I have severely underestimated how long this was going to take to write and how busy I was going to be today. But, I still managed to get this out before midnight, so yay!
This takes place about 9 years before the beginning of Who Is She? Which is the main story this one-shot is based off of.
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Myka, Connor, and Katie are my OCs.
"Myka! Myka!" The small boy ran through the crowded street towards the girl dressed in a brown overcoat that was a couple of sizes too large for her frame. She turned around to see her little brother, who was bundled up in a bright orange parka and therefore very easy to spot, looking up at her excitedly. Relief flashed through her eyes before they hardened with slight frustration.
"Connor! What did I tell you about leaving my sight?" she scolded. This did nothing to bring his mood down, since he was used to Myka lecturing him about this.
"What do you want for Christmas?" he asked instead. The question threw his sister off. She looked down at him, confused.
"What?" she asked, as though she didn't think she had heard him correctly.
"You know, Christmas! I asked this guy who was standing in front of a church about what all these decorations are for," he explained, motioning to all of the colorful lights and tinsel that lined the windows of all the shops around them, "And he told me that it was for Christmas, and said how it was a holiday for giving other people gifts. So what do you want?" Myka sighed, like she did whenever she thought that he was being silly.
"Since when did we become religious?" she asked him.
"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.
"I imagine a lot, since this holiday was created for a religion. Didn't that guy at the church tell you that as well?" she asked. Connor looked up, thinking. The guy who was explaining Christmas to him said a lot of things. He thought he might have heard something about a savior being born, or something like that. What he mainly remembered was hearing about the gift-giving and the decorating and a lot of fun-sounding stuff, and then getting excited about it. His family had never done celebrated the holiday before, so he thought that this could be something new they could enjoy while they were staying here. Especially since they were now at a winter island and it was snowing and having it snow during Christmas was apparently a big deal from what he heard from the people around them.
"Besides," continued Myka, grabbing his arm to lead him away from the shopping area and suddenly sounding annoyed, "we never done anything for any holiday around this time of year before, so why do you want to celebrate Christmas now?" Connor looked around to see the looks people were giving them. The sneers were more directed at Myka than they were to him, and he understood where his sister's sudden irritated behavior was coming from.
"Because it sounds fun!" he argued, looking back at Myka, "And I know that you'll have fun too if you give it a try. Also, we weren't able to do anything for your birthday last week because we were out at sea, so this could be to make up for it."
"I told you that it wasn't a big deal. Now let's go back. It got dark a half an hour ago, and we still have a long walk back." Connor trudged behind her, feeling slightly dejected. Myka looked back at him when he didn't say anything. She sighed.
"Look, even if I did agree, it's Christmas Eve today, right? It's too late to try something for the holiday. Maybe some other year," she said softly. He knew that what she meant by that was "If we ever don't have to concentrate so much on survival, then maybe we can try." And he knew what she thought the chances of that were.
He still didn't get why people hated them so much. It was stupid, really. They didn't even do anything. But after Myka almost got killed protecting him, he ran off on her less to prevent her from having to make another last minute save like that. He had also started to train so that he could back her up. But still, Myka was still very stressed and cynical. Even when she wouldn't say anything, he could tell when something bothered her or that she didn't believe that their situation was ever going to get better.
Even so, he could recall whenever his birthday came around how she managed to get him some candy and tried to be a little more cheerful towards him. And she was always looking after him. He knew she meant well, but she was too harsh most of the time for him to remember that.
He figured that he could return the favor this year after finally learning when Myka's birthday was. However, by the time he asked her and she gave him an answer, it was the day after and they would still be at sea for a few more days.
He guessed he would just have to wait another year to start celebrating Myka's birthday, at least.
As they neared the edge of town, the wind picked up around them and it was snowing a lot more heavily. Connor could feel the cold biting through his mittens and nip at his bare neck. He scrunched up his shoulders as he shivered.
"Myka, it's getting colder," he said.
