"That look on Alvida's face, I've never seen anyone stand up to her before." Koby said as he moved the oar against the ocean, rowing the boat. On the left, Luffy rowed the boat with him, while Miyu sat in the center and listened to their conversation.

"How did you stretch like that?" Koby couldn't help but ask, his mind still wondering how a human could be so stretchy. "He ate a weird fruit when he was a kid." Miyu answered replied to him, shrugging. "I wish I ate it."

Luffy explained to Koby what happened to him and how he became so stretchy, "I ate a Devil Fruit. But mine was the Gum Gum fruit. It turned my body into rubber,see?" He stuck his index finger in his mouth and stretched his cheek outwards before letting go.

"It can also do this." Miyu said with a grin, grabbing Luffy's skin. She stretched it as far as she could before letting go, causing his skin to slap back, hurting him. "Ow! Stop abusing me!" He cried in pain as he rubbed his arm. Miyu laughed loudly "I love hitting you!"

They always hit each other, in a joking way. It was their love language.

Koby glanced at the two, noticing how close they were with each other. "You two seem very close... How'd you meet?" Miyu looked at the boy, "we met as kids." Miyu answered quietly. She didn't want to go any further than that because it was a very traumatic moment in her life. Miyu met Luffy a day after she saw a father dead, and she didn't want to imagine the picture in her head.

"Where are we going?" Koby asked, adjusting his glasses. "We're going somewhere. Next stop, The Grand Line!" Luffy stood up on the boat, pointing his finger towards the horizon. "You know how to get there?" Koby got Luffy's attention. Luffy quickly sat back down and grabbed the oar, and continued to row the boat.

"Nope, we don't know where it is." Miyu answered him. She'll admit, it was pretty dumb to be on the sea without a map of some sort, but unfortunately their map was on their old boat, the one that sunk.

"you can't navigate. You don't even have a map!" Koby yelled at the two, finding them stupid for not bringing a map. "True."Miyu nodded in agreement "We should probably pick one up."

"Maybe I made a mistake. I never should've left Alvida." Koby said, full of regret. He looked down at his hands as his mind raced with thoughts. "You made the right decision." Miyu reassured him, "She was rude and controlling." Koby frowned, getting sad at the thought that we worked with such a woman.

Luffy decided to change the subject because of how uncomfortable Koby looked, "What's your dream, Koby?"Koby hesitated before answering his question "I want to be a Marine." Miyu looked at Koby "My mom was a Marine." Miyu added to the conversation. "Really?" Koby asked, surprised that a pirates mom was a marine since marine's jobs were to take down pirates.

"Yeah." Miyu nodded her head, her voice soft. "She was a good one too." As the memory of her mother ran through Miyu's mind, she started to get sad. Her mother went missing when Miyu was a child, no one knows what happened to her or if shes alive, but Miyu kept hope that her mom was just hiding somewhere.

"We'll help you become a Marine." Luffy said, a smile plastered on his face. "really?" Koby's blue eyes got wide with surprise. "yeah." Luffy replied to the boy. If Miyu and Luffy helped Koby to become a Marine, Koby would help the two find a map that will lead them to the One Piece, it was a good deal.

TIME SKIP

"If a magnet was nearby, would his whole face get stuck on it?" Miyu wondered, staring at the large photo of Captain Morgan, The Marine Caption who was in charge of everything. "That would be so funny!" Luffy laughed, the image in his head.

The three stared at the posters that were on the wall, "I didn't know there were so many pirates!" Luffy said, his eyes wandering all of the posters. "A clown pirate, really?" Miyu remarked as she looked at the poster with 'Buggy the clown' on it, who had light blue hair and a large red nose.

"Why isn't my face on there?" Luffy questioned as he took a step closer to the wall. "Because you're not famous." Miyu said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Well, only one way I'm gonna get inside that base....and it's not on an empty stomach." Luff then walked away, trying to find a place that serves food since he and the other two were hungry.

Miyu spotted Alvida's wanted poster and let out a small laugh, "That's hilarious!" She said, still chuckling. She shook her head before running up to Luffy before yelling "Koby! Come on!" Koby blinked his eyes, turning his head away from Alvida's poster, making his way to the two pirates.

