Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, One Piece or How to Train Your Dragon. All characters and their affiliations are owned by their respective creators. I am not making money off of this work of fiction. The characters Rock and Rain do belong to me.
I'm sorry about not updating sooner. Between working overtime and moving I haven't been able to update for a little while.
A Family of Outlaws
Chapter Fifteen: Luffy Between a Rock and a Garp Place
Note: I would like the opinion of my readers. I have another story idea involving a One Piece and Inuyasha cross-over once again. Now, I don't want to give too much of the storyline away. My only question is, would you like to see Rain and Rock make a comeback or just Rain? Now on with the story.
Rain blinked at Garp owlishly. She glanced over to Luffy. "Is he being serious? I'm supposed to call him my Grandpa?" Luffy started to laugh and nodded his head. His grin told Rain that he was happy that his grandfather accepted her so readily.
Rain looked back to Garp who was looking back at her with expectation. "If you insist then, Grandpa." Rain let out a gasp of shock when Garp pulled her into a tight hug as his grin grew impossibly large.
Once Garp finally released Rain so that she could breathe freely he turned to Luffy. "What brings a notorious pirate to the house of a retired marine?" he asked.
Luffy lost his grin and a serious look took its place. The sudden change had Garp's full attention. "We had been given some distressing news," Rain spoke when she figured that Luffy still hadn't said anything. "We had a visit from one of Luffy's old friend's and he told us that Blackbeard was looking into the family and friends of the original Strawhat Crew."
"Is that what he was doing?" Garp asked. "Now I'm sorry that I didn't just turn him into the Marines. He's going a too far on this." Garp fell silent as he started to think on things. "Then, Luffy, this is what we're going to do. You're going to start training with me again and we'll start now."
"I can't train Gramps," Luffy said.
"Why not?" Garp asked.
Luffy's lips pouted out and he glanced to the side, "I don't want to." Garp started growling and approached Luffy in a threatening manner.
Garp stopped in his tracks when Rain inserted herself between him and Luffy. "I'm sorry Grandpa," she apologized. "What Luffy really means to say is that we just don't have the time for him to train with you now. We have to meet the others tomorrow. If we don't arrive at the meeting place on time then they'll start to freak out. Trust me, the last thing you want is for a whole village of Dragon Riders to start scouring the seas for us."
Garp stared at Rain for a moment and then looked up to Luffy. "Then there's only one thing left to do," Garp decided. "Luffy, you need the extra training. If you can't stay and train then I need to come with you."
"You can't be serious," Luffy yelled. "There's no way that you're coming with us."
"What are you going to do to stop me?" Garp asked.
"Try riding a dragon out of here that doesn't have enough room for three riders," Luffy argued.
"I'm not going to let you out of this house in that case," Garp continued.
When Luffy looked like he was going to keep arguing Rain decided that she needed to intervene again. She whipped around to face Luffy, she put her hands on either side of his head and pulled him into a kiss. When she pulled away Luffy had a look of bliss on his face. Rain then turned to Garp. "I'll see if I can get someone to come and give you a ride."
Rain then turned to Luffy. "Will it be so bad to have your grandfather meet my family?" she asked.
"No," Luffy grumbled. He couldn't deny Rain anything that she wanted, he knew that already. Behind Rain's back, but within Luffy's view, Garp made a whipping motion. Rain gave Luffy a charming smile and headed out to the back of the house. She stood there with the door opened for a few seconds before Darkess landed in front of her. Rain pulled Swift out of his roost from the saddle bag. She brought him inside, trying to get him to wake while she wrote out a note.
Once the note was finished she attached it to Swift's leg. "I need you to bring this to Gobber," she instructed. "The same rules apply as the last time you returned to Berk. You can't let Rock see you." Rain then released Swift to the outside world and watched him fly off into the night.
~ Gobber woke to the sounds of scratching on his door in the middle of the night. Letting out a few choice words he rolled out of bed. Wearing only his small clothes he opened the door to his home. He ducked as Swift flew in, skimming the top of his head. The small dragon sat on the table, waiting for him. Gobber hobbled his way over and took the note off of Swift's leg. He gave it a once over then grumbled some more as he went to put on some clothing.
Gobber then headed out of the house, Swift following close behind. Stomping his way across the village to the house he wanted, Gobber started pounding on the door loudly to wake its occupants. The door swung open so hard it nearly fell from its hinges. Eret glared out to see who was disturbing him at this time of night. Without a word, Gobber held out the note Rain had sent as his way of an explanation for the intrusion. Eret read the contents quickly and disappeared back inside, closing the door on Gobber's face.
