Chapter Text
Let's go out to sea together, he said. It'll be fun, he said.
These words echoed in my mind as I sat in the darkness. To be more accurate, I was sitting in a wooden barrel that I had climbed into in order to survive a whirlpool. The spinning was so fast and powerful that I thought I might throw up, and then I passed out. I would've gotten out the moment I came to, but I figured from the rocking of my barrel that I was still in the ocean; getting out was basically pointless.
Oh, and the "he" I was referring to was my dim-witted traveling companion, Monkey D. Luffy, a boy from the island where I grew up. And as much as I wanted to choke the life out of him, I was really hoping that he made it to the other barrel in time, considering the fact that he's pretty much an anchor in the water.
My train of thought was interrupted by the feeling of the constant rocking suddenly coming to a stop. I could faintly hear people walking around and waves crashing outside my cramped hiding space. This led me to believe that I was on an occupied beach.
I stiffened when I heard footsteps approaching my barrel. They didn't sound too heavy, so the person that made them must not have been that big or tall. My deduction was confirmed when a boyish voice came from the same direction of the footsteps.
"Those two are pretty big barrels," the boy said timidly.
I kept silent, practically begging in my head for the boy to leave her be.
Not two seconds after he spoke, my barrel fell onto its side, along with another, and I felt the boy pushing away. It took all of my willpower to not get dizzy and toss up the contents of my stomach as the barrel continued to roll.
Bleeding hell, I thought. I can't believe this. Here I am, starting my first ever adventure as a pirate, and I'm being rolled away by some kid. Way to go, Milly. No, actually, I can believe it, mostly because my first ever adventure was with Luffy.
Wait. That gut said two barrels, not just mine. I explicitly remember picking up two extra large barrels to put in our boat. What are the odds?
Once again, my thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly noticed that her barrel had stopped moving.
"What's that, Koby?" A rough voice. "Did a barrel of rum wash up on the beach?"
"T-Two, actually," the boy replied fearfully. "And they're not empty! I wasn't sure what to do with them."
The rough one plus two others chuckled. "We'll help you lighten the load."
"We're thirsty," the second man added.
Great. . . Not.
"No way!" Koby interjected. "If Alvida finds out, you'll be killed!"
"It'll be fine if you keep your mouth shut," the third man told him.
Alvida? As in "Iron Mace" Alvida, the fat lady pirate that whacks anyone with her signature weapon if they don't think she's the most beautiful woman of the seas? Again, this is so great.
My barrel was replaced vertically, along with the other one. Luffy, you better be in that other barrel, I thought to myself, so that I can beat you up later.
Just then, the boy in question made a dramatic entrance by smashing through the lid of his barrel. I could tell because he was the only person she was aware of that could survive a whirlpool and declare he had a great nap.
Seriously. He actually yelled, "THAT WAS A GREAT NAP!"
"Hmm. . . Looks like I survived somehow." He laughed. "I was so dizzy I thought I was gonna barf!"
Oh, Luffy. What am I going to do with you? I thought. I inwardly sighed. Ah, what the hell.
I chose this moment to break open my own barrel, fists high in the air. Before her stood three grown men, a pink-haired boy with big, round purple glasses, whom she assumed was Koby, and Monkey D. Luffy himself. Giving him a quick look, I decided that Luffy was perfectly fine. His blue shorts, red shirt, and trademark straw hat were slightly disheveled, but otherwise okay.
He looked at me and smiled with his whole face, the corner of his mouth reaching the small scar under his left eye. "Oh hey, Milly! You're still alive! That's nice."
Looking at his stupid grin somehow made all of my past grievances with him disappear. Milly smiled and gave him a mock salute. "Good to be alive, Chief."
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. He suddenly stopped laughing and looked at the strangers, then back at me.
"So who are these guys?" He asked.
I shrugged. "How should I know? I just got here."
The three men yelled in our faces, clearly annoyed. "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!"
Luffy leaned back as one of them got closer, an irk mark on his forehead. "What were you two doing in there?!"
Before either of them everyone heard a woman's voice yelling, "BACK TO WORK, YOU SCURVY DOGS!"
