Well, that took me a little too long. I guess that's what happens when have to spend your entire weekend cleaning because of an inspection :'D Not overly proud of the writing in this chapter, but I'm liking where the actual story is going, SO WHATEVER!

Eh, uhhh, a bit more descriptor than necessary in the fight. Nothing you can't expect in the Teen rating, but just saying.

Chapter 5: Men vs Monster

Standing over Morgan, Luffy grinned. His first victory against the Marines off of Dawn Island. It might not be his first time doing it, but it was still the first step towards many things he'd done. Would he have ever been so casual about Enies Lobby if he hadn't known and fought against so many naval officers beforehand?

Honestly? Probably. Luffy snorted at the very thought of hesitating in the act of burning Enies Lobby to the ground. Robin had needed him, that was all that mattered. He'd storm the homes of the Celestial Dragons if he needed to, if one of his Nakama needed him.

Shaking his head, the pirate took the few steps needed to hover over Morgan, one foot on the ground on either side of the man's chest. "You've abused your rank, cut down your own men, terrified the innocents you're meant to protect, tied up and starved a good man for fun, and tainted my friend's dream." He pulled his arm back, winding up to throw a bone shattering blow. "I wonder if you'll ever repent your actions."

The Marine seemed too out of it to give a proper response, though his dark eyes opened enough to give him a scathing glare. Glowering right back, Luffy growled and clenched his fist tight enough that his rubber hand curled a little too much. He pulled the fist back a slight bit more, before throwing it forward-

"STOP!"

- and it crashed with a dull twang against the metal jaw, warping the material until the hinge looked ready to pop, bone cracking and skin tearing under the bolt. The boy huffed. He'd been planning to knock the fake jaw right off, but the shout had him pull the punch at the last minute. Oh well, honestly, while it was more easily repairable, the warped metal probably hurt him a lot more than the clean tear of a fake body part being removed anyways. Right? Like a prosthetic? Luffy hummed, deciding he think about that later. He had a moron to take care of.

"I said 'stop' you monster!" Helmeppo yelled, making Luffy straighten over the Marine Captain. Hadn't he called him something different before? Not that it mattered all that much, he'd said many times before that he was happy to be a monster if it meant he was able to protect. But just what had he changed to make him this he was anything other than an overpowered idiot?

WIthout Coby here, Luffy was left to snort and wonder what he could hold over him, but before he could ask, he saw for himself. "You certainly have balls…" He muttered, brows furrowing and frown deepening as anger slowly rose in his gut. He knew the idiot didn't have the nerve to pull the trigger, but…

No one pointed a gun at his first mate, least of all when he's bound and unarmed.

Helmeppo stood at arms length away from the Pirate Hunter, gun pressed against his temple, and terrified. His legs shook as he looked between Zoro and Luffy, one stuck between fear and insulted, the other slowly being overtaken by rage.

Not even my Zoro could cut through Seastone bullets

He knew it couldn't be Seastone, but it didn't stop him. This wasn't the Grandline, but it didn't change the memories, and the slightest of chances. Besides, this Zoro couldn't cut through normal bullets yet either. He was… They were all going to be so fragile. It had taken his a long time, far too long, to realize that last time, but this time he wouldn't forget. This wasn't the crew he'd started with.

But they were still his family.

Slowly, Luffy moved off of Morgan, putting his hands up, palm out by his shoulders. He wouldn't do anything that could get Zoro hurt. If he had to stand here and coat himself in Armament Haki while Morgan and Helmeppo tried to kill him, fine. No one was going to die on his watch.

Both Helmeppo and Zoro seemed surprised that he would listen, but quickly both of their expressions changed. The Marine looked smug, and his knees stopped rattling when he realized he was in control of the situation now. The Swordsman, however… The man looked confused more than anything else. Was a pirate really going to stand down to protect someone who, if only in title, should be his enemy?

Didn't the kid have a dream, too? Pirate king, he'd said. Did he think he was invincible because of whatever protected him from that bullet? He was strong enough to throw a man across the courtyard with a single blow, too. Did he have a plan? Something that could save them both, or was the Pirate just playing them all for fools?

Honestly, Zoro was giving too much credit to the young man.

Luffy was stuck. He didn't know what to do. Helmeppo was just waiting for his father to get up and finish him, and he couldn't do anything until someone else did something. Not without using his rubber powers, or Conqueror's Haki. If he thought Helmeppo had the nerve to pull the trigger, he'd end this now, but the only real threat here was Morgan.

What he failed to account for was the entra party that hadn't sunk a pirate ship. The extra party that instead escorted two young men to the island to hand in a bounty. He'd forgotten about the man he'd left behind to challenge the base's Captain.

It seemed the Lieutenant's specialty was stealth, because it was only seconds before he made his move that he noticed him. An empty courtyard and no one noticed him approach until there was a click of a gun's safety being flicked off.

