Hiya you peeps! Gosh... has it... has it really already been over half a month once more!? Even though Cookie-chan promised you it wouldn't take too long...?
*Sigh* I... don't have a single good excuse as to why that would be. I guess my main complaint, though, would be that because of the quarantine, the school's suddenly bombarded me with stuff to do, forcing me to do homework until like, 7 in the evening. (But I do know other authors who work through even tougher school-circumstances, so all the respect to you guys!)
But SHOUTOUT TO MY AMAZING CO-WORKER/(mostly) BETA-READER, Sissy! (My older sister) She's made this chapter the best written one yet for certain, and without her, this thing would've still taken a day or two!
But yeah, because she's helped me so goddamn much, you guys might notice this chapter's written a little different because we have different written styles sooooo... yeah, that's why XD
OH! And also, you might experience some changes every here and there, such as the titles of the chapters or the rating of the story. (Yeeaaahhh... it's gotten a lot darker than I first realized XD ) Don't think too much about it, it's really just a bunch of nit-picks that have been annoying me for the last while - it's got absolutely nothing to do with the story itself! :D
Warning, I repeat, WARNING, this story contains some pretty gruesome explanations regarding injuries and is very heavy on death, even of some beloved characters. A bit of swearing too, but not more than what can be expected for a normal One piece fanfic :)
BUT ENOUGH HAS BEEN SAID! ENJOY:
Chapter 11: It's a journey, not an adventure
Luffy stared with wide curious eyes at his intriguing surroundings. How could he possibly not? This was, horrible circumstances aside, still the first island ever aside from Dawn that he'd been to.
The streets he was strolling down along were all paved in cobblestone; expensive looking houses and shops selling expensive-looking merchandise everywhere around him.
Upon flying through the air, he'd been able to see that that was basically the case for the entire island. It was small, which meant it had just one town, and next to no trees to be spotted anywhere, really.
If anything, it reminded Luffy of High Town back at the Goa kingdom, except the people seemed a lot friendlier than all of those stuck-up nobles, and there… you know, wasn't exactly a giant junkyard casually laying on the edge, where all the outcasts with no money or social standing were forced to make a living.
Stellar Island, this place was called. That, Luffy had learned after a very intense crash-landing into the place's harbor, in which casual civilians had been screaming and running away as if there were pirates raiding the place… Luffy wasn't 100% sure, but maybe there was even an old man fainting somewhere amongst the crowd.
That, he'd apologized for. Oh, and for wrecking their dock, although the inhabitants didn't seem to have minded. Instead, his deranged entrance had merely earned him overly large amounts of concern and attention from the people flocking around him, and they were questioning if he was really ok even after he ensured them he wasn't in need of a doctor.
That had gotten really annoying really fast. He was fine - well, better now than 3 days ago if nothing - just starving so damn much, even the well-trained dogs walking peacefully alongside their owners started looking quite tasty…
Unfortunately, the people at the harbor had given him bad directions. They'd told him just to just head straight but he had not yet seen a single place selling meat.
That meant that either 1. they had lied, which seemed unlike because they were so squeamishly nice 2. something was wrong and all food had mysteriously gone missing or 3. this town was bigger than he could imagine, and the food would come eventually if he just kept walking.
Luffy settled on option 3 as the most plausible, as the other 2 would be highly unfavorable for him. And it would be completely disastrous if all the food was gone - especially the meat!
*GRUUUUUMMMBBBLLLLEEEEE*
Yup, food was a definite first.
Luffy sighed as he patted his painfully empty belly as it whined it in response. "...Food~!..." It almost spoke to him. He hadn't eaten for days… a reality he a month ago would have laughed at from the mere obscurity of the sound of it.
But wait a second, what exactly was he supposed to do afterward!? Where were the White-whatever pirates even right now? Was he even on the right track? Even in the right ocean? If not, then how did he get to where Ace was? Could he send him a letter?
Luffy optimistically pondered the idea, but then quickly realized the flaw in that plan.
Oh, right. He didn't know how to write.
Ok, but then what? Was he supposed to just steal a ship and head off wherever and hope for the best?
…
...Right, he couldn't navigate either. He'd end up at the bottom of the ocean before getting remotely close.
The 14-year old sulked.
'This is stupid! Why does tracking someone have to be so-!'
*GRUUUUMMMBBBLLLLLEEEE*
A sudden intense wave of excruciating hunger cut his mental struggle short. His stomach cramped out in an agonizing wreck of nerves, knees weakening underneath him.
"Need… food…" Luffy uttered, weakly, rubbing his empty stomach as it groveled back in agreement.
He had no time to deal with all this practical stuff. Precious time was being wasted here. If he didn't find something to eat soon, then he would starve to death before anything!
Fortunately for the young rubber boy, his prayers for something to eat were quickly answered, a heavenly and delightfully fragrance reached his nose. Luffy instantly recognized the smell.
One word;
Meat.
*GRRUUUUUMMMBBBLLLLEEEE*
Luffy couldn't keep himself from drooling at the thought of getting to gorge down on a big juicy steaming hot delicious piece of meat. Without even realizing it, his body subconsciously began pulling itself towards the source, while he was too busy fantasizing about all the scrumptious food he was gonna feast on.
Man, this was gonna be soooooooo good! Actually thinking back, aside from having slept his ass off for 2 full days, he hadn't even eaten a lot of food during his 'stay' on that marine ship… when was the last time, actually?
…
That Luffy couldn't remember.
'That's alright though! All the more reason to hurry up and-'
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
A high-pitched scream (most probably from a woman) interrupted his daydreaming.
Luffy stopped in his tracks, caught off guard by the sudden commotion. A big crowd of townsfolk had gathered up a few hundred meters ahead, but if that scream was anything to go by, it was supposedly for no good reason.
Luffy's brows furrowed.
"What's going on…?" He asked himself, innocently tilting his head in perplexment.
Incidentally for the rubber teen, the answer to his question came quicker than expected, when suddenly, a bunch of men (Luffy quickly counted there to be 3 in total) thrusted their way out through the mass of people in their way, all with very distressed looks displayed on their faces. They were carrying what (from the familiar sound of metal against metal) Luffy assumed to be big sacks of coins.
Not one of them looked nice, and unlike all other residents on the entire island, their clothing looked unobtrusive (quite rag-like if he was being honest). The guns they were carrying certainly didn't help improve their overall impression.
"OI! HALT, YOU! YOU THIEVES WILL BE GREATLY MISTAKEN IF YOU THINK WE'LL ALLOW YOU TO ESCAPE!" A deep, masculine voice from somewhere amongst the crowd Luffy couldn't identify, angrily called out.
"Damn! The guards have already caught up to us! Whaddo' we do, boss?!" The man exclaimed, panicking.
The biggest and most perilous-looking of the group took a quick glance over his shoulders, spotting the crowd now clearing up to make way for a much bigger group of armed men.
"Just keep running, you damn fools! Anybody who falls or drops even a single coin will be left behind!"
