Luffy hugged Ace tightly and did the same to Belphegor and Fran without a second thought. It took them a few seconds to recognize her, but when they did they relaxed. Takeshi and Lambo waved at them.

"Let me guess... you're chasing after Blackbeard for betraying the crew, and he stole a devil fruit that you have yet to deal with," said Luffy, once their introductions were over.

Ace's jaw dropped.

"How the fuck do you know that?"

"I read the manga," deadpanned Luffy. "The fruit he ate is the 'Dark-Dark' fruit or something just as ridiculously named as the Mera-Mera fruit you ate. To put it bluntly it allows him to create black holes out of nothing."

Ace wasn't the only one to go stiff at the thought of facing something like a black hole without any warning. Then his mind processed what Luffy said and his eyes narrowed at her.

"What do you mean, you 'read the manga'?" he demanded.

"I mean we're currently in the world of the series known collectively as 'One Piece', and I'm in the body of the main character," said Luffy without hesitation, with a wicked grin on her face. "It's how I knew you would join the Whitebeards before you did, and why I was adamant Sabo dye his hair and hide his features when we went into town when we were younger. And why I told him to fake his death using the Celestial Dragon visit to insure we left no loose ends."

Ace stared at her...before he started swearing vehemently. Then he smirked, and before he said anything, Luffy raised a single hand.

"And before you say anything about the books, which were not in the series as far as I'm aware, I've already yelled at Shanks about them and threatened to castrate him until he shelled out a portion of the sales as a 'donation' to help me get a proper ship for the Grand Line and the next ones in the series for the ones who actually read it on my crew," deadpanned Luffy.

Ace openly pouted, while Lambo grinned without a hint of shame. He loved that series, and now he had even more reason for it.

"So if you've already read ahead on this 'series', then where can I find that fucker Blackbeard?" asked Ace.

"Jaya, but he's not there at the moment as far as I'm aware. All I know is that Luffy first meets him after he betrays the Whitebeards...though he has no idea who Blackbeard is or why Ace would be after his blood... and he attempts to go after Luffy for his bounty except the Knockback Stream sends them to the Sky Road," said Luffy. "I do know that all this happens after the Alabasta arc when Luffy kicks Crocodile's ass and Vivi leaves the crew permanently."

Ace nodded satisfied. If anyone hated traitors as much as he did, it was Luffy. She had no reason to lie to him after all, and the fact she would tell him this sort of information meant she was willing to risk the consequences of revealing she knew insider information on the subject.

"By the way, I heard a really cryptic 'message' from Nico Robin before she left my ship. I thought it was coincidence, but I would rather have a second opinion before I really get annoyed with a certain someone."

Ace blinked.

"What message?"

Luffy repeated it perfectly, and Ace's expression turned sour.

"That sounds like Vongola Cipher, and not the one available to anyone outside the inner circle of the main family. Though I can't remember which one used that particular version."

Luffy hung her head.

"Dammit... I was really hoping it was coincidence."

"You know which one it was?" asked Ace.

"Congratulations Ace, you're now the direct descendant of the Primo, except this time you're his son," deadpanned Luffy.

Several emotions crossed Ace's face, some not very pleasant.

"WHAT?!"

"I've spent enough time deciphering his piss-poor handwriting and bad spelling to recognize Giotto's specific Vongola Cipher," said Luffy. "And I know Roger had something to do with the Poneglyphs. So either he was Giotto's reincarnation or he learned the cipher directly from Giotto himself. Considering everyone goes on and on about how charismatic he was and the sheer mess he left before he was executed..."

Ace suddenly made a face.

"Oh god..." he said, face-palming, adding up all the known facts and the details he got from Whitebeard and those who had known Roger personally and adding up to the same conclusion Luffy had.

This explained far too much, and he wasn't exactly sure how to feel about the fact that technically he was Giotto's son this time around. On an unrelated note, if he looked at it from the right angle it could be fate's way of making up for the fact he wasn't a direct bloodline descendant of the Vongola by making him the last heir of the family this go around.

And he had heard several comments from Shanks that Luffy reminded him of a 'younger Roger' and that he couldn't wait to see how far she would go.

"Even in this life you can't escape becoming a mini-Primo," chuckled Xanxus.

Luffy snorted.

"Yeah, that was my reaction. At least this time I don't have to deal with that awful paperwork! I'd rather be a pirate than a damn mafia boss!" laughed Luffy. "And if someone irritates me too much I can just push them off the ship to swim!"

