Author's Note:
Okay this chapter took me forever to get out, but please hear me out-
Writers block is a bitch (T-T).
Some of you may have noticed that I use the less common translations of characters' names such as Jinbe instead of Jimbei and Aladine instead of Aladdin. This is because I'm mostly using One Piece Wiki as a source when doing research and that's how they are called there. If this bothers you just lemme know and I can still change it (as the story grows it would be too much to change).
All mistakes are my own so feel free to poin them out to me. Hope you enjoy!
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A girl named Luffy
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As big black eyes blinked up at him, Jinbe began to wonder, not for the first time in the last 3 days, if Lady Fate was playing a particularly poor joke on him. There were coincidences and then there were situations so unlikely and impossible to believe that it couldn't be considered anything but a miracle.
And a miracle it was indeed, for escaping 2 times in a row could be nothing short of a miracle, even if only one time had ended in success.
Jinbe stared at the little girl with wonder. He still couldn't believe it even with the evidence staring up at him with dark eyes. She had actually managed to escape. Even more so than before he wondered what on earth went down in that auction house. Uneasy didn not even begin to describe how he was feeling right now.
"Boss, you know her or something?" Finn finally asked as the silence stretched on, the crew's combined unease growing by the second as they glanced between their captain and the human child crouching on the floor, locked in an unusual staring match.
"...Or something." Jinbe opted for gruffly, trying to find humor in the situation when all he could feel was incredulity.
"Care to elaborate on that?" Aladine asked, coming to stand beside him to take a better look at the mysterious addition to their ship, eyes falling to the broken chain still hanging off the girl's ankle with a contemplative frown.
"I encountered her yesterday. She was on the run." He didn't bother explaining in more detail, the broken chain around her ankle and the fresh irritated wounds on her neck and joints from the continuous chafing were more than telling enough.
"A runaway slave then." The first mate summarized, shoulders tensing visibly. His reaction was far from surprising, after all not too long ago he himself had been one of the collared himself. As had half of the remaining crew. It was the sole reason they had turned to piracy, hiding their brand under the symbol of the sun pirates so no one could ever tell them apart, could ever demand back one of their own. It was also the main reason Jinbe had accepted the title of Warlord. This way they could be truly free and live the life they wanted without the constant shadow of their past looming over them. He gave them immunity.
Looking closer now it had been obvious that this girl, this child, could only be a product of slavery.
It was written all over her appearance, from the ratty grey dress hanging off her bony shoulders, doing nothing for warmth or protection, to the dirt caked skin that looked like it would take determined scrubbing, the matted hair, even the way she held herself, small and unnoticeable. The sorry excuse of a dress was dirty in ways that spoke of confinement and humiliation. The anxiety on deck rose the longer they studied her, feet shuffling uncomfortably between the low murmurs of discontent.
The girl was… tiny. Couldn't be more than 7, maybe 8 but that was already pushing it, even when taking the obvious signs of malnourishment into account.
The Sun Pirates, having lived their life as Fishmen and making their living as pirates, were far from strangers to the cruelties of this world. Mothers vehemently warning their kids to never stray too far from home, to never ever go near the tourist areas. Stories of people you once met but couldn't remember the name of disappearing one day and never to be heard of again. It has all been seen and done before, and ever since joining brother Tai they had all been intimately acquainted with the realities of slavery, some more so than others.
It was not like they had never seen a human slave before. But the disgust never stopped. They knew it all, but the disturbing brutality of such a young child being chained like a dog, like the lowest kind of being, never stopped giving them sleepless nights. Young children were often used for housework, tasked with all the tiresome things nobles couldn't be bothered with. This girl hadn't been as lucky. Whatever she was used for, it was not simple housework.
As a pirate, you saw a lot of things but young children always left a deep mark behind.
The silence on deck was tense as no one knew what to say or do, waiting for Jinbe to speak up. Jinbe, on his end, was too busy studying the girl closely. The explosive slave collar was gone now, but she was still wearing the same thin grey dress with no shoes. It was hard to see more in the dim bubble, but she was obviously distressed at being out in the open and surrounded, big eyes fluttering around restlessly, thin body instinctively curling into itself like a frightened animal. The sight was miserable and more than one pair of eyes looked away, not wanting to sympathize with an intruder.
"Does she talk?" Brizo asked from where he was leaning against the railing, his arms crossed and his usually booming voice softer, curious. Jinbe just shook his head.
