Several days' of rain had stopped on the eastern side of the Kupeat-island. The once so puff clouds shrank and shrank in the sky until sun conquered it embracing the land below. In the small town of Uliami the colors of houses, streets and palm trees were glowing, transforming into lighter shades, including the black hair of the boy. An unusual expression was decorating his face: The eleven year-old Crocodile was smiling.

The child was welcoming the change of weather; he was not allowed to go out to play when the rain clouds were heavy. And this country was not lacking of rain. Well, depending on where you lived. This was due to the peculiar plants which all the inhabitants of Kupeat referred to as 'gobblers'. Whoever had first came up with the name had hit the nail on the head: The plants were greedy when it came to moisture and whenever there was rain they would take the most of it. It was an advantage for the plants beside them which took all the fluid pouring from the gobblers that had drank more than they could make use of. This had led to the forming of swamp areas throughout the island. The areas varied from a couple meters to ones the size of a small country. As for the area framing them, the soil was arid and practically nothing grew there. Only when you took enough distance the vegetation started reappearing as the effect of the gobblers didn't reach. Uliami, which streets Crocodile was pacing through, belonged to the dry area.

The boy shifted the strand of a small sack to his shoulder and quickened his steps ignoring the crowd of kids yelling at him. Unfortunately he bumped into one when turning around the corner. When he realized whom he had collided with, his more typical expression was back on its place.

"Croco! You going to the swamps?" the boy's eyes sparkled upon recognition. He quickly collected himself up from the ground, not noting the dust that had collected from the ground. His hair was the same color: pale clay, now with the sun's adjustment almost white.

The golden eyes were uninviting.

"Maybe…"

The sparkling in the younger boy's eyes intensified: "I'm coming too! I read about these really cool bugs that glow in the dark like a lamp! I want to catch them!"

The urge to tell the boy to take a hike was great. Crocodile bit his underlip. Fulo was annoying but Crocodile didn't want to do anything that would upset the boy's baker mother. She always had something little to give to Crocodile when he appeared in front of her door.

"Fine." He groaned.

The boy practically beamed from hearing the approval and rushed to his house yelling Crocodile that he'd get his stuff.

Great.

Crocodile leaned to the high clay wall behind him. Now he'd have to delay his visit to babysit the dork. Fulo the fool, as he used to curse mentally upon the sight of him. When the boy showed back gripping the straps of a hefty bag, Crocodile started to lead the way kicking a stone here and there out of the road. There could have been much more stones in Crocodile's opinion.

The still cool sand under their feet gradually gave way to a moist ground. Crocodile glimpsed at the others feet.

"What?" Fulo blinked.

"Just made sure you have suitable shoes," the boy explained and halted.

"What now? Why did you stop?"

Crocodile exhaled deeply before explaining his actions yet again:

"We have to tie these shoelaces," Crocodile's few bangs that were not tamed behind to the back of his head shifted forward when he crouched to his shoes.

"But they are tied!" Fulo pointed at his shoes with both of his hands to reinforce his words.

"I know…What I mean is, you have to make sure they are really tight. Make an extra knot."

"But why?"

At this point Crocodile started to weigh if the pastries were really worth the trouble.

"Because if your foot is loose on the inside of the shoe and you bring your foot up from the swamp ground you'll lose your shoe," Crocodile described slowly.

"It gets stuck there because of the under pressure," Crocodile concluded.

"Oh,"Fulo prolonged the vocal, making Crocodile unsure if the boy had caught his explanation. But the younger boy began obediently to tighten his shoelaces so they continued on with their little journey. Crocodile was taking them to a completely different route from what he had been having in mind before the blond had came in to the picture. He had no desire to share his secret with the blond let alone anyone in the village. He wasn't entirely sure himself what the forest hold inside in this direction but the only thing he was focusing on was to keep going as far away from the hideout as possible. He figured that after some wandering Fulo would get bored, tired and hungry and would want to get back home and stuff himself full of cakes.

"So, do you know where we can find them?" the younger boy asked. They had traveled some time now and their conversation had only consisted of the blond's sounds of admiration towards the life surrounding them. The sun was now straight above them, flickering through the hand-sized leaves.

Crocodile's brows furrowed.

We…

"They might appear anytime now," Crocodile shrugged. He didn't care if they found those stupid bugs or not. How could they even find them when it was daylight for the next good hours? It sure would have been nice if one would have presented itself, the fool would catch it and they would be on their way, both satisfied.

