Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed. c;

WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD

Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:

Chapter 10: The Outcast

After the others had left, Shiori settled in for the night. Everywhere anything touched her, her skin ached. It felt like she'd been abraded somehow, her skin scraped all over by some unseen force...

She realized when she looked in the car's cracked rearview mirror that she'd gotten a sun burn. It wasn't a surprise; her skin was very pale. She'd been out under the harsh rays of the sun all day long, just lying on the beach unable to move. Her only comfort was that she hadn't to go through it alone. At least her friends- no, her Nakama- had been with her.

She'd suffered a few burns like this before, while on board Graham's ship. None of them had been as bad as this, but it wasn't as severe as it probably could have been. She knew the best way to deal with it was to use an aloe plant, but there didn't seem to be any around here. And it was too late to look for anything else that might help.

She waited until the others had plenty of time to make it home. Sabo had gone in one direction, toward Goa Kingdom, and the other two had left for Foosha Village. That night, she'd been almost relieved to see the junked car she was living in. It was actually starting to feel more like she belonged here, although she knew that was sort of ridiculous. Maybe it was the people she was surrounding herself with, and not the situation itself?

Gathering her courage, Shiori climbed out of her makeshift home and looked around to make sure no one else was nearby. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a flurry of snow. The little pieces of white fluff fell all around her. She let it soothe her aching skin, getting lost in the refreshing feeling of the cold. It reminded her of home. The little fragments of ice were actually soothing the pain from her burns. The cooling effect was also numbing her skin. She knew this was a selfish reason to use her abilities, but it was helping her feel better, both physically and mentally.

A smile found its way to her face.

And then she heard something... Someone was here! Her pulse quickened, and she looked around to see where it was coming from. There was a rustling sound coming from the forest nearby. For a few minutes, she sat still in the small pile of snow that had fallen around her and just listened, trying to focus her hearing on whatever it was. She hoped it was just a small animal of some sort.

It was no fair!

She'd been watching her. All day, Monet had followed her to see where she went and what she did. She had heard from Sabo about Shiori meeting his friend Ace, who she didn't even personally know, and hanging out with them. Then he'd talked about all the fun they'd had together during the days following that. She was sick of listening to it. She wanted to know what was so great about her in the first place. Why did they include Shiori in everything but exclude her? It wasn't fair at all!

She had her hair in low pigtails today, but she didn't feel the least bit cute. She felt completely ugly, thanks to that rotten girl... The one who had ruined everything. And every minute, she was proving more and more how superior she was. There was no way this was right.

'So it's true...' Monet thought, when she saw the clear white crystals falling from the sky over a small section of the junkyard. 'She really does have Devil Fruit powers!'

"So... So that's why..." A voice said, startling Shiori and making her jump.

"Oh, h-hi Monet-chan." She regarded her friend pleasantly.

"Don't you 'hi' me!" The green haired girl yelled at her. "Traitor!"

"Um... What?"

She was confused. Her friend was clearly angry with her about something, but she didn't understand why.

Monet took a few aggressive steps closer. She was invading her space, getting right in her face with no respect for personal boundaries.

"No, I don't want to hear excuses. Just shut up! When Sabo-kun told me you'd met his other friends, I'd thought it was suspicious. I wondered why he wouldn't let me meet them, why he'd give you such a privilege instead... I wanted to know what made you so special. So I followed you."

"Y-you followed us? You mean t-today?"

"Yes today!" She sighed impatiently, rolling her fierce yellow eyes. "And I saw everything!"

"E-everything? Are you alright? What did I do?"

"Why..." The other girl seemed lost to her rage and dark thoughts. The negative energy was practically roll off of her in waves. "Just why won't they befriend me? They've never let me into their little group. But they let you join them so easily... What's wrong with me?"

"I..." Shiori's expression hardened. There was just no excuse for anyone to act this way. Especially when she hadn't even done anything wrong. For a moment, she thought about standing up to her. "I honestly d-don't know. What is wrong with you?"

"Your tone says it all. You do resent me! Well let me tell you something... You have everything you could ever want. A place to stay, where you don't even have to deal with the hassle of listening to adults, and great friends to share everything with. I wish I could have that..."

Her voice was getting louder and louder. It scared Shiori, who took a tentative step backward, until her back hit the side of the silver car. She had nowhere to go, and didn't want to feel trapped, so she moved away from it.

