Hello everyone! Here is my new One Piece SYOC story! Let me know what you think!

Sorry for the slow start, but it's meet the Captain time!

You can find the form on my profile page.

I also have a Discord and created a server for the story if anyone is interested, you can find the Discord link on the top of my profile page.

Submissions are due: October 15, 2023

Crew Positions:

Captain: Belladonna D. Raisa, 19 (QueenNox27)

First Mate:

Navigator:

Cook:

Sniper:

Doctor:

Shipwright:

Helmsman:

Scholar/Chronicler:

Musician:

Merchant/Treasurer:

Engineer/Scientist:

Lookout:

SYOC Submission Rules:

1. I will only accept characters through PM, and please title the PM (Gilded Rose, OC Name, Crew Position)

2. I will accept 10-12 OCs, you can find the Crew Position List on my profile page and above.

3. While your character can have Haki, DO NOT GIVE THEM CONQUEROR'S HAKI UNLESS YOU RUN IT BY ME. REMEMBER CONQUERORS HAKI IS SUPPOSED TO BE RARE.

4. No characters with the initial "D" since Raisa is one already.

5. I'll only accept 4 characters with devil fruits (0/4)

6. Your OC can be related to canon characters if it makes sense.

7. If you have any further questions please just ask through PMs.

8. Erase everything in (Parenthesis)

Story Info:

1. The story starts four months after Marineford

2. The story starts out in the South Blue, so Raisa will pick up some crew there before moving to the Grand Line like the Strawhats.

Ch. 1- Belladonna D. Raisa

Four months after the Paramount War

South Blue

Yagba Kingdom

A girl with deeply tanned skin sat on a cliff that overlooked the sea, her chin-length dark brown hair constantly falling into her eyes as she looked down at an old, crumpled newspaper, declaring the victory of the Marines over the Whitebeard Pirates. Her brows furrowed at the pictures of two dead pirates, Whitebeard himself, standing proud and straight even in death, and Portgas D. Ace, second commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and more interesting to her, the son of the late Pirate King Gold Roger.

Her deep silver eyes then rose from the paper to the glittering sea, admiring the deep blue color of the water and how the sunlight glittered off the waves, her mind going to one of Whitebeard's last proclamations before his death. The One Piece is real.

The confirmation of Gold Roger's treasure excited her and was the last nudge she needed to solidify her decision to set sail to find the One Piece, even if it marked her as a pirate. She wasn't interested in becoming Pirate King or anything like that... but the allure of the mystery of the One Piece was enough for her to want to set out to sea and into the unknown.

Who knew what else she would find out there in that big vast ocean that was filled with mystery and untold stories; just thinking about it all sent a thrill through her, there was nothing more that she could ask for, not even gold or jewels, those useless things paled in comparison to the adventure that she'd be getting, the discoveries she'd learn. She just couldn't believe that her adventure was finally going to start.

A large grin spread across her face as she stood up from the cliff, neatly tucking the newspaper back into her bag before brushing the dust off her clothes which consisted of a white high-neck décolletage blouse with gold studded wristbands on the arms under a black overbust corset with red strips holding it in place, and a black mid-thigh length skirt with a layer of red tulle underneath.

She also wore knee-high dark maroon stockings, and red-soled black boots with four straps and gold buckles. And lastly, over her outfit, she wore a rather out-of-place red cloak around her shoulders, the cloak clasped together by a circular pin with a gilded rose emblem on it.

"Raisa!" The girl, or rather young woman turned at the sound of her name to see a flustered, black-haired woman running towards her, face flushed red and hair in disarray. "The bandits are already in the mines!"

"They are?" Raisa looked at the other girl in excitement, her grin growing larger. "Well, we can't let them beat us, can we?" She hurried in the direction of the mines, not wanting bandits to take a treasure before she could.

"Why are we chasing them? And why did a check for you? Why am I coming with you?" Alyse huffed in exasperation and wondered if she had gone insane. Why was she rushing into a potentially dangerous situation?! She brushed her black hair out of her face as she ran after Raisa, "And I'll say this again, but what you're about to do is a bad idea. Those bandits outnumber you three-to-one! Why do you even want the treasure?!"

