A/N: The story's gonna take a detour for a few chapters and introduce some new characters. I promise it will tie back in and we'll find out what happened to Shaad and the others. Enjoy; and, as always Read Review

New Acquaintances

With a wave, Isaac exited the store, ready to head home, despite not getting anything he came to town for, and drop off the things he was carrying and come back for the rest, mainly food; he was already hungry again and only had scraps left at the house to eat. Before he'd gotten far away from the shop, though, he heard some noise off near the center of town that sounded like someone getting beat up.

Isaac ran to where he heard the noise coming from, the stuff he'd bought still on his back. With his speed, it didn't take long to get there, but once there, he was shocked by the scene before him. Instead of citizens being attacked, it was the citizens doing the attacking. Five men from the village had a single individual surrounded on the ground and were beating the crap out of him with two by fours as well as their bare hands.

Isaac couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew something wasn't right. The villagers weren't brave or strong enough to take on any of the pirates that ruled the island, and few of those pirates were bold enough to travel alone. Not wasting any more time trying to figure it out, Isaac jumped in the middle of the fray and yelled out.

"St~op!"

The villagers were visibly tense and didn't appreciate Isaac getting in their way, but they had nothing personal against him.

"Move out of the way, Isaac. This doesn't concern you," one of the men shouted.

"Hold on, why are you doing this?"

"This bastard came sailing in here just now flying a Jolly Roger," another of the mob yelled.

"We've been through too much to just let another pirate waltz in here and destroy everything we have left." Excuses erupted from the crowd, each one further emboldening the already raucous mob.

"So, the five of you assault one person who's not even involved in all this? Real brave."

The villagers didn't take well to being spoken down to or Isaac's sarcasm, and they would have let it be known if a knife he was keeping in his bag hadn't cut through the bottom and fallen out... along with everything else inside, including the six foot long claymore, which landed with a noticeable clang on the ground before rolling out of its light wrapping. Seeing the large sword caused everyone to take a step back. They knew they couldn't beat Isaac anyway, but that sword just drew too much attention. Reluctantly, they all dispersed and went their separate ways, each of them mumbling and grumbling beneath his breath.

Meanwhile, the person being beat up was a fit young man, with his lean, muscular physique on full display since he wasn't wearing a shirt, only a pair of low cut black jeans and a silver cross necklace to go along with the bloodied bandages wrapping his hands and the ragged black boots on his feet. He was looking up Isaac's chiseled back to the neck long, messy white hair as the village orphan convinced the others to leave him alone before turning around with a soft smile as he crouched down.

"You okay," Issac asked with concern.

"Yea; I- I'm fine."

Though his words said one thing, the slight strain in his voice as he got up indicated to the contrary.

"Come with me to my place; you can rest there for a bit. It's getting kind of late anyway." Isaac offered rather abruptly as he got up and gathered his belongings. The tone of his voice making his words more a command than a request.

"I don't need any help," the stubborn stranger refused nonetheless. But his words were overruled by his stomach.

"Then how bout food," Isaac offered with a smile, the deep, prolonged growl of the young man's stomach too loud to be ignored. "I can fix you something at my house."

"I'll kill something in the woods," came the flippant reply

Isaac just shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Well, if I can't change your mind. . ."

A few minutes later, Isaac was strolling peacefully back to his house, whistling a tune, with his belongings on his back and. . . the stranger, tied up with chains, being dragged along behind him with lumps on his head and spirals in his eyes.

It didn't take too long for Isaac to get back home, even with his extra 'luggage'. Bringing everything inside, Isaac dropped the stranger just inside the door, unchained him, and went to put up his stuff. He then came back a couple of minutes later with a pot of steaming hot water and dumped it on his now sleeping guest just as a large snot bubble popped, causing him to immediately jump up frantically screaming and desperately fanning himself.

"Aaah; hot, hot, hot! What the hell was that!?"

"You were letting yourself get beat up by the villagers; I had to make sure you don't just enjoy pain."

"Oh, so I should've gone ahead and pummeled 'em," the pirate questioned rhetorically.

Isaac didn't pay any attention to the stranger's sarcastic remark or the equally ludicrous smirk he had, opting to ask a question of his own instead as he went back into the kitchen to make a quick meal.

"So, what's your name, anyway? I don't like giving food to strangers."

"But, you'll give food to pirates?"

"I don't judge people by their titles, Sadist."

"Ah, that's goo- Hey, don't just go giving people nicknames." It took a few seconds for the impromptu name to sink in as the stranger nodded approval for Isaac's life view, but Isaac merely shrugged. "Ugh! My name's K'ron by the way."

"Kron?"

"No, K'ron. It's pronounced Kay Ron, baka.

"That's no way to speak to someone being hospitable and extending a helping hand. Have you no home training," Isaac scolded.

K'ron didn't respond, and Isaac didn't much care either way as he'd finished making something to eat. He handed a bowl of it to his guest, earning a look of distaste and skepticism from the lone pirate.

"What kind of. . . soup(?). . . is this?"

"It's meatloaf."

