Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. I only own my OC, Aurora.

Enjoy!


Chapter 2

"Onee-chan!"

The 18 year old girl turned at the sound of the child's voice. "What is it, Rika?"

"Will you take me to visit him?"

The girl frowned. "Rika…"

The girl was none other than Aurora. After the incident two years ago, she had wandered from town to town, island to island. Finally, she found a place to stay. She lived in Shell Town. A bartender named Ririka took her in. She had a little girl of her own, named Rika. Despite the huge age gap, Aurora got along well with Rika. The girl even took to calling her, "Big Sister." She'd been with them two years, helping out in the bar and with taking care of Rika.

Aurora's appearance had changed as well. Her berry-colored hair that had once reached mid-back was now cut above her shoulders. Her attire had changed as well. Gone were the dresses she'd worn every day. In its place she wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt and a black skirt that reached to above her knees. Also, instead of sandals, her feet were adorned with black ankle boots.

Recently, Helmeppo, the son of Captain "Axe-Hand" Morgan, had let his pet wolf loose on the town. The wolf went after Rika, but a man saved her by killing the being. Helmeppo saw this as a crime and imprisoned the man for thirty days. Ever since, Rika had secretly been visiting the man… until Aurora caught her.

"Please, Onee-chan!"

Aurora sighed, but had a small smile on her face. "All right."

"Yay! Can we take the short trip?"

Aurora glanced around, making sure no one was watching. When she was sure, Aurora touched her necklace and a yellow glow encased her body. Large white wings sprouted out of her back.

Rika giggled, scrambling into the girl's arms. Aurora smiled down at her.

"Hang on!"

She took off, flying gracefully through the sky. Flying made the trip to the Marine Base much shorter, and Rika enjoyed it.

Since Ririka and Rika were her adopted family, Aurora felt she should tell them about what she was. They were stunned at first, but accepted Aurora for who she was. It was agreed that they couldn't let the other townsfolk know about this.

Aurora gently glided down to the Marine Base. She landed in front of the wall surrounding it. A ladder was perched nearby. It was how Rika got in.

THUNK!

Aurora kept an eye on the girl as she climbed up the ladder. Rika paused at the top, glancing over to the side.

"Shh!" she shushed. Aurora raised a brow, climbing up the ladder. She peered over the wall. The first thing she saw was the man that had saved Rika. He was bound to a wooden post. He wore a white shirt, dark green trousers, black shoes and a green haramaki sash around his waist. A bandana was tied around his head and he had three earrings on his left ear.

Her gaze moved over to the side. Two boys were hanging on the wall, watching Rika make her way to the man. The first boy wore short trousers, sandals, a red vest and a straw hat. A scar was underneath his left eye and he had short black hair. The second was a pink-haired, bespectacled boy.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Do you want to die or something…? Get lost!"

"Uhm, brother, I made some rice balls for you! You haven't eaten for a long time right?"

Aurora smiled at the young girl's generosity.

"This is the first time I made rice balls… my Onee-chan helped me."

"I'm not hungry!" the man interrupted. "Go away!"

"But…"

"I don't want it! Leave me! I'll kill you if you don't go!"

Aurora frowned, not liking his rudeness towards the young girl.

"Roronoa Zoro!" a voice rang out.

'So that's his name…' Aurora thought.

She turned to see who the voice belonged to. A strange looking man walked into the courtyard followed by two marines. His blond hair was cut in a strange style and he was wearing a tacky expensive-looking suit.

It was Helmeppo.

"Don't pick on little kids, or else I'll have to report to my father about it."

"Tch… if it isn't the Captain's bastard son…"

"Bastard? Don't get cocky. My dad is a Marine Captain!"

"Somebody's spoiled…" Aurora muttered, glaring at the boy.

"Well hello, little girl. These rice balls look pretty tasty."

"Ah! Stop it!" Rika cried as Helmeppo took a bite of her rice ball.

"Blegh! Horrible! You put too much sugar in it! You're supposed to put salt in these things!"

"But… but I thought they'll taste better if they're sweet…!"

"How could someone eat something like this? Damn it!" He started stomping the rice balls into the ground.

"Aah! Stop it! Stop! He can't eat this anymore!"

"Don't worry! The ants will eat them all up."

Aurora got even madder when Rika started crying.

"…That's so cruel! I… I tried really hard to make them…!"

Aurora's frown deepened and she stood, jumping over the wall. She quickly composed herself, putting on an innocent expression.

"Rika! There you are!"

The men all turned to look at the young woman. She made her way over to the little girl, kneeling next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"He destroyed my rice balls!"

Aurora stood, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is this true?"

Helmeppo didn't answer right away, mesmerized by her beauty. "Yes… but only because there was too much sugar in it! It was disgusting!"

