Hello new and maybe old readers! I started a FanFic with my OC and Law a couple years back. Some things happened that put me off track and then everything I wrote was lost. Everything! It was very disheartening and I've struggled to get back into that story. I would really love to continue it in the future, but the frustration of losing it all is still there, so I find it hard to find inspiration. So, I have decided to start work on another idea and see how that goes. Perhaps I will find new inspiration to continue my old work as I navigate the Once Piece would with my new OC and the Kidd pirates. I hope this new story is enjoyable for most!
Chapter 1. Red
Iona had never been one to stay in one place too long. She was a wanderer at heart. She enjoyed going to new places, exploring the vast world and all it had to offer, and sometimes she met interesting people along the way. She always loved meeting pure souls, but her travels always brought along a new set of problems. As much as she loved meeting new and interesting people, these pure souls as she called them, there were even more people that were less than savory. It's not that all of them were bad, it was just that they were clouded.
Iona could see auras, that was her gift, and curse. She noticed people with solid colored auras were focused, driven, and forging a path that was true to their desires and dreams. Not all of them were good people, some in fact were quite horrible by society's standards, but whether good or evil she found them to be the most intriguing and referred to them as pure souls. She had learned a long time ago which aura colors meant someone was safe to be around or not. All colors had the potential to be safe, but Iona paid close attention to the shade.
The people she had the hardest time with, the clouded souls, those were people whos auras were not a solid color, but had multiple. They were generally good people some more so than others, but they were usually misguided. Lacking something in their lives that gave them confidence or purpose. She used to try to help these people, but over time she realized all she was doing was meddling and exhausting herself in the process. Most of the time her help was taken as an offence or the complete opposite would happen, and the person she was helping would become oppressively clingy or dangerous.
That was her current problem. She had been at this island for 2 months now and she already had to leave. *why did I have to go and but my nose in? I swore I was done helping clouds.* She thought to herself as she maneuvered her way through town. She had tried to sneak out of her temporary living quarters unnoticed, luggage in tow, but somehow he had seen her at some point and was following her again. If she could just make it to the docks and find someone to take her along with them she'd be free of her stalkers advances.
She made it to the docks and quickly scanned the people loading the ships, fully aware of the eyes that were boring into her back. She was becoming more concerned as time went on. Iona knew he saw her luggage; a dead give away that she was leaving, and she was certain he would try to stop her at all costs. His behavior had become quite erratic as of late and his blue indigo was quickly turning green. That wasn't good indigo and green were her two least favorite colors for a reason.
looking at the people on the docks she saw too many cloudded souls, there was only one pure and it was indigo. Just walking past an indigo was risky, so she turned 90 degrees on her heel and headed straight for the only place in town that she felt safe.
Kid sat at the bar waiting for the bartender to get him his ale and waited for Killer to join him. Killer had wanted to see what the local black smith had to replace on of his broken SCYTHES and Kid was in no mood to do anything but drink. He had been in a sour mood since he woke up. They had needed to make a costly repair to their ship and funds were getting tight.
He thought about raiding the local town they were docked at, but there were two problems with that idea. Killer in all his wisdom pointed out that the local shipwrights were still working, repairing the damage done by the biggest sea king they had ever seen, and they probably shouldn't start anything with the locals that were working on their boat. The second issue was the marine base that was on the island not too far from the town. Kidd and Killer already had bounties on their heads and bringing attention to themselves with a downed vessel was plain stupid, in case things went south and they needed to escape.
Kidd had been pissed off for 3 days now. Their log pose had set a day ago, and he was still stuck in this shitty town, with these shitty people he couldn't even lay a finger on. He had nothing against the people in particular, but he was feeling broke, pissed, and pent up. He had hoped someone, anyone would talk shit to him so he had a good excuse to bury them six feet under without having to listen to Killers nagging, but unfortunately the locals seemed to be extra careful with their words around him since they docked. It was like they knew he was itching to hurt someone and that pissed him off more.
As he sat there sulking, the attractive bartender plopped his beer down in front of him, causing the ale to froth and slightly spill over the rim of the mug. "Here ya go eyebrows!" She said cheerily giving him a sly smile.
Ignoring the foam Kidd grabbed the handle of the mug and chugged it down. He slammed it back on the counter and asked for another. *eyebrows. Cheeky wench. She is lucky she's the one providing me with my alcohol, otherwise I would have invoked pleading innocence to Killer based on provocation. Well and she does have a nice rack.* He noted as she took his empty glass to grab a refill.
The only thing he noticed about her beside her large breast was that she had black hair and tan skin. He could care less considering most women avoided him like the plague. Killer had mentioned once that it probably had something to do with his face, but Kidd didn't care. He could appreciate a nice ass or pair of tits, but at the end of the day women were just a distraction he didn't have time for.
