Author's Note: Here's chapter two! Please consider submitting a review when you're done reading. c:

Remember, I don't own One Piece, just my OC.

Chapter Two - A Dangerous Recruit

8:59 PM. May 6. Port Town of Pyreen, Whertes Island. New World. Grand Line.

"The Chi Chi no Mi…?" Brook was the first to break the silence that followed Yumi's words.

"I've never heard of that Devil Fruit before," Robin remarked quietly, much to the surprise of her crewmates. Robin was their archaeologist. She'd read many books and gained a lot of knowledge as a result, not to mention she was a Devil Fruit user herself. If she didn't know about the Chi Chi no Mi Fruit, then it was a true mystery.

"That's right. It's a Blood Blood Fruit," Yumi confirmed, still wearing a bitter smile. A groan of pain reached her ears. When she turned around, she saw that Weller was starting to sit up from the hit he'd taken earlier. He was glowering at her.

"How dare you do that to me, you monster?" Weller spat at her, coughing up some blood. He started to get to his feet. "I'll fucking kill you-" Zoro started to move, but Yumi beat him to it.

"Chi Chi no Missile," Yumi uttered. She hadn't even finished speaking when a needle of blood shot from her finger and pierced Weller's chest. Blood spurted from his mouth again, and with one last groan of pain, he fell back down. Yumi's voice was soft when she spoke again. "And I already know that I'm a monster… I know." The Straw Hat Crew watched in shocked silence. Surrounded by dead bodies, they all shared the same thought: was one person really capable of all this…?

"I wouldn't be surprised if you guys thought I was a monster, too," Yumi directed her next words at the Straw Hats, not accusingly. She turned around and started to leave, calling over her shoulder, "I don't know why you helped me today, but… thank you."

"Hey!" Luffy suddenly shouted. Surprised, Yumi stopped and turned around to face the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. He wore an unusually serious expression on his face for once.

"Yes?"

"Join my crew!"

"What?" Yumi's eyes widened. She wasn't the only one who was shocked by Luffy's invitation. The "cowards" of the crew – Nami, Usopp, and Chopper – shouted at Luffy and told him it was a bad idea while others – such as Robin, Franky, and Zoro – shared knowing looks. It should have been obvious Luffy would ask the Blood Devil to join their group. Brook and Sanji – the perverts of the crew – seemed more than happy that Luffy had asked Yumi to join. That'd mean another cute girl on the crew for them.

"I don't think you're a monster," Luffy's serious voice rose above the others, and when his crew mates heard their captain talk, they went silent. The boy suddenly broke into a grin, his tone becoming more cheerful. "You're pretty cool, actually! I wouldn't help someone who's really bad. So join my crew!"

Yumi was beyond stunned. She'd never been asked to join a pirate crew before. Her power made her a valuable ally, but most pirates were scared off by it. They always saw her as a monster who could turn on them and kill them just as easily as her enemies. Luffy, though, seemed to believe otherwise. She opened her mouth to answer but closed it, unable to find words to respond with.

"Oi, woman," Zoro suddenly addressed her. He was the one who'd saved her and unlocked her cuffs. "We already have two monsters on this ship: me and that thickheaded idiot over there we call our captain. Adding another won't hurt."

"You just contradicted what Luffy said about her not being a monster," Robin chuckled as their captain frowned. Sanji jumped forward with an irritable frown himself.

"You stupid moss head! I'm just as strong as you are. Don't address her as 'woman', too. You must call a lady by her name!" Sanji yelled at him. "And don't say she's a monster!" Zoro narrowed his eyes.

"What'd you call me, curly eyebrows? I can say what I want," Zoro growled, and the two began bickering with each other. Nami, Usopp, and Chopper began arguing with Luffy again over Yumi's recruitment while Yumi herself watched from a distance, not knowing what to do. She needed to make a decision and leave soon. She hadn't forgotten that the Pyreen Marines had contacted the Marine Headquarters. By now, an admiral was probably on their way with a fleet of ships. She didn't want to get captured again by the Marines.

As if sensing her worrisome thoughts, the chef of the Straw Hat Pirates suddenly stopped arguing with Zoro and bounded over.

"My lady, is there something troubling you?" he asked sweetly with adoring eyes. "I am at your service if you need me."

"Ah…" Yumi trailed off, remembering how the man had yelled at Weller. She offered a small smile. "You're the one who started fighting with the Marines first. Thank you. I was able to get the key for my cuffs because of you."

"AH," Sanji suddenly stumbled backwards, a fountain of blood erupting from his nose. Yumi took a step back herself with wide eyes.

"A-Are you okay?"

"Yes! I am more than fine after seeing that smile of yours! I will be more than happy to save a beautiful lady like you again, mademoi-"

"Shut it," Zoro interrupted, grabbing Sanji by the back of his collar and hauling him away. He called over his shoulder, "This bastard's a ladies man. He saved you because you're a woman… not a monster."

"Trying to make up for what you said before?" Robin smiled in amusement. Zoro's eye twitched, but he said nothing in response. Sanji quickly recovered from his nosebleed and started quarreling with Zoro again while Yumi just stood there in silence again, unsure of what to say. She'd been saved because she was a good person? They didn't think she was a monster? When she looked at the Straw Hats, she saw an easygoing crew that went against the reputation they had in the pirate world. They were so different from what the rumors said about them…

"I won't take no for an answer, so join my crew, Yumi!" Luffy told her again. He was grinning widely, obviously waiting for her to accept his invitation. "Hurry and say yes!" That's right, I need to hurry… An admiral is on their way to this town. Looking at the floor, Yumi opened her mouth.

"I'll join your crew."

"HUH?" the cowards of the crew whirled to face her with bulging eyes. "Why?!" They didn't think she'd really join…!

