the pirate f, an one piece fanfic

Title: the pirate f

Rating: M

Summary: She's always fantasized about living out her dreams one day. [OC-as-a-Rumbar-Pirate]

Warnings: Violence/gore. Body horror and cannibalism in the later section, though, so watch out for that. Things really took a turn for the weird halfway through.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

(AN at bottom.)

the pirate f

"01. marching towards the radiant dawn"

Part I: The Roots

There is no tragic backstory.

The girl in question here, is not an orphan. She does not grow up ridiculed or beaten or spat upon by others in her childhood. She does not suffer soul-crushing calamity in her early years, nor does she experience the fires of wartime. She does not undergo painful loss, and proceed to swear the rest of her life to a quest for unending vengeance.

No. Victoria Finley is normal, perfectly normal in every sense of the word.

Sure, in her younger years, she had indulged in fantasy and adventure, playing imaginary games in the field with her fellow friends as she eagerly devoured children's books about dragons and magic and friendship at home. When the teacher from school would indulgently ask their schoolchildren what they wanted to be when they grew up, Victoria would always respond with loud exclamations of "Artist!" or "Astronaut!" just like everyone else, but…

But secretly, secretly somewhere deep down inside, she knew that she was destined for more than this. After all, she was waiting for her adventure to come. For that fateful day to come, when she would be whisked away to another world, full of danger and love and–

And, of course, it never happens.

What happens is this: Victoria grows up. Her friends gradually turn away from childish fancies and silly daydreams one by one to buckle down in their studies, and so does Victoria. Because that's what everyone is doing, because that's what's expected of her. All the time, Victoria is waiting patiently, day by day, waiting for her adventure to finally come calling for her. For her destiny to sweep her off her feet and into a world of swords and magic or maybe robots and spaceships so her life can finally begin–

Little Victoria turns ten, then eleven, then twelvethirteenfourteen–

She no longer entertains these fanciful notions anymore by the time she's in high school and up to her elbows in her tests and assignments, her AP exams and college applications. Her friends turn towards practical goals. Gotta think about a future career choice, after all. Food isn't going to magick itself onto the dinner table.

At this point, Victoria is the last of the group left clinging to childish fantasy and adventure inside her heart, even though her mind knows better. There are other things in life to focus on, and so she… lets go. Turns and faces reality.

Really, there's no use in entertaining childish fantasies when she has lab reports to write up. Why bother?

In this world, there are no such thing as wizards or adventures or demon lords to defeat. Victoria does enjoy a good fantasy read every now and then, and comic books are a guilty pleasure of hers, but she buckles down and focuses on practical pursuits in her life. She needs to keep her grades up, get into a good college, graduate with a fancy degree and find a job.

And so she does.

Victoria keeps her grades up, gets into a good college, graduates with a shiny degree and finds herself a job about a year after she's fresh out of college. It's not lucrative, by any means, but it's a steady job that pays decent wages.

For the young woman, that's enough.

(… Isn't it?)

"How've you been doing?" her friends ask, whenever they meet up for a casual outing. But by the time Victoria has summoned up an obligatory smile and responded, "Fine," they've already begun to excitedly ramble on about the new things in their lives nowadays. How they've made a new breakthrough in their research. Took a trip to the Bahamas. Finally tried building a startup that they're interested in exploring, would Victoria like to join them?

Victoria's days are best described as dull monotony. Even though she has a college degree and a steady job, she doesn't feel very successful. Because success should not feel this empty, this hollow, as if there's something in her life that's still missing.

But what can it be?

"Maybe you should look into grad school," her friends advise her. Her older cousin says similar things, her kind, thoughtful parents suggesting that maybe she should take a sabbatical. Get out and explore the world while she's still young, and there's so much out there for her to see. Or find a boyfriend.

Victoria still reads fantasy books and plays video games in her spare time, but somehow it's not as satisfying as it used to be. Just a temporary escape from the stifling dullness in her life. She tries to go out more, tries to find new hobbies, but gradually all she discovers is that it just keeps getting harder and harder to just… to just keep going on, which isn't right.

Victoria knows she's fortunate. She's led a privileged life in this day and age, and she knows that there are many people in this world aren't as lucky as her. Maybe they're not lucky enough to be born into a loving family that's as well-off as hers, or maybe they're not lucky enough to receive a good education and have the chance to go to college. She's living a good life, if not particularly affluent. And really, she's not ungrateful for everything that she is blessed enough to have, because that would be just stupid, but–

But–

But then, just what in the world is wrong?

Victoria never manages to figure out the answer, even up until the moment she dies in a subway accident on her way back from work one day.

Once upon a time, there is a normal girl who lived a normal life. There is no tragic backstory.

… There is no tragic backstory.

Part II: The Beginning

Rebirth in another world.

The concept is part of the 'isekai' genre that's been gaining popularity these days, the whole 'die-and-be-reborn-in-another-world' trope. Wish fulfillment. The stories often feature ridiculously capable harem protagonists who collect all the pretty female love interests, or something equally silly and preposterous. Swords and guns and magic.

It's nothing but wish fulfillment, plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.

Victoria can't believe that this is what happens to her after experiencing a… a transportation accident of a rather fatal nature, given the sheer impossibility of it all. The moment she realizes it, though, the moment she realizes what had happened and the pieces slot together in her mind to form a cohesive picture, it's almost like something missing finally falls into place inside her.