"You're j-jealous of me?"

"No! Idiot! I never said that! So don't even think it!" She shrieked like a harpy or a banshee.

Shiori wished she would stop yelling. She was only trying to understand things from Monet's point of view, but she was having great difficulty. Her train of thought didn't even seem to make sense.

"H-hey, listen... That's ridiculous." She said calmly, still trying to keep her cool, despite this sudden confrontation. Shiori's hands were held up in front of her in a defensive pose. "Why would you want to b-be like me? You have a roof over your head too and rich parents who can t-take care of you. You get to l-live in the city. I'd love to have all of that."

"Don't you dare try to turn this around on me! I'm always excluded from everything! You're the one who stole my friends! You're nothing but a lowly thief! And to top it off, to make it all that much worse, you have special powers too!"

"What are you t-talking about?" Rose shaded eyes opened wide.

'She can't really mean what I think she means... How does she even know about that?'

"Don't play dumb with me!" Monet hissed, shoving her backward onto the ground. "I saw the way you made it snow just now. What is this, huh?!" She scooped up a handful of snow from the ground and rubbed it in Shiori's face. Suddenly it didn't feel so good.

"I-"

"And I saw what happened when you went into the water too! I was at the beach, watching all of you. I know you've eaten a Devil Fruit. It's obvious."

"Why did you f-follow us? That's spying..."

Still on the ground, Shiori began to fidget with the ruffles of her torn dress. She hadn't even removed the snow from her face. It had become mixed with dirt, but she didn't care about that either.

"The only reason they let you into their little circlejerk of friends was 'cause of your powers! I bet they don't even like you."

"That's n-not true!" Shiori argued, holding her ground. "I know we're friends! I can't believe you'd e-even imply that."

That seemed to make Monet even more angry. She pulled back one foot and kicked her hard, in the side. There was a sharp pang when the other girl's pink plastic shoe made contact with her ribcage. It hurt like hell... But Shiori wasn't about to let her see that it had affected her. She kept doing it, just kept kicking her, but the young albino girl didn't give in. She was determined not to let her pain show.

"You're nothing but a little freak! You'll never amount to anything. Those powers should be in the hands of someone who would use them right. It's not fair!"

After kicking dirt at her, Monet ran away. She wasn't ready to seriously physically hurt her, but it was obvious that she now held a grudge against Shiori. She lied on the ground, watching the other girl run away hastily, before picking herself up.

She couldn't bring herself to be unkind to her friend, even as she was kicking mud in her face, hurting her, yelling at her... It didn't matter. But she wouldn't be able to forgive her so easily either. Shiori was afraid that Monet might tell other people about her unusual abilities. If the people of Goa Kingdom found out, that wouldn't be good for her. She'd been able to stay here somewhat peacefully until now. She lived in a very poor area where there was little to be found, sure... But she'd managed to eke out a life for herself out here. She didn't want to be forced to leave Gray Terminal too.

She felt like she needed to take a trip down to the river to bathe after that, but it was already dark out. It wouldn't be safe to go into the forest this late. Especially not on her own... And to top it off, she was really tired. Today had been exhausting. She eyed the car, a thoughtful expression making it's way across her juvenile features. All she wanted to do was lie down.

Her mind made up, Shiori plopped down onto the front seat of the car, face down. She pretty much just collapsed into it. The tattered seat was in it's usual half-reclined position. She hadn't wanted to get it dirty, but right now she was too tired to care.

She knew she would normally be up all night trying to pick apart the reasons her friend had just turned on her, but somehow there was a sense of release. It was like she could be more free, without having to be burdened by what others thought of her. At least now she knew. She no longer felt anything for her friend at all. So in a way, it was a relief. These were some of the vague thoughts that played through her mind, as she drifted off to sleep.

Over the past few weeks, Shiori had been worried that the others wouldn't want to hang out with her anymore, because of what Monet had said. It bothered her a lot more than she let on, though she did her best to hide it. She worried about what she might have said to the others about her, behind her back. Particularly Sabo, since she knew him.

But to her surprise, they kept showing up to play with her and spend time together. One day they'd gone to a different part of the forest to look for aloe plants. It seemed she wasn't the only one with a sunburn... Luffy had suffered quite severe burns too. And the whole group was more than happy to see her and include her in things. They continued to come to get her, day after day. Most days they sparred together against each other, but sometimes they did other things.

