A/N: Here we are! They always third time's the charm, so I thought this would be a good one. This is based heavily on my actual life. The main character is me, but not with my actual name. All of the OC characters named in this chapter are given names that also are not their own. Besides that, it is all my actual life and how things are perceived by myself.

Don't forget to check out Windy Landing, the forum for this story. The link is on my profile, so make sure to check it out for general discussion. Besides that, there is a poll for who Isaac will be paired with. It is not set in stone, but I have excluded certain female characters (included in forum topic). Without further ado...disclaimer!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except what I make. After all, I do own myself...mostly, anyways.

Beginning of Something Greater

He breathed in deeply as the file continued to upload, checking all of the details to make sure they were immaculate. This video would probably jumpstart their company's donor base. The young man's tired green eyes shone with excitement as he pulled off his headphones and pushed his chair back, looking past the half-divide to his office roommate.

"I'm gonna head out in a few, Jordie," he stated, causing the older man to swivel around. The blonde-haired man nodded, a smile showing beneath a thin full beard.

"Alright, Isaac," he acknowledged. "Don't forget about tomorrow, alright? Campbell has been looking forward to playing the new Smash." The now-named Isaac nodded in recognition, brown hair swaying with the movement. He unbuttoned his work polo before taking it off and hanging it out of sight. He stretched lazily, pulling his bright yellow shirt with him. He scratched his chest, wincing at the rough feeling of the red lightning bolt logo on his nails. He glanced at his computer monitor, noting that the video had uploaded. He quickly closed all of his tabs and windows before locking his computer.

"Don't worry, Jor-Jor. You two are going to love it," Isaac promised as he finished shutting down his equipment. "However, I'm also excited to finally be watching One Piece. I got a Hulu account, so now I can watch it without my parents finding out." Even at eighteen, Isaac still attempted to be an obedient and good son, especially since he lived with his parents while he did online school. However, they disagreed on a lot of things, especially anime. He enjoyed watching it while they did not agree with a lot of the content, which he understood and even somewhat agreed with. But that was neither here nor there.

Isaac snatched up his black leather cap and slid it over his wild hair, adjusting it as needed. He then threw on his leather jacket, grabbed his keys and phone, and walked out of the office, making sure to close the door behind him. He walked down the familiar halls, stopping at the now-vacant office. Debbie had just retired last week, announcing it at their Christmas party. He was saddened at the company's loss, but everyone seemed to be moving on. He continued on, saying his farewells as he exited the office building.

15 minutes later…

Isaac turned off the mini van's engine, leaning back in his seat. He quickly broke the silence, however, grabbing everything from the car seat next to him before exiting the vehicle. He absentmindedly pressed the lock button on the car door as he crossed the street towards his house. He deftly unlocked the blue door, entering his house quietly. He sighed to calm his nerves as he locked the door behind him. He had done this kind of thing before but had often gotten caught in the act. He quickly made his way to the loft, booting up his computer.

"Just stay calm, Iz," he murmured, typing in his password. After checking his fanfiction and YouTube accounts, Isaac pulled open Hulu and navigated to the last episode he had been watching. He was re-watching the entire series due to his inability to keep up because of parental intervention. He sighed before settling in, chuckling at the jokes and what-not. However, that comfort cost him when he heard the stairs creak and his eyes whipped up to find the calm, but agitated gaze of his mother.

"What is that?" she asked quietly, causing Isaac to sigh as he knew what was coming next. He paused it and exited to the series page, showing her the content. She scoffed in astonishment before fixing him with an angered gaze. "I can't believe this! I thought you were past this, Isaac. You know the rules of this house, and yet you choose to ignore and break them. We have even made concessions as you grew older, but it is never enough with you." Isaac heard the heavy steps of my father, causing him to groan in anticipation of the confrontation to come. "Jamie, Isaac is watching anime on Hulu. He must have activated the one from his Spotify account." The wrath on Jamie's weathered face caused Isaac to instantly tune out everything that was said…until that fateful moment.

"All you do is laze around, watching and playing games, you ungrateful—" Isaac shot to his feet at the sentence, looking at his father with rage in his eyes. He was done with the accusations, and he knew this would end badly.

"Lazy, huh? I am the only child in this house who has a job. I am the only one that had straight A's up until college. I am the only one who has worked his butt off, seeing as I have no scholastic inclinations!" ranted the young man, the words pouring out like a broken pipe. He motioned to his computer in anger. "You don't see the progress I make. I write every week, uploading content that people read, enjoy, and follow because I am good at it. But you don't care! You just want me to make lots of money with my job. I don't have to enjoy it if the paycheck is six figures." Isaac snorted angrily. "You don't care about my happiness…just my image amongst everyone else." Isaac's mother looked saddened at his words while his dad looked about ready to explode.

