Simpler Days – that never truly existed

The body of the perpetrator finally collapsed to the floor unconscious and bleeding from his forehead.

A clatter of handcuffs reverberating off his skull rang out were followed by a clink as they were then firmly attached to his wrists, "Lieutenant, throw this criminal out of here and lock him up somewhere he'll never escape! I have my hands occupied already with our other guests." Watching him be taken away, his gaze turned to his wife as he gently stroked his neck in pain before lifting her back up on her feet and comforted her, an unsettling feeling took hold in his gut.

(Present time)

Crashes and blasts exploded throughout the corridors of the base as the Strawhats collectively sprinted frantically forwards in search for help except Ussop and Robin, who remained behind to scout the enemy base for an exit route. Occasionally the main group slowed down only for Luffy to roundhouse kick an annoyance towards the sides to collapse in heaps of mass unconscious bodies. Front and centre Luffy chewed his lips in frustration as he clutched his mangled bloodied tanuki firmly to sweep another marine onto his arse. His nakama pummelled the unfortunate soul underfoot as each struggled to maintain pace with him as they dealt swiftly with any leftovers their Captain left behind; not many it seemed. "Luffy please slow down!" Nami screeched to be heard over the roars of the charging marine officers chasing them down the hallways, "we can't keep up!"

"Speak for yourself woman" Zoro calmly stated as he sprinted beside his Captain; he clutched his three swords into one point, then rapidly drew them back in one fluid circular motion that unleashed shockwaves to knock the approaching marines down to collapse in heaps of unconscious bodies, "One-hundred pound canon!"

"Yeah well some of us aren't monsters like you" Nami retorted snarky, "we need to stick-" she stopped as she was quickly interrupted by screams as more soldiers were violently subdued as Luffy frantically darted forward through them as he hastily smacked down anyone in front of him out of the way. Barely conscious of where he was he abruptly skidded to a halt beneath the banner marked 'Infirmary Room', "Zoro! Sanji! No one else comes in" Luffy calmly whispered as the swordsman clutched his sheathed katana with an eerie smirk and the cook steadily leaned back as he puffed on his cigarette, exhaling smoke tauntingly towards the marines surrounding them. "No problem!" The duet bounced and twirled across the air to slam their closest opponents face-first into the dust to leap off them onto their next victim who collapsed with one clean distinct slash across his chest as his exposed stomach was drilled into by an inflamed dropkick. Zoro leaned backwards as he re-sheathed his katana painfully slowly, "One sword style: Lion's strike!", whilst Sanji leapt backwards to drop down low into another stance in preparation of retaliation, "Flamebage shot!"

The conflict escalated as in succession multiple bodies were knocked around as the enclosing marines slowly entrapped the pair within an inner circle of armed officers, all of which simultaneously withdrew their cutlasses as the ranged supporters kneeled down behind them. Each lifted their flintlocks in tandem and lined up their targets as deafening silence ensued which tensed everyone into momentary stillness. Only the raspy breaths of the soldiers could be heard as the challenge ahead dawned on them in full force. Within one heartbeat the frontline charged in formation as they maintained and gradually shrunk their circle entrapment as the support fired in sync to distract the pirates who were forced to remain stationary to deflect and slice the bullets harmlessly away. Immediately as the barrage of lead hail ceased the frontline closed the distance and swung recklessly at them as Zoro blocked three with perfected timing and parried another as Sanji dodged to roll underneath to sweep-kick them off their feet, "If you actually believe even one of you could pass me alive, think again!"

Meanwhile the others had followed behind Luffy who stormed inside with serious attitude. Inside several women in white scrubs hauled another behind the draped curtains whose violet locks and spiralled spectacles caused her to appear particularly peculiar. He stormed over to latch painfully tight onto the doctor who squeaked in shock. Silence ensued as Luffy tearfully stared her down with serious deadly eyes before he broke down and carefully laid Chopper down into her arms. She instinctively accepted the injured animal despite her alarm until she noticed the rivers of blood that overflowed onto her to immediately faint and collapse unconscious. Luffy cried out in alarm from devastation when she lifelessly fell limp in his arms as he cried upwards in rage.