Eret emerged a few minutes later, dressed and with his riding gear. Without a word to Gobber he went to where Skull Crusher slept at night. Swift stayed with Gobber, he didn't want to go against Rain's instructions after all. It wasn't long before Eret returned, Skull Crusher in tow. He took Swift from his perch on Gobber's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Lead us back to Rain," he ordered. "I'll go and help her." Swift started to fly away as Eret climbed Skull Crusher. The two of them followed after the Terrible Terror.
~ During the night Luffy and Rain slept in Garp's house. Rain was given the guest room while Luffy was left to sleep on the couch. He didn't mind too much, he wanted Rain to be comfortable.
The market stall owners were busy setting up for the day. All action halted when a large lizard with wings landed in the middle of the street. Some of the weaker willed denizens started crying out in fear. The commotion drew the attention of those that remained in their houses, including Garp's house.
Garp was the first one out of the door. Luffy was right behind him, followed by Rain. At the sight, Rain couldn't stop herself from laughing. Both Luffy and Garp looked at her in confusion. Rain shook her head as she calmed down. "There's nothing to worry about," she finally managed. "That's only Eret and his dragon. Gobber must have sent him after reading my letter."
"What exactly did your letter say?" Luffy asked.
"Nothing much," Rain gave a shrug. "Just that we needed help getting an extra person back to the village."
Garp nodded in understanding as he headed towards the gathering crowd. He stopped anyone from out right attacking the dragon and his rider. "Nothing to see here," he announced. "Everyone just go back to your business and I'll take care of everything."
The crowd started murmuring about what Garp would do to the stranger, but followed what he asked and slowly started to go about their day. Some paused when another Dragon joined the fray. Darkess started cuddling up next to Rain to show that the people had nothing to fear from it.
Eret got off of his dragon once everyone had finally left them alone. With a smirk, Eret opened his arms towards Rain. "It's good to see you again Uncle Eret," Rain said as she gave Eret a hug. Rain pulled away and stepped back. "I want you to meet someone."
Rain went up to Luffy at this point. "Uncle Eret, this is Luffy. He's the captain of the crew that he had me join, he's also..."
"He had you join?" Eret let out a little laugh.
"There was a bit of coercion involved," Rain laughed. "He didn't have to try too hard though. I wanted to join them on their adventures."
"So is that all you wanted to tell me?" Eret asked.
"These two kids are in love," Garp interrupted.
Eret looked sharply towards Garp then back to Rain. She was looking down with a blush on her cheeks. Luffy had put an arm around her shoulders, giving her his support. Eret closed his eyes and nodded, now he understood why Gobber didn't want to bring Rain's request for help to Rock. He shook his head and chuckled as he looked to the young couple. He walked up to Luffy and held out his hand. Luffy looked shocked for a moment, but quickly accepted the offered hand with his free one. Once the two had grasped hands a contest of sorts started. Eret squeezed Luffy's hand tightly to test him. Luffy smirked when the pressure was added and started to squeeze back. The battle of wills lasted for a full minute before the two released their grip. Luffy looked down to Rain's face to see her looking up at him in question. He smiled at her and gave her a light kiss. "It's a man thing," he told her when he pulled back.
"Okay Rain," Eret pulled their attention back to him. "Now that the formalities are out-of-the-way. Who's this old guy?" He used his thumb to gesture over his shoulder towards Garp.
Luffy started laughing loudly to the affronted look on Garp's face. Rain covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. When she was finally settled she was able to answer. "That man is Monkey D. Garp," she started. "He's Luffy's grandfather, he's also why I called for help. He wants to come with us to Berk and Darkess can't carry all three of us."
Eret had a shocked look on his face. He looked to Luffy and then to Rain. "You want to bring Luffy back to Berk while Rock is still alive?" Eret looked pointedly at Luffy then. "It was nice knowing you."
"Rock is not that bad," Rain protested. "I'm sure he'll listen to reason once Dad and I explain to him that I love Luffy."
"You give your brother too much credit," Eret said. "Either that or you underestimate how protective of you he is."
"Which has me wondering," Garp interrupted. "Why is Rain's brother so opposed to her being in a relationship with someone?"
"You have to look at it from his point of view," Eret explained. "Rock was three when Rain was born. He was old enough to remember a few things from back then. Such as how their mother was killed a few days after giving birth to Rain. He lost his mother at the same time he gained a sister. With Rain looking so much like their mother he naturally developed a strong attachment to her. He loved his baby sister when he first saw her, excited to be a big brother. When Astrid, their mother, died he took the love he had for his mother and added that to the love he already had for his sister. To lose Rain to a man not within the family already would be as close as losing their mother all over again."
"So why Rock is so overprotective is a mystery," Luffy theorized.
