A/N: So after elaborating on the entire plotline and OCs, this has become MUCH LONGER than I have previously anticipated. That being said, this will probably be expanded to five parts or more. No definite number for now, though.

Disclaimers/Warnings have been posted in Part I and I will not be rewriting that because it is tedious and I am extremely lazy.

Yellow eyes stared stubbornly at the natural, rocky bridge, the sun floating higher and higher into the sky. Atalaya was perched on a smooth stone near the edge of the island, only a few meters away from the extension from one island to another, still glaring at the expanse of water.

Only a few hours ago, in the dead of night, had her first mate deflected from her crew. Just the mere thought of it made her fists clench, shaking with fury. But where was that anger directed? At first, she had thought it was for her former swordsman, but that wasn't true.

It was for herself. She hated herself right now, for being tongue-tied, for losing her first comrade - no, friend - in her quest to become the Pirate King. That was like Gold Roger losing Silvers Rayleigh.

She heard footsteps rustling through the undergrowth behind her, and her sabertooth senses told her it was Ankh. The woman's tread was slightly lighter and less brash than the rest of the crew, save for Ruule, and her weights made a small dragging noise through the hard-packed dirt. Atalaya cast a glance behind her, seeing the familiar waist-length caramel-brown hair and the voodoo mask on the face. Ankh had traded her former attire for a simple white blouse that revealed her muscled midriff, and a long black skirt, adorned with silvery designs and a slit in the side.

Atalaya wearily quirked up her lip. "It seems that the children are fond of you."

Ankh chuckled lightly. "Their mothers were a little worried about the chains, but I managed to keep those. Anyway..." her voice grew serious. "What are we going to do from here on? Are we going to leave your first mate?"

The captain hesitated. "He was hiding something," Atalaya finally settled on. "I bet I drove Roa, Lance, and Fell in a frenzy, didn't I?" After they had found her among the wreckage of trees, Atalaya had dashed off in her Zoan hybrid form and had effectively avoided them for a while.

Ankh paused for a moment. "I was in the washroom when I heard him," she said. "I guess I didn't really think of it at the time, and he was fooling around with the tree, slashing marks through the bark...but then his expression.." she paused. "It was like he was intending to finish something." She shifted from one foot to another while speaking, letting her chains rattle a bit.

Atalaya knew she was speaking from personal experience.

She stood up abruptly, the sudden movement startling wildlife around her. Birds jumped to the air, flapping away and letting out warning calls, golden orbs fixated on Shonin Island. "It's there," she said, with absolute confidence in her voice. "I don't know how...but I have this gut feeling that Shonin Island holds all the secrets." she looked over at the Witch Doctor. "We're heading there as soon as we gather the rest of the crew."

Ankh huffed lightly, though Atalaya could hear the smile in the other woman's voice. "Aye aye, captain."

The bright sun had burned off the morning dew, evidenced as Atalaya's sandals remained dry through the trek, and soon, she saw the backs of the rest of the crew, sitting, or standing, near the porch of the inn. Her archer and shipwright seemed to be engaged in a furious argument, which, on more than one occasion, drew rude hand gestures and threats to cut off braids, while Fell hissed Roa's defense on his back at Lance.

Ruule seemed cheery, and was twirling Beauty in one hand lightheartedly, gazing happily at the blue sky. Upon noticing the return of the captain and the doctor, he waved, grinning, and called them over.

"Eluur was a little upset that Kitsune wanted to leave and was goading me to blasting a few holes in him," Ruule greeted with a happy smile on his mouth. Behind her, Ankh let out a small sigh and pressed her palm to her forehead, earning a small chuckle from her captain.

Lance, noticing the arrival of Atalaya and Ankh, turned his back on an indignant Roa, before greeting the former. "Hello, captain. Your impulsive actions earlier had driven the charlatan - " at this Roa aimed a punch at his head, which the blue-haired mechanic dodged, " - and his 'pet' into a frenzy and near scared the villagers half to death, earning us a warning from Hogosha."