"She's not dead you complete idiot! Though I bet you scared her half-to-death knowing you!" Nami screeched and accented her point by smacking his head. Relief overwhelmed him as he quickly shook the doctor to rouse her into consciousness as she awoke with a jolt and whipped her head around in alarm at the intruders, "Leave me alone!" she screeched, " I have patients in need of treatment" she hastily added in vain hope they would actually listen to her.

"Help him now!" Luffy demanded as he presented his bloodied companion once more for her to inspect which caused her to shriek and faint in distress yet again.

"What the-" Luffy cried in disbelief as he violently shook her. "This is no time to sleep! Chopper needs your help!"

"Idiot she's not tired either! Leave her alone, I'll handle this you brute!" Nami huffed as she knelt beside her only to suddenly slap her harshly with an audible smack, "You'd better stay conscious or I won't be so easy on you next time."

"I'm sorry! Le- let me have a look at him…" she trembled as she tentatively received her first real patient. However the Strawhats concern increased as she simply stared at their friend sweating furiously after what appeared to be a normal routine check.

"What are you doing? You're meant to help him!"

"I'm sorry, there's nothing that can be done…" she whispered fearfully as she chose her words carefully. "Though I'm uncertain why no one noticed" she spoke softly as Luffy denied his tears.

"Your friend's already dead."

(Unknown)

Splurges of water erupted forth as mangled body parts surged above the icy depths, dampening the wooden platforms that creaked under his pressure caused by his increased mass underwater. Wheezy rasps furiously consumed oxygen in the brief intermission of air before he was roughly submerged once more by one lone shadow whose features were carefully concealed in obscure blackness. The interrogator yanked back tattered sleeves and paced the enclosed basement back and forth repeatedly in open irritation, "Speak! I demand you to speak now!" the figure screeched. "At least allow me the satisfaction of hearing you cry in fear and anguish, would you kindly? Hehe! There's no way you'll last here with me before I hear your beautiful screams of pure agony" the shadowed creature screamed, simultaneously reaching outwards to momentarily allow him to escape the surface only to plunge him back in without reprieve.

Panting, one child, clasping a swirly designed pin tight in his clutches, could be seen in the midst of armed barbarous pirates fleshed out with swords, beards and bullish attitudes, swarming the youngling as their leader approached rapidly, enclosing the child quickly as he halted the others to a stop with a dismissive flick of his wrist. The two danced around the deck, sliding under rafts and leaping over stockades of barrels as they neared the front, and dashed across the railing back across to the mast as the child tumbled and fell, narrowly avoiding the other's reach, carefully executed into a forward roll that extended his leap onto the main mast and powered through to the ropes to climb onto the top pillars of the ship. The child hastily side stepped backwards to the very edge until a peer downwards revealed unforgiving waters that his body would hammer through at the height of such a fall. A glance back upwards and his pursuer had already caught up and was completely still as if to savour the fact. Smirking himself, however, threw the other off as the child swept back his blond locks to the back of his skull exposing reddened flushed cheeks that emphasised an enormous grin as he perked up straightening his legs, only to skip up and descend backwards off to plummet down to the depths awaiting impatiently below. The tides lapped up higher in hunger as his tiny body neared the surface, only for his body to halt suddenly and crash violently against the side of the ship as he was yanked painfully up by the claw on his leg that heaved him back overboard before his recklessness killed him, "You're an idiot" he declared deadpan.

Naruto just grinned even wider as he leaned upwards to hand the smiley pin back whilst still hoisted upside down and several feet off the ground. "And you're slow old man, thought I'd actually die there for a moment" he chuckled.

"If you're worried about that maybe you shouldn't have tried stealing from a pirate or testing the waters that high up before you've learned to swim, seems you've got it ass backwards to me."

"Whatever… Say Smiley-"

*smack* "You really need to stop calling me that."

"Tch", Naruto mumbled, caressing his head with a half-sleeved hand, "Say, this might be a weird question but is there anyone precious in your life, back home maybe?"

"Precious people?"

"Yeah, like family."

