Shivered Timbers - Chapter 11

Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed. c;

WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD

Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:

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Chapter 11: Pirate's Rift

Shiori's eyes shot open. She woke up in a cold sweat. Condensation had formed all over the remaining windows of the vehicle she slept in. Suddenly remembering her new friend from last night, she looked the car over, only to find the front seat empty. She'd expected a certain blonde girl to still be occupying it.

'Where did she go? Or was that just a dream?'

She got out, climbing over the tangled mess of seats. There was no sign of Chouko anywhere. A multicolored flaky substance was sticking to her legs and it was on her hands too. After examining it, she realized that the older girl had left behind a fine dust that coated everything. Grabbing a spare rag that someone had discarded in the junk pile, she began to remove the dust. The car was swept out in no time. No harm done.

She heard voices chattering in the distance. They sounded like young boys about her age. Shiori began to recognize them, as they drifted closer. Luffy's laughter echoed through the trees, and Ace's low confident chuckle joined it... Unmistakable. The trio walked up to her. Sabo raised his arm and waved to her in greeting. Apparently he'd already met up with them at the clubhouse or somewhere before coming here.

"Good morning Shiori-san!" The chip-toothed boy grinned impishly.

"M-morning..." The little girl rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"You look like you had a rough night," Ace pointed out. "You okay?"

"I'm f-fine. Just didn't s-sleep well. That's all."

For some reason, she felt like they might not believe her if she mentioned there was another Devil Fruit user around. Especially since the older girl had disappeared without a trace. She felt it was best not to worry about it anyway.

"Get ready!" Luffy chirped excitedly. "We're gonna spar together!"

Shiori sighed lightly, her lips stretching into a knowing smile. "I should've known... Some things n-never change."

"I forgot to say so yesterday, since we left in such a hurry and all... But that outfit looks amazing on you! I see you did find something after all." Sabo told her.

"Th-thank you..." She responded by hiding her face, as a faint blush covered her cheeks.

The others were already making their way back into the woods. She'd meant to get up early today and try her luck at catching some fish in the river again, but she'd drastically overslept. Shiori followed them, walking along with the group.

They made it to their usual training spot, just past the secret fire pit that lay beyond their clubhouse. For a while, Shiori just watched while everyone warmed up. It was much easier doing her stretching exercises in these new shorts. And the sweater allowed for considerably freer movement than her frilly dress had. This was much better and she felt a lot more like herself. It was amazing what getting some new clothes could do. She'd noticed that Ace had been quieter than usual this morning. She wondered if maybe he hadn't gotten much sleep either...

"Oi, Nee-chan, what are you doing?" Luffy asked, bounding over to her.

"Just some stretching exercises I learned at the M-monastery," She blushed. "It's n-nothing really... You could probably b-balance a little better if you tried some different fighting stances."

Shiori fidgeted with the edge of her sweater, stretching out the pink and white stripes. It made her nervous to point out other people's flaws. She didn't like doing that.

"That's so cool! Could you teach me?"

"S-sure, I guess..."

"Hey, me too!" Ace ran over when he realized Luffy was about to learn something new. They had also garnered Sabo's attention.

One thing the girl had noticed in dealing with these boys is that they were very competitive with each other. They'd even started competing with her! But she tried to just stay out of the way during their sparring sessions. Sabo had warned her that sometimes they got really rough. Things hadn't gotten that serious yet today, but she already saw where things were headed.

"Well the f-first thing is..." She began to strike a defensive pose, holding her hands at an angle in front of her and bending just one of her knees. "When attacking, y-you should go from this form, into this one." She contorted herself into a more aggressive stance.

The others marveled at the graceful way she moved. It caused her to feel even more shy than usual. All eyes were on her. Shiori had never felt that she was very good at fighting or anything... She could barely handle her own in combat, but she was very resourceful, and that had to at least count for something. It had been a while since she'd had time to practice her moves, and she felt like she was getting rusty. She knew that she probably shouldn't be letting her Devil Fruit abilities go to waste either, if that's indeed what they were. She was still sort of skeptical about the whole thing.

"And i-instead of standing like this..." She mimicked the off-balance way Sabo had been standing to fight Luffy a few minutes ago. "T-try doing it like this instead."

"Like this?" Luffy tried it, and fell over.

"You g-got a little too high on one leg. Sh-shift your weight more. L-like this." She showed him again, going through the movements smoothly, but slowly. Then she went through them again a little faster.

He tried once more. He was able to do it that time!

