Sora struggled to breathe. Her blood was leaking into the ocean – it was only a matter of time before the Seakings found her and finished her. Who was she kidding? Setting out by herself to travel all the way to Marineford – it was a childish dream. She clung desperately to the only remaining part of her ship – the mast – her sword lifted just above the surface of the water. She couldn't let it get wet. She couldn't let it rust.

At least she would have died for something. Her knapsack was heavy; she had stolen a devil fruit from a ship. Sora had run out of food, and snuck on a ship. As morally incorrect as it was, the sight of a chest made Sora's heart explode in her chest. She needed to open it and see what was in it. She snatched the bright blue fruit, tucking in it her knapsack – maybe she could sell it for a lot of money in the next town and actually buy some food. Sora had then grabbed a bag of food, and made for an escape.

Lunch time didn't work out so well, obviously.

At least they didn't notice that she had stolen their precious devil fruit. These things cause so much havoc – she wanted to become strong without magical powers. She needed to catch up to Ken the real way. It wouldn't even do her good now, as eating a devil fruit would make the user an anchor.

But maybe she'd die faster. If she ate the fruit and just sank to the bottom of the ocean, the fruit would die with her. It would respawn somewhere else, sure, but it would probably be a while until someone else found it.

She heard the sound of waves and looked up to see a giant ship. It shadowed her completely, eclipsing the setting sun. "Oy!" called a voice from above. Sora could barely keep her eyes open. She felt them become heavy, but fought to keep the sword out of the water.

There was a splash nearby and Sora saw a white and purple ring floating nearby. "Hey, grab it, kid!" called the same voice from above. She didn't even have the strength to look up to see who was trying to save her. Her wounds were numb – she had lost a lot of blood and couldn't even feel her arms. Sora used the last of her strength to throw her sword onto the ring. It balanced, and she smiled – at least the sword wasn't damaged. And then she felt her eyes close, and the mast slipped from her grasp.

"Thatch! Go grab her!" the voice called back, and the last thing she remembered was a loud splash, and warm arms pulling her from the sea.

Sora was in and out of consciousness, vaguely seeing faces she didn't recognize, and then blacking out again. When she awoke, it was dark, and most of her body was wrapped in bandages. She was also dressed in dry, clean clothes that were a little big for her. She gasped and clutched herself – who had bandaged and changed her?

"Relax," said a voice and Sora recognized it as the man who had been calling to her earlier. She turned to see a man who didn't look too much older than her, with blonde hair. He smiled at her, patting her on the head. "The nurses changed your clothes and did a lot of your bandaging. It'd be weird if one of us did it, right? We're all men."

Sora recognized the crest tattooed on the man's chest. She froze. She glanced around the room quickly, and her eyes flicked over her sword. Swiftly, she leapt out of bed, snatching her sword from the corner and making a run for the door. However, she had momentarily forgotten that she was handicapped. The hours spent floating in the ocean waiting to die combined with the loss of blood and slashes all over her body took it toll on her and she collapsed onto the floor with a hard thud, the IV she was connected to clattering to the ground.

"Oy, oy," the man said, rushing to her side. He gently swooped her up bridal style, and laid her back in bed. She could feel the man's calloused hands, and his body was surprisingly warm. He sat back down in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking. "You're cute, trying to escape and all, but cuteness doesn't make up for strength. You need to rest a little while more before you can walk around."

Sora ignored him. "You're a pirate."

The blonde grinned, not at all worried at her realization. "First division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. The name's Marco. What's yours?"

"I don't tell my name to pirates," Sora snapped, shifting her body so she was on her side, her back facing Marco.

"Even pirates that saved your life? Those are my clothes, too, you know," Marco said, laughing. "Come on, how about a trade? I saved your life, you give me your name, and we'll call it even."

Sora took a deep breath, and sat up, turning to face him. "Sora."

Marco flashed her a grin. "That's a pretty name."

"How long was I asleep?" Sora asked cautiously, as though Marco was going to suddenly attack and slit her throat.

"Three days. You were pretty beat up," he said. "If we found you even five minutes later, you'd probably be dead."

"I guess I owe you my thanks."

Marco shook his head and smiled. "Nah, it's alright," he said, and then paused. He wondered if she had any crewmates. They had found the wreckage of her little ship, but no other people. He wondered if there actually had been people, but they had been kidnapped, or perished with the destruction of their boat. "You didn't…have any nakama, right?"

"No, I was alone."

Marco scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "Sailing the Grand Line alone? How old are you, like seventeen?"

Sora averted her eyes, making a face. "Sixteen."

He laughed heartily, shaking his head, but instead of doubting her, he said, "Incredible."

Sora swallowed a lump in her throat. Was this pirate complimenting her? "Thanks."

Marco nodded at the sword, sheathed in a bright red scabbard. "So, you're a swordsman, huh?"

