A/N: So, hello again, people!
Now, the people who just wandered here for some reason are probably thinking: 'What stupid ridiculous story is this?' or 'Oh crap, clicked on the wrong story!'
I apologize if that's the case, and you're free to leave if you want to, but I'm going to just ignore you while you're leaving 'cause I've got a story to start. So shoo!
I also assure you that no matter what happens in the beginning does not mean that Yuki has a sad past or problem. She's just normal, ok?
Summary: She didn't how going snorkeling could end up with her being attacked by a sea king, rescued by a talking karate bear, and ultimately living in a yellow submarine, but it just did. LET'S ALL SING 'WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE'!
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"Hurry up, Yuki! Even my 70 years old grandma can swim faster than you!"
"I seriously doubt that, and I might actually swim faster if you will just shut up."
"Don't you dare speak to your teacher like that, young lady!"
Yuki reluctantly looked away from the school of bright blue fishes and paddled forward. Her class was way in front of her, and Ms. Lee just wouldn't stop bitching about her looking at the fishes. That was just plain ridiculous, since the whole point of snorkeling was to be able to 'appreciate the fishes up close and personal'.
The class waited until she caught up to them (which took her a few minutes) before they continued.
"You shouldn't lag behind, Yuki, or you might get lost!" Celina slowed down to splash along beside Yuki. Said girl couldn't help but roll her eyes at Celina. Her friend was nice and all that (sometimes too nice), especially to Yuki, but it was honestly annoying sometimes.
"Alright, alright! Geez, I'm not a second grader, okay?" Yuki grumbled, dunking her head into the water once when she saw an angel fish swim past.
"You're not, but you look and act like one," Celina pointed out after Yuki surfaced again. She shouldn't have said that.
Celina immediately held out her arms in front of her as an action of placation when she felt the dark mood emitting from Yuki, "Okay, I get it, calm down! I'll just go over there and shut up now."
Yuki growled under her breath angrily as her friend swam to the front of the group to avoid her wrath. For heaven's sake, why did everyone have to point out the fact that she was short? People wouldn't even take her seriously because she was as short as a third grader even though she was freaking 15 until she kicked their shins as hard as she could.
The class was swimming further and further away from Yuki, but she didn't notice because she was distracted by a white fish that brushed right past her fearlessly. She stuck her head into the water to look at it closely. Fishes were beautiful creatures to Yuki and she loved them while she didn't enjoy eating them, unlike a certain Ms. Lee who stuffed them into her humongous mouth as quickly as she could.
The big white fish was currently looking up at Yuki's masked face with a seemingly bored expression. Yuki didn't fail to notice the thing that the fish had glittering in its mouth either… Wait, was that a diamond?!
She held out her hand. Nothing beats money after all and jewels, precious jewels, are pretty much the same thing as money.
The fish didn't even hesitate to swim right up to her fingers, and drop it into her hand, but before it could swim away…
SNAP!
"HOLY SHIT!" Yuki was blown backwards about 10 feet in the water when a huge catfish thingy just popped out of nowhere and chomped the now considered tiny white fish up. It was about bigger than her school (she hated it) and it was grayish with yellow spots. It turned around to face her as though contemplating whether it should eat her too. Yuki held her breathe and froze, her snorkeling vest the only thing keeping her on the water's surface.
She met the fish's gaze and she could see a slightly hungry gleam in its eyes. Not good.
Imaginary telepathic conversation
You're not going to eat me, are you?
Food!
I don't taste good, and I barley have any meat on me, so there's nothing for you to eat!
Food is food!
But food that tastes bad is bad food and I taste bad.
Me want food.
End
One second…
Two seconds…
Three seconds…
"GAH! PUT. ME. DOWN!" Yuki yelled, flailing her arms around. The monster fish had just casually picked her up with her vest in its teeth, and Yuki was just barely managing to hold onto the possibly-a-diamond jewel. She wriggled around as hard as she could, but the fish's hold on her vest didn't loosen one bit. It started swimming away, and now very desperate, Yuki undid the buckles of the vest while hanging in the mouth of a gigantic catfish mutant about 20 stories up in the air. And, as a result, she was freed from the mouth of the gigantic catfish mutant but was also falling down the 20 stories that she was dangling from.
"WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME OF ALL PEOPLE?! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE! WHY'D I EVEN JUMP?!" She screamed, the wind sliced at her face as she fell, but someone else shouted at the same time as she did.
"SEA KING SIGHTED!"
Yuki didn't have time to look for whoever shouted that, but she did hear a high-pitched battle cry, and before she knew it, a big white blur sent the catfish mutant flying. The blur landed back on something yellow that was poking out from the waves' surface and just in time too, because Yuki crash-landed on top of it.
"Nice, Bepo! I'm gonna go report to the captain now. I think that that sea king's too big to eat though, so I guess it's cabbage stew again."
Yuki hadn't seen the person that had their head sticking out of a hole on the yellow structure. She managed to make out a hat with a yellow bill (and the word 'Penguin' written on it for some reason) before the head popped back in. The person didn't seem to have noticed her because the two that had just fallen/landed - she now recognized the yellow structure as a submarine- on the other side of the sub, where there was this Crow's Nest.
