Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. Just OCs and plot.

Summary: From a world where chaos reigns across the divided lands of Britannia and corrupt kings bleed their realms dry by decades of war, Allister, an exiled knight, is killed under mysterious circumstances and reborn into a strange place filled with pirates and great treasures.

And as the struggle for power begins, Allister soon learns that the Great Empire is not the only one involved in the great game as sinister players position themselves to make their first move to stake their claim over both worlds.

With traitors at every corner and friends turning into foes. Through turmoil and war, magic and murder, Allister knows he must pick a side if he wishes to survive... But as a girl?

The Rules of Redemption

- Chapter 1 -

Promises

Don't care about anyone…

Those were the words Allister never failed to remember. The words would always conjure up agonising memories he had long repressed into the depths of his sub consciousness, but he'd regularly find himself repeating them as if they were a silent prayer to stop him from losing sight of what he once was. Anyone else would have brushed off the words said to him, not giving them a second thought, but to him they were words to live by. It was originally a promise to an old friend, one of the only promises he had not broken.

Should I be proud of that or should it be my shame? Allister thought questioningly. All throughout his life, Allister had made hundreds of promises to a number different people and broken each of them in turn, except for a small handful that he kept to this day. Truth be told, he had no love for promises. They were empty words that filled fools with false hope, and those who swear to them should never be trusted, but telling people this didn't stop promises from deluding them.

It's a good thing though, I never would have gotten this far without them.

The only time Allister gave his word was when he was tricking others into believing the lies that flowed smoothly off his tongue to achieve his own goals. It taught them a valuable lesson too. He chuckled inwardly. Not all knights are noble and upstanding. This wasn't the reason Allister despised promises. As a young boy on the verge of manhood, he had learnt the truth about making promises the hard way: Promises are chains made to take away your freedom and the people you swear to are the weights, dragging you down till the damned promise was fulfilled.

Just like any other child in Old England, Allister was told that once he made a promise it was a debt that must be paid even if it means to forfeit his own life to achieve it. Parents would tell chilling tales of those who had forsaken their oaths to their young ones; claiming he who goes back on his word was cursed by the Goddess. They say promises make you a better person, but that is a lie. Promises do not make people better. They do not help people. They break them. Especially the ones you can never keep.

Truthfully, Allister couldn't even recall the last time he made a promise. To forget just means that there is no reason to feel responsible anymore, right, old friend? A hysterical laugh escaped his lips. Serves them right. How could they expect me to solve all their problems? All they did was sit on their arse and expect me to do all their work for them, and the ones who cried were the worst. Everyone always thought that tears were a sign of weakness, but Allister knew better. Tears were very much a dangerous weapon. Almost as threatening as a murderer holding a dagger and women knew how to use them well.

And it's not like the weather is helping me remember anything.

It was a humid afternoon. The stifling air that enveloped him was thick and heavy, making every sharp intake of the torrid breeze burn his throat. The bar he was currently sat in was much more suffocating as scorching heat beat down on him in intense waves through the windows, as a result of them being open in a futile attempt to let in a gust of cool wind. Out of the windows the streets were unnaturally quiet under the cloudless sky and the once moving windmills in the distance were still.

The bar he was in was worse for wear as it was nearly as empty as the streets outside with only five people, including himself, sitting on the stiff chairs next to either a window or close to the open doors. To save himself from the heat one stocky man with rat brown hair and close-set eyes hidden behind thick, bushy eyebrows sat near the door and ordered a glass of cold water and when it arrived he poured it over his face to cool himself down, earn a scowl from the bartender but she said nothing.

Where is my drink? Allister thought sluggishly. The heat was becoming unbearable and his raw throat ached. The table he was resting his head on was warm and his chair became uncomfortable to sit on, but he was too tired to care. He could also begin to see that the others around him felt the same. A large, bald-headed man who was sat two table away next to a window kept changing his sitting position every five minutes, as if to try to stop himself from cooking under the sun glare. Another began to snooze in his chair, his chin touching his collar causing his long black hair to fall forwards onto his chest.

Maybe I should do the same.

Feeling exhausted, Allister began to close his eyes wanting to drifted off into a peaceful slumber when, without warning, something cold was pressed against his cheek. The feeling of the cool object made his eyes spring open and a chuckle sounded above him. He looked upwards at the laughing culprit.

It was the bartender, Makino, and she held a glass of orange juice in her hand, which she held firmly to his cheek. "Your such an adorable child, Haru-chan," she cooed in a soft-spoken voice.

