Authors Note: I original posted this story only on Ao3, and decided to post what I have here too, for those of you who only used FF. I will update the story on both platforms simultaneously from now on.

All chapters have a blanket explicit language warning. Description of violence, gore, ext. Other than that anything serious will be mentioned as a warning at the top of that chapter.

I'm Tani, The Women Who Will Help Everyone I Meet!

Wealth. Fame. Power.

"Uhhhhgm." I groaned as awareness slowly came back to me, the first thing I noticed being the sore feeling throughout my body.

Weird; I thought I had fallen asleep in my bed, but it felt like I had just slept on the floor. Rolling to my side I hit something hard, which finally got me to open my eyes. I realized that is exactly where I was: on the floor. But it didn't look like the floor to my bedroom. Or anywhere in my house. My eyes widened and I did my best to remain calm as I glanced around the room, no, I was surrounded by barrels, filled with who knows what. Pressing my hand against one and gently pushing, noting that they were heavy, I didn't think I could move them, which meant I had to climb out of my spot. I peeked over the barrels and saw that I was indeed in a room with two doors and no windows. It seemed like some kind of storage. And everything seemed wooden, a stark contrast to the drywall, metals, or even glass I was used to. This reminded me that I was happy wood paneling had gone out of style years ago.

There was a loud BOOM, followed by a cracking sound off in the distance and the room I was in tilted. Rooms weren't supposed to do that! Losing my balance, I sat back down hard, choosing to take a moment to think through my current situation.

I had obviously not fallen asleep here. I don't think I had been kidnapped, but I couldn't rule it out. Whoever had taken me left me in a weird place. Almost...hidden. Then I had to ask myself if it really mattered how I got here, if I didn't even know where here was?

The best way to find out where I am is to go look.

With that thought in mind, and more resolve then I think I had ever had in my life, I went to climb out over the barrels. When I moved this time though, I realized I could hear something getting closer to my room, so I swung my leg that was already on the barrel to climb over back down on this safe side and ducked down out of sight. Willing my heartbeat to slow down, I moved so that I could get a peek at what was going on. I forced my thoughts away the James Bond theme music and told myself to focus.

A young boy, maybe thirteen, was walking through the door on my right. He pushed a barrel that was the size of himself towards the other door, grunting with effort along the way. His pink hair barely stuck out over the top. That's when three more guys who looked like they were role playing pirates walked into the room. They seemed serious though, and they looked like those muscles aren't just for show. Those swords on their hips definitely looked sharp, and lets just say I was glad I chose to hide. That kid didn't look all that troublesome, but those guys just screamed danger. In fact, getting a second look at the kid, he seemed really familiar, but I couldn't remember ever speaking to a guy who looked like him before.

The guys said something about the boy trying to sneak off and hide while everyone else participated in the action. I realized that the boy was taller, and older, than I originally thought when he sprang up out of his crouched position he was in to push the barrel and denied what the men were saying.

"I was just trying to haul this big barrel of beer over to you guys!" He exclaimed. I couldn't be sure, but that seemed like a lie. The larger guys didn't see anything wrong with it though, and the biggest went to open the barrel by punching it.

Well that seems like it would waste more beer than anything else.

The largest man wound his arm up, but right before he moved his fist forward, the barrel exploded from the inside out. A lanky man wearing a red vest, jean shorts, and a straw hat burst out, punching the man who was unknowingly about to punch him.

My mouth was hanging open. My eyes were wider than they ever had been. My heart was racing and I couldn't tell you if I had stopped breathing or was hyperventilating.

"YEAH! I SLEPT SO GOOD!" Straw hat Luffy yelled. Why he announce it for all to hear, I had no idea, but by then I managed to shut my mouth and slide down the barrels so I was sitting again.

Straw Hat. That was Straw Hat Luffy. The man who was going to be King of the Pirates. The man who was actually made of rubber. The man who would help change the world just because he wanted to be free and had a kind soul.

My body felt numb. I had somehow woken up in One Piece. I didn't even know how, nothing I did before going to sleep was special. I hadn't made a wish on a star or a birthday candle, I didn't see a portal, or a person, and I certainly wasn't reborn here.