She'd gone out of her way to avoid using her powers anymore. Not even when she was alone. She couldn't risk someone else seeing her. When she was alone at night, sometimes she'd cry... But she didn't let anyone witness that either. She still berated herself for that time she'd lost control in front of Luffy and Ace. Now it was something she held in until she could be alone.

She hadn't seen much of Monet after the night she'd confronted her. Though she supposed that was probably a good thing... When they did run each other, Monet didn't speak to her. She just glared at her menacingly and refused to even acknowledge her presence. It seemed that they were no longer friends at all. Their friendship had turned into quite a bitter rivalry, but it was mostly one-sided. Shiori still did her best to be kind to the other girl anyway and she showed her no hostility.

In the meantime, she'd been fighting off the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her. The more she thought about her situation, the sadder she became. She knew she should probably be angry about it, but she couldn't bring herself to feel that way. She tried to hide it around the others, but the more she tried to cover up her feelings, the more obvious they became.

Sabo had expressed concern before, on numerous occasions. He probably knew what Monet had said to her, or at least had some kind of idea about it... But they'd never actually talked about it. Mainly because the subject hadn't really come up. Yet, somehow Shiori couldn't stop the feeling that maybe Monet was somehow right and the others really didn't want her around.

They gradually began to worry about her. It seemed like she was withdrawing more and more, over time. She'd kept quiet lately, but Sabo could tell there was something going on with her and Monet. He'd told the other two about the nasty things Monet was saying behind Shiori's back... Luffy had just picked his nose, the whole thing going completely over his head, and Ace had said that was just how most girls were; that it was a 'girl thing' and not to worry too much about it. But it kept getting worse. Their new friend barely talked at all anymore and she kept making excuses not to spend time with them.

"Hey sis!" Shiori's mauve eyes opened in the early morning sun to see Luffy poking her in the side. "Time to wake up, Oneechan!"

"Wha...?" She rubbed her eyes sleepily, straining to sit up.

"Good morning sunshine!" Ace laughed.

Sabo appeared too, his fluffy blond head popping up behind both of them. "Hey Shiori-san... We thought it was about time we cheered you up! So what would you like to do today?"

"What do you mean? I'm f-fine..."

She sat up, swiveling around from the car seat and planting her legs firmly on the ground. The boys moved back to give her room. She ran her fingers through her short white hair. She grabbed a hairbrush and straightened it out in the car's side mirror.

This was a surprise and she hadn't been expecting to see them today at all. Not that she particularly minded... It was nice that they were going out of their way to include her in things. That was sweet. But she hadn't wanted anyone to know what was going on or how much it was really affecting her. She'd been trying to stay away from them, in the hopes of reviving her lost friendship with Monet, but it seemed like it wasn't working.

"We know you're not that okay," Ace commented, his arms crossed as he leaned against the driver side of her car, next to where she was sitting. "Not really."

"It really is okay you g-guys. You don't h-have to do this for me. I'll be alright." She feigned a smile.

"It's okay not to be okay, you know..." The freckled boy insisted.

"I know that." Shiori felt really silly for allowing this to become such a big deal. "Well what do you guys wanna do today?"

She felt that changing subject was probably the best strategy.

"No offense," Sabo cringed at having to say this. "But your dress looks really old and worn. Maybe we could get you some new clothes in town?"

"B-but I'm not supposed to go there anymore... I was exiled, remember?"

"Since when do we do what we're supposed to?" Luffy laughed, smiling cheekily.

"I see your point, but I d-don't really think-"

"Nah!" Ace waved it off. "You think too much. You need it, so let's go get it. Simple as that. Besides, we could grab a bite to eat too. They make great food at this one restaurant. We could all go for lunch?"

"Okay, but how will we p-pay for it?" Shiori blinked in confusion, already getting up to follow the others as they walked toward the walled city.

"You just leave that to us!" Sabo winked.

She really didn't know what they were up to... But it sounded like fun. And fun was something that Shiori felt she could use right now. It would be nice to get her mind off of things. The only thing she dreaded now was possibly running into Monet there, but maybe that was why they were going? The others might want to help her face her fears. She'd noticed that they always tended to tackle problems head on. It made her feel so much better being with the whole group. She wasn't alone, so it was less likely that she would be attacked again.