This time he took his time to enjoy the cold carbonated beverage. His eyes followed the busty woman as she made her way to the other end of the bar and he sipped his ale. *pfft. Flat ass that's a shame. Only the top half of her is nice to look at, and here she was commenting on my lack of eyebrows*
"Iona!" The bartender delightedly shouted in the direction of the entrance.
Kidds eyes shifted some more to look at the newcomer. The only thought in his head was *bubbly* and he could feel a headache coming on already. He couldn't see much of this new woman's figure as she wore a long tan trench coat, the buckle of the belt was flapping at her sides, so he couldn't even tell if she had much of a figure or not. With nothing else to look at he scanned her face. Long dark brown hair that had a slight wave and bounced as she made her way to the counter on the other end from him. She had small but full lips that pulled into a large appealing smile at the sight of her friend. High cheekbones and a small button nose, but the thing that caught his eye the most were her eyes. It was pretty rare to see someone with violet eyes and they were large with long lashes that made them stand out even more. Even if her other features had been less appealing her eyes alone could captivate.
Kidd shook his head and put his focus back on his drink. Getting caught up in a woman's eyes, how pathetic had he become? He took another swig and decided to wait a little longer for Killer *he sure is taking his sweet time* Kidd irritably thought. He had already been waiting for close to an hour and his patience was running thin. As he continued to work on his beverage he listened to the two women at the other end of the bar. Their voices loud enough that he couldn't ignore them even if he tried.
"Iona what's with that coat and those bags? Wait? Are you leaving already!?" the busty bartender whined
"I'm sorry Tia, but yea. I have to."
"But, you've only been here a short while. I thought you said you'd be here about 6 months or so? It's not Marco is it? He still following you?"
"Yea, and it's getting worse. In fact he's following me right now. It always turns out like this with indigos and greens, and based on my personal experience, if I don't get out of here soon it'll become dangerous."
"The whole color thing still confuses me Iona, but I believe you. You've summed up every local I've quizzed you about without even saying hello to them before. I may not get it, but I know you can see a person's true colors at one glance. Pun intended." The dark haired bartender giggled at her own joke. "But, I'm really sad you're leaving. We were just getting so close! I was just about to ask you to be my maid of honor."
"You're not even dating anyone Tia, how could I be your maid of honor?" The brunette asked
"Hey! Planning a wedding is very important to us women! I don't need a man to have it all planned out yet do I?" She defended
"Ummm I guess not. I don't know. Marriage isn't something I've thought about too much. Seems like more of a hassle tying yourself down to one person, and people change over time. Not always for the better too I might add."
"But aren't you engaged?"
"Pfft. Shouldn't you agree to be engaged? I had no say in it, but I can tell you right now I am not marrying that man. I'm in control of my own life and there is no way I will ever marry anyone but especially not him!"
"Okay, okay, I get it you're not the marrying type. Though Iona, I wouldn't write it out entirely. You never know, you might meet someone who will change your mind. So, whens your ship depart? Maybe I can get my boss to let me off early or get a break to give you a proper send off. He's quite fond of you too, so he might even be there to say goodbye too."
"I don't know. I haven't found anyone to take me yet. The dock was full of a bunch of clouds and only 1 pure, but he was an indigo. You know I had to steer clear of that guy."
"Yea you've mentioned something like that before. That's tough luck Iona. I hope you find someone soon, but if you don't today you can stay with me tonight. Marco wouldn't dare do anything to you at my house, not with my brother home for a visit."
Kidd finished his Ale as he listened to the two cluck back and forth. It was a weird ass conversation. What was all that color business? It was clear the smaller woman was in some type of trouble, not that he cared, it was none of his business. He could appreciate the brunettes opinion on marriage though. He could never wrap his head around why anyone would willingly bind themselves to another person forever. It sounded boring and the thought made him feel claustrophobic. The little purple eyed girl had the right idea. It was much better to be free.
He placed his mug back on the counter and barked at the taller woman "Oi! I'll take another!"
"Make that two please!" He heard his first mate call from the direction of the entrance.
He was just about to turn to Killer to admonish him for making him wait, but movement from the smaller woman caught his eye. He turned his full attention to her. Her eyes had lit up and her mouth had taken on an expression of awe. She slammed her hands on the counter and she hopped up making her feet land on the stool she was just sitting on. Starring him directly in the eyes she shouted "RED!"
Did this little chick just call him red? Kidd couldn't figure out if he should be pissed about this woman's nickname for him or not. Was she calling him that based on his hair?
