Higuma was an arrogant man who usually got he wanted.
That included beautiful women. Beautiful women like Kirito.
The bluenette was visiting Ace and the Dadan family and was on her way back to her ship to pick up something for Luffy before heading to Foosha village. Higuma couldn't help himself when he saw a pretty girl walking alone in the jungle. She was exotic, her pale skin and blue colouring a rarity in the mountains. She would do nicely with the other women he had collected over the years. He had been in a sour mood ever since the cowardly pirates drained the sake in the local village.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" He drawled while stepping out from the trees. Kirito gave him a blank look and ignored him, side stepping Higuma and continued on her way. His henchmen gaped at the girl that brushed off their boss. There was no doubt that Higuma would get angry.
"Oi! I'm talking to you!" Higuma growled, marching over to Kirito and grabbing her arm. Higuma expected the girl to cower. He expected her to flinch and beg for mercy. He expected her to run.
But Higuma did not expect to be eating dirt.
He blinked, trying to piece together what had just happened. With his face pressed to the ground, Kirito sat on top of him with his arm twisted painfully in a grip of steel. Cold cerulean eyes stared into his soul.
"Don't touch me," She growled.
Instead of being a normal person and acknowledge that it might be the best idea to mess with a person who could pound him into the earth, Higuma refused to be beaten by a girl (that severely outclassed him).
"Get her!" He snarled from his subdued position. His followers charged.
It started raining men.
Makino had served many unusual people as a bartender. Garp the fist, and Red haired Shanks were a few examples. But bandits that looked like they had their asses handed to them? That was new. And it wasn't just any group of bandits either. It was the same group that came by the day before. They probably would have been intimidating if they didn't look like they had jumped into a blender.
"We're customers woman! Bring us sake!" A bruised Higuma mumbled through a split lip.
"Right away sir," Makino replied. She looked at him in concern. "Um…are you okay?"
Higuma just glared at her.
"You're the guys that made fun of Shanks!" Luffy stood from his spot on the bar stool. "You better apologise to him!"
"Luffy!" Makino admonished. She didn't want anything to happen to him because he taunted the wrong person.
The bandits just gave him an irritated look. "And why should I apologise to weak, cowardly pirates?"
"Shanks isn't weak or a coward! You better take that back you baboon faced idiot!" Luffy yelled, quick to defend Shank's honour despite being mad at him a few minutes ago.
"What did you say punk?!" Higuma growled. The other bandits in the bar started to grip their weapons.
"I said you're a baboon faced idiot!"
Ignoring his battered body, Higuma grabbed a struggling Luffy by the back of his shirt and lifted him up.
"I think that you better be taught a lesson."
Kirito had already grabbed the small box for Luffy and was on her way to the Party Bar when she spied a crowd at the docks.
"What's going on?" She asked the nearest man.
"It's Luffy!" He said, and Kirito's blood ran cold. "He messed with bandits and they've taken him hostage!"
She looked out to the ocean and saw the same bandit she met a few hours ago in a boat, holding her baby brother by the throat over the water. White, hot fury boiled in her veins. No body hurts her family.
"Hold this," she snapped, shoving the box in his arms and pushed her way to the front of the crowd. "Give me a cannon ball!" Kirito growls at the pirate standing next to her, recognising Benn Beckman.
"We won't be able to get a cannon ball in time," He said to the Vice-admiral, already knowing what she wanted to do.
"Then give me a sword!" Kirito looks back over to see the Lord of the Coast hovering over Luffy. "Give me a sword NOW!"
Seeing his captain and Luffy in a precarious position, he snatches a sword from his fellow crew mate and hands it over to her. As soon as the handle is in her grasp, Kirito hurls it as hard as she could at the sea king. The blade embedded itself into the sea king's eye, and it recoiled in pain, it's teeth inches away from sinking into Shank's arm. The Lord of the Coast roars in agony, and swims away to heal its wounds.
With threat gone, Shanks grabs Luffy and swims to shore, with thankfully both arms. He hauls himself into the dock with a crying Luffy in his arms. Ignoring the fact that Shanks is a pirate, she races over to the pair, throwing her arms around both of them and kisses a soaking wet Shanks on the cheek.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She kisses him each time she thanks him. Kirito then, gently lifts Luffy into her arms, wiping away his tears.
"It's nothing," Shanks said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. A 'lucky bastard' was murmured somewhere in the crowd and was soundly ignored.
"You might be a pirate, but I owe you. If you need a favour, just call me." Kirito said, handing over her Den Den mushi number, cradling Luffy in one arm.
Shanks gratefully accepted the number. "It's no problem. Anything for a friend."
As the Red Force departed from Foosha Village, Luffy-with his new hat-stood at the dock waving until he could no longer see the ship. Kirito stood next to him, a hand on her brother's shoulder.
