One Piece: Straw Hat Family Chapter 23

Last time on One Piece: Straw Hat Family,

    After Luffy and Nami finally got married, Yuuka's illness turned for the worst. The poor woman died the very next day. After her burial, Akio ran off after being overwhelmed with grief and sorrow. While Luffy goes after Akio, Nami told the crew and her daughter a story they would have never suspected.

"Doctor…" Makino spoke, her voicing cracking from sadness and shock. "What you're saying, you can't mean that…"

"Unfortunately, it's true." The doctor said solemnly. "Miss. Star is very sick, too sick to be cured. She is dying."

As Makino slowly and cautiously approached the Luffy, she soon could hear his muffled cries and sniffles. She was also beginning to hear a few things from him.

"…Don't go… Please."

"You're too late son…" Garp said to the man, solemnly. "We were both too late."

A Mother's Love

That Which Pushes their Children into Tomorrow

    Thus, the story of Monkey D. Star was nearly complete, but now it was time to return to the present. The crew stood silently around Nami as she finished telling Mika, her daughter, of her grandmother on Luffy's side. All of them ever plainly shocked though also sadden by the story. The young girl was far more sadden, nearly to the point of crying again. As the storyteller, Nami had already grieved over this fact, but still frowned knowing her love has had some difficulties in this life.

"Wow, I…" Usopp said almost feeling uncomfortable with the knowledge he had learned. "I never figured Luffy had any form of sadness in his life."

"Waaah!" Franky cried out as tears feel like waterfalls from his eyes. As they did, he rubbed his eyes trying to clear the tears away, but could not. He let out another loud cry, "Poor Straw Hat! I never got to know my parents, but he lost his mom at such a delicate age. Wah! I'm not crying!"

"Poor Captain…" Brook said sadly.

"He's always so cheerful and happy." Chopper said feeling sad as well.

Zoro grunted. "It's because he's moved on that he is how he is. I don't think our captain needs us to pity him for something that occurred long before we knew him, especially when he's behaving fine."

Robin nodded in agreement. "Luffy seems to have long come to terms with his past," she then smiled and looked at Nami impressed, "especially if he even told his wife about it."

"That idiot," Nami said mad to the surprise of everyone, "he helps all his friends without a second thought, but he doesn't share his own burdens with anyone."

"Nami?" Sanji asked in concern.

"He was so stubborn." She commented in frustration. "I had to threaten him with divorce before he would actually tell me anything."

Surprised, Usopp gasped. "Wow! Nami, that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"I wasn't actually going to go through with it. Plus, we weren't even married yet, so it would have been pointless."

"Did he even know what a 'divorce' is?" asked Zoro suspicious.

"Before I told him, no." Nami stated matter-of-factly.

"So," spoke Franky sounding slightly concerned, "after you threaten Straw Hat bro, he told you about his mother?"

"Yeah," Nami said as she started looking sad as she recalled the moment, "but you should have seen him…"

In Nami's mind, the events of two days ago played through mind. She stood in hers and Luffy's room, looking at the man as he sat on the bed. Luffy didn't look like his cheerful self but rather, he appeared sad and depressed. Though she had been mad earlier from his stubbornness, Nami was now looking at her husband-to-be in shock. She was shocked by the story of his mother's death but more so, she was shocked by the tears falling from his eyes. She had never seen Luffy cry over anything. She had at first began to regret her decision to force her love to tell her what was bothering him, but on the other hand she was also glad. This was a moment they were sharing together, not with the crew, and it was personal. Nami then went up to the man and hugged him, giving him as much comfort as she could give.

"Remember, we're a team, Luffy. If something is bothering you or you're feeling down, I'll always be here for you. You've given me support when I needed it so let me be yours. Please."

"…I had never seen him like that. It was almost heartbreaking knowing that someone so strong and cheerful had his own share of sadness in his life."

The crew remained silent as they were caught by surprise by Nami's statement. Never would many of them think their captain weak in any situation, but it was surprising how human their captain could be. The man that smiled at death, laughed at danger, and bravely fought with all his strength. In a way, it was almost relieving.

Then, Nami felt a tug on her shirt and she looked down at Mika. The little girl had been quiet throughout their talks, but now she looked like she wanted to say something. "Is…" she spoke sounding confused. "Is Daddy sad now?"

Nami was a little shocked by the question. Of course, hers and the crew's conversation was hardly comforting for a little girl in her emotional state. But thinking over her question, Nami realized that there was a very simple answer. "No," she said smiling down at her daughter, "Daddy isn't sad now."

Mika's eyes widen with surprise.

"Because," Nami continued as he bent down to Mika's level, "he has us. You, me, and the whole crew. And we're not going to make him sad, right?"

