Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but Sarin is of my own creation.

To my one reviewer: Elielephant, thanks for reading lol I figured it would be okay to use Haki with Sarin because the women of Amazon Lily use it with their weapons, and I figured that they'd teach it to her (There will be more explaination in the coming chapters lol) I'm glad you like it so far, and hope I can keep your intersest. xD

So here's the next chapter - enjoy!

~ Chapter 3 ~

"Other than that," Rice continued, "There's nothing you really need to know. You'll learn it all quickly."

"Hmm, so what are your guys' jobs around here?" I asked, curious to know more about where and who I would be spending my unforeseeable future with.

"Seko and I are engine mechanics – probably half the crew works down on the low deck with either the engines or the boilers," Penguin answered. He shoveled half of his plate down his throat – which was most likely the cause of Broth's sudden wave of irritation.

"I'm one of the medical assistants, but when I'm not doing that, I get stuck in the laundry room," Rice complained.

"I'm sure there are worse jobs than doing laundry," I comforted, losing my thoughts in trying to come up with something other than helping in the kitchen that I could do. I wanted to be helpful, and prove to the Captain – even if he was eerie and homicidal – that I wouldn't be a burden. I pondered all of the possible jobs there could be on the sub, but could come up with nothing that a blind person would be able to do. Cleaning anything required sight, or else you wouldn't know whether it was actually cleaned or not; I didn't have any mechanical expertise, so the engines weren't a possibility; cooking would both be hazardous to my health and the crew's; and the thought of being anywhere near the sick bay sent convulsing chills down my spine.

I listened to the guys complain collectively about their jobs and chores, and smiled as the conversation turned into bickering amongst themselves – though Seko was content to sit on the sidelines of the argument while adding a few tidbits of information when necessary.

As plates emptied, the crew started leaving the galley, a few even stopping by my table on the way out to introduce themselves. I met a big and burly beast of a man that went by the name of Jean Bart; a honey-toned voice who preferred Jackal over his real name (which he would not tell me); and a quiet shadow that almost blended into the dark background of my limited vision named Kinney.

So far I knew nine of the sixteen men on the submarine – this included Law and Bepo. I tried to file away all their voices in my head along with any stand-out physical traits I could glean, and hoped that I would be able to remember them all sufficiently.

With me, the crew would equal seventeen.

As the galley cleared out, I stayed behind with Broth to help clean up. I stacked empty dishes that had been lazily left out on the tables by the guys, and placed them in the sudsy water of the sink. While Broth started washing the dishes, leaving the drying and organization for me to do, I went back out to the galley to wipe down the tables with a damp cloth.

I was about to start on the smallest table, crammed into the corner, when the Captain's tall and slightly intimidating shadow strolled in to join me.

"Hello, Miss Sarin," He greeted smoothly, breaking the silence around us, "I trust your first day wasn't too stressful."

I forced a polite smile, "No, Captain, it was quite interesting."

"Good," Law held out his hand to me and continued, "Here's the key to your room. You should keep it locked at all times – specifically when you're sleeping." He didn't explain further.

I held in a shiver at the thought, and plucked the small key from his hands – which were oddly soft, but when I thought about it, doctors usually needed soft hands. I stowed the key in the pocket of my shorts and gave him a nod.

"When Broth releases you from duty, stop by my quarters." He spun around and started for the door.

"Yes, Captain," I answered stiffly, watching his outline stroll out of the galley.

My cheek twitched uncomfortably. I told myself to calm down – he probably needed to talk to me about something private, or give me a few rules. It was nothing to get worked up about, but still I had a cold feeling in my stomach. That man just gave me the creeps – and his title "The Surgeon of Death" didn't do much to abate my qualms.

I went back to the job I was supposed to be doing, wiping down the tables with the damp cloth and drying them off with a clean one. Once that was done I joined Broth at the sink and dried off the plates and pots he handed me. He showed me where everything went, and I got the job of putting the clean dishes and silverware back in their places. It probably took an hour to get everything done, and by the time the last fork was put away, Broth had left me alone in the kitchen.

