A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews on Chapter 1 of this story. I got more fav/follows than I thought I would get, so thank you! I'm not sure where I want to take this story yet and I don't know how in-character I can make everyone. But I'll try my best. There may be some OOC stuff as the story continues.
Response to reviewers: (For those that I couldn't respond via message)
To Lostdog200: Interesting idea about Robin saving Sabo. I'll have to think about it a little bit. I would like Sabo to survive too, but I don't know how close to the canon I want to make it. Also, yes I have read the fanfic, Alter Tides. It was about Luffy being present for the Ohara incident, yes? I thought it was a cute fic, and I guess it makes a nice counterpart to Robin being here with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.
To Guest: Here are some of the answers to your questions about the choices I made in chapter 1.
1) I know in the show Robin is suppose to be older than all three of the boys. For this story, I changed the timeline a bit so that her age is 8, Luffy's is 7, and Sabo&Ace are 10. Yes, you guess it right - It's really just so I can write this story with them as somewhat the same age. Everything would be quite different if I made Robin a decade older than Luffy and I wanted to write their interactions as children. :)
2) You're right about how difficult it would be for Robin to float from Ohara to Dawn island given how the One Piece world was made with the Grand Line and the Red Line in between the two sides. At the time, I wasn't thinking much of it and just sort of wrote without considering the One Piece map. But seeing that this is a pretty big plot hole, I went back and tweaked it a bit. I hope that it'll make the story flow a little bit better now.
3) I didn't mean that Luffy "won't" interact with girls. I think I said, he just never really did. Luffy didn't really have any other friends, which was why he chased after Ace all the time. Makino and Dadan were the females that showed up the most in Luffy's childhood, so that's why I mentioned only them.
4) When I said that "Ace was naturally short tempered" I didn't mean that his temper was an innate characteristic. I guess I should have used a different word other than naturally. I went back and took out the word since it seems to be sending out the wrong impression. But yes, you're right that his short temper or his poor communication skills was due to the issues with his neglected childhood, as he is definitely more polite and mature when he's older.
To All the other Reviewers: Thanks for commenting! And thank you for your encouragements!
and here is Chapter 2!
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
Chapter 2: Kindness
Robin ran as fast as she could away from the boys, but all that time she spent at sea made her knees weak and she wasn't use to being on land yet. They wobbled as she ran and soon enough, they gave out. Robin scraped her knees and the palms of her hand, as she fell to the ground. Propping herself up on the dirt, she bit her lip as she stared at the blurry ground through her tears.
"Hey, are you okay?" A voice came from behind her.
Robin realized it was the blond kid, Sabo. She knew she couldn't run anymore. Her legs were short and tired. She noticed that the other two boys weren't with him. Robin switched her position to sit on the ground and hugged her scraped knees to her chest. Wiping the tears from her face with the un-bruised arm, she tried not to look at the boy. She didn't respond to his question either. Putting his metal rod down, Sabo sat down next to her. He wanted to show her he wasn't a threat.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's start over. I'm Sabo"
Robin still didn't respond, so Sabo continued.
"I saw you coil over when Ace hit one of those arms. Did it hurt you?"
Robin looked down at her bruised arm. Sabo saw that it was changing to a dark color.
"I'm sorry about Ace. He was just a little shocked."
Then she remembered how Ace called her power 'freaky'. Her expression became sadder as she pursed her lips together trying not to cry. Sabo furrowed his eyebrows at this, but said nothing.
"Are you going to call me a freak too?" Robin spoke softly, keeping her eyes casted downward.
"No. Why would I do that?"
"Because I am one…" Robin looked straight at him now and he saw that her blue eyes were stained with tears.
"You don't look that freaky to me"
"You saw what I did…" Robin sniffled
"I think that was pretty cool. How were you able to do that thing with your hands? Did you eat a devil fruit?"
Robin couldn't understand how this kid could still be talking to her. All the other kids at Ohara ran away whenever she used her powers. But, this boy, Sabo, just sat there and spoke to her as if she was a completely normal person. All Robin could do was stare at him, unsure of how to respond, as this has never happened to her before.
Sabo tilted his head sideways and gave her the friendliest smiled he could muster up. This girl seems okay. But, she seems really self conscious. Maybe I shouldn't have asked about the devil fruit thing that quickly. She probably hasn't seen what Luffy can do yet, and she looks really lost…
"Maybe I shouldn't have asked about that… How about you tell me your name first."
"I'm… Robin"
"Well Robin, I can tell you're having a pretty weird day. I mean, you were dragged around the forest in a leaf without even knowing it. Then you woke up to three strangers yelling at each other. You're probably really confused."
It's true. Other than remembering she had landed on some secluded beach, Robin had no recollection of anything else that occurred that day, having passed out from exhaustion.
