A/N: This story contains a ZoLuSan pairing, a FemLuffy and a bit of OOC.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. It belongs to its creator, Eiichiro Oda. The story's plot belongs to Pen-Woman.
Warning: There are no Lemons detected in this chapter. The things that are detected in this chapter are some foul language, name-calling and some violence.
Please enjoy the story.
I may be overprotective. I understand what you may think, but there is a method to my madness. I love my sis more than you think. She's the world to me, and I would never let her get hurt. I would die to keep her alive. That's why I'm so alert.
There are a few people out there who thought I was just pretending. I went through hell to make them pay, because it was my little sister I was defending. She doesn't realize how much I care. I don't think I do either. But through anything that happens, I'll always be right beside her.
I may be overprotective by Valkyrie
Chapter 7: Meet My Brother, Fire-Fist Ace!
~Nanohana, Alabasta~
They have finally made it. The Straw Hat Pirates have finally reached the Kingdom of Alabasta.
Vivi couldn't be anymore happier to return home after so long. There was no time to celebrate. She had an important mission. It was to find out what Mr Zero's plans were and stop it. But to do that, they needed to get to Rainbase City where Mr Zero resided. First, they needed to resupply and buy some garments to protect them from the blazing heat.
Once they had docked their ship, they moved into Nanohana.
Sanji bought some robe clothes for the men. He even secretly bought some dancing outfits for his beautiful Nami, his desert flower Vivi, and his angel from above Luffy. Before he could show her, Luffy ran off faster than a gazelle to find something to eat.
The others groaned pitifully.
Nami quickly ordered Zoro, Usopp and Chopper to find Luffy before she caused trouble. Before they were sued for collateral damage. She wasn't going to give anyone any of her Berries.
Zoro snorted and muttered: "Witch."
Sanji heard him and went to kick him. Only for Zoro to block it.
Nami bashed their heads for their idiocy and threw Zoro, causing him to skid on the sand. She yelled to him to get going and get Luffy already.
Zoro grumbled and left to find his Captain.
Usopp and Chopper followed after him to find their trouble-making Captain. Unaware that they weren't the only ones looking for Luffy.
~At the Spice Bean Restaurant~
Inside and outside the restaurant Spice Bean the people of Nanohana were gathered. Whispers and mummers could be heard. They all had a troubled look on their faces. What caused the people to act this way? Well, someone suddenly had died in the restaurant, while making conversation with the restaurant's owner.
Inside the restaurant, the man – that they've been mumbling about – was what appeared to be dead. His face was in his food, that the owner had served him for the forty-fourth time. He wore black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, black boots, and an orange hat with two smileys. He wore no shirt, revealing his upper body with a skull tattoo on his back. The man hadn't moved for the past thirty minutes. People assumed that he must've eaten a Desert Strawberry and died without knowing it, because his hand was still holding onto a fork with a piece of meat still hanging on. It was frozen still before the man had the chance to take a bite out of it. What a cruel way to die.
"And not only that, the Desert Strawberry is so strong, that the poison is contiguous. It spread around the corpse. If you touch him, you'll get infected too." One of the customers mumbled as a warning.
This is another reason they didn't want to get near him. They were afraid that they might die the same way as the man.
Silence overcame them as they were trying to figure out on how to deal with this. All of a sudden the dead man came back to life, scaring the living daylights out of everyone.
" HE'S ALIVE!" They all yelled in surprise and fright.
They stared at the hat-wearing man intensely. The man stared back at them with food littered face and tired eyes.
"Man damn, I fell asleep." The man said as he went back to eating.
" YOU WERE ASLEEP!" They yelled again in shock.
"What's up with you guys?" The hat-wearing guy asked while chewing.
" WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" They yelled at him.
The man turned to stare at the owner.
"Hey, did you hire comedians or something?" He asked, while the people sweat-dropped at this.
"Uh... no, but I'm glad that you're all right." The owner said.
As the man was about to take a bite of his next forkful of meat, he suddenly fell back to sleep.
