Okay, for another 'about time' update, here is the latest A-Z one-shot! I'm not going to lie to you guys: these one has been trouble. The central word, for the most part, hasn't changed...but this story has been written and re-written so many times, I'm just glad it's in a somewhat finished state...so, since I've completely lost patience with it now (or ,for one more I-word, I'm simply 'Impatient', here's something resembling a finished one-shot that I hope you all enjoy. I know it's been a while and I know I've got a ton of stories milling around, which is really my own fault. All I can say to you guys though is that as well as finding time to write this stuff, I'm trying to work on my own novel aspirations and such, so these updates are still going to be pretty damn sparce. I just hope you guys enjoy whatever I come out with and remember what is becoming my new cardinal rule for everything: it'll be done when it's done!

Without further ado, I hope you all enjoy I.


I is for Independence

Chika had hoped to get some sleep tonight. After a busy day of playing and learning navigation with Mummy, she was hoping for a brief period of rest to close out her busy work.

That was before the shouting started.

It wasn't the usual kind of shouting.

Mummy wasn't yelling at Daddy. She could tell from the lack of her father's laughter or his reassuring whispers that left Mummy happy. So happy, Chika remembered, that she would bring Daddy upstairs and then they'd play bouncing on the bed. Chika always wanted to play too but Mummy and Daddy locked the door.

Instead, the sounds that emerged from downstairs came in the form of an angry gravelly voice.

"Come on, can't you at least consider it?"

"Absolutely not!" Mummy yelled from below. "Daichi, you're only thirteen years old!"

"I won't be going alone. I'll have Kuina, Aesop and Olvia with me."

"If you think Robin and Zoro are going to let their little girls out onto the vast ocean before their seventeen birthdays, let me correct that thought right now young man."

"We're not going anywhere too dangerous Mum, we're just going to practice sailing around the East Blue. Nothing major is going to-"

"Nothing major? Need I remind you exactly what your father and I got up to when we- Luffy, stop smiling- when we started out adventuring?"

"Oh yeah, clowns and cat people. I'm quaking in my sandals."

"And Fish-men! Did you forget the Fish-men pirates?" Chika certainly hadn't. Mummy's stories of the fish-men were what kept her up at night. Some were okay, like Uncle Jimbei and Hatchan. The tales of Arlong and his monstrous crew were what horrified her to no end. She shivered as she refocused on the conversation downstairs. Daichi, by comparison, scoffed at the notion of fish-men.

"And I'm the son of the Pirate King and my girlfriend is the daughter of the world's greatest swordsman. I think we'll be fine."

"You're still children!" Chika heard numerous murmurs from her brother attempting to find the right words to say. Mummy must have been giving him a glare, daring him to attempt to dispute this fact. Eventually, her brother conceded defeat and pursued victory from another angle.

"I'm not talking about the Grand Line mum, I'm not talking about leaving for good. I'm talking about testing the waters around the East Blue, that's all."

"You say that if it's such a simple thing. Daichi, it's dangerous out there on the sea."

"But less dangerous on the East Blue," Daichi countered. "And if I'm going to go out sailing, don't you want me to have some experience on the matter first so I don't automatically get skewered by the bigger dangers out there? And wouldn't the safest place I could sail as a proving ground be the East Blue?" Chika could hardly imagine her mother speechless but for once, her mummy seemed to be at her wit's end.

"I…I said no! Luffy, tell him."

Daddy had said nothing the whole time. Chika believed it was the smartest thing her Daddy could have done.

Every time Daddy usually talked and tried to argue, Mummy usually won. Granted, that was because most of the time Mummy was right but they had fought so frequently that Daddy had learned to pick his battles. Fighting against warlords of the sea, pirate emperors and the admirals of the marines, all of it was child's play.

Fighting with Mummy was on a whole other level.

Strangely, when Daddy did speak again, his voice seemed to lack any of his trademark enthusiasm.

"There's no point."

"Luffy, don't just say that. Come on, tell him."

"Nami, he's already made up his mind, you can see it on his face," Daddy announced. Chika tried to lean over from her perch on the stairs, trying to see what face her Daddy was referring too. Sadly, all she saw framed in the hallway was Daichi's black hair. A single sigh escaped through the silence.

