Summary: There is fire in his eyes and a storm brewing behind the tense frame of wiry body. Hurricanes aren't meant to be chained down or bent to the whims of other people, and Luffy is the result of that failed attempt; a man yearning for freedom, broken by the what he has seen and what he has done to the world, bent up, angry, shimmering with hatred that threatens to boil over at any given moment. "Ever thought about switching?" Luffy had asked. "...Maybe," Rear Admiral X Drake had admitted before redirecting the question back. "How about you?"

Author note: This story is inspired by a vast number of stories I have read over the years. However, I tried my hardest to put my own original spin on the topic. Events that shaped Luffy into the man he is at this point in the story are different from those that shaped him in canon, and thus, he is undeniably not the Luffy you are used to. Which events are different and since when it branched from canon, that is the question you guys will discover as the story gradually progresses. I have taken some liberties in adding or changing certain facts as well, and one of them is that Smoker is Aokiji's student even though it didn't say anything in canon. However, there are things I will definitely keep as it is, such as One Piece's world building, including hard facts such as, say, DF-users can't swim. No exceptions. Another thing I refuse to change is Rubberman Luffy, for I think the sheer creativity he put into turning a mediocre paramecia into some top-notched fighting power is admirable.

Pairing wise, I haven't decided on anything yet. One thing that I know for sure is that I don't want any inter-SH relationships, so no LuNa, LuRo, ZoSan...etc, etc. It's just purely nakamaship on that side. As for pairings outside of that, I haven't decided on anything. I'm not sure if there will even be pairings at all, and I tend to use instinct to guide me through it. If my instinct says no pairing, it's no pairing. Hopefully by the time it's right to develop a relationship, it will be natural and not forced.

With that in mind, let's get to the Disclaimer and then the Prologue of yet another Marine!Luffy story! I sincerely hope you are intrigued by it!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, it belongs to Oda-sensei.

Prologue:

Drake opened the door to the balcony, footsteps silent. His eyes scanned the open space in front of him, watching the beautiful sunset, the sky that had turned into interesting hues, the ocean spanning far out of sight, before landing on the skinny figure dangling dangerously over the railing. The teenager, who couldn't possibly look older than 18, wasn't looking at Drake. His face was focusing solely on the sea below, black hair ruffled by the gentle breeze.

Closing the door behind him quietly, Drake approached his fellow marine, his coat swayed with each soundless step.

"Dino," The teenager greeted, not turning around. His Haki most likely informed him of Drake's presence.

Drake's face twitched at the nickname, annoyed by it. All attempts at making the other changed it had ended in failures, and while he knew his younger friend never meant anything mocking, he had heard the nickname being used against him too many times not to react negatively to the word.

"Luffy," Drake returned the greeting. "Finished the paperwork." He said after a moment, stopping right at the railing overlooking the kingdom below, and he let his eyes wander over the horizon, at the waves lapping against the rocky beach.

"Thanks." Luffy murmured under his breath, shifting his position slightly to the right.

It was all the invitation Drake needed before he draped his legs over the railing and got himself comfortable as well, allowing his legs to dangle in the air. He glanced at Luffy, studying his face for lingering signs of anger. Luffy had been seconds away from punching Doflamingo after their private talk, trembling with suppressed rage, and Drake had to step in and send Luffy away before he punched a Shichibukai and started an incident. Right now, his friend appeared calm to outsiders, almost expressionless with how blank his face was, but Drake knew better than to believe in appearance. The tiny frown pulling the corners of Luffy's mouth down and the tight grip on the railing all betrayed the teen's rage.

"Are you alright?" Drake asked, almost redundant. He knew Luffy wasn't alright; he couldn't be alright after they learned the true state of Dressrosa. His friend was still young, and while he had seen some of the worst both marines and pirates were capable of and did things himself, he could still be surprisingly naïve. Drake had sadly lived long enough to be desensitized to the whole thing. There were times he wondered if marines and pirates were only different because of their flag colors.

Luffy's brows furrowed, and his lips twitched like he was about to say something, before he held himself back. He took a deep breath, eyes flitting over a tiny dot on the street and Drake followed it, catching sight of a toy walking on wobbly legs. Luffy's expression smoothed into nothingness, and he let out a rush of breath. "Ever thought about switching?" came the sudden question.

Drake fully admitted to losing the grip on the railing for a precious heart stopping second before tightening it again. He glanced around, paranoia welled up fast enough that he had to use Observation Haki to check their surroundings for eavesdroppers, before he dropped it, turning to Luffy. Only his slightly widened eyes betrayed his surprise. If the higher ups heard this discussion, they would both be branded as traitors, and thrown into a dark corner in Impel Down for sure. Especially because both of them carried the weights of the marine's dark secrets, many of which would ensure their deaths if it got out.