Roa grumbled something under his breath about giving the wrong message and thinking the Saber Pirates were going to be disbanded.

"You were a fool, charlatan, for believing that," Lance told him flatly.

"What did you say?!"

"Later," Atalaya cut in between the two. "Right now, we're heading for Shonin Island."

Ruule looked over, at the large island looming over them. It was hard to believe the two islands were connected. "The one with the Shichibukai's crew on it?" he inquired idly.

"The one and only," Ankh remarked dryly. Atalaya could hear a smile in her voice, however strained it sounded. "Will ye follow thy comrade to the depths of hell, 'r abandon him, scum of the flote?" she quoted darkly.

Roa at her as Fell shrunk back at the ominous words. "Where's that from?"

The Witch Doctor's voice was dark as she answered.

"A tragedy."

The walk to the edge of Setsuzoku Island was short; after all, the island was extremely small. Shonin Island loomed in the distance, the large black castle taking residence looking intimidating. The rustles of grass against legs were the only noises that pierced the suffocating silence around the five (and a half) pirates.

Soon, Atalaya could hear the waves crashing against the sandy shores, and taste the salty tang in the air. Through the undergrowth of the forest, she could glimpse glittering blue, and her skin prickled in apprehension as she cast a quick glance behind her.

Suddenly, she stopped walking. As she was walking in front of her crewmates, Roa yelped in surprise and had to dig his heels in at the last minute as to avoid a crash, Fell squawking in alarm at the sudden stop.

"What did you do that for?" Roa grumbled irritably, attempting futilely to pry Fell's blunt teeth off his long braid, which had latched on instinctively (and rather painfully).

"I've been thinking..." she said slowly. "That we shouldn't go find Kitsune after all. He's only one crewmate, and it's not worth it, going up against a Shichibukai's crew, and we shouldn't risk it. I say we go back and keep a low profile on Setsuzoku Island, until the Log sets, and leave here as fast as possible." she looked back at her comrades', whose faces showed her varying expressions of shock, surprise, and disgust (though she was assuming with Ankh).

She couldn't stop the madman grin from splitting her face. "Isn't that what you wanted me to say...Hogasha?" she challenged, looking squarely at a tree a few meters behind the group. With noises of shock, the crew followed her eyes, and Atalaya's smirk grew wider when she saw the tall man emerging from behind the tree, brandishing a sharper spear and looking disgruntled.

"How did you find me?" he asked, looking irritated. "Not even deer can hear me while I'm hunting."

Atalaya rubbed the bottom of her nose with her forefinger. "Don't underestimate the nose of someone who's part cat," she laughed at the frustrated expression on his face. "Anyway, what do you want? Assuming you followed us all the way here from the village, I think you want to tell us something." Her voice was tinged with sarcasm.

Hogosha scowled at them. "Glad you figured it out, pirate scum." Before Roa could fire a hot retort, he jabbed the spear in their direction. "There are things here better left untouched! If you don't want to doom us all, don't go on that island!" his eyes flickered with a harsher fire than when he had confronted them, back when they'd first arrived.

Atalaya opened her mouth to reply, but Eluur beat her to the call. Stepping forward, the cook aggressively yanked the man's shirt collar down (Hogosha was a lot taller than him), before snarling darkly in his face, "What do you mean, doom us all? We're pirates! We do whatever we want!" his other hand went down to brush Beauty, which was in a holster strapped on his waist. It was a clear threat.

Hogosha blinked at the sudden change of personality, before he snarled back, "Figures! Pirates are scum, after all!"

"Oi, Eluur, back down!" Atalaya grabbed his arm and yanked him back, before grabbing both of his arms and transforming into her hybrid form to hold him down. She turned to Hogosha, a question mark forming near her lips as she said, "Our crewmate has just gone on that island, and we're planning on getting him back. Why shouldn't we go on Shonin Island?"

Hogosha looked irritated, and his mouth began to form a reply when Lance, who had been nearing the shore, turned back and called out.

