One Piece - Island of the Gum Gums - Chapter 3
Written by Steven Kunz the Fan Author
Disclaimer: I do not own nor invent One Piece. This excellent manga was written and drawn by Eiichiro Oda.
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Zoro, Usopp, Luffy, and Nami were almost finished building the hull of the ship. Zoro and Usopp could only get the bottom half of the hull finished by themselves, and it was certainly very difficult to do unless you were harnassed by a rope, which they didn't even have, due to their lack of basic supplies. However, with Luffy stretching upward and also using his arms as an improvised harness, the gang was able to get it nearly to the point of completion.
Luffy, now doing the rest of the ship repair by himself, placed the last board of wood onto the hull of the ship by stretching his legs upward and with that same board under his arm. He laid it upon a tiny support pillar near the front of the ship, grabbed a hammer and the remaining nails they had left and nailed in the last board around the corners and in the area where the pillar was.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he lowered his body back to his normal posture and stretched for a few seconds. Everyone that was there took a quiet sigh of pride at a job well done. Luffy was silent however as he looked at the ship for a moment, then bent his head.
Nami looked toward his direction and asked with some concern in her voice. "Luffy, what's wrong? Did you see somewhere we missed?"
He showed that wide grin he was always known for and at that instant, he thrusted his arms forward, accidently pushing Nami away onto the ground and yelled, "We finished! Now we can continue on to the Grand Line!!!!"
Everyone cheered while Nami slowly got to her knees. Although she wasn't hurt, she was a little angry at Luffy once again. She was going to yell loudly at him again, but then she saw how happy he was at the results of everyone's labor as he leapt high in the air and yelled quite happily with his arms still high in the air.
"I suppose I'll let him enjoy himself for now. Besides, whenever I see him this happy....it makes me happy too." She thought to himself as she sat there just staring at him.
Luffy stopped for a moment and noticed Nami still on the ground. He held his hand out as he said to her, "Sorry about that. Need some help, Nami?"
She blinked and then smiled as she laid her hand upon his. A very tiny blush appeared on Luffy's face as an even bigger blush was on Nami's face. He then lifted her up into the air as he jumped with her, cheering over what they had done.
As Luffy was jumping up and down with Nami, she looked a quick glance at their hands held together and grew even happier as she too cheered like Luffy.
~
Meanwhile, Rousse had his hands full at the moment. Realizing that the Gum-Gum Fruit was not the real fruit, he had feasted on all the food that he can get his hands on. Since he was nearly starving, it was a huge relief.
Everytime he ate the fake Gum-Gum Fruit, he had tested his body to see if it stretched, and each time he tested his body, it only confirmed the fact once again that it was not the real thing.
When he was done feasting, he felt really sleepy and laid his body against a set of bushes and trees, not wanting to fall asleep at all. He wound up falling asleep anyway as his minds and thoughts drifted into a dream.
In Rousse's dream, he saw in his head flashes of many images in his life, from when he was a little kid growing up, to when he met Jennifer, and the moments he had in his life that stood out in the dream, making those segments apparently longer.
In one such segment, Rousse saw himself when he was 5 years old. He was at his home, running around. He ran up to his father and looked upward. All he can see through his younger self were grey pants and black dress shoes as he walked up to him and tugged his pants, urging him to play with him.
"Dad, dad! I'm bored! Can you play with me?!" He yelled out.
"No, Rousse, I have work to do! I've told you for the last three times to stop bugging me! Why don't you ask Mom?" His father spat out at him.
"But......Mommy's busy too with chores. I don't want to bother her...."
"Well, that's too bad! I have important work to do, so please give me some time..." He walked away until another kid came on by and asked him to play with him.
Rousse's father smiled as he rubbed the kid's head and said, "Sure, son. Actually, I've got a little free time after I've finished checking these documents. Give me a minute, okay?"
"All Right!" He yelled out as he headed to his father's study. Rousse's father walked out and followed the kid, leaving Rousse all by himself. He walked over to the living room and sat himself onto the couch. He sat there and looked at the ground, thinking to himself, "Father is so busy with his work, and Mother is never home at all. Both of them always pay more attention to my brother, Takanachi, and what's worse is that every day, after I come home from school and away from Jenny, I just feel so alone......"
He clutched his knees, burying his head under his arms, and cried quite softly, wanting someone to be there with one. Before he cried any longer, he felt someone placed a hand on his head. He lifted his face and saw an older woman wearing a grey skirt, a grey sport coat, a white dress shirt, and a black tie rubbing his hair and said to him, "Rousse....I'm so sorry that me and your father have been busy to pay attention to you.....would it be okay if you and I played?"
Rousse felt his pang of loneliness fade away as he leapt and hugged his mother tightly, feeling fresh tears slide down his cheeks. "Oh Mom! Thank you! Thank you so much!!"
She was taken back, not realyl expecting Rousse's gratitude and held her son and said, "It's okay, Rousse. It's just that we haven't been paying as much attention as we should have. Despite the fact that Takanachi was born and you're not really our natural son doesn't change the fact that we love you all the same...."
It was Rousse's turn to be surprised as he cried once again, not wanting to let go of his mom because of the fact that she does care for him.
All of a sudden, another image flashed in his head, overlapping the vision of the early part of his childhood. Rousse rememered this quite well.
It was two years after Rousse knew his mother still loved him as if he was her flesh and blood son. It was raining heavily and the dark grey clouds made the sky very dark and very dull.