"Yes."

"You any good?"

"Yes."

Marco smiled at her unwavering confidence, even to the first division commander of the most powerful crew sailing the seas. "Maybe we can spar sometime."

Despite her rather pathetic looking state, Marco felt her presence radiating off her body – an aura of confidence. "I'd kill a pirate like you."

Marco ruffled her hair. "I like you, kid."

"If you're gonna ask for my name, use it," Sora said, and against her will, smiled a little.

The man just chuckled and nodded. "Okay, Sora. Well, where were you headed anyway?"

"Marineford," Sora answered, still wondering what she was doing talking to a dangerous man like Marco as though they were just sitting in a café having tea. But she was starting to feel a little fatigued, and sank into the bed, pulling the blankets over her body.

Marco's lips curved into a smirk. "Gonna become a marine?"

Sora felt her eyes closing as she nodded. "Gonna kill pirates."

The last thing she heard was Marco's voice. "We'll see about that."

Sora awoke with a start, breathing heavily. She heard shuffling and found herself staring into the eyes of another man she didn't recognize. He had his hair neatly tied up, and had pale skin, and his colored lips turned into a smile. "Hi, new girl. I was just taking off your IV. Don't mind me." He reached up, professionally removing the bag from the stand and peeling some of Sora's bandages off to remove the needles. Sora stayed awake.

"Who are you?"

The man in the kimono turned. "Izou. Are you feeling a little better, new girl?"

"Sora," she said without thinking. What the hell was she doing? She just gave her name to two pirates.

Izou smiled kindly. "It's very nice to meet you. You should be able to walk around a little, but don't stress out too much. You're still in no condition to be doing anything wild. Marco wanted to take you on a tour of the ship later, if you were interested."

Sora remembered that name – the man who had spoken to her that night. She remembered his warmth and his smile and felt herself blush, covering her cheeks. She was disgusted with herself – why was she swooning over a pirate?

Izou seemed to notice as well and smirked. "Oh, you're so cute. He might be a little old for you right now, though, so maybe in a few years you can go for it."

Sora was speechless, and just shook her head, the man laughing. He held out his hand to help her out of bed. "Come on. It's nearly been a week already – you're due for some sunlight."

A week? Sora had been out for a week? She took Izou's hand and he grabbed her other hand, assisting her in standing up from the bed. Her legs felt weak – she had probably lost some muscle mass, but Izou helped her to the door, and she could feel her strength returning. "Better?" he asked, feeling her a little more able to walk on her own. He grabbed her sword from the corner, and she noticed that they had tied on a string for her to carry it on her back. She allowed him to help her do so.

The teenager nodded, remembering the familiar weight of her sword. She felt so empty without it. "Yeah. Thanks."

Izou pushed open the door, Sora shielding herself from the rays of sunlight. "Welcome to the Moby Dick."

The ship was the largest she had ever seen, spanning out like a field in front of her, men working the sails and swabbing the deck, chattering and laughing together. She looked up, covering her eyes from the sun for a moment to see the Whitebeard Jolly Roger emblazoned on an enormous flag, and felt her stomach drop. What was she even doing here? She needed to leave and get to Marineford as soon as possible.

"Oy!" greeted a voice, and Sora turned to see Marco coming down a few stairs. "Strong enough to walk are we?" he asked, patting her on the head. "Wanna go on a tour?"

Sora shook her head. "I can't be here. I have to get to Marineford," she told the pirate, and he exchanged looks with Izou, smiling.

Marco grinned. "Sorry, kid, but I don't think there's any way we'll be able to take you to Marineford. That's not a good place for us wanted men, you know?"

"But I'm going to become a marine," Sora insisted, furrowing her brows. "I have to go to a marine base."

Izou patted her on the shoulder and smiled a little. "Um, I don't think we can take you there either."

Sora's chest tightened. No, she couldn't be trapped on a ship with pirates! She needed to become a marine and catch up to Ken. She needed to become stronger and show him her presence. She couldn't do that on a pirate ship! It was the total opposite direction of where she wanted to go in life.

Marco seemed to sense her unease and grabbed her wrist gently. "Come on, Sora. Let's go on a tour. Fresh air is nice—"

"Let go!" Sora said, a gust of wind exploding around her hand, blowing off Marco's hand. It blew back her hair and even Izou had to shield himself for a moment. Some of the crew turned to stare as well. She froze, staring at her hands, her fingers visibly shaking. "W-what was that?" she asked.

"I guess that's your power," Marco said, smiling despite the fact that Sora had yelled at him.

"My—what?" she was practically screaming, her voice frantic. She could feel her heart bursting from her chest. Her eyes flicked from Marco to Izou and back again.