Instantly, the little girl smiled and nodded. "Yeah!"

"Yeah!" shouted Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Franky, and Brook cheerfully after Mika.

Zoro and Robin did not speak, but it was evident on their faces that they too agreed. Even nodding to show it as well.

Mika, in seeing her family in high-spirits, giggled with excitement. Suddenly, her stomach let out a low growl. Unfortunately for her, the whole group heard her, and all of them began laughing. The little girl quickly stopped giggling and began blushing in embarrassment.

Sanji was the first to finish laughing. "I know that sound all too well." He commented before he stepped forward towards Mika. He then asked the young girl, "Would the young madam like to have lunch now?"

Still embarrassed, Mika let out nod. "Yes please." She said quietly. Then, she followed Sanji as they headed back to the Sunny.

"Lunch sounds good right about now." Robin commented with a smile before she started walking after Mika and Sanji.

Hearing Robin, Sanji was instantly enamored. "Hai~, Robin-chwan~!" He declared without hesitation. "I'll make you anything you want!"

"All right!" cheered Franky as he, Zoro, and Brook joined the archaeologist. "Let's get some lunch!"

As everyone began heading back, Usopp was the only one looking concerned. "Hey, wait!" He called out stopping everyone momentarily. "What about Akio? And Luffy?"

Nami, having stood back up once Mika left, looked at the long-nose sniper. "I told you already," She said confidently before walking forward to join the others, "Luffy will take care of it."

    Akio didn't know why he was running through the forest with no clear destination in mind nor did he know why he had shouted at Mika's mother who had been nothing but nice to him, but what he did know was that he didn't want to see anyone. The loss of his mother had been hard on him and though he tried to be strong; it was too much for him to do. So he ran; ran away from his mother's grave believing-hoping-that it was a bad dream and that he would wake up in his bed with his mother, healthy and happy, preparing breakfast. Unfortunately, as he was running blindly in a forest, the various scratches from branches and bushes kept constantly reminding him; this was not a dream.

While running, he never took the time to notice his surroundings. Of course, most of it was forest, but he failed to notice that there were others in this forest. Three dangerous looking men that were already angry at something that had happened before. And since he wasn't totally looking where he was going, he ran right into these men only to fall back.

Instantly, the men took notice of the boy. Immediately, they all began grinning maliciously. "Well, well, well," said one of the men, "look who's returned? The little punk we used to catch the Straw Hats."

After recovering, Akio looked up to see the men. He quickly took notice of their glares and cruel smirks and became afraid.

"Never thought we see you again." The other man said sounding almost pleased.

Before Akio could make a run for it, the third man quickly picked the boy up by the back of his collar. "We lost everything after you skedaddled," he said to the boy evilly, "but now that we have you we can get the money back that the Boss gave you."

"But," Akio said truly afraid, "I already spent it!"

"What?!" shouted the third man.

The first man however wasn't as worried as his partner. "No problem." He said smirking cleverly as he walked up to the boy's face. "We'll just have to make him work to pay us back."

"No!" cried out Akio.

"You don't get say, punk!" The third man shouted before dropping the boy on purpose. "You're gonna be working for us now."

The second man laughed cruelly. He stepped forward towards the boy and crouched down. "Yeah! You're gonna be paying us back and then some!" He stated arrogantly as he poked the boy harshly.

Akio, already a mess of jumbled emotions, was not liking being talked down to or being poked. Quickly, the young boy attacked and bit the hand of the man poking him, clamping down with all his might.

"Yeow!" shouted the second in pain. He pulled back, but with Akio still biting down it caused him even more pain. He began shouting out with pain, "Get him off!"

Immediately, the first man punched the boy, but Akio didn't let go. He just bit down harder on the man's hand. The first man then continued to punch the boy trying to get him off. Akio kept his eyes closed as the man continued punching him. The pain was excruciating and after only a few more punches, Akio let go and fell to the ground.

"Damn that son of a bitch!" shouted the second man as he held his injured hand. He looked at his hand worriedly before saying, "I think he drew blood."

Akio looked up at the man his tears falling, but looking angry. He shouted, "Don't call my mom a bitch!"

"Oh-ho! Looks like we got a little mama's boy here." The third man said mockingly.

The first man cracked his knuckles sneering. "Let's beat it out of him." He stated cruelly.

"Couldn't agree more." The second man smirking evilly.

Quickly, Akio stood up. He put up his fists ready to fight, and he was ready to fight. He was going to release all of his emotions, his grief, his pain, and his helplessness out on the men. And despite his bravado, he was very much afraid. He knew he hadn't a chance to beat these three, big men. He would be pulverized, but he didn't want to back down. He was going to fight, both to stand up for himself and maybe even relieve him of his depressing emotions. The outcome didn't matter to him.

