-OR, the first person Luffy helped would become a future Admiral, and if that doesn't say anything about Luffy, you don't know what else will
It was safe to say that your boat doesn't even meet the bare minimum requirements to sail in the New World, much less in the Paradise.
It's a dingy old thing on the last of its legs, barely held together by different patches of planks picked up on the several islands along your voyage. Some were Adam's Wood, some were Eve's Wood and some were just plain oaks and pines.
The rudder doesn't even work properly and the mast was holding on for dear life, one push and it will all come down.
You pat the chipping gunwale with your scarred hands. "You'll keep me safe, right Mari?"
There's a spot in the bow of the ship big enough to fit a small crate box.
"...just like how you've always done."
The winds blow and the seas hum as it takes you further.
- ❐ -
This island is normal.
Your eyes squint, leaning against the wall, trying to look as inconspicuous as you possibly can. Your bag was by your feet, and you kept your weapons and Luffy's straw hat away for the time being.
...way too fucking normal.
Or maybe it was just your brain not being able to comprehend peaceful days. Lord knows your life up 'till meeting Luffy was one hell of a shitshow, one giant clusterfuck you would much rather forget often times than not.
The sun right now is one big ball of angry fire, heating up the island several times than the norm. It's a perfect day for ice creams and tanning by the waves.
But, as your eyes followed the dozens of people scurrying about, all donning the same low-level Marine uniforms and carrying carts of building supplies and wheeling powdered cement all over the place. It looks like the people of this island don't quite share the same sentiment as you.
The marines should alarm you by all means, but you don't have a bounty so what were they gonna do? Arrest you?
You've escaped them when you were a toddler, imagine what you could do now that you're stronger, better, smarter, and much more prone to pinky injuries.
In your hand, while not typically a summer treat, was a bag of mochis and a bag of sweetened rice balls. You only wanted the mochis, but the mother who owns the bar was adamant about giving you a bag of rice balls, apparently made by her daughter, for a celebration.
A celebration for what? Well, you don't know but you weren't about to deny free food.
"Uh, excuse me..."
The mochi tastes sweet, but the rice ball tastes even sweeter. The little girl did a surprisingly good job of making it sweet.
"Uh, miss...?"
Do you know what would make it even better? Rice porridge. Rice everything. Rice triumphs all-
"Miss? Hello?"
"Huh?"
Turning your head, you spot a shorter boy with pink hair and glasses timidly standing a few feet away. His grip on the mop looks like he was about to break in half. You blink. "Yeah?"
He points to the wall you're leaning on. "The paint hasn't dried all the way, yet."
. . .
"Oh, for fu-"
- ❐ -
"Good morning! For every purchase-ah, Coby?"
The mother from before stops her greeting when you and the pink boy went through the batwing doors, the latter shyly leading the way while ever so subtly looking over his shoulder.
"Ririka-san..." Pinkie stutters, and true to his nickname, a pinkish hue crawls up to his face, "ah, do you have any clothes..?"
"Clothes?"
"It's for..miss." Pinkie points to where you stood. The mother turns to you, promptly making you turn around to show her your backside.
"Oh dear, what happened to your clothes?"
You deadpan, the icky feeling of cold wet paint still on your back, "the cost of trying to blend in."
The mother laughs, hands stifling her mouth, "Coby, this is the fifth time someone fell victim to the wall. You have to set up a sign after this."
"You didn't think to set up a sign after the second?" Your eyebrows shot up, "oh wow, you're kinda stupid."
"So blunt!" The mother and pinkie scream out simultaneously.
"A-ah, in that case...Rika!" The back door opens immediately to show a young girl. The mother waves her to stop. "Get me some spare clothes. There should be some at the back of the closet."
"Eh? Did Coby-san forget to put a sign again?"
You laughed as Pinkie sulks in the corner. The young girl went back inside to pick out some clothes that would suit you. The mother ushers you to take a sit by the counter. Pinkie walking up beside you in a zombie-like state.
You laughed bashfully, taking a seat, "I don't have any money to pay you back."
