A cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter…Oh nooooo. Hehe. Anyway, I have the basic plan for what I want to do during the childhood arc. As well as a Lost ones original arc after that. After writing her power, I realized that I have to keep it in check otherwise she will roll over everyone in the earlier part of the story. Its outright destructive power, even confined to an area around Lucy, is insane. The ability to break almost everything in this world. Scary…

Thesonicsuperstar: It seems I was successful in getting across the dilemma I wanted to portray. Fear feeds off insecurity's and Lucy has a lot of them. As for her fight with Buggy, she wouldn't win in a straight on splitting session. Mihawk cut the guy to ribbons and he recovered instantly. As to how powerful, in terms of raw destructive power she will lag behind him, but overtime I intend to grow her power to be equal to his in certain ways or greater. Though she will have some weaknesses and disadvantages that he wouldn't have, namely the lack of protection against physical attacks. Higuma has feelings you know.

Lucky's-dice: In the rules she has to know what she's partitioning to make it work. So if you could somehow manage to show it to her in a way she can understand. And she wants to cut it… she probably could. It would never happen though. The soup scene might become an omake ;) thanks for the idea. This fruit will require aloooot of progress, especially to utilize it to the level she needs if she tries to fill Luffy's boots.

Writing in italics

Techniques and devil fruits in underline

I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE, and I never will.

Chapter 5 start

The voice of one Bandit, Higuma stating with an amused voice ''so what have we got here?''

Looking up from the little path, she noticed the mountain bandit leader from before staring at her. A part of her mind recognized the danger, however most of it was still on her earlier actions and so instead of panicking Lucy simple went silent staring at the man. A fact he did not like very much.

''OY! Girl answer me!'' He stated sharply, his eyes narrowing in annoyance at her silence ''I am Higuma the leader of the Mountain Bandits! I have a bounty of 8,000,000 Belly on my head…I demand an answer!'' Instead of responding she kept staring at him blankly. Not quite there still. At her silence he stared at her in his anger and then seemed to come to a resolution ''Hey I know you…your that girl…the one with the pirates''.

Realizing that right now might not be the best time to remain silent, lost alone and with a murder she responded quietly ''….I don't want any trouble'' At her response the mountain bandit sneered at her and arrogantly claimed ''You think I care what you want little girl'' after which he walked closer and closer to her.

Lucy was frightened, it was at this moment she realized her predicament and quickly started backpedaling as the man advanced. But her legs were shorter than his and she was going backward as such the distance closed rapidly as the man in front of her reached out to grab her. At this point panicking she cried out with increasing desperation ''…stay away…stay away!''

Then her back hit something hard and she had a moment to realize she'd backed into a tree. Then she realized that the mountain bandit was so close…too close to her and reaching out. And in that second as she tried to sidestep her hand brushed slightly against the tree. All that went through her mind was 'I need to escape, I need to escape' over and over till a different thought entered her mind. One born of the fear all humans have when faced with a predator ''I WANT TO ESCAPE!''

A loud creak stopped both of them from moving. In her desperation, it seemed she had activated her devil fruit ability and partitioned the tree where her hand had brushed. A great section missing from the trunk. It seemed that she had not partitioned the entire circumference of the trunk, but a significant portion non the less. The top of the tree, all of a sudden with an unstable base, swayed then tilted more and more then fell. Both she and the bandit leader watched as the tree struggled to stay upright, creaking louder and louder in Lucy ears till with a great groan the tree started to tilt.

CRASH

The sound of the tree smashing into the ground broke both her and the bandit out of watching and in an instant he had grabbed her by the neck of her red t-shirt. ''What the?'' It seemed her little accident had unsettled the man just as much as it had shocked her. But that confusion was quickly replaced with anger as he shouted at her ''what did you do Girl!?''

As much as Lucy would love to tell the man, she had no clue herself on what she just did. How the hell did her ability activate!? It was so random, when she wanted it to… it wouldn't, when she didn't it did so regardless. Misinterpreting her silence as a refusal to speak the bandit continued ''no comment huh…so you're a freak? I was going to just scare you a bit… but now…'' At this in his eyes bled with greed. He looked her up and down like she was some type of cattle ''I'm sure you'll fetch a pretty price if I sell you to the world government, there always looking for freaks like you''.

Ice gripped her heart, she was going to be…sold…to the world government…to become a weapon. In that moment she could picture all the horrible things they would do to her…or make her do. They were going to strip her of everything; she would simply become a tool…what about Makino, the bar…everything! And so she struggled and struggled trying desperately to get out of his iron grip as her shouts of ''No! No!'' clawed their way out of her throat.