The men roared and rushed at Akio. The boy closed his eyes not wanting to see the tough and scary-looking men come at him. Still, he didn't want to go down fighting. He threw out a punch, aiming high, hoping that it would hit one of them. So he waited with his fist extended out hoping to get one of them and his eyes closed for the inevitable beat down he would receive. Then, something strange happened. Keeping his eyes closed, Akio realized that after many seconds of waiting that no one was hurting him; in fact, not one of the men were speaking or making any kind of noise. Eventually, he realized he had to open his eyes to see what those men were doing. So, begrudgingly, he opened one eye to see.

"Hi!" Immediately, the happily grinning face of Luffy greeted the young.

"Ah!" screamed Akio before falling backwards from shock.

Seeing the boy fall back, Luffy snickered amused. He then stood up and extended his hand out to the boy, looking cheerful. "You all right?" He asked curious.

Breathing out heavily to calm his nerves, Akio at first just stared at the man, surprised to see him. He eventually calmed down and looked at the man's hand before taking it. "Yeah." He said numbly as he was helped up.

"Good." Luffy said happily.

"What are you doing here?" Akio asked immediately. "And what happened to those three guys?"

"Heh. I beat them up, easy." Luffy stated proudly as he pointed his thumb back behind himself.

Curiously, Akio looked behind the man. He found that what the man said was true. All three men were knocked out, and in various positions; one of which was currently stuck in a tree. He was surprised at first, but then he remembered who this man was and actually found it rather believable.

"And I'm here because," Luffy said continuing his explanation, "I had an offer for you, Akio."

Akio looked at the pirate in disbelief then in annoyance. He told the man, "Look, I've already had enough of bad deals for one day."

"I want you to join my crew." Luffy flat out stated without hesitation.

Shocked, the chocolate-brown haired boy looked at the man again in disbelief. He wasn't sure if the pirate captain was being truthful or just messing with him. He decided on the latter, which just made him angry. "Yeah right." He said before trying to leave.

As the boy walked pass him, Luffy instantly grew serious. "I'm serious, Akio." He stated solemn.

Upon hearing the man, Akio stopped. He became even angrier as he still believed that man was not taking him seriously. He turned around shouting, "I don't wanna be a-"

"You're mom asked me to take you in." Luffy said immediately interrupting the boy's shout. He didn't look back at the boy, but he figured the boy was stunned by what he said. After a moment, he continued, "I told her that it was up to you what you did."

"She…" Akio said almost speechless.

"It's still your choice, Akio. Only you can decide how to live your life." Luffy then began walking forward. Before leaving, he glanced back at Akio, flashing him his trademark, happy grin. "Just try not to regret it." He said before leaving.

Remaining silent, Akio looked over towards the direction the man went only to find him already gone. He was alone now, forgetting that there were three unconscious men behind him, and for the first time in his young life he thought about himself. How odd it felt for him having been helping his mother for so long. Now, he had a choice to make; one that he could make fully on his own. His mother had thought it a good idea to go with the Straw Hats, but did he want to leave for at life at sea. There were great challenges out at sea, more so for pirates, and he wasn't sure he could handle that. He would be with the "bad guys", though he admitted that these pirates were hardly "bad" people, and his mother knew that. Then, there was staying here. Already, he was in trouble with a gang. He had no family to count on or friends to help him, and he doubted many people on this island would be willing to help him out of charity. Still, he could make a life of his own relying on himself. But then, the Straw Hats had been very nice to him, and were probably the only people in the world that do care about him. Even his only friend, if he could call her that, was a part of the crew. Was joining the Straw Hat pirates the best thing he could do?

Akio had contemplated these thoughts for a while. Then, there came some rustling in the large bushes that broke Akio's thoughts. He looked over at the bush in surprise, wondering who it was coming out. He hoped that it wasn't more gang members. Fortunately, when the figure stepped out, it turned out to be just Luffy.

"Huh?" said the man before looking around confused. "I was sure this was the way to the Sunny."

"What? No it's not." Akio said before pointing in a direction. "It's that way, on the east shore."

"Right! Where it's wetter." Luffy stated confidently, smiling.

Immediately, Akio slapped his hand onto his face. Even if he was a kid, even he knew that's not how the cardinal directions worked. He realized that this adult was going to need some help. "Come on," the boy said slightly annoyed, "I can lead you back."

"Oh, thanks" Luffy said in gratitude, keeping his smile.

The chocolate-brown haired boy didn't respond back. He started leading the man back towards his ship. Luffy was happy enough as he followed the boy, not even recalling the time when the same boy had lead him and his crew into a trap. He fully trusted the boy. As the two trudged through the forest, while Luffy happily and badly sung his "Island song", Akio remained silent as he focused on getting the man back to his crew.

