A/N: What? I'm alive?

Surprisingly, yes. I have no excuse for the lateness of this chapter, and I'm seriously behind in Race. /flies away

A Few Months Later
- inside a wooden cottage, on Shonin Island

"Kitsune! Jeez!"

The small, silver-haired boy froze, the metal collar pressing against the soft skin of his neck momentarily, looking behind him guiltily. Emu stood there, with a slightly exasperated frown on her face, both hands on hips. Her blonde (she told him that "blonde" was the proper term and not "straw-colored") hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore a ratty white t-shirt, along with green shorts, a shinai loosely held in her right hand.

"I go and train for maybe forty-five minutes and you're already doing all the work!" she protested, leaning over to pluck the rag from Kitsune's hands. He had been engaged in scrubbing the wooden floor until his hands were laced with splinters and the polished wood shone. Just because she wasn't General didn't mean he was excused from doing his duties.

"But, I should - " Kitsune began to protest.

Emu cut him off. "No! You've already worked enough in a lifetime!" she looked over at him, her expression softening. "From now on, you can be as lazy as you want, alright? You can even spend the entire day sleeping if you want. And don't argue with me," she added when Kitsune opened his mouth. "It's fine." At that last word, she forcefully shoved him away, making the smaller boy stumble.

"Then, what do I do?" Kitsune mumbled, looking around nervously.

Emu stared at him for a moment. "You're really pale," she murmured. "Maybe you should go out, mingle with the other people, and talk to the kids?" she suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Kitsune visibly cringed at that idea. The last time he had tried, the kids had chucked stones at him, calling him out as a monster for his piercing red eyes and unusual silver hair. There was a certain orange-haired girl who had ran forward, defending him, but she was quickly cast aside.

Emu shifted a bit. "If they're still bullying you, I can whack them with my shinai," she suggested, brightening up at this idea, but the former slave quickly shook his head.

"I'm - I'll be fine," he muttered, standing up and running quickly to the room where he had first woken, which Emu had now dubbed as his room. The five-year-old boy hadn't shown Emu that he could transform into a nine-tailed silver fox, yet, and he was doubtful he wanted to anyway. She would be horrified, and her kindness would soon be replaced with disgust, and she would cast him out.

He flinched at the thought of it.

He jumped into the fluffy blanket, reveling in the soft, plushness of it. Before, he had only slept on the hard floor of General's house. Compared to that, the blanket was pure heaven.

A rock clattered on his window, and he jumped. Were those bullies coming back? The mere thought of it made him shake. He didn't want to be called a freak or a monster anymore - he was born with his eyes! Was there something wrong with him?

Another rock smacked it, and it was clear someone wanted to talk to him.

Kitsune blinked, before pressing his feet to the floor and slowly sneaking out his room. Emu's house was a small one - there were only two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. She always trained outside, after all, but there was a back door leading out from where the kitchen was.

Slowly, quietly, he snuck behind the girl, who was still cleaning the floors, and eased open the door, speed-tiptoeing out.

"About time! Jeez..."

Kitsune jumped in the air at the loud voice, letting out a yelp. Shakily, he turned around.

It was a boy. He was maybe a year older than him, because he was a little taller, with shaggy brown hair, and a scowl firmly plastered on his face. "You're really slow at sneaking out, you know that? Even the tourists here aren't that slow, sightseeing and all that." he placed two hands on his hips. "I'm Hogosha. There's a girl who you need to thank!"

Kitsune blinked slowly. There were a lot of girls in the world, as well as guys, weren't there? But why would he need to...thank a girl? He didn't think anyone other than Emu had helped him in his entire life. Of course, he supposed General kept him alive by throwing him scraps, but he had also broken his arm in three different places, so he didn't count that.

He realized that there was a small, orange-haired girl hiding behind him. Upon catching his eyes, she let out a terrified squeak, darting behind the larger boy again. "W-wow, his eyes really are red!"

Kitsune flinched at her words, taking a few steps back. "I-is that the girl?"

Hogosha harrumphed. "Sajiko was found as an orphan on a battlefield and saved by a retired Marine. Of course, she aspires to be one as well, and, she couldn't very well ignore those boys who were calling you names, could she?" he made a noise of disgust. "She got all beat up for you."