"Tia! He's red! Ohhhhhh a pure red! I haven't seen one of those in sooooo long! It's one of my favorites! Tia look, look!" The overly excited brunette shrieked. Her knees bending and extending back and forth in her excitement.
"Iona! Stop that you're gonna knock your stool over and hit your face on the counter! Sit down!" The bartender pleaded with the girl.
"But Tiaaaaaaaaa! Red!"
Kidd watched in odd fascination as the bartender climbed over the bar and began wrestling the brunette down from her dangerous perch. Kidd was slightly amused to see that the small woman was not making it easy for her friend.
"I'm fine! Leave me alone Tia!"
"you're gonna hurt yourself and you're making a scene Iona. Everyone is staring. Ah! You elbowed me in the face!"
"Then let me go or I'll elbow those overgrown boobs next!"
"I swear to god Tia I'm gonna pull this stool out from under you! And you have no room to talk!"
"Then I'll just climb up on the bar"
Kidd completely forgot about his request for another brew as he watched the two women. The smaller one in fact did begin to climb on the bar, but the taller woman, now with a slightly swollen cheek, looked fed up. She grabbed the smaller one around the waist and began pulling her off the bar. The bartenders irritation seems to have given her extra strength, the weird color girl was losing her grip on the counter. They soon went flying toward the floor out of view on the other side of the counter.
Kidd heard the distinct sound of the women hitting the floor and a few complaints of pain when Killer made it to his side. "What is happening?" The masked blonde asked him.
"I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure the little one is crazy. Just ignore them."
"Ho...? That's a first. Normally I'm the one telling you to ignore people." Killer commented jokingly.
"What took you so long? I was getting bored. Though I would have been more patient if I knew I would be getting a show." The Red haired Captain inquired.
"I got what I needed and then I went to check on the ship. All our supplied are loaded and the men are putting them away. The repairs should be done in the next hour or two, so we should be able to set sail after that."
"It's about damn time. I can't stand another minute here. Everything is pissing me off."
"Ship!?" Kidd heard the brunette yell from the floor, still out of view. Her head quickly popping up and she locked eyes with the rookie Captain. "Did you say ship and that you're gonna be sailing out today?"
Kidd had heard enough to know where she was going with her question. "I'm not taking you with us." He growled
"Woah Iona calm down. You shouldn't be considering going with those guys. Don't you know who they are? This is reckless even for you." Her friend tried to reason.
"You should listen to flat ass over there girl. We're pirates you know." Kidd said while flashing his signature grin that made most civilians and even some lesser marines run in fear.
The dark haired bartender popped up next to her friend and threw and accusing finger Kidds way. "Hey! Did you just call me flat ass!?"
"I know who you are. I don't care. They're good Tia. I can tell." Iona explained while giving her friend a thumbs up.
"what's the matter flat ass? You called me eyebrows. I thought we were giving each other nicknames based on physical assets we lacked. And you!" Kidd turned his attention to the crazy girl. "I am not good. Don't go around slandering my name like that. Either way we are not taking you."
"I'm even more confused than I was a minute ago." Killer chimed in.
"what's up with the service here by the way. We asked for two ales about 15 minutes ago." Kidd reminded the woman named Tia according to the little Iona chick."
The bartender quickly sprung up to her feet and brushed herself off as she made her way back behind the bar. Her hair was disheveled from the ordeal with her friend and Kidd heard her gumbling something about showing him a flat ass as she began pouring two fresh glasses.
Kidd could have left but he had a couple hours to kill and the bar he was in was the only one in the whole town and he hated to admit it, but it had some of the best Ale he had tasted.
"I'll take one too Tia!" Said Iona cheerily as she made her way over to the stool next to Kidd.
"No." Was all the Captain said as she plopped down next to him.
"aww come on! I'll pay you!" She whined
"I doubt you have enough money for me to tolerate you."
Tia set the three beers in front of them. "To be fair she's not normally this bad. She only gets this way when she meets ummm...'certain types of people' for the first time. She was like this when she first met me too, but after a brief moment of insanity she calmed down. Not that I want you taking her with you or anything."
"The answer is still no." Replied Kidd as he took his new mug in hand.
"When you say pay, what are we talking about here?" Asked Killer
Kidd almost choked on his mouthful of ale. He snapped his head toward Killer and glared causing Killer to put his hands up in a gesture to calm his temperamental Captain.
"Well I can help around the ship, AND you can have this. This alone could buy me a trip around the world three times or more. All I'm asking is for you to get me safely to a friendly island in the New world." She explained while pulling out a small ring.