The leader mouthed something that was very plausibly a curse, before frantically scanning his surroundings, looking like he was searching for something.
Luffy stood his ground as (for some reason incomprehensible to the unfortunate teen) people everywhere around him began warily maneuver to the edges of the streets, clearing a path, until he stood completely alone and exposed in the middle of the street.
That was the moment he realized he was standing directly in the path of the thieves, and considering their speed, they'd soon be running right past him.
All four of the criminals seemed to have drawn similar conclusions. A crooked smile crept onto the ill-intending leader's ugly scarred mug, almost like a very sinister idea had just popped up in his head.
Luffy did not like that look.
"Oi, how nice of you to wait for us, kid! Help us out now, wontcha!?" He smirked, and before Luffy had the time to respond or move out of the way himself, the men had already surrounded him - one of them quick to securely wrap his bulky arms around Luffy's own muscle-lacking ones, and also placing his meaty hand over Luffy's mouth - just for good measure.
The reasonably sizable group of guards came to an abrupt stop when a gun was pointed at the 14-year olds head. The message was clear.
Onwatchers were also starting to whisper in an alarming set of voices, though any actual words were unclear to Luffy. Although clearly, nobody was calm about this situation, as the guards made especially apparent with the sweat starting to appear on their faces.
The only ones not looking to be on the verge of panicking were the thieves. And they seemed rather pleased with suddenly gaining authority like this.
The bandana-wearing grunt, whom Luffy by now concluded to be the leader, smirked in satisfaction before he suddenly aimed his gun upward and - with no warning whatsoever - fired off a deafening shot not aimed at anything or anyone in specific, though still managing to get a few screams out of some of the nervous ladies and children.
"Listen up y'all! If you wanna spare yourselves and those damn brats of yours from watching this kid's skull be blown to bits, we'll be the ones controlling how we're leaving this damn place!" The leader announced.
Judging from the confidence in his voice, that threat was no bluff and everyone definitely understood that to the full extent.
Luffy, however, wasn't alarmed. In fact, he wasn't even intimidated. He'd been in far worse predicaments - threatened by far more dangerous people. These guys weren't all that strong (although not extraordinarily weak either), but with his unfortunate lack of nutrient, fighting them could prove a bigger pain in the ass than it had to be.
"Leave us in peace to get to the harbor where our ship's anchored. We'll need all the gold and treasure you sorry bunch can manage to fit on our boat! Defying that order or trying to intervene with our escape will result in this innocent death!" Another fellow snarkily commanded.
None of the spectators looked pleased with such a request.
"Hey… can't you do something…!? Just think of that poor boy!" A young woman hugging a small 2-year old looking girl whisper-yelled to one of the guards, looking frightful.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but we've no other choice…" The guard replied, looking just as distraught.
"We can't just blindly follow instructions! They could be lying and kill him anyway…!"
"That's just a risk we'll have to take… hostage situations are never easy!"
The guard took a quick look around at his colleagues, sending them a stern look. They all nodded in compliance, understanding their commander without even needed to be given an order, and then, still with no words said, they dropped their guns to the ground.
"Alright, we'll adhere to your demands. Just don't hurt the boy."
The guards all raised their hands, weapons falling to the ground with a thud, to further prove their submission, resulting in the thieves once again grinning at their obedience.
Luffy's eyes widened as he found himself astounded by the villagers' kindness. Not a single soul raised their hand in opposition to the guards' choice.
These people were gonna allow themselves to be robbed just to save him!
He was a stranger! They all for sure by now had noticed wasn't even from this damn place, if his tattered clothing and bandage-wrapped limbs didn't make that obvious enough!
The guard in command began shouting out instructions to his subordinates and any men with the strength to lift heavy cargo. Not many seconds passed before the men appointed to go claim and carry the gold began seeing to their assigned tasks.
Not good! Luffy couldn't allow this to happen!
The teen immediately began struggling as that fact dawned on him.
"Wha-!? No! Don't you dare try to -! gha man… you're… actually quite strong…!" The thug struggled against Luffy's resistance, but the straw hat-wearing boy wasn't planning to stop anytime soon. The thieves and bystanders alike watched in disbelief as Luffy's captor wrestled with the 14-year old and, despite his best efforts it seemed, still had a hard time not losing his grip.
"Oi! Stop that -!" One of the crooks yelled in annoyance, instantly leaping to his friend's aid and rubbing his gun in Luffy's face to intimidate him. "- just behave! Unless you wanna get your head blasted to bits!"
Luffy stared back at the goon at his lame attempt at intimidating him. Not that he doubted he wouldn't follow through, though.
Heh, it was simply too bad such a threat meant nothing to someone made of rubber.
After his last attempt, though, Luffy had realized his strength was too drained to simply break free from the grasp of the man restraining him. Alright then, time to approach this with a different tactic…
The guy with the gun smirked as Luffy stopped stirring around, but he'd be far from correct in thinking he'd won, as suddenly, Luffy opened his mouth as far as his rubber cheeks allowed him and gorged down on the hand of the unfortunate fool idiotic enough to have placed it right on top of his lips.
The man's reaction was instant, as he with a pained cry let go of Luffy and stumbled back - his hand already bleeding quite a bit from the amount of force the teenager had used.
Luffy was quick to act now that he was finally free, and in a single powerful jump, leaped at gun-guy and delivered him a knee to the chin, ensuring his defeat and sending the poor man flying.
That was one down.
"You little punk…! C'mere!" The other rando - the one with the bloody hand - madly snarled as he - empowered by rage, if that fierce look in his eyes told anything about his current mood - picked himself from the ground in an attempt to regain a hold of the rubber boy.
Fortunately for Luffy, the man's anger made his move very predictable. He effortlessly dodged his hands as he leaped to grab him, and then swiftly jumped and kicked the man in the head, ultimately leading the fool to a fate much similar to his comrade's.
That was the other defeated.
With that, Luffy safely landed on the ground.
His breath was already nearly gone and black dots were forming in the corner of his eyes from the drain he had just cause on his already weakened body. He might've also been a little wobbly, but it wasn't enough to wreck his balance.
Just as Luffy suspected. He felt so tired! He needed food! ASAP! If he couldn't handle fighting a few nobodies, then there'd be no way for him to-
*BAM*
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Another woman let out a terrified shriek as suddenly, the fourth and forgotten runt (aka the leader) had taken it upon himself to resolve the chaos Luffy had managed to stir up by shooting the 14-year old straight in the shoulder.
The shot was aimed to not kill him, but much to the thief's horror, it didn't seem to have the paralyzing effect the man was hoping for.
No - upon impact, Luffy's skin stretched backward- no blood, no wound, and the bullet was stopped in its track before any damage could be done to the boy's body.
"Wh-what!?"
"That doesn't…" Luffy uttered, faintly.
Men women and children alike all held their breaths for a short second, realization dawning upon them.
"WORK ON ME!" Luffy roared, finally allowing the bullet to be averted and flung back at the petrified leader, just barely grazing his cheek and leaving a small cut as it flew straight past him and into a wall somewhere closeby.
