SURPRISE! My exams finished 2 weeks ago, but I kind of procrastinated on writing...and it took me a while to familiarize with the story again (+ coming up with some new ideas) — basically me shooting myself in the foot by always writing my stories on the fly. I don't even have a clue how our dear protagonist is going to join the crew hAHAkillmeHHAHA

Recap (because oBVioUsLY Author-san hasn't been abandoning her readers)
Yue Xin obtains a mysterious sentient stone and finds out its a "sibling" of Vermillion's. Luffy wants to follow after Yue Xin entering the city but Ace's answer is...

"...No."

"Why not?!"

"..."

Luffy pursed his rubber lips, "See? So let's go find her!"

Sabo's eyes darted between the two, trying to decide whose side he should take. After a moment's deliberation, he spoke, "Um, we can go search for some treasure first. When we enter the town to sell our stuff then we can find Yue Shin, uh, Sing?"

The oldest and youngest gave their consent with crossed arms and annoyed huffs.

"It's so different..." Yue Xin mumbled to herself as she took in all the architecture of a style so unlike the Empire. Vermillion and Whitey (clearly she wasn't the best at naming things) had been stuffed back into the black Pocket less people began to give her trouble for a floating sword and stone.

Sights from the books and stories the travelling merchants in the Empire had told her about was right before her eyes. There were rectangular, orderly buildings in the town as opposed to the tiled roofs and irregular styles in the Empire; pastel colours painting the streets while brighter, more auspicious colours like red was favoured in her hometown. Although the buildings in Edge Town were decrepit and the once pretty pastel of the walls had dulled to a sun washed grey, it didn't dull the burning curiosity and excitement in Yue Xin.

The Empire of Churia did not practice isolationism like its neighbour, Wano Country, but it wasn't exactly open to all either. Only Royal-approved merchants had permission to enter, and only certain goods were to be sold. Though risky, merchants often snuck in blacklisted goods into the Empire for a quick buck. Visitors looking to enter the Empire had to apply for a Pass as well, and there was rigourous selection on who could and could not enter. However, regulations become slacker whenever the Tournament comes by, so many people take the chance to smuggle valuable information and goods into or out the country.

Yue Xin had begged her parents to get her a few such illegal books from the merchants, even sneaking out on nights that her parents weren't home to visit the merchants for their stories. She never learned why her parents disappeared for days sometimes, and she never asked. She had a feeling then that her parents would have given her a superficial answer that they knew she hated. But mostly, her parents' dark eyes behind their tired smiles always stopped her. Some things were always better left unsaid.

She always made use of those few days of freedom, wrapping those merchants around her little finger with smiling eyes and sweet compliments.

Now she was right before all the things she wanted to see; exotic structures and people, new, unfamiliar smells-

Ah.

Yue Xin had opened her nose receptors once leaving the trash-filled nightmare of a place, but that also meant she could smell the horrid stench coming off her.

The little girl looked back at the entrance to Edge Town; she could catch a glimpse of the trash mountains through the two yawning guards. It had only taken a small use of her Qi to activate a low level presence-repressing spell and slip past the guards into Edge Town. The spell was useless against higher tiered Qi users and Beasts, but was very effective against non-Qi users.

Yue Xin shivered in disgust as she recalled the stench, promptly cutting off her nose receptors with her Qi again. Active imagination or not, she felt like there were tiny, ugly worms crawling all over her. She was determined to burn her tunic if she could not wash the smell off. She needed some new clothes right now!

There must be a clothing shop somew— oh. Money.

There was some Churian Yuan in the black Pocket, but...what was the currency the outside used again? Belom? Belu? Beli? Something like it.

It didn't seem logical to Yue Xin that shops here would accept a half-isolated country's currency from an entirely different sea. The girl once again lamented her thoughtlessness in not learning the cleaning spell, pushing it up in her little list of priorities.

Yue Xin's eyes narrowed as she caught the inquisitive glances thrown her way. Right, she had let something more important slip by her.