"If she does I haven't heard it so far, she didn't make as much as a sound, but considering where she came from that's not unusual…." He trailed off. For now the girl was tracking all their movements with a little note of curiosity but mostly a lot of distrust, apprehension and fear. She was still in the same position as she had been dropped in, slumped on her knees with her arms raised in front of her torso. Jinbe suspected it was less out of her own will and more so because she did not trust her legs enough to stand up.
"So what now? What do we do with her? We can hardly throw her overboard or drop her off on a nearby island before going home." One crew member voiced the question that was currently on everyone's mind. Even Jinbe didn't have an answer yet.
"We could take her back?" One offered, kicking up a conversation Jinbe knew would not go over well. A murmur of complaint rose.
"Back to where? Surely you can't mean Sabaody?" Finn scoffed as if the mere idea was ridiculous at best and downright stupid at worst.
"He has a point, Finn. We're not too far down yet, we can still bring her back." Another voice interrupted before it was met with mixed but strong reactions.
"Take her back and what, offer her to the Celestial Dragons on a silver platter? You might as well just take out your sword and run her through on the spot, it would be kinder." Another shot back in annoyance and the girl visibly recoiled at the statement, small hands fisting scrambling along the hard wooden floor of the deck, as if looking for something to hold on.
"No but the Marines-" The sentence was interrupted by a sarcastic laugh as the debate got more heated.
"What, you mean the very same Marines looking for the runaway slaves this very instant? Gee, I'm sure they would welcome her with open arms. And another pair of shackles. They would present her to the Celestial Dragons with a smile and bow the second they lay their eyes on her. "
"But that's different, she's human! They care for their own kind." The statement was so ignorant even Jinbe couldn't help but feel the need to rebuke, but there were already multiple voices butting in from all sides, he didn't need to add any more oil to the fire.
"You should know better. Who do you think sold her into slavery? Human she may be, but at the end of the day she's a slave all the same." Aladine interrupted before it could grow out of control, his voice laced with heavy disapproval.
"You think just because she's human she has been treated any differently than us? There's no such priviledge in slavery. A slave is a slave, no matter the species. In the eyes of other humans she might as well be nothing more than an animal. Just look at her." The first mate demanded.
It seemed like many had forgotten that she was even still there in their middle, eyes turning to look at her once more as if she had appeared out of thin air. The girl shrunk back at the sudden attention of dozens of pairs of eyes. The attempted glare fell short under the obvious fear etched onto her face.
It didn't take a genius to see what Aladine was referring to, what he was reminding them of. Besides being severely malnourished, the girl was obviously too weak to do much more than stay upright, like a sitting duck.
"So what, we take her to Fishman island with us? We can't just take a human there!" Somebody rekindled the argument, voice a bit weaker now, less adamant about taking her back to the cruelties no doubt waiting on Sabaody.
"Come on now, let's not start this again." Ocel tried to intervene, voice calm, as always playing peacemaker.
"And why not?" Ocel was ignored as Hog jumped into the conversation, having apparently forgiven the formerly labeled "brat" for biting his hand.
"Because it's too dangerous." Came the immediate reply.
"Dangerous? Don't make me laugh, what can a little girl like her do?" Finn shot back sarcastically, and from there the conversation derailed as the crew started arguing amongst themselves once more. Jinbe knew none of them wanted anything bad for the girl. They just genuinely did not know what to do with her. Not like Jinbe knew any better.
Late last night he had thought about it, about what he could have done differently, could have done better to help the girl. Even back then he hadn't been able to come up with a clear solution, regret and guilt eating away at him the same way it did now, in the face of those eerily wide black eyes. They didn't hold a single shred of accusation or anger, despite recognizing him for the man who had left her to fend for herself yesterday. It was this guilt more than anything that made Jinbe stay silent. He of all people had no right to decide the fate of this little human. If he was completely honest with himself he knew he could have saved her. There always was a way if there was a will, he had just been making excuses to make himself feel better. He could have saved her, but he had set his priorities elsewhere. He didn't regret putting the well-being of his crew first. But he had still failed her in ways that simple apologies could not fix.
Aladine sighed loudly in suppressed irritation as the conversation went in circles.
"Boss, what do you think about this?" He pleaded for his friend to intervene.
Jinbe knew he had no right to interfere with her life after failing her like that...but at least this much he wanted to do for her.