Screaming made me aware of my surroundings once again. I looked at the spot I had woken up, and saw a familiar backpack propped up against another barrel. I hadn't used that in like five years. But, it was everything I had, I guess.

Don't get left behind .

Peering over the barrel again, Koby was holding Luffy back trying to convey the amount of danger he was now in while Luffy ignored him, sniffing the air. My spirits lifted when I realized what he was going after.

"You guys looking for food?" I asked, popping up. Koby screamed, jumping too high in the air and then rushing over to hide behind Luffy. Luffy glanced at me.

"You got any?" Sniffing the air, he frowned as if he already knew my answer.

"Nope, I said, swinging my backpack on and then climbing over the barrel, as best as I could. It was awkward, and I'm sure I looked like a dolt, but once my feet were on the other side, I just smiled at Luffy, nodding my head towards the door, "Let's go find some."

He grinned back at me, and off he went. I didn't hesitate to follow, but Koby took a bit longer, and had to run to catch up to us. The moment he did, he tried to hold back Luffy, which was not an easy feat. He also kept going on and on about how many pirates were ready to kill us upstairs which reminded me-

Need a weapon, ASAP.

I was thrown into the world of One Piece, I had just met Monkey D. Luffy, and I was going to take advantage of this situation. It was my dream, after all.

It didn't take us long to find the kitchen. I didn't think it would, the storage I was just in probably had drinks, which cooks wouldn't want to go far to get. Luffy ran off, yelling about how it was a gold mine, chanting "Food, Food, Food!" as he dove down into a giant hole in the floor. He broke into a crate of apples and started eating them whole. I winced as I climbed down there with him, thinking of how seeds and pits often contain poisons, and then came to the realization that if Luffy had eating like this for a while, then maybe that's how he slowly built up an immunity to practically everything. Or was it just from the poison dude in Impel Dawn?

Immediately I sort of faltered, because usually I would post this sort of thing online and get peoples opinions, but I couldn't do that here. There wasn't the technology to share these things like back home. Information was actively destroyed or retold, and this government was so much more corrupt then the one I had just left. I must have been in some state of shock because next thing I know there's a hand waving in front of my face.

"Huh?" I said, blinking a few times and trying to shake off that weird feeling, focusing on Luffy, who was laughing at me.

"You're funny." He said, my face warming as the blush crept up my face. I couldn't help my reactions! I felt out of control and a bit like I was in a daze, so I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched myself as hard as I could. I've never actually done that before, pinched myself, because I had never been in this type of mind blowing situation before. When I opened my eyes and I was still in the storage food hole with Luffy and Koby, my heart stuttered.

Get a grip, freak out later.

"We wanted to know your name." Koby said. They must have introduced themselves to each other while I was freaking out.

"Oh, I'm Tani" I said, looking between them both. By now, Luffy had gone back to eating apples whole, but still talked. I was amazed and disgusted, how did this boy not choke? I grabbed two of the apples, putting one in my bag for later and put the bag back on, then taking a seat on a bag of rice I started eating the other one. Koby kneeled down on the floor and watched us.

"So are we on a pirate ship, or what? Luffy asked, no food escaping by some miracle.

"No, It's a passenger ship that is being raided by pirates, pirates under the command of Lady Alvida," Koby told us.

"Who cares anyway, what I want to know is, are there any boats on board?"

"I think there are a few."

"Great cause mine got sucked into some big whirlpool."

"The one outside?" Koby leaned back, his face showing just how shocked he was "No way! No one could have survived that."

"Yeah, I got to say, It was a big surprise!" Luffy grinned back at us, and I let out a laugh. He was just so easy going. "So are you one of the pirates, or one of the passengers?"

Koby proceeded to tell us the story of how he had accidentally boarded the wrong boat, and how in exchange for his life he was a cabin boy. I sort of zoned out again, trying to look around for something I could use as a weapon. What could I use anyway? Maybe I should tie my sneakers tighter, in case I had to kick out? I didn't want them flying off. Luffy's laugh made me focus back on what the two guys were talking about.

"You're a moron and a coward" He said, a huge smile on his face, eyes closed, laughing the whole time "I hate people like you."

Koby practically had tears streaming down his face, he looked so distraught at Luffy's words. I felt a bit bad for Koby, but before I could interject on his behalf, Luffy stopped laughing, his eyes met mine.