She was sticking out like a sore thumb with her Churian tunic.

Panic kicking in, the little girl gathered her barely recovered Qi and activated the same presence-repressing spell. The watching eyes of curious passer-bys slid past her small frame. She breathed a sigh of relief and slinked into a corner where unsuspecting people wouldn't accidentally bump into her.

...Now what do I do?

She was very sure that Dadan wouldn't let her back in the house after she trashed her room. She needed a safe place to stay, where she could figure out her next steps to do, catch up on her daily reflections that she had been neglecting, stop procrastinating on opening the Wu Zun's Pocket, find a way back home, find her parents' bodies, give them a proper burial...

The forest wasn't safe. She needed a place where she could concentrate properly and think; but with the constant attack of animals it would only tire her. The boys' hideout was not even an option on her list. Ace and Sabo— maybe even Luffy— would fight it out with her to keep their own territory to themselves.

Yue Xin had been unconsciously chewing on her lip as she fretted over her next steps. Feeling her single dignity left start wobbling, she released her lip from the tooth and scrunched the cloth of her long sleeves instead. The tall buildings casted a shadow over her, drawing a line between her and the sunny town.

Light and dark.

Was the world always so unwelcoming?

Everything was so different in the past. Learning and experiencing new things was addictive. She learnt how vast the world was, how many rare sights she hadn't seen, how many interesting things she could dabble in—

and then she learnt how cold the world could be, how everything could seem so bleached of its colour, how nothing in this world mattered anymore.

How she had no one she could act like a spoiled child to anymore.

The little girl drew a rattling breath.

Although no one could notice her, the sweeping glances of passer-bys felt more overbearing by the second.

All she wanted to do was to stay in her corner and wait for someone to pick her up.

To tell her "Let's go home".

Yue Xin could hear her own breathing picking up, growing heavier and disordered. But her mind was slowing to a crawl, and the light before her suddenly seemed blinding. She shrank back into the shadow, pressing herself against the wall, trying to orientate herself. She couldn't tell if she had accidentally deactivated her presence-repressing spell. She was drawing gazes.

Was she? She couldn't tell. The gazes were getting sharper, more uncomfortable. There were eyes in every corner, staring at her, judging her.

She felt like vomiting.

Yue Xin's shaking hands scoured the wall for something to hold on. The cobbled stone was starting to look like smooth asphalt.

Mummy? Daddy? Where are you? I'm...I'm scared.

She was dimly aware that her Qi was starting to go out of control.

No. I'll hurt the people. Help me. Mummy, help me please. Please.

The little girl shook, fingernails scratching the flaking paint off the wall, digging into the concrete as she tried to rein in the Qi running berserk in her body. Her vision swam. Something wet was trailing down. Tears? Blood? Yue Xin was gasping for air like a fish out of water. Her lungs hurt, her head hurt, her body hurt from the Qi assaulting her own veins.

Help, she screamed, but only choked cries formed her words. Help me.

A pair of arms swept her trembling body into an warm embrace, "Shush now, child, you're okay. It's okay."

White cotton underneath her fingertips. A sun hat keeping the glare of the afternoon sunlight from her stinging eyes. Soothing circles rubbed onto her back.

"It's okay now, shhh, it's all okay."

A warm voice.

Mummy?

And then everything went black.

''Damn that wrinkled old geezer, he's so fucking stingy!" Ace complained under his breath as the trio exited the pawn shop in their disguise.

Luffy, in charge of the legs, turned in the direction of his favourite barbecue store. Sabo, in charge of the torso, tapped on the right side of Luffy's head to signal he was going in the wrong direction— and that their destination was definitely not the barbecue shop.

"Maybe we should find another pawn shop in the Town Center. They have more money than the small shops here." Sabo whispered back as he guided Luffy back the way they came.