"Captain! We may have some trouble approaching," he called, his eyes glued to the figure running across the natural stone bridge. He and Roa, who was beside him, both tensed, Lance sliding out his trench knives, and Roa reaching back to take his bow out of the quiver, while Fell, on his back, spread her wings to make him look even more intimidating.

"Who is it?" Ankh asked, readying her weights. The links clicked together menacingly.

Lance hesitated, before relaxing. "It's...a woman," he paused, sheathing his trench knives, before scowling and whacking Roa on the back of his head. "Put down your arrows, charlatan! She is no threat, and she isn't carrying any weapons, either!"

"Better safe than sorry," Roa growled back, looking like he wanted to shoot Lance instead, but nevertheless reluctantly put his bow back into the quiver. Even though he wasn't leveling his arrows at the woman, and Fell had, rather unhappily, folded her wings back, he walked over to where the stone bridge began, clearly intent on confronting the woman, and blinked in surprise when she ran straight past him, instead running up to Hogosha, and, without missing a beat, swung a fist on his head and roared, "You idiot!"

She was of medium height, slightly shorter than Roa and Lance. Her face could've looked beautiful and innocent, if not for the many scars lining her face. Her piercing brown eyes sparkled, however faintly, and her bright orange hair was cropped short, brushing her shoulders. She had a curvaceous body, though her clothes were extremely practical, with a normal white t-shirt, navy blue cargo pants, and hiking boots, and she was staring down in irritation at the older man.

Hogosha doubled over, clutching his head, before staring at the woman. "Sajiko!" he cursed, looking irritated. "I told you not to come over here! I'm handling the pirates!" he glared at her, even as Atalaya blinked in confusion, looking between the two and mouthing to Ankh, they know each other? The latter simply shrugged.

"Obviously you weren't deterring them!" Sajiko retorted angrily, jabbing at him in the chest, even though she was easily a head shorter than the man, if not more. "Jeez! Didn't you recognize Kitsune?! They're trying to go after him; they're pirates, obviously they don't give a shit about us! He could leak information about them, so they need to find him, and fast! Idiot!" at that last word, she whacked him on the head, making Hogosha double over, clutching said abused body part.

"Kitsune? Did you mention Kitsune?" Atalaya suddenly asked, looking at the woman, momentarily letting go of Ruule, who had calmed down.

Sajiko whirled around, facing the Zoan user. "Are you really that eager not to let information spill from your crew, pirate?!" she demanded hotly, clearly still angry at Hogosha, who was rubbing his head, as the bump swelled double the size of his head.

"I'm not!" Atalaya scowled. "I just want my crewmate back! We're all nakama, aren't we?!"

Her response seemed to startle Sajiko, who stared at her for a moment. "You..." she said slowly. "You view your subordinates as friends? But you're a pirate..." she shook her head as if it was the most mysterious phenomenon she had ever encountered.

"So? We're all pirates because we are free," Atalaya retorted. "I don't give a crap what you think of us, I'm going on that island and I'm going to bring Kitsune back!"

Sajiko had gone silent at this, staring at Atalaya, half-suspicious, half-shocked. For a moment, it looked like she was going through an internal battle, before she sighed. "Do you really want to bring your friend back?" she asked softly, looking tired.

"Of course I do!"

"Hey, Sajiko, you aren't going to tell them, are you?! If the Donquixote Pirates find out, they'll be furious!" Hogosha suddenly said, looking at her with a startling intensity.

Sajiko looked over at him. "It's alright," she said. "If not, they'll just charge in recklessly and get both islands killed." She paused, before looking over at the Saber Pirates, who looked momentarily subdued. "I take it you are familiar with the Donquixote Pirates?" she inquired lightly, even as she drew a knife from between...her assets, tracing a line in the dirt.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"The crew of Donquixote Doflamingo, a Shichibukai...who is also an underground broker, known as his alias 'Joker'. He is involved in illegal trade, as well as dealings with a Yonko, Hyakuju no Kaido, and it involves turning regular fruits into artificial Zoan Devil Fruits, or Smiles, with the use of a substance called S.A.D. However, to manufacture it, you need lots of manpower and a brilliant scientist, both which Doflamingo has attained."

