AN – So, here's the second chapter. It's only a bit longer, but I'm still working out the kinks. Yay for a bit of character development and some actual plot!

Constructive criticism is appreciated, flames give me the impression you don't know the first thing about writing as an art, and as the saying goes, 'Don't like, don't read'.

I own nothing, except for my OC and that's the way it is.

Enjoy

Chapter 2

Darkness. Cold, damp, consuming darkness. It lay heavy about me like a suffocating fog of decay and sorrow in the silence of desperation. My body lay, battered and beaten on the biting concrete in a conglomerate of blood, vomit, and other materials I would rather not think about.

Too long… I had been trapped in the abysmal darkness for too long.

I ran my tongue over my dry, chapped lips, tasting copper where the skin had been split hours earlier. I wanted to move, to drag my useless body from my own fluids, if only to save even a semblance of what dignity He had not taken. Once strong, proud, a survivor, I had been reduced to a ragged, filthy shell of what – of who – I used to be.

A soft whimper escaped my lips as the faint echo of footsteps reverberated off the barren walls of my prison. Had He come to persuade me into cooperating some more? Or had He come to just take what He wanted once again? At least this time He had not brought His friends…

The sounds grew nearer until He stood next to me, His expensive suede shoes resting just beyond the noxious mixture of bodily fluids I was splayed in. I tensed at the sound of thick cord unraveling.

So, it was persuasion time.

The sharp snap near my face caused an involuntary flinch to tense my muscles in anticipation for the agonizing fire of whip biting into raw flesh. He spoke not a word, knowing I remembered His demands from those months ago as clear as I remembered each slash of that malicious chord.

Feather light, He trailed the tip of the whip over my mutilated back in a gentle caress of mockery, allowing it to slip down into the fluids below me. In the silence I could hear every motion, every subtle move He made. I could hear Him draw His arm back, preparing for the strike.

A swish, a faint whistle and…

.

CRACK!

I was jostled awake with a violent jerk. I had to shake my head to clear the lingering thoughts and sensations. Those memories… I couldn't shake them. I could never forget, no, but to have them constantly resurfaced…

My entire world suddenly shifted. Clinging on for dear life, I realized that something had detached the mast right from the ship and was heaving it around. And then it hit me… I was falling. Right. Into. The sea.

"Ahhh, no way!" I cried as the surface loomed closer and closer.

It was instantaneous. I hit and felt my strength drain as I began to sink like the anchor I was. Weightless, the cool depths embraced me with chilling tenderness as I descended further into the peaceful maw of the sea. I was forced to accept that this was the end. I expected it now.

What I didn't expect was a strong arm to wrap around my waist and begin to lift me to the surface. Once on dry land, my strength began to slowly return, and I looked up to see who my rescuer was.

"YOU!" Both the swordsman from Loguetown and I exclaimed, pointing at each other incredulously.

"What the hell were you doing on our ship? Were you trying to steal my swords again?" He demanded angrily, narrowing his eyes and scowling.

"Get over yourself," I crossed my arms. "I was trying to steal some treasure from the ship. I didn't know it was yours!" Was the guy seriously that much of a tool to think I would try to re-enact my failed attempt at snatching that beautiful sword?

"WHAT?" I shrunk back as a red-haired woman came over in a rage, fists clenched and murder in her eyes. "You were trying to steal my treasure?" She swung viciously, her fist connecting with a resounding thunk.

"Owww…" I rubbed my head where I had received the violent punch.

"That's what you get for trying to steal from me." She sniffed, sobering rather quickly.

Grrrrrumbleeee!

"Aw, shut up!" On habitual instinct, I punched myself in the gut to dull the incessant pangs of hunger and subsequently collapsed to my knees. "Urgh…"

"Hey, what're you—?" The redhead reached out towards me, and I panicked instinctively. Scrambling desperately to my feet, I ignored the pain in my abdomen enough to escape her reach and stumble along the grass in search of a good place to hide. My efforts, however, were in vain as I was lifted off my feet by the handle of my bag.

"Lemme go!" I thrashed uselessly, knowing full well I had been caught.