"My brothers of course, but out here my crew are the ones I'd die and live to protect, in our own way they're my brothers too, my precious people; why you asking that so suddenly anyway?"

"No reason" Naruto replied. "Honest" he added at the expression of disbelief shown on the Captain's face.

"There's always a reason for everything, even if we don't realise it straight away."

"I guess" Naruto continued nervously, "I just think back, or least I try to and… and nothing. There's no one, no friends or family. I don't remember anything and…" he winced slightly, "I'm not sure I want to. I mean, this life is enough, it's me you know? If those memories resurfaced I wouldn't recognise who that was then and maybe who I am now wouldn't even be real anymore."

Ace restrained himself to a simple smirk in response until he couldn't resist any longer and exploded in audible laughter, "You're really an idiot" he stated as he ruffled the child's hair mockingly.

"Hey! Watch it!" Naruto barked back in retaliation.

"You think too much for a kid. Listen to me now, seriously, don't worry about that, it's out of your control whether your memories resurface or not so for now let's forget about that. Just realise everyone grows and changes just at an unnoticeably slow rate. For you, it'd just happen quicker is all, gaining back your old memories won't change that."

"Heh, you really think so?"

"Let me tell you something about me you should know…" his voice became muffled and drowned out as his vision blurred and the scenery unsteadied until it seemed as if his presence had extracted itself from his body, separate to 'himself' as he focused upwards from within a misty haze that clouded the memory. Outer consciousness failing his apparition desperately clawed at the imagery fading above an aquatic ceiling. Broken it shined blinding illuminations that recessed the apparent hallucination until the darkness enveloped him in his entirety. The only existing conception left was the incomprehensible advice from his brother that unavoidably fell on deaf ears as his cerulean orbs abruptly widened open to complete blackness. Smoke seemed to pour in waves to surround him as maniac chuckles reverberated in the dank cell; the interrogator enveloped in shadows obscuring the identity of the monster that casually leaned over the soaked victim sprawled lifelessly within the basin. Only with his upper body exposed above the water kept him barely alive in a trance state between the edge of life and death. Tattered sleeves flailed back and forth as 'shadows' hypnotically swayed forward with inanimate arms dangling uselessly at the side.

He was hastily yanked from the depths of his subconscious with an abrupt conscious tug, arousing his senses as his naked form collapsed into the frosty chilled arms of the mysterious enemy who proceeded to drag him across to another open space. Resided there was its sole feature of an eerie lone chair with chain links hooked deep into adjacent pillars that now surrounded him as he was carefully locked within its confines. His breaths slowly spiked into raspy heaves as the silence was broken by an inconsiderable squeak that painfully resounded within his eardrums; his lack of vision amplifying his auditory sensitivity. Involuntarily he flinched as further rattles could be heard whilst the other snapped their fingers as lights illuminated an obscure face whose keen eyes gleefully inspected an assortment of sharp unwieldly equipment: from elongated scalpels and needles to curved saws and clippers.

For once Naruto turned pale as he imagined what pain he could experience in this nightmarish hell he was trapped within as he violently rattled his shackles in his vain hope to escape. It turned around as the noises increased in parallel to his frustration which only caused the concealed monster to break into squeaky chuckles that could bleed an ear dry, "Don't worry hehe" she squeaked as she revealed herself to place herself uncomfortably close upon him close enough that her raspy breathes chilled his face as she seemed to become heated in anticipation, "I'm not here to kill you." She giggled uncontrollably now, "I'll just hurt you, really, really, bad hehe!" Her extreme sadism opposed her peach-coloured unkempt bangs howbeit matched her high heels and scarlet latex attire that exposed her stomach and breasts: covered only by thin laced tassels. She clutched one of the scalpels and plunged it deep into his shoulder as he hissed in restraint only to scream out when she viscously twisted the aforementioned medical tool around and around until its handle snapped off.

The insatiable laughter that endlessly continued drove him crazy as another lash of her whip struck his face; however this time she crossed his pain threshold and whipped him into a fury as he mindlessly clawed for freedom from his confines as his eyes started to radiate an aluminous eerie crimson.

