Yo, everyone!
A\N - I don't own One Piece or One Piece DND...
I hope you will enjoy this chapter and don't forget to tell me what did you think.
And id like to give a HUGE! thanks to 'JRC1700' for agreeing to Beta so the fic will be even better! You are awesome on so many levels!
UPDATE!
I have created a ko-fi and a P a treon account to help and support my hobby! If you want to support me or just feeling generous you can go and check it out! :) I will uplode all my fics of FF no metter what.
ko-fi co m (slash) blueeyewhitewing56797
P a treon . com (slash) blue_eye_white_wing
You will need to close the spaces on the below and write it into your browser.
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
Hi guys!
I'm here with a new fic, it might sound a little different from what I usually write. But I have to get this out of my head and see how it goes.
This story is based on One Piece D&D by Daniel Rustage.
You can look up his channel 'RUSTAGE2' trust me on this... it's really good!
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
Chapter 1: A New Recruit
The sun shone brightly in the middle of the day, the bay looking as bustling and inviting as always. Customers and merchants were busily walking around, or selling things of all kinds respectively. Fish, fruits, and various kinds of treats made it a popular destination for many travelers, or even stray pirates that came to try their luck.
But that's not why 'they'd' been sent there, they were here… to investigate.
"Yokan… I really doubt that we'll find any kind of suspicious activity around here…" a gruff tone complained. It belonged to a scruffy and bulky-looking man wearing a large, Damian had slick black hair and a black coat with gloves outside of his standard Marine uniform. His dead icy blue eyes looking around, inspecting the different stalls, checking for something sweet to add to his arsenal… No such luck, not with all the meat and fruits around him.
"You don't know that Damian…" an almost equally large woman replied. She was looking around a particular stall, checking a pile of meat being prepared and pulling out the necessary berries to pay for it. "Think about the last time we thought that… we found that berry counterfeiter above that ice cream store… We never would've found them, if not for us checking that place on a whim…" the woman reminded him with a proud smirk. She was clearly a longarm tribesperson with black hair and emerald green eyes. She had a Marine jacket on with rolled up sleeves and a revealing a tattoo on her left arm. She also had a jade green necklace around her neck, a green bracelet with black highlights, and a green sash wrapped around her hip.
Damien could agree with her on that little incident, but he wasn't an idiot… Sure he seemed like he was always taking notes on everything he could, even if it was on the silliest and insignificant stuff. But he could smell bullshit even better than most people.
Having a computer for a brain was useful, as always, but he preferred to just go along with his team on some of their little whims. If only to keep moral up and to pay careful attention to how they acted, once they were comfortable with him. Only then would people show you who they really were.
Damien was most pleased with the little unit that he'd ended up in.
A fishman, a long arm tribe member, a fisherman and himself… plus that Taiga kid they'd unintentionally picked up on thier first mission.
'The marines really do like to reach out to every place they can get… Well, a bit hypocritical with me being here…' Damian mused, as he was approached by two people walking side by side.
One was a male stingray Fishman with black hair and a white headband. He had the standard Marines uniform with rolled up sleeves, accompanying him was a fisherman wearing a navy jacket with tanned skin, red hair, and yellow eyes. with the word "Justice" tattooed on his left arm.
"Ah! There you guys are! And here I was thinking we'd only get to see you back at base!" the fishman- Bradly, declared smiling broadly at seeing his other comrades.
"Here you go, Damian!" the navy jacket wearing man with red, spiky hair offered. He handed the man what looked like pink cotton candy.
Damian didn't smile, taking the cotton candy and looking it over for a moment.
"I know you like your sweets… so I got you this! After Bell let me…" he added, pointing at the small blue crab that was perched on his shoulder and klicking her claws.
"I appreciate it Kai, thank you…" Damian responded stoically.
The small blue crab snapped her claws a few times, showing that it really was an intelligent animal (just as Kai had insisted multiple times). "And you too Bell…" he added, watching it bob its body in response.
