A/N: Hey guys, I am back with the newest chapter of Misguided Path. I'm so happy for all the favorites and alerts that you guys made for this so far. I am glad you guys were so patient for the newest update and I apologize for the wait; I had caught a little case of writer's block.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the One Piece franchise; it is owned by Toei Animation and Eiichiro Oda. I am merely a fan who likes to write this for pure entertainment purposes.


Chapter 4

Buggy and Bella! Special Moment between Father and Daughter!

"Please! Stop! Get away from me!" a man yelled in terror.

The night howled with rage as thunderous storm clouds clapped violently and the wind whipped forcefully on the land below. A storm was approaching the small island located in the West Blue Sea. The citizens residing in the various towns took the necessary precautions when they noticed the signs of the dangerous approaching their home to avoid major damages. However, this particular soul was unfortunate enough to wind up in the midst of it as he had practically been ran out of his own house, leaving him in his current predicament.

A large, hulking figure of nearly seven or eight feet tall towered over the frightened male as he had backed away into the darkest corner of the alley. The figure gazed at him with dark eyes full of anger and hatred, "Yes, you'd like that…wouldn't you?" The voice of the mysterious stranger was that of a female's but it held certain gruffness to it. "However…I still need to repay you for everything you've done for me…all that kindness must be repaid."

The man's body was nearly petrified by the calmness of the voice and the underlying amusement in it, "No! Go back! Y-you're a monster!"

A low growl could be heard escaping from their lips, "There it is again…more of that kindness…that hatred. You ordinary humans fear what you cannot understand, but it's funny actually. I've always been regarded as a monster my whole life, even when I was a harmless little girl. You people are nothing but fools."

The man could only widen his eyes in terror as the stranger took one step forward. That one move was enough to close in on his body, landing only mere inches away from his legs which could cause damage should it have come in contact. With his back and arms already pushed against the wall, he quickly pulled his knees into his chest as he went to frightening stare back into the eyes of his apparent predator, "I-I'm sorry! Please, j-just leave m-me alone!"

The soulless, hazel eyes narrowed as a feral grin appeared on their lips, "I must apologize myself as I cannot do that; not just yet at least. I wish to show you just how much of a monster I truly am."

Bella's eyes opened before the dream could proceed any further. She was now met with the sight of the wooden ceiling of her bedroom aboard the Big Top. The teenager sat in an upright position, leaving one hand sitting on the bed and covered part of her face with the other. She remained quiet as her mind lingered on the mysterious dream or rather the memory that played during her slumber. Her lips twisted into a small grin, "It's amazing how these emotions continue to haunt me. I may be a freak and a monster to just about everybody I've met, but the fruit granted me my amazing abilities."

An insane laughter escaped her lips, clearly amused by the previous events in her life. She grew quiet after a few moments, "I'm not mad at all. They will never understand, but I have found the place where I feel I belong."

Bella threw the covers to the side and swung her legs over the side of the bed, sliding her feet into her boots. She stood up and walked towards the door, exiting the room. To give her a little bit of privacy without leaving her in the darkest depths of the ship, her room was at the end of a staircase that led to the deck.

She walked up the stairs and with every step she took the wooden boards creaked until she reached the door at the top. She swung the door open to reveal a dimly lit sky as the sun was now beginning to rise over the planet, reflecting an orange light onto the sea. As to be expected, the deck was void of all apparent life with only the fish leaping into the air as the only indication of existence in the immediate area, "I'm not surprised that they're all still asleep. As much as they drink, it's only natural."

"Not quite," the familiar voice of her father responded. The clown pirate walked down the steps leading from the upper deck and joined the girl as she approached the railing, though he kept a small little distance.

She leaned on the railing and focused her attention to the serene waters as she rested her chin on her hand, "I thought you would be asleep as well father."

The word father continued to strike an unfamiliar sensation, pride perhaps, at the captain, but he chose to let it slide. The fact that he now had a daughter who wished to follow him in his footsteps and respected him had indeed inflated his ego to a certain extent. He knew it would not be long until the teenager had the chance to pillage one of the ships that happened to come across them during the voyage to the next island. During his days as a member of Gol D. Roger's crew, he learned to proper ways of scavenging pirate ships and homes for treasure.

He folded his arms over his chest with his ever present cocky grin on his lips, "Of course not my dear Bella. A captain never rests, even you should know that. Besides, I cannot flashily die until I have obtained all the treasures in the world."

Bella covered her mouth to hide the mischievous grin plastered on her face, "I guess that explains those bags you have under your eyes."

"What…was that?" Buggy questioned slowly. His pupils had dilated and an angry tick mark appeared on the back of his head. He detached his hand from his body with the aid of his devil fruit powers and used it to grab onto the collar of her shirt and pulled her in dangerously close to him. "What did you say about my nose?! Even if you are my daughter, I will not hesitate to flashily kill you."