"What about you? Pirate or Passenger?"

Biting my lip, I debated for all of three seconds before just going with the truth, "I fell asleep in my bed, on land, mind you, and woke up behind those barrels. I don't know how or why I'm on this ship." I shrugged at the end, and took a bite of my apple.

These people had some delicious fruit on board.

"Yeah, I understand." Luffy nodded along, sporting the serious look he gets on occasion, though not always the right one.

"What?" Koby shouted, clearly thinking I would also get insulted.

"He just said he was sleeping inside that barrel, so technically Luffy fell asleep and woke up in another place too." I said. Koby just looked helpless, eyes darting back and forth between the two of us. All three of us were pretty stupid with these stories though.

Setting my apple to the side, I bent down and tied my shoes tight as Koby went off on Luffy for aimlessly drifting in a barrel. He told Koby it was better than getting in the wrong boat.

"Yeah, you're right. If i had the courage, I could drift alone in a barrel and be rid of these pirates, I actually have my own dreams. Someday, I'd liked to live out all of them." Koby had looked away at some point, thinking of his dream, but now was focused back on Luffy "So what about you Luffy, what was it that first got you to set sail on these seas?

"Well, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."

Koby seemed like his spirit had left him. He was white as a sheet and shaking. He managed to rasp out two words.

"...A king?"

"Yep."

"...Are you serious?

"Yeah"

"But...that would mean that you're a pirate too.."

"Uh huh."

"Your crew?"

"Don't have one yet, but I'm looking for em." I swore Luffy glanced over at me when he said this, but it could have been my eyes playing tricks on me.

"Ahhh" Koby let out a small scream. He seemed to freeze but this time in a different way, if that made sense. His mouth hanging open, his eyes wider than what should be possible. Something caught my eye in the corner and I walked over, finding a metal pipe laying on the ground. I wonder if this would remind Luffy too much of Sabo? I set it back down, turning back to the boys. Another flash caught my attention, this time up top. I climbed up the ladder and went over to a shelving unit, where there was a comically large wrench. I picked it up and gave it a practice swing. Good enough for now. Turning back to the pit, I watched the boys from this vantage point. Luffy was waving his hand in front of Koby's face, just like he did to me moments ago. Koby sprang to life and nearly made me jump out of my skin.

"King of the Pirates is the title given to one who obtains everything this world has to offer. You're talking about seeking the great treasure of wealth, fame, and power. The treasure you seek is the One Piece!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah? That's it? Pirates from all over the world are looking for that treasure, you know?"

"Yeah, so?"

Koby went on a rant about how there was no way Luffy would be able to compete with the other pirates out there. He got loud, and I briefly wondered why Alvida didn't already bust in already. Luffy shut him up with a punch to the head that made me grimace. Poor Koby

"Ow, why did you hit me?"

"Cause I felt like it."

Koby groaned in pain, "Oh well, I'm used to that stuff. My shipmates smack me around a lot" Quietly he added "All the time, in fact."

"It's not about if I can, I'm doing this cause I want to." Luff took off his hat and held it in one hand, staring at his treasure that he swore his dream over. "I decided long ago that i'm going to be King of the Pirates. If I have to die fighting for that, then I die."

"Alright," Luffy's serious mood changed back to normal, and using one hand he flipped the hat and placed it on top of his head, strolling over to the ladder, quickly climbing out of the food pit. "Now that my bellies full, I'm going to go get me a brand new boat. Might even just give me one if I ask nice enough, maybe they're generous people! Come on, Tani."

Startled that he remembered I was there, let alone my name, I rushed forward, swinging my wrench too hard to rest on my shoulders, but refusing to acknowledge my painful mistake. Before we could leave, Koby's voice called out to Luffy.

"If I put my mind to it, If I'm prepared to die for it, could I do something like that?"

"Like what?"

"Do you think… Do you think I could ever join the marines?"

"Marines?"

"YES!" Koby cried, standing up. "Catching bad guys is the only thing I've ever wanted to do. It's been my dream since I was a child. Do you think I can do it?"

"How should I know that?" Luffy asked, laughing a bit.

"Then I'm going to do it! I'm not going to get stuck here as a cabin boy for the rest of my life. I'll break out then I'll turn right around and catch Alvida myself!"

