Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. All plot and OCs belong to Volleys-chan and I.

The Dragon Chronicles

Chapter 1 - Adrenaline

"Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you.

You must travel it by yourself.

It is not far. It is within reach.

Perhaps you have been on it since you were born, and did not know.

Perhaps it is everywhere - on water and land."

― Walt Whitman

Since Rei was very young, she could always remember how her father told stories of other islands that he had seen when he had been a sailor. He wasn't from Fireworks Island, like her mother was, he was from a different island called Water 7. Rei and her sisters loved it when he sat down and shared stories about his childhood with them.

His life was so different from theirs when he was little and living with his family on Water 7. At times, Rei was confused about why her father had stopped traveling. Whenever she had asked him about it, he would smile and tell her it was because he wanted to be with her mother, Koi. Life traveling on the sea was dangerous at times because of the pirates and he didn't want to put his family in harms way.

For some reason, it always disappointed Rei that her family didn't travel. Her mother, her siblings, and she herself had never been off the island, unlike her father, and she yearned to know what the other islands were like, what their people were like, and what made them unique and different. Books could only tell her so much.

Perhaps that was why she was so thrilled about adventures and pirates, because pirates seemed to have the freedom to see the world without having to obey the rules of the World Government. It wasn't that she thought Marines were bad, they were constant visitors to the island when they were in need of supplies, but they seemed to have too many rules that they had to follow that limited them in having adventures.

So, when Rei and her sisters were told one morning that they were going on a vacation to visit their father's family in Water 7, Rei was beyond elated. Though she didn't jump all over her father like her sisters did, there had been no way to wipe that smile from Rei's face the whole week before they set sail. Her father told her that his old captain and crew were coming into port.

They had sent him a message from the island over, checking up on the man that had jumped ship at Fireworks Island. Though his old crew had been sad to see him go, they knew that he had always been looking to settle down and start a family. It had only been a matter of time. Anyways, her father had been surprised when they said that they would not only be pulling up to port at Fireworks Island, but also their main destination was Water 7.

Apparently, from what Rei understood, the captain had invited their whole family to join to go to Water 7, where they would drop them off. They would only be there for a week or so before departing again and would be back within a month, heading back towards Fireworks Island, and would pick them up and take them home. And as long as her father helped on the ship, the trip would be free!

Rei wasn't sure what was more exciting, going out to sea on a real ship with real sailors or going to see Water 7 and seeing the place her father grew up. She decided it was the trip as a whole that was the most exciting prospect. The ship would be in port within the week, and would depart after about three days of getting there. Allowing the men to restock their supplies and help settle the Swift family into the bunker that was to be theirs for the duration of the trip.

In response to this news, Rei took the week before the ship got there to prepare. She helped her mother pack what would be necessary for the family have for their several month long adventure, but also studied from the books she could get her hands on about ships, the proper jargon used by sailors, and other useful things like how to tie the different knots that the sailors used for their daily lives on the ship.

Her father would even help her practice her knot tying, enjoying the fact that his daughter was so excited about the trip, and even taught her some basic survival skills he had learned on the job. She began reading survival books as well, exhilarated by the daydream of being castaway on a deserted island. All the information she learned only fueled her excitement for their trip.

When the ship finally pulled into port, Rei could name the type of boat it was, what its trade was, how many lifeboats it had, what the flag they sailed under symbolized, and what license the captain had in order to have command over the ship. It was, of course, a merchant ship that dealt in transporting the goods of its customer to the intended destination. The goods varied on the client and their particular trade. The captain probably even had a voyage charter to allow him to travel from port to port and deal with different clients along the way.

As her father had said, the ship stayed on Fireworks Island for three days. Most of the time, the crew was busy gathering up supplies or relaxing at the local bar, but her father managed to steal away some of the captain's time, long enough to introduce the man to his wife and children. His name was Mizushima Roka and he also came from Water 7 like her father. He was only a few years older than Jon, but her father had explained that he had graduated from school with the highest marks and learned the trade quickly under the tutelage of his father, who was the owner and previous captain of the ship before handing it over to Mizushima Roka.

Captain Mizushima was a very charming and pleasant man, Rei observed as he spoke to her father and mother. He had a deep voice that was rich, not raspy or gruff at all, and he liked to smile. Rei had to crane her neck to even see the guy's face, since he was tall.

