𝔄 𝔅𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔞𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔖𝔢𝔞 𝔖𝔭𝔯𝔞𝔶 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔉𝔩𝔞𝔤𝔰; one piece fic

iv; the new era

"Wait a minute," Ace called out to her. "Huh? What is it?" she asked. He hesitated, not sure if he should say it. "Just so you know, I'm gonna be a better pirate than he ever was. So will Sabo and Luffy."

"Oh, really?" she teased. "But you're so weak.." He growled at her, leaping to grab her in annoyance. She dodged easily, and he fell face forward into the ground. This kid, Raye smiled, I can't wait to see how he ends up. When Ace didn't get up, she looked down at his bent-over form.

"Luffy is going to become to King of Pirates," he stated. She was slightly taken aback. The brat hated his father, but wanted to be a pirate just like him. Additionally, his little brother was going to host the same title as the man he despised most. What a complex situation, she hummed. But it's so exciting. The New Era is a beautiful thing.

"Yeah, I think so too," she flicked the back of his neck. "Now get up, I need to leave soon but I'm fucking starving." Raye proceeded into the woods, following the same path as Garp. "Oi, wait up! And I'm not your damn servant," Ace ran to catch up. She tilted her head back in his direction and giggled, glad he was done with his moodiness. "Maybe I should just beat you up and make you one, then," she said. He flinched back, fairly certain she could uphold that statement. "Jeez, okay, I'm coming," he grumbled.

•—•••—•

The pair finally made it back to the house where Dadan and the bandits lived. Raye walked in without hesitation, momentarily forgetting that she was still a stranger to the orange-haired woman. Ace followed after her, looking around for his little brothers. He located them sitting in the corner, tearing apart pieces of meat hurriedly. Sweat rolled down his face as he realized he had missed mealtime. Now he would have to find something to hold him over until the next one. He blamed Raye and his grandpa for it.

"Here you go, Ace-chan," he heard from behind him. Raye was standing behind him, holding a piece of meat out to him. He took it, wondering where she got it from. "Oh, thanks.." he said. "Raye-san," he added on quietly. But, she heard it. She nodded and smiled, happy he was warming up to her. It would be a huge bummer if her own captain's son didn't like her.

A loud slam made everyone turn their heads towards the doorway, and there stood Dadan and Garp, coming back from who-knows-where. Dadan noticed the raven-haired woman, one she had never seen before. "Who the hell are you?" she shouted, not appreciating the random intruder casually resting in her house. "You're still here?" Garp said, annoyed. "I can be wherever I want, you damn old man!" Raye said back, equally annoyed.

Dadan turned purple, shell-shocked at the young woman disrespecting Garp so easily. It didn't seem unnatural, though, and she was a bit surprised Garp knew the woman. "Stay away from my grandsons!" He roared, winding up to hit Raye again. This time she didn't hide behind an innocent child, but ducked. "You're the one who introduced us!" she retorted. A massive hole was punched into the wall, and Dadan screamed at Garp for damaging her property. He excused himself by saying she owed him for letting her stay free, and she fumed.

"I didn't want to be around you, anyways, old geezer. I'm leaving tomorrow," she informed the group. "Aw, no! You told me you were gonna teach me how you flung that gator!" Luffy whined. Dadan nearly had a heart attack. This little lady flung an alligator? She looked her up and down. Luffy must be exaggerating, she concluded. "No, I didn't," Raye replied. "Stop influencing my grandsons!" Garp cried out. Ace and Sabo observed the whole situation, the blonde one rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, and the raven-haired one crossed his arms and stared.