Hi probably no one will read this so... Some of you may have been reading my other story 'Is there a world where friends really matter?' and I'm still trying to write that but I've reached a massive block at the moment so bare with me. Ok so this is my new story. It's a lot like the other one in that it's slow to get into but I think it's pretty good. Please tell me honestly what you think although constructive critisism would be better than just saying something mean. And I will try to carry on with my Other story. Lizzy X

If you were to pass her on the street you would not look twice. Kimiya had the appearance of the most normal teenage girl going through the rebellious stage. She stuck to her black and white clothes as though her life depended upon it. She prided herself in her stylish non conforming clothes. A long white jumper with the arms cut off was used as a dress, held to her waist by a black belt with a large gold star as the buckle. Thigh length black socks with a skull at the top of them. Knee length white leg warmers that covered the tops of her platform shoes and mismatching fingerless gloves, one white one black. Her hair was pulled up into bunches and tied with skull bobbles. It was her look, the rebel fashion. If however you were to look back at Kimiya, to get to know her, the word normal would never again cross your lips. Kimiya was anything but normal. She was a twenty year old woman who looked like she was fourteen, admittedly she was a very shapely woman but even this did not change how young she looked. Her face remained that of a child, wide piercing gold eyes that could search the soul, full lips and pale skin. She could have been mistaken for a five foot porcelain doll. But her looks did not even scratch the surface of her weird life.

She stared at the office door. Maybe if she stared for long enough it would burn a hole through the window and scare the tyrant on the other side to death. She did not want to step through that door because she knew what was coming.

"Kimiya Lavethlyne." The receptionist shouted after receiving a bored sounding message on the intercom. She was praying for something, anything to happen so she would not have to face him. She reached the door and paused for half a minute. Her eyes wandered the room. Perhaps if she waited for three minutes she would not have to enter that room, maybe something would happen preventing her from entering. By this time many of the people waiting in the reception had fixed their eyes on the young woman.

"I'm going in." She whispered her voice full of despair. The door squealed in protest as she opened it. The room was simple. A royal blue carpet, a desk, large windows that covered the entire wall and bookshelves full of old leather bound books. Her eyes wandered around the room and then remained fixed just beyond the desk where a large muscular man sat. His body was barely contained in the pin striped suit he wore. His hair was as dark as midnight and his eyes matched, dark hollow eyes. He looked tired. Dark bags lay under his eyes, they did not seem to fit his usually smirking face but she understood, she knew why they were there.

"I asked you to hand in your monthly review a week ago, so where is it?" He did not bother looking at her. He never looked at her. He had always disliked her for reasons that she did not know.

"There was no point handing it in." She answered in an uninterested tone. The man slammed his fist down on the table making the little prism sign on his desk rock back and forth. The engraved words 'Chief of maintenance and employee affairs' flashed violently as the prism slowly rocked back to its original position. Admittedly it was a strange title but 'employee affairs' was a major part of the work that she was a part of.

"Listen, you may think you're better than the rest of us Ms Lavethlyne but I can assure you you're not. Now tell me why the HELL you did not hand in your review!" He was shaking with anger. His large fists pushed down into the wood of the table.

"No one has requested my service and I have no permanent employment. A review would have been a waste of both of our time."

"No requests. Hm, how long has it been Kimiya? I would say half a year at least. You realise if this keeps on your going to starve to death. We can't keep giving money to people who can't pull their own weight." She did not flinch nor did she look away embarrassed. Kimiya was a proud woman and she was good at what she did but the world was changing, people no longer had a need for her kind. "You are dismissed." At that he turned away from her, a look of disgust on his face.

*

She sprawled out on her bed and flipped the pages of the thick leather bound book entitled 'Miracles?' It had been a book she was studying for her work, after all an alchemist must learn all they can in case an emergency should arise. She was naturally gifted at her job to an extent. The science of the earth was something she just understood instinctively. She would never admit that she was powerful but for her age she had an implausible amount power. However this power was both a blessing and a curse. While others her age would fall early in a battle she would be able to carry on for hours but this also meant that she had to use a lot of alchemy on a daily basis. Alchemists, as anyone who has studied them knows, have a hamster like ability, they can store weeks upon months worth of energy which aids them in transmutations. But when an alchemist does not use their alchemy for a while it can be fatal. The energy causes their hearts to beat faster than an average human, the faster their heart beats the more chance they have of having of a heart attack. That was one of the primary reasons why people claimed that learning to be an alchemist was like sealing your life into a coffin and burying it. Alchemists live only to transmute. Most alchemists would also stay away from the 'Alchemists Guild of International and Internal Affairs' also known as 'Alchemists for hire'. The alchemists guild, to put it bluntly, was a sure fire way of selling your life and soul. Once an alchemist was accepted into the guild they cannot leave. Any alchemist that runs away from the guild are hunted down and assassinated, imprisoned or forced back into their job. The guild allows no one to double cross them. Kimiya had originally joined to get money for her mother after she had fallen ill. She had known from the tender age of five that she was gifted. So unknowingly, without doing any research on the guild she had signed her soul away at the age of eight. She had become the youngest alchemist in the world and for a while she had been a star (though the circle of those who know the existence of alchemists was so small that celebrity status would be impossible), the guild gave her money and this money helped care for her sick mother. But alas her mother had died a year later and she was now bound and chained to the guild and had been for twelve years. The alchemy was the reason why her body was not as old as it should have been. As we all know taking in too much energy causes the body to naturally slow the aging process and so she would spend the next twelve or so years trapped in the body of a child, this is of course assuming that her powers did not grow any more, if they did then she would be spending twenty to one hundred years trapped in the body of a teenager.