For all her efforts all she did was annoy the man as he tightened his grip of shirt. Then after seeming to realize she was not going to stop struggling punched her in the face with significant might while shouting ''stop squirming you little brat!''

Pain exploded like a sudden fire work, its glare blinding her for a second, then came the fire scolding and burning. The side of her face screamed in agony as the burn of it made her flesh throb. It took her a few seconds to realize she had gone into shock, even longer to realize that the bandit has started dragging her along the floor. As she had gone limp, he had simply decided to drag her by her shirt along the dirt path. The pebbles and dirt digging into the exposed skin of her legs. This continued for a moment until a voice rang out ''Oy mister! What are you doing?!''

And as Higuma turned to face the new speaker, Lucy managed to get a look. Though the fuzziness made the image swirl. Stood before her, pole in hand was Portgas D Ace. Everyone stopped for a moment as an uneasy standoff occurred. In the twenty or so second of silence the burn of the hit died down, but the dull throb of her face continued. Her legs which were protesting being dragged along the dirt, also continued to throb. However and most importantly to Lucy was the fact her vision started to clear up.

Portgas D Ace son of the late pirate king stood eyes shadowed as he noticed the situation. He seemed average for an eleven year old. Average height, slightly better than average build. He wore a red t-shirt, grey shorts and an elbow pad over his left elbow. As Lucy's eyes cleared more she seemed to notice the smaller details, the small scrapes, the plaster over his right even his noticeable freckles.

Seemingly annoyed at being interrupted in his kidnapping Higuma ground out ''another brat, go away and play with your dolls'' his teeth grinding in annoyance.

Ace was silent for moment the shadows deepening on his face, then he spoke out again ''I heard what you said…you're the scum of this world.''

If Higuma was annoyed before then he was downright murderous now. Lucy felt the moment when his grip tightened on her shirt, felt when the fabric stretched beyond its elasticity limit. If she believed she could she would've gotten away, but she was rooted in fear. Fear at this man, fear at this situation. She had no friends, not in the area except a boy she only knew from a comic, and her captor was reaching for a sword. A proper metal sword capable of killing. Which he drew angrily while shouting ''you damn brat! I have killed 56 people who were foolish enough to make me mad! What's one more on that number!''

At the drawn sword Ace spun his staff in an show of skill before settling in a fighting stance side on and said with such certainty that Lucy almost believed him ''Like someone like you is capable of killing me'' and then he charged the bandit.

Ace in her eyes moved far too fast for someone that small. In a second he was on the bandit who realizing the danger swiped his cutlass in a one handed swing aiming to bisect the boy. Ace, who at that point was swinging his pole diagonally from his right shoulder to the floor, bent his knees, ducking the sword swing and smashing the metal pole into the hand holding her shirt. In an instant her head once again hit the floor as the only thing holding her up vanished.

From the muffledness of the ringing in her head she heard a curse that would make Makino blush. Despite the throbbing in her head saying otherwise a small part of her was warning her of the danger in staying in that place. Deciding it was the greatest choice she could make Lucy quickly back shuffled on her elbows from the fight. In that exact moment as she back shuffled she watched the ongoing fight.

With nothing in his left hand due to her escape Higuma grasped his sword with both his hands and lifted it above his head to cut the overextended boy. With a bloodthirsty scream he slashed downwards aiming to cut the freckled boy from head to toe. Ace who at this point been recovering from his overextension instead of meeting the blow moved just slightly to the side while spinning 180° so the edge that hit Haguma's hand crashed into his nose. For a moment the bandit swayed as he groaned in pain holding his nose, something Lucy felt better for, then he stilled and screamed ''I'll skin you alive and put your skull on a spike outside my hideout for all to see!''

Ace simply smiled back and said ''is that so'' However his cockiness was short lived as in a rage the bandit swung his cutlass faster and harder in reckless abandon, content to simply skewer the boy in front of him. Ace for his part, danced around the swings never really meeting them head on. This continued for a moment before a vicious one handed vertical swing by Higuma forced him to raise his staff in a diagonal block.

The blow staggered the freckled child as he struggled to stand his ground against the power of the swing. Then In a moment of seeming genius to Lucy, used the momentum to turn with the blow and smashed the bandits arm as it ended its swing. The man's sword fell with clatter to the dirt floor, and for a second the fight paused, then Higuma virtually jumped for the handle. At the same time Ace's staff smashed once again into his face and this time the man staggered backwards falling slowly close to her.

