Chapter VII: First Bounty

Chaos. That was the best way to describe their situation. Ren was bailing water, Jaune was trying (and failing) to keep order, Ruby was trying to patch the holes, Blake was shouting orders to Neo who was steering, and Cardin was — he was sleeping. Somehow. They had been through snow, storms, beating sun, and strong winds. Even during the night, making their shifts for watch not just for enemies. It had been a wake up call, learning that the weather on the Grand Line was nearly unpredictable. Blake had her work cut out for her.

Ruby had managed to use some of the supplies she got for her weapon to patch up the holes in The Bucket. They were neatly in a row and now almost looked to be an added part of the aesthetic. They were really punctures made from teeth. Sea kings, an unbelievable number of them, had all appeared once the water had stilled. That was the Calm Belt, two strips of sea that bordered the Grand Line. The waters stilled, its namesake, and it was full of deadly sea monsters. The first time they had been lucky enough to be flung back into moving water; the second time was similar; the third time, they had been bitten.

Ruby had leaned out the side and sniped the serpent's uvula, getting it to let go of them. There was no way they could keep this up, as each time they faced a horde of monsters, their chances looked slimmer and slimmer. They had to be going in circles too, and Blake's compass was no use to them here. Needless to say, spirits were low.

"We need to do something about this!" Ren shouted, walking back to the center of their ship. No one gave a rebuttal as he was only voicing their own thoughts as well.

After a moment's thought, Jaune called out to Ruby, "Use your scope. Look around for anything — and I mean anything. If it's a friendly ship, they might be able to get us a log pose; if it's land, we can find one; if it's an enemy ship, we can fight for one."

Ruby gave a mock salute, but it didn't look like her heart was in it. Jaune sat down, trying to think through his situation. Things were not looking bright, and he wasn't sure what he should do about it. He looked around at his crew — his friends, his comrades — and tried his best to strategize. They should have gotten a log pose before leaving, even if he wasn't sure where on Remnant they could have. That didn't matter anymore though, since it was already too late. Were log poses sold? If that was the case, then it would be easiest for them to stumble onto an inhabited island. If they were items just kept on people, then their best bets were to steal one or take one by force. He doubted anyone would just give theirs up.

"There's a ship!" Ruby called out. "And they're headed right towards us!"

"What flag are they flying?" Ren asked, gathering with the rest of the crew.

"It's — they're marines," Ruby said with realization.

"Shit." Jaune closed his eyes, trying his best to craft some excuse. It always helped when he was younger, but acting sick to get out of school wasn't the same as explaining to marines why you were flying a pirate flag. Wait, the cloth and paint he had gotten was still tucked under a chair. His eyes widened. "We're not flying a flag yet. Get close to the ship and make up some story about struggling with the weather. Hopefully, our faces aren't that recognizable yet."

It would be easy enough to just tell partial truths. Ren caught his eye. "And how exactly will you be taking care of this, Jaune? You should take at least one of us with you."

Their captain gave a confident smile and winked. "Don't worry, I have a plan."


The weather over the sea was currently bright and sunny. It gave the young man a glow as he stood atop a barrel with a hand held out as a promise. He belted out his dreams and aspirations to the rest of the crew. They sat in almost reverent silence, letting the man's words wash over them. Truthfully, they were quiet because they had long since given up on saying anything.

The cheerful presence that served as their captain's apprentice and honorary right hand (the true position held by an acclaimed marine) was one of many words. It just so happened that often those words were idiodic or repetitive. This particular speech was complete and utter nonsense, and unfortunately it was his favorite. It didn't even come from fear of their captain that no one debated him as one might have guessed. Instead, any argument given to the young man was thrown out or entirely ignored. So they ignored him back — or, they tried to.

With the frequency of his speeches, the best way for the crew to avoid them was to not be present. That was why the entire side of the ship he was on was currently being vacated except for him.

When he finished talking, he looked around and was surprised to find himself alone. Not that he cared. The only things that mattered to him were dreams, friends, and food. If none of them wanted to listen, then they weren't his friends. That just meant more food for him — another debate no one challenged him in.