"It's getting kind of late. C'mon"
Taking Robin's hand, he pulled her up and started walking. Robin didn't resist, seeing that she had no where else to go. Plus, he had been nice to her so far. So she followed Sabo's lead.
"We're almost there"
Sabo walked ahead of her through a muster of dangling leaves. Pushing aside the leaves, Robin saw that Sabo had stopped in front of a large tree. Looking up, she saw that there was a little base built into the tree and a ladder that ran further up the trunk to what looked like a crow's nest that would normally be seen on a pirate ship. A flag blew in the wind with the letters ASL on it.
Wow, Robin thought. She had never been in a tree house before.
"Hey guys, we're back!"
Sabo's shout brought Robin's attention to the base of the tree. To the right, in a small clearing, was a campfire. Surrounding the flames were the two boys from earlier, whom Robin remembered as Ace and Luffy. Sabo had already made it to the two boys.
"Oooii! Handy girl!" Luffy started waving at her wildly.
"Her name is Robin, Luffy" Sabo corrected him.
Hesitantly, Robin walked over to them. She sat down on the closest log to her on Luffy's right. Luffy jumped up and down in his seat with enthusiasm and was smiling from ear to ear. Sabo took a seat on the other side of Robin. Ace just continued to fry his fish, ignoring the new presence, not even taking a glance at the girl.
"Here, have some fish" Sabo handed her a fried fish stuck to a stick
The scent of cooked fish meat made Robin's tummy growl. She barely ate anything in the last couple of weeks as she drifted over the East Blue waters. Her only source of food had been the underwater plants and there wasn't much of it. Also, the family she used to live with on Ohara barely fed her, and she was forced to find her own food and live off scraps.
Taking the fish from Sabo, Robin nodded her head in thanks. Then she began to munch down on the fish rapidly, cherishing every bite.
"Wow, you must be really hungry. But you're still not as bad at Luffy." Sabo joked
Luffy pushed three large fish into his mouth, causing his cheeks to stretch 3 times the size of his head.
"Sorry, I guess it's been awhile since I ate anything" Robin apologized
"That's okay. Take as much as you want"
"Oi. Don't just go giving away our food like that. She didn't catch any of it. And she tried to attack us" Ace interceded.
"It's fine. Don't mind Ace." Sabo shot Ace a look. Ace got up and walked to the side away from the group. He sat down, leaned his back against the tree trunk and ate his fish.
"Sigh… Sorry bout that" Sabo apologized
"It's okay. He's right. I don't deserve any of this." Robin motioned to the food.
At this point, Luffy was too excited about the newcomer to continue eating.
"Robin! Can you do that thing you did earlier where you made hands grow out of nowhere?!" Luffy pleaded.
"Uh…." Robin hesitated. He wants to see my powers?
"Please!" Luffy grinned
Robin was stunned that this little boy actually wanted her to demonstrate her 'freaky' ability. Usually, she wouldn't use them unless she wanted to scare away the kids who were taunting her. But, seeing his enthusiasm, Robin decided to show him. The little boy's face was just too cute to turn down. Crossing her arms into an x shape and concentrating, Robin made an arm sprout from a thick branch above Ace's head. The phantom arm plucked an apple from the tree and tossed it towards the three kids by the fire. Sabo caught the fruit, and took a bite out of it.
"SUGOI!" Luffy jumped up and down excitedly
"I agree. That was pretty cool." Sabo said
Ace sneered. "It's not that cool. But it's more useful than your powers, Luffy."
"MY POWER IS SUPER USEFUL! I just have to train more! You'll see!" Luffy shouted.
"You can't even hurt a fly!" Ace jeered
"You have really good control over your power Robin. Luffy can learn something from you." Sabo commented
Robin looked at all of them with a confused expression. Did they say… Luffy has powers?
"Oh yeah. That's what I wanted to show you" Sabo grinned at her. "Hey Luffy, why don't you show her that attack you've been working on?"
"Oh yeah! Robin watch this!"
Luffy stood up and started twisting his little right arm around in circles.
"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"
Robin watched in amazement as the little boy's arm stretched several feet in front of them. His punch was aiming for… Ace's head! Ace seem unconcerned and didn't even look up at the fist that was coming at him. Robin was about to call for Ace to watch out, but then the stretched arm started to wiggle uncontrollably. And… SNAP! The arm bounce backwards and hit Luffy in the face, causing him to spin around and fall over.