"We didn't have a lot of time," Marco explained, scratching the back of his head. "Even with our medicine and care, you would have died, but we found a devil fruit in your bag. Devil fruits give its users strength as well as the ability itself, so we mashed that up and fed it to you intravenously. It helped a lot, and restored most of your strength faster than we expected—"

Sora's palm collided with Marco's cheek and even Izou seemed surprised – Sora had just slapped the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Other crewmen stopped what they were doing to stare. She clutched her hand, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Who do you think you are? You should have just let me die!" she screamed at Marco through her tears.

Marco didn't say anything, just stood there, also dumbfounded. "I don't need this," Sora said, marching to the railing of the ship. She pushed herself atop it. "I'm a monster that's just better off dead." Sora turned her toes downward – if she dropped, then she would sink to Davy Jones' Locker and be lost forever. She might not have caught up to Ken, but at least she didn't have to live like a demon.

"Hey," said a voice, and Marco grabbed her wrist again. Sora turned around, alarmed. She had just slapped this man and he was still trying to help her? Tears rolled down her cheeks. Just who were these people? Marco smiled. "Get down from there. I understand you're going through a lot right now, but you don't need to throw away your life. I'll take you to our captain – maybe you can work out something with him."

To Whitebeard? Before Sora could respond, Marco's strong arms wrapped around her and swept her off the railing, placing her on her feet. He leaned down and ran his thumb over her cheek, wiping away her tears as he smiled. "Don't cry. Just follow me."

He started up the stairs and Sora hesitated, lifting her hands to her face to wipe away her tears. She glanced at Izou, who nodded at her to follow him. Against her better judgment, Sora felt her feet moving, weight shifting from one foot to the next as she ascended the stairs after Marco. He peered behind him for a bit, making sure she was following.

"Oyaji," Marco called, and Sora looked up to see a giant man sitting in a chair. Tubes were hooked up to him and several nurses were around him, working on medicine of some sort. Oyaji? Who addressed their captain as their father? "She's awake."

The large man smiled, wrinkles creasing his old face. "You were out for some time," he said, his voice deep.

Sora remained silent, keeping her eyes to the ground. The most feared man in all the seas was sitting right in front of her. Sora whipped out her sword and moved as quickly as she could, dashing for the old man. But she didn't even get close, and some force repelled her backward. She hit the deck hard, and rolled, her sword clattering against the wood. Sora lifted herself up instantly, her hand wrapping around the handle of her blade. She lowered her body and charged again – if she could defeat this man, she would be one step closer to showing Ken her strength.

But once again, she was pushed back without as much as a blink from the old man. Sora's body collided with the ground, and Marco noticed that some of her wounds opened up, dark splotches of blood appearing on his white linen shirt she was wearing. He sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder when she stood up. "Stop before you hurt yourself," he told her, moving his hand to pat her head. "Sheath your blade, or I will have no choice but to fight you."

Sora could sense no malice in his voice, but her intuition told her that Marco's threat was not empty. Begrudgingly, she slid her sword back in its bright red scabbard, averting her eyes again, ashamed. Marco's arm slid around her shoulder and he walked closer to Whitebeard. "Oyaji, this is the girl we rescued," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. Again with that word – Oyaji. Why? Sora couldn't understand why Whitebeard was addressed as such.

Whitebeard laughed, the sound rumbling in Sora's chest. "A feisty one, eh? What's your name, child?"

"None of your concern," Sora snapped, raising her gaze to glower viciously at Whitebeard. A pirate? No, Sora's goal was to become a marine and slay pirates. Her goal was justice – with Ken at the finish line.

But the captain just laughed, sipping from a rather giant bowl of sake. "I like her, Marco. Give her a room."

"There's no way in hell I'd stay here," Sora said, unafraid of this man. "I'm going to Marineford to become a marine."

"Okay," Whitebeard said, taking Sora off guard. He held up a tiny key with his two fingers, a metal chain looped through it. "This key will open the door to the room in which we store some smaller ships. If a kid like you wants to travel alone, then so be it – but until you can take this key from me, you will remain here with us," he said, and strung the key around his neck. Sora's hand flew to her blade and Whitebeard held up his hand. "At least rest up first, kid. You're in no condition to be trying for this key now. Get some rest, become stronger, and we will see where you stand. Marco," he said, nodding.

"Ah, okay, well, I'll show you your room," he said, patting her on the head. He felt that her breathing was shallow as she was struggling not to show pain. The blood on her shirt was increasing and she was discretely clutching her side. He smiled at her strength. "But first, let's change your bandages."

Sora ate alone that night. The crew ate together in a giant dining hall, but Sora had taken a loaf of bread to the room Marco had shown her. She sat on her hammock, cross-legged, nibbling from the bread. She wasn't hungry.

She gazed at the hammocks around her, all empty. Everyone was downstairs at the party. She remembered Marco saying that the only available room was one with the division commanders, so Sora knew for a fact that she was staying with the strongest men on the ship – some of the strongest men in the world.