" HEY! YOU'RE SLEEPING AGAIN, IDIOT!" They yelled again in annoyance.
A little while later, the people went back to their business or back home. As for the man, he stayed and ate another three servings till he was finally satisfied. He then pulled a Wanted poster out of Monkey D. Luffy. He showed it to the owner.
"Excuse me, sir. Did this girl come by here before?" He asked as the man checked the picture of a cute girl with a big grin.
"A pirate wearing a straw hat? No, I haven't seen her before." The owner answered.
Before the hat-wearing man could ask any other question, when someone decided to intrude.
"Well well, who would've thought that I would find the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates here of all places. Portgas D. Ace." Someone said.
It was Captain Smoker. He came all the way from Loguetown to Alabasta to hunt down Straw Hat Luffy. Only to find something better.
Ace smirked darkly and turned himself around to face him.
Everyone was shocked to find out that this idiotic man was actually none other than one of Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, who was also known as Fire-Fist Ace. No one expected this guy was one of the fearsome pirates of the Grand Line and here in Nanohana.
"What business does an infamous pirate like you have in this country?" Smoker asked gruffly.
"I'm looking for my baby sister." Ace said grinning.
~With Luffy~
Luffy suddenly sneezed while looking for a restaurant to eat.
"Man, I wish that people would stop talking about me." She said pouting, while walking when she smelled a delicious aroma.
Luffy looked around till she found where the smell was coming from. She found a restaurant. With all her excitement, she stretched her arms and grabbed a handhold. She took a couple of steps back and projectile herself at high speed into the restaurant.
"Gum Gum Rocket." She said, crashing through the door. She also felt that she cashed into someone, sending that person flying off to somewhere. It didn't matter to her. She got in. She cheered that she found it. She then quietly walked to the counter.
The bewildered man behind it was staring at the hole where two strong men crashed through by a puny girl.
"Excuse me, can I've all the food you've got, please?" She asked politely with a big grin.
The owner could do nothing but serve her.
Luffy was happily munching on her plate full of fried chickens, spaghetti, fried rice, apples, loaves of bread and grilled steaks. Above all, she ate with good manners.
"The food is amazing. It's really great." Luffy complimented the owner.
"Uh, thank you. Um... you should probably get the hell out of here." The owner said.
"Hm? How come?" Luffy asked tilting her head to the side.
"Do you know exactly who you just sent flying?" He answered with a question.
"Really! I did that?" She said astonished.
"Yes, look." The owner said, pointing at the large hole.
That hole was followed by many other holes in the neighboring houses.
Luffy inspected the hole, while shewing.
"What's with that hole? Are you remodeling? It looks weird." She stated as she kept on eating.
"IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU DID THIS!" The owner and his customers yelled at her.
In about a minute or so, Luffy was about to have another cat-and-mouse chase with Captain Smokey again. To say that she wasn't too thrilled about it.
~Lost Somewhere in Nanohana~
After a wild goose chase between the Straw Hats and the Marines. They lost them but there was one tiny problem. The fun-loving Captain, Luffy, got separated from her crew. Again.
"Huh? Where did my crew go?" Luffy asked to no one in particular, sitting on a barrel. She tilted her head to the side and tapped her chin with her finger, thinking.
"I could've sworn I was with them a moment ago. Now, here I am, all by myself. Weird." She said.
Too bad Luffy hadn't noticed that she was the one who got herself lost from her crew. While she and her crew were on the run, she had spun around and ran backward just to see how frustrated the Marines were. Because of that, her crew had gone in the direction of where they had docked their ship, while she went the other way, the wrong way. Far away from her crew and ship.
"Well, it can't be helped. And sitting around won't do either. I better find my crew before the Marines or Smokey find me." She said, getting up from the barrel.
Luffy was about to leave to find her crew, when she stopped in her tracks as a familiar voice said: "Jeez, you don't look like you're even trying to escape, Lu."
Luffy looked up and smiled brilliantly, saying: "Ace!"
