A Turn of Fortune

Coby has a lot of broken expectations lying on his feet.

He had gone to the sea expecting a fortunate encounter to nearby Marine Base. The island he was born and grew up unfortunately was too small to host one. And yet… and yet he started out with left foot.

He board not Marine ship, not Fishermen Ship. He boarded a Pirate's Ship.

And for that, he was taken by a cruel, ugly,overweightpirate with delusion and forced to join in just because he can read the compass better than the one they have as so-called navigator.

And so his dream to become a Marine shattered.

Who want to take him in, now that he boarded a Pirate ship? It doesn't matter if he was forcibly conscripted. Marine will take one look at him and declared he was as much as guilty as these cruel, violent crew.

And he doesn't even have the reprieve of hosting a position of honor. Of being treated well. No. He was nothing more than a slave. Just another person to order when convenient and to beat up when bored.

As of now he can only hope he did well enough, hid himself good enough, that he can escape daily beatings.

(Pathetic pathetic pathetic pathetic was he always been this pathetic?)

Today he was sent out on fishing. Pantry is running low and if he didn't catch enough, he won't get any till they (raid) arrived in the nearby island.

The plan goes awry when someone fished up a barrel from the sea.

Expecting food or drink, or maybe even treasure, what they found was a teenager. Coby can only watched with slack jawed at the ease the boy backhanded the pirate. It was as if he wasn't even trying!

(The disparity between their power is so wide it's kind of funny.)

"Hey." The boy called out for Coby. "I'm hungry. Got any food?"

Coby would later swear up and down that the reason he obeyed the order is because he's scared of the boy will hit him if he didn't immediately lead him to where they stored the food. He had seen the boy beat up men bigger than him, meaning his punches would hurt more.

(Coby give him food because he's grateful and feel vindicated.)

(He help him because Luffy is his friend.)

"Name's Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy. The Future King of Pirates!" The boy introduce himself between big bites of meat. The already limited food supply quickly diminished before him.

"Ah! I-I'm Coby."

"Coby, huh." Luffy swallowed the meat before moving to fruit.

That was when Coby's brain fully processed what Luffy just said.

"W-wait. King of Pirates?! Are you planning to go to Grand Line and aiming for One Piece?!"

"Yep!"

"No way! No way! NO WAY! That's Impossible!" (Is it?) "Grand Line is called Pirate Graveyard! You can't go there! It's dangerous!"

Luffy snorted.

"And what is adventure without danger?" He asked back. "Nobody can stop me. Not Marine, not the Warlord, not even the Emperor themselves. I am gonna be the one who reach Laugh Tale and claim the One Piece! I gonna be the King of Pirates and Freest Man Alive! That's my Dream!"

The way Luffy said it so confidently, as if it was a done deal, made Coby can't help but believe it.

"What about you? Do you have any dream? What are you doing here anyway?"

Coby has no intention of spilling his backstory to anyone who ask, honest. However, after two years of being made into slave, two miserable years of constant fear and pain, he has no resistance when faced with the first pair of big, wide eyes that looks at him with concern.

"You're pretty stupid, ain't you?" Luffy commented mercilessly. "Why don't you run away when they docked? It was not like they care to send someone to bring you back."

"But people will notice and will call marine on me." Muttered Coby. "I am not a Pirate. I don't want to be a Pirate."

"Oh? What do you want then?"

"I… I want to be a Marine!" Coby answered. "I want to bring justice and protect people from evil pirate!"

"Pirate? Evil? Who to say Pirates are Evil and Marines are force of good? Justice always change throughout the history and history are written by the winner! Those who win, those who stand at the top, are the ones who claim what's wrong and what's right!"

Hairs on Coby's neck suddenly stand up on their end. For some reason, he feels like he was standing out under a burning sun. A sun whose ray is not warming on his skin but threatening to scorch him and leave him with nasty sunburn.

Have Luffy always been this fearsome?

"Tell me, Coby." Luffy called. His strawhat shadowed his face, leaving only one eye glimmering in the shadow and wide sharp terrifyinggrin to be seen. "What is Justice to you?"

"Eh?"

"What is a Justice to you? Is it hunting down all "evil" and persecuted them no matter how big or small the crime? Is it exterminating people who are innocent of the crime itself simply because they share same blood as the criminal or even has good relationship with them? Is it simply following order of your superior because "they know better" and never checking whether the criminal is actually evil or not? Is it letting people commit crime until you found what you're looking for then enact punishment?"

"W-what are you talking about?!" Coby shouted. Cold sweats pouring down. "N-no way! No way! Those ain't justice! That was just cruelty! Justice is…" He gulped deep deep breath before shouting, "Justice is protecting the innocent!"

(Harming others in name of Justice is wrong. It's just… being a Hypocrite.)

