Chapter Text
Past (oc's POV.)
Nothing lasts forever.
I watched in horror as my beloved country was being annihilated by merciless pirates.
"Run away and take him with you."
She whispered in a dying voice, her gaze softened as her emerald locks brushed over her shoulder.
She knows it's her end.
I silently sobbed as i clung onto my dying mother. But i wasn't the only one shedding tears..
I protectively held onto my baby brother, the loud cry of a child was heard by countless of people around me.
"••••! DO AS YOUR MOTHER SAYS!"
Said my father, while desperately fighting off Orochi's subordinates who were trying to reach me.
"listen ••••.."
My mother softened for voice to calm me down, she hid her clear wound with her hand.
"Our former servant is leaving for Shimotsuki Village, he.."
She violently coughed out blood, which made me panick even more.
"He must be at the shore..ask him to take you two with them."
She suddenly pushed me off of her, continuing to cough violently.
"GO! And take this with you!"
She threw me her sword, but not once have i taken my eyes off of her.
"Mother.."
"I SAID GO!"
she said harshly, blood pouring out of her mouth. I felt my heart breaking in million pieces.
"go ahead kiddo. We'll be alright."
Father looked back at me with an almost reassuring smile, but his teary eyes gave it all away.
No...you won't..
With every strength i got, i picked up my mother's sword and started running while holding my baby brother.
"Don't look back.."
This is the last thing i've heard, before disappearing out of their sight.
•
•
•
Present. (Nobody's Pov)
She reopens her eyes after having a flashback of her past, probably the worst place to be reminded of what had happened to her family.
Prisoners watch in daze and curiosity as the new prisoner gets tied up with chains, having her upper body lifted up by her arms.
The prisoners start whistling and catcalling her, but the woman paid zero attention to them, glancing up at the night sky. She stared at it admiringly, completely oblivious of what is about to happen to her.
Kaido's subordinates start lighting up the place with torches, giving a clear view to the prisoners.
"LADIESSS AND GENTLEMEN! WELCOME!"
God...that awful screeching voice..
Queen appears at the stage, cheerfully observing his surroundings.
"ENJOYING THE SIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU?!"
The prisoners start cheering like wild animals, making her wish that she didn't have seastone on, or else..
"GOOD! this lovely lady right here is about to get punished for not following our captain! Let it be a lesson for you all!"
I can't wait to break out of here and beat his fat ass up.
She shot a death glare at Queen, he whistles in response.
"What a sweetheart."
Queen suddenly grabs her hair, forcing her to look at him. She snarls in disgust and spits at him.
"Go fuck yourself."
He leans in as a vein pops up on his forehead.
"You'll regret these words dear."
He wipes off his face.
"I don't regret."
He scoff in response, ordering his subordinate to proceed with the punishment.
•
In a certain prison cell, two supernova captains glance out of their cells in curiosity.
"why's everyone cheering?!"
Monkey D. Luffy asks with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Whatever the fuck that woman did, must've pissed off Kaido real bad."
Eustass Kid states, with a sly smirk on his face.
His smirk only grew wider when you opened your mouth, spitting nothing but venom at Queen.
"How bold."
He states, but his smirk slowly faded away upon realizing what they were planning to do.
Kaido's subordinate stands behind the woman, holding a spiky whip in his hand.
Without any heads up, he strikes her back making everyone gasp silently.
The crowd goes deadly quiet, waiting for the woman's reaction.
But...Not even a single sound escaped from that woman's mouth.
After a few more strikes, Queen frowns in disappointment.
"CAN'T YOU ATLEAST BE MORE VOCAL?!
the woman smirks in response, despite clearly being in pain.
I'm not going to give him the satisfaction.
The man strikes the whip on her back even harder, clearly imprinting a wound. The woman bites her lip, trying to keep herself for screaming.
The prisoners suddenly start booing her, kicking their cells, cursing, shouting, yelling, you name it!
They probably expected this to be some kind of circus show, too bad... it's not .
She moves her head on time, or the whip would strike a death blow at her head.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HER?! DAMN IT!"
Queen yells at the man and snatches the whip from him.
"Let me show you how it's done."
With that, he strikes the whip on her back so hard that everyone could hear her flesh opening up.
Skin to skin contact noise sent shivers down to prisoners' spine, making them glad that they're not the ones receiving this punishment.
The woman stubbornly stood still like a statue, clenching onto the chains in agony.
"She's..strong."
The straw hat comments, while looking at the scene with an unreadable expression on his face.
"She's just trying to look tough."
Kid replies, leaning onto a wall with his arms crossed.
"The real challenge is to survive, after they're done with that."
Luffy doesn't respond, he keeps staring at the scene Infront of him, wondering what could have she possible done to deserve such a punishment.