"Heh, see. You can't even hit straight" Ace folded his arms smugly
"Grrrr!" Luffy growled at Ace
"Can you do attacks too, Robin?" Sabo asked
Robin stiffened at the question. She thought back to the marine ship she had escaped from. After she had stolen the key to her cell with her power, she had to get past the guard who had a gun. Robin had been so terrified of what the marines would do to her, all she could think about was escaping. She had never used her power to cause anyone harm besides to scare away mean kids or knock them in the head so they'll stop bothering her. But being held captive felt like a life and death situation. Robin was so scared of what would happen to her if she stayed on the ship, she resolved to do something she'd regret. Concentrating really hard, closing her eyes, and turning her head away, Robin sprouted phantom arms and snapped the neck of the guard. By the time she opened her eyes, she had already ran past the dead marine. She had never attacked anyone before. Her powers were weird and freaky, but Robin never really believed that her ability made her a monster. No, but killing… She had taken the life of another person. That's what made her a REAL monster…
"Robin?"
"Huh?" Robin snapped back to reality, and saw that the three boys were staring at her.
"Are you okay?" Luffy tilted his head looking at her
"You're probably tired, huh?" Sabo said. "You can stay here for the night."
Ace didn't look pleased about Sabo offering to let the girl stay the night. But he said nothing. He just climbed up the tree to their base and went inside.
Robin nodded and mumbled a soft, "Arigato, Sabo-san"
"Yay! Sleepover!" Luffy grinned
Robin watched the moon above her and listened to the soft snoring coming from inside the tree house. The three boys were fast asleep, wrapped in their white blankets. Robin pulled the blanket Sabo gave her tightly around her shoulders, as she sat out on the ledge by the doorway of the tree house. Although she'd had a long journey, Robin couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was swirling with too many thoughts. She look back at the sleeping boys and smiled sadly.
I'm surprised to find someone else in the world with a devil fruit power too. Robin thought of Luffy and his stretchy arms. She giggled softly to herself, remembering how the boy acted during dinner. These are the first kids that had ever been nice to me and they're really… interesting. Sabo seems really caring, Luffy is funny, and Ace… well Ace doesn't seem to trust me. Robin sighed to herself. It's probably good that he doesn't, considering what I've done… They talk about doing attacks and fighting like a game. But, they don't look like they've ever killed anyone before. They probably only use those metal sticks to hunt for food. Unlike me… They'll reject me if they found out I had murdered an actual person. Someone like me doesn't deserve their kindness…
Robin couldn't shake these pitiful thoughts. Sure, she had only done what she did because her life was threatened, but the guilt was still there. Trying not to dwell on it anymore, Robin thought about what she would do in the morning.
As daylight shined through the window into the secret base, Luffy sat up and stretched his arms in the air. Yawning, the little boy rubbed his tired eyes. Looking around, he realized Robin was gone. Sticking his head out the window, he tried to see if he could find her. But she wasn't at the bottom of the tree either. Instead, Luffy saw 3 skewers sticking out of the ground with variety of small animals on each stick and steam rising from them. The scent of cooked meat filled his nose, exciting the young boy.
"Ooooiii! Wake up! Ace! Sabo!"
The older brothers woke to Luffy's shouting. Sitting up, Sabo and Ace saw their annoying little brother jumping up and down enthusiastically through their groggy eyes.
"Luffy what are you so excited about this early in the morning?" Sabo asked
"C'mon! We have to eat it before it gets cold!"
With that, Luffy disappeared from view. He climbed down from the tree, leaving Ace and Sabo confused.
"What is he talking about?" Ace asked
Sabo stuck his head out the window and saw what Luffy had meant. When the two brothers got to the bottom of the tree, Luffy was finishing up his second cooked squirrel.
"Where did this meat come from?" Ace asked as he took one of the remaining two sticks and began munching on the rabbit stuck on the skewer.
"There's a note!" Sabo removed the piece of paper that was pinned on top of his skewer of meat. "It says, 'Thank you for your kindness last night. I know I didn't deserve any of it. So, I hope you'll enjoy the meal. –Robin'"
"Sugoi! Robin got all this for us?!" Luffy said
"Wow… She must have caught all these animals by herself" Sabo sounded impressed. Having seen what a soft and reserved girl Robin was yesterday, Sabo wouldn't have thought she had any experience with hunting or surviving in the woods.
"The little girl can hunt… that's surprising," Ace commented.
"I wonder where she is now" Sabo looked around. "Why didn't she stay to eat with us?"
"I'm sure Robin will come back. She likes us right?!" Luffy smiled
"I think so," Sabo said, as he took his seat and started on his meal.
"Since we have breakfast taken care of for us, let's spend the day training." Ace suggested.
"Should we spar with each other or pick a beast to beat today?" Sabo asked
"I always win when I fight you guys. I want a real challenge!"
"No. You mostly win. You only beat me by 2 wins last time. But I'm going to catch up!" Sabo stated confidently
"I'm going to catch up too!" Luffy pumped his fists in the air
"Yeah right!" Ace said
"I will! You'll see! Today, I'm going to beat a wolf!" Luffy yelled
"Are you sure you want to take on a wolf, Luffy? Maybe you should get a little stronger first" Sabo suggested
"Yes I'm sure!"
