Chapter One

Absolute Justice Does Not Sleep, Nor Allow Fifteen Minute Coffee Break

A/N: I haven't marked any warnings as of yet, however, I do have a character that was raped in the past, and will be brought up at some point. I don't know to what degree yet, but I will put warnings in the notes at the beginning when that does happen.
The same goes for graphic violence. They are pirates. There's going to be fighting. There is going to be blood and guts and all that fun stuff. I'll leave a warning if it gets really heavy.
Minor Injuries in this Chapter. Nothing awful, but you know.

"For our second to last match this evening, let me first present our lady who needs no introduction!"

Lights flashed in dizzying patterns over the audience, before merging on an archway adorned with black curtains.

"She's racked up a stunning nineteen wins and has suffered only four defeats. Four-time Champion of Ringbohden, our own, Rose Dawn!"

The audience roared their approval as a tall woman decked out in red and gold burst through the curtains and jumped into the ring. She strode confidently around the perimeter, waving and flexing for the audience, before taking her position on the south side of the ring.

"And now, to introduce our challenger!" The lights flashed again then centered on the doorway opposite the first. "Standing in the north corner is our challenger from the West! With twelve wins and only three defeats, she is currently the titleholder for the Syracuust Crown! Please welcome to the floor, Kawaakari!"

The crowd roared again, though the welcome was not as warm as it had been for the hometown favorite. At least they weren't flat out booing her. So, Renna confidently pushed past the curtains into the blinding lights and approached the ring. After a single lap, she took up her position in the corner opposite of Rose Dawn.

"There will be five rounds, two and a half minutes each! To win, they must take three or more rounds by point majority, or win by submission or knock out. No weapons tonight, otherwise, anything goes. Are you ready ladies?"

The announcer was getting on Renna's nerves, but she easily tuned him out as she approached her opponent. They bumped their fists together twice, then backed up for the referee. Not that the referee did much besides timing the matches and determining if the fighters were conscious or not. "Tallying points" was left to a judge watching, a formality in case there wasn't a K.O. But that's the way of things in illegal fighting rings.

Renna watched the referee closely out of the corner of her eye. His hand dropping would signal the start of the match. Taking a long, deep breath, she locked her eyes onto the challenger ahead of her. Renna couldn't help the smirk taking over her face.

This was going to be fun.

"What an upset! Our winner by submission is Kawaakari!"

Breathing heavily, Renna lifted her fists in the air and relished the adrenaline fueling her system. The audience thundered. The reason did not matter. Bets were won. Bets were lost. Disappointed or enthralled, Renna didn't care what the audience thought. She got the match she wanted. After a few more moments of basking in the afterglow, she jumped out of the ring and left the main arena.

Slamming the door to her prep area harder than she meant to, Renna fell onto a chair and gulped down water from the table. It was time for her to stretch, stitch, and head out for the next fight. Easing herself to the floor, Renna winced as she started to feel the post-fight ache over her body. As she stretched her legs, she unwrapped her bandages to check her hands over.

The skin across her knuckles was flushed and raw, but she had avoided any splits that might need stitches. She could tell her cheek was swelling from a nasty hit she had taken, but it didn't feel like any bones were broken. Sure, Renna would have plenty of bruises come morning, but what did that matter in the grand scheme of things? As long as she could get in the ring again soon, things would work out just fine.

A quick rap on the door was the only signal she had before the event coordinator popped in.

"Your winnings." He grunted and dropped a sack of Beri on the table before ducking out again. Renna slowly stood up, taking the time to stretch her hamstrings and calves before counting the money in the sack. Fifteen million Beri, give or take a bit. Not bad for one fight. People must have bet a lot on Rose Dawn winning. Packing the Beri in her rucksack, she started cleaning all her little cuts and scrapes. It would be no good to let them get infected.

A roar came from the direction of the ring. Renna dismissed it as the next fight getting underway. As she dabbed the cut on her cheek with disinfectant, she contemplated where she should head next. There was a tournament she wanted to participate in in the Sabaody Archipelago in a few months. But in Shal Kaar, there was supposed to be a pretty good open fight ring. Renna really wanted to stop in Shal Kaar, but if she took too long, she would miss out on the tournament.

