." Tomoe murmured. "Johnny? Yosaku?" She rose from her spot and made her way across the deck.
"Eh? You know them, Tomoe?" Luffy called. Where did he know this from, damn it!?
The woman looked back over her shoulder and nodded at the captain. "Yeah, something like that." Upon reaching the two newest additions to the boat, Tomoe reached out a hand and, with zero effort, flung the duo over her head and onto the middle of the deck.
The resulting clatter had Nami coming out of hiding, askance.
"The heck is... who are they?"
"Hmm? Oh, hey Nami!" Luffy waved, cheerfully. "These guys just climbed up the side of the ship. Tomoe knows them."
The navigator looked to the other woman. She shrugged in a 'I have no idea why they're here' kind of way. "Their names are Johnny and Yosaku. Bounty hunters that used to follow me around. Haven't seen them in almost four months, though."
"Bounty hunters? But none of us have a bounty yet!"
At Usopp's comment, all heads turned towards the two captains. Particularly the awake one.
Luffy shook his head, arms crossed. "Unfortunately not."
"So what are they doing here then?" Nami asked again.
Kaya moved out from behind Usopp and approached the pair. The both of them were laid out flat and looked to be unconscious. "It looks like scurvy." She said, then pointed to Yosaku. "At least for this man, here. The other doesn't seem to have any prominent symptoms, though."
"Tch." Tomoe scoffed. "So they got it again, huh? Idiots."
"Scurvy?" Nami parroted. "Are you sure Kaya?" Unafraid of two unconscious men that were likely too weak to hurt a fly, let alone her, Nami approached and stood next to Kaya.
The heiress nodded. "As much as I can be, I suppose. I haven't ever seen a real case before, but I've read plenty about it. This man is exhibiting all of the classic symptoms. See?"
"Hmm. You're right. This is in line with the few cases I've seen before. Alright! Luffy, Tomoe, you two go get that barrel of limes in stor-"
"You mean these limes, Nami?"
All eyes landed on the captains; or more specifically, the barrel of limes sitting on the deck beside them.
"Oh...yeah, that's perfect- WAIT JUST A SECOND! When did you have time to get those!?"
The rubber-man blinked. "Kaya said they had scurvy, so I went ahead and got them for her. Figured you'd want to feed them to those two."
"But that- I don't-! Ugh...never mind! Just, bring them here."
With a laugh, Luffy hauled the barrel full of limes over to Nami and allowed the two woman to get to work helping the unconscious Yosaku.
"You said you knew them, Tomoe?" Usopp asked, having made his way over to her and Luffy. "What were you doing that you made friends with bounty hunters?"
The woman gave Usopp an odd look. "You don't hear much about the world do you?"
"Huh? Umm...well, I mean..."
Tomoe sighed as her crewmate stuttered a response. "Before joining these two idiots," Her thumb jabbed at the grinning Luffy and snoring Laya. "I was considered a bounty hunter myself."
"EH! SERIOUSLY!?"
"Yeah. Wasn't really my intention. Mostly just wanted money for food, so I took out whoever was in the area that could pay for whatever I needed. One of those people was these two's mark. They got mad, so I gave them the bounty as long as they paid for my meal. Wasn't able to ditch them after that."
Nami looked up from Yosaku. "I think you missing a step in logic." She snarked. "How exactly do you go from giving them a mark to them following you around everywhere?"
"Hell if I know!" Tomoe fired back. "They just appeared the next day, calling me aneki, and refused to leave me alone."
"That's..."
"weird?"
"Hmmhmm."
"I learned to not question it too much."
"Explains how you're so okay with those two."
Tomoe smirked and shrugged.
Luffy laughed, knowing full well what he and his sister were like.
Speaking of whom, said girl was coming to the world of the living. Her lids fluttered and she let out a keening yawn that struck the hearts of all there. The girl smiled, seeing that she was still on her brother's back, and rested her chin on his shoulder.
She blinked. "Who are they?"
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"ANEKI!"
Tomoe sighed. "Honestly, you two. Get up, would you? You're embarrassing."
