A/N I keep forgetting to put in authors notes on fanfiction when I've been updating the chapters, I'm so sorry about that. I wish fanfic was a bit like A03 but we can't have everything in life. Anyway, I'm sorry in advance? As of now it's gonna start to become a bit crazy so look forward to the shit show that's about to hit the station.

On another note, thank you for the response I've been getting! It's really encouraging. The pace should be picking up soon so look forward to that!

They didn't stay very long on Orange Island, as moments after Luffy's reveal, an angry mob of townspeople chased them to the docks. It was to Trae's relief that they managed to get on a different boat than the poorly constructed raft that they had arrived on. The only downside was the ugly marking on the flag - but beggars can't be choosers. Nami plotted their course and once they were a safe enough distance from the island, she went to sit with the others.

"So how do you lot know each other?" Zoro asked

"Uggh, I don't want to relive that day ever again" Trae moaned, laying backwards. The girls smirked at each other

"Let's say it was a happy coincidence," Nami offered as her eyes practically turned into Beli signs in front of them

"Don't you mean unhappy" Trae butted in

"Oh shush you - it wasn't that bad."

"It was the day I was graced with your annoying presence for the first time - of course it was bad"

"Anyway," Luffy said pointedly, raising her voice over the two bickering morons. "Me and Trae were on a stealth mission..."

The night was silent, the silver moon glistened on top of the still water. Gliding through the water, their boat was being steered strategically towards a nobleman's vessel. Stood on the helm of the vessel was a small girl. Her dark hair was black as it flowed against the slight breeze.

"We're almost there" she stated quietly, looking at her companion who was standing further back and expertly steering the vessel.

"You got your stuff?" He enquired.

"Always." she winked back, going into the small cabin on the boat to get the Den Den Mushi. He heard her soft tones come from inside as she talked to her family on the other side. He tried to tune out, listening intently to the soft wind. It didn't work very well, he could still make out some of her muffled words. They talked for a few more minutes and then there was silence. Coming out of the cabin, she spoke.

"Let's get this party started!"

"Lets," They grinned at each other before taking their positions. Darkness suddenly surrounded them as clouds covered the silver light of the moon. This was their moment. Their vessel was now close enough to the target ship to board. Luffy tied the boat to a convenient post before climbing up the side of the boat - Trae close behind. It didn't take long to get to the area they needed to infiltrate. Slipping into the agar window, they found themselves in a dark room. It was small - probably a store cupboard. From there they silently navigated the underbelly of the ship, separating to cover as much ground as possible. They had separate missions, secrecy was everything in their business; even though Trae had since earned the trust of his handlers - he was still in the lower ranks of their organisation in regards to information.

His mind was taken back to the past, to when he had arrived at the complex. It had not been pretty. After he had been told about his newfound captivity - he had been taken back to headquarters. It was a massive underground complex on an island ironically named 'petal'.

He didn't think there was a single flower on that gross slab of land - it was a massive rubbish heap. The island was used by the rich on the surface - using slave labour to obtain resources. The network's policy of extreme secrecy had led to some rather extreme rules of conduct. Hence his predicament. In his three months, he'd made 5 escape attempts. They hadn't been the most genius of plans. Looking back, he had no idea why he had thought they'd work. The furthest he'd made it was the external tunnel, but he regretted it later. Luffy was the one that had caught him that time. When he saw her face it was a metaphorical stab in the gut, she tried to hide her emotions, but the guilt in her eyes was as clear as day. That was his last escape attempt. He spent six months in that hell-hole.

When he had finally been released, he was placed under Luffy's command. He was sure she must have pulled a few strings. To be honest, he was surprised that he was let out at all. He had been put through training for a few months, but then he was put on his first operation. It had been rough. The aim had been to retrieve some goods from a valued supplier. He hadn't realised how big the operation was. It took him longer to realise that the kind of work the organisation was doing. Yes, they may have labelled themselves an underground criminal network - but they were as evil as the Tenryubito were saints. His eyes had been opened to the world he'd been sheltered from all of his life - and he didn't like it one bit. Since this revelation, he'd been rising through the ranks as a trusted and determined member of the organisation. He still hated them, but his hatred of the world was greater. His only solace came from Luffy. She was a godsend. It was probably weird to think of your kidnapper like that. But he'd only ever seen her as his saviour, considering she had saved his life and all. They had become close friends over the three years they spent together, and he would follow her to the end of the world. The sparkle in her eyes which promised adventure, acceptance, and freedom.

He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and went back to his task; he had been looking for a small trinket, a specific nobleman's seal. It was bound to be around here somewhere. The informant had said as such - and they hadn't led them wrong so far. He looked for a way up - assuming that the presence of more people would lead him to his goal. Finally - after searching what felt like the hundredth room - he found it. Quickly pocketing his find, he ventured back downstairs to see if Luffy had done as she had been commissioned.

As was to be expected from one of the most capable officers of the network - Luffy was already waiting for him. He waved at her, but she was focused on something else. She was talking to someone. He raised a brow in confusion before walking up to the two.

