Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Inhaling.

Exhaling.

Inhaling.

Exhaling.

Run.

Never stop.

Run.

Before it's too late.

  With a jerking breath, you were running through the village, passing without a look in front of houses that you knew for nineteen years. You could hear shouts behind you, accompagned with footsteps.

Don't look behind.

Don't slow down.

Just a little more. Soon.

Holding with more force your bag, you took the right path without hesitation. The sea breeze ruffled your face. You could see it. 

As blue and shining as ever.

Calm.

Melody filling your ears.

As if waiting you.

Sprinting, you soon reached the port. Breathless you looked around you, searching frantically a sheep-looking boat. 

"Am-Am I too late ?" 

Your eyes suddenly widened. There, a little away in the sea, was the so searched boat. Inhaling, you ignored the erratic footsteps coming closer to you.

"LUFFYYYYYYYYYYYY"

Chapter Text

For as long as you remembered, no outsider never reached your island. Marines sometimes yes, when they warned the mayor in advance. Because that was their job to be sure that nothing amiss was unfold, but otherwise, no humans, boats or whatever else existed neaver reached your island.

You could see boats far away in the sea, but if they even tried to come near the bay, what greeted them was a sea of cannon. Be it Marines, pirates, or just a little boat lost in the middle of nowhere. 

Outsider were a curse. A not allowed living that no insider should meet. Even when Marines were coming, no inhabitant except the Mayor could meet them. Locked in your house, and only leaving it when their boat was far away in the sea. 

That was how life had been for as long as you remembered, and how it was expected to be 'till the end of this island. 

On Phula Island

It could be surprising, but you really loved your leaf-looking island. It was a really, really beautiful island. With the only default being your peers.

   Endless Nature, even on the white cube-shaped houses that adorned the villages. The scent, a mix of soil and salt, from the sea. Flowers everywhere. And a mountain, at the right edge of the island, surrounded by a dense forest. Nobody except you had the courage to go there. Not because of dangerous beasts, no, the forest never had any dangerous beasts, but because of the topography. The forest and the mountain itself weren't safe at all. And yet you had always found yourself climbing it up, 'till what was in front of you was only sea. Losing yourself in the endless sea in front of you, dreaming of leaving and discovering lands all amazing. A dream that was just that. Because if no outsider could come without being allowed, it was the same for you.

No one could leave the island without an acceptable reason.  

So today as well, you were there. Legs in the void, sitting in a tree, looking at the dazzling dawn horizon. You should head back, you know that, but just a little more, just a little. You'll have to wait tomorrow to come back again. Days were busy at those months, especially because the rainy season was coming.  Closing your eyes, you left yourself drift away, carried away by the waves sound. 

It was peaceful, the only thing that you could actually ask. 

Until it wasn't anymore. Sound of waves against a boat.

   You opened your eyes, curious. Generally boats avoided your island... Because they knew what was to come if they did. But behind the mountain, anyone could come near. But then again, being near doesn't mean being able to set a foot on the ground. While people could easily set a foot anywhere on the island, behind the mountain was another story. Because said mountain was in a right-angled triangle shape: no beach, nor accessible road. Only nearly vertical rocks, with only the top of the mountain relatively safe. That was why nobody tried before, because they would have to climb vertically 164 feet. It was the same in your case sadly, jumping from that height would mean death. 

Thus, even if you heard a boat coming closer, there was no way for them to do anything. 

Or so, you thought so.

Observing the boat, you noted the main information, which was the black flag. Pirates. Though the little straw hat draw on it was really cute. The corners of your lips slowly got up unconsciously, looking with much attention the boat. A Sheep-looking boat, with mandarins. 

Somehow you immediately knew that they were odd pirates. 

You just never expected to see... Was it arms ? Yeah ? No ? You were quite confused because, somehow, something long  and beige was sent on the rocks of the mountain... Or was it stretching ? 

Ah, it grabbed the mountains. They'll try to climb with a rope ??

Your eyes hadn't even had the time to pop out of their socks that you were already on the ground on your stomach, your tree destroyed alongside two more. Eyes in a daze, you could only hear one thing.

"Shishishishi adventures here I am !!!"

Somehow, you could already feel that it was going to be a long day. And that was totally not the sobs that you could hear from afar that told you this. No no.

Chapter Text

Your mind was in a fuss.

Somehow, you were surrounded by Outsider Pirates. Outsider Pirates who laughed, and laughed, and laughed, without a care in the world. As if there was no danger here. 