"YES ANEKI!"
The duo jumped up from their prostration, coming to a hard solute before the cool swordswoman.
A vein pulsed.
WHAM!
"Not what I meant!" Tomoe snapped.
"Yes aneki..."
"Better. Johnny, Yosaku, meet the crew. Everyone. Meet the 'Bounty Brothers'."
"Bounty Brothers?"
"Their epithet, not sure where it started."
"Oooohhh..."
The pair of hunters bowed lowly to the crew. "Nice to meet you! Crew of aneki!"
"Thank you for taking care of her in our absence." Johnny said.
Yosaku empathized. "Indeed. We were quite worried when she disappeared and didn't return. We feared the worst might have befallen our precious-"
WHAM!
"Quit it."
"yes aneki..."
"Shishishi!"
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"So, so, what kind of bounties have you guys captured?" Usopp asked excitedly.
The duo blustered and fumbled for a second, seeming to war between pride and embarrassment before Johnny finally answered.
"Ah... well, there was Tommy "Two Fingers", "Iron Helmet" Jack, Hargrave "The Ratchet", Steve-"
"Steve?" Nami intoned. "The hell kind of pirate name is Steve."
Yosaku shrugged, only looking mildly offended on the man's behalf. "He had a bounty on his head, so..."
"Doesn't matter to us what they're called as long as we get payed." Johnny finished.
"There was this one guy though..."
Johnny and Yosaku met eyes and the pair smirked. "He had the best name I've ever seen on a bounty. Guaranteed neither of us will forget it for as long as we live."
Yosaku nodded sagely. "Indeed! In fact, aneki should remember him as well, don't you aneki? She was the one that cut him 'down to size' after all." The man snorted at his own words, confusing the others.
From her spot on the deck, where she was reclining against the rail, Tomoe opened her eyes and peered at the group. "We don't mention him." She intoned.
"Awww! Come on, Tomoe-aneki!" Yosaku cried.
"Yeah~!" Johnny mimed.
The woman held their pitiful gazes for but a moment before huffing out in annoyance. Rolling over on her other side so that her back was to the group she threw an arm up and waved it flippantly. "Whatever. Do as you want, just don't drag me into it."
The hunter duo cheered and clasped hands in victory.
"Now then!" Johnny exclaimed. "Gather 'round kiddies, for you're about to experience the tale of Wicked Dick."
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"It's... a giant fish."
Kaya giggled at Nami's clearly unimpressed demeanor. They had finally arrived at the Baratie: "Floating Restaurant of the East". It had taken another two days after bringing Yosaku and Johnny on board, but the pair had been a saving grace in their knowledge of the floating restaurant's current location. With their guidance the crew had been able to skip having to request information from a nearby island and could set course directly, thus shaving a full day off of the trip.
The groups had become well acquainted in that time, with Johnny and Yosaku working as aids to Luffy in training the others. Of course, neither man had any knowledge of the things that the captain was teaching, but that didn't matter.
In the words of the rubberman himself, "The more hands there are the more people we can hit at the same time!"
It was a sound theory and allowed the entire crew to train more efficiently for the two days, as Luffy's focus wasn't split between hitting and helping all four of them simultaneously.
The fact that Luffy was from the Grand Line served as a fair bit of humor for the crew when Usopp casually dropped it in a conversation on that first day. They'd asked him all sorts of questions, usually relating to the various bounties that existed and how strong the people who held them were.
The only responses they got were "strong" and "weak" and various iterations of the two, much to the pair's disappointment.
As the crew was going around preparing to dock and disembark, a second ship rolled up, this one slightly bigger than the Merry and bearing an all too well-known symbol.
"Marines at 4 o'clock!" Usopp yelled in a panic.
The others started and ceased what they were doing to rush to the port side. Of the lot, only Usopp and the two hunters seemed to actually be nervous.
The marine in charge of the vessel, someone named "Fullbody" started blustering to the crew about being no-name pirates and how he should arrest them anyway.