… Maybe, maybe this is what I've been waiting for?

Swords and guns and magic. Danger and love and adventure. Childhood dreams that she had once deemed impossible and cast aside, an empty void in her chest that would never be filled.

Is this where my life begins?

… It takes a while, embarrassingly enough. But after her initial excitement finally recedes into something more manageable, Victoria buckles down and gets to work, because this is it.

She remembers the fictional readings from her past life. While fiction generally isn't a reliable guideline for anything, some parts of it are still relatively reasonable. Don't get overconfident and expect to have a protagonist's luck in everything, for example. Work hard and become strong, which applies to practically everything.

By some strange twist of fate, Victoria is once again born as the normal child to a normal couple in the normal town of a normal kingdom. But this time, the girl refuses to settle for normalcy.

Her parents are clearly confused by their precocious child. They're only simple townsfolk, after all. But they try, and they remain supportive of their little Tori nonetheless.

(… In the beginning, that is.)

It's clear that the newlywed couple don't really understand why their sweet little girl is so insistent on learning swordplay from the retired soldier in town from the very moment she can walk and talk. Papa is the manager of his own shop, and Mama is a weaver. If anything, they had hoped for their firstborn child to follow in Papa's footsteps if it were a boy, and Mama's footsteps if it were a girl. Their friends had chuckled and told them that children tended to look up to and take after their parents, but oftentimes they can't help but scratch their heads over their little Tori –their baby girl seems to have come with her own views and her own personality.

… Surely there's no harm in it, though? It's probably just a passing phase, in the end. Maybe little Tori is just inspired by seeing their next-door-neighbors' boy, Bato, head over for lessons each afternoon. Now there's a talented young man who definitely stands a solid shot of making it into the King's Guard one day. If nothing else, at least it's good for a girl to know how to defend herself from unscrupulous thugs. (…)

And, really, maybe it's a good thing in the end. Tori certainly seems like an energetic child; better for the girl to burn off her extra energy under Old Erwin's watchful eye than get into trouble.

Right?

Victoria is perfectly aware of what her parents think about her, perfectly aware of the vague confusion behind the bright smiles they give her…

… She's aware, but does nothing to correct it.

They're good people, kind and supportive and affectionate, and they'd be brilliant parents to anyone who isn't Victoria. Because Victoria has a goal, a goal to set out and adventure and explore the world, and she'll never be able to reach it by staying in a small town, molding herself into a perfect little housewife in compliance with her parents' expectations.

Her parents are surprised, but mildly indulgent when their three year old daughter asks to learn swordplay with the boys. They're confused, but hesitantly accepting when their seven year old daughter switches out her wooden sword for real steel under Old Erwin's guidance.

By the time Victoria turns ten, they can no longer hold their silence.

"Tori, dear, would you like to weave cloth with me tomorrow?"

"Tori, how about tending the storefront with your old man for a day?"

"Tori, how about sewing? You've got a deft hand with the needle, and Madam Talis is looking for an apprentice."

"Sorry," Victoria says to them with a light laugh and a breezy smile, apology in her eyes but immovable in her answer. "Sorry, but I've gotta go train."

Victoria is always careful to make time for her parents whenever she can. She stays with them whenever she has a rest day to let her muscles recover from the old soldier's rigorous training. If her mother makes her spend an afternoon sitting in front of the weaving loom, then Victoria just makes up for the lost time by practicing in the backyard in the middle of the night. No big deal.

They're not bad people. They mean well. Parents generally want what they think is best for their children, and Victoria can understand that, even if she can't accept it from them.

Victoria tries to be a good daughter, because these are the people who put a roof over her head and food on the table, and she can be grateful for that. But they're not her parents. She'll respect them and obey them for as long as she lives with them, but this is only a temporary arrangement.

Her mother's smile these days are markedly more strained when she catches sight of Tori's muscled arms or dirt-smudged cheeks or scabbed-over scars. "Tori–"

"Leave her be, Bellana."

Victoria looks over to her father. The man raises his eyes to look at her for a single moment, slow and measured and so very tired, then looks back to the drink in his hands and downs it all in one go.

"Let the girl do what she wants. We've tried. If she won't listen, then let her reap what she sows."

When Tori turns twelve, her parents finally have their second child. It's been coming for a long time, really. Victoria is secretly relieved when her little sister is born, an invisible weight finally being lifted from her thin shoulders.

Her parents have another child to take care of now, one who will laugh and smile like an innocent little flower and go on every picnic with them and let them dress her up like a doll–

Now, there's truly nothing holding her back.

Like Bato, Tori sets out to join the Junior Guard in the capital city the day she turns thirteen, a full year younger than the expected age of recruits. The capital city is a long ways from her hometown by foot, and Victoria plans to make a few detours around the way. All in the name of training, of course.

She's a grown woman, for all that she wears the appearance of a little girl, and she can take care of herself. Her parents are even busier with their third child nowadays, a little baby boy, so they'll be far too preoccupied with their business and their children to worry about their strange eldest daughter, if they still even see her as their daughter anymore. Tori regrets that she wasn't able to salvage this relationship, but… there's no helping it. They don't understand. None of them do.

"Take care." In the end, it's only the old soldier and a few of her 'classmates' who accompany her to the creaking town gates. The middle-aged man takes a long swig of alcohol, and the sharp movement stretches the scar on his chin. "It's a long way to the capital by yourself. Sure you don't wanna wait for the next merchant caravan to swing by? It's only two months."