"DAMN YOU! WOMAN!"
Queen is getting more and more frustrated after each strike, because the woman doesn't seem to show any signs of her spirit breaking, she's standing still on her feet, barely conscious due to pain, not letting out a single scream, groan or moan that would indicate her torment.
Nevertheless, there is a clear discomfort on her face, she has her eyes completely shut, biting her lips in agony to the point where it's also bleeding, But this is nothing compared to what they've done to her back.
The woman suddenly smirks upon hearing the annoyed grunts of Queen, she knows exactly why he's angered.
"No matter how many times you try it..you can't get rid of tattoo that represents who I am."
He strikes extra hard this time, almost making her groan out of pain but she held herself back.
"Damn Shimotsuki.."
Queen says while gritting his teeth, ordering his subordinates to loosen the chains that are the only things currently holding her up.
The moment they loosen it, she stumbles onto her feet, almost falling down. It took her all her might to keep herself standing, the look on her face proving that she's unwilling to give in.
"You damn BITCH.."
Queen spits out bitterly, landing a harsh kick on the woman, forcing her onto the ground.
Then he proceeds to ruthlessly kick her over and over again, till she starts bleeding through her mouth and nose, proving how brutal and unmerciful this man can be.
Still, not a single sound...
That's when Queen orders to throw her into a "dangerous" cell, restraining her with seastone as much as possible.
The guards force her on her feet once again, putting her in seastone chains. Then they open up a "vicious" cell and harshly throw her in, quickly closing the cell before any casualties.
"Damn it all.."
She says bitterly, lifting herself off the ground to take a look at the prison mates Infront of her.
Them.
A certain raven haired boy tries to reach her but she quickly drags herself into a corner.
"Stay where you are."
She says, sending a glare at the boy Infront of her. He freezes on the spot, cautiously observing her before hesitantly going back to his spot.
"Pfft! Are you pitying her?"
Redhead asks him mockingly.
"Shut up."
"Who are you telling to shut up, ya little brat?!"
Redhead tries to reach him but the chains keep him attached to a certain place.
"You, idiot."
He responds, sticking out his tongue at him.
two fools..
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy the future pirate king! And that's Kid."
Future pirate king, hm?...
Luffy introduces himself, which clearly caught that woman by surprise.
"Future pirate king my ass."
Kid responds bitterly.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
they start arguing like little kids again, making that woman question her entire existence.
"Ay woman!"
Kid calls out to her, she gives him a side glance.
"What the hell did ya do?"
She chuckles a little.
"Why should I tell you?"
The redhead looks at her, up and down. Taking in her appearance.
"By the looks of it, ya might not even survive tonight. What are you dying for?"
She scoffs in response.
"I'm not going to die..at least not until I..."
She stops mid sentence, easily running out of her breath.
"You what?"
Luffy asks this time, curious to know her answer.
"Until I see this country getting back it's glory."
She felt the raven haired boy smirking in response, Kid scoffs silently.
"I see."
Kid turns to you once again.
"Oi woman! still haven't answered my question."
Her expression drops in response, reminding herself of what she's capable of.
"Let's just say...I'm capable of shattering people's dreams.."
She isn't lying, but it's not fully the truth.
"Huhh? What the hell does that mean?!"
He asks harshly, earning a glare from Luffy.
"Shut up jaggy! You're making my ears hurt."
"I'll beat the shit out of you once I'm outta here."
Kid grits through his teeth, sending daggers at the fellow captain.
"Yeah right."
Luffy rolls his eyes, turning his attention to the woman once again.
"Oi, what's your name?"
He asks, the woman keeps leaning onto the wall, glancing outside at the sky.
"My name.."
She mumbles in a weak voice, barely conscious anymore.
The clouds in the sky suddenly clear up, letting the moonlight make it's way into the Prison cell. Their eyes suddenly widen upon getting a clearer look of her.
"It's..."
She suddenly goes silent, not returning a full answer to the question.
Luffy exchanges confused glances with the fellow prison mate and gets his answer when the woman suddenly slips off the wall, harshly landing on the concrete, her back fully exposed for the two man to see.
Kid curses under his breath and Luffy's eyes widen in surprise.
"Is that...salt? They put salt on her wounds?!"
Luffy stands up to reach her but the chains keep his movements minimal.
"Leave her be, she's unconscious."
Luffy stares at the woman Infront of him, barely breathing on her own.
"She's in pain!"
"Straw hat, You don't even know her. She must've done something far worse than us, why else would she end up in this state?!"
Luffy glances at him with an unreadable expression, he's aware that Kid is right.
"I don't care."
He says carelessly and takes the bucket of little water they had in the corner.
