A/N: I have to say that the One Piece timeline is confusing _ I tried to piece together when everything happened, like exactly when Thatch died or how long after Ace set sail did he join the Whitebeard pirates, but I've given up at this point and am just going to construct my own from inferences and logic and what works with my story so please don't review saying that the sequence of events don't match up to the canon, I'm trying, I swear, but things will change, ok? Ok.
Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the next chapter. And please review *.*
And many thanks to LikeTheSky, Satu-Ryuu, Emz and NamikazeMia for reviewing :D You guys are awesome!
Rein opened one dark eye and immediately closed it again. The sun was way too bright for the half asleep girl. She groaned and got up into a crouching position. Fighting to keep her balance, she slowly stood and stretched. Finally working up the courage, she opened her eyes and squinted in the harsh light. She mentally cursed the sun and wished for some nice cloud cover. Once her eyes had completely adjusted she took in the view. It hadn't changed since she had fallen asleep. Still all around her was the sparkling greeny blue of the open ocean and above was a beautiful shade of light blue that Rein really wished would turn gray so that she could stop squinting. A quick check of her log pose showed that she was completely off course. She sighed and altered her sail and rudder to head towards her next destination. It really was a pain to sail alone. She didn't do it because she wanted to, she did it because she had little other choice: finding or making a crew would be too much of a hassle at this point. Only once she was certain that she was heading in the right direction did she sit back down. The wind was really blowing today and so she figured that she would just let it take her at its own speed, she wasn't in too much of a hurry so there was no need to exert herself to go faster.
She crossed her legs and leaned back against the mast. On her last look towards the horizon she hadn't been able to see even a glimpse of the closest island so she knew that she had plenty of time before she had a chance to restock her supplies. Her raft was too small to hold more than a day's worth of food and water so everyday she had to stop by an island to get more. Sometimes there were days when no islands were within reasonable distance and she had to go faster than the natural wind would allow to make it to the next piece of land in time to keep from starving.
The waves had a hypnotic effect on Rein and she was soon lulled into a half aware state. It was dangerous to be too relaxed in the Grand Line, but hours and hours of the same scenery was just too boring to keep her attention for very long and on her small vehicle she had nothing she could do to keep herself entertained: her only choices were to sleep, think, or watch the scenery around her. She couldn't fall back asleep so soon after waking up and so she just kept on watching straight ahead. Before her eyes the waves became progressively larger. The scene reminded the girl of something that had happened to her when she was a child.
The little girl silently watched the adults argue; she knew better than to try anything, it would only make things worse. Still, she squirmed slightly, trying her best to make her movements go unnoticed by the men. Luckily, they were too busy trying to sort out who would do what to pay any mind to the eight year old. Said child was now slowly inching towards the window, not because she thought she could get out that way, but because she figured that her bright red hair would be easy to spot. Once the small window was directly behind her, Rein settled down, leaned back against it, and resumed staring at the pirates coldly. Soon she became unfocused and found herself wondering how long it would be this time. How long would it be until her father and his crew tracked down these pirates to take her back. How long until she was rescued.
When the pirates finally remembered about their young hostage they found her gazing at her bound feet with little to no emotion. "What the hell is wrong with this kid?" one of the pirates sneered. He picked the redhead up by her long hair until she was dangling in the air helpless. She closed her eyes in pain for a moment but did nothing else. "This little bitch doesn't talk or do anything, why the hell would anyone want her back?"
"Who cares why?" another one piped up, "All that matters is that this little brat is our ticket to fame and fortune." He chuckled and took a swing of his beer. His crewmate dropped the girl and she fell hard to the floor; even then she didn't make a sound, she just got up into a sitting position and looked up at them unwaveringly.
"Why are you people complaining about her being quiet anyway?" the First Mate spoke up, "If she was one of those annoying, whining, and crying little kids I'd probably have killed her by now to shut her up." The two other pirates gazed at their superior; he made a good point.
"But it's just no fun torturing someone if they don't scream or cry," the one who had picked up the girl said. Their conversation was interrupted by a shout.
"Stop talking down there and get to your stations!" the Captain called out from above deck.
The First Mate quickly answered his captain's call and walked up the stairs, before he opened the door he turned back to the remaining pirates, "Plus, don't forget that we won't be stuck with her for very long." The others smirked at this, already they were imagining the riches they would have after they turned the little girl in to the Marines. Figuring that she was no threat, all the pirates systematically left the room to attend to their duties before the captain got into a bad mood.
