Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my OC, Aurora.

Enjoy, and please review!


Chapter 3

Aurora heard the townspeople gasp.

"He dared to hit the Captain's son! Captain Morgan won't forgive him!"

"Luffy-san! Calm yourself! They are marines!"

"I don't care! A bastard is still a bastard!" Luffy said.

"Y…Y…You dare to hit me? My dad hasn't even hit me once! I'm Marine Captain Morgan's son! I'll tell him about this!"

"Why don't you fight me yourself?"

"Luffy-san, don't do this!"

"You'll regret hitting me! You'll get a death sentence for it! And my dad will be the one who executes you!"

"It's meaningless to hit people like him." Luffy said, putting his hat back on.

"Onii-chan, you were so cool! Just then I was scared to death!"

"Really? I should have hit him a couple more times!"

"Ri…Rika, Aurora! Come here! Don't talk to strangers! You'll be executed too if you were mistaken as one of their friends!"

"Mom, he's a good person! And so is Zoro…"

"Rika's right." Aurora said quietly.

"Don't be silly! Did you and Aurora sneak into the execution site again?"

"No… no we didn't!"

"Come back into the house quickly!"

Aurora nudged the sad girl inside, glancing back at the two boys.


Marine Base…

"Yo!" Luffy greeted.

"You again? I told you I don't wanna be a pirate!"

"I'm Luffy. If I loosen up the ropes, then you're gonna join me, okay?"

"I've told you clearly! I have things that I need to do. Besides I'm not gonna be a bad guy like a pirate."

"That's the difference? Besides… everyone already thinks you are a bad guy."

"I don't care what they say about me! I haven't done one thing that I regretted in the past and it will be the same for the future! I won't become a pirate!"

"I don't care! You are going to join me!"

"Don't decide for yourself!"

Aurora peeked out from her spot near the wall. She'd snuck out of the house and followed Luffy back to the Marine Base. Koby was nowhere to be seen. He must've gotten separated from Luffy.

"Hey, I heard that you use katana, is that right?"

"Hrm… if I wasn't tied up, I could use a katana."

"Where is the katana?" Luffy asked.

"That bastard kid took it. It's something that I treasure most… other than my life!"

Aurora smiled sadly, clutching her necklace. 'Mom…'

"Ohh? Treasure huh? It must be something great! Okay I'm gonna go to where the bastard kid is and get your katana back!"

"What?"

"But if you want me to return it to you, you'll have to join me!"

"That's dirty!"

"Ok! I'm going!" Luffy yelled back, running off.

"Oi! Wait!"

"…Is he planning on sneaking into the base? What a fool…!"

"He may seem like one at first, but I can tell he's much more than that." Aurora stated, watching Luffy disappear inside, a soft smile on her lips.

Zoro looked over at the woman in shock. 'How did she…! Where did she come from?'


A few moments later…

"What? Luffy-san is inside the base?"

"Yes." Aurora said, while Koby started to untie the ropes.

"Oi! If you help me, they're gonna kill you!"

"You shouldn't be arrested! I can't stand those kinds of marines! I'm going to become a real marine! Just like Luffy-san is determined to become the Pirate King!"

"What? P…Pirate King? You're joking right?"

Aurora too was surprised at what she had just heard. "Pirate King…?"

"I was a bit shocked when I first heard him… but he's serious!"

Aurora's ears perked up when she heard something. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a gunshot. A scream was heard and blood spurted out of Koby's chest.

"Koby!"