Oki-doki. I don't own One Piece, obviously, but there's an extra warning here. This chapter is a bit darker than the others, and their is death in it. I tried not to be to descriptive of those bits... Anyways! Read and enjoy!

For the next month or so it was largely the same. Go to the next island and increase my network of informants –both legal and otherwise- before making and selling herbs and teas, then hitchhike a ship –or boat- and head out to the next location. A few times I had to restock on something, or buy something I didn't think I would need. But by the time I left the West Blue, I had a decent amount of info coming in almost every week. So far, nothing major was going on. Some rumours of pirate crews in the area, but that was either false or not something to worry about.

It took a while, but I finally managed to get to the North Blue. The place was colder than expected, so I was quick to buy a scarf and a pair of gloves. The ship that I was on was old, and captain was cranky. Seriously, even though I paid him and helped out amongst the ship he still called me a freeloader. The guy was a nightmare! Needless to say, when we docked I flung myself over the railing and into town.

And then I saw the kind of town I had run into. Suddenly I wished I stayed on the ship. This town was dirty, dark and dank. The people even more so, I mean that literally. Were those guys openly selling drugs? I blinked before shaking my head, there was no way I was staying here three days. I had plenty of money to just leave on a different ship today.

I turned around, intent to head back to the docks –because there was no way I was going to find any informants here- when I overheard a conversation in an alley. The words were hushed but I had long since become attuned to listening in on quiet conversations.

"Did you hear about Gutter? Brad says he ripped some no-name in half down at the ring" I heard one of them say. My brows furrowed at that, what was the ring? Was that a fighting ring or something? I looked up at the afternoon sky, and shoved my hands in me pockets as I leant against the old brick wall. I hadn't had a decent fight in a long while, and I was beginning to worry my skills were getting rusty. Shrugging, I turned into the alley were the men were still chatting. Slipping on my mask of indifference, I stopped a few feet short of them.

"Oi" I called out, and they jumped before whirling to face me. They looked frightened, before they saw that I was a girl and their looks turned lecherous. "You mentioned a fighting ring, where can I find it?" I said plainly, ignoring the suggestive looks I was receiving. They both glance at each other before flanking my sides with smiles they no doubt thought were devilish.

"What would a cute thing like you want to do with a place like the ring?" the guy on my right asked, smiling at me with yellowing teeth. The other was way too skinny to be healthy, but I ignored my discomfort at having them within my personal bubble and raised a brow at the one who talked.

"I have my reasons. So are you gents going to escort me or am I going to have to find someone else?" I asked, beginning to turn away but they both stopped me with hurried words. I nodded to them and they led down a few dark alleys before stopping at a door, Yellow Teeth knocked thrice before the door opened and two burly men stepped out. They glance at us before nodding and letting us pass, though I could feel them looking where they really shouldn't be.

"Suddenly mass murder looks like a pleasant option" I muttered darkly, but luckily neither of them heard me and we continued on. The halls were dark a dimly lit, the floor was concrete and the walls brick. I tried not to laugh at the setting; they were really trying too hard.

As we walked, I heard the faint sound of cheering, and the further we walked the louder it got until it was a deafening roar. The hallway ended and we entered a separate room. It was like a large dome with lights along the wall. The room looked like a mini, indoor version of the Roman Coliseum from my old world. There was a round pit in the middle of the room, the farther you were from the pit the higher up you were. People were cheering and yelling at the participants fighting in the pit, two of them going one on one. It was obvious who was winning.

A large burly man that was nothing but tan skin and muscles was brutally laying into a smaller opponent. The large man had metal wrist bands on both arms, and on them was a single scythe-like blade, curving over the back of his hand and past his knuckles for a few centimetres. A gruesome weapon that was all but ripping through the smaller man, whom was strong in his own right but nowhere near tough enough to handle this giant.

A pained screamed ripped through the stadium and all went quiet as the large man tore his blade through the man stomach and pieces of him flew everywhere. The man was dead in seconds. A few seconds later the crowd erupted in cheers and praise, while I hid my disgust with a blank face.

"I take it he is Gutter" I stated evenly. I had never seen something like that before, not once in my whole life. Sure, I had seen bones broken and poking out of the skin, I had seen torn skin and muscles bare to the outside world but… never had I seen a massacre like this.

