A/N: Okay I know this is kind of a strange way to start a story, but I think it works well. At least I hope it does o-o Tell me what ya think :3
Large fluffy white clouds floated lazily above a rather peaceful day on Nome Island. Yes, the person who had discovered this out of the way piece of land had been too lazy to think up an adequate name for it and had literally named it "No name" Island. Nome means "no name": how original right? Not that anyone really cared what the place was named; the only reason anyone ever stopped by was for the excessive amount of food and bars the place had: especially bars. No joke, every third building you walked by was a bar of some sort. There were ones that were completely adult themed and no one under the age of 19 was allowed into, ones that families could go to for a quick snack, ones that served animals as though they were human while some didn't allow pets at all, there was even one that only accepted cross dressers and transvestites. Virtually anyone could come to this place and find a bar that worked for them. Thankfully, even with all the weird and eccentric types of establishments, there were some relatively normal ones.
The one that Rein was in was a normal enough bar. It allowed in underage people and let them order alcohol at their own risk, but, the limit was two glasses. Rein didn't really care about the limit however, she wasn't there to drink, just to waste time until her log pose reset and pointed out her next destination. She quietly sipped her Sherry Temple as she listened to the conversation that the patrons were now having. As she had learned, this particular bar was filled with people who lived on this island; everyone knew each other and so they had been sceptical of Rein when she had first entered, but when they figured out that she was no threat they began to ignore her. It seemed like they mostly discussed recent events and their views on the world. Recently the topic had switched to this island and its visitors.
"We need a larger marine presence," a loud man, who had earlier been identified as Greg, explained. "We're so famous for our bars that we get people from all over coming to this island and a lot of them are scumbag pirates." Rein rolled her black eyes at his comment but otherwise remained passive. She was the only one who saw anything wrong with that statement, everyone else was readily agreeing with him. Encouraged by his audience's enthusiasm he continued. "I know we already have a navy base here but there's only a few hundred marines and with the thousands of pirates that stop by they can't hold their own for very long."
"They should double the soldiers stationed here!" an old woman piped up. "With that many brave young people it would so much easier to preserve the peace and deliver justice."
A young man slammed down his mug in a show of agreement. "Absolute justice is the only way to keep the peace."
"We should kill all of the pirates," Greg added. "Only once they're all dead will I be able to sleep soundly at night."
"Isn't that a bit convoluted?" Rein piped up, butting into a conversation she had no business being involved in: at least, that's what those participating seemed to believe. However, this topic had become personal once they had lumped all the people who roam the seas without a seagull mark together.
"Convoluted?" Greg repeated slowly. The big man's eyes had grown hard as he looked at the 17 year old girl.
Rein gave a short nod. "You heard me." She made sure to stop her face from betraying what she actually felt, which at that moment was a growing amount of annoyance.
The old woman shook her head. "You don't know what you're talking about, you're just a child."
The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You may be older than me, but I've been through more than you ever will." Rein frowned at her own outburst. Normally she kept such things to herself so as not to start something or cause trouble for no good reason. She took a breath and tried to calm herself down; she was really starting to get riled up, and it seemed as though she wasn't the only one. The entire bar was silent as they listened to the conversation and waited to see how things would unfold. The tension grew with every moment that passed and every sentence spoken.
The woman, eventually labelled as Margret, glowered at the redhead. She couldn't believe the nerve of young people these days, but she stocked it up to bad parenting and the fact that the girl was an outsider. "Didn't your parents teach you not to interrupt your elders? And to respect your seniors?" Margret stated in a disapproving tone.
Rein rolled her eyes once again, a motion that this time didn't go unnoticed. "I only respect those who deserve it." Her black eyes scanned the faces of all the bar's patrons, all of which held criticizing looks, before continuing. "And someone who actually thinks that absolute justice is the solution to all of their problems is an utter idiot."
"So what? Are you trying to say you're against peace?" Greg stated disapprovingly, his opinion of the stranger dropping with every second.
"I never said that!" she countered, hating how he was putting words in her mouth.
"But you hate the ones who uphold peace?"