His face lit up with excitement. "I did it!" Luffy continued to practice these new moves, while throwing in a few kicks and punches for extra flavor.

Sabo and Ace tried some too, and they found it was much easier to hit their opponent while doing so. Her techniques really worked! They kept trying, stumbling through the motions each time.

"I'm impressed," The blond boy admitted. "It seems like you really know your stuff. She's a tough little thing, isn't she guys?"

"Haha! Yeah!" Luffy agreed.

Ace, however, remained silent on the matter. He felt that it did improve their skills by a fraction or so... But standing and moving a certain way to fight was nothing that special. They could have figured it out in their own, eventually. He'd rather focus on learning better fighting techniques instead.

"Come on, let's practice more." He commanded.

The others moved in a circle around him, and he swatted them down like flies. Even Shiori took a crack at knocking him down but it was to no avail. Ace won that challenge, no questions asked. Then Luffy lunged at him with his entire body, knocking him haphazardly backward onto the freshly fallen leaves.

They began to make a game of it, but after a while, there were still no clear winners. All four of them were lying on the ground, struggling to catch their breath and laughing at each other. Fallen leaves clung to their hair and dirt seemed to stick everywhere.

"So now you're letting her train with all of you?!" An angry screeching voice came from over near their clubhouse. "Where does this end?"

A seething Monet stepped into the small clearing. Shiori felt her throat tighten, her jaw setting immediately. She glared at the other girl, already knowing why she was here. She knew a real fight was about to be started. And she wasn't in the mood for it right after training. She was already very tired... Her enemy had caught her when she was vulnerable.

"Who the heck are you?" Ace asked, uncaring of her feelings.

'Does he have no tact at all?' Shiori wondered.

"Nevermind that," The girl with bright green hair stamped her foot childishly. She looked a little older than Shiori, but she certainly didn't act like it. She walked over to the blond boy, desperation in her golden eyes. "Sabo-kun! Why won't you let me join you and your other friends?"

"I... Well, it's like, I-"

"Wait a second!" Ace stopped her. "We don't even know you!"

"You didn't know her either!" The new girl pointed to Shiori, who stood, fidgeting with the hem of her new sweater. "But you let her into your little group without a second thought!"

For the first time, Shiori witnessed Luffy's normally cheerful demeanor dissipate into a scowl. "I don't think we'd like you very much."

"Y-you're... You're mean and... You're n-nothing but a bully!" Shiori cried. His words seemed to give her encouragement.

"Yeah," Luffy backed her up. "So get out of here!"

"You would like me if you just gave me a chance! I'm really nice. Tell them, Sabo-kun!"

Sabo walked over to her. He knew she was a Noble, just like he was. But there was something that separated the two of them... He would never be like her. From what he'd seen, Monet had an attitude similar to the rest of the Nobility that inhabited Goa Kingdom and other places. That false sense of entitlement really got under his skin.

"All I know is," He spoke, in all seriousness. "You aren't acting very nice right now."

It was true. Shiori wanted to chime in her agreement with his statement, but she didn't dare. She didn't want to risk provoking Monet any further. She could tell that the other girl was already really angry. Her face was strained with the effort not to blow up at him.

"That's not true!" Her hands shook with the effort it took not to lash out at the others. "I'm only mad 'cause you're excluding me! And it isn't fair!"

"We've just met," Ace narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms stubbornly. "And I already dislike you. From your shameless accusations to your whiny tone. You're not making a good first impression. Why don't leave us alone, huh?"

He cracked his knuckles, in an effort to intimidate her. Luffy was standing near him for backup, and Shiori seemed to be doing her best to appear invisible. She hated that she was the cause of so much conflict. She knew that she should probably use her powers to help out or drive her away, but she couldn't allow herself to do that. It was the principle of it. She would not use her powers in front of Monet, no matter what she did. She rejected that idea with everything she had.

'The others would probably be better off without me around...' She tried to fight off the thoughts that raced through her mind. 'She wouldn't even be angry with them in the first place, if it weren't for me.'

"I'll leave when I'm ready," Monet wasn't backing down. "Besides, it's a free forest! Anyone can be here if they want to."

Luffy, who had been relatively quiet up until now, began stretching out his arms behind him. Shiori noticed it, but she knew the others couldn't see. Especially not Monet. She was too busy arguing with the other two to notice what he was doing. His hands searched along the forest floor, his fingers feeling along the ground until he felt what he was after. He scooped up two handfuls of rocks, placing them in his pockets.

"Fine," Sabo snapped, already getting sick of this. "But don't expect us to protect you if a tiger comes around."