"She stays. Resurfacing is not an option right now, not with everything going on on the island." Jinbe interrupted the flow of the conversation smoothly, his deep gruff voice efficiently silencing the ongoing debate.
"Besides, I would have thought this crew understands better than anyone else what it feels like to have your freedom taken away. Are we that scared that we are willing to hand a little girl back to such a fate? How shameful." The crew had the decency to look ashamed, nerves calming down a bit as Jinbe offered the lead they were desperately searching for.
"You heard the boss, Captain's orders!" Aladine called in agreement and the men that suggested taking her back looked rightfully scolded. Good. They should remember that life was precious, even human life.
The little girl had fought for her survival like a feral cornered animal. Jinbe had gone against his moral compass and forsaken her yesterday, he would not abandon her again, not after she had clawed her way to freedom with her own small hands. The least he could do was see to it that she was dropped off at a nice peaceful village where she could start over and forget.
"Now that that's decided…" All the attention turned to the girl again. The only experience with human children most of them had was from back when Koala had still sailed with them. There was a moment of unsure silence before Jinbe moved.
Determined, he approached the little girl, stopping 3 steps in front of her before dropping into a cross legged position with a thump, perpetual frown etched onto his face as always.
He meant to reassure the little girl by sitting down and getting closer to her eye level, but the sudden movement startled her so badly that she nearly fell over herself in her attempt to scoot backwards. She soon realized that any attempt to gain distance between them was futile as the crew had built a circle around them, looking on with curiosity and apprehension.
"You're scaring her boss." Hog huffed mildly, although the statement did hit true.
"I was merely sitting down." He corrected offended, clearing his throat in embarrassment before turning his attention to the slave once more, finding her already watching him with the same cornered expression. She looked more animal than human.
Up close like this he could see a faded crescent shaped scar under her left eye, almost hidden behind the curtain of black tangled hair. It was too dim to see what may have caused it but it must have been badly treated for it to scar this terribly in plain sight.
There was a moment of silence in which he tried to appear as non threatening as possible. It was a futile attempt at best, given his imposing height and ever frowning face.
"What's your name?" He finally settled on asking when the silence stretched.
More silence. The girl turned her head away from him, looking down at the floor, very obviously ignoring him, her small face scrunched up in conflict.
"Looks like she doesn't like you much, Boss." Finn joked dryly to lift the mood. Jinbe wouldn't blame her in the least.
Hog snorted at this and Jinbe turned to glare at them in annoyance, daring them to take over if they thought they could do better. They held up their hands in surrender and a small snicker went through the crowd. Clearing his throat with a deep harumph , Jinbe once again turned to the girl.
"Do you not remember your name?" He asked, instead, trying to get any kind of reaction from her.
But once again there was none, the little one only seemed to curl into herself more.
"Maybe she doesn't speak our language?" Aladine suggested, twirling his beard around his fingers thoughtfully. The girl tracked the motion from the corner of her eyes intently before going back to glancing around distrustfully, body tense and ready to make a run for it, or at least try, if anyone so much as dared to breathe the wrong way in her direction. She was a skittish one.
"I saw her react to some of the things said earlier, I'm fairly certain she understands us." Jinbe explained.
"So she's just shy? Or maybe she can't speak?" Brizo added from where he was still reclining against the railing, one of the only ones who hasn't been circling around the stowaway with curiosity. Jinbe thought for a moment.
"Everyone, back up a bit, give her a bit of space." He finally ordered.
There were protests, of course there were, they were a curious nosy bunch the whole lot of them, but eventually most scattered across the deck, pretending to go back to their mundane tasks for now while glancing over every few seconds.
Only Aladine, Finn and Hog stayed close by. Brizo also didn't move from the railing, watching the interaction keenly.
Without all the watchful eyes on her she seemed to relax, even if it was just a little bit, only noticeable in the drop of her shoulders. She no longer looked like a hissing cat, he thought amused.
So Jinbei tried once again.
"Can you tell us your name?"
No answer. The girl looked at him as if he was speaking a different language. Maybe she really didn't understand.
"Can you speak?" He decided to ask instead. A few seconds went by, and for a moment he thought she wouldn't answer again. Then she nodded, slowly, as if the very action would get her thrown off board. Jinbe felt a feeling of accomplishment rush through him.
"So she can speak and understand us… but still refuses to answer?" Aladine asked, coming closer up behind him, stopping a bit behind Jimin when the girl showed signs of distress at him coming closer.
