A/N: Heylo everyone ^-^ Well, 30 or so people seem to have read this, which makes me feel better when I saw no reviews XDD So here be the second chapter. *cough* reviews would be awesome *cough*

First things first though, not much info is given in the manga concerning ages and etc, excluding Iceburg. So, just so my story makes a bit more sense, I want to give you a brief timline of how old everyone is:
-Taking into account that Kaku said he was 23, then later on called Pauly a 'brat' I'm gonna say that Pauly is younger than Kaku, so I went with 22. This makes sense because when the sea train left 12 years ago, Pauly was 10. (he runs alongside the train as a child, so 10 seems a decent age for that, compared to the strawhats when they were little). Also, at the time the sea train left, we know for a fact Iceburg was 26.
-Pauly was apprenticed to Iceburg, but we don't know an exact age it started, so I went with that he started at 12, when Iceburg was 28.
-At the end of this chapter, there's a flashback scene that takes place 7 years ago, meaning Iceburg was 31, Pauly was 15, and Tallie was 11.

Kay, I hope that makes it a bit easier to visualize ages and stuff. I drew a timline for myself so I wouldn't mess it up either XD So, without further wait, here is chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, because if I did, we'd be seeing a lot more Zoro in the coming manga chapters D:

"Nmaa, are you all right Tallie?" Iceburg had come to the mansion that doubled as both his house and Galley-La HQ when he heard what transpired.

I was sitting on a chair in his office, holding a wad of paper towels to the cut on my neck. He was seated at the desk. "I'm fine, it just won't stop bleeding. Stupid dirt I was in makes it sting."

"You mean you didn't clean it yet? It will get infected and smart even worse."

I just narrowed my eyes at the first aid box on the stand to the right of my chair. "It'll hurt."

"Nmaa," Iceburg sighed, standing up and walking over to said evil supplies. "You're not little anymore. Being scared isn't a good excuse."

"Worked when I was eleven and came over here in the middle of the night. Why can't it work now that I'm seventeen?" I edged away from him and pushed the towels harder against the right side of my neck, hoping that if it stopped bleeding, he'd leave me alone.

"Shameless woman!" I head a shout from elsewhere in the building. That and something about wearing long pants.

"Is that Pauly?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Iceburg as he opened the demon box.

"Nmaa, yes. He is against women showing skin."

"Wow...he's like...an anti guy." Iceburg just laughed quietly. "No, seriously, I thought all guys were like, 'Yay boobs and ass.' Or at least didn't mind it. It's weird."

"Pauly is a bit eccentric there," he replied, pouring alcohol on some cotton. Now, I don't know what it is, but there's some magical quality about cotton that lets it soak up mass amount of liquid without dripping any of it out. Unfortunately for me, this meant all of that painful liquid would be going straight on my slightly open wound.

"No way Iceburg-san," I said as he tried to bring the cotton to my neck. He just ignored me, so I let go of the paper towels to grab his wrists, halting him, for the moment, from coming any closer with it.

"Nmaa, Tallie, at least keep those against your neck."

"Nu-uh, if I let go, you'll just grab that evil liquid with the other hand and hurt me."

"You make it sound as if I enjoy torturing you," he sighed, easily taking his left wrist out of my grip to discard the bloody towels that were on my shoulder (from falling off my neck) and replacing them with a wad of gauze on my cut.

"Attack in Iceburg-san's office! Help!" I shouted, while Iceburg just rolled his eyes and smiled at the lengths I'd go just to avoid the unavoidable.

"Iceburg-san! What's going on?" Pauly had run in a few moments later, expecting the worst. Even his rope was already snaking its way into his hands.

I was still squirming from Iceburg – which was failing miserably since I was sitting in a chair only holding his right wrist and he was standing over me lightly pressing gauze to my neck. "He's trying to kill me! Help!"

"Nmaa, Tallie just doesn't want to clean her cut since it will hurt," Iceburg supplied, ignoring my outburst. "Could you help? It will only take a few seconds, if that." Pauly readily agreed, seeing as no one was actually being hurt and appeared to be amused by the whole thing.

"Traitor," I growled as he stood behind the chair and grabbed my wrists. Turning to Iceburg I said, "I'll bite you. Come any closer and I will. I'll kidnap Tyrannosaurus and hold him for ransom. I'll-"

In the midst of my threats, Iceburg held my head to the side (obviously to avoid being bitten if I meant what I said) and gently swiped the soaked cotton across my cut, cleaning out the dirt that could cause it to get worse.

"Owowowowow," I gritted my teeth as my neck burned intensely from the alcohol on the open wound. But almost as soon as it started, it was over.

