New Life

A lone seagull gently soared through the air towards land as it returned from its last hunt, fish still sitting inside its beak.

As it neared the shore the horizon gave way to a silhouette of a busy fishing village already late into its daily routines of bringing in the fishermen's catches, prepping them and getting them salted before sending them out with the waiting merchant ships.

The gull banked lazily to the left as it flew above the quaint if a bit crowded central market plaza of the village, consisting of several two story shops with the owners' homes atop them. Beneath them on the street many traveling vendors and peddlers had carts set up, while the more permanent but slightly less affluent traders native to the city had stands and huts built between the larger shops.

The gull however cared for none of this and simply glided to a stop atop a fish monger's stand and dropped its catch on the roof before it began to slowly eat, its languid motions mirroring the tranquil atmosphere of the village, until a scream frightened the bird and it flew away.

"There he is. That demon stole my bread, get him!" a man leading a mob shouted as he rounded a corner and pointed towards the fish vendor's stall.

The vendor was perplexed before he looked down and saw one Uzumaki Naruto with a loaf of bread in his mouth right behind the counter reaching for a two foot west blue tuna. Naruto looked up and eeped before grabbing the fish and slapping the vendor with it before he ran around the stand and into the street.

"AFTER HIM!"

Naruto ran through the streets and back alleys of his home village as he scarfed down the last of his bread and grabbed his newfound aquatic weapon in both hands. As he came out of the alley he was in the village butcher stood and menacingly blocked his path with his butcher's knife raised in the air. Without breaking his stride Naruto ran up onto a garbage before jumping in the air and smashing the butcher in the head with his fish. Naruto then jumped over the prone man and continued his escape, knowing full well what would happen if he were caught.

Their attacks were something he was used considering the many times he had tripped or fallen during his post meal escapes but he still tried his best to avoid getting a beating where he could and as he tucked into an alleyway near the docks he saw a fish barrel and quickly jumped inside to give the villagers the slip.

For as long as Naruto could remember the villagers had always been like this to him every time he tried to get something to eat. He figured it had to do with a combination of his parents line of work coupled with a set of distinctive facial birth marks he had and the particular animal they made him look like.

Being a somewhat small west blue village superstition and tradition were held in high regard, especially when certain recurring problems could be attached to a certain group. This was an issue for Naruto because the most common "ill fortune" that plagued the village were the local foxes who would eat up all their supplies and steal things at night. The village's hatred of foxes was made worse when a group of pirates under a Kitsune Jolly Roger came and nearly leveled the village just under a year ago. Add to that a superstition that his whisker marks made him a demon fox child, a belief compounded by his accidental consumption of an actual devil fruit and you were left with a very unpopular Uzumaki. All of that didn't even include the fact that both of his parents had become pirates in a super powerful crew just after he was born, which only added more fuel in the village's hate the fox kid fire.

A little part of him hated the fact that his parents had left him alone…

But truth be told, he couldn't find it in his heart to blame them, because he felt more pride knowing his parents were pirates than he would have ever felt if they wasted their lives in this town.

Even though everyone else hated them, whenever Naruto thought of pirates he would always think of the times that the town was besieged or taken over by pirate crews which would usher in three or four days of absolute bliss for the young boy.

The pirates would always set up shop in the tavern after thoroughly scaring the villagers, and thanks to the pirates ignorance towards Naruto's stigma he would be able to walk in with them and socialize for a few precious days. The first day or so they would treat him oddly but as soon as he told them a bit about his day to day life one of three things would inevitably happen. They would break down in tears and give him free food, they would slap him on the back and call him a "badass little runt" and give him free rum, or they would ask if he wanted them to kill some of villagers.

After the introductions of the first day were done the second day was usually spent with them trying to help Naruto out by giving him little lessons about life or, in the case of the more violent crews, teaching him how to fight and kill people. Finally after all of that sort of stuff was done the pirates would spend their time regaling Naruto with tales of their adventures and telling him about the world beyond his town. When he heard stories about men like the pirate king Gold Roger he felt such an unimaginable envy for him. Known the world over for better or worse, the pirate king Roger had the acknowledgement of every single person on the planet.

As soon as any tale about roger was finished Naruto would always declare that he was going to be as great as him someday and that he would get the whole world to acknowledge him, prompting all the pirates to always fall into the same kind of good natured chuckling.