"No!" Now Rein was getting aggravated; this guy was really grating on her nerves. "I'm not saying all Marines are bad. I don't generalize, unlike some people." That last comment was directed towards the burly man but either he was thick or he chose to ignore it. "I'm only against the fanatics of Justice."
"Justice is what keeps us all safe!"
"Not if you take it too far. Some people only use it to justify their inhumane actions!"
"Extremes must be taken in order to insure that evil will not win," Margret interrupted, adding her own opinion into the verbal fray.
"Evil?" Rein echoed, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Are you trying to say that anyone who sails the seas that isn't a marine are evil and that they should all be killed?! What about the ones that just want to be free or to have adventures? The ones that would never hurt people who don't deserve it?" Her voice was now getting progressively louder.
The tense conversation had officially turned into a full blown argument. Both parties were yelling at each other, sadly, Rein was outnumbered thirty to one since everyone in the bar seemed to share similar view points and were now backing up Margret and Greg. At this point Rein was on her feet, hands gripping a nearby table so hard that it was beginning to crack. Most of the other people were also standing up, several had their fists in the air or were angrily brandishing their mugs. Rein glared at everyone and was about to shout a counter to the latest comment when she was interrupted by a bang.
The girl took a deep breath and slowly unclenched her hands, her joints creaking as they loosened. She turned her head towards where the sound had originated from and muttered a curse under her breath. In the doorway to the pub stood several men dressed in identical blue and white uniforms: Marines.
"What's going on here?" one of them asked, scanning the room and trying to figure out what the commotion was about. "The entire street can hear you people."
Rein sighed. "Nothing." she responded, sending a quick glare at Margret and Greg. "It was just a difference of opinions that got a little heated. Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
"That's not what it sounded like from outside. We were called in by some concerned citizens," the marine retorted. "Now, we're used to dealing with rowdy small time pirates or some drunken brawls but we've never been called in on a complaint about this island's own residents. What's going on Greg?"
As they talked, the other officers were wandering around the bar; one of them stopped and was currently examining the cracked table next to Rein. She shot him a fake smile when he looked up at her. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he questioned, studying the girl. Her smile instantly dropped.
"Ummm..." Rein hesitated, frowning and deep in thought trying to remember if she had run into this guy before; she hoped she had, because the other option was far less pleasant. She came up with nothing.
A moment passed between them as the man was lost in his own thoughts. As a realization hit him he quickly grabbed something out of his jacket pocket and began leafing through it. Rein instantly recognized the papers and figured there was no point trying to deny or hide it any longer. She did a sweep with her leg and knocked the wooden table into the marine, sending them both crashing into the nearby wall. The papers went flying and scattered. Everyone looked at either the wall or Rein: all were stunned into silence.
Greg caught one of them, stared at it, then Rein, then back to it. "You," he stated, eyes narrowing. The girl held up her hand in a mocking wave. "How dare you try to poison us with your words?!"
The girl scoffed and got ready to run as Greg handed the poster over to the lead officer. "So I take it this means that I should get going?" she questioned sarcastically.
"You're not going anywhere," the navy personnel responded. "You're under arrest, Whirlwind Rein."
Said girl stuck her tongue out. "No thanks." With that said, she broke into a sprint and dived out the nearest window. Her sudden movement broke everyone out of their stupor; the remaining marines ran out of the bar after her while its patrons yelled and threw their bottles at her: none of them hit.
The chase went on for quite a while. Rein never lost her lead but she couldn't shake them either. She weaved between the buildings and vaulted over stands. Sometimes she would end up in a more crowded stretch and found herself leaping over people or brushing past them quickly, while the marines merely shoved the citizens out of their way. Several more minutes of this passed before the redhead groaned in frustration as she sped up further. Just her luck that on her wild run around the island she had passed right in front of the Marine base stationed in the area and the number of pursuers had rapidly multiplied until she had damn near the entire base after her. Thanks to her distracting all of the officers of the law, all the other criminals had taken this chance to escape before they too got caught up in this somehow. The streets were promptly emptied until the only ones left on them were Rein and her hunters.
