sulongmirko: Indeed. Hancock isn't the only other one like Luffy he will meet!
Wishfull-star: Angst is acoming. Be prepared.
IIRoxaII: Will he though? Will Luffy ever get over his insecurities? You know how I love my angst!
Elder Nyon came hurrying in, looking baffled at Luffy's presence there. "Nyon, why did you give a man blood from my supply?" the princess demanded in a furious voice, sitting on her snake like a throne. It was a huge snake, too, not like the rest of them.
The old woman replied, "Because he claimed to need blood, and has all of the traits that you do. We've always thought you were alone with the sea kings." Maybe that's why she was called the Snake Princess. "Knowing there are humans out there. Maybe it would make you happy."
"So, you were doing it for my happiness?" the princess mocked. She flipped her hair. "I am happy as long as I get what I want." She seemed like she had an even worse attitude than Nami did. "Because I am beautiful. I don't need to know I'm not the only one like myself." She wasn't telling the truth.
"If anyone knows you're lying, it's myself and that man."
"Silence!" She turned to Luffy and demanded him to tell the truth. Where he came from. Luffy already told her. But he did again. He was sent flying by a bear man after he got in trouble with a Celestial Dragon. "I don't believe you. Who punches one of those people? You must have a death threat if you do such a thing!" Her voice was strained. "Execute him. I never want a man on my grounds again."
"But you're the only other person like me I've ever met! Why do you gotta be an enemy?! What's it like to have to hide from a kingdom? Do you go off this island?" She looked baffled. "How does everyone treat you that know?"
"You may never have this chance again, Snake Princess. To talk to somebody who understands how you feel about the matter." Snake Princess faltered, and licked her lips. Her sisters looked wary.
"Sister-sama, Elder yon is right…" the green haired sister said. The one with a long tongue and wide face. The other was surprised. Both names were Sandersonia and Marigold.
"My name is Boa Hancock. I'm a warlord. Who are you?" Luffy's jaw dropped. He just dealt with two warlords in the last week. Hopefully she wouldn't attack him or try to kill him, like Moria and Kuma. Luffy leaned forwards with a bright smile and gave his name and occupation. "Straw Hat Luffy?"
Elder Nyon said he had attacked Enies Lobby with his crew, and then caused a disaster on Sabaody. "What are you still doing here?! You've served your purpose! Shoo," Hancock said dismissively. It pissed off the old woman. But she left. Hancock turned and asked Luffy how he was treated.
"Well, my grandpa hid me away from everyone. I had my two brothers, but a Celestial Dragon killed one of them. I was supposed to stay on my island because my grandpa never wanted anybody to know about me. But I left anyway! And I made a crew that all accepts me. But I don't know where they all are. We're supposed to meet back at Sabaody by now." Luffy couldn't help it. He wanted to talk to Hancock about this.
Talking to Rayleigh was enlightening, but it wasn't talking to the one that was like him. And now Luffy knew there really were others out there like him! Hancock was wearing contacts, he saw. The marks had been hidden, and her hair was all black. She looked startled when he asked her excitedly about herself.
"I see. I'm sorry about what happened to your brother. And about how you were hidden away. Being in an isolated country has helped to keep me hidden most of the time, though of course I go out many times. I was named 'Snake Princess' partially because of this. Our founder of Amazon Lily was the same as I am."
As she spoke and saw the complete interest in Luffy's face, she opened up more, and spoke about her troubles with it. How nobody but her staff know of the fact she drinks blood. They only knew about the other traits. The blood drinking was expertly hidden. "Why don't you hide it? I would never be brave enough to be obvious about it, even though I am not a coward," she said, flipping her hair.
Luffy laughed. "I think there's something wrong with me. Shishishi, I've never felt the desire to hide! I used to wear glasses and then contacts for a short time. And my hat hides my hair. I haven't been hiding this, though," he said, looking at his arm. She was so interested, too. He felt he made a very unlikely friend! She asked what it was. "A blood stone from Sky Island impaled me, and left this mark.
"The only thing to come from it is that my arms sometimes cramp and get really strong and then blow up. It's hard to explain, but it hurts really bad if I do it wrong, and I can't get them to go away. It's really inconvenient since it only depends on random luck. I tried to save my crew with it, but one of my arms got wrecked in the process.
"When I was flying, I lost count of how many times they blew up. They were useless by the time I landed. Thank goodness for blood, right? Shishishi," Luffy said brightly. "You shouldn't touch that stone, by the way."