Sadly however all of this happiness would eventually fade when the pirates left, and despite all of his pleas to the contrary no crew had ever been willing to take him with them to set sail.

So like macabre clockwork he would be left on the docks looking at the slowly vanishing ship as all of the villagers regained their courage and drove Naruto back to his life on the fringes just waiting for some miracle to get him off of the island.

As his thoughts came to an end Naruto let out a sigh of relief once he heard the distinct lack of sound indicating the mob had left. Naruto was getting ready to pop the top off his barrel and head out when his ears were assaulted by several loud rapid bangs. Feeling his head reeling slightly from the noise he didn't have time to act before the barrel he was in got tipped onto its side and started rolling.

As Naruto tried to open the barrel he was left dizzier and dizzier until the barrel finally came to rest and he heard a man bellow out "Alright capt'n all the barrels are loaded and ready to go."

"Aye mates all hands on deck. Next stop Ohara."

When Naruto heard this, his eyes widened as he started frantically trying to open up the top of his barrel only to find that the earlier banging had been nails closing the barrels lid down. Panic rose up in the back of his mind as he started trying to push the barrel open.

As Naruto panicked and was about to try and break the side of the barrel, he looked through a knothole in the barrel and out a gun port to see the village start moving away.

For a moment he couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the village that he had been trapped in for his entire life begin to shrink from buildings and people to dots and specks until finally he couldn't make it out from the rest of the horizon.

In Naruto's mind his excitement was building to unimaginable proportions and only his newfound desire to stay hidden kept him from screaming a victory screech at the top of his lungs.

He had done it. He was actually leaving his village on a ship set off to a destination of adventure. Granted he hadn't been meaning to and it kinda ruined it for him a little bit to know that he only got away thanks to an accident but even that minute sadness was washed away when he looked back out and saw nothing but a vast blue expanse of ocean.

This was it. This was the beginning of Naruto Uzumaki's actual life. He would get wherever this "Ohara" was, sneak out and then he would finally be able to start his life as a free man of the seas. He would find himself Nakama, get a boat and a crew and then he would become a pirate that could make his mom, his dad and even Rogers himself proud.

With his course set in his mind Naruto made himself comfortable and grabbed one of the fish to munch on as he waited for his arrival at his new life.

XxX

"I don't understand how a five year old can possibly eat as much as you do Robin. You're such a freeloader. Look at how much my daughter ate, she was content with half as much food as you." A fat red-haired woman spat as she jammed a turkey drum stick in her mouth.

"Gomen'nasai Roji Obasan." A young black haired girl said weakly as she scrubbed the floor.

"Well you should be sorry. Coming into our home and forcing us to deal with the stigma of having a freak in our house, it's bad enough without you hogging up all our resources like you own them. Don't forget to wash the dishes and take care of the laundry after we all go to bed, I don't want to have to look at that disgusting magic trick of yours." Roji said again still stuffing her face.

"Gomen'nasai Obasan I'll take care of it." The girl said as a tear slipped from her eye and fell onto the floor.

"Hmph well we're going to bed now Robin. Don't come up stairs for any reason and make sure you're quiet when you're working, understand?" The fat woman said as she and two others got up from the table and went to the stairs.

"Hai Obasan." Robin said as the lights shut off and all that was left to illuminate her was the moonlight shining in from the window.

Robin let out a sigh as she finished scrubbing the floors and walked over to the table where she gathered up all the plates and utensils. She walked over to the sink and sat the plates down before turning on the water and grabbing a plate as she began to scrub. After the plate was clean she held it out and a hand sprouting from the counter took it and passed to another hand that then put it away in a cupboard.

Looking out the window she saw the laundry on clothes lines and went to dry them as another pair of hands sprouted and took over doing the dishes for her. She went outside and started folding the laundry before putting it into a laundry basket that sprouted feet and walked inside before hurrying back out a moment later now empty.

After finishing her chores Robin went inside and prepared herself a place on the floor to sleep. She had tried the couch several nights ago and awoke to Roji hitting her so she now simply put a blanket under her and a pillow. As she grabbed one more blanket and draped it over herself two of her hands materialized out of the floor and began delicately tucking her in, it was a self-gratifying act but was something that made Robin feel calmer and happier even if the fake affection was self-made. She often thought of what it must be like to have a family that cared for her enough to do something like tucking her in bed at night or reading her stories. Seeing other kids walk around town happily with their friends and family made her wonder what kind of feelings something like that must bring. Robin prayed every day for the time when her mother would return to her and they could hold hands and be a family again and then take Robin out to sea with her. That was why she kept studying in the tree of omniscience, so that one day she could be an archeologist just like her mom.