Ace laughed with her.

Later that night

Ace watched the reactions of Luffy's crew, quickly assessing how they felt about his little sister with a perceptive glance.

Most of them either treated Luffy as a "little sister", or as just another one of the girls/guys. However it was the way Zoro watched Luffy that had him smirking.

Now this had potential. He could remember all too easily how frustrated Tsunami had been in the last life due to the fact she was too nice to beat some sense into her Storm over his bad habits. She had to suffer being single and a virgin until she was twenty-six, when the various famiglias made too big a stink about the fact she had yet to announce a single heir or even get a husband.

And that had lead to far too many disasterous 'dates' until one of the Arcobaleno...he couldn't remember which one but it might have been the Storm or the Rain... decided to take pity on her and help her out.

Come to think of it, it might have been the Storm. The Rain had been whipped pretty thoroughly by the failed one long before Tsunami came into the picture and he was one of the few who could make Hayato leave his poor Sky alone when it came to her virtue and any 'unworthy' males around her. Mostly it was because he remembered how pissy the Cloud had been during that time until they settled into a new 'normal'.

At least this time Luffy wouldn't be totally 'friend-zoned' by the guys around her. She really had some poor luck in that regard before.

Ace waited until he was able to catch Zoro relatively alone and without any annoying eavesdroppers.

Zoro seemed to guess what he was going to say, because he went slightly defensive.

"If you're going to tell me to stay away from Luffy, don't bother. I already know it's not really proper for a First Mate to date their Captain."

"Actually I was going to tell you that if you want to make any actual headway with her, you would have to make the first move," corrected Ace.

Zoro stared at him.

"What?"

"Did she tell you about the fact she remembers her past life?" guessed Ace.

Zoro nodded.

"Well last time she was stuck a virgin until she was almost twenty-eight because her Right Hand took it upon himself to chase away anyone he considered 'unworthy' of her. The problem being was that she was the head of the family and he put her on such a high pedestal that getting a date was nearly impossible and she was too damn nice to tell him to knock it off. Hell, the only reason she even got laid was because someone much older than her took pity on her and was one of the few the idiot couldn't chase off and knew it," explained Ace. "I'm not going to see my little sister suffer through that twice because of something as stupid as the fact she's the captain and you're her First Mate. It really didn't help that most of her nakama back then had already friend-zoned her or had someone else."

"...Friend-zone?" asked Zoro. He wasn't familiar with the term.

"Basically you have a hot female friend, but they look at you as more of a brother instead of a potential boyfriend even when their own dating life keeps biting them in the ass. And no matter how you hint at it, they never seem to get that you're interested in them romantically," clarified Ace.

"Ouch," said Zoro. "So you're okay with the fact I might end up taking her innocence?"

"Okay with it? Hell I'm actively encouraging it so long as you don't hurt her! At least that way she won't have to worry about it being taken because of the Marine's fake sense of justice or any other bastard trying to break her," said Ace.

Zoro seemed to relax at that.

"So I should make the move first?"

"From what I can tell Luffy does have some interest, but she's so used to being considered the 'little sister' around guys that she has no idea how to initiate a romantic relationship. And last time she had so little confidence in herself as a woman that she had a very hard time believing anyone found her attractive enough to date... she honestly believed it was because everyone found her too plain or boring to try dating until she learned it was her Right Hand that was keeping her from properly experiencing a normal courtship."

The second Xanxus learned what was really going on he nearly bit the idiot's head off...and he made sure Reborn and the others knew why he was so pissed, because they had been equally quick to join in. Tsunami had been so frustrated and had very little reason to relax and lose some of the ever present tension that when she finally did get laid the change was very startling.

Xanxus honestly hoped that stupid Storm didn't follow them here. He openly believed the only reason Tsunami put up with his shit was out of pity. He would have put that stupid mutt in his place if he had tried that crap on him. Plus, the idiot put his boss on such a ridiculously high pedestal that it would have taken a miracle for anyone to be deemed 'worthy' enough to date her...or in Fon's case, be strong enough to kick his ass and brazen enough to survive a slightly less protective Reborn.

Reborn wouldn't admit it, but he did view Tsunami as his daughter. He might have put the guy through a little extra Reborn-style hell to prove his devotion, but he would have let the poor bastard sleep with her eventually.

"So what you suggest?"