Luffy made a beeline for the targets room, this was vital to the central goal of the organisation. She made quick work of the lock on the door and sneaked in. She looked around - nothing seemed out of place. The bed was well made, and there was barely any clutter around the room. She walked over to the desk - noticing a lock on one of the draws. She picked that one as well, opening the bottom draw and going through the papers. Aha - there it was. She quickly pocketed the document and locked the draw. She was about to leave the room when the door opened slightly and a ginger-haired girl about her age slipped in the room. She closed the door behind her and sagged against it. Luffy coughed slightly, getting her attention as she raised an eyebrow at the intruder. She spun around quickly, with the expression of a deer caught in headlights. Picking up a pen from the desk, Luffy twirled it around her fingers, assessing the girl. She was a thief, going by the reasonably large bag that she held beside her. So long as she didn't find out anything, and her mission was over so it couldn't hurt to talk - they were here for similar things after all.

"So, what's a girl like you doing on a nobleman's vessel?" She asked slyly, winking at the girl. She relaxed when she realised that Luffy wasn't a threat.

"I could ask you the same question," she winked back. Luffy put the pen back down on the desk, hopping over it to be closer to her new acquaintance.

"That you could - I'm Luffy." she stuck her hand out, the girl hesitated for a second before accepting her introduction

"Nami" She nodded, the girls smiled at each other.'

"Well, then Nami - how about we get out of this shit hole?"

They went down to the area that Luffy had pre-arranged to be her and Trae's meeting point. The girls talked while they were waiting, which led to the slightly disturbing discovery that Nami's eyes morphed into Beli symbols every time she talked about treasure. She was just about done explaining one of her most productive heists when Luffy spotted Trae in the corner of her eye. When he came closer, they exchanged the usual pleasantries, wordlessly confirming their success. He turned to her new companion.

"Nami - this is Trae, my companion. Trae - this is Nami, I found her hiding in the captain's quarters"

"I wasn't hiding!" She slapped Luffy on the shoulder. not noticing the silent exchange between the two beside her as Trae raised an eyebrow, Luffy subtly shaking her head in response

"Oh so you were just standing behind a closed door for no reason?" she smiled in response, enjoying the banter.

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Don't be such a spoilsport." Luffy winked at him before they made their way to where they hid their boat - Nami would be hitching a ride until they got to the next island

They'd met several more times in the following years and it strengthened their bond immensely. They had become sisters - much to Trae's chagrin. He and Nami had ended up rivals after a run in while he'd been on a mission. Luffy could never get her to spill what had happened that day. She wouldn't stop teasing him about it, and the glee that both the girls got over his short-comings meant that he never looked forward to their meetings. They had invited her to train with them every time they met, making her stronger - and deadlier.

The next time they met, Luffy had decided to ask her to join her crew when she set out alone. Nami had refused, but she could tell that something was wrong. It had all come out at their next meeting. She told her everything. To say that Luffy was mad was an understatement. She wanted to go and slice the fish into several hundred bits for hurting someone precious to her. But Nami had refused, asking her to do it once she'd left the network. It would garner them attention, and then they'd be out in the open. That couldn't happen. She'd ended up agreeing with her friend.

And the rest - as they say - is history.

It was several hours later. Zoro, Nami and Luffy were standing around the deck while Trae was checking something on the other side of the boat. Zoro had just finished working out.

"Where are we headed first?"

"Nami's village? I want to get there as quickly as possible," explained Luffy

"Yeah - the sooner the better..."

"What's it called?" asked Zoro

"Cocoyasi - how far away is it?"

"Hmm... should take about four days by my estimate. We'll probably have run out of provisions by then." Nami stated

"Do you know anywhere we can stop off?"

"Yeah - there's a couple of islands along the way and a restaurant about 3 days from here, we can stock up before we go."

"Oh, a restaurant? We do need to get a Chef. We can't live off Trae's cooking forever" They heard a disgruntled shout from the other side of the boat

"HEY! It's not that bad!" Luffy giggled uncontrollably, proceeding to fall on the floor as the other two smirked at her antics.

"That's a good point to be fair - Then it's decided, we'll head to the Baratie. When we're on the Grand line we'll need someone who knows about nutrition and can ration properly..." She then walked off, making a mental list of things that they'll need in the near future

Syrup Village

"I shouldn't have done that" The small boy mutters to himself as he sat on a ledge that faced the sea. His hands clutched his forehead as he rubbed his temples. If it were any other day, he would stare at the horizon in wonder. His desire to travel and explore the world was indisputable, and ever since the death of his mother, it had gotten stronger. He chastised himself for what he had said to Kaya and her butler Klahadore. He was a bastard. The butler had never liked him, and hence Usopp had never taken a liking to him either (He only just managed to tolerate the man for Kaya) - but the insult about his father had tipped him over the edge. Everything that happened after that was a blur. He vaguely remembered punching the smug man, but his memories were all fuzzy.

