Hi all!
Okay, so I have a dilemma. I have plans for the next few chapters, but I realized something the other day – due to Luffy being captured, the Straw Hats left Thriller Bark a couple days earlier than in the canon version. Realistically, this would make them never run into Camie and Hatchi, which means they wouldn't have known about Rayleigh, no auction house, etc. The auction house is irrelevant to my story, but Rayleigh can go either way. What do you guys think? Should I just make them run into Camie and Hatchi anyway? Let me know.
With that out of the way, here is Chapter 4 !
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of One Piece. The characters and story belong to Eiichiro Oda, Toei, Shonen Jump, and Funimation.
"A little to the left!" yelled the old man.
"Old man, you're crazy. It's fine," Kohza replied to his father. He was manning the pulley system while it lifted a massive stone to rest on the developing building. He and his father had been rebuilding Yuba over the past several months, hoping to bring people back to the once prosperous city.
"He's right, Leader. It needs to go left," a woman's voice agreed.
Looking down, Kohza saw a blue-haired woman standing next to a camel. Smirking, he said, "Oh, sure. Agree with him," but he moved it anyway. He climbed down off the makeshift platform and admired his work. His father was right; it had needed to go to the left. Heaving an exasperated sigh, he turned to Vivi and asked, "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"
Vivi didn't miss the sigh and just smiled. She answered, "Father thought it'd be a good idea for me to visit other cities to collect progress reports. He wants to develop a system where soldiers come help the places most in need."
"Ah. Well, I think we're doing pretty well," Kohza responded, gesturing at the now almost completed town hall. "Soon, all we'll be missing are the residents. Maybe your father can send some of those our way instead, eh?"
Vivi smiled, pulling out a bundle of newspapers from a saddle bag on the back of her favorite camel. "I brought some newspapers from the past few weeks. I know the News Coo hasn't realized people live here yet," she said, passing over the heavy bundle to him.
He glanced at the top of the bundle to see if there was anything terribly important. He froze. What? he thought, not sure if he saw what he thought. The bindings keeping the mass of papers together obscured his view of the article. He started tearing away the binding, earning a confused look from Vivi. What?! he thought again, looking sharply up at Vivi. She… she must not know, he realized, seeing the look of confusion on her face. "Have… have you read yesterday's paper?" he asked.
She shook her head, starting to feel concerned. "No," she said. "I was about to leave when the News Coo arrived. Igaram added it to the bundle before throwing it in the saddle bag. I meant to read it on the way, but I guess I forgot. Why?" she asked, wondering why Leader was so out of sorts.
Wordlessly, he handed her the article in question. He watched as her eyes moved back and forth, becoming wider as she read. He saw her reread it several times before she looked up at him, tears forming in her brown eyes. He didn't know what to say. He had barely met the Straw Hat Pirates. All he knew was that they had saved their country and its princess. He felt grateful to them, but he knew Vivi had a deeper connection. She once told him why she had decided to stay in Alabasta after the pirates had left, but he had seen her sadness and longing. Her relationship with the unusual crew was one of friendship and he knew she would have willingly become a pirate for them, if her country hadn't needed her.
Her eyes just stared at him, boring holes into his own. She still viewed him as "Leader". She still depended so much on him… But he didn't have any idea what to say. "I… I… Vivi...," he started.
"What's all this ruckus about, eh? Kohza!" his father exclaimed, seeing the look on Vivi's face. "What did you do?!" He rushed over and wrapped his old, weathered arms around Vivi's shoulders. "What did he do, dear?" he asked, before Vivi turned her eyes to him and looked back down at the news article, willing it to be different this time. The old man's eyes followed hers, quickly scanning the article. He looked up into his son's eyes, and sorrow filled them. He led Vivi back to her camel and told her guards to prepare to leave for the castle. Kohza walked over to help Vivi mount up, and then turned to his father.
"I'm sorry, old man. I have to go with her," he said.
His father simply nodded, adding "Just be careful. Make sure the princess doesn't do something too reckless." He patted his son on the shoulder and walked back to the construction site, where everyone had stopped working to stare at the exchange. He instructed them to go back to work. Kohza ran to saddle his horse, not wanting to make Vivi wait too long.