Was it over? Had she been saved? What…what? Lucy was confused; completely unsure of anything that was going on. It was so weird. She had got scared so she ran away, then she got captured by a bandit to be sold to the world government, only to be saved by Portgas D Ace. It probably had to do with the damage to her head during the fight she mused. However everything seemed to over so she got up unsteadily to her feet. When that momentous task was over she looked over to her savior, the person who she knew would be eventually executed if fate existed. He in return was looking her over, his eyes overshadowed as he gazed at her. It was probably the fact she was looking at his eyes when she realized something was wrong as his eyes widened.

A dagger was at her throat, a breath running down her neck as the bandit leader. And that fear griped her heart once more. A hand grabbed her by the neck as she was holstered by the bandit into the air, the dagger following her accent always close to her jugular.

''Coward!'' Ace shouted out, but made no move forward. In an instant the tables were reversed, Higuma held all the cards a fact he seemed to realize as he gleefully as he gloated ''hehe now put down the pole kid! Or I'll slit her throat'' Every word made her skin crawl and the hairs on her body stand up. Ace seemed hesitant, he seemed to almost refuse but something in her eyes made him pause. And then much to Lucy's horror seemed to accept the proposal. The boy dropped the pole onto the floor and then at the call of ''further'' kicked it out of arms reach.

At this a thought popped up in her head, was she going to die? It was not the idea of dying that scared Lucy…not at all. It was what followed. If she was reincarnated into this world after her original death…where would she end up? After so long of rejecting this world…she had come to accept it in a way…some of its people where her friends…Foosha village a home. If she died…would she get sent off into a different world, and start again…be alone again. In Lucy's recollection the worst part of this world was the loneliness…especially during the first few years of her life, there was no one to turn to…it took years for Makino to truly latch herself on as a friend. But even then there was a sort of loneliness that she always seemed to possess. The odd one out. All that progress, gone, start again. In her mind Lucy knew somewhere deep down that if that were to occur she would break into a million pieces, never able to recover.

At that moment another thought followed 'I don't want to die… I want to be free…I WANT TO BE FREE!'

Then she was in free fall and the mountain bandit behind her was screaming in agony.

''AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!'' The floor came to meet her, and with just enough time left she managed to stop herself face planting. With as much energy as she could she twisted from her place on the floor to face the bandit to expect retaliation…what she saw though would haunt her.

Higuma was clutching the stump of his right arm; it seemed something had severed his arm at the elbow in a clean cut. The other part on the floor beside her, still like a rock. In that moment Lucy figured out what happened…she had partitioned the thing stopping her being free…Higuma's arm holding her by the neck. Looking at the gruesome sight made her feel queasy, her stomach turning at the sight.

Higuma instead of steaming the flow of blood turned his blood shot eyes to her, and in a rage swung his dagger down in an overhead stab at her prone form screaming ''You stupid brat!'' As it got closer, Lucy scrunched her eyes together and put her arms in poor intimidation of a smother block she had seen used by martial artist on screen in her previous life.

It never hit. For a very annoyed Red Haired Shanks grasped the descending limb by the wrist stopping it dead in its tracks. At the strength he was grasping the bandit's wrist, something seemed to break. As he did that he in tone that sent chills down Lucy's spine asked ''what are you doing to my friend?'' It was so cold, so lifeless that every warning sense in her head rang out. It said 'DANGER! DANGER! PREDITOR!' Nowhere was the jolly pirate who had dragged her along to play pranks on the villages. Who laughed and shared story's with her, or spent days with her on adventures. This was a man capable of earing himself the title of Yonko, the raw presence of a God among Men.

Shanks must have realized that the bandit wasn't going to answer because in an action so fast that Lucy couldn't see it cut the man and turned to comfort her. His form blocking the view of the killing blow, she still heard the body smash into the ground though.

''Hey Lu…Look at me…at me, don't focus on anything else. Lu with me breathe In and out'' The voice Shanks used was nothing like the tone he used to the bandit it was gentle and calm. Almost in a daze she followed his little breathing technique realizing just now that she was hyperventilating. It took a while for her breathing to calm down, for her stomach to settle…a long time in fact. All that time Shanks spent rubbing circles onto her back, spent reassuring her he was there. Eventually Lucy managed to find her voice croaking out ''…Shanks…''

Said man smiled back at her, it was small but reassuring and something deep inside her let go. She was safe. Eventually the man responded ''Hey Lu…sorry I'm late…Makino was so worried, so I came to find you'' And the small moment chipped apart at what Lucy did, the bar, the wall. Something must have shown because he embraced her into his chest, tears where running down her eyes as she ground out ''…I…Shanks I'm so sorry!''

