Chapter Three


IIt was the morning for Ace to say goodbye.

He knew that once he was on the seas, he would leave everything, no- everyone behind. He would say goodbye to the village, Dadan, the bandits, and- Luffy.

A split image of their passionate goodbye kiss popped into his mind.

His thumb brushed against her cheek, as the moonlight lit up her onyx colored eyes- creating a mirrored starry night. The way her petite fingertips grabbed his hair, pulling it slightly and then harder as their kiss deepened. The short gasps and soft moans she'd make before the two pulled apart to gasp for air. It was a new side of Luffy he wanted to see more of, one that he liked a little bit too much.

He winced.

Ace wasn't sure to make up for what had happened the night before. So many questions surfaced in his mind.

For fuck's sake what was wrong with him. He'd ruin everything, their lovely brother-sister dynamic they'd had, the platonic relationship the two shared. But her response had taken him by surprise.

Did she reciprocate his feelings? Why did she kiss him back? ..And she liked it?

She liked the kiss.

He wanted to scream out to the sky, to release the provoking thoughts that lingered in his mind. He received a response from her that he had never expected to come out of her mouth. Years of holding back his feelings for her, days he pleaded to Enel that he could embrace her.

So finally when he takes action, she matches him. But he's leaving.

He was confused and craved for answers. He wanted to know how she truly felt. If he was just an older brother to her, or if she'd always seen him the way he had seen her.

Ace had expected the two of them to be awkward but to his surprise, Luffy was acting normally. Well, besides the fact that she was being a crybaby.

She was crying -like an idiot. Ace hadn't expected any less from her, though he was touched that she felt so strongly about his departure. He grinned slightly. What a troublesome sister he had.

Her face was all scrunched up; her eyes had been puffed up and red.

"Ace! I'm gonna be alone!" She sniffed, "Why are you leaving me! I'm sailing out with you!"

He frowned.

It's not like I want to be away from you idiot. He thought, his face softening a bit.

"Luffy, I have to go. We both promised to Sabo that we would sail when we turned seventeen. And you're still fourteen, you still have to train more" he spoke tenderly, which caused Luffy to face him. He gulped.

Their faces were mere inches apart again, and Ace didn't know how to react.

Their noses were touching. Her face was still puffy, and her eyes were glassy from crying.

Beautiful, he had almost breathed out, as a tear escaped her left eye.

Ace scanned her face, lingering from her eyes and then to her nose, moving down to her lips. She responded by widening her eyes, biting her lower lip. She then proceeded to flutter her eyes shut, sensing what was to come.

Would it be okay to kiss her again? He asked himself, but then pushed the idea away, backing away from her.

He cleared his throat.

Luffy blinked, feeling her face get hot. She was confused on why she felt so uneasy when Ace had been so close to her.

Before the kiss had happened, the thought of romance had never crossed Luffy's mind at all. Even now, she was in denial, believing she was feeling sick from not eating enough meat in the morning. She was just hungry, she thought.

Luffy was well aware that she and her older brother had shared a very passionate kiss just hours ago. Ace had left then, right after and she didn't know what to think of it.

What were these new feelings that had sprouted within her? Or were these feelings always there? She was still trying to figure everything out.

Family can kiss each other on the lips right? She questioned knowing how stupid she sounded.

She heard him shift away from her, which caused a sharp pain in her chest.

Luffy couldn't explain why she felt her heart breaking into pieces, when she mentally prepared herself in advance -for the day of his departure.

Ace jumped onto his boat, as he heard the intimidating shore rush back and forth. The salty air had made his eyes water and lips tingle. He licked his bottom lip, his tongue absorbing the saltiness that resided. He started to untie the rope, careful not to get splinters.

He was ready to make his name on the seas.

She stretched her hand, grabbing the back of his shirt with a firm grip.

"Luffy?" He questioned shouting. "Luffy you have to let me go-"

Before Ace could finish his sentence, she had launched herself toward him, wrapping her legs around his torso, her hands placed steadily on his cheeks.

Her rapid movements had caused the boat to rock, leaving her pinned against Ace onto the hardwood deck.

Just as the waves crashed, their faces again were very much close together. He looked down at her with blushed cheeks. Her eyes were now dilated as she parted her lips to speak. "Ace, I-"

Ace stopped her.

