Title: Smell of Blood

Word Count: 1562

*Recap: Aislynn goes into a bar to obtain some information about certain people. In the process, she ends up beating up a crew of drunken pirates, helping out the barmaid and the bartender's business—with some help of the infamous Canon-Firing Wallus. After obtaining the information, she sets off to find her crew.

Rating: T

Genre: Action, Adventure & Humor

Warnings (in this chapter): Language and violence.

Disclaimer: How can I own One Piece? That's an impossibility and only EIICHIRO ODA OWNS ONE PIECE. :)

A/N: Okay, I kind of lied about skipping 2-3 chapters. I changed a bit about Aislynn. So…yeah. I'm not sure whether it's important, but I wanted to state that. :)

Anways, these chapters are going to go out (somewhat) weekly, even though I can publish it all in one day. However, I would like to expand it over a period of time so I could give myself some time to type up more chapters (especially since I have another one going for Ouran).

Without further ado, Chapter 2. (Hey, that rhymes! XD)


Now, she was not a navigator, so she can't read the currents, wind, stars, weather, etc. However, she was competent enough to be able to understand some concepts of navigation: reading maps, understanding a compass, and knowing that birds always fly to an island. Then again, her sisters have forced her, against her will sometimes, to remember many things covering many subjects.

Aislynn lied on the bottom of the boat and stared up at the sky. She was sleeping earlier and had woken up from a light nap; if she had fallen into a deep sleep, she might have waken to find herself in a sea monster's belly—if she wasn't digested—or never to have woken in the water.

After a few moments of contemplation, she sat upright and searched the horizon for anything out of the ordinary; no island in sight—then again, she isn't far-sighted. Then, she hovered over the deep blue ripples for any dangers. If this boat went down; she's going down with it. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be down there and she gazed up at the bright blue, cloudless, midday sky. She spied a few seagulls flying, and according to her makeshift compass (composed of a leaf, a needle, and water in a small container), they were flying east. She smirked and took up an oar. Finally, luck is on my side! I can't believe I forgot a map! How am I going to find them now! She began to row in the same direction of the birds.

~X~

He sat on the bench and searched the crowd. When nothing seemed unnatural or interesting, he let out a sigh. This is certainly a boring town, he thought with a bored expression. He suddenly got up and walked around the busy streets for some time. Then he happened to pass by an alley filled with people lurking in the shadows.

Without giving a second to let him continue further, several men jumped out at him, with swords and pistols. They cried out and rushed at him, but they were not given a chance to land a hit on him. He pulled a scythe from behind him and dashed passed them quickly, cutting them with his double-ended scythe. Of course, he never killed them yet, preferring to have his meals alive.

The attackers looked up in horror, trying to back away, but could not; he hit their vital points with that large scythe. They all tried to scream, but were silenced as soon as they opened their mouth.

When he finished, he licked the blood that dripped down from his mouth. Then, he noticed a paper in the hand of his last victim. He took it from the lifeless hand and sighed at the sight; another wanted poster of him. The picture shown his as a ruthless murderer (which for the most part is true): bright red hair that were spiked up like (somewhat) wild flames, crimson eyes that were cold despite its color, and blood-stained lips and sharp teeth; Qinn "Bloody" Redd with a bounty of 20,000,000 berries. His bounty would have been higher, if they counted all his victims (which they couldn't since it was quite difficult). They should change that picture of me—they didn't get my good side. he thought. Once he had his meal, he went to the nearest bar, knowing there would be drunken people that he can steal from; he needed some cash for supplies if he was going to get moving.

Once he entered the noisy bar, he walked towards the wall covered with wanted posters. He looked around the wall, looking for nothing in particular; Redd wanted some sort of cover so he can search for a drunken idiot to steal from. Once he eyed a scrawny, tall, red-faced man getting up and leaving the bar, he was about to follow him, until one entry intrigued him.

