Chapter 4: Enter Luffy! The Mischief We’ll Make!

Over the next year, we continued to steal treasure, hang out, and plan our future grand adventures. We also started working on improving my air abilities. We started off working on flying. The boys would tie a vine or rope around my waist and I would practice using the air to lift me up on command. I quickly got the hang of it, and soon enough, I was flying all around the Goa Kingdom. The people of the island would see me and, for some reason, either freak out or admire me, calling me the "The Goa Kingdom Airess".

One day, while Ace and Sabo were off getting loot somewhere else, I was in town selling some pearls I found inside some oysters. As I was walking down the street, I saw something happening in an alleyway in the corner of my eye. Curious about the commotion, I walked down it to see Old Man Harper's two grandchildren cornering him, demanding money.

"Hey," I called out as I ran over. "What do you two think you're doing to him?"

They both click their tongues in disgust when they saw it was me interrupting them. "What does gutter trash like you want," the grandson barked.

"Trash like me wants to know what scum like you are doing to Ol' Harper," I demanded. "I suggest you leave him be."

"Oh, Anne," Harper said in surprise. "D-Don't mind us. We were just, um, having a discussion. I'd hate to keep you from whatever you were doing."

"Nah, nah," the granddaughter said as she started to walk towards me, getting out the old familiar switchblade from a year ago. "The gutter trash doesn't remember her place. Maybe if you beg for forgiveness, I'll only cut off a finger! Or better yet, if you also throw in what's on you, maybe we won't need to get physical with Grandpa over there."

I gave them a glare. "You two are despicable," I hissed. "You would rough up your own blood for money? ... If I give you what I have, will you leave the old man alone?"

"I guess," the granddaughter said, before she charged at me knife-first, "after I take it off your good-for-nothing corpse!"

"No! Stop this," Harper shouted.

As she tried to lodge the knife into my chest, the knife and her body went right through me, causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground behind me. They all looked at me in horror. "No way," the grandson said, flabbergasted. "What the hell are you?!"

"She must be a ghost," the granddaughter exclaimed in fear. "I must have somehow killed her before!!!"

I was about to correct them, but I stopped, deciding to seize the opportunity to mess with them. "That's riiiight~," I said in a spooky voice as I waved my arms eerily. "I've come to seek my revenge~. I suggest you forever leave Ol' Man Harper alone, lest you want to face the vengeful spirit of Anne~. Never let me see your faces again, or I'll melt your brains and organs!"

The two let out horrified screams as they both ran away in terror. I turned back to Harper, who was just as pale as the two that had just run off. "A-Anne, i-is it true," Harper asked, looking somewhat saddened.

I couldn't take the old man's gullibility and just let out a laugh. "Of course not," I told him as I wiped a tear from my eye. "It's just a special power I picked up from eating a fruit, that's all."

I half expected him to have a puzzled look on his face, but instead, his face lit up in recognition. "Do you mean from a Devil Fruit? Like the Aero Aero Fruit," Harper asked.

"Wait, you know about it, old man," I asked in surprise.

"Yes, actually," Harper said sadly as he got out an old wanted poster of a man in his 30s with the name "Airman Aaron" on it with a bounty of 20 million berries. "The last holder happened to be my son, Aaron, back when I was still a pirate. But he was captured by the Marines last year and, well… you can probably guess what happened after that… Anyway, surely you have better places to be than talking to this washed up old man."

I dug into my pocket and pulled out one of the pearls I had and handed it to him. "I know it's not much, but I just want to thank you for your kindness and for putting up with this troubling brat over the years," I told him as I put the pearl into his hand.

"Oh, I simply couldn't," Harper tried to resist.

"But you will," I said with a snicker as I started to walk back towards the street. "You knew I stole from you and yet you still treated me kindly, so it's to repay you for everything I took. See ya around, ol' man Harper!"

Before he could protest any further about taking the pearl, I ran back to the street to head to the jewelry vendor. All of the vendors obviously watched me carefully to make sure I didn't have any sticky fingers as I traded in my pearls. A few kids passing by saw me and got excited as they cheerfully told their parent, "It's the Airess of Goa!"

I gave a small wave as the kids ran up to me unexpectedly. "Is it true you can fly," one girl, probably younger than Ace and Sabo, asked.

