Beautiful blue water, and sky passes by as slowly as the time does. They've been sailing for a few hours now, having left behind the pirates and the Navy coming to the rescue. Luffy sits on the small figure-head of the boat, gazing out across the horizon while Haru reclines against the edge of the boat, arms spread across the railing, and head tilted back towards the sky. "So, um, you two are heading to the Grand Line together?" Coby finally asks, attempting to break the silence.
"Yup!" replies Luffy, spinning in place to face them with a huge grin. "We're going to build a strong crew and head there right away!"
"So, then, what are your positions on the crew? Who's the—"
"He's the Captain," Haru says simply pointing at Luffy. "And, naturally, I'm his first-mate." Coby nods in understanding and then looks at Haru.
"Um, can I ask you something, Haru?"
"Shoot, kid."
"Why do you want to go to the Grand Line? Luffy wants to be King of the Pirates but… what about you?"
"I have someone I need to surpass, that's all." Luffy grins from ear to ear in response. "The easiest way to do that is to stick with Luffy, who's going to be King of the Pirates. We're going to fight a lot of strong enemies doing that, right? It's only natural for that to happen."
"If you don't mind me asking, who is this person?"
"My father." Coby waits silently for him to elaborate but only receives a chuckle in response.
"You'd know him if you ever saw him, Coby," Luffy tells him. "They look kinda similar."
"Huh. That's strange. My old man swears up and down that I look more like my mother."
"I said 'kinda', Haru." The two share a small laugh while Coby looks between the two in confusion.
"Well… time to change the subject. Where are we heading to, Luffy?"
"Hmmm… well, when I was fighting that fat lady I heard her mention someone named Zoro. Apparently, this guy hunts pirates! So I've decided that's where we're going to be heading! Let's recruit him to the crew!" Coby's face goes pale at the mention of his name which Luffy and Haru interpret to be a good thing. Coby immediately launches into a rant about how dangerous he is, and how he's claimed bounty after bounty without mercy… which only serves to make the two burst out into laughter.
"So, how long if we keep on this course?"
"Haah… at least another hour or so."
"I'm gonna get some shut-eye then," Haru tells the two, letting his head fall back again. "Wake me when we get there, huh...?"
The gulls cry loudly over-head, loud enough to awaken Haru from his sleep… and the first thing he's aware of is the fact that he's face to face with one of the winged rats. "What the—get outta here!" calls Haru, shooing away the sea-bird and lifting his head slowly. He loudly cracks his neck as he begins to fully come around. "Oi… the least you guys could have done is shoo away the gulls. It's not like I'm some kinda statue for them to hang around on, ya know?"
With no response forth-coming he is suddenly made aware of two things. One, they have made port, and two… he has been left to sleep on the boat while Luffy and Coby have gone on ahead. Haru pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration, and heaves a heavy sigh before slowly standing. "Well… might as well go try to find those two. No telling what kind of trouble Luffy has gotten himself into looking for this Zoro guy." A huge rumble in the distance attracts his attention and he glances towards the center of the city. "I'll bet that's Luffy..."
Coby is sweating bullets alongside Zoro as they stare down the armed marines and "Axe Hand" Morgan. "This is bad! This is really bad!" Coby panics quickly. "Where is Luffy? Or Haru?"
"Hurry and let me go!" demands Zoro, looking from the boy to the marines and back, a large man points his axe at the two standing before them.
"Fire!" commands Morgan, moments before the wall surrounding the yard explodes, and a series of loud "clangs!" fill the air. The bullets whiz past the marines, one of them passing close enough to Morgan to graze his cheek and cut him. "What the...?" The dust slowly settles, revealing a red-haired young man standing in front of Coby and Zoro. He lifts his saber and rests it on his left shoulder casually, as he stares at the marines. Coby can't see his face but he recognizes him by his spiky red hair alone.
"Who...?"
"Haru!" exclaims Coby, breathing a sigh of relief when he glances over his shoulder at the boy.
"Coby," replies Haru, and favors him with a kind smile… seconds before smacking him on the head. "What the hell, kid?! I told ya to wake me when we get here not—"
"Fire!" bellows Morgan a second time, not even letting him finish his sentence. Haru turns but stops when Luffy lands in front of him, intercepting the rounds and ricocheting them back at the marines a second time.
"That won't work on us!" Luffy tells them simply, grinning like a fool. Strapped to his back is a trio of swords, which Haru can only assume belongs to the man tied to the imitation cross beside Coby. Luffy turns to face Haru and grins even wider if possible. "Yo, Haru! I see you finished your nap! Ohh! And you picked up a cool sword on the way here!" Haru attempts to give his friend a dirty look but eventually just sighs and smirks.
"Yeah, I did, Cap'n," retorts Haru, stepping up beside Luffy to face the marines. "I bumped into a marine on the way here and was kind enough to lend this to me, so I also have a general idea of what's going on. I'll take care of these guys… you want to deal with the big guy yourself, am I right?"
"Hey, you, Red," calls Zoro, earning Haru's attention despite the nickname. "Cut me loose, would ya?"
"Luffy?"
"You want me to join your crew, right? The way I see it, it's either fight the navy and live, or don't and die. The choice seems kinda obvious, doesn't it?" Luffy grins in response and Haru turns, cutting the man loose without a second thought. The second his hands are free, Zoro has seized his swords and charged the marines without a second thought. He doesn't kill them, but he destroys their weapons without a second thought. Those who are able to, gather their wits and fall back towards their Captain in fear.
"Oh-ho!" exclaims Luffy, grinning at the display. "So cool!"
"Now, then, let's get one thing straight, I'll join your crew… but it's simply to fulfill my own ambition of being the best swordsman in the world. That's it, Captain."