His hand found its way to the center of her face, and he pushed her back head comedically.

He knew what she was going to say.

"Wait. Don't say anything Luffy. I don't want this to happen, not when I'm about to leave."

"OUCH! You jerk!" Her face was flushed from embarrassment. Letting go of his face, she buried her face in her straw hat, her legs still intertwined in his torso.

She shifted her irises to him, the sides of her eyes crinkling. She smiled her signature smile, accepting his last request.

"Sheesh. Alright, I get it." She sighed, "Next time I see you, we'll both be great pirates!"

He smirked back at her, crossing his arms, nodding his head slightly.

She stood up, and proceeded to launch herself out of his boat.

Luffy was determined then. The summer when she turns seventeen, she will set sail too.

She would adventure to become pirate king. She would get a crew of her own. And she would decipher her feelings for Ace.

Ace's boat had drifted further and further away from her, to the point where he had become a silhouette on a gigantic ocean. But she could still see him, see him waving at her.

"Bye Luffy!" He shouted loud enough so she could hear him over the rushing tides. "Tell everyone, Makino, and Dadan that I say goodbye."

She took a deep breath. "See you Ace!" She yelled back, waving her hand.

She was going to miss him. And she very much knew that.


It was her fifteenth birthday, and it had been a year since Ace had left.

It was the first birthday Luffy would have without Ace, and one thing was for sure.

It felt very, very lonely.

Luffy usually loved it when it was her birthday.

For her past birthdays (when Ace had been around), the two would go on walks together. Adventure around Mt. Coulobo. Go down to Windmill Village to eat yummy food from Makino's bar. Spaghetti, Sandwiches, Burgers, Meat- the two brothers would binge until their heart's content.

But Ace wasn't here this time. And it was hard to not feel depressed when there had been no word of him ever since he'd left.

She would check newspapers daily, ever since the day after his departure.

Today she went to check again, but to her disappointment, there was no news.

Makino had come up to Mt. Coulobo in the morning to wish her a happy birthday, preparing a cake for her and some new clothes. The cake had a lion drawn on it with icing, words spelling out "Happy Birthday Luffy!" in bright red under the picture. The clothing had been a new pair of short-shorts that had hugged her waist, and a red tank top that accentuated her curves, a lot less baggy than what Luffy had been used to.

She loved when Makino was around, she made her feel less alone.

It was around the afternoon, when Luffy heard Makino call out to her.

"Luffy! Luffy! Look at this!" she was panting, as the brisker air had accentuated her breaths. She continued to make her way to Luffy. It looked like she had just come up from the village, the way she was sweating and out of breath.

A thin sheet of paper had been in her hand. The paper had small tears on the sides, though she could see some numbers and an unclear image printed on the front.

"Eh? Makino?" Luffy questioned as she was finally face to face with her.

Makino took time to catch her breath, her torso pointing toward the ground, her hands on her knees. She took one final deep breath before looking up to Luffy. She smiled.

"Happy Birthday Luffy."

She handed the paper over. It was a wanted poster- of Ace!

She ogled her eyes all over the wanted poster. She couldn't help but smile.

Luffy felt her face getting warm, but her throat felt dry. She scanned the picture of him.

"Ace has tattoos now!" She announced. "So cool!" She gawked at the picture of her older brother.

Luffy noticed he had bulked up a lot more since the last time she'd seen him.

She was grinning stupidly, as she traced the outline of his face with her thumb.

He's doing great. She thought. He looked happy. She thought.

"Thank you Makino." she beamed.

Maybe this birthday wasn't so terrible after all.


It was finally summer. Luffy had turned seventeen just a few days prior. And she was now ready to adventure out.

"Damn brat. Go already!" Dadan said to her. It looked to Luffy like she was struggling.

"Shishishi!" She chuckled. I wanted to thank you for all you've done for me so far, you old hag!"

Dadan's eyes had started to tear up. She picked up her axe and started to swing at her in frustration. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD HAG? Get out of here already!" She screamed, chasing her out.

Luffy shrieked running out of her cabin, but left her with a smile.

Take care, Dadan had thought, holding back her tears.


"Sabo! Watch over me! I'm going out to sea now!" Luffy announced, her arms up in the air, her boat rocking slightly.

"I might be third but I'll top you both! Wait for me Ace!" She continued to exclaim, causing confusion from the villagers. "I'll catch up to you soon!"

