A/N: 787 words; it's time for backstory I fully expect to proven wrong on one day; no real warnings unless you read between the lines I guess


Day Four: Ikkaku - Choices

The young woman ran and ran. And ran. She tried to duck into alleyways and confuse her pursuers, but they were too skilled at their jobs… too skilled at the hunt. They had been on her tail for the better part of a day and even she was beginning to get exhausted.

Then, coming to the end of an alley, she realized there were two paths in front of her: one was the road that would take her to the forest, which she knew like the back of her hand. The problem with that was the forest was where they first found her. The other was heading towards the docks; who knew what was down there? She as fuck didn't, and it would also be a dead end.

She needed to figure it out, and quickly.

"There she is!" shouted one of her pursuers. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that some of them were headed her way. In an instant she turned left and bolted, sprinting down the lane that she hoped would lead her towards safety. She could feel the wind pricking at the corners of her eyes as she allowed the downwards slope of the hill help carry her swifter than what was normally possible. It meant, however, that once the people chasing her figured it out, they would be faster as well, and she needed to make use of her advantage while she could.

The smell of salt in the air grew stronger with each stride she took and soon the young woman was at the docks. Sailors of all types were wandering around—working, frittering their time away, and everything in between—and she didn't let it go to waste. She pretended to belong as she inserted herself at the end of a short line of coverall-clad men, ultimately heading towards the far end of the docks. With any luck, her pursuers would attempt to look in all the ships starting with the ones closest to the street. All she needed to do was avoid them until she could sneak off and back towards the forest. Sure, that would have brought her closer to bandits, but she could handle them.

While she was looking over her shoulder to check to see if anyone was already at the docks, she accidentally walked right into someone. Embarrassed, she looked to see if she simply ran into the last person in line, only to find out it was someone much worse. The coverall-wearing men were nearby and instead she was face-to-face with a tall man possibly a year or two older than her, his piercing yellow eyes cutting through her as easily as the sword he had casually resting on his shoulder, contrasting with his lean frame.

"…and you are…?" he wondered, his oddly-accented voice dripping in sarcasm. All her words died in her throat, which only served to irritate him. "Well…?"

"I… uh…"

"THERE SHE IS!"

The young woman went stiff as she heard her pursuers spot her. This was not going to end well. She looked up at the guy with the sword and swallowed hard, barely able to squeak out her plea:

"I can't go back."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I don't care what it is I gotta do, just don't make me go back with them!"

"Hm." He deftly stepped around her, putting himself between her and her pursuers. The men skid to a halt in front of the new person, curious how he entered into the mix.

"Give her to us," the one man said. "She's a bad girl and ran away; she needs to be punished."

"On whose orders?"

"I don't need to tell that to a stinking pirate," the ringleader spat. "Now hand her over or you're going to regret it."

"Room."

A sphere of blue light came out of the young man and the dock went silent as it was enveloped. He drew his sword and muttered something under his breath, only for her pursuers to fall into bits, literally screaming that their heads were off. The sphere dissipated and the pirate turned around, looking at the young woman.

"What's your name?"

"Uh… Ikkaku."

"What do you know about ships, Ikkaku?"

"Uh… not a lot…"

"Good, now get on. The Polar Tang is not your ordinary ship; conventional sailing doesn't always apply." He then shifted on his heel and walked towards a peculiar-looking yellow ship docked close by. Some of the men in coveralls stare at her—the symbol on their outfits are the same one that's emblazoned on the side of the ship.

Ikkaku clenched her fists and stepped towards the pier—whatever was there, at least she wasn't going back.