A/N: this is where the story changes if you were here before pre-edit. Read carefully and enjoy! We find out a little more about Aela's powers.

edited February 18, 2021

We began making our way back to the bar to get some grub. We roused Zoro enough to where he was able to stand up on his own, although he was still learning pretty heavily on me. I was happy to support him until the bullet in my leg protested the extra weight. I held the both of us up for as long as I could, but my leg collapsed. I pulled myself up and reached for my brother who had passed out again, but before I could grab him Luffy had thrown him over his back.

"You should rest, Aela," he said, giving me an easy smile. "It's okay really," I said, attempting to reach for Zoro. "I can handle it." I reached out to take him from his back but Luffy evaded my hand. I looked up ready to argue, but his words made me stop. "You can trust me, Aela," he said, a sweet smile on his face. "We're nakama after all." I stopped in my tracks, staring at Luffy in shock.

I had already agreed to be a part of his crew, Zoro had as well, but I didn't realize exactly what that meant until Luffy actually said it.

Nakama. Family.

Zoro and I had been on our own for so long, just looking out for one another, that the idea of having someone else with us in our little family was completely foreign….but welcome. A large smile grew on my face at this realization, and I nodded at Luffy. He gave me a huge smile in return, and together, the four of us walked back to the bar.

…..

As soon as Zoro got a whiff of the food he woke up, and promptly asked for a doctor for my leg. I was aggravated because I was starving myself, but I knew it was coming. He knew by now that I'd never say anything myself so he had to. Twenty minutes later and plenty of cursing, the bullet was out and my leg was wrapped up tight.

"Whew! I am stuffed!" Zoro announced, sitting back in the chair and rubbing his stomach in content. "I was ready to gnaw through my bootstraps after three weeks with no food!"

"Idiot," I said, still chewing on my meat.

"Shut up," Zoro grumbled and I childishly stuck my tongue out at him.

"I can't believe you're finished already. You're a lightweight!" Luffy scoffed. "How the hell can you have a bigger appetite than someone that hasn't eaten in almost a month?" Zoro asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Rubber man," I supplied, and Zoro nodded in thought.

"Speaking of that," Coby began, "You also have devil fruit abilities, right Aela?" "Yep," I nodded. "The Ena Ena fruit." "Energy fruit?" Copy reiterated and I grinned at him. "That's me! I'm able to manipulate my energy and turn it into a physical manifestation to control how I wish."

"That's amazing," Coby breathed. "Is it just used for defensive purposes? Where do you draw the energy from? Is that why your eyes glowed earlier? Are you able to…"

"Hey hey!" I laughed, waving my hands in front of me. "I can't answer all of that at once." "Sorry," the pink haired boy blushed and I giggled, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "It's fine! Your interest is adorable," I cooed and he blushed even harder. "To start, yes, I do use it as a defensive tactic, which is what you saw earlier with the shield. I'm able to manipulate my energy into several shield forms. Unfortunately, because the shield is made of my energy, it's therefore an extension of me, so it's only as powerful as I am. Along with that, I also take on the same damage as the shield."

"So you're drawing out your own energy," Coby concluded, and then pondered, "That must be super draining." "It is," I confirmed, "I can't even count how many times I passed out when I first began practicing. Zoro-nii had to carry me home hundreds of times," I continued, and Zoro rolled his eyes at the memory. "Thankfully, I've become much more balanced. Whatever energy I use to create my shields comes back to me after the shield is dropped. But as I've said before, I also take on the damage that the shield does."

"So you're weakened while holding the shield up," Coby frowned. "Yes," I confirmed, forehead pulled tight. "I'm able to manipulate the shield around others, as well as pulling it inside of myself to create a self force field of sorts."

"Woah!" Luffy said, stars in his eyes. "That's so cool!" "That is fascinating," Coby commented. "What about offensive moves?"

"I have one or two tricks," I shrugged, grabbing my drink and swirling it around. "It's more draining to use offensive moves, and I need to strengthen my stamina."

"What do you mean?" Luffy said, but his voice was muffled as he had just shoved a giant chicken leg in his mouth.

"Well, my shield is an extension of me," I repeated patiently. "It's connected to my strength as well which is why I can't hold my shield for very long, and it's also why I have so much trouble with offensive moves. I'm still pretty weak," I said, voice fading out. Just then, I felt something thump into the back of my head.