Damian liked his comrades, he could only hope that this squad wouldn't end up like his last one… A dark thought, sure, but he had to keep it in mind if things were going to actually end up differently.
"YO! Is that cotton candy? Sweet, I love that stuff! I always used to eat this with my… b-bro…" their fifth and last member Taiga added, the boy walking around with Damian and Yokan.
The small young man wasn't well liked among their group, as he was loud and offensive most of the time. Even after he'd mellowed out somewhat, he was still that same naïve boy who thought girls liked (or were dating) him simply because he followed them around.
It was sad to be sure, but also a bit endearing.
Damian could see how, with proper guidance, the rash and obnoxious teen could become a respectable member of the marines (and maybe, by doing so, would ease Damian's conscience about his own past).
He split up his cotton candy, allowing Taiga to take half of it. The boy accepted the treat with a big, innocent smile and thanked him. It was almost astonishing how he could still smile, despite what'd happened to him not long ago.
…
She was running, her legs already screaming in pain, body begging her to stop and rest. Just to sit down for a second, or at least pause.
But she couldn't, no… she wouldn't! Not anymore!
She couldn't go back to that… that man! No, that monster! She hated him with all of her being! With her very soul!
She wasn't about to stop for anything. Not to rest, not to catch her breath, or to sleep! As long as he pursued her, she'd never stop trying to get away.
"Where is she?!" someone screamed angrily, a rush of rapid footsteps following right after. "Find her! No matter what!"
Her eyes started to tear up, vision becoming blurry. Why was her life like this?
What did she do to deserve this fate?
It was all that monster's fault! He was responsible!
He took away her home! Her family! Her friends! He even took her body!
The tears were running down her cheeks in streams now. She didn't want this! Any of this! Her only option was to keep running away, for as long as she lived.
The girl darted through a crowd of people just passing by and into a dirty alleyway filled with trash. It wasn't enough! She had to get even further away! She burst out of the alley, never looking back, rushing forward without even looking at what was in front of her.
She hit what felt like a brick wall. It didn't really hurt all that much, but it did startle her. More worryingly, it stopped her from running away.
She looked up to see the stone-cold face of a tall man with blue eyes. He had black gloves on, a small cigarette in his mouth, as well as a large coat that hid most of his body from view.
He didn't look like one of her pursuers, but that only meant she didn't need to worry about him. There was yelling and screaming coming from behind her, signaling that her time was up.
She tried to get up but stumbled, falling face first onto the ground. She looked up with a messy face, tears in her eyes. She couldn't speak… not to tell him to get out of the way, or ask him to help her.
Pretty soon, her fate would be sealed… again.
Her vision darkened as a large coat suddenly blocked her view, covering her completely. Two large, strong hands lifted her up into a standing position.
"Walk normally…" the one who'd picked her up ordered quietly, they started walking away along the main road.
She could hear the yelling behind her… getting further and further away, until all she could hear was the bustling street all around them.
They kept walking a bit more until they got to a quieter place, before the man who'd shielded her spoke once more. "According to my scans, we were able to get away from your pursuers. We can talk now… if you're feeling up to it…" There was no demand- or urgency- in his tone, only a cold statement of the facts.
Was this man… helping her? Or was he one of her would be captors? She wasn't sure yet… but in case he was…
"I assure you I mean no harm… my name is Damian…" he explained.
She still refused to look at him, too scared to discover if he was lying.
'Mmm… this is getting me nowhere, and I still need to meet up with the rest of the squad…' Damian pondered silently, before making a decision. He glanced at the road, considering simply leaving the woman. After all, they had lost her pursuers.
Her tiny hand grabbed his shirt, like a child that was scared of the dark.
Damian looked down at her. "You don't need to worry about the ones who were chasing you before… I'm a marine and I'm supposed to be meeting up with my comrades. If you would like, I could have all of us escort you home so-" he started to offer, before she cut him off.