"What are you screaming and mumbling about Luffy?" A villager had questioned. "Is it some sort of ritual?"

"Eh? No! It's a challenge!"

"Who's Ace?" Another villager shouted.

"No idea." Another one had replied.

Luffy beamed brightly, showing off her innocent smile.

"I'm going now!" She declared, untying the rope that had kept her from drifting away from Dawn Island.

She knew that from this point forward, there would be adventures lying ahead.


"Luffy-san, why are we here?"

Weeks had gone by since Luffy had left on her journey. On the way she had ended up meeting a pink haired boy named Coby. He was a couple years younger than her, and she was recently saved from some hideous lady with an iron club.

They were currently on the fence that belonged to a Navy Headquarters.

"Because." She paused as she pointed to the green-haired man wearing a haramaki. He was tied up to a cross.

"I want him to join my crew." She finished confidently.

It was as if Coby's soul had left his body.

"EH? Luffy-san! That's Roronoa Zoro! Haven't you heard? He's a bad person!" He paused to catch his breath, stuttering on his last word.

"He's dangerous!" He exclaimed out, though Luffy had looked at him with a naive smile.

"I'll be the judge of that." She grinned. Fear was absent from her facial expression. She rubbed the back of her neck before quickly deciding what her next move would be.

She jumped over the fence, with a steady landing. The bottom of her sandals had made impact with the hard dirt ground, causing her to stumble a bit. She walked over to him slowly to introduce herself.

"Yo!" She retorted unafraid, with a small wave. "I'm Luffy!"

Zoro looked up at the straw hat girl, confused. She looked completely harmless to him, but he was confused on why she had approached him in the first place.

She looked a few years younger than he'd been, and had dark raven hair with a jagged tomboyish haircut, the length barely touching her shoulders. Her face had been round, while her eyes were round and kind. He cleared his throat and looked away feeling he'd been analyzing her for far too long.

"Look girly." He started, "you shouldn't be here, it's not a place for playing."

Luffy's smile had turned into a frown, which quickly changed into a pout. How dare he not take her seriously.

"I'm not here to play!" She replied, patting his head more aggressively than she should have.

Zoro furrowed his eyebrows together in frustration.

What the hell was she doing? He thought. Was he a joke to her?

In the midst of their interaction, a little girl had walked up behind Luffy and then made her way to face Zoro.

"Nii-san! ..I made you rice balls." She paused looking as she eyed the pebbles on the ground. "It was my first time making them so.."

Brother? Luffy had thought to herself confused.

Just as the young girl was about to finish her sentence, a teenage boy with a distorted chin had walked through the gates with two navy soldiers beside him.

The face on his look had been smug, as he raised his left eyebrow aggressively.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Young girl, you know the law in this town, helping criminals results in immediate death."

"Helmeppo-san! She's just a little girl!" One of the navy soldiers had told him.

Luffy and Zoro widened their eyes in unison.

What the hell did he just say?

Helmeppo then grabbed one of the two rice balls that were placed in the girls hands.

"Hey! Those aren't for you!" the young girl cried angrily. He ignored her, taking a bite. He then proceeded to spit it out quickly.

"DISGUSTING! Why is it sweet?!"

The young girl looked as if she was on the verge of tears. He slapped the rice balls out of her hands, crushing them with his shoe.

"Throw her out!" he demanded, and then started to walk away along with his guards.

"Sorry about this." The navy guard whispered to the young girl throwing her out.

"Eh? EH?" Luffy had noticed that she was being thrown out too. "WHY ME?"

The two girls were launched out across the gate, though Luffy was quick to catch the young girl in her arms.

"Welcome back, Luffy-san!" Coby greeted her nervously.

"Mmm, I'm going back in!" Luffy said, getting ready to launch herself back to Zoro.

"EH? Luffy-san, If you get caught for trespassing they'll-" before Coby could finish his sentence, she had launched herself back toward Zoro.

Coby blinked, regretting at that moment that he had tagged along with his girl and her troublesome shenanigans.

"Yo!" Luffy had said once again, causing Zoro's jaw to drop.

"What the hell? Why are you back? And how did you get back so fast?" He questioned, completely bewildered.

"You're Zoro right?! I want you to join my crew!" She grinned her iconic smile, as she placed her hands on her hips.

