Chapter Text
On an unnamed island, tucked away somewhere between Cocoyasi Village and Loguetown, lay a small village. It was a peaceful town, unbothered by pirates or the outside world. Anyone who lived there was almost guaranteed a long and plentiful life.
The village's name was ‘Gardeners Hill’, and the name described it to a T. The people who lived there were highly skilled in the art of gardening. It was said that if someone from Gardeners Hill couldn't make it grow, then it was just plain impossible.
(Y/N) Lived in this village their whole life. From the moment they could hold a spade, (Y/N) was considered a gardening prodigy. And not only were they good at gardening, they also loved it, and gardened with a passion most did not. They loved their life, and they loved their village, and the people who resided there.
But of course… in a time like this, good things could not last forever.
It was dawn when you awoke. You got up, dressing in simple clothing, quickly brushing through your hair before looking in the mirror. Your reflection stared back at you, silently analyzing what it saw. You were the same as always, huh? You left the bedroom, going out into the kitchen to fix yourself up a simple meal of eggs and toast. Your cottage was silent, as it had usually been these days.
Two months ago, your grandmother died. She was an amazingly strong woman, and a spectacular gardener. She raised you from a baby. You owed all the skill you gained to her. After she died, the cottage you grew up in was passed down to you.
You finished cooking your breakfast, and sat down at the table to eat. In a few moments, you were done, and after cleaning the dishes, you grabbed your gloves and headed outside.
You had a rather large garden plot next to your house, as did most others in the village. It was filled with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. You had any food you needed right here…
So that’s why you were so angry when you saw someone crouched in your garden, shoving your raw broccoli into his mouth.
“OY!!! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” you yelled, grabbing the hoe that was leaning against the cottage wall as a weapon in case things went bad.
“Eh? Oh, I’m hungry.” came the simple reply. It was a guy in a straw hat. He had black hair, and a scar under his left eye. He looked to be about your age, but it was hard for you to pin it down exactly. You didn’t recognize him, so he definitely wasn’t from your village…
“Wh-...” what the heck? You gripped your hoe tighter, moving to point it at him, “That doesn't mean you can just come in here and start eating my food!”
“Why not? It’s delicious! Did you grow these?” He asked, proceeding to shove another head of broccoli into his mouth.
You flushed for a moment, fumbling to find some sort of response before instead questioning, “Where did you even come from? You aren’t from around here.”
“Oh, I was riding a bird. I got really hungry so I fell off.” he said, matter-of-factly, shoving two more heads of broccoli into his mouth. What was this guy? Some kind of bottomless pit?
“You were riding a bird? What?” You asked, unsure of how to even process that. He fell off a bird, but didn’t die? But.. he did say he was hungry… Grandma said you should never leave a hungry stranger unfed… Not that you ever really got many strangers in this village in the first place. “... Are you still hungry?” you asked him.
“Yeah, I’m starving.” He said, looking up at you.
“Come inside then, I’ll cook something for you.” you said, gesturing for him to follow as you led the way inside your cottage.
He stood up and followed you, still gripping a head of broccoli in his hand.
You had the stranger sit at your kitchen table, while you cooked up a well-rounded dish. Something with meat, vegetables, grains and starch.
“So what’s your name anyways?” you asked, flipping a piece of meat in the pan. You glanced over your shoulder, only to catch him straight up drooling at the smell of the food you were cooking.
“My name’s Luffy. Hey. Is that almost done yet?” He asked, eyes locked on what you were cooking.
“Yeah, just a couple more minutes.” you said, quickly putting everything onto a plate, setting it in front of him.
Luffy practically inhaled the food. It was gone in an instant. What an ego boost! At least you knew your food was good.
“Hey, so did you grow all that stuff outside?” Luffy asked, looking at you.
“Yeah, I did, why?” you said, grabbing the plate from in front of Luffy and moving over to the sink to start washing it.
“It was really good. You should join my crew.” Luffy said, looking at you intensely.
You kind of laughed. “Join your crew? What kind of crew?” but before he could answer, there was a knock on the door.
You went to answer the door, opening it, only to be greeted by a horrifying sight.
Your town leader, beaten and bleeding, was being held up by the scruff of his neck by an anthropomorphic duck man. The duckman was at least seven feet tall, looming over you. Feathers covered his entire body, and he had big webbed feet. He would look ridiculous if this weren’t so terrifying.
“You the best Gardener in this town, yeah? You can make anything grow?” the Duckman squawked, staring you down.
Your eyes went wide, breath caught in your throat. You couldn’t even breathe, your hands trembling involuntarily at your sides. What should you say? You opened your mouth to speak before you heard Luffy's voice behind you.
“Hey, do you know this guy?” Luffy asked, peering over your shoulder up at the Duckman. “Wow, you're tall, huh.” He said, grinning a little.
“Don’t mess with me!” The Duckman clenched his wing into a fist, tossing your village leader aside. He pulled out a gun that had been concealed within the feathers of his hip. “You’re coming with me.” he said, pointing the gun at you.