Her father probably wasn't the best person to compare other people to since he wasn't the tallest, but he wasn't too short either, barely taller than her mother by perhaps an inch, but this guy was definitely taller by at least a foot or two. He had a sturdy frame and though he wasn't packed with muscle like some of his men, he looked like he could hold his own quite well. The man also had long black hair that he kept pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, his uniform clean and pristine.

Probably the best feature about him were his eyes. They were a brilliant blue, reminding her of the ocean when the sky was clear and the blue was reflecting off the ocean's surface. The color was very prominent in comparison to his black hair and sun-kissed skin.

It surprised her parents as well as herself when she took an instant liking to the man, chatting with him without stammering over her words like she did with the neighbors or strangers. He was very interested in her as she talked to him, telling him about all the things she learned about sailing from her father and the books in the local library.

Captain Mizushima couldn't stay as long as Rei had wanted, needing to see to a few things on the ship before their departure in the morning, but he promised that he would let her stand with him during tomorrow's departure and see how he commanded his ship. And boy did he live up to his promise. The ship left around eleven the next day, after her family was shown to the bunker that they would share for the duration of the trip and made sure that they had everything that would be needed. Captain Mizushima came to their bunker personally and escorted Rei up onto the deck as he gave the command to cast off.

Never before had Rei seen such an event from up close and never did she feel such excitement before that moment bubbling up inside of her. The call of the ocean was powerful at that moment as it carried the merchant ship towards the horizon and farther and farther away from Fireworks Island. It was probably during that period of time that Rei knew that she would never again be content about living on Fireworks Island. The world she knew back on the isle was now too small for her and she longed for a world far bigger than just one, small island.

And somewhere in her bones she knew that this voyage to Water 7 was the first of many that she would take. However, she also had a foreboding feeling stirring within her. Somehow, she felt that this simple journey was going to take her far, far from everything she knew and she wasn't sure if it would ever let her go back. Rei shook the feeling, telling herself it was nothing but a childish fantasy gone awry, but deep down she knew her instincts had yet to lead her astray.

Rei quickly made her way towards Captain Mizushima, who was talking with his quartermaster over the details of the ship. The morning was particularly foggy, thicker than the usual mist that gripped Fireworks Island in the early morning. This fog was so thick it was almost impossible to see farther than fifty feet away. The Captain had already ordered that the ship stay alert and to furl the sails so that they didn't accidently hit another ship. It was apparently a popular route and in this weather, Captain Mizushima believed it was best to slow down the speed of the ship just in case they came upon another ship and realized it too late.

The captain gave the young child a quick glance and nod, acknowledging that he saw her there, before returning his full attention back onto his quartermaster. They were busy discussing the current route the ship was taking and if it was the most proficient route. The other man assured Captain Mizushima that it was, reminding the captain that this route had the least percentile of pirate attacks over the other routes.

"I like to be overly precautious," Roka explained as their conversation came to an end. "We have civilians on the ship this time, not just cargo. Cargo can be replaced but not human lives. Forgive me, fog naturally makes me nervous."

"No, sir, I agree. I've sailed with too many captains that did not respect the temper of the ocean or the cunning of her less than noble residence. Many of them are no longer able to tell the tale of their learned humility after their brutal deaths." The quartermaster agreed. "Better safe than sorry."

"Indeed." Roka turned his gaze onto little Rei again, his strict features softening upon looking at her.

"Good morning Rei. How has your morning been?" Roka asked the girl as his eyes darted about his ship, trying to catch glimpse of something. "Are your sisters on deck yet?"

Rei did well to smother the giggle before it left her throat. As much as she loved her sisters, they both made it very difficult for her not to become irritated with them. Usually she was fine with their shenanigans, but after they had embarrassed her thoroughly yesterday, she was not in the mood to be around them.

"I am well Captain Mizushima. My sisters are with my mother, Captain. She decided that they had to be given a punishment in order to understand that they can't do whatever they want. I think she wanted it to be until we landed at Water 7, but I think she decided that she'd let them off the hook once they learn their lesson."

"Your mother is very wise then," Roka agreed with a light laugh, "As would all my men agree." Now that he wasn't concerned about little hands touching things they should not be, he was now able to concentrate on Rei. "My, that is a very pretty hairpin you are wearing today."

The hair ornament was a golden hairpin that had two leaf shapes that expanded on each side of the pins like bird wings. There were several rubies as well that adorned each end of the golden leaves while a big red jasper sat in the middle of smaller golden leaves, similar to the two large ones littered with rubies.