Allister blinked, feeling a little dazed and feverish. Wait, Haru-chan? Who's Haru- Oh... I remember.

"Here's your drink," Makino said as she moved the cold drink away from his- no, it's her, i'm a her -face and placed the drink on the table. Alli- no, stop that. that's not your name anymore. your name is Haru. don't forget that -Haru pulled him- stop that! don't forget, don't forget your name! -herself up from the table.

"Thank you, Makino-san," Haru said slowly to minimize the pain in her throat, but she- yes, I'm a girl, not a boy, not after I died -failed to stop herself from wincing. Her voice sounded as rough as sandpaper on a jagged piece of wood and the back of her head was pounding.

"You're welcome," Makino replied, a small worn out smile spread across her face and her weary brown eyes shone with kindness and sympathy. "You should hurry up and drink the juice." She added. "You don't want your throat getting any worse."

Haru nodded and grabbed the drink with one of her small- not large, never large -hands. It was refreshingly cold against her warm fingers and she pulled it towards her dry lips. She drank it down greedily, the icy drink quenching her thirst and soothing her parched throat. Once she was finished she placed the cup back down on the table and sighed. Her headache slowly starting to subside.

Makino laughed once again, her voice practically booming in the quiet bar. "You didn't need to drink so quickly. I still have a lot of orange juice if you want some more."

Haru- good. you know your name, never forget your name - repeatedly nodded, pushing the glass towards Makino. "Yes please," She croaked, her voice- a child's voice, not an adult's - still sounding a little hoarse.

"Then one more glass of orange juice coming right up," she said while taking the glass and walking to the counter at the front of the room.

In the period of time that she was gone, Haru- not Allister, I will never be Allister again -glanced around. The room was large and spacious with light green walls that made the bar seem brighter. There were six wooden round table placed at different areas of the room and only three of them were occupied by one or two people. The table she was using was at the far left of the room, close to the front of the bar. Haru liked this table because she was able to observe everyone and everything from drunken people stumbling out the door, to the laughter of the merry men celebrating their achievements at the counter. She could see it all.

Those who truly look are the ones who see what is invisible to the naked eye, she quoted from a book called Techniques of the Mind and Its Mysteries by Adryan Westworth. It had been one of the books she had gotten as a gift as a young child. But that was when I was Allister, not Haru and many of the books that I read in my old life may not even exist in this world, as well as the languages or cultures.

One of the things that Haru had done in this world, when she was able to master the language here, was going to the village library and reading through every book possible in order to understand the unusual place she was now born books she found did help her, but the library was limited in some ways, such as not having much information on other islands and absolutely nothing on what was beyond a place called the Red Line. Also, the history of the world was a little vague and one of the many things that perplexed her was that there was no world map. She knew that she was currently in East Blue on an island called Dawn and it was common knowledge that there were other parts of the Blue Sea, but that was all.

Hopefully the new books arriving at the library tomo-

Midway in thought Haru froze abruptly. From the corner of her eyes she noticed that the man with long hair was awake and staring eerily at her.

Why is he staring at me? She wondered. Is it because I'm the only kid here? Or maybe it's because this shop mostly hosts to pirates, not children. That seemed like the most likely answer, but she chose not to ignore him as the man did not feel like an ordinary person and instead decided to study him.

The man wore an almost neutral but bored expression, though his sharp stare never wavered from her. Handsome was one word anyone would have used to describe him with his fair complexion and his strong, yet graceful build. The clothes he was wearing were nothing out of the ordinary. It consisted of a loose grey shirt and black baggy trousers.

He looks normal, so why do I feel uneasy?

Under his scrutinising gaze, Haru tried to relax, but something about the man was putting her on edge. She clenched her fists as a way to shake off the feeling but it grew more predominant and in response all the muscles in her body stiffened in alarm. There was something strange about him and she couldn't pinpoint what. He wasn't a weird type of strange, in fact he felt familiar.

Haru paused in thought. Familiar? Have I had this feeling before?

She had. The sense of dread clawing up her body digging its sharp claws deep within her skin and holding onto her in a vice-like grip was something she could never forget, but why now? It had been years since she had this feeling. What was it about the man who made her feel this way? Unless...

Haru took a shaky deep breath to try to keep herself calm but the rest of her body refused to follow; her heart was beating rapidly against her rib cage like the wings of a terrified bird in need of an escape and beads of cold sweat ran down her neck. All signs that her usually composed self was beginning to crack under the intensity of the man's stare.

