Spoiler Warning: Romance Dawn Arc (If you aren't this far through though I'm not sure what you are expecting tbh?)

Trigger Warning: Sexual Implications

Coraline-Jacquelin Pestle, or CJ as her friends new her, brought a steaming cup of coffee to her lips and sipped at the bitter sludge. The unpleasant taste gave the impression of caffeine laced dirt, but CJ didn't care, so long as she got her daily dose of caffeine it didn't matter. She hadn't slept for the past two days and even when she had slept her nights had not been restful. She tossed and turned, despite the tranquilizers, and woke feeling worse off than the night before. But unfortunately the human body required sleep and she could only stay awake through force of will and the misuse of caffeine for so long.

The liquid seared her tongue and throat and she decided to wait a little longer, hoping to avoid the fuzziness that followed burning your tastebuds. Instead she held the hot cup in her palms, using the uncomfortable sensation to keep herself awake.

CJ stared out across the rolling waves. The sun was just breaching the horizon behind her, the orange rays heating her bare skin. The sky in front of her was a burning orange, blotted out only by the land mass the ship was approaching. The island was conical in shape, even from as far away as CJ was, with the large cylindrical marine base atop the island almost like a party hat. When CJ closed her eyes she could clearly picture the island as it was on her laptop screen. The occasional mass of trees were scattered between the tightly packed houses, staircases leading up from one layer of the island to another. It looked slightly different in her dreams where everything had an edge of reality to it, as it would when she saw it with her own eyes today.

The momentary realisation that this world had been nothing but fiction until a year ago brought along a wave of nostalgia followed by a myriad of unpleasant memories and thoughts. CJ focused herself on the present.

The waves were soft, rising and falling in gentle circular movements. The breeze was gentle and caressed the back of her neck, but the warmth brought by the sun rays remained. If CJ tilted her head to the side slightly she could catch the scent of the ocean soaking into the wooden deck. Her loose singlet wrapped gently around her hips, the worn fabric scratching at the skin beneath. Her thick pants only shifted slightly in such a gentle breeze but if she concentrated she could still feel the fabric on her flesh.

CJ shifted slightly, leaning against the railing of the boat. The movement caused the fan tucked into her waistband to press slightly against her stomach and she shifted away from the pressure unconsciously. The iron fan was warm from her own body heat and completely covered by CJ's clothes. She chided her carelessness and tucked the edge of her singlet between her bare skin and the handle of her weapon. She knew better than to let anything block access to the only thing she could use to block blades, even if she was on a ship full of weaklings.

"Hey Cora!" A familiar voice called.

CJ grimaced. The most irritating person on the ship had decided to get out of bed early. Her favourite time of day was sunrise as most of the crew was still asleep. CJ spent the majority of the trip in her room, avoiding the other people on the ship. She was not fond of the looks the men gave her, their eyes were either full of lust or greed. But a wanted criminal couldn't be selective when it came to traveling companions.

"Col," CJ greeted.

"I stopped by your room, but you weren't there."

Obviously, CJ thought to herself, but she didn't bother responding to his statement. Instead she just turned her to face him and sipped at her coffee, waiting for him to continue.

"Just wanted to make sure you were ready." He lied.

CJ could see the way he stared at her, the hungry look in his eyes. It really made her want to beat him to a pulp, but she contained her irritation and instead stared at him with her cold grey eyes. He had made his intent very clear to her over the past fortnight and she had responded in kind. She had no interest in the man, the only physical activity she would ever consider partaking with him ended with him bruised and bloody. Unfortunately Col seemed to think the challenge was exciting.

"You know, 'cause we're reaching Shells town today. That's where you're getting off isn't it? Or have you changed your mind?"

"No." She stated.

She had briefly wondered whether she should join Luffy so soon in his journey when she had first heard the rumour of Zoro's capture, but she had squashed down any of the doubts that came to her. She needed to join him as soon as possible. She needed friends like the Straw hats. She had been alone, or worse, since the moment she was torn from her world and the ordeals of the past year had taken their toll on her mental health.

"That's a shame," he sighed, "I would have liked to get to know you better.

CJ ignored him and turned back to stare at the approaching island. She certainly did not want to know him any better.

"You're quite mysterious you know."

She heard Col's footsteps approaching her from behind, she slid her eyes in his direction, watching him. Just because he seemed weak didn't mean she could let her guard down. He slung an arm around her shoulder and she stiffened, unimpressed by the invasion of her personal space.

"You know." He said leaning closer to her to whisper in her ear.

CJ gripped the hot ceramic cup in her hand, willing herself to keep calm, not to lose her temper. She was only hours from her destination, everything had gone smoothly so far, no need to complicate matters now. Even if the sleaze ball beside her deserved to have the crap beaten out of him.

"We still have a couple of hours to get better acquainted." He finished

CJ lifted her coffee, letting the liquid touch her lips for a moment. She wanted to collect herself before responding.

"No thanks." She said in her best customer service voice. She contemplated plastering the fake smile to her face as well, but decided he wasn't worth the effort.

"That's a real shame." Col sighed, an over the top sigh. An I'm-up-to-something sigh.

CJ felt irritation bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She really wasn't in the mood to play games.

"You know what else is a shame?"

