Chapter 1. Not a Hobo
The bustling noises of the town echoed throughout the air as people chatted and haggled with each other in the marketplace. As Loguetown sat at the edge of the Four Blues it saw a massive boon of trade and commerce imported from the ever dangerous Grand Line. Anyone looking to cross into the Grand Line often stopped by the large trading port to prepare for the arduous journeys ahead of them. As a result the town was extravagantly wealthy and the richest island of the Four Blues. It was lively, peaceful, and above all else: too loud.
A woman walked down the busy streets of the marketplace, a scowl etched into her features. Her blue and green eyes were locked straight ahead as she ignored the looks of fright and caution that people gave her. She didn't care much for their staring but didn't bother to react or respond; she was used to it. When you looked like her you often attracted more attention than anyone else. There wasn't much she could do and so long as people left her alone and didn't approach she would refrain from ripping off heads.
The woman walked around until she came upon a large fountain in the center of the market plaza. She approached and leaned over the edge to gaze at the reflection. White bandages were wrapped over her dark grey skin covering her head. The woman's mouth was uncovered by bandages and it still held the sneer she typically carried exposing her jagged, shark like teeth that often made normal people hesitate when talking to her. Concurringly it was much larger than the average person's. Along with her mouth, her piercing blue and green eyes were also uncovered ensuring her sight despite not wanting to look at most people.
Her body was also covered in heavy amounts of bandages only exposing the lover portion of her slim abdomen. She wore no shirt or upper garment instead opting for a black half jacket that remained unzipped. The jacket was worn down and torn with some fraying at the bottom and the ends of the short sleeves. Around the woman's legs was a ruined pair of black pants that hung loosely around her legs and waist. Like the jacket, tears and frayed edges were scattered about exposing more bandages around her legs.
If you were to look at this woman, you would be forgiven in thinking that she was just some homeless bum with her ruined clothing and frail frame. Her lack of shoes didn't help her image either.
If it wasn't for her 'unique' reputation in Loguetown she wouldn't get as many wary glances as she did. Hell she even had a name given to her by the locals: The Beast.
Very flattering.
It was the only name she could go by as her memory was in ruins. All she had were fragments of events and even then they were only snippets. All the more reason to find those black stones she had reasoned with herself.
Right know though The Beast needed something to eat and with no money it was going to be a challenge, like it was every day.
Scooping water out of the fountain to drink, The Beast continued on down the road thinking of a way to get food. Begging was out of the question. Her suborn pride refused to budge on the matter, besides it's not like anyone would give her money anyway.
Her predicament left her with two options: starve or steal and she wasn't going to starve.
So the question remained who was she going to steal food from? There was always the general populous, but they tended to be too winey and she didn't want the local garrison breathing down her neck. She barely had a tolerant relationship with that Marine Captain Smoker, so pushing her luck was not a good idea. All that left was one other option: criminals.
Or more specifically pirates.
Many pirates, or water rats as she called them, moved through Loguetown to get the Grand Line like everyone else, only they went OVER the mountainous Red Line rather than the easy way. Pirates came to Loguetown for supplies before setting off so looting them for supplies and food was a matter of how fast she could take what she needed or how many people she was going to beat down.
Thankfully, most of the pirates that came through were pretty weak as not only could The Beast wipeout an entire crew on her own, but the Marine garrison could also do their jobs right as well. Despite her success of such ventures she still needed to keep an eye out for pirate crews that were actually something to behold. She learned to listen to her instincts when looking for victims, getting shot in the head does that to you.
So with that in mind The Beast made her way down to the docks hopping that a weak crew of rats was here.
Walking the familiar streets was a chore for something like herself as the stone roads were unforgiving to her feet and the day's sun was content with shining down an abundance of heat that the beastly woman wished she didn't have to be in. It was the dark alleys of Loguetown that gave her respite from the all too noisy city life. The winding alley was where vagrants and thugs hid from the ever watchful eyes of the Marine garrison and public alike. It also served as a pathway around the city, with its many hidden doors and neglected tunnels long sense forgotten.
Over the months of being stuck on this island The Beast had learned to call it home. But she needed to move on; her instinctive drive to find those Black Stones was becoming unbearable and she knew where to find more.
The Grand Line was to be her next hunting grounds.
But before that, the Beast of Lougtown needed food and coming upon the docks she saw opportunity.