Someday her mom would come back for her and her new life could start.

XxX

Naruto's sleep was interrupted when, much like the day before, he found his world being turned on its side and rolled around.

Through the sounds of wood rolling across wood and clattering boots steps he was able to hear a loud voice bellow out "Aye men. Unload the last of this shipment over by the fish sellers stall. The merchant has already paid so we can relax with a bit of shore leave as soon as ya finish up."

Ignoring the fact that the constant rotations were making him start to lose his lunch, or whatever the last meal he had was, Naruto managed to let a grin find its way onto his face.

Feeling the barrel come to rest and finally get propped right side up Naruto was finally able to let his mind settle as he readied his plan, 'So this is the first stop on my journey eh. Watch out Ohara there's a new pirate in town and his name is…'

XxX

Robin had awoken to a light nudging by Rogi's foot, a welcome change from being hit, and was promptly handed a list of groceries that Rogi wanted her to get from the market.

On the list were various day to day items that were needed in addition to cake ingredients and a large fresh fish to make a special birthday dinner for Rogi's daughter Mizuria, which was why she currently found herself at a fish venders stall asking for some west blue cod.

"Before you ask sir, no the fish isn't for me. It's for a celebration of Obasan's so you don't need to feel bad about giving it to me." Robin said quickly as she noticed the merchant was about to protest.

The merchant quickly softened as he remembered that Rogi's daughter's birthday was soon and grabbed a hammer "Oh well in that case I just got some fresh cod in today let me get the nails out and open up the barrel here and…"

"UZUMAKI NARUTO!"screamed a blond boy who smashed his way through the lid of the fish barrel and accidently knocked out the fish vendor before he jumped up and stood on both edges of the barrel in a triumphant pose.

He was a blond scraggily haired boy with bright blues eyes who had odd marks on his face and was wearing a well-worn pair of black cargo shorts and a dingy white tee-shirt with a large orange dot on it and plastered across his face was the biggest grin she had ever seen.

For several seconds the entire market square was silent as everyone stopped to look at the strange child they just saw jump out of a fish barrel until one of the sailors noticed him "Oi Mitch that god damn demon musta followed us, get it." One said as he motioned to a friend and the both brandished firearms.

For a split second Robin's eye widened in fear as two large sailors came rushing down the street towards he and her mind racked itself trying to figure out what she had done.

"Oh crap I forgot I was supposed to sneak out of the barrel this time, but by now you should have learned that no one can catch the mighty Naruto HAHAHAHA shit!" he said jumping up as a shot hit the spot his foot had just been.

"hehehe c'mon now guys can't we talk this out for a bit…no…well…bye then" the blond child said with a nervous look on his face as jumped off the barrel and kicked it at the men, tripping them, before he ran down the street.

As their dust trail faded from view Robin was left wondering for a moment who that child had been and why he had answered to her moniker but soon remembered why she was here.

She bent down and poked the fish vendor who was still out cold from the blow to his head. Shrugging she took out a 2000 beri note and placed it on his head before grabbing a fish that had fallen from the barrel and walking back home nonchalantly grocery bags in hand.

XxX

"So you got everything on the list then?" Roji said looking between a slip of paper in her hand and Robin.

"Hai Obasan. It's all on the counter ready to be prepared." Robin said carefully keeping her eyes on the floor and away from Roji's angry gaze.

"Mhmm what kind of fish did you get? Did you buy something good?" Roji asked as she crumpled up the list and threw it on the floor.

"I got a West blue Cod that had been shipped in this morning. It was the freshest thing they had and I believe Mizuria likes cod." Robin said sharply as she bent down to throw away the paper before wincing as her head slammed into the floor.

"You listen here Demondon't presume that you know what my family likes or not. Just be grateful that Mizuria really does enjoy cod or you would get a lot more than just that. Now hurry up and prepare dinner then make yourself scarce, I don't want to see you at Mizuria' party scaring the children understand…" Roji said shaking her fist and smiling as she saw robin clutch her arm and look away "Good. The recipes are on the counter, you have an hour to get them ready and in the oven but, make sure I get to be the one to take them out and frost the cake, got it?" Roji barked while maintaining a glare on Robin.