"…There's something I have to do in the New World," Yumi finally answered. She lifted her head and looked directly into Luffy's eyes. "I might be able to accomplish my goals if I join you guys, so I will. But do you know what it will mean if I join your crew? I'm highly sought after by the government. They'll go to great ends to find and capture me. Even now, an admiral is on their way with a fleet of ships just to bring me back to Marine Headquarters. Do you still want me to join even while knowing I'll bring danger to your crew?"

"Yes," Luffy didn't hesitate even for a split-second. He laughed and adjusted his straw hat. In the background, the cowards of the crew were busy shrieking about Marine admirals and danger. "I really want you on my crew, Yumi! I don't care about the Marines."

"If they come, we'll just cut them down. It doesn't matter if one admiral comes or all of them," Zoro added, glancing down at his swords with a smirk. Yumi didn't know whether they were stupid, confident, or both, but she suspected it was the latter. She couldn't say she trusted the crew entirely, but she supposed that, if given time, she might actually call them her most important friends.

"Then I hope we get along well from now on," Yumi smiled. She quickly dropped the smile for a more serious expression. "We should probably hurry and leave this town. As I said before, an admiral from HQ is on their way."

"Alright!" Luffy beamed at her, happy that she was a part of their crew now. "Everyone, back to the ship!" As the Straw Hat Pirates picked up their supplies and quickly ran in the direction of their ship, Yumi trailed behind and took one last look at the square littered with dead Marines.

More deaths.

Her eyes clouded over. Without a word, she turned and followed after the Straw Hats. She couldn't stop now.

She could only keep moving on.

9:24 PM. May 6. Port Town of Pyreen, Whertes Island. New World. Grand Line.

"By the Sea Devil, what happened here…?" a Marine soldier whispered in horror, stopping in his tracks. Likewise, his fellow soldiers stopped advancing to stare at the bloody battlefield before them. They'd come directly from Marine Headquarters to Pyreen Town upon receiving a call from the Marine base there, but it appeared that they'd come too late. Dead bodies of Marines were strewn all across the square, each lying in a pool of their own blood. Lt. Weller's corpse, the commander of the base in town, lay in the center. There were no survivors.

"Dammit, we came too late…!" a Marine with a 'Captain' badge gritted his teeth in frustration. "We finally got a hold of Blood Devil Yumi, too!"

"Now, now, let's calm down," the man beside him smiled. He was easily recognizable by his striped suit and the admiral coat draped over his shoulders. It was Borsalino, more commonly known as 'Kizaru'. "She can't be too far away. Make preparations to search the surrounding seas immediately, Captain Goro."

"Yes, sir!" Goro straightened up and was about to leave when one of their soldiers burst onto the scene, shouting at the top of his lungs for them. Goro snapped at him, "What is it?"

"I questioned some of the townspeople who were hiding nearby when the battle went on. They said they saw the Straw Hat Pirates fighting the Pyreen Marines with Blood Devil Yumi," the soldier explained in a hurry. Goro's eyebrows jumped.

"What?! Are they all working together?" Goro exclaimed.

"It's the only explanation," Kizaru stroked his chin for a moment. Turning to the soldier who'd given them the report, he smiled coldly. "Bring me a Den Den Mushi. I need to contact HQ."

"Some wanted posters need changing."

9:27 PM. May 6. Hallways, Thousand Sunny. Open Sea. New World. Grand Line.

They'd successfully left Pyreen Town and gotten away from whichever admiral had been sent to retrieve Yumi. Franky showed her around the ship (it made sense that the shipwright would want to give her the official tour instead of the others) which she thought was pretty magnificent, much to Franky's delight.

"It's a suuuuper ship!" he agreed happily, posing in an odd but humorous position when they finished the tour. "Do you want to head back to the kitchen for dinner? Sanji's a super chef!" Yumi shook her head. She didn't feel like eating, not to mention she didn't want the others to feel uncomfortable around her. It was obvious that some of them disliked her presence, and she didn't feel too comfortable around them yet herself. She'd only just met them less than an hour ago.

"Sorry, I don't feel too hungry. I think I'll shower and head to sleep early," Yumi explained. "Thanks for the tour, though, and if it's not too much to ask for, could I have a separate room for myself?" Aside from not wanting to make Nami and Robin (mostly Nami) uncomfortable, she had her own reasons for wanting her own room to sleep in.

"No problem," Franky grinned. "And sure! There's actually a super extra bedroom you can use on the second floor by the women's quarters. The bath is down that hall. I'll ask Robin to drop some extra clothes for you inside the bathhouse and in your bedroom." She waved goodbye to him before making her way to the bathhouse, grateful for his kindness and the fact that Franky didn't seem to mind her as much as the others.

Now, to slowly get accustomed to the rest of the crew…

9:48 PM. May 6. Yumi's Bedroom. Floor 2, Thousand Sunny. Open Sea. New World. Grand Line.

Done showering, she lay in the bed of her new room, gazing up at the unfamiliar ceiling above. Before joining the Straw Hats, Yumi had simply sneaked onto ship after ship to go to places. Now she'd boarded a ship that she'd be a resident of for a good while yet. It felt strange knowing she had a place to stay after all the traveling she'd done…

Her hearing was keen enough that she could pick up the sounds of the Straw Hats eating dinner from all the way across the ship. Yumi could hear them laughing boisterously as they ate. For a moment she felt like joining them, but quickly quelled the feeling. It'd only make things awkward if she intruded on them now. Still, they sounded like they were having fun.

Fun… She honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd had fun, not since her childhood at least. A needle of pain shot through Yumi's heart at the thought of her childhood. As much as she wanted to forget it, she couldn't.

She never would.

Tuning out the distant laughter of the Straw Hat Pirates, Yumi closed her eyes and settled in for a night's sleep.