A small galleon was docked in the more out-of-the-way portion of the harbor. Groups of men carried crates of supplies onto their ship while many others kept a look out for any Marine patrols that might pass by. Upon the deck of the ship, however, was a fat, bloated man barking and yelling at his underlings whilst chewing a large ham.
The man's coat did nothing to conceal the round belly that protruded a foot away from the rest of his body. His face was marred by bits of food and grease that he took no attention too. Over all he looked the part of a fat rat, but was he or was he just a fat merchant?
Staying a distance away at the entrance of the alley, The Beast looked up the mast of the ship and indeed saw a jolly roger with a scull chewing on a bone waving in the breeze.
Yes, this was a rat like she hoped and even better, a gluttonous one.
A sinister smile stretched across the grey woman's face exposing the jagged teeth that would be tearing into food soon. She was going to eat well today.
Keeping her eyes down and moving with a stager, the hungry beast made her way to the fat pirate's ship readying for a fight.
The smell of fresh meats and quality cheeses hung in the air around the pirates and only increased as the ship drew closer. No one paid her any mind as she approached, hugging the wall of a storage building. The shouts of the fat rat became audible, but she paid them no mind. It wasn't until one of the guards closest to her took note of the bandaged bum walking closer to their supplies.
He scowled and yelled, "Hey! No one's allowed anywhere near the captain's ship! Piss off ya homeless bum, we ain't got no food for you!" His cutlass was raised threateningly.
The Beast couldn't help but toy with the rat. "Surely you have some food to spare. You have so much food that eclipses the needs of your crew; you couldn't possibly eat all of it without gaining a few pounds." Her voice was deep and raspy and her smile never left her face.
The guard looked confused for a moment before a look of anger contorted upon his face. "Shut up! We ain't got to share nothin'! Only the Captain can say who gets food and who goes starvin', and you ain't gettin' a single crumb lest he says so!" By now other rats had gathered, looks of amusement was on each face as they watched some homeless idiot get yelled at.
"Not even a morsel? You're not very kind are you," she replied sarcastically.
"Ha! Why would we be? We're the pirates of Captain Gruel 'the Gut Wrencher' the most feared pirate of the South Blue, do you really think that we care about if we're nice or not?" The man boasted. The other pirates behind him laughed loudly as if he had told a hilarious joke.
"You know," The Beast started, "a helpful hand is often rewarded. You would do well to help another in the world."
The pirate before her looked as if she had just spoken a different language. A scowl etched onto his face.
"Do you really think we care about some stupid tramp that walks up the Captain's ship and demands that we hand over some food? How stupid can you get?" The pirate yelled.
The Beast's blue and green eyes narrowed slightly and her smile tugged a little larger. "I honestly think none of you are capable of even sharpening your weapons with your pea brained Captain at the helm."
Jeers of outrage called out to the grey skinned woman from the Pirates that now surrounded her. By this point the captain took note of the crowed gathering at the wharf's entrance. He bristled at the sight and waddled his way over, left hand still clutching the ham he had been eating.
By the stones she could smell him from here, and she didn't even have a nose.
"What's going on here?!" the glutton bellowed, "What are ya idiots doing standing around, get back to work!"
All the pirates that were gathered obediently tensed and turned to their captain, sweat pouring down their heads.
One pirate spoke up.
"B-Boss, this homeless bum came up and started to ask for food so we just told 'em to get lost. Then she started talking all sorts of nonsense."
The fat pirate captain took a big bite out of his ham and spoke with his mouth full. "So ya all just stopped working to tell her to get lost? Idiots! Ya don't needed half of the crew ta tell someone to piss off!" He turned to the woman standing in the middle of the group, "And you! Get the hell outa here, we ain't got no food for ya so leave or I'll skin ya alive."
The bloated excuse for a man's crew yell out in jeers and appraisal for their captain like obedient children.
"Yeah tell 'er boss!"
"We don't got no food for you!"
"Come on let's just kill her and go!"
The Beast wasn't impressed to say the least. Her stomach growled reminding her that she needed to eat. So with that in mind she chose her next words to ensure she would leave with some food.
"I'm sure a gluttonous fatass like yourself would be able to spare a small morsel to someone more powerful than you could ever hope to be."
Everyone gaped, their jaws nearly touching the floor and eyes bugged out in surprise. The audacity this homeless nobody had floored any reply that anyone would have had.