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Raisa laughed, glancing back at her, "And I don't actually care about the treasure, I care more about the trials to it. We can't let them have the fun that should be ours!"

"It's not worth our lives," Alyse hurried after Raisa, still following while her brain screamed at her to run away. Maybe she did have a death wish or something. "Can't you go on another so-called adventure? Is it because what they're after belongs to my family? You don't owe us anything." Alyse said, dumbfounded as to why Raisa was so eager to help. It couldn't just be because of an old, simple treasure map her great-great-great grandparents left the family.

Her family hadn't even cared about the map, leaving it rolled up and dusty in their family home for ages. Unfortunately for them, bandits had learned of the map and raided their home for it, with no one in her family able to do anything. Which had led to now... with Raisa determined to reach the treasure before the bandits, even though it had nothing to do with her.

Raisa stopped in her tracks and Alyse crashed back into the ground, wincing before looking up to meet Raisa's serious gaze.

Raisa thought back to the time on her home island and how she hadn't been able to get a ship for months. No matter how she tried, she just couldn't get a ship to set sail. No one would sell one to her and she had refused to simply steal a ship. She had only lucked out with the Elfeman family since they were merchants and were heading home after their last stop.

"Alyse, your family let me hitch a ride from Fleur Kingdom even if they had no reason to. I wouldn't be here now, able to start my journey if it wasn't for your kindness. Your family gave me a chance and I can never repay that. The least I can do is make sure the treasure your family left behind is given to the right people."

With that Raisa took off running for the mines again with Alyse chasing her, "But they're bandits! What can you do against them?!" She demanded.

"Beat them up," Raisa said simply, her eyes shining with anticipation, she had been getting rusty, just being on Alyse's family's merchant ship for weeks, " Besides, I'd rather let you and your family have it than some stinky bandits."

The two of them were about to break through the tree line where the old mines were when Raisa suddenly grabbed onto Alyse and tugged her down behind a push before the mine. There were at least two dozen bandits milling about the entrance of the mine, some stopping to watch as a rather large wooden chest was dragged out of the mines.

"Damn... they beat us to the treasure." Raisa sulked, genuinely believing that they would have gotten there first. There went her fun.

"Is that the problem?!" Alyse gave Raisa a glare. "I told you there were too many." Why, oh why had she chased after the brunette?

"Don't worry I got this," Raisa reassured, dark silver eyes taking the hulking men, from what she could see they were relatively well-armed with wickedly curved swords hanging off all their hips, a handful even had pistols. "Just stay here and be my lookout, shout if you see any more approach."

Alyse opened her mouth to protest but before she could Raisa jumped out from behind the bush and landed firmly in front of the bandits, casually readjusting her cloak when she saw that she got their attention.

"I think you have something that belongs to my friend," Raisa said, completely at ease in front of the men. "I'd like it back."

There was a moment of silence as the bandits stared at her stunned and Alyse facepalmed. Was Raisa really going to just ask for their possessions back? Alyse was a simple person but even she knew that would never work. Finally, the bandits burst out laughing at the girl.

"Finder's keeper's girl. This treasure is ours," A large man with a thick and untamed mustache leered at her. "Now if you know what's good for you scram."

"Hold on now Boss," Another, younger bandit stepped in, lust in his eyes as he took in Raisa's slim body. "She's such a pretty thing to shoo away," The young bandit stepped closer to her, a wicked gleam in his eyes, "Why don't you stick around darling? I'm sure we'd have more fun with you than whatever's in that mine."

He was only an arm's length away from Raisa when her leg suddenly kicked out, hitting him right between his legs.

The young bandit let out a choked scream as he fell to the ground, face white.

"Oops, my foot slipped," Raisa said, blinking innocently at the bandits.

There was another moment of silence before the bandits exploded in a frenzy, many of them drawing their swords at her. They were about to pounce when Mustache held up his hand, stopping them. He silently drew out his pistol and aimed it at her, but she was completely unphased.

"Big mistake girl," Mustache bandit snarled, anger building in him when Raisa just shrugged.

"You're the one who's making a mistake." Raisa taunted. The words had barely left her lips when the sound of a pistol firing filled the air. Followed by more silence.

