Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece. I do own my characters. You'll pay if you use them sans permission!
One Piece: Legend of the Keybearers
Prologue
The night was alive with fire. Reddish orange colors painted the ocean surrounding the blindingly bright island that was ablaze. The wind swept the flames throughout the entire island; people tried to flee, but most only met death in the blazing inferno. If it wasn't the fires of the island that robbed the islanders of their lives, it would most certainly have been the gun fire. Bullets and cannonballs pierced into the small northernmost village on the tiny island, destroying what was left of structures and people alike. No one could see their death waiting right around the corner, but they knew it was there. Even as the villagers fled; gearing up in boats and pushing off from the island with flames still trickling over their clothing, they would not be able to escape the imminent doom of the enemy ships' bombardments.
The motive? Unclear. The attackers? Uncertain. The fear? Inescapable. Too many voices were mixing to hear what the woman by the shore was saying as she hurriedly strapped the child into her boat and began to put the oars in a position to row. She choked her tears down and began to row. A cannonball flew through the air above her- there was death, being mockingly merciful- and splintered a house nearby. She gasped, then gulped down another barrage of tears as the baby boy strapped into his carriage, spoke.
"Mama?!" the child looked confused and scared; without even the small sense of understanding that the villagers had about what was happening. The woman leaned down and kissed the child, whose hair was a deep violet; almost black. Her own pure black locks swished again as more cannonballs flew past her. This was it. They were targeting her. "Mama!" the child repeated softer this time, as though uncertain as to whether this was his mother. The woman sighed. It would be over soon.
"Don't worry, Jiro, you'll be safe. You'll have a happy life, away from the cruelty and treachery of pirates-" a bullet whizzed by this time, and it actually grazed her cheek and left a trail of blood. She didn't seem to notice as she brushed Jiro's- the child's- hair. "-and away from me…" she trailed off. Then smiled a sobering smile. She kept rowing as the bullets and cannonballs berated the island, rowing as fast as possible. She had to carry him as far as possible… A searing pain shot through her arm, and she felt a thick liquid oozing down her shoulder a second later. Blood. She'd been shot. She grasped her arms, in tears, and bit her tongue to keep from swearing.
'This is really… I…I'm sorry, Jiro."' the woman sighed. Her left arm- the one now leaden with a bullet- was useless now. She could carry the child no further. She only had one last duty to fulfill. She sighed, then stood as lightly and carefully as possible. Either way was death. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. She wanted to hear the ocean once more. Feel the water once more. She wanted to do all of these so badly. If she was going to die anyway, no use in risking the baby's life as well. She took one last shaky breath, and leapt from the boat into the water below.
A/N: Well, along with my Bleach fanfic I decided (well, it's really kind of done on a whim) to write one for One Piece. An original character story on my own crew, the Keybearers! Next chapter will be more exposition, if you want to know the truth, but there'll be a fair bit of action too. R&R- I'll have the next chapter up soon!