Haruka & The Great Pirate Era
"It's Red-Hair!" Was the cry of many aboard the Moby Dick. Ace internally winced at the thought of meeting Luffy's childhood hero.
"Dahahaha! Oi, Shirohige! I brought some sake!" Came the cries of the famous pirate.
"Let him on board!" Their captain laughed.
The other Yonko got on board, with some of his crew members in tow. They partied a bit, and when Whitebeard was done talking to him briefly, Ace gathered his wits and prepared to confront one of the most powerful people on the seas.
"Is it true you were Luffy's childhood idol?" He asked. The deck felt unnaturally quiet to him, for some reason.
"Oh? You know the brat?" He laughed. His first mate, Ben Beckmann, smiled fondly as he lit up a cigarette.
"Knew." Ace corrected. "She's dead."
Red-hair's grin dropped incredibly fast. "Anchor? Dead?"
"Yeah." Ace swallowed thickly.
"How?" Shanks demanded, accidentally letting a bit of Haki loose. That got all of the other pirate's attention.
"Oi, brat. What are you doing to my son?" Whitebeard asked from his chair.
"He-he's just asking me about his friend." Ace clenched and released his fists. Taking a deep breath he faced the shocked and slightly angry Yonko.
"Luffy sold herself into slavery to protect me and my friend." There. He got that over with. Maybe when Shanks killed him, he could properly thank Luffy for her sacrifice.
"When?"
"9 years ago." Ace squeezed his eyes shut.
"Did she find a place to belong?" That was unexpected. Ace slowly opened his eyes to look at Shanks's questioning gaze.
"No." Ace relied honestly. "She didn't find a place to belong, or her family. She never achieved her goal or her dream."
Well, might as well be candid in the face of death.
"Thank you." Shanks looked away. "For telling me." He added. He walked away, fixing a smile onto his face, but Ace could see the sorrow in the expression.
Ben slowly exhaled some smoke, then looked over at Ace. "You know, Luffy was like a daughter to Shanks."
Ace nodded slowly. He was just surprised that he was alive.
***
4 years ago…
She'd been flying for months on end and dammit it hurt. PAIN. It was all worth it once she caught the first glimpse of Dawn Island. She was so glad that she could have dropped right then and there, but she managed to stay up for a bit longer, right up until she touched ground. Then she fell flat on her face, embracing the ground.
She'd done it.
She'd done the impossible.
She had flown all the way from New World to East Blue.
It had taken a year, a hard, painful, grueling year, but she had done it.
It was sheer luck that she managed to get to the island. She had noticed an eternal pose on a merchant ship leading to Dawn Island. Upon seeing that, she broke down and cried, since she would be able to go home. Although her navigation skills were hopeless, she managed to get to her island.
But right now, she was HUNGRY dammit, and she was going to get some food, tiredness be damned.
Slowly groaning and getting to her feet, she retracted her wings. She couldn't let anybody know who she was, since Doflamingo had eyes everywhere.
But then again, so did Dragon.
Let it never be said that Haruka could not concoct a plan. She just needed to be in a hopeless situation before she would think up anything.
She squinted her eyes and then realized something. It was probably midnight. Haruka had given up keeping track of time somewhere along the way.
Maybe the Party's Bar was still open? No, Makino always closed it at ten.
"Hello? Are you okay?" A quiet voice asked her softly.
Haruka looked up to see a boy around her age. She recognized him. He was one of the boys who used to call her the demon child. Ah, irony.
"I-I think." She didn't know she could get her voice to work. She had no need of it during the year she had been flying to the East. The only human contact she ever made was sneaking onto ships and stealing supplies. She had to thank whatever deity out there that she didn't fall sick.
The boy helped her up, and she dusted her cloak off. It was long and encompassed her whole form, and the hood kept people from seeing her eyes. Her hair was long and wild, since she tended to cut it with a knife. It was at her shoulder, jagged and roughly cut.
"C-Can you take me to Party's Bar, please?" She asked, attempting to get her voice to work again. It was rougher then she remembered, and scratchy.
"Um, sure. Why?"
Haruka hacked wildly, probably a repercussion to not using her voice for so long. "I want to see Makino again." She pulled the last remaining water from the pouch on her belt and drank it greedily.
