She watched, wide-eyed, as the Gold Eye pirates were struck down one by one, drunk, unable to defend or fight. The young girl huddled behind the bar of the tavern was ignored in the bloodbath yet, but someone was bound to notice her eventually.
She gritted her teeth resolutely. She had survived in the craziest of circumstances for five years, and she would be damned if she would meet her end here. As if the heavens heard her resolution, Captain Gold Eye slumped, stone dead at her feet. The mighty captain, famous for the golden eyeglass that enabled him to detect any and all metals, a useful tool for finding treasure, had his throat slit.
He had bought her as a servant two years ago, as a young girl of twelve, and had freed her from the Kairouseki gloves she had donned under the various pirate crews who had taken her under wing. Of course, there was a reason for his sense of security—the strange devil's fruit he had eaten bound all that made promises to him to fulfil them. She had been forced to take the mandatory oath of loyalty. But now that he was dead…
Getting over the initial shock, she got down to business. She had to survive. Grimacing, she reached into his blood-soaked cloak for the keys to the Kairouseki chains that bound her ankles, chains they fastened on for good measure whenever they laid anchor. Not that it served any purpose, given that she had broken the devil's curse a few weeks after eating the fruit, as they well knew. She supposed it gave them some false sense of security. Then there was always the Oath, anyway.
Chains unfastened, she briefly contemplated stealing his eyeglass for good measure, but decided it had no use to her. Touching the locked back door with her right hand, she held up two fingers, and flipped them sharply. As she disappeared into the night, the door crashed noisily to the floor, in the exact same spot she had been.
Shuffling along the outside of the tavern, she paused just concealed within a side alley. A group of people, presumably the leaders, stood outside the tavern. Her heart thudded almost painfully in her chest as she held her breath and listened.
"Seems like it's just some small fry pirate crew." A man spoke, his tone arrogant and dismissive.
"Yeah well. Nice to have an easy job once in a while, anyway!" This time it was a female, massive and muscular.
"Everything that comes here is easy. Don't you agree, Ms Wednesday?" The tall and lanky man who spoke first swung his baseball bat experimentally, a golden crown perched on his bleached mop of hair.
"Pride comes before a fall, Mr. 9. But, I'd have to agree nonetheless." Her luscious hair was the most bizarre colour of light blue, but somehow she managed to look exquisitely aristocratic despite this.
"Focus, agenz—" The final man cleared his throat then hummed, "Ma-ma-maaa—agents. We should finish this up quickly, then clean up and prepare for the next group. The Billions posted at the lighthouse have reported a new arrival; they should be here in the next few days." His abundant golden hair was curled into ridiculous rolls, the fake mayor checked some form of schedule.
Hanging around for a while more told her that they were a group of bounty hunters, Baroque Works. Officer agents, such as those gathered outside, were numbered, or given days of the week, and other agents were generally referred to as Billions, or Millions.
Bounty hunters, she mused. Perhaps here she could hone her talent…get a little more information on Fire-Fist Ace and his whereabouts, and wait for the opportunity to set out. She could wait. She had learnt that the impatient, spoilt, ignorant little girl she had once been couldn't possibly survive out here.
An abandoned street cart selling fancy masks lay overturned in the street, just part of the debris left behind after the festivities. She picked one up, a plain black mask, its only prominent feature the silver paint outlining the eyes.
Lifted two fingers. Flipped them.
And walked off to request to join Baroque Works, her real face in her backpack, saved for the day of opportunity.
A/N: How do you like it so far! Okay I decided to put my one single disclaimer here at the end: I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS YOU CAN CLEARLY RECOGNISE FROM THE MANGA IF YOU'VE READ IT. However, I do have several original characters—the first of which has already made her grande entrance :) I hope you enjoy it! I promise a fantastic plotline…Please do review, I hoard reviews like treasure and will love you for life. (: Thank you!