The man faltered. He knew his life damn well could have just ended. It had been a lucky miss. That's all.
"Y-you! You ate a devil fruit...!" The man stated, well aware that was the only possible explanation for what had just happened.
"Yeah! And you scared me! Don't do that, I hate being scared like that!" Luffy argued back as if that was the problem at hand.
The villagers stared blankly at the scene before them, their minds still busy trying to figure out what the hell they'd just witnessed.
The kid certainly didn't look like one of those big scary devil-fruit users like the pirates that used to come by and raid the island in the past. But whaddya, know, looks really can be deceiving, as the saying goes.
The guard in command was the first to regain a grip.
"W-well!? What are you waiting for, men!? Arrest those criminals this instant before they can deal more harm to the civilians!" He commanded, sending his subordinates a quick sharp glance, as oh so many commanders often did when giving an order.
"...Y-yessir!" Came a somewhat delayed response a few seconds later, as the troops hurriedly rushed over to the fallen offenders to handcuff and take them away.
"Get off of me! Let me go!" The soul unscathed and conscious member of the gang complained as he was lifted off the ground and taken away in a direction Luffy had little clue where lead to.
"Alright everyone, you can all resume on with your days! There's nothing more to be seen!"
"I hope this hasn't been too much of an inconvenience to you all! Rest assured that the criminals will face punishment, but please let us deal with the rest in peace!"
Some of the guards began yelling out stuff like that to the spectators around, trying to get them to leave the scene of crime. People seemed a bit reluctant and unwilling to at first, but eventually, the crowd ever so slowly began thinning out as people resumed with what they had previously been doing.
Luffy also thought this to be a great time to get a move on as well, but he didn't as much as take a single step as a few seconds later, he felt a hand gently place itself on his shoulder, causing him to flinch at the sudden touch. It didn't feel hostile though, so the boy immediately calmed back down and felt reassured once again.
As he turned around to see who the hand belonged to, he found himself to be staring directly into the face of the commander-guy of the guard squad.
He had an undeniably firm, yet remarkably soft expression on his face. He was calm - just a bit concerned for some reason, and that was perfectly clear in his voice as he spoke out to him.
"Hey there, kiddo. That was a real impressive display of strength just now," He praised, smiling gently. Luffy blinked, a bit confused by the compliment, but smiled (typical Luffy-fashion) nonetheless.
"Aha. Those guys were some jerks." Luffy grimaced despondent at the thought that those thugs would actually plunder people as nice as these. That, admittedly, got a small grin out of the guard.
"What's your name, kiddo?"
"Luffy!"
"Alright Luffy, those men didn't hurt you did they?" The man questioned, only now attentively glancing over the 14-year olds' many many bandages.
Damn… even if the hoodlums hadn't dealt any new injuries to him, his current ones certainly could deal him a great amount of pain after moving around like that…
"Nope! I'm good!" Came an unnaturally chipper response from the boy, followed by another bright smile. That automatically made the guard calm down. At least he wasn't in any pain?
"Say, Luffy… are you all on your own? Where are your parents or guardian?" He uttered, concern plastered in his voice. The man raised an eyebrow worriedly, as he took another glance around at the spectators remaining, trying to decode if any of them were trying to flag his attention in order to reunite with the teen.
He found himself quite disappointed when that wasn't the case. His eyes fell back on Luffy, as he awaited from an answer from the teen.
The straw-hatted boy shrugged, his change of attitude immediately noticeable.
"I dunno… I don't know who my mom is, but my dad's apparently some dragon or something… the woman who used to look over me is… gone…"
That last part came out more like a mumble than anything, but he had understood the message, nonetheless.
A touchy subject, the man concluded, shrugging off the 'my dad is a dragon' part of it. There was sure to be another explanation for that one, but it didn't sound like Luffy had ever met the man, so it wouldn't be worth it to ask further questions.
That, however, left him in a predicament. He had been right. And Luffy was really all alone, an orphan more or less, it seemed.
Sure, he had just proven to straight to his face that he had some skill with fighting, but the Grand Line was a dangerous sea for somebody to travel alone, much less a child!
The man's thoughts were very abruptly cut off when suddenly, Luffy's legs began wobbling dangerously. The straw-hatted teen suddenly lost all strength to stand and fell limply forward.
"Oi!" The guard quickly caught him before he could hit the ground.
"What's wrong!?"
The guard carefully shook the small boy, but received no answer from him regardless, only furthering his concerns. Some people in the background were even sending worried glances in the direction of the teen.
Maybe it would be for the better if somebody called a doctor.. that kid looked like he should be in the hospital!
The guard frantically looked around for one of his co-workers who could assist him with that, but before anything pointless could be said or done, a sound (one the guard certainly didn't expect) sounded from the smaller individual in his hands.
*GRUUUUUUMMMBBBLLLEEEE*
"Neeeeeeddd… foooooodddd…" Luffy very hoarsely moaned, desperation clear in his voice.
Mystery solved.
The guard couldn't help but stare at the small boy.
Right. Of course. After fighting single-handedly against 3 men all bigger and stronger than himself, you'd think injuries and pain would take priority over eating.
Then again, he had absolutely no clue what Luffy had been through… he could've not eaten for a long time, be on the brink of starvation (the kid was awfully skinny after all) so maybe that was just him being silly.
"You… hungry…?" He asked, hesitant from disbelief rather than confusion.
A simple nod from Luffy answered that question.
"I'll be fine…! I just... need food!" Luffy reaffirmed, looking up at the guard with such pleading eyes the man felt his heart sink at the thought of turning away his request.
"Are you sure that's really all...? I can help you get to the hospital. Don't worry about paying the doctors there either. They don't charge children who have no money." He snickered, just for a second thinking of how ridiculous that would be.
Luffy, however, shook his head, humbly turning away the man's kindness.
He didn't have time to be in the hospital… and food was all the medicine he'd need, really. It was just the nausea getting the better of him.
With a bit of his regained strength, Luffy began pushing himself away from the man protectively holding him to once again stand on his own. The man looked like he wanted to complain, but didn't.
"I can't rest! There's somebody I just have to find, no matter what!" The determination in his voice was unmistakable, and the clarification startled the guard. In a good way this time, though, cause this meant Luffy actually had someplace to go.
"And who might that be?" he questioned.
This someone better be worth it.
"It's my older brother!"
"How much older…?"
"3 years. He's 17, 18 in just a few months."
"And you're sure you'll be alright staying with your brother? You'll be safe together with him?" Skeptical if this older brother of his would really be able to keep him safe, considering the predicament the kid was currently in.
Luffy sent the man a puzzled look at his need for him to tell him everything. Nobody had been this invested in his life for a long time…
Ah well, that last question was easy to answer. Luffy liked questions like that.
"Of course I'll be safe with him! He's strong! Much stronger than me!" Luffy proclaimed proudly, hoping that assessment would convince the man to finally let him be on his way.
The guard's eyes narrowed as if judging if Luffy's words were safe to trust. He said nothing, though, so Luffy took that as a sign that he did.
