a/n: I do hope Luffy and the others are not to OOC or I made Luffy look too dense. :)
The Pirate Prince
The scene unfolding in front of the people was surreal. On one corner of the town square was the Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy a confused expression on his face. He was looking at, or more appropriately, looking down on his supposed to be challenger. A boy barely reaching the young man's waist. The boy was holding a wooden sword, a determined expression on his face. It wasn't the fact that Pirate King Luffy was being challenged by a four year old that made the onlookers gaze with disbelief. It was more of the fact that they looked exactly alike. Jet black hair that seemed to know no master, thin frame, their eyes and facial features, it was as if Monkey D. Luffy was having a face off with himself from the past.
The Straw Hat Crew also stared on, mouths agape as their eyes swiveled back and forth from the child to their captain. It was Sanji that said the words everyone else was thinking.
"Luffy, that kid looks exactly like you." He said.
Their captain turned to face them, looking more confused than ever. "Eeeeh? I don't think so. I look nothing like him!"
It took all of their efforts not to hit their captain out of annoyance. Nobody could really understand the way Luffy's mind worked.
"Everybody shut up!" The little boy shouted. He had a bit of a lisp because of the gap between his teeth. "You, Pirate King! I'm challenging you to a fight!"
"Naughty little boy," Zoro scoffed, "go back home and hide under your mother's skirt. You don't belong here."
The boy's lip quivered. "Y-you," he gasped within sniffles, "you moss-headed swordsman! You just shut up! I didn't come to fight you!"
The little boy's statement was met with chuckles from everyone other than Zoro who gritted his teeth and made to smack the boy's head. He was about to, when Luffy extended his rubber arm and pulled him back. He then approached the boy who steadily kept his wooden sword pointed at him.
"Why do you want to fight me?" Luffy asked in his innocent tone as he squatted to be eye-level with the child.
The child was still sniffling, "I-I want to be Pirate King! If I defeat you, I will be Pirate King and mama will be really happy."
"Eh? Why would your mama be happy if you would be Pirate King?"
"Because Pirate Kings are rich! And mama loves money. Also I can buy mama a big tangerine grove like the one we have in Cocoyashi if I have money, that's why!"
The people around them laughed in disbelief. Is this honestly the reason why this kid was challenging the Pirate King? The Straw Hat Crew, including Luffy however, stopped at this statement.
"Cook-san," Robin whispered, "is it possible? Could it be?"
"Tangerines and money. The only person I can think of is her."
"Nami," Luffy whispered.
It was five years ago. When the Straw Hat Crew woke up, she was gone. They were anchored in a town much similar to this one. Their captain, who also happened to be her lover, had searched the town frantically with their help. They had asked around and figured that she must have rode a train to get to a different island. They searched everywhere, scoured the nearby islands, yet she was nowhere to be found. It was right before retiring after a long day of searching that they saw a note that they must have overlooked earlier, tacked at the door of the room the captain and the navigator once shared.
"Be the Pirate King, Luffy!"
Luffy balled the note in his fist and threw it in the sea. He entered the room slamming the door behind him. The whole night the crew heard thrashing and slams and screams inside the room. Once in a while, a crew member would attempt to approach the door to calm him down, and always, they would be stopped by either Sanji or Zoro who would always say that Luffy needs to get this out of his system. The next they saw their captain was early morning, a few hours after the crazy noises inside the room subsided. He was wearing his trademark smile as he asked Sanji for meat for breakfast. Everything proceeded as normal for the crew after that. Robin and Franky worked together to get the navigation done. Their captain smiled as usual but his smiles never reached his eyes anymore.
"You're mother likes money and tangerines, huh, kid?" Luffy said with a grin.
"Yes! Mama likes me most of all but she's always happier whenever we're in Cocoyashi or when she goes home with bags of money."
"She seems like a nice mama." Luffy said happily, "what's your name, kid?"
"Ace?" A voice from the crowd said. The little boy turned his head and beamed.
"Mama!" The little boy dropped his sword and ran to his mother who was wearing a look of surprise on her face. So was the rest of the Straw Hat crew.
