One Piece

The Five Second Rule

Chapter Thirteen: A Fallen Angel (Flashback)

The ocean breeze was dense and cool, that could only mean that a storm was coming to Amaretto. It'll hit either later this afternoon or at night, either way, Sei needed to find some shelter before it arrives.

Climbing off the stone fence, he headed towards the dark alleyways in which he was too familiar with. It was difficult living as an eleven-year-old orphan boy on an island such as this.

For starters, the alcohol and lewd women were all too much for any normal young boy. The narrow streets were cold and unfriendly, providing little to no protection for the homeless. As well as the fact that there were almost no other children on the island; everyone was a capable adult that couldn't care less about a street child. Then there were the local mafia, the power on the island were split into two families – the Saronnos have always had full control over the island, but because of the newcomers they've been having some problems keeping their influence. Gang wars were common all over, making the streets even less safe.

It was a difficult life, but Sei's been alone for as long as he can remember and he has scraped by making a living out of pickpocketing and thievery. It wasn't honest work, but there were no other opportunities open to him.

"Watch where you're going, brat!"

"Sorry."

The young man may have been annoyed by Sei's little shove, but he's going to be even more upset after realizing his wallet is missing. Going through the man's leather wallet, he found a thick wad of cash.

It must have been Sei's lucky day. With this much money, he could easily buy himself a cheap room for tonight's storm and still be able to eat for weeks. With a small smile, he tucked the wallet in his worn-down trouser pocket and carried on walking in search for an inn.

"Hey! Brat!"

Sei felt himself being lifted off the ground. A large hand held onto his shirt, leaving him feeling defenseless hanging off the fabric.

"Yes?" he said. 'Play it cool. Play it cool.'

"Where's my wallet, you little thief?" he snarled. "I'm in a hurry here, so just return it and we won't have a problem."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're not a bad liar, kid, but drop the act," the man shook him a little. "I know it's you, so just give it up."

Occasionally, things like this will happen. He'd make a little mistake and be held at the mercy of another person. Being a lot littler than the men he's used to robbing, he knew he stood no chance against them… especially when this guy carried such a posh looking katana. So he didn't the only thing he could – run.

Before the man knew it, the little thief in his hand had slipped out of his grasp and ran down the street. It was almost impossible what the boy did, he was certain that he had a firm grip on the boy's shirt.

"Come back here!"

Sei ignored the angry voice mixed with the heavy footsteps and carried on running. After doing so much already, he'd be dead for sure if he got caught.

Looking back over his shoulder, he saw that the men still hasn't given up. Understandable, with the amount of money he just lost. Without realizing as he was too busy watching the man, Sei took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end.

"Ha!" the man cried. "Where you gonna run to now?"

Little did he know that the boy still had a trick up his sleeve – a very good one at that.

As Sei neared the wall, he closed his eyes in fear if it wouldn't work. With eyes shut and teeth clenched, Sei ran full speed ahead. The man watched in both shock and horror, he stopped running immediately and instead started calling for the boy to stop.

"Oi! Kid!" he yelled. "Stop it!" Stop running! I don't need my money back! Just don't go trying to kill yourself!"

But he didn't stop; the boy kept running as if his life depended on it. When the boy was inches away from the wall, the man shut his eyes to save him the shame and pain from watching a young boy get hurt.

After a few silent seconds, the man opened his eyes in confusion. No sound came, no whining was heard, and no thump was felt landing on the ground. In fact, the boy seemed to have disappeared completely – vanished off the face of the planet. He examined the area carefully before leaving, for all he knew the kid could just be hiding somewhere in the trash piles, but he didn't find a trace of the boy.

It was strange and curious, but he got a feeling from the pit of his stomach that the boy was trouble. Perhaps it was meant to be, to have his wallet stolen by a phantom boy. A lot worse could have happened to him if the boy really was a ghost, maybe he was in fact lucky that he got away with just being robbed.

Giving up on chasing the boy entirely, he returned back to the town square where his family should be waiting for him. Nearing the square, a strange sight met him. Standing along with the rest of his family was none other than the boy from earlier. He had a bright bruise on his forehead, and stood with his arms crossed and a small frown.

"Dad!"