Renna paused her nursing as she heard another roar from the audience. It didn't sound quite like it had before. Something was different. After listening for a moment, she packed her first aid kit away, grabbed her bag and left her room. Making her way down the poorly lit corridor, she made for the exit on the side of the building.

The door behind her crashed open, and men in white shirts with blue bandanas rushed in.

"Stop in the name of Justice!" One of the marines yelled, but Renna had already taken off.

Damn, it had been a while since she'd had to run from a raid. She almost took another side exit but passed it when she heard marines on the other side of the door.

Renna sprinted and scanned the corridors for anything that looked familiar or like a way to the outside. Why did all the bloody halls have to look the same? Three more marines were racing toward her from a corridor on the left. Renna skidded and caught herself on the wall as she recognized an exit to the back of the building just behind the marines.

Shoving off the wall, she rushed at the marines and used her bag to knock the soldiers aside. Renna kicked down the door with enough force to send it and the two marines behind it flying. As she cleared the doorway, she was greeted by a welcoming sight: A whole squadron of marines yelling as their comrades were thrown away from their post, and at the back, the tell-tale coat of justice sitting on the shoulders of an officer.

Of course, she had picked the door closest to those conducting the raid. She should have paid better attention. Well, there was nothing else to do but plow forward. A quick glance and she found her escape route: a small side alley about fifteen meters to her left.

"Don't let anyone leave until we identify all the criminals!" The big wig marine was yelling at his soldiers. The marines closest to her lifted their guns, and she instantly jumped into the pack of soldiers to give a better chance of them not shooting. She would prefer no bullet wounds today, please and thank you. Renna wove in and out of the soldiers, dodging their blows and removing the guns from their grasps, all while making her way toward her escape.

Renna heard a loud noise from the building she just vacated and dropped into a crouch right as a barrage of rubble took out several marines near her. Looking up, she saw what had blown apart the wall lying a few meters away: some poor marine who was made into an impromptu wrecking ball. Everyone stared as a tall figure emerged from the newly renovated entryway. He looked rather badass as dust swirled around him, the light from the building just illuminating his silhouette. Close behind him came several others, but Renna took advantage of the distraction he had created and round housed the last gunman and bolted for the alley. Yelling erupted behind her, and she heard the newcomers and the marines clash. You have my thanks, stranger, She thought as she closed in on the alley.

Ten meters to go.

A swordsman charged Renna. She ducked as he swung, then jumped and kicked him in the chest to launch herself into the air. She sailed over several marines before planting her feet onto the shoulders of another marine to break her fall. As he went down, she tucked and rolled and continued to sprint.

Five meters.

Renna heard running from behind, someone approaching. She pivoted and a sword was inches away from her face. She instinctively threw her hand to push the blade away but missed and lost her balance. Renna could barely believe what she was seeing. The marine in front of her was confused and yelling, his sword missing. A single shout registered in her head as she sprinted the remaining distance to the alley.

"THAT'S CAPTAIN KID! TAKE COVER!"

A quick glance over her shoulder just before she entered the alley proved more confusing than clarifying. It was time for her to beat it!

First was distance, gaining as much as possible as quickly as possible. Given that the whole southern end of Achave was one massive city, it would be easy to get to another part of the city to blend into. She tore through the streets, and after nearly twenty minutes, she finally slowed to a stop behind a bar. As she caught her breath, Renna sat and started rummaging through her bag.

Renna frowned at her bag. Where were her shoes? She scoured it again. Money, clothes, first aide kit, book, but no shoes. Renna cursed as she realized she must have forgotten her shoes back in her room. She would just have to make do for now. So, she pulled on a dark jacket and sweatpants over her fighting clothes and took to the main road.

Walking casually, she began to make her way to the southern harbor. Thankfully, it was not late enough that it would seem suspicious to be out and about. Given that the incident had taken place closer to the eastern harbor, she doubted there would be as many marines left in the southern end of the city. She would simply hop on a passenger ship first thing in the morning.