I cursed, rubbing my head, glaring at Zoro who was still relaxed in his chair. "Hey!"

"Shut up," he said simply. "You're plenty strong, and as long as you work hard, you'll just get stronger." The ache in my head faded away and I looked at my brother softly for a second, before smacking the back of his head right back.

"Oi!" he said, sitting up in his chair and sending me a glare. I smiled at him sweetly while taking a long drink of my water.

"What about your eyes?" Coby cut into our argument and I gave him my attention again. "They were glowing earlier!" "Yeah that happens too," I started. "I'm not sure why, but when I ate the fruit it changed my physical appearance. My hair got lighter and these white steaks appeared," I continued, grabbing the white strand and holding it in front of me. "Believe it or not, my eyes used to be a dark brown, like brothers," I finished, nodding over at the man.

Just then, I felt two familiar energies coming toward us. "Rika!" I called out, turning around to catch the small girl right as she threw herself at me, her mother laughing softly at our antics. "How'd you know it was me Aela-chan?" she asked, voice full of wonder.

"Magic," I winked, and she giggled. "Thank you so much for the food, ma'am," Coby started, "It's delicious." I nodded strongly in agreement, allowing the girl to get down.

Rika's mother smiled at us saying, "It's my pleasure. You guys saved the town, so it's the least I could do really." Rika popped up near Luffy then. "You're the coolest person I've ever met!"

"Yeah I am," Luffy agreed, and I laughed. "He's very modest as well," I added. "I'll be more amazing when I'm King of the Pirates and have the One Piece." Luffy continued, ignoring me. "Oh and I'll have the best crew in the seas."

"So," Zoro grinned then. "Who else have you gathered for your crew besides me and my sister?" Luffy continued destroying food, shooting Zoro a look. "Hm?"

"You told me you were in the middle of gathering a crew for your ship," Zoro explained. "If you're gonna be King of the Pirates, you must already have several crew members lined up."

"Nope. Just the two of you," Luffy smiled, and my mouth dropped in surprise. "What?!" Zoro said, and I started laughing.

I should've known. "We're what amounts to an entire crew?"

"What's wrong with that? The both of you are really strong," at that statement I scoffed, "The three of us together should have plenty of power."

"What about a ship?" I questioned, and Luffy pointed out the window to a tiny ship. I turned and looked on in disbelief, and watched as a dog came out from nowhere and began pissing on our supposed "ship." I began cracking up, holding my stomach at the force of my laughs.

"You're kidding," Zoro deadpanned. "Nope," Luffy grinned, "We'll have an enormous one before long, just wait and see."

Zoro started laughing then. "And how is that going to happen?" Luffy continued, "We'll have a great pirate flag on top." He shoved a piece of bread into his mouth. "I can't wait."

Zoro groaned, head in his hands. "I think Luffy was born without the part of the brain that was made for planning," Coby joked, and I giggled. "Can't believe I let myself get suckered into having him as my captain."

"C'mon Zo-zo it's not that bad," I started, ignoring his, "Don't call me that!" protest. "Luffy said we were going to get more crew members and a bigger ship, and I believe him. We're nakama now, right?" I said, looking at Luffy. He sent me a huge smile in return and nodded, remembering our little talk from before.

"Luffy?" Rika spoke then. "Where are you and your crew going to travel when you leave here?" "Isn't it obvious?" Luffy laughed. "We're heading straight for the Grand Line."

PFFFFFFFTTT!

Coby sputtered, juice going everywhere. With tears in his eyes, and juice leaking from his nose he said, " No way! You're crazy! You only have 3 crew members. There's no way in hell you're equipped enough to head to the Grand Line, Luffy!"

"We need at least five," I nodded, and Coby snapped, "That's not what I meant! The Grand Line is a vicious place, some have even called it a pirate graveyard! No one makes it out of the Grand Line alive!"

"No one, huh?" I repeated wryly. "Then where do you suppose all of the stories come from?"

Rika's mom spoke up then, looking very concerned. "I have heard stories about it from other people passing through this area. The weather goes to extreme highs and lows constantly. It's a place that's completely unpredictable."

"The Grand Line is dangerous, Luffy," Coby finished. Luffy nodded and looked to be pondering their words. "That's really too bad," he said, "cause that's where the One Piece is said to be, and that's exactly where we're going."