That was when he noticed something strange on the beach below him. He brought himself out of his musings and focused. It was an unfamiliar man with sunglasses on - he looked up at the overcast sky - why the man needed sunglasses on a day like today was beyond him. And that's when he saw Klahadore, he came closer to the man and they started talking. Usopp could easily hear them from his hidden spot on the cliff.

"Have you prepared for our plan?" The butler asked calmly

"Of course Captain Kuro, the operation to murder Miss Kaya is ready to go ahead"

Murder?

"Don't call it that! And I'm not the captain anymore, remember - you are!" He replied in exasperation. Usopp searched his mind to try and figure out where he'd heard that name before. Oh right, he was supposed to have been caught by the marines and executed three years ago. Then what's he doing here?

"Yes, sorry. You know I had my superstitions about this plan, but you've never led us wrong before. I hope you know what you're doing."

"You're questioning me? Anyway, just remember - it has to look like an accident. Otherwise, this won't work."

"Yes, yes. Don't worry, I'll make sure you inherit her fortune. Just keep up your end of the bargain"

"Don't worry, I've grown tired of being a pirate, you'll get what you want. Hopefully, when this is all over I can live a peaceful life in this village."

"Sure Captain. The men have been like zombies with a week of inaction, I'm sure they're busting for a fight."

"Just make sure it works..."

Oh shit. Usopp thought. That's been his plan all along! Something had always felt off about the man. He wasn't about to let pirates attack the village, nobody would lay a hand on Kaya if he had any say in it. He had to tell everyone!

Smoke rose from a desolate field. Once golden crops were now painted black. Her hair blew with the wind as the blackened wheat brushed against her legs. She raised her hand, noticing a weight against it. A metal shackle, the chain has been ripped in half as she watched the links sway slightly in the wind. They clinked softly. Turning around, she saw a massive mansion behind her - A red glow surrounded it as it crackled. Soot blew in the wind. She reached up to touch her face - it stung. Blood mixed with the black on her hand. Falling to her knees, everything went dark.

She awakened with a gasp - her hand immediately went to her cheek, her calloused fingers brushed against one of the jagged scars. She could almost feel phantom pain as the heartbeat rushed against her head. She pushed off her covers, running to the mirror to look at her face. Breaths escaped her lips, quick and harsh. Nausea rose through her and her eyes closed, resting her head against the cold lacquer of the dresser. It's almost like she could feel the soot in her lungs.

Deep breath in

Deep breath out

And repeat.

Her breathing slowly returned to normal. It had been the most vivid dream she'd had the displeasure of witnessing in a while. Cursing her subconscious, she opened her eyes, looking down at her clenched hands. It was time - she couldn't put it off any longer.

Letting out a shaky breath, she stretched her neck, blinking several times before looking at herself in the mirror. Determination set in her eyes.

'You've got this.'

Standing up, Nami was still asleep, she went over to the door and silently slipped outside. The deck was empty. She sighed in relief. She could put it off for a bit longer. She went over to the ship's railing and looked at the sea. The waves calmed her - they always had. She heard another door open - she looked around and saw Zoro.

"You're up early."

"So are you," she nodded in greeting, offering a small smile as they looked out onto the horizon, watching the sun slowly rise against the waves. He hummed lightly, looking to the same point in the sky as his captain.

"Nice sunrise."

"Beautiful." she smiled tightly, before leaving the railings in search of food.

Yes - today would have to be the day.

When everyone was awake, she decided to call a meeting. This led to a very awkwardly shaped circle in the middle of the ship. Zoro looked half asleep having gone back to sleep earlier and was only just forced back awake, Nami was sat on the floor and Trae was leaning against the railing next to Luffy.

"So... I have something important to tell you," That got everyone's attention. "well - you may or may not know that I have a Devil Fruit." She revealed. Nami and Trae were not surprised. Zoro on the other hand just looked confused.

"What? I heard they were myths."

"Hm? No, they're real, I'm telling you because if I go overboard you'll need to pull me back up," she explained

"Yeah - but couldn't you have just told this to Zoro - me and Trae already know about this?"

"Erm... because you don't know what it is."

"Wait - you can tell us?" Trae asked

"Yeah, and you'd find out anyway once we get to Grand line,"

"And..." Nami gestured for her to continue.

"Oh yeah - I have the Oshi Oshi no Mi. I can control pressure."

"Pressure?"

"But how does that even work?"

"Well, like I can move objects and build up or remove pressure behind things. When I lose control over it I somehow tap into atmospheric pressure... I'm just going with the flow most of the time."

"Could you give us an example?"

"Yeah!" she said, taking out a small object. It was a small, black ball. She closed her hands with the object between them, and when she separated them, the ball floated in mid-air. The crew were speechless.

"I've been using it to try and practice my control... moving things isn't my greatest strength," she stated as it whizzed around her, settling above her shoulder. The only evidence of her exertion was the crease in her forehead. The object dropped back into her hand.

"Any questions?"

There was an awed silence as they stared at the small ball lying harmlessly in her hand.

'"Needless to say - you can't say anything about this. If the marines found out we'd be tailed across the seas for weeks."

