It has to be so lonely,

to be the only one who's holy.

"I'm hungry."

Mei's hands tightly clenched her growling stomach. It had been at least three days since she last ate, but her mother and father promised her she'd be getting a big feast soon. "I know sweetheart, just wait a few more hours." Her father told her quietly, brushing a strand of blonde hair away from her face.

The three of them were currently shacked up in a beat down shed: the broken windows were letting in the cold night air, making her shiver. Her mother gently placed a blanket around her shoulders and laid her on her side. "We'll get a nice warm bed soon, I promise." Her mother kissed her gently on the head. "You promise?"

"We promise!" They each gave a big grin before she closed her eyes, attempting to sleep. Both of her parents had spent their lives treasure hunting, her birth was an accident, but Mei knew she was loved regardless. A few days ago, they came across some wrecked pirate ships, and her parents cried for joy. Apparently, someone important wanted what was in didn't really understand, but she accepted it.

She waited until she heard them say 'goodnight' before peaking at the room. Her amber eyes scanned the small room as her parents curled up together in the corner under a blanket themselves. Across from them was the pile of important treasure. 'Maybe there's food in there…' She thought to herself as her stomach grumbled again. The small fire flickered in the middle of the room, illuminating a chest at the bottom of the pile.

After what seemed like an eternity, her parents finally fell asleep, snoring lightly. Mei got up with the blanket still wrapped around her and shuffled to the small chest. Surprisingly, there was a single apple shaped fruit sitting in the middle of it. It was a pale white, with black swirling designs across it. Her eyes shined as she happily grabbed it, shoving the whole thing in her mouth. She tried not to gag at the horrible taste. She'd never had something that was such an odd mixture of sour and dry. After what seemed like an eternity of chewing, she wiped the spit off the corners of her mouth and sighed. She didn't want to think her parents were hiding out on food from her, but there wasn't any way that a single piece of fruit could be more important than all the other treasure they had. Within a few minutes, with her belly quiet, she was sound asleep against the empty chest.

"What have you done?!" Her father screamed, grabbing her by the frayed dress and shaking her awake. His blue eyes seethed in anger and frustration as her mother collapsed on the floor and cried. "F-Father? What are you talking about?" Mei grabbed at his wrists in confusion. "The fruit, Mei, what did you do with it?!" She looked around, panicked as she tried to collect herself.

"I-I ate it! I was so hungry!"

He dropped her to the ground, tears streaming down his face. "They're going to be here any minute! How could you?! I told you to wait and we would have food!" He grabbed his head as he started pacing the room. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be important! It was just one fruit." She sniffled as her mother crawled over to her. She grabbed the young girl into her chest, sobbing into her hair. "It's ok, Mei-chan. It's not your fault. We'll be ok." She tried to console her, both of them trembling.

There was a loud knock on the door. The two adults looked at each other in horror before it was kicked open.

Through her tears, Mei watched as three strange men walked into the makeshift house. The man in front had a large pink, feathery coat and spikey blonde hair. The man beside him had a similar coat that was black, long blonde hair, and a red hat. The last man on the other side had a black bowl cut, a strange beard, and a fork stuck on his left cheek.

"P-Please, Doflamingo-san, understand we had a little accident." Her father begged, quickly falling to his knees. "Hm?" The man in the middle, Doflamingo, raised an eyebrow before looking back at Mei and her mother. "An accident? " He repeated, an evil grin starting to spread across his cheeks. "That sounds pretty unfortunate for the both of you." He gave a deep chuckle before looking at the man with the fork on his face. "Vergo."

Mei was barely able to blink before the man kicked her father with such force that he was sent flying through the wall. Her mother let out a terrified scream and threw herself in front of her daughter. "Please, whatever you do, don't hurt her. She didn't mean to eat it, she was just hun-"

She was cut off by what looked like a string wrapping around her throat. Doflamingo frowned so hard a vein popped on his forehead. "Don't interrupt us." He looked down at Mei, who had begun to grab her choking mother's sleeve, trying to help her.

"Kid, when was the last time you ate?"

"P-Please don't hurt my mom and dad. They didn't mean to, it was my fault!"

"Answer my question."

She was trembling as her mother collapsed to the ground, struggling less as she began to suffocate. "I-I think it's been three days." She whimpered. "Hn." Doflamingo released her mother, who gasped and coughed, grabbing her throat. "Mom!"

"Vergo, get the man." Doflamingo demanded, walking over to Mei. He knelt down and placed a hand on her head. "I'll take care of you. Come with me and you'll never be hungry." Her whole body was shaking in terror and she couldn't find the courage to say a word.

