My early life was good, we lived on a small island near the red line. The island was infrequently visited, mainly relying on what we could produce ourselves. Because of the proximity to the archipelago, log poses didn't lock onto our island, you'd only know it was there if someone told you it was. I never got to know my mother, she died when I was still really young. It was always just my father and I, and I was happy with that. The island fluctuated between spring and summer, perfect for the crops. I was only 8, but the island was safe.
There was a small secluded beach near our house, the weather was hot and I wanted to play in the water. I had splashed around and built sandcastles for a while, and was going to head home for lunch when I spotted the strangest looking peach. It was pinkish-orange with swirls all over it, something was telling me to take a bite, so I did. It tasted absolutely fowl! But, I couldn't help but swallow. After I swallowed, a thought popped into my head, Aruku Aruku no mi. Huh, walk-walk fruit? What does that mean? I turned to leave again, still hungry after that disgusting fruit, when my hat flew off my head and into the water. I turned to get it, but as I stepped into the water, my foot didn't feel wet. Looking down, my foot was standing on top of the surface. I took another step, and then another. I was fully standing on top of the water's surface. Before I could freak out fully, it's like my brain clicked, that I knew something I shouldn't. It was that strange fruit, it did something to me and now I can walk on water.
I rushed home after that, and spent the rest of the afternoon debating if I should tell my dad. I decided to not say anything for now, worried he'd be mad that I ate a weird fruit and that I was weird now. Days turned into weeks and I sometimes forgot about my new power, occasionally I'd go back to the small beach and walk along the water, careful that no one saw me. Through some research I figured out I'd eaten a devil fruit, and that for the cool powers I got, I couldn't swim. That confused me at first, how was the ocean my enemy but I could walk on it. The minute I stepped on the ocean, it felt as solid a surface as dirt. My first question was answered when I was at the beach again, after walking a few steps out, I tried sitting. The minute I sat, I fell through the water, my whole body felt limp. I was only ankle deep but I could barely move, with a great amount of strength, I was able to crawl out. As long as I was standing, I was okay. As weeks turned to months, I became more comfortable with walking further from the beach, I'd even experimented with other "surfaces". I walked up my bedroom walls, trees, even along the ceiling, it didn't even feel like I was upside down, just felt like I was walking normally.
The worst day of my life was sunny and warm. I was newly 13 and wanted to take on the world. But, the only world I'd ever known was our tiny secluded island. I still occasionally played around with my devil fruit, using it to spy on townsfolk mostly. It was our first harvest season of the year, so it was a busy time for our island. More boats were in the harbor than usual, coming and going, mostly from Sabaody and back to sell the crops and other items. Harvest season always brought interesting merchants to the island who sold items we didn't get very often, expanding our daily markets greatly. This was the first year I was allowed to go to the markets alone. Usually, my dad took me or had a neighbor bring me with them, but I was able to convince him that I was old enough to not get into any trouble.
Dad still walked down with me from our hilly home to town, he would be busy at the docks loading his harvest and bartering for the best price.
"Okay Elisa, stay out of trouble. I'll be busy all day so you'll have to make it home yourself okay?"
"Yes dad, I got it"
"Have fun baby, I love you" My dad said, kissing my head.
"Love you too dad."
The market was packed and everyone was excited to see the exotic items brought in for the season. I perused for a while, buying some groceries for dinner but also finding a hat. It was a black cowboy hat with studs, my dad had a very similar hat and had worn it forever. I thought he might appreciate a new one. Walking away from the market, I found my favorite hill that overlooked the harbor. My dad and I would picnic here often, it had a great view and a nice tree to lie under. Setting my things down, I leaned against the tree to watch the boats pass and have a small lunch. After eating I felt myself getting tired, the weather was perfect and I let myself drift off.
BOOM
I woke up with a start, confused about where I was. It wasn't night, but the sky was dark with smoke. Looking down, the harbor was ablaze and the town had started going up as well. It was like I was having a nightmare but it was all too real. I felt frozen in place and suddenly I could hear, I could hear people screaming;
"PIRATES!"
