Sparks *

I awoke to the sound of seagulls outside, and for a moment I thought I was back on my ship. The veritable squall outside and voices I didn't recognize told me otherwise. Eyes cracking open, I pushed the soft covers off of me as I sat up groggily, eyes half lidded as I turned to the door. I was a lot less sore, which allowed me to move faster.

I was grateful for that.

Carefully getting to my feet, I headed to the door, stumbling just as I was going to reach for the doorknob.

"Stupid legs," I muttered, giving said limbs a glare before finally stepping outdoors. The same shining sun greeted me, forcing me to cover my eyes again. I surveyed the area, seeing Thatch heading my way at a quick pace. I quickly took on a more defensive stance, eyes studying him to see what he would do. When he stopped in front of me with a bright smile, I grew suspicious.

"Oh good, you're up! Pops wanted to meet you!" He said jovially, and I almost dropped dead then and there. I blinked in surprise, taken aback.

"…what?" I gave him a look, a crease in my brow.

"Bah, c'mon, you heard me!" He waved a hand, before turning around and looking at I over his shoulder, "Let's go!" He motioned for me to follow him, and I almost ran the other way, feeling that same fear from a couple days ago settle in my heart and make my legs shake.

Seeing me that I wasn't following him, Thatch turned and raised an eyebrow as if to question my capability of understanding a simple phrase. Quickly, I rushed after him, biting my lip as he turned back around and kept going as if nothing happened. As if nothing was wrong. Honestly, I didn't know what was carrying me onwards.

Shit, shit, shit—

I walked behind him silently, still fancying the idea of turning tail and fleeing the scene as I passed groups of men of varying sizes. They greeted and nodded their heads towards the commander in front of me, smiling and waving and completely ignoring the marching stranger that was currently ambling behind him looking like she had taken a huge bite out of a lemon. Thatch, ever so likeable and friendly, returned the friendly gesture with his booming voice, announcing to anyone nearby who was near. Soon, I stood in front of two big white doors with designs in a yellow colour. The man in front of me knocked happily, and I didn't know how it happened, but now I stood in front of an abnormally large human who also had several tubes attached to his being. I remained silent, my body tense and ready to go on flight mode.

Seeing my discomfort, the old man laughed, shaking his head slowly at my obvious uneasiness. His actions had me reaching behind me, only to curse in my head because goddamn it I didn't have my weapons. Fumbling with the hemline, I heaved out a resigned sigh, palms flattening against my sides before falling at my sides like dead weights.

"That's quite the look you've decided to go with." The old man commented, crossing his arms over his chest with a strange, knowing gleam in his golden eyes. I craned my neck to look up at him, suspicious and ready for anything. Well, almost. I certainly wasn't ready to face the strongest man in the world. He chortled again, grabbing a poster before holding it out for me to see. What I saw did little to bring me peace.

The image that stared back at me was, well, I before my impromptu haircut and with the outfit I had started out with which consisted of light, loose pants tucked inside the same pair of leather boots I wore now, a navy blue tank top that accentuated my frame, with a sash hugging my middle. It had been like going through a hormone-driven, regrettable phase, and it hadn't been that long ago, either. Just over four months. I'm glad for the change of clothing on my person.

After studying the image, I turned to him.

"…I don't know who you're talking about." I murmured, knowing that I had to be extra careful with my voice around this man. He was smart, I'd give him that. 

He chuckled, a small smile on his face as he put the paper aside and out of the way, eyes snapping back to mine not even a second after.

"I know who you are, Haruka." He sighed, grabbing a drink from the same table and taking a swig from the bottle, sighing in satisfaction afterwards. For some odd reason, the words made my blood run cold, my body going rigid at the mere mention of my name as I stared up at him with a pounding heart. Now that I didn't have that damn paper separating the both of me, I suddenly felt much more intimidated than when I'd first entered this room.

I shook that feeling off, trying to show confidence but not being able to hide the shakiness in my voice.

"So, you know my name. What about it." I demanded, waving my hands in a dismissive manner and willing my legs to stop trembling. This man, I knew, could end my life with his pinky if he wanted to.

He observed me for a moment, beverage still in hand, before he asked, "How old are you?" The question had me blinking in confusion, eyebrows pinching together. Why would he need to know that?

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, a bit hesitant, as I crossed my arms. My question was met with silence as the enormous man peered down at me under creased eyebrows. Giving in, I sighed, "Eighteen." I toed on the floor. It wasn't like I was embarrassed, this was just getting a bit… I didn't know, weird? Why would he care about such a thing? It wasn't like it mattered out there anyways. The world was cruel, and some people had to grow up faster than others. Big deal.

He huffed, "They're always in a hurry. Always, always…" He murmured, oddly serious.

"What do you mean—"

"Join us."

We both fell silent, having interrupted each other, before I hissed, "What?"

"Join us." He reiterated, taking another swig from his drink, "Become my daughter."

"…"

"Or my son. Your choice." He shrugged slowly, looking rather amused. After a long, tense silence, I spoke up again.

"You know I can't do that." I stated firmly, my voice steady and the fear slowly leaving my body as I thought back to my comrades, "I have other things that need to be done." 

His gaze shifted into something more pensive, "You want to avenge them, don't you..?" He murmured, reading me easily. I dug my heel into the floor, feeling that ever persistent mix of sorrow and anger returning full force.

"…"

"You know you can't, Haruka. You're just one human—"

"Last I checked, you were human too," I retorted, and that shut him up, he started again.

"You're not strong enough to go after them—"

"I don't care." I kept my voice low, steady, mindful of the people that could be outside. Even then, my voice betrayed me and portrayed just how scared I really were, "They died, and I'm still alive. How is that fair? How is that fair to any of them? I'm—I was their captain…" I trailed off, tears blurring my vision. I swiftly wiped them away with my sleeve, refusing to let them fall. I wasn't going to cry again.

Truly, I didn't know what I was going to do. I knew for a fact that without my crew, I wasn't capable of fighting the marines like I used to. Sure, I was strong enough to take on marines that were human like me, but if those devil fruit users showed up, I knew I'd be meeting my end so fast I wouldn't have had time to think 'Oh shit'.

Meanwhile, Whitebeard watched me for a long while.

Not able to take the silence anymore, I sighed, spinning around to leave, "You can kill me, y'know. It'd be doing me a favor." I finished with a simple shrug of my shoulders, leaving the room and Whitebeard behind.

Outside, I retraced my steps to the room I had claimed as my own, still mulling over what had just transpired. The few men up and about made way for me as I marched by, briefly glancing in my direction. I forced my mind to remain heedless as I finally arrived at my room, weary and rattled and more than happy to lock myself up again.