(No amount of senseless death can be justified the goal no matter how noble it is. The End does not justified the means.)

For a moment, neither of them is moving.

Then,

"Shishishishishi" Luffy giggles. The foreboding pressure lightened until Coby feels like he can breathe again. "You are innocent one, ain't you?"

He stood up.

"Hey, Coby? Imma test your resolve."

H-huh?

Before Coby knew it, he was dragged upstairs by Luffy.

"Coby! Who is this?!" Boomed Alvida.

Coby instictively shrink behind Luffy.

"Maa maa. Facing this whale-hmm. No, not whale. Feels bad for Laboon. Ah! Facing this walrus and you're scared? Where's your resolve earlier? Is it just a big talk?"

Coby feels like brick hitting him.

He… Luffy was right. If he cowers after making proclamation then… then he has no right to be a marine. He can't protect anyone.

"C'mon Coby, say it again."

"Why you kid-"

"Quiet." Luffy commanded and Coby watched as how the pirates' mouth snapped shut and their parlor turned a shade paler. The pressure is back but not aimed at Coby. Why would it? He wasn't the one who invite the Future Pirate King's Ire. "Coby. What is your dream? Is it to serve this walrus as chew toy?"

Hell. No.

"N-No!" Coby shook his head. "No. I… I don't want to be pirate! I… I want to be a marine! I am going to be a Marine and protect people from evil pirate like Alvida the ugliest Walrus in All Seas!"

He did it.

He had proclaimed his dream.

Looking at Alvida's puce face, Coby feel strange. For some reason he is no longer scared.

"YOUUUU!" She roared, raising her mace and about to brought it down on them.

"Gum Gum Pistol"

The mace shattered upon impact when it meet Luffy's fist, which stretched further and hit Alvida and send her flying, crashing on the main mast with bloodied face.

"H-he beat Alvida-sama?!"

"Did you see his arm stretch?! What is he? He can't be a human!"

"Hey. I'm human!" Luffy pouted. "I'm a Rubber-man but I still human!"

"R-rubber man?" Coby blinked. Trying to recall if he has any information. One fact stood out. "Y-you mean you ate a Devil Fruit?! The fruit that can grant you power but made you hated by sea itself?!"

He thought the fruit was only a myth, a bedtime story, but it actually was real all along?

(Of course it was real. The proof is right before him)

"Shishishishishi. Yep. That I am." Luffy laughed while his hand stretched and moved like snakes, hitting the pirates unconscious. Soon enough, no one else was left standing. "Ah man. That was easy." The rubber man laughed. "Now where is the lifeboat? Dinghy also works."

"What? You just gonna leave the paycheck?" A cheeky voice called.

Coby turned to see a girl leaning against railings. Her short orange hair blew in the wind as she smiled cheekily at them.

"Nami!" Luffy exclaimed. "Is that you?"

"Who else." The girl scoffed. "I have so many questions. But first: I̵̜̟͍͘m̷̓̈́͒͜u̷̫̪̔͊ is a bitch."

Coby's world freeze when a name leave the girl's mouth. He doesn't know why but it sends him wanting to jump into deepest of the ocean and never resurfaced again. Worse than when Luffy was asking him what Justice means.

So terrible his brain refused to listen to what the name is.

Suddenly it was as if a storm abruptly ends and the sun shine behind the clouds when he heard a laugh. Luffy's laugh.

"SHISHISHISHISHISHISHISHI!" The strawhatted boy giggles. "You're right! A bitch through and thorough!" He exclaimed.

The newly dubbed Nami pushed away from the railing and knelt beside knocked out Alvida. "Now, since we're here let's make the most of it. First, bounty. Hmm… Alvida… Alvida… how much she worth it again?" She rummages through her bag and pulling out posters. "Aha! Got it! "Iron Mace" Alvida, worth Five Millions. Hmm… not much, but what can we do? East Blue bounty."

Coby tugged Luffy. "You know her?"

"My Navigator." Luffy affirmed. "And Treasurer. Hey Nami! What are you planning?"

"Why, payday of course." The girl grinned in way that made Coby meeped and hide behind Luffy. "Nobody know us yet so why not use the chance to get some money? You go grab our First Mate while I get us money."

Coby open his mouth then think about it again.

That… is true. If you don't have bounty, technically you are not criminal… so you can collect money from handing in Pirates.

"Oooh! That's a good idea!" Luffy nodded. "Think you can get me some mouthwash?"

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"

"I almost quote mingo word for word."

The girl grimaces. "Okay. Yeah. I'll get the best I can find in Shells Town." She promised. "Now, help me lug this walrus."

"Come on, Coby." Luffy pulled him. "Let's get the boat ready."

Coby really wonder what is happening now.

And to think it was not even noon yet.