Luffy turned to Tomoe, neither of them listening. "Hey Tomoe."
"Hmm?"
"Wanna see if we can get our first bounties?"
The woman blinked, then glanced from Luffy to the marine vessel and back. She grinned. "Interesting proposition, captain."
Suddenly, Laya's head popped in between them, having stretched around Luffy's head the long way to butt in. "Ooh~ Are we gonna get to fight!?"
"By the way... who's the captain among you lot?"
Their title snapped the rubber duo back to the marine vessel and the "Foulbooty" person in charge. A pair of hands pointed at their respective heads. "We are." They intoned together.
The man blinked in surprise before bursting out in laughter. "Two captains?! Hah! No wonder you lot don't have a bounty yet, you don't even know how being a pirate works! Men! Sink them! I have a date to get to."
The marine walked away as his men scrambled to follow orders. On the Merry, Nami had joined the freak out session, and Kaya was beginning to look worried as well.
"Hey Tomoe..."
"Hmm?"
"Leave some for us."
The grin Luffy received was positively vicious. "No promises."
Without warning the verdette launched from the ship to sail through the air and land squarely in front of the largest group of marines on deck. With but a lazy swing of her freshly drawn sword the group was down and she was moving on to the next.
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "That'll teach him to try and hurt our ship."
Laya took that opportunity to follow after their first mate, laughing as she did before proceeding to pummel a group of unfortunate marines that had thus far escape Tomoe's notice.
Together, the pair was making quick work of the marine vessel, visibly having fun as they went.
Lieutenant "Fakebonnet" was also out of commission, having been tag teamed by his crewmates after attempting to flee and use his date as a decoy, then bargaining chip. It would be surprising if he woke up anytime soon.
As for Luffy, as much as he wanted to join, he was forced to remain on the ship until the lower decks were cleared and there was no more threat of cannon fire injuring the Merry. So he stood there, laughing along with Johnny, Yosaku, and Usopp as the girls wrecked house.
"I can't believe you're encouraging this." Nami complained, her tone disparaging.
"They were going to injure the Merry, Nami." Kaya reminded her. "As far as justice is concerned, well..."
Nami looked at her new friend in shock, not able to grasp how Kaya was being so flippant. Then she remembered exactly who the girl was.
"Fine." the navigator huffed. "But I don't want to hear a word of it when this causes problems."
"Of course, Nami."
"Man, aneki is just as badass as I remember." Johnny whispered reverently. Yosaku shook his head emphatically. She really was incredible, slicing down opponent after opponent, sometimes without even stopping to give them her attention.
Every cut was precise and nonlethal, but still enough to put the person out of commission. It was a finely tuned dance of bladed terror running roughshod over the other vessel.
"And she's only using two swords, too. Shows how little a threat they are." Yosaku added.
Usopp looked over at them, confused. "Wouldn't she be using one sword style then?"
"Nah, you'd think so, but aneki prefers two-sword style to one-sword style when beating up grunts. Not sure why. It's just her thing."
"Yeah, I think we've only ever seen Tomoe-aneki use single-sword style once before and it was when she was testing out her iaijustu on some guy. It was incredible to watch though. Couldn't even see her move the sword before the dude fell over, blood leaking out of this huge gash on his chest!"
Usopp whistled and looked back at Tomoe, respect teeming in his gaze.
Soon enough the female co-captain and vice-captain were finished and were back on the top deck of the marine ship. "All done! Shishishi!" Laya called, waving her arms.
Luffy grinned and waved back, only mildly disappointed in not being able to join. There would be other opportunities for that.
"Before we jump back over though, there's something you'll want to see, Luffy." Tomoe said, indicating with her head towards the inside of the ship.
With a quick leap both captains were on-board the ship. Tomoe lead them into the bowels and directly towards the brig.
What, or rather who, they found caused Luffy's heart to skip a beat. Sitting alone in the entirety of the brig was a single man. His features were gruff and his face gaunt. His dragon themed tracksuit was ragged and it was clear he hadn't had a bath or food in several days.