    Sanji walked up next to Mika with a plate of food in hand. He set the plate and drink on the table she sat at. It was a simple meal of drumsticks and an assortment of vegetables. "Here you are, Mika-hime." The man said to the little girl politely.

At first, Mika was excited until she saw the small veggies on the plate. Instantly, she looked at them with disgust. She instead grabbed the chicken leg and thanked the man for the meal. "Thank you, Uncle Sanji."

The little girl's polite gratitude hit Sanji's heart like a (familial) love arrow from cupid. The man swayed around in joy as he spoke up, "Ah~, so cute."

Also sitting at the table, Nami watched on not looking amused. "You are going to eat your vegetables, young lady." She told her daughter sternly.

In response, Mika looked back at her mother, seemingly copying her expression. "But they are gross," she stated coolly, "and Daddy doesn't eat them."

The blonde chef chuckled as he collected a few dishes, glasses mostly. "Not for the lack of trying, Hime." He said before leaving to take the dishes back to the kitchen.

"Oh believe me, missy. Your father will be eating his when he gets back."

"Nuh-uh!" Mika stated in a bratty tone. She then took a bite out of her chicken acting as if she was right.

Nami then placed her hand on her forehead. "There's no way I was this bad, right, Bellemere?" She asked as if her own mother was present. She imagined, in Heaven, she was laughing it up.

While Mika ate and Nami contemplate her child-raising skills, the rest of the crew was doing their own activities to pass the time until Luffy came back. Usopp and Chopper were fishing, Brook sat nearby them drinking tea, and Robin was on a lounge chair sunbathing. The only ones not seen currently were Zoro, Franky, and Sanji, the latter of who was in the kitchen cleaning dishes. Zoro was up in the crow's nest weight training and Franky was in his workshop working on something.

Finishing his duty, Sanji exit out of the kitchen. As he headed to the stairs, he spied towards the forest hearing some noise. Breaking through the brush, he spotted Akio leading Luffy out of the forest. Sanji smirked with amusement finding it the scene very likely. He then turned to the crew and called out, "Oi! Luffy's back!"

Instantly, everyone stopped what they're doing. "All right!" shouted Usopp excited. "About time!"

Sanji then added to his statement. "And Akio's with him too."

"Really?" Brook said surprised.

"But he could just be here to help our idiot captain with directions."

Immediately, Nami placed her hand on her face in frustration. She had forgotten her husband's bad knowledge on direction.

Hearing that her father was back, Mika immediately stopped eating. She then rushed over to the side and hopped on to ship's side-railing. Just hanging on top, Mika spotted her father and happily grinned. "Daddy! Daddy!" She shouted excitedly.

Instantly, Luffy heard his little girl's shout. He looked up and spotted her making him grin happily as well. With a stretch of his arm, Luffy left Akio's side and shot up to the side-railing landing on top of it next to Mika. He then greeted her back, still grinning. "Hiya, Mika."

"Daddy! Tell Mama that I don't have to eat yucky vegetables!" Mika said immediately, believing her father would defend her choice.

Before Luffy could open his mouth, saying whatever popped into his mind, he quickly closed it shut tight. Why had he stopped; right behind Mika at the table, Nami had of course heard her daughter's request and was currently giving her husband the stink eye while tapping her foot demandingly. Instantly, Luffy knew he was caught between a rock and a hard place but luckily, he had an escape.

"Um, hey look, Mika." Luffy said as he pointed back down to shore. "Akio's here."

Upon hearing this, Mika had immediately lost interest in her request and looked back towards shore. Seeing the boy, she smiled and became excited. "Akio!" She shouted before getting off the railing and running over to the gangplank.

At the same time, Luffy jumped off the railing wanting to go with her. "I should go with her." He told Nami before trying to walk away. He didn't get far when Nami's hand grabbed his cheek, stretching it quite a bit as Luffy tried to get away.

"You're not going anywhere, Luffy dear." Nami said sweetly yet also seeping with mild anger.

The man stopped and looked back at his wife pleadingly. "Nah-me…" Luffy said wining through his stretched mouth.

Mika continued without her father to Akio. She ran down the gangplank as quickly as she could, and then went straight for the boy. "Hi Akio!" She said smiling as she stopped next to the boy.

"Hey." Akio said a little surprised, but mostly monotonous.

"Do you wanna play?" Mika asked cheerfully.

Again, the boy was surprised. "Don't you have to leave soon?" He asked back confused.

"Oh yeah." Mika said in realization. She then turned to the Sunny and shouted loudly at it, "Mama! When do we have to leave?"

"Soon!" Nami said loudly from somewhere onboard the ship.

Mika frowned before turning back to Akio. "I guess so." She said a little sad.

