AN: This is my first One Piece fanfic, so I would appreciate any constructive criticism, tips and advices. Flames will be ignored. If anyone is interested I didn't gave up on my other story, just that life has got in the way but I can assure you all that I intend to finish it. Now please enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Only my OCs.

Timing is Everything

Chapter 1 - Mysterious Girl

Through her time in the Straw Hat Crew there were a few things that Nico Robin had come to love and appreciate, the loyalty and the bonds that she had formed with her nakama, their disregard for her dark past, their captain willingness to forgive and protect each and every one of them without hesitation, their wild and exciting adventures that easily seemed to belong to the pages of adventure books, even bordering romance if she could allow herself to add a few details between herself and a oblivious straw hat wearing young man. But there were two things that she came to cherish the most while on that ship, her captain's infectious smile and the rare calm uneventful moments where she could just read in peace.

As she closes her eyes Robin can't help but think about how much she missed her nakama and their ship, Thousand Sunny, during the two years they spent training. Looking from her flower bed to the sky she could only see clear blue skies as far as the eye could see, with a calm smile she turned to the main deck where she could see Zoro sleeping while leaning against the foremast, Franky at the helm and Luffy playing with Usopp and Chopper laughing loudly at one of Usopp's stories from what she could tell.

While letting out a content sigh she approached the railing to watch them better as they started some sort of game, her smile growing almost imperceptibly as she observed them, her soft gaze following her captain as he ran across the deck 'It doesn't matter how much time passes Luffy is still Luffy, hmm...' thought the raven haired woman as the focus of her gaze turned to look at her and gave her a smile and a wave as he called her name, smiling she respond with a small wave as she felt her heart skip a beat.

Turning to look at the side of the ship, she could only revel in this forbidden feeling which she could never reveal to him, and she doubted that such a innocent and naive person that was Luffy could even understand how she felt towards him or what she desired of him but that did not stop the hopeful and foolish part of her heart that she had hidden from the world long ago of hoping...

As the voices of their navigator and cook approached the deck, she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the wind as it passed by her, brushing her hair as if invisible fingers playing with it, such a calm and nice feeling, and with the voice of her captain so close by she couldn't help but have certain thoughts regarding whose those fingers should be.

As her imagination began to work she felt a sudden jolt snap her off her daydream, she looked around and found nothing out of the ordinary, the only thing different was that now she could feel some kind of pull towards a particular direction of the sea.

Staring at that direction she could almost hear a calling of some kind telling her that she should... no she must go there, decided the older woman when she noticed the silence on the deck.

Peering at it she could see Luffy walking calmly towards the helm where Nami was talking to Franky, wasting no time she quickly ran towards it too while passing a confused Usopp asking a much more confused Chopper, if she had looked carefully she would have seen Zoro's slightly open eye and Brook looking from his guitar to his young friend.

"Franky let's go there!" said Luffy pointing to the direction Nico Robin felt the pull.

The cyborg looked confused by Luffy's orders but shrugged and as he was about to change course Nami spoke.

"What're talking about Luffy there's nothing there." said the orange haired girl raising her arm "The Log Pose doesn't point to that direction, none of the needles do." explained Nami showing the Log Pose looking confused at her captain's behavior.

"Nah, there's something there." said the black haired teen with a smile as he began to move towards his spot on the lion's head as his navigator was about to reply he said "I can feel it calling to me. We are going there and that's final." explained Straw Hat Luffy as he heard his navigator sigh behind his back, she knew she couldn't change his mind.

"Fine..." conceded Nami as Franky changed course, Robin and Sanji approached the group as they heard their captain shout.

"Yosh, let's follow the mysterious feeling. Shishishi..."

"Baka captain, following things only he feels, whenever he feels like it." grumbled a frustrated Nami while Sanji tried to placate his dear 'Nami-swan' as the rest of the crew returned to their own business, passing the order as just another selfish demand from their stupid captain but as Robin began to walk away she could swear she heard him whisper.