Ace knew he was trying to talk her out of being here, to scare her into leaving. But he knew it would never work. Not as angry as she was. They would have to try a different tactic.

"We said get out of here! Now!" The freckle faced boy shouted. "I won't say it again!"

"Oh yeah? Make me!" The girl smirked stubbornly.

It was now or never... Luffy's arm stretched back, again without anyone noticing. He had his fist balled up. Ace waited to see what he would do. Sabo gasped, lunging forward and trying to grab him.

"Luffy, no! Don't hit her!"

It was too late. He slingshot a series of rocks, aiming right for her. Sabo had thought he was going to punch her, but this was probably worse. The bewildered girl shrieked, as the barrage of stones fell all around her in quick succession. Some of them hit her, one particularly large one hit her right in the shoulder, and some smaller ones made contact with her face and stomach. She had a gash on the side of her head. Blood trickled down from it.

"What are you doing?!" Monet screeched. Tears streamed down her face, from pain and embarrassment. "Leave me alone! Don't throw rocks! What is wrong with you?!"

She couldn't stay there much longer. Luffy kept them coming. He was relentless in his efforts to drive her away. She let out several more shrieks, as she tried to dodge the onslaught of rocks being thrown at her. Her lime green hair disappeared through the trees, eventually fading behind her.

"What a weird chick..." Ace snorted.

"I guess she kind of is," Sabo began to slink down onto the ground, finally relaxing a little, now that she was gone. "Sorry I dragged you guys into this. I never should have started talking to her."

"I hate to say it, but this is why we don't trust Nobles. Most of them, anyway." The older boy gave him a pointed look.

"Are you okay, Nee-chan?" Luffy showed his concern, going over to Shiori and lightly patting her on the back.

"I'm fine," She responded coldly, trying to sound tough. "I d-don't need to be coddled."

"Okay." He backed away slowly.

The rest of them didn't know what to do. It seemed like she needed space. Everything seemed to stop for a moment, as they all looked at her. The boys watched Shiori, waiting for some kind of reaction. None of them knew what to do.

She just shook her head and laughed. "I-idiots..."

Ace cracked a small smile for some reason. Even he didn't know why.

"Let's keep sparring, okay guys?" Luffy piped up, breaking the awkward silence.

"I agree," She nodded. "We shouldn't let her r-ruin our day."

"Right." Sabo and Ace also nodded, determinedly.

The four of them continued sparring until late in the afternoon. They decided, by unspoken agreement, not to speak of the incident. There was nothing that could be done about it now anyway.

Shiori kind of wondered if maybe Monet might report Luffy to someone in Goa Kingdom for what he'd done... Then again, even if she did, what could they do? He didn't even live in the same city. He and Ace were all the way out in Foosha Village, so they were probably safe. She was mostly afraid of her coming back and making another scene though. She didn't feel like dealing with that right now.

Thankfully, nothing else had happened for the remainder of the day. All of the leaves were falling to the ground, and the weather was beginning to turn a little colder now. She couldn't help but think that the forest was beautiful this time of year.

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Things went fine until they all walked Shiori home and everyone went their separate ways. They'd said their goodbyes and she watched her friends disappear from sight. It was already getting dark, the sun had just began to touch the horizon... It cast a lovely golden glow over everything. It was a glorious sight. She'd sat on the trunk of her car, just watching the sunset through the trees, until she was sure they were gone. She was exhausted and wanted to get to sleep early tonight.

Shiori was startled, when she realized she was not alone. A strange group of people were surrounding her car. "What are you d-doing here?" She asked, blinking in confusion.

"We're here to teach you a lesson, little girl." A heavyset man said.

"What do you mean? I h-haven't done anything..."

"Oh, but you have," A slim young woman sauntered up to her, leaning against the chrome bumper. "You see, we were sent here by someone who has a grudge against you. They want us to rough you up a bit. Nothing personal... At least not from us."

"Oh n-no..."

"Someone really has it out for you! Hahaha!" Another guy said, stepped out from the small crowd.

There were probably at least a dozen people here! Shiori began to panic when she heard their reason for being near her home. She backed away, scooting backward and sliding up onto the rear window glass. She tried to climb up it, but she kept sliding back down. Her capris pants were made of cotton and they certainly weren't helping her be able to climb the slick glass panel.

"Help!" She cried out, as loud as she could. "St-stay away! HELP! Someone, please! Help me!!!"

"Don't be stupid," The woman laughed. "There's no way you can escape!"

