Title: Caged Birds

Word Count: 1712

*Summary (so far): The fight ended, and the two loot the unconscious (possibly dead) opponents. Now, what will they do with that money?

Rating: T

Warnings (in this chapter): Language and violence.

Disclaimer: Sigh...I'm going to keep saying this...Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece...

A/N: I seriously need to hurry up and finish the later chapters... -_-' I also realized that combining some chapters would mean a lot of complications I would rather not deal with, so please bear with me and my short chapters.

Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: I think I introduce their skills in the upcoming chapters (I gotta check in my spare time), and I will get back to you about your OCs soon (hopefully by the next update)...just not as soon. Mainly because this week will be pretty hectic for me. I actually looked at the earlier one long before, so, once again, I'll get back to you on that. Also, after a bit more, I'll start getting somewhere with the OCs. :) I l planned a lot of this story out, I just didn't get to write it down (yes, I'm horrible, I admit it).

Everyone else that sent OCs: I actually look at your OCs, and I do consider them. They also entertain me, because you guys have such the creative minds. :)


Aislynn was certainly content about the result of this battle—mostly because she received quite the sum of berries—because now she has a means of transportation. Even though she was gleeful, a random thought came to her head.

She jerked her head to Redd with serious eyes. "Redd," she began. "Did you kill them?"

Redd looked up at her and answered with a shrug. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't—do I look like a doctor?"

Out of vexation, she picked up a nearby rock and threw at him. Fortunately for her, she managed to hit his arm; unfortunately for him, he has a new bruise. She stood up and went over to Redd, leaning closer to him and staring intently into his eyes angrily. "I'm being absolutely serious; did you kill them?"

He furrowed his brows and pushed her away from him. Once she was an arm's length away, he began to speak. "Like I said, I don't know. How the hell am I supposed to know?" Another rock flew at him and hit his shoulder. "What the hell was that for?"

"For being a dumbass, that's why!" she spat. Aislynn shook her head and continued rummage through the coat. Without looking up, she added, "From now on, don't kill anyone."

Redd stood up and stretched his arms. When he looked back at her, he asked, "Why should I listen to you?"

Aislynn shot a glare at him, but ignored him for a while. After finishing her search, she gathered the various pouches and walked over to her companion. Once she was a foot away from him, she whacked him on the head. "That's a stupid question; I'm your captain!"

After receiving a lecture from Aislynn, the two went to bar and sat at the closest, available table. Those who were in there made space for them and watched in cautiously as to what they were going to do.

The red-haired young man sat and leaned forward, resting his arms on the tabletop with his hands clasped together. On the other hand, the shorter, masked person plopped down on the chair and tipped it back so the feet could rest on the table. What were these two going to do?

To break the silence, Aislynn spoke up. "Anyone know where that guy's boat is? He's unconscious, so I won't be able to ask where."

Nobody answered out of terror, but a small voice sounded. "Um, I know where it is…" it said timidly.

Redd's and Aislynn's eyes fell upon a small person, who must be six or seven. The child was trembling and dirty, with clothes quite too large for the skinny body to hold and no footwear on as well. This person's hair was long, chestnut brown, and unruly, bangs covering the eyes, and a collar was worn around the kid's thin neck. "I-I c-can sh-show y-you where i-it is…" the child's voice was barely audible, that both Aislynn and Redd had to strain their ears to hear—and the fact they both have awful hearing.

Aislynn set the chair back and propped her elbow on the table with her head resting in her palm. With her free hand, she gestured the child over, and the kid came to her timidly. "So, you can show us?"

The kid nodded.

This settled it and she stood up enthusiastically. She began to walk out the door and signaled Redd and the kid to follow. "Come on, let's go find us a ship!" she exclaimed with a grin on her face. The three left the bar with stunned and terrified men staring at them.

All of them could agree on that "supposed" little boy with the mask is definitely crazy.

~X~

The moon was gradually sinking into the horizon, showing that the night is going to end in some time.

The three were in no particular hurry, but they still ran; the kid in one of Redd's arms because they were rushing for some unknown reason. Upon arrival to the docks, the child pointed at the large ship that loomed over the others. It was grand, and it could probably hold an innumerous amount of people. Question was, why would that person have such a thing?

They stood by it and stared at the sight. After staring at it for a bit, Aislynn stretched and motioned the child over to her. She bent down to the kid's height and inquired for the kid's name. "My n-name is Odette…" the kid replied quietly.

Aislynn nodded and commented, "That's a nice name—so I was right, you are a girl."

Redd stared at Aislynn as if she was insane. "And you questioned yourself?" he remarked.

She looked up at him and replied, "You can never be too sure about things; you thought I was a boy." Odette giggled, earning a smile from Aislynn, even though it wasn't visible. "Now, for a way to get up there…"

A sigh escaped Redd's lips. "I guess I have no choice," he muttered. He began to shift his physique, becoming more animalistic: his nose upturned, brown fur covered his body, ears became pointed and larger, beady eyes, wings grew from his arms, and his teeth grew into fangs.

He earned himself a curious look from Aislynn, while frightening Odette. Odette quickly hid behind Aislynn and held onto the hem of her sash, peeking passed her a bit with wide eyes of fear. Aislynn glanced down at the girl and pitied her, as well as Redd; she sees why everyone's afraid of him—besides the fact he drinks blood.