"If that's what you think, I want you gone by morning," Jamie gritted out, getting a gasp from his wife and an incredulous look from Isaac. "You're eighteen now and have a good-paying job. Get out of my house and take your stuff with you. I hope that, when I see you again, you will have a better attitude." Jamie stalked off, leaving his wife in tears and his son in shock. Isaac had not been expecting that, but he realized now that he should have. It had all come to a head now. He sighed in resignation and began unplugging his equipment. He zoned out, ignoring the anguished and raging arguing that was occurring in his parents' room behind closed doors. He glanced downstairs to find his younger brother and sister in tears. He smiled weakly at them and went about what he was doing. He unplugged his game consoles and packed them in empty boxes from the garage.

"Isaac, don't go!" wailed his sister, latching on to him tightly. "Daddy will change his mind! Yeah, that's what he'll do! Momma will make him see that he was wrong!" Isaac just shook his head before deciding on something. He reset the newer game consoles, keeping the oldies for himself.

"I want you two to take good care of my stuff, okay?" he asked gently, getting vigorous nods in response. He smiled lovingly and embraced them both. "I'll miss you two. I have martial arts in a few minutes, but I'll see you guys later, ok?" He released them and sped upstairs. He never intended to come back in reality. He didn't even have taekwondo today. Instead, he threw on his gi and pants over his normal clothes, packing a duffel with some spares. Everyone was somewhere else, meaning he could sneak everything into the minivan. He quickly loaded it up after packing everything and sped away, not once looking back.

On the freeway…

Isaac couldn't believe this was happening. He saw the semi break speed over the divide, hurtling towards him. He couldn't go anywhere to avoid it except down. Isaac jerked the wheel, spinning himself around. However, he was too late. The semi clipped the rear end of the minivan, sending him hurtling past the rail towards the lake below. He kicked the window, shattering it, before he began to kick the door. He slammed into the ceiling upon hitting the water, knocking all his precious air out and replacing it with murky, disgusting water.

'No! I will not die here!' he raged, slithering through the broken window and cutting up his jacket and shirt slightly. His pant leg got stuck on a shard, however, and would not come loose. Isaac could feel the pressure and was barely able to sustain himself on the air he had left. He looked up through his glasses, only to see the shadowy form of some metal railing right above him. It hit his head into a nearby rock and everything went black.

He quickly regained consciousness, however, and found that his pant leg had become dislodged when he had been hit. He desperately began swimming for the surface, feeling his lungs beginning to give out. He kicked vigorously, adrenaline strengthening him in his life-and-death situation. He broke the surface, gasping for breath and grabbing onto a piece of debris. He tilted his head up but blacked out before getting a good look at anything.

East Blue (3rd Person POV – Nami)

Nami was so confused. These pirates were unlike any that she had ever seen. Luffy was the captain, but very rarely gave any orders, leaving it more up to her. Even Usopp tended to give more orders than the rubber-brained idiot. She sighed as she thought about her situation. She enjoyed spending time with this crew and was having more fun than she had enjoyed in the last ten years. She felt like she had a family again.

All that aside, they were restocking at a small village when Luffy had suddenly frozen up before speeding off into the nearby forest. Zoro was asleep and Usopp was carrying back the rest of the supplies to the ship. Therefore, the redhead had been given babysitting duty. She huffed in annoyance as she broke through the thick copse of trees she had been travelling through. That was when she saw Luffy. However, before she could say anything, the young captain leapt to his feet and backed up, dodging a fist that had flown right at his face.

"Where the heck am I?!" shouted a young man as he sprung to his feet. Nami noted his fear-filled eyes and haggard appearance. A soaked leather cap was lying on the ground behind him, blood smeared on its brim. His russet brown hair partially hid his wild green eyes they darted from her to Luffy and to the forest. However, they quickly calmed down before widening again as they focused on Luffy and then Nami slowly. He breathed in deeply before sitting down, grabbing his cap and staring at it morosely. He pointed to Luffy. "Stretch." The rubber boy tilted his head before doing just that. The stranger slapped a hand to his face in irritation. "Of frickin' course. I'm stuck in the East Blue." Nami raised an eyebrow at that. 'Sounds like Luffy is already making big waves if people are starting to hear about him.' The boy rose to his feet, wincing at the injuries on his leg. Nami took that chance to step forward and address the stranger.