The bandits stared in shock and horror at Raisa. They had expected her to fall to the ground dead... instead, she was still standing, vibrant red rose petals suddenly floating in the air around her... the red petals also seemed to be what her body was made out of, red rose petals visible where the hole the bullet left behind should have been before Raisa's body once again solidified, showing that the bullet had done no damage.

"Y-you're a devil fruit user?" Mustache took a shaky step back, sweat suddenly appearing on his face.

Raisa smirked at the horrified looks on their faces, "I ate the Rōzu Rōzu no Mi, I'm a living Rose human." She boasted happily holding up her hand to show them. She easily disassembled her hand into dozens of brilliant rose petals before reforming her hand into solid flesh.

"R-run! I didn't sign up to fight a devil fruit user!" One of the bandits cried hysterically and the bandits started to scatter before Mustache called them back,

"Get back here! Who cares if she's a devil fruit user?! If you don't kill her, you'll deal with me instead!" Mustache growled as he fired his pistol at her again, but Raisa's body scattered into rose petals with each shot, the bullets ineffective against her body.

The bandits rallied at Mustache's threats and charged at Raisa once she reformed her body. "Petal dance," Raisa scattered a thick layer of petals along the floor before shooting them up in spikes and sending a good number of bandits shooting through the air.

She crouched down just in time to avoid the sword that slashed in the air above her head, she rolled onto her shoulders and kicked up, landing a solid kick against the bandit's jaw, sending him stumbling to the ground. She then spun, jumping back to her feet. She grabbed a bandit's arm just as he tried to punch her and flipped her over her head.

"Come on, is that it?" Raisa looked around eagerly, practically bouncing on her toes. "Rose swarm," She punched out, turning her fist into a cluster of rose petals that completely swarmed six bandits, cutting into them.

Raisa laughed, retracting her arm. She jumped into the air, "Rose raid," her body turned into a swarm of rose petals, easily encompassing the remaining bandits, cutting into them, and throwing them through the air; essentially trapping them until the last bandit fell.

Mustache was the last one standing, but he was swaying dangerously on his feet when Raisa completely reformed her body, with only a few stray petals remaining. "Too bad mister Mustache, but I'll be taking my friend's things back." She easily plucked the map out of his shirt pocket before walking past the man and lifting the chest with a grunt, it was bigger and heavier than she thought it was.

"... my name... isn't Mustache..." The man slurred, dazed before falling to the ground with a thump.

"Whatever you say," Raisa said cheerfully, barely sparing him a glance. "I got your stuff." She grinned, looking at Alyse who looked like she was trying to pick her jaw up from the floor. "What?" Raisa cocked her head to the side.

"You... I..." Alyse shook her head, she didn't know what to say.

"It was no problem. As I said, I owe you guys for taking me from the Fleur Kingdom." Raisa practically skipped past her, making her way towards the cliff.

"You took those guys out like it was nothing" Alyse once again found herself running after the older girl.

"They asked for it the moment they stole your map," Raisa's brows twitched in annoyance as she remembered their actions. She led them back to the cliff that she had been sitting on before, gently placing the chest on the ground. "Here you go."

"You want me to open it?" Alyse blinked at Raisa in confusion.

"Well, you're my trusted lookout, I think you deserve to see it before anyone else right?" Raisa grinned.

"... I didn't even do anything..." Alyse grumbled, all she had done was cower behind a bush while Raisa had fearlessly and easily taken out the local bandits; something she was sure no one had ever done before. But still, she dropped to her knees and yanked the top of the chest open, blinking in shock and then disappointment when she took in the contents... pictures, journals, the most expensive things were some pieces of jewelry, but she doubted they would bring in much beri to help her family. "There's not much here... I don't think you can really consider this treasure." She couldn't help but be disappointed, she didn't do anything, but with everything Raisa did... this was all it was?

Raisa gently rummaged through the trunk, gently flipping through the journals and looking at the pictures. However, at Alyse's words, she smacked the girl on the back of her head, although nowhere as hard as she could. "Don't be an idiot, this is a treasure in a way. From what I can see, it's probably some of the most valuable things your great-great-great grandparents had at the time, don't call it nothing."