'I feel condemned just by being here' I though with a small tremor of apprehension. I had expected some riffraff group of thugs duking it out, not a man literally twice my size that went through men like a hot knife through butter. I could feel it; I could feel that he would have no problem killing me if I fought him. He wouldn't care that I was a girl… in fact he might enjoy it. That is, if he could hit me. I was fast, and I knew how to fight. This man was strong, but you can't hurt what you can't hit.

"Yeah, that's him, he's a big guy. I bet a twenty on him once, got back double" Skinny laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I forced myself to remain relaxed and not rip the bastards arm off. Mostly ignoring the men, I watched as Gutter soaked in the attention with a victorious grin. Then his eyes caught mine, and I tensed automatically. My eyes stared into his brown ones without fear, or panic, or trepidation. I was calculating, I was calm, and I was uncaring to what he did to his opponent, because he wouldn't get a chance to do the same to me.

"How do you sign up?" I asked, not looking away as the man began to grin with bloodlust. The crowd had grown silent and was watching the exchange. Yellow Teeth made a shocked sound in the back of his throat, and he turned to me.

"Y-you're not gonna fight Gutter, are you? He'll tear through you in seconds"

"I'll take my chances" I replied, and the both men tried to sway me from my decision but both were silenced with a hard glare from me. They seemed to accept it then, and gestured to the man sitting in what appeared to be a VIP booth. Higher up and away from the mob, and he too was staring at me.

'Seriously, what is with everyone and staring at me' I shook my head at that thought, before walking through the crowd towards the booth. When I reached said booth, the man looked up from his seat and grinned at me. Gesturing to the seat next to him, I took the hint and walked over but didn't sit down; I was standing so he was directly to my left. I studied the man from my vantage point and fought back a sigh. How many business men have I dealt with within the last month? While this man was far more casual, wearing a black suit that wasn't made of silk and no tie, he was still dressed to show just how high up he was compared to the average scumbag.

"I see you're interested in Gutter, am I to expect little killers running around in the near future?" he asked with a sickeningly happy grin. I scoffed and crossed my arms, and put most of my weight on my right foot. I looked down at him coldly.

"If you had any sense you would see that we want to kill each other, not fuck each other. Now, are you going to let me compete? Or do I have to kill you too?" I asked impatiently. I wanted to get out as soon as possible, but I wasn't going to leave without getting something out of it, even if it was only a fight.

"I wouldn't be so crass if I were you" he said calmly, and I felt the barrel of a gun at my back. I turned my head slowly and saw a man I didn't know standing there, rifle against my back. How had he snuck up on me? Sighing at my lack of attentiveness, I turned back to the boss.

"Seriously?" I asked in a deadpanned, and slightly disbelieving, tone. Spinning around I knocked the gun away from my person before kicking him in the gut and sending him through the door. The boss guy stood up and looked at his doorway, as though wondering where the door went.

"Alright" the man recovered quickly, smiling excitedly at the prospect of another challenger. "The prize is a million belli" he said and I nodded, not really caring about the money, jumping down from the booth and into the pit. The body had been cleaned away, but Gutter had remained.

"Ready to die?" the man asked mockingly, I stared up at him before grinning.

"Been there, done that" I said finally, and then the bell went off to signal the start of the fight. The large man wasted no time, and rushed towards me like a runaway train. Ducking under his fist, I sidestepped but had to quickly change direction as he went for me again. I reminded myself that he wasn't some thug; he was an experienced killer who had deemed me his prey. As he made fast jabs at me, occasionally adding a kick, I mostly kept to dodging, trying to gauge any weak spots or gaps that I could take advantage of.

Suddenly his tempo changed, and I was sent into the wall with a devastating kick. Coughing from the dust, I managed to keep one eye open and managed to dodge a jab from the deadly talon-like weapon. Kicking off the wall, I emerged from the dust cloud and drove my knee into the man's face. I felt the cartilage crack, but not break. I frowned at that, how strong it must be to withstand an attack like that.

"When a bone breaks, it becomes stronger in that area to avoid it breaking again"

That's what my instructor had said when I once asked why the older students didn't seem so upset when something broke during fights. Could it be the same for cartilage? Probably, that would certainly explain why his nose didn't break. But this posed a new problem: chances are many of his bones have been broken over his years of service in the pit, so how am I supposed to gain the advantage here? I have speed, sure, but he was a tank. If I can't land any significant blows, I find my second life shorter than my first.

