Akane gave a small hop before knocking the fruit out of her older sibling's hand. Using the soles of her feet, she stomped on the fruit. Instead of a pile of yellow mush that was expected, only grey mush was left on the floor when she finished. Both captain's stared at her with a look of bewilderment.
"These aren't real fruits. Not anymore. They are bad. Really really bad." Akane stated.
"Now that you mention it, something about these fruits look off. Looky here captain." Penguin explained. He had pointed out the odd swirling of the fruit to the lazy eyed captain.
Instead of perfectly made swirls, these fruits had an odd ring pattern.
"Oh? It seems that we have discovered a room full of artificial devil fruits." Law explained.
"A devil fruit is a devil fruit. Let's take them." Kid argued.
"No! They will kill you. I saw other people eat them. It would make objects powerful, but it doesn't help humans. It kills them." Akane pleaded.
Kid sighed before walking out to lean on a door frame. "Whatever."
"Out of curiosity, were the fruits in the glass jars in the hall given power?"
"Wait what jars?" Kid questioned.
"The one's that you've obviously ignored." Law stated.
Akane hesitated before answering the dark doctor.
"Yes."
"And what kind of powers did it give out?"
Again, she had waited. It was suppose to be a secret between the striped shirt doctor and her.
Law noticed the distress on her face and leaned down to get on the same level as the girl. He gave a small smile while giving a friendly pinch to her cheeks. His yellow eyes stared into her brown ones, reassuring her that it was okay.
"The ones in the hall are all time-time fruits. The castle has it spread out. It stops anything in the castle from aging." She explained.
"So that's why she looks so young." Law thought.
According to the physical he had administered, Akane was ten years old. Though her physique matched the one of a six year old. The insanity of the experiments she must have gone through was incomprehensible. Even he had some standards on experimentation. He scoffed at the thought.
"Red, I brought you here to show you bloodshed. To show you the power I have gained when I left our island. It's a shame that the only thing here are lowly maids for me to kill. From here on out, the bloodshed will get worse. Next time, I will rip the heads off of these so called nobles and put it in a jar for you to keep." Kid gave Akane his signature smile.
Using one arm, Kid swooped Akane off the floor. The force had caused her hat to shadow her eyes, which he easily fixed. He didn't like the way it looked on her. Her ruby red hair that he loved so much was covered by the disgusting furry hat. He had tried several times to throw out the hat, but it somehow always found it's way back onto her head. He had suspected a certain sand creature that was currently missing in action.
He happily patted her head as she gave him a small smile. She understood now. This was his way of showing her that he cared. Though it still didn't change the fact that he killed people. This was no different from what their father did. And she loved her father, so if this was to be expected from her also, she would endure.
Using her small hands, Akane wrapped her small arms around Kid's neck. The night had taken a toll on her and the instant contact had put her to sleep. Captain had taken the moment to pop out of Kid's coat pocket.
"Where the fuck did you come from!?"
The little sand creature ignored the confused captain and jumped up to make himself comfortable on Akane's shoulder. This had earned him a glare from the red haired captain.
"Che, rude manners will get you killed. Killer, let's go. Nothing important is left for us. Don't forget to tell Heat to burn down the building."
Killer gave his captain a nod before jumping out the closest window to get a head start.
"Hey! We're still here you know!" Penguin yelled out.
Kid had forgotten about the other crew.
"Keep your fucking voice down." Kid snapped. He had turned away from the Heart pirates while tucking the sleeping girl with his fur coat.
Before he could say anything else, the mechanic had a wrench thrown at his head.
"WHAT THE F-" Penguin muffled out.
His scream was muffled by the fur on Bepo's stomach. Law had made sure of that.
"I'm sorry!" Bepo apologized.
"It's not your fault!" The crew said in unison.
"I suggest that you refrain yourself from hitting a member from my crew Eustass." Law said.
"Oi, that was his fault for being so damn loud." Kid countered.
The bickering went on until both captains made their way to their respected ships.
Kid had waited for Killer and Heat on the gothic styled deck. He still held in girl close under his fur coat. From his ship, he could see the far away flames, lighting up the night sky.
"Mission complete Master Kid." Heat said as he climbed up the side latter.
"All valuables have been stored in the safe, Kid." Killer mentioned.
