Memories of the Lost Angels

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

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Devon sat against a large tree near the edge of the jungle, his jacket drapped over his shoulders and all four of his blades at his side. He closed his eyes and put his head against the bark, feeling the warm sun on his skin, the cool breeze in his hair, and listened as the waves sloshed back and forth from the shore.

From the bloody warfront of civil war in Alabasta, to the calming beach of a beautiful island...I guess this is a reward for a weary warrior.

He opened his eyes and reached for the Kitetsu. Slowly, he unsheathed the blade and gazed at the smooth metal. He could see himself in it, but as he stared, he could feel the sword vibrate and a spark appeared here and there. Quickly, he sheathed the blade and thrust the sword into the sand.

"The Kitetsu is a cursed blade, but is it part of that set? Does this blade belong with Roronoa Zolo's Sandai Kitetsu, or is it just a bad sword to have?" he thought aloud, rubbing his chin.

As he sat there, pondering, the sound of footsteps made turn to see Kirsty walking up to him.

"Oh, hey," the First Mate greeted, turning back to his view of the beach, "What's up?"

"Just thought I'd come to chat," the doctor said innocently, taking a seat next to him, "I heard what you were talking to yourself about...the Kitetsu? I don't know why you keep that sword. Personally, it creeps me and the others out, and if it's cursed, why not toss it?"

Devon looked at the blade, "Hm...,"

"Anyhoo," Kirsty scooted closer to him, "I was wondering about something,"

"Wassat, doc?"

"Could you tell me a little more about yourself and Austin?" she asked, looking at him, "I would like to know more about you two,"

Devon kept staring at the blades he had obtained in his travels and remained silent.

Kirsty tilted her head, "Please?"

The swordsman sighed, "Why not? We have time to kill, and you already know about me and Austin's secrets...so, I'll tell ya what I can,"

The doctor made herself comfortable, in case of a long story.

-Flashback-

East Blue, Roguetown, Seven Years Ago

BAM BAM BAM BAM

"FATHER!"

BAM BAM BAM BAM

"FATHER! OPEN UP! PLEASE!"

The large church doors opened up and an elderly preacher stared down in shock at the sight of two young boys standing in the dead of night, soaked from head to toe thanks to the downpour of rain outside.

"Good Lord! Devon, Austin, what on earth are you doing out here?" the preacher ushered the boys in, "It's very late, and you're out of bed, playing in the rain," he shook his head as he walked to the store room for some blankets, "I swear, your mother is going to have kittens,"

He brought the boys thick, dry blankets and while he watched them dry off, he noticed that something wasn't right with them. Austin had a very white face and his eyes were filled with fright, while Devon looked like he was seething while on the verge of crying.

"Boys, what's wrong?" the preacher knelt down to their level, "You two look like you've seen a ghost,"

Devon shook his head, shivering, "M-Mother...,"

The preacher frowned, "What about your mother, Devon?" he asked quietly, "Did something happen to her?"

The blonde boy nodded.

"Good Lord, Devon, what happened?"

"S-She's...sh-sh-she's...dead,"

The preacher's eyes went wide, "Oh my...wait here, I'll go alert the Marines!"

With that, the elderly man ran off to his office and Devon wrapped his brother in his blanket and brought him close into a hug.

-----

"Oh shit...,"

"That's not right,"

Devon stood outside the door of his home, waiting while the Marines looked inside. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night, but he didn't care. He had wanted to go inside, but none of the Marines would let him inside the small home.

The young boy waited while they took pictures of the violent scene and cleaned up. After what seemed like forever, the Marines left the domicile, carrying a stretcher with the body of the boy's mother in it, the woman covered with a sheet with bloodstains.

Devon stared at the stretcher while one of the Marines walked up and knelt in front of him.

"Sorry, kid...I know this has got to hurt really bad right now, but some people hurt others for no reason,"

The boy looked back at the house, clenching a fist.

"Look, the preacher said he'd take you and your brother in, so if you want to grab anything from inside, do it now,"

-----

"Austin," Devon looked down at his brother and took his hand, "Listen to me...we have to go, alright? We have to go, and do what we can. We have to become stronger, we have to learn to fight...we have to leave home!"

His now mute little brother looked up at him sadly, then clung to his waist. Devon rubbed the boy's back and hefted the large pack he was carrying, "It's gonna be okay, little brother. Don't worry...I'm tough...I can take care of you from now on. Neither of us will be alone...I promise,"

Taking his brother's hand again, Devon led his little brother onto a ferry and watched as his hometown, the place where was born and raised by his mother, disappear in the distance. He tightened his grip a little, a lump in his throat.

"It's just us now, Austin...just us,"

-End Flashback-

Kirsty stared at her nakama, "Devon...,"

The swordsman cracked his neck, "Wasn't until a while later that we were taken in by what I would call my second family...,"

"Second family?" Kirsty blinked, coming out of her stunned phase, "What kind of family?"

"...the family who protects one another..."

-Flashback-

Dojo of Odin, 5 years ago

Devon stood in front of Austin, staring at a pair of grown men, who were twins and wearing black armor with kanji's painted in white. The two boys had been wandering the sea, taking passages and odd jobs, surviving as best they could. Devon quickly took up the art of nittoryu, but was unskilled in that way of combat. With the remaining possessions they had from their home, the two boys discovered uses of the strange Dials they had kept in their home thanks to some journals belonging to their father they had taken with them. Sewing the dials into a pair of gloves, Austin and Devon discovered the power that can be used to defend themselves.