"Well… the King of the Pirates needs the world's best swordsman on his crew, don't you think?" The marines are sweating bullets, it's clear for all gathered to see the difference in strength between themselves and the three gathered before them. "So… I guess we should take care of the rest of these guys, then."
"What do you want to do now? These guys are too strong!" babble the marines, terrified of their strength. Morgan growls and steps forward, ignoring the complaints of the marines entirely. Luffy rushes forward, ignoring the marines as well to challenge Morgan. The fight is rather one-sided, with Morgan being too big to do much in the way of defence against the far more agile Luffy. The fight is all but decided in three blows by Luffy, and he smashes Morgan into the dirt.
"S-S-Stop! Now!" all heads turn towards the voice, and Haru cringes as he takes in the man's appearance.
"Looks like… some kinda onion on his head," mutters Haru, ignoring for the moment the fact that the man has a weapon held to Coby's head.
"I-I-I'll kill this guy, I swear! If you value his life, don't move!" Rather than listen to the man, Luffy just grins from ear to ear and cocks back.
"Gum-Gum—" Morgan rises up behind Luffy, raising his axe. "Pistol!"
"That axe has just gotta go!" exclaims Haru, covering the distance between them nearly at the same time as Zoro. He brings the weapon down as Haru brings his saber up, slashing through the blade just as Zoro slashes through his torso and Luffy sends the man sailing through the air.
"Nice!"
"Well, that was entertaining," remarks Haru, tossing his saber to the side. "Can we go get somethin' to eat now? I'm starving..."
"So, 'Red', huh?" remarks Haru, reclining in his chair across from Zoro. "You couldn't come up with something more original? Well… it's not a bad nickname, I suppose." Zoro doesn't pay him much mind, intent on stuffing his face after, from what they have heard, going three weeks without a bite to eat. Luffy and Zoro continue to stuff their faces without saying a word, and when Zoro has at last finished he leans back in his chair and pats a hand against his stomach with a huge grin.
"Whew! I'm stuffed!" exclaims Zoro before noticing Luffy still eating. "How the hell can you eat more than me?"
"What do ya mean? It's good food, right?" Luffy asks him, earning a chuckle and shake of the head from Haru.
"Luffy… I know that this lady offered to treat us for saving the town or whatever," begins Haru, looking at the stack of plates next to his closest friend. "But that doesn't mean you should take it as a go-ahead to eat her outta house and home!" Luffy mumbles out something like an apology around a mouth full of food.
"I assume that Red here is a part of the crew, so how many others are there?" Zoro asks Luffy, trying to get a feel for their strength. "You said you're gonna be King of the Pirates, so how many have you gathered besides me? It's a good number, right?"
"Hm? Oh, the three of us is it," replies Luffy simply.
"Just us three?! How the hell can you have a crew of only three?!"
"It'll be four when we find ourselves a navigator," Haru tells him plainly. "Which we'll need before we start to sail for the Grand Line." Luffy opens his mouth and Haru looks pointedly at him. "And not before. We got lost on the way here because neither of us have any navigational skill at all. It's fairly obvious that we need a navigator before we do ANYTHING else." He nods his head in agreement, swallows his food and grins broadly.
"Yep! Then we can head for the Grand Line!" exclaims Luffy, making Zoro and Haru smile.
"Yeah, Cap'n, then we head for the Grand Line."
"Y-You're still going to the Grand Line?" Coby questions them, receiving a nod from each in response. "Why?! Why would you go to a place like that? It's a pirate graveyard! No one comes back from there alive!"
"Why do you care? It's not like you're coming," Zoro tells him plainly.
"Even so! Luffy and Haru are my friends! I've never had friends before, and now that I do I don't want to lose them!"
"Why would you?" Luffy and Haru ask in tandem.
"H-Huh?"
"Just because we're going to the Grand-Line doesn't mean we'll die, and it doesn't mean that you'll never see it again," explains Luffy. "Even if you don't see us for a while that doesn't mean we'll stop being friends. We'll always be friends, Coby! Right, Haru?" His long time friend chuckles a bit and nods firmly in agreement.
"They're right, besides, you got other things to worry about," Zoro tells him. "Whether or not you were an actual pirate, it doesn't change the fact that you were, at the least, a chore-boy on one of their ships. Which means, if the Navy finds out you'll never be able to join them." The doors open and everyone looks over as a group of marines enter the restaurant.
"Hm. Looks like the welcome mat has just been yanked out from under us," mutters Haru. "We should probably leave."
"You three," speaks one of the marines. "Is it true that the three of you are pirates?"
"Yup!" chirps Luffy, grinning broadly.
"I see. Well, if that's the case then even if you saved this town we have no choice but to ask that you leave, immediately." The resulting fall out from the locals is less than pleasant but regardless, the three stand up from the table without any fuss, and start for the door. The man looks at Coby, who doesn't make any move to leave. "You. Are you with these three."
"No. I don't know them," Coby replies quickly, earning hidden smiles from the three. It would be best if he just denied everything.
"Let's go, Cap'n, we—"
"Actually, I know this kid here," Luffy admits to everyone, and making Coby's blood run cold. "You see, this kid here..." Luffy begins to approach slowly, smiling like a fool the whole time. "... for about two years, he worked for..." Before he can finish, Coby socks him square in the jaw, silencing him.
"Hnnn… alright, now you're gonna get a beating!" Without another word, Luffy begins to give Coby a beating that goes on for at least a minute before Zoro and Haru call for him to stop.
"That's enough! You made your point!" call the two in unison. Luffy stops, and lets the kid collapse onto the floor.
"Obviously, you aren't a member of their crew," calls the marine commander. "Leave...!"