Around his head was a striped headband, keeping a head of spiky black hair in check.
He looked like a thug.
"Captains, meet Gin." Tomoe introduced flatly. "He requested a meeting with you."
Luffy wanted to punch himself. How could he have forgotten!? Of course, this was when Gin first met the crew. Damn stupid memory!
To be fair, a part of his mind provided. This was the first meeting, and he didn't even show up originally until they were all on the Baratie. But still, he had known the man had been captured by the marines they had encountered and escaped.
He should have remembered. But he hadn't.
"So…" The man, Gin, said weakly. He regarded Luffy and Laya both. "You both are her captains?"
The pair nodded and Gin gave a chuckled. "How amusing. I've never seen something like that before. Two captains…" He chuckled again.
"Oi." Tomoe said briskly. "Get to the point."
Gin gave a wry at the swordswoman, but acquiesced. Looking at Luffy and then Laya directly in the eyes he spoke confidently. "Please let me out. If you do, I'll join your crew."
Laya's head cocked to the side, even as Luffy's whole body tensed momentarily. "Why should we do that?" She asked.
"I'll take it you don't recognize me, then." He mused. "My name is Gin, as your crewmate said. But my full title is "Devil Man" Gin, right hand of Don Krieg, and I'm worth 12 million beri."
"Oooh~ So you're strong." Laya crowed. "Shishishi! That's nice. Not enough to get me to accept though."
Gin faltered, face disbelieving. "Wha-?"
"Save it buster." Tomoe interjected. She gave the imprisoned man a hard stare. "These two aren't like other pirates. You title? Your bounty? They don't give a damn about that. They won't take you on unless they see something in you that interest them."
Gin looked between the verdette and her two captains. The pair acted like they hadn't heard a word their first-mate had said, though their acting could have definitely used some work in the other two's opinions.
In short order Luffy turned serious, his conspicuous whistling forgotten. He stared Gin down, startling the man at the sudden turn around.
"What's your dream, Gin?"
The man blinked. "My…dream?"
"That's right. The thing you want most in the world. The thing that drives you, what is it?"
"I…no one's ever asked me that before." Gin turned his eyes down to his grimey hands. "It's…been a long time since I considered… Don never bothered…"
Luffy smiled knowingly. "You have one though. I can tell."
Tomoe had a strange look in her eyes, while Laya just looked on with a smile.
"Yeah." Gin confirmed. "I do. Have since I was a kid." He dropped his hands and reclined back in his cell. His eyes met Luffy's and took a breath. "My older brother was an adventurer, an explorer, really. He dreamed of seeing the whole world, every island that a person could visit, he wanted to see it, experience it for himself. He set off for that goal eight years ago. Then one day he simply vanished."
"So you want to find your brother then?" Laya asked.
"No. Six years ago, I received a letter from my brother's lover. He had died, trying to get to a sky island on the Grand Line."
"You're following in his footsteps, taking up his dream." Tomoe surmised. She knew the look on the man's face, the tone in his voice. She'd seen it enough times since her childhood.
Gin nodded, surprised. "That's right. I intended to complete my brother's dream. It's why I became a pirate." He paused and grimaced awkwardly. "Well, that part wasn't actually intentional. I set out on my own, you see. Sometime down the line I ran afoul of a bad gang of pirates. Got captured. That crew ran afoul of Don Krieg. Got re-captured, then offered my services to him. He was new back then. Only had a single small ship of a hundred men and was looking for recruits. The rest is history."
"Don Krieg…" Tomoe muttered. "Doesn't seem like someone that would be accommodating of your dreams."
Gin grimaced again. "He isn't – wasn't. I mentioned earlier that no one has asked me that in forever, right? I... guess I kind of pushed my dream to the wayside for the Don's sake. He never really cared about anyone's dream but his own and that eventually led to my own taking a backseat."
"Well he isn't here right now." Luffy said. "You are. We are. Is he coming for you?"
Gin opened his mouth, as if ready to protest, then shook his head. "No. The whole reason I'm on this ship is because he discarded me."
