Disclaimer: All the characters herein, with the exception of some random extras, are the intellectual property of Eiichiro Oda and all the companies involved with publishing and production of the One Piece manga and anime. I just twisted 'em a bit.

Spoilers/Warnings: Members of Luffy's family are mentioned in passing in this part, if that might spoil anything. This story will eventually encompass the entire first season of the anime, which is up to about halfway through volume 11 of the manga, just so you know. This is an AU, so many things have been changed/altered/warped to suit my needs. Also, there is some language and violence.

Pairing: None. However, I like subtext, so you can probably find hints of just about anything, if you look for it.

Dedication: To the OP at the fanforall at LJ, for requesting a cowboy AU and spawning this in my brain. Many thanks to dandy wonderous for beta-ing.

A/N: Name order for all characters has been westernized. Don't like it? Tough cookies! I do not claim to be an expert on anything involving gun fighting, the old west, or the cavalry. I did some very basic research for some of this, but I probably got lots of stuff wrong. Humor me! If there was anything of particular note, and I feel like sharing, it will be elaborated upon in an end note.

Part 1- The Stranger in the Straw Hat and the Devil's Gunman

Luffy took a deep breath of the dry desert air, then chased it with a swig of water from his canteen. The scenery was mighty boring, but nothing could chase away the excitement of this brand new adventure. He adjusted the brim of his prized, straw cowboy hat to better block the glaring sun. The rickety, old mare he had finally talked his Grandpa into letting him take plodded steadily forward.

Grandpa Garp. That old bastard had been furious when he heard that his second grandson had no interest in joining up with the cavalry. Luffy's older brother Ace had already declined and left home as well. Luffy just wanted to live free and wild and go his own way. Like Shanks. He fingered the brim of his hat again.

A small dark blotch appeared on the horizon. Luffy squinted. Was that a town coming up, or just a mirage? As he got closer, he could make out the familiar outline of a fort and a small frown marred his formerly carefree features. Guess he wouldn't be staying here very long, then.

A flash of color to his right caught his eye. A man lay face down in the sand in nothing but a pair of long underwear. One arm was stretched in front of himself, and, from the look of things, he'd been dragging himself along for some time. Now that surely was an odd way to spend one's time!

Luffy hopped down from his saddle and prodded the prone form with a booted toe.

"Hey there, Mister! You should probably get in out of the sun."

The only response was a low moan and what might have been a curse of some sort. Luffy rolled the fellow over. His lips were dry and cracked and he was working up a nasty burn. Luffy retrieved his canteen and drizzled a little water between the parched lips.

Two hard, dark eyes shot open and focused on the young man in the straw hat. Luffy had seen eyes like this before, back home, on the gunfighters who had passed through Fuchsia. He felt a thrill of excitement. The stranger hauled himself upright painfully and swayed for a few moments before steadying. He shook the sand out of his hair and Luffy realized it was a pale green.

"Thanks for the water. Much obliged." With that terse response, the man turned and began walking away from town.

"Where're you going?" Luffy wondered aloud.

"To find the poor, stupid bastards that took my guns, my clothes, and my horse."

"Don't you want to look in town?"

The man paused mid-stride and looked over his shoulder. Noticing the buildings' silhouettes in the distance, he made an about face and continued walking. Luffy grabbed his horse's reins and scrambled to catch up with the stranger's brisk pace. The green haired man seemed to be doing his level best to ignore the company.

"What's your name? Mine's Luffy D. Monkey!" He held out a hand.

The other man glanced over, but did not extend a hand to shake. "Roronoa. Zoro Roronoa." The name sounded familiar, but Luffy couldn't place it.

"You said some guys took your guns. Are you a gunfighter?"

"Among other things."

"You must not be very good, if they took all your stuff..."

Zoro bristled, stopped suddenly, and leveled a glare at Luffy that would turn most men into spineless, quivering puddles of extremely apologetic goo. "They were cavalry men. I didn't expect this sort of thing, and they waited until I was asleep to jump me."

Luffy simply shrugged. "Oh. That's a raw deal, if I ever heard one!"

"If they're lucky," Zoro spat through clenched teeth, as he started walking again, "I'll have cooled down enough, by the time I find them, that at least some of them will live to regret it."

The rest of the walk into town was completed in silence. Luffy might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't a total fool either. He had loads more questions for the taciturn man beside him, but now was clearly a bad time.