Eret looked at him with wide eyes and Rain started giggling at his reaction. "You have to take it in stride," Rain said. "There are things that go on in Luffy's head that even his oldest friends can't understand yet. Basically, he doesn't see how there's any point in worrying about Rock's reaction to him."
"Well he should," Eret grossed. "He's scrawny enough that all Rock will have to do is look at him to rip him in half." Luffy was ignoring what Eret said by patting Darkess and introducing himself to Skull Crusher. "Another one of your man's traits?" Eret asked. He was giving Rain a look that said he was having a hard time considering Luffy could defend himself against Rock.
"It's who he is," Rain shrugged. "So far he hasn't seen anything in the area that would be a threat to him or any others he cares about. You'll just have to take me at my word that he's a great warrior."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
"Dad accepted him, why are you having a hard time with it?"
"I accept him," Eret said. "He didn't back down from my challenge.."
"What challenge?"
"It's Rock that I'm considering here. I don't see how your man will survive if he doesn't take it seriously from the start. I mean look at him, he's smaller than your dad ever was."
"Then I guess that Luffy will just surprise you," Rain shrugged. "Now, will you help us by bringing Luffy's grandpa to Berk?"
Eret was silent for a moment. He finally let out a sigh and nodded. "I think that you shouldn't go to Berk though. Rock will tear Luffy in half. But, if you're confident in his abilities then I suppose I'll just have to go along with it."
Rain beamed a smile at Eret. "I knew I could count on you Uncle Eret," she said as she hugged him. "Thank you for helping us."
"You might not be thanking me at the end of the day." He gave a tired sigh as Rain just moved past him to give the news to Luffy and Garp. Telling them that as soon as they're ready they would head to Berk.
~ The first to arrive back to Berk were Hiccup and Sanji. It was hard to make a discreet landing in the middle of the day when you're riding the alpha of all the dragons. The roaring they caused in welcome was enough to rouse all the inhabitants to see what was going on. "So much for not being noticed," Sanji commented.
"It can't be helped," Hiccup said. "They would know that we're here sooner or later anyway. Just be prepared when you meet my son. Once he learns that you're a friend of Rain's he'll give you the third degree."
"Just by being her friend?" Sanji asked. His eyes were wide in disbelief.
"That's right," Hiccup let out a sigh. "We told all of you that he's overprotective."
"Yeah, but I didn't think that he would have an issue with her having friends."
"Not friends specifically," Hiccup corrected. "Just protests to her having male friends. There's a chance for romance in that case."
Sanji let out a small noise that was a cross between a laugh and a snort. "Then your son is going to blow a fuse when he learns about Luffy."
Hiccup's shoulders suddenly sagged as he admitted that Sanji was right. He stiffened his shoulders as they were getting closer to ground. "That's where Gobber and Eret come in. I left them behind so that they could help restrain Rock when the two of them finally arrive."
A crowd of people and dragons surrounded the arrivals upon landing. When Hiccup dismounted a large man with red hair and a short beard strode up to them. "Welcome home Dad," he said.
Sanji choked on the smoke he just inhaled from his cigarette. "That's your son?" he rasped.
Hiccup let out a laugh at the reaction. He knew as much as everyone that Rock didn't look like either him or his mother. "That's right," Hiccup nodded. "This is my son Rock. When I show you a picture of my father then you'll see the resemblance."
"Who is this Dad?" Rock asked.
"This is Sanji," Hiccup started to introduce. "I met him in my travels. He's actually a good friend of Kagome's and Rain's now."
Rock's eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the still recovering cook. Hiccup continued with the explanations before the wrong connections were made. "He's a part of a group that sails with Kagome's son around the world. He and his girlfriend, Nami." Sanji stiffened when Hiccup made that announcement. Hearts started showing in his eyes as he daydreamed of him and Nami behaving like a couple. He was too busy in his fantasy to see the tension in Rock's body melt away.
Rock looked around and then up into the sky. "Where is Grandma and Snotlout?" he asked.
Hiccup knew that it wouldn't take long for that question. He decided to tell Rock the truth, or at least part of it. "Snotlout is taking a new friend of ours to his hometown to check on his friends and fiancé. He was concerned about an enemy snooping around where he doesn't belong." Rock nodded his head in acceptance. "Your grandma is with Nami. She wanted to check on her sister for the same reasons. Which is also why Sanji is with me. We went to check on the place where he grew up."
"Don't you mean his family?" Rock asked.
Sanji let another cigarette since the last one fell on the ground. He blew out the smoke and smirked. "I'm an orphan," he announced. "I was raised by a grumpy, one legged old man."
Hiccup burst out laughing when the villagers looked towards Gobber. "It wasn't me," Gobber snapped. "I've never seen this boy in my life."