It wasn't until she heard a snort that Yuki realized that she was still on top of what/whoever had sent the catfish mutant flying. Speaking of the fish, it had just swallowed her vest before diving into the water. Damn, now she had to buy another one.
"Who are you?" A gruff voice once again shook Yuki from her musings. Shooting up from where she had landed, Yuki quickly sprang back and apologized.
"I'm sorry for crashing into but you see, that giant mutated catfish monster tried to eat me but I fell and you just happened to be in the way and so I fell on top of you. I'm really, really, really, sorry for that and-" Her cushion that had just saved her poked her several times to get her attention again, but it had hurt a little when he/she poked her, like he/she had been holding a needle or something…
"I don't mind, as long as you've apologized." Yuki exhaled in relief, wiping the sweat off her brows.
"Thanks, then. You're really strong to have sent that thing flying," She complimented the polar beat in front of her.
…
Whoa, wait a minute, back up a bit.
…
A polar bear?
"A POLAR BEAR!" Yuki tripped in her haste to back up as quickly as she could. The white bear that had been scratching a spot behind its ears seemed to immediately slouch at her words. A gloomy atmosphere automatically hung over the bear's head and Yuki could almost imagine mushrooms popping up around the bear.
"I'm really sorry…" It mumbled, visibly depressed and Yuki couldn't help but gawk at it. It spoke!
"You can speak?" She asked, already standing up. She knew just exactly what she was going to do…
"I'm sorry for being able to speak too…" If possible, the bear seemed to sink into an even deeper depression, but Yuki didn't give it any time to continue moping because she tackled it into a killer hug.
She buried her hands and face into the fluffy white fur, squealing joyfully. "Sorry? What in the helling world are you sorry for? You're so CUTE!"
The bear was confused and stared uncertainly down at the girl hugging it, "Really?"
Yuki was almost freaking out from how freaking adorable the beat looked and nodded her head so hard that she thought that it would snap off her neck. "Of course you're cute! You're a living, talking, walking and absolutely adorable polar bear!"
It was at this moment that she decided to quote one of the most awesome lines ever in the history of movies. "YOU'RE SO FLUFFY THAT I'M GONNA DIE!"
At this point the bear was completely lost. It scratched its head again and gazed down at her. "Uh… Thank you?"
"You're welcome. Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Kuro Yuki, what about you?" Yuki was so happy that she finally got to use that line since it was just freaking awesome. She stuck out a hand to shake with its… errr… paw.
"I'm Bepo, First Mate of the Heart Pirates, nice to meet you," Bepo shook her hand with his amazingly fluffy and soft paws. So he was a male afterall.
"Nice to meet you too, Bepo!" Yuki grinned at him before Bepo's words finally caught up to her. She didn't even bother to say 'wait a minute'. She just stared at Bepo with muted horror.
"Sorry, but did you just say pirate?" No way, right? That's ridiculous, and she probably just heard him wrong. She needed to be sure though, just to settle her nerves. And right after he says no, she's going to check her ears to make sure that they're not malfunctioning or something…
"Yes. Our captain's Trafalgar Law and we're on the Grand Line now. Why?" Ah, gods bless Bepo, the cute but completely oblivious living teddy bear.
"Nothing really. Just don't tell anyone I'm here. I'll wake up in about 30 minutes," Yuki replied tightly, grin frozen in place before she promptly fainted.
Bepo scratched his head yet again when the girl passed out. Now what? He should probably go tell captain, but she told him not to tell… Ah well, he could wait.
'What a weird human,' Bepo thought as he picked her up and carefully carried her back to his room, making sure that nobody saw him.
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"Yuki? It's been 30 minutes and 24 seconds already. Are you going to wake up now or do you want me to wait 30 more minutes?"
Said girl forced her eyelids open but immediately regretted when the goddamn light bulb (which just happened to be right on top of her on the ceiling, again, for some reason) burned her eyes.
"Why the fuck is the light bulb right on top of me?! Holy, my eyes, my EYES! Get me my lawyer; I'll sue whoever screwed the light bulb onto the ceiling!" Yuki yelled, sitting up abruptly with her fists rubbing her scorching eyes. She very nearly had her head collide with Bepo's, who was leaning over her.
"I'm really sorry, I screwed the light bulb onto the ceiling…" He sank into dejection once again with imaginary mushrooms popping up around him, causing Yuki to instantly feel guilty.
She quickly apologized and petted his furry head, "No, no, I didn't really mean that! I really don't mind. I'll just sue the light bulb instead, how about that?"
"Can you do that?" Bepo asked curiously, coming out of his misery.
"Uh… I guess… maybe…?" Was her uncertain reply. The bear didn't mind the vague response and shrugged it off.
Yuki saw that she was lying on Bepo's stomach, using his soft fur as a heat radiating blanket/mattress. The room she was in was made entirely out of steel with no furniture at all. Basically, it was just an empty room with a light bulb (screw that light bulb, and that wasn't a pun) on the ceiling.