"Who are you?" The deep voice of the swordsman gave away who my captor was, even as he spun me around to face him.

"I told you, I'm a street rat, the dregs of Loguetown, a useless waste of flesh and bone with no future!" I snarled, trying to land even one hit. "What more do you want to know?"

"Well, your name would be a good start." He stated casually. I stopped struggling and blinked at him in a stupor.

"M-my name?" My brain was frazzled – I couldn't register the statement properly, or at least, couldn't believe it. No one had ever given a damn, paid more than a passing moment of attention to me and yet… these people did. "No one's ever asked me that before…"

He quirked a brow. "Seriously? How old are you?" The question was stressed, accentuating his disbelief.

"I'm twenty – ow!" He dropped me on my rear as his eyes bulged comically wide.

"Twenty?" He gaped, his mouth flapping like a beached Sea King.

"Yeah, I know," I rolled my eyes. "I look young."

"No shit!"

"Street rat, remember? So," I grinned devilishly. "You single?" His cheeks suddenly burned a bright red and even his ears were tinged pink. "You think about that one." I laughed and hauled myself to my feet.

Striding over to where the others were, I watched as the straw hat toting boy finished painting, what I assumed was supposed to be, his jolly roger on a giant whale's scarred snout.

"Hn. I never did tell him my name…"

.

After realizing I hadn't even been listening to the conversation that was going on, let alone noticed by the group, I tried to sneak away again. It seemed the green-haired swordsman just knew how to get in my way.

"Where do you think you're going, stowaway?" I narrowed my eyes at him, not really sure why that name irked me.

"Who are you?" The Strawhat boy finally seemed to notice me, straightening to get a better look.

"Someone not worth mentioning who got stuck on your ship when the marines attacked in Loguetown." I told him, not bothering to even try to be polite.

"Oh, wanna join my crew?" He asked bluntly. I had to do a double take as his words registered in my mind. He didn't even know who I was!

"What? Join your pirate crew?" I scowled. "Why would I want to do that?" In that moment my stomach growled loudly, softening my so-called malice.

"We have an excellent chef," The redhead grinned in response. "And there's rarely a dull moment."

"Hn." I hummed, expressing my disinterest.

"And there's Zoro." She motioned to the swordsman standing next to me, her grin morphing into a devious smile.

"Hey! Leave me out of this!" He snapped at the redhead, his movements becoming rigid and uncomfortable.

"Tempting, but no." I smirked at the redhead, already liking her. "I'm not interested in being a pirate."

"Well, can you at least tell us your name?" A long-nosed boy asked, his nasally voice grating on my nerves.

"Alright, alright," I sighed, the rapid-fire exchange of their badgering exhausting me. If I didn't know better, I would have thought they actually cared. "My name is Riley."

"That's such a pretty name!" The redhead exclaimed. "My name is Nami. I'm the navigator for these idiots."

"I'm Captain Usopp!" Long-nose blurted.

"No, I'm the captain!" Strawhat shoved Usopp out of the way. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy."

"Roronoa Zoro." The swordsman grunted.

"And Sanji, our cook, is just on the ship right now." Nami finished. I nodded, trying to ingrain the names and faces to memory amidst the nagging, hollow ache of hunger.

"I…" A wave of nausea swept over me quite suddenly and I felt myself falling even before my vision failed.

AN - And there you have it! I feel like this chapter hints a little more into Riley's character. Also, there was a bit more detail. w00t! This is the second chapter that ends with Riley falling into unconsciousness... It ends now! I think it's kind of a cop out, even if it is convenient.

Meh.

So, I'm madly trying to edit what I already have written into something that resembles a storyline, so the chapters are hopefully going to get better as the story progresses. Can't get any worse, right? Right? Well, hopefully it was at least a bit better than the last one.

It still feels a bit dull, although there was a smidgeon of humour in there. My attention span is short and I lose interest quick, so, until the story gets rolling, it may be a tad inconsistent.

Also, I apologize for any formatting issues as I'm not accustomed to using the posting system on this site quite yet.

Cheers!