Miike stared at the man in shock. This man knew who his mother was! A
sense of exhalation and anticipation took over his soul, and he spoke
quietly but heavily.
"You knew my mother?"
The man grinned the biggest grin he had ever seen in his life. His teeth glittered like brilliant diamonds...and frighteningly enough, his mouth was monstrously huge.
Before he could scream, 'don't eat me!', the man exclaimed in a booming voice. "Of course I do! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"
Miike stared at him in appreciative shock. This man knew how to yell! But his look of awe changed to one of confusion. Why would he know someone named Monkey D. Luffy? Strange, he was proclaiming his name like it was the greatest name in the world. Miike voiced all these thoughts into one word.
"Who?"
-------
One Piece Lamentations
-------
Luffy gave the boy a quizzical look. Then he raised a hand and opened his mouth. It looked like, to Miike, like the man was going to ask him something. But before a word escaped his lips, a very pained expression crossed his features and he dropped his hand, and smiled sadly. It was as if all the energy he had just escaped his body, deflating him.
"Nami never said anything about me?"
Miike shook his head. "I'm sorry no. Were you someone my mom knew?"
Luffy dropped his head, shadowing his eyes. However, a small grin spread along his face. "Yeah, I knew her. A long time ago."
"When?"
"When? When she was out on the open sea with her friends."
The boy smiled brightly, "Ah! So are you from one of those villages my mom and her friends visited on the SS Merry?"
The mention of 'Ten Years ago and the SS Merry' perked Luffy's interest. So the boy did know something of that time, he thought to himself. "So, you know about your mother's adventures when she was out on the open sea as a navigator?"
Miiked nodded cheerfully. "Yup! She always told me an adventure story before I went to bed! Like about the time her friend, Son Goku, defeated the evil captain Arlong who had imprisoned her, and forced her to write maps!"
Arlong, Luffy recognized. It was the other name that threw him off. "Son Goku?" He asked.
"The captain of the SS Merry!"
'Son Goku??' Thought a bewildered Luffy. 'Who in God's name was Son Goku?! Oh yeah...right, captain of the SS Merry...'
"Uh Luffy, sir? Are you OK? You're face is looking really weird..."
He looked at the smiling boy, and felt a sense of relief. Maybe it was better this way...It certainly made things easier...
"Ah, Boy...err..I mean err....
"Miike." Said Miike.
Luffy smirked, "Yeah Miike..." He paused for a second. Then asked, "What are you doing away from you're mommy?"
The question caught Miike off guard. However, he hid his surprise, by folding his hands over his chest and pouting.
"It's none of your business." He said grouchily. A second later he added, "A man is allowed to leave his home and become an adventurer when he gets old right?"
Luffy stared at him for a second, then smirked, "Heh, you have your mom's confidence." Luffy rubbed his head roughly and exclaimed, "Such a young guy going out into the world! What would your mom say?!"
Miike pushed Luffy's hand away, "Shut up! And what does my mom have to do with anything?"
Suddenly, Luffy crouched on his haunches and looked at Miike face to face. He gave Miike a lopsided smile, "You should say nicer things about your mom."
Miike turned away, his face a permanent pout. Luffy watches him with softer eyes than he was capable of when he was younger. Then he turned away himself, then asked, "Uh...did your mom ever say anything about...aaaaah....Son Goku?"
The boy, hurumphed, and ignored the question. However, Luffy's persistent gaze was hard to ignore. Finally he sighed, and stared at Luffy plainly.
"You want to know?" He asked.
Luffy nodded and gave him a small smile.
In answer to Luffy's nod, he tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Hmmm...Mom says that Son Goku was a very kind and sincere man, who had a wild streak in him, and who had the attention span of an ant."
Luffy's smile faltered, "Oh, Yeah?"
"Yup! She said he was a big romantic though, and that he never thought twice about anything he ever did."
Luffy scratched his nose at the last description, "Did she say that in a good way, or bad way?"
Miike shrugged at the comment. But then he added, a little more quietly, "Also, mom said that Son Goku was..uh..." It was then that Miike took on a lecturing pose, as if he was repeating something he had heard many many times.
"She said that he was 'the greatest man to ever make the greatest human mistake'."
"What do you mean?"
Miike shrugged again. "I don't know. She says that if I ever wanted to know, I should read things like Othello, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and some weird sounding Greek stuff." Miike grinned at him widely, "But I don't want to be reading that stuff! They're too long and stuffy!"
"Uh, yeah I gotcha." He said absentmindedly. He wouldn't even touch those things himself, but Luffy already had a general idea of what they were about.
He looked at Miike again. This time his face was a little more serious though, "Did she ever tell you about her adventures in Alabasta?"
Miike looked at him with wide eyes, "Well yeah, but I don't like that story."
"Why not?"
Miike looked down at the bed, and tugged at the sheets under him, "It's because that story has such a bad ending."
"How is the ending bad?"
Miike looked up at Luffy sadly, "It's because Son Goku dies!"
Luffy stared at him for a while. The air grows heavy with the last statement. Then Luffy cracks the silence, with a chuckle.
"Yeah, that is a bad way to end the story." Luffy gives the boy a hard almost wild look, then said, "Do you want to hear it, again? The full whole story? I'm sure Nami must've left out details."
Miike cocked his head to the side, "Are you saying that she lied to me about some parts of the story? My mommy?"
"No, I'm just saying she didn't know everything that happened."
Miike's eyes narrowed, "And how would you know the real story?"
Luffy's eyes gleamed, "I was closer to the action than you might think. Do you want to hear?"
---------------
Author's Note: Just so you know, I've only read One Piece up to the most recently scanlated chapter. That was Volume 19, chapter 174. I really have no idea how the whole Crocodile issue is resolved. But the next chapter will be my own take on what could happen. Until then...
