Okay, 1st I want to say: Sorry for the late update, but with the school and everything it will become normal for me to update once in week, or even once in two weeks.

2nd: this chapter is beta'd by ninjabunny11. Also IMPORTANT NOTICE: 1&2 CHAPTER are BETA'D by ninjabunny11 as well, feel free to check them out. In the future other chapters will be beta'd too. Just to be sure you're not reading the same, it will be written at the beginning of each chapter, that it was beta'd.

namae1809 – Yeah, Ace and Sabo are definitively sweet to Luffy, but they are little extreme about it. I'm sadist, what can I say…

lany-chan, anewwonderland, pikachu17 – thanks again, also who knows about Thatch. Guess you'll have to wait to find out.

Last time:

Sabo POV: "Sabo, look! There's an island!" she didn't let go of me to point, but she directed her body so I could see.

"Are we going to take a look?" I asked and got her grin in reply.

Luffy POV: When Sabo finally got back from the marine base with his information, he found me surrounded by moaning bodies. I smiled at him, asking if we could finally leave.

Marco's POV

It was already past noon and I was still working on paperwork. One would think a pirate's life didn't require so much paperwork, but that was the downside of having such a big crew. I signed the last sheet and went to eat something.

After eating I went on the deck to get some fresh air. Once there, I noticed Luffy on the figurehead, which wasn't something new by this point. The fact that her brothers or her crew wasn't nearby was strange, though. I thought about turning around, before I sighed and went to her.

"Luffy?" she looked at me, tilting her head. "Why are you alone?" I asked her and she pouted.

"My nakama are speaking to yours. Nami is in the navigation room exchanging information with your navigators. Ussop and Franky are talking to your shipwrights, talking about making some improvements to Sunny. Zoro is either sleeping or sparring with Vista or drinking booze… or he might be lost…"

I raised an eyebrow at that last one before I stopped her ranting. "What about Ace and Sabo? Ever since you came here, one of them has always been with you, if not both, yoi." And it was always better if both of them were with her. If one of them was missing, it usually meant someone had made an inappropriate comment about their sister and was being beaten up for their audacity.

"Both of them had a narcolepsy attack," she said, sighing miserably.

"Then why don't you follow your crew's example and talk with us? I'm sure Thatch and Pops have already taken a liking to you and wouldn't mind your company."

She sighed again. "Pops is talking with Kingdew and Curiel about something. And Thatch is in the kitchen," she said. I was taken aback that she was already using the nickname Pops, so she explained. "We had an agreement. After all, who knows how long we'll be staying with your crew, so we formed sort of a deal. I guess in short, you could call it a temporary alliance. So no need for formalities."

"And Thatch?" I asked.

"Like I said, he's in the kitchen. I'm banned from there after a certain incident."

Why did I ask; the siblings were all the same. "Well, if no one else can talk, at least you have me." I guess she's not that bad for a brat, and I could use some time away from my annoying brothers.

"Thanks Marco," she said with a sunny smile. "Would you want to go fly again?" She asked, but I declined. We were getting close to an island (A/N: the one where Luffy and Sabo were) and I wanted to stay on deck in case something happened. "Oh, then next time," she said with a pout, looking down, and I almost changed my mind. "In that case, will you show me your flames? I didn't have time to look at them closely while we were flying."

That I could do. I changed my hand and she instantly went to touch it with stars in her eyes. The action shocked me a bit. Who in their right mind sticks their hand into an open flame so willingly? Not to mention she couldn't have known my flames wouldn't hurt her.

"Wow, your flames have the color of the sea. So cool, but how come they don't actually 'burn'?"

Why did I feel like the second part was a hidden insult? "You mean you stuck your hands in, knowing you would get burned, yoi? And thanks for saying they have the color of the sea, I guess."

"You're welcome. And even if your flames could burn me, I have Haki. And if that didn't help, I could heal with my powers," she shrugged.

"You can heal?" I asked, curious. I thought I was the only one with such a power, being a Phoenix and all.

"I can heal really fast, among other things. But you can heal completely with your powers and get rid of any scar, while my ability only allows me to heal faster. I can still get scars if the wound is reeeealllyyy bad." she replied.

"How do you know I don't have scars, and how do you know yours remain? Is it because of that one underneath your eye?" I asked.

"Well, you've been a Whitebeard pirate for quite some time. No matter how good a fighter you are, you should have some scars like your fellow nakama."

I nodded; that was a surprisingly smart observation, coming from her.

"I've had this scar," she said touching the place under her left eye, "since before I ate my devil fruit. And I know about my healing powers, because of the other scar I have." she said.