There was a group of people dressed in black and white clothing as they looked upon the priest consoloing the families there. Among the people sitting in the group was Rousse. He had his head bent head, crying quite loudly over the death of his mother. It was determined she died of natural causes, though the circumstances were quite different. Rousse's father and Takanachi sat there, both of them quite sad that she was gone, but they were not showing any emotion over the sight of her coffin.
When the service was over, Rousse told his father and his brother that he would stay there for a moment to reflect. They walked home, leaving him in the cemetary.
From the last of the people that left, a young girl about the same age as Rousse walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the girl who had walked up to him. She had tied her blond hair into a curly ponytail that laid against the shoulders of her black dress which she felt absolutely uncomfortable in.
She looked at Rousse and said, "Rousse, I know you're sad about this, and I know you may not want to hear this, but.......this will pass one day and you'll be able to live your life peacefully once again. However, until then, if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you."
He blushed slightly at that gentle smile she exhibited and hugged her tightly, sobbing at her shoulder. "Jenny!"
She held him close, stroking the back of his head as she whispered, "It's okay....."
Rousse continued to cry on her shoulder as Jennifer just stood there holding him close, wanting to do everything she can do to make him happy once again.
Rousse suddenly woke up and leapt forward, coming to an immediate halt. He breathes heavily as he thought to himself, "Only a dream...."
He then felt the wind blow through him as he looked up and saw it was now night-time. He also felt a tiny portion of cheek that wasn't being as cooled from the wind. He moved his fingers across his cheek and looked at it. The tips of his fingers were slightly wet from the tears he had cried out in his dream.
Immediately, he wiped away any remaining tears, cleaned his cheeks, and walked toward the other side of the island as he planned to do earlier in the day.
~
"Good Night, everyone!" Luffy yelled out at everyone before he went to bed.
"Night!" Everyone yelled out, going to their respective rooms for rest. However, after a few minutes, Nami slowly crept out out of her room, closed it quietly, and snuck inside Luffy's room.
She tip-toed quietly to the edge of his bed as she just felt like hanging out with him at the moment. However, Luffy was fast asleep.
She leaned forward, feeling her heart beat even faster and her face warming up.. She thought to herself, "He looks so peaceful when he's asleep. He looks....so natural....so kind.....so sweet......."
She leaned forward, wanting to kiss him. However, she felt her body freeze as she moved nearer. With only a few inches away from his face, she stroked his hair, since his hat was safely tucked in a spot somewhere in his room.
Unfortunately, Luffy had just fallen asleep, and when she felt her fingers moving through his hair, he suddenly bolted up out of bed in order to see who was there. However, when he lifted himself out of bed, he had accidently lifted Nami so that they were now staring into each other's eyes, and also, when he had lifted himself up, he had also accidently pressed his lips against hers, causing both of their faces to blush deep red.
Nami was so surprised by this that she did not want to move and ruin the moment. However, her slight temptation coerced her to place her hands at his hips and kiss his lips, parting them to look into his eyes.
"Luffy...." She whispered back.
Luffy was stunned. He had never fallen in love before since there was no one he really felt attracted to. However, after staring into her eyes, he did feel his heart beating faster too as he whispered her name back.
Luffy also placed his hands at her waist, trying to find what to say. Feeling their emotions taking over their minds, they leaned forward and were ready to kiss eachother back.
However, something had struck Luffy's window which interrupted the romantic moment, something that sounded like rapping against a door or window.
After a few seconds of awkward hesitation, Luffy got up, grabbed his hat, placed it on his head, and walked to the window. When he opened it, he felt a tiny rock landing against his forehead. He looked down and saw Rousse on the beach below them, waving him to come out.
He nodded his head as he began to inch his body out of the window. Immediately, Nami pulled him back onto the bed and said to him quietly, "Where are you going?!"
"That one guy that attacked us earlier, he's outside! I think he wants me to talk to him again, Nami." Luffy said back, his earlier confidence starting to come back.
She gasped softly as she wondered what to do. Eventuallly, she got rid of her hesitation and said, "Can I go?"
"Sure!" He said with that grin of his as he inched towards the window and thrusted his arm toward a tree to grab on. When he layed hands on the bark of the tree, he placed his other hand on Nami's waist and after helping her out the window, he leapt off the ship and used his stretched arm to catapult toward the beach floor.
When he set Nami down, he walked over to Rousse and asked, "Hey, Mister! What's going on? Why did you call us out here in the middle of the night?"
Rousse remained silent, then reached from behind and tossed him a piece of fruit. When Luffy caught it and took a quick glance at it, he looked back at Rousse with bug eyes and said, "This is the Gum-Gum Fruit.......don't tell me you ate it?!"
"Yeah, I did....but it's not real. I must have feasted on this fruit for a while, and there has been no effect whatsoever to my body." Rousse said very quickly.
"I see.....well, what the heck is an island with tons of fruit like this doing in the middle of the sea?" Nami asked him, hoping he'll say at least something in response.
Rousse hesitated and said, "My family, the Le-Onne family, aren't my real family. I was adopted when I was just a little baby. However, only my mother and my best friend, Jennifer treated me with any form of love and respect. My father and my brother never liked me and were always mistreating and ignoring me. Also, the Le-Onne family was also a crime family. In fact, it turns out our entire family dating back from when Gold Roger, the Pirate King, had been involved with many devious crimes, but it had been kept secret for many years. Anyway, after my mother died when I was only a entering my grammar school years, I had no one but Jennifer, and she had convinced me to tell the police about our family since it would have a easier sentence if he is caught. However, I never got the courage to until very recently, when I overheard my father talking about a secret project involving the Devil Fruit."
Both Luffy and Nami's eyebrows perked up as they said in unison, "Devil Fruit?"