"Hai Obasan I'll get started." Robin slowly said as she wiped some blood from her broken nose and walked over to the counter where a flurry of hands got to work on the various food items.

"God that trick of yours is disgusting girl but at least it gets work done. Hurry up and then go hide somewhere in the back of the house alone understand?"

'Alone' Robin thought sadly as the weight of that word sank in again reminding her that she had no one on this island to turn to, no Nakama to share her thoughts and feelings with. No one in the world to really turn to when things got hard. Just a few kind scholars, a library of books and a town full of people who hated her…

And her Alone

"Hai…Obasan"

XxX

Naruto panted heavily as he sat against a tree on what he assumed was the edge of town.

He had managed to give those guys the slip and hadn't even needed to use his devil fruit since the two were such horrible shots. Though they had chased him longer than normal, but he had assumed that was because they didn't want him to ruin their reputation with the people on this island.

As he was thinking about this he noticed the sun start to go down and felt his stomach choose that moment to make its presence known. As he rubbed his personal hunger alarm and started thinking about a place to go he saw a brightly lit house in the distance with a multitude of people walking into it and heard the light buzz of chattering people.

'Hehe a party is perfect. With so many people in there I'll totally be able to snag myself a bite to eat without being noticed' Naruto thought as he brushed himself off and put on a dignified face before walking towards the house. When he arrived he slinked his way into a group of people chatting and made his way inside where he quickly found a table full of party snacks.

As he was eating he started to overhear bits and pieces of various conversations the all seemed to mention someone in particular.

"Did you hear about what that girl did the other day? She was using that trick of hers to make a cage around herself like some kind of freak"

"I heard that she hit the Rorwick kid for no reason and then ran off when his mom showed up."

"Oh god that little demon girl is a menace, I can't imagine what it must be like having to share a house with it?"

"Have you seen the little monster tonight? It lives here doesn't it?"

As he was listening Naruto found his appetite vanish and began to make for the exit when he noticed all the children running outside and heard one ask his mother "Mom can I go play outside with everyone?"

"Oh of course dear as long as everyone is together you'll be fine" she said.

Naturally Naruto's curiosity forced him to follow outside through the back door away from the adults and when he got outside he noticed all the kids were standing in a circle throwing rocks at something. As he shoved his way through the group he saw something that horrified him.

On the ground currently receiving a small scale stoning from all the children present was a little black haired girl that looked to be his age and was huddled in the fetal position with a cage of bloodied arms defending her.

Naruto felt his anger boil up at the spectacle and when a large boy next to him was about to throw another stone he grabbed his hand. "Just what in the fuck do you think you're doing?" Naruto growled staring down and letting his hair cover his eyes.

"Oh you must be new in town kid? Everyone knows that girl is a demon child. A monster freak of nature" the chubby boy said as he tried to jerk his hand away only to find Naruto's grip rock solid. "oi kid let go of my hand."

"So let me get this straight, all of you are enjoying yourselves right now by beating up an innocent little girl, is that right?" Naruto said still gripping the boys hand harder as he looked round at the children who had all stopped throwing rocks by now.

"Yea what of it. We're doing the town a favor by dealing with this demon so let go of my hand and buzz off or we'll beat you up too." The boy said earning a resounding chorus of yeas from the crowd.

"I'll give you all one chance to leave this poor girl alone before you force me to kick your asses understood? One last chance and then everything after will be your own fault got it?" Naruto said as he kept adding pressure to the large boy's wrist making him wince slightly.

"Ow, you think I'm scared of you Choten, Gouza kick this little runt's ass." The boy said as two more children ran at Naruto and both threw punches.

As the fists neared Naruto's head he looked up at the kid and let a devilish grin slip on his face "Bad idea."

Both the boy's fists seemed to pass right through Naruto's face as he appeared to release the first boy making the rest of the children think they forced him to let go until all the boys cried out in agony and clutched their fists which were now reddened and blistering from severe burns as was the first ones wrist.

All the other children looked at Naruto with fear in their eyes including the three now on the ground. Capitalizing on this fear Naruto uttered the line he had been saving for just such an occasion.

