Shivered Timbers - Chapter 8

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 8: With Eyes Wide Shut

For hours that day, Shiori had wandered through the garbage pile. Toward the edge of it, she'd come to a place that was more like a junkyard. There were other people who were apparently living there. There were old faded signs etched onto rotting boards that read 'Gray Terminal' but it was hard to read them.

The little girl bravely walked through all of the chaos... She didn't want to talk to any of them. Everyone watched her pass through silently but curiously. She found a place all to herself. There was an old junked car in an area that looked completely abandoned. The silver shine had long since faded and the chrome was starting to rust. The seats were covered with dirt and leaves, but they were still mostly intact.

Shiori spent the rest of the day cleaning it out. It was well into the evening when she finally got it into a somewhat livable condition. Her stomach growled loudly. She didn't have anything to eat... But she could worry about that tomorrow. She was exhausted from a very stressful day. She supposed this place was just as good as the slide, if not a little better. The seats of the car were a lot more comfortable than trying to sleep at the playground.

The only part she would miss about it were her new friends, Sabo and Monet. It was the first time in her life that she'd actually made real friends, and she would miss them. They were the only thing really on her mind, as she slowly drifted off to sleep that night...

The next morning, she was surprised when she awoke to a small voice.

"Shiori... Shiori-san..." It was a girl's voice, higher pitched than her own.

She gasped, rolling over and opening her eyes. 'That sounds like-'

"Monet-chan?!"

"Yeah it's me," She rolled her eyes like she'd always done. "I'm glad I found you. It's not much, but take this."

She handed her a white styrofoam container. Shiori just looked at it. "What is it?"

"I brought you some breakfast. It might be a little cold... Sorry."

She opened the container, and subconsciously started drooling at the sight. There were all kinds of breakfast foods in it... Bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fresh toast with jam. It looked really good to her in that moment. She was so hungry. Luckily, Monet had also included a set of silverware in the box. She'd even brought her a cup of juice with it.

"Th-thank you so much!" She'd already begun to dig in, oblivious to the worried expression on her friend's face.

"Sabo-san told me what happened," Monet was saying. "Why didn't you tell us? We never knew you didn't have anywhere to stay. Maybe I could've helped you then, but you're exiled now so you can't go back to the main part of Goa Kingdom anymore."

"I d-didn't know what to do..."

"I know. It's okay, but... We're going to try to do everything we can to help you out."

"You don't have to do that," Shiori answered quickly, pausing in her meal to think about what this meant. Things were getting complicated, and she didn't need this right now. She didn't want anyone dragging her down. "I... I'll be just fine on my own. That's nice of you, but it'll be alright. J-just forget about me!"

"That's no way to be! That isn't friendship. Friends always help each other. They're there for one another."

"Yeah... I guess you're right." Shiori shrugged. She didn't know much about friendship really. At the mention of sharing, she tried to offer her friend part of her breakfast.

"No," The green haired girl held up a hand. "That came from my house. I already ate, silly."

She looked at the food in front of her. It was from Monet's own house? As in, her parents had made it? It looked like restaurant style food. And then it dawned on her... Her family was rich. There was no way they would struggle to make food themselves. This was probably all made by servants.

"Sorry. I can't accept this." She pushed it away, handing it back tt her friend.

"What?" The pitch of Monet's voice rose even higher. "Why not?!"

"It was made by p-people like me," She calmly explained, ignoring her growling stomach. "I can't eat something that was made by... You know... S-servants."

"Don't be stupid," The other girl shoved the food back in her lap. "You're hungry. Eat!"

So it was true then. She knew she was being silly. But Shiori couldn't help but notice how unfair things were here. She was aware that Graham probably hadn't lied to her on purpose, but the fact still remained... This was not the place she had been promised. Everything she'd believed to be true had turned out to a bitter untruth. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't not a lie, either.

"I want to, but... I can't. You may not see what goes on in this K-kingdom of yours, but I do. Thank you for your kindness. Please just go." Shiori winced, as if expecting to be reprimanded. She felt like her new friend would be angry with her.

"I wish I could be more like you. You're very brave." Monet pointed out. "I'll leave this here though, in case you change your mind."