"If you can talk, can you tell us your name?" Finn butt in from further away, not coming closer but staying near all the same. The dragonet Fishman had always liked children, it was no wonder he couldn't just leave her alone.
The question was answered with a hesitant shake of her head.
"Why not?" Hog asked curiously but kindly. Jinbe was about to remind him to stick to simple yes or no questions, but before he could a tiny voice spoke up, surprising them all.
"Names are for people." The voice was hoarse from disuse and high-pitched in a distinctive feminine and childish way. Under other circumstances it would have been a sweet voice, soft but unsure. She spoke the words as if she were reciting a rule, a law of the universe that everyone should know already.
There was a silence as they all processed her words.
"You don't have a name?"
She shook her head. Finn sighed in relief. At least she knew she still had a name. It was not much, but it was something, and they desperately needed to hold onto this lest they lose themselves in the sorrow simmering underneath their skin.
"Can you tell us? It's okay to tell us, you know? You are a person like us, after all." Hog jumped into the conversation, trying to reassure her and explain her new environment to her.
She just shook her head, eyes clouded in confusion.
Another silence stretched on as no one knew what to say. How could they get her to cooperate?
"Can you tell us another name to call you by then? What were you called until now?" Aladine finally asked tensely. Some owners gave their slaves new names as a sign of ownership. Others did it to overcome a language barrier. It took a moment of consideration before the girl replied in the same unsure tone of voice.
"Doll." She answered softly, leaving the word hanging in the air like the crack of a whip.
The following silence was loud, as their minds supplied what she did not tell them. Jinbe had to take a deep calming breath. Later. They could think about the implications of that later. If they got angry now they would just scare her away and do even more damage. This conversation was crucial.
"I see...On this ship everyone has a real name. Whatever rules applied at the place you came from, they don't apply here. We are pirates. Pirates don't need rules…understood?" He tried to explain. This only seemed to perplex her more.
"Can you tell us your name too? We would like to call you by your real name." He tried once again. The girl just looked at him with obvious skepticism and distrust, as if he was testing her, luring her into a false sense of safety just to punish her once she did as he asked. Finn saw this too and tried to jump in to help.
"My name is Finn. The one next to me with the beard is Aladine. The mean looking fella on the railing is Brizo, the silly looking bug eye over there is Hog. And the big guy sitting in front of you is our Boss, Jinbe. Pretty neat names don't you think? Wanna share your name too?" The small introduction seemed to confuse the girl, but she nodded along nonetheless, unsure what was expected of her.
"Does the little lady have a name?" Hog jumped in, further pressuring her. She seemed to feel it too, hands squeezing her arms where she had them crossed. She still seemed to favor her left side, Jinbe noticed. Not once had she faced them from her right side or the front, it has always been from the left side.
"Names are fun to share, won't you share yours with us? It's the first present we receive in this world. We should treasure it and never forget the present by having people call out to us to remind us." Finn added cheerfully.
Finally Aladine sighed and intervened, being the most sensible out of all of them.
"Come on now, don't pressure her. She will tell us when she's read-"
"Luffy." The tiny voice spoke up, effectively shutting Aladine up. There was a beat of silence in which the girl held on tensely but with determination, waiting for them to show their teeth now that she had broken one of the rules.
"Your name is Luffy?" Jinbe asked for confirmation. A hesitant nod.
"That's a good name." Finn said kindly. "You should use it often from now on."
Luffy did not answer.
"Well then…" Jinbe started when the silence was going on for too long. "Welcome on board Luffy-kun." Jinbe said with a placating smile, trying to appear less threatening. Based on the doubtful look on Luffy's face, he was not succeeding. He had a feeling this was going to be a lot harder than he had thought.
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A few hours earlier…
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Men are weird, Luffy decided as she glanced at the old man sitting down the row, chugging down some nasty smelling stuff that made her nose crinkle and burn.
Then again that didn't mean anything, everything here was weird.
The pretty woman sitting next to her was crying, in a way that was not very pretty at all. Luffy briefly wondered if she should be joining her. She did feel quite sad, she thought as she glanced down at the renewed shackle on her ankle.
The people in here were all sad in some type of way. It was an odd change from the usually sombre detached feelings of resignation she was used to from the big house.
Luffy herself wasn't any better though, wallowing in her own sadness for as long as the guards would allow it, small arms wrapped around her bony knees, idly picking at the scabs that had just started to heal over.