"Be honest. You just want me around to take care of the little ones, now that there's 'nothing more you have to teach me,'" Victoria laughs and shakes her head. "Take care yourself, old man. Keep an eye out for my parents if you can, will you?"

She turns and steps away from her home of thirteen years without a single backwards glance, tossing a small wave over her shoulder.

This is it.

This is where her story begins.

"Sir Erwin?"

"Bah," the old soldier grumbles. He watches the girl leave, all the way until she disappears around the curve of the road, before downing the rest of his drink in a silent toast. Not the most talented student he's ever taught, but certainly the most diligent. And yet, he knows, without any trace of a doubt…

"Yeah, I'll watch out for those parents of yours for you. You're definitely going to get yourself killed one day."

Part III: The Capital

Victoria arrives at the capital city approximately one and a half years later after departing from her rural hometown. She steps through the cream-colored inspection gates, a little beaten, a little battered, cursing herself all the while for overestimating herself and underestimating this new world she now lives in. But she's learned more over the course of her journey than she'd ever thought possible, and she knows that she's become stronger for it.

Victoria turns in her application, takes the standard exam, and is accepted into the Junior Guard. Women might be rare in the king's combative forces, but they're not unheard of. And sure, she finds herself having to smack down more than a few blockheads from her training squad to get them to stop making snide comments in her direction, but it's not like her reactions are unwarranted, honestly.

No, she doesn't have a temper problem. Why do they keep saying that whenever they think her back is turned? Are they stupid?

"Good morning, young lady. Are you the little spitfire we've been hearing so much about lately?"

Victoria reaches for her sword and swings. She's so goddamned fucking tired of repeating this song and dance over and over again. "Screw you."

Clang.

Steel on steel.

… Victoria blinks, mildly surprised –none of the others around here have managed to block her as easily and effortlessly as this man just did; he's not one of the guys from another squad. She rapidly makes another reassessment of his abilities.

Actually… he seems a little too old to be one of her peers. But he doesn't seem like one of their instructors, either, which… what?

"Congratulations, you've been promoted," the man informs her around their interlocked swords with a breezy laugh and a cheerful grin. "None of the Junior Guard trainers really know what to do with you anymore, so I'm taking you under my command now. Welcome to the team! It'll be nice to have another swordsman with us –pardon me, swordswoman. We'll have to work on that trigger-happy attitude of yours, though."

Victoria blinks in surprise, cheeks flushing a little from the slight chiding. "I-It's not my–!"

"Excuses later! For now, just come along with me so you can meet the rest of the squad," he flashes her another smile and a wink like they're sharing a secret. "My name is Brook, and I'll teach you everything I know. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tori… though I do hope you won't try to greet me by taking my head off next time. Let's save that enthusiasm for our enemies, hmm?"

For the first time in her life, Victoria blushes.

Brook is… nice. More than that, he's skilled. Far stronger than anyone else she's met in this world so far. The man takes his words seriously and literally teaches her about everything, from swordplay to dance to music, and sometimes it feels like there's nothing that he doesn't know, or at least have a passing familiarity with.

"You flatter me, little Tori," Brook brushes off with a laugh. "There's plenty of things I don't know about out there in the world, though I do hope for the chance to go out and do some exploring myself one day."

Victoria discovers in her time with Brook that the man enjoys playing music very, very much. She hasn't touched a piano in several years, not since her life before, but it's not too hard to pick things up again. She also discovers, much to her delight, that she has a lovely singing voice, and soon she finds herself admiring her Squad Captain for not one but two things –swordplay, and music.

"Sounds to me like someone's got a little puppy crush."

"Shut up!"

In a match of stamina, she's still not quite strong enough to outlast her fellow squad members. Comes with being the youngest of the group, really. But Victoria is fast, and unless her opponent is much, much faster than her, this means that she typically has the upper hand in the first several exchanges.

There is a warm glow building in her chest as she fools around with her squad-mates and settles into her role as a front-line fighter in the team, and Victoria wonders if she's finally found what she's been looking for.

(Is this it?)

Part IV: The Pirates

Tori loves her squad. She loves her squad, but she loves Brook most of all. N-not romantically, but it's undeniable that somewhere along the lines, Brook has become the precious person that she holds dearest to her heart.

He's kind. Patient. He understands her in a way no one ever has before, and even in the times that he doesn't understand, he's always willing to stop and listen. How could Tori not love him for that?

So when Brook leaves in the dead of the night, hands in his resignation to become a pirate, of all things –there's no doubt about it. The other squad members all give her sly, suggestive looks when she takes out her own resignation documents not a moment thereafter, and Victoria rolls her eyes at Brook's apparent surprise as she staunchly ignore the peanut gallery.

"Tori–"

"You're still not done teaching me everything you know yet," she folds her arms across her chest and glares defiantly. Geez. If she hadn't snuck out after him and met Captain Yorki herself, he might've tried to run off on his own, the idiot. "… So until you do, you're not going to get rid of me so easily, got it? Plus, I've always wanted to go out and explore the world. It'll be like an adventure!"

(Famous last words. Emphasis on the 'last.')

"ALL HANDS ON BOARD!"

"YES, CAPTAIN!"

Being a pirate is very different from serving under a regimented military squad. The transition is a little jarring, and Tori realizes just how used she is to having structure and organization in her life. It's something she's always taken in her life for granted, both lives, even, and it's something that's only startling clear now that she has a comparison.