You were surrounded by Outsider.

The situation itself started to become clearer and clearer by the passing of the time. 

You should be afraid. You should be ashamed. You should be running down the mountain to the mayor, to warn him of this.

You didn't do any of this. Because in the end why should you ? Because you were an inhabitant ? Bullshit. So instead, you were enjoying it. 

But why were you surrounded by pirates ?

PHULA ISLAND, 10 MINUTES EARLIER

'' What the...'' 

Your back and front were aching from pain, and truthfully, you weren't even sure if you could get up. The last time that you fell of a tree was 10 years ago, and even then it wasn't from that high. The strange boy was looking around, seemingly excited, then stopped dead, his eyes on you.

"Who are you ? Since when you're here ?!''

You sweatdropped. He haven't even noticed you ??

'' I-I'm here from the start... ?

- Oh, I see !''

You looked at each other, without saying a thing.

''So... Do you know where I can have meat ??''

A rumbling emphasized his sentence. If you weren't already on the ground, you would have fallen again for sure. 

'' So ?? ''

Before you could say even a word, another voice echoed.

" OOOOI !! LUFFYYYYYY !! YOU'RE STILL ALIVE ???

- OOOOH USOOOPP !! THERE IS SOMEONE HERE !!!"

Chaos followed. Scream, shout and sobs could be heard, you could sworn that you even heard something about an Amazing captain with at least one hundred men. At least his crew seemed to know that your island was indeed bad news. 

" THAT'S EXACTLY WHY I TOLD YOU TO NOT GO LUFFYYYY !!

- WE'RE GOING TO DIE, WE'RE GOING TO DIE, WE'RE GOING TO DIIIIIE !!!"

The boy next to you laughed.

" Aaah but everything's okay ! She doesn't seem like a bad person !"

And another chaos followed.

" A YOUNG LADY ?! I'M COMING RIGHT AWAY ANGEL OF MY HEAAART !!

- SHUT UP ERO-COOK !!

- YOU WANT TO FIGHT MARIMO ?!

- WILL THE TWO OF YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR GOD'S SAKE ?!"

A bright smile was glued on the boy's lips, making you understand that all of this was, even if it was quite surprising, just usual to him. 

In what the hell did I just got myself into ?? 

" Yosh !"

The young boy warmed up. Oh gosh what the hell he's going to do now ! By pure caution, you moved away a little. His arms stretched - so it was his arms ! - And without a warning, send them down the mountain. You approached the edge, looking at what he was doing.

Down, you could see the little boat, with people on the deck. You could only distinguish the colors, some orange, green, black and... Was it a tornado ???? Needless to say, when the arms scooted all of them over in one place before hugging them, they all stopped dead.

" L-Luffyyyy, nononononooooooo

- KYAAAA PLEASE NO LUFFY DON'T YOU DARE !!!!"

One was turning so white that you could see it from where you were. Curious, you looked at Luffy, and only saw him with the same smile than earlier. Maybe even a little bigger. 

And they were flying. 

Or more like dying. 

   Somehow their little fly ended up in an attempt to kill their friend. Not that it bothered you, you could look at them freely like that. (You suspected that it was a pretty normal thing, since the one called Luffy was just laughing without being even a little worried).

It was the first time that you could see outsider after all. And even if there wasn't much difference between you and them, it was an experience that you couldn't pass. From the beautiful girl who seemed to have a hot temper, to the green haired boy with his swords, to the blond in tuxedo, and finally to the black haired one with that long nose who seemed so done with his life beside the Strawhat.

Together they made a really strange picture. A beautiful but strange picture. 

You couldn't help but to laugh. At first quietly, and then holding your stomach. So much that you haven't noticed the silence. And when finally you noticed it, all eyes were on you. 

Heat spread on your cheeks from the sudden attention.

In not even a second the blond was beside you, your hands in his, his eyes in heart-shape. 

" AN ANGEL I KNEW IT !! NO, THOSE BEAUTIFUL [E/C] EYES AND THOSE SILK [H/C] HAIR CAN'T BE FROM JUST AN ANGEL ! A LADY LIKE YOU IS OBVIOUSLY ABOVE EVEN ANGELS !! "

Kissing your hand, he immediately calmed himself, a charming smile in his lips.

" Can I have the pleasure to know the beautiful name of a lady as splendid as you ?~

- U-Um..."