"Boo"

All the terrified children immediately ran off in different directions, somehow forgetting about their parents in the house, leaving him with the girl who was covered in various cuts and bruises. Naruto walked over to a garden hose and took his shirt off before wetting it down and using it to wipe off her wounds.

"I'm sorry you had to see that but I really can't stand it when people call one another Demons. Let me wash those cuts okay." Naruto said as kneeled down and started whipping off the blood on arms.

"You're that boy from the market today aren't you? The one from the fish barrel." She said as he finished getting the blood off and wrung his shirt out.

Naruto scratched behind his head and laughed sheepishly still whipping the gashes "Hehe so you saw that did ya? Yea not one of my better moments but it was nice to finally make it to a new island." He said helping her up and finally getting a good look at her. She looked to be around his age with beautiful shoulder length raven hair and a pair of sparkling blues eyes.

For a few moments Naruto simply stared at her with a small blush coming to face as he thought about how pretty she was until he remembered something he had learned from a pirate in the tavern back home about meeting beautiful women.

He quickly made an overly dramatic bowing motion and held out his hand to her palm up "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, what pray tell might yours be Ma Cherie?"

Robin looked at him for a moment suspiciously before hesitantly placing her hand on top of his "Nico Robin, what pray tellare you doing?" she asked sarcastically.

Naruto quickly placed a kiss on her hand before looking up at her "a pirate I used to know told me this is the proper way to great a beautiful woman."

Robin retracted her hand and crossed her arms turning away to hide the small blush on her face "You shouldn't associate yourself with me Uzumaki-san; I'm a demon child so you might not want to be around me." Robin said darkly.

Naruto tilted his at her in curiosity "You don't look like a demon to me."

Robin looked at him before waving her hand towards the house causing a trail of hands to sprout out of the ground "I have powers that make me a demon." She said expecting him to be scared or freaked out.

Her answer however was a wide eyed Naruto looking at her in awe instead of fear "That…is…SO…COOL!"

Robin's eyes widened slightly for a moment "You're not afraid of that?"

"HAHAHA why would I be afraid of something like that, being able to grow arms out of stuff is soooo cool. Sides I can do cool stuff too…" Naruto said as he held up his arm which soon dissolved into a reddish haze. "Cause I ate a devil fruit."

Robin looked at the cloud that was now his arm with amazement as a flurry of thoughts flew through her mind. 'He's got devil powers too. He's the same as me.' She thought joyously as she tentatively reached for his vaporous appendage only to have it turn back into flesh when she got close.

"You don't want to touch that Robin-chan, It's really reeeally hot and you'll get burned like those bakas did." He said still smiling at her until he heard the telltale sounds of a mob approaching "Oh crap it looks like those kids found some adults. Robin-chan do you have a place to hide till the heat dies down?"

Robin looked at him for a moment trying to look for any signs of deceit or ill intent and when she found none she grabbed him by the arm and started leading him into the woods towards the center of the island. As the broke through another layer of trees and got to the central clearing of the tree of knowledge Naruto halted and stared up at the gargantuan tree before him silhouetted by the blazing sunset.

"So cool, Robin-chan look at how big that tree is that has to be the biggest tree in the whole wide world eh. And look at that, it's got windows and doors and stuff in it like a house or something. Robin-chan is that where we're hiding?" Naruto sputtered rapidly suddenly unaware of the encroaching mob.

"Hai Naruto. Now run already so we don't get in trouble, people are still coming." Robin said as she tugged on his arm.

"Oh wait a minute I forgot something hang on I have an idea to throw the mob off." He stopped and turned around and pointed his hands to his left and a ball of that reddish energy from earlier formed and quickly flew away from them before coming to rest above the ground about a hundred meters away. He then grabbed Robin and pulled her into a bush while motioning for her to stay quiet. As the mob ran past them and looked around Naruto started moving his hand lazily in a bobbing motion which seemed to control the ball of light attracting the villager's attention.

"Hey look over there they must have grabbed a lantern or something, get the demons" a man with a torch said as he led the mob after the ball of light which Naruto motioned around the far side of the big tree before dissipating it.

Naruto grinned as he watched the people run off after what they thought were "the demons" until they were out of sight. "Hehe I forgot I could do that trick. Gomen'nasai Robin-chan I guess we didn't need to run away after all. Arigato anyway though it was real nice of you to help me out like that." he said before pulling his knees up to his chest and looking down at the ground "Most people would have left me."

