Fishman Island is considered by many to be an underwater paradise. Between its gorgeous scenery and even more gorgeous mermaids, few would complain. Or, rather. Few who have money would complain. The poor of Fishman Island, on the other hand, have much to complain about.

The Fishman District at the bottom of Fishman Island is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. The poorest of the poor live here, with virtually no room for advancement. The fishmen and merfolk of the Fishman District live in constant fear of criminal gangs robbing them, or being kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery. Fishman Island is a very common destination for pirates crossing into the second half of the Grand Line, also known as the New World. In fact, it's the only destination for pirates crossing into the New World; the only other possible destination to get around the massive rock wall that divides the Grand Line is going through the World Government capital of Marie Jois, situated at the top of the rock wall (a.k.a. the Red Line).

And in this era, the era of Shaska's childhood, quite some time before Gold Roger's death and the subsequent Great Pirate Era, there was no protection from a big name pirate like Whitebeard, so pirates were allowed to roam free with nearly no consequence.

—

A six-year-old Shaska swam cheerfully in the Mermaid Cove. It was a bright, sunny day on Fishman Island (as were most days), and fish were swimming in the air overhead. Despite being a young child, Shaska was already six feet tall, and still growing. As she laid by a rock to relax, her big sister (who was smaller than her) called out to her.

"Shaska!" called the ten-year-old Korla from down below. "Mom and Dad say it's time for lunch!"

"Heehee! I'm coming, Korla!" Shaska giggled as she swam down.

She met up with Korla and her parents, Maji (father) and Oha (mother). Maji was a goldfish merman with a thick mustache, while Oha was an octopus mermaid, like her daughters. They were both dressed in some of their finest clothing, Maji in a black suit top and Oha in a purple dress that matched her tentacles. Maji was the boss of Maji's Fine Smokables, a popular cigar shop chain on Fishman Island. He was a very wealthy merman, the richest person in the port town of Coral Hill, having bred a species of waterproof tobacco, so Oha was able to be a housewife without having a job of her own. Like Shaska would in the future, Maji also chain smoked cigars. As they were in the air-filled part of the island, the family sat on large bubbles produced by bubbly coral.

Korla was also in a fine purple dress. "Get dressed, Shaska! Mommy and Daddy said we're going to the Mermaid Café today!" she said.

Young Shaska's face lit up even more. "Yaaaay! We get to go see the prettiest mermaids! I want a clam pizza!"

Maji and Oha couldn't help but smile at their younger daughter's exuberance. The family briefly headed home, and Shaska changed out of her seashell bikini top to put on her favorite pink dress.

They sat together and had lunch. Over their meal, Maji brought up the subject of business and their wealth.

"Well, darling, once the deal closes for the new shop in Conchorde Plaza, I think we'll have enough money for our dream house," said Maji.

"You mean…?" Oha asked, face lighting up.

"That's right, we'll finally be able to move to Fishverly Hills!"

"Oh, how wonderful! Isn't that exciting, girls?" Oha asked her daughters.

Korla and Shaska were less than impressed. "What about our friends?" Korla asked.

"You can always make new friends, sweetie," Oha reassured. "It'll be an even safer neighborhood for you two to grow up in. Here in Coral Hill, we still get the occasional pirate attack."

"But we get to see the army be AWESOME!" Shaska cheered. "I wanna be part of the kingdom army when I grow up! I wanna fight for King Ryuji!"

"Now, Shaska, we've discussed this," said Maji. "A cute little girl like you will make a fine wife for a businessman when you grow up. The battlefield is no place for a mermaid."

Shaska harrumphed and took another bite of her clam pizza.

The family left the Mermaid Café (after leaving a sizable tip), and headed home for the night.

—

The next morning, Shaska and Korla were awoken by their mother to go to school. It was a fairly normal day, and the girls returned home to their mother.

"Welcome home, sweeties! How was school?" Oha asked her daughters.

"It was fun! I learned that if I have ten clams and take away five, then I only have five clams left!" Shaska explained.

Korla was much less enthusiastic than her sister. "I said goodbye to my friends today…" she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Korla, honey, we're not leaving tomorrow," Oha said with a smile. "It all depends on if your father is able to close the deal for his business."

"I don't know what that means," Korla and Shaska said in unison, tilting their heads.

Suddenly, the door to their Coral Apartment flew open. In swam Maji, carrying a half-empty bottle of liquor in his hand. His face was flushed red.

He opened the liquor to drink more, but as he was underwater, the booze just floated out. He hastily tried to slurp it up.

"Honey… are you drunk?" asked a worried Oha.

Maji hiccupped and said "What are ya, my mother?"

"Daddy?" Korla asked, also worried.