"Can I try that?" the blond nodded towards the pistol hanging on Crocodile's belt.

The raven-haired placed his right hand over the gun: "No."

Taking the boy along had proven even a bigger nuisance than he had thought. Crocodile had to constantly yell him to keep his hands off of the venomous or carnivorous plants capable of eating birds, or lizards with a skin that gave you a burn if you touched it.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Fulo asked with a look full of genuine admiration.

Crocodile waved his hand dismissively at the boy: "This is basics."

Fulo leaned his head backwards and stretched out the words Crocodile had been waiting for: "Can we go back?" The raven-haired nodded and turned his back to the other.

"Sure," he hummed and mentally bloomed in triumphant. That was, until he heard a snap of the wood. Specifically, the snap of the branch they had been standing on. Crocodile yelped as the only thing under his feet was now thin air and reached out his hand to whatever was in his vision. He got a hold with his left hand from a small branch and grimaced from the momentary friction caused by the speed and his own weight. He tightened his grip fearing that his fingers would slip.

"Help!" A familiar voice snapped his attention back. Crocodile scanned below him, turning his head awkwardly from left to right and found the other boy. The blond hadn't been as lucky and was now wiggling in the moist ground, sinking deeper into it with every movement he made.

"Don't move!" Crocodile cursed and after securing that there was ground below him, let go of the branch. His feet made a rough meeting with the moist but solid ground but Crocodile ignored the sensation when the yells continued.

"I said, don't move!" Crocodile marched, something cracked under one of his steps but he didn't check what. The boy was on the verge of tears when Crocodile reached a hand out to him. He yanked him out easily. Fortune in misfortune: Fulo had managed to drop into a spot that had only a thin layer of the sinking kind. His pants were covered with a greenish color all the way around his knees. But Crocodile noticed that the boy's eyes were still wide with the shock. Crocodile panted and was about to snarl when the boy suddenly claimed with a trembling voice with his eyes locked behind Crocodile's shoulder:

"A bananawani?"

A shiver went through Crocodile and he turned reluctantly. Sure enough, he instantly distinguished a sturdy yellow head with its wide yaw and a banana above its eyes. And the beast looked very pissed off as it swam towards them and fast. Crocodile recalled the cracking sound and grimaced when he caught a glimpse of a broken bananawani egg, half of its contents in the sole of his shoe.

Not good…

Crocodile tapped his vest but didn't feel the pistol's cold surface.

"Croco, your weapon!" Fulo shouted and pointed at the feet of the tree Crocodile had dropped from. Crocodile shot his eyes to the pistol laying on the ground and was about to make a leap for it when the boy rushed before he even had the time. The bananawani turned its head towards the sudden movement and Crocodile's eyes widened when he comprehended just how big the creature was, concluding from the head peeking above the gloomy water. The blond clumsily fitted the weapon in his hold and began firing at the creature that now slithered on the wet land, flinching from the rare shots that found their target.

"Roll me the gun!" Crocodile growled. The bananawani was only meters away and Fulo's hand circled as he located his aim.

"Do it, you idiot!" The pleading yet furious tone worked and Fulo sent the pistol circling on the ground to Crocodile who grabbed it to his hand. As the bananawani chased Fulo now backing up from it so was Crocodile chasing bananawani's head to the center of his aim. The yellow creature halted and let out a pathetic, high-pitched voice when Crocodile's bullet hit the growth on its head. It kept whimpering and curled up. With no thought of sympathy passing to their minds the boys fled from the scene, leaving the predator to suffer alone its major class head ache.

"Dammit, I got saved by a girl..!" Fulo snapped to himself.

Crocodile restrained himself from pushing the boy to the bog and leaving him to drown.

Roat was cooking up stew for dinner in the hideout. It was a hassle, making food for this amount of people. The bright side was that the bandits were not demanding any high class cuisine. Not that he even could have conjured up something like that from the ingredients. It was usual that he'd come up with something new to try and then looting the cabinets find that they either didn't have the ingredients or that they had molded.

So Roat had given up on honing his chef skills on new areas and pushed root snake stew in the oven for the thousandth time in his life. He peeked through the window at the clear sky and pondered if a certain little boy was on his way already. As he dropped the oven gloves somewhere on the floor, Cordin stepped into the kitchen. The two men nodded at each other and Cordin took the mug Roat offered him, having just filled it with water from the jug.

