Chasing Dreamers by Redefinem
A ONE PIECE FAN-FICTION
CHAPTER ONE: Bitter Reunions
In the event of being defeated by Bartholomew Kuma, the Straw Hat pirates were each teleported to different lands of the world. Monkey D. Luffy in particular, was sent to the isle of women, otherwise known as Amazon Lily. There, he was faced with various forms of conflict with the inhabitants, including the illusive female gang known as the Kuja pirates. The pirates and land was dominated by one woman, Warlord Boa Hancock, who at first disliked Luffy and saw him only as a pesky foreign intruder. But once after Luffy has proved to the Empress and her sisters that he is a trustworthy man, they entrust him with keeping the ultimate secret that the rulers have hid from the islanders. And through mutual feelings, he earned a deeper respect with the amazons. Not to mention, accidentally making Hancock fall madly in love with him. Which apparently would be fatal, if her object of love was to leave her.
In any case, the current event is shown with Luffy getting ready to leave the island.
"Meat." Said a certain straw hat wearing pirate. "Lots of it." He finished with a simple order.
His demanding voice proved irresistible to the people packing his supply of meals for the voyage. For they followed his instructions with faltering. He was surveying them, because he was unsatisfied with the seven-course breakfast meal and wanted to devour any left over food that were still around. But the people preparing him for his journey were under the orders of Elder Nyon, to prevent/restrain Luffy from eating any more (and that there's a chance that Luffy could end up eating all the food supplies this island has to offer). "Else he'll get stomach cramps during the trip" was the official excuse.
"Luffy-san!" A female cry in the distance caught the boy's attention. He realized it was Margaret.
It didn't take long for her to stand face to face with Luffy. But it did take her several seconds to catch her breath, apparently sprinting the entire time. When she finally recovered, she gave Luffy a gentle smile. In which he would immediately return with a more simpler grin. "Nani ka?" (What is it?)
"Here." Margaret then handed Luffy a pair of neatly folded clothes.
"Oh, thanks-" Excited, Luffy immediately examined what the outfit looked like. And the moment he noticed it, was the moment he concluded: "No one is going to take me seriously in frills, Margaret." Dropping his enthusiasm as soon as he laid eyes on the curly, woven design intended for the rims of the jacket.
However, he admitted that aside from the girly part, he thought the rest of the outfit looked cool. A slightly thick Prussian-blue colored jacket with a collar neck addition that was neatly folded (much like tux), with his jolly roger artistically located on the back of it (and in chestnut color). With shorts that were a matching color to his jolly roger.
"Eh? But it's cute-"
"Exactly why I don't want to be seen with it." Luffy bluntly interrupted.
"No problem. I'll just get rid of them then." Margaret didn't seem in the least appalled by Luffy's response, for her smile did not restrain. Luffy continued to watch, as she took out a… clam? She then smoothly took the jacket from Luffy and started to snip on the line that connected the decoration from the main clothing. Apparently, the clam had acted as scissors? He was a little curious. "There."
With the girly attachments removed, Luffy eagerly took off his steel blue colored vest, and replaced it with the jacket. When he made a move to remove his pants, he stopped shortly. Anyone who was nearby was looking at Luffy intriguingly, as if urging for him to remove his pants in front of them. It was with this that in mind that Luffy hurried into the bushes, and quickly replaced his shorts for a chestnut colored one.
When he came out of the bushes, he immediately heard some of the girls sigh. But didn't bother to ask them why, knowing what they might say. "We want touch your family jewels." He shuttered at that thought.
He then slowly approached the blonde. "This is a good luck present from all the girls, okay?" He nodded, then gave her a goofy smile.
"Thanks!"
There was a pause. And Luffy sensed that Margaret had something else to say. But she seems to be holding herself back.
"Luffy-sama! The preparations are almost complete." Shouted one of the girls who had helped packed his food supplies. "I'll go tell the others."
"Right." Luffy nodded. Then the woman that spoke to him ran off towards the village. He then turned back to face Margaret, but she had already departed without a word.
Around an hour and half later…
"Luffy~!" Came the first cry of a female. It was followed by uproar of ovation, and muffled up bellows.
"Luffy-san!"
"LUFFY-SAMA!" This came from is adoring fans? Luffy could tell (nor cared for the matter).
When he arrived at the port, he was met by possibly every amazons that populated Amazon Lily. They crowded around and cheered for Luffy, saying things like 'good luck' or 'have a safe trip'. He thanked them for their hospitality and great meals. The women made a walk path for Luffy, which lea him directly to the giant pirate ship that belonged to the Kuja pirates.
Boa Hancock had volunteered the Kuja pirates to escort Luffy back to Sabaody Archipelago. The day before, he was told by Elder Nyon that a major conflict may erupt between two major pirates. And that Luffy would have no choice but to cross their battlefield in order to reach to his destination. He was also told that the two pirates where notoriously known as Blackbeard and Whitebeard.