"Who are you, what happened to you, and how did you end up here?" Nami questioned, causing the stranger to glance over at her. He removed his leather jacket before throwing onto a nearby tree, snagging it on one of the branches. He breathed in deeply before pulling out a wallet and a set of keys. There was a very odd-looking one with a square, plastic body with a capital "H" on it. He returned them to his pocket before rifling through his wallet, pulling out an ID card and tossing it to Nami. She caught it before examining it, raising an eyebrow at the smiling visage of the stranger before her.

"My name is Isaac… Isaac Miller," he introduced before stopping in realization. "But Miller is my surname. My…island does name structuring a bit differently." Nami quirked her head before understanding made itself apparent.

"So, you would be called Miller J. Isaac, then?" she questioned, causing the young man to test the name a few times before he nodded. She continued to examine the ID, noticing how it listed his physical attributes and some other confusing info. He also had an eight-digit number, so he must be in the army or something. "Are you a soldier?" He shook his head, a wry grin spreading over his lips before disappearing. He rose to his feet, wiping sand off of his pants.

"That is a specialized license that many people in my country have," he explained before realizing something else. He frantically looked around before he sighed in relief. Nami followed his gaze, which had landed on a pouch with a black device inside. He limped over and picked it up, removed the device, and began to mess with it, his face getting happier and happier before he looked back at Nami. "I crashed while using it, actually. I fell into a lake before I found myself in an ocean and blacked out." He motioned to his injured leg. "My leg got caught on some glass, so I couldn't get free and swim away." Nami nodded in understanding before looking over to an oddly silent Luffy. The captain suddenly smiled his mega-watt smile and asked Isaac that fateful question.

"Hey, you're pretty cool! Do you want to join my crew?!"

1st Person POV – Isaac

Well, that was completely unexpected. I thought I would have to show some cool talents or something. I turned my attention from the stunning redhead to the goofy captain. Monkey D. Luffy had just offered me a position on his crew. This was the man who would become King of the Pirates, the strongest man in the world. I hummed in thought before looking at him intently. "Why me? I have no special abilities, I'm out of shape, and I have no idea where I am," I explained, causing Luffy to gain a serious expression.

"You weren't just hurt there," he stated somberly, motioning to my leg. I winced at his awareness. He poked my chest where my heart was. "Someone also hurt you here—someone important to you. You seem like a good guy and you are confident in your current abilities." He nodded sagely. "Also, you remind me of my brother." My eyes widened at that. Which one was he referring to? Either one was awesome. I heard crashing from the forest behind Nami, causing me to enter my sparring stance. Luffy looked interested, but Nami had sped away from the oncoming noises as two familiar faces burst from the trees. Johnny and Yosaku were always two of my favorite characters but seeing them in person just made me facepalm at their obvious lack of fashion sense.

"Don't worry, Big Bro Luffy! We'll take care of this guy!" exclaimed Yosaku as he bum-rushed me. I leaned away from his vertical slash and retaliated with a front kick that caught him in the chin but didn't even seem to faze him. I raised an eyebrow before I began to lash out with my best combo. I did a jab-cross and jumped into the air, performing a double round kick. However, Yosaku just stood there in confusion. Nothing was happening. Suddenly, a pain erupted form the back of my head and I returned to the glorious embrace of unconsciousness. Before I drifted off, I gave Luffy a thumbs-up, getting a gleeful giggle in response.

I know the whole real life story may have seemed cliché, but I do actually live in that situation, so it isn't to me. I hope you guys enjoyed it. As you can see, Isaac is not as strong in the Blue Seas (my name for One Piece universe) as he was in the real world. This idea is taken from a great story called This Bites!, which I definitely recommend that you check out if you like OC-SI stories. Best one I have ever read.

Anyways, make sure to vote for the pairing choice and also check out my other story which will be uploaded either today or tomorrow: Overwhelming Hate. It is a Naruto OC story about a completely normal guy (no kekkei genkai or special techniques) who is even more hated than either Naruto or Sasuke and has no protection from a third-party (e.g. council, Hokage, etc.). Naruto is also taken in and trained by the Sandaime while Sasuke is a girl, so be sure to check that out if you are interested. I will still be uploading my first story every week, along with a chapter of either this story or OH (Overwhelming Hate) with it for the time being.

Until next time!

~Sir Zesto