They made their way into the city by blending in with civilians who were coming and going from Gray Terminal. Most of the Nobles and rich folk went out there to dump their trash or they sent their servants to do it. Sneaking in was pretty easy. It was rare that the guards actually paid much attention to children, since they were seen as lesser threats than adults.

They went into many shops and boutiques, but they failed to find anything that would fit Shiori. She was smaller than most girls her age and she felt bad since she couldn't pay. She didn't want anyone else spending money on her either. It wasn't right to take advantage of others' kindness, even if she did need something. But going around window shopping and looking through things with everyone was fun anyway.

At lunch time, they all went into a small restaurant near the middle of town. It was painted in bright colors with tasteful decor.

"They have the best ramen here!" Luffy beamed, as they went in and sat at a booth.

"I bet..." Shiori could only giggle in delight. It had been a really fun day so far, and the others kept making her laugh with their antics. "You think I should t-try it?"

"Sure, if you wanna!" Ace grinned, holding up a menu to see what he wanted. "It is pretty good."

"Our family said we could get whatever we wanted," Sabo was explaining to the waitress, a slim blonde woman. "Since it's her birthday." He pointed to Shiori.

"Oh, well happy birthday little one!" The nice lady smiled at her, trying not to smudge her makeup too much. "We've got lots of great stuff here. What can I get for you all?"

They all decided on ramen and bread. Shiori also ordered a salad. She decided to try that soda stuff again, and she noticed they all ordered that too. It made her happy that she knew enough about the world to fit in with other people like this. Today had been a good day so far.

"Why'd you lie to them like that?" Shiori asked, once the lady had walked into the back to place their order. "W-we could get in trouble."

"Nah! We never get in trouble. Besides, we do this all the time." He assured her. "Just play along, 'kay?"

A little while later, they brought out some of the fanciest noodles she had ever seen! They were garnished with lots of fresh meat and vegetables. It all looked so delicious. She'd ordered a veggie ramen, while Luffy had pork and Ace and Sabo had shrimp style. When it arrived, they all dug in without restraint.

Sabo was busy chatting with the waitress again. He felt sort of bad for not leaving her a tip, but he acted like they were going to pay when everyone was finished. Luffy had even ordered seconds, and then thirds, but their portions were huge and he hadn't been able to actually finish all of it. It created the illusion that they were still eating. When they were finished, Ace and Luffy casually excused themselves to the restroom.

"Don't you need to go too, Shiori-san?" Ace nudged her.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You know..." He grit his teeth, despite the fact that he was smiling. "We have to go now. Just say you're going to the bathroom with us and let's go." He lowered his voice to tell her the last part.

"The coast is clear, guys..." Luffy motioned for them to come over by the front door.

"Let's do this!" Ace ushered her out the door before she could protest.

Shiori wasn't sure what was going on, but she had a bad feeling about this... "Guys, are we leaving w-without pa-"

"Hurry up, run!" Sabo shouted, suddenly running from the building behind them. "The waitress went into the back and she'll be back any minute!"

"Let's get out of here!" Ace agreed, nodding while they ran.

The group continued sprinting, even as the waitress and one of the cooks ran after them. They tried to chase them down, but the group of children kept avoiding them at every turn. Eventually they had to split up to keep the two grown ups from catching them. Luffy turned sharply down an alley, where the cook followed him. The man was getting close to him, but he used his stretching powers to hoist himself up onto the roof of a building. It was a dead end. They couldn't follow him any further. Sabo raced the other way, luring the woman who had waited on them down a different street...

"Come on! This way!" He called out with a hearty laugh. "Haha! Now that's how you dine and dash!"

Ace grabbed onto the back of Shiori's dress, pulling her along with him. They ran away as fast as they could. All she could hear were the sounds of their footsteps echoing off the ground, his shoes and her worn old boots leaving their marks in the dust. The buildings of the city rushed by them in a colorful blur. She struggled to catch her breath while they ran.

There was a terrible ripping sound. It happened out of nowhere... Her dress began to tear, as he pulled her along, and she began to fall a little behind. It ripped even further, nearly pulling it off of her. Shiori's hands clung to the scraps of black fabric, holding it close to her, in a desperate attempt to save herself from further embarrassment. She let out a small yelp of surprise when it happened.

"Oh crap!" He yelped.