Said man stiffened in his embrace, before relaxing and picking her up from the ground. Then something must have happened as the world suddenly lurched and her stomach protested. But as she opened her eyes to discover the scenery was different, they were next to the sea, cooped on a little clearing overlooking the sea. She would have commented on the location if her stomach hadn't protested even louder. Her companion smiled slightly at her discomfort then commented ''High speed movement often leads to a nausea in the unexperienced''

So he Shaved us here she thought.

Then after a moment Shanks continued their main conversation stating with confusion ''what are you apologizing for?'' Everything thought the girl, she had made such a mess and so tried to convey those words ''I got so scared…I ran away…I made a mess!''

Shanks simply looked at her unimpressed at her outburst, then after a snort stated factually ''Yeah there's a big hole in the bar. Makino threw a hissy fit…'' At his admission the little voice in Lucy's head grew. She had ruined one of the only friendships she had in this world. She had screwed up so badly…she was such a failure! ''I-'' she started before being cut off by Shank's admission of ''…At me''

What? What…what, what ''…What?'' something in her voice must have been a telling of her confusion as the man continued ''Turns out leaving a dangerous devil fruit neat you was wrong…so I'm taking the brunt of the financial cost of the damage'' His tone wining at the end of his admission, showcasing clearly what he thought of the situation.

Lucy had no words; she did not know what to feel. Did she screw over her friendship or not. Not knowing what to say she simply decided to stare at the man. After a couple of seconds of silence, he carried on, rubbing the back of his head while wincing slightly ''Makino sure knows how to wield that broom to devastating effect'' Then a small grin crossed over his face ''But, after she hit me one too many times, she spent the next hour looking for you''

Those words froze her still. In that very moment, the little voice in the back of her mind whispering that she would never be accepted diminished. It was small, but a different voice slowly started to wrestle for control. Makino….didn't hate her. It seemed she must have said it out loud as Shanks turned to fully face her from his ocean gazing, his expression one born of confusion. Then he smacked her upside the head. It was small, not even comparable to Haguma's blow; in fact it was only the shock that really made it pause.

He stared at her for a second a weird expression on his face, then stated ''Where do you get these ideas? Of course she doesn't hate you…She's sick with grief looking for you'' At his admission the little voice stopped completely. It was like a great dam had broken, all of a sudden every worry, every negative thought vanished. The dark, grey clouds of her mind vanished, as sunshine breached the gap in great arcs of light, slowly but surely they grew and grew till the sky was clear in her mind. And Lucy felt an idiot for even thinking it in the first place.

Her silence must have singled to the man that she didn't want to talk because he simply looked back out to the horizon like that time so long ago. In the back of her mind she mused that this was another time Shanks had driven the darkness back from her thoughts. The debt she owed Makino…it seemed to also now belong to Shanks as well. With nothing left to say, she turned to look at the clouds meandering across the sky as well.

They seemed to stay silent just gazing off into the horizon together…they must have stayed that way for hours. No words passed between them, none were needed, they simply enjoyed each other's company. Now that her mind was clearer it seemed almost obvious to Lucy, if this was the start of the story then Shanks would be leaving soon. She wasn't proud to admit the slight panic of not having the red haired pancake around. This last year had been the best time of her life, and for all his faults the man…he had wormed himself into her heart. If…when he left, there would be only Makino left. Everything she enjoyed this last year, the adventures, the stories, the…understanding would disappear. She would be left alone, with the narrative increasingly tying a noose around her neck.

And somehow unconsciously she reached out to the fabric of his shirt arm and grasped it. She only noticed when the man attached to the shirt noticed and turned to face her. A small smile grew on his face, and while he sighed, the light in his eyes reflected…companionship, amusement and in that moment he would forever ender himself to her. Then he ruined it by opening his mouth and saying ''I swear, what am I going to do with you?''

Lucy, slightly annoyed at his words responded in kind, pushing the buttons she knew the man had by snorting and then saying ''Nothing perverted I hope'' That caused a reaction as the man floundered in shock then turned and animatedly in a comic sense exclaimed ''Lu-! Lucy what the hell!''

He got a small smile from her in return. In a fit of almost childishness she then put out her tongue. His comedic reaction was worth everything. He seemed slightly put off in a fun way by her reaction even more when she commented ''what…with you anything things possible'' in as factual voice as possible. His open mouth made her giggle in snorts, then she laughed whole heartedly. Shanks while at first was put off, joined in while muttering 'horrible kids'.

It felt nice to get all that emotion out, to just laugh. To not have to worry about the world, the future and just be with a friend.

