Never Had a Dream Come True

Book One:

Blind Ambition

Chapter 5:

"Mearii's House"

"I have to escape! I'm almost there!" Rika's mind screamed. She ran through her town being chased by her father's men. Stumbling along the stone path she ran towards her home. Where she knew her mother would protect her. "Mom!" she yelled darting out into the open field where her house rested atop a small hill. The grass under her feet suddenly became brown and began to die. The sky grew dark and rain began to fall. "Mom help!" she yelled once more seeing three figures off in the distance. As she approached them she could tell clearly who they were. "No" she mouthed unable to make a sound as she watched the scene unfold.

In front of her stood a man and he wore an evil smile. His eyes burned with a sapphire glow of malice and his long raven haired clung to his face wet from the rain. He stood facing a woman and a small child whose faces where pale with fear. "PLEASE DADDY STOP!" the girl screamed through the shower of water falling down on them. Holding the little girl was an orange haired woman with deep blue eyes that seemed to be filled with tears. Rika gasped. "MOTHER! RUN! HE'S GOING TO-" she was cut off by a gloved hand covering her mouth. Her father's men had finally caught up with her. They held her hands behind her back and restrained her from moving. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and she realized the younger Rika was doing the same. "Daddy why?" the little girl asked. "Because my dear little Rika, I can". The girl's eyes went wide as her father opened his mouth. "RIKA!" her mother screamed pushing her aside and jumping in front of the sonic blast. Blood trickled down from her ears and her body began to explode from the inside out.

"MOTHER!" she yelled jolting up from her bed. Sweat dotted her forehead and she looked around the room. The house was gone, the men where gone, her father was gone, and her mother was-"Gone" she whispered. She was lying on a soft bed that Mearii had made up for her in the basement of her house.

"What's with all the yelling?" Luffy moaned covering his face with the pillow. Zolo, Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper where all sound asleep on beds just like hers. There was a small light coming in from the window and the room began to fill up with light.

"Sorry did I wake you?" Rika asked the pirate.

"What did you dream about that made you yell so loud?" he asked sitting up and putting on his hat.

Rika's eyes filled with sadness and she hugged her knees to her chest. "My mom" she answered refusing to look him in the eye.

"S-sh-she isn't here anymore."

"Rika?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"….I'm hungry do you have any food?" he smiled.

"Well I hope so unless where going to eat cardboard for breakfast" she said giving a small laugh.

Luffy stuck out his tongue at the though of eating something other than food and quickly got out of bed.

"Come one I smell something good!" he said running up the steps.

Rika nodded and followed. She was grateful he hadn't asked about her mom it would have been hard to tell a story like that. "Hey wait what about the others?" she asked watching Luffy run through the door. She walked into the kitchen where he sat stuffing his face with pancakes. "I don't think he heard you" Mearii laughed watching him eat. Rika smiled "Thank you my friend" she said to the woman. "You don't need to thank me, I want nothing more than to help you and our people regain happiness" Mearii answered.

"HEY WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE FOOD?" Zolo asked coming up the steps and seeing empty plates.

"I ate it" Luffy said patting his stomach. "And it was great!" he laughed.

"LUFFY!" the swordsman yelled.

"Don't worry I made plently" Mearii smiled setting more food out on the table.

"Oh boy more!" Luffy shouted.

"You already ate!" Zolo snapped.

"But I'm still hungry" Luffy wined.

"What's with all the yelling some of us were trying to sleep!" Nami shouted walking into the kitchen with Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper behind her.

"You guys are loud!" Usopp moaned "you gave me a headache."

"Suck it up" Zolo said trying to keep the food away from their captain.

"What a lovely meal Ms. Mearii! But please let me do the honor of cooking after all you already gave up a warm place to sleep" Sanji said to the brown-haired woman.

"You are guests please it's the least I can do for you and your team giving us a glimmer of hope for our town" she answered wiping her hands on her apron.

"Well in that case I'll dig in!" he smiled.

"It's yummy" Chopper piped in.

"Thank you" Mearii answered.

"Oh Rika could you come here I have something that might help you" Chopper asked the girl after finishing up his meal.

"You do?" she said walking over to the little reindeer.

She sat down in the living room across from the kitchen where Chopper had his bag of medicine.

"I saw you had such bad cuts and bruises on your arms and I wanted to treat them before they got infected" he told her spraying some stuff on her arms.

Rika flinched rolling up her other sleeve so he could do the same.

"You're a doctor!"

"Yup, but I guessed you'd be more surprised of me being able to talk" he answered.

"Well I was a little but you have such a cute voice! I like to hear you talk" she smiled.

Chopper blushed and his eyes fell down to the ground. "Thank you" he said.

"Were these all from your father?" he asked bandaging up her arm.

Rika nodded.

"He's horrible we'll take him down!" Chopper said proudly.

"YEAH WE WILL!" she said with a fire in her blue-green eyes.

"There all done they should get better in no time!" he said putting the finishing touches on to make sure the bandage wouldn't fall off

"You're so sweet!" she picking him up and hugging him.

"Air" he wheezed turning blue from her death hug.

"Sorry I forget my own strength sometimes" she said letting him go.

"It's okay" he said lying on the floor dizzy.

"How bout this then?" she asked giving him a small kiss on the nose. "You are a wonderful doctor" she giggled going back into the kitchen.

Chopper's face turned a dark red and he back to his happy dance as soon as she was out of the room

backinthekitchenbackinthekitchenbackinthekitchenbackinthekitchenbackin

"So what exactly are we up against?" Nami asked clearing the table.

They all were helping Mearii clean up when Rika walked back in.

"Lord Neikan, one of the 7 Warlords of the sea" Rika answered.

"And you want us to help you….?" Zolo asked.

"Kill him" Rika spat. "His power is the screech screech fruit as I have said before, and with it he has killed my mother and many other good people of my country."

"Why would he do such a horrible thing?" Usopp asked shaking at the though of a man like that.

"Rosuto Mugen is very close to the Grand Line, my father was a pirate and he set out for one piece as all pirates do. But all he wanted was the treasure he wasn't a real pirate and had no idea what to expect. He gathered up men from the village and sailed away. He came back a week later but with no men. He was the only one who survived. In his hand was a blue fruit like I had never seen before. He had found two of the fruit and had already eaten one. He desired power and the Grand Line had driven him mad. We used to be a happy family until we were low on money and he decided he would search for one piece. It was supposed to help us!" Rika's tears broke through and a salty jewel slid down her cheek. "But with that single fruit he held Lord Neikan forced it down my throat and told me I would help him get the power he desired. I was 7 years old I had no choice and I destroyed when ever my father told me too, whenever he felt like reminding the people who was in charge he would seen me out and I would kill for him."

Author's Note: A bit of a dark chapter and a little happiness. I hope you liked it, thanks for reading! Please review 