Thatch PoV
Today was a very special day… Beach Day! A summer island, no chores, an ocean to swim in (for those without Devil Fruits, of course), no chores, sun tanning, swim suits, and most importantly no chores. As a division commander Thatch didn't have many chores but the ones he did have were tedious. The paperwork for his division, cleaning up after pranks, and overseeing the kitchen were not particularly straining tasks most of the time, but they were very boring. He was looking forward to a day of relaxation and fun with those currently aboard Pop's flagship.
It was a small, uninhabited summer island with a nice golden beach backed by condensed forest. Ace had been talking about going hunting later in the massive trees. Something Thatch was happy to support. The kid had an immense appetite, and his hunting might ease the strain on the kitchen supplies. So when a small girl burst out of the encroaching habitat, to say his heart stopped would be an understatement.
'Ooookay… I know we've had a lot of strange things happen in the New World, but this is a new one. Is that blood?' He squinted his eyes and watched as red liquid dripped down from gashes in the thick muscles of her arm. 'That is blood.'
The girl was stumbling closer with every passing second and the closer she came, the more details he was able to make out: Loosely fluttering bandages around her neck –'another injury?'- and the glint of two bizarrely shaped swords hanging from either hip-'non-sheathable. Who carries swords around that you can't sheath?'- that made him consider, very shortly, the possibility of her being a civilian. 'Uh, no, those swords give me the creeps. Maybe she's here to challenge Pops, that hasn't happened in a while. Though I don't recognize her from any bounty posters. May have not been a noteworthy one, but I think I would have recognize that hair color. It's way too similar to that other Yonko whose name shall not be mentioned under threat of Marco's kicks.'
Eyes wide in shock, the girl looked around at the crowd of men all staring at her now.
'So not here to challenge Pops then, damn. That's always fun to watch. It doesn't look like she even knew we were here.'
Her chest was heaving, forehead shiny with sweat. "Run."
"Whaa?" was Thatch's intelligent response. That had not been the first word he had expected from the small chit. They were pirates, Whitebeard Pirates. People didn't tell them to run.
"You need to run! They are coming!" Suddenly chains burst out of her, causing Thatch to grab his sword hilt. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see many of his brothers had reacted in a similar fashion. But instead of the chains lashing out at them, they crisscrossed over each other forming some kind of clear violet tinted barrier between the girl and them. The redhaired chit whirled around, facing the forest.
'What now?!' Whatever possibilities he had entertained coming out of the trees, armored men in weird painted masks was NOT one of them. The masked strangers surrounded the girl in a semi-circle so fast, it almost seemed like they popped out of thin air. Thatch gripped his sword hilt more firmly. Whoever those people were, they were definitely not civilians. That assumption was proven correct when the weirdos started laughing amongst themselves. 'What is going on? Why hasn't she drawn her swords yet? They obviously aren't her friends.'
The mask with the purple swirls was shaking his head. "Haha, who would have thought the 'Demon's Hand' trying to shield civilians even before her own execution."
Thatch's head was spinning. 'Execution?! She's a kid. What could she have possibly done to earn a moniker like that, and get executed.. maybe she is a pirate.' Thatch took a deep calming breath and moved a few steps closer to the supposed barrier. 'So this thing was supposed to shield us. Doesn't seem to block light or sound, so certain attacks may be able to get through. But why is she trying to protect us instead of defending herself? Oh, the Purple-swirly is speaking again.'
"Nothing to say? Well, at least you're going down easier than your teacher. And to think you both became traitors of Kirigakure, did he teach you treachery to?"
"We weren't traitors!" The girl was yelling now, her body so still that Thatch could have mistaken her for a statue, except her hands clenching into white knuckled fists. "Mangetsu never betrayed anyone! Kiri betrayed us." The redhead was practically hissing, shooting a venomous glare with honey gold eyes. "We fought and bled rivers for Kiri, but were still about to be hunted down for something as simple as being born. Hunted like monsters, so we left."
"No.." Purple-swirly cooed. Thatch was liking him less by the second. "Not monsters.. Demons."
"Fine.." the girl was quiet.. no longer screaming or hissing. "Then I'll show you a demon." She did some sort of strange clap with only two fingers pointing up.
'What is she doing?' Then Thatch noticed it. The barrier was moving. It shifted silently over the sand like a ghost, no longer just blocking off the Whitebeards, but enclosing the masked men and the girl in some sort of dome. His stomach twisted. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good. Was it just him or were the girl's swords glowing? He KNEW something wasn't right about those things! They suddenly seemed a lot sharper.
'What are those weirdos doing? Are those knives? He had never seen short blades shaped like that. 'Are they laughing?!'