After the thought passed through his head, he decided to grab himself a third snack for the day. He headed down to the first lower deck and began rummaging around the barrels. The chefs kept locks on the fridges, so he was stuck with the fruits and breads. They were still good, but nothing like the meat just out of reach.

He was biting down onto an apple, shoving it whole into his mouth, when movement caught his eye. First he saw the wooden side of the boat ripple, then a mess of blond hair grow out, and finally a person tumbled inside. He was grumbling about plans not being thought through when he looked up and caught the young man staring. They stood there for far longer than necessary.

"Uh, hi." The blond boy greeted. "I was just, uh, looking for something." The last part sounded more like a question. He glanced around nervously, obviously trying to gauge his surroundings. What a weird devil fruit to just let him through the wall.

Wanting to talk and too impatient to chew, the young man gulped down the apple. The intruder seemed to be in mild awe of the act and was caught off guard by the young man's sudden question. "Are you a pirate?"

The blond boy's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I — wait, no — no, totally not. I promise — no, I guarantee that I am in no way, absolutely no possibility, a pirate."

The young man was unconvinced. It was the obvious poor lying that gave him away. "Good pirate or bad pirate?"

The boy gave a nervous smile at being called on his bluff. "We're good pirates, I swear."

That was good. Unlike the bad pirates out there, good pirates were cool. "What's your dream?"

Their intruder was starting to become more comfortable. He entered a pose, much like the young man's had been like before, and let his chest swell. "My name is Jaune D. Arc, and I am the man who will become King of the pirates!"

The young man gasped. He shifted into a reflection of Jaune. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I am the man who will become King of the marines!"

Jaune gasped. "Really? Does this make us friends — and rivals?"

Luffy laughed, smiling brightly. "Yeah, I think it does!"

Jaune cheered, and before he knew it, they were delving into the contents of their aspirations. Luffy's dream was very admirable from what he was hearing. He had learned what the King of the Pirates meant and how that entailed to other pirates. One day, he heard his grandfather talking about the food given to marines and the difference between a private's meal and that of a vice admiral. Luffy quickly connected the dots and deduced that the King of the Marines would be provided with infinite food.

"So, why be the King of the Pirates?" Luffy asked.

Jaune scratched his head and let out an embarrassed chuckle. It wasn't often that he talked about his motives. "Well, it's a long story, but I guess if you have time. It all started with a dusty, old crow…"


Laughter echoed over the horizon. The three members of the reforming Onyx Feather Pirates currently with their captain turned to the jovial man. The news coo had just visited and dropped the paper onto their deck. Even out here, without their iconic jolly roger and away from the Grand Line, it recognized them as seafarers interested in that sort of news.

"Ho, what has put our captain in such a lively mood?" Peter leaned over to get a look at the paper; however, Qrow abruptly turned it around for all to see.

"The sports?" Junior questioned, squinting at the titles he could see.

Plum hummed. "It looks like the women's fashion section has been cut out."

"No, and not important." Qrow held the paper higher then paused. He peeked around only to realize he had turned some pages when flipping it around. He shuffled through the articles back to the front. "This: the brat's taking his first steps. That means he and Ruby are on their way!"


"Hey look!" Sable pointed at the screen. The action was entirely unnecessary as the rest of their family, save their father, was also with her and watching the TV. Despite that, no one said a word. They were too distracted to care because they all saw a familiar face on the television. "Jaune's on TV."

"What did that dork do to get on the news?" Hazel joked. The newscaster seemed to be readying a script, as if this was a surprise to her as well.

"Perhaps he acted out as a deviant and is facing his repercussions?" Coral guessed.

"Coral!" Juniper admonished. "Don't talk about your brother that way. I'm sure it has something to do with Beacon." She sipped from the glass of water she was holding, turning her attention back to the screen.