The boy's breath caught in his throat. She...did that? "R-really?"

Hogosha grinned. "It's okay! I'll beat up those bullies the next time and protect the both of you!" He said confidently.

"Moh, Hogosha, you're so weak I could beat you up!"

"Sh-shut up!"

Kitsune blinked as Sajiko burst into giggles, despite the fact that she was all bruised up and bloody. Slowly, he felt a grin - a small one, but a grin nonetheless - pull on his face, and, for the rest of the afternoon, the children played and laughed.

It stayed like that for four years.

Four Years Later
-on Dressrosa, in the New World

"Young Master!"

A woman in a velvety french maid costume stepped into the room, a cigarette clamped firmly in her mouth, and made lipstick stains around the small cancer stick. She exhaled slowly, letting the smoke fly out, before reporting to a mass of fluffy pink that was sitting on a chair, "The damage that Law has done is gone, and Caesar is back on track." she paused for a moment. "He has already developed S.A.D., and the test that was used by Chiri four years ago was proved successful, even though it was possible the user disappeared. Even so, he reports that he will need a lot of manpower to make that much S.A.D. to please Kaido."

"Mmmmffuffuffu, did he?" The man said, standing up to his full ten feet. He grinned, pushing up purple-tinted sunglasses on his nose with his middle finger. "Behind the Red Line...I believe there is a large tourist attraction; Shonin Island, was it?" He laughed again. "Would that entire population be enough?"

The woman paused, doing some mental calculations. "Yes."

He walked forward, an awkward, bowlegged walk, over to a collection of Den Den Mushis sitting on a polished wooden table. He picked one up. "This is Joker," he spoke into the speaker.

There was a rustling noise, and then a dark, gravelly voice murmured, "Who do you want me to kill this time, Doffy?"

Joker grinned. "There's a mission I've got for your Division..."

One Week Later
- in the surrounding forest, on Shonin Island

A thirteen year old girl, with tumbling blonde locks and bright green eyes, repeatedly whacked a tree with her shinai, again and again, until the bark gave way to softer, smoother wood, and her hands bled.

She finished her attack combo with a large shout, smashing the tree as hard as she could. She started breathing hard, and gritted her teeth, glaring at it. Behind her, Kitsune gasped lightly.

"Wow, Emu-nee, yer amazin'," he commented, widening his eyes.

In four years, the small boy had grown a little taller and a little less scrawnier. The metal collar wrapped around his neck still stayed snugly, despite the many attempts to remove it. The rags that he used to wear fell apart, and she replaced it with swathes of hakama and kimono that her father used to own before he passedAt on.

Emu forced a smile at him. "Not really, I still can't wield the bladed sword that I have, it's too heavy for me to swing it around freely like I do this one." She turned back, facing the tree again, before bending over and picking up a small water canister that lay near the base of the tree. She unscrewed it, before taking a long gulp of water, feeling the refreshing water trickle down her throat.

My attacks are improving slower...

She forced a smile on her face, looking over her shoulder to Kitsune. "Hey, what about you? You should get some more exercise too; weren't Hogosha and Sajiko playing in the forest today?"

"Listen, Emu, there's something I need to tell you..."

Kitsune kept his grin up. "Nah. I wanted ta stay with ya." He hummed lightly as they both made their way back to her cottage.

"What is it, father?"

"Is it okay if we have lunch a little later today?" Emu asked, grinning a little sheepishly. "I'm a little tired from that workout." Despite Kitsune's protests, she hadn't let him do so much as feed himself ever since she had found him, not even the days when she got sick. The small, silver-haired boy already knew not to protest now.

"There...is a huge block in the future of a swordswoman...when you grow up, girls will become weaker than boys..."

Kitsune nodded, and they both made their way back.

At The Same Time
- in the forest, on the edge of Shonin Island

"Ha! You can't catch me!" Hogosha goaded, jumping up a large oak tree and hoisting himself up the rough bark with the sprouting branches. He was ten feet off the ground before he realized Sajiko wasn't chasing him. He blinked, hanging upside down like a sloth.