From the shadows of an alley, a man watched an entertaining scene unfold. A small red haired girl was running away from an entire horde of marine soldiers. His black eyes followed her as she leaped over a cart and ran out of his line of sight with most of this island's navy force after her. He smirked as he looked down at the bounty poster clasped in his hand. It depicted the same girl who was now the talk of the town, staring at something out of the photo's range with a half smirk on her lips. Her hair was being blown partly into her face and she had a hand up to keep her side swept bangs out of her eyes. His gaze then went from the picture to the number written underneath. "150 000 000 beri," he read out loud. "With a bounty like that she should be able handle those guys. Interesting girl." Tucking the paper away into his jacket, the man jumped up onto the closest roof for a better view. He crouched down and proceeded to track the movements of the marines.
Over 20 minutes later the chase was still going on. The marines had started taking shifts, some would run after the girl, who was incredibly agile, and others would try different plans to trap her, all of which she somehow managed to evade, however, she was tiring. She had slowed down slightly and the gap between her and the marines was growing smaller. Not to mention that she had just barely made it past the most recent pitfall. The man supposed that he had watched for long enough, and with a quick ruffle of his blond hair he jumped down onto a side street and waited for the girl to make her rounds again; the marines had smartly put up a blockade at the port and had sunk all unknown or suspicious ships they could find so she was trapped and forced to constantly circle the landmass. If he was right, she would be passing by very shortly. He leaned against the nearest wall, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited.
This was ridiculous. Didn't these marines ever give up? Rein gave an aggravated sigh in between her pants. She rounded a corner and dodged a net some marines shot at her. The metal grazed her but she just kept going. She growled. After her speech about not harming innocent people she just couldn't bring herself to attack them for fear of destroying the nearby buildings and she didn't have time to check if anyone was still in them or not. There's no way she would ever completely forgive herself if it was her fault that people were trapped under rubble or died. Shouts of "Halt" and "Stop pirate" were heard from behind her but she paid no mind to them. Fatigue was really getting to her at this point and she almost tripped over her own feet as she landed on the other side of a pothole. Rein was about to keep heading straight ahead but someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alley.
Rein held in a squeak at the sudden tug and fought to control the onslaught of thoughts that were rushing through her head. Had the marines finally smartened up? How had this guy snuck up on her? Was she going to have to fight? Her train of thought was interrupted when the man moved. He held up a finger to motion her to not say a word. Upon further inspection, Rein realized that this guy was unlike any marine she had ever seen; he didn't wear any semblance of a uniform, but that isn't to say he didn't have any distinguishing features. His opened jacket showcased his well earned abs and made no effort to hide the large, blue, and vaguely familiar symbol tattooed across them. Rein raised an eyebrow at him. He grinned and motioned for her to follow. She hesitated for a moment, but decided that she may as well try her luck with one guy than all those marines and did as she was instructed.
He led her down the winding and dark alleys until they reacted the coast. The man walked up to the edge of the cliff and pointed down below them. This was a section she had not previously been to and so she was pleasantly surprised by the sight she beheld. Cut into the wall of the steep cliff was a cave that one would have trouble seeing if they didn't know it was already there or if they only gave the area a quick scan. When she looked back to thank her saviour she found that he was already at the bottom and was waiting for her. She blinked before jumping down to meet him. He gave her a smile and led the way inside. Only once they were inside did he decide it was time to talk.
"Those marines chased you for quite a while huh?" he stated, starting the long awaited conversation as he made himself comfortable.
"Yeah... they sure are persistent,"she said, finally taking the time to brush off the dust and dirt that had accumulated on her clothes. As she dusted herself off she came across a cut on her cheek. She tsked as she found dried blood: obviously she hadn't been paying enough attention to her surroundings.
The blond man made a noise of agreement before continuing, "You did well evading them for so long."
Rein frowned at their nonchalant conversation. Surely there were better things to say to a girl who had been chased all over the island by the marine forces. She eyed him and tried to figure out what possible motives this guy could have for helping her out. With a sigh she gave up on trying to figure things out for herself and just settled for questioning him instead. "Do you know why they were after me?"
"I have an idea," he responded and threw something at the girl. She caught it and looked at it only to find herself staring back. In her hands she held the most recent copy of her bounty poster.
"Well, it seems like you know all about me," Rein said, "but I know nothing about you."