"I'm not the only one that feels it." she could almost feel the smile on the whisper but he never turned his back nor moved as they sailed forth towards something that called for her, and made her feel anxious.

/\\\\\\/\\

Lightning and thunder surrounded the Straw Hat ship as it sailed through the storm, Nami could be seen barking orders trying to save the ship and its crew, she didn't understand how this happened the sky had been clear, no signs of even rain for days, when suddenly out of nowhere storm clouds gathered around the ship and began this deafening inferno.

Luffy's excited cries could be heard as he shouted for them to remain on the storm while Nami said they should get out of it "Forward! We are almost there!" screamed the young man as he remained on his spot with a giant grin.

"What are talking about!? There's nothing ahead of us just more storm!" screamed Nami as she tried to find an exit from the storm.

Robin remained silent beside Nami since the start of the storm she hadn't moved, she could feel it, the pull getting stronger, throbbing almost like an enormous heartbeat. All sounds around her were drowned by the loud heartbeat that pounded in her ears, she saw her friend ask her something beside her but the pull was almost overwhelming now.

"It's close. We're almost there." said the woman in a trance not even noticing she voiced her thoughts to her friend, that was about to ask what she meant when a array of deafening thunder and lightning passed close to the Sunny drowning her voice as well as the others.

As she screamed she fail to notice the small circle in the clouds above them, that shined with a light so bright that blinded them, when they opened their eyes the Straw Hat Crew saw that the storm was calming down and receding towards the horizon, all was quiet for a few moments.

"Okay... What just happened?" asked the crew's sharpshooter to his nakama, most simply shrugged in response until they heard a startled yelp coming from Chopper that hid behind the foremast, the wrong way, gaining the crew's attention.

"What's wrong?" asked Usopp to his furry friend that simply pointed to the middle of the deck where the form of an unconscious person rested on the floor.

As the crew began to gather around their uninvited guest Robin had to ask herself 'Was that the person calling to me?' wondered the woman as she took in the stranger's features.

It was a young girl, she couldn't be older than 15 thought Robin, slender with an athletic build to her body, probably taller than most girls her age she guessed, she wore shorts that hugged her thighs, a light purple vest over a white top that seemed to have rips exposing her belly, wearing a purple cowboy hat, fingerless gloves and a headband tied to her left arm. There were also a katana and a tantō with her.

Once it became clear she wasn't going to wake up Chopper examined her and said that she seemed okay just asleep, she had no apparent injuries or anything he could see, which generated more questions as to how she appeared there and where had she come from.

"I think it's better to let her rest in the sick bay for now." said the Straw Hat's furry doctor as he prepared to change to heavy point to carry his latest patient before Luffy beat him to it and carried the young girl in his arms, his silence made most forget he was even there.

As they left the deck Luffy's quiet behavior generated even more questions that were left unanswered, as he carried the young girl while the rest of the crew went back to do whatever they were doing before the storm.

Accompanying Luffy and Chopper were a nervous Nami that was certain that this girl was responsible for the previous storm and wanted to keep an eye on her, with similar thoughts Robin kept up with them but she also desired to know her relation to this girl, the storm, that strange pull and Luffy, how it was all connected.

Once on the sick bay Luffy rested the unconscious girl on the bed and simply stared at the girl, his hand on his chin as he appeared to analyze her while his nakama observed his curious behavior.

Robin could see that he was curious about the girl himself but after a few moments he seemed to give up on figuring anything out, as he complained of a headache much to her amusement and her female friend's annoyance.

While Luffy approached Chopper complaining of his headache asking for medicine Nami decided to voice her thoughts "What is she?" as her friends turned to look at her she elaborated "I mean, she obviously had something to do with the storm, right. So why is she asleep and how did she appeared on our deck? And that blinding light..." Nami said looking to her female nakama looking for support and help with her theories.