A pang in his chest hurt him when he saw Odette hide from him, even though he didn't seem hurt at all on the exterior. However, the pang disappeared as soon as Aislynn took off her mask and grinned like an idiot. "You look really ugly, I'd be scared to see you too!" she commented jokingly.

Redd glared at her and would have killed her right then and there, if it weren't for a few reasons: one of them being the fact she could go toe-to-toe with him, and possible defeat him—not like he wanted to admit the fact she could easily kill him if he had a cut—the other reason being that Aislynn didn't run away, proving that she wasn't afraid and didn't care much about his appearance and nature. "Yeah, yeah—now shut up and get your ass over here so we can get on that damned ship." he stated.

Aislynn chuckled and did as he told, with the little girl cautiously following her. The two girls jumped onto the large, human-bat hybrid and held on tight. As soon as they did so, Redd flew up onto the deck and landed lightly. He let the two passengers on his back get off before he changed back to his original form. When they got off, he glanced down at Odette. "Is there anyone guarding the ship?"

Odette peeped up at him shook her head.

How can they still have their ship for all this time? he wondered. Then, he looked over at Aislynn with a brow raised. "So, what're we going to do?" he inquired from Aislynn.

She went over to the wheel and held a spoke. "We're going to go the next island; we need some more people before we set off the Grand Line!" she stated matter-of-factly.

Odette spoke up. "Um, there are other people on here. This is a slave ship, so…" she stuttered, but Aislynn got the essence of what she meant.

A hand plunged into the bag and brought out a ring with a variety of keys. She threw them to Odette, which she luckily caught. Then, Aislynn took out a map and a compass, which she happened to "receive" from her earlier opponents, and faced the sea. "Let's set sail, but can you begin setting some of the slaves free once we set out?"

The little girl nodded and Aislynn grinned.

~X~

Dawn broke out, tinting the ocean with blues, pinks, and oranges. Seagulls cried out, and the morning ocean scent filled the air. At some distance, an island could be seen, and Aislynn did her best not to fall asleep. She needed to have a nap after settling a few issues.

By the time all the prisoners were freed, the ship had reached the harbor and was docked. Everyone thanked Odette and Redd and went on their merry way into town with some berries for support, courtesy from Aislynn, whom the slaves never saw.

When all of the slaves left, Aislynn, Odette, and Redd remained. Aislynn and Odette boarded off and stood on the dock. Redd was sent to rummage through the ship to see if there was anything that could be sold, while Aislynn stood to keep watch; she didn't trust people ever since that last incident with her dingy.

Silence hung in the atmosphere, but was broken at last when Odette suddenly bowed deeply. "Arigato gozaimasu!" she stuttered. She shut her eyes closed and refused to look up.

Aislynn only grinned and ruffled her hair playfully. She simply replied, "It's what any sensible person would do." Then she added, "So what are you going to do now? You are free." She looked over at the girl's neck and smiled, seeing that the collar no longer bounded her to slavery.

Odette looked up at Aislynn, with her bangs pushed to the side, which revealed bright green eyes. However, her eyes were tinged with apprehension. "W-well…" she began as she fiddled with her thumbs.

Aislynn laughed and ruffled her hair again. "I'll let you stick with me until you figure out, but remember, I'm a pirate!" This seemed to calm Odette down. Aislynn looked up at the ship and called out, "Oi Redd, you almost done there?"

As if on cue, Redd jumped down from the ship and landed on the dock gracefully. A multitude of bags hung over his shoulders and arms. "I'm ready," he answered, and then handed several bags to Aislynn and Odette. "Now, how about this ship?" he pointed back at the ship with his thumb.

His companion replied, "We're going to sell it, but we need to be quick; I don't want that same incident to happen twice."

He chuckled and the three began to walk. "You think it's okay to set all of them free?" he wandered.

Aislynn only shrugged. "It's what any sensible person would do. You got to set caged birds free from torture. Plus, people change."

"Wonder what'll happen to them," he commented.

"Who knows? It doesn't concern us, and we have to sell these things and get some intelligence."

Redd glanced at her curiously. "Intelligence?"

"I'm searching for this one guy, and I need to know if his location changed. Also, we're keeping anything valuable!"


Omake (Extra) 1! _ (Something I thought of when reading this over)

REDD: Remember when you asked me if I killed those guys?

AISLYNN: Yeah. What about it?

REDD: Didn't you know how to check their pulse and shit like that?

AISLYNN: Yeah. Unlike you, who is sadly incapable of so many things that it makes me want to cry, I know something so elementary.

REDD: You make me want to kill you.

AISLYNN: Without me, you'd be starving and died out in the ocean.

REDD: (Eye twitch) You know, fuck it.

AISLYNN: I prefer not to.

REDD: You little smartass...forget it. Anyways, why didn't you check?

AISLYNN: (Sighs) It was too troublesome to go to every person and check their pulse.

REDD: ...Yet you didn't have a problem with pickpocketing every person?

AISLYNN: Yeah. And?

REDD: ...I question your morality and sanity-at the moment, mainly your morality-sometimes.

AISLYNN: I could say the same for you.


A/N: As always, R&R.