"Looks like this'll be an easy job..." The heavyset man grinned, reaching for the timid girl who remained on the trunk of the car.

"Aaahhhhhh!!!" Shiori yelped, struggling with all her might to get away.

Eventually she did manage to scramble up onto the roof. Most of the people there were adults though, and they could easily reach her no matter what she did. The weird lady was right. Her pink eyes wide with fright, Shiori did everything she could to elude them. She saw that someone had a large wooden club wrapped in razor wire, another had a set of brass knuckles, someone else carried what appeared to be a gun. But the really scary ones didn't have anything, they were the ones calmly cracking their knuckles with arrogant grins.

They all had some way to harm her, and intended to do so. That much was clear. And there was no way her snow abilities, nor her limited knowledge of fighting, would be any match against these people. They were ruthless thugs who had probably been in tons of fights.

Without warning, something swooped down from a nearby tree. Silent wings carried them swiftly over to the vehicle, where they landed next to the cowering girl. There was a jingling sound, like bells... It was Chouko!

'Yes!' Shiori was overcome with sheer joy. 'She's here! I'm saved!'

"What do you think you're doing?" She commanded, in a voice much deeper and more serious than Shiori had heard her speak with before.

"We're just teaching this brat a lesson," The heavyset guy was quick to inform her. "A lesson that doesn't concern you."

"Yeah! And you'd do well to stay out of it." The woman scolded her, as if she were a much smaller child. "This is not your concern, sweetie. So why don't you just go back to whatever circus you escaped from and-"

"Hey! You!" Another voice called out from the edge of the forest.

All heads turned in the direction it had come from. Shiori strained to see past all of the people. A small boy with a dark scowl stood there, freckles adorning his face, sweat beading on his brow, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Leave her alone!!!"

"A-ace-kun..." Shiori whispered, not quite believing her own words yet.

"I heard you screaming for help and I came back," He said, already fending off attacks from some of the crowd throwing weapons at him. "I sent Luffy back to our home to let the others know that I won't be back for a while. I'm not letting them do this to you!"

"Who's the tough guy?" Chouko giggled, nudging Shiori in the ribs. "He's cute! He seems to care about you an awful lot too."

"Sh-shut up..." Shiori whispered, unable to really speak.

Chouko fought off the attacks that came too close to them, while the rest of the gang went after the newcomer. They probably underestimated him because he was a kid. Armed with only a simple staff, Ace bravely fought against each of them. He dodged the ones who lunged at him, and used the staff to deflect any weapons or artillery that were thrown his way.

He watched as the strange blonde girl shielded Shiori from everything with her wings. He hadn't noticed them before, but they looked really strange. It looked like they had two big eyes on the back, like a moth's. Every now and then, she'd try to flap them a bit to stir up some of the dust from the ground. It blew in their eyes and created clouds of sand and dust, blinding everyone.

He wondered what was with her weird costume. Maybe she was another friend of Shiori's? It seemed that way. He relaxed a bit, once he realized she wasn't going to hurt her. But he couldn't afford to let his guard down enough to let the thugs win. He whacked them with sticks and started copying Luffy's technique of flinging rocks at them. When he ran out of rocks, he started picking up random junk from the junkyard.

"Stop it!" The lady cried, as a toilet seat flew past her head. It was followed by a huge iron crowbar. "This is ridiculous! Why is a brat like him giving us so much trouble?!" She scolded the rest of them.

"We can't help it! He's ferocious..." One guy, much taller and leaner than the first one, said.

The rest of the crowd was yelling and murmuring amongst themselves. One by one, they fell, until only three remained standing.

"I don't know what kind of kid this is," The dark haired woman stated. "But I'm out of here!"

"We'll just tell the boss and the girl that we did it..." The chubby guy added, already turning to leave. They also began picking up their fallen comrades and dragging them away too. "He'll never even know. We can say we did all we could and we roughed her up and stuff. No one will ever know the difference."

"Yeah, especially not when we show them the state these guys are in." She agreed, gesturing to the others who had been defeated.

Most were unconscious, but those who were still coherent helped to carry the ones who weren't. The small group hightailed it out of there as quickly as they could. They made their way through the heaps of junk.

Ace collapsed against the car, flailing across the hood to reach for Shiori's hand. She was so scared she was curled up in a ball, hiding beneath Chouko's brightly-colored wings.

"Are you okay, Shiori-san?"

"I'll be o-okay..." Even her voice trembled more than usual. She was shaking all over. "You d-didn't have to come back. We would've been f-fine..."