"So she came from the mysterious storm?" asked Luffy with so much confusion that they could swear that it was like he wasn't on the deck during the storm with them.

"Yes, that is what Nami-san is saying." confirmed Nico Robin in the tone she always used when explaining something to Luffy, this earned her a pensive look from him.

"So she's a mysterious girl!" concluded Luffy with his famous smile and small laugh, Nami and Chopper groaned at their captain's thought process while Robin suppressed another amused giggle at his antics.

While he hovered near the mysterious girl, the girls and doctor argued "What should we do about her?" asked Copper to the two women.

"Hmm... I don't know." began Nami looking in the eye of her furry nakama "I guess we don't have a choice but to wait for her to wake up, huh." she said.

Nodding their heads in agreement they turned to see Luffy poking the sleeping girl calling for the 'mysterious girl' to wake up and play with him until Nami hit him and screamed about taking things seriously before sighing and looking at her log pose and its needles.

With another sigh she turned to her more serious friends and said "I have to tell Franky to change the course again, do you mind keeping an eye on her?" asked the orange haired beauty.

"No problem." replied a saluting Chopper with a nodding Robin before Nami left the room, sparing a quick glance to their sleeping passenger.

For the next minutes Chopper began reading his medical books with the occasional glance to his patient, Luffy alternated between keep staring at the girl and a bored look when she remained asleep despite his best efforts and Robin watched his actions and the girl with some interest because whenever he stopped and stayed quiet on his stool with his back turned to her she felt as if he was actually thinking.

Soon Sanji's yells signaling lunch caught their attention and Luffy seemed to hesitate only a second, glancing at the girl, before running towards the kitchen yelling about lunch, after some convincing and a growling stomach Robin convinced Chopper to go have lunch while she stood guard at the sick bay.

Once alone with the young girl she stood close to the bed and observed her with a more critical eye, the girl had messy black hair at shoulder length, long legs, quite the nice bust size for her age, probably c-cup she guessed, she also has a thin and defined nose on her face, Robin knew this girl was pretty maybe even a real beauty, 'given some time.' thought her as her hand unconsciously reached the girl face and brushed a few stray strands of hair from her eyes.

With a smile that she could feel growing on her features, she watched as the girl seemed to smile in her sleep, as if that simple act swatted away all fears and anxiety the girl felt and entered in a more peaceful slumber.

Nico Robin herself didn't know why she had done that but now she was sure this girl was connected to the strange pull that she felt, because even though it was much weaker she could now feel some sort of connection between her and this girl, and yet she could not tell what those warm feelings that were growing inside her were.

As she remained sat on the bed, trying to figure out what those feelings were she didn't heard the door open and close but as she continued to run her fingers through the girl's dark hair humming to herself, an image of her mother in Ohara, Nico Olivia played in her mind and she couldn't stop her sad smile as she continued to watch this girl's peaceful expression.

After a few moments the sound a familiar laugh brought her back to the present and right beside her stood a grinning Luffy, how she didn't heard him until now was the question on her mind as she saw him get closer to them and brushed his own fingers to the girl's forehead with a smile that showed something she never saw before but it was gone as soon as it appeared before his smile settled in his usual grin.

"She's a mysterious girl, right?" said Luffy still grinning to Robin.

She was surprised by the question but before she could ask what he meant he turned from her to Chopper's desk and stood, then brought a plate of food and water to her "Lunch!" said Luffy "It's very yummy.".

"Thank you Luffy." responded Robin as she began to eat while watching the girl.

For a few minutes neither said nothing, Luffy kept looking between the girl and Robin's food and Robin was in her own thoughts again.

Once she finished her meal she heard Usopp call Luffy to play another game, as he left he said a quick bye to Robin before running out the room.

Robin sighed as she continued to think about the "mysterious girl" as Luffy so eloquently called her.

"Mysterious girl indeed." said the woman with a small chuckle before the crew's doctor returned and told her he would continue to watch her and that she should rest and that Sanji had a dessert prepared in the kitchen for her and Nami.