"You idiot," the boy mocked her, "People can't fly! The Airess is just a myth!"

The jeweler handed me the money in exchange for the pearl and I bent down the girl's height. "Actually, you wanna know a secret," I asked her. She nodded her head with curious eyes. I looked side-to-side as if it was some sort of big secret and I told her, "I can fly."

The girl gasped with her hand over her mouth and the boy clicked his tongue. "As if," the boy said as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah? All eyes on me," I told them, as I moved a hand in front of me. I created a draft of wind from my palm and gusts of air began to surround me, lifting me up off of the ground. "Sorry I can't stay longer, but I got a haul to get!"

I took off into the air and flew back to Dadan's, leaving the boy stunned and the girl giggling happily. I landed in front of the house with a soft thud, and just as I was about to head inside, I saw a tall, burly figure coming this way. I turned my head back towards the house as I called, "Dadan! Gramps is here!"

I could hear her grumble and curse inside the hut and she yelled to me, "Tell him I'm not here!'

I just shrugged and ran over to Garp. "Gramps! Why are you here," I asked as I reached him.

"Anne," Garp exclaimed happily. "My little angel! You've grown so much since the last time I was here!"

I rolled my eyes and said, "Well, yeah. It's been about a year since you last visited!"

Garp tried to pull me into a tight hug. However, having lived in this environment for so long of always needing to be on guard, I instinctively thought he was coming in to attack me. My body reflexively acted and went intangible as he tried to wrap his arms around me. His arms went right through my sides, causing his arms to hug himself instead. We stood there for a moment in silence, neither of us moving. He then swiftly grabbed me by the ear, most likely using Armament Haki, as he shouted, "What in the hell is this?! Not you, too!!!"

Before I could even ask what he meant by that, a boy with a scar under his left eye and a familiar straw hat on his back peeked out from behind Garp, picking his nose as he said, "Wooh, you have Devil Fruit powers, just like me!"

As Garp forced me into a Haki-infused hug, I just stared at the boy. "Uh, Gramps," I began to ask him, "who's the kid?"

Garp turned to the boy and went, "Oh yeah. This is Luffy, my grandson. He's been living in Windmill Village. Luffy, this is Anne. She's six years older than you. You two go ahead and get acquainted while I go have a talk with Dadan. After that, you and I are going to have a chat, young lady!"

"Dadan said to tell you that she's not here," I joked.

Garp stormed towards the hut and started banging on the door until she finally opened it and came out. As they talked and argued about Luffy staying, Luffy and I just stood there for a moment as we tried to figure out what to say first to each other.

"So what can you do with your powers," Luffy asked excitedly.

I lifted a palm up in front of me, generating wind around me, lifting me up a little bit off of the ground. "I can control air, make air, and be made of air. You know, the basic characteristics of a Logia-type user."

"That's so cool," the boy said, then pinched his cheeks and stretched them out, "I'm made of rubber!"

I stared at the hat on Luffy's back. "Hey," I started to ask as I pointed at the hat, "Where'd you get that?"

"Oh this," he asked as he put it on his head. "A friend of mine that saved me gave it to me!"

"You don't mean Shanks, do you," I asked with a smile, eager to meet someone who knew Shanks.

Luffy's eyes lit up with joy as he asked, "You know Shanks?!" Before we could continue the conversation, a blob of spit hit Luffy in the face, "Agh! Yuck! Spit! Hey! Who are you?!"

We turned and saw Ace sitting on a dead wild buffalo he had just hunted, arms crossed with a scowl on his face, glaring at Luffy. "Oh," Garp said, looking towards Ace. "That's Ace. He's three years older than you, Luffy. From now on, you three will be living together. Make sure you get along!"

"You mean it's already decided," Dadan tried to protest.

"Got a problem with that?" Garp asked with a side-eye.

Dadan shrunk as she changed tones, "No!! We'll be glad to look after him! Anyway, let's bring in the buffalo and get dinner started!"

"Cool! I'll get the fire started," I cheered at the thought of food.

Garp put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from going inside. "Not so fast, young lady," he told me. "We still need to talk."