I familiarized myself with the layout. If kitchen duty was the only thing I'd be able to help with, I was going to do it flawlessly. I touched all the dials on the oven and the handles to the drawers and cupboards; used my fingers to outline the various appliances and figure out all their features – there was a coffee machine, a toaster oven, and a mixer currently on the counters; and ran my hands along the counter tops and against the fridge to mark in my memory where everything was.

Finally satisfied with my knowledge of the layout, I untied my apron and pulled it from around my neck. I hung it over my arm and started for the low deck. I stopped in the doorway out of the galley and turned around.

I had forgotten to get Prim something to eat. I opened the fridge and remembered where Broth had stored the leftover stew. There had only been a small bowl left over, but Broth claimed he hated to throw away perfectly good food. I took the bowl from the fridge and again took off for the low deck.

I stopped by my room quickly and threw the apron onto my bed. I opened the door to the bathroom to find Prim coiled up in the small sink. I smirked at her strange nest and set the bowl of stew down in the shower, making a mental note to ask Broth tomorrow if he had any raw meat for the snake.

Making sure to close the bathroom door behind me, I left Prim to sleep in her nest, and headed for the Captain's quarters a few doors down the hall. I stood silently outside his door for a moment before knocking.

His smooth and icy voice spoke, "Come in."

I touched the cold door knob and swung the door inward. I took a few shallow steps forward and stayed close to the door. The shadowy outline of the Captain sat behind a desk. His quarters was slightly larger than mine, with room enough for a decent sized bed, a desk, and a bookcase. He also had a small closet and a private bathroom.

He looked up at me and stood from his seat. He walked around the desk and said coolly, "Follow me."

He stepped past me out the door, and I did as he told me. I followed him down the narrow corridor to a small room with shelves lining the walls. I couldn't quite tell what was on the shelves, due to outlines too vague for an accurate guess, but I guessed they were supplies and such. Law stopped in the middle of the room and I waited for him to explain what was going on.

He rummaged through shelves pulling off a few random things. After a few minutes of nothing but his quite steps and the sounds of his looking through the shelves, he turned to me with a small stack of things in his hands.

"This room is the storage area. There are towels, toiletries, and other items like that." He placed the stack of items in my hands. I carefully felt through the pile and found a few bath towels, a bottle of shampoo, a bar of soap, and a coarse material that felt a lot like Bepo's sleeve.

"The white jumpsuit is the uniform, though it isn't required. The men just prefer it for its simplicity. If you choose to wear it, I'd suggest wearing something underneath."

"Why's that?" I asked, not quite understanding.

"It's white and slightly transparent. Considering there is nothing but men on the sub, it doesn't take much for them to get…distracted," he said amusedly.

My lips tightened, "Alright then – layers it is."

"And be sure to remember what I said about locking your door at night. Pirates are not known for their chivalry."

Leaving me pale-faced at his last comment, he walked out of the room with a smirky "Goodnight."

I suppressed another shiver, and left the room after a few seconds, to give him a chance to get into his office before I entered the hallway. He may be my Captain, but I would do my best to avoid unnecessary contact with him. Those uncomfortable shivers made my blood freeze in their veins. It was creepy how calm and amused he sounded when talking about such awkward and crude topics.

I hurried into my room and followed his advice. The key clicked in the lock, and I was grateful for the barrier between me and the rest of the world. I opened the bathroom door and sorted through the new things Law had given me. I hung the fluffy towel on the small metal hook by the shower door, threw the jumpsuit onto my bed, and put the soaps in the shower.

I found a package of feminine supplies for my monthlies and wondered vaguely why he had these on his ship in the first place. He was either oddly prepared or had a lot of female visitors on the sub. I figured it was the latter, and forced myself to think of other topics.