"Thank you... But take it. And go."

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

Shiori turned her back to her, facing the interior of the junk car. "Leave me alone." She'd turned around to face the passenger door. She really wanted to be alone to sort things out.

Monet could see that she was losing this battle. There was no way to win. Sighing, she decided to give Shiori some time to cool off. It couldn't be easy to get exiled from a place you'd only just gotten used to. She left the junkyard area, heading back toward the safety of the walls of Goa Kingdom. She would need to get back before she was caught sneaking out anyway.

Shiori decided that she would have to make do with what little she still did have. Bringing her a meal was sweet, in and of itself, but that wasn't the point... People who had been made to leave their homes because they were too poor to stay. People who had struggled just like she had, those who had suffered just as she had suffered... People with no free will of their own. That was who had made that meal for her. Monet's kindness had only been superficial. Had she made it herself, it might have been different. As it was, her friend exploiting someone else's labor to get her something to eat really upset Shiori. She knew they did it all the time, but it was still upsetting. The feeling nagged at her, refusing to let go.

Offering to feed her once was nice, but it still wasn't going to be a long-term solution, any way she looked at it. After rummaging around in her belongings for a few more minutes, she felt relief flood through her. She smiled, lucky that she still had the fishing net that Graham had given her. It was stashed away inside her only remaining duffel bag...

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Over time, Sabo and Monet had continued to come to see her. Things weren't really the same between them ever since she and the other girl had gotten into that disagreement, but they were still getting along. Monet had ceased bringing her anymore food, however. She didn't mind. She'd felt really bad accepting other peoples' kindness anyway.

Every morning, Shiori would get up and go out to the river, where she'd cast out her net. She usually caught at least a few small fish. Some days were better than others. It was enough to feed herself breakfast and lunch. If she were lucky, something would happen in order for her to get a meal by dinner time. Other days she was not so lucky. There were many times when she'd been forced to simply go hungry. As a result, she was not growing at the proper rate for an average girl her age and had grown very petite.

She watched as the others got bigger, stronger, and taller... While she remained almost the same. Shiori didn't let it bother her. She knew that was only external stuff. What counted most was her willpower to go on. Someday she would grow up and she would get out of here. Even through all the bad things, that was what she kept telling herself. Sometimes it was the only thing that kept her going at all.

Eventually, the other people who were living in Gray Terminal had gotten wise to her daily habits. This did not bode well for her... The area she was living in was piled high with garbage and debris. It smelled absolutely awful, but she hoped it would help hide her from the view of the rest of Gray Terminal's inhabitants. And it seemed to, for a while.

One afternoon when she was just finished cleaning up the remains of the fish she'd had for lunch, a group of men approached the car she was living in. Shiori stared at them, just a little girl looking straight up at these tall adults. There were about five or six of them. Each looked more filthy and bedraggled than the last. Most of them appeared to be hobos. They towered over her, leering at her menacingly...

"Weren't you the one who was flashin' all that fancy money 'round town?" One of the men, who was apparently their leader, a tall and lanky man with a dark tan and light brown hair, taunted her.

"Yeah, where's your precious money now?" Another of the men added.

She didn't answer them. Shiori only turned away, looking at the forest behind her.

"Nothing to say for yourself, eh?"

"Why are you out here anyway?" The first man said. "All alone with no one grown ups? Just what are you hiding from? Have you done something?"

"Nothing," Shiori finally spoke. She wore a scowl on her face. She just wanted them to leave her alone.

"Oh, so it can talk!" One of the other men, a really big burly man, jeered. "Look here guys! We've found a spunky one!"

"What say you share some of that fish with us, then?" Their leader demanded.

They were hungry. Just like her, she realized.

"W-well I would, but... I just got finished eating. There isn't any left. But if you come back tomorrow, I could-"

"Or we could just take that net of yours and use it to catch some for ourselves. If only there were some way..." He lowered himself down to her level. "For us to take it."

She stared at him, waiting to see what he would do. Shiori was just trying to read his expression. She couldn't figure out why they were being such jerks to her. She'd just offered to share with them.

"I didn't do anything to you." She said. "G-get out of here."