Ace finally noticed what had happened and yanked her into an alley where they could hide. He peeked his head out to look up and down the street. He spotted the blonde waitress making her way through the crowd. It looked like she was going back to the restaurant now. She and the cook had apparently given up, their heads hung low in defeat.

"I guess Sabo and Luffy gave them the slip," Ace grinned, but then he turned to her with a worried look. "Hey, I'm really sorry about your dress... I was just trying to make sure we didn't get separated."

Shiori's heart was beating so fast... She could feel her blood racing through her veins. It was exhilarating! There were a few times when she'd thought those people would catch them, but she felt safe with Ace. The two panted for a few seconds to catch their breath. Her face was very red.

"It's o-okay... I know." She replied. She'd known he hadn't done it on purpose.

"That won't do though," He pointed to the various rips and tears that she already knew were there. "You definitely can't go around in these rags anymore. I hate to say it, but this dress has had it."

"It's a-actually a Nun's habit. Just one made for kids... I feel b-bad about getting rid of it, since it's all I have left from the Monastery, but I agree."

"We'll have to find you something else to wear now. I know where there's a shop with a lazy old shopkeeper. If we're careful, we should be able to pull one over on her. Come on..."

He dragged her through the crowd. It was the middle of the day, so the streets were crammed full of people.

"B-but what about Luffy-san and Sabo-san?"

"Don't worry," Ace reassured her. "They'll be fine. We can meet up later. They'll know to go back to your place in Gray Terminal if they can't find us. So we'll do the same. Just stay close to me. We don't want to get separated too."

Shiori nodded and did as she'd been told. She followed him to a small shop on the edge of town. It didn't look as nice as some of the stores they'd passed, but she assumed he probably knew what he was doing. She wondered if all of their clothes were stolen? She was also curious about whether they made a habit of eating and leaving without paying.

She had mixed feelings about what they'd just done. Stealing had never really occurred to her. She knew it was wrong. Those people had to pay for all the stuff they took... But it was out of necessity. They were just kids, and they shouldn't have to starve. She was starting to realize that maybe she shouldn't have been treated the way she had been by everyone, either. She'd done nothing wrong. Well, not until now, anyway...

"This is it," He told her. "We'll go in together and act like we're shopping, like normal. And we'll pick you up something to cover up with, at least. I have a little money stashed away... I'll even pay for it myself, if I have to."

"Oh, that's so k-kind of you, but I don't know... M-maybe we can get it without paying?"

'What the heck am I saying?!' She scolded herself...

And yet, she did it anyway. She felt that this was the town that had scorned her, exiled her for no real reason other than being poor and not having parents. So they sort of had it coming. But also, she just didn't want Ace to have to spend his money on her.

"We'll try."

Shiori followed the freckle faced boy inside. There were lots of clothes hanging from racks and lying haphazardly across shelves. It looked like they'd been picked over a lot. Nothing was in order. There were other people in the store, so it was easy to move around without being noticed.

"See that lady with the kid over there?" Ace pointed to a mother with a young girl, much smaller than them, trailing a bit behind her. "If we walk close behind them, people will assume we're here with them, and we won't get kicked out."

Not knowing what else to do, Shiori nodded. She was busy looking around at everything the shop had to offer. There were so many different outfits to choose from. The two followed the small family into the children's clothing section without drawing any attention from the shopkeep or anyone else. Then they went their separate ways so the woman wouldn't get suspicious either.

Shiori noticed several different kinds of clothing. There were tons of racks everywhere. She picked up a few shirts, before quickly discarding them. They were kind of ugly, by her standards... She knew now wasn't the time to be picky, but she didn't know when she would get another chance to find something to wear and whatever she found, she would be wearing it for a while.

She spotted a pink and white sweater with big wide horizontal stripes, and held it up to her shoulders. It looked like it should fit. She knew they didn't have time to use the fitting room to try them on. And they could arouse suspicion anyway if anyone were to notice her. She also picked up a pair of black shorts that reached just past her knees. They looked like together they should cover up enough of her. She'd noticed that recently her dress was getting way too small anyway. She might be tiny, but she was still growing.

"H-how do these look, Ace-san?"

"They look great!" He gave her a thumbs up. "I don't mind whatever you wanna get, just grab what you want and let's go." He was glancing around a lot, he seemed a little nervous.

"How do we... y-you know?"