Sanji blinked towards the man. He fit the description he just made perfectly. He started laughing at his own description. "Okay, let me rephrase. I was raised by an old, grumpy, one-legged former pirate that took up being a head chef and restaurant owner." The villagers let out a breath of relief.
The moment passed when Hook Fang landed with Snotlout and Usopp. Usopp fell on his face when Snotlout pushed him out of the saddle. "Hiccup," Snotlout called out. "Get someone else to bring him back to his ship. I can't stand being around that coward. I don't want any of his sissy attitude rubbing off on my dragon."
"Got it," Hiccup waved to Snotlout. "You can tell Roughnut we need Souta to leave her and the new baby to go traipsing around the world."
"You what!?"
Sanji watched as a scrawny woman with long, blonde hair stomped up to them. Souta was trailing after her, a small smirk on his face. He winked to Sanji, showing him he didn't have anything to worry about. The two were followed by a group of five kids. The tallest, and obviously the oldest, was holding a bundle that Sanji assumed was Souta's newest baby.
Roughnut grabbed a hold of Snotlout's vest and dragged him to the ground before he could take off with Hook Fang. She got right in his face. "You want to make me stay here without my husband to take care of six kids, one being newborn?"
Snotlout's eyes shifted left and right looking for help. Souta raised his brow at the man, he wouldn't help him. Hiccup and Rock had taken to helping Usopp get back on his feet. His eyes landed on Sanji. When Sanji noticed the pleading look he took a puff of his cigarette. He let out the smoke and looked at the simpering male. "I don't fight women," he stated. "On my side or not. I can't disappoint a lady."
"She's not a lady," amale voice said. A male version of the scrawny woman appeared. "She's my sister and mother of my nieces and nephews."
"Souta would disagree about her not being a lady," Gobber pointed out.
"Lalalalala, I'm not listening." Toughnut put his hands to his ears.
"And that's why you're still single," Gobber mused quietly.
"What did you say?" Toughnut removed his hands.
"I didn't say anything," Gobber walked away.
"What have we stepped into," Sanji wondered to himself.
"It looks like everyone started having fun before we did," a voice called above. Cloud Jumper was easing down to the ground with Valka and Nami.
Once the dragon landed Sanji spun in their direction, hearts in his eyes. "Nami-Swan!" he called out, hands raised in the air. Nami slid to the ground and stopped Sanji's approach by putting her hand on his forehead and pushing him away.
"I thought you said they were a couple," Rock pointed out to Hiccup.
"It's a strange relationship," Hiccup covered. "It's kind of like the twin's, only romantic and not brotherly sisterly." Rock nodded his head in understanding. When he looked away Hiccup let out a sigh of relief.
Hiccup finally took notice of all the villagers that were present. "Um, Gobber, where's Eret?"
Rock turned to look at Gobber as well. "I asked him that myself," he said. "All he said was that Eret and Skull Crusher were out for a morning flight. It's past noon now."
"Um, about that..."
~ Rain could see Berk on the horizon. She was about to urge Darkess to go faster when Eret called out for her to wait. "Maybe I should land first," he said. "That way I'm already on the ground to help hold back Rock."
"Why would you need to do that?" Rain asked.
Eret looked at where Luffy had both arms wrapped around her waist tightly. "You seriously think he won't jump to conclusions?"
Rain looked down and then blushed when she realized how tightly Luffy was holding on. She knew he wouldn't let go either. He was just as stubborn as Kagome. Rain nodded her head in acquiesces. "We'll hang back for a little while." Eret nodded as he urged Skull Crusher to go just a little faster.
Luffy squeezed Rain a tighter. She looked over her shoulder to see if he wanted something. Luffy took advantage and kissed her on the lips. He pulled back with a grin. "I'll be fine," he told her. "Remember that I'm a rubber man. It takes a lot for someone to hurt me in a fight. I'll convince your brother that I'm worthy of you."
"I know you can fight Rock," Rain said. "I've seen you fight in Dressrosa. I just worry about what Rock will think of me. He might think that I betrayed him and the village."
"Is my mom a part of the village?"
"Well, yes."
"Then so am I."
Rain let out a laugh when she realized that he was right. Rock couldn't use the he was a foreigner bit against her, not with Kagome being a part of Berk. If only Luffy showed this insightfulness all the time, what kind of crew would the Strawhats be then? Rain shuddered at the thought. She was sure that Luffy would have been one of the Yonko long ago if that was the case.
~ Eret landed just as Gobber was starting to sweat under Hiccup and Rock's gazes. "Another friend?" Rock asked as he noticed Garp.
"This is Kagome's father-in-law," Eret announced. He got off of Skull Crusher and approached the chief. "He wanted to accompany her son here."
"What are you talking about?" Rock asked.