The other three could hear the bitterness in the man's voice. It was visceral, just like the hurt burning in his eyes. The man had been tossed aside like trash. The captains' eyes hardened with anger.
"And that's how you ended up in the this cell? Got picked up by the wrong people." Tomoe said.
"Yeah. Pretty much. Pathetic, I know, but… well, after everything that happened over the last week I couldn't bring myself to resist too hard. Not like I even had the energy to. Haven't had anything to eat in nearly a week."
Laya's eyes darkened a tinge more at that and she gave a dirty look to one of the marines laid out unconscious.
Silence reigned only briefly before Laya looked over at Luffy, a glint in her eyes and a twinge at her lips.
He grinned and nodded. She grinned back, then turned to Gin.
Tomoe just smirked and began walking away to rejoin the crew. They would be wanting to know that there was a new addition.
"So," Laya began. "You intend to chase your dream now, right?"
"Assuming I ever get out of this cage, yeah. And that I don't die of starvation first. I don't exactly have anything else left for me. Don't know how the hell I'm going to do it though. I got no means and I've seen what that ocean is like…" the man shuddered. "They call me a devil, but the real monsters belong to that place. It's unnatural, the things they can do."
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Yeah, it can get pretty wild on the Grand Line. That's what makes it fun though!"
Gin goggled. "W-wait, say that again. You can't be saying what I think you are?"
Luffy nodded. "That I've been to the Grand Line? Sure have! Both halves, actually. Second part is way worse than Paradise, but that just makes it even more fun. Shishishi!"
The man demon just looked at the rubberman like he was insane. Like he was some eldric abomination that shouldn't exist, and yet clearly did and he had no way of reconciling that fact. "Then…what the hell are you doing in the East, if you've been to those oceans?"
Luffy pointed to Laya, who was grinning widely. "Came back for her. And the others in my crew, actually. I've been alone and I was tired of it, so I came back to my home ocean to fix that problem. We'll be setting sail for the Grand Line as soon as we have enough crewmates."
"I…see." Gin gulped. "And, you would be able to ensure we don't die on the Grand Line?"
Luffy hummed and stroked his fuzzy chin. "That depends. If you're with me, then yes. If you're on your own, that would be up to your own strength. Don't worry though, not everyone on the Grand Line is as strong as the Yonko or Shichibukai."
Gin shuddered at the second term. "They really are monsters." The man whispered in horror. "A single man, Dracule Mihawk, took down our whole armada like it was nothing."
"Oh, yeah. That's probably 'cause it was. Hawky is wicked strong. Shishishi! He could stand up to the Emperors if he wanted to… well, individually. I don't think he could take on the whole crew at once…maybe? Hard to say. He's stupid tough."
His rambling caused Gin to look at him like he was even crazier, while Laya looked like she wanted to interrogate him. He chuckled. "SO! Gin."
The man straightened. He recognized authority when it appeared.
"Join our crew. Help us become the King and Queen of the pirates, and see the world under our flag." A hand reached through the bars, extended for the devil man to take
Gin appraised it for a moment. Taking in the words. Then, like the crack of lightening his mind was made up. He reached his hand out and grasped Luffy's own.
The rubber captain (both of them) grinned like a lunatic. "Welcome to the crew, Gin!"
Gin smiled back as he stood. "Glad to be aboard, captain. Though, uh… I would like to be out this cell."
"Hmm?" Luffy blinked. "Oh! Right. Shishishi! Hold on a sec." He let go of Gin hand, then gripped two of the bars. Easy as tearing wet paper the steel bent under his grip and cleared room for a full-grown man to pass through without issues.
Gin blinked owlishly, then shook his head. He'd have to get used to stuff like this if he wanted to survive the Grand Line. He'd have to have strength like that.
"You have to help me be that strong." He urged.
His new captain shrugged. "I can give you the equipment, everything else is on you."
"Sounds good to me, captain."
{0,0}{0,0}{0,0}
The remaining crew members perked up when they noticed someone come to the surface of the marine vessel.
