Authors' Note: Hey everyone, we're back with chapter two! Sorry for the long wait. Thanks so much for the positive response, it made us very happy XD You should probably expect fairly slow updates especially as we move into the fall, our schedules don't align that often...thanks in advance for your patience and please know that your reviews are EXTREMELY motivating! Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy :)

Review Responses:

Guest 1: Glad you enjoyed it! :D

Guest 2: Here's an update for you! ;)

Lyndsey Douglas: *gives you more*

SilentAngel33: So glad you are enjoying it so far! Yeah, Jinbe is still really powerful and there's a lot of irony with Luffy's ability in this story but we will go into it more later. Thanks for reading! :)

foxchick1: Thank you! Here's an update, hope you enjoy!

rileywest14: lol, that would be an interesting story but not this time XD

rosetrang628: Hey there, so glad you're enjoying our story so far! It's cool to hear your thoughts and ideas on the subject :) We will be revealing more of the actual plot starting in chapter three and, of course, bringing in more One Piece characters. Answering your question: no, there will be no haki in this story, just bending, though that tends to add some of the elements of at least observation haki depending on the bender just not as powerful. Anyway, thanks for the lovely review, we always appreciate our readers voicing their thoughts and theories. Hope you enjoy chapter two!

Fax15: Thanks! Hope you enjoy the update!

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WARNINGS: None

Katara couldn't help but stare at the leader of the odd group of "rogues" unsure what to think of him. Unlike the leaders of similar groups they'd encountered in the past, this Luffy was...different. He almost came across as childlike, especially as he stuffed his face with meat they'd most likely taken from the village they'd just come from, ignoring Sokka staring wistfully at the rapidly disappearing pile.

"So," Luffy said around a mouthful of food, "Nami said you guys tried to eat Chopper," he swallowed and stared at the trio seriously, "why would you do that?"

Katara shifted nervously under his intimidating gaze, large eyes shadowed under the brim of his straw hat.

"We weren't trying to eat him, promise!" Aang tried to explain, "well, maybe Sokka was...but we wouldn't have let him. I'm a vegetarian."

"HEY!" Sokka protested, "Don't tell them that!"

"I just thought it was cool that he had a hat." Aang continued. For a moment, it looked as though that was the wrong thing to say but then Luffy threw his head back and laughed.

"Isn't it?!" he exclaimed, "Hey Chopper, come here!"

At his call the giant reindeer-thing trotted over and lowered himself to the ground, head coming to rest on the young man's lap even as he eyed the still-bound Sokka warily. Luffy grinned and began to run his fingers through Chopper's fur, coaxing a content sigh out of the animal.

"The people in the town where we found Chopper told us that his first friend gave him the hat before he died so it's very important to him."

Sokka didn't have to look at his sister to know she was glaring at him. He could feel her burning holes in his head even as he sweated profusely under what felt like the accusatory gazes of all of the rogues.

"I'm so sorry for my brother's rude behavior," Katara put in, "we honestly didn't mean any harm!"

"Really!" Aang added, "We were just looking for an earth bender to teach me and when we heard-"

"An earth bender? We have one of those!" Luffy interrupted, "Usopp's pretty good too! Does that mean you're an earth bender? That's so cool!"

"Actually, Luffy," Sanji said, blowing out some smoke as he spoke, "he's the Avatar."

The young man blinked as if taking in the information and Team Avatar braced themselves for the usual surprise and disbelief, glancing nervously at the two firebenders in the group.

"Ooh...the Avatar..." Luffy muttered, frowning, before tilting his head in apparent confusion, "What's that?"

It was Team Avatar's turn to stare in disbelief, jaws dropping to the ground in succession. He wasn't being serious...was he?! Everyone knew who the Avatar was! And yet...the young man's crew didn't seem surprised at all, merely resigned and a bit amused at the question.

"The Avatar is someone who can master all four elements and is supposed to bring peace and balance to the world. The last time the Avatar was seen was a hundred years ago." Robin informed him, not even glancing up from her book, "I heard rumors that the Avatar had returned and wondered if we would cross paths someday, knowing you, Luffy, it was inevitable."

"Really?" Luffy asked, taking another bite of meat, apparently unconcerned with "the Avatar" now that his question had been answered. He paused a moment later and turned back to Aang, frowning yet again, "Wait...a hundred years? You must be really old...is that why you're bald? Is that why you drew weird hair on your head?"

"Luffy, I do believe those are traditional airbender tattoos. The air nomads received them once they had mastered the element." Robin explained. The leader nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face before he made a fist and thumped it down in his other hand.