K'ron looked questioningly at the bowl of what was apparently ground beef chunks and vegetables in what looked more like a broth than a tomato based topping. It didn't look appealing in the least to him and he briefly wondered if it may be poisoned, but was broken out of his thoughts by Isaac's voice.

"I'm not a chef, but if you're not going to eat it, then put it down and lie back. I need to check the injuries you may have gotten from the villagers."

"I don't need any first aid; those villagers couldn't hurt me."

"Hmph! That's funny since you clearly have at least a bruised rib." Isaac pointed to K'ron's left ribs where a purplish bruise was forming, but the pirate just scoffed.

"Oh, so you're a doctor now. Besides, you caused that yourself."

"Um, no. . . and no. I'm not a doctor, and I didn't cause that rib injury. But, if you don't want any treatment then just lay there for the night; it could be dangerous to be outside in another hour or two. I'm going to go buy some food."

"N-no, I ain't eating that slop," K'ron loudly declared in a flustered panic. "I'd rather have a Devil's Fruit. At least its nastiness has a point, unlike your cra- a- ah!"

K'ron's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell unconscious from a solid uppercut directly to his already bruised rib. Isaac then muttered, 'no manners' before turning to leave, but not before saying a few words to his knocked out guest.

"Now, that was me. But, seriously I need food for myself or else I won't have anything to eat tomorrow."

K'ron released a muddled groan in his sorry state, lying flat on the ground, face down. Isaac accepted that as an OK and headed out into the open air with a smile on his face. For the second time that day, he once again went into town for the express purpose of getting food, but unlike last time, he did not let himself get distracted. Also unlike last time, this time he was completely without money, having spent it all at Mr. Glass's shop. Knowing what that meant, but not letting it deter him, Isaac went to the food stand of his favorite merchant. Favorite for the sole reason that he could usually get some free food from him.

"Hey, Mr. Toosan. How's your day been?"

"No," came a curt, gruff response."

"Huh; no what?"

"I'm not giving you any food."

"Whaa? Please; pwetty pweease with a cherry on top," Isaac begged, his faced long and eyes wide and expectant.

The merchant, though, was unmoved by Isaac's attempt to sway him with puppy dog eyes, and remained stern.

"Not unless you got some money this time."

"Aah, come on. Can't I pay you later?"

"You still owe me from the last three times, you good-for-nothing!"

Isaac backed up a bit at the shopkeeper's angry tone, and violently shaking fist above his head, before nervously responding.

"N-Now, there's n-no need for name calling."

But the shopkeeper just continued to fiercely glare at Isaac.

"Can't I at least get the stuff that's going bad since you were going to throw it out anyway," Isaac suggested.

There was a silence at that moment, but at least Mr. Toosan's expression softened somewhat. That gave Isaac more confidence.

"Please... I know you haven't thrown them out yet. I just need something to eat."

Mr. Toosan looked to have finally relented as he gathered up different ingredients in a bag and shoved the bag into Isaac's arms.

"Here, ya little brat."

"Really," Isaac exclaimed, disbelief evident in his voice as he clutched the bag with both arms."

"My wife would kill me if I let a brat like you go hungry or eat expired food."

"Well, thanks ojiisan."

The shopkeeper stifled back a growl at being called old before pulling out a box from under the counter and handing it to Isaac.

"My wife also wanted me to give you this. And, she's still wondering if you'll come over for dinner again sometime soon."

"Oooh, molten chocolate lava cake with strawberries and whipped cream in a pool of vanilla cream on top, my favorite."

Isaac swiftly closed the box as a pool of drool formed at his feet over the mouthwatering cake before him. Chocolate was his favorite and he'd swear Mrs. Toosan made the best desserts in all of the Grand Line. He used his sleeve to wipe the remaining drool from his mouth as he finally regained control of his salivary glands and ran off with the box tucked under one arm while waving back to Mr. Toosan. "Tell Mrs. Toosan, I'll definitely be by for dinner sometime soon."

"I'll tell her. Hurry home; it's almost nightfall and you don't need to be out past curfew... And, don't forget to have money next time, this is the last time you'll get something free," Mr. Toosan yelled after him.

Isaac just smiled as he ran home, the food in a sack over his shoulder and the cake under his other arm. Mr. Toosan always said that, so he knew it wasn't true. Still though, he always fully intended to pay, he just never had money left for some reason that he didn't understand. He did agree, though, that he needed to get home fast; it would be troublesome if he was caught outside past curfew.

As he kept jogging home, making sure to keep a good pace without shaking the cake too violently. He'd just left the village and his house was just over the horizon about a mile and a half out when he accidentally crashed into something in front of him, making him drop what he was carrying. Looking up, he saw three towering figures, each carrying a weapon: a double sided axe, a cutlass, and a mace, respectively. They all looked pissed as Isaac had caused the center one to drop the rack of meat he'd been eating. The axe wielding man on the right stepped forward and sent Isaac flying into a nearby tree with a bone crunching kick to the midsection, causing the tree to crack from the impact. Isaac rested an arm on his stomach as he positioned himself to lean against the tree before briefly flashing a half-hearted smirk at his attackers while the trio let loose a round of raucous laughter.