"This was the squirt that stole from you, right?" Toni held up a familiar black wallet. "Saw him running around a corner, fumbling with this. Take better care of your things, Ren."

"Hai-hai," Ren caught the wallet. "What are you planning to do with the little brat?"

"I'm not sure yet," Toni glanced down at the child. "How old are you?"

"Eleven," he huffed back. "But don't think it means you can look down on me!"

"Hm," Toni rolled his eyes. "He's a year older than Gin. What do you think, Soph?"

"Well…" Ren watched Sophie pick Sei up. "He's rather cute, isn't he?"

"Let go! Let go!" the young boy kicked and flailed. "Let me go, you devil woman!"

Toni and Ren snorted simultaneously, father-son style. Sophie gave the boy a terrifying grin, and then turned to her husband and son.

"What was that?" they could feel anger oozing from the smiling woman. "Did you boys say something?"

"Not at all!" Ren laughed it off sheepishly.

"Of course not, sweetie," Toni held her shoulder.

"Thought so," she smiled. "Now… about this boy, we're going to take him in."

"What?" Gin shouted from below. "No! No! No! Make him go away!"

"Stop that, son," Toni murmured, ignoring the boy's little fists ramming against his leg. "Are you sure about this, Sophie?"

"Yes," she nodded. "We've got the space, money, and time. Plus, this is no island for a young child to be wandering on his own. What's your name?"

"…"

"Oh, just tell us," Ren grinned as he placed a hand on the boy's head. "I'm Ren, there's Gin and Olive down there. Our dad, Toni and our ma, Sophie. Tell us yours."

"… Sei."

"Welcome to the family, Sei!" Sophie grinned.

The boy looked around at each of his new 'family' members. Gin stuck his tongue out at him, but apart from him everyone gave him warm smiles. For the first time in his life, he felt loved. Like he belonged. He's got parents, siblings, and a home. It was everything that he could have asked for.

"T-Thank you," Sei's cheeks blushed a dark pink. "And sorry for trying to rob you, Ren-san."

"You're forgiven!" Ren patted the boy. "We were just about to have lunch. So let's get going!"

Sophie placed him back on the ground and led the group through the busy square. To his surprise, Toni gave him a quick pat on his shoulder before walking ahead to join his wife. Everyone began to follow slowly. It felt watching a scene from a story – except, this time, he was part of it. They've included him. His story was just beginning.

XoXo

"You look paler than yesterday."

"You think so?"

Sei looked over his arms and legs, and realized that Ren was right. His tanned skin had been fading over the last few months, and now it looked as if he's gone lighter a few shades. Funny thing, it wasn't just his skin; even his hair has been growing lighter. It was something that Ren caught on a year ago, and through the year he's been getting paler and paler.

It was Gin's fifteenth birthday, and a large party was being thrown in the boy's honor. New suits have been bought for the boys; Sei's been having troubles with his buttons lately, so he's needed his brother's help. It wasn't as if Sei's always had problems with putting on his own clothes, but recently he can't seem to get anything to coordinate. His fingers were shaky and his mind was hazy.

"We should probably get you a doctor or something," Ren sighed. "I can't keep helping you with this. I'll speak to dad after the party."

"Okay."

"Oh, lighten up," Ren patted the boy's forearm. "It won't be so bad. I hear those cute girls from down the road were invited."

"And I bet they'll all go for you," Sei pulled his socks on. "As usual, Ren-san."

"That's not true!" Ren chuckled. "And we're brothers, you know? The 'san' is unnecessary."

"Hm…" he nodded, slipping on his shoes. "Laces?"

"Oh no," Ren turned away, reaching for his katana. "I've got to go now to help with mum, so you'll have to deal with it on your own."

"But… Ren… my laces."

"I'm late," Ren whined. "I'll save some girls for you later, alright? Bye!"

Sei grumbled as he fiddled around with the strings in his hands. Left, right, push, tug. The strings came undone again. Today was really not his day; nothing seemed to be going right.

Kicking off his shoes with a loud grunt, he stuffed his socks into the soles and left the room with the laces in hand. Thankfully nothing was needed from him for the day, so it'd be at least a few hours before Sophie or Toni find him walking around barefoot.