"You have an interesting name. Black snow, right?"
Yuki nodded. "I like my name, it contradicts each other. Besides, I like the colors black and white, so you're definitely in my good books 'cause you got white fur, not to mention fluffy fur."
"So you like fluffy things?" Bepo cocked his head to one side, which brought out the inner-child inside of Yuki. And if you try to say that she looked like a child on the outside too, she'll pulverize you and you can go ask the local bullies how that felt like.
"Yep, animals too. I like white, gray, or white animals a bit more though, like black jaguars and wolves." At the mention of the cunning animals, Bepo's animal instincts didn't seem to like them and he growled.
Yuki, however, didn't notice this and continued talking. "My sister and I like the same colors and animals, so we get along pretty well even though she's in college now and I see her less than usual. At least she comes home whenever she can."
Bepo could smell some traces of sadness coming from the girl and tried to distract her. "Are you sure that you've never heard of the Heart Pirates or our captain?"
Yuki shook her head, "Nope, never. Is he some big shot?"
Another 30 minutes later, since Bepo had to explain some stuff that Yuki missed again due to her being in shock
"Okay... So basically, I'm in an entirely new world where it's 'Marines V.S pirates', and your captain just so happens to have one hell of a bounty. And," Yuki added, still rubbing her head from where she had banged her head on the steel wall in an attempt to try wake herself up from what she had deemed as a dream but has now accepted as reality. "I'm on your ship after being attacked by what you call a Sea King so I'm practically at your crew's mercy since you guys saved me."
"That's about it. You ready to meet captain?"
"Uh… What if I say no?" Yuki stalled. She did not want to meet this guy that just happens to be the 'Surgeon of Death'. Not exactly her idea of a good first impression on someone.
"I'll have to drag you to him, because every person here has to first go through captain," Bepo informed her, and he didn't look really sorry that he was going to drag her to someone she didn't want to meet.
Right. Not good.
"Surely you wouldn't do that to me?" Yuki tried her best puppy-look, and she thought for a second that Bepo looked like he was hesitating.
He scratched his head again, since that was what he tended to do when he got nervous. "Captain would let you stay if he approves of you and you can work here, but I don't think that an 8 year old can do much in a pirate crew…"
Twitch.
(SOUND OF YUKI'S RAGE EXPLODING)
"I'm sorry, I thought that you were 8," Bepo apologized ashamedly, curled up in downheartedness. Yuki groaned. She really couldn't hold a grudge against the cute bear.
"God, I seriously can't stay mad at you… Oh well, like you said, as long as you've apologized," She said. Bepo had to be the first person to not sustain any injuries, physical and mental, after pointing out her shortness. Other than Celina, that is.
Then a light bulb (not the one that she was planning to sue) lit up on top of her head. Bepo was in depression now, and although she felt bad for taking advantage of that fact, he might be willing to help her out in repayment.
"You know, since you've apologized, you can just keep the fact that I'm here a secret and I'll feel all better! That okay, Bepo?" Yuki's puppy-eyes strike again!
Bepo scratched his ears, "I… I guess, but captain's really sharp and I don't want to lie to him if he asks about it…"
"You don't have to. I'll just make sure that I'm not found out, alright?" She was fairly confident that she could stay hidden since she was pretty fast. And don't even mention how her small size helps her because if you do…. (Feel free to use your imagination here. Just think of the cruelest torture methods that you can think of and you're on the right track.)
Bepo made up his mind and finally agreed, much to Yuki's relief.
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While Bepo returned to his crew, Yuki stayed in the room, which was apparently Bepo's cave/den/whatever-you-call-a-bear's-sleeping-place. It was nighttime already and the cute bear had first shift for watching duty, so Yuki would have a lot of time to kill before he came back.
"This is boring… Better then risking my life though," She muttered to herself from her spot on the ground, laying with her four limbs splayed, after 20 minutes of solitude. Since a bear didn't need a bed or anything, there wasn't anything that Yuki could play with (or try demolishing) to ease her boredom. Now that she thought of it, she wouldn't have anywhere to hide if someone came in…
"Just count bears, count bears… One bears, two bears, three bears…" Yuki kept on counting for about half an hour until she felt her eyelids sliding close and her counting slowing coming to a stop.
"386 *yawn* bears, 3-387 bears, 388… monkeys? 390 giraffes, 392- no wait- 391 raccoons, 392 leopards, 393 wolves, it's a freaking zoo… "
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Bepo carefully opened the door to his cave/den/whatever-you-call-a-bear's-sleeping-place and slipped inside quickly, making sure that no crew members that were still around managed to look inside. He sighed in relief when he was got into his room safely before he noticed Yuki sleeping on the floor.
"Did she faint again or is she asleep?" Bepo wondered. He first removed his jumpsuit – it was way too hot in the sub – and then scooped the sleeping girl up. He acted as a furry mattress again and he sleepily noted that Yuki smelled like herbs before he too was dead to the world.