"Grab her, kiss her and make it clear you like her as more than just a captain or a sister. Trust me, once she knows you're interested she'll be more than happy to reciprocate. Considering you two have fought together and know you'll have each other's back, you don't really need to worry about the whole 'take her out on a date' jazz," said Ace bluntly.

Luffy did not want to deal with the same bullshit she went through last time. The stress had nearly driven her to an early grave and she was planning to make the most of her second chance.

Especially in regards to her chastity. There was no way in hell she was going to remain a virgin until she was twenty like last time!

Zoro waited for a prime moment before Luffy and the others got off the ship and went to Rain Dinners to start her plan. He had to admit, it was unpredictable enough that it would easily catch Crocodile off guard, especially if it actually worked in regards to Luffy's luck.

(And that was before Nami suddenly got berri signs in her eyes when Luffy, Ace and Fran all demonstrated the fact they could create 'Mist-pockets' to hide large amounts where no one could find them. That had caused them to share a look and mutter something about a snake, which he really didn't get.)

Luffy was already decked out and looking like she did before, except this time she had some earrings in and a necklace on, courtesy of Ace. Apparently he had saved up a few things he claimed while traveling with the Whitebeard pirates and had gotten the advice of a crossdresser on what would look best.

Izou had been more than amused to help Ace spoil his little sister, once he saw her again. He found it adorable.

"Zoro, what..."

Luffy was stunned into silence by the fact Zoro had a firm grip on her and was kissing her very thoroughly. The tongue in her mouth was a pretty clear indication he didn't view her as a "little sister" one bit.

She was breathing a little heavily when he broke it off with no little amount of anticipation. He wasn't disappointed.

Ace had been right when he mentioned Luffy's reaction, because she surged forward and kissed him right back with a gleam in her eyes that made Zoro growl appreciatively.

"I wish we could do more, but we're unfortunately on a time crunch at the moment."

Zoro nodded.

"We are definitely going to have some fun later," he promised. It was something of a relief that Luffy was just as interested in the idea as he was, because he did not want to be "friend-zoned" as Ace had put it.

"Looking good, little bunny," whistled Ace.

"Shishishi... so the Bunny Princess has finally filled out properly as a female..." said Belphegor.

The first time he did that laugh, he had gotten several odd looks from the crew. Then Luffy did the same, which had startled him for a moment before they shared a wicked grin...and proceeded to do the laugh together in almost perfect unison save for the tone, freaking several out.

Ace had found it hilarious, once he got over the fact his little sister shared his Storm's odd excuse of a laugh. He hadn't really registered it before now.

"Last time was not my fault. You know Shamal and Lussuria both agreed that damn seal screwed me up in multiple ways," scowled Luffy.

Apparently when Nono placed the seal on her, it did more than 'seal' her flames away. It also stunted her growth, caused her to undergo a late onset puberty...which had Reborn frothing at the mouth when he found out why Tsunami didn't hit a proper growth spurt until she was at least seventeen, much less show a normal hormonal interest in the very attractive men around her...and as a result there was some worry that it had screwed up her reproductive system as well.

Luffy hated Nono for that damn seal. She had been very unhappy learning that the reason she had to suffer through being an almost extreme late bloomer (she had been fifteen when Reborn first arrived) was because his seal had stunted the growth of the proper hormones.

According to Shamal, she should have started her period when she was at least thirteen at the most. Instead she didn't have her first period until a week and a half after Reborn showed up and started using her as target practice for his special bullets.

That had been a very uncomfortable moment for them both. Especially when Reborn forced his student to visit an OBGYN just to make sure the seal hadn't inadvertantly rendered her sterile.

(Which it nearly had, if that thing had stayed on for much longer. Her body had spent so much time fighting it internally it had partially damaged her ovaries, meaning if and when she got pregnant she would have to be kept on very close observation the entire time.)

Luffy found it very telling that Timoteo had only shown an iota of remorse about the damn seal AFTER Reborn had explained in clear detail he had almost ruined the Vongola by following through with Iemitsu's arrogant stupidity because he had nearly ended the Primo's bloodline. It would be rather hard to explain to their allies that not only had they sealed a young powerful Sky, but they had also rendered her sterile all because Iemitsu was too damn lazy to train his daughter properly.

On the plus side, Xanxus started treating her as a little sister when he found out what nearly happened through Lussuria.

Luffy took one look at the massive casino and smirked.

She was going to bankrupt that asshole and enjoy every minute of it. Besides, this was going to be a discreet way to 'test out' showing her real gender.