Pirates? They never came to our island. But looking down, I could see the bodies, bodies of people that weren't alive. I could see men running around with swords cutting down anyone in their way. I had to get home, dad would look for me there first. I was running up the path to our home, I could hear people from below trying to make their way up here too. I didn't look back as I ran. I could see our house and I could see my dad. He looked crazed and then relieved seeing me run up the path.
"Oh Elisa, you're safe, you're safe" my dad said hugging me
"Dad what's happening?"
"Pirates landed, I think they followed the merchant ships here. We have to go, we have to hide"
"Where will we go?"
"There's some small boats over the hill from us. If we can get there we can sail away from the island until they leave, or even go to Sabaody. Throw some things into a bag, but be quick. I don't know how long we have until they make their way out here. "
"Okay dad" I ran inside, grabbing my backpack, I started throwing together some food, medicine and all our log poses into the bag. It had only been a few moments but my dad was yelling back into the house.
"Elisa, hide!"
I felt ice in my veins, had pirates already made it up the hill? I risked a peak out the window, and I could see a few men making their way along the path. I didn't see dad but I ducked under my bed, hoping we could make it through this. The house was silent except for the clock ticking away. Then, the front door was thrown open. I heard the heavy footsteps of two people make their way in.
"Check all the rooms, see if there's anything good here."
I heard cabinet doors opening and closing, and footsteps getting closer and closer to my room. I held my breath as the knob turned and someone entered my room. I could see their boots as they walked around, rustling through the few things I had. I was doing everything I could not to make a sound, but then the man knocked a mirror off the desk, and I made the tiniest peep in surprise. I clamped my hand over my mouth, praying he didnt hear me. I thought I was in the clear, until I was being pulled from under my bed.
"Well, what do we have here? A little mouse?"
I screamed as he dragged me outside. "Look what I found hiding inside, cute little thing" the other men looked at me in assessment. I could only focus on my dad, he was badly beaten, slouched over on the ground.
"Dad!" he looked up at me
"Elisa…" he said groaning
"Oh, a father-daughter, how cute. But, we don't really have much use for him. She's cute, and could make a nice profit, the dragons like them young" one of the men said to his mates. I could barely comprehend what they were saying. The men stopped talking and turned their attention back to us.
"Well, we need to get moving so let's wrap this up. Take the girl back to the boat with the others we've got."
As the man holding me started dragging me away, I could see the other man take out a gun, and point it at my father. I heard the gunshot before it registered what happened. It still plays in my head in slow motion, my daddy, crumbling to the ground. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe.
"let me go, let me go, let me go…." I said, It was barely audible, the man was still dragging me away. I couldn't stop staring at my fathers crumpled body. It was all too much, I could feel something building in me, tears were running down my face now, my voice was getting louder.
"let me go, let me go, LeT Me GO, LET ME GO, LET ME GOOOO!"
I could feel something escape me as I screamed, my eyes shut tight, and fists clenched. It was finally quiet when I opened my eyes, the men around me were all on the ground, they looked knocked out. My eyes found my dads body, I ran over, collapsing to the ground. He was still warm, but he wasn't breathing. I wanted to cry, but my eyes were dry, I didn't know what to do. Should I try to find marines, could they do anything? I had no one now, I didn't know who I could trust. I heard the men groaning, I needed to get away from them quickly. I didn't want to leave my dad here, but I couldn't take him with me. I wrapped my arms around his body one last time.
"I love you daddy"
I could feel fresh tears start to fall, and I took off running towards the water. I didn't know where I was going but I had to leave this place. My feet made contact with the water and I kept running, I kept going until I couldn't see my island any more. When I was well and truly alone, I broke down. The tears couldn't stop coming now, I crouched down and hugged my knees to my chest. I stayed like that for who knows how long. I only looked up when I heard the sound of water splashing. Looking to my right was an older man, swimming? I watched the man as he got closer and closer to me. He must have felt my stare because he stopped and looked up. He looked startled for a moment, then, confused.