"He has, hasn't he?" Mummy stepped into sight of the doorway. She was frowning. "You know, I'm not happy about this."

"You're never happy about anything though," Daichi countered. Chika stifled a laugh. Mummy simply shook her head. The look on her face told Chika her brother would pay for that comment later. As for right now...

"You're serious about this?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll talk to Franky tomorrow. Get a ship commissioned. If my stupid little boy is going out sailing on the big open sea, I at least want him to be well prepared." Daichi's body seemed to relax.

"Really?" Mummy nodded.

"I'm not like your father. I don't make dumb jokes."

"Love you too Nami," Daddy called, rolling his eyes as he stepped in to huge her from behind. Mummy smiled.

The smile confused Chika for a moment. She had thought smiles meant you were happy. Even though she was smiling, Mummy didn't look too happy. She looked sad. Well, not sad perhaps. More…oh, she didn't quite know the word for it.

Chika pouted, making a small note to read more in the future.

Daichi, on the other hand, was filled with joy. He had started jumping in place, celebrating his victory with the widest grin on his face. Her brother's happiness was reassuring.

The world was pretty big and scary though. Chika tightened the grip on her teddy bear.

Daichi would be going sailing. Even if he was only testing the waters, the thought of being without her brother for a while made her want to go cuddle up under the covers of her bed.

As Chika dashed off to bed, the hopeful thoughts of Daichi leaving being a dream became more and more common until she had finally reached her bed. She grabbed the covers, wrapped them around her and squeezed both the covers and her bear tight. Her loyal companion, Beary, remained steadfast in both his adorable gaze and comforting feel. Chika nuzzled into her pillow until the ache had subsided. Daichi was big and strong. He was going to be fine. She was going to be okay too. She had Daddy and Mummy and Haru to look after her. Everything was going to be…

Haru.

Chika blinked. She hadn't heard anything from her brother when she had walked into their room. Usually, she could hear his low yawn-like rumblings even from the other edge of the landing. Currently, however, the room was silent of any such noise. Curious, Chika poked her head out from her bundle of colours and looked over to her brother's bed.

"Haru," she whispered. No reply. She frowned. He was ignoring her again. "Haru!" she repeated. Nothing. Irritation won out in the end and Chika rolled out of her nice warm bed to poke her brother's bundle. "Haru! Haru! Ha-" As she abandoned her method of subtle poking for a simple kick to the duvet, Chika found herself off-balance as the kick travelled straight into the mush of a quilt. Chika's eyes widened. She sprung forwards, throwing the covers from the bed. Her worst fears confirmed themselves. Haru was gone.

"DADDY! MUMMY!"


I is for Ignorance

Haru sneezed.

It was cold.

Really cold.

It was raining too, heavily at that.

Haru growled, stamping a foot in a puddle. He'd chosen one hell of a night to run away from home. He should have ran away during the day, clearly. At least then he'd be able to see where he was going. As it was, he was cold, wet AND lost. A very un-useful combination. At the very least, he'd managed to find his way to the sea.

That was the easy part.

The difficult part was finding the docks. Docks were where ships slept, so it was a simple matter of deduction for Haru of where he was going to go. He had to find the docks. From there, he was gonna sneak onto a ship. And from then, his life of adventure would begin.

Haru was grinning just at the thought.

So much for Daichi beating him to the punch.

He was going to sail the sea before anyone else!

The first of a new generation. They'd speak of him for centuries: Monkey D. Haru, The First Supernova! It was enough to make him jump for joy. The spring in his step was remarkably evident as he went, mostly because he kept slipping on the wet and muddy ground every time he landed.

Haru was pretty confident about his coming life on the sea. He had already packed the essentials: cookies, slingshot and his favourite Yo-Yo. Yeah. With equipment like that and his already amazing strength and will, he was bound to rule the East Blue in no time.

Eventually, Haru found his way to Cocoyashi's port. The streets were deserted. Clearly only insane people would have been out in this weather. Haru chuckled. And he was the most insane of them all. That had to be something in his favour.

Haru hopped into town, hauling his tiny bag and chuckling at the notion of his impending escape from home.