"Oi! Sir Rick! We're just about done over here! Do the two of you need more time to talk or are you coming!?" One of the guards suddenly shouted, rudely interrupted the two.
"No, we're alright over here! You guys just go, I'll come in just one second!" The commander shouted back to just subordinate.
The man simply nodded, obeying his commander's order; no questions asked.
Luffy saw the subordinate march over to the group of commending guards waiting for him nearby and watched them walk away, before directing his attention back to the guard- Rick apparently - standing right in front of him.
He was looking like there was something he severely wanted to say but for some reason kept quiet about. It, however, didn't take many seconds of silence before another warm smile found its way onto the man's kind face.
"Although I'd like to get you to a doctor, I hold no authority above you to make that call. I will trust you if you say you're gonna be alright, but I am gonna give you this…-"
The man reached inside his pockets, ruffing through them for a few seconds before finally making an expression that suggested he found what he'd been looking for.
"Here." He said, stretching out his hand.
"What this?"
"Money. 3 bills, 10,000 beli each. That makes 30,000 total."
"…"
"..."
"..."
"30,000 BELI!? I-I can't take that much!" Luffy looked down on the three pieces of paper in his hand. He'd never in his life held this much money at once.
"Don't say that. This town is fortunate enough to be just a little spoiled when it comes to riches, so any old civilian would carry around this quantity. Go on, use it to buy yourself some food. You'll even have money left afterward to be spent however you'd like."
The man winked slyly at the teen, ruffling his hair, and then quickly broke eye contact and began walking away to rejoin the rest of his comrades.
"Bye, Luffy! Don't be afraid to ask anyone for assistance if you run into any kind of problem! Everybody in this city will be more than willing to help you, that's guaranteed!"
And with that promise, Rick the commander guard was gone, leaving Luffy alone with his 30,000 beli and an empty stomach that for sure was gonna complain if he didn't listen to the man and get himself some food-
*GRUUUUUUUUMMMBBBLLLLLEEEE*
-Pronto.
Luffy desperately scouted the buildings up ahead, inwardly praying one of them was an inn or a restaurant or just some place with actual food. Fortunately, now that the horde of villagers had thinned out, that task became delightfully easy.
Unless Luffy's eyes were for some reason also not working, that building right there, and the one beside it, and the one beside that - actually, just the whole street in general - were all food places if those signs hanging beside the doors were telling the truth.
A smile instinctively spread across his face.
O-o-O-o-O
"FOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD...!"
Luffy made his grand entrance by busting straight through the doors to the bar. That earned him some distraught looks from the customers currently occupying the place, almost as if they'd never seen a teen loudly exclaim his intentions when entering a public area.
…
Ok, to their defense, they imaginably had not seen that before in a town like this.
Luffy ignored their stares- some even appeared delightfully surprised to see him, probably recognizing him as the kid who kicked ass mere minutes ago - and instead focused on the far more important stuff in front of him.
With a grin, he leaped to one of the seats right by the counter, making himself comfortable on the unexpectedly cozy bar-stools. Those were probably expensive too, thus explaining the remarkably soft cushions.
An old man currently occupied with drying a glass promptly noticed the small customer and put his work on hold to turn and greet him with a hospitable smile.
"Why hello there, and how can I possibly be of help to you on this wonderfully clear evening - ah, hold on a sec! You're the boy from the hostage-crisis just now!" The man realized, kinda slow.
"Aha, hey, Ossan, can you please please please get me some food!? I'm-"
*GRUUUUMMMMBBBLLLLEEEEE*
...
Blink blink.
-Starving, the man concluded from that reaction.
He couldn't help but grin. Well duh, people came to a bar because they were hungry after all!
"Well, of course! Good to see nothin' bad happened to ya', kid. I'll be right back!" The man promised, promptly making his way to some swinging doors Luffy assumed lead to the kitchen.
Luffy stared after him for no apparent reason aside from his impatience. He had never been one who liked to wait. And that trait hadn't magically been amended just because stuff had turned out the way it had.
He swung his feet (the stools weren't that tall, but Luffy's feet still couldn't reach the ground…), feeling fidgety as always when forced to sit still and do literally nothing.
The short minutes it probably really took for the food to arrive ticked away slowly. Luffy's only saving grace was the exhaustion preventing him from doing much except listen in on the neighboring customer's conversation.
That was surprisingly amusing. Apparently, some dude named Alex had accidentally forgotten his wife's wedding day and she had thrown him out of the house. And now, his friend, Simon, was doing his best to comfort the mourning ice-cream consuming man, unfortunately with no luck.
Luffy unconsciously became so engaged in their little chat that he didn't notice the food arriving before it was placed down right under his nose.
"Here ya go! A freshly grilled steak with mashed potatoes topped off with a bit of mama's secret sauce. Made 100% with love! " The old guy from before chipperly explained, proudly representing his dish.
Luffy didn't care much for its name or content - well maybe aside from the meat - because it just smelled freaking delicious.
'It's not quite enough but ah well, I have the money to pay for more!'
Not waiting even a millisecond longer, Luffy picked up the stake by hand (disregarding the fork and knife that the nice man had left laying beside the plate) to hound on it, earning him quite the look from the server and a few concerned customers.
Not even three bites into it, however, Luffy felt something to be horribly wrong…
"What's wrong? Doncha like it?" The older man politely asked, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.
Luffy provided the man no answer.
Uhg, his stomach suddenly churned excessively and a surge of nausea suddenly hit him full force. The 14-year old clutched his twisting stomach in fear of throwing up for the second time that day.
"Feel… kinda sick…" Luffy described, doing his best to keep it down.
That explanation made the bartenders face twist into a grimace of worry.
"Well, not tryna be rude or anything, but you don't really look the brightest. I've probably seen animals with more meat on their bones than you… if you're as malnourished as you look, eating a lot really fast really ain't healthy. Try taking it slow, k? I'll go fetch'a a glass of water."
The man hurriedly rushed to the kitchen to do just that.
Luffy frowned, though.
M-mal- malnour…? What now? What did that mean? That the food made him feel sick?
'But food is never bad! Why would it make me feel bad!?' Luffy mentally argued, not understanding even in the slightest.
A second later, the man came back with a glass of water in his hands which Luffy happily accepted and downed in just 4 big gulps.
"Feelin' better?"
"Uhn!" Luffy replied, having quickly averted back to normal. He began eating the delicious (cause it certainly was!) steak again, but slowly so his tummy could keep it in his stomach, despite how excruciating it was to eat at a human-like pace.
"You know, you seem quite young to be all on your own. How old are ya, kid?" The bar owner inquired. It had been a question he'd wanted to ask ever since seeing him held in the dangerous grasp of that thief.
"I'm 14." Luffy casually answered.
"And what might one as young as that be doing all on his own on a foreign island?"
'And without supervision to boot...' he mentally added.
That question seemed to spark something inside Luffy's head, judging the "oh yeah!" expression suddenly popping up.
"That's right! Say, Ossan, do you know which crew Portgas D. Ace belongs too?!" Luffy pleaded, jumping straight to the point. His tone of voice changed drastically in a matter of seconds, and the man clearly felt his desperation.
"Portgas D. Ace you say?" He repeated, thoughtfully bringing his hand to his chin.
"Well... sure. That would… happen to be the Whitebeard pirates. But why do you need to know that?" He questioned, his voice containing a hint of…- was that suspicion..? Luffy couldn't tell and didn't care.
'Whitebeard pirates.' Luffy mentally repeated, burning the name into his memory so he wouldn't forget.
Ah well, Whiteweird or Whiteear weren't totally off after all!
"I just have to find Ace! Please! It's really reeeeaaallly important! Do you have any idea of where he might be?"
Luffy unknowingly stared straight at the man with his puppy-dog eyes. A smart move, though, even if it wasn't intentional because the man immediately became bombarded with guilt for the answer he was about to provide.
"No… sorry, that I wouldn't happen to know…" The man disgracefully admitted, looking away.
Luffy pouted, just as he was taking the last bite of his steak. Even if he knew there was nothing to do about it if the Ossan simply didn't know, it still sucked.
"B-but I do know of somebody who might be able to help ya!"
"Really!? Who!?"
Aaaaand just like that, happy Luffy returned.
"It's a good friend of mine, she lives just a few islands over, on a place called Fauna. I'm sure if you hitch a ride it'll be just a few days worth'a sailin' before you should reach it."
Luffy let the information sink in.
Alright, understood! So if he went on a boat sailing to this "Fauna" place, then he'd be able to find some woman able to help him!
Although that meant it'd still be just a few days before he could reunite with Ace-
"Excuse us..."
The unexpected voice greatly startled the thoughtful Luffy. As he (almost a little too bouncy) turned to look at the owner, he was met with the faces of three men. Their clothes weren't all fancy-schmancy either, and their faces and bodies had multiple visible scars.
Foreigners, Luffy instantly concluded.
"You guys need something?" The old man politely asked, on Luffy's behalf as well.
"Well, you see, my friends and I were just enjoying ourselves right over there, but we couldn't help but overhear that request you made, young man. You want to find Portgas D. Ace? Well, we actually happen to be accomplices of his, here on vacation." The guy in the middle explained with a nervous grin, probably also quite taken aback by the coincidence.
"REALLY!? You guys know Ace!?"
Luffy couldn't contain his happiness.
"Sure, we know him. We were actually about to head back to the Moby Dick after we finished this meal." Guy number 2 continued.
"Do you think I could come along!? Please! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! I promise it's really important!" Luffy begged, staring straight into the men's' souls.
However, before they could say either yes or no, another voice cut in:
"Hold onto that request, kid. You guys, how do I know I can trustfully leave that boy with you? Where's ya proof what you're saying is true?" He questioned, batting each one of them an "I don't trust you" kinda look.
"Come on Ossan! These guys say they know Ace! That means they can't be bad people!" Luffy reasoned, however only earning himself a saddened look from the man.
He was still so trusting of people…
"I'd like to agree with ya, but unfortunately, I've learned not to blindly trust people claiming to be pirates." He argued back, turning his glares back at the men.
The man in the middle completely disregarded his mean look and smiled calmly.
"Sure, no helping that. Not all pirates are worth putting your trust on, after all. Fortunately, we would happen to be some exceptions…" guy number 3 said as he suddenly began rolling up his sleeve.
A mark was revealed to be hiding under it. A skull with what Luffy assumed to be a white banana-thingy hanging under its nose. Strange, but although Luffy didn't recognize the mark, the old man clearly did, judging from his satisfied expression.
"That proof enough for you?"
"Yes."
The man was quick to cover it up again before anybody else would notice and cause panic to stir.
"So, does that mean I can go!?" Luffy eagerly asked, nearly jumping in his seat from excitement.
"Right, why don't we go right now?" Guy 1 asked, grinning from Luffy's adorable reaction to getting to go.
"Uhn!" Luffy agreed with a vivid nod, dropping down from his chair and legitimately just about to leave before remembering something in the last second.
'Oh yeah!'
"Ossan, how much for the meal? I can pay!" Luffy, for once, was able to admit. He stuck his hands into his pockets, about to fish out some money, but didn't get to do so when the old man rose his hand in protest.
"Ah, doncha' worry 'bout that. I couldn't possibly charge money from a kid. You just hold onto that."
Luffy stared blankly at him.
But he really had the money this time! If he didn't spend at least a little of it here, he'd have just 30,000 Beli in his pockets he had no clue how to spend anyway.
Then again, he wasn't one to turn down free food…
He tilted his head, conflicted about this small inconvenience.
"Are you sure you don't want it? I really do have enough money-"
"Oi! Are you just gonna stand around and chat all evening!? We're going now! If you really wanna tag along now'd be the time!" A voice Luffy recognized to belong to one of the guys called out from the entrance.
"Ah-! I have to go! Bye nice Ossan, thanks for the food!"
And with that quick goodbye, Luffy nimbly hurried over to his new pirate friends, leaving a satisfied old man and a half-eaten plate of food behind.
O-o-O-o-O
As soon as they stepped outside, Luffy was immediately taken aback by two surprising discoveries.
1. It was already night time, although the many golden - wait, golden!? this place really was loaded, wasn't it? - streets lights kept the streets nicely illuminated.
2. The exact shops, pathways, markets, and roads that had formerly been swarming with townsfolk were now left completely desolated, resulting in a silence that felt kind of off-putting, considering the liveliness there had been during the daily hours.
People had all retired to their homes, and on the other side of nearly all the lit-up windows, sat a happy family around a dining table, all of them too occupied to even spare the group that swiftly prompted to make their way forward under the cover of the night a glance.
Luffy didn't mind the silence, if the streets could even be considered silent, with his constant giggles and small laughs. He just couldn't help it. After all, he was on his way. Really walking alongside Ace's comrades! He was almost there! So close he could taste it!
(Or was it just the aftertaste of that delicious steak…? Well, whatever!)
Things were finally looking up, he would get to see Ace soon! He would finally be safe, finally not have to live like this anymore, and everything would finally begin to be okay again!
The mere thought of how nice that would be, of how much he missed having something like that was enough for Luffy to wish that they could walk just a little bit faster - run maybe. Though he decided against it, these nice people were gonna take him to Ace, he could wait just a little bit longer!
Suddenly, though, as Luffy was absent-minded, a hand tightly clutched onto his shoulder, stopping him from walking any further. He was caught by surprise but wasn't in the least worried.
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes meeting with guy number 3, a wide grin spreading across the individual's face.
"Not that way, little guy. Since we are pirates, our boat's not docked along with all the citizens' at the harbor. The guards would confiscate it."
He pointed into a dark sinister looking alleyway, which Luffy had been just about to pass by.
"Let's head this way. Unless you wanna circle around the entire island, this is the fastest route," guy 1 explained, also smirking widely.