A devilish smile graced her bandaged cheeks, exposing her jagged teeth to the audience.
The captain, however, was not amused in the slightest. A blood vessel bulged on his forehead out of rage and his teeth were clamped together tightly. His eyes were locked firmly on the grey skinned women before him; nobody insulted him about his weight and lived.
The man gripped and axe strapped to his right and swung hard at the offending woman yelling, "Nobody insults Gruel 'Gut Wrencher', captain of the Maneater Pirates, and gets away with it!"
The Beast didn't move an inch as the heavy axe head hurtled toward her face intending to split her head wide open.
*CLANG*
The axe promptly shattered into a million pieces the minute it came in contact with her covered skin.
Silence followed right after as no one moved or said anything. The captain stood still as rage was replaced with shock, his right hand holding the splintered handle of his weapon. The crew's jaws now collectively hit the floor and their eyes bulged even further.
An unamused frown was now present on The Beast's face.
"A-a-a-ah," was all the fat man could utter.
*POW*
He was then suddenly sent flying away at high speeds only to get imbedded into a wall. His eyes were vacant and his mouth was hung open. Gruel 'Gut Wrencher', captain of the Maneater Pirates and self proclaimed most feared pirate of the South Blue was knocked out from a single strike.
The one responsible, The Beast, held her post punch position for a moment before righting herself and cracked her neck.
The crew's response was appropriate.
"Eeehhhhh!?"
"All I asked was for some food, now look at what's happened," she sneered to the unconscious man.
The beastly woman turned to the shocked crowd who had yet to recover, her sweetly smug smile appeared again as she asked, "Shall I grab some of your supplies or are we going to continue having problems?"
The pirates all turned their attention to the individual standing in the center of their group. She just stood there waiting for an answer and the answer she would receive was obvious.
"Get 'er!" someone yelled suddenly.
In an instant every pirate of the Maneater crew drew their weapons and charged the lone woman with reckless abandon.
Their target merely sighed and rolled her eyes. Weaklings like them weren't fun to fight.
Without moving from her spot, The Beast raised her arms and crossed them to block a number of swords aimed for her face. Once they made contact she grabbed an attacker's arm and, in an impressive show of strength, swung the poor pirate into the first group wiping them aside like dust. She then threw her improvised (and terrified) weapon at a line of three pirates approaching her from the left and knocked them all down.
"Rraaah!" came a pirate's battle cry from behind.
A blade made contact with The Beast's skull and, like the axe from before, shattered. The recipient of the blow slowly turned to look at the offender, green pupils staring straight through their soul.
In response the pirate raised his hands, backed away quickly, and jumped into the water.
The Beast returned her attention to the battle at hand and dogged a large sledgehammer that was intent on crushing her. A quick punch to the man's face ended his dreams of rock breaking and sent him into another group of attackers.
The heavy wooden mallet hit the ground with a loud thud and a clatter. The Beast made note of it and continued to throw grown men at their fellows.
Another swing from an axe made hard contact with the woman's side breaking in two, but throwing her to the side into a stack of crates. The blow left her dazed, her head was spinning from the impact and her side throbbed in pain. Seeing that the beastly woman was dazed, the pirates surrounded her and closed in for the kill jeering and mocking her all the way.
"Now you're going to pay!" one called.
"Ah say we haves a little fun first," another threatened.
"She's wearin' a lot of bandages, why don't we open up her old scars," a third sneered all too enthusiastically.
This wasn't happening right? The Beast of Loguetown wasn't going to end up dead by a bunch of no-name pirates right?!
No, they were weaklings, nothing, trash; hardly worth the effort she had already put in.
She would not die here.
And like that The Beast opened those blue and green eyes wide.
One again she would have to let loose and let the beast out of its cage.
-XXXX-
If there was one thing that the Marine garrison of Loguetown could say about their Captain with upmost certainty, it was that Captain Smoker was the most determined man in the all of the Blues.
Any pirate that sailed through the port town was always met with a quick and merciless defeat at the behest of his feared jitte and his own powers. "White Hunter Smoker" was the title that he earned for himself during his captaincy of the Loguetown garrison. With a near flawless record in regards to capturing any pirates that dock in the bustling trading hub it was a wonder to his men and to why he was still just a garrison captain rather than a marine captain out traveling the great seas. Smoker allowed himself a rare sense of pride with his reputation, but always had to remind himself that he wasn't the only one terrorizing any pirates that wound up here.