"Don't you know it's past your curfew, runt?"

The three men were members of the pirate crew that had set up base on the island. Once the crew had secured control, they implemented a curfew of nightfall for all residents. Anyone caught outside past that time was subject to whatever punishment the pirate who caught them chose. Most were severely beaten just for laughs, though some were just flat out killed... or worse. A small number were allowed to run off on rare occasions, but these three obviously had at least a beating in mind as they approached, evil grins plastered on their faces.

"St~op! Just stop already, you pirates." Isaac waved his hands for them to stop as they moved closer in a semicircular formation, and let out a sigh of relief when they actually paused long enough to send him a questioning glare and let out a small laugh between them thinking he was just scared for his life.

"Hahahahaha! Listen to this coward, boys. He's probably already pissed his pants," the one in the middle boisterously laughed.

"This won't be any fun if he won't at least pretend to be tough. But, I guess he's just smart enough to realize he doesn't stand a chance of beating us," commented the one to his left.

Isaac didn't have a problem with them making fun of him, but there was something about people saying they could beat him that always set him off. However, this time he managed a bit more self-control than usual, stammering out, "No, I'm not scared; I just don't want him to step on that box," while pointing to pirate furthest right.

Isaac's gall apparently amused the apparent ringleader standing front and center, "Ha, it's seems this punk has got some nerve after all."

"Hmph; maybe he doesn't know it's past curfew. Either that or I don't think he understands what that means," mused the strongest target of Isaac's ire, a threatening timbre to his voice.

"What I don't know is who you think you are to give me a curfew. I'll go in when I want to."

The pirates glared at him and he realized how far he'd gone, instantly biting back his attitude and switching to the innocent tone of a scared child.

"Uh, I mean, please let me go. I'll run home right away."

"Oh, he thinks begging is going to help him now. It's too late for that."

"Wow, you truly are idiots," Isaac snapped before he could think better of it. "I mean, have mercy."

"What did you say, punk?"

"Is your head really so far up your boss' ass that you can't hear me?" Before Isaac could even attempt to redact that comment, the pirate on the right got fed up with his smart mouth.

"How bout you shut your pie hole, runt before I step on this precious box of yours and then we make you wish you'd continued pleading like the weakling you are," he growled, foot hovering over the dropped box.

"Mrs. Toosan's cake," Isaac yelled out as the pirate was about to set his foot down.

Upon hearing what was in the box, the pirate stopped his foot mid-motion, slamming it on the ground next to the box instead. He had a gluttonous look on his face as he then picked up the box, a line of drool dribbling down his stubbly chin as he gazed upon the mouthwatering cake, all the while Isaac was hurling insults and curses at him telling him to stop. One finally broke through just before his finger made contact with the top of the cake.

"If you lay a single fat finger on my cake, I'll make you choke on it, fatso."

Though the pirate had an almost fully exposed beer belly, he obviously took extreme offense to the fatso remark, casting a chilling look of disdain towards Isaac as he slowly, mockingly hovered his meaty finger over the sweet chocolate cake. He roughly ran his finger along the top of the cake before leading it to his mouth, but in time with his finger going into and coming out of the cake, the blade of a sword was simultaneously plunged through the center of his chest and just as roughly withdrawn, leaving the overweight pirate to drop the box with the cake still in it before he himself fell down right next to it. Isaac was relieved that at least part of the cake was still edible while the other two pirates were in shock at seeing their partner slain right next to them.

"Wha- Who dare to kill a member of the Steel Trap Pirates," they simultaneously shouted in anger, but still in shock from the unexpected killing of their comrade.

They turned around to see K'ron standing there with fresh bandages around his hands and one around his midsection, bloody claymore being held over his bare shoulder as fresh blood still dripped from the top part of the blade.

"Why you little-"

"We'll teach you to-"

A single, swift swing of the gigantic sword lopped the two grown men in half before either could even finish their thoughts. Blood splattered onto K'ron's face, but he kept an almost psychotic grin the entire time. Isaac barely paid any attention to the scene, still focused on figuring out the best way to eat around where the pirate ran his finger. His thoughts were violently ripped back to the moment at hand, though, when the boot on K'ron's foot came clearly into view... right in the center of Isaac's cake.

K'ron just shrugged it off and wiped his boot against the ground to get the cake off, but tears began streaming down Isaac's cheeks as he looked upon the ruined dessert, imagining how it would've tasted. The two seemed to be in completely different worlds as they simultaneously spoke to each other, but moreso to themselves.

"True, there's nothing like that first kill, but it really is a bit overrated."

"Why? All you had to do was watch where you're going"

Once they realized that both of them were talking at the same time, they stared blankly at each other for a few moments until K'ron broke the awkward silence.

"Anyways, this sword's a bit clunky and unwieldy. It's not practical for use."

The young pirate made to walk off, but was stopped by Isaac, trembling with barely contained rage, calling after him.