The girl got tired of waiting for the brothers to come back and decided to see what was taking them so long. She found them on a cliff by the sea overlooking the ocean. Luffy was no longer laying on his stomach but was now sitting with his knees close to himself.
Ace was standing next to him and she heard them talking, "-and even stronger than that. Then I'll be able to protect anything. I won't lose anyone ever again. Please Ace… don't die" his broken voice hurt her.
The younger was suddenly punched by his older brother, "don't be ridicules! You should be more worried about yourself. You're way weaker than I am! Listen up and remember this, Luffy! I won't die" Ace declared and Shay was watching from behind a tree.
Luffy held on to his hat and nodded while both his eyes and nose were running. "Sabo made that request too. I promise I won't die! There's no way I'd die and leave behind a weakling of a brother like you" he continued, and her little sunshine nodded twice agreeing with whatever was Ace saying.
She felt her heart melted at this scene. Shayla knew Ace meant every word. It was hard to think he could be that vulnerable, his speech to his brother was so amazing.
"Listen Luffy, we'll definitely live our lives without regret!" the older encouraged, and Luffy nodded again. Shayla felt like it included her too and went over to them. "Someday we'll set out to sea and live life the way we want to. With more freedom than anyone else!" he would be a great captain.
"I'm sure that we'll make lots of enemies. Gramps will become our enemy, too. We'll risk our lives and set sail when we turn seventeen" he finished.
"Seventeen…? I can't wait that long to see my father," Shayla started, "we'll all go when we are seventeen to be pirates Shay" Luffy said as if it somehow was logic.
"Sorry, sunshine but I've been here too long. I think of leaving when I'm 15" she would have left by now if she thought that she could find her way home at such a young age.
"That's cheating," he said childishly, "I have been missing for over 13 years now. My crew probably think I died or something. I won't let them believe that for much longer" she left no room for argument. Ace didn't say a thing during their conversation and Shay was sure he understood.
Shanks should already have met up with them, right? She knew she couldn't sail on her own through the Grand Line, let alone the New World. She was naïve to think that, to begin with. The girl knew firsthand how dangerous it could be.
'Just wait a couple of more years, daddy and everyone'. The true daughter of Whitebeard would soon be back.
"That means we only have 3 years left with you" the brothers looked so sad, "we'll just have to make it the best 3 years in our lives then" she smirked at them and theirs easily matched hers.
-x-
Shay went over to the treehouse alone and notice the piece of metal she brought in before the fire. It seemed so long ago; they haven't been back since then and it has already been a couple of weeks now.
The girl sat down in front of it and tried to feel the stone part of it like before. She saw a small part moving around and smiled a little. The last time she did this was during a rough time but now she felt more ready.
It continued like that for about an hour before she felt it moved better. Shayla looked down and saw the entire thing had reformed. She kept playing with it and even tried to make some kind of weapon out of it.
It didn't go as plan and accidentally hit herself across her left side. It started to bleed and would most certainly leave a scar. Shay was a little happy that her family wasn't her to freak out over this small-ish cut.
She looked down at the injury one more time and realized it was bleeding a lot more now and she quickly ran back to the hut. The journey back suddenly seemed so far, and it became harder for her to say awake.
When she finally arrived at the hideout, she saw Ace and Luffy were sitting under something outside, "oi Shay we build our own contri-" the youngest of them started.
Ace noticed her red shirt and stood up before running over to her, "oi, Shay. What happened" he sounded afraid. But she didn't answer, could hardly say on her feet. The girl fell and felt someone catching her before passing out.
-x-
She woke up with her head pounding, and everything was dark inside and outside. It took a few moments for her to realize that it was in the middle of the night. Luffy and Ace were sleeping close to her as if they were scared of anything happening to her.
Their small texture made her heart warm. They truly were the best of friends ever and she wished them both nothing but epic adventure and great crews.
Shay sat up and held her head with her hand. She felt dizzy and almost fell backward again, "how long have I been out" she muttered, and sadly she had no idea. Her head was killing her, and she laid down again.
How could she let herself get hurt like that? It was mistakes like that that could get her killed and it was mistakes like that… that separated her from her family. Shay had to find a way to be ready for anything. To never let her truly guard down no matter who she was around.
-x-
Shayla got up before the brothers and went outside to train. If she could figure out a way to master her power, even more, she… wait, her bending was already close to perfect.
She had to get a better battle sense and have this natural instinct for danger come to her. What better way to get that than living in the jungle with a wild unpredicted beast.