This was followed by a mace flying into the storehouse, knocking the men down and us barrel stowaways, along with Koby, flying out of here.
LATER . . .
When we stopped rolling, I noticed that our little trio was no longer in the storehouse, but back on the beach. There was a forest behind them, with various bushes here and there. I also noticed, as she dusted off her black mock neck top and dark blue jeans, it was still light out, meaning they hadn't missed much after the whirlpool.
"Um. . . Are you two okay? Are you hurt?"
Koby's voice interrupted my train of thought. My thoughts were getting interrupted a lot today.
"After getting knocked around so much you must be-"
Luffy laughed. "I'm fine. Just a little surprised is all."
"Same here," I added as I used my fingers to comb through my long red hair.
"My name's Luffy, and that's Milly! Where are we?"
"This island is the hideout of Iron Mace Alvida, the Lady Pirate," Koby answered. He fixed his glasses. "I'm Koby, her cabin boy."
Luffy and I began climbing out of our respective barrels. Or to be more precise, Luffy climbed out and I hopped out, glad to see my custom made fingerless gloves and matching black combat boots were undamaged. I reached back inside and pulled out my brown leather pouch and reattached it to my belt, admiring the white anchor I had sewn onto the front.
"I see. . . Well, none of that matters to me," Luffy bluntly stated.
Both Koby and myself sweat dropped.
I sighed. "Anyway, do you happen to have a dinghy we could use? Ours got sucked into a whirlpool."
"You guys got sucked into a whirlpool?"
I raised my eyebrow nonchalantly. "Yeah, why?"
"You're lucky to be alive!" He turned a different direction and motioned for the two to follow him. "If it's a dinghy you want, I have one. . . Sorta."
Another ten seconds later . . .
"Huh?" Luffy and I said aloud.
Koby presented us with what was the saddest-looking boat you had ever seen. You were surprised it could even float.
"What's this, a coffin?"
I flicked Luffy in the forehead. "Luffy, don't be rude."
Although it did, in fact, look like a coffin. But that didn't exactly have to be voiced aloud.
"I built it myself," the cabin boy said timidly. "It took me two years."
"And you don't want it?" I asked. "Why?"
He hesitated before he spoke. "I don't really need it anymore. I built it to escape from this place. . . But I don't have the courage to try it. I guess it's my fate to be a cabin boy for the rest of my life. But I once had a different dream."
"Why don't you just escape?" Luffy asked him.
Koby shook his head. "No way! Just thinking about what Alvida would do to me if she caught me makes my bladder weak. I just can't risk it. I'll never forget that fateful day. I just wanted to go fishing. . . And I boarded a pirate ship by mistake."
Despite the oversharing about Koby's bladder, I hide to fight to keep a smile off of my face at the idea of the bespectacled boy mistaking a pirate ship for a fishing boat. How ridiculous! Koby didn't seem to notice.
"That was two years ago," he continued. "In exchange for my life, I've been working as a cabin boy."
That was just sad. Like, wet socks in the rain, sad.
Luffy voiced his thoughts aloud. "You're kinda clumsy and dumb." His face broke into a grin. "And you're gutless too. You really are worthless!"
I flicked his forehead. "Seriously, stop being so rude!"
Koby whimpered. "Luffy, Milly, why did you two go to sea anyway?"
Luffy smirked. "I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"
I nodded. "Stars knows he can't do it all by himself. So I figured the best way to help him would be to become the strongest woman in the world."
You'd have that we had grown seven heads from the way Koby looked at us.
"King of the Pirates?" He echoed. "Strongest woman in the world? But that means you would have to fight people of immeasurable strength! You'd have to make the whole world kneel to you! Wealth, fame, power - you'd have to achieve it all! Don't tell you guys are after Gold Roger's lost treasure, One Piece!"
I covered my ears, wincing at the volume of Koby's voice. "Yes, we are. Now would you please stop yelling-"
"Do you want to die?!" Koby didn't even hear me. "Every pirate in the world is after that!"
"And so are we." Luffy replied. I chose not to say anything, instead opting to admire the wolf paw prints I had stitched onto the palms of my gloves.