Garp was grinning from ear to ear. "My grandson and future gra..."
Both Nami and Usopp jumped on the man to cover his mouth. They succeeded in keeping him quiet, but not in taking him down. "We don't need to make him mad early," Usopp hissed. "Do you see him? He towers over you. How much bigger do you think he is to Luffy?"
"What's going on?" Rock asked. He was looking at Eret and Hiccup. The moment was interrupted when Skull Crusher let out a roar.
~ "That's the signal," Rain said. "Eret and Skull have landed." She turned to look at Luffy. "Be ready to fight the moment that we land." Luffy nodded with a smirk on his face.
~ Gobber hobbled up next to Rock while Eret took up his other side. Hiccup moved to stand right in front of him. Rock's eyes narrowed as he looked from one man to another. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what happens next?"
No one said a word, they didn't have time. Darkess landed right next to Skull Crusher. At first Rock smiled, excited to have his sister back. Then he noticed the arms of the man behind her around her waist. His eyes turned from glad to narrowed slits. Sanji stepped back when he felt the killing aura coming from Rock in waves. Even Garp stopped trying to pretend that Nami and Usopp were restraining him.
Luffy gave Rain a squeeze of reassurance just before he got down. He then lifted Rain out of the saddle and kept an arm around her shoulders. He looked towards the glowering man with a serious expression on his face, almost daring him to say something.
Rock moved to stomp towards the man who dared touch his sister. Eret and Gobber each grabbed a hold of his arms while Hiccup put his hands on either shoulder, staring him down. "It's Rain's decision," Hiccup said. "If she decides to be with someone then we need to step back and let it happen."
"You're letting that Yak turd corrupt your own daughter?" Rock accused.
Luffy leaned over to Rain. "What's a Yak?" he whispered. Rain pointed off to the side where a fenced in area was. Luffy turned to see and blinked at the hairy, ugly animal grazing.
His head snapped back to the four arguing men. "He doesn't mean it," Rain said. "He's just scared right now. He's worried that I'll leave him and stop being a part of his family."
"You need to calm down," Hiccup was shouting. "Look at it this way. He's Kagome's son. Isn't that better than some stranger?"
Luffy squeezed Rain's shoulders and then released her. He strode up to the four men. "You got a problem with your sister and me?" he snapped. Silence fell in the village. The only noise being the various livestock that couldn't sense the danger building. "You want to fight then I'll fight you. I won't let you tear the two of us apart just because you're scared."
"I'm not scared," Rock growled.
"Not from where I'm standing," Luffy baited. "Why else don't you let Rain have suitors? You're scared that she'll quit loving you as her brother. I'll fight you to prove that not only am I worthy of your sister, but to also show you that I won't let you come in between us."
Rock straightened from where he was pulling against Gobber and Eret. The two men let go, sensing that he was no longer fighting them. "If I win then you leave Rain and Berk."
"No," Luffy simply said.
Valka immediately started laughing. "You won't get him to agree Rock," she said. "That's the same attitude he used to get Rain to join him and his crew."
"You're a pirate?" Rock asked, stunned.
"I'm going to be the Pirate King." Luffy kept his face serious.
"That's even more reason not to let you be anywhere near my sister." Rock then turned accusing eyes towards Hiccup. "You allowed this?"
"Your grandmother has vouched for him and his crew," Hiccup defended. "You heard her when she first came back with news. He's also Kagome's son. I've had the pleasure of meeting and talking with everyone in his crew. They're not bad people son."
"A pirate is always bad," Rock denied. "They're the same as the Berserkers that killed Mom. Now you're telling me that Rain has become one of them? My sister has become someone who tears apart families?"
Rain's breath hitched at the accusation. Nami came up to her and held her. She locked eyes with Luffy, silently telling him that she would take care of Rain while he handled this. Sanji stood in front of the two women confidently. Usopp stood next to him, shaking like a leaf. Rock didn't notice any of this. He was still accusing Hiccup of allowing his sweet little sister to turn into some pirates harlot. Rain couldn't stop the sob from coming out. Her own brother was accusing her of things she never did.
Eret and Gobber moved to grab Rock again while Valka made her way over, ready to slap him. Hiccup had his hand on his sword, chief or not he wouldn't let Rock get away with treating his own sister like that. Before any of them could act on their intentions a fist came flying past them and hit Rock squarely in the jaw.
Rock fell on to his backside, stunned into silence. Luffy's stretched hand returned to him as the village stared in wonder. "You take that back," he seethed. He started to purposefully walked towards Rock. Hiccup and the others parted for him to pass. "You take back what you said and apologize to Rain." Luffy's eyes were hidden by the rim of his hat.