The masked group was indeed laughing, some holding the strange triangle shaped blades.
"Sure, a baby demon. Trapping yourself for us!" Purple-swirly taunted.
The girl smirked. "I'm not the one trapped!" Her hands moved. One had two fingers pointed to her chin, while the other hand had two fingers pointed to the sky.
'What the-'
"Hiding in Mist Technique" Sure enough mist was rapidly pouring out of the redhead's mouth, filling the dome faster than Thatch thought possible. He waited for the clash of blades, the yells of some being skewered or cut. As a pirate he intimately knew the sounds of a fight, but he couldn't hear anything.
'Did the barrier change when she moved it? No, we can still see into it, though all we can see is mist' he grumbled. He looked to Pops for directions. Pops always knew what to do, but the stern expression on the man's face drew him up short. Pops usually liked a good fight. Thatch turned to Marco and Izo. The shocked look on their faces said enough. Too curious and anxious to take it any longer, he stretched out his Observation Haki, and his jaw dropped. The life aura's were disappearing, one after the other.
'What is going on in there?!' If this fight went on any longer he was going to be sick.
Finally, after was seemed far too long, but was likely only a couple minutes, the mist began to clear and the barrier flickered out of existence. He once again looked at Pops for instruction.
The giant nodded his head once, and said "Commanders only." After that strange display and the captain's stern expression on what was usually a grinning face, no one dared to protest.
They cautiously moved into the still disappearing mist, Whitebeard at the point, Marco at the captain's side. Then the smell hit and his nose scrunched up. It was a scent he was unfortunately used to, the metallic stench of blood. Finally, the mist cleared enough to see more easily. Thatch almost wished he couldn't. The girl was still there, her strange twin swords gripped tightly in her hands, but she now had blood splattered all over her. He looked around for the weird mask people, he hadn't seen any of them yet. Then he realized what those odd lumps on the ground were.. body parts. There was even an arm by his foot.. a right arm he absently noticed. Thatch had been in many battles and wasn't queasy by any means, but this wasn't a battle. This had been a massacre. He could see why they had called her a demon. Dark red hair, golden eyes, pale skin, creepy glow-y swords, yeah he could see why people might get a little freaked out, not to mention all the blood and bodies.
The girl swayed to the side, and he tensed, ready for anything she might do. But she just mumbled "Shit" and passed out. He was ready for anything… except that.
Thatch walked forward warily, curious enough to want a better look at her. His jaw dropped. This was just too much. "It's just a little kid! She's even younger than Ace!" 'I mean, I knew she was young but I didn't think this young!'
Whitebeard's face turned grim. Marco looked around with narrowed eyes. "That little kid just did all this."
"What do we do with her Pops?" Ah yes, one could always count on Izo to ask the right questions.
"Put her in the infirmary with a couple of nurses to look after her. And Izo, see what you can figure out about her." Izo nodded his head and marched off to gather a couple nurses. "Vista, check over the bodies. If they were here to execute her, there will probably be something on them with information about the chit."
"What about the rest of the crew?" Marco, always the mother hen, or should it be mother phoenix?
"Let them continue with the Beach Day. No need to get everyone stirred up just to sit around the ship all day. They deserve a break."
"They're already curious about her." Izo was back. "Hannah and Meghan volunteered to watch her." Izo kneeled next to the girl. "Well, whatever she is, she's definitely a swordsmen. Even passed out she still hasn't let go of these blades." The crossdresser reached out to pull one of the twins from her iron grip. "OW!" and quickly jerked his hand back to his chest.
Marco, ever the worry-wort, jumped forward. "Pops" Marco held up Izo's hand. "Electrical burns, from the sword."
Whitebeards
's eyes narrowed. "Marco, you take the swords to the ship with Izo. You should be able to heal yourself from whatever they do."
The first mate reached down and pried the swords out of the girl's hands, blue flames instantly blossoming around his own. "They are definitely trying to electrocute me."
Izo looked up from next to the girl. "But there aren't any burns on her hands."
"Must not like other people grabbing them then." Vista lightly joked from his spot kneeling next to what appeared to be someone's lower half.
"Yeah, but this is ridiculous." Marco grunted as the flames started to spread from his hands to his wrists. "I'm going to go put these up before they start to try any harder."
Izo stood up, the redhead in his arms. "She's lighter than I expected. But she's pretty out of it. She'll probably sleep for the rest of the night at the very least." He said almost to himself as he walked toward the docking boats at the end of the beach.
'Well, so much for a relaxing day.'
Special Thanks to UnderneathXTHExunderneath for being a wonderful Beta. Also I do not own One Piece, or Naruto, or Carry on my Wayward Son (the lyrics in the summary).