Chapter Three: Rescued?

It was a beautiful day out at sea. Clouds were blank from the horizon, a steady breeze pulled at the sails and the early afternoon sun was dead-center in the sky. Overall it was a normal, boring day onboard of the Red Force. The crew members of the Akagami Kaizoku-dan (or the Red-Hair Pirates) were going about their daily chores and thanking their "lucky stars" that they hadn't encountered any problems on their voyage back to Fooshia village to visit their favorite "king of the pirates to be…"

Shanks had been lazing about on the deck, and had just fallen asleep on his armchair half an hour previously when the cry of one of his newer crew members awoke him from his nap.

"MAN OVERBOARD! 75 DEGREES WEST!" He crowed loudly.

Everyone froze momentarily before they all jumped into action at once. Shanks, having been startled from his short-lived nap, belted out orders to the crew as the Red Force groaned toward the figure clinging on to the driftwood. Shanks eyes widened as the figures appearance and age became clearer as they approached the small craft. It was a young child, there was no mistake about that considering the figures small stature made the kid appear to be around 6 to 7 years old, and he couldn't identify whether or not the scrawny kid was male or female (as the child's hair was chin length, and the kids face was turned away from him).

"Weigh the anchor; we can't get any closer to the gaki!" Shanks called out as he shed his shoes, coat and effects. As he made his way over to the balcony he passed his straw hat to his first mate and called out, "I'm jumping in to get the kid, pull us up quickly when we get to the side… who knows how long the gaki has been drifting..." Shanks called out as he dived over the railing.

The cool sea water surrounded him quickly and he breeched the surface just as fast, taking a deep breath as he began to swim to the stranded child. A couple of strokes later he had the small kid in his arms and he carefully made his way back to the ship. After being pulled onto the deck he finally got a good look at his sleeping charge, the girl was littered in bruises and new/old scars that morbidly matched with her skeletal figure. Her skin was pale even though it was quite obvious that she had been stranded at sea for a while now because of her flayed lips and peeling skin. Donning only an old baggy t-shirt, that looked more like rags from how long she'd been wearing it, emphasized her malnourished state stuck to her skin making it possible for him to count her ribs. Her wrists and ankles were raw and infected.

'She had been shackled to something recently… a slave?' Shanks pondered as his eyes roamed the rest of her wounds.

Dori woke up feeling extremely disoriented; the earth seemed to be speeding on its axis without pause. The strong smell of the sea and the rocking of the ship certainly didn't help Dori fight back her nausea in the slightest, she could feel the acidic bile beginning to tickle her throat and couldn't help letting out a pained moan-'Wait, rocking of a ship?' her pain addled mind formulated.

Dori's eyes flew open in panic as she quickly sat up, 'Where was she? Where was Dylan? Were they finally free?' before she remembered the events that occurred in that limbo like state. Meeting Lady Fate and how her idiotic little brother jumped head first into a dangerous adventure, that really couldn't end well, and how she was now also embarked on her own "little journey" so that she could kick his ass six ways to Sunday when she reached One piece, that is if she ever did… 'No, I have to reach it!' her mind groggily pleaded to no one at all. Immediately her hazel-green eyes began to water up as the late afternoon sun shined mercilessly down on her face, she ignored the familiar aching pain that had become a daily companion in her life since her kidnapping to look around at her surroundings incredulously. Feverishly she took in the cabin she was resting in, there were various medical appliances scattered in open cabinets and opened drawers, there were two other harmless unoccupied beds to her right with matching white and red striped cover sheets. The undercurrent smell of cleaning alcohol and disinfectant clung to the room and she quickly concluded that she must be in some kind of sick-bay of some kind, the cabin door was closed but she could hear the floorboards creaking and hushed voices from the other side of the doors. The small opened window above 'her' bed was the culprit of her burning eyes, and even from where she was sitting, she could hear the crying gulls that where without a doubt flying above the ship.

Dori groaned in pain as her rough movement caused her broken ribs unnecessary grief, glassy eyed she looked up in alarm as the cabin door creaked open and a man with the most vibrant red hair poked his head through the gab. Dori couldn't help the irrational (or really the rational, considering all she had gone through in the previous month) fear that build up when his brown eyes locked with hers. She had learned throughout her time in hell that men were dangerous, no matter how innocent their intentions might seem, her scarred right thigh almost seemed to pulsate in agreement with this thought, forever reminding her of her stripped innocence. Despite her fear of the man, she couldn't help but feel that he looked familiar with his goofy smile and bright eyes that looked at her with a mixture of joy and concern ('Of course he couldn't be concerned about her though, he didn't even know her!') and a silly straw hat with a red band stitched on as an added design. He kinda reminded her of a farmer, he was only missing a piece of straw to hang from his mouth, really the only feature that belayed an easy-going lifestyle were the three diagonal scars going over his left eye.