The boy shook his head back and forth. “The odds against you are astronomical! It's impossible! You want to be the King of the Pirates in the golden age of piracy?! It'll never happen!"
Luffy and I looked at each other as he continued to rant.
"Should we?" I asked. "Probably" came the reply.
We both sighed heavily, then smacked him in the forehead. He yowled at the impact and rolled around on the ground, cradling the two goose eggs on his head.
"Why'd you guys hit me?!"
"You were being hysterical," Luffy told him.
"Okay, I'm used to it. Heh heh heh. . ." His laugh was void of humor.
I sweat dropped. "That's not something you should be proud of, mate."
"I know. . ."
Luffy took off his hat. "I'm not afraid to die, Koby."
The pink-haired boy stared at him.
"I've set myself to become the King of the Pirates. And if I die trying, then at least I tried." He turned to me. "Right?"
I curtly nodded. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Captain."
Koby's eyes were as big as saucers. "Seriously?"
I shrugged. "I find it highly unlikely we'll die, though. I mean, we did just survive a whirlpool. Living's always nice. So if we live, then we succeed!"
"And I believe we'll succeed, too," Luffy agreed, "or we're probably just deluding ourselves."
I heard sniffling. I turned, almost doing a spit take, to see Koby crying, tears streaming down his face.
"Maybe *hic* I can be like that! If I'm will to risk my life-" He looked up to the two of us. "-maybe it's possible! Do you guys think I can become a marine?"
I couldn't say anything. I knew that anything was possible but a sensitive klutz like this one becoming a marine? Unlikely! Then again, he just said he was willing to risk his life. Maybe he could pull it off.
"A marine?" Luffy echoed.
"We'll end up being enemies," Koby stated, "but I want to become a marine and fight the bad guys!"
Koby furiously wiped the tears off of his face. "Luffy, Milly! Do you guys think I can do it?"
I scratched my cheek with my index finger. "I dunno, probably."
Luffy shrugged. "How would I know?"
That seemed good enough for Koby. "Well, I'm gonna do it!" He declared. "What've I got to lose? I don't wanna be a miserable cabin boy my whole life!"
"That's the spirit, mate!" I cheered him on. Wait what was that rumbling sound? It sounded like footsteps.
"Better to risk my life trying to achieve my dream! I'll become a marine, and then . . . I'll capture Alvida!"
Speak of the devil, she was right behind us. She was just as fat and ugly as her wanted poster. And the deep scowl on her face wasn't doing her any favors.
I yelled "Heads up, mates!" as I grabbed the two boys by the back of their shirts and leaped out of the way of Alvida's signature mace swinging down on Koby's "boat."
"Who are you going to capture, runt?!" The lady pirate roared, her mace smashing Koby’s creation to bits and pieces.
“My boat!” Koby cried.
“Did you really think you could escape from me, you little sneak?!”
Alvida’s men streamed in behind her. I managed to pick out the three from earlier. Each and every one of them had an impish grin on their face. Their captain, however, just looked like the wife that the devil neglected.
“Is that the bounty hunter you hired?” Alvida heaved her mace onto her shoulder. “Well, he certainly isn’t Roronoa Zoro. . . And who’s that little girl?”
“Zoro?” Luffy echoed.
“Not now, Luffy.” I growled. I would’ve said it more softly, but I really didn’t like the idea of being called a little girl.
“I’ll give you one chance to repent,” the lady pirate continued. “Who is the fairest throughout all the seas? Answer me!”
Before Koby could reply, Luffy pointed at Alvida. “Who’s that tough-looking old biddy?”
Everyone’s jaw dropped. Except for me, I was too busy laughing my butt off.
“Oh my stars! Hehehe! That timing was-hehe!-awesome!”
All color drained from Koby’s face. “Milly, that’s not funny! Stop laughing!”
Alvida growled. All of her men broke into a cold sweat.
Koby grabbed Luffy by the shoulders and shook him. “Luffy! Take it back! Throughout all of the seas, Lady Alvida is-”
He suddenly stopped.
I shook my head, already done with my laughing fit. Come on, mate, I groaned internally.
Fight for what you want.
“Lady Alvida is . . .”
Don’t do it.