Luffy nodded, understandingly. Of course, that made sense!
The group took the turn, heading straight into the nearly pitch-black passageway. If not for the moon gleaming brightly above them from the cloudless night-sky, their surroundings would've undoubtedly have been shredded in total darkness.
Luffy walked behind the group, just barely able to make out their silhouettes in front of him.
For some strange reason, he began feeling really uncomfortable.
But why…? He was together with Ace's nakama after all! He had absolutely nothing to worry about! In fact, things would only start looking up from now on!
…
But still, he couldn't seem to shake the sensation of something being severely wrong.
Luffy soon came to regret not being a bit faster to listen to his instincts.
All of a sudden, a piece of cloth was forcefully tied around his mouth - silencing his confused cries as a strong force hit him in the back and forced him to the ground.
"MHHHHMP!"
Luffy instantly fought to get whatever was weighing him down off his back. His stomach scar began throbbing painfully from the pressure, but Luffy ignored it in order to fight harder.
What was going on!? Who was attacking them!? Where were Ace's nakama!? Why weren't they doing something!? Had they been separated in the dark...? With his head pressed against the cold cobblestone, Luffy couldn't see them any longer.
"O-oi! What are you idiots standing around for!? Come help!" A voice he recognized from earlier yelled out, but to whom?
Immediately, Luffy heard tapping - the sound of a large number of people rushing from every direction, headed directly towards him. Suddenly, multiple hands were restraining both his legs and arms, rendering him completely immobile.
His struggling intensified, but in vain with the many people now on top of him.
"Target restrained! Quick! Somebody bring a set of seastone handcuffs! We can't hold him for long!" A sudden chilling voice commanded.
Those orders caused Luffy's blood to run cold and his body to freeze.
He only knew one group of people who talked like that. One group that would go to these lengths if it meant capturing, retrieving, and securing him.
Suddenly, breaking free became 110% more crucial. If he didn't… well, Luffy damn well knew what would happen if he didn't.
He fought - thrusted around under the men's weight with all his might, wiggled, kicked, gave those stupid jerks elbows directly into their chins - and if not for the cloth he certainly would have bitten their tainted dirty fingers as well!
"W-whoa!"
"Hold him! Hold him!"
But the adult men's' efforts soon proved to be unsuccessful in keeping a beast like Luffy pinned to the ground. With a single massive push, the agents were all thrown off, and Luffy was free to hurriedly leap to his feet.
He was disorientated, and hesitated for just a second before hurrying in the opposite direction (or at least he hoped it was…) as he and Ace's nakama had entered, but, unfortunately, strong arms wrapped themselves around his own and stopped him before he got anywhere.
With his head finally free, however, Luffy took a quick glance at the bastard responsib...le… f...f… for…-
W-wh...what!?
As Luffy's attention was diverted, a pair of seastone cuffs were promptly locked around his wrists, causing the boy to fall limply in his captor's arms his strength left him.
"...God… finally…!" One of the Cipher Pohl agents cried in relief, lessening the tension amongst the group.
Luffy stared. Stared with wide horror-struck at his detainer.
"Good job, you three. We managed to avoid a catastrophe only thanks to your success!"
"Here, we'll be able to get a much safer grip on him."
"Thanks, much appreciated."
Luffy felt somebody else - two agents, grab both of his arms tightly and drag him a small distance backward. He didn't care for that, though.
Why? Why why why why why why WHY!? Why were Ace's nakama standing there, helping these jerkasses!? Ace couldn't possibly have nakama like these! He couldn't possibly trust guys like them! Who'd sell out others! Who'd trick him even after he revealed to them that he knew Ace!
One of the three impersonators noticed Luffy's lost expression.
"What's wrong, Monkey D. Luffy? Did we really manage to fool you that well?"
The man smiled obnoxiously, taunting him. At that moment, Luffy wanted nothing more than to punch him straight in that ugly mug of his.
"Of course, it was all just a lie. What? Did you seriously think the Whitebeard pirates would just so happen to be nearby, ready to take you in and protect you? Getting a fake tattoo was simply a requirement for this mission. A small sacrifice any of us would happily make if it meant we could instantly gain your trust! Devils' children might have the devil's luck, but this is definitely the end for you and that despicable father of yours!"
Luffy's eyes grey wide once more.
Fakes…? But… but that meant those guys didn't know Ace at all! They had lied! THEY HAD LIED ABOUT KNOWING HIM! They'd gotten his hopes up for absolutely no reason, and now, he was going to be caught again!
"Call Sir Spandam this instant and inform him that the mission has been accomplished without any complications!" Somebody called out.
"Yessir, this instant, sir!"
A den-den mushi was pulled out, a number Luffy didn't care to look at, dialed, and soon, the familiar purupurupurupurupurup sounded. Before many moments had passed, a "gacha!" from the snail indicated whoever the agents were calling had received and picked up on the other end.
"Chief Spandam here. You idiots damn better have nothing but good news, or I'll have you executed for failing me again!"
The voice on the other end sounded impatient and bratty. Like a child - more so than the commander of the heartless organization who'd caused the destruction on an entire island.
"N-no! F-fortunately, I can report with confidence that the mission was a success! Monkey D. Luffy has been recovered without fail!"
"...Really!?" (The voice sounded surprised and disturbingly excited at the same time).
Luffy instantly felt the anger begin to arise at a dangerously quick rate as more and more realization poured over him. His eyes of terror, soon replaced by an absolutely fuming glare, were directed straight at those traitors, completely ignoring the conversation about him.
It didn't take long before those emotions became impossible to detain.
"MHHHHHHMMMMPPPP! MHHHH! MHHHHH! MHHHHHHP! MHHHHHHPPPPHHHMMMM!"
Fight. Break free. Make those guys pay! Escape. Get away. Don't let things end here!
Those were all thoughts pumping through Luffy's mind as he snapped and began resisting with full force once again, not paying his wounds any mind.
"O-oi!"
"Stop that! You've already been apprehended, don't you get that resistance is futile!?"
Luffy's moves were much ineffectual and sluggish with the seastone, so much that although he was fighting with all his rage, adrenaline pumping throughout his vessels, the two agents didn't struggle too much to keep him restrained.
Luffy was blinded by his wrath. By the hurt. By the ultimate feeling of betrayal that, if not for his anger, could probably bring him to tears.
They'd gotten his hopes up.
They'd gotten to him while he was enjoying himself and eating peacefully, completely minding his own business.
And then, they'd torn away any and all that confidence… optimism, faith - ambition, his belief that he could still do this, his opportunity to even keep trying. Those guys were taking everything… and whether or not Luffy wanted it to dwindle, his trust in others would never be the same as before.
"Stop him! Pin him to the ground or something!" an agent sounding incredibly concerned for the boy's escape yelled, plausibly from his desperation to prevent it.
The men wrestling with the teen, however, seemed to find that to be a perfectly applicable solution, and in a single strong push, thrusted the boy onto the dirty cobblestone once again, greatly reducing his movement.