"So they're mystery tattoos!"

His crew sighed and nodded their agreement as Team Avatar struggled to keep up. Apparently the rogues were used to this sort of response from their leader.

"...right...so…" Aang said hesitantly, "as you can see, we meant no harm and would very much like to be untied so we can be on our way…"

"We can't just let the prisoners go," Nami interrupted, "they might still have valuables and they've seen you, Luffy."

"Prisoners?" Luffy asked, "We can keep prisoners?"

"Yes?" Nami replied, exasperated, "Why did you think they were tied up?"

"To keep them from eating Chopper."

"We're not gonna eat the stupid reindeer!" Sokka protested loudly, only to grunt as Katara elbowed him in the ribs.

"What he's trying to say is that we would never eat your friend," she corrected, hoping they wouldn't just decide to kill her hot-headed brother. They didn't seem like the type but…

"Please," Aang said, bowing low, "please let us go." Silence followed his statement for a moment before Luffy simply said,

"Okay." and Team Avatar sighed in relief at his easy acceptance.

Luffy's crew, however, erupted into chaos the moment he spoke, loudly protesting his decision.

"We can't just let them go!"

"They said they won't eat Chopper," Luffy replied, confused.

"This isn't about Chopper!"

"They've seen you, Luffy, they know your name."

"What if they report your location to the Fire Nation?"

"We would never!" Katara protested, "They're our enemies!"

"Maybe not on purpose, but the Fire Nation has ways to get people to talk. If you were captured or if you even mentioned Luffy and the wrong person heard…"

"They've already sent mercenaries after us, they're harder to spot than Fire Nation troops." the green-haired swordsman, Zoro, growled, "You kids have no idea who you just stumbled on."

"Ah what's the harm?" Luffy laughed, "Let 'em go, and let's have a banquet together!"

"NO, WE'RE LEAVING!"

"As super as that sounds lil' bro, I'm not sure that's a good idea in this situation," Franky said, motioning to the sled, "We were about to leave, remember? We can have a superrrrr feast on the road."

"Eehhh…" Luffy began to protest, only for the tattooed waterbender, Jimbei, to interrupt by scooping him up and throwing him over his shoulder.

"Let's go," Jimbei said, ignoring Luffy's whined protests and the fists hitting his back, "We've been here too long. We can discuss proper solutions to this new problem as we travel."

A few minutes later, once the fire had been extinguished and Chopper was hooked up to the sled contraption (for the second time that evening thanks to Luffy's stomach) everyone, both willing and unwilling, was ushered on board. The moment they were all as secure as they could be on the odd vehicle, Chopper took off, pulling them through the trees to...who knows where…

"Sokka, I blame you completely for this mess," Katara informed her brother a couple of hours later, once the majority of the rogues had passed out after eating their fill.

"Me? Why me?!"

"Really? You tried to eat their friend! Not to mention your comments while we were trying to get them to let us go!"

"Uhh...guys...can't you argue in the morning?" Aang's tired voice cut in before the argument could escalate, "Go to sleep."

"How can you sleep?!" Sokka hissed, "In case you haven't noticed, we have been taken captive by crazy people!"

"The only truly crazy person here is Luffy," Zoro put in gruffly, startling the trio into full alertness, "though Swirly-brow isn't too far behind."

The swordsman had been lounging on a raised platform at the back of the sled, the platform that the three prisoners had been leaning against, assuming the man was asleep.

"What are you gonna do with us, you fiends?!" Sokka blustered, trying his best to look intimidating...which admittedly didn't work all that well with his hands and feet still bound. Zoro shrugged and took a drink from his wineskin,

"Whatever Luffy feels like doing...within reason, of course."

"He wanted to let us go earlier!"

"I said within reason. Anything that could endanger the idiot is out of the question."

"Well, who is he then?" Aang asked, only to freeze as the cold steel of a sword kissed his throat.

"None of your business if you want to make it out of here alive," Zoro growled. No one dared to move, afraid they'd crossed the line...until a fiery shadow appeared behind the swordsman. Faster than any of the captives could see, the sword left Aang's neck and swung around to meet the flaming foot that had been aimed for its master's head.

"What do you think you're doing, Marimo?! Can't you see you're scaring the lady?" Sanji snarled at the other man, leg still raised and locked with the sword.

"Watching the prisoners." came the simple response.

"No fighting on the sled!" Nami snapped from somewhere in the darkness, "Remember what happened last time you two idiots went at it? We ended up sideways in a ditch and had to spend precious time and money on repairs. Now all of you keep it down, I'm trying to sleep!"