Ace was standing on top of a rooftop. He jumped down and landed in front of her.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Lu." Ace said.
Luffy's reply was by jumping on him. Ace was prepared for it. He spun her around in a full circle, making her giggle and squeal in happiness.
Ace had missed his sweet baby sister. The three years he had spent not hearing her cheerful voice and her sweet smile. For three years it had driven him off the wall. Now she was here in his arms and never let her go. Not even out of his sight again.
Luffy was enjoying her ride on her brother, when she realized something.
"Hey Ace, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but what are you doing in this country?" Luffy said.
Ace sighed and put his sister down, before doing his explaination.
"Well Lu, I'm here because I'm on the hunt to find a man. A pirate by the name of Blackbeard." He hissed.
"Blackbear? Who is that?" She asked confused.
"He's the scumbag who used to be part of my crew. Until he killed the Fourth Division Commander of Whitebeard, who was a very dear friend of mine." He said.
"Whitebeard? Commander?" She said tilting her head to the side in a questionable manner.
Ace then showed her the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates on his back.
"See this, I'm one of the Whitebeard Pirates now. I'm his Second Division Commander, earning the name Fire-Fist Ace. This symbol is my great pride." Ace stated.
"Whoa! That's really awesome! I never thought that you were going to have Devil Fruit powers. That's so cool." She said grinning broadly.
"Yeah, I ate the Flame-Flame Fruit. So now I've the power to create, control, and transform into fire at will." He boasted.
"Ah, all I can say is, congrats, Ace." She said grinning.
Ace grinned in return.
"So Lu, tell me about your Nakama. What are they like?" Ace asked as he and Luffy started to walk.
"Well, my First Mate is a Swordsman named Zoro. He likes to train and sleep all the time. Then there's Nami. She is my Navigator and the best too. She likes to draw maps, tangerines and money. Then there's Usopp. He's the Sniper, an inventor and a lair too. A Cook named Sanji. He makes super delicious food. I got a Doctor. His name is Tony Tony Chopper but he likes to be called Chopper. He's a reindeer. And a Princess with her pet, a spot-billed duck." She concluded.
Ace's face suddenly darkened. It quickly vanished and he forced a smile.
"A pretty nice variety you've got there." He said.
'Three guys. Three guys with impure attention, preying on my sweet baby sister. There is no way in hell if I let those punks get near my sister. I've to roast them.' Ace thought while thinking about a way to end the three lives of Luffy's crew.
Luffy sensed Ace's worry and frowned in concern.
"Ace, are you okay?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm fine Lu. I'm just... thinking. That's all." He said putting on a smile to assure her that he was okay.
Luffy smiled and proceeded to walk. She didn't know that her beloved big brother was planning a devious plot. A plot on how he would torture those men in a slow and painful fashion.
~With the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates~
Back on the Going Merry, Usopp, Sanji and Zoro suddenly sneezed. Apparently, there was someone talking about them.
"Usopp, have you found her yet?" Nami shouted to Usopp, who was in the Crow's Nest. So he could spot his Captain from this position.
"No, not yet." Usopp shouted back.
"Okay, keep looking!" She ordered him.
Nami then sighed in frustration that her Captain never stopped causing trouble for her Nakama. She put her hands on her hips, still wearing her dancer outfit.
"Honestly, that girl can't just once act like a real Captain." She commented.
"This is Luffy we're talking about. She'll never change. No matter how many times you tell her to." Zoro replied. Upon looking closer, you could see a small smile on his face.
"But shouldn't we go back to town to get her?" Chopper asked.
"No, we can't Chopper. We can't risk it, because of the Marines are running around in town. Don't worry, if I know Luffy better, she'll probably pop out of nowhere like she usually does." Nami said.
Usopp tried to find Luffy by using his goggles till he spotted her waving at them.
" HEY, THERE SHE IS!" Usopp yelled.
Luffy stretched her arm till she grabbed the main mast. She hurled herself onto her ship.