One of the good things that came out of her family was the fact that they'd beaten (not literally) the core principles of discretion into her. It was the only thing that seemed to stick.

"Yeah of course..." Nami said, affirming what the other two around her were too shocked to say.

"Thanks, guys!" She beamed, and somehow, the day was looking a lot brighter.

They were about half a day out from the Baratie - the floating restaurant that Nami had told them about. As it came into view, Trae and Luffy recognised it instantly. It's hard to forget a giant, blue fish-shaped boat in the middle of the ocean.

"Oh! We've been here before!" Trae exclaimed, suddenly excited. Luffy drooled slightly just thinking about the delicious food that they ate last time they were here. They had come undercover as a couple in order to tail some noble who'd decided to take his current love affair for a meal out. Very inconspicuous... they would have felt sympathy for his wife if she wasn't just as much - if not more - of a bastard. Luffy could honestly say that it had been her favourite mission. The waiter had been a bit perverted, but the food had been divine.

"We're definitely finding our chef here," Luffy stated, staring dreamily into the distance as if in a trance "Even if I have to drag them out of here against their will,"

"Luffy... hello?" Trae waved his hand in front of her face in an attempt to break her out of it.

After somehow managing to get Luffy to come back to her senses, they docked the ship in a free spot. The restaurant was popular - and with good reason. When they stepped inside, their nostrils were blessed with the most mouthwatering of aromas.

They were greeted by the same man who had sat her and Trae the last time they were here. He immediately fawned over the two women who had graced his presence.

"Oh, what a beautiful day! To be blessed on today of all days! I'm Sanji - I'll be your waiter and chef for today. What can I do for two beautiful ladies such as yourselves?" He was a little dramatic, but they could work with that. Plus, it was nice to be treated like a princess for once. The two men fell behind.

"This," Trae pointed to the flailing chef with his thumb. "Is the only downside of this place," Zoro twitched in agreement, almost itching to slice the man's annoying eyebrows off. They were seated and given menus to which everyone with the exception of Luffy looked at. She was openly staring at Sanji. After a few moments of contemplation, she spoke.

"Hmm, I think I've found our chef!"

"Please tell me it's not who I think it is... you haven't even talked to him properly, how do you know he'll be a good fit?" Trae muttered

"Captain... Would you think about that a little bit longer?" Zoro asked, catching her drift

"Hm, what's there to think about? He cooked the food we had last time didn't he?"

"I don't see any problem with it Lu, he seems like an excellent choice" Nami smiled slyly, directing her gaze to Trae's distressed form.

"Oh yeah - well maybe it does right now!" Trae snarked

"What can I get for you beautiful ladies?" Sanji interrupted, and Nami immediately changed her tone.

"What would you recommend?" She practically preened under the attention

"Anything with meat!" Luffy practically bounced on her seat.

"I know exactly what I can get you!" He spun around, making everyone at the table slightly dizzy.

"And for you shitty bastards."

"What did you just call me swirly-brows?" You could feel the tension in the air as Nami coughed, turning Sanji into a useless noodle.

After they finally ordered, Sanji returned to the kitchen. Luffy couldn't take his eyes off of him.

"Nami - I think we'd better tell the head Chef that he'll be losing one of his employees," Trae stated in resignation

"Of course!" She grinned

The food - of course - was the most delicious they had ever eaten.

"Oh my god," Luffy practically moaned into her food. And in this very second, neither Trae nor Zoro would have complained about the chef joining their rag-tag crew. Even if he did have shitty curly eyebrows.

Their bliss was interrupted by the said chef, which immediately soured both the men's moods.

"How is everything for you lovely ladies?"

"Perfect... although it does seem a bit pricey..." Nami pouted while Luffy continued to wolf down the food she'd been given

"It's free for you my goddess!"

"Hey, what about us!"

"You still have to pay!" He shouted

"Join my crew"

The statement clearly caught him off guard, judging by the sudden dropping of his womanizing persona. Although the rest of the small crew had to give it to him - he recovered quickly. He cleared his throat.

"As much as it pains me to refuse the request of a lady, I have a debt to repay before I can leave here." Luffy attempted to use her puppy eyes and it looked like it physically pained the chef to look at her

"Good luck with that," Trae said sarcastically, chuckling under his breath as he watched her continue her full-frontal assault

"Yeah, she'll get you eventually,"

"What'd you say you shitty moss head!"

"What'd you call me you bastard!"

The next day

Luffy was relaxing on deck, watching Zoro train with his weights - where on earth he got them from no-one could tell.

"Hmm..."

"You okay Luffy?" Nami asked, walking up to her

"Oh - yeah. Just trying to figure out how to persuade Sanji to join us - When are you expected back?"

"Soon - probably in two days at the latest."

"Hopefully it doesn't take that long - but if it does, you could take Trae to get a head start. We shouldn't be too far behind you"

"Hey, I've got to agree to it first!" Trae exclaimed. He had just come out of the cabin just in time to hear their conversation.

