Yuzu had a routine - it was a part of her that she'd never managed to eradicate, the need to have a schedule. She tried not to deviate from her schedule too much - doing so usually got her in trouble, she'd found. That day, she'd done so anyway.
And so she found herself stuck in the bowels of a foul, dank Marine holding cell. But she'd learnt to stop regretting a long, long time ago.
"So, how'd ya get yourself stuck here, missy?" In the neighbouring cell, a man spoke up. She couldn't really see much in the dim light available, but his silhouette looked massive, matching his low and gruff tone.
"...Not much." It really hadn't been much. Although she supposed that to the Marines, it had been enough.
To be honest, Paradise Island had been her rest stop. Her log pose had sent her there, and she'd wanted a bit of time to herself. Maybe a spa, or a facial, or even a trip to the local casino to gamble her savings away. Yuzu had heard lots of good things about Paradise Island from a nearby town, and she looked forward to having a good time.
However, after docking her little jet boat at the port, she'd gotten a rather... rude surprise.
When strolling through the streets, Paradise Island clearly lived up to its name. It didn't have the same sterile cleanliness of Radar Town, with cigarette butts dotting the ground and suspicious-looking stains here and there, but that only served to give it character. The main street was packed to the brim with visitors of all kinds, from cheerful families that flocked to the food stands to the occasional pirate-in-disguise that entered one of the many bars. It was a typical tourist island, Yuzu concluded, as she walked into a relatively peaceful-looking cafe.
"Table for one, please," she told the waitress. "Sure! You visiting here alone?" She asked, her eyes curved up smilingly as she led Yuzu to a single-seater. "Yup, just me here. I heard about the island from some friends of mine, so I wanted to check it out," Yuzu responded. She chatted with the waitress a little more before picking out a cute matcha cake for herself. When it arrived along with a complementary water, Yuzu resisted the urge to take out her camera and instead started shovelling it into her mouth as politely as possible. Ah, matcha cakes were really too good.
Just then, the bell at the door rang, signalling that a new customer had entered.
Uncaring, Yuzu continued to feed her stomach.
"Hah? You're telling this one that there are no more seats available? What, do you expect this one to sit outside like a common peasant? Get a seat immediately!" Suddenly, an unpleasant-sounding voice interrupted her enjoyment. Curious and slightly annoyed, Yuzu turned her head around to glare.
And then she blinked in surprise.
At the entrance of the cozy cafe was a whale.
Or more accurately, a man the size of a whale. He was dressed in what she supposed was the latest fashion over in the nobles' delusional little world - frills and suspenders. Not really the best look. But there was one more detail. Her eyes zoomed in onto his left hand, which was grabbing a chain.
A chain attached to someone else's neck.
Yuzu felt her lips curl in disgust as she turned her gaze back to the nobleman. Just her luck. Of course Paradise Island would feed into other people's sick fantasies of what 'paradise' was.
Then, at that very moment, their eyes met.
"Hey, that commoner over there." He spoke. She raised her eyebrows as she picked her cup up to sip some water.
"Peasant, this one is speaking to you!" Angrily, he stomped over to her seat, the chain in his hand clanging noisily as his slave was forced to crawl behind him.
Finally, Yuzu raised her head. "Can I help you? You're blocking out the light, you know, because," she said as she gestured at his size. At that, the noble looked like he was about to erupt, his face going comically red. As she looked at him in amusement, she noticed the slave at his feet look at her in fear, his entire body shaking.
"You! Peasant, do you know who this one is? This one's godfather is Saint Ileus himself, this one will have you know!" The moment he spoke, the entire cafe seemed to go silent. In the next second, she saw the waitress drop to her knees from the corner of her eye, with other patrons doing the same.
Ah, she thought, the power of a Saint.
But she'd been there when their Holy Land had been burnt, witnessed the inferno eat at their homes, and saw how the Saints had fallen, exposing how they were just as human as the peasants they loved to deride so much. Worse than human, actually.
So she stood up, and looked down at the man. He wasn't that big, really, from her angle. All that inbreeding must have made his whole family line rather short.
"Not even a Saint yourself, yet you dare to make yourself seem like one. Pathetic, really," she mocked. The words came easily, bred from familiarity. For all that she had hated her former owners, Maria-sama had quite literally whipped a sense of confidence into her.
"You dare? You'd better kneel now, peasant, when this one still has some mercy. Otherwise, well, you won't like the consequences..." Whilst saying this, the nobleman gripped the chain in his hand before savagely yanking it forward, causing the poor slave on the other end to choke miserably as his knees dragged across the floor. Then, he was kicked forward, landing on his face before his head was ground into the tiled floor by the noble's foot. "You don't want to become like him, do you?" The noble grinned maliciously as he spoke.
Silent, Yuzu stared at the slave.
She'd lost the ability to feel anger after her time spent in the depths of hell. Instead, a quiet sort of blankness fell over her.
In her former cage, her knees had burned. As was expected of all slaves, she'd spent all her years there on her knees, bearing the ache that drilled into her bones as she shuffled back and forth, dealing with the mess of yellow and purple on her kneecaps. With every opportunity she had to sleep, she'd gradually straighten her legs with an aching slowness, forcing herself not to scream as her muscles stretched.
Even now, there was a phantom ache in her knees whenever she ran.
"I'm sorry, but... I'm sick of kneeling." And with that sentence, she rammed her haki-covered fist into his face. With the impact of her punch, his grip on the chain loosened, and he was sent flying back, past the door, with a crash.
All was quiet, and then the screaming started. The waitress rushed over to her and spoke hurriedly, her beautiful face pinched into an ugly frown. "I'm so sorry, but we must request that you leave. Immediately."
Yuzu's fist unclenched, and she smiled, resigned. Business was business, after all.
She picked up her satchel, and glanced at the remnants of her unfinished cake morosely. Maybe she should bring it out with her...? But then she looked at the waitress's glare and decided against it.
Glancing down, she caught sight of the slave. He had blood trickling from his nose, and he cowered at her gaze. She couldn't really bring herself to feel anything but pity and disgust.
"I'm in a good mood today, so," With a haki-covered hand, she felt time slow around her as she touched the collar, and in the blink of an eye she forced it off and threw it away as it exploded. Her eyes were unfeeling as she stared down at the shivering slave. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want anything from you. But I'd never have gone through another day of that hell if I could've escaped. You can do what you want, but don't let this gift go to waste." Following that, she turned away and walked out.
Then she'd gotten caught by the Marines. Who'd proceeded to throw her into one of their most securely guarded bases on the island. Fun.
"Not much, huh? Then why're you stuck in a cell next to someone like me? Must've done something pretty bad, hun," the man beside her chortled.
"Yeah, maybe. What did you do, then? If you're stuck next to me?" She replied, her tone light.
"I'm a pirate, hun, it's part of my job description to piss off marines, zehahahaha!"