"Oi!! Ginta-san!!!," a small girl laughed from atop the tree. Her hair was shaggy, even though it was brushed, and it was a red colour, giving her an appearance of a small boy. Her eyes were a crystal blue, and shone with mischief. She was wearing a white ragged shirt that was torn at the shoulders. It also had puffed sleeves, and she kept it tucked in a pair of dark black pants that had about four belts strapped to it with a slingshot and some ammo.

The black-haired man blinked, and looked up, grinning. "Hey!!," He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Yuki! How did you get up there?"

She grinned boastfully. "I flew up here!! See how high I am?!"

Ginta rolled his eyes. For such a small child, she was as cocky as the young men who were already telling tall tales of the sea, even if they had never stepped on a boat in their life. But Yuki, she was something else. She could out-talk them all, her tales larger, and a hundred times more interesting than theirs. "Have you been practicing swimming?"

She nodded. "Yup!! I've gotten really good! And I've been practicing flying too!"

"Come down, and you can stop with the flying nonsense already!," he called. "Etsuko says you won't get any dinner if you keep hiding!"

Yuki pouted. "Aww, really? I wanna stay up here!!"

Ginta shrugged, and began walking away. "Okay, but we're having fried fish with Ikameshi!"

"Wait!! Ginta-san!! I'm coming!!"

He laughed and turned back to face her."Oh, so you DO want that food....." He trailed off, his eyes wide. "No, stop Yuki!!" Yuki was standing on the branch, trying to stabilize herself. Then, with a smile, she jumped off as she was going to jump into the water.

"YUKI!!"

She didn't fall as fast as he originally would have thought. It was almost as if she was....floating?! Yuki's boastful smile grew, and Ginta noticed a strange, fuzzy, whitish aura around her feet, as if something was supporting her. "See! I told you I flew!" She laughed, then glided up higher in the air, did a backwards flip, and landed smoothly on the ground.

Ginta's eye twitched. "Wha-What happened?!"

Yuki shrugged. "I dunno," she answered. "I just saw a weird looking fruit on the shore this morning, and it looked really yummy!! So I ate it. Then, I climbed up a different tree, trying to hide from the boys, and I fell, but I didn't fall at the same time. I was flying!! I think it may have been the fruit."

Ginta's eyes widened. "You must have eaten a devil's fruit Yuki!"

Yuki cocked her head. "Devil's......fruit?"

He nodded. "Yes, a Devil's fruit! You gain special powers, but the sea turns against you! Yuki, you'll never be able to swim again!"

She blinked, then a wide smile appeared, excitement shining in her eyes,

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" She turned and took off, waving her hands in the air.

"ETSUKO-SAAAAAAN!!! I ATE A DEVIL'S FRUIT AND I HAVE SPECIAL POWERS NOW!!!" She began going on and on abut how she battled fierce pirates to get the fruit, and Ginta chuckled.

"She never changes." He followed her, then heard more yelling, but it wasn't from Yuki. The man groaned. "Oh no, not again!"

"You little brat!! That's a rare fish here in East Blue! Give it back!!!"

"Nyah!!" Yuki smirked, looking back at the man, but ran into something and the large fish she was holding was dropped onto the ground. "E-Etsuko-san!"

"Give the man back his fish, and come back for dinner. I'm going to have a talk with you!" Yuki pouted, and handed the fish back to the shop owner. He grumbled a reluctant thank you and rambled away. Etsuko grabbed the struggling girl by the ear and began dragging her to her home. "No stealing!! How many times do I have to say that?!"

"B-But it looked so good!! And I wanted to cook it really bad!!"

The old woman sighed. "You can never resist something that would make a delicious dish, can you Yuki?"

"N-no ma'am! I can't help it! I want to be a pirate cook when I grow up!!"

"A pirate cook!," Ginta said, catching up to Etsuko and Yuki. "Etsuko, let the poor girl go. And that's how you treat a boy when they get in trouble, not a girl!!"\

"Yuki here wears pants, carries around a wooden sword and a frying pan, and has a makeshift pirate hat. She also has wild tales of eating a Devil's fruit and fighting millions of pirates to get it. Does this sound like a description of a girl to you?"

Yuki scowled and waved her hands up and down. "I am too a girl!!! And I did eat a Devil's fruit!"

Ginta sighed. "Anyway, what's this about being a pirate cook?"

Yuki tried to smile, but her ear was hurting to badly. "Yeah! I want to be a pirate cook, it'll be great! Pirates get treasure, and some of them have nice men, like Shanks-san!"

Ginta and Etsuko laughed. "Yuki," Etsuko said. "That pirate is one of a kind."

"You said it! And I'm going to join a crew that has good people in it, like his!"

"Good luck to you then-ow!"

Etsuko glared at Ginta, having punched him on the head with her free hand. "You fool! Don't encourage the girl!" Yuki laughed at the two. She may have been abandoned, but Ginta and Etsuko were better than any parents she could ask for.

A few days after Yuki gained her power, the Marines arrived. The admirable declared the peaceful island now under Marine control. They demolished many homes to build their base, and conscripted all the young, able males. And, thinking that Yuki was a boy, she was conscripted as well. She kept her secret about being a girl and about her demon fruit abilities, fearing what they would do to her. When everyone was asleep, she would sneak out and practiced mastering her new ability, and using a sword. Yuki was determined to not lose her spirit. It was all she had left. At lunches, she would weave tales about pirates, marines, and anything she could think of to her friends. Eventually, even they stopped listening to her, and she was alone.

Three years passed, and the once quiet island became filled with drunk, insane marines. Yuki was now ten years old, and had been plotting her escape. It was time to put it into action.

She made sure everyone was asleep, and made sure any guards around weren't looking. She flew through the hallways, her feet not once touching the ground, though it still looked like she was running. Luckily, she didn't run into any more Marines, and made it out of the base. She ran to the harbor where she stole one of the smaller marine ships that would be easier to handle, faster, and more agile. As the ship pulled away, Yuki thought she saw two figures at the docks, waving goodbye. But it must have been her imagination. Ginta and Etsuko had been killed when they tried to protect the homes that were destroyed three years ago.

Once she was far enough away from her island, Yuki took down all the flags and painted over the Marine sign with white, the color of a normal flag.

Ever since then, Yuki swore revenge upon the Marines for destroying her home, and her life. She wasn't going to let anyone get the better of her, full-grown man or not. She grew up in their world. Yuki could handle them.