The grass had felt nice on her feet, she thought, letting her head fall back against the cool damp brick wall. Now that she was back in here she wished she could have enjoyed it more while it lasted. The sun had felt nice too. If she knew she was going to be caught and dragged back here anyways she would have taken the time to enjoy it more.
Now that she was back in this mystery room it felt like it had all just been an illusion, one of the many daydreams she liked to indulge in whenever she got disciplined. This whole trip was weird to begin with, she thought with a frown, now picking at the dried blood sticking to the skin under her nose uncomfortably. Why was she here with all these strange people? Was she supposed to be doing something that she hadn't been told about? Was she supposed to find out for herself? The thought made her uneasy.
She often didn't understand the orders she was given and ended up in the toy box for being too slow and too stupid. But really, how was she supposed to know? The wooden box she was sitting on was rough and uncomfortable, making it impossible to sit still for too long.
Was this another one of their games? Luffy didn't like playing their games. She didn't like them even one bit. In the end it was always her that lost.
Hugging her arms tighter around her knees she wondered how long she would have to stay here before they came to pick her up again. What if they told them of her attempt to run away. The thought made her swallow harshly, shaky eyes trailing over the grey concrete floor before landing on the guards slouching forms.
It wasn't even Luffy's fault to begin with. She wasn't the one who had set off her explosive collar and made the hole in the wall. The scene flashed before her eyes once again and she quickly shook her head, trying to get rid of it.
She hadn't meant to run yesterday. But there had been so much blood, the rusty smell of iron thick and heavy in the cramped room, spreading on the floor like a never ending river. Her body had hurt from the blast, leg sore from the tug of war between the chain and her leg before the chain finally gave in and broke in two, leaving her with a sudden freedom she had not expected. And then there had been the hole, such a harsh contrast to the dark musty room, streaking sunlight opening up a path to the outside.
The next thing she remembered she was already running on wobbly feet, ears ringing too much from the explosion to really hear or care for the shouts following her small form.
She had wondered then, as her sore feet, weak and unused to the movement, slapped against the lush fields of grass, if the man whose collar had exploded before had wanted to leave the place too. Maybe he wanted to go to the better place the others from the big house had all talked about when they got sick.
Before she could ponder the thought any more the voices behind her picked up, and so did Luffys breathing as she kept running, the broken chain rattling with every leap her thin legs took.
Bright. It was too bright.
There were people everywhere, chatting, watching, laughing. Always laughing. Luffy never got the joke. Luffy never got to join in on the laughter.
Even now, running through the lush green grass she could not laugh, the fear of big rough hands grabbing her and putting her back into that small room, or even worse, back to the big house, too raw for her to focus on anything else.
She did not stop to think about where to go, couldn't even see where she was going, too exhausted to lift her head. Running took all her body had to give and more, everything blurring into a colorful mess of grass and buildings and people, her useless, useless, feet stumbling along as best as they could.
It didn't take long for her to start feeling dizzy, the aching burning of her lungs worse than the one time they made her drink the soap water. Soon after everything started to feel as if she was under water, far away from the chaos chasing her as she stumbled around blindly, desperately.
And then she ran into the blue man.
That blue man had been weird too, now that she thought about it. He had felt really sad and lots of other bad stuff. She wondered what happened to make him feel so sad. It wasn't good to be sad. Luffy herself didn't like being sad so she always tried to be happy. Except for the times when she was scared. She hated being scared even more than being sad.
The absolute worst was still being lonely though.
Even now, cuffed and back in the room full of funny looking people, she felt lonely. This mystery place was no fun at all, she thought, still picking at the scab on her knee as she waited for anything to happen. Sometimes she was forgotten for hours, even days, left alone with only the darkness and her thoughts. Here at least it was not dark and she was not alone.
"Where are you from, little lady?" A sudden voice asked from much too close, startling her into scratching off the scab, the newly damaged skin throbbing in pain. When had the old man gotten this close? When she looked up in surprise Luffy was greeted with a pair of smiling eyes behind big round glasses, looking at her curiously. She quickly looked away, eyes focusing on the raw skin of her knee instead.
"Don't feel like talking to me?" The man asked after some seconds of silence passed.
Luffy stubbornly looked at her knees. Was he really talking to her? Why? She glanced at the guard, he had been joined by a second one and they were chattering away just outside the cell. They seemed to be excited about something. Did the old man want her to get in trouble? The loud people always got taken out of the cell.