"Hey, you're up!" he exclaimed cheerfully, as he ignored the full-body flinch Dori gave in response to finally being addressed. He slowly moved away from the door way to a chair that was placed (not so conveniently in her opinion) next to her bed. His actions reminisced of a man approaching a feral cornered animal, all the while goofy grin remained on his face. "I'm not sure if you've heard of me, but I'm Shanks, the captain of this fine vessel. We found you drifting about an hour ago and we couldn't leave you there with a clean conscience, how are you feeling gaki? You had a rather nasty sun burn, just how long were you drifting? There haven't been any big storms in a while..." He babbled good-naturally before glancing upon Dori's somewhat skeptical and wary expression-'So that's where I recognized him' she thought absentmindedly as she subconsciously began to lose some of the tension in her muscles from the fear of being in the presence of an unknown male, not really believing what was happening right now- Shanks face reddened while he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, making his straw hat tip slightly to the side "Sorry, I'm not really giving you chance to answer aren't I? What's your name gaki, I can't very well call you gaki for the rest of the voyage?"

Dori opened her mouth for the first time in what felt like life time, only to choke from her parched throat. Shanks flailed momentarily, as her body was raked with vicious coughs before he got up and retrieved a glass of cold water and offered it to her. Dori warily grabbed the glass, careful to avoid any physical contact with the man's hands-despite the fact that she knew Shanks to be an honest man-and carefully brought up the glass to her trembling parched lips. She downed the glass with reverence. Oh, how long had it been since she drank a cup of clean water! 'Much too long' Dori thought a little cynically.

She glanced at Shanks from the rim of her cup, before reluctantly handing him back the now empty cup. "Dorian." she croaked, and then winced at the pitiful and young sound of her broken voice. "My name's Dorian, not gaki, but Dyl called me Dori." she finished while locking her eyes with Shanks comforting dark chocolate pools.

"Dyl?" he asked somewhat curiously and reluctant as he watched her facial expression change to despair.

"Dylan, my twin, he's gone" Dori whispered quietly as she ripped her gaze from Shanks, not wanting to see the pity in his eyes to her plight.

"I see," Shanks responded just as morosely back to the tiny and fragile skeletal looking girl sitting up on the bed, "I'm sorry" he finished somewhat lamely.

"I'm not." Dori was as surprised at her own response as he was, "He was hurting, I'm glad. I'm happy he isn't in pain anymore." She explained sadly, despite knowing that her brother wasn't really dead due to the intervention of Lady Fate, Dori was surprised to realize the truth in that statement. Dylan was dead to her in a way, he was unreachable to her and he would be for a long time unless she somehow made it to One Piece. She wouldn't be seeing the only family she ever had in the world, and that hurt more than any of the pain she had ever felt while being tortured. She snapped her eyes back at him when the ship lurched underneath her as it hit one of the bigger waves, "Where am I anyway Shanks?" Dori inquired tiredly.

He smiled at her softly before proudly answering her, "We are on my ship, The Red Force. But we are currently on our way to Fooshia village." Dori just looked at him blankly. "In the East Blue." Shanks elaborated. 'Fooshia Village in the East Blue, East Blue, East Blue… where have I heard of that?' she pondered, before her exhausted mind made the connection making her hazel-green eyes widened 'Isn't that Luffy's home town?'

"Hmm, I guess from your facial expression gaki, I mean Dori," Shanks amended after being glared at by the small girl on infirmary bed, "that you're far from home, aren't you?"

Dori's smile was small and bitter, her eyes were shadowed and much too dark… old to belong to a child, "You have no idea Cap'n. But then again before we were taken, we never really had a home anyway…" her voice cracked with fear when she uttered the word 'taken' before snapping out of the memory of her kidnapping, and focusing her haunting gaze once more at Shanks, letting him come up with his own conclusions.

"I see, well do you have anywhere to go?" Shanks inquired softly. 'Taken? So she was a slave, how cruel, she must have escaped after her twin passed away. She's lucky that she wasn't branded…' He thought to himself.

"No." Her answer was short and to the point, but Dori had never felt more alone in her life until that moment.

"Hmm, well I know a boy about your age back at Fooshia Village. He's seven years old, his name is Luffy, he's an orphan too. Ms. Makino, the bar keeper, looks after him while his grandfather travels." Shanks explained, "Would you like to meet him? He's a rather lonely brat, there don't seem to be any other kids on the island…" he trailed off looking at her expectedly.