Brook is a source of comfort and familiarity through this all, and she's never been more thankful for the man's presence in her life. Good thing Captain Yorki has a sense of humor, and the rest of the crew are a hearty lot, if rather rowdy.

(It's funny, almost. Swords are what brought her to Brook, but music teaches her more about the man than swords ever did. She'd never really noticed how much of a weight he'd always carried on his shoulders as Squad Captain until now, now that they sail out upon the open seas so freely, and it shows, in his lighthearted steps and bright, cheery music.

… It's infectious.)

"So, how are you liking the ocean, little Tori?"

Tori closes her eyes and prays for patience. She takes back every good thing she's ever said or thought about her captain. The man is terrible. "I'll have you know that I'm nineteen years old, Captain Yorki."

The blond shrugs and grins crookedly. "Doesn't matter, you're the youngest on this ship, so that makes you the baby by default. Isn't that right, Brook?"

Victoria whirls around, "Don't you dare–"

"Picking on our little Tori again? Shame on you, captain."

At this, the crew bursts into another round of uproarious laughter, and Victoria throws up her hands in defeat, despite the reluctant grin tugging at the edge of her own lips and the burn in her cheeks. Still, she wouldn't trade this for anything else in the world.

Brook, and the rest of the Rumbar Pirates.

Victoria is so happy to have them in her life.

"Alright, I think it's time for a good song!" Yorki leaps onto a wine barrel and strikes a pose. "Who votes for another round of Bink's Sake?"

"AYE!"

Time passes.

The Rumbar Pirates sail the seas of East Blue, singing and dancing and fighting, and somewhere along the lines, they start racking up a bounty. They run into all sorts of sticky situations and encounter so many interesting things, things that Tori has never even thought of before, and it's exhilarating. She learns to play all sorts of instruments from the other members of the crew, and discovers that she also has a knack for the harp.

At some point during their travels, they even pick up a baby whale that got separated from its pod, and Laboon becomes part of their makeshift family. The baby whale sings right along with them whenever they break into song on the decks of the ship. Tori's voice rings out bright and clear, and whenever Laboon joins in to make her solos a duet, the crew likes to jest that they're the 'Baby Duet' of the Rumbar Pirates, as the littlest members. Tori doesn't even bother arguing with them on this anymore.

And then, it's time.

"Are you ready, guys!"

"'Course we are, Captain!"

It's time for them to enter the Grand Line.

(Separation is hard, but… but there's no way they can take a baby whale like Laboon with them into a place as dangerous as the Grand Line. They leave him with Crocus and a promise to return, and depart with tears in their eyes.)

The Grand Line.

Graveyard.

(… There is no tragic backstory to the young woman's tale, but haven't you realized it yet? Her story is the tragedy.)

Part IV: This is the Part Where You Die

They should've turned back. They should've given up and turned back the moment they lost Captain Yorki. But even sick as a dog and on his deathbed, the man had never given up hope, had never given up on his dream, and We promised to meet Laboon from the other side, didn't we? We can't give up on our promise! The journey must go on, with or without me!

They should've turned back.

Brook stepped up as captain, in Yorki's absence. And even though the loss of their old captain and nearly half their entire crew to illness was a tangible sting in the air, they somehow managed to get by. Singing and fighting, fighting and singing. Their days out at sea blue together in a heady, timeless mirage, and somehow Tori manages to deal with the gaping hole in her chest.

(Sometimes, it's only the sound of Brook's voice outside her door that convinces her to get up in the mornings, that convinces her to keep on fighting.)

Fear. Trepidation. Unease.

But Victoria is with her family, with people she loves, and even though they've been marred by sorrow, they are not broken. They are still continuing their adventure. They have experienced loss, but they carry on those hopes, and they are stronger for what they have suffered. Surely, they have become stronger for what they have suffered.

… Besides, isn't this what she's always wanted? She's living her dream. She should be happy. Shouldn't she?

She'd been so confident, so positive, so sure of everything…

You're a girl, Tori, she remembers her mother saying years and years ago with sad, sad eyes. Back in the days when she'd just been a barefooted brat running around with the boys in the village under an old soldier's watchful eye. You'll grow into a beautiful young woman one day, and then you'll settle down to raise a family. Try not to be so fixated on just one thing, alright?

Fixation. Obsession.

(Why is she questioning herself like this? Where did her confidence go?)

"Tori?"

"… Brook." For a moment, her fingers tighten around the railing of the ship, before she quickly forces them to loosen again. Tori doesn't want Brook to worry about her, and so she turns around with a cheery smile. "Did you need me for anything? I'm always happy to help. Did Rhine come down with food poisoning again?"

Brook shakes his head. "No, no, nothing like that. It's just…" Hesitation. "You've been a little quiet lately, Tori. Are you feeling alright? I might be busy taking care of everyone as the captain now, but that doesn't mean I don't have time for you."

Tori's forced smile melts into something a touch more genuine. How is it not possible for her to love this man? "It's nothing, Brook. Just thinking about silly things here. Home."

"Home isn't silly, Tori." Brook pats her on the shoulder. "… Although, I wasn't aware that you still … it's just, you've never taken a break to go visit your hometown, back when we were serving in the King's Guard."