*

"Yes. Yes. Yes I know that but it is urgent. Is there anyone?" The Marine admiral leaned back in his chair, the Den Den Mushi held in his hand. The bird on top of his head flapped its wings once, balanced itself according to the captain's new position and then remained in its previous fixed position. "Well yes they would have to be strong." He scratched his chin and scribbled a few words down. "As long as they can fight. Well yes it would be a difficult fight I presume. No there will be others. No, pirates. Wait. No, please understand I really do need an alchemist. I'll pay anything. Yes, that's what I said, anything. Well no that is a bit extreme. What about I hire an alchemist for a fixed period, would that suit you better? No I suppose not. Are they? Well that would be ok. Really, how experienced? That is a long time. Oh no that's a bit too old. That sounds more like it. Yes. Yes. Oh no certainly not." He scribbled down a few names and put the paper and pen on the table. "I will send a letter immediately. No we can sort that out when she arrives. Oh that's perfect. Yes I can send a crew over to collect her. Thank you. Yes. Goodbye." 'Cotcha' The Marine admiral sighed. Now all he needed to do was send the letter to the woman. "I'll have to check to see if there are any marine's ships in that direction." The man huffed, stood up and exited the room with an exhausted look on his face. He could not believe that he had to employ the pirates to take care of one man. Though in its own way it was brilliant. Pirates did not fight fairly and could defeat this mad man without losing their honour. The marines of the more powerful squads believed in honour over their own lives and for many this is how they lost their lives to that man.

"Dear Miss Kimiya Lavethlyne, 1st class ranking of Albertus Magnus alchemists.

I am writing to request your immediate aid. I wish to hire you for a period of ___ weeks/ months/ years. I intend to pay you _____ Beri for your service. If you accept this request please send a letter of confirmation back immediately. If this request is declined please send this letter to the Alchemists guild of international and internal affairs immediately.

Yours Faithfully

Chief Admiral Sengoku."

"So, no fixed price? No time limit?" The woman behind the bar asked.

"No." Kimiya sipped at the coke in front of her. "It seems a little off don't you think?"

"Maybe but he sounds desperate." Kimiya sighed and stirred the drink with her straw. "The Marines are trustworthy people; it's unlikely that they would go back on a promise."

"I suppose so. The fact that this person would give me free reign over my own pay and time of hire is inconceivable though. I wonder, is this person really Admiral Sengoku." At these words an old man dropped his glass to the floor, shattering it into millions of tiny glimmering pieces. As the shattering sound was heard many of the other customers stared at him but his eyes remained in a fixed, wide position, staring straight at Kimiya. "Sir, are you alright." She asked. He showed no signs of recognising that anyone was speaking to him.

"The Chief Admiral Sengoku." Others who had stopped to watch the man also gasped, turning fully and listening with interest. "He is one of the highest men in the marines." Now it was Kimiya's turn to be shocked. She had been requested by one of the highest men in the marines? "If he has contacted you he must have no other choice." There was a murmur of agreement through the silent bar.

"I guess I should go then. Wow who would have thought... the marines?" She finished her coke in one gulp, waved goodbye to the bar tender and thanked the old man for his help (though he seemed unresponsive.)

"Dear Chief Admiral Sengoku, I am writing back in confirmation... No that sounds wrong... This is a confirmation letter... I am confirming... I agree... Why can't I do this?" Kimiya exclaimed launching the pen across the room like a missile. "Ok here goes. Dear Chief Admiral Sengoku, this letter is a confirmation. I am ready to begin my mission at any point. Please send transport as I am unable to reach the world government by myself. Yours Faithfully. Kimiya Lavethlyne. How's that?" She held the letter up to the light, gave it a sceptical look and shoved it into the envelope. "Well it's only a confirmation letter."

"Sir we've just been given word that 'he' has killed another person." The chief admiral sighed angrily. Never in his life had he felt so humiliated. He could capture hundreds of pirates but this one man seemed to be able to avoid him no matter what method he used.

"Ok. Please deal with the body according to protocol. I'll be sending in squad seven to help keep the peace."

"Is that not a bit too much sir? There are 1,500 members in that squad and this is only a small island."

"Are you questioning me?" The admiral was losing his patients. It was unheard of for anyone to talk back to him in such a manner.

"No sir." The man replied dejectedly. 'Cocha'. He put the Den Den Mushi back on the table. He shifted the papers around him, looking at the murder victims of this man. They all looked like normal victims of murder. Stab wounds, slit throats and bullet wounds, yet the man himself was anything but normal.

"Sir?" A knock was heard on the door, it opened to reveal a tall man dressed in marine attire.

"Yes, what is it?

"I have a letter for you from Aqua Vitae Island." The admiral rushed to his side and gratefully took the letter from the man, thanking him and allowing him the leave.

"Dear Chief Admiral Sengoku, this letter is a confirmation..." Finally. He would begin preparations immediately.

To be continued...

Hope you enjoyed it. Please review I'd love to hear what you think. Anyway next chapter the red-haired pirates show up woot. (No Mihawk yet but don't worry he's coming.)

Next chapter-

She stood staring at a very frightened Taro. Now she used the frozen water and turned it into darts. Using a technique she had read about, she let the ice darts fly at him. Yasopp was about to shoot her, his gun at the ready.