"Oh ho ho!" The man standing right behind their leader laughed heartily. "So she's fierce, all of a sudden!"

"What's a scrawny little thing like you gonna do if we just take everything from you? Nothin'! That's what!" He turned to his men. "Get her, boys! String her up inside that net for now. We'll go through her things."

Before she could do anything, she found herself behind scooped up and helplessly deposited into the same net she used for fishing every morning. The green wires surrounded her, gleaming in the sun. She protested, clawing at the damp material to no avail. Two of the men held her up while two more went through the car she was staying in.

'I think I finally understand...' She thought to herself. 'They're bothering me because... They have nothing else to do. These men are desperate. They don't have anything either. They must have been exiled too.'

"Do you... live here too?" The small child asked them.

"Haha! 'Course we do!" The leader laughed, his aging eyes squinting at her, as if to try and see what she was getting at. He turned to his men, who were still rummaging through her belongings. "You guys find anything yet?"

"Nothing much, boss... Just this duffel bag full of girly clothes and a few scraps of food and some cooking supplies. Not much else."

"Take the bag and let's go."

"N-no!" Shiori pleaded, trying to reach through the net with her fingers. "Those are my only clothes. It's all I have! You don't need them, they won't even fit you!"

"No," He said. "But it'll teach you not to trespass on our territory anymore. Gray Terminal is our home, not yours!"

She was speechless. Shiori didn't know what to say to that. They must have known damn well that there was nowhere else left for her to go. Yet, they still chose to be cruel to her. She was hoisted from the fishing net and thrown onto the ground. She would have fought back, but there were too many of them for her to face alone. The men took the net and all the rest of her things with them, laughing and carrying on as they walked away.

She wondered what might happen if she were to use her powers again... But she was afraid to. The last time she'd done that, she'd killed someone. That was the reason her bounty was so high in the first place. And a ton of bad stuff had happened almost immediately afterward. She was more than a little wary of using her abilities on these men. They might even contact the Marines, for all she knew. And that was the last thing she needed.

All she could do was sit there, alone and cold, with nothing left. She'd gone from living in a beautiful Monastery with her loved ones just a few short years ago, to living in the nightmarish hell that was Gray Terminal. It didn't seem like it had really been that long already, but she was growing up fast.

'I just lost everything... I have nothing... There's nothing left!'

Try as she might, she could not escape her thoughts. This feeling of overwhelming sadness that she felt was completely overpowering. This was the first time that she'd ever actually felt completely and utterly hopeless. This was a crushing defeat. She hadn't even tried to defend herself... She'd gone against everything that her Order had taught her. She missed them all, and she just wanted to go home.

Shiori waited until she knew the men were completely gone, before she just collapsed into a heap of sobs. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably, as the tears steamed down her face, falling silently onto the ground. And then she wailed. No one was even around to hear her, so it didn't matter.

Sometimes she wished someone would come to her rescue... Just take her hand, say everything was going to be alright again, and take her out of this disgusting place. She knew it was never going to happen, but it didn't hurt to dream. All she could really do was wallow in her misery and do whatever she could to eke out a miserable existence. She wanted better things for herself, but she was unsure how to even attain them. It all seemed so hopeless right then.

Shiori cried herself to sleep that night, and many consecutive nights, wishing this would all just go away. No one came to help her... No one cared. No one knew. Simple as that.

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A young man with a face full of freckles was currently fighting someone... Another boy with a small crescent-shaped scar under his left eye was coming at him with everything he had.

Not that it did any good... He dodged his opponent swiftly, the barrage of fists just barely missing him. They sailed by his head and to his left and right, but none of them connected. He was dancing around his friend's attacks with practiced ease. The other boy seemed to have some kind of stretching abilities, giving his attacks a long reach. Surprisingly, it didn't phase his opponent very much.

The first boy grunted, throwing himself willingly to the ground and panting... It looked as if he was conceding defeat.

"That's enough little bro..."

"Aww, come on Ace-kun! We can still go for a little while longer." The scrawny boy he'd been fighting argued. "We've gotta get stronger!"

"I don't know," The older of the pair was already lying on his back, leaning against a tree. "I'm pretty wiped out. Maybe we can pick it up again in a little while?"

