Hey again! I know, fast update, huh? But I couldn't wait to get this chapter out!

I'm still waiting for a review...Just one...Anybody...?

Disclaimer: I still don't own One Piece...How sad...


It was a hot day on the Grand Line….Truly blistering. The birds had decided to stay on land, hiding beneath the shades of the trees. Even the fish seemed to be hiding in the farthest depths of the seas. On a small Summer Island known as Garuka, the citizens walked about as quickly as they could. They wanted to get any errands they had done as quickly as possible. Only an idiot would want to stay out in this weather.

At the island's port, a group of men were waiting for one of their ships to come in. The fishing vessel had set sail earlier in the day. But, thanks to the unbearable heat and lack of fish, the ship was coming back in. If the fish weren't biting, there was no point to being out on the waters.

"There she is," one man said, spotting the medium-sized vessel coming in.

After a few minutes, the ship pulled into port. As the men on land tied the ship down, the ship's captain jumped off, looking flustered.

"Y-you guys!" he exclaimed, talking in a quick and nervous voice, "Y-you'll never b-believe what I f-found on the way b-back!"

"Calm down, Koi," one man said, "You're speaking too fast. Now, tell us what you found. Some kind of weird fish?"

"Not even close," Koi said after taking a couple of deep breaths, "I'll show you!"

Koi jumped back on his ship and quickly came back, dragging a large wooden box behind him. A couple of the men aided him in getting the box onto land.

"Open it!" Koi said, backing away from the box as if it would explode.

A man went over and lifted the loose lid of the box. He peered inside and, with a gasp, dropped the lid. He motioned the other men over to look inside. They all stared and were shocked. Were they really looking at what they thought they were?

Inside the box, curled up in a little ball and fast asleep, was a girl no older than seven or eight. She had messy black hair and tanned skin. She wore rather fancy-looking clothes. She wore a red dress shirt with elbow length sleeves, a black buttoned vest on top and a black tie, as well as black pants with matching dress shoes. Her right hand was bandaged. Her hands were clutching a dark red cowboy hat…

"I don't know what she's doing in there!" Koi said, "I was sailing back and my boat bumped into this box. I pulled it onboard, thinking there might be some supplies inside. But this girl was in it!"

"And you just left her in it?" another man asked incredulously, "She could've died of heatstroke, Koi!"

"I tried to get her out, really! But she woke up and told me to leave her alone…That she was taking a nap and didn't want to be disturbed."

At that moment, the men heard a yawn come from inside the box. They turned to face the box and saw the girl. She was standing up and stretching. She jumped out and looked around with her big black eyes. Her eyes landed on the men. They waited nervously, waiting to see what the girl would say…

"What a great nap!" she said happily.

The men's jaws dropped from shock…What the hell?

"Hey, girl…" Koi said as the girl yawned again, "Are you okay? I mean, what were you doing in that box?"

The girl looked at Koi, puzzlement on her face. Did she not remember how she got in the box? Maybe she was an amnesiac?

"Oh yeah!" she said, clapping her hands together, "You're that old guy from the boat! I thought you looked familiar!"

"Umm…yeah, that's me…Back to my question though…"

"I'm fine. I was in a hurry to leave the island I was on. I didn't have time to wait for a boat. So I pushed that box into the water, hopped inside and hoped for the best."

"You do realize the dangers of doing that, right?" another man asked.

"Well," the girl began, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "In hindsight, it wasn't that great an idea…But I still made it! So I guess it's okay."

The men looked at each other, unsure of what to make of this situation. The girl took her hat and put it on in an odd way. Not on top of her head but rather hanging off her neck by the string. The girl suddenly walked off in the direction of the town. The men asked where she was going, where were her parents and, most importantly, who the heck was she?

"Well, I want to find someone heading off this island," the girl said as she walked, "Preferably not in the direction I came in…I don't know where my folks are…They're somewhere…"

"So, who are you?" Koi called to her.

The girl stopped and turned to face the men. She gave them a broad smile.

"Well, I'm an eight year old who goes by the name Listerra D. Caout!"


At that exact moment, many, many miles away from Garuka, a ship known as the Thousand Sunny was sailing the seas. The ship's captain sat solemnly on the lion head, gazing out towards the ocean. One look on his face and one could tell this was a broken man.

"Luffy…"

The man turned slowly at his name, only to see his older brother looking at him worriedly.

"Sanji says it's time to eat," Ace said, "C'mon, kid…You skipped breakfast and you didn't eat anything yesterday…"

"…I'm not hungry, Ace…" Luffy replied softly.

Ace frowned as his kid brother turned back towards the ocean. For the past eight years, Luffy had been like this. He would eat and drink once every other week, and barely at that, but most of the time he would be like this. Staring at the horizon…Not saying a word…

Ace had learned about what happened to his niece only a day after it occurred. He had gotten the call from Ayrel on his Den-Den Mushi. After hearing the news, Ace abandoned his whole solo sailing thing and came back to the ship. The kidnapping made him decide to join his brother's crew. There was no way he could leave him alone after what happened to Caout.

