Plenty of Fish in the Sea

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Out of breath, a short kid with pink hair came to a stop, wheezing with his hands on his knees.

"Luffy!"

Getting his wits together, he went ramrod-straight, bringing his hand to his temple in a military salute. His gaze was directed at one person in particular, the tanned boy with dark hair, partially hidden under a straw hat.

"Thank you! I'll… never forget what you did for me!"

Hearing a shout from behind them, two boys, who'd been waling side-by-side, halted at the end of a pier. The eldest between the two, a green haired teenager with three katana strapped to his waist, looked at him oddly, rubbing his chin with one hand.

"I've never heard of a pirate being thanked by a marine..."

His companion chuckled, pulling his hat lower over his face. Stepping of the edge, his sandaled foot landed squarely on the prow of a small wooden boat.

"Let's meet again sometime, Coby!"

Glancing between the two, the swordsman grunted. He got in the boat too, starting to unfasten the mooring rope.

Coby watched as they undocked, their rickety vessel starting to bob toward the open sea. His glasses fogged up, seeming on the verge of tears.

When the little ship was halfway to the horizon, a hand suddenly came down on Coby's shoulder. It was a man in a marine uniform, surrounded by a crowd of his fellows.

"That's a great friend you have there."

Looking at him in shock, Coby's lip trembled.

The marine smiled, his eyes travelling toward the sea. He raised his hand in a salute, as did the men behind him. Together, they watched as the boat grew smaller, eventually no more than a black dot.

"Our salute just now was in violation of naval law! We'll all go without food for three days, understood?"

The marines shouted their affirmation.

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When the island had nearly disappeared, Luffy lips curved into a grin.

"Our pirate crew finally sets sail. I bet some really fun adventures are waiting for us! What do you think, Zoro?"

Zoro huffed, idly fiddling with a sword.

"...you seem really obsessed with the 'king of pirates' thing. You have a reason for it?"

Luffy's expression was momentarily serious, but then his smile returned. He patted his straw hat with sentimentality.

"I swore to a certain man that… I would gather a great crew, find the world's greatest treasure, and become the greatest pirate in the world!"

Zoro shook his head, glancing at Luffy's back

"Heh, if you didn't at least have that much ambition, I wouldn't waste my time by joining you."

The two of them went silent, each nursing their own thoughts. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the faint rushing of waves, and the wind rustling their sail.

It was Zoro who eventually noticed something odd, glancing toward a bulging blanket in one corner.

"Hey captain, I thought you said you didn't have supplies on board?"

Shifting on his seat, he extended an arm, pulling on the blanket corner.

Luffy turned his head.

"Really? Maybe the townspeople left us a few things? You think there's food…?"

The two watched curiously as their 'cargo' was unveiled.

When the blanket came off, their expressions turned shocked. A youth around their age was laying there, his messy, shoulder-length hair scattered over his face. His chest rose and fell steadily, clearly asleep.

Drawing closer, Luffy nudged the boy's prone form with his sandal.

"It's a person!"

With a sigh, Zoro sheathed his blade, having drawn it on instinct. He poked the guy in the ribs with his scabbard. It provoked a sound of protest, but the teenager simply rolled onto his side, pulling the blanket to his chin.

"It's a stowaway. But what for? Not like we have anything to steal."

Glancing left to right and finding their single pitch-sealed wooden bucket, he grabbed it and scooped some seawater. He unceremoniously emptied it over the passenger's head.

The kid awoke with a start, spluttering and gasping. Wiping hair and brine from his face, he looked around groggily.

"Who? Where…?"

It didn't take him long to spot Zoro and Luffy looming over him. Clarity slowly returned to his gaze.

"…ah. Since you two took so long in there, I closed my eyes for a moment. Seems I fell asleep."

"…"

Unsurprisingly, this wasn't the response either of them had been expecting.

Zoro growled, putting his foot on the stowaway's chest and pushing him to the floorboards.

"Don't spout nonsense. What are you doing here? Who are you?"

"…whoa, Zoro. Maybe he ended up one the wrong boat?"

"If he did, we're not turning around. He can swim back. We're not that far out."

"Well, I don't really want to go back either-... Wait! It's almost dinner-time. Maybe we can eat something…"

While the two of them quarreled, the youth glanced at Zoro's boot with displeasure, shoving it with one hand. The sudden jostling didn't remotely disturb its owner's balance.

"I heard you're starting a pirate-crew. I want in."

Luffy and Zoro went quiet, turning their heads toward him.

"Huh?"

"How did you know?"

The teenager shrugged.

"I overheard at the inn."

The two looked at each other, then back at him.

"Do you live on that island?"

"…not really."

Zoro put one hand on his hip, an air of frustration about him.

"Well, speak up! Who the hell are ya?"

The boy smiled. After adjusting his messy hair, he flexed one arm.

"My friends call me Jack. Handsome Jack. Or they would, if I had any."

By the looks on their faces, neither Zoro nor Luffy knew how to react to that introduction.