"The kid reminds me when I was young. He belongs to the sea. You know the way his eyes lit up when I tell those stories?" Cordin smiled after sipping some of the liquid.

Roat leaned on to the doorway, not with all of his weight to prevent it from falling. He wasn't sure if he liked where this conversation was going but let the older man talk.

"There is a marine base or something like that in the capital. They take in kids and train them to join their troops," Cordin leaned backwards on his chair as he turned to properly look at his subordinate.

Roat snorted: "But a marine..? That..wouldn't that be quite bad for us if he joined them?"

Cordin lowered his brow in warning: "I trust him. And so should you."

Roat pointed what his boss was not bringing up: "I don't think the boy could meet us, should the circumstances turn out so."

Cordin inhaled his cigar. A weary smile constructed on his face.

"I know. But I have thought this through."

Crocodile didn't waste any time after escorting the boy to the edge of the town and leaped back in the forest. There would still be enough daylight left for a trip to hideout and back to town if he left immediately.

When the clearing started Crocodile was satisfied, knewing that he had arrived. In the middle of the clearing was a sad excuse for a building. There were gaps all around between the sloppy walls, the roof was visibly crooked and none of the house's inhabitants cared to repaint the walls which color barely stood out from the wood. On the other hand, for a group of bandits living in a forest this was the best they could do.

The boy paced through the yard noting that the idiots hadn't rooted out the weeds yet. Inside the boy lifted the heavy calico fabric out of his way and entered the room where all the bandits were gathered relaxing on wide cushions or padded chairs. The air was thick of the smell of smoke.

"It stinks in here! Stop smoking!" Crocodile complained and wrinkled the upper part of his nose.

The culprit sat on the largest chair in the room. His wide stomach pounced when he laughed:

"Kuyeh hoh hoh hoh! But it's good that you don't like the smell," Cordin, the bandit leader and the keeper of the hideout stated.

"Huh, why?" The raven-haired child inquired.

Is he doing it on purpose..?

"Because I guess it means you won't start this bad habit!" the bandit leader took another inhale from his fat cigar.

"Eww, no way in hell!" The boy's head furthered away as if he concretely avoided the proposition.

"Kuyeh hoh hoh hoh!" His subordinates joined his laughter.

Cordin's whimsical brows which you couldn't tell where the other ended and the other started, crashed down when he spotted the purple blemishes on Crocodile's face and arms, near the shoulders: "You have bruises!"

Crocodile looked to the ground.

"Dare I even ask why..?" The man brought his palms together before bringing his hands, thumbs forward, to lean on his nose bridge.

11 years ago Cordin couldn't have imagined the conversation he was having this moment. He never had been the type to get children and that still hold truth. He never had gotten a child. He had stumbled on one.

The bandits had quality time with an army of barrels full of sake. Wasn't every day a liqueur delivery carriage crossed their path. As soon as they got back to the hideout they opened the barrels and from that point on, they poured and poured the sweet contents down their throats. Cordin had been the first one whose bladder's limit gave in first and when he fumbled up the others grinned in conspiracy. One of them stated that he now had to get water. The others shouted their agreements before Cordin could even question the request. So he took the bucket with him shaking his head.

The bandits broke into a mutual fit of laughter when they saw the mud-stained baby Cordin hold firmly in his hands when he returned.

"No, no, Gordin. You were supposed to get water, not meat."

"Didn't know you've had some lady-action, boss!"

"Shut up!"

Gordin finished half of his cigar until the laughter volumed down.

"Still, where did you manage to find her? The next town should be miles away."

Cordin closed his eyes in deep think.

"I'm guessing some coocoo tribe left her praying for good hunting luck or some other bullshit."

"Well…we could at least give her a name," the woman with the curly purple hair suggested.

"You got into a fight, didn't you?"

"It was not a fight!" Crocodile was quick to protest but gave in when the man rose the other half of his brow. Deciding that it was for the better if he left the bananawani out, apart from that, he could tell Cordin the origin of his injuries.

"Well..Yes it was a fight. But I didn't do it on purpose. Liak and Thep were giving others bad throws on purpose so I told them they'd get kicked out of the group if they didn't stop. And Thep punched me, so I punched him back..."

"Fine, fine." Cordin waved his hand and the boy closed his mouth.