She flippantly said they already knew that. The blood stone, not that they called it that, caused diseases to the inhabitants if they didn't drip salt water over the whole thing daily. Interesting! They found a way to stop it from doing anything bad to them. "Wow, you all must be so smart." He added, "This place is super cool. Where is it, though? I don't hear much but on the island."
"Amazon Lily is in the Calm Belt. It's safe for us to sail with our ship both because it's drawn by two sea kings, and I frighten all the others away if I wish," Hancock said confidently.
"One time I scared a sea king into letting me ride it through a storm," Luffy said, and laughed about it being an interesting experience. She let out a real smile, her cheeks pink. She asked what his crew were like. He listed their names, and about how he and Chopper were the two monsters on the crew, while they also had a living skeleton. "I guess I'm the proper monster, they were both affected by devil fruits."
She smiled, and asked if he was okay with that. "Well, I don't like it when outsiders call me a monster. I'm bummed because my crew is supposed to go to Fishman Island, but all fishman are afraid of me, so I know it won't be fun at all. Are people scared of you, too?"
"Not because of what I am. I am quite intimidating on my own. If any man has desire for me, I can turn them to stone instantly." Luffy said that was a scary power. "It didn't work on you, though." She sounded irritated.
"Why?"
"Were you not attracted to me?"
"I guess. You're pretty, but I have somebody else."
"Oh… Nami and Robin?" she asked, surprisingly sour.
"No, it's Zoro." She blushed, but looked almost relieved that it wasn't another woman that he liked. "I love him a lot. But I miss him. We got in a fight before we got separated. I kept worrying over him because he was badly injured, and we were going to the New World. He was angry. I was so worried over him and yelled at me."
Hancock said, "I see. I'm sorry about that. Well, maybe I could help you get back to your crew. Though this conversation has been short, I have enjoyed it. And… you really hate the Celestial Dragons?"
"I hate them! I always have. Why do they get away with being the way they are? But then innocent people get screwed over by the marines?!" he said heatedly.
"I see." They both heard the old woman from behind. "What do you want?!" Hancock demanded. With their hearing, they knew she hadn't been there long, but had probably heard the last part. The women came through the curtain, and told the Snake Princess that she should tell him. "Tell him what?"
Elder Nyon said, "You know what I mean! This man has proven he is different, he has a heart and understands you more than anybody! Let go of your burden to somebody who will understand it!"
"Silence! You left the island, you have no right to tell me what to do!" She was back to being cranky, even though she had a bright face when speaking to Luffy. He hoped and had a feeling he had a new friend. Somebody like him. The timing was amazing. His crew would be amazed by the coincidence when they met up. They would.
"Who was it that took you in in the first place?! Lay your heart out and tell somebody the truth! You know you will feel so much better afterwards!" Elder Nyon shouted. "If anyone could understand how you feel, it's him."
Hancock stood and left, glaring at Elder Nyon. Luffy waited in the room, not knowing what was happening. He could hear Hancock speaking to her sisters. They weren't like she was. After all, it wasn't genetic or anything. They were going to tell him something? But they were hesitant about it. He looked at his virve card, so glad he still had it.
He felt his arms start to burn and the mark started to glow. He went back to the bathhouse and rocketed out and above the palace, shooting the burst from all of his body. It made his bones rattle, but it damaged nothing, and he landed back in the building just fine. Sandersonia came running in demanding to know what he did.
"I exploded, but I didn't hurt anything," Luffy replied. "I went into the sky to do it, don't worry!" he said with a grin. She looked so uneasy and skeptical about him, and told him to come with her. "Is it food, by any chance?" Luffy asked.
"No. it's not food. If you laugh or do anything of the sort, I will kill you personally."
"I don't really laugh at people's problems as long as they're not enemies."
"Be quiet." They sure could be grumpy here. "Come."
He waited outside of a curtain where he could smell Hancock inside. He wondered what she was doing. "You may come in, man." Luffy walked in. He asked why Hancock was naked again. "So impertinent. You said you recognized this mark, right?" she asked, turning around to show him her back covered with her hair that she moved aside to put in front of her, over her shoulder.
Luffy looked at it closer. "Well, the marks around it I see are like mine… somehow I can tell. But your other tattoo looked like my friend Hachi's mark. I don't know what that one was."
"I assumed so." She hurriedly put her robe back on, covering it and hunched over a bit. She was breathing a bit quickly, and Luffy asked if she was okay. She seemed really scared all of the sudden. "But you know of the Celestial Dragons… correct?" Luffy nodded. He'd talked about that a lot already. "I… I shouldn't be telling you this. Just because we're similar. But… I feel I can tell you. I don't know why, but I will tell you… our dark past."
