I hear the muffled sound of snickering each time a Marine passes me. I can hear the sound of pure, sick and disgusting hate in their laughter. They absolutely loathe me. And me? I'm no better. In fact I'm much worse. I hate everything.
The marines know I need no punishment for the crime I committed those 10 long years ago. They know that just having stayed in this world is punishment enough for me. The guilt I bear cages me in a cell that has no key. As my life prolongs, the emotions caused by my crime continue to haunt me and cramp my already tiny cage. The guilt presses in on me like the heat of the air on a hot summer day. And as the day nears noon, the cell gets hotter and hotter. The dawn was the day I committed my crime. For years upon years I've endured the pressing heat, but no longer. My noon is coming and neither water nor shade will save me then. I don't remember ever committing the crime. But the evidence was pressing. There was no other way. I've been called insane, sadistic, heartless, bloodthirsty, and vain, but that doesn't matter. I hate the world, and it hates me.
I was pulled out of my thoughts as I saw a ship approaching the island. It's front side was decorated by a goat-like figure-head I also managed to see the mast and flag, which bore a skull and crossbones symbol wearing a straw hat. Good. Pirates. Anything but Marines. Then again, pirates were people, and people are cruel. They taunted me all the same. I was the one who got worked up about everything. Every little detail added to the sun rays on the hot summer day. Every snide remark made the clock tick one minute closer to noon. But the clock doesn't tick backwards anyway, and noon will still come, so why does it matter? They might as well taunt me. I was born into the world with a fate like everyone else. I guess I never got lucky in the lottery of destiny. Or maybe the world hated me from the start.
Despite my unfortunate luck, I am curious. So, I stood up from my comfortable bed and looked out the window. But the flag piped my interest. Why a straw hat? I jumped from the bed and headed to the harbor. Walking down Main Street, I thought about why I was even doing this. It's pointless. Pirates do as pirates are. But still... I touched the lime green bandana I never took off. Maybe this would be an adventure. No. It won't. The world decided long ago my fate was to be trapped in a cage awaiting the clock as it struck noon.
I walked down the hill, stepping onto the beach and walking along it, my feet moist from the occasional visits of the small waves. The ship was now motionless, stopped a little ways from where I stood. I kept walking, and soon stood before the ship. I climbed onto the deck, telling myself I would just take a peek, to see how much of a bother these pirates would turn out to be. As I climbed, I was certain that the deck would be empty. Most pirates spent more time drinking than paying attention to the direction their ship was heading. Not so with these. A black haired boy wearing a straw hat and a red vest sat on the figure-head. The captain I assumed. He was wearing a straw hat exactly like the one featured on their flag. Next to him stood a green haired guy with three swords attached to his belt. On the other side of him was a blonde boy wearing a suit. Next to blondie was a girl who had chin length, bright orange hair. Lastly, there was a curly-haired boy wearing a green plaid bandana and looking exceedingly proud.
"It's a beautiful lady!" Blondie exclaimed, seemingly elated.
"Phew...It's not a monster!" The curly haired boy sighed in relief.
"Who are you?" asked Straw Hat.
"Should have planned that out a bit better..." I mumbled to myself.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King! Who are you?"
"King of the pirates?" I asked, recognizing the popular phrase, but not expecting someone like him to say it. Who was I to judge, I was the girl who wanted to find Atlantis... " You're looking for the One Piece...right?" I waited for an answer. What was the matter with me?! Why was I even staying? I didn't want to find Atlantis! It was a dream! I hate dreams! The world hates my dreams! And of course he wanted to find the One Piece! That's what he just said! Why should I care! I hate him!
"Yeah! I am looking for the One Piece!" He grinned, answering me with enthusiasm. "Hey! Do you wanna join my crew?" he asked, all of a sudden.
"No! Yes! Uhh..." I blurted out, in confusion. No! The answer was definitely 'No!' What was coming out of my mouth?!
"Yosh! Everyone! We have a new crew member!" He announced, to his crew as if they hadn't seen the entire scenario.
"What is your name, my lady?" asked Blondie, after attempting to kiss the back of my hand. I pulled away, in disgust and confusion.
"Wait, what?! No! I never agreed!" but I did agree...
"Yeah you did! You said no but then you said yes!" Luffy argued.
"Well I changed my mind!"
"You did? What?! Come on! Join my crew!"
"NO!" I yelled a little louder than I intended.
"It'll be fun!" he beamed.
"The answer is 'NO!'"
"Come on! Join!"
"NO!"
"If she doesn't want to join then she doesn't want to join, Luffy." Green Hair added.
"But I want her to join!" Luffy protested.
"I told you, I will not!" I calmed down a bit. I didn't want to wake up the whole village.
"I know you wanna join!"
"Don't be stupid! I'm not someone you'd want on your crew!"
"That's not true!"
"It is!"
"It's not! If I say you can join my crew then you can and it'll be fine!"
"You don't understand!" Just then a Marine walked into the unraveling scene.
"Well if it isn't Saya," He sneered, "Are you planning your escape?" he taunted.
"Escape?!" I glared at him, "From what? You? You know I don't care. And you know my time is ticking."
"EEK! IT'S A MARINE!" Yelled Curly Hair.
"Huh?" Luffy asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Oh lighten up Saya, it's not like we want you to leave or anything..." He looked up at the sky nonchalantly, suggesting that he would love it if I wasn't around.
"Thank you, but it doesn't matter to me what you think." As if the Pirates weren't enough of a problem.
"You know that Marine?" asked Orange hair.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." I answered her. What was I doing now? I wasn't here to socialize with a bunch of pirates!
"You're a Marine?!" Curly hair shrieked, looking stricken by fear.
"She can't be! She's part of our crew!" Luffy said determinedly. He failed to reassure Curly Hair.
"Just because I know him doesn't mean I'm a Marine!" I rolled my eyes, glancing beside me I saw Blondie glare at the Marine.
"Come now, Saya, don't be a grouch. I'm just trying to protect you." He said, scanning each of the pirates' faces looking unentertained. Luffy watched on, attempting to comprehend what was going on before him.
"Oh shut up, there's no one protecting me."
"What are they talking about?" Questioned orange hair. She was answered by a tentative shrug from Curly Hair.
"Now, now, Saya," the Marine continued his meaningless timewasting babble.
"It would be perfect if you left, wouldn't you agree?" I suggested.
"It doesn't matter, right? You're coming with us anyways!" Luffy beamed.
"I think that I said "No" enough for you to understand already."
"I've already decided! You're joining my crew!"
"No!"
"No! I say no to your no!"
"How is that even possible?!"
"Because I can!"
"Well I said no."
"Still, you have to!"
"NO!"
"I said YES"
"Saya, It seems as if you've met someone just as simple-minded as you." The Marine said, with a chuckle. I brushed off the insult, it was all a waste of time.
"He is simple-minded," remarked Orange hair, speaking the truth.
"What's that?" Luffy asked, a little bit confused.
"If you agree to that, why are you on his crew?!" I asked, annoyed with all this stupidity.
"Because he's Luffy, and you can't say no to Luffy," she said and shrugged.
"Yes I can! I will not be forced to go along with some ragtag group of pirates that act like idiots!"
"You are all such ignorant fools," The Marine laughed, as if this was somehow amusing.
"What are we talking about?" Luffy asked, still completely confused.
"Do you even understand a single word I've said?"
"Uh...Nope!" He admitted, with a grin. I shook my head. Orange Hair and Blondie exchanged a look that clearly said 'he's such an idiot'. Green hair was asleep. How he had fallen asleep in all this chaos, I do not know.
"Saya, you know what time it is?" he paused, smirking, "because the sun is already rising" He grinned, knowing he'd catch me off guard. And of course, he did.
"Eh?! I'm late!" Not a good sign. Being late like this is one of the factors that made up something or someone bad, just like everything that exists on this world. It's a normal thing in many people, and many people are horrible, just in that way.
I lay down on the deck, but that made me feel vulnerable, so I quickly climbed up the mast. The multitude of stars in the early morning sky started disappearing one by one. At last, only two were left.
"Hey Mom. How are you today Dad?" I looked at the stars with the same longing look I did every morning and evening; at sunrise and sunset. I felt the presence of someone sitting next to me on the mast. I turned my head away from the sky for a second and saw it was Luffy.
"Your parents?" He asked almost sincerely. Of course, he didn't wait for a response.
He waved at the sky. "Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm gonna find the One Piece and become the king of the pirates! Saya joined my crew today!"
"When did I agree to that?!" I turned my attention away from my parents for a second. He was really getting on my nerves, and I didn't want my parents getting the wrong impression.
We're going to have so much fun and adventures with her!" He continued to talk, completely oblivious to the comment I just made. How I hated him. Which reminds me, I hate everything in this world. Wow, this jerk even managed to ruin the few minutes each day I could hide in the shade and regain my strength. Luffy continued to beam at the sky; my parents were still there.
"Don't worry about her!" he said, reassuring them.
"I'm not joining you crew!" I yelled again, but at this point I had realized that it was pretty much useless. Just like everything else in the world. Orange Hair was right. Luffy didn't take "no" for an answer.
"Huh? Are you okay?" He asked, noticing that there were tears flowing my cheeks. I didn't answer him but continued to intently watch the stars. I could hear the Marine laugh, from the ground. What a jerk. I hated him more that Luffy and his stupid crew. If that was even possible. I stopped comparing things long ago.
"OI! STOP LAUGHING!" Luffy yelled at the Marine, trying to defend me.
"She's a fool! An immature fool! To think that she still looks up into the sky and talks to her "parents" even though she was the one who murdered them!" He taunted.
"SHUT UP! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF SHE REALLY DID KILL THEM!" Luffy yelled. What a moron. He didn't even know the details. He didn't know that the village court had found me guilty. Yet he still stood up in my defense. He was an idiot and I hated him. But there was something about him that piped my interest. The crew stood by in silence as Luffy fixed a deadly stare onto the Marine.