Rousse took a deep breath and carefully explained to Luffy and Nami the rest of the story. "Yeah, you heard right. My father had always been interested on how eating the Devil Fruit can make your body stronger, but he never understood why it should have such obvious weaknesses. For example, Luffy, you may be able to stretch like rubber, but you certainly cannot swim. That is the fruit's main weakness. My father was also interested in the Chop-Chop Fruit, but he paid less attention to that fruit. Realizing something, he decided to fuse the two fruits together and add another variant to the equation, making both powers work together and with no weaknesses. Also, I heard that that he's making another Devil Fruit based on his experiments with the two versother fruit's data. However, along with his original experiment of using the seeds from the fruit to make the composite fruit, he tried his best to make a man-made version of the Gum-Gum Fruit to say to other crime families and pirates who desire the power. This was the result of his experiments, and it seems the great experiment failed badly. All he's made is lots of bad-tasting fruit."
Both Nami and Luffy blinked as they were in awe over Rousse's story. The two were still curious because it sounded like there was more to Rousse than what met their eyes.
"Anyway, after gathering the courage to tell on my father, it seems a rouge faction of the Navy came to arrest the family, but when they did arrest the group, my brother sent some mercenaries out to kill me before I escaped. I was lucky, and I did however. When I just started on my journey, I spotted you in action, Luffy, and caught sight of you knocking out that one sea monster in one tremendous punch. Being in total awe of your power, I decided to follow you and ask. However, you were caught in that whirlpool and I lost track of you temporarily. Now that I know your origins of your power and that the fruit doesn't work...it looks like I have to develop my own strengths all by myself, not by some strange fruit." Rousse concluded, rubbing the back of his head with a bashful expression on his face
Luffy and Nami remained silent, not knowing what to say. However, as the story led toward it's end, they ended up holding hands without them knowing. The silence was broken when Rousse asked Luffy very nervously, "Um......would it be okay if I can sleep on the beach nearby? I really don't want to sleep on the other side of the beach, nor do I want to sleep in the forest?"
Soon, Luffy grinned again and said, "Sure! You're a friend to me now, and I'm sorry for earlier! Let's just forget that, okay?"
Rousse smirked and nodded his head. "Thanks, Luffy. Oh, by the way, my name is Rousse. Rousse Le-Onne." He then walked off a few feet away from Luffy, making him somewhat hard to tell in the middle of the night. Both Luffy and Nami stared at Rousse as he walked toward the other part of the beach.
"HEY!! You two! What's going on?!" A loud voice was heard right behind them.
Immediately, Luffy and Nami turned around and took a breath of relief. It was Zoro and Usopp staring at the two from the ship deck. He then tossed a rope over and said, "Here, need some help?"
Immediately, Luffy grinned and said, "Yeah." He then walked over and grabbed the rope as he climbed up with Nami right behind him.
When they got back on the deck, they all went to their respective rooms. Nami and Luffy, however, were waiting until everyone went to bed. After a few minutes, Luffy and Nami left their rooms and went to eachother in the hallway between their rooms.
"Well....Nami.....what happened earlier......I'm sorry. It was an accident." Luffy said with a blush on his face, his hand rubbing the back of his head.
She shooked her head and blushed even brighter. "It's okay, Luffy. I understand."
Before she left, Luffy stopped her by grabbing her hand. Immediately, Nami turned around abd her heart was beating really fast by the touch of Luffy's hand upon hers.
"Nami........even though it was an accident.....I .....I liked it...." Luffy sputtered out as he pulled Nami closer to him.
Even though it was nearly pitch black, Luffy could still see a tiny pink streak across her cheeks. "You...you did?!"
"Uh huh......"
"Oh Luffy......I liked it too!" Nami said as she pounced on him with a tight hug. Immediately, Luffy hugged her back as he whispered, "I'm glad you did....."
The two remained like that for a few minutes, then they seperated from eachother. Before she went to bed, Luffy got up his courage and kissed Nami on the cheek. When she looked at him, he winked and said, "Night, Nami."
"N.......Night, Luffy!" She said back, waving goodbye and heading to her room as he headed back to his own room.
~
From the east, there was a huge warship that was heading towards the island with the fake Gum-Gum fruit. There was hardly any crew as the ship was one of the few to actually be machine-operated. The sails that were on the ship, each one depicted a symbol of a broad sword with a cross on the front of the sword, a red bold circle was also right behind the sword and cross.
From the ship, a middle-aged man that was surprisingly well-fit and well-built for his age and a younger man in his late twenties walked towards the bow of the ship, staring at both the ocean and the island.
"Should we see if our experiment has worked now, or would you rather stare at the ocean some more, son?" The middle-aged man spoke.
"No.....I actually feel like testing my new powers, thanks to you mixing the Gum-Gum Fruit and the Chop-Chop Fruit together, along with adding something to the equation. Now no one can beat me....except you, Father." The younger man said.
"It's no problem. With our new fruit, the Boom-Boom fruit, we should have no problem with any more travelers, pirates, or Navy marines unless they too have eaten any of the Devil Fruit." The father said back as he took a peek at the sail.
"Look at it, son." He said, pointing upward toward the sail. "That is the Le-Onne Family Seal. It stands up for supreme power at any cost, and we shall have it as it is destined to be in the future."
"Yeah....." The younger man said as he stared at the ocean. His eyes perked up when he saw someone lying on the beach. "Father! Look!"
He ran back to the edge of the bow and gasped. "ROUSSE!!"
"So....there's that bastard who ran away from us and nearly destroyed our family destiny.....what should we do, Father?" The younger man said.