For the past few months that woman had been "helping" Smoker and the Marine garrison of Loguetown in dealing with the rats that swam from the sea. He didn't like it, but command had made it clear that she wasn't to be arrested for helping the marines. This "Beast of Loguetown" was seen in a favorable light by local command, heck she didn't even take any rewards after beating down any pirates. All she would ever ask for was a meal.
Just because this woman had a favorable standing with the higher ups in this region didn't mean Smoker trusted her. While he could respect her willingness to hand pirates she had defeated over with no issues or rewards (other than some food) and her surprising physical strength, he knew she wasn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart or any sense of moral justice like himself.
No, she had her own reasons for doing so.
She even told him herself during one of their little talks.
According to her, two years ago she had been shot in the head and left lying in a shallow grave. The bullet didn't kill her but seemingly wiped her of her memories before that point. It wasn't full blown amnesia as she still knew who she was, but had forgotten her name, and she could recall why she was in the blues in the first place. Something about finding those "damned stones" to help regain some of her memories.
Smoker didn't know or did he care, but this woman had landed in Loguetown and had been stuck here until she could find a ride into the Grand Line legally. That surprised him but she had clarified that having the World Government not chasing her was better in the long term.
That got Smoker's suspicion, but untimely he just wanted this woman out of Loguetown to be someone else's problem.
Her transit out would have been faster if she just accepted payment for her help instead of food.
Until then Smoker would just have to accept her help, as reluctantly as he was about it.
Help or not Smoker's job never ceased, just like him, and only ever took breaks in between.
Speaking of breaks, the man in question had been spending the early afternoon in his smoking room in a moment of respite before marching out into the streets once more.
Smoker's break was interrupted, suddenly, by one of his subordinates barging into the room and saluting releasing the cigar smoke into the hallway.
"Captain Smoker sir!" the man franticly saluted, "We've gotten re-*cough* reports that there's *cough* been sounds of conflict down by a neglected por*cough*tion of the docks."
As the marine fell into a coughing fit Smoker sighed as he took the two cigars out of his mouth and buried them on an ashtray next to his chair. Standing from his seat, the Marine garrison commander reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out two new cigars and lit them.
Being returned to his proper image, Smoker responded to his subordinate.
"Down by the docks? Probably more pirates today."
"*cough* that's very likely sir," the marine choked out weakly.
"Hmm, inform the rest of the men to gather outside and contact Tashigi to meet us at the Eastern dock yards," the Captain commanded.
The smaller man saluted, "Right away sir!"
Once alone, Smoker sighed once more and retrieved his jitte that lay against the chair.
"Tch, pirates seem to be in abundance today," he remarked sourly. His mood had now darkened with the interruption of his break. This was the third pirate ship to dock at Loguetown today so something must have been pushing these rookie pirates out of the Blues.
No matter. Any pirate that dares step foot in Loguetown would always end up beaten and locked in the cells bellow the garrison stronghold just like all the others.
With his jitte securely placed in the holsters of his jacket the Captain Smoker made his way through the building and into the gathering yard where his men awaited his arrival.
The moment he appeared every marine stopped what they were doing and stood at attention awaiting their Captain's command.
With a breath, Smoker addressed his men, "Alright, there's been word that a crew of pirates might be down by the abandoned section of the Eastern docks. We're going to head down and investigate, be prepared for anything."
The marines saluted and a chorus of "Yes sir!" met the Captain's ears.
The small battalion of marines armed with rifles and swords made their way through the streets of Loguetown toward the docks. Civilians parted and moved away as the group passed by, some even cheered them on knowing full well as to what they were going to do.
Smoker lead the band from the front, his signature two cigars leaving a trail of tobacco smoke wafting in the air. His eyes focused ahead and his face resting in into his famous scowl.
The march to the docks took about ten minutes and when they finally arrived, Tashigi, the Captain's second in command, stood awkwardly to the side with her back to them.
From the looks of things she seemed to be looking for a Jolly Roger.
Smoker addressed his second in command in his typical fashion.
"Tashigi!" he bellowed.
Said individual immediately went rigid, "Kyaah!"
The second in command spun around and saluted awkwardly standing as stiff as a board.
"C-Captain Smoker sir!" the words spilled out of her mouth.