“Lady Alvida is . . . the ugliest old hag of all!”
The white cowboy hat on the said woman’s head cast a shadow over her face, concealing her initial reaction.
Luffy cackled at Koby’s declaration, while I just smirked, proud of the boy’s newfound courage. Oh, yeah. This guy’s marine material for sure.
Alvida lifted her mac into the air. “It makes no difference to me,” she scowled.
“You did good, Koby,” I told the now petrified boy. “Luffy, may I?”
“Shishishi! Sure!”
“YOU’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!” The lady pirate swung her mace down.
I stepped forward and caught that iron weapon in my left hand. The earth cracked beneath me the moment I made contact. I slowly closed my raised hand, and crushed the mace into pieces.
Alvida’s rage was replaced with fear. “My mace! How could a nothing like you survive the mace, let alone break it?!”
One of the men pointed a shaky finger at me. “L-Lady Alvida, her . . . a-arm. . .”
Everyone, except for Luffy, looked like they were staring at a grim reaper when they all saw what was on my left forearm: a black tattoo. But not just any tattoo. It was a waxing crescent behind a howling wolf head. The top of the moon was about an inch beneath the crook of my elbow, and the fur at the bottom of the wolf’s head reached the very end of my wrist. There was only one creature known to man that ever wore that tattoo.
Werewolves.
“YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING!” They all yelled.
Koby, even more terrified than before, shrieked like a girl. “HOW DID I NOT NOTICE?! IT WAS RIGHT THERE!”
Completely used to this reaction to my tattoo, I turned to Luffy. “Your turn, Cap’n!”
He smirked. “Gum-Gum . . .” As the words left his mouth, he threw his arm behind him, stretching and stretching as far as the naked eye could see.
“. . . Pistol!”
The boy pulled his elongated arm forward and punched Alvida square in the jaw. When her big backside hit the dirt, he retracted his appendage back to its original length.
“H-His arm stretched like rubber. . . And that werewolf chick crushed Alvida’s mace with her bare hand!”
“Lady Alvida’s down! They’re definitely not human!”
I pulled Luffy’s cheek in the opposite direction until it was as long as his torso, then let it snap back to his face. “Yeah, he’s a rubber man.”
Luffy’s expression hardened. “Give Koby a dinghy!” He ordered. “He’s gonna become a marine!”
“Y-Yessir. . .” All of the men replied, sweat streaming down their faces.
“You guys. . .”
I turned to see Koby crying yet again, but this time with a small smile. I couldn’t help but smile back. I couldn’t really blame the guy for the tears. After all, he was free now.
Later. . .
The three of us were well on our way to the next island, sailing farther and farther away from Alvida's hideout in our newly acquired dinghy. Luffy chose to sit at the very front, while Koby sat by the mast and I lay back in the transom, using my pouch as a pillow.
"You must have eaten the fruit of the Gum-Gum tree. . ." Koby said to Luffy before turning to face me, ". . . and you're really a werewolf?"
I grunted.
"Incredible!" His whole face lit up. "So you can actually transform into a wolf under a full moon?"
I grimaced. "Actually, the 'full moon' thing is a myth. I can transform whenever I want. And before you ask-" I added when Koby opened his mouth, "-the answer is no, I was not bitten by another werewolf. This is hereditary."
The pink-haired boy nodded in understanding. He turned back around, facing forward. "If you guys are going after One Piece," he said, changing the subject, "that means you'll have to enter the Grand Line."
Luffy grinned. "Yep!"
"They call it the Pirates' Graveyard," he pressed on.
"Cryptic," I thought aloud.
"That's why I'm assembling a super crew." Luffy turned to Koby. "That guy imprisoned at the marine base, what's his name?"
"Roronoa Zoro," Koby answered.
I knew exactly where this was going, and groaned. "Good grief."
My captain grinned. "If he's a good guy, I'll let him join our crew!"
I face palmed. I need a drink. But I don't have one, so I'll just nap instead.
Koby stood up, frantic. "Now you're talking crazy again! Never, never, never! That'll never happen! That guy's a demonic beast!"
"How do you know?!" Luffy asked.
"NEVER!" Koby shouted.
"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP."