"Damn that Trafalgar Law!" I screamed. "Put another one up!"

One of my subordinates put up another practice dummy and said, "Yes, Captain!"

"Spikey Pistol!" I yelled, making a gun from my hand and shooting out barbed wire from my finger, completely going through the dummy. My Devil Fruit ability from the Sharp-Sharp Fruit was creating barbed wire from my body.

"Good shot, Captain!" he said.

I growled in wrath and looked to my navigator, Marina. "Marina, where are they now?"

Marina had eaten the Track-Track Fruit and became a Radar Woman. She was my best friend and most crucial member of my crew.

"About six thousand kilometers south-west of our location, submerged about three thousand kilometers," she said, pulling up one of her sea charts. She pointed to the location with one finger and pushed up her glasses with another.

I slammed my fist on the table and said, "We're going after them, right now."

"But Captain!" my first mate and fiancé, Crow, exclaimed. Marina, him and I were the founding members of the Spike Pirates. "If we face them again, we'll take even more causalities than last time! I don't think this is a good idea at all. We shouldn't go after them if we can't win."

"Trafalgar does have a higher bounty than you," Marina added. "It will most assuredly result in a loss."

"I don't give a damn how high his bounty is," I said. "We're going after them."

"Captain…" Crow complained.

"Crow, one more word out of you and I will squeeze your brain so hard, it'll implode," I snapped.

He shut up immediately.

"Good," I said.

"That still doesn't change the fact that we're going to lose," Marina said, being the blunt pessimist as always.

"I can't just not have a heart for the rest of my life!" I yelled. "Don't you get that? He stole my heart! My heart! When I see him… Oh… I'm going to make him pay for this!" I gritted my teeth in rage as I slammed my first into my other hand.

Crow opened his mouth to protest, but I glared at him menacingly to make him shut up.

"Marina, set a course for the Heart Pirate's ship," I said. "Crow, inform the crew. We're going to need to put up one helluva fight for this one."


[Four Days Earlier…]

"Captain!" Crow screamed, bursting into our room aboard our ship, the North Spearhead.

I woke up with a start and sprung out of bed. "What's wrong?!"

Then he said the three words all captains dreaded to hear.

"We're under attack!" he yelled.

I shuffled out of my room with only a tank top and pajama pants on, shouting orders at everyone.

"Get the cannons ready!" I yelled. "Crow, watch over the snipers!"

"Aye, Captain!" he saluted, running off towards the cannons.

I looked around and wondered where the enemy was. There was no boat in sight.

All of a sudden, there was a large boom as the North Spearhead gave a huge jolt. I hung onto the railing nearby to stay standing.

What the fuck could've made a metal ship move?! I thought.

Our ship was in fact made out of metal and wood, powered by sails and steam. The steam was for when the wind wasn't very cooperative.

"We've been hit! We've been hit!" someone yelled.

"Shit…" I cursed under my breath. "Shipwright squadron, hurry to the crash site!"

"On it!" I heard them say.

I rushed back into my room to put on clothes and get ready for battle. With my weapon I called Prickly Pear, a large spiked ball attached to my barbed wire, I headed out for war.

"Room!" someone I didn't recognize yelled on my deck.

I looked down at the man and finally saw their ship. It was a yellow submarine!

So that's how they came in unnoticed… I thought.

By the time I blinked, I saw some of my men's bodies get split apart and then rearranged. Whatever this man's horrible ability was, it didn't bode well for me and my crew.

I jumped over the railing as soon as I could to face the man in front of me. "Back up," I yelled. "We need back up in here right now!"

The man stopped toying with my men and looked over to me with a smug grin on his face.

"You must be the one I'm after…" he said.

"Who are you?" I asked, setting a barbed wire trap while he didn't notice.

"Captain of the Heart Pirates," he said, "Trafalgar Law."

"What do you want from us?" I asked, still buying time.

"Only one thing," he said. "It's small, really."

"What is it, then?" I asked.

"Your heart, Nori Kamiko-ya," he said. "Shambles!"

He moved his hand towards me. I felt this weird sensation in my chest. Then, before I knew it, I was passed out on the floor.


[Back to present day…]

I punched the head off one of the dummies, still incredibly angry at Trafalgar Law.

"Kamiko," Marina said. "You need to calm down."

"I'll calm down when I have my heart back," I said.

"She's right…" Crow added. "If you go into this fight in your state, you'll never win."

"I don't fucking care to be honest," I said dryly.

Crow bit his lip and started cracking his fingers nervously. The sound gave me goose bumps.

"Cut that out, will you?" I asked.

"Sorry…" he said, stopping.

"I know I can't stop you from doing this, but please reconsider. Trafalgar's bounty is almost twice yours," Marina said. "You will surely die by his hands if you fight."

"Listen to her!" Crow pleaded, taking my hands in his. "Please, Kamiko. Don't."

I looked away, determined in my quest. "I have to get my heart back," I said.

Marina sighed. "If that's what you decide…" she said.

"We're going with you," Crow said. His black eyes looked silver as they beamed towards me.

"Hell no," I rejected completely.

"You can't stop us," Marina said, pushing up her glasses intimidatingly.

I rolled my eyes and said, "As your captain, I order you not to come with me."

"And as your fiancé and friends, we can't allow you to do this alone," Crow said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I couldn't look him in the eyes. He was the most caring individual I'd ever met in my life. I'd melt if I looked him in the eyes.

"No," I said. "I can't allow you to come with me."

"Captain-"

"Get out," I ordered, biting my lip.

Marina left our room hesitantly.

"Kamiko…" Crow said, embracing me tightly.

I pushed him away and said, "I need some time to think."

He nodded and said, "Alright."

I slumped onto my bed and stared at the metal ceiling. I couldn't allow them to come with me. That was a no-brainer. If something happened and I couldn't protect them, how could I live with myself?

I needed to retrieve my heart alone.

I sat up and looked into the mirror. My long and wavy, dark brown hair with the tips dyed red in my signature pulled-over-to-one-side look, emerald eyes and freckled skin reflected into my eyes.

"Alone," I said to myself. "Or not at all."


I picked up Prickly Pear the next morning after I'd gotten ready for the day and went down to the kitchen for breakfast.

My small crew of twenty (I used to have about forty as of five days ago…) was already sitting at the large table digging into their food.

"Good morning, Captain Kamiko!" they all greeted.

"'Mornin," I said. One of the cooks got up to pass me a plate of waffles and sausages. I thanked him and started cutting up a piece of sausage. "Marina, how far away are we from their ship?"

"We'll reach their location by nightfall," she replied.

"Captain, I hear you're going to retrieve your heart alone?" one of my subordinates asked. "Is that true?"

I nodded. "Don't get any ideas. I'm doing this alone." I looked specially to Crow. "Got that?"

Crow blushed out of embarrassment and looked to the table in shame.

"We have faith in you, Captain!" one started cheering.

"Yeah!"

I smiled. If my heart was in my body, it would be warm with love for my comrades.

Crow squirmed in his seat. It looked like he wanted to say something.

"Crow?" I asked. "Something wrong?"

"Kamiko…" he said. When he finally looked up at me, he smiled and said, "I know you're going to get it back. So be safe, alright?"

I smirked, loving how he finally got on board with my decisions. "Always," I said, taking a bite of my sausage.

I spent most of the day coming up with a strategy for getting my heart back. Marina, being the most useful woman on the planet, put a tracker on me (more specifically my heart) and drew up a map of the Heart Pirate's submarine. She marked the spot where my heart was being kept. I tucked the paper in my pocket for safe keeping.

Crow, Marina and I figured that it would be easiest to intrude when they weren't submerged, obviously. But the problem stood: how could I infiltrate without being seen? Surely they wouldn't surface with an enemy ship waiting nearby?

But that's where Marina came in yet again. She was a Radar Woman after all. She could erase our ship off of their radar if need be.