For a moment Robin looked at him and saw a striking parallel to the way she felt every day. 'Maybe…'

"Uzumaki-san, can I ask you why you're on this island. The only thing here is the tree of omniscience and, forgive my saying this but, you don't seem the type who would journey to an island for a library." Robin said shaking Naruto from his momentary slum

"Oi what's that supposed to mean are you trying to say I'm stupid just because I can't read. Well I aint. Furthermore how the hell did you know I couldn't read?" Naruto shouted standing up and pointing at her in a childishly accusatory manor.

"Heehee Forgive me Uzumaki-san I wasn't aware you were literature-challenged I'm sorry I offended you. You still haven't answered my question though." She said tilting her head in curiosity "Why are you here all by yourself on an island known only for its library?"

Naruto looked at her with a glint in his eye and suddenly jumped up and struck a heroic pose "I have come here to find Nakama who are willing to join me in my epic crusade to become a great pirate and journey to the grand line."

Robin froze for a moment when she heard him utter that word. 'Nakama, someone else looking for others here of all places.' She thought as she carefully took in his appearance "How old are you Uzumaki-san?" Robin questioned.

Naruto held up his hand with all digits extended "I am five years of age, a ripe time to begin my adventure on the high seas HAHAHAHA." He shouted boisterously.

Robin looked at him darkly her hair casting shadows over her eyes "You are prepared to face challenges so horrible and unspeakable that only a single man in all of history has lived to speak of them. Monsters and demons the likes of which cannot possibly be imagined by our feeble minds not to mention the infinite hordes of other pirates that patrol that sea as though it was their own. Men who have such immense power that they are capable of making the very marines quake in their boots at the sight of them. All of these trials you believe you have the power to overcome despite the fact that you are but a child so young he hasn't even learned to read." She said calmly while Naruto began sweating slightly with a look of fear on his face.

"Well maybeI'll wait till I'm a little bit older before I hit the G-line." He said hesitantly before regaining his valiant look "But I'm still good enough to handle somewhere like west blue. And it's not my fault I can't read. No one back home ever taught me"

"Hmm I see. Back to my earlier question which you still have yet to answer. Why choose the first stop on your adventure to be an island with only a library to its name." Robin asked sitting herself down on a log and letting her feet swing idly

Naruto quickly turned around and embarrassingly poked his index fingers together "well I certainly didn't wind up on accident after hiding in a fish barrel if that what you were asking."

Robin opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about when a low growl sounded from her stomach causing her to blush slightly and making Naruto laugh "Yea I'm still a bit hungry myself come to think of it. I saw some good stuff down by the market and now that all the adults are probably at that party or in that mob it won't be guarded. C'mon I can't have my Nakama going hungry can I" Naruto said as he held a hand out for her.

Robin stared at his hand for a moment letting her mind catch up with the whirlwind of activity that the blond beside her was proving to be. In the time span if a little under a half hour she had gone from getting the worst beating to date at the hands of the other children on the island to possibly making the first friend of her life. All of it laid out in front of her and summed up by the open hand in front of her waiting for a response

"Na..Nakama?" Robin asked tentatively, as though wanting it too much would make the chance vanish.

Naruto smiled gently "Of course Robin-chan. You're the first person in the whole world who's ever talked to me like I was a real person and you were willing to help me get away from that mob. I'd really like it if you would consider me your Nakama too but I can understand if you don't want to considering what I…" he said before being cut off when Robin enveloped him in a tight hug

"Hai… Naruto-san… I'd like that so much." she said her eyes started glistening slightly as tears of joy started forming.

Naruto was briefly stunned as he wrapped his mind around what was going on before he was filled with a tremendous feeling of elation. Standing in front of him and hugging him was a girl who had just called him her Nakama. Even better she was a really pretty girl who had called him her Nakama. And best of all she was a really pretty girl with powers like him who had called him her Nakama.

Naruto felt tears well up in his eyes and wrapped his arms around her before he sobbed loudly "*sniff* then its official. You and I are Nakama now, and no matter what we'll always be that way all, from now until forever." He said pushing her away slightly to look her in the eyes.

"Hai Naruto-san." Robin said nodding vigorously until she noticed that Naruto's shirt felt oddly skin like and warm. With a small blush appearing on her face she looked down to see that he was shirtless and remembered he ditched his shirt at her house "um Naruto-san you're not wearing a shirt."