Luffy met his gaze steadily, unwavering. There was a weight behind it, soul searching, judging, accepting. Drake didn't need to lie, and Luffy was fully accepting of his answer, whatever it might be.

"…Maybe." Drake relented quietly, knowing that Luffy wouldn't rat him out. Luffy wasn't anything like a normal marine. He wasn't obedient and his will was so strong it got frightening sometimes. Drake instinctively knew Luffy would keep Drake's secrets like Drake would, surprisingly, keep the teen's.

It was strange how fast Drake befriended this boy. Just a year ago they met, Drake thinking the boy was nothing more than a giggling menace. And here he was, coming to think of Luffy as a dear friend and seeing depths in the eyes he once thought were owlish and dumb.

Nodding like he was satisfied with what he heard, Luffy turned back to the ocean, looking far away, where the sky met the sea, the red had shifted into a more purple hue, the dim sun slowly setting. It bathed Dressrosa in a soft glow, and it would have looked serene, except for the darkness that Drake knew lurked beneath the beautiful façade. Suddenly the whole scene was almost mocking in how peaceful it was compared to the people's suffering, their bitter, angry tears being drowned by the glamour and the riches.

Drake tapped his fingers against the railing, a steady, calming rhythm. "What did you talk about?" He asked curiously. There was a reason why Doflamingo had been almost delighted when Luffy had introduced his full name, pointing a finger in the shichibukai's face with a firm declaration of 'I'm going to kick your ass' before practically seething in pure fury after a talk with Doflamingo, one that Drake wasn't privy to.

Luffy's jaw tightened and the veins on his hands bulged out from how hard he was gripping the railing. Drake patiently waited for Luffy to calm himself down. "Mingo made a call." The words came out evenly, "to scum, I mean, the tenryuubito." Luffy almost snarled the words, he was so angry. "We are ordered to leave Dressrosa just like this." He sneered.

There was a small sound, an ominous crack, as the railing gave way under Luffy's grasp and he carefully eased up, wiping across the surface like he was trying to sooth the abuse. His face was thunderous.

Drake nodded, understanding entered his eyes now. Luffy hated being ordered. Drake couldn't even remember a time Luffy bent over willingly for anyone. He barely listened to the Fleet Admiral's order, and the man was one of those Luffy didn't completely despise. His relationship with the three Admirals was strange, too. Out of all three, Aokiji was the one Luffy liked the most… relatively speaking. He was at least able to hold tense conversations with the ice Admiral. On the other end of the spectrum was Admiral Akainu, whom Luffy couldn't seem to be able to face without exploding, straining the fragile hold of his red hot fury. The other admiral wasn't merciful toward Luffy, either, if the severe magma burn splattering from the left side of his friend's neck all the way down to his hand was anything to go by. It served no form of cowing the boy in the slightest, and he even refused to call Akainu by his right epithet, and settled for 'Inu' instead.

Suddenly 'dino' was so much better than 'dog'.

Kind of strange, if Drake thought about it. Drake hadn't known Luffy for terribly long, and even less so about his past, but rumors had it that Luffy used to be Akainu's prized pupil, the same way Smoker was to Aokiji. He didn't really believe in those words, but he wondered what had happened to cause those two to fallout that badly. It couldn't have been pretty.

Either way, there was a precious few number of marines that managed to stay on Luffy's good side. Smoker being one of those. Drake supposed he should be honored he was included in the list of people Luffy befriended.

Luffy really didn't fit in the role of a typical marine.

Drake would never say it aloud, but he had always thought his friend fit better flying a black flag than a white one.

It did explained why Luffy was seething after the conversation was done though. His hatred for the Tenryuubito exceeded his hatred of being ordered around. "I see…" Drake replied finally, not adding anything more to it. What else could he say? There could be good marines, individually, but as a whole, the system was flawed and chipped. You couldn't achieve 'justice' if you had to bow down to the whims of people who thought slavery was a perfectly acceptable form of practice. Drake had always thought that Luffy joining the marine was like someone trying to tie down a force of nature with chains and cuffs. It just wouldn't work. It resulted in the person sitting next to him right now, angry, bent up, and shimmering with hatred for the corruption of the world that he was powerless to stop.

Drake sat there awhile longer, turning the question he wanted to ask in his head before coming out to say it. "How about you?" He asked vaguely, elaborating more upon the confused noise Luffy made. "Have you ever thought about switching?" He clarified quietly.

Luffy smiled humorlessly, his right hand rose up to absently rub his left bicep, which Drake knew still ached an awful lot. His friend hid a lot of his own pain, putting on a strong face for the world. "Made a deal." Luffy finally answered. It wasn't the first time Drake had heard of such an answer, when he had been curious enough to ask why Luffy simply didn't resign when he so obviously hated being tied down with duties and paperwork. One didn't need to defect to leave the marine. It was true the higher up they were, the more troublesome it was to resign, but it could still be done, even with people who had done the marine's dirty work for them like Drake and Luffy. Still, Luffy had answered, the same answer he just told Drake 'made a deal' and that was that. There was no elaboration, no back stories, no extra information. Drake wondered what the deal was about, for Luffy to willingly do what he so obviously hated.