"I know," she answered, looking at the route they were going to take. The road was barely visible for more than a couple of feet ahead.
"This storm is hitting a lot earlier than they said it would," she muttered.
"So what do we do?" he asked. The walk was too far for them to trudge through the snow. Not in this storm. Myka looked over at him and noticed how he was tugging his wool hat more over his ears since the wind kept knocking the hood of his coat off. She removed the dark green scarf she was wearing and wrapped it snugly around his neck and the lower half of his face.
"I'll think of something," she promised, "Just hang in there."
"Hey, what are you kids doing standing outside?" asked a new voice. Myka tensed and turned around, shielding Connor behind her. Connor looked around his sister to see a man dressed in a black robe and had a cross on a long chain hanging around his neck. He was carrying a gas can in one hand. Connor immediately recognized the bespectacled man with salt-n-pepper hair.
"Hi, mister! You were in front of the church!" said Connor, his voice a little muffled because of the scarf. He gave the guy a friendly wave.
"Oh, you were that boy from earlier," said the man, "You shouldn't be out right now. There's a vicious storm blowing in."
"We know," cut in Myka harshly.
"But our home is a long walk from here," explained Connor, "We can't get there in this weather."
"Well, if that's the case, then come with me. You two can stay at the church until morning," he offered. Connor moved to walked towards the man, but Myka side-stepped to block his path, not taking her eyes off of the guy. Catching the look of mistrust on her face, the man shook his head.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a priest. So don't worry," he assured her. After another gust of biting wind blowing against them, Myka finally grabbed Connor's wrist and followed the priest down the road.
The church was located just a little ways away from the town center, and just in sight of a large fountain (which was shut off due to the cold). They were led through the giant oak doors of the stone building, and were instantly relieved to be out of the cold.
The first thing the two siblings noticed was the fact that they weren't alone. There were quite a few people taking shelter here, talking amongst themselves or sitting by themselves in the wooden pews. Connor was quickly enraptured by the windows lining the walls, depicting different scenes with the fragments of different colored glass. He'd bet that they looked beautiful when the sun shined through them. There was a very large window up high behind the altar that showed a man on a cross. Connor wondered who that was. He must be important if he was at the front of the room.
"This place is a sanctuary for everyone. You're safe here for the night. Even if the power gets knocked out, I got some extra fuel for the back-up generator, so we should be fine," said the priest, indicating to the gas can in his hand, "There's more people than usual staying here as well because of the storm, but I'll be able to find you guys some place to sleep. Are you two hungry?" Connor nodded eagerly.
"Yeah! You have food?"
"We have some in a pantry that we save for those in need. I'll go see what we have. You two wait here for a bit," he said. He walked to a door off to the side of the large room. Connor wanted to go explore the altar, but Myka held him back and led him to the back corner of the pews closest to the door the priest left through.
"Just wait here and don't talk to anyone else," she ordered, sitting him down on the edge. Connor frowned as he lowered the scarf from his mouth.
"Why not?" he asked loudly. His complaint echoed throughout the room, catching the attention of every one, but only those close to them looked back to see the source.
"Just do as I say, and we should make it through the night," she whispered, suddenly wary of how far a person's voice could carry in here. Connor pouted and crossed his arms. She met his pout head-on, barely fazed. She had become immune to this look of his a long time ago, much to his displeasure.
He began to swing his feet, which hung several inches above the ground, out of boredom. Myka stood next to him, her guard up as always. Just as he was starting to feel warm in his coat, someone walked up to them from further down the pew. Connor looked up to see a burly man in a raggedy black trench coat. He was holding a flask. Before Connor could ask what the man wanted, Myka pulled him off his seat and behind her. There was a sound of splashing water and when Connor looked up, his sister was soaked. The man had turned the flask and dumped what appeared to be water on her head.
"Howard!" The priest had returned. And he looked shocked about the actions of this one man.
"Did you just pour Holy Water all over a child?" he asked, bewildered.