Crocodile had lived his life's first years with the bandits in the swamp area. Though, they had never taken him with them to the raids. Crocodile had learned at young age to read as they left him with books to pass his time with. By the time he turned eight, the bandits sneaked at the night to the town and left the boy there.

For three years Cordin had hoped for the boy to find a new family. But Crocodile failed to this day to have any interest with the town's folk apart from asking for food. He visited the bandits regularly after finding his way to their hideout. The first time he appeared back in front of them got them on high alarm and cursing themselves for not blindfolding the kid when they had transported him away. What if the village people had tracked him? After some time they were able to relax as it became clear that the town's folk didn't see any connection with them and a homeless kid.

The man tilted his head slowly. When he stopped his head, his eyes widened. Crocodile winced when the man suddenly threw himself backwards with a short but strong laughter.

"Kuyeh hoh! Well, I admit that you are no coward. Well, one can't be when one has the same name as the beast king," Cordin patted the yellow belt on his tummy.

"Yeah, yeah." The boy simply shrugged not bothering anymore to remind that the name really wasn't exactly the same. Why couldn't they have just given him a more ordinary name?

"And friends have arguments sometimes, they just do good. Let some steam out," Cordin brought his fist to his palm and nodded.

"They are not my friends." The boy stated and crossed his arms.

Cordin could only cover his face to his hand and mumble sharply.

"No one can live by themselves, dear Croco. But...Ah, I guess life will teach you that better to you than any of my words."

Seeing that the boy was getting bored with these lectures, Cordin brushed the matter off and asked if the boy was in the mood to listen his rambles of the old pirate days of his. Crocodile nodded eagerly and Cordin smiled as he stroke his bald chin.

"Once there was a time we encountered sea monkeys."

"Sea monkeys? Crocodile blinked.

"Yes, they were monkeys that lived in the sea and are at least ten times bigger than the ones you see here."

Crocodile nodded in amaze.

"And as they emerged from the water, I was having my breakfast. Boy, was I scared shitless when I saw them. I tried offering them my half-eaten banana." the man hold out his hand and curled air between.

"Ku ha ha ha!" Crocodile chuckled. Cordin would have given up half of his men for those laughters. They were the only moments Crocodile didn't speak slowly and Cordin could hear his unbind voice.

"Hmm, yes, maybe they would have accepted my offer, had it been a full banana. Kuyeh hoh hoh hoh!"

After listening to several entertaining memoirs, Crocodile stepped outside when he met Roat at the yard.

"I'm leaving now," Crocodile informed him but the look in Roat's eyes was holding him.

"What is it?"

Roat seemed to be in some kind of inner fight with himself before he let out an almost undetectable sigh and revealed what was on his mind.

"There..might come a time you have to start your own life."

Crocodile's eyes widened and he was quiet for quite a time until he shrugged his shoulders.

Roat sighed louder this time and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Oh, I didn't mean to upset you, boy. We're not talking about anytime soon." Roat reassured, partially lying, because they hadn't discussed the time yet.

Crocodile swallowed with effort and his lips tightened together but he didn't say a word.

A sight of smoke lingering from inside the doorway foretold of Cordin's appearance to the yard. The large man furthered his hand holding the cigar and wholeheartedly hummed: "Oh, come here. Give me a hug before you leave."

Crocodile felt only a tiny bit of hesitation before pressing himself against the chubby man. The little boy noticed how the older man smelled like those horrible cigars of his and how he felt damp from wearing the same shirt for the third day in a row. Crocodile noticed these things but it didn't bother him for that moment. When Crocodile pulled himself away and left towards the city he felt his cheeks tingling.

Hijan, the vice leader of the bandit group, scratched the back of her ear and slouched to join Cordin for a smoke outside. She grinned to the bandit leader:

"I'm a little bit jealous, you know."

/A/N:

*edit 24.4.2014 I fixed some things in the first three chapters Venere Veritas was kind enough to point out with improvements. Thank you very much~*

Thank you for reading! I think the next chapter is way shorter but I'll also get it finished shortly, maybe in a week? I have worked bits from here and there in this project; I have written almost every chapter some bit; some only have notes, some are nearly complete. The time scale will be pretty much Croco's life until the events in Marineford. Though, understandably, there will be time skips. Some short, some longer.

And yes, Crocodile is a boy in a female body before meeting Ivankov. I found the fandom theory interesting and it fits this story quite well./