Luffy didn't know what to expect, but felt they shouldn't tell him if Hancock was so bothered and upset by the prospect of just speaking about it. "You don't have to-"
"Silence. I will, even if it might be a mistake! Tell me once more. If you lie I will tell and kill you. Did you truly assault a Celestial Dragon?"
"Yeah."
Hancock's face crumbled and she put her face in her hands. Had she not believed him before? He hadn't been lying. She should have been able to tell. "To think someone exists in this world… who would lay a hand on one of them! Such a fool! A man to challenge the gods of the world! And not fear death! Like him!" She was still hiding her face. Luffy really didn't know what to expect. She hadn't acted like this before.
He saw Sandersonia and Marigold looking disturbed, too. He didn't know them much, but he felt bad for their expressions. Hancock brought his attention again and said she would tell him everything about the mark, and Hachi's tattoo. "This is… the hoof of the flying dragon. The crest of the Celestial Dragons!"
She explained in heartbreaking pain and fear, shame and hatred, that she and her sisters had been slaves, and it was not a tattoo, but a brand. It would never go away. They hid them from everybody, or they'd never be able to live on Amazon Lily ever again. She didn't just hide her back because of he black marks she shared with Luffy. It was all for the brand.
She said she could care less about the other marks compared to the brand. "I was twelve when we were taken. It was because of my beauty, and then the strange appearance. They thought I was… interesting. As I got older, it got much worse…" Sandersonia started to cry and scream about the memories.
"You don't have to tell me!"
But Hancock kept speaking. She explained the horrors they went through. Luffy wondered if that happened to all the women who were taken. The only relieving thing was that they never knew Hancock needed blood. She would feed off her sisters in secret at night. With all their usual wounds, bite marks went unnoticed.
Luffy was horrified and furious with the World Nobles even more now. How could they do this to anyone? Why were they allowed to?! They should be no more special than regular people. They didn't rule over a kingdom, they enslaved everyone they wanted with no consequences for any of their actions.
Punching that Celestial Dragon didn't sound so bad anymore. If he had been stronger, maybe they wouldn't have been separated. All of them deserved to be beaten and turn to slaves themselves to feel the pain they inflicted on so many people. It was hard to hear the pain in their voices.
When Hachi spoke of the treatment briefly, and Luffy saw how they treated that man on the street in Sabaody, he didn't think it was this bad. He was naive to think it wasn't this bad. "We wished for death that day. But one day, a man came, a fishman came and climbed the Red Line to free the slaves. He didn't discriminate, though he had no love for humans. He freed us all. He later became the captain of the Sun Pirates. Fisher Tiger.
"He saw me, and wasn't afraid at all. Even though the fishman had always been wary of me. I felt like a freak to them. Always avoided. I was a monster and was treated just the same. Everyone was treated like trash, some worse than others. I remember… They cut off limbs and fed them to their dogs. They are brutal, and horrible.
"Ever since we were freed, we've hidden our scars, trying to be perfect and composed. To never let anyone know. I'd rather everyone find out about what I am than what we've been through." Luffy shocked her by taking her hand.
"Don't let them win! You're all free! You dealt with that all and now you're a princess and your people love you!" he said firmly. "If you were what they made you think you are, less than human, then why would anybody respect or admire you?!"
Hancock burst into true tears. "The mark on your friend, he might have been a slave, too. The mark was a brand put over the one he might have had before. I don't know why I told you! B-but thank you fo-for listening," she sobbed. Instead of the strong woman that she was for being a warlord, she now looked like a terrified little girl.
How she must have been for so long. But… though Arlong did wrong, he had a good reason to hate humans. Luffy would never forgive him for what he did to Nami and her village, but he understood the hatred in a sense. Not all humans were the Celestial Dragons, though. Obviously, when humans were treated as trash and toys just as fishman were.
The sisters were more composed now that the worst of their life story was over. "But thankfully, they fed us devil fruits, where we can deceive our people and pretend we're normal, that we hadn't been through all of that. We can fool the world, but we can never fool ourselves. It will alway stay with us, no matter how much time passes.
"We are as strong as we can be, and will continue to be. They… broke us, but we've taped ourselves back together good enough for now, to live like this. Don't ever tell anybody what we told you, or we'd never be free again! We will never be taken again!" Luffy swore on his life that he'd never tell anybody any of their secrets. Not even that Hancock was like he was. "Thank you…" Hancock said quietly.
