Note: First of all I know many dislike fem! Luffy and R. Harems, but I'd appreciate if everyone who got to this page would give it a try. I'll do my best to make this worth it. And as for my other readers—don't kill me! I swear I'm almost done with 'The Hunter Club's next chapter as well!

Also: Shout out to a close internet friend for forcing me to write this long-sleeping bunny of mine down. I bet many my readers from other fandoms hate us both right now. xD

Question:I'm considering genderbending Boa Hancock as well and, after discussion, then I thought to make the others eunuch-like men if I do. What do you think? Boa Hancock is in the harem, whether she's a girl or boy, but yeah…

WARNING: This occurs during the Marineford arc. Spoilers ahead (probably) to those who hasn't finished it yet.

Disclaimer: OP is Eichiro Oda's property. I am merely a fan. The cover/fanart-to-be-used for the first few chaps isn't mine either (I can't find who it is tho, even with google search. Tell me if you know!). I'll draw one when I find the time, and it'll definitely SUCK (esp. compared to the one I'm using now) but hopefully it'll be decent enough to look at. xD



Her feet buckles until it finally gives way, rendering her on all fours, powerless as she tries to reach his vivre card—his sign of life—unaware of the looming threat standing in front of her.

"LUFFY!" He yells as desperately as he can, praying it reaches her on time. She lifts her head as she hears his calls, hands still hovering to get that piece of paper, and she barely registers that she's about to get killed.

She's going to die.

But she doesn't. He will never allow her to.

So he gathers all the strength he can muster to run to her—to do anything he can to save her. When he sees her safe, he barely even registers the red hot arm that has already impaled his heart.

In the back of his mind, he can hear his precious beads fall down, and his eyes met hers that have grown wide at what she's seeing. He is sorry she has to see this.

He feels the arm abruptly pulling away from him and he falls on her, directing his head to land on her shoulder. She is shaking, and he can tell she can't even bring herself to lift her hands.

He wants to apologize to her, for causing her such an emotional would, but his body is at its limit already.

But despite his very life being drained away, he holds her—the only woman he loved—close, as tightly as he could with the last bit of strength he has, even if only for a moment. He tells her a message for everyone, because he knows she will survive this.

"Even if when I'm so worthless…" he breathes out. "…even when I am a child of a demon…

"Thank you for loving me. "

For making me feel glad that I ever lived.


天真

CHAPTER 1: Innocence


FOOSHA VILLAGE
10 Years Prior

"HELPP MEEEE! I'M GONNA DDDIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

His eyes widened as he heard her voice and he whipped his head to Sabo, who had a similar expression. "LUFFY!" They yelled and simultaneously put as much force towards their tiny little legs to propel them forward and sprinted towards the voice they've been looking for (for the last two hours).

There was no doubt that Luffy angered a beast that she had no business dealing with alone (again), thinking it could be her dinner when it was much more likely that it was the other way around.

They caught up to them just in time to see the giant tiger gaining momentum to crush her with its teeth—when one of its fangs would be enough. They put all their power towards their pipes and hit its head at the same time.

They puffed out all the tiredness and—with foreheads wrinkled in worry—their eyes quickly scanned through the displaced dust to look for their sister. She's on her butt—unharmed—watching both of them with wide eyes. For a moment there they thought she was going to continue crying, only the tears were quickly replaced by stars and she raised her hand in excitement. "WHOA! ACE! SABO! You two are so awesome!" Then she laughed and raised her hands again. "Banzai!"

Only they weren't gonna laugh with her. Faces not hiding their annoyance, they jumped down the warm carcass and stomped to her direction, immediately placing two massive bumps on her head. "I-ITTE!" She cried, holding her head in pain. "What the hell was that for?"

"You idiot!" They yelled, absolutely livid, not that they could think of anything else to say. This was the closest to death Luffy had ever been in, and she was close. They even stretch her cheeks both sides to show their anger. This better be painful. "It could've easily killed you!"