Once the door shut behind the last one, Rein hopped to her feet and gazed out the window at the rolling waves. There wasn't anything she could do to pass the time so she merely stared at the sparkling ocean hoping to catch a glimpse of a specific ship. When over half an hour had passed and she had seen nothing Rein sat back down and closed her eyes; it had been the middle of the night when they had taken her and the fatigue was finally catching up to the little girl, even on an unknown pirate ship she managed to fall into a light sleep.
Rein was jolted awake by a sudden impact. Her charcoal eyes snapped open and she looked around quickly; she was still alone, but the rest of the ship was in an uproar. Through the thick wood she could make out some shouts, things like "bring down the paddles!" and "which direction is the wind coming from? We need more speed!" could be heard. They were scared. A smile broke out on the child's face. This type of reaction could only mean one thing. They were here: they had to be! She got to her feet quickly and stared intently at the door, waiting for it to open again. It wasn't a long wait.
A familiar faced poked through the newly opened door. The man caught sight of the red hair and immediately called for his captain. Less than a moment later Rein's father burst through the door and kneeled before the tied up little girl. The bonds were quickly cut before he hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I should have paid more attention. I had too much to drink; God I'm an idiot."
Rein pushed away from his grip and looked straight into his worried black eyes. "It's okay," she said. "I'm fine, see?" She did a little twirl to prove her point and did her best to refrain from winching at the tenderness of her wrists and ankles. Apparently she hadn't hidden it well enough because he was still frowning. She was tired, she was in pain, she was still somewhat frightened, but still she put a smile on her face. "Father, I'm perfectly fine," she assured him and the others that were standing in the doorway who had come to check in on her. "You guys got here quicker then last time. I'm sure you've set a new record or something!" No one was truly convinced but the girl's happy demeanour, whether it was real or not, slowly put the others at ease. Some even had smiles of their own, if nothing else, they were just glad that she was safe.
She took her father's hand in her small ones and gave him a huge smile. The 27 year old man looked at their hands and then at his daughter. He sighed before standing back up and turning to his crew. "Grab anything useful and take it back to the ship," he instructed, trying to get some alone time with his child. The men obeyed, sensing the atmosphere that was quickly turning more serious than it already was. Once everyone else had left to do as he had said, the man turned back to his daughter. He put his hand on her shoulder and gripped somewhat tightly.
"Father?" she questioned. She had never seen this look in his eyes before. It was full of regret, concern, and even some determination. He didn't respond and merely stood up. In silence they walked together back to the large ship with their mark painted on the sail: the mark she had been searching for the entire time she was captive. Once on board he turned to Rein.
She looked up at her father and once again asked what was wrong. This time he answered. "That's the third time." The girl tilted her head to the side in a questioning manner. "It's the third time this year that someone has been after you," he clarified.
"I'm pretty popular huh?" Rein stated, grinning up at him, her grin dropped somewhat when she saw the serious expression that remained on the man's face.
"Rein, listen," he began, turning to look out at the pirate ship his men were currently pillaging. "The attacks are getting worse, even with the entire crew on watch they still manage to get past us. For every ten attempts we foil, another one succeeds."
Rein looked down, everything he said was true, but why bring it up now? She was always fine, maybe she was a bit tired or bore a new scrape or two, but it was never that bad; they always got to her in time. So where was he heading with this?
"You should have some time to rest," he continued. "I know a man, he's currently living on an island not far from here. I was thinking that you should stay with him for a while."
The little girl's eyes widened. "What?" she questioned softly. "Why?"
He sighed and kneeled down to be at eye level with the small redhead. "It's for the best, we need to clear some things up with the idiots who think they can cross us and live. It would be better if you weren't there when we meet them." Rein didn't know how to respond, something like this had never happened before, but one thing she did know was that she didn't want to leave her father or his crew. "I realize that you don't want to go," he continued, "but it's for the best. Please understand." She bit her lip but nodded. "Now go get some rest. I'll wake you up when we reach the island."
Doing as she was told, the child went to her room and laid in bed. However, regardless of how tired she was, Rein didn't sleep a wink during the journey.
At the knock, Rein got off her bed and opened the door. "We've arrived," one her father's most trusted friends said, not looking too pleased about the whole affair either.
She gave him a smile, "I guess I'll see you later." He smiled back somewhat as he led her towards the deck.
On the island, Rein's father stood tall as he talked to another man, only a few years older than himself, with black hair and piercing silver eyes that were narrowed in an unamused expression. "And why should I do this?" he asked. "We're not even friends."
