Chapter 2: Ground Rules

Okay, chapter 2's up to get the ball rolling! The first few chapters will be a little slow, but for Case Closed, it's all about build up. Now, for the explanation of the Grand Line, I got lazy and copy pasted Wikipedia's article on the Grand Line when Tsuru explains to Conan what the Grand Line is. By Chapter four, it'll start getting good. Feel free to pitch ideas or suggestions you have for the story, thanks! I don't own One Piece or Case Closed, I hope you people enjoy!

Conan looked at the man as if he lost his mind. "I'm not a treasure hunter, you've got the wrong idea about me." He received another harsh kick from Akainu.

"Akainu, don't be so harsh." Sengoku scolded and smiled maliciously down at the boy. "He's obviously just being modest. He's had a long day, Tsuru." The old woman looked up. "Show the boy to his room, won't you?" The woman nodded wordlessly, and picked up the chain that was attached to Conan's shackles. Conan coughed a little blood, and followed the elder out, glaring at the admirals as he did.

It was silent for awhile, until Tsuru spoke up. "I'm sorry, dear. You shouldn't have to go through this."

"I've heard that one, before lady." The detective growled and his face went to the floor. "So, is it true, am I really in a different world than my own?" He asked in a slightly shaky voice.

"Yes. You are." Tsuru said evenly.

"How the hell did I get here, and more importantly, how does the Navy of this world know a terrorist organization from my world?" Conan looked up from the ground and stared harshly at the back of the woman's head.

Tsuru didn't flinch, but she didn't turn to him either. "They first made contact with us. We're not sure how or what methods they used, but they were trying to establish communication without world, and their signals got crossed with ours, hence, we started talking. I don't like this Black Organization, you don't need to tell me they're terrorists, then again, we're not much different to you, are we? Kidnapping you, out of your world, holding your loved ones hostage, forcing you to solve a mystery, you have no interest in; it sickens me." She sighed. "The Navy is on the verge of falling, and that's why those idiots are so desperate. They need you to find One Piece, so the balance of power will completely shift to us."

"Balance of power?" Conan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. In this world, there are three main groups that run the world: the Navy, the World Government, and of course, the Pirates." Tsuru explained.

"Pirates?" This obviously wasn't a very modern universe.

"Yes. The pirates have been winning many battles lately, and the next generation of pirates are growing fast with power. That's why, we're desperate." The woman said solemnly.

"How was a deal reached between the Navy and the Black Organization? And what is this One Piece?" Conan asked.

"A simple deal was reached between us and the Black Organization: in return for your help, we give them devil fruits." She said.

"Devil fruits?" Conan was flat out lost now.

"Yes. In our world, there are some fruits that come out of the sea that give you powers, powers that you only read about in stories. In exchange for this power, you lose your ability to swim." She stopped him, and placed a hand in front of Conan. The boy suddenly felt himself get flattened, but his bones didn't crack, and felt flexible, almost as if he were fabric. A second later, he returned to normal. Falling on his butt, he turned fearfully toward the woman. "Do you believe me now?" Conan nodded, not wanting to go through that again. "In this world, there's literally a devil fruit for anything. If you eat one, you receive a power, but you forever lose your ability to swim."

"Isn't that a problem if you're a pirate or in the Navy?" Conan asked confused.

"Everyone makes due. Come." Tsuru motioned him to follow.

"What about this One Piece? What is it?" The detactive decided to roll back to a topic that at least made sense to him.

"As they said, it's a treasure, but not just any treasure…Gol D. Roger's treasure." Tsuru responded.

"Gol. D. Roger?"

"Yes, the former King of the Pirates." She nodded. "He was executed roughly twenty years ago."

"Oh. So whoever finds the treasure gets all the power. So the Navy wants the treasure for the symbolic principles of the matter." The young detective nodded, but then thought of something. "Wait a minute, if it's just about the economic status of the Navy, wouldn't any treasure or amount of money due? Why does it have to be this treasure? Just put together a fake treasure and call it 'One Piece'."

The old woman turned to him sadly. "It's not that simple, it's more than a treasure. It's a symbol to all sides of the spectrum. When the pirate king died, the World Government demanded he give up all his fortune to them and the Navy to split equally, but before the gallows became his stoop, he announced that his fortune was for anyone to take, but they'd have to find it first. 'I left everything I own, in 'One Piece'. That declaration started the Golden era of the pirate age, pirates, marines, and everyone like started traveling to the Grand Line, searching for One Piece."