She buried her face in her hands. How did it come to this? How, in one day, were all of her dreams crushed? Was she even human anymore? Sora felt like her life didn't even matter. What was the use of trying to catch Ken when by default, with the power of the devil fruit, she was strong? He would never acknowledge her with a power like that.

There was a rapping on the door and Sora quickly wiped away her tears. She spent a lot more time than usual crying. She looked up to see Marco standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He smiled at her. "Why aren't you downstairs?"

Sora scoffed. "As if I would break bread with pirates."

Marco smiled despite her hateful answer. He closed the door and sat at a desk near Sora's bed. "We aren't all that bad."

"I'm going to become strong," she said. "And I'm going to take that key and leave this ship forever. And after I become a marine, I will come after your crew."

The blonde grinned. "I hope so. You're a tough kid. You'd be fun to fight, I'm sure," he said, receiving a scoff from Sora. "Show me your new powers."

"No," Sora said, crossing her arms. "I'm…a monster. Devil fruit users are monsters."

Marco's hand burst into a light blue flame and Sora gasped slightly, surprised. He reached out to her, but Sora shied away, not wanting to be burned. "Go on," he said, holding his palm out as though expecting her to touch his hand although it was ablaze. Sora shook her head and the blonde man laughed. "Come on, trust me."

"You're asking me to trust a pirate," Sora said, staring at Marco incredulously.

"No, I'm asking you to trust me," he said, keeping his hand in place. Reluctantly, Sora reached out her small hand, flinching a little, and then allowed her flesh to be consumed by the fire as she took Marco's hand.

"It's…not hot," she said, only feeling Marco's skin beneath hers, completely unaffected by the blue flames.

"My fire isn't made to burn," Marco said, extinguishing the flame. Sora took her hand back. "The power of the phoenix – its purpose is to heal and protect. Does that…make me a monster?" he asked and for the first time, Sora didn't know how to respond. "I showed you my power, now show me yours, and we'll call it even."

Sora swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn't know how to summon her power. So she just closed her eyes and tried to imagine what wind would look like. Marco felt a breeze, and Sora's long hair blew back slightly as wind circled her hands. He noticed she wasn't a Logia type despite being an element. Also feeling the wind, Sora seemed startled and opened her eyes, the wind bursting and disappearing.

"That was nice," Marco told her, smiling. "I'm sure you'll be able to do a lot with it. How about we train tomorrow? I can help you harness your power."

"Why are you helping me?" Sora demanded, confused. "You don't even know me. I told you I was going to be a marine and come after your captain and your crew – my only purpose here is to take that key so I can leave to Marineford. What do you want from me? Why are you so nice to me?"

Marco didn't seem surprised at all by her hostility. He figured that anyone would have that kind of reaction if they were stuck on a ship full of people they didn't know and a new devil fruit power they didn't know how to use. "Because we're nakama."

Sora's chest tightened with that word. Nakama. Sora didn't have any of those. Sure, she had Arashi Island, but she knew that was different. Those people saw her as a daughter – but to be seen as nakama, that was something much more intense and deeper than anything anyone had ever addressed her as. It was deeper than a companion, deeper than a friend, or a comrade, and Sora felt a warm feeling settle in her chest.

"Nakama?" she said quietly, wringing her hands together slightly.

Marco nodded. "For as long as you're on this ship, consider every single one of us nakama."

"I…can't be nakama with pirates," Sora said, looking away. The warm feeling extinguished, like the flame of a candle being blown out.

But the blonde man only offered her a smile. "Maybe someday, then," he said, and stood up, ruffling her hair. "Get some rest. I'll start training you tomorrow, bright and early."

Marco turned his back on the girl, only hearing her mutter something that sounded like, "okay," before leaving the room in silence.

"One more time, come on!" Marco called, his arms consumed in blue flames that spread out to be wings. They were on a different part of the deck now, and the sun was high overhead. Sora was breathing hard, beads of sweat dripping down the side of her head. She struggled to keep a grip on her sword, her vision becoming blurry.

She summoned her strength and ran at Marco, dodging one of his kicks and whirling behind him, slashing side wards. He was much, much faster and deflected her blow easily, staggering her. She dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.

"Oy, go easy on her," she heard Izou say. He was observing, a couple bandages in his hand for afterwards. Sora knew she would be needing them though.

"Do not go easy on me," Sora choked immediately, pushing herself off the ground.

Marco smirked, impressed by her spirit. "You haven't hit me once today, Sora. Use your devil fruit power."

"No," she responded, removing a hand from he sword to wipe the sweat from her brows.

"Without that, or any control over haki, you're never gonna even come close to beating me, kid," Marco assured her, launching towards her again, Sora barely having any time to raise her sword to block another of Marco's bulldozing kicks. Despite blocking, she was staggered again, dropping to the ground. Sora expected him to hit her again, but instead, the blue flames around him disappeared, and he held out a hand to help her up. "We can be done for the day. How about we grab some lunch?"