"No home… not anymore, he destroyed… killed them all… no one left…" the girl muttered quietly, still holding onto his shirt tightly.
"This is a bit of an issue…" he muttered. "Is there no place that could be safe for you? Perhaps if you sail away to a different island, or maybe even relocate completely? Maybe to the countryside, where pirates won't even think to look?" he suggested, hoping to resolve the issue.
She shook her head once more. As far as she was concerned, there was no safe place for her.
…
"Then I guess the only option I can think of at the moment is for you to have someone protecting you…" Damian concluded. "You can always hire someone to keep an eye on-" he paused upon noticing her shaking.
"What don't you understand!?" she suddenly yelled, more than a little frustrated at the deadpan tone of his voice. "I don't have anything! No home! No family! No money! No one to help me!" Her voice started to grow weaker. "Nothing... and no one is waiting for me… the only thing that will happen is the same as always… HE will use me… like he always-" she added, before this time his voice cut hers off.
"It won't…" Damian declared, even if he wasn't sure why.
"W-What?" she stammered, looking up at him icey blue eyes.
"It won't happen… I won't let it… if you'll trust me…" Damian stared into her fearful eyes, showing her how serious he was.
The girl looked at him for a few seconds, she couldn't see a shred of doubt in his gaze.
X-=-=-=-=-=-X
"Okay… I'm not really sure what to say about this…" Kai admitted, looking at his superior officer (and friend) who'd showed up with a very odd individual. "This was the last thing I expected to see…" he added.
"I'm also a bit confused… I wasn't aware we were getting a new recruit…" the tall woman pointed out, staring at the small person next to him.
The team of marines stared at the girl wearing a marine uniform, as well as a big white hat that effectively hid their hair color and face completely with the way it was pointed down.
"Well, we are now…" Damian declared firmly. "It's a decision that I've discussed with Captain Bailey, and we agreed to add her to the team. I take it that you have no issues with the captain's decision?" the gruff man challenged.
Suddenly Taiga moved closer, inspecting the newest addition to their team. "Well, hey there cutie… the name's Taiga. Why don't you lose that hat and let us see your beautiful face?" he suggested charmingly.
The rest of the team looked at the small marine who was apparently a woman, Taiga did have an affinity for woman… Sadly, they didn't feel the same way about him.
The girl seemed to shrink back even further, until she was half hiding behind Damian.
Suddenly a large hand moved, quickly grabbing the young man by his ripped shirt. Before anyone knew what happened, Taiga was dangling in front of Damian. "I should point out that it would be in your best interest not to bother our newest member… unless you'd like Yokan to discipline you again?".
Yokan seemed to perk up at the prospect of reminding Taiga of the first time he'd tried his luck with her, and that he sould respect women.
The young marine in question froze up, simply saluting his superior officer with fear in his face. "Understood, sir!"
Damien set the young man down, before he looked at the rest of his team. "Now that we have that sorted out, we got our next mission from the captain…" he explained, looking at the long-armed woman. "Yokan, with me… I have a little job for you…".
X-=-=-=-X
"I need you to show our newest recruit her quarters and take her through the kitchen" Damien ordered. The woman saluted and walked towards their rooms, the new girl following her. The rest of the team moved to get the ship ready for thier newest assignment.
"So… new girl…" the long-armed woman suddenly spoke up as they walked, "what's your story for joining the marines?" The large woman was well aware of the rest of her team's backgrounds by this point.
Like Bradley, who was looking for his missing sister. Or Taiga, who was doing it for the money. Then there was Kai, who still kept joking that he was looking for a way to get out of the service of the marines.
She did think it was cute and funny, even if she didn't show it outright. 'If only he could get Joy out of his head… why doesn't he get that she's a member of the mafia?'
The new recruit didn't speak, staring firmly at the ground. She was quiet during the tour, barely even nodding.