Soon, they were on the road to the palace. It was late afternoon before Vivi finally spoke. "Kohza…" she said, barely loud enough for him to hear. "I don't know what to do." Her tears, which had been threatening to fall all day, finally poured down her cheeks. "If… if I stay here, I might regret it forever. But if I go… people here need me. Kohza," she cried, looking at his face for the first time in hours, "what should I do?!"
His head hurt. He cursed under his breath, swearing to never drink that much again. Damn pirates, he thought to himself, letting me drink so much. What a sorry bunch of excuses for a crew. He cringed, remembering how they had tried to tell him to stop, but he just yelled at them to shut up and keep partying. Ugh, I'm getting too old for this. He couldn't even remember what they had been partying about.
With a grunt, he sat up, glad that his cabin was so dark. He looked at a nearby table and saw that someone had left a glass of water on it. Gulping it down, he felt slightly better. With no way to avoid it, he opened the doors and groaned as the sunlight hit his face. Some of his crew (the ones who hadn't drunk to excess) were already up and beginning their days. Once his door opened, they looked at him, laughing at his obvious hangover.
"Shut up," he told them, his head hurting too much to yell loudly. They stifled their laughs, but couldn't stop grinning and smirking.
"Boss, there's land up ahead," a crewmember called from the crow's nest.
"Oh, great, just what I need," he muttered to himself.
A few hours later, the pirate ship approached the island. It seemed to be the home of a few small villages, and not much else. His crew prepared for a hostile greeting, as they always did with each new island. However, as they walked into the nearest village, they saw a few hesitant people staring from windows, and they got a few curious glances from shoppers and merchants, but no one approached them and questioned their presence: it seemed like this island was used to pirates.
The group reached a bar and walked in, seating themselves while their captain went to the bartender and ordered food for everyone. As he was walking back to a table farthest from a light source, he heard the bartender whispering to the waitress, "That… is that who I think it is?"
"Who?" the young waitress whispered back.
"That red hair and those scars…" the bartender seemed at a loss for words.
Shanks sighed. Of course. Now people will start freaking out. This can't be good for my health, he thought, sitting down next to his crew.
The Yonko's first mate, meanwhile, had separated from the group in search of news. They hadn't come across a News Coo in several days and he knew there was trouble stirring; the capture of Fire Fist Ace was a great matter of concern for Whitebeard. As a fellow Yonko, Benn Beckman thought Shanks should be aware of any news pertaining to Ace. He found a post office and bought a newspaper, staring at the front cover. He froze, dread filling his mind. Quickly reading the article, he turned and ran to the bar.
Shanks headache was only made worse by the loud banging caused by Benn storming into the building. Glaring at his first mate, he realized the look on his face was filled with concern. Wordlessly, Shanks took the newspaper offered to him. As he read the front page, his crew could see his knuckles whitening and heard the angry exhalation of their captain. Slamming the paper down on the table, Shanks stomped out of the bar. Benn ordered all crew members to follow; they weren't going to be getting a break on this island after all.
The air was heavy on the Straw Hats ship. The crew had made it out of the Florian Triangle and could see the Red Line. This should have been a cause for celebration. If Luffy had been on board, they would no doubt be dealing with another of his outbursts of excitement. As it was, however, it only barely managed to lift their spirits. They all smiled at the thought of reaching the halfway point, excited to see the famous landmark that symbolized the crew's skill and success. One step closer to fulfilling all of their dreams. But when this thought crossed everyone's minds, realization hit them like a bomb. Who did they all have to thank for achieving this much? For getting this close to their dream in the first place? Luffy. And his dream was what tied everyone together. The atmosphere darkened then; it felt like a betrayal, reaching this monumental landmark on their journey without their captain.
As everyone's mood worsened, a familiar cawing drew their eyes to the sky. Usually, the arrival of a newspaper would seem insignificant to anyone except Nami and Robin. But with the situation being what it was, they all clamored to be the first one to read it. Naturally, Nami won the short-lived fight and quickly unfolding the newspaper, everyone holding their breaths. Her eyes moved quickly as her friends looked on, hoping for some kind of good news.