Luffy stretches out his chains, far enough to reach the woman's back and pours the little water on her wounds, washing away the salt.
"Give me that coat you're wearing!"
"Hell no."
Luffy still snatches kid's coat away from him, surprisingly enough, Eustass didn't argue furthermore.
Raven haired man carefully placed the red coat over the unknown woman, hiding her exposed back.
Surprisingly enough, neither Kid, nor Luffy muttered a word after this, The night continued in a deadly silence, both of them stayed awake, cautious of the guards roaming outside.
Are the up to something?..
Past. (Oc's pov.)
"Shhh.."
Holding a few months old baby in my arms, the situation couldn't get any worse. He was starving and craved for his mother. All i could do was shush him, in fear of Orochi's subordinates finding us.
"There..there.."
Mother's sword had a chain attached to the handle, with Shimotsuki's crest imprinted on it. I shook the accessory, managing to entertain the child. He stretches out his tiny hands, trying to reach the chain with sparkles in his eyes.
I teared up as i brushed his strands of hair, reminding me of my mother's.
now that mother wasn't beside me, I had to protect him with my life.
brother giggled in joy, unaware of a life-threatening danger he was in. Sitting on a tree was the only choice you had, especially if i wanted to check the shore from afar.
I hid myself behind the leaves and averted my gaze towards the seaside, trying to spot a familiar person nearby.
The moment I spotted him and his family, I felt my stomach drop.
Our former servant was being confronted by a mere subordinate, he was being very aggressive.
I had to act quickly or they would be in an unavoidable trouble. This was the only way to escape and I wasn't letting it go so easily. I ripped up my Kimono, wrapping it around my brother and securely attached him on my back.
•
"GIVE ME ALL YOU HAVE! THEN I'LL LET YOU GO!"
Subordinate shouted at them, unmerciful towards the poor people Infront of him. Though...it was quite unusual for a single mere subordinate to be straying around, they've figured that he was here to gain something for himself and himself only.
Greed...what a terrible enemy to humanity.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR PRIDE?! WE'VE LEFT EVERYTHING BEHIND!"
He grabbed the man Infront of him, holding a blade against his throat.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
He said threateningly, but the man he was holding stood fearlessly, not even a hint of nervousness on his face.
"I've told you and I'll say it again. We've left everything behind because of a scum like you!"
Orochi's Subordinate pushed the man onto the ground, a brink away from slicing his throat.
"HAVE IT YOUR WAY THEN!"
That's when he felt it...a sharp pain on his back, making it's way to the front. He looked down to his chest, only to find it pierced with a sword.
People on the ship shook in absolute fear, as the greedy man dropped down in pain, gasping for air.. Some of the men from the ship jumped down and held him down on the ground.
"YOU..."
The people glaced at the seven year old child with bloody sword in absolute daze.
"Aren't you...Daimyo's daughter?!"
The man who was held at the knifepoint instantly recognized his former master's child.
"YOUNG MASTER!"
The man ran up to me.
"Asahi-san..."
I dropped the sword, feeling my hands shaking out of fear and disgust.
This is the first time I've ever killed a man.
at that moment I was extremely thankful for father being harsh on me while training, seems like it hadn't gone to a waste at all.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"
He bowed to me but i quickly grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stand up.
I looked at the mini ship Infront of me, already filled with many people.
"Asahi-san..I have a favor to ask you."
The man instantly fixed his posture, his eyes widen in shock as i unwrapped my baby brother from my back, gently holding him in my arms.
"I'm aware that there is no space on the ship anymore..but.."
I bowed down at him and the people boarded on the ship, leaving them in absolute surprise.
"Please, take my baby brother with you."
Everyone went deathly silent.
"Young master..."
The man got on his knees and held onto you.
"You didn't even have to ask, of course we will!"
His face suddenly saddened, a guilt washed over him.
"But..I'm truely ashamed of not being able to take you with us, please forgive me.."
I shook my head, refusing his apology.
"My father is still out there! and I can go to uncle Yasui for help!"
I said cheerfully, trying to look tough in front of people. In reality, I was deathly afraid of what was awaiting for me.
A sudden explosion behind me shook the whole ground, indicating that the time was running out...
I looked down at my baby brother and hesitantly handed him over to Asahi. The moment he left my embrace, the baby instantly started sobbing uncontrollably.
I almost snatched him back, but forced myself to push my emotions away.
"Take him to grandpa Kuzaburo."
Shimotsuki Kuzaburo...a man who escaped Wano 25 years ago..thankfully, father never caught contact with him.
"Young Master..we need to change his identity for safety. What should we call him?"
I look back at my baby brother, reaching to touch him, but he instantly grabbed mine with his tiny fingers, your heart melted on the spot.
"From now on...you'll name will be...."