"But way'm strongwer nowr. I'wll jwust mwake my pwunchch as schrong as a bazweeka and—" But they shut her up by letting go of her stretched cheeks and she fell down at the force. By this time, Sabo had already calmed down a bit, sitting down next to Luffy, but Ace was still furious.

When Luffy sat back up, her head was once again met with his knuckles.

"—THE HECK!" Luffy roared and was about to kick Ace in retaliation when she saw his expression. This stopped her very-deadly-bone-breaking kick midair and she felt herself calm down a little. Sabo looked at them alternately and only smiled in understanding.

"How the hell do we protect you when you keep doing things like this?" He whispered, but it was loud enough to be heard. His soft expression hardened once more, and she shivered. "Do that again, and I will cut ties with you." He announced with venom and whipped his head away.

"You friggin' brat." He mumbled and went to run to a cove to brood and genuinely wondered what would happen if Luffy was gone.

He shuddered at the thought.

...

Luffy, the crybaby who cried whenever she felt like crying, was bawling and Makino gave her all the food in her fridge to calm her down. "Ace hates me again!"

"He's just worried." Sabo told her, nibbling on the tiny chicken leg he managed to get. "You did almost die in front of us, you know."

"I vwon't die," She announced, large servings of viand inside her mouth. "I'm schill gwonna be Pirwate King."

"Not with that thoughtlessness." Sabo explained. "You need to be more careful."

"Eeehh." Luffy droned, swallowed her food, and made a face. "But I am careful."

"NO YOU'RE NOT."

"Tsk."

Sabo face-palms and Makino just laughs. "Just say you're sorry and you'll tell them if you're going to get a massive dinner for all of you." She said, making a hand gesture to show how large the catch could be.

Luffy drooled at the imagined meat and she grinned, running to look for Ace…

…who lasted exactly 4 seconds under her apologetic pout, before telling her he forgives her.

...

"Yay! WE'RE BROTHERS AGAIN!" Luffy announced with a yell that could probably be heard all the way from Windmill village. She ran to give him a high-five when she arrived at the tree-house.

Sabo smiled. "You realize you're a girl."

"Yeah."

"So you're our 'sister'."

She frowned. "Maybe. But together we're brothers."

Sabo realized 'brothers and sister' may sound too long for Luffy, so "Brothers it is, then…" he said and then looked behind her. "Where's Ace?"

"Still in the cove."

"Why?"

"He won't say but I think he's training." She made a face. So cute. "Then he forces me to go away or else I'm not his brother anymore again." She then turned her head to Sabo, who just wanted to pat her head.

"It's no fair!" Luffy mumbled bitterly, her rubbery cheeks blown up adorably big. "He gets stronger and stronger and I'm SURE it's just so I won't catch up." She gritted her teeth at that last sentence. "That jerk."

Sabo ruffled her hair. "It's not that we don't want you to catch up. We just want to be stronger than you every time you do." He grinned, revealing his broken teeth. "Otherwise, what kind of big brother are we if we can't protect you?"

"I don't always have to be protected though." She told him, eyebrows meeting with conviction. "I'll be a captain soon!"

"Yeah, but right now you're not."

"Errr…"

Sabo just chuckled and played with her adorable rubbery cheek. She occasionally puffed it out, with Sabo gladly poking the air out every time. As always, Luffy's anger easily dissipated and they laughed and played until Ace came and they all grin and go back to training.

For the month that followed the three brothers sparred together as always and they could feel their strengths getting better every day, taking their break naps in their tree house resting in each others' warmth.

A couple more weeks in and Luffy could handle a massive critter all on her own, surprising them every time.

Then they surprise themselves because Luffy absolutely cannot catch up to them. So when she improved a step, they strived to make three.

"Whaaat." Luffy pouted every time they showed off a new technique. "When did you learn that?!"

"Secret," they grinned, and they laughed and relished the subsequent attention the little girl would give them. And—when the technique is particularly impressive—they could even get her to give them some of her meat (it's true!) if they teach her.