Yokan could only look at the smaller girl who walked next to her with a raised eyebrow. "And just for the record…" Yokan started up again, "I hate pirates… The mafia I can stomach for now, but pirates? Down with them all I say!".
"H-Hate them…" the small girl suddenly squeaked. "I hate pirates…"
Yokan smiled brightly, slapping the girl's shoulder. "That's the kind of talk I like to hear! I think you and I are going to get along just fine!" She moved closer to the girl's ear, "…and don't worry about the boys. If anyone gives you any trouble…" she slammed a closed fist into her open palm, "just point me in their direction!".
The girl nodded and relaxed, for what looked like the first time since she'd walked onto the base. It helped Yokan relax just a bit as well, as she followed Damien's orders. Just what had this girl been through up till now?
X-=-=-=-X
"Isn't she pretty?" A picture was shoved into the new recruit's face, all she saw was the image of a smiling blonde girl she didn't recognize. Kai was beaming proudly at it for whatever reason.
"Are you showing her Joy's picture?" Bradley asked, already expecting the answer. "Kai, I know you like the girl… but she's a pirate!" the fishman insisted.
"She's not a pirate! She's a member of the mafia… that's different…" the young, redheaded marine explained calmly as if that was any better. "Besides, look at this smile! She's just so incredible…"
Large steps echoed in the room as Damian walked in. "Kai, you do recall that this smile has melted a few other men before…" the gruff commander reminded him.
"Yeah… she's so incredible…" Kai sighed happily.
Damien groaned loudly, glancing at the rest of the team. "Kai's delusions aside, we've got work to do!" Everyone perked up at the news. "The captain instructed us to infiltrate a nearby island and see about some underground deals possibly going on, we have a strong suspicion that their may be a new pirate group out to make a name for themselves… We need to hunt them down and root them out…"
Both Bradley and Yokan high fived, a big smile on the fishman's face. "Finally, we're taking on pirates!"
"A new island also means we could find some clues about your sister!" the long-armed woman enthused to her blue-skinned friend. She glanced at their newest female member, "that also means we'll get to see what you can do!".
The new girl seemed to shrink in size, she even took a step back.
"No, she will not be joining us on this mission…" Damian corrected, cutting off any arguments. "Her role on our squad is to stay at the base… strictly no combat, is that understood?" He received a nod from everyone, they all glanced at her.
The girl sighed in relief, clearly happy about being left out of whatever action they would be facing.
'We can't even see her fight? Just how weak is she?' they all wondered. Even Taiga, who was considered the weakest member on their squad, could deal with lower-level pirates and mafia goons with little difficulty.
'We don't even know her name…'
"Good, now onto the mission at hand…" he spoke firmly, explaining where they were heading.
….
A few days later the crew were on their way to their newest assignment. During that time, they noticed that their new helper consistently stayed by Damien's side. He usually only talked to her about their jobs as marines, or how she was doing at their base. The girl would only ever clean, or do her job, once she was completely alone and away from everyone else.
'She has a nervous disposition… just try not to make things difficult for her…' Damian stressed. He rarely asked his team, often just commending them. He was sure they would understand his reasoning and agree.
The rest of the crew acted as normally as they could, not hassling her too much. Well… except for Taiga, who seemed adamant to learn her name- or at the very least get a look at her.
Damian had been quick to pull the boy away for a few training sessions, to both keep him busy and also help him get stronger. He was still their weakest (fighting) member and had so much potential, if only he could tap into it.
…
The new marine looked on as Damian used an electric current emerging from between his fingers, trying to hit Taiga with it.
"He's doing a lot to give you time to yourself…" the fishman marine remarked, suddenly appearing right behind her.
Bradley was used to surprising people with his sneaking abilities, one moment he was there and the next second he was not… It left his allies confused and his enemies freaking out most of the time.
Which only made it weirder that the new recruit didn't react at all. Not jumping away in panic, or even the smallest sign of surprise. All she did was nod her head weakly, to show her understanding.