"I suppose I should introduce myself then, shouldn't I?" he mused, "I'm Marco, nice to meet you."
Rein blinked. "Marco?" She questioned, "As in, Marco the Phoenix?"
"That would be me."
"What's a big shot like you doing helping someone like me?" Now that she knew who this guy was she saw even less reason for him to have any interest in her. He had to have ulterior motives, right?
"I saw a very amusing scene this afternoon," he replied passively, "And I took interest in what you were saying earlier." He looked at her through his half lidded eyes and with a grin on his face.
"You heard that?" she asked, looking away from him out of slight embarrassment. She didn't like the fact that someone like him had seen that unruly side of her: one of the rare moments when she acted recklessly and didn't think about the consequences. Sure it was great to finally be able to speak her mind and do what she wanted, but the result wasn't worth it. Or was it?
"Half the town heard it," he stated. Rein made a face. Great to know that so many people had heard her outburst. "Don't worry about it," he commented, noticing the expression she was making, "The people here need to have their eyes opened anyway."
The girl made a soft sound of acknowledgement, but she was quickly losing focus on their conversation and getting lost in her own thoughts. Maybe the islanders were in need of a different opinion, but did she really have to lose her cool? They probably would have listened better if she had said everything more calmly, however, afterwards she probably wouldn't feel the way she did now. She felt great! Letting loose and saying what she had always wanted to say made her feel free, something she only ever felt when she was up in the clouds.
Marco studied the red haired girl as her thoughts wandered. He had always been good at reading people, and even if her face betrayed nothing, he caught a glimpse of her eyes and they told part of the story. As he gazed into the her black eyes he saw turmoil, and indecisiveness. Judging by her earlier reaction, Marco had a pretty good idea of what was bothering her. "You should let loose more often," he stated.
Rein snapped out of it and visibly flinched at his comment. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said lamely. He gave her an amused smile. The corners of her mouth twitched, she was itching to stick her tongue out but she knew how immature that was. Marco noticed the movement and shook his head at her reluctance. He decided to try a different approach.
"You're a pirate, right?" he questioned. Rein nodded in response. "Being a pirate is all about freedom, right?" She once again nodded. "So if you're a pirate you should be free, right?" She slowly nodded, now wondering where this was going. "Well then, are you free?"
Rein opened her mouth to answer, but quickly shut it. Was she free? Normally she'd immediately answer "yes", so why was she hesitating now?
Marco raised an eyebrow at the pause. "All it takes is a 'yes' or 'no'," he said. She bit her lip and stayed silent. "Well," he started, "If you're looking for the answer to that question then maybe you should come with me."
The 17 year old gave him a questioning look, "Go with you where?"
"Back to the ship," he responded. "At the very least, meet the rest of the crew. I think they'd like you."
"You don't know anything about me!" she exclaimed, unable to believe what she was hearing. Was Marco the Phoenix, First Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, honestly asking her to go back to the ship with him? She had the urge to pinch herself.
"It's just a feeling I've got," he said nonchalantly. "Only if you loosen up of course."
Rein scrunched up her nose and sighed. He had a point; maybe it was time to truly embrace the pirate spirit. Maybe it was time to let herself go and truly enjoy herself. For most of her life she had put on a facade and every time it was a different one. With her father and his friends it had been a happy and innocent child facade. With the enemies it had been a distant and uncaring facade. Now that she was alone it was a calm and calculating facade. She wasn't exactly sure what the real her was anymore, and maybe it was time to find out. Funny how a conversation with a random stranger could make her come to a realization that she should have had on her own ages ago. She owed him: big time.
She looked up to meet his gaze and gave him a smile, a real smile. "Thanks, but I think I'll have to pass."
"Oh really?" he asked, interested in her change in attitude.
"Yup," she affirmed. "Though, I may just take you up on that offer some other time." She turned to exit the cave, positive that the marine's weren't going to catch her now. Not to mention that now that she had had a moment to catch her breath and the fact that she was already on the coast, it would be no problem to get to her transport and leave. As the ocean came into view she paused and looked back towards the blond man. "Thanks for everything," she called, "I hope we'll meet again!"