While his voice reflected his seething anger and killer intent, Bella merely stared back with an annoyed expression and a sweat drop clinging to the back of her head, "I never said anything about your nose. You're just hearing thins. I said that explains the bags under your eyes!"

His anger almost vanished instantly at the repeat of her statement and gave her a slightly puzzled look in response, "So…that's what you said." His anger returned again a moment later upon the realization, "That still doesn't make it any better!"

"Looks like mom and just about everyone else were right about his paranoia," she thought unamused.

The clown pirate released his hold on the girl and recalled his hand to his body. He clenched his hand repeatedly to ensure it had connected properly, but even if it didn't, it was an easy fix for him. His scowl turned up into what could be labeled as an angry smile, "Well, let that be your warning. I do not take kindly to insults so do watch your tongue."

Bella fixed her shirt properly once again and went back to her water watching, "Noted, but I won't be as foolish as anyone else as to openly insult you. That's simply a death wish in the making."

"Smart girl," he responded, pleased with her answer. "You have been taught well."

"So I've been told," she said glancing sideways at her father. "I just know not to make comments at the obviously touchy subjects about a person…unlike most people." Her eyes darkened as her mind wandered back to the tragic events that unfolded in her short life. A low growl escaped her lips as her eyes flashed into that of her feline form's, "They always want to point out the obvious as if we don't know anything. They think that it's fine to disregard our feelings." Her anger vanished as quickly as it came and smiled deviously as she stared into the serene waters underneath the ship, "But they learn after the mistake is made. They never know what is coming to them until it's too late. Every time…I made sure my feelings had been returned."

"That's how it's supposed to go," Buggy commented with a grin.

"Right, but I've changed greatly from then," she stated plainly. "I used to be a very unforgiving person when I was younger and had little control over my powers and even after actually. Most people wanted me dead or simply out of sight just because of what I was. We could never sit in one place for too long because they somehow found out about my Devil Fruit powers, so it was hard on the both of us. Although just before we'd depart the town, I'd repay every last person for their…hospitality. Now though, I simply channel my anger in a more constructive manner and as I said before, I will use my abilities to help you achieve your dream."

"Oh, and what of your own?" he inquired, now curious of the girl's desires.

The teenager merely remained quiet for a few moments before answer, "I don't necessarily have one right now, but I'd figure that's like anyone else on this crew. Your dream is their dream. If there is anything I wish to accomplish, it will happen along the way. As far as I can see it, I am here just to help you obtain the One Piece."

"Don't even mention that to me!" Buggy erupted angrily. He smashed his hand into the railing as he growled in anger, "My chance at getting the One Piece was lost years ago because of that flashy bastard Shanks! If it wasn't for that damn red-haired man, I wouldn't have my Devil Fruit powers and lost my ability to swim!"

"You're blaming others for your misfortune," the teenager stated in a matter of fact tone. "While he may be the reason behind it, you shouldn't be holding a grudge against him. In fact you should be thanking him in a sense. You can do things no other can, even other users like myself or the next person. In my case, I only had myself to blame but I eventually got over it. My mother trained me on how to fight and to control myself with the best of her abilities. It was the hardest task I ever had to endure but I'm grateful that she pushed me to give it my all. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be on a much darker path than I am now."

"That's quite the flashy statement you have there," the blue haired man stated. "And I may even take your words into consideration… but only after giving that flashy bastard a piece of my mind!"

"I can tell that grudge he holds for this Shanks guy is held deep within him," she mused to herself. "It would be funny if he forgot about the whole incident even happening. I'm sure that would tick him off."

"You won't dare lay a finger on Richie!" Mohji muffled voice yelled.

"I told you to keep that stupid lion away from me!" Cabaji retorted angrily. "And since you don't listen, I'll just use him as an example!"

The three burst through another set of doors: first Richie, then Cabaji on his unicycle and swords, and followed up by Mohji with his whip.

Bella sighed to herself in response to eruptions of anger from the other side of the ship, "Only here for a few days and those two are already driving me crazy."

The two merely paid no mind to the trio as they ran through the ship. It was nearly an everyday thing where Cabaji and Mohji were arguing about a topic no matter how trivial it may be. They were rivals locked in combat, usually to determine who would remain as Buggy's first mate, even though it was his decision to choose. However, the father and daughter failed to pay attention to the fact that the lion was running straight for them and he was not slowing down as he failed to focus on the obstacles ahead of him, more concerned about the swords in the acrobat's hands.