"Of course, whatever you want, Nami-swan!" Sanji replied immediately, earning an eye roll from Zoro as they both relaxed out of their fighting stances.

After the sled fell into relative silence once again, Katara found herself staring at the passed out form of the leader of the rogues only a few feet away. How none of them had noticed his proximity was beyond her especially with how he was sprawled like a starfish and mumbling in his sleep.

' Just who are you? ' the girl wondered, 'What makes you so special that Aang's question nearly got us killed? '

Eventually, the day's events caught up with her and Katara succumbed to the need to sleep.

It was Luffy's excited voice that woke the prisoners the next morning as he peered over Nami's shoulder at something in front of her.

"Wait, we're here, right?" he asked.

"Yes, Luffy, we should be about here, as I just said. If we continue in this direction we should -"

"That means there's a town nearby!" he interrupted, "We have to go!"

"No, Luffy," Nami said without hesitation, "We went into town yesterday, remember?"

"But Namiiii!" Luffy protested, "This is a new town! We can have an adventure!"

"We should give Chopper a rest soon anyway," Franky called from the front of the sled.

"And someone has already depleted our food supply," Sanji added, shooting a glare at the culprit.

"See? We need to go!" Luffy insisted and Nami sighed,

"Fine! Fine. But if you happen to liberate this one as well you don't get to decide our payment."

Luffy cheered and excitedly bounced along the length of the sled until he almost stumbled over the trio of captives.

"Oh! You guys should come with us into town!"

"No, Luffy, they're prisoners, remember?"

"So?"

"Prisoners don't get to go into town."

"What? Why not? It'll be fun! Adventures are more fun with lots of people!"

"They're prisoners, they can't come."

"Then let's make them...not prisoners! Then they can come on the adventure!"

"We talked about this last night."

"Let them come," Brook laughed, "if a few of us go with them to keep them out of trouble, it shouldn't hurt anything." Nami sighed in exasperation,

"Fine," she growled, "Sanji, you're going to get supplies. Zoro, you go as a guard. Usopp, you go too."

"What?! Why me?" Usopp protested, "I always have to go!"

"I believe I would like to go," Robin put in, "this region is known for its rich and diverse culture. I'm told it varies from town to town though so I would like to see if that information is correct."

Meanwhile, the prisoners exchanged meaningful glances. They didn't have to say anything to know they were in total agreement. This was their chance to escape.

"It's pricey but I really do like it…"

"Sokka, we don't have any money. They took everything we had, remember?" Katara pointed out, "And you didn't have- "

"Shhhh," Sokka interrupted, "this is all a part of my master plan! Just play along!"

"Your...master plan?" she asked skeptically.

"Keep your voice down!" he whispered harshly, "Yes, my master plan! I'll pretend to be shopping until they let their guards down and then, when they least expect it...we...uh...we run!"

"You don't have a master plan, do you?" Katara deadpanned. Sokka deflated,

"...no...I just really liked the bag…"

"Well if you really like it, I can buy it for you," Robin said from behind them, making the siblings jump.

"Uh…" Sokka scrambled for a response, terrified that she'd heard them talking about escaping, though, thankfully, it didn't seem as though she was planning on doing anything about it, "I mean...if...if you're offering…"

Robin laughed and Katara watched in shock as the woman bought the expensive bag for her idiot of a brother.

A little further down, Aang was excitedly showing Luffy something, chatting as though they had been friends for ages.

"An earth bending school! It's the perfect place to find a teacher!"

"You don't need some school," Usopp scoffed, "the Great Usopp is a master of earth bending and more than qualified to teach you everything you need to know!" Aang smiled awkwardly,

"Ah...yeah...no offense, Usopp, but...I'm not really...artistic enough to really...uh...benefit from your...particular skills. Plus, Bumi told me to find someone who waits and listens before striking."

"That's not you, Usopp." Luffy laughed, smacking his friend on the pack in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, "But I don't think this school is it, Aang, school's no fun. You've gotta find somewhere fun or it's boring."

"I don't even want to know what you were talking about, Luffy," Sanji said as he walked up, arms full of supplies, "but if you want something fun and...relatively harmless...I heard some kids talking about something called 'Earth Rumble VI'. Apparently it's some sort of underground earth bending tournament. Should we check it out?"

"YES!" Luffy cheered, "We can all go together!"