Calm down, Haru. Calm down.

She took another deep breath and noted that there was a very peculiar atmosphere that clung to him, which reminded her of...

Her eyes widened and she turned her head in a flash to face him. As if he could read her mind the man grinned at her.

Wait, could it be? But how? That's impos-

"Here's your drink."

Makino unexpectedly voice took Haru by surprise causing her to flinch back into her seat.

"Oh, Haru-chan, are you ok? Did I scare you?" Makino asked in a worried tone, while placing the drink down to give her her full attention.

"I'm-I'm fine. You just caught me off guard, that's all." Haru smiled a little hoping Makino would not ask anymore questions, expect she did not look convinced. Her eyes flicker in the direction of the man she was previously watching and flickered back to her with a weird look across her face.

All of a sudden Makino bent over to reach her ear and whispered seriously, "Haruka, don't go out of my sight, OK?" Her face went as hard as stone and mistrust radiated off her in waves.

Haru blinked, stunned at order, but agreed. She doesn't trust him. She realised. Small wonder why. If I was able to sense it then everyone should too. And she was right. The two other men in the room were glaring at him with hostility.

You fool, she thought annoyed at the man. You brought this on to yourself when you were trying to catch my attention.

She glanced at him. He was already out of his seat and making his way towards the entrance to get outside. After he left the tension in the room has began to dissolve. He must have detected their increasing anger towards him.

"Makino-chan," the bald-headed man called out, snapping Haru out of her thoughts, "did you know that man?"

"No, I don't, Tanaka-san."

"Then best stay away from him. Especially you little girl, don't go anywhere near him. There's something strange about that man, and men like that bring trouble along with them," He said gravely, his dark brown eyes still lingering at the open doors.

Sorry old man, but I can't do that, she thought. I need to find him.

Haru turned back to the table the man was sat at and caught a glance of a small piece of paper beside a beer glass and some small change scattered around it. Ignoring the conversation going on between Makino and the now dubbed Tanaka-san, she slid out of her seat and cautiously walked towards the table the man drank at. She then quickly grabbed the paper and strolled right back to her seat, ignoring the watchful stare of the man with rat brown hair.

The paper was clenched so tightly in her fist that she thought that it might rip. Haru knew that she would have to find a safe place to read it, so she told Makino that she needed the loo and wandered to the door that lead to the toilet, but instead of turning right to where the toilets were, she turned in the opposite direction to reach the back door and quickly passed though in to the alleyway.

This should be a safe place.

Haru slowly began to unclenched her fist and smooth out the wrinkled paper. Then read what was written on the paper. It said:

Young Master,

Sorry for the use of magic on you and the others that surrounded you, but I needed a way to catch your attention and proof that it was really you. After all, Krorose magic has a specific type of effect on the people who are able to wield it and a different one on the people who can't.

Sorry, but I can't write everything down, so I wish to meet you in the forest not far from there in 30 minutes.

Forever your loyal servant,

James

When did he write this down? She thought, recalling her memories of the time not long ago. Then realized that he must have written this when she looked away from him, but that was not the only thing she noticed about the note. It was written in Neo-English, a language from her world not found in this one.

He didn't want others to know the contents of this note. And she could understand that. In addition, this would be an advantage in this world when writing something private down as no one else would be able to understand it.

Haru had also researched about the different languages in this world and found that everyone speaks the universal language of Japanese, but some words from other languages such as Old English, French, etc. were able to slip though. This interested her as she wanted to know how the other languages died out, only leaving behind some remains of their existence.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Haru began to rip up the letter into tiny pieces and throw them in the bin next to the door. Then turned around to go back inside.

But the only thought that ran through her head was...

Were there others that were killed that day?

The forest Haru was standing in was unnaturally void of all sound; there was no crackling leaves, creaking branches or sounds of the swaying trees. There was nothing. This unnerved Haru.

Where is he? She thought, annoyed at the prospect of waiting any longer, but it had been only 10 minutes. He's late.

Unable to stand any longer in this blistering heat, she found a comfortable spot under a tree and sat beneath it. She let her mind wonder off, remembering the current book she was reading. It was called The Twenty Kings and the author was unknown, which added a little mystery about who wrote the book and when, the book was also old, shown by the ripped pages and broken spine, so she had to be careful when reading it.

The book talked about how the World Government was created by twenty kings and how their descendants became known as Celestial Dragons or Tenryūbito. This intrigued Haru as it reminded her a little about her world, the one where she had been known as Allister. In her world, the Great British Empire, also known as Britannia, was in control of everything just like the World Government was in control of this one. Except instead of Celestial Dragons, there were Great Houses that were said to take upon the King's voice, and their word was law.

