Sorry for the wait guys! I started up an Ace Rp blog and I've been writing for that a lot the last week. Put me a bit behind ^u^' But it's here! The next chapter! If you want a link to my Ace Rp blog, feel free to message me pfff-
But yes, read on everyone! We've finally reached the next Island!
Chapter 7: 23 years and a lifetime
Zoro had been just as surprised as ever that it was just them, which is to say, not very and more amused than anything else. Unlike the last times, no one question Coby's enlistment, so Luffy hadn't needed to lay a hand on his friend… though he wondered what the Marines had to say about him yelling across the water that he couldn't wait for the day Coby tried to arrest him.
Well, either way, Garp would be picking him up. If he had to call him and make sure he did, then he would. He was sure the men in the base would be more than welcoming of Coby, no matter his history. Whatever his relationship with the boy was, they wouldn't care about that either, if their reaction to him visiting them again, before claiming his crown, was anything to go by.
Luffy was just glad that the boat he and Zoro were in was slightly bigger, and that he kind of knew where to go this time. Hopefully, he could shave off the extra hours he'd spent on Shells island by not getting lost, and still make it to Orange town before Nami was caught by Buggy's men.
As it was, Luffy sat at the front of the boat, quietly gnawing on his rubber tongue, as he stared down at the compass that had been forgotten in his back pocket. He remembered finding it the first time, all the way down in Baratie, tossing it aside, forgetting it again, and leaving it there when they left. He was sad every time he remembered doing that; it had been a parting gift from Makino. He'd been careless in his first life, not feeling the sentimental value in anything but his beloved hat. Now? Now he knew he could lose anything and anyone if he wasn't careful.
"Oi, you don't have to watch the compass the whole damn time." Luffy blinked, turning his head to look at Zoro. He knew he shouldn't take the Swordsman's advice, but as he looked back at his compass, he laughed at himself.
It was just a regular compass, not a logpose. "Right, right, sorry, I'm too used to the Grandline." The Pirate King laughed to himself. Of course he'd been off the temperamental seas after finding Raftel, but it had been a long time since then. In fact, he hadn't been to East Blue since he learned the basics of Navigating - one thing he could actually thank his father for hammering into his thick skull.
Zoro grunted in response to his laughter, closing his eyes once more. He still wasn't sure what to make of his new captain, honestly. The man was downright strange, and he seemed far too nice for Piracy. Maybe a little rebellious for a Marine though.
… Maybe it would be smart to ask a few questions. "How long have you been traveling like this, exactly?" He muttered his question, still reclined as though sleeping.
Looking back at his First Mate, Luffy wondered how he should answer that. He certainly had a lot of travel under his belt. "Well, I set sail from Dawn Island less than a day ago." Right? He crossed his eyes in thought. Yes, it was less than a day ago. With the sun setting, he'd technically away from his home town for one full day, about to start on his first night.
The swordsman hummed in thought, making a mental timeline for the man. "You said you were with your family, right? Revolutionaries…?"
Luffy faced the sea again, resigning himself to an evening of quizzing. He supposed he hadn't made the other man curious enough before, having just run in and gotten things done as similarly as he could remember to before. "Yeah, I spent… somewhere around 10 years with them?" It… felt so much longer than that, honestly.
Zoro cracked an eye open at that. This guy didn't look any older than 16, and he was with the Revolutionaries for 10 years? "Luffy, how old are you?"
Not getting an immediate answer was worrying, but the "Ummmm…" That followed the silence was far worse. The Swordsman sat up, staring at his Captain. The man had his pointer finger jabbed into his temple, which bowed in with the pressure he put on it, and his face was slowly turning red.
Before the color could get too bright, Luffy stopped himself. He wasn't good at Math! Never was, never will be! Besides, he didn't count during his second time. So he gave Zoro a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck. "I stopped counting after 23, honestly."
Quickly, Zoro came to a conclusion that had him nodding and laying back for his nap once more. Nothing was going to make sense now that he was a Pirate. His 16 year looking captain was older than him, had the powers of a Myth, used his own damn willpower as a weapon, and apparently had influence with the Marines even though he was a Pirate. He hadn't even seen the Devil Fruit in action either.
It was probably something ridiculous, like seeing the future, or turning into a Dragon… "So, how about your Devil Fruit? What's it do?"
He almost fell out of the boat - never mind that he'd been laying down! - when Luffy hooked a finger around his cheek and pulled. For a brief, absurd second, he wondered if his Captain was capable of bending reality, but he would slap himself for the thought if he were anyone else.
"I'm a rubber man! I can do a lot of cool stuff with it!" Luffy told him, letting go of his cheek with a sharp snapping noise. He let his grin spread unnaturally far across his face, but Zoro couldn't help but think that seeing him smile like that… Was how it should be. That face splitting grin was the most suitable expression on Luffy's baby-face.
"Okay… sure, whatever…" Suddenly, Zoro realized that there was something very important that he hadn't made sure to get across to his new captain. "Hey, you said you wanted to be King of the Pirates, right?"