After she finished, Nami sighed and passed the paper over to a waiting Robin. "It's about what you'd expect. The Marines say they captured him, but left out any mention of Kuma. It's just like them to take credit for a pirate's work, even a Warlord."
"And that was it? Just that they captured him?" came Chopper's small, worried voice.
"They also mention he was taken to Impel Down, which seems unlikely," Robin answered, finishing her turn and handing it to the waiting Franky. Everyone crowded around Franky, trying to read the article over his shoulders.
"Impel Down? But that's the prison for pirates, isn't it? Why is it unlikely they sent him there, Robin-san?" asked Brook.
"You saw how badly he was injured in the last fight, Brook," Nami answered instead. "Even if they are the Marines, they wouldn't send someone that injured into prison without fixing him up a little first. Besides, the paper mentioned Garp, which means he must be involved. Pirate or not, Luffy is still his grandson. I can't see him just sending his own grandson off to prison before he even wakes up."
"And if Garp was mentioned, Coby must be with him as well," Zoro put in. Everyone turned to him, surprised at his input.
Sanji lit a cigarette and said, "So you aren't as dumb as you look, stupid marimo."
"Eh? What's that, dartboard?" Zoro yelled.
"I said 'you aren't as dumb as you look, stupid marimo'!"
"I heard you the first time, shitty cook!" Zoro said, pulling out two of his swords.
Nami hit them both over the head. "Now isn't the time, you two!"
Zoro and Sanji just glared at each other as Usopp asked, "Well, what should we do now? If Luffy isn't in Impel Down, where would he be?"
"Probably at Marine Headquarters," answered Robin. "It isn't very far from here. Nami, how far do you think we are from Sabaody?" she asked, turning to the navigator.
"Hmm…" she said, looking at her Log Pose, which was still pointing to the ocean floor. "I'm not sure, but Lola said it wasn't far from the Florian Triangle to Saboady. Maybe just a day or two." Before the crew has left Thriller Bark, Lola had explained what the next stop would be for the Straw Hat crew. She had also given them what she called a Vivre Card that would lead to her mother once they found their captain and crossed the Red Line. Nami had taken the Vivre Card, finally realizing what Ace had given to Luffy back in Alabasta.
"We need supplies. What was left in Moria's castle was a joke. Sabaody is probably our best bet," said Sanji.
"Sanji's right. We should head there first. We can make our way to Headquarters or Impel Down then, wherever Luffy is by then," Nami decided.
Brook watched the exchange, grateful to join in the search for the Straw Hat captain. Even if he wasn't officially part of the crew yet, he felt a need to help out. He had heard all about Laboon in the past day since Luffy had been captured. He needed to thank the boy for himself. Luffy-san, he thought, your crew is coming for you.
Garp entered the hospital room where his grandson was sleeping. Despite his claim earlier that day, he was actually worried about the boy's injuries. No, they weren't life-threatening, but what had happened to him? As far as knew, nothing Moria could do would mess up anyone's insides like Luffy's were. Kuma had claimed the boy was already unconscious when he arrived at Thriller Bark, so what had happened. Probably being reckless again, Garp thought. Although I suppose I am partially to blame for it, seeing as I trained him to be.
He hated this. He hated seeing his family fall apart. He had dealt with it when his son had turned away from him, and now he watched both his grandson and Ace, who was practically a grandson, go down similar paths. How could he protect them if they didn't listen to his warnings? He had purposely placed them away from the world's eye, but they had both managed to catch its attention anyway. He had never doubted his position as a Marine, but he couldn't help but feel like he was failing his family all over again.
Once again, I underestimated how long these reactions would be. They were fun to write though. If the slow pace is annoying you, I'm sorry. But it just means there will be more chapters in the long run!
As I mentioned above, please let me know if you think they should run into Camie and Hatchi or not. The story would be easier if they did, but if you want me to stick with how things would actually have worked out; I can make that work too.
Thank you so much for all the reviews! They really help inspire me to keep writing this story.