Hi there! I'm happy to see that you clicked on this little story. For now, it's mostly only a raw idea that is buzzing inside my mind. Eventually, this might turn into a complete series, but for now, I hope you will enjoy what awaits you further below.

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Koby shivered like dead leaves in the middle of a hurricane as the three bulking men shoved him into the closest room they could find. Under normal circumstances, he would be afraid of what they would do to him. He was the caretaker of the pirate ship ever since they kidnapped him during one of his fishing trips. Back then he had been afraid to be killed on the spot, but somehow the captain, Lady Alvida, took a liking to him. Ever since he had been their servant and most of the time they let him do the things he was supposed to do. When they were drunken though Koby ended up as a punching bag more than often, leaving him with bruises all over his body and tears streaming down his face in the aftermath.

However, this time he was not the centre of the pirates' attention. The pirate crew had attacked a huge ship and was currently buys looting all the goods and the people on board. During the commotion he had managed to sneak away into the lower decks, hoping that he could just sit around until the raid was over. He may be on a pirate ship, but in the most secluded corner of his heart and soul, he still hoped to become a marine one day. It was his greatest dream to journey across the vast oceans of this world, just like his parents had done until they retired so they could raise him.

Koby felt a sudden sting in his eyes as he tried to not think about them. His parents must be so worried because he disappeared without a trace. They were missing him probably just as much as he did them. Yet, he couldn't allow himself to cry right now with the three men around. During his stay, he had learned to keep his emotions hidden. They were his and no pirate was allowed to see him at his weakest, so he forced the tears already forming in his eyes away when he heard loud and boisterous steps coming his way.

Judging by the even louder voices it was crew members of Alvida's ship. His original plan of simply waiting until everything was over wouldn't work anymore. He scurried to his feet and grabbed the first thing he could find, a big barrel that was extremely heavy. Luckily, it was already lying on its side, so he only had to roll it across the floor, but it still proved to be an endeavour for his weak physique. Koby hoped it would be enough to fool the pirates and let them think he was helping to loot the ship.

Unfortunately, the three men had ulterior motives when they saw the barrel. That was how he ended in his current predicament, locked inside a storage room with the pirates snickering and eyeing the object of their desire. One of them cracked his knuckles and swung his right arm slightly in a circular motion. It was obvious what he was aiming for and Koby didn't like it. He had witnessed what Alvida did with traitors amongst her crew who had dared to defy her and he had no wish to be accused of the same thing.

One of the pirates must have thought the same as Koby was suddenly addressed by him. "Hey Koby, this stays between us and you, alright? The captain doesn't need to know every little detail, so just stand there for a while and don't say anything. You got that?" the man threatened, showing his jacket out of the way so Koby would see his pistols and sword.

"Ye... Yes! Of course, sir! I didn't see anything!" The pink-haired boy shrieked in panic, bowing his head in obedience to show that he was serious about not selling them out. The pirate turned his head back to the barrel, urging his companion to hurry. Not needing to be told twice, the tall man aimed for the top of the wooden treasure box, tongue licking over his dry lips as he could already taste the booze that was surely inside.

A second later the sound of wood splintering into a million pieces echoed throughout the small room. It was to be expected, yet Koby and the three pirates stared wide-eyed at the scene that was transpiring in front of their eyes. A moment before the fist of the tallest pirate would have smashed the barrel, it opened on its own or rather was opened by the person inside!

"Freedom!" the young, black-haired man shouted from the top of his lungs as he suddenly appeared out of the depths of the barrel. He was so excited that he didn't even realize that he knocked out the pirate closest to him by accident with his outstretched arms that seemed a bit too long. Koby lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes before he looked again, finding nothing out of the ordinary as long as he didn't count the entrance of course.