All these thoughts flew from her mind when she spotted a restaurant that was still open. Her stomach protested loudly about the fact she hadn't eaten anything since noon. Purchasing three sandwiches, she walked for a bit longer before ducking behind a building to sit down and eat. She tucked in and kept an eye and an ear peeled for anything suspicious.

Since she was finally out of danger (relatively speaking), Renna started to speculate about what she saw as she fled the scene earlier. A flash of steel, mere centimeters from her face. And then, the sword was gone. What she saw still seemed unbelievable. The marines' swords and guns, along with some other junk, were flying toward one of the guys fighting the marines then blasting away from him. Was he the one they said was Captain Kid?

The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember where from. As for what happened, the likeliest explanation was a devil fruit. Well, whoever he was and however it happened, he had inadvertently saved her from a sword in the face. Well, here's to hoping our paths don't cross again. But if they do, I guess I'll buy you a drink or something.

It was long after midnight at this point, and the earliest passenger ships wouldn't be leaving until six or seven in the morning. Time to find somewhere to sleep until morning.

Renna heard shouting and fell back into the shadows, until she realized the shouting wasn't coming from the street. Paying closer attention, she walked down a few buildings, and carefully peered into the alley. Standing there were a couple of hulking figures having a shout fest. Given that they were not very good at being quiet, she listened in.

"Damn it, how the hell did you get that busted up fighting a couple of marines?"

"It wasn't the marines. It was debris flying around because of your new move."

"Then it's your own damn fault for getting in the way!"

Renna peered around the corner. She stared hard at them, then realized they were the chaps who had decided a marine made for a good demolition tool.

The alleyway was poorly illuminated by light coming in from the street, but Renna could see a tall man with spiky red hair, a masked man with a glorious mane of hair, a man with horrible posture in a corset vest, and a man with a large orange mohawk. The red head was yelling at the masked man, who was pressing a blood-soaked cloth to his arm. Red-head looked ready to massacre the next thing that dared breathe in his direction, and Corset-vest was trying to check out Mask-guy's arm. Mohawk stood guard at the opposite end of the alley. Even in the poor light, Renna was severely unimpressed with their taste in fashion.

"He's going to need stitches," Corset-vest commented, barely loud enough for Renna to hear.

"Yeah, no fuck. And where the hell are we going to get someone to do that?" Red-head turned, and Renna was able to see his face for the first time. Goggles worn like a headband against his hairline. Dark lipstick accentuated his scowl, eyeliner his narrowed eyes.

Swords and guns flying. Captain Kid. Renna remembered. Eustass "Captain" Kid was that rookie pirate with a screw loose who had recently entered and subsequently started wreaking havoc in Paradise!

Renna squinted down the alley, considering her new discovery. Her thoughts drifted to the medical kit in her bag. She had the supplies to do stitches. But these men weren't the friendliest of pirates, according to rumors and papers. Kid had saved her from a sword in the face. She didn't know if he realized that. If she walked away now, perhaps he never would. If he did know however, then he could consider her in his debt. That was never a good thing to be in, someone else's debt. Another stupid little voice in the back of her head also wouldn't shut up. You can help. You want to. Go do it.

After fighting it out a little longer, Renna straightened up and walked into the alley. Bloody hell why am I like this! The three men closest to her immediately tensed up as she approached.

"What the fuck do you want?" Kid yelled as she drew closer. When she didn't stop, he pulled a knife from a strap across his chest and walked toward her. "You lookin' for a death sentence?" He growled. She could feel the hostility rolling, no, exploding off of Kid. Renna sized him up and took a deep breath.

"Our paths crossed briefly at the ring earlier. Your weird weapon-flying trick saved me from a sword in the face." His face switched from menacing to confused. How had he not noticed half of the marines taken out by the time he arrived? "I have the tools to stitches in my bag. I'll stitch his arm up, we'll part ways, and we never have to speak of today again."

She strode past him as he processed what she said and pulled out a lighter, flicking it open when she reached Mask-guy. She couldn't read his expression (obviously, mask!), but immediately began a mental assessment.