"Bring him aboard. We'll need him alive and ask him why he deserted us." The middle-aged man said.
With a nod, the younger man got a knife, placed it tightly into it's sheath, and dove into the ocean, swimming towards the beach.
~
"You're actually going to tell on your father?! But....you always told me you were too afraid of what your father may do to you if you told!" Jennifer yelled at Rousse, the two of them sitting in an empty tavern.
Rousse took his cup of tea that Jennifer served him and said, "Yes. Unfortunately, he is not my real father as you already know, and my father pays no attention to me. He doesn't even believe I'm alive! Also, I've overheard him say something about experiments used in the same sentence along with my name. I'm afraid of what he'll do. I know he doesn't love me, and I don't want to be around him anymore. The only person who loved me as a member of the family was my mom, and she's dead."
She sighed at Rousse and pulled a chair so that they would sit together. "Well......if things go well, your father would be put in jail like he'd deserves to be......but what if they catch you?"
"Well....if they catch me, then I'll have to run away forever. I don't want anyone else to be involved in me, and my father doesn't need to know your involvement with me, Jennifer. I don't want him hurting you because........I care for you."
She blushed at his words, not knowing what to say. Finally, she said very slowly while staring into his eyes, "Really.....?"
"Yeah, Jennifer. Really." He simply said back, feeling more confident then ever.
"Oh....Rousse...." She then lifted her head up and closed her eyes, waiting for what she thought would be a kiss, and she got what she wanted. Rousse gently laid her fingers across her cheeks, pressed his palm against it rather gently, leaned forward, and kissed her lips very softly. Jennifer smiled and kissed him back very gently, not wanting the moment to end.
In a matter of minutes, after the kiss, Rousse got his things and asked Jennifer to take it with him. It was basic supplies to keep him alive. He carried a box with him and a Samurai Sword by his side. When he walked away, he waved goodbye and told her that he'll be back hopefully. As he left, she thought to herself, "I'll wait for you, Rousse, because I love you too......"
Immediately, Rousse woke up and leapt from the beach floor. He breathed heavily as he struggled to think what happened after that point in his dream since it was hard to remember. All he remembers is the few short visions of him escaping his hometown and seeing Luffy knock out that sea monster in one punch.
Rousse's breathing slowly came to it's normal pace as he wiped the sweat off his face. Before he can even take 5 seconds of relaxing, he felt someone cover his mouth with a hankerchief. As he struggled to get free, he accidently took a breath, breathing in some sort of fumes from the hankerchief. Before he could even sense it was chloroform, Rousse went into unconsciousness.
When Rousse fell to the ground, the man from behind stepped out of the shadows and smirked, throwing the hankerchief away before he gets a whiff of it. "It's so nice to see you again, Rousse. It's been too long."
He chuckles and carries Rousse out into sea, making sure his head remains above the ocean. As he carries him away, he doesn't notice a mysterious figure with a straw hat staring outside, watching the entire event from the ship nearby.
Rousse slowly wakes up from his forced nap. He finds himself bound to a chair with rope as he struggles to free himself. With no luck, he remains seated and very irritated at whoever did this.
Soon, the door that was in front of Rousse was swung open. Rousse gasped as he looked at the people who walked in.
"Tch....not them....." Rousse said quietly to himself.
~
Since Luffy saw what happened to Rousse, he brought everyone out onto the deck to discuss what to do. Usopp wanted to stay behind while Zoro felt really felt nothing too much for Rousse since he never really had a chance to talk to the guy. However, Luffy and Nami wanted to save him and make sure no one got hurt. Since their two votes broke even with Zoro and Usopp's rejection, and since Luffy was captain, they all eventually decided to help Rousse out.
When the plan was set, Nami looked at Luffy and asked, "Uh...Luffy? How are we going to get onto the ship? We're too far from them to swim over there, and we can't use the ship yet until we test the hull, and that'll take a while!"
"Uh..............oh....." Luffy responds very nervously as he tries to think of a plan.
~
"Father.........Takanachi......" Rousse said very slowly, facing the two people that had just entered.
The person on the left was 50 years old or so in age. He stood tall with a cane in one hand. He was dressed in a grey suit wiht a white dress shirt and a black tie. He had slicked back black hair with slight grey highlights on the edges of his hair. The person on the right was a young man that was a few years older than Rousse. He had long curly silver hair as he wore a brown leather jacket with a fur collar with a black T-Shirt and Dark Blue Baggy Jeans. Both of them looked at Rousse with very evil eyes.
Rousse's father turned to Takanachi and said, "Well.....I assume you two want to catch up a little? After all, despite the fact that you've only been seperated from eachother only a day, it's still heartbreaking to see our son runaway. Yet when we meet him again, we'll be so happy."
Takanachi growled at him for a second, then nodded his head sand said, "Yeah....I want to tell him some things."
As Rousse's father walked out of the room, Takanachi walked forward and cracked his knuckles. He then said to Rousse, "Well...shall we get started in catching up?"
Rousse growled at him and nodded his head, obviously feeling very helpless at what to do......
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Author's Notes: The Boom-Boom Fruit is something I created, but if it appears in One Piece, or if there are any other fruits I do not know about, tell me, so I can fix things here, 'kay? ^_~
Ch.3 Finished! Now it's onto Ch.4
Preview of Ch.4 - Luffy and Nami contemplate what to do as they share another quick private moment togehter; Rousse's history is even more revealed by his brother before the torture; Also, Luffy and Co. get on the ship and attempt to save Rousse only to face the power of the Boom-Boom fruit!