"Maybe," he thought to himself with a smile, "he'll be more friendly once he gets his things back!"

The two men skirted the fort and headed down the main street. They received a few odd looks, which was to be expected, seeing as one of them was walking around in his long johns. As the local saloon came into view, Zoro hissed in a sharp breath and quickened his pace. A black gelding at the hitching post whickered and nuzzled into the gunman's shoulder. It was the first time Luffy had seen the other man crack a smile, but his eyes were still cold and hard.

"You don't have to follow me in here." Zoro locked eyes with the boy in the straw hat. "This might get ugly."

"Hang on a minute," Luffy called out as he rifled through his saddle bags. He had stolen a pistol from his grandfather's gun cabinet, and he held the weapon out to the other man. "Here. You can borrow it. I'm not much good with one anyway. I prefer my fists!"

Zoro gave the gun a quick once over and checked to see that it was loaded. "Thanks."

Inside the saloon, a man named Helmeppo was telling a story to an avid audience of drunkards. He was the son of a terror of a Captain at the fort, so the locals tried to stay out of his way. Most of his listeners were just passing through, and thus had no basis for whether or not to believe what they were hearing.

"So then, on our way back here, I was challenged by Zoro Roronoa!"

"The Roronoa? The Devil's Gunman?" a scruffy man asked, eyes wide.

"Who?" another inquired.

"He's a ruthless scoundrel of a gunman," Helmeppo drew attention back to himself. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted. Long story short, I shot him and took his belongings as my rightful prizes."

"You killed him?" It was the first man again. "I heard he cain't die!"

"Really?" That was the man who'd never heard of Roronoa.

"My hand to God! Heaven won't take him and Hell jest spits him back out!"

"Hell must have changed its policy," Helmeppo smirked, "because he's quite dead, I assure you." The braggart hadn't noticed that the attention of most of his listeners had shifted to the door at his back while he was speaking. Eyes widened, and several people even gasped aloud.

"That's a very interesting story," a dark voice uttered in a deadly tone. "Damn shame not a lick of it's true."

Helmeppo visibly paled, but valiantly attempted to keep his composure as he turned to face the irate Zoro.

"Lordy!" the scruffy man exclaimed. "Hell done spit him out again!"

"You have some things that belong to me," Zoro growled. "I suggest you give them back." He raised his borrowed weapon and pointed it at Helmeppo's head.

Three cavalry soldiers that had accompanied Helmeppo to the saloon warily surrounded the gunman. This brought back some of the liar's bravado.

"I don't think you're in any position to make demands!"

"Wrong answer." Zoro fired, knocking off Helmeppo's hat and grazing his scalp in the process. He dove under a table with a whimper.

The soldiers reached for their guns, but Zoro was faster than they'd anticipated. Two hand shots and one shoulder later, all three were disarmed.

"Don't move!" Zoro turned back around to see Helmeppo pointing a familiar gun with an ivory inlaid grip at his face. He didn't even flinch.

"There's only one bullet in that gun, and it ain't meant for me."

Helmeppo laughed mockingly and opened his mouth to retort, but was silenced quite effectively by a fist to the face. No one had paid any mind to the young man in the straw hat that had followed Roronoa into the saloon. Helmeppo wasn't conscious long enough to regret that tactical mistake. Now that the shooting had stopped and a punch had been thrown, an all out brawl broke out. One man ran out the front, hollering for the law.

Zoro scooped up his gun and dragged Luffy off to the side. "You'd better skedaddle while you can, kid! I appreciate the hand, but this ain't your fight!"

"Aren't you comin' along?" Luffy didn't like the idea of deserting his new friend.

"Take these," Zoro shoved the borrowed pistol and his own revolver into Luffy's hands, "and my horse and lie low. I've still got some business here. Treat that gun like it's made of gold, get me?" Then he turned the younger man around and gave him a shove towards the door. Luffy stumbled out into the street just as the sheriff, two deputies, and several more soldiers headed into the melee.

He tied the gelding's reins to the back of his own saddle and headed for a small rise just outside of town. From his new vantage point, he watched several men being led off to the hoosegow. Zoro, however, was led away to the fort by a group of soldiers, several nursing wounds, and Helmeppo.

Luffy pulled the rim of his hat down and grinned. Zoro wanted him to stay out of this, but he never had been very good at lying low...