AU Straw Hat Legacies: A Name For Ourselves Ch. 1

Disclaimer: One Piece has not ever nor will it ever be mine. I only clam ownership of the OCs that I created in this story.

Raftel…An island that lay far away from other civilizations…Far in the distance.

To those who had never seen the island, that place was a mystery, an enigma. So many myths and legends were forged over the years about that place none ever saw…

But Gold Roger and the crew of the Oro Jackson did see it. They sailed where no man in living memory had gone before. And it was there that they hid the infamous treasure known as the One Piece.

Years passed and no other ever came close to that island…

That is, until a ship bearing a skull with a straw hat came around.

Captain Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates became more than infamous around the world. A new Pirate King had been crowned. A new legend had been born.

Then, the legend became a father, as did others in that crew. But one of the children, the Pirate King's beloved older daughter, was taken away as an infant.

Eight years passed and the infant, now a child, who was tightlipped about a past she hated with a passion, happened to cross paths with the Straw Hats and happily joined them, along with a friend who had been keeping her company for several days.

Ah, but that story is one that is already known. This story…Well, this is one that will go down in history.

******

It was a calm, peaceful, sunny day on the seas…Yes, so peaceful…

"CAOUT, YOU MORON!"

...Or not…

Eight year old Listerra D. Caout looked up at the sound of her name, her cheeks puffed out due to the immense amount of meat she shoved inside her mouth. She swallowed the meat in one great big gulp. She was on her sixth helping and had plenty of room for more food…

It was moments like this when she was glad to have inherited her father's Devil Fruit powers…

"Oh, hey there, Hazuki," Caout greeted her younger sister, Monkey D. Hazuki, as the girl stormed towards her.

"'Hey there, Hazuki'?" the redhead growled, "After what you did, that's all you have to say to me?"

"…Hiya, Haz," Caout said, oblivious to what Hazuki meant.

"No, Caout," the seven year old replied, "I mean, why are you greeting me so casually after you stole all my clothes while I was taking a shower?!"

Caout looked down and noticed that Hazuki was indeed dressed only in a towel and water was dripping from her hair. Caout grinned mischievously at her as she put her beloved red cowboy hat, which she has always had, in its familiar position of hanging off her neck instead of on top of her head.

"Come now, Haz," she said playfully, "You really should be used to this by now. After all, how many times have I pulled this prank on you?"

Hazuki murmured something.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Two hundred and eighteen times," Hazuki said in a louder voice.

"…I'm…kind of surprised you know the exact number," Caout said slowly, "But, back to the point! You see! I've pulled it enough times that, honestly, it's your own fault this keeps happening…"

"Just tell me where you put my clothes," Hazuki said lowly, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

"Remember that little secret room Daddy always forced you to hide in when people attacked the ship?"

Caout laughed as Hazuki marched off, muttering curse after curse under her breath. Caout didn't tease Hazuki to be mean…It was just her sworn duty as an older sister to prank the hell out of Hazuki.

"The room she hides in? Didn't you put her clothes there ten times already?"

Caout smiled as Nyshairyn Tide, Caout partner in crime, looked at her expressionlessly, as usual. Caout was a bit put out that after knowing each other for seven months, Tide still didn't show any emotion around her or the rest of the crew. Just like when she and Tide had first met back on Garuka Island, where they ran into the Straw Hat Pirates.

But Caout understood why Tide looked and sounded so indifferent all the time. Tide was an Elementist; the design of her eyes was enough to prove that. And Elementists were a persecuted race.

Elementists were people who were born with the ability control the elements of fire, water, earth and air, either singularly or in the pairings of earth and water or fire and air. Tide controlled the latter pairing.

The strength of an Elementist came from his or her ability to pull the power of the sun from the elements. But Tide couldn't control that ability. She had a mark on her arm, hidden by a gold band, which classified her as a rare and extremely dangerous Elementist…A Carrier.

Carriers' inability to control their elements properly was problematic enough, depending on the situation. But the biggest danger was if the mark hidden under the gold band came in contact with sunlight.

According to Tide, a Carrier would become nothing less than a monster…Unable to distinguish between friend and foe. Thus, making them persecuted by "normal" people and their own race.

"Listerra," Tide said as she waved a hand in front of Caout's face, still referring to her by surname as always, "You're zoning out."

"Sorry, Nyshairyn," Caout said as she snapped out it, "I was just thinking about things. What's up?"

"I was reading the paper," Tide explained, holding up that morning's newspaper, "I found something interesting in it."