"What cut your arm? Also, has it been spurting blood, or just continuously leaking?" Renna set her lighter on a crate, her bag on the ground and pulled out supplies from her medical kit. Fresh bandage, antiseptic, suture, and needle. The needle was held in the flame to be disinfected. After realizing she was completely serious, Mask-guy finally answered.

"Broken sword. Slow at first, but began to spurt," he replied. It was odd, not being able to see his face. Ignoring Kid yelling, Renna wondered what was under the mask as she rolled up her sleeves and threaded her needle.

"Barely missed the artery, but after exertion, tore the wall of the artery." She murmured to herself as she examined the location of the laceration. It wasn't a major artery, so she wouldn't have to worry about him bleeding out. She would just have to do a couple of deep sutures before she could completely close the wound.

"Oi, Corset. Put some pressure on right here. Also, hold this up." Renna snatched his hand and placed it where she needed it, handed him her lighter, and pulled the cloth away from the wound. Renna dodged a small spurt of blood and gave it a quick spray of antiseptic before starting.

It was a clean wound with no ragged edges. About nine centimeters long, three or four deep, going from about the middle of his bicep up toward his deltoid. One, two, three, four sutures deep in the wound, then a set of running stitches to completely close the cut. She was slightly concerned that he did not flinch without any medicine to numb the wound. Of course, she couldn't currently see his face. But he either had balls of steel or had lost enough blood to be more than just a little bit out of it.

Renna finished by cleaning it of and wrapping the wound up. The whole process only took a few minutes, close to record time for her. Renna cleaned off her hands, threw her stuff hastily back in her bag, and stood up.

"This is where we part ways. Keep it clean, keep it dry, try not to strain it for a few days, and those stitches can come out in about two weeks." She gave a mini salute and waltzed out of the alley before any of them could say anything.

"WHAT THE HELL," Kid yelled. "WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT?" The weird girl had just come out of the blue, stitched up Killer's arm, and left with no explanation. Who the hell did that?

"She said you saved her from a sword in the face in the fight a bit ago. Must have dragged the sword from a marine's hand at the perfect moment," Heat surmised, staring at the entrance of the alley she had just passed through.

"I might be wrong, but I think she was the fighter that won the match right before the marines busted up the place," Killer added. His focus was trained on the bandages now encompassing his arm. "Those were really good stitches."

"Yeah, you lost too much blood," Heat concluded.

Kid yelled and stomped off. Heat helped Killer up, and they all followed Kid back to the Victoria Punk. The log would be stored in a few hours anyway, and then they could move on to the next island.

"What do you mean all of the passenger ships are full?" Renna groaned, dropping her head on the counter.

"Sorry ma'am, but we've been fully booked out for weeks." The man did not sound very sorry. Just exhausted. There's a festival happening on Salkhad in a week, and Achave is a major stop along the way. Perhaps you can charter passage on another ship."

Renna muttered something along the lines of "Thanks" as she walked away. She hated trying to charter passage. There were far too many variables at play. Well, at least she would have time to go buy some shoes. Renna walked back up the pier into town and began searching for somewhere to purchase shoes. Although it was early, the streets were already bustling with foot traffic, which Renna used to her advantage. She had already avoided a couple of marines by melting into another group of pedestrians. After stopping someone to ask for directions, she finally arrived at the cobbler's and headed in. She scoured the shop until she found a pair of sturdy boots in her size and purchased them.

Renna exited the building clad in her new boots, sighing as she looked back in the direction of the docks. Any other time, she would wait until she could take a passenger ship. But after the raid, it would be best to get off the island as soon as possible.

Making her way back to the docks, she ran smack into someone as she rounded the building's corner. She looked up and began to apologize, but the words died in her mouth. It was the marine who almost cut her face off the night before! What were the bloody chances?

Recognition lit up his face, but she twisted and kicked him in the head before he said anything. Shouts came from behind him, and Renna took off cursing as his buddies chased after her.

She vaulted over some kids who ran into her path and shoved past several indignant mothers as she closed in on the market. People leapt out of her way as she charged, or at least those who saw her coming did. The entrance to the market was just meters away. Suddenly, three marines cut into her path, rifles raised.