Luffy and Ace had been sparring out in the woods for what seemed like hours now. He was sure he almost had him right where he wanted him... But all of this was tiring both of them out. The younger one was headlong and never wanted to stop training, ever. The boys would do this often, training together way out here in the deepest reaches of the forest, where no one else could find them. They'd ditched their other friends long ago so they could come out here and fight.

Dadan, an old lady who had temporarily taken them both under her care, had asked several of the mountain bandits under her control to keep an eye on them. But as usual, that hadn't lasted long. The two had run off to meet some of the other local children. Then they'd left them behind for a sparring match, as they often did.

He noticed the way his brother's eyes had slipped closed. A loud grating sound was coming from his general vicinity, and it took Luffy a minute to notice that he was actually asleep. That jerk! He'd passed out already!

"Awww, maaannnn...!" Luffy whined, hoping it might be loud enough to wake him up.

It didn't do any good. He was already gone. He knew there was no waking him when he was like this. The only thing he could do was wait it out. They weren't too far away from the mountain bandits' hideout where they stayed. There were wild animals and ferocious beasts in these parts, and sometimes criminals or homeless people, but Ace should be capable of taking care of anything that showed up. It was almost lunch time anyway, and it wasn't like either of them to miss a meal. He should be alright finding his own way back when he finally woke up. Luffy hurried off, disappearing into a deeper part of the forest...

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Shiori hadn't been here that long, but she was slowly beginning to figure things out. She couldn't fish anymore without a net, but she'd fashioned a couple of spears to use for fishing in the river. Occasionally, she would walk down to the ocean to catch some too. She would also collect some salt while she was there, using it to flavor her food later.

Today she was headed out to a field of sunflowers that she'd recently discovered. They were really beautiful and it made her want to smile, just thinking about being surrounded by all of those tall stalks and lovely, radiant blooms... But most of all, she would go out there to gather the seeds from the giant flowers. She usually took them back to her makeshift home in the junkyard, and used the sun to dry them out in a huge oil pan that she'd cleaned out. The whole process usually took several days, but then she would have a wonderful snack, once she added some of the sea salt to them.

It was nice to know that at least she hadn't lost her resourcefulness. It seemed to come to her naturally. She would make this work, somehow. The Nuns had taught her about things like this, but they couldn't get anything like that to grow up in the snowy mountains near the Monastery. Also, there wasn't much use in fishing, since the rivers spent most of the year encased in solid ice. Thankfully, she'd learned about fishing from Graham, during her brief travels with him.

As she walked along the secret path that she knew would eventually lead the sunflower field, she noticed there was someone in her way. Well, he wasn't exactly in her way, but this was really odd... There was a boy around her age sleeping against the base of a large oak tree. He looked like he might be just a little older than her... It was weird seeing someone just taking a nap in the middle of the day like this.

'Who is that?' The thoughts flooded her mind. 'What's he doing out here? And all alone???'

She'd been completely unprepared to run into anyone else on her way out here. It was usually so secluded... She hadn't even run into any of the usual bums or other people who lived in Gray Terminal out this way. It was like they completely avoided this area. She'd heard some of them talking about gigantic beasts, but she'd never run into any before. She did hear strange noises sometimes, but she'd dismissed them because she knew that could have been from anything.

'I wonder who he is...? I wonder what color his eyes are? I wonder what he's like when he's awake? Why would he sleep out in the middle of the forest like this anyway? He's probably either really strong, or really stupid... Or both?'

Shiori cautiously walked up to him for a closer look. She couldn't believe it, but he still didn't wake up. For a few dreadful minutes, she thought maybe he might be dead, but upon closer examination, she noticed he was still breathing. He was snoring occasionally, and for some reason, it made her want to giggle.

She refrained from making any noise, however, not wanting to disturb him. She just stared at him for a few minutes. Something about him made her want to be near him, though she wasn't sure why. Squatting down, she settled in beside him and watched him sleep. It was dangerous for him to be alone out here anyway.