Sanji saw her launch herself his way. It was too late to dodge her as she collided into him.
"Oops. Sorry about that, Sanji. Are you okay?" Luffy said, looking down at him.
Sanji felt a nosebleed coming on.
"No worries. I'm always here to cushion your fall, my Captain." He exclaimed with a heart in his eye.
Luffy smiled down at Sanji, when someone lifted her off of him. She looked up and grinned when she recognized that it was Zoro.
"Luffy, it's better you don't go near him. He's contaminated with the pandemic called Stupidity." Zoro stated.
" WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Sani shouted.
" YOU HEARD ME? CHEESE HEAD!" Zoro snapped back.
" YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME?!" They both yelled.
They were about to engage their fight, when Luffy went to the side of the ship. It appeared that she was looking for something.
"Where is he? Where is he?" She said.
"Who's he?" Vivi asked.
"My brother." She replied.
A silence fell over the ship and everyone froze in shock. They all tried to comprehend what just had been said.
" EH! YOU HAVE A BROTHER!?" They all yelled in shock and their jaws had dropped to the deck.
"Yeah, what's gotten into you guys?" Luffy said.
"You have a brother, that you never had mentioned before." Nami said.
"Well, because you never asked." She said.
Everyone sweat-dropped at Luffy's logical answer. Typical Luffy.
"So, who is your bother, Luffy?" Chopper asked.
"Ace is super cool and super strong. He ate a Devil Fruit. Even before he ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, he was still strong as ever. He was the one person that I couldn't beat." Luffy replied grinning.
"Wow! He's really that strong!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Wait! You're saying you fought him, a normal human being, but you never once beat him." Nami stated in disbelief.
"So, the older brother of a monster turns out to be a super monster." Usopp stated.
Zoro had listened to Luffy's explanation and his eyes widened.
"Wait a minute, Luffy. You said your brother's name is Ace. As in Fire-Fist Ace?" Zoro exclaimed skeptical.
He couldn't believe that Luffy was related to the most wanted man of All Blue, that all Marine HQ were after his head.
"Did someone say my name?" Ace said, making his appearance on the railing. It made everyone jump in surprise.
"Ace you're here." Luffy said, flying over to Ace. She grabbed his hand and dragged him closer to her crew.
"Ace, this is my Nakama, that I was telling you about." She said still holding Ace's hand.
"Hello everyone, I hope my baby sister didn't cause you too much trouble." Ace said smirking.
"Wow, you're Fire-Fist Ace. In person on our ship and Luffy's older brother." Usopp awed.
"He looks cool." Chopper said with stars in his eyes.
"Who would've thought Luffy had a brother? And a fine-looking one too." Nami stated.
Vivi agreed giggling.
Sanji scowled that Ace got the attention of the two girls. He didn't voice it out, because this was the most dangerous man and powerful as well. Challenging him would be like committing suicide.
As for Zoro, he was surprised to see such a powerful man and a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Who turned out to be Luffy's brother.
Then to both Zoro and Sanji's surprise, a familiar feeling made them tense up and become as stiff as statues. It was the same feeling when they were in Loguetown. It was like someone wanted them to die right here and now.
Ace eyed the green Swordsman and the blond Cook with narrowed eyes. That was filled with dislike. His overprotective senses were tingling. They said to keep them away, far away from his baby sister and kill them in the most agonizing fashion. He then eyed the long-nosed man, who seemed to have no interest in his sister and was harmless. It was best to keep an eye on him too.
~Later that day~
The Going Merry was sailing smoothly and was set to sail to Erumalu, the Green City. It was the first stop to start their trip to Rain Base, where Mr Zero resided. Where they would take him down before he took down Alabasta.
As they traveled, Ace was resting. His back was against the mat. His legs were crossed, enjoying his peaceful moment. Only his mind was rambling on one thing or rather on a person. His adorable gullible sister had disappeared into the Women's Quarter along with Nami and Vivi, saying that they had a surprise for her. He shrugged. It was probably a girl thing or something. He went back to have a little snooze.
