DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

I've also been very sad. Read the AN at the end to know why.

Chapter Four

"Well, it was nice knowing you, Devil."

Hazel stood on the ramp connected to her ship, crossing her ankles and cocking her hip to the side with a smile. I nodded in agreement, looking towards the rest of the island. A large bustling area, most likely a town of some sort, rested beyond the rocky area that they dropped me off at. The sounds of music and voices drifted even this far out, and the only indication of how close it was to me was the soft glow that the light emitted over the rocks. I didn't know where we were, and I would have to find out on my own when I made the trek to this lively area.

Alvin stepped forward and brought my attention to him when he obnoxiously cleared his throat, smiling in faux sweetness. "If you ever need to let that pent up frustration out again, you can give me a call. I won't mind."

"Shut up." I growled, fighting the blush spreading over my cheeks and turning to Hazel, facing her directly and bowing at the waist. "Thank you for all your help." I had to have manners and be polite to the person who decided to help me, even if it was for her own gain.

She laughed and I straightened up with a smile of my own. "I should be thanking you, Devil. By morning everyone will know you're back in action, and I'll be seen as more of a threat." Her grin spread slowly over her face as she spoke, her eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight while she looked past me towards the city lights. "Hopefully that Metal Bastard will see my face in the paper and it will bring him to me. Then I can finish what I started."

This seems like it had been an interesting fight and I wish she would go into more detail. Maybe, if I ever see Kidd again, he can tell me what happened?

"We gotta go now." Ida spoke softly from Hazel's other side, looking warily up at the moon. "It's a waste of time to stay. Time that we can't waist if you want to keep on schedule."

Hazel sighed and frowned. "Fine, fine. Devil, we'll meet again someday!" And with that she turned on her heel, hook digging into the back of Alvin's shirt to drag him away, for he was so busy winking at me that he wasn't paying attention. "Good luck with life, Mara. Hopefully things will look up for you!"

The large ship sailed off while the ramp was being dragged up from the sand, leaving me alone on this rocky excuse for a beach. The waves lapped dangerously high as the Raze Pirate's ship pushed off from the shore, the only person sitting against the railing and watching me being Ida, with a small smirk on her face. I didn't get why they were acting so odd now, and I could only assume that it was because they did know what this island was, and they knew that something bad would happen here.

I shook off this bad feeling and turned my back to this ship, staying acutely aware of my surroundings and keeping my hand on the holt of the sword that Hazel allowed me to take for safety reasons. I had rolled my eyes at the forceful way she had thrust the blade into my hands, but was deep down very grateful, for I would need something to fight with if things started to go bad here.

Walking over these rocks was hard. I would think that it had to do with the moon offering the only light that I could go off of, and I would stick to that story if someone found me wedged in between these rocks because I had fallen. The night factor would take the blame, not my clumsiness. Nonetheless, I slipped and slid all over the wet rocks, only catching myself with my hands braced against various areas every time I fell, my heart skipping beats and small squeals leaving my mouth involuntarily. Thankfully, no one was around to hear these embarrassing noises and see these embarrassing falls.

Making it over the rocks after a painstaking twenty minutes, I slid down onto my butt and pulled the sword from my hip, drawing my knees up and resting an elbow on them, leaning my head down and resting. I opened my eyes after a moment and looked to my left, shouting out when I noticed a path that obviously lead to where I had just come from. How did I not notice that?

Blame the darkness, Mara. Not your idiocy.

I closed my eyes once more and took a deep breath. After so long, I was able to relax. After almost two years, I was alone without any immediate danger to my life. There was no one looming over me with the threat of punishment for acting out. There was no pirate crew that I didn't know standing nearby, whispering about who-knows-what and looking like they would gladly kill me without a second thought. My shoulders sagged in relief and a choke laugh found it's way out of my throat. The feeling of complete relaxation was too much for a moment. I hadn't felt it in so long that it brought me physical as well as emotional pain. My entire body relaxed from the tenseness that had become the norm, bringing another choked laugh forward, which, towards the end, turned into a sob.

My hands gripped the hilt of the sword harder as the drawn out sob came to an end. I sucked in a shuddering breath, only to cry out once more, tears now welling up at the edge of my eyes. Pressing my forehead to my knees, I choked on my tears, the saltiness falling through my lips. I must have sounded pretty stupid at that moment if anyone heard me, crying all alone against some rocks. In all honesty, I must have looked downright suicidal, holding the sword as hard as I was and sounding as broken and sad as I did.

But who cares what other think, right? I was finally alone and free. I could do what I wanted with my alone time, and while I wasn't planning on spending it crying over the past two years, It seems that was how it was going to go, and no one could judge me for that. No one else was there, so no one else had the right to tell me to suck it up. It's been a while since I cried last, and I needed to get it out now before I headed into this unknown territory.