"Thank you Chopper-san." replied her with a smile before going for the door sparing a glance to the unconscious girl.

"I can see an island!" screamed Usopp from the crow's nest much to the happiness of a bored looking Luffy.

"Yosh! Adventure!" yelled the young man as he jumped to his seat on the lion's head for a better view.

Looking at the log pose then the skies and sails, satisfied the navigator said "It should take us only half an hour to reach it." to no one in particular.

"Okay, everyone we'll meet back here in a hour, ok?" asked Nami as Luffy simply jumped out the ship yelling about adventure "Wait! Luffy!" screamed the orange haired woman in frustration while the others simply sighed.

"I'll catch him." said Zoro in bored tone before jumping down and start running, in the wrong direction.

"It's the other way!" screamed Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Sanji at the same time before Nami sighed again "Baka...".

"Don't worry Nami-swan. I'll take care of them" shouted Sanji as he jumped down "It's this way marimo!" he shouted once again to his nakama.

"Remember to buy the supplies." yelled the navigator as they continued to run after their captain.

With them gone she turned to the rest of the crew and decided who guarded the ship, once that was settled each went their way.

On the Thousand Sunny a warm breeze was blowing as the figure of a woman could be seen reading a book on the deck.

The loud sound of a cannon shot disturbed her reading as she quickly got up before falling to the grassy floor, as she tried to get out of the net she could feel her strength quickly leaving her.

"What was that!?" screamed a Chopper in his Heavy Point form, searching for the source of the sound until his eyes landed on the net and the woman trapped underneath it "Robin!" yelled the concerned doctor as he ran towards her.

"Cho-op-pper... Do-don't..." stammered the woman as she saw him approaching her, as soon as his hands touched the net he let out a groan as he reverted to his usual form and fell, his face close to her "It's encrusted with kairoseki..." but her warning came too late.

Soon they could hear a loud and obnoxious laugh at the side of their ship as another ship docked at their side. Men soon landed on the deck of Sunny, the man laughing walked towards them with an arrogant smile "Nico Robin, the devil child." said the disgusting man with a sick smile "And a raccoon?" asked him unsure of the creature he was seeing.

Said creature tried to glare and shout at the man but had no strength and could only huff in indignation.

"Kairoseki. Always useful against you Akuma no mi users." explained the man as he crouched in front of the woman, mocking her as she kept glaring at him.

He had a short dirty bear with a large mustache, his clothes were just a simple white shirt with tan pants with a belt that had a sword and weapon attached to it, on his shoulder rested a coat and a big hat on his hands.

"Without your abilities all users are nothing." said the arrogant male with a growing smirk before standing up and putting his hat back.

"Who are you?" she asked as she refused to show weakness.

"We?" asked the man as he pointed to himself and his crew "We're just a couple of simple bounty hunters." said the man chuckling as his crew began to laugh in the background.

"You're more than a 'couple bounty hunters'." stated the woman as she counted the number of enemies, 'at least 15' thought Robin as she scanned the deck.

"I guess you're right." his smile growing more sinister "We are more like a group of bounty hunters that like to catch users. With a kairoseki net and handcuff is so easy to capture them. Just look at yourself, and it's so easy we don't even need to leave this place. You pirates always end up here one way or another." explained the bearded man satisfied with himself.

While the man continued with his monologue a skeletal figure could be seen peeking through a half open door.

'Bounty hunters with kairoseki!' thought the once normal man 'What can I do? What can I do?' repeated him in mild panic 'What if I use a surprise attack, bust the door open and fight. No they would catch me with a net and then I would be dead!' thought the man with horror in his boney face 'Would I?' wondered him until the sound of an evil laughter caught his attention.

"I could cut the net, perhaps?" wondered the man in a low voice "But what if a part of it touches me?" his horror soon began to rise again.