The other Straw Hats were doing each of their business.
Zoro was training by swinging his ten-ton hammer.
Usopp was inventing his new super duper spice of death for his pachinko ball.
Chopper was relaxing in the wind breeze caused by Zoro's swinging.
Sanji was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for everyone.
As they were enjoying the silence, the door suddenly opened. Nami and Vivi came out. They then stopped and turned back to the opened door. Nami appeared to glaring at something while Vivi smiled softly.
"Come on, Luffy. It's not that bad." Nami said.
"But I look stupid." Luffy said from inside and sounded ... shy.
All of them had a questionable expression on their face.
Sanji came out of the kitchen, just in time to see what was going on.
"Nonsense, Luffy. I think you look beautiful in that outfit." Viv said.
' Outfit? What outfit?' Everyone else thought curious.
"But it's too... skimpy." Luffy whined.
' What the! Did she just say skimpy?!' went through Ace's head. There were even alarm bells going off.
"Luffy, if you don't come out this instant, I'll raise your debt to three hundred thousand Berry payment." Nami threatened.
The threat made Luffy ' eep'. She signed in defeat and forced herself to come out. As soon as she came into view, all jaws dropped instantly.
Luffy wasn't wearing her usual red sleeveless vest and short blue shorts anymore. She was actually wearing a belly dancer outfit, that Sanji had bought for her. Her outfit was ruby colored. The artful bra was covered in bright shiny rhinestones and sequins, creating a pattern that glistened from every angle. A fringe cascaded around the bust line in varying lengths, drawing the eye towards the intricate and flirtatious belt. The belt around the skirt was embroidered with sequins and rhinestones. A stream of fringes with a lighter color flow around the hipline. It moved with the rhythm of your body.
Luffy looked absolutely gorgeous, like an exotic maiden.
"Lu-Lu-Luffy! Is that really you?" Usopp said, his eyes bugged out.
"Of... of... of course she is, you idiot. She is... she is so... so..." Sanji stuttered. He had no words to describe on how beautiful his Captain was. The way the outfit hugged her body perfectly, showing her perfect curve and cleavage.
Even Zoro was just as speechless as Sanji. He even almost – almost – dropped his hammer he had never seen Luffy dressed like that it was as if she was a whole new person. And the way she turned her head away, showing her shy side. It made her look even more stunning.
Ace was looking absolutely pissed. Not because of Luffy, but because of the Cook and Swordsman were gawking at his innocent baby sister. His overprotective ego was on high alert. He needed to act fast.
~Later that evening~
After dinner, the girls were hanging out in their Quarters, practicing belly dancing. Much to Sanji's dismay, he didn't get to see them dancing.
Chopper was in his Healing Room, making Rumble Balls.
Usopp was on night watch. So that left Ace alone in the kitchen with Zoro and Sanji.
Zoro was drinking his alcohol.
Sanji was washing the dishes.
Ace was watching them with watchful eyes. He stayed that way till it was time to break the silence.
"So, you two have been Lu's crewmates for how long?" He asked carefully, watching their reaction.
Zoro was the first to answer.
"I'm her First Mate. So I've been longer with her ever since." He said with a straight face.
"I'm her Cook and the fourth to join." Sanji said, doing a noodle dance. Hearts were floating from his cigarette.
"She is such a lovely person. I'll never forget the first dayI met her. She's truly an angel. Mellorine!" Sanji exclaimed.
Ace sweat-dropped at his behavior.
Zoro didn't voice his distaste for the Love Cook. In fact, he remembered the time when he first met her. He was forced to be tied around the post. He smiled at the memory.
Ace narrowed his eyes and said: "So I guess you two are really close."
"We look out for each other, yes. However, Luffy always gets herself into more trouble than you lost count. All in all, we're good." Zoro said, gulping his booze.
"Well... That's all well and good... but," Ace began slowly. The last word sounded bitter.
That got both Zoro and Sanji's attention. Furthermore, the air around them seemed to thicken with each minute that passed, ever since Ace halted his sentence.