So I sat there against that wet rock, wearing clothes that clearly weren't mine, clutching a sword that I guess was mine now, crying over the past two years for the first and last time. There was no way to say how long I sat there against that rock, rocking back and forth and being as loud as I wanted. All I knew was that when I finally stopped and wiped my face against the sleeve of the borrowed long sleeve shirt, the moon was considerably lower to the horizon, and on the other side, the glow of the sun was coming up. Clearly it had been hours since I arrived to this island.

Standing up with one last sniffle, I brushed the dirt off of me, hooked the sword back onto my hip, and began walking to where the music and voices hadn't died down all night. What the hell kind of town am I walking towards? Who stays up and parties all night?

In any case, the walk wasn't as long as I had thought it would be. Before I knew it, I was coming from the mouth of an alley into a very beautiful and colorful town as the sun rose above the buildings. Or was this considered a city? The people were very beautiful everywhere I looked, women wearing beautiful dresses and men dressed nicely, many of them walking arm in arm, looking like picturesque couples. Children hung from the arms of their parents, excitedly babbling about whatever they could be happy about this early in the morning. The buildings were gorgeous pieces of architecture, and if I hadn't been so distracted, I would have studied them closer and appreciated the beauty.

And what was so distracting? Well…

Mixed in with the men, women, and children walking around the town, there was a fourth...species walking around. Gender? Okay, there were walking and talking freaking toys moving around on their own and seeming to be a part of everyday life. Like, some of them were arm in arm with humans, as if they were couples.

Calm down, Mara. You can't judge people. You're in the New World now, remember? You're going to have to get used to strange things like this.

Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes for a moment, I calmed down. Re-opening my eyes, I smiled and began to trick myself into thinking this was normal. Toys walking and talking like humans? Yeah, that's normal. Who wouldn't think that was normal? I mean, it's just as normal as coming across another species like...a Fish Man or a giant. Yup. Toys are no different than Fish Men or giants!

Except they are completely different.

"Shut up..." I growled out, turning on my heel to head down the street, ignoring the appalled look of a passing man who must have thought I was talking to him, though from the look on his face, he must not have been making any noise and was understandably confused by my small outburst. Great. I'm in this town for less than five minutes and already one person thinks I'm a nut bag.

Stretching my arms above my head, I gave a yawn. Keeping my hands behind my head, I looked around at the buildings. I would definitely need to find a place to stay, preferably for free since those Raze Pirates didn't think to give me any money to do anything. Of course they wouldn't, because they were pirates, but I couldn't help but feel a little bitter about it. It was rude. I was poor and on a strange island. They least they could have done was given me a small amount of money for food or some clothes to blend in more.

Oh my God what if someone recognizes me and there are Marines on this island and they come for me and-

Okay, one thing was for certain. I need new clothes. Preferably something that can hide who I am pretty well without seeming suspicious. It's not like I could give myself a fake beard because I was definitely a woman and that would draw attention to myself. Maybe something with a hood? I saw some women wearing hooded capes and things of the sort, so it wouldn't be too out of place. So if I could scrounge up some money and buy a dress and cape (and maybe some shoes), I would be set. Sleeping outside wasn't a problem. I could just go back to that rocky cape I was at before. And fishing shouldn't be too hard, right?

"Hey! Stop right there!"

I squealed and ran into the nearest alley, peeking out to see two men, looking like police, chasing a woman down the street, guns up and aimed to kill. The woman was strikingly beautiful from what I could see from my hiding place, her vermillion hair flowing behind her in one long, intricate braid, which instilled anger in me for all of a moment before a gunshot rang out and distracted me.

The woman gasped and gripped at her thigh, now bleeding through the fabric of her gorgeous flowing dress. I moved to do something, but the woman surprised me by turning to face her pursuers, pulling two small knives from some straps on her uninjured thigh, and throwing them with deadly accuracy, hitting both men square in the chest. I cringed at the thunk of the blades hitting their flesh, and then the crashing of their bodies against the street.

She turned and moved to run again, gripping her thigh as people behind her screamed and called for help to get rid of the murderer. I was conflicted for a moment. Should I help her, or should I just walk away? I was in town for less than fifteen minutes now, and I didn't really want to get mixed up in too much trouble. But…

As the sound of whistles being blown from not too far away reached my ears, my decision was made and I sprung into action, running to the woman and grabbing her around the waist, tucking her under my arm and heading back into the alley, running as fast as I could away from the approaching whistle sounds. She struggled against my hold and even slapped at my back a few times, grunting with exertion and kicking her feet, her heels hitting my shins a few times.

"I don't know who you think you are, but put me down this instant!"

I snorted and almost laughed at her annoyance. "I don't think so, lady."

She stiffened in my arms as I rounded one last corner, listening to our surroundings in the silence. There was no danger nearby, so I set her carefully on a crate in the alley we stopped in and put my hands on my hips, looking at her face clearly. She was even more beautiful than I had imagined. On top of her odd vermillion hair, she had odd eyes, a mixture of blues and golds, the likes of which I had never seen before on any human.

The only thing ruining her beauty was the furrowed brows and confused expression. "Y-You're a woman."