He's being tactful, how sweet. "No, I never got around to doing that, did I? … To the best of my knowledge, my parents are still alive. I also have a little sister and a little brother back home… maybe even more siblings by now, come to think of it. Yeah, that's probably the case."

"… Would you like to talk about them?"

Victoria shrugs. "There's not much to say, Brook. My family is pretty much the standard definition of normal. Like, really, really normal, y'know? My parents, they've always meant well and they're good people, but they don't… they've never really known what to do with a daughter like me."

She gestures to herself, a full-body movement of sheer helplessness that both explains everything and explains nothing at all. She's not really sure how to verbalize it, period, because it's not like it's a problem or anything. They would've been great parents to anyone who wasn't an anomaly reborn with memories of another lifetime in another world.

"I've always been a little… headstrong. I tried, but I don't think I was a very good daughter. I couldn't be what they wanted."

I refused to be what they wanted.

"Then, do you miss them?"

… She does. A little bit, surprisingly. But… "Nah, I have you guys as my family."

At this, Brook cracks a smile, too, but there's something a little sad about it. His hand remains on her shoulder. "Once we're done with our journey and make our way back to Laboon, we'll have all the time in the world to make a few more detours, y'know. How about visiting your hometown together with the rest of the crew?"

"The entire crew?" Sounds nice. "Sounds like my hair is going to go white from stress before I hit my thirties."

"Cut it out with the sass, little Tori. I'm trying to be nice!"

Tori laughs, and wishes that this moment could last forever.

It's the Florian Triangle that does them in, in the end. The pirates who'd been chasing them, they–

"Poison, of all the stupid, cowardly, fucking things–"

There's not much to say, in the end. Tori does not die bringing down a good half of the enemy forces, or pull a miracle out of her ass and save the day.

In the chaos of it all, Tori takes a knife straight to the chest and falls overboard.

She thinks she catches sight of Brook's horrified expression for one terrible moment of perfect clarity, but then the waves take hold and pull her under.

(For a single instant, her life flashes before her eyes. Holding a wooden sword in the backyard. Fighting off bandits on the road. Reaching the capital. Meeting Brook. Standing side by side, swords dripping with blood. Captain Yorki.

Fighting together, singing together.

Together.

Sorry. Looks like I won't be able to guard your back to the very end.

Darkness.)

Is this what you want?

(Fantasy, adventure, freedom.)

Is this what you want?

(Laughter, family, love.)

Is this what you want?

(Gaining everything, only to lose it all. Quicksand falling through your fingertips. Nothing you want is ever yours to have.)

What do you want?

(… Nothing. Everything. I don't know.)

What in the world are you looking for?!

Part V: The Monster

Strange things live in the sea, peculiar things happen on the Grand Line. Things that some would even call 'impossible.'

By some miracle, Tori does not die. But this is only the beginning of her nightmare in the slow, agonizing decades to come.

After her second death, Tori… dreams. Something eats her leg, chewing away at her flesh with razor-sharp teeth, chomps down on her bone and something gives away with a nasty crack.

(When will you ever learn to be properly grateful for what you have instead of always seeking more, more, more?)

Her hands. Her arms.

The last thing Tori is aware, not-aware of, is when some strange creature crawls into her chest and carves out her heart. A pulsing, beating lob of flesh that it swallows down its throat, before it dives into her body to eat away at her organs.

Punishment.

(What did you ever hope to accomplish?)

(Tragedy? A girl loses her entire crew on the Grand Line, and her body is devoured by sea creatures of the deep. Yes, this is doubtlessly a tragedy. But tragedies happen every day on the Grand Line, don't you know?

Yes, she is eaten. Her entire body is devoured, true, but her heart, y'see–

Her heart…)

In the precise moment that the first parasite swallows down the girl's heart whole, it makes the decision that this is a good host to live in. There are many human corpses floating around these parts, but it's been awhile since it's seen encountered one this fresh, in this part of the sea. Halfway alive, even despite all this damage done to it… though it'll soon be dead.

So it eats a pathway in and buries itself deep, deep inside the dead girl's body, reattaching her heart with a pulse. The creature then calls out to its brethren, to others of its kind. The human is damaged. It needs their help to fix it, if it wants to make use of this host. Its brethren will devour the rest of the human's body, and then reassemble themselves in a reconstruction of the human to act as its new body.

They will fix the human, and then they will hunt. They've stayed down in these waters for far too long.

hUnGRy.

A flash of sensation. But wait, isn't she dead? There's something warm and sweet in her throat and she's… not underwater?

No, the lower half of her body is still submerged in water. She's floating?

Hold on, what is this squishy red thing that she's holding in her hands–

Tori wakes up.

The fog of the Florian Triangle never fades, but it seems like there's a particularly nasty storm brewing today. There's a ship in the distance that she doesn't recognize, home to another hapless crew of pirates. For some reason, her mouth falls opens of its own accord, and her voice, clear and sweet but somehow beckoning and seductive and what the ever loving fuck–

What–

Nonono stop stop stop she doesn't want to kill what is she doing–

Why are her hands moving on their own what are these things sprouting from her body why is she–

Oh gods oh gods make it stop make it stop make it STOP!

STOP STOP STOP PULLING OUT THE MAN'S INTESTINES CAN'T YOU SEE HOW HE'S SCREAMING STOP PULLING STOP HURTING STOP CHEWING NO–

Tori wakes up.

"What's that sound, captain? Is someone singing?"