No-one at home probably knew he had disappeared yet. They were all too busy talking downstairs with Daichi. Haru scowled. Daichi. Daddy's little boy. He was going to show them. They'd all see. He was going to be future king of the pirates, not Dai. He'd blaze a trail of greatness through the world and no-one would stop it. No-one could stop him! Just the thought of how proud his father would be made him just smile wider.

He was so close now. The boats were mere inches away. He didn't know about ships but he'd probably choose the one with the most bad-ass sail. That sounded like a good idea. Then he'd be free. Haru stalked along the docks, examining each ship in turn. With each step, he felt he was getting closer. He could smell the salt in the air, the scent of freedom.

So close.

Nothing could stop him now.

Of course, timing had never been Haru's strong point.

"Bad night for a walk on your own." Haru froze. He whirled around, holding his fist out at the person who had spoken. A pair of azure eyes stared down at his small balled hand. Amusement flickered within them. "Oh dear, I'm so terrified," Olvia announced in a mono-tone voice. Haru quickly recovered from his surprise and relaxing, his hand slumping down to his side.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you, isn't it obvious?" Haru was left staring at her, confusion evident on his face.

"What?"

"Chika saw you were out of bed so your parents spread out the word. We're all out looking for you."

"We?" Haru wondered aloud, dipping his head to look at the floor. His plan was suddenly starting to fall apart.

"Your mum, your dad, Daichi, Kuina, my dad, my mum, uncle Sanji, everyone. We're all out here in this weather looking for you," Olvia replied, crouching down to look Haru in the eye. Even as she lost height, Haru couldn't shake the feeling that Olvia was still looking down on him. He matched her caring look with a glare. Olvia remained un-phased. "You had everyone worried."

"They don't need to be. I'm fine," Haru replied, turning away from the conversation. He didn't get far before Olvia grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Why are you out like this anyway? You should be back home in bed."

"I'm fine, let go of me," Haru argued, tugging on his arm. Olvia's grip held firm.

"You didn't answer my question. Why did you sneak out?"

"I'm leaving okay!" Haru finally snapped. "I'm going to get on a boat and I'm going to start my adventures out there." Olvia seemed oddly passive to the statement. Almost as if she hadn't heard it at all. That only served to irritate Haru even more though.

"Come on, let's get you back home."

"No, I'm going out to sea!" Haru spat back. Olvia frowned.

"Haru, we're all worried about you and you're too young to be worrying about this. Let's get you back home and…"

"You don't get it Olvia!" Haru argued, slamming his foot into the floor, as if this would somehow make himself understood. "All I've ever wanted to be is a pirate. I'm fed up of waiting, I'm going out there!" Olvia's grip on his wrist tightened and she pulled him roughly forwards.

"No, we're taking you back home right now. You're too young to be thinking of this, too young to want to go off on your own."

"I'm the prince of the pirates!"

"You're also six years old. You're coming home." As the argument continued, Haru felt himself growing more and more frustrated. Reasoning with Olvia was impossible and so far, she had yet to release his arm from her hold. The anger finally bubbled to the surface, rippling the atmosphere in an explosion of rage.

"You're saying that but you've got what you want. You're free to just go out there right now and sail the seas, become a true pirate. That's what I want. All I want is the same as you want: to be a pirate!"

"Well, maybe I don't want to be a pirate! Did you ever think that?"

Haru blinked. Olvia looked just as confused at the words she had just said as he had. Silence swarmed them, drifting between the raindrops.

Haru was sure he heard Olvia sigh and concluded that, for once, they were thinking on the same wavelength.

It was going to be one long night.


I is for Individuality

The conversation had stopped dead after that.

Haru had at least seemed more willing to heed what she had been saying and relented to her pulling him out of the rain and into a sheltered porch. They were currently sat in the archway, facing each other in silence as the rain pelted down outside.

Olvia watched the rain, painfully aware of Haru's own eyes watching her. He wanted to say something. She had glimpsed it on his lips. Maybe his own tiredness had caught up with him or perhaps the boy had finally seen sense because ever since she had levelled him with a fierce glare, Haru hadn't said a word on the matter. Olvia bit her lip.

It didn't matter now.

