Author's Note: Okay, so I had my iTunes on shuffle when I wrote the chapter. Here's how mood whiplash-y my playlist was when I wrote it.

Song that played when Yuki-Rin was attacked - Supermassive Black Hole by Muse

Song that played when Kazuma gave Yuki-Rin her katana - After Dark by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (which would make a good opening song to the fanfic)

Song that played when Heathcliffe explained the philosophy of the Tenryuubito/his backstory - Marry the Night by Lady Gaga (this was a serious scene, mind you)

Song that played at the end of the chapter - Within a Mile of Home by Flogging Molly

WTF, iTunes, WTF?

Disclaimer: One Piece is still Eichiiro Oda's property.

Ch. 56: "Prince Pollux's Princess."

After some time exploring the first floor of the large castle, Yuki-Rin was exploring the second level of the castle.

"Man, this castle is big! If I keep exploring, I'm gonna get lost!" Yuki-Rin commented as she came to a door that was open. Yuki-Rin peered in, and she saw a woman in her late twenties reading in the library. She had black hair tied into a ponytail, blue eyes, and round glasses. Her outfit was rather librarian-like, as she wore a white, collared shirt, a black tie, a black miniskirt with a slit up the left side, nylon stockings, and black high-heels.

"Oh, hello! I didn't see you there!" The woman said.

"Hello!" Yuki-Rin greeted back. "This is a big castle, isn't it?"

"Of course, it is. There are some days where I can't find Hito FOR HOURS," The woman explained.

"Hito?" Yuki-Rin asked as she entered the library.

"He's my son. He's only ten, and – Oh, crap! I need to pick Hito up from soccer!" The woman cursed.

"Can I come? I was told to stay here until Prince Pollux returns," Yuki-Rin asked.

"I don't see any harm in that," The woman said as she and Yuki-Rin began to walk down the hall. "By the way, I never got your name. What is it?"

"I'm Yuki-Rin," Yuki-Rin introduced herself.

"Yuki-Rin, huh? Such a fitting name for a pretty, spirited girl," The woman remarked. "My name's Cho Inaba, and I guess you can say that I'm the princess of this island."

"Princess?" Yuki-Rin wondered out loud. Inaba's face darkened.

"It's a long story…" Inaba said bitterly.

"So, you're looking for your crew in town, huh?" Inaba asked Yuki-Rin as they entered the town, which was deserted for the most part.

"Yep. We were at the beach when the prince's guards escorted me to the castle. Still have no clue what's going on," Yuki-Rin explained.

"I see. What's your crew's name and what does your ship look like?" Inaba asked Yuki-Rin.

"I'm the Captain of the Capricorn Pirates, and we sail on the Hyperion, which is a pretty large ship. I think it's docked at the shore," Yuki-Rin explained.

"Hi, mom!"

A black-haired, brown-eyed boy of ten years of age ran up to Yuki-Rin and Inaba. He wore a blue soccer jersey, white soccer shorts, and black cleats, and he carried a black, drawstring bag over his shoulder.

"Hi, Hito! How was soccer?" Inaba asked her son as she hugged him.

"It was so much fun! I scored three goals!" Hito said with a huge grin on his face.

"Oh! Yuki-Rin, meet Hito, my son!" Inaba introduced Yuki-Rin to Hito.

"Pleased to meet you, Hito! You remind me of Monkey D. Luffy!" Yuki-Rin said.

"She she she, thanks! Monkey D. Luffy is sooo cool! I want to be a pirate like him, but daddy says I can't, because I need to become a prince and protect the people!" Hito said. Inaba cleared her throat.

"Now, Hito, what have I told you about calling Prince Pollux your father?" Inaba asked her son. Hito was only able to open his mouth before loud shouting cut him off.

"Hey! There's an ally to the prince!"

"Let's get her!"

"Yeah, let's get her! She's pretty, so let's sell her to a brothel, then we can drink with the money we earn!"

A small mob then ganged up on Yuki-Rin and tackled her to the ground. Inaba stepped back as she held Hito close to her.