They drew quiet as the woman began. "Breaking News! A group of Beacon students have turned rogue and have indirectly declared war against the government." Glass shattered as it slipped from Juniper's grasp. "They are highly dangerous, international criminals. If you spot them, avoid them at all costs and alert the authorities of their presence." This couldn't be happening. Juniper shook her head, trying to rid herself of what she was hearing. "Their leader appears to be this young man: Jaune D. Arc. A bounty has been placed on his head of — am I reading this right? He has a bounty of eight-hundred-and-fifty-thousand lien! Oh my, it has been reported that Jaune and his group snuck their way onto a military vessel and stole important navigational technology. Folks, do your best to avoid him by any means necessary! Continuing on to our next story, dust robberies in…"

Juniper's scroll was ringing. Relying on instincts, as her mind was not entirely there at the moment, she robotically lifted it and answered the call.

"Juniper!" Nicholas' panicked voice rang out from the other side. "I was listening to the radio while traveling, and I just heard —"

"I know!" Juniper Arc's eyes grew fierce. "That boy is going to regret the day I birthed him!"


Luffy was guffawing at the rushing marines. They ran around in a crazed frenzy looking more like a group of startled, human-sized ants. Kobe and Helmeppo, two of his nakama, simply stood near him in despair. Unlike the others on the ship, they were willing to bear the antics of the rubber man. Kobe did so out of true admiration, while Helmeppo had merely numbed himself to it.

Unlike their worried comrades, the two boys had a clearer picture of how this would turn out. They could only hope it wouldn't be that painful as the hulking figure of none other than Monkey D. Garp marched toward them. The man was large, and his aging complexion would be deceiving if it were not for his sheer presence. He was wearing the ridiculous looking dog hood he often wore, but it did nothing to lessen the fear of his men. The legends alone of Garp the Fist, hero of the navy, was enough to tell them what they needed to know. Kobe silently wondered why the rest of the crew hadn't caught on to Garp's actual personality yet.

"Luffy!" His voice was firm, booming over them. "I leave the ship for less than a day and I hear about you letting a rookie pirate slip away. What's going on?"

Luffy's laughter died a bit, but he never lost his grin. His eyes twinkled while he raised his fists in excitement. "They were good pirates, Gramps! And they were so cool! Their captain, Jeans, phased through a wall!"

Garp, the hulking and intimidating man he was, began picking his nose. "Interesting. That's quite the devil fruit — wait, didn't the report say his name was John?"

"I believe it was Jaune, sir." Bogard provided. "Jaune D. Arc."

Garp shrugged. In his book the name didn't matter much, he was just a rookie that needed to be stopped before he could start. "Whatever, point is you let a rookie escape. Not even just a fresh face, but one without a bounty. What do you have to say for yourself, Luffy?"

"They were the good kind of pirates! Oh, and they didn't have a log pose, so I gave them ours — we still have the eternal log poses, though." Luffy looked anything but regretful.

"Good pirates?" Garp asked. Luffy nodded. A 'fist of love' smashed into Luffy's skull and sent his head crashing into the deck; his body withstood the force, so his neck stretched to compensate. The next moment Luffy was pulling and tugging to get his head out from inside the wood of the deck, yelling at his grandpa the entire time. "Brat! Don't go helping pirates even if you think they're good!"

"But Gramps!" Luffy's protest was muffled. "He said he was going to be King of the Pirates! That makes us rivals; how can I let my rival fail before he starts!"

Garp crossed his arms, looking down at the struggling boy like a disappointed parent. "Anyone can say that, brat. It doesn't make it true."

Luffy finally popped his head out, the moment making him roll back into a wall. As he got up, he casually said, "I saw it in his eyes. He's got it, so I know it will be him. He'll be the King of the Pirates one day: June D. Arch!"

Garp sighed. Luffy's actions were causing an uproar in HQ right now: a no-name green horn sneaking onto a vice admiral's ship and taking their log pose. And his own damn grandson had allowed it to happen — willingly. The worst part was how he seemed to take a liking to the criminal. Luffy was just that way, becoming increasingly stubborn when pressed against it. Garp had no doubt this 'friendship' was set in stone.

As he thought about what their punishment should be, he couldn't help but notice a few misty eyed soldiers in the crowd. He had never known his men to cry, not even when he barked at them. He shrugged it off anyways. Maybe they were just too embarrassed at being a vice admiral's crew that got bested.

"Kobe, blond brat!" Garp called the attention of the two other boys. He cheerfully ignored Helmeppo complaining about what he called him. "You both should have been watching my dumbass grandson. There's a reason I made you three an unofficial team. That's why I'm punishing all three of you! You get the honors of getting more food for the ship, seeing as we're getting low."