"A girl, crouched on the ocean?" he asked, curious
"A man, swimming in the open ocean?" I replied back without much thought. The man chuckled at that.
"So what are you doing out here?"
"Pirates attacked our island, and they killed my dad, so I ran. I don't know where I am though. What are you doing out here?" I said it all, almost emotionlessly, still not wanting to believe it to be true. The man seemed to contemplate what I said.
"I'm just swimming home, I live on the archipelago. You could come with me if you want? My wife could at least get you something to eat and a place to sleep for the night" I must not have looked convinced because he tried again "at the very least you could follow me back to the island so you're not as lost anymore." Now, that seemed like at least the start of a plan, so I nodded my head and followed after the man as he swam away. The man started doing a backstroke so he could look at me and talk.
"So, what's your name?"
"Elisa"
"Well hello Elisa-chan, I'm Ray, my wife is named Shakky. She owns a bar and I coat ships." I was intrigued by what he said, and it also kept my mind off darker thoughts.
"What do you mean you "coat ships"? Do you paint them or something?"
He chuckled "Something like that, you have to coat a boat to get under the red line and into the new world" my eyes bulged at that
"You can go UNDER the red line?"
"Well of course, that's where fishman island is. Some people can't wait for the marines to help them over the red line so they have to go under, mostly pirates."
"Wait, there's an island underwater? And Fish people live there? And I can go to it?"
"Sure, you could go to it someday if you had a ship coated for it" He seemed amused by my questions, and happily answered them all. We continued like that until we could see the archipelago in the distance. Arriving on land, Ray seemed to know what I was thinking, and he knew I wanted to stay with him for now. I silently followed after him as we headed further inland. I'd only been to the archipelago once before, 2 years prior with my dad. The bubbles and giant trees still intrigued me. We were in a desolate part of the island, and I stuck close to Ray as his shadow, almost tempted to hold onto the back of his cloak so I didn't get lost. Pretty soon we were in grove 13, and I saw the sign of the building we were approaching, "Shakky's Rip-off Bar". We headed up the stairs and entered an empty bar. It was still early so I wasn't sure if they were even open yet. As soon as we entered, a woman appeared from the back. She was tall and had a short black bob, a cigarette hanging from her mouth.
"Ah, Ray, you're back again, and you have a shadow" She said with a smile and a drag of her cigarette.
"Haha, yes, we ran into each other actually, out on the ocean. This is Elisa-chan" I was shy so stayed mostly behind Ray. Shakky seemed to contemplate what Ray said for a moment before looking right at me
"Elisa-chan, why don't you come have a seat and I'll get you something to eat, then maybe you can get a little sleep" I looked at Ray nervously but he just nodded at me, also heading to the bar to sit. So I took a seat next to him and a moment later, Shakky was pushing a plate of food in front of me. I was suddenly much hungrier than I thought I was, and dug in. After eating as much as I could, Shakky took me upstairs to the living area and put me in a small bedroom. I passed out as soon as I hit the bed. Shakky and Ray took me in with no questions asked, Shakky never asked what happened, but I told her willingly after a few days. She seemed intrigued by my devil fruit, and Ray, who was listening, seemed to know what happened that night with my father.
"Well, it certainly seems like you have it"
"Have what?" I'd asked
"Conqueror's Haki, when you made those men pass out, that was it"
"What's conqueror's Haki? Are there other kinds?"
"There's 3 kinds, Armament, Observation, and Conqueror's. The first 2 anyone can train for, but only very few have the last, and you're one of them" My eyes were shining in interest now
"Do you have conqueror's Haki?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at all 3"
"Oo can you teach me?" Ray ruffled my hair when I said that, "Was planning to already when I don't have a job, need you to be able to look after yourself, a lot of bad people out there elisa-chan" I blushed at the affection, it warmed my heart.
My best training came for real life interactions. I took advantage of the lawless areas, they always thought i was an easy target and I welcomed the fights. After trying a few things, my favorite weapon was a dagger, easy to conceal but deadly.