"Drop the gun." Souma pressed the end of his standard issue musket into the bottom of Helmeppo's skull. His hands were shaking, and while the other Marine couldn't see it from behind him, Souma didn't have a finger on, or even near, the trigger. But it was enough to scare the blond.

With an undignified squealing noise, the flintlock pistol, similar to the one Morgan pulled on Luffy, dropped to the dusty ground. Zoro could breathe in relief again, until he looked over to the Pirate.

"Luffy!" He called out his name without thinking, pulling the Pirate's attention to him, when he meant to warn him. He watched, horrified, as Morgan - who'd risen when the gun dropped - raised his axe over Luffy's head. "Move!"

For one heartstopping moment, Zoro thought he'd witness someone - a kid who couldn't be older than 17 at most - get cleaved in two for protecting him. However, even as he blinked cluelessly at the swordsman, the straw hatted kid seemed to sway to the right, feet sliding to the side in the gravel.

The Axe slid right past Luffy, a hair's width away from the rim of his hat, and impacted the ground, imbedding itself halfway into the hard rock below. The youngest on the field, still blinking at Zoro like he didn't know why he was making a face like that, pivoted and bent his knees, jumping a few feet up, and swung his leg around, slamming the top of his foot into the same spot he'd struck earlier.

A metal jaw clattered to the floor, bringing red with it, and Morgan fell to the ground, unconcious and bleeding. Absently, Luffy noted that he was on his side, so he probably wouldn't drown in his own blood. The Pirate was too busy willing away the look on Zoro's face. It was one he'd seen very few times before, and most recently… while a little less desperate, and the face a little younger… it was the last face he'd seen Zoro make, before coming back again.

Shaking the memories from his head, Luffy straightened up, taking the straw hat off of his head. "Well, that's that, I guess. Souma!" The Marine, who'd just kicked the gun away from Helmeppo, snapped into a salute, somehow looking both relieved and nervous. "Wanna get some cuffs on these two and call a superior officer? I hear Old man Garp's in the area; I'll talk to him if you want."

Lieutenant Souma blinked before scrambling for the pack at his waist, pulling out a pair of cuffs. Luffy would expect him to cuff Morgan, but he took one look at the captain and put them on his son instead. "Helmeppo, you are under arrest for the abuse of Rank, and the attempted murder of Roronoa Zoro." The blond man nodded to Luffy and gave him a small smile. "I'll have a few men retrie-"

Cheers erupted from the roof of the Marine base, and all four of the men conscious looked up, Zoro arching his neck to get a better look. Several men and women were leaning over the edge, waving down at them, and weapons and hats alike were raining from the sky in the Marines' elation, falling harmlessly to the ground around the building.

Souma laughed, tension rolling off of his shoulders. Grabbing Helmeppo, who looked spiteful and… guilty? Good. The man guided Morgan's son inside, likely to a holding cell. He'd come back for Morgan later; it's not like the Captain was going anywhere.

Alone but for the bleeding body of Morgan, Luffy closed the meters between him and his First Mate. Hands on his hips, he waited to see what the swordsman had to say.

He should have seen the question coming. "The hell are you? Demonspawn?" It made him snort to hear it, and Zoro's sharp eyes caught the upwards twitch of his lips. "Oi! Something funny? If you're going to just laugh, you could at least untie me? And didn't you say you were getting my swords?"

"I'm still going to! Morgan was just the easiest to go for first!" Luffy laughed, looking up to the windows. Honestly, he'd forgotten about the swords by now. It's not his fault he was so used to Zoro guarding them with his life! There were only a handful of time someone got their hands on them without quickly losing those hands. "And I guess you could call me the spawn of a demon. Even without my family, I've had a Devil Fruit too."

"That's what saved you from the bullet." It was a statement, so Luffy didn't bother responding. "Well, you going to untie me or what?"

Reaching for the knot, Luffy started the arduous task of loosening the ropes. Even with many people trying to teach him in his second life, he'd never really understood more than the basic knots. Honestly, it was just because he didn't care to learn, but he'd never tell Makino or Koala that. "Have you thought about my offer?"

"Yeah…" There's a pause, and Luffy sticks out his tongue, trying to get the damn thing to budge. Why even use rope and knots when you can use chains and locks? Maybe Helmeppo was just being extra jerkish and wanted to give him rope burns? His mental debate over whether Helmeppo really was that bad right now almost drowned out Zoro's next question. "Would you keep my swords from me, if I said no?"

Luffy hummed, turning the thought over in his head. He wanted to say yes, because what was his crew without his First Mate? But he knew he couldn't keep Wado Ichimonji from the man. It would be a betrayal to his most loyal in all lives, but the biggest slap in the face to his first Zoro, who'd eventually shared the story of his ambition, only with his Captain.

So Luffy answered truthfully. "Maybe for, like, 5 minutes of complaining." As he spoke, the first knot came loose, and he gave a victorious shout.