The boy was wearing a sleeveless orange T-shirt and black shorts that went past his knees. He had short dark hair that reached just below his ears. He looked all scuffed up and filthy, like he'd just gotten done with a fight or something. His pale skin was starting to bruise in certain places and his face was covered in these strange little specks of dirt. The only thing she could think at the moment was how badly he needed a bath.

Were all boys this icky? Her thoughts flickered back to Sabo, and she shook her head. There was no way they were all like this. She wondered if this one would be as friendly as him or if he would be completely different. She hoped he wasn't a bad person... She didn't know what she would do if he was. All kinds of worries and random thoughts bombarded her mind. Mostly, she felt the need to watch him sleep, for safety. She didn't want anything to happen to him while he was out here alone, with his guard down. He might not be aware of how dangerous it was.

For some reason, as she knelt by him, Shiori felt kind of watched. It was like someone's eyes were all over her. She paused and looked around, distracted, but she didn't see anyone else near them. It was strange... When she looked back at him, she was startled to find that he slowly came to, his eyes fluttering open.

'Brown...' Was the only thought in her entire head at the moment. 'His eyes are brown...'

They were deep and dark, and contrasted so well with his ink black hair. She waited a minute to see what he would do. Her own eyes made her look like a deer caught in headlights in that moment. She'd been caught doing something weird again... This was so awkward! Shiori wanted to crawl into a hole and die right then. She hid her face with her hands, trying to let her hair cover most of it too.

"Hey!" The boy shouted at her accusingly, snapping out of his bewildered state upon awakening. He sat straight up. "Don't watch me sleep! That's creepy, you know!"

Shiori jumped back, cowering. "Oh! I-I'm sorry..." She squeaked. "I d-didn't mean to, I just-"

"Why are you so nervous?" He got up. "It makes it seem like you were up to something just now. It's super creepy to watch people while they sleep."

"W-well..." She tried to think fast. She couldn't stop herself from fidgeting with her hands, she did that whenever she was really nervous. "In order to know that, you h-had to be watching me watching you sleep! I'd say that's p-pretty creepy too..."

"Whoa..." He leaned in much closer to her, suddenly distracted, causing her to back away. She didn't know what he was doing... "What's with your eyes? They're so... So..." His voice trailed off.

Shiori almost fell over. "Th-that's why you were staring?! W-wait, hold on..." She stared at him too, equally incredulous. Her hand reached up to touch his face. She tried to scrub at the strange speckled marks, but they were really stubborn. They wouldn't even smudge. "Boys are so gross! When's the last time you bathed?"

"And you call me creepy! Get away from me!" He slapped her hands away, staggering backward. His back hit the tree and he stopped.

"Why do you have those strange dots all over your face?"

"What???" He blinked in confusion, pointing to his cheek. "You mean these? They're freckles! Oh my gosh, haven't you ever seen someone with freckles before?!"

"Eh? F-freckles?" The little girl just shook her head from side to side, indicating that she hadn't.

"Wow, are you for real? Have you been living under a rock or something? They're just marks that appear on your face, well you're sort of born with them, not always but usually... Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Shiori..." She shrugged, letting her bangs fall completely in her face so she could hide behind them. "I'm f-from Drum Kingdom. And I don't live under a rock, I actually l-live in a car."

"Oh..." He extended a hand to her, as a big wide grin spread across his face. "Well I'm Ace! You must be new around here... Sorry for yelling at you like that."

She nodded, standing there awkwardly. She had no idea what she should do now. She was still too shy to even reach for his hand. He eventually dropped it.

"Are you new here?" He asked.

"Well y-yeah, kind of..."

"I should probably show you around then."

"Uhh... Th-that's okay, really, I-"

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I know we may be different, but just because you're different that doesn't make you less of anything."

All she could do was stare at him. Without warning, her stomach growled. It caught both of their attention, but she secretly hoped he hadn't heard it.

"Are you hungry?" Ace asked her.

"Y-yes..." She was almost afraid to answer.

"Come with me," He took her by the wrist, leading her in the same direction his brother had disappeared in earlier. "I know where there's some food."

"So do I," She stated, matter-of-factly. "There's a huge field not too far from here that's f-full of sunflowers. I go all the time, and it's really pretty. You can get seeds, and if you dry and salt them, they make yummy snacks..."