"Un!" Rei agreed with a light noise. Her hands instantly went to touch the hairpin as she beamed up at the men. "My Momma gave it to me! She said that it has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations! She said that her momma gave it to her when she was a lot older than me, but she thinks I'm mature enough now to have it."

Roka forced a smile, easily fooling the child before him. He knew why her mother had given her the hairpin. He had seen how openly Rei acted around him and how she acted around his other men when he wasn't present. Though she wasn't nervous around her parents or her siblings, Jon had told him that it was a rare anomaly that Rei was comfortable around anyone outside their small family. He had also seen how her mother responded to her daughter's friendliness with him. Though Jon was ecstatic that his daughter was getting along with someone other than her relatives, her mother seemed somewhat jealous over the growing relationship him and her daughter had. She had probably given her daughter the hairpin as a way to re-establish her relationship with her daughter.

Roka did feel bad that her mother felt threatened by him, but he couldn't explain the rapport that he felt with the little girl. It was a kinship of sorts. Ever since he saw those intelligent, ruby eyes he knew that the child was similar to him and his own. Because of that kinship, he yearned to teach her all that her little heart desired.

"It suits you very well." Roka told her, watching as Rei's smile grew even wider with his compliment.

"Thank you Captain!"

"You're very welcome, Rei." Roka nodded. "Now, remind me, what are we learning about today?"

"Well last night Papa showed me the different constellations in the sky so that I could be extra ready to learn how to read charts and how to navigate with just a map and compass!" Rei clarified with an excited tone.

Last night she had a very hard night sleeping because she was so excited about learning about reading charts. It was even better than learning about knots, about the different equipment a merchant ship had, including their arsenal, or about the different duties preformed on the ship.

"Alrighty then," Roka started, standing up and glancing at the man beside him, "I guess that means you'll be teaching Miss Rei alongside me, neh?"

The other man gave out a quick laugh before responding to his Captain and old time comrade. "Well I am the quartermaster around here Captain. I would be insulted if you didn't allow me to assist in the young lady's tutelage, especially in navigation."

"I'm glad you agree." Roka nodded, before turning his gaze at Rei. "Rei, can you tell me what the quartermaster's role is here on the ship?"

"Un. The quartermaster is an able seaman who is in charge of the ship's navigation as well as the sea charts and maps. They are usually independent or unlicensed members of the deck department on merchant ships. It is different on Navy ships because they are within their own ranking system there, but they still steer the helm or apply the helm orders given by the Captain or his watch officers." Rei informed Roku with a proud look on her face for remembering. "That's correct, isn't it Captain Mizushima?"

"Yes indeed, Rei. Now, let all three of us head over to my office and Mr. Jackson will begin your lesson."

Rei nodded and all three of them began to walk over to the captain's office. The fog still thick even as the sun rose higher and higher. Roku resisted sighing at the setback the fog created and focused on the young girl instead. She was brilliant, already memorizing all of her lessons and pursuing more knowledge than most eight year olds would even have the attention span for. The only child he knew with such learning capabilities like hers was his eldest son, but even he had difficulty learning things he had no interest in. Rei just seemed to soak up everything like a sponge, whether or not she truly was interested in the knowledge. He could already tell that this girl was to become something very, very special.

By the time they had left the Captain's office, it was close to lunchtime and Roka needed to check on his men before returning Rei to her family to eat. Afterwards, he would have been more than happy to continue her tutelage, if her parents said it was fine. As he, the Quartermaster, and Rei walked out onto the deck, he could immediately tell something was off.

The fog was still thick in the air, not at all deterred since was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds, but that was not what seemed off. He paused in his step, incidentally making both his companions stop behind him as well.

"Something is wrong," Roka murmured to his quartermaster in a deep tone, edge evident in his tone.

He was already making a grab for his saber as did the other seaman.

"What is it?" The other man asked as he too was instantly on guard, pushing Rei between him and the Captain for better protection.

"Listen." Roka whispered, his bright blue eyes scanning the area before him.

Rei, bless her heart, stayed silent as she also tried to figure out what was putting him on edge. She wasn't crying or freaking out like most children would but staying on guard as well despite her fear.

"I don't hear anything." She shook her head, not understanding what she was supposed to be listening for.

"Exactly," Mr. Jackson said, also now drawing his saber from its sheath. "There is nary a sound on deck besides the waves and creaking of the boat- where are the men?"

