A/N: And here's the first chapter of my One Piece fic, Akagami Shiro Neko! This takes place right after the battle of Marineford, right before Sengoku retires. So, I guess, during the Time Skip. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please rate and review, tell me what you think, ya know the drill.

~Shini

She ran as fast as she could, deftly leaping over fallen logs and large bushes that blocked her path. She had to get as far away as she could. This was her only chance to escape, to survive. When her careless attendant had left the door to her cage unlocked, she hadn't hesitated. She sprung out of it, running towards the open window even as she slipped on the smooth floor. Curses trailed her, but they didn't catch her as she tumbled out of the window and into the forest outside. She had landed hard enough to knock the wind right out of her, but that didn't stop her from pushing to her feet and running. Alarms sounded behind her, soon followed by the sounds of pounding feet. She pushed herself faster, running so hard that she felt like her heart was about to burst from her chest.

She tripped over a hidden root, twisting her ankle. She let out a small mewl of pain, but didn't stop running. Something tugged at her, urging her to turn right. Soon, she was running on soft sand instead of hard dirt. The sudden change surprised her, but she just closed her bright eyes and pushed herself more. When her head ran into something hard, it shocked her enough to stop running. Tears welled in her eyes as she fell backwards, and she started to whimper. It was too late. They had caught her. She would be punished for her escape attempt. But that didn't mean she had to go back easily. She took a deep breath and bared her teeth, hissing as the pale fur along her spine stood up, making her appear larger than she really was.

The deep chuckle that assaulted her ears caused her hiss to stop abruptly. Strong hands gently grabbed the scruff of her neck, picking her up off the ground. "Lookee, here, men," a strange voice said, "seems we've caught a little lost kitten."

She was so shocked at the gentleness radiating off of the man holding her that she couldn't hold her form. Abruptly, she went from a small white kitten to a small young girl. Her long hair was as pale as snow, falling almost to her knees. Her eyes were still that of a cat, slit pupils surrounded by pale yellow. She bared her teeth at the man still holding her, showing sharp fangs, as her ears, still those of a cat, pivoted on top of her head.

"Or, rather, a lost little girl."

The man grinned widely, the sun shinning behind him shadowing part of him from her gaze. What she could see was a large bushy mustache, a large frame covered in a bright red Captain's jacket. The men surrounding him smelled strongly of alcohol and the sea. They were sailors of some kind. As her eyes scanned them, she knew that they weren't part of the Navy. None of them wore the white and blue uniforms. Seeing this, she relaxed. Not part of the Navy meant that they were safe. The man noticed this and gently sat her down in the sand. Her legs wobbled slightly, but she managed to keep standing. Without even realizing it, her hand snaked out and tightly grasped the man's coat. She took a deep shuddering breath and tears welled in her eyes. For the first time in her short life, she felt safe.

That is, until she heard crashing in the woods behind her. Her shoulders stiffened and she started to shake. They had found her! Of course they had! She could never truly hide from them. The man she was holding tightly to frowned down at her before glancing back at the forest. Quickly, he reached down and scooped her up. She let out a small squeak of surprise, but didn't struggle as the man handed her off to two young men. One had bright red hair covered by a straw hat. The other had bright blue hair and a red nose. The man who passed her off said something to the two boys and they nodded. The red-head took her and tightly held her to his chest. He quickly started walking away from the group right as several men spilled out of the forest. The bluenette quickly stepped behind the red-head, blocking her view of the men.

They stepped into a small boat and were quickly rowed out to a much larger ship. She had never been on one before, and the subtle rocking made her stomach feel weird. The red-head set her down before crouching in front of her. He grinned widely and brushed some of her long hair out of her face.

"Don't cry, little one," he said, gently pulling at her cheeks. "You're safe now."

"Yeah," the bluenette added in a slightly gruff voice. "We'll protect you. What's your name, anyway"

She stared at them for a long moment before she suddenly burst into tears. A feeling overwhelmed her, one she had never felt before. Safety. That's what it was. As she sobbed and rubbed at her eyes, she managed to stutter, "I-I'm S-Subject 67492."

Both of the boys frowned and looked at each other for a long moment. "That's not a name," the red-head said slowly. "See, I'm Shanks, and this here's Buggy," he added, pointing first to himself, then his companion.

Buggy, the bluenette crouched next to Shanks. "Do have a real name?" he asked quietly. She could only shake her head, sniffing as her sobs slowly lessened. "How about we give you one, then?

Her eyes widened as she stared at the two boys. "A n-name?" she managed to ask, her voice raw from crying.

"Yeah, a name." Shanks grinned at her before silently studying her. Abruptly, he reached out and brushed her hair out of her face. "Look, Buggy, she has a smudge on her forehead. It kinda looks like 'L'."

"How about that, then?" Buggy responded, licking his thumb to wipe off the dirt. "L."

Shanks smiled widely at the girl. "Okay, then, Elle. I'm Shanks. Nice to meetcha!"

She couldn't help but giggle. A name. She had a name. She was no longer just 67492. She was Elle.

I suddenly sat up in bed, my fingers tightly gripping the covers. It took me a long moment to come to my senses. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, sighing loudly. It had been a long time since I had had that dream. It was pleasant, a fond memory. But it was a bittersweet feeling that overcame me. Yes, it was a fond memory. But it only led to heartbreak.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the remainders of my dream. Something had woke me, so I decided to investigate to see what it was. I crawled out of my futon and stood up, stretching hard enough that several of my vertebrae popped. I straightened my short sleeping yukata before softly padding over to the door. I slid it open, revealing the room next door to mine. Inside were two small children curled together in one futon while they had two. One of the children had shockingly white hair, as white as my own, and was tightly holding his brother, who had hair just as red as blood.