"You have a dream?" Luffy asked, looking twitchy, like he was itching for something. Drake had no idea what he was itching for, but he always looked twitchy when the topic of 'dreams' came up.

Drake watched the younger visibly willed himself to stop his restless shifting, before running a hand through his unruly black hair, looking even more agitated than before when he touched bare head instead of whatever else he might have expected. Luffy had a strange relationship with head wears; it was just one of those quirks higher ranking marines had. He was obsessed with finding the right one, whatever that meant, but whenever he seemed to think he had found the 'right one' and put it on his head, he always tore it off with a violence that rivaled his rage at any pirates who took over islands, or taking slaves, and said he had mistaken and it wasn't the right one at all.

Drake snorted at the words. "Perhaps." He said cryptically. "Do you?" He redirected the question. He didn't remember anyone ever asking Luffy if he had a dream or not. He supposed that most people who didn't know Luffy better thought he fitted in perfectly with the marine, especially if they happened to witness his terrifying fury against certain types of pirates, but Drake wasn't just anyone. He had 'friend privilege' to this side of Luffy. His fellow marine avoided showing this to his subordinates.

"Would you trust me if I said it's to faithfully follow orders and protect the innocent?" came the answer with so much sarcasm and dry humor Drake found himself bark out a short laugh. Luffy grinned at the sound himself, a sardonic curl of his lips. It looked strange on him. Luffy tended to grin wide and free rather than this. Doflamingo must have left one hell of an 'impression'.

"Well perhaps not the following orders part," Drake conceded. He couldn't even imagine Luffy bowing to anyone. "You seem to be the protector type though." He pointed out. He knew Luffy was a nice guy, and there was kindness in those eyes despite how much Luffy claimed that he wasn't.

"I'm no hero. I don't want to share my meat." Luffy said in a huff. It was just one of those peculiarities that one just had to accept about Luffy. Drake had taken a long time pondering what sharing meat had to do with being a hero, but then he quickly gave up. He was pretty sure that in Luffy's mind, it made perfect sense, but he just couldn't, for the life of him, understand how the dots were connected. "Joining the marine means giving up individuality though, don't you think?"

Drake learned how to read between the lines. Joining the marine means I have to give up my dream, don't you think? Was what he heard. He wondered what Luffy's dream was, that he had to give it up by joining the marine. He wondered why he gave it up in the first place. It wasn't his place to ask though. Dreams meant a great deal to Luffy, and to be forced to give it up must have been painful. Drake hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Luffy shifted his whole attention to Drake, and there was a strange intensity in the air, and a heaviness in the other's eyes. He seemed to be considering his words very carefully, pinning Drake down on the spot with just a look.

Drake felt as if he was in a fight, there was an itch to fight or flight, and a buzzing in the air like electricity. He somehow knew that if he broke eyes contact with Luffy now, his friend would be very disappointed, so he sat there and let Luffy search his gaze for something. Finally, Luffy nodded, and the heaviness ceased. The air felt lighter and easier to breathe.

Luffy smiled, bright, cheerful, genuine. It was the smile that lit up his face often, it made him seem much younger than he really was. "Whatever you choose to do, I'll fully support you." He said, the easy words filled with nothing but honesty.

Drake nodded, loss for words. What else could he say to that?

Luffy, evidently pleased with his answer, turned his back to the sea. He shot the top floor of the palace another dirty look before getting off of the railing, making his way back inside. "Let's go. Nothing else we can do here." He said, not waiting for Drake to come with him. He was considerable enough to leave the door open instead of slamming it shut though.

Rear Admiral X Drake stared at the sea for a moment longer before leaving the spot as well. He didn't glance back behind him, not at the pretty sunset, nor at the depressing toys treading the streets or the ignorant people worshiping a puppeteer. His mind was already occupied with other matters.

A few months later, when Drake opened the newspaper to see 'Rear Admiral defected from the marine? HQ in chaos'; and a bounty poster for his head, Drake thought about a friend in the force, chained down like people trying to chain a hurricane with shackles and rules, and he thought Luffy would definitely approve of this.

'Whatever you choose to do, I'll fully support you.' The words rang true in Drake's ears, even now.

'Luffy, I hope you can complete your dream, too.'

(To be continued)

End note: That is all for the prologue! Thank you for giving the story a chance! It has been very long since I tried my hand at writing anything so my skill is extremely rusty and there are undoubtedly grammar errors or misspells in the story. If you spot any please do let me know! I welcome constructive criticism and I apologize for any badly written sections.

Translation:

Tenryuubito: Celestial Dragon

Inu: Dog