"I don't know about that," He argued. "You seem pretty shaken up, as it stands. Can you get up?"

She stood and dusted herself off. Her pink shoes dented the roof slightly, as she climbed down from the vehicle. She was just glad she hadn't been trapped inside. That would have been so much worse. Chouko followed her descent, not seeming to dent the car at all. It was like she weighed nothing! Shiori stared at her feet, noticing for the first time that they were bare, except for a small silver anklet with little bells running along the chain.

"Where did all those people come from? And why do you think they were after you?" The blonde girl prodded. "Guess somebody must really have it out for you, eh?"

"D-do you think m-maybe Monet sent them here?" She wondered, asking and answering at the same time.

"Probably, yeah." Ace nodded. "That makes the most sense. She did just try to attack you herself today, maybe not with physical attacks, but still. Maybe she sent these people when that failed?"

"But h-how? How could she do that? Why would these p-people listen to her?"

"The rich can do anything they want..." He sneered, showing his distaste for such people. "This group, we've seen them around here before... They look like they're with the Bluejam Pirates, a dangerous bunch."

"P-Pirates?" Her pink eyes widened with fright. "But w-why would they work for Nobles? Don't they h-hate each other?"

Chouko interrupted to help explain, being a bit older than the other two. "Even though they hate each other, Pirates will sometimes accept job offers from Nobles, if they pay them for it. I'm willing to bet that whoever hired them was willing to pay enough to make it worth their while. That's probably all it was."

"Yeah... Don't worry about it too much though. Someday I'll become the greatest Pirate captain, and I'll destroy them all! Haha!" Ace grinned.

"I d-don't know if that's a g-good idea..." Shiori thought for a moment, and turned to her other friend. "Are you spending the n-night again, Chouko-san?" She asked, as a vague hope lit her eyes.

"Nah," She shook her head. "I want to, but I'm just here with some friends and the thing is... We're leaving tonight. We have to. But we'll be back soon." Chouko patted the top of her head affectionately, tousling her hair.

"Oh? And who a-are they? Your f-friends, I mean..."

"Just some people I know," The blonde seemed keen on steering clear of revealing anything more, and convincing her to drop the topic. "Don't worry about it, 'kay? Sorry I couldn't pick you up and just carry you to safety, but I'm not strong enough to carry anyone else around just yet. I actually came here to say goodbye. Figured it'd be pretty rude if I just left like that. I have to go."

"B-but..."

"Boop!" She booped Shiori's nose yet again, giggling insanely.

The albino sighed, annoyed that she was being so mysterious and well... Odd.

"Th-those people know where I live... Are you s-sure you can't st-stay?"

"Nope, sorry! If I don't get back, the ship'll leave without me!" She took to the skies, turning back and waving hastily to the freckled boy who stood there staring at her, still trying to figure her out. "But I've already said too much. Nice to meet you, kid! Sorry I can't stay! Hope you understa- Aww, dang it!" She clutched the bottom of one of her wings, straightening it out so she could fly right. "There we go... Bye you guys, take caaaare!"

"B-bye..." Shiori called quietly, once she was halfway gone.

"Don't worry," Ace told her. "I'm sure you'll see her again someday."

"That's n-not what I'm w-worried about... Well, I am, but..." She stared at the ground, kicking at a bit of dirt with her feet. "I'm sort of s-scared..."

"Listen, don't be scared of those idiots. They're just minor thugs, nothing to worry about."

"I'm st-still worried... But thank you for c-coming back, and fighting for me. You d-didn't have to do that."

"What kind of friend wouldn't be there to help their Nakama out?" He gave her a reassuring smile. "They're nothing but a minor annoyance. But if you really want, I could stay with you?"

"Wh-what about your family? Won't they b-be worried?"

"Nah... They don't really care if I come back or not."

"Really?" That struck her as odd. Then again, she'd never met Ace's family, so she didn't know what they were like or what kind of relationship they had.

He just nodded, already climbing into her car. "I'll take the back, you sleep up front where you normally do, okay? And if they come back, I'll kick their asses!"

"Well a-alright... If you're s-sure it's okay... Thanks."

"No problem. Let's get some sleep, alright? I'm tired."

Shiori smiled, doing as he'd told her. She curled up in her usual makeshift bed, the front seat of the car that was broken in a position where it leaned back. Ace looked like he was trying to find ways to be comfortable. He eventually dozed off with one leg propped up in the back window and his arms above his head. She fell asleep shortly afterward, at peace because at least she wasn't alone tonight.

