~R~

Oi, what in the world did I seriously get myself into? It all started when I asked Ace to take me to a knew island. That was really all I had asked for. It was simple enough, so why did it get so complicated? I'll admit that I almost always wish for an interesting turn of events, but I never dreamed I'd get into a situation as...interesting as this.

First of all, the ship was HUGE. Probably as big as some of the smallest islands I've been to. There had to be a mass of pirates living aboard. I could see quite a few of them now, but I had no doubt that there were more on other parts of the ship. Most of them stuck around to greet Ace and Marco, and the face that there was some strange little girl with them was bound to draw attention.

Okay, I know I'm small compared to most normal sized fellows, but I was downright tiny compared some of these pirates. And don't get me started on Whitebeard himself. I feel like a mouse when standing near him especially. He could literally squash me like a bug under his foot if he wanted to. Alright, maybe not a bug, but still. You know what I mean.

I stood pigeon-toed and frozen in place as I looked up at the pirate lord. I would have felt better if he actually said something, but he seemed perfectly content to sit there and stare back (with what I could only call amusement in his eyes. I don't see what could possibly be amusing though).

"Hey, Ace. What's up with the chick?" I heard someone ask. "She your girlfriend or something?" What?

"No! She's a new friend I met yesterday." Ace replied.

"Really? Just a friend?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"She's kinda cute..." Oi, I know where this is going. "Mind if I hook up with her?"

Finally I looked away from Whitebeard, only to shoot a dark look at the person who was talking. The one thing I hated most was when a guy talked like he could score any girl he wanted. That was usually what got me into trouble in skeevy bars. Most of the time I pick fights with men like that.

The guy talking about me caught my look and clammed up. Much to mu surprise he let out a nervous laugh and said, "Never-mind!"

Weird. They don't usually apologize that quick. Or course, people in this crew have proven to be the nicer sort, at least from what I've seen so far.

I heard hardy laughter suddenly, which brought my gaze to the source. "And here I thought my sons weren't afraid of little girls."

And just like that, my caution disappeared. "What's that supposed to mean!" I snapped.

~A~

"Well it looks like she's getting on just fine..."

I looked over at Marco who strolled over to stand next to me. "Yep. She's even yelling at the old man." I laughed. Marco chuckled slightly.

Whitebeard laughed at the clearly infuriated Rory. I guess she has some issues with gender roles. However the old man was just pushing her buttons for fun, the crew could see that, and it's pretty funny if I do say so myself.

Apparently it was entertaining enough for some of the other guys to join in. This resulted in Rory picking up the nearest weapon-like object (in this case, a broom someone left lying around) and attempting to clean their clock. (No pun intended, I swear!) She got in a few good hits, much to the rest of the rest of the crew's amusement. I sense that a new game will be created in the near future. I doubt anyone would be playing it though, since Rory isn't part of the crew and will be leaving pretty soon.

~...~

Well it looks I was wrong about Rory leaving. I was planning on taking her to another island like we agreed, but time seems to have slipped away. I tried reminding her, but the guys' jeers took priority. I didn't stop her. I was having as much fun watching as everyone else was.

And that's how we ended up drinking and having a typical pirate bash. You know, the kind of party that comes up even for the smallest bit of good fortune.

"Aw, what's the matter Rory-chan? Tired already?"

"Shaddup!" Rory said. She sounded breathless. I can't blame her. She's been running around for hours trying to beat up the guys who were playing with her. "It's your fault! I'll kill you...Later though..." she panted.

"Ah, lighten up girlie!" That was Thatch talking. "We're just goofing around!" he chuckled.

"I can tell! That's why you bastards are all laughing at me." Rory replied hotly.

"Nah, we just think Rory-chan's cute when she's mad!" Thatch was answered with a swift punch in the shoulder, which in all honesty sounded like it hurt. I was right, because Thatch hissed and rubbed the sore spot.

"You were asking for that one..." I said. A couple guys laughed at his misfortune.

Then Whitebeard laughed, again. "Looks like Ace picked up a little spitfire!"

" 'Looks like Ace picked up a little spitfire!' " Rory mocked him. "Shut up, you! You're the one who started all this!" Another laugh was the response she got.

"She's a cheeky brat too!" The old man said.

"Jeez, did you know she had a temper like that?" Marco asked.

"Nope." I replied bluntly. "She looks right at home though, doesn't she?"

"You can say that again." Marco agreed. "You think she'd want to stick around? She's already like part of the family."

I shrugged. "I dunno if she wants to be a pirate. I've only known her since yesterday, you know."

~R~

I sank to my knees and just sat there to catch my breath. I can't remember the last time I ran so much. I can't remember the last time I was so frustrated with a group of what I assumed were sex-deprived imbeciles. I had assumed that, in the beginning. I can tell now that they're just playing. I can't say I'm having as much fun as they are though. They're annoying me on purpose, after all.

But there's something oddly liberating about all this. My temper usually got me into trouble, for 'disturbing the peace' or something like that. Here it was like I could loosen up and let off some steam however I wanted. It looks like I'm encouraged to do just that, to an extent. It's kind of nice actually. Sort of. I'm still annoyed with the fact that they treat my fury like a game.

I yawned. Getting that riled up made me pretty tired. All the running probably has something to do with it too.

I got up and found a table to sit down at. I noticed that no one was poking at me with cheesy remarks anymore. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their own conversations now. Loud, drunken conversations.

"Looks like somebody's about to fall asleep."

I looked up just as Ace took a seat next to me with a mug in his hand. "Well I've kind of had a busy day today." I replied. "Especially with all these shenanigans."

Ace chuckled. "They just like you! They think you're pretty cool."

"Can't they express that some other way? Preferably a way where I can have fun too?" I sighed.

"You really don't like it here?" Ace asked.

I blinked. "Well I didn't say that. I guess it's nice. Free." I said.

"We're about as free as you can get."

"I bet you are." I mumbled sleepily. I crossed my arms on the table and laid my head on them. Soon all the noise seemed to fade.