Landing a fair distance away from the mammoth of a man, I looked back as he held his nose in shock, as though he was surprised it had broken at all. I wouldn't be surprised at that, this had probably been the first time he had been actually hurt in a match in a long time. However, he didn't seem enraged or even perturbed by my somewhat successful attack, in anything he seemed happy. Then he began laughing, but this laugh sent shivers up my spine in trepidation. He was not sane. Not anymore.

"That's good. That was really good, girl. What's your name? I like to know the name of a good challenge" he said giddily. It would have sounded silly coming from anyone else, in a different situation, but not now. Now it just drove home the fact that this man had lost his mind a long time ago.

"You may call me traveller" I responded coolly, not wanting anyone to know my name. I didn't want people to start whispering it, whispering right to the government so they could put a bounty on me so soon. I don't need one now, not until I hit the Grand Line.

"Traveller…" Gutter said, as though testing the name, but then his eyes lit up "Traveller it is then!" and then he was running again, right towards me. I jumped out of the way, bending to avoid his scythe-like weapon once again. My mind raced to try and find a way to beat him. Breaking his bones to slow him down would be stupid, it wouldn't work with him, and there was no chance I could rupture something. His muscles would be strong, so there little chance I could cause him to pull or tear something. I flipped out of the way again, landing on my hands and pushing away to land on my feet and to give me some extra distance. The ground where I had been caved under his pressure and more dust and sand exploded into the air, making a little cloud. I dove out of the way of another attack, performing an army roll and landing in a crouched position. He came at me again, and I continued to avoid him.

My breaths were coming out shorter, and faster. I looked around and, with a surprised jolt, found that I couldn't see Gutter, or anyone else for that matter. It seemed as though the whole arena has been clouded in sand and dirt and dust, covering the air like a thick mist. I covered my mouth with the fabric of my jacket, not wanting to inhale any of this stuff. I could hear Gutter skulking about, he was surprisingly quiet but his size made it impossible to be truly silent. Me on the other hand…

Sifting silently through my new cover, nary a sound escaping from my lips as I steadied my breathing and I kept my movements minimal and light, making sure my cloths ruffled as little as possible and that my steps didn't disturb the sand at my feet. I continued like this until I was right behind Gutter as he continued to look through my rapidly clearing cover for me. I had to strike now if I wanted any chance of success. Using the first knuckle of my forefingers, I struck his spine half a dozen times. The giant man swung around and I managed to duck under his extended forearm.

Then he brought his knee up and slammed into my entire upper body, my head snapped back at the force as I went airborne. Knowing what was going to happen next, I fought the pain and disorientation and clumsily tried to manoeuvre myself in mid-air to avoid the oncoming attack. A sharp pain ripped through my right leg as I went flying into the arena wall once again, this time with a lot more force. Large chunks of debris fell with me. I hit the ground with a silent 'thump' but the loud crashes of the chunks of wall drowned out whatever sound I made. I forced myself to breathe even though my lungs protested the action; slowly I got into a kneeling position and tried to stand.

My right leg gave out under me and I returned to my kneeling position. Looking down in confusion I noted with a bit of horror that there was a tear going down the side of my leg, starting at the knee and going all the way down to the ankle. I didn't have time to cringe or worry, for my opponent was walk- no stalking towards me. I saw the look in his eyes, and suddenly I felt like prey, wounded, tired, trapped prey. I felt my body shudder, but beyond that could not force my body to move as he slowly descended upon my prone form.

'I can't die now, what have I accomplished? I can't die, I won't die! Not here, not now, not again! I've already died once. Not again. I can win, I just need to get in that one hit. Just that one hit' my mind all but screamed. I squeezed my eyes shut, my right fist resting on the sand while my left arm lied across my good knee. I looked like I was kneeling to someone, pledging loyalty. I slowed my breathing and felt my heart slow as well, at first I thought I was dying, but with each beat of my heart I felt a heat pulse through my body.

Ba-dum-thump

Heat

Ba-dum-thump

Energy

Ba-dum-thump

Strength

Ba-dum-thump

Power

I opened my eyes and looked up at the man standing above me, his eyes that were full of bloodlust and a giddy sense of triumph morphed into one of confusion at curiosity as I stared up at him. I was no longer scared. I was no longer in pain, no longer paralysed. I felt strong, I felt empowered. I felt confident. My fiery gaze met his eyes and he took a step and raised his fist, bringing it down as fast as he could to end the match and kill me.

