Short silver hair bounced around red frozen tips of the young girl's ears. Her monochromatic eyes duly scanned the calm sea from the salty beach where she currently sat. Soft caresses of wind on the bare parts of her body lulled her mind into a sedated state like the salty waters before her were a seasoned hunter and she was on the other side of a tranquilizer gun. The usual cold gray fog settled behind her as a sleeping sun began to awake on the horizon. She perched on the edge of sanity where the white sand met the thinning waves of the ocean thinking of the past; it was all too comparable to her mental state these last few slow moving years. One step forward to soundlessly slip into the endless abyss of paralysing ocean alone; no one would have to know besides her and the deadly waters which seemed to foam at the mouth in an ever hungry reach for her sand encrusted toes. As her tousled hair sailed tenderly in an early morning chill she knew better than to walk towards the awaiting beast's open jaws. In no time flat the enraged sea would tear her limbs apart and question her right to breath. It wasn't the physical salt rubbed pain that attracted her straying attention, but the overwhelming need to atone for the guilt inducing sins that plagued her mind from the very moment she could form a coherent thought. Smiling faces hiding in the back of her mind whispered cherry sweet words to break her from the ocean's strangling hold; telling her she just needed to get through this stretching lonesome day once more.

With a slight shift of hand she pulled a dark tinted glass bottle of Black Cherry Rum from the tan leather satchel strapped to her side; it had always been her captain's favorite. With a snap the booze cap twisted open and she greedily chugged the bitter contents; making a sour face as the burn turned down her throat. How anyone drank this scorching liquid straight she wasn't sure; but it quelled the bright grins in her head as well as the insistent taunting from the harsh sea before her quickly. She didn't want the guilt, nor the comfort her thoughts produced. On days like this it was best to be alone wallowing deep in quelled thoughts. After a deep drag of needed oxygen she poured the rest into the extended ravenous mouth of the ocean; finding herself lost in heavy sounds of the beast consuming the beverage. It wasn't her crime ridden blood, but this last coveted gift from her father did nicely to silence the wave's thriving gluttony.

Seven years didn't seem long enough for her grief to subside pertaining to her late captain's death. Still life pictures of the man cornered against the red brick alley walls, hands raised in absolute surrender, and then promptly fired upon with a shouting marine's final order burned in her memory almost everyday. The girl wanted to forget; she really did. The worst part was she knew she could have saved him, but another crew member held her back from jumping down from the tiled roof they had been standing upon. The lanky roof her father had hoisted her up to as they ran from the murderous glares of the island guards held her up safely, yet simultaneously pinned a loving man away from his young daughter. They were chasing them because of something she stole; there was no way her kind father's death wasn't because of her. She knew this almost as well as she knew the man never once would have blamed her. It shown through the small cracks of chaotic memories as a small light illuminating his last toothy grin directed towards her as his hands slowly rose in submission to the men standing ready to kill before him. No matter how frosted the breeze was on these cool island mornings knowing that her father loved the way it felt when he was alive and laughing filled her with warmth as bare skin turned red in protest.

For a while she venomously blamed the crewmember who didn't loosen his grip, but in reality it wasn't his fault and she knew that. He like many others of the Reki Pirates were just following orders. More specifically the cardinal law applied to the young silver haired girl who had just enjoyed her twelfth birthday with gleeful celebration: "Do not allow her into battle under any circumstance, be it life or death, until she grows and becomes stronger! We don't want her to fall into the hands of our enemies!" These words of her late captain were heard loud and clear like a continual ring in her ears day after day and pushed her through life even after his death; they are the sole reason she has come so far from that wondering sickly little girl clawing at life's pant leg like a dependant leech. If not for her captain's resonating speech and luminous smile she would have given up long ago, and joined her fallen brothers in her own dark locker beneath the sea.

If only she had been as strong as she was now back then saving the people she dearly loved would have been easy. If she had control over that accursed devil's ability, which had gotten them into the mess in the first place, everyone would have made it out without a scratch. Her stubborn attitude of not being treated like a child on that exhibition wouldn't be the reason an entire crew disbanded after sending many afloat with a pirate's funeral. There were so many 'what ifs' that never played out in her awaiting favor. If she could have controlled her naive emotions and not eaten the national treasure of the island it would have all worked out in the end. Right before the shooting the captain, her father, highly praised her with a giant ear splitting grin. Laughing merrily about how that was what they came here for, and they were glad to have it even if not in the way they originally intended. That night the rag tag crew cheered and another round of ale passed hand to hand around the smouldering campfire. At the time it was a relief to young girl's ears as she thought she would be yelled at and frowned upon by the people she loved. It filled her with a great sense of pride to now fill like a bigger part of the family like crew. Little did she know that her pending punishment would come later, and be much harsher than a simple scolding. She had to pay for the sinister sin of pride afterall.