Eventually the laugh died down, but even still a smile crossed her face. It was not a small smile like many of hers, but a proper one. Lucy never realized how wide her smile could grow. Shanks noticed as well because he simply stared at her in wonder, but she didn't care. It was just this moment, it was all that mattered.

They stayed there until the sun was setting in the west as the sky turned pink in beautiful patterns and twilight started to take hold. Watching the giant ball of hydrogen dip below the sea, as the day ended and with it mused Lucy, a chapter had ended with it.

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After the fight with Higuma, Shanks had decided to stay for the next two weeks and Lucy spent all that time with the man. He grumbled about clingy children but after the incident seemed to keep an eye on her at all times, hovering like a mother duck. Which was really humorous considering she was around his age mentally. But eventually all things come to an end, and as the pirates packed up all their belongings and ran all logistics checks Lucy new they wouldn't be coming back.

One day she came down to the docks, as she had for the last two weeks to watch them load the ship to find everything on board, all final checks finished. Shanks was stood discussing something with his crew when he spotted her and after quickly finishing his conversation walked to her.

Even though she knew the answer in her heart, she had to ask the question on her mind ''so you're really going then, proper going?'' At her question the man only smiled back at her before answering ''Yeah we've been using this village for a long time now. Perhaps too long…why are you sad to see me leave'' At his question amusement coloured his very demeanor.

All he received from Lucy was a snort ''No way in hell, I can finally get some peace and quiet for once'' At her response the red haired man swooned like he did when they had their first conversation, hands on heart and head and shot back ''Cruel to the end? Huh? ~'' It was so over the top that the only response Lucy had was an eye roll, though if one looked close enough it was playful.

At her silence Shanks paused before saying ''Hey Lu'' Lucy responded by raising her head in a silent response. His face lost some of its playfulness and the warm tone cooled slightly, then with a quiet voice like a river slowly bending and winding he said ''remember; if you don't want to dance to destiny…don't dance. Whatever you do…it's up to you to decide.''

In that moment everything once again seemed to stop for Lucy, all the noise, everyone it was just her and Shanks. Here in front of her was a man, who despite not knowing anything about her…had stepped in and helped her. Who for the last half a year had done everything in his power to help her, had dragged her along to play stupid pranks on the villagers just to get her to smile. Who had done more to drag her kicking and screaming from the abyss she had fallen into. Who had slowly broke the walls she built around herself with such ease, and then offered her a hand with a smile and stated that if she wanted to see the world he would take her. Who had given so much, without anything being given in return and instead of complaining at the injustice of the unbalanced agreement had happily kept to it with a smile. In that moment, which seemed to go on forever, she remembered what he had said… to forge a path forward no matter what. Even if it ended up somewhere she didn't want to go, she would simply move on until she found a place.

It seemed Shanks had misinterpreted her silence to mean she had nothing more to say and had turned to walk down the stairs to the gangplank but stopped as she called out ''Hey Shanks!...I…'' but after he turned to face her, stopping on the stair case no words seemed to come out of her mouth. As the seconds dragged on and she got more desperate, her fingers curled into fists and the bite of her nails in her palm gave her enough focus to carry on ''…I don't know where I'm going, or where I'll end up. But I will One day! I will find my own path! And I'll keep walking forward no matter what! Do you hear me you…you stupid red haired pancake!''

Shanks seemed surprised for a second, then a smile crossed his face, a shadow passed over his eyes and with speed that caught Lucy off guard plucked his hat off his head and placed it on hers. Surprised at the sentiment she couldn't even refuse. In the lew of the conversation Shanks with a voice as soft as cotton stated ''…Well the…do me a favor and keep this hat safe for me? Someday when you have reached your dream give it back to me…Lucy…You hear me?''

His words seemed to break her out of her surprise and with an exclamation she replied ''I promise!'' The red haired captain only smiled back, before walking to the gangplank of his ship and boarded. It took only a few minutes before the pirates where sailing steadily out of sight into the distant horizon. Lucy kept her eyes on them for as long as possible, even as they disappeared out of view. It took Makino dragging her back to the bar to move her from her post.

But there was no doubt that as the red haired pirates sailed away, so too did the peace she had so enjoyed. With a hat kept firmly on her head, whether she desired it or not, the future would be a rocky path. And she had no choice but to move forward.

Let it be said it is so hard to write when one is not motivated to do so. I wanted to keep my momentum going, but had to stop half way through writing this chapter to spend an extra day. I already had everything set out. I have hay fever, and I think it's the plum trees setting it off. Mix that with drowsiness and you get a horror of a writing issue. So if it's not up to standard I'm sorry. And can someone tell me when T turns into M, because I don't know where that line exists. Till next time bye bye.