After what appeared to be hours that had passed, in truth it was only two minutes that had passed when Ace finally spoke again.
"I thought I should give you guys... a little warning." He said slowly.
Suddenly Ace pointed both his idex and middle fingers at Zoro and Sanji. He shot four Fire Bullets at them,
Zoro knocked the table over, unsheathed his Wado Ichimonji and deflected the fireball.
Sanji used a powerful horizontal kick to wipe the fireball out, by bringing air to extinguish the fire before it could hit him.
Once the threat was out, they both put on a fighting stance. Only the look on their face was shocked, to say the least.
"What the? What the hell is wrong with you?" Sanji shouted.
"Yeah! Why the hell did you attack us for?" Zoro shouted too. He didn't get it why Ace, Luffy's lovable brother, would try and hurt them.
Ace remained silent. His hat cast a shadow over his eyes. He blew at the tips of his fingers. He put his hands in his pockets.
"Like I had said. It's a warning." He said.
Just like Luffy whenever she was dreadfully angry, she would glare at anyone with a menacing look in her eyes. Ace glanced up. His hat cast a shadow over half of his face and he glared like Luffy. Only his glare was ten times scarier than hers.
"Lu may have chosen you two to be on her crew, but as her brother... It's always been my duty to look after my baby sister from men, who with poisonous intentions, who are after my Lu just to gain her affection." He said, letting what had been said to be comprehended.
Zoro and Sanji finally got what Ace was trying to say. The way they acted towards Luffy was more than just a Captain–crewmember relationship.
"So if I were you, I would keep my distance from Luffy as far as possible. Do not get too close to her. Do not even think about her. And do not even think to breathe the same air as her. And if I see any of you buy her another skimpy outfit, I'll roast you two alive, got it?" Ace threatened.
Sanji gulped as he was the one who bought her the belly dancer outfit. He was also glad at the same time that Ace didn't know it was him. He took out a new cigarette. He lit it. He took a drag from it and blew out a puff of smoke. He nodded for once keeping his self-control cool.
Zoro just narrowed his eyes. Not because he was angry. In fact, he understood where Ace was coming from. So he nodded once.
"Good." Ace said, relaxing his scary composure. He put his big grin on.
"I'm glad that you guys see it my way. We'll have a good night, see ya." He added, walking away and grabbing the door handle.
"Ace, I understand where you're coming from. Only Luffy is our Captain and the person that I owe life with. She saved me from the corrupted Marine, who was about to condemn me to death. Thus Ace with all due respect, I refuse to leave her side for a second." Zoro said, crossing his arms. He had a serious look on his face, that said 'You can't say no to me.'.
"The same goes for me. Luffy saved my mentor and the Baratie. Even myself. She has the incredible power to save a person's life with every ounce of strength she has. Despite I don't like to see her get hurt. But because of her, she helped me to pursue my dream of finding the All Blue, I joined her crew. So in return, I will gladly follow her wherever she may go. And no one will stop me from doing so. Not even you." Sanji exclaimed, inhaling his smoke and letting it out.
Ace just stood still, not moving an inch. His back was still facing them. Half of his face was covered with his hat. Only his eyes were the thing that was revealed. They were filled with rage, and jealousy and there was also a deep hidden sadness in his coal eyes. They stood there still for a minute till Ace left the Galley, leaving Zoro and Sanji behind.
"We're... in deep shit." Zoro stated calmly.
"You know, I hate to admit it but... you're right." Sanji replied.
It looked like Zoro and Sanji were about to have a showdown against the overprotective Fire-Fist Ace from the infamous Whitebeard Pirates. Will our Swordsman and Cook survive from the devil's incarnation or die from his blazing inferno? But one thing is known Zoro, Sanji and Ace would not give up without a fight.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Please review.
Next: The Straw Hats, Ace and Princess Vivi travel through the kingdom. During their travels, they witness the damage done to inspire rebellion and war in the hearts of the kingdom's people.