You took back your hand, stepping back a little, clearly embarrassed. A hit ended on the head of the blond.

" CAN'T YOU SEE THAT YOU'RE JUST MAKING HER DISCOMFORTED ??

- Aaaah Nami-swaaaan !!!! ~ Your beauty is even amazing when your angryyyyy~"

The red-headed girl sighed, then looked at you. A smile appeared on her lips.

"Sorry about him, he's always like this so you can just ignore him. I'm Nami, the head over heels idiot is Sanji, the one who always seem annoyed is Zoro-

-Oi ! 

- The one who seems afraid of you is Usopp-

- I-I'm not afraid ! Why should I be afraid of her when I have more than one hundred-

- And the last one, the most annoying, is Luffy, our captain.

- I'm Luffy, the one who will be the King of the pirates !!!

- The... King of the pirates ?

- Yeah !"

You looked at each of them silently then smiled and bowed.

" I'm [l/n] [y/n], nice to meet you !"

Interesting indeed.

You couldn't wait to see how all of this was going to turn.

" Sooo you're searching an island to resupply your boat of foods ? 

- Yes... It's quite embarrassing but this one, she stretched the cheeks of Luffy, eat a lot. Like much more than humans should.

- Im chorryyyy

- IT WON'T SOLVE OUR PROBLEM IDIOT !!! "

You pondered. The nearest island was still quite far from there, but not that far that they couldn't reach it in a day. And your island wasn't the safest to stay. 

But then again... Just a little longer. If they could stay just a little longer...

You swallowed.

" The nearest island is still quite far, so if you want I can get you the minimum supplies needed for the journey so that you can reach it safely...

- REALLY ?! YOU WOULD DO THAT ???"

At that moment you felt like a Goddess sent to help them... They looked at you as if you just showed them the Holy Grail.

" Y-Yeah... Though you'll have to wait a little. The rainy season is coming sooner than usual so we have much preparation than expected, but I should be able to get you everything in the afternoon...

- THANK YOU SO MUUUCH !!!

- I TOLD YOU, IT'S AN ANGEL THAT GOD SEND US~

- YEAAAH !!! MEAT MEAT !!!

- If you could get us some booze too-

- DON'T ASK HER THAT WE JUST NEED THE MINIMUM !"

You watched at them quite overwhelmed. It was the first time in all your life that you were surrounded by so many joyful people. 

" S-So... You're pirates, right ? How is it ? I mean, travelling... And everything.

- IT'S AMAZIIIING !! MANY MANY ADVENTURES !

- Do you want to know everything ?! Let the Great Usopp narrate you all of our adventures !!"

You looked at the sun, which was higher than before, then to them.

It shouldn't be a big deal to listen to them.

Just this once.

It took much time than you thought. But somehow you couldn't even regret it. From Luffy's story and his travelling in a barrel, to Zoro's execution, to Buggy... Or was it Baggy ? And their meeting with Nami, to Usopp's village, followed by Sanji's restaurant and then Nami's island. Everything was so interesting ! With each sentences, stories, the world outside your little island seemed so big and amazing. Usopp was truly a good narrator. Though sometimes, he seemed to overplay some things. Like his actions, or his men. But that was funny so you couldn't really complain.

It just made your heart yearn even more.

Getting up, you removed the dust from your clothes.

" It's approximately 10am so.... I should be back with the foods around 14pm ! But please be careful, you shouldn't go down the mountain, especially, don't ever go inside the villages. As you should know, my island isn't really... Fond, of people outside here. If they found out that you're here, it'll be harder for you to leave. 

- No problem you can count on us !

- Y-Yeah ! W-We won't set even a foot in the villages !"

You smiled faintly.

" Then, see you soon !"

You bade them farewell and started to come down of the mountain, to reach your little home. Your house was quite far from the villages, and nearer the forest: you just had to follow the little path of stone for five good minutes, and your house was the first one to appear. Like all the others, your house was all in white, made of stones, and covered with plants. There was a little patio, where the sunlight warmed the stones and the little table with the chairs. Contrasting to the whiteness of the house, the door was in an amber color. You opened it and came in. 

" Grandma ! I'm back !"

Your house was very simple: at the left of the entrance was the kitchen, with at the same time the living room, while when you kept straight on at the entrance, the hall brought you at your grandmother's room and yours, just beside hers. At the right of the entrance were the stairs, where the attic could be acceded. You heard shuffling upstairs, and since your grandmother was up and haven't seemed to need help, walked to the broom closet, where the bags were put away. You had shopping to do after all.