With everything put away I started taking my belongings out of my satchel and putting them in the small chest of drawers by my bed. My spare clothes which Elder Nyon had prepared for me – she had convinced me that wearing the traditional Amazon Lily clothes would be a bad idea, and now that I had gotten more of a feel for the crew was inclined to agree with her, especially after Law's words – I put in the lowest of the two drawers along with the apron and jumpsuit. The rest of my belongings consisted of silly things that were valuable only to me: a piece of sea glass that was smoothed into a triangular shape, a roll of strong twine to loop around Prim's neck and tail to transform her into a weapon, a Vivre Card that Poppy had given to me so that I could always find the island if I wanted to go back, and a simple dagger in a leather sheath. Those things were my only treasures, along with my bronze locket (though of course I only knew that it was bronze because of the descriptions of others).

I placed my treasures in the upper drawer, all except the locket, which I hadn't taken off since the day the women of Amazon Lily found me.

After shrugging out of my jean shorts, I tucked myself into the covers of my bed and let my mind think about that day.

Sand caked my small and shivering body as I lay on a rocky beach. I woke to the sound of a worried voice, frantically asking me if I was okay. "Little girl? Please wake up – please be okay," the worried voice pleaded to no one.

I raised my head to face the voice, but still couldn't see anything. At first I thought I had my eyes closed, but a voice in my head spoke clearly to me.

You're blind.

"Oh, thank goodness you're al – oh my! What happened to your eyes?" the worried voice asked quickly. Somehow my eyes had startled her.

I didn't know what to say to I repeated the voice in my head with a weak voice, "I'm blind."

A warm hand ran two fingers around my eyes but didn't explain why my eyes were so startling. Finally the frantic woman calmed herself down and became more reasonable. She picked me up, her hands tucked beneath my shaking body, and started carrying me somewhere.

I smelled sweet grass and heard birds chirping happily and figured we were walking through a forest somewhere.

Where was I? How had I gotten here? Where was I before coming to this place?

My mind could remember nothing of where I had been until I woke on the beach. The only thing my mind knew was that I was blind, this woman was taking me somewhere hopefully to help me, and my name was…

Sarin.

The voice spoke to me again.

My name was Sarin.

The woman sighed as she knocked on something. The sound of large doors opening rumbled in my ears, and the woman started speaking to someone else.

"Where's the doctor? I need her right away!" the woman carrying me said quickly.

"Uh, she should be at the offices. What's going on?" a voice a little farther away asked.

But the woman ignored the question and took off, holding me tightly in her hands.

I was tired and the rhythmic movements of her steps lulled me into unconsciousness.

"Well we can't just make her leave – she doesn't even know where she came from! That would be cruel," the woman who helped me earlier argued.

"She's a stranger – we have no obligation to keep her. What if she's a spy? Men are always looking for a way to get in here, and maybe she's helping them," another angry voice shouted.

The women were standing just outside my door. I was lying in a soft bed that smelled of flowers. They probably assumed that I was asleep and couldn't hear them – but I could. I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them tightly.

What if they make me go away? Where will I go?

I felt hot tears start to run down my cheeks, and didn't bother to rub them away.

The woman's arguing continued, until they reached a decision.

"Okay," the unidentified angry voice started, "We'll let her stay on the island, but, Poppy, you are responsible for her. The moment she causes any trouble, or acts suspicious she's gone."

The woman who helped me, Poppy, agreed, "Thank you Kikyo. I'll take care of her."

The angry woman, Kikyo sighed in frustration, "I'll tell Elder Nyon – she should know our decision."

The angry woman stalked off with harsh footsteps on a tiled floor, as the door to my room swung open with a squeak. Poppy's soft steps came toward me, and I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry you had to hear that, little one, but I won't let them send you away. Come with me, and I'll get you something to eat – I bet you're hungry!"

I nodded slowly, and let her take me into her arms. I rested my head on her shoulder as she carted me away.

My memories must have carried into my sleep, because I woke up with Prim sleeping in a coil on my midsection. I let the darkness envelope me, using my Haki to quickly search the ship. Everyone was still asleep, most of the men snoring so loud I could hear it from all the way on the low deck. I figured it must still be late night or very early morning.

I sighed and tried to let my mind relax and go back to sleep. I vacantly stroked Prim's scales until morning.