AU SHL: A Name For Ourselves Ch. 6

Disclaimer: I refuse to claim ownership of One Piece due to my desire to not get sued.

It took a couple of hours but Caout was eventually able to find Tide, who was just beginning to wake up, and Hazuki, whose clay restraints were only just breaking apart. Caout was also glad when the nutcrackers ran out of energy and finally let go of her.

By the time the girls were reunited, it was late at night.

"Now what're we going to do?" Tide asked as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"We should probably go back to the tropical side of the island and find a place to rest," Hazuki said as she brushed clay off of her clothes and clipped her glasses back to her necklace, since her vision was back to normal.

Caout crossed her arms in front of her and furrowed her brow.

"…Let's stay here," she said quietly.

Tide and Hazuki stared at her.

"But Caout," Hazuki said, "You said that we should go and get off this island."

"If this is about those boys…" Tide began.

"It is," Caout replied. She glanced up at the rooftops of the buildings surrounding them, "I…have a funny feeling. We're staying here a little longer. I need to figure something out."

"What?"

"The captain gave an order, ladies!" Caout said in a sing-song tone, "So, let's find a place to bunker down for the night."

"You're only pulling the captain card whenever you want something we don't want…" Hazuki mumbled as she and Tide followed Caout, "Where are we supposed to stay?"

Caout wordlessly shrugged and started to walk off down the main street, the girls close behind. Hazuki and Tide both wondered where they would find a place to rest for the night while they hung around this rather shady area of Tropski Island.

As they walked on, Caout stopped when she felt something small run into her leg. The girls looked down and saw a young boy, probably no older than five or six, sitting on the ground. He was dressed in a dirty shirt and shorts and was barefoot.

"Hey, you," Caout greeted as she squatted down, "What're you doing out here this late at night?"

The boy flinched and stared at the girls with wide, terrified eyes. He shivered, despite the fact that none of the girls' faces held any malice.

"I-I'm sorry," he muttered, turning his gaze to the ground, "I-i-i-it was an a-a-accident. Please d-don't hurt me!"

"Why would we do that?" Caout asked.

Hazuki saw that the boy was frightened, so she gestured for Caout to move out of the way before squatting down herself. She reached out a hand towards the boy, who closed his eyes and covered his head with his arms. Hazuki stopped her hand just in front of him and waited patiently for the boy to open his eyes again. Eventually, the child, wondering why he wasn't hurt yet, opened his eyes.

"Are you still scared of us?" Hazuki asked in a kind tone, "Don't be…It may surprise you but we're not bad people."

"Well," Caout began, "Technically, we-"

Tide elbowed her in the gut to shut her up.

"Don't worry about those two," Hazuki continued when the boy looked warily at the older girls, who were starting to argue with each other, "That's normal for them but they're actually rather sweet."

"You…You won't hurt me?" the boy asked quietly.

"Not at all," Hazuki said with a nod.

The boy hesitated for a moment before putting his hand in Hazuki's. The redhead helped the child to his feet and Caout and Tide stopped fighting so that they wouldn't scare the kid anymore.

"Say, kid," Tide said, "The three of us need a place to stay for the night…Do you know anywhere we can go?"

"There's lots of space at my place!" the boy said, still holding Hazuki's hand, "C'mon, I'll show you!"

So the girls let the young boy, who said his name was Tommy, lead them to where he lived.

"Here we are!" Tommy said happily as they arrived at a rather decrepit old building.

The girls looked at each other before staring at the sign…It read "Tropski Island Orphanage".

"Annabeth-san!" Tommy cried when he entered the building, followed by the trio, "Annabeth-san, I have some guests!"

A woman in her mid-thirties came from the back. She was dressed in a patched up dress and apron.

"Tommy!" the woman named Annabeth cried, engulfing the child in a hug, "Young man, what took you so long to get here? We have a strict eight o' clock curfew and you know it!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Tommy mumbled, "But I ran into these ladies and they need a place to stay."

It was then that Annabeth noticed the girls, who were each doing their best to look as innocent as possible so that the woman wouldn't be scared of them.

"…I don't recall seeing you three around here before," Annabeth said slowly as she carefully eyed the girls.

"Oh, we're visitors here," Tide replied, "We got in earlier today and we need a place to stay."

"Not many people come into this part of the island though."