Shaking her head from her thoughts, Haru turned her attention back to the current situation. James was still not here.

Had something happened to him? Thought Haru, starting to get a little worried. 30 minutes had now gone by and there were no signs of life from either direction of the forest. This made her agitated. I'm alone. She realized, but it did not scare her. Instead, it filled her with the kind of courage that every child feels when faced with a strange situation.

I'm OK. She reassured herself, her eyes darting around to check for any evidence of living creatures, but there were none. Until she heard the faint sound of footsteps scurrying towards her.

Haru quickly stood up and hid behind the tree. She was taking no chances. This could be a trap. The man might not really be James.

Suddenly, from behind a bush opposite her came the man with long hair. He looked the same as he did in the bar, but this time he wore a bag, its strap hanging on his shoulder and a sword strapped to his belt. He then stood there for a couple of seconds and glanced around the place, until his eyes finally rested on the tree she stood behind.

"Young Master, what are you doing hiding behind a tree?" He said with one eyebrow raised in mirth. "Do you not believe it's me? Well, that's fine. I'll just have to prove myself now, won't I?"

He sounded amused.

"Well, when I first found you, you were in a pitiful state."He began explaining in Neo-English, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear what he was about to say. "You were chained like a dog that had betrayed its master, half dead after what they had done to you. And do you remember the commands you gave me after that night. 'Kill them all,' was it not?"

Haru stepped out from behind the tree.

"So it is you...but how?" She replied in the same language.

A frown grew on James's lips. "You weren't the only one who was killed that night. There were others."

"Others?" She questioned. So I was right.

"Yes."

Haru's throat went dry. The next words got stuck, but she forced herself to ask the question she had been waiting twelve long years to get an answer to.

"Who killed me?"

There was silence from him for a couple seconds and his face looked a little strained. Then he said in his smooth tenor of a voice, "I have no idea, Master. It shames me that I do not know, but command me and I will find out."

Haru sighed and turned away from him in disappointment. "I shall, but now is not the time. How did you find me?"

"I found you through the use of this."

Haru turned back to face him and saw he was pointing to a mark on his neck which was hidden by his hair from before. The mark that rested on his neck had seven circles looping over each other and they rested in the center of a triangle with its corners cut off. She knew the mark; after all she has the same one on her chest.

"The contract?" She realised.

"Yes. Even though magical users don't exist in this world, magic does. That's how I was able to find you." He answered, and suddenly began rummaging through his bag. "I've got something for you, too."

"What is it?" She wondered, stepping forwards.

He pulled something from his bag then walked towards her and placed it in her open hands. It was a small amulet.

Haru skimmed over the design of the amulet and noticed that carving was the same design as the contract, but had a tiny emerald jewel at the dead center. "What will the amulet do?"

James smiled faintly at her. "It will hide your trace of magic, so you don't have to worry about others finding you, and it will stop you from seeing 'them', too."

"Thank you."

He bowed. "Anything for you, Master."

She nodded in acknowledgement. "Is there anything else you have for me?"

"Why yes, there is." He said while straightening himself out, then proceeded to grab the sword strapped to his belt and held it out in front of her.

A sword? Wait... Could it be?

She put the amulet around her neck, then plucked the sword from his hands and pulled it from its scabbard with all the strength of a twelve year old.

It is. She thought, shocked at the sudden realisation

Her fingers brushed against the cold silver metal as it shone under the remaining sunlight. The hilt, she noticed, was too large and heavy for small hands, causing the point of the sword to dig into the ground, but the engraving of the words, written in the ancient language of Latin, were still there in the ironwood: "A facie gladii quem percussit luna" it said.

The sword that shattered the moon

She then began to slowly traced over the white gem stone that rested in the center of the pommel, which glowed faintly, sending ripples of light across her fingers. And under her finger tips, the gem's glow grew stronger and stronger until it illuminated the entire sword.

Haru marveled at its beauty.

"The sword has found its owner, just as I have found my master." James whispered softly.

Without warning, the light from the long sword died away, leaving Haru a little dazed.

"H-how did you get it?" Demanded Haru, still numb from the shock. "I thought that it was in Britannia."

"It was, but I was able to summon the sword along with your other personal items to this realm though the use of very old magic, but I am unable to find a way back home." He explained. "Now, let's do something about the sword. You can't go around carrying a 3ft sword, so the best thing to do is seal it in the hand of your choosing."