"Really now?" Nami asked with a smile that held many implications as she reached for her bo staff

"Fine - fine. Where are we going?"

"To Nami's village, keep up, we were talking about this earlier." Nami rubbed her shoulder subconsciously as Trae for once in his life attempted to comfort her.

"Ah - right. I remember now." He placed a hand on hers, nodding at her. "Yeah, that's good with me,"

"What's this?" Zoro asked, putting down his weights.

"If this takes too long, Nami and Trae are gonna head to Cocoyasi by themselves. We'll stay behind, but I doubt it'll take very long. I have a date with-" Luffy was very rudely interrupted by a marine vessel coming onto the docking bay.

"Buggy Pirates! I'm Lieutenant Iron-fist Fullbody. Who's in charge of this vessel" Luffy looked at the man - how dare he call them Buggy Pirates!

"I'm the captain - we stole this boat from the Buggy Pirates." The marine was taken aback.

"Then why have you yet to take down the pirate flag?"

"We've had more pressing matters to attend to, besides, we're still pirates!"

"Luffy-" Nami whispered

"Wait for it..."

"Why would you - never mind It's your lucky day. It's my day off - enjoy your meals."

There was a small commotion on the marine vessel when they noticed the canons aiming at them.

"This is a terrible idea," Trae stated

"Eh - we'll be fine..." The cannonball hurtled towards them and the crew members held their breath. Scrunching up her face, she pictured the cannonball in her mind's eye and then pushed it back towards the Marine ship using her powers. It did not go as planned. The object was different than what she was used to in both density and speed, so instead of going towards the marines, it swerved and crashed into the restaurant.

"What the..."

"Oops." There was a shout that came from within the boat and the head chef peeked outside of the whole.

"Who did that!" the man yelled. Everyone pointed at Trae.

"Why is it always me?"

Nami, Luffy and Trae were escorted to the head chef's office.

"So, which one of you idiots blew a hole in my ship?" Luffy and Nami pointed at Trae who was stuck in the middle of them

"But-" The chef raised an eyebrow as Nami 'subtly' stomped on his foot.

"Sure - let's go with that." He said in resignation, slumping forward in misery.

"We are very sorry sir, but as you can see, our friend here has quite a bad aim. Is there anything we can do to make it up to you?"

"Hmm - Can you pay me for the repairs?"

"How much?" Nami asked and the chef started to write out a receipt - handing it to Nami who looked it over. She gave a forced smile, although it looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Is there any other way we could make it up to you?"

"You can work off the debt - for a year."

"Yeah - we can... Wait a year? But we need to leave in two days!"

"Hey, mister - you can't do that."

"There are no other options - Unless..."

"Unless?"

"You want to give me your leg!" Trae scrambled back, deciding to hide behind Luffy.

"I'm not giving you my leg!" He shouted

"I'm sure there must be something else we can do for you," Nami smirked, pulling Trae out from his hiding space. "Trae here can start working for you until we come up with a better solution." The chef hummed with acknowledgement and nodded and Trae was escorted out of the room. There was a pause as the chef realised that the girls weren't leaving the room.

"Is there anything else I can do for you"

"Well - as a matter of fact. We're looking for a chef to take with us on our journey-"

And thus started the negotiations, if you could even call them that. Luffy basically just paced around the office listing the same two reasons why he should let them take Sanji with them while Nami attempted to soften the blow.

When they arrived back downstairs (followed by the head chef), the restaurant was a mess, and Sanji was beating up the marine that had fired on their ship earlier.

"Excuse me, ladies - it seems I've got a fight to sort out" he went past them shouting profanities at the whole room

"Do you want to ruin me?!" He shouted, going into the fray, but soon the fighting devolved into a shouting match between Sanji and another chef. Nami and Luffy had decided to take a seat on the table Zoro had decided to sit at.

"The customer is King! Why can't you get that into your thick skull!"

"Only if they can stomach your slop!"

"Patty! Sanji! If you're gonna fight - do it in the Kitchen. You're scaring away the customers!" Suddenly, a marine burst through the doors.

"Lt. Fullbody, It's awful! Sorry, sir! But he got away from the ship's brig!"

"Impossible!" The fool Fullbody shouted back "He was barely alive!"

There was a gunshot as a bullet perforated the marine's chest and slumped on the ground. The civilian customers screamed as he stumbled into the room.

"That's Demon-Man Gin of the Krieg Pirates!"

At this, Patty stopped his shouting match and muttered to himself.

"A customer?"

Sanji lit a cigarette, taking a drag. The man took a seat - he was obviously malnourished.

"This place serves food right - Bring me some"

"Anything for a valued customer - can you pay?"

"Do you take lead?"

"So that's a no..." Without warning, Patty smashed the man in front of him - breaking the chair at the same time.

"Hey, Patty! - you'll have to pay the collateral on that!"

"If you can't pay, you ain't a customer!" He shouted, which resulted in a round of applause from the already seated customers. He soon moved outside and Luffy watched on in interest as Sanji went to the kitchen. She didn't catch any more of Patty's words - they would have been boring anyway.