"Ace?"

Ace turned to look at Ayrel, who was glancing up at Luffy.

"He's not coming?" she asked.

Ace shook his head no, much to Ayrel's dismay. The two reluctantly left Luffy alone on deck. Luffy didn't even notice they were gone. He continued to stare at the ocean, the wind blowing his hair around, his straw hat planted firmly on his head.

"…Caout…" he said quietly, "I'll find you…"


Back on Garuka, Caout was skipping in the streets of the town. She was earning the stares of the townsfolk, and for good reason. Who wouldn't stare at this new, fancily dressed, little girl who was acting like the heat didn't bother her a bit? Sweat was pouring off her face but she was grinning widely.

"I'm getting a lot of attention today," Caout murmured as she looked around, "Like they've never seen a kid before…"

Caout chose to ignore their stares and thought about what to do. She still didn't have any money, so she probably wouldn't be allowed on a boat. But she had to get on the boat. After all, it had already been a week since she escaped from "there". They probably sent someone after her by now…

"I hope it isn't that guy," Caout groaned, "Damn, what a mess this is!"

Caout's anger at how crappy her life had turned out was quickly replaced by what she considered to be the worst possible feeling in the history of forever…HUNGER…Now how was a broke kid supposed to get a decent meal?

Pity…that's how…

"Hey, ma'am!" Caout said to a fruit vendor, "These fruit look so ripe and juicy!"

"Of course they do!" the woman said proudly, "I pride myself in selling only top of the line produce. You won't find anyone selling anything fresher!"

"I bet…They look so delicious…I would love to have some."

"Go ahead and buy some then! They're only sixty Berries a pound!"

Caout smirked inside…It was show time! She stuck her lower lip out and let her eyes water a little. She clasped her hands together…She made herself look pathetic.

"I would love to buy some of your fruits, ma'am," she said sadly, making her voice go up a couple octaves, "But I have no money…It's sad really…My mommy and daddy used to buy me tons of fruit before they…well…before that "accident". Now, without them, it's hard to feed myself…But it's okay! You're trying to make a living and I'm not going to ask for a handout."

Caout looked at the lady's face and declared her mission successful. The woman was teary-eyed. It really paid to be adorable…And a good liar…

"Your parents would be so proud of how strong you are," the lady choked out, "I can't sell you anything from my stand cause then other people will try to trick me into giving them some for free…But keep going straight down this road. You'll come across dozens of apple trees that I own…Eat to your heart's content, little one!"

"Thank you so much, kind woman!" Caout said, bowing slightly, "I'll never forget your generosity, ma'am!"

So Caout ran off down the road and, sure enough, there were the trees. Each branch covered in ripe, juicy apples…

"Chow time!" Caout said as she felt her mouth water.


"I wonder if the lady would mind that I ate so much…"

Caout looked around at the five trees that she had picked clean. It was amazing how much one kid could eat without gaining any weight.

Caout patted her stomach, satisfied from her meal. She got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. Now that her meal was done, she had to go find a way off Garuka without having to pay…Easier said than done.

"Thanks for the meal," Caout said to the trees before she left. She hadn't taken more than two steps before something caught her eye.

There, in one of the trees she thought she had picked bare. It was round and golden, the light making it shimmer. Caout could've sworn she heard a choir singing in the background. There, on that branch, was a single apple…The only one she missed…

"I'm sure I have room for one more apple," Caout said as she walked to the tree.

Caout was right underneath the branch that held the apple. The branch was fifty feet up there.

"No problem…" Caout said determinedly.

Caout leaned back a little and, with the force of her whole body, threw her arm towards the branch. She watched happily as the arm wrapped itself around the branch several times. She was then propelled towards the branch and landed on it a little less than gracefully.

"Thank you, Gum-Gum powers," Caout whispered. Cuteness and the ability to stretch like rubber…Both essential skills…

Caout shimmied over to the edge of the branch and grabbed the missed apple. She casually ate it, savoring its sweet flavor and delicious aroma. Suddenly, without any warning, Caout felt a gust of wind. A very, very, very strong gust of wind. Unprepared for its power, Caout was thrown off the branch and plummeted fifty feet to the ground. Thank God she was rubber, or that fall would've killed her. Instead, she bounced off the ground a few times and landed on her butt.

"Damn it all!" Caout yelled, rubbing her now sore rear end, "Where the hell did that damn wind come from?"

"The better question is who the hell are you?"

Caout gasped and turned around quickly. She faced the owner of the voice…


Dum, dum, dah! Cliffhanger! So here's chapter two, yay! Like father, like daughter, huh? So Caout's eight and she's sporting the surname Listerra. Here's a quick rundown on Caout. Her hair is about the same length as Robin's. She has bangs on either side of her head that frame her face. She's what I like to call, the female version of Luffy. She takes after her father alright. She dresses kind of fancy. If you want some idea about her outfit, look up a picture of a waiter's outfit. That's as close to Caout's outfit as you'll find.

Please, please, please review! It'll make me feel like this story is going well if you do.