Rei realized what the two meant when she remembered there was hardly ever a time where there weren't at least two men on deck walking about or working, shouting, and making noise. All was silent and that was the problem. The ship was too silent for everything to be all right.

Suddenly, before Rei could even blink, they were surrounded. Roka and Mr. Jackson were exchanging blows with men that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. All of them wore black masks around their face that had fox ears, signifying to their enemies which pirate crew they were affiliated with. Roka easily fended them off, keeping Rei close to him as he fought the overwhelming forces that threatened to harm him.

"Blast! They're pirates! They must have come across us while sailing through the fog!" Roka shouted over to Jackson, who was having a much harder time fighting off the men attacking him.

"They must have been waiting for us to leave your office so they could easily capture us!" Mr. Jackson agreed, before swinging his saber to defend himself from a fatal blow.

The two of them put up a good fight despite the odds, but it cost them a lot of their energy and concentration. There were too many for just two men to overtake- no matter how talented they were- and it only took one poor move for both of them to be defeated. Roka was doing well, having already defeated eight of the pirates attacking him and moving on to his ninth victory when he heard a scream, whipping around when he realized it had been Rei.

She was physically unharmed, but had been grabbed by a big man that easily looked like a gorilla with a black and blue beanie on his head, a black cloth bandit mask around his eyes, a leopard patterned scarf around his neck, long blue pants, lighter blue sash around his waist, black boots, and a pair of blue gloves that came up to his elbows.

Rei didn't stay idle as the man held her in his grasps, wiggling and squirming as she fought to break free. "Lemme go! Lemme go!" she chanted as she tried her best to break his powerful hold on her.

"Leave her alone!" Roka warned sternly as he began to turn his attention towards the man.

However, before he could go any further, the pirates behind him took the opportunity to attack. One of them wrapped his beefy arm around Roka's neck, while the other wrangled the sword out of his grasp. Mr. Jackson too had lost his concentration when Rei had let out her startled scream and now was unarmed and disabled. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. Both men were quickly bound with their hands behind their backs and dropped to their knees.

To her horror, the pirates didn't stop with binding them. A small scream came from Rei's mouth as the first fist beat against Roka's face. The proud man spat blood on the wretched boots of his attacker. It only earned him another slap. Mr. Jackson tried to do something – anything – that could possibly help them out of their current situation, but his attempts were futile. His consequence for struggling was a kick in the ribs. Rei was shocked by the complete absence of honour in these pirates. Despite the fact that Roka and Mr. Jackson were bound and completely unable to defend themselves, they continued to beat upon them mercilessly.

"Captain Mizushima! Mr. Jackson!" Rei cried out, once again squirming in the gorilla man's hold.

The man that held her just snickered while he held onto her tighter, making sure not to drop her as he giggled over the scene before him. Rei couldn't believe that someone could find such cruelty hilarious. However, she soon found that all these pirates were enjoying themselves as some of the others joined in on the gorilla man's laughter.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she watched the brutality of these pirates. Both Captain Mizushima and Mr. Jackson were curled into balls as the pirates kicked, stomped, and even spat on them like they were trash beneath their feet. This wasn't what she thought pirates were like at all. These people were far more terrifying than the bad pirates that she and her sisters pretended to fight in their backyard adventures.

Were all pirates this cruel?

Suddenly, all the laugher died down and all the men stood at attention as one figure came strolling from the pirate ship to Captain Mizushima's. Though Rei was having a hard time paying attention in her emotional turmoil, she realized that this man was probably the pirates' captain.

He was an ugly, stout man with a long pointy red nose, beady eyes, sinister smile, and a huge potbelly. His spiked hair split down the middle creating an image of animal ears, like a dog or a fox or something. Rei didn't think he looked all that impressive as a pirate, the one holding her was much bigger and much stronger looking than this small man, but perhaps he had abilities that made him well feared and well respected within his pirate crew.

"Well done. Well done indeed." He praised his men as he sauntered further onto the ship. "You've made me proud boys."

"Thank you Captain Foxy, sir!" The pirates chimed, pleased to have earned the praise of the ugly man.

"How many times must I say it? Call me Oyabin." Captain Foxy insisted to his crew, a smirk on his face as he watched the two captive men take in his name.

"Yes Oyabin." His men corrected themselves, smiling at how they had made their captain proud.

"Foxy? As in Foxy the Silver Fox?" Roka said, a rumbled in his voice from the blood and mucus coating his throat and mouth due to his earlier beating.