"The least you can do is cheer him on!" the fishman enthused.
"But… they're only training…" the new girl replied meekly.
"Ah! So you can talk!" Bradley teased, happy to get a response.
The girl seemed to withdraw into herself, until Bradley started to laugh. "That's great to hear! I'm sure Damian and Yokan have already said it as well, but if you need anything just let me know!"
His jolly tone made her relax a little, settling down next to him to watch as Taiga failed to move in time and got zapped.
"Oh, sorry…" Damian apologized, regret in his tone. "I didn't think it would actually hit you…" he admitted, moving closer to help the boy up (with the assistance of Kai).
'Everyone is so nice…' the girl marveled, watching the gruff-looking man who'd helped hide her with interest. Her legs started to move, the small lady approaching the three men.
"I-I… I know s-some first aid… If you want me t-to-" she stuttered, freezing for a moment. She relaxed upon noticing the thumbs up Kai was giving her, as well as a stiff smile and a nod from Damian.
She smiled… only for Taiga to completely ruin the mood. "I knew my advances were working! No pretty girl can resist the Taiga charm" he crowed, smiling at her and winking.
"I really think you hit him a bit too hard, Damian…" Kai joked. "He's still talking nonsense".
"Maybe I should zap him again?" Damian asked in the most serious tone he could, his hand started to sparkle and crackle with electricity.
"What?! No! I'm sorry!" the young marine yelped, trying to wiggle his way out of another shocking.
The new girl could only giggle at their antics, it was way too hard to keep a straight face. How long had it been since she'd last smiled? At this point… she couldn't even remember.
X-=-=-=-X
Far away in the new world, a pirate was standing in front of two huge doors. The doors, although made out of wood, looked to be extremely heavy and finely made. So much so, it looked like marble.
The man seemed worried, almost to the point of hyperventilating from the sheer pressure he was under. It wasn't every day that you had to give your boss bad news.
The doors began to slowly open with a loud, echoing creaking. The man's heart start beating even faster than before.
He walked into the throne room, the only light coming from those blasted glowing blue tubes that were scattered across the entire room. It made everything even more eerie and nerve-racking, it didn't help that there were creepy creatures swimming inside of them. He'd never looked at them too closely, fearing they might jump out at him.
No one wanted to get on the boss's bad side. He'd heard some serious tales so far, about his boss's strange mannerisms and how he was considered one of the strongest men alive.
He'd finally noticed him, the boss…
He was sitting on his throne, staring blankly at an empty blue tank. His massive frame was almost overbearing, to the point of making his subordinate feel faint. He just had this pressure around him that made it almost impossible for anyone else to stay standing.
It was one of the reasons almost all of his subordinates were scared of him. They adored and respected the man, sure. But to stand in front of him with bad news?
It was almost definitely a death sentence.
"What is it?" he asked, his booming voice echoing in the room, making the already terrified man tremble in his spot.
"W-W-We have r-reports from our people w-who came b-back…" he had to stall for time. "We also got t-the new shipments of fishmen! Real good quality! Each of them will get us a-"
"What about her…" the boss said, cutting off the man's words. "Did you find our... little runaway?" he questioned, his tone turning a little more serious.
"I- we… I mean… We didn't… manage to f-f-find her, bu-but I-" Before he could continue, a massive black axe cleaved him in twain.
His eyes opened in horror, his corpse falling to the ground. The boss glanced at his axe, uninterested. He swept it around, glancing back at the empty tank.
"I really need a drink…".
X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
If you want to support me or just feeling generous you can go and check out my ko-fi or a P a treon! :) I will uplode all my fics of FF no metter what.
ko-fi co m (slash) blueeyewhitewing56797
P a treon . com (slash) blue_eye_white_wing
You will need to close the spaces on the below and write it into your browser.
Chapter uploaded on October 10.