Zoro sighed, setting the bucket on deck. He started stretching, pulling his arm above his head.

"He's just some weirdo, captain. Let's throw him overboard before we reach the deep-sea."

Without waiting for a response, he took a step toward Jack.

Before he could deliver on his threat, Luffy intervened, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait."

Meeting Jack's eyes, he sat down on his haunches so they were eye-level. He pointed at his stomach, then at the other boy's chest.

"Can you cook?"

Leaning his back against the mast, Jack held his chin, appearing thoughtful.

"I can turn raw food into cooked food…?"

"What about music?"

"Do I look like I have an instrument on me?"

"…can you navigate a ship? How about repairing one?"

"No to both."

"Are you a doctor?"

"No."

"Hmm…"

Luffy's expression was vexed. With only the two of them, it didn't take a genius to figure out he wanted more crew members. However, there was no ship that welcomed an extra mouth to feed—not if they couldn't pull their weight.

Zoro, who'd remained quiet until now, stepped forward, grabbing the edge of the blanket. He yanked it off Jack's chest, exposing his shirtless torso.

His eyes narrowing, Zoro took in the sight of countless silvery scars, contrasting with his dark skin. One was particularly eye-catching, a jagged line going from shoulder to hip.

"Are you strong?"

Jack smiled thinly.

"Depends on who you ask."

Zoro huffed, looking from him to Luffy. He kicked Jack's ankle as a form of punctuation.

"This guy can fight."

"…oh, really? Why didn't you just say so?"

The latter part being intended for Jack, Luffy held out his hand, flashing rows of white teeth.

"If Zoro is fine with it, then I am too. Welcome to the crew!"

Jack's eyes flicked toward Zoro. Seeing him standing there indifferently, he smiled as well, taking Luffy's hand. He stood, pulling the two of them to their feet.

"In that case, don't mind if I call you captain. Do you have a first mate yet? I'm willing to take the position-…"

"Why the hell should you be first mate? I joined before you did!"

"The strongest person aside from the captain is first mate. That's obvious."

"Huh? You think you're stronger than me-…?!"

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A few days later, under the sweltering sun, and with little food and water, the boys were quickly sapped of their excitement. Sitting under the single tarp with their heads in their hands, they stared out morosely over the swells.

Sighing, Jack looked at the others in turn.

"Really, why didn't you guys bring more supplies? Did you think being a pirate was easy?"

"What are you saying? We were chased out of town by marines! Besides, you didn't bring anything either!"

Zoro was quick to point out Jack's hypocrisy.

The person in question shrugged, his expression unbothered.

"Don't have unreasonable expectations. I'm totally broke. If I wasn't, I wouldn't become a pirate."

Annoyed, Zoro was about to continue berating him when Luffy cut them off, looking at Jack curiously.

"What were you doing on that island?"

"Didn't I tell you, captain? I was looking for a crew to join."

Zoro scoffed.

"At a marine base?"

"Why not?

"What? Are you stupid or something?"

"Don't call people names."

"Even if I called you smart, it wouldn't change anything."

The two of them quibbled for a while before Luffy let out a long groan, already having lost interest in the conversation.

"Ah, I'm so hungry! If only we brought a fishing rod."

Zoro huffed, crossing his arms and returning to stare out over the ocean. Since there was nothing to be done, both he and Jack ignored their captain's complaints.

They sat in silence for about thirty minutes before Zoro twitched, his eyes narrowing.

"Hey doesn't that look like-…?"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence when voices suddenly cried out, coming from the open ocean.

"Hey! Stop! You there!"

Luffy and Jack both sat upright, peering out over the water. A few hundred yards away, a trio if individuals were trying to stay afloat, their heads sticking above the water.

Jack made a sound of surprise.

"Running into a bunch of shipwrecked people… What a coincidence."

Zoro scoffed.

"You really don't know anything about seafaring, do you? Almost every passing ship rides this current. Captain, we rescuing them or what?"

Luffy hummed, scratching his chin. Probably since their vessel was so small, he didn't answer immediately.

"You think they'll have something to eat?"

"…"

Zoro and Jack were both silent. The question wasn't even worth answering.

Sighing, the former adjusted the rudder, heading toward the group of swimmers.

"It's annoying, but they might know where the nearest island is. A few more days in the sun will turn us into dried sardines."

It wasn't long before they'd fished out the three men. Clambering on board, said men wrung water out of their clothes, breathing hard from exertion.

Their leader, a thin, tall fellow wearing a strange hat, bowed sloppily.

"If it weren't for you, we probably would've drowned out there! We really don't know how to repay you, but…"

Suddenly, he straightened, a metallic sound ringing in the air. A saber had appeared in his right hand, leveled under the three pirates' noses.

"…we'll start by sparing your lives! The members of the Buggy-Pirates are now commandeering this boat! Now get rowing!"

Luffy, Zoro and Jack exchanged glances. None of them seemed particularly impressed.

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