"Stop! You are under arrest for assaulting a marine officer!"

Renna didn't stop. She readied herself to dodge and take some bullets. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another person racing toward them. Renna glanced their way, then looked back when she saw who it was.

Mask-guy? Were those swords attached to those weird hand-guards? He better not rip my stitches out.

Renna's attention flew back to the marines, about to fire. But then Mask-guy was jumping, and he took down all three marines in her path. Renna ran past him and shoved into the already crowded marketplace. She wasn't sure what Mask was up to, but she did not quite care at the moment.

Weaving in and out of customers and merchants, she began to disappear. Pulling off her coat, tucking her hair into a 'borrowed' hat, carefully snagging a pair of sunglasses from a stall; all the basics for changing what the marines would be looking for.

When a pair of marines ran past a small tea shop, talking about finding a blue-haired girl in a black coat, they didn't notice the girl in the maroon hat with glasses sipping tea while reading a book.

Staring at their backs as they continued along, Renna considered her options. Now that the marines were searching for her specifically, it would be difficult to hang around the port long enough to charter passage. Looks like it is time to play my favorite game: stowaway! Renna left a few coins on the table and headed back to the docks.

The Achaveans were going about their daily routines, conveniently blind to the predicament she was in. Shoppers haggled with the stall owners for the best deal, merchants heralded praises for their wares, an art form in and of itself. Shepherds lead their sheep through the street with no regard for anyone in their path, and priests lead people back to whatever god they worshipped. Did they enjoy their mundane, stable lives? Probably, given that they were still here living them. Renna jumped out of the way as a couple of kids ran by, one in an oversized marine cap yelling for the 'pirate' to stop in the name of Justice. Renna smiled softly at their game. What innocence.

Soon enough, Renna was back on the docks and began assessing her options. Passenger ships weren't too hard to sneak onto, plus they usually had more than enough food. But since there were so many people on board, it was harder to avoid being seen the whole time or keep up the ruse that she was supposed to be there.

Of course, there were merchant ships available as well. While they were fairly easy to sneak aboard and hide, they were much more diligent about the amount of food going in and out. With a smaller number of people on board, it was much more readily noticed when more food disappeared than was supposed to.

And then there were pirates. Pirates were so bloody unpredictable, it was best not to deal with them unless they had a good or reliable reputation, (as good as a pirate's reputation could be, that is.) For example, the Whitebeard pirates: fairly reliable, not known for betrayal, all around a pretty good bet for passage, as long as you are okay with Whitebeard trying to adopt you into his family. On the other end of the pirate family spectrum was Big Mom. Essentially, don't get involved unless you want to end up married, dead, or both.

Sailors were bustling around the docks, loading and unloading wares, preparing ships for their journeys, and she was pretty sure she could see a few sailors racing some wild den-den mushi to pass the time.

Then, a tall man with a mane of wild blond hair flew past her, and she barely had time to register him as Mask-guy before she saw several marines running up the pier. By the grace of some god, a large gust of wind knocked her hat clean off her head, sending her long blue hair billowing. She made eye contact with the marine closest to her. Blasted wind.

She broke into a run as the marines yelled to not let them get away. She could see Mask-guy just ahead of her on the pier, and that's when she noticed it. A ship with a massive yellow skull sheltering the bow, rib bones detailing the sides. Orange and black sails adorned with flames, and their red-haired Jolly Roger served as the cherry to top it all off. Mask-guy was clearly headed for the monstrosity. Of course, that was their ship. What else should she have expected from a bunch of pirates with such bad taste in clothing? But, it looked like they were about to set sail.

"Oi, Mask!" Renna yelled, running even faster to catch up with him. His head turned, and he slowed down a tiny bit as she sprinted toward him.

"I was looking for you earlier." He replied calmly as she pulled alongside him.

"Excuse me? Blast it, never mind, we'll get to that later. Y'all take passengers?"

"You'd have to ask the captain."

"Can he deal with boarding now, asking later? Cause, you know." She jerked her thumb at the pack of soldiers behind them. The edge of the pier was quickly approaching, and the skull ship was already far enough from the edge that even Renna wouldn't be able to make it by jumping. She hoped he had some genius idea to get on board.