Shiori walked along with him anyway, following him through the narrow winding paths that were in this part of the forest. The thick vegetation made it difficult to see what was up ahead. She tried to keep track of which way they went, so she would know how to get back to where they were.

"Those can't be very filling... Besides, you should probably stay away from there. It's a dangerous place. There aren't many people out this way and there are some really ferocious wild animals in these woods."

"I've heard that, but-"

"Shhh!" Ace stopped suddenly, putting a hand up to halt their steps.

The two just listened for a second, frozen in fright. They could hear footsteps, which were coming closer. They were very quiet, but the occasional twig would snap in the underbrush. Ace had a feeling that it wasn't Luffy... It sounded like an animal. And if his hunch was right, it was big. The steps got closer and closer...

"Uh-oh..." His voice fell down to a whisper. "Something tells me you're about to experience it firsthand."

It happened in mere seconds. A fierce tiger leapt out from the underbrush, leering at both children with hungry eyes. Ace's first reaction was to stand his ground. He stood in front of her, trying to be brave. He didn't usually tangle with these alone, but right now he wasn't being given much of a choice. At least he'd had a lot more practice with fighting them than the average kid. He'd heard some of the wildlife here had been picking off people from Gray Terminal and devouring them, from time to time. These things weren't a joke!

"H-hold on!" Shiori shouted, jumping out right beside him.

"I'll protect you!!!" Both of them shouted at once, before just looking at each other.

"Huh?!" Ace shoved her behind him, stepping between her and the enormous cat. "Stay back there. I've got this!"

He grabbed a large branch from a nearby tree and snapped it off. Ace wielded it at the tiger, keeping it temporarily at bay. But that only seemed to make it even angrier... It's teeth clamped down on the branch, breaking the end off. He had to do something.

"No, wait... I-I can help!" Shiori tried to rush by him, but she tripped over some tree roots that had been sticking up from the ground.

The tiger growled, pouncing onto her with fangs bared. The beast snarled at her. His claws ripped her dress in several places and scratched her. The bleeding marks stood out in sharp contrast against her pale skin. She was panicking, her eyes wide with fright.

Her new ally tried to help her, but there wasn't much he could do against the enormous tiger. He was hitting it with sticks, kicking and punching it, and even pulling it's tail, but it didn't do any good. Ace kept getting pushed back by it's tail and kicked. Before he could do anything to really help her, a chill breeze blew past all of them. It was distracting, and seemed to have this cold chill behind it. There was a force within it, a powerful one... It began to get very cold, as the temperature suddenly dropped. Small pieces of little white flakes started to fall all around them.

"What the hell is this?!" He shouted. "Why is it snowing?"

"D-don't be afraid! It's j-just- Hang on!"

Shiori concentrated all of her inner power on one spot, trying to just focus on the orange and black striped beast that loomed menacingly in front of them. It was terrifying, the way it hissed and growled at them. She only had a minute to get away, and she scrambled up from the ground.

"This way!" He took her by the torn sleeve of her dress, leading her further into the woods.

It all happened so fast... The children knew they had to run away from the tiger, or else they would become it's next meal. The next thing Shiori knew, both of them were running through the forest together, as fast as their legs could carry them.

The tiger wasn't letting them escape so easily, and it raced to catch up. She and Ace had to keep dodging it's powerful claws, but it was coming at them again and again. The snow was falling heavier now. It was very odd that it would suddenly be snowing in such a warm place, when the weather had been sunny only minutes before. Once the storm was really going, the small white dots gathered around the tiger, coating it in a powdery haze. It's movements slowed, until eventually it fell over.

"Wow! He's... Is he dead?!" His jaw dropped.

They stopped running. Ace approached the dangerous beast. At first he'd thought it was frozen solid, but it appeared to be suffering from a mild case of hypothermia. It wasn't dead, but it had slumped to the ground, too cold to continue.

"I d-don't think so..." Shiori looked down. She felt ashamed of herself. She'd nearly taken the innocent life of a beautiful animal just to protect herself. "But probably close."

"That's... That's amazing!"