Crow still worried about the potential of me being caught. Trafalgar was the Surgeon of Death. Who knows what he'd do to me if I was caught?

I put that in the back of my mind, trying to think on the positive side of things.

As the sun began it's decent, Marina's eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"They're surfacing!" she said.

"They must be anchoring for the night!" Crow said, excitedly.

I smiled maliciously. "Great," I said, clenching my fists with eagerness. "Get the life boat ready!" I yelled.

Our ship couldn't possibly approach theirs. It was far too big and would be spotted easily. I'd have to row my way there to get my heart back.

"All set, Captain!" one of my subordinates said.

"Thank you," I said, walking over to him. "Now we wait."


My whole crew came out to see me off. It was almost dark, but the orangey sky still fought off the purple coming to overtake it.

I put my hands on my hips and smiled, saying I'd be back soon.

"You got this, Captain," they cheered.

I nodded and said, "But in all seriousness…" I paused and bit my lip. "If… If something happens and I'm not back by the morning, don't come looking for me."

"That is the one order we will never agree too," Crow said. "If you're not back by morning, we're storming the place."

"Hell yeah!" the rest of my crew cheered.

I smiled, amused at their loyalty. "You guys…" I said. "Don't get yourselves killed for my sake."

"You're our captain, Kamiko," Marina said. "It's what we do."

I nodded and said, "I'll kill you if you die, remember that."

They all laughed.

"I'll be back," I said. "You're in charge until I get back, Crow."

He smiled at me nervously.

"K-Kamiko…" he said, taking my hand as I hopped into the life boat with Prickly Pear.

"Hm?" I asked.

He pulled me back on deck and kissed me all in one motion.

"Come back, alright?" he asked, pulling away.

I smiled and said, "Always."

Marina and the rest of the crew waved back at me as Crow lowered me into the water while we locked eyes as I descended.

I took a deep breath as I started rowing in the direction of the yellow submarine. I didn't bother looking back to say goodbye to my crew because I knew I'd return soon.

I rowed up towards the back side of the submarine as quietly as I could while fighting against the ocean's waves and snuck on successfully.

I dug out the map of the sub and began studying it.

Take a left, keep straight, another left, down the stairs… I thought. That's as far as I'll go until I check again.

I stood up from my crouched position and flattened myself against the cold, metal wall of the submarine. I closed my eyes, tuning in to the noises around me. There were no footsteps around me, only waves. I crept around the side and tiptoed closer towards the deck.

My heart was literally beating out of my chest. But all joking aside… Even though I couldn't feel it, I knew it was probably going crazy.

I poked my head around the corner and saw no one standing guard on the deck. Thankfully the door to the inside was unlocked and I walked in without hesitation. I descended down the steps and checked the map again. When I figured out what route I needed to take, I stuffed it back in my pocket and began moving stealthily yet again.

I wasn't very far down the cold, dark corridor when I heard footsteps behind me.

Shit! I thought.

I looked around and found nothing I could hide in. Seeing I had no other option, I turned myself completely into barbed wire. I dearly hoped no one would think it was suspicious.

As I heard the footsteps getting closer and closer to me, they faded away. I'd freaked out over nothing!

A huge weight was lifted off of my chest as I waited a couple more seconds before turning back into a human. I swallowed nervously and bit my lip.

I need to be careful… I thought.

I took the first right I came across, like the map had directed me to do, and continued on.

I was very close to the X on my map with I heard more footsteps in front of me. I froze completely, thinking the same thing would happen like last time. As I waited for the footsteps to fade, they didn't. The footsteps kept getting closer… and closer… and closer…

The corridor had a perpendicular cross way and the footsteps were coming from the other hallway that intersected the one I was currently in. My breathing completely stopped as a figure emerged from the cold, shadowy hallway.

I didn't move a muscle, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't notice me.

A pair of spotted blue jeans appeared from around the corner.

Of all people, why did I have to run into him?

Trafalgar… I thought.

I didn't dare to move a muscle or even breathe in front of him. Luckily, the intersection wasn't that close to where I currently stood.