They entered a little food place that wasn't too far, and supposedly they served good food. After Miyu finished her bowl of rice, she put her spoon on the table before standing up from the chair "I'm getting a drink." She informed Luffy, then she walked away to the counter where a waitress stood behind a counter. "A glass of red wine, please." She requested, tapping her nails against the wood as she waited.

All of a sudden, a male voice spoke from beside her, "A bottle for me, and one for my friend." He said, he voice was deep and smooth. On the floor near his feet, there was a bag , and inside something red peeked out.

The lady gave Miyu her glass, in return she smiled "Thank you." She grabbed the glass, taking a small sip of the wine. The flavored danced across her tongue, she hadn't had wine in awhile.

She turned her head towards the man, her eyes falling to the bag "Is that your friend?" She couldn't help but ask, if he was the man friend, why was he in a bag? "Yes."The man simply answered, clearly not wanting a conversation. "Is he okay?" "yes."

Miyu took another sip from her drink, her eyes dropping down to his pants, where she noticed three swords. Two of them looked the same while the other sword had a white handle. "I see you use swords," she looked up at his brown eyes. "Yeah, I do. Seems like you do too." His brown eyes looked down to her waist, where her sword was visible, before looking back up.

"Why do you need three swords?" Miyu asked the green haired man, generally curious. One sword is heavy enough, but three? She couldn't imagine how heavy it must've been. "Because," he said with a smirk on his lips "I, Roronoa Zoro, will become the world's greatest swordsman." Miyu hummed in response, smiling, "Better than me?" She took another sip from the glass "Yes, better than everyone who has a sword."

A little girl with black curly hair approached the two, carrying a plate in her small hands. "What's this?" Zoro asked the girl, his eyes dropping to the plate. "Rice balls, for you!" The girl replied with a bright smile, clearly in a good mood. "What about me?" the girl turned her head towards the woman, the smile still on her face,"you can have some too!" Miyu couldn't help but smile too, the girl was so sweet.

"What's the brown stuff?" He asked. One the rice balls there was some sort of brown stuff on the rice, which made Zoro ask. "Chocolate. Makes everything taste better." The word chocolate made Miyu want the food more, she may or may not have a sweet tooth. "Can't wait to try them!" Before the girl could hand the rice balls out, a woman yelled out her name.

"Rika!" She quickly turned around, but in the process she bumped into someone.

"You stupid, stupid girl." A man with blond hair angrily said, grabbing the plate of rice balls and slamming it onto the dirty floor. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" The blond asked with attitude, upset at the girl.

"Rika, apologize to your guest." The woman behind the counter stepped in, not wanting there to be a fight of some sort. "No, she doesn't need to apologize to anyone. It was just an accident." Miyu said as she took a step forward, standing in front of Rika. "You should apologize."She gave Helmeppo a sarcastic smile, knowing that he wouldn't say sorry.

"Why would I do that? She bumped into me." Helmeppo crossed his arms over his chest, "It was a simple mistake, Blondie. You ruined her food, she probably made a long time making them. And here you are, knocking them down."

Helmeppo pouted before bringing his fingers up to his eyes, pretending to cry "Poor her, awww... she spent hours on it! Boo hoo!" Miyu started to get angry at the man, she sighed, lifting her leg up before slamming them down on Helmeppo's foot. "You little-!"

"You dropped my food," Zoro's deep voice stepped in, drawing Helmeppo's attention. Zoro bent down, picking up a small piece of the chocolate rice balls before taking a bite of it, humming from how delicious it was.

Zoro stood up with one rice ball in his hand,looking directly at the blond man. Miyu decided it would be a good idea to take a step back since she could sense there was going to be a fight, and it wasn't going to be a good one.

"Now, its your turn to try one. And, you should apologize to both of them." Zoro glanced at Rika and Miyu before he looked back at the rude man. Helmeppo let out a chuckle, taking a step forward, "Do you know who I am?" Zoro's eyes scanned the man for a second from head to toe, and replied "A shithead Marine with a bad haircut."