Reluctantly, Sora took his hand and he effortlessly raised her from the ground. She took her hand back immediately as Izou came to her. "Your arms are bleeding," he told her, and Sora noticed another one of Marco's shirts ruined, stained with dark red blood on the sleeves.

Marco could see that she was upset, and he ruffled her hair. "Don't worry about it. They're only clothes; I can just buy new ones later. Here, let me help," he said, grabbing the wraps from Izou. He raised Sora's sleeves and removed her old bandages. He quickly wiped down her wounds and rewrapped both her arms. Izou just smiled as the young girl averted her eyes, obviously a little smitten.

"Alright," Marco said when he was done, grinning at Sora. He patted her on the head again. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry. I have more people I want you to meet, too."

Sora ran a hand through her hair, feeling the sweat and oil. She made a face at how dirty she was from just a few hours of sparring. It was a spar, but it was probably the most intense fight she had ever been in. Her wounds were contributing to a little fatigue, but her arms were sore and numb from the strength of Marco's kicks. She couldn't even feel them anymore – they were just appendages hanging from her body, useless.

"Tie it or cut it," Izou said, smiling as he Sora a hair tie.

Sora shook her head. "No, thanks. I'll shower afterwards."

Izou shrugged, stuffing the tie back into the pocket of his kimono. They pushed open a door and headed downstairs into the dining room, where several pirates were already having lunch. It was an extremely large dining hall, with rows and rows of long tables and a bar that stretched the width of the ship. It was more like a ballroom than the inside of a pirate ship.

"Oy, Marco!" called a voice, and Sora turned to see a brown haired man seated next to a rather large tanned man, mountains of food in front of them. Sora vaguely recognized the brunette as the man who had pulled her from the ocean. She assumed that he didn't have a devil fruit.

"Hey," Marco said, changing direction and heading towards them. He held his arm out, allowing Sora to make her way next to him. Marco smiled, putting his arm around her. "This is our new girl."

"Hey! Nice to see you're awake. I'm Thatch," the brown-haired man said, smiling.

"Jozu," the larger tanned man introduced.

Marco glanced at Sora and reluctantly, she said, "My name is Sora."

Thatch grinned. "That's a nice name."

Marco gestured to the bench. "Have a seat. I'll go grab some drinks," he said, and left the table, heading into the kitchen.

"You pulled me out of the water, right?" Sora asked Thatch, who nodded. She looked down at the table. "Thank you."

"Hey, don't worry about it," the man said, smiling. "Glad to know you're alive. Where're you from?"

"Arashi Island," she answered, just staring at the food in front of her. The only thing she had for breakfast was the leftover bread from last night, and she was pretty sure she had burned off all those calories within the first ten minutes of fighting Marco. She held her stomach, a hunger piercing the organ.

"The storm island," Thatch said, recognizing the name. "The only island in the Grand Line that experiences all seasons, huh? How is that?"

"Okay," she answered, not really sure how to respond. She knew that all the islands in the Grand Line had a seasonal theme. Arashi Island was known as the island of storms because of the waves and waves of pirates that came. Hurricanes were also quite common, so that also contributed to the name as well.

"Here," Marco said, sliding Sora a mug as he sat down across of her.

"Is that beer? Marco, she's sixteen," Izou scolded, rolling his eyes.

"You're sixteen?" Thatch asked, incredulous. "Sixteen and trying to sail the Grand Line alone? That's crazy! You're one brave girl!"

"Thanks," she said, her eyes burning a hole in the table.

"Go ahead and eat," Jozu piped in, pushing toward her a little piece of the mountain of food. It wasn't that little, though – it was twice the size of her face and piled quite high with delicious smelling food.

"No, thank you," Sora said, shaking her head despite the fact that she was famished. She fought every single urge in her body that screamed for her to inhale that entire plate of food and shovel more down her throat to make up for the morning and the past week she spent bedridden.

Marco furrowed his brows, seeming genuinely concerned. "Oy, you had a rough morning, just eat before you pass out or something."

"I will not break bread with pirates," she said again, not afraid that she was surrounded by four of the strongest men in the world.

Thatch just laughed, breaking the awkward silence. "Alright, well more for us, then," he said, sliding the plate that was in front of Sora over to himself. Marco shot him a look, but Thatch just shrugged. "You're always welcome to eat with us," he assured her. "But I mean, if you feel like you can't trust us yet, we understand."

"Sorry," Sora said, not even realizing what she was saying. What the hell was she doing apologizing?

"Nah," Thatch said, taking a bite out of a chicken leg. "Oh, yeah, I heard you want to be a marine."

"That makes us enemies, doesn't it?" Sora said.