"I'll be back in a minute," she said to Nami who nodded back to her. Making her way to the middle level, she went out onto the balcony, watching Gin's form as he lay motionless on the decking. Sanji came out. He sat down in front of the pirate and placed a bowl of rice out in front of the man.

"Eat."

Gin moved his head to look at the plate, not believing what he saw. It didn't take him long to realise he wasn't hallucinating as he grabbed the plate and started scoffing it down.

"It's delicious!" He was crying into the dish as he barely breathed between mouthfuls. Sanji smiled in contentment as he lit his cigarette, breathing in a lungful of smoke before relaxing against the railings.

"It seems you're a lucky one aren't you" She shouted, getting the attention of both men

"Miss?"

"Ya know - you're not doing yourself any favours there Sanji - It makes me want you on my crew even more" She giggled, jumping over the railings to join the two men on the lower deck.

"My apologies - but I still can't join you." Gin was listening in as he finished the dish

"I refuse!"

"What do you mean you refuse?"

"I mean I want you to join me and therefore you'll come with us!"

"You can't-"

"You're a Pirate?" Gin interrupted

"Yup! I'm going to be the King!" She exclaimed cheerily.

"That means you're headed to the Grand line right? I would advise against it..." He shuddered

"Hmm?"

"You look pretty scared for a Kreig Pirate," Sanji noted.

"My crew were there for barely even a week when our entire fleet was destroyed. I don't know what we did to deserve it, but the tales of it being the pirate's graveyard are true." He said bitterly

"I'm still going. All the answers are out there... and I'd rather die trying to get them than stay here and know that I never even tried." She looked out onto the horizon, her eyes sparkled with hope and adventure. Answers, huh. Sanji took another drag of his cigarette, then dropped it into the ocean.

"Well, I thought I'd warn you" Gin had borrowed a small boat and was going back to his crew.

"Thanks - but we'll be fine!" Luffy said brightly.

"Sanji, I can't thank you enough! You saved my life! I promise to pay you back one day!"

"Don't worry about it,"

"Sanji!" There was a shout heard from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry if I get you in trouble!" He shouted as he was starting to get further away. Sanji smiled as he moved his foot, pushing the plate into the sea

"You only get in trouble if you get caught!" He shouted back

As he disappeared over the horizon, Luffy turned back to face the chef.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do to persuade you?" she said cheekily.

"Certain." He said turning to face her, but she seemed unbothered.

"You'll change your mind," she waved off his reply, walking back into the restaurant with a knowing smile. She stared at her receding form as he twitched his fingers. Shit. He could really do with another smoke.

Two days later

"Have you figured out a way for me to get out of this yet!" Trae whined. He had been slumped on the small sofa in the cabin for three hours, recovering from his time working at the restaurant. It really shouldn't have hurt this much, considering his previous and current occupation.

"They've had me washing dishes for two days! Two! My feet hurt, my back hurts! Somehow even my-"

"Oh shut up already! We get it!" Nami shouted, bonking him over the head with her staff.

"Well - no, but you guys need to leave today, and I'm no closer to persuading Sanji" Luffy also moped.

"What's got everyone so depressed?" Zoro asked, popping his head into the room, he'd just finished his monstrosity of a workout.

"Sanji and Trae." Nami sighed

"Why don't we just kidnap him?" he asked his captain, amused at her predicament.

"Because - well - um" Luffy tried to articulate

"She wants to win him over," Nami translated.

"Ah! I've never had this problem before! Why can't he-" She ranted, deciding to go outside midway through her sentence to get some fresh air. Her voice was muffled when the door closed.

"We have to leave today regardless. So you can stop your moping and help me take inventory" Nami stated as Trae looked up at her.

"Inventory? Really?"

"Yes! Now get your ass out there or else!" She shouted, chasing Trae out of the room with her pole, managing to usher out Zoro as-well.

And so the plan was made - Luffy and Zoro would go into the restaurant as per usual while Nami and Trae would sail away unnoticed. Hopefully, Luffy would be a big enough distraction with her bottomless stomach and constant pestering. Surprisingly, it worked. Luffy spent the next two hours following Sanji round and asking him to join her crew, leading to him becoming increasingly frustrated due to the fact he was refusing a lady of all people. The peace was disturbed when a customer let out a shout, causing the whole room to panic.

"That's Don Kreig's Ship!" A worried chatter spread across the room as customers started flocking to the exit in an attempt to escape a confrontation with the infamous pirate. Luffy decided to join Zoro back at the table. Something didn't feel right.

"What's going on?" Luffy shrugged her shoulders, neither of them had been paying attention to the customer's words. They moved to one of the windows to see what the commotion was about. A massive ship appeared in the distance. It seemed to be in pretty bad shape as pieces of timber dropped into the sea. She let out a long whistle. She wasn't sure how it would have worked, but it looked like it had been put through a blender.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't look good," Zoro stated, watching as the ship came closer. The chefs congregated at the entrance of the restaurant.

The door flung forward, and with it came Gin and a massive man who looked to be worse for wear.