Skillfully avoiding the reception hall, Sei snuck out towards the back door. He's always been quiet on his feet, but now that his shoes were off he moved even quicker. He overheard Sophie and Toni in the pantry arguing about something. It didn't sound like it was anything about him; thinking it over, it was probably just something that has gone wrong for the party.

There was still time before the party for him to hang around town before having to come back in time for the party. In fact, Gin may have preferred it if he didn't come back at all.

Even though five years have passed since he's been taking into the Grenadine family, not much as changed about the island. The streets were still filthy and littered with drunkards. Reaching the town square, Sei saw Olive with her little group of friends speaking with the other local boys.

Olive has gotten larger over the few years he's spent with them. Once upon a time, she was a little girl that could have been skinnier than Sei in his pathetic street-boy state, but now she was almost twice his side. Though in her defense, he was stick-thin compared to other boys.

"Oh, lookie!"

One of her friends caught him from the corner of her glossed eye.

"Isn't that Sei?"

It wasn't common knowledge that two thirds of the Grenadine children disliked Sei; Gin was mad at his parents for taking in another boy that was older him, where as Olive just followed whatever her older twin said.

"Yeah," Olive eyed him.

Sei could almost hear her shouting for him to leave if he listened hard enough. He was about to turn and leave but another one of her friends ran over. A small arm linked around his, and pulled him over.

"… I don't think this is such a good idea…" he whispered to the girl.

"Hey, don't worry about it," she winked back.

Standing completely silent in front of these teenagers, Sei shifted slightly. He was highly inexperienced with these kinds of situations. The only social interactions he really has nowadays are with the older half of the Grenadine family. He much preferred speaking with adults anyway, they had a more refined way of thinking and didn't waste their time doing stupid things… like hanging around the dim town square.

"Why are you carrying your shoes around?" Olive glanced to his feet distastefully. "Very gross."

The usual jabs and taunts were coming, and like always, Sei just shrugged it off whilst sticking a hand in his pocket. Unbeknownst to him, all of Olive's littler friends had crushes on him, and that little move was enough to make them swoon.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Olive shot her friends looks. "We're busy, you know."

"Doing what?" Sei tilted his head.

"… Things."

"Alright then," Sei turned away. "I'm going now."

"Wait! Don't go yet Sei-san!"

"… I've got things I've got to be doing," he gave them a brief glance. "Bye."

Sei tore his arm away from the girl's and headed towards one of the alleys. Being adopted into the local mafia meant that you must be worth their time. No one else has ever been brought into the Grenadine family, and that feat alone made Sei somewhat of a local celebrity. He may be even better known than Toni and Sophie's actual children.

Walking around the slums in which he grew up in calmed him. Conditions may have been better off with his new family, but it still didn't feel like home. Sophie, Toni and Ren had accepted him in a heartbeat, but Olive and Gin made it sure that he never felt at home.

Occasionally Sei would try to think back to how he even got on the island. If he was born here, or brought here; but whenever he thought too hard, his head began to ache. Like now; as he thought back to the day he met Ren and his family, a throbbing was growing at the back of his head.

"Hey boy…" an old homeless geezer called. "Those are nice shoes, there. You planning to wear them?"

"Don't think so," Sei held the shoes up. "I can't do my laces."

"You don't know how?" he snorted.

"No," Sei said. "I know how, I just can't do it."

"You don't say…" the man rubbed his chin. "Hey, why don't we do a trade? Your leather shoes for me clogs."

"Let's see."

The man pulled his trousers cuff up. The clogs were dull and dirty but looked well worn.

"Where are they from?"

"Me dad's."

"Are you sure you want to trade away something left behind by your father?"

"Sure."

"… Okay."

Sei passed the leather shoes over as soon as he kicked off his clogs. The clogs were two sizes too big for him but they were convenient; with just a slip of his feet and he was wearing them.

"Thanks kid."

With the clogs secure on his feet, he stalked away back down the street. With every footstep there was a click from his feet, it was annoying but it'd make it harder to sneak about.

Returning to the town square where he was just at some new people has joined Olive and her group. They were suited men, but none that Sei's ever seen around the bar or mansion. That meant they must be Saronnos.

