On a ship , somewhere in the New World

11th May XXX

"Oi brat! The Boss is calling for ya!" snarled a balding man.

The brat in question opened her eyes from her dreamless sleep. She was quite small. Her presence was also small and barely noticeable. Her limbs were quite thin and her face was hollowed, almost as if she was barely fed. Her dark brown eyes were the only striking features she possesses.

Wordlessly, the young girl limped towards the man and followed through a maze until they reached the Boss' cabin. After a few moments of silence following the man's knocks, The cabin door swung open to reveal a thin man lounging on a huge sofa, projecting an air of dominance and laid back confidence.

"Now, then brat," the Boss basically snarled," I have a job for you."

The young girl was emotionless but dread started to slowly creep up her spine.

What the young girl didn't know was that from then onwards her life will take a drastic turn and her and her nakama will be at the forefront of change and chaos in this world...

But THAT will be a story for another time and another place. It'll be quite a while before then, either way.

Grand Line

11th May

" I will teach you about this world on one condition", stated Mihawk.

Raising an eyebrow, Fred regarded the aloof man in front of him.

"Whatever could it be, Weird eyes", he questioned.

' If it weren't for the fact that he is supposedly from another world, I would had thought that the ginger was related to Akagami ', Mihawk paused, ' then again, knowing this sea, they might as well be.'

" My condition is... ", Mihawk stopped as though he was mulling over his words. However, the only thing the 'dramatic' pause achieved was making Regulus guarded; his grey eyes with a slight silver hue turned into clouded and stormy grey.

"...you have to tell exactly how you two got here in the first place. It's seems curious that you jumped from a place you are familiar with to a completely different environment."

"Then again, that is what happens in piracy often",muttered Mihawk.

"Eh, what did you say at the end?" asked Fred.

Mihawk sighed.

"Don't worry about it, I guess", Regulus directed this to Fred.

Fred just hummed slightly; neither showing agreement or disagreement.

"Well, are you going to to accept the conditions or not?" asked Mihawk.

Pursing his lips, Regulus weighed the pros and cons of this agreement. On one hand, the swordsman seems to be an exprienced warrior and could teach them how to fight properly. He knew better than anyone that wizards, apart from those that play Quidditch quite regularly, were not quite the most athletic people around. Of course, Regulus was talking about the average wizard or witch. There were some wizards that could kill people by snapping their necks. With a single hand.

However, the swordsman could easily sell him and Fred into slavery or get them killed. Glancing over at the man, he could tell that he was a man that kept his word and has a strict sense of honour.

How did Regulus know that?

A gut instinct of his. (Regulus wouldn't realise how important this would be in the future)

Regulus knew it was unreasonable to rely solely on his gut instinct but he was tempted to...

"Yeah we accept."

THWACK

"What the hell was that for?"

"Ask for my opinion before you accept or don't accept, dammit !"