Rika started crying harder.

"Aww… don't cry! It's no wonder why I hate little brats so much. It's all your fault you know? Didn't you see what was written here?"

Aurora directed her gaze to a sign. It read: "Anyone who helps a prisoner will be charged with the same crime."

"You know how scary my dad can be, right? You would've gotten the death penalty if you were a grown-up! Oi, throw this brat out!"

Aurora's eyes widened in shock. The two marines seemed to hesitate.

"I'm telling you to throw her outta here! Are you trying to disobey me? I'm telling my dad!"

"Ay… Aye sir!" the marine stuttered out before throwing Rika over the wall. Aurora gasped in horror, watching the girl sail over the wall.

Helmeppo chuckled. "I might be willing to let you go… if you agree to my conditions."

Aurora whirled around, slapping him across the face. Helmeppo stumbled, the two marines catching him. Aurora's eyes were wide in shock at what she had done.

She quickly turned, making her way to the wall. "I don't make deals with people like you."

"Are you alright?" she heard someone ask.

Rika had been caught by the two boys from before. Glad to know that she was safe, Aurora listened to Helmeppo speak again.

"I didn't think you'd have this kind of endurance! I'm gonna keep you alive for one whole month!"

"You better keep your promise!"

"Oh I'll keep my promise. If you can live like this for one month, I'll keep my words and release you!"

By the time Zoro turned back around, the kid in the straw hat was standing in front of him.

"You still haven't left yet? Leave now, or else Helmeppo will go tell his dad about it."

"Oh yea? I'm looking for someone to join my pirate fleet."

"Pirate? So you just gave up on life and became a crook huh?"

"It's my dream! There's nothing wrong with being a pirate!"

"Don't tell me you're gonna set me free and force me to join you?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet, since everyone thinks you're a bad guy."

"A bad guy, huh…? I'll never join you, because I have something that I need to take care of!"

Aurora smiled sadly, clutching her necklace. 'So do I…'

"I could survive even if you don't help me! I just need to stay alive for one month! I'm gonna do everything I can to stay alive and fulfill my dreams!"

"Really? If I were you I think I'd starve to death in a week."

Aurora sweat dropped. 'He wasn't even talking about you.'

"That's why we're different. Go find someone else to join you."

The boy started to walk away but Zoro stopped him.

"Can you pick that up for me?" Zoro asked, referring to the smashed rice ball.

"You want to eat this? But the rice ball is all muddy. Well I guess you can't be picky about food when you're hungry…"

"Shut up! Just give it to me!"

Luffy did as he was told, and Aurora watched as he choked it down.

"Do you want to kill yourself?"

"*cough* Tell that little girl…"

"Tell her what?"

"The rice balls taste very good. Thank you very much."

Aurora smiled warmly at his words while the boy laughed. She spread her wings, soaring high in the sky, heading in the direction Rika and the pink-haired boy went.

Wait until she heard this…


"Really!"

"Yeah, he ate all of it."

"I'm so happy!"

Aurora smiled gently at the younger girl. Once she'd found them, introductions had been made. The boy with the glasses was Koby and the boy in the straw hat was Luffy.

"Hmm… is he really that horrible person his reputation says he is…?"

"No he isn't!" Rika defended. "Brother didn't do anything wrong. It's just the people in this town are afraid of him. He got arrested because of me. He killed Helmeppo's pet wolf because Helmeppo let his wolf run around and everyone got scared…"

"So you're saying… that Zoro's only arrested because he killed Helmeppo's wolf?" Luffy asked.

"Pretty much." Aurora answered quietly.

"You're right…! So maybe he has a bad temper, but chasing down fugitives… isn't that big a crime either."

"The only bad guys are the Morgans!" Rika stated.

Aurora nodded in confirmation. "You'll get executed if you disobey them, so everyone's afraid of them."

"Heh heh heh heh! Who dares raise his head? I'll tell my dad!" a voice said.

The group turned and saw Helmeppo walking down the street flanked by two marines.

"Do you want to be like Roronoa Zoro? I'm gonna publicly execute him in three days! I'll use him as an example for all of you! It's gonna be pretty interesting…"

"Three days?" Luffy questioned. Aurora frowned and glanced at Luffy, who stood up.

"Didn't you say you'll give him a month?" Luffy asked.

"Who are you? How rude! I was only joking with him! Only an idiot would believe that!" Helmeppo started laughing.

Aurora remembered Zoro's words and got mad. Next thing any of them knew, Luffy punched him. Aurora was mad, but helped Koby hold him back.

"Luffy-san! Stop please! Calm down! You want to mess with the marines or something?"

"Koby, I've decided! I'm gonna ask Zoro to join me!"