No good. Luffy just couldn't do it. He couldn't escape. Not like this.
"Oi! What's happening over there!?" The Spandam guy worriedly blurted out, scared his incompetent subordinates somehow had managed to fail him yet again.
"It's nothing S-sir. We're just experiencing a bit of resistance is all. He's a real fighter, even if it's futile at this stage."
The explanation was met by a daunting silence from the other end of the communication snail. Suddenly, however, an eerie smile crept onto the den-den's face, implying the man talking on the other end was, in fact, doing the same.
"Oh, I see…. Oi! Let me speak a word or two to the brat!"
"Wh-what?"
"JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME! DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO ME!"
"Y-yessir!"
The small den-den mushi was quickly positioned on the ground, right in front of Luffy's head where he could actually see it.
"So… Monkey D. Luffy, I've heard things about you. I must say, though, for somebody who carries the blood of that loathsome Dragon, you're pretty stupid for letting a trap as simple as this get the better of you!"
Luffy stared wrathfully at the den-den mushi. Had Spandam been able to see those eyes, he undoubtedly would've cowered in fear.
"We're lucky, though, to have discovered you already. You're still just a child after all! A brat! Weak, pathetic, eager, and thoroughly useless! You can't do anything but try to run! Face it, for these past 2 days, you've only been delaying your inevitable capture! Nobody - and especially you will never ever will stand a chance at defying the government!" Spandam said maniacally, and a grin extra wide - extra mocking was seen on the snail phone.
Those words were honestly so close to making Luffy snap once again. What would happen, Luffy didn't know.
He felt immensely infuriated, and for the love of Oda would literally pray to have the cloth gone so he could yell back at the man - tell him how wrong he was, prove to him how goddamn dead wrong he was!
But he couldn't.
Spandam seemed very satisfied with the silent reply, even if (unbeknownst to him) it was because of the cloth preventing a word from escaping Luffy's mouth.
"Get him to Enies Lobby immediately! No time must be wasted, you got that, you incompetent fools!?" Spandam excitedly ordered, already sounding like he simply couldn't wait to meet Luffy personally and get to do whatever he desired to punish the child.
"Y-yessir!" The agents complied, saluting (mostly out of habit) for a split second, and then quickly and swiftly finally getting their asses moving.
They'd spent enough time here as it was.
Two agents tightly grabbed Luffy's arms and roughly forced him to stand, nearly dragging him along with them because Luffy's wobbly legs couldn't properly follow along.
That was the instant reality clicked. He was really gonna be taken away if nothing was done.
Luffy tried struggling once more. Tried digging his heels into the ground to force his detainers to stop, but other agents merely gave him a potent push from behind, causing him to trip before continuously being dragged onward.
He tried wiggling his way free, but the seastone tapped away at his stamina, quickly deeming him breathless. Although that plan in itself was flawed because the agents were circling around him, cutting off any escape even if he broke their grip. And no way in hell was he defeating all of them in his pathetic state.
Luffy's eagerness soon morphed into an uncomfortable desperation. Nobody would come to help him. It was in the middle of the night, in some random back alley. He couldn't even scream for help because of the cloth.
He was all on his own. He had to find a way out of this.
Luffy began frantically scanning the alleyway for something, anything (whatever it might be) that could help him out of this predicament. Fortunately, fate seemed to finally be playing in his favor, as within seconds, something caught the 14-year olds eyes, as they passed a certain building with a sword-shaped sign (aka a weapon shop) hanging from its back door.
Crates. But not just any crates. Luffy recognized them from the time he and Ace had helped carry explosive for Bluejam that time with the Grey Terminal. The smell was familiar too. Those crates carried gunpowder - the stuff guns used to fire bullets and make those loud booms!
All he'd need was a spark… and Luffy knew just how to get that.
Quickly - not wasting a single precious millisecond of time - Luffy tackled the agent to his left with the last of his remaining strength, forcing the man, himself, and the agent on his right to plummet to the ground.
"Oi! Don't-"
*BANG*
The agent who'd been hauled to the floor had been unfortunate (fortunate in Luffy's case) enough to have landed on top of his own gun. Although it firing off like this was his own fault, because he hadn't disabled the safety...
The "aim" had been perfect, though. The bullet had hit the gunpowder filled crate, just as Luffy had intended.
Luffy gritted his teeth, preparing himself for the incoming explosion that was sure to follow...
O-o-O-o-O
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
"...!"
"What was that explosion!?"
"Is everyone alright!?"
A crowd had gathered on the bulking streets for the second time in just the span of a couple of hours, attention and worried remarks already shooting out from the panicked civilians.
The noise and sudden light were enough of a commotion to draw the people out at this hour closer and awaken the poor souls who'd already gone to sleep with the terrifying noise.
The smoke cloud rising in the distance was noticeable, and people were peaking out of their windows, clutching their loved ones protectively. Enemy attacks and raids weren't uncommon on their island - many desired their fortune and riches, after all - but that wasn't to say that they weren't scary.
The sound of a horde of guards rushing to the scene was heard, and the people surrounding the scene were firmly, though politely, asked to keep their distance, as the professionals began investigating the scene of the crime.
Little did all of the unsuspecting people of the town know, a boy was creeping away as their attention was focused on the commotion at hand.
Luffy was… in a lot of pain. Again.
After triggering the explosion, he and everyone else in that alleyway had been hit head-on by the unbearable blast of heat, before a bone-shattering shockwave beyond his wildest imagination had sent them all flying. (And Luffy's ears were still ringing to this moment)
That left him covered in big deep bleeding burn-marks that felt like his skin was on fire and about to tear off every time he made even the slightest movement.
Also, when he had been sent flying and had collided with a wall and come to an abrupt stop, his stomach scar - the one that his fight with pigeon-guy had left him with - had begun bleeding again. A lot.
Luffy barely knew anything about medicine (his knowledge extended purely to wrapping bandages), but he could tell the current amount of blood he, unfortunately, was leaving behind in a trail as he clung to the walls, was not healthy…
Despite the excruciating pain constantly throbbing throughout every fiber of his body, however, his plan had worked. He had gotten away. What had happened to the agents, Luffy didn't know. They were probably dead, though, considering the severity of the blast, Luffy himself having only been able to survive due to the capabilities of his rubber-body.
"Nhgn...-!" Luffy clutched his stomach as if it would do any difference. His hand was already soaked in his own blood, but the seastone chains that had held them together had broken during the explosion.
As it, fortunately, happened to turn out, the chain forcing his hands together wasn't made of unbreakable seastone, but just normal metal. That meant Luffy could freely move his hands, but the parts of the handcuffs - the part around his wrists - was very much still intact and was also quickly diminishing his strength.
And if an explosion wasn't gonna get those damn things off, Luffy had no clue what would. The keys to them were either destroyed or in some random corner of the alleys Luffy seriously didn't have the energy left to turn around and search through.
His injuries hurting, he ever so slowly whilst quivering kept to the walls for support, moved forward. The newly sustained injuries weren't the only thing dragging him down.