The swordsman waved him away from the other ropes. "You know where they are?" Luffy nodded, brows furrowing as Zoro started to tug at the knots on his own. "Get them for me, I have a… deal for you."

"You'll still be here when I get back?"

"I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It didn't take Luffy long to find Helmeppo's room, though he had to dance around all the people suddenly in the halls, half of them wanting to shake his hand, the other half wanting to hug the life out of him. Suddenly he understood why he never stuck around. He was tempted to yell at the top of his lungs that he was a Pirate, but he wanted Zoro to have a good meal and drink before they were chased out of town.

Gathering up the two nameless swords, Luffy nudged the window open. There was no way in hell he was diving head first into that party. Words he never thought he'd hear himself think again. Picking up the white hilted blade with care into his other hand, he eased himself carefully out onto the windowsill, careful not to bump Zoro's swords against the frame.

A pair of Marines were hoisting Morgan off of the ground, a third speaking for a moment - too far away to hear - before running off through the gate into town. Probably going to tell the townsfolk the good news. Sitting under his cross, ropes dangling loosely on the horizontal line, was Zoro, waiting patiently… Luffy snorted. He'd probably fallen asleep, considering he has even less energy right now than usual.

Hopping down, Luffy fell the three stories, letting his rubber take the brunt of the fall without wavering. Honestly, if he wasn't made of rubber, he'd probably have killed himself several times in his childhood, just from his own recklessness.

He snorted a laugh at the thought. He'd also have died following Ace around, and if he made it past that, Sabo would have died of a heart attack before getting stolen away by his 'parents'.

Ah... He missed Sabo. He missed the brother from his first life, and his safety blanket in the second. It had only been a day, but it wasn't often in the past few years they even went this long apart. They'd spent almost every day within reach, went on most missions together, and usually they even shared a room. They were teased mercilessly by the others, but Sabo was unbending, and Luffy never cared for listening to them.

To be completely fair, he knew most of the teasing was his fault, but he was allowed to blame Koala for teaching him about goodnight kisses. Not his fault seeing Sabo flustered and flailing was too cute to resist!

He really missed Sabo, but he knew, his Sabo was waiting for him, and another one, here and now, was biding his time needlessly. He'd see Sabo again, and he'd see his Sabo again, but first… First he'd get everyone else back into his sights again. He'd have his crew, his brothers, his friends, everyone. Alive.

A wide grin came over his face at the thought. Sabo and Ace, standing next to each other, healthy and whole, for the first time in… 10 years for them, and so much longer for him. The thought was enough to fill him with positive energy he hadn't felt since… Since he'd gotten his entire crew back in his last run. He hadn't really been happy in so many years…

With that wide, elated grin, Luffy made his way back over to Zoro. "As promised; your swords!" The man stood, glancing over the blades, before Luffy handed them back to him one at a time, fastening them to his haramaki sash. For the first time in what must have felt like ages, Zoro reached up and untied his headband, short, oily green hair a welcome sight to Luffy. The swordsman eye'd his lack of reaction before shrugging; the kid himself was weirder than any interesting hair color.

"You said you had a deal for m- Ah! No, let's get you some food first, you gotta be starving! I can't imagine going more than a day without meat!" The Pirate laughed as he turned, starting to walk out. He soon noticed he wasn't being followed, and stopped in his tracks.

"My deal… I want you to fight me." It was obvious even speaking while holding his own weight up was taxing, but Zoro's gaze was unwavering. "You win, I'll join you."

Luffy blinked rapidly, brain having a hard time catching up to this developement. He knew, at the start, Zoro thought himself stronger than him. He hadn't really changed his mind of that until after he'd become his most loyal. To be fair, that had happened extremely quickly. Before they'd even really recruited anyone else. But he hadn't fought Zoro… ever. At least, not seriously, and not to an actual victory. He was pretty damn sure if the Strawhat captains of the pasts really tried fighting their First Mates, whatever island they were on would be destroyed.

Luffy conveniently allowed himself to forget anything that happened on Whiskey Peak. Because that didn't happen. Nope.

Still, this wasn't a bad thing. A good way to gague how to start training Zoro, and figure out which opponents would really push him. He figured most of his own enemies in East Bluehe could pass on to the man. At the very least, he'd be able to prove himself to his First Mate properly. "And if I lose?" Something cliche like, 'I'll take your head/life'? Luffy snorted. Probably. No Marine would ever guess just how terrible Zoro was with cliches.

"You join me." The Pirate choked on his own spit, eyes wide as saucers. What had he just heard?

We're almost dooooooone One more chapterrrrrrrrrrr

Then we can go get Nami, and WOW am I ever excted! I hope I can write her well enough, she's far smarter than me, so it might be hard, ahaha~

Oh, so no one thinks someone's stealing or anything, I have made a new Tumblr, and I have started posting this there too. Also be posting about my Pirate Crew that I never got around to writing for, and just all around gushing about ASL