The girl was used to fighting with human marines or pirates which were easy enough. Since she came to this island, she never really been challenged in a way for her to grow. Not with the brothers, the bandits nor the animals. She had let her guard down and let herself grown soft while the other had grown stronger.
They still couldn't beat her, but she had to train herself better to achieve her former glory. Could those 12 years have done something to her? Was it possible that somehow time had affected her body more than she thought?
She decided to take a swim and went over to the ocean. It felt so long since she felt seawater on her body and she welcomed the salty liquid.
After twenty laps around the island, she went back to the forest and made 1000 push-up, 1000 sit-ups, and ran for what felt like hours. Shay suddenly heard a low cry and it came from behind a tree.
She slowly and carefully sneaked closer to it and she found a small baby fox with the most mesmerizing orange fur. It was looking at her with sad painful eyes and Shay soon understood it.
Next to it, was a much bigger fox bleeding and struggling to stay awake. The girl could see it was trying to stand so it could protect its pup. It was just like how her mom was protecting her back then and it warmed her heart to see such motherly-love even in animals.
Shayla held her arms up, "I'm not going to hurt you guys. I'm just here to help, don't worry" she didn't know it the fox believed her or felt her sincerity. but it laid its head down again and she looked over its body to search for where the blood was coming from.
She found a big piece of wood in its stomach that her cub was shielding before. Shayla looked around to find some water to bend so she may heal the wound somewhat, but there was none, "I need to find some water, I'll be right back," she promised and quickly ran over to the ocean. She didn't know if the saltwater would help but she had to try.
Getting water was easy enough, running back was a pick of cake but finding the mother fox dead and her kit shredding tears was heartbreaking. It was like it could sense its' mother's passing, but that didn't stop her from trying to somehow resurrect it.
Maybe her soul was still in her body and she wasn't completely dead, right? Wrong!
Shayla had to face reality. The low cry came from the now orphan fox next to her. Shay picked it up and the pup looked at her with beautiful green glowing eyes, "don't worry baby, I'll help. You don't have to be alone".
The fox cuddled its head on her neck and Shay could feel its soft fur. She looked around to look for maybe a father or a flock, she might return it to, but there was none. She didn't want to leave it out here alone and took it back to the bandits' house.
Shayla was greeted by two black-haired boys who were worried about her, "Shay, where have you been? We thought that maybe you had passed out or got hurt somewhere" she smiled at their concern.
"I went out to train and found this adorable baby fox and I've decided to keep her," she thought it was her. She lifted it up over her head, 'yep, it was a girl' hugged it close to herself, and they went inside.
"What should I call you beautiful," she said with a big smile and kissed its head. Well, she would think of it later, "I wonder what you eat" Shay looked around for anything for her new fox to eat. "What do you even eat?" the girl wondered.
There was a small sound close to the door and the fox quickly ran over to it. Shay soon saw a rat between its cute teeth. Then Tiki started to eat it, 'Nah, that name won't do' she thought. It appeared that she wanted to give Shayla some of it, "no thanks, beautiful. you can have all of it".
When she was done eating, Shay then washed all the blood off of her. "isn't there anything cleaner I can give you. If you eat any kind of meat then you don't have to eat rats again" she smiled, kind of expecting an answer but got a cute sniff.
-x-
Shay had been on Dawn Island for over 4 years now. It was Shayla's last night on this island before she set sail tomorrow. Everybody was having a small party in her honor with only the people she'd come to care about. Makino and the mayor came to the party too and would see her off tomorrow.
Everything was ready and the girl was excited to finally get back but she couldn't help but miss them. Even though she was leaving; it wasn't a goodbye. It was until we meet again, and she was sure that she would meet these weirdoes someday.
She had a present for the two brothers and Shayla couldn't wait to surprise them, "Ace, Luffy I have something for you guys" she smiled brightly. "Really! What is it, Shay?" Luffy asked happily and she gave them their gifts.
The youngest was impatient and ripped it open. Inside there was a big black cloth and he looked a little disappointed, "unfold it" she told him. When he did, she swore that she has never seen anything brighter, "This is awesome, Shay! Thank you!" he hugged her.
Luffy folded it out so everyone could see. It was a pirate mark that she had designed for him. It had a skull with four crossbones and a straw-hat on even his scar under his eye. It had this cool yet scary aura to it and Shayla made it for him as a way for him to remember her. She doubts he would forget her otherwise.
"You just have to wear it as a cape, like Nogari did until you can hang it on your ship" Luffy of course he loved the idea. He ran around like a superhero and showed everyone how cool he looked.