The 'Legs' reluctantly turned in the direction Sabo pointed out, "Hey hey, when are we going to find Mystery Girl? You said we could find her after this."

"Uh..."

The 'Torso' and 'Head' of the hooded figure twisted weirdly as the 'Legs' abruptly veered off to the side. People raised a suspicious brow at them, giving them a wide berth.

"Damn it Luffy!" Ace yelled— softly— as he grabbed at Sabo's face blindly, "Don't do that! We almost fell!'

"Ma mwoath! Asche!" Sabo winced as Ace pulled his fingers out of his mouth.

"But you guys promised!"

"Okay, okay! We'll go find her!"

The blond rubbed his sore cheek from when Ace had suddenly grabbed him, "Let's go to the Town Center and also find another pawn shop along the way."

The first thing she noticed was the smell of the air. It was sweet, like flowers, yet too cloyingly sweet to be natural.

Yue Xin forced her eyes to open, grogginess clearing slightly as the soft light filtering through the windows bathed her in its warmth.

I...Where am I? Yue Xin rubbed her eyes, turning her head to survey the room she was in. The floral scent of the pillow she laid on was already a dead giveaway that it was a woman's bedroom. But whose bedroom was it? Yue Xin's face scrunched up in concentration as she tried to remember the specifics.

She only remembered being picked up by a woman who had a warm voice, like the sunlight that was currently streaming in.

"...My Pockets!" The little girl gasped in horror as she realised she was wearing a white cotton dress, which had been cropped to her size with some crude needlework. It was clearly made in a hurry. The person who saved her must have changed her clothes. Fortunately, the lady had some short shorts that fit her, or else Yue Xin would have been too embarrassed to walk far with the wind blowing between her legs.

She found her belongings left on a white dresser near the bed. Yue Xin made to tuck the pouches into her tunic, but realised her dress was only a single layer; it couldn't hold her pouches like the multiple layers her tunic and zhong yi made. Her tunic had really been convenient. Not only the layers could store things, but the people of Churia also had pockets sewn into their sleeves, with the opening facing upwards, so it could store small things such as coins and even weapons.

Finding nowhere else to put in her dress, Yue Xin resorted to tying the three pouches on her arm with their drawstring. It looked silly and kind of hindered her movement, but it was better than leaving it lying around. She felt uncomfortable without having the three pouches kept close to her at all times.

Now that her belongings were safe and secured (A/N: AHAh puns amirite), the girl attempted to use her Willpower to give the house a quick scan.

"Ow."

The intense pain from her calling upon her Qi and Willpower made the girl's eyes water. She concluded it was the rampaging Qi she had desperately contained in her body earlier, and now it had caused some damage. It hurt her Veins a little, but some rest and care should have her Veins as good as new.

Yue Xin frowned. Not being able to use her Qi felt like losing a limb. It made her feel off-balanced, and mostly uneasy. Without her Qi, she was defenseless like the average seven-year-old.

Leaving it to mull over later on, the girl opened the bedroom door. There was a hallway leading to a living room filled with quaint furniture.

The lady must really love white.

The bedroom she was in was almost devoid of any colour, except for the flowers blooming on the windowsill, adding some colour to the otherwise all-white bedroom. Her living room was also the same, with white couches and walls, a glass table and large windows with sheer white curtains. Flowers dotted the living room as well. Yue Xin could only recognise a few common varieties. Paintings of flowers decorated the plain walls, and a bookcase full of information on horticulture demonstrated the passion of the saviour for her...job?

Her toes sank into the plush carpet— which wasn't white for once— as she tiptoed to look out the window. Careful not to tip over any flowerpots, the girl pressed her face into the glass for a better view. Even though it was still the afternoon, the streets outside were quiet. However, Yue Xin noticed the buildings were more refined, with fresher paint and little to no cracks running through the concrete, unlike the ones she had seen in Edge Town.

Town Center?

It didn't make complete sense to Yue Xin, yet the perfectly cut stones of the sidewalk suggested otherwise. Edge Town to Town Center was quite a jump.