"I just got a great idea... Sometimes it works, but if it doesn't, we can still snag the clothes anyway." Ace took the stuff she'd picked out and lifted the pretty dresses and expensive clothes the little girl had picked out. He put Shiori's under them, into their shopping bag. "Shhh..."

A little while later, the mother went up to the cash register and immediately began chatting with the owner of the little shop. It was clear from the way she moved that she was a Noble. Her fur coat and generous amount of gleaming jewelry also made it obvious to anyone who paid attention. Ace had lived in Goa Kingdom long enough to know how things worked. There was a slim chance that she might notice it, but worst case scenario, they could just go grab them back off the shelves the minute the shopkeep put them back.

While she watched the woman absentmindedly pay for her purchases, Shiori backed away a bit. She was getting ready to run away if she needed to... But no one noticed a thing. She backed right into a shoe rack, and when she turned around, she saw a pair of pink tennis shoes that looked like they should fit her okay. They even had socks stuffed inside them, for display purposes.

Ace, seeming to read her mind, picked them up behind his back, and began to inch his way out of the store. She did the same, walking close behind him to help cover the shoes from view. She barely noticed the woman picking up her bags and ushering her child out the door of the busy store. She began sauntering down the sidewalk outside.

"H-how are we-"

"Don't worry." He winked, handing her the shoes once they were a safe distance away.

She clutched them close to her, looking at him, puzzled.

"Excuse me miss," Ace walked right up to the lady who they'd just ripped off. "There seems to have been some kind of mix up at the checkouts... My sister and I were just getting ready to check out and we'd already paid, but I think the cashier stuck your clothes in the bag on top of ours by mistake."

"Oh dear!" She seemed startled, but began looking through the bags frantically. She found the outfit Shiori had picked out only minutes ago. "I'm so sorry about that. I hope you don't think I was trying to pull anything. I didn't know!"

"Of course, it was just a mix up." He assured her, smiling and bowing to her, before taking the clothes and handing them to his shy friend.

Shiori took them with a small grateful smile. Something passed between them, a secret that they shared together. Shiori felt weird, but a moment later it had passed...

"Please take this for the trouble!" Fishing through her purse, the woman gave him a few Beri.

His eyes widened in surprise. It was bad enough that they'd just ripped off the woman and conned her into not only paying for Shiori's clothes. She'd just handing them over to her afterward. And now she was trying to pay him for the trouble that she felt she'd caused.

"Oh no, I couldn't do that..."

"No, I insist!" She shoved it into his hand. "I'm very sorry about that. Take care!" She rushed off quickly, with her daughter in tow. It seemed like she was in a hurry. Then again, most of the inhabitants of this city usually were.

"W-wow..." Shiori sighed with relief, once the woman was gone. "I can't b-believe that worked!"

"Well, it doesn't always go that smoothly. But hey, it worked this time!"

He smiled, watching how happy she was. It made him happy that she had what she needed now. And she seemed appreciative of all of it. Shiori probably never would have figured out how to do this, and even if she did, she most likely wouldn't have been able to pull it off on her own. She needed someone who could help her right now.

"I can't thank you enough! Wow..." She held up their ill-gotten gains with pride. "These l-look so great!"

"You know..." Ace cast a sideways glance her way. "It's a shame you're so dead set against it. You'd make a fine Pirate someday."

Shiori didn't know what to say to that. She thought about it for a moment. It was hard to imagine herself doing anything wrong, breaking laws and whatnot... That wasn't how she was taught. She ignored the comment.

They walked together for a little way, before she squeaked in delight. She couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

"Eeeee! I c-can't wait to try these on!" She chirped happily, changing the subject.

"Spoken like a true female," Ace rolled his eyes. "Well, it can't be helped. There's a shop up here where you can go into the bathroom and change into your new clothes, if you want."

He gestured to a small building that wasn't too crowded. Shiori's eyes lit up with delight. She'd never realized how much fun shopping could be. Ace smiled at the way she had taken an instant liking to it. Poor thing... She was more typical than she realized. He waited outside for her to come out.

When she went in, she was all rags and dirt. After cleaning off her face in the mirror and changing into her new sweater and capris pants, she was feeling much better about things. It was really baggy on her but she would grow into it. She'd put on her new shoes too, and it really completed the outfit. She almost didn't recognize herself. She'd never worn anything except for the habits that the Nuns provided her with. This was a huge change, it was very new for her, and she was nervous about it.