(Several years ago once more to continue from last time yet again)

"Monster!"

"Hell-spawn!"

"Demon!"

"Get away from her you monster!" screamed one running at them as he unsheathed his katana and lightning fast swiped it diagonally across at his target who was pushed away at the last second by the mystery girl who took the slash attack instead as a burst of hot blood splattered his face and leaked into his eyes causing him to see red.

*You don't remember me? I'm your ninja princess silly*

"No~!" he screamed as his rage consumed him into mindlessly attacking them by leaping off all-fours and slicing into them with sharpened teeth and claws as his movement became more and more animalistic. Their faces concealed within the shadows of black spots faded away to reveal themselves as he identified them as his enemies to targets to playthings. Each one disappeared into pools and mists of blood one by one as he confronted each of them with erratic and violent attacks. Only a blood- red haze was left behind as eventually no one was left and he was left alone in a mass of bodies as his insatiable hunger for blood and violence was not quenched in the least with their pathetic display.

Wading through their remains of bloodied guts and entrails the monster eventually calmed down as the serene view of the ocean and cooling onset of wind was cooled his raging soul despite its true beauty being ultimately lost on him in this state. Reaching the back deck at the end of the ship he collapsed to his knees in exhaustion as the chilling wind cooled his raging soul as his gaze turned to the sea with a flicker of recognition swirled momentarily within his eyes which flashed an oceanic blue reflecting the deep light blue of the vast ocean which opposed him, before abruptly reverting to the blood red as his head snapped back behind him where he heard quiet breathing from underneath a pile of bodies. As the last one alive realised his faking was not working he scrambled away across the bloodied deck in frantic panic though he was seized almost instantaneously and lifted up to meet the monster eye to eye in a clawed grip as he vainly grasped at the offending arm in a struggle for air. With a final squeeze his head popped off with a splurge of blood erupting from the headless corpse that collapsed lifelessly onto the floor.

(Present time)

Cracks formed around him as the increased pressure drove the chair deep through the foundations and his animalistic roar caved in the stone pillars that constrained him to release him from his makeshift prison. The sadist leapt back in response as she raised her whip in defence against such a monstrosity which only quietened to level an eerie stare towards her which unnerved even her. In panic she waved her whip in loops around her to wind up power behind her strike which unleashed shot forward and marked the beast with flesh wounds across his torso. Animalistic screams of rage at the pain inflicted caused him to irradiate pure energy that burned her pale skin some darker shade despite the distance between them. Visible crimson bubbles formed from this energy to slowly surround him and envelop him into an entrapment of consuming hatred that blinded his vision blood red. Screaming he leapt forward on all-fours catching his fleeing prey within seconds to stare openly at her like a piece of meat as if he couldn't decide whether or not to savour or devour her. He raised her up in his clawed hand as his glowing red eyes consumed her within its eternal depths as he ripped her head off clean from her shoulders in showers of dark fluid.

With her death he immediately calmed down as the crimson aura receded back into his lonesome consciousness; he fell to his knees as he slowed his breathing into a gentle rhythm. Calm, he stood up and swiped his arms sideways to slice the steel door into pieces as he stormed through. Glancing down he sighed as streams of blood pooled around him and soaked his feet; past memories surged to the forefront of his conscious, 'Nothing's really changed… has it?' he questioned himself as he strained himself forward as if some burden had crippled him to painfully stride one pace closer to his brother, and moved on.

Author's Notice: Even though it may take ages I am determined to continue this story so until further notice no one worry about this story being abandoned or opted up for adoption. However if anyone wishes to write another story using ideas from this one that could even tie in with it as well is welcome to do so, though I'm not sure who would want to, just simply ask. Once again sorry for the wait, at least it was in on time for before 2016! I hope it was worth it, either way please review to let me know what you think. Not quite happy with the length of this chapter but I wanted to get something and anything out just in case anyone is still interested in this story to be honest. Oh and that new story I was thinking of is a bust, though if anyone could write a decent adaptation of Red's adventure in the Pokemon manga for me I'd appreciate that and would love to read it. Peace out peeps.