But the pirates just laughed, shaking their heads. "Nah," Izou said, patting her on the head. "You're with us on the ship, right? We don't consider you an enemy, Sora. Far from that."

Sora seemed surprised again, and Marco just smiled. He hoped that in time she would come to see them as friends – as nakama. She looked like someone who needed that kind of bond.

Sora sat quietly for most of the time, just watching the men talk and answering when they asked her questions, but other than that, she didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe she was sitting at a table with pirates. Sora was born to be a marine. She hoped they didn't hear her stomach growling. Maybe she would take another oaf of bread back to her room later.

They were done rather quickly and left for the deck, Sora following behind, plotting. She needed to find a way to get that key and get in a ship to Marineford. Being here was just a waste of her time. She saw Whitebeard, sitting on his normal chair with the nurses tending to him, the key dangling from his neck. That key was everything.

Without even thinking, she broke from the group of men, unsheathing her sword with a newfound determination and revitalization, leaping into the air. She got closer this time, but with just a flick of his finger, Whitebeard shot her away, sending Sora to the deck again.

Sora's whole body ached and Marco came to her side. Sora tried to push herself up, but her hunger and fatigue from today was taking its toll on her. She was unable to even lift herself to her knees. Propping herself up on her hands was as far as she could go before her numb arms kicked in and dropped her body back to the wood.

Marco sighed, picking her up again. "See, I told you that you should have eaten something," he said. Whitebeard just smiled, watching his first division commander take the woman back downstairs to her room.

The days went by like this. Sora had healed from her injuries and sparred with Marco everyday. Whenever she saw Whitebeard, she tried to take the key, but was always terribly unsuccessful.

One day, during a routine morning spar, Marco smiled at the girl, who, for some reason, fought with her hair let down. "You're getting faster," he said. The girl didn't say anything, and just held her blade out in front of her. She hated to admit it, but she knew it was true. Because of her spars with Marco everyday, she could feel herself getting stronger – she could see his moves more clearly, and was even starting to be able to push him back after a block. "You can still use your fruit, you know. I won't get mad or anything."

But the girl still refused. "No," she insisted, just like how she did everyday. "I don't need it."

"Yeah, you don't," Marco agreed. "But it helps."

Sora was firm in her answer. "No."

And everyday, she continued to get beaten by Marco. She even tried fighting Izou, Thatch, Jozu, and some of the other division commanders she had met. She had lost pathetically each time. She could land a hit or two on everyone except Marco, but always still ended up losing. But none of the men ever teased her about it. Each of them provided her with advice to become better.

"Don't take so long to draw your sword," Izou said one day as he bandaged her hand. "I know a little Iaidou, I can help if you want. I don't use it all the time, but it helps with speed."

"Okay," Sora said. She figured that if she was ever going to get that key from Whitebeard, she was going to need all the help she could get. So she always accepted whenever the division commanders helped her with a new technique – but she still ate in her room alone, and kept to herself most of the time.

The days passed by and Sora lost track of the time she was even here. It all seemed like a nightmarish routine. She'd get beat in the morning by Marco or one of the other division commanders, and Whitebeard would swat her away like a little flea.

Another day after what felt like the hundredth time Sora hit the deck, she heard Marco go over to Whitebeard. "Oyaji, has she gotten stronger?" he asked with a grin.

Sora pulled herself off the ground to see the giant man nod slightly. "A little. Still too weak to obtain the key. Do not fear your devil fruit ability – embrace it, and you might be able to leave."

"No," Sora snapped, stomping down the stairs in a huff.

Marco chuckled. When he was sure she was gone, he turned back up to his captain. "You think she'll be strong?"

The man did not hesitate in nodding this time. "She has potential to be great. You felt it, too, did you not? She has powerful haki – she is just unable to control it. That, on top of her devil fruit would make for a devastating combination."

The blonde man nodded, knowing all too well what Whitebeard was talking about. "She doesn't want to try using her power, though."

"She is stubborn," Whitebeard chuckled. "But strong. She fights for what she believes in and does not lose sight of her goal. Never have I met such a little woman with such a strong spirit."

Those words stuck in Marco's head. For Whitebeard to be impressed with a sixteen-year-old girl was impressive in itself. Marco was just frustrated because he knew that she could do more, and be more than she was, if she just stopped being stubborn.

He began to watch her more closely. Because his captain had obviously noticed Sora, Marco began to as well. He had so many questions. Whitebeard said she fights for what she believed in, but what was that? Why did she want to become a marine so badly? Why did she not want to use her fruit powers?

"I'm not fighting you today," Marco said when Sora came out one morning.

"What?" she asked, furrowing her brows together. Marco just sat cross-legged, not budging. "Fine, whatever. Izou, can we spar?" she called over to the man.

"Sorry," Izou said, shaking his head as he told her what Marco asked him to say.