There was also the fact that the World Government could possibly participate in this battle, so to capture both pirates who have proven to be a major threat to them. Which was one of the reasons why Hancock had agreed to a treaty with them, so that she could easily sneak Luffy past the navy and possibly through the battle without harm. The other reason was so she could protect Amazon Lily from the government and their affairs.
He had thought long and hard as to why those pirate names sounded so familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Luffy!" He heard the faint by familiar voice of a certain warlord.
"Oh, Hammock-"
"It's Hancock!" She corrected him politely. Blushing more intensely as he came walking her way.
He noticed her flush, and assumed it was the illness that Nyon kept informing him about. "Sure you wanna come? You still look sick."
The some days ago, Luffy was told that Hancock was diagnose with a possibly fatal illness. But Elder Nyon refused to tell him her ailment. And yet, yesterday Hancock came to him and requested that she joined him on his brief journey to reunite with his nakama. He found it very odd of her to be so concerned about him, but accepted her kind suggestion nonetheless.
"O-oh~! You need not worry about me! I-I'll be fine." Hancock couldn't bear staring into her object of affection's eyes, for she feared that she could possibly die from overly active hormones.
The oblivious male, remained completely oblivious. "Suit yourself."
When he took his eyes off of Hancock (swooning creepily over something), he noticed that amongst her crew were Margaret and two of her other friends, Sweat Pea and Aphelandra.
"You guys are coming too?" He asked excitedly to the three of them, while running to greet them onboard the Kuja pirate ship.
"Yep. Hancock-sama has kindly allowed us to temporarily join her crew!" Replied Aphelandra, bending down to face Luffy at eye level.
"And while on this journey, we will prove to her that we should be a official members of this crew. With our cunning wits, strengths, and personal charm." Continued Sweat Pea.
"That's AWESOME! Maybe I'll get to introduce you to my crew."
"Would you? It would be so, um, freakin' cool if we could personally meet them!" Said Margaret. It seems that she was trying to get the hang of Luffy's way of speaking, assuming this was normal for men.
Several of the remaining crewmates that had just walked onto the ship, joined the three girls and Luffy. They were interested to hear what the male pirate captain was talking about.
"Everyone will be glad to meet you!" Luffy answered with pure enthusiasm.
"Even us?" Asked an Kuja pirate that had just entered little crowd around Luffy.
"Sure! You'll all get to meet them!"
"Alright! Time to say your final farewells guys." Exclaimed Rindo, who successfully managed to dispersed the crowd around Luffy. All the girls headed for the railing of the ship, and waved towards the mass. Luffy joined them, right after he saw Hancock get on board. Her presence meant that it was time for them to set sail.
"SEE YA LATER!" Shouted Luffy. He sat, dangerously on the edge of the ship.
As the ship left the port, he didn't stop waving back at the islanders. Around several minutes later, the people of the island began to get smaller and smaller. Until eventually, Luffy couldn't see them anymore.
After what seemed like hours of just staring off into the sea, Luffy finally got bored. His initial plan was to find some of the girls in hopes that they'll entertain him (no sexual preferences intended), but he noticed that everyone was busy with their tasks. He would have searched for Hancock, but then again she was way too clingy towards him…
"I'll just go explore then." He thought out loud.
He got up from his sitting position, and began to casually walk around the ship. Some of the girls that were working hard on their assigned roles, looked up and wondered what he was doing. But no one said anything to him. Luffy freely managed to somehow enter the basement of the ship, where he carelessly began to rummage through various barrels and chests that were there.
It was sort of dark, since there was only one porthole. Plus he was on the underwater level of the ship. Yet he could still make out the shapes, and through touching the objects he could guess what they were.
But to his greatest dismay, he only found stocks of female clothing, jewelry, vases and-
CLICK!
"Ah… OH SHIT!" Something had caught on his right wrist, but Luffy didn't have time to see what it was.
"W-We're being attacked!"
"Already? Here of all places- AAAHHHHH!"
"It's a pirate flag!"
"Pirate?" He repeated quietly. The boy then forgot about his little predicament, and went back on deck to check what was the cause of commotion.
At first, he was hit by the direct ray of sunlight. And therefore, became momentarily blind. But in the midst of the explosions and the intense rocking of the ship, he heard Hancock's voice.
"Fire Fist Ace!"
As soon as he regained his vision, he looked around. Frantically searching for a familiar male face, or even a voice. "A-Ace? Where?"
His vision trailed behind him and to the top-most part of the pink mansion of ship, where Hancock stood in tall glory. She was looking up, and so Luffy followed her line of sight. And discovered that his brother, Portgas D. Ace, was standing on top of the sail.
"I'll admit," said Ace. "Fighting women isn't my specialty. I'd rather avoid it."
He sounds different, was the first thought that came to Luffy's mind. There was this tinge of callousness that didn't sound like Ace at all. But Luffy shook off the feeling of doubt, hoping that he was only hallucinating the unsettling feelings he had received from just hearing his brother's voice.
"Are you mocking me and my crew, Fire Fist?" Snarled the warlock.