I gritted my teeth and slammed a fist onto her head. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" She clutched the bump and looked absolutely shocked that I even hit her in the first place. I then remembered the knives she pulled from her thigh straps and started to pat her down. "You better not be planning to kill me now, lady."

"What do you think you're doing? Get your hands off of me!" She squirmed and slapped at my hands, which pressed over every inch of her until I deemed that those knives she threw were the last of her weapons and I was safe. "You must not be from around here."

My eyes rolled of their own accord and I frowned, leaning against the wall opposite the crate she sat on. "Oh yeah? And what in the world gave you that impression, huh?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

I grinned and stepped towards her, sort of relishing in the small flinch she gave when I reached my hand out to grab the bottom of her dress. "A good samaritan." I pulled it up just enough to see the gunshot wound on her thigh. Thankfully it had gone through completely, and from how she didn't appear to be in too much pain, the bone hadn't shattered from it. I wasn't a medical expert, but this must be able to cause some muscles and/or nerve damage...I think. "We're gonna need to get you wrapped up."

"And you need new clothes. You look like a man." The urge to punch her again reared it's ugly head, but I fought it down, pulling her dress back down in the right place and moving to grab her around the waist again. She pushed my hands away and frowned. "Don't carry me."

We worked it out so she would limp her way along, arm wrapped around my shoulder while mine went around her waist, supporting her until we got to where we needed to be. "You do have a house, right?" She shot me another glare and I did my best to make a surrendering face. "Sorry sorry, I was just making sure. Lead the way...uh..."

"Londae." I hummed. It was a nice name. Not quite common. Matching her unique appearance. "And what might your name be?"

"Mara."

Damn! I was gonna tell her a fake name!

She hummed in response and looked at me from the corner of her eye. "Interesting. You have the same name and appearance...as..." The look on her face when it morphed from speculation to confusion to absolute horror would have been funny, if it had been different circumstances. "You're alive?"

"That seems to be everyone's response to the news."

Londae seemed uncomfortable now with my arm around her and tried to put as much distance between our touching sides as she could. "I have no intention of befriending a pirate such as yourself, Mara the Devil."

"Well that's good," I replied, following her lead as she turned another corner, choosing to ignore her fearful eyes as I looked and listened for the police. "I have no intentions of befriending a murderer and scaredy cat." Her cheeks puffed out and she screeched her innocence at me. "Alright alright, just shut up before you let them find us."

She did as I told, noting that my eyes darted from the open alleyway, to her face, and down to the sword on my hip, which she noticed for the first time with wide eyes. She lapsed into silence then, simply leading the way to her house with barely a glance in my direction. Her posture didn't warm up in the slightest and she still seemed to hate the fact that she was standing beside and relying on the help of a pirate, more specifically, me.

As a sort of awkward ice breaker, because her silence was really bothering me, I asked her what she was being chased for in the first place.

Londae averted her eyes towards a building and bit her lip. "Well...there was this man," She began after a moment, the hand resting on my shoulder tightening into a fist. "He was the love of my life. We were to be married." I nodded, urging her on when she fell silent, probably remembering what she was about to tell me. "Well, I found him in the dark of the night, walking down the street...he was walking with another woman." I widened my eyes at the sudden malice in her voice. "That bastard was cheating on me, so I only had one choice."

I gulped, now wanting to move away from her because of the murderous aura she was emitting. "And, uh, what was that choice, Londae?"

She frowned, looking down to the ground, her hand relaxing against my shoulder. "I had to stab him to death."

Oh my…

[A/N]: Alright guys, I've been crying almost nonstop for the past couple of days because on August 11, 2014, at the age of 63, Robin Williams passed away. Now, I know you guys probably don't think it's a reason for me to cry, because I never met the guy and didn't know him personally, but it was still a heavy blow. I wrote a post on Tumblr that describes my feelings pretty well on the matter:

"I believe the main reason his passing has hit me so hard is because, in my short 18 years of life, Robin Williams was one of the few constants that I had, and I hadn't fully realized that he would have to go away one day. I'm reacting as if I had lost a family member or a close friend because that's what Robin was to me.This man was there for me since I was a child. This man was the one that, when I was an infant and watching Jumanji for the first time, gave me my very first laugh.He was more than just "some actor" to me. He was my childhood, and now that he's gone, I feel as though that childhood is truly over now.

I'm taking this so hard because this is not the first time that I lost a constant before realizing that I would have to. The firsts were my great grandparents, then there was my best friend our freshman year, and now Robin. So yes, I will talk about it. I will probably talk about how much I already miss him tomorrow. I will talk about it next week. I will talk about it next year. Because Robin was like an Uncle that I never got the chance to meet, but heard and saw great things that he did, and his death is a heart break that I will never forget."

This is the reason for my sadness as of late.

And about this chapter, I hope you all liked it, and I'm sorry for the long Authors Notes recently, but a lot of things just keep happening. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, and I won't be as sad writing it.

Love you all and see you soon

XoXoXo