"Rosinante." The man in the black coat walked up behind him. "Take the kid." Doflamingo demanded and the other man nodded. Doflamingo grabbed her mother, sitting her up on her knees as Vergo came back with her father, covered in blood and barely conscious. "He's not dead, Doffy." Vergo said, throwing him down right next to her mother.

"Mom….Dad…." Mei's voice was shaking as Rosinante picked her up into his arms. She watched in horror as the string wrapped around both her parents bodies from Doflamingo's hands. He was chuckling as it started to tighten. Her mother was sobbing uncontrollably as she watched her daughter carried outside. "Mei-chan, we love you so much. Please take care of yourself. We're so sorry." She said, her voice hoarse. Her father looked up at her, blood dripping down his forehead. "Be strong, Mei-chan. We'll meet again one day."

Mei couldn't hold it in any longer, she let out an excruciating cry as she was carried out of the building. The door slammed shut behind them, and she could still hear her parents begging for their lives. She could barely breathe she was crying so hard. A wave of guilt and terror flooded her body, wrapping around her chest like a fist.

The tall man, Rosinante, held her small body tightly as she flailed and smacked his shoulder. After walking some distance, he placed a hand tightly on her back and stopped.

"What's your name?"

She sniffled and buried her face into his coat. "Why do you care?! Y-You just killed my parents." She muttered angrily. He pressed his hand down tightly against her. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop him, my brother."

"What are you even saying?" She pulled her head up to look at him. He held up a finger to his mouth and made a little 'sh' noise. Her eyebrows furrowed at him. "How can I trust you when your brother just killed my parents?!" She smacked him on the head with her small fist. He didn't answer this time, instead just kept walking. She clenched her fists, grabbing onto his coat again. She didn't want to trust him. She was angry. Sad. Confused. Her mind was racing with questions.

But, she could tell he was hurting too. Even if he was lying, she had nothing left to lose at this point.

"My name is Mei." She mumbled, looking back towards the shed which had now disappeared into the forest. He nodded, giving her a small smile. There was maybe something slightly comforting about his goofy grin, something she couldn't put into words yet.

Unfortunately, that comfort didn't last very long when he tripped over a rock, sending them both flying into the ground.

"Everyone, this is Mei, our newest member of the Donquixote Pirates."

Mei looked around the table at all the adults staring her down. Rosinante had taken her to a large pirate ship docked on the coast and handed her off to a lady named Giolla. Surprisingly, she was very gentle with her. Even giving her a warm bath, clean clothes, and as well as brushed her matted hair.

She was sitting next to Doflamingo at the head of the table and Rosinante was sitting to her left, smoking a cigarette in silence. They had given her a large plate of food with things she had never seen in her 6 years of life.

"Let's introduce you to everyone, shall we?" Doflamingo continued, raising a wine glass towards Corazon. "My younger brother, Corazon. He's a clumsy idiot who can't talk but he gets work done." As if on cue, Corazon's coat caught on fire at his shoulder.

"Next is Vergo." The man who helped kill her parents.

"Giolla." The orange haired woman who gave her a bath.

"Diamante." Another tall man with brown hair and a large mouth.

"Lao G." An old guy with a bunny hat.

"Gladius." A younger man with grey hair and a mask over his face.

"Pica." A giant muscular man with grey hair and a helmet.

"Trebol." A creepy guy in a robe with snot dripping out of his nose.

She looked down at her plate, pushing the piece of meat with her fork. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel very hungry. "Young Master!" Lao G spoke harshly. "Should we really be bringing a little kid onto our ship? What is the purpose of this?"

"Are you questioning Doffy's decisions?" Trebol asked; his voice was rather annoying. "I'm sure you're wondering as well, isn't that right Mei?" Doflamingo placed a hand on her blonde head, turning her blood cold. "There was an accident in the forest, you see. Her parents abandoned her, leaving her hungry. The only thing she had to eat was the Bone Bone Fruit."

She froze, staring at her plate. A large lump formed in her throat: she sniffed back the tears that were wanting to fall. Everything was her fault. Her parents were dead. Their killer kidnapped her and forced her into his sick crew.

"How kind of you Young Master! Taking in such a cute little youngster. We'll train you nice and well, Mei-chan! How much have you learned at school? Any battle training?" Giolla asked loudly, folding her hands under her chin.

'Be brave. Be brave.' Mei took a deep breath. "I-I haven't been to school. Or training." She whispered, her voice tired from sobbing uncontrollably. Her stomach was in knots as everyone stared. Doflamingo laughed. "Don't worry about that. We'll make you into a fine pirate one day."

"I didn't think we had time to babysit a brat." Gladius groaned, making Trebol laugh. "If Doffy sees potential in the girl, then so should we!" Diamante held up his wine glass. "To Mei!"

"To Mei!"