Ace didn't open it yet and look at her nervously, "come on, open it" the girl encouraged. He slowly unpacked it and saw an orange cowboy hat with two emojis on one smiling and the other frowning. The older black-haired looked confused, "why are you giving me this".
"It's a gift. I wanted to give you both something you'll remember me by" she said honestly. Then he tried it on, and it fit him surprisingly well. "Thank you" he smiled awkwardly, "See that's the right thing to say. Your manners have certainly improved thanks to Makino" she hugged him.
That night the three could hardly sleep knowing it was their last together for some time. They fought, ate, and argued like usual, it was perfect. The fox Rain laid her head on Shay's thigh, she had gotten so much bigger in these last years, but she wasn't full size yet.
This beautiful creature was going to accomplice her tomorrow. Through the years they had grown so much close and it would be awful to just leave her behind. Ace and Luffy were her friends and family but Rain was no longer her pet, she was Shay's partner. They did everything together; training, eating, sleeping and now they would sail together.
-x-
When Shayla was ready, she hugged everyone, "thank you for all the things you guys did for me" and Dadan started to cry, "don't say such things, brat". It made the girl chuckled and she jump on her small boat, Rain was already onboard "look at me Ace, Luffy. I'm set sail now".
They all waved, and Shayla used her wind to make the boat sail quicker. Soon she could no longer see them and looked at the fox next to her, "it's just the two of us now, girl".
-x-
The two have been sailing for a couple of days now and were running out of food with no island in sight. Shay tried to look at the map, but it was hard if you don't know where you are. She didn't think it would be that hard consider it's the East Blue.
Think about her journey when she enters the Grand Line and had almost made her lose hope… almost. Her desire to meet her family was even greater and she refused to lose hope.
But hope soon reappeared when a warship was closing in on them and she smirked at this chance. The marines would probably rescue a girl in need with their sense of justice.
"Are you alright, young lady?" an officer asked, "I'm fine but I'm having trouble finding my way" she answered honestly. "We can give you a lift. Where you going miss" Shayla smiled at them with innocent, "I'm going to the Logue Town" she saw that island's name on the map earlier.
It was supposed to be the last island. There she would hijack another ship to Grand Line or maybe climb up the Red Line. You know whatever she might feel depending on the situation really.
"That's just where we are going, miss. Come on board then" and she happily boarded. 'So far so good' she thought.
-x-
It took a couple of days more to reach their destination and Shay quickly jumped off the ship before any of them could notice anything and Rain was right behind her.
It was her first stop on her grand adventure back to her father and so far, she was enjoying it. There was no sudden storms or cyclones, no snow or hail.
The name of the island sounded familiar and she felt like it was something important to it. Why was that? well, whatever...
When they were walking around, Shayla's stomach started to growl, and Rain's soon followed. They were both hungry, "let's find a place to eat" the fox led the way to the palace with a great smell.
Shayla went side and a man greeted her, asking how many they were expecting, "a table for two" she smirked down to her partner, "I'm sorry miss but pets are not allowed in here" the man said, "she's not my pet, she's my partner" she explained.
"It's still an animal and they are not allowed in here," he told her, "I'm starting to see which one of you is the real animal. Hint, it's not her" she left. There was no way she'll eat where Rain couldn't eat with her.
Sadly, the next few restaurants were just like that, and the girl almost considered fishing in the ocean and grill the fish she would catch with her powers. That was until she saw an outside food truck. It was a true gift from heaven.
She ordered a lot of meat for them both and the man smiled at their behavior, "I have never seen a girl with your appetite" Shay just kept eating her food, "what is this island so famous for" curiosity got the better of her. The man looked kind of shocked, "you don't know it's the island that's called 'the beginning and the end'" that caught her attention, "oh, it sounds so mysterious" she loved a good story.
"It's the city the Pirate King Gold Roger was born and executed. If you go to the center, you can even see the execution platform" that's why it was so familiar. She read about it all those years ago back on Moby Dick.
"Interesting. I think I'll go see it. Thanks for the food" she stood up to leave, "Hey, you forgot to pay, girl" he sounded angry, "I just gave you my thanks. I just paid… my respect" she laughed, God she was funny.
But the man didn't think so and grabbed her arm, "I don't need thanks I need money. Now pay up or else" he looked at her with a dark glared and if she was an ordinary girl she might have been scared. Good thing she wasn't.
"That's not how you should treat a girl mister" she had an angry look herself, "I don't care, I want what you owe me" Shay wanted to beat him up but that would get her unwanted attention.
It took a lot of power for Rain to not bite him then and there. While he was focused on her, she used her powers and bent some of his money to herself, "fine, here" and the man took it and let go of her.