The other captain, Captain Foxy, beamed at this identification. He puffed out his chest a bit, raising his head high as he let out a laugh. "Fuehfehfehfeh, that would be I! The one, the only!"

Before he could continue to gloat, Roka interrupted him.

"You're a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, and a third-rate thief!" He all but growled, his features marred by an intense anger as he continued to shout at the little man. "Only a coward would attack a ship like you've just done! Where is the honor in this?"

Foxy instantly deflated at Captain Roka's harsh verbal jabs, sinking to his hands and knees in an over the top expression of his gloom. The man that held onto Rei was giggling at his captain's actions, not at all upset by the hurtful words like the other crew members. However, the scene only lasted a few moments, instantly Foxy sprang back up, arms crossed as he realized how unprofessional he had been.

"I am a pirate captain!" He all but shouted, nose up in the air in a 'better than thou' fashion. "I don't need a code of honor as long as I get whatever the hell I want! I do what I want and I take what I want!"

A just to prove a point, he marched up to Captain Mizushima and proceeded to stomp upon his already beaten form. Roka didn't give the other captain the pleasure of hearing him groan in pain, instead biting his lip to keep from making a sound as the other man proceeded to stomp his right foot repeatedly upon Roka's torso.

Rei couldn't do anything but watch in horror as the pirate captain continued his rampage upon Captain Mizushima. She had tried earlier to break free of the behemoth that held her tightly in his grasps to do anything to help, but as she continued to watch in horror, she realized she could do nothing at all. Finally, after what felt like forever to the young child, she found her voice.

"Stop it! STOP IT!" She wailed as tears began to fall from her eyes. Her normally quiet voice rang out strong as she once more began to fight her captor. "Leave him alone! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

"Rei..." Roka muttered under his breath, trying to soothe the child before she got herself into dire trouble, but it was too late on his part. Foxy had already stopped what he was doing and turned to look at the small child in his minion's hold.

"And what do you have there, Hamburg?" He asked the gorilla like man, slowly sauntering over to get a better look at the little girl- easily his next victim.

"She was with, pupupupupu, the ship's captain and his quartermaster." Hamburg told him, giggling as if all of this was funny. "I thought you'd like me to hold on to her since she has such a pretty, shiny thing in her hair, pupupupupu."

Foxy automatically looked upon Rei's crown of raven locks, zeroing in on her mother's hair pin. Rei was now silent, fear having stolen her voice now that this cruel man's attention was upon her.

"My, what a pretty hair pin you have here, little girl." Foxy cooed darkly as he slowly lifted his hand as stroked her soft locks of hair, sidling his hand to where the hair pin was skillfully wound into her long hair. "So pretty, in fact, that I think I'll just keep it for myself!"

And with that, he proceeded to try to rip it from her hair. Rei screamed in pain, once more fighting the grip of Hamburg as her scalp seared with pain. Her mother, bless her soul, had put the accessory in her hair in such a way that the little girl wouldn't be able to cause it to come loose with any of her strenuous playing. And even now, the hair pin wouldn't come out, just tangling itself further into her hair the more Foxy pulled.

"How annoying," Foxy gripped, quitting his efforts for a while to peer down at the little girl's tearful face. "You're the kind of brat who likes to make everything difficult, aren't you?"

Rei couldn't help but grow angry at this man. He was the worst human being she had ever met! He purposely hurt people and took enjoyment out of it! He was willing to take things that were special to other people! He wasn't kind at all. Not him, not his men. Rei wondered if this was truly what a pirate was. A man without honor, who lied and cheated and stole and welcomed the bloodshed of the innocent. If so, she wished to be nothing like him and his ilk.

With her anger feeding her courage, Rei glared furiously at Foxy, looking him dead in the eyes as she muttered her next words. "You're a horrible monster and you look like an ugly dog."

Unlike before, where he had instantly deflated at harsh words, Foxy only took a few steps back, surprised by the malice that radiated from this small child. He would have eventually delated, once overcoming his shock, if it had not been for making eye contact with this little girl. He was instantly mesmerized by her eyes. They were like two ruby orbs that simmered like living pools of magma.

Foxy had heard stories about eyes that seemed to contain the essence of living elements, but never before did he think that those stories might be true. Forget about the stupid hair pin in the child's ratty hair, the girl as a whole was a treasure! If he could get her to Sabaody Archipelago, he could sell her for a zillion beli easily!

"Oyabin?" One of his men called to him, shaking him of his stupor. "Should we punish the little bitch for saying that to you?"