See ya next time! ^_^
Written by Steven Kunz the Fan Author
Disclaimer: I do not own nor invent One Piece. This excellent manga was written and drawn by Eiichiro Oda.
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Zoro, Usopp, Luffy, and Nami were almost finished building the hull of the ship. Zoro and Usopp could only get the bottom half of the hull finished by themselves, and it was certainly very difficult to do unless you were harnassed by a rope, which they didn't even have, due to their lack of basic supplies. However, with Luffy stretching upward and also using his arms as an improvised harness, the gang was able to get it nearly to the point of completion.
Luffy, now doing the rest of the ship repair by himself, placed the last board of wood onto the hull of the ship by stretching his legs upward and with that same board under his arm. He laid it upon a tiny support pillar near the front of the ship, grabbed a hammer and the remaining nails they had left and nailed in the last board around the corners and in the area where the pillar was.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he lowered his body back to his normal posture and stretched for a few seconds. Everyone that was there took a quiet sigh of pride at a job well done. Luffy was silent however as he looked at the ship for a moment, then bent his head.
Nami looked toward his direction and asked with some concern in her voice. "Luffy, what's wrong? Did you see somewhere we missed?"
He showed that wide grin he was always known for and at that instant, he thrusted his arms forward, accidently pushing Nami away onto the ground and yelled, "We finished! Now we can continue on to the Grand Line!!!!"
Everyone cheered while Nami slowly got to her knees. Although she wasn't hurt, she was a little angry at Luffy once again. She was going to yell loudly at him again, but then she saw how happy he was at the results of everyone's labor as he leapt high in the air and yelled quite happily with his arms still high in the air.
"I suppose I'll let him enjoy himself for now. Besides, whenever I see him this happy....it makes me happy too." She thought to himself as she sat there just staring at him.
Luffy stopped for a moment and noticed Nami still on the ground. He held his hand out as he said to her, "Sorry about that. Need some help, Nami?"
She blinked and then smiled as she laid her hand upon his. A very tiny blush appeared on Luffy's face as an even bigger blush was on Nami's face. He then lifted her up into the air as he jumped with her, cheering over what they had done.
As Luffy was jumping up and down with Nami, she looked a quick glance at their hands held together and grew even happier as she too cheered like Luffy.
~
Meanwhile, Rousse had his hands full at the moment. Realizing that the Gum-Gum Fruit was not the real fruit, he had feasted on all the food that he can get his hands on. Since he was nearly starving, it was a huge relief.
Everytime he ate the fake Gum-Gum Fruit, he had tested his body to see if it stretched, and each time he tested his body, it only confirmed the fact once again that it was not the real thing.
When he was done feasting, he felt really sleepy and laid his body against a set of bushes and trees, not wanting to fall asleep at all. He wound up falling asleep anyway as his minds and thoughts drifted into a dream.
In Rousse's dream, he saw in his head flashes of many images in his life, from when he was a little kid growing up, to when he met Jennifer, and the moments he had in his life that stood out in the dream, making those segments apparently longer.
In one such segment, Rousse saw himself when he was 5 years old. He was at his home, running around. He ran up to his father and looked upward. All he can see through his younger self were grey pants and black dress shoes as he walked up to him and tugged his pants, urging him to play with him.
"Dad, dad! I'm bored! Can you play with me?!" He yelled out.
"No, Rousse, I have work to do! I've told you for the last three times to stop bugging me! Why don't you ask Mom?" His father spat out at him.
"But......Mommy's busy too with chores. I don't want to bother her...."
"Well, that's too bad! I have important work to do, so please give me some time..." He walked away until another kid came on by and asked him to play with him.
Rousse's father smiled as he rubbed the kid's head and said, "Sure, son. Actually, I've got a little free time after I've finished checking these documents. Give me a minute, okay?"
"All Right!" He yelled out as he headed to his father's study. Rousse's father walked out and followed the kid, leaving Rousse all by himself. He walked over to the living room and sat himself onto the couch. He sat there and looked at the ground, thinking to himself, "Father is so busy with his work, and Mother is never home at all. Both of them always pay more attention to my brother, Takanachi, and what's worse is that every day, after I come home from school and away from Jenny, I just feel so alone......"
He clutched his knees, burying his head under his arms, and cried quite softly, wanting someone to be there with one. Before he cried any longer, he felt someone placed a hand on his head. He lifted his face and saw an older woman wearing a grey skirt, a grey sport coat, a white dress shirt, and a black tie rubbing his hair and said to him, "Rousse....I'm so sorry that me and your father have been busy to pay attention to you.....would it be okay if you and I played?"
Rousse felt his pang of loneliness fade away as he leapt and hugged his mother tightly, feeling fresh tears slide down his cheeks. "Oh Mom! Thank you! Thank you so much!!"
She was taken back, not realyl expecting Rousse's gratitude and held her son and said, "It's okay, Rousse. It's just that we haven't been paying as much attention as we should have. Despite the fact that Takanachi was born and you're not really our natural son doesn't change the fact that we love you all the same...."
It was Rousse's turn to be surprised as he cried once again, not wanting to let go of his mom because of the fact that she does care for him.
All of a sudden, another image flashed in his head, overlapping the vision of the early part of his childhood. Rousse rememered this quite well.
It was two years after Rousse knew his mother still loved him as if he was her flesh and blood son. It was raining heavily and the dark grey clouds made the sky very dark and very dull.