"Hee hee hee, I lost it!" Maji declared with an unsettling amount of joy. "I lost errything!"

"Maji, what do you mean you lost ever-" Oha tried to say.

"Whole business! Down the drain!" Maji exclaimed. "King Ryuji passed a new law outlawing tobacco! Said too many pirates are coming here to steal it, and it's soooooo addictive! So poof! My whole business is gone!"

"Maji… how horrible!" Oha said, trying to console her husband.

"Then… I beddit all!" Maji exclaimed.

Oha really looked confused and worried now. "What… What do you mean, honey?"

"Once th'decree came down, I took all our savin's and beddit on th'seahorses!"

"No…" Oha murmured, covering her mouth.

"And I won! We got billions!" Maji declared.

Oha's expression softened a bit. "Then…?"

"Then I beddit all again! 'N' lost!"

Oha's face contorted to utter despair. "Maji… why?"

"'Cause I wanted that house in Fishverly Hills. 'N' I wanted to give m'family th'life they deserve!"

"Mommy? Daddy? What's going on?" Shaska asked.

"Don' worry abou' it, baby," said Maji, stumbling over his words. He turned back to his wife. "Where's dinner…?"

Oha was furious. "You just wasted our life savings after losing your job… AND YOU WANT ME TO COOK YOU DINNER?!"

Maji swam over and struck his wife in the face, right in front of their daughters. "I said where's m'dinner, woman?!"

Oha's fury remained, but she also became deathly afraid as well.

"Girls, go to your rooms," she said.

"But momm-" Korla tried to say, but she was interrupted by her mother shouting "GO!"

The sisters swam off, and Maji grabbed his wife by the collar and struck her again, this time shouting "WHERE'S MY DINNER?!"

Shaska initially was going to swim to her own room, but she was so terrified by the sound of her parents fighting that she swam into Korla's room and sobbed while her sister held her.

—

The next morning, the girls were woken up by their mother, who had a noticeable black eye.

"Good morning, girls…" she said, voice tinged with pain.

"M-mommy…?" Shaska asked, scared.

"Mommy and Daddy just had a little… disagreement last night," Oha tried explaining. "Now, start packing your things, we're moving to the Fishman District as soon as possible."

"But mommy, that's where the poor people live!" Korla exclaimed.

"I know, dear. But… after your deadbeat father lost his job, it's all we can afford."

Oha sulked for a second. "I used to be so hot before you two came along…"

Shaska and Korla had no idea how to reply to that. Oha simply said "go to school. And try not to wake your father on your way out."

The girls swam out of Korla's room to find Maji asleep on the couch, also with a black eye. Oha sat on her daughter's bed and began to sob.

—

Within the next week, the family had found a rundown apartment near the Fishman District some ways away from the main island for a cheap price, and they moved in the week after that. The Fishman District originally began as a place where orphaned children would gather and be taken care of, but by the time of Shaska's childhood, no one but derelicts lived there. It was where the light from the surface world was very weak. The only thing of note in the Fishman District was the massive ship, Noah, leftover from ancient times.

There was no place for business in the Fishman District; any establishment that would try to set up shop there would find itself vandalized and looted clean by the end of the day. This is where Shaska spent the rest of her childhood.

—

Three years after moving to the Fishman District, Maji and Oha were still together. And they fought every night, oftentimes physically. It was a routine, basically. Every day, Maji would swim to the surface to look for a new job, but most days, he'd just wind up begging, and spend his "earnings" on booze. The only time the couple got along anymore was when Maji was kind enough to buy liquor for the both of them; at that point, their violent attitudes were turned to their poor daughters. Nine-year-old Shaska frequently had black eyes and other injuries from the beatings she'd get from her drunk parents.

"This is for your mother's own good!" Maji would shout. "Don't want me hitting her do ya?!"

"I coulda been the prettiest mermaid on the island! But I had you two brats instead!" Oha cried. "I was HOT before you two came along!"

Shaska's only solace in life was her thirteen-year-old sister, Korla. Despite being only five feet tall, Korla grew into a skilled fighter and pickpocket, stealing from anyone she could near the surface so she could provide for her younger, but bigger sister.

Because of their parents' negligence, Shaska and Korla were basically allowed to roam free around the Fishman District and the surrounding waters.

One day, Korla swam to the surface away from Fishman Island and she saw something amazing. She swam back down to the Fishman District to grab her sister. Shaska was intrigued, so she followed her. The two swam along the ocean floor until they came to a massive set of tree roots. The girls had seen trees before, as there was a forest on Fishman Island, but never this huge.

"It's up at the top of these trees! You won't believe your eyes, Shaska!" Korla exclaimed.

Shaska nodded, and the two swam up to the surface.