The little girl sneezed suddenly, startling herself. The heady floral scent permeating throughout the house was getting to her. Buried underneath the fragrance of the beautiful flowers was something weirdly off that made Yue Xin's nose itch. Perhaps because she was a Qi user, her senses had become more acute than the average human and thus the smell bothered her. Or perhaps it was because she still smelled like the trash she crawled out from.

Perhaps. Yue Xin looked at the white furniture.

The footsteps along another hallway alerted Yue Xin to the presence of her saviour. Yue Xin turned around, waiting for her saviour to appear around the corner.

"Oh, you're awake now. How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?"

The Churian girl offered up a small smile, "Was it you that saved me? Thank you. I'm feeling fine now."

If any man had to describe what her saviour looked like, it would be 'first love'.

Long, straight blond hair, soft blue eyes and fair skin. She was beautiful, outshining even the rose Yue Xin found the prettiest in her house. The white cotton dress she was clad in further added an innocent air to her.

A small warning ticked off in Yue Xin's mind.

The little girl's smile grew wider and she intentionally relaxed her shoulders.

"You must be thirsty, I'll get you a cup of water," The beautiful woman lightly held Yue Xin's hands and guided her to the white, spotless couch, "Make yourself at home dear, don't stand around. You must still be tired."

Yue Xin nodded, sitting quietly on the couch as the woman disappeared back the way she came, presumably where the kitchen must be located. She kicked off the gears in her brain. Every second was precious.

The lady returned soon with a tray, with dainty tea cups and some cake.

"This is the strawberry shortcake from the bakery down the street. It's quite delicious and a favourite of mine, I must say." The lady put down a cup of water and a plate of cake before Yue Xin, "You should try it. Here."

Yue Xin mumbled another thanks, taking the fork from the lady's outstretched hand.

"It gave me quite a shock to see you like that on the sidewalk. My poor child, what happened?"

Yue Xin's own favourite mind games were starting, she must say.

"I..." The little girl twirled the fork, destroying the icing of the cake. She took a small bite of the cake and swallowed, shifting a little in her seat like she was embarrassed. "Umm...I was playing, and then I saw a spider crawling into my tunic, and...and I'm very very very scared of spiders..." Yue Xin trailed off, looking at the floor with the fork pinched between her lips, "...Sorry...I must have given you a lot of trouble..."

Partially true, good enough.

Yue Xin wasn't very very very scared of spiders or any creepy crawlies— she was only a little scared of them.

"Oh no, no! It was only natural for anyone to help a small child like you!" The lady covered her mouth in shock, "You were shaking and crying in the corner all by yourself, it hurt my heart to see you like that."

It is natural for anyone to help a small child like me. But is it natural for you to help me?

"Mummy says I must always return a favour, but I don't know what to do for you, pretty big sister..." Yue Xin polished off the rest of the cake (it was really delicious, she couldn't stop herself), "Do you need any help in anything, big sister?"

"Big sister?" The woman chuckled, "I may look young but I'm already an old middle-aged woman. You can call me Ms Chicatory." Ms Chicatory sipped at her tea, "Hmm, I do have something you can help me with. It's a small matter." She smiled softly at the child before her. "But more importantly, what do I call you? Do you know where you live?"

"Ah! Yes! My name is Saffy! I live in Edge Town with my Mummy and Daddy." Yue Xin pointed in a vague direction, "We live there."

"Where? I can bring you home after you return me the favour."

"Uhh..." 'Saffy' cursed silently in her mind— she should have had Sabo give her a more thorough run down of the specifics— now she was stuck. If she was found lying now...

The little girl cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed in concentration."Urm, it's near the shop that sells the round sweets and the old lady is always like this— "She bent her back exaggeratedly, "— and the scary uncle that always gives this face— " Yue Xin scrunched her face into her best fierce expression, "— and, and my house is beside Luce and Dandan's so we always play together!"