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The next day, they were awoken by the cheerful chatters of Sabo and Luffy, as they approached the broken down car. They seemed to be talking about the usual boy stuff, sparring and fighting and getting drunk when they were older...

"Hey, is Ace here with you?" Sabo asked, concern lacing his voice. "We haven't seen him anywhere and-" He suddenly noticed the boy in the back seat. "Oh hey bro! Sorry if we woke you."

Ace woke up in a daze, sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily. He was still very tired. Last night had been rough and he was still sore from sparring when he'd had to fight all those guys practically by himself, but he would never admit that to anyone. Especially not his friends.

"Dadan was wondering what happened to you," Luffy told his very sleepy brother. "I told her you went to check on a friend."

"Was she w-worried about him?" Shiori asked, concerned.

"Nah, she just said it was one less mouth to feed, haha!" The rubber boy laughed it off.

"Oh..." She cast a worried look at Ace, remembering what he'd said last night. "I see..."

They gave him a minute to climb out of the vehicle. Ace stood outside and started stretching his limbs. He obviously wasn't used to sleeping in such cramped quarters. But it was a lot softer and more comfortable than what he was typically used to, which was pretty much sleeping on the floor at the bandit's cottage...

"So what happened?" Sabo tilted his head to the side.

"Last night, Shiori-san was attacked..." The freckled boy hesitated. "By Pirates."

"The Bluejam crew again?" Luffy scowled. "Or someone new?"

"Nope, Bluejams just like always... We think they might have taken a job from Monet's family or whoever it is she lives with. Someone closely linked to her, anyway." He explained.

Shiori nodded. "I don't know m-much about that, but they d-did attack me. Ace f-fought them and scared them away."

"Yeah and some blonde girl was here..." Ace remembered the girl who had been on the roof of the car with Shiori when he'd arrived. "Said her name was... Chouko, right?"

"Y-yes..."

"I doubt she's connected with them, but she said she had to leave last night. We should probably keep an eye out for her. Looks like she ate some kind of moth Devil Fruit, or a butterfly variety, maybe? Anyway, she said she was here with someone on a ship and that they had to set sail last night. She left in a hurry, but she did shield Shiori during the attack."  

"Sh-she told me she ate the Ga Ga no Mi." Shiori explained. "She's j-just like a moth... Only human. She's my f-friend..."

"That's odd," Sabo had taken to pacing back and forth nervously, his expensive shoes leaving a new imprint in the dirt with each step. "The Bluejam Pirates' ship is still in the bay. I saw it on my way over."

"So looks like she really wasn't with them..." Ace looked as if he were lost in thought for a moment, his brown eyes going out of focus. "Or it would appear that way. I've got no idea who could have it out for her, except for Monet."

"That wench!" Sabo spat, his underlying anger finally seething to the surface. "Just wait until the next time I see her, I'll-"

"P-please don't do anything h-harsh..." The albino girl begged him.

"What? Out of everyone, I would've thought you'd be the most pissed at her, Shiori-chan..."

"N-no, I..." She hesitated. "I don't hate her or a-anything... I just wish I could understand why you're s-so nice and she's so mean."

"Hey, don't worry about this, okay? We'll make sure you're safe." Ace told her, bluntly.

"Yeah! We'll protect you, Onee-chan!" Luffy cheered, addressing her as his sister.

"Th-thank you all, but... I d-don't deserve it..."

"You don't deserve to be harassed or targeted either," Sabo was scowling, obviously irritated with the situation. "There are good and bad Nobles, just like there are good and bad people. That's why some of us are nice and others are mean."

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded, running around in circles and then falling down. He sure was hyper today. "It's just like how the Bluejam Pirates are nasty and mean, but Shanks is awesome and really nice."

"Well I don't th-think any Pirates a-are good!" Shiori shouted, her voice growing steadily louder now. She was becoming a little more brave. "And sorry, but I'm s-sick of hearing that..."

"Any?" Sabo raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued now.

"Y-yes..." She firmly stood her ground. "And I h-hate Marines especially. But P-pirates are n-no better!"

The young girl stamped her foot on the ground, the pink glitter on her shoe sparkling in the morning sun. Shiori was not about to budge on this issue, not even a little. She had witnessed her entire family brutally murdered by Marines. But Pirates were awful too and they had killed some people who were beloved by her loved ones. She'd seen how they also caused a lot of pain and suffering in the world.

"What do you mean, exactly?" The blonde boy asked her. He just wanted some clarification. And he was going to get it...