With a final hard sigh she silenced her thoughts and stood to watch the remnants of the pungent drink drift slowly into the salty sea next to her feet; praying that for once her scattered memories would go with it. The wind around her blew softly against her hair, making her feel as if a soft hug enveloped her shivering form. It was one of the small things about this island that allowed the girl immense comfort. Every other encroaching tree, damp street corner, hut like building, or working civilian did nothing but haunt her rational mind with memories of the long dead. The island went on living having already forgot the torture that took place years before. Looking out into the ocean she softly spoke her goodbyes to her late captain as it had become habit by now, "I love you dad", and let the hushed words fade away in a quiet dance with the morning breeze.

"I'm glad you stopped telling him you're sorry", quickly cutting into the girl's sorrow filled thoughts like an unused razor, a man's musky voice made her whip her head around so fast he was surprised not hear it snap in two. A light smile shone on her face once she realised his presence, and the tension left her shoulders, "Would have really pissed him off ya' know". She should have known it would be him; after all he was the only person who had the ability to track her down even when she didn't want to be found.

The grayed haired man hummed down at his pupil from where he stood closer to the dense green forest from which he emerged. Staring into her eyes was the only way the man knew to read the otherwise emotionless face of the girl standing before him. He was once told by an old friend that eyes were the window to the soul, but before he met the emotionally caged girl he never gave the saying two thoughts. Her green eye was hardened with a concealed predatory gaze, cool, collected, and on guard from any surprise attack that lay dormant in the fog encased background. The blue one shown in the morning light, happy, innocent like a child, excited with the presence that presented itself. The girl was a mixture of the two sides; he realised it became a coping mechanism for the child to separate herself via emotions. There was a calm collected side that blocked interference from thought, and relied heavily on instinct. Then there was the blue side of a sad little girl whose cheerful childhood was ripped away like a bandage that once concealed the rottenness of the world around her. It took many years of coxing from the man to get her to mix those two sides and become a complete person once again, but traces of the broken women he had found bloodied in a grim desolate land still remained unchanged. "I've got a job that might be a bit of fun! What do you say?"

How could she say no to the compassionate man that had thrown her a rope to crawl out of the hole she had fallen helplessly into after her father passed; the man that trained her ruthlessly and pushed her to where she is now? It had been a while since she left the comfort of the small town that her current humble abode resided in, and with the death date of her father rising on the horizon with the glowing sun she needed some space from this place before it illuminated the darker crevices of her consciousness. If it was a job offer from this particular grinning man she knew they would both come out rich as kings, or poor and running once again from the laws of the land. Whichever way the tides swayed it would be a welcomed distraction from the infringing emotions that lapped at her heels like rabid dogs. Without this disturbance to dissuade them chewing through the wired cages she doubted her will power could keep the snarling monsters at bay for much longer. "Let me guess, I'll figure out the details when we get there, Mr. Silvers?" This man, as always, had no reason to give instruction to the girl as she always followed him on blind faith no matter how risky the situation. It's something she learned the hard way, part of her training as he called it. Though, she believed that he either didn't pay attention during the briefings of what ever escapade he got involved in, or his plan was so crazy that having a layout with instructions would do nothing to keep one on track. The continuous widening of the delighted man's grin made her suspect the latter.

"Just call me Ray."

Ray stood with his arms crossed loosely over his chest grinning like a mad scientist as the much smaller girl meandered slowly up to him after slipping on a pair of black combat boots; her small stature quickly became overshadowed by his larger one. "Where to?", the shorter of the two asked.

The man's large hand placed itself on the girl's petite shoulder and an enthusiastic "Sabaody Archipelago" sounded throughout the still beach followed by the same hefty laugh the small girl had grown to memorise over the years.

With that Jay and Ray; the strangest pair on the seas disappeared from sight, off on whatever crazy adventure awaits them.