"Guess he'll have to. Hold on."

"What?"

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and then they were rocketing over the water. Renna was screeching out curses that would have made her mother's ears bleed before they both crashed onto the deck. He released her waist and got up, unphased by the ordeal.

"Bloody fucking pirates." She cursed as she sat up, pulling her hair out of her face. A shadow loomed over her, and she looked up to see a scowling Captain Kid. She was quite certain he was in a permanently bad mood.

"Why the hell is she here? Damn it, Killer! Did you seriously run into town just to kidnap her?" He snapped at Mask-guy, presumably Killer, as she stood up. Was his name seriously Killer, or was it a weird pirate nickname?

"Didn't kidnap her," Killer clarified. "She's looking for passage."

"Does this look like a fucking passenger ship?"

"Marine battleship approaching from nine o'clock!" A voice yelled from the crow's nest.

"I can pay or work." Renna's eyes flickered from Kid to the battleship in the distance. She furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side. "Hey, they're readying their cannons. Are you going to return fire, or something?" She asked, ignoring whatever Kid was yelling about.

"It's too far away to see-"

"Cannons, Captain!" The man in the crow's nest yelled. "Can whatever it is wait a bit?"

How the hell- No!" Kid snarled. "Get off my ship, brat!"

"I'm a doctor," Renna offered.

"And I'm a fucking marine!" Cannons boomed, and Renna saw cannonballs out of the corner of her eye. Kid raised his hand, and the cannonballs abruptly changed direction, launching back toward the marines.

"You know, I've no idea how you have survived this far into Paradise without a ship doctor."

A crew member was yelling for Kid's attention but was duly ignored. "Who says we don't have a doctor?" He growled.

Renna jerked her thumb at Killer. "When mask over there got injured, you started talking about finding someone to patch him up, rather than looking for your ship doctor. It wasn't a big jump."

"MOSHI MOSHI! Marines hot on our tail!" Cannons boomed again, and once again, as soon as Kid raised his hand, the cannonballs were flying back the way they came. Renna started to piece together what his devil fruit power was.

"Don't move. We'll finish this once I've taken care of the fucking pests." Kid growled at her and stomped off, yelling orders to the crew.

"Be right back," Killer told her, before running off to attend to his duties.

In the absence of Kid and Killer, Renna assessed her surroundings more thoroughly. The island was a good four kilometers away at this point, so if she did end up getting punted off the ship, it'd be a long swim back to shore assuming the marines didn't get to her first.

As the crew rushed about the ship preparing to fight the marines, Renna carefully repositioned herself out of the way by the mainmast. The marines were now close enough that she could almost hear what they were saying over the roar of the waves.

Crew members were curiously glancing her way, but she didn't acknowledge any of them. The men not assisting with working navigation were ready for battle on the port side, shouting as the marines came into range.

"Best way to impress Master Kid is to show him you can handle yourself." She turned to see the man with the corset vest from the night before. He had tied his grey-green dreadlocks in a ponytail, swords drawn to fight. "If you really want passage, prove you won't be a liability."

And with that, he was sprinting to clash with the Marines.

Well, it'd be a pain to have to swim back at this point. So, Renna pulled back her hair, set her bag down, and walked up to join the crew on the port side of the ship. Time to get to work.

A/N: (*edited 11/13/21) I am still very proud of what I've written, though I did have to come back and do some editing for grammar and punctuation. I am still very grateful to those who encouraged me to push forward. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the story!

Fun Facts: So, I originally made Renna's fighting name Midnight Flare, wanting to capture how all her opponents are going to see is a flash of her midnight blue hair. But, I've been attempting to learn some Japanese, and stumbled across the word kawaakari, and it was honestly perfect! It means moonlight, but more specifically, the reflection of moonlight on a river. Perfect, right? I love finding things like this. (I may or may not have another oc who's name is basically Peachy McPeach.)

Credit to Library of Ohara for their One Piece Timeline, which I used to help figure out my timeline, you are doing the work of god. Amen and Hallelujah.