"Tashigi," Smoker replied.
"I-I didn't hear you arrive. I was just trying to see if I could find anything from here but nothing has happened."
She didn't hear him and his entourage approach from behind her. Sometimes Smoker wondered if the poor woman could be helped.
Shaking his head and sighing the Captain addressed his lieutenant, "That's fine, the commotion was heard around the abandoned section where it would be easy to hide. Don't go thinkin' that you'd see them from here."
The man's gaze turned to the docks themselves. Because Loguetown was the biggest trade city in the Blues and the entry way into the Grand Line it had to sustain a large dock yard. And large it was, spanning the entire length of the town's border the port saw never ending business, trade, and constant in and out traffic. Ships of all sizes were docked while sailors and dock workers hurried along with their duties preparing and stockpiling supplies for their long voyages ahead.
Smoker's eyes, however, were scanning for any trouble amongst the busy going-ons of the port.
Expectedly he found nothing.
If a crew of pirates were down here then they would be smart enough to try and find an out-of-the-way location to dock, like an abandon warehouse section to the far East of his location.
"Alright!" the Captain addressed his men, "We're going to the abandoned warehouses to the East. If the pirates are here then that's likely where they docked their ship. Be ready for anything."
His men, and Tashigi, saluted with a "Yes Sir!" before readying their weapons for when a fight breaks out.
Captain Smoker of the Loguetown Marine garrison turned and made his way toward the warehouses that sectioned off the small part of the port and was likely hiding the pirates he was seeking.
As the battalion and it's two officers got closer they noticed things got quiet. Not a sound of moving crates or any conversation between ship mates could be heard. Suspecting an ambush, everyone readied themselves and began to up their awareness of the area.
Brandishing his jitte and readying his devil fruit powers Smoker walked through the opening into the small wharf fully prepared to rush in and make the first strike.
What greeted him instead made his famous scowl harden (if that is even possible).
Tashigi, seeing her Captain's hesitation, was about to ask what was wrong when she turned the corner and saw the carnage before her.
Strung about like dolls forgotten by a bored child were the unconscious bodies of numerous pirates and all of them sported numerous bruises and cuts all along their bodies.
Weapons were scattered everywhere and some were even smashed apart. One unfortunate soul was pinned to the side of a building by a bunch of weapons through his clothing. The expression on his face suggested that he fainted from all the near misses.
Further up the pathway were even more bodies but some were in even worse shape than those before. Whole gashes had torn themselves across several pirates leaving them to bleed out on the floor and several more bodies likely had broken bones judging from the arms, legs, and various other parts being bent out of shape or downright crushed.
All throughout the area was destruction and damage to the wharf and what could be assumed was the pirate's ship was lopsided with heavy damage across the hull as well. A mast was snapped in two and had crashed into a small shack.
The surrounding buildings weren't spared the carnage either as many had holes and craters spotted across their surfaces.
There was even a fat pirate lodged in a wall so far that he had yet to fall out.
The whole scene was…something to behold for sure.
"Wh-what happened here? Did we miss some fight between crews?" Tashigi asked through her stupor.
"No," the Captain replied, "She got to them before we did."
The second in command was about to ask who when Smoker pointed toward a figure sitting on top of a stacked pile of crates.
Bandages adorned their small frame only covered by a pair of tatter pants and vest with a large collar. The figure's exposed midriff was gaunt and under feed, the grey skin hugged tightly to the individual's stomach. If any bones had been exposed from under the plethora of bandages it was likely that the person's ribs could have been easy to see.
The most identifying part to the person was their face, a face that both Captain Smoker and Tashigi had gotten to know very well over the past few months. Her jagged teeth tore into a piece of meat held in her wrapped had while the other held what looked to be a slice of cheese. Her eyes were the same discolored green and blue and were focused on the newly arrived group. A look of amusement broke across her face as the woman waved at them with the hand holding the piece of cheese before bringing it to her mouth and taking a bite.
Smoker clenched his hands and bit into his cigars harder.
The Beast of Loguetown had beaten them to the punch again and even worse was now the Captain lost his winning streak on her.
Well lets see how this goes.
Originally I wanted this to be longer but I'm going to put this out to see if this peaks your guy's interests.
Expect a very irate and borderline murder hobo character. Why? Because its fun that's why.
Let me know what you guys think and have a wonderful day...you beautiful bastards.