"Don't ever come back" he warned, and Shayla didn't have time for any of that and just left. She had bigger plans and soon saw the platform. Shay started to climb up when some guards tried to stop her, "get down from there girl" he yelled, "I'm just going to see the view from up there" before continuing.
The man was probably still yelling at her, but she was ignoring it. When she reached the top she used her wind to lift up her fox and they both enjoyed it up there, "so, this is where you died, Roger. This was the last thing you saw" she felt an unnatural wind hitting her and it was like his spirit was still there.
Shayla smiled and patted Rain while the fox relaxed next to her, "I been through a lot since last I saw you. I even met your son, Roger. He is strong, kind, and fierce. I really wish you have been a father to him, then maybe he wouldn't have this darkness in his heart" she looked at her bracelet and felt the wind saying, 'I do too' she smiled, "I know, Roger. I know"
It was nice up there and Shay saw her action attracted more people, "I think it's time to go beautiful" she jumped down with Rain on her back. The girl looked at the platform one more time, "Goodbye Pirate King" and ran over to the dock to find a way for her to continue. A wind hit her again, "goodbye Shayla" she could almost see his smile.
The dock was very quiet, and Shayla chose a decent ship to enter the great sea with. She was ready for anything and used her water to bend herself forward.
-x-
It was getting colder and darker when she saw a light near her. What was it? She found out that it was a lighthouse and it was like it was pointing towards something. Shay let curiosity guide her and she came to a giant wall or better known as Red Line.
It had been so long since she last saw it but there wasn't much time to enjoy it as a strong stream pulled her towards a small hole in the mountain. Shayla had almost clashed her small ship to the great continent and if it weren't for her power she would be drowning right about now.
Rain was curled up in the corner and was too scared to move. Shay smiled and laid her partner on her lap to get ready to travel up. It was so tall that they soon met with the clouds and it was the best ride ever.
Then they traveled above the clouds Shay knew it was going to be a wild ride down and she was looking forward to it. But the fox was shaking and clinging to her as if life depended on it, which wasn't that far from the truth.
Shay sighed and used her wind to make the ship go slower. She would have loved to try it but not at the price of her partner's stat. They were on their way down when they heard a loud sound, what is that?
They saw met with another black wall in front of them. Wait, that wasn't a wall it was a giant whale, and they were about to crash into it. Shay had to figure a way to dodge it.
She froze the water into ice, and they slide away from its huge body. The girl needed a break from all this and directed her boat to the lighthouse on the Red Line.
"That was so close, Rain" she had almost the urge to kiss the ground, "I'm impressed that you entered the Grand Line with only a fox and such a small boat" a voice came behind her. "I tent to do that" she smirked and looked at the man, he somehow looked familiar. Why was this always happening to her?
The old man looked like he might know her too, "I'm Crocus, the keeper of this lighthouse" even his name sounded familiar. "I'm Shayla and this is Rain" she smiled, "let's go inside. I might have a change of clothes for you" he offered.
"That's alright, old man" she bent the water on them off of both her and her fox. "I have only seen one person with those kinds of powers, but she disappeared long ago" Crocus suddenly stated, "Is that so? Who was that" Shay was ready for anything.
The man could see her discomfort, "relax girl, I met you once for over 17 years ago. I was a member on Roger's crew" that made the girl sigh, "don't look so suspicious then. I was ready for anything old man" and relaxed Rain.
-x-
The former pirate let her stay for a couple of days. It had been nice to take a break before sailing again. "do you even have a log pose" the old man suddenly asked, "a what?" she was confused. Then he showed her one, "how does that work" she didn't remember ever seen that thing.
"The needle is pointing towards an island's magnetic field and at some point, will reset itself and point to the next. There are 7 routes you can follow and eventually you will reach the New World. That's what you want right?" Shay nodded happily.
She hasn't realized how far yet so close she was to her family. She wasn't sure how long the journey was going to be, but the girl was ready to get home.
The sun was about to set, and Shayla loved how the ocean reflected its light. She still had her sketchbook from Sabo and Ace and draw the sight. She missed the brothers and wondered how they were doing without her. The light was also shining on Rain's fur which looked magnificent.
'Don't worry dad, nothing can keep us from reuniting again. I'll do anything to get back to you as soon as possible' her eyes were burning in determination.
Soon Shay sailed out with her partner by her side to the endless sea. A big shadow covered her smaller ship and smirked before sneaking onboard a much bigger warship. These marines were probably going back to Headquarters right at the end of so-called paradise. Hehe, it was her lucky day ;P