"So in other news, whoever takes One Piece, literally takes all." Conan nodded in understanding. Now feeling the full weight of the woman's explanation. "What's the Grand Line?"

"The Grand Line is the ocean current that runs from north-west to south-east ends of the world, crossing perpendicular to the Red Line. It is commonly referred to those in the 4 Blue Seas as "the Pirate Graveyard." The Red Line is a vast continent that circles the globe from north-east to south-west. These two lines divide the two oceans of the world into four seas or Blues: North Blue, East Blue, West Blue, and South Blue. This stretch of ocean is said to be the most dangerous place in the world, and is sometimes referred to as the Pirates' Graveyard because of this reputation. Most believe that it is impossible to safely leave the Grand Line save at its beginning and end; however, the World Government regularly sends ships across the Calm Belts by coating their hulls with seastone - this renders them invisible to the Sea Kings. " She explained fully.

"That's quite an explanation." Conan replied, quite impressed. 'So the Grand Line's the equator, then. And the 'Red Line' must be the Prime Meridian'. That was useful geographical knowledge; which was why he was suspicious. "Why tell me this?"

"So you have an idea of where the treasure might be. Gol. D. Roger and his crew were the only ones to ever successfully scale the whole Grand Line, at the last island, Raftel, is supposedly where he hid his treasure. As you suspect, this world's land is completely made up of islands, not large continents that your world is so fond of. The islands on the Grand Line are supposedly the most dangerous, with Raftel being its most dangerous." Tsuru frowned at the implied accusation.

Conan stopped short and glared angrily. "If you know where it is, then why the hell do you need me for?"

"It is only a widely-accepted theory. No one's made it to Raftel, or scaled past the New World, the second half of the Grand Line. No one actually knows if it's there or not." She turned to face him. "We need your deduction skills to confirm if it's there or not."

"What if I'm wrong?" Conan growled.

"Then the consequences will be met. Your loved ones won't be harmed, however…you have no freedom until the treasure is found. You will most likely be beaten as punishment, so I wouldn't recommend lying about it." She sighed and turned to continue walking. After ten minutes, they finally found an iron doorway. Opening it, Conan sighed realizing it lead to some prison quarters, it was to be expected really, but he could tell he was going to freeze tonight. He followed the woman and stopped short at an empty cell. He walked in and Tsuru undid his cuffs. "You will be awoken at 01800 hours, and will be given breakfast. Then you will do five hours of research, and have an hour lunch break. You will then be given the option of mid-day nap, exercise, or guided tour around Marineford, for two hours. You may divide the hours for separate activites if you wish. Then you will have four hours to do more research, and then dinner will be served 1800 hours sharp. You will then be allowed to bathe for one hour, you will have your own bathing quarters for security reasons. Then you will be given the option of more research or you may star gaze in the observatory. There will be armed guards with you at all times with the obvious exception of the restroom. No one else is down here, but you. So please, behave yourself and keep your cell clean. You will meet your guards tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes ma'm." The boy nodded.

"Good. Try to get some sleep, it isn't long until day time." Tsuru left abruptly after that, leaving the detective to himself.

Conan stared after her and looked around his cell after she left. There were no windows, the light switches were outside his cell, he had an old cot and a fairly thick blanket, and luckily, a toilet with a curtain to pull around him in the corner. It was nice compared to what he was expecting. Also, the room was fairly warm, making him realize it was ventilated. They must want him to sleep comfortably so he could keep his focus. He thought about what Tsuru said, not the words, but the explanation about the Grand Line. It was awfully detailed, almost as if she was giving him a general profile of the world's geography. And then he realized something, Tsuru wanted him to escape, but why? There were a million reason for it: did she feel bad? Was she scared of what would happen if he succeeded? Was there something she wasn't telling her superiors? Either way, he knew she was his temporary ally in this fiasco, which gave him some relief, but not much. And what about the Black Organization? He needed to find out the details behind the deal the Navy in this world made with them, and also just how much these people knew about him.

"Might as well, sleep. Maybe I'll wake up from this nightmare." Grumbled the detective, throwing himself into the cot. He'd figure this out, but he'd need to do it on their terms; which sadly, would have to do for now.