"Here, let me help you walk." He slipped her arm over his shoulder.
"No, I'm fine. Just tired." She wiped the excess water from her mouth. "You would be too if you were flying away from the Grand Line without a break."
"You're from the Grand Line?" He asked in shock and slight curiosity.
"No, I'm from East Blue. But I was taken to the second half of the Grand Line, New World. I've been flying for a year to get back over here." Haruka rubbed her shoulder blades.
"Flying? What do you mean, flying?" He asked in surprise.
"Have you heard of Devil Fruit's?"
"Yeah. There was a girl in our village with one. She's dead though." He looked away in guilt. Haruka also felt guilt rip at her insides. Did they really think that she was dead?
"Well, I have one, I can fly with it." She squashed her feelings. Looking up from where they were walking, she noticed the familiar building. Knocking on the door, she looked up at the sign. "By the way, what time is it?"
"It's five in the morning." The boy answered. Haruka had forgotten how dark the mornings were in Fuusha. What else had she forgotten?
"So, what's your name? Most people aren't out at five in the morning." She attempted to make conversation.
"I'm Henry. Also, I was checking the fish traps, and I wanted to get there before the Lord of the Coast woke up." Haruka nodded.
"I'm Roze D. Haruka. Who's the Lord of the Coast?" She asked.
"He's this giant sea-king, really scary! He's been terrorizing our coast for years!" Henry exclaimed.
"Really? Have you heard of the Calm Belt? It's a breeding ground for all these kinds of Sea Monsters, and they're way bigger than normal! Normal Sea-kings are the size of their fangs!"
Henry's eyes widened. "Really?" He asked in shock.
"Yeah! I had to get around them to get here! No matter how high I flew, they always seemed to get higher out of the water. It was terrifying!" She held out her arms. Haruka had missed having a friend to talk to.
"Probably! They could crush you in a second!"
The door swung open, and then Makino looked down at the two twelve year olds.
"Hello? Who are you?" Makino asked as she looked at Haruka.
"I'm Roze D. Haruka." She smiled brightly. "Do you mind if I get some food here? I'll be gone soon."
"Oh, no, come in!" Makino smiled brightly. "What do you want?"
"Food. I'm not picky." She state. Makino laughs.
"Sure, coming right up!" She gets behind the counter. She reaches into her cloak and pulls out some money. It felt weird to pay for a meal, considering how much she used to do eat-and-run's.
A plate of fresh steaming food was placed in front of her, and as soon as they blinked, it was gone.
"My, you were hungry!" Makino laughed. Haruka nodded.
"Thank you for the meal!" She smiled, then ran out the door. She felt so much better now that she'd gotten food in her stomach. However, she had a lot of flying ahead of her.
She made it to the outskirts of the village, right next to the forest. There was a small cottage there, overgrown with vines. Slowly opening the door, she walked into the house which she had not stepped foot in in seven years. It was just as she'd remembered, every single piece of furniture in the same place it always was. The dried blood pooling the floor from her mother's suicide. The photographs on the wall. The set table. Slowly, Haruka walked into her mother's room.
The memory that she had been counting on flashed through her mind.
See this? This is a special device. If you're in a hopeless situation, the needle will point towards your father. Use it wisely.
She knew now that it was an Eternal Pose to Baltigo, the base of the Revolutionary's operations.
She had a lot more flying ahead of her.
It also didn't help that she had no idea where Baltigo was.
She was so screwed.
***
1 year later…
Why the hell did Baltigo HAVE to be in the Grand Line? Again? It made the trip to Fuusha feel redundant, even if she did get to see Makino, although Makino probably had no idea that Roze D. Haruka was the girl who she had raised as her own. She opened her parasol and retracted her wings, falling silently down with a tiny THUMP, Eternal Pose in hand.
The man in front of her turned around, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Hey, Dad." She smiled, hoping that she got this right.
"Luffy?" He asked, walking slowly towards her.
"Yeah. But I'm using a different name. Roze D. Haruka."
Dragon smiled. "Of course. I assume you need a refuge?"
"Yup." Haruka nods.
"Welcome to the home of the revolutionaries. Baltigo." He took his daughter inside, and she felt like she had a place to stay, finally.