"You can create Devil Fruits?!" Ankh breathed, earning herself a taut nod from Sajiko.

"His crew is divided into five divisions." here, in the dirt, she traced a heart, a diamond, a clover, and a spade. "The Heart, the Club, the Spade, and the Diamond, all led by Elite Officers, who possess immense strength. However, his fifth division is called the Joker Division, which is named after his underground alias because it specializes in illegal trade and stealth. It is also led by an Elite Officer, with officers making up the rest, though they are not the same caliber as the rest of the division, as it is not a direct-combat unit." While speaking, Sajiko sketched scratches in the dirt, creating a visual image.

Sajiko drew in a shuddering breath. "Ten years ago, when Doflamingo began his trade with Kaido, he quickly realized that he needed more manpower to keep the Smiles going. So he took advantage of Shonin Island's surplus of population, and sent his Joker Division over to cause anarchy on the island and enslave the residents to create S.A.D. Because he is a Shichibukai, and therefore Government-approved, no Marines come here to free the slaves.." her voice shook. "I was one of the lucky ones, who managed to hide away when they came..Hogosha, too. That's why he's paranoid the pirates will come and attack Setsuzoku Island too, though the only residents there is the small village you saw."

"How does this tie in with our swordsman?" Ruule asked cheerfully, despite the dark story.

Sajiko huffed. "I suppose I'll have to tell you...though he won't be happy with me telling you his story..." she drew in a breath, closing her eyes, as if mentally preparing herself. Which is, on second thought, very plausible, Atalaya mused. If it was particularly traumatizing, one would prefer not to recount it.

"Alright, so, where to begin..."

Fourteen Years Ago
- inside a small, shabby house, on an unnamed island

"So this is an Artificial Devil Fruit, eh?"

Inside a house, on a small island on the Grand Line, a man stood up. He was nearing his early thirties, though his body was lean and well-muscled, not to mention scarred from many years of fighting. The man had silver hair, which he allowed to grow over his eyes, which were slitted open the slightest bit, revealing a red glint. On his back was strapped diagonally a double-bladed scythe, silver and edged with black, the blade curved wickedly, and the shaft was as long as his body. In his hand, he held an apple, though it had a purple color, and small spots of blue, ringed with yellow, was all over it, and he was staring down at it with morbid fascination.

JAAKUNA "GENERAL" CHIRI
BOUNTY: 160,000,000 BERI
ELITE OFFICER OF THE JOKER DIVISION
DONQUIXOTE PIRATE

"Aye," a man beside him, a little taller and lankier, nodded. He had shaggy brown hair, which covered his eyes, a dark tan, and a brown hat pulled over his head. He wore a body-length trench coat with black gloves and shoes, and looked quite intimidating. "Th' cap'n's ready ta blackmail th' World Govrn'ment," he chuckled lightly. "Ta become a military dog. Aft'r that, they're headin' ta Dressrosa ta take over th' throne, and strike a business with Kaido. Thanks ta Caesar Clown, we got ourselves a Smile thru S.A.D., though it's a prototype, so I told 'em to give it ter you. 'Said ya could test it out on yer slave first."

SENTOTAKAI "SLAUGHTERER" HYORO
BOUNTY: 67,000,000 BERI
OFFICER OF THE JOKER DIVISION
DONQUIXOTE PIRATE

Chiri let out a low chuckle. "You're saying I should test this out on my own child?" his voice dripped with mock hurt. "What kind of monster do you take me for, Hyoro?"