Rock rubbed his jaw in wonder. He hadn't realized what happened until Luffy was standing over him. He pondered what Luffy was demanding of him. A look of horror crossed his features. He quickly looked past Luffy to see if Rain heard him. Guilt ripped at his chest as he saw Rain on her knees, crying as she was being held by the red-haired woman. Sanji stepped to the side to block his view, looking at him in malice. "A man should never hurt a woman," he seethed. "Especially her feelings. I would love nothing more than to teach you that, but it's not my place."
"I got this Sanji," Luffy spoke calmly. He moved so that he was the only thing that Rock could see. "You better apologize to her right now." Rock could finally see Luffy's eyes, they were filled with hate and promised pain if he didn't do what he said soon.
Rock slowly got to his feet. He sighed as he rubbed his face. "Rain, look, I didn't mean to say that about you," he started. "I was just mad that Grandma and Dad let some pirate try to corrupt you."
Rain slowly stopped crying, but she didn't look up from her place. She leaned back away from Nami, taking in deep breaths. "Are you okay?" Nami asked.
"I just need a minute," Rain whispered. She didn't look at Rock when she spoke next. "Most of the time people speak what they really feel when they're angry." She was just loud enough for Rock to hear her. "Do you really think that I would do something like that, in a pirate crew or not?"
Rock tried to move around Luffy to see about talking to Rain face to face. Luffy, however, wouldn't allow it. He moved directly into Rock's path. Until he heard from Rain that it was okay to let Rock past he wouldn't be getting anywhere near her.
Rock glanced at Luffy and saw that he still had the same look in his eyes. "Rain, I don't think that you would do that. I know you better than that. I just wasn't thinking." Rain didn't respond and Luffy didn't move. Rock's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm sorry I said that Rain. You're my baby sister, I don't want to hurt you. I didn't really mean it."
"How are we suppose to believe that?" Nami demanded.
Rock looked at the woman. She was glaring at him like he was the lowest thing on the planet. He agreed with her, he had no excuse. Rock then turned to look at Luffy. "You'll treat her right?" he asked low enough for only Luffy to hear. Luffy nodded his head once. "If you don't you'll have me to answer to."
Rock raised his voice for everyone to hear. "I'm happy to welcome into the family Kagome's son and Rain's intended, Luffy."
Rain turned teary eyes towards the two in shock. Sanji smiled at her and moved so she could get a clear look. Rock clasped arms with Luffy.
"Well it's about time," Roughnut snapped. She looked to the other villagers and glared. "What are all of you doing just standing there for?"
"It's an engagement party!" Valka called. "Start the cook fires, we're going to have a feast."
Nami gave Rain a quick hug in comfort then ran to join the other women. "Wait, what are we doing?" Rainasked. She was stunned for a moment.
Sanji rolled up his sleeves and headed in the same direction of the women. "I suppose I should go and give them a hand. They have no idea how much Luffy and Garp are going to eat."
Luffy helped Rain back up to her feet. "I didn't just hear them say that it's our engagement party," she said.
"You sure did," Luffy grinned.
"You're okay with this? Don't you think that it's a little sudden?"
"Not at all," Luffy said. "I planned on marrying you soon either way. It's just a matter of how fast I can become the Pirate King."
"You want some help with that?" Rock asked. He came up to the two of them. "My dragon riders have gotten lazy. No one bothers us on this island so they have nothing to test their skills on. It might help you reach your goals faster to have an entire dragon army on your side." Luffy smirked as he nodded.
"Your mom is going to have kittens," Rain mused. "I can just see it now. The sky will be blackened by the sight of dragons covering the sky. All ready and willing to follow your beck and call."
"I can't wait to see her reaction to the story of how Rock agreed to let you get married," Snotlout grinned. "She's going to hurt you so bad." He was looking at Rock at this point. Rock paled at the image that it invoked.
Garp got in between Rain and Luffy. "I hate to break things up," he interrupted. "However, it's time that Luffy and I got down to training." Luffy started whining as Garp dragged him off. "We'll be back and washed up in time for the party."
~ A little ways off from the party the two men squared off. "Why do you think that Blackbeard is gathering information on your crew?" Garp asked. The question was so out of the blue that it surprised Luffy. He broke his stance and put his hand to his chin. He stood in silence for a few minutes. "You can't think of why, can you? Lucky for you that I happen to know. Blackbeard is looking for weaknesses that he can exploit. He's looking to blackmailing your crew into abandoning you or joining his crew. He might even be looking to blackmailing you into joining his crew. Before, I wouldn't have worried about him finding a way to blackmail you." Garp then looked back to the village. "Things change though, you have a fiance to worry about."
Luffy blinked and looked back to the village. The sounds of happy laughter could reach their ears. "I shutter to think what could happen to such a sweet person if Blackbeard got a hold of her," Garp mused.