Dori bit the inside of her, Dylan would have killed to meet Luffy (he, did after all, admire him), but that only seemed to make her sadder. "I guess it wouldn't hurt…" she mumbled before petulantly adding, "Cap'n Shanks, this Luffy kid is almost three years younger than me! What do you mean he looks about my age!" She groused at the red-haired pirate.

Said red-haired pirate sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before elaborating that Dori was rather small for her apparent age and that he hadn't mean to offend her, only for Dori to further aggravate her wounds when she tried tackle the easy-going man (who was seriously starting to remind her of her brother) for his slight to her stature. In the end Shanks proceeded to freak out when various of her injuries caused her bandage wrapped body-'When had that happened, I hope no one saw my body… it's hideous'- to pink with her body's life force. Their little meeting ended with the doctor on board kicking out Shanks from the sick bay, as he fussed over Dori's wounds and ignored her flinches when she subconsciously moved away from his touch. Dori ended up drifting off soon afterword's (after having finished a light bowl of soup that is), not able to resist sleep for the first time in a warm comfortable bed in months.

Dori woke up to the sound of organized chaos as people were moving around up deck, shouts directing where "so and so" crates should go were echoing down to her. She moaned in pain, before covering her eyes with her arm, she absentmindedly realized that the Ship's Doctor had wrapped up her one broken wrist before looking up as the cabin door was once more opened by the-annoying- straw hat Captain.

"Hey chibi, we've arrived to Fooshia Village. Are you up to walking, or do you want me to carry you?" He teased.

Dori scowled in his direction, "I can walk on my own thank you," she shot back at him 'At least I think…' Dori sat up slowly, trying not to aggravate her wounds and save herself from another lecture from the ships doctor, gingerly she placed her feet to the ground. She couldn't help but marvel at the feet; this would be the first time she walked in months. Absentmindedly she wondered if it was possible for a human being to forget how to walk, before she dismissed the thought to the back of her mind.

She stood. Her legs were shaking from the strain and she had already started to pant from excursion but Dori couldn't help but feel elated. The ability of being able to walk meant she had freedom to go anywhere her feet decided to take her. She felt free. She took a small step forward… and promptly tripped on thin air. She would have had a rather painful introduction with the infirmary floor if Shanks hadn't caught her in time, sweeping her off her feet (literally); he smiled before teasingly barking "Well, chibi if you wanted me to carry you princess style all you had to do was ask!"

Dori froze. She wasn't in Shanks arms in that moment; she wasn't even on the Red Force. She was back in that abandoned hospital, Dori could feel the thick humid-summer air suffocating her as one of her tormentors accosted her, Dylan's cries could be heard in the background as well as sick-sick-sounds of pleasure accompanied by the steady beat of hips crashing into a raw and wet-bloody-ass. Tears involuntarily gathered in her hazel-green eyes, "Please, please… no. No more it hurts, it hurts, please stop. Please. Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me it hurts, please… Mercy, have mercy, they don't love us, we don't have money. Not Dylan, please, you're hurting me, please. Help, why won't anyone help us, please don't touch me, don't touch me." she whimpered pitifully, still completely absorbed in the horrific memory.

Shanks eyes widened, sure he and Doc had suspected that it was possible that the small girl trembling in fear residing his arms had most likely been sexually abused based off the horrific scarring that covered her lower body, besides the word 'whore' carved into her young flesh. Shanks had prayed to every deity he'd ever heard of that they were wrong; he had never wished with all of his might that he wasn't right until that moment.

"Shhhh, shhhh. It's alright, you're safe now. You're safe, they aren't here. I'm not going to hurt you…" Shanks whispered sweet nothings into her ear as he rocked her gently in his arms until her silent tears stopped trekking down her wary face. The intense trembling that had overtaken her body when the memory began to replay in her mind stopped, as she sank-practically melted-into his arms. "Are you alright now?" he asked softly in concern.

Dori nodded her head; she looked like an old broken and frayed china doll, nothing like the little spit fire from earlier in the afternoon who tries to tackle him when he called her short. "Do you still want me to take you out of here? You don't have to go if you're not ready, I won't push you." He murmured soothingly.

"No. I- I, I want to see the outside. Please, I haven't- I can't remember what it feels like to be…" Dori pleaded, looking reminiscent to the scared and begging child that she had been turned into earlier, trailing off in the end not knowing how to convey to Shanks her desire to see the outside world once more.

