"My King."
Luffy didn't turn around, his eyes fixed on the blue of the sea. Zoro might be his first mate, one of those who were granted his full trust and respect, but the ocean was undoubtedly his best friend. Only she was unpredictable enough to keep Luffy on his toes. After all these years, boredom had remained Luffy's sole enemy.
"Just Luffy will do," he said, waving dismissively. He turned, a tinge of disappointment souring his youthful features. "What are you kneeling for?"
Zoro snorted. Seeing a man kneel in the dirt before another was distasteful, undignified. People debased themselves in all sorts of ways to get into Luffy's good graces, not knowing that all they did was to estrange him.
"My King," the man simpered, not daring to take Luffy up on his offer. "My people need your help. You're our last hope. Without you, we will not last another year."
Luffy raised a brow, unimpressed. "You have the Marine for that. I'm not a people's king. Protecting you is their responsibility."
Nami clicked her tongue. "There's no need to be mean, Luffy. All can be done for a certain price."
"No, it can't. I'm not some sort of island police. I'm a pirate."
"Oh, come on."
"You do it yourself if you're so keen on it," Zoro said. He agreed with Luffy. Requests for help reached them daily. If they followed through with each one, even in exchange for money, they'd have long become a state agency.
Robin chuckled. "Well, that's what you get for destroying the World Government. Civilians are running wild. These little ducklings need guidance."
"You want to step up, then?" Luffy quipped, a grin pulling at his lip.
She laughed quietly, deepening the lines in her face. There was something classical about her features. She never tried to appear younger than she was, instead carrying her age and experience with deadly grace. "God, no," she sighed, almost theatrically. "I didn't mean anything by it, Captain."
The stranger lifted his head from ground. His complexion was red with sunburn, probably hailing from colder regions. His torn and dirty clothing had been finely made. Either their beggar had been a wealthy man once, or the clothes had been stolen. Zoro had seen a good deal of thieves in his lifetime, the sneakiest of them being on his crew, and this man wasn't one of their kind. He lacked the greedy, shifty eyes and the quick fingers.
"Luffy," the stranger finally said, his voice pressing, "I will not leave until you agree to aid me. If you won't help me, there soon won't be anything of my country left worth returning for. So, kill me if you want to. Because I'd rather die on the quest of helping my people than return with empty hands and destroy their last bit of hope."
Luffy shifted, his attention captured. "What's your name?"
"Vaayu."
Luffy motioned at the empty chair at the table. "Come, sit, Vaayu."
With hesitance, Vaayu rose to his feet. His eyes flitted over the crew members until they came to rest on Zoro. Zoro grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. Their visitor wasn't so dim, then. He knew a predator when he saw one. Out of all the people on the Thousand Sunny, Zoro would be the quickest to kill a man. There were few ways to use a blade that weren't deadly.
Luffy giggled. "Don't allow Zoro to scare you, you're only amusing him. Come on, sit with me."
The man obliged. He startled when Sanji appeared at his side soundlessly. A gold-rimmed porcelain cup with wafting jasmine tea was placed in front of him. "When was the last time you ate?" Sanji mumbled around his cigarette, hands buried in the pockets of his fitted suit pants.
The man didn't answer, which was enough of an answer, especially coupled with his near skeletal form. Sanji disappeared off into the kitchen, where it would take him less than fifteen minutes to prepare a five course meal.
Vaayu sipped his tea. "Thank you."
Luffy shrugged, never one to care about shows of gratitude and manners. "So what's this problem you have in your country? Not that I'm promising to help you. But most people don't offer to die so willingly."
Vaayu buried his hands underneath the table, trying to hide their trembling. "I come from the North Blue. Our land is not some little island, but an entire continent. The Kervus Kingdom spans from the shores to the inlands. I'm the prince of this Kingdom. For years now, we're being attacked by a fleet of pirates, the Red Raiders. They invade our villages, kill and pillage all they can find. Those who encounter them return changed, corrupted."
Luffy sighed, his glance once again straying to the water. "I don't know, seems run-of-the-mill boring business to me."
Robin sat in the chair between the two men and crossed her long, toned legs. The intelligent glint in her cool-blue eyes had sharpened. "What did you mean when you said that those who encounter them return changed?"
Vaayu hung his head deeper. "Not everyone who meets the Red Raiders is killed. Of those who are taken as prisoners, some are sold as slaves."
Luffy's brow twitched. "And the rest?"
"They're returned, but not as the people they were taken as. We don't know what happened for them to change the way they did. Although they have all the memories from before they were imprisoned, they've cut off all ties with friends and family. Once upstanding and honest people will suddenly rob their own mother or kill their childhood friend for the few coins they carried." His voice broke. "As if the Raiders weren't enough on their own, they managed to divide our own people."
Luffy stiffened throughout the explanation. Zoro had to give it to Robin, she'd instinctually zeroed in on the one thing that would get their captain invested.
"Turning on your own friends?" Luffy wondered.
Vaayu's eyes became unfocused, all energy leaving his body. Sanji had appeared at his side, spreading various dishes across the table. Slowly, he lifted his hand and pinched his cigarette, allowing himself a deep drag before putting it out. To see Luffy like this, frozen and unimpressed at the prospect of food, was a disturbing sight indeed. Disturbing enough to make even Sanji lose his taste for tobacco.
"What the hell's going on?" Sanji asked.
Luffy sat with his arms crossed, watching Vaayu wolf down food with the hurry of a starving man.
"Nami, we're setting sail. Set the course to the North Blue."
She snorted softly, a smile breaking over her face. "Yes, Captain."
.
A/N: Omg, it's been SO long since I posted anything. I can't believe I'm actually writing again, haha. I took on a smaller endeavour this time around, so I'm confident that I will get this story finished. The chapters will get longer!
The Red Raiders are inspired by Robin Hobb's Royal Assassin (but not their actual backstory). The story behind this fic is made up by me unless I note otherwise.
The age of the characters and further details are intentionally left ambigious. I want each reader to imagine whatever they want and I also wanted for this story to remain readable throughout time when we find out more about canon. The OC will not play a major role, he's only there to introduce the plot really.
Comments of any nature are appreciated! I'll probably post the next chapter within this week. Look out for it:)