Olive's eye met with Sei's, and the look she gave was asking him to come over and sort things out. As little he liked her, if he didn't help out and the rest of the family finds out about his treachery… he'll be dead without a second thought from Toni.

Keeping in mind that he was outnumbered six-to-one, Sei carefully approached the men in black. No surprise, they heard him coming from the clicking on his feet.

"Oh, if it isn't the Grenadine's guard dog," one of them crossed his arms. "We're not causing any problems. You can move along."

"That's not true, Sei," Olive called. "Get rid of them."

"Now, missy, are you trying to get us mad?" he turned to Olive. "We were just asking about the party going on tonight."

"Which is none of your business," Olive snapped. "Leave us alone."

"Look here, you Grenadine brat," he scowled. "Your family is still new meat, you're nothing on this island. If you keep running your mouth-."

"Don't insult us," Olive frowned. "Five years ago that might have been the case, but now we've got more influence than all you Saronnos."

It was true, but she didn't have to put it that way. By saying so, she's probably angered them more. Olive was oblivious to her rudeness, and reliant on Sei for protection. She had some decent skill in combat, but she would be swept away by these Saronnos men.

The ringleader of the group gave an animated growl as he pulled his fist back, but he was going much too slowly for Sei. In his perspective, the man might as well been moving in slow motion.

Sei easily deflected his punch away from Olive and knocked him over with a quick kick in his stomach. The man flew back a few feet and landed square on his face. The men braced themselves, knowing that they've messed with the wrong person.

Moving swiftly, Sei knocked out another before two men grabbed a hold of him from behind. The grip on his arms were stiff and unforgiving, if they had pulled harder they would have broken Sei's arm.

"Look here, we're not really looking for a fight-."

Before he could finish what he was saying, Sei slipped out of their grip as if by magic. One second he was secure in their hands, the next he was stood in front of them rubbing his sore shoulders.

"I don't negotiate."

The men flinched when Sei started to approach them. A dark shadow loomed over Sei's bright eyes; it was frightening just watching his lips curl into a smile.

"Go Sei!" Olive cried. "Kill them all!"

Sei did exactly what he was told. He went for the ones that were already down, grabbing whatever weapon they had on them and using it on their owners. Tossing aside the last katana he had used to stab through an unconscious man, Sei now looked towards the shivering men who have backed up into a corner.

Each man held a gun in hand, and when Sei was at a close enough proximity they open fired at the man until they ran out of rounds. Almost as if it were a miracle, none of their bullets hit him or so much as scraped him.

"H-Hey, you monster! You ate a Devil Fruit, right?"

Sei ignored their shouts as he advanced on them. It was a little pitiful how these grown men (maybe twice his age) were shaking and tearing up in fear of him.

"Enough! Enough! I give!" one of them surrendered his hands up, tossing his pistol forward. "Please, let me go!"

Picking the gun up, Sei pinpointed at the man. He's never been a good shot, but from this distance it's hard to miss. The man crawled into a ball as he whimpered under his breath.

"Sei?"

The stern voice broke his concentration. Sei froze immediately and dropped the gun. Turning back, Sei saw that Ren had his katana drawn as if he were about to fight too.

"I'm sure they've had enough," Ren nudged the dropped pistol with his shoe. "Let's go back now, shall we? That means you too, Olive."

"… Hai onii-san."

Olive, along with her friends, gathered their group and left the town square, heading back to the Grenadine mansion. The Saronnos saw this as an opportunity, and bolted straight from the scene.

Giving a long sigh, Ren tossed the hilt back to his sheathe and examined each man that Sei had killed.

"So…" He stood up. "Those are cute shoes."

"I traded the lace up ones," Sei shrugged his hand off. "Why did you stop me?"

"I trust that whatever reason you had for starting a fight them was a good one," Ren told him. "And it's alright to kill, but we don't need too many unnecessary deaths on our hands."

"These people are our rivals."

"That makes things more dire – because they're our rivals, now they'll find someway to make us compensate for the lives you took today."

"… I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Ren broke out into a grin, stepping forward and tapping him on the head. "You're still a little squirt, so I forgive you!"

"Uh… Ren-san…"

"Hm?"

"… You're on my toes."

