~~~~Fhewwww.~~~~
The wind swept through the city of Alubarna in the kingdom Alabasta, closing shutters, clearing dust, and stealing papers with the latest news. One such newspaper was stolen from a cluttered stall in the market. It tumbled trough the air, rolled in the dust, floated over the hands of children, just to land on the balcony of the royal chambers and be picked up by the newly crowned Nefeltari Cobra. "Hmmm." The paper was torn open to the dining section and its front page proclaimed "Most Exclusive Restaurant in the World- The Marauder's Shack". The new king turned when he noticed his wife beside him. She raised a delicate eyebrow at his preoccupation and he showed her the article.
"I've heard of this place." She said with a wistful sigh. "It sounds wonderful. The chef is said to create dishes that have never been seen before and it apparently takes two log poses to find the island it's located on. Even the Marines can't find it without them." Cobra scoffed unbelievingly and she pointed at a sentence in the article. "It has a quote from a 'high-ranking Marine' collaborating it as well. Rumor from the other monarchs says that the island moves through the sky like a bird. I'm a bit skeptical about that, but the island does move- that's been proven. No one knows how, but many suspect the chef- he's the owner too- does it. He doesn't seem to have a surname, so people have begun to call him "Grim" after the Black Shuck of the myths and his green eyes that seem to glow. Grim D. Haru- name of the chef who serves everyone he deems worthy and can pay." She looked at the article closely. "Only been around for five years, but he's considered one of the best chefs in the Grandline. Appears at bartender's competitions around the Blues, but he's never participated in any." She flipped the page, "There's nothing about his past though. No picture either- not even of the restaurant. That might hurt business." She looked up at Cobra, frowning. "That's all there is. Kind of short for a front page story…" she shrugged , unconcerned, and grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the palace for breakfast- paper forgotten abandoned on the terrace.
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'The Marauder's Shack' was a mid-sized wood and earthen hut with glass planed windows and sturdy wood doors and shutters. It had a large fenced in front yard filled with benches and the occasional table. A bulletin board stood next to the front door, covered with bounty posters and announcements and next to it stood a large trash can. It was located on calm little island with no name and dry grass as its only vegetation. Hard not to be when the restaurant was the only thing on the island. Of course, it was only calm when the restaurant was closed and the grass was only visible before the customers crushed it underfoot. Most that frequented it were pirates, some Marines occasionally visited, and only rarely did the odd civilian come by. There were no nobles, simply because Haru knew the troubles that usually followed their whims and wanted nothing to do with them. He managed to avoid them without it being obvious thanks to the regulars help and a few tips he received from the marines that visited when they were off duty.
The now-24-year-old-man had sailed for a year searching for his passion, remembering parts of his past existence, and mastering the power he'd found. He could remember his nakama of the dream world, but not much else. The power that manifested he found to be a partial Animagus transformation- memories of the black-haired, gaunt-faced man-Padfoot- had given him his biggest clue. He'd found his passion when he read about the Cook Pirates in the paper and managed to recall the hazy memory of cooking breakfast for his somewhat caretakers and the joy of eating food from one of his red-haired past nakama. As he sailed, he came across so many outcasts that it seemed he was a magnet for them. He'd managed to shake off all but six of them and those six weren't going anywhere without the help of an oversized bisento and a giant who could wield it. All pariahs who hated their lot in life, they had latched onto the first kindness that had come their way- which happened to be Haru needing taste-testers for his new dishes. In the end, Haru dealt with it the only way he could think of; he gave them jobs and even names for those that didn't have one. Thanks to that, he had a fully staffed restaurant without having to pay wages; they worked for food and board.
His employees/dependents/nakama were actually the ones to give him the surname "Grim" when he refused to state a family name. It wasn't that he was ashamed to be a Portgaz, far from it, but if something happened, he didn't want Rouge to suffer for one of his mistakes. A name change would protect her from afar. Apparently there was an old legend that he reminded them of. When Haru asked, they were happy to tell him what the name meant.
—It is said that if a woman is in danger at night, a large black dog with flaming green eyes will appear from the shadows to protect her with its powers over fire and death, scaring away those who threaten her or burning them to ash. It is believed that when a woman nearing the end of her pregnancy is protected by the Grim that the child she carries will be born with the traits of a Black Shuck and be blessed with one of its powers. However, most of the children are mistaken as monsters and killed immediately after birth without the consent of the parents.—
Finally his Momma's last delirious words made sense to Haru. "Ash-es, ash-es, it burns him down…it burns him down to ash-es, that pret-ty doggie with eyes of flamey, flamey fire…la la la la…la la la la…it burns him down." (1) Seeing her like that had nearly broken him; thankfully he had managed to keep Rouge from seeing Momma's abrupt mental breakdown. Now he knew that the 'him' Momma had referred to was most likely their sperm donor- like hell he was gonna call someone who hurt Momma 'father'- and the 'it' was the "Black Shuck" Grim. That was also a partial explanation for the power he had over fire and his unusual coloring, though that was more likely due to his intangible past.
So now Haru had gotten his answers, recalled parts of his memory, and found his passion in cooking. Life was good for him, better than it had been for a good long while, and that made him anxious, wondering when the other shoe was going to drop. If there was one thing he had learned throughout his combined two lives and remembered it was that good things always came at a price. He was sure that sooner or later, that price was going to be a doozy.
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AN: Hello everyone! So sorry for not updating sooner! My muse went into hibernation and just woke up this week. Now we have an explanation for Haru's differences in the One Piece world! I apologize for any possible timeline mistakes, but not much is said about the time before the Great Pirate Age… At the end of this story I will be posting a chapter that explains the Baterillian prophesy told to Haru. If any of you think you've figured it out before then, review or PM with your guess and I'll let you know if you got it right! **The Marauder's Shack is my homage to the Shrieking Shack from Harry Potter!** (1)- to the tune of Ring Around the Rosie
Ja ne, minna-san!