"Well…" Akio said though stopped unable to find the right words. He was going to try and play off his disappointment by being aloof, but he felt that it wasn't right. So instead, he said, "Well, I'm gonna miss you."

The little girl smiled. "I'll miss you too."

"You sure that there's no way you could stay here?" asked Akio out of the blue. "It's dangerous out at sea with pirates."

"I know." Mika said bluntly before grinning happily. "But my family is super strong, they can handle anything."

Akio wasn't surprised by how confident the little girl spoke of her "family". By all means, he knew she spoke the truth, especially after seeing their whole crew (most of them anyway) had bounties. They probably could do anything they set their minds to do, which made Akio remember the captain's offer from earlier.

"I want you to join my crew."

"Um, Mika..." Akio spoke sounding nervous.

"Oi!" Suddenly, there came Zoro's voice over the Transponder Snail intercom interrupting Akio. By the sound of his tone, it sounded urgent. "I see a Marine battleship!"

"Crap!" shouted Usopp's voice. "I see it too!"

"Everyone!" shouted Luffy's voice now. "Set sail!"

Nami soon appeared before the children on the ship. Quickly, she shouted, "Mika! Hurry back onboard!"

"Okay!" Mika shouted back. She then looked back at her friend giving him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Akio, I have to go."

"Wait!" Akio shouted quickly, stopping Mika immedaitely. The boy wasn't yet ready to say good-bye; it had been too soon. Now, there wasn't enough time.

"Akio," Mika said sounding worried taking a step back towards the Sunny, "I need to…"

"Is it okay if I joined?" Akio blurted out quickly and loudly. He had his eyes closed tight and his whole body went completely rigid. Not knowing how the young girl was reacting, he continued on speaking. "You're dad said I could, and my mom thought it was a good idea, but is it okay for me to join?"

Mika stopped moving after hearing the boy speak out. She looked a little confused; it was a strange question to be asked. Though, it didn't take Mika long to figure an answer out. She began smiling and rushed over to the nervous boy. Immediately, she took his hand.

Akio was shocked when he felt someone grab his hand. He tensed even more and opened his eyes to see that it was Mika holding it. He instantly began blushing having never really held hands with a girl before. He stuttered, "M-M-Mika!"

"Of course it's okay!" Mika stated unashamedly grinning with joy. "Because we're friends, right?"

Before he could say anything, Akio was suddenly pulled by Mika towards the Thousand Sunny. Quickly, the girl pulled the boy up the gangplank and hopped onto the deck. They both stood on the deck watching while all the adults ran about preparing to sail off. Despite them knowing the kids were aboard, they hadn't the time to acknowledge them like Franky and Brook as they brought up the gangplank.

"We're ready, Nami!" shouted Usopp from high above on the mast along with Zoro and Chopper.

"Is Mika onboard?" asked Nami before taking a glance around the deck. She quickly spotted her daughter along with Akio. Immediately, she smiled seeing the boy aboard with them.

'Good job, Mika.' She thought proudly. She then shouted out to the crew, "Let's get sailing, Franky!"

"Aye, aye, Girly!" Franky replied back with a happy grin as he turned the steering wheel.

The Thousand Sunny began turning and then sailing out of the cove. With its sails down, the ship floated out into the open ocean and in clear sight of the lone Marine ship. Immediately, the battleship began firing on the ship. The shots whistled through the air before landing in the waters around the Thousand Sunny. They exploded sending up a column of water that sprayed all over the ship. The fighters, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, immediately prepared to defend the Sunny. Mika seemed to be enjoyed the spray of water falling down upon her while Akio was already freaking out.

"What's happening?!" Akio shouted confused and scared.

Mika stopped enjoying herself and answered her friend's question. "Oh it's just the Marines." She said casually. "But we'll be okay."

"You're sure?" Akio said still a bit panicked.

Nodding, Mika happily grinned proving her confidence. Then, she suddenly had a thought. "Oh wait!"

"What?!" shouted Akio now back to panicking. He believed that Mika may have had a second thought about the situation.

This time, the girl did not reply back to him. Akio watched as the girl suddenly took off heading towards the back the other side of the ship. He quickly called out in fear, "Mika!"

"Akio?"

Luffy's voice immediately caught Akio attention and he turned around to see the man looking at him surprised. Instantly, the boy no longer felt panicked, but now felt a little nervous seeing the man looking at him. Being nervous, Akio looked down at the grass unable to make eye contact with the man. "Um, Captain Luffy" he said timidly, "may I join your crew?"

"Sure." Luffy said instantly, grinning happily, before giving his hand out to Akio. "Welcome aboard, Akio!"