Oh you have got to be kidding me! CJ thought. He is going to try blackmailing me. Seriously?

"You're going to an island with a marine base." He dropped his voice even lower, "and I really think that some of these men are the sought who would report you to them. Ten million Beri is quite a large sum you know."

CJ pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation, before she turned and reefed out of the man's grip. She was going to have to teach Col a valuable lesson. She stared into his excited green eyes. Clearly he thought he had her, clearly he was also the biggest moron to ever exist. The silence stretched for about three seconds before CJ snapped. Throwing her right arm forward, releasing the cup with her left. Brown steaming liquid arced through the open air like a whip and collided with the wide open eyes of Col.

The man, who stood a full head above CJ crumpled in on himself, screaming as he held his eyes. She raised a leg and shoved him over onto the deck, then crouching over the blinded man she gripped his thick hair in her hand and forced him to look at her.

"I'm going to give you some advice. God knows a pile of scum like you doesn't deserve it.'

Col tried to claw at her face with one of his hands, but she batted it away with the cup still held in her right hand. He yelped as the solid ceramic hit his knuckles.

"First of all, you should never threaten to turn someone in to the authorities, when you are literally shipping tons of illegal drugs."

Col made a sound of, what CJ assumed to be, surprise.

"That's right, I know those crates are not full of flour."

CJ leant closer to Col, imitating the secretive whisper he had just used.

"Secondly, never try to blackmail me. Unless you want to understand what it feels like to have your insides on the outside."

CJ might have been bluffing, though she wasn't entirely sure, she really hated people trying to control her, but her words had the effect she wanted. Col let out a frightened whimper before he fell unconscious.

CJ stood up again and turned to face the newly open cabin door. The captain was the first to reach the scene. He had only slept in cotton pants the night before, his hairy scarred chest on display for all to see. He paused in the door of his cabin taking a moment to survey the scene before him. The captain had a lot more experience on the seas than Col, which was why he hadn't bothered refusing her demands. He now had to decide between losing respect from his crew by doing nothing to her, or losing respect by being pulverized by the short woman.

CJ decided to take pity on him. "I've decided that I'll take myself the rest of the way." She said, heading to her room to gather her belongings, now he could pretend he had cast her out.

The sun had risen high in the sky by the time she reached one of Shells Town's ports. She tied the small rowboat to the dock and gathered her things before making her way into town. CJ couldn't find it in herself to be angry at her stupid actions. She'd always had a short fuse, it used to get her in trouble with teachers a lot and any sign of her former self returning was a good thing in her opinion.

Really the only thing that she regretted was wasting all of that caffeine, her hands had begun to shake and she could feel a headache beginning to form. She decided to set off in search of some coffee. Her bare feet slapped lightly against the concrete streets as she walked, the surface was pleasantly warm and CJ had to fight off the urge to sprawl out on the crowded street and take a nap in the mid-day sun. It was best not to draw attention to herself, seeing as her wanted poster had been plastered in pretty much every newspaper for the past three months. Thankfully she didn't have any particularly defining facial features so most wouldn't immediately place her, especially since she had tucked her long purple hair up into a black beanie.

She noted the nervous energy that seemed to radiate from the town itself, Luffy hasn't arrived yet then, or at least he hasn't started destroying the marine base yet. CJ thought. She'd have to find out how long Zoro had been captured for. Though she probably shouldn't ask the townsfolk, they seemed stressed enough as it was.

It wasn't long before CJ found a small market place which had a coffee stand. After ordering a triple shot espresso and immediately sculling it she ordered a long black and started planning a course of action. The first thing she needed to do was figure out when Luffy would arrive and that depended on how long Zoro had been tied up for. It had been fifteen days at the very least, so she shouldn't have to wait any longer than five days at the most. Of course Luffy could already be here so she would have to keep an ear out for any commotions.

If she had to hang around for a few days she needed to find an Inn, preferably one with a bath, and then she'd need to visit a medicinal shop of some kind. She hoped she could find an herb shop that stocked what she needed to make her own special sleeping pills, but she hadn't had much luck finding them anywhere but in the wild. She would cope with standard tranquilizers but it certainly wasn't ideal. Thankfully the cream she used to ease the pain some of her scars caused her was nowhere near running out.

CJ rubbed at the scar that divided her torso in three. She could feel the dull ache of the angry purple flesh that ran from her navel, up her sternum and diverged into two sections, both lines ended just above the ridge of her collar bone, forming a Y-shape. That was her most painful scar, both physically and emotionally. Though the brand on her hip was a close second.

A sudden commotion caught her attention. She could hear the sounds of panicked people just over the next rise. Probably Luffy. CJ thought and quickened her pace slightly. She reached the top of the hill and her cup nearly fell from her hands.

Three figures stood out to CJ. One was Helmeppo, the other was Helmeppo's wolf, alive and well. The next was Zoro, completely unbound and apparently not half starved.

"What the hell?!" CJ exclaimed.

Hey everyone! So I have a vague idea of future plot lines but it could change in the future so who knows. In any case at this point I am planning for some romance in the future? Between who you ask? You will have to wait and see. No promises though.

I will try to trigger warn at the start of my chapters as some of the topics might be upsetting (I might even up the rating to M we will have to see) Please let me know if there is anything in particular you want me to warn for.

much love 3