It wasn't even a full second later that the ceiling started caving in, chunks of wood raining down into the storage hole, dust clouding the air. I took a step back, avoiding the destruction as Lady Alvida crashed her way into the room.

"Who is that you plan on catching Koby? And you actually think this twig and ugly girl are going to help you? Well? Answer me!" The women towered over Koby. He cowers, shrinking himself down into the corner. Behind Luffy and I, there's an interesting sound, and when I turn I see that a half dozen swords have gone through door and wall. She must have been coordinating this attack then. Luffy's only reaction is to frown, and I'm on the same page but probably for a different reason. There was about to be a fight.

Don't suck .

"My guess is you're not Zoro the pirate hunter." Alvida sneer over to Luffy, taking in his small and lean frame, and lack of swords.

"Zoro?" Luffy tilted his head as he contemplated the name of his future swordsmen, not that he knew that last part.

"Koby!" She large women cried out, turning back to the cowering chore boy, "Who is the most beautiful of all on these seas?"

Koby stuttered out an answer, shaking the entire time.

"Give me a second." He asked, like a college student being called out by the teacher, "I know this"

"Hey Koby," Luffy interrupts, points to Lady Alvida, "Who's the fat lady?"

Every single member of the Alvida Pirates froze, some with their mouths open in shock, others just with a look of distress on their faces. It didn't help that the silence was broken by my snort as I tried not to laugh. I covered my mouth but it was too late. Alvida's incredulous eyes swung to me, and I had enough time to get out an "Uh oh" before she was swinging her bat toward Luffy and I.

"YOU RUNTS!"

I jumped out of the way, Luffy doing the same, while Koby covered his head to try and protect himself from more flying debris. Luffy landed inside the storage hole, and with a "Lets go" As his only warning, grabbed Koby, stretched his freaking arm and shot up out of the hole in the ceiling Alvida had made, grabbing me along the way.

As the air rushed past and I experienced this small taste of Luffy's slingshot abilities, I wanted to scream but I couldn't make a sound. It was over after a second but I hoped I would have to experience that too often.

Who am I kidding? It was going to happen all the time if I stayed with him.

We landed on deck, more like Luffy did, a hand on his hat to keep it from flying off. Koby and I crash landed, and I rolled out of the way as the Alvida Pirates immediately started coming after us. I panted, standing up and got ready for what was the first actual fight of my life.

Luffy dodged a sword, sending the guy flying with a punch, while I used the wrench to hit someone's wrist who was about to punch him from behind. Koby screamed next to us, and to be honest it was also what I wanted to be doing but for as fast as my heart was racing, as terrifying as this was, it was the most fun I had ever had in my safe but boring life.

Four guys came at Luffy at once, who once again jumped out of the way, yelling "Miss me!" and laughing. Clearly, he was having fun too. The guys stumbled over themselves, falling to the deck, and I gave each one a whack on the head before they could get up and keep attacking, taking them out of the fight. Luffy and I looked around for more opponents, and I noticed Koby just gaping at us, which turned into horror and I just knew someone was sneaking up behind one, or both, of us. Before he could even shout a warning the two of us had moved; turns out I was right when I said they were sneaking up on both of us. Their swords embedded itself into the deck where we had just been standing, and they pirates struggled to remove it.

"It's not fair to attack from behind!" Luffy cried out, and knocked their heads together, and then there were two less members to deal with. Except, the chill that ran down my spine told me I had a big problem. Turning, I caught a glimpse of a lot of swords and men carrying them, too many to count, and took off with Luffy, being chased around the ship.

"It's even more not fair to gang up on a guy!"

Luffy grabbed the mast as we ran past, letting his arm stretch as far as he could go. I stopped running with Luffy when I noticed the pirates were no longer following and staring at his hand holding the mast in confusion and disbelief. Instead, I veered to the right and out of his way.

I watched the men go back and forth between looking at his hand and his body, which were getting farther apart from each other, until Luffy turned back, a huge grin on his face.

"Gotcha."

The men started screaming and running in the opposite direction. Luffy pulled as hard as he could, shouting "Gum Gum ROCKET!" as he used the mast to fling himself after the men, retracting his arm along the way and punching with his other arm, barreling every man over and decimating their forces. Only the ones who hadn't been attacking yet were left standing.