"Don't you know who they are?" spat Howard, "Excuse me if I felt the need to make sure they weren't literal demons."
"What are you talking about? They are just children!" said the priest, flabbergasted.
"They're a pirate's brats! And not just any pirate. A particularly nasty one known as Morani. I'm surprised you let them into this holy place," said Howard disdainfully.
"A pirate is one thing, but I don't see how either of these children has lived long enough to have committed any unforgivable sins," argued the priest. As the two argued, Myka pushed Connor back towards the corner close to the door. She was crouched in front of him, as though intending to shield him from any sudden attacks.
"Father, I'm going to have to agree with Howard," said a young woman with frizzy orange hair, "Nothing good ever comes from people who have anything to do with pirates."
"But you're telling me to throw them out into a blizzard! I can't do that!" Connor looked between the priest and the wary and increasingly angry church-goers. Why were they so against them being there? He thought that church people were supposed to be a friendly bunch. At least, that was what people around town were saying.
"That's enough," said an authoritative voice from the door next to the siblings. Myka angled her body once more to block the man wearing a white robe from Connor. The elderly man with white hair looked at the two of them for a long moment, sizing them up. Connor saw Myka tense and back up slightly, pushing him farther away from the old man.
"Just because of the holiday, they can stay for the night," he said, looking away from them and to the priest, "But, come dawn, they must leave. The storm should pass by then, so there should be no problem with that arrangement. Is that clear?" The priest hesitated before nodding.
Shortly afterwards, the man in the white robe disappeared back through the door and the other people dispersed, wanting to put as much space between themselves and Connor and Myka as possible. Only the priest stood by them, watching over them as Myka finally settled them down, using their coats as makeshift beds.
"I'm sorry about this," said the priest, "Everyone is usually more open and friendly towards newcomers. I hope you'll be able to see that if you stay in town long. Maybe they'll even drop the irrational hate." Connor sighed, relieved. He almost wanted to tell Myka "See? Not everyone automatically hates us!" But, his stomach dropped when Myka told the priest, "You're under the false assumption that I know how to forgive anyone. Why should I give them a chance to prove themselves good?"
The priest fell silent, shocked. Connor looked at his sister, feeling sad that, even now, she was still like this. The rest of the night passed them by without another incident.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Hey, Myka!"
"What is it?" Myka looked back at Connor. They were outside of the town now, walking through the snow-caked road. The sky was still pink with the early morning sun, with only the occasional cloud streaking through the sky.
"I know what to give you for Christmas!" he said. She frowned at him, stopping in her tracks.
"Why are you still insisting on that? I thought you'd want nothing to do with the holiday after that," she muttered.
"Even then, I would still give you this anyway," he claimed.
"And just what is it that you're giving me?" she asked, failing to see anything in his hands or some strange object sticking out of his pockets. He placed a hand on his chest.
"I give you my word!" Myka tilted her head, a little confused.
"Your word? On what?" she asked, a little curious.
"My word that, someday, things will get better!" Myka's eyes widened in shock at the declaration.
"Everything may be hard now, and you think that no one will ever give us a chance. But, when we're older, we will find friends to help us and for us to protect! We will be able to freely travel anywhere without having to worry about people who still insist on hating us. We will have the freedom we always wanted, and no one will be able to take it from us ever again!" he promised, his expression serious. Myka was speechless for a moment before turning around and continuing their walk back.
"And just how do you hope to achieve any of that? It's going to take a lot of power to back that promise up," she said. Connor grinned as he caught up with her.
"I told you before, haven't I? I'm going to become the Pirate King!"
I hope you guys enjoyed this (and I apologize if it's a bit rushed in some areas). It's not exactly a happy fic for the season, but I hope you guys liked Connor in this, since he hadn't been the main focus in the main story at all.
Reviews are appreciated!
With that, I wish you all a Merry Christmas! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I wish you Happy Holidays! Either way, I hope you all are enjoying yourselves and having a wonderful time!