Korla was right, Shaska couldn't believe her eyes. It was the most beautiful light show they had ever seen. What they had found was a place known to the surface dwellers as the Sabaody Archipelago, a massive grove of mangrove trees at the edge of the first half of the Grand Line. They bore witness to the sights and sounds of the amusement park there, Sabaody Park.

"Korla… you were right…" Shaska said, spellbound.

"Also…" Korla said. "To make this day extra special, I swiped something from Dad…"

From her vest that she wore for her pickpocketing hobby, Korla produced two waterproof cigars and a lighter. Shaska was understandably shocked,

"Cigars?! But, Korla! I thought the king banned those years ago!"

Korla put a cigar in her mouth. "Dad still had a stash of them. I thought it would be cool if we just floated here and smoked a bit while we watched the lights."

She handed a cigar to her sister.

"It'll be fun!" Korla said with a smile. Shaska put the cigar in her mouth, and Korla lit it for her. Shaska immediately started coughing and wheezing.

"I… *cough* How does Daddy *wheeze* do this all the time?" Shaska asked.

"I don't know. But he looks cool doing it," Korla replied, lighting up her own cigar. Like her sister, Korla started coughing and wheezing.

"It's *wheeze* just about the *cough* only cool thing about him!"

Shaska couldn't help but laugh in agreement in between coughs. Even at the age of nine, Shaska knew her parents were losers.

The sisters floated in the waters near the Sabaody Archipelago for hours, puffing on their cigars and just talking, something they hadn't done in quite a while. Hours passed, and night fell, and eventually the lights of the amusement park went out for the night.

"Let's… let's head back, Shaska," said Korla with a sense of impending dread.

Shaska looked down. "Yeah…"

They floated there for a bit longer.

"Hey, Korla?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Shaska said with a smile. She swam over and gave her sister a hug. They embraced for several minutes, and then dove back down.

—

The sisters swam back to the Fishman District. Before they could get back to their ramshackle apartment, though, they were stopped by a crab fishman. He stood over twenty feet tall and carried a wide array of weapons in his eight arms: a spear, two swords, an axe, and a hammer. His other hands were free. Notably, he had an unlit waterproof cigar in his mouth. He spoke to the girls in a deep, imposing voice.

"What's up?"

"I… who are you?" Korla asked, assuming a protective stance in front of her sister.

"Name's Rackham. I'm… kind of a big deal around here."

"We've been living here for years and never heard of you," Korla replied.

"Well, I'm the new guy in charge of this place. You're gonna have to pay a toll if you want to swim around here freely, little girls."

"No one in the Fishman District has any money! Are you crazy?!" Korla asked incredulously. "You think you can push us around just because you're bigger than us?!"

"No, see, I'm in the business of what they call 'population control'. I'm not one of you lowly street urchins. I'm a pirate."

"And?!" Korla asked.

"Either you pay me… or I get paid a different way," Rackham said with a crooked smile. "Cuties like you two would make me some good money…"

"Shaska, get out of here," Korla ordered.

"But, Korla!"

"I'll take care of him! You just get back home! I'll be back soon!" Korla said with a reassuring smile.

Shaska looked at her sister with worry, but she did what she was told and swam off.

"Oh no you don't!" Rackham shouted as he chased after her. Korla wasn't having it, and swam after Rackham.

"Oh no you don't!" Korla shouted.

Eventually, Korla overtook Rackham, and swam directly in front of him. She delivered a punch right to his crotch, causing him to keel over and howl in pain. Korla then swam after her sister and caught up to her.

"You okay, Shaska?" Korla asked.

"I'm fine, let's just get-" Shaska began.

They swam headfirst into a group of more crab fishmen, each over ten feet tall.

"You little girlies gonna pay the toll?" one of them asked.

"Is that Rackham guy your boss?" Korla asked, assuming a fighting stance.

"What's it to ya?" asked another one.

"Shaska, get out of here, now," Korla ordered again. "I'll hold them off."

Once again, Shaska took off, this time with tears in her eyes. She sprayed ink just to make sure she wouldn't be followed.

—-

Shaska reached the apartment to find her parents fighting, as usual. Shaska swam up to them, crying.

"M-mommy! D-daddy! It's Korla! There were these big guys who t-tried to t-take our m-m-money, but w-we don't ha-"

Maji struck his daughter. "She'll be fine, you little brat! Don't bother us!"

"Oh, it's not like we're doing anything important, you DEADBEAT!" Oha shouted.

"Shut up, you whore!" Maji shouted as he hit his wife.

Shaska swam off to her and Korla's room, crying. She curled up on her bed, and soothed herself to sleep by constantly repeating "she'll be back," and rubbing her shoulders.

Korla never came home.

TO BE CONTINUED