Tide opened it up the article in question and showed it to Caout, who grinned as she spotted a picture of her father above the article. Caout quickly skimmed the article.

"Hey, it's about what happened back on Garuka!" she cried as she recognized bits and pieces of what was being described.

"Indeed," Tide answered, "Though it's all rather vague. Understandable, considering the only people who know the full details of what happened are either dead, sailing on a pirate ship or suffering from memory loss due to being head-butted and beaten senseless by an eight year old girl…"

"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that last one, would you, Nyshairyn?" Caout asked sarcastically.

"Not a thing," Tide replied in monotone.

"Why'd the article come out now?"

"Maybe the information leaked out? I would figure the government would want to keep what happened on the down low, especially the fact that a Marine troop was beaten up by a pair of kids."

"To be fair, it is us…And those guys must've been fresh out of the academy, because they sucked!"

"You know, you're mentioned in here."

"I am?" Caout asked excitedly, snatching the paper and reading through, "'Sources can confirm the Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy has a daughter…The daughter of the Pirate King…The child…Luffy's daughter…The daughter…The daughter…'"

Tide noted that Caout seemed to be getting annoyed the more she read the article. Out of nowhere, Caout slammed the paper to the floor.

"What the hell?" she said angrily, "They keep mentioning me as the 'daughter of the Pirate King' and crap like that! My name's not in there! There isn't even a picture!"

"I would be glad if I were you," Tide said as she retrieved the paper, "You don't want to be on the bounty posters until you're old enough to handle it."

"But this article is making it sound like I'm only important because I'm the daughter of Monkey D. Luffy," Caout said disappointedly, "I did a whole lot of stuff on my own but they're only singling me out for my blood."

******

Another two years passed…The eight year old Caout was now ten.

Caout scanned the paper, hoping against hope as she read articles about the Straw Hat Pirates.

She groaned in frustration as she tossed the paper aside.

"Something wrong?"

Caout looked over her should to see Ace staring at her curiously.

"I'm. Not. Mentioned. Again," Caout said with a growl.

"Really?" Ace replied, "I could have sworn I saw-"

"Only more stuff about the 'Pirate King's daughter'," Caout interrupted, "Not about anything I did but just the fact that I was there. And there's still no picture of me!"

Ace ruffled Caout's hair fondly.

"Don't worry, Caout," Ace said, "When you're old enough to really cause damage, your name will be all over the place."

"Yeah…" Caout said, "Because I'm related to Dad…"

"Boss!"

Ace turned and saw Tide run up to him and pull on his arm.

"C'mon, Boss!" Tide said, her face still expressionless but her voice livelier than it was two years ago, "You said you'd give me another lesson on using fire today."

"I know," Ace said as he was being dragged by the ten year old, "And would you quit calling me Boss?"

Caout watched them walk away and sighed.

"Hey, Caout!"

Luffy ran up to his daughter, his mouth stuffed with five chicken legs.

"This chicken is so tender!" he said, though his voice was muffled because of the food, "Sanji said he dipped it in-What's wrong?"

Caout gestured towards the newspaper, which Ace had dropped when Tide dragged him away. Luffy pulled out the chicken bones and realized the problem.

"One day, they'll know your name, Caout," he said, "Then, you'll have a cool wanted poster like me and Zoro and Sanji and Ace and Ayrel and-"

"But I wouldn't have earned it," Caout said before Luffy could go on.

Luffy looked at her expectantly so she continued.

"When I get wanted poster, it's not going to be because of anything I did…It'll just be because everyone finally knows the identity of the Pirate King's daughter. I don't want to be known for who I'm related to. I want to be known because I was being me."

Caout looked over in the direction of a series of cheers. She saw the rest of the crew enjoying dinner outside on the deck. Usopp was telling stories to his own daughter, Annetoinette, Sanji and Robin's daughter, Anna, and Hazuki. Anna's brother, Tamaki, was hanging out with his best friend and Zoro and Ayrel's son, Sky, both of them cheering on their dads, who were involved in another one of their infamous fights while their moms and Nami laughed in the background. Tide was in the middle of her lesson with Ace, who she looked up to and was closest to after Caout. Kuina, Sky's fraternal twin sister, was practicing her two sword fencing style over on the side. Franky and Chopper were doing a dance with chopsticks and bamboo sieves while Brook played festive music in the background.

"You know, Caout," Luffy said as he too watched the crew, "If that's how you feel, then you're never going to be happy if you remain with the Straw Hat Pirates…"

Caout snapped her head towards Luffy, an expression of horror written on her face.