He was about halfway down the hall when I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world because he still hadn't noticed me.

But he was a third of the way down the hallway when he made eye contact with me.

Fuck! I thought.

A smirk appeared on his face as he raised one of his hands and said, "Room."

A blue haze surrounded the two of us.

I started sprinting in the other direction, but he appeared directly in front of me. I fell over in surprise, also because I didn't want to run into him.

I saw the word DEATH tattooed on both sets of his fingers and gulped. He kneeled down so that he was eye-level with me. I looked into his brilliant yellow eyes with regret and fear plastered all over my face.

He just smirked with an intent stare directed at me as he said, "What the hell are you doing on my ship?"

"I'm here for my heart," I said, trying to sound brave and failing miserably.

His strong hands picked me up by the throat as the blue haze disappeared.

"That's funny…" he said. "No one's ever tried to steal my possessions before."

I tried to pry his hands off me, but he was too strong. I even turned my fingers to barbed wire to try to peel him off of me. It didn't seem to faze him as I stuck the spikes into his skin.

"It's my heart!" I struggled to say. He was crushing my windpipe and would continue if I didn't do something.

"And I took it," he said, still smirking condescendingly. "Now it's mine."

"Give it back… and I'll leave!" I gasped.

"I don't like it when weaklings order me around," he said. "You know… You'd make a nice cadaver to experiment on."

My eyes widened in fright.

He threw me up against the metal wall, but I turned my back into barbed wire to absorb the shock. I picked up Prickly Pear and swung it towards him.

Despite his hand already bleeding, he stopped my attack with the same hand and pulled on the chain. I flew into his other hand's iron grasp again as he threw my weapon to the ground. He squeezed even tighter on my windpipe, almost completely cutting off my air supply. His practiced hands knew exactly where it would be most effective. It was enough to keep me alive, but not for long.

"Walk with me," he said, still holding me by the throat as he walked down the corridor.

"L-let me go!" I managed to say.

His smile dropped as he squeezed tighter for a split second, causing me to gag. "Don't waste your breath. You'll need it."

It seemed like he was walking as slow as possible to wherever we were going, or maybe that was just his natural pace. I wondered how long he could continue holding me up like this…

I heard the goose-bump-inducing sound of a large metal door creaking open as we arrived at an unknown destination. He walked in casually and locked the door behind him.

Finally, he let go of me and I slid to the ground, gasping for air.

"Nori Kamiko-ya," he said. "Stand up."

I continued wheezing and coughing on the floor, desperate for more air.

"I won't say it again, Nori-ya," he said with an evil aura appearing from nowhere.

I struggled to stand up, trying to be obedient.

"Room," he said as the blue haze appeared again.

I finally looked around and gasped. We were in an operating room, full of medical equipment. This was definitely the worst-case scenario…

He motioned something with his fingers and four cuffs situated themselves on each of the corners on a nearby operation table.

While I watched that, I heard a snap and looked over to see he had put on gloves. He also was sucking up suspicious liquid into the syringe he was now carrying.

He smirked, clearly enjoying this, and said, "This is some anesthetic. It's powerful enough to knock you out for several hours."

My feet trembled beneath me as I took a step back.

"W-what are you going to do to me…?" I asked, completely terrified.

"Nothing yet," he said. "But after you wake up, the fun will begin."

I looked around for any hope of escape, but nothing could help me now. This was his domain as a doctor, and I was firsst in line to be his guinea pig.

He started walking closer to me with the syringe in hand and a menacing smirk.

"No…" I said. "Please, I'll do anything! I'll leave right now and you'll never see me again, I swear!"

"Where would the fun in that be?" he asked heartlessly. "We're going to have so much fun together. It'll be to die for."

He grabbed my elbow joint and pulled me closer to him, sticking the syringe into one of my veins and injecting the liquid into my blood stream with a sadistic smile on his face.

The last thing I saw was his yellow eyes looming over me as I began to fall into unconsciousness.


(I don't own One Piece or any of its content. This was made for entertainment purposes only and no copyright is intended.)