"I'm not afraid," Luffy said. "She wouldn't let anyone touch her."
"You can't be sure of that."
"Rain is the Dragon Mistress," Luffy revealed to Garp. "She single-handedly invaded a Marine Base, stole secret documents from a room that was supposed to be hidden. She's not so easy to corner."
Garp nodded his head in understanding. "Then I underestimated her," he admitted. "That still doesn't change the fact that Blackbeard could use her against you. He has the power of darkness. He could drag her to him if she tried to escape or fly. Without a devil fruit power of her own she's next to powerless against him and his crew." Luffy was silent as he took in what Garp was saying.
Garp started to head back to the village. "She's safest on this island. No Marine ship or pirate ship would ever notice that an entire village is on this island. It's nothing but sheer cliffs surrounded by ocean. Only the top is fertile and livable. No one noticed before, they won't notice now." He walked away, leaving Luffy to his thoughts.
Several long minutes later Luffy made his way back to the village. When he reached the center he caught Garp's eyes and nodded. Telling him that he was going to leave Rain with her family. Luffy decided he would come and get Rain once Blackbeard was taken care of.
Luffy found Rain with Valka, Roughnut and his maternal Grandmother Akita. Said woman stood up and hugged Luffy tightly. "I'm so happy to see you," she said. "Now that you know where we are you don't need to be such a stranger."
"I promise to come and visit," Luffy said. He gave Akita a hug in return. Once they parted he looked to Rain. "I need to talk to you, in private." Rain looked confused, but nodded and followed Luffy.
Once they were far enough away from everyone Luffy stopped. He turned and faced Rain, though his features were downcast. "What's the matter?" Rain asked. "Aren't you happy that this is our engagement?"
"That's not it," Luffy immediately said. His voice was slightly panicked and raised. He realized that his actions were sending the wrong message. "I'm excited that we're engaged," he said more quietly. He took Rain into his arms and held her. "I'm tempted to skip the engagement and marry you. But if I did that my mom would kill me."
"Good to know you know her so well already." Rain pulled away enough to look into Luffy's eyes. "So what's really bothering you?"
"I think that you should stay here until we come back," Luffy said.
"What?"
"It's too dangerous for you to be seen with me right now," he reasoned. "There's no telling what could happen to us."
"There's always been that danger," Rain argued. She stopped and thought for a moment. Luffy was acting strange ever since he went to train with Garp. Her eyes widened at the epiphany. "What did your grandpa say to you?"
"He didn't..."
"Don't try that with me," Rain snapped. "You didn't act like this until you came back from being alone with him. What did he say to you?"
Luffy pulled Rain back down to his shoulder. "He told me that Blackbeard is looking for a weakness in my crew and myself. If he learned about you then he could hurt you trying to get to me."
Rain pulled away from Luffy and hit him upside the head. "You dunderhead," she chastised. "First off, no one knows that I'm part of your crew. They only know of the masked Dragon Mistress."
"It won't take long for people to put the two together," Luffy argued.
"Irrelevant," Rain waived that aside. "I'm not without my own tricks. One of the benefits of having your father being a thinker instead of a fighter. I have many tools at my disposal that no one from this land has ever seen. I have the element of surprise on my side from every angle."
"I can't risk you being hurt," Luffy protested.
"Then we strike first," Rain reasoned.
"What?"
Rain smirked at Luffy this time. "We're a village of vikings Luffy," she said.
"What are those?"
"We're warriors no matter how you look at it. Each person in this village is taught how to fight. Even the children know how to swing a battle axe. We take the Blackbeard pirates by surprise, exploit their weaknesses to win."
"I don't know their weakness."
"They have the same one that you do," Rain explained. She smiled at the look of confusion on Luffy's face. "You ate a devil fruit, he ate a devil fruit. You both captain a pirate ship. What would happen if your ship were to sink?" Understanding dawned on Luffy's face. "Now you're getting it. We sink Blackbeard's ship while he's in the middle of the ocean and make sure that there's nothing for him to cling to."
"His crew could save him like mine does."
"Your crew are also your friends," Rain reasoned. "I doubt that Blackbeard has such a relationship with all of his crew."
"What about other devil fruit users on his ship?" Luffy asked. "I heard that he's been gathering users and either recruiting them or killing them."
"We won't know for sure until we see his ship," Rain admitted. "Although, I have to say that I doubt he would keep powerful people close to him if he's forced them to obey. If it were me I would look for a way to escape or kill him in his sleep."
"You would do that?"
"Viking training," Rain said as if that explained everything. "In either event, we can send out some tracking dragons in the morning. They'll find Blackbeard and report back. Once we have a fix on their location a team of dragon riders can go and sink his ship. He won't know what hit him. He certainly won't expect a dragon attack."