Naruto looked confused for a moment before he looked down and remembered "Oh Ya I lost my shirt didn't I. Well in that case onward to free food, free tee shirts and friendship" Naruto smiled brightly at her turning around and grabbing her hand as he ran towards the hopefully still deserted market with Robin both of them laughing the whole way

XxX

Three weeks later

In a peaceful clearing in the middle of Ohara Nico Robin was sitting under the shade if a tree reading a book on the history of the Drum kingdom, surrounded by a tranquil silence that was only permeated by the soft chirps of birds…

"Oi Robin-chan what are the books you're always reading about. I know it's the same thing cause its always the same sets of letters on the front. It's always A.R.C.H.E.O.L.O.G.Y. or H.I.S.T.O.R.Y. and V.O.L.U.M.E with different numbers after it. Every time I see you, you have one of those types of books what're they about?"

And by Uzumaki Naruto who was currently hanging upside down from a branch above her and staring in her face with his arms crossed.

Robin closed her book before looking up at Naruto and pulling him from the tree down to the ground and then crossing her arms to summon hands and feet to trap and carry him. "That's it Naruto I'm sick of you asking me what I'm reading all the time. We're going to the tree of omniscience and we're finding someone to teach you to read. That way you can find a way to occupy your time productively."

Naruto struggled against the bonds as he fought to free himself "Noooo I don't want to go to the smart people place they'll all make fun of me for being stupid just like the kids on the island only they'll be adults and it won't be cool to hit them. You can teach me can't you?"

Robin sighed before looking back at him "Naruto-kun I can promise you that no one at the tree of Omniscience will make fun of you for being illiterate and someone there will be able to help you more than I could. Just ask nicely and I'm sure someone will help you learn. Then you can go to the library and learn about everything in the whole world."

Naruto scoffed at that thought "Robin-chan no library can have that many books and besides it's not called the "tree of knowing everything" it's the tree of omniscience, whatever that means."

"Omniscience meansknowing everything, if you knew how to read you could learn that in the library. Now stop complaining, we're already here." Robin said as they arrived at the front door of the tree of Omniscience and the hands and feet growing out of Naruto dissipated allowing him to stand up and promptly try to escape only to be tripped by more of Robin's hands sprouting from the ground and grabbing him. "I was hoping you could make a good impression on Clover-sensei but if you insist on embarrassing yourself its fine by me. I have no problem dragging you in there and strapping you into a desk until you start learning." She said with a deceptively polite smile as she knocked on the door

"I could melt my way out of here if I really wanted to you know." Naruto said glaring at her from his bound position

"And I could snap your neck as you sleep in retaliation." Robin said sweetly just as the door opened up revealing a slim elderly man with green hair and a green beard stylized to look like clover petals. "Hello Clover-sensei I was wondering if there was anyone available to assist me in teaching Naruto-kun how to read. I… lack the skills for something like this."

"HOHOHOHO" the man bellowed heartily with his hands on his stomach "so Naruto-san has finally decided to join the ranks of the literate, or rather from the looks of it he's finally driven you to force him into our ranks."

Robin looked down at the bound Naruto encased in arms and being walked in by an array of small legs causing him to resemble a centipede "I think it's more the latter than the former. Although if he wants his dream of being a great pirate to ever happen he has to at least be able to understand what all those funny symbols we call words are."

"Wait a minute Robin-chan" Naruto said as he wriggled in his bindings until he was sitting up "I can be a fine pirate without knowing how to read. Besides with my first mate by my side I won't need to read anything you can do it for me."

"SureBecause nothing says respect me I shall be the pirate king quite like 'Robin-chan what does this note say, Robin-chan are those signs good or bad, Robin-chan is that a Marine ship or an ugly pirate ship'. If you act like that no one would take you seriously." She said sarcastically mimicking his voice.

Clover look on at the two as their argument went on with a happy gleam in his eye. 'I never thought our little Robin could be open up so much like this. She's almost nothing like the shy reserved wallflower that used to slink into the library and vanish into the books like a ghost. I can't necessarily say I agree with your dream Naruto-san but the impact you are having on Robin is more than worth it'.