"Alright chibi, we'll take it slow though. If you get afraid for any reason just tell me and I'll take care of it, okay?"

"Hmm," Dori agreed quietly.

Shanks moved towards the cabin door, and suddenly Dori was free again. The sun shined through the cracks of the wood as Shanks quietly moved towards the stairs. He was able to walk up the stair without jostling her too much, Dori felt relief that she had been found by such a nice Captain, after all anyone else could-would-have left her stranded there in the middle of the East Blue. As she had originally suspected, the crew members of the Red Force were scurrying about on the deck checking on their inventory and goods, while others were carrying the empty crates and barrels to the port the ship was anchored to in order to restock while they were on the island.

Shanks flip-flops barely made a sound as he moved across the deck, shouting occasional orders at the men, all the while making his way onto the deck of the port. Dori curiously looked around at the village they were anchored at; she could make out Makino's bar (as it was one of the most identifiable buildings close to port) and a couple other non-descript buildings, it was amazing in a way to see a world that had previously only existed on the pages of a (well-beloved, mind you) book come to life before her eyes… it was also probably the only reason why Dori was the first person to notice a little boy with black hair, dark brown eyes and a wide grin stretched across his face approach-read: run towards-the dock.

"SHANKS!" he screamed loudly, gaining the attention of almost all of the bust crew members and said captain that had been busy reprimanding one of his newer recruits while lazing about on a crate (Dori was still comfortably nestled in his arms, since Shanks didn't seem to mind her presence on his person). "You're back!" he exclaimed happily.

Dori let herself study the small seven year old boy whom she was convinced would one day be the king of pirates. He was wearing light blue denim shorts and a white t-shirt with an anchor logo printed on its front. She watched as he bounced happily between the crew members, all the while chatting up a storm. His smile was so bright that it almost hurt to look at, in a way he reminded her of Shanks and of Dylan. Her younger twin had definitely been the more excitable of the two and had virtually no problem making friends with everybody and their grandma… a small involuntary smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she saw the rowdy small boy climb up on top of the 'head' of the ship. H looked a bit angry and frustrated now, so she knew she must have missed something because the next moment later Luffy dragged the knife he'd been clutching in his hands-'Just how long had he been holding that thing, and who's bright idea was it to let him handle a weapon?'-across the underside of his left eye. Blood gushed out of his self-inflicted wound as he cried out in pain. Shanks and various crew members were screaming at him in concern as Doc and the others got him down and stitched up the damage left by the knife.

Apparently she wasn't paying attention again because the small boy was staring at her in surprise-'Had he really not noticed that I've been sitting on Shanks lap the entire time?'-and looking up at Shanks for an explanation.

"Ahh, Luffy, well you see I brought you a gift! This is Dori!" Shanks exclaimed, seeming to be pretty proud of his explanation. Dori glared up at him, she wasn't a present someone could give away, even if the little boy in question was adorable (his face was scrunched up in confusion). She pinched Shanks thigh in retaliation and he gave a small yelp-having not expecting the small 'chibi' to do anything in front of so many people-she smirked in the triumph of her revenge.

"You brought me back a present… that's not a present… that's a girl!" The black-haired boy cried out-literally, he was knife wound was still really raw and hurting pretty badly-pouting cutely, at least in Dori's opinion… even though there was blood still running down the left side of his face, from where he well stabbed himself. "Baka" She quietly mumbled from on top of Shanks lap. Luffy's head whipped up and his eyes locked with hers, "Who are you!?" he demanded rather loudly.

"I'm Dori, the Cap'n already told you that," she told him softly before continuing, "and you're Luffy. The Cap'n told me about you."

Preview:

The tallest and widest man she had ever seen just barged into, creating a ginormous sized hole in the wall of Makino' bar….

He was a lithe boy, and various freckles were adorning his face, but this was not what had caught Dori's attention, nor was it his midnight black hair… it was his eyes. They were a very dark brown, almost black looking in coloring, but at the same time they looked nothing like Luffy's, after all Luffy's eyes never had never held any amount of self-hatred in them. It was haunting for Dori to see her eyes in another's face...

Author's Note:

Hahaha, don't kill me!

I've been really busy since I lasted updated! After all I became an Aunt, had final exams and then final projects, high school graduation, my Abuela went back to Maracaibo, I took up various summer jobs in order to have side cash for the start of my first semester college, turn 18, actually start school, panic about having to take public transportation by myself, get used to my new routine… I guess you can get the picture…

Anyway I hope you've enjoyed this chapter… and I hope that I can update soon!

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Mara-Chan (o l l o)