"Woah, captain, look! A mermaid! It's a mermaid, they really do exist on the Grand Line!"

"Hey, let's take a closer look. Isn't she singing something about missing her friends and being lonely?"

… Go away.

Go away.

GO AWAY.

DON'T MAKE ME EAT YOU I DON'T WANT TO EAT ANY MORE PEOPLE!

Tori wakes up.

Tori wakes up.

One day, Tori wakes up halfway through eating a dead man's eyeballs from his skull. Steadily, she lowers it from her mouth and looks impassively at the bite marks lining the pirate's half-eaten corpse, then calmly tilts her head to survey the strange noises coming from the lower half of her own body.

Her upper torso is human, untouched and unblemished and utterly unchanged from her former appearance. But her lower body, her lower body is simply a mass of snapping mouths and sharp teeth and oozing, gelatinous, sentient substance from wriggling feelers–

No. She can't hold it back anymore.

Tori promptly leans over the edge of the bloody ghost ship and vomits and vomits until her eyes water and her throat burns, but it's no use. It's no use.

Nothing can change the fact that she's now a monster.

Once upon a time, a little girl grew up wishing for adventures and magic. In her peaceful life of normalcy, she eventually learned to move on from her daydreams and seek out practical goals instead, but secretly, there was always part of her that hoped for something amazing to happen to her, something fantastical.

Well. She got her wish.

Part VI: The Night

Coiling mist. Darkened waters. The sea breeze is cold on her skin, and everything is so utterly silent, save for the alien voices bickering inside her head, more half-formed thoughts and impressions than fully-formed words.

Curious. Where is next ship? Where food?

Rock. Not food. Nasty.

Hungry, haven't eaten since a week ago. Food?

Food, food!

"… No," Tori whispers hoarsely, but no one is listening. No one, aside from–

Hush, we're giving our host a headache. Tori is distressed. Tori, why are you distressed?

Shingan.

Shingan is the only one of the carnivorous deep sea parasites that she's named, because naming things means forming bonds, attachments, and Tori can't accept that, not with man-eating monsters that have turned her into one of them, and she hates hates hates. Even Shingan. Because Shingan is the one who had saved her life by keeping her heart whole and intact; even now, she knows that Shingan is the one judiciously guarding her heart inside this monstrous body comprised entirely of eternally hungry, flesh-eating parasites.

"You know why," she says lowly, voice terse, and Shingan falls silent.

To Shingan, Tori is a very baffling and unreasonable human, despite being a very good host. Very effective bait to attract prey with, too, for all her reluctance in actively participating in the hunts. Is it something about hunting her own kind? How strange. Shingan has eaten human brains before, knows about humans. Humans kill each other all the time, don't they? They kill each other, and just leave the bodies to rot. Wasteful.

Besides, Tori had been dying when Shingan found her, and in exchange for keeping Tori alive Tori is just helping them feed. Everyone gets what they need from this exchange. Sensible. It's a win-win symbiotic relationship.

Why can't Tori see that?

Tori wants to die. It's not much of a surprise, really.

She's somehow survived the deaths of her entire crew, her entire world, but only as the unwilling host of flesh-eating parasites that have developed a taste for human flesh, which, by extension, means that she has also developed a taste for human flesh. She's not even human anymore –just the other day, a pirate shot a bullet into her head point blank, and all it did was pass through her with a wet, sickening squelch, because she's essentially just a mass of disgusting, wriggling creatures, and she just. Can't. Deal. With. It. Anymore.

The incessant pangs of hunger. The ever-present need for more. The very thought of eating now makes her feel sick to her stomach… even though she doesn't have a stomach anymore.

All Tori has left is her heart, and she knows that the moment she loses her heart… perhaps, the only thing worse than a flesh-eating monster is a mindless, flesh-eating monster.

Tori, the others are getting hungry. We need to get moving soon.

"Just a little while longer, Shingan," she whispers. "Please. Just hang on a little while longer."

Fleshy tendrils elongate, morph into pointed spear tips. Knives.

"Monster," the terrified man breathes in horror, to which Tori only responds:

"I know."

Suicide is impossible. For awhile, Tori focuses on hurling herself at passing ships, hoping against hope that there will be people strong enough to kill her on board… but it never happens.

She's so very hopeful for the first moment that someone brandishes a torch and the flesh-eating parasites all recoil in fear, hissing, but then Shingan lashes out lightning-quick with a rope dart and deftly trips the man, before ordering his other brethren to coordinate themselves and jump overboard into the sea.

This is not what I had in mind when you asked to share control of our body.

"Well, at least we know to avoid fire now," Tori says lightly. "No pain, no gain."

Please be a little more conscious of our shared welfare, Tori. We would prefer not to take needless risks.

"Duly noted."

The screams emanating from the burning ship are nothing short of horrific, but she forces herself to listen. It's either being burned alive or being eaten alive; none of the men who jump overboard in desperation are able to escape Shingan and the others.

Brook is alive.

Brook is alive.

(The revelation is… staggering. He's alive. Still alive!)

As a skeleton, true, but… but he's alive. Alive. Tori can barely believe her eyes, but that song, that melody, that heartbreaking voice…!

Tori?

Tori freezes.

… What would Brook say, if he could see her now?

In the end, the girl only watches silently from the side as the tattered remains of the ship that was once her beloved home sail past in the dark waters. Slowly, the ghost ship gently bobs up and down to the tune of a sorrowful, haunting melody.