"You're kicking me out???!!!" she yelled in disbelief.

"No!" Luffy replied, "Why the hell would I do that? I meant, if you want to be famous for your own actions, you're going to have to form a crew of your own."

Caout stared blankly at Luffy.

"…………A crew…" she repeated, "…My own crew?"

Luffy gave Caout his signature broad grin.

"Sure! That sounds cool, right? You can make new friends, see all sorts of cool places and beat up people who mess with you."

Caout thought it over. A crew of her very own? With her as the captain? She could see so many new places…And she'd be in charge! And she could make new friends…

If she got a bounty poster then…It would be because she was Listerra D. Caout, not the Pirate King's nameless daughter!

…But…

"…I wouldn't be with you guys anymore…" she said quietly, leaning against her father.

"…Nope," Luffy answered, wrapping an arm around his daughter's shoulders, "And I'd miss you…We all would…But, if that's what you want, then I'm not gonna stop you…"

Luffy gave Caout one last grin before heading back for more food. Caout stared after him for a moment before turning her gaze to the ocean.

"…Go out the sea…On my own?" she murmured to herself, "…Can I? Should I?"

Caout wasn't sure what to do…What would they have done?

******

"You know what would be cool, Caout? Going out to sea!"

"We'd be free to sail wherever we want and do what we want to do! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"It would be the four of us…You, me, and my two idiot siblings over there…"

"You promise you won't leave me alone?"

"Caout, you're stuck with us for life!"

******

Another three years passed…Caout was thirteen.

The Straw Hat crew had docked at Fuchsia Village, Luffy's hometown, a year earlier. The kids often stayed in the village and explored while the adults of the crew went off on voyages. But the Thousand Sunny had returned from its latest voyage and time had come for the crew to set off once again…

"Caout!" Nami called to her daughter, who was still standing on the port, "Hurry aboard! The Log Pose is set and we're setting off!"

Caout's gaze was fixed on the wooden dock. The wind was playing with her hair and swinging her cowboy hat, which hung off her neck as always. It was as though she hadn't heard Nami's words.

"Caout?" Nami said questioningly as the rest of the crew also stopped and stared at the girl, "Caout, why are you shaking?"

"…………I'm staying, Mom," came the whisper of a reply.

Not a sound was made…

Caout kept her gaze down, her eyes watering. When her father had given her the chance three years ago, she didn't know what to do…But now, after staying in the village for a year, she knew what she wanted for the future…

And to obtain that future, not only for herself but for them; the ones who implanted in her the desire to set sail out there………She couldn't stay a Straw Hat Pirate…

"Staying…" Nami repeated after over a minute of agonizing silence. She remembered Luffy telling her about his conversation with their daughter three years ago but it couldn't be that, "Caout, don't be silly. Hurry and come aboard."

Caout shook her head no.

"Caout, I mean it. Get on the ship."

Another shake of the head.

"Caout, I swear I-"

"It's okay, Nami."

Nami looked back at Luffy, who stood beside her. Caout looked up at her father's voice. He was looking at her with a resigned expression.

"…You've decided to do it, huh?" he asked, "You're forming your own crew…"

Caout slowly nodded, forcing her tears back. Nami shook her head.

"No," she said softly, "No, I don't accept this. Caout, young lady, you are getting on this ship and we are sailing back to the New World together!"

"Nami," Luffy said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "I already told you about this…We both knew she would-"

"I don't care!" Nami shouted in return, her tears falling, "I only got her back five years ago and you're telling me we're going to let her disappear again?!! No! She is staying with us, Luffy! She is-"

"Mom."

Nami turned to see that Caout was now in front of her. Caout didn't bother to stop her tears from spilling. They would have fallen sooner or later.

"Please, Mom," Caout said softly, "It hurts…It hurts a lot…But I have to do this."

"No, you don't," Nami replied, putting her hands on Caout's shoulders.

"I do. Mom, you felt sad when you had to leave your home to sail around the world, right? How do you think I feel? The Thousand Sunny is my home. You, Dad, Haz, everyone…You're all my family. Leaving you hurts but…But I want to try this…To make my own future."

Nami pulled Caout into a hug and slowly stroked her hair. Caout hugged back, her tears staining Nami's blouse. After several minutes, they pulled apart.

"I know you hate hearing this," Nami started, "But you truly are your father's daughter, Caout."

"It's okay," Caout sobbed, "I like it when it's said like that."