"One who enslaves 'is son, that's wha'," the other man replied gruffly, giving a look of disgust for the small, hunched-up figure of a five year old boy on the ground. There was a metal collar around his neck, which was attached to a chain and into a wall, where he was forced to crawl like a dog. There were bruises and dried blood around the boy, and an old rag was the only thing that covered him. He knew that the boy's hair had been silver once upon a time, except that it was now covered and caked with dry blood, dirt, and filthy things. "'Must say, though, looks like the spittin' image of ya. Didja even name 'im?"

"Slave number one," Chiri deadpanned. "The damned bar woman didn't use protection, so I got stuck with this piece of shit," he smirked sadistically. "Might as well put him to good use." He looked down at the boy, before kicking him harshly in the gut with his boot. "Oi! Get up!" he snarled. When the boy didn't even stir, he scowled, spitting on him, before hitting him roughly a few times with the scythe shaft.

With each strike, a red bruise marked itself, earning a small whimper from the boy, before he dragged himself up, arms shaking, into a sitting position. Chiri scowled at him.

"About time!" he spat. "You haven't eaten in three days, eat this." He threw the apple at the boy, which promptly glanced off his forehead and landed with a thud on his feet, which seemed to infuriate the man even more.

Surging forward, he delivered a harsh kick to the boy, who tumbled back like a rag doll, slamming into the wall behind him. "Are you eating it, or playing with it?! Hurry up, you vile thing, I don't have all day here!"

""m surprised they don't call ya "torturer", th' World Gov'rnment," Hyoro observed flatly, earning him a chuckle from Chiri. "They're near damn terrified of ya, with yer bounty and everythin'."

"Don't be, I'm a very good general and leader to the Joker Division," he replied, his lip curled.

The two men watched as the boy, reluctantly and shakily, lifted the fruit to his mouth, taking a large bite of it. The moment he swallowed it, the slave's throat convulsed, and he had to slap a hand in front of his mouth to stop himself from puking all over the floor. With some difficulty, he gulped it down again, before proceeding to finish the rest of the fruit off, though he almost retched several times.

"'Must taste bad," Hyoro muttered with a little bit of sympathy, feeling bile rise up in his own throat at the thought of the Devil Fruit he ate.

There was a pause as the last bit of the apple was gone, swallowed by the slave, and Chiri stared at him expectantly, as if wondering if he would transform or not. When nothing happened, he grew angry again. "What did you do?!" he spat at the boy, who widened his eyes and trembled. Chiri stepped forward. "Transform!" he ordered brutally, who only cowered beneath his harsh gaze.

"That was th' only successfully created Smile," Hyoro pointed out. "'f it's a failure, then we gotta tell Caesar Clown, and th' Young Master," he told Chiri. His words fell on deaf ears as Chiri slowly drew out his whip again.

"Idiot!" He lashed his whip again, striking open a large red weal on contact. "Worthless! Messes up everything! Good-for-nothing!" with every phrase, he whipped his son harder. "Transform! Transform now! Or you'll suffer torture much worse than this!" his eyes blazed with anger, deranged.

He stepped forward, before sliding out a dagger strapped to his leg, and brandished it aggressively, the sharpened edge glinting menacingly. "You insist, slave, on angering me?" His eyes darkened, and Hyoro backed away. The General was going mad.

The boy let out a small cry of fear, shaking violently as Chiri slowly advanced on him, cornering him. His red eyes were stretched wide with fright, palms pressing against the wall as a futile effort to wish it away and run. His eyes pooled with unshed tears, and, pressing himself against the corner so hard that the plaster dug into his flesh, a single teardrop fell.

As it shattered on the wooden floor, white fur grew at an almost abnormal rate over his skin, and Chiri widened his eyes, slowly backing away as he reached the scythe on his back, ready to subdue the Zoan, just as fox ears grew over silver hair and the walls behind him were punctured as nine tails sprouted on his backside. The chain snapped, too weak to hold down a fully transformed Mythical Zoan, leaving the metallic collar.

With a feral snarl, the fox pounced, and with a flash of silver his paw was placed dangerously on the scythe's curved blade, before the metal shattered completely. Chiri widened his eyes as a gash was sliced open on his cheek from the shards, and backed up, spinning the shaft in one hand.