Part VII: The Dawn

There, another ship. At this point, Tori has seen many ships over the years of all shapes and sizes and varied designs; some fancy, some eccentric, but this is the first she's seen with a lion's head. Oddly cute, even. Maybe they call themselves the Lion Pirates?

Hungry, hungry!

Look, more food!

"Stop it." Tori slaps the restless parasites stirring at her side with an admonishing hand. "You guys already ate not even three days ago. Show some restraint, why don't you?"

Hungry…

She turns a thoughtful eye back on the lion ship.

The parasites have been fed. There's no danger of suddenly losing control. In that case…

Tori nods to herself decisively, and opens her mouth to sing. Clear, bright, and solid are no longer the markers of her song. Wistfulness. Regret. Sadness. But through it all, there is still a thin thread of hope, because Tori knows that she's not alone.

Brook.

It takes a moment, before the ship finally begins to turn in her direction. She can almost see the pirates arguing among themselves over whether or not to follow, but it seems that curiosity has won out in the end.

Discreetly, she starts swimming in the direction of her once-home. It's been awhile since Brook had last had any living human company. If these Lion Pirates do anything to break his heart like the last bunch, though… well, she could always use another meal.

Can you hear my voice calling?

Over quiet sea waves, beyond the mist,

Do you see the winds crawling?

My hopes held in your fist…

…

From nightmares that go over on,

I ask for but a brief respite.

So please be gentle with my song,

And make his future bright.

…

"THIS IS SUCH A BAD IDEA LUFFY WHY ARE WE DOING THIS WHY ARE WE FOLLOWING A DISEMBODIED VOICE-"

"Look! Over there! C'mon, don't you want to find out what it is?"

"NO!"

"Hang on, I think I see a splash… Is that a mermaid?"

"Mermaid? A mermaid, where?!"

"… Can I just say that this is all really, really creepy and we should probably-"

"Hey, look, a ship!"

Tori quietly peeks out from the waters when she sees Brook running back to the Rumbar Pirates' home, on footsteps lighter than they've been in years. For that alone, she'll restrain the parasites from eating these Lion Pirates with every last fiber of her strength.

After all this time, she's finally assumed some manner of control over this body. It'd be a pity to let that go to waste.

They've headed onto the rotting ship.

"You do realize it's not actually rotting, right? In fact, I'd say it looks pretty new."

But it reeks of rot. And death.

Tori lets out a soft hum at Shingan's words, looking out at the giant ship that the Lion Pirates had disembarked on. She'd never gone on there herself, the parasites comprising her body heavy-handedly usurping control of their body whenever she swam too close…

Huh. Wait, Brook is heading onto the island, too. Judging by his familiarity, it doesn't appear to be his first time…?

… Something feels a little off about all of this…

Tori. Tori, no. Are you thinking of something dangerous again?

"It won't be dangerous. In fact, I'll be very, very careful about it. I'm just worried about Brook."

Tori, we've discussed this before-

"I know that you're the one who ate my brain, Shingan," the girl interrupts quietly, and the parasite falls silent. "You've never protested me guiding travelers to Brook before, so you must realize it, too. Brook is important to us. I don't care if it's impossible for me to commit suicide. If anything happens to Brook, I will find a way to end things, mark my words."

Legs. Legs. Human legs!

We won't be able to hold this form for long, Shingan warns. I will be suppressing the others' protests against this foolish venture. Do not expect me to be of much aid in battle.

"Yes, yes," Tori nods. She opens the palm of her right hand, and a thin blade sprouts from her body, long and elongated. Even after all these years, the weight of the curved sword rests well-balanced in her hands. "Thank you, Shingan."

(Wait for me. I have your back, Brook. Just like the old times, right?)

Tori rises to her feet on shaky, newborn legs… and promptly collapses in a heap to the ground.

This… this might take a little while to adjust to…

"OH MY GOD THERE'S ANOTHER ONE OF THEM?!"

Zombies. What's even more startling is that these abominations are running from her, and the ridiculousness of the entire thing makes her laugh a little. A seven-foot man, rugged and scarred and every bit fitting the role of a fearsome warrior… fleeing from a dainty little girl while screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Straw Hat Pirates, hm? Looks like Brook's made an interesting bunch of friends this time."

She had intended to stay in the shadows. Observe from the sidelines. Interfere only when necessary, and quietly retreat once all of this is over with no one any the wiser.

But…

That giant. That zombie-giant, Oz, just whipping across the battlefield like a hurricane and knocking down everything in its path.

How can she stand still? How can she remain impassive? How can she, when Brook is in the midst of it all?

("Oi, something wrong, skeleton?!" Zoro hollers, when the skeletal musician-swordsman suddenly freezes in the middle of battle. The skeleton, Brook, says nothing, only staring silently at the new arrival to their battle.

Zoro squints his eyes. The person has their face covered in strips of cloth, but it looks… vaguely female?

"So… is that someone you know?"

"… Impossible," is all Brook responds. But there is no more time for anything else, because their captain is back.

Luffy is here, and Zoro grins.

'Bout damn time.)

Gekko Moriah is defeated.

Victory.

Tori is not familiar with the Straw Hats in the least, not acquainted with them the way Brook is. But when another Shichibukai shows up, when she bears witness to the way the young captain's first mate unflinchingly offers up his own life in place of his captain's, it's…

It's a powerful moment, and something moves inside her, pulsating and aching. Is it her heart?