"Inaba-san, what's going on?" Yuki-Rin cried as the mob of angry men began to beat her.

"I'll explain everything when we get back to the castle!" Inaba choked out. Yuki-Rin struggled against the men to grab her katana, which wasn't at her side.

"What's wrong, girlie? Don't like it rough?" One of the men asked before taking a huge swig from his bottle of grog. "I'll show you rough!"

The man then slapped Yuki-Rin across the face so hard, a red hand mark began to develop on her cheek.

"What's going on?" Yuki-Rin screamed.

The man who slapped Yuki-Rin then fell down to a puddle of his own blood next to Yuki-Rin.

"What the fuck? Are you all right, man?" One of the other men cried.

"That witch did it!" Another man shouted as he pointed to Yuki-Rin, who was trying to get up.

"What? I didn't –" Yuki-Rin cried before the mob was attacked again.

"Eviscerate!"

The rest of the mob dropped down, all in their own pools of blood. Heathcliffe and Kazuma, with their weapons out, approached the three.

"What just happened, Yuki-Rin?" Kazuma cried as he helped Yuki-Rin up.

"I don't know. I was attacked for 'supporting the prince' or something like that," Yuki-Rin explained. Kazuma's eyes trailed to the shirt with the lion Yuki-Rin was wearing.

"So, I take it that they made you change clothing, huh?" Kazuma observed.

"Yep. Looks like you guys had to change, too," Yuki-Rin observed, noticing that Kazuma and Heathcliffe have showered and put on street clothes.

"Well, we had to come find you. We don't know what the hell would've happened to you," Heathcliffe explained.

"By the way, you will probably need this," Kazuma explained as he handed Yuki-Rin's katana to her.

"Thanks, Kazuma," Yuki-Rin thanked her boyfriend.

"A revolt against the prince?" Yuki-Rin asked Inaba. After the incident with the mob, Yuki-Rin, Inaba, Hito, Kazuma, and Heathcliffe decided to regroup at the castle.

"Yeah… The prince is kind of a heartless bastard. There are people on this island that are SO POOR, I've heard that they've gone as far as to boil their own wallpaper for soup," Inaba explained.

"Damn… I've come very close to doing that. I can speak from personal experience, since I've lived in poverty that's as bad as this island," Heathcliffe explained.

"Well, this is kinda different. Prince Pollux gives all of the money and good things on this island to either his entourage or the wealthy. Everyone else gets what's left, and it's usually not to be desired. But, there are many black market merchants on this island that deliberately fly under the Prince's radar," Inaba explained. Heathcliffe sadly shook his head.

"That's just like how a World Noble sees the world – give to the rich and let the poor rot and die. Something needs to be done about it. I mean, I almost died because of this philosophy of the World Noble, and… If it weren't for Yuki-Rin… I probably wouldn't even be sitting here right now!" Heathcliffe explained before breaking down into sobbing.

"Wow… What happened to him?" Inaba asked Yuki-Rin.

"You know the Noble Saint Sarutobi, right? Heathcliffe was one of his sons. Saint Sarutobi kicked Heathcliffe out of his house and he was forced to live in HORRIBLE conditions," Yuki-Rin explained. "When I found him, it was sad – His clothes were in tatters, he had head lice, he was filthy, and he was VERY hungry. As Heathcliffe said… If it weren't for me, Heathcliffe would be dead."

Yuki-Rin let out a small sob and bit her lip, holding back tears. Kazuma instinctively held Yuki-Rin.

"It's okay, Yuki-Rin, I'm here," Kazuma re-assured Yuki-Rin, who took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Kazuma," Yuki-Rin thanked Kazuma before turning to Inaba. "Is there anything we can do to stop this?"

Inaba thought for a moment, thinking of how to make the kingdom better.

"The least you could do is to get myself and Hito off of the island. The most you could do… Is to kill the prince," Inaba explained.

Ending Note: Review if you want to see Prince Pollux.