The man studied her for a bit, wearing the same patient smile on his face all the while. There was a scar over his right eye. Luffy wondered where he had gotten it and if it had been anything like hers.
"It's fine, you don't have to answer. This old man likes talking to himself." Luffy frowned in confusion. Then why was he talking to her in the first place? People here are so weird.
"You're probably wondering why I'm talking to you then." He guessed with a smile and Luffy looked at him with wide eyes. How did he know?
"N-Not really." She quickly lied through pursed lips, eyes looking anywhere but the man's face.
The man chuckled at her surprisingly pure and childish reply.
"Anyone would be curious about you after your little escape attempt yesterday." He continued, taking several deep chugs from his mystery juice. Luffy frowned at the answer, going back to hiding between her knees. She did not want to remember that anymore, it would only make her think of the punishment that awaited her.
"Wasn't trying to escape." She replied stubbornly, completely forgetting that she was not supposed to talk with him.
"You weren't? Why not? Don't you want to be free?" He asked casually as if he was commenting on the weather. Luffy just shook her head weakly, thinking for a bit.
"I just want to survive." She had made a promise after all. Promises are important.
"Then why did you run away yesterday? If you just want to survive, staying here would have been the better choice." The man prompted.
His words made Luffy pause. It was a good question. Why had she run? She did not really know the answer herself, there was nothing waiting outside for her. The only reason she could think of was…
"I don't like it here." Luffy mumbled, arms clenching around her knees. Even if nothing awaited her outside, even if she did not know anything about life outside, she still wanted to get out. There was no real reason for it, her entire being screamed for it. Yearned for it.
The man hummed in thought.
"Me neither. There's nothing much to like here. But then again I shouldn't talk since I came here on my own." He said with humor, looking around the caged area while stroking his weird looking beard. Everything in this place was so weird. The people, the rules, everything. She still did not know why she was put here in the first place. When was she going to be picked up?
"Then, do you want to leave?" The sudden question ripped her out of her thoughts, a small dumb huh slipping past her lips.
Luffy looked at him, confused. Leave? Where to? She didn't even know where she was right now or how she had gotten here. People like her did not get to just leave.
"If you don't like it here doesn't that mean you want to leave? You tried to, yesterday, didn't you? You were the only one to take off during the chaos of the explosion." He explained and she frowned, remaining silent. Luffy didn't have an answer and she did not like being reminded of the incident. She had gotten caught and was back here anyways, so what use was it talking about it now?
"Why did you get caught? What happened" He asked after another few minutes of silence, changing his tactic. Luffy considered ignoring him and stayed silent while he smiled at her expectantly. The mans questions irked her. What was he trying to get at?
After another few seconds Luffy finally caved in and answered, betrayed by her own curious nature.
"I wasn't fast enough…and didn't know the way…" Luffy answered, bitter now that she realized how stupid she had been to run in the first place. Everyone else had been smart enough to stay and obey. Now she was going to be the only one punished. Punishments were always harsher on your own.
The old man just hummed once more and continued to drink.
"Do you have a home to return to?" Luffy glanced at the man, thinking about his question. Home…Was that place home? No, that didn't feel right. A deep frown marred her face as she thought, trying to conjure blurry memories of the past to no avail. The old man took that as all the answer he needed.
"I see." For the first time since he had started talking to her his smile felt insincere. Fake.
It instantly put her on guard, and she shuffled away a bit. The man blinked at her sudden action before laughing, this time genuinely.
"You really are a sharp one, aren't you? Don't worry, I was not angry at you." He reassured, but it only made her relax slightly. Fake people were dangerous. Even more so since she could not feel anything from him.
"You seem oddly used to this, I'm guessing you are getting resold." When Luffy just tilted her head in confusion the old man waved it off.
"Don't mind me, just an old man talking to himself again."
"Weirdo." Luffy mumbled under her breath, dismissing him to stare at the guards instead. They were playing some game with cards now.
"So you don't have anywhere to go even if you escape from here?" He asked more to confirm his theory than anything else, stroking his grey beard once more as he mumbled to himself under his breath.
Luffy thought about the question once more. She did not have a home but even she had something she wanted to see.
"It's not a home but...there is something.", she started hesitantly, probing a look at the old man, studying his encouraging smile before looking away again. It felt oddly embarrassing to talk about it now that she had his full attention. Back in the big house hardly anyone had listened to her ramblings.
"I…I want to see the sea." Just saying it out loud made her feel stupid.