Seeing the man offer his hand, Akio stuck out his hand to shake it. The moment he made contact, the man suddenly pulled the boy up. He was so surprised by the sudden action that he barely had time to react. He was then set on Luffy's shoulder, being seated securely. He was now confused; what was the man doing with him?

"Hey! Everyone!" Luffy shouted loudly for the whole crew to hear. "We've got a new crewmate!"

Robin chuckled upon hearing her captain's shout. "Wonderful." She commented amusedly.

"Great." Zoro said uninterested. Afterwards, he jumped up and sliced through two cannonballs with his two swords.

"That's super, Straw Hat!" shouted Franky joyfully, giving out a thumbs up.

"Yohohoho!" chuckled Brook as he walked up next to the boy. He then lifted his hat and bowed towards the child politely. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Akio."

"That's great!" shouted Usopp happily from atop the mast.

"Welcome, Akio!" shouted Chopper overjoyed.

"Thanks." Akio said though still a little nervous.

After kicking one cannonball into another and then landing, Sanji also gave out his congratulations. "Just try not to do anything funny with our Mika-hime." He stated seriously.

Instantly, Sanji realized something and began looking around concerned. "Speaking of, where is Mika-hime?" He asked curiously. He eventually spied the girl over on the other side of the deck; towards the Marines. She seemed to be waving.

    At the same time, on the Marine battleship, while the Marine soldiers fired on the pirate ship Commodore Smoker was overseeing the attack. As always, he looked far from pleased with his men's work as they had yet to stop the boat. Of course, in part to missing occasionally, their target was well defended as well which only furthered his frustration in not being able to capture the Straw Hat pirates. He soon began walking around the deck overseeing the men's aim and trajectory of the cannons. While he did so, he spotted Tashigi at the bow of the ship spying at the enemy through binoculars. As he approached the woman, he noticed that his trusty second-in-command was smiling affectionately and oddly cooing.

"Aww."

"Tashigi!" Smoker shouted suddenly.

"Ah!" screamed Tashigi, nearly dropping the binoculars. She then immediately replied back while blushing embarrassed, "C-C-Commodore Smoker, sir!"

"What in the blazes are you looking at?" Smoker asked rudely before also taking the binoculars from the young woman. As the woman had done, the Marine officer looked through the binoculars towards the Straw Hats. The sight he saw shocked him greatly.

Through the binoculars, Smoker could see nearly all the way to the Straw Hats' ship. There, waving right back at him happily and carefree, was the little girl Mika that he had helped out some days ago. She unashamedly waved back to them, him and Tashigi, probably sending her farewells to them. He could see why his second-in-command was gushing earlier, but the man himself would do no such thing; his pride would never allow for that. Rather, it just proved to make him a little angrier. He then watched as "Black-Leg" Sanji appeared in his scope. He looked down at Mika, and then out towards his own ship. The blonde man apparently freaked, probably from seeing him, and then took Mika away from his line of sight.

Instantly, Smoker began growling angrily. He looked over at Tashigi and told her, "No more gawking!"

"Yes, sir!" Tashigi said quickly, giving him a salute.

After handing her binoculars back, Tashigi watched as Smoker walked away; clearly to go yell at some other Marine soldiers for not sinking the Straw Hats' ship already. She figured that, even if he did like the child, he would not go easy on any pirates and needed to vent that frustration out. She giggled a bit seeing how funny her commanding officer could be when it came to matters of emotions. While not using her binoculars, Tashigi looked back at the Straw Hats' ship; at the spot where Mika once stood at and waved to her. She smiled as she thought to herself,

'Good-bye, Mika. I hope we can meet again on better terms…'

    "That was very dangerous, young lady." Back on the Sunny, Nami was scolding Mika for her stunt earlier. It was clear, to everyone really, that the little didn't care and proved so by looking away from her mother defiantly. This just caused the young woman to become even angrier at the girl.

Then, from down below, Franky popped up. "All right," he said confidently, "the cola engine is ready."

"The sails are up!" shouted Zoro from above on the mast.

Akio looked around confused. "What's going on?" He asked, "Why are we stopping?"

Luffy snickered playfully as he walked up next to Akio and then crouched down by him. "We're gonna escape, that's why." He told the boy cheerfully.

"How?" Akio asked even more confused.

"Here we go!" At the helm, Sanji shouted back to everyone as he pulled the lever by the helm.

"Get ready, Akio." Usopp said as he and nearly everyone joined the boy on the grass deck. "You're about to go on the best ride ever."

"Ride?"

"Coup…" Franky shouted excited.

Below the deck, the cola engine with three barrels in it began compressing and decompressing. It started out slow, but it soon went faster and faster charging up. At the same time at the stern of the Thousand Sunny, the large cannon began charging with compressed air indicated by a glow.

"What ride?" asked Akio still confused.