"What, really? I think it's awful. P-poor thing..." Her tiny hand reached out to stroke across the tiger's fur. It was particularly course from the snow chilling it so much. "It's a sh-shame to waste such beauty. I hope he recovers."

"You really are something," Ace just gawked at the unbelievable scene in front of him. "I can't believe you did that! How did you stop it like that? What's your secret?"

"I shouldn't t-tell you..."

"We can talk about it later. We should get out of here before he wakes up, if he's going to. Or before anything else happens." He lead her away from the fallen feline. "I'm going to take you to a secret place."

"H-how far is it? I hope we don't run into anymore problems. That tiger was r-really scary..." Her voice had become small and meek again. She was visibly trembling.

"Don't be scared. We're almost there. At least it got us here much faster than we would have if we'd just walked." He was quick to point out.

It seemed to help her look at it in a more positive light. "I guess you're right." His companion shrugged.

"About what you did back there... It's okay, you can tell me... You've eaten a Devil Fruit, haven't you?"

Shiori shook her head, as they walked along, continuing on their way to wherever he was taking her. "N-no... Actually, I didn't. I'm just... special, that's all. I'm kind of weird. I was r-raised in a Monastery. And they told me I'm something called a... A Valkyrie." She whispered the last part.

The words had come spilling out before she could even stop them. Shiori knew she was never supposed to tell anyone that. But he'd just seen her use her powers... There was no taking that back. And she had to find some rational way of explaining it to him. She felt the need to tell him, after all of that.

"Nah!" He easily dismissed her story. "I've seen stuff like this before! What you have are Devil Fruit abilities. You should be proud though. They're really rare."

Shiori knew he would never believe her, but she had to try anyway. "No way! I'm t-telling you, I was b-born like this!"

"Whatever you say, Shiori-san..." He shrugged. "There's an easy way to tell though. If it's a Devil Fruit, you won't be able to swim. No matter how hard you try, the sea will always hate you and reject you. But if you're a Valkyrie like you say, then you should still be able to swim."

"That should work. I'd prove it to you, if I had the chance!" She insisted.

"Be careful what you say. You just might get that chance later... Anyway, we've got to get you something to eat. My Nakama and I... We have a clubhouse not too far from here. That's where we're going. It should be right over this next ledge..."

Finally they came to it. Ace led her to the base of a tree. Shiori could tell there was some kind of manmade structure near the top of it... It had windows and what looked like a door on the bottom. There was a rope hanging down. He pulled it firmly, and when he did, an entire ladder fashioned out of rope fell down into his grasp.

"Climb up like this," He went first, then reached a helping hand down to her. "First one hand, then one foot, then the other hand, and so on... Grab my hand."

"No thanks, I've got it. I'm n-not a weakling, you know."

"I know," Ace just grinned. "You sort of proved that with the tiger already... I still can't believe you defeated him all by yourself!"

The beast was probably up and moving again by now, but she didn't say anything. She really wasn't strong enough to take him out on her own either. The best she could hope for was that the tiger couldn't find them now or had lost interest. It was obvious that the two of them weren't enough to do any serious damage. She wished she hadn't given up on honing her powers. She really should find a secluded place to practice more, when she got a chance... It was hard enough just to survive out here.

Once they were up, she noticed that it wasn't the tidiest place she'd ever been in. Even her car seemed neatly kept compared to their clubhouse. Shiori looked around at everything. They had a first aid kit, which Ace was taking out, and some other things lying here and there. They seemed to have a stash of food hidden up here. It was clever, really.

"Let me see your scratches," Ace offered, perusing through the small medical kit he had.

"N-no, that's okay. I'll be fine."

"If you won't let me, then at least take care of it. Those can turn pretty serious if you just leave them alone. Here," He passed her the whole kit. "Patch yourself up."

Shiori didn't recognize everything in the modern medical kit. The metal box was small and white, with a red cross on the front, and it was filled with things that weren't familiar to her. She'd learned a lot about medicine and healing from her time spent with Ruhi, but she'd mostly used home remedies and things that only the Nuns knew about. But she figured out that one bottle had antiseptic properties similar to iodine, and a tube looked like it had some kind of antibacterial healing paste. She rubbed the ointment onto her scratches and placed bandages everywhere she could think of that the tiger had gotten her.