"I guess we just have to live with it," Zoro said, looking completely unbothered. "Why are you so bothered, Coby?" I questioned, looking at the pink haired boy who appeared very distraught. "Are you going with us?"

"Of course not," he said vehemently shaking his head, "but I still worry. Should I not? I haven't known you guys for very long but I still consider you to be my friends. Wouldn't you say?" he finished, looking down. I smiled gently and got up, giving the boy the tightest hug I could manage. "Absolutely, Coby," I said pulling away, giggling at the light blush he now had.

"Of course!" Luffy agreed as well. "We may be parting ways, but we'll always be friends." "Hey. You there." We all turned around and watched as a group of marines came through the door. "We heard that you fellas are actually pirates..is this rumor correct?" one of the men questioned.

"That's right," Luffy answered. "I just added two new members to my crew as well. So the whole thing is pretty much official at this point."

"We appreciate everything all of you did to save our town from the horrible tyrant. He terrorized us for the longest time," the marine began, "However, now that you're classified yourself as pirates, as Marines I'm afraid we can't sit idly by and watch you go about your business. Therefore, you and your new crew are being ordered to leave this town immediately." At his words, the people in the bar began protesting. The Marine continued, voice louder to speak above everyone, "But, out of respect for what you've done, we will not report you to headquarters."

The townspeople continued to berate the Marines, dissatisfied with their ungrateful actions. My brother and I glanced at Luffy, curious to see how he would handle this situation.

He laughed of course. "Heh. Well, time to go guys. Thanks for all of the food, lady." Zoro and I stood up, and while Luffy and Zoro made their way to the door, I walked over to Rika and her mother.

"Thank you both so much for everything," I said, bowing deeply. I felt a hand on my shoulder then and looked up to see Rika's mother, smiling at me with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she said, pulling me into a hug. "Your brother saved my daughter and then you all saved the town. All thanks go to you."

Before I could respond, my shirt was yanked on and I looked down to see Rika sending me a giant smile. "I'll miss you!" I giggled and leaned down to give her a hug. "I'll miss you too squirt." I ruffled her hair and then stood up to full height, making my way to the door to stand with my brother and Luffy.

The three of us were almost out the door when we heard the Marine addressing Coby. "Hold it. Is he with you or what?"

I held my breath, body tense. This situation would determine whether or not Coby would be able to become a marine. "I can tell you that he's been pretty busy up until this point," Luffy started. "Yeah...there was this huge, fat pirate lady named Alvida. She carried around this huge iron club and geeze, she was the nastiest looking woman I've ever seen." Luffy walked over to Coby and began poking him in the head. "For two years this wimpy kid was her own private Cabin boy."

Coby became obviously distressed at this point, and lashed out at straw hat, punching him in the cheek. The marines and bar were shocked. Luffy struck back, delivering a few punches in retaliation. I was in shock myself until I realized what Luffy was doing.

Zoro stepped in after a bit. "Enough," he spoke, stopping the captain, "You've made your point. Let him fall to the ground."

"It's obvious you're not crewmates, so stop bothering the poor kid and take your leave of our town right this instant," the Marine ordered.

"Let's go, guys," I said, and the boys nodded. We all left the bar to head to the docks, moving in silence. Zoro shot Luffy a smile. "That was some act you put on in there. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it though." Luffy laughed. "Coby should be able to handle the rest on his own. I have complete faith in him."

"It is a fitting way to leave this place," Zoro nodded. "Unable to turn back because everyone here hates us now."

I agreed with him, nodding in contemplation. "Yes, very pirate-y of us, indeed."

"Pirate-y isn't a word, Aela," Zoro said, and I stuck my tongue out at him. "Well it should be!" I countered.

"Luffy!" We all looked up at the voice, and was surprised to see Coby standing with Rika and her mother nearby. I felt amusement run through me when the pink haired boy threw us all a salute. "I can never thank you all enough! You've done more for me than anyone ever has."

"A Marine thanking a pirate? That's new," I said, smiling. "That's one for the history book," Zoro agreed. Luffy grinned and hopped on the boat. He dropped the sail once we were all on and we waved goodbye to Coby.

"We'll meet again, Coby! Some day!" he called. "Good luck!" I said, waving at the boy.

"We're finally ready to set sail," Luffy announced as the town faded into the distance.

I had a feeling that sailing with Luffy was going to be anything but boring, but I was ready for whatever life chose to spit at us.

till next time!