I pouted, knowing I probably wasn't going to like this talk. "Maaaan," I groaned, looking to Ace. "Save me, Ace!"

Ace just stared at me with a deadpan expression. "Maybe next time," he told me with a straight face. "You'd better hurry if you want any meat."

"Jerk," I spat, sticking my tongue out at him. "I'll remember this…"

Everyone else went inside while Garp and I stayed outside. He knelt down and looked me in the eyes. "So, do you want to tell me how this happened," Garp asked, referring to my Devil Fruit powers.

"No," I said, avoiding eye contact. "Not really."

He let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine, let me rephrase," Garp said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Go ahead and tell me how this happened. Do you even know what having these powers entails?"

"I mean, I somewhat know," I told him, still avoiding eye contact, not wanting to disappoint him when he finds out what happened. After all, this man hunts pirates and I whole-heartedly accepted a pirate's help and enjoyed meeting Shanks.

I ended up telling him everything, from how it all started with Ace, a friend, and I trying to built a raft, all the way up to everything Shanks told me about the Devil Fruits. I didn't have to tell him everything, but I just wanted to show that not all pirates are bad, but can be helpful!

Garp clicked his tongue in disgust as he spat, "Damn that Shanks. Corrupting my family, he is! … but at least you're safe. Just remember to be weary of standing water and to be on your toes. There are some people out there that would literally kill to have your powers, or may want to sell you as a slave because of your powers. Now, give your gramps one last hug before he leaves!"

"Okay, Gramps," I said with a smile as he gave me one last bear hug before he left.

Garp stood back up and began to walk back down the path, waving back as he walked out of distance. I turned around and went into the hut, just to see that the meat had already been served and taken from the serving plate. "Hey," I called out, "You could have waited like five minutes!"

"You snooze, you lose," one of the bandits teased.

I sobbed as I grabbed a bowl of rice and a glass of water, and I sat down next to Ace. Without me even saying anything, Ace tossed a chunk of meat onto my lap, simply saying, "I saved ya a piece just this once, since it was the old man's fault you were late."

I cried tears of happiness as I held the meat like it was a gift from the heavens, "You're the best, Ace!"

"Heeeeey," Luffy moaned, setting down his empty rice bowl, "you wouldn't give me any meat!"

"It's because Anne is Ace's sister. Those two are as thick as thieves, while being thieves," Dadan told him while pulling some meat off of the bone in her hand. "Besides, Ace caught the buffalo and got his share, so it's up to him what he does with his portion! Anne usually gets the fish so she'd get her portion when she brings it in. Speaking of which, starting tomorrow, I'm gonna start working your butt off, boy! Cleaning, washing, shoe polishing, weapon polishing, stealing, plundering, fraud, murder! You got that?! And you better not snitch back to Garp about what you're forced to do here! You get one bowl of rice and one cup of water a day! That's all you'll be guaranteed here! You'll have to get the rest on your own, fend for yourself, brat!"

"Ah, this reminds me of the first time I got this lecture when we got here, except one of my duties was to change Ace's diapers," I said with a laugh, reminiscing on old times.

Ace nearly choked when he heard that last part, telling me to shut up and to stop saying embarrassing stuff. Luffy just shrugged and said, "Okay." Dadan was surprised at his response. "One time, Grandpa left me alone in the jungle. This forest has all the earthworms, frogs, snakes, and mushrooms I could ever eat! I'm gonna be a pirate someday! Taking care of myself is nothing!"

Ace cleared his plate and got up to leave. Luffy saw this and asked where he was going, getting up to chase after him.

"My money is on Ace trying to kill him," I wagered, taking 100 berries out of my pocket.

"I'll take that bet," a few of the bandits joined in, taking money out of their pockets.

We tallied up the wages, and everyone else seemed to think Ace was better than trying to kill a new stranger that is irritating him. They were probably underestimating him since he was a kid. But I knew better, Ace just doesn't want to let people in, just to get hurt.