The 14-year old was sniffling, overwhelmed by everything as the reality of what has just happened finally sunk in with him fully.
He had to get away, he just had to. He wasn't safe anymore, the people on this island weren't safe anymore, all because of him. Those bastards had lied to him, betrayed him. Those agents claiming to be Ace's comrades had all but reminded him of one thing he had just hoped to forget.
They were still out to get him, he was still being chased, no one around him was safe.
Luffy could feel warm water droplets form at the edge of his eyes, though the moment he noticed, he wiped them away, squinting his facial muscles to make them go away again.
'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, DON'T YOU DARE CRY!' The harsh words worked, and soon Luffy had forced the tears to retrieve their way back to wherever it is tears come from, and he forcefully snuck onward.
Only one thing mattered now:
Escape.
As Luffy wobbly made his way forward, the burns on his legs stinging more intensely with every step, he peeked around a corner carefully. He didn't want anyone to see him….
Not only did he not want to cause the nice people living on this island any more trouble, but he really really couldn't afford to get caught by those agents again. Not then, not now, not ever ever again. Not like this.
There were no people around, but Luffy didn't dare take any chances, as he continued down towards the harbor, where he would have to get away on another boat, and away from Stellar island.
And as he carefully turned around another corner, still no people in sight, he could spot the almost glittering ocean - since the moonlight was lighting up the waves - in the distance, and instantly, his chest felt a sense of relief - he felt more hopeful.
He was so close to escaping again.
Though the boy instantly came to a stop when he heard voices, the sound of people moving around. He had been almost too desperate and had walked out in these people's fields of visions.
The people working here at the harbor hadn't been distracted by the explosion, so they were probably still just going to their day-to-night work…
Luffy ducked behind a barrel and carefully peaked his head up, the darkness doing a great job of helping him hide. If not for it, they surely would have noticed the blood trail he was leaving behind.
He clutched the reopened wound on his stomach once more, grimacing from the intense pain that immediately burned throughout his body.
Damn, it hurt. The last time he'd experienced anything even remotely close the pain, the ache, the burning, that he was currently enduring, was years ago when he'd been 7 and had escaped from the Grey Terminal fire.
His vision was also starting to blur again as it had at Dawn Island when Lucci had first inflicted him with his scar.
He couldn't allow himself to pass out, not yet. He couldn't allow himself to scream or (especially) cry, either. Any sound could get him discovered.
He scoured the port for a suitable ship, and the moment his eyes fell upon the large merchant ship currently being loaded with crates and supplies, he knew the opportunity was perfect.
The ship was large and rustic, looked a bit on the older side. It clearly stood out from the rest of this islands' design, and so did the merchants walking around. Which meant, that these people weren't from this island and were about to head off.
Bingo. That would be his ticket away from this place.
Man, that was... something. Definitely a lot to write, as this chapter currently takes a proud 2nd place for the title of the longest yet. (Number 1 would be chapter 7, which has a staggering 11K words)
Right, so, a little more clarification regarding the sea-stone cuffs breaking like that. My CO-writer and I pondered it for a while, and after doing a bit of research, we discovered it hasn't been 100% clarified how they are made. Heck, even the designs of the damn things differ - just look at Robin's during the Enies Lobby arc as opposed to the ones Luffy's wearing right now in Udon. It could really be that the chain actually is not made of seastone - maybe as a means to waste less of the valuable material? (Seastone is supposedly rare after all) Or if not, then it's just a head-canonny thing in this story (Luffy's only 14 after all, so metal's more than enough to keep him in check with the seastone already taking its toll on him).
Ah well, favorite part, time for the reviews:
Aysawolf: T.T I cry for you! Hopefully, it went alright though...? And thank you very much, I too am very appreciative of my back pain remaining calm for once! Oh! And to answer your question; in chapter 9, the Gorosei discuss the matter and decide it would be catastrophic if they did give Luffy a bounty. Just imagine, Ace (who'd then go on o tell Whitebeard) Shanks, or Dragon seeing it, what do you think they'd do? XD (Then again, between you and me, we both know it's gonna be inevitable that they'll eventually find out about everything!)
Samster7241: Yes. Yes, indeed they are!
G1ntsuk1: Hello to you too! Yes, infection's only been getting better, thank you very much! (But there are still a few weeks of antibiotics left, sooooo... DX) I know, and I cry for Luffy too T.T, but laughing at the end of the last chapter is totally acceptable, and actually the reaction I kinda was hoping for! (You know, he got to have a little fun again, finally :). And, yeah, I can deeeffffinitely approve that neither Ace or Shanks are gonna be pleased... ;)
silverrayn123: Why thank you a bunch! You have an amazing month (even in this dire time of quarantine and isolation) as well!
peepee: *blushes* o-oh my! W-why thank you a lot for your compliments. I am merely happy to have the honor of writing for you folks :D
Luo: Hi Lou! Rest assured, I've done my best to (as annoying as it is) just take everything nice and slow, (unfortunately) also including not writing on the days I've been in pain. (Actually, here's a secret just for you: Ace will be out soon, yay! But not in the way you might imagine... ;) Also, Lou, you do your best to stay safe! Since you're from China, you'll easily catch the Coronavirus, right? :( STAY SAFE!
kagome11: Shanks. Does. Not. Take. Crap. You'll get to see more of him in the next one, actually! (Hehe...) But yes ACE WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? CAN'T YOU SEE YOUR LITTLE BABY BROTHER'S SUFFERING!? *sniff sniff*
...
Oh wait...right... he can't...
But also, interesting, I never knew there was actually a fanfiction like that... hmmm... worth checking out for sure!
Ocii99: *bows in gratitude.* Why thank you so much! Means a lot, and yes, I am definitely seeing improvement already, so I'll be up and running in no time! (hopefully...)
Greer123: Y-yeah... sure... it'll happen soon enough... but I didn't even think of that regarding the nobles! :O I guess they have... although, the nobles that moved to another island were the ones from the Goa kingdom who were evacuated before the Buster Call. Of course, the government has suppressed that information, so all any outsider would know is what those pirates said.
Caliawenn: Do not worry about your English, it was perfectly understandable! Thank you a bunch for your sweet compliments (really, they mean sooooooo much to me!) :D. But yeah, the reunion... definitely gonna involve a lot of crying... and a confused Ace who'll quickly turn infuriated after he understands what Luffy's saying...
firesui: Thank you, I really just try my best! You do your absolute best to stay safe with this whole Coronavirus thing too, ok? :D
Jiminieisapabo: XD. I know. The truth is I am the embodiment of evil, here to punish little Lu so the most adorable fic my imagination has deemed possible eventually will be created. But worry not, no giving up is planned here, so good times await in the future!
Alright, as a last quick note, let me please say the most generic thing one possibly can in these times, and please, all of you, stay safe! Coronavirus or not!
Alrighty, updates can be expected... ahh... ermmmm... XD...
Well, hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, HOPEFULLY with the power of my new CO-worker and our teamwork, before too too long!
-Cookie