Haru knew what her thoughts were on his expected career. Her expected career too. There had never been any doubt up to this point from her father that his little girls would rock the world exactly as he did: becoming pirates and sailors on the high sea. It wasn't a fate that Olvia wanted proscribed to her and now, she had made that known.

The six year-old brother of her sister's boyfriend knew one of the biggest decisions of her life before she had even worked up the courage to tell her parents.

She hadn't meant to tell anyone yet, especially only a little kid like Haru. She had tried not to worry about it, tried to downplay it's importance.

After all, she only had one relative recent simple goal on her mind that night: find Haru and bring him back home safe and sound.

It was a decision she and her family had made the instant Nami had arrived at their house, crying her eyes out and explaining to her mother that Haru was missing. Father, Kuina and her had almost broken down the door in their desperate attempt to sprint into the night at the same time. The thought of them climbing over each other for a chance to get through the door would usually have made her laugh.

Currently, Olvia didn't feel like laughing though. She had tried to keep her cool (tried being the key word).

In the end, however, her worry for Haru's safety and her own irritation at his reason for sneaking out that night had left her shaken. All that frustration had grown and leaked out and now, now she had said the exact fear that had been on her mind for weeks. The suddenness of it all left her breathless.

And, to top it all off, Haru was staring at her like a child does a teacher, demanding to know more. He wanted to know what she had meant. Perhaps it was going to affect his own decision. His plan to run away had definitely stopped in his tracks but whilst she had his attention, Olvia was determined to steer Haru away from the idea of running away again. The only problem was she had no idea what exactly to say about it.

She turned to Haru, still staring at her intently, curious. He took this as a signal to speak. Olvia wished he hadn't.

"You…you don't want to…" he started. Olvia shook her head.

"Be a pirate? No, no I don't." Haru considered this possibility for a brief moment. The look on his face made it painfully aware that he had no idea that such an option as 'not being a pirate' existed in life. He sniffled in the cold, his nose twitching before he turned to her again.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to," Olvia replied simply, turning back to look at the rain. She didn't like this. She wasn't in the mood for a big life-speech lesson. That was more Kuina's territory. She preferred to be a quiet supporter and though Daichi, Aesop and Kuina marked her as the mother of the group, it was a role she accepted bitterly. If she had her way, moments like this would be avoided all together. Especially if they occurred with six year olds who, Olvia had to admit, she had never talked to more than a simple exchange, let alone a big meaningful talk about life. "Why do you want to be a pirate?" Haru smirked.

"Because I want to." Olvia smiled back. Cheeky bastard.

"No, I mean really," she continued. "Why do you wanna be a pirate?"

"Why not?" Haru replied in a manner that reminded Olvia of his father. She shook her green haired head at the response.

"Well, you know what typical pirates are like, right? They steal, maim and kill anyone who crosses their path."

"Or they go on sweet awesome adventures. That's what our daddy's and mummy's did," Haru suggested. Olvia nodded. Yeah, that was true. Only…

"What if I don't want to though?" Again, this question confused the poor boy to no end and he squinted at Olvia as if she was a complete stranger.

"You…don't want to have an adventure?"

"Not so much that," Olvia replied, searching for the exact thing she wanted to say. "I'm just not sure I like the lifestyle: moving around and all that." Again, Haru looked confused but Olvia decided to keep going. If he wasn't going to understand her, then she could at least vent to someone. "I mean…it's almost as if that's what's expected of us, right? The children of the king of the pirates and the world's greatest swordsman, clearly we're gonna be pirate kings and swordswomen too."

Haru nodded, seeing no problem with this assessment.

"Sounds cool."

"But is that what we want to do or is it what we feel we have to do? Like, are we just doing to escape our parent's shadows or are we doing it because it's genuinely what we want to do?" Finally, the idea seemed to click with Haru. He gave a slow nod, massaging his orange hair.

"Like…as in Daichi tells you that you should climb a tree and you do it because if you don't he'll call you a wimp rather than you actually wanting to do it."