"Eeeh so you have a grandmother !!"

You stopped dead in your track.

Slowly, you turned around, as white as a sheet. Before you, with his blinding smile, Luffy, with behind him, Sanji, giving you an apologize look. Hearing your grandmother starting to go down, you pushed them as fast as possible in the broom closet, taking in the same time the bag.

"Stay here and don't make a sound !"

You closed the closet at the same time that your grandmother reached the end of the stairs.

"[Y/n], you're home ? You were at the forest again, right ? You came back later than usual, you should be careful, okay ?

- A-Ah y-yes ! I haven't realized how late it was, sorry. "

   Your grandmother, even though she was quite old, reaching 96 years old not even two month ago, looked as good as ever. With only a stick in her right hand and some wrinkles, nobody could tell that she had exceeded the eighty. Today, her white hair were pulled in a little bun at the crew-neck, while her round glasses were on her head, instead of in front of her [e/c] eyes. She was wearing a brown floral dress, and you noted with fondness that it was the dress that you gave her at her last birthday, a simple dress with thin straps and a V neckline. The dress reached the middle of her calves, and above, she was wearing her usual beige cardigan, the one her late husband, your grandfather, gave her a long time ago, before dying.

Her eyes darted on the bag in your hand.

"You're going to do the grocery today ?

- Y-Yeah, with the rainy season sooner than usual, it's better to be careful."

She looked at you silently.

"I see, don't forget to buy some plaids, it'll be cold after all.

- I won't !"

You hesitated a little, not wanting to leave Luffy and Sanji in the closet, but stepped out of the house in the end. It would have been too strange if you stayed too long. After your departure, your grandmother looked at the closet, a sweet smile on her lips.

" You can get out of the closet, you two."

Looking at the sea in a tree, Usopp was amazed by the view.

" We can say everything, but this island is really beautiful, right Zoro, Nami ?"

He was met with silence, Zoro against the trunk of the tree, half asleep, and Nami on the edge, tools on her hands trying to measure the island to, later, draw it. He sighed, half regretting to not having followed Luffy and Sanji. After all a warrior of the seas wouldn't be afraid of some... Habitants ! 

" Yosh ! I'm going in a little stroll around the area, guys ! "

He jumped from the tree, landing on his feet without a problem, and started to walk in the forest before stopping dead in his track.

" Um... Guys ? We have... A problem ?"

Nami froze while Zoro draw his swords out. What greeted them was Usopp, aimed by rifles. 

" I would advise you to let go of those swords, mister, if you don't want your friend to have a hole in his little head~ "

He clicked his tongue, putting his swords back. Men approached them, tying them, and started to lead them out of the forest. A soldier approached one of the men, the one leading them, wearing a white suit.

"Mayor, what should we do about [y/n] ? She clearly helped them." 

Tension arose in the three teens. 

" [Y/n]... Don't worry, I'll take care of her myself. It's been a while that I had to see her, might as well do it now. Time to talk to her."

The man smiled, a horrible smile.

Chapter Text

Hey there ! 

As the title emphasize it, this chapter is just a little message from me to all of those who are waiting for an update. 

First I swear I'm not giving up this story or leaving it on hiatus, I haven't updated those last few weeks for a reason.

I've been crawling under many things. 

I'm actually a college's student and truthfully, I've been for many months bored, I'm in an art degree and with the COVID it was more peaceful than expected... 'till now that is. Indeed this year I had to do an internship but because of the COVID it had been cancelled and replaced by an interview that we have to do, connected to what we would like to do later. Those last few weeks I had been quite tense because the due date of the file that I have to return (with the results of the interview) was getting nearer but each e-mail that I had sent asking for an interview had no answers. So I was unable to write anything because of the stress. You know that state where you can only wait for an answer but because nothing happen and you know that you have something to do, you can't even do what you usually do for fun. I was in that state, worrying by myself about what would happen if really nobody was answering me. 

However, today I finally have an answer, a positive answer at that, so now... Well now I have to quickly review my questions because the photographer that I have to interview suggested doing it this Friday, so I have to get the green light from my teacher about my questions. 

So yes this week if everything goes well, will be the last week without update ! I still have some things to do about school like homework, assessment, assignment and so on. But this isn't as urgent as the interview, and I'm quite confident with those.

Thank you so much for waiting for me, I hope that you're all well, and see you next time !!