(Her heart is all she has left.)

Tori, are we finished here?

"Just a little bit longer, Shingan," she whispers. "Just a little bit longer."

"Wait!"

Tori runs. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She should've known better than to think that Brook wouldn't notice something wrong, that he wouldn't recognize something familiar when he saw her, the same way she would always recognize him, skeleton or not.

(She shouldn't have stayed behind.)

"Wait!"

Faster. Faster. Faster.

There. The ocean's edge.

She dives forward desperately, headfirst breaking under the waves, and–

"TORI, WAIT!"

… why?

After so many years of avoidance, of watching him from afar but never daring to approach, he's finally standing right behind her. It's Brook. Brook.

Brook, Brook, Brook.

Ah, something in her chest hurts. Isn't that funny? She doesn't even have a chest anymore, but it still hurts. Hurts. But it still hurts, something moves so very painfully inside her and–

Tori? Tori, what's wrong? Why aren't we leaving?

"Tori…" All she can hear is Brook's voice. So close. So close. All she has to do is turn around.

"Have you…" Trembling, tremulous hope. It hurts. "Tori, you're… you're still alive?"

No.

Can't. Can't let him know, don't let him know.

Don't let Brook that you're an inhuman, man-eating creature. Don't let him know that you are an abomination, a monstrosity.

"Tori," another step. Another step closer. Why, why can't she move?! "Tori."

Tori wants to cry.

"You've… you've got the wrong person." Her voice cracks on the last word. Brook. "Go away, please."

"What's wrong?" Desperation doesn't suit Brook. It doesn't suit him at all. "It's really you, isn't it? Talk to me, Tori. Or… is this because of how I look now? Ah, I know that since I'm nothing but a skeleton now I look a little unnerving, but–"

"No!"

How could he ever think that?! Tori doesn't love Brook for his appearance, his silly glasses and his stupid afro, how could the idiot ever think that she–

She–

She freezes, realizing her mistake a moment too late. Too late.

Why, why, why?! Why did she turn around?

"… You don't look a day over twenty, Tori," the skeleton whispers with breathless wonder, his voice a ghostly rattle. "I… I suppose that time has been far kinder to you than it has me."

"No! No. No, that's not it at all. Brook…" Tori tries to smile, but the expression is wobbly at best. Ah, when had she started crying? "Brook, you still look as energetic as ever. Laboon… Laboon will definitely recognize that silly afro of yours. That's good. That's great. That's…"

She can't hold it in anymore.

Tori breaks off into a choked sob, one hand flying up to cover her mouth, and she can't look away. Watching him from afar and seeing him up close, the difference between the two is… staggering. She doesn't know what to do with the surge of emotion, of raw–

Tori, what's wrong?

"Tori, what's wrong?"

Such a simple question. Such an innocuous question, that reminds her of such simpler days, when all was right in the world.

"It's nothing," Tori smiles through her tears. "I've missed you. Sorry."

"Hey, you're that lady that led us to Brook, aren't you? Thanks! Hey, what are you two doing over there? The party's only just started!"

Part VIII: The End?

Tragedy, comedy… in the end, what does that matter? If life is a story, then from this point onwards we cast aside all labels and take the pen into our own hands. As long as we can continue smiling through it all and keep walking forwards, then nothing will ever hold us down.

Wishes, hopes, dreams. Live in the moment. Let our dreams pull us forwards, not tie us down. Even in our darkest moments, always seek the distant light.

Faces up, heads held high.

So long as our lives continue, the story goes on.

…

EDIT 25.01.19: Standalone one-shot, no longer intended to be a compilation of OC shorts. Will be clearing out a different space for it.

Author's Notes:

OP-verse, meet reincarnated!OC and a heavy dose of Parasyte. This started off being pretty lighthearted too, geez, before the Parasyte part came in… yeah, I don't really know what happened there either.

(I was listening to 'Next To You' on loop while writing and the feels, ack. This isn't exactly a Brook/OC fic unless you have hardcore shipping goggles, though. Idk. The ending is kinda tapered off, but I didn't really want to continue this anymore, so.)

… Yes, I was originally working on the next chapter for and much madness must make, but then I got distracted. Very distracted. As in, 9k words distracted, and I'm still not quite sure what I was aiming for with all of this? Sorry not sorry. madness should be updated sometime this weekend, hopefully.

(FYI I'm not going to apologize for writing stuff I'm interested in; I write fanfiction for fun. Please stop telling me to give up on writing new things and update my other in-progress stories, because all you'll get is me digging my heels in like a stubborn ass. Sorry if this sounds rude, but I just have to get this out there.)

This fic is just going to be a collection of various OC one-shots in the OP-verse. I don't see myself starting any long fics anytime soon, but… plot bunnies. So, compromise. :3 I'll probably write something happy later at some point; I feel like I've been exploring too many depressing topics lately.

NOTE: Feel free to leave me some prompts, if you have anything in particular that you'd like to see for an One Piece!OC. I make no promises, but I may take something into consideration if it tickles my fancy.

… Alright, back to working on the next chapter for and much madness must make. For anyone who's interested, it's a former one-shot, now extended, and features an OC-insert as one of Big Mom's daughters. Yeah, I've been on a bit of a writing spree for One Piece these days. ;3

Cheers,

XxZuiliu