"Hey, Sajiko? What's wrong?"

The orangette gave herself a little jerk, snapping herself out of her reverie. "I don't think it's anything big," the ten-year-old mumbled slowly, still staring intently at the sky. "But it looks a bit like a cyclone is forming..." she hesitated.

Hogosha looked puzzled. "But...it's sunny," he pointed out slowly.

Sajiko shrugged. "I guess it's nothing." she said simply, before launching herself on the oak tree.

Fifteen Minutes Later
- on the rocky bridge connecting Shonin Island

The man was crouched on the boat, his eyes squeezed shut in concentration. His hands were glowing, furry, gray paws instead of hairless, smooth fingers. Bits of force danced across his fingertips. He stood out starkly in contrast with the blue waters around him with gray hair and pale skin, though the former seemed not to be brought on with old age. Muscles lined his entire body, shown off with a ragged black tank top, lined with red, and long, dark pants, tucked into combat boots.

Suddenly, he stood. An arrogant smirk stretched on his face, and he nodded to the man clothed in black, sitting idly on the bridge behind him. His paws glowed, before reverting back into calloused, rough, human hands.

"Thecycloneisready," he said.

There was a pause as a young woman stood. She, too, was on the rocky bridge. Her caramel hair was short, brushing the nape of her neck, with a slender build, hugged with a revealing strapless top and a flamboyant outfit, consisting mostly of navy blue velvet and white ruffles, topped off with a feathered blue hat and a long coat that draped her shoulders. "Sebesseg, you idiot, no one can understand you -desu," she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

Sebesseg sneered at her. "You mean you're too stupid to - "

A moan sounded at the back of the boat, where an unnaturally pale man was resting. There was a bowler hat tipped in front of his face, and blearily he pushed it aside. "Cease your bickering to finish the task set for you," he groaned. "These atrocious boats will be the death of me."

The man on the bridge stood, his black cloak billowing out behind him, forming a drape of darkness. There was a gleam as the light caught his eye, crazed and not possibly sane, but carefully controlled.

A wicked grin split his face. "Doffy didn't say we needed to leave all of them alive, did he?"

Meanwhile
- in the middle of Shonin Island, in the shopping district

The hustle and bustle was completely normal for anyone who lived near the middle of Shonin Island. It had a lot of natural resources, and many flocked to it to do trades and pickpockets practically bathed in what they stole.

A mother walked past a pie stand, while her two-year-old son cried and begged for some as he tugged on her pant leg.

Two girls chatted amiably, about the good-looking boys their age, giggling every now and then.

One man was talking on a Baby Den Den Mushi, laughing joyfully with his lover on the other side as she played with their newborn child.

One moment...silence.

And another, the wind exploded.

Meanwhile
- in a cottage, near the edge of Shonin Island

One moment, Emu was polishing the blade of her father's sword - not a named blade, but a family heirloom nevertheless. Kitsune hadn't caught the pained look on her face that would've told him how her father hadn't wanted to give her the sword. He was on the ground, curled into a fetal position, against the wall, fruitlessly tugging at the metal collar around the next.

And then suddenly his back was burning with a strong fire and he was screaming as he crashed through the wooden walls of the cottage, landing with a heavy crash that sent the air flying out of his lungs. He choked for a moment, stars swimming across his vision, before scrambling up as a bead of blood made its way down his temple. Everything was spinning, and he staggered for a moment before regaining his balance.

"Emu? Where did ya go?" he called helplessly for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut as dots lined his sight, before opening them again. His eyes flew around wildly, before his eyes caught the gleam of an unsheathed silver blade.

Slowly, his eyes went downward.

There was a hand sticking out of the rubble, lines of red trickling, loosely holding the unsheathed sword. For a moment his blood turned to ice, and then -

He was screaming as General plunged his hand through his victim's chest cruelly, his hand grabbing something before he tensed his grip and dragged outwards a still-beating heart. The prisoner gaped like a fish, even as the four-year-old curled into himself, before going slack, his eyes dulling.

He threw up.

Limp. Limp like the prisoner with no heart.

Was she...

...dead?