Luffy hummed his ascent. It was more of an ambition than a dream now, an ambition he'd already accomplished once and probably won't even again. But it was nice to think about, nice to think about achieving with Ace and Sabo at his side. But he'd promised…
"I'm the King of the Pirates, and I will have a crew of Dreamers. My dream make sure you survive achieving your own dream." He said as honestly as ever. He'd never been a man for lies, and Zoro was the last person he would lie to. The look on his face was a nice bonus, he had to admit.
"Right…" So he didn't have to get any sort of point across to the man. "So you won't get in my way?"
Luffy turned to stare seriously into the swordsman's firm gaze, a small frown tugging at his lips. "The only time I will stand in your way, is if you're about to die facing anyone besides Mihawk." He wouldn't have Zoro fight Crocodile, and he certainly wouldn't take any opponent from him.
If Zoro was surprised that Luffy had 'guessed' what his dream was, it didn't show on his face again. He was all but done with being surprised today, and he was getting tired. "Fine. I'm going to sleep."
Staring at Zoro's laid back form, arms behind his head and eyes closed, Luffy wondered if he should continue what Koala had shown him, with his Nakama. He'd done it for Sabo every night since she'd shown him, and sometimes Dragon too, when the man was around. His Nakama were family, so it was okay, right? It would feel weird to wait all the way until Alabasta before doing it again.
Grinning a wide smile, Luffy snickered his signature "Shishishi~" before crawling over to his First Mate. "Heeey~" Zoro cracked open the eye that would have been scarred over and half blind in another life, giving the recently discovered older man what little attention he could spare. "Good night!" Quickly, the rubber man swooped forward and pressed a dry kiss to his brow,quickly hopping back to his spot at the front of the boat.
Luffy settled himself down for long, quiet night. He'd get lost if he didn't keep an eye on things, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he was late to meet Nami. At least he felt better, filling in one of his nightly rituals.
He was completely oblivious of the eyes staring incredulously into the back of his head, and just continued to watch Makino's compass. He simply laughed at how he hadn't even been questioned for saying 'I'm the King of the Pirates'.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Morning!" Luffy chirped, hearing Zoro shift. The sun had long since risen, and he could smell the undertones of dirt and plant life in the air. He hadn't seen any giant birds capable of flying off with a young man in the sky - what were the chances that would happen three times? - , but he could feel it in the air that they were getting close.
Thankfully, Luffy had exercised his restraint and there was still enough food for Zoro to have a full meal, and the rubber man to at least keep from going weak limbed. Stuffing an apple in his mouth, he figured to most people that would actually be a lot of food. How had they fit enough rations for his uncontrollable hunger on the Going Merry? The thought was gone as soon as it came, as he'd never really cared to keep tabs on that sort of thing.
Hearing Zoro's responding grunt, Luffy turned himself around, grinning brightly. Fatigue was clinging to him at the edges, but he considered himself lucky he'd been napping in that barrel when he woke up in this time. His body would get used to his future sleep schedule easily enough.
"Pretty sure we're just out of sight of the next Island." He told his first mate, who sleepily blinked his eyes and yawned. Too much sleep, maybe? Luffy had to restrain his giggles. There was no such thing as too much sleep for Roronoa Zoro.
"Ah, that was fast." Zoro noted, sitting up. Luffy fought even harder to fight down the growing laughter. Zoro was so used to drifting at sea for days that an overnight trip seemed odd to him. It was hilarious.
The Captain knew he was only giddy because he'd been able to see his First Mate in the most familiar of positions. It was a wonderful feeling, the familiarity of the situation making butterflies flutter in his belly. His very empty feeling belly.
"Let's have something to eat." He said, finally abandoning his position at the head of the boat. One rarely thought of quirk to rubber limbs - no cramps that couldn't be willed away.
Sucking in his stomach, Luffy minimized his hunger the best he could, not wanting to eat everything before Zoro even got a bite. Of course, it would be every man for themselves once Sanji joined the party. But it was a good thing to have learnt when food was scarce. He'd really have to exercise his restraint in the Desert…
Soon, the Island came into view, and this time, it was with sated bellies and a calmness that would have been unnerving in the past.
"Zoro."Luffy called back to the man as he lept out of the boat. "There's a Grandline Pirate by the name of Buggy on this Island." Never mind that Zoro didn't even know the name of the island yet. "He's a bit of a dufus," Zoro snorted, giving Luffy a pointed look that was pointedly ignored. "But he has a devil fruit that makes him immune to blades. Be careful, alright? The rest of his crew is easy pickings though!"
With a laugh, the straw hatted man jugged off in a random direction, keen on finding Nami. He was pretty sure he was early… actually, didn't she steal some poor buggers' boat before getting here? They hadn't seen any trace of the men…
With a shrug, Luffy decided the best place to look for his Navigator would be wherever Buggy kept his treasure. He didn't know where he'd kept his map of the Grandline, but that was as good a place to start as any.
Though it seemed Luffy was not destined to see the clown Pirate's glorious piles of gold for himself in any life, because as soon as he reached the halfway point, he could see a certain orange haired woman take a sharp turn onto the road he was walking on.