"All that for half a second of cleaning?" Pauly asked curiously as Iceburg handed me some clean gauze.

"Ridiculous, isn't she?" he said, then turned to me. "The cut wasn't even that big, so the bleeding's almost stopped completely."

"I'm not talking to you," I muttered angrily, using a few small pieces of medical tape to hold the gauze in place. Then, noticing Pauly, "Either of you."

Iceburg just handed Tyrannosaurus to Pauly before he went to sit back at his desk. "Nmaa, just give him to her and she'll be fine."

"Uh, okay?" Pauly went to just drop the small white animal in my hands, but I shook my head. Opening his hands so that Tyrannosaurus was on his palms, I put my fingers under his, letting the mouse walk over to me. If I was paying attention, I might have seen a faint red creeping up his tanned neck.

"You guys are cheaters," I mumbled as Tyrannosaurus let out a contented squeak at being petted, oblivious to my threats of holding him hostage. I childishly stuck my tongue out at Iceburg who did the same in return. I then flipped upside down so my shoes (which, in my opinion, were an awesome cross between sailor slippers and low top sneakers) were hanging over the back of the chair and my head a few inches above the ground. "What happened to that pirate anyway?"

"Someone took him in for his bounty," Pauly answered. "The eight million berries were plenty for the minor repair we did. Funny thing was, the crew didn't seem to care. Turns out they were planning to mutiny anyway; we just did them the favor of taking out their captain for them. Whoever was the first mate is now the captain and they sailed out once news of the captain being captured had spread around."

"Serves him right," I mumbled as Tyrannosaurus wandered down my body and up to Iceburg's desk. Putting my hands to the ground next to my head, I kicked off lightly, pushing myself into a handstand so I could flip over and stand up.

Well, that was the plan anyway.

As soon as I was in the air, my shirt slipped down a little, revealing the bottom of my grey and black stripped bra. It was at this moment Pauly shouted, "Shameless! Cover up your body!"

"Holyshitwhatthehell," I cursed and, being surprised by Pauly's outcry, fell to my side. "Aw, that so sucked. Damn," I groaned as I sat up and fixed my shirt.

"Indecent woman!" I couldn't help but laugh at how flustered he had gotten. It was just so unexpected. Guess my reaction was odd, because all he did was clench his teeth around his cigar.

"How ungraceful was that?" I sat cross-legged on the floor, grinning at Iceburg. Pauly just huffed and looked to the side, muttering about improper exposure or something like that.

Iceburg replied, "It was fairly horrible."

I laughed, "It wouldn't have been half as bad if I wasn't startled." Looking out the window, I saw it was starting to get dark. "Ugh, I should get home."

"Nmaa, come back tomorrow to put the pictures into frames if you wish."

"No prob," I replied as I stood up and started walking out the door. "See ya later, you too Pauly." Iceburg nodded while Pauly gave a small wave, despite the previous incident.

"You're not little anymore."

"And I'm glad for it," I mumbled to myself as I went to bed in my usual attire: black flannel pants and a tank top. Pulling the covers up to my chin I turned to the side and muttered, "It sucked anyway."

It was a flawless day in Water 7. Sun was shining, gulls were flying in the sky, business was booming, and several other clichés were taking place as well.

But, to a single eleven-year-old girl bouncing behind a man of twenty eight, it could have been pouring and miserable and she still would have been ecstatic. She wore a pair of worn, tan pants with a long, thin red shirt and sandals while the elder wore black everything – pants, boots, and tee – that differed greatly with his spiky white hair.

"Where're we goin'?" the girl asked, short brown hair blowing in the gentle wind. "Is it important Lato-san?" He just looked down and grinned at her.

"Very important, my dear Tallie. Especially for you."

"For me this time?" the girl inquired happily. "Not for Tsuda?"

"No," Lato replied sadly, "not for Tsuda." Apparently finding who he was looking for, he said, "Come Tallie, I'd like you to meet someone."

The two walked up to another pair of people, one of whom seemed to be expecting them. He was older than Lato, but not by much, and had dark blue hair. A young teenage boy stood next to him, pulling a tee-shirt over his longish blonde hair. "Tallie, this is Iceburg-san."

"Hello," the young girl said boldly to the older man. That was just the kind of person she was, wanting to show she was just as tough as anyone.

"Nmaa, it's nice to meet you," Iceburg grinned and Tallie tentatively smiled back.

"Lato-san," she turned to the man next to her, "don't we have to leave today? The boat's already fixed."

"Yes, the boat will leave today," Lato said, that hint of sadness in his words the girl couldn't notice. "It will leave today."