I was already gone.

I reappeared in a blur behind him, slightly above him, and he turned just in time for his cheek to meet my fist. He flew into the wall but recovered quickly, standing up he looked around wildly, trying to locate me. But I was gone once again, appearing and disappearing around him and striking him with blows that would kill most men, but only sent him careening through the air and crashing the already crumbling wall. My speed had increased to the point that it looked more like teleporting, my strength had tripled and my mind was clear of everything except the objective: beat him at any cost.

I moved right in front of him as he staggered forward, he had bruises and grazes and lacerations from my attacks and crashing into the wall. I jumped up and gave him a powerful uppercut, like me before him, his head snapped back and went airborne. I vanished, leaving only a small displacement of air to prove I had been there at all, and appeared behind and above him once again. This time, however, I struck out my palm and hit the top of his spine. There was a fast series of sharp cracks, and the world froze for a long time.

No one moved. No sound was made. We might as well have been carved from stone. As I landed silently on the blood littered sand, Gutters body made violent spasm and crashed to the ground like falling tree, but the sound was quieter than I expected. I turned to check if he was actually dead, then rose from my landing position, but did not move. Silence had been shocked through the crowd, and I dare not break it.

Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.

I looked up with veiled surprise at the sound, and saw the business man in the VIP booth standing there, clapping slowly. More people began clapping, and soon applause rippled through the battered room. People cheered and whistled, calling out and yelling. It was deafening, but there was a certain thrill and excitement that went through the crowd and I looked up at the crowd in wonder. My eyes trailing over the hundreds of faces, and then I was stunned again.

"Traveller! Traveller! Traveller!" they began chanting, I just stood there as they cheered. Shocked into my own silence, after a few moments I realized that I won. It was the thrill of victory, the excitement from a good fight, the elated feeling of being alive. Slowly, I raised my hand to acknowledge their cheers, also because I have no idea what to do in this kind of situation, and that seemed to spur them on. A greater wave of cheers erupted like a violent wave from them. I tuned once again to the man who ran this fighting ring, and he nodded before turning to leave. I turned to one of the entrances and walked away from the ever insistent cheering of the crowd.

Now that my heart rate was normal again, that strength from before had long since vanished, and I was beginning to feel its effects. But I couldn't show weakness. I continued to walk until a guard found me and took me to the man, who held a briefcase that was no doubt full of my prize money. My hands remained in my pockets, to hide the fact that they were shaking, and kept my shoulders relaxed in an attempt to show confidence and not fatigue.

"That was quite an exquisite match, Traveller" the man said happily, placing the briefcase on the table between them and pushing it towards me. I raised a brow at him in suspicion. I had killed probably his best fighter, and he was happy? He took my gaze the wrong way, and gestured for one of his men to open the case.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't try and kill someone like you. That would be far too stupid. While Gutter was an excellent fighter, I'm afraid that he was scaring competitors out of the pit and only the money desperate would try their luck. But now I expect business to really boom, that is… if you don't plan on reinterring" he said almost warningly. I rolled my eyes and took the briefcase; this man truly was the worst. He didn't even care if someone died, as long as it brought him profit.

"I only fight against strong opponents" was my reply before I turned and left the room. As I went back into the crowd, planning on leaving the way I came, people began cheering again and parted so I could pass by unhindered. I exited the building and out into the cool night air, had I been in there for so long? I shrugged and headed back to the docks, seeing the old ship I had arrived on was still docked, I realized something with a start.

I had forgotten my backpack!

Quickly running to the ship, I completely ignored the gangplank and jumped onto the railing, looking around the vacant ship I stepped onto the deck. Turning sharply to where my cabin, I opened the door and found that my stuff had not been touched. Checking to make sure all my stuff was there, I relaxed and heaved the large pack onto my shoulders, not forgetting the briefcase I went into town and rented a room for one night in the nearest hotel. I didn't bother with the bed, instead I spread out my swag and blanket. Only then did my fatigue catch up with me, and when I lied down I was out like a light.

Yeah... I had been listening to a few dark-ish songs that made me think of fighting. Sorry this one was a bit late! So, how do you think I went with this one? I'll try and post a happier chapter next. Thank you reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! See ya in two weeks (Probably...)