There was a group of people dressed in black and white clothing as they looked upon the priest consoloing the families there. Among the people sitting in the group was Rousse. He had his head bent head, crying quite loudly over the death of his mother. It was determined she died of natural causes, though the circumstances were quite different. Rousse's father and Takanachi sat there, both of them quite sad that she was gone, but they were not showing any emotion over the sight of her coffin.
When the service was over, Rousse told his father and his brother that he would stay there for a moment to reflect. They walked home, leaving him in the cemetary.
From the last of the people that left, a young girl about the same age as Rousse walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the girl who had walked up to him. She had tied her blond hair into a curly ponytail that laid against the shoulders of her black dress which she felt absolutely uncomfortable in.
She looked at Rousse and said, "Rousse, I know you're sad about this, and I know you may not want to hear this, but.......this will pass one day and you'll be able to live your life peacefully once again. However, until then, if you need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you."
He blushed slightly at that gentle smile she exhibited and hugged her tightly, sobbing at her shoulder. "Jenny!"
She held him close, stroking the back of his head as she whispered, "It's okay....."
Rousse continued to cry on her shoulder as Jennifer just stood there holding him close, wanting to do everything she can do to make him happy once again.
Rousse suddenly woke up and leapt forward, coming to an immediate halt. He breathes heavily as he thought to himself, "Only a dream...."
He then felt the wind blow through him as he looked up and saw it was now night-time. He also felt a tiny portion of cheek that wasn't being as cooled from the wind. He moved his fingers across his cheek and looked at it. The tips of his fingers were slightly wet from the tears he had cried out in his dream.
Immediately, he wiped away any remaining tears, cleaned his cheeks, and walked toward the other side of the island as he planned to do earlier in the day.
~
"Good Night, everyone!" Luffy yelled out at everyone before he went to bed.
"Night!" Everyone yelled out, going to their respective rooms for rest. However, after a few minutes, Nami slowly crept out out of her room, closed it quietly, and snuck inside Luffy's room.
She tip-toed quietly to the edge of his bed as she just felt like hanging out with him at the moment. However, Luffy was fast asleep.
She leaned forward, feeling her heart beat even faster and her face warming up.. She thought to herself, "He looks so peaceful when he's asleep. He looks....so natural....so kind.....so sweet......."
She leaned forward, wanting to kiss him. However, she felt her body freeze as she moved nearer. With only a few inches away from his face, she stroked his hair, since his hat was safely tucked in a spot somewhere in his room.
Unfortunately, Luffy had just fallen asleep, and when she felt her fingers moving through his hair, he suddenly bolted up out of bed in order to see who was there. However, when he lifted himself out of bed, he had accidently lifted Nami so that they were now staring into each other's eyes, and also, when he had lifted himself up, he had also accidently pressed his lips against hers, causing both of their faces to blush deep red.
Nami was so surprised by this that she did not want to move and ruin the moment. However, her slight temptation coerced her to place her hands at his hips and kiss his lips, parting them to look into his eyes.
"Luffy...." She whispered back.
Luffy was stunned. He had never fallen in love before since there was no one he really felt attracted to. However, after staring into her eyes, he did feel his heart beating faster too as he whispered her name back.
Luffy also placed his hands at her waist, trying to find what to say. Feeling their emotions taking over their minds, they leaned forward and were ready to kiss eachother back.
However, something had struck Luffy's window which interrupted the romantic moment, something that sounded like rapping against a door or window.
After a few seconds of awkward hesitation, Luffy got up, grabbed his hat, placed it on his head, and walked to the window. When he opened it, he felt a tiny rock landing against his forehead. He looked down and saw Rousse on the beach below them, waving him to come out.
He nodded his head as he began to inch his body out of the window. Immediately, Nami pulled him back onto the bed and said to him quietly, "Where are you going?!"
"That one guy that attacked us earlier, he's outside! I think he wants me to talk to him again, Nami." Luffy said back, his earlier confidence starting to come back.
She gasped softly as she wondered what to do. Eventuallly, she got rid of her hesitation and said, "Can I go?"
"Sure!" He said with that grin of his as he inched towards the window and thrusted his arm toward a tree to grab on. When he layed hands on the bark of the tree, he placed his other hand on Nami's waist and after helping her out the window, he leapt off the ship and used his stretched arm to catapult toward the beach floor.
When he set Nami down, he walked over to Rousse and asked, "Hey, Mister! What's going on? Why did you call us out here in the middle of the night?"
Rousse remained silent, then reached from behind and tossed him a piece of fruit. When Luffy caught it and took a quick glance at it, he looked back at Rousse with bug eyes and said, "This is the Gum-Gum Fruit.......don't tell me you ate it?!"
"Yeah, I did....but it's not real. I must have feasted on this fruit for a while, and there has been no effect whatsoever to my body." Rousse said very quickly.
"I see.....well, what the heck is an island with tons of fruit like this doing in the middle of the sea?" Nami asked him, hoping he'll say at least something in response.
Rousse hesitated and said, "My family, the Le-Onne family, aren't my real family. I was adopted when I was just a little baby. However, only my mother and my best friend, Jennifer treated me with any form of love and respect. My father and my brother never liked me and were always mistreating and ignoring me. Also, the Le-Onne family was also a crime family. In fact, it turns out our entire family dating back from when Gold Roger, the Pirate King, had been involved with many devious crimes, but it had been kept secret for many years. Anyway, after my mother died when I was only a entering my grammar school years, I had no one but Jennifer, and she had convinced me to tell the police about our family since it would have a easier sentence if he is caught. However, I never got the courage to until very recently, when I overheard my father talking about a secret project involving the Devil Fruit."
Both Luffy and Nami's eyebrows perked up as they said in unison, "Devil Fruit?"