"Ah, Tomoe! Where's the captains?" Usopp called.
The swordswoman jumped back over to the Merry and shrugged. "Taking care of a new member."
Everyone blinked. Then blinked again. "Eh?" They asked.
"New member, Tomoe?" Kaya asked. "From a marine vessel?"
Tomoe huffed out a small laugh. "Yeah. I know. Turns out there was someone in the brig; he wanted to talk to the captains about striking a deal."
"Deal? What kind of deal could a person in prison make?" Nami asked, disbelief clear. Her response was a side eye from Tomoe that she was beginning to recognize as the woman's 'must you be this ignorant?' look.
"Maybe the same deal I made?" Tomoe said loftily. "My freedom for my services. Laya got me out of the marines' hands, so I joined her crew; Luffy is co-heading that crew so I follow him in equal measure. This new guy wanted to make the same deal. Difference is he sought them out rather than the other way around."
Kaya eyed the marine vessel critically, as if attempting to see through it and into the brig. "And they really accepted? I know you turned out fine, but what if the person in question isn't a good person? I don't want to be on the same crew as some morally bankrupt crazy person."
"Give the captains more credit. They're both better judges of character than any of us. If they trust someone it's not without reason. And they won't let someone onto the crew if they aren't at least a decent person. They do have standards, you know."
"And those standards are?" Nami asked.
Tomoe shrugged. "No idea." She said, making the other woman huff indignantly. "Best I got is that they like people they find 'interesting'."
A wry smile tugged at Nami's lips. "So, we're 'interesting' are we? Joy."
Kaya giggled. "I'll take that over some other things. Even if it isn't very specific, I don't think I mind being found interesting by people like Luffy and Laya."
"Agreed." Usopp said with a nod. "Of course, how could they not like me, the Great Captain Usopp!"
"Riiiight…"
"Ah! They're back."
All eyes followed Kaya's hand to see three individuals coming above deck. The captains everyone recognized; the third man, however…
"So that's him? He looks like a crook." Nami said.
"Oh let's give a chance, Nami. Appearances aren't everything."
"Says the one that was just worried about him being a bad person."
Kaya frowned. "Yes, but now I am choosing to trust my captains and not make criticisms of my new crewmates. Tomoe is right; I realize that now. As should you, I would think." With that the girl walked off inside the ship, her gait and eyes focused.
The navigator blinked in surprise, then shook her head.
Soon enough the others had made it aboard and Gin was introduced to the lot, minus Kaya.
"Small crew you got here." Gin remarked.
"Soon to be bigger!" Usopp called. "With someone like me around recruitment is sure to be massive!"
"We don't want a big crew." Luffy said, Laya nodded along. "Crew is family, and large families are great, but they aren't ideal. Harder to protect everyone."
Everyone quieted a bit at that. Nami and Gin especially looked pensive.
Then Kaya came back and Gin perked up at the sight of her. "And you must Kaya, then?"
The girl nodded and smiled pleasantly. It was only when she jutted her arms out to him that the bundle of fabric in them was noticed. "Here. I noticed when you came above deck earlier that your clothes looked ragged. I see now that I was right. These might not be a perfect fit, but they'll do until we can buy something for you at the next island."
Frozen, Gin could do nothing but look between Kaya and the pile of clothes in her hands.
She nudged the clothes closer. "Go on." She giggled. "They won't bite. I make sure Usopp washes all his clothes on a regular basis, so I can guarantee their cleanliness."
"Wait!" The sniper called indignantly. "Those are mine?!"
Kaya's head snapped over to her boyfriend and the teen froze in place. He gulped and laughed nervously. "Nevermind! Hey, Gin was it? Enjoy! Only the finest clothes come from the closet of Captain Usopp!"
Gin blinked, unfrozen from the odd byplay. "Right… um, thanks. I'll take good care of them."
"You better!" Usopp called again.
Kaya gave him another look and he pouted. "Oh come on! You at least have to give me that. They are my clothes, after all."