"Pirates k-kill people, and they tear families apart! They're c-criminals! There's no w-way I'd ever be okay with s-something like that!"

"Ahh, Nee-chan..." Luffy interrupted her little rant, before she could add anymore to it. "Are you saying Shanks is... Not awesome? 'Cause I'm pretty sure Shanks is awesome!"

"Is he a... A Pirate?" The shy albino asked, suddenly feeling nervous again.

"Well yeah..."

"Then h-he's definitely harmed an i-innocent person at some point." Shiori concluded. "N-not to mention b-breaking the law..."

"Look," Ace sighed, his hand on his hip. "I don't wanna talk about this crap anymore, got it? You sure didn't seem to mind breaking the law when it got you the clothes you're wearing. Hypocrite... Being a Pirate is the only way left to be truly free in this world! It's only way to deal with Marines or teach these ignorant Nobles a lesson! And I don't know about the rest of you, but that's what I'm gonna do! End of discussion!"

He noticed the way Shiori was looking at him. Her eyes had this forlorn look in them, like she was so far away... It was like she was really, genuinely wounded by his words.

"I-if you do... I... I'll n-never forgive you!" She cried.

The freckled boy was getting angry with her now. "That's an incredibly selfish way to look at things! And who ever said I wanted your forgiveness? I never wanted anything from you!"

"N-not even my fri-"

He stalked off into the woods before anyone could say anything else. Sabo stayed there, but Luffy chased after him.

"...F-friendship?" She finished, after he was gone.

Shiori was stunned at his words. She froze, pondering what the problem was for a moment. His heart seemed set on becoming a Pirate someday. But that was something she just couldn't handle. It all felt so hopeless... Her bottom lip trembled, as she struggled to maintain her composure in front of Sabo. She began to cry, the tears streaming down her delicate cheeks.

"Aww, don't cry..." Sabo wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure if he could. They all agreed on this long ago, before she'd ever shown up. "It'll be okay." He patted her back reassuringly, but she only recoiled.

"I j-just don't understand... I can't see why a-anyone would want to do that... To be a Pirate is... It's a d-death sentence!"

"It really isn't as bad as you'd think. Besides, at least we'd be sticking up for something we believed in." The blonde squatted down next to her, trying to calm her down. "You should know... Some Pirates are already after us."

"That s-sort of makes us even though..." She sulked.

"What do you mean?"

"The Marines are a-after me too. They f-followed me after they b-burned down my whole village... They ch-chased me for a long time..."

"If you hate Marines as much as we do," The blond tried to work all of this out in his mind. "Then why wouldn't you want to be a Pirate like us? There's no reason you can't come with us when we go."

By this point, Ace and Luffy had come back around... And Ace was currently considering going back to apologize, but couldn't bring himself to actually do it just yet. He felt weird about this. The girl was impossible. Who did she think she was to try to control them? He felt like she was trying to boss them around and he didn't like that at all. What was the point of freedom if you had to do to what everyone else wanted? He watched the scene from his hiding place in the underbrush, letting the forest and her out of control emotions conceal his presence.

"That's t-true I guess, but... I could n-never do that."

"Why not?"

Shiori hated the way he was being so pushy. It was her secret and she really didn't want to tell anyone. She just wasn't ready to go into all of that yet. But she had to explain why she was so adamantly against it.

"I was c-close to... I had someone, she was f-family and..." She hesitated, not knowing exactly how to explain it right. Her voice got very low, as she remembered the past and everything that had happened. "She was k-killed my Marines... She was l-like a sister to me... But her family, she t-told me they were all gone before she even knew me. They w-were all killed by... By Pirates!"

She'd finally finished telling him, and now she was sobbing... Sabo had clearly done a brilliant job of talking to her. He felt bad. A frown slowly crept across his face, tugging at the corners of his mouth. Hearing her sobs, Luffy decided to step forward. He went over and just sat on the ground next to her. He didn't talk or try to touch her, he just sat in close proximity to the crying girl.

"They're after us because we stole some of their treasure, ya know..." Luffy blurted, no longer caring about keeping the secrets they had all sworn not to tell. "And lots of people hire them to get their stuff back after it's taken. We get blamed for lots of it anyway, whether we do it or not. I hate them! But even I know not all Pirates are bad."

"Luffy!" Sabo scolded him, glaring at the younger boy. "Be careful what you say, baka! We don't know who else could be listening..."

"I just c-can't get over how much I'm going to m-miss you guys when you go... I'll miss you all s-so much!"