'What happened to all that caution from earlier?' Katara wondered, 'Surely letting him go to a big tournament is more dangerous than letting three kids go free…'

"No one that we need to worry about will be there," Robin murmured, leaning down and startling the younger girl yet again, "it is an underground event as well, which means if something does happen, we would be free to protect him and ourselves however we see fit without drawing attention."

"...right…" Katara replied, more than a little freaked out and wondering how the woman had read her mind, "okay then…"

"Who knows, Aang," Luffy exclaimed excitedly, "maybe you'll find your teacher there!" Aang nodded, though he didn't seem quite as enthusiastic as the others.

"Maybe…"

Sanji led them outside of town to a large cliff-face with a small opening at the base that looked as though it was made with earthbending. Once they heard sounds of cheers coming from inside, Luffy attempted to run ahead excitedly, only for Sanji to grab him by the back of his vest, an impressive feat considering the mountain of supplies he still carried.

"But Sanji, they're gonna start! We have to get seats so we don't miss anything!" Luffy protested, struggling against the tight grip.

"No, Luffy. We have to stay together, which means you don't get to run off." Luffy pouted at the cook and Robin stifled a laugh.

Meanwhile, Aang seemed just as impatient, bouncing up and down as they made their way inside, taking in the massive cavern with its rows of seats leading down to a rectangular fighting ring.

"Oi, Zoro!" Luffy cheered, spotting the swordsman sitting alone in one of the first rows.

"Where'd you guys go?" Zoro asked, "Did you get lost again?"

"Lost? That's rich coming from you." Sanji muttered under his breath as he put down his supplies, keeping himself between them and the ever-hungry Luffy.

"Hey, front row seats!" Aang exclaimed as he took a seat, "I wonder why no one else is sitting here." Not a second later, a massive rock hurtled from the ring into the seats just to the left of the group, leaving them staring at it and the newly made hole incredulously.

"I guess that's why," Sokka commented just as the announcer made his entrance.

"Welcome to Earth Rumble VI! I am your host, Xin Fu."

"This is just gonna be a bunch of guys chucking rocks at each other, isn't it…" Katara groaned.

"We have attended many underground tournaments across the Earth Kingdom," Robin put in, "and there are usually at least a few talented fighters worth watching, male and female alike."

"You guys do this often?" the younger girl asked.

"Luffy finds them entertaining," came the amused answer, "he often participates as well, if he is allowed. Though we usually limit his participation to avoid gaining unwanted attention and we leave as soon as the event is finished."

Luckily for Katara, who had no idea how to respond to that, their attention was drawn back to the ring by the cheering of the crowd as round one began.

The majority of the odd little group were drawn into the fight, Katara keeping an eye on Aang for the most part, questioning him about each of the contestants and whether or not he felt any of them could be the teacher he needed, though not all of them were earth benders.

The moment Fire Nation Man appeared in the ring, Sanji pushed Luffy down and threw his coat over him with practiced ease.

"Sanjiiii, I can't see!"

"You can see when this guy is gone. I don't think it'll take too long."

Katara turned with a groan to try and get her brother to stop drawing attention to them as he booed and threw rocks at the man in the ring (along with the rest of the crowd) but paused as she noticed that the StrawHats were tense and alert. Zoro had shifted one hand to the hilt of his sword while Usopp twirled three rocks around in his palm. Even the ever calm Robin scanned the crowd and the arena itself as though searching for escape routes and suspicious people.

They didn't relax even after Fire Nation Man had been sent flying, coming to rest briefly right where the rock from earlier had landed until Usopp...helped...his descent out of the stands and down into the bottom of the arena.

"...can I come out now?" Luffy asked, peeking out from under Sanji's coat. The group watched as the injured and unconscious man was carried out on a stretcher and only then did Sanji let Luffy up.

The next few fights went fairly similarly, most of them dominated by a man called "The Boulder". Luffy and Sokka in particular got the most involved in the event, yelling and cheering for their favorite contestant. Katara didn't see the appeal and Robin, though she had defended the event earlier, had produced a book from somewhere and didn't seem to be paying attention to anything else.

Many rounds later (too many, in Katara's opinion) Xin Fu announced the final fight: The Boulder versus the reigning champion, The Blind Bandit.

"She can't really be blind, that's just part of her character...right?" Katara asked no one in particular, staring at the girl who looked like a pebble next to The Boulder.

"I think she is," Aang replied.

"I think she is GOING DOWN!" Sokka crowed, not believing for a second that anyone could defeat The Boulder. Next to Sokka, Luffy had gone from being hyper and excited to being rather serious, his calculating gaze fixed on The Blind Bandit.

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl!" said man announced.