Luffy was silent as he thought about it. He didn't like using such indirect methods to win. As he stared at Rain he thought about what it would be like to travel without her. He also thought about what would happen if they didn't attack Blackbeard and he managed to get his hands on Rain. Not liking either thought, Luffy pulled Rain back into his arms. "We'll do it your way," he said. "I can't be without you."
"Glad you see it that way," Rain said. She tightened her hold on Luffy. "I would hate to be left here without you."
"I'll go and talk to your brother," Luffy said as he pulled back. "I'm sure that he'll be more than happy to take out a possible threat to his baby sister." Luffy then kissed Rain, keeping the kiss going longer than necessary. He pulled back and pulled her by the hand back towards where the party was being set up.
They found Rock and Hiccup discussing who should go with Luffy and the Strawhats. "I need to talk to you Rock," Luffy announced. He then explained the situation to the two of them.
"I'll send Eret and his team out in the morning," Rock said without hesitation.
"Hold on a minute," Hiccup argued. "This is a life we're talking about here. I'm sure that if we talked with him that we'll come up with a solution."
Snotlout came up, looking at Hiccup disbelieving. "This man is basically threatening your daughter's life. You really going to let him wander around free? You know what a man like that is like. You told us the story about Drago Bloodfist. This guy sounds exactly like him. Except he's making people his slaves instead of dragons." There was silence as everyone looked at Snotlout in surprise. "What?"
"I hate to say it," Fishlegs put in from the side. "He has a point Hiccup. If we don't take action first than Rain could be hurt. Here or not, people will start wondering where the 'Dragon Mistress' came from and start looking for dragons. It will eventually lead them here and they'll start looking for a way to climb those cliffs. It's only a matter of time."
Hiccup sighed in defeat. He was outnumbered and everyone made very good points. "Alright then," he submitted. "But just so we're clear, I'm not happy about this."
"All part of being a chief, right Dad?" Rock had a satisfied smirk on his face. "Making the tough choices and what's good for the people? Remaining in hiding won't help us. But we do need to take out any possible threats to our well-being. I'm sure that also includes the navy. From what I hear they're not in the habit of letting people have a way to fight against them, whether they mean harm or not."
"While this is a fascinating discussion," Valka walked up. "Everything is ready to start. Let's get the honored couple in place and start this party." The somberness was broken to be replaced with cheer.
Sometime during the night Rock gave Eret and his tracking team their instructions. They agreed to leave as soon as they were able.
~ The next day the trackers had left before dawn. It was midmorning when they started returning. The first few had negative reports. Eret and his second-hand man arrived after everyone else in their squad. "We found a ship with a captain that fits your description," he said to Nami.
"Why didn't you look for one with my description?" Luffy asked.
"Because 'a man that looks like an idiot' is not a good description," Nami snapped.
"There's a problem though," Eret stopped an argument before it started. "The ship isn't out at sea like we hoped. It's docked at a small island that has a small mountain that looks too steep to climb."
Nami pulled out a map. "Could you show me which island it is?" she asked. Eret looked at the map for a minute before he pointed out an island that looked like it was surrounded by storm clouds. "That's what I was afraid of."
"You mean the island with box guy?" Luffy asked.
"That's the one," Nami agreed.
"They better not have hurt him," Luffy growled. He started to head towards Darkess. He took a hold of Rain's arm gently. "We need to get over there fast."
"Right then," Hiccup started. "For this, I think those with the most experience should be the ones to go."
"Does that mean that Souta gets to watch the kids?" Roughnut asked. No one missed the excited tone in her voice.
"That's right," Hiccup said. He turned towards Souta at this point. "Sorry about this, but we need the original riders for such a dangerous mission."
"Eret isn't an original rider," Souta pointed out.
"He has more experience than you," Snotlout said.
Hiccup rolled his eyes and put his hand on Souta's shoulder. "I know you enjoy helping us defend the people and village, but your kids need you. I can't take both of their parents. If I did I wouldn't have a village to come home to."
"Point taken," Souta admitted. "Alright, I'll watch the terrors until you get back."
"Before we leave," Sanji came up. "Make sure that you destroy his ship. No one goes to that island so there will be no rescue for him. He'll be stranded unless he wants to swim. It will take him a while to build a raft strong enough to withstand the storms that surround the island, even then I doubt he can make it." Everyone nodded in understanding. Luffy rode with Rain as always. Usopp changed who he rode with. He got on the back of Meatlug with Fishlegs. Valka and Nami paired up again while Sanji joined Snotlout. Hiccup told him that Toothless will move too fast for him to stay on. Eret led the way and the team of dragon riders were off.