"Luffy…" Koby asked "What are you?"

"Oh! I'm a rubber man." Luffy said, stretching the corner of his mouth as proof.

"So you're made of rubber? I...AH!"

While Koby was talking Lady Alvida had snuck up behind him. He must have sensed it, because he was screamed and moved to hide behind Luffy. I tried paying her no mind, grabbing Luffy's check and pulling. Although I knew it would stretch, knowing it and seeing it happen are two completely different things. I let go and it snapped back into place.

"Cool." I whispered.

"So, you've eaten of the devil fruits." Alvida said. What a weird way to phrase that.

"Yeah, I ate the gum gum one." The rubber man confirmed again.

"Uh huh." She said. "I heard rumors they existed, but I'd never seen any evidence of them before today. You're more skilled than the average deck swabber, are you a bounty hunter?"

"I'm a pirate!"

"Pirate? HA!" As Lady Alvida and Luffy kept talking, I noticed something from the corner of my eye. I saw a door off on Lady Alvida's ship opening, but I didn't see any one come out of it. Huh, weird.

"And you girl?" Startled at being addressed, I glanced back at Lady Alvida. "What are you?"

Frowning, I thought about it before giving up on trying to label myself. I wasn't a marine, a pirate, a bounty hunter, no.

"I'm just me." I said. "I'll be whatever I have to be to fulfill my dream."

Grunting she turned back to Luffy. "Tell me boy, if we're both pirates, and we're not under the same flag, that would make us enemies? Right?"

"Luffy, Tani, lets go." Koby whispered to us.

"Why?" Luffy asked him.

"You saw how big her club is! And of all the villainous cheats in all these waters she's easily the most-" He cut himself off, his face scrunching up.

"Go on," Lady Alvida prodded, "Tell me."

Koby seemed to have the longest internal debate with himself, all his emotions flicking across his face, before he looked at Luffy who was picking his nose and waiting, and he seemed to calm down. For one second. Then he screamed out

"YOU'RE THE MOST UGLIEST THING ON THE SEA!"

Luffy threw his head back and laughed heartily, while I just smiled at Koby's bravery. This was his first step towards something greater. Koby screamed at Alvida, about his dream, how he was going to become a marine and catch the women.

"You're DEAD KID!" Alvida wound back her arm, swinging her club far back, and just as she was about to bring it down, Luffy told Koby "Well said" and took the hit for him.

Luffy compressed into the deck, his head sort of molding around the bat.

"That won't work" Luffy taunting, basically singing, "I'm rubber!" He looked up from under the spiked bat and flung his arm far back. So far back it had to have gone off the ship.

"Gum Gum Pistol!" He shouted, his arm flying forward and making contact with Alvida's stomach. She shot up and away, and every watched as she disappeared in a little sparkle of light.

"Hey you!" Luffy called out to a group of Alvida Pirates, who jumped at being addressed by the man who had just launched their captain so far away she was nothing but a speck in the distance.

"Yes?" A few hesitantly shouted back.

"Go find a boat and give it to Koby. He's leaving his ship to join the marines. You're not going to stop him" The men scattered and went to look for something, they didn't want to be launched for not following what he said.

"Thanks Luffy" Koby said quietly.

A whistling sound made me look around, searching for where it was coming from and what it was. I spotted the cannon balls just before they hit the water, causing the ship to sway roughly. My heart which had just calmed speed up again as I steadied myself.

"Look! It's the marines!" Koby pointed out over the rail towards three large ships, each looking intimidating sailing towards us.

"Oh! Perfect timing. Head over there and tell them you want to join! But I'm a pirate so I'm out of here. Let's go, Tani!" Luffy jumped over the rail and onto a small life boat that was suspended over the side of the passenger ship. Not wanting to stay here at all, I grabbed a sword off the ground, dropped the wrench, and jumped in after him.

"No wait! You can't be serious! I approach them like this and they'll just capture me like another pirate!" Koby jumped into the boat too.

Before I could think about it too much, I used the sword to cut the ties to the ship, and our boat fell to the water below. As we crashed onto the surface, we created a huge splash, spraying another small ship that was connected to the Alvida Pirates ship. Nami was surprised to see us, but I stopped Luffy from giving her away.