Richie turned his gaze towards the front in just enough time to come to a halt. However, he still came into contact with the teenager, sending her overboard into the water. Cabaji, Mohji, Richie, and Buggy as well, all gaped as they watched the maiden fall in the water with a loud splash. After a moment of silence, Buggy's pupils dilated as neither of the two even bothered to move a muscle. A tick mark appeared on the back of his head and glared at his top nakama, "Stand there one more second and die." His voice was disturbingly calm despite what his facial expressions displayed, but they knew he was extremely pissed off. "GO AFTER HER YOU FLASHY IDIOTS!"

"Yes Captain Buggy!" they responded in unison.

Meanwhile, Bella helplessly sunk to the bottom of the sea. She was unable to move a single muscle due to the consequences of her Devil Fruit abilities. She could only hold her breathe and watch as the sun slowly but surely vanish from her sight. "Is this the end of me? There's so much more I still need to accomplish. I can't just die like this!"

She could feel her oxygen in her lungs begin to deplete to practically nothing. Her eyes soon closed, failing to notice the two silhouettes swimming directly towards her.

The first and second mates swam as fast as they could to catch up to the daughter of their captain, but as they did so, the two of them constantly pushed each other out of the way. They figured whoever could save her first, they would remain in the good spirits of their captain and in Cabaji's case he would gain the title of first mate.

"You can't beat me Mohji," the ever so cool acrobat grunted. "I will be the one to bring her back to the captain."

"You can try all you want, but I won't let you!" the beast tamer retorted.

As they reached closer to Bella, they outstretched their arms in order to grab a hold of her legs. Each time they swung a hand, she inched away from their range. Finally, they wrapped a hand around each of her ankles and used the chance to pull her in close and swim towards the surface. She opened her eyes for just a moment, feeling the set of hands on her body and closed them again. In a matter of moments, they breached the surface of the water and looked to the ship with expectant eyes.

"Captain Buggy! We've found her!" Mohji yelled.

The blue haired captain looked over the edge of the ship, spotting his nakama with his daughter in tow, "Well, it's about time. Chop-Chop Cannon!" The man's hands detached from his body yet again and flew towards the trio, though they only grabbed the unconscious teenager and pulled her back to the ship. Her entire body was soaking wet though her hair would be the biggest issue for her to deal with once she awakened again.

"Captain! What about us?!" Mohji yelled in terror. "You can't just leave us here!"

"I should considering your flashy argument nearly killed our newest member," the man with an annoyed tick mark. His hands levitated towards the two men and firmly grabbed onto their shirts just before pulling them upwards to the ship once more. He dropped the two roughly on the deck without as much as a warning. "You're lucky you two have been a great service to me."

"It won't happen again!" the two responded simultaneously. They glared at one another with sparks connecting to each other's eyes.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," he said with a grin. "Isn't that right, Bella?"

A sudden chill ran down their spines as they felt a killer intent directed towards them. A large sweat drop clung to the back of their heads as they reluctantly turned around to meet the fierce gaze of the hazel eyed teenager. Her bangs shadowed her eyes, allowing only a gleam to twinkle through the strands.

The acrobat put on a brave face, unbothered by her fearsome expression, "I am not afraid of some girl. She is years away from even coming close to me in battle."

Mohji chuckled to himself as he was amused by the whole situation but the sweat drop clinging to his head said otherwise, "Oh please, there's nothing you could possibly do to scare us."

Without a word, Bella grinned deviously in response. Using one hand, she grabbed onto the acrobat's wrist and with the other, gripped onto the beast tamer's forearm. She applied a great amount of pressure that caused them to kneel on the ground, yelling in pain.

"W-What the hell are you doing?!" Mohji cried out angrily. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"I could…but where would be the fun in that?" she asked darkly. "I just have a little surprise for you two...and that stupid lion as well."

Suddenly, Bella picked up the two men from the floor with little effort and threw them overboard. They dropped in with two loud splashes, but they quickly breached the surface in a matter of seconds. However, the relief was short lived as Richie's large form was falling directly over them.

"RICHIE!" Mohji panicked as he extended his arms in the air. "I've got you!"

Just like the two before him, the lion fell into the shark and beast infested water along with his owner and the rival. Bella merely watched in amusement as they desperately tried to return to the safety of The Big Top without the aid of their captain. She looked back to her father with a happy grin on her lips as if nothing had ever happened, "So, now where were we?"


A/N: And that is the end of this little chapter. I wish I could've made it longer, but right now, I'm still trying to get used to writing stories for One Piece, so it may take a little while for me to give the full effect of the story telling. Anyway, I am glad you guys were so patient with the next installment and I will try my best to get another chapter out to you guys as soon as possible. Please be sure to send in a review telling me of your thoughts about what you liked or didn't like and what I could do to improve on it. So, until we meet again!

Ruby Dynasty

P.S.: I would really appreciate it if you guys leave some feedback. I really want to know what you all think because I can't improve if you guys are quiet as mice.