"…de…"

"What's going to happen?!"

"Burst!" shouted all the crew and Mika as well.

Immediately, the compressed air that had been building up was finally released. The Thousand Sunny was shot up into the air. This surprised not only Akio, but the Marines as well. Smoker and Tashigi were completely shocked over the feat. There was no way they could catch up with them now.

Meanwhile on the Thousand Sunny, Akio screamed out in fright but also in joy as he experienced this new sensation. He couldn't believe it; he was flying on a pirate ship leaving his home forever. New experiences were awaiting him out at sea. He didn't know what they would be, but he would face them with his crew. Still, the boy found himself looking back at his home island, it getting farther and farther away by the second. He hardly care for the island itself and all the people on it, but it was the place where he grew up on and was raised by his mother, who was also buried on it. For that alone, he looked back on the island sadly. As the island soon shrank to nothing but a small dot, Akio had but one last thought towards the island.

'Good-bye, Mom.'

"Cheers for our new member, Akio!"

"Kanpai!"

It was now nearly evening with the sun just half-down below the horizon. Though they didn't have time earlier to celebrate with the Marines on their tails, now that they were in the clear they could give the boy a proper Straw Hat welcoming party. So, with mugs in hand, everyone gave out an excited cheer as they raised their mugs high expressing their joy. Of course, only the adults had alcohol, the children had mikan juice. Everyone kept Akio center attention telling him of their adventures, the potential the boy had, and many of comforting topics. All the while, the boy was completely embarrassed by the attention, but secretly enjoyed it.

At some point, Luffy and Nami had disappeared from the party. No one really mind, especially not Akio, but Mika had soon taken notice of her parents missing. As everyone continued to drown Akio with attention, Mika decided to look for her parents. From the grassy deck, she walked up the stairs and headed up to the upper deck where the helm was located. She found that they weren't there, but it didn't seem to matter as she hurried over towards the figurehead of the Sunny. As she climbed up the small set of stairs behind Sunny's head, she soon heard her parents' voices.

"…to think we would have another kid already. And not even our own either. What is happening to our crew, Luffy?" Mika heard her mother's voice say, though it sounded more pleasant rather than concerned.

"Shishishi! I just thought he could be tough when push came to shovel."

Mika heard her mother release a sigh. "It's 'shove', dear. But I hope you're not expecting him to fight full grown adults."

"Nah, but he can make sure Mika will be safe. Right?"

"Hmm, right."

Eventually, Mika decided to come out. "Hey!" She shouted out cheerfully. She waited as her parents, currently sitting on top of Sunny's head with Nami sitting in Luffy's lap, turned to face her, both looking surprised. The little girl then rushed in and dived into her parents before situating herself in her mother's lap.

Confused, Nami questioned her little girl, "Mika?"

"I wanna sit with you too!" Mika stated in determination.

Nami blinked with surprise, but then began smiling knowing how silly her daughter could be. "Very well." She told her daughter before she lightly leaned into the little body. She wrapped her arms around the girl as well, both caring and protecting her daughter.

Luffy just gave out a happy chuckle, not minding the extra weight.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Nami asked curiously to Mika. "Shouldn't you be playing with Akio or the others?"

"I wanted to tell Daddy somethin'." Mika stated with a happy grin, looking up at her mother.

"Hmm?" Luffy said surprised. "You do?"

Mika nodded her before releasing a small giggle with excitement. She then tilted her head back to the point where she could see her mother's and a little of her father's face. She kept her happy grin and she spoke out, "I really like Grandma Star."

Instantly, Nami gasped with surprise. She hadn't figured on her daughter to suddenly mention Luffy's mother. Concerned for her husband, she glanced back at Luffy wondering what he thought about their daughter's statement.

Not surprisingly, the man was smiling happily. "Thanks, Mika." Luffy said contently. "I bet Mom would have loved you too." He then placed his hand upon his daughter's head. He began gently rubbing the girl's head showing his affection.

After a moment of her father's affection, he stopped allowing Mika to speak up once again. "Daddy," she spoke curiously, "Mama told me about how Grandma died…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it was really sad." Mika said softly and a little sad. "Like what happened to Akio's mom."

"Mmm-hm."

"But, how did you stop being sad?"

"Hmm. Well, it was kinda thanks to a pirate crew…"

"Like us!" Mika said overjoyed.