Sora made a face. "Thatch?"

Thatch shook his head, shrugging, doing the same as Izou. "Ask Marco."

"What the hell?" Sora demanded, crossing the deck to reach Marco.

"Are you mad?" Marco asked, looking up at her, raising his eyebrow.

Sora glowered down at him. "I thought we were supposed to spar everyday. You said you would teach me."

Marco stood up, rolling his shoulder blades back and stretching his arms. "I don't need to waste my time on a kid who won't take my advice.

"What are you talking about? I always listen to you," Sora snapped. She hated when Marco called her 'kid'.

"Use your powers, then."

"Is that what this is about? I already told you that I don't need my devil fruit."

"Are you naïve?" Marco asked, looking down at her. This was the first time he raised his voice at her or spoke to her in a way that wasn't polite. But this was it. Marco couldn't take it anymore. Sora wasn't progressing much at all; she had reached a plateau. "If you don't choose to utilize everything in your arsenal because you feel it's 'cheating', then you're just an immature little kid that doesn't even deserve our time."

"Excuse me?" Sora said, balling her hand into a fist.

"You heard me. You're just a child and you have no business being on our ship. You're cold to every one of us. You don't accept us as pirates, okay, fine, but the thing is, Sora, you don't even accept yourself as a human being. Without that fruit, you would be dead. It saved your life and you refuse to acknowledge it. That sounds pretty immature to me—"

"Marco! One of Kaidou's ships is on its way!" called one of the crewmen, dashing downstairs to the cannons.

"Kaidou? The yonkou?" Sora asked. Another of the strong pirate was coming here.

Marco shook his head, sighing. He ignored her. "Go downstairs and wait in the cabins. This will be over quickly. It's most likely one of his disposables."

"If you won't fight me then I'll fight those guys," Sora said, heading to the main part of the deck.

"Stop," Marco demanded, and Sora whirled around and marched back towards him.

"Make me," she challenged, looking up at him. In those big blue eyes, Marco saw no fear, just a storm of blues swirling together. She knew that Marco could finish her in one hit, but she didn't back down. Sora scoffed when Marco didn't say anything and turned on her heel again, stomping towards the main deck.

Marco ran a hand through his hair. That was definitely not how that was supposed to have gone. He expected her to have summoned her powers right away and hit him or something, but she had stayed true to her conviction and hadn't done a thing. Thatch shrugged, having also thought the same thing. They both headed to the main deck, where many crewmen were already gathered, including Sora, her hand resting on the handle of her blade.

One of Kaidou's ships flanked the Moby Dick and there was a scuffle, pirates from both sides swining to the other side's ship to try and overtake them. Marco made sure to keep an eye on Sora as she engaged with a swordsman from Kaidou's pirates. He watched her move swiftly, blocking his wild parries with her blade easily. She moved like water, flowing and slick, eventually winning the fight, the man dead at her feet.

Then something seemed to snap within her. Marco realized that was probably the first person she ever killed. Her hands began to shake and even from across the deck, he could feel her losing her confidence. But he wasn't the only one – a man wielding dual pistols had his eyes locked on her too, ready to take out any pirate not prepared for battle. Sora didn't see him at all, attempting to retreat for the cabins. Marco cursed under his breath, kicked his opponent overboard, and flew to Sora.

Sora was in shock. Her hands were stained with blood. She had killed a man today. She needed to leave. She needed to leave this ship and leave these pirates and just…stop playing pretend.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" growled a voice and Sora whirled around to see a man with two guns in his hands. "I saw you kill my nakama back there. You think you can just run away?"

Sora was speechless, and backed up, her hand still shaking. Lift your sword, she tried to tell herself. Lift it and defend yourself!

"Frozen with fear?" The man's voice was deep and mocking, not caring that she was sixteen. He held up his guns. "Don't worry, I would be, too." Sora watched in slow motion as he pulled the trigger several times, bullets firing at her from mere feet away.

"Sora!" called a voice, and Sora felt a familiar warmth around her, and looked up to see Marco, his blue wings folded over her body protectively, shielding her from the bullets. Sora was in shock. He had just told her that she didn't belong here – why was he protecting her?

Marco whirled out from behind her and thrust kicked the opponent, sending him hurtling off the Moby Dick. Marco turned to Sora and extinguished his flames for a moment, placing a hand on her cheek and lifting her face up so their eyes met. "Do not waiver," he told her. "Show me that you are a strong woman. Protect this ship."

Sora nodded, taking a deep breath, and Marco nodded his head once, his arms becoming wings once again. Sora lifted her sword with a newfound strength, aiding the Whitebeard Pirates. And Marco was right – it was a quick battle. Kaidou's ship didn't stand a chance. They sailed away with it in ruins.