The heiress sighed and turned to give Gin another smile. "Ignoring Usopp-kun's outbursts, it would be ideal for you to take good care of your clothes until we can get you more. I'm not sure we'll be able to salvage what you're currently wearing, but I wouldn't place money on it, so…"
The new member nodded, an uncomfortable smile on his face. "Thanks. I really do appreciate it. I'm going to go get changed. Excuse me." Gin shuffled off, though not before stopping and asking where it was he could go to actually change.
"The men's cabin is there on the right, from the door I exited a few moments ago. It should be empty." Kaya informed helpfully.
With another nod of thanks Gin was off, leaving the crew to discuss among themselves.
"He seems nice." Kaya put forth. "Out of place of sorts, but I'm sure he'll adjust."
Tomoe nodded in agreement. "His last crew was almost a thousand times our current size. He's not used to the small, closely knit crew style."
Usopp and Nami choked on their own spit. "A THOUSAND TIMES!?" They screamed.
"Yeah. The crew of Don Krieg is said to contain around five thousand men. It's why no sane bounty hunter goes after them. It's practically a death sentence for anything short of a guild raid."
Johnny and Yosaku both blanched at their aneki's words. "Wait, wait, wait!" Johnny said. "Don Krieg?"
She nodded.
Immediately, the pair started shuffling through bounty posters that they kept on their person. It didn't take long to find who they were looking for. "I knew it! I thought I recognized that guy's face." Johnny held out the wanted poster for the others to see. "'Man Demon' Gin, worth 12 million beri, right hand to the infamous Don Krieg, of the Krieg pirates."
"Former right hand." Luffy corrected sternly, shifting group attention. "He's one of us now."
The bounty hunter nodded quickly. "Right, right. Of course."
"Still, to think we have someone on the crew with a bounty before even our captains." Usopp remarked. "Kinda trippy if you ask me. And twelve million no less. Like damn! That's insane; he must be really strong. Even his title says he's dangerous!"
"I like to think so. But I know there are always people stronger. The Grand Line proved that."
Everyone's head snapped over at the new voice to see Gin standing there in some of Usopp's clothes. It was some baggy carpenter pants and a shirt/jean-vest combo. It looked distinctly out of place on the man for some reason.
"I see the clothes fit." Kaya remarked. "That's good. You seemed about Usopp's size."
Gin nodded in thanks. "Yeah. They work well. Not really my style, but I suppose I can't complain too much. You all have done enough simply by letting me on your crew. Anything more is beyond my expectations."
"Shishishi! My crew is just awesome like that."
Nami deadpanned at the rubberman. "Way to toot your own horn there, captain."
He looked at her oddly. "But I'm not. I'm tooting you all's."
Nami opened her mouth, ready to reply, then thought better of it. Her captain was different than most, she reminded herself.
"Right. Of course, Luffy."
The man smiled wide and Nami huffed a laugh.
"So uh, are we going to dock to get food now? I don't know about you all, but I'm starving."
The moment Usopp spoke those words the world was rent by the rumbling of thunder.
All eyes turned to Laya and Luffy, a mix of disbelief, exasperation, and amusement clear among them.
"I'll take that as a yes." Kaya noted with a laugh.
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A/N: FINALLY. DONE! HOORAH!
Well. Sorry for taking so long. School this last semester absolutely killed my enthusiasm and time-commitment to writing. I had so many essays to write and things to read I didn't even want to look at a wall of words for weeks at a time, regardless of the content of those words. Writing felt like a chore for me up until this last week, so that's why this has taken until now.
That being said, this chapter didn't go nearly as far as I wanted it to. That seems to be a theme with me, honestly. I'm just going to stop trying to predict how long certain story lines are going to take because my brain and this story clearly have different agendas.
As a side note: Gin was always meant to join the crew, but his addition this early was something that just evolved from the last few scenes of this chapter. I honestly thought he would be added on post the Baratie, alongside Sanji, but no. Hopefully you all enjoy his character, because he's going places.
Next time:
The crew fills their bellies to wonderful food, a chef is actually found, and fishes are not free-use.