"You knew my mother?"
The man grinned the biggest grin he had ever seen in his life. His teeth glittered like brilliant diamonds...and frighteningly enough, his mouth was monstrously huge.
Before he could scream, 'don't eat me!', the man exclaimed in a booming voice. "Of course I do! I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"
Miike stared at him in appreciative shock. This man knew how to yell! But his look of awe changed to one of confusion. Why would he know someone named Monkey D. Luffy? Strange, he was proclaiming his name like it was the greatest name in the world. Miike voiced all these thoughts into one word.
"Who?"
-------
One Piece Lamentations
-------
Luffy gave the boy a quizzical look. Then he raised a hand and opened his mouth. It looked like, to Miike, like the man was going to ask him something. But before a word escaped his lips, a very pained expression crossed his features and he dropped his hand, and smiled sadly. It was as if all the energy he had just escaped his body, deflating him.
"Nami never said anything about me?"
Miike shook his head. "I'm sorry no. Were you someone my mom knew?"
Luffy dropped his head, shadowing his eyes. However, a small grin spread along his face. "Yeah, I knew her. A long time ago."
"When?"
"When? When she was out on the open sea with her friends."
The boy smiled brightly, "Ah! So are you from one of those villages my mom and her friends visited on the SS Merry?"
The mention of 'Ten Years ago and the SS Merry' perked Luffy's interest. So the boy did know something of that time, he thought to himself. "So, you know about your mother's adventures when she was out on the open sea as a navigator?"
Miiked nodded cheerfully. "Yup! She always told me an adventure story before I went to bed! Like about the time her friend, Son Goku, defeated the evil captain Arlong who had imprisoned her, and forced her to write maps!"
Arlong, Luffy recognized. It was the other name that threw him off. "Son Goku?" He asked.
"The captain of the SS Merry!"
'Son Goku??' Thought a bewildered Luffy. 'Who in God's name was Son Goku?! Oh yeah...right, captain of the SS Merry...'
"Uh Luffy, sir? Are you OK? You're face is looking really weird..."
He looked at the smiling boy, and felt a sense of relief. Maybe it was better this way...It certainly made things easier...
"Ah, Boy...err..I mean err....
"Miike." Said Miike.
Luffy smirked, "Yeah Miike..." He paused for a second. Then asked, "What are you doing away from you're mommy?"
The question caught Miike off guard. However, he hid his surprise, by folding his hands over his chest and pouting.
"It's none of your business." He said grouchily. A second later he added, "A man is allowed to leave his home and become an adventurer when he gets old right?"
Luffy stared at him for a second, then smirked, "Heh, you have your mom's confidence." Luffy rubbed his head roughly and exclaimed, "Such a young guy going out into the world! What would your mom say?!"
Miike pushed Luffy's hand away, "Shut up! And what does my mom have to do with anything?"
Suddenly, Luffy crouched on his haunches and looked at Miike face to face. He gave Miike a lopsided smile, "You should say nicer things about your mom."
Miike turned away, his face a permanent pout. Luffy watches him with softer eyes than he was capable of when he was younger. Then he turned away himself, then asked, "Uh...did your mom ever say anything about...aaaaah....Son Goku?"
The boy, hurumphed, and ignored the question. However, Luffy's persistent gaze was hard to ignore. Finally he sighed, and stared at Luffy plainly.
"You want to know?" He asked.
Luffy nodded and gave him a small smile.
In answer to Luffy's nod, he tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Hmmm...Mom says that Son Goku was a very kind and sincere man, who had a wild streak in him, and who had the attention span of an ant."
Luffy's smile faltered, "Oh, Yeah?"
"Yup! She said he was a big romantic though, and that he never thought twice about anything he ever did."
Luffy scratched his nose at the last description, "Did she say that in a good way, or bad way?"
Miike shrugged at the comment. But then he added, a little more quietly, "Also, mom said that Son Goku was..uh..." It was then that Miike took on a lecturing pose, as if he was repeating something he had heard many many times.
"She said that he was 'the greatest man to ever make the greatest human mistake'."
"What do you mean?"
Miike shrugged again. "I don't know. She says that if I ever wanted to know, I should read things like Othello, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and some weird sounding Greek stuff." Miike grinned at him widely, "But I don't want to be reading that stuff! They're too long and stuffy!"
"Uh, yeah I gotcha." He said absentmindedly. He wouldn't even touch those things himself, but Luffy already had a general idea of what they were about.
He looked at Miike again. This time his face was a little more serious though, "Did she ever tell you about her adventures in Alabasta?"
Miike looked at him with wide eyes, "Well yeah, but I don't like that story."
"Why not?"
Miike looked down at the bed, and tugged at the sheets under him, "It's because that story has such a bad ending."
"How is the ending bad?"
Miike looked up at Luffy sadly, "It's because Son Goku dies!"
Luffy stared at him for a while. The air grows heavy with the last statement. Then Luffy cracks the silence, with a chuckle.
"Yeah, that is a bad way to end the story." Luffy gives the boy a hard almost wild look, then said, "Do you want to hear it, again? The full whole story? I'm sure Nami must've left out details."
Miike cocked his head to the side, "Are you saying that she lied to me about some parts of the story? My mommy?"
"No, I'm just saying she didn't know everything that happened."
Miike's eyes narrowed, "And how would you know the real story?"
Luffy's eyes gleamed, "I was closer to the action than you might think. Do you want to hear?"
---------------
Author's Note: Just so you know, I've only read One Piece up to the most recently scanlated chapter. That was Volume 19, chapter 174. I really have no idea how the whole Crocodile issue is resolved. But the next chapter will be my own take on what could happen. Until then...