"We didn't mean to come through here," Caout said, "We…were following something and by the time we took care of it, night was here."

"Yes, it's dangerous to wander around at night," Annabeth said after she told Tommy to go get dinner and head off to bed, "Especially in this area, the Forgotten Zone."

"Forgotten Zone?" Hazuki repeated.

Annabeth gestured around her.

"This place," she said, "This entire town…When people think of our island, they imagine what you see on the outskirts. A happy tropical paradise filled with color and laughter. Most people aren't even aware of our existence. All the 'trash' of the island, including people like beggars and orphans, are forced to live here, where no one else can see them."

"I don't get it," Hazuki said, "How can the economy of this part of the island differ so much from that of the outskirts? And who forces the 'trash' to live here in the first place?"

Annabeth looked troubled, as though she thought she said too much. The look vanished quickly, only to be replaced by an expression of warmth.

"Well, no matter!" she said cheerfully, "If you three need a place to stay, you are more than welcomed here. It's not much but…"

"It's fine," Caout said, frowning slightly.

As Annabeth went off to find some free spots for the girls, Caout let out a sigh.

"You two saw it, right?" she asked.

"Got that right," Tide replied as Hazuki nodded.

Caout furrowed her brow.

"The lady's afraid of something…"

******

Morning came and Hazuki was the first to wake. She groaned as she sat up from her spot on the floor. Annabeth had given her and the girls spare blankets and motioned to an uncluttered region of the ground where they could sleep. Hazuki looked over at Caout and Tide, who were still fast asleep, Caout snoring rather loudly.

Hazuki went outside. The orphanage didn't have a bathroom, so everyone used a water trough in the back to freshen up. Hazuki took one look at the oddly colored water and raced back inside, grabbing one of the water canteens from Tide's backpack.

"Wake up, you two," she said, nudging Caout with her foot.

Once they opened their eyes, Hazuki went back outside. Caout and Tide joined her a few minutes later and the three freshened up as much as they could with what they had.

"Man, I really can't wait until we have a proper a ship," Hazuki sighed as she cracked her back.

The girls turned their attention back towards the orphanage when they heard a cheer. They saw the little kids streaming out, all wearing happy smiles on their face. There were other people, some of the beggars they saw the previous day, congregating near the front of the building. Tommy saw the girls staring at the scene in a confused manner and ran over to them.

"C'mon!" he said, tugging Hazuki's hand, "The nice men came today!"

"What nice men?" Caout asked as the girls followed the boy.

"Once a month, the nice men come here and bring everyone yummy food! We can have a s much as we want. It's really yummy!"

"Yummy food, huh?" Caout said, a slightly dreamy look on her face.

"Why only once a month?" Tide asked as they drew nearer to the crowd.

"They'll get in trouble if they do it more," Tommy explained.

Tide was going to ask more when she saw just who it was cooking and serving the food. Caout and Hazuki followed her gaze and froze in place as well.

"No way…"

"It can't be!"

"…It is…"

Three men…A redhead, one with black hair and a blond…All with a necklace that had a number charm.

"Those-" Hazuki was about to yell when Tide slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent the little kids from learning any bad words.

"What're they doing here?" Tide asked lowly, glaring at the smiling men.

The three of them stood behind a table that held plates, napkins and utensils. Behind the men were an array of portable stoves and grills, which the blond was cooking from. The smell of good food being cooked filled the air and, to Tide and Hazuki's embarrassment, their stomachs growled.

"They better not try to do anything to these poor people," Hazuki said angrily.

"…But didn't Tommy say they do this once a month?" Tide said.

"Yeah, but-Wait…Where's Caout?"

The girls noticed that their captain was not by their side. The turned to the crowd and noticed, with jaws dropped, that Caout was standing on line to get food.

"Esther," the black haired man greeted an old woman, "How's your husband?"

"Still feeling terribly," the woman named Esther replied sadly, "He's bedridden now."

"I'm sorry…" the blond said sincerely, reaching under the table to pull out a container, "Here, I made this just for him. It contains the proper amount of vitamins and minerals he needs and the herbs I used should help to ease the pain somewhat."

The old woman accepted the container gratefully.

"Here you go, little lady!" the redhead man said as he gave food to a little girl, tapping her on the nose, which made her giggle, "Alright, next up!"

"That's me."