"What do you mean?" The Devil Fruit user asked, suddenly perking up.

"Wh-when you leave to b-become Pirates..." She rubbed her puffy red eyes.

"I know! We should all become Pirates together!" He smiled then, his grin wider and brighter than the sun. "You could just come with us when we go. Problem solved!"

"Luffy, I... I c-can't do that!" Shiori gasped, hiding her face with her tiny hands.

"And why not?"

She thought about it for a moment. Could she give up everything she knew, and let go of everything she held dear, all that she'd ever believed, just because she'd made some new friends? Could she really? It seemed ridiculous. It wasn't like her to decide such things on the spur of the moment, but she knew she just didn't have it in her...

"It g-goes against everything I stand for." There was a sudden and terrible darkness within her words. It was like her entire demeanor had changed. "And I already h-have a bounty... I don't want to m-make it any worse."

"Leave her alone, Luffy-kun..." Sabo shook him by the shoulder, pulling him off the ground. "She's not going to change her mind and we should at least respect that."

"Awww..." The youngest of the bunch complained, wanting to help the friendly girl he saw as a sister, but not knowing how.

"Don't worry," The blond Noble turned to her, forcing a smile. "We can still be friends. There's no reason to argue about this right now. None of it's even happened yet and it's not like it's happening any time soon."

"That's t-true..." She said, moping anyway. "I just w-wish I didn't upset Ace-kun..."

"He'll get over it in no time. Just give him some space and it'll be fine."

"H-how do you know for sure? He s-seemed really upset..."

Sabo put a hand on her shoulder. He could tell that she was worried. "Look, I know him pretty well. It will be alright, trust me, you'll see... I've known Ace for a long time. We were friends even before I met Luffy."

"Wow, r-really?"

"Yep," Luffy added, wanting to be a part of the conversation too. "Don't worry, we're always loyal to our Nakama. He won't forget you. Not even when we all grow up and become Pirates!"

"Hey, I s-said I'm n-not going to..." She remarked, a bit playfully. But she let the comment slide, with a slight giggle.

It was obvious that what had happened today had made everyone uncomfortable. They could have been having fun, but instead they were sitting around arguing about the future, about things that hadn't even come to pass yet. And Shiori was so hung up on the past that she couldn't find a way to enjoy the present very much.

Ace sighed, turning back into the forest... He didn't have the strength to face her right now. He just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while. He knew his friends would catch up later. The way he felt right now was confusing.

On one hand, they'd always known this was how people would react to the notion of them wanting to become Pirates someday. But that hadn't prepared him for the way it would feel when someone close to him reacted so negatively toward it. He thought he was ready for it, but he wasn't. And for some reason, that irritated him. Her feelings about such things had just been made abundantly clear, but she also had a very good reason for feeling that way. It was crushing him.

He knew he was bound to gain more enemies than friends from his decision. That's why he had to be the strongest, the bravest, and the best... It had always driven him forward, pressed him to move onward, and this time would be no exception. He decided to go to their clubhouse to train by himself for a while.

Meanwhile, Sabo and Luffy had managed to help Shiori stop crying, at the very least. Luffy was in the middle of telling her a few jokes... Anything to make her smile.

As the day wore on, they all began to notice it was growing colder. A chill spread through the air, and all of them could feel it. It was particularly cold down by the river, where the three of them had gone to try catching some fish. Even if they didn't manage to get any bites, fishing could still be fun, if they had each other's company to help pass the time.

"It's getting colder now," Sabo remarked, stopping to draw random shapes in the dirt with a small stick he'd taken from a tree. "Are you going to be okay out here in the cold?"

Luffy was doing the same, only crossing out his and rewriting his own, occasionally. Boys could turn anything into a contest.

"It r-reminds me of home..." Shiori admitted.

"That's not what I mean. Will you be alright? Do you have some way of keeping warm?"

"I'll be fine," She assured him, with a small smile. "N-no need to worry about me."

"I know! We could steal some supplies from the city to keep you all warm and stuff! It'll be fun too. Ehehe..." Luffy grinned.

"Oh please d-don't do that... I wouldn't want anyone g-getting in trouble over it."

And for some reason, Ace's previous words had stuck with her.

'Hypocrite...'

"If you say so..." The boy with the small scar on his face just shrugged, going back to what he was doing.

Shiori smiled... Although it was nothing new, she felt worried. She didn't like that she and Ace had had a fight. That had upset her a lot... But she was just being herself, and all in all, she felt like things would be okay. Whatever happened, she still had good friends by her side.

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