"You! What're you playing at?!" he snapped, wiping away the blood.

Hyoro suddenly loomed behind him, transformed into a straw man, an eerie grin spreading on his face as he lunged for the slave. At the same time, Chiri charged, wielding his newly-deformed weapon with surprising accuracy.

As their attacks neared, time seemed to pause, and with a feral roar, the two men were blasted forcefully backwards, Hyoro into a few wooden barrels in a corner, Chiri crashing into a wall. Before the two men could recover, green flames started consuming the boy's paws. Judging by the terrified look in the Zoan's eyes, he didn't know what he was doing, either. He whirled around, attempting to put it out, and Chiri's eyes widened as the viridescent fire began consuming the house, spreading faster and hotter than normal flames.

Terrified, like a fleeing animal, the fox barreled through a wall, running as fast as he could. Before Chiri and Hyoro could run after the escaped Zoan, however, a beam, consumed with emerald tongs, crashed down in front of him, and smoke filled the house. Straw voodoo dolls flooded out of Hyoro, though even he had finite dolls and quickly collapsed amongst the searing heat. There was no escape.

Chiri gritted his eyes even as his knees buckled, dragging himself over to a pink Den Den Mushi with a pink feather boa and sunglasses. Hands shaking, he dialed his captain's number, and sure enough, he picked up.

"What's wrong?" came the deep voice of the Young Master.

"Smiles...successful.." Chiri rasped. Before he slumped from the flames and the smoke, he spat out a few more words.

"Test subject...escaped.."

And he welcomed the blissful black that came afterwards.

Meanwhile, on the small island, a silver nine-tailed fox was sprinting across the barren wasteland, heart pounding fiercely in his chest. What had just happened? He had been fed a strange fruit from his master, the General, and suddenly, he had no control over his body. A fight-or-flight instinct had overtaken his body, leaving the house flames.

General was going to whip him fiercely for this.

The thought of that made him push his tired muscles harder, dashing as he strained to see the blue that was the sea. What had General said again? The sea is vast. Of course. If he went out to sea, he could run from him. No more whippings. No more slavery. No more pain.

His muscles, however, were giving out on him no matter how hard he tried to push himself, and hunger clawed mercilessly at his belly. His vision was blurring, and suddenly he was staring at the ground, collapsed.

Weakly, he lifted his head to stare at the dot of blue in the distance.

I want to be free...

An aspiring swordswoman, only nine years of age, was trotting along the barren landscape, looking for creatures to defend herself against and practice her sword, her boat tied to a jutting rock near the shore, though it appeared there were none.

Her eyes widened when they fell on a crumpled figure.

Light.

The boy stirred faintly when light hit his eyelids, turning his entire world pink. For a moment, he lay still, wondering why the ground was so soft and why it was so warm and suffocating around him, and why his head was elevated from the rest of his body. Jolts of pain wracked his emaciated body when he stirred, and now he was slowly feeling his limbs again.

His eyelids fluttered open, revealing blood red eyes. The tips of lanky silver hair just barely fell into his eyes, surprising him. His hair had been caked with blood and dirt among other things the last time he remembered, before something startled him even more.

A wooden ceiling.

He licked his dry lips, staring at it. It was certainly not the ceiling of General, that was for sure. He felt his arms, before, with deliberate slowness, propping himself up with them. His body roared in protest, but he was used to this kind of treatment.

A bed. He was in a bed, complete with a pillow and a thick blanket that covered him from toe-to-shoulder. He stared at it in awe. Something cold touched his neck, and he realized with a jolt of horror that it was his metal collar, though there was no chain.

He looked around rapidly. He was in a small room, made of wood, with a small door near a corner. There was a window behind him, streaming light onto his deathly pale face, and the bed was pressed in another corner.

He flinched as the door creaked open, involuntarily cowering behind the blanket, before the person entered.