She still carried the remnants of her old dress. But when she walked out, Shiori noticed that her friend was staring at her. He looked her over from head to toe, admiring her new look. The pale pink and white stripes complimented her eyes nicely. The shoes came up only to her ankles and showed off her legs a lot more than her worn old boots had. She'd tossed them in the trash on her way out. These sneakers were a lot more comfortable.

"You look awesome!" He told her, before pointing at the tattered black garment she held in one hand. "Don't you wanna ditch that old thing though?"

"No... T-too many memories." She clutched it protectively.

Oh well. Not like it was hurting anything. Ace felt kind of weird for some reason... Right now, he wanted to find Sabo and Luffy to make sure they were okay. He'd just solved one major problem. Now it was time to work on others.

"We should get back to your place in Gray Terminal. I'm sure the others are probably there waiting by now."

"Yeah, let's go."

Shiori followed him. She was really happy that she'd gotten something new to wear. And that he liked it. At least she could count on her friends if things got really tough. That was all that mattered. She was sure the others were alright, or else they would have probably heard the commotion from it. They always made a huge scene wherever they went. In a way, it was bad, but it also had its advantages.

It started to rain, just as they approached the junk yard. Ace had been so sure their friends would be waiting for them there, but they didn't see anyone yet. When they got closer, they saw some figures moving around inside the familiar silver car.

The boys ran home in the rain. It was really coming down by that point. Shiori watched them leave, as they all yelled quick goodbyes to each other. She was in a hurry to get into her car and fend off the downpour. She really didn't want her new outfit to get messed up so soon. She was glad to have something that wasn't full of holes and torn to shreds. She'd come a long way in only a short time.

The young girl snuggled into the seat, trying to get comfortable. The car still didn't have a door on it and normally she wouldn't have cared, but water was dripping down on her. It prompted her to climb into the back seat so she could stay dry. She was sure the sun's rays would dry out the interior tomorrow, once it stopped raining.

In the middle of the night, Shiori woke up. She didn't know why... She usually would have slept until morning, but something felt different. She thought maybe it was because she was having to sleep in a different place than she was used to. But there was more to it than that...

She had an eerie feeling. It felt like she was being watched.

For a moment, she sat completely still, not even daring to breathe... She strained to listen. She didn't hear anything. And then suddenly, there was a rush of wind. The leaves rustled in the nearby trees. Something was moving around up there. She wondered if it was just an owl or something, and tried her best to focus on lying still so she could go back to sleep. It didn't work.

She heard someone walking lightly nearby, followed by the sounds of metal and debris being moved around. It sounded like someone was going through the junk pile near her. And then it stopped. She heard the rustling come from the trees again. Then it stopped. And started up again.

'What the heck is going on out there?' She tried to peer out the rear window to see. It was dark, but she could make out vague outlines.

A strange form swooped down from the trees, landing in the front seat of her car. Shiori yelped in surprise, hiding herself as well as she could. Whatever it was, it started going through the various junk that was lying around inside her car. Two big brown doe-like eyes stared at the cowering child for a moment.

"Who are you?" A female voice spoke, cautiously.

"N-no one... Just t-take what you want and leave. I won't even be m-mad, okay? Just don't hurt me. I've been through enough t-today..."

"I wouldn't do a thing like that," The being regarded her curiously, peering at her from over the broken front seat headrest. "Why are you here? Did you need shelter from the rains too?" A shock of wild, tousled dirty blonde hair fell over the back of the seat.

"No, I..." Shiori hesitated. Should she tell her the reason? "I l-live here." She admitted, not seeing a way out of it.

It was dark, but in what little moonlight managed to escape through cracks in the clouds, she could see it was a girl a little older than her. She had strange clothes that had all sorts of different colors on them- Pink, purple, and brown with bits of jade green or teal mixed in adorned a poncho type ensemble that hung over her shoulders. That part seemed fairly normal.

But then there was the strangest thing Shiori had ever seen on a person... She had wings! They were folded behind her back now, but she'd caught glimpses of them earlier, before she'd descended. They were a dusty brown with a lot of yellow and pink markings, and two big blue spots on either side that sort of reminded her of the peacock feather in her amulet.

"You live in here?" The strange creature asked her, taking a sudden interest. "Well aren't you a strange one? I thought most people lived in houses or on ships."