She wore a small smile, though her eyes were still a bit red from crying. Elder Nyon was smiling sadly. She said, "Ah, it has been a long time indeed that you expressed your true feelings. Recently I had begun to fear our Snake Princess turned to ice!" They got in an argument, the old woman apparently having left the country, but being the one to take them back to the homeland. Hancock looked to Luffy, who smiled and said he still thought they could be friends.
She blushed and said, "I like you! You said you needed a ride, where do you wish to go?" She had a true smile on. A bright one, different from the previous ones when they were talking before. He felt they clicked. He did have a new, unlikely friend, it seemed. And now he had a way to get back to Sabaody!
"Really?! Thank you!"
I'm too weak. I lost them all.
Be quiet.
Hancock said they would leave in the morning, so he should get some rest. He was given a serving of blood even if he didn't need it, before there was a feast that night. Hancock and her sisters didn't come, but Luffy got to see the women who took care of him, and many of the others, who didn't know why he was accepted, but trusted the Snake Princess on her decision to welcome the man.
He got to know them, and they were all fascinated by his rubber body. He had a new shirt on, which he was thankful for. Hancock offered him colored contacts, but he didn't want them. He was a monster, he should hide it, should try to act normal, but he just couldn't. He did, however, take a nice sleeve to cover the mark.
Seeing the glow was no longer necessary to feel when he was going to burst. It had happened again, and it was in front of many. He had shot himself back into the sky to do it, and everyone was amazed, thinking all men's bodies were like that. Luffy didn't correct them. He thought it was kind of funny.
But he had a delicious meal with food he'd never tried before. It turned into a party, where he actually got them to do the chopstick dance. He could forget about his problems with his crew over food, and would be seeing them soon! They had to have been to the island by now, right? He hoped they still believed in him, even after he lost all of them.
Maybe they wouldn't be there, but he'd wait for as long as he had to. Even if he just was cooped up on the ship, or staying with Rayleigh. He would wait for his crew forever if necessary.
He did get annoyed with them all stretching his body without his permission when it was getting hard to eat. "We can't help it! Everyone wants the chance to touch a real man! We might never get this opportunity again!" Then they tackled him to stretch his body. He heard Margarte call to him on the roof, and he escaped the banquet hall.
That was uncomfortable. "Thanks!" Luffy said. Margaret smiled, and said he looked a lot better with his arms normal. "Shishishi, I sure do feel a lot better. Everyone is so nice here, now." She asked how he healed, and he said it was a secret. She respected the secret, and nodded. He was thankful. It seemed nobody really knew about the Snake Princess's necessary diet.
Only the doctor lady, her sisters, and Elder Nyon. Luffy was really lucky to land here! It was unbelievable! Margaret took him to Elder Nyon's home for a break, which was much appreciated. "Old lady! Thank you so much for everything you've done."
"You're welcome. You've helped the Snake Princess, so I should thank you, too. But there's still the problem of her losing her title. I hope that expressing herself to you will spur her on to accept the warlord summons," she said holding a newspaper.
Luffy was still surprised he met another warlord so soon. Three in a row. Four out of seven when including Crocodile. There were that many, right? "A summons? What's that mean? Why would she lose her title? What is she a warlord for anyways?" Luffy asked as he ate a huge chunk of meat.
"The Kuja Pirates are a huge influence here. Having her as a warlord protects the island. Even though we're in the Calm Belt, we could still be targeted by the marines and government. So, for the protection, she holds the title of a warlord, the Pirate Empress. It protects us. But she's possibly going to lose it by refusing the warlord summons like a spoiled child." Elder Nyon wasn't happy with Hancock's choice, obviously.
He was impressed that Hancock had a bounty of 80 million. Though Robin's was nearly that much, too. But the Snake Princess was strong, Luffy could tell. "Pirate Empress" sounded quite fancy, to be honest.
He wondered why she was being summoned. "To fight in the war against Whitebeard. The marines and seven warlords will be fighting against the Whitebeard Pirates and their countless allies. The Snake Princess must take part or be stripped of her title." Luffy's jaw dropped. weren't the Whitebeards super strong?
Did that mean Ace would fight against them, too? "Whoa, whoa, what?! They're gonna go against Whitebeard? That's crazy!" Luffy said. "I never heard of that!"
"How did you not hear of that? The Whitebeards would only fight the marines over one of their own being harmed. With the execution of Fire Fist Ace, of course they'll fight to get him back. After a man named Blackbeard turned him in for warlord status."
I kind of want to do a poll of who predicts me killing Ace in the name of continuing the angst or keeping him alive because I love him as a character? Hmmm. See you next week! Only 10 chapters left until you find out that answer.