No, Kitsune furiously shook his head, running forward to grip at the wooden platforms. Splinters cut through his fingers, but he paid it no heed. Emu-nee is strong. She wouldn't - she wouldn't...

Inch by inch, he pulled on the wooden planks, shifting it as it groaned, before he pulled away the last one and froze.

Those dull eyes stared at him as his whimpers sounded loud, and his cheek suddenly felt on fire as General slapped him with such force that he went flying, until he was yanked back by his chain, choking him.

"Don't cry, you weakling," he snarled as the boy lay helplessly on the floor, staring into those -

dull eyes, looking toward the sky, as if anticipating yet another adventure.

Kitsune began to scream.

Meanwhile
- in the middle of Shonin Island

The shopping district was a blaze of fire and screams, blood staining the grounds as men fell to chains wrapped around their neck, dragged in to be slaves. A child screamed and sobbed beside the unmoving figure of her mother, shaking it as tears cut through the blood on her cheeks.

The wind in the air danced a deadly song, the cyclone powerful and erratic, slashing easily through walls and people alike, all covered with a faint pale gray glow. It whirled with impossible movements, catching the ones who fled off-guard.

In the middle was the gray-haired man, looking almost bored, uncaring, even, as he slaughtered both man and child. A few men attempted to charge at him, wielding pistols or heavy clubs, but all of them were easily cut down with a flick of his glowing furry paws.

Near a summit, the young woman stood, adjusting the feathers in her hat as she aimed threw a chain into the inferno. It wrapped easily around a twitching man, and she jerked on the locks, letting the man fly before crashing into another cage, landing on a sobbing woman. Behind them stood uneasily an army of two hundred people, foot soldiers waiting at their beck and call.

"This is really dull -desu," she complained, covering an eye as she grabbed hold of another chain. "That idiot in the middle is having the time of his life - and me? I'm stuck with the loser of the century, dragging people into cages with chains -desu. C'mon, Larhen-poo, can't I go with you -desu?"

The pale bald man sniffed, adjusting his bowler hat and pushing glasses up his nose with the other. "Lachen," he corrected irritably. "And, if I may insist that I am quite offended by being referred to as "the loser of the century", and furthermore - "

Lachen cut him off, standing to his full height, a staggering 9'11. The cape billowed, the hood flying off, revealing a darkly tanned man with one eye missing, his hair a dark mohawk, pulled into a ponytail. A wicked grin spread his face.

"Once Sebesseg is done, of course, I'll kill off anyone that's useless to me," he rumbled. For a moment he paused, looking to the air as if slightly confused. There was a yell of alarm from one of the soldiers, and -

He dodged the blur of silver that was a slashing blade, cutting off a bit of his cape. He looked behind him, his eye glowing with irritation.

"It seems a small snake has escaped," he murmured slowly, turning around to face -

a nine year old boy, his eyes a bone-chilling blood-red, glaring hatefully at them. His hair was a blinding silver, and for a moment Lachen paused, scanning him from head-to-toe, before smirking again.

If it isn't Chiri's son.

"Yer fault," Kitsune gasped, his grip tightening on Emu's sword. It was heavier than he had initially thought, but rage, bitter, burning rage had forced him to his feet and had made him chase the ones that he was sure were responsible for Emu's death. The pain throbbing in his back had long subsided, replaced with adrenaline.

He lunged forward, stabbing furiously at Lachen's stomach. The man easily kicked the boy aside, making him fly back, almost losing his grip on his sword. Before he could recover, Lachen blurred.

And then rocks were crashing onto him and he was screaming as he felt his bones snap - a pain that he hadn't known ever since he had escaped General's wrath - and blood, so much blood, everywhere, but he refused to let go of her sword.

There was a pause as anger turned into desperation, burning through him, and suddenly he was glowing, roaring, the sword long forgotten as he turned into a true monster, his mouth curling into a jaw and nine tails rippling. Green fire willingly lit his claws as he bellowed, before digging them into Lachen's chest, deeper, blood spewing out as the sickening smell of charred flesh filled his sensitive nose but -

like hell he'd relent.

The other two were standing idly as Lachen arched his back in pain, his mouth gaping open as he looked to the sky, and then, suddenly, he looked back at Kitsune.