Rousse took a deep breath and carefully explained to Luffy and Nami the rest of the story. "Yeah, you heard right. My father had always been interested on how eating the Devil Fruit can make your body stronger, but he never understood why it should have such obvious weaknesses. For example, Luffy, you may be able to stretch like rubber, but you certainly cannot swim. That is the fruit's main weakness. My father was also interested in the Chop-Chop Fruit, but he paid less attention to that fruit. Realizing something, he decided to fuse the two fruits together and add another variant to the equation, making both powers work together and with no weaknesses. Also, I heard that that he's making another Devil Fruit based on his experiments with the two versother fruit's data. However, along with his original experiment of using the seeds from the fruit to make the composite fruit, he tried his best to make a man-made version of the Gum-Gum Fruit to say to other crime families and pirates who desire the power. This was the result of his experiments, and it seems the great experiment failed badly. All he's made is lots of bad-tasting fruit."
Both Nami and Luffy blinked as they were in awe over Rousse's story. The two were still curious because it sounded like there was more to Rousse than what met their eyes.
"Anyway, after gathering the courage to tell on my father, it seems a rouge faction of the Navy came to arrest the family, but when they did arrest the group, my brother sent some mercenaries out to kill me before I escaped. I was lucky, and I did however. When I just started on my journey, I spotted you in action, Luffy, and caught sight of you knocking out that one sea monster in one tremendous punch. Being in total awe of your power, I decided to follow you and ask. However, you were caught in that whirlpool and I lost track of you temporarily. Now that I know your origins of your power and that the fruit doesn't work...it looks like I have to develop my own strengths all by myself, not by some strange fruit." Rousse concluded, rubbing the back of his head with a bashful expression on his face
Luffy and Nami remained silent, not knowing what to say. However, as the story led toward it's end, they ended up holding hands without them knowing. The silence was broken when Rousse asked Luffy very nervously, "Um......would it be okay if I can sleep on the beach nearby? I really don't want to sleep on the other side of the beach, nor do I want to sleep in the forest?"
Soon, Luffy grinned again and said, "Sure! You're a friend to me now, and I'm sorry for earlier! Let's just forget that, okay?"
Rousse smirked and nodded his head. "Thanks, Luffy. Oh, by the way, my name is Rousse. Rousse Le-Onne." He then walked off a few feet away from Luffy, making him somewhat hard to tell in the middle of the night. Both Luffy and Nami stared at Rousse as he walked toward the other part of the beach.
"HEY!! You two! What's going on?!" A loud voice was heard right behind them.
Immediately, Luffy and Nami turned around and took a breath of relief. It was Zoro and Usopp staring at the two from the ship deck. He then tossed a rope over and said, "Here, need some help?"
Immediately, Luffy grinned and said, "Yeah." He then walked over and grabbed the rope as he climbed up with Nami right behind him.
When they got back on the deck, they all went to their respective rooms. Nami and Luffy, however, were waiting until everyone went to bed. After a few minutes, Luffy and Nami left their rooms and went to eachother in the hallway between their rooms.
"Well....Nami.....what happened earlier......I'm sorry. It was an accident." Luffy said with a blush on his face, his hand rubbing the back of his head.
She shooked her head and blushed even brighter. "It's okay, Luffy. I understand."
Before she left, Luffy stopped her by grabbing her hand. Immediately, Nami turned around abd her heart was beating really fast by the touch of Luffy's hand upon hers.
"Nami........even though it was an accident.....I .....I liked it...." Luffy sputtered out as he pulled Nami closer to him.
Even though it was nearly pitch black, Luffy could still see a tiny pink streak across her cheeks. "You...you did?!"
"Uh huh......"
"Oh Luffy......I liked it too!" Nami said as she pounced on him with a tight hug. Immediately, Luffy hugged her back as he whispered, "I'm glad you did....."
The two remained like that for a few minutes, then they seperated from eachother. Before she went to bed, Luffy got up his courage and kissed Nami on the cheek. When she looked at him, he winked and said, "Night, Nami."
"N.......Night, Luffy!" She said back, waving goodbye and heading to her room as he headed back to his own room.
~
From the east, there was a huge warship that was heading towards the island with the fake Gum-Gum fruit. There was hardly any crew as the ship was one of the few to actually be machine-operated. The sails that were on the ship, each one depicted a symbol of a broad sword with a cross on the front of the sword, a red bold circle was also right behind the sword and cross.
From the ship, a middle-aged man that was surprisingly well-fit and well-built for his age and a younger man in his late twenties walked towards the bow of the ship, staring at both the ocean and the island.
"Should we see if our experiment has worked now, or would you rather stare at the ocean some more, son?" The middle-aged man spoke.
"No.....I actually feel like testing my new powers, thanks to you mixing the Gum-Gum Fruit and the Chop-Chop Fruit together, along with adding something to the equation. Now no one can beat me....except you, Father." The younger man said.
"It's no problem. With our new fruit, the Boom-Boom fruit, we should have no problem with any more travelers, pirates, or Navy marines unless they too have eaten any of the Devil Fruit." The father said back as he took a peek at the sail.
"Look at it, son." He said, pointing upward toward the sail. "That is the Le-Onne Family Seal. It stands up for supreme power at any cost, and we shall have it as it is destined to be in the future."
"Yeah....." The younger man said as he stared at the ocean. His eyes perked up when he saw someone lying on the beach. "Father! Look!"
He ran back to the edge of the bow and gasped. "ROUSSE!!"
"So....there's that bastard who ran away from us and nearly destroyed our family destiny.....what should we do, Father?" The younger man said.