I registered my mouth was opening. "Other scar, yoi?" Then I quickly backtracked. "Sorry for being nosy, you don't have to answer me," I quickly apologized. I remembered how I always yelled at my brothers for asking too many questions. And now I was doing the same. Great.

"I can tell you, but only if you promise not to tell my brothers. I don't want them to know. They would ask me how I got it, and then they'd blame themselves. I don't want that," she said, holding my gaze, and I nodded.

"I promise. And a real pirate doesn't break his promise." She grinned and started unbuttoning her shirt. I quickly stopped her, blushing lightly. "What are you doing, yoi?" I asked her, looking around for her overprotective brothers. If they showed up now, I didn't think I'd be able to reason with them.

"Don't worry, the two won't wake up. I know them enough to know that. Besides, I usually wear my cardigan unbuttoned, so it's no big deal. If you have any problems with watching, you can look away and I'll tell you after I'm done," she chuckled, amused with me. I did as she advised, feeling like a teenager all over again.

"Okay, you can look now," she chirped gleefully. I turned my head and was staring. Where the hell did she get a scar like that? Even with her quick healing, it was a miracle she was still alive. No wonder she didn't want Ace and Sabo to know. They would have tried to kill whoever did that. "Are you alright? You look a little pale," she asked me and I nodded, not answering her question aloud.

"Who did this?" I growled. I hadn't known Luffy for long, but she was that kind of person you could either hate or love. And I was pretty sure most of the Whitebeard pirates were the latter. No doubt if I told Thatch and Pops about this scar, they would have been pleased to help me maul this bastard.

Luffy looked surprised at me. "This is exactly the reason I didn't want to tell my brothers; they'd probably make a big deal about it. But to think you would act like this too," she said, shaking her head. "This is my enemy, so I won't tell you."

I didn't like this, but I accepted. "You said you could heal quickly among other things. What else can you do?" I asked, changing the subject and giving myself some time to calm down.

"My senses are heightened. I can hear, see and smell everything better if I choose to use my powers. And I can tell what kind of person you are. Whether you lie to me, or simply whether you're friend or foe," she answered and I stared at her.

"Is that why you were so relaxed when you met us, yoi?" I asked, curious.

"No. I usually don't need my powers. I have no reason to fear my opponents, no matter who they are or how powerful they may be. It's just who I am. Shishishi, my crew sometimes really hates me for it. Because of this, I often pick fights with strong guys and they're worried I might bite off more than I could chew," she said and I marveled at her. Stupid and fearless. My initial assessment of her was right on the dot.

I wanted to ask more questions about this fellow Zoan user, but the news coo came, dropping a newspaper on Luffy's head. I blinked at her and smiled.

"That was mean!" she exclaimed and I chuckled. She handed me the paper, not interested in it, so I started reading. Luffy didn't mind, but she went to sit next to me so she could see too. There wasn't anything that caught my attention, so I quickly browsed it until I came upon an article about Luffy.

"It seems they finally know you picked our side and not theirs," I commented aloud and started reading it. This could be interesting.

Vice-Admiral Luffy was the youngest member of the Marine Corps to ever achieve such a rank. There were even some rumors she was offered the position of Admiral for her astounding capture rate of pirates and corrupted marines alike, but these rumors remain unproven. The Fleet Admiral refused to comment on her desertion, along with two of the Admirals and Vice-Admiral Garp the Fist. Admiral Akainu only commented that they would find this traitor and give her the execution she deserved.

This outrageous young lady shocked many when it was discovered that she had become a pirate, and was even the Captain of a pirate crew during her time as a marine. It was confirmed by marine officers that her crewmembers included: Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, Black-Leg Sanji, Cotton Candy-Lover Chopper, Devil Child Nico Robin, Cat Burglar Nami, King of Snipers Usopp, Cyborg Franky and Humming Brook.

It was also confirmed that this crew was to be blamed for many events in the last year. She and her crew were responsible for the defeat of Arlong, the ex-member of Sun Pirates, and his crew; ex-Shichibukai Crocodile; and Shichibukai Gekko Moria. They were also the ones who destroyed Enies Lobby, and with it, a group of elite government operatives who went by CP-9. At the Sabaody archipelago, the ex-admiral punched a Tenryubito. And to top it all, she was the one behind the fire that burned down half of Mariejois.

Due to her outrageous actions, Strawhat Luffy is now the rookie pirate with highest starting bounty in history, even greater than some New World veterans. She and her crew are now considered as dangerous and as wanted as the Whitebeard pirates themselves.