"Oh, uh, then..." The mother blinks in surprise, caught off guard by your straightforward statement.
She shakes her head, allowing a small smile on her lips. "Take it as a thank you gift for finally pulling Coby away from his chores to visit us again. Rika had been whining all week about how he's a big meanie for not showing up more often."
A thud comes from the back, and the young girl shouts in denial.
"I was not!"
- ❐ -
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened around here?" You ask after the mother sets the clothes down on the counter. "The base is all destroyed and stuff, and there was..."
You cast a look at the young girl, now sitting nearby, and quickly rephrased your words. "...a site by the base."
"Oh well... It's a long story but there was someone who terrorized this island for years now." The mother sighs as she helps you dig through the pile, removing the ones with tears on them from your hands. "Really, I'm glad someone finally kicked him off his high horse."
You hummed, about to choose a thin blouse with a few off-colored patches but the mother grabs it before you could even say anything.
It's a good thing someone already took care of that problem. It's one less asshole in the world who should have never been someone with power in the first place. Besides, you're sure the whole thing with burning a Marine Base a few days ago will make it to the Headquarters.
Mentally, you sighed.
White Chicken Emperor might not be able to help you out this time. Well, actually, you could call him up and say; 'Ayo home bird, mind erasing my existence from the papers?'
He would probably smack you over the head, and remind you that you're a pirate now and everything you do is yours to deal with.
"Oh, yeah! Mochi, thanks for helping me out!" You pat the boy in the back, just as the mother snatched yet another shirt away, and he doubles over at the force you put into it.
"M-mochi?!" His shoulders went rigid and the pink on his cheeks turned scarlet red, "-uwah! You can't just ignore Ririka-san like that..! But no problem!"
"It's fine, Coby." The mother puts a finger on her chin. "She does remind me a little bit of Luffy-san..."
"A-ah! We can't go around saying that name, anymore!"
"Luffy? Monkey D. Luffy? A guy with a scar under his eye?" You piped in, "he stopped by here?"
"Uh, uhm...yeah, he did. A few days ago." Mochi seems reluctant to confirm, but he does after a flash of recognition lit his eyes. "You don't happen to be (Y/n), right?"
You grinned, "haha! Has Luffy been talking about me lately?"
He suddenly scrambles to his feet to bow towards you. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
You drop the clothes, "E-eh? Why're you suddenly bowing to me?!"
"Luffy-san...he helped me realize my dream, and how to fight for it!" A spotlight seems to come from the ceiling, contrasting the warm bar and illuminating the pink-haired. "Even if it means death!"
You pick at the fraying edge of a thin shirt, "oh? Sounds like Luffy alright..."
Mochi seems to deflate under your absentminded staring, shoulders dropping with crickets in the background. "He's also, uhm, told me about you! Lots of things! Err, uhh..."
The shirt was tugged away by the mother, who peers over the counter to look at the scarlet-faced Mochi. "What's wrong?"
"Luffy told me all sorts of amazing things about you. How you destroyed an entire building, how you saved multiple people..." From the corner of your eye, Mochi looks to the side with clenched fists. "It's just that...now that I'm actually talking to you, I feel...so insignificant...!"
Ah.
Was that it?
Mochi seems to want to dig himself deeper into the ground if his body language was anything to go by. You look towards the ceiling. Cobwebs and signs of leakage meeting your gaze.
"What's your dream, Mochi?"
"M-my dream? Huh?" Mochi's voice breaks a bit at the end, but he pulls himself together. "It's..."
The mother stops putting the clothes away. Only the good ones remain on the counter.
"It's..."
A spider crawls across the ceiling. You make a face in disgust.
"It's to...become a Navy Admiral!"
After that, he yelps, a high-pitch tone of utter distress before a thud sounds around the bar. You look over and see Mochi on his knees with both his hands covering his face, red dusting his ears.
"Uwah! I shouldn't have said anything at all...! It was nothing! No, no, nothing at all!"
You snorted, "see what I mean?"
Mochi freezes up and the mother looks more or less worried to how things seemed to be going in.