"If you refuse to learn how to read Naruto I won't sail with you ever, not in a million billion trillion years. I'll just stay on this island and you'll have to have adventures alone." Robin said turning around and dissolving the appendages on Naruto

"C'mon Robin-chan you can't really mean that." Naruto whined waiting for a response "Robin-chaaaaaan cm'onnnnnnn" he whined again still to no avail "Fine then if it means so much to you I'll mrnm mer ter meed" he finally said crossing his arms and grumbling

Robin turned her ear slightly towards him "What was that Naruto? I can't hear you when you mumble."

Naruto huffed and sat up straighter "I said I'll learn how to read, happy now. You win I'll get all smart and stuff, but… only if you agree to concede to one of my demands as well."

"I'm not going to agree to anything until I hear it and even still, I'm the one with all the cards at the moment." Robin said turning back around to face him.

"That may be but in all fairness shouldn't I get something I want too. You're going to make me able to read with you and do smart stuff together so I want you to train with me from now on. It's boring all by myself, and getting stronger will make you more badass." Naruto said jumping up and giving Robin a thumbs up.

"My time is already spent studying to be an archeologist and doing chores for Roji. When would I find the time to train with you?" Robin replied.

"Who said you had to do what she says anyway. She's mean to you all the time and hardly really takes care of Ya. You should tell her to shove it and come live with me, I wouldn't ever make you do chores and stuff and I'm not mean like she is." Naruto said with a smile.

"You live in a tree house you built yourself. I'm amazed that you haven't frozen to death by now, and unfortunately they are my legal guardians so what little law there is here, is on their side." Robin said dismissively.

Naruto crossed his legs and held up three fingers "In order; My tree house is top notch cause I built it and I'm awesome, I can't get cold cause of my devil fruit, and who cares if they're your legal guardians they don't act like a family to you so you shouldn't have to deal with them." He listed before putting a hand on his chin. "Tell ya what, if I can learn to read in a week from today and convince Roji-baka then will you move in with me so we can train together?"

Robin looked at Naruto as she weighed her options. On the one hand no more Roji and considering where his house was probably no more villagers. On the other hand a potentially frigid and no doubt poorly made tree house. But then again…No Roji…potential death by hypothermia…No Roji…Potential Death…No Roji…Death…Roji…Death…Roji…Dying…Roji dead. Ah Roji dead such a nice thought.

"Very well Naruto-kun. Against my better judgment I will accept your terms with a twist. Should you fail to fulfill your agreement you will do my chores for the next three months. Are these stakes acceptable?" Robin asked holding out her hand for a hand shake.

"Hai." Naruto said as he shook her hand "Just you wait Robin soon I'll be so smart that… I'll um… do super smart things all the time. Oi Clover-sensei bring on the smartification I need to read ASAP" Naruto said as he turned to Clover

"HOHOHOHO right this way Naruto my boy I haven't anything else to do so I shall begin your instruction post haste." Clover said as he beckoned Naruto to follow him over to a large desk. "Oh and Robin about the books you wanted they are on my desk so feel free to get them whenever you want and your welcome to stay here and read as you like."

"Hai Arigato Clover-sensei" Robin said as she walked over and got them before finding a nice cushioned seat to start reading.

Sparing on last glance at Naruto before she opened her first book a smile was brought to Robin's face as, even out of earshot, she could tell he was making a fool out of himself based off of his overly exaggerated motions. It was puzzling to her that she didn't find his antics nearly as annoying as she expected she would. Were any other person to be acting in such a manner she would have dismissed them as useless Bakas unfit for her time. Was she so starved for attention that the simple fact that he showed her affection and what still appeared after three weeks to be genuine companionship really enough to make him valuable in her mind? No, there was something else to it. The bond was more than a cooperative need for companionship. On some level they were bonding and becoming compatible with one another in a manner that Robin hadn't experienced before in her short life. And despite the dark corners of her mind telling her to shut away and ignore him…

The rest of her was too intrigued.

~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 1 FIN~~~~~~~~

AN: Here it is ever so slightly modified chapter one with what I hope are the final set of kinks worked out along with a very slow reread for grammar and spelling errors.

Please tell me if I missed anything and if there's something about this all important first chapter that you think I could improve especially if it's something to do with action dynamics, the one fight scene or sentence flow because I'm worried I may not be very strong in those fields.

Thanks for reading everyone. Please review, and pm me if you want to discuss anything.