"…You're sure about this?"

Caout nodded…

"…I can't stop Luffy when he gets an idea in his head," Nami said with a chuckle, "So how on earth could I stop you?"

Caout mouthed the words "thank you" as Nami kissed her on her forehead. Caout then turned his attention to Luffy.

"You brought that thing I asked of you, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Luffy said with a frown as he took a tiny wrapped bundle out of his pocket and gave it to Caout, "That thing is puny and it was making me sick…I don't know why you wanted one so desperately."

Caout turned pale as the bundle was placed in her hands. She felt ill as she unwrapped the bundle and revealed what was inside.

Attached to a thin, silver chain was a green stone, no bigger or thicker than a single Berry coin.

A piece of seastone…

"It shows my determination," Caout replied as she put on the necklace, practically feeling her energy and Gum-Gum powers draining out of her, "If I show off my rubber powers, everyone will know I'm your daughter, Dad, and all of this would have been for nothing. So, from this moment forward, I will only use my Gum-Gum Fruit powers in an absolute emergency."

"But how are you going to fight if that stone takes away your energy?" Nami asked, worrying over Caout's pale face.

"No worries, Mom!" she replied, "I'm going to train so that I can handle wearing the seastone. I'll be fine!"

Luffy then stepped forward and grabbed Caout's hat unexpectedly. He held it in his hand and grinned at her.

"So, what's your dream, Caout?" Luffy asked.

"To become known for who I am, not who I'm related to," she replied.

"And you're going to do that how?" he asked, curious as to why his daughter decided on this village.

"You started your piracy at seventeen," Caout explained, "So I'm going to start at sixteen. But I don't want to set sail while I'm in the Grand Line or the New World. I want to go through it all…To start from a small village in the world's weakest sea…To visit Loguetown…To go over Reverse Mountain…To explore the Grand Line…See Fishman Island…To explore the New World…All with my own crew!"

"Alright then," Luffy laughed, "Then, let me tell you this. Me and the rest of the crew will be heading back to Raftel. We'll hang out there and wait for you. So, you're goal is to get there with your own friends and your own ship."

"And when I do?"

"Then, we'll have a HUGE party…And……I'll let you and your crew fight anyone you want from my crew."

Caout's jaw dropped at that.

"So…So I can fight you…And you won't hold back just because I'm your daughter?"

"Not one bit," Luffy confirmed.

"You are so on!" Caout cried happily.

Luffy smiled at that and placed Caout's red cowboy hat back in its normal position on her.

"Then, get it done…" Luffy said as he pulled Caout in for a tight hug, "I'll be waiting for you."

"I'll miss you," Caout whispered as Nami joined the hug, "I love you guys…"

"We love you too, Caout…"

Caout broke apart from her parents and saw Hazuki standing a foot away, staring at her in shock. Caout walked up to her.

"Haz…" she said softly.

"You're leaving?" Hazuki asked, "Just like that?!"

"Well, I need to grab my stuff from our room but yeah, I'm leaving."

Hazuki's body shook and Caout reached out to hold her.

"Oh, Haz…"

"Me too."

Caout froze, her arms still extended.

"Wh-What?" she said.

Hazuki looked at her with a defiant expression.

"I'm coming with you!" she said, leaving no room for anyone to argue with her.

"WHAT?!!!" the whole crew cried.

"Well…" Luffy started, scratching the back of his head, "That's…unexpected…"

"That's all you have to say, Luffy?" Nami asked, exasperated, "We're letting both of our children go off on their own? You realize we probably won't see them face to face again for two to three years!"

"I know," Luffy said in a rather serious tone, "You think I'm not hurting because of this? But I won't stop them if this is what they want…"

"Papa…" Hazuki said softly.

"You know, Haz needs to go with Caout," Luffy said, "After all, who better to navigate for her than her little sister?"

"But Haz," Caout started.

"No buts, Caout," the twelve year old replied stubbornly, "You want to be acknowledged for who you are by the world…But I just want to be acknowledged! All those articles mentioned you but they didn't even hint at my existence…My dream is to prove to the world that I exist! That I live!"

"……Alright, Haz," Caout said, "But if this is going to work out, I can't let anyone know we're related by blood…"

"Our surnames will draw away suspicion," Hazuki said casually, "So long as you still call me your sister, I'll handle anything."

Caout grinned and gave Hazuki a noogie.

"Then, welcome aboard, little sister!" she said cheerfully.

"I'm coming too, Listerra."