Luffy had anticipated that if a fight between Ace and Hancock were to break out, there would be no guarantee that this ship will be left mobile. He wanted to step in between the bickering, but he soon realizes that his body forbade it. He looked back down on his right wrist, and quickly examined the source that prevented him from using his devil fruit abilities.
"That's-! Luffy-kun, you're wearing a seastone handcuff!" Shouted Boa Marigold.
When Luffy looked over his shoulder, he noticed that Marigold was lying on the floor. The right side of her body was heavily burnt, causing her to bleed ashes. She was not the only injured crewmate. He noticed some scattered bodies with smoke emitting from their form. But before Luffy could say or do anything, his attention went back up at Ace. Who coldly smiled in his direction.
"So I'll kill that guy there first!" Luffy's eye widen in pure horror, as saw Ace charge towards him. Fist, formed between flames.
Why was his brother, his precious one-and-only brother, attacking him with such a menacing look in his eyes? And why did his body refuse to dodge the incoming attack? Surely, the handcuffs only restricted him of his rubber powers. It's not like they were capable of preventing from moving at his own will… So, why wouldn't he move?
"I will not let you touch my beloved-" As Ace descended to face Luffy, he first had to cross paths with Hancock. And she was well prepared to defend Luffy at all costs. When Hancock and Ace were about to faceoff, Luffy snapped out of his shock.
"HANCOCK! DON'T ATTACK!"
"L-Luffy… But!" She quickly glanced back at him.
"DON'T HURT HIM!" Luffy was furious, and his glare was beyond agonizing.
Hancock had no choice, she dodged Ace's attack and allowed the other male to go against Luffy. She bit her lower lip while doing so.
Light conceited against him once again. Only this time, there was an additional heat that caused him to instantly sweat. He watched dumbly as the person who looked like his brother, sounded like brother, and fought like his brother came charging at his little brother without any consideration. From another person's point of view, they would appear like strangers.
Did Ace… Forget who Luffy was?
"Get that stupid look off your face, Lu!" Exclaimed the younger version of Ace from a flashback.
"Stop looking so stupid, kid!" He heard the present Ace shout.
This time Luffy snapped at Ace. "D-Don't… LOOK LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW ME!" He fired his shackled fist at Ace. Who unknowingly dodged it at the last second and attempted to aim for the kid's face. However…
CLICK!
"Ah." The reaction of both males were united, call in unison. It seems that seastone shackle had found itself a wrist to lock onto. Thus binding the two together.
The unexpected loss of devil fruit ability, caused Ace to topple over Luffy. While the remaining force of impact caused both males to be knocked off overboard. Luckily, Luffy was able to grab onto the edge of the ship using his free left hand. "NGAAAAAH! Ace you're freakin' heavy!" Luffy finally said, as he held onto the edge of the boat for dear life.
Ace had nothing to grab unto accept for the child he was bound to, and he refused to drop and pride in cling onto the brat. "Shut up! What the hell just happened?"
"You attacked the Kuja pirates. And then you started to attack me. But you got caught with these handcuffs, and caused us to almost fall of this ship." A laid-back reply, came with some emphasis.
"Don't push the blame on me, brat!" Ace made an attempt to kick Luffy, but he stopped midway when he felt like they were slipping. "Y-you… Those handcuffs…"
"IDIOT! I'm trying to save us!" Spat dripped down on Ace's face as he scowled.
"Why would you want to save me?" Retorted Ace. He asked, while already knowing that a brat like Straw Hat would probably give a brain-dead answer like 'because we're stuck together'. Well, he would.
"CAUSE I'M YOUR LITTLE BROTHER, SO SHUT UP!"
Luffy didn't bother to look at his brother, who remained absolutely silent.
Seconds later, Hancock and the few unscathed crewmates came to Luffy's rescue. They pulled both males up to safety. Yet in the process, almost faintly did Luffy hear Ace utter the words, "Blackbeard is my only family…" But Luffy had decided not to pursue Ace with questions about it. For a thought intercepted him from doing so.
Whitebeard, was the man Ace deeply respected. He even admitted that he'll make that man Pirate King. That tattoo on Ace's back made it clear. But Luffy clearly heard him say Blackbeard, a man he could now recall from making a speech about the 'pirate era of dreams, will never end'. And there was also the fact that Ace didn't recognize him. So how was any of this supposed to add up?
He stared Ace, and then at female warlord. The two of them exchanged very animated dagger glares.
Author's Notes: Oh. What's this? Ace is handcuffed again? Only this time, with Luffy? :D It took me two days to complete this, because I kept getting sidetracked (I went back and re-watched the episodes I missed for Marineford Arc). In any case, sorry if I still have some grammar mistakes. I reread the story every time I added several knew paragraphs, and only had a chance to reread and edit the whole story once. Sorry, my eagerness is too much to bear. My patience is very thin, especially when it comes to writing. Yes, I'm a nerd who gets her homework done early, sue me! JK. Please don't, I'm not good on lawsuits. D;
Next up! A more or less civilized reunion… with Hancock! :D I smell sexual tensions that weave through the air of bitter irony.