The man did not answer or give any reaction, but he looked interested enough so she continued quietly.
"I heard…I heard the sea is the freest place there is. I heard when you're out at sea no one can touch you…that's what I was told…" She trailed off in a mumble, reciting what that person had told her back in their shared space. Luffy was not willing to offer more, but she didn't have to as the old man started speaking.
"The sea, hm? The sea is volatile and dangerous, but it does not discriminate. All people are equal out at sea, it's a place where dreams are said to come true." He told her, smiling at the half hidden big sparkling eyes, looking up at him with awe.
"Do you want to sail out to sea?" It was a weird question but Luffy nodded despite not understanding the full extent of his question. She did not know the first thing about sailing, but she really did want to see the place where dreams came true. Luffy wanted to taste the freedom she had heard about all these years ago, huddling for warmth in that small musty cell.
"Why don't you then?" He asked and Luffy tilted her head in confusion, before scoffing when looking down at her collar and chains. Was he making fun of her?
"I'm not making fun of you." The answer made Luffy, who was unaware of her transparent face, only more suspicious.
"Those chains are easily dealt with, the hard part comes after that. Are you really sure you have what it takes to set out to sea? It's not an easy life. " Something about the man's tone made Luffy bite back the initial outraged comeback sitting on her tongue.
"Anything is better than this." She settled on replying stubbornly, glowering at him from between her knees. She still vaguely felt like she was being made fun of. She was a lot of things but she was not weak. She wasn't. She wasn't.
"That's all I really needed to hear." He chuckled to himself, amused by her lively nature and relieved to see the fire still burning in her eyes. As if having made up his mind he fully turned to face her.
"I need you to sit really still for a moment." The order was unexpected and Luffy instinctively inched away.
"Why? What are you doing?" Luffy silently cursed herself for getting too comfortable with the old man and letting her guard down. She always did this. They would be more than furious at her for her escape attempt already, she shouldn't get in any more trouble to worsen her punishment.
"Nothing bad, don't look that suspicious. Just sit still and wait, we don't want to alarm the guards of our little plan." What plan? Luffy thought with mild hysteria but probed a look at the two men in question anyways. They were still occupied with their game, not paying them any mind. The other people in the cell however looked at them curiously, silently wondering what the old drunk and little ratty girl were up to.
"This is important, so listen to what I'm going to tell you next very closely so you can leave this place safely." Leave? What was the old man talking about now? Luffy's head started to hurt from all the thinking but the old man had said it was important so she pressed her lips together and listened with full concentration.
"At the harbor on Grove 17 there is a ship that looks like a whale."
Luffy, who had never seen a whale in her life, nodded along seriously. A whale was a big fish, right?
"There are good people on that ship, they will help you if you tell them about your situation. The harbor is near here. I will explain the way so listen carefully." Luffy tried to follow the ensuing explanation as best as she could but couldn't help but get lost after he told her to 'turn left' for the third time in a row. The man seemed to realize this too and changed his approach.
The following instructions were easier to remember: Every tree has a visible number you can't overlook unless your view is hidden by a bubble. Try to stay in the shadows of the alleys and follow the numbers until you reach the coast, turn right to Grove 17, that's where the whale ship will be anchored. When lost, find a way to Shakky's rip-off bar on Grove 13.
"It would be safer to bring you there personally but I think I will have my hands full here." Rather than sounding disappointed the man sounded anticipating as he glanced at the guards and other people in the cell. Luffy wondered why he was even explaining all of this to her in the first place. Was he trying to cheer her up by telling her a story? He talked as if she was going to leave here anytime soon. On her own on top of that. Maybe he was one of those that had been alone for too long and went a little bit crazy? She had met some of those in the big house before.
It did sound like a fun island though, with numbered trees and floating bubbles, she did not even notice any of that yesterday. A ship that looked like a whale…Luffy tried to combine the vague blurry image of ships from her memory with that of a fish, hiding a small smile in the crook of her elbow. It must look really funny.
A sudden movement from her left side brought her back to attention and she barely managed to flinch away before the man's hands reached for her throat. No, not her throat. Her collar. They blinked at each other in surprise for a moment before Luffy's reflexes kicked in.
She tried to scurry back quickly but before she could move a big hand clasped around her wrist, effectively keeping her in place. The man had such big hands. For the first time Luffy looked at the man. Really looked at him.