"Sounds to me like you're scared, Boulder," the girl taunted, drawing a snicker out of Sanji and causing The Boulder's eyebrow to twitch in agitation.

"The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings and he is ready to bury you in a rock-alanche!"

"Whenever you're ready, The Pebble." The Blind Bandit sneered and then laughed causing Aang to straighten suddenly as he was reminded of the vision he had in the swamp not long ago.

"I like this girl," Zoro commented, snorting at her taunts and the over the top reaction of her opponent.

Luffy glanced over at Aang and then back to the ring and back to the avatar once more. His eyes widened briefly then he grinned and nodded to himself.

' Ah...yes...nakama.' he thought and turned his attention back to the girl in the ring.

To the onlookers, it didn't appear as though anything was happening for a moment, neither contestant moving a muscle until, almost faster than anyone could see, The Blind Bandit sent a stream of earth right where The Boulder was stepping, sending him into an unfortunate split position.

"Someone needs to work on their flexibility," Sanji commented as The Boulder screamed.

The champion's next attack sent The Boulder right out of the ring, prompting many cheers from the crowd and a cry of disappointment from Sokka. Usopp leaned forward, furiously scribbling away on a notepad as he muttered to himself about "art and refinement".

"...how did she do that?" Katara gasped.

"She waited and listened," Aang replied, his gaze still fixed on The Blind Bandit.

"To make this more interesting," Xin Fu announced as he reentered the ring, "I'm offering up this sack of gold pieces to anyone who can defeat The Blind Bandit!" he paused, then continued, "What?! No one dares to face her?"

The StrawHats all stared expectantly at their leader, knowing by now that this was a chance he wouldn't want to pass up, but Luffy merely smirked mischievously and nudged Aang.

"Go on," he prompted, "she's waiting for you." That had the entire group staring as Aang jumped into the ring with an enthusiastic,

"I will!"

"Uh...Luffy?" Usopp asked, "What...what was that about?" he reached over and poked at his friend's face, "don't you want to...y'know...fight?"

"This is Aang's fight," Luffy replied easily, "He's gotta convince her to become his nakama."

"His...what?" Katara asked, unfamiliar with the word.

"Nakama," Luffy repeated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world "You know...nakama."

"Nakama basically means friends or family, in the way Luffy uses it," Robin explained, "It's a word he introduced us to when we first met, something he picked up from the man who raised him."

"oh, okay," Katara replied, "why not just say friend?"

"It's a special word for Luffy," Robin replied and left it at that. Katara turned her attention back to the ring when Aang, having failed to get The Blind Bandit to talk with him, pushed her out of the ring with his airbending, causing the crowd to fall silent in shock.

When everyone realized what had just happened they erupted into cheers as Aang jumped down out of the arena, most likely in pursuit of The Blind Bandit.

"Let's go," Luffy said, standing and walking away without waiting for any of the others. After a brief moment of surprise, the group scrambled to follow, Sanji forcing half of the supplies into a complaining Zoro's arms as they hurried to catch up.

They met up with Aang outside of the cavern, the Avatar looking rather dejected with a bag of gold in one hand and the belt in the other.

Luffy stared hard at the airbender for a moment then turned to his crew,

"We're done in this town," he informed them.

"...what?"

"We'll leave our new friends here so they can go get their nakama, we'll just get in the way if we stay."

"Nami-swan won't be pleased, Luffy…" Sanji warned, "they're supposed to be prisoners. Are you sure?"

"They're friends, not prisoners." Luffy replied easily before turning to Aang and his friends with a smile, "Good luck, she'll come around. Just don't take no for an answer."

"...uh...are you sure?" Aang asked nervously, glancing at the bag of gold, "you don't even want this?"

"It's not meat." Luffy said with a shrug, "shishishi, I hope we meet again Aang, Katara...Baka!"

"Uh, it's So-"

"Let's go! See you guys!"

"But it's-" No one paid any attention to Sokka as the groups parted.

"Nami's going to kill you," Sanji muttered as he rushed after the shorter man, "and then she'll kill us for not stopping you."

"Bet you'd enjoy that, ero-cook," Zoro teased, instantly starting yet another fight with the firebender. Usopp sighed and looked back at the younger trio,

"Sorry about all this, you guys must be really confused...good luck with your earthbending!" Robin merely smiled and waved before she too had turned to follow Luffy.

"Uh...does that mean we're free to go?" Sokka asked no one in particular.

"I think it does," Katara replied, "what should we do, Aang?"

"Let's go find me an earthbending teacher."