"The New world!? I don't think I could stand being around you till the next island, but the new world!? We're not even halfway through the first half of the grand line!" Kidd yelled. He eyed the piece of jewelry in her hand. "And what is that trinket worth? 20,000 Belis? Pfft might as well be worthless."
"Try 5 billion belis Red!" Iona said triumphantly. Kidd noticed her smile and cheery face hadn't cracked once. No look of fear or offence as he had yelled at her.
"5 billion my ass. No ring that small would ever be worth that much."
"It is when it's a relic from the missing history period. It even has a name. "Avisha" is what it's called."
"Wait Iona! Isn't that a sacred family heirloom. The one you're supposed to wear when you get married? You shouldn't give that up." Tia interjected.
"Granny wouldn't mind Tia. She wasn't one for tradition and neither am I. It was tradition that had me secluded from all the people on my island, tradition that forced an unwanted engagement on me to a creep, and tradition that kept this ring in my family. If I break the first two I might as well break the last one."
"Can I see that?" Killer asked interrupting the two womens discussion. He eyed the piece and then handed it to Kidd. "That's not an ordinary ring and if we can verify what she says this ring is a gold mine."
Kidd took the ring from his first mate examined it skeptically and then placed it in the break pocket of his fur jacket he had draped over his shoulders. "Thanks for the money." He said with a sneer.
"So you'll take me?" She asked her eyes lighting up.
Kidd had to look away. As much as he hated to admit it those eyes held a power over him and he felt a twinge of guilt. A forgein sensation that he didn't like. "The answer is still no."
"Hmmm, that's a shame." She said, placing her hand in front of his face palm up. "Then I guess you don't want this?" as she spoke those words Kidd watched as the ring materialized in her hand.
"What the hell?" He muttered to himself quickly checking his breast pocket to find that the ring no longer resided where he had placed it. Looking back at her she wore a cocky smile that he knew meant that she knew she had won. The thought infuriated him. "So, you're a devil fruit user?"
"What's that?" She asked
"It means you ate a weird fruit that probably tasted disgusting and gave you those powers. I kind of wondered that myself, but since you can swim I realized that couldn't be it." Her friend Tia explained.
"whaaaaa weird fruit can give you powers!? Man I love the world and all the crazy things there are out there!" The girl exclaimed with a look of wonder on her face.
"If you're not a devil fruit user how did you get that back!?" Kidd yelled at Iona. He was getting more agitated by the minute and the only thing keeping him from ripping the two women to shreds was a firm hand on his shoulder from Killer that told him he's have to listen to another lecture if he went off the rails and acted without thinking. *freakin mother hen*
"I don't know how it works exactly, but this belongs to me. If I have a claim over something I can make it go anywhere I want, within reason of course. The catch is I have had to have been there before. I need to have a clear picture in my mind where I want it placed. So lets say you decided to attack me right now. I could quickly have it drop into the ocean on a route I've been, some random island, or reverse mountain. I may be reckless, but I'm not dumb. I will relinquish ownership of this ring to you when you get me to a nice island in the new world. Once I do that, I suppose you could kill me and I couldn't do anything about it, but I have faith that you won't."
"That's all nice and well miss Iona, but that doesn't help our current financial needs." The more level headed of the Kidd pirates pointed out.
"Then here take this. Consider it a deposit. Of course I want that back after you have gotten my ring. 100,000 Belis" Iona offered as she handed a coin purse to the First Mate.
"Iona how...how did you come by that much money?" Tia asked while eyeing the two men nervously.
"I took it off someone who didn't deserve it." She casually explained as she took a sip of her beer.
"So you stole it?" Her friend deadpanned.
"What!? Tia I do not steal. I liberated it from a bad man that's all."
"That's the same thing Iona."
Ignoring her friends logic she looked at Killer. "So Blue, what's it gonna be? Will you and Red let me go with you?"
"Blue and Red? I'm guessing if we say no you'll take this purse back from me am I right?"
"You catch on quicker than Red here." She replied pointing her thumb in Kidds direction. He could feel himself grinding his teeth. She began to chuckle softly as she continued "Typical Blue."
Killer squeezed Kidds should her coaxed "Kidd..."
"Fine! We'll take you!" He growled. Turning to her he pointed a finger at her and warned. "But, you will obey my orders as if I am your Captain, You will have tasks that make you useful to us, and do not expect us to protect you if we run into trouble! You are responsible for your own well being. Do you understand all that?"
Iona stiffened her back, looked Kidd straight in the eyes, and saluted as she said "Aye, aye Captain!"
"Killer I swear to god I might fucking kill her. Don't get too attached to that ring."
"5 billion belis Kidd, 5 Billion." Killer cooed at his Captain and gave his shoulder one final squeeze before both men finished their beer and headed out to check on their ship.