"There, I think that should do it... Um..." She watched Ace, who was busy preparing some food for them. "Th-thank you for letting me use your medical stuff."

"No problem. Hope you like sandwiches." He turned around and held out a small tray to her. It was filled with some sandwiches, all cut into triangles with the crusts cut off.

"Thank you so much! Ahh!" Her eyes lit up at the thought of food.

Shiori took one and immediately began devouring it. She was so hungry and food had been really hard to come by, ever since she'd lost all of her money. She was really grateful that she'd run into someone who was so kind. He was eating one too. When she'd finished the first, she unashamedly reached for another, only to be met with a kind smile.

As they sat together in silence, she found herself wondering what he was even doing out here. He didn't seem like he was from the nearby city. He was too kind for that. Maybe he was from Gray Terminal too?

Suddenly, there was a loud scratching sound coming from somewhere. For a moment, both of them froze, their muscles going tense. They could see the fear in each others' eyes... Each of them were afraid that maybe the tiger had found them, and was climbing up the tree. They wouldn't be able to escape it this time. It would have them cornered, it could do anything it wanted, it was an unstoppable force, it-

"Hey bro!" A poof of blond hair appeared in the trap door entrance, beneath a big blue hat. "Luffy said you passed out and he couldn't find you anywhere, so we were trying different places. I figured I'd find you here."

"Oh hi Sabo-kun..." Ace greeted him warmly. "We were afraid you were a tiger."

"A tiger? That's silly, haha..." He stopped for a second, staring at the girl that was sitting on the far side of the treehouse. "Hey, wait a second! You're... You're that girl!"

"H-hello Sabo-san..." Shiori greeted him shyly, her bangs falling into her face. She'd been finishing the last bite of her sandwich, but she put it down on the plate now.

"Ace..." The other boy glared at him, not seeming to like this at all. "We need to talk."

"Huh?" The freckled boy cocked his head sideways.

Sabo approached him and pulled him to the side, trying to keep his voice low. "What's she doing here?"

"Nothing, why? I just... Look, she was lost and hungry and I thought we should give her something to eat."

"We can't take in every person who comes around begging. You know that! Besides, you remember the rules we made right? What if she finds out-"

Ace laughed it off, his voice growing louder. "Don't tell me you're so naive you still do the whole 'no girls allowed' thing. That's so childish!"

"Plus she was, you know... Exiled." He said the last part in a whisper.

"And so what? Many people get exiled from that rotten place. I hope it burns to the ground!" He was getting mad now. "Right now, you sound exactly like them."

"Okay, just chill, jeez..." The blond boy turned to Shiori. "We don't usually allow girls in our clubhouse. No offense, it's just guys only. But we can make an exception just this once, since you're a friend."

"Look..." Shiori stood up. "I appreciate what you're t-trying to do and all... But I really need to get going now anyway. Thank you for everything, Ace-san." She bowed politely, crossing the small room to get to the ladder.

"You don't have to go yet, if you don't want to." Ace told her.

"I know, but... I need to make sure I get back before dark. It is dangerous and stuff."

"You can still come play with us some time," Sabo sighed, changing his mind for the sake of both friendships. It was just weird thinking about both sets of his friends hanging out without him. That was probably how Ace felt when he hung out with Luffy though. "Maybe tomorrow if you're not too busy?"

Shiori just nodded. Her face was bright red. She was so embarrassed, she just wanted to leave and never see any of them again, right then. She felt like that might change later, but right now she really missed her makeshift home.

Even if it wasn't much, she was doing the best she could. Even if she did live in a little crappy car on the edge of a dump... It was no one else's business. The thought that some people might look down on her for living there had never really occurred to her until now. Mostly, she just wanted some time alone so she could think. And she didn't want to cause problems for the boy that had been kind enough to help her, even when he didn't have much himself.

She'd hurried to get down from the tree-house before they could stop her. She didn't want to be a burden on anyone, least of all these boys who were struggling to survive just as much as she was.

Shiori headed home, her head in a daze from all of the recent things that had happened to her... She didn't know what to think.

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