Whether intentional or not, some of the best skills I learned were from Shakky. How to swindle, be alluring and keep an ear out for info. I'd grown to be quite eye-catching if the amount of money I had was to go by. Sure, I stole from thieves, but most were gifts given to me by silly men. Shakky said I had a daddy complex, but she didn't get it. I just liked the presence of older, established men, and they liked me.
I was 17 when I left the archipelago for the first time since I'd arrived. Ray agreed I could handle myself if need be. My chest filled out the red strappy bikini top I was fond of, high waisted black mini skirt tightened around my narrow waist and thigh high stiletto boots. What completed the look was the black studded cowboy hat that I always wore. It was the only thing I had left that reminded me of my father. Ray had even helped coat the bottoms of my shoes in sea stone so sea kings wouldn't try to mess with me. I only packed a small bag of my essentials and then I was off.
I worked my way around the grand line, eventually deciding to cross the calm belt. With my coated shoes, it was a peaceful walk on a sunny day. I'd chosen the side randomly and ended up in the east blue. All I knew of the blues is that the east was supposedly the calmest. Being in the east blue brought me a sense of peace I had not experienced since childhood. The small Islands I stopped at reminded me so much of home at times, everyone was so nice, and calm. No worries about what terror the world could bring. I had been out on my own for half a year by now, island hopping as I pleased, and having generous men bankroll my trip. Shakky had taught me all the tricks I would ever need to get men to bend to my will, to defend me and give me what I desired, all without ever needing to spend a night with them too.
My time in the east blue was coming to a close, having seen as much as it had to offer. They even had a floating restaurant some man had taken me to one night. The plan was to travel back to the archipelago before heading back out. It was a typical night for me, I was in a small bar on an even smaller island. An older man had been fawning over me with attention, and now we were unwinding in a bar. He was loading up on drinks and I was still sipping on my first glass of wine. The old guy was almost passing out in our booth when a new person entered the dimly lit bar. My eyes followed him as he took a seat in the corner. He was older, not like the usual old men I scammed, but dignified, mature, my type. I could tell just looking at him he was strong, if the ridiculously large sword was anything to go by. He must have sensed my eyes on him, staring back now where the sharpest yellow eyes I'd ever seen. Some would call it love at first sight, I'd never been more enthralled. The old man next to me was forgotten, slumped over, too drunk to notice me leave. I was a moth to the flame, I had to be near him. I sauntered over, I could see him assessing me.
"Want some company?" I asked, his eyes narrowed, but I could see the faintest of smirks.
"For you? Always" I sat in the booth next to him, scooting so close I was almost touching him. I dared to run my hand up his arm while looking at him, he seemed entertained by me.
"So, just passing through?" I asked him
"Something like that, but what's a little girl like you doing out so late?" He asked, smirking
I couldn't stop myself from feeling offended, I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "If I'm a little girl, then you're an old man, creep!" I crossed my arms, and looked away from him, holding my head up high. He didn't seem offended at all though, instead, finding it humorous. He leaned in closer to me, almost whispering into my ear, "so, not just a little girl, but also a brat." Something about how he said that sent a shiver up my spine. I'd never been this flustered by a man before, usually I was the one in control of the interaction. I turned my head and our eyes were closer than I expected. I narrowed mine in irritation, which he still thought was funny. Something about the way he looked at me just rattled a part of me; "I'm not a brat, old man" I had to stop myself from stomping my foot. But I just wasn't, I was a woman, who had men eating out her hand. Not..not some child who needed to be scolded. His eyes seemed to shine even brighter at that, and made sure we held eye contact. He spoke in a low tone that enthralled me;
"Yes you are, but you're also a scared little girl who's hiding behind this false image. You haven't had someone to look after you like you need in a long time, have you?" My fist was coated in haki before I knew it and I was punching him in the face, causing him to fly back through the bars wall.
"Sh-shut up!" I yelled at him, tears starting to gather in my eyes. Before he got up I was already booking it. Deciding I'd stayed long enough on this island and needed to leave, to get away from the man who saw too much.