"Please, give us food, we have plenty of money," the man begged before promptly collapsing under his own weight.

"Don! You shouldn't beg it's beneath you! Please help us, we're paying customers this time!" Gin shouted, fretting over his collapsed captain.

"You think we're gonna feed you? We're not that naive. Someone call the marines!" There was a consensus among the other chef's.

However, much to the disagreement of the other people in the room, Sanji (who had left the room shortly after the man had asked for something to eat) had come out from the kitchens with food for Don Kreig.

The other two pirates had zoned out at the chef's outrage and had started to plan out their next moves. They were soon interrupted when they heard the commotion.

"This should be good," Zoro noted, smirking as he watched Sanji get knocked down when Kreig had finished his meal. Luffy raised an eyebrow. He demanded food for the remains of his starving crew, and one of the chef's decided that it was the perfect time to launch an attack against the weakened captain.

This didn't do anything except annoy the man and reveal his plated armour. Which at this point he also decided to lay claim to the ship. After that Luffy and Zoro realised, much to their disappointment, that nothing interesting was going to occur any time soon and so returned to their previous conversation with a sly grin. They'd have to spice it up a bit.

It took several minutes of ranting for Don Kreig to realise that he wasn't the centre of attention. Some of the chefs had taken to watching the conversation of the two remaining customers which had slowly been rising in volume over the last few minutes.

"You see if we were to-"

"No, no it would be better to-"

"No-one defies me you worthless- WOULD YOU SHUT UP!" He shouted, attempting to get the two's attention. Much to Kreig's frustration, the two apparently hadn't heard a thing and completely ignored him, you could see a vein protrude from his forehead in frustration. Said annoyances were having trouble holding onto their laughter, subtly watching the room turn to them in disbelief.

His anger was interrupted when Zeff came out of the kitchen, throwing a massive bag full of food at Don Kreig's face for his remaining crew.

"You sure have balls considering you ran scared from the grand line."

"Chef Zeff!" One of the chef's cried

"Aw, come on, it was starting to get interesting!" Luffy whined, slumping on the table. All that hard work had come to nothing. Zoro looked at his captain in amusement, taking another gulp of his sake, finishing it off.

"Zeff?" The pirate Captain thought for a second before realising who was in front of him. "As in Red-Leg Zeff? You're the infamous pirate that disappeared from the seas years back? Everyone thought you were dead, I wonder what they would think if they saw you now?" The man grinned maliciously as he pointed at the man's leg. Sanji tensed up, and the rest of the chefs saw red.

"You must have trouble fighting now that you've lost your leg, considering that that was your signature fighting style."

"As you can see, I'm retired now, as long as I've got my hands to cook with, I'm happy with what I've got." He stated nonchalantly in an attempt to calm his employees.

"Hm, no matter. You must have a logbook of your time on the grand line, right? Hand it over and I might consider letting you live."

"I'll never hand it over to a man like you - it's my crew's treasure" Zeff practically snarled

"It looks like I'll have to take it myself." The man smirked as he thought about his future plans "with that logbook I'll be unstoppable! I had the ships, I had the men, I had the ambition. The only thing I lacked was knowledge! I'm the strongest man on the seas! Once I'm done here I'll have the power to take on the Grand Line and obtain One Piece!"

"Ha! You? Become the King? Don't make me laugh!" Luffy spat out, staring daggers at the man's head. Her hat obscured her eyes.

"And who are you to say that, little girl?" She stood up and began to walk over to the pirate. He started laughing as she got near, and she tipped up her hat slightly, revealing the fire in her eyes. The rest of the room was silent as she responded

"Me? Oh, I'm going to be the King of the pirates." Clenching her fist, she landed a hit on the centre of his armour. He let out a sharp breath before he was sent flying into the wreckage of his ship. There was a dent in his armour where her fist had landed, forming a hairline crack. So much for his armour being 'indestructible'. She kicked the bag of food after him, watching to make sure it made it to the ship as she wiped her hands on her trousers. When she turned around, the room was frozen in shock at her actions, resulting in an awkward silence. Looking to Zoro, their mouths set in smirks as he nodded to her subtly. She decided to address the spellbound audience.

"Well... They'll be attacking soon, I'll be outside if anyone needs me" she pointed her thumb at the open door behind her before walking out of sight.

The silence dissipated almost immediately after she had left the room. Zoro was about to follow his captain outside but stopped when he heard Gin's shaky voice.

"How did a ship that big get into that state anyway?" one of the chefs asked, staring at the destroyed gallon.

"It all went south on our seventh day, there was a thick fog that surrounded our fleet, and then it happened... I don't know how, but one man sank fifty ships! I'm going to have nightmares about that man's piercing Hawk-eyes for months."

Hawk-eyes?

Zoro froze. He couldn't believe his luck. For that man to be on the grand line... For Luffy to have met him when she did... He had definitely joined the right crew. Smirking, he put a hand on the hilts of his swords and walked out of the room, leaving the terrified chefs alone. It didn't take him long to find his captain, she wasn't far from the door and had shouted his name before he had gone to search for her - narrowly avoiding that disaster.

