Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. It's because, one, I had writer's block, and, two, I'm planning a surprise relating to this fic. It'll be so surprising, Luffy will show up. That's all I will say about the surprise so you will be surprised when I unveil my surprise. (Which will be soon)

Disclaimer: One Piece is still the property of Oda-sensei. Please support the official release and this fanfic.


Ch. 51: "To Catch a Thief."

By breakfast time the next morning, Aria, Soren, and Maki-chan arrived back at the Hyperion.

"What happened to you three?" Yuki-Rin asked the three people who were kidnapped the night before.

"Some crazy-ass guy questioned us on something that went on in the East Blue. I refused to tell him anything about my bastard of a father, and I almost ended up with a Devil Fruit shoved into my mouth," Soren explained.

"Bro, why didn't you eat the fruit? You could've gotten an awesome power!" Heathcliffe asked Soren.

"Well, Maki-chan took it for me and now has X-ray vision," Soren explained.

"With this Devil Fruit, I can get as strong as Kartik, Heathcliffe, Kazuma, and Yuki-Rin! Watch out, guys!" Maki-chan said. Yuki-Rin sighed.

"Maki-chan, I think you should take this situation a bit more seriously. You, Aria, and Soren got kidnapped, questioned, and tortured last night, and we don't know what it means for us," Yuki-Rin explained.

"Speaking of Aria, I don't think she's doing too well," Hana said as she pointed to Aria, who was looking down at her plate.

"Aria, are you okay?" Ageha asked Aria, who slowly looked up. She looked pale and tired.

"I'm fine," Aria said dully.

"Did something happen last night?" Hana asked. Aria sighed.

"I'm fine," Aria answered, her voice not changing emotion, before taking a bite of cereal. Aria then threw up all over the table.

"Aria!" Hana cried as she rushed over to her older sister's side. "Tell me, what did they do to you?"

"Project Mei…" Was all the shaking Aria could mumble. Ageha walked over to Hana and pushed her away from Aria.

"Not now, Hana. It looks like the events of last night made her physically sick," Ageha explained.

"No, duh! That Mitchell guy who tortured us was an asshat!" Soren pointed out. Ageha ignored Soren and led Aria off to the sick bay. Yulia tensed up.

"Is it true? If it is, why the fuck is he back?" Yulia thought to herself as she let out a sigh.

"Yulia, what's wrong? You've been sad since last night!" Daisuke asked Yulia, who just glared at him.

"I'm not sad, I'm just reflecting on my own past and how I got here," Yulia explained bitterly. Daisuke just laughed.

"Those were some good times," Daisuke said.


*Begin Flashback, Six Months Ago*

Yulia was walking down the street of a non-descript island, minding her own business. All of a sudden, somebody ran into her and knocked her to the ground.

"Sorry! Don't kill me, please!"

Yulia looked up, and saw a boy with green hair.

"What the hell was that for?" Yulia cried.

"Oh, nothing, except for the fact I just stole from an old lady and she's now chasing me with a shotgun," The boy explained as he helped Yulia up. As soon as Yulia was on her feet, an old woman with a shotgun in her hands ran up to them.

"Hey, you boy, is that your girlfriend helping you steal from little, old ladies like me?" The old woman yelled. Yulia and Daisuke made a run for it.

"Where are you taking me?" Yulia yelled before they ducked into an alley and hid inside two, empty trash cans.

"Are you hungry? I can take you out to eat," The boy said from inside the other trash can. The next thing Yulia knew was that she was eating at a restaurant with this boy.

"So, you're name's Yulia, huh? My name's Daisuke. Wanna team up with me?" Daisuke asked Yulia, who just laughed.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Yulia said before getting up and leaving the table. Daisuke grabbed her arm.

"Please, Yulia? We can be best friends!" Daisuke pleaded. Yulia pulled away.

"No. Frankly, you annoy me. Leave me alone!" Yulia yelled before leaving the restaurant.

I hope I'll see you again!" Daisuke called out to Yulia.

*End Flashback, Revert to the Present Time*


Yulia slapped Daisuke across the face.

"Like hell, those were good times!" Yulia yelled. "I was brainwashed and –"

"Come on, Yulia! Tragedy brings people together, and we became friends!" Daisuke said.

"I don't wanna hear about it, Daisuke!" Yulia sharply wanred the green-haired boy before getting up and walking out of the room.

"Man! What's gotten into her?" Daisuke asked himself. Kazuma patted him on the back.

"Dude, she's a woman, which is much different from a man," Kazuma explained. Daisuke sighed.

"Your manly advice doesn't tell me anything," Daisuke said, rubbing his temples.


That night, Yulia and Daisuke ended up on watch duty while the other Capricorns went off to explore the island.

"So… What do you want to do tonight, Yulia?" Daisuke asked Yulia.

"Ignore you," Yulia said in an almost deadpan tone as she got up from her seat. Daisuke ran up to Yulia.

"You seem so tense, Yulia. Can I loosen you up?" Daisuke asked as he began massaging Yulia's shoulders. Yulia back-handed Daisuke, sending him to the floor.

"You idiot, you don't understand! You don't know what I had to go through shortly after we met! I was forced to kill innocent people and take from them! INNOCENT PEOPLE, DAISUKE! They had a chance at life, which I couldn't give to them, even if I wanted! Women, children, the elderly, nobody was safe! I could've ended up killing you!" Yulia cried.

"Yulia, I –" Daisuke said before Yulia picked up her knife and ran out of the Hyperion. "Wait up, Yulia!"

Daisuke ran out of the Hyperion, looking for Yulia in Blumheim.

"Yulia, why are you doing this? Come back! I'm your best buddy!" Daisuke yelled. "Yulia, where are you?"

"What's going on? You sound so desperate."

Heathcliffe, Kazuma, and Gareth ran up to Daisuke.

"Uhh… Well, Yulia was sad, so I asked her what was wrong. She then bitch-slaps me and goes on a whole rant where she said she was forced to kill people. After saying that I could've been murdered by her, Yulia picked up her knife and ran. Now, I'm running through Blumheim looking for her, and I can't find her," Daisuke explained.

"Sounds like fun," Gareth said very sarcastically.

"Typical Yulia," Heathcliffe commented.

"No, Heathcliffe, this is not the Yulia we know. Something has happened to her, and we gotta find out what happened," Kazuma explained.

"I can arrange for that."

A girl of about thirteen or fourteen approached them. She had chin-length, orange hair, blue eyes, and freckles. She wore a light blue – almost white – dress, white stockings, and black shoes.

"Can you tell me where my friend Yulia went? She ran off after saying something about how she was forced to murder innocent civillians!" Daisuke asked the girl.

"I can arrange for that," The girl repeated. "But, first, would you like to hear a story?"


Ending Note: Review if you want to hear this story and see the surprise.