Every day was fun and filled with laughter and limitless dreams and ambitions.

They were happy, and it felt like it would last forever.

.

.

And then Sabo died, and three became two.

They cried their hearts out during the next several nights, never letting go of the other's hand. They only had each other now, after all, and it would stay that way for many years that followed.

He watched her sleep since then, and he only dozed off when her nightmares ended.

There was no way he was going to lose his sister, too.

...


Luffy thought Ace was being more over-protective than usual. He no longer allowed her to fight monsters she just knew she could take on, he no longer allowed her to get near water if he was not at least a meter away from him, and he even killed their dinner before she got to do her finishing shots!

She knew it was because of Sabo, but still.

Heck—he never even let her play with other boys!

"Ace." She finally said, after much thought (which really wasn't that much, considering it was Luffy). "You're being stupid."

"What?"

"Stupid."

His nose twitched at this. "If I'm stupid, you're the biggest idiot in the whole world."

She gasped a little at this, offended. "I am not," she said, voice squeaking a little. "And who gives you the right to determine that?"

"I'm your brother!" He announced, as if that explains everything. "And you follow my rules! That's just how it is. Baaaka." Then his annoyed expression turned smug. "You can't even land a kick on me."

Luffy just tried to kick him after that, all the way til' bed time.

天真

All was nice and well between the sworn siblings for a long time, until a realization came about.

Ace was not even thirteen, then, when he realized his intentions towards Luffy may not be as brotherly as he thought.

When he was eleven he beat a couple of thugs, accidentally saving a pair of girls his age. His popularity sky rocketed and he suddenly had a reservoir of girls wanting to hold his hand, his arm, or even kiss him. A few weeks later and he had already kissed almost every cute girl in town.

The kisses were nice, he thought, and many of them were very pretty girls from noble families. But he didn't think much of it though nor had he ever had the impulse to do it (with the same girl) again.

But then every time he saw Luffy—a little girl three whole years younger than he was—he was always forced to fight the urge to kiss her.

.

.

He never did, of course.

Unfortunately, Luffy's an extremely affectionate (and adorable) kid and when she was happy she was definitely going to hug the person closest to her (which was him) and if she was really happy (i.e. getting to eat a whole massive animal for herself) he'll even get a peck on the cheek.

Then puberty came crushing down on them and it all became a hell-of-a-lot harder.

So… he sailed a year earlier.

"He sails at 16!? Then I will sail when I turn 15!" Luffy yelled, stomped, and otherwise threw a tantrum in front of the village (and their set of bandits) seeing him of.

"No. You will sail at 17." Ace commanded and authoritatively crossed his arms. "You're a girl. You need more training."

"I'm strong!"

"Not strong enough."

"You Jerk!" She growled and she launched at him, making his face the target of her pistol-like punch. He avoided it by turning his head, but then he saw her face and she used her elasticity to try to kick him on the knee. He was too surprised by what he'd seen that he didn't even avoid losing his balance, barely feeling the pain in his back as he fell strongly on the grass.

She straddled him so he wouldn't be able to escape and she punched his face repeatedly, unable to hear the yells of the villager.

He raised his hand a bit, to stop the villagers from approaching, taking every hit that Luffy threw at his face. His eyes never left her face.

Luffy was crying—sobbing—and he was frozen in place since it was the first time he had seen her cry since Sabo, and he honestly didn't know what to do.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Makino go between them and the villagers and soon urged everyone to give them room. "They'll be fine." She said. "It's their way of saying good bye." He could hear even Dadan tell the villagers to suck it up and leave the kids some space, and finally they were alone.

Luffy continued placing one more punch on him—a weak one—while she straddled him still. "Sabo left. And you're leaving two years earlier." She finally voiced out. "You want to get away that much?!"

His heart clenched and he wanted to say that isn't it, but something's stuck in his throat. He wanted to say something comforting and he almost did, but then he sat up and she slid down hitting a rather sensitive spot and havoc was wrecked in his senses.