Zoro blinked, taken aback. He hadn't expected this girl to be a pirate. When he thought of pirates, he normally associated angry aggressive men who had you know- actually looked threatening.

But there she was, a pirate girl who looked like she'd grown up on a farm taking care of bunnies and such.

"So you're a pirate eh?"

"Mhm!"

Luffy had replied proudly, trying to make herself look threatening with an angry facial expression, which had only backfired making her look the exact opposite.

In response, Zoro bursted out laughing, finding the pirate girl amusingly entertaining.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY YOU ASSHOLE?"

He breathed catching his breath. "Sorry, but I have no interest in becoming a pirate. I only sailed the seas to find a certain man." He retorted seriously, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

"No! I've already decided! You're joining my crew." She laughed, and her statement had irked him.

"You can't decide those things for yourself!" He shouted angrily.

Just then, his stomach had growled.

"Man you must be hungry! I can't imagine being tied up here for a month with no food. I think I wouldn't even last three hours." She retorted, looking slightly concerned.

"Shut up!" He then looked down at the mushed up rice balls that laid on the floor. "Can you pick those up for me?" he requested, which confused Luffy but she picked them up without hesitation.

"Eh? You wanna eat these?" He scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Shut up, just feed them to me."

She shoved the dirty rice balls into his mouth, as she silently watched him swallow them.

"Thank you for the meal."

Luffy smiled. She hadn't expected him to be so polite. But now she knew for sure that Roronoa Zoro was truly a good guy.

"Okay! So it's decided. You will join my crew."

Zoro groaned.

"No way!"

"Eh? But why?

"You can't decide those things for other people!"

"Stop being so stubborn!"

"I don't want to play pirate with you!"

She pouted. Zoro wasn't one to look at many women, or at any women. Despite that he had to admit that the way she had reacted right there had been kind of cute.

"Wow! You must be weak if you're unable to free yourself from those ropes!"

He scoffed at her statement, shaking off his thought from before.

"They took away my swords so I can't set myself free. Also I willingly got myself tied up here."

"You must be an idiot then!" Luffy concluded, her mouth making an "o" shape.

Zoro's face had turned a deep scarlet. "What did you say?"

Just then, a devilish grin crept up onto Luffy's face. Zoro had gotten chills. What was this idiot girl thinking?

"What if I get your swords back for you?"

He was confused on why she offered to do this for him. There must be a catch he'd thought.

"What's the catch?"

"If I get your swords back, you'll join my crew! Kay?!"

Before Zoro could decline her offer, she had run off into the Navy Headquarters to retrieve his swords.

"Am I getting blackmailed right now?" He blinked, clenching his teeth.

"What a troublesome woman."


Sheesh! This chapter is kind of all over the place O_O my bad!

I think this is the longest chapter I've written by far :0 But I still was unable to get to where I wanted :( but its okay!

Just a heads up, I will not being writing every single scene because that would take way too long :( so I'll probably only write important arcs for Luffy's interactions, meaning I'll mention Syrup Village and Arlong Park but I probably wont write them out. I'll definitely write something for Baratie because first impressions with Sanji is very important heehee. My main goal is to get to Alabasta as soon as I can because I love Ace 3 hehe meaning that many arcs will be skipped RIP!

As of keeping Ace alive or not, I realized how many issues I would stumble into if he were kept alive.. such as the whole Dressrosa event for Ace's devil fruit. I wanted to add Cavendish into the harem owo. Also writing the timeskip would be tricky, and the scene where Law saves Luffy after marineford, that idea was going to be huge for their development. I'm still on the fence of keeping him alive, bc Ace is such a fave 0/0 I still have time to think about it!

For you ZoLu shippers, their developement is gonna be very much slow burn, and kind of one-sided for now on Zoro's part (bc Luffy is kinda infatuated by Ace), and I'm not really sure who to make endgame O_O because personally I love Ace, but if I end up killing him off I'm gonna be so lost LOL

I know is Law a popular choice and I can't wait for him to start appearing :D

Lastly, I apologize for the lack of humor in these chapters. Writing Luffy as a girl means that characterizing him is just so much harder _ But I'm sure I'll figure it out as I keep writing this. Thank you all so much for your support and feel free to leave feedback! It always makes my day.

This author's note is so long oops mb,, Ciao for now!

-Himech4n