"You're in a good mood," She noted, continuing to look at the sunset.

"Gin just gave me another reason to go to the grand line, you ready for the fight?"

"Always," she nodded "It's Mihawk right? The world's greatest swordsman."

"You know of him?"

"It's hard not to. He's one of the Warlords,"

"Warlords?"

A massive crash interrupted their conversation as the sea became choppy. The pirate's aboard their decimated ship gave a shout as it began sinking further into the depths. Many of the chefs ran out onto the decking to see what the commotion was about.

"It's him! He's followed us across the Red Line!" The man came into view and Zoro tensed. He was here?

"Why did you keep stalking us!" one of them asked in despair as the pirates shot at him, but not one met their mark. He smirked.

"To kill some time,"

"I've never seen such graceful movements," He commented, Luffy looked at him in concern.

"A sword without grace is just a bar of iron." Zoro's eyes glinted with excitement as he grinned.

"You cut that ship with your sword, you must be the best. I went out to sea to find you!"

"Why?"

"To surpass you - want to kill some time?" He unsheathed his swords.

"Zoro," He glanced at his captain. She remembered her promise clearly, but it didn't stop her from worrying.

"Don't die." She stated

"Aye," He grinned and jumped off of the railing to face Mihawk.

"You - surpass me? If you were any good you should already know the difference in power. Are you ignorant or just stupid?"

"Neither. My ambition drives me, as well as a promise to a friend." He smirked, placing Wado Ichimonji in his mouth. "I wasn't expecting to meet you so soon,"

"It's a shame, you should have waited," Mihawk noted, taking out a small dagger. Zoro stared at the weapon and his eyes narrowed in anger.

"What are you planning to do with that," He snarled.

"I have a policy against hunting rabbits with cannons." He smirked, taking a relaxed stance as Zoro's anger blinded him.

"You may have a reputation in the East, but it is the tamest of them all. It's time you learn how big the world is." He lunged at the man

"You'll regret those words!"

"ONI-GIRI"

A silence seeped into the deck as Zoro stared at the point of impact. His three swords were stopped easily with the tip of the blade. No-one he'd met had ever countered that attack before. There couldn't be this much difference between them! Not after all he'd been thorough. He couldn't fail now. It then became a game of cat and mouse. Mihawk easily kept him at a distance as he blocked every strike. Each strike became more and more desperate,

"TORA-GARI"

The dagger met its mark. Zoro steeled himself, freezing against the blade. He wouldn't look down.

"Why don't you step back?" He asked as Zoro stared into his unforgiving eyes.

"I can't. Even if I move one inch I feel like my vow, my ambition, everything I care about will be void." Mihawk smirked

"Yes, that's defeat."

"That's why I can't move"

"Even if it means death?"

"I'd rather die than admit defeat." Mihawk stood there for a second, contemplating his words before removing the blade.

"What's your name?"

"Roronoa Zoro"

"I shall remember it. It's been a while since I've met someone with a will as strong as yours. I shall honour that by using Yoru, known to be the strongest sword in the world." He reached for his back and pulled out the pitch blade and Zoro let out a bloodthirsty grin. This was his last chance, if he fell here - it was all over.

"Santoryu Secret technique: Three thousand worlds!"

There was a moment of stillness, and then a loud crack echoed through the sea. His swords were broken. He stood, sheathing his prized possession and then turned to face his fate.

"A wound on the back is a swordsman shame."

"How admirable." Mihawk raised his blade and struck. The world went dark.

"ZORO!" A bolt of lightning illuminated the dark clouds that had twisted above the restaurant. A wave of pure energy was reflected as she hit his blade with her pipe. The waves rippled around them slightly, and the sky parted. The storm was gone as soon as it appeared. They traded several blows in flashes.

"Your comrade is alive..." He stated, not even out of breath in comparison to Luffy who was gulping down air into her screaming lungs. He gestured over to where two chefs had swum to her fallen swordsman. "It is too soon for you to die. Travel the seas and become stronger, come and meet me when you reach the top." A potential successor had been chosen. Luffy nodded to Mihawk in thanks.

"What's your goal?" She paused for a few seconds.

"To be King." She stated, staring him directly in the eyes.

"A difficult task, even more so than your swordsman."

"True, but since when has anything worth achieving been easy?" She acknowledged. Mihawk smirked and tipped his hat at her.

"I'll be watching for you," She nodded again, smirking before hopping off his boat.

"Luffy! Can you hear me?" Her head snapped in his direction

"Yeah,"

"I'm sorry!" He raised his sword in the air as his voice echoed around the sea "You were worried right! If I failed to become the world's greatest swordsman, you'll be disappointed right? From now on! I will never lose again! Not until I defeat him and become the world's greatest swordsman! I WILL NEVER LOSE AGAIN! You got a problem with that Pirate King?!" The whole world waited with bated breath

"Nope!" Her face spread out into an enormous smile as she laughed. The day was bright again.