He took him in. He had light hair, straight that fell to his shoulders, and it was the color of straw, something that, if he was extra kind, General gave him to sleep on. Green eyes, the color of his fire, stared at him. He had a rosy face, rounder than General's or Slaughterer, with a build that was most definitely smaller than theirs. He was wearing a green t-shirt, and blue pants that stopped before his knees.

Suddenly, he smiled. "Are you finally awake? Good grief, I thought you were a goner with all those injuries."

The younger boy blinked. His voice was much higher than he had ever heard, save for the weak croaks that his own throat sometimes emitted. He stared at him, gaping for a few moments, not knowing what to say.

The straw-haired person gestured to himself. "I found you on a barren island when I went there for training, but you were unconscious then." he paused to allow himself a shudder. "What happened? I couldn't get your metal collar off, but I treated most of your injuries; they were horrible, and you were close to death..." his voice trailed off when he realized the former slave was staring at him in an odd way. "What's wrong?"

"Yer voice..." the boy murmured. Speaking had been forbidden back in General's house, and his first words were clumsily pronounced, slurred and hard to discern. "Why's yer voice so high?"

The person stared at him for a moment, before asking, "Do you know what a girl is?"

He shook his head, complete honesty and innocence on his features.

He cracked a grin. "Wow, you must have been really isolated. A girl is...a different type of human, and we grow up to become women." The younger boy's eyes widened at this information, and she continued. "Our shoulders are usually not as broad as men's," she said, reaching up to brush said shoulders. "Our hands are normally smaller, and we have...less physical strength than them, on average." her voice had gone soft at that last part, but before he could question any further, she changed the subject.

"So where are you from? What's your name? Mine's is Emu, by the way," she added, like an afterthought.

"General. I serve General," he said softly. "Slave numb'r one."

The atmosphere changed as her face fell, first from shock, and then into a scowl. "You mean...someone beat you until you were in that shape?" a dark aura surrounded her. "No one should treat someone like that, even the absolute filth of the human doesn't deserve to be treated like that!" she protested, still looking angry.

He was staring at her in awe. "Ya ain't disgusted by me?" he asked slowly.

Emu looked over at him. "Why would I? Anyway, you don't have a name, right?" she added. She paused, staring at him for a moment. He didn't squirm; in fact, this was one of the gentler stares he had earned in his lifetime.

"Kitsune," she decided. "Simple is better. I don't think you have a family, either?"

The newly-named Kitsune hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head.

Emu grinned. "I'm a swordswoman trainee, aiming to be the best swordsman in the world! I live on Shonin Island." she held out a hand to Kitsune, welcoming him. "Pleased to meet you, Kitsune!"

For a moment, the boy stared at the outstretched hand, as if not knowing what to do. Suddenly, as if a spark had been lit, the corners of his mouth pulled upwards, a tentative smile, and he took ahold of it.

"Yeah."

A/N: KYAAAAHHH! Broken!Kitsune is soo adorable to wriiiiteeee! /squeals while spinning in circles Originally, I was going to put the entire flashback, but it ended up wayyyyyy too long and I decided to cut it short. The rest of it will be in the next chapter, and finally, some action! XD As you can tell, I'm not very good at writing fight scenes, so...

ALSO: The Joker Division is NOT on par with the rest of the Divisions that Doflamingo has, mostly because the Straw Hats are fighting on par with them only after the timeskip. No, I'm not implying that the Saber Pirates are weak, it's more like the Straw Hats have had two extra years to get stronger with a few of the strongest people in the world.

I totally ripped off Basil Hawkin's DF, but since it happened fourteen years ago...well.. XD **lack of imagination**

Yes, I did just give Nami a biological sister XD More about Sajiko and her backstory will be explained, hopefully, in the flashbacks. If not, I'll elaborate in author notes!

By the way, is anyone interested in beta-ing this fic? Because the chapters are WAYYY TOO LONG and I don't have the patience to correct any errors or rough patches. If you do, please PM me! Thanks!

-alittlebitlate