XoXo

Two months after large-scale birthday party to commemorate Gin turning fifteen, on a chilly winter morning Sei collapsed during his morning training sessions with Ren. Scarily, the boy had turned even lighter, with his hair looking like it's been bleached and skin pale as if he's never seen sun before.

Later that week two days after Sei's collapse, Ren and Toni found themselves in Sei's bedroom watching Sophie cradle the unconscious boy. On her lap was a small wooden box contained a medium vial of clear liquid and a needle.

"I'm telling you," Toni sighed. "This is the only way – my doctors said if he doesn't take it soon then he'll die."

"You can't actually be serious, Toni," Sophie glared hard. "Those drugs are nothing but a temporary solution, not to mention they'll mess up his head. I won't allow it."

"What else would you have me do?"

"Find better doctors!" she cried, causing Ren to wince. "I will not have Sei grow dependent on some poison that will rot him through the years!"

"Why is it that you care so much about what happens to a street child?" Toni grabbed her arm. "He's not even our child! Who cares what happens to him?"

"How dare you!" Sophie smacked him, pulling her other arm free. "I've considered him my child the whole time he's been with us. I can't believe you'd say something so ignorant!"

"Ma…" Ren walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Dad's doing the best he can… this all caught us by a surprise, so let's just-."

"Be quiet, Ren," she hissed. "This was not a surprise, we saw it coming a mile away, and yet we let it get this bad. So bad to the point that he collapsed! And whose fault is that? Your father's! He didn't listen when we went to him!"

"Uh-."

"Well if I'm to blame for everything maybe I shouldn't bother!" Toni headed to the door. "Mothers know best, right? Why don't you go sort this out yourself?"

The door slammed soundly, leaving a hollow echo in the room. Sei's finger shifted slightly in Sophie's hand, but he didn't move further than that.

"This can't do…" Sophie rubbed her eyes. "What should we do, Ren?"

"For starters, you need some rest, ma," he reached for her again. "Sei's not going anywhere and we still have time. I promise to head out tomorrow to look for some doctors. Our ports are so big, there's bound to be some scholars or doctors on the island."

"And I'll come with."

"Don't be silly," Ren shook his head. "Dad will get mad."

"Does it look like I care anymore?" she eyed him. "Currently, your father and I aren't great. So he's not going to stop me from leaving the house."

"… Okay then."

XoXo

A week after they started injecting the drug into Sei, he woke up for the first time in almost three months. Maids gasped and dropped their trays with a loud clutter as they ran out of the bedroom screaming for the boss.

Sei groaned as he tried to lift himself off the mattress. Looking forward, he saw his arm over the covers, and his blue vein was bulged out grossly. Eventually he pushed the covers off and sat up slowly.

Someone else reached the bedroom first. Gin ran into the room and gave Sei the strangest look that he's seen on him.

"Y-You…"

"What's going on?"

"Don't ask questions, but brace yourself. My dad is not happy with you."

"… Where's Ren-san?"

"Don't talk about him!"

The first thing he's greeted with was Gin yelling at him, there was nothing unusual about that, but the fact that he warned him was something notable. Turning to his nightstand, he saw a single wooden box sitting next to his lamp.

"What's this?" he picked it up.

"The medication they've been giving you… I'm not really sure what it is."

He brought the box closer onto his lap and opened it up. A little jar and pointy needle fit snugly next to each other in the velvet casing.

"He's awake?!"

Toni voice boomed from outside the bedroom. Angry footsteps and more cluttering were heard before the man arrived at the room. To his surprise, Toni had his revolver drawn and was aiming the barrel directly at Sei.

"So you're finally awake," he huffed. "Get out, Gin."

Gin did as his father told him, and scampered out without a second glance at Sei. Now with just the two in the room, Sei eyed the gun beadily then turned to look at Toni.

"You know, Sei. I had every mind to leave you to die in your sleep, but I thought that would be too easy for you," Toni's finger hovered over the trigger. "So I decided to nurse you back to health… then to kill you."

"Why are you trying to kill me, Toni-san?"

"… My wife… and my boy," Toni's voice cracked. "They were killed earlier this week… by Saronnos' men."