No old man should have a body that big or healthy. Nor should they be this strong. Suddenly Luffy felt genuinely scared of the man, swallowing nervously.
"Stay calm, this is not going to hurt you. We have to hurry and get this over with quickly before the guests arrive and the auction begins." The calm whisper did little to calm her down but before she could blink, let alone protest, the man's hands were on her collar.
Luffy's eyes widened and she barely refrained from screaming when the old man pulled on her collar with a sharp tug, the images of yesterday's explosion flashing through her mind. The ticking sound, the blood, so much blood, how could there be so much blood in a human body-? Despite her best efforts a scream of terror traveled up her throat as sheer panic enveloped her. How could the man look so calm? Why was he doing this? They had gotten along well and now he was trying to kill her!? She was going to die. Oh my god she was going to die. She couldn't die here! She had promised. She had promised!
Before the scream could even so much as move past her lips a rough big hand was clamped over her mouth at the same time as a strong force pulled on her collar, momentarily choking her before the pressure was gone.
Next thing she knew an ear splitting explosion went off nearby and she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut immediately, shaking hands clasping over her ears firmly. What was happening? Everything was spinning. Screams went off from all sides and Luffy only now noticed that the old man was talking to her, gripping her shoulders firmly as he shook her back into awareness.
"-ou hear me?!" Seeing that he had finally gained her attention he continued.
"You have to go. Now. Remember what I told you. I'll make sure no one follows you this time." Luffy stood there in confusion among the screams of terror from the other slaves and the chaos erupting between the guards, not able to follow the series of events. What had just happened? How-? But the man's collar yesterday-? Clumsy hand snapped up to her neck, feeling the scarred skin with trembling fingertips. How-? The collar was gone, and so were her shackles, she noticed numbly.
Luffy was free. She looked at the old man, eyes wide in confusion and alarm but he had already moved on to another person, repeating what he had done just a few seconds ago. "Wha-", her lips parted to say, but before she could even ask a single thing she was interrupted by another collar hitting the wall, setting off another explosion, followed by the man's smiling voice.
"Run! Just follow the scent of the sea and you will find all the freedom this world has to offer. As long as you keep going forward you will find people that will help you. Don't look back anymore. You're too young to fail here! Now go!" He called out over the chaos around them. All around them people were panicking, screaming in distress as the guards started taking action, calling for backup.
Despite noticing all this distantly in the back of her mind, Luffy could not get herself to take her eyes off the man's smiling face, searching him for something. Looking for any kind of emotion leaking through his well crafted mask. She just needed something, just a small sign that she could trust him. As if noticing her train of thoughts the man's face softened and his demeanor changed just for a split second. Ah. There it was. There was something. She could feel it. His intention was clear as day, filled with kindness and hope and anticipation.
The old man gave her one last encouraging nod and something in her snapped. She could do this. Luffy, in her confusion, did what she had never been good at before. She listened. She listened to his words and began to run like her life depended on it, leaving the chaos behind her.
As she ran, a curious thought entered her head. She had never even asked the man for his name. She kept running nonetheless. If fate wanted it she would meet him again. For now Luffy just ran as fast as her small feet could carry her without looking back. She did not think of them or punishments or the big house. The old man had told her to keep moving forward without looking back and for once Luffy wanted to listen and try.
All she had to do now was turn left and find the big fish ship.
Wait…
Did the man say she had to go left or right…? Luffy pressed her lips together and stared at the big tree in the distance.
If only she knew how to read numbers or what a whale looked like…
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Now, hours later, as she looked at Jinbe and the other strange looking people whose names she had already forgotten, grinning at her, she couldn't help but once again think - Men really are weird after all.
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Next Chapter: Under the sea!
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Notes:
"Luffy-kun" is not a mistake, I didn't forget that Luffy is female in this fic don't worry, haha. "-kun" is actually a respectful ending used for children of both genders aside from it's usage for boys/men (if my research isn't wrong, if it is please feel free to correct me). I won't be using Japanese endings for anyone else, but Jinbe wouldn't be Jinbe without his iconic "Luffy-kun", so it stays, at least while Luffy is still a child.
Once again all named members of the crew except for Aladine are named randomly by me since we don't know any other ones that did not leave with Arlong or Macro after Tiger's death.
Special mention to everyone who commented, your support was a big help in getting over my writer's block with the latter half of this chapter. Comments really make my day and motivate me a lot since it makes me realize people are actually reading my story. So if you enjoy it please leave me a quick note! :)