Huh, seemed they'd just missed those Pirates she'd screwed over. Also they were early! He was supposed to run into Nami on the other side of town, where the bird he'd hitched a ride with was always shot down. It seemed going in the right direction the whole time (actually knowing somewhat how to navigate) had shaved off more than just a few ours of their time.
Unlike when he'd run into her before, there were six men following her. He had to laugh. How long had she been running in order to lose so many of them before?... honestly, not that long. Buggy's men didn't have the best stamina.
Still, they were waving sharp objects in the direction of one of his Nakama, and that just wouldn't do.
Rushing forward, he saw Nami stop running, fear evident in her gaze, before she watched in shock as he darted straight past her, quickly dropping one man to the dirt with a tightened rubber fist to the gut. The man flew back several metres and wouldn't stand again for a few hours. The other Pirates didn't quite seem to realize what had happened at first, and as always, Nami was the first to recover.
"Thanks, boss!" She said with a sweetly grateful tone, clasping her hands.
"No problem." Was his casual response, fixing his hat on his head. "You go on ahead, alright?" He turned his head and gave her a wink, laughing at her horrified face as one man yelled and lunged, blade out.
He was sprawled out on the ground before he even knew what happened.
Nami was going to run, not currently knowing or caring why this man would try to help her, but instead she stared, frozen. He held in his hand the Pirate's blade, his other hand extended as a fist and speckled with blood from his attacker's bitten tongue and broken teeth.
"Attacking from behind isn't very nice…" He muttered, wiping the blood of on his red vest and tossing aside the sabre. His words seemed to snap the other men out of it, and they exchanged looked. It seemed rash idiots outnumbered cowards, for they all rushed him, seeming to figure that quantity outweighed quality.
How on earth had they gotten by as Buggy Pirates if they thought like that? The man had an eye for quality above all else!
The first two men were clumsy, and Luffy barely had to move in order to dodge the two swords aimed for the same spot. As any two things with the same destination, the blades clashed, and soon the men did as well, Luffy reaching over the weapons that had forced each other to point downwards to bash their heads together.
He pouted in disappointment, seeing two men left, both having stopped when they saw how unruffled he was by the frontal attack. "Hey." He addressed them, honestly getting a kick out of how they tensed. "Go tell Buggy his old Captain's legacy has arrived. Tell him the new King's set sail." A few seconds past before the two dropped their weapons and bolted, leaving behind the four that lay knocked out on the ground.
Distasteful, he thought with a grimace. Nakama shouldn't abandon one another like that.
"Hey, that wasn't bad!" Blinking rapidly, Luffy turned to the voice of his Navigator, baffled at the tone she was using on him. He hadn't heard Nami use the "I'm gonna use you and you don't even know it" voice in a damn long time. He couldn't help but smile; she was still so ignorant of how the world worked.
Forcing back memories of… Marineford, Luffy grinned his bright, loving grin, laughing inwardly when he saw he falter. She was too kind to take advantage of the nice and naive. "What were those guys chasing you for?" He asked, wondering if she would tell him the truth.
"You saved me without even knowing?" She asked, rather than answering right away. Nami was, maybe skeptical?
Luffy's grin diminished some. He didn't like it when his crew didn't have faith in him and his reasons, even if they didn't quite know him yet. "Six guys going after one person isn't really fair, y'know? Seemed like the right thing to do!" And it was; he'd have done it even if it wasn't Nami.
"Hmmm…" She squinted, thinking, before smiling brightly at him. Oh yes, she was going to use him if she could. And he would let her, of course. "How can I repay you?"
Patting his contracted stomach, Luffy let go of the taut grip he had on the rubber, letting it gurgle loudly as his stomach returned to normal size. "Got any food?" He asked her with a cheeky grin, and a fond look. "I'm Luffy, by the way! Nice to meet you!" No one could say Sabo hadn't tried to teach him manners.
"I'm Nami; thanks for the save, Luffy." If she noticed how fondly he looked at her, she didn't say a word, thought the wariness of her steps made him wonder what exactly she was expecting out of him.
There we have it! Not only do we get a little bit of Nami, but we also get a small hint to how old Luffy is right now! First life ended at 23, which means he achieved Pirate King at 23! I have my reasons for why it took so long ;)
I've started answering more urgent questions I don't want to forget to answer across PM, such as why Sabo didn't go with him, and that no, Luffy is not 18, because there is plenty that had happened in this story that covers plenty the Manga hasn't.
Marie: Thank you for attempting to clear up the age issue from the comments! And I'm so glad you like the whole Safety Blanket thing. I have a feeling you'll like the later parts of the story I have planned ^u^
Son of Whitebeard: I'm sorry, but I actually haven't seen the movies yet! If I've seen the movie by the time I reach where he'd be, I will if it fits, but it's unlikely I'll find the time to marathon the movies :(
Can I just say? I can't wait to slowly reveal how everyone died in the second life. Any guesses for Zoro? I've been real good about hints!