With one down, only two pirates remained and one of them was already freaking out, screaming so loud that Koby's ears hurt from the shrill cry. Seconds later, he was already running away like a madman, leaving behind nothing but a trail of dust. "Captain Alvida! Captain Alvida!" the pirate constantly screamed and it was alarming, to say the least, yet Koby didn't find it in himself to freak out at the moment. He was too fascinated by the sight in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?!" the last pirate asked aggravated, clearly unsure how he should judge the newcomer. To make things worse the pirate who was knocked out stood up again already, scratching at his reddened chin where he had been hit. When he glared at the young man, his anger was evident as veins started to pop up on his face. He reached for his blade but stopped when another voice suddenly rang out from somewhere in the room.

"Finally! I thought we would be stuck inside this barrel for weeks," the new voice said even though the person to whom it belonged was still missing. It was, without doubt, a woman, the natural softness in her voice indicated as much, yet she was nowhere to be found. This changed instantly when said woman emerged as well from the barrel. She had brown hair that was tied into a braid that fell down her neck on her right side.

Koby's jaw dropped to the ground. He had wondered why the barrel had been so heavy but now it made sense. But more importantly, how did two grown people fit into one barrel? It might be large enough for one person, but it would be quite an uncomfortable fit. So two people should be unable to squeeze into it unless they broke each of their bones. From what he could see, these two seemed perfectly fine though without showing any signs of any twisted arms or legs. Just how was this possible?!

"See Tori? I said we would be fine in no time. You owe me a meal now! With lots of meat! Shi, shi, shi." the male exclaimed before he began laughing in childish excitement. In response, his partner only glared at him before she dryly responded to his claim.

"Would be fine in no time my ass, Luffy! Must I remind you who clung to me like chew gum, begging me to not swim away when our priced ship sunk?" She had made sure to pronounce ship quite strongly and Koby wondered why. Maybe that was somehow connected to how these two ended up inside of the barrel in the first place?

Whatever the case, Luffy visibly became stiffer than before. Tori seemingly had hit the bull's eye and she was aware of that since a smug smirk was forming on her face as she observed the shifts her companion was going through. Luffy's eyes darted around the room, taking in everything that seemed interesting and was as far away from the woman as possible. His skin had become paler as well and droplets of sweat were running down his face. "I... I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Hmpf. You are the worst liar I have ever seen, Luffy."

"I'm not bad a lying!"

The two barrel people completely ignored their spectators as they began to bicker back and forth while still sending in their temporary home. Koby had no idea what was going on anymore. From what he understood from their conversation, their ship which was accordingly to Tori just a boat had sunken during a storm. So they fled into the barrel they had with them and waited until they would be either washed ashore somewhere or rescued.

It sounded unbelievable, but Koby had the feeling it was the truth since they were here, standing right in front of his eyes. Also, it didn't look like they were seriously arguing. It seemed much more like two friends messing around with each other since Luffy and Tori were both smiling. It had been so long since the pink-haired boy had seen anything like this.

However, Koby's short moment of solace vanished without a trace as the two pirates swung with their blades for Luffy and Tori. He wanted to scream wanted to warn them, but he didn't find his voice. He closed his eyes, praying that it would be painless, but it came not as he expected. Instead of slashing sounds, the storage room was filled with the noise of meat smacking meat and a moment later of wood being crushed.

Koby instinctively opened his eyes again and could not believe what he witnessed. Luffy and Tori were still in a punching motion, but the two pirated were already down. One was laying on the ground with blood oozing out of his nose while the other was stuck inside a wall on the opposite side of the storage room.

So strong. Koby was utterly speechless. Never had he thought that the pirates holding him captive could be defeated so easily, yet here he was, seeing it with his own eyes. He gulped when Luffy and Tori turned their attention to him because he had no idea who these two were. For now, they were only strange people who were extremely powerful.

Secretly, he had always played with the thought of fleeing from Alvida's pirate crew, but never found the courage to do so. Maybe, just maybe, the heavens hadn't forsaken him just yet and offered him the opportunity he had been looking for.