"Grab an ore, let's get away fast." I said, tossing one to him and setting the other up for myself. Koby messed with the sails and we were on our way.

When we couldn't see any of the ships, marines, passenger, or pirate, we finally relaxed.

"We actually managed to get away!" Koby's surprised voice filled the air.

"What fun!" Luffy said, laughing.

"So, Luffy," Koby seemed nervous, although he always seemed nervous. He was more nervous than usual, if that was possible. "If you're searching for the elusive one piece, then you have to be headed for the grand line, right? You know the people I talk to call that place the pirate graveyard."

"Right. That's why I need an extra strong crew. You guys mentioned some pirate hunter? So what's he like, Koby?"

"Oh, you mean Zoro? Last I heard he was being held prisoner at some marine base."

"Oh, a weakling, huh." Luffy slumped down, not bothering to hide his disappointment. Luffy didn't really ever hid his emotions. Before I could disagree, Koby did it for me but explained him a bit differently than I would have.

"No! You're so wrong!" Koby rushed forward, once again shouting, "He's as violent as a demon and three times as horrifying!" after a pause, Koby got a bit suspicious. "Why are you asking about him anyway?"

Luffy smiled at him, "I figured if he's good enough I'd ask him to join my crew. What do you think, Tani?" His eyes met mine, but before I could say anything Koby intervened.

"Chasing him down is just plain reckless."

"You never know. He might jump at the chance to join." Luffy replied

"He's a bad enough guy that the marines caught him no way, not a chance, forget it- OW! Why'd you hit me?"

"Because I felt like it."

"Luffy," I cut in. "I think you should go see what he's like. Why did the marines suddenly capture him? It must have been a good reason. Go investigate, and if you like him, you can ask him to join your crew."

"Yeah, sounds great!" Luffy smiled at my suggestion, and it seemed to somehow get wider as the boy started jumping. "You know, you never told us your dream Tani."

I bit my lip as I thought about it. How can I best phrase what I wanted? Is my dream to be on the crew that will find the one piece? Yes, but that's also sort of a cop-out. Everyone on the crew has separate dreams and joined in order to make those dreams come true. I wanted to help save the crew pain, save ace, and most of all go on the most amazing adventure, so I guess...

"My dream is to go on the most amazing adventure, ever. I want to find and eat a devil fruit, I want to help everyone who I come across, I want to do good but be free to choose what that is."

"Well then, join my crew!" Luffy practically tipped the boat over as he lurched forward, bobbing up and down with excitement. I blinked, and rather than the fuck yes that I intended to say, what came out instead was a strangled "Why?"

Why would you want me? But he took it as why should I do that?

Luffy grinned, "Because I'm going to be King of the Pirates! And to do that, I'm going to go on the most amazing adventure! So in order to fulfill your dream, you have to join my crew!" Luffy seemed almost smug about his reasoning, thinking I couldn't deny him. And he was right.

"Okay."

"YES! I HAVE A CREW MEMBER!" Luffy shouted, throwing his hands up and falling backwards on the deck. This was way easier than I had thought it would be. I didn't think Luffy would have wanted me on the crew. Was I strong enough? Good enough? Was I Strawhat material?

Even though I had all these worries and questions, with this simple decision it felt like this weight had been lifted off my chest, even with my heart beating a mile a minute. The weight didn't appear when I had saw Luffy for the first time. It hadn't appeared when we jumped in the boat, or right before he asked me to join. No, this was a weight that had been there for years now. It didn't go away, not completely, not yet, but it was easier to carry. I was going to fulfill my dream.

"You can't be serious!" Koby yelled, a sweet drop on his head at how simple that was.

"I can think of no better adventure then to join the crew that is going to find the one piece" I pointed out. Luffy jumped up and started dancing around me, hoping between feet and singing the word "Nakama" over and over again.

"Sit down before you tip us. You can't swim you know." I teased, happier than I had ever been.

"OFF TO THE NEXT ISLAND! Koby, where is the island Zoro is on?"

The two started bickering about where it was and how to get there, while I sat back and took a deep breath. I was a Strawhat pirate. I was going on the greatest adventure there ever was.

I was going to be free.