An insane smirk spread his lips.

He didn't register what happened, just the pain that slashed his body, cutting through the metal slave collar on his throat and ripping the muscle and flesh, and his knees buckled as he fell, already turning back into a human.

His vision blurred, his chest aching to breathe. His entire body was numb, and blood trickled from one corner of his mouth, to join the pool forming below. He had landed right beside the sword, Emu's sword, and shakily, he reached out to grab it.

Maybe he would die here.

"Hey, isn't that, y'know, his Smile -desu?" the woman was the first to question, stepping up to examine the boy.

There was blood dribbling down from Lachen's mouth and onto the stab wounds and smoking skin, but he paid it no mind. Grinning, he stepped onto the boy's back, making it bend, almost snapping the spine. "S'right," he rumbled, looking at the woman. "He's entertaining, though. Only one to wound me in a decade, even if he caught me off guard."

He lifted his foot, before suddenly smashing it into Kitsune's back. A howl of pain was what awaited him, and he smirked again.

"Hey, boy, ain't you weak," he taunted. "Run away, maybe we can see if you'll get stronger, sail the seas if you dare, and maybe you can play with me a bit more when you return." he spat on him. "Come, to Shonin Island, challenge the Donquixote Pirates if you dare, see if you can take the wrath of the Joker Division!"

Kitsune didn't stir for a while, before, finally, the man with the bowler hat tipped it, before stepping forward and stabbing a needle into his vein. He pressed on the plunger slowly, and the boy didn't even flinch.

He stood up. "It's a drug that will replenish blood cells at an abnormal rate," he murmured. "It'll shave years off his lifespan, and put him through excruciating pain - " here his grin turned malicious, "- but he'll live through this. Now then - " he looked at the ruined island.

"Shall we?"

Present Time

There was a pregnant pause as Sajiko finished her gruesome tale. Ankh had long threaded her fingers through her mask to press at her mouth, not even a noise of horror ready to break it.

Roa stood there, his hand clenching tighter and tighter on his bow, as Fell whined and pressed her muzzle comfortingly to his neck. Lance had tipped his hat so it would cover his eyes, but his body language told anyone that he was angry beyond words. Ruule had, at one point, switched with Eluur, and the cook's face was venomous, gripping Beauty and Rosa as if envisioning shooting them through the Joker Division's heads.

Atalaya's position had gone lax, shadows covering her eyes. It was impossible to tell her expression. She stayed there for a long while, before suddenly walking away. She looked at her crew, and they jolted in understanding, before following her.

"Where're you going?" Hogosha questioned, his hand tightening on his spear.

"Training," Atalaya answered shortly.

His feet walked a path that he had taken many, many times ago. Eyes opened a sliver for blood-red eyes to stare through, haunted by images of the green-eyed girl, the red-eyed father, the demons that chased him, hunted him, until he lost sight of who he really was.

After that night, Kitsune had woken up with a searing pain in his chest. The blood had stopped sometime while he was asleep, but that didn't mean he wasn't dizzy - the red covered the hill, and went through the trees.

Everything had been quiet.

Without another thought, he had gotten on a ship that was meant to transport cargo, but every single man there had ended up slave or dead. He had treated his wounds to the best of his ability, before grabbing a small dinghy and setting off.

He soon learned the rules of thumb - avoid the Marines if one was an outlaw, never trust anyone. He constantly watched his back, recklessly challenging anyone who wanted to fight him, whether it be pirates or bandits. He left them slaughtered, blood dripping from their beheaded skulls.

He stowed away on a Marine ship headed toward the North Blue - wherever that was, he would kill every one of them to get stronger - and, as soon as he landed on port, his blade had flashed out, killing every single man there.

He moved on to a village, a village who saw what his sword had done and screamed him a demon, someone with no one to love and no one to be loved. Before they could open their mouths for a second yell, he had already killed the first one. Anger, hatred at remembering Emu, the only person in his life who had truly cared for him.

Lucidity returned to his mind as soon as the blade stained itself with the blood of the last villager. Bleakly, he stared at it, his arms shaking.

'M probably a demon, anyway.