Caout blinked as Tide stepped forward.

"…Really, Nyshairyn?" she said, "Remember what I said before about stalking me…"

"Shut up, you loony!" Tide laughed, causing Caout to smile.

Tide no longer had her eyes half closed, as though she was constantly bored. She no longer spoke in monotone or frowned no matter what. Now she laughed, her eyes were wide open and bright and she had such liveliness about her.

The real Nyshairyn Tide had come out at last…

"But seriously, I'm coming with you," she said, raising an eyebrow at Caout, daring her to argue.

"But what about your lessons on controlling fire?" Caout asked.

"Boss taught me enough for me to try it on my own."

"But now your air powers are acting up," Ace said.

"That's the curse of being a Carrier," Tide said with a shrug, "My powers will act up but it's my job to be able to work around it."

"But you don't have to come with me to do that," Caout said, though secretly she had been hoping for Tide to come along.

"Listerra, when you told me you trusted me and that we were partners back on Garuka, I swore to stick by your side, no matter what," Tide said, "I owe you everything. My happiness, my freedom, my life, everything…My dream is to stand by my partner through thick and thin……Besides, I'm not going to let poor Hazuki deal with your insufferable presence all by herself."

"I resent that!" Caout replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't care. The point is simple: I'm coming. You have no say otherwise. The end."

Silence.

"Well, alright then!" Caout said with a laugh.

Tide nodded her head and then turned to Ace, who was staring at her.

"So, you're heading off too," he said, "I'm losing both of my nieces and my charge in one fell swoop."

"I'll be back," Tide said, suddenly nervous, "It'll take time but-"

"I'll be waiting," Ace interjected, "And I'll get to see just how much you've improved after my lessons."

"Yeah…" Tide said softly, "Thank you…Thanks for everything, Boss."

Ace raised an eyebrow at Tide's unsure face. He chuckled and held out an arm.

"Come here, kid."

Tide ran to Ace and hugged him tightly. The bond between the two of them grew over the years as Ace taught Tide about using fire…And now the charge was heading off.

"Wow!" Caout said cheerfully, "A first mate and a navigator and I didn't have to do a thing! Dad, this captain stuff is a cinch!"

"Keep thinking that, Caout…Just keep thinking that…" Luffy said.

******

After retrieving their stuff from their room and saying their goodbyes to the rest of the crew, Caout, Tide and Hazuki tearfully waved off the Thousand Sunny as it set off from the port…Off to the New World…

…It would be quite some time before they saw that ship and its passengers again…

"I can't believe we're really doing this," Hazuki whispered, still staring at the horizon long after the Thousand Sunny had disappeared over it.

"Well, we are," Tide said, "The next time we meet them, we'll be with our own nakama, our own ship and bounties that we earned through our own work."

"Well, I don't know about Hazuki," Caout said in a teasing tone, "They'll probably just give her a bounty for being related to Dad."

"At least they'd be acknowledging it," Hazuki replied as she punched Caout's shoulder, "But don't worry. I'll be sure to earn the bounty I receive. That reminds me…I need to develop a way for me to fight in battles…I can't keep doing things the way I've always done them."

"You mean by being forced to hide, then sneaking around and doing some damage by breaking some important doohickey?" Tide asked.

"Yeah, that…"

"…That kinda hurt," Caout said as she rubbed her shoulder, "Man, this whole seastone, not rubber thing will take some time to get used to."

"You better get used to it!" Tide scolded, "I'm not looking forward to seeing you look like you're gonna throw up any second for the rest of my life!"

"C'mon, you two," Hazuki said, "We're having dinner at Makino's and then we'll go to Dadan's place."

"ALRIGHT, FOOD!" Caout shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Shut up!" Tide yelled as she rubbed her ear, "You probably won't eat as much since your stomach won't stretch anymore."

"Don't say that," Hazuki groaned, "Now she'll take it as a challenge."

"Well, challenge accepted!" Caout laughed, "Alright, girls! Food first then sleep, because starting tomorrow, we're training our asses off!"

Hazuki and Tide looked at each other and rolled their eyes at Caout's unbridled enthusiasm. Caout didn't pay attention. Instead, she pointed a finger confidently towards the darkening sky.

"Get ready, world!" she shouted, "In three years, we're setting out and making a name for ourselves!"

Tide and Hazuki cheered in agreement and the girls all ran to get to Makino's place. The sun was setting now but soon it was going to rise to signal the start of a brand new adventure.

And so, three years passed……