"No." Foxy said, causing everyone to blink in surprise. He cleared his throat, composing himself once more and placing that sinister smile on his lips once more. "No. We aren't to harm little miss- Rei, was it?"

"We aren't?" Hamburg asked, looking down inquisitively at the small child in his hands.

"No. Instead, we'll be taking her with us, as our honored guest."

Rei instantly paled, no longer glaring at the man in absolute hatred. Her stomach dropped at the idea of being taken by these horrible people. Her voice was once more lost to fear as she began to look around in a frenzied manner, pleading silently for anyone to save her from this condemnation.

"No!" Roka shouted, fighting against his restraints with new vigor. "Leave Rei alone! She's only a child!"

"Only a child," Foxy laughed, grabbing Rei's face harshly and showcasing her frightened expression to the other Captain. "Look at these eyes! They are not only rare, but valuable! Think of how much somebody would be willing to pay for such a exotic eyes! She's more than just a child; she's a gold mine! Fuehfehfehfeh!"

Releasing her face, Foxy made a bored gesture at Hamburg. "Go, throw her in our brig. I'll figure out what to do with her once we are done here and off celebrating our triumph later tonight."

As Hamburg began to walk away, Rei managed to find her voice once more.

"No!" She cried hysterically, wiggling and fighting once more. "No! Don't let them take me! Captain Mizushima! Don't let them take me! Captain Mizushima! Please!"

Tears were pouring down her face as she saw the fallen expression of the man she was pleading so desperately to save her. He looked devastated at this turn of events. Right before Hamburg was able to return to his crew's ship, Rei saw the determination return to Captain Mizushima's face as he fought his bindings once more with renewed vigor. Something within him had burst, giving him strength that wasn't present before and allowing his to snap out of his bonds.

"You will not take her!" He shouted, grabbing his rapier that had been within his range and zeroing in on Hamburg.

Hamburg had barely turned around to see the man about to attack when something unexpected happened. All Rei had heard before a flood of violet light washed over Captain Mizushima was the words 'Nora Nora Beam'. Instantly, Captain Mizushima had slowed down, barely moving at all.

"Fuehfehfehfeh, I had been hoping to use this new technique of mine," Foxy suddenly walked up to Mizushima's slowed form. "I just recently came across this new power and have been dying to try it out on someone like yourself. Too bad for you, though. You might have actually gotten the girl back if I had been anyone else. Now what to do... what to do..."

And right before Rei's eyes, Captain Foxy let out a flurry of punches upon the slow moving form of Captain Mizushima, calling out "Kyuubi Rush" as he did so. At first, the hits didn't seem to do anything at all, but seconds after Foxy stopped, Mizushima's prone form went flying, the man letting out a howl of pain as he was sent fifty feet the opposite direction and into the ocean with a harsh splash.

"Captain Mizushima!" Rei screamed, looking down at the rippling water where he had broken the water's film.

"Alright men, grab what you can and let's head out! We've got a long way to go to get our pay this time, but I promise you, men, it will be well worth it!" Foxy called out to his men, already passing Hamburg and boarding his ship once more.

"Yes Oyabin, sir!" His men gleefully called out, gathering some of the things upon the upper deck and taking it onto theirs.

Hamburg was once more moving, having now boarded the pirate's ship and was heading down into the lower sections to throw their prisoner into the brig. Rei didn't fight anymore, all her energy gone as she continued to cry. She cried over the fact that she would never see her family again, poor Captain Mizushima, and about how she didn't know what was to become of her.

She was scared. Pirates weren't at all what she thought they'd be like. They were horrible and now, she was their prisoner. She let out a pained cry when Hamburg had opened the cell door and thrown her in without a second thought. She didn't move from where she had landed, only pulled her legs to her chest, hugging them with her arms as she continued to cry.

She was all alone in great danger.

And it was all because of her accursed red eyes.

Oyabin-Boss

A/N: Thank you for your patience for this chapter. It went through couple of plot make-overs, before it became the chapter that captures an essence of One Piece. Now for the kidnapping, Foxy seemed the logical choice. In the series, he had 499 crew members and I imagine it took at least a few years to 'win' people through the 920 Davy Back Fights.

As a gentle reminder for those who haven't visited my profile, please do. I have addressed story elements as well as reasons for slow updating, rating, etc. This is a collaboration between my friend Volleys-chan and myself, so please take care of this story. And when reviewing, please keep flames to yourself but constructive criticism is always welcomed.