"But even if it only took you a minute to deal with the bandits, we were all idiots to chase after something when we didn't know what it was," Alyse argued.

"Isn't that the best part?" Raisa asked, looking at Alyse as if she were an idiot.

"What?" Alyse returned the same look.

Raisa looked thoughtful for a moment, then pointed out towards the sea, "What is the furthest thing you can see out there?"

Alyse blinked in confusion. "The sea. It's all I can see from here."

"And what's past the point of what you can see?" Raisa asked impatiently, waving her hand in the air.

"I don't know," Alyse said, unsure of what Raisa wanted to hear. Logically, the answer would be more water and eventually islands, but she felt like Raisa wasn't looking for that answer.

"Right!" Raisa's eyes suddenly glowed as she looked out towards the sea. "What you can't see past the horizon is a mystery, the seas are full of them, the unknown. The same went for your family treasure, right? It makes it more fun if you don't know what exactly you're trying to find if you ask me."

"Even if it ends in disappointment?" Alyse raised a brow.

"Even if," Raisa nodded, "But the journey... the adventure is the most important part isn't it? And if the prize at the end is grand, then that's just a bonus." She shrugged.

"No offense, but that seems like a waste of time if the prize isn't worth the chase." Now Alyse really was looking at her as if she was crazy.

A shrug, "I'm more interested in learning the mysteries of the world like the One Piece and other mysteries and legends like it," Raisa looked out towards the sea again, the smile on her face soft and hopeful, "There's so much unknown out there. I'd love to chase as much of those mysteries, legends, and maybe some secrets too."

"Sounds like a fool's errand," Alyse said, still sounding doubtful.

Raisa laughed, "Maybe, but I'd give my life to it."

"If you go after the One Piece, you'll be deemed a pirate," Alyse said, realizing what Raisa had said previously.

"That's fine." Raisa's eyes never left the sea, the way she held herself showed just how confident she was. "It'll just make the voyage all that more challenging, and if it's not, then is it really worth it?"

Alyse let out another exasperated sigh, this conversation was going nowhere, "Never mind. Just help me get the chest back home. It's a treasure for my family, right? I'm sure they'll be happy to see it.

Dawn, the next day

Yagba Island Docks

Raisa was readying the sails of her boat. It was a rather small boat with a single caboose, no bed or kitchen; there were only benches that she could sit on. But it was enough for her until she formed a crew.

She heard footsteps on the dock and looked up to see Alyse standing on the wooden planks, a small crate of dried fruit and meat held in her hands. "Here, for you. It should last you until you reach the next island."

Raisa looked at the crate. "Isn't it too much?" Raisa asked surprised. Alyse's family had given her the boat after she had gotten their treasure back for them despite her protest but surprisingly enough, it had been Alyse's grandma who had insisted.

"I guess you were right..." Alyse said, looking away from Raisa. "That chest of pictures and journals was full of treasure for my grandma. She'd heard stories of previous generations of her family and loved them all. She never knew there were written journals or pictures of them... she's like a kid right now, reading through it all.

"Well I'm glad someone is enjoying it," Raisa said, adjusting her cloak again to make sure it didn't fall off. She then looked at Alyse, contemplative. "Do you want to come?"

"What?" Alyse gaped at her.

"I could use a lookout," She laughed at the look on Alyse's face, "Don't worry, you'll eventually learn to be a good one."

"N-no! I belong here!" Alyse immediately denied her request. "As fun as sailing around with you sounds, I'm happy here. I don't want to chase the mysteries of the seas." Even as she said the words, there was doubt in her voice, they could both hear it but Raisa accepted it.

Raisa raised a brow, "If you say so," She took the crate from Alyse and pushed away from the dock, readying herself to set sail. "If you ever change your mind, let me know." She unwound the sails and drifted away from the dock, waving.

"Take care, Raisa! I hope you have the adventure you're hoping for!" Alyse called after her.

Raisa watched the island until it faded away before turning to face the unknown expanse of ocean, her smile large. Now for the real adventure to begin.

And that's that. Sorry if the fighting sequence was stiff, first-ever fighting scene

Let me know what you think in the reviews and hope to get some submissions!

Till next time!