"Come on Zephyr," he said. "It'll only be for a little while, and I know you'll come to like her."
"You call a year a "little while"?" the black haired man questioned, not at all pleased with the idea of having to take care of a little kid.
"A year?!" Rein cried, from the deck of the ship. She jumped, and regardless of the warnings, heaved herself up onto the railing to get a better view of the two men talking. "You didn't say it would be that long!"
"That's the kid?" Zephyr asked, even though he already knew the answer. He studied her for a moment before speaking again."I can see the resemblance. She's easy to pick out from a crowd."
"That's part of the problem," her father said with a sigh, "It would have been easier if she looked like her mother."
"Would it?" the black haired man inquired, giving the other a sideways glance. "Could you stand the constant reminder?"
Rein's father looked down at the ground briefly before meeting Zephyr's eyes sternly. "That isn't what I'm here to talk about," he stated, "Will you do it or not?"
The little girl huffed, annoyed at being ignored. "But father!" she protested loudly, climbing over the railing and dangling in the air as she tried to lower herself down from the large ship, not having the patience to drop the ladder and climb down. Her father freaked out when he saw her dangling meters in the air and sprinted to catch her as her grip slipped. She landed in his arms safely and shot him a grin as he put her down. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Father I don't want to stay here!" she repeated, "I don't even know him."
Her father sighed as he fixed his hat, "We went over this, please Rein, it's only for a bit."
"A year is a long time!" She may have agreed earlier, but he hadn't given her any specifics, she had thought it would be for a week or so, not fifty-two.
"I know, and we're all going to miss have you on the ship, but this is for the best. We need to sort some things out. I promise it won't be any longer than a year, we may even get back earlier."
Zephyr, who had stood silently and watched the exchange was now getting impatient. "Suck it up," he intervened, "You're not always going to get what you want. It looks like we'll be stuck with each other."
A young Rein looked up at him, displeased. Hadn't he been against the idea of her staying just a little while ago?
"Thanks," her father said, no longer looking at Rein, "I owe you one." With that said he turned, his cloak swishing behind him, and got back on the ship. The little girl blinked. Did he just leave her? Once on board, he looked back down at his daughter. "One year. I promise. I'll miss you Rein, try not to stay mad for too long, alright?"
"He means we'll miss you," the First Mate corrected, coming up to the railing. With him came the rest of the crew, many in various stages of crying or depression.
As the ship sailed off everyone yelled their "goodbye"s or "see you in a year"s as they waved frantically and tried to get one last look at the child who on many occasions would brighten their day. The kid who would do her best to help in whatever way she could. She would bring them meals if they were injured or take the clean up jobs no one wanted. They really would miss the little girl whose smile was contagious even in dire situations.
Rein waved until her arm was sore and then waved some more for good measure. She waved her small arm until the ship was merely a dot on the horizon. Only then did she turn to her new guardian. He looked down at the girl, unimpressed. "If you're going to stay with me then we're going to lay down some ground rules," he said.
Rein shook her head to clear away the memories. It was bad enough being bored with only the ocean to watch but having to suffer through Zephyr's long list of rules was more torture than she could take at the moment. She lazily gazed at her log pose to check she was still on course, amazingly she was, and then turned her attention onto the skyline. What she saw shocked her. There was an island. An actual landmass made of dirt and rocks that would hopefully have buildings made of stone and food to purchase or steal. The redhead got so excited she almost overturned on her raft. She hung onto the mast like her life depended on it, which it did; the Grand Line waters were dangerous for practically everyone, but even more so for people like her. Impatience getting to her now that she had finally seen earth again, Rein stood, breathed in, and sped up. She furled the sail, no longer needing the wind, the natural one anyway.
As she sped towards the destination she could finally see, her mind travelled one last time. She thought back to several days ago. A week earlier, the famous Marco, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and eater of the rare mythical Zoan type, the Tori Tori no Mi: Model Phoenix, had saved her from having to fight an entire Marine base and then, for some reason she still couldn't fathom, he had suggest she go meet the rest of the crew. Vaguely, she wondered if that offer still stood. She was honestly curious to see what the strongest crew in the world was like. Whenever someone was labelled with an impressive title people always thought the worst, but she was curious to see what they were actually like. But before she would try to find them, she figured she should get some more information on them first. Hopefully there was another Navy base on the next island.
A/N: Sorry for the boring chapter... -.- There are going to be quite a few flashbacks in the beginning, of Rein's past, but hopefully you guys won't get too bored... it should pick up the pace soon :D I hope =.=