Haru nodded again. "Okay. But there is one thing I would like to ask?"

"Ask away "

She stared deep into his unnaturally black eyes.

"Why did you wait twelve years to find me?"

Dusk had now come, filling the light blue sky with hues of red and orange, but Haru was too busy staring at the symbol of a black crescent moon which lay in the middle of the palm on her left hand. It was the seal that James placed upon her, which caused her sword to be absorbed by her hand, but she will be able to summon it any time she pleases.

She clenched and unclenched her hand. Just like old times, huh?

This was not the first time that her sword was sealed into her hand. She had placed the seal on her hand herself as Allister to portray himself as harmless when traveling around Britannia in order to deceive people. It had work many at time, as people were able to place their trust upon him, but that trust was always broken. Mostly by him.

Looks could be deceiving. That's why Haru had learnt to place trust on herself and nobody else. Not even James.

Ridding herself of anymore thoughts about the past, Haru got off the bed she was sat on. She was currently standing in her room, which was on the top floor of Partys Bar. This place had been her home for the last twelve years after being adopted by the one of the owners of the bar, Chiyo. Though Chiyo has kept the part of her being adopted a secret from her, but Haru was quick to catch on her lies, as their physical features did not match. Unlike Chiyo who had a pale, white complexation with greying-brown hair and brown eyes, Haru had a rich golden-brown skin with pitch-black hair and unusual yellow eyes. This has made her wonder why Chiyo would keep her parentage a secret from her. It was not like she was going to go on a journey to find her parents. Truthfully, Haru couldn't care less about her parent. She could live without them just like she had as Allister.

Suddenly the door slammed open, causing Haru to jump back in shock at the loud noise, but before she could say anything something knocked into her, sending her flying on to her bed, and tightly wrapped itself around her.

Haru groaned and looked down at the intruder. "Luffy," she called out, while trying to pull herself up, "what's wrong?"

He said nothing, but continued to hold her in some sort of a hug.

Haru was finally able to pull herself up into a sitting position and said, "Luffy, you know I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"Ne, Haru, you're my friend, right?" He asked out of nowhere.

Don't care about anyone...

Haru laughed. "Why the sudden question, Luffy?"

I've never been good with children. She thought. And there was a reason for it; she hated children.

Luffy buried his head in her neck, causing Haru to feel his warm breath.

"Luffy?" She then proceeded to pat his back in awkward way of comforting him. "What happened?"

He mumbled something inaudible.

"Luffy, I can't hear you. Speak a little louder."

"The children outside," he began, "where saying that my father abandoned me and that I had no family."

Haru could feel the hug getting tighter as he said this.

"And what did you do?" She asked, but she already knew the answer.

"I beat them." He said bluntly.

Haru sighed. "You know you can't do that, right, Luffy?"

"I don't care. They deserved it."

Haru sighed again. "They might've deserved it, but that does not mean you should have done it."

"Hey Haru?" He said.

"Hmm, what?" She hummed in questioning.

"Are you my family?" He asked innocently.

Haru froze.

Don't care about anybody...

"Yeah," she answered lying. "I am."

He moved his head to look at her right in the eye.

"Really?"

He sounded desperate.

Don't care about anybody because...

She smiled a false smile.

"Yeah," She said softly.

Luffy grinned, his eyes shining with happiness as he held her.

"Nee-chan, thank you."

Don't care about anyone one because one day...

Then, all at once, she remember what her old friend told her as Allister on his death bed.

It was a stormy night. The rain from the ferocious storm battered against the roof and the fragile glass windows, and wind howled in pain as if it had known that death was arriving soon. Though, Allister took no notice of it. Instead he watched his friend wither in agony, crying out for help, but Allister did not know what to do, so he just watched till his friend calmed down and turned to look at him.

"Allister..." His friend croaked. "Allister..."

"Yes, Lazarus." He answered.

Lazarus held out one weak hand and Allister took it.

"Promise me... Promise me one thing."

"Anything"

"Don't care about anyone..."

Allister- I'm not Allister anymore. I'm Haru. Haru -nodded.

"...Because one day..."

Allister's- Haru's, don't forget your name, never forget your name -thoughts turned back to Luffy, a smile still plastered on both of their faces. One fake and the other joyful.

Because one day...

Haru- yes, that's my name, that's my name - could still hear her old friend's voice.

Staring into Luffy's eyes, Haru could recall the final words.

Because one day...

...you might have to kill them