"Well, then I guess we've picked our opponent for the day"
The three finished the last of the meat and headed out to find a wolf.
Robin treaded downhill through the forest. She figured that the beach had to be at the bottom of this enormous mountain, so after cooking the boy's thank-you breakfast, Robin began her journey back to the boat she had arrived in. It was important that she retrieve an item that was in the boat. It was the single thing that she was able to save before Ohara burned down, and Robin hoped that it was still where she left it.
It wasn't long until Robin could see the sand and ocean water. Running out onto the clear beach, her eyes scanned for the vessel. She saw that it was farther up the shore than she had remembered pulling it. She figured Luffy must have dragged it up higher to keep the waves from pulling it back into the water. That's pretty thoughtful of him, Robin thought.
Robin ran to the vessel and jumped right in. Looking under the single wooden seat in the tiny boat, she found what she was looking for. She hugged the book to her chest. It was the last surviving piece of literature from Ohara. It wasn't any special piece of text really. There wasn't any ancient writing or illegal information written in it. Rather, it was just a simple storybook filled with tales of adventure. But, even if it didn't have anything to do with the history Robin wished to learn about, Robin treasured this book, as well as what was inside it. Flipping the book open, Robin pulled out a folded piece of paper. It's still in here… Good.
Now that Robin got what she needed, she figured she should see if the boys had found the meal she had prepared. Putting the paper back in between the pages, Robin hugged the book to her chest, and made her way back into the forest.
Luffy, Sabo, and Ace stood on the branch of a tree as they looked down at their chosen target. A big, grey wolf lounged lazily at the bottom unaware of the three boys.
"This one's pretty big" Sabo commented "Are you sure you want to try, Luf – "
"Yosh!"
Luffy had already jumped off of the branch. Regrettably, the rubber boy hadn't quite thought out how he was going to attack yet. He fumbled for a tactic as he fell, but before he knew it, it was already too late. He landed on the wolf's head and slid right off.
Ace face-palmed.
"Ugh. Does he ever think before he acts?!" Ace complained
"We need to help him! Let's go Ace!"
The two brother's jumped down from the branch. Unfortunately, due of Luffy's mistake, the large wolf was now alert. The two boys lost the element of surprise and were unable to strike the beast. The wolf, with its enormous paw, knocked the 10 year olds far away to the side. Then setting his sights on Luffy, the wolf began to growl. The beast hovered over the rubber boy, who was now frozen in fear. Lifting its paw up, the wolf was ready to strike the boy.
"LUFFY!" Ace and Sabo exclaimed from a distance
Luffy squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with his hands, bracing himself for the attack. But, it never came. Instead, he felt two hands push him away, and he rolled off to the right. Then there was a sound of tearing flesh and a scream.
Luffy pushed himself up onto all fours and opened his eyes. There, a few feet away from him, was Robin. W-why is Robin here?! It took him a second to realize that she was the one who had pushed him out of the way. In doing so, she became victim to the wolf's attack. It's big, sharp claws had slashed the little girl's body, slicing through her skin in one fierce motion. Her clothes were torn and covered in her blood.
"ROOOBIN!" the little boy screamed.
Luffy stared at Robin's unmoving form. Then, he saw his brothers running towards the wolf. With their metal sticks, Ace and Sabo began their attack. As usual, Ace went straight for the wolf's head, banging his metal rod against the beast's temple. Sabo ran underneath the wolf while it was distracted with Ace, and knocked his weapon against the wolf's hind legs and broke its joints. After a few more hits, the wolf laid turned over and unconscious.
Sabo and Ace were panting at the end. Catching their breath, they ran over to where Robin laid. Luffy was there now and he was crying loudly.
Sabo and Ace gasped. They were taken aback when they saw the amount of blood that was spilling from slashes on Robin's body.
"She's hurt bad," Sabo stated darkly
"Ro-Robin… Ss-sa-saved… me" Luffy could barely get the words out through his sobs.
"We need to get help" Sabo said
"Help get her on my back" Ace ordered. "I'm the fastest. I'll carry her to Dadan's. They'll help her"
Sabo and Luffy quickly helped prop Robin onto Ace's back. As the three began to run in the direction toward Dadan's cabin, Sabo tripped over something. Getting up, he realized it was a book. What is a book doing out here? Picking the book up, Sabo tucked it under his blue coat and ran to catch up with Ace and Luffy.
Ace had only one thought as he ran carrying injured girl.
You saved my little brother's life, Robin… I'm not going to let you die!
A/N: And there you go! The end of Chapter 2. I realized this chapter had a lot more Sabo then I had expected. And yay! Ace might finally warm up to Robin a bit since she saved Luffy's life! Stay tuned for Chapter 3 for Dadan's reaction to Robin!