"They do. I'm j-just really poor... I got exiled from Goa Kingdom. This is where most exiles and unwanted people go."

"But there's so much cool stuff here!" The girl-like... thing chattered on. She held up a broken metal toaster, shoving it in Shiori's face. "Like this! See? It's so cool! You can't find stuff like this just anywhere, ya know." She giggled, her eyes gleaming.

"Uhh... Okay." The child stared at the being in fright.

"Please don't be afraid of me," She suddenly seemed to come to her senses. "Sorry I'm such a flake! I forget that some people around here must not be used to me... I don't mean you any harm. I just came in here to get out of the rain. I'm sorry. I'll go."

"No, w-wait!" Shiori grabbed the woolen poncho that hung from her shoulders. "I mean, you can st-stay here if you... If you want to. You shouldn't be out in the rain anyway. I don't mind."

"Oh... Really? Well that's awfully kind of you!" The older girl chirped. "My name's Chouko, pleased to meet you!" She extended a hand, which the youngster shook slowly.

"I'm Shiori." She offered her a smile.

"So... I'm guessing from the way you keep staring at my wings that you're probably wondering what's up with them, right?" She pointed her thumb toward her back.

"C-can I..." Shiori trailed off, dismissing her own question.

'No,' She thought. 'That's not an appropriate thing to ask of someone. Not at our first meeting, anyway.'

The other girl leaned closer to her, twisting the upper half of her body around. "You can touch them if you like. Everyone I run into always asks me that!" She giggled. Her laugh was vibrant and full of life.

Shiori hesitantly reached out to trace her small fingers along the edge of the smooth wings. They were soft to the touch, and seemed to be covered in a fine fur of some type. A powder came off on her hands.

"H-how did... I mean..." She again seemed embarrassed of her own question.

"Simple. I ate the Ga Ga no Mi... The Moth Moth Devil Fruit."

"Eh?! You too?!" Her jaw dropped. "I-I've eaten one... Well, we think so at least."

"Is that so? What's yours?"

"I have no idea... P-probably some kind of Snow Devil Fruit? M-maybe?"

The blonde girl nodded. "I see... That makes sense. Probably the Yuki Yuki no Mi. Very interesting."

"H-how do you know so much about them anyway?"

Shiori's question was ignored. Chouko reached out a single finger, and pressed it lightly to her nose. "Boop." She cracked a smile.

"Was that r-really necessary?" She wiped off her face, indignantly.

"Totally!"

"We should try to g-get some sleep." Shiori suggested. "It's late." She could see she wasn't going to get any answers out of her, and she was tired anyway.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks for letting me stay here. I promise I'll be gone by morning and I won't pester you anymore! ...Probably!"

"Gee, th-thanks for the reassurance..." She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" The older girl raised an eyebrow.

"N-nothing... I was just saying goodnight."

"Oh! Goodnight then." Her smile was back. For some reason, it comforted Shiori.

Chouko soon fell asleep leaning on the seat like she was when they were talking, sort of half-facing the back with her giant wings folded behind her. It wasn't that weird sharing her space with someone. Since her journey began, Shiori had learned to sleep under even the most absurd and bizarre of conditions. This girl seemed pretty nice. If she wanted to harm her, she probably already would have by now. And it's not like she had anything left that was worth stealing. So what did she have to worry about?

A light squeaking sound emerged from the front of the broken down vehicle... She realized that her new friend was snoring, sleeping soundly. Shiori smiled lightly, trying her best to do the same. She'd had a long day. At least meeting Chouko had taken her mind off her bigger problems, like Monet and all of that drama.

A/N: Sorry about the wait on this chapter. I told you I'd explain her powers better, and how she ended up with something like Monet's... Or at least part of it. There's more to tell though. So much more... Shiori has so many secrets, most of which even she doesn't know about yet. I'm happy with how this is turning out and I just really hope my readers are too.

Don't worry, she'll grow up soon. She'll pretty much have to. I don't want to spend the whole story talking about her childhood or anything, but just needed to give you a basic idea of what she's all about and the kinds of things she's been through. Oh yeah, why don't Pirates in One Piece get sunburns anyway? Has that ever bothered you? Well it sort of bothers me, lol. Also, I've calculated things up and, for clarity's sake, Shiori would have probably been about 10 or 11 years old here. And let's face it, you knew there'd be a dine & dash scene at some point! xD

-Kaline