"This is some article," I said to her. "To actually go and compare you to us from the beginning is little too much, yoi. Don't take it wrong, you all have potential and are strong, but our Pops is considered the strongest man in the whole world." I shook my head. Reporters. What nonsense weren't they willing to write? Though it would certainly be a sight to see; a brat who didn't even reach our Pops' knees, fighting with him evenly, especially a young, good-looking girl that looked like she would break with a single punch.

"I don't care about the article. Show me the bounties! I want to see the bounties!" she exclaimed, reaching for the newspaper herself.

I quickly pulled it away from her reach. "Oi, slow down! I'm getting to it!" I shot at her, irked at her trying to take away my papers.

"Okay." Taking this as an agreement, I started shuffling through the bounty posters. First I found Pirate Hunter Zoro, whose bounty had risen from 350.000.000 beli to 625.000.000. Holy hell, how much was Luffy worth if her first-mate had a bounty like that. He'd even beat the bounties of some of our commanders. I knew the World Government saw them as a threat, but wasn't this too much?

"Wheew, Zoro has a nice one… That's not fair! He was having fun in the New World while I played the good soldier. What if he now has an even bigger bounty than me? I would be a laughingstock, a Captain with a lower bounty than her crew," she said, pouting at me.

"We wouldn't laugh at you. Besides, you haven't seen yours yet. It could be higher, yoi," I said to her and she brightened.

"You're right. Hey, look, it's Sanji! He has 521.000.000 beli on his head," she said, having found another one of her nakama.

"I thought Sanji didn't have a bounty before. Isn't this high for a starting one?" I asked Luffy.

"Normally yes, but don't forget that Sanji, Nami, Usopp and Chopper were with me at Marineford. The marines wouldn't underestimate them. They know how dangerous my nakama are first-hand. Though Sanji will be mad about having a lower bounty than Zoro," she said gleefully.

Eventually we found all of her friends' wanted posters.

Zoro – 625.000.000 beli

Sanji – 521.000.000 beli

Nami - 250.000.000 beli

Ussop – 278.000.000 beli

Chopper – 28.000.000 beli

Robin – 455.000.000 beli

Franky – 378.000.000 beli

Brook – 400.000.000 beli

(A/N: The pictures on the wanted posters have the same pictures as the ones in the anime, aka their appearance after the time skip. And Sanji has a normal photo, not the crappy drawing.)

"That reindeer's bounty is pretty low, though." I mused. Hadn't she just said the marines knew about her nakamas' skills?

"Yes, but they've never seen Chopper in a fight. To them he's just our doctor/talking reindeer. They don't see him as a threat. But believe me when I say that Chopper is a damn good fighter," Luffy defended.

I nodded. It made sense. The Marine Corps saw him as a useless pet with some medical talent. No wonder his bounty was so low.

All in all, Luffy was thrilled about her friends' bounties. Her smile was so radiant, I wondered how I didn't go blind by seeing it. Finally we found Luffy's.

The picture was of her sitting on a crate, swinging her legs. Her wings were against her body, yet her hair stayed black, and her straw hat was firmly planted on her head. She was grinning and looked like she was enjoying herself. Normally this would make her look like a sexy angel, but with the beaten up bodies surrounding her, she looked more like a menacing demon. (A/N: If you wonder where the marines got a photo of her in her half-form, it was on the island she took Sabo to.)

I took my eyes off the photo to look at the amount of beli on her head. I blinked. The amount was 960.000.000 beli. Only 175.000.000 beli more, and she would have had the same bounty as me. When you combined the reward and the picture, there was no mistake about it; she was a demon. I wondered how her brothers would take the news. After all, Luffy had the third highest bounty on this deck, after me and Pops. (A/N: Only in the area. Monkey D. Dragon is the world's most wanted man. That would make his bounty highest. Right?) "After the guys get their hands on this, they'll start asking to spar with you and your crew, yoi," not knowing what else I should say.

"My nakama would love to. They've wanted to challenge someone for days, but Nami's been holding us back. She's just worried that if we hurt a member of your crew in a match, you guys will want revenge and kill us all," she answered, grinning at the thought of the impending slaughter.

"What about you? They'll probably be the most interested in your fighting abilities," I asked.

"Depends on who asks and where. It would be inconvenient for everyone if one of the ships got damaged." Then she stood up and went to give the news to her nakama. I shook my head, taking the opportunity to relax before the mayhem started.

I'm not sure about the bounties, but what else should I give them? The marines know Luffy's skill and that she held back when fighting in Marineford. And I mentioned that Luffy had already beaten one Admiral. Should I add that he was the one she used Rokuogan on? And that after it, she was banned from using it, because this style of fighting shattered bones? Oh, whatever.