"Yeah, that. Exactly that," Olvia replied, surprisingly excited by the concept of someone finally understanding her plight. "I'm fed up of living in my parents' shadow. I don't want to be a historian or a swordswoman, I want to be…" Olvia's voice faded after that and she went back to looking outside. "Well…I don't quite know that far ahead…I suppose my point is you shouldn't obsess over your future. At least, not this early. There's a time and a place for everything and…"

She turned to Haru again. He barely seemed to be following whatever she had been saying but she could tell he was trying to. His stubbornness had faded away into a general curiosity.

"Well…all I'm saying is that you shouldn't try and rush things. I mean, look at me: I'm a lot older than you and I barely know what I want to do with my life. If you want to be a pirate, that's great. I just don't think you should try and rush it." Haru was silent in reply. He stared straight at the floor, letting all of Oliva's words wash over him. It was the most pensive she'd ever seen the boy.

"So…" Haru finally said, the lone word testing the air.

"You're free to do what you want," Olvia commented when the silence became too much. "I'm just saying…just don't rush through your childhood. It's something that you need to keep hold of. Everything that's happening now is moulding you into the man that you're going to be."

Olvia paused for a moment, once again remembering the boy sitting in front of her. Yeah, he was a boy. He still had growing up to go through everything she was talking about. Besides, this was more a talk to herself then him. Olvia feared that she was being a bit too much.

"What I'm saying is don't lose sight of your dreams…but don't focus on them too much either." She reached forwards, planting her hand on Haru's head and ruffling his hair. "You'll still a kid. Savour your time a bit more and don't just jump into your future so recklessly, okay?" Haru nodded, though on the whole he still looked uncertain.

"So, what you're saying…is…"

"Yeah?" Olvia encouraged him with a smile and a nod.

"That…"

"Yeah?"

"I need to start training! To be ready for whatever goes on when I am old enough to leave!"

Olvia sighed.

It was probably the closest that Haru was going to get to realising what she was saying.

It was a start at least and she was willing to accept that.

"So…" Olvia stirred, standing up and offering Haru her hand "you ready to go home little man?" Haru chuckled at the question but never the less, grabbed Olvia's hand.

"Sure thing Liv…and thanks." Olvia smiled, pulling the boy up to full height.

"What for?" she asked.

"Well, for the advice," Haru replied with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I mean…it's made me…" He paused, biting his lip. "The…the thing…with…the pictures…in my head…" Olvia squinted.

"Think?"

"Yeah, that's the one!" Haru clapped his hands and burst out into a grin. "You've got my thinking…and I guess you're right." Haru took a big step forwards, splashing into a puddle. Olvia followed him with a raised eyebrow.

"You understood all of that?" she asked. Haru scowled at her clear level of surprise.

"Well, duh! I'm little, I'm not stupid!" he shouted before descending into a pout. Olvia couldn't help but laugh at the look on his wet face.

"Sorry Haru but as of a few moments ago, you've not given me much evidence to the contrary."

"What?"

"Exactly," Olvia concluded with a smile. "So, what's in store for the pirate prince now then? Changed your mind?"

"A bit," the young boy revealed, looking up to the black sky. "I mean, I still want to do the adventures and stuff…but you're right. Maybe pirate's not the right idea. Maybe I should try something else…but then again, like you said, I guess I've got a while to work that out…"

Almost absent-mindedly, Haru swung his arm backwards and grabbed hold of Olvia's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Olvia smiled.

"Yeah, yeah you do. Don't worry kiddo." She squeezed back. Haru smirked. The two started walking away from the port, hand in hand. As they went, Haru couldn't help but turn to Olvia and ask the question that had been wandering inside his head ever since Oliva had first made her declaration.

"So…if you don't want to be a pirate, why did you say you'd join Daichi's pirate crew anyway?" Olvia considered the question briefly before replying.

"Well…I just thought that if I had no idea what I wanted to be…I might as well go wandering through life blindly with people I really want to be with, right?"

Haru seemed pleased with the reason and the two continued their walk in silence, the dark clouds above finally breaking away the rain and revealing a single slit of moon-light, illuminating the road back home.


Until next time, I've been MikeTurner1 (still not used to that name change there) and I hope you all enjoyed this Chika, Haru and Olvia focused segment of A-Z. Hopefully, the next one shouldn't be as long to update as this one (mostly because I've already got the word and plot all figured out...but we'll see).

Please review. Positive criticism is welcome.