A tiny person wearing a hannya mask (1) entered. He wore a black, short-sleeved jacket—hood and zipper up and all—over a large, white T-shirt that looked two to three sizes to big. He had dark cargo shorts that bunched up just below the knees with a belt to hold it up, as well as dark ankle boots, that seemed to have suffered through many hardships. Around her waist was a white sash of some sorts that came together at the back, concealing two kusarigama (2). Redd noticed how the weathered, light brown satchel was bulky, and wondered how that scrawny person could carry that around.

What interested Redd the most was the fact this person was hiding his face, and he wanted to know that reason. Fortunately for Redd, the stranger had walked to the poster-covered wall and began scanning it. After a few minutes of searching, he pulled out a worn journal and opened it to the middle pocket, which Redd noticed that the journal had many scribbles and loose papers. Then, the small person took a few posters and stuffed them in the pocket and replaced the book back in the bag.

It stayed quiet for some time, until the person spoke up. "I assume you had a…snack—judging by the scent of your breath." he stated.

Redd immediately lifted his hand to his mouth and breathed on it. Then, he sniffed it, checking if his breath reeked of the crimson liquid. What the hell, it doesn't smell too much like blood; who the hell is this guy? Soon, he banished the whole issue from his mind. Redd replied, "Yes, I just ate—and you?"

As if on cue to answer his question, the person's stomach growled. "Obviously, I'm hungry." the person chuckled. "How about we sit down and have a small chat; I've been meaning to speak with you for a while."

Redd raised a brow, wondering why this stranger would want to talk to him, more importantly, about what.

Noticing his suspicion, the stranger stated, "Don't worry, I'm not after your head; I want to ask you something that is quite important—well, to me and possibly to you—depending on your answer." The boy began to walk out the bar, probably wanting Redd to follow.

He didn't know what to do, so Redd just shrugged and followed the person out the bar and into a small restaurant that wasn't too far from the bar. What harm could this little guy do? As they sat at the booth and waited for their order to be taken, Redd spoke up. "So, what do you want to ask me?"

Before the person replied, he took off the mask and pulled the hood down to reveal his face—or should I say, she revealed her face.

Shock wasn't too apparent on his face; after a moment his brain registered this, he smirked. "That could explain why you hide your face. What, are you afraid someone might attack you? After all, you're a very tiny girl."

She smiled back at him and answered, "Well, I just don't like people taking me even more lightly than they already do. Also, I'm five feet—which isn't too short—and for your information, I'm still growing!"

He nodded and chuckled, holding in the urge to burst out at this joke. "Well little kid, you should go back to your home. It's impossible for you to survive out here by yourself!"

Even so, the little girl responded seriously. "Of course I can't survive out here by myself; no man—no person—can survive the vast ocean by themselves."

This seemed to settle Redd down a bit, and he regained composure. "So, would you like to answer my question now?"

"Of course, of course; I'll be direct: would you like to join my crew that I'm making at the moment?"

This surprised him quite a bit. First, this little girl is traveling the sea by herself, and now she's asking him if he wants to join her crew. She must definitely be insane.

Redd opened his mouth to answer, but then she added, "And also, I don't take 'no' for an answer."

He raised a brow and asked, "You realize who I am, and I have no problem killing you off, right?"

She smirked and said, "Of course I know who you are, and I think you would be perfect for my crew! All we have to do is fix that bloodthirsty behavior of yours, and we'll be all good!" She grinned, with her hands crossed on the table, and just sat there for some time.

"Tell me, how will you fix it?"

"If you only need blood to survive, then I can provide more than enough to satisfy that hunger." She took a vial from her jacket pocket and tossed it to him, which he caught with one hand.

The clear vial held a red liquid, and out of curiosity, he unplugged it and sniffed. A smiled played on his lips as the aroma of blood danced around his nose. Then, a though occurred to him; "I'm sure you have more than this, but how did you get it."

"Easy, I'm a Devil Fruit user." She simply answered.

"And before I forget to ask, what is your name?" he inquired.

A grin grew on her face. "Cantarella D. Aislynn, future Pirate Queen."

At that time, a waitress came by their table and asked for their orders.


A/N: As always, review please and thank you for reading! :)

(1)

(2) .org/wiki/Kusarigama