"...Oh," Ms Chicatory's expression stiffened for a second, "I— "

"I can bring you there if you want!" Yue Xin pointed in the same vague direction enthusiastically as she interrupted Ms Chicatory, "I know the way very well!"

The girl held her breath in anticipation as she waited to see if Ms Chicatory would tear through her thin lie.

"Sksksksk, what a cute child you are," The beautiful saviour put down her cup of tea, the orange flower petals within bobbing. "Sure, I'll let you bring me there when you finish an easy task for me."

'Saffy' hid her relieved expression by gulping down the cup of water.

"Yeah! Okay!"

"It's a really easy one. You just need to try a new flower tea I made and tell me your opinion about it, okay?" Ms Chicatory's smile showed off her pearly white teeth.

Yue Xin nodded.

Her beautiful saviour cleared the table and excused herself once more.

Yue Xin's smile wiped itself off her face.

Not a single question was asked about her three pouches, now tied securely on her arm. Nor was there any mention of where her tunic had went. The contents of her green pouch was more than enough to get anyone questioning her all afternoon. The two Pockets that no one could open without Qi was even more of an enigma that even a courteous, well-brought-up Ms Chicatory would admit to trying to peek in.

The hint of that unnatural floral scent was now grating on her nerves.

Or was Ms Chicatory really that nice, and refrained from going through her pouches?

Yue Xin resisted the urge to bite down on her loosening front tooth. She couldn't lose that too.

Her ears picked up the sound of footsteps again. She was back. Leaving the Churian girl with no time to think, she quickly forced her expression back into a friendly one.

White dress fluttering around her ankles, Ms Chicatory came back in tow with a single teacup. Inside was pink petals floating about in the white tea.

"Wow, it smells nice!" Yue Xin leaned over in childlike curiosity, "I bet it tastes nice too!"

"Of course." Ms Chicatory's red lips curled upwards, "It took me quite a while to extract and refine the flower's natural sweetness. I'm so glad that there's you to give the first taste test. Please give me your honest opinions."

Excited, Yue Xin kicked her feet in the air, observing Ms Chicatory's face as she deliberately let the dirty heel of her shoe dig into the pristine white couch. "I like chocolate milk more than tea, but— " There it was. "—I'll drink it for you, Ms Chicatory!"

Yue Xin picked up the teacup, giving it a good once-over. She made to drink it, but suddenly stopped. Yue Xin barely looked up in time to catch the same annoyance flash pass before a modest smile covered it up.

"The petals are so pretty! What flower is it? Pink is my favourite colour!"

Ms Chicatory leaned forward, pushing the cup suggestively towards Yue Xin's lips. "It's pink hibiscus."

Liar.

"That's so cool." Yue Xin pretended she didn't get the hint to just drink it already. "Will it be bitter? I don't like bitter."

Ms Chicatory's finger twitched, "...No. Of course not. Hibiscus flowers are sweet."

"Oh. Are you a florist? Tea florist? Is there such a job? It seems pretty, I want to become like you too!"

"The tea is getting cold, Saffy."

"Sorry, I— "

Ms Chicatory launched forward before she could finish her sentence, gripping Yue Xin's mouth open and forcing the tea into her mouth.

Yue Xin pushed against the woman, struggling to spit out the tea. She was slow and sluggish from the damage her rampaging Qi had done to her earlier, so she couldn't fight back against Ms Chicatory's death grip. However, from her surprise, she had swallowed much of the tea.

Unfair, unfair! I was still talking!

Ms Chicatory's soft blue eyes had turned steel cold. "You talk too much, Saffy. Your mother should have taught you to shut that dirty mouth of yours."

Poison. As expected.

Yue Xin's Qi was reacting to the toxin, working to expel it out of her systems. But her Qi was weak, and it wasn't doing its job. Damn it. I was careless.