Kid gave a curt nod to his first mate before heading inside. Quickly, Kid made his way into his cabin. The dimly lit room calmed him considerably. The small rush that ran through his heart from the castle hunt wasn't enough. He wanted more. Finding the castle empty of nobles had disappointed him. The fake fruits Law had discovered disappointed him. Having no competition disappointed him. The only thing that hadn't disappointed him was the little bundle in his arms. She hadn't given into fear. She didn't cry like he expected her to. Then again, he expected a lot of things from the little red haired girl. Mostly good, with the occasional bad.
"Always keep your head held high, like a true Kid pirate." Kid said to himself. Those had been the last words their father had told him, before his father left for the New World.
Captain pushed the fur blanket from the bed, allowing Kid to gently place the little girl on the bed. The sand soldier quickly pulled the fur blanket back on the girl, only leaving a little pocket space for him to snuggle into.
Kid gave the small creature a grunt. He didn't know if it was out of thanks or annoyance, either way it was some sort of response.
Kid sighed softly as he stripped off his gear. His mind wandered back to the auctioning house. At the time, the small girl in the auctioning house was not waiting for his return. She was waiting to serve her new master. He cringe at the newly made fact.
She had also traveled with an unknown doctor for who knows how long. He would never forgive the doctor though. If there paths would ever cross, he would make sure to wring his neck.
Her connection to Fire Fist was the most intriguing. Having connections to the second commander would bring benefits. How she got recaptured was still a mystery to him. He would need to ask her later.
His thought was broken by the light snore coming from the bed. Akane shuffled under the blanket, kicking it in the process. The girl rolled around till she laid comfortably on her side. Her back now faced him. Even in the dark room, he could make out the brand on her back.
They hurt her.
And those who hurt a Kid, would pay dearly.
He smirked at the thought.
Akane had stared at the pathway in front of her. It was a simple dirt road surrounded by tall bamboo. The shade given off from the bamboo had nicely cooled her off. It would be nice to come here with her brother and the Doctor Law. Maybe Bepo would eat some of the bamboo.
She giggled at the thought.
The pathway in front of her was shorter than she expected. What waited at the end of it, was what surprised her. A small shabby shrine that was covered in moss stood proudly in front of her. The stone shrine had two animals on each of the ends. The tiger on the left held a cracked bowl out in front of it with its mouth closed tightly, while the dog on the right carried one in it's mouth. They both were cute in her opinion. Using the pads of her fingers, Akane gently pushed away the moss growing on the two stones. With both stones clean, she spotted the tiny letter etched into the bowls.
"Off-er-ing." She read out loud.
"You want me to give you something?" She asked.
No answer came back.
Looking around, she spotted mushrooms growing a couple of feet away. Quickly getting to her feet, she ran to the mushroom pile. It was a purple mushroom plant that had green swirls on top of it. It was the same mushroom from Law's book.
"Do not pick it. Dig under the roots." She remembered.
Using her nails, she dug under the roots.
"Thank you for the offering."
"Offering."
The voices had startled the girl from digging any further. Pivoting around, she stared at the two stone animals.
"We were waiting for you, child." The lion said.
"Child." The dog repeated.
"W-who are you?" The girl questioned.
The question went unanswered as the two circled around the girl.
"We were waiting. You are here now. And we are here to protect." The lion proclaimed.
"Protect!" The dog repeated again.
"I don't understand. I don't need protection." Akane responded.
"Not you, child." The lion said.
"Child!"
"Is this a dream?" Her own voice had started to echo the question.
"This is a dream, child. Now wake up." The lion replied.
The two circling animals had sped up around her. Both jumped in the opposite direction of one another. The jumps were beautiful yet playful and it reminded the girl of a dance that she learned from Ace. Lost in her own thought, Akane didn't notice the shift in direction of the stone dog until it was too late. The ground vibrated from the sudden impact from the two animals. Instead of a collision, the stone animals had morphed together. The newly morphed animal slammed into the girl.
"Wake up!" They both yelled out.
:D another chapter done! More is revealed about Akane! And we see some new development with Kid and Law.
Know who Akane was talking to? Because I sure do! It just has more to do with her mystery devil fruit~ Be sure to comment, review, leave whatever your heart desires~ I'm happy to answer your questions without spoiling. As you can see, my story drifted away from the canon storyline. Though I will write about Impel Down and so on in my own fashion. I'm even thinking of adding the Punk Hazard arc, but that's up to you guys!
Velonica14: Woah! I'm flattered that you've read it so many times!
Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Yes! There will be plenty of Akane spoiling from Law and company!
waterflygirl: I love her hat!~ And you can expect Ace to show up. Er well, you can expect Akane to show up at where Ace is at!
Man I am writing this at 4 in the morning, so I apologize for any errors. I shall fix if I find any!