"I would never become part of the navy! Not even in the next life and the thousands after that!"
The feeling of holding a limp body never quite goes away. You clenched your fists, the scars underneath the gloves throbs.
But you still turned to him with a wide grin despite this, despite the heaviness in your stomach and despite everything that came with it.
"You already have me beat, so what's there to feel insignificant about?"
Mochi doesn't say anything, surprisingly. Behind the blue framed glasses, his eyes widen and his mouth quivers. There's something akin to light in his eyes, one that diminished when he felt embarrassed by what he said earlier.
"Though," You grin, "it's quite admiral for you to say that in front of a pirate."
Amidst your laughter, two disappointed sighs make it past.
- ❐ -
"You're looking for Luffy-san, right?"
The moonlight calmly blankets everything on the island, silvery linings present on the waves of the East Blue. Coby watches from the side as you pulled Mari out onto the shore.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah." You've removed your gloves for the time being, clasped around the familiar gunwale as you heaved it with no problem.
Coby, at the sight of your scarred hands and your scarred back when you changed, flinched and took a double-take. He doesn't say anything though, and that's enough.
You prop your hands on your hips, "also, thanks for not reporting me to the Marines."
"Ah, that..." Coby blinks, looking up from the sands before him, "well, actually..."
"You're kidding."
"Ahm, you know..."
"It was a pleasure, Mochi," you begin to frantically push Mari back on the seas, "and no offense but bye!"
"Wait! Hold on! You misunderstood!"
You stop in your pursuit of freedom and escape from the looming destruction that would inevitably happen if the Marines managed to corner you.
"I already told them you're Luffy-san's First Mate and the captain allowed to let you go." Coby awkwardly chuckles as he scratches his cheek, "as a final thanks for Luffy-san."
"You had me worried there for a sec! Next time you say that first thing, alright?!" You dramatically let out a sigh of relief.
"Y-yes!"
It's quiet for a moment, as Coby seems to recollect his thoughts. You kept making sure Mari was still in top shape before setting sail tomorrow, there's no telling when it would give.
A few more seas, Mari, just a few more.
"Ah, by the way, Luffy got a new crew member as well." Coby sits on a rock as a breeze blows by, and the chimes of a bell break the whistle.
"Oh, did he? What's their name?"
"Zoro. A Pirate Hunter."
Your hands stop from inspecting Mari. You blinked, then turned to Coby, who looked at you with pursed lips.
"Luffy recruited a pirate hunter...to a pirate crew?"
"Yes, that's right."
"...what?"
"Yes, that's my reaction too."
- ❐ -
LOG ENTRY
"So who's this person you're looking for anyway?" Nami leans on her stolen-err, borrowed boat and shoots a look at the two on the other boat.
"(Y/n), my nakama." Luffy answers with a grin, "she has Hat as well, but I'm not worried."
"Eh? I thought Zoro was your only crew member?"
"Shishishi, nope! She was the first to join!"
"Uwahh...Someone who's crazy enough to join you...Count me out!"
"You're damn too late, woman."
- ❐ -
A/N* cobY MY LOVES WHO WENT THROUGH A GLOW UP, UGH COULD NEVER BE ME
not that happy with this chapter but u needed to meet Coby in order for things to make sense 😩
Two More! Two more chapters and we're going to kick things off! And one more love interest!!! ahdjejj finaLly
speaking of love interests...
y'all, when I say this is a One Piece Various x reader, I mean that shit
So if u want a love interest, no matter who the character is, I'm adding them bro, no matter how straight-up OUTLANDISH the suggestion is, I'm adding them!
I am an author who will deliver what the people want! And if they want more love interests, I'M ADDING MORE LOVE INTERESTS!
IF YOU WANT DRAGON IM ADDING HIM-
(also classes started back up again, so i may not be able to update as much, which like let's be honest, isn't that much anyway yikes 😬)
EDITS - Added Aokiji and Kizaru as love interests.
see ya~
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Artwork Credit: @obobkkp on Twitter