That's why he had warned the boy. That small boy from the next village of his choice. He didn't know what had made him do it - maybe it was the single emotion of regret mixed in his churning heart.

Before he could lose control of himself again, though, he had sensed a presence, prickling at his neck. He kept his hand on Emu's - no, his blade, and the presence had realized it had lost the advantage of stealth.

He's almost surprised when, instead of the monster he saw the night before, he sees a girl.

Of course, at first glance the girl doesn't really look like a girl. Her hair is scruffy, short, and spiky, pulled back by a bandanna. A there's a coat draped over her shoulders, her chest is flat, and her eyes are a piercing, haunting yellow. The color of prey-searching eyes.

Even so, his eyes fell on her shoulders, which were a bit narrow, and her calloused and rough, though small, hands.

"Women's shoulders usually aren't as broad as men's," the girl with hair of spun gold said, reaching up to brush her shoulders. "And our hands are normally smaller."

He'd been apathetic toward the fairer sex ever since Emu had died, learning a blunt reality soon after he set sail; girls were weaker than guys. On the ocean, women were considered weak lambs, and even so he thought back to the strength that quivered in Emu's arms as she trained, more desperately day by day. But not all women were like Emu. He didn't particularly go out of his way to fight a woman - rarely did one even cross his path, being an outlaw - because if they weren't stronger than him, when he won the battle he wouldn't be any stronger than before.

And he needed to get stronger. To kill them.

Somehow his mind connects one thing with the other and he notices the fang cuts on the girl's jawline. He knows enough about Devil Fruits to put the pieces together.

When he reveals the knowledge, the girl (intentionally or not) falters a little bit, clearly unhappy at losing her ace up the sleeve, but pushes forward. She wants him to be a pirate, of all things, and he wants him to follow her.

He's learned not to have a biased opinion (biased opinions tended to be very dangerous), but he still can't shake off the strong dislike he holds toward pirates. He tries to refuse again.

The girl proposes that they fight. If she wins, he has to join their crew.

If she loses, he can take her head when she becomes the King.

Kitsune smirks and accepts. He knows not to have a biased opinion, but through his fights from childhood he has learned that he must become strong no matter what, he couldn't afford to lose for the world. Throughout the entire battle, which is pretty even, to credit the girl, he's chanting I won't lose I won't lose in his head and it spurs him onward, alongside of the memory of rustling leaves, swords, and hair the color of spun gold.

Just as he thinks he's going to win, the girl is twisting, and to his surprise, she bites Emu's blade.

The metal screams and shatters, sending spikes of metal flying, and his eyes have widened in slight shock and just to see clearly the bits of silver that tell him squarely You've lost as bluntly as if the words themselves have been written on it.

It can't be helped. He joins her.

He takes great care to annoy her, calling her sweetheart whenever he can, she has a fiery temper but is incredibly honorable and he knows that even if he pisses her off she won't strike him (unlike other pirate captains, he notes), and they sail the sea, as free as the clouds that span the sky or the wind that dances through the light.

And she's right. He faces monstrous foes that he's never fought before, and before he knows it he's improving at an abnormal rate and for once he's actually grateful that he had lost, because he sure as hell wouldn't have been strong to this point if he had won.

And then, when he finally settles in, feels like he's actually a part of the family his captain has so painstakingly put together, they arrive and though it's been a decade the silver fox can easily recognize the stubborn, prideful blond idiot who defends the village as if it were his own baby, and before that blond idiot tries to stab him he sends him a discreet eye message -

Are you here to kill them?

- and he nods, almost invisible, the dance of deception continues.

And he leaves.

A/N: Just a side note, I don't know if it was hinted enough or not, but Emu was facing the same difficulties as Kuina had. I feel like I'm ripping off One Piece at this point ;-;

Also, I now have new respect for Oda and Teruul. IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO CREATE QUIRKY CHARACTERS IN ONE PIECE. No joke. My head may or may not have burst open when I created the Joker Division. GOD.

If I'm lucky and not piled with work I might have another chapter by... a month? UGH. I'M SORRY. I HAVE NO UPDATING SKILLS (hence my penname I guess ;P)

-alittlebitlate