Luffy chuckled. "Yeah, kinda like us…"

    A month after Star's death, the people of Windmill Village had begun recovering. It was a rough few weeks, with everyone's spirits down, but they eventually began moving on with their lives. No one would ever forget Star, so the held the brave, young woman in their hearts. This was the same even for those closest to the woman. Woop Slap had recovered well and soon began yelling at all the young adults again for being so carefree. Makino had recovered her own happiness as well even if she was now missing someone important in her life. Taking care of Luffy had given her a special kind of joy, one she expected that Star had when she was alive. And Luffy, he recovered, but he wasn't the same boy he was when his mother was alive. Though he could be cheerful and excited for anything like always, there was an obvious hint of sadness still lingering. Both Makino and Woop Slap hoped that one day the boy would be able to smile and be happy earnestly.

And that day would come sooner than they ever thought.

"Pirates! Pirates are coming!"

A crier ran down the street through Windmill Village repeating the same word over and over again. Of course, he had every reason too. Approaching the docks, with its black flag waving high and proud, was a pirate ship. Thanks to the man's shouts, many people took notice of this ship and then immediately took off running. Most went into their houses, others hid behind buildings or other large objects. Eventually, the large pirate ship docked at Windmill Village's port and the pirates began walking out. In a large group, they walked through the village silently and with purpose being led by a many in a straw hat with red hair. The villagers watched in fear as these men walked through town; all the while, wondering what they would do to their small village.

This pirate group eventually found what they were looking for, a bar; Partys' bar. As the whole pirate crew waited outside, the leader of the group walked inside. Once inside, he spotted the bartender (Makino) with her back turned against as she cleaned some dishes. He began approaching the counter, taking notice of the child peering from around the counter. The man only smiled contently as he reached the counter. He then gave a tap on the counter before speaking.

"Excuse me, Miss." The man said politely.

Makino, who was trying to ignore the pirate, was surprised when she heard the man speak so politely. She turned around to look at the man, only to be shocked by how handsome he looked. She immediately began blushing as she tried speaking back to the man. "Y-Yes, sir."

The man's smile brightened a bit with happiness before he began speaking again. "Ma'am, I'll be frank with you. My name is Shanks, I am the captain of the pirates I'm sure you've heard of approaching your nice town."

"Yes."

"We have no intention of being a nuisance to your village." The man, Shanks, stated sincerely. "All we want is to be served some food and alcohol. We will gladly pay, money is no option."

"Um, thank you." Makino replied with surprise.

While Makino went into the back to start preparing the food, Luffy stayed where he was told to be before the pirate entered. He wasn't scared of the man by any means; in fact, he was becoming increasingly interested in him. So much so that he had entirely blown his cover just to get a closer look at the man.

Of course, Shanks had already seen the boy, but now that the boy was now completely out in the open, and looking curiously, he decided to make conversation. "Hiya, Kid."

Luffy was surprised, not realizing he had revealed himself, but he responded. "Hi."

Shanks smiled. "Sorry, if we scared you." He then pointed towards the kitchen. "I promise we have no intention of hurting your…mom?"

Immediately, Luffy shook his head. "Makino is a friend." He stated before becoming a little sad. "My mom died…"

"Oh." Shanks said surprised and immediately feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Kid."

"Are you really a pirate?" Luffy asked suddenly, looking interested instead of sad.

A little taken back by the sudden shift in the boy's attitude, but he was happy enough to answer back. "Yeah," he said grinning happily before gesturing towards his men outside, "me and my men."

"Have you gone on lots of adventures?"

"Of course!" Shanks said giving the boy a wink.

"Can I hear about them?!" Luffy said getting excited.

"Sure!" Shanks said grinning cheerfully.

When Makino came back outside from the kitchen, she was surprised to find the whole bar was filled with the pirate crew. They took up nearly every seat in the building. Even more surprising was that she spotted Luffy talking and conversing with a few of the pirates; one of them being the man named Shanks. The little boy was smiling and grinning brightly with excitement and joy for what seemed like the first time in a long time, and that made her happy. She didn't know who these men were or of what they have done, but from the bottom of her heart; she was thankful for their arrival. For now it seemed that Luffy had finally gotten back to his usual self, and that's the best she could ask for.

    Over time, Luffy would grow to eventually become the man he is today; a pirate captain worth 300 Million belis, a husband, and father. He would experience many hardships and joy in his short life, and he would share them with friends and now family. Though he is a forgetful kind of person, he would never forget those important events that would lead him this point. The death of his mother, the arrival and departure of Shanks and his crew, meeting his brother(s), and all his adventures after leaving Dawn Island. And it would all start with a simple question.

"What's a Pirate King, Mommy?"

"Well, many people say that the Pirate King is the worst person in the world, but I like to think that the Pirate King, a man who's sailed all over the world, is probably the freest person in the whole world. Going on grand adventures, discovering new things, meeting new people, and finding treasure bound to no one but your faithful crew. That's what I think a Pirate King is, sweetie."

"Can I be a Pirate King someday?"

"Yes, Luffy, I believe with all my heart that you could."

TO BE CONTINUED…