The crew was frozen in their tracks. It was only Luffy that seemed to know exactly what he was supposed to do. He stretched his rubbery arms and held the Nami's shoulders, then he catapulted himself towards her so that she and Ace was tight in his embrace.
"Nami," he said as he cried on her shoulder. This was a sight for the townspeople to behold. The Pirate King was crying!
Robin seemed to notice the unnecessary amount of people ogling at this tender scene as she lightly tapped Luffy's shoulder and said, "I think it's better if we take this back to the ship."
Aboard the Thousand Sunny, Chopper and Franky were tasked to play with Ace as Nami and Luffy talked. Brook played music for them as they sang pirate songs. Sanji went to cook a feast as a celebration of Nami's return while Robin, Usopp, and Zoro were still in town getting supplies. After the third pirate song Brook taught Ace, the little boy asked worriedly,
"Is the Pirate King going to hurt my mama?"
Brook shook his head and smiled sadly, as much as a skeleton could. "I think it's the other way around, little Ace."
Ace frowned, "I don't think so skeleton-san. My mama could never hurt Pirate King."
"Why did you say that, Ace?"
"The other reason why I want to be Pirate King is because mama is in love with Pirate King."
Meanwhile inside the cabin, the aforementioned Pirate King is looking at the aforementioned mama with a look of relief and annoyance. An unlikely combination of emotions but Luffy's face conveyed his emotions perfectly.
"You're not leaving again, are you, Nami?" He said as he knelt in front of her taking her hands in his.
"Aren't you even going to ask me why I left, Luffy?"
"What's important is you're back." He pulled her closer and held her tight. "And of course, we can't leave Ace behind."
Nami pulled back, "listen, Luffy, about Ace, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry having him but I'm sorry for doing this to you."
"It's okay, Nami. It's okay you had an affair with some other guy and had a kid with him. Is that why you left?"
Nami pulled away in disbelief. She had forgotten how dense Luffy could be sometimes. It's not everyday you meet a kid who looks exactly you and is totally unrelated to you in any way.
"Luffy. Ace is yours. He's your son. I left when I found out I was pregnant because I figured a pregnant woman and eventually a baby would be an easy target for your enemies on your journey to become the Pirate King. I'm sorry I kept him from you but I don't want to get in the way of your dreams. I knew you wouldn't let me leave if you found out about my condition."
Luffy slowly pulled away and looked at the young woman's face. "So, Ace is really mine?" Then his eyes widened into orbs, "then that's even better!"
Nami smiled at his enthusiasm. How she endured the years without this man by her side, she doesn't know.
"I can see you raised him properly, as he even wants to be a Pirate King just like his daddy." He added with a wide grin. "Let's go meet my son now."
After the sixth pirate song Brook taught him, Ace was already tired. Chopper went to fetch some drinks for the boy while Ace was sprawled on the deck beside Franky and Brook. Suddenly, a pair of rubbery arms enveloped his lithe form and he was thrown in the air. He was caught in the arms of the Pirate King who was grinning at him like a loon.
The boy smiled back at him, apparently enjoying being airborne for a second. Then his face scrunched up with worry. "Where's mama?"
"She's over there. But I'm not giving you back until later. Your mama has had you all your life. Papa hasn't even got the chance to hold you until now."
"Papa?"
"He's your papa, Ace." Nami said with a smile. Ace's face lit up like it was Christmas day.
"I've always wanted a papa!" He exclaimed and buried his face in Luffy's chest. "And a Pirate King papa on top of that too! Does this make me a Pirate Prince, papa?" He asked Luffy, quickly adjusting to the new piece of information.
"Pirate Prince and co-captain too." Luffy smiled.
Robin watched the family as she climbed aboard the ship. She smiled, happy that Nami was back and their captain back in his high spirits. Zoro stood next to her watching the three.
"So we have a new recruit." He said, "I hope he isn't a swindler like his mother."
"Ace seems to be more of Luffy." Robin said. "He'll need a playmate of his own age to ensure proper development, of course." She smiled.
"Only eight more months." Zoro replied as he pulled her closer, smiling.
A Thousand Sunny has never faced sunnier days.