The poison was acting already, turning her limbs to jelly. She was starting to feel woozy. Yue Xin ignored the searing pain shooting through her Qi Veins as she pumped Qi faster through her body, cleansing the deadly poison. Frustrated, the Churian girl wanted to lash out, but she was as weak as a newborn lamb.

No. You can do this. Calm down.

Yue Xin let her eyelids droop and sagged against the couch. She had no idea what type of poison it was, but going limp was always the correct choice. Was she supposed to act unconscious now? Or maybe even dead?

Come on bitch, give some hints!

"It's angel trumpet my dear," Ms Chicatory leaned down, caressing a slim finger down Yue Xin's sweating face, "You couldn't even recognise one of the most poisonous flowers in the world."

Goosebumps ran up Yue Xin's arms at her velvety soft voice. The little girl knew something was wrong the moment her saviour walked in. 'Young', 'beautiful' and 'innocent' didn't fit with Edge Town's image. She had no business there. Yue Xin's suspicions rose further when she noted the immaculate house she was in; the white dress she was placed in, yet still she remained unclean.

Think, Yue Xin, think!

Seeing how her state didn't raise any confusion for the cruel woman, Yue Xin understood that acting woozy was the correct choice. Could the poison let her speak? What other effects can this poison have?

"You..." Yue Xin managed to breathe out. She really felt faint. The pain from running Qi through her body was keeping her awake. Every second earned would be more poison gathered at her throat, so she could cough it out in the face of the despicable witch in front of her.

"Looks like its working. Say 'Angel' for me, hmm?" Ms Chicatory tucked her silky blond hair behind her ear, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"...Ange...l..."

"Very good!" A pleased smile spread across Ms Chicatory's doll-like features. "Say, 'Mummy, help me, I'm scared'."

Yue Xin let her eyes droop further before the woman could notice the killing intent in them.

She was starting to see a lot of creepy crawlies on the floor. Black, writhing, many-legged creatures carpeted the wooden floors, aggregating at Ms Chicatory's feet, climbing, climbing up her white dress, leaving streaks of black in its wake.

There were so many. So many legs. So many scuttling feet. She could almost hear them as if they were right beside her ear.

The girl opened her mouth, repeating the words like a robot. "Mum...Mummy, hel...p me...I'm...scared..."

Vermillion...I need to open the Pocket...

But she was in an awkward position. The pouches were pressed underneath the arm they were tied to, and moving her other arm would most likely alert Ms Chicatory. Yue Xin guessed as much that the angel trumpet's poison was likely something that rendered the victim completely docile.

"Well done, Saffy. But your Mummy can't hear you can she? You need to shout louder. Let her hear your cries of despair. Let her hear her cute little Saffy screaming for her as her baby dies, let her feel her heart break into tiny pieces. Let her feel the pain I felt when my baby died."

Yue Xin couldn't see Ms Chicatory's face. The bugs were climbing up the couch's legs, making their way closer and closer.

Her voice was still as velvety soft as before, soothing, almost. Like someone singing a lullaby for their restless child in the crib.

"You must be paralysed now, huh. I must have accidentally added too large a dose to the tea...what a waste. I was planning to play with you a little more." Ms Chicatory's hand was there again, caressing her cheek. "But I'm more excited for your mother's reaction. Ah, yes, the look on her face when she finds her poor little Saffy dead."

Hatred.

The bugs were getting closer. Their waving antennas were tangling up with each other. The white room was turning black.

Yue Xin knew hatred.

"Isn't it unfair? It's unfair that only I experience such loss, such pain, right? He goes off gallivanting with the woman who killed my baby, lying in her bed, having the time of their lives, while I desperately try to nurse my baby back to life."

Ms Chicatory's nails were digging into her flesh. "It's unfair. Unjust," she whispered, her dulcet tone turning ugly, "Everyone should know my pain."

The bugs were here.

Did you find the easter egg?
Saffy = Sabo + Luffy
Luce = Luffy + Ace
Dandan is quite obvious