Both of my boys were sound asleep, softly snoring. I soundlessly walked over and brushed the hair off of their foreheads before leaning down and kissing each one. Sora and Eli were my life, the only thing that kept me going. They would be turning ten in a few days, making my heart squeeze. They were getting so old. With another kiss for each, I stood up and walked back into my room, softly sliding the door shut behind me. Seeing that my boys were fine, I walked over to the door that lead out into the hall. Standing outside of it, with his hair poised to knock, was a young man with pink hair. His eyes widened at the sudden sight of me, before a blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Oh, uh, pardon the intrusion, Captain Elle," he said quickly in his smooth, young voice. "But Admiral Sengoku and Vice-Admiral Garp are requesting your presence for an emergency meeting."

I let out a small huff and rubbed my temples. "Thanks, Coby," I said to the boy. "Tell them I'll be there as soon as I'm dressed."

He nodded once before quickly turning and walking away. Garp's newest prodigy was a nice kid, strong too. I sighed again and shut the door. I walked over to my clothes chest and pulled out a form-fitting blue shirt. It came up almost to my chin, but left my arms bare. I pulled out a white pair of pants, also form-fitting, and pulled both on. I looked into the large mirror next to the chest and studdied my appearance. My pale white hair fell to my waist in slight waves, accentuated by the cat-ears set atop my head. My eyes were an unsettling yellow, my pupils wide in the dim light. Growing up, I had always been a scrawny child, easily able to pass as a boy. At least, until I had had my kids. Now I head large breasts and hips, my figure easily that of a woman. I pulled my hair off of my neck and pulled it back, binding it into a loose bun at the base of my skull.

Well, this is as good as it's gonna get, I thought before turning and walking out of my room. I paused briefly to pull on my white boots before I quickly walked to Admiral Sengoku's office. I had barely knocked once before the door opened and I was invited inside. I glanced over all the marines present before my gaze settled on Sengoku. I raised a slender eyebrow and politely asked him why the hell he had woken me up in the middle of the night. Sengoku sighed before he started to explain.

It seems that one of Vega Punk's assistance had gone rouge, performing experiments that the World Government had not commissioned. I only leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest. I had already know all of this, having been one of those illegal experiments. Seeing he was losing my attention, he continued. It seems that one of these illegal experiments had recently decimated an island, something that the Marines could no longer turn a blind eye to. Sad, yes. Unexpected, no. But I still did not see what it had to to with me. Sengoku quickly cleared that right up.

"You are to go after this man and eliminate him."

Again, this was not unexpected. Ever since Garp's grandson had basically disbanded CP9, I had been tasked with assignments that would have fallen to them. "There's a catch," I said slowly. There was no way that they would summon me to a secret meeting in the middle of the night, especially after the war that had just happened, if that was all they wanted to tell me.

And then they told me the name of the assistant I would be going after.

I felt the blood drain from my face. I stood up so fast that the chair I had been sitting in fell over, sliding several feet. "No," I whispered, gritting my teeth. Then, louder and more firmly, "No. I will not do this."

I turned to walk away, but Sengoku's voice stopped me cold. "Yes, you will." I turned my head and looked at him over my shoulder. "He is extremely dangerous, and we need someone who knows him to complete this mission."

My hands started to shake. I quickly curled them into fists as I stared at Sengoku. "Just accept it, Elle," Garp murmured quietly. "Don't make him force you to."

"No." I hated the weakness in my shaking voice, despised the fear coursing through my body. But I couldn't help it. That man terrified me as no other could.

"I thought you might say that," Sengoku said quiety. I heard the rustling of paper and turned to see him place a rolled piece of paper before me. "Your orders, Captain, and your punishment should you still chose to refuse."

My heart beat a painful tattoo against my ribs, but I slowly walked over to Sengoku's desk. With shaking hands, I picked up the paper and unrolled it. As my eyes scanned the words written in black ink, my blood froze. Anger surged, causing my fangs to lengthen, but was soon overshadowed by fear. I stared at the shaking paper in my hand. He couldn't, I thought, clenching my jaw. You know he can, and will, a quiet voice squeaked, deep in my mind. That of a scared little girl.

I crumpled the paper in my hand and turned away from Sengoku. "Fine," I ground out between my clenched teeth. "I'll accept." Sengoku opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly cut him off. "But I have a few conditions."

Sengoku's dark eyes appraised me for a long second. "Name them," he finally said.

"First, the condition allowing me to keep my children is now null and void." I watched the ire build in the Admiral's eyes for a second before I continued in a soft voice, "I need his help with this. Plus, he will be affected by your order just as much as I." I watched Sengoku for a long moment before he finally nodded. "Good. And, second, I get to bring my children with me."

Sengoku snorted. "You don't seriously expect to bring your boys along with you, after reading that order," he said in a mocking tone.

I stared at him levelly. "Of course I do, Admiral," I couldn't help the scorn that all but dripped off of that word. "And I will. Hawkeye can find me, if you feel that you need to put your order into effect."

Sengoku opened his mouth to deny my request, but Garp abruptly cut him off. "Just let her do it," he said softly, his dark eyes quietly watching me. "If you want her to accomplish this mission with the least amount of Marine blood-shed, just agree."

Sengoku audibly ground his teeth together before he grunted. "Fine. You may take them."

I nodded and turned on my heel and strode towards the door. "I'll wake them right now. We'll leave immediately," I said over my shoulder, slamming the door behind me.