As soon as the tallies were taken, there was a huge crash that came from outside. A few others and I rushed outside to see what the commotion was. When we made it out, we saw a huge tree had been knocked down and was lying right in front of Luffy, who looked as though he had just dodged the rolling tree. Ace stood at the top of the hill with a menacing glare, right next to the stomp of the fallen tree. A lot of the bandits moaned as I stuck my hand out, receiving my winnings from them. Before I could make it over to the tree to help him, Luffy had picked himself up off of the ground and was already chasing after Ace again. I gave a sigh as I looked at the large tree. "I'll make the firewood…"

The other bandits went back inside while I got ready to cut up the tree. I stuck my hand out towards the tree and started to summon up some air. I closed my eyes to concentrate on making gusts of wind as sharp as blades. Using the wind, I cut the tree into smaller pieces, after a few tries. I spent an hour or so cutting and picking up all of the wood and moving it to our stockpile of firewood. By the time I was finishing up, I saw Ace coming back and go into the house.

"Welcome back, Ace," I greeted as I threw the last piece onto the pile. I looked around behind him, but didn't see any sign of the new boy. "Hey, where'd the new kid go? Did he ever catch up to you?"

Ace shrugged and went, "I don't know."

"Ace, that's Gramps' grandson," I started to lecture. "If he goes missing, you know I'll be one of the people to hear about it from Gramps! I don't know why Gramps would even want to bring him here, but, being the oldest of the kids, you know I'll be partly responsible… I so don't need another speech from him..."

Ace and I walked past the main room, but stopped when we heard one of the bandits ask Dadan, "Boss, isn't it really bad to have him go missing on the very first day?!"

"Bah, forget about him," Dadan said drunkenly, swinging her booze around. "If he dies, he dies! And I don't care what happens to the other two brats anymore! If they wander off and die in a ditch, all we have to tell Garp is it was an accident. You know what they say, ill weeds growing apace. They got that right." I covered Ace's ears so he wouldn't hear the rest. "Ace is a demon child and Anne is getting bolder by the day, especially with those powers of hers! They really are monsters! Imagine what'll happen if the government comes snooping around! What do you think will happen to us!"

Ace struggled to get my hands off, but I just pushed him to our room. "Why'd you go and do that for," Ace protested.

I ruffled the top of his head like Gramps usually does with me and told him, "Some things are better left unheard."

Ace clicked his tongue as he spat, "It's not like I don't already know what she thinks of us, especially me. I've heard it all before. She probably just wishes I'd drop dead…"

I embraced my brother tightly after hearing him say that. "Don't ever listen to that nonsense. You may get a little wild sometimes, but that's what makes you who you are. You never back down from a fight, even when I wish you would sometimes. I'm glad you're here with me and that I have someone to go on adventures with," I told him, then sat him down on his cot. "Now go to bed! I still gotta let the others know I finished cutting the firewood."

Ace looked like he wanted to say something, but he changed his mind and did as I told him, getting under his covers to go to bed. I left the room and shut the door behind me. I went back downstairs and entered the main room everyone else was in. I tried to cover it, but I couldn't hide the irritable look on my face. "The firewood's done," I said, unable to also hide the aggravated tone in my voice.

"Eeeh, what's the matter with you," Dadan asked, pointing her booze bottle towards me. "Why aren't you giving that obnoxious smile of yours that you usually do? Now your face is just… well, obnoxious."

"Because I'm trying not to say anything I might regret," I told her with a side-eye. "Next time you want to talk poorly about us, you can do it in front of me, but don't do it where my brother can hear."

I left them stunned with my unusual callousness. I knew she probably didn't fully mean what she said, but knowing Ace, he might take it to heart. He was a bit more sensitive to what people say about him. As his older sister, I felt as though it were my job to help protect him from what he didn't need to hear. I know Ace would protest if he knew how I felt, but I know he would probably be doing the same if he were in my shoes.

When I went back to Ace and my room, I noticed he was sitting up with the covers over his lap, arms crossed. "Oh? I thought you were going to bed," I said as I went over to my cot, getting under the covers.

"Er, I was, but I wanted to say something," Ace was saying, but hesitated for a moment. "I just wanted to say… I'm glad you're here, too. And that I also like our adventures…"

I was surprised at Ace's attempt to be polite and also show affection. I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my face at his wholeness. I laid my head down as I happily said, "Goodnight. I love you, Ace."

Ace laid down as well to go to sleep with his back to me. "Yeah, yeah. I… love you, too, Anne."