Helmeppo's face twisted with rage as he took out his sword. "I wouldn't do that." Zoro warned the man, his voice serous and threatening.

"Oh come on tough guy. Three swords! I only need one." Helmeppo mocked, his grip tightening on his sword, ready to fight. "okay, but it's going to hurt." Zoro smirked, without hesitating, the marine swung his sword at Zoro. In one swift move, Zoro grabbed his wrist, stopping the blade in its tracks. Zoro managed to knock the man down on the floor, making the man get even more angry.

Three other Marines charged towards Zoro, but he quickly knocked them all down to the floor, all of them groaning in pain while cursing. Miyu stood there, her mouth wide open in shock and in awe. "He really is the best swordsman." She muttered to herself as she watched, completely impressed by the man's skills.

Miyu made her way over to the table where Luffy was watching, and Koby hiding underneath the table for safety, nervously peaking. Every time a Marine ran to Zoro, he took them down with one simple move.

"I think I'm in love," Miyu whispered to Luffy, her eyes glued onto Zoro, who was fighting the Marines. "He's a good fighter." Luffy whispered back to his friend, agreeing that he was too good. Zoro pinned Helmeppo down on the counter,saying something to him as he held him in place. Miyu kept her eyes on the situation , slightly wishing he was the one pinning her down... 'shut up' she said in her mind.

As the three were walking out, Miyu approached Zoro. "You really are the best swordsman." She complimented him. Zoro looked at her for a moment before smirking "I know." Miyu looked around the room before taking a step forward "Can you teach me how to do those cool moves?" Zoro bit the inside of his cheek,thinking. "When I become the worlds greatest swordsman, I'll consider it." Miyu smiled at the man until Luffy called her name "Shit, see you around, green hair man."

It was night, and the three of them were lying in a boat, gazing at the shiny stars. "That guy was amazing." Luffy spoke up first about the fight in the restaurant, still amazed at the man. "And extremely hot." Miyu added on with a sigh. She had to admit, she did find Zoro attractive, especially the deep tone of his voice. Not only that, but the way his muscles move every time he moved made her fall for him fast.

"Where does the third sword go?" Luffy suddenly asked,curious. "Good question." Miyu hummed, thinking for a moment. The thoughts ran through her mind, still not having an answer for where he kept the third sword, guess it'll be a mystery for awhile.

Koby, who had been quietly listening, spoke up, "He had to protect that little girl from the Marines, who were supposed to be protecting her." Koby wondered why the Marines were so mean, and wondered whether he wanted to be a Marine anymore. "There's always one asshole in a group." Miyu sat up after laying down, looking at Koby "If there are good pirates, then there are going to be good and bad marines."

"Maybe Alvida was right. I don't know anything about the world." Koby said, his voice quiet as he stared off in the other direction of the sky. Miyu frowned at the boy, "Alvida treated your badly. She kept you away from everything, of course you don't know a lot about the world, you were trapped." Koby sighed, his shoulders slumping "Yeah, but I knew who I was... now I have no idea."

After a few moments of silence, Luffy randomly spoke up. "Koby! Koby! I need to get into the base and find that map, and we can use some help!" Koby, still lying on his elbows, turn his head slightly, "You want me to steal from the Marines?" His asked,a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"That's not exactly what he said, Koby." Miyu said, glancing over at him. Luffy grinned, he placed his hand on Koby's shoulder, "You can help me....get the boat ready. You can handle that, right?" Luffy asked the boy, which he nodded his head in response. "what are you going to do?"

"I'm working on that..." Luffy responded, his eyes narrowing as he stared at something where the water had drained out. "No way i'll fit through there." Miyu looked over at the small small hole, examining it. "Sure you can!" Luffy said, positive that she'll fit. Miyu hesitated for a moment "okay..."

They moved the boat closer to the hole, and Luffy went in first. Before he fully disappeared, he looked back at them with a smirk. "Good luck," he said, giving them a thumbs up as he squeezed through the narrow opening.

A/N

I see no difference.

Published on September 18th, 2023
Edited on January 6, 2025