Luffy grew excited at the mention of food, but his friends visibly paled. Kobe rushed forward. "Please, Garp-san! Don't make us do this!"

Garp grunted, a knowing look plastered on his face. "You let him do this, so take your punishment like a good marine!"

"Luffy will eat it all and we'll never complete it!" Kobe argued. "You're asking us to fend off Luffy!"

Helmeppo put his head to the deck as he prostrated himself. "Please, Captain! Do not condemn us to this fate!" The twinkle in Garp's eyes said he had no such mercy for them.


Cardin loomed over the younger girl, squinting his eyes and almost sneering in disgust. Ruby looked unabashed and innocent, going as far as to politely smile at him. "You're a witch! Pure evil! Stay away from me!" Ren separated the two, but couldn't stop the unsure glance Ruby's way.

Jaune desperately wanted to know what was going on. He had slipped back onto The Bucket, new log pose in hand, to find his crew being escorted back onto their ship. The marines at the time looked so concerned. Some were even crying, and Jaune swore that he heard one say 'God Speed.' Upon reuniting, Cardin looked nearing antagonistic and Blake looked defeated. What scared Jaune the most was Neo's reaction, who seemed far too excited.

They had little time to elaborate with each other, and set off immediately. Now that they were in a safer area, Jaune had decided to get some things in order: namely, their flag. When the orders ceased and they were sure the marines weren't right behind them, Cardin started pointing fingers — literally. Jaune cleared his throat. "Okay, someone tell me something. I'm lost here."

Ren let out a suffering sigh, one that usually spoke of Nora. With her not here, that told Jaune it was bad. "You said to forge a story that we were unprepared for the chaotic climate of the Grand Line. They weren't entirely buying it, so Ruby took matters into her own hands."

"The eyes." Blake supplied. It seemed as if that was enough explanation for her, and the others seemed to agree, but she noticed the look on Jaunes face. With a complete deadpan, she continued. "Ruby has mastered the art of puppy dog eyes. That, with the sob story she made on the spot, had them wrapped around her finger."

He turned to read his shorter companion's face. Ruby smiled happily up at him. He now realized that Neo wanted to learn that art. That was too dangerous to allow.

"How long until our next destination?" He wanted to avoid those eyes as best as possible. Blake latched onto the subject change, especially since her job had become much better. With a log pose, they now had actual means of traversing the sea. It also helped that they had not only a mundane map of the grand line, but one marked with marine bases. What Jaune had gotten out of them before they left was that Ruby told the marines something about wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a hero. He could only imagine it had something to do with recklessly charging into this part of the world and now being in over her head. That would explain why they would provide a map to lead them to a place to be properly recruited.

"At our current speed and heading, taking into account that we still haven't adjusted to keeping our ship headed straight ahead," she paused to mull over her thoughts. "We'll be there around daybreak tomorrow."

"That gives us plenty of time for this!" Jaune went over to the cloth and paint and dragged it out. "We need a jolly roger! Can anyone paint?"

Ruby was quick to volunteer, used to doodling and using paints in fine motions with weapons. While she was coming up with an idea, Ren raised a question. "In order to be distinct, most flags use colors. Do you plan for ours to be just black and white?"

Jaune went from excited to embarrassed. But before he could speak, Ruby answered for him. "I actually have some paints in my weapons kit. You never know when your baby is gonna get scratched. I have red and black for Crescent Rose, and I also have yellow for — um, Ember Cecilia." She trailed off at the end, but no one called her out for it.

A while longer, and The Bucket soon had a flag flying atop it. Ruby had taken Jaune's hat as inspiration, coming to learn her uncle gave it to him and it had become his symbol for sailing. After that, everyone dispersed.

With everyone returning to their places, Jaune found himself mildly bored. They had been fighting, rushing, and surviving for so long that despite the peaceful times before, this felt like the first time he might be able to sit and do nothing. That was the issue: there wasn't much they had brought to do. In the end, he decided to take up Cardin's offer for sparring, still noting to himself to get some form of entertainment the next time they were at an island — at least a set of cards.