The three men all stopped what they were doing and stared at Caout in surprise. Caout held a plate in her hands and stared at them with a rather neutral expression. The blond was the first to recover.

"Miss, I don't know if I should be worried or flattered that you're stalking me," he said, flashing his lopsided grin.

"Don't start with me," Caout replied, "You jerks did steal my money."

"Speaking of jerks," the redhead interjected, "There's some delicious jerk chicken over here."

Caout didn't even crack a grin at the joke. She stared at the men, her feelings and intentions unknown to them.

"What do you want?" the black haired man asked, "If you're going to have us arrested, then you're-"

Caout shoved her plated into the blonde's hands.

"Food first," she said simply, "Then, we're talking…"

The blonde man stared at Caout for a minute before chuckling softly.

"Alright then," he agreed.

"But-" the redhead said, only to be silenced when the blonde held up a hand.

"It's fine…I actually want to talk with you and your friends, Miss…"

******

Meanwhile, on the other half of Tropski Island, there was a giant mansion. Near said mansion was a fantastic amusement park that could possibly rival the one on Sabaody Archipelago. However, unlike most amusement parks, this one was empty, save for two teenagers, a man and a woman.

Both had sleek blond hair and blue eyes and were dressed in outfits that would put royalty to shame. The two were escorted by a pair of huge, almost ape-like guards as they exited the park and went inside the mansion.

"Father!" the boy called out.

"Are you here, Father?" the girl also cried.

Within moments, a tall man dressed in a dark blue suit and smoking a cigar descended from the marble staircase, accompanied by six of those ape-like guards.

"Ah, my children," he greeted as he approached the two teenagers, "What is it? I thought you were enjoying the park I built specifically for your enjoyment?"

"Father, we've ridden those rides too many times to count!" the boy complained.

"Yes, Father, we want something new to play on!" the girl whined.

"Very well," the man chuckled, "When the boys return, I'll have them build you brand new rides."

"Ugh, where are they?!" the girl asked, stomping her feet impatiently, "Why can't they build rides now?!!"

"Well, they told me they were scouting out a new target, children. Don't worry, they'll be back soon and then they'll create whatever you want…Those boys are talented, after all."

The teens sighed and made their way to their bedrooms. As the children entered their rooms, the front doors of the mansion slammed open. The man looked unimpressed as one of his guards dragged in a struggling man and threw him to the ground in front of the cigar smoking man.

"You," the cigar smoker said to the shivering and bloody man, "You operate a cafe on the island, right?"

"Y-y-yes, sir," the man stuttered, fear coursing through him.

"Well," the smoker continued as another guard handed him a list, "According to my information, your profits have been steadily decreasing over the past three months…"

"I'm sorry, sir! It's j-j-just that I have s-s-so many other cafes to c-c-compete with-"

"No excuses!" the smoker yelled, throwing the list in the man's face, "If you lose money, then I lose money…That makes me and my children very unhappy. And remember what I told this island five years ago…If my family is unhappy, then everyone else will be too."

"I'm so sorry, Don Siegel! I'll change! I will! Please, give me another chance!"

The man named Don Siegel considered this for a moment.

"Well, your cafe does still make money, so I can't get rid of it…Fine, I'll give you another chance."

The man smiled, thankful for his life.

"However…" Don Siegel continued, a horrible grin on his face, "Some punishment is in order to make sure this doesn't happen again…According to the records, you have three sons, right? Strong young men who help around?"

"S-s-sir?" the man said questioningly, terrified.

Don Siegel turned to two of his guards.

"Take the two strongest looking sons," he ordered, "Borrow a ship and take them to the slave traders that operate on Helton Island, thirty miles south from here. They'll take care of them. Strong young men will be in high demand after all. And I get fifty percent of whatever price they're sold for."

"NO!" the man cried in horror as the guards nodded and left, "Please, no! You can't take my sons from me!"

"Why not? You'll still have one left over…Get him out of my sight."

Don Siegel ignored the man's screams and tears as he was dragged out.

"My, my…It's such hard work to run this island and make a decent profit," he told his guards as he moved to sit on his leather seat.

"At least you don't have to do all of the work, sir," a guard said as he poured some vodka into a glass for his boss, "Those boys do very well, don't they?"

Don Siegel laughed.

"Yes, they do. It was definitely a brilliant idea when I hired those three four years ago…"

"Those Kirkland Brothers…"