"Bring him aboard. We'll need him alive and ask him why he deserted us." The middle-aged man said.
With a nod, the younger man got a knife, placed it tightly into it's sheath, and dove into the ocean, swimming towards the beach.
~
"You're actually going to tell on your father?! But....you always told me you were too afraid of what your father may do to you if you told!" Jennifer yelled at Rousse, the two of them sitting in an empty tavern.
Rousse took his cup of tea that Jennifer served him and said, "Yes. Unfortunately, he is not my real father as you already know, and my father pays no attention to me. He doesn't even believe I'm alive! Also, I've overheard him say something about experiments used in the same sentence along with my name. I'm afraid of what he'll do. I know he doesn't love me, and I don't want to be around him anymore. The only person who loved me as a member of the family was my mom, and she's dead."
She sighed at Rousse and pulled a chair so that they would sit together. "Well......if things go well, your father would be put in jail like he'd deserves to be......but what if they catch you?"
"Well....if they catch me, then I'll have to run away forever. I don't want anyone else to be involved in me, and my father doesn't need to know your involvement with me, Jennifer. I don't want him hurting you because........I care for you."
She blushed at his words, not knowing what to say. Finally, she said very slowly while staring into his eyes, "Really.....?"
"Yeah, Jennifer. Really." He simply said back, feeling more confident then ever.
"Oh....Rousse...." She then lifted her head up and closed her eyes, waiting for what she thought would be a kiss, and she got what she wanted. Rousse gently laid her fingers across her cheeks, pressed his palm against it rather gently, leaned forward, and kissed her lips very softly. Jennifer smiled and kissed him back very gently, not wanting the moment to end.
In a matter of minutes, after the kiss, Rousse got his things and asked Jennifer to take it with him. It was basic supplies to keep him alive. He carried a box with him and a Samurai Sword by his side. When he walked away, he waved goodbye and told her that he'll be back hopefully. As he left, she thought to herself, "I'll wait for you, Rousse, because I love you too......"
Immediately, Rousse woke up and leapt from the beach floor. He breathed heavily as he struggled to think what happened after that point in his dream since it was hard to remember. All he remembers is the few short visions of him escaping his hometown and seeing Luffy knock out that sea monster in one punch.
Rousse's breathing slowly came to it's normal pace as he wiped the sweat off his face. Before he can even take 5 seconds of relaxing, he felt someone cover his mouth with a hankerchief. As he struggled to get free, he accidently took a breath, breathing in some sort of fumes from the hankerchief. Before he could even sense it was chloroform, Rousse went into unconsciousness.
When Rousse fell to the ground, the man from behind stepped out of the shadows and smirked, throwing the hankerchief away before he gets a whiff of it. "It's so nice to see you again, Rousse. It's been too long."
He chuckles and carries Rousse out into sea, making sure his head remains above the ocean. As he carries him away, he doesn't notice a mysterious figure with a straw hat staring outside, watching the entire event from the ship nearby.
Rousse slowly wakes up from his forced nap. He finds himself bound to a chair with rope as he struggles to free himself. With no luck, he remains seated and very irritated at whoever did this.
Soon, the door that was in front of Rousse was swung open. Rousse gasped as he looked at the people who walked in.
"Tch....not them....." Rousse said quietly to himself.
~
Since Luffy saw what happened to Rousse, he brought everyone out onto the deck to discuss what to do. Usopp wanted to stay behind while Zoro felt really felt nothing too much for Rousse since he never really had a chance to talk to the guy. However, Luffy and Nami wanted to save him and make sure no one got hurt. Since their two votes broke even with Zoro and Usopp's rejection, and since Luffy was captain, they all eventually decided to help Rousse out.
When the plan was set, Nami looked at Luffy and asked, "Uh...Luffy? How are we going to get onto the ship? We're too far from them to swim over there, and we can't use the ship yet until we test the hull, and that'll take a while!"
"Uh..............oh....." Luffy responds very nervously as he tries to think of a plan.
~
"Father.........Takanachi......" Rousse said very slowly, facing the two people that had just entered.
The person on the left was 50 years old or so in age. He stood tall with a cane in one hand. He was dressed in a grey suit wiht a white dress shirt and a black tie. He had slicked back black hair with slight grey highlights on the edges of his hair. The person on the right was a young man that was a few years older than Rousse. He had long curly silver hair as he wore a brown leather jacket with a fur collar with a black T-Shirt and Dark Blue Baggy Jeans. Both of them looked at Rousse with very evil eyes.
Rousse's father turned to Takanachi and said, "Well.....I assume you two want to catch up a little? After all, despite the fact that you've only been seperated from eachother only a day, it's still heartbreaking to see our son runaway. Yet when we meet him again, we'll be so happy."
Takanachi growled at him for a second, then nodded his head sand said, "Yeah....I want to tell him some things."
As Rousse's father walked out of the room, Takanachi walked forward and cracked his knuckles. He then said to Rousse, "Well...shall we get started in catching up?"
Rousse growled at him and nodded his head, obviously feeling very helpless at what to do......
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Author's Notes: The Boom-Boom Fruit is something I created, but if it appears in One Piece, or if there are any other fruits I do not know about, tell me, so I can fix things here, 'kay? ^_~
Ch.3 Finished! Now it's onto Ch.4
Preview of Ch.4 - Luffy and Nami contemplate what to do as they share another quick private moment togehter; Rousse's history is even more revealed by his brother before the torture; Also, Luffy and Co. get on the ship and attempt to save Rousse only to face the power of the Boom-Boom fruit!
See ya next time! ^_^