Cardin was pretty enthusiastic to fight. He had come along for it and so far they had done nothing but flee. The two of them sanctioned a corner of the modified bullhead and went at it. Jaune drew Crocea Mors, expanding the shield, and Cardin readied Executioner.

Cardin led the charge, rushing in like a tank. Jaune readied his shield in time for the mace to clash against it, nearly ringing like a bell. Jaune tried to push with the shield, but Cardin pressed back and made him stumble. Sliding his back leg out, Jaune stabbed with his sword around the shield, but a swing from Executioner sent it sailing to the ground.

Jaune bashed Cardin, but the bigger boy took it without flinching. From there, it began devolving into their usual matches, of Cardin barraging Jaune while he tried desperately to block them. This time, Cardin stopped. Jaune almost took the opportunity, but quickly recognized it as a cease fire.

Cardin crossed his arms, which looked a bit odd with his large mace. "This isn't gonna work, Jauney-boy. You need to have some better foundation before you can learn from sparring."

Jaune dejectedly began putting away his gear. "Yeah, I'm just learning how to be a punching bag, aren't I?"

"Can you swim with those?" They both turned to see Ren, who at some point came over to watch them. Ruby and Blake had followed as well.

"I ate a devil fruit. I can't swim anymore."

"Your devil fruit is swimming, Jaune," Blake supplied.

He blinked as if he had already forgotten. "Oh yeah. But still, what do you mean?"

Ren placed his fingers on his chin. "Are you able to swim with a sword in your hand — or your shield?" His point began to sink in. He wasn't just a grounded fighter anymore: there was another factor he had to consider. Most everyone he had gone against had weapons and styles built from their semblances.

Then the realization hit him even harder: most of his peers had years of knowing their semblance and matching their weapons and styles to fit with them. On the other hand, his devil fruit was a random factor that came out of the blue just days ago. If his fighting style was going to match it, he might have to start from the ground up.

"With just a sword, I could rely on kicking with my legs." He sat down to think while they spoke. "The shield though? It would be too much resistance while expanded, and it would be too much expanding it and closing it each time I needed to swim. At that point, I wouldn't be using it, making it extra weight."

"Then you need a new sword." Cardin gruffly stated. He sat down near his captain, not nearly as winded as the blond boy.

"But it's a family heirloom!"

Blake put a hand on his shoulder. "You can still respect it as one, but that doesn't require you to use it. Besides, as noble as your cause is, it might tarnish its name to be used for crime." The last point gave him pause, and he eventually accepted it.

"Great, so now I need training and a weapon."

Ruby dashed into his view, beaming from head to toe. "Let me make it for you!" Jaune was certain she almost shattered the windows. Neo agreed with a loud thump on the wall from the cockpit. "I've been waiting for you to ask to upgrade from your classic!"

Jaune wanted to point out that meant she wanted to get rid of a sword passed down in his family for generations, but honestly this was Ruby and weapons. He might as well hold his hands up and slowly back away.


AN:

I've read so much Coeur stuff that his Arc family might as well be canon to me... and Juniper Arc may be a bigger threat to Jaune than the marines.

Also, I had way too much fun with that 'dusty old crow' line.

There are two things in this chapter I'm expecting mixed thoughts on. So, Garp made Luffy a marine in this AU, but he was enticed by the promise of food. Don't worry about him being a bad guy or anything. I have a feeling that marine Luffy would make Sengoku wish he was a pirate instead...though he wouldn't know how wrong he is.

As for Jaune's weapon, it was an interesting thought between my friend and I. The point I brought up was how awkward the image of a knight with that devil fruit would be. I guess I could have made it work or gone back and changed his devil fruit, but I was already getting ideas prepared. I will say, my friend kept me from taking it too far.

This was...the first fight I've really ever written. If I had to put a word to it...I'd honestly call it crappy. It's fast, short, repetitive, and doesn't have much sentence variety. I've gotten better as I've worked on this story, but I really didn't feel like rewriting the scene at the moment. For now, please just bear with my shitty fight writing. Any and all tips are welcome.

Anyways, next chapter: Making Sides Official