He practically pushed the thirteen-year-old as he stood up, turning to his boat. It was then that he felt a tug on his shirt. "Ace… why are you leaving so early?" she asked once more, albeit her voice was more commanding than one that just came out from a bawling session.

"The earlier I go, the earlier I get to do what we promised." He said, turning his head to her direction, and hoped she stopped asking. But the statement induced an airy 'pssh' from the girl behind him, right after she very audibly sniffed in her snot.

"Then why can't I go earlier as well?"

"Because you're a girl."

"I don't see your point." She then impatiently crossed her arms. "You're lying aren't you?"

He turned and sees her eyes were still a bit red from crying, and snot unabashedly drooping down her nose, and he thought she's adorable as ever. They stay silent for a while, staring each other down, until he sighed… knowing full well he couldn't really reason with her anymore. Not without saying the truth: which absolutely will remain unsaid.

Ace opened up his arms and she, after a second of ponder, walked towards him and went inside it. He enveloped her inside his arms, and he rested his chin on her head (and silently wonders how tall she'll be when they meet again). "Whatever my reason, I'm doing it for you."

"Whhhaaaat."

He held her closer, partly so that she won't ask anymore questions. Unfortunately, it meant her face was against his skin and he could feel her breath vibrate throughout his body. It didn't help when Luffy embraced him tighter, the well-built protective form that—to her—had always emanated strength.

He forced his senses to calm down a bit and took the opportunity to memorize her scent, her voice, and the feel of her body against his.

It took a lot of willpower to part with her, and—due to her own reluctance to let go—he sensed the feeling was mutual. He allowed his hand to stay on her shoulder, just so he could remain in contact with her, and he accidentally looked into her dilating eyes and increasingly reddening face.

His thoughts stopped at that. Was this really how a woman looked at someone she saw as a brother?

Then it hit him.

Could it be? He asked himself, a little disbelieving.

Does she think of him the same way?

He gulped and his hand found its way on the side of her face, partly to see how she'd react. Her eyes remained on him, as if she was doing the same thing: memorizing his face.

Something particularly violent attacked his stomach—but oddly in a good way—and something felt stuck on his throat. His head slowly dipped down, eyes on her lips, but he realized what he's doing, and he stopped midway.

He ruffled her hair instead, before letting go and jumping on his boat.

"BYE, Luffy!" He yelled, forcing a grin, as his less-than-steady hands try to untie the knots. "See you s—"

He was cut off when he felt hands on his face and his body gently being turned and pulled, shortly followed by a soft pressure on his lips. His eyes widened, and the first thing he saw was her characteristically innocent grin. But by the time he realized what has happened, he was already drifting away.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he did manage to untie the knots.

.

.

"E-Eh?" He finally managed to utter out, when he was already a few dozen meters away from shore, right in the middle of the unswimmable coral seas and with the only boat left in the island. "O-OI! LUFFY!" he yelled, raising his hand and waved it to catch her attention. "Stretch your hands! Right NOW! OI!"

Meanwhile Luffy, who had not taken her eyes off Ace heard his calls. "He's yelling something..." she muttered and tilted her head in wonder of what he was saying. Then she saw him wildly waving his hands and she beamed and waved him off as well.

"BYE ACE!" She shouted. "See you sooooon!"

Then she remembered one of Dadan's (many) random stories that were supposed to scare her from sailing. "AND DON'T YOU GO GETTING SUCKED BY WHIRLPOOLS!" She yelled, thinking he could hear. Then she felt a bit worried. After all, Ace can be so stupid sometimes.

.

.

END OF CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2: Recollection
Because Ace thinks getting well past the hormonal stage must mean he'll be fine when he sees Luffy again. Right?


回忆


That's it for the pilot chap!
Hope you enjoyed, and
I'd appreciate knowing your thoughts (whatever they are)!
They inspire me so.