"Too bad Kaidou wasn't on that ship, eh?" Thatch said, cracking his neck as he moved to help his division toss bodies overboard. It had been a weak opponent – no one from the Whitebeard Pirates suffered casualties. It seemed like the other yonkou was going easy on them.

Marco chuckled. "He'll never learn. I don't know why he just won't come at us himself. He insists on these surprise attacks."

"Oy, where's Sora?" Jozu asked, glancing around to see that the dark haired girl was nowhere in sight.

"I think she went downstairs," Izou answered, sighing. "She seemed a little traumatized. Both from the fight and Marco giving her a tongue lashing for no reason this morning."

Marco sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, in my defense, I didn't mean to sound that mean to her. I just wanted to her to get angry and punch me with her power or something, that's all."

Izou just raised an eyebrow. "Sounded pretty convincing to me."

Marco rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I'll bring her dinner tonight and apologize."

Izou chuckled, patting him on the shoulder as he walked past him to help his division. "How cute. That phoenix fruit of yours may keep you looking twenty-five, but remember that's still about a ten year difference," he teased, and Marco rolled his eyes.

Sora sat in her hammock. She had showered already, washing off the blood and sweat from today. Today, she had killed people. Sure, she had seen people die before – pirates often did come to her town – but she had never took the life of another human being. It was as though during that fight she lost consciousness and forgot who she was; the only thing that mattered was the battle at hand.

She brushed her long hair, thinking of Ken. Ken always told her that he liked her hair long. It was why she kept it that way and never tied it, or cut it. She liked when Ken praised her. Admittedly, it did get hot, and sometimes, it did get in the way of her spars, but she couldn't imagine cutting it.

But everything now seemed so new. Marco's blue cotton shirt was a little loose for her, as usual, but she had learned to make due. They were comfortable clothes. She just rolled up the sleeves and tied a belt around the waist. She wore loose pants everyday and always had to keep pulling them up. Sora was also barefoot all the time, too – she didn't have shoes to fit her – but she didn't care.

Sora sighed. Marco had yelled at her today – called her a weak child. Those words, though at the time it didn't seem like it, really cut her deep. Was she a weak child because she didn't want to use the devil fruit powers? Did that make her naïve? She swallowed a lump in her throat, remembering his warmth when he shielded her from death. She remembered the feel of his hand on her cheek when he told her to be strong, and she remembered really, honestly feeling that way as she took on the assailants from Kaidou's crew. It was the first time since she set off from Arashi Island that she actually felt strong.

She shook her head. Why did this even matter? Why was she getting all worked up over a couple words some blonde haired pirate said in the midst of battle? She sighed. It did matter. She knew that a lot of time passed by – maybe a month or two, even – and a part of her actually…enjoyed being around these people. She was disgusted with herself. A prospective marine enjoying being around pirates? It was laughable.

Sora stood up, her hands balled into fists. There was something she needed to do.

Marco stood at the bar table at all the food, looking around to see what kind of things Sora would want to eat tonight. The crew was celebrating their win today, the dining hall filled with food and beer, laughter ringing through the air. He wondered if Sora was lonely in the cabins by herself. She stayed there every night during dinner and Marco knew how loud they could be. He wished she would just join in.

He had begun to notice some time ago that whenever he brought her something with cheese, she always ate all of it. So he picked out some sandwiches and pasta and salad, piling it onto a plate to bring to cabin. Sora normally just ate, and by the time they other division commanders went up to their cabin, they always found her sleeping.

"Oy, can I grab that?" Marco said, returning to his normal table with his nakama, gesturing to the block of cheese as he looked at the plate to see where there was room. Sora was definitely going like this—

"No, because I'm going to eat that," Sora said, grabbing the cheese and taking a bite out of it. Marco had to double take. Was Sora eating dinner with them? "Oy, is that for me?" she asked, and stood up, taking the plate from Marco and slamming it down in front of her, clapping her hands together, and smiling. Marco had never seen her smile like that – dimples creasing her cheeks, the smile reaching her eyes.

The division commanders seemed a little surprised as well, Thatch slapping Sora on the back. "Finally able to break bread with us pirates, eh?" he teased, ruffling her hair.

"Well I guess technically I'm not breaking bread, I'm just eating it with cheese, and that doesn't matter anyway, because I'm still going to kill all of you one day," she teased, swirling noodles around her fork and shoveling the food into her mouth. The other division commanders just laughed. Did she just make a joke?

"Well, you gonna sit down or just stare?" Izou asked, raising an eyebrow at Marco.

"Why are you eating with us?" Marco asked, confused. She was so virulent around not having any meals with any of the pirates, and now she was eating like she was a starved animal. Food was flying everywhere.

Sora swallowed. "You want me to leave?"

Marco smiled, and sat down, saying the one word Sora wanted to hear: "No."

Reviews are appreciated. I'd like to know what people think :] Thanks for reading!