"Since you have that nice hat, I don't think you'll like my present anymore," She playfully teased. Luffy perked up from his dull mood at the mention of 'present'.
"Present?! Can I have the present?" He grinned excitedly. Kirito smiled, holding out a box to him. Rubbery hands grabbed to box and ripped off the lid.
"Ne, Nee-chan what is this?" He asked, holding out two pieces of black fabric. Kirito took the fabrics and slid one up his elbow and the other on his opposite knee.
"These are elbow and knee guards," She explained, lightly tapping the hard surface at the joint of his elbow. "Since you get hurt a lot during Grandpa's training, I thought that I would give you my old pair. I used to wear this when Grandpa was training me. It makes it hurt less."
She had already given Ace the other half of her set.
"Thanks Nee-chan!" Luffy beamed. "Why is it so heavy?"
"It's training as well, so you can get faster and stronger when you take it off." Kirito didn't mention that the steel caps were actually thinly coated in sea stone and weren't that heavy to a normal person. It would train Luffy to become slightly more resistant to sea stone and sea water. It also served as something to hit a devil fruit user with.
"Don't take it off unless you are in really deep trouble, okay?"
"Okay Nee-chan!"
It was another few months before Garp picked Luffy up to go to Mt Corvo.
"But I don't want to go!"
"What did you say brat?!"
Two figures walked down a path deep in the jungle on Dawn Island. One was a tall man with broad shoulders, dressed in a black suit with grey hair. The other was a pretty woman dressed in a casual t-shirt and shorts, with long midnight blue hair.
Kirito held onto a clinging boy who wrapped his entire body around her torso like a snake, his rubbery hands sticking close to the woman as possible. Luffy knew that his grandpa wouldn't hit his elder sister unless training, and he was going to take advantage of this as much as possible. Kirito was a nice sister anyway, just as nice as Makino.
Garp clenched his fists, but restrained himself from smacking the shit out of his grandson. Kirito walked along with a serene expression on her face, never seeing Luffy poke his head over her shoulder and stick his tongue out at their grandfather. Garp inhaled through his nostrils.
Can't join the marines if he's dead. Can't join the marines if he's dead. Can't join the marines if he's dead.
Garp exhaled.
"I'm gonna be Pirate King!"
Luffy was pried off Kirito and punched through the forest.
Soon enough, the trio reached the Dadan family hut.
"Dadan open up!" Garp yelled, banging hhis fist against the wooden door.
The door slammed open. "Who dares to-! Oh it's you."
An orange haired bulky woman stepped out from the hut, a cigarette between her lips. "What do you want? Is that another brat?!" Dadan asked irritated, spotting a bruised Luffy in Kirito's arms.
"That's right! This is my grandson Luffy. You gotta take care of him as well," Garp stated with crossed arms. Kirito set Luffy down and let him explore his new surroundings.
"He better not be too much trouble, and I want payment! Keeping brats is costly you know!"
As Garp and Dadan haggled over money, Kirito watched Luffy chase a butterfly. Her blue eyes shifted over to the bushes when Ace emerged, dragging a dead buffalo. As soon as he saw her, his face brightened and he dropped his metal pipe and his kill.
"Kirito-nee!" He attacked her with a flying hug. She caught him with an 'Oof', his sea stone elbow guards making her slightly weak.
"Hello Ace," She responded with a smile. "How are you doing?"
"Good!" He grinned, clinging onto one arm. "Those elbow and knee guards you gave me work great! Did you know I elbowed a crocodile? It was awesome!"
"Oh Ace! You're back!" Dadan called, momentarily ceasing her argument with Garp. "What did you catch this time?"
"Buffalo," He answered, his eyes only now registering the other people in the clearing. His dark eyes darted to Luffy, and settled on familiar elbow and knee guards. Jealousy seized his heart, but Ace shoved the feeling into the corner of his mind.
"Who are you?" He asked the straw hat wearing boy.
"I'm Monkey D Luffy! Who are you?" Ace held onto Kirito a little tighter.
"I'm Ace, I'm Kirito-nee's brother."
"What are you talking about? I'm Nee-chan's brother," Luffy barks defensively, he stretches his arm to wrap around Kirito's vacant arm.
"No, I am!"
"Are not!"
"Are too!"
"ARE NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"SHUT UP!" Garp slamed his fist down on both their heads, clamping their jaws shut. "You're both her brothers! Which means you're brothers as well, so you better get along! Am I understood?!"
Luffy and Ace just rubbed their heads and glared at each other.
If you're wondering why Dadan is nicer, it's because Ace isn't causing chaos just to spite them for calling him a demon child. Kirito has already told him that she doesn't care about his heritage, and neither does Sabo. There might be sibling rivalry in the next chapter.
Anyways, leave a review on your way out and tell me what you think ;)