"…"

"Even though we already had doctors, they were out gathering information on anyone that would have been able to cure you," he carried on. "They were ambushed by a group of twenty-something. I wasn't there, so I'm not sure what happened exactly. But Ren fended off a few before they overpowered him. I'll save you the gory details, Sei, but this is your fault."

"Why were they out looking to save me if you were capable of nursing me back to health?"

"… Sei… Look son," Toni placed the revolver back on his belt. "I don't actually want to kill you… I really don't… but I lost my wife and my son… in return for you. Is it true that the Saronnos have a grudge against you?"

"I killed a few of their men because Olive-san insisted."

"And of course, she conveniently leaves that part out…" Toni muttered. "Alright, Sei. I'll let you live, but you'll go and bring me the Saronnos boss' head. Got it?"

"I was going to do that anyway, with or without your consent." Sei placed the box back in its place. "How long will it be until I can leave bed?"

"About another week," Toni said. "But we don't want to wait too long and have the Saronnos grow suspicious."

"Then I'll go now."

Sei flipped the covers off and forced his legs over the mattress onto the floor.

"Take Ren's katana."

"Where is it?"

"It's with Gin right now, but I'll ask him to hand it over."

Sei winced slightly when he got onto his feet. The door clicked open and Toni headed out through the door.

"Take another dose of the drugs before you head out – you'll need it."

Toni gave him one last glance before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

Everything was such a blur to Sei. His last thoughts before he passed out were focused entirely on training with Ren, and now after waking up they're saying he's dead. It all seemed too unreal for him. But if his brother and the woman that took him in were indeed killed by Saronnos, then he'll gladly step up to take revenge for Toni.

XoXo

"This is not good – there's one hell of a monster heading here."

"One of the Grenadine's men?"

"The guard dog."

"I thought he was out of action."

"Well that's obviously not the case anymore… I'm certain it was him."

On the far side of Amaretto, the Saronnos were placed in a large worn mansion. As a result of the rivalry between them and the Grenadines over the years, what remained of the Saronnos were pushed back to the dark clearing where no man would ever tread.

Phil, who was now head of the Saronnos after his father's death, was watching cautiously from his office's window. From where he stood, there had been no sign of the guard dog or any signs of abnormalities. But he trusts his men's' word more than anything, and if they said he was coming, and then he really must be coming.

It was he that gave the order to strike whichever Grenadine they find on the streets, but he never expected them to hit someone so high up in the family – two of them, in fact. It was never his intention to madden Toni C. Grenadine so; he just wanted them to pay for taking his men and almost killing him those weeks ago.

On that day at the town square, Phil was sprawled on the ground merciless against the guard dog's gunpoint. If it weren't for Ren then he would have been dead right there on the spot. After that incident he had a certain surreptitious liking for Ren, but because he was the heir to his rival family he shook away all thoughts of thanking him and just fled.

"Are you the head?"

Turning around on his chair immediately, he saw the guard dog with his katana drawn and his eyes dark and adamant. Blood dripped off the edge of the blade, and he left a trail of red from the door. He was quiet, silent even; he hadn't even heard the door squeak or creak.

"Yes."

"I recognize you."

"… Yes, I was the man you were going to kill back at the town square."

"It seems you were really destined to die by my hands."

"Before you get on with whatever it is, please hear me out," Phil stood up. "I really didn't mean to kill Sophie and Ren Grenadine. It was an honest mistake on my part; I was only hoping to get even for the lives of the men you took. They had families and friends too, you know? I couldn't let their lives go to waste-."

"You shouldn't have killed my voice of reason…"

Sei tossed the katana aside as he kicked the wooden desk out of the way.

"You shouldn't have killed Ren-san and Sophie-san…"

Before Phil realized, his heart was being held by Sei. He gave the organ one hard squeeze before yanking it out. The heart in Sei's hand carried on beating for five seconds before it stopped completely.

Placing the heart neatly over Phil's stained chest, Sei picked up the katana again. He's left some men alive on his way in, now the only thing left to do was to make sure no one ever utters the name 'Saronnos' again.

Okayy… so that's basically one chapter put into two! I just can't format the thing right to put it into one :P Hope you guys enjoyed this!

As usual thank you to everyone that alerted and favorited this story :)

Reviews:

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wasabi-sama – haha, and here you are! He's joined (partially)

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