As he heard the bounty hunter's captain shout orders to his crew the living skeleton made his decision "No time to think about it." he said as he slowly approached the door preparing to open it "Ok. Three, two, o..." the skeleton was suddenly dragged inside the ship, no one hearing his muffled cries.

As the handcuffs made of kairoseki restrained the straw hat pirates crew members the bounty hunter yelled "Let's go. I want to finish this as soon as possible, so me and Ms. Nico Robin can spend some quality time." said the man cupping the woman's face with a lecherous look.

While the rest of his crew was retrieving the net and preparing to build a trap for the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates they heard a cannon shot, followed by another and another.

Soon almost all of those on the deck of the Thousand Sunny were caught inside kairoseki nets "What the hell is going on!?" yelled the captain as he turned to look at his ship until music began to play and he lost himself in it.

He awoke when he heard the screams of his crew that now were on the floor "What is happening?" he asked looking everywhere, searching for the one responsible while Robin had a small knowing smile.

"Next time you really should leave more than a couple of weak guys guarding the ship." spoke a figure on the railing of his ship.

He turned and saw a young girl sitting there with her legs crossed and a mocking smile. She descended to the deck of the Thousand Sunny with surprising grace as she calmly walked towards him "If I were you I would just give up." said the mysterious girl in a calm voice.

This only infuriated the captain, his group of bounty hunters had caught several users before, had fought some them using their kairoseki bullets and he had killed his fair share of bastards and yet this girl, this nameless girl comes and ruins it "You'll pay for it!" screamed the man as he charged at her with his blade.

"Yeah, thought as much." said her in bored tone as she ducked a slash that would have decapitated her.

But he didn't gave up and aimed for her legs, she jumped away from him then closed her eyes and yawed as she side stepped out of harm's way, with each swing she dodged or side stepped out of the way as if she already knew what he would do.

Nico Robin watched this show with fascination, the 'mysterious girl' kept dodging the man's attacks as if they were nothing and apparently she was helping them, slowly she walked towards Chopper and asked "Are you ok?".

"Yeah..." answered the reindeer while huffing "How is she doing that?" asked him.

Before she could answer she heard a shot and something fly by her head. Turning she saw the man on the floor away from the girl, sweating and out of breath with his gun pointed in her direction.

"Robin!" she barely heard her furry friend's cry and when she recovered from the shock she saw that Nami, Usopp and Franky were boarding the ship with Brook calling for them.

The mysterious girl remained still as the bounty hunter got back on his feet panting "Hehehe... What happened afraid to get hurt?" mocked the tired man as he was quickly becoming more outnumbered.

"You... You..." stammered the young girl "YOU DARE HURT MY MOTHER!" she screamed as she charged at him, dodging his desperate attack and countered it with her own, an vicious upper-cut followed by a roundhouse kick sending him sprawling on the floor at Robin's feet.

No one moved to stunned by the girl's statement. Nobody knew what to say until Nami began "Uh... What did she just say?".

The girl walked towards them with smile opened her mouth and before she could speak the bounty hunter grabbed Robin with his blade on her neck "Nobody moves or she dies." said the man with a busted lip.

As he walked away from the group and towards the island he heard a shout "Take your hands off Robin-Chwan!" turning around he felt his blade being swatted away, a shoe in his face then a hard fist before blacking out.

While Sanji yelled at Zoro for putting 'Robin-Chwan' in danger by using his swords and Zoro told him he was the idiot by screaming at the guy, Luffy helped Robin get up being careful not to touch the handcuffs.

As the three men walked on the deck they saw the mysterious girl ran towards Robin and hug her "Thank god you're safe mother." said the girl shocking the three and confusing all aboard once again.

"What do you..." began Nami while approaching the girl once more before she spoke again.

"Good thing dad saved you, right?" said the girl with much enthusiasm and a big smile missing the surprised face of said woman.

'Dad!?' thought all of the crew as they turned to look at their cook, swordsman and captain.

AN: While this chapter is small, it's just the start.

Thank you for attention. :)