After stowing away on a small supply boat, the two boys found themselves on an island that wasn't even drawn on any map known to the outside world. They had stumbled upon a civilization where both men and women were strong warriors, skilled in many forms of combat, and had large clans of families. After being discovered, the two boys were taken to a large dojo where the leaders of the island were living. Two of them were twin brothers by the names of Hugin and Munin, swordsmasters of the clans.

"Little ones, why did you hide on our supply boat?" Hugin asked kindly.

Devon glared at him, "We needed a ride...,"

"Of course, that makes perfect sense, brother," Munin nodded, smiilng, "Tell me, little one, where are your parents? Where is your family?"

"My little brother is the only family I have left," Devon hissed, "Our mother was murdered and I have no idea where my father is!"

Munin and Hugin exchanged startled looks.

"Oh my,"

"Little ones alone in the world?"

"We must do something to help them!"

"Of course...I believe we need to speak to the Elder,"

The twins bowed to the boys, "Please excuse us," they said in unison, "We must meet with the Clan's Elder. You are more than welcome to stay with us as long as you wish. We have plentiful food and many warm beds. Eat and rest, little ones,"

Devon snorted as the twins left, "Whatever...," he tugged on his brother's hand, "C'mon, might as well do what we can here...chances are they'll contact the Marines and ship us off to an orphanage or something,"

-----

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

Devon panted as he failed to strike Hugin with his training katana. He and Austin had stayed with the clans, seeing as they had no where else to go, and this was better than any place they had been to. The oldest boy was offered a place among the clan. With that offer, he and his brother would have a family again, they would have a place to stay, a place to eat whenever they needed without begging or stealing, and a place to get stronger.

Through some difficult days of thought, Devon thought it was best for them right now, and accepted the clan's invitation. Now, during the days, he trained in the arts of ittoryu and nittoryu against Munin and Hugin, growing stronger and stronger as time passed. Soon, he would become far stronger than he was before. Soon, he would be strong enough to do what he needed to do.

-End Flashback-

"The clan protected and raised us until we left the island on a mission to cleanse the earth of sinners," Devon rubbed his eyes, "Ever since that day, we've been looking for the swords, the power, and the man,"

"Man?" Kirsty raised an eyebrow, "What man? Are you after a wanted criminal?" she inquired.

Devon shrugged, "Who knows if he is wanted, I don't know...but all I know is that he is out there, I can feel it! Austin can feel it too...he is out there somewhere, and I won't give up looking for him. Problem is, I don't know much about him," he pointed to his back, "These, the dials, and the journals we have are the only clues we have to him...,"

"So, the man you're looking for...,"

"Yep. I'm not only looking for swords to avenge my slain mother, I'm looking for my father,"

Kirsty blinked in surprise, "Your...father? The guy who left your family and never came back?"

Devon nodded slowly, "Yeah...I want to find him and find out why he never came back...I want to find out what happened to him,"

The two of them sat there, looking out at the ocean for awhile until finally, Devon rose to his feet and collected his swords.

"Where ya going?" Kirsty asked, getting to her feet.

"I'm gonna go find Macleod, see if he wants to spar. If not him, maybe someone else...," he looked at her, "You're welcome to join me if you want," he offered.

"Sure, I got nothing else to do right now,"

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Dusty get stuff for the camp, by the way?"

"Like I said...," Kirsty trailed off with a grin.

As the two of them walked down the beach, Kirsty kept glancing at Devon's back.

"You know...you're among friends here, Devon. We're like a big family,"

"What's your point?"

"Why not show the others yours and Austin's wings?" Kirsty suggested, tracing the lumps she could feel through the fabric of the mountain jacket, "You know that we wouldn't make fun of you,"

"Dusty would,"

"True, but she's like that...," Kirsty nodded thoughtfully, "O'course, if she does that, you could always just hang her over the side for bait, just like the rest of us do,"

"...I'll think about it,"

As the two of them walked down the beach, Austin poked his head out from behind a large tree and smiled at the two of them.

Ready whenever you are big brother...he thought, looking away from the duo, She's nice and strong...perfect match for him. However, I might have to get some help pushing these two together... Austin tapped his fingers together in a mischevious manner, I gotta plan this out carefully!

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Kilnorc: Well, there's that chapter done. Okay, first off, I'm sorry if the memories aren't as big or as detailed as ya'll would've hoped...but, no worries, 'cuz it's just a filler! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Axe: You are one sad, strange, little man...

Kilnorc: Shaddup you! Anyhoo, guys, I wasn't sure what to show from the brother's past...and after some careful thinking, I've revealed how old they were when the tragedy happened, and how long they been on their own. If it was bad, I got a couple of interesting chaps to make up for it before the race.

On the next chapter of Grand Prix...

Dusty: Damn! I gotta practice more...I finally get my final form and I can't get to it! How the hell do the other zoan's do